Gadgets - Organizer

This wet-and-dry vacuum delivers some of the best edge-to-edge cleaning I’ve experienced, but it’s a chunky beast

2:26 pm | October 14, 2025

Buy at Eureka

Eureka RapidWash 730: two-minute review

The Eureka RapidWash 730 is a well engineered wet-and-dry hard floor cleaner that bridges the gap between traditional mopping and modern cordless convenience. Despite its higher-than-average weight and portly posture, this machine sports an excellent steering mechanism for easy maneuverability around furnishings and tight corners. Plus, its split toweled roller quite literally runs from edge to edge for complete cleaning along baseboards – something most of today's best wet and dry vacuums can't manage.

This model also surprises with a level of hard floor cleaning performance that matches the best of the opposition, while its suction power is extremely adept at removing most spilled liquids and debris in a single pass. With tanks large enough for multiple rooms plus 40-minute battery life, this one's an obvious candidate for busy households with extensive hard flooring.

However, while the RapidWash 720's roller provides natural forward momentum when spinning, the excessive 11 lb / 5kg weight of the unit makes it feel heavy when pulling it back. Also, the jury's out on how easy it would be for some users to haul it up a flight of stairs. Noise is another consideration, particularly in Turbo mode or during self-cleaning, where the volume spikes noticeably.

Nevertheless, for those with hard floors who want a single tool for daily debris and spill management, the RapidWash 730 is an effective choice. It saves a lot of time, cleans thoroughly and simplifies maintenance.

Eureka RapidWash 730 on its base in reviewer's living room — (Image credit: Future)

Eureka RapidWash 730 review: price & availability

List price: $499.99
Available: US, sometimes also Europe

The Eureka RapidWash 730 is predominantly available in the US, with a list price of $499.99. It's available purchase direct from Eureka, or via Amazon. At the latter, I've already spotted it on sale for $400, so you might be able to avoid paying full whack if you're tactical about when you buy.

Although Eureka does have some online presence in the UK, its eureka.com/uk website doesn't list this particular model. Likewise, there is only a smattering of Eureka products at Amazon UK. It has been available in various European countries in the past.

At its premium sticker price of around $500, is the RapidWash 730 good value for money? Not really, though it is unquestionably a very competent hard floor cleaner that performs well at general mopping and collecting large liquid spills. But for my money, there are better deals out there from the likes of Bissell, Ultenic and, of course, global market leader Tineco.

Value for money score: 3 out of 5

Eureka RapidWash 730 specs

	Eureka RapidWash 730
Type:	Cordless wet-and-dry vacuum
Cleaner size (H x L x W):	45.7 x 9.3 x 10.6in / 116 x 23.5 x 27cm
Weight (empty):	11.5 lbs / 5.2kg
Clean water tank volume:	23.67 oz
Dirty water tank volume:	20.28 oz
Max runtime:	40 mins
Recharge time:	4 hrs 16 mins
Wattage:	350W
Suction power:	21,600Pa
Brush roller speed:	500RPM
Self-cleaning water temp:	185F / 85C
Self-drying water temp:	140F / 60C or 176F / 80C

Eureka RapidWash 730 review: design

Weighty and large wet-and-dry cleaner, with self-clean docking station
Mop extends the full width of the floorhead
Very decent maneuverability

Eureka is a brand you don't see much of in the UK or Europe but the US-founded, now Chinese-owned company has a long history in America as a leader floor cleaners. The brand's roster now includes an eclectic range of stick vacs, cylinder vacs, robot vacs, carpet cleaners and wet-and-dry hard floor cleaners like the model I'm looking at here.

This writer is used to testing products from European, Japanese and Chinese brands, whereas the Eureka RapidWash 730 has a distinctly American look and scale. For some reason, this particular model reminds me of a 1949 Studebaker, only with smoother lines.

Eureka RapidWash 730 next to the Roborock F25 ACE cleaner — (Image credit: Future)

The RapidWash 730 is the largest wet-and-dry vacuum I've reviewed, and that size also equates to more weight (11.46 lbs / 5.2 kg to be precise) which you will doubtless notice when lifting it out of its self-cleaning station or hauling it up a flight of stairs. The action of the roller brush helps pull the unit forward, making it really easy to push… although heavy to pull back. It's not the end of the world, mind, since that is the case with most hard floor cleaners bar the Tineco Floor ONE S7 Pro and Roborock F25 ACE, which both come with motorized wheels.

Like most high-end Tineco hard floor cleaners, this model features a large, angled circular LED on top of the main body that lets you know what mode you're in and how much battery is left. All controls are mounted on the handle and are easily accessed.

Close up of handle controls on Eureka RapidWash 730 — (Image credit: Future)

First you have a simple on/off button that defaults to Auto mode on start-up. This mode uses AI-powered smart detection to assess the amount of dirt being collected before adjusting the amount of suction power. In most instances you wouldn't need to select anything else. Next, there's Turbo mode which uses a little more water and a lot more suction for heavily soiled areas – this model's suction is rated at a suitably high 21,600 Pascals. Finally, select Dry mode if you need to clean up a nasty wet spill or something that spontaneously came out of the dog's mouth.

Eureka RapidWash 730 wet and dry vacuum in use on a hard floor — (Image credit: Future)

Like all wet-and-dry cleaners, the RapidWash 730 comes with two water tanks, a 23.67oz / 700ml clean-water reservoir and a 20.28oz / 600ml tank to collect all the dirty stuff. While you won't necessarily need to empty the dirty water tank and give it a rinse after a short cleaning session, you will still be bombarded with voice reminders on a regular basis. This will eventually become annoying enough that you'll give in, only to notice that the tank is just one eighth full. Many hard floor cleaners suffer from this over-zealous approach to maintenance, so the Eureka is not unusual in this respect.

Eureka RapidWash 730 with split towelling roller — (Image credit: Future)

The majority of hard floor cleaners like this one use a wet, towel-covered cleaning roller that spins at around 500rpm. However, because manufacturers need to fit a motor and spindle to one side of the brush head, most rollers end up with a gap of about 10mm on one side, which means you can only mop the very edges of a floor from one direction.

Eureka's tech team has managed to find a way around this by reducing the length of the brush roller on one side and adding a short magnetized roller sleeve that slips over the motor housing on the opposite end. This allows the roller to cover the entire width of the cleaning head. And by entire I mean right to the very edge – indeed the left side of the roller, when viewed from the front, actually protrudes beyond the housing.

This is a major bonus because it means that the RapidWash 730 can be used to clean along baseboards from the left or the right. Furthermore, there's a comb behind the roller that effectively collects almost all remnants of hair and other stuck-on muck before having it sucked into the dirty water tank.

Tester pressing on the bar on Eureka RapidWash 730's base to activate self-clean — (Image credit: Future)

Like all decent wet-and-dry mops, the RapidWash 730 comes with a large bathtub-shaped charging dock that also serves as a cleaning station. Admittedly, mounting the unit on the dock requires awkwardly lining it up so its connectors meet, but once it's docked it's ready to start its self-cleaning regime, and this is as easy as putting your foot on a cross bar to set it all off. I like that, a lot.

The cleaning process itself is comprised of two stages – spinning the mop roller while it's washed with fresh water at 185˚F (85˚C) and then gently drying it using hot air at around 140˚F (60˚C). You can also speed up the drying process by pressing the Dry button on the cleaning unit's handle and selecting Rapid Dry. This setting increases the drying heat to 176˚F (80˚C).

The cleaning process is noisy so you may want this model stored away in the utility room or elsewhere out of earshot, but the main part of the sequence – the part where the brush roller spins around – only takes about five minutes to complete.

Eureka RapidWash 730 with floorhead pivoting at an angle — (Image credit: Future)

Finally, this model thankfully features one of the best steering mechanisms since the Dyson Gen5detect cordless stick vac. It angles at around 50 degrees by twisting your wrist when cleaning around table legs and in hard-to-reach areas. Given the extra weight of this machine, I think having a widely articulating head like this makes it much easier to use than you might expect. This thoughtful design flourish also extends to the permitted angle of the main unit, which can be tilted 170 degrees to the floor, making cleaning under sofas and beds a relative breeze.

For the record, the Eureka RapidWash 730 ships with a spare split toweling roller, a 15oz (450ml) bottle of Eureka Refresh Clean hard floor detergent, a spare filter and a cleaning brush.

Design score: 3.5 out of 5

Eureka RapidWash 730 review: performance

Impressive at collecting both liquid and solid spills
Heavy enough to make longer cleaning sessions a bit of a workout
Leaves only a thin film of water behind, and doesn't drip when turned off

When it comes to cleaning performance, the RapidWash 730 has proved to be extremely adept and thorough in the way it picks up dust, pet hair, crumbs and liquid spills in just a few passes. Also, I think that its edge-to-edge cleaning ability is a major advantage in kitchens and bathrooms, where dirt and pet hair always tend to gather along baseboards. However, the machine's weight and size did make extended cleaning sessions feel like a bit of a workout, even though its smooth forward movement offset some of the strain of pulling it back.

Eureka RapidWash 730 wet and dry vacuum in use on a wooden floor — (Image credit: Future)

Before I get to my test results, one small but significant aspect I've been impressed with is the way the RapidWash 730's suction motor stays on for a few seconds after turning it off. This means any last vestiges of dripping water are sucked up, leaving the floor drier around the roller than most other models I've tested. I love this – I normally have to turn other models on again to collect any small pools of water before angling them back and turning them off a second time before quickly rolling the unit back to its dock for a clean. That's not the case with this model.

Right, let's get down to my cleaning test results. I first performed a few general cleans of my kitchen's engineered wood flooring and was pleasantly surprised at how well the RapidWash 730 completed the tasks, leaving a nice shiny appearance and only a very thin film of moisture in its wake. This was important to me because I'm always concerned about having too much water dispensed on my engineered wooden floors. Given the amount of water that's sucked up during this model's cleaning routine, I wouldn't have any concerns about using it on laminated flooring, which is known to easily warp if too wet.

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Eureka RapidWash 730 approaching a pile of oats, cracked egg, raisins and more on an engineered wood floor — (Image credit: Future)

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Results of cleaning test with Eureka RapidWash 730 — (Image credit: Future)

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Results of cleaning test after second pass with Eureka RapidWash 730 — (Image credit: Future)

I then fashioned up a tortuous test using a range of ingredients one would never mix together in real life – a cup of muesli with raisins, some squirts of tomato ketchup and mustard, plus a cracked egg for good measure. I wanted to check for any snowploughing of ingredients and whether the loosely broken eggshell blocked any passageways in the system.

Unexpectedly, this monster gobbled up the vast majority of this humongous mess in one fell swoop and the rest of it in a second pass. I then ran the unit over the visually clean floor a few more times and then checked the area behind the easily-removed roller. As expected, some fragments of eggshell remained behind the roller, but I heard it all being sucked into the dirty water bin once I'd positioned it on the dock and tapped the cleaning mode with my foot.

Overall, it was an effortless experience in my opinion and proof positive that this is, indeed, an excellent floor cleaner that would do any kitchen or bathroom proud. I just wish it was smaller in stature and a few pounds lighter.

Performance score: 4 out of 5

Eureka RapidWash 730 review: battery life

Maximum of 40 minutes cleaning per charge in Auto mode
Recharge is slow at over 4 hours

Around 40 to 60 minutes is the magic time frame for most cordless floor cleaners. Given that this machine won't be used as often or as extensively as a cordless vac, I think its 40 minute running time in Auto mode is acceptable, and ample enough for a full downstairs clean without having to pause for a recharge. Mind, it did take 4 hours and 16 minutes to fully charge from empty, which is too long in my book.

Battery life score: 3.5 out of 5

Should you buy the Eureka RapidWash 730?

//section// Should you buy the Eureka RapidWash 730?

Section

Notes

Score

Value for money

Despite its efficiency at mopping and debris collection, I think $500 is too high a price when compared to much of the competition.

3/5

Design

~~I can't say I'm that enamoured of this model's bulky design or its overall weight.~~

3.5/5

Performance

Surprisingly excellent performance in all disciplines. Easy to use, too.

4/5

Battery performance

Average 40-minute battery performance though it takes ages to recharge.

3.5/5

Average rating 3.5/5

Buy it if…

You have more hard floor than carpet

This model isn't suitable for use on carpet or rugs

Attribute	Notes	Rating
Value		X/5
Design		X/5
Performance		X/5
App		X/5

Buy at Eureka

Buy it if...

You have a large home that gets dirty quickly

The RapidWash 730 is a sterling mopper, and the larger size is justified in big homes with lots of mess to clear up.

You're a pet owner

This wet-dry vacuum is exceptional at picking up liquid mess.

Don't buy it if...

You're not especially strong

The RapidWash 730 is the heaviest of all the wet-and-dry vacuums I've tested, and a bit of a workout to carry. There are lighter options on the market if you'd prefer.

You have a small household

The RapidWash 730 is rather large, so as well as being overkill for smaller households, you'll need to find somewhere to store its bulk.

How I tested the Eureka RapidWash 730

Like all TechRadar journalists, I spent an inordinate amount of time assessing this product and the process started right from the off when I unboxed it, assembled the handle, plugged in the charging dock and popped the RapidWash 730 on its plinth. Once fully charged, I subjected it to a variety of general mopping runs over a four-day period before setting up its main debris-collection test involving both solids and liquids. I also examined the unit's styling, assessed its weight and size, and monitored its battery usage and how long it took to charge.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed October 2025

I treated myself to a premium Philips electric razor – here’s my six month review

2:12 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Hair Care Home Small Appliances | Tags: LED, UK | Comments: Off

Philips i9000 electric shaver: two-minute review

Before I splashed out on the Philips i9000 electric shaver, I was putting up with a generic $35 / £30 one I picked up at Amazon. Forking out 10x the price for a premium model was a painful idea, but not as painful as my shaving experiences with the cheap model, so I went for it. (By the way, that shaver at Amazon had a 4.5 star average rating over hundreds of user reviews, many of which are clearly bogus. That's a risk in trusting unknown user reviews.)

Six months later, my face is still thanking me that I spent extra on the Philips i9000, especially for the 50% off sale price that pushed the base model closer to $300 / £230. (There are also pricier 'Prestige' models in the series, which I haven't tested.) The i9000's agile triple-head electric shavers easily navigate tricky contours, including the jawline, maintaining a close shave along the way. It feels great in the hand, too.

This is the first electric razor I've used with pressure indicators, which are a genuinely useful feature: if the shaver lights up green then you're applying the right amount of pressure, if blue you're too soft, while orange is too hard. I've generally found that following the pressure indicators delivers an effective shave while minimizing irritation – this feature is no gimmick.

Battery life is decent, too. For an average shave, I'm seeing a 3% reduction in battery life on the digital display, and that's even six months down the line. I'd say the i9000 is good for 30 shaves before needing a recharge, for which Philips provides a wall mounted USB-A charging base (a minor complaint is that USB-C would be more convenient for travel).

Philips i9000 electric razor resting on a bathroom sink — (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

The razor is waterproof so can handle wet and dry shaves, while the flip-out trimmer on the razor's underside is a reasonable solution for tidying beard edges and precise cuts, which is something I regularly do (and deal with stray nose / ear hairs – apologies for the overshare).

I reckon the i9000's heads have gradually lost some of their cutting effectiveness over the 6 months, but they still cut fine, just with a little extra effort than was required on day one. Replacement heads are available for a not-too-unreasonable cost, but I suspect I'll need to swap mine yearly rather than every two years, as Philips suggests.

Don't buy into any user reviews on the brand's site about the i9000 being closer than a proper wet shave with a safety razor – it's simply not true. If you want the closest shave possible, with fewer missed hairs, old school is the way. However, I've been super happy with the i9000. I can't recall switching to a wet shave ever since, which definitely wasn't the case when I was using that cheap alternative.

You really do get more for your money with the Philips 9000 series, and my shaving routine has been a happier experience since I made the switch – for my money, this is one of the best electric razors on the market.

Philips i9000 electric shaver: price & availability

List price is $240 / £479.99 / AU$600
Regularly on sale for less than half the list price in the UK
Replacement heads available

I'm not sure anyone in their right mind would buy the Philips i9000 at full cost, but thankfully it's almost always available for less than half the list price, which is palatable. At the time of writing, I'm seeing the shaver for $240 / £225 on the Philips site. Even then, I'd hardly call it superb value, but then again you do get the better shaving experience versus a generic sub $45 / £35 model.

Replacement heads are available at the Philips site for $65 / £40 / AU$106 – prices will likely vary at independent stockists. The guidance is to replace the heads every two years, but on my experience I reckon every year is ideal, given 6 months use has seen a slight reduction in cutting efficiency. The product comes with a 5-year service warranty.

Value for money score: 3 out of 5

Philips i9000 electric shaver specs

Waterproof:	Yes
Battery life:	50 minutes
Charge time:	1 hour full, 5-min quick
Charger type:	Shaver/USB-A
Accessories:	Quick clean pod, charging stand, travel pouch, plus GroomTribe app
Suitable for:	Face or body

Philips i9000 electric shaver review: design

Ergonomic handle and handy pressure LED indicators
Pop-up trimmer for edges, or dedicated beard trimmer head
Charge dock and hard case for travel, but the latter only fits the razor

From the ergonomic handle to the agile heads and digital display plus LEDs, the i9000 is a premium shaving experience. Rightly so, given how pricey it is.

I've no real complaints in any area: the three heads pack what Philips dubs a triple action lift and cut system up to precisely 0.00mm skin-level, without the risk of cutting skin that comes with wet shaves – you'll certainly get a close shave, even if I found a few months down the line that the shaver regularly missed individual hairs.

Philips i9000 electric razor in user's hand — (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

The shaver integrates an LED light ring around the base of the shaver head. With the shaver active, those LEDs emit a blue light if the pressure your applying is too soft, orange for too hard, and green for the right amount of pressure.

Below that, an small non-touch color screen displays battery life and cycles through features such as the Philips app. I'll be honest, I didn't see the need to pair the shaver with my phone and explore the app, which Philips says will give you 'an even-better routine and technique' by offering 'real-time guidance and personalized shaving insights to help you look and feel your best every day'.

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Closeup of the Philips i9000 electric razor's triple flexi-head — (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

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Closeup of the Philips i9000 electric razor's trimmer head — (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

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Close up of the Philips i9000 electric razor's pop-up trimmer — (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

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There's a pop-up trimmer on the shaver's underside, which is pretty basic but works well enough for quickly tidying up beard edges. If that's the main task though, the main head can be removed and swapped with a proper beard trimmer, which is much more powerful and effective.

Practically, I'd like to see a USB-C port which would make on the go charging much more convenient than lugging the charging base, which uses the proprietary shaver connector, on a trip. Although Philips supplies a hard travel case for the shaver, this will only fit the razor itself, and not any of the shaver or trimmer heads.

Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Philips i9000 electric shaver: performance

Around 30 shaves from a full charge
Triple flexing shaver head and trimmer head options
Modest pop-up trimmer

One cutback made versus the pricier Philips S9000 Prestige is in the charging department – the i9000 features the proprietary shaver connector (USB-A) only, while the Prestige model offers convenient wireless charging.

Still, a full charge should deliver around 30 shaves, so it's no real inconvenience to place the shaver in the dock at home once you're back from being away. And it'll charge quickly too – just 5 minutes returns the lion's share of the power, or it's an hour to fully juice it up.

Philips i9000 electric razor in its charging dock — (Image credit: Tim Coleman)

There are two heads supplied with the razor: the triple flexing head with what Philips says is 360-degree precision, plus a trimmer head to neaten edges. A basic pop-up trimmer in the shaver's underside supplements that trimmer head.

Overall, I've been really impressed with the performance of the i9000 electric razor. The flexing heads glide smoothly over every contour and have delivered close shaves, even if I'm getting stray hairs 6 months down the line, especially on my neck.

And the trimmer head is properly powerful, for doing the first stage of tidying edges, while the tiny pop-up trimmer take care of the finishing touches for a neat beard.

Philips says the flexing heads are good for two years use before being replaced (you can buy replacement heads on the Philips website). I'm not so sure – more than six months down the line and after regular use, I'm already thinking of replacing them. Of course the numbers depend on how regularly you shave, but I reckon the average person would want to replace the heads after one year for the best possible performance.

Overall, the Philips i9000 has given me the best electric razor experience I've ever had and the proof is in the pudding – I feel good after a shave and my wet razor has been left unused the entire time.

Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Should you buy the Philips i9000 electric shaver?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Ergonomic handle, waterproof, pop-up trimmer.	4.5 / 5
Performance	Agile heads, powerful trimmer head, handy pressure indicators.	4.5 / 5
Value	Make sure you get it on sale – it's regularly available for less than half the list price.	3 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a premium electric shave experience
Triple action lift-and-cut heads combine with LED pressure indicators for a close shave with minimal irritation.

You're looking for a versatile razor
The triple heads are smaller than average and can cover relatively precise areas, while the powerful trimmer head can neaten edges.

Don't buy it if...

You want a cheap razor
The i9000 is a pricey razor. If you're less fussed about its premium features, there are cheaper alternatives.

You want something for travel

The i9000 relies on a proprietary shaver connector, whereas many alternatives can charge conveniently through USB-C or even wirelessly. The travel case only fits the razor itself.

Philips i9000: also consider

Philips Shaver S9000 Prestige
If you can spend a little extra, the 'Prestige' version in Philips 9000 tops the bill for features, including wireless charging and adaptive power tech.

Read our Philips Shaver S9000 Prestige review

Braun Series 9 Pro
Even pricier, the Braun Series 9 Pro is also beautifully designed and boasts an excellent shaving performance. It's charge and run times are similar, and you'll get a close shave whether wet or dry. Another stellar premium choice.

Read our full Braun Series 9 Pro review.

How I tested the Philips i9000

My primary razor for six months
I've used it most days, whether for shaves or trimming
Tested in both wet and dry environments

I used the Philips i9000 as my only shaver a few times a week over the course of six months. I generally tidy my neck and cheeks with the triple shaver head and trim beard edges daily with the trimmer head or pop-up trimmer, while full shaves are less frequent.

I have been able to use the razor in wet and dry shaving conditions, assessing how it performs in both scenarios and how effective its water resistance is. In general, I store the shaver in a wash bag and run the battery down to zero before docking it in the charging base to recharge. I have also used the supplied cleaning pod to give the device a deep clean.

Read more about how we test
First reviewed October 2025

Jay Kelly is a new Netflix movie you need to stream this week – it’s George Clooney’s finest hour

1:17 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Netflix Streaming | Comments: Off

Let's not beat around the bush with what director Noah Baumbach is trying to achieve with Jay Kelly, it's a blatant love letter to George Clooney. The new Netflix movie is self-indulgent to the point of rubbing in it in our faces, and I'm as surprised as anyone else that I have no problem with that.

In fact, I think it's this indulgence that means the film can exist and emote in the way that it needs to. Clooney and the character he plays Kelly are basically one synonymous figure, gently poking fun at a sadness that runs through the veins of Hollywood. As they say, you need to be your own cheerleader, and look where that can get you.

Where I was expecting to be emotionally eviscerated by other movies at the London Film Festival (namely Hamnet, as every critic and their dog suggested), Jay Kelly delivered meditative heartbreak where its programmed rivals have failed to. There's nothing too overt or gauche happening to achieve this, merely a lot of sitting in the moment, thinking and processing.

I'd go as far as to say that Jay Kelly is the movie many of us need to see this year. I don't know what kind of permanent Mercury retrograde 2025 feels like it's in, but people are collectively going through it now more than ever. To be grounded is to bring us back to ourselves, and for Jay/George, the answers aren't quite what he'd hoped for.

Jay Kelly isn't just an ode to George Clooney, but regrettable choices

Let's set the scene: After filming his latest big picture, Jay Kelly thinks he wants out of the business. When a longtime mentor suddenly dies, he's brought face-to-face with things in his past that he'd rather forget. With his daughters making their own way in the world, Kelly impulsively decides to follow his youngest to Europe, throwing the lives of everyone around him into jeopardy.

Like him or loathe him, Clooney is the epitome of old-school Hollywood. He's got the voice, charm and physicality of peers gone by, and still never fails to make a group of people swoon at his feet at the age of 64. Is he the best actor around? No. Have all of his films been successful? Absolutely not. Yet he remains golden.

Kelly is exactly the same. By his own admission, he isn't the best actor and hasn't made the best decisions professionally or personally. This leaves him wondering if his 35-year career actually meant anything. Kelly's family life isn't much better, as he's now estranged from his eldest daughter, Jessica (Riley Keough), while his youngest, Daisy (Grace Edwards), is determined to find her own feet. As he soberly tells us, "my memories are all in movies. That's all they are, memories".

This is where Clooney and Kelly differ. While we've got no idea what goes on in Clooney's personal life (and nor should we), Kelly's is violently ripped apart. We follow his life through flashbacks of his youth, adulthood and recent past, all while present-day Kelly watches on in the moment. It's clear that introspection is never something he's considered, running through life like a bull in a China shop.

Truthfully, he's ruined just about everything without realizing. Alongside his daughters, friend and manager Ron (Adam Sandler) believes their relationship is purposeful while Kelly sees it as transactional, and publicist Liz (Laura Dern) is one crisis away from jumping ship. Kelly decides he doesn't really know who he is, and everyone feels the consequences.

But while that's a massive nuisance for literally everybody who has ever met Jay Kelly, it's helpful for us as a viewers. By examining his career, personal choices and parenting in painstaking detail, we have no choice but to be confronted with our own lives in the process. Can you truly have a work-life balance? Will our kids resent us for how much our careers pull us in other directions? Are we making the right decisions for ourselves and our loved ones?

As life likes to remind us, there are no conclusive answers for this. But watching Kelly struggle to comprehend his own accountability packs the ideal emotional punch. As Jay Kelly continues, we become one with him, laughing, crying and resolving his issues as if they are our own. When it comes down to it, they are, and Baumbach knows just how to connect us to that feeling.

Jay Kelly isn't just about Jay Kelly

Laura Dern and Adam Sandler watch George Clooney sign an autograph — Laura Dern, George Clooney and Adam Sandler in *Jay Kelly*. (Image credit: Netflix)

As you might expect, Clooney is a duck to water when it comes to his performance, but he's not the only person behind the fractured man. Sandler returns to a comedy-drama balance as the long-suffering Ron, laying his heart on the line for it to get openly beaten by Kelly's self-delusion. It's the perfect blend of stern and soft, and we're rooting for him to stick up for the quality of life we know he deserves.

Liz doesn't suffer fools, which is the counter-balance needed to an industry intent on telling Kelly what he wants to hear. While I absolutely hated watching Jim Broadbent die for the 137465th time in a movie (playing Kelly's mentor Peter), Riley Keough is my standout supporting performance.

As a woman in a lot of pain, where she is in life and how she's choosing to live it has the most significance for understanding who Kelly is. She is desperate for her dad to listen to how she feels, yet direct about not wanting to be in his life on a permanent basis. It's a case of too little to late for Kelly, and an emotionally excruciating phone call scene hammers that point home.

Sure, Baumbach isn't doing anything exciting or fresh with his vision and direction, and there's a part of me that's annoyed with myself for loving a film about the most-documented genre of all time (men in Hollywood). But I loved how Jay Kelly left me examining my own life, reassessing what's going on around me and reminding me it takes a village to be a decent person – it's surprising how easy it is to forget self-reflection.

Jay Kelly is available on Netflix from December 5.

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Ballad of a Small Player is the most visually exciting Netflix movie of the year – and it’s out now

1:00 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Netflix Streaming | Comments: Off

As the biggest Conclaviac (that's a fan of director Edward Berger's movie Conclave) around, I was always seated for Berger's next movie before it had even been filmed. Now I've seen Ballad of a Small Player, it's clear that it was never going to live up to the hype.

Really, we're wrong to pit the new Netflix movie against Berger's previous work (which includes All Quiet on the Western Front), yet it's inevitable. Each of his last three projects exist in their own right, not sharing any characteristics outside of Berger's outstanding personal vision.

If you're coming to Ballad of a Small Player hoping for cinematography that will blow your mind, you're in the right place. If you're hoping Colin Farrell bares his acting soul in the portrait of a tortured gambler at war with his addiction, he charmingly delivers.

The downside is that the movie suffers from the classic problem of waning at the two-third mark – in a nutshell, the fatal moment where you're itching for things to wrap up and draw their conclusion, checking your watch in the process.

But besides this, I fell in love with Berger's end goal, flaws and all. While I wonder if being streamed on Netflix does the film's artistry a disservice, we should be thanking out lucky stars for such immediate access to thoughtful, quality craft

Ballad of a Small Player's visuals are the real star of the show

Macau is a city where, by Berger and his team's own admission, is unlike anywhere else in the world. A beast with two distinctly different identities, it's the perfect place to reflect big-time gambler Lord Doyle's (Farrell) inner demons, struggling to get himself out of a hole he makes deeper with every decision.

Without giving too much away, he's a man who owes a lot of people money (or has flat-out stolen it), spending anything he has left on the next game of Baccarat. When Cynthia Blithe (Tilda Swinton) begins to tail him for the life he's left behind, Doyle turns to Dao Ming (Fala Chen) in his hour of need. What follows is the ultimate test of his character.

Where there are big-scale locations like Macau and Hong Kong, there's big-scale vision. Doyle is accurately reflected as the flea in a circus of lights and power that he is, lost in an environment he's tricked himself into thinking he understands.

That's bad news for Doyle but excellent news for viewers, who'll be entranced by visuals that'll leave their eyes blaze in wonder, like a child seeing light for the first time. We see repetitions of Conclave's cinematic framing, meaning you can easily pause Ballad of a Small Player from time to time and find a freeze frame worthy of gallery installation.

In this respect, Berger is playful. Light plays against dark, overwhelm contrasts against stillness and chaos manifests under many different guises. As far as artistry is concerned, both he and the movie are at the top of their game.

Should Ballad of a Small Player have been picked up by Netflix?

Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton sit across from each other at a table — Colin Farrell and Tilda Swinton in *Ballad of a Small Player.* (Image credit: Netflix)

Obviously, there are very few films in existence that are objectively flawless, and Ballad of a Small Player comes with its issues. Fans of the original 2014 novel of the same name might be horrified to realize quite a few key details have changed.

For example, Dao Ming is now directly tied to the Rainbow casino thanks to a switch in occupation, and Swinton's character has been entirely invented for the adaptation. Subjectively, I have a separate gripe here – a film without Swinton in every conceivable shot is one that doesn't have enough seasoning, offering up yet another chameleonic performance that stands uniquely on its own two feet.

But even if you're okay with the above, you'll likely feel the dreaded narrative lag that hits around the two-thirds mark. It was almost a given considering how much mental anguish Doyle puts himself though (which the storyline relies on), but we find ourselves frustrated with his lack of personal progress. It comes in the blink of an eye towards the end of the movie, making the journey from zero to hero unconvincingly rushed rather than thoughtfully mapped out.

Most importantly, though, Ballad of a Small Player being a Netflix release doesn't feel like the right fit, and that's for two reasons. The advantage of its stylistic visuals means it needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible, and I fear the average living room TV won't do the scale of what's been achieved true justice.

On top of this, the movie is going up against huge Netflix releases like Knives Out 3 and Frankenstein within weeks of each other. Out of all originals movies dropping on the streaming service, I think Ballad of a Small Player is the most likely to be glossed over (if for no other reason, purely because it's the smallest IP).

As Netflix hits its fall of back-to-back movie stride, my plea to you is to not overlook this one now that it's arrived. Granted, it's no Conclave, but what Ballad of a Small Player lacks in narrative nous it more than makes up for in cinematic scope, taking us to locations and circumstances we cannot access in reality.

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I swapped all of my kitchen appliances for this one high tech gadget, and it’s already making me cook more often

1:00 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Multi Cookers Small Appliances | Comments: Off

Thermomix TM7: one-minute review

There are few times I’ve been so excited about a home appliance in my career as a lifestyle gadget reviewer as this; I’ve just finished testing the Thermomix TM7, an incredible, almost all-in-one device that can do everything from kneading bread all the way to sous vide. If you’ve ever lamented about your countertop space, this might just be the appliance for you. Still, there’s an interesting journey to perfection – or even just maximizing this device – that might color your choice to join the hype train.

I’ve tested almost all of the key functions available, and I must say I’m very impressed with the range on offer. Do I think it’s the best possible solution for each and every one? No, but I will say it makes tremendous efforts to cover all bases. I’ve made everything from bread to curry and smoothies using the Thermomix almost exclusively for every step, and I’ve never seen an appliance quite like it.

There are, of course, some trade-offs here. It’s bulky, and having a dishwasher is practically a must if you intend to use it regularly. Owing to its very powerful motor, it can also be pretty loud in use; we shudder to use it past 8pm in case our neighbors think we’re testing jet engines. It’ll also be a massive pain to stash away, so prepare for the Thermomix TM7 to be a mainstay on your countertops. If you can handle these setbacks, you’ll be more than happy to introduce it into regular meal prep and cooking rotation, though.

I’m also divided on the included subscription plan; you have three months of access to Cookidoo, wherein you’ll find ample recipes specifically tailored to the appliance, but after that, you face a $89 / £50 annual subscription fee. Of course, the machine is far from redundant after that period if you choose not to join up, but it will require a lot more manual input. In that sense, I don’t love the long-term landscape for Thermomix fans; especially given its lofty list price. I feel they could offer a little more as part of the base offering to help users, but if you’re willing to dole out further, it’s worth the investment.

All that being said, there’s a lot to love here, and a thriving community of users to support your Thermomix journey. New customers are encouraged to join up for one of the in-person training sessions; personally, I didn’t, and I found it pretty easy to learn the ropes and make best use of the machine, so don’t view that as a compulsory step if the effort to make it to a class is too great. Either way, you end up with a powerful, capable and relatively low-effort kitchen powerhouse.

Thermomix TM7: price and availability

Available for $1,699.00 / £1,349 / AU$2,649 direct from Thermomix
Encouraged to buy through a Thermomix 'Consultant'

Unlike a majority of the appliances we test and review here at TechRadar, the Thermomix can’t be easily purchased through standard avenues. You won’t find it on the shelves of a department store or lurking on Amazon during Prime Day; instead, you can exclusively buy this appliance from Thermomix itself, either online or through a Consultant, for $1,699.00 / £1,349 / AU$2,649.

What’s a Consultant? Basically, a brand representative who makes a commission from selling and delivering training to new Thermomix customers. Now, I’m not one of these, but you’ll find a fair amount of content online from people who are affiliated with the brand as such.

In addition to the appliance itself, there’s an array of extra tools and accessories that you can purchase to unlock further recipes and cooking methods. The standard package comes with the TM7 base unit, mixing bowl and lid, a Varoma steaming tray, the power cord and three tools: a spatula, butterfly whisk, and simmering basket. You also get three months' access to the Cookidoo platform, which costs $66/£50/AU$89

Value score: 3.5/5

Thermomix TM7: specifications

Motor	500W power, speed adjustable from 40 to 10,700 rpm
Materials	High-grade plastic, food compatible housing, stainless steel mixing bowl
Dimensions (base + mixing bowl)	253 mm x 405 mm x 336 mm (WxDxH)
Weight (base + mixing bowl)	6.5kg + 2.1kg (8.6kg total)

Thermomix TM7: design

It’s hard to make a 'pretty' kitchen appliance, but the Thermomix TM7 is far from ugly. Large and in charge, the TM7 is a hefty piece of equipment for your countertops; and given its 8.5kg wight, you’ll probably want to keep it there rather than stash it in the cupboard if you’re looking to use it regularly. It takes up a lot of room, too; it stands at 33.6 x 25.3 x 40.5cm (H x W x D), but you’ll also need to find space for the 13.1 x 38.3 x 27.5 cm Varoma basket and other tools.

While I’ve not tested previous devices, the TM7 is a notable departure from older Thermomix designs. Since 1971, the appliance has seen a fair few design changes, but in the more recent years, it’s stayed fairly consistent until now. A new 10-inch multi-touch display is the headliner here, seated upon the main base and offering a bright surface from which to follow along with recipes. It’s pretty responsive and performs consistently, barring the occasional spot of lag if you're dashing around the screen too quickly.

Above the screen sits the 2.2L stainless steel mixing bowl, clad in a black insulated cover with a large, forward-facing handle. This cover locks in place using a lever mechanism on the right-hand side of the bowl, which keeps the bowl and blade inside secure; I found this could be a little stiff at times, and might be challenging for weaker hands to operate.

At the top of the device sits the lid, which has a removable steam cap so you can mount the Varoma steaming tray on top when needed. The steaming tray is 45% larger than the previous generation, and I found it was ample space to cook enough chicken for a six, maybe even eight-person meal.

One thing I will note about the steaming tray, lid, and outer cover is that the black plastic is an absolute grease-magnet. After cooking, it’s covered in oily marks and smears, and that’s where the dishwasher becomes a vital part of this package. I don’t have one in my apartment, so all cleaning was done manually, and when I tell you I felt cursed by the TM7, I mean it. The lid, in particular, is a real pain to clean by hand, and I had to re-clean it three or four times before I was satisfied the grub was gone.

I’m also not overly keen on the lid design, as it lets out a lot of cooking smells. Having researched older models, that’s a big change that has negatively affected the reception of the device, and while it’s by no means worse than using a saucepan on the stove, it’s definitely worth noting if you’ve got a TM6 or older device you’re not 100% sold on trading in.

Design score: 4/5

Thermomix TM7: performance

The real reason you’ll want a Thermomix TM7 is all in the performance. My favorite local chef uses his Thermomix to make a wide range of soups and sauces as well as doughs and batters, and that’s just the beginning of what this tool can do in both personal and professional environments.

This stand mixer-cum-blender-cum-steamer-cum-food processor can even sautee your veggies, meaning there’s way less washing up at the end – so long as, of course, you have a dishwasher.

The screen and Cookidoo app will walk you through each step of cooking, starting with measuring out your ingredients with the built-in scales. These are pretty accurate, providing you’ve got a solid flat surface to place the Thermomix TM7 upon.

Most of the recipes I tested were from Cookidoo, but I’ve got really mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it’s incredibly useful for learning the machine; there’s a great variety of recipes, and I love that you can customize these for your preferences. The customizable home screen and meal planning are genuinely useful, especially for homemakers or power users, and the user experience for following the step-by-step guidance is pretty good.

That being said, I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. Almost every recipe I’ve tried has been way under-seasoned, and there are moments where the instructions aren’t clear enough; pre-heat the oven, sure, but is the suggested temperature for a conventional or fan oven?! Right now, I’m not sure it’s worth the monthly subscription after the initial trial period, though I’ve not actually seen how useful the machine is without it; I’m really hoping it doesn’t render it useless.

A huge miss for me is that you can’t remotely control the Thermomix TM7, despite the Cookidoo platform being accessible on other devices. Thermomix has hinted at this future utility, but I’d ask why they rushed to release the product without it; it feels pretty essential to me in the age of smart devices.

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I started my Thermomix journey by making some of the recommended starter recipes; Thai peanut chicken with coconut rice, which uses only the Thermomix to cook at each stage (though you will need vessels to put some ingredients aside in at various stages). You begin with the Peanut sauce, putting in sliced garlic, roughly cut ginger and olive oil into the mixing bowl. After a three-second whizz, scrape down the sides and whizz again, before sauteeing the contents.

At this stage, I was already pretty impressed; the blades are incredibly powerful and sharp, able to quickly mince my ingredients to a suitable size, and the machine has saved me from having to turn on the stove and grab a frying pan. You can use this setting manually, too, searing and browning ingredients up to 160°C without needing a recipe from Cookidoo selected.

After adding some liquid ingredients to the mix for the sauce and switching on the machine to cook and slowly stir the contents for five minutes, the sauce is finished and can be put to one side while you make the rest. Now, given there’s another 20 minutes before it’s time to reintroduce the sauce, this is one of the early pitfalls for the Thermomix; concurrent cooking for more complex meals isn’t always a choice.

That being said, I loved that in the next stage, the rice is cooked in the main mixing bowl while the chicken and vegetables cook in the Varoma on top using the steam from below. The con? Well, you have to wash the sticky sauce out of the mixing bowl first, and it’s not as easy as the “quick rinse” suggestion the Cookidoo app makes. It was worth it in the end, though; the results were tender chicken, perfectly cooked rice and delicious (albeit very heavy and unhealthy) peanut sauce. It’s a pretty bitty way to cook the meal; I’d sooner cook the sauce separately in a saucepan while the rice and chicken cook to halve the overall cooking time, but it’s neat to see a meal like this made possible using mostly just the machine itself.

Next up, I tried making another suggested starter recipe: Pão de água, or Portuguese water bread. Using just bread flour, water, yeast and salt, the Thermomix TM7 was able to handle everything from mixing to kneading and even proving the dough. However, the process was a little more mixed, here, in my experience.

Primarily, that’s because of the kneading; nobody wants to watch as an expensive appliance visibly teeters while in use. I don’t think it moves enough here to launch itself in any kind of dangerous way, but it can’t be good for the screen, internals or motor to be jostled so much. If I were regularly making large batches of dough, I’d be seriously considering wedging the machine in somewhere it can’t scuttle out from.

However, I have to say, I was really impressed with the results. The dough proved wonderfully within the mixing bowl, and after a slight mishap (read: user error) that saw me unlock the mixing bowl and pour the blade out with the dough, the bread came out of the oven well-risen, delicious and with excellent texture.

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Undeterred, I moved on to my next test: mushroom and cannellini bean soup. Here, I wanted to see if the food processing and blending were up to scratch, and they most certainly were. After cooking down the ingredients, the machine blitzed through the contents and left me with wonderfully smooth, tasty soup. The only issue? It was painfully loud while doing so.

Thermomix claims the TM7 has a quieter motor with “noticeably less noise, especially at low speeds”, but that certainly doesn’t extend to more challenging tasks. I was genuinely worried about damaging my ears when standing close to the device, and no wonder; when I crushed frozen berries in the machine to make sorbet, my sound meter measured 99db (equivalent to a subway train) at only the fifth of nine speed settings. With more crumbly contents, that dropped to 87db, and with sugar alone, it was 73db.

Some of this is to do with the powerful blades, but I have to wonder if the vented lid design and mixing bowl shape mean there’s rubbish sound isolation. I haven’t tried previous models to see if the issue is new, but the TM7’s redesign does have less cladding around the side to help prevent sound spillage, which definitely means blending past 8 PM is a non-starter in my apartment building. I will say, though, the sorbet was delicious, and the butterfly whisk attachment to whip it into a smooth texture is excellent.

Overall, it’s a mixed bag for me, and a lot of this comes down to personal preference; if you’re an accomplished cook who just wants a super powerful blend and mixer for handling some of those dishes that need constant stirring and a thin consistency, you’ll love the Thermomix TM7. Similarly, if you’re a homemaker without a great love for cooking (or washing up!) it’s a great way to make a low-effort meal for a whole family. I would argue it could be really useful for those with accessibility needs, too, but unfortunately, the bulky design and size of the device make it hard to lift and operate.

However, if you live in close proximity to neighbors, have children with early bedtimes, don’t own a dishwasher or just really enjoy the art of home cooking, you probably can (and should!) live without the Thermomix TM7.

Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Thermomix TM7?

Buy it if

You want an easy, almost all-in-one kitchen appliance

The diversity of settings and cooking tools in the Thermomix TM7 makes it one of the most capable appliances available today.

You want some inspiration in the kitchen

The Cookidoo platform grants access to a wide range of recipe ideas for a range of dietary needs, but also gives you the agency to adjust these to your own liking.

You need high-performance blending and food processing

The Thermomix TM7 doesn’t just have great settings; it performs well across the board with them. Blending, in particular, is a real strength.

Don't buy it if

You don’t have a dishwasher

I cannot impress upon you how annoying it was to clean without one. The many fiddly components, the smudge magnet plastic materials and its heft make hand washing a real chore.View Deal

You hate subscriptions

Cookidoo comes at an added cost of $65/£50/AU$89, which is way less than your average streaming service, but more than some will be able to stomach given the device’s lofty list price.View Deal

How I tested the Thermomix TM7

I used the Thermomix as many times as possible to cook for myself over a three week period, trying both the in-app recipes as well as manual mode. To test the features as advertised, I opted to try most of the recipes from Cookidoo's 7-day crash course, which helped to understand the machine's abilities.

I made bread, baked goods, full meals, sauces, soups, stews and desserts in the Thermomix TM7, comparing the experience of each against my cooking experience. I'm a confident home cook with experience in cooking almost all of the meals I tried by hand, comparing my experience to traditional methods as well as methods that use a range of the best kitchen appliances.

I've been testing home appliances for years now, and in that time I've tried a huge range of the best blenders, best air fryers, best food processors and beyond. I've developed a keen sense for value, performance and good design through my testing experience.

Meze Audio 105 Silva are the bucolic listening headphones audiophiles will adore –the Romanian answer to ‘hygge’

12:30 am |

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Headphones | Comments: Off

Meze Audio 105 Silva: Two-minute review

The Meze Audio 105 Silva are open-back headphones that don’t act like open-back headphones – and I think I’m a fan. Where open-backs usually trade bassy fullness for structure and measure, the 105 Silva do a bang-up job of reinforcing low-end for a gratifyingly pillowy result; this pillow lies beneath some of the best treble performance I’ve heard in a mid-range pair of headphones, too, with beautifully-balanced air and a keen-yet-forgiving transient response.

These headphones excel as at-home headphones, and especially so if you’ve a tranche of remastered jazz records to listen through. The more brick-wall limited a song is, though, the less fun you’re likely to have with these, dynamics-hungry as they are.

The 105 Silva are also as gratifyingly comfortable as any of the best wired headphones, with a well-designed self-adjusting headband and some decadent velour-enrobed ear-cushions to slip yourself between. I think Meze Audio have achieved almost precisely that which they aimed to achieve with this mid-range set, but that the narrow soundstage and fluffy low end could turn some fundamentalist open-back adherents away. More for me, maybe!

Meze Audio 105 Silva headphones on a light wooden table — (Image credit: Future)

Meze Audio 105 Silva review: Price and release date

Released July 23, 2025
$499 / £469 / AU$999

Meze Audio has been mucking up the hi-fi industry since 2010, and, in my opinion, has done for headphones what Pro-Ject did for turntables back in the 00s – just see the much-pricier Meze Audio Poet for reference, at a cool $2,000 / £1,899 / AU$3,550.

And the 105 Silva are much cheaper than their excellent siblings – think high-quality European design, assembled in Europe and sold at a price that makes you go “wait what? OK!”.

I make no attempt to hide my love for Meze headphones past, be they the 99 Classics that still get use in my studio, or the ultra-high-end Poet that blew me away not too long ago. The Silva sits between these two, being a mid-range pair of open-back headphones designed exclusively for the cosy, immersive listen.

The Meze Audio 105 Silva are the second pair of headphones in the 105 series, and a clear development on the 105 AER that came before. Gone are the art deco PC-ABS earcups, replaced with a fetching mid-century walnut-heavy design; gone is the close, sumptuous tuning of the 50mm dynamic drivers, replaced with a brighter, broader and altogether more ‘fidelitous’ approach (if I may neologise).

Silva is a Romanian word, meaning ‘forest’. Meze Audio wants you to look at those sumptuous walnut ear cups and envision nature; to slip between those outrageously-comfortable ear pads and feel safety; to experience the softness of its sound profile and feel nurtured. Can such bucolic Transylvanian headphones promise such bucolic Transylvanian serenity?

Meze Audio 105 Silva review: Features

5Hz - 30kHz frequency response
42 ohms impedance
USB-C DAC adapter

Meze Audio’s 105 Silva headphones are passive, open-back listening headphones – the ideal platform for at-home enjoyment of your eclectic record collection, your esoteric FLAC library or your immersive audiovisual storytelling experience. No schmancy tech gimmicks here; just great sound and you.

The 105 Silva deliver that great sound through some prodigiously-engineered 50mm drivers. A carbon fibre-reinforced cellulose composite dome combines durability with a lightness of weight, making for a considered reproduction of high-end information and a clever attenuation of unwanted resonances; the dome is encircled by a semicrystalline polymer torus, titanium-coated for fast attack and precisely grooved for more resonance control.

The result is a pair of headphones that exists in two states simultaneously: tension and relaxation, taut transients and thrumming bass. But more on this shortly. For specs, you’ll find an impressive frequency range of 5Hz - 30kHz and a 42-ohm impedance; the latter’s a tiny bit disappointing, if only for the fact that these aren’t smartphone fare. There’s more potential posed by driving these drivers a little harder from your hi-fi than there is convenience for keeping the impedance low, in my humble and completely subjective opinion.

Being passive headphones, the 105 Silva are of course wired for sound, and use dual-twisted, Kevlar-wrapped OFC cable to supply said wiring. Each ear cup hosts a mono TS port, so you can attach and detach with ease for transport; you can also be sure that each channel of audio is robustly connected. It’s naked, minimal and minimises points of failure all-round – all of which amount to top marks from me.

For those of that use smartphones for all things audio, you can still enjoy the 105 Silva out of the box, too; Meze Audio has lovingly included a custom 3.5mm TRS to USB-C adapter, which includes its own DAC. This is the techiest thing you’ll find in the box, and a good thing too.

Features score: 4 / 5

Meze Audio 105 Silva review: Sound quality

High-end response is peerless for the price
Nice, airy mid-range
Bass surprisingly fulsome

As you would expect from most open-back headphones above a certain budget-price threshold, the Meze Audio 105 Silva are a pair dead-set on tactility. Between some measured soundstaging and delightful transient control, these cans deliver something comfortingly immersive above all else.

World Brain’s Minute papillon is a lassez-faire melange of syncopated synths, je-ne-cest-quoi ambiance and other such French-transplant turns of Romantic phrase; the 105 Silva resolve its light-stab electric pianos and dead-straight drums with a playful air. High-end information is delivered with space and grace, sharp enough to carve out its own place in your ears but soft enough not to insist upon itself in the process.

Andy Shauf’s debut collection of small-folk heartbreakers The Bearer Of Bad News, meanwhile, is a good carrier for both the dynamic potential of the 105 Silva and their incredible stereo imaging; I’m Not Falling Asleep is all slurred clarinets and ever-resonating piano before a huge, sparse beat and Shauf’s plaintive tone.

Separation between elements is impressive, too. The end section of I’m Not Falling Asleep is just voices and clarinets in stereo-spread choral harmony, and Shauf’s stacked voices seem as if to coast above the woodwinds like an air-hockey puck would on one of the good machines.

A little later in the record, Wendell Walker brings some excellent resolution of distance; close-strummed guitars and distant piano bass, diametrically opposed but united with a gloriously-staged, wrap-around drumkit that spikes up through the warmth with polish, presence and power. Even with the most maximalist, blown-out feats of electro-pop heft in my library – particularly, Normalize by Gelli Haha – there’s a palpable sense of space behind the sausaged synth-basses and punching-bag-to-the-face kicks.

Well-spaced as these elements are, there is a surprisingly close limit to their spread. These aren’t the widest headphones I’ve tried, sure, but the surprise is that I’ve heard wider closed-backs. Indeed, the 105 Silva, to me, exhibit some behaviours more redolent of closed-back designs than others.

This is reinforced by the overall bass response of those carefully-tuned 50mm drivers. Though brighter and airier than 105 drivers prior, here the low end is still suitably springy, and enjoys an unusual bloomy fullness. Open-backs typically don’t possess this fulsomeness, as they allow that placeless subby energy to dissipate outwards; here, though, there’s a sense of constructive interference usually reserved for closed-back systems. And it’s kind of glorious.

The 105 Silva do seem to respond better to some sounds than others. The aforementioned Normalize suffers for its brick-walled, low-dynamic clown-pop maximalism, where the Silva seems not quite sure on how to handle the lack of real movement. Listening to high-dynamic live-instrument arrangements, like Billy Valentine And The Universal Truth’s jazzy re-imagining of We People Who Are Darker Than Blue, feels like finally unlocking the Universal Truth of these headphones; the thing they were designed for.

The 50mm drivers handle bloomy double-bass with active measure, as if an occult hand were manually pushing the fader up for moments of “a-ha!” crescendo. The transient response is keen but not sharp, and the breath behind each saxophonic missive a textural delight. ‘Cosiness’ seems the ultimate state these headphones strive for.

Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

Meze Audio 105 Silva review: Design

Gorgeous-looking things
Gratifyingly simple practical design
And deeply comfortable, too

These headphones are an obvious winner in the aesthetics camp; have you seen them?! Everything about the design is tasteful, from the materials and proportionality of the earcups to the highly-satisfying minimalism of the metal bands that connect them. Walnut, pleather and velour present a united front of understatedly decadent luxury – an enticing wear if ever you saw them.

Speaking of wearing them, the 105 Silva’s headband is a lightweight and lightly-cushioned self-adjusting affair. I’m extremely impressed, again, by the coincident simplicity and practicality on display here. There’s no aggressive ratcheting or re-adjustment; the 105 Silva simply rests exactly where it needs to, with a softness of touch a far cry from the intrusive clamp other such headphones deign to visit upon your potentially-sensitive bonce.

Speaking of sensitivity, I have known no headphone more comfortable than a Meze Audio headphone – especially with the plush, velour-enrobed ear-cushions provided on the 105 Silva. Similar comfort has been experienced on Sennheiser ‘phones past, but none so gratifyingly smooth about the concha.

The 105 Silva come in a sturdy contoured fabric hardcase, with a reassuring firmness and even more reassuringly weatherproof zip; if you did fancy taking these out and about, this right here is a trustworthy receptacle for such adventures. There’s also a neatly-designed cylindrical soft case within, for your cables and adapters and whatnot – so designed to nestle within the Silva’s headband, and to not risk any jostle-related damage in transit. It’s a simple gesture, but one that sparks a not-inconsiderable amount of joy in me.

In all, there’s nothing really to fault the 105 Silva on design-wise. There’s comfort by the spade, eye-candy by the trowel and simplicity at the core of it all. A serene pair.

Design score: 5 / 5

Meze Audio 105 Silva review: Value

Incredible comfort in the listening experience
…but one you pay a price for
Sound profile could be divisive, too

Value’s always a difficult thing to pin down with audio products, and especially so when the audio product in question isn’t all-singing, all-dancing. It’s easier to signal that something’s worth the whack when it’s got more features than you’ve got fingers, even if those features exist on products one tenth the price.

So, when it comes to a pair of passive headphones like the Meze Audio 105 Silva, there’s a lot of figurative weight in one place: the quality of the listening experience. I’m in no position to say that you need to spend this much money in order to have fun with your music collection – but, if you like the sound of soft tactility hand-in-hand with thick sonority, maybe it would help.

Bear in mind, too, that this unique listening experience is backed up by a prioritisation of listening comfort, and by attention-to-detail in pursuing the same. There’s balance in that self-adjusting headband, and in those Goldilocks ear-cushions. All this, steeped in minimal mid-century modern aesthetic, as if to say, “Romania does hygge too”.

I’ve had more fun with cheaper headphones before, and I’ve had far less fun with more expensive headphones too. I do think the 105 Silva have a great deal going for them aesthetically and ergonomically, which goes a long way to justifying their position in the market; the sound, though, is the singular thing about which most decisions ought to pivot – and the Silva’s unique performance could make this subjective decision either really easy, or really hard, for the prospective buyer.

Value score: 4 / 5

Meze Audio 105 Silva review: Should you buy them?

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Features	The inclusion of a custom 3.5mm TRS to USB-C adapter, which has its own DAC, is a classy touch	4 / 5
Sound quality	The 105 Silva excel with respect to high-end reproduction, with all the ear-candy detail you could ask for. The bass is a little more bloomy than you might expect from open-backs, but this is (often, at least) to their credit.	4.5 / 5
Design	These are some singularly fetching headphones, with that tasteful walnut-imbued mid-century earcup design and that minimal-yet-maximal PU leather headband. You won’t begrudge having these adorn your desk, to say the least.	5 / 5
Value	The 105 Silva offer incredible comfort, both literally and with respect to sound profile. That bloomy bass could be enough to switch some off, but the rest is Goldilocks-level balance.	4 / 5

Buy them if...

You value comfort
The 105 Silva are astonishingly comfortable listening headphones, both literally and figuratively. They hug your face and they hug your inner ear in near-equal measure, with plush cushioning and plusher bass.

You like jazz
The secret to the 105 Silva is fully revealed with dynamic music and largely-acoustic instrumentation; between a silky mid-range, musical handling of transients and a robust low-end that rises to the occasion, you have a pair of headphones that buries your face lovingly in jazz arrangements.

Don't buy them if...

You’re choosing open-backs for the soundstage
Despite their open-back nature, the Poet do not quite ‘breathe’ the same as other open-backs this writer has tried and enjoyed. I’m reminded more of closed-back headphones by the fit and feel, as well as the dimensionality of sound.

You’re looking for a wide soundstage
The soundstaging is fun, particularly with ticky-tacky high-end flourishes, but ultimately the 105 Silva sit quite close to your ears on the width front. There are wider ‘phones out there!

Meze Audio Poet review: Also consider

	Meze Audio 105 Silva	Meze Audio 105 AER	Sennheiser HD 505
Type:	Over-ear	Over-ear	Over-ear
Open-back or closed-back:	Open-back	Open-back	Open-back
Driver:	50mm dynamic; bio-cellulose, titanium-coated semicrystalline polymer	50mm dynamic, bio-cellulose, PEEK	38mm dynamic
Frequency range:	5Hz - 30kHz	5Hz - 30kHz	12Hz to 38.5kHz
Impedance:	42 ohms	42 ohms	120 ohms
Connector:	Dual 3.5mm TS output	Dual 3.5mm TS output	Proprietary locking cable output
Weight:	354g	336g	237g
Extras:	Carry case, soft pouch for cables, 3.5mm TRS to dual 3.5mm TS cable, 3.5mm TRS to USB-C adapter w/ integrated DAC, 3.5mm TRS to 6.35mm TRS adapter	Carry case, soft pouch for cables, 3.5mm TRS to dual 3.5mm TS cable, 3.5mm TRS to USB-C adapter w/ integrated DAC, 3.5mm TRS to 6.35mm TRS adapter	Drawstring pouch, stereo cable with 3.5mm TRS plug, 3.5mm TRS to 6.35mm TRS adapter

Meze Audio 105 AER
Meze Audio's 105 AER are a slightly cheaper member of the same open-back over-ear family, with a darker tuning and hence, a little less width than the Silva. If you like a more intimate headphone experience – and don't mind eschewing some tasteful walnut in the process – the AER resolves excellently.
Read our Meze Audio 105 AER review for more

Sennheiser HD 505
The Sennheiser HD 505 set of open-back headphones is decidedly cheaper than Meze’s 105 Silva – and wears that affordability a little more readily on its sleeve, too – but doesn’t disappoint when it comes to fidelity. If you’re wanting a more accessible introduction to the open-back format, this is a good starting point.
See our in-depth Sennheiser HD 505 review for more

Meze Audio 105 Silva review: How I tested

Tested for 3 week(s)
Used as listening headphones, at home
Predominantly tested via Edifier MR5 headphone output, through Universal Audio Volt 4 interface

The Meze Audio 105 Silva spent three weeks adorning my fancy new Ikea desk, in my attic office. There, they were my primary set of headphones for focused listening to my digital library of FLACs and 320kbps MP3s – with some ancillary listening on Spotify – via my Volt 4 audio interface and Edifier’s MR5 monitor speakers’ headphone output.

First reviewed: October 2025
Read more about how we test

Windows 11 review

2:03 pm | October 13, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Software Windows | Comments: Off

Microsoft’s Windows 11 has had its fair share of ups and downs since its 2021 release. Heralded as a new era for the operating system, it’s seen plenty of updates since launch, even before Copilot AI arrived. With Windows 10 now in its End of Life phase (which means it is no longer supported by Microsoft), more users will be encouraged to update, and the good news is that they’ll be greeted with a solid upgrade.

Fluent Design, Windows 11’s theme, remains front and center here, with the biggest changes found with the Start menu, now placed in the middle of the taskbar. Redesigned to help find files and apps more easily, it’s seen a fair share of updates since 2021. In addition, many Windows apps now have long-overdue upgrades, such as Paint and Notepad, with some powerful new features (many AI-powered) that have transformed these once-basic apps.

But with Microsoft’s Copilot AI seemingly taking over Windows and the company’s other products, it looks like Windows 11 is facing another regeneration, but some faults remain. Before you download and install the operating system, here are our updated thoughts on using Windows 11 since its 2021 debut.

Windows 11 screenshot — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Microsoft Windows 11: Price and availability

Free upgrade for Windows 10 users
$119/£119/AU$249 for the Home version

Good news for Windows 10 owners: Windows 11 is a free upgrade, as long as the system requirements are met.

If you're not upgrading, or are installing Windows 11 on a formatted drive, expect to pay $119/£119/AU$249 for the Home version, or a $99 upgrade for Pro, or a full version in the UK for £219.

Windows 11 Pro has several features that can help secure your system if it gets lost or stolen. One feature is called BitLocker encryption, which will lock down your Windows 11 device, barring anyone from accessing your data.

But for most users, there’s no need for FOMO with the Pro version. There are third-party apps like VeraCrypt that can do the same function. Plus, if you use Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud service, your data can be backed up remotely and securely anyway.

Screenshot showing Windows 11's Start menu — (Image credit: Future)

Microsoft Windows 11: A Fluent design

Windows 11’s big redesign was touted by Microsoft back in 2021 as a new beginning for Windows, and that has somewhat proved to be true. Called 'Fluent Design', it’s full of light blues, animations, and glass-like additions that make it feel like the natural (and more popular) successor to Windows 8’s Metro design.

But Fluent goes deeper than just the windows and Start menu you initially see. Context menus that appear when you right-click on a mouse now feature more useful information you can select, and tabs in File Explorer mean you don’t need multiple windows open that inevitably clutter your screen.

Other apps like Paint and Notepad have seen long-overdue makeovers thanks to Fluent Design, too. Everything looks and feels modern, and there’s also a Dark Mode that makes the updated legacy apps look fresh and new.

Windows 11 screenshot showing how little has changed in some menus — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

But it’s only when you go deeper that the similarities to Microsoft Windows 10 remain. For example, if you right-click in a folder and bring up the ‘Properties’ menu, you’ll find the same settings as before, but with rounded buttons and a new icon.

After a while it dawns on you: this is a reskin of Windows 10. While it’s a great step forward, more work needs to be done. Getting rid of the Ribbon interface in File Explorer and other built-in apps is a good start, as you now have ten icons on the toolbar instead of four tabs and countless settings found in Windows 10 and previous versions that used the Ribbon interface.

It’s one example of Windows 11 where it’s a great first step, there just needs to be a giant leap for more.

Screenshot showing Windows 11's widget menu — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Widgets make a return from Windows Vista, but are wedged in the sidebar, and don’t offer much in terms of productivity. Worse still, when adding new ones, the preview images are pixelated, and sometimes look as if they’re a weird mishmash of internet pop-ups from yesteryear.

The Start menu, however, is the star of the show. Since its 1995 debut in Windows 95, this iconic part of the operating system has slowly evolved, but in Windows 11, it’s been given a full refresh and is now front and center, and clicking the Windows icon will bring up several helpful sections: recommended files, pinned apps, and a button to show all installed apps.

Since Windows 11’s 2021 release, the Start menu has seen several improvements, such as enabling more apps to be shown, a new section for showing connected devices like your smartphone, and the ability to show apps in a grid. It builds on Microsoft’s overall theme of productivity, and despite some users wanting the Start menu of old, it feels like a natural progression from where it all started (pun intended) 30 years ago.

Ultimately, Fluent Design remains a solid upgrade from Windows 10's look. It even puts Apple’s latest macOS update, Tahoe, which has a divisive Liquid Glass design, to shame, as Apple's refresh currently fails on feel and lacks in function. As things stand with Windows 11, Fluent succeeds at both.

Microsoft Windows 11: Artificial Intelligence

Screenshot showing Windows 11's Copilot app — (Image credit: Future / Shutterstock)

2023 was a big year for Microsoft. It revealed Copilot, its AI platform that’s now tightly intergrated (and hard to ignore) across Windows 11. Much like rival tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthopic’s Claude, you can ask Copilot to rewrite your emails to sound more professional, generate images, remove subjects in existing photos, and much more.

Copilot is also everywhere in Microsoft 365’s Office suite, helping you create and manage spreadsheets, create reports from Teams meetings, and, according to Microsoft, saving you time to focus on other tasks within a project.

However impressive it may seem in 2025, AI has a long way to go before it can be considered a trusted, reliable tool. In our testing with Copilot, it got confused many times when looking through a document for grammar mistakes, and it generated a spreadsheet with too many errors to count.

As a virtual assistant, much like how Google Assistant, Siri, and even Microsoft's previous attempt, Cortana, work, it’s great for short queries. For accessibility, it’s useful as a screen reader in various Windows 11 apps, but it feels like there’s a missed opportunity with how AI can help Windows 11's accessibility features.

For now, it's best to use Copilot and AI as a whole as an experiment. It’s still far too early to judge just how useful AI will be in our day-to-day lives, and despite being everywhere in Windows 11, it still feels like a bit of a gimmick.

Screenshot showing Windows 11's Accessibility menu — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Microsoft Windows 11: Accessibility

To its credit, Microsoft has been laser-focused on making Windows and its devices as accessible as possible. In Windows 11, there are a large number of accessibility features that can help users, such as the magnifier tool that can make apps and files bigger, audio alerts for visually impaired users that can notify them when a message box appears, and much more.

However, as noted earlier, while accessibility and AI work together in the Windows 11 of 2025, it doesn't feel like Microsoft is fully taking advantage of the opportunities AI offers for accessibility.

Still, what is there for now is very helpful. AI-generated captioning for videos is great, as well as an AI-powered search that can let visually impaired users describe photos in detail. Narrator can now read out contextual descriptions, meaning objects, people, and more can be identified to help give users far more helpful context.

Essentially, you can customize Windows 11 to suit your needs if you have a hearing, motor, visual, or non-visual disability. But there’s a lot of scope for Microsoft to go further when it comes to AI and accessibility.

Windows 11 screenshot showing Start menu — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Microsoft Windows 11: Built-In apps

For years, a common theme in major Windows releases has been the feeling that built-in apps have been left to the wayside, but not so with Windows 11. Since its launch, we’ve seen improvements in apps like Paint, Clock, Snipping Tool, Notepad, Photos, and To-Do. All of these apps have been updated with the Fluent Design look, as well as features like tabs, dark mode, and Copilot integration, which will please anyone upgrading to Windows 11.

However, in 2025, some apps still look like they belong in Windows 10, such as Calculator and Weather, which have not received the upgrades that the other built-in apps have had.

When compared to macOS Tahoe, especially with its new Liquid Glass design, every app here looks fresh, albeit glitchy in places. But there’s far more cohesion in Apple’s OS, something that Microsoft should re-focus on.

Screenshot showing Windows 11's Notepad app — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

In addition to built-in apps getting a glow-up, some new apps have been added since Windows 11's launch. Windows Media Player returned in 2022, allowing you to play your music, watch videos, and create playlists, but classic visualizations (a key feature of the original app) are sadly absent.

Clipchamp is a lightweight video tool, introduced in 2022, which is great for editing short videos to post on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram. Phone Link also saw a major update in recent years, adding support for the best iPhones (alongside Android devices), letting your phone notifications show on your PC, reply to messages, make calls, and sync your photos. It’s a big advantage for those who own an iPhone and a Windows PC, making it far easier for these devices to talk to one another.

Overall, all of these apps look great in Windows 11, and it's good to see Microsoft revist some of the older apps that once felt like they had been abandoned. Combined with the ability to use Android devices and iPhones on a PC, Microsoft is building on its mantra of Windows as a service with these improvements to Windows 11 in 2025.

Screenshot showing the Microsoft Store in Windows 11 — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Microsoft Windows 11: Microsoft Store

A big highlight of Windows 11’s original release was the redesigned Microsoft Store. If you’re upgrading from Windows 10 due to its End of Life, this may be one of the biggest differences you’ll notice. Now redesigned, it’s become a more reliable place to download install all of your apps, like iTunes and ChatGPT, as well as games like Ninja Gaiden 4.

Everything looks clean and is easy to browse, with a helpful search bar placed at the top so you can always find the app you want. Recently, an ‘AI Hub’ was added to the sidebar, showcasing all the apps with AI features. It’s helpful, but it doesn’t add much to your productivity or creativity, to be honest.

With Apple launching its Mac App Store back in 2012, a lot of us have been waiting for Microsoft to offer something similar. Since 2021, the Microsoft Store has been updated and improved, and it’s now a great storefront in 2025 to easily find apps and games, making it straightforward for new users to download their apps quickly, all in one place.

Microsoft Windows 11: Other new features

Microsoft didn’t stop improving Windows 11 with Fluent Design, brand new apps, and a huge AI push with Copilot. There are new features scattered across the operating system that have been there since 2021, and subsequent updates have continued to bring new features.

Snap Groups can ‘snap’ windows to a section of the screen. This is more suited to touch-screen devices, but it works well regardless of whether you’re working with more than three apps at once.

Better multi-monitor support came to Windows 11 with its 2021 release, but there have been even more improvements since. A new taskbar on your second monitor will now appear, showing the time, date, and Notification Center, leaving more room for more apps on the main monitor. This is currently available as an optional update.

If you regularly send files over by email or a cloud service, you’ll likely be bundling them into compressed zip files. In Windows 11, other formats are available, like .7z and .RAR, which can result in better compression and smaller file sizes.

Even a smaller feature like scrolling the mouse wheel over the volume icon in the taskbar to control the level of sound is welcome in Windows 11. In addition, Virtual Desktops lets you change backgrounds and switch between app-filled screens instantly, as well as HDR support for compatible monitors and themes for the touchscreen keyboard.

As of October 2025, versions 24H2 and 25H2 have brought more refinements to Windows 11. This includes better Narration feautres, an AI Agent in the Settings app that lets you ask Copilot to enable or disable a feature, and the ability to pin favorite apps to the share window. Although these may sound minor, they add up to how you use Windows, and could benefit your productivity.

Windows 11 continues to evolve since its 2021 launch, and Microsoft is still bringing out new features and refining others, which is a welcome move.

Screenshot of Xbox app — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Microsoft Windows 11: Gaming

Previously, gaming on Windows using Microsoft's services could be a frustrating affair, from the Games on Windows Live debacle in Windows Vista to the barebones Xbox app in Windows 10. But Microsoft clearly wanted to have gaming as a tentpole feature in Windows 11, and it’s succeeded, as well as setting the foundations for its entry into the handheld market.

The Xbox app can let you chat to friends, add new ones, and create parties so you can play together in a bunch of games. These can be titles you own, to playing a game via the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. The app is well-made, which looks modern thanks to its green and blue aesthetic, and is tightly integrated with the games you play on your Xbox Series S/X console.

Screenshot showing the new Game bar in Windows 11 — (Image credit: Future / Microsoft)

Another aspect is Game Bar, which can be summoned by pressing both the Windows and G keys together. Initially just a helpful way to capture your gaming moments when Windows 11 launched, it’s been vastly improved upon since. Now, you have a helpful overview of how your PC is running via its own task manager, which lets you capture images and videos, and control the inputs and outputs of your audio devices.

In addition, Copilot can, according to Microsoft, help you progress through a game, as well as recommend new titles, but it’s a feature I feel is best left switched off for now. Otherwise, Game Bar is a very useful tool that can help when playing any game via the Xbox app or third-party storefronts like Steam and the Epic Games Store.

However, Microsoft is launching its first handheld in collaboration with Asus later this month, called the ROG Xbox Ally. Coming in two models, it’s powered by Windows 11, but it ships with a user interface called the ‘Xbox Full-Screen Experience’. Building off the Xbox app and Game Bar, it’s a clean way of browsing and playing your game library without having to use Windows 11's interface, which doesn't work well on small screens. It’s long overdue from Microsoft, especially as Valve has its rival SteamOS operating system on its Steam Deck handheld, which is also coming to other devices, like the Lenovo Legion Go S.

Although the ‘Xbox Full-Screen Experience’ isn’t available until a future Windows 11 update in 2026, time will tell how it will fare on Windows-powered devices like tablets and laptops.

Overall, though, Windows 11 is now in a strong position for gaming, especially for handhelds. Compared to how Apple has been slow to bring more games to its platform, Microsoft has been making it far easier for developers and players alike to play and manage titles in Windows 11, with more improvements coming.

Microsoft Windows 11: Final verdict

In our initial review of Windows 11, we mentioned how Fluent Design seemed like a reskin of Windows 10, but it was a good foundation to build the future of Windows on.

Five years since its debut, AI has become a huge part of not just Windows 11, but Microsoft’s entire ecosystem, with the company working on integrating Copilot into the operating system, as well as its pre-installed apps. The jury is still out on AI, but for accessibility and as a chatbot for minor tasks, it can be useful.

Microsoft has maintained a steady pace in updating Windows 11, adding tabs in File Explorer, the return of Windows Media Player, huge improvements to gaming with the Game Bar, and soon the ‘Xbox Full-Screen Experience’. It’s impressive that at this point, many were expecting Windows 12 to be here by now.

But, who needs Windows 12, if Windows 11 continues to evolve like this? Microsoft has followed Apple’s old mantra of keeping the version number the same, like Mac OS X, but brought in significant updates annually. It’s helped Windows 11 become more refined, more bug-free, and more innovative — to the point where it’s closing the gap with Apple.

In 2025, Windows 11 is a great operating system, and if you use a Windows-powered device that’s currently on Windows 10, it’s probably time to consider an upgrade and take advantage of what Windows 11 has to offer. As things stand, Windows 11 has earned its place as a new classic in Microsoft’s lineup, ready to embrace what AI and handheld gaming will offer in the future.

Here's how to download and install Windows 11

First reviewed February 2022, updated October 2025

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter scratched my JRPG itch in the best way, and is easily one of 2025’s greatest remakes

11:00 pm | October 12, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Gaming | Comments: Off

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a remake of the classic Japanese role-playing game (JRPG), The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, which was first released 21 years ago. Developer Nihon Falcom has modernized its 2004 title with full English voice acting, an overhauled combat system, and multiple quality of life improvements, bringing it to just about every modern platform you can imagine.

Review info

Platform reviewed: PS5
Available on: PS5, Nintendo Switch (physical and digital); Nintendo Switch 2, PC (digital only)
Release date: September 19, 2025

Now, I’ll put my cards on the table. I’m totally new to the Trails series. Sure, I predominantly play role-playing games (RPGs), but I simply hadn’t found the time to sink my teeth into it. But Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter appeared to be the ultimate entry point. Why? Firstly, it’s a remake of the very first part of the Trails story – but it's also got a smooth, up-to-date UI and graphics, making it very easy to get into for new players like me.

And after hours and hours exploring the Liberl Kingdom, I have to say, I’m so happy that I got the opportunity to dive into a Trails game. Yes, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a very apt remake, with addictive combat, an engaging plot, and brilliant visuals. Here’s a rundown of my experience with the game, and why I think it's among the best RPGs of 2025.

Brace yourself for an epic journey

Characters adventuring in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter — (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter follows the journey of Estelle Bright and her adopted brother, Joshua Bright, as they aim to track down their missing father and become Senior Bracers – essentially protectors of the peace.

As the tale unfolds, Estelle and Joshua find themselves embroiled in something much deeper than a simple search and rescue. I won’t spoil what’s to come, of course, but the game isn’t short on twists and turns. Although things take a while to get going – the opening is pretty lengthy – the narrative remains intriguing throughout. Cutscenes never feel overlong or convoluted, either, so rest assured, you’re in for an engaging adventure.

Estelle and Joshua make for interesting dual protagonists – Estelle is the explosive, fiery, energetic type, who’s all action. Meanwhile, Joshua appears more measured and introverted, resulting in some humorous conflicts, especially earlier on.

Best bit

Capture of battle in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter — (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

Without question, my favorite moment was defeating the boss in the game’s prologue – yes, really! I lost a fair few times here, which forced me to get a better understanding of the game’s combat and orbment system. After some learning, levelling, and restrategizing, I finally got my victory. If that’s not a good example of rewarding combat, I don’t know what is.

I will say that a few characters – Estelle included – do have that stereotypical over-the-top anime energy. This can be a little intense in moments, and may wear some players down, but it rarely bothered me, personally.

And the English voice acting is delivered to a high standard – every character’s personality is communicated with genuine passion and care. This adds so much texture to the various individuals you meet throughout the game, and it's a very welcome improvement from the 2004 original.

However, there are some segments – even in the main story – where scenes aren’t voice-acted, or bizarrely, only partially voice-acted. For instance, I encountered a non-player character (NPC) whose lines were voiced entirely, while those of Estelle, Joshua, and company were not. This resulted in a kind of awkward viewing experience, slightly reducing my immersion in the scene.

A Liberl dose of upgrades

Estelle Bright in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter — (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

It's not only voice acting that elevates the Trails in the Sky experience, though. Just about every other area has been significantly upgraded, making the game a lot more appealing than its original counterpart.

Perhaps the most obvious thing is that the visuals have received a major revamp. And I’m a huge fan of this new look.

Character models looked fantastic on the PS5 version of the game, environments are bursting with color, and elements such as shadows appear natural. That’s not to mention the fact that the game ran just about flawlessly for me, with a smooth frame rate and short loading screens throughout my playtime, even when fast-traveling or playing in the handy high-speed mode.

I massively appreciated the graphical quality here – especially when you consider that the original game used chibi-style sprites in combat and cutscenes, rather than fully fledged 3D models.

Something else I loved about this remake was its revamped original soundtrack. The music in Trails 1st Chapter is a beautiful mixture of funky, emotive, and invigorating, with almost every track complementing your battles or exploration down to a T. I also adore the fact that you can cycle between standard, arranged, or original background music – that sort of optionality is seriously commendable.

One more thing I want to shout out is the improved UI. I found the various menus in the game to be extremely easy to navigate through, whether I was equipping new gear, cooking up a new dish, or viewing my status. Everything about this game is silky smooth; it really is a joy to play.

The only aspect that I’d argue could’ve been improved would be the localization. There are some grammatical and translation errors littered throughout the text displayed throughout the game. I’ll admit that this is a small issue, especially as the voice acting is ultra-clean and the story has been faithfully re-created.

Chain…follow-up…I just can’t stop

Joshua Bright in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter — (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

I’ve been excited to discuss this game’s combat because it seriously impressed me. There are two ways to battle through Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter: quick battle, real-time action-based combat; and command battle, a turn-based, more slow-paced approach.

It’s great fun to dive headfirst into scuffs via quick battle. I had a blast slashing up my opponents, charging up almighty crafts, and weaving around incoming attacks. If you stun an enemy, you can even switch into command battle and fight with an advantage over your foes, making it easier to clean up normal encounters quickly and load up on exp.

Command battle is the default for boss and mini-boss encounters. Turn order is displayed on the side of the screen, and on each turn you can decide whether to: cast an art, like a healing or attack magic; leather your opponent with a craft – a strong physical attack; use an item, shield, or flee. You’ll also get the chance to follow up or chain attack your enemies for huge damage. It took me a while to get used to this system, but when I nailed down the right arts, I was able to withstand harsh strings of enemy attacks and then launch a deadly counter-offensive.

You’ll need to get used to the orbment and quartz system if you want to stand a chance against some bosses, too – there are some difficulty spikes that are punishing to say the least.

The orbment system essentially requires you to string a range of gems together in a specific pattern in order to unlock new arts. Some, like Earth Guard, proved almost necessary for me to get through some tough battles in the early game – if you’re struggling, I’d suggest re-evaluating your build-out in this department, as well as purchasing better gear at an in-game shop.

Orbment in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter — (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

If you’re still struggling after re-stratagizing, don’t fear! You can simply turn down the difficulty, which ranges from Very Easy all the way up to Nightmare. As an experienced RPG player, I went with Normal – but this was by no means without its challenges.

Yep, I got my fair share of kickings during my playthrough. Sometimes, I was left dumbfounded as to how I could possibly survive such high-damage attacks and whittle down some imposing health bars. But the orbment system really does encourage experimentation, and when you finally nail down the right strategy, victory is oh so satisfying.

Sure, the game is going to ask some tough questions of you – but it’s also going to give you the tools to find the right answers. And in the end? That makes for exceptionally satisfying gameplay.

As someone who was experiencing a Trails game for the first time, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this title. But truly, it blew my expectations out of the water. With a mixture of gorgeous graphics, addictive combat, a whimsical world, and a gripping plot, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is a top-class JRPG.

But not only that, it's also a top-class remake. There are just so many improvements – a new UI, battle mechanics, visual style…I could go on. And it rarely feels like Nihon Falcom takes any half-measures. There are some small localization errors and some offbeat partially-voiced segments, sure. And some may find the difficulty spikes to be intimidating.

Still, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is one of the best remakes of 2025, and one of the best JRPGs I’ve played this year, no question. If you’re a fan of the genre, this is an easy recommendation, and if you’ve ever wanted to get into the Trails series, now is the time to do it!

Should you play Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter?

Man with flowers singing with Estelle watching on in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter — (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

Play it if...

You want to get into the Trails series
As a remake of the first chapter in the Trails series, this is the ideal entry point for any new player. On top of that, the up-to-date visuals and user-friendly quality of life changes make this title highly accessible for modern players.

You want action-packed combat with a hint of turn-based goodness
We’ve seen a few games combine turn-based and action combat systems lately – think Metaphor: Refantazio, for example. And like Atlus’ masterpiece, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter does a great job of balancing action and strategy too. Mastering each battle type is highly satisfying, and the variation keeps battles fresh.

Don't play it if...

You’re not a massive fan of the ‘anime-inspired’ vibe
If you don’t really dig the anime-inspired tropes you’ll find in a lot of JRPGs, this title may not be to your tastes. Personally, I’m accustomed to this style, so it was no issue for me, but some may be turned off by aspects like the visual and comedic style of Trails.

You want something to play with a short runtime
As is the case with many JRPGs, Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter requires a fair time investment if you want to complete the main story and a good portion of side content. Sure, it’s not the 100-hour-plus epic you’ll experience with games like Persona 5 Royal, for instance, but if you want a quick game to dip into, this won’t be it.

Accessibility features

You can adjust the subtitle language to English, German, French, or Spanish, and select either English or Japanese voice acting. There are a number of ways to customize the camera’s behavior, too, such as normal or inverted configurations, camera movement speed, and camera distance.

On top of this, there are difficulty options, including a Very Easy mode if you just want to focus on the game’s story. Unfortunately, there is no colorblind mode.

How I reviewed Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter:

Estelle Bright watching a ship in the sky in Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter — (Image credit: Nihon Falcom, GungHo)

I spent more than 30 hours playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, predominantly focusing on the main story, but also picking up a few side quests here and there. I played the game on Normal difficulty throughout my time with it.

When playing Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter on PS5, I had my console connected up to the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and used the Samsung HW-Q800D soundbar. On occasion, I also dipped into the game via remote play on my Samsung Galaxy S24 FE, but this was pretty rare.

On a personal note, I’ve reviewed a variety of games here at TechRadar, including recent releases like Raidou Remastered: The Mystery of the Soulless Army and Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles. I'm also a life-long fan of JRPGs, with some of my favorite games including Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, Persona 3 Reload, and Final Fantasy VII (the original, of course).

First reviewed September-October 2025

WEFFORT’s Motorized Smart Shades are smooth and quiet, with plenty of options to ensure they suit your home

7:00 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Smart Home | Comments: Off

WEFFORT Smart Shades: one-minute review

WEFFORT offers a ton of different smart shade options, including roller, cellular, zebra, roman, sheer, outdoor, woven wood, drapes, and more. Within each category, you’ll find a variety of neutral colorways and differing degrees of light filtration/blocking. I ordered the 60% light-filtering Lattice Series Roman Shades in white for two identical windows in the same room.

You can choose to charge your blinds via a wall charger or a solar charger; I got one of each. You also choose your home’s ecosystem; I chose Apple’s HomeKit but it also works with Google, Amazon Alexa, Samsung, and several others. You can also get a remote control – either one-channel, five-channel, or 15-channel.

Installation initially went relatively smoothly, though the included screws are low quality and the threads will strip if you’re not careful. The major hiccup, however, was that one of the strings wasn’t wrapped around the motor correctly, so the blind would not lower all the way on one side. After some back-and-forth with customer service, who provided detailed instructions and videos, I was able to get it working properly.

Once that was done, the blinds worked like a dream. I set up an automation, so the blinds open each day at sunrise and close each day at sunset. I also utilized the remote control and Siri voice activation. They work exactly as expected.

WEFFORT Smart Shades - two of them, closed, with sunlight filtering through — (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

WEFFORT Smart Shades: price and availability

Starts relatively inexpensive
Order directly from site or Amazon
Gets fairly pricey with customizations

You can order WEFFORT Smart Shades from WEFFORT's website or from Amazon in the US. You'll be able to see all of your options more easily if you order directly from WEFFORT, though you might find some sale prices though Amazon.

The shades start at $119.99 USD (about £90 / AU$180). I ordered two shades for two pretty large identical windows. I selected the 60% light-filtering Lattice Series Roman Shades in white with a battery motor (as opposed to hard-wired) and measured for an outside mount. I added a five-channel remote control, solar charging panel, and chose the HomeKit Motor over Thread. All told, my total was $1,013.94 (about £750 / AU$540) for two shades.

Value score: 4/5

WEFFORT Smart Shades: design

Had some hiccups with installation
Shades look fine, if not luxurious
Smooth and quiet operation

You'll need a drill and the know-how to use it in order to install the blinds. Note that the included screws are not up to the quality of the rest of the kit; if you're not careful, you can strip them pretty easily. But the trickiest part was that one of the strings that control the blinds got out of place, which meant that one of the shades would not lower all the way. Eventually, with help from WEFFORT's customer service, I was able to fix the string and get the shades working correctly.

WEFFORT Smart Shades back view — (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

You can order the shades with whatever sort of smart home ecosystem you like, whether you prefer Apple HomeKit, Samsung, Google, Amazon Alexa, Homey, Hubitat, or something else. However, for this kind of customization, you'll want to order from WEFFORT directly. Custom orders on Amazon can be a bit tricky.

I set mine up with Apple's HomeKit, there was no need to download any other app to get this done. In addition to controlling the shades via HomeKit and Siri, they can also be controlled via remote control.

WEFFORT Smart Shades closeup of valance — (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

I ordered 60% light-filtering shades, and that's what I got. The light filters through pleasantly, but the harshest rays of summer middays are blocked when I want.

As for the aesthetics, well, these don't look or feel like super expensive shades. The fabric of the shades is more like plastic than anything. The string that raises and lowers the shades is very thin. The valance is functional-looking, not anything special. It all looks fine though; I don't need shades to look fancy, I need them to work. And they do work. Operation is smooth, quiet, and flawless.

Design score: 4/5

WEFFORT Smart Shades: performance

Set up with Apple, Amazon, Samsung, Google, and more
Control with your phone, your voice, or remote control
They just work

When you place your order, be sure to choose your motor type carefully. The Standard Motor uses just the remote control. The Zigbee motor works with Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings, Home Assistant, Hubitat and other Zigbee 3.0 Hubs. The Z-Wave motor can be used with Samsung SmartThings, Home Assistant, and Hubitat. The Matter motor works with Apple HomeKit, Amazon Alexa, Samsung, and Google. The HomeKit motor just works with the Apple ecosystem.

WEFFORT Smart Shades setup screenshots — (Image credit: Future)

I found the shades easy to set up with Apple's HomeKit without having to download any other apps. Once set up, you can tell Siri to open and close your blinds, or use the app to choose the exact percentage open you want them.

You can set up Scenes and Automations to have the blinds open and close when or under what circumstances you prefer. I like my blinds to open at sunrise and close at sunset; once I set that Automation I can forget about it and the blinds do just that.

WEFFORT Smart Shades looking up at motor — (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

As I mentioned earlier, I did have an issue with a twisted string at first. I'm not sure if the shades came that way or if that happened during installation. With the string twisted, the blinds would not fully lower. I did speak with customer service via email; they sent me instructions and videos until I was able to fix the issue. Since then, everything has worked flawlessly.

Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the WEFFORT Smart Shades?

WEFFORT Smart Shades score card
Attribute	Notes	Score
Value	They start out fairly cheap but get pricey with custom options	4/5
Design	More functional than fancy	4/5
Performance	Get through setup and these shades perform like a dream	4.5/5

Buy it if

You like many options for control

You can choose from a variety of motors so you can use just about any brand of smart home digital assistant. Or you can go old school and just use a remote control.

You want differing kinds of window coverings

WEFFORT offers a variety of smart shades, blinds, and drapes in various colors and light-filtering levels.

You want to set it and forget it

Set up Automations and Scenes so the blinds open and close at the time or in the specific situation you choose and you'll never have to think about them again.View Deal

Don't buy it if

You're looking for a bargain

You can get some basic shades pretty inexpensively, but once you go up in size and add upgrades, the price climbs quickly.

You want a no-brainer setup

You'll need to be handy with a drill and have a little techy know-how. I initially had a twisted string that didn't allow full closure, but worked through it.

You need easy removal

These do get drilled into the wall, so they may not be ideal for renters.View Deal

WEFFORT Smart Shades: also consider

Want some other, similar options to check out? Here are a couple of TechRadar favorites to consider.

SmartWings Smart Blinds

These are fairly similar to WEFFORT blinds, but maybe you'll see some different options you like more here. Read our SmartWings Smart Blinds review to find out.View Deal

GrayWind Smart Blinds

GrayWind and WEFFORT are sister companies, and I found them to be fairly similar. Again, you may find some different options here, so it could be worth checking out. Here's our GrayWind Smart Blinds review.View Deal

SwitchBot Blind Tilt

This renter-friendly, budget-friendly option attaches to your existing blinds and doesn't even require a drill. Read our SwitchBot Blind Tilt review to learn more.View Deal

How I tested the WEFFORT Smart Shades

I installed the WEFFORT Smart Shades on two different windows in my dining room and tested them over two weeks. I opened and closed them a variety of ways, including using the remote control, the HomeKit App on my iPhone, and voice commands to Siri. I also set up an Automation to open the shades at sunrise and close them at sunset.

For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed October 2025

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A variety of images showing WEFFORT Smart Shades — (Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

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I tested the Freewell Real Locking filter kit, and now it’s my go-to filter system for photography and video

4:00 pm | October 11, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Camera Accessories Cameras Computers Gadgets | Comments: Off

Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit: two-minute review

Filters are an essential element of photography and video because, for the most part, they allow you to control exposure. Whether you’re aiming to manipulate shutter speed or to shoot at wider apertures than should be possible, filters are the way to achieve the desired results.

The Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit is a comprehensive filter kit built around a variable ND/polarizer and an ND32 filter, with a couple of video haze filters thrown in for good measure. This is a stackable kit, allowing you to combine multiple filters as required. Where this kit differs from others is in how the filters clip together and to the adaptor ring, rather than being magnetic.

Freewell rightly says clip attaching is a more secure system than magnetic, and results in less accidental adjustment of the variable ND. The only negatives to the system are that it’s not quite as convenient as magnetic systems, and you have to make sure the filter being attached is secure.

There are two Real Locking VND/CPL kits available: the Mega Kit and the All Day kit. I tested the Mega Kit, shooting both photos and videos to see how the kit as a whole and the individual filters perform. First, you have the base ring, and these are available from 49mm to 82mm with a lens cap that can be used with the ring left in place on the lens if desired. The filters are 82mm, so the adaptor rings step down, allowing you to use them across multiple lenses.

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Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit — (Image credit: James Abbott)

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You can use the Mist filters, ND32 or any of the other separately available filters individually on the Base Ring. The variable ND is paired up with the polarizing filter, and using the two together works surprisingly well. To adjust the polarizing effect, you have to rotate the entire filter by releasing the rubber locking grips and turning it until the desired effect is reached. Then, to adjust the variable ND, you simply move the marker to the desired strength, which ranges from three to seven stops.

The kit also comes with an ND32 filter, which features a five-stop light-reducing density. This can be used in isolation or paired with the VND for up to a 12-stop light blocking density, so a couple of stops over a Big Stopper. With the VND at up to seven stops, there’s no color cast visible in photos, although there is a tiny hint of red or magenta when the ND32 is also attached.

When I say minor, I do mean minor – the color cast is only just visible to the color-trained eye, and this can be easily removed in editing software. When the ND32 is used in isolation, there is a slight cast that looks a little red, minimal again, like when stacked with the VND.

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The ND filters are great for video, offering the ability to quickly control exposure while maintaining the correct shutter speed for capturing movement – the 180-degree rule. For landscape photography, you can extend exposure times to smooth water and blur clouds, while the filters also make it possible to shoot at larger apertures in bright conditions.

There’s no specific information about the glass construction of the filters, but you can see that they are coated, and image quality when using them is excellent. Color rendition is also excellent, with only the extremely minor aforementioned color cast issue. The two mist filters also work well and do what they’re claimed to do.

The Glow Mist 1/4 Filter blooms highlights slightly, smooths contrast and adds a cinematic haze without losing sharpness. With this filter, the haze spreads into midtones. In the examples below, you’ll see the sun star of the filter-free version remains, but with a bloom in the centre.

The Snow Mist 1/4 filter blooms highlights more than the Glow Mist 1/4 Filter and also smooths contrast, but with less spread into the midtones. This filter has completely bloomed the sun star into a circular highlight. Both of these filters can be used for all types of photography to apply cinematic haze effects, alongside being used for video capture.

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Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit filter example photo — No filter (Image credit: James Abbott)

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Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit filter example photos — VND at 7-stops and the ND32 (12-stops) (Image credit: James Abbott)

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My only minor gripe with the Mega Kit is that when the ND32 and two Mist filters are inserted into the smart leatherette Filters Case with a magnetic clasp, the middle and rear filters are a bit tight when removing them from the case. The case is, however, well-made and stores the entire kit away safely.

The lens caps have NFC built in, which takes you to the freewell website ‘Hub’ for tutorials, user guides and other stuff. It’s a bit of a gimmick and possibly unnecessary, but it’s certainly an innovative and unique feature.

The rear cap, which attaches to the VND/CPL, has a built-in gray card and white balance for color calibration. This, I have to say, is extremely useful, especially for video capture, where you can ensure color consistency when shooting without filters and with filters at different strengths.

Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit: key specs

Filter slots	Stackable
Adaptor rings	82mm included (49mm to 82mm available separately)
Polarizing filter	Built into VND
Case included	Yes
Lens cap	Yes

Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit price and availability

There are two Real Locking VND/CPL kits available: the Mega Kit and the All Day kit. These are available now at Amazon and the Freewell website. The All Day Kit is available for $250 at Amazon US and includes the VND3-7/CPL Base, an ND32, an 82mm Base Ring, an NFC Front Lens Cap, a White Balance Back Cap, a Filters Case and a Cleaning Cloth for. The same All Day kit costs £227.43 at Amazon in the UK. Australia price TBC.

The Mega Kit includes all of the above, plus a Snow Mist 1/4 and a Glow Mist 1/4. This kit costs $350 and pricing for both is in USD on the Freewell website, meaning if you live outside the US you'll need to check the exact cost in your own currency at the time of purchase.

The kits aren’t cheap, but they’re priced similarly to magnetic filter kits. Other filters can be purchased separately, as well as additional Base Rings, which come with corresponding NFC Front Lens Caps.

Should I buy the Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit?

NiSi V7 with True Color NC CPL front view attached to a lens with a filter attached — (Image credit: James Abbott)

Buy it if...

You require convenience

This is a comprehensive stackable filter solution that can be used with a wide range of lenses.

You’d like portability

You would like a compact and lightweight filter system for photography and video capture.

Don't buy it if...

You need ND grads

If you’d like to use ND graduated filters to control sky exposure, you’ll need a square filter system.

You only need a VND

If you only need a variable ND filter, a simple VND will be a more appropriate and less expensive option.

How I tested the Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit

Used for photo and video capture
Filters tested individually and stacked
Tested in differing light conditions

I tested the Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit over a couple of weeks and used for a variety of photography and video shoots using different lenses with 82mm and 77mm filter threads. I used filters individually and stacked as required to assess performance in a range of configurations.

I also tested the filters in different light conditions to check their effectiveness in regard to the manufacturer's claims, as well as how the effects of the Mist filters work in different situations.

First reviewed October 2025

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Should you play Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter?

Play it if...

Don't play it if...

Accessibility features

How I reviewed Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter:

WEFFORT Smart Shades: one-minute review

WEFFORT Smart Shades: price and availability

WEFFORT Smart Shades: design

WEFFORT Smart Shades: performance

Should you buy the WEFFORT Smart Shades?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

WEFFORT Smart Shades: also consider

How I tested the WEFFORT Smart Shades

Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit: two-minute review

Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit: key specs

Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit price and availability

Should I buy the Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested the Freewell Real Locking VND/CPL Mega Kit

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