THE GREAT
BEER GUIDE
SONY’S NEXT-GEN OLED TV REVIEWED
ï 2018’s best new 4K HDR TVs
ï
Incredible buys from £649 to £12k
ï Enjoy the top matches in Ultra HD!
WORLD CUP
SPECIAL!
SMART
HOME
LIVING
Gadgets to upgrade
every room!
OCULUS GO
Why standalone
VR
is
the future
HOT!
BLUETOOTH
TURNTABLES
Vinyl goes
wireless
TOP PHONES
UNDER
£300
TESTED
STEP-UP CAMERAS
Ditch the phone
and go pro today
NEW
PLUS
AMAZING
SOUNDBARS
7 T3 N O V E M B E R 2 0 17
The tech that’s so cutting edge,
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just turning this page
GAMECHANGER
3UHSDUHWRKDYH\RXUPRYLHQLJKWKRXVHSDUW\DQGELJVFUHHQJDPLQJVHVVLRQVHOHYDWHGZLWKWKHZRUOGèVĆUVWYRLFH enabled multimedia robot for the home. Keecker is designed to bring your favourite forms of media, and entertainment apps, into a central hub, making control of your home’s entertainment much smarter, faster and easier. A party animal and budding DJ, the (iOS, Android) app-connected Keecker runs an Android TV platform (for access to content across Google
Play, Chromecast and Google Assistant) and has a built-in 4.1 audio system, featuring four speakers and a subwoofer. ,WbFDQbVWUHDPFXVWRPSOD\OLVWVIURP6SRWLI\DQG*RRJOH3OD\0XVLFSOXVLQWHUQHWUDGLRIURP7XQH,QDQGXVHVLWVLQWHJUDWHG
GHJUHHDGMXVWDEOHYLGHRSURMHFWRUWRWUDQVIRUPDQ\EODQNZDOORUFHLOLQJLQWRDELJVFUHHQ$QGGRQèWZRUU\LWbZRQèW EDVKbLQWR\RXU,WDOLDQIXUQLWXUHRQWKHZD\å.HHFNHUKDVVHQVRUVWRPDS\RXUKRPHèVVSDFHWKHVDPHVHQVRUVLWXVHV
WRbJLYH\RXUHDOWLPHXSGDWHVRQ\RXUKRPHèVKXPLGLW\OHYHOVURRPWHPSHUDWXUHDQGDPELHQWOLJKW £1,690, keecker.com/uk-en
K E E C K E R
ROBO GUARD
Keecker doesn’t just project video – it captures it too. It can act as a security camera, and you can even take control of it remotely, driving it around the house to check whether you closed the back door, or see what the pets are up toMATT BOLTON Editor
Matt’s hunt for the best gear to watch the World Cup in 4K (p76) was all-consuming.
He’s sick of football now. Good thing it’s all over, DQGbWKHDFWXDOWRXUQDPHQW
isn’t just about to start.
JO GULLIVER Senior Art Editor During our big smart home feature (p36) photography, Jo became enthralled by the Samsung fridge’s screen. It’s the same stuff you do on a phone, but it’s just different
when it’s on a fridge… CLAIRE DAVIES
Associate Editor Claire’s week off at the beach
during this issue was a relaxing haven away from
work. Apart from the bit where she tested and wrote about the best tech to take to
the beach with you (p20).
ANDREW WESTBROOK Operations Editor The creation of our beer
guide (p83) and related WHVWLQJDURXQGWKHRIĆFH enthused Andy. We’re considering his proposal WKDWbç7èVKRXOGVWDQGIRU çWHTXLODbWHTXLODWHTXLODè
SPENCER HART Product & Style Editor,
T3.com Spencer got way more dressed up for his trip on a private jet (p28) than he ever
gets for the team, which is… pretty fair, actually, but still
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ROB JONES Tech & Gaming Editor,
T3.com 5REWULHGRXWWKHĆUVW RIbDbQHZEUHHGRIODSWRS powered by phone chips, this
month (p98). This is similar WRb5REKLPVHOIZKRLV powered by cheesy chips.
PAUL DOUGLAS Global Editor-in-Chief,
T3.com Paul loves his vinyl, but there’s only so much retro a
man can live with. Wires?! He’s not Fred Flintstone. Our
wireless turntables (p96) bring him right up to date.
SUBSCRIBE NOW AND GET A FREE BLUETOOTH SPEAKER!
Our current subscription offer gets you a free Juice Bar portable speaker worth
£39.99! Turn to p46 to see our print and digital subscription options! DUNCAN BELL
Lifestyle Editor, T3.com In reviewing the Oculus Go standalone VR headset (p90), Duncan is certain that he has seen the future. It’s just that he saw it from an inch away, and he’d prefer that it had DbVOLJKWO\KLJKHUUHVROXWLRQ
Get in touch to see what T3
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MICHELLE MCLAREN Art Editor Michelle tried the latest UXQQLQJDQGĆWQHVVWHFK WRbVHHLILWFRXOGKHOSKHU FRPSOHWHKHUĆUVWPDUDWKRQ (p48). Our favourite gadget was the Wallace &
Gromit-OLNHç:URQJ7URXVHUVèð
KIMBERLEY BALLARD Production Editor With a beautiful city break
planned, Kimberley could PRVWO\EHIRXQGçERUURZLQJè
our next-level cameras Sb&ULHVRIê%XWbZHQHHG
them to make the issue!” IHOObRQGHDIHDUV
Meet the team
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T3
’S MISSION
OUR AWARDS
Editor’s letter
When it comes to smart home gear, one of the things
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more than a functional plastic enclosure.
That’s why I love something like the Mondaine Smart
stop2go Clock that’s in our smart home feature, starting on
p36. It starts off as a classic clock, using the company’s
Swiss railway design that dates back to 1944 and yet still
looks ultra-modern. I’d already love to have it in my house…
And then you learn that it’s got some added smarts and the
deal is sealed. The other way companies can go is to make
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not really any in-between when it comes to home decor.
Speaking of good-looking stuff in the living room, I’m so
excited to have the chance to watch the World Cup in 4K
HDR this year (p76). I honestly think football is better the
more you feel like you’re really there, and the ambiance
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Matt Bolton, Editor
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Our mission is to bring you the clearest recommendations ZHbFDQåDQGWKDWPHDQVDJUHDWGHDORIKDUGZRUNKDSSHQV before a product even reaches our pages!
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And that should mean an end to you having to undertake hours of painstaking research and product comparisons.
You won’t see any duff products, but you will come away with clarity on which one is the best in its category or for DbVSHFLĆFWDVNRXUDZDUGVEDGJHVVHHEHORZHQVXUHWKDW everything T3 recommends is clearly highlighted on the page.
It goes without saying that every product in T3 Select KDVbEHHQWKRURXJKO\WHVWHGE\RXUWHDPRIH[SHUWVHQDEOLQJ \RXbWREX\ZLWKWRWDOFRQĆGHQFH
For kit that demonstrates exceptional industrial design
DQGUHĆQHPHQWLQDGGLWLRQ WRbEHLQJJUHDW This accolade and others
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WKRVHWKDWVFRUHĆYHVWDUV – receive our coveted
Platinum Award
THE DESIGN AWARD
BEST ON TEST BEST FOR
BATTERY LIFE PLATINUM
Contents
012
TOP 10
Fill your gadget-loving boots with this month’s hottest new tech, including the
slick OnePlus 6, Nest’s nosy new video doorbell, and an utterly bonkers sea
scooter that’s shaped like a shark
020
WE CAN BUILD YOU…
Heading to the beach this summer? 6WD\bFRRODQGNHHS\RXUNLWGU\ZLWKRXUhaul of portable, beach-proof goodies
024
STYLE
Tropical print shirts are back, but what you wear with them is key. We show you
how to work them into your existing wardrobe with ease
026
Maximise your living space with a hidden TV, then learn how to boost the acoustic ćRZRI\RXUURRP1R"$OULJKWIXVV\WKHQ
overhaul your health instead with DbFRXQWHUWRSVPRRWKLHPDNHU
028
TRAVEL
We recently chartered a private jet and, surprisingly, it didn’t drain our life savings
(much). Learn how to do the same for your next group get-away
030
FITNESS & OUTDOORS
Has the World Cup inspired you to better\RXUĆWQHVV"6WDUWQRZZLWKVSRUWVWHFK that can help you train like a footballer
032
GADGET GURU
Our tech know-it-all answers your most burning questions, including, um, ‘Can you
recommend a glue gun?’ True story
035
TALKING TECH
Have you ever thought, ‘Hmm, some tech brands are more like cults’? Yeah, Duncan
Bell is pondering the same this month
HORIZON
MAN VS TECH
Can tech help our writer train for and complete the London Marathon? It’s time to get sweaty…THE ULTIMATE
WORLD CUP
EXPERIENCE
Fancy watching the FIFA World Cup LQbJORULRXV8OWUD+'":HUHYHDOKRZSTATE OF
THE ART
Take a step up from snapping pics on your phone with our tricked-out trio of next-level cameras
THE GREAT
BEER GUIDE
We discover the top brewing tech, ales and lagers for the perfect boozing sesh at home or outdoors036
SMART HOME
LIVING
Upgrade every room in your KRXVHbZLWKWKH latest and greatest connected home tech, from clever clocks to super smart showers
068
083
048
056
THE SETUP
Cut down on your energy usage and power your devices on demand with the new D-Link Wi-Fi Smart Plug
059
UPGRADE
If you’ve ever experienced the damage caused by a burst water pipe at home, you’ll make a beeline for this smart
water control system
060
DESIRE
Add a touch of masculine luxury to your bedroom with Ralph Lauren’s Polo Player summer linens range
062
HOME TEST
Smart buttons put connected home
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064
SMART HOME SURGERY
Our resident experts dish out the answers to your smart home queries066
LIVING SMARTER
Learn how to create your own AlexaVNLOOVåQRFRGLQJDELOLW\UHTXLUHG
090
OCULUS GO
We get up close and personal with virtual reality’s exciting new wireless
headset, but is it as good as we
DOObKRSHGLWZRXOGEH"
094
SONY AF8
On paper, the AF8 is a 4K OLED dream, replete with impressive
features and the promise of a sumptuous picture. Does the reality
live up to the hype, though?
096
SMACKDOWN
Bluetooth turntables are just the ticket for tech-minded vinyl lovers, and this month two popular modelsslug it out in our head-to-head
097
GOPRO HERO
Capture your adrenaline junkie antics on camera with the new GoPro –
WKLVbSXSS\HYHQUHVSRQGVWRYRLFH
commands (well, most of the time)
098
HP ENVY X2
7KHĆUVWRIWKHQHZZDYHRI
Qualcomm-powered Windows 10 S hybrids gets the T3 grilling
100
TOP PHONES UNDER £300
Reckon a phone needs to be top dollarto be a top performer? These budget beauties will change your mind
102
ANALOGUE SUPER NT
We dig out our old Super Nintendogames cartridges in the name of putting this retro console to the test
HOME
Expand your hi-fi setup and hear your music like never before with a
pair of PMC’s full-size, hand-built Twenty5.23 speakers
103
106
YOUR IN-DEPTH
BUYER’S GUIDE
Want to know what the best top-end
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Or the best wireless headhones? Our
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world’s best tech, and only WKHEHVW
BEST OF THE BEST
WORTH
ONEPLUS 6
From £469, oneplus.com/ukFast and smooth aren’t qualities you’d necessarily want in a first date (maybe), but they’re definitely attractive in a smartphone. And the polished-looking OnePlus 6 has both in spades, especially super-fast speed. Dressed in a classic monochrome colour palette of Midnight Black, Mirror Black or crisp Silk White, this new flagship phone is the definition of smart and beautiful, coming loaded with a Snapdragon 845 CPU, Adreno 630 GPU and 8GB of RAM.
The OnePlus 6 flaunts a stunning all-glass body, though we can’t help thinking it’ll end up slathered in sticky fingerprints within minutes of use. If you have a soft spot for bigger phones, this one will take advantage with its 6.28-inch, 19:9 HDR AMOLED screen. An 84 per cent screen-to-body ratio gives you plenty of real estate to eyeball, and in our time playing with it so far, the HDR AMOLED panel serves up punchy, defined colours during gaming and video bingeing.
There’s a 16+20MP dual camera array around the back and a 16MP front camera for capturing 4K video up to 60fps, all with Sony sensors. A Super Slow Motion mode handles more dramatic shots. Even though there are tiny niggles, such as no wireless charging and water-resistance but no 1P67/68 certification, the hardware line-up is top tier, marking the OnePlus 6 as a hearty contender for 2018’s biggest flagship release so far.
A minimal bezel design helps make the most of that glorious Optic AMOLED display, giving you a full picture of whatever you’re working on, watching or playing Edited by Claire Davies
The best new tech heading your way
OnePlus has gone
from bargain brand to
big dog. Tis thing is
seriously capable
Top 10
J U LY 2 0 1 8 T3 1 3
USER FRIENDLY
The OnePlus 6 runs Android 8.1 Oreo and OxygenOS, OnePlus’s light skin of Android, offering all-new gesture controls to make navigating and using the phone a more fluid experience. You can use gestures to return home, open recent apps and more
MYRIAD OF MODES
You can choose from five different display modes on the OnePlus 6. We like the sound of Reading Mode, for digesting large chunks of text on a phone screen, and Night Mode for late evening phone usage that won’t mess with your sleep cycle
THE NEED FOR SPEED
NEST HELLO
£TBC, nest.com/ukCould you have imagined five years ago that any of us would put so much thought into buying a doorbell? That’s now a reality, as Nest has muscled in on Ring’s smart doorbell patch with the Google Assistant-friendly Nest Hello. One of the Hello’s big selling points is super-clear HD video with 160-degree view. The 4:3 aspect ratio is also taller than that offered by most other video doorbells, which should create a more robust picture of who’s at the door. There’s automatic night vision, 24/7 streaming (via the Nest app) and video recording (Wi-Fi needed), and HD Talk and Listen to reduce ambient noise. We also like the pre-recorded message function, though you’ll need to take out a Nest Aware subscription to access Nest’s premium face-recognition tech.
T3 SAYS: Comes out swinging with lush HD video and your Google Assistant BFF.
TOSHIBA X98 OLED
£TBC, toshiba-tv.comToshiba is wading into the ‘premium telly for less’ arena with the X98 OLED, equipped with Amazon Alexa integration, so those of us with an Echo device will be able to control the X98 using voice commands. The X98 OLED is available in 55- and 65-inch sets, and supports HDR10, Dolby Vision and Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) HDR. Onkyo has been drafted in to co-design the TV’s integrated subwoofer and speakers, while Toshiba has been busy with a new OS called Smart Portal, created to make swapping between content and various inputs simpler and faster. No word on pricing, but Toshiba is more of a budget brand than its rivals, so if it can keep the price down and the features rich, the X98 OLED could be a winner.
T3 SAYS: Alexa integration, a new smart platform and a near full-house of HDR support makes this a tempting package.
TECH-O-METER
J U LY 2 0 1 8 T3 1 5
Top 10
NATIVE UNION X
LA BOITE PR/01
£699, nativeunion.com
In tech, collabs have become the new Rose Gold. The latest comes courtesy of gadget accessory obsessives Native Union and French acoustics specialist La Boite, the results of which are wrapped up in the handsome PR/01, a compact home-dwelling speaker designed to provide you with advanced connectivity and ear-gasmic acoustics. The PR/01 isn’t interested in being a flash in the pan – it’s classically styled and wants to live in your home. The Bluetooth aptX-infused PR/01 is geared up to deliver powerful, high-fidelity sound, and charge Qi-enabled phones from a plate on top. A concealed drawer hides various audio inputs, one USB-C and two USB-B ports.
T3 SAYS: Make room on your console table for the handsome PR/01, a multi-functional speaker promising rich sound and minimal faff.
PHILIPS MOMENTUM
436M6VBPAB
£699, philips.co.uk
You’ll get square eyes sitting so close to the screen – or so T3’s mum used to say. She’ll be pleased, then, to hear that Philips’ new Momentum line of gaming monitors are designed to be placed at a greater distance from you. The 436M6VBPAB is the world’s first display to claim VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification. There’s 4K UHD resolution on the 43-inch VA panel, with Quantum Dot elbowing out run-of-the-mill LCD tech. It aims to give you an edge during games with its Low Input Lag mode and SmartResponse tech. We also dig the Ambiglow lighting, creating an external halo around the panel, plus MultiView mode to display two sources simultaneously (Picture-in-Picture and (Picture-in-Picture-by-(Picture-in-Picture).
T3 SAYS: Game smarter with the world’s first VESA DisplayHDR 1000-certified display.
TECH-O-METER
Top 10
ASTELL & KERN BILLIE JEAN
£299, astellnkern.comAstell & Kern’s vampy new wired earphones not only bear the name of one of pop-rock’s most famous temptresses, but also the fruits of Jerry Harvey Audio’s patented Freqphase waveguide tech, designed to deliver accurate multi-frequency sound. Harvey used to tour with Van Halen as a sound engineer before bringing his knowledge to the masses, and the expertise helps elevate these earbuds. A wide soundstage is served up, thanks to the inclusion of an Acoustic Chamber Sound Bore design. To say these earphones are aimed at those wanting high-quality audio on the move is a dramatic understatement – even the cables are kevlar, copper and silver. We’re expecting nuanced detail and fat-ass bass.
T3 SAYS: Astell & Kern’s new headphones, as pretty as a beauty queen, are gearing up to rock you hard.
LENOVO MIIX 630
$799.99 (£595.47), lenovo.comAlways-connected laptops get a new addition to the fold in the form of Lenovo’s sprightly Miix 630, a two-in-one with integrated 4G LTE, for what Lenovo promises to be ‘true anytime, anywhere mobility’. You want that. Especially if you regularly work in coffee shops, on the train, or while waiting for your plane – with onboard 4G LTE, you won’t have to rely on finding a Wi-Fi hotspot. Lenovo has also bundled in a detachable, full-sized, backlit keyboard and a digital pen so that you work and play better. Amping your productivity further, meanwhile, is a Snapdragon 835 Mobile PC Platform on Windows 10 S. The Miix 630 is also lightweight, quiet and flexible, so you can stuff it in your bag when you’re done.
T3 SAYS: Lenovo’s looking to impress, and
keep you ever-connected, with its first Snapdragon 835 Windows tablet.
TECH-O-METER
Top 10
There are big bucks in drone racing now, with prize purses totalling $1 million in the biggest events. FPV drone racing isn’t for everyone, though, as motion sickness often ensnares newbie pilots. So, how can you give this exciting new sport a go without spending a truck load of cash? Try the new Yuneec HD Racer, an affordable FPV racing drone built for beginners and experts, offering a range of flight modes to suit. It only has a six-minute battery life, but that’s enough to blast around a course a few times. The drone can also shoot 1080p
What do you mean you don’t want to climb on the back of a hydrodynamic sea scooter and let it plummet you deep into the ocean? Well, for those with a sense of adventure still intact, the shark-esque Hoverstar AquaJet H2 is set to be one of this summer’s highly unnecessary but totally cool tech toys. In a nutshell, this high-powered scooter can help you dive deeper, swim faster and enjoy high-powered bodyboarding… all while making it look effortless in the process. How? Touch control wings. You can also point the nose of the scooter up or down to ascend or
T3 is the original boombox master – you’d have been hard pressed to find us anywhere in the ’80s other than break dancing to the latest beats… ahem. So, we’re all over the arrival of BoomBocs, a range of wireless speakers that look like the retro blaster we’ve always wanted. There are three speakers in the range, starting with the BRX v2.0 Classic, the flagship wireless speaker in the BoomBocs gang. It comes in eight colours, some subtle, some wild (hello, hot orange), and houses a 200-watt digital amplifier. The speaker connects wirelessly or via video at 60fps, with a low-latency
FPV feed putting you in the heart of the action (watch a live feed from the built-in camera on your smartphone or via a compatible FPV headset).
T3 SAYS: Yuneec’s budget flyer is perfect for trying your hand at FPV drone racing without angering your bank manager.
descend. Hoverstar reckons anyone can learn how to drive the AquaJet H2 in as little as 10 minutes. And if you’re too scared to go solo, this sea scooter has enough power to pull you and three others along with it.
T3 SAYS: Jump on the back of this touch-control sea scooter and swim with (and like) the dolphins.
aux cable and dishes out up to 20 hours of playback if you pimp it with a rechargeable battery; that kicks the price up to £798, but we reckon it’s worth it just to take this blaster along on all-day hang-outs at the park.
T3 SAYS: Turn it up the beat with this summer’s most badass wireless speaker.
YUNEEC HD RACER
£159.99, yuneec.com
HOVERSTAR AQUAJET H2
$739 (£525.63), hoverstar.com
BOOMBOCS BRX V2.0 CLASSIC
From £699, boombocs.com
Heading to the beach this summer? Stay cool and
keep your tech dry, with this ocean-faring haul...
1
VIVOBAREFOOT X
FINISTERRE
WATERPROOF
RUCKSACK
Few brands do ocean-going clothing and accessories with as much style and ethical awareness as Finisterre. Grab its fully waterproof rucksack (designed in collaboration with running brand Vivobarefoot) and bundle in everything you need for an epic day at the beach. The spacious 35-litre capacity is plenty enough for clothing, blankets, sunscreen and even a folding selfie drone. There’s straps ahoy, too, including comfy padded shoulder straps and a chest strap for good weight distribution.
£110, finisterre.com
2
ULTIMATE EARS
WONDERBOOM
Listen to your Spotify playlists and take voice calls, in and out of the sea, with Ultimate Ears’ most popular waterproof Bluetooth speaker. The Wonderboom is your buddy for rocking out while splashing around in the surf, and is so dinky you’ll hardly feel it when stashed in your rucksack. There’s also an amazing ten hours battery life per charge, so you can serenade the entire beach with, er, Kokomo as much as you’d dare.
£89.99, ultimateears.com
3
NIKON COOLPIX W300
Cameras and water don’t usually mix, but thankfully the Coolpix W300 rebels against that. Nikon’s beach-loving snapper can sunbathe with the best of them, feelingequally at home on the sand as in the water. Because it’s waterproof to 30m you can splash through waves and even dip beneath the surface, taking 16MP stills and capturing Full HD videos of your oceanic fun. Choose Macro mode to capture extreme close-ups of fish and crabs, or 10x Dynamic Fine Zoom to nail arty shots.
£409.99, nikon.co.uk
4
KINDLE OASIS
The ocean is relaxing anyway, but if you want to chill out with a good book, and don’t want to be limited to just one paperback, invest in a high-quality waterproof ereader. Our pick is the Kindle Oasis, because it’s lightweight, has enough storage (up to 32GB) to house thousands of books, and comes with a cover that pumps in extra juice to keep the device going for weeks, not hours. Best of all, the Kindle Oasis now comes with Audible support to read you the audio versions of your favourite books. And yes, that includes The Beach…From £229.99, amazon.co.uk
5
AQUABOT
WATER BOTTLE
Stay hydrated while indulging in water-fight fun. Wait. What? Yep, not only is the Aquabot Water Bottle completely reusable, and therefore a worthy warrior in the fight against ocean plastic, but this 650ml bottle has a secret Super Soaker-style attachment; use it to spritz/spray/ water bomb friends when the sun reaches a frazzling afternoon peak.
£29.99, thefowndry.com Craig Price
Lucky Craig is hitting St Ives next month and wants a waterproof pack
to carry his kit, a camera to take in the water, plus gadgets to keep him
entertained and hydrated.
Claire Davies
T3’s resident beach bum spends perhaps too many weekends by the
sea, so she’s got a keen eye for stylish, water-friendly gear to suit
our reader’s needs.
A
BEACH-PROOF SETUP
WE CAN BUILD YOU...
We can build you…
J U LY 2 0 1 8 T3 2 1
Tis tough tech
can stand the sand,
and turn any beach
trip into a party!
Claire Davies, Associate EditorZADIG & VOLTAIRE SHARK HAWAII SHIRT Quench summer’s thirst for colourful looks by pairing pink chinos with this joyful Hawaiian number, designed with pajama collar and mother of pearl buttons. £155, farfetch.com/uk
BURTON HULA PRINT SHIRT Break out your tailored dark chinos or jeans and partner them with Burton’s lightweight Hula Print Shirt, just perfect for surviving sticky-hot weather. £25, burton.co.uk
TOD’S CAMP-COLLAR PRINTED SILK-TWILL SHIRT For a luxe approach to the tropical trend, choose Tod’s silk-twill offering with a relaxed fit that falls softly over the body. £280, mrporter.com
WADER HAWAIIAN SHIRT All Saints has a stunning 11-strong Hawaiian shirt collection, including the Wader, a Chrome Grey crane print inspired by vintage kimonos. £85, allsaints.com
PALM TREE SHIRT
Zara’s relaxed fit bowling shirt is a total steal, and the monochrome palm tree print will help gently ease you into the retro tropical shirt trend, if the bolder prints seem a bit much.
£29.99, zara.com/uk
THE HOTTEST TIMEPIECES RIGHT NOW
SEKFORD
TYPE 1A
BELL & ROSS BR
03-92 NIGHTLUM
FOSSIL
TOWNSMAN 44MM
CHRONOGRAPH
Elevate your suitedand booted look with old-school charm, courtesy of Sekford’s classically elegant dress watch fashioned with a handmade tan English bridle leather strap and minimalist face. £695, sekford.com
Get your style wings with the Nightlum aircraft cockpit clock-inspired automatic watch,
designed with matte black dial and Superluminova (meaning: glowing) hands and numerals, plus a solid hybrid strap. £2,900, bellross.com From desk to dinner,
Fossil’s water-resistant (5ATM) chronograph keeps you well-dressed and on time. A blue satin dial provides contrast to the stainless steel casing and supple leather strap. £159, fossil.com/uk/en
SURF’S UP
Head to sunny climes with a tropical shirt. If bold colours overwhelm you,
choose a subtle hue, and pair a tropical shirt with dark chinos or jeans
Like Chris Pratt, we can’t get enough of Tom Ford. The American designer’s masculine take on the classic leather belt adds instant sartorial flair to jeans and tailored trousers. Handmade in Italy, the T-Clasp Belt marries smooth brass hardware and pure leather
to help your individual style shine through on a range of looks, from new Nashville to decadent retro.
£590, harrods.com
J U LY 2 0 1 8 T3 2 5
Style
DRESS LIKE
CHRIS PRATT
Te dinosaur wrangler loves sharp suits and
printed shirts. Here’s a great look to ‘borrow’
MONEY
NO OBJECT
Tom Ford T-Clasp Belt
THE SHIRTChecks are big news for summer and not just for your picnic table. Chris Pratt’s gingham choice has a demure green tone to help it ward off country bumpkin vibes. For a similar look, track down Eton’s Green Gingham Check Shirt
(£135, etonshirts.com/uk).
THE TIE
Playing with textures is a fun way to upgrade your outfit, something which Chris’s stylist, Annie Psaltiras, has embraced with a knitted tie. Try this with a Knitted Square Cut Silk Tie in Olive Green
(£31.99, thetiestore.co.uk).
THE SUIT
Tom Ford, Ted Baker and Isaia are regulars in Chris’s set of suits. Make an investment with a Tom Ford Three-Piece Wool O’Connor Suit in Brown
(£2,520, harrods.com).
Thanks to manscaping, unkempt pits and bits are no longer the norm (sorry, Tom Selleck). In fact, when Philips set about designing its latest grooming product, the OneBlade Face + Body, its research team found that 70 per cent of millennial men groom their bodies, using a variety of tools to shave and sculpt. But before manscaping gadgets were a thing, most of us would swill a face shaver or a Bic around ‘down there’, hoping to buzz off some unruly thatch.
In an aid to cut back on all those tools, Philips’ new battery-powered OneBlade Face + Body is designed for face and body hair. It looks like a fancy razor, is compact and lightweight, and comes with one blade for facial hair, one for body hair, plus a three-stubble body comb with different length guards (1mm, 3mm, 5mm).
It’s designed to trim, edge and shave any length hair on your face or body, so we put it to work on both. We have three days’ stubble on our face and it buzzes it off. It’s not as smooth and clean as with our proper shaver, but it’s decent. The interchangeable body blade plus 3mm comb trims our pits and groin with no issues. We haven’t suffered a cut or scratch, but the blade clogs up during shaving; nothing a quick tap can’t sort.
We’d love to see a battery indicator on the OneBlade Face + Body – although it states 60 minutes battery per eight-hour charge, you’d be brave to start ’scaping without knowing you had a full pint of juice to see you through. So while we wouldn’t ditch our high-powered face and body hair shaver for this, we’d definitely pack the Philips OneBlade Face + Body for manscaping on holiday or keeping our face presentable on a work trip.
PHILIPS ONEBLADE
FACE + BODY
An affordable men’s shaver for quick
touch-ups and travel use
FIND
YOUR CAR
DREAM MACHINE
SHOW STOPPERS
Packed with the hottest motors and the latest car tech, this year’s
New York International Auto Show is one heck of a crowd pleaser.
Nick Odantzis reveals the best on show
Each year the Big Apple is host to the most legendary car show around, and this year’s New York International Auto Show has more than 1,000 vehicles on display over four floors. There’s an eclectic mix of metal, from burly muscle cars to electric concepts, and there’s even a few family wagons thrown in. Of course, when we say family wagons, what we mean is Audi’s brand-new 444BHP RS5 Sportback (it’s got four seats and a big boot, duh), which is the wilder version of the regular S5 Sportback, complete with oodles of carbon fibre, an irresponsible amount of power and four-wheel drive.
Want more space, and speed? There’s Maserati’s take on the mega SUV: the Levante Trofeo. Obviously it’s a huge hunk of metal, but it also has a V8 with 590BHP – enough to take your kids to space.
Hyundai’s luxury arm, Genesis, showed off the 2019 G70 luxury four-door sedan, which takes on the Germans at their own game. A new Sport version with a six-speed manual gearbox aims to put the fun back into comfortable daily drivers, though the 365BHP automatic is not exactly dull.
Actually, it kind of is dull compared to the other car Genesis brought to the show: its Essentia GT concept. Penned for a 2022 release, it’s a curious mix of vintage and futuristic, with a carbon monocoque chassis, hybrid electric setup, butterfly doors, and a design that looks like it just rolled out of Tony Stark’s garage. It’s said to be powered by high-density batteries, with rumours that they may even be solid-state cells, giving it a Tesla-shaming range and a charge time of just a few minutes.
ZUS SMART
CAR FINDER
AND CHARGER
Tis simple gadget acts as both in-car charger – supplying juice for up to two devices simultaneously – and vehicle finder, enabling you to retrieve the previous location of your wheels by using the companion smartphone app.£29.17, amazon.co.uk
V-AUTO
Tis box of tricks plugs into your car’s OBD port and relays a wealth of info to your phone. A built-in accelerometer reveals your driving skills, while GPS shows you the location of your motor, even if it’s moving at the time.
£85 (£4/m subscription), vodafone.com
TRACKER RETRIEVE
Got a nicer-than-average runabout on your drive? Ten this Tatcham-approved (so it’ll lower your insurance premium) tracker will keep tabs on the whereabouts of your car at all times, even if it’s stolen and stored underground.STREAM-LINED
SMOOTHIE
MAKERS
NUTRIBULLET
600 SERIES
Te Nutribullet comes with three blade configurations and two travel cups. A 600W motor produces a cyclonic action to tease the goodness out of your fruit and veg.
£59.99, argos.co.uk
SAGE BY HESTON
BLUMENTHAL THE
KINETIX CONTROL
Sage’s blender is designed to capture small or gritty ingredients that get trapped beneath the blades (seeds, nuts and grains), ensuring velvety smooth results.
£219.95, johnlewis.com
Living
J U LY 2 0 1 8 T3 2 7
SMEG BFL01
A gorgeous retro-style blender, available in seven striking colours, fitted with an 800W motor and paired with a generous 1.5-litre impact-resistant jug.
£149.99, smeguk.com
Looking to take acoustics to the next level for your home cinema setup? Check out Artnovion’s new Flow range of acoustic panels (£TBA, artnovion.com). They not only look awesome, in a ‘Bond villain secret lair’ sort of way, but also elevate sound. The Flow panels, made from a selection of woods and in a range of colours, use Helmholtz resonators and foam-weaved acoustic cores to stop reverberation and diffuse uneven sound. Essentially, the Flow panelling will help your speakers sound the way they’re meant to.
MAXIMISE LIVING SPACE
WITH A HIDDEN TV
Enhance acoustic flow while making your home look
like an art installation
Getting a clear living area when room space is minimal can be tough, especially if you add in a telly, but one way to do so is with a hidden TV. We’re not talking about invisible sets from the future, but intelligently designed displays that not only blend into your home, but actually work to enhance its sense of style and spaciousness.
Samsung’s The Frame (from £1,199, samsung.com) is, as the name suggests, a TV designed with a picture frame-style bezel. When not in use as a TV, Art Mode transforms The Frame into a work of art
of your choosing; the Frame includes access to a free gallery of professionally curated art, comprising 100 pieces across various movements. As a 4K HDR TV, it delivers super-clear picture quality.
If you watch TV in your bedroom, relax and binge-watch from a TV bed (from £899, tvbed.co.uk), where a telly pops up from the foot of the bed. Or, if you have recently bought a new TV, consider framing it with a mirror layer (from £1,399, frameyourtv. co.uk), a custom design to turn your TV into an ornate wall mirror when turned off.
Whether you have a small home or don’t want a TV on show 24/7,
Luke Edwards reveals the sets that won’t hog your space
ART HOUSE
CINEMA SOUND
CABIN-SIZE
LUGGAGE
GOING UP
Travel
LIVING THE HIGH LIFE
Tink the jetset lifestyle is just for the ultra-rich? You might be
surprised, as Spencer Hart was on a private jet trip to Scotland…
Private jets are no longer the preserve of rock stars and billionaire businessman, as T3 found when flying to the Isle of Islay with Stratajet (stratajet.com), a platform focused on making private jet travel more affordable. After arriving at a small airport south of London and having breakfast while waiting for the thick fog to clear, we walked out onto the tarmac and boarded a Learjet 45. The pilots greeted us onboard and within 20 minutes we were flying. Our jet was stocked with snacks and chilled bottles of Laurent Perrier, with enough seats for us and up to seven friends. It’s a more comfortable flying experience, thanks to the highly pressurised cabin (which doesn’t dry your skin out) and
the luxury furnishings. After 90 indulgent minutes, we’d landed on Islay, ready to experience its whisky, stunning scenery and amazing golf course.
You’re probably wondering how much this would cost you, right? Flying privately will never be economy-level cheap, it’s true – if you’re travelling with seven friends on a similar journey to ours, you’re looking in the region of £10,000 (£1,250pp). But that might mean you can take trips you otherwise couldn’t – there are no direct flights from London to Islay normally, for example. For such high levels of comfort and luxury (and speed), you might find that it’s money well spent.
SAMSONITE
COSMOLITE
Tis carry-on has animpressive amount of storage space. Its robust ‘Curv’ shell looks attractive and is super lightweight. Four smooth rolling wheels make getting around airports a breeze.
£319, samsonite.co.uk
AWAY THE CARRY-ON
Te stunning Away Carry-On features an integrated charger so that you can play with your phone or tablet without worrying about running out of juice. Te charger is also ejectable and compliant with all airline policies.£225, awaytravel.com
THULE CROSSOVER
CARRY-ON
Tis backpack-meets-travelbag is a great piece to have at your side. It’s suitable for a business conference but also rugged enough for more adventurous holidays.
LIGHT GYM
BAGS
ADIDAS THREE
STRIPES GYM BAG
Adidas’s bag is roomy, and that hanging loop is handy for hoisting the bag onto changing-room pegs. £12.95, adidas.co.uk
Some snorkel masks feel like torture devices, leaving red indents around the eyes, aching teeth from hardened mouthpieces and clumps of hair yanked out by unforgiving elasticated straps. Now Wildhorn is launching a custom full-face snorkel mask called the Seaview 180 SV2 Snorkel ($79/£52.27, wildhornoutfitters. com), with anti-fog and anti-leak design, and Flowtech to enable natural breathing through the nose and mouth. There’s also 180-degree visibility, boosting peripheral vision, and an action-camera mount for capturing footage.
INOV-8 ALL
TERRAIN KITBAG
Keep stinky gym shoes away from your workout gear in this 40-litre pack, which doubles as a weekend bag. £72, inov-8.com
Fitness & outdoors
TRAIN LIKE A PRO FOOTBALLER
WITH SPORTS TECH
Go snorkelling for longer and in complete comfort with the
world’s first custom underwater mask
Premier League teams have been using performance-tracking wearable tech for some time, and now it’s available to amateur players. Tracktics (£95.67, tracktics.com) records your number of sprints, top speed, overall distance, stopping time and much more. A tactical heatmap details positioning and your areas of influence on the pitch.
You could also spend this summer improving your ball skills using a connected football called the DribbleUp (£69.99,
dribbleup.com). DribbleUp’s smartphone app tracks the ball in real time and analyses
thousands of data points, synthesising it into personalised training feedback. Interactive drills include shooting, juggling and ground work, with a virtual trainer grading your performance and giving audio feedback.
If you’ll be doing HIIT workouts, Moov’s HR Sweat ($99.95/£73.75, moov.cc) worn inside a headband measures heart rate from the side of the head, where skin is thinner and increased blood flow delivers more reliable readings. Moov’s app provides four circuit workouts, with an AI-powered coach barking orders to get you match fit.
In advance of the World Cup, Damian Hall checks out the tech
that could turn you into Lionel Messi (well, kinda)
ON THE BALL
DIVING DOWN
Work hard in the
gym, not on the way
ORTLIEB COMMUTER
DAYPACK CITY
Ortlieb’s 21-litre offering has room for a gym kit and laptop with ventilation channels to minimise sweat build-up. £94.99, ortlieb.com/en
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OUT NOW!
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IL
L
U
ST
R
A
T
IONS
: ST
E
P
H
E
N
KE
L
L
Y
A
Short answer: yes. The neat headset design of the PSVR (£234.99) means it hovers comfortably over all but the most ridiculous spectacles.Long answer: yes, but. You have a pair of lenses that have been crafted to suit your eyes perfectly. They’re very specific, and designed for looking forwards; move your eyes around and you’ll probably see a slight distortion in your peripheral vision. Place another lens in front of this, add in some screen door effect, and you’re doubling the potential for odd visual twistery.
It may be worth trying a more reasonably priced headset – a
Daydream unit, maybe, or the Oculus Go (see p90) to see if your brain is compatible before moving on to the big boy toys.
Guru should also point out the PSVR is just for the PS4. If you’re on PC, you’re looking at an HTC Vive (£499) or an Oculus Rift (£399). The latter is slightly better for the bespectacled, though it’ll likely
press quite hard on the arms of your glasses. The Vive is a tougher fit, but it’s at least possible to use. You may find you can tweak the internal lenses to suit your eyes enough that you don’t have to wear your glasses at all – both headsets are adjustable.
If that doesn’t work, head over to
vr-lens-lab.com and pick up some replacement lenses that exactly match your prescription. Not a cheap option, but one which does away with those pesky specs altogether. And if you’re really getting serious, GaGu’s now offering Definitely Not Lasik surgery in his garage. Hold still…
Do any VR solutions work for glasses wearers?
DAVE GORDON, BOURNEMOUTH
It’s not a cheap option, but you
can do away with your specs by
picking up replacement lenses
that match your prescription
T3
’s all-seeing sensei is here to
lead your eyes into virtual worlds
GADGET GURU
A
Google Maps is pretty good at this. On iOS devices, your location is automatically marked when you disconnect your phone from your car’s Bluetooth or USB connections; on Android, it may or may not work depending on the direction of the wind. You can drop a pin if you’re really worried.Google’s Parking Location feature is also really rather special. It allows you to make notes on your exact location (for example what floor you’re on, the bay number, or the registration number of that car you scraped the side of while trying to get into the space), as well as attaching pictures of your parking spot and setting integral timers to monitor how long you’ve got left before the law impounds your misbehaving vehicle. If you’re extremely bad at directions, you could also bolt a GPS tracker to your motor: the SmarTrack Trident is £270, needs a subscription, and is Cat 6 rated, meaning that your insurer will absolutely love it.
GADGET GURU’S MAGIC BOX
A
Running isn’t all about form, dear reader. Witness Mrs Guru, who runs like someone has filled the heels of her trainers with scalding drawing pin soup. She’s still out there pounding the streets. Guru himself has been likened to a startled elephant, both in terms of his clumpy gait and the trumpeting noise he makes on the move.You, on the other hand? You want to get faster, more efficient. You want to push harder and stronger and longer. That’s what GaGu loves about you. So, of course, you’ve already got yourself a smart watch that can monitor your heart rate. But are you going far enough? Have you put down £470 on a Garmin Forerunner 935, complete with a pair of heart-rate monitors? You should: it’s the perfect way to keep tabs not only on what your body is doing now, but also on what it’s done before. You can set yourself up to race
against a spooky ghost version of yourself, meaning that you can concentrate on improving your pace rather than desperately lurching for that finish line in an attempt to best your overall time. You can also really see what running is doing for your body, comparing your heart rate between different outings. It’s all very neat.
If you want to kick more
efficiently and pep up your posture, the Arion smart soles (around £230 for a pair, because running with just one wouldn’t make much sense) analyse the interaction between your foot and the ground, giving you tips as to how precisely you’re mucking it up. GaGu has, in the past, scoffed at the idea of smart shoes. However, it turns out that, unbelievably, he was dead wrong. These are clever, work with just about any trainer, and his pro running buddies reckon the time is approaching when they’re going to be indispensable.
How can I improve my
running style?
CHARLIE WEST, PENGE
Where did I
park? I never
remember!
HARRY KNIGHT,
WEST LOTHIAN
The deed is done: Guru has a new Android knockabout. He teased going to China for his affordable handset, but settled for a trip to exotic Finland to grab the recently discounted Nokia 8. Made by mysterious entity HMD Global, it may be Nokia in licensed name only compared to the classics of old, but it is about as close to a stock Google flagship as you’ll get for the £300-ish price. In fact, it just did very well in the group test of cheaper phones over on p100. Not that Guru’s dark influence
reaches such things. Now, don’t let this fill you with dread, but Guru is functioning progressively more poorly with age. Case in point: GaGu has become a glasses wearer. So annoyed was he by the shifty teen attempting to flog him hilariously marked up frames, Guru took his prescription and
resolved to instruct all of you to buy your glasses online. Glasses Direct’s cyber-try-on feature is pretty damn neat and its specs are plenty cheap,
although other sites are available. GaGu’s brain is also slipping – blame those 10-or-so ‘lost years’ for his slight lack of short-term memory – so he’s upping his note-taking regime with the Moleskine Pen+ Ellipse (£180). It’s perhaps too frivolous an investment for most, but it sends scrawled notes into its poorly translated app, turns them into actual typed words or vector images, and even records audio while you’re scribbling, matching your notes to the sounds when you play it back. The real benefit, though: when Guru inevitably loses that special notebook, he’ll have a backup on his phone, and vice versa. Not sure what’ll happen when the pen goes walkabout, though.
J U LY 2 0 1 8 T3 3 3
Gadget Guru
ABOVE
The Xbox 360 makes an
excellent 1080p media player;
there’s an app for all the
catch-up services and platforms
NOW PLAYING
A
The great thing about TVs is that you can only watch one thing at once, or two, if you’re one of the six people in the world who uses picture-in-picture. That means your options are pretty open: convert that HDMI signal to another format (likely destroying HDCP copy protection, so be sure you’re sending a clean signal) or you can split one of your inputs. There are dedicated splitters, but a good AV receiver is probably best. Something like the Onkyo TX-SR373 (£250) will net you four 4K-capable HDMI inputs, all the requisite hardware to switch between them cleanly, and the sweet satisfaction of being able to scatter a host of speakers around.Can you
HDMI inputs!
A
Sure can: go get yourself a wireless one, preferably manufactured by Bosch. You have two choices. The Glue Pen, a £30-ish thing with an integrated battery, though it’s not outrageously accurate in terms of its glue-spewing rate. If you’re okay with an indeterminate spludge of glue rather than a consistent line, it’s a great toy. Er, tool.Pop in an extra tenner and get serious with the Bosch PKP, a more gun-shaped device that’s ready to stick in about 15 seconds. You’ll want to keep the battery topped up as its longevity leaves a little to be desired, but it’s a great gluer.
A
Don’t be hasty to bin it. Guru’s ZX Spectrum still hasn’t joined his discarded tech edifice, mainly because he’s still not finished Jet Set Willy. There are stacks of great games kicking about for the Xbox 360. They’re cheap and readily available, so get playing.If you can’t bring yourself to lower your standards, here’s the answer you already knew: an Xbox 360 makes an excellent HD media player. There’s an app for all the catch-up services, every main streaming platform and Plex. Hook it up to a screen, and you’ve saved yourself the price of a Chromecast and added a whole host of tedious manual steps. How’s that for value?
ABOVE
Avoid this fate by gluing everything down before it
Don’t miss another
instalment of the
legendary Gadget Guru!
SUBSCRIBE
David Cage’s futuristic noir for PS4 is shrouded in controversy, but there’s no denying how gripping it is, as you take on the role of three androids trying to survive a world that hates them.
T H E R A I N
Netflix’s first Danish-language outing sounds a bit too much like a trashy B-movie. ‘A deadly virus that’s released through the rain?’ we sneered. But we weren’t laughing for long…
LO GA N LUC K Y
Te director of Ocean’s Eleven
is back with another heist, set during a giant NASCAR race. We love seeing the workings of a good thieving, and it’s a fun (and very cool) movie.
NEW MEDIA
t’s long been said that certain tech brands are rather like your more modern kinds of religion. Usually, that’s been seen as a bit of an insult, but now one CEO has just come out and said it: “Yes, we are modelled on a cult.”
OnePlus, as you probably know, makes excellent flagship-type mobiles at low, low prices. Nowadays it’s a fairly standard phone business, but when it started out as a thrusting young ‘disruptor’, you had to all but beg permission to be allowed to buy one of their handsets, then await delivery when you became a chosen one.
In a very interesting recent interview, OnePlus CEO Carl Pei told Wired: “We wondered if there was a possibility of creating a brand that also feels more like a club or like a religion.”
To this end, in one notorious publicity stunt named Smash The Past, would-be OnePlus acolytes were encouraged to smash their phones and send evidence, for a chance to buy a OnePlus for $1.
So, of course, while some true believers duly did receive the salvation of an even cheaper flagship-grade blower, plenty did not and were left to contemplate the mangled wreckage of their previously beloved iPhone. Or, okay, if they possessed a brain, the mangled wreckage of some crappy old phone they’d had idly sitting in a drawer for a few years.
Silicon Valleylujah!
As Carl explains it, “If you already subscribe to a religion and you want to change religions, there’s a switching cost or an initiation ritual… If you’re already subscribed to another brand, then to join us,
you have to sacrifice that brand.”
I’m pretty sure most established religions don’t require any such thing; it’s just a bit of dipping in water and learning some old books.
Many cults, however – even the relatively harmless ones – certainly do like to ask for a bit of financial sacrifice. I thought it was refreshing that Mr Pei was so open about this, although he was at pains to say that this approach was borne out of his brand’s youthful arrogance, thus suggesting they’ve moved on since then to become more, well, normal.
You have to say that there is a lot about tech worship that is awash with cultiness – yes, I said cultiness. The more extreme disciples of Android and Apple are like the
Once we get behind
a cult/team/band, that loyalty is mightily hard to shake.
Lo, the black sea could turn to desert, and the mountains crumble, before I give up my devotion to my Naim Mu-so, the blessed Apple iPhone and my aptly named Sage coffee maker.
There are rituals/cup matches/ gigs for us to attend – or at least watch – as well. In a church, you will see conservatively dressed men with no sense of humour telling you what to think and promising salvation. Or am I thinking of Apple keynotes? You see, it’s so easy to get the two confused, isn’t it?
As with religion, tech delights and challenges us with moral conundrums, charismatic prophets (okay, maybe not usually all that charismatic. Hey, there’s Elon Musk!) and astronomical profits.
You get the feeling that some brands desire the contents of, if not your heart or your immortal soul, at the very least your bank account and all of your data, yay verily, unto the very size of your shoes and when you last used the khazi.
In the hands of the cunning mister Pei, this becomes a playful and amusing way of marketing tech. But let’s not fall too far into blind obedience to higher powers and mindless zealotry, eh?
In church, you’re told
what to think and
promised salvation. Or
is that Apple keynotes?
I
wild-eyed devotees of certain faiths that you tend to find hanging around shopping centres handing out flowers. And some of the more hardcore OS botherers are heading in a decidedly militant direction.
Plenty more of us are more comparable to football fans or lovers of certain rock and pop bands. You know, the types who receive fanletters written in bodily fluids, or who cannot be heard over the screeching of their audiences.
J U LY 2 0 1 8 T3 3 5
Opinion
Duncan Bell is
spirited away
Smart home living
J U LY 2 0 1 8 T3 3 7
Discover how the latest and greatest connected home tech can upgrade every room
in your house to make your life easier, from clever clocks to smart showers…
Smart home
living
Tere are so many connected home devices available to buy, and that are specially designed for your living room, that it’s harder not to overload your coffee table with fancy gadgets. Instead, here are some top smart products that look good, are genuinely useful, and are guaranteed to fit in well with your whole family.
Smart lighting is an easy and effective way to smarten up your home. Te GE Sol C smart lamp ($149.99/ £105.80, cbyge.com) is a great-looking alternative to boring lamps. It has Amazon Alexa built-in, which means you can use it to set timers, adjust light levels and control devices by using your voice. It can also adjust its brightness depending on the time of day, lulling you and your family to sleep before bedtime with soft, warming light. If you like quirky lighting, you could try the award-winning 1 Aircharge Z-Bar Mini Wireless Charging Lamp (£297.99, air-charge.com). As well as making one bold style statement, the lamp has wireless Qi charging integrated into its base, which enables you to juice up
most of the latest smartphones right from your coffee table.
Speaking of coffee tables, while you’re upgrading your living room, give the centrepiece a modern makeover. Te 2 Skye Coffee Table (£189, amazon. co.uk) is Bluetooth-enabled and fitted with great-sounding speakers, enabling you to sync up
any smart device and play music without cluttering up your living room with a bulky extra sound system.
Most of us know that smart devices are handy for taking the faff out of simple tasks, which is why the Somfy range (from £129, somfy.co.uk) of remote-controlled smart blinds are a useful staple for the modern-day living room. Tey’re super effective when it comes to blocking out bright light throughout the day and with an added system you can open and close them using your phone. Not only will this keep your house cooler throughout the summer months, but it could also be used to conserve heat energy, saving money throughout the winter months too.
Te Amazon Echo may have been a game-changing smart speaker when it first launched, but the 3 Amazon Echo Plus (£139.99, amazon.co.uk) is an upgrade
Smart living room
New tech can help make the room you relax in even more pleasant and
comfortable, and can actually replace classic furnishings with more capable
connected alternatives. And it’ll keep you safe and save you money, too
with improved Dolby speakers for more immersive 360-degree sound, as well as an added smart home hub that allows you to say, “Alexa, discover my devices” and control your connected tech with ease. It does all of the things the original Echo did too, such as enable you to check the weather, the traffic, set timers, play music and so much more, all with your voice.
If you’re going to spend good money on home gadgets, make sure your house is secure. Te 4 Hive View (£189, hivehome.com) is a smart security camera that’s designed for indoor use. It provides HD live streaming to its accompanying app, as well as motion and sound detection technology, which sends you a notification straight to your phone with a snapshot if it sees someone who shouldn’t be there. And it’s a gorgeous bit of design.
For more options than a security camera, the Bosch Security Starter Kit (£349.95, bosch-smarthome. com) is a one-stop-shop for protecting against both fire and intruders. It comes with a door or window contact,
motion detector, smoke alarm and controller to manage how all of the kit works together. You can also use the Bosch app for access to the security system and manage how the products work to protect your home whether you’re just around the corner or away on holiday and want to keep an eye on things. For saving money on your bills, the 5 Nest Learning Thermostat (From £219, store.nest.com/uk) conserves energy when you’re away and programmes itself to suit your needs over time. You can use it to control the temperature in your house wherever you are from your smart device, which is perfect for heating up your home on a chilly night out before you get in.
When it comes to connected furnishings, the 6 Mondaine stop2go Smart Clock (£159, mondaine. com) is a stylish wall clock that updates the time from its app – no more faffing around when the clocks go forward or back. If you like a variety of art, then the futuristic 7 Meural (£799, available from Smartech at selfridges.com) digital art frameis for you. It enables you to switch the art that’s displayed all from the app, or even with a swipe of your hand.
Smart lighting is an
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From connected kettles to clever cat flaps, we bet many readers have already dabbled in the world of smart kitchen gadgets. But rather than focus on gimmicks, we’ve collected together some of the best new smart tech designed to make cooking, cleaning and automating your kitchen life easier than ever before.
If you want to make a big difference to your kitchen, then invest in a brand-new fridge that can act as the hub of your smart home. 1The Samsung Family Hub Fridge Freezer (from £1,999, samsung.com) is a state-of-the-art appliance with best-in-class energy efficiency, as well as an advanced cooling system that promises to keep food fresher for longer. But its smart capabilities are what makes it really stand out from all the other appliances in your smart kitchen. For starters, it keeps tabs on the food inside it, allows you to share family calendars, reminders, photos, notes and follow recipes from the big screen on the outside and it’s equipped with speakers, meaning you can stream music, radio and mirror your TV.
If you don’t want to overhaul your whole fridge, or can’t afford such a big commitment,
the 2 Smarter FridgeCam (£149.99, smarter.am) makes your old fridge significantly smarter. Tis handy wireless camera sits inside your fridge, so you can monitor what’s there from the app. It enables you to
keep on top of what you have in at any time and aims to stop you wasting so much food with its best-before tracker and shopping list feature.
If you need a smart new washing machine more than you need a smart new fridge, the 3 Bosch Serie 8 WAYH8790GB Washing Machine (£969, bosch-home.co.uk) has Smart Home Connect, which means you can control it remotely via your smartphone. As well as being connected, it’s also a great washing machine, with a feature to help you pick the most efficient and eco-friendly cycle that’s right for you, to reduce time by up to 65 per cent and energy use by 50 per cent. Another option adjusts the drum to better tackle specific stains.
Te 4Triby Smart Speaker (£159, invoxia.com) is portable and perfect for the kitchen because it can be mounted on your fridge or happily sit on any countertop.
Smart kitchen
Add a dash of wireless to your kitchen to help you manage your shopping, make
amazing coffee, cook the easy way, and keep things clean, even organise your life.
And still have total control through the power of AI assistants
It’s Apple HomeKit-enabled, which means you can control HomeKit devices with the touch of a button. It’s also Alexa-enabled, so you can use Amazon’s voice assistant to play music, set timers and more. Sound-wise, it’s powerful, despite its small size, and can stream music for up to 12 hours before it needs charging, which is more than enough time for a cooking sing-a-long.
For home-cooked food without the hassle, try the
5 Tefal Cook4Me Connect (£319.99, homeandcook. co.uk). It’s a Bluetooth smart multicooker that acts like your own personal kitchen assistant. It allows you to create perfectly cooked meals with the help of step-by-step instructions on its app, as well as a touchscreen that enables you to select what you want to cook. From there, it’ll adjust its settings accordingly. Tat means no more burnt, undercooked or boring meals.
Calling all classy coffee connoisseurs, the 6Jura S8 (£1,495, uk.jura.com) is a state-of-the-art coffee machine that promises to create the perfect blend
without any of the usual hassle. It boasts premium coffee-making abilities, mastering everything from an espresso to a latte macchiato. You can control it via a touchscreen or even set the Jura S8 to start making you coffee from the app as soon as you open your eyes in the morning.
Tere’s been so much talk about how to make your kitchen smarter for us humans, let’s not forget about your pets. Te Pawbo Munch (£109.99, pawbo.com) is a gadget specially designed for your pets, which dispenses treats via a remote control for your furry friends even when you’re not around. Tere’s also a game mode, which essentially turns the device into a slot machine for your pooch, and an LED screen to keep your pets entertained when you’re out.
If you can’t afford to kit out your kitchen with new smart products, then don’t worry. Get yourself one, two or a dozen 7D-Link DSP-W115 Wi-Fi Smart Plugs (£29.99,amazon.co.uk), which will make your old, ‘dumb’ products smart instead. Although you won’t have a lot of the fancy features of other smart kitchen tech on the market, you’ll can effectively turn some products on and off remotely, for a lot less cash.
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