At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict So, what do we think of The Witcher 3? It has phenomenal value for money as we sunk over 40 hours into the game and were nowhere near finishing, which is an experience we’re not quite used to. In fact, the developers claim that you need close to around 200 hours of gameplay to complete all quests, side quests and collectables. The graphics and dynamic weather effects are great additions and the sheer size of the open world means that you’ll have many, many interesting and un-scripted experiences while exploring....

Alongside the two (so far) seasons of the main Witcher show and animated spin-off Nightmare of the Wolf, Netflix is working on an additional spin-off that will explore the history of the world that Geralt of Rivia calls home. This new live-action series follows the origin story of the very first Witcher at the time of the Conjunction of the Spheres. Here’s all we know about The Witcher: Blood Origins....

There’s no denying that Face ID is a handy bit of tech, allowing you to unlock your phone and authorise purchases with nothing more than a glance, but there was one unforeseen problem with Apple’s tech: facemasks. Facemasks, which have become a staple of everyday life during the past year, render Apple’s facial recognition tech useless, requiring users with masks to rely on the backup of using your phone’s passcode to authenticate....

However, tech still has the potential to be a force for good in the world. Here are some startups that are using technology to make a positive difference, from braille e-readers to drones that search the seas for environmental crimes. Bayes Impact Bayes Impact is an organisation with the vision of harnessing tech to help create citizen-led public services in partnership with government. This is in the face of the increasing takeover of public services by private enterprise, and the company states that citizen-led innovation is one way to counter this damaging trend....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict The UMI Z is an excellent-value Android phone with a large battery, a decent screen, the most powerful MediaTek processor you can get and a very good selfie camera. Unfortunately the primary camera doesn’t quite live up, but it’s otherwise difficult to fault. With full UK 4G connectivity it’s a great buy. Best Prices Today: UMI Z UMI is undergoing a rebranding exercise, and this UMI Z is the last phone it will release before its name officially changes to UMIDIGI, short for UMI Digital....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict On paper the UMIDIGI One Pro’s spec seems too good to be true. Fast wireless charging, NFC, 19:9 IPS displays, dual-cameras, side-mounted fingerprint sensors and an attractive design aren’t things you have any right to expect at this price. But this is a budget phone, and as such some corners have naturally been cut. The display is just HD in resolution, performance is middling, the fingerprint sensor can be temperamental and the cameras can leave something to be desired....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Though not cheap, the A129 Pro Duo is still one of the more affordable 4K dash cams. It does the basics well and offers great video quality, but note that the rear camera is not 4K. Best Prices Today: Viofo A129 Pro Duo 4K dash cams are still few and far between, and when you do spot one, it’s likely to be expensive....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Outstanding battery life Simple software Attractive design Cons 720p, 60Hz display Basic camera Micro-USB Our Verdict The Vivo Y20s delivers big on battery, while simple software makes the most of some admittedly basic internal specs. Other budget phones offer fast chips and better displays, but the Y20s runs well and keeps on running. Best Prices Today: Vivo Y20s Vivo may be one of the most established tech brands in China, and well-known in other parts of Asia, but it’s a relatively new player in Europe....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Can print at up to 300°C Direct-drive extruder Flexible PEI build plate Good-quality prints out of the box Cons Manual bed levelling No touchscreen Our Verdict The Aquila S2 can handle a large range of filament types and produce quality prints. The only real drawback is the lack of auto bed levelling. Best Prices Today: Voxelab Aquila S2 3D printers have a reputation for being complex and niche devices, but the landscape has changed significantly in the last few years....

As part of today’s Android 16 announcement, a week ahead of Google’s I/O conference , the firm has some big news for smartwatch users. The big design overhaul coming in Android 16, called Material 3 Expressive, is coming to wearables with Wear OS 6. It’s a very different look and feel for Google’s operating system, which it describes as “emotional UX”, making everything “more fluid, personal and glanceable”. Android 16 features for phones aren’t a given for Google-powered smartwatches , but it’s nice to see this one rolling out across the different form factors....

Open data is the concept that there should be some data that is freely and openly available to the entire public to access, use and share, as long as it doesn’t contravene national security or privacy concerns. In order to be truly open, a dataset needs to be clearly licensed as open to use and share – legally open – as well as technically open, in that it is easily machine readable and available in bulk....

Apple AirPods are instantly recognisable and among Apple’s most popular and successful products ever – despite remaining essentially unchanged since 2016. The base model was joined by the high-end AirPods Pro in late 2019, offering an improved fit, smaller dimensions and Active Noise Cancellation tech to quieten the world around you when listening to your favourite tunes. While you might’ve thought that was it for the AirPods range, Apple is rumoured to be working on a handful of new AirPods-branded products as well as updates to the AirPods and AirPods Pro – but which are being released this year, and what can consumers expect?...

Oppo’s latest 5G handsets, the Find X3 Pro, Find X3 Neo and Find X3 Lite are launching in the UK on 14 April 2021 , and you can buy the phones right now. The standard Find X3 won’t be coming to the UK, however. What can you expect from the handsets that are launching? The X3 Pro offers a 6.7in QHD+ AMOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate from 10Hz to 120Hz, all powered by the Snapdragon 888 chip – which you’ll also find in the new Xiaomi Mi 11 and OnePlus 9 phones ....

In summary: Tech Advisor reviews Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron’s third installment that introduces striking red and orange visual tones with graphics more elevated than The Way of Water. The film explores family dynamics as Jake and Neytiri cope with grief while facing new villain Varang, played by Oona Chaplin, who leads the ruthless Mangkwan clan. Fire and Ash delivers a mesmerizing cinematic experience in IMAX 3D, showcasing unrivaled visuals and seamlessly executed action sequences that expand Pandora’s rich world....

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra has officially launched in China, and it’s going in a much less interesting direction than I had been hoping for. And yes, the phone has been unveiled on Christmas Day. I could write a whole piece about how weird that is as a date for a major smartphone launch, but we kind of knew it was coming . Any astonishment would be wholly manufactured. I have far stronger feelings about the Xiaomi 17 Ultra’s design, which was revealed ahead of time, as well as during a brief hands-on video posted to YouTube....

Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is the tech giant’s annual conference dedicated to software and technologies for software developers. WWDC 2019 began in style with Apple’s flagship event. Lasting over two hours, the keynote showcased new mobile and desktop software, alongside hardware in the form of a long-awaited Mac Pro refresh. Here are the five biggest announcements Apple made across the course of the night. The next version of iOS will be called…iOS 13 In announcing the latest version of the mobile operating system, SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi jokingly quipped “when it came to naming this release, our crack marketing team really surprised us this year”....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Low price Integrated Fire TV OS Freeview Play Cons Poor gaming performance No eARC support HDR lacks impact Our Verdict If you want a low-cost 4K telly to watch streaming services, then this debut Xiaomi is a decent option. The familiar Fire TV OS is partnered with Freeview Play, and it’s a doddle to use. Best Prices Today: Xiaomi F2 Fire TV Smartphone maker Xiaomi makes a solid first impression with this Fire TV-powered LED flatscreen....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Pros Sleek, minimalist design Solid app Good number of metrics Cons Battery-powered Bluetooth-only Only displays weight on scale itself Our Verdict It’s not perfect but the Mi Body Composition Scale 2’s budget-friendly price and elegant design make it one to Consider – especially if you have a Mi watch or fitness band, for perfectly joined up fitness coverage. Best Prices Today: Xiaomi Mi Body Composition Scale 2 Mi smart scale design White LED display Scale displays weight only Battery powered (4 AAA batteries, not supplied) The Mi Smart Scale has a lovely, minimalist design that belies its budget price tag....

Xiaomi has officially unveiled the Redmi Note 10 series worldwide, with three phones confirmed to launch in the UK and Europe – including the photography-focussed Note 10 Pro. The Note 10 Pro is headlined by a 108Mp quad camera, backed up by an ultrawide, macro, and depth sensor. The ultra-high resolution camera uses 9-in-1 pixel binning to maximise the dynamic range of photos, though note that this is a smaller camera sensor than the one found in Xiaomi’s Mi 11 flagship, also headlined by a 108Mp shooter, so don’t expect quite the same results....

In summary: Tech Advisor reveals that smartphones transmit personal data including location, device IDs, and usage patterns overnight while on standby, often without explicit user consent. This data sharing enables companies to create detailed user profiles for targeted advertising, raising significant privacy concerns for smartphone users. Users can protect themselves by disabling personalized ads, resetting advertising IDs, turning off background app refresh, and checking app permissions. Detailed instructions are provided below....