This party platformer serves up a steady stream of challenges with buckets of content to unlock, ranging all the way from a robust roster of weapons to neat cosmetics that help you run wild in the excellent character creator.
Personalization and customization are consistent highlights in King of Meat, and when you’re not tackling its wide selection of community-made levels, the expansive dungeon maker gives you a powerful but approachable set of tools for crafting your own.
Review info
Platform reviewed: PS5 Available on: PC, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Xbox Series X, and Series S Release date: October 7, 2025
It’s a meaty package given the modest $29.99 / £24.99 asking price, but there are some rough edges to bear in mind before you dive in. Its copious animated cutscenes are gorgeous, but the constant parody humor can sometimes grate. It’s perfectly serviceable if you’re willing to regard it with some degree of irony, but hardly entertaining material. The platforming can also be a drag, as it's quite slow and precise - the opposite of what you would usually expect from a colorful multiplayer party game like this.
Pair this with a difficulty level that ranges all the way from a complete cakewalk to unbelievably punishing, depending on the design of your current dungeon, and the experience can often frustrate.
Meat your maker
(Image credit: Amazon Games)
Set in the fantasy kingdom of Loregok, everything in King of Meat is centered around the titular in-universe TV show.
Although online play is the focus, there’s a surprising amount of story here and heaps of voiced dialogue. The handful of vendors in its small hub world frequently dispense world-building lines, and there’s even a pretty solid single-player mode that has you traversing through a series of developer-crafted dungeons as little narrative segments play out.
Despite the reliance on rather passé parody humor, it’s certainly entertaining enough and offers a nice little diversion if you’re waiting for your friends to hop on for a multiplayer session. Reaching new high scores in these levels unlocks loads of neat goodies too, including in-game currency and some nifty cosmetics, giving you a good reason to replay each of them a handful of times.
The star of the show is the multiplayer, though, divided into three distinct leagues that can be tackled with up to three other players. The league tryouts are your beginner levels, intended to be immediately approachable to low-level players. Populated by basic skeleton enemies or simplistic puzzles, they’re not particularly thrilling, leading to a rather weak first few matches, but soon give way to the much more exciting Global League playlist and the super challenging Imperial League.
Global League is where I routinely have the most fun, but enjoyment does hinge heavily on the design of the level that you’re playing. Although there is a fairly large selection of developer-made stages (which comprised the bulk of my early testing time), the community also has the power to create new levels that feed into the mix.
Sizzle reel
(Image credit: Amazon Games)
When you’re playing a well-designed level, everything just clicks.
One particularly memorable example had me completing quite complex spike-based puzzles with a team of randoms, all of us communicating through the in-game chat wheel (populated by barks like ‘nice’ or ‘sorry’) and the quick ping feature.
Carefully timing my position on pressure plates to disable traps so the other players could progress and do the same for me was immensely satisfying and had us all frictionlessly working like a hive mind despite the lack of detailed communication.
Going head-to-head with just the right mix of enemies in more wave-based challenges also helps the shockingly deep combat shine. Chaining different combos together to fill up the on-screen audience excitement meter is immediately rewarding, with more elaborate streaks resulting in louder cheers and higher points.
Best bit
(Image credit: Amazon Games)
The specials mode offers up a platter of limited-time challenges, with some aimed at solo players and others geared towards teams. They’re some of the best levels that I’ve seen, with a good mix of devious traps and combat challenges. Competing in them puts you on a huge leader board, and yes I managed to reach number one a handful of times.
There are loads of weapons to try too, with both a primary and secondary slot. Primaries range from your average medieval fare like swords and hammers to magical knuckle dusters and electric guitars, while secondaries include a bomb launcher and, my personal favorite, a literal gun. Completing challenges with each weapon feeds into a large set of skill trees, with unlocks increasing key stats and improving the efficiency of attacks.
Powerful Glory Moves are charged like an ultimate ability as your brawl, unleashing powerful effects, including healing for your team and an amusing burp that sends enemies flying. It’s all very strong on paper, but the issues start to come to the fore when you’re playing a less well-designed stage.
One random choice dumped me in a long, straight corridor that was just overflowing with super powerful enemies - a wildly unfair slog that saw me losing all five of my lives in a matter of seconds.
(Image credit: Amazon Games)
Platforming is rather slow and cumbersome, too, which makes some of the more parkour-oriented stages feel unfair. Your maximum running speed is a snail's pace, and your jump is floaty and inaccurate. Throw in some consistent issues with hit direction thanks to server latency, and you have a recipe for annoyance when you’re trying to navigate everything from spike pits to moving platforms - which unfortunately are practically omnipresent.
I’m not exactly sure why developer Glowmade didn’t go for a lighter, faster style of platforming here, as it would easily make everything so much more exciting.
Dungeon master
(Image credit: Amazon Games)
Those with a creative streak will likely be able to forgive this, though, as King of Meat doesn’t fall short when it comes to customization.
The character creator is excellent, giving you loads of control over your armored competitor with a variety of outfit parts, plus decals and accessories that you can place anywhere. The unique, almost-modern-but-still-medieval look is cute too, and means that traffic cones and tracksuit bottoms don’t look at all out of place next to suits of armor.
There’s also the superb dungeon creator. It’s not quite as expensive as something like the level builder in Super Mario Maker, as it fundamentally relies on placing pre-set rooms, but you can achieve an awful lot with it. There are loads of decor items to place freely, tons of enemies, special effects, and a robust logic system for those keen to create more adventurous contraptions and puzzles.
The ability to quickly play your dungeon from the start or your current room in order to spot any sore spots is a blessing and makes creation fun and easy. Uploading your tracks for others to try is simple too, and I personally can’t wait to discover what kind of things players will come up with.
All of this leaves me a bit conflicted about King of Meat. The groundwork is all here for a fantastic experience, and the team behind the game has clearly put a huge amount of care and attention into almost all of its core elements - I just wish the platforming and comedy weren't quite so tedious.
Should I play King of Meat?
Play it if…
You’re after a new co-op game King of Meat is fun with friends and supports playing with up to three of them at any one time. Its low asking price makes it an attractive proposition if you’re looking for something to play on your next virtual game night.
You’re wildly creative From the character creator to the dungeon maker, King of Meat gives you a wealth of tools to express yourself and run wild with creativity. If you’re the kind of person who loves those systems, you’ll get a lot out of this.
Don’t play it if…
You can’t stand the style of humor There is a surprising amount of narrative content in King of Meat, and a lot of it is filled with annoying parody humor. If that’s not your cup of tea, I’d give it a miss.
You’re in it for the platforming Combat is exciting, but the slow platforming is one of the weakest parts of the overall package.
Accessibility features
There are loads of accessibility options in King of Meat. This includes a range of speech-to-text options, including narration of the in-game menus and chat box. Subtitles are enabled by default, and you’re free and customize the size, color, and background opacity of them. The controls can also be customized with a huge range of input options that remove the need to hit buttons.
Photosensitive users can remove the screen flash that occurs when you take damage, or disable a selection of other in-game effects.
How I reviewed King of Meat
I played more than ten hours of King of Meat on PlayStation 5 ahead of the game’s launch. During that time, I played a heap of levels both alone and with other players online.
I also had a lengthy co-op session with a colleague in order to assess the game’s potential when you’re playing with friends. I unlocked the bulk of the game’s content, including most of its weapons, and played with all of the ones that were available to me. I became global number one in a handful of the daily challenge levels and also spent some time as the level creator, experimenting with the tools on offer.
PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II: Two-minute review
The latest product of PolarPro’s ongoing collaboration with hugely popular videographer and YouTube creator Peter McKinnon, the VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II has become an interesting and valuable part of my camera setup over the past few weeks.
First, a quick explanation of what a ND filter does. One of the key principles of photography and videography is the so-called “exposure triangle” – the way that ISO, aperture and shutter speed interact to control the amount of light that hits an image sensor.
By adding a neutral-density (ND) filter – which reduces the amount of light coming in without affecting the color hue – to the equation, photographers gain one extra factor to influence how the camera behaves, and more control over shutter speed and aperture.
For photographers, the ability to reduce light means we can use longer shutter speeds than the lighting conditions would ordinarily allow. That means artfully blurred waterfalls, or night-time shots with streaking, laser-like car headlights. For videographers, control over shutter speed allows for motion blur and wide-open aperture shooting in brighter conditions.
The main selling point of the PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II (also known as the PMVND II) is that it’s a variable ND filter. In other words, twisting the filter allows the photographer to select an ND value from anything between two and five stops, saving them the bother of having to add filters to and them filters from their lens. (PolarPro also sells a stronger 6-9 stop edition of the VND filter, plus mist-diffusion Black Mist versions of both).
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Because my review sample sits at the weaker end of the range for ND filters, I found that it couldn’t stop enough light to get truly long exposures outdoors on a bright, sunny day. Even at its highest 5-stop setting, and with my camera at its lowest ISO setting, a shutter speed of anything longer than a second resulted in a blown-out, overexposed image. So, if you want to shoot multi-second daytime exposures on sunny days or in bright landscapes (like snowfields), you’ll want to have the 6-9 stop filter to hand. If you’re feeling flush, buying both filters provides a wide stopping range.
On more overcast days, at night or indoors, however, the two to five stop range feels very usable. Even during the day, it allowed me to set a wider aperture than I’d normally be able to use for video, resulting in a shallow depth of field with background bokeh while maintaining an ideal shutter speed (of roughly double my frame rate, as the rule of thumb suggests).
The filter glass is extremely clear and neutral, although it does appear to add a very slight warm color cast when compared to shots with no filter attached. I couldn’t spot a single incidence of ghosting or chromatic aberration, however – two issues that can plague cheaper filters. And it doesn’t seem to affect the sharpness of images at all, which is what I would expect of a filter in this price range.
I also encountered no vignetting when shooting with a wide-open aperture at my lens’ widest field of view (12mm on a Micro Four Thirds camera, equivalent to 24mm on a 35mm or full-frame camera). PolarPro claims the filter exhibits no vignetting right down to 16mm, but I wasn’t able to put that to the test myself.
I also noticed that a small amount of additional contrast could creep into shots as I moved up the ND stop range. That’s a side effect of the variable ND filter design, I think – VNDs require polarized glass to achieve their variable effect, and that will affect the final image slightly. If that’s a no-no for you, you’ll need to use regular, non-variable ND filters instead.
While performance is strong, build quality might be even better. I was sent a 67mm filter to review (it’s also available in 49mm, 77mm, 82mm and 95mm sizes), and used a step-up ring (also by PolarPro) to fit it to the 62mm thread on my Panasonic 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 lens. Both the filter and ring screwed on smoothly and securely, with no awkward threading.
Image 1 of 5
No filter attached (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Image 2 of 5
ND 2 (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Image 3 of 5
ND 3 (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Image 4 of 5
ND 4 (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Image 5 of 5
ND 5 (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
The combined case and lens cap (known as the Defender 360) makes fitting even easier – and ensures greasy fingerprints stay well away from the filter glass. The cap features two parts, one metal (aluminum to be precise) and one rubber, with the rubber element gripping around the filter’s frame so that you can, with a twist, add or remove the filter from your lens. When not in use, the filter sits inside the rubber part while the metal screws back on over one side to keep it safe. It’s an ingenious piece of design.
The filter itself feels beautifully precision engineered. The machined ridges or knurls on the edge give your fingers plenty to grip onto, while the subtle 'click' expressed as each ND stop is reached is welcome (and useful) feedback. Of course, some users might prefer a completely smooth turn, particularly videographers who want to adjust the stopping value while rolling the camera. It’s something to note, but I personally found it a clever design touch.
And, while this is a subjective thing, I think the PMVND II looks really classy too, with its two-tone black and brass finish. It’s hydrophobic too, with water beading and running off the glass easily.
Overall, I’m hugely impressed by the quality of the PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II. Yes, it’s expensive – but it’s also thoughtfully designed, impeccably constructed, and works exactly as a variable ND filter should. If you’re looking for an ND filter to expand your creative repertoire, this 4-in-1 champion should certainly be on your radar.
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II: Price and availability
The PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II is available now worldwide, priced at around $150 / £150 / AU$260 for the 49mm size or around $250 / £240 / AU$450 for the 67mm, 77mm, 82mm and 92mm sizes.
The filter is available in two ND stop ranges: 2-5 (which I'm reviewing here) and 6-9, with both models additionally available in a Black Mist version designed to soften highlights for a different look.
These are high prices for ND filters, but I think the quality and adaptability of the PMVND II makes it well worth the price to the right buyer.
Should I buy the PolarPro Peter McKinnon VND Edition II filter?
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Buy it if...
You find swapping filters a drag As a VND, this is actually four ND filters in one. Rotating the filter enables the user to move from two to five stops of ND strength.
You value rugged, tactile design The PMVND II is built to superb standards, from its clean, smooth rotation to its innovative lens cap, which doubles as a protective case.
Don't buy it if...
Your budget is limited The PMVND II is unashamedly premium, and you can obtain a VND filter, or a set of ND filters, from other brands for a lot less.
You want full smooth rotation I like the filter's 'clicks' as it hits each ND stop setting, but videographers may prefer a click-free alternative for smoother transitions while filming.
How I tested the PolarPro Peter McKinnon VND Edition II filter
I used it for several weeks
I fitted it to a Panasonic Lumix GH6
I tested it for photo and video capture
I used a 67mm PMVND II on and off for several weeks in the late summer and early autumn on the English south coast, threading it to a 12-60mm zoom lens on my Panasonic Lumix GH6 via a 62mm-to-67mm step-up ring (also supplied by PolarPro). I recorded video and shot photos using all of the filter’s ND levels, and tested it in various weather and light conditions, from overcast drizzly evenings to blazingly sunlit mornings.
PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II: Two-minute review
The latest product of PolarPro’s ongoing collaboration with hugely popular videographer and YouTube creator Peter McKinnon, the VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II has become an interesting and valuable part of my camera setup over the past few weeks.
First, a quick explanation of what a ND filter does. One of the key principles of photography and videography is the so-called “exposure triangle” – the way that ISO, aperture and shutter speed interact to control the amount of light that hits an image sensor.
By adding a neutral-density (ND) filter – which reduces the amount of light coming in without affecting the color hue – to the equation, photographers gain one extra factor to influence how the camera behaves, and more control over shutter speed and aperture.
For photographers, the ability to reduce light means we can use longer shutter speeds than the lighting conditions would ordinarily allow. That means artfully blurred waterfalls, or night-time shots with streaking, laser-like car headlights. For videographers, control over shutter speed allows for motion blur and wide-open aperture shooting in brighter conditions.
The main selling point of the PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II (also known as the PMVND II) is that it’s a variable ND filter. In other words, twisting the filter allows the photographer to select an ND value from anything between two and five stops, saving them the bother of having to add filters to and them filters from their lens. (PolarPro also sells a stronger 6-9 stop edition of the VND filter, plus mist-diffusion Black Mist versions of both).
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Because my review sample sits at the weaker end of the range for ND filters, I found that it couldn’t stop enough light to get truly long exposures outdoors on a bright, sunny day. Even at its highest 5-stop setting, and with my camera at its lowest ISO setting, a shutter speed of anything longer than a second resulted in a blown-out, overexposed image. So, if you want to shoot multi-second daytime exposures on sunny days or in bright landscapes (like snowfields), you’ll want to have the 6-9 stop filter to hand. If you’re feeling flush, buying both filters provides a wide stopping range.
On more overcast days, at night or indoors, however, the two to five stop range feels very usable. Even during the day, it allowed me to set a wider aperture than I’d normally be able to use for video, resulting in a shallow depth of field with background bokeh while maintaining an ideal shutter speed (of roughly double my frame rate, as the rule of thumb suggests).
The filter glass is extremely clear and neutral, although it does appear to add a very slight warm color cast when compared to shots with no filter attached. I couldn’t spot a single incidence of ghosting or chromatic aberration, however – two issues that can plague cheaper filters. And it doesn’t seem to affect the sharpness of images at all, which is what I would expect of a filter in this price range.
I also encountered no vignetting when shooting with a wide-open aperture at my lens’ widest field of view (12mm on a Micro Four Thirds camera, equivalent to 24mm on a 35mm or full-frame camera). PolarPro claims the filter exhibits no vignetting right down to 16mm, but I wasn’t able to put that to the test myself.
I also noticed that a small amount of additional contrast could creep into shots as I moved up the ND stop range. That’s a side effect of the variable ND filter design, I think – VNDs require polarized glass to achieve their variable effect, and that will affect the final image slightly. If that’s a no-no for you, you’ll need to use regular, non-variable ND filters instead.
While performance is strong, build quality might be even better. I was sent a 67mm filter to review (it’s also available in 49mm, 77mm, 82mm and 95mm sizes), and used a step-up ring (also by PolarPro) to fit it to the 62mm thread on my Panasonic 12-60mm F2.8-4.0 lens. Both the filter and ring screwed on smoothly and securely, with no awkward threading.
Image 1 of 5
No filter attached (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Image 2 of 5
ND 2 (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Image 3 of 5
ND 3 (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Image 4 of 5
ND 4 (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Image 5 of 5
ND 5 (Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
The combined case and lens cap (known as the Defender 360) makes fitting even easier – and ensures greasy fingerprints stay well away from the filter glass. The cap features two parts, one metal (aluminum to be precise) and one rubber, with the rubber element gripping around the filter’s frame so that you can, with a twist, add or remove the filter from your lens. When not in use, the filter sits inside the rubber part while the metal screws back on over one side to keep it safe. It’s an ingenious piece of design.
The filter itself feels beautifully precision engineered. The machined ridges or knurls on the edge give your fingers plenty to grip onto, while the subtle 'click' expressed as each ND stop is reached is welcome (and useful) feedback. Of course, some users might prefer a completely smooth turn, particularly videographers who want to adjust the stopping value while rolling the camera. It’s something to note, but I personally found it a clever design touch.
And, while this is a subjective thing, I think the PMVND II looks really classy too, with its two-tone black and brass finish. It’s hydrophobic too, with water beading and running off the glass easily.
Overall, I’m hugely impressed by the quality of the PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II. Yes, it’s expensive – but it’s also thoughtfully designed, impeccably constructed, and works exactly as a variable ND filter should. If you’re looking for an ND filter to expand your creative repertoire, this 4-in-1 champion should certainly be on your radar.
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II: Price and availability
The PolarPro VND Filter Peter McKinnon Edition II is available now worldwide, priced at around $150 / £150 / AU$260 for the 49mm size or around $250 / £240 / AU$450 for the 67mm, 77mm, 82mm and 92mm sizes.
The filter is available in two ND stop ranges: 2-5 (which I'm reviewing here) and 6-9, with both models additionally available in a Black Mist version designed to soften highlights for a different look.
These are high prices for ND filters, but I think the quality and adaptability of the PMVND II makes it well worth the price to the right buyer.
Should I buy the PolarPro Peter McKinnon VND Edition II filter?
(Image credit: Future | Sam Kieldsen)
Buy it if...
You find swapping filters a drag As a VND, this is actually four ND filters in one. Rotating the filter enables the user to move from two to five stops of ND strength.
You value rugged, tactile design The PMVND II is built to superb standards, from its clean, smooth rotation to its innovative lens cap, which doubles as a protective case.
Don't buy it if...
Your budget is limited The PMVND II is unashamedly premium, and you can obtain a VND filter, or a set of ND filters, from other brands for a lot less.
You want full smooth rotation I like the filter's 'clicks' as it hits each ND stop setting, but videographers may prefer a click-free alternative for smoother transitions while filming.
How I tested the PolarPro Peter McKinnon VND Edition II filter
I used it for several weeks
I fitted it to a Panasonic Lumix GH6
I tested it for photo and video capture
I used a 67mm PMVND II on and off for several weeks in the late summer and early autumn on the English south coast, threading it to a 12-60mm zoom lens on my Panasonic Lumix GH6 via a 62mm-to-67mm step-up ring (also supplied by PolarPro). I recorded video and shot photos using all of the filter’s ND levels, and tested it in various weather and light conditions, from overcast drizzly evenings to blazingly sunlit mornings.
Navigating the web to analyze data can be tiring. From scouring various websites looking for the correct data to analyzing and summarizing the data you’ve obtained, online research can be hectic. But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be?
Thanks to recent artificial intelligence (AI) advancements, you can have a virtual research partner that helps you analyze and summarize data from the web. That partner is named NotebookLM.
NotebookLM is an AI-based research and note-taking app developed by Google, the company best known for its eponymous search engine. Released in 2023, NotebookLM has amassed a large user base, thanks to its features that help users research and retrieve insights from bulky documents.
How does NotebookLM work, and what sets it apart from similar tools? Is it free or paid, or both? What are its key features? I’ve reviewed the app extensively to answer these essential questions. Read on to learn in-depth about NotebookLM and whether it’s a suitable tool to adopt.
NotebookLM: Plans and pricing
NotebookLM is a freemium tool, i.e., it has free and paid versions. The free NotebookLM is a very capable tool that integrates the latest models of Gemini, Google’s proprietary large language model (LLM). It lets users upload PDFs, Word documents, and presentations to extract data and generate summaries. You can ask NotebookLM questions and get detailed answers under this free plan.
However, the free plan imposes limits on the number of documents you can upload, the number of daily chat queries, notebooks, and audio and video generations. Specifically, the free plan allows 100 notebooks, each with up to 50 sources, 50 daily chat queries, 3 audio overview generations, and 3 video overviews.
You can increase the limitations by subscribing to the NotebookLM Pro plan. This plan allows 500 notebooks, 500 daily chat queries, 20 daily audio generations, and 20 daily video overviews. As a Pro user, you can also share your notebooks with other users and extensively configure the AI assistant’s response style, among other benefits.
To become a Pro user, you need to subscribe to the Google AI Pro plan, which costs $20 monthly. This plan unlocks more than just NotebookLM’s advanced features. It also unlocks access to AI features on other Google apps.
That said, at $20 monthly, the Google AI Pro plan is quite pricey. It’s justifiable if you’ll heavily use the provided features, but otherwise, the free NotebookLM version works well for the average user. You can try the Google AI Pro plan for one month to test its features before making a final decision.
(Image credit: Google)
NotebookLM: Features
NotebookLM is a mobile app you can download on an iOS or Android device. It’s not accessible via a web browser. This app functions as a companion you can use to extract data from uploaded documents or external web pages.
You can create distinct notebooks on the app, with the free plan allowing up to 100 notebooks. On each notebook, you can extract data from up to 50 sources on the free plan and 300 sources on the Pro plan.
Here’s an illustration to make it simpler to understand. Imagine you’re a student tasked with reviewing a research paper and generating key insights. The research paper is bulky, with over 5,000 words.
Instead of scanning through every paragraph manually to extract key points, you can upload the research paper in PDF format to NotebookLM. Then, NotebookLM will study and analyze the paper on your behalf, and you can ask it comprehensive questions related to the research paper.
For instance, if the research paper is about the prevalence of a disease in different regions, you can ask NotebookLM to provide a detailed breakdown of the number of infections observed in each region and the percentage compared to the total number of infections. You can ask it to visualize this data for you.
A research paper is just a single example. Instead of uploading a PDF file to NotebookLM, you can provide a specific web address and ask it to analyze the information on that web page.
For example, NotebookLM can analyze a long news article about recent mergers & acquisitions in the tech industry, and you can ask specific questions like “Which companies got acquired recently?” “How much was [company name] acquired for?” “Give me a breakdown of all the acquired companies mentioned in the article and how much they were acquired for?”
NotebookLM solves a key problem that most people experience. Reading through and analyzing large volumes of information can get tiring. Often, when I experienced this problem, I always wished for a virtual assistant that could help me sort through the information and find the desired key points. I was happy when Google announced NotebookLM in 2023, and I became an early adopter.
My main use case for NotebookLM is sifting through voluminous articles and reports to generate insights. I’ve used it heavily for both personal and work activities. For example, I often read detailed economic reports issued by think-tanks and government agencies. NotebookLM has extensively helped me to analyze and note crucial information from these reports.
I like that NotebookLM lets users share notebooks with friends, family, and colleagues, even on the free version. As a free user, you can grant a collaborator “Viewer” or “Editor” access to your notebook.
(Image credit: Google)
A Viewer has access to uploaded source documents and shared notes, but can’t remove these documents or add new ones. In contrast, an Editor can remove or add new documents to your notebook. Sharing is as easy as generating a unique link and sending it to the desired collaborators, who can access it with their Google accounts.
If you’re subscribed to the Pro plan, you can share a notebook in chat-only mode, wherein the collaborator can’t modify the source documents but can ask the AI system questions related to the documents.
When sharing a notebook on the Pro plan, you can monitor two key metrics about how collaborators have interacted with your notebooks: the number of users who have made at least one query per day and the number of queries made by each user. However, these metrics are only available if you've shared the notebook with at least four other users.
NotebookLM doesn’t just issue text answers. It can give audio answers in a creative way. For instance, I used NotebookLM to turn an article into an audio conversation. The conversation was akin to two human hosts discussing a deep dive into the article on a podcast. The AI hosts summarized the article, highlighted key information, and had back-and-forth conversations about the information contained in the article. However, don’t expect perfection.
In my case, I observed several mistakes during the audio conversations, including key information being skipped, factual inaccuracies, and references to information not present in the document. Likewise, the speech sounded unnatural in several cases, owing to excessive use of filler words, such as “you know” and “like,” which isn’t typical in real human conversations.
That’s not to say the audio overview feature isn’t helpful. Indeed, it’s beneficial, and such a feature available for mass usage would have been unthinkable a few years ago. However, you shouldn’t rely entirely on it to summarize documents. It works most of the time, but a minor mistake can be significant when analyzing documents.
Similar to the audio overview feature I just discussed, NotebookLM also has a video overview feature. That is, users can turn documents and articles into AI-generated video narrations. The narrations will include images, quotes, figures, and diagrams pulled from your document, with an AI voice dissecting the key points in a conversational tone.
I liked that I could tailor video overviews according to my needs, for example, by selecting the images and quotes I wanted to include in a video narration. I also liked that I could create multiple video overviews for the same PDF document or web page, gaining different perspectives.
Visual learning is more interactive and fun compared to reading long text. If you have a long text piece, NotebookLM makes the perfect companion to convert the long text into a visual narration that's easy to learn from. However, beware of the limitations.
I noticed some mistakes in the video overviews I generated, similar to those of audio overviews. These mistakes included inaccurate information and some key data I highlighted being skipped. Just as I mentioned earlier, you shouldn’t rely 100% on NotebookLM to summarize your documents. Manual reading remains important.
NotebookLM is very useful, especially the free tier, but it still needs significant improvements. The good news is that Google is committed to continually improving the underlying Gemini LLM that NotebookLM is based on. It has released various updates to boost Gemini’s accuracy and will continue doing so amid intense competition from the likes of ChatGPT.
(Image credit: Google)
NotebookLM: Interface and in use
NotebookLM is as simple to navigate as a mobile app can be. After opening the app, the homepage lists all the notebooks you’ve previously created, or prompts you to create a notebook if you haven’t done so. The button to create a new notebook is prominently highlighted at the bottom.
You can easily create a notebook, add files, and begin asking questions and generating audio or video overviews. Every feature is neatly arranged at the bottom of the dashboard, and you can quickly upload a file, paste text, or enter an external web address to be analyzed. I give NotebookLM a perfect score in user-friendliness.
NotebookLM: Support
As a NotebookLM user, the first place to consult when troubleshooting issues is the official NotebookLM Help Center hosted by Google. This Help Center has comprehensive details about every functionality accessible on NotebookLM.
From learning how to use NotebookLM to changing configurations and resolving commonly encountered problems, the Help Center provides detailed answers. Personally, I encountered most issues when trying to import files, some of which failed to import initially, but the Help Center quickly solved my problem.
If you’re a Google AI Pro subscriber, you can get direct help from Google’s support team in addition to the self-help resources from the official Help Center. Google’s support team is reachable via live chat, email, and telephone and provides detailed answers.
NotebookLM: The competition
NotebookLM is a unique tool that combines note-taking and artificial intelligence-based research. Most rival apps focus on one of these functions but don’t combine the two. Its main competitors aren’t as popular, and they are mostly new apps launched within the last four years.
A competitor I’d like to highlight is Logically (formerly called Afforai). Just like NotebookLM, Logically lets you upload documents and ask its AI assistant in-depth questions related to the document. It doesn’t stop there, but also helps you add more relevant information to text documents, such as citations, tables, and diagrams.
Logically has a free plan and a paid version that unlocks unlimited access to its AI assistant. Users can also pay for addons like external large language models, a file annotator, and a reference manager.
I can’t confidently say Logically is better than NotebookLM or vice versa. However, Logically has a broader feature set that combines both NotebookLM’s core AI-based research feature and other useful AI-based features like writing assistance, file annotation, and academic reference management.
NotebookLM: Final verdict
NotebookLM is a valuable tool to have in your toolkit. It makes things easier when researching information online, thanks to its ability to extract key insights from long swathes of text and convert voluminous text into engaging visual summaries.
I’ll proudly recommend NotebookLM to students, teachers, corporate professionals, or information sleuths who engage in extensive research. Whether on the free or paid version, NotebookLM offers features that make research less hectic and more interactive.
Simply put, the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) is the best golf watch money can buy, and one of the best bits of tech I have ever tested or even used, period. There, I have said it. I said something similar about the Garmin Approach S70 when I tested that last year, I know, but this premium watch really is something else.
I’ve tested a whole range of tech in my years, and there’s only a handful of products that I’ve really hated letting go of, and in a very strong field, this golf watch is absolutely one of them. If you’re looking for a do-everything golf watch but one that does everything at a premium level, brilliantly, then this is it.
In every functionality I tested, this watch has excelled, and from strap to screen, its design and build have proved a perfect balance of confidence-giving robustness, ease of use, and slick looks.
Design-wise, the Golfer (Gen 2) is a beauty. My review unit is the Carbon Edition, and its sleek black and green colorway makes for an aesthetically pleasing watch on the face of it, but there’s sturdiness under the hood from the leather and rubber strap, to the robust bezel and case, and especially the excellent domed glass screen – itself a joy to use. It also has a pleasant weight and size to it that makes its one size (46mm total diameter) hit the goldilocks physical size for me of being great for sport, as well as a daily driver.
The watch comes with all the excellent golf features that we’ve come to expect from Garmin. Extra features like the PlaysLike Distances are brilliant; there are 43,000 courses preloaded, and there are so many other features, such as swing tempo measures, stat tracking, and more. Throw in the fact that when you buy the watch, you get three CT10 trackers that you can put in the top of your clubs too, and the package is basically complete and void of holes (nearly). Then, team this with the Garmin Golf Membership subscription – sadly not included with the watch despite its high price – and you have the ultimate on-course caddie if you really are going big.
It not only looks the part on the wrist as a daily smartwatch, but it’s chic, easy to use, responsive, and does everything well. I wish there were a more ‘premium looking’ font on the watch, though, as Garmin’s default one doesn’t scream more-than-two-thousand-dollar device.
A lot will be made of the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2)’s price tag, but we’re swimming in premium waters here; an end of the pool that all markets of tech have. And there is a market for this. And if this isn’t for you, then Garmin offers a host of alternative options that are cheaper and more focused. But if you are in the market for a best-of-the-best golf watch, then read on to find out why the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) is the absolute peak of wrist-bound on-course companions and the premium option for you.
If you’re looking to go big, go premium, and go once on your golf watch, this is the watch for you.
390 x 390px; 1.2in / 30.4mm; Domed sapphire crystal AMOLED
GPS
GPS+GLONASS+Galileo+SatIQ Technology
Battery life
Smartwatch mode: Up to 16 days; GPS only: Up to 42 hours; All satellite systems: Up to 32 hours
Connection
Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi
Water resistant?
Yes, 10 ATM
Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2): Price and availability
(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)
List prices of $2,300 or $3,100 / £1,999.99 or £2,699.99 / AU$3,900 or AU$5,249 (Fused Carbon or Titanium version)
Premium price tag makes it expensive, but the value proposition is strong
No subscription included feels a little mean
Right, let’s get the big one out of the way first: this is an expensive smart or golf watch. There is a market for this level of premium golf watch, and the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) certainly doesn’t swim alone here.
Garmin, as a brand, is also one of the best for offering watches up the entire scale of golf watch premium-ness, too; heck, even some of its non-golf devices can help you out on the course. As a result, the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) earns its place in the brand’s lineup, appealing to those who are on the lookout for a top-tier golf and smart watch that delivers without compromise.
So, it’s expensive, but does it offer good value? After using it for a long while, and comparing it to my also-premium TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition, I think it does. Its featureset and capability are unrelenting and truly top-tier. As I said above, if you really are looking for one premium golf watch to rule them all, then this is it. It does everything the Tag Heuer does, and it’s got all that Garmin excellence in data tracking, too.
It’s also worth noting that, at the time of writing, there are two variants of the watch available and a sizable gap between them in terms of price. My unit is the Fused Carbon Fiber model, which sits a full $800 / £700 / AU$1,349 more than the Grade 5 Titanium model. As a result, the latter makes a much more compelling value proposition argument, and is only a ‘bit’ more than the Tag Heuer.
There is one notable drawback on pricing, for me, though: it feels a little mean to offer a complete golf watch but not include a Garmin Golf Membership subscription.. This feels like it would be a worthy addition from both price tag and premium-experience perspectives.
Value score: 4/5
Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2): Design
(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)
1.2in / 30.4mm AMOLED screen is superb
Domed sapphire crystal lens material is a joy to use
Slick, robust, chic, perfectly weighted, and well-made
The case and bezel are rock solid and confidence-inspiring, and the aesthetic of the Carbon model is slick and a good balance of understatedness and a bit of flash. The build is so good here: you’re also getting a good water resistance rating of 10 ATM, allowing it to withstand swims.
The AMOLED screen is wonderfully sharp, bright, and vivid, and the domed lens is something I wish all smartwatches had across the board. The screen is also slightly smaller than the Approach S70 (a purely golf-focused watch), which is something to be aware of if you value screen real estate above all else, but I actually find it to make for a better watch overall.
Even the watch strap is top-tier. The outside is a smart-looking leather strap that ensures it looks the part at all times, and the inside is made of an FKM rubber, which is perfect for when you get hot on the course, as well as for ensuring it doesn’t slip and slide all over the shop. Take note, other golf watch manufacturers.
A big gripe of mine with the brand's golf watches – and even with some of the best Garmin watches – is the subpar bespoke charging mechanism, which means you have to lay your watch flat on its front and have a cable sticking up from its rear. Luckily, the Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) features a different solution, which, much like my Samsung smartwatch, involves a flat charger tool that means you can lay your watch flat on its back. It’s not the nice dock that I have with my Tag Heuer, but it’s definitely an improvement.
The buttons are intuitive to make navigating the watch and apps very easy, easier than the S70’s three buttons, which have multiple functions each. However, I do have a minor gripe with one small design element: Garmin’s default font.
While it’s a perfectly serviceable font and makes for clear reading, it started to grate on me a little after a while using the Gen 2. It looks a bit simple and not as chic as the font on my Tag Heuer, and thus doesn’t feel as premium as the watch itself or befitting of such an otherwise premium experience.
Design score: 5/5
Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2): Features
(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)
All the golf features you could want (bar one)
All the fitness trackers you could want
All the daily smartwatch features you could want
In brief, when it comes to features, the Garmin Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) is bursting at the seams and has everything you could possibly wish for from a premium golf watch. Or a smart watch. Or a fitness tracker. Or a sports smart watch. There are frankly too many to go over.
Headlines in the golf feature set make for delightful reading, though. It has all the courses you could want and presents them beautifully. It’s got a supremely accurate golfing yardages, built into a fulsome and complete virtual caddie experience, offering features for shot dispersion, wind direction and speed, pin finder for blind shots, club tracking (with the CT10 trackers), a brilliant PlaysLike distance feature which tells you the actual yardage of the holes with weather and topography factored in, information about hazards and doglegs, score and stat tracking, swing temp features, and more. It’s frankly wild how much Garmin has crammed in just from a golfing perspective.
The only golf feature ‘missing’ is the green contour data and imaging. This can only be acquired via a paid subscription to the Garmin Golf Membership – that’ll still be an extra $9.99 / £9.99 / AU$14.49 a month, sadly. I really think Garmin could have included that with this watch, given the device’s price tag and commitment folks will be making.
As a Garmin watch, it also channels the best of the brand’s pedigree when it comes to sports, fitness, and health tracking, too. Once again it is impossible to go through all those features, but know that if you’re looking for your next golf watch to be capable of handling your exercise and workout routines, sleep health and body battery monitoring, body condition tracking, offer maps for walking and trail hiking, as well as have you covered for stock trading, skiing, paying with your watch, then the Garmin Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) can handle it.
As a premium watch, it also offers a superb experience for daily use, with plenty of functions for messaging, music control, calendar, sunset, and weather viewing. Whatever you think you want your watch to do, the Garmin Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) can almost certainly do it.
Features score: 5/5
Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2): Performance
(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)
Unparalleled on-course performance
A joy and easy to use with intuitive controls
Excellent as a day-to-day smartwatch and for fitness and health, and its battery lasts forever
As might be obvious already, this is probably the closest thing to a perfect golf watch as you can get right now. The Garmin Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) is basically unparalleled in its on-course golfing features and makes for the perfect virtual caddie. This is something I cannot emphasize enough, either.
There are basically too many excellent golf features to mention individually, but the headline ones are sublime. Firstly, you’ll be incredibly hard-pushed to find a course that it doesn’t have a map for, with over 43,000 preloaded onto the device.
Once you are on the course, the complete virtual caddie role that the Garmin Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) successfully plays is extraordinary. The maps of the holes are clear, the yardages are accurate and on-point, the wind speed and direction tool is useful, and I cannot imagine playing without the PlaysLike distance feature now. This feature is so good and brilliant on the course, factoring in weather and environmental conditions as well as topography to give you a more accurate yardage for club selection. Combine this with the brilliant views of greens and hazards, a shot dispersion feature that can help you factor in what could come into play, and the pinpointer feature for when you have zero sight of the green, and it’s a complete experience. And that’s before the quality round and score logging, too.
Enhancing this further is the shot tracking that the watch is capable of when combined with the CT10 trackers for your club. While my Tag Heuer has built-in shot tracking and is thus more convenient for this, the Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) covers its bases on that front by coming with three of said trackers too.
The display and domed glass make the watch a delight to use, whatever the weather outside on the course, too, with the domed form of the lens making a brilliant screen to interact with compared to a flat screen – it’s a subtle design difference, but an impactful one.
(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)
Flitting back between normal smartwatch and golf mode is as simple as one button press, and this ease of use and intuition is a microcosm of the broader experience of having the Garmin Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) on your wrist. Its design and build mean that it’s also beautifully weighted and comfortable, looking great for sports and socialising alike.
Engaging with other features is a joy, too. From messaging to maps, from stress to sleep, and the array of wider health and fitness apps, the Garmin Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) excels.
The above is all supported by a battery life you’ll rarely have to worry about. For example, I used the watch for two weeks, all day, every day, and for two full rounds of golf, and still had a bit more than 10% battery life left over. Garmin lists the battery life as “Up to 16 days” when in smartwatch mode, and “up to 42 hours” in GPS-only mode, and my experience has me believe that this is accurate. After a while, I gave up counting and tracking the battery life; in all honesty, it is that good.
My gripes are tiny, and I feel like I’m nitpicking intensely, but at this price, it pays to be hyper-aware of anything that impacts the experience.
As previously mentioned, it seems like a misstep to not include a subscription to the Garmin Golf Membership to unlock even more features for the watch. Additionally, the default Garmin font doesn’t ‘feel’ at home on such a premium watch. A small nitpick, I know, but compared to the slick Tag Heuer presentation of text, this does let the Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) down. Finally, I have noticed that the default style for notifications is showing the original or first message that gave you the notification, not the most recent. As a result, glancing at the watch to see what’s been said most recently in a conversation or group chat is impossible after you’ve received a few messages.
However, these really are nitpicks of the smallest kind. Overlooking these tiny complaints, the Garmin Golfer MARQ (Gen 2) does everything spectacularly, and it’s the best smart or golf watch I have ever used.
Performance score: 5/5
Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2): Scorecard
Category
Comment
Score
Price
This is a premium watch, and the price tag is high. It does offer value in the premium market, though, and will be all the golf and smartwatch you ever need.
4/5
Design
The layout, build quality, screen, and overall design of the watch are a joy to use. It also does away with the annoying charger found on other Garmin watches, and even the strap is a balance between rubber for activity and leather for looks.
5/5
Features
This is a perfect golf watch for those looking to maximise a device’s usefulness and assistance on the course, as well as get a premium smart watch.
5/5
Performance
Unsurprisingly, the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) puts all its excellence in features and design to near-perfect use on the course and as a daily driver. The perfect on-course companion in terms of accuracy, navigation, features, and practicality.
5/5
Total
Quite simply, the best golf watch on the market right now, if you’re looking at the premium end of the market, then this should basically be your only contender. A fantastic, exquisite device.
5/5
Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2): Should I buy?
Buy it if...
You want the very best golf watch on the market
Making me even consider how much I love my Tag Heuer premium golf watch, the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) offers the full package for a premium golf watch and features all the tools and options for those looking to get the absolute most out of such a course companion.
You want a gadget that can be a premium day-to-day smartwatch, too
The Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) is a joy to use every day as a smartwatch and features all the capabilities and performance you’d expect from a top day-to-day device. Even the domed glass makes it a delight to use for the most mundane things.
You want Garmin’s fitness and health tracking pedigree and features
All of Garmin’s trademark fitness and health tracking features are present on the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2), so it only enhances the watch's total package offering.
You’re looking to upgrade within the Garmin ecosystem
If you’re the owner of one of Garmin’s lower-end golf watches and have been saving up to go to something bigger and more premium while keeping all of your data conveniently and easily, then the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) is perfect for you.
Don't buy it if...
You don’t need slick smartwatch looks, capability, or performance
The MARQ (Gen 2) is a premium smart watch as well as a sublime golf watch, but if you don’t need the former, then you can save money by going elsewhere.
You don’t need Garmin’s full smartwatch featureset
If you are only after a premium golf watch with some extra features, but not a huge range like the Golfer (Gen 2) offers, then you’ll likely find a better golf watch fit elsewhere.
You’re on a budget
It’s obvious, but the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) is a seriously premium watch with a pricetag to match, so for some, it’s going to be flat-out prohibitively expensive.
Also consider
Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2)
TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition (42mm / 45mm)
Garmin Approach S70
Price
$2,300 or $3,100 / £1,999.99 or £2,699.99 / AU$3,900 or AU$5,249
390 x 390px; 1.2in / 30.4mm; Domed sapphire crystal AMOLED
454 x 454px (45mm); 1.28in/32.5mm / 1.39in/35.3mm; AMOLED
454 x 454px / 390 x 390px; 1.2in/32mm / 1.4in/35.4mm; AMOLED
GPS
GPS+GLONASS+Galileo+SatIQ Technology
GNSS
GPS+GLONASS+Galileo
Battery life
Smartwatch mode: Up to 16 days; GPS only: Up to 42 hours; All satellite systems: Up to 32 hours
Full day (18 holes plus normal smartwatch use) / Two full days (smartwatch use only)
Smartwatch mode: Up to 16 days/up to 10 days; GPS mode: up to 20 hours/up to 15 hours
Connection
Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, NFC
Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi
Water resistant?
Yes, 10 ATM
Yes, 50m
Yes, 5 ATM
TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition
Now priced at a few hundred dollars or pounds under the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2), the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition is a superb premium option to consider if you’re only looking at the top end of the market. It offers a whole host of similar golf features, is a lovely smartwatch to use every day, and it also comes as a premium package with ball markers and some Titleist Pro V1s (but sadly, no shot trackers for your clubs).
If you must have a Garmin golf watch and the brand’s pedigree, but can't stretch to the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) - and don’t mind missing out on the watch’s other features and premium-ness - then you can pick up the Approach S70 as a golf-focused solution for a much lower price tag.
I used the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) over the course of several weeks, playing multiple rounds at my home course in Somerset and away in Germany, and using it as my daily driver smartwatch. I have used almost all of its features, including messaging, music controls, fitness and sleep, and more.
I compared the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) to my TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition, as well as a cheaper ShotScope G6 GPS watch, to see how big the gap is between a competitor and a simpler option on the market.
I was able to compare the watches on the course to see how yardages, features, and overall ease of use as golf watches and smartwatches matched up between them, as well as live with it for a long while to gauge the everyday qualities of it.
I’ll be honest, the Edifier ES20 took me off guard. This super-small Bluetooth speaker is powered by a 6W driver and is less than 10cm in height and width. But it really does punch above its weight. And not only sonically – also in terms of its looks, feature-set, and battery life.
Yep, this tiny, square-shaped model impressed me in almost every area. Let’s start where it matters most: audio quality. Largely due to its physical limitations, the Edifier ES20 isn’t capable of deep rippling bass or ultra-imposing loudness, but there’s still a lot to love. Bass response is rapid and impressively deep, but mids never feel obscured, while instruments in the treble range come through sounding controlled, yet expressive.
OK, the Edifier ES20 only makes use of the SBC codec – a lot of the best Bluetooth speakers would offer AAC, and maybe LDAC for good measure. But still, I was impressed with the clarity of my favorite tracks. If you want a more nuanced listen, you could pair a second ES20 up for stereo sound.
Another area the ES20 impressed me in was the looks department. It has a retro vibe to it, similar to models like the Marshall Willen II, or speakers from Klipsch. I’m a big fan of that, and when you pair its classy aesthetic with appealing (and customizable) ambient lights, this thing really has it all.
There’s even more to love, though. 15 hours of playtime is very solid – that’s a couple more hours than a lot of rivals in this weight class can offer. In addition, I was a fan of the ES20’s modest price point, especially in the UK and Australia – for reference, it's $89.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.99.
Just generally, it has everything you’d want from a model like this. It’s compact, light, IP67 dust and waterproof rated, and great-sounding. There are some small imperfections worth noting, though. Firstly, the sound of the ES20 is noticeably compressed at peak volumes, especially when you crank things up all the way to 100%. That’s common for small speakers, and I’d recommend getting a larger model anyway if loudness is your aim – the Bose SoundLink Flex Gen 2 is a still-compact but significantly more powerful pick.
Another thing is that the ES20’s EQ options are seriously lacking. There are four modes: Music; Gaming; Movies; and Outdoor. I don’t think that having a single ‘Music’ calibration is enough – especially when there’s no custom option and the modes that are here sound a little too similar to one another.
Still, it’s important to look at the bigger picture. And that tells me that the Edifier ES20 is an excellent small-sized speaker that really nails it where it matters. Sure, the EQ options are lacking, but the default tuning sounds plenty good enough. Tie that together with luxurious looks, a generous helping of battery life, and wonderful waterproofing, and the Edifier ES20 is easy to recommend.
(Image credit: Future)
Edifier ES20 review: price and release date
$89.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.99
Launched in June 2025
The Edifier ES20 was launched in June 2025 as part of Edifier’s new ‘ES’ range. That apparently stands for ‘Elegant’ and ‘Superb’, or ‘Edifier Sound’. Anyway, enough of that! This speaker has a list price of $89.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.99, meaning it's a fair bit more pricey in the US, compared to other territories – more on that later. You can purchase the ES20 in either black or white.
Edifier ES20 review: specs
Drivers
1x 43mm full-range driver
Dimensions
3.6 x 3.7 x 2 inches / 90.4 x 93.7 x 49.7mm
Weight
0.7lbs / 326g
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.4
Battery life
15 hours
Waterproofing
IP67
(Image credit: Future)
Edifier ES20 review: features
Effective hands-free mic with noise cancelling tech
Attractive and personalizable ambient lighting
Weak EQ options
The Edifier ES20 offers a fairly hearty helping of features considering it’s a small, affordable Bluetooth speaker.
First of all, you get multi-point connectivity, if you want to link multiple devices to your speaker. In addition, you can pair two ES20 models together and unlock stereo audio, if you’re looking for a more nuanced and powerful audio presentation.
There’s also an inbuilt microphone – something you won’t see in all Bluetooth speakers nowadays. Edifier described it as a “high sensitivity” mic, which harnesses the power of noise cancellation for clear, hands-free calling. And largely, I’d say that’s exactly what you get. My voice sounded clear, even when I stood quite far from the speaker – though there was some noticeable sibilance.
Perhaps the most interesting feature, though, is the speaker’s customizable ambient lighting. Using the Edifier ConneX app, you can pick from a range of lighting options, including: Breathing; Rainbow; Static; Glittering and Colorful; or Emergency Light. This visual aspect only enhances immersion into your music, and the option to personalize aspects like light modulation rate, brightness, and the displayed colors, is a nice touch.
If you do make use of the ambient lighting – it can be disabled entirely, if you’d prefer – it will drain the speaker’s battery at a more rapid rate. Speaking of, you get up to 15 hours of playtime from the ES20, which is pretty good, actually. That’s more than rivals like the JBL Clip 5 and the LG xboom Go XG2T can dream of.
This lil’ fella’s on a roll so far… but I’m gonna have to burst its bubble a bit. And that’s down to one thing in particular – EQ options. There are four here: Music; Gaming; Movies; and Outdoor. Unfortunately, I wasn’t hearing a whole lot of difference between these. On top of that, there’s no custom multi-band equalizer to make use of – something I would have appreciated, personally. This isn’t a totally crushing miss – largely thanks to the ES20’s impressive audio output…
Features score: 4.5/5
(Image credit: Future)
Edifier ES20 review: sound quality
Punchy, rapid bass response
Controlled treble, well-balanced mids
Some distortion at peak volume and no fancy audio codecs
Yes, I was very impressed with the Edifier ES20’s sonic performance – especially given its incredibly compact build. It’s powered by a 43mm full-range driver, makes use of a 55mm passive radiator, and has a maximum power output of 6W. That doesn’t sound like a lot – but this small speaker is more mighty than you may expect.
When bumping Burning Down by Dimmish, the rapid, thumping bass was replicated responsively and impactfully. Sure, the ES20 couldn’t quite match the depth you’d expect from some of the best party speakers, but that’s to be expected due to its physical limitations. With the ES20, you’re not putting up with the ‘boomy’, muddy low-frequency performance of many budget competitors – it’s punchy, as Edifier claims.
In addition, Burning Down showcased the controlled yet expressive nature of the ES20’s treble output. Higher-pitched percussion wasn’t overly forward in the mix, and it never sounded tinny or harsh, even at mid-to-high volume levels. Instead, it was tonally accurate, disciplined, and clean.
I’d say the ES20 certainly has a warm sound signature, really leaning into that ‘mightier than it looks’ angle. But even still, bass isn’t overbearing, meaning that in tracks like Each Time You Pray by Ned Doheny, I was still treated to clear, well-balanced vocals and neatly defined acoustic guitar.
You won’t get the most nuanced, detailed listen in the world, especially if you’re only using one ES20 rather than two – which can be used in stereo mode. For instance, in Minute by Minute by The Doobie Brothers, I wasn’t wowed by next-level instrument separation between the groovy bass, synths, and McDonald’s iconic vocals. The speaker also uses the most basic SBC Bluetooth audio codec, so don’t expect to see LDAC or aptX support.
Then again, it’s important to emphasize that this is a very small model – so you can’t expect the most expansive soundstage or the effortlessly layered sound you’d uncover on premium, larger models.
Both music and podcasts come through very clearly on the ES20, and unless you push the volume up to 90-100%, you won’t be subjected to distortion or overly compressed audio. That’s about as much as you can ask for from a sub-$90 / £50 / AU$100 speaker of this stature!
Sound quality score: 4/5
(Image credit: Future)
Edifier ES20 review: design
Gorgeous retro-style design
Fantastic protection against the elements
Attractive lighting
The Edifier ES20 is an absolute beauty, and looks much more luxurious than its modest price tag would suggest.
It’s got an almost Marshall-style retro look to it, with an appealing speaker grille protecting the driver, and a faux leather material used for the outer casing and button controls. Yep, there’s nothing about this that screams cheap. You can scoop it up in either Black or White – we went for the latter, but both compliment the speaker’s classy looks brilliantly.
On top of this, the reverse side of the speaker has ambient lighting, which can illuminate a wall behind it, for example, adding a bit of visual flare to your listening experiences. As I mentioned earlier, the lights are highly customizable through the Edifier ConneX app, and if you’d prefer to have them off, you can.
This model’s not only a pretty face, though, it’s also highly practical. Firstly, it’s very small, coming in at less than 10cm wide and tall, and just over 300g in weight. It also comes with a fabric carry strap, so you can easily attach it to a backpack, for example.
Crucially, it's also very well protected against the elements, thanks to its IP67 rating. That means it's plenty dustproof, but can also be submerged in up to a meter of water for 30 minutes. Not bad, is it?
Combine all of this with well-sized on-board controls, small rubber feet for added stability, and a handy LED light strip to indicate battery life, and the ES20 nails it in every way.
Design score: 5/5
(Image credit: Future)
Edifier ES20 review: value
Pricing a little inconsistent across territories
But regardless, you’ll get plenty of bang for your buck
Rivals are playing in a similar ballpark, price-wise
The Edifier ES20 isn’t all too expensive, even considering its small size. Actually, I have been tempted to refer to it as ‘cheap’ once or twice in my review, had it not been for its US pricing.
See, the ES20 comes in at £49.99 in the UK and AU$99.99 – fairly even pricing across the territories using current exchange rates. But in the US, this model costs $89.99, which isn’t so proportional. This may be down to the tariffs imposed by the US government earlier in 2025, but still, it means the ES 20 is more mid-priced, than cheap, for a speaker this small.
After all, a top-class rival like the JBL Clip 5 has a list price of $79.95 (£59.99 / AU$89.95), but can often be found for under $60 now. Still, its most similar competitor, the Marshall Willen II will generally cost more than $100, so you’re still not overpaying for the ES20 – it’s just that you’re getting even more bang for your buck outside of the US!
Speaking of, this speaker has qualities that far outstrip a range of competitors in its price and weight class. It offers genuinely punchy, largely distortion-free sound, gorgeous looks, and plenty of playtime. Combine that with its IP67 rating and ambient lights, and you’re looking at awesome value for money.
Value score: 4.5/5
(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Edifier ES20?
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Features
Ambient light options, multi-speaker pairing, good mic and battery life, but EQ options a little lacking.
4.5/5
Sound quality
Punchy, clear audio with a bass-forward sound signature, SBC only and some compression at peak loudness.
Despite slightly disproportionate US pricing, remains affordable and has plenty of quality.
4.5/5
Buy it if...
You want an ultra-compact option The Edifier ES20 is a pleasantly small, square-shaped speaker that can fit into any small nook and cranny or be thrown in a bag. It's perfect if you need a speaker to take on the go, or just for personal listening in your bedroom, say.
You’re looking for something a little rugged With an IP67 dustproof and waterproof rating, the Edifier ES20 is well and truly ready to take on any environment. It will be well-protected against solid particles, but can also be submerged in as much as one meter of water, for 30 minutes. That’s perfect for bathroom use, or even taking beachside.
Don't buy it if...
You want the best audio quality possible If you want a truly jaw-dropping audio experience, the ES20 may not be your best bet – largely down to its physical limitations. It doesn’t support any codec above SBC – the most basic Bluetooth codec, in essence. This speaker won’t muster the most nuanced, detail-oriented performance ever – if you want a small option that does that, I’d recommend looking at the Bang & Olufsen Beosound A1 3rd Generation.
You want something powerful enough for parties Due to its physical limitations, the Edifier ES20 isn’t powerful enough to power a party on its own. It has a maximum power output of 6W – pretty common for a model in this weight class – and it’s less than 10cm in height and width. If you want a compact party speaker, I’d recommend the JBL Flip 7, but if you’ve got a little more space my top picks would be the LG xboom Stage 301 and the Tribit Stormbox Blast 2.
Edifier ES20 review: also consider
Edifier ES20
JBL Clip 5
Ultimate Ears Miniroll
Price
$89.99 / £49.99 / AU$99.99
$79.95 / £59.99 / $89.95
$79 / £69 / AU$99
Drivers
1x 43mm full-range driver
1x Integrated class D digital amplifier
46.8mm active driver
Dimensions
3.6 x 3.7 x 2 inches / 90.4 x 93.7 x 49.7mm
3.4 x 5.3 x 1.8 inches / 86 x 134.5 x 46 mm
4.8 x 4.1 x 1.9 inches / 122 x 105 x 48mm
Weight
0.7lbs / 326g
0.6lbs / 285g
0.6lbs / 279g
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.4
Bluetooth 5.3
Bluetooth 5.3
Battery life
15 hours
12 hours
12 hours
Waterproofing
IP67
IP67
IP67
JBL Clip 5 For a while now, the JBL Clip 5 has been one of my favorite small speakers around. It’s got a neat carabiner design, impressive audio capabilities, and an enticing set of color options. It can often be found on sale for a good deal less than its already low list price, so if you’re drawn in by its more modern look, I’d suggest grabbing it. Read our full JBL Clip 5 review.
Ultimate Ears Miniroll OK, it’s not cake, unfortunately, but the second best kind of miniroll comes from none other than Ultimate Ears. Personally, I really like UE’s personality-filled waterproof speakers, and the Miniroll is no exception. It’s a small-sized circular model with buckets of bass, a handy carry strap, and some truly eye-catching colorways. Read our full Ultimate Ears Miniroll review.
How I tested the Edifier ES20
(Image credit: Future)
Tested over the course of one week
Mainly used in the music testing space at Future Labs
Predominantly tested using Tidal
I spent hours with the Edifier ES20, during which time I listened to music, tuned into podcasts, and took a couple of phone calls. I exhausted all of the ES20’s features, tried all of its light customization options, and tried listening at various distances and angles.
More generally, I’ve reviewed dozens of speakers, headphones, earbuds, soundbars, and more here at TechRadar, where I have a particular focus on audio-visual technology. I’ve tested most of the ES20’s competition, so I know what it takes for a speaker to stand out in a highly convoluted market.
It is hard to overstate how magical the original Super Mario Galaxy felt when it launched on Wii back in 2007. Gravity-defying levels, soaring orchestrated music, and a sense of wonder that still stands out alongside the other staples in the platforming genre, almost 20 years later.
Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2 Available on: Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 Release date: October 2, 2025
I was curious to see if these classics could shine just as brightly two decades later. The good news is they're as magical as ever, offering the same incredible journeys now with gorgeous visuals and the ability to play the sequel on the go for the first time ever.
Cosmic performance
On Switch 2, both games look fantastic. Docked, you get crisp 4K resolution that makes every planet sparkle. Handheld mode delivers smooth 1080p visuals that feel perfectly tuned for portable play.
I encountered no performance hiccups across either adventure. Frame rates remain locked, load times are snappy, and the vibrant art style still feels timeless. These games were stunning on Wii, but the extra fidelity here makes them genuinely pop on modern displays, like my Samsung S90D OLED TV.
It is worth noting that Super Mario Galaxy did appear on Switch once before, as part of the limited Super Mario 3D All-Stars collection. That version didn't reinvent the wheel, but it gave Switch users access to the game alongside Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine. Unfortunately, Nintendo no longer sells 3D All-Stars, an odd choice that has led to inflated prices on the second-hand market.
(Image credit: Nintendo)
This new Switch 2 release offers the same core experience, now enhanced with sharper visuals, better performance, and bundled alongside Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the first time on modern hardware. For fans who missed out on 3D All-Stars, or who simply want the most definitive way to play, this collection is a clear step forward.
The sound design has also aged remarkably well. Koji Kondo’s orchestral score is given room to breathe with a cleaner mix, and it feels cinematic in a way that very few modern platformers achieve.
Hearing the soundtrack through my Sonos Arc Ultra is a reminder of just how ambitious Nintendo was with these titles and genuinely brought me back to my childhood.
In my time playing this game, I've been listening to both games' soundtracks on repeat as I work. In fact, as I write this review, I'm bopping my head to Gusty Garden Galaxy - gorgeous.
Galaxies intertwined
(Image credit: Nintendo)
The core adventures remain intact, so if you've played through either game recently, you might not want to jump back in. Nintendo has a solution, however, offering both games as a complete package or as individual titles, perfect for those who luckily own the aforementioned 3D All-Stars.
Super Mario Galaxy's planet-hopping platforming eases players into its gravity-bending tricks, while Super Mario Galaxy 2 embraces creativity and challenge right from the start. Having them bundled together only highlights how well the sequel doubled down on experimentation.
Galaxy 2 adds Yoshi to the mix, alongside power-ups like the Cloud Flower and Rock Mushroom, each of which introduces new mechanics that feel clever even today. Returning to these levels reminded me how bold Nintendo was in the Wii era, layering complexity onto Mario without losing accessibility.
(Image credit: Nintendo)
Nintendo has added some small but welcome touches for this new release. In Super Mario Galaxy, there is an additional chapter in Rosalina’s picture book that fleshes out her story in a way longtime fans will appreciate.
Super Mario Galaxy 2 goes a step further with a completely new tale in its own picture book, offering fresh lore and a reason to revisit the Comet Observatory between levels. These are not game-changing additions, but they add warmth and make this edition feel more than a simple upscaled port.
Wii controls reimagined
As someone who hasn't played 3D All-Stars in nearly five years, one of my biggest questions going back to these games was how well the controls would translate to modern hardware. The original games were designed with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in mind, leaning heavily on motion controls.
Best bit
(Image credit: Nintendo)
Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 have some of, if not the, best video game soundtracks of all time. It has been a magical experience reliving my childhood through gorgeous orchestral music that makes me feel just like that famous scene from Pixar'sRatatouille.
On Switch 2, motion is still present with the Joy-Con, but it feels far less intrusive than it once did. You can play comfortably in handheld, docked, or with a Pro Controller, and I found myself gravitating to the latter for longer sessions.
All you need to do is hold down ZR and use the gyro in the Pro Controller to pick up Star Bits. In fact, I much prefer it to the Wii experience, but that might be my cynical 30-year-old brain that no longer appreciates a gimmick.
A trip down memory lane
(Image credit: Nintendo)
The biggest compliment I can give Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 on Nintendo Switch 2 is that these adventures feel as fresh today as they did at launch in 2007 and 2020, respectively.
The level design is inventive and playful, constantly surprising you with new mechanics that rarely outstay their welcome. Few platformers manage to strike the same balance of accessibility and depth.
Nintendo has not tinkered much beyond resolution, performance, and the new story content, but that restraint works here. The design is so strong that all it needed was a modern coat of paint.
Mario’s journey through the stars is still a cosmic marvel
While part of me would have liked to see some new content like we've seen in the past with the addition of Bowser's Fury in the remaster of Super Mario 3D World, I've just enjoyed the simplicity of replaying these classics in 4k.
If you have never played Super Mario Galaxy or its sequel, this is the definitive way to experience them. And if you have, the combination of rock-solid performance, upgraded visuals, and new story content makes these experiences worth revisiting.
Few platformers feel as inventive, joyful, or downright magical as Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. Nearly twenty years on, Mario’s journey through the stars is still a cosmic marvel.
Should you buy Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2?
Buy it if...
You’ve never played Super Mario Galaxy or Super Mario Galaxy 2 These games haven't aged a day, providing some of the best platforming experiences you can have on any console. If you've never played Super Mario Galaxy or its sequel, now is the time to jump on board with gorgeous visuals and buttery smooth performance.
You want to relive the nostalgia of youth I know I keep talking about the magic of both games' soundtracks, but I've had such a blast replaying both and genuinely felt moved hearing some of this music again. The full experience is nothing short of extraordinary and lives up to modern gaming design almost two decades later.
Don't buy it if...
You own 3D All-Stars If you already own Super Mario 3D All-Stars, then I think you can skip the original Mario Galaxy here. Luckily, Nintendo offers Super Mario Galaxy 2 on its own, albeit digitally, so if you've already experienced the first in the series recently, you can jump into its sequel on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
Accessibility
Not much to write home about in terms of accessibility. Both games include an Assist Mode, which increases your life and bounces you back from falls.
Settings allow you to change the way you interact with the camera via thumbsticks and motion controls.
It would've been nice to see more additions to accessibility, but it appears as if Nintendo has kept even the settings faithful to the originals.
How I reviewed Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition
I played around 25 hours total, split between both games, and used my OLED TV for a full 4k experience. I played Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 Nintendo Switch 2 Edition in a mixture of handheld mode on the Nintendo Switch 2 itself and on one of the best OLED TVs, the Samsung Q90D, using the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller.
I had previously played both games on the Wii and had experienced Super Mario Galaxy on Nintendo Switch as part of Super Mario 3D All-Stars.
The Pecron E3600 power station is built like a tank and offers great autonomy thanks to its 3072Wh LFP battery pack.
Specifications
Battery chemistry: LiFePO4
Battery capacity: 3072Wh
Number of charge cycles: Over 3500 before 20% drop
AC output power: 3600W, surge 7000W
Number of AC outlets: 5
Number of USB sockets: 4 Type A, 2 Type C
Number of 12V sockets: 1 XT60, DC 5521, 1 Car Adapter
Number of extra battery ports: 2, total of 15360Wh
Number of power inputs: 3
Fastest charge time: 1.3 hours
Additional features: Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
Weight: 36kg
A high-efficiency 3600W AC inverter, which can surge to 7200W for short periods, can power both heavy-duty machinery, such as welding machines, and home appliances. Charging the unit takes just over one hour using the fast-charge mode from the grid. Solar charging takes only a bit longer, reaching two hours.
What makes the E3600 unique is its blend of output sockets that includes the RV-friendly TT30. A Wi-Fi interface supported by Bluetooth, along with a well-designed interface, delivers an excellent user experience out of the box, thanks to the bright IPS screen, which offers a clutter-free menu. The E3600 is heavy, weighing 36kg, and will most likely require two persons to lift.
The E3600 typically costs $2299, and is on special for $1259, which is an unbelievable price for a 3kW-class power station. We recommend getting the wheeled trolley for $149. The solar kit bundles the E3600 with a different number of solar panels, with prices ranging from $1559 for a single 300W panel to $3404 for six 300W panels.
(Image credit: Future)
Pecron E3600: Design
The E3600 weighs 36kg and measures 44.5 cm x 30.7 cm x 35 cm. The unit is well-packed and ships with numerous accessories, including solar and grid charging cables, a screwdriver, and a nylon pouch. The plastic station feels sturdy, and with two built-in handles, it can be carried around by two people with some effort.
The station packs a 5” color LCD that Pecron uses judiciously, incorporating big icons, some animations, and multiple languages. Ultimately, the display conveys data to the user in a quick and efficient manner. Two push buttons control the output sections, turning them on and off. Other features are available by navigating the menu using the touchscreen.
The E3600 includes a 30A TT30 outlet, ideal for use in an RV, along with four 15A 120V AC sockets. The station supports 100V, 110V, and 120V, with the option found hidden in the display’s menu. The DC outputs are also plentiful. Pecron offers two 15W wireless chargers, both located at the top of the unit. In addition to providing standard six USB sockets, it also features an XT60 12V/30A socket to power small appliances, such as coolers.
The E3600 offers quick charging through an AC input that also supports slower charging times. The power cable is custom-built with a proprietary circular socket, and unlike competitive products, it cannot be substituted with a standard household AC cord. At a power input of 3200W, the fast charge fills the battery in one hour and twenty minutes, with a five percent efficiency reduction due to heat.
(Image credit: Future)
Pecron E3600: In Use
A common feature of power stations is to control the unit using a mobile app. The E3600 is no exception; it uses Bluetooth to initiate setup and eventually connects through Wi-Fi. All features available on the main display are also present in the app, including real-time charging and output information, as well as control over AC and DC outputs.
A slow charging mode limits the power to 1800W to accommodate more standard home energy distribution. The mobile app allows further reduction of the charging current. With up to 2400W of DC power at its Anderson inputs, an optimal solar configuration consists of a series arrangement of three 300W panels, since the station’s input allows a maximum DC voltage of 150V.
The unit can power devices at temperatures ranging from -20 to 45 degrees Celsius. Charging, on the other hand, is more restrictive, with an operating temperature ranging from 0 to 45 degrees Celsius. The station protects against short circuits by cutting off power when they are detected, effectively acting as a fuse. Any overcurrent on the input ports is also monitored to reduce the risk of thermal runaway in the batteries.
Pecron’s E3600 packs a UPS mode. When the unit connects to an AC outlet, power typically flows from the grid to output devices, bypassing the battery. The E3600 switches to its battery in under 20 ms when the AC power is removed. This process reduces the battery's charge and discharge cycles, helping to extend the station's life.
Pecron E3600: The Competition
Among the competition to the E3600 is the Bluetti Apex 300. This station has the same characteristics as the Pecron station. It can deliver 3800W to its 20A AC outlets and features a 2700Wh battery, which is smaller than that of the E3600. The number of available sockets is lower; the Apex 300 lacks the TT30 30A socket and does not provide wireless charging.
(Image credit: Future)
Pecron E3600: Final Verdict
The E3600 is a great power station for those on a budget who require a large amount of battery capacity. The output options are also numerous, featuring a variety of wireless charging options, low-power DC outputs, and a high-current socket for the camping car. The output power is rated at 3600W, which may seem reasonable on paper, but it can surge to twice its rated power for a short period.
The station is not without drawbacks. It is heavy due to its reliance on LFP battery chemistry. You will need two people to move it around. The UPS mode is functional, but it requires adjusting settings in the mobile app.
Buy the E3600 if ... you are on a budget but need a large amount of battery capacity and output power.
Don’t get the E3600 if ... you are looking for a lightweight power solution.
The JBL Charge 6 portable wireless speaker isn’t as closely related to the outgoing JBL Charge 5 as it might first appear. Oh, in physical terms they’re closely related – but the Charge 6 adds some nice new specification upgrades, as well as a very useful carry handle, in an effort to maintain the Charge’s position as the pre-eminent mid-priced option among the best Bluetooth speakers.
So as well as 45 watts of power and an impressive frequency response of 54Hz - 20kHz, the JBL Charge 6 can be hard-wired via USB-C in order to deliver true hi-res audio. It will run for 24 hours from a single charge – longer if you don’t mind sacrificing some bass response – and can act as a charger for your smartphone.
Two JBL Charge 6 units can form a stereo pair, and it can connect to any Auracast-enabled speakers for as numerous a speaker system as you fancy. An IP68 rating and a predictably robust standard of build and finish means it is happy in pretty much any environment.
And in action, the Charge 6 is a deft and assertive listen with a whole lot of positives about the way it deals with your audio files. Over Bluetooth, it’s punchy and detailed in equal measure, with a nice tonal balance and fairly even frequency response. Up the ante with some hi-res stuff via USB-C and it gains additional dynamism, insight and rhythmic positivity.
Really, only lowering volume to ‘background’ levels can upset it – quite a lot of its direct and expansive nature goes astray when you try to listen quietly. This thing is made for fun.
So yes, ‘Charge 6’ turns out to be a little more than just ‘Charge 5 +1’, and it's as good as speakers this size, at this price, get right now.
JBL Charge 6 review: Price and release date
Released in April 2025
Officially priced at $149 / £129 / AU$179
The JBL Charge 6 is on sale now, and in US you can find it for $159, in the the United Kingdom it sells for £169 (unless you decide you fancy the rather lively purple or red finishes, which for some reason are £5 less expensive), while in Australia it goes for AU$229.
That's a similar price to the JBL Charge 5 at its launch, though the older model can now be found in the $120-$140 region regularly, or is £119 in the UK at the time of writing.
The Charge 6 is a good price for this kind of speaker – for example, it's priced similarly to the Sonos Roam 2, which is much smaller and less powerful than this, but the JBL doesn't have the multi-room Wi-Fi skills of the Sonos.
(Image credit: Future)
JBL Charge 6 review: Specs
Weight:
1.37kg
Dimensions:
229 (W) x 99 (H) x 94 (D) mm
Battery life (quoted):
Up to 24 hours (28 with boost mode)
Connectivity:
Bluetooth 5.4 with SBC and AAC codecs
Drivers:
53 x 93 mm mid/bass 'racetrack' driver, 20mm tweeter
Aux-in:
No (USB-C audio passthrough)
Charger port:
USB-C
Microphone:
No
Waterproof rating:
IP68
JBL Charge 6 review: Features
45 watts of power
54Hz - 20kHz frequency response
24 hours of battery normally, can be boosted to 28 hours
When it comes to a wireless connection, the Charge 6 uses Bluetooth 5.4 (good) and is compatible with SBC and AAC codecs (less good, but normal).
Unlike a lot of nominal rivals, though, the JBL has a USB-C slot that can be used for data transfer as well as for charging its battery, meaning that if you connect it to an appropriate source, hi-res audio of up to 24bit/96kHz can be yours (very good indeed).
The battery itself will run for around 24 hours (as long as you’re not absolutely blasting the volume), and if you switch ‘playtime boost’ on, that number rises to 28 hours in exchange for a rather obvious curtailing of low-frequency presence.
This is basically as long as battery life gets for portable speakers – certainly for speakers that are actually easy to carry around.
The JBL will even act as a power bank, so you can connect your phone to the USB-C port to charge it if push comes to shove – but this will, of course, eat into the Charge 6’s own battery life. From ‘flat’ to ‘full’, by the way, takes a fairly leisurely three hours.
No matter how the audio information makes it onboard, it’s attended to by 45 watts of Class D power driving a 20mm tweeter and a racetrack mid/bass driver. It's basically the same speaker setup as the JBL Flip 7, but with bigger speakers in all cases and more power – lovely.
In conjunction with the passive radiator at each end, JBL claims this arrangement is good for a frequency response of 54Hz up to 20kHz.
Features score: 4.5/5
(Image credit: Future)
JBL Charge 6 review: Sound quality
Big and punchy (but also deft and detailed) sound
Capable of significant volume
Loses interest at lower levels
You might think you know what you’re getting, sound-wise, when you look at the Charge 6. And in some ways, you’d be right – give it a stream of Outkast’s The Way You Move and the JBL delivers it with scale and considerable substance. Its sound is big and weighty, and there’s plenty of drive and momentum to ensure the rhythm is expressed with real positivity.
But the Charge 6 is no blunt instrument. It retrieves and reveals plenty of detail, is more than capable of handling the transient or minor events in the recording, and is just as adept at describing the harmonic variations as it is the broad dynamic strokes of ‘quiet’ and ‘loud’. Sure, it’s an energetic and quite forceful listen – but it pays just as much attention to the light and shade of a recording as it does the attack.
Its frequency response is fairly even; there’s a slight skew to the bottom end, sure, but it’s nothing fatal. And its tonal balance is equally well-judged, so there’s crisp presence at the top end to balance the punchy lower frequencies – and in the midrange, the JBL makes the character and technique of a vocalist pretty apparent.
Switch to a 24-bit/96kHz FLAC file of The Past is a Grotesque Animal by of Montreal, served to the Charge 6 via USB-C, and the entire presentation steps on. The soundstage opens up yet further, detail levels enjoy a big uptick, and the amount of space available to each element of the recording makes for greater overall scale.
Dynamic headroom increases, the unity of the frequency range is made more apparent, and the control of low-frequency activity makes for a rhythmically positive and articulate sound.
It’s worth noting that many of these uncomplicatedly enjoyable aspects of music-making are rather diminished should you decide to listen to the Charge 6 at volumes levels of ‘modest’ or below.
The JBL is not especially tolerant of being treated as a ‘background listening’ device, and a fair amount of its directness and assertiveness deserts it in the circumstance. No one puts Baby in the corner, so it seems…
Sound quality: 4.5/5
(Image credit: Future)
JBL Charge 6 review: Design
IP68-rated for dust and waterproofing
Seven finishes, and useful carry handle
Reasonably compact at 229 x 99 x 94mm
In broad terms, it’s JBL Charge business as usual here. The speaker is almost cylindrical, with a flattened area on the bottom for it to rest on. Each end of the almost-cylinder features some sturdy rubberization to protect the passive radiator (and its rather alarming ‘!’ branding) at each end.
A few physical controls are arranged across the top, at the rear there’s a USB-C slot, and the entire thing is wrapped in hardwearing fabric.
Changes in design over the outgoing Charge 5 are very few – but they’re all significant. Those rubber end caps are now even more robust than before. The material that covers almost the entire speaker is now 100% recycled material. The controls are in two rows for even greater ease of operation.
The IP rating has risen from a very acceptable IP67 to IP68 – which indicates the Charge 6 is virtually impregnable. And there’s now a flexible, branded carry-handle that fits to the top of the speaker and means it’s more easily portable than before.
A choice of seven different finishes runs from a business-like black to a camo number JBL calls ‘squad’. No matter the color you choose, though, you’ll be in possession of a carefully designed and beautifully built portable speaker.
Design score: 5/5
(Image credit: Future)
JBL Charge 6 review: Usability and setup
JBL ‘Portable’ control app
A few physical controls
Auracast and stereo pairing
The two rows of physical controls on the Charge 6 cover volume up/down, play/pause, power on/off, Bluetooth pairing and Auracast pairing – as long as the other speakers in your prospective group are Auracast-enabled, there’s no practical limit to the number of speakers you can join together or the amount of space you can cover.
Each of the controls is reliable, and very positive in its action – and the ability to pair two Bluetooth devices at a time is very welcome too.
The company’s ‘Portable’ control app is a useful little number too. Here’s where you can form a stereo pair with another Charge 6, check out a number of EQ presets or establish some of your own, check on battery life, and turn on ‘playtime boost’.
It’s a clean and stable app that’s a cut above the sort of thing some rival portable speakers are accompanied by.
Usability and setup: 5/5
(Image credit: Future)
JBL Charge 6 review: Value
If you want it for background listening, look elsewhere for your Bluetooth speaker, and spend less money while you’re at it – the five-star JBL Flip 7 would work nicely.
But if you decide to let it do its thing, the JBL Charge 6 has more than enough sonic talent to justify its asking price – and the fact that it’s so well made, so hardy and so very usefully specified only seals the deal.
Value score: 5/5
Should I buy the JBL Charge 6?
JBL Charge 6
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Features
Can't fault the battery life, USB-C connectivity, or Auracast option – higher-res wireless would be nice, though
4.5/5
Sound quality
Powerful, well-balanced and more detailed than you expect – especially in its USB-C mode
4.5/5
Design
Tougher than ever, made from more recycled material, and with a useful handle
5/5
Usability and setup
Very easy, with just the right amount of controls on the device, and a good app
5/5
Value
Reliable, long-lasting, great-sound – feels like a superb option for the price
5/5
Buy it if…
You want balanced and vigorous sound from your speaker The Charge 6 may look a bit of a bruiser, but it’s a deft and insightful (as well as bruising) listen.
You like a bit of hi-res audio Hard-wired via USB-C to an appropriate source, the JBL can be a genuinely hi-res device.
You want ‘portable’ to mean ‘portable’ That new carry-handle makes more of a difference than you might think.
Don’t buy it if…
You are likely to do your listening at modest levels The JBL gives away quite a lot of its sonic animation at low volume.
JBL Charge 6 review: Also consider
Sonos Roam 2 This hits the Charge 6 more-or-less head-on where price is concerned, and in its own way it's just as adaptable a listen, with multi-room over Wi-Fi on offer instead of USB-C audio and Auracast. Its battery life is relatively miserly, though, and it doesn’t have the outright scale of sound to compete either. Read more in our Sonos Roam 2 review
Bose SoundLink Plus This is just as robust as the JBL Charge 6, both in the way it’s constructed and the way it sounds. It doesn’t lose interest at lower volumes, either – but it’s not quite as deft a performer as the JBL, and it’s a little more expensive too. Read more in our Bose SoundLink Plus review
How I tested the JBL Charge 6
(Image credit: Future)
Tested for over a week
Tested in a variety of real-world locations
Connected wireless and wired, with a variety of file types
I connect the JBL Charge 6 via Bluetooth to an Apple iPhone 14 Pro, an Apple MacBook Pro and a FiiO JM21 digital audio player.
I also connected it to the laptop via USB-C, where the Colibri software on the machine allowed the Charge 6 to play authentically hi-res content.
I listened indoors and outdoors, at a variety of volume levels and to a variety of types of music. And I did all this for well over a working week (and sometimes at the weekend too).
Gmail is the world’s most popular email platform, with a stunning user base of over 1.8 billion. In other words, over 20% of the world’s population uses Gmail in individual or business capacity.
Given that Gmail is free, easy to use, and is operated by Google, the company behind the world’s leading search engine, it’s no surprise that Gmail is very popular. However, does that translate into Gmail being the best email provider for you? What are its features, and how does it fare against competitors? This guide will answer these questions.
I’ve thoroughly reviewed Gmail to help you determine whether it’s the best email platform for your personal or business needs. Read on to learn about Gmail in detail, including its pricing, ease of use, security, and key features.
Gmail: Plans and pricing
You can use the personal version of Gmail for free. However, like most things, it’s free up to a certain point. Users have up to 15 GB of free storage for pictures, videos, other documents, and other attachments in their email inbox. If you exceed 15 GB, you’ll either need to delete files to free up more space or pay for additional storage.
Extra Gmail storage requires a Google One subscription, with the lowest tier being $20 annually for 100 GB of storage. Ultimately, Gmail offers excellent storage capacity for free – most users don’t surpass 15 GB, except they’ve used Gmail for a long time or use email much more frequently than others.
Businesses can pay for an advanced version of Gmail via Google Workspace. The business tier increases the cloud storage allocated to each employee, and businesses can create emails attached to their custom domain. It’s the same Gmail interface, but with features designed for business use and a custom domain to give employees a more professional appearance.
Google Workspace plans start from $7 per user per month, which provides 30 GB of storage per account, double the free limit. The Standard plan costs $14 per user per month, providing 2 TB of storage per account. The Plus plan costs $22 per user per month and unlocks 5 TB of storage per account. These plans are reasonably priced, given the massive amount of storage space they provide.
Business plans are limited to 300 users, except for the Enterprise plan which has no limit (Image credit: Google)
Gmail: Features
Sending and receiving emails are the primary features you’ll expect from Gmail. You can compose emails and send them to your desired email addresses. The maximum number of recipients per email is 500 for free accounts and 2,000 for Google Workspace accounts. However, most users aren’t hitting this limit, so I see no issues here.
I like that Gmail lets you send scheduled emails. You don’t always have to send emails immediately after you type them. Instead, you can set the email to send at a specific time. This feature comes in handy in many endeavors, such as sending birthday wishes ahead of time and sending event reminders to colleagues.
In this era of artificial intelligence (AI), Gmail hasn’t been left behind. Google has invested significant resources in incorporating AI features that have made Gmail much more intuitive than before.
For instance, I enjoyed the Smart Reply feature, which crafts quick, automated responses to emails. The AI system reads your email and suggests quick responses, such as “Well noted, I’ll work on it,” “Here it is,” or “I’ve attached the document here,” among others. The suggested responses are based on the content of the email you’re replying to.
The Smart Reply feature may sound trivial, but it helped me a lot. It gets tiring having to retype mundane responses to personal and work emails – the feature saved me a lot of time here, which I spent creating detailed responses for the emails that needed them.
I also enjoyed the Smart Compose feature, which functions as an AI assistant when typing emails. It can read your mind… just kidding, it can’t. It analyzes the words you’ve already typed and suggests the next words and phrases. It’s right many times, but can be amusingly wrong. The good thing is that you can hit enter whenever it gets the right suggestion and ignore it if the suggestion isn’t right. Smart Compose saved me considerable time when typing emails.
Gmail boasts plenty of features to optimize the user experience (Image credit: Google)
Apart from intuitiveness, security is a key issue when choosing an email platform. Spam attacks have become more sophisticated due to AI tools that have made text generation a breeze. Hence, security is more important than ever, and Gmail delivers well in this criterion.
By default, Gmail has spam filters that analyze incoming emails and rate their likelihood of spam. If found to be spam, an email is automatically sent to the spam folder. From my experience, Gmail’s filters ensnare most spam messages, but some crafty ones occasionally make it through. When I encountered such an email, I immediately blocked the address and deleted their emails.
False positives can also occur. Some legitimate emails, such as password recovery attempts, might be sent to the spam folder, but you can always visit the spam folder and transfer such emails to your main inbox. If you mark an email in the spam folder as “Not Spam,” further emails from that address will land in your main inbox.
Another crucial security feature I liked is “Confidential Mode,” which allowed me to set expiration dates for emails. For instance, I sent an email containing sensitive information to a friend and set it to self-destruct a day after sending. I also set passcodes for specific emails, and the recipient needed this passcode to read the content– I gave them the passcode via SMS and other communication channels.
Likewise, with Confidential Mode, you can prevent recipients from copying, forwarding, or downloading the contents of your email. However, this feature doesn’t prevent users from taking screenshots of the photos and text – it just makes it difficult to transfer the content directly via email, so be careful about the information you send.
Gmail always prompts users to enable two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security to your email account. With this feature enabled, no one can access your account simply by having your Gmail credentials. Logging in also requires a unique one-time PIN sent to your phone number or other Google-linked devices. Without this PIN, no one can log in to your account on a new device.
I advise always enabling two-factor authentication for your Gmail account. This overlooked feature protects you from most malicious attacks. According to Microsoft, two-factor authentication is the antidote to 99.9% of security attacks.
Gmail offers advanced encryption to protect emails during transmission, ensuring they can only be read by the intended recipients. All emails and their attachments are automatically scanned for malware, and any suspicious ones are blocked. Note that the scanning isn’t perfect; some suspicious attachments may slip through, so avoid opening any attachment from an address you aren’t familiar with.
If you’re like me, who frequently sends and receives emails, your inbox can easily get cluttered, and sorting through vast numbers of emails can get tiring. Fortunately, Gmail lets you organize your inbox and make your emails easy to navigate. You can create labels, such as “Work,” “Family,” “Newsletters,” and “Shopping,” and add specific emails to each of them, or automatically label emails based on the sender’s address. Whenever you want to view a specific group of emails, you can simply click on the relevant label.
For example, if you want to read your daily newsletters, you can click on the “Newsletters” label and see the new emails sent from the addresses you’ve previously marked.
Similarly, you can create custom filters to archive, forward, or even delete emails originating from specific addresses. Gmail’s labels and filters help you automate email sorting and reduce the time you spend navigating your messages.
Gmail seamlessly integrates with other Google tools you may be familiar with. For example, you can upload files to Google Drive and attach them to your email by clicking a few buttons. I found this feature handy when sending large files that would have taken a long time for the recipient to download– instead, the recipient could simply access the file online on Google Drive.
Google Meet isn’t the most popular videoconferencing app, but I liked its smooth integration with Gmail. I could start Google Meet calls directly from my Gmail interface and switch back to emails when done, while on the same browser tab.
Other notable integrations include Google Calendar, which allows you to create events from emails and set reminders, and Google Tasks, where you can convert emails directly into tasks on your to-do list.
Gmail: Interface and in use
Gmail’s interface is one of its main strengths. I think the user-friendliness is the main driving force behind Gmail’s popularity, although being affiliated with Google also helps a lot.
I’ve tested many email platforms, and Gmail stands out for its intuitiveness. Everything feels easy to navigate, even as a first-time user. It helps that first-time users don’t have cluttered inboxes that can make navigation more challenging. Yet, even with a packed inbox, I’ve discussed how filters and labels let you simplify navigation.
The features are neatly arranged on the left side of your dashboard, where you can quickly sort through them. You can switch between your main inbox and other folders smoothly. You can sort through spam, trash, sent, scheduled, and other email categories without a hitch. The Compose button is boldly displayed at the top-left corner, and the menu for composing and sending emails is easily understood at a glance.
Gmail’s user-friendly interface makes it easy for even amateur users (Image credit: Google)
You can access Gmail from your web browser or download the app on your desktop (Windows and macOS) or smartphone (iOS and Android). The app works exactly as the website, but has faster loading times and offline access.
Gmail: Support
I’ll rank Google’s support as decent. It’s not the most outstanding, but it isn’t bad either. Users have access to an extensive knowledge base that details all Gmail’s features and provides guidance on troubleshooting common issues.
If you encounter any problems, the knowledge base and official Help Center should be the first places to seek help. Likewise, if you’re a new user who wants to learn the ins and outs of Gmail, the Help Center should be the first place to consult.
Gmail is a free tool, so don’t expect much direct help as a personal user. Google has a support team, but they’re more focused on enterprise customers who pay for Google Workspace and other tools.
For paying Google Workspace subscribers, Google offers decent support. Response times vary according to your plan, but the support team doesn’t take long to reply to email complaints.
Gmail: The competition
Gmail is the most dominant email platform worldwide, but it has no shortage of competitors. Many free email platforms have tried to chip away at Gmail’s market share for a long time, with mixed results. The two rivals I’d like to highlight are Zoho Mail and Proton Mail.
Zoho Mail offers a free version for personal use, just like Gmail. However, this free plan provides just 5 GB of storage, unlike Gmail’s 15 GB. Zoho is more competitive on the business side, with plans that are more affordable than Gmail, although Gmail still offers more storage.
Businesses can subscribe to Zoho Mail for as low as $1 per month per user, while a Google Workspace subscription starts at $6 per month per user. Zoho Mail isn’t as user-friendly as Gmail. In fact, I got confused several times as a new user, but it’s a more affordable email solution for businesses with limited budgets.
Proton Mail is a secure email solution that offers end-to-end encryption, self-destructing messages, password-protected emails, and adherence to robust Swiss privacy laws, among other features. I wouldn’t say it’s more secure than Gmail, as Gmail offers many of the same features optionally. However, Proton Mail is more geared towards privacy and doesn’t have advertisements.
The drawback is that Proton Mail isn’t as intuitive as Gmail, and the free plan is much more limited, e.g., 6 GB storage compared to Gmail’s 15 GB storage. You’ll need a paid plan to enjoy most of Proton Mail’s features.
Gmail: Final verdict
Gmail is an email platform that I recommend any day and at any time, both for personal and business use. I can summarize the reason as “it just works.” Gmail provides the email features you’ll need, even on the free plan.
The paid plans are more expensive than other options, but the intuitiveness and seamless integration with other Google tools make it worthwhile if your business can afford it. Gmail is a solid choice that makes emailing an enjoyable experience.
