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Boulies Elite gaming chair: One-minute review

The Boulies Elite gaming chair sits in the mid-range bracket, with a welcome focus on adjustability and build quality. It adopts the familiar racing seat design, minus the seat side bolsters – an omission I welcome, since I always find these too restrictive, and means the wide seat can be made full use of.

The Boulies Elite looks smart in the black variant I had, and the PU leatherette feels durable and premium to the touch. There’s a small amount of suede on the sides of the seat, but less so than on many rivals.

The overall build quality is up there with some of the best gaming chairs, with the 4D arms being a particular highlight: they’re solid with virtually no wobble and the adjustments are smooth, although I found them a little too stiff to move up and down. The casters offer a surprising amount of grip on carpet too.

Overall, the comfort of the Boulies Elite is great. The head and lumbar pillows provide plenty of cushioning, but without them, I was surprised to find myself even more comfortable, as I sunk into the chair even more. The seat is a little firm, but still not as firm as those on others. I was also able to install the arms close to the sides, preventing my arms from stretching out too much, as I’ve experienced with other gaming chairs.

You’ll find many of the same adjustments typical of mid- and high-end gaming chairs, although there’s no inbuilt lumbar support here. The tilt mechanism is very smooth and silent, and the tension can be easily altered. The tilt lock is very useful too, while the 4D arms go almost anywhere you like.

The seat has a low minimum height, so those shorter in stature shouldn’t have much of a problem getting their feet firmly on the ground. However, its maximum isn’t that high compared to some of its rivals, although the Elite Max is designed for those who want more in this department.

On top of this, the backrest doesn’t recline to 180 degrees, as other chairs in this segment do. In fact, the recline is one of the weakest areas of the Boulies Elite. The notches in the mechanism are very prominent when moving back, and I often found the handle would get stuck before locking into position, requiring a firmer push of the handle than usual to lock into place.

Assembling the Boulies Elite was easy for the most part, although a couple of casters proved a little troublesome to snap into place. Keeping the gasket mounts in place while installing the tilt mechanism was the hardest part, whereas installing the backrest – which is usually the trickiest part of building a gaming chair – was easier than expected. I managed to construct it by myself with relative ease.

If you’re on the lookout for a mid-range gaming chair, the Boulies Elite is a solid pick. There are a few snags with some of the adjustments, but you’d typically have to pay a lot more for this level of adjustability, comfort, and quality (see the Secretlab Titan Evo 2022).

Should you want something even more budget-friendly, the Corsair TC100 Relaxed is just about the best in this regard, although it lacks the same premium construction as the Boulies Elite.

(Image credit: Future) Boulies Elite gaming chair review: Price and availability

• $399 / £339 / AU$594
• Available now
• Cheaper than some rivals

The Boulies Elite costs $399 / £339 / AU$594 and is available now in three colorways for the PU variant (black, blue, and white), and two for the fabric model (ash grey and charcoal grey). There’s also an Elite Max for those with larger frames, which isn’t much more expensive.

It comes with a two-year warranty as standard, which can be extended to three with Boulies’ Warranty Plus, and also includes two years of peeling protection.

Gaming chairs of the Boulies Elite’s ilk usually command higher price tags. The Secretlab Titan Evo 2022, for instance, starts from $549 / £469 / AU$799, despite having similar adjustments and functionality. Its prices can escalate quickly too, depending on the specific model you opt for.

If you’re after something that’s more accommodating for larger frames, then the AndaSeat Kaiser 3 XL is the most comfortable gaming chair for such users. And if you want to spend even less than the Boulies Elite but still get a great chair, then the Corsair TC100 Relaxed is a great alternative.

Boulies Elite gaming chair review: Specs Boulies Elite gaming chair: Design and aesthetics

• Typical gaming chair design
• No side bolsters
• Premium feel

The Boulies Elite sticks to the tried and true gaming chair formula for the most part, with a racing-style backrest, complete with holes on either side just below head height, used to fasten the lumbar cushion strap. Its wide seat forgoes the side bolsters, though, following the segment’s more recent move towards completely flat bases, which I find more accommodating.

Hard wearing without looking utilitarian, the PU leatherette feels premium, even helping to inject an element of class. There’s a minimal amount of suede on the sides of the seat – less than you might see on other gaming chairs.

The arms are also well-built, and their plastic and metal construction again seems to be of the highest order. Their padding is firm, but I had no issues resting my forearms on them.

The metal wheel base is metal too and feels very sturdy, yet still comfortable enough to rest your feet on should you wish to. The casters offer plenty of grip on carpet, more so than those on other chairs I’ve used.

(Image credit: Future) Boulies Elite gaming chair review: Comfort and Adjustability

• Comfortable without cushions
• Great arms
• Poor recline

Overall, the comfort of the Boulies Elite is excellent. The seat is well-padded and seems a little softer than many others. Its lack of side bolsters is also welcome, as I personally find them too restrictive and inimical to different seating styles. The lumbar pillow is one of the thickest and most plush I’ve tried, while the head pillow is about on par with many of its rivals. Boulies does claim that you can get comfortable in the Elite without either, and I found this to hold true.

In fact, I was probably more comfortable, as sinking further into the chair allowed me to relax more. Of course, individual preferences will determine whether or not the pillows improve comfort, but it’s reassuring all the same to know they aren’t totally necessary.

The only real ergonomic drawback is the sharpness of the bottom edge of the seat, which feels a little uncomfortable if you tend to place your feet behind your knees, but this is merely a minor inconvenience.

The Boulies Elite has a similar level of adjustability as many premium gaming chairs. Its seat height can go down to 18.1 inches/46cm – which was low enough for me at 5ft 7 inches/170cm to get my feet flat on the floor without a footrest – and up to 20.5 inches/52cm, making it nearly identical to the range of the Secretlab Titan Evo in its regular size. If you’re over six feet, though, you’ll want the Elite Max, which can go up to 22 inches/56cm.

(Image credit: Future)

Its tilt function is smooth with no creaking or notchiness. There’s a clank once you tilt back into the neutral position, but it was mild enough to easily overlook. The ability to lock the tilt in any position is welcome and works well for the most part – I did find it occasionally got stuck in certain positions, but it was nothing that a firmer push of the lever wouldn’t remedy. However, the shortness of the handle for this lever can make it awkward to reach, especially when you’re already tilted back.

The arms can be installed quite close to the sides of the seat, more so than on some other gaming chairs, which I personally prefer as I like having my arms closer to my body for ergonomic reasons.

Their eight-way adjustability offers plenty of scope for getting a personalized setup, the various mechanisms feel tight yet smooth to operate, and there’s very little wobble to any part of them. One minor gripe I had, at least with my unit, was the stiffness of the height adjustments, although it’s possible they may loosen over time.

Boulies states that the Elite has a full-length backrest recline, but it doesn’t open to 180 degrees as some other gaming chairs do. The biggest problem with the recline function, though, is how notchy it is, proving difficult to push back to its maximum opening. I found it also had a tendency to get stuck at about 45 degrees, requiring some force to return upright. There’s a general lack of feel to the recline lever too, which means it can be hard to tell when it’s fully locked in place, again requiring a firm push.

Boulies Elite gaming chair review: Assembly

Building the Boulies Elite was a relatively easy process. A couple of casters proved difficult to insert initially, but I found that giving them a slight twist while pushing did the trick, although this isn’t mentioned in the instructions.

The hardest part was lining up the small gasket mounts for the tilt mechanism on top of the screw holes. These don’t fix in place, so they move out of position far too easily when placing the tilt mechanism. I was able to reach my fingers in and shuffle them back into alignment, but those with larger hands might need some kind of implement at hand to help.

The backrest, on the other hand, was surprisingly easy to install, given it’s usually the trickiest part of any gaming chair. I was able to assemble the entire chair by myself, so many others should be fine doing so too.

(Image credit: Future) Should I buy the Boulies Elite gaming chair? Buy it if...

You want good adjustments
The Boulies Elite has tilt locking, 4D armrests, and a large recline angle, although it’s not quite the full 180 degrees of some other gaming chairs.

You want to sit low
Personally, I don’t like using a footrest, so it’s important for me to have my feet flat on the ground, which is possible with seat height adjustments.

Don't buy it...

You want the smoothest recline
The recline mechanism on the Boulies Elite is very 'notchy', and the lever is prone to sticking in place.

You’re large in stature
While the seat is nice and wide, it might not rise high enough for taller people. For them, there’s the Elite Max.

Boulies Elite gaming chair: Also consider

If the Boulies Elite doesn't sound like a good fit for you (in every sense), these are some great alternatives.

Secretlab Titan Evo 2022
The Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 does everything well: it’s comfortable, well-made, and provides plenty of adjustments. Its starting price is higher than the Boulies Elite, though, with certain variants reaching astronomical heights. But it’s the best gaming chair around right now for a reason. Read our Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 review.

Corsair TC100 Relaxed
If you want to keep the costs down, then the Corsair TC100 Relaxed is one of the best cheap gaming chairs there is. Despite its relatively low cost, it still offers a decent amount of adjustability, although it lacks 4D armrests. We found it comfortable, with enough seat width to prevent feeling confined. Read our Corsair TC100 Relaxed review.

(Image credit: Future) How I tested the Boulies Elite gaming chair

• Extensive testing session
• Made adjustments
• Plentiful gaming and productivity experience

I tested the Boulies Elite for a day, during which time I made the full range of adjustments for the seat height, armrests, tilt, and recline.

I tried sitting in the Boulies Elite in all manner of ways to replicate how I would normally spend my time in a gaming chair. I sat at my desk while using a keyboard and mouse.

I have experience reviewing gaming chairs and have used a variety of both gaming and office chairs for many years, including popular models such as the Secretlab Titan and the Steelcase Leap. I spend many hours a day in chairs for both working and gaming.

• Read more about how we test
• First reviewed: January 2025

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• The iPhone 16 Pro Max could be followed by the iPhone 17 Ultra
• We've also heard the 'Ultra' rumor in previous years
• The iPhone 17 Ultra may feature a bigger battery and more cooling

We're expecting Apple to unveil the iPhone 17 range in September, and a new rumor points to a name change for the most expensive model in the line-up – a rumor that has actually been swirling for a couple of years now.

According to well-known tipster Yeux1122 (via MacRumors), the iPhone 17 Pro Max is in fact going to be called the iPhone 17 Ultra. That's apparently based on information from investors and sources inside the supply chain.

If the phone previously known as the iPhone 17 Pro Max does indeed get a name change, it would be the first Ultra phone released by Apple – though it has already used the Ultra label for some of its Apple Silicon chips, and of course the Apple Watch Ultra series.

We've heard this rumor before, however, both for the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 16 – and in those cases, the names didn't change. Maybe this will be the year when Apple finally decides to shake up its approach to iPhone naming.

Hardware and software

The iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

In theory then, we could be looking at a line-up that features the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Ultra. There is a certain neatness to having a single extra word after each of the three additional variants.

That said, the same tipster also suggests that the iPhone 17 Air name isn't yet fixed. This super-slim model, replacing the iPhone 16 Plus, has been featured in a lot of leaks – but it sounds as though Apple hasn't decided what to call it yet.

The iPhone 17 Ultra (if indeed that is its name) is also tipped to be coming with a smaller Dynamic Island, a vapor chamber for additional cooling (and improved performance), and an increased battery capacity – which will add to its thickness.

We've already heard that iOS 19 is set for a major revamp too, so it looks as though it's going to be quite the year for Apple in terms of both hardware and software. We should get our first look at iOS 19 sometime in June at Apple WWDC 2025.

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• The iPhone 16 Pro Max could be followed by the iPhone 17 Ultra
• We've also heard the 'Ultra' rumor in previous years
• The iPhone 17 Ultra may feature a bigger battery and more cooling

We're expecting Apple to unveil the iPhone 17 range in September, and a new rumor points to a name change for the most expensive model in the line-up – a rumor that has actually been swirling for a couple of years now.

According to well-known tipster Yeux1122 (via MacRumors), the iPhone 17 Pro Max is in fact going to be called the iPhone 17 Ultra. That's apparently based on information from investors and sources inside the supply chain.

If the phone previously known as the iPhone 17 Pro Max does indeed get a name change, it would be the first Ultra phone released by Apple – though it has already used the Ultra label for some of its Apple Silicon chips, and of course the Apple Watch Ultra series.

We've heard this rumor before, however, both for the iPhone 15 and the iPhone 16 – and in those cases, the names didn't change. Maybe this will be the year when Apple finally decides to shake up its approach to iPhone naming.

Hardware and software

The iPhone 16 Pro Max (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

In theory then, we could be looking at a line-up that features the iPhone 17, the iPhone 17 Air, the iPhone 17 Pro, and the iPhone 17 Ultra. There is a certain neatness to having a single extra word after each of the three additional variants.

That said, the same tipster also suggests that the iPhone 17 Air name isn't yet fixed. This super-slim model, replacing the iPhone 16 Plus, has been featured in a lot of leaks – but it sounds as though Apple hasn't decided what to call it yet.

The iPhone 17 Ultra (if indeed that is its name) is also tipped to be coming with a smaller Dynamic Island, a vapor chamber for additional cooling (and improved performance), and an increased battery capacity – which will add to its thickness.

We've already heard that iOS 19 is set for a major revamp too, so it looks as though it's going to be quite the year for Apple in terms of both hardware and software. We should get our first look at iOS 19 sometime in June at Apple WWDC 2025.

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• The 3 biggest rumors around iOS 19 so far
• Video recording could be a big feature of the iPhone 17

Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro: Two-minute review

You may have heard of Chinese tech company Xiaomi from its impressive camera phones like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, its impressive budget mobiles like the Poco X7 Pro or its powerful tablets like the Xiaomi Pad 5. You may not have heard as much about its earbuds.

It's true that the tech giant's in-ear headphones have yet to feature in our best earbuds guide, but perhaps this is that time? The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro are the latest offering from the company, a rare ‘premium’ pair of earbuds alongside the unending line of budget buds it releases under its Redmi line. They’re the specced-up version of the Xiaomi Buds 5 from six months prior, as well as the new iteration of the Xiaomi Buds 4 Pro.

Like most earbuds made by smartphone companies, you’re probably checking out this Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro review because you’ve found a deal that combines one of the company’s latest smartphones (perhaps the Xiaomi 15 or Xiaomi 14T) with them for a low price. And frankly, that’s probably the only time you should consider them: the buds are acceptable but nothing special, with a price that’s particularly uncompetitive (unless you’ve found them in a bundle).

There’s certainly some impressive acoustic engineering on display here, with each earbud boasting two drivers and a tweeter, but unfortunately the driver array doesn’t deliver equally-impressive audio chops, with music lacking the necessary bass impact and energy to invigorate your tunes.

A trip down the specs list will show some head-turning features, like a high audio bandwidth or the ability to play music over Wi-Fi instead of Bluetooth. The latter is exclusive to a more expensive model of the buds called the Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi, not this model, but both options require very specific Xiaomi phones that’ll rule out many buyers.

That may seem harsh, but the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro do solve many issues of their non-Pro siblings: they’re comfortable to wear, easy to tote around and don’t fall out of the ear at the slightest provocation. The Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) has seen a particularly improvement, both in the ability to remove noise, and the customization over its various modes.

Ultimately, because this proposition costs more than some really impressive rivals, it’s hard to recommend picking the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro off the shelves (virtual or physical). But as a bundle bonus alongside another gadget, it could be the music companion you need – and that’s equally true if you can find them reduced in sales.

Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro review: Price and release date

(Image credit: Future)

• Announced in February 2025
• Costs £159.99 / AU$340 (roughly $210)
• Over twice as expensive as non-Pro

The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro were announced in February 2025, alongside the Xiaomi 15 series of smartphones as well as the Pad 7 and a few other gadgets.

If you recall, the Buds 5 sold for £69.99 (roughly $90, AU$140); the Buds 5 Pro have undergone a serious price hike. They go for £159.99 / AU$340 (roughly $210), so they’re over twice the price of their predecessors.

As Xiaomi only sells its Redmi earbuds in the US, the Buds 5 Pro aren’t on sale there. In Australia, I noticed their prices from Xiaomi’s own outlets ranging from $340 to $380, so the price is a little nebulous.

Later on in this review, I’ll touch more on the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi, a more advanced model that I didn’t test. These cost roughly £20 / AU$40 (roughly $30) more than the standard model, depending on where you find them.

Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro review: Specs Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro review: Features

(Image credit: Future)

• Several ANC modes
• 8-hour battery life (with ANC off)
• Xiaomi app has EQ and more

Xiaomi has bumped up its feature set with the Buds 5 Pro, offering a few improvements over the non-Pro model, and it does make the earbuds much more competitive.

First up is the battery life – the buds themselves will last for 8 hours of listening if ANC is turned off, and while Xiaomi doesn’t provide an ANC-on figure, I’d guess at about 6.5-7 hours based on my testing. The battery life of the case itself has only seen a modest improvement of one hour over the past model, but the resulting figure of 40 hours in total is nothing to sniff at.

Charging is done with USB-C or wirelessly via Qi, and for the former at least, it’s pretty snappy. Xiaomi estimates that you’ll get 4.5 hours of listening time on 10 minutes charge with a fast enough charger, and while mine isn’t up to Xiaomi’s specs, I was still pleasantly surprised with how little you needed to charge these things for them to be on 100%.

Another improvement is ANC, or Active Noise Cancellation – it’s still not industry-leading but these buds offer a marked improvement over the Buds 5 (I’m sure the silicon tips help, more on that later). You get the usual three modes: on, off and transparency, with the latter letting you choose between enhancing ambient sounds, voice or both. It’s a neat way to let you avoid the downsides of passthrough modes while still enjoying the benefits.

There’s an adaptive noise cancellation mode, which can be toggled between ‘light’ and ‘deep’ (I'll be honest, I cannot discern the difference here). This helps retain some juice when you’re listening, as it dials ANC up or down, depending on how noisy your surroundings are.

(Image credit: Future)

This can all be changed in the Xiaomi Earbuds app, which brings a few extra features. This includes turning on adaptive sound and volume, the ability to change what touch controls do, a spatial audio feature called Dimensional Audio, and a voice memo recording feature which you can enable via the app or via gestures.

An eight-band equalizer is hidden deep in the app’s menus, but I found myself using the six presets most of all. These include ‘decrease bass’, ‘enhance voice’ and the enigmatically-named ‘audiophile’, as well as two Harman Kardon-tuned versions called ‘Harman AudioEFX’ and ‘Harman Master’. The app doesn’t reveal what these mean, but Harman’s website reveals that the former is a tool which intelligently balances the dynamics of a song.

The Buds connect to your phone, tablet or laptop via Bluetooth 5.4. There’s also a model which supports Wi-Fi connectivity to your phone, which I didn’t test. This pair, called the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro Wi-Fi and one of the big audio breakthroughs we saw at MWC recently, cost a little more and only let you use that titular feature alongside the expensive Xiaomi 15 Ultra, however more phones are apparently going to gain support in the future. The benefit to this pair is that you can listen to 96kHz / 24bit audio using the 4.2Mbps bandwidth, so it’s one for hardcore audiophiles to keep an eye on.

• Features score: 3.5/5

Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro review: Design

(Image credit: Future)

• Silver case is lightweight and small
• Silicon eartips make buds stay in ears easily
• Buttons on each bud stem

The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro’s case is near-identical to the non-Pro model’s. It’s a slender silver clamshell with a USB-C port on its underside, that opens up to reveal the buds. It’s made of plastic and weighs 41.8g, so it’s pretty lightweight (though 5g heavier than the Buds 5’s).

A compliment I levelled on the previous buds stands true here: the design of the case makes it really easy to remove the buds quickly, as the stems aren’t buried in the case. I appreciate buds that reduce the time taken faffing with the case.

Now onto the earbuds: these show a big improvement over the Buds 5 (and remember, I have thoroughly tested both) in that they have silicon tips that keep the buds securely in your ears. The non-Pro model lacked this, and my biggest issue with them was that they just wouldn’t stick in my ear. The addition of tips removes this issue.

In fact I never had a problem with the Buds 5 Pro’s fit: they never felt wobbly or ill-fitting, and they’re nice and lightweight so it wasn’t a burden wearing them. They weigh 5.6g which is pretty svelte for earbuds.

The stems of each earbud house a button that you can trigger by squeezing the stem. You need to squeeze them quite hard though, and there’s not much in the way of response to show that your squeeze has registered as in the past buds (which gave a light ‘click’ to show the button had been pressed). It’s not the end of the world, but it’s a slight regression.

An improvement here is that the buds have an IP54 rating, offering limited protections against fine particles (like dust) as well as moisture (like sprays of water). IP certification is a nice reassurance that your chosen gadgets can withstand a dose of mother nature.

• Design score: 4/5

Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro review: Sound quality

(Image credit: Future)

• 11mm driver + planar + tweeter
• High max volume
• Impressive mids and decent trebles, but lacking in bass

Xiaomi has really stuffed the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro with tech: each bud has an 11mm dynamic driver alongside a planar driver and a ceramic tweeter.

While the midrange is much meatier than I’m used to in earbuds and the treble is clear and agile, the Achilles’ heel of the Buds 5 Pro is bass, which can range from ‘a little lacking’ to ‘conspicuously absent’ depending on the song.

Not everyone is a bass-head, and I count myself among that crowd, but even I felt that songs were lacking a little je ne sais quoi as a result. Using the equaliser can help a little bit, but the odd lack of a bass boost mode hurts (there’s treble enhancer, and bass reducer, not no bass enhancer or treble reducer?).

(Image credit: Future)

If you don’t care much for heavy grime or drum-and-bass music (or perhaps you listen to genres with so much intrinsic bass that no earbud can remove it and a tempered performance might actually help things), you’ll likely be fine with the Buds 5 Pro. But I can see this being a deal-breaker for some buyers.

Perhaps compensating for this issue is the Buds 5 Pro's eye-watering max volume. At some point in testing, I crank earbuds up to their max volume to see how high they can go. The Buds 5 Pro made me regret that I didn’t take the buds out of my ears before doing so!

A little feature I need to flag for a very slim market (hello, audiophiles who may still wear wireless earbuds) is that the Buds 5 Pro support a 2.1Mbps transmission rate of lossless audio, which would be great for high-res streaming… if it wasn’t for the fact that it only works if your mobile is one of a select number of recent top-end Xiaomi phones. So it’s not for everyone.

• Sound quality: 3.5/5

Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro review: Value

(Image credit: Future)

• Struggle compared to some rivals
• Pick them up bundled or discounted

The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro would be decent buds, sitting at the high end of the budget market, if that’s what they cost. But they don’t – they’re a little pricier than I would have expected, and they also cost more than some really impressive competitors that I’ll list below.

It’s not a huge margin, but you can save £40 / AU$80 and pick up some great competitors pretty easily.

That’s why, as I said in the introduction, these are great in a deal or bundle. But it’s harder to recommend picking them up on their own.

• Value: 3/5

Should I buy the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro?

(Image credit: Future) Buy them if…

You find them bundled
If you can pick these up alongside a flagship Xiaomi phone, you'll be able to use their top-end features and will likely get them at a discount.

You need a reliable ear fit
Unlike the Buds 5, these guys stick in your ear well, and won't fall out unless you take them out.

Don’t buy them if…

You're on a budget
These aren't cheap earbuds, and you should only consider these if you have money to burn.

You're a bass head
The Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro won't offer you the booming bass of some other earbuds, so they won't impress bass-heads.

Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro review: Also consider

Xiaomi Buds 5
The natural comparison, these buds are a lot cheaper. However they don't sound as good, have worse ANC and don't fit in the ears well.

See our full Xiaomi Buds 5 review

Nothing Ear
These buds from rival phone maker Nothing sound great, have loads of unique features and look distinctive. Best of all, they undercut the Xiaomis.

See our full Nothing Ear review

How I tested the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro

• Tested for two weeks
• Tested at home, in the office and at the gym

I used the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro for two weeks in order to write this review. They were mostly paired with my Android smartphone although I did use them on a Windows laptop too.

This testing involved trips to the gym, walks around my neighborhood, working at home, streaming TV shows and idling at home. It was mostly done on music but I did listen to some podcast too.

I've been reviewing gadgets for TechRadar for over six years now, and in that time have tested plenty of wireless earbuds as well as a huge number of Xiaomi devices.

• First reviewed in March 2025

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

• Apple's appeal against the British Government to be heard in secret
• The tech giant is fighting a request to build a back door into its encryption
• We polled TechRadar users for their thoughts - here's what you said

It looks likely Apple’s legal appeal against the UK government will be heard at a secret hearing at the High Court, the BBC reports, following Apple’s promise to ‘never build a back door.’

Apple recently pulled its end-to-end encryption service, Advanced Data Protection (ADP) from UK devices following an alleged request from the British government to build a backdoor into the encryption, which would allow access for law enforcement agencies.

As we await the result of the appeal, we asked our TechRadar readers their thoughts via our WhatsApp channel (if you’re interested, you can join here) - and the results might surprise you...

Results are in

When asked, “Would you want your government to have access” to private encrypted data, our readers voted overwhelmingly in favor of Apple’s decision, with 67% choosing the option “My data is private - I wouldn't want my Government to have access”.

A small number of our readers (8%) said they had no issue with their government having a master key to their encryption, choosing the option, “I would not care as I have nothing to hide” - but a quarter of respondents felt law enforcement should have access only in extreme circumstances.

The US Director of National Intelligence called the request a ‘clear and egregious violation of American’s privacy and civil liberties’, since the request would have extraterritorial powers - sparking ‘grave concern’ not just for privacy, but for fears that this would “open up a serious vulnerability for cyber exploitation by adversarial actors”.

The tech giant’s appeal is due to be considered by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which is an independent court with the power to investigate claims against the UK intelligence services.

“There is no easy answer to this conundrum,” said Matt Aldridge, Senior Principal Solutions Consultant at OpenText Cybersecurity.

“Either a system has “trust no one” end-to-end encryption or it doesn’t, there are no halfway houses here, so Apple are taking a pragmatic approach by removing the service for UK users, rather than effectively putting a backdoor into their systems which could impact the privacy of their over 1 billion other users around the world.”

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• Apple to take legal action against British Government over backdoor request

• Apple's appeal against the British Government to be heard in secret
• The tech giant is fighting a request to build a back door into its encryption
• We polled TechRadar users for their thoughts - here's what you said

It looks likely Apple’s legal appeal against the UK government will be heard at a secret hearing at the High Court, the BBC reports, following Apple’s promise to ‘never build a back door.’

Apple recently pulled its end-to-end encryption service, Advanced Data Protection (ADP) from UK devices following an alleged request from the British government to build a backdoor into the encryption, which would allow access for law enforcement agencies.

As we await the result of the appeal, we asked our TechRadar readers their thoughts via our WhatsApp channel (if you’re interested, you can join here) - and the results might surprise you...

Results are in

When asked, “Would you want your government to have access” to private encrypted data, our readers voted overwhelmingly in favor of Apple’s decision, with 67% choosing the option “My data is private - I wouldn't want my Government to have access”.

A small number of our readers (8%) said they had no issue with their government having a master key to their encryption, choosing the option, “I would not care as I have nothing to hide” - but a quarter of respondents felt law enforcement should have access only in extreme circumstances.

The US Director of National Intelligence called the request a ‘clear and egregious violation of American’s privacy and civil liberties’, since the request would have extraterritorial powers - sparking ‘grave concern’ not just for privacy, but for fears that this would “open up a serious vulnerability for cyber exploitation by adversarial actors”.

The tech giant’s appeal is due to be considered by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, which is an independent court with the power to investigate claims against the UK intelligence services.

“There is no easy answer to this conundrum,” said Matt Aldridge, Senior Principal Solutions Consultant at OpenText Cybersecurity.

“Either a system has “trust no one” end-to-end encryption or it doesn’t, there are no halfway houses here, so Apple are taking a pragmatic approach by removing the service for UK users, rather than effectively putting a backdoor into their systems which could impact the privacy of their over 1 billion other users around the world.”

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• Apple to take legal action against British Government over backdoor request

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