At a Glance Our Verdict A good-value and fast power bank, the Lumsing Grand A2 Plus will be a good buy if you have a USB-C device or a requirement for a fair amount of portable power. We’d like to see features such as passthrough charging, and a more premium, less functional design, but at £25 it’s difficult to fault. Best Prices Today: Lumsing Grand A2 Plus When we review a power bank we take into account several factors besides the price: its build quality and appearance, how fast it can charge your phone, how fast it can refill its own battery (and whether it can charge both your phone and itself at once), how many times it will charge a device and so forth....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict For a budget phone the Maze Alpha ticks several boxes: it has a huge, good quality screen, and sufficient performance for most users. But be prepared for how big and heavy it is, despite the (not strictly) ’bezel-less’ display, and do not buy this phone for its dual-camera. As a significantly cheaper alternative to the Mi Mix, though, it has some merit. Best Prices Today: Maze Alpha A big-screen phone with a budget price tag and a ‘bezel-less’ design, the Maze Alpha certainly looks to be great-value on paper....

At a Glance Our Verdict We still need to get the Band 2 in our hands for some proper testing, but it’s clear that there are big improvements in the new model that make it not just a decent upgrade for existing Band owners, but also a compelling new purchase. Best Prices Today: Microsoft Band Microsoft Band vs Band 2: Design The biggest changes are in the Band 2’s design. While the old one was rigid, bulky and pretty uncomfortable, the new one has a curved screen and a flexible band....

After months of teasing, Microsoft has finally announced the next batch of features coming to Windows 11. At its ‘Hybrid Work’ event on 5 April, the company revealed key upgrades to File Explorer, accessibility and Teams calls, but there’s plenty more besides. File Explorer was redesigned with the introduction of Windows 11 , but it’ll soon be getting three new features. Microsoft began testing the addition of tabs last month (a feature long rumoured for Windows 10), and it’ll be joined by the option to pin favourite files to the home screen....

At a Glance Our Verdict Despite being cheaper we don’t think the Nokia Lumia 530 has what it takes to knock the Motorola Moto G from its budget smartphone throne. It has a lower hardware specs across the board and even though Windows Phone 8.1 includes many improvements, Android is still superior. Best Prices Today: Nokia Lumia 530 We haven’t seen the Lumia 530 in the flesh yet – it will be released in August – so we’re comparing specs here to give you an idea of how the two budget smartphones compare....

Only a couple of months back in June, Motorola has announced a pair of modular smartphones which will take on the likes of the LG G5 with new Moto Mods accessories. Now there’s a third model, the Moto Z Play. Here’s everything you need to know about the Moto Z Play, Moto Z and Moto Z Force including release date, estimated price, specs and features. Also see: Best phones 2016 ....

Mobile World Congress 2024 is awash with new products with countless phones, tablets and wearables unveiled in Barcelona. But much to my surprise, my favourite piece of kit is an accessory. The gadget in question is Xiaomi’s Photography Kit for the Xiaomi 14 Ultra smartphone and is a dream come true for budding photographers and videographers alike. Find out what won our Best of MWC 2024 awards I’ve been thinking about buying a proper camera, mainly to take photos of my daughter, but maybe I don’t need to now – especially if I can combine it with my phone....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict As an overall package, the Nextbase 512G is one of the best, but at this high price it doesn’t offer enough of a jump in image quality over cameras around £100 to make it good value. Some of those even come with SD cards. If you can afford it, it won’t disappoint, but the Asus Reco Classic is better value at £99. Remember, though, that some insurers will give you a discount when you take out a policy if you have a dash cam: Nextbase cameras are most approved lists, so it may be better value for you than the Asus which isn’t on any lists that we know of yet....

At a Glance Our Verdict It’s too early to give a definitive verdict on which smartphone is better, but it’s almost certainly not worth buying a 530 if you already have a 520. We’ll bring you a full review of the 530 when we can get our hands on one, and we’ll update this comparison review as well. Best Prices Today: Nokia Lumia 530 First things first. The Lumia 530 is not yet available to buy in the UK....

Nothing has strongly indicated that it’s getting rid of its distinctive Glyph Interface for its smartphones , and I for one would be fully behind such a move. The British tech startup, run by OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, took to X (formerly Twitter) recently with a characteristically pithy statement. It reads: “We killed the Glyph Interface”, and is accompanied by a little animation of the company’s lighting system breathing its last....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Best-in-class performance Great user experience with nice AI additions Outlandish battery life Super fast charging Cons Some camera niggles Magnetic accessories only work with case Our Verdict OnePlus is off to a flying start in 2025 with the OnePlus 13. It aims to deliver in all areas and only misses the mark in a couple while exceeding expectations in others. Battery tech, longevity and fast charging are a particular highlight, while the camera – although good – doesn’t quite give top competition cause for concern....

OnePlus has been very busy at the start of 2024, and there are no signs of it slowing down. The Chinese company has confirmed that its second European launch event of the year will take place on 23 April 2024 in Helsinki, Finland. There, OnePlus has revealed that both a lifestyle edition of the OnePlus Watch 2 and new affordable Pad Go tablet will both be introduced. However, we already know quite a lot about both devices....

OnePlus is said to be working on a gaming smartphone , though there’s reason to sound a note of caution. According to a new X post from tech tipster Yogesh Brar, OnePlus is working on a new sub-series of phones “aimed at gamers”. Apparently, this new OnePlus gaming phone will feature a bigger battery, a flagship processor, and dedicated gaming triggers. The latter point has become a standard feature for the few dedicated gaming phones on the market....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Good performance Premium feel Fast and bright screen Competent camera Cons Weak speakers No zoom camera Not the best battery life Our Verdict With the Nord 3, OnePlus continues to offer a lot of phone for those who feel that flagships cost too much. This is the most premium Nord yet though, and that means it’s not quite as good value as before. Best Prices Today: OnePlus Nord 3 The Nord series is OnePlus’s mid-range phone series, and the Nord 3 is the latest in the line....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Affordable Excellent battery life Lightweight design Solid fitness tracking Cons Downgrade in case material and screen protection Only one size Our Verdict The OnePlus Watch 2R might get a downgrade in design materials, but it offers a cheaper and lighter way to get a solid-performing Wear OS smartwatch on your wrist. Best Prices Today: Oneplus Watch 2R The OnePlus Watch 2R looks like a shrewd move by OnePlus to capitalise on the introduction of the OnePlus Watch 2 ....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Classic design Good sound quality Decent battery life Cons Big and bulky No water-resistance Our Verdict Orange has made an impressive Bluetooth speaker on its first attempt. But aside from design and nostalgia, there’s no clear reason to buy it over rivals. Best Prices Today: Orange Box Move over, Marshall – there’s a new amp company muscling its way into the Bluetooth speaker market....

Google’s latest Pixel 9 series is an excellent range of smartphones – the company’s best phones to date, if their record-breaking sales figures are anything to go by. If you happen to be the owner of a shiny new member of the Pixel 9 family, there’s every chance you’re looking for ways to get the most out of it beyond the already excellent out-of-box experience. If so, you’ve come to the right place....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict If you want the extra features that Total Security 2016 offers over and above a plain free antivirus product, then Qihoo isn’t a bad choice. And if you do install it, you should head straight into the settings and enable the Bitdefender scanner. Best Prices Today: Qihoo 360 Total Security 2016 Although Qihoo (pronounced Chi-hoo ) provides two products under the 360 brand – Total Security and Total Security Essentials – both are free....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The Quiet PC UltraNUC Pro XL is a great choice if you don’t have the space for a full-sized PC and is especially good if you plan to use your TV as a monitor as it can be tucked away out of sight. Performance is adequate for most everyday tasks except gaming, and it runs quietly with minimal power Consumption. Best Prices Today: Quiet PC UltraNUC Pro XL That may even be a disadvantage for a family PC where you may want to keep the PC in a fixed place in the living room where its use can be observed....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict It has a similar usable capacity to the similarly priced Omnicharge, yet lacks its LCD screen and is much larger and less easily portable. However, this RavPower PowerStation Series 20,100mAh Portable Power Outlet is much easier to get hold of in the UK and even comes with a UK three-pin AC outlet. Both devices are expensive at around £100, but offer insanely fast charging (and recharging) of almost anything you like....