Despite co-producing the Vive with HTC, Valve is set to release its own VR headset dubbed Valve Index. The branding was first spotted earlier this year, but nobody was sure what Index was until Valve posted a teaser page on Steam with the tagline “Upgrade your experience”. The Valve Index is set to be officially revealed at an event in May, but we already know a bit about the headset following a Steam leak....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros 5” split screen HD720p display Excellent pan-and-tilt capability Solid build Secure Cons Steep learning curve to change camera angles in split screen No Wi-Fi connection No snapshot or recording capability No lullaby Our Verdict The Vava Split Screen Baby Monitor is a must-have if you have two children to keep an eye on. The ability to view two live feeds simultaneously saves time, stress, and fiddling about with buttons and menus....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Tech tool for cleaning electronics and screens Real-time remaining time display Can switch between hard and soft floors easily Cons Heavier than previous Blades Multiple tools require storage Tricky to navigate around some furniture Our Verdict Even if you find vacuuming a chore, it’s hard not to like Vax’s Blade 5 Dual Pet & Car cordless vacuum cleaner. From its reassuring real-time battery life display to its easy-to-use controls and myriad collection of tools, it feels as if every aspect of dust busting has been Considered....

Note: The article below discusses the concepts of disability and functional diversity, a collective term for people with a special need, disability, impairment or handicap. All the people and companies featured have chosen how they wish to be described – we have respected their decision in all situations. Laura Moya doesn’t like technology very much. In fact, within just a few minutes of talking to her, she’ll tell you just how inaccessible it is for anyone with a disability....

The foldables market continues to grow, with several new players expected to enter the market this year. The first of them is Vivo, which has revealed its first ever foldable phone: the flagship Vivo X Fold. With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and serious photographer power, this is a flagship positioned to rival the best from Samsung, Oppo, and Xiaomi. But will the X Fold ever make it outside of China?...

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The Kobold VR200 offers powerful cleaning than can (almost) match a regular upright vacuum, backed up by good maneuverability and and solid smart support – albeit minus a couple of big features. It’s just a shame to see big downsides – the noise, or the lack of Alexa and Google Home support – in a device with such a high price. An alternative option from Vorwerk is the Kobold VK200 vacuum cleaning system, which we’ve reviewed here....

They go by many names – streaming sticks, streaming boxes, media players and more – but they all do the same thing. Plug into your TV via HDMI and connect to the internet so you watch a wealth of content. Many of them also can run other apps and even games. With many devices costing around £50/$50, they are one of the best value smart home devices you can get – and during sale seasons, they become even more of a steal....

TikTok might be the social media site that has taken the world by storm over the past few years, attracting the ire of the US government in the process, but there’s more than dance memes and emerging music artists to be found on the app. It also has its own shop selling a vast array of products from fashion, to gadgets, to consumables. Here’s what you need to know about buying products from the TikTok Shop and whether it’s safe to use....

If you’re using antivirus software that isn’t built into Windows (i.e. Windows Defender), then it will probably expire at some point. This is certainly true of the antivirus trials that come with many new PCs and laptops. They might start nagging you that your subscription is about to expire, but what happens if you ignore the warnings and the antivirus licence expires? Here we answer all your questions. How do I know if my antivirus has expired?...

Buying the latest phone is an expensive business. The cheapest iPhone 14 costs $799, which is £849 in the UK. And that’s for the model with the smallest amount of storage, too. With finances being squeezed hard by the high cost of living, it’s no wonder people are turning to refurbished phones instead. But what is a refurbished phone? How is it any different to buying a used phone from ebay?...

One feature you’ll probably find if you look in your VPN app’s settings is split tunnelling. It might be called something else, but the principle is the same: it lets some apps use the VPN connection while others don’t. By default, when you hit the Connect button in a VPN app, an encrypted connection is established between your device (such as a phone or PC) and a server on the internet....

In summary: Tech Advisor explores Netflix’s current subscription tiers, helping users choose between Standard with Ads (£5.99/month), Standard (£12.99/month), and Premium (£18.99/month) plans. Understanding plan differences matters for avoiding overspending, as each tier offers varying streaming quality, simultaneous streams, and device compatibility features. Key considerations include the ad-supported tier’s content restrictions, Standard’s balanced 1080p experience for small groups, and Premium’s 4K streaming for households. When it comes to streaming, no other service has the same brand recognition as Netflix....

Foldables are big right now, but the word is currently associated with smartphones. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip and Z Fold are a big reason for this, although the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo and Huawei have all made devices of their own. Even Microsoft got in on the act with the Surface Duo , albeit with a dual-screen design instead of a single screen that folds in half. It was first announced back in October 2019 alongside the Surface Neo , a larger version running Windows 10X ....

When you go to a VPN service’s website, you’re almost guaranteed to see enormous discounts – sometimes more than 90% off. It’s always sounded too good to be true (and it is, really) but because they all do it, it’s become the norm. And as I always explain, these insane-sounding deals are possible because they’re based off the price of a one-month subscription. Relative to multi-year subscriptions, one-month plans are very poor value....

The plot of Alex Garland’s TV debut Devs sounds reverse-engineered to appeal to a technology journalist: computer engineer Lily Chan (Sonoya Mizuno from Ex Machina and Maniac) is investigating a secretive moonshot division at the Silicon Valley company where she works, called Amaya, after the disappearance of her boyfriend. We’re in. Early reviews are broadly positive for the mini-series, which debuted on Hulu in the US last night, but it’s clear that the show won’t be too much of a departure from the British-born auteur director’s previous works like Ex Machina or Annihilation, which skew dark and intellectual....

With Windows 11 SE, and a brand new, low-cost laptop, Microsoft is making a second attempt to go after Google’s Chrome OS and Chromebooks. They’re primarily for education use in schools, where Chromebooks are already a popular choice. Windows 11 SE is specifically designed for students aged 14 and under (K-8). The Windows 11 spin-off will arrive on the new Surface Laptop SE first, but devices from the likes of Acer, Dell, HP and Lenovo are all expected in 2022....

Microsoft has revealed several new Windows 11 features that are being tested. That’s something we’ve written a lot about over the last few weeks, but it’s true once again. The company has released another new preview build to members of the Windows Insider Program’s Dev Channel – that’s the first stage anyone with a Windows 11 device can test it for themselves. Not all Dev Channel functionality will make its way into a final version , but it’d be a surprise not to see these features arrive at some point....

Windows 11’s biggest update yet only arrived last month, but Microsoft is wasting no time rolling out even more significant changes. The October update adds several new features to Windows 11 , but the addition of tabs to File Explorer is undoubtedly the most significant. Until now, you’ve only ever been able to access one folder at a time. Adding tabs removes that limitation, and makes it easy to quickly switch between locations....

In summary: Tech Advisor reports a privacy bug in Google Pixel phones’ ‘Take a Message’ feature that allows callers to hear the user’s environment audio while leaving voicemails. The issue affects various Pixel models from older 4a devices to newer Pixel 10, though Google confirms only a small number of users are impacted. Users can resolve this privacy-compromising bug by disabling the ‘Take a Message’ function in their Phone app while Google actively investigates the issue....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict XCOM Chimera Squad has come from nowhere to be one of the most compelling games of the year. It might just boast the best price to pound ratio in video games in 2020, and the fact that it’s filled with so many bold choices and still manages to deliver top-notch XCOM gameplay is an achievement in itself, without counting all the other things it gets right....