It’s easy to see why A2 Hosting is one of the best email hosting services out there - it’s a very good all-rounder. It’s also affordable. You may want a shorter subscription but the terms on offer suggest that A2 is committed to its customers too. A contract works both ways. In terms of reliability and speed, A2 performs well and its support options are extensive. So, if you do need to get in direct contact with the company, it shouldn’t be a problem.
A2 Hosting: Plans and pricing
(Image credit: A2 Hosting)
Standing apart from other business email hosting providers, A2 Hosting keeps things simple by offering just two different pricing tiers: Professional and Pro Plus. The Professional plan is available for $1.59 per account per month on a 36-month plan, while the Pro Plus plan costs $2.59 per account per month, again for a 36-month plan. In addition, it’s also possible to purchase email hosting as an add-on to an A2 Hosting web hosting plan, with prices for email hosting add-ons starting from $1.99 per month.
While there are free email hosting plans available, these are unlikely to be suitable for even the smallest businesses. This is because using a generic Gmail or Outlook account name isn’t necessarily the best image in terms of your company’s seriousness and professionalism. In addition, opting for a paid email hosting plan like those offered by A2 Hosting, provides you with a range of additional features, as well as additional security and uptime guarantees.
A2’s email hosting plans are competitively priced in any case and come with a money-back guarantee so there’s limited risk in going with this service. For instance, you can request a full refund within the first 30 days of you signing up and a prorated refund for any unused service if you choose to cancel after this, rounded up to the next full month of service.
Features
Starting with the Professional plan, features include 10 GB of cloud storage per account, integrated email, calendar and contacts, and multi-email account administration tools. There’s also support for webmail and native apps for Android and iOS. This is especially important given the rise of hybrid work. For many employees, it’s no longer the case that they are chained to their desks during the traditional 9-5, so it’s essential they can check their emails remotely.
Other important features included within the Pro plans are email importing and email filtering. Email importing from a different email account on a remote server is straightforward with either the Professional or Pro Plus plans and A2 provides a helpful guide to speed things along. Filtering functionality is also a plus and allows you to take more control of your inbox. This means you can better organize and prioritize your emails, including the ability to set custom filter rules tailored to your preferences.
At the Pro Plus pricing tier, there’s quite a lot of additional functionality and it’s nice to see that you are getting something for the higher price tag. For instance, customers at this price range get everything that comes with the Professional plan, plus read receipts, follow-up reminders, send later and send as alias features. You’ll find that many of the features that come with the Pro Plus plans are all about saving you time - and they are pretty successful at it. For example, the email templates and signature builder features save you from repetitive tasks when sending the same (or very similar) messages frequently.
It’s also worth noting that you can access A2’s email hosting services, including the features we’ve mentioned, for free when you sign up to some of its other hosting services. Although some of its premium functionality is saved for its dedicated email hosting plans, you can still receive a customized email address and “moderate” features if you choose to go with any of A2’s shared hosting, WordPress hosting, VPS hosting, or dedicated hosting plans.
Support
(Image credit: A2 Hosting)
Support is one of the strengths of A2 Hosting’s email hosting service. The company has a customer service team that it calls “The Guru Crew” available to contact 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. This can be via telephone, email, or live chat too, so there are multiple ways of getting a response to your query.
You can also submit a support ticket if you’d rather get in touch with A2 Hosting that way and there’s a pretty extensive knowledgebase to help you resolve any issues you may have yourself. The latter includes resources on account management, importing contacts, set up and more. There’s also an even larger knowledgebase covering some of A2 Hosting’s other services. Should you have an issue with any of these, whether it's web hosting, WordPress hosting or anything else, it probably won’t be hard to find a solution.
Overall, it’s the sheer number of different support options available to A2Hosting email hosting customers that makes this service stand out. While some providers are relatively limited in how you are able to get in touch with them, A2 Hosting leaves the decision firmly in the customer’s hands.
Security
On the surface, at least, A2 Hosting’s email hosting plans offer some decent safeguards. Two-factor authentication can be easily enabled for both the Professional and Pro Plus email hosting plans, there’s support for the SSL, POP3, and IMAP protocols to add encryption around your communications, and spam and malware protection come as standard. We did read some complaints online that A2 deleted a customer’s entire email account without warning because their subscriptions had expired, but we didn’t have any concerns.
The competition
A2 Hosting’s email hosting plan comes with a handy comparison guide that goes someway to revealing who the company sees as its main rivals. These include Google Workspace, Zoho Mail, Microsoft 365, Rackspace, and IceWarp.
Compared to the competition, A2 Hosting really stands out as a great all-rounder. There aren’t really any other email hosting services that offer such a wide range of support options, as well as cloud storage and security features.
A2 Hosting: Final verdict
As with its other hosting services, A2 Hosting’s email hosting stands up very well. Some customers may have reservations about the pricing plans available or A2’s security credentials, but we thought both would be ideal for a wide range of businesses.
SK hynix has announced that it will begin mass production of GDDR7 modules in the third quarter of this year (July-September). The new modules offer faster bandwidth and improved power efficiency.
GDDR7 can deliver 32Gbps per pin and SK hynix says that this can reach 40Gbps “depending on the circumstances”. When used on high-end GPUs with 384-bit memory buses, the new memory modules will be able to transfer 1.5TB per second (compared to 1.1TB per second for the previous generation).
Additionally, SK hynix managed to improve the power efficiency by “more than 50%” compared to the...
In an increasingly competitive field, IONOS can claim to be one of the best email hosting providers on the market. This is primarily because of its support and customization options. The sheer number of payment plans and features also means this is one of the more flexible providers around.
There are some downside - especially when it comes to spam filtering - but this is certainly not an email hosting service to discount. It could be exactly what your business needs to enhance the credibility of its brand.
IONOS: Plans and pricing
(Image credit: IONOS)
The straight-up IONOS business email hosting is available in three flavors: Mail Basic 1, Mail Basic 1+, and Mail Business. They cost $1, $4, and $5 per account per month respectively. A domain extension is included, either .com, .us, .online, or .net with the cheaper two plans and .us, .ca, .com, .net, .org, .info, .me, .biz, .online for Mail Business customers. You also have the option of a 30-day free trial before you commit yourself financially.
However, these aren’t the only payment plans that IONOS offers. There are also three “Email & Office” plans that combine email hosting with the kind of collaboration apps used by modern office workers. If these plans look a better fit for your needs, there’s a Microsoft Exchange 2019 plan you can sign up to for $4.50 per month for the first six months of a one-year term. There’s also Microsoft 365 Business Basic for $1 a month for the first month of a one-year plan, and Microsoft 365 Business Standard for $1 a month for the first three months on a one-year term. And if you’re a hardcore Gmail fan, IONOS also offers Google Workspace Business Starter and Google Workspace Business Standard plans for
So, there are a lot of different pricing options available if you’ve decided to go with IONOS as your business email hosting provider. We see that as a good thing. While some other email hosting providers come with their own productivity suite that’s been developed in-house, like IceWarp, many users will already be familiar with alternatives developed by either Microsoft or Google, so it’s nice to have pricing plans that allow you to stay within your usual digital ecosystem.
Features
With the Mail Basic 1 plan, you get a single email account with 2GB of storage. Although this may not seem like a lot, it equates to roughly 10,000 ecan be mails and both the number of account and your cloud storage can be increasedat any time. Plus, in addition to the spam filter we mentioned earlier, the Mail Basic 1 plan also comes with ad-free email, webmail, and device synchronization.
Looking at the Mail Basic 1+ plan, here you see storage increased to 12GB (or roughly 60,000 email) but you still only receive a single email account. Mail Business ramps things up again. You can choose between a single email account or five and storage goes up to 50GB for each user. It also comes with various team collaboration tools, including a calendar, contacts and task management features.
If you select one of the Email & Office plans instead, you’ll find that there are further productivity tools included as well as the use of the popular video conferencing tools Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, depending on what plan you opt for.
Although IONOS’ email hosting plans don’t come with a huge range of features, selecting one of the plans that integrates with Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 means you suddenly gain access to a large number of apps. Of course, if all you really are about is improving the credibility of your brand, then IONOS’ custom ad-free email address should be enough.
Support
(Image credit: IONOS)
In terms of customer support, it would be difficult to find an email hosting provider that does a better job than IONOS. This is because all IONOS customers, regardless of pricing tier, received direct access to their own personal consultant. This is a dedicated contact person for personalized advice and technical support that can be reached at any time via telephone, live chat and email, at no additional cost. If your personal consultant is unavailable when you reach out, a suitably informed colleagues will fill in.
In our experience, your personal customer support contact was helpful and well-informed, able to assist regarding much more than troubleshooting. In fact, our personal contact was happy to offer tips and guidelines on how we could get more from our email hosting. This advice wan’t just regurgitated generic tips that could be found in the IONOS help center either. On the contrary, performance reports were used to backup any advice given.
Security
The security around IONOS email hosting isn’t bad and the company champions its advanced mailbox security, alongside its ISO-certified data centers. All emails are also automatically protected with SSL/TLS encryption, .
The only real negative concerning IONOS’ email security is that we’ve noticed that its anti-spam filtering can be a bit hit or miss sometimes. Letting spam email through isn’t the only issue that businesses face when filtering fails either. False positives an also mean that important messages are more likely to be missed.
As with most facets of IONOS’ email hosting, there is some level of customization with the security provided, however. You can create your own blacklists and whitelists to give yourself a bit more control over what countries as spam and what doesn’t.
The competition
IONOS is another of those email hosting providers that also offers several other hosting services, including shared hosting, WordPress hosting, and a website builder. Compared to other providers in this space IONOS performs pretty well. It’s affordable and comes with an impressive range of features. The fact that you only receive a single email account with the shared hosting lan is disappointing, however, and represents a disappointing comparison with its rivals.
Looking at just its email hosting, however, IONOS score highly. There are a lot of different payment plans on offer - many more than, say, A2Hosting. This flexibility is on show throughout the service and means you can really create an email hosting plan that suits your needs.
IONOS: Final verdict
IONOS email hosting ticks a lot of boxes. It’s affordable and comes with a lot of customization options. And if customer support is deal-breaker for you, this service can’t really be topped.
Last week a rumor told us the Galaxy S25 Ultra would have the same 5,000 mAh battery capacity as its predecessor, and in a world where a lot of Samsung's competitors are now moving beyond that number, that wasn't great news.
Today we have some better news, however. According to prolific Chinese leakster Ice Universe, the Galaxy S25 Ultra will have 16GB of RAM on board. It also looks like all storage versions of the phone will get 16GB of RAM, just as all storage versions of the S24 Ultra got 12GB.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
So Samsung still won't be playing the Chinese game of...
Chinese manufacturer IMOU offers a wide range of consumer IoT products, including home security cameras. The Rex 3D is slightly unusual in that, unlike most indoor models, it has a camera that can move either manually or automatically from side to side as well as up and down.
As with most home security cameras, setup is relatively straightforward. Simply plug the camera into the mains (a relatively long power lead is provided) and download the IMOU Life app online before syncing the device to your home’s Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only, not 5GHz) and setting a strong password (essential for these devices). Alternatively, there is an ethernet connection for hooking up the camera directly to a broadband router if you prefer.
Where the IMOU really comes into its own is its dizzying array of features. I’ve been testing the Rex 3D in my kitchen for a couple of weeks now and I’m only just getting to grips with everything it can do. That said, you will need to pay for the IMOU subscription to be able to store footage in the cloud, share the device with up to 20 users, and access some of the AI-based features beyond an initial two-week free trial.
The camera can be tilted manually or automatically (Image credit: Chris Price)
Prices start at around £2 (about $2.50/AU$4) a month for the basic plan if you commit to a one-year subscription, but you can pay up to £6 (about $8/AU$12) a month for the comprehensive plan (IMOU Protect Plus – see below). Alternatively, footage can be stored on a MicroSD card (not supplied). The slot is discreetly located within the camera housing underneath the lens.
Given the name Rex (a common dog’s name), I’d naively assumed the device was intended purely for pet monitoring. But actually, it can be used for human or pet detection. Footage is captured as soon as the camera senses movement, whether it’s human or animal. Clips are displayed within the app, either by going into the calendar view and clicking on the thumbnails within the live image or scrolling through a timeline. You can also set up the device to sound an alarm when motion is detected, though this is incredibly annoying if it’s an area of the house where there’s a lot of movement, such as the kitchen.
Captured video can be downloaded to your phone or a screenshot from the footage can be taken by pressing the camera icon. Up to 8x zoom is provided so you can close in on a particular part of a recording or live footage, while ‘smart tracking’ will automatically move the camera to follow, say, a baby crawling across the floor or a dog playing with a ball.
The relatively long lead makes this particularly convenient for a wired camera (Image credit: Chris Price)
Other features include an ‘activity zone’ for excluding motion being captured in certain parts of the frame (for example, a road where it might capture moving cars) and a ‘detection schedule’ for selecting which hours you want the camera to be in operation – such as only at night if you want to monitor a child’s bedroom or external door.
The IMOU Rex 3D also works with Amazon Alexa, so you can say ‘Alexa, show me the nursery’ and footage from that camera will be displayed. When the device is put in privacy mode, it will place the lens down to deactivate some of the functionality, such as live view.
IMOU Rex 3D: price and availability
Prices start from $64.99/£36.99 (about AU$100)
Available now in US and UK
Given everything the IMOU Rex 3D offers, it is quite simply astonishing value for money. It’s even possible to find the model on special offer for even less than the prices displayed above. That said, it’s so cheap because, like most security camera manufacturers, IMOU makes its money from getting people to sign up for its subscription plans.
These enable you to view recordings in the cloud (after the free trial ends) and access additional features, such as enhanced AI detection that can send you an alert if a person, pet, vehicle, or package is detected. Alternatively, for more basic functionality you can simply store recordings on a MicroSD card up to 256GB, which you will have to buy separately. This can be used for streaming up to 24 hours of constant footage (once storage is full it will be overwritten by new footage).
Value for money score: 5/5
You can use the mobile app to define times when the camera should be active (Image credit: Chris Price)
IMOU Rex 3D: subscription options
IMOU Protect Basic: Seven days of storage in the cloud, share devices with 10 users - £26 (about $30/AU$50) per year.
IMOU Protect Plus: Enhanced AI detection, 30 days of storage in the cloud, share devices with 20 users - £5.99 (about $8/AU$10) per month or £60 (about $80/AU$120) per year.
IMOU Rex 3D: design
Easy DIY setup
Long power cable provided
Can be mounted to ceiling
Given the low price, you might expect the IMOU Rex 3D to feel a bit cheap, but actually, it’s pretty solid and sturdy. It’s also not overly large, about the size and shape of a softball. I’m not a massive fan of the piano black finish but it’s largely a matter of personal taste.
Running the long 3m cable from a power supply in the kitchen, I mounted the camera in the kitchen facing the back door. A bracket and screws are provided for installing the device on the ceiling if you prefer. This is a good way of optimizing the 360-degree camera as well as keeping the device out of reach of sticky-fingered children and thieves.
Design score: 4.5/5
Picture quality is excellent, even in low light (Image credit: Chris Price)
IMOU Rex 3D: performance
High quality 1080p image resolution
Extremely sensitive movement detection
Stable connection
It’s fair to say that the IMOU Rex 3D is one of the best security cameras I’ve looked at in terms of performance. Many are tricky to set up and don’t always offer a stable connection, especially if they are located some distance from the wireless broadband router. However, even though the router was on the other side of the house, the IMOU connected first time and has been working constantly during the two weeks of testing.
If I have one complaint, it’s that the IMOU Rex 3D is a little too good in that it seems to record every little movement it detects. Indeed, it’s so sensitive I’ve had to turn detection sensitivity down to 2 out of 5 so it isn’t triggered every time a leaf blows across the lawn or a spider scurries across the floor! Also, while the AI detection is very good for detecting humans, it’s not always reliable for pets. On numerous occasions, it told me it had detected a pet even though my dog wasn’t in the room at the time!
Finally, the picture quality is excellent. As well as offering 1080p resolution for high-quality images during the day, it has a night vision setting which is very accurate for IR recording in low light. If you are mounting the camera on the ceiling, it’s possible to flip the image 180 degrees so it’s the right way round. There’s also an HDR (High Dynamic Range) setting for capturing high-contrast scenes – for example, if the camera is indoors facing a window.
Performance score: 4.5/5
With an IMOU Protect Plus subscription, you'll get the ability to differentiate between packages, pets, parcels, and vehicles using AI (Image credit: Chris Price)
Should you buy the IMOU Rex 3D?
Buy it if...
You want to regularly track humans and pets Pan and tilt camera with smart tracking makes it a great choice for capturing movement.
You want two-way audio
Great for communicating with loved ones while you're away.
Don't buy it if...
You only need a simple security solution
The vast array of features and functionality could prove a little overwhelming for some.
You're looking for an outdoor camera
The IMOU Rex 3D is intended for indoor use, and isn't waterproof.
IMOU Rex 3D security camera: also consider
How I tested the IMOU Rex 3D security camera
I used the camera every day for two weeks
I set it up myself without any assistance
The camera was set up to focus on the kitchen
To really put an indoor security camera through its paces you need to put it in a well-trafficked part of a property. That’s why I opted to locate mine in the kitchen. Plus, I made sure it was in motion tracking mode so it followed any movement around the room from either a person or a dog.
While this may not be ideal in the longer term – it does feel a little intrusive with a camera whirring round the room – it meant that I could see just how good the camera is at capturing movement. Over the last two weeks, it must have recorded more than 1000 clips and while some of these were false positives, I don’t think it ever dropped the connection during the testing period.
Qualcomm formally announced its new Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset (SM4635) at an event held in India. This is not a successor to last year’s Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 but a more affordable 5G chipset fabbed on a 4nm process and aimed at budget smartphones, specifically devices launching in India in the coming months.
At its core the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 features 2x Cortex-A78 cores clocked at 2.0GHz and 6x Crotex-A55 at 1.8GHz. All eight cores are downclocked by 200 MHz compared to the ones on the SD 4 Gen 2. The new chip also gets an unspecified Adreno GPU, slower LPDDR4x RAM and retains UFS...
Launched July 2024, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra is a high-spec, feature-packed robot vacuum and mop with a self-empty base. For this model, Roborock has tweaked both its basic features to offer more efficient and effective cleaning, as well as adding fancier new bonus features. I put it to the test to see how it compares to the rest of today's best robot vacuums, and if it justifies its premium price tag.
Overall, I was impressed. In terms of cleaning, it did a very good job, delivering reliable suction and performing well in my tests with different sized debris. I found the mopping equally effective, with the extra side mop doing a good job of getting right up to the edges of rooms.
There are a lot of different options to offer precision cleaning, and useful features like the ability to sense carpet and boost suction accordingly, and the fact the mop pad can raise up to 2cm off the ground so you don't end up with damp rugs if you go for for the mop-first option. The rubbery rollers are great at gripping hair and propelling it straight into the dust cup before it has a chance to tangle, although the same cannot be said for the roller axles.
The base station offers automatic dust emptying and detergent dispensing, and will clean and dry the mop pads after every use, all of which mean less hands-on requirements from you. Mapping is accurate and fast, and the app is intuitive to use, making getting set up pretty speedy and straightforward.
The S8 MaxV Ultra is the first to feature Roborock's smart voice assistant, and while the chance to boss a robovac about is appealing, in practice I found it struggled to understand the most basic of commands. The extending side-brush designed to reach under furniture and into corners was equally unreliable. Like a shy turtle, it refused to emerge, even in scenarios when it was clearly needed.
(Image credit: Future)
Roborock says that this robovac is able to intelligently identify 73 different common household objects to avoid, and if you ask it to, it'll even send you photos of these objects for you to approve. On test, results were mixed – it correctly identified some objects, although not every time it came across them, and it seemed to have a specific problem with socks.
Another use for that on-board camera is to enable this robovac to embark on a 'pet patrol' while you're out. It'll find and photograph your pet, and you can even talk directly to it via the two-way mic.
Also in this range is the Roborock S8 Max Ultra (no 'V'). It's a little less powerful in terms of suction (8,000Pa vs 10,000Pa for the MaxV) and loses the intelligent voice assistant (although it does still have third-party voice control) and camera, which might appeal to those concerned about the privacy side of those features. It's also slightly cheaper.
I'd recommend the S8 MaxV Ultra robovac to someone looking for a high-spec machine that can deliver precise cleaning, and will work equally well on hard floors and carpet. However, if you don't want all those extra features – and especially given some could still do with a little refining – there are cheaper, less fancy options that will work perfectly well for general use. That's the short version; read on for my full Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review.
At list price, the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra will set you back $1,799.99 in the US or AU$2,999 in Australia. In the UK, it's only available on Amazon at time of writing, at £1,725.63. This was the price provided by our Roborock contact, but it feels much more like a price that will fluctuate rather than an RRP.
While that price tag might make some wince, it's increasingly common for brands' range-topping robovac models to reach into the quadruple figures, and bear in mind too that anything that offers mopping and self-emptying on top of just vacuuming will be at the pricier end of the market, to start with. By way of comparison, the Roomba Combo 10 Max – another high-spec, self-empty robot vacuum and mop, launched in August 2024 – is $1,399 / £1,499.
You are paying a premium for features like the new smart voice assistant, though. If you don't need such a high-spec model, there are plenty of cheaper options about that will serve most people's needs perfectly well.
Robot vacuums often attract discounts around major sales events like the Black Friday deals, so it's worth keeping an eye out around then if it suits when you need to buy.
Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra specs
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review: design & features
Sleek design with matte and shiny plastic
On-board voice assistant, mics and camera
Chunky but smart-looking dock with water reservoirs and auto-empty
The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra's body is a combination of matte and shiny plastic. That combination of textures is more noticeable on the black version, rather than the white I tested, but the overall look is still smart and stylish. On top are three multifunctional buttons: a power button, a mop button and a home button. However, more likely you won't use these buttons at all, but instead will use the companion app or your voice to set the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra about its tasks. At the back are your charging contacts, plus ports for water to go in, and dirty water and dust to come out.
At the front of the robovac you'll find an RGB camera, 3D light sensors and an LED headlight for illuminating the way in dark rooms. In the centre, there's a raised puck, protected with a bump sensor, and housing the LiDAR and microphones for the voice assistant. This is Roborock's first voice assistant. You wake it by saying 'Hello Rocky', and it's designed to respond to a wide variety of commands: Start cleaning, Skip here, Empty the dustbin, Pause, Vacuum harder, Mop softer, Clean the living room, and so on.
The onboard dust bin is on the smaller side (Image credit: Future)
If you ask it to, the onboard camera will take photos of the objects that it has identified and elected to avoid. You can send it out to find and photograph your pet, and you can also conduct remote conversations with said pet via the microphones. (Sadly, I am lacking a pet to spy on / remotely harass, so wasn't able to test these features for my review.)
The addition of the camera and mics will be welcome to some, but perhaps not the most privacy-conscious of you. Note that while the mics are active by default, they can be switched off. The camera is not switched on as standard, and it's very difficult to activate accidentally as it requires manual pressing of the three buttons on the robot itself (rather than just an in-app toggle), and you also need to set up a password pattern.
If you don't want a robot that has an onboard RGB camera and microphones, the cheaper S8 Max Ultra version lacks the voice assistant and swaps the RGB camera for reactive 3D.
On the robovac's underside you'll find the mops, rollers and various sensors (Image credit: Future)
The shiny panel on the top can be lifted off (it's magnetic, which feels like an elegant solution) to reveal a Wi-Fi indicator light and reset button, plus a 270ml dustbin and washable paper filter, and a 100ml water tank. You won't need to access this bit too often, because it's all self-emptying, but on occasion you may want to get in there to clean the filter.
A note for those with bigger homes: the onboard dustbin is on the small side. You can increase empty frequency, but minimum duration is after 30 minutes of cleaning, so if you have high dirt buildup, this might not suffice. The same goes for the onboard water tank.
The rubbery rollers are designed to grip hair and dirt (Image credit: Future)
Flip your Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra over and you'll find the dual rollers. These are similar to those on previous Roborocks, made from a rubbery ridged material designed to grip hair and debris efficiently, without getting clogged or tangled.
Corners and room edges are notoriously tricky for robovacs to tackle, but Roborock's approach is to add a spinning FlexiArm that reaches out, ET-style, when the model senses it's approaching a corner or some low furniture. It's designed to assist the vacuuming process by flicking debris in the corners and edges of rooms into the path of the vacuum. This is listed as being unique to Roborock, but it's actually an approach utilized by Dreame in its X40 Ultra (review in progress).
This side brush extends to flick dirt from the corners of rooms (Image credit: Future)
The main mop is a little smaller than found on previous Roborocks (another potential down-side for those with bigger homes) and sits on top of two vibrating plates that create the scrubbing motion – these vibrate at 4,000 times per minute, which is quite a difficult metric to visualize, but certainly faster than I could do it manually. The mop pad can lift a generous 2cm off the floor when going over carpeted areas, and if you activate the automatic re-mopping feature in the Roborock app, it'll go over very dirty areas again.
Note: if your priority is mopping, you'd perhaps be better off with the Roborock Qrevo Master, which has dual spinning mops instead.
The mop pad lifts up but doesn't detach entirely (Image credit: Future)
The mop pad is attached at one side, so while you can pull the Velcro-ed on bit to see the plates beneath, you can't remove it entirely. This seems like an odd decision, because it prevents you from, for example, putting it in the washing machine, if you wanted a more thorough clean.
There's also a spinning side mop – a new addition with the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra, designed to enable you to mop closer to your baseboards. Within 1.68mm of the edge of your room, to be precise. The mop has its own dedicated water outlet, but it is fixed in place rather than extending when it senses the edges of rooms, like the FlexiArm does.
Finally, underneath the robovac is a set of cliff sensors to prevent your robovac from throwing itself down the stairs, plus a carpet detection sensor so it knows not to try and mop there.
The dock is bulky but still looks smart (Image credit: Future)
Moving on to the dock. Note that this needs to sit on a hard, flat floor (the instructions suggest wood, tile or concrete) and obviously it also needs to be near a power outlet, too. Although it's still quite chunky – unavoidable with self-emptying, mop-and-vac models – the design has been streamlined compared to previous Roborock robovacs, with the various reservoirs hidden behind covers.
The dock houses a 4L clean water reservoir, with a silver ion block designed to discourage the growth of bacteria. New to this model is a separate detergent compartment, which distributes your floor cleaner evenly and removes the need for guesswork when premixing your cleaning solution. There's a 3.5L dirty water tank and a 2.5L dust bag.
An in-dock dust bag contains up to 2.5L of debris (Image credit: Future)
Within the dock you'll find a spinning brush roller for cleaning the mop. It uses hot water (Roborock says up to 60C) to sterilize and remove grease from the mop pads, and heated air to dry. While the mop is being washed, there's a sensor to detect how dirty the pad is, and extend cleaning time if required. There are also different cleaning intensity options you can choose manually.
You will need to refill the water tank manually. If you want to avoid that, there is a version that comes with a refill and drainage system. Be aware that this will require you to plumb in the base station, meaning you won't be able to move it.
Design score: 4.5 out of 5
Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review: performance
Overall, strong mopping and vacuuming performance
Decent obstacle avoidance, but did still get tangled in cables
Voice commands unreliable
Let's start with vacuuming performance. The MaxV Ultra promises extreme suction. Figuring out how to tell how much suction a vacuum cleaner has is easier said than done, but here it's measured in Pascal, and the MaxV Ultra has 10,000Pa of it – which Roborock says is 'industry leading', but the Deebot T30S Combo actually offers 11,000Pa on max mode. It's still very sucky though.
Generally, I found this robovac delivered a decent clean. There are sensors to detect when the robovac is on carpet and increase suction accordingly, and I found this feature worked reliably during my review period – I could hear the suction amping up when the robot trundled onto soft flooring in my home.
There are lots of options in the app to tweak your cleaning routine (Image credit: Future)
There are quite a few vacuuming options to cater for different cleaning needs and preferences. You can opt for a deep clean, where the carpets are vacuumed twice to form a checkered pattern, or Carpet First Mode if you want the robovac to tackle carpets first, before it does any mopping, so the mop pad will be dry for this part of the clean (the mop pads do lift when the vac is on carpet; it's just as a backup). You can also set it to boost suction power when navigating around pet supplies.
To test fine debris pickup, I sprinkled cornflour on my medium-pile carpet. It picked up the surface dust but nothing more ingrained. I had similar results from my large-debris test – the robovac got most of the oats sprinkled on my carpet, but left a few. So not perfect, but still very acceptable. This was after just one pass – it is possible to instruct the robovac to do a more thorough clean.
The results of our oats test (left) and flour test (right) after one pass (Image credit: Future)
The extending side brushes, however, could be improved. I have radiators that sit slightly too low for the robovac to get under them, but the spinning side brush did not extend to clean these areas – particularly unfortunate, as dust often collects here. I saw another review from someone who had the same issue with low-sitting cabinets. I also found that pickup on the corners of rooms wasn't great – the robovac doesn't really linger long enough for the extending brush to do its work, often leaving debris.
Hair got tangled in the side brush and roller axles (Image credit: Future)
Roborock promises a 99.5% hair pickup rate in carpet mode. I have long hair, and rollers did a great job of tackling this on the carpet; filtering it straight into the dustbin rather than letting it tangle around the rollers. However, I did find hair got tangled on both the axles of the rollers and the extending side brush, the former of which was particularly tricky to remove.
Looking for the best robot vacuum for pet hair? I think this would be a good shout, with the combination of powerful suction and those grippy rollers. However, the small onboard bin might prove problematic if you have a pet that sheds a lot.
Moving on to mopping. Again, I was impressed. I found the mopping effective, with the robovac tackling both wet spills (coffee) and sticky spills (dried on honey) effectively. The hot mop cleaning also seems to work well, with minimal stains left on the mop pads even after cleaning the coffee.
Navigation is excellent, as I'd expect from this brand. The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra mapped my flat quickly and accurately, making setup nice and straightforward. It's smart enough to recognize which room it's in and promises to be able to identify 73 objects, including pet waste, shoes and mirrors (this last one has consistently been an issue for robovac owners with floor mirrors in the past, so is a welcome addition here).
This robovac can recognize objects to avoid (Image credit: Future)
On test, I found object avoidance was a little inconsistent. I left a sock (black) and a cable (white) on my light grey carpet. The Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra tried its very best to vacuum up the sock. And while it successfully identified and avoided the cable (providing a snapshot for me to approve in the app – shown above), it then went on to repeatedly got stuck on cables during general cleaning, needing manual rescuing.
Note that if you activate Pet Mode, the robot will exercise more caution when avoiding obstacles – so it'll be less likely to hoover up your cat, but might also provide a slightly less comprehensive clean as a result (your choice).
I also found the voice assistant to be unreliable. This robovac frequently failed to understand basic commands, included in the list of approved commands ('Return to dock', 'Mop here'). Not that it should matter, but I don't have what might be considered a 'challenging accent', so I'm a little baffled as to why it struggled to understand me.
Roborock is known to have one of the best robot vacuum apps, and the app for the S8 MaxV Ultra didn't disappoint. It's well-designed, fairly intuitive to use, and does a good job of organizing all the many different controls it needs to offer. However, if you're new to robot vacuums, you may still find it a little overwhelming and confusing.
Performance score: 4 out of 5
Should you buy the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra?
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
How I tested the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra
I used this as my main vacuum for 3 weeks
I tested all the different modes and features
I ran specific cleaning tests using different types of spillages
For my Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra review, I used this robovac as my main vacuum cleaner for three weeks to gain an idea of how it performs on a day-to-day basis, including how easy it is to control and how good it is at cleaning in general. I tried out all the different functions I was able to, as well as running a series of specific tests to assess cleaning powers. These included seeing how well the mop coped with wet and dried-on sticky stains, and if the vacuum could handle large and small debris. I scattered common objects like socks and cables on my floor to assess the reliability of its obstacle avoidance features. I measured my findings against our experiences with other robot vacuums, and the Roborock's own claims about this vacuum's performance.
It's been a few years, but Realme is back in the smartwatch game with the announcement of the Watch S2.
This is a proprietary OS watch, which means it lacks proper third-party app support, but it can deliver up to 20 days of endurance on a single charge from its 380mAh battery.
The Realme Watch S2's case is made of steel and comes in Black, Grey, and Silver with a choice of silicone and steel bands. The watch is IP68 dust and water-tight and rated at 5 meters underwater.
Realme says the Watch 2 can withstand temperatures of -40° C to +70° C and has a screen hardness of...
The Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 is here to change the reputation of all-in-one record players. These have a poor reputation, largely because they're usually built to a very low price, with all the sacrifices that entails. The Juke Box E1 is not like this, because Pro-Ject hasn't built this for budget, it's built it for convenience. This isn't a cheap-o system, and it doesn't look, feel or sound like one either.
The Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 takes the familiar and good-looking Pro-Ject Primary E1 turntable and adds a built-in phono stage, amplification and Bluetooth receiver to deliver an all-in one sound system – just add speakers. Or grab the bundle that Pro-Ject offers with matching speakers.
If you already have a decent amp, then you'd be better off with one of the stand-alone Pro-Ject E1s, but as a one-box option among the best turntables for beginners who are starting from nothing, this is exceptionally simple to set up and use, and it delivers an impressive performance across all kinds of music.
At £599 / $799 / AU$999, this is not a super-cheap purchase, but you'd need to spend the same or even more to get a good-quality turntable and separate amplifier of the same level of quality, so it's fair value and compact, in that regard.
However, if you think you'll become more ambitious in the future, a standard Pro-Ject E1 and separate amp might be more future-proof, since you could replace one without swapping the other.
Despite its additional features the Juke Box E1 looks very similar to the E1, E1 Phono and E1 BT turntables. (Image credit: Future)
Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: price and availability
Released in February 2024
£599 / $799 / AU$999
£799 / $1,199 / AU$1,566
The Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 is available as a stand-alone unit without speakers for £599 / $799 / AU$999, or you can buy it in a bundle with the matching Pro-Ject Speaker Box 5 set of stereo speakers for £799 / $1,199 / AU$1,566.
The price here is more expensive than most other all-in-ones, but it's targeted at a different kind of buyer – one who's got more interest in audio and component quality, but is perhaps short on space or would prefer to avoid the hassle of separates.
The Juke Box E1 is the successor to 2018's Juke Box E, and it was released in early 2024.
All the key connections are round back where you'll find line and phono outs as well as the speaker outs. (Image credit: Future)
Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: Features
Includes its own amp
Can be used with external amps
You can stream to it over Bluetooth
The Juke Box E1 comes with an Ortofon OM 5E cartridge, which is also used to excellent effect in the standard E1: it's a good all-rounder and easily upgradeable. But the most significant features are inside, where you'll find both an integrated phono stage and 2x50W of Class D amplification. That makes this a full hi-fi system: just bring or buy speakers, no separates required.
The platter here is belt-driven to reduce mechanical noise and in addition to the outputs there's a line in so that you can connect another sound source. You can also stream from your phone via Bluetooth.
As with the E1 there's no start/stop automation: you set and lift the tonearm manually.
Features score: 4/5
Pro-Ject Juke Box E1: Audio performance
Musical, involving and entertaining
Decent bass and airy highs
Can go fairly loud
Having previously tested the Pro-Ject E1 we had a good idea of what to expect here when we connected it to the same speakers as before: Pro-Ject's turntables are very musical, and the E1 with the Ortofon OM 5E performs very well with a wide range of genres including classic rock and electronic pop.
As with the E1, the sound stage was clear and detailed, offering excellent separation of instruments with a largely neutral performance and a bit of warmth. It's the sort of turntable that makes you smile involuntarily as you listen. Bass guitars are tight rather than rubber band-y, layered vocals and synth pads are well positioned and you'll often hear details that other turntables can't deliver quite so well. Lushly recorded music is a particular pleasure, but we had fun annoying the neighbors with noisy guitar rock too. It's a very enjoyable listen.
What's different this time, of course, is that the Juke Box has its own phono stage and amplification – and if you buy the bundle, its own speakers. The amp is rated 2x50W at 4 ohms, and I was impressed by its performance compared to an affordable standalone option.
Whether you're using Pro-Ject's speakers or bringing your own there's a noticeable difference in spaciousness if you're streaming a song over Bluetooth rather than listening to it on vinyl. That's Bluetooth's fault rather than the amp and speakers' fault, but it does feel like you're not making the most of what the Juke Box can do.
Pro-Ject's own speakers have a frequency range of 55Hz to 20kHz, which is decent for relatively small bookshelf-sized speakers like these and only marginally narrower than the 52Hz to 28kHz of the Bowers & Wilkins bookshelf speakers I normally test with.
Like the B&Ws, they're two-way speakers with bass reflex ports and benefit from careful placement: too far from a wall and they can lack bass; too close and there can be too much of it. I preferred the sound of my B&Ws using the same built-in amp, finding them to be slightly wider and more airy, but the Pro-Ject speakers are still very lively and entertaining.
Audio score: 4/5
There's a status display in the lower right corner of the plinth, but because it's on top you can't see it from across the room. (Image credit: Future)
Pro-Ject E1 review: Design
It's a Pro-Ject E1, but chunkier
Still good-looking despite the added bulk
Retains the zen design of its siblings
As the name suggests, the Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 has a lot in common with its sibling, the Pro-Ject E1 – but while they look very similar, the Juke Box is a little more chunky because it's not just a turntable. It also has a significantly larger power supply.
This is the latest generation of the firm's award-winning all-in one, and as before it provides everything you need to enjoy vinyl apart from the speakers (unless you opt for the bundle that includes stereo speakers). What's different from the previous version is that there's a new tonearm, a new drive system for the sub-platter, and a switch to toggle between 33 and 45rpm.
The Juke Box has the same belt-driven ABS anti-resonant platter as the regular E1, but it's in a slightly different place, presumably because the interior needed to be repositioned to make room for the amplification circuitry. As with the previous Juke Box, there's a small LCD display in one corner of the plinth to show the selected input and its volume, and as before it's on top so it's only visible if you're looking down on the turntable.
In order to achieve something close to the zen-like simplicity of the normal E1, the Juke Box has hidden some of its controls. The speed switch has been relocated to underneath the front of the plinth, and the on-off switch is on the underside too. Speaker, line in and out and power connectors are round the back. There's a single volume control on the front and the inputs are switched by pressing it or via the included remote control.
There are four finishes: glossy white, red or black, and a walnut wood grain effect. All come with a clear acrylic dust cover. The cover is in a normal place but opening it will knock the Bluetooth aerial out of position.
Design score: 4/5
The included remote is straightforward and slim, with a tendency to slide down the side of your chair. (Image credit: Future)
Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: Usability and setup
Extremely user-friendly
A small display shows input source
Included remote control
The Pro-Ject E1 on which the Juke Box E1 is based is an extremely user-friendly turntable, and the same applies here but even more so: where the E1 still needed to be connected to an amp, the Juke Box has one inside it. As with the E1, the tonearm tracking force is factory pre-set, so it's just a matter of assembling the Juke Box, putting the belt on the pulley, adding the platter and slip mat and connecting your speakers.
The other main difference here is the display, which standard E1 doesn't have. It's simple and effective, showing the volume level and input source. You can control the volume with the control dial or press it to change inputs.
Really, the only usability thing missing here is automatic operation, which would certainly be a nice pairing with how generally great this is for beginners – but not everyone wants it, so it's not a real issue that it's missing.
Usability score: 4.5/5
Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 review: Value
A decent price for a turntable/amp combination
Hard to find a good rival at this price
The Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 is roughly twice the street price of the regular Pro-Ject E1, but for that extra cash you're also getting a powerful amplifier. You'll really struggle to get a decent, separate amp for that amount of money, and of course an all-in-one is more convenient as it takes up less space. In that regard, this thing is excellent value – and having it be a Bluetooth receiver is the icing on the cake.
However, there's a question of the long-term value that it delivers because you obviously don't get any flexibility for future upgrades, if you think you'll want them. You can't swap the amp out for a more powerful one to pair with more capable speakers. You can't swap the turntable out for something with different options while keeping the amp.
If you don't think you'll need to make these changes in the future, or you just don't think you'll mind the cost, then no problem. But it does mean that the Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 is a double-edged sword when it comes to value – fantastic in the first instance, but with an issue as you get more ambitious.
Value score: 4/5
Buy it if...
You don't want separates
The Juke Box contains everything you need to play records apart from speakers, and Pro-Ject will happily sell you a set of those too.
You have eclectic tastes
The supplied Ortofon cartridge is a good option for all kinds of genres.
You appreciate style
Pro-Ject's turntables are beautiful things, even in this slightly more chunky size.
Don't buy it if...
You have a decent amp
The regular E1 model will be a better fit from this specific range.
You'll probably upgrade
If you think you might go down the audiophile road in future, separates offer better upgrading options.
You tend to lose things
The remote here is slim and easy to lose down the side of your chair.
Also consider
Pro-Ject E1 If want an affordable Pro-Ject option and have an amp already, then the amp-less sibling here, the E1, is an ideal option. It's super simple, it's warm and rich sounding, it's very well priced – and it comes in a version with a phono stage, or with Bluetooth, if you prefer. Here's our full Pro-Ject E1 review.
Lenco LS-410
We didn't exactly rave about this record player in our Lenco LS-410 review, but it one-ups the Pro-Ject by including speakers as well, so if you really want to save space and money, take a look.
Pro-Ject Juke Box E1: How I tested
Used over several weeks across a ton of records and with streamed Apple Music
Tested alongside the Pro-Ject E1
Tested with Pro-Ject's optional speakers as well as the reviewer's own; tested with and without integrated amp
I tested the Pro-Ject Juke Box E1 at home over several weeks alongside its sibling, the Pro-Ject E1, connected through its own amplifier to both Pro-Ject's own bundled speakers and to my own Bowers & Wilkins bookshelf speakers.
I also connected the Juke Box to my Onkyo amp, bypassing the Juke Box's own integrated amplifier; as expected it sounded identical to the E1. For both turntables I listened intensely to albums I already know inside out across a wide range of genres from the most luscious yacht rock to rowdy punk and slinky electronic pop.
Nothing is making the Phone (2a) Plus fully official tomorrow, and ahead of the unveiling the company has now decided to share an image of the device's back. This confirms the design we've seen in a leak just a few hours ago.
The Phone (2a) Plus looks very much like a Nothing phone, as you can see. It's expected to be very close to the Nothing Phone (2a) which launched a few months ago, but with a few key upgrades.
Revealed so far are the new chipset (Dimensity 7350 vs. Dimensity 7200), the new selfie camera (50 MP vs. 32 MP), and the upped wired charging (50W vs. 45W). There may be...
