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At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Super stylish Plenty of storage Smart organizer sections Hidden phone pocket AirTag pocket Cons Premium price Our Verdict Smart enough to be worn with a suit and full of smart features, the Troubadour Apex 3.0 repays its high price with style and on-the-go easy-access, secure storage. Best Prices Today: Troubadour Apex 3.0 Backpack Laptop size: up to 17in Capacity: 16L or 25L We’ve tried and tested many laptop backpacks, on our backs on the daily commute, slung by café tables, dragged around airport departures lounges and stuffed into overhead compartments....

So, you’re in the market for a new phone because your current one is looking a little tired but you don’t want to have to sell your car to afford the upgrade. Maybe you’ve got a drawer full of old gadgets that you’re not sure what to do with and throwing them in the bin seems downright wasteful, not to mention environmentally uncaring. Thankfully, there’s a way to get that upgrade or clear out that drawer with minimal effort, letting you turn your existing tech into cash towards a new games console, tablet, laptop or even a top-tier phone....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict Even bearing in mind the extra expense of licensing Apple’s proprietary Lightning cable, the Tylt Energi 5K+ battery pack is overpriced. It’s small capacity might be acceptable to some people, but not at this high price. If you can find it significantly cheaper, it could be worth buying, but there are lots of cheaper alternatives available right now. Best Prices Today: Energi 5K+ Today’s busy lifestyle with its multiple devices has made portable chargers a crucial travel accessory for many people, keeping our smartphones and tablets charged on the go....

At a Glance Expert’s Rating Our Verdict If you’re looking for earphones that have sound, style, an in-line mic and can be found for under £28, then the Verbatim 44400 earphones should be on your wish list. Best Prices Today: Verbatim 44400 earphone Verbatim 44400 earphone review: Price and competition The earphones have competition in the market, with the SoundMAGIC E10S coming in at £37 and the Ultimate Ears 400vi at around £28....

For the past few decades, devices connected to the internet – including PCs and websites themselves – have used version 4 IP addresses (IPv4). IP stands for internet protocol and version 4 has been in use since 1983. Until recently it has been great, but the format which goes something like this – 87.186.240.13 – only allows for 4.3 billion different combinations. The first websites moved to IPv6 back in 2012, such as Google, Facebook, YouTube and Yahoo....

You may have noticed a new contact in Snapchat, with a notification saying “My AI has sent a chat”. The good news is that My AI isn’t some weirdo who’s stalking you, but rather a kind of digital companion based on the now-famous ChatGPT AI software. My AI could actually be helpful and fun, so here’s a quick rundown of what this virtual friend is all about. What is My AI?...

People often confuse the terms ‘Wi-Fi’ and ‘Broadband’ to mean the same thing. However, that doesn’t appear to be true and the reality is that even though they are very similar, they are actually different. What tends to cause this misunderstanding is the connection between the two. You could be at home using broadband, but assume it’s Wi-Fi because of the way you’ve connected or so on. Here we explain what they each mean....

Eight years after the last part of The Hunger Games movie series premiered, Panem is once again back in the limelight. However, this time the story isn’t told through the eyes of Katniss Everdeen, but of Coriolanus Snow, 60 years younger. The new instalment of The Hunger Games hit cinemas on 17 November 2023, and tickets are still available. However, if you want to watch the film at home, here’s everything we know about the release of The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes on streaming platforms, VOD and DVD/Blu-ray....

For gadget fans, having the latest and greatest is all part of the experience. It’s a fantastic feeling to unwrap a new device – whether e a phone, smart display or something else – slide it out of its box and start to explore its new features. Some of this gold has lost its lustre for me recently, as spiralling costs and barely noticeable improvements mean there’s little incentive to spend money on the next model....

Chances are, you haven’t yet upgraded your router to a Wi-Fi 6 model, but already there are newer, faster options. Right now, Wi-Fi 6E routers and mesh Wi-Fi systems are beginning to appear and there’s already talk of Wi-Fi 7, even if actual devices are a year or two away. Promising even better performance than Wi-Fi 6, the clumsily named 6E standard is the first to use a brand new frequency: 6GHz....

Always-connected and always-on, a 4G tablet is the ultimate entertainment device that you can take anywhere. But do you really need one? We explain the difference between 4G- and Wi-Fi tablets, help you decide whether you should buy a 4G tablet and show you where you can find the best deals. What is a 4G tablet? All tablets can take advantage of a wireless internet connection to get online when you’re at home or near a public Wi-Fi hotspot....

Windows 10 has undergone plenty of changes in the six years since first launching, but the core look and feel has remained the same. Whether you’re picking up a brand new device or one that hasn’t been updated for a few years, the experience is largely the same. This was widely expected to change in 2021, with the big ‘Sun Valley’ update bringing wholesale changes. Many of these features arrived, but in a brand-new version – Windows 11 ....

In 2021, Microsoft surprised a lot of people by announcing Windows 11. A new major version of its desktop operating system wasn’t thought to be on the cards, but it seems Microsoft’s attitude changed during the pandemic. With Windows relied on for everything from remote working and meetings to content consumption and gaming, the company created a simplified version that focused on the core experience. Windows 11 is a big design shift compared to Windows 10, although there are a lot of similarities under the surface....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Fantastic performance Super-fast charger included in box Capable main and selfie cameras Cons Bland looks Sub-par supporting rear cameras No IP rating Our Verdict If it weren’t for the Edge 30 Ultra, which has better specs but is only slightly more expensive, the Xiaomi 12T Pro would be relatively easy to recommend. As it is, most people are better off with Motorola’s phone. Best Prices Today: Xiaomi 12T Pro If Xiaomi is a brand that’s still unfamiliar – and unpronounceable – to you, then it’s high time that situation changed....

We love MIUI, but this custom Android interface that is preinstalled on Xiaomi phones can be offputting for users in the UK and Europe who are either not familiar with it or prefer a less-bloated vanilla implementation of Android, and who want access to all their favourite Google apps and services out of the box. Xiaomi has previously addressed this issue with last summer’s release of the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite , budget- and mid-range phones running Android One ....

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Lightweight and refined design Excellent audio 90Hz display Killer battery life Cons Slow charging Two OS updates Some bloatware Our Verdict The Redmi Pad SE is ideal if you’re looking for a tablet for streaming and using social media – plus, it undercuts rivals from the likes of Samsung with its affordable price. Best Prices Today: Xiaomi Redmi Pad SE If you’re in the market for a budget tablet, then Xiaomi may have the model for you....

Humanity is doomed in a new series from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. That’s right, whether you like it or not, a new show by the creators of Game of Thrones has just been released on Netflix. The famous duo has adapted a sci-fi novel series by Chinese writer Cixin Liu, Remembrance of Earth’s Past. The trilogy’s first volume, The Three-Body Problem, inspired the show’s title. Instead of battles for the crown and fire-breathing dragons, the Game of Thrones showrunners are focusing on an Earth overshadowed by the threat of invasion from an alien civilisation....

If your kids are anything like mine, they’d spend all day on TikTok if they could. They might occasionally go outside in the sunshine (but only to record another video), and getting them to do something other than staring at a phone screen isn’t a simple task. Telling them they’ve had enough screen time doesn’t work, but there are various free apps and tools you can use to enforce limits. That may not stop the arguments, but at least it’ll mean you’re in control....

Qualcomm has announced the Snapdragon W5 and W5+, its latest line of Snapdragon-branded smartwatch chipsets. They’re designed to power the next generation of Wear OS devices, with Oppo and Mobvoi the first to pledge their support. It’s been over two years since the company’s last wearable chips, the Snapdragon Wear 4100 and 4100+ . That time seems to have been well spent though, with Qualcomm promising “dramatic generational improvements” to battery life and performance that justify the long wait – and the rebrand....

There are a huge range of headphones on the market to choose from and features like noise cancelling are confusing. Beats has been leading the way with top audio devices for 13 years and the Solo Pro headphones make for a great choice. We can give you five reasons why they should be your next pair. Active noise cancelling If you’ve never used noise cancelling then you have the perfect excuse to upgrade to a new pair of headphones....