Tushar Kanwar

It took Apple more than five years to give the AirPods Max a proper second generation, and the result is a curious mix of the familiar and the significantly improved. The AirPods Max 2 look almost exactly like their predecessor, retaining the aluminium-and-steel construction, mesh canopy and the wonderfully tactile Digital Crown that made the original distinctive. So, what sets the second generation apart?

The Samzung Galazy Z Fold 8 gets thinner, lighter and boasts a more subtle crease. While flagships chase productivity specs, is the Fold 8 the best foldable for the general user?

FOR YEARS, WE COLLECTIVELY TOLERATED THE GENERIC WHITE charging brick as a necessary evil. That's changing now. A new breed of brands is treating power delivery as an object worth designing, not just a piece of engineering. These chargers are no longer content with being tucked away behind monitors or thrown into bag pockets. They are happy to be seen and displayed: less gadgets, more considered pieces of industrial design. Stuff you leave lying around on purpose. Whether you're curating a minimalist workspace, packing lighter for your next trip or simply appreciate products that sweat the small details, the right charger can make an outsized difference. From a fully modular ecosystem with sculptural silhouettes to a pocket-sized brick with a digital readout and even one made of precision-machined aluminum, each represents a different read on the same brief: make the most overlooked object on your desk worth looking at.

Foldables have finally hit that awkward stage of maturity where nobody's particularly impressed that a phone actually folds in half anymore. That once-cool magic trick has been performed often enough that we've collectively moved on to the more important question: are they actually any good?

How does one improve an already good-looking smartwatch? Resist the temptation to fix what isn't broken, and just add more smarts, as is the case with the Galaxy Watch 9. At a glance, you'd be hard-pressed to tell it apart from the Watch 8, with Samsung retaining the slightly squared-off circular design, with a slim aluminium case available in 40mm and 44mm sizes. It is light, at around 32g for the smaller model and 34g for the larger one, and that makes a surprising difference - this is a watch you can comfortably wear to bed without it weighing you down. Whichever size you pick, the 1.34-inch / 1.47-inch AMOLED displays are bright, crisp and now capable of reaching 3,000 nits, so outdoor visibility is excellent. There's no physical rotating bezel, but Samsung's gesture-based navigation works well once you get used to it. Durability is reassuring too, with 5ATM water resistance, IP68 protection and MIL-STD-810H certification.

‘Twas a time when a new Pixel arrived with the promise of a little magic – some computational photography that was indistinguishable from wizardry, and phone hardware that looked ordinary…feel smarter than the competition. With the Pixel 11 Pro XL, the magic is still there, but it's getting tougher to spot – primarily because the latest gen quietly polishes and refines almost everything that defined the Pixel 10 Pro XL. It's not the biggest leap for Pixel Pros, but it is one of Google's most mature phones yet.

Insta360's action cameras have long been the benchmark for go anywhere do anything 360 degree filming. Does the new X6 improve on the older design and specifications?

2026 may be a bad time to buy a new device as memory costs push up prices. In such a climate, the Google Pixel 11 delivers the most bang for buck with great cameras, powerful battery and excellent form factor

At first glance, you'd be forgiven for wondering what's actually new about the Pixel Watch 5. Google has retained the same rounded case, domed glass and crown that have defined the Pixel Watch since its debut…and honestly, that's fine. It remains one of the better-looking smartwatches around, with a design that feels more like a proper watch than a tiny computer strapped to your wrist.

Let's be honest: most folks don't need a 3D printer, neither do you see them go “you know what would improve my life? A machine that turns plastic filament into things.” And yet, once you have one, it's surprisingly easy to find things you want to make – a little phone stand, a replacement knob for something that broke years ago, a cable organiser for your desk, or maybe something for the kid's school project. Time was, 3D printers used to be yet another machine for tinkerers, with more time spent troubleshooting than making - settings to understand, beds to level, prints that inexplicably failed and, occasionally, the sort of colourful language that doesn't usually feature on these pages. The Bambu Lab A1 changes that, promising to turn a digital idea into a physical object whenever you need it to, without requiring you to first become an expert in 3D printing.