Xiaomi has just launched new flagship smartphones in China, but don’t forget about the tablets! As good as the Xiaomi 17 series handsets look, it was the Pad 8 series that caught my attention. Specifically, the more premium Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro, which is shaping up to be one of the best cheap slates of 2026. No, that’s not a typo. By the time the Pad 8 Pro gets a global launch, we’ll almost certainly be into 2026....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict It’s slow, and there’s a lack of control and transparency that will deter serious privacy advocates, but for home users who want to dip a low-cost toe into geolocked streaming it’s a start. Best Prices Today: Zenmate Pitched as the World’s Most Trusted VPN, ZenMate is the simplest VPN (virtual private network) we’ve reviewed. Like other VPNs, it masks your IP address online, allowing you to browse anonymously and access blocked and region-locked content – take a look at our round-up for more information on how VPNs work ....

PCs, laptops , Macs, Windows, phones and tablets – everything is 64-bit these days. Even some smartphones are 64-bit. The main reason for the switch from 32-bit is to get past the limit on the amount of memory a 32-bit processor can access. What is 32-bit and 64-bit? Put simply, 32-bit is shorthand for a 32-bit number. This number contains 32 bits (binary digits) which are either 0 or 1. And example could be 10101010101010101010101010101010....

Over the last few weeks, gossip about the next Nintendo console has been non-stop. Thankfully, the Japanese gaming giant has finally given us a first look at the Switch 2. The short but sweet teaser confirms several design rumours fans have long suspected… but also presents many, many questions. Since Tech Advisor isn’t in the business of publishing articles the length of a dissertation, I’ve selected the key burning ones of mine that I’m hoping Nintendo will shed some light on in the future....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Decent mainstream gaming speed Affordable pricing Robust, satisfying keyboard Plenty of ports and an updated chassis Cons AMD processors are faster An underwhelming screen Poor battery life Other laptops are lighter Our Verdict The Acer Nitro 5 remains a solid option for affordable gaming thanks to its decent speeds, updated chassis and satisfying keyboard, but if you’re willing to shop around then you’ll find other notebooks with faster processors, better battery life and bolder screens – all areas where the Nitro suffers....

The Alienware brand has been at the forefront of PC gaming for a quarter of a century. However, since its acquisition by Dell in 2006, it’s almost exclusively been an Intel-powered affair. In fact, the last Alienware hardware with an AMD processor was the Aurora mALX , which debuted all the way back in 2007. However, that’s all set to change with Dell’s new Alienware lineup for 2021, led by the redesigned m15 R5....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The Echo is smaller, better looking and cheaper than the original. It has a removable shell so you can change its appearance, too. With a couple of other tweaks and improvements, it’s good value but don’t forget the Echo Show 5 costs even less, and is better if you want a screen. The Echo 2 is essentially a shrunk-down version of the original with softer, less industrial styling at a lower price....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict It’s dinky and has a cute circular screen on which it displays a clock, song lyrics, a weather forecast and a lot more. Alexa works well as an audio-only device, but the screen allows her to give you more information or, if not more, then prettier information. It’s more expensive than a second-generation Echo , which costs £89.99, but when you factor in the screen it makes sense and isn’t bad value at all....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Although a little more expensive than the i5-7600K, it’s easy to see that the Ryzen 5 1600X is better value for demanding tasks such as 3D- and video rendering, video editing and compressing and decompressing files. The Intel chip still has an advantage for gaming, but as games are optimised for AMD’s new processors the gap will narrow. Best Prices Today: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X We said it before and we’ll say it again, this really is an exciting year for desktop PCs....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Ultimately, Ant-Man and the Wasp feels a lot like more of the same. With the core creative team returning, this isn’t the sort of sequel that’s fighting hard to tread new ground, but it is a comfortable – and comforting – return. There are no major MCU revelations – beyond the inevitable post-credit scenes – but the smaller scale keeps things personal even as the action gets bigger and better....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The APC is a simple device. Far from a criticism, this power bank does one job and it does it well: keeping your phone or tablet going all day away from the mains. It doesn’t have much in the way of high-end features, and its capacity-pound ratio is a lot lower than some of its rivals, but at £24 we think the M5 is a nice-looking, easily portable power bank that’s well worth Considering....

Apex Legends is one of the best Battle Royale games currently available and comes with a large array of weapons and guns. We’re going to rate them from best to worst to make sure you have the best chance of winning. Certain weapons are going to be better in certain situations, and as you can carry two at once, making sure that you have a good balance of close/long range weapons is critical to be effective at every distance....

Apple officially unveiled the next-gen 14in and 16in MacBook Pro alongside an updated Mac Mini last week, and it’s on sale now. Headline features of the new MacBook Pro range include up to 96GB of unified memory, support for 8K external displays via HDMI, upgraded Wi-Fi 6E support and, of course, the brand new M2 Pro and M2 Max chipsets – the first of any Apple tech to feature the SoCs....

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) can be a great way to protect your privacy, work on sensitive material while away from the office, or cheekily access overseas versions of Netflix . But, are they legal to use? We explain when and where a VPN is allowed by the powers that be. If you’re interested in using this kind of service, then be sure to also read our guide to the best VPN services ....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Given the low price asked for each of these useful utilities – £16 the pair – it’s hard to see a reason not to invest, if you have the need to grab screens. Snap is as unobtrusive accessory, there when you need it, and (usually) works in a flexible, modern way to grab, edit and annotate screens, before saving them quickly and easily on or off-line....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Gaming laptops don’t have to break the bank and Asus has proven this nicely with the TUF Gaming FX505. It might not have all the bells and whistles like fancy lighting, but decent all-round build and specs mean you get solid Full HD performance in a full-size laptop that can travel with you. Best Prices Today: Asus TUF Gaming FX505DY High-end tech can become scarily expensive....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Despite an understated design, the Audeara A-01 headphones stand out from the crowd. As well as providing impressive active noise cancellation, the headphones boast a hearing test that, once complete, customises the output of the audio for your hearing range. This makes music sound phenomenal – even songs you’ve listened to for years – and when combined with a 35-to-65-hour battery life, what’s not to like?...

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Visually, the Avita Liber 14in laptop is a stunning machine with an eye-catching paisley pattern on a full metal chassis. It’s sleek, with a MacBook feel, thin bezels, and an overall slim frame. You also get a nifty fingerprint scanner. It’s just not that powerful. As a concession to a premium price though, you get a premium-looking machine with specs that should satisfy general web-browsing, social media, streaming and word processing....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Excellent price Good espresso Effective milk wand Brewing flexibility Cons Basic design Thin manual Can be confusing to operate Our Verdict Beko’s bean-to-cup machine is fantastic value: it makes great espresso and froths milk to barista quality. However, it can be confusing to use – which isn’t helped by the thin manual. Best Prices Today: Beko bean-to-cup coffee machine With a one-touch LED control panel, 19 bar pressure, a pre-brewing system, a steam wand and two espresso strength levels, the Beko bean-to-cup coffee machine packs in a lot for its price point....

You can run just about any Android app on your Windows PC or laptop and make the most of the big screen and the high performance to play your favourite Android games including Clash of Clans, Battle Royale and others. There are various emulators available which allow you to run Android apps in Windows but they vary in ease of use and aren’t all free. We’ve rounded up a selection of the better ones here, but the best one for you will depend upon exactly why you want an Android emulator and also how capable you are when it comes to the more technical side of things....