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The Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro takes on the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro with comparable power, incredible battery life, and a much cheaper price tag
6:25 pm | August 8, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Phones | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro: Two-minute review

If the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro is too much of an investment for you, there are cheaper ways to get your mobile gaming kicks. The Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro offers a comparable gaming experience for literally half the price.

As the first phone to run on Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version chipset, paired with a bolstered cooling system, the Red Magic 10S Pro can technically outperform any other phone on the market, even if that fact doesn’t particularly manifest itself in general use.

The phone also features a fine 6.85-inch 144Hz AMOLED display offering a blissfully unimpeded view of the action – though you’ll pay for that with terrible selfie pictures.

Indeed, Nubia’s phone continues to be suboptimal for those who don’t prioritize gaming above all else. Its camera system is fine, but not competitive with the best midrange smartphones. Meanwhile, its design, while nice and flat, is big and heavy, with a gamer aesthetic that remains an acquired taste.

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)

In a similar vein, Nubia’s UI remains a little on the clumsy side, with ugly icons and too much bloatware. With that said, its gamer-focused features are as potent as ever, and the company’s software update promise has taken a big step forward – especially in the EU.

The phone’s level of stamina is truly outstanding, thanks to the inclusion of a huge 7,050mAh battery. This thing could conceivably get you through two days or even more, at least when you’re not indulging in those epic gaming sessions. You’ll be able to get up to speed nice and quickly, too, with an 80W charger included in the box, though you’ll have to make do without wireless charging.

The Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro remains a very specific tool for a very specific job. As impressive a value proposition as it is, we wouldn’t dream of recommending it to anyone who isn’t intent on doing a serious amount of gaming on the go. Most flagship or even midrange phones will probably be a better pick for most people on balance.

For that narrow slice of mobile gamers, however, Nubia’s top gaming phone offers the best bang-to-buck ratio out there.

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: price and availability

  • Released on June 17
  • Priced from $699 / £579 / AU$649

The Red Magic 10S Pro hit shelves on June 18, 2025, with prices starting at $699 / £579 / AU$649 for the matte black Nightfall model, which comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The model tested here is the midrange option with 16GB/512GB, which will set you back $849 / £709 / AU$799

The range-topping 24GB/1TB model costs $999 / £879 / AU$999.

As always with Nubia’s gaming phone range, this represents excellent value for the level of raw performance you’re getting here. Our pick for the best gaming phone on the market, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro, costs $1,199 / £1,099.99 / AU$1,999.

  • Value score: 5 / 5

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: specs

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro specs

Dimensions:

163 x 76 x 9mm

Weight:

229g

Display:

6.85-inch Full HD+ (1216 x 2688) up to 144Hz BOE AMOLED

Chipset:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version

RAM:

12GB / 16GB / 24GB (LPDDR5X)

Storage:

256GB / 512GB / 1TB (UFS 4.1)

OS:

Android 15

Primary camera:

50MP Samsung OV50E 1/1.55-inch sensor w/ OIS

Ultra-wide camera:

50MP Samsung OV50D 1/2.88-inch sensor

Macro camera

2MP

Front Camera:

16MP under-display

Battery:

7,050mAh

Charging:

80W wired

Colors:

Nightfall, Dusk, Moonlight

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: design

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)
  • Toughened glass and aviation aluminum middle frame
  • Completely flat with no camera bump
  • 520Hz capacitive shoulder trigger buttons
  • Dedicated gaming mode switch

Suggesting that the Red Magic 10S Pro sports a similar design to the Red Magic 10 Pro is underselling things somewhat.

They’re identical to look at and hold, barring a couple of very minor cosmetic touches: a subtle chevron finish rather than a dappled one; a Red Magic logo switching to a different side; a new ‘Leading Version’ decal reflecting the new chip type, and so on.

This is another large, flat, straight-sided phone measuring 163 x 76 x 9mm and weighing 229g. Once again, it features an “aviation aluminum” frame with toughened glass to the front and back. And, once again, perhaps the most pleasing element of this is the total lack of a sticky-outy camera module.

The aesthetic is the same, too, with a slightly cheap-looking semi-transparent effect that shows you elements of the phone’s internal workings – or at least, elements that broadly represent the internal components.

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)
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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)

Nubia still hasn’t managed to bolster the water and dust resistance rating beyond IP54, likely thanks to the continued presence of whopping great vents on either side of the phone. These facilitate the phone’s physical cooling fan, which kicks in during gaming and charging, and which is highlighted by several RGB lighting elements.

The right edge of the Red Magic 10S Pro is particularly busy. Besides the aforementioned cooling vent, it also houses a volume rocker, a circular power button, and three extra gaming-oriented controls.

There’s a pair of capacitive 520Hz buttons that can be mapped to game controls – particularly handy in competitive shooters like Call of Duty: Mobile and Delta Force. You also get a physical Gamespace switch here, which instantly brings up Nubia’s gaming UI.

Another gaming-oriented inclusion is a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top edge. This negates the issue of audio lag, which even high-end wireless headphones will struggle with, to varying degrees.

The Red Magic 10S Pro, like its predecessors, sports a striking all-screen design with extremely small display bezels and an under-display selfie camera, producing a high 95.3% screen-to-body ratio. This doesn’t leave room for dual front-firing speakers, which means you can cover the speaker on the bottom edge with your hand.

In terms of sound output, you’re looking at speakers that get plenty loud and offer decent stereo separation, but which are somewhat piercing and lacking in low-end depth – certainly compared to many flagship phones.

  • Design score: 3.5 / 5

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: display

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)
  • 6.85-inch OLED
  • 1216 x 2688 ‘1.5K’ resolution
  • 144Hz refresh rate
  • 2000 nits peak brightness

After changing things up with the Red Magic 10 Pro, Nubia has gone with the exact same display for the 10S Pro. This is a large 6.85-inch OLED with a nicely balanced ‘1.5K’ resolution, which works out to 2,688 x 1,216.

This also produces a 144Hz maximum refresh rate. The list of games that can actually support such fluidity is pretty slender, but it’s one of the few use case scenarios for such a spec. The Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro has it beat at 185Hz, but then, you’re paying double the money for such diminishing returns.

In peak HDR scenarios, this display is capable of hitting 2,000 nits, though in general use, you won’t get anywhere near that mark. It’s bright enough for clear outdoor usage, however.

As we’ve already discussed, the Red Magic 10S Pro Display is notable for being completely unhindered by a selfie notch. Experiencing video and gaming content in such an unobstructed way feels good, and you might question why more phones don’t take such an approach.

The answer to that question is very simple indeed, but we’ll leave off answering it until the camera section.

  • Display score: 4 / 5

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: cameras

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)
  • 50MP main with OIS
  • 50MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro
  • 16MP in-display selfie camera still terrible
  • Up to 8K/30fps video

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that the camera system here is identical to that of the Red Magic 10 Pro.

There’s the same 50MP 1/1.55" OmniVision OV50E main sensor with OIS and a 7P lens. This is accompanied by a 50MP 1/2.88" OV50D ultra-wide, and an all-but-pointless 2MP macro sensor. There is no dedicated telephoto camera.

You also get the same 16MP in-display front camera.

There’s an unspoken deal you strike with every gaming phone manufacturer: they will give you an extremely fast phone with a level of sustained performance and stamina well in excess of your average flagship phone. In return, you will give up any expectations of taking really good photographs.

That holds as true with the Red Magic 10S Pro as it did with its predecessors (for the record, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro takes decent shots, though it’s well short of the very best camera phones). This is a competent mid-range performer, though you could spend about £100 less on the Google Pixel 9a and have a much better time if photography is your priority.

With that main sensor, shots look sharp and contrasty in good lighting, if a little over-processed and unnaturally vibrant. Night shots look nice and clear, though again, there’s a slightly false note to the level of brightness.

Ultra-wide shots take a notable hit to quality, with a drabber, flatter look compared to the main sensor. This can occasionally work in its favor, producing more natural-looking shots, but in general, the disparity is just distracting.

Zoomed shots all crop in on that main sensor, but they’re not worth using beyond 2x. Even at 4x, the drop-off in detail is stark.

It’s a familiar story by now, but the decision to go with an in-display front camera results in flat-out terrible selfies, lacking in detail and contrast. Nubia claims that the AI algorithm has been upgraded here, and I suppose if I were being charitable, I’d concede that the selfies I took were the best I’ve seen from a Red Magic phone.

But you have to understand that this is a very low bar indeed, and almost any affordable phone released in 2025 should be able to top it in the selfie stakes.

Nubia is one of those manufacturers that implements a couple of annoying settings straight out of the box. One is an inexplicable watermark (as you can see in some of my sample images), while another is an obnoxious beautifying mode for selfies. You can turn both off easily enough, but it should really be this way out of the box.

Video recording is very solid here, with Nubia putting that flagship chip to good use in supporting 8K recording at 30fps or – more practically – 4K at 60fps. Footage shot using the latter configuration was nice and smooth, courtesy of that OIS.

  • Camera score: 3 / 5

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro camera samples

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Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: performance

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)
  • Souped-up Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version
  • 12GB, 16GB, or 24GB of LPDDR5X RAM
  • 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of UFS 4.1 storage
  • Sustained performance takes a step back, though average performance is still better

The one component that explains and even justifies the Red Magic 10S Pro’s existence is the move to a new chip. Kind of.

In fact, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version found here is merely an overclocked version of the chip from the Red Magic 10 Pro – and most other 2025 flagship phones, for that matter.

Nubia claims that it supplies a 30% power boost, with the CPU clock speeds moving up from 4.32GHz to 4.47GHz and the GPU from 1,100MHz to 1,200MHz. The NPU, meanwhile, provides an AI performance boost of 40%.

This is supported by a bolstered Liquid Metal 2.0 cooling system, which rejigs things for a 5°C reduction in temperature compared to the 10 Pro.

None of this is noticeable in day-to-day performance, nor even when gaming. There’s a very simple reason for that: the Snapdragon 8 Elite was already more than enough to handle the very best games that the Google Play Store has to offer.

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)

Graphically advanced games such as GRID Legends already run fabulously on the Red Magic 10 Pro, while you can blast opponents on Call of Duty: Mobile at high frame rates and graphical settings.

Indeed, even using our usual suite of benchmark tests, the Red Magic 10S Pro performed no better than its predecessor. That still positions it as one of the fastest phones on the market, of course, but know that the main advantage to buying this phone is performance headroom.

Sustained performance was unimpeachable on the Red Magic 10 Pro, and it seems Nubia hasn’t quite managed to maintain such a high level here. A score of 84.8% in 3D Mark's Solar Bay Stress Test falls 15% short of its predecessor, suggesting that it can’t quite maintain peak performance across an intensive 20-minute workout.

However, it’s worth digging deeper into the figures here. A peak loop score of 12568 is quite a bit higher than the Red Magic 10 Pro’s 10032. Indeed, the 10S Pro could beat that with its lowest loop score of 10654. In other words, the Red Magic 10S Pro can’t stay at its maximum level as long as the 10 Pro, but its output is still better at any given moment.

Needless to say, general navigation and day-to-day use don’t pose a problem for the Red Magic 10S Pro. Especially not with the 16 GB of RAM that my test model comes bundled with.

  • Performance score: 5 / 5

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: software

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)
  • Red Magic OS 10.5 on Android 15
  • UI is ugly but solid enough
  • Dedicated Game Space gaming UI
  • Up to 5 years of OS and security updates

In keeping with the Red Magic 10S Pro’s half-step nature, it ships with Red Magic OS 10.5. It’s much the same as Red Magic OS 10 in the previous model, sitting atop the same Android 15 operating system.

That’s not necessarily a positive, as Nubia’s UI still needs a lot of work. It’s a fairly clunky experience, with ugly icons and wallpapers, and an unnecessarily huge fan widget. Nubia’s Google Feed replacement to the left of the Home Screen continues to be a tacky collection of random news stories and apps.

While it’s a lot less buggy and janky than it used to be, there are still some rough edges. On my test model, that manifested itself most obviously with a pair of app icons on the second Home Screen mysteriously labelled ‘Unknown’.

I’m not sure why, but I was required to dive into Gmail’s Settings just to make this default email app sync up.

Bloatware is still an issue, too. Even deselecting all the terrible games at the set-up phase doesn’t clean things up completely. Rather hilariously, there are two dedicated folders filled with download prompts for said unwanted apps.

TikTok, Facebook, MoboReader, MoboReals, WPS Office, and Booking.com are all there at set-up, whether you like it or not.

With all that said, Red Magic OS 10.5 runs snappily, and Nubia's Game Space game management UI remains a comprehensive way to organize and manage your gaming. Flip that switch, and you’ll enter a landscape interface that lets you tweak performance, screen sensitivity, screen ratios, and individual game plug-ins that verge on the cheat-y.

Google Gemini is pre-installed, alongside some now fairly standard AI tools for photo search, image editing, real-time translation, and the like. Circle to Search is also here.

Ongoing support continues to fall behind the best, but is now much improved over the Red Magic 10 Pro. There are now three years of OS and security updates in the global and US models, and five years in the UK and EU models.

  • Software score: 3.5 / 5

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: battery life

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro product shots

(Image credit: Future)
  • 7,050mAh battery
  • Multi-day usage
  • 80W wired charging

Nubia really stepped things up with the Red Magic 10 Pro, squeezing in a huge 7,050mAh battery. The 10S Pro has the same, and it remains one of the biggest cells on the market.

With this battery on board, I was able to blast through two days of moderate usage, and even well into a third before I felt compelled to plug it in.

When the phone finally did run out of juice entirely, the bundled 80W charger got me back up to 72% in just 30 minutes. A full charge took me 45 minutes, which isn’t too shabby at all given the battery’s capacity.

There’s no wireless charging here, which we’ve come to expect from Nubia’s gaming sub-brand. That’s not to say it should be let off the hook entirely – the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro includes a wireless charging provision – but it’s an understandable omission in the name of prioritizing gaming-friendly features on a strict budget.

Indeed, it’s probably a more apt criticism to note that there’s no secondary USB-C port on the long edge, which makes charging while gaming so much more viable in the ROG.

  • Battery score: 5 / 5

Should I buy the Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro?

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro score card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Design

It’s big and unwieldy, and the gamer aesthetic grows a little tiresome, but it’s also nice and flat.

3.5 / 5

Display

This screen is big, sharp, fluid, and it gets reasonably bright. It’s also unobstructed by a bothersome notch.

4 / 5

Performance

As the first phone to feature the Snapdragon 8 Elite Leading Version, this is one of the very fastest phones around.

4.5 / 5

Camera

It’ll take solid pictures in good lighting, but you don’t buy a gaming phone if you’re seriously interested in great photos.

3 / 5

Battery

This phone has one of the largest batteries around, and it’s good for multi-day use.

5 / 5

Software

Nubia's custom UI is reasonably fast and fluid these days, but it’s still ugly and cluttered.

3 / 5

Value

You simply won’t find this level of performance at this price anywhere else on the market.

5 / 5

Buy it if...

You're a gamer who doesn’t have cash to burn
The Red Magic 10S Pro offers top-level gaming performance, but it costs about half the price of our favorite gaming phone, the Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro.

You’re anti-notch
Sick of display notches spoiling the view? The Red Magic 10S Pro doesn’t have one.

You want the biggest battery possible
At 7,050mAh, the Red Magic 10S Pro's battery is the biggest on the market.

Don't buy it if...

You like selfies
That in-display front camera might look cool, but it takes truly terrible selfies.

Subtlety and style matter to you
Nubia’s design language is big, brash, and slightly tacky.

You prefer a clean UI
Red Magic OS is ugly, cluttered, and a little glitchy.

Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro review: also consider

The Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro is a great-value gaming phone, but there are some excellent alternatives if you want to spend more or less.

Nubia Red Magic 10 Pro
The previous model should be available at a lower price right now, despite being only six months older and broadly as capable.

Read our full Nubia Red Magic 10 Pro review

Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro
This step-up option gives you similar gaming performance, but a lot of quality-of-life features on top – albeit at a much higher price.

Read our full Asus ROG Phone 9 Pro review

How I tested the Nubia Red Magic 10S Pro

  • Review test period = 1 week
  • Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, gaming, streaming video, music playback
  • Tools used = Geekbench 6, GFXBench, 3DMark, native Android stats, bundled Nubia 80W power adapter

First reviewed: June 2025

I’ve been reviewing Dell XPS laptops for half a decade, and the Dell 14 Premium is as close as they’ve ever come to dethroning the MacBook Pro
5:49 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Laptops Windows Laptops | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Dell 14 Premium: One-minute review

The Dell 14 Premium is finally here, and it is definitely worth the wait.

The 14 Premium is the latest Dell laptop to launch as part of its rebranding, replacing the fan-favorite Dell XPS lineup of laptops, which ranked among the best laptops year after year for as long as I've been reviewing laptops for TechRadar.

Like the Dell 16 Premium, the Dell 14 Premium essentially carries on the XPS formula with little changed beyond the branding, but that's not a bad thing at all. The Dell XPS 14 (2024) was one of the best Dell laptops I've ever reviewed, and the 14 Premium is even better still.

Starting at $1,499.99 / £1,499 / AU$2,798.40, the 14 Premium matches the starting price of the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4) that it is competing with, though the 14 Premium does max out a bit cheaper than the MacBook Pro 14.

Obviously, you won't get the same kind of performance from the base-spec 14 Premium as you do if you go the discrete graphics, non-OLED route, which starts at $1,999.99 / £1,999 / AU$$3,297.8. Content creators, or those who want one of the best displays you're going to find on a laptop right now, will want to check out the RTX 4050/OLED configurations, which start at $2,199.99 / £2,199 / AU$3,598.10.

The Dell 14 Premium is on sale right now, with configurations starting as low as $1,499.99 in the US, with higher-tier configurations marked down more than $250 at Dell's website.View Deal

If performance is what you're after, the Dell 14 Premium beats out the MacBook Pro 14-inch, overall, in my testing, but it's not a total knockout. Given the performance I've seen from the MacBook Pro 14-inch base-spec, the 14 Premium really can't keep up on the low-end, and those looking to keep things within a tighter budget will likely be better off with a MacBook Pro (as much as it pains me to say it as a diehard Windows user).

If you're looking for high-end performance, however, the MacBook Pro 14-inch's M4 just can't keep up with the 14 Premium's RTX 4050 discrete graphics. It makes a huge difference in some workloads, like 3D modeling, and especially when it comes to gaming.

One other thing the 14 Premium has over the MacBook Pro 14-inch is the option for an OLED display, which looks gorgeous. The rest of the laptop is solid and has a much more premium feel to it than the 14 Plus, but there are some design quirks that keep it from truly laying out its competition on the mat.

While the discrete graphics and OLED upgrades do push the price considerably higher, there's no question that the upgrade is worth it, especially the upgrade to the RTX 4050 GPU, which unlocks a lot of power necessary for high-end applications.

This, of course, considerably impacts the device's battery life, dragging it down below nine hours in my testing. But for a laptop this compact with a high-end display and discrete graphics, it's definitely a worthwhile compromise.

So, bottom line: does the Dell 14 Premium defeat the current MacBook Pro 14-inch with M4? Yes, but it's down to the judges rather than a KO, and so your mileage may vary depending on your needs and budget. If you're going with high-end specs, the Dell 14 Premium is probably the best Windows laptop going right now, but if you're not going to go with the RTX 4050 GPU, the MacBook Pro 14-inch is probably the better bet for those looking to stay on budget.

Dell 14 Premium: Price & availability

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
  • How much does it cost? Starts at $1,499.99 / £1,499 / AU$2,798.40
  • When is it available? It's available now
  • Where can you get it? You can buy it in the US, UK, and Australia through Dell’s website and other retailers.

The Dell 14 Premium is available now in the US, UK, and Australia, starting at $1,499.99 / £1,499 / AU$2,798.40, respectively.

This puts it in line with the starting price of the MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4), and is roughly in line with where the XPS 14 (2024) launched last year, though the 14 Premium is cheaper to start in the UK and Australia than its predecessor.

Given its premium status, this isn't really that bad a price for a laptop like this, and its high-end configurations are cheaper than a comparable MacBook Pro 14-inch, which definitely can't be overlooked. Still, it's expensive, especially in an era where everyone is a bit less free with their spending than they were even a year ago.

  • Value: 4 / 5

Dell 14 Premium: Specs

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
  • Up to RTX 4050 GPU
  • Wi-Fi 7
  • Only Thunderbolt 4

The specs for the Dell 14 Premium are pretty much identical to the Dell XPS 14 that preceded it, with some important differences.

This is not an Intel Lunar Lake laptop; it's an Arrow Lake H laptop, so while the processor model numbers might look very similar, they are two different architectures.

This allows the Intel Core Ultra 255H chip to be paired with an Nvidia RTX 4050 GPU, something last year's model wasn't capable of due to the limitations of the Lunar Lake chip design.

The 14 Premium is also configured with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity, though it only has Thunderbolt 4 ports rather than the newer Thunderbolt 5 that the top-spec Dell 16 Premium has.

Dell 14 Premium Base Specs

US

UK

Australia

Price

$1,499.99 at Dell.com

£1,499 at Dell.com

AU$2,798.40 at Dell.com

CPU

Intel Core Ultra 7 255H

Intel Core Ultra 7 255H

Intel Core Ultra 7 255H

GPU

Integrated Intel Arc 140T

Integrated Intel Arc 140T

Integrated Intel Arc 140T

Memory

16GB LPDDR5x - 7467MT/s

16GB LPDDR5x - 7467MT/s

16GB LPDDR5x - 7467MT/s

Storage

512GB PCIe NVMe

512GB PCIe NVMe

512GB PCIe NVMe

Display

14.5-inch non-touch 2K IPS 120Hz

14.5-inch non-touch 2K IPS 120Hz

14.5-inch non-touch 2K IPS 120Hz

Ports

1 x 3.5mm combo jack, 3 x Thunderbolt 4 Gen 2 (DP 2.1, Power Delivery), 1 x microSDXC 7.1

1 x 3.5mm combo jack, 3 x Thunderbolt 4 Gen 2 (DP 2.1, Power Delivery), 1 x microSDXC 7.1

1 x 3.5mm combo jack, 3 x Thunderbolt 4 Gen 2 (DP 2.1, Power Delivery), 1 x microSDXC 7.1

Battery

69.5WHr

69.5WHr

69.5WHr

Wireless

Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4

Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4

Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4

Camera

1080p IR camera

1080p IR camera

1080p IR camera

Weight

3.66 lbs | 1.66kg

3.66 lbs | 1.66kg

3.66 lbs | 1.66kg

Dimensions

12.6 x 8.5 x 0.71 ins | 320 x 215.97 x 18mm

12.6 x 8.5 x 0.71 ins | 320 x 215.97 x 18mm

12.6 x 8.5 x 0.71 ins | 320 x 215.97 x 18mm

The base specs are fairly modest, though you do start out with at least 16GB LPDDR5x RAM and a 512GB SSD, which is necessary if you're planning on using Windows 11's Copilot+ AI features. There's also no difference in starting configuration between the US, UK, and Australia.

Dell 14 Premium Top Specs

US

UK

Australia

Price

$2,399.99 at Dell.com

£2,364.59 at Dell.com

AU$4,207.50 at Dell.com

CPU

Intel Core Ultra 7 255H

Intel Core Ultra 7 265H

Intel Core Ultra 7 255H

GPU

Nvidia RTX 4050

Nvidia RTX 4050

Nvidia RTX 4050

Memory

32GB LPDDR5x - 8400MT/s

32GB LPDDR5x - 8400MT/s

32GB LPDDR5x - 8400MT/s

Storage

2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe

2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe

2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe

Display

14.5-inch Touch 3.2K OLED, 400 nit, 120Hz

14.5-inch Touch 3.2K OLED, 400 nit, 120Hz

14.5-inch Touch 3.2K OLED, 400 nit, 120Hz

Ports

1 x 3.5mm combo jack, 3 x Thunderbolt 5, 1 x microSDXC 7.1

1 x 3.5mm combo jack, 3 x Thunderbolt 4 Gen 2 (DP 2.1, Power Delivery), 1 x microSDXC 7.1

1 x 3.5mm combo jack, 3 x Thunderbolt 4 Gen 2 (DP 2.1, Power Delivery), 1 x microSDXC 7.1

Battery

69.5WHr

69.5WHr

69.5WHr

Wireless

Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4

Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4

Wi-Fi 7, BT 5.4

Camera

1080p IR camera

1080p IR camera

1080p IR camera

Weight

3.79 lbs | 1.72kg

3.79 lbs | 1.72kg

3.79 lbs | 1.72kg

Dimensions

12.6 x 8.5 x 0.71 ins | 320 x 215.97 x 18mm

12.6 x 8.5 x 0.71 ins | 320 x 215.97 x 18mm

12.6 x 8.5 x 0.71 ins | 320 x 215.97 x 18mm

On the top-end, the Dell 14 Premium configurations are nearly identical, save that in the UK, you can opt for a slightly more powerful Core Ultra 7 265H chip rather than the Core Ultra 7 255H in every other configuration.

For this review, I tested out the top US configuration listed above.

  • Specs: 4.5 / 5

Dell 14 Premium: Design

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
  • Gorgeous OLED display
  • Excellent port selection
  • Trackpad and function key row still controversial

From the outside, the Dell 14 Premium is identical to last year's XPS 14 (save for the new logo on the lid), and that's not a bad thing. The 14 Premium's construction and minimalist aesthetic definitely make it look like it's all business, something you'd expect from a company like Dell, renowned as it is for its business and enterprise market dominance.

That doesn't make it ugly, though. It's a good-looking laptop, somewhat undercut by its two colorways, Graphite and Platinum, which are honestly rather boring at this point.

With the new Surface Laptop 7 coming in a gorgeous Sapphire colorway and even Apple adding a Sky Blue option for this year's MacBook Air models (not to mention my beloved Microsoft Surface Laptop 13-inch having a Violet option), laptops are starting to finally have more personality than the design deadend that Apple pushed us all into with its MacBook Silver and Space Gray colorways in the 2010s.

In this regard, I hope Dell catches up next year, but one thing at a time, I guess. Dropping the XPS branding and introducing a splash of color in one release might have pushed some Dell fans over the edge, so steady as she goes, design-wise.

Image 1 of 3

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Image 2 of 3

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Image 3 of 3

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

I've spilled enough ink over the past couple of years about my mixed feelings when it comes to the borderless trackpad (and loss of the delightful carbon-fibery palm rests), so I'll let that critique go. Finally.

I've yet to fully embrace the solid strip beneath the keyboard, as it does take some getting used to for finding out exactly how to right click on something, but it's easy enough to pick up and soon becomes second nature. It's still an accessibility nightmare, as is the lack of physical function keys along the top of the keydeck. On the plus side, there are top-firing speakers, which isn't always a sure thing on a 14-inch laptop.

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The keyboard itself is decent enough, though these aren't my favorite keys to type on. I'm very used to mechanical keyboards, so the travel and tactile responsiveness of the 14 Premium's take getting used to, and I'm not sure I ever will. If this is going to be your only or even just your primary laptop, however, you'll get used to it just fine.

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Some are going to complain about the lack of USB Type-A ports on the 14 Premium, but frankly, it's 2025. At some point, older, slower interfaces will be retired, and it's time, honestly. There are plenty of adapters out there to convert USB-A to USB-C, and you can even add the option for a mini-hub dongle with USB-A and HDMI ports that can plug into one of the three Thunderbolt 4 ports on the device. All three provide power delivery and DisplayPort out, with up to 4 monitors supported overall.

You also get a microSD slot, which is great for creative pros who work with SD cards alot, and a dedicated 3.5mm combo jack. All in all, a solid port selection for a device this small.

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

One other knock I have to give the 14 Premium though is its webcam. The 1080p IR webcam itself is perfectly good, and gets up to 30 FPS 1080p video, which is great for video calls and meetings. My problem, though, is the lack of a privacy shutter. It's 2025, and this should be the default on a 'premium' laptop.

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The overall aesthetics of the 14 Premium are as good as its XPS pedigree, but it could use some freshening up in the next couple of years, in my opinion. It's built solid and won't be embarrassing to whip out in the office in five year's time, but we are kind of coming up against this design's shelf life, and I hope we see something new next year.

  • Design: 4 / 5

Dell 14 Premium: Performance

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
  • Powerful creative chops
  • Decent 1080p gaming
  • Falls a good bit behind Apple's MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4) on some benchmarks

So, when it comes down to it, performance really is the most important factor in a laptop like the Dell 14 Premium. It's competing against one of the best MacBooks ever made in the recent MacBook Pro 14-inch, and given its pricing, the 14 Premium has to deliver on something other than cost.

It's a bit of a mixed bag, ultimately. The CPU performance for the M4 chip outperforms the Intel Core Ultra 255H in all tests but Geekbench 6.4 multicore performance, where they are very close, with the Dell 14 Premium in the lead.

That said, the Intel Core Ultra 255H is mostly competitive with the M4 in CPU computing tasks, and the difference is such that you'd be very hard-pressed to notice the M4's faster performance in actual use. The 14 Premium falls behind quite a bit on single-core performance, which is important for running some high-impact creative apps like Adobe Photoshop or Pro Tools, but that's only part of the story.

The very strong single-core performance for the MacBook Pro 14-inch is offset quite a bit by the relatively slow SSD performance I saw in my Blackmagic Disk Speed Test benchmark. The Dell 14 Premium clocked in with an impressive 4,235 MB/s read speed to the MacBook Pro 14-inch's 2,900 MB/s. That's a nearly 50% faster read speed for the 14 Premium, and that translates directly into faster load times for programs and opening files.

The MacBook Pro 14-inch might beat the 14 Premium in single-core performance, but when it comes to system and app startup, downloads, and other file operations, that extra sluggishness on Apple's part will noticeably cut into its advantage here. That doesn't mean the 14 Premium will somehow eek out a win when it comes to video encoding or processing photos in Photoshop. What it does do, however, is help keep the 14 Premium in the hunt when its Intel chip is being outclassed by the M4's processing power (ironically, last year's Dell XPS 14 scored the highest in my storage benchmark tests).

Swing things around to GPU performance, though, and things fall apart for Apple pretty quick. There just isn't a way for an integrated GPU to compete with even a budget discrete Nvidia GPU like the RTX 4050.

There are only a few cross-platform GPU tests that I can use for both the Dell 14 Premium and the MacBook Pro 14-inch, but in all cases, the RTX 4050 just outclasses the M4 10-core GPU, especially in ray-tracing workloads like Solar Bay

Meanwhile, in areas like video and photo editing, the MacBook Pro 14-inch might have an advantage over the 14 Premium, but it's not earth-shattering.

The 14 Premium encoded a 4K video into 1080p about 22% slower than the MacBook Pro 14-inch, which is definitely something for video editors to consider (who are we kidding, we know y'all are just going to buy a MacBook Pro. Your entire industry is built around macOS). In my PugetBench for Creators-Adobe Photoshop tests, the Dell 14 Premium came in about 29% slower. For video and photography pros, this will absolutely be a dealbreaker and push you firmly back into the Apple camp, and that's understandable if that's what you're looking to use your next laptop for.

However, compare those results to the MacBook Pro 14-inch's Blender Benchmark 4.3.0 performance, which is about 60% slower, overall, than the 14 Premium's.

When it comes to machine learning workloads, the situation will be similar, since Pytorch, the software framework that drives pretty much all AI development right now, is deeply tied to Nvidia's tensor core hardware. We don't have any good cross-platform AI benchmarks right now to give quantitative numbers, so giving a percentage of which laptop is better isn't really possible yet (I'm working on it, I promise).

That said, I've spent the better part of a decade studying computer science to earn my Master's degree in the field, and I can tell you that not a single person I know uses anything other than Nvidia hardware for this kind of work, and the Dell 14 Premium will be able to run AI inference and GAN workloads far better than the MacBook Pro 14-inch.

Finally, when it comes to gaming, none of these laptops are making it onto our best gaming laptop list, but the RTX 4050 GPU in the 14 Premium I tested made it much easier to play modern AAA PC games, with reasonable adjustments made to settings.

At 1080p on the highest settings in those games where I can compare results across devices, the Dell 14 Premium averaged about 75% faster FPS on average overall compared to the MacBook Pro 14-inch.

Of course, there's also the issue with whether or not the game you want can run on a Mac, which isn't a guarantee, while Windows is the default for all PC games on major platforms like Steam or GOG. I wouldn't go out of your way to buy the 14 Premium to play games on, but it's nice to know that you can effectively game if you're on the road for work and you're tired of writing up reports or designing work presentations in your hotel room.

  • Performance: 4.5 / 5

Dell 14 Premium: Battery Life

  • How long does it last on a single charge? 8 hours, 16 minutes
  • How long does it take to charge from empty to full? It takes about 2 hours and 20 minutes to charge to full with a 100W AC adapter

For battery life, the Dell 14 Premium doesn't have spectacular longevity, especially compared to something like the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch, which run about 55% longer than the 14 Premium, but there are costs involved in using discrete graphics and more power hungry OLED displays.

Overall, I think the tradeoff is worth it, but if batter life is a major concern for you, sticking with an LCD display and integrated graphics are the way to go here, and should get you a good bit more juice on a single charge.

  • Battery Life: 3.5 / 5

Should you buy the Dell 14 Premium?

A Dell 14 Premium sitting on a desk

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)
Dell 14 Premium Scorecard

Category

Notes

Rating

Value

The 14 Premium is not totally out of line price-wise for its market. This is still a premium device, so budget-conscious buyers might be better off looking elsewhere. That said, for the level of performance and portability, it will likely offer a better value than a similarly specced MacBook Pro 14-inch.

4 / 5

Specs

There aren't a whole lot of configuration options available, you do get three Thunderbolt 4 ports, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, and options for an RTX 4050 GPU and a gorgeous OLED display.

4.5 / 5

Design

The 14 Premium is a good looking device that is well-made and portable. Its 'virtual' function keys, borderless trackpad, and lack of webcam privacy shutter knocks some points off though.

4 / 5

Performance

While it doesn't dethrone the MacBook Pro 14-inch as the go-to device for creative pros, it more than holds its own against Apple's popular laptop and even outperforms it in key areas.

4.5 / 5

Battery Life

At just over 8 hours of battery life on a charge, this isn't the longest-lasting laptop going. If batter life is a concern, skip the RTX 4050 GPU and OLED display to reduce strain on the 69.5WHr battery.

3.5 / 5

Final Score

The Dell 14 Premium outperforms the MacBook Pro 14-inch when every score is averaged, but there's enough nuance here that it's not a laptop I can unconditionally recommend to everybody. Most people? Yes; but creatives will still want to look at the MacBook Pro 14-inch.

4.10 / 5

Buy the Dell 14 Premium if...

You want a high-performance 14-inch ultrabook
The highly portable form factor belies some seriously powerful hardware inside.

You need an Nvidia GPU for on-the-go work
There are some tasks that simply require an Nvidia GPU, and this is one of the most portable laptops you'll find that offers one.

You want to do some moderate PC gaming
The RTX 4050 GPU in the 14 Premium has 1080p gaming chops, just keep your graphics settings reasonable.

Don't buy it if...

You're on a tight budget
As the name suggests, the 14 Premium doesn't come cheap. You might be better off with the Dell 14 Plus if money's tight.

You plan on doing heavy-duty video editing
While the 14 Premium can handle serious video editing tasks, the MacBook Pro 14-inch is simply better suited for that workload.

You need all-day battery life
The battery life on the 14 Premium isn't terrible, but you will need to bring a charger with you in you plan on working on it all day.

Also consider

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4)
The Dell 14 Premium is directly competing with the MacBook Pro 14-inch, and both are pretty evenly matched in the end.

Read our full Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4) review

Dell 14 Plus
If you're looking for a cheap Windows 11 laptop, the Dell 14 Premium is fairly pricey, so check out the 14 Plus if you're on a budget.

Read our full Dell 14 Plus review

How I tested the Dell 14 Premium

  • I spent about two weeks with the Dell 14 Premium
  • I used it for everyday work and creative tasks
  • I ran it through our standard battery of benchmark tests

I spent about two weeks working with the Dell 14 Premium, putting it through my typical battery of benchmark tests, and using it for everyday productivity and creative work.

I used standard benchmarking tools like 3DMark, Geekbench, PugetBench for Creators, and in-game benchmarks for PC gaming performance analysis.

I also used the laptop as my everyday device, including some light gaming in addition to working with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

I've been reviewing laptops for Techradar for more than five years, and I've tested more than a hundred laptops in that time, both for reviews and for investigative testing to support special computing features and content in that time, so I know better than most when a laptop is hitting the mark and when and where it misses.

  • First reviewed August 2025
OLED is great, but the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide has taught me to respect mini-LED monitors – here is my take after two weeks
2:00 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Monitors Peripherals & Accessories | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Three-minute review

GIF of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Having used an OLED ultrawide for years now, specifically the Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED (a mouthful, I know), I've been curious about a switch to mini-LED. The idea of higher brightness while gaming is intriguing, to say the least, and in came the Mobile Pixels 34-inch curved mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor.

This monitor left me impressed with its quality while gaming or watching content built for high brightness – so much so that I didn't miss using my main OLED monitor. For the first time ever, I've been able to push brightness very high in games and enjoy fascinating visuals, and most importantly, without too much exposure.

Images don't really do it much justice, as it will mostly seem too bright to view in images below. However, believe me when I say it's a treat to view in person – and it comes down to its HDR1000 VESA certification (allowing 1000 nits of peak brightness), and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio producing incredible deep black levels.

With an 180Hz refresh rate, which is higher than what you might find on some of the best ultrawide gaming monitors, I was able to enjoy my favorite games easily.

Side view of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide monitor

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

It's important to note, though, that it's not all great. Dark level smearing (especially when reading white text against dark backgrounds) and ghosting in games are noticeable, and while that's to be expected for a VA panel, it will be bothersome for those who are accustomed to faster displays.

While it didn't completely spoil my gaming or movie viewing experiences, it was a lot more evident for me when playing fast-paced games, especially when using Frame Generation against darker backgrounds in-game. It gets worse (as expected) when enabling any of the overdrive settings via the monitor OSD menu – which I must add, is very finicky, as it sometimes won't save settings or simply undo them randomly.

The biggest examples for me were using path tracing in Cyberpunk 2077, and notably path tracing mods in Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2, which comes with a lot of ghosting already and lacks a denoiser (but served as an easier way for me to notice the difference). When in lighter backgrounds, ghosting was noticeable, but it wasn't too extreme. When stepping into darker areas, the ghosting and smearing were seriously bad.

Perhaps it's a bit unfair coming from using an OLED to a VA mini-LED, but its price is in the same region as other OLED monitors that don't have this issue. It would have worked in Mobile Pixels' favor to use an IPS panel instead of VA for better response times, but that would potentially be a drawback on the great contrast available here.

Notice the ghosting is worse on the darker background? (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

In terms of blooming, it's kept to a minimum when sitting directly in front of the monitor. Bear in mind, what you're seeing below isn't the best representation of how well the haloing effect is kept to a minimum, due to different lighting conditions.

There's a 'Halo Control' setting in the OSD menu, but I found that adjustments weren't very necessary. I was quite happy with how well this monitor handles bloom. Compared to my mini-LED TV (specifically the TCL 55QM8B), which has 300+ full-array local dimming zones, I'd say the results were fairly similar.

I must reiterate that this is a VA panel, so viewing angles are narrow. Essentially, blooming is significantly worse when viewing from either side, but I've never used my ultrawide monitors when sitting away from my desk (unless it's a 32:9 display).

HDR is enabled here... (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Lining this up with an OLED display, again, is pretty unfair, since the AW3423DWF is night and day ahead, but it gave me a good impression of how good the deep black levels are on the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide. If you've been using a regular LED display, mini-LED will still blow you away – and in my eyes, it's the best alternative to OLED.

And the comparison below is proof of that. The OLED's deep black levels are genuinely phenomenal, and while the mini-LED strays far behind due to blooming, it was still great enough for me to enjoy content – and that's even better when you throw in the benefit of very high brightness.

It's also worth noting that there's no worry of burn-in, unlike OLED monitors. It's been a breath of fresh air not to baby my Alienware display with OLED care and pixel refreshes. In some ways, you can almost say that makes mini-LED the better choice, as you're getting the best of the 'brightness world', while still taking some benefits of great contrast – and with an OLED, you're mostly getting the best of the latter.

Yes, multiple OLED monitors like the AW3423DWF can utilize HDR1000, and OLEDs are about to get brighter with True Black HDR1000 VESA certifications. However, my display has a very aggressive Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL), which kicks in when trying to use HDR1000, and I've not had to deal with that on the Mobile Pixels ultrawide.

It's taught me to respect mini-LED monitors, which I once saw as too low of a step down from OLED, and I'd very much consider using one in a multi-display setup.

Top monitor is OLED, bottom is mini-LED (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

I'm very pleased with Mobile Pixels' decision to place the ports of the monitor directly on its rear, instead of the underside like most monitors do. I get that this is done to avoid strain on cables standing upright and prevent any damage, but it's so easy and convenient to reach if you need to unplug or plug any of them – and it's super beneficial if you have a cramped desktop setup like me.

The 90W USB-C reverse charging port is a welcome addition, and I could use it to charge other devices – and I really saw the benefit of this since I have tons of devices occupying power sockets.

It features 4-array microphones with DNC noise reduction, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't my PC wouldn't recognize this, so I had no luck with testing there.

Rear of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

The RGB lighting is decent enough, but not bright enough to appreciate. I won't knock the monitor down for this, though. Most monitors I've used don't have RGB lighting that stands out, except for the Philips Evnia displays that have a special Ambilight feature to sync content on the screen to its RGB lights.

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Price & Availability

  • How much does it cost? $899.99 / around £660 / AU$1,370 without import costs
  • When is it available? Available now
  • Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia (shipping from the US)

The Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide monitor retails at $899.99 / around £660 / AU$1,730, and while this display's high brightness and contrast ratio have left me impressed, I think it should be much cheaper. Some OLED ultrawide monitors are currently cheaper and don't have issues like dark level smearing or ghosting.

It's not a bad monitor despite some of its issues, but I'd have been more fond of it if it didn't cost this much. Import fees will also bump up the cost if you're outside of the US, which makes its potential total price even more unappealing.

Fortunately, it gets a lot right, specifically within the region of HDR brightness and contrast; there's hardly any loss of detail when looking at bright scenery in movies or games when at maximum brightness, so it's something to consider if you're looking to get your hands on it.

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Specs

Screen Size

34-inch

Aspect Ratio

21:9

Resolution

3440x1440

Brightness

450 nits (Min) 1000 nits (Max)

Contrast Ratio

1,000,000:1

Refresh Rate

180Hz

Color Accuracy

99% sRGB | 94% DCI-P3 | 99% Adobe RGB

Speakers

2x 5W Midrange, 1x 12W Bass

Microphone

4-array microphones with DSC noise reduction

Weight

18.51 lbs

Wall Mountable (VESA)

100 x 100 mm

FreeSync Premium technology

Yes

Power Consumption

Typ. 65W, Max. 270W

Panel Type

VA

Connections

2 × USB-A 3.0

1 × USB-C 3.1

2 × HDMI 2.0

1 × DP 1.4

1 × 3.5mm Audio out

Should you buy the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Plenty of high brightness to enjoy across movies, TV shows, and games, but could benefit from a slightly cheaper price tag.

3 / 5

Design

Bogged down by the mediocre speakers on the bottom of monitor, but is adequate in other areas.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Besides dark level smearing and ghosting, the high brightness with HDR 1000, significantly enhances visual experiences, standing as a great alternative to OLED.

4 / 5

Features

OSD needs an improvement, but a 180Hz refresh rate and USB-C 90W reverse charging port are a very welcome addition.

4 / 5

Average rating

The Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide would be much better with a lower retail price, repositioning of the speakers, and an IPS panel for less ghosting and smearing, but excels at high brightness for immersion, making it a good option for PC gamers.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You desire an ultrawide with high brightness

The Mobile Pixels mini-LED monitor is ideal for those who crave bright and lively gaming experiences, with HDR1000 blending well with the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It's best used in titles that are built for HDR.View Deal

You want to avoid burn-in care

While OLED is an easy choice at an affordable price, it's not for everyone, as there's always a risk of burn-in. OLED burn-in care has advanced, but not having to worry about the possibility at all with this mini-LED monitor is a big win.View Deal

You're upgrading from a regular LED monitor

The jump from a regular LED display to Mobile Pixels' mini-LED, is significant, and while it suffers a total loss to OLED deep black levels, it comes close enough while getting the best of brightness. View Deal

Don't buy if...

You're looking for a budget monitor

This monitor's biggest issue is its price, especially compared to OLEDs that are at the same price range or less expensive. It retails at $899.99, which is too high considering the issues it has with ghosting and smearing.View Deal

You prefer the best deep black levels

Like other mini-LED displays, the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor does a great job with contrast, but it doesn't match up to OLED, which remains undefeated at producing the best contrast.View Deal

You find ghosting and smearing frustrating

If you're a competitive gamer or simply happen to notice dark level smearing and ghosting easily, you might want to reconsider purchasing this monitor. It's using a VA panel, so viewing angles and the response time aren't the best.View Deal

Also consider

Acer Predator X32QFS

If dark level smearing and ghosting are a big issue for you, and you don't mind a 4K mini-LED instead of an ultrawide, then the Acer Predator X32QFS should be on your radar. This features a mini-LED IPS panel, which handles ghosting much better, and compatibility for both PS5 and PC with HDMI 2.1.

Read our full Acer Predator X32QFS review

MSRP/RRP

£899.99 / AU$1,099 (No US availability)

Panel Size

31.5in

Panel type

Mini-LED IPS

Panel resolution

3840 x 2160p; 4K

Aspect ratio

16:9

Refresh rate

150Hz

Response time

0.5ms

Brightness

700 nits (native) / 1000 nits (peak HDR)

Contrast ratio

1000:1

HDR

VESA DisplayHDR 1000

Ports

1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, 1 x audio jack

Color gamut

99% Adobe RGB, 99% DCI-P3

Display colors

1.07 billion

Warranty

2-years

How I tested the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide

  • Two weeks of usage on movies, TV shows, and games, notably titles that implement HDR well
  • Some examples are Assassin's Creed Shadows, Street Fighter 6, Dragon's Dogma 2, Resident Evil 4 remake, and Cyberpunk 2077
  • Multiple contrast tests and comparisons with Alienware AW3423DWF OLED ultrawide monitor

Throughout my two weeks of testing, especially when gaming, I had plenty of fun with the Mobile Pixels 34-inch monitor, and put my OLED monitor aside as a secondary display. Despite the drawbacks of blooming and ghosting, it was easy to enjoy bright content without losing much detail.

Testing Stellar Blade, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Cyberpunk 2077 first left great initial impressions, specifically in Cyberpunk 2077, where neon lights and vivid streets provide exceptional visuals on any display, but it took things up a notch. The ghosting issues became far more noticeable when using Frame Generation in Cyberpunk 2077 and Dragon's Dogma 2, and even more so in fast-paced FPS games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Placing this next to Dell's Alienware OLED monitor, allowed me to point out the mini-LED monitor's drawbacks more easily. However, in terms of deep black levels, I was impressed with the Mobile Pixels 34-inch display, with just how close it can get to OLED, albeit still quite far off.

I used it for work and multitasking, which proved to be beneficial, in comparison to OLED, which notoriously has readability issues – and the mini-LED was a breeze to use while deep into productivity.

OLED is great, but the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide has taught me to respect mini-LED monitors – here is my take after two weeks
2:00 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Monitors Peripherals & Accessories | Tags: , , , | Comments: Off

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Three-minute review

GIF of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Having used an OLED ultrawide for years now, specifically the Alienware AW3423DWF QD-OLED (a mouthful, I know), I've been curious about a switch to mini-LED. The idea of higher brightness while gaming is intriguing, to say the least, and in came the Mobile Pixels 34-inch curved mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor.

This monitor left me impressed with its quality while gaming or watching content built for high brightness – so much so that I didn't miss using my main OLED monitor. For the first time ever, I've been able to push brightness very high in games and enjoy fascinating visuals, and most importantly, without too much exposure.

Images don't really do it much justice, as it will mostly seem too bright to view in images below. However, believe me when I say it's a treat to view in person – and it comes down to its HDR1000 VESA certification (allowing 1000 nits of peak brightness), and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio producing incredible deep black levels.

With an 180Hz refresh rate, which is higher than what you might find on some of the best ultrawide gaming monitors, I was able to enjoy my favorite games easily.

Side view of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide monitor

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

It's important to note, though, that it's not all great. Dark level smearing (especially when reading white text against dark backgrounds) and ghosting in games are noticeable, and while that's to be expected for a VA panel, it will be bothersome for those who are accustomed to faster displays.

While it didn't completely spoil my gaming or movie viewing experiences, it was a lot more evident for me when playing fast-paced games, especially when using Frame Generation against darker backgrounds in-game. It gets worse (as expected) when enabling any of the overdrive settings via the monitor OSD menu – which I must add, is very finicky, as it sometimes won't save settings or simply undo them randomly.

The biggest examples for me were using path tracing in Cyberpunk 2077, and notably path tracing mods in Capcom's Dragon's Dogma 2, which comes with a lot of ghosting already and lacks a denoiser (but served as an easier way for me to notice the difference). When in lighter backgrounds, ghosting was noticeable, but it wasn't too extreme. When stepping into darker areas, the ghosting and smearing were seriously bad.

Perhaps it's a bit unfair coming from using an OLED to a VA mini-LED, but its price is in the same region as other OLED monitors that don't have this issue. It would have worked in Mobile Pixels' favor to use an IPS panel instead of VA for better response times, but that would potentially be a drawback on the great contrast available here.

Notice the ghosting is worse on the darker background? (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

In terms of blooming, it's kept to a minimum when sitting directly in front of the monitor. Bear in mind, what you're seeing below isn't the best representation of how well the haloing effect is kept to a minimum, due to different lighting conditions.

There's a 'Halo Control' setting in the OSD menu, but I found that adjustments weren't very necessary. I was quite happy with how well this monitor handles bloom. Compared to my mini-LED TV (specifically the TCL 55QM8B), which has 300+ full-array local dimming zones, I'd say the results were fairly similar.

I must reiterate that this is a VA panel, so viewing angles are narrow. Essentially, blooming is significantly worse when viewing from either side, but I've never used my ultrawide monitors when sitting away from my desk (unless it's a 32:9 display).

HDR is enabled here... (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Lining this up with an OLED display, again, is pretty unfair, since the AW3423DWF is night and day ahead, but it gave me a good impression of how good the deep black levels are on the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide. If you've been using a regular LED display, mini-LED will still blow you away – and in my eyes, it's the best alternative to OLED.

And the comparison below is proof of that. The OLED's deep black levels are genuinely phenomenal, and while the mini-LED strays far behind due to blooming, it was still great enough for me to enjoy content – and that's even better when you throw in the benefit of very high brightness.

It's also worth noting that there's no worry of burn-in, unlike OLED monitors. It's been a breath of fresh air not to baby my Alienware display with OLED care and pixel refreshes. In some ways, you can almost say that makes mini-LED the better choice, as you're getting the best of the 'brightness world', while still taking some benefits of great contrast – and with an OLED, you're mostly getting the best of the latter.

Yes, multiple OLED monitors like the AW3423DWF can utilize HDR1000, and OLEDs are about to get brighter with True Black HDR1000 VESA certifications. However, my display has a very aggressive Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL), which kicks in when trying to use HDR1000, and I've not had to deal with that on the Mobile Pixels ultrawide.

It's taught me to respect mini-LED monitors, which I once saw as too low of a step down from OLED, and I'd very much consider using one in a multi-display setup.

Top monitor is OLED, bottom is mini-LED (Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

I'm very pleased with Mobile Pixels' decision to place the ports of the monitor directly on its rear, instead of the underside like most monitors do. I get that this is done to avoid strain on cables standing upright and prevent any damage, but it's so easy and convenient to reach if you need to unplug or plug any of them – and it's super beneficial if you have a cramped desktop setup like me.

The 90W USB-C reverse charging port is a welcome addition, and I could use it to charge other devices – and I really saw the benefit of this since I have tons of devices occupying power sockets.

It features 4-array microphones with DNC noise reduction, but no matter what I tried, I couldn't my PC wouldn't recognize this, so I had no luck with testing there.

Rear of Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

The RGB lighting is decent enough, but not bright enough to appreciate. I won't knock the monitor down for this, though. Most monitors I've used don't have RGB lighting that stands out, except for the Philips Evnia displays that have a special Ambilight feature to sync content on the screen to its RGB lights.

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Price & Availability

  • How much does it cost? $899.99 / around £660 / AU$1,370 without import costs
  • When is it available? Available now
  • Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia (shipping from the US)

The Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide monitor retails at $899.99 / around £660 / AU$1,730, and while this display's high brightness and contrast ratio have left me impressed, I think it should be much cheaper. Some OLED ultrawide monitors are currently cheaper and don't have issues like dark level smearing or ghosting.

It's not a bad monitor despite some of its issues, but I'd have been more fond of it if it didn't cost this much. Import fees will also bump up the cost if you're outside of the US, which makes its potential total price even more unappealing.

Fortunately, it gets a lot right, specifically within the region of HDR brightness and contrast; there's hardly any loss of detail when looking at bright scenery in movies or games when at maximum brightness, so it's something to consider if you're looking to get your hands on it.

(Image credit: Future / Isaiah Williams)

Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor: Specs

Screen Size

34-inch

Aspect Ratio

21:9

Resolution

3440x1440

Brightness

450 nits (Min) 1000 nits (Max)

Contrast Ratio

1,000,000:1

Refresh Rate

180Hz

Color Accuracy

99% sRGB | 94% DCI-P3 | 99% Adobe RGB

Speakers

2x 5W Midrange, 1x 12W Bass

Microphone

4-array microphones with DSC noise reduction

Weight

18.51 lbs

Wall Mountable (VESA)

100 x 100 mm

FreeSync Premium technology

Yes

Power Consumption

Typ. 65W, Max. 270W

Panel Type

VA

Connections

2 × USB-A 3.0

1 × USB-C 3.1

2 × HDMI 2.0

1 × DP 1.4

1 × 3.5mm Audio out

Should you buy the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor?

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Plenty of high brightness to enjoy across movies, TV shows, and games, but could benefit from a slightly cheaper price tag.

3 / 5

Design

Bogged down by the mediocre speakers on the bottom of monitor, but is adequate in other areas.

3.5 / 5

Performance

Besides dark level smearing and ghosting, the high brightness with HDR 1000, significantly enhances visual experiences, standing as a great alternative to OLED.

4 / 5

Features

OSD needs an improvement, but a 180Hz refresh rate and USB-C 90W reverse charging port are a very welcome addition.

4 / 5

Average rating

The Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide would be much better with a lower retail price, repositioning of the speakers, and an IPS panel for less ghosting and smearing, but excels at high brightness for immersion, making it a good option for PC gamers.

3.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You desire an ultrawide with high brightness

The Mobile Pixels mini-LED monitor is ideal for those who crave bright and lively gaming experiences, with HDR1000 blending well with the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. It's best used in titles that are built for HDR.View Deal

You want to avoid burn-in care

While OLED is an easy choice at an affordable price, it's not for everyone, as there's always a risk of burn-in. OLED burn-in care has advanced, but not having to worry about the possibility at all with this mini-LED monitor is a big win.View Deal

You're upgrading from a regular LED monitor

The jump from a regular LED display to Mobile Pixels' mini-LED, is significant, and while it suffers a total loss to OLED deep black levels, it comes close enough while getting the best of brightness. View Deal

Don't buy if...

You're looking for a budget monitor

This monitor's biggest issue is its price, especially compared to OLEDs that are at the same price range or less expensive. It retails at $899.99, which is too high considering the issues it has with ghosting and smearing.View Deal

You prefer the best deep black levels

Like other mini-LED displays, the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide gaming monitor does a great job with contrast, but it doesn't match up to OLED, which remains undefeated at producing the best contrast.View Deal

You find ghosting and smearing frustrating

If you're a competitive gamer or simply happen to notice dark level smearing and ghosting easily, you might want to reconsider purchasing this monitor. It's using a VA panel, so viewing angles and the response time aren't the best.View Deal

Also consider

Acer Predator X32QFS

If dark level smearing and ghosting are a big issue for you, and you don't mind a 4K mini-LED instead of an ultrawide, then the Acer Predator X32QFS should be on your radar. This features a mini-LED IPS panel, which handles ghosting much better, and compatibility for both PS5 and PC with HDMI 2.1.

Read our full Acer Predator X32QFS review

MSRP/RRP

£899.99 / AU$1,099 (No US availability)

Panel Size

31.5in

Panel type

Mini-LED IPS

Panel resolution

3840 x 2160p; 4K

Aspect ratio

16:9

Refresh rate

150Hz

Response time

0.5ms

Brightness

700 nits (native) / 1000 nits (peak HDR)

Contrast ratio

1000:1

HDR

VESA DisplayHDR 1000

Ports

1 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x USB-C, 2 x USB-A, 1 x audio jack

Color gamut

99% Adobe RGB, 99% DCI-P3

Display colors

1.07 billion

Warranty

2-years

How I tested the Mobile Pixels 34-inch mini-LED ultrawide

  • Two weeks of usage on movies, TV shows, and games, notably titles that implement HDR well
  • Some examples are Assassin's Creed Shadows, Street Fighter 6, Dragon's Dogma 2, Resident Evil 4 remake, and Cyberpunk 2077
  • Multiple contrast tests and comparisons with Alienware AW3423DWF OLED ultrawide monitor

Throughout my two weeks of testing, especially when gaming, I had plenty of fun with the Mobile Pixels 34-inch monitor, and put my OLED monitor aside as a secondary display. Despite the drawbacks of blooming and ghosting, it was easy to enjoy bright content without losing much detail.

Testing Stellar Blade, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and Cyberpunk 2077 first left great initial impressions, specifically in Cyberpunk 2077, where neon lights and vivid streets provide exceptional visuals on any display, but it took things up a notch. The ghosting issues became far more noticeable when using Frame Generation in Cyberpunk 2077 and Dragon's Dogma 2, and even more so in fast-paced FPS games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

Placing this next to Dell's Alienware OLED monitor, allowed me to point out the mini-LED monitor's drawbacks more easily. However, in terms of deep black levels, I was impressed with the Mobile Pixels 34-inch display, with just how close it can get to OLED, albeit still quite far off.

I used it for work and multitasking, which proved to be beneficial, in comparison to OLED, which notoriously has readability issues – and the mini-LED was a breeze to use while deep into productivity.

Want a super-simple photo book service to order as a gift? I’ve tested one that might be ideal for you
9:20 pm | August 7, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Cameras Computers Gadgets Photography | Comments: Off

Papier photo book review: specs

Layouts

22

Cover options

Softback Die Cut | Hardback | Foiled Hardback | Fabric

Paper options

Gloss

Sizes

Landscape (2 options) | Square (3 options) | Portrait (1 option)

App

No

Sustainable practice

FSC-certified

Standard delivery

2 business days

A page from the TechRadar Papier photo book, showing mossy logs in a bluebell wood.

(Image credit: Future)

Papier photo book: review

Papier's photo books are an affordable way to bring together your favorite snaps, whether you’re looking for an affordable gift or want to log your latest holiday.

They’re available in a wide array of sizes, from a nifty 6.5 x 6.5 inches (16.5 x 16.5cm) to a whopping 12 x 9.4 inches (30.6 x 23.9cm). Papier also offers a good array of cover options, including those with gold foil or die-cut windows showing a photo inside. So what’s it like to use the service to design a photo book?

Well, when using Papier to try to recreate TechRadar’s predefined photo book template, I quickly ran into the platform’s limitations. First of all, Papier doesn’t let you make any alterations to its layouts: there’s no way to add new image or text frames, so I wasn't able to add all the images I wanted to a page.

You get just the basics here. For example, if you're looking for the customizable shapes that some platforms offer, you'll be disappointed – and, unlike many of the best photo book services, Papier doesn’t even offer drag-and-drop clip art to add flourishes such as script or illustrations to your photo book.

Customizability in any form is pretty limited, with all the elements on the page pretty much nailed down. There were times I wanted to shift an image frame from the right of a page to the left, or alter the alignment of text, only to discover this wasn't possible.

You can at least change the size of type, but this is limited to larger text fields only; conversely, captions are restricted to just font or style changes. All in all, as someone who likes to insert some originality into the things I create, I found this limiting.

A page from the TechRadar Papier photo book, showing a couple embracing on one page and a young man in a baseball cap and flannel shirt on the other.

(Image credit: Future)

Surely, for those who have neither the time, nor the desire, to make an endless series of tweaks to layouts, Papier's à la carte selection of templates is just the ticket? Well, I’m not sure it’s getting any Michelin stars there, either.

Yes, Papier offers a range of drag-and-drop templates; but there are only 22 options to choose from, compared to Printerpix's 163 layouts and Mixbook's super generous 891 templates. Want a photo covering half the page with text beneath? Tough. Looking for three images laid out horizontally? Hard luck. There are some creative options available – for example, the one that makes your snap look like it was taken with a Polaroid – but they’re few and far between.

The inclusion of different backgrounds is a nice touch – but, again, there are so few options available that you’re unlikely to get much mileage out of them. Your choices are white, a creamy linen color, almond and a dusty powder blue, or two thicknesses of vertical stripe. I rarely found they complemented individual photos or each other enough to make them worth using.

Image 1 of 4

A photo book cover featuring a highland cow and a caption reading 'Menorca'.

A selection of the cover templates available. (Image credit: Future / Papier)
Image 2 of 4

A photo book cover featuring a highland cow and a caption reading 'Me & You'.

It also proves there's no dedication that isn't made more amusing when dedicated to a highland cow. (Image credit: Future / Papier)
Image 3 of 4

A photo book cover featuring a highland cow and a caption reading 'Happy Father's Day'.

It also proves there's no dedication that isn't made more amusing when dedicated to a highland cow. (Image credit: Future / Papier)
Image 4 of 4

An photo book cover featuring a highland cow and a caption reading 'You, always'.

It also proves there's no dedication that isn't made more amusing when dedicated to a highland cow. (Image credit: Future / Papier)

By contrast, the cover options Papier offers have recently been extended. There are now 90 different cover templates, which is actually pretty impressive, and there are some really eye-catching designs – including fancy cover treatments such as golden foils and cut-out shapes. With fully editable text, they’re also easy to adapt to your theme, providing plenty of really good cover options.

Once you’ve selected your preferred layouts, you may still encounter some detours and dead-ends along your design journey, with Papier offering some odd and irritating quirks.

The most baffling is its insistence on changing layouts to match your image – even when I’d selected my preferred layout, adding an image would revert it back to the default, meaning you need to always select images first. Further aggravation was caused as a result of Papier's drag-and-drop function for adding photos, while layouts have to be clicked on instead. As a result, the design process proved one of frustration, and time-consuming, too: every time I mixed up which gesture I was supposed to use, I’d lose the rhythm entirely.

Two page previews on Papier's photo book service, each featuring an image of a guinea pig. One preview is larger than the other.

No, this isn't an optical illusion. The guinea pig on the left really is bigger than the one of the right. Not sure why. (Image credit: Future / Papier Photo Book)

And that isn't the only wrinkle I found when trying to replicate our sample photo book. For example, Papier doesn’t offer any way to run an image across a double-page spread. While you can usually tackle such a limitation by splitting a photo between two separate frames, Papier has turned this into a frustrating process of trial and error.

Bafflingly, its interface enlarges the off-hand page, making it a larger size to the one you’re currently working on. This makes it almost impossible to ensure the contents of two separate photo frames align. I can't see that there's any benefit to this, so you have to wonder why it was designed that way.

However, while some of Papier’s design choices might have left me baffled, it may not be a concern if the quality of the printed book is high. And here the news is broadly positive. All of our photos came out looking crisp and detailed, with relatively accurate color. There was the occasional suggestion of noise or posterization, with slight color banding perceptible. But this has been apparent with even our highest-rated photo books, so I’m not going to criticize Papier too harshly on this front.

Comparing our Papier photo book side by side with some of our previous samples, it mostly holds its own. Even sat next to the 4.5-star Blurb photo book, Papier's example doesn’t look worlds apart – personally, the slightly better contrast and deeper blacks of the Blurb win out in my eyes, but I don’t feel anyone would be disappointed by the image quality delivered by Papier.

This also extends to the tactile feel of Papier’s photo books. Comparing the quality of its paper stock and covers to its nearest rivals, there didn't seem to be much between them – pages in Papier's photo book feel smooth and substantial. While Papier doesn’t exceed what other services offer, neither does it fall short – which is especially important if you’re considering this for a gift.

Ultimately, if you’re happy to design a photo book within Papier's super-limited format, then you can at least rest assured that you'll get a super-polished product in return. However, if you're someone who likes a bit more creative flexibility, you'll find Papier's service limiting. And, fundamentally, there are other options out there among the best photo book services that offer similarly straightforward, stellar design while providing radically more off-the-rack solutions.

A page from the TechRadar Papier photo book, showing a tree in front of an aurora.

(Image credit: Future)

Should I buy the Papier photo book?

Scorecard

Attributes

Rating

Notes

Ease of use

Okay, it’s not riddled with bugs – but Papier’s platform displays some quirks, such as shifting page sizes and similar actions behaving in different ways.

3.5 / 5

Editing tools

Papier’s editing tools are limited. You can't add elements, nor make significant edits, plus the number of layouts offered is dwarfed by most other services.

2.5 / 5

Print quality

Images look crisp and high quality. There’s some color banding present, and a few other services manage better contrast. But overall, it manages vibrant, detailed photos.

4 / 5

Value

At £36.36 (around $48) for 30 pages, our test photo book was a bargain. It has since increased back to its £50 (around $67) list price, but this shows you can get some great deals on Papier’s books.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want an attractively printed photo book without spending much moolah
Papier’s printed products offer decent color reproduction, few errors and, while some rivals manage marginally better contrast, it’s good quality for the price.

You want straightforward, by-the-numbers design
If you want an effective, finished photo book without having to reinvent the wheel, Papier will absolutely get you there.

Don't buy it if...

You want to stamp your own mark on your photo book
Papier’s platform offers almost zero customization and its layouts are limited. So if you hate the idea of your photo book looking much the same as everyone else’s, maybe give it a miss.

You find software quirks frustrating
While Papier’s platform is simple to use, it’s not completely fault-free – odd design choices here and there can occasionally introduce frictions.

Comparing woodland scenes in the Blurb photo book at the front and the Papier photo book at the back.

Front to back: Blurb vs Papier (Image credit: Future)

Papier photo book review: also consider

Blurb
In my opinion, Blurb is the undisputed photo book champ. It offers staggering flexibility, allowing you to use professional design tools or its dedicated app – the latter of which offers you surgical control over every element of your book. And if you’re not confident starting from scratch, it also offers a decent 188 templates that you can use as they are, or tweak to your heart's content. Add to this very reasonable prices and its hard package to argue with. Read our full Blurb photo book review.

Mixbook
Like Papier, Mixbook offers super easy-to-use design tools that don’t require any specialist design expertise, and seriously cheap prices. Unlike Papier, it offers a truly absurd range of templates and layouts, totalling 891. It’s well worth checking out, especially if you don’t mind the fact its colors occasionally look slightly artificially boosted. Read our full Mixbook photo book review.

Comparing twilight scenes in the Papier photo book at the front and the Blurb photo book at the back.

Front to back: Papier vs Blurb (Image credit: Future)

How I tested the Papier photo book service

  • Tried to accurately reproduce the TechRadar photo book template
  • Explored all of its layout and cover options
  • Utilized over 10 years working in print and design

TechRadar’s process for testing photo book services requires us to try to reproduce a standardized template, so my first step was trying to recreate it as accurately as possible. This involved reproducing photo frames and text as closely as the photo book service’s templates allowed. I also spent several hours playing with Papier’s templates to explore the various options available.

Once I received our Papier photo book, I first checked it for damage and marks from the printing process. I then compared it side-by-side with some of the other photo books we’ve reviewed, to assess how Papier’s printed products fare in terms of resolution and color accuracy, as well as the quality of its paper stock and construction.

Not only did I establish the testing process for photo books on TechRadar, but I spent many years working as a print editor. As a result, I have gained a lot of direct experience working with images for print and carrying out quality control on printed products to ensure they accurately reflected the source imagery and designs on screen.

I tested out HP’s hardworking laser printer – and the speed of prints left me seriously impressed
7:03 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Comments: Off
Specs

Type: mono laser printer

Functions: Print

Connectivity: Ethernet, USB

Data storage slots: None

Print speed: 42ppm

Max paper size: Letter/A4

Print quality: 1,200 x 1,200 dpi

Memory: 256MB

Apple AirPrint: yes

Consumables included: black toner (2,900 pages)

Dimensions/Weight: 381 x 357 x 216 mm (WxDxH)/19lb/8.6kg

Oftentimes, a simple mono laser printer is the best and most economical way to serve the print demands of a busy shared office and the HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn (known as the 4002dn outside the US) is designed for just that. It’s a compact desktop unit with two paper inputs, strong security features and a very fast auto-duplex print speed.

The HP LaserJet Pro 4000 series includes eight near-identical variants, which all lack a touchscreen, NFC and Bluetooth connectivity, while this model doesn’t even have Wi-Fi. It’s all about keeping the cost competitive. Instead of Wi-Fi, you have an Ethernet port to get online and network with up to ten users.

With their high speed and high capacity for paper and toner, the 4000 series promise to keep everyone printing efficiently. HP suggests a massive monthly duty cycle up to 80,000 pages, so let’s see if this little HP printer can really deliver.

HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn: Design and build

Image 1 of 2

HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn on a white background

(Image credit: HP // Future)
Image 2 of 2

HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn on a white background

(Image credit: HP // Future)

HP’s designers are the best at shrinking printers to desktop-friendly dimensions, and the HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn is a good example. Its footprint is only 14 by 15 inches, so when you load A4 paper, a rear flap opens up just enough to accommodate its length.

Despite the small size, it can hold 250 sheets of paper in the main drawer and 100 in the multipurpose tray. You can even add a paper cassette accessory for around $140 that’ll take another 550 sheets.

Being a monochrome printer, there’s only one cartridge on board, so there’s plenty of room for toner too. The supplied setup cart gives you up to 2,900 black and white pages, which isn’t bad, but high-yield carts are available that will print up to 9,500 pages.

There’s a backlit two-line display on top with basic button controls and ports at the rear for Ethernet, USB and power cables. I can also see a USB Host port, but it’s blanked off as that’s a feature reserved for more expensive variants of the 4000 series.

HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn: Features & specifications

The HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn has few features, but a strong specification sheet. There’s no touchscreen, no Bluetooth, no NFC, no working USB Host port and no Wi-Fi, for example. For wireless variants, you’ll need the HP LaserJet Pro 4001dw, or 4002dw, where that final ‘w’ stands for Wi-Fi.

The maximum print speed of 42ppm, however, makes this one of the fastest laser printers in its price category. The max toner and paper capacity is also impressive at 350 sheets and 9,500 sheets respectively. There’s an ample 256MB internal RAM and 1,200MHz processing speed.

Naturally, it can auto-duplex and the in-built Wolf Pro security is up to HP’s usual high standard. You can, for instance, protect print jobs by requiring a PIN to be entered.

HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn: Setup and operation

HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn on a white background

(Image credit: HP // Future)

With no Wi-Fi to set up and the toner cartridge already installed, there’s really not much to do in order to print your first page. Simply load your paper, turn on and wait for the printer to warm up.

The FPOT (first page out time) is a prompt 6.1 seconds although I found it can take a lot longer depending on the print job. I concur with the 42ppm print rate for consecutive simplex pages. By the way, if you’re wondering why the US specification says 42ppm, while the European manual says 40ppm it's because 8.5x11-inch letter paper is slightly shorter than A4 paper.

It also prints quickly in duplex mode, with the pages being turned smoothly and quite quietly each time. The LCD screen may be small, but it’s backlit and clearly readable, making the HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn an easy printer to operate.

HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn: Performance

HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn on a white background

(Image credit: HP // Future)

The HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn printed all of my test pages promptly and without a misprint or paper jams. The overall print quality is perfectly acceptable, although black text on plain paper doesn’t look quite as bold and crisp as the best laser printers. Switching from draft to best quality mode gives you darker lines that look more professional, but it’s a slightly slower and less economical way to print.

Black and white photos on plain paper are also acceptable, but too grainy and soft to impress. You can achieve slightly better results by using laser photo paper, but there’s no preset for photo paper within the printer’s settings, proving that it’s really not geared up for photos.

The front-loading multipurpose tray works just as well as the main tray, but it’s limited to 120g/m², whereas the drawer input can take thicker 200g/m² paper. It would not accept the 300 g/m² card that some printers are ok with.

For speed and consistency, the HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn is hard to fault. Churning out long double-sided text documents is its forte and every page will look good enough for most purposes. It’s only if you’re looking for that dark black professional finish that I’d recommend turning to a premium laser printer like the Xerox VersaLink B600DN.

HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn: Consumables

HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn on a white background

(Image credit: HP // Future)

The HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn comes with a pre-installed black toner cartridge capable of delivering up to 2,900 letter-sized pages, which is not bad for a start-up cart. And it can be replaced with a cartridge yielding a whopping 9,500 pages. With a big HP 149X cart costing around $300 (£183), that’s a slightly lower CCP (cost per page) than the Brother HL-L2865DW.

HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn: Maintenance

Even the best laser printers require less upkeep than inkjets and the only component you’ll need to replace here are the empty cartridges. HP has the imaging drum built into the cartridge so you’re replacing that at the same time.

When your prints look faded and you receive a low toner warning from the printer, I find that it’s worth extracting and gently shaking the cartridge to get more toner out of it. And when it comes to installing the new one, don’t open the box and leave it exposed to the light for too long as that can damage it.

HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn: Final verdict

Image 1 of 2

HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn on a white background

(Image credit: HP // Future)
Image 2 of 2

HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn on a white background

(Image credit: HP // Future)

I found the HP LaserJet Pro 4001dn (or HP LaserJet Pro 4002dn) to be an easy printer to use, with the right features to meet a heavy print load and print quality that’s good enough for most purposes. It might not have the bold black and high detail you get with a more expensive monochrome printer, but it’s just right for general office duties.

I think the HP LaserJet Pro 4000 series, puts a strong case for buying a mid-price mono printer, as opposed to a cheaper laser or inkjet alternative, mainly because the duplex print rate is so much faster.

This is a hard-working office printer that can serve a workgroup of ten, while having the high toner and yield capacity to keep everyone printing without too much downtime. The compact design is expandable and its inbuilt security is sufficient for me to recommend it as a safe investment for any growing business.

For more, I've tested out the best home printers and the best small business printers.

I usually find Dyson prices eye-watering, but this smart air purifying fan is clearly worth the investment
5:59 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Air Quality Computers Gadgets Home Small Appliances | Tags: , , | Comments: Off

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09: two-minute review

The Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 is a tower fan and air purifier combo with smart capabilities, which allows for easy control and air data reviewing via the MyDyson companion app.

With a list price of $749.99 / £549.99 / AU$999.99, the white and gold Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 purifying fan is well-priced in the UK and Australia, but curiously costs much more for the nickel and gold colorway at Dyson US. Fortunately, I’ve spotted the white and gold model at a discounted rate from third-party retailers, with Walmart offering it for just $519 at the time of writing.

Replacement filters are on the pricey side at a list price of $79.99 / £75 / AU$99, and Dyson recommends changing them every 12 months, so it’s important to factor this cost into your budget.

A woman is using the remote to change between informational screens.

(Image credit: Future)

I really like the aesthetics of the UK model I tested, the white and gold colorway is a little more exciting to look at than the standard white and nickel we see on other Dyson purifying fans – though I must say, I consider the color of the shroud to be more copper than gold.

There are 10 fan speeds on offer, plus an auto mode that rouses the TP09 into action whenever it detects contaminants. And it's able to detect these from an impressively wide range of sources, including PM2.5 and PM10, VOCs, formaldehyde, and nitrogen dioxide.

As well as having better detection skills than cheaper Dyson purifying fans, the TP09 also boasts Diffused mode, which diverts the airflow out of the back of the loop amplifier. This means you don’t have to worry about it blasting cold air toward you as it tackles contaminants in the winter months.

The MyDyson companion app proved insightful and responsive when communicating air quality changes and when I was using it to control the TP09. It offered insight into the air quality readings and also provided access to some great additional controls, such as selecting the point to begin oscillating from, saving me from needing to adjust the position of the TP09 manually.

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The circular screen on the front of the TP09 shows the current Formaldehyde reading.

(Image credit: Future)
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The circular screen on the front of the TP09 shows the current VOC reading.

(Image credit: Future)
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The circular screen on the front of the TP09 shows the current No2 reading.

(Image credit: Future)
Image 4 of 5

The circular screen on the front of the TP09 shows the current air quality reading in graph form.

(Image credit: Future)
Image 5 of 5

The circular screen on the front of the TP09 shows the ambient temperature.

(Image credit: Future)

The TP09 reacted promptly to contaminants both in testing and day-to-day use. It was quick to notice whenever I sprayed myself with perfume on the other side of the room, and automatically increased the airflow to tackle the detected VOCs. Despite this though, it didn’t have any noticeable effect on the fragrance in the air.

The TP09 delivered an impressive performance overall. It proved easy to operate, the controls were responsive, and it was quick to react whenever contaminants were introduced. It didn’t appear to tackle odors well, but I’m yet to test an air purifier that performs particularly proficiently in this area.

Considering the range of contaminants the TP09 is capable of detecting and reacting to, plus the responsive controls, air quality breakdown and air quality history available on the MyDyson app, you get plenty of bang for your buck with the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09. I highly recommend shopping around for the best price if you’re in the US, though.

In fact, I’m such a fan of the purifying abilities of the TP09 that I could easily see it sneaking its way into our list of the best air purifiers. The fan’s very good too, but at this price point, you’re better off checking out our guide to the best fans if you’re not interested in the purifying element.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 review: price & availability

  • List price: $749.99 / £549.99 / AU$999.99
  • Available now in the US, UK, and Australia

Available to buy from the Dyson website and other third-party retailers in the US, UK, and Australia, the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 purifying fan has a list price of $749.99 / £549.99 / AU$999.99. This is an attractive price in the UK and Australia, but a little high in the US.

If you’re in the US, then I’d highly recommend shopping around. While the nickel and gold model is pricey on the Dyson website, at the time of writing, I’ve spotted the white and gold Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 for much more reasonable prices at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, with the latter offering the TP09 for just $519.

A woman is removing one half of the filter from the TP09.

(Image credit: Future)

When shopping for an air purifier, it’s always a good idea to check out the prices of replacement filters, so you don’t get a nasty shock when it comes time to switch them out. Dyson recommends changing the HEPA H13 filter every twelve months, based on it running twelve hours a day. As a replacement filter for the TP09 has a list price of $79.99 / £75 / AU$99, it’s worth factoring this cost into your budget.

If you’ve got your heart set on a Dyson purifying fan, but don’t have the budget for this model, I’d recommend taking a look at the Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10 Purifying Fan instead. However, if you can afford the extra spend, it’s worth it for the benefits of the air quality data, app control, and the diffused mode.

  • Value score: 4 out of 5

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 review: specs

Type

Purifying tower fan

Fan speeds

10

Oscillation

45, 90, 180, 350 degrees

Timer

Yes

CADR (Clean air delivery rate)

Requested

Filter

HEPA H13 and activated carbon

Particle sizes detected

PM2.5, PM10, HCHO, VOCs, NO2

Dimensions

8.7 x 8.7 x 41 inches / 22 x 22 x 105cm

Weight

10.7 lb / 4.85kg

Control

Onboard power button, remote control, app, and voice control

Additional modes

Auto, Night mode, Diffused mode

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 review: design and features

  • Attractive design and colorway
  • Diffused mode for purifying when you don’t need cooling
  • Capable of detecting and reacting to a wide range of contaminants

With its large loop amplifier, it doesn’t take a second look to know that the TP09 purifying fan is a Dyson. The materials look and feel good quality, and the overall build feels satisfyingly sturdy. I’m also a big fan of the white and gold colorway, though I’d say it’s really more of a copper tone than gold, personally.

A clever combo of a bladeless tower fan and an air purifier, the TP09 offers a solution to a niggle I had with the cheaper Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10 model, which was that I couldn’t make use of the higher purifier settings without being blasted with air from the fan. This solution comes in the form of Diffused mode, which diverts the airflow out of the back of the loop amplifier, so I no longer feel like I’m making it face the corner in shame when I want to make the most of its purifying capabilities.

A woman's hand is holding the remote.

(Image credit: Future)

The setup process was fairly easy, though at a weight of 10.7 lb / 4.85kg and with no carry handles, I’d definitely recommend pulling the side of the box down before sliding the TP09 out, rather than trying to lift it out as stated in the online manual. Curiously, Dyson included a leaflet that’s only printed on one side to communicate that they’ve moved the setup process online to save paper.

I’d also really like to see brands like Dyson doing more product and transit testing to see whether they can cut back on their use of plastic wrap, as individually wrapping both halves of the air filter, the entire tower fan and the outer cardboard box in plastic feels somewhat excessive.

catalytic filter, HEPA H13 filter, and the outer plastic shroud are arranged on a tabletop.

(Image credit: Future)

The TP09 uses the same H13 HEPA filter that’s used in most of their newer models, including the cheaper ones, but adds a permanent catalytic filter, which continuously traps and converts formaldehyde (HCHO) into water and CO2. Another big difference between the TP09 and cheaper models is its ability to detect and react to more than just PM2.5 and PM10 – which are particles up to ten microns in size, including smoke, bacteria, and dust – as it can also detect and react to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen dioxide, too.

The large and well-lit LCD screen on the front of the purifying unit made it easy to keep an eye on the overall air quality or the level of individual pollutants. I could cycle through the different readings using the satisfyingly color-matched remote, which also allowed me to enable diffused mode, auto mode, and night mode, as well as adjust oscillation angle, and airflow speed.

  • Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 review: app

  • Shows a week's worth of air quality data in 15-minute intervals
  • App remote control is responsive
  • Provides extra options for timer and oscillation

It’s quick and easy to get an insight into the air quality in the room on the MyDyson app, thanks to the helpful graph that shows the overall air quality in fifteen-minute intervals over the last week. It specifies the most dominant pollutant at the time, which is useful for working out exactly what’s causing any drops in air quality. There are also graphs available to show the level of each pollutant, as well as for ambient temperature and humidity.

The app offers lots of detail on what various terms mean; for example, it lists the different air quality ratings, explains what each one means, what action should be taken, and gives details on each contaminant type it detects. It also provides the ranges of the pollutant readings, such as a reading of 0-35 micrograms per cubic meter being considered Good, and 151-250 being Extremely Poor.

One thing that anyone purchasing the TP09 (or any of Dyson’s air purifiers, really) needs to do in the first instance is to make sure that continuous monitoring is turned on, as it is switched off by default. Without doing this, your air purifier won’t consistently collect data. It’s simple enough to enable, either in the machine settings within the MyDyson app, or by holding the Auto button on the remote for roughly five seconds, until the LCD screen on the device confirms the setting has changed.

Three phone screens display different parts of the MyDyson app: the timer function, the dashboard, and the oscillation function.

(Image credit: Dyson / Future)

Along with providing plenty of data on the air quality inside my home, I was also able to keep up to date with what was going on outside. After entering my location into the MyDyson app, I had access to a simple-to-read dashboard detailing the external temperature, humidity, grass pollen level, plus PM2.5, PM10, and NO2 readings.

The level of controls on offer was fantastic. There are basic settings for power, auto mode, oscillation, and fan speed available on the main TP09 dashboard, but further controls became available after pressing the remote icon. This gave me access to all of the controls I had on the remote, but with far more flexibility. For instance, there's a timer that’s separate from Night mode and offers a wider duration variety. There's also an option to choose which position the TP09 begins its oscillation from – this is a fabulous feature to have, as it saves having to go and manhandle the fan if it’s not quite in the right position.

  • App score: 4.5 out of 5

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 review: performance

  • Easy and straightforward to operate
  • Detects and reacts to a wide range of contaminants
  • Fast detection and reaction speeds

The Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 purifying fan was satisfyingly easy to operate throughout my weeks of testing it. Controlling it was simple and stress-free, as both the remote control and the controls on the app were straightforward and very responsive.

I didn’t have much luck when setting up voice control, but I can’t say if this is a fault with the appliance or the third-party apps I was using. I could voice record Siri shortcuts, and they would appear in the Shortcuts app on my iPhone, but my voice commands failed to work.

I had a bit more success when using my Alexa Echo Dot (5th Gen); it was easy to add the Dyson skill on my Alexa app, and I could turn the purifier on and off, and ask to increase or decrease the fan speed. However, I couldn’t get it to switch to Auto mode or oscillate; instead, it would state the action request was not supported on the Dyson machine, which is disappointing at this price point.

A woman is pressing the power button.

(Image credit: Future)

From a fan perspective, the airflow was nice and smooth, and the strength was as I’d expect from one of Dyson’s bladeless tower fans. I found I could feel a noticeable breeze from around 3ft / 1m away on the lowest setting, 8ft / 2.4m on setting five, and 13ft / 4m on top setting ten.

The TP09 was speedy to react when I sprayed dry shampoo towards it from roughly 2 feet away, raising the PM2.5 reading to Severe almost instantly and upping the fan speed in response, swiftly returning the air quality reading within a minute of the contamination being detected.

The TP09 was quick to notice whenever I sprayed myself with perfume in the mornings, too, even though I was on the other side of the room. After promptly bumping the airflow up to setting five, it gradually lowered fan speed over the course of an hour. It didn’t have an impact on the fragrance in the air, which I was happy with in this instance, as my bedroom smelled pretty. But considering this alongside the performance of the TP10, which has the same filter, it looks likely that it’d struggle to make any noticeable effect on cooking smells without manually running it on a higher fan speed for a longer period of time.

A close-up of the TP09's sensors.

(Image credit: Future)

I found it easy to sleep with the TP09 placed on the other side of my small nightstand, both in Night mode – which lowered the fan speed if I was running it higher and turned off the display – and when in standard Auto mode.

The decibel readings I got from the TP09 were, unsurprisingly, very similar to those of the TP10; with readings of 33dB on fan speed one, 43dB on speed five, and 52dB on speed ten. This means that its volume levels were similar to that of soft music at its quietest, and moderate rainfall at its loudest. The key difference between the two models is that the TP09 was not as quiet when in auto mode, as its superior detection skills meant that it didn’t relax and sit idling like the TP10.

Overall, I was very happy with the performance of the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 purifying fan, thanks to its prompt contamination detection and great level of detail and fine-tuning available in the fantastic companion app.

  • Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Should I buy the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09?

Section

Notes

Score

Value for money

This isn’t a bad price for a Dyson tower fan combined with a good spec and well-performing air purifier. It offers more value for money than some of the slightly cheaper models that don’t have the skills to detect more than just PM2.5 or PM10.

4/5

Design & Features

I love the premium-looking aesthetic and colorway of the TP09, and I’m pleased with its features, too. It can detect and react to a wide range of contaminants, and has a useful Diffused mode so it won’t blast me with cold air when purifying in the winter months.

4.5/5

App

The MyDyson app offers a good level of insight into ambient and local air quality readings, both inside and outside the home. It also worked well as a responsive remote control, which offered useful additional settings.

4.5/5

Performance

The TP09 delivered an impressive performance overall. It proved easy to operate, the controls were responsive, and it was quick to react whenever contaminants were introduced.

4.5/5

Buy it if...

You want a purifier that can react to a wider range of contaminants
If you can afford one, it’s always better to opt for an air purifier that can detect more than just PM2.5 and PM10, as reduced air quality is often caused by other contaminants like VOCs, so having a purifier that’s reactive to these changes makes it easier to improve the air quality in your home.

You want to keep an eye on your air quality levels
With an overall air quality graph and others dedicated to each contaminant, it’s easy to get an overview of your home's air quality throughout the day and pinpoint potential sources of contamination.

You want settings you can fine-tune
The MyDyson app gives you access to a wider range of timer durations, allows you to choose exactly where the TP09 starts oscillating from, and offers scheduling too, so you can set it this Dyson up just as you’d like it.

Don't buy it if...

You want something cheap and simple
This is a pricey purifying fan, and you could buy a cheaper tower fan and air purifier separately if you’re happy with a more basic air purifier that requires more manual intervention.

You want a desktop-sized air purifier
The TP09 is tall and heavy, and would likely be overkill if you just want to freshen the air in a small home office.

You don’t want a tower fan
If you’re only really interested in a high-tech air purifier, then you’d be better off looking at something like the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet Formaldehyde instead.

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 review: Also consider

Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09

Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10

Blueair Blue Pure 411i Max / Blue Max 3250i

Type

Purifying tower fan

Purifying tower fan

Air purifier

Price

$749.99 / £549.99 / AU$999.99

$429.99 / £449.99 / AU$799

$169.99 / £169

Fan speeds

10

10

3

Additional modes

Auto, Night mode, Diffused mode

Auto, sleep mode

Auto, night mode

Oscillation

Up to 350 degrees

Up to 350 degrees

N/A

Filter

HEPA H13 and activated carbon

HEPA H13 and activated carbon

HEPASilent and activated carbon

App support

Yes

No

Yes

Dimensions

8.7 x 8.7 x 41 inches / 22 x 22 x 105cm

8.7 x 8.7 x 41.3 inches / 22 x 22 x 105cm

18.9 x 10.6 x 10.6 inches / 48 x 27 x 27cm

Weight

10.7 lbs / 4.85kg

10.4 lbs / 4.7kg

7.5 lbs / 3.4kg

Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10
If you’re looking for a cheaper Dyson model, the TP10 is a very similar size and weight to the TP09, and uses the same HEPA 13 filter, but is only able to detect and react to the presence of PM2.5 and PM10 contamination. While it isn’t compatible with the MyDyson app, the large integrated display makes it easy to check the status of the air quality in the room. For more details, head over to my full review of the Dyson Purifier Cool Gen1 TP10.

Blueair Blue Pure 411i Max / Blue Max 3250i
If you’re looking for a stand-alone air purifier that’s more cost-friendly, but still smart, then this lightweight air purifier from Blueair is worth your consideration. It’s ideal for smaller rooms like bedrooms or offices, and offers an insight into the ambient air quality and remote control via the companion app. If you’d like to learn more, take a look at my full Blueair Blue Pure 411i Max / Blue Max 3250i review.

How I tested the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09

  • I used the Dyson TP09 purifying fan in my living room and bedroom
  • I observed its detection and purification skills
  • I evaluated the strength of the airflow and the sound levels

I used the Dyson Purifier Cool Formaldehyde TP09 purifying fan in our photo studio, my living room, and my bedroom over the course of a few weeks. I evaluated how easy it was to operate, along with the build quality and aesthetics, and explored the available functions and features.

I tested the strength of the airflow by determining at what distance I could still feel a cooling breeze. I also observed the TP09 Purifying Fan’s detection and purification skills during standardized testing, which included spraying dry shampoo towards it from around two feet away to test how quickly it would react and clear the contamination, and to see how it tackles odors. I also used it passively in my bedroom and my living room over a couple of weeks to see how it performed and how well it would report readings over time.

I used a decibel meter app on my iPhone to record the noise levels, taking readings from around two feet away and ensuring the fan wasn’t blowing directly into the microphone.

I checked the timer worked as expected, and tested out the sleep mode to see whether the TP09 was quiet enough for me to be able to sleep well with it running overnight.

I spent months with the Breville Oracle Jet and it delivered speedy, flavorful espresso with minimal effort every time – but you pay for its convenience
2:52 am |
Author: admin | Category: Coffee Machines Computers Gadgets Home Small Appliances | Tags: | Comments: Off

Breville Oracle Jet: two-minute review

The Breville Oracle Jet is a serious contender in the world of high-end espresso machines, offering an impressive mix of automation and precision. Designed to cater to both beginners and seasoned coffee enthusiasts, this high-tech machine helps simplify the often-fiddly process of making high-quality espresso, offering consistent results with minimal effort.

The key difference between the Jet and its immediate predecessor – the Oracle Touch – is that this newer model has adopted Breville’s fast-heating ThermoJet boiler technology. This means that the Jet’s ready to extract a coffee shot in around 30 seconds after being powered on, rather than the 3 or more minutes you’ll have to wait with the Oracle Touch and its older-style dual boilers.

One of the Oracle Jet’s standout features is its high-precision burr grinder. With 45 settings, it allows for ultra-fine adjustments to the grind size so that you can get the consistency you need from your coffee beans. This is a really valuable feature, especially since I’ve found many of the best espresso machines require a lot of trial and error to get this right, which wastes time (and coffee). The Oracle Jet really doubles down on this, providing real-time feedback on extraction, and guiding you in getting the perfect shot every time.

A side-on view of the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine with a hand inserting the portafilter into the grind outlet.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

While the automatic tamping system serves up a uniform coffee puck time and time again, I found that the grinder could be a little messy, occasionally leaving stray grounds on the portafilter and even on the worktop around the machine, but it’s nothing a quick wipe won’t sort out.

The machine makes up for this minor inconvenience with its sizeable, intuitive touchscreen, which makes the entire brewing process not only feel super premium, but truly effortless. It walks you through drink selection, grinding, extraction and milk frothing in a really fluid and enjoyable way, making it almost impossible to get a bad coffee. And the Auto MilQ steam wand automatically textures milk to the right consistency for your drink of choice, even adjusting settings based on whether you're using dairy or plant-based alternatives – a rare but certainly welcome feature in the world of home espresso makers.

A close up of the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine's LCD display, showing controls for grinding, shot volume and milk type and temperature.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

Despite its many conveniences, Breville’s impressive machine does have some drawbacks. It’s quite bulky and heavy, so you’ll need ample kitchen worktop space. And the lack of simultaneous brewing and milk steaming means that if you’re making multiple drinks, the Oracle Jet can be a little slower than its dual-boiler predecessors, such as the Oracle Touch. And, of course, the $1,999.95 / AU$3,399 price tag makes it a considerable investment.

Still, for those who want top-tier espresso without the hassle, the Breville Oracle Jet delivers. It offers barista-level quality at the touch of a button, making it what I believe to be one of the most advanced and user-friendly coffee machines on the market today.

Breville Oracle Jet: price and availability

  • Available to buy now, priced at $1,999.95 / AU$3,399
  • Sold under the Sage brand in the UK
  • More expensive than most competitors

Arriving in Breville’s home territory of Australia first – where it's currently priced at $3,399 – the Oracle Jet launched in July 2024, and then made its way to the US a few months later, where it carries an MSRP of $1,999.95. Available from the brand's official web store as well as many major retailers, it comes in Truffle Black, Stainless Steel and Sea Salt White in Australia, while buyers in the US get additional Damson Blue and Olive Tapenade (aka green) options.

Compared to Breville’s other high-end models, the Oracle Jet sits between the Barista Touch Impress ($1,499 / AU$1,999) and the flagship Oracle Touch ($2,799.95 / AU$3,699), making it quite definitively a high-range option.

While there are few other espresso machines on the market that offer the Oracle Jet’s exact mix of features, the Oracle Jet holds its ground well when stacked up against other semi-automatic rivals. There’s the Ninja Luxe Café ($499 / around AU$750), which offers a semi-automatic espresso setup with some smart features at a fraction of the price in select markets (currently unavailable in Australia), but lacks the same precision and customization.

Meanwhile, the De'Longhi La Specialista Touch ($1,000 / AU$1,299) is another alternative featuring a touchscreen and automated milk frothing in a smaller footprint and at a much lower cost, but it doesn’t feature the same level of automation around grinding and tamping, or the cold brew functionality of the Oracle Jet.

  • Value score: 4/5

Breville Oracle Jet: specs

Dimensions

19.2 x 15 x 14.5 inches / 48.8 x 38.1 x 36.8cm

Weight

26.9lbs / 12.2kg

Grinder

45-setting burr grinder

Drink options

11, including espresso, latte, cappuccino, cold brew, and hot chocolate

Milk frothing

Automatic, with presets for dairy and plant-based milks

Water tank

2qt / 2.3l (front-fillable)

Smart features

Auto grind adjustment, Wi-Fi updates

Breville The Oracle Jet: design

  • High-end build with sleek finish
  • Intuitive touchscreen for easy navigation
  • Clever built-in features like hidden wheels

The Breville Oracle Jet is a serious piece of kit. Right out of the box, everything about it screams premium, and given the lofty price tag you’d be right to have high expectations, too. With a brushed stainless steel finish on the variant sent to me for this review, it has a sleek, pro feel that will certainly look the part in any kitchen, provided you’ve got the space for it.

That’s the thing – this isn’t some compact coffee maker you can tuck away in the corner of your kitchen. It’s around 20 inches wide and 15 inches deep (or 50cm x 40cm), so you’ll need a fair amount of free worktop space to fit this beast in comfortably. It's also pretty weighty, weighing in at over 26lbs / 12kg, so you might even need someone to help you lift it out of the box.

Once you've got it set up in the desired spot, it’ll be hard not to immediately fall in love with the 5-inch touchscreen, which dominates the front of the machine for good reason – it’s your guide through the entire coffee-making process. Whether you’re brewing a classic espresso shot or frothing milk for a cappuccino, the Oracle Jet provides clear, easy-to-follow instructions through text and images. There's even a preset for espresso martini!

There's light and dark modes for the interface, which is a nice customization touch to suit your kitchen lighting. The interface is smooth and responsive, which is a relief since the screen on Breville’s last machine, the Barista Touch Impress, could be frustratingly sluggish at times. It now works as expected, making swiping between different drink options a dream.

A slightly acute front-on image of the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine sitting on a brown wooden table.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

One of the Oracle Jet’s most thoughtful features is the front-fillable 2qt / 2.3L water tank. If you’ve ever had to awkwardly shuffle a big ol’ espresso machine around just to access and refill the water tank, you’ll definitely appreciate this design feature, as it means you just need to lift up a front flap and pour from a jug straight from the tap. There’s also a window just above the drip tray so you can clearly see the water level, but you’ll also receive alerts on the touchscreen when the tank needs refilling.

Another handy feature is the addition of hidden wheels on the machine’s underside. Given its size and weight, you might expect the Oracle Jet to be a hassle to move, but a simple swipe of the lever under the drip tray lifts the machine onto its 360º wheels, making it incredibly easy to slide around and reposition. It’s a small detail, but one that shows Breville has really considered usability for its customers.

The grinder and portafilter system also boast brilliant build quality, with automatic grinding and tamping, which takes much of the guesswork (and the effort) out of making espresso, but I’ll talk more about that in the performance section. The 58mm portafilter is barista-standard for even extraction, but it also feels well built and weighty in the hand, like it should.

Image 1 of 3

The portafilter, single- and double-shot baskets, grinds bin and milk jug that are included with the Breville Oracle Jet.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Image 2 of 3

The flap on the top front of the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine in a raised position, ready for water to be poured into.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Image 3 of 3

A front-on image of the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine with its drip tray removed and sitting to one side.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

The Auto MilQ steam wand is another standout. It automatically textures milk to the consistency required for whichever type of drink you’re making – and the neat thing here is that you can input the type of milk you’re frothing, whether that’s your standard dairy or plant-based alternatives like soy, oat or almond. Coffee-brewing control freaks will be pleased to hear they still have the option to steam manually, too.

However, the machine’s one main drawback is that unlike previous Oracles, you can’t brew and steam at the same time. If you’re making multiple milk-based coffee drinks, you’ll have to wait for one process to finish before starting the other, which can slow things down compared to its predecessors. This is due to the machine’s single ThermoJet heating system. Unlike dual-boiler machines, which have separate boilers for brewing and steaming, the Oracle Jet uses one heating element for both tasks.

If it’s a dealbreaker for you, Breville’s slightly pricier (but not quite as smart) Oracle and Oracle Touch machines do feature a dual-heating system, so these might be worth considering if you frequently make a large number of coffees.

  • Design score: 4.5/5

Breville The Oracle Jet: performance

  • Automatic grind and tamping give top results time and time again
  • Fast heating and smooth espresso extraction
  • Cold brew and iced coffee options

The Breville Oracle Jet is built to take the hassle out of home espresso, and after using it for a few months in TechRadar's Sydney office – incidentally replacing the Breville Oracle Touch, I can confidently say it delivers on that promise. From grinding to milk frothing, almost everything is automated, making it ideal for anyone who wants great coffee without the hassle.

Let’s start with the grinder. It has 45 settings, which means you can seriously fine-tune your grind size to suit whatever beans you're using. The smart thing about this is that the machine even tells you if your shot is under- or over-extracted, so you know whether to adjust the grind next time. This is a game changer if you’ve ever struggled with dialling in a manual espresso machine and haven’t been able to nail the extraction.

The automatic tamping system also works really well here, as it means you don’t have to worry about pressing too hard or too softly – you just let the machine do the work. That said, it does have a habit of leaving a few stray coffee grounds behind, which isn’t a huge deal but means a bit of extra clean-up.

Image 1 of 2

A close up side-on view showing the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine's dial for adjusting grind setting.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
Image 2 of 2

A top down view of the portafilter from the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine, filled with ground coffee and neatly tamped.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

When it comes to pulling a shot, the dual ThermoJet system heats up almost instantly, so there’s no waiting around like with cheaper machines. I found espresso extraction to be smooth and consistent, with rich, balanced flavors – whether you’re using high-end beans or just grabbing something from the supermarket. I used the standard Woolworth's espresso beans easily available in Australia where this machine was tested (costing AU$18 per kilo) and these proved equally satisfying in my morning coffee, offering a lovely full-bodied and smooth taste. I suspect this was down to the machine making the most of how they were brewed.

The real-time shot timer on the touchscreen is also worth a mention. It’s probably one of my favorite features on this machine – turning green if your shot is timed well or red if something’s off, giving you immediate feedback. Impressive!

The Auto MilQ steam wand also adds to the top performance experience of the Oracle Jet. The milk textures it produces are always silky smooth, and ideal for making latte art if you’re into that (not that I could produce anything worth looking at, but that’s down to my lack of skills). While manual milk frothing is an option, most people will probably prefer the automatic setting and it produces great results.

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A close up of the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine's portafilter in the process of extracting a shot of coffee.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)
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A top down view of the Breville Oracle Jet coffee machine's Auto MilQ steam wand, submerged in a steel jug of milk.

(Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

One of the more unique features on the Oracle Jet is its cold brew and cold espresso modes. Cold espresso is perfect for iced lattes, keeping the flavors bold without melting the ice too quickly. The cold-brew function isn’t quite the same as traditional overnight steeping, in that it uses room-temperature water to perform a slow multi-minute extraction, but it still produces a smoother, less acidic coffee in a fraction of the time (and effort) that it takes to make the real thing.

Cleaning is another area where the Oracle Jet makes life easy. Despite the mess the grinder can sometimes make, it has automatic cleaning cycles for the steam wand and internal components, so there’s not much hands-on maintenance. You’ll still need to rinse the portafilter and wipe down and empty the drip tray, but overall, it’s much lower effort than most espresso machines that I've tested.

  • Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Breville Oracle Jet?

Buy it if

You want barista-quality coffee without the effort

The Oracle Jet automates most of the process, ensuring consistent results every time.

You’re happy to pay extra for a top quality appliance

If you’re one for appreciating the finer things in life and don’t mind paying extra for the privilege of a well-built and stylish machine, then you’ll be right at home with the Oracle Jet.

You love cold coffee

The cold brew and cold espresso functions are rare on machines of this type.

You want smart guidance

The real-time extraction feedback and grind adjustment tips help you master espresso-making and makes you feel like a pro with very minimal effort.

Don't buy it if

You’re on a budget

At nearly $2,000 / AU$3,500, the Oracle Jet is certainly not a casual purchase. It’s an investment that will last you years to come, so it's definitely more aimed at those who are serious about creating barista-quality coffee at home.

You need a compact machine

It’s large and it’s pretty heavy, so not ideal for smaller kitchens or those tight on space.

You want to brew and steam at the same time

The single ThermoJet system used for brewing and milk steaming means they can't be used simultaneously, so not ideal for those who want to make a swift cup of coffee before dashing off to work.

Breville Oracle Jet: also consider

Ninja Luxe Café

Price: $499 (around AU$750)

A more affordable bean-to-cup option that still offers some automation, including guided espresso pulls and an automatic frother. However, it lacks the fine-tuned grind settings and high-end build of the Oracle Jet, and it’s not currently available in Australia.

Read our full Ninja Luxe Café review

Breville Barista Touch Impress

Price: $1,499 / AU$2,299

A slightly less expensive alternative from Breville with many of the same automation features, including Auto MilQ milk frothing and guided espresso adjustments. However, it lacks the cold brew and cold espresso options and the digital display just isn’t quite as swift as that on the Oracle Jet.

Read our full Breville Barista Touch Impress review

De’Longhi Eletta Explore

Price: $1,899.99 / AU$1,799

An accomplished bean-to-cup coffee machine that’s perfect for coffee lovers who don’t have the time to maintain an espresso machine. Plus, it can make both hot and cold beverages and comes with everything you might need for a fully operational caffeination station.

Read our full De’Longhi Eletta Explore review

How I tested the Breville Oracle Jet

I used the Breville Oracle Jet for just over a month at home, making two coffee drinks per day using a mixture of high quality Lavazza decaf and fully caffeinated coffee beans. During testing, I noted flavors, consistency, temperature, time to brew, and noise levels. Beyond drinking the espresso and coffee black, I tried the different milk frother presets with both dairy and plant-based milk, observing the foam levels and differences between settings. In the end, I tested almost every setting on the machine and observed how it performed during every step.

Read more about how we test

[First reviewed: August 2025]

The Philips Hue Play Wall Washer transformed my home cinema setup, and it makes a perfect wake-up light, too
4:00 pm | August 6, 2025
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Home Smart Home Smart Lights | Tags: , | Comments: Off

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: two-minute review

When I first set eyes on the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer, I saw it as a more advanced alternative to the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which are designed to sit on either side of your TV and add ambience to your home entertainment setup. The Wall Washer can certainly do that – and with more atmospheric results thanks to its wider projection area – but it can do a lot more, too.

Like the Light Bar, the Wall Washer is a discreet-looking device that's designed to be positioned with its light source shining against a wall, rather than into the room, producing a diffuse glow that (as the name suggests) washes your room with color. However, unlike the Play Light Bar, which can only show one color at a time, each Wall Washer contains three lights, stacked vertically, which overlap to form a smooth gradient.

As the video below shows, the three lights can also dim and brighten independently to create shimmering effects, which is a nice feature if you choose to use a single Wall Washer as a table lamp to set the mood as part of a larger Philips Hue lighting setup.

You can use the Wall Washer via Bluetooth, but to unlock all its features (and to justify its price), you'll also need a Philips Hue Bridge. This small hub device plugs into your router and uses the Zigbee wireless protocol to create a mesh network that connects all of your Hue lights, switches, and cameras to one another, and to the internet.

Provided you have that, setting up your Wall Washer is straightforward. Just select the "Add" option within the Hue mobile app, scan the QR code on the base of your Wall Washer when prompted and then choose a room or zone for it (you'll be prompted to create an area if none already exist). If you have more than one Wall Washer, you'll need to add each one separately, but that takes only a few seconds.

Setting up Philips Hue Play Wall Washer lights using Philips Hue app on Android phone

You can add Wall Washers to any room or zone in the Philips Hue app, sync them with other lights, and apply scenes across them all (Image credit: Future)

Once that's done, you can change the color of each Wall Washer by choosing a shade from the app's color wheel. You can also apply a preset color scheme (known as a "scene") from the Hue library; create your own scene by picking colors or importing a picture; or apply an animated dynamic scene such as the shimmering purple effect above.

You can customize your Wall Washer by itself, or apply a scene to all the lights in a room or zone.

Despite its small size, the Wall Washer projects light a long way, and when it was positioned on a table, I found the color reached all the way to the ceiling. If you like the idea of a Philips Hue Signe Floor Lamp, but don't have the space, the Wall Washer would be a good alternative for around the same price. Although there are only three lights in each Wall Washer, the color gradient is totally seamless, as you can see in the image at the top of this review.

As mentioned earlier, the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer can also sync with your TV, extending the colors from the screen in the same way as a Philips Ambilight TV to create a more immersive viewing experience by effectively blurring the edges of the picture.

To do this, you'll need at least one Wall Washer, plus either a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, or a smart TV that's compatible with the Philips Hue Play Sync app. The app was initially only available for selected Samsung TVs, but in February 2025, Signify (Philips Hue's parent company) launched a version for LG sets as well.

The advantage of using the app is that there's less to setup, and you can use it to sync your Hue lights with content from your TV's native apps. If you use a Sync Box, you can only sync with content from HDMI sources.

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Two Philips Hue Play Wall Washer lights beside TV

Colors are natural, and the gradient effect looks seamless when used with an HDMI Sync Box (Image credit: Future)
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Two Philips Hue Play Wall Washer lights beside TV

There was very little lag when I used the Wall Washers with an HDMI Sync Box connected to a set-top box (Image credit: Future)
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Two Philips Hue Play Wall Washer lights beside TV

Even in daylight, the Wall Washer lights were effective (Image credit: Future)

As you can see in the video and images above, there's very little latency when using the Wall Washer lights with a Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box connected to a set-top box, and colors look natural rather than distracting. The lighting is effective, even in daylight, and the gradient means the Wall Washers create a more seamless look than the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which can only average out the color on each side of your screen.

The main disadvantage of the Wall Washer compared to the Philips Hue Play Light Bar is that it only stands upright, and it isn't designed to be mounted horizontally. As such, it isn't well suited for use underneath your TV. You'll probably want at least two for a home entertainment setup (and possibly another for elsewhere in the room), which will be considerably more expensive.

If you have just one Wall Washer, it also works well as a wake-up light on your nightstand. The Hue app contains automations that are designed to wake you with a simulated sunrise, with the lamp gradually becoming brighter and the light becoming cooler, reaching full brightness by a set time. I'm very sensitive to light at night, and the Wall Washer is the first lamp I've found that doesn't shock me awake by increasing brightness abruptly. It's more like waking gradually as the sun comes through your tent on a camping trip.

At the end of the day, you can wind down with a sunset automation, which runs the same sequence in reverse. The video above shows the last 20 seconds of a five-minute sleep automation, during which the light color shifts from warm white to orange to red, while gradually decreasing in brightness.

Overall, it's the most versatile smart light I've tested to date, and although it certainly isn't cheap, there's no denying its performance, whichever room you're using it in.

  • Performance: 5/5

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: price and availability

  • Costs $219.99 / £169.99 for one, or $384.99 / £299.99 for two
  • Not yet available in Australia
  • Works best with Philips Hue Bridge

At the time of writing, the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is available direct from the Philips Hue website in the US and UK, and from Amazon in the US. It isn't yet on sale in Australia, but FAQ pages on the Australian Philips Hue site indicate that its launch there is imminent.

A single Philips Hue Play Wall Washer has a list price of $219.99 / £169.99 (about AU$340), and if you're planning to use the lights on either side of your TV (as shown in some of the photos here), you can pick up a two-pack for $384.99 / £299.99 (about AU$600).

That makes it one of the most expensive Philips Hue lights around, but it's also the most versatile, serving as a filler light to add ambience, a backlight for your home entertainment system, and a wake-up light. Most Hue lights only fill one niche, so the Wall Washer's adaptability makes its price tag more palatable.

For comparison, the Philips Hue Play Light Bar has a list price of $89.99 / £64.99 / AU$129.95 each. If you're considering the Wall Washer as a wake-up lamp, the Philips Hue Twilight (which also has a front-facing LED for reading) costs $279 / £249 (about AU$430).

If you want to use the Wall Washers with your TV, you'll also need a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and Philips Hue Bridge, so factor these into your budget calculations if you don't already own them.

  • Value score: 4/5

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: specifications

Wattage

60W

Maximum brightness

1,035 lumens

Colors

2,000-6,500K Hue White Colour Ambiance

Control options

Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant (via Philips Hue app)

Max lights per power supply

3

Connectivity

Zigbee/Bluetooth

Size (H x W)

6.2 x 3.6 inches / 15.7 x 9.1cm

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: design

Each Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is nearly cylindrical, and measures 6.2 inches / 15.7cm tall and 3.6 inches / 9.1cm in diameter. This is considerably shorter than the Philips Hue Play Light Bars, which stand at 11.5 inches / 29.2cm high; but the design of the Wall Washer and its improved LEDs means that it can throw light over a larger area.

The Wall Washer has an aluminum case (rather than plastic for the Play Light Bars), and has a smart-looking matte finish. It's available in black (shown here) or white, so you can pick an option that will blend well with your décor.

The back of the Wall Washer has a flat surface, and contains three Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance lights arranged vertically. That might not sound like much, but the lights overlap in such a way that they shine a super-smooth gradient onto your wall, with no banding whatsoever.

Philips Hue Wall Washer in dark room, showing three lights on rear

The Wall Washer contains three lights that overlap to create a smooth gradient (Image credit: Future)

This technology, called ColorCast, is the same used by the Philips Hue Twilight wake-up lamp – and like the Twilight, the Wall Washer can be dimmed to an extremely low level for use at night.

You can connect up to three Philips Hue Play Wall Washer lights to a single power supply, although they're only sold in packs of one or two.

  • Design score: 5/5

Should you buy the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: score card

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

One of the most expensive Philips Hue lights around, but also one of the most versatile.

4/5

Design

Small and discreet, with cleverly positioned overlapping LEDs that produce a super-smooth color gradient.

5/5

Performance

Easy to use, and works brilliantly whether adding ambience to your home cinema, serving as a fill light, or waking you up with a natural sunrise effect.

5/5

Buy it if

You already have some (or are planning to buy) other Philips Hue products

To get the most out of the Wall Washer you'll need a Philips Hue Bridge and possibly an HDMI Sync Box, so if you're not planning to build a whole Philips Hue setup then it's hard to justify the price of this lamp plus all the accessories.

You want a versatile smart light

Unlike some Philips Hue Play lights, the Wall Washer isn't just for use with your TV.

Don't buy it if

You want task lighting

This is a light for creating a mood, not for boosting visibility. If you want something similar for task lighting, take a look at the Philips Hue Twilight, which has the same ColorCast tech, but also has a front-facing reading light.

You want a statement piece

The Wall Washer can create a dramatic effect, but the device itself is designed to be discreet. If you want something that makes a statement, something like the Govee Table Light 2 might work better.

Philips Hue Play Wall Washer: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer is right for you, here are two other options to consider.

Philips Hue Play Light Bars

If you only want a light to add ambience to games and movies, the Play Light Bar is a much more affordable alternative. It doesn't project a gradient and it doesn't throw light as far, but if you catch it in a sale then you can pick up a pair for almost half the price of two Wall Washers.

Read our full Philips Hue Play Light Bar review

Philips Hue Signe Gradient Table Lamp

If you want an attractive light gradient for your walls but aren't interested in syncing it with your TV, this minimalist lamp is a more affordable option.

Read our full Philips Hue Signe Gradient Table Lamp review

How I tested the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer:

I connected the Philips Hue Play Wall Washer to my Philips Hue Bridge, and used it in various rooms in my house (alone, and as a pair). First I connected it to a Philips Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, which was linked to a digital set-top box, and experimented with viewing different films and TV shows to assess color-matching and latency. The screengrabs above show content from TechRadar's YouTube channel for copyright reasons, but I tested the lights with a wide variety of media.

I also used a single Wall Washer as a fill light together with a pair of Philips Hue White & Color Ambiance bulbs in ceiling fixtures. I experimented with applying different scenes to all the lights in the room, and creating new ones.

Finally, I tested a single Wall Washer on my nightstand, using the Wake Up and Sleep automations to assess how smoothly the color and brightness of the light can change, and how dim it can become before switching off. I compared its performance to a purpose-made wake-up light.

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

First reviewed July 2025.

I tested BitComet, an excellent torrenting platform with a user-friendly interface and swift download speeds
1:37 pm |
Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Comments: Off

BitComet is a free torrenting client for PCs and mobile devices. It allows you to download videos, music, photos, and other files from across the web. BitComet is unique because it doesn’t support only the BitTorrent protocol. It can also download files using the HTTP and FTP protocols.

With a glut of torrenting platforms available, many people struggle to choose the best one for their needs. We’re reviewing BitComet to help you decide whether it’s an ideal choice. Our review centers on crucial factors, including its features, user-friendliness, and security.

BitComet: Versions and platforms

BitComet is available as a desktop or mobile app. The desktop app is compatible with the Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. The mobile app is compatible only with the Android operating system. Like most torrenting apps, it is incompatible with iOS.

Apple's iOS App Store has stringent requirements and is generally unfriendly to torrenting apps. Hence, most torrenting apps are incompatible with iOS.

You can download BitComet by heading to the website, clicking the “downloads” section, and choosing your relevant operating system. Downloading and installing the app takes little time and effort.

BitComet 2

(Image credit: Future)

BitComet: Features

BitComet is unique because it supports multiple file-sharing protocols (BitTorrent, HTTP, and FTP). You can download content indirectly via torrents or directly from an online source.

This platform supports long-term seeding, whereby any torrent file a user downloads is kept for an extended period. This makes it easy for other users on the network to access the file, ensuring faster download speeds across the torrenting network.

BitComet has a “torrent exchange” feature that allows users to obtain torrents directly from other BitComet users. This feature increases the availability of content on its torrenting network.

To download content via BitComet, you’ll first search for the relevant torrent from your favorite torrent site. For instance, if you want a specific audio track, you can search for the track and download the .torrent file on your PC. Then, you’ll upload this torrent to BitComet to begin the download. Alternatively, you can download a file by providing its torrent hash or Magnet URI.

BitComet supports the HTTP and FTP file transfer protocols, so you can also download a file by providing its HTTP URL. Unlike most rivals exclusively used for torrenting, we like that BitComet supports multiple download protocols.

To illustrate, we downloaded a (public domain) music .torrent file. The next step is clicking on BitComet’s torrent upload button, highlighted with a red arrow in the below image.

BitComet 3

(Image credit: Future)

Click on this button, upload the file, and you’ll automatically create a new download task. Choose the file destination and click “Download Now” to begin downloading. Alternatively, you can click “Download Later” and schedule the download at a specific time.

BitComet shows your real-time download progress and speed. You can monitor all your pending or completed downloads from a single page. You’re free to pause or stop a pending download.

When testing BitComet, we observed swift download speeds, but yours can vary depending on how many seeders (for your specific torrent file) are present on the network. Seeders are users like you who have downloaded and shared a file with other BitComet users.

The more seeders available, the more bandwidth and the faster your download speed. The fewer the seeders on the network, the slower your download speed. Your network speed also contributes to how fast BitComet will download your torrent file.

If you download content via HTTP or FTP, you don't need to worry about seeders. In this case, your download speed primarily depends on your internet service provider (ISP).

Torrenting can consume significant bandwidth, especially when acting as a seeder for other BitComet users. To save bandwidth, BitComet lets users set maximum file upload speeds. You’ll never surpass this limit when uploading files for other users.

BitComet lets users set IP filters for security purposes. You can do that via denylists or allowlists. Denylists block specific IP addresses from sharing files with your device, usually the IPs known for spreading malware. With allowlists, you’ll permit only a specific set of IP addresses to share files with your device, and the others are automatically blocked.

BitComet: Interface and in-use

Intuitiveness is one of the main advantages we observed when testing BitComet. It has a simple interface that users can easily understand. All the functions are neatly arranged on the dashboard’s upper side. The upper-left corner hosts an array of buttons, including the torrent upload, start, stop, and delete buttons.

Every button has a fitting icon as opposed to plain text, making it easy to discover what you want. BitComet has a white background and bright colors to make icons noticeable. The navigation menu is easily accessible on a desktop or Android phone.

BitComet is compatible with the most popular desktop operating systems—macOS, Windows, and Linux—and the most popular mobile operating system (Android). It is highly accessible, though it lacks an iOS app for broader reasons.

BitComet: Security and privacy

Torrenting can expose you to security threats like malware. Hence, BitComet has sophisticated features to prevent users from falling victim to cyber threats. It automatically scans all files for viruses before downloading them. You'll be warned and prompted to cancel the download if a virus is detected.

This platform uses advanced encryption algorithms to prevent unauthorized parties from snooping on your torrenting activities. For heightened security, you can set BitComet always to encrypt outgoing connections and only accept encrypted incoming connections.

Though very secure, BitComet isn’t perfectly airtight. There’s always a risk of your torrenting activities getting leaked, so don’t use BitComet for illegal activities. TechRadar explicitly doesn’t endorse piracy.

BitComet: Final Verdict

BitComet is one of the best free torrenting solutions. It makes discovering and downloading content a cakewalk, thanks to its support of other protocols aside from BitTorrent. We recommend BitComet to anyone looking for a suitable torrenting solution.

We list the best free torrent client.

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