Making the most of your Android phone often starts with making it last longer. Whether it’s a new streaming app, a strategy game, or just Google Docs, none of these apps are useful in the slightest on a dead phone. For those who just purchased a new smartphone or have used the same one for years, these tips are designed to improve battery life by about 25%. These tips and tricks are also easy to find and configure, since all of them are part of the standard Android operating system....

Three new Philips Hue lights have launched in the UK. From today, a new, smaller bulb size is available to buy, as well as updates to the Surimu and Aurelle panels in fresh shapes and sizes. Plus, new features are coming via software updates later this year to the Philips Hue Bridge and Hue app that’ll increase customisation and control over lighting. Don’t forget that to unlock all the features of the lights, you’ll need a Hue Bridge ( $59....

I’ve been using an expensive Android tablet from ZTE with a 3D display, and it is one of the oddest products I’ve ever tested. It uses 3D technology similar to the Nintendo 3DS to create a ‘glasses-free’ 3D effect to images and videos. Confusingly, the Nubia Pad 3D is also sold as the Lume Pad 2 from a company called Leia Inc. The box I received the product to review in was Leia branded and said ‘development platform’ on the side....

We’re just days away from the return of Only Murders in the Building, a cosy crime favourite that marks the start of autumn TV season . The fifth season , starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez, will explore New York’s mob scene, and how it connects to the latest tragic death at the Arconia: that of friendly doorman Lester Coluca. Let me start by saying that I adore this show....

Ever since the Pixel made its debut in 2016, cameras have been a big deal. For the last decade, the latest Google flagships have consistently offered among the best photography experiences of any phone. The four-strong Pixel 10 series offers plenty of premium camera hardware, including some notable upgrades from year. But the software side is arguably even more impressive, as that’s where Google has added lots of exciting new features....

You may have missed the Prime Day sale , or perhaps you’re not a Prime member but neither of these things matter when we’ve found some of the best deals are still available now or have dropped even lower in price. Grab a bargin on these without the downsides to Prime Day madness. Motorola G84 5G £169.99 (32% off) Same price as Prime Day Read our Moto G84 5G review Thomas Newton / Foundry...

The history of robotics stretches from Greek philosopher Aristotle’s ideas about automated tools, all the way through to Henry Ford’s Model T assembly line and beyond. We’re still far off seeing robots of the like depicted in films such as Ex Machina (or even I, Robot), but the field of robotics and AI is constantly evolving, with new milestones being reached all the time. Here’s a refresher on some of the biggest landmarks in the development of robotics up until the present day....

Discrete graphics cards remain an oddity in ultra-portable laptops, and at best you can usually expect one of Nvidia’s basic MX-series cards. Not so in the new Acer Swift X, which somehow crams in an Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti while keeping the overall laptop both thin and light. The 3050 Ti – or a regular RTX 3050 in some models – is paired with AMD’s Ryzen 5000 series processors, with the choice between a Ryzen 5 5600U or Ryzen 7 5800U....

The original Age of Empires turned 20 in 2017, and Microsoft knew exactly how to celebrate: by announcing it again, in shiny 4K, as Age of Empires: Definitive Edition. Unfortunately the re-release was postponed until early 2018, thanks to last-minute delays, but the good news is that it’s not too far off now. First announced at E3 2017 , the Definitive Edition is a full remaster of the original 1997 real-time strategy game, with improved visuals, a re-orchestrated soundtrack, bug fixes, UI tweaks, and a host of other modern enhancements....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Great range of features for the price Fitness tracking is good Simple design with AMOLED screen Good battery life Cons Not as accurate for heart rate as some alternatives You have to pay more for NFC Not the most comfortable Our Verdict For its price, the Amazfit Active 2 has a huge range of health and fitness features, a simple and elegant design and a colourful and responsive AMOLED display....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Good sound Silent movement Can view camera remotely Cons Expensive Manual tilt No official YouTube Our Verdict Motion really adds to the experience, making this the best Echo Show yet. It also lives up to its promises of tracking (and therefore facing) you as you move around your room, and it does so inaudibly. Design-wise, this is a complete departure from any previous Echo Show....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Parental controls Case with stand Two-year guarantee Bright screen Cons More expensive than regular version Limited app store Some basic specs Slow charging Our Verdict This transforms into a monthly subscription once the initial year is up, so be warned. Design & Build Chunky case Stand becomes a handle Controls along one edge In practice, the muscle memory accrued from years of using other Android and Apple devices takes over, and I find myself reaching for buttons in places they are not....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Right now, Ryzen is proof that AMD is back on form. Although it hasn’t knocked Intel off the top spot for outright performance – and certainly not for single-core applications – it has set new standards for value and efficiency. It will surely prompt game and app developers to optimise their software for eight-core chips, and there is certainly more performance to come from Ryzen....

It’s been a year since the launch of the Apple Vision Pro and it’s no secret that it hasn’t been a successful product, at least in terms of sales. But I still think there’s real hope for another kind of wearable. That’s why I’m more excited about Apple’s smart glasses than the next Vision Pro . Or at least I was until I saw the news that Apple has supposedly shelved its long-awaited augmented reality (AR) glasses....

Apple has released a new major version of iOS every year since the iPhone made its debut, and that’s no different in 2024. The new iteration is, predictably, known as iOS 18. It includes several small tweaks that will roll out to all compatible iPhone models, but only the latest phones will get the new suite of AI features. At the iPhone 16 launch, Apple confirmed a release date for both iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence, but they’re not the same....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Fast charging speeds Noticeably larger display A feature-packed software experience Cons Same 18-hour battery life No new sensors Our Verdict It might not be the redesign some had hoped for, but the larger display really makes a difference to the Apple Watch experience on offer – and improved charging speeds are a nice touch too. There isn’t enough here for Series 6 owners to upgrade, but it’ll provide a nice change for older Apple Watch owners and those new to the wearable....

It’s only a week and a half until Apple’s “awe dropping” (not its strongest pun) iPhone 17 launch on 9 September and, just when it seemed that almost every possible aspect of the phone lineup had been leaked, another of Apple’s surprises has apparently been spoiled. If the rumour is true, Apple will be launching a crossbody strap that’s designed to work with the brand’s soon-to-be-released iPhone 17 TechWoven cases. (We could call it a “strapple” but no, that would be sinking to their level....

WhatsApp is well-known for being one of the most secure messaging services but is it impenetrable? A suspicion you are being spied on could well be correct. In this article, you can find out how to check whether someone has unauthorised access to your Whatsapp account and what steps you can take to protect your private conversations. How to tell if someone is secretly reading your WhatsApp messages Since 2016, WhatsApp has been protecting your messages with end-to-end encryption, meaning that they can only be read by the sender and recipient....

The tablet was once labelled as the laptop killer, but even high-end tablets like Apple’s M1-enabled iPad Pro can’t quite do everything that a laptop can. Sure, the portable form factor is great, but without a dedicated GPU or support from game developers, you won’t find AAA PC games on the iPad Pro. That’s where Asus comes in, revealing the Asus ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet at CES 2022 – and it’s one to pay attention to if you’re a serious gamer....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict It’s seriously expensive, but the Mobius provides impressive connectivity features, superb sound quality, and a great sense of spatial awareness that really immerses you in the gaming action. Best Prices Today: Audeze Mobius We confess that we were a bit surprised when Audeze unveiled its Mobius gaming headphones a few months ago, as this is a company that traditionally concentrates on high-end headphones for well-heeled audiophiles and professional musicians....