I knew the DXRacer Martian Pro would be one of the best gaming chairs I've ever sat in, and three months with it have only confirmed my suspicions.
Why did I know this?
I tried a similar chair at CES 2025 – one that can heat you up and cool you down thanks to built-in tech, and I have genuinely thought about it every week since then – and the Martian Pro somehow also takes things up another notch with an in-built massager too, increasing its comfortable gaming chair credentials further still.
When it’s a cold day, you can turn on the seat heater to warm you up, the fan to cool you down, and the massager to relax you. I promise it’s as great as it sounds
What’s more, despite all these technological features, it still feels soft and comfortable for long working days and gaming sessions thanks to plenty of cushioning, a 4D lumbar airbag you can tune perfectly to your needs, and a magnetic headrest you can position perfectly every time. Did I mention the 4D armrest,s too?
All that’s to say, this gaming chair not only hits the essentials, but it also puts the cherry on top for a superbly comfortable experience.
(Image credit: Future)
My only gripe is that it’s useless without charge – the electronic recliner will power off too, leaving you stuck in one position with no way to change it. This is easily solved if you’re always near a plug for the power cable, or willing to charge the battery for wireless use, but the latter can be a little tedious (especially as the battery can drain fast) – so think twice about this chair if sockets are at a premium.
DXRacer Martian Pro: Price and availability
Costs $899 / £580
Premium features justify premium price
Only available in one color at the time of reviewing
The DXRacer Martian Pro will set you back $899 / £580 (Australian pricing isn’t available at the time of reviewing) and can be picked up from the DXRacer store.
This price, especially the US cost, puts it into the higher tier of gaming chairs, which makes sense given that this chair is enhanced with various technological goodies.
These upgrades make it an attractive offering over less technologically impressive alternatives if you have the cash to splash, but if you’re on a budget, you can get by with less flashy alternatives.
(Image credit: Future)
DXRacer Martian Pro: Specs
Price
$899 / £580
Dimensions
49.6 x 27.6 x 21.9in / 126 x 70 x 56cm
Max user weight
275lbs / 125kg
Min seat height
17.7in / 45cm
Seat width
22in / 56cm
Warranty
2 years
DXRacer Martian Pro: Design and aesthetics
Classic black look with minimalistic accents
Premium feel
Some noticeable branding
The DXRacer Martian Pro comes in one design: black with red arrow accents.
It’s certainly not as loud design-wise as my trusty Spider-Man themed seat, and it definitely sits towards the professional end of gaming chairs, but it’s not a plain design either, if that is essential for your needs.
The fabric choice is a faux leather that feels premium to the touch, and is easy to wipe clean, with the accents being stitched on in red. Though I’d be careful not to spill anything too much on the chair, as the seat and backrest have some mesh elements (to help with airflow from the heater and ventilation) that I wouldn’t want to pour a lot of liquid on.
(Image credit: Future)
As for the armrests, they feature the 4D adjustments we expect from gaming chairs worth their salt – they can be moved up/down, pulled in/out, pushed forward/backward, and can tilt left/right to provide the ideal position.
Once you’ve set your armrests’ stance, they’ll then lock into place securely.
The side controls that adjust the backrest tilt and the airbag lumbar support are plasticky and feel a little less premium than the actual chair itself, but they don’t ruin the overall aesthetic experience delivered by DXRacers’ Martian Pro.
DXRacer Martian Pro: Comfort and adjustability
Plenty of adjustment options
Built in heater, fan and massager
Cushiony despite the gizmos
Even ignoring the massaging and heating enhancement, the DXRacer Martian Pro chair has a full range of comfort and adjustment options.
Firstly, using a control on the side of the chair you have the ability to recline the backrest gradually from further forward than you’d want to about as close to horizontal as possible without this chair becoming a bed – though with the back massager active this ultra recline supremely relaxing to the extent you could drift off (definitely, totally, assuredly not speaking from experience).
Then there’s the 4D armrests I mentioned above, and of course, the height adjustments you’d expect from a standard office chair.
The seat is a good size too, with enough room to sit comfortably cross-legged when I want.
Though for the lumbar support, I’d maybe knock a point off simply because the airbag design can be a little more finicky to adjust compared to a traditional pillow. The advantage is that once set, you don’t need to worry about it slipping out of place, but finding the comfiest position took more time than I’d have liked.
(Image credit: Future)
Your neck pillow, on the other hand, is much easier to get right. The magnetic attachment makes it supremely easy to find the exact right spot for it on the headrest, while holding it securely in place once you’ve made your placement decision.
But of course I can’t not devote some space to the heating, cooling, and the massager.
Starting with that third one, the massager is activated by pressing the M-button on the side of the chair and can swap between different modes by pressing it again, or switched off by holding the button down.
The massage is delivered by in-built actuators – four pairs (one for your right and one for your left) which start at your lower back and end around your shoulder blades – and while its isn’t especially intense, it can provide some much-needed relaxation during a stressful gaming session, or your work day.
Just note, it can be a little noisy.
Now for the heating and ventilation. These are built into the seat and activated via two buttons found below the right armrest – one for each option. Long pressing once activates the heating/cooling, then quick pressing it changes the setting between three strengths – long pressing again turns it off.
I was surprised by how quickly the heating kicks into gear even at the lowest setting, and over the colder months when I’ve been testing this chair, it has provided me with some much needed warmth. The fan is also great for cooling you down, and I expect I’ll be relying on it plenty come the summer.
Despite being jam-packed with electric gizmos, the chair feels pretty darn comfy. I use it all day, every day for work and enjoy every moment – and not simply because of the heater and the massager.
(Image credit: Future)
DXRacer Martian Pro: Assembly
All required tools included in the box
A little heavy thanks to electrical components
Can be built alone, but would recommend getting a friend
Putting the DXRacer Martian Pro together was fairly straightforward. I was able to assemble it all on my own using just what came in the box, thanks to the clear instructions.
However, given the inclusion of massaging and heating components, this can make parts of the chair a little heavier than normal, so having an assistant to aid your construction is advisable, as it should make the process even smoother.
(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the DXRacer Martian Pro
Buy it if…
You want great comfort With a full suite of adjustment controls and a built-in massager, this gaming chair is the complete comfort package.
You need to feel toasty/cool The heater and fan are so useful and effective in this seat, and definitely make this seat an easy pick for me over a lot of the competition.
You’re after something for work and play While it boasts a couple of red accents, this black gaming chair looks appropriate for both your home office and at your gaming station.
Don’t buy it if…
You have no spare plugs near your chair You can use this chair wirelessly, but it is a major battery sink, and when it’s out of charge, it loses quite a lot of functionality, including the ability to recline. Sitting near a constant power source is therefore advised.
You’re after something affordable I’d say this DXRacer chair is solid value, but it’s still quite pricey, which makes it a tough buy if you’re looking to stick to a low-ish budget.
Also consider
DX Racer Martian Pro
Secretlab Titan Evo 2022
AndaSeat Kaiser 3E XL
Price
$899 / £580
$549 / £469 / AU$799
$389 (around £290 / AU$580)
Dimensions
49.6 x 27.6 x 21.9in / 126 x 70 x 56cm
51.2 x 27.6 x 19.3in / 130 x 70 x 49cm
54.3 x 29.1 x 29.1in / 138.0 x 74.0 x 74.0 cm
Max user weight
275lbs / 125kg
285lbs / 130kg
395lb / 180kg
Min seat height
17.7in / 45cm
17.7in / 450mm
18.1in / 460mm
Seat width
22in / 56cm
18.5in / 470mm
21.1in / 535mm
Warranty
2 years
3 years
3-years
Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 This popular gaming chair is a strong alternative without any tech bells and whistles. It’s comfortable with plenty of adjustment options. Importantly, it's a lot cheaper than the Martian Pro too.
AndaSeat Kaiser 3E XL We called this one of the best value gaming chairs you can buy today in our review, thanks to its style, lack of gimmicks, and comfortable shape. It misses out on bells and whistles, but could be a solid pick-up if you're on a budget.
I tested the DXRacer Martian Pro over a few months of UK Winter, giving me plenty of reason to use the in-built heater. It was my work office chair every day I worked from home during that time, and I also used it for PC and handheld gaming most days as well.
I also compared it to a handful of other gaming chairs we’ve tested, and of course, my trusty Spider-Man Anda Seat seat.
OK, let's try to get one thing clear. The Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF is brand new. It's a super-fast 27-inch OLED gaming monitor that runs at an epic 500Hz refresh rate. It's brighter than previous Samsung 27 inchers. But it doesn't actually sport Samsung's very latest OLED panel technology.
Indeed, the whole narrative around the various generations of Samsung's QD-OLED technology has gotten very complicated of late. In some ways, it's easier to say what this monitor is not than what it is.
With that in mind, the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF lacks a couple of the very latest QD-OLED panel features. First, it doesn't have the so-called RGB-stripe subpixel structure. And it lacks the new panel filter that reduces the purple-tint problem in ambient light.
We'll get to the implications of those shortly. But for now, what we're dealing with here is a 27-inch 1440p OLED monitor with a very high refresh rate that will appeal to gamers who value speed above almost, but not quite, all else.
(Image credit: Future)
If it's sheer speed you demand, look no further than the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF. The combination of 500Hz refresh and the usual OLED upside of incredible pixel speed makes for a sizzling gaming experience. This monitor is seriously fast.
It's also punchy thanks to updated QD-OLED panel technology. However, this isn't actually Samsung's very latest tech and that does show in a few areas. The non-standard triangular subpixel structure slightly compromises sharpness, while the QD-OLED purple-tint problem in bright ambient light remains.
More particular to this monitor are disappointing SDR calibration, a lack of USB-C connectivity and somewhat lofty price point. All of which means this isn't an automatic choice for those seeking a 27-inch 1440p gaming monitor. But for esports addicts and other speed freaks, it will still be hard to overlook.
Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia
At $799 in the US, £699 in the UK and $1,699 in Australia, the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF is pretty steep for a mere 27-inch 1440p monitor.
At this price point you can choose from all manner of LCD monitors (many featured in our best monitors buying guide) up to 49 inches, offering all kinds of resolutions and aspect ratios from 4K and beyond.
Of course, this is an OLED gaming monitor, and they all come with a price premium. However, even in that context, the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF isn't exactly cheap. We've seen 27-inch OLEDs below $500 now and then, albeit not models that run at 500Hz.
Value: 3 / 5
Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF: Specs
Acer Predator X32 X Specifications
Screen size
27-inch
Resolution
2560 x 1440
Panel technology
Samsung QD-OLED
Refresh rate
500Hz
Response time
0.03ms
HDR
DisplayHDR 400 True Black
Brightness
300 nits full screen, 1,000 nits peak HDR 1.5% APL
Connectivity
HDMI 2.1 x2, DisplayPort 1.4, USB-A hub
Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF: Design
Slim bezels
Compact base
Large power supply brick
If you liked the look of Samsung's previous Odyssey gaming monitors, you're going to love the new Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF. Because it's a dead ringer in design terms.
For the most part, that's good news. This is a slick-looking and well constructed monitor with a modern vibe, thanks to slim bezels on all four sides of its QD-OLED display panel.
It also offers decent ergonomics with both height and tilt adjustment and a reasonably compact stand base that doesn't take up too much desktop space. The main blot on the ergonomic and design copybook, therefore, is the massive external power supply brick.
(Image credit: Future)
No doubt it helps to keep the chassis of the monitor slim, but it does make cable management and general tidiness that bit trickier. Speaking of cables, notable by its absence is support for a USB-C input cable.
You do get HDMI and DisplayPort, both of which support the full 500Hz refresh rate. And, yes, this is unambiguously a gaming monitor, so USB-C is that bit less relevant. But at this price point, you'd have thought Samsung might have thrown it in, anyway. That way you can easily, say, share this monitor between your gaming desktop and a work laptop.
(Image credit: Future)
Design: 4 / 5
Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF: Performance
Extremely fast
Vibrant colors
Limited SDR presets
The headline feature of the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF is its 500Hz refresh rate. Combined with the incredible response speed of all OLEDs, which the monitor industry pretty much universally rates at 0.03ms, and you have a recipe for incredible speed.
That's very much the subjective experience, too. This thing is hella quick, with remarkably little motion blur and essentially no discernible input lag. Put simply, esports fans who play online shooters and appreciate this kind of speed will love this thing.
Of course, the most serious of esports aficionados will probably still favour an even higher refresh rate and smaller 1080p monitor. So, the question then becomes, how is this monitor for everyone else?
(Image credit: Future)
Well, with a 2560 by 1440 native resolution, the pixel density is moderate at best compared to a 4K panel of the same size. So, this isn't the crispest or sharpest of displays. That's slightly exacerbated by the panel's triangular rather than RGB-stripe subpixel structure. If you like sharp fonts, this isn't the display for you.
It also suffers from the usual purple tint in bright ambient light that all QD-OLED displays suffer. Well, all bar a new generation of panels, but that tech isn't used here. Then there's the matte anti-glare coating. Sure, it reduces reflectivity. But it also robs this monitor of that sense of inky, almost infinite contrast that glossy OLED monitors deliver in the right circumstances.
Make no mistake, this is still a punchy, vibrant display, as indicated by an increased full-screen brightness rating of 300 nits. By way of example, there's a dark indoor scene in Cyberpunk 2077 involving sizzling arcs of electricity leaping across the screen. And it's absolutely stunning. That's perfect per-pixel lighting, OLED style, for you. No LCD monitor comes close. But with a glossy coating, it would have been even more incredible.
The Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF's factory calibration in SDR mode could be a lot better, too. The OSD doesn't actually offer the usual sRGB or DCI-P3 color presets, and none of the various modes that are offered deliver a properly balanced SDR experience. They're all overly warm in terms of color temperature, and are also oversaturated.
In mitigation, SDR content is actually really nicely calibrated in HDR mode. So, you can actually just run this thing in HDR mode for everything. But the SDR calibration and preset limitations are a little odd.
Performance: 4 / 5
Should you buy the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF?
Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF scorecard
Value
At around $799, the Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF is pretty expensive even for a 27-inch OLED monitor. But then if you want a 500Hz OLED, good luck finding one much cheaper.
3 / 5
Design
Samsung's usual Odyssey design and build quality features again, which is generally good. But at this price point, the lack of USB-C connectivity is disappointing.
4 / 5
Performance
There's no questioning the incredible speed of the Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF. But the resolution is mediocre and the 27-inch experience isn't exactly cinematic.
4 / 5
Final score
The Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF is a bit of a niche offering. If you want the ultimate in OLED speed, however, it absolutely delivers.
4. / 5
Buy the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF if...
You want the ultimate in speed The Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF is ridiculously fast thanks to the combination of 500Hz refresh and 0.03ms response.
You want awesome HDR Thanks to OLED's perfect per-pixel lighting, the Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF has far better HDR performance than any LCD monitor, including mini-LED models.
Don't buy it if...
You want lots of pixels With a native resolution of 2560 by 1440, the Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF isn't exactly a high-DPI monitor. That's OK for games, less so for everything else.
You want cinematic thrills At this price point you have plenty of options if you want a really immersive, cinematic experience. At just 27 inches, this is a modestly-sized monitor for the money.
It’s finally here; after a tumultuous few years of will-they-won’t-they development, Edmund McMillen (The Binding of Isaac’screator) and his frequent collaborator Tyler Glaiel (for The End is Nigh and Aether) are finally ready to share their latest creation – Mewgenics.
Review info
Platform reviewed: PC and Steam Deck Available on: PC via. Steam Release date: February 10, 2026
Mewgenics is a game that does exactly what it says on the tin – its core mechanic is selective cat breeding – but if you’re looking for a life simulator, that it is not. Instead, you’ll march your army of superpowered pussycats through harsh battlefields (read: sewers, junkyards, and other such dismal settings), fight your way through turn-based encounters against grotesque foes, and develop winning formulas that will eventually lead your feline friends to victory.
It’s a surprisingly compelling and complex game, offering ample collectible items, a healthy number of achievements, and plenty of replayability. If you spent the 2010s haunting the virtual halls of Newgrounds or playing titles like The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy, you’ll feel the warm embrace of nostalgia, but you won’t get bored quickly thanks to the creative ways Mewgenics plays with the roguelite formula. It’s unforgiving, in places, and won’t always let you take the easy route, but it’s great fun the whole way through.
That same strength could be a weakness for some players; the raunchy humor, slightly monstrous art style, and energetic dialogue might register as dated to some. Stripped away from its tone, however, the game still stands as a thoroughly enjoyable, well-paced, and amply versatile addition to your Steam library. Plus, it’s Steam Deck compatible, where it feels right at home.
No purr-lace like home
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
Welcome to Boon County, where the cats are cute, the real estate market is booming, and both of those statements are only half true. In this rundown part of town lies your humble home, a shack-like property inhabited by your collection of cats. From these modest beginnings shall spring forth legend, however, because it’s here you’ll collect, breed, and care for a cat army.
That means ensuring there’s enough food, cleaning up their waste (and, er... corpses, occasionally), decorating your home, and shopping for both supplies and in-level items. You can also prune the genetic pool by shipping off cats to allies you’ll meet along the way to unlock various features and perks, so from the get-go, there’s plenty of macro management to dig your teeth into.
Along that vein, it’s important not to underestimate the importance of this hub; even in the early game, the cats you keep around shape the outcomes of the battles to come, whether that’s due to the mutations and stats they carry or because they have a penchant for infighting and can leave permanent injuries on one another.
When you’ve had your fill of cat care and it’s time to end the day, your cats can choose to fight each other or mate, leaving you with new messes to clean up. Later in the game, it’s possible to steer these interactions a little more by seconding your cats in groups as you gain new rooms for your shack. I had great fun selectively breeding in some mutations that I found especially cute, even if they did come at the detriment of some of my cats; I can’t help it, their goofy little snaggle teeth are irresistible.
New strays will also arrive each day, offering an easy way to fill out your party when you’re low on soldiers, or the gene pool is getting too slim. Over time, though, stockpiles will run low, and at that point, you can venture out with four cats of your choice to battle foes and bring home vital supplies like food and money; and here’s where the meat of the game begins.
I can’t fight this feline anymore
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
Upon selecting your chosen warriors, you’ll be able to assign them to one of four classes to begin with; this increases to more than 12 over time, each with unique abilities and passives that you’ll curate over the course of your travels; those, too, can be passed on to descendants. There are over 1,200 abilities and passive traits in the game, so no two runs will play the same – this variation made the game pretty hard to put down.
There are seven stats each cat will come pre-loaded with: strength (melee and damage), dexterity (range and damage), constitution (HP and regeneration), intelligence (mana regeneration), speed (initiative and movement), charisma (max mana), and luck (chance-based events like critical rolls).
Based on these, certain classes will align better with different cats, but the further you get in the game, and the more chaotic your approach to breeding has been, the more often you’ll find yourself with some pretty busted combinations.
I managed to score a necromancer carrying many cleric traits, loaded it up with a bunch of perks for healing, and created the most monstrously good wham-bulance (high damage, high heal) since I discovered the Soraka/Yuumi bottom lane combination in League of Legends. A niche reference point, but if you know, you know.
After equipping any items you may have to boost stats and grant new abilities to your kitties, it’s time to head out on the road, where you’ll face enemies ranging from zombie kitties to strange psychic eldritch beasts, tom cats to bomb-lobbing mousers, and beyond in randomized battle encounters.
There’s a fantastic range of enemies to fight (over 200), each with their own abilities and behaviours; a personal favorite is a pair of giant shark cats, which I realised all too late can devour your brave soldiers in one bite – and there’s no coming back from this particular death.
Best bit
One of my Clerics picked up a passive that effectively made it dyslexic, swapping around letters and numbers in their abilities. Confusing, yes, but as a dyslexic person myself, utterly hilarious.
Outside of perma-death situations (which there are quite a few of!), enemies will down your teammates, and their fainted bodies can take damage three times before exploding into chunks of bone and meat.
This is more than just an inconvenience in-fight; each time one of your cats becomes downed, it will pick up conditions like injuries and jinxes. Sure, they’ll heal up a little at the end of combat, but these injuries limit their stats for the rest of the run, and items or abilities that cure these conditions are few and far between.
Speaking of which, in between battles, you’ll pick up various items (of which there are over 900) and face different encounters. In these encounters, a random party member will choose from different stat-based options, and, based on your stat points, a probability-based outcome decides if the interaction helps or hinders your crew.
The luck element of the game is often cruel, and there’s no room for sentimentality with your party; your front-line soldiers will die sometimes, and when that happens, you run the risk of losing everything you gained in the process.
A game that keeps on giving
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
There are multiple pathways to travel, starting with the Alley and branching off to the Sewer and Graveyard. These lead on to the Caves and the Junkyard, respectively, and that’s just in the first act. Later, you’ll unlock more roads to travel with their own challenges. For example, in the Desert, the extreme heat leads to health loss over time unless you keep your cats cool and watered.
Survive a run, and you’ll be able to take your newly buffed up cats back home, where they’ll retire (likely into your selective breeding programme) and no longer be able to go out on battles – with a few exceptions.
All the above is basically just a precursor to the game in its entirety; I’ve played a solid 30 hours, and I’m still only 20% of the waythrough. There’s a reported over 200 hours of gameplay, so I’ve no concerns about tiring too quickly of Mewgenics. I’d assume that’s before you factor in unlockable achievements, too, meaning much like The Binding of Isaac, I expect superfans to see hours well into the thousands worth of kitty cat combat.
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
It helps that the game has excellent music, consistently great art, and some really well-designed levels. Some of the boss fight song lyrics had me chuckling even as my ill-fated kitties erupted into a spray of body parts and blood, and the rest of the soundtrack has enough pace and variation to keep me locked in to the addictive gameplay loop.
Every time I’ve sat down to play, I’ve unlocked some fresh hell for my cats to endure – one of the latest is a monstrous doomsday cat called Guillotina, who turns up at my cats’ home every week or so to fight retired cats.
The chaos is almost certain to continue amplifying as I delve further into the world of these calamitous kitties, and while I don’t know if it will have such a broad appeal as the comparatively simple The Binding of Isaac, I hope long-time fans of it and other creative roguelikes in the genre will give it its due. I certainly intend to!
Should you play Mewgenics?
Play it if...
You loved The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy Lovers of the grotesque roguelikes of yore, rejoice; Mewgenics is the game for you. It has its own twist, but I think even players who aren’t typically tactical play fans will get a real kick out of it.
You enjoy strategizing around the long game While the runs themselves are immersive, it’s important in Mewgenics to consider the greater impact of your choices; does losing certain cats risk your gene pool? Are they carrying items you might want for future runs? Is there enough food on the table back at home?
Don't play it if...
You’re prone to developing emotional attachments to pixels These cats are not for loving; they’re for lobbing onto a battlefield and keeping alive long enough to breed and reap the rewards. That didn’t stop me from growing attached, and it stung each time a cat I particularly liked passed on.
You’re faint of heart If you don’t want to see cats humping, exploding, and fighting, I’m surprised you made it this far in the review. Though you can alter how graphic certain parts of the game are in the settings.
Accessibility features
Mewgenics is hit-or-miss with accessibility; there are no subtitle adjustments, difficulty adjustments or colorblind settings, but text boxes are pretty large by default and you can change the size of UI elements like the status bar, tooltip size and adjust the noise and grain and flicker levels. The controls are mappable, too. Some more work could be done here; a clearer font and colorblind settings wouldn’t go amiss, but hopefully that’s something we see in a later update.
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
How I reviewed Mewgenics
I spent over 30 hours in Mewgenics, covering the first act and most of the second as well as some side quests; enough to get a good sense of the gameplay, though I’m sure there’s plenty still to come as the game goes on.
It’s finally here; after a tumultuous few years of will-they-won’t-they development, Edmund McMillen (The Binding of Isaac’screator) and his frequent collaborator Tyler Glaiel (for The End is Nigh and Aether) are finally ready to share their latest creation – Mewgenics.
Review info
Platform reviewed: PC and Steam Deck Available on: PC via. Steam Release date: February 10, 2026
Mewgenics is a game that does exactly what it says on the tin – its core mechanic is selective cat breeding – but if you’re looking for a life simulator, that it is not. Instead, you’ll march your army of superpowered pussycats through harsh battlefields (read: sewers, junkyards, and other such dismal settings), fight your way through turn-based encounters against grotesque foes, and develop winning formulas that will eventually lead your feline friends to victory.
It’s a surprisingly compelling and complex game, offering ample collectible items, a healthy number of achievements, and plenty of replayability. If you spent the 2010s haunting the virtual halls of Newgrounds or playing titles like The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy, you’ll feel the warm embrace of nostalgia, but you won’t get bored quickly thanks to the creative ways Mewgenics plays with the roguelite formula. It’s unforgiving, in places, and won’t always let you take the easy route, but it’s great fun the whole way through.
That same strength could be a weakness for some players; the raunchy humor, slightly monstrous art style, and energetic dialogue might register as dated to some. Stripped away from its tone, however, the game still stands as a thoroughly enjoyable, well-paced, and amply versatile addition to your Steam library. Plus, it’s Steam Deck compatible, where it feels right at home.
No purr-lace like home
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
Welcome to Boon County, where the cats are cute, the real estate market is booming, and both of those statements are only half true. In this rundown part of town lies your humble home, a shack-like property inhabited by your collection of cats. From these modest beginnings shall spring forth legend, however, because it’s here you’ll collect, breed, and care for a cat army.
That means ensuring there’s enough food, cleaning up their waste (and, er... corpses, occasionally), decorating your home, and shopping for both supplies and in-level items. You can also prune the genetic pool by shipping off cats to allies you’ll meet along the way to unlock various features and perks, so from the get-go, there’s plenty of macro management to dig your teeth into.
Along that vein, it’s important not to underestimate the importance of this hub; even in the early game, the cats you keep around shape the outcomes of the battles to come, whether that’s due to the mutations and stats they carry or because they have a penchant for infighting and can leave permanent injuries on one another.
When you’ve had your fill of cat care and it’s time to end the day, your cats can choose to fight each other or mate, leaving you with new messes to clean up. Later in the game, it’s possible to steer these interactions a little more by seconding your cats in groups as you gain new rooms for your shack. I had great fun selectively breeding in some mutations that I found especially cute, even if they did come at the detriment of some of my cats; I can’t help it, their goofy little snaggle teeth are irresistible.
New strays will also arrive each day, offering an easy way to fill out your party when you’re low on soldiers, or the gene pool is getting too slim. Over time, though, stockpiles will run low, and at that point, you can venture out with four cats of your choice to battle foes and bring home vital supplies like food and money; and here’s where the meat of the game begins.
I can’t fight this feline anymore
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
Upon selecting your chosen warriors, you’ll be able to assign them to one of four classes to begin with; this increases to more than 12 over time, each with unique abilities and passives that you’ll curate over the course of your travels; those, too, can be passed on to descendants. There are over 1,200 abilities and passive traits in the game, so no two runs will play the same – this variation made the game pretty hard to put down.
There are seven stats each cat will come pre-loaded with: strength (melee and damage), dexterity (range and damage), constitution (HP and regeneration), intelligence (mana regeneration), speed (initiative and movement), charisma (max mana), and luck (chance-based events like critical rolls).
Based on these, certain classes will align better with different cats, but the further you get in the game, and the more chaotic your approach to breeding has been, the more often you’ll find yourself with some pretty busted combinations.
I managed to score a necromancer carrying many cleric traits, loaded it up with a bunch of perks for healing, and created the most monstrously good wham-bulance (high damage, high heal) since I discovered the Soraka/Yuumi bottom lane combination in League of Legends. A niche reference point, but if you know, you know.
After equipping any items you may have to boost stats and grant new abilities to your kitties, it’s time to head out on the road, where you’ll face enemies ranging from zombie kitties to strange psychic eldritch beasts, tom cats to bomb-lobbing mousers, and beyond in randomized battle encounters.
There’s a fantastic range of enemies to fight (over 200), each with their own abilities and behaviours; a personal favorite is a pair of giant shark cats, which I realised all too late can devour your brave soldiers in one bite – and there’s no coming back from this particular death.
Best bit
One of my Clerics picked up a passive that effectively made it dyslexic, swapping around letters and numbers in their abilities. Confusing, yes, but as a dyslexic person myself, utterly hilarious.
Outside of perma-death situations (which there are quite a few of!), enemies will down your teammates, and their fainted bodies can take damage three times before exploding into chunks of bone and meat.
This is more than just an inconvenience in-fight; each time one of your cats becomes downed, it will pick up conditions like injuries and jinxes. Sure, they’ll heal up a little at the end of combat, but these injuries limit their stats for the rest of the run, and items or abilities that cure these conditions are few and far between.
Speaking of which, in between battles, you’ll pick up various items (of which there are over 900) and face different encounters. In these encounters, a random party member will choose from different stat-based options, and, based on your stat points, a probability-based outcome decides if the interaction helps or hinders your crew.
The luck element of the game is often cruel, and there’s no room for sentimentality with your party; your front-line soldiers will die sometimes, and when that happens, you run the risk of losing everything you gained in the process.
A game that keeps on giving
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
There are multiple pathways to travel, starting with the Alley and branching off to the Sewer and Graveyard. These lead on to the Caves and the Junkyard, respectively, and that’s just in the first act. Later, you’ll unlock more roads to travel with their own challenges. For example, in the Desert, the extreme heat leads to health loss over time unless you keep your cats cool and watered.
Survive a run, and you’ll be able to take your newly buffed up cats back home, where they’ll retire (likely into your selective breeding programme) and no longer be able to go out on battles – with a few exceptions.
All the above is basically just a precursor to the game in its entirety; I’ve played a solid 30 hours, and I’m still only 20% of the waythrough. There’s a reported over 200 hours of gameplay, so I’ve no concerns about tiring too quickly of Mewgenics. I’d assume that’s before you factor in unlockable achievements, too, meaning much like The Binding of Isaac, I expect superfans to see hours well into the thousands worth of kitty cat combat.
(Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
It helps that the game has excellent music, consistently great art, and some really well-designed levels. Some of the boss fight song lyrics had me chuckling even as my ill-fated kitties erupted into a spray of body parts and blood, and the rest of the soundtrack has enough pace and variation to keep me locked in to the addictive gameplay loop.
Every time I’ve sat down to play, I’ve unlocked some fresh hell for my cats to endure – one of the latest is a monstrous doomsday cat called Guillotina, who turns up at my cats’ home every week or so to fight retired cats.
The chaos is almost certain to continue amplifying as I delve further into the world of these calamitous kitties, and while I don’t know if it will have such a broad appeal as the comparatively simple The Binding of Isaac, I hope long-time fans of it and other creative roguelikes in the genre will give it its due. I certainly intend to!
Should you play Mewgenics?
Play it if...
You loved The Binding of Isaac and Super Meat Boy Lovers of the grotesque roguelikes of yore, rejoice; Mewgenics is the game for you. It has its own twist, but I think even players who aren’t typically tactical play fans will get a real kick out of it.
You enjoy strategizing around the long game While the runs themselves are immersive, it’s important in Mewgenics to consider the greater impact of your choices; does losing certain cats risk your gene pool? Are they carrying items you might want for future runs? Is there enough food on the table back at home?
Don't play it if...
You’re prone to developing emotional attachments to pixels These cats are not for loving; they’re for lobbing onto a battlefield and keeping alive long enough to breed and reap the rewards. That didn’t stop me from growing attached, and it stung each time a cat I particularly liked passed on.
You’re faint of heart If you don’t want to see cats humping, exploding, and fighting, I’m surprised you made it this far in the review. Though you can alter how graphic certain parts of the game are in the settings.
Accessibility features
Mewgenics is hit-or-miss with accessibility; there are no subtitle adjustments, difficulty adjustments or colorblind settings, but text boxes are pretty large by default and you can change the size of UI elements like the status bar, tooltip size and adjust the noise and grain and flicker levels. The controls are mappable, too. Some more work could be done here; a clearer font and colorblind settings wouldn’t go amiss, but hopefully that’s something we see in a later update.
My cleric developed a form of dyslexia, and as a dyslexic it took me a second too long to realize it wasn't just my own reading comprehension behind my confusion. (Image credit: Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel)
How I reviewed Mewgenics
I spent over 30 hours in Mewgenics, covering the first act and most of the second as well as some side quests; enough to get a good sense of the gameplay, though I’m sure there’s plenty still to come as the game goes on.
In 2026, theme parks are a massive part of society. There are attractions all over the globe, competing to build the biggest and best rides to entertain thrill-seekers. They've become so successful that even Disney’s newest CEO comes from a park background, solidifying their importance in modern culture.
But back in 1955, the idea of a large-scale theme park like Disneyland in Anaheim, California, was seen as ridiculous, impossible, even. Such a feat had never been attempted before, and many people thought Walt Disney's dream was simply that, and could never be realized.
It's genuinely fascinating to watch all this unfold through Disney+'s new documentary Disneyland Handcrafted. I've been to a couple of Disney parks in my life, and I'll admit I might take them for granted at times. But imagine being there to witness the first-ever Disney park, built in just over a year? It's a remarkable achievement, and it's no wonder it's gone down in history.
I loved witnessing so many iconic attractions from start to finish, like the water ride Jungle Cruise and Mark Twain, which, at the time, was the first functional steamboat built in the US in 50 years.
There are some anxiety-inducing moments, too, as workers are seen climbing to great heights without the safety equipment we have today. The construction site for Disneyland looked nothing like modern-day ones, and it's so special to have all this archive footage preserving the process.
Disneyland Handcrafted is a love letter to Walt Disney's ambition and to the way he embraced television to spread the word about his theme park. He gave progress reports and marketed its development in a way that was groundbreaking back then, leveraging new technologies and ideas.
So many people worked hard to build Disneyland, from its attractions to Sleeping Beauty's castle, a huge structure that I'm constantly in awe of even now. Immersion was everything to make Disneyland a success; without an effective theme, it would've all fallen apart.
But Walt's team of designers, builders, and more were able to bring it all together, including the first iteration of Main Street, an iconic Disney-themed land, which resembles American small towns during the early 20th century.
Even though it's all laid out in front of us, it still seems unbelievable that they were even able to pull all this off. It's an incredibly hopeful documentary that proves how far determination and hard work can take you, even if people around you doubt you can do it.
Disneyland Handcrafted is sure to give you a new appreciation for theme parks, even beyond the Disney umbrella. So much work goes into funding, design, marketing, and building attractions.
Disneyland's opening was not perfect, as they ran into issues such as a plumber's strike, which forced a choice between working water fountains and toilets, leaving guests without drinking water. But the fact that it even existed back then is monumental, and improvements were made based on the all-important first visit. Over time, it's gotten even better, blossoming into the park we know and love today.
There are a few small issues with Disneyland Handcrafted. It doesn't provide a complete timeline or a deep dive into certain areas, as its short runtime limits it. However, there is enough to keep you engaged and plenty of new things to uncover, which may encourage you to go off and read more about it.
Walt himself doesn't appear much either, beyond important television broadcasts, which could disappoint some fans. But personally, I did enjoy the fact that it focused on all the people who worked hard on the Anaheim site every day, lifting heavy equipment and following blueprints that probably felt overwhelming at first. Together as a community, they really did build something beautiful.
Disney+ is home to plenty of great behind-the-scenes looks at the parks. We Call It Imagineering focuses on how Disney Parks are designed and built in the modern day, taking you behind the scenes of the biggest attractions and new ideas.
There's plenty to explore, and as a huge fan of Disney movies and parks, it's incredible getting to see the process and how it's changed over time. Disneyland Handcrafted is a must-watch for anyone keen to see where it all began, and it's streaming now on Disney+ and YouTube.
Out of the box, the GeekBook X14 Pro instantly strikes you as a premium laptop, with the magnesium alloy build not only contributing to the lightweight and robust design of this 14-inch laptop, but also giving it the unmistakable look and style of many other premium laptops of this size, most notably the MacBook Air and Microsoft Surface machines.
While it is lightweight and sleek, Geekom have ensured there is a decent amount of connectivity. If you're a business user, the fact that it has two USB4 and a full-size HDMI 2.1 port means it’s easy to connect to networks and other accessories, and any larger display. If the number of connectivity options isn’t enough for you, then in the box alongside the laptop is a hub that boosts the connection options and includes a dedicated LAN port.
The internal processing power is also impressive, and the fact that the small machine features one of the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processors, coupled with Arc graphics and an integrated NPU, means it's AI-ready and a perfect option if you rely on Copilot to help with your productivity.
One of the other key features here is the 2.8K OLED display, which is relatively bright at 450 nits, although with its glossy surface, reflections in brighter environments can be a bit of an issue.
Overall performance is exceptionally good, and opening up Microsoft’s main productivity apps, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint, proves how well-tuned this machine is for day-to-day office work. If you want to touch on some creativity, then the 2TB SSD offers plenty of storage capacity for small projects, and this is backed up by the CPU and GPU power, which is more than capable of handling 1080p and 4K video. Through the test, I was able to put together a short video shot on a Sony A7 Mark V without too many issues. However, during the editing process, it is worth noting that as the production reached about five minutes, the machine took a little longer to process the footage and edit in DaVinci Resolve.
Switching down to an application such as CapCut, again with 4K video shot on the iPhone 15 Pro, the laptop is more than capable of swiftly enabling all edits as well as supplying effects and templates with ease.
Taking a look at photo editing and Lightroom, again, this is a machine that, while small and lightweight, is more than powerful enough to handle both of those applications. In Photoshop, using Generative Expand as well as some of the generation tools that are native to that application, the AI enhancements offered through the integrated MPU helped to speed up the image generation process.
Finally, when it came to looking at games, once again, this small laptop was extremely impressive. Taking a look firstly at DiRT Rally, it was able to cope with the graphics without too many issues, and I was able to do a few laps of various courses, although the fans did kick in trying to keep the small machine nice and cool.
Likewise, pushing the GPU a little bit further with Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, again, the machine was able to cope with settings reduced. When the fans did kick in, the design seemed to be sufficient to keep that fan noise down to a bare minimum. However, you could really feel the heat building up.
Geekom GeekBook X14 Pro: Price and availability
How much does it cost? $1249 RRP
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Directly from Geekom and Amazon.com
At present, the GeekBook X14 Pro is available directly from the Geekom website, where the Core Ultra 5 model discounted to $1049 and the Core Ultra 9 model is $1249 at the time of review.
Both models are also available for the same price at Amazon.com here. However, currently, the laptop looks to only be available in the US.
Right now, you can save 10% at both Amazon and Geekom when you use the code TECHX14 PRO
Value: 4.5 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro: Specs
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 5 125H / Intel Core Ultra 9 185H Graphics: Intel Arc integrated RAM: 32GB LPDDR5x Storage: 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD Left Ports: 2× USB4, 1× USB-A 3.2 Gen2, HDMI 2.1 Right Ports: USB-A 3.2 Gen2, 3.5mm combo jack, microSD Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4 Audio: DTS:X Ultra stereo speakers Camera: 1080p with privacy shutter Size: 312 x 215 x 16.9 mm, 999g OS Installed: Windows 11 Pro Accessories: 65W GaN USB-C charger, user manual
GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro: Design
The GeekBook X14 Pro has been designed as a premium 14-inch laptop, and the magnesium alloy casing certainly reinforces that. From the moment you lift the machine out of the box, the matte silver finish is reminiscent of the MacBook Pro machines, with a slight wedge-like design that enables a bit more ventilation towards the back.
When it comes to size and weight, the laptop weighs in at 1030g, although the list weight is just under 1KG, and measures 312mm by 215mm by 20mm. The wedge shape makes this in line with the small MacBooks and Microsoft Surface.
The laptop is left minimalistic, just with the GEEKOM logo. Flipping over to the base, you have three large rubber feet to help keep it nice and secure when placed on a desktop.
Taking a look firstly at the left-hand side of the machine, you have the HDMI 2.1 port and two USB4 ports of the Type-C design. On the right-hand side, you have a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 (labelled 5GB/s), a 3.5mm headphone combo port and a camera on/off slide switch to disable the webcam.
When it comes to power, this is all provided through a 65W PD GaN fast charger, which is USB-C to USB-C, so if you don't have the proprietary charger with you, you can use others to give this laptop a charging boost.
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Opening up the machine, you’re presented with the 14-inch OLED display at a resolution of 2880 x 1800. This display is capable of showing 100% DCI-P3 colour at 450 nits of brightness, with a 60Hz or 120Hz refresh rate, which is good for creativity as well as gaming and multimedia.
When it comes to the keyboard, it is of a decent size, although not full-size. GEEKOM have really thought about the layout, with backspace, enter and shift keys on the right side being a little larger than the other keys. The cursor keys also give you two-thirds left and right, and half-sized up and down keys, making it quite easy to navigate through documents.
The touchpad is also a decent size, measuring 120 x 71 mm, and supports multi-gesture control. It's made of Mylar, ensuring that it has a good, long life and is perfect for day-to-day use.
Design: 4 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro: Features
The premium looks of the GeekBook X14 Pro give you some idea of the quality of the electronics within, and the small machine features one of the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPUs. This is coupled with Intel Arc graphics and an integrated NPU.
One of the other big selling points is the high-resolution 2.8K OLED display, capable of displaying the DCI-P3 colour gamut at 100% with a 120Hz refresh rate and brightness up to 450 nits.
The Intel Core Ultra 9 mobile processor offers 16 cores, 22 threads, 24MB onboard cache, and a 5.1GHz turbo boost. This is more than sufficient for a workflow of most creativity apps and top-level games. I’ll be using Indiana Jone and the Great Circle to test this out later.
The Intel graphics are similarly impressive with the Xe-LPG architecture that enables XeSS upscaling, support for DirectX 12.1, and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. This allows you to play far more power-intensive games than you'd expect from a laptop of this size. For creatives, there is AV1 and H.265/HEVC support for video, and it's also AI-ready for graphics, which I was able to test using the Adobe Creative Suite.
The GeekBook X14 is one of a growing number of new laptop releases that feature an NPU alongside the Intel CPU and GPU. This enables greater hardware processing for AI, so if you utilise Copilot or some of the AI features within applications, then this NPU will help speed up the process.
Inside, there's a relatively large 72Wh battery that will last up to 16 hours for light use and can be fast-charged using the 65W GaN adapter. It also supports USB-C charging, so even if you don’t have your charger with you, you should be able to find some other way to charge.
The laptop also supports USB4, enabling ultra-fast transfer rates as well as connectivity to networks and high-resolution external displays without too many issues. One of the features that really caught my eye was the inclusion of a full-sized HDMI port, so it's easy to connect to a display when giving presentations.
As well as the wired connectivity features, Wi-Fi 6E offers fast networking and transfer rates. Whilst there is no wired network port, GEEKOM have gone to the effort of including a slimline USB4 hub in the box, which gives you a standard network connector as well as additional ports. This is a great addition that enables you to keep the laptop nice and slim but expand the ports if and when you need.
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Features: 4.5 / 5
GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro: Performance
Benchmark scores
Benchmark Results: CrystalDiskMark Read: 6994.18 MB/s CrystalDiskMark Write: 6188.09 MB/s Geekbench CPU Multi: 12,600 Geekbench CPU Single: 2,382 Geekbench GPU: 30,577 PCMark Overall: 7,536 Cinebench CPU Multi: 12,133 Cinebench CPU Single: 1,700 Fire Strike Overall: 7,513 Fire Strike Graphics: 8,107 Fire Strike Physics: 23,448 Fire Strike Combined: 2,925 Time Spy Overall: 3,780 Time Spy Graphics: 3,427 Time Spy CPU: 9,087 Wild Life Overall: 23,102 Steel Nomad Overall: 701 Windows Experience Overall: 8.2
Getting started with the latest Windows laptops just involves running through the last few setup screens of Windows 11, and in this case, the Pro release. Whether you're doing this yourself or have an IT team handling it, the process is relatively quick and easy, with the usual registration of existing Microsoft or Google accounts before the main Windows 11 Pro interface opens up.
In this test, I started off with some of the Microsoft productivity applications as well as browsing the internet, putting together a slide presentation on darkroom photography for a course I’m presently running. Windows 11 Pro was able to handle Microsoft Word and PowerPoint with absolutely no issues, and as I added to Excel sheets on development times and chemical mixture ratios, it was able to handle relatively large slides and images. What stood out here was that 2.8K resolution screen, which just enables a little bit more real estate when it comes to handling Excel, which is a huge advantage even on this relatively small 14-inch screen.
The bezel around that 14-inch screen is also very slight, so you get maximum coverage. Whilst the screen looks good, bright and very clear, with good tonal graduation and overall quality, it was apparent from the outset that it has slightly more reflection than some of the laptops I’ve looked at recently, including the far more expensive ASUS ExpertBook. But still, considering this is almost £1000 cheaper, it holds up extremely well, as long as you're not in a bright location where screen reflections could make it a little tricky to see what you're doing.
As expected from most Windows laptops these days, the ability to handle Microsoft applications goes without saying. If you're looking for a straightforward, powerful laptop for general day-to-day business processing, then the GeekBook X14 Pro is a superb option.
However, I had to push this a little further. Having now used quite a few machines with the new Intel Core Ultra 7 and Ultra 9 CPUs, I was keen to see how good it was at handling DaVinci Resolve with some straight 4K video footage shot on the Sony A7 Mark V. This 4K footage isn't the highest bitrate, but it is good standard quality video you'd use for YouTube or social media content. DaVinci Resolve was able to handle a five-minute edit without too many issues, and the large 2TB SSD offered fast transfer rates, both read and write, around 6000 MB/s, while the USB4 connectivity enabled me to connect to a fast SSD, allowing smooth editing. This surpassed what I thought it would be capable of.
Where it did start to struggle was when effects were applied, and the fans kicked in to keep everything cool. There was a little lag on render times, but as long as you dragged the footage into the timeline, waited a second or two to settle and render, and then made the edit, the process was relatively smooth.
Switching in DaVinci Resolve to 4K video shot on the iPhone 15 Pro and opening that in CapCut, the experience improved further. CapCut is a far more lightweight video editor and much better suited to a small machine like this. It handled the 4K footage without issue, and as effects and templates were applied, there were no problems with slowdown. While once again you could feel the heat building up, it was able to stay on top of thermal throttling, enabling fast and smooth edits and uploads. While I was initially worried that the machine is limited to 32GB of DDR5 RAM, with no option to upgrade, through the review process, this proved more than enough, not only for day-to-day office use but also for relatively light video editing work.
Switching over to stills imaging and looking at Lightroom and Photoshop, again, this small machine was able to handle both without issue. Lightroom catalogues were created and adjustments made in both Lightroom Classic and Lightroom CC at speed, showing that it’s a great option if you are a photographer looking for a very lightweight yet powerful small laptop. Likewise, Photoshop ran exceptionally well, and with AI enhancements like Generative Expand and image generation, the onboard processing made the experience relatively quick.
Finally, I loaded up a couple of games to see how it could handle them. Starting off with DiRT Rally, that CPU and GPU combo was far more powerful than the game required. I didn’t push the graphics, and the gameplay was smooth. However, the keyboard wasn’t the greatest for gaming; the keys lacked the responsiveness you’d want, so switching over to a dedicated controller is, as ever, a far better idea.
Then, really pushing the system, I loaded up Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. The graphics quality needed to be lowered to get decent gameplay, and even then, you could feel a little stutter as the machine warmed up. But ultimately, the game was playable, really highlighting the leap forward these mobile CPU and GPU combos have made in the last year.
Performance: 4.5 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro: Final verdict
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
For creative applications, I was impressed across the board. Whilst there was a little bit of a delay and waiting in DaVinci Resolve, it could handle pretty much anything I threw at it. My one issue was that I couldn’t quite get the hang of the trackpad; it wasn’t as responsive as many others, and the double-click on the left corner wasn’t as precise as I would’ve hoped.
There was also a feeling of slight lightness to the keyboard, and it didn’t have that precision of key press that I find with some of the more premium models. But then again, considering the price, you’re paying for the quality and speed of performance rather than the precision of the keyboard and trackpad.
Whilst the screen proved to be of decent quality with good tonal graduation and a relatively bright 450 nits of brightness, I did find the surface just a little overly reflective. It’s an issue in cafés, but if you’re sat in an office or on a train, that should be absolutely fine, just make sure you’re not sat with your back to a bright window.
Audio quality was also better than expected. With DTSX built in, the small speakers were able to produce a decent sound, not quite as deep and full-bodied as you’d get from a MacBook Pro or Microsoft Surface, but you’d only notice if you had those machines side-by-side.
Overall, if you’re looking for a very decent, premium-styled 14-inch Windows laptop for work and some light creative and gaming use, then the GeekBook X14 Pro is a superb option.
Should I buy the GEEKOM GeekBook X14 Pro?
Value
Considering that this is a powerful laptop for around the $1000 / £1000 price mark, it’s extremely impressive
4.5
Design
Good quality outer shell and design, let down slightly by the trackpad and lightweight keyboard
4
Features
Good range of features, with the power of the CPU, GPU and MPU really standing out
4.5
Performance
Able to handle all productivity and light-to-medium creative and gaming tasks
4.5
Overall
A relatively cheap premium laptop that will suit those who require power in a lightweight and relatively robust form
4.5
Buy it if...
You want lightweight portable power This is a good Windows laptop that's as light as a tablet but strong enough for real work on the go.
OLED display matters If you’re a content creator, the 2.8K OLED screen and colour fidelity are definitely a big advantage.
Don't buy it if...
You need upgrade options If you're the type who wants to swap out RAM or storage later, the soldered design isn’t for you.
You like to relax with gaming Integrated Arc graphics are solid, but not meant for high-end 1440p/4K gaming—although they do pretty well.
The Notta Memo is another AI-enhanced voice recorder that enables you to record voice memos, record meetings and calls for the purpose of AI transcription, though not in real time, but almost. The style of design is slim and compact with MagSafe mounting, so it’s easily attachable to the back of your iPhone. For other manufacturer phones, there’s a magnetic ring in the box, so even if you're using an Android , you can still easily connect the Notta Memo neatly in place.
From the outset, the ease of use of the Notta Memo stands out, with a single button press to start and stop recording. A switch on the left side of the screen lets you switch between voice calls on your mobile and recording meetings or voice memos. That combination of a button press and a physical switch on the device itself is a really nice touch, letting you quickly access options without having to delve into an app or on-device screens.
Throughout the review process, I utilised the Notta Memo in lectures, meetings, and during phone calls, and in different situations, from a crowded and noisy classroom, through to phone calls in a busy café and meetings in a far quieter office. Each time, the Notta Memo impressed me. It was able to isolate all speakers nicely and cleanly. Again, what I really came to like was the physical switch on the device, enabling me to quickly switch between recording phone calls and live meetings, making it intuitive and like an integral part of the phone.
The one thing that was a little bit irritating was that, to utilise the Notta Memo, you need to first register the app and the device. You can use the AI offline, and the audio recording feature lets you record phone calls or meetings with a single tap, but for the AI features, the core of what this device is about, registration, is needed.
Whilst you can perform basic functionality such as audio recording, the device needs to be online to access transcription, AI summary, chat, language translation, and app sync and export of your recordings. Essentially, it becomes no more than a dictaphone without the app or internet connection.
One of the other smaller issues that I had with the Notta Memo is that once again, it uses a magnetic proprietary charging and data cable, which means that if you do leave home without that cable, you can't use a MagSafe charger or a more standard USB option to give it a boost in power. But then, because of the device's slim profile, fitting into a USB socket would be slightly counterintuitive.
As it goes, the Notta Memo is definitely a step up from the already-impressive AI-enhanced voice recorders I've seen. It's just a shame that an internet connection is still required even for the most basic of grip processes.
Notta Memo: Price and availability
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
How much does it cost? From $149 / £139
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Online retailers such as Amazon
Languages: 58 supported Microphones: 4 MEMS + 1 bone conduction Battery: 30 h recording / 28 days standby Storage: 32 GB Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Charging: Magnetic cable Display: Small status screen Accessories: Leather MagSafe case, ring adapter, charging cable
Notta Memo: Design
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The style of these AI-enhanced voice recorders is quite generic, all being about credit card size and ultra-slim so they can easily attach to the back of your mobile phone through some sort of MagSafe connection. For the Notta Memo, it comes in its own leather magnetic wallet, which it neatly slips into before attaching it to the back of your phone.
If, however, you're using an Android phone that doesn't have MagSafe capabilities, the company has included a magnetic ring in the box that simply sticks to the back of your phone or phone case, enabling easy connectivity.
Before starting the Notta Memo, the device needs a good charge, and here a magnetic charger cable is used. This is proprietary to the system and will only fit one way round, but again keeps the sleek, low-profile design of the Notta Memo. You just need to ensure you take it with you, as you won't be able to use any MagSafe or USB-C charger to top it up if it runs out of power, which, from reviewing a few of these devices now, I would personally have preferred.
When it comes to physical size and design, it measures 86.1 x 55.1 x 3.5 mm, essentially the same size as a credit card, just slightly thicker. Weight-wise, and again given the technology it contains, a weight of 28 g is impressive. On top of that, you do have to think about the leather wallet, but it doesn't add much to the unit and does let you easily attach it to the back of your phone, so it's always there, ready to use.
On the device, it’s very simple. On the front, it has a really beautiful, tactile texture, and, of course, it's extremely thin. At the top, there's a small switch that lets you record phone calls or meetings. Next to this is a 1-inch screen that shows which mode you're in, and to the right is the record-on/off button. So again, very minimalistic and simple.
Aside from the design and build's visual and physical features, there are 4 MEMS microphones and 1 bone-conduction microphone built in, which help the Notta Memo capture some of the clearest audio of any AI recording device I've looked at so far.
Design: 4.5 / 5
Notta Memo: Features
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Notta Memo is an AI-enhanced voice recorder that records audio in real time, transcribes it into text, and lets it be saved, interrogated, or summarised in a multitude of formats. This obviously gives you a quicker way to cover meeting notes than traditional data, and you can type simple human questions into the search box after a meeting to ask and clarify what was said. It's an extremely useful tool for anyone in business who often takes phone calls or meetings and needs a transcription to check over later.
Obviously, this in itself is impressive, but the Notta Memo, like many others, goes a step further. It has a companion app with templates to help you create summaries, identify and differentiate between speakers, and create action lists you can utilise later.
These AI voice recorders are improving rapidly, and Notta Memo can transcribe live audio and translate it simultaneously. So if you do find yourself in a multilingual conversation, you can record the audio, translate it almost live, and converse with people in different languages, although you can't just use your Notta Memo alone, and you will need the companion mobile app. While this sounds great, it isn’t quite the live transcription and translation, but it is handy.
That app ties the Notta Memo features together, not only enabling all the advanced AI voice recorder options but also letting you create summaries from a list of templates or export the audio, transcription, or translation so you can send it to other parties.
One of the big features of this AI voice recorder is that it has four highly tuned MEMS microphones, which are very good at picking out the voice from background noise, including busy conversations, even in a crowded café. This means that it picks up not only the vocals but who is talking and is able to differentiate and label voice one and voice two (or more), so once you're looking through the note, you can tell who has said what.
Like many AI voice recorders, there’s a physical switch on the front so that you can switch between the microphone modes. This switches the pickup from being used to pick up people talking in the same room (say, in a meeting), and then, if a call comes through, you can quickly switch to a bone-conduction microphone to pick up the audio from the phone conversation.
The hardware is impressive, though very minimalistic, but it's the app where all the processing happens, enabling real-time transcription and translation, as well as an AI summary and AI chat, so you can ask the app about the conversations you have recorded. These AI features are impressive and, alongside the chat, transcription and translation, there are also 30+ smart templates that you can use to summarise meetings, create sales pitches and far more.
However, it is worth noting that for many advanced features, you will need to pay an additional subscription fee in addition to the device's cost. However, unlike some others, the starter plan is free, offering 300 minutes of AI transcription per month, a good number of reusable AI templates, and AI chat and real-time transcription speaker identification.
Features: 4 / 5
Notta Memo: Performance
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
My first introduction to one of these AI recorders was about a year ago, and at the time, the potential was obvious; the ability to record meeting audio that you can then listen back to for reference has been common place for years, but these AI audio recorders take it a step further.
A transcription of what was said by who is only the surface of the abilities, but then the transcription can be formatted so that you can search, summarise and reformat for different purposes. The fact that you can have it as a document or a PDF just adds to its usability. The fact that you can now use a chatbot to discuss and question the meeting transcription afterwards is an invaluable business asset.
From this point of view, the Notta Memo makes a lot of sense. Before I go into how it was to use it, it’s worth pointing out that Notta already has quite a substantial presence in the AI voice recording market, with a standalone app for your mobile phone. So, initially, you might think: why spend almost £200/$200 on a dedicated piece of hardware if you can just get by with your mobile phone?
The simple answer to this is pure convenience. Firstly, having a hardware device with 32 GB of internal storage means you won't fill up your phone's storage with voice recordings. Once you use these AI apps, you realise how useful they are and how quickly they fill up your phone with multiple recordings, especially since a few meetings last only half an hour.
The other point is that with the Notta Memo attached to the back of your phone, it’s always there, ready to use. Whilst it's normally just a quick swipe up on your phone, you still need to launch the app. Here, with the Notta Memo, if you make a call, you simply slide the switch to the call position and press the button. It's all a very natural movement, and you know that you're going to capture everything that was said. Likewise, if you're in a meeting, you can place your phone screen down, tap the button again (making sure the switch is in the right place), and the meeting will be recorded, ready for transcription later.
So really think of the hardware as convenience, firstly for the storage it provides, and then for the quick access to the buttons and of course battery life. It’s just quick and easy to use, making it far more intuitive than digging through your phone for that app. I also found that when I tried to use the app in a meeting, I was always asked what it was and what it would do. Whereas with the piece of hardware on the back doing exactly the same thing, you can simply say it’s a digital recorder, and everyone seems perfectly happy with it, especially when they see the consolidated notes at the end and the easily organised action points that would usually take a while to type up after a meeting has finished.
During the test, I used the Memo in three main areas. The first was during a photography evening class, where I taught black-and-white photography. Whilst the students already had PDF slide notes, additional information often comes up through the night, most importantly, questions about the process of film or print development that arise as the evening progresses. Whilst they do try to make a note of these in a notebook, there are often one or two points that slip through.
But here, with Notta Memo, at the end of the evening, I was able to save the transcription and ask it to pull out a series of Q&As, and it listed them out perfectly. I was able to copy and paste these into an email and send them to all the participants of the evening as a handy addition to the lecture. What impressed me here was that it cut out all the additional chitchat that happened through the night. I was able to use the AI to pull out all the relevant information for the evening and summarise it so I could easily pass it on.
In the next test, I had a small editorial meeting. I needed to speak to a couple of writers and the editor about a few projects I have going on, as well as the logistics of moving certain cameras from one location to another. Here, Notta Memo really came into its own, able to separate the individual speakers and create action points for each. This saved us time while we were taking notes. Having a unified summary made all the difference, so we were all looking at the same interpretation of the meeting rather than walking away with slightly different thoughts. Essentially, the action points were clear and assigned to each individual.
The final test was the phone pickup, again, a simple, straightforward conversation with a colleague about a new 3D printer and a few issues I was having, which they had already sorted out with the manufacturer. Through that conversation, they walked me through the network connectivity step by step. Whilst I was furiously writing notes, just knowing I had that conversation recorded and could ask it questions later on was a huge help, especially as there was so much information to take on board.
What’s even more impressive is that I had to do this conversation in a busy café in Salisbury. Whilst the noise wasn’t drowning out the call, there were a few times when I found it difficult to fully make out what was being said. However, with the live transcription also happening, I could read what was being said, although I will say there was a good five-second delay between the speaker telling me a procedure and those words appearing on the screen.
This time delay varies depending on the strength of your mobile phone's connection, and at all times, all transcription, translation, and templates require a good network connection to work. Later on, I was taking some memo notes whilst on a dog walk using the Notta Memo. I wanted to quickly summarise those notes so that I could send them on to a colleague. However, because there was no internet connection, all I could do at that time was voice record, then translate it once the connection came back in.
Throughout the test, I attempted to use the Memo for a couple of days in between charges. The battery life seemed exceptional. However, once again, it has a proprietary charger, and I always find this can be a bit of an issue, especially when you forget to take that charger with you. Although it might add a little bulk to part of the device, I'm sure it could have been designed so that a USB cable could be inserted rather than the magnetic connection at the back. It might not be quite as convenient for the design, but it would certainly be more handy and usable for anyone who travels frequently.
32GB might not sound like a lot of storage, but when it comes to transcription and audio voice recording, that’s actually quite a great deal. Through the course of this review, I must’ve recorded some 20 hours’ worth of audio, which all sat perfectly happily within the Notta Memo. What I like here is that you can sync that audio with the Notta Cloud, so if you need to access that note and you don’t have the Notta Memo with you, you can log in online and find everything there.
Whilst I have used quite a few of these AI voice recorders, I will say that the depth of the Notta app and its online presence are greater. My one issue with this, as with some of the other recent AI-enhanced devices and applications that I've used, is the overuse of emojis and cartoon characters, such as waving cats, which just doesn’t seem very professional or businesslike in a business-focused device.
Performance: 4.5 / 5
Notta Memo: Final verdict
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The Notta Memo is an exceptionally impressive AI voice recorder, and if you're looking for a dedicated device to complement your mobile phone so you're not filling it up with voice recordings and can also access it quickly whenever a call or meeting happens, then it's a superb option.
I like that you can either use it live, connected via Bluetooth to the app, or, if you're not with your phone and just want to take the recorder, record the vocals and have the transcription applied to those recordings later.
The app is one of the most comprehensive that I've seen. The transcription speed is superb. My only quibble with the app and the online presence is that some of the light-hearted aspects, such as clapping cats and caricatures that randomly appear at different points, just don't feel very professional compared with some other options.
However, that's in stark contrast to the power it actually has, and compared with many of the other AI transcription and, for that matter, translation options, it is extremely powerful. What also gives it the edge is not only the pure accuracy of that transcription, but the fact that you get a decent amount of transcription for free. Obviously, you need to pay for the hardware, but unlike other devices, you can get by for most general use without paying an additional monthly subscription.
AI voice recorders are in their infancy, and whilst many people will see the benefits, it isn't until you start to use one in your day-to-day life that you realise just how useful they are. Just having one in a meeting to record the audio so you can quickly summarise it afterwards is invaluable. And when you're making phone calls, especially to colleagues, having that recording firstly to listen back to, but also to quickly type into a chat and ask to summarise that phone call, is again extremely useful.
At present, I don't really know anyone other than myself who has started using one of these AI voice recorders, but every time I show someone one of these iterations, they need very little explanation as to why they're so useful. Soon, I'm sure they'll become commonplace, attached to the backs of people's mobile phones, ready to aid people in their busy lives alongside AI-enhanced apps we have yet to imagine.
Should I buy a Notta Memo?
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Value
Under £200/$200 for a slimline device that essentially does what your mobile phone can do with an app may sound expensive — until you start using it. Then its convenience becomes apparent.
4/5
Design
The slimline design and MagSafe connection let it sit on the back of your phone, ready for use whenever you need it. Just a shame it uses a proprietary charger.
4/5
Features
The ease of recording with the switch, screen, and button makes it extremely easy to interact with, and the fully featured app, which includes templates, makes it one of the most feature-packed AI recorders yet.
4.5/5
Performance
Transcription accuracy across the test — in the lecture theatre, café, and a quieter meeting room — was almost 100%.
5/5
Overall
Slim, stylish, and easy to use with superb accuracy. Once you start to use one of these devices, there really is no going back.
4.5/5
Buy it if...
You need meeting notes. If you're in a meeting and need to take the minutes, this audio recorder will quickly summarise everything that's been said, who said it, and create action points.
You need to quickly translate. If you're off to a trade show anywhere in the world, and you know you're going to be in situations where you'll be talking to people in a variety of languages, even if the translation isn't live, it is certainly fast.
Don't buy it if...
You only take notes occasionally. While the idea of a dedicated hardware device might be appealing, most of the features can be found through the standard Notta app, which is a software download with a subscription for both iOS and Android devices.
You're worried about privacy. You can make audio recordings offline and take notes, but to use all features, you must be logged in to the ecosystem to enable online transcription, translation, and other features.
The Notta Memo is another AI-enhanced voice recorder that enables you to record voice memos, record meetings and calls for the purpose of AI transcription, though not in real time, but almost. The style of design is slim and compact with MagSafe mounting, so it’s easily attachable to the back of your iPhone. For other manufacturer phones, there’s a magnetic ring in the box, so even if you're using an Android , you can still easily connect the Notta Memo neatly in place.
From the outset, the ease of use of the Notta Memo stands out, with a single button press to start and stop recording. A switch on the left side of the screen lets you switch between voice calls on your mobile and recording meetings or voice memos. That combination of a button press and a physical switch on the device itself is a really nice touch, letting you quickly access options without having to delve into an app or on-device screens.
Throughout the review process, I utilised the Notta Memo in lectures, meetings, and during phone calls, and in different situations, from a crowded and noisy classroom, through to phone calls in a busy café and meetings in a far quieter office. Each time, the Notta Memo impressed me. It was able to isolate all speakers nicely and cleanly. Again, what I really came to like was the physical switch on the device, enabling me to quickly switch between recording phone calls and live meetings, making it intuitive and like an integral part of the phone.
The one thing that was a little bit irritating was that, to utilise the Notta Memo, you need to first register the app and the device. You can use the AI offline, and the audio recording feature lets you record phone calls or meetings with a single tap, but for the AI features, the core of what this device is about, registration, is needed.
Whilst you can perform basic functionality such as audio recording, the device needs to be online to access transcription, AI summary, chat, language translation, and app sync and export of your recordings. Essentially, it becomes no more than a dictaphone without the app or internet connection.
One of the other smaller issues that I had with the Notta Memo is that once again, it uses a magnetic proprietary charging and data cable, which means that if you do leave home without that cable, you can't use a MagSafe charger or a more standard USB option to give it a boost in power. But then, because of the device's slim profile, fitting into a USB socket would be slightly counterintuitive.
As it goes, the Notta Memo is definitely a step up from the already-impressive AI-enhanced voice recorders I've seen. It's just a shame that an internet connection is still required even for the most basic of grip processes.
Notta Memo: Price and availability
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
How much does it cost? From $149 / £139
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Online retailers such as Amazon
Languages: 58 supported Microphones: 4 MEMS + 1 bone conduction Battery: 30 h recording / 28 days standby Storage: 32 GB Connectivity: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Charging: Magnetic cable Display: Small status screen Accessories: Leather MagSafe case, ring adapter, charging cable
Notta Memo: Design
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The style of these AI-enhanced voice recorders is quite generic, all being about credit card size and ultra-slim so they can easily attach to the back of your mobile phone through some sort of MagSafe connection. For the Notta Memo, it comes in its own leather magnetic wallet, which it neatly slips into before attaching it to the back of your phone.
If, however, you're using an Android phone that doesn't have MagSafe capabilities, the company has included a magnetic ring in the box that simply sticks to the back of your phone or phone case, enabling easy connectivity.
Before starting the Notta Memo, the device needs a good charge, and here a magnetic charger cable is used. This is proprietary to the system and will only fit one way round, but again keeps the sleek, low-profile design of the Notta Memo. You just need to ensure you take it with you, as you won't be able to use any MagSafe or USB-C charger to top it up if it runs out of power, which, from reviewing a few of these devices now, I would personally have preferred.
When it comes to physical size and design, it measures 86.1 x 55.1 x 3.5 mm, essentially the same size as a credit card, just slightly thicker. Weight-wise, and again given the technology it contains, a weight of 28 g is impressive. On top of that, you do have to think about the leather wallet, but it doesn't add much to the unit and does let you easily attach it to the back of your phone, so it's always there, ready to use.
On the device, it’s very simple. On the front, it has a really beautiful, tactile texture, and, of course, it's extremely thin. At the top, there's a small switch that lets you record phone calls or meetings. Next to this is a 1-inch screen that shows which mode you're in, and to the right is the record-on/off button. So again, very minimalistic and simple.
Aside from the design and build's visual and physical features, there are 4 MEMS microphones and 1 bone-conduction microphone built in, which help the Notta Memo capture some of the clearest audio of any AI recording device I've looked at so far.
Design: 4.5 / 5
Notta Memo: Features
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Notta Memo is an AI-enhanced voice recorder that records audio in real time, transcribes it into text, and lets it be saved, interrogated, or summarised in a multitude of formats. This obviously gives you a quicker way to cover meeting notes than traditional data, and you can type simple human questions into the search box after a meeting to ask and clarify what was said. It's an extremely useful tool for anyone in business who often takes phone calls or meetings and needs a transcription to check over later.
Obviously, this in itself is impressive, but the Notta Memo, like many others, goes a step further. It has a companion app with templates to help you create summaries, identify and differentiate between speakers, and create action lists you can utilise later.
These AI voice recorders are improving rapidly, and Notta Memo can transcribe live audio and translate it simultaneously. So if you do find yourself in a multilingual conversation, you can record the audio, translate it almost live, and converse with people in different languages, although you can't just use your Notta Memo alone, and you will need the companion mobile app. While this sounds great, it isn’t quite the live transcription and translation, but it is handy.
That app ties the Notta Memo features together, not only enabling all the advanced AI voice recorder options but also letting you create summaries from a list of templates or export the audio, transcription, or translation so you can send it to other parties.
One of the big features of this AI voice recorder is that it has four highly tuned MEMS microphones, which are very good at picking out the voice from background noise, including busy conversations, even in a crowded café. This means that it picks up not only the vocals but who is talking and is able to differentiate and label voice one and voice two (or more), so once you're looking through the note, you can tell who has said what.
Like many AI voice recorders, there’s a physical switch on the front so that you can switch between the microphone modes. This switches the pickup from being used to pick up people talking in the same room (say, in a meeting), and then, if a call comes through, you can quickly switch to a bone-conduction microphone to pick up the audio from the phone conversation.
The hardware is impressive, though very minimalistic, but it's the app where all the processing happens, enabling real-time transcription and translation, as well as an AI summary and AI chat, so you can ask the app about the conversations you have recorded. These AI features are impressive and, alongside the chat, transcription and translation, there are also 30+ smart templates that you can use to summarise meetings, create sales pitches and far more.
However, it is worth noting that for many advanced features, you will need to pay an additional subscription fee in addition to the device's cost. However, unlike some others, the starter plan is free, offering 300 minutes of AI transcription per month, a good number of reusable AI templates, and AI chat and real-time transcription speaker identification.
Features: 4 / 5
Notta Memo: Performance
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
My first introduction to one of these AI recorders was about a year ago, and at the time, the potential was obvious; the ability to record meeting audio that you can then listen back to for reference has been common place for years, but these AI audio recorders take it a step further.
A transcription of what was said by who is only the surface of the abilities, but then the transcription can be formatted so that you can search, summarise and reformat for different purposes. The fact that you can have it as a document or a PDF just adds to its usability. The fact that you can now use a chatbot to discuss and question the meeting transcription afterwards is an invaluable business asset.
From this point of view, the Notta Memo makes a lot of sense. Before I go into how it was to use it, it’s worth pointing out that Notta already has quite a substantial presence in the AI voice recording market, with a standalone app for your mobile phone. So, initially, you might think: why spend almost £200/$200 on a dedicated piece of hardware if you can just get by with your mobile phone?
The simple answer to this is pure convenience. Firstly, having a hardware device with 32 GB of internal storage means you won't fill up your phone's storage with voice recordings. Once you use these AI apps, you realise how useful they are and how quickly they fill up your phone with multiple recordings, especially since a few meetings last only half an hour.
The other point is that with the Notta Memo attached to the back of your phone, it’s always there, ready to use. Whilst it's normally just a quick swipe up on your phone, you still need to launch the app. Here, with the Notta Memo, if you make a call, you simply slide the switch to the call position and press the button. It's all a very natural movement, and you know that you're going to capture everything that was said. Likewise, if you're in a meeting, you can place your phone screen down, tap the button again (making sure the switch is in the right place), and the meeting will be recorded, ready for transcription later.
So really think of the hardware as convenience, firstly for the storage it provides, and then for the quick access to the buttons and of course battery life. It’s just quick and easy to use, making it far more intuitive than digging through your phone for that app. I also found that when I tried to use the app in a meeting, I was always asked what it was and what it would do. Whereas with the piece of hardware on the back doing exactly the same thing, you can simply say it’s a digital recorder, and everyone seems perfectly happy with it, especially when they see the consolidated notes at the end and the easily organised action points that would usually take a while to type up after a meeting has finished.
During the test, I used the Memo in three main areas. The first was during a photography evening class, where I taught black-and-white photography. Whilst the students already had PDF slide notes, additional information often comes up through the night, most importantly, questions about the process of film or print development that arise as the evening progresses. Whilst they do try to make a note of these in a notebook, there are often one or two points that slip through.
But here, with Notta Memo, at the end of the evening, I was able to save the transcription and ask it to pull out a series of Q&As, and it listed them out perfectly. I was able to copy and paste these into an email and send them to all the participants of the evening as a handy addition to the lecture. What impressed me here was that it cut out all the additional chitchat that happened through the night. I was able to use the AI to pull out all the relevant information for the evening and summarise it so I could easily pass it on.
In the next test, I had a small editorial meeting. I needed to speak to a couple of writers and the editor about a few projects I have going on, as well as the logistics of moving certain cameras from one location to another. Here, Notta Memo really came into its own, able to separate the individual speakers and create action points for each. This saved us time while we were taking notes. Having a unified summary made all the difference, so we were all looking at the same interpretation of the meeting rather than walking away with slightly different thoughts. Essentially, the action points were clear and assigned to each individual.
The final test was the phone pickup, again, a simple, straightforward conversation with a colleague about a new 3D printer and a few issues I was having, which they had already sorted out with the manufacturer. Through that conversation, they walked me through the network connectivity step by step. Whilst I was furiously writing notes, just knowing I had that conversation recorded and could ask it questions later on was a huge help, especially as there was so much information to take on board.
What’s even more impressive is that I had to do this conversation in a busy café in Salisbury. Whilst the noise wasn’t drowning out the call, there were a few times when I found it difficult to fully make out what was being said. However, with the live transcription also happening, I could read what was being said, although I will say there was a good five-second delay between the speaker telling me a procedure and those words appearing on the screen.
This time delay varies depending on the strength of your mobile phone's connection, and at all times, all transcription, translation, and templates require a good network connection to work. Later on, I was taking some memo notes whilst on a dog walk using the Notta Memo. I wanted to quickly summarise those notes so that I could send them on to a colleague. However, because there was no internet connection, all I could do at that time was voice record, then translate it once the connection came back in.
Throughout the test, I attempted to use the Memo for a couple of days in between charges. The battery life seemed exceptional. However, once again, it has a proprietary charger, and I always find this can be a bit of an issue, especially when you forget to take that charger with you. Although it might add a little bulk to part of the device, I'm sure it could have been designed so that a USB cable could be inserted rather than the magnetic connection at the back. It might not be quite as convenient for the design, but it would certainly be more handy and usable for anyone who travels frequently.
32GB might not sound like a lot of storage, but when it comes to transcription and audio voice recording, that’s actually quite a great deal. Through the course of this review, I must’ve recorded some 20 hours’ worth of audio, which all sat perfectly happily within the Notta Memo. What I like here is that you can sync that audio with the Notta Cloud, so if you need to access that note and you don’t have the Notta Memo with you, you can log in online and find everything there.
Whilst I have used quite a few of these AI voice recorders, I will say that the depth of the Notta app and its online presence are greater. My one issue with this, as with some of the other recent AI-enhanced devices and applications that I've used, is the overuse of emojis and cartoon characters, such as waving cats, which just doesn’t seem very professional or businesslike in a business-focused device.
Performance: 4.5 / 5
Notta Memo: Final verdict
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The Notta Memo is an exceptionally impressive AI voice recorder, and if you're looking for a dedicated device to complement your mobile phone so you're not filling it up with voice recordings and can also access it quickly whenever a call or meeting happens, then it's a superb option.
I like that you can either use it live, connected via Bluetooth to the app, or, if you're not with your phone and just want to take the recorder, record the vocals and have the transcription applied to those recordings later.
The app is one of the most comprehensive that I've seen. The transcription speed is superb. My only quibble with the app and the online presence is that some of the light-hearted aspects, such as clapping cats and caricatures that randomly appear at different points, just don't feel very professional compared with some other options.
However, that's in stark contrast to the power it actually has, and compared with many of the other AI transcription and, for that matter, translation options, it is extremely powerful. What also gives it the edge is not only the pure accuracy of that transcription, but the fact that you get a decent amount of transcription for free. Obviously, you need to pay for the hardware, but unlike other devices, you can get by for most general use without paying an additional monthly subscription.
AI voice recorders are in their infancy, and whilst many people will see the benefits, it isn't until you start to use one in your day-to-day life that you realise just how useful they are. Just having one in a meeting to record the audio so you can quickly summarise it afterwards is invaluable. And when you're making phone calls, especially to colleagues, having that recording firstly to listen back to, but also to quickly type into a chat and ask to summarise that phone call, is again extremely useful.
At present, I don't really know anyone other than myself who has started using one of these AI voice recorders, but every time I show someone one of these iterations, they need very little explanation as to why they're so useful. Soon, I'm sure they'll become commonplace, attached to the backs of people's mobile phones, ready to aid people in their busy lives alongside AI-enhanced apps we have yet to imagine.
Should I buy a Notta Memo?
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Value
Under £200/$200 for a slimline device that essentially does what your mobile phone can do with an app may sound expensive — until you start using it. Then its convenience becomes apparent.
4/5
Design
The slimline design and MagSafe connection let it sit on the back of your phone, ready for use whenever you need it. Just a shame it uses a proprietary charger.
4/5
Features
The ease of recording with the switch, screen, and button makes it extremely easy to interact with, and the fully featured app, which includes templates, makes it one of the most feature-packed AI recorders yet.
4.5/5
Performance
Transcription accuracy across the test — in the lecture theatre, café, and a quieter meeting room — was almost 100%.
5/5
Overall
Slim, stylish, and easy to use with superb accuracy. Once you start to use one of these devices, there really is no going back.
4.5/5
Buy it if...
You need meeting notes. If you're in a meeting and need to take the minutes, this audio recorder will quickly summarise everything that's been said, who said it, and create action points.
You need to quickly translate. If you're off to a trade show anywhere in the world, and you know you're going to be in situations where you'll be talking to people in a variety of languages, even if the translation isn't live, it is certainly fast.
Don't buy it if...
You only take notes occasionally. While the idea of a dedicated hardware device might be appealing, most of the features can be found through the standard Notta app, which is a software download with a subscription for both iOS and Android devices.
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Consumables included: 4 x set-up cartridges (1,200 black, 1,000 color pages)
Dimensions/Weight: 421 x 427 x 288 mm (WxDxH)/36lb/16.3kg
The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw (or 4202dw in the UK) is an office-oriented color laser printer capable of fast high-volume printing. It improves significantly on the HP Color LaserJet Pro 3201dw with faster print speeds, increased paper and toner capacity and an upgradable modular design.
This makes it well-suited to a busy workgroup of around ten people, but I’m sure its slick and relatively compact design will also appeal to home-based workers. For me, the enhanced black print quality is an attraction, while its somewhat expensive toner cartridges aren’t, so let’s see how it performs overall.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Design and build
(Image credit: HP // Future)
Crisp corners, strict symmetry and refreshing blue panels ensure the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw stands out from all the other off-white office printers. It’s compact enough to share your desk at home and its modular design can be expanded with the addition of a 550-sheet paper tray to suit a growing business.
The blue drawer at the bottom can hold up to 250 sheets of Letter or A4 paper, the standard amount, while the blue panel above reveals a 50-sheet multi-purpose tray, which is more useful than the usual single sheet. The output tray on top is also deeper than most, holding up to 150 sheets.
To access the toner cartridges, you press a button on the side of the printer to make that blue panel hinge all the way open. Another tiny flap on top of the printer hides a handy USB Host port. Always a welcome feature. All other ports are hidden on the rear panel.
Despite being a fairly costly step up from the HP Color LaserJet Pro 3201dw, there’s still no touchscreen, just a four-line LCD with a rotary dial beneath it. Some users might like this retro design choice, but I found it annoying. Overall, I think the design and build quality inspires confidence.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Features & specifications
(Image credit: HP // Future)
HP has endowed this mid-price printer with plenty of features and a pretty high specification. It can duplex print, of course, and has dual-band Wi-Fi 5 with AirPrint and Mopria compatibility. There’s a USB Host port in addition to the usual square USB-B port and HP has even-thrown in a USB-A to USB-B data cable.
It has wide media compatibility with 33 choices appearing on the menu when you come to identify the type of paper you loaded. It can take any size sheet up to letter, legal or A4 with the heaviest paper it can handle being 200 g/m² which is actually fairly thin card. It has HP’s Wolf Pro Security software built in and an adequate 512MB memory.
The print speed is given as 33 or 35ppm (pages per minute) depending whether printing on Letter or A4 paper and that was broadly confirmed by my testing. That’s about equal to the Xerox C320, but slower than HP’s black and white printers.
The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw can take large cartridges capable of holding enough toner for up to 7,500 black and white pages and can be expanded to hold up to 850 sheets of paper if you buy the extra paper tray. That kind of capacity should meet the needs of any SME (small to medium enterprise) and HP suggests a monthly duty cycle of up to 50,000 pages.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Setup and operation
(Image credit: HP // Future)
With the set-up cartridges already pre-loaded, this printer is almost ready to print out of the box. The setup guide runs to 5 pages, but you won’t need it. Just load your paper, turn on and follow the on-screen prompts. I found that initiation took longer than usual because of the dial interface. Like a safe cracker, you need to turn it this way and that to enter every letter of your wi-fi password. Unlike some of HP’s printers, there’s no inbuilt Bluetooth to hand the setup of this printer straight to the HP Smart app on your mobile device.
The next model up in this series is the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301dw multifunction printer, which does have a touchscreen, and I can see HP’s logic. A single-function device doesn’t have enough settings to justify the expense of a touchscreen. But that doesn’t stop most rival printers at this price having one.
The free HP Smart app for Android or iOS gives you an alternative to the dial interface, but you’ll still need to scroll through the paper types at the machine each time you switch media.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Performance
(Image credit: HP // Future)
The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw performed very well in my tests, achieving strong print quality in all categories, but most notably with text documents. Black text on plain paper looks especially dark and crisp with unusually sharp definition.
This must be down to HP’s 6-bit resolution enhancement technology (RET) which has the effect of boosting the native 600x600dpi engine to a claimed 38,400x600 in best black mode. Basically, with 64 levels of gray (6-bit), the printer is multiplying 600 dots x 64 to give you 38,400 dots.
Mixed color documents also look impressive, thanks to the vivid nature of HP’s LaserJet toner. It’s applied evenly too, so there’s less of that banding you see when shading blocks of black or solid color. Photographs also fare well here, especially when I switched to laser photo paper.
Laser photo paper is only slightly heavier and glossier than regular paper, which is one reason lasers aren’t as good as inkjets when it comes to photos. The other reason is you can always see the dots that make up the 600x600 dpi laser photo and that’s still the case here. Even so, this laser printer is better than most and certainly good enough for printing eye-catching images on brochures and handouts.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Consumables
(Image credit: HP // Future)
The consumables cost for the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw is competitive for monochrome prints, but slightly higher than average for color prints. And there’s only a limited amount of pre-loaded toner. It ships with four setup cartridges which should yield up to 1,200 black or 1,000 color pages, which is about half the toner you get in HP’s standard carts.
The extra high-yield carts, however, can deliver up to 7,500 and 2,200 black and color pages respectively and it’s these expensive carts that give the lowest cost per page (CPP). With the black cartridges having a much higher yield than color, but small difference in price, you have monochrome pages with a pretty good CCP of around two and half cents and color pages costing more than 15 cents.
HP uses software to block any cartridge without a genuine HP chip, so I wouldn’t recommend buying cheaper third-party toner. Given the high quality of its monochrome output in particular, the answer is to buy this printer if you print predominantly in black and white.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Maintenance
(Image credit: HP // Future)
Like other low-maintenance laser printers, the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw combines the optical drum with the toner cartridge, so drum replacement is not a consideration. On the downside, it explains why the cost of its cartridges is relatively high.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Final verdict
HP // FutureHP // FutureHP // FutureHP // Future
There’s a lot to like about the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw. Its slick and compact design, the rapid duplex print rate and the enhanced black print quality for a start. Having two paper inputs is very convenient, while the option to add a third is sensible future-proofing for a growing business.
I’m not so keen on the rotary dial interface — I would have preferred a touchscreen — and it’s a pity it can’t handle paper heavier than 200 g/m². A bigger concern is the relatively high cost of HP’s color cartridges, but that still doesn’t put me off.
The high quality of its black and white output and the more competitive price of its black toner make this an ideal printer for anyone who needs to print a high volume of predominantly monochrome pages.
Consumables included: 4 x set-up cartridges (1,200 black, 1,000 color pages)
Dimensions/Weight: 421 x 427 x 288 mm (WxDxH)/36lb/16.3kg
The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw (or 4202dw in the UK) is an office-oriented color laser printer capable of fast high-volume printing. It improves significantly on the HP Color LaserJet Pro 3201dw with faster print speeds, increased paper and toner capacity and an upgradable modular design.
This makes it well-suited to a busy workgroup of around ten people, but I’m sure its slick and relatively compact design will also appeal to home-based workers. For me, the enhanced black print quality is an attraction, while its somewhat expensive toner cartridges aren’t, so let’s see how it performs overall.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Design and build
(Image credit: HP // Future)
Crisp corners, strict symmetry and refreshing blue panels ensure the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw stands out from all the other off-white office printers. It’s compact enough to share your desk at home and its modular design can be expanded with the addition of a 550-sheet paper tray to suit a growing business.
The blue drawer at the bottom can hold up to 250 sheets of Letter or A4 paper, the standard amount, while the blue panel above reveals a 50-sheet multi-purpose tray, which is more useful than the usual single sheet. The output tray on top is also deeper than most, holding up to 150 sheets.
To access the toner cartridges, you press a button on the side of the printer to make that blue panel hinge all the way open. Another tiny flap on top of the printer hides a handy USB Host port. Always a welcome feature. All other ports are hidden on the rear panel.
Despite being a fairly costly step up from the HP Color LaserJet Pro 3201dw, there’s still no touchscreen, just a four-line LCD with a rotary dial beneath it. Some users might like this retro design choice, but I found it annoying. Overall, I think the design and build quality inspires confidence.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Features & specifications
(Image credit: HP // Future)
HP has endowed this mid-price printer with plenty of features and a pretty high specification. It can duplex print, of course, and has dual-band Wi-Fi 5 with AirPrint and Mopria compatibility. There’s a USB Host port in addition to the usual square USB-B port and HP has even-thrown in a USB-A to USB-B data cable.
It has wide media compatibility with 33 choices appearing on the menu when you come to identify the type of paper you loaded. It can take any size sheet up to letter, legal or A4 with the heaviest paper it can handle being 200 g/m² which is actually fairly thin card. It has HP’s Wolf Pro Security software built in and an adequate 512MB memory.
The print speed is given as 33 or 35ppm (pages per minute) depending whether printing on Letter or A4 paper and that was broadly confirmed by my testing. That’s about equal to the Xerox C320, but slower than HP’s black and white printers.
The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw can take large cartridges capable of holding enough toner for up to 7,500 black and white pages and can be expanded to hold up to 850 sheets of paper if you buy the extra paper tray. That kind of capacity should meet the needs of any SME (small to medium enterprise) and HP suggests a monthly duty cycle of up to 50,000 pages.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Setup and operation
(Image credit: HP // Future)
With the set-up cartridges already pre-loaded, this printer is almost ready to print out of the box. The setup guide runs to 5 pages, but you won’t need it. Just load your paper, turn on and follow the on-screen prompts. I found that initiation took longer than usual because of the dial interface. Like a safe cracker, you need to turn it this way and that to enter every letter of your wi-fi password. Unlike some of HP’s printers, there’s no inbuilt Bluetooth to hand the setup of this printer straight to the HP Smart app on your mobile device.
The next model up in this series is the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301dw multifunction printer, which does have a touchscreen, and I can see HP’s logic. A single-function device doesn’t have enough settings to justify the expense of a touchscreen. But that doesn’t stop most rival printers at this price having one.
The free HP Smart app for Android or iOS gives you an alternative to the dial interface, but you’ll still need to scroll through the paper types at the machine each time you switch media.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Performance
(Image credit: HP // Future)
The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw performed very well in my tests, achieving strong print quality in all categories, but most notably with text documents. Black text on plain paper looks especially dark and crisp with unusually sharp definition.
This must be down to HP’s 6-bit resolution enhancement technology (RET) which has the effect of boosting the native 600x600dpi engine to a claimed 38,400x600 in best black mode. Basically, with 64 levels of gray (6-bit), the printer is multiplying 600 dots x 64 to give you 38,400 dots.
Mixed color documents also look impressive, thanks to the vivid nature of HP’s LaserJet toner. It’s applied evenly too, so there’s less of that banding you see when shading blocks of black or solid color. Photographs also fare well here, especially when I switched to laser photo paper.
Laser photo paper is only slightly heavier and glossier than regular paper, which is one reason lasers aren’t as good as inkjets when it comes to photos. The other reason is you can always see the dots that make up the 600x600 dpi laser photo and that’s still the case here. Even so, this laser printer is better than most and certainly good enough for printing eye-catching images on brochures and handouts.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Consumables
(Image credit: HP // Future)
The consumables cost for the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw is competitive for monochrome prints, but slightly higher than average for color prints. And there’s only a limited amount of pre-loaded toner. It ships with four setup cartridges which should yield up to 1,200 black or 1,000 color pages, which is about half the toner you get in HP’s standard carts.
The extra high-yield carts, however, can deliver up to 7,500 and 2,200 black and color pages respectively and it’s these expensive carts that give the lowest cost per page (CPP). With the black cartridges having a much higher yield than color, but small difference in price, you have monochrome pages with a pretty good CCP of around two and half cents and color pages costing more than 15 cents.
HP uses software to block any cartridge without a genuine HP chip, so I wouldn’t recommend buying cheaper third-party toner. Given the high quality of its monochrome output in particular, the answer is to buy this printer if you print predominantly in black and white.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Maintenance
(Image credit: HP // Future)
Like other low-maintenance laser printers, the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw combines the optical drum with the toner cartridge, so drum replacement is not a consideration. On the downside, it explains why the cost of its cartridges is relatively high.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw: Final verdict
HP // FutureHP // FutureHP // FutureHP // Future
There’s a lot to like about the HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw. Its slick and compact design, the rapid duplex print rate and the enhanced black print quality for a start. Having two paper inputs is very convenient, while the option to add a third is sensible future-proofing for a growing business.
I’m not so keen on the rotary dial interface — I would have preferred a touchscreen — and it’s a pity it can’t handle paper heavier than 200 g/m². A bigger concern is the relatively high cost of HP’s color cartridges, but that still doesn’t put me off.
The high quality of its black and white output and the more competitive price of its black toner make this an ideal printer for anyone who needs to print a high volume of predominantly monochrome pages.
