WiiM has consistently delivered great products over the last two years, and while it started out with amps, it is branching out into home audio, and that's exciting. The WiiM Amp Ultra sits at the center of my home theater system, and it does a great job paired to my Wharfedale Linton. I use the WiiM Pro Plus daily, and it continues to be the ideal way to connect older stereo gear to the internet. Similarly, the WiiM Sub Pro is an interesting addition that ties in really well with existing stereo systems if you need to add a subwoofer.

Then there's the WiiM Sound. I've been using it for the last six months, and it has proven to be the perfect smart speaker. It sounds much better than the Nest Audio, the stereo sound is much more detailed than the Sonos Era 100, and its connectivity is unmatched. There are plenty of other features that I'll get into below, but if you need a great-sounding stereo speaker with Google Assistant and Alexa integration, this is the one I'd get in 2026. And coming in at $299, it doesn't cost much more than the equivalent Sonos while giving you so much more.

While convenience is always high up on the list when considering a smart speaker, I care about sound quality above all else, and the WiiM Sound does well in this area. The speaker has a 4-inch woofer alongside two 1-inch silk-dome tweeters, and it delivers 100W of sound with plenty of detail. I would've liked a bit more rumble to the bass, but it is tightly controlled, and the mids are clean, with vocals shining through. Audio quality is better than what you get with Amazon, Google, and Sonos in this category.

Where the Sound truly stands out is the connectivity. It has Google Cast, Spotify Connect, DLNA, Tidal Connect, and Roon Ready integration. Additionally, you can easily connect it existing multi-room audio systems if you use Google Cast or Alexa.

You can get two units and create a true stereo pair, and if you need a 2.1 system that has much better bass, you can connect it to the $449 WiiM Sub Pro like I did. Rounding out the connectivity, you get Wi-Fi 6e, Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm aux in, and Ethernet, so there isn't much missing anything in this area.

This flexibility is a key selling point of WiiM products in general, and with the brand rolling out a soundbar — dubbed the WiiM Bar — soon, you can use the Sound as a rear surround or center channel in a home theater configuration. The Sound has 24-bit/192 kHz playback, and combined with Roon integration, you get the easiest way to stream your local music library — that's how I've been using it in the last six months.

The WiiM Sound connects via the WiiM Home app, and it has a modern interface with an exhaustive amount of customizability. It does a great job bringing together all of your media streaming platforms, and it's just a joy to use. Setting it up takes just a matter of minutes, and if you don't like the way it sounds, you can easily tweak the EQ.

Design is another area where WiiM is doing the right things; the Sound has a modern aesthetic that resembles the HomePod 2, but it includes a 1.8-inch panel up front that lets you control the speaker without pulling out your phone. I use it as a clock, but you can customize it to show album art, and you can change the settings. There's also a top portion with playback controls.

There's a $229 WiiM Sound Lite as well, and the only difference is that it doesn't have the front panel, and you don't get the Bluetooth WiiM Voice Remote 2 Lite. If you're looking to maximize value, the Sound Lite is the one I'd buy.

I have a half-dozen WiiM products at this point, and a big reason why I use the brand's audio gear is because of the connectivity and easy configurability. Value also plays a big part, and while the Sound costs $299, you're getting a feature-set that far exceeds what other products deliver in this category. If anything, the only feature omission is AirPlay; this was an issue on the Amp Ultra as well.

Outside of that, the WiiM Sound does everything I want in a smart speaker. It looks great, connects to every music platform and digital assistant I use, has decent sound, and is highly configurable. If you're looking to get a new Cast-enabled speaker or want something to extend your multi-room audio setup, the WiiM Sound should be your go-to choice.

Android gaming has come a long way in the last five years, but power constraints remain the biggest issue. Unlike a desktop PC, phones have significant thermal restraints and a power budget that doesn't extend beyond 5W. That's why we don't see many games with ray-traced shadows and realistic lighting effects, but that could be changing thanks to Arm's Neural Technology.

Arm introduced the tech last year, and the brand is now readying Neural Dawn, a game made in collaboration with Sumo Digital that highlights the best that the AI-assisted neural rendering suite has to offer on mobile. The game itself is launching later in Q4 2026, and Arm just rolled out a trailer. Ahead of its debut, I talked to Peter Hodges, Director of Developer Ecosystem Strategy at Arm, and Lukáš Medek, Art Director at Sumo Digital and Game Director of Neural Dawn, to get a better sense of what the tech has to offer, and why this is a big deal for mobile gaming.

Let's start with the game itself: Neural Dawn will have four levels and around 120 minutes of gameplay, and it follows a "research scientist within a cave network who is guided by light to uncover the truth behind a collapsing civilization, the head scientist’s hidden plan, and their own connection to it." Basically, the game sees the mobile debut of Unreal Engine 5.5's MegaLights dynamic lighting technique, and this allows game makers to add hundreds of dynamic lights into a scene. Medek talked about how the tech enabled Sumo Digital to deliver dynamic lighting instead of having to "bake" lighting into textures or use "fake shadows."

The issue with the lighting system is that you get a lot of noise, and Hodges says this is where Arm's Neural Denoising makes a difference. The tech ensures you still get a lot of detail, with minimal noise that isn't noticeable in most scenes.

It also allowed the studio to iterate faster, and make lighting an "active part of the storytelling process," and it is impressive that the tech is making its way to mobile. In addition to dynamic lighting, Neural Dawn gets Arm's Neural Super Sampling tech, which is similar to what NVIDIA does with DLSS and AMD with FSR. Essentially, upcoming Mali GPUs will have dedicated neural accelerators that enable higher-quality visuals while using the same amount of power. Hodges talked about how the tech will reduce overall rendering costs to deliver games with much better visual fidelity on phones.

With NSS, visuals are rendered at a lower resolution, and the tech leverages AI to essentially upscale textures. Arm also has frame upscaling that enables smoother motion, and it's great to see these features make their way to mobile devices. Arm says the AI-assisted suite will be limited to phones powered by the upcoming Mali GPUs — Hodges didn't go into detail about the actual products — as it needs the dedicated neural accelerators.

Ultimately, Neural Dawn is a great showcase for how Arm's neural rendering tech can make a difference on mobile devices. The brand is taking all of its learnings from the exercise and creating a playbook that studios can utilize to understand how to incorporate neural graphics into their own games, and the Neural Graphics Development Kit — which combines all of these technologies — is available in early access. The big question is whether other game studios will bite, but I'm hopeful that we'll see at least a few titles that leverage these features in the coming years.

That said, the fact that these features are only available on Mali GPUs is a limitation, as it rules out Pixels (the Pixel 10 Pro XL uses the PowerVR DXT-48-1536) and Samsung's Galaxy S devices — the S26 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm's Adreno 840, and the S26/S26+ have Samsung's homegrown Xclipse 960. That leaves phones powered by MediaTek hardware, which includes select OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi devices. There's a possibility that the neural tech won't see much mainstream use in North America — MediaTek just doesn't have enough of a presence in the region — but we should have more details around that situation when Arm details new hardware.

I wasn't that keen on the AirPods Max initially, but when the USB-C model came out, I wanted to take a look. I tested the headphone against my $3,000 audio gear, and lossless audio proved to be the defining feature — it gave the Max a distinct edge against the likes of the WH-1000XM6, Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2, and even the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2.

With the AirPods Max 2, Apple hasn't changed the fundamentals. The headphone has the exact same design as the original model, and retailing for $499, it costs the same as well. You even get the same smart case; this is one area where I wanted to see a change, as the case doesn't really offer much in the way of protection — particularly around the headband. And there still isn't a power button; you'll need to put the headset inside the case to power down.

Another bugbear is that the design still isn't foldable; the Max 2 takes up just as much space as its predecessor, and I'd really like to see a hinge-style design that makes it more portable. Lastly, coming in at 386g, the Max 2 is on the heavier end of the scale as these things go; it won't give your neck a workout like the Audeze MM-500 or the LCD-S20, but it isn't as light as the Bose and Sony headsets.

That said, the Max 2 does a great job distributing that weight evenly over your head, and you won't notice the heft at all. The reason for the added weight is the metal design, and this is where the Max 2 has an advantage over its rivals; the aluminum and steel chassis looks gorgeous, the build quality is a level beyond what you usually get with Bluetooth headsets, and they look every bit as premium as the $799 Px8 S2.

If anything, I'm glad Apple didn't change the design; the AirPods Max became instantly recognizable because of the unique design, and the Max 2 carries that same heritage. I also like that you get the same color options; I'm using the Midnight model this time, and I prefer it to the Blue variant of the original Max.

Controls are the same as previous generation; you get the Digital Crown and a physical button, and they're located on the right. There's the standard USB-C connectivity, and you can use the Max 2 in lossless mode by plugging it in to an audio source and get 24-bit/48kHz playback, which is one of my favorite features on this headphone.

The Max 2 is highly comfortable to wear thanks to the fabric ear cups and mesh headband, and I didn't see any issues with the fit whatsoever. I ended up using the Max 2 for just over a week now, and having listened to a few dozen hours of music, it's just as comfortable and easy to wear as its predecessor. While the clamping force is a bit high, it doesn't get uncomfortable at any point.

A big change this time is improved ANC, and it's noticeable when switching between the Max 2 and its predecessor. The Max 2 is able to tune out low-frequency sounds to a greater extent, and it's now on the same level as the Sony WH-1000XM6 in this regard — which makes it a great choice to travel with.

With the upgrade to the H2 chip, you get a lot of the same features as the AirPods Pro 3, which is another plus point with the AirPods Max 2. Conversation Awareness makes a huge difference when you're using the headphone outdoors, with the feature automatically lowering volume when you start speaking to someone.

Adaptive Audio is another useful addition, and it dynamically adjusts the sound based on the fit. You also get Loud Sound Reduction, Live Translation, Voice Isolation (when making calls), and Personalized Volume, and these inclusions make the Max 2 a well-rounded product.

I used the AirPods Max 2 with my iPhone 17 Pro and the iPad Pro M4, and I had absolutely no issues pairing the headset with my Apple products. If you're not in the Apple ecosystem, you can use it as a standard Bluetooth headset as it connects via Bluetooth 5.3. I did just that, and didn't have any problems using the Max 2 with my Find X9 Ultra, Vivo X300 Ultra, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL. Note that you miss out on spatial audio, button customization, and wear detection on audio, but you still get excellent noise isolation, and the same great sound.

Talking about the sound, the AirPods Max 2 has a slightly different tuning, with the sub-bass getting a little more energy this time. That leads to an added rumble, and while it's enjoyable with music, it can get a little distracting with movies. The mid-range is natural, vocals come through with a decent amount of clarity, and there's much better instrument separation and dynamics this time around. That said, the mids trail off at the higher end of the range, and the treble is a bit bright at times, which leads to sibilance.

On the whole though, the AirPods Max 2 sounds better, and the tuning is in line with what you get with other high-end Bluetooth headsets. There is some customizability to the sound, but the default tuning is good enough that it works across most mainstream genres.

Battery life is decent; I got just under 21 hours of listening time with a full charge, and that's a bit higher than the 20-hour figure Apple quotes. My Bose QC Ultra Gen 2 and B&W Px8 S2 last closer to 30 hours, and while this isn't a huge deal in daily use, it becomes relevant while traveling. I would've much preferred an upgrade to battery life — that's one of the key reasons I use the QC Ultra Gen 2 while going on intercontinental flights now — but the Max 2 doesn't move the needle in this area.

If you're in the Apple ecosystem and are looking to upgrade, the AirPods Max 2 is the obvious choice. It doesn't make much sense to buy it if you've already got the AirPods Max, but if you're using another headset and are mulling a switch, there's a lot to like in the AirPods Max 2. The design, sound quality, added features, and seamless integration with Apple products makes it a standout headset in 2026.

Audeze knows how to make a good pair of headphones, and the Sony-owned brand has diversified in the last two years, mainly with the introduction of the Maxwell and the new Maxwell 2 gaming headsets. While I like the Maxwell 2 a lot and use it extensively, the MM-500 continues to be my go-to choice while I'm at my desk.

However, the MM-500 costs $1,699, and if you want Audeze-branded headphones in the vicinity of $500, the Maxwell 2 and MM-100 were the only option — until now. Audeze rolled out the LCD-S20 at the end of last year, and I've been using the headphones for most of the last six months.

The LCD-S20 has planar drivers and even comes with similar SLAM tech as the electrostatic CRBN2, which costs $5,999. The best part is that the LCD-S20 comes in at $499, making it one of the most accessible options in Audeze's catalog. Don't get me wrong; that's still a lot of cash towards a headset, but given the drivers, tuning, and the price, it may just be the best Audeze product in recent years.

The LCD-S20 shares a lot of the same characteristics of the MM-100, including the design. The key difference is that the headphone has a closed-back design, and it does a much better job with isolation and audio leakage as a result.

As with all Audeze headphones, build quality is excellent. The LCD-S20 is made out of a mix of aluminum, magnesium, plastic, and steel, and it feels every bit like a high-end product. The bundled ear pads are highly comfortable, and while I would've preferred greater adjustability around the headband, it hasn't proven to be a problem. The outside of the ear cup is finished in fabric, and this allows you to easily distinguish the LCD-S20 from the Maxwell 2.

If anything, the only issue I have with the LCD-S20 is the weight. At 550g, it's one of the heaviest headphones in this category, and you'll feel that heft. Yes, the headband does a good job distributing the heft evenly, but there's no doubting that you'll notice the weight — particularly if you're using it for an extended amount of time. After using the LCD-X, LCD-GX, MM-500, MM-100, and the Maxwell 2 over the last four years, I'm now used to the bulk of these headphones, but it is something to consider if you're eyeing the LCD-S20.

You get the same cable bundled with the LCD-S20 as the MM-100, and it is a good choice. It connects to either ear cup, has a 6.35mm connector, and you get a dongle that lets you convert it to 3.5mm out. There's no cloth carrying case with the LCD-S20, which is a bit of a letdown, but other than that, I don't have any issues with the accessories bundled with the product.

Coming to the sound, the LCD-S20 uses the same 90mm planar drivers as the Maxwell 2, alongside Neodymium N50 magnets, Fazor waveguides, and SLAM tech that delivers a cleaner low-end. The bass itself is rich and detailed, and even though the LCD-S20 has a slight boost in the sub-bass frequencies, it is still quite controlled. You get an engaging bass with plenty of vibrancy and fast transients, and I like it better than the MM-100 in this regard.

Mids are clean and natural, with vocals shining in the mix. The treble is smooth, and while you don't quite get the airiness, overall dynamic range is pretty good. The soundstage and tuning makes the LCD-S20 a good choice for casual listening as well as studio monitoring — if you don't mind the heft.

The LCD-S20 has 18Ω impedance and 93dB/mW sensitivity, and you'll need a good source to make the most of the LCD-S20. I used the headphone predominantly with the Fiio K19, and it did an excellent job unlocking its full potential.

Overall, I enjoyed using the LCD-S20 quite a bit. It's a great addition to Audeze's catalog, and alongside the MM-100 and the Maxwell 2, the brand has a decent selection of mid-range products aimed at different use cases.

Google once again took to I/O to extol AI and talk about how agentic AI is going to free us from mundane tasks to such an extent that we'll all have so much free time we won't know what to do with. There's just one problem with that — AI in its current iteration isn't anywhere close to being as good.

I like using Google's services; I set up my Gmail account close to two decades ago, I have 11 years' worth of photos and videos stored in Photos, and important documents in Drive — a good chunk of my digital presence is inexorably linked to my Google account.

I was okay with the tradeoffs it involved; I didn't mind sharing my data with Google back when all it did with that information was serve me targeted ads. That isn't the case with AI. With Google using personal data to train AI models — ostensibly to provide customized information — I'm wary of how much of my data is being siphoned into Gemini. Thankfully, it's easy enough (for now) to prevent Gemini from accessing Drive, Photos, Gmail, and other services. I did so by disabling Gemini's logs; go to your Google's account settings, and toggle Gemini Apps Activity to off.

While it's easy enough to ignore Gemini right now, Google is intent on putting that damn sparkle icon just about everywhere. I'm greeted by an Ask Gemini button in Chrome, it's ever-present in Gmail (I don't want to summarize a 100-word email!), and for reasons I don't understand, it's bundled into Google Photos (which had a metadata-based search that was just fine), and even Maps is getting Gemini now.

Google also showcased how Docs Live acts as a "thought partner and co-writer" when you're "rambling a stream of consciousness or brainstorming an idea." Umm, no thanks. I get that AI is the ultimate buzzword now, and Google is ideally positioned to leverage it — the search giant already has troves of data from billions of users, so it makes sense to put that to use to train its models. But I don't want any part of it, and while I get that these features are useful if you need assistance in drafting a document or writing a formal email, I don't see any utility in any of the myriad of new Gemini features coming to Docs, Gmail, or even Keep. I don't want to talk to Keep to organize my thoughts — that's where I go to jot down never-ending to-do lists.

All I wanted was for Google to make any meaningful changes to Search, but what we got instead was a wholesale AI makeover that doesn't address the lingering issues facing Google's marquee product. The quality of search has degraded to such an extent that it's an SEO-riddled spam — particularly in India. Google knows this, and that's why it started serving Reddit and Quora results prominently on the page, ostensibly to deal with spam.

As brands increasingly push these AI services and make them harder to ignore, I'm reminded of a post that talks about teaching in the age of generative AI. It goes into how LLMs have made coursework frictionless to a point where the "process of doing the work" is negated. That made me think a lot about how a little amount of friction is needed, even with mundane tasks. Whether that's cleaning up digital data (a Sunday morning task I've been doing for the better part of a decade), sorting out all the bills, managing subscriptions, organizing photos and videos, there's a sense of reward that I get when doing these tasks, and I don't want AI to remove that friction.

Look, I'll admit that Google did a decent job outlining its AI vision; Gemini Spark, Omni, Daily Brief, and Universal Cart all tie into what the brand has been doing over the last year, and it's a natural extension to the chatbot. I get that these features have tangible utility, but I don't see a need to use any of them, and I don't see that changing soon.

If you want to buy a TV, your choices are LED, QLED, or OLED. LED TVs are mainstream, and they're budget-friendly models that have decent image quality. QLED TVs have steadily gained momentum over the last decade, delivering better image quality and brightness levels but still being pretty affordable. OLED TVs continue to dominate thanks to unmatched picture quality, but they're costly, and are often limited to the high-end category.

That's why I was excited to see the rise of Mini LED tech, particularly Xiaomi's latest TV series that just debuted in India. The Xiaomi TV S Mini LED 75 2026 is a mouthful, but the 75-inch TV ticks all the right boxes, and coming in at ₹99,999 ($1,065), it costs less than the Mi QLED TV 75 that I've been using for the better part of four years.

Mini LED TVs are the natural evolution of standard LED TVs, and the smaller LEDs that make up Mini LED (as the name suggests) allow for greater dimming zones, much better contrast levels, increased brightness levels, and less blooming — particularly with HDR content.

Now, Xiaomi is using QD-Mini LED (Quantum Dot Mini LED) tech on its latest TVs, and this essentially has a layer of quantum dots that deliver better color vibrancy interlaced with a Mini LED backlight. The result is that you get much better brightness, vibrant colors, and detailed clarity that you just don't get with a regular LED TV.

That much was evident in just two days of using the TV S Mini LED 75. As I noted above, I was previously using Xiaomi's 75-inch QLED TV, and there's a clear difference in the image quality with the TV S Mini LED 75. Colors in general look much better, and there's a level of detail that I just didn't get before.

What I like the most is how it handles HDR content; there isn't anywhere as much blooming — where light bleeds through because of the inherent nature of LED lighting — and this makes a huge difference when viewing movies in particular. Thankfully, the TV S Mini LED 75 did a great job in this regard, and while colors aren't quite the same as an OLED, the TV costs less than half as much as an equivalent OLED model, so I'm not too fussed about that.

It's the brightness levels where the Mini LED tech really shines; the TV gets much brighter than a regular LED or OLED, and this is a decent enough differentiator with the TV S Mini LED 75. Xiaomi has a good selection of modes as well, and while MEMC is enabled out of the box, it's easy enough to disable. I like that the TV adjusts colors based on ambient lighting, and the Filmmaker Mode is the one to use if you want accurate color rendition.

In fact, the only issue with the TV S Mini LED 75 is that it's limited to 60Hz refresh. Yes, there is a game mode that lets you go up to 120Hz, and while it does make a difference when using the TV with a PS5, I would have liked native 120Hz at the least, and not having that makes the TV a little less exciting if you're looking to pair it with a game console.

The design of the TV is pretty good; it isn't quite as big as the previous 75-inch Xiaomi TV, with thinner bezels all around. The bottom bezel has Mini LED branding, and is a little chunkier, but on the whole, the TV S Mini LED 75 has a decent design. Connectivity includes a trio of HDMI ports (with one eARC), two USB ports, optical out, Ethernet, and 3.5mm audio.

Basically, Mini LED TVs solve a lot of the problems that LED and QLED TVs have, and the best part is that these TVs don't cost anywhere as much as their OLED rivals. Now, while Mini LED doesn't have the same image quality as an OLED, it's much better than LED and QLED, and you get higher brightness as well, and that makes these TVs the ideal choice, if you're interested in getting a bigger 65-inch or 75-inch variant. TCL and HiSense even sell 98-inch and 100-inch Mini LED TVs in India, and I'm mulling buying one of these over the coming months.

Until then, though, the 2026 version of the Xiaomi TV S Mini LED is a great alternative, and the pricing makes it a terrific choice all things considered.

 I have a lot of headphones; I use the Audeze MM-500 at my desk, but that's mostly to attend meetings or tune into product briefings. The rest of the time, I alternate between a slew of over-ear headphones, including the Meze 99 Classics, Fiio FT7, Dan Clark Aeon X, and the Focal Elex.

Then there's the Bluetooth options, and I mostly turn to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 or the AirPods Max. But in the last six months, I haven't bothered using any headphones besides the Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2. There are clear downsides; coming in at $799, they cost a lot more than most Bluetooth headsets, and the ANC isn't quite as good as what you get on Bose and Sony rivals.

But that doesn't prevent the Px8 S2 from being unbelievably good, and that's evident from the moment I started using the headphones. Some of that has to do with the design; I'm using the Warm Stone model, and it looks exquisite thanks to an aluminum body interlaced with leather. The design and build quality on offer here makes the Bose QC Ultra Gen 2 look positively mundane.

It's not all about the design either, as the Px8 S2 are as comfortable as they're stylish. I'm no stranger to bulky headsets — having used Audeze's products for a few years now — but the Px8 S2 are relatively lighter at 310g. They're just 50g heavier than the Bose QC Ultra Gen 2, and the added heft isn't noticeable at all thanks to the weight distribution. I had no issues getting a good fit, and the leather ear cushions are supremely comfortable, and they're just as good to wear even with extended use. The comfort and design makes the Px8 S2 a great choice while traveling, and I used the headphones on over a half-dozen flights in 2026.

But the main reason I used the Px8 S2 over all the other headphones I have on hand is the sound quality. Bowers & Wilkins used custom 40mm drivers and a 24-bit DSP, and the sound tuning is impressive; you get a neutral sound similar to Bose, but with a hint of warmth that gives the headphones better musicality. That makes a big difference in daily listening sessions and while traveling; B&W calls these reference quality, and I agree — they're the best-sounding among the current generation of Bluetooth headphones.

Another positive is the inclusion of AptX Lossless and AptX Adaptive; with most high-end Android phones — like the Vivo X300 Pro, Find X9 Pro, and Xiaomi 17 Ultra — including AptX codecs as standard, it's just great to use a headset that unlocks the full potential of high-res audio. This definitely makes a difference while using Roon to stream my music library.

While there's no doubt that the Px8 S2 have the best sound, I'll admit that the ANC isn't as good as my Bose headset. It still does an admirable job at cutting out ambient sounds, but it isn't quite as effective, nor does it extend to as high a frequency range as the Ultra Gen 2 headset. That said, it is more than adequate if you're taking a long-haul flight or just sitting in a cafe.

There isn't much in the way of customizability, but the default sound signature is good enough that I didn't have to tweak the EQ. That said, if you need to adjust the balance of the sound, there's a five-band EQ available in the mobile app, along with the ability to change other settings.

I'm not a fan of gesture controls on Bluetooth headsets (they're always finicky), and I'm glad B&W added physical buttons on the Px8 S2. There's a multi-function button on the right that lets you change music playback, dedicated volume controls, and a button on the left that enables passthrough mode. Like most Bluetooth products, the Px8 S2's wear detection automatically pauses music when you take the headphones off.

The Px8 S2 get all the other extras I want in a Bluetooth headset, including fast pairing and multi-device connectivity. Honestly, the combination of design and sound quality was enough to get me to use these as my daily driver, and the addition of high-res codecs and physical controls is just the icing on the cake. And after six months of regular use, I don't really want to switch to any other headphones.

Obviously, the cost is prohibitive — as is the case with most Bowers & Wilkins products — but if you need a pair of luxury headphones with unmatched sound quality and a design that's guaranteed to turn heads, you should consider upgrading.

There's plenty of interest in smart glasses at the moment, and Rokid is a brand that's doing all the right things. I reviewed the Max 2 glasses last year, and used the recently-launched AI Glasses Style for most of the last three months, and it's clear that the brand is positioning the product as an affordable alternative to Meta's Ray-Ban glasses.

What's particularly interesting is that Rokid is building out a software ecosystem around its glasses, and the AI Glasses Style come with Gemini integration alongside the ability to add other large language models, so I talked to Degang Xu, head of product at Rokid, to get a better sense of the brand's strategy.

Xu noted that the Gemini integration was a pivotal moment, as it allows the brand to meaningfully differentiate its glasses against its rivals. And as to why Rokid added other AI models to the glasses, Xu indicated that it's about giving users the ability to choose which model they want to run. The best part is that Rokid is interested in building an open ecosystem using global standards, and that was a key driving point in bringing Gemini to the AI Glasses Style and future products.

On that note, while Rokid's AI Glasses Style are a great value, they're sold in a single variant, unlike Meta's Ray-Ban glasses. Xu said that the goal with the glasses was to bring it to market and build out the software features, but additional styles and colors is a consideration the brand is looking into. And because Rokid wanted to hit as close to the $300 price point as possible, they didn't include a charging case with the glasses — this was a point of contention when testing the AI Glasses Style, as charging the glasses isn't anywhere as easy as my Meta Ray-Bans or Oakley Meta Vanguard.

Another area that Rokid is looking to stand out is by adding gesture controls; Xu says this is still something the brand is testing out, but he didn't rule out the feature coming to a future product. While that would be undoubtedly cool, what I'd like to see is a payment interface that can be used with glasses, and Xu talked about a QR code system that could debut sometime down the line.

Also, Xu indicated that Rokid is working on native music integration so that services like Spotify can be controlled with the glasses. Given that the industry itself is still nascent, there's clearly a lot of potential for growth, and each brand is looking to get a meaningful edge over its rivals. Basics like tuning the cameras and audio quality are handled well by every brand, and while Xu indicated that Rokid is looking at adding algorithms that would tune out wind noise, that's something most glasses will deliver within the next few generations.

A big part of the puzzle is battery life. That was evident when I tested RayNeo's X3 Pro glasses; while the glasses had a lot of great features, they were resource-intensive, and the glasses only lasted a few hours between charges. Xu said that Rokid is mulling the inclusion of a low-power chipset that handles mundane tasks — similar to what you get on smartwatches like the Xiaomi Watch 5 — so that the workhorse Qualcomm chipset doesn't need to be activated all the time. That is an intriguing solution, but given that space is extremely limited on smart glasses — even more so than smartwatches — it remains to be seen how feasible it would be to accommodate.

Another solution is an external battery connector, but that adds bulk and weight to smart glasses, negating its usability outside of your home. I asked Xu if Rokid considered silicon-carbon battery tech to potentially add bigger batteries in smart glasses, but he noted that the cost of the battery tech is prohibitive, but that Rokid may consider going this route on future products that cost over $600.

After talking to Xu, I get the sense that Rokid is keen on differentiating its glasses with the software, and that's interesting in its own right. Most smart glasses are largely the same, and much like phones, gaining an edge with the software has the potential to stand out just that little bit more. With the AI Glasses Style now out and the waveguide-based AI Glasses on shelves, Rokid has decent alternatives to what Meta and other brands are offering.

I'll admit that it's easy to sign up for Google One and store your photos in Google Photos and documents alongside any other data in Google Drive. But with price increases and the fact that cloud storage gets extremely costly once you cross a terabyte of data, having a local server is a much better choice.

That's what I do; I have a massive collection of data, and as I don't want my data stored in a cloud server, I went with a network attached storage (NAS) system over a decade ago. I now have over a hundred terabytes of data, and all of it is stored locally and accessible immediately. If you're just getting started with local storage, this is the best time to do so — there are plenty of great choices, and new brands that are lowering the barrier to entry.

UGREEN is a charging brand that also makes NAS servers, and its DH2300 is my current recommendation if you need a starter NAS system. It usually retails for $219, but is down to just $175 on Amazon, and it has all the features you need in a local storage server, including the ability to store your photos, videos, any other data, and acting as a centralized media server.

✅Recommended if: You want a local storage alternative to Google One. The DH2300 is easy to set up and use, and you can do so with your phone.

❌Skip this deal if: You want to use M.2 SSDs to store data. The DH2300 uses traditional 3.5-inch hard drives instead.

UGREEN nailed the basics with the DH2300. The 2-bay NAS system holds two hard drives, and you get a powerful hardware configuration that lets you run containers like Plex, turning the NAS into a streaming solution that can be used anywhere in your home — and even outside.

You can store photos and videos with ease, and the NAS has an AI-assisted photo management feature that categorizes faces and scenes. It has Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and you can easily connect any external storage drives via USB-A or USB-C to transfer data over to the NAS. There's even HDMI connectivity to hook it up to your TV.

The software has a clean design and gives you access to utilities that let you manage your data without any issues, and the best part about the NAS is that you can access that data even when you're traveling.

Basically, the DH2300 has everything you'd want in a local storage server, and the ease of access makes it the ideal starting point. And with the sale bringing it down to $175, now is the best time to get your hands on it.

Thermal management is one of the biggest issues with wearables; the limited real estate on devices like smartwatches and smart glasses prevents conventional solutions — like a custom layer that's used on phones to siphon heat away from the internals. That's just not possible to do on a tiny PCB that houses all the parts needed for XR glasses, and this will only be an issue as these glasses start getting additional features and on-device AI utilities.

This was an issue on RayNeo's X3 Pro; while the smart glasses clearly have plenty of potential, they're prone to heating up, and the limited battery means they're not designed to last all day. There have been decent advances with battery tech as brands start using silicon batteries in wearables — the Xiaomi Watch 5 uses a silicon battery, and it lasts twice as long as other Wear OS smartwatches — and xMEMS now has a thermal management solution aimed at smaller devices.

I'm familiar with xMEMS' products; the brand pioneered solid-state audio drivers, and using the likes of the SoundPEATS Air5 Pro+, it's clear that the tech allows for greater audio fidelity in a smaller size. xMEMS is doing the same with heat dissipation; the brand showcased its all-silicon cooling solutions at MWC 2026, and I had a hands-on demo to see the effectiveness of the tech in action.

The brand showed off the XMC-2400, an active cooling solution that puts out enough airflow to move a traditional fan at 35 cubic centimeters per second. The product is designed to be used in wearables, and it has inherent advantages over traditional cooling systems: as it's made entirely out of silicon, it is significantly thinner at just 1mm, and it's highly efficient — it just needs 30mW of power.

The best part is that it's IP58 dust and water resistant, so wearable makers can easily integrate in their products without any issues; if anything, this is one of the biggest reasons why we don't see any actively cooled products in this category. In the demo, xMEMS fitted the XMC-2400 to one side of a pair of 3D-printed smart glasses drawing 1W of power, and activating the cooling solution showed how it was easily able to bring down the thermals by over 20 degrees Celsius in just a minute.

That's a huge deal when you consider the size of the product, and the inherent design means wearable brands don't need to sacrifice battery size or other internals to accommodate the cooling solution. It is an interesting use case, and with XR glasses getting custom waveguides and increased features like built-in navigation and AR abilities, having an efficient cooling solution makes all the difference.

While xMEMS didn't divulge additional information, the brand's VP & GM of Thermal Management, Mike Housholder, shared that it secured design wins, and that a consumer product featuring XMC-2400 will make its debut by the end of 2026. Given the frenetic pace of advances with XR glasses, I'm eager to see how active cooling makes a difference in this category — thankfully, we don't have to wait too long.

I don't prefer using mesh Wi-Fi systems, and while I tested plenty of models over the course of the last decade — including Netgear's Orbi 970 series — I generally switch over to a standalone router after the testing window. We moved to a bigger house last year, and I realized the router I was using didn't quite manage to cover the entire home, so I turned my attention to Wi-Fi 7 mesh router systems once again.

To be clear, my annoyance with most mesh routers isn't the coverage or connectivity; it's the limited selection of ports, and missing configurability. I use a custom DNS solution, so I need to have the option to configure that while setting up my home network, and I need at least two Ethernet ports in addition to the WAN port.

This is where TP-Link's Deco BE65 Pro comes in. I used several TP-Link routers over the years and like the value-focused positioning of its products, and the BE65 Pro is no different. This is a Wi-Fi 7 mesh system that costs just $299 for a router and a satellite, and that's the configuration I'm using. If you need additional coverage, TP-Link sells a bundle with a router and two satellites, and that costs a very reasonable $399.

The Deco BE65 Pro is interchangeably called the Deco 7 Pro BE11000, but I'll stick to the model name. The mesh system has a clean design that blends in well with modern decor; TP-Link did a good job in this area, and the router is considerably smaller than most mesh nodes. This is a key consideration as the previous standalone router I set up stood out for all the wrong reasons; sure, the BE65 Pro doesn't quite have the same stunning design as Huawei's Mesh X3 Pro, but it is elegant in its own right.

What I also like is that each node gets three Ethernet ports, and all ports get 2.5GbE connectivity as standard — most mesh systems just have a single multi-Gigabit port, so this is a welcome addition. Each node gets a USB-A port as well, giving you the ability to plug in a drive and use it as a home streaming server.

Setting up the BE65 Pro is about as easy as it gets; TP-Link's Deco app has a modern interface, and it gives you extensive customization when it comes to tailoring the network to your preferences. More than anything else, it's because of this configurability that I used the BE65 Pro as my main router over the last six months.

I have a static IP and a private DNS, and I was able to set up all of that via the app, and it was hassle-free. TP-Link also has meaningful parental controls built into the Deco app, and it has a Security+ intrusion prevention plan that monitors IoT devices and provides protection against online threats. I didn't see any need to use the paid plan, but it's available should you want it.

The BE65 Pro is a Wi-Fi 7 mesh system, and it has excellent bandwidth over the 6GHz (5765Mbps) and 5GHz channels (4324 Mbps). The 2.4GHz mode is a little limited, but I didn't see any problems in this regard even after connecting a few dozen smart home devices to the network. Coverage itself is outstanding, and the mesh system was able to provide stable coverage throughout my home without any issues.

I like that the BE65 Pro provides Multi-Link Operation (MLO), allowing it to combine all three channels into a single SSID to maximize coverage and bandwidth. Of course, you'll need to use a Wi-Fi 7 client device, but most phones these days leverage the protocol, and it's great to be able to take advantage of this feature — I didn't see any problems using it with the Vivo X300 Pro, Find X9 Pro, and a dozen or so Android phones I used in the last six months.

On the whole, the BE65 Pro proved to be a revelation; the mesh system is just as powerful as standalone routers, and you don't miss out on any of the configurability either. TP-Link deserves credit for getting this right, and when you combine the feature-set with the pricing, it's easy to see why the BE65 Pro is one of the best Wi-Fi 7 mesh systems you can buy today.

I don't really care about drones; while I find the tech interesting, I didn't see the need to buy one or build my own. That changed with the Antigravity A1; while it is still a drone, the 360-degree viewing angle and FPV design means it is unlike any other product in this category. If anything, it's a wearable as much as a drone.

Before we get to what makes the A1 stand out, a note on availability. The drone costs $1,359 in the U.S., and that's after a $249 discount from its $1,599 retail pricing. That's just the standard variant; Antigravity sells an Infinity Bundle on Amazon that costs $1,699, and you get an extensive range of accessories alongside additional batteries that let you make the most of the drone.

The A1 has three distinct parts: the drone, the goggles, and a joystick. The reason why I wanted to use the A1 was because of the Antigravity Vision goggles; basically, you can see 360-degree footage in real-time while flying the drone via the goggles, and it is exhilarating. Usually, there's a learning curve associated with flying a drone of this nature as it needs fast reflexes and understanding how to navigate a three-dimensional environment.

A friend of mine is a hobbyist drone builder, and he had to use a simulator before flying his custom-built FPV drone. Now, I didn't have to do any of that, because Antigravity solved that issue on the A1; you control the drone with a joystick, and all you have to navigate is just point it where you want it to go — it's as easy as that. Honestly, using a controller to play games is more challenging than flying this drone, and the ease of use is a huge plus point with the A1.

The joystick has throttle and braking, and the 249g drone isn't built to shoot through the skies at 80mph; instead, it is much more sedate (it's limited to 35mph), and designed to make you take in your surroundings. On that note, the drone has two cameras that stitch the footage together, giving you a 360-degree view that's stunning. There were issues with stitching the image in real-time when I got started with the drone, but a subsequent software update addressed that problem.

The 360-degree view is amazing, and as you're able to view it in real-time with the goggles, you do get the feeling that you're flying (without all the associated risks). Antigravity has a suite of editing tools that lets you freeze stills from the footage, switch up angles — that's an advantage of having a drone that shoots 360-degree footage in 8K — and create cinematic content.

The control mechanism of the drone couldn't get any easier, and while there are three parts that you'll need to charge, it wasn't quite as much of a hassle as I thought it would be — particularly if you get the bundle.

The Antigravity Vision goggles have 1-inch Micro-OLED panels with 2560 x 2560 resolution in each eye, and it has extensive adjustability — a must-have in a product of this nature. I was able to adjust the lenses relatively easily, and the goggles are light enough that I didn't see any issues. The goggles connect via USB-C to a battery (it's included in the bundle), and it lasts just under two hours before you need to charge it.

It's a similar situation with the joystick; it has good build quality and makes it straightforward to use the drone, and it has a built-in battery that lasts four hours. The drone itself has a 4,345mAh battery that slides out — making it easier to charge — and it has a flight time of 25 minutes between charges.

The drone gets a landing pad and return-to-home feature that makes it convenient to use, and it connects via GPS, BeiDou, and Galileo — I had no issues getting a strong signal while testing in Hyderabad, India. There's 20GB of internal storage, and you can slot in a MicroSD card into the drone to store footage, and transferring it to your phone or Windows machine is about as easy as it gets.

On the whole, the FPV nature of the A1 gives it a clear advantage over other drones, and it's just plain cool to be able to see 360-degree footage in real-time while flying the drone.

I'm still smarting over how last season ended; Max had all the momentum going into Abu Dhabi, and I thought he'd be able to once again clinch the title with the barest of margins. Nevertheless, Lando deserved the win; McLaren was consistent throughout the season, and if anything, the racing was enjoyable in the latter half of the year.

And just like that, we are in the 2026 cycle, and testing of the new cars suggests this season should be just as interesting. Before that though, it's time to take a look at an interesting collaboration: the Realme GT 8 Pro Dream Edition. The phone retails in India for ₹79,999 ($870), which is just ₹1,000 ($11) more than the regular 16GB/512GB model of the GT 8 Pro. Now, Realme isn't technically partnered with the Aston Martin F1 team, but that doesn't make the phone any less intriguing.

A design Adrian Newey would be proud of

If anything, Realme went above and beyond in designing the phone, and the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition looks quite different to the regular GT 8 Pro. The brand did a great job translating Aston Martin's livery, and the metallic paint conveys a sense of elegance that you just don't get with the standard model. You even get flow lines etched on the rear, and that just looks cool.

Dominating the rear is the Aston Martin emblem in silver, and it contrasts very well with the green hue of the phone. A differentiating design feature on the GT 8 Pro is the interchangeable camera covers, and that's available on this device as well — you get a rounded and square cover, and both are designed to mimic a Kevlar finish that looks pretty great.

The green design has yellow accents, and this again adds a little bit of flair to the phone (not that it needs it). Honestly, the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition is one of the most striking phones around, and even though Aston Martin isn't rivaling Red Bull or McLaren yet, that may change soon thanks to the new regulations and Adrian Newey's wizardry.

As is usually the case with every limited edition phone, the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition comes with a custom packaging that has plenty of cool accessories. You get two cases (to accommodate the two camera cover designs), and unboxing the phone is an occasion — as it should be on a device like this. It's a small thing, but I like that the SIM card ejector is styled after the AMR25, and it may just be the best-looking one I used yet, even though I like the arc reactor that POCO bundled with the X7 Pro Iron Man Edition.

The design makes the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition rather interesting, and it has a good in-hand feel, even though it feels heavier than the likes of the Find X9 Pro, which is in fact 6g heavier. The phone comes with a 6.79-inch AMOLED panel, and it is just as bright and has similar color accuracy to the best phones around — I didn't see any issues in the month I used the phone.

Standout internals — and cameras that will delight you

If anything, Realme is doing a good job with the panel in general, and that is noticeable while gaming. The only quibble in this area is that the device misses out on LTPO tech, so it doesn't go down to 1Hz while idling. Otherwise, you get the standard 120Hz, with the option to go up to 144Hz while playing select games.

Like its Chinese rivals, the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition uses the latest Qualcomm silicon, and I didn't see any issues in regular use. The only downside is that it tends to overheat, and that's the case on the phone as well, with the device exceeding 53 degrees while running synthetic tests. In regular gaming, I saw it get uncomfortably hot, but no so much that I couldn't actually hold it (which was the case during 3DMark testing).

Outside of that, there are no problems with the hardware. The Dream Edition comes with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and with a 7,000mAh battery, the phone manages to last a day and a half comfortably — even with heavy use. Honestly, all phones I used in the last 12 months have managed to do so, and other than outliers like the iPhone Air, it's a given that you'll get over a day with any phone in 2026.

While it doesn't have the best camera sensors, Realme's collaboration with Ricoh means there are tangible gains in this area with the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition, and that's encouraging to see. The phone gets a 50MP custom Sony LYT-700 main camera, 200MP Samsung HP5 that acts as the tele lens with 3x and 6x modes, and a 50MP OmniVision wide-angle lens.

The phone also gets a dedicated Ricoh GR mode with manual controls, and other than that, you get the same camera interface as the Find X9 Pro. Overall camera tuning is pretty great with this generation, and the Dream Edition takes fabulous photos in any scenario, and you get enough shooting modes and filters to make your shots stand out a little bit.

Switching over to the software, you get plenty of custom tweaks to highlight the Aston Martin collaboration, including icons, backgrounds, and effects. It doesn't look gaudy in the least, and the icons are decent enough that I didn't see the need to switch to the default ColorOS option.

Other than that, the phone runs Android 16 out of the box, and the interface is fluid, with excellent customizability. Realme has all the standard ColorOS 16 features, but it calls the interface Realme UI 7.0, which is similar to what OnePlus does with the OnePlus 15. The only issue is that the phone won't get as many software updates, with Realme guaranteeing just four platform updates.

This phone is a dream

There have been other F1 phones, with OnePlus rolling out the 6T McLaren and 7T Pro McLaren Edition half a decade ago. But with the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition, Realme did a fabulous job with the design, and while I still like my 6T McLaren quite a bit, it wasn't anywhere as good at the camera side of things as the GT 8 Pro.

The best part is that the phone doesn't cost much more than the regular model, so if you're an F1 fan looking to buy a new phone, the GT 8 Pro Dream Edition is a great choice as we head into the 2026 season.

If there was one trend this year at CES 2026, it's AR glasses. Over a dozen brands showcased new products at the event, and what stood out was just how much progress this category is making. Having used close to a dozen AR glasses over the last 12 months, it was exciting to see the likes of Even Realities G2 and Rokid's Meta-rivaling AI Glasses.

Then there's Appotronics. The Chinese brand will be familiar if you've used a laser projector in recent years, with its ALPD tech used in high-end models and cinemas. The brand is turning its attention to optical light engines for AR glasses, and showcased two new products: the Dragonfly G1 Mini, and Dragonfly C1.

The Dragonfly G1 Mini is interesting as it is significantly smaller than its predecessor, coming in at just 0.2cc. This allows AR device makers to roll out glasses that are thinner and lighter, with Appotronics touting glasses as light as 29g — half the weight of the Meta Ray-Bans.

The engine is built on Liquid Crystal on Silicon (LCoS) tech, and the key benefit is that it delivers binocular imaging, so only one light engine is needed to power a pair of AR glasses. By contrast, the Meta Ray-Ban Display uses a monocular light engine that's embedded in the right lens.

Another change is that the light engine is positioned in the center of the frame, and this again allows brands to deliver glasses with thinner overall designs or bigger batteries. I talked to Chen Menghao, General Manager of the Appotronics Innovation Center, and he indicated that the light engine is being used in Sharge's upcoming Loomos S1 glasses, which weigh just 29g.

The Dragonfly C1, meanwhile, is the first full-color dual-split LCoS design, and it delivers binocular AR display in full color via a single module. That in itself is a big deal, and Menghao talked about how demand for AR glasses is driving innovation into chromatic light engines. Whereas the G1 Mini uses a regular green LED, the C1 has RGB LEDs that enable full-color projection, unlocking a suite of new use cases.

While I'm yet to get my hands on the Meta Ray-Ban Display, I've been using Even Realities' G2 in the last two weeks, and I really like the fact that I can get notifications and relevant data without having to pull out my phone. The G2 uses a regular green projection, and I'm intrigued by how RGB lenses will make a difference in this area.

The key takeaway after talking to Menghao is how Appotronics is pioneering smaller optical light engines, and it's astonishing to see how much progress is being made in just a matter of months. That's always the case with a new category in general, and it's clear that AR glasses will see the kind of upgrades that we got with phone cameras over the last decade — I can't wait.

I don't really need cloud gaming; I have a gaming rig powered by an RTX 4090, and my wife has her own gaming machine with an RTX 5080. But with a toddler in the house, it's just not feasible to get any gaming time, and while my wife manages to play Valorant for a few hours a week, the only game I played to any meaningful extent in the last year is Balatro.

This is where a service like GeForce Now comes in handy. At the outset, cloud gaming is all about convenience; you don't have to worry about hardware or configuration, and you can just focus on the game itself. While Microsoft has its own take on cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass, I like what NVIDIA is doing with GeForce Now a lot better — the service lets me play my own games on the cloud, and that's just great.

NVIDIA is on a mission to bring GeForce Now to as many platforms as possible. It's now available natively on select Amazon streaming products alongside Samsung and LG smart TVs. What I particularly like is that there's a native Linux app, and the timing couldn't have been better; I'm getting increasingly frustrated with Windows (I just can't stand Windows 11) and have been mulling a wholesale switch to Ubuntu.

Linux gaming in general is much better than it was even a few years ago, and having a utility like GeForce Now available natively makes all the difference. In addition to expanding availability to other platforms, NVIDIA added flight stick integration to GeForce Now, and that is intriguing in and of itself when you consider the fact that the game itself is being streamed via a remote location.

At CES 2026, NVIDIA showed off Microsoft Flight Simulator running on GeForce Now, and I was able to use a Logitech HOTAS to control the demo. While I'm abysmal with a flight stick, I at least noted that the input was near-instantaneous, and at no point did I feel that the game was being streamed via the cloud. More than anything else, this is what makes GeForce Now stand out.

The second part of the puzzle is availability; GeForce Now is available in over 60 countries globally, but there's an India-sized hole that NVIDIA is looking to remedy. The service was meant to debut in India last year, but that has been pushed to sometime in 2026, and with NVIDIA hosting the service on its own, I can't wait for it to become available. Microsoft rolled out cloud gaming in the country a few months ago, and with NVIDIA's imminent arrival, gamers in the country will get more choice, and that's always a good thing.

In my usage, I prefer GeForce Now as it lets me play the games I already own. I have an extensive catalog of Steam games I didn't get around to playing, and I have over a hundred titles on Epic I didn't even bother installing until now. Having the ability to play those games on any device is just convenient, and GeForce Now has the best image fidelity thanks to its use of custom RTX 5080 to power it. Now I just need to wait for the service to launch in the country so I don't have to use a VPN tunnel to play my games on the cloud.

I've been using the F8 Ultra for the last three weeks, and I like what POCO did with the phone. While the brand always did a great job with the hardware, it wasn't until the F7 Ultra that it was able to deliver a phone with a great camera, and the F8 Ultra builds on that foundation. In my F8 Ultra review, I called it one of the best phones in the $800 category, and I stand by that — it really is a great all-rounder.

There's just one problem: POCO isn't bringing the phone to India. At the launch of the F8 Pro and F8 Ultra, POCO indicated that it sold 94 million devices globally in its seven-year history, and that's pretty good. While the brand didn't go into regional figures, India is POCO's biggest market by a considerable amount; its presence in the country and positioning as an affordable brand has allowed it to make significant inroads.

It's this positioning that's hurting the brand now. I asked POCO India and global spokespeople for an on-the-record statement about why its latest device isn't coming to India, but I didn't get one. That said, it isn't hard to understand why POCO is reticent to launch the F8 Ultra in India; the brand is still seen as a budget player, and it just doesn't have the cachet to sell a phone that costs over $700 in the country — there wouldn't be any takers.

Xiaomi — POCO's parent brand — knows this well, as it has tried several times in the past to sell its costliest phones in the country to no avail. That's why we didn't get Mi-branded flagships for a while, and it's only in the last two years that it started selling its Ultra models in India. I see this as a prestige play, where Xiaomi is able to raise its brand profile by marketing devices like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra and Xiaomi 15 Ultra in the country, and this is similar to what OPPO and Vivo also do with the Find X9 Pro and X300 Pro.

With POCO, however, the focus is still on the budget category. This is why the brand didn't bring the F7 Ultra to the country earlier in the year, only debuting the budget-focused F7 instead. POCO positions its products at a younger audience, and that ostensibly means catering to the budget segment with devices in the C and M series. I'm positive that these entry-level and budget phones outsell even the likes of the X7 Pro, and in that context, it's easy to see why POCO didn't bring the F8 Ultra to India.

Even then, I think the brand should have taken a gamble this time around. Phone pricing is trending up in India — like all global markets — and this year's flagships highlight that. Vivo sub-brand iQOO's devices are positioned against POCO's products, and the iQOO 15 debuted in India for ₹72,999 ($811), a staggering increase of ₹18,000 ($200) from the iQOO 13's ₹54,999 ($611) pricing last year.

With a significant price increase this year and the likes of Realme and other brands also rolling out phones in this category, this would have been the ideal year for POCO to bring its costlier portfolio of products to the country. The F8 Ultra is positioned well against the iQOO 15 and Realme GT 8 Pro, and given POCO's recognition as a value-focused brand, it would have sold a decent number of phones by undercutting the F8 Ultra against its key rivals.

After all, it was this exact strategy that allowed POCO to rise in prominence with the F1 all those years ago. The F1 was an outlier in the sheer amount of value it delivered, and it's clear that we won't get devices like that again; the F2 Pro was proof of that. But to not bring the F8 Ultra to India feels like a short-sighted move, considering when other brands are willing to take a bet on the country.

If nothing else, this is hurting POCO's image in the country. I get that devices like the F8 Ultra won't sell in anywhere as many numbers as the brand's budget phones, but having marquee phones to market only elevates a brand's profile, and Samsung does this to great effect globally. It positions Galaxy S and Z devices as aspirational products, and sells millions of Galaxy A and FE devices with the clear implication that they're just as good as the flagships — POCO (and Xiaomi in general) doesn't seem to get this strategy.

The way Xiaomi and POCO position their brands in the U.K. is drastically different to India, and I find that puzzling considering both brands are actually recognizable in the country. POCO is doing all the right things when it comes to the actual hardware, and it now needs to get its strategy in order and ensure its best devices are sold in its biggest market.

When I saw initial benchmarks of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, I knew it would be a beast of a mobile chipset. However, these tests don't tend to be indicative of real-world use as they're performed on reference devices optimized to get the best scores, so I wanted to wait and see if there's any noticeable difference on consumer-facing devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5.

Although there was a little bit of a wait, I've managed to do just that, thanks to the Redmagic 11 Pro. The phone is among the initial wave of devices featuring the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the phone serves as a good indicator as to just what the Qualcomm chipset is capable of, and after a week of testing and daily use, it's evident that this is the fastest mobile chipset available today.

And while I'm sharing testing data of the Redmagic 11 Pro, that isn't the only device based on Qualcomm's latest silicon I have on hand — there are two other phones I've been using alongside it, but as they're yet to launch, I can't talk about them just yet. Suffice to say that their performance is also in line with that of the Redmagic 11 Pro, with no measurable variance in synthetic workloads.

Looking at Geekbench 6 single-core scores, the Redmagic 11 Pro is 13% faster than its predecessor, and there's a 9% increase in multi-core scores. There's a smaller year-on-year increase in 3DMark scores, but again, it is in line with the gains Qualcomm has delivered with every new generation over the last three years.

Interestingly, there's just a 5% difference between the Redmagic 11 Pro and the MediaTek Dimensity 9500-powered Vivo X300 Pro, and that alone illustrates just how good the latest Arm cores are this year — they're able to hold their own against Qualcomm's custom design. It's a similar situation with 3DMark, and the ray tracing enabled Solay Bay test has both the Redmagic 11 Pro and Vivo X300 Pro on a level playing field.

But there's a problem: overheating. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 manages to get hotter than the Snapdragon 8 Elite, which I didn't think was possible. The difference is noticeable while gaming, and even on a phone with liquid cooling like the Redmagic 11 Pro, the thermals got so high that it was just uncomfortable to hold the device.

In fact, the Redmagic 11 Pro just shut down in the middle of 3DMark's Steel Nomad Light stress test as it overheated, and this is with the built-in fan running at its highest setting and liquid cooling active. I noticed the same thing on another Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-powered device I'm testing, so this is clearly something Qualcomm needs to look into.

While the issue isn't as extreme in regular gaming scenarios, the Redmagic 11 Pro exceeds 52 degrees in extended gaming, and it got a few degrees hotter than its predecessor. To put that into context, I didn't see any of these issues with the Vivo X300 Pro, with the device staying under 45 degrees during marathon gaming sessions.

The solution? Most Android manufacturers will likely have a much more conversative thermal threshold that throttles the Qualcomm silicon before it can overheat. This is what I noticed in most 2025 phones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite, and there really isn't much more that can be done to manage the thermals.

Even in phones with dedicated thermal management systems, there just isn't enough surface area to effectively spread out the heat generated by the chipset, so all manufacturers resort to some level of throttling. It's almost a given that we will see the same in 2026 flagships — at least those powered by Qualcomm.

So while Qualcomm once again has the fastest mobile chipset, it's a Pyrrhic victory. The overheating issue curtails the excitement associated with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and if anything, the Dimensity 9500 is looking like a much more balanced platform this time.

It took me a while to get started with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold (I was busy with other phones), but I was finally able to do so at the start of the year. I switched to the foldable after using the Find N5, and while the Pixel 9 Pro Fold wasn't as thin or light, the software was better than just about any other foldable I used.

But there was a problem — the cameras just weren't good enough. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold lagged behind the Galaxy Z Fold 7, Find N5, Vivo X Fold 5, and Honor Magic V5, and it wasn't even as good as a regular mid-range phone. So with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, I wanted Google to do one thing: fix the cameras.

The Pixel 10 Pro Fold uses similar camera modules as its predecessor, but it takes better photos thanks to the new ISP in the Tensor G5 and a year's worth of camera tuning efforts. It still doesn't measure up to other foldables — or phones like the Vivo X300 Pro, X200 Ultra, and the Find X9 Pro — but it no longer feels like a big enough limitation that I need another phone on hand just to take photos.

The biggest issue with the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is the weight. Coming in at 258g, it is 43g heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Yes, you get a bigger 5,015mAh battery, but it's still 32g heavier than the Vivo X Fold 5, which has an even bigger 6,000mAh battery and bigger OLED panels on the inside and out.

After using the X Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 7, using the Pixel 10 Pro Fold feels like going back a year or two in hardware design. Don't get me wrong; the design is pretty good, and the rounded edges make it distinctive in its own right. But the sheer heft of the Pixel 10 Pro Fold means it is nowhere as comfortable to hold and use as its immediate rivals.

And although the Tensor G5 is better than its predecessor, it's still not anywhere as fast as what Qualcomm and MediaTek have to offer, and I'm not even talking about the latest chipsets — the G5 doesn't even measure up to the Snapdragon 8 Elite and MediaTek Dimensity 9400. The charging situation continues to be annoying as well. While I like that the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has a bigger 5,015mAh battery, it charges at a middling 30W, and Google really needs to address this shortcoming.

But all of that doesn't really matter because of the software. While I used the Vivo X Fold 5 the most out of any foldable this year, I found myself wanting cleaner software with better usability, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold delivers just that. Yes, it doesn't have the best internals or the best cameras, and the battery doesn't last as long as other devices. But when it comes to the software, there really isn't anything better.

The foldable runs Android 16 out of the box, and it just feels better to use. I generally prefer Pixel software, and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold retains Google's unique visual flair while offering plenty of custom extras that you don't get anywhere else. Magic Cue is one such feature, and the ability to automatically surface key information is pretty cool. The real utility is when I'm talking to a brand's customer care about a potential return, and Magic Cue pulls up the order information stored in Gmail.

It's things like this that make using the software that much easier. The interface itself is clean, and I'm a fan of the quirkiness of the Material You design. The foldable gets good multitasking features as well, and the UI as a whole has better fluidity than previous years.

To Google's credit, the brand nailed the rest of the fundamentals. The 6.4-inch outer OLED panel is a joy to use, with vibrant colors and high brightness that doesn't have any issues even under harsh sunlight. The inner 8-inch OLED panel is just as good, and it's terrific when it comes to playing videos or just browsing.

The battery lasts a day with medium use, and I didn't really run into many problems in this area. I would've liked a bigger battery, but unless I pushed the foldable, I was able to get it to last a full day, and native Qi 2 integration means I could easily charge the Pixel 10 Pro Fold via any of the Qi 2-based power banks I always have on hand.

It's great to see Google integrate the requisite magnets without having to use a case, and it is one of several small features that makes using the Pixel 10 Pro XL and Pixel 10 Pro Fold that much easier. On that note, the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has full IP68 dust and water resistance, and that's also great to see — most other foldables are limited to IPX8, so to have protection against dust ingress is a positive move.

Just like with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, I enjoyed using the Pixel 10 Pro Fold quite a bit, and while the foldable may not have the best cameras or battery life, Google once again proved that it knows how to deliver a phone you'll actually want to use.

I've had a busy month of travel where I've been to three countries and logged over 60 hours of flying time. A good headset is a must-have, and is usually one of the first things that goes in my travel bag. I used Nothing's Headphone 1 in the past (mostly due to the looks and sound quality), but I upgraded to Bose's QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 in the last month, and it has been outstanding.

I used the earlier model, the QuietComfort Ultra, for quite a while now, and I like the design and customizable sound along with terrific noise isolation. The QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 doesn't change things too much; it looks the same and has the same great sound. Essentially, it's an iterative update that addresses two issues: audio over USB-C and battery life. The QC Ultra Gen 2 lasts up to 30 hours on a charge, six hours more than its predecessor.

The increase in battery life makes all the difference in regular use, and why I went with the QC Ultra Gen 2 over other headsets I have on hand. Notably, I found it to be better than the Sony WH-1000XM6 for my own use; it is a smidgen lighter at 250g, but it fits much better on my head, and I found it to be extremely comfortable on long-haul intercontinental flights. The headband has a good range of adjustability, and it distributes the weight of the headset evenly.

Another plus point is that it doesn't take up as much room; it folds down flat (just like the Sony), but the carrying case isn't anywhere as large, and that makes the QC Ultra Gen 2 a little easier to slot into my admittedly-crowded tech bag. The clamping force isn't as high, and the comfortable fit and plush ear pads have a huge impact on a 20-hour flight. I had the headset on the entire time while traveling to the U.S. from India, and most of the time, I didn't even notice it was there.

That brings me to the next part: noise isolation. Both Bose and Sony do a brilliant job in this area, and I found the QC Ultra Gen 2 to tune out the incessant whine of jet engines without any problems — it handles the low rumble of engines a little better than Sony. Honestly, if you're a frequent traveler, investing in a headset with good noise isolation is the best thing you can do, and the QC Ultra Gen 2 is among the best — if not the best overall — in this regard.

The angled design of the audio drivers means you get detailed sound, and Bose does a standout job with spatial audio, offering an expanded soundstage that's impressive. Again, this makes a difference on a long flight, and while Bose doesn't have extensive EQ options, I always found the brand's tuning to be preferable to my tastes — more so than the WH-100XM6. The bass in particular is vibrant and detailed, and it makes listening to most genres that much more enjoyable.

There are other niceties, including the ability to get lossless audio over USB-C. This isn't something that I care about while traveling, but it is quite handy while I'm home, and it was fun connecting the headset to my Fiio K19 DAC and listening via Roon. The headset gets the AptX suite as standard, and I didn't have any issues using it with my Vivo X300 Pro and Find X9 Pro. Like all other Bose headsets, it gets the ability to connect to two devices, and switching between the two is effortless.

I didn't see any problems with Bluetooth connectivity, with the headset easily pairing to all the phones I tested over the course of the last month, as well as my iPad Pro M4. It's easy to connect the headset to a new device as well; the details are stored in your Google account, so when it is in range of a new device, you automatically get a dialog box asking if you'd like to connect to it.

Then there's the battery life; this is where the QC Ultra Gen 2 does considerably better than its predecessor. The WH-1000XM6 still has the overall edge, but I didn't have any issues getting the QC Ultra Gen 2 to last close to 30 hours. Thankfully, fast charging is intact, so a 15-minute charge gives you an additional two hours of music playback, and that definitely comes in handy.

Comfort plays a big role when choosing a travel headset, and the QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 gets everything right in this area — and that's why I use it over the WH-1000XM6. The sound quality is among the best of any headset, and it holds up to the rigors of long-haul travel. While I'll admit that the WH-1000XM6 is great in its own right, I found the QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 to be better-suited to my needs, and it is now a mainstay in my travel bag.

I switched to the Find X9 Pro after using the Vivo X300 Pro, and both phones have plenty of similarities this year — more so than in the past. They're both powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500 platform, get the same storage variants, have a similar-sized 6.78-inch AMOLED panel, same ultrasonic fingerprint modules, and a big battery.

They even share the same 50MP Sony LYT-828 main camera and 50MP Samsung JN5 wide-angle modules, and a 200MP telephoto lens — albeit one that's slightly different, with the Find X9 Pro featuring the Samsung HP5 module (Vivo uses a custom HPB sensor). Heck, OPPO even has a telephoto extender this year, which is similar to what Vivo provides on the X300 Pro.

Although there are many hardware similarities, these devices aren't identical to use — far from it. Vivo and OPPO clearly diverge when it comes to their camera tuning, and that was immediately evident when I started using the Find X9 Pro. The software is refreshingly different as well, even if both phone makers chose to "borrow" iOS 26's translucent effects.

Anyway, back to the cameras. OPPO is using a new Lumo camera engine, with the brand noting that it overhauled its imaging algorithms to deliver cleaner and more detailed photos. Interestingly, it's designed to shoot 50MP stills as standard, able to eke out much better quality. Video quality is improved as well, and the phone is now able to shoot 4K120 Dolby Vision footage — albeit with the main camera and tele lens (wide-angle is limited to 4K60).

Let's get to the photos. Predictably, the Find X9 Pro does a fantastic job in just about any lighting scenario, delivering detailed photos with good dynamic range and color accuracy. OPPO says it worked closely with Sony and Hasselblad to tune both the sensor and its imaging algorithms this year, and there is a noticeable difference in the resultant image quality over the Find X8 Pro.

While there isn't a dedicated 6x zoom lens this time, the Find X9 Pro does just as well at both 3x and 6x, producing photos that are just as good as the main camera — it holds its own against the X300 Pro in this regard. The wide-angle lens is the only module that's holding the device back a little; it doesn't quite have the same tonal balance in challenging conditions, and doesn't measure up to the other two cameras.

There are no issues in low-light scenarios with the rest of the cameras, and the phone does a great job with portrait shots. This is one of the key reasons why I used the Vivo X200 Pro and Find X8 Pro so much over the course of 2025, and I'm glad to see both brands making positive strides with portrait mode on their latest devices.

Then there's the telephoto extender err, detachable zoom lens. OPPO went with a similar system as Vivo, but annoyingly, attaching the zoom lens covers up the entire camera island, so you can't use any other lens when it's in use. This isn't a limitation on the X300 Pro, and OPPO should consider tweaking the design with the next generation. The detachable lens does a great job extending the zoom range, and the resultant image quality is similar to that of the X300 Pro. But the associated hassle means I didn't use it anywhere as much as its Vivo sibling.

I still think Vivo has the overall edge with the cameras; I prefer the brand's image tuning and color science, but it's solely a matter of choice. From a technical point of view, the Find X9 Pro delivers photos and videos that are just as good, and that's great news — it just means you get two choices when considering a phone upgrade next year.

There are two features I seek out in a phone more than any others: great cameras and long-lasting battery. Thankfully, most phones I used in 2025 did a great job delivering on both fronts; devices like the Vivo X200 Pro, Find X8 Pro, Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and Vivo X200 Ultra have incredible cameras that run tings around what Google and Samsung have to offer, and they last longer.

Interestingly, this year's launches have been characterized by the mainstream use of silicon battery tech. This has allowed Chinese phone manufacturers to predominantly use bigger batteries without any material difference in size or weight. The result is that most phones I used in 2025 came with 6,000mAh batteries, lasting a day and a half without breaking a sweat.

In fact, battery anxiety is a thing of the past, and outside of the iPhone Air, there isn't a single phone where the battery didn't comfortably last a day. What's notable is that Chinese phone brands are now starting to add even bigger batteries in their phones, leading to devices with 7,000mAh or larger batteries.

The result is that we are finally at a point where phones can reliably last two days between charges. Vivo's X300 Pro has a 6,510mAh battery, and the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max and Find X9 Pro have even bigger 7,500mAh batteries. In fact, most Chinese brands are going this route with their latest phones, and while I was initially worried that the thin phone trend would catch on, I'm glad to see that hasn't been the case.

Clearly, this is made possible by adding a mix of a silicon-carbon in the anode, and while 2025 phones only had a 10% silicon content in the batteries, brands are increasingly using higher ratios of silicon, and that's how we are getting bigger batteries in phones that aren't any heavier or bulkier than their predecessors.

One downside to this is that not all global models are getting the same battery size. While Vivo sells the X300 Pro with a 6,510mAh battery in Asian markets, the Austrian unit has a significantly smaller 5,440mAh unit, which is just annoying. I'm using the Austrian unit of the X300 Pro, and while I still get a day's use easily, it doesn't last as long as the X200 Pro.

Thankfully, the Find X9 Pro, Xiaomi 17 Pro Max, and iQOO 15 should have the same battery size in all countries, giving these devices a distinct edge over their rivals. Another factor to consider is the charging tech; while Chinese brands dabbled with 120W and 150W standards, the industry has settled around 90W and 100W charging, and this is again down to the use of silicon batteries.

From conversations with device makers, it's evident that 90W is seen as the sweet spot these days; it is fast enough that even a 7,000mAh battery is able to charge in an hour, and it doesn't lead to any unnecessary battery degradation. What I like even better is that most Chinese phones now offer USB PD integration at least up to 50W, and this makes charging these battery behemoths easier.

Like last year, the battery advancements are limited to Chinese manufacturers, with Apple, Google, and Samsung largely unbothered by silicon battery tech. While Google went with a slightly bigger battery on the Pixel 10 Pro Fold, it's clear that these brands have no intention of using silicon-based anodes on their devices anytime soon, handing over all the momentum to their Chinese rivals.

As much as I'd like to see a Pixel or Galaxy phone that lasts two days between charges, it's evident that we are still a few years away from that. Thankfully, that isn't the case with the latest Chinese phones, and with these devices set to debut globally in the coming weeks, you don't have to wait too long if you're looking to upgrade.

My first iPhone was the 3GS; I used it throughout college, and it was incredible. Coming from a Motorola Razr, it was novel to use a phone with a 3.5-inch touchscreen and a built-in app store. Following the 3GS, I switched over to Android (I got the Nexus 4), but I started using iPhones again a few years later — as my secondary phone — starting with the iPhone 6 Plus.

These days, I get to use every mainstream phone that launches globally (and a few that don't). Over 80 phones cross my desk in any given year, and I got to use the likes of the Huawei Mate XT, Vivo X200 Ultra, Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Galaxy Z Fold 7, iPhone 17 Pro, and the Pixel 10 Pro XL this year.

Out of all those devices, it's the iPhone Air that stood out the most. It isn't the most innovative phone I used — that honor goes to the tri-folding Mate XT — but the ultra-sleek design of the Air is just plain cool. Photos don't really do this thing justice; you'll need to hold it in your hand to understand just how thin and light it is.

You'll need to hold it to believe it

I've had the iPhone Air for ten days now, and it's become one of my favorite phones of 2025. In fact, I don't think there was any other iPhone in the last 15 years that evoked such strong feelings. The iPhone Air isn't unique in being an ultra-thin device — Samsung's Galaxy S25 Edge also catering to a similar niche. But the iPhone Air is even thinner, and it just feels better to hold and use.

Design is obviously the biggest selling point of the Air, and the phone has a great in-hand feel. The frosted glass finish at the back also makes a difference in this regard, and you get the same set of buttons as the iPhone 17 Pro. The phone isn't anywhere as fragile as I initially imagined, and that should bode well for long-term use. While the iPhone 17 Pro switched over to aluminum, the Air retains a titanium chassis.

The iPhone Air has a 6.5-inch OLED screen with LTPO tech, and it is the exact same panel used in the iPhone 17 Pro, albeit a little bigger. You get the same great color vibrancy and excellent contrast, and it holds up incredibly well under harsh sunlight thanks to the anti-reflective coating. It has ProMotion tech, so you get 120Hz refresh as standard, with the panel going down to 1Hz with static content.

Pro-grade internals

You don't miss out on the internals either, with the iPhone Air coming with the latest A19 Pro silicon. The situation with the modem is interesting; Apple is using the C1X modem — a derivative of the C1 that debuted on the iPhone 16e — in the device, and it handles 5G connectivity alongside Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6.0. The iPhone Air differs from the Pro models in this regard, with those devices using the N1 chip along with a Qualcomm cellular modem.

Another point of differentiation is that the iPhone Air is only available with eSIM — there's no model with a physical SIM card slot. Apple says it did this to maximize internal storage for the battery, and honestly, it isn't as limiting as I thought. I have a secondary number that I ported over to an eSIM, and it has been smooth setting it up on the Air.

On that note, we need to talk about the battery. The iPhone Air comes with a 3,149mAh battery, and while it is decent in the context of iPhones, it doesn't last all day in my use. I had to top it up around evening time with a power bank (I'm partial to UGREEN's Nexode 165W power bank with a retractable cable), and while it isn't an issue when I'm home, I wouldn't want to take the iPhone Air while traveling.

Battery anxiety is not a thing these days, with most phones managing to last a day without any problem. Most Android phones like the Vivo X200 Pro and Find X8 Pro last a day and a half even with heavy use thanks to 6,000mAh batteries, but even the iPhone 17 Pro manages to last a day consistently. However, the thinner size of the iPhone Air precludes it from doing so, and if you're a heavy user like me, you will be plugging it in before the end of the day.

Another consideration is the camera; the iPhone Air has a single 48MP camera at the back, and it takes good photos and videos. It may not be at the same level as Android flagships, but it delivers images with good colors and dynamic range, and it holds its own in low-light situations. The problems is the lack of auxiliary cameras; I use the 2x and 3x lenses regularly, and I often rely on these modules to shoot portrait shots. Not having the ability to do that on the Air is limiting.

That said, the front 18MP camera is the same as the iPhone 17 Pro, and it is fantastic. It uses a square module and switches orientation on the fly, so if you end up taking a lot of selfies, there's a lot to like here. The software is similarly identical to the Pro models, and I like the new visual design.

It's not for everyone— and that's okay

Ultimately, the iPhone Air isn't meant for everyone. There are always going to be tradeoffs in a new product line, and with the iPhone Air, those include a single camera and average battery life. I've been carrying an iPhone alongside my Android phone for several years now, so the fact that the iPhone Air doesn't last as long doesn't bother me anywhere as much.

But if you're eyeing this as an upgrade to your existing iPhone, you'll need to factor in the downsides before purchasing it. If you routinely take photos and videos and need added versatility, you should just get the iPhone 17 Pro. But if you don't mind the single camera and are willing to deal with the average battery life, then the Air is a much more enticing option than the mainline iPhone 17.

The iPhone Air isn't designed to the best iPhone — it isn't even the best iPhone I used in the last two weeks — but it is my favorite.

You can't get a phone these days without a generous serving of AI. If anything, most brands have pivoted to AI as being the cornerstone of their products, with Honor going all-in with its Alpha Plan. I'm still not convinced that AI-assisted features on phones are useful (at least to my requirements), and if you're of a similar mind, you can deactivate AI entirely on your phone.

But if you're willing to try out phone-based AI, there's no shortage of features available. Most brands have partnered with Google to pre-install Gemini on their devices, and they have their own suite of utilities as a differentiator. Samsung bundles its AI offerings into Galaxy AI, and given the scale of the brand's reach, its features get the most mainstream usage.

Chinese brands aren't shying away from integrating AI into their phones, and Honor is ahead of its rivals in this regard. Honor AI combines a suite of utilities, from AI-assisted translation and transcribing to image editing, and intent-based interactions. Having used the Magic V5 and Galaxy Z Fold 7 extensively in the last two months, I decided to pit both manufacturers' AI offerings against each other, and see which one comes out ahead.

Galaxy AI vs. Honor AI: What features are available?

Samsung has an extensive selection of AI tools, with 11 available: Call Assist, Writing Assist, Interpreter, Note Assist, Transcript Assist, Browsing Assist, Photo Assist, Drawing Assist, Audio Eraser, Now Brief, and Health Assist. What I like about Samsung's implementation is that most features can be toggled to use on-device models exclusively, ensuring your data doesn't go to a cloud server.

Honor has eight AI utilities not including the image editing features: Magic Sidebar, AI Deepfake Detection, Magic Text, Magic Portal, AI Subtitles, AI Translate, Call Translation, and AI Writing.

Galaxy AI vs. Honor AI: Translation and contextual services

The defining AI feature is Magic Portal, which the brand calls intent-based AI. Basically, it changes context according to the situation; if you've selected text, it pulls up a list of messaging apps where you can paste that text with ease. Similarly, pressing and holding an image surfaces Instagram, X, and other social media apps, making it easier to share content.

Honor says the goal is to simplify how you use your phone, and Magic Portal ties in with Google apps to provide contextual info. I use it predominantly to add a location to Google Maps to navigate, and to paste text between messaging clients. I use Magic Text quite a bit as well, with the utility able to extract text from images.

Honor's AI Writing and Samsung's Writing Assist fulfil similar roles, but I found Writing Assist to be better at summarizing long-form articles. You also get additional options when it comes to polishing text, and it has built-in chat translation as well. You miss out on summarization if you use on-device processing with Writing Assist, and Honor doesn't even have that option.

AI Subtitles is a nifty addition on Honor phones that generates subtitles in a real-time when a video is playing. It is is quite good at transcribing content on-the-fly and creating subtitles, and you can save the generated text. Accuracy is hit-and-miss based on the language you select, but I haven't had issues using these tools with English.

Both Honor and Samsung have an AI-based interpreter, and they're just as effective. I talked in Hindi, and both utilities did a decent job translating in real-time to English. Both brands have a call-assist feature as well, and Samsung has the edge in this regard. When using Hindi to English, the Galaxy Z Fold 7 did a better job translating in real-time, and you can use it in several messaging services, including Meet and Telegram.

Samsung's Browsing Assist is definitely handy, as it lets you summarize web content with relative ease. Similarly, Now Brief suggests contextual content based on time of day, and it's more useful than I thought — it's a decent alternative to Google's At A Glance widget.

When it comes to writing and real-time translation, Samsung just gives you more in the way of utilities, and I prefer using Galaxy AI to Honor AI in this regard.

Galaxy AI vs. Honor AI: Image editing

Both brands have generative image editing, and Samsung's Sketch to Image and Portrait Studio are plenty to fun to use. But when it comes to image editing, Honor's AI Eraser does a much better job than Generative Edit on Samsung phones. While editing photos I took in London, Honor's utility provided edits that looked more realistic, doing a great job taking out background elements and filling in the details.

Honor's AI Upscale and AI Cutout also do a standout job, but it's AI Outpainting that I like the most. The feature basically lets you expand the canvas considerably, and it is astoundingly good. I rely on this feature extensively, and it makes a genuine difference — and it's effortless to use. Honor also has an image-to-video feature on select models that uses Google's Veo 2 image engine, and it's fantastic.

Galaxy AI vs. Honor AI: The bottom line

Both Samsung and Honor have their strengths and weaknesses. If you need writing or real-time translation features, Galaxy AI has a definite edge over what Honor is offering. But if you rely on image editing and want to turn images to videos, Honor is unmatched in this area.

While Samsung doesn't offer quite as many features when it comes to image editing, it does a decent enough job in its own right. While AI isn't the differentiator when it comes to choosing between these two brands, the upgrades to the Galaxy Z Fold 7 make it a clear frontrunner against the Magic V5, so if you're looking to get a new phone this year and are considering foldables, the Z Fold 7 would be my recommendation.

If there's any question of who makes the best mobile chipsets, Qualcomm is putting that definitively to bed with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. The switch to a fully-custom design — made possible with the Nuvia acquisition — gave Qualcomm a distinct advantage, and it's making effective use of that this year.

Awkward naming aside, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers considerable upgrades to last year, with Qualcomm touting a huge 20% increase in CPU performance, while somehow simultaneously hitting 35% better efficiency. It's clear that Qualcomm set out to establish itself as the dominant chip vendor with the introduction of the platform, and early benchmarking tests indicate just how much of a lead the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 has this year over devices like the Vivo X200 Ultra and Galaxy S25 models.

My colleague Derrek Lee is at the annual Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii, and he was able to use a Qualcomm reference device powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 to run synthetic benchmarks.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Domineering CPU performance

Let's start with Geekbench; the utility does a good job emulating real-world usage scenarios, and it's a decent predictor of how fast a chipset is. Qualcomm and MediaTek always did well in this area when they used standard Arm cores, but Apple came in and took the overall lead by leveraging a custom design. That's why A series silicon dominated Geekbench charts for the better part of the last six years.

With the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, Qualcomm is once again asserting its dominance. The chipset managed to get 12,170 in Geekbench's multi-core tests, and that's wild — that's at least 15% better than anything else available today. Even the latest A19 Pro silicon only goes up to 10,500, signaling the gulf that exists between Qualcomm and the rest of the field.

It's a similar story with single-core results as well. With a result of 3,832 in Geekbench 6, Qualcomm is showing that it's able to hold onto the lead in this category. Qualcomm isn't going into too much detail about the internals of the Oryon cores and the underlying architecture, but seeing as how it underpins the chip vendor's computing efforts — both on mobile and PC — it's evident just how much of an impact a custom design has. That's not a new thing; Apple has shown time and again that it's able to deliver in this area, both with the A series silicon and its M range of chipsets that it uses on MacBooks and iPads.

With Qualcomm doubling down on its custom design, it has an outsized lead in the context of Android phones. MediaTek's Dimensity, Google Tensor, and Samsung Exynos all use regular Arm cores, and while they're great in their own right — I'm excited to see what Arm's C1 Ultra and C1 Pro manage to offer with the Dimensity 9400 — but it's likely that the gains won't be as high as what Qualcomm is delivering this year.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: Adreno blazes ahead

Qualcomm is making decent inroads with the Adreno GPU as well, touting 23% improved performance alongside 20%better efficiency. We usually see these kinds of gains when a chip vendor moves to a new node, but Qualcomm is using the same 3nm TSMC node as last year, making the improvements all the more impressive.

Another interesting highlight is that Qualcomm now offers Unreal Engine 5 integration with its mobile chipset, making it easier to get console-quality games on Android. This has been an area where Apple had a distinct advantage thanks to its vertical integration, and Qualcomm is aiming to address that. We'll have to wait and see if it leads to any meaningful change when it comes to Android gaming — I'm yet to play a decent title with ray tracing — but Qualcomm is putting in the legwork.

3DMark's Wild Like Extreme showcases the gains on offer this year. While these benchmarks aren't indicative of real-world use, they allow us to see how much things change year-on-year, and the results showcase the potential of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. We are coming to a point where it isn't the hardware, but the quality of the games that's the bottleneck on Android.

I'm excited to get my hands on devices powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. Phone manufacturers don't tend to wait too long before releasing devices, with Xiaomi, Realme, and Honor slated to roll out phones featuring Qualcomm's latest silicon in the coming weeks. With the Dimensity 9500-powered OPPO Find X9 Pro also debuting globally soon, we don't have to wait too long to see how Qualcomm and MediaTek's chipsets hold up in real-world scenarios. Until then, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 benchmarks suggest next year's flagships should be highly interesting.

Earlier this year, I wrote about how Bose's QuietComfort Ultra earbuds were the best-sounding buds I've used yet. That's an achievement in and of itself considering the sheer number of products in this category, and Bose deserves credit for delivering a good fit and incredible sound quality.

The brand is following that up with the introduction of the QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Gen 2; these earbuds cost the same $299 on Amazon as their predecessor, and they're available at Best Buy as well as Bose's own site. The design is thankfully unchanged, with Bose retaining the same aesthetic and build quality.

If anything, the biggest change this time has to do with the case; it has the same design as last time, but it now includes wireless charging as standard. This was a notable omission with the earlier model, and it's good to see Bose make amends. I was able to easily charge the case by plonking it down on the Qi 2 mat of the Baseus Nomos charging station.

Having used the QuietComfort Ultra extensively, the Gen 2 buds are immediately familiar. Bose sells the buds in four color choices — Black, White Smoke, Deep Plum, and Midnight Violet — and I'd suggest getting the violet model if you want a vibrant hue. I've got the White Smoke edition, and while the color is fine, it doesn't exactly stand out all that much.

The fit is identical to its predecessor, and the stabilizers that sit outside the shell ensure you get a tight seal while still being comfortable. Although these buds look a little bigger than their rivals, there are absolutely no issues with comfort, and the sound nozzle doesn't extend too much into the inner ear. You get a good range of accessories to tailor the fit, and there's no fatigue even with long-term use. In short, they're among the most comfortable earbuds around today.

The bundled ear tips include a filter by default, doing a better job protecting the shell. The fit is secure enough that there are no problems wearing these during workouts; on that note, you get IPX4 ingress protection, making the buds immune to sweat. The stalk is just as wide as last time, and it now comes with a metallic cap that allows it to stand out against its predecessor.

The size of the stalk makes using gestures that little bit easier too; I was able to trigger Google Assistant, adjust volume, and use playback controls without any hassle. The QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 does a good job with calls, particularly while outdoors. It isolates environmental sounds to a great extent, ensuring your voices comes across loud and clear.

Similar to the buds, the charging case is unchanged this year; it's on the larger end of the scale, but the design makes it easily pocketable. You can use USB-C to charge the case as well, and it takes just over two hours to do so. Unlike the buds, the case doesn't get IPX4 water resistance.

Bose's earbuds always excelled at ANC, and the Gen 2 model is the brand's best showing yet. It does an excellent job tuning out ambient sounds, and it effectively blocked out the clack of my mechanical keyboard (a Lemokey L5 HE) and the hum of the air con.

I took it on a four-hour flight, and while I usually wear a headset, the QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 did such a good job with noise isolation that I'm switching to these buds for travel unless I'm going on an intercontinental flight. You can adjust the intensity of the noise isolation by setting up a custom mode in Bose's app. There's an ActiveSense mode that lets sound in so you can hear your surrounding when you're outdoors, and it is effective.

Where the QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 truly shines is audio quality — these are the best-sounding earbuds around. You get a terrific low-end with plenty of vibrancy, and it makes using the earbuds that much more engaging. The mids are crystal-clear, allowing vocals and instruments to shine, and the treble has good extension and range without any sibilance.

The earbuds sound great across a variety of genres, and Bose's immersive mode does a good job creating a spatial effect, with the orientation of the soundstage moving according to your head. Yes, there are budget earbuds that deliver great sound in their own right, but the QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 does so much better.

You don't miss out on any of the extras either; the buds connect to two devices at once and can easily switch sources, and I didn't see any issues with connectivity. They pair over Bluetooth 5.3, and I used the buds with the Pixel 10 Pro XL, iPad Pro M4, and Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Battery life is decent, with the QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 lasting up to six hours between charges, which is strictly average. That's good enough for daily use, but not quite usable on longer flights. Outside of that, I don't have any problems with battery longevity.

While it isn't an evolutionary upgrade, the QuietComfort Ultra Gen 2 has subtle tweaks that allow it to shine. It's still one of the most comfortable buds around, and the sound quality is fantastic. You are paying a premium, but you're also getting one of the best earbuds available today.

Even though I like self-hosting most services, I used Nest cameras for the better part of four years. I had UniFi cameras previously, and while I like what Ubiquiti does with its products, lack of integration with Google Home and Home Assistant was a deal-breaker. That's why I went with Nest; I wanted cameras that would be easy-to-use and tied in with Google Home.

While it was annoying to buy Nest Aware just to be able to access footage from my cameras, I did so because of the convenience, even when Google hiked the price to $80 a year in 2023. But with another round of hikes — with the plan now going up to $100 — I decided to move to another platform.

I needed three things: strong focus on privacy, local access, and an easy way to power the devices. I had to rule out Eufy and most other Chinese brands because of previous vulnerabilities or lack of transparency, and finally landed on Reolink. I tested the Argus 4 in the past, but my unit had issues with battery life — more so than the Nest Cam Outdoor — so I wasn't able to use it outdoors.

Given that I didn't want to deal with the hassle of charging the security cameras, I wanted a model that was powered by PoE or wall outlet. Thankfully, Reolink's Elite Floodlight fit my needs ideally; the camera has 180-degree coverage thanks to two lenses, and as the name suggests, it has built-in lighting to illuminate its surroundings at night.

It comes with local storage via a MicroSD slot, and there's no monthly or annual fee. Best of all, I was able to integrate it easily into my network video recorder, giving me the ability to view the camera feed from anywhere. I used the Elite Floodlight for just over three months now, and it has been nothing short of excellent.

Image quality is clean and detailed, and the camera does a great job stitching footage from the dual lenses. I didn't see any issues with low-light footage either, and the built-in floodlight gets incredibly bright (going up to 3000 lumen) at its highest setting.

It has good connectivity over Wi-Fi 6, and I didn't see any issues in this regard. By contrast, I had problems connecting to my Nest Cam Outdoor, and it would regularly glitch out when I pulled up the feed to view who's at the door. There are no such issues with the Elite Floodlight, and its motion detection along with zone intrusion alerts combined with local storage give it a definite edge.

I have the Elite Floodlight mounted outside the front door, and its IP66 ingress protection has proven to be reliable in India's monsoon weather. Setting it up was straightforward, and Reolink's mobile app is good in its own right. Best of all, as it delivers an RTSP stream, it's easy to link the camera to an NVR without any hassle.

In addition to the Elite Floodlight, I've been using the Atlas, a battery camera with a 2K lens and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. The Atlas comes with a solar panel, alleviating the need to dismount it and charge the device. The Atlas misses out on RTSP, so I have it set up in a balcony that doesn't get much use.

Reolink also has a cloud-based tier that lets you store footage, but given that its cameras have built-in MicroSD slots, I didn't see the point of leveraging the feature. While I generally don't like using MicroSD storage, it has been decent enough in the three months I used the Elite Floodlight and Atlas, and I didn't run into any issues. If you are interested in saving footage in the cloud, Reolink uses the industry-standard AES encryption when data is in transit.

The biggest reason I switched to Reolink cameras is the ease of access; it would take anywhere between five to 10 seconds to load the footage after pulling up the feed on my Nest cameras, and it's considerably faster on the Elite Floodlight and Atlas. I can view the feed within a few seconds. With the footage going out to my NVR, I'm able to store 24/7 recording for as long as I need (I set it to 90-day intervals).

Another positive with Reolink is the affordability. The Atlas costs $135 as of writing, with the Elite Floodlight available for $197 on Amazon. Considering there's no fee to access footage, that's a pretty great value when you consider the rest of the feature-set.

With these cameras set up, I'm looking to get my hands on additional Reolink cameras; the brand makes PoE products as well, and that's what I'm interested in picking up next. Overall, Reolink has proven to be the ideal alternative to Nest, and the flexibility combined with the feature-set makes the brand my go-to recommendation.

Apple just unveiled the iPhone 17 series, with the phones powered by the A19 and A19 Pro silicon. Like last year's A18-powered iPhone 16, the platforms are built on a 3nm node, and they share a similar core configuration, offering two performance and six efficiency cores. However, there are clear upgrades available this year, and Apple isn't beating around the bush:

"When paired with the Apple-designed vapor chamber, A19 Pro enables iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max to deliver up to 40 percent better sustained performance than the previous generation." Obviously, that doesn't mean the A19 Pro is going to be 40% faster than the A18 Pro — that's just not feasible.

What Apple is alluding to is sustained performance; thanks to a new thermal management system that includes a vapor chamber with deionized water, the latest-gen iPhones will be able to do a much better job during extended gaming sessions. Of course, this is something Android phones have been doing for many years now, and it's telling that Apple is also going this route to deliver better performance.

What kind of performance can we expect?

As for actual upgrades, we are likely to see anywhere to the tune of a 10 to 15% uptick in CPU performance, and leaked Geekbench results of the iPhone 17 Pro indicate the same. Even if it isn't much in the way of IPC gains as the A19 Pro is clocked higher at 4.26GHz, it's still a decent amount year-over-year, and it's entirely possible the GPU gains will be greater. Efficiency is also a big deal with this generation, with the efficiency cores getting a 50% increase in cache.

What's of particular interest to me is that the A19 Pro once again takes the lead in overall CPU scores; while this was the case for much of the last decade, Qualcomm's switch to a fully custom design allowed it to get an edge over Apple, and this was evident not just in synthetic workloads like Geekbench but real-life usage scenarios.

It's no wonder, then, that the A19 Pro addresses this issue. I'll need to get my hands on the iPhone 17 Pro to test how the single and multi-core workloads measure up against what's available on the best Android phones. Qualcomm and MediaTek are set to announce their next-gen platforms soon, and it will be interesting to see what they bring to the table.

What about AI performance?

Another point of differentiation is around AI; the A19 and A19 Pro have Neural Accelerators built into each GPU core designed to deliver up to a 4x increase in compute. Apple is confident enough in its claims that it says the A19 Pro delivers MacBook-level performance when it comes to AI-assisted workloads. That's joined by a new 16-core Neural Engine with increased memory bandwidth.

Although Apple didn't talk too much about AI at the event, it's evident that all phone manufacturers are pushing to increase on-device AI utilities as they introduce powerful NPUs tailored to handle these tasks. Apple Intelligence has potential, but it still isn't at a point where it measures up to what Google is doing on its phones.

There's no question that Google has the edge in this area with the Pixel 10 Pro XL; the phone has a vast suite of meaningful AI utilities, and it continually gets new features, like the image-to-video Veo 3 engine. If anything, AI is foundational to Google's efforts, and the Tensor G5 is designed around the NPU. While the A19 Pro doesn't put as strong an emphasis on the NPU, it's clear that Apple wants to do better in this segment.

Upgrades to look forward to

With the touted efficiency gains and all the new features coming to the A19 Pro, I'm excited to get my hands on the iPhone 17 Pro models to see how they differ to their predecessors. While we've had several years of similar-looking designs with little increments, the aluminum unibody designs of the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max alongside the new internals and tweaks to the imaging make the devices a much more enticing upgrade this year.

I've always liked using Pixels, but it wasn't until last year that it felt like Google finally had a handle on things. The Pixel 9 Pro XL introduced a new design language with much better build quality, and it addressed long-standing hardware issues. That said, the underwhelming nature of the Tensor G4 meant the 9 Pro XL wasn't quite up to scratch.

Thankfully, that's changing with the Pixel 10 Pro XL. The phone retains a similar design as last year, and that's a good thing. Although it makes it look unquestionably like an iPhone, the build quality is fantastic, and it has a good presence — particularly in the Moonstone variant I'm using. The dull blue luster accentuates the design quite well, and the in-hand feel is pretty good thanks to the matte texture.

A design that's unquestionably Google

The camera bar at the back gives Google's phones a distinctive look, and it looks great while ensuring there's no wobble when using the phone on a table. If anything, the only quibble I have with the design is that the 10 Pro XL is quite heavy; at 232g, it is 11g heavier than its predecessor and 14g heavier than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, and I don't really get the reason for its bulk.

When you add a case (I'm using Bellroy's excellent leather case (and we've rounded up the best Pixel 10 Pro XL cases)), you're looking at a weight of over 260g, and that's considerable. Thankfully, the weight distribution is ideal, and the 10 Pro XL doesn't quite feel as heavy in regular use. It retains IP68 ingress protection, and while I would've liked to see IP69 like the Vivo X200 Pro and Find X8 Pro, the 10 Pro XL has the basics covered.

Upgrades that actually matter

The Pixel 10 Pro XL wins out when it comes to the OLED panel — it is the brightest of any phone available today. Google somehow managed to ace this category, and the 10 Pro XL has fantastic color vibrancy and brightness levels. There are no issues with the ambient light sensor (something that plagued previous Pixels I used), and it does a good job maintaining 120Hz refresh.

There's good news on the hardware side of things as well, with Google switching to TSMC's 3nm node this time. The Tensor G5 brings much-needed upgrades, and it is noticeably faster than its predecessors. Google is using the same Cortex X4 core to do the heavy lifting this time around, but the increased 3.78GHz clock means it doesn't need to be active for as long.

The switch to Imagination Technologies' PowerVR DXT-48 means the Pixel 10 Pro XL isn't hobbled at gaming. It does a much better job in this regard, and while it still tends to throttle earlier than other phones, it isn't anywhere as extreme as previous Pixels. That alone is a huge deal, and it makes using the 10 Pro XL that much better.

Don't get me wrong; the Tensor G5 still lags behind what Qualcomm and MediaTek have to offer, but it doesn't feel as limiting as previous generations. The 10 Pro XL manages thermals better, and it doesn't have any of the overheating issues that plagued earlier models.

The Tensor G5 also has much better efficiency, and while the Pixel 10 Pro XL doesn't last as long as its Chinese rivals, it goes a day without breaking a sweat. I'm still annoyed that Google continues to limit its charging protocol to 45W — it's time the brand started leveraging the 100W standard available with USB PD 3.0.

On the subject of charging, the Pixel 10 Pro XL has the distinction of being the only Android phone to have Qi 2 integration natively; the phone has the requisite magnets built in, and it's a good move by Google. It's exciting to be able to use Qi 2 accessories without needing a case, and the 10 Pro XL manages to hit 25W over the Qi 2 standard with relative ease.

While it's a small thing, it's good to see Google finally switch to 256GB of storage in the base model of the 10 Pro XL. That's the variant I'm using, and after three weeks of use, I have 112GB of storage left on the device. I have no doubt that I'll fill up the storage on the phone in a matter of months, and Google annoyingly doesn't sell the 512GB or 1TB variants of the device in India, limiting the phone's potential.

The brand instead points to the 2TB Google One storage tier that's bundled with the phone (all Pixel 10 Pro XL buyers get a year of Google AI Pro) as an alternative, but that doesn't get away from the fact that you'll need to pay over $200 from the second year just to store your data.

Cameras that stand out

Pixels always delivered great cameras, and that's no different this year. While I wanted Google to switch to higher-resolution sensors, that hasn't proved to be the case with the 10 Pro XL. Still, the phone delivers clean photos with good vibrancy, and it does a great job in challenging scenarios.

The 10 Pro XL does much better with videos, and Google's AI-assisted Video Boost does a great job bringing out additional details in low-light conditions. The cameras don't quite hold up against the likes of the Vivo X200 Pro and Find X8 Pro — not to mention the X200 Ultra and Find X8 Ultra — but they're better than last year, and they measure up to what Samsung is offering.

The best software on Android

There are innumerable small things with the software that just make it fun to use the Pixel 10 Pro XL. The phone runs Android 16 out of the box, and it will get seven Android OS updates. Google's reliance on AI utilities give its devices a distinct advantage; while every other manufacturer is leveraging AI in some way, Google has meaningful features I actually end up using.

Take Magic Cue; the feature automatically suggests contextual information, and it's quite useful. It's limited to Google's own services at the moment, but it did a good job pulling up my order information from Gmail when I was talking to Dyson's customer care, and share my flight details as I was messaging.

The interface as a whole has better fluidity than previous generations, and the quirky design combined with unique extras gives it a vibrancy that you just don't get with any other phone.

This is the Pixel you need

Overall, I enjoyed using the Pixel 10 Pro XL quite a bit, and I don't see myself switching to another device anytime soon. Yes, Google still has a few long-standing issues to address — particularly around charging tech and camera sensors — but with the 10 Pro XL, it has proven that it is able to make meaningful changes.

Samsung has been conservative with its foldable designs in the last two years, and it thankfully made amends this time around. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 is one of the thinnest foldables you can buy today, and the Z Flip 7 has noticeable upgrades. Having used both foldables for the better part of two weeks, I'll have to say that I enjoyed the Z Flip 7 better.

I usually prefer fold-out designs, but in this instance, I used the Z Flip 7 over the Fold 7. That's mostly down to the bigger cover panel; the increased real estate makes a noticeable difference in daily use, and the portability of the device is unmatched. Unlike last year, the cover panel now extends to the entire width of the device when folded, putting the device in contention with Motorola's foldables.

The outer panel finally gets 120Hz refresh as well, and it's just better to use than last year. The 4.1-inch OLED panel has good colors and vibrancy, and the bigger panel makes it easier to get back to notifications and messages without having to unfold the device.

Annoyingly, Samsung doesn't allow you to use apps on the outer panel, but this is easily addressed by using CoverScreen OS. This is where Motorola's phones have an inherent advantage, and Samsung should consider changing its stance to make it easier to use the increased panel size on the outside.

While the overall brightness still isn't as high as the Pixel 9 Pro XL, I didn't see any issues in regular use — even under harsh sunlight. The design itself is thinner than last year, and that is another point in Samsung's favor this year; the brand did a good job delivering sleeker foldables. Another positive is that the device gets 256GB of storage with the base model, with Samsung finally eschewing 128GB.

And even though the Z Flip 7 uses the Exynos 2500 globally, I didn't run into any lag or slowdowns. Foldables generally don't have extensive thermal management, and the result is that they tend to throttle sooner than regular phones. That is the case with the Z Flip 7 as well, but it is in line with other flip phones I used recently.

The only point of contention on the Z Flip 7 is the battery; while the 4,300mAh battery is bigger than last year, it still isn't as big as what other manufacturers offer on their own devices. Samsung is clearly not willing to put massive batteries on its foldables, and that's something it will eventually need to address if it wants to measure up to its Chinese rivals.

Having said that, the Z Flip 7 manages to last a day with medium use. I had to plug it in on days with heavy use involving navigation and gaming, but on the whole, battery life is better than last year. Samsung is heavily positioning Galaxy AI as a differentiator, and the Z Flip 7 runs Android 16 out of the box.

The software is immediately familiar, but it has enough new features to excite long-term users. While I don't use AI features as such, it's undeniable that Galaxy AI has a robust suite of utilities geared at image generation and editing along with text-based assistance.

On the whole, the Z Flip 7 is a definite move forward, and Samsung addressed long-standing issues with its flip phones with the device. It's better to hold and use, is faster than last year, and the cameras are quite decent — honestly, I didn't think it would be as enjoyable to use.

I get to use over 75 phones in a given year, and an overwhelming majority of those devices are powered by Qualcomm. Interestingly enough, the phones I used the most in 2025 featured the Dimensity 9400, and it goes to show the amount of progress MediaTek made over the last two years.

Qualcomm is still in a dominant position in the high-end category, but MediaTek netted significant design wins, notably the Vivo X200 Pro and Find X8 Pro. These are two of the best camera-centric phones available today, and they're both powered by the Dimensity 9400.

Even though MediaTek is using regular Arm cores — Qualcomm switched to a custom design this year — there really isn't much of a difference. The X200 Pro takes the best photos of any phone I used until now, and it does a great job in demanding games. It holds up incredibly well in mundane situations as well, and I didn't see any differences when using on-device AI utilities.

With MediaTek also shifting to the 3nm node, there's no difference in efficiency either, and if anything, I got better battery life out of the X200 Pro than Qualcomm-based devices with a similar battery size. That isn't to say that Qualcomm is lagging behind; the 8 Elite is clearly one of the fastest mobile platforms available today, and it's good to see MediaTek offering an alternative.

It's clear that Chinese manufacturers want to use both MediaTek and Qualcomm designs in their phones; while the X200 Pro has the Dimensity 9400, Vivo's X200 Ultra is powered by Qualcomm, and the same is true of the Find X8 Ultra as well. However, these devices are limited to China, and that continues to be annoying.

What I'm trying to say is that MediaTek is somehow able to catch up to Qualcomm in the high-end category, and that's great news for the industry as a whole. With Samsung failing to make ground with Exynos and Huawei severely hobbled by trade restrictions, there is a distinct dearth of rivalry when it comes to mobile platforms, and it's good to see MediaTek utilizing its momentum to rival Qualcomm in this area.

MediaTek is making decent inroads into the U.S. as well, something it has struggled to do in the past. Samsung's Galaxy Tab S10 tablets are powered by the Dimensity 9300+, and while these devices won't sell in as many numbers as the brand's phones, the fact that the manufacturer is using MediaTek-based designs globally is a huge endorsement.

That said, MediaTek still doesn't have a foothold with foldables — all the foldables I used in 2025 are powered by Qualcomm. We may get to see Chinese manufacturers using next-gen Dimensity platforms, but that may be a few years away. It's evident that MediaTek wants to continue making headway in the high-end and shore up its lead in the mid-range categories in the interim.

Another limiting factor in the past was that phones powered by MediaTek would take longer to get software updates, but that just isn't the case now. My Vivo X100 Pro made the switch to Android 15 at the same time as Qualcomm-based rivals, and MediaTek is working closely with major brands to ensure it provides the requisite drivers to roll out updates faster.

Ultimately, it's good to see there are two great choices of platforms for Android flagships, and I want MediaTek to continue its momentum with the Dimensity 9500.

Nothing started out with audio, and it's no wonder that the brand is quite good at it. While the Ear 1 had issues with tonality, Nothing resolved these with the Ear 2, and subsequent products have been nothing short of incredible. So when the brand said it was venturing into headphones, I was obviously excited. I prefer over-ear headsets to earbuds, and the Headphone 1 is positioned as an alternative to the Bose QuietComfort Ultra and Sony WH-1000XM6.

Obviously, design is a key tenet of all Nothing products, and the Headphone 1 looks like nothing else available today. As much as I like the design of the Phone 3, I think the Headphone 1 is Nothing's best-looking product yet. The unique rectangular design with a stylized outer shell that evokes memories of cassettes is just plain cool, and the novelty doesn't really wear off even after using the Headphone 1 for a while.

The white model in particular looks gorgeous, and the distinctive design is backed by good build quality. The shell is made out of aluminum, and it's joined by a plastic headband. At 329g, it is on the lighter end of the scale, and I like the comfort quite a bit — I didn't have any issues wearing the Headphone 1 for hours on end.

The retro-futuristic design combined with a comfortable fit makes the Headphone 1 a better choice than the Sony WH-1000XM6, and I like the attention to detail. The headphones get IP52 dust and water resistance, and unique gesture controls with a paddle, a roller to control volume, and a dedicated multifunction button to invoke your digital assistant of choice, change EQ, and switch between music platforms.

All controls are positioned where they're easily accessible, and the varying tactility of each mode toggle means you won't get inadvertently change tracks when trying to increase or decrease the volume. There's USB-C connectivity as well, but what I like the most is that the Headphone 1 gets a standard 3.5mm jack.

Most of my usage of these headphones has been with my Teenage Engineering OP-1 Field synthesizer, and it's just great to be able to connect via 3.5mm. I also paired the Headphone 1 with my Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Vivo X200 Ultra, iPad Pro M4, Nothing Phone 3, and Vivo X Fold 5, and didn't run into any issues over Bluetooth.

Connectivity is rock-solid, and there's the option to connect to two devices at once and switch between the two without any hassle. The bundled case is pretty good as well, and it doesn't take up too much room. The Headphone 1 gets a 1,040mAh battery, and it lasted just under 30 hours in my testing. That's more than enough, and you get a fast charging mode that delivers two hours music playback with just a five-minute charge; a full charge takes over two hours.

Nothing did a good job dialing in the noise isolation as well, and I didn't have any problems in this area. My QuietComfort Ultra still has the edge, but the Headphone 1 does a good enough job tuning out ambient sounds. You can easily customize settings via Nothing X, and there's also an 8-band EQ that allows for granular customization of the sound.

Coming to the sound, the Headphone 1 is made in collaboration with British audio powerhouse KEF. I've long admired the brand's LS50 and LSX collection, and it's great to see Nothing partnering with a long-time leader in this category. The Headphone 1 has a custom 40mm driver with sound tuned by KEF, and it sounds amazing.

There's good low-end energy and vibrancy, and bass-focused tracks have a delightful rumble. The mids come through with plenty of vigor, and it accentuates vocals to a good extent. The treble has decent extension as well without any noticeable sibilance. The mid-bass tends to bleed into the mid-range at times, but it isn't fatiguing in the least.

The sound quality of the Headphone 1 is thoroughly enjoyable, and it lends itself well to a variety of genres. KEF's unique sound signature is evident in the tuning of these headphones, and if you want a neutral sound, you can easily tweak the EQ to your liking.

Overall, I enjoyed using the Headphone 1 much more than I thought; if anything, I like the headphones more than the Phone 3. The design is sure to turn heads, it's comfortable to wear, sounds great, and is a better deal than its equivalent Sony and Bose rivals.

My primary iPad is the 13-inch iPad Pro M4; the tandem OLED panel is a delight to use, and the size means I can get a decent amount of work done on it. I dock it with the Magic Keyboard if I'm just browsing or reading a book, and connect it to a mechanical keyboard (the Keychron Q5 Pro) whenever I need to write a post or review.

As much as I like the sleekness of the iPad Pro M4, it is an absolute unit, and it isn't the most comfortable to hold. That's where the iPad mini comes in; it is much more manageable thanks to a smaller 8.3-inch panel, and it weighs nearly half the size of the iPad Pro M4. It doesn't cost anywhere as much, starting out at just $399.

Apple nailed the sizing of the iPad mini; it's great to hold and use, and the 8.3-inch panel is just about perfect for reading comics and ebooks. While I can get a similar-sized display on a foldable like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold or Honor Magic V3, they just don't have the same in-hand feel. The iPad mini feels better to use, and it has become my go-to comic reader over the course of the last month.

Coming in at 6.3mm, the iPad mini is thicker than the iPad Pro M4, but that works to its advantage — it's easier to hold the sides of the tablet. I'm using the sixth-gen model with the A15 Bionic that debuted back in 2021, and it still holds up pretty well. The 2024 iteration of the iPad mini has the same dimensions, panel, and battery, with the only difference being the switch to A17 Pro.

While it doesn't have an OLED, the LCD panel on the iPad mini has good colors, and it gets bright during outdoor use. It is excellent as a comic reader; the size is perfect, and the Panels app on iOS is just about the best around. The iPad mini is just as good for reading ebooks — I use KyBook and the Kindle app.

Reading on the iPad mini is just as good as an e-reader, even though the tablet is heavier at 293g — my Kobo Libra Colour comes in at 197g — it isn't uncomfortable to hold in the least. If anything, most of my reading in the last month was on the iPad mini.

I wasn't sure about the bezels on the side when I got started with the iPad mini, but they're not as distracting as I initially imagined. Similarly, the 60Hz panel isn't a limitation while reading, and most of the time, I didn't even notice any difference. It isn't quite as good with multimedia or productivity — the OLED-toting iPad Pro has a distinct advantage in this area — but for every other task, the iPad mini has proved to be the ideal tablet.

It's also great for travel; I usually take the Libra Colour to read ebooks and an iPad Air for writing or streaming content, and the iPad mini is good enough at either use case that I switched to it as the default choice. Having used all the iPad Air and iPad Pro models, I didn't think I'd enjoy the iPad mini quite as much, and in the last month, it got more usage than just about any other device in my home.

I'd like the next variant of the iPad mini to have an OLED panel — that would just make it that much more enticing — but as it stands, the current-gen model is plenty great in its own right. I'd even suggest getting the iPad mini 6 if you can get it on sale.

I used dozens of earbuds over the years, and while I use IEMs while I'm home, I prefer wireless earbuds when I'm traveling as they're just much more convenient. My go-to choice right now is the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro, but I've been using Bose's QuietComfort Ultra for close to a month now, and they've been incredible.

The QuietComfort Ultra aren't affordable by any measure; they retail for $299 on Amazon and Best Buy, and that's $100 more than the Sony WF-1000XM5 (which are on sale from their $299 retail). Annoyingly, Bose's earbuds miss out on niceties like wireless charging, which is available on most $100 models these days. The case is on the bulkier side as well, and while it is still pocketable, I don't get why it's so much bigger than most other products in this category.

Thankfully, that's about the only drawback I've had with the QuietComfort Ultra; these earbuds combine a great fit with a fabulous bass-heavy sound signature, and they easily connect to two devices at once. The best part is that with Snapdragon Sound integration, you can unlock higher-quality streams — if you've got a phone that also has the requisite codecs.

I used the QuietComfort Ultra with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra as the phone comes with Snapdragon Sound as well, and it was a good pairing. The buds use AptX Adaptive and have a built-in gaming mode that lowers the latency, and it makes a noticeable difference.

Audio quality is among the best of any earbuds I've used yet. Phone manufacturers are doing a much better job in this area, and the recent slate of earbuds from Samsung, Google, and Xiaomi deliver a vibrant sound with plenty of useful extras. But with the QuietComfort Ultra, it's evident that Bose put its learnings from previous QuietComfort models to good effect, because they sound incredible.

The earbuds have an engaging bass with excellent rumble and dynamics, and this makes listening to most modern music highly engaging. The mids are clean, with good vocal presentation and instrument separation, and I didn't notice any harshness to the sound.

Basically, the QuietComfort Ultra have a fun sound that lends itself well to diverse genres, and if you need buds with standout sound, these are my go-to recommendation now. In fact, my wife liked these so much she said she's stealing the buds once I'm done with my testing — that's a better endorsement than anything I have to say.

Outside of that, you get decent customizability with Bose's app; it's straightforward to connect the buds to the app, and you can adjust the sound to your liking. While not a 10-band EQ, you get the ability to tweak the mass, mids, and treble, and it is nifty. It's easy to set up custom modes and adjust the level of noise isolation and immersive audio.

Talking about isolation, the buds do a fantastic job in this regard. The ANC is easily the best of any earbuds around, and the earbuds are effective at reducing ambient noise, like the hum of an air conditioner, traffic sounds, or the whine of a jet engine when you're flying.

Then there's the fit; the buds are noticeably bigger than their rivals, and while I wasn't sure about the fit when I got started, they don't exert much pressure on the ear canal, and are great to wear for hours on end. The distinctive design with a bulbous shell makes the buds highly comfortable to wear, and while you don't get as secure a fit as the buds don't nestle into your ear cavity quite as much, I didn't have any problems doing chores around the house with these on.

Connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.3, and the earbuds have Google Fast Pair, so it was easy to connect to various devices. The buds are saved to your Google account, and when they're in range of a new device that has your account, you can easily set them up. I used the QuietComfort Ultra with my Vivo X200 Pro, X200 Ultra, Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Pixel 9 Pro XL, iPad Pro M4, and Redmagic 10S Pro in addition to the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, and it has been faultless.

While they're costly, the QuietComfort Ultra deliver a fantastic sound, and they fit better than the design suggests. Noise isolation is outstanding, you get the best high-res codec currently available, and they last up to six hours on a charge. If you're not satisfied with the sound of your earbuds and are ready to upgrade, these are among the best you can get today.

I talked about how much I like the CMF Buds, and Nothing is building on that momentum with the introduction of the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus. I used the Buds Pro 2 extensively over the last six months, and they confirmed just what Nothing is able to achieve in the budget category; unlike every other pair of budget buds, the Buds Pro 2 have a distinctive design, terrific sound, and you don't miss out on any of the extras.

I'm glad to share that the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus are much the same. The retain the CMF sub-brand's design flair, and deliver the same great build quality along with sound signature — and yes, the orange color is intact. The Buds 2 are available for $49 on Amazon U.S., and they cost £34 on Amazon U.K., which is a decent deal when you look at everything you get. The Buds 2 Plus cost $69 in the U.S. and £49 in the U.K., and again, that's a standout value.

India is the brand's biggest market, and the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus are yet to go on sale in the country. Nothing is being aggressive in India, where the Buds 2 retail for just ₹2,699 ($31) and the Buds 2 Plus coming in at ₹3,299 ($38). The brand notes that sales will begin at the end of June, and like their predecessors, they will likely sell really well considering the sheer value — particularly with the Buds 2 Plus.

Both the Buds 2 and Buds 2 Plus have a similar design aesthetic, and they retain the distinctive cases that contains a dial. The one on the Buds 2 is particularly great as it has a transparent design this time, and the case itself has a sand-blasted texture that's good to hold. The Buds 2 Plus come in a case with a matte dial, and the case has a soft touch plastic feel.

You get a few features as standard on both: the same 4.5g weight, 53mAh battery within each earbud and 460mAh in the case, six mics, IP55 dust and water resistance, ability to connect to two devices at the same time, reliable ANC, Google Fast Pair, Bluetooth 5.4, and in-ear detection.

Honestly, the Buds 2 by itself is a fabulous choice considering it doesn't miss out on much. The buds have a glossy finish around the shell and a matte stalk, and the gesture recognition surface is decent enough. The lightweight design ensures they don't cause any fatigue even with extended use, and they're comfortable to wear; they're not bulky at all, and deliver a snug fit.

The Buds 2 feature a 11 custom driver with Dirac tuning, and they sound fabulous. The bass in particular has good vibrancy, and it delivers a tight rumble that makes listening to most modern music highly enjoyable. The mids are clean, and you get a decent treble without any harshness. There's an equalizer that allows you to change the balance between the frequencies, and an Ultra Bass mode that cranks up the low-end energy.

Basically, the Buds 2 are the best-sounding budget earbuds, and Nothing deserves credit for not omitting features on the buds. They don't get AptX codecs or LDAC, but you get really good noise isolation, and it did an effective job tuning out the chatter of my mechanical keyboard (a Lemokey L5 HE) and the air con. The buds managed to last just over six hours, and that's quite good; there's also a fast charging mode that delivers over two hours of music playback with just a 10-minute charge.

Coming to the Buds 2 Plus, they last just as long as the regular model, and the key addition is LDAC codec integration. Considering LDAC has been baked into Android for over half a decade now, you'll get higher bitrates if you're using a lossless source. The Buds 2 Plus have a slightly bigger 12mm driver that has a bit more grunt in the low-end, and they're just as clean with the mids and treble as the regular model.

What I like the most is that the Buds 2 Plus have a custom sound profile that adjusts the audio based on your hearing; you take a test wherein you select what range of frequencies you're able to hear, and it tailors the sound accordingly. This makes a noticeable difference, and you get the same Ultra Bass mode and EQ controls.

The Buds 2 Plus have the same design as the regular model, with a glossy shell and matte stalk, and they deliver a similar level of comfort. Of the two, I liked the Buds 2 Plus a little more because of the tailored sound and LDAC. That said, the Buds 2 are almost as good, and they're a better bargain in the U.S. and U.K.

Regardless of whatever model you're choosing, you will end up with earbuds that are easily among the best in the budget category. Nothing has shown for the second year in a row that it knows what consumers want in this area, and by tailoring to its userbase, it is extending its dominance.

Gaming phones are seeing a resurgence on the back of increasing mobile gaming, and brands are increasingly turning their attention to the mid-range and budget segments, which is great to see. Infinix in particular saw a lot of success with its GT series of devices over the last two years; I enjoyed using the GT 10 Pro, and the GT 20 Pro built on that foundation.

The GT 30 Pro was just announced, and the phone is all set to make its debut in India. Ahead of its global launch, I had an email interaction with Infinix's Product Director Weiqi Nie to get a better sense of what the brand is doing differently this time around, and how it is positioning the GT series.

Design has always been a key selling point of previous GT models, and Infinix has doubled down in that area with the GT 30 Pro. The phone has a "cyber-mecha" design aesthetic that looks plain cool, and while the GT 10 Pro looked like a derivative of Nothing's phones, that is definitely not the case with the GT 30 Pro.

Nie noted that Infinix took inspiration from "futuristic machines and modular aesthetics" in designing the device. "Over time, this concept has evolved to be more expressive, functional, and aligned with the needs of modern gamers. In the GT 30 Series, this vision comes to life through the upgraded Mechanical Light Waves system. Built on deep integration between software and hardware design, it delivers 14 lighting scenarios and over 20 customizable effects that respond dynamically to actions like charging, gaming, and notifications."

Infinix basically wanted to deliver a phone with a bold design, and thanks to the custom pattern at the back and vibrant lighting, the GT 30 Pro manages to stand out quite a bit. Of course, while design is a consideration, the biggest factor when choosing a gaming phone is the performance.

Infinix went with MediaTek instead of Qualcomm, and Nie said the Dimensity 8350 offered the brand the ideal mix of high frame rate gaming and thermal management. "MediaTek’s platform offered the right combination of performance, efficiency, and scalability to bring the GT 30 Pro’s vision to life. The Dimensity 8350 Ultimate delivers smooth high-frame-rate gaming, effective thermal control, and optimized power usage—crucial for maintaining consistent performance across both gaming and daily use."

"The Dimensity 8350 Ultra's capabilities provided the performance headroom needed to integrate features like a 144Hz AMOLED display, advanced cooling solutions, and responsive gaming enhancements, without compromising on price accessibility. This approach allows the GT 30 Pro to deliver a flagship-level experience that is designed for a broader range of users."

Overheating continues to be an issue on gaming phones, with this year's Qualcomm chipsets in particular having a higher thermal threshold. Thankfully, that isn't the case with MediaTek designs, and Nie said sustained performance is a "core priority" on the GT 30 Pro, particularly during longer gaming sessions. The GT 30 Pro features Infinix’s 3D Vapor Cloud Chamber (3D VCC) liquid cooling tech, and Nie noted that the brand does "intelligent software optimization that dynamically manages power and thermal behavior based on real-time usage."

There are two accessories as well — the MagCase and MagCharge Cooler — with the latter being an active cooling solution that funnels cool air to the back of the device. "The GT 30 Pro takes a system-level approach—combining a high-performance chipset, efficient cooling, and smart charging solutions such as Bypass Charging 2.0 and optimized wireless charging with active cooling. This ensures stable, high frame rates over long periods, without overheating or throttling—even while charging."

I'll be testing the GT 30 Pro's prowess in this regard, and having used other MediaTek mid-range designs, I'm excited to see what the phone brings to the table. The GT 30 Pro also retains ultrasonic triggers, allowing gamers to assign in-game actions with relative ease — they make a genuine difference while gaming.

The phone gets a 144Hz panel, and what I like the most is that it unlocks 120fps in demanding titles including PUBG Mobile. Like other brands catering to this niche, the GT 30 Pro is aimed at a younger audience, and the design and visual aesthetic reflects that.

While Infinix is focused on phones, Nie said the brand is looking to build an ecosystem of gaming devices under the "GT Verse" umbrella. "GT Verse is a full-stack experience designed around the needs of mobile gamers. In addition to the GT 30 Pro, the lineup is expanding with GT Buds 4 with 30dB ANC and low-latency Game Mode, the GT Power bank with 55W multi-device fast charging, and even a dedicated cooling accessory under development."

"This ecosystem approach allows users to stay connected, powered, and immersed across devices—whether they’re gaming at home or on the move. While future product plans will be guided by community feedback and innovation readiness, the GT Series will remain at the core of Infinix’s long-term vision to serve gamers with purpose-built tools across categories."

Pricing is a big part of what makes a budget gaming phone succeed, and Infinix is targeting a $300 price point with the device. Given that there aren't that many gaming-focused phones in this category, the aggressive positioning combined with the feature-set of the device should allow the GT 30 Pro to win out against its rivals. With an imminent launch in India, we don't have to wait too long to know more about the GT 30 Pro, and I'll have more to share on the device in the coming days.

It's not often that we see a new entrant in the mobile chipset industry; that's why it's exciting to see Xiaomi roll out its Xring O1 platform. Qualcomm and MediaTek effectively have a duopoly in this regard, and although Samsung is still chugging along with its Exynos designs, it isn't anywhere close to what the other two chip vendors manage to deliver on a consistent basis.

Google is doing a decent job with its Tensor portfolio, but these products are customized to focus on AI and not necessarily deliver the best power. That isn't the case with the Xring O1; Xiaomi is clearly positioning it as a rival to the best that Qualcomm and MediaTek have to offer; the chipset built on a second-gen TSMC 3nm node, and comes with a 10-core CPU and 16-core Arm Immortalis-G925 GPU.

Xiaomi is using Arm's v9.2 cores, and the 10-core design gives it a distinct edge over its rivals, which have stuck to an octa-core configuration for a while now. The Xring O1 uses two Cortex X925 cores clocked at 3.9GHz, a quartet of Cortex A725 cores at 3.4GHz, two additional A725 cores at 1.9GHz, and two Cortex A520 cores at 1.8GHz. The manufacturer is leveraging Arm's CoreLink Interconnect system to make the most of the tri-core architecture.

Similarly, thanks to 16 shader cores in the Immortalis-G925, Xiaomi is able to claim a definite win over MediaTek — which uses 12 cores in its Dimensity 9400. That's not all; it gets Xiaomi's own ISP (now in its fourth generation), and a 6-core NPU with 44 TOPS — similar to what Qualcomm is offering on the 8 Elite. Xiaomi notes that this is just the start in a decade-long investment that's set to exceed 6.9 billion USD, with 2,500 engineers working in its chip division.

Xiaomi dabbled in custom chip design with the Surge S1 back in 2017, but that was aimed at the budget category, and it isn't anything as ambitious as what the manufacturing is doing now. In fact, Xiaomi is so confident about what it has achieved that it slotted in the Xring O1 in its latest products: the Xiaomi 15S Pro and Pad 7 Ultra tablet.

The 15S Pro is identical to the 15 Pro that debuted at the end of last year, with the only key difference being the switch to the Xring O1 silicon. The phone has a new design and comes with 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage as standard (instead of 256GB), and Xiaomi is limiting it to China.

The Pad 7 Ultra is of greater interest to me, as the tablet gets an oversized 14-inch OLED panel — a considerable upgrade from the 11.2-inch LCD-toting Pad 7 and Pad 7 Pro. It also has a massive 12,000mAh battery, and I'm excited to get my hands on it to see what the Xring O1 is able to deliver in a device of this size.

I'm interested in testing two things with the Xring O1: how the modem holds up, and battery efficiency. Xiaomi doesn't have an integrated modem, and is instead using an external MediaTek T800 modem that's built on a 4nm node. The use of an external modem usually affects battery efficiency, and it will be interesting to see how it runs in real-world scenarios against Qualcomm and MediaTek rivals.

I haven't gotten my hands on the 15S Pro yet, but Chinese YouTuber Geekerwan did extensive testing of the Xring O1 (the video is in Mandarin, but it has English subtitles) and found that it does better than the Dimensity 9400. Interestingly, the CPU has energy efficiency in line with what Qualcomm and MediaTek are delivering, and that's an achievement in and of itself.

However, testing the battery efficiency showed that the use of an external modem affected battery life, with the Qualcomm-based model lasting 40 minutes longer in the same test. Ultimately, Xiaomi needs to make its own 5G modem, and given how difficult that has proven to be for anyone other than Qualcomm, MediaTek, and Samsung, we'll just have to wait and see how the Chinese manufacturer does in this area.

In addition to the Xring O1, Xiaomi unveiled the Xring T1, a smartwatch platform that will see a decent amount of use on the brand's wearables. The timing of this announcement is interesting as it comes just a week after Xiaomi and Qualcomm released a joint statement extending their 15-year partnership, and confirming that upcoming Xiaomi flagships will continue to use Qualcomm silicon.

While it's entirely possible that Xiaomi uses Qualcomm for phones it releases globally, it's clear that the brand is positioning its own designs for devices that are exclusive to its home market. That's a significant shift in strategy, and at least based on the hardware the brand has detailed thus far, it's clear that the Xring O1 is able to hold its own against the Dimensity 9400 and Qualcomm's flagship silicon.

Silicon-carbon batteries are gaining significant momentum, with all Chinese brands utilizing the tech in their 2025 flagships. It's easy to see why manufacturers are rushing to use these batteries in their phones; switching to silicon provides better energy density — allowing brands to squeeze in bigger batteries — alongside increased durability, and it holds up much better in cold weather.

That's why the likes of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, Find X8 Ultra, Vivo X200 Pro, and Honor Magic 7 Pro have considerably bigger batteries than their predecessors without adding too much bulk or weight. These batteries still use a lithium cathode, but the anode sees a mixture of silicon-carbon alongside the usual graphite, and this results in greater density.

Group14 is at the front lines of this push, with the brand's SCC55 silicon-carbon composite used widely in the industry — Honor's Magic 7 Pro uses the custom material in its battery, for example. Group14 is now partnering with German industrial giant BASF to deliver a "drop-in-ready solution" that predominantly uses silicon-dominant anodes.

Group14 says this move has the potential to unlock a whole host of new use cases, and I talked to the brand's VP of Global Market Strategy, Grant Ray, to get a better understanding of the tech. "The collaboration with BASF is about working with a leading global partner to develop drop-in solutions that shift the way we think about battery performance."

"BASF is coming up with interesting technologies, and we've been working closely together create a turnkey product that radically reduces reformulation times when manufacturers are considering how they'll do line development to make these batteries. The goal is to cut down on the time it takes to get to market and see the benefit of silicon batteries," said Ray.

At a high-level overview, Group14 is combining its SCC55 silicon-carbon material with BASF's Licity 2698 X F binder — a custom polymer made of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) with high stress-strain and elasticity that's designed for silicon-rich anodes. Ray noted that this collaboration makes it much easier for a battery manufacturer to make the switch to silicon-rich batteries. "It allows smaller battery manufacturers that may not have sophisticated capabilities for how they play with their chemistries to start to move a lot quicker in making the transition to silicon."

This is important, because the current generation of silicon carbon batteries used in phones have just 10% silicon in their anode. While silicon has greater energy density of 4200mAh/g — graphite has 372mAh/g — it expands considerably during charging and discharging. Mixing silicon with carbon — as Group14 is doing with SCC55 — increases the material's mechanical integrity while providing better conductivity.

Ray said the next iteration of batteries will see a greater mixture of silicon-carbon in the anode, with work underway on "full displacement" — completely switching to a silicon-carbon anode. Ray talked about two challenges to getting to that point. "One is the amount of time it takes, and the sophistication that battery vendors have when it comes to dialing in on the best cathode material, the best binder, the best housing, and reformulating their lines effectively."

The second limitation is availability; Ray says that the demand for the SCC55 material is significantly higher than supply, and the manufacturer is aiming to get its U.S. plant online in 2026 to cater to ever-increasing global demand. The current situation with tariffs is another hurdle that's leading to plenty of uncertainty, but Ray notes that Group14 is pushing ahead with its plans.

The brand has another plant in South Korea in a joint collaboration with SK, and this dual sourcing strategy allows it to deliver silicon batteries at a greater pace — Ray likened it to being a "local provider at a global scale. For us, the way that we get to our customers the fastest is we go to them from as close as possible. We're growing as fast as we possibly can, but the fact is that even this is still a drop in the bucket in the global demand for energy."

While full displacement is still some time away, the advances in mixing higher ratios of silicon-carbon anode should deliver batteries with significantly greater density. "You're going to start seeing a much higher percentages of silicon in the batteries as we look to how silicon batteries develop in products over the coming couple of cycles."

This is like a push-pull effect, said Ray, where the phone manufacturers are pushing battery vendors to deliver increasing gains. "We also work directly with the OEMs so that they have a much better understanding of the real benefits of being able to do a full displacement, and they can push those battery manufacturers to go faster, because otherwise we're going to incremental increases."

It's not unfathomable to think next-gen phones featuring 10,000mAh batteries in roughly the same size as today's devices, and Ray said that phone manufacturers are not as risk-averse to trying out increasing silicon mixtures. While this tech is being pioneered by Chinese brands, Ray says we may see bigger brands like Samsung switch to silicon-carbon batteries in the near future — the Galaxy S26 is touted to feature the battery next year.

Using flagships this year made me realize the potential of silicon-carbon batteries, and I'm excited to see how this tech evolves in 2026 and beyond. Most phones these days last at least a day and a half between charges, and I can't wait until the time comes when we'll only need to charge our phones twice or thrice a week.

All the conversation around Apple in India has centered around tariffs, and for good reason — the brand is aiming to move a bulk of its iPhone production out of China to India. Doing so will undoubtedly be time-consuming, and we'll need to wait and see if the factories assembling iPhones in India can handle the increased demand.

Apple in general is enjoying a heady momentum in India, gaining sizeable market share on the back of strong sales. But what I like the most is the attention the brand is paying to Indian consumers on the software front; iOS 18.4 debuted a month ago, and while it doesn't bring much in the way of bold new features, it adds Indic language integration to the OS, and it is wonderful.

In typical Apple fashion, the brand took a while to add localization to iOS, but having used the feature over the last month, I can say with some confidence that it is a much better implementation than Android. I switched the system language to Telugu on the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Hindi on another device, and both languages have tight integration; it's great to see the attention to detail Apple lavished towards its localization efforts.

There are still a few labels that show up in English — like Apple Intelligence — but everywhere else, you'll see Indic languages as standard. What's interesting about this is that all the sub-menus and details in utilities like Fitness and Health are also translated into Indic languages, and that makes it easier to understand key metrics like calories burned and activity data.

Apple stuck to a standard notation in settings where it transliterated text into Telugu without changing the English naming — it's just that the alphabet has changed. Google does things a little differently where it translates the word into the source language, and it's not as easy to locate menus and sub-menus within settings because of that (at least for me).

If anything, the only limitation I can think of is that Apple Intelligence isn't available with most Indic languages, so you miss out on most of the AI-assisted features. Other than that, Apple did a thorough job integrating most Indic languages into iOS, and it's refreshing to use the iPhone in my native language.

While English literacy is high in India, the ability to use regional languages with an iPhone makes it that much more enticing. This should lead to a meaningful increase in sales, and I know one loyal Android user who's willing to switch to iOS as a result of this change. My dad has been using Android phones for the last decade — he's currently on a OnePlus Open — and while he likes using the device, he's run into several issues with Bluetooth connectivity and pairing with the OnePlus Watch 2.

I suggested he switch over to an iPhone several times in the past, but he's found iOS to be restrictive. But with the switch to Indic languages, he's interested in trying out the platform; he likes to type in Telugu and uses Gboard extensively, and the tight integration of local languages combined with the fact that Gboard is just as good on iOS as it is on Android was enough to get him at least intrigued about switching over.

Another plus point is the broader ecosystem. My dad is very active, and he likes using smartwatches; he's wanted something like the Apple Watch but on Android, and there just isn't something that has a similar design and feature-set. Now that he's moving to an iPhone (I'm giving him an iPhone 16), I'm setting him up with an Apple Watch, and I'm excited to see how he likes the platform.

On the whole, iOS 18.4 is a definite step in the right direction, and combined with the increased attention to the country and positioning its products aggressively, it's obvious that Apple is gaining considerable momentum.

While I enjoy using the likes of the Pixel 9 Pro XL and Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it's the mid-range Pixel A devices where Google really shines. The brand is making a habit of delivering good all-rounders year after year, and that continues to be the case with this year's Pixel 9a.

The Pixel 9a is notable as it comes with a brand-new design aesthetic; Google's mid-range phones had the same design as its mainline devices, but this time around, the brand went with a different aesthetic to distinguish the device. Google says that it wanted to give the Pixel A series its own distinct character, and that's evident in the design.

As a result, the camera bar gave way to a pill-sized housing that doesn't attract anywhere as much attention. What I like the most about the new design is that the camera module sits flush with the chassis; this makes a big difference in usability, and after testing dozens of phones with massive camera islands that jut out considerably, it's a refreshing change of pace to use the Pixel 9a.

The phone looks cleaner thanks to the minimalist design at the back, and while it has flat sides, the edges are beveled, so there are no issues with usability. The Pixel 9a is a smidgen taller and thicker than the Pixel 9 Pro, but it is still great to use one-handed, and Google did a great job with the in-hand feel.

Just like the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro, the Pixel 9a gets IP68 dust and water resistance as standard, making it immune to immersion in water. Google continues its usage of optical fingerprint modules, and it does a good job; it was fast to authenticate, and the location is ideal.

If anything, I prefer using the phone to mainline Pixel 9 devices, and Google got the basics absolutely right: the weight distribution is ideal, the rounded corners make it comfortable to hold, and the back has a matte texture that doesn't attract smudges. The mid-frame is made out of recycled aluminum, and overall, I really like what Google did with the design — even though I didn't get the Iris variant.

There's a lot to like with the panel as well; the 6.3-inch OLED has 120Hz refresh, and it gets noticeably brighter than its predecessors. Google is doing a great job in this regard in general, with the Pixel 9 Pro XL delivering the brightest panel of any phone I tested. Colors are great too, and I didn't see any inconsistencies in the two weeks I used the Pixel 9a.

The Pixel 9a gets the same Tensor G4 platform as the rest of the Pixel 9 series, and it retains seven shader cores. Overheating has been a big problem with the Pixel 8a last year, and the Pixel 9a does a better job in this regard thanks to a new cooling system. It isn't quite as effective as what you get on the Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL, but the phone doesn't throttle anywhere as early, or heat up as much — or as quickly.

Obviously, cameras continue to be the defining feature on all Pixels, and the Pixel 9a has two great sensors at the back. Google continues to rely on software tuning to deliver the best images and videos, but the sensor hardware itself isn't the best you get in this category; it will be interesting to see if Google manages to switch to bigger camera modules to take full advantage of its tuning algorithms.

That said, the Pixel 9a is one of the best mid-range cameras available today; the Vivo V50 and V40 Pro take better portraits and have increased versatility, but the Pixel 9a is still the most consistent shooter. While there's no tele lens on the device, it uses in-sensor zoom to deliver decent shots at 2x.

Where the Pixel 9a truly stands out is battery life; it delivers the best battery longevity of any Pixel I used in the last nine years. The 5100mAh battery is bigger than what you get on the Pixel 9 Pro XL, and the device easily managed to last a day and a half even with heavy use. I would have liked to see better charging tech, but Google continues to limit it to 23W — at least it uses the standard USB PD 3.0 protocol, so you can use any charger.

In a similar vein, the Pixel 9a has the best software of any mid-range phone. While it doesn't have all the AI-based utilities you get on the Pixel 9 Pro, Google brought its most-used utilities over to the device, and it gives the phone a distinct advantage. The UI itself is enjoyable; there's no bloatware, there's good fluidity, and I like the Material You aesthetic.

The Pixel 9a will get seven years of Android OS updates — more than any other phone in this category. While Samsung comes close with the Galaxy A56, that device has severe shortcomings in other areas, and I just wouldn't recommend buying it over the Pixel 9a.

With the Pixel 9a, Google basically took all the best features from mainline Pixels and condensed it into an affordable package. The Pixel 9a feels great to hold and use, the OLED panel is brighter than previous years, you get better thermal management, great cameras, and the best software in this category. Combine all of that with class-leading battery life, and the Pixel 9a is an undeniable hit.

I've been using the AirPods Max for the better part of six months now, and I like the headphones quite a bit. They have a stylish design, and although they're heavier than they look, I didn't run into any fatigue even with extended use, and the sound quality is phenomenal.

I got the USB-C version of the AirPods Max, and I was excited about plugging these into my gaming machine and using them as my daily driver. However, that wasn't possible as they wouldn't connect via USB-C — until now. Apple has started delivering the update to unlock 24-bit/48 kHz lossless audio via USB-C (you'll need to update to build 7E101), and it makes the AirPods Max so much better.

Now that I'm finally able to connect the headset to Windows, I wanted to see how good they actually are, so I paired the AirPods Max against my audio setup, which includes an Audeze MM-500 that's hooked up to a Fiio K19 DAC. Although the MM-500 are aimed at mastering, they have a vibrant sound that lends itself well to gaming and casual listening, and I've been using the headphones for over a year. With the MM-500 retailing for $1,699 and the Fiio K19 coming in at $1,364, the two products cost more than six times as much as the $479 AirPods Max.

As is the case with all Apple products, the AirPods Max have tight integration with the iPhone, iPad, and macOS devices. While there's no mention of Windows, I was able to connect the headphones to my Windows 11 gaming machine without any issues via the provided USB-C to USB-C cable. Windows detected the AirPods Max as headphones, and I was able to use the 24-bit/48 kHz mode to take full advantage of the audio potential.

I immediately put the AirPods Max to the test, launching Roon and listening to some of my favorite albums. The headphones held up better than I imagined, and were thoroughly enjoyable to use. That said, they didn't quite measure up to the open-backed MM-500; Audeze's headphones delivered a significantly cleaner sound with a rumbling low-end, crystal-clear mids, and detailed treble. The Max have a good low-end, but the recessed mids makes vocals sound a tad artificial, and you don't get the same engaging soundstage.

That was always going to be the case considering the use case of either headset, and even $349 closed-back products like the Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro sound much better. But where AirPods Max win out is the sheer versatility; they can be used in a wide variety of settings that just isn't feasible with the MM-500 or the DT 1770 Pro.

The MM-500 has been sitting on my desk this past year, while I took the AirPods Max with me on flights, paired it with my iPad Pro M4 and used it to watch movies and TV shows, and used it while working out. The biggest bonus is the ANC; the AirPods Max have the best noise isolation of any headphones I used, and that's immediately evident even from switching from the Sony WH-1000XM5.

While they are heavier than most Bluetooth headphones, they don't have anywhere close to the same heft as the MM-500, and the mesh headband does a great job distributing the weight while providing good ventilation. They also have a cleaner design, and the blue variant I'm using looks pretty stylish. They also have just the right amount of clamping force, and don't exert too much pressure — a key consideration for prolonged use.

What I like the most about the lossless audio update is that I can plug in the AirPods Max to my iPad Pro; I dabble in music production, and the ability to plug in the headset is highly convenient. Don't get me wrong; they did a decent enough job over Bluetooth, but they sound better when plugged in, and there's no latency whatsoever.

If anything, my main issue with the AirPods Max is the case; it does little to safeguard the mesh headband, and I constantly worry about it getting damaged whilst in my bag (though not so much to actually buy a hard shell case). Outside of that, the AirPods Max have been fantastic in daily use, and the ability to plug them to my Windows machine and use lossless audio makes these a standout choice.

The only smartwatch I used with any amount of consistency over the last four years is the Apple Watch, and there's a simple reason for that — it's actually good. While I initially liked Wear OS smartwatches, Google's ham-fisted strategy means the platform still doesn't get the attention it deserved, and it suffers as a result.

Thankfully, this isn't a problem with Apple; the brand has a consistent vision around its hardware ecosystem, and it did a good job building on that over the course of the last decade. And although there hasn't been much variance with the Apple Watch in the last two years, that's changed with the Series 10.

The Apple Watch Series 10 doesn't have groundbreaking features or a brand-new design; instead, it is thinner and lighter, has a slightly bigger panel, and several quality-of-life improvements that make a big difference if you're a long-term user. Best of all, it's now on sale, coming in at $329 — a $100 discount over its retail price. The Series 10 is available in 42mm and 46mm sizes, and with aluminum or titanium cases, and it starts at $329 (a limited-time deal) and goes up to $1,049 based on case variants and accessories.

The 42mm aluminum model usually starts at $399/£399/€499/₹46,900, with the 46mm variant going up to $429/£429/€479/₹49,900. It's available in Silver, Rose Gold, and Jet Black — the model I'm using. The titanium variant starts at $699/£699/€799/₹79,900 for the 42mm version, and $749/£749/€849/₹84,900 if you choose 46mm, and it is available in Natural, Gold, and Slate colors.

You're looking at an additional $100 if you want cellular connectivity, and while rubber and textile bands don't have an additional premium, steel bands add $50 to the cost of the smartwatch. The variant I'm testing is ₹59,900 ($709) in India, and it is available at $529 in the U.S.

The thinnest Apple Watch yet

While the Series 10 retains a similar design as its predecessor, the biggest difference is the sizing. It is a millimeter thinner than last year, and is in fact the thinnest Apple smartwatch yet. I immediately noticed the difference after switching over from the Series 9; it is also a smidgen lighter, and these things matter on a device that's meant to be worn 24/7.

The chassis has rounded corners and is generally sleeker, and you'll see a pronounced difference if you're switching from an older model. The aluminum model is great in its own right; it uses an anodized design and a highly polished coating that makes it shine.

The jet black variant in particular is very good, and it stands out quite a bit. I was worried about the glossy coat wearing thin, but after six months of regular use, the smartwatch still looks pristine. This has never been an issue in the past either, and the Series 10 has the same reliable durability — even without using a case.

If you need something to match your iPhone 16 Pro Max, the smartwatch is available in titanium. You'll be shelling out at least $699 to get the titanium chassis model, but it looks stunning. A big part of the allure of the Apple Watch is the extensive customizability; the smartwatch has more band options than any rival, and you can tailor it to your preferences.

I picked up a few leather and stainless steel bands over the years, but I predominantly used the Textile Sport Loop; it's a good pairing with the Series 10 as it is lighter than all the other bands. The thinner design and rounded edges distinguish the Series 10 a decent amount, and it's a worthy upgrade if you're coming from an older model.

A bigger OLED panel with better viewing angles

It is good to have a thinner and lighter watch, but the biggest differentiator with the Series 10 is the panel; it now comes with a 1.96-inch OLED on the 46mm version, and the slightly bigger size means you can see more text. What I like the best is that the viewing angles are better this generation, so you can easily make out the contents on the screen even at an angle — this makes all the difference in daily use.

The panel also gets brighter when outdoors, and again, the difference is noticeable against the Series 9. The bigger panel along with thinner bezels makes the Series 10 look that much more elegant, and I like the additional real estate; in regular use, that translates to an additional line of text when viewing notifications.

Another cool feature is that it uses LTPO tech, so the smartwatch cycles down to 1Hz refresh, allowing a seconds hand. The new Flux watch face does a great job demonstrating this, and that's the one I used most of the time. While the rest of the changes on the smartwatch are iterative, the design combined with the bigger panel make a decent difference in usability, so if you're on an older model and mulling a switch, the Series 10 is the way to go.

An exhaustive feature-set

The one new feature I like a lot is that you can play music locally on the watch; there's a tiny speaker located on the left. This is something I've been waiting for quite a while, so it's good to see the Series 10 get the feature.

It does real-time translations as well, and you can download language packs onto the smartwatch and use the built-in translation utility when your phone isn't around. I don't take many calls on the watch, but it has improved noise isolation, so background noise isn't as audible.

The on-device features are facilitated by the S10 SiP, which has better energy efficiency and is designed to deliver AI tasks. Apple always does a good job with health and activity monitoring, and the Series 10 continues that heritage. It has the same slate of sensors as the Series 9, and picks up the water depth gauge and water temperature sensor this time. It does a terrific job monitoring health and activity data throughout the day, and I didn't see any issues in this area.

I like the changes to the workout modes in watchOS 11; you get more detailed insights, and training load is a good way to measure if you're straining your body. The interface itself hasn't changed much, and I still like the double tap gesture quite a bit; I'm waiting to see how third-party apps utilize it now that it's available to everyone.

The only thing that's underwhelming about the Series 10 is the battery life; I thought it would finally manage to last two days, but that hasn't been the case. I got a day and a half on average, and while I was able to extend that to two days by disabling always-on mode, but it runs counter to the idea of having a smartwatch, so I didn't bother doing that most of the time.

The Series 10 is still my go-to recommendation

As much as I like the thinner design and bigger panel, I wouldn't suggest switching to the Series 10 if you're using its predecessor. But if you're on the Series 7 or older, there are enough upgrades to easily warrant a move. The tweaks to the design make it that much more comfortable to wear, and the OLED panel is bigger, brighter, and has rounded edges.

The fundamentals are still the same, and I like the consistency — this is something Google needs to address on its own devices. More than anything else, it's for this reason I continue to use the smartwatch. The only annoyance is how regularly I need to charge it; that's why I enjoyed using Withings' ScanWatch Nova over the last month; the hybrid smartwatch only needs to be charged bi-weekly, but it doesn't quite have the same smarts. If you need a full-fledged smartwatch with all the extras, the Series 10 continues to be my go-to choice.

I used dozens of Wear OS smartwatches over the years, but I ultimately settled on the Apple Watch because of its hassle-free usability and feature-set. My biggest annoyance with the Apple Watch is that it's unmistakably a tech product; it doesn't look or feel like an actual watch.

This is where hybrid smartwatches come into the equation. These products look like regular watches, but they come with the usual smarts that you'd associate with a smartwatch, including health and activity tracking, workout logging, and even blood oxygen and ECG monitoring. So when Withings asked if I wanted to take a look at the ScanWatch Nova, I was interested.

I knew Withings made hybrid smartwatches, but I didn't pay particular attention to its products, so I had no idea what to expect with the ScanWatch Nova. I liked the design and thought it was an intriguing product, but it's only after I started using it that I understood its true potential.

Now, before we get started, you'll need to know that the ScanWatch Nova is pricier than most smartwatches in the market, and only the Apple Watch Ultra and Huawei Watch Ultimate demand a higher price. The hybrid smartwatch costs $599 on Amazon, and that's twice what you'd pay for a standard Galaxy Watch 7.

Thankfully, Withings justifies the cost by delivering what is the best-looking hybrid smartwatch around. The ScanWatch Nova has a gorgeous design, and the dive-inspired dial immediately allows it to stand out. I'm a huge fan of Citizen's products — I own a half-dozen Promaster watches — and the Nova looks like the Promaster Dive. It even gets a Super-LumiNova coating that allows the indices and hands to glow in the dark.

The Nova has a 42mm watch face, and it has a stainless steel case with polished edges, a ceramic rotating bezel, steel rotating crown, and anti-reflective strengthened glass. The watch has a metal bracelet out of the box, but Withings includes a fluoroelastomer band in the package, along with the requisite tools to adjust the links on the metal band, which is a nice touch.

On that note, the ScanWatch Nova is available in black, blue, and green dials, and I went with the green option as that looks particularly striking. The Nova still looks pristine after a month of use that included travel to three countries, and that's after my 21-month-old got a hold of the watch and decided to throw it about.

The design combined with the attention to detail makes the ScanWatch Nova one of the best-looking watches around, and the elegant design is a clear selling point. Coming in at 63g, the Nova isn't heavy that you'd notice, but it has the right amount of heft to feel like a regular watch — this is an issue with most smartwatches, which end up being too light.

At a quick glance, it isn't evident that the ScanWatch Nova is a hybrid smartwatch, and the only indicator to its smarts is the 0.63-inch dial that houses an OLED panel. It is a monochrome panel with a pixel density of 282PPI, and text looks clear without any fringing.

Text is easily readable even under sunlight, and while the size of the panel means you're limited in what notifications show up on the watch, it wasn't a big problem as such. It's easy to navigate the menus via the rotating crown, and you can view heart rate info and activity data with relative ease.

Although the ScanWatch Nova is a hybrid smartwatch, it has a full suite of health monitoring sensors. You get an optical module to measure heart rate, an SpO2 sensor, a new TempTech24/7 sensor that measures skin temperature throughout the day, and an electrocardiogram module that lets you take ECG readings on the watch itself.

In this regard, the Nova is just as good as a regular smartwatch, and if anything, Withings has an edge thanks to ECG readings. The feature does a good job, and even with regular heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, the Nova held its own against the best smartwatches.

There's also a cardio check-up that's bundled with the Withings+ subscription. I'm not a fan of subscriptions, and I don't quite see the point of Withings+; it has workouts and meal plans, and provides a scorecard based on your health and activity data, and while I used the trial, I didn't see enough value in paying $10 a month. Considering the cost of the Nova, Withings should have offered a free year of Withings+, but that isn't the case.

Coming to activity monitoring, the ScanWatch Nova does a good job logging steps, and it even has automatic activity detection. I tested it with my indoor bike, and while it took a little while to notice the activity, it logged it without any intervention. The data is in line with other smartwatches I tested, and while you don't get much metrics on the Nova itself, the mobile app does a great job highlighting activity data.

The only issue in this area is that the Nova doesn't include a built-in GPS, so if you're running outdoors, you'll need to bring your phone along. That is an annoyance, and other than this omission, there isn't anything missing on the smartwatch. I had no issues with notifications either, and while not as customizable as a regular smartwatch, it serves the need — and that's what I want.

The biggest advantage with a hybrid smartwatch is battery life, and the ScanWatch Nova excels in this area. I got close to three weeks of battery life before having to charge the smartwatch, and not having any battery anxiety is a genuine differentiator. The Nova uses a custom charging cradle, and it takes over two hours to charge, but you'll only be doing so once a month.

Ultimately, the ScanWatch Nova does everything I need in a smartwatch, but it doesn't look or feel like one, and the elegant design combined with extensive health and activity monitoring make it a great — if costly — choice. I used the watch for a month now, and in that time, I didn't feel the need to go back to the Apple Watch — which in itself is the highest praise I can give the Nova.

When I reviewed the Phone 2a last year, I called it the best budget phone of the year. In 2025, the Phone 3a Pro is carrying that mantle. Nothing's latest phone retains a similar foundation as its predecessor, so you get an interesting design at the back, clean software with useful extras, good customizability, timely software updates, and great cameras.

Interestingly, the 3a Pro gets a 50MP telephoto lens, giving it a distinct advantage over the 2a. Nothing switched over to Qualcomm silicon once again, and that's a good thing — the phone has much better performance in gaming and daily use versus the 2a and 2a Plus.

I used the Phone 3a Pro for just over a week now, and I'm convinced that this is the only budget phone worth buying in India. I like the POCO X7 Pro as well, but the software on that device isn't anywhere as good, and it doesn't quite have the same design flair.

A design that shines — literally

The Phone 3a Pro's design is divisive — Nothing admitted as much during the briefing. The phone still has a unique see-through pattern at the back, but the camera island has a rounded design and is significantly bigger than last year.

That's down to the inclusion of the new tele lens, and while there are detractors to the design, I like it; the industrial design makes the phone stand out, and while the camera island could have looked better, it is quirky — and I enjoy that in a phone. The camera island juts out considerably, but because it's stretched across nearly the entire width at the back, there isn't any wobble when using the Phone 3a Pro on a table.

Nothing went with a glass back this time, noting that while the plastic back on the Phone 2a made the device lighter, it was prone to scratching. Nothing says its userbase wanted a glass back, so it catered to that demand. The glass is protected by a custom solution, and it is effective against tumbles.

Also, the Phone 3a Pro looks much better in real life than the product renders would suggest, so if you're unsure about the device solely based on the design, I'd recommend going to a store and trying it out; Nothing sells the device via select big brand retail stores in India.

Of course, the LEDs at the back continue to be a major differentiator, and I like how this feature has evolved over the last two years. The three lighting zones don't cover much area — unlike the Phone 2 — but they're just as customizable. I'm using the grey color variant of the device, and while it isn't quite as striking as the blue model, it does a brilliant job accentuating the design.

What I like about the Phone 3a Pro is that it has an aluminum mid-frame with matte sides. This makes holding and using the phone that much easier, and it creates a much better in-hand feel. I'm still not a fan of the flat sides though, but Nothing is at least consistent in this regard. The phone has IP64 ingress protection, and Nothing says while it didn't get the Phone 3a Pro tested for IP65 or IP67, it should weather immersion in water — but without a rating, you lose any warranty due to water damage if you try.

All the hardware you need

The Phone 3a Pro has a 6.77-inch AMOLED panel, and just like its predecessor, it has ultra-thin bezels on all sides. This is a minor point, but it is yet another area where Nothing's attention to detail makes the device stand out, and it's good to see the brand providing the same quality on its budget phones as its flagship.

Anyway, the panel has good colors and contrast, and the notable change this year is that it gets much brighter than the Phone 2a — this was immediately evident when using the device outdoors. I didn't see any issues while gaming or streaming media, and although the Phone 3a Pro doesn't quite have the same level of performance as a high-end device, it holds up incredibly well considering it's a budget phone. Thermals are handled much better, and it makes a noticeable difference in extended gaming sessions.

The rest of the hardware is pretty standard; there's good connectivity, a decent vibration motor, and thanks to a 5000mAh battery, the phone lasts a day without any issues at all. The 50W charging tech means it takes just an hour to charge the Phone 3a Pro, and while it's annoying that you still don't get a charger in the box, it relies on the USB PD protocol, so you can use any charger with the device.

I enjoyed using the cameras on the Phone 2a last year, and this is an area where the Phone 3a Pro brings considerable upgrades. The 50MP Samsung GNJ main camera takes better images in low-light situations, and the new 50MP Sony LYT-600 tele lens is fantastic; it takes clear shots at 3x, and you get usable shots at up to 10x. Annoyingly, video is limited to 4K30, and you don't get 4K60 recording on the device. Video recording itself is pretty average, but that's the case with most budget devices.

Essential software

A big part of the allure with Nothing's phones is the software. There just aren't enough budget phones with clean software, so Nothing's focus in this area is refreshing. The interface continues to be just as clean as previous years, and Nothing OS 3.1 has plenty of customizability. Nothing has a slate of exclusive widgets on its devices, and they combine great design with usability.

The Android 15-based interface is fluid, and I enjoy using it quite a bit. While it isn't what I'd call vanilla Android, there's a distinct visual style, and unlike most other skins, the design doesn't feel cumbersome in the least. It's just enjoyable to use, and Nothing OS 3.1 continues to me one of my favorite Android interfaces.

An interesting addition this year is a button underneath the power button. This is to invoke Essential Space, a shelf that organizes all your screenshots, to-do lists, notes, voice memos, images, and more. A single press of the button lets you jot down a note, a long press lets you dictate a voice memo, and a double press launches the shelf. It is one of the best features on the Phone 3a Pro, and while it's still in its infancy — Nothing has ambitious plans for the feature — it's clear that it has great potential.

Nothing says Essential Space will be a differentiator on the Phone 3 that's slated to launch sometime later this year, but it didn't want to limit the mode to its flagship, so its debuting on the Phone 3a and 3a Pro. That's great to see, and honestly, it makes me question why other Android brands didn't come up with something similar until now.

Nothing comes close

The Phone 3a Pro costs ₹30,999 ($356) in India for the 8GB/128GB edition, and I know calling it a budget phone is dubious, but that's where the industry is headed. Phone prices are steadily on the rise, and decent budget phones cost nearly double what they used to just a few years ago.

That said, these phones have better hardware, elegant designs, and significantly better cameras. The Phone 3a Pro in particular proves that budget phones can be cool too, and the combination of unique design, clean software, and great cameras at the back make it the best choice in this category. There isn't another device that gives you quite as many features, and it's no wonder that Nothing is aggressively advertising the Phone 3a Pro in India — it knows it's onto something great.

Mobile gaming is a point where mid-range and even a few budget phones can play demanding games at stable framerates without too much of a hassle. That's a good thing in countries like India, where a mobile phone is often the only screen available. So any headway that can be made to make gaming better — or just about any other use case on mobile — has tangible gains.

That's why I was excited to talk to Arm's senior director of smartphone segment strategy, Steve Raphael, to know about the brand's plans relating to mobile gaming and AI innovations. Raphael talked about Arm's mission to bring "console-quality" gaming to mobile, and that it has an "amazing roadmap" of announcements in this area.

Raphael talked about technologies that have made a real difference in the world of Windows gaming — DLSS or FSR — and bringing something similar to mobile devices. Arm introduced Accuracy Super Resolution (ASR) nine months ago, but it started demoing the tech in action at MWC 2025, and is slated to serve up additional details at GDC 2025 in a few weeks' time.

Similar to NVIDIA's DLSS, ASR uses temporal upscaling to deliver significantly better visual fidelity. Essentially, the tech renders a scene at a lower resolution, and uses AI models to upscale to a higher resolution, leading to smoother framerates and better clarity. Arm showcased a demo running on a device powered by the Immortalis-G925 that was connected to a tablet, and while there was some artifacting, it was smooth, and the overall visual quality was terrific.

The tech can deliver gains of up to 53%, and I see it making a difference in budget and mid-range chipsets, where there's a need for this kind of a feature. Arm isn't starting from scratch, instead leveraging AMD's open-source FSR2 upscaler as the foundation — this is absolutely the right move, as it allows Arm a decent head-start.

Upscaling makes sense on mobile as there's a limited power budget on the device, and any shortcut you can take to increase framerates without overheating or needlessly throttling is a huge bonus. And as this is being baked in at the platform level, all devices that are powered by Arm hardware — basically every Android phone — stand to benefit.

I shifted gears to talking about AI and mobile NPUs, and Raphael stated that Arm did a "tremendous amount of work" this year to make it easy to load AI applications into the CPU, integrating numerous libraries and optimizing usability so they're effortless to get started.

On that note, Arm teamed up with Stability AI to bring generative audio to phones, and it showcased the tech in action at MWC 2025. The brand is going to debut image, video, and 3D generation tools on its devices in the coming months. Most AI use cases on mobile are cloud-driven, but it isn't sustainable to send swathes of data to a cloud server to get the requisite information; Raphael talked about this "asymmetry" where considerable energy is used to send data to a cloud server, and how it ends up being a "huge burden."

Balancing efficiency with performance is going to be pivotal with these AI workloads, and Raphael mentioned how the brand made "phenomenal amounts of efficiency gains" in the last two years, and that Arm is looking to deliver more AI use cases on-device instead of information going to the cloud.

I also asked about the recent trend with mobile platforms where manufacturers like MediaTek and Qualcomm are leveraging big cores exclusively in their products instead of the heterogenous configurations we've seen in years past. Raphael said that it is driven by a need for Arm's partners to deliver the best possible performance, and that although designs like the Dimensity 9400 exclusively use Cortex X925, X725, and A720, the inherent gains with the latest v9 core means they deliver much better efficiency than their predecessors.

Raphael also mentioned a key point about the frequencies at play, noting that although cores now go up to over 4GHz, the time that they're actually running at that frequency is minuscule, often measured in milliseconds. The idea is to execute a task as fast as possible — such as an app launch — and go back to idle state to maximize efficiency, and this is what makes devices like the Vivo X200 Pro last at least a day and a half even though it is made up entirely of powerful cores.

Lastly, I talked about Arm's licensing model and whether we'll see any changes on that front. Raphael stated emphatically that Arm's current model is its "bread and butter," and as it stands to benefit by sharing in a brand's success via royalties, it doesn't see the need to alter the status quo. I asked about the situation with Qualcomm and whether that was resolved, but predictably, I didn't get a comment either way.

Having used NVIDIA's DLSS extensively in the last four years, I'm excited to see how Arm can leverage ASR on mobile devices. The demos it showcased are promising, and the fact that this is agnostic of device maker or chip vendor means all Android devices can take advantage of the tech, and that's a great thing.

I didn't use InfinaCore's products a lot, but that's changing with the P3 Pro. While I have dozens of chargers in the house — I take UGREEN's 165W Nexode Pro whenever I'm traveling — there isn't another charger that has quite as many features as the P3 Pro. To start with, it has dual USB-C and a single USB-A port, so you can reliably charge three devices at once.

There's also a built-in screen that lets you view charging stats in real-time, and I always like chargers and power banks that have this feature; it is a decent enough differentiator on Anker's massive Prime 27650mAh power bank. Now, where things get interesting is the other features on offer: the P3 Pro has integrated Qi2 connectivity, and you get the ability to charge the likes of the iPhone 16 Pro Max at 15W via this mode.

But the biggest advantage is that the charger has a built-in 10000mAh battery, doubling as a power bank. While it is chunkier than other chargers, the inclusion of Qi2 and a decent-sized battery gives it much better versatility. On that note, InfinaCore bundles global travel plugs with the P3 Pro; it comes with the standard U.S. blade plug built into the enclosure, and you can easily attach plugs designated for use in the EU, U.K., Australia, and other parts of the world. Coming in at $68 on Amazon, it doesn't cost that much either.

Basically, you can use the P3 Pro as a dedicated travel charger, and it has passthrough charging — letting you charge connected devices without power going to the internal battery. The design itself is sturdy; the P3 Pro is made out of soft touch plastic, and it has rubber feet at the bottom that ensure it stays planted on a desk. The USB ports and LCD screen are located on the right, and the retractable charging pins are on the left. There's a retractable band next to the charging pins, and you can use this to hook the P3 Pro to the outside of a bag.

The top portion acts as the Qi2 charging mat, and I didn't have any problems charging iPhones and a multitude of Android devices (with the requisite magnetic attachments) with the charger. The internal 10000mAh battery takes a while to charge as it only goes up to 30W, and when you use the P3 Pro as a power bank, you get a maximum of 45W out as the power budget.

To make the most of the 65W charging tech, you'll need to plug it into a wall and use it as a standard GaN charger. Either USB-C port is able to hit 65W, with the USB-A port going up to 18W. It delivers a reliable charge, and I didn't see any issues when using the P3 Pro with the Honor Magic 7 Pro, Vivo X200 Pro, or the Huawei Mate XT. I used it as both a power bank and traditional AC charger in the month I had the product, and it did a great job.

The built-in panel shows you real-time charging as well as time left to charge connected devices (or the internal battery), and I'm glad that this feature is included in the device — it makes using it that much more convenient. Overall, InfinaCore nailed the brief with the P3 Pro, and you get a 65W travel charger, Qi2 mat, and 10000mAh power bank all rolled into one device. Considering it costs just $68, you are getting a good overall value with the product.

I'm a big fan of Tailscale; I started using the service two years ago, and it has become an integral part of my home network. I use it to connect to my NAS remotely, and it just makes it so much more convenient. Basically, Tailscale is a tunneling service that creates a secure connection to your devices, making remote access a breeze.

Another big use case is ad blocking. I have Pi-hole set up on a Pi 4 that's connected to my home network, and it does a great job blocking ads on all devices — including phones and tablets — while I'm in the house. As a high-level overview, Pi-hole is an incredible utility that blocks ads on the entire home network; you set it up on a device like the Pi 4 or Pi 5 and connect it to your router, and have it running as the DNS server. It has built-in ad lists and does a great job filtering ads on all devices that connect to your router (including IoT gear), and it's an invaluable tool.

But that's just in the confines of my home; it's not like I can configure a Pi-hole on the go. The solution is to use Tailscale to connect to my home network, allowing me to essentially use Pi-hole as the DNS while traveling. The best part about this is how easy it was to set up; why I like Tailscale so much is the seamlessness with which it works — there's no need to manually configure settings in any way; just have the service installed on any device you want to connect to, and you're good to go. Oh, and did I mention that it doesn't cost anything to use?

Tailscale is a zero trust networking service, which means it doesn't store any user data. In fact, it doesn't even handle authentication; you'll need to use your Google account or any other SSO while setting up and logging into the utility.

I've had a busy week with launch events in Malaysia and Singapore, and I did most of my work on a Windows machine and the Find N5. Both devices connected to my Tailnet — my home Tailscale network — and as the DNS was being filtered by Pi-hole, I didn't see any ads. I was initially worried that it would lead to increased latency as all data was being routed to my home network 2,000 miles away, but it wasn't a problem at all — there was no noticeable difference while browsing, and it felt like I was back home.

This usability is what makes Tailscale so good. I also like that it doubles as a tunnel to all my other devices; I needed to download images of the Find N5 saved in my home NAS, and I did so while I was at the product launch event. I just connected to my NAS via Tailscale, browsed to the folder, and downloaded the images onto my Find N5. I use a decent number of networking tools, but Tailscale continues to be the best around, and its robust feature-set combined with effortless ease of use (and the fact that it's free) makes it an easy recommendation.

It's a particularly interesting year in the mobile industry, with Qualcomm and MediaTek making sizeable gains with their offerings. Qualcomm switched to a fully-custom design after a decade, and the result is that the Snapdragon 8 Elite has generational gains over the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and it is magnificent.

MediaTek isn't sitting idly by either, and the Dimensity 9400 has notable design wins and much better performance. By contrast, Google's decision to play it safe with the Tensor G4 feels shortsighted, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL doesn't bring any meaningful upgrades in this area.

I used over a dozen phones powered by the latest chipsets in the last three months, and it's time to take a look at how they differ. Before I get to the benchmarks, a quick overview of what's new this year. Obviously, we need to start with Qualcomm, because the Snapdragon 8 Elite is different to what we've seen in the past.

Qualcomm went to a fully custom CPU design in a move that's similar to what Apple does with its own silicon, and it allowed the chip vendor to fine-tune the platform by a considerable amount. It isn't astonishing, then, that the platform has the best single-and multi-core CPU scores of anything I tested, and it even outmatches the iPhone 16 Pro Max — a huge deal in and of itself.

The gains with the GPU aren't as noticeable, and while it continues to be one of the best around, it doesn't have an outsized lead. Thankfully, MediaTek was also able to deliver a platform that's fantastic, and the Dimensity 9400 has enticing upgrades. Although it uses stock Arm cores, MediaTek's decision to exclusively leverage big cores makes a clear difference when it comes to performance. MediaTek has been doing this for two years now, and it nailed the fundamentals.

Interestingly, the GPU on the Dimensity 9400 is able to hold its own against what Qualcomm is offering. That just hasn't been the case in previous years, and I even managed to get better scores with the Immortalis-G925 than the Adreno 830. Qualcomm still leads the way with sustained performance, but it's great to see MediaTek gaining ground in this key area.

There isn't much to talk about the Tensor G4, as Google is using the same core configuration and manufacturing node as the G3. While Qualcomm and MediaTek made the switch to a 3nm node — delivering big gains in efficiency — Google is still using the 4nm node, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL doesn't quite have the same battery longevity.

I'm using ASUS's Zenfone 12 Ultra as the Qualcomm baseline as it has a good thermal solution while still technically being a mainstream phone. I went with the Vivo X200 Pro to highlight the Dimensity 9400; while the Find X8 Pro also uses the same platform, I felt that the X200 Pro did a better job at gaming, so that's the one I'm using. And with Google, the Pixel 9 Pro XL has the best thermal management system in the Pixel 9 series, so that's the one I used.

When it comes to the CPU, it's clear that Qualcomm has a definite edge this year. The custom design allowed devices like the Zenfone 12 Ultra and Honor Magic 7 Pro to net the best scores in Geekbench 6's single- and multi-core workloads, and I don't see this changing over the course of 2025. The Dimensity 9400 does a great job as well, and while it is faster than last year, it doesn't outshine Qualcomm.

As you can imagine, the Pixel 9 Pro XL lags behind its rivals, posting scores that just don't measure up — the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3-based OnePlus 13R does a better job. Annoyingly, it's a similar story with the GPU as well, and the device just doesn't come close to 2025 flagships. That said, I didn't see any slowdowns in regular use, and if anything, Google did a great job with optimization with the Android 15 update, and the Pixel 9 Pro XL has much better fluidity than previous years.

The biggest issue is that the 9 Pro XL just doesn't deliver the same level of performance in demanding games. You don't get stable framerates, it throttles too soon, and it doesn't even measure up to Qualcomm and MediaTek's 2024 offerings, much less their latest platforms.

Google says it positioned on-device AI as the differentiator with the Tensor G4, but even in this area, it doesn't do anywhere as well as Qualcomm. It has a slender lead over the Dimensity 9400 in Geekbench's AI workloads, but the Zenfone 12 Ultra once again has the distinct edge, with Qualcomm's NPU clearly the one to beat.

When it comes to gaming, the Immortalis-G925 in the Dimensity 9400 delivered the best scores in 3DMark's Wild Life Extreme and Solar Bay tests. That said, the platform tends to throttle aggressively, and the X200 Pro had a stability score of just 49% in the demanding Steel Nomad Light endurance run. By contrast, Qualcomm-powered devices managed a score of at least 70%, with most devices going up to 90% in the same test.

The downside to limited throttling is that Qualcomm-based devices tend to run hotter. The X200 Pro went up to a maximum of 44 degrees Celsius after an extended gaming session, but the Zenfone 12 Ultra hit 46 degrees, and Nubia's Z70 Ultra got up to 59 degrees — the highest of any phone I tested.

Synthetic tests don't reveal the whole story, but having used these devices for an extended amount of time, what's clear is that both Qualcomm and MediaTek have done a fabulous job this year. I'm glad that MediaTek is able to deliver a product that goes up against Qualcomm in the high-end category — that just hasn't been the case in previous years.

Another interesting point is the ISP; while Qualcomm continues to make gains in this area, MediaTek outdid itself this year, with the X200 Pro and Find X8 Pro delivering the best camera packages of 2025. Of course, the camera hardware and tuning makes a sizeable difference, but the ISP on the Dimensity 9400 is an integral part of the package, and MediaTek did all the right things.

It's a similar situation with battery life. The key talking point is the introduction of silicon-carbon battery tech, and Dimensity 9400-powered devices have a clear edge when it comes to battery life. While the OnePlus 13 and Vivo X200 Pro have identical 6000mAh cells, the X200 Pro managed to last longer in my testing, delivering an additional hour of screen-on-time.

I didn't do any quantitative battery testing, but my usage across devices is roughly unchanged, and the two phones that delivered the best battery life are the X200 Pro and Find X8 Pro, both powered by the Dimensity 9400. Ultimately, both Qualcomm and MediaTek did a standout job with their 2025 designs, and while MediaTek is seeing better design wins, Qualcomm continues to dominate the North American market. I don't see that status quo changing anytime soon, but what's refreshing is that MediaTek has a viable alternative in the Dimensity 9400 in other global markets.

I have way too many external drives, and while MagSafe-enabled drives are very interesting these days, but nothing beats the convenience of a regular external SSD. There are literally hundreds of choices in this category, and regardless of whatever model you choose, you get a few things as standard: fast read/writes, reliable designs, and easy connectivity.

I've been using SK Hynix's Beetle X31 in recent weeks, and it is an intriguing option. The drive has a unique design with flowing sides, and I prefer it to the boxy designs that Samsung usually goes with. While the drive has been around for just over a year, the 2TB model is new, and that's the one I'm testing. It costs $169 on Amazon — $10 less than the equivalent Samsung option — and if you don't want that much storage, SK Hynix also sells a 1TB model that's $89, and a 512GB edition at just $49.

The X31 is available in gold and grey color variants, and I'm using the latter. If you are interested in getting the drive, I'd suggest getting the gold model — it looks just that little bit more elegant.

The sleek design makes it inherently pocketable, and I didn't have any issues taking it on the road. The chassis itself is made out of aluminum, and it has a silky coat similar to that of the Nord 4. You get rubber feet at the bottom that ensure it doesn't move around on a desk, and SK Hynix even bundles a silicone case that provides additional durability.

Even without the case, the X31 holds up incredibly well in daily wear and tear. But given that the case allows the drive to withstand two-meter tumbles and an additional barrier against dust and water ingress — it doesn't have ingress protection — I'd recommend using it.

There isn't much else to talk about the design. The USB-C port is located on the right, and there's a tiny status LED next to it that lights up when the drive is in use. SK Hynix provides USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A cables with the package, so you can easily connect the X31 to just about any device without needing additional cables.

Nothing I've said so far is different to what you get with most portable SSDs, but it's worth noting that the Beetle X31 doesn't miss out on the basics. Now, where the drive truly shines is data transfers; it has a custom M.2 2242 SSD — a variant of the BC711 — inside the enclosure, and it features an AsMedia ASM2362 controller. What's interesting is that it has an embedded DRAM, which usually isn't the case with these drives.

The result is that the X31 is able to hit sequential writes of 965MB/s and reads going up to 1,006MB/s, and it sustains those speeds a lot longer than other external SSDs I tried out recently. That alone makes it worthy of recommendation, and with a 2TB model now available, this is the best time to pick up the X31.

I didn't have any issues using the X31 with the Honor Magic 7 Pro, Vivo X200 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and my custom Windows machine. The drive does a great job with extended transfers, and it doesn't lose connectivity. It tends to get a little warm with heavy use, but that's the case with all external drives.

Overall, I think SK Hynix is onto a winner with the Beetle X31. The diminutive design combined with fast internal SSD and integrated DRAM makes it a great choice if you need an external drive to store photos, videos, and documents, and you can now get it in a 2TB model.

The tech world is collectively losing its mind over DeepSeek, and for good reason. The Chinese startup burst into the limelight back in December after debuting the R1, a model that uses self-checking mechanisms to reason and deliver accurate answers to complex questions.

Most chatbots today — like ChatGPT and Gemini — use inference models to come up with an answer, and they're trained on billions of inputs. While they excel at generalized queries, they struggle with solving complex coding and math problems, but this is slowly changing. OpenAI rolled out its o1 reasoning model at the end of last year, and it uses chain-of-thought — where it runs through multiple steps — to come up with an answer.

DeepSeek is challenging the status quo with its own solution. The DeepSeek R1 is a reasoning model that's built on the V3 large language model, and what's noteworthy about it is that it is claimed to be developed at a fraction of the cost of what U.S. entities are doing. Essentially, DeepSeek says it spent under $6 million to train its model, which is ridiculous — U.S. brands invested hundreds of millions of dollars in training each model, and billions in infrastructure.

Oh, and you don't need to pay anything to use it. It's the latter point that's causing so much consternation; to give you some context, OpenAI charges $200 a month for ChatGPT Pro, which is built on the o1 model. With DeepSeek R1, you get something that's just as good — for absolutely free. This runs counter to the fundamental ideal of Silicon Valley, where the tenet is that if there's a halfway- decent product, the main goal is to monetize it.

DeepSeek is doing things a bit differently; it open-sourced the r1, so anyone can take a look under the hood to see how it runs, or modify it as they see fit. It's no wonder, then, that DeepSeek climbed to the top of the App Store charts after just a week of availability. Its introduction had a seismic effect on the sector as a whole; the U.S. stock market lost a cumulative $1 trillion in value, with NVIDIA alone losing $589 billion in market value — the most by any organization on a single day.

Obviously, the market will correct itself, and the panic will ease as U.S. companies seek out ways to catch up — OpenAI is already touting that it will roll out "better models." But what DeepSeek exceled at doing is democratizing cutting-edge AI and making it accessible to everyone, and that alone is the biggest signal that the next big breakthrough in this category may not come from Silicon Valley after all.

While I'm not keen on generative AI, I dabble with ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude occasionally, and they clearly have their use cases. Reasoning models, however, are actually interesting; they have the ability to use logical reasoning and understand context, so if you ask a follow-up question, you get relevant answers. The best part is that all of this runs on your phone — I had no issues using the AI assistant on the Honor Magic 7 Pro and Nubia Z70 Ultra among others.

They're particularly great at solving math problems and creative thinking, and more than anything else, this is where DeepSeek's R1 fulfils its potential. And best of all, it doesn't cost you anything to use it. The breakneck pace of this industry and the staggering amounts of money being thrown at anyone building AI tech means we don't have to wait too long to witness the next big milestone.

Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25, S25+, and S25 Ultra at its annual event, and AI dominated the presentation. There's agentic AI, a feature akin to Google Now called Now Brief, and better integration with Gemini out of the box among many others Samsung highlighted, but what you don't get this year is much in the way of upgraded hardware.

This isn't new either; last year's Galaxy S24 Ultra wasn't markedly different to its predecessor, and I didn't use the device that much as a result. I was holding out for Samsung to make considerable changes with this generation, but that isn't the case, and the S25 Ultra misses out on innovations that are now standard on its rivals.

The key omission is silicon-carbide battery tech. The Vivo X200 Pro, Find X8 Pro, OnePlus 13, and Honor Magic 7 Pro all utilize silicon batteries to deliver better density, so you get much bigger batteries without any difference in size; the OnePlus 13 is actually thinner and lighter than the OnePlus 12 while offering a battery that's 500mAh larger than last year.

Silicon batteries also hold up better in extreme cold weather, and come with better durability. The ability to slot in a bigger battery with increased durability is a game-changer, and most other manufacturers are taking full advantage of the tech — Xiaomi even offers it on the mid-range Redmi Note 14 Pro+. But the S25 Ultra misses out on the feature, with the device featuring the same 5000mAh battery as last year.

Then there's the charging situation. The S25 Ultra still uses the same 45W standard, and we don't get any upgrades this time. I started using Qi2 chargers recently, and I figured they might be a good alternative with Samsung's latest phones, but the S25 Ultra is just Qi2 ready, and doesn't have the magnets in the chassis itself — you'll need to buy a case to be able to use the feature.

Samsung switched out the wide-angle lens on the device, and there's now a 50MP module that should take better photos. But the main and telephoto cameras are unchanged, and I can't help but feel that Samsung will lose even more ground in this area against devices like the X200 Pro and Find X8 Pro.

Chinese manufacturers are doing incredible things with phone cameras, rolling out massive sensors and delivering generational upgrades on a consistent basis. The X200 Pro gets a 200MP telephoto camera that takes phenomenal portraits at 3x, and Samsung just doesn't have an answer to that.

Even the main camera on most Chinese phones is markedly better than what I used last year, and while the S25 Ultra should take better photos thanks to the changes to the ISP, I'm not sure it will dethrone Vivo, OPPO, and Honor anytime soon — I'll be putting that to the test once I get my hands on the device.

Similar to last year, most of the new features on the device center around AI. Every other phone manufacturer is getting on the AI bandwagon, and all phones I used in the last 18 months had some version of an AI utility. In each of these cases, I got the sense that the brands are shoehorning dubious AI features onto their devices just because it is the buzzword de jour. Samsung, however, is positioning Galaxy AI as the cornerstone of the S25 Ultra, and I'm not sure that's a winning strategy.

Don't get me wrong; I like the design changes Samsung introduced this year. The S25 Ultra has flatter sides with rounded edges, and it is thinner and lighter than its predecessor, which is good to see. Samsung also shrunk the bezels, accommodating a bigger 6.9-inch AMOLED panel without increasing the height. As a result, the S25 Ultra is easier to hold and use, and thanks to Gorilla Armor 2 protection at the front and back, it should have much better resistance against tumbles.

With the switch to Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Elite, the phone should be faster as well. Samsung once again worked closely with Qualcomm to customize the platform, and the overclocked chipset has decent gains over last year. But it wasn't like the S24 Ultra was short on power anyway, and whether you get any noticeable difference is something I'll need to wait and see until I get the phone.

Look, I'm not saying that the S25 Ultra is a bad phone — far from it. It's just disappointing that Samsung played it safe yet again, and the S25 Ultra isn't the best version of the phone it could make if it really wanted to do so. Samsung doesn't have any meaningful rivalry in North America, so it can get away without offering tangible upgrades to the camera or battery life.

While the OnePlus 13 is a much better showing this year, it doesn't have anywhere close to the same level of carrier backing as the S25 Ultra, making it a nonstarter in the region. Combine that with Samsung's generous trade-in incentives, and the S25 Ultra inevitably ends up being the default option if you want a high-end Android phone.