The Klim Mistral is a mid-market laptop cooling pad that has proven particularly popular on online retailers such as Amazon. While it had an original list price of $86.97 / £74.97, shop around and you can pick it up for less, with even Klim selling it direct for $69.97 / £59.97. This seems a pretty decent outlay, especially given it rocks pretty hardcore 4500rpm fans. But how did it perform in practice?
First off, I was pleasantly surprised by its aesthetics. As I remarked in my Klim Wind review, I wasn’t all that enamored by the look of that cooling pad – I still stand by my assessment that it looks like a "cyber-goth butterfly". By contrast, the Mistral is more mature-looking, dropping some of that edgy gamer styling for a cleaner silhouette and a five-color LED light strip – although the latter is cheaper-looking than some, clearly just showing 10 separate RGB LEDs.
There are also plenty of design touches that would imply it offers more professional cooling. For example, it comes with a rubber seal around its rim that will create a high-pressure area designed to force cooling air into your laptop's fans, maximizing their effectiveness. In addition, Klim has supplied heat shields to redirect air flow should your laptop also vent from the rear as well as from beneath; our testing Acer Predator Helios 300 laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU sits firmly in this camp, so I dutifully applied them.
When it comes to ergonomics, the Mistral offers a good range of height settings, offering six in total. The top 29-degree angle is too steep to use the keyboard comfortably, but spot-on if you’re just using the screen, while the lower 19-degree angle felt comfortable for long typing sessions. Conversely, I found the placement of the laptop rests to be a bit uncomfortable – they’re easy to adjust to the height of your laptop, but since they stick up above the lip of the wrist rest, I found they dug into my wrists. However, I find this is a problem with a majority of cooling pads.
So it’s safe to say that after experiencing this mindful design, my expectations of the cooling the Mistral would offer was quietly optimistic – or maybe even loudly optimistic, once I’d seen those two enormous 4500rpm fans built-in. Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed more thoroughly than a college student’s AI-written dissertation.
(Image credit: Future)
As always, I tested the Klim Mistral’s cooling capacity by running a 3DMark Steel Nomad stress test on our testing laptop for 15 minutes with the cooling pad on max power, measuring the device’s temperature before and after. During the test, our laptop rose from 77ºF / 25ºC to 113.9ºF / 45.5ºC, a whopping 36.9ºF / 20.5ºC – for context, we’ve only had one cooling pad perform worse, the $29.99 / £29.77 TopMate C12 Laptop Cooling Pad, which presided over a rise of 41ºF / 22.8ºC. That’s significantly below what I’d expect from a cooling pad at this price.
In fact, I was so baffled that I did something I never do: I gave the Mistral a second chance. I re-ran the test later in the day, in the event that user error had somehow contributed to this poor performance. Ensuring the laptop was sat firmly on top of the seal, I found the results were certainly different – but not in the way I’d hoped. This time, the laptop’s core temperature rose a ludicrous 54.9ºF / 30.5ºC. Given our baseline stress test for our laptop only saw it rise 57.4ºF / 31.9ºC, this would mean the cooling pad shaved off only 2.5ºF / 1.4ºC, which is negligible enough not to be worth the trouble.
Trying to give Klim the benefit of the doubt here, it does warn heavily on its website that only certain types of laptop will work properly with the Mistral. Your computer will need to be between 15 and 17 inches and feature downward ventilation – but our testing laptop did meet both these criteria. I have also seen several online user reviews mention that the design of their laptop meant there were still small gaps around the rubber seal, negating the high-pressure effect intended.
Still, even if the Mistral's poor performance is down to the fact our laptop isn’t the perfect fit for its design, most of the other cooling pads I’ve tested have functioned regardless of the shape of our testing device. Sure, it’s perfectly possible that the Klim Mistral will send a chill through your laptop more icy and severe than your second-grade teacher – but do you really want to roll the dice on that?
(Image credit: Future)
Another thing that Klim warns about on its site is that its supposedly high-performance design can result in a lot more noise. If I’m honest, it didn’t really strike me as much of an outlier here: measuring the combined noise output of the cooling pad and our laptop 10 minutes into our test, it clocked 61dB from a few inches away and 51dB at my head height. That’s pretty much par for the course for medium to high-end cooling pads, so it wasn't really a concern. If you're a bit more noise-sensitive though, you may find your mileage here varies.
Ultimately, I feel like the Klim Mistral’s build and price write checks that its cooling can’t quite cash. Yes, I’ll accept that it might achieve better results if you have the exact design of laptop – but is that something you should really have to take a punt on when spending $69.97 / £59.97? Fundamentally, other options on our list of the best laptop cooling pads offer more predictable performance, whether you’re spending this kind of money or much less.
(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Klim Mistral?
Buy it if...
You need flexible, ergonomic design Offering six height settings, the Klim Mistral is easy to adjust to the most comfortable angle needed for any given task.
You want mature looks Unlike its edgelord-y stablemate, the Klim Wind, the Mistral has far more restrained looks, offering a cleaner outline and some five-color LED lighting.
Don't buy it if...
You don’t want to gamble with your cooling Fundamentally, I couldn't get the Klim Mistral to perform as it should. If that’s even remotely a risk you don’t want to take, I’d look elsewhere.
You prefer quiet Given its 4500rpm fans, the Klim Mistral isn’t excessively loud, but nor is it exactly demure. If you don’t want to annoy your room-mates or colleagues, we'd steer clear.
Klim Mistral review: also consider
Llano RGB Laptop Cooling Pad For me, this represents the crème de la crème of laptop cooling pads. Sure, it sounds like a hyperventilating vacuum cleaner, but it offers the most effective chilling of any of the products I’ve reviewed. In tests, it only let our laptop’s temperature rise by 14.4ºF / 8ºC – and looked fantastic while doing it, oozing restrained, RGB-lit style. The only real caveat is the price: at $119.99 / £129.99, it costs a pretty penny. Read my full Llano RGB Laptop Cooling Pad review.
Llano V10 Gaming Laptop Cooling Pad If you want a cooling pad more in line with the price of the Mistral, the V10 Gaming Laptop Cooling Pad is definitely closer at $89.99 / £116.26. Despite this, it still offers vastly superior cooling to the Mistral, trimming our laptop’s heat rise to just 21.6ºF / 12ºC, making it a decent way to cool your computer without having to step up to the full price of the Llano RGB above. Read my full Llano V10 Gaming Laptop Cooling Pad review.
(Image credit: Future)
How I tested the Klim Mistral
Used it over the course of several days
Measured the heat rise of a laptop with the pad on maximum settings
Recorded how much noise it made two-thirds of the way through our stress test
To put the Klim Mistral through its paces, I followed TechRadar’s standard testing procedure. Running a 3DMark Steel Nomad stress test for 15 minutes on our Acer Predator Helios 300 laptop with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU, I set the Mistral on its maximum cooling and measured our laptop’s temperature before and after using a thermal camera. I then compared this to the benchmarks recorded from every laptop cooling pad test we’ve run to date.
In addition, I recorded the combined noise output of the cooling pad’s and our testing laptop’s built-in fans. To do this, I used a sound level meter to measure their volume 10 minutes into the test, recording it both from a few inches away and at my head height (21 inches away). This allowed me to get a sense of both an objective volume, as well as the subjective amount of noise you’re likely to experience in use.
Finally, I made sure I used the Klim Mistral in a variety of scenarios to get a sense of its ergonomics and how comfortable it was in use. I did this by using it to play multiple games and by using it for some of my daily work, so I could build up a meaningful impression of how it works in practice. I bring plenty of experience to this table: not only have I been covering gadgets for many years, but I’m also a creative and gamer, which means I have a lot of experience of pushing my laptops to their limits.
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 Soundbar: One minute review
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 soundbar with optional Flexus SURR 200 rear speakers and Flexus SUB 200 subwoofer (Image credit: Future)
The Klipsch Flexus Core 300 isn’t the cheapest Dolby Atmos soundbar you can buy, but those who can afford it will find it matches the best Dolby Atmos soundbars on just about every level.
Now, it might not be the best soundbar for everyone. Aside from the big price tag, it’s also physically big. But it does everything else right. It has all the ports one could want, and it has all the features you’d expect to see in the best soundbars. Most importantly, it sounds really good. And once you set it up with the Dirac Live feature, the sound quality goes from really good to great. It’s that last bit that really puts it over the edge for me.
If you’re looking for a soundbar system that gives a true theater experience at home, the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 is more than capable, and the experience gets even more immersive when you add the accompanying surround speakers and subwoofer.
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review: Price & release date
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 system packaging (Image credit: Future)
Price: $1,199.99 / £1,049.00 (about AU$1,830)
First available: September 2025
The Klipsch Flexus Core 300 soundbar system reviewed here is anything but cheap. In fact,the Core 300 soundbar, with the Sub 200 subwoofer, and Surr 200 surround speakers that I tested will set you back an eye-wateringly high $2,299.97 / £1,827 (about AU$3,500).
Individually, the Core 300 soundbar goes for $1,199.99 / £1,049.00 (about AU$1,830), while the Sub 200 subwoofer is $599.99 / £419.00 (about AU$910) and the Surr 200 surround sound speakers are $499.99 / £359.00 (about AU$760) per pair. There are cheaper versions available of the subwoofer and surround speakers, so you can get away with a lower system cost, but you won’t have the same experience.
Also. Aussies will have to sit this one out (at least at the time of writing).
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review: Specs
Dimensions (W x H x D)
soundbar: 54 x 3 x 5 inch / 1371 x 76.2 x 127mm; subwoofer: 15.25 x 15.25 x 15.25 inches (387 x 387 x 387mm); surround speaker: 4.1 x 8.75 x 4.31 inches 105 x 222.25 x 109.5mm
Speaker channels
5.1.2 (soundbar), 7.1.4 (with sub and surround speakers)
4K 120Hz passthrough, Dirac Live room calibration, AirPlay, Google Cast, Google Home support
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review: Features
The Klipsch Flexus Core 300 soundbar and the optional wireless sub and rear speakers uses wireless dongles to transmit and receive audio signals (Image credit: Future)
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support
Night and dialog
Can adjust the volume of individual speakers
As you would expect from its price, the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 is feature-filled. It supports both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, and you can add an optional subwoofer (or two subwoofers since dual subs are supported) and wireless surround speakers for a full surround sound experience. On top of that, it has built-in Dirac Live, a calibration software that minimizes the effects of room reflections on the sound.
The Flexus Core 300 features movie and music modes, along with a night mode that compresses the audio dynamic range for late-night viewing. A dialog mode offers three different levels to emphasize the specific part of the mid-range where dialog sits. This is a bit more subtle than what I’ve found on other soundbars, but still effective.
In the app, there are quite a few additional options for fine-tuning the sound. There’s a three-band EQ, and you can adjust the individual volume of each channel if you feel like something is out of balance. The only thing missing, surprisingly, is any kind of voice assistant support – a feature typically found on the more expensive soundbars.
WiFi streaming supports Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, AirPlay, and Google Cast. Google Home is the only supported smart home ecosystem.
Features score: 5 / 5
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review: Performance
Both the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 soundbar and SUB 200 subwoofer are large compared to most soundbar systems (Image credit: Future)
Basic sound quality is very good
Dirac Live elevates sound clarity
Immersive soundstage
There are two experiences when listening to the Klipsch Flexus Core 300: with and without Dirac Live. Without it, the soundbar sounds very good. Action movies like The Workman have that oomph you expect from a movie theater experience, where you can just feel the subwoofer. Whether it’s a sound effect of someone getting punched or the low notes in the score that add a sense of foreboding, the sound has an impressive sense of weight to it.
The treble is as good as you would expect from a soundbar this pricey as well, with synths, flutes, and windchimes sounding crisp with no loss of detail.
The mid-range is what suffers the most without Dirac Live as it sounds a bit overstuffed without adjustments and dialogue can get lost just a little bit. You can offset with a three-band EQ that provides a 6 dB boost or cut, and changes to the EQ, even with presets active, are noticeable.
But, the real solution is to use Dirac Live (which I describe below in the usability and setup section). Once you’ve gone through the Dirac Live setup, the soundbar will create a custom EQ profile to adjust for the reflections of soundwaves bouncing around your media room, and the difference is stark. Dirac Live makes this soundbar go from good to amazing, with everything sounding clean, especially in the mid-range.
I watched The Batman, the first episode of The Residence, and an Eagles vs Cowboys football game, along with plenty of music during my testing. No matter how complex the soundtrack or music was, I could hear everything with precision. That alone justifies the Flexus Core 300’s price. Other room calibration systems I’ve tried can be very good, but this one is great.
I also experienced immersive sound when testing the surround sound speakers, even when they were not as widely placed as they should be. For the most part, their presentation was subtle; I would almost not realize that there was audio coming through them until I paid attention and realized that I was hearing the sound of wind.
Performance score: 5 / 5
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review: Design
The Klipsch Flexus Core 300 has a bright alphanumeric LED display for control feedback (Image credit: Future)
Modern, elegant look
Large soundbar and subwoofer
Extensive ports
While the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 comes in basic black, there’s something about its look that’s more elegant than a lot of the competition. (A walnut version is also available.) The soundbar and subwoofer both have wood grain showing through the black (not so for the surround sound speakers), and a silver Klipsch logo is featured prominently on each unit.
Now, don’t mistake that elegance for compact. This isn’t Apple. The Klipsch Flexus Core 300 soundbar is 54 inches wide, and the SUB 200 subwoofer is a 15-inch cube. The SURR 200 surround speakers are just under nine inches tall and a bit over four inches wide and deep. If you’re limited on space, this is not the system for you.
Focusing on just the soundbar, I really appreciate that the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 has an alphanumeric LED display that’s bright and sizable enough that it’s easy to read.
As far as controls go, most of the functionality is either on the remote or in the app. The soundbar itself just has power, input, and volume up and down buttons situated off-center on top.
The Flexus Core 300 comes with just about everything portone could ask for, including but not limited to multiple HDMI ports featuring eARC and 4K 120Hz passthrough, along with an optical digital input and RCA subwoofer output. Of course, there’s Bluetooth as well.
Most of your interaction with the soundbar will probably be through the remote. While I wish it was rechargeable instead of using AAA batteries, that’s really the only criticism I can throw at it. It feels good to hold with its rounded back, and the layout allows you to adjust most functions without having to use the app, including switching sound modes and adjusting the volume of the surround speakers and subwoofer.
Design score: 4.5 / 5
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review: Setup & usability
Klipsch's control app lets you adjust all system functions and is also used for Dirac Live calibration (Image credit: Future)
Generally easy to set up
Sub and surround speakers use wireless dongles
Dirac Live calibration requires silence
Klipsch packs the soundbar, subwoofer, and surround speakers with their own manual, and setting them up is a fairly straightforward process, though not exactly plug-and-play. I’ve set up a few soundbar systems with wireless connections before, and those typically get paired right out of the box. Here, both the subwoofer and surround sound speakers come with their own wireless dongle that needs to be plugged into the soundbar before pairing.
Considering that the sub and surround speakers are separate purchases, that makes sense. But it’s an additional step, and you have to press the pairing button on each external speaker and wait for the soundbar to connect.
If you want to get the most functionality out of Klipsch’s system, you also need to set up the app. This part was easy – all I had to do was connect it to Wi-Fi and answer some personalization questions.
The only thing I found a little difficult was setting up the Dirac Live calibration, which is finicky compared to other automatic calibration systems I’ve used. But then again, Dirac Live is the standard that audiophiles use for room correction.
The soundbar comes with a wired microphone that gets placed around the sitting area, and the calibration process requires complete silence. If a pet passes by or someone calls out during the ten-minute Dirac Live calibration, or if the air conditioner is too loud, then the test will fail and need to be run again.
Setup & usability score: 4.5 / 5
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review: Value
Klipsch's SURR 200 rear speakers are easy to setup and deliver immersive surround sound (Image credit: Future)
Expensive compared to other premium soundbars
Other premium systems not as well designed
Competition doesn’t support Dirac Live
As great as the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 Soundbar System is, it’s expensive compared to the competition. That’s especially true if you compare the system to premium models from large manufacturers like Samsung and LG, and not boutique audiophile brands that typically go for even more money.
As far as specific examples go, the LG S95AR is an impressive soundbar system in its own right – I gave it a very favorable review – and comes with surround speakers and a subwoofer without requiring an extra purchase. Its price tag of $1,699.99 (about £1,260 / AUD$2,610) might seem higher than the Flexus Core 300’s price tag of $1,199.99 / £1,049.00 / AU$1,695, but it’s actually a good deal when you consider it’s a complete package. The Klipsch is more aesthetically pleasing and sounds better, but both are quality systems.
The Samsung HW-Q990F, which retails for $1,799 / £1,699 / AU$1,995. Is a feature-filled 11.1.4 system that also makes the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 Soundbar System feel overpriced. Again, there’s a difference in aesthetics and the Samsung (along with the LG) doesn’t support Dirac Live room calibration, although they do provide their own proprietary calibrations.
Value score: 4 / 5
Should I buy the Klipsch Flexus Core 300?
Section
Notes
Score
Features
Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Night and Dialog mode are all here along with Dirac Live room EQ
5 / 5
Performance
Very good immersion and basic sound quality that is strongly enhanced by Dirac Live
5 / 5
Design
Classy looking and with an LED display, but large for a soundbar
4.5 / 5
Setup & usability
Relatively easy to set up, though Dirac Live calibration can be finicky if you don’t have complete silence
4.5 / 5
Value
As great as this soundbar system is, it’s among the more expensive options
4 / 5
Buy it if...
You want a true home theater experience This system is probably the closest you can get to a home theater experience with a soundbar. It not only sounds good, but you can feel it.
You want great sound, no matter the room With Dirac Live, you’ll get clear, balanced sound even if you’re putting the soundbar in a less-than-ideal room
You want all the features Whether it’s Dolby Atmos, room calibration via Dirac Live, or HDMI passthrough with 4K 120Hz support, you’ll find it here.
Don't buy it if...
You have a small space This is a big system, and the sound will overwhelm smaller spaces. If you have a cramped or small media room, there are other, much less expensive options that will give you a good experience.
You want a smart home system other than Google Google Home is the only smart home ecosystem the soundbar supports. Considering that many people use Alexa or Apple HomeKit instead, the limited support is, well, limiting.
Klipsch Flexus Core 300 review: Also consider
Klipsch Flexus Core 300
Samsung HW-Q990F
LG S95AR
Sonos Arc Ultra
Price
$1,199.99 / £1,049.00 (about AU$1,830)
$1,999 / £1,699 / AU$2,099
$1,699.99 (about £1,260 / AU$2,610)
$999 / £999 / AU$1,799
Dimensions (w x h x d)
Soundbar: 54 x 3 x 5 inch / 1371 x 76.2 x 127mm; subwoofer: 15.25 x 15.25 x 15.25 inches (387 x 387 x 387mm); surround speaker: 4.1 x 8.75 x 4.31 inches 105 x 222.25 x 109.5mm
Soundbar: 1232 x 70.8 x 138 mm (48.5 x 2.8 x 5.4 inch); Subwoofer: 249 x 251.8 x 249 mm (9.8 x 10.0 x 9.8 inch); Rear speaker: 129.5 x 201.3 x140.4 mm (5.1 x 8.0 x 5.5 inch)
Soundbar: 49.2 x 2.5 x 5.3 in (1250 x 63.5 x 134.6mm); subwoofer: 7.9 x 16 x 15.9 in (200 x 406 x 404mm); rear speakers: 6.3 x 8.8 x 5.6 in (160 x 223.5 x 142mm)
2.95 x 46.38 x 4.35 inches (75 x 1178 x 110.6mm)
Speaker channels
5.1.2 (soundbar), 7.1.4 (with sub and surround speakers)
1x HDMI out (with eARC), 2x HDMI 2.1 in, optical digital audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
2x HDMI (1 with eARC), optical, digital, Bluetooth, USB type-A
1x HDMI with eARC, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Dolby Atmos/DTS:X
Yes/Yes
Yes/Yes
Yes/Yes
Yes/No
Samsung HW-Q990F
If you want a powerful, all-encompassing surround sound and Dolby Atmos-equipped soundbar, the Samsung HW-Q990F has about as much going for it as the LG S95AR. Like the LG soundbar, it’s also a bit pricey and has an obscured LED display.
The LG S95AR is a premium surround sound system that sounds great and has a whole list of features, including some that only work with LG TVs (and therefore you won’t find with other soundbar systems). It is a minor update from its predecessor, and expensive, though not nearly as pricey as the Klipsch.
Sonos’ flagship 9.1.4-channel soundbar is less pricey and more compact than the Klipsch, and it can also be extended with the company’s wireless subwoofers and surround speakers. Unlike the Klipsch, there is no HDMI passthrough or DTS support, and the design of the Sonos app prioritizes multiroom music streaming over soundbar functionality.
I used the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 Soundbar system for several weeks
Tested with TV, movies, games, and music
I used the Klipsch Flexus Core 300 Soundbar System regularly for several weeks with TV, movies, games, and music. I tested the different modes and inputs, and I spent a lot of time with the Dirac Live calibration.
I’ve tested plenty of tech gear over the years ,from laptops to keyboards and speakers, and so have been able to use my expertise towards giving an honest and fair opinion, not to mention a critical eye, to any product I test.
American audio company Status Audio was hurt by the curse of poor timing with the release of its next-gen premium earbuds and challengers to our best earbuds buying guide. That’s because less than two months after the firm unveiled the Pro X, Apple finally released its latest buds, the AirPods Pro 3, which slightly undercut the underdogs’ latest release in terms of price.
I don’t think Status needs to worry much about competition from Apple, though, because the product distinguishes itself in a few key areas (and, of course, actually works equally as well for Android users).
For one, the Status Pro X has three audio drivers per bud, one more than the AirPods Pro and two more than most earbuds I test. This trio works together to deliver well-defined and high-quality audio that sounds fantastic, making these some of the best earbuds you can try.
The earbuds also look as good as they sound, with the ellipsoid design language carried between the buds and the case to make them look some of the classiest buds I've seen. It's not all for show either as I found the fit reliable.
Status has nailed more of the basics with solid Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), handy touch controls and wireless charging in the case.
The main let-down for me was the battery life, which basically scraped five hours if you've got ANC turned on. That's pretty poor when you look at averages on the market, even for high-end buds, and rules them out for certain use cases.
In fact, the overall feature set is a little bit anemic, and there are a few common perks that aren't available on the Pro X. It's clear that the emphasis here is on the audio quality and design, not the handy extras that often justify a higher price.
That's the one department where the AirPods Pro 3 cleanly beat the Status Pro X; don't expect any live translation or heart rate tracking here. But Status has Apple beat in the two other main areas, and that's good enough for me.
Status Audio Pro X review: Price and release date
(Image credit: Future)
Released in 'batches' every few months from July 2025
Costs $299 / £272 / AU$470
Pricier than big-name rivals
The first thing to know about the Pro X is that they’re not cheap gadgets; these are pricey buds that bump elbows with some top-notch rivals.
The official retail price for the Status Audio Pro X is $299 / £272 / AU$470, though it’s worth noting that you can pre-order them for $249 / £226 / AU$384. When I say ‘pre-order’, I don’t mean that the buds aren’t out, but (at the time of writing at least) Status is selling them in waves, with one every couple of months. For the purpose of this review I’m taking the RRP as the real price of the buds though.
That price means the buds cost more than the new AirPods Pro 3, which go for $249 / £219 / AU$429 and roughly match the option that tops our best earbuds list, the Technics EAH-AZ100, which go for $299 / £259 / AU$478.
In other words, I went into this review expecting great things.
One more thing: the Pro X's predecessor, the excellent Status Between 3ANC, cost $249 (approx. £249 / AU$399).
According to Status Audio, the Pro X will last for 8 hours of listening time, with the charging case extending it to 24 hours in total. That figure must be for listening with ANC turned off, because when it was enabled, I got a far shorter listening time: roughly four and a half to five hours. That’s not exactly a competitive stat as it falls below average by a considerable way.
A better feature is the noise cancellation which, while not best-in-class, was solid enough to plaster over annoying background noises. The Ambient mode is one of the better examples of pass-through sound I’ve used, with surrounding sounds fed into your headphones without sounding amplified at all.
You can toggle between these modes using the Status Hub app which also lets you customize the touch controls, choose between one of five equalizer presets (plus a custom mode with an eight-band EQ for the audiophiles), find the buds if you’ve lost them (with location tracking and audio cues), set up multi-point connection and toggle whether your voice is hidden by the ANC when you talk in the phone. Hidden in the app’s settings is a Dynamic EQ mode which boosts bass and treble when the volume is low – it’s turned off by default though.
There are a few features which you may expect at this price point that you’re not getting, including surround-sound audio (see 'spatial audio'), toggle-able wearer detection, fit tests or the ability to change codec or music stream bitrate. The slender feature set is something we’ve knocked past Status buds for and while there are more here (the Between 3ANC didn’t let you change touch controls, for example, and GPS buds tracking is a great tool), I’d still like to see a little more to justify the price.
In terms of connection specs, the Pro X supports SBC, AAC and LDAC, at 24-bit/96 kHz. In my testing I didn’t have any connection issues between the buds and my phone.
Features score: 3/5
Status Audio Pro X review: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Classy look for bud and case
Handy touch controls
Case supports wireless charging
The Status Audio Pro X are some of the more refined earbuds I’ve tested this year in terms of design. They’re stem-toting buds, although ‘stem’ feels like an odd choice of word for the ellipsoid pillars standing tall from the earbuds.
Despite the size of the stems, which made me worry about the reliability of the ear fit, the Pro X stayed in my ears without any shifting or issues. The touch controls worked well and were easy to use, thanks to the size of the sensor area so you don’t need any precision to pause or skip your music.
The buds have an IP55 rating against dust ingress and jets of water, so don’t submerge them in puddles or sinks if you want them to keep working.
Now onto the case; it’s a small oblong box that weighs about 48g (according to my kitchen scales, though I couldn’t find an official figure from Status Audio). It’s not too huge a case although I did notice it in my trouser pocket. I like how it shares obvious design DNA with the earbuds, though I do feel Status missed a trick by not copying the buds’ two-tone shading.
In a neat addition, the case supports wireless charging, so you don’t need to rely on its USB-C port if you don’t want to.
Something I need to mention is that, during testing, one of the earbud charging connectors in the case stopped working. I wrote this off as an anomalous error and Status were quick to replace the test unit with another one – which didn’t break – but I feel compelled to mention the issue after I discovered a Reddit post in which people shared stories of the same issue happening, albeit in past Status buds.
Design score: 4/5
Status Audio Pro X review: Sound quality
12mm driver + dual balanced armature drivers
Equalizer plus loads of presets
Max volume should be higher
(Image credit: Future)
Status is putting all its eggs in the ‘sound quality’ basket with the Pro X. The buds have not one, not two but three drivers: a 12mm dynamic driver and two Knowles balanced armature drivers, with the triumvirate designed to individually hit bass, middle and treble respectively.
This gambit pays off: the Pro X sound fantastic and you won’t find much better on the market in the wireless realm. By default the sound profile is neutral, but the aforementioned app presets let you pull oodles of treble or bass out of your tunes – once you work out what each means, due to the lack of a guide (take a guess which has more bass: Status Signature, Status Audiophile or Knowles Preferred? That’s right, there’s no way of knowing – and that’s the only information you’re given). Whatever your taste, you’ll be able to cater your listening to it.
Treble is distinct and sparkling, while bass is well-defined and mids remain clear and strong. The quality is high, and you can hear the inflection in vocals and the squeak of fingers on a guitar string. There isn’t as defined a soundstage as on some other high-end buds though, beyond the natural separation that you can perceive when the quality of lines is higher.
The Pro X don’t go quite as loud as I would’ve liked either; a few times when I was listening outdoors they didn’t reach the volume or oomph I’d have liked to combat noisy situations, despite the decent noise cancellation.
Sound quality: 4.5/5
Status Audio Pro X review: Value
(Image credit: Future)
Let's be clear, these are pricey buds
…but you can save money with pre-order
It’s always hard to defend the value proposition of top-end buds. After all, premium tech simply doesn’t give you value for money; you can buy decent buds for a third of the price that don’t drop the quality by a third – and the gains sonically here are absolutely worthy if you value them, but they're incremental.
So Status goes a long way to justifying the Pro X’s price with the high-quality audio and premium design, but the question of whether they’re great value for money would be a lot easier to answer if the feature set was more fleshed out.
Value: 3.5/5
Should I buy the Status Audio Pro X?
(Image credit: Future)
Status Pro X score card
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Features
The unimpressive battery life and lack of super features hurts the buds
3/5
Design
These look great and fit into ears well.
4/5
Sound quality
The specs don't lie, and three drivers makes the audio sound fantastic.
4.5/5
Value
Can you expect great value from premium tech? This is pretty good, though the feature set would sway the needle.
3.5/5
Buy them if…
You want top-notch audio The Status Pro X are audiophile's earbuds, not just for the high quality but for the versatility through the equalizer and presets.
You're an Android user I can see these being a popular alternative to AirPods Pro 3 for their similar price and fantastic audio chops, and actually working on Android.
You like the style It's hard to be objective when it comes to looks, but if you like the way the Status Pro X looks, they're a good buy.View Deal
Don’t buy them if…
You need long-lasting battery These buds won't see you through a work day if you listen with noise cancellation.
You're on a budget If you've set yourself an upper limit to how much you're willing to spend on buds, I'd be surprised if the Pro X fit it.
AirPods Pro 3 Apple's latest undercut Status in price a little and have a much more impressive feature set, but don't have the same audio hardware (or impressive looks).
Technics EAH-AZ100 These slightly more affordable earbuds sound great and are small and comfortable to wear, even if they don't have the audio specs of the Status.
As I mentioned earlier in this review, I tested two review samples of the Status Pro X due to one breaking, and it means the total testing period for the buds exceeded a month, longer than we usually give buds.
I paired the buds with my Android phone and used apps like Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube and WhatsApp for various types of testing. I listened at home, on various types of public transport and on walks around my neighborhood.
I've been reviewing gadgets at TechRadar since early 2019 and have tested many different earbuds in that time.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) is a thin and lightweight gaming laptop with a small design but a large spec, allowing it to perform as well as its bigger rivals.
To look at, it seems more like an everyday machine than a gaming powerhouse. The only giveaway is the diagonal LED strip across the lid, which does little to add interest.
It has an impressively compact form, though, making it a contender for the best gaming laptop that’s practical to carry around. It lacks the bulk usually associated with such devices, being exceptionally thin and light by gaming laptop standards.
The lid is especially lightweight, and it opens easily yet remains stable once in place. Also, the bezel around the display is about as thin as it could possibly be, which helps to maximize screen space.
For such a compact device, the Zephyrus G14 (2025) has a generous selection of ports, even putting much larger gaming laptops to shame. There are two USB-C and two USB-A connections, as well as an HDMI port, a headset jack, and a microSD card reader.
More importantly, though, the performance of the Zephyrus G14 (2025) is also impressive. The 5070 Ti in my review unit provided very high frame rates, even with maximum graphics settings.
The 120Hz OLED display contributed to the smoothness, and also rendered scenes with plenty of vibrancy, brightness, and contrast. What’s more, the 3K resolution offered a super sharp image, which was great for gaming as well as other tasks.
(Image credit: Future)
However, you’ll have to contend with a fair amount of fan noise and blistering heat in the pursuit of this high-end performance. Temperatures around the keyboard are kept to reasonable levels, but the rear and underside of the unit can get uncomfortably hot, even at the slightest provocation.
The keyboard of the Zephyrus G14 (2025) is another highlight. The switches are deep and tactile, offering enough resistance to provide feedback without being onerous to use. The large size of the key caps and their comfortable spacing also makes them good for typing.
The touchpad is similarly excellent, thanks to its large area and smooth surface, although you probably won’t be using this while gaming. What’ll deter you even more is the fact that it can get in the way when using the WASD keys. Thankfully, there’s a shortcut to easily disable its functionality.
Battery life is poor, though. It only managed a little over two and a half hours in our movie playback test, which is short even by gaming laptop standards. The Razer Blade 14 (2025) and the Acer Nitro V 15 can both outlast it by a considerable margin.
At over $2,000, the Zephyrus G14 (2025) doesn’t come cheap. It’s close to more premium models, such as the Razer Blade 14, which is about the best compact gaming laptop we’ve tested. For some – or perhaps many – it may be worth spending that bit more for the Blade, but the Zephyrus G14 (2025) remains a fine pick if you're after a compact and capable gaming machine.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) review: Price & Availability
(Image credit: Future)
Starts from $2,099.99 / £2,699.99 / AU$3,899
Available now
Premium end of the market
The Zephyrus G14 (2025) starts from $2,099.99 / £2,699.99 / AU$3,899 and is available now. Various models are available with varying Ryzen 9 CPUs and RTX GPUs, from the 5060 to the 5080. RAM and storage capacities alternate between 16GB and 32GB, and 1TB and 2TB, respectively.
It’s cheaper than the Razer Blade 14 (2025), even though both base models get an RTX 5060. However, the price gap isn’t huge, and the Blade 14 is one of the best gaming laptops around right now, impressing us with its incredible performance, design, and display.
If you’re looking for the best budget gaming laptop, the Acer Nitro V 15 is a fine choice. You’ll have to settle for an RTX 5050, but it can still game with aplomb. In fact, when I reviewed the Nitro, I was impressed with its 1080p performance. Like the Zephyrus G14 (2025), it can get quite hot in certain areas, but not to the same degree.
Value: 3 / 5
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) review: Specs
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Base Config
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 Review Config
Price
$2,099.99 / £2,699.99 / AU$3,899
$2,499.99 / £2,699.99 / AU$4,999
CPU
AMD Ryzen 9 270 (8 cores, 4.0GHz)
AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (12 cores, 2.0GHz)
GPU
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, 8GB
Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, 12GB
RAM
16GB LPDDR5X
32GB LPDDR5X
Storage
1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
Display
14-inch (2880 x 1800) OLED, 16:10, 120Hz, G-Sync / Adaptive-Sync
14-inch (2880 x 1800) OLED, 16:10, 120Hz, G-Sync / Adaptive-Sync
Ports and Connectivity
2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB-C (1x 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 4), 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL, 1x microSD, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB-C (1x 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 4), 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL, 1x microSD, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
Battery
73Wh
73Wh
Dimensions
12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63 ~ 0.64in (311 x 220 x 15.9 ~ 16.3mm)
12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63 ~ 0.72in (311 x 220 x 15.9 ~ 18.3mm)
Weight
3.31lbs / 1.50kg
3.46lbs / 1.57kg
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) review: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Non-gaming looks
Remarkably small and light
Surprising number of ports
One of the most impressive aspects of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) is that it looks like a normal laptop, lacking the bulk and brash aesthetic of those designed for gaming. This is also helped by the light silver colorway of my review unit, which I found to be an uplifting antidote to the dour shades of many of its rivals (although such a finish is available).
What marks the Zephyrus G14 (2025) out as a gaming device is the diagonal LED strip across the lid and the small shiny embossed logo in the corner. Both are relatively subtle, although the strip is quite incongruous.
Not only is the screen size small for a gaming laptop, but so are all of its dimensions. The lid is especially thin, even beating some of the best MacBooks in terms of how sleek it is. The bezel around the display itself is also about as thin as I’ve ever seen in this class of laptop.
However, the chassis is thicker than you’ll find on many other laptops, and there are a few juts and sharp angles, as well as the thick rubber bars underneath, that sully the smooth planes somewhat. But all things considered, the Zephyrus G14 (2025) remains impressively elegant for its class.
Build quality is also quite good. All the materials feel premium and solid, and there’s only a small amount of wobble to the lid. Crucially, it remains stable once set in position.
(Image credit: Future)
Despite its small size, the Zephyrus G14 (2025) has a generous keyboard layout. There are some useful shortcut keys, including those for disabling the touchpad and toggling performance modes, and even four customizable M buttons. However, some peripheral keys are truncated in size, with the arrow keys being the worst casualty in this regard from a gamer’s perspective.
The LED backlighting on the keyboard is a nice touch, although it can be hard to make out at times, especially when certain colors and RGB patterns are displayed. This appears to be caused by the narrow openings of the key markings and a lack of overall brightness.
The touchpad on the Zephyrus G14 (2025) stretches right from the back edge of the space bar to the very end of the chassis, offering a larger surface area than you’ll find on other laptops this size.
Another surprise is just how many ports there are on the Zephyrus G14 (2025), putting many gaming laptops much larger to shame. It features two USB-C ports, which both support Power Delivery and DisplayPort standards each, although only one supports G-Sync/ Adaptive Sync displays. There are also two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, a headset jack, and even a microSD reader.
F1 2024 (1080p, Medium): 256fps (Max Resolution, Max Quality, No RT): 127fps (Balanced Upscaling, Max Resolution, Max Quality with RT): 93fps
I found the performance of the Zephyrus G14 (2025) to be excellent. My review unit was equipped with an RTX 5070 Ti, and it handled the AAA titles I threw at it very well. When I played Cyberpunk 2077, I got between 200-230 frames per second on average. This was with the Ray Tracing: Ultra preset selected (which the game chose by default for the laptop) and DLSS Auto scaling and Frame Generation enabled.
This was also with the Zephyrus G14 (2025) running in Turbo mode. As you might expect, this causes the fans to produce a fair amount of noise, but it was nothing the best PC gaming headsets couldn’t drown out.
Dropping down to Performance mode didn’t seem to make much difference to frame rates, and only marginally decreased fan noise. Despite the raucous, though, the fans weren’t able to disperse heat as effectively as I would’ve liked.
During my sessions with the Zephyrus G14 (2025), it became very hot in places. The keyboard and front section of the chassis only remained tepid (thankfully, since this is where you’ll be making the most contact), but the area above the keyboard became too hot to handle.
(Image credit: Future)
The same was true of the underside of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025). Despite the aforementioned ground clearance created by the rubber bars, there’s still not enough for optimal cooling it seems; this is certainly a laptop I’d recommend using with one of the best laptop cooling pads if you can.
The OLED display is pleasingly sharp and vibrant, which makes it great for all kinds of tasks, not just gaming. That aforementioned ultra-thin bezel means the 14-inch display projects a bigger image than you might expect, too.
The keys are tactile, thanks to their surprising resistance and deep travel relative to those of other laptops, even ones designed for gaming. This makes them well suited to the task, while still being light and snappy enough for comfortable typing.
The touchpad is great as well. Its impressive size, along with its very smooth surface, makes navigation easier. However, this will likely be irrelevant for most gamers, since it’s still no match for the best gaming mouse.
What’s more, it gets in the way when you’re using the keyboard, even if you stick to the WASD position. This means you’ll likely want to disable it when gaming, but you’ll be more reluctant to do so while typing, given its usefulness for productivity purposes.
Performance: 4.5 / 5
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) review: Battery Life
(Image credit: Future)
Poor battery life
Quick to charge
The battery life of the Zephyrus G14 (2025) is quite poor. When we ran a movie on a continuous loop, its battery lasted just over two and a half hours. This is way down on its key rivals, such as the Blade 14 and the Nitro V 15, both of which manage over twice that duration.
Thankfully, the Zephyrus G14 (2025) is quick to charge, taking about 90 minutes to fully replenish via the included power adapter.
Battery Life: 2.5 / 5
Should I buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025)?
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) Scorecard
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Value
The Zephyrus G14 (2025) is at the higher end of the market, and there are slightly better rivals for not much more.
3 / 5
Design
The Zephyrus G14 (2025) is surprisingly compact and elegant for a gaming laptop. It also seems built to a high standard.
4.5 / 5
Performance
The RTX 5070 Ti in my review unit handled AAA titles brilliantly, and the display rendered them in their full glory. There’s a worrying amount of heat in places, though.
4.5 / 5
Battery Life
Poor even by gaming laptop standards; there are plenty of rivals that can outlast it. At least it’s quick to charge.
2.5 / 5
Total
The form factor, performance, and display are all excellent, but the heat, noise, and steep price mean you’ll have to assess your priorities before determining whether it’s the right gaming laptop for you.
4 / 5
Buy the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) if...
You want something truly portable Thanks to its small dimensions and light chassis, the Zephyrus G14 (2025) is easy to carry around, especially compared to other gaming laptops.
You want great performance Gaming is smooth even with maximum settings, while the 3K OLED display shows them off at their best.
Don't buy it if...
You want something cool and quiet The Zephyrus G14 (2025) makes a fair amount of noise, and it can get extremely hot in places.
You’re on a budget The Zephyrus G14 (2025) is expensive, rubbing shoulders with some true icons in the space.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) review: Also Consider
Razer Blade 14 (2025) For not much more than the Zephyrus G14 (2025), you could also have the Blade 14, which we think is one of the best gaming laptops around at the moment. There’s little to fault here, since its performance, design, and display are all exemplary. It can get quite hot and the keyboard isn’t anything special, but in every other regard it’s a brilliant gaming laptop that’s easy to carry around.
Acer Nitro V 15 Intel If you’re looking to spend a lot less on a gaming laptop, the Nitro V 15 is a great budget pick. You’ll have to settle for an RTX 5050, but I found this offered plenty of power for smooth 1080p gaming. It’s certainly not as portable as the Zephyrus G14 (2025), but that’s the sacrifice you make for the saving.
I tested the Zephyrus G14 (2025) for a week, using it for gaming, working, and general browsing. I also connected various peripherals to it.
I played AAA titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 with various graphics settings, and conducted our series benchmark tests designed to test multiple facets of gaming laptops. I also ran our battery test, playing a movie continuously until the battery depleted.
I've been PC gaming for over a decade, and have used numerous machines in that time, both desktop and laptop. I've also have plenty of experience reviewing gaming laptops, as well as those made for productivity and everyday use.
Name.com is best known as a domain registrar, but you might not even know that you're using it. If you've used Wix, you'll likely have got your domain through name.com without giving it a second thought.
Without giving it a second thought seems to be the ethos of name.com which is especially useful for developers who want to build quickly and seamlessly or the less technical ones that don't want to mess around with DNS and might require support when things don't quite go to plan.
Of course, this level of support and innovation doesn't come at the cheapest price but buying a domain isn't always about the lowest bottom line.
Of course, name.com is best known as a domain registrar, and for good reason. It offers one of the largest TLD selections of any registrar with over 600 TLDs, so you can rest assured that you’ll find the exact TLD you’re looking for. From popular TLDs like .com and .co.uk to niche and trendy ones like .ai, .lol, and .cool, name.com has everything.
A standard .com domain will cost you $12.99 for the first year (renews at $27.99), plus $4.99/year for name.com’s advanced security tier, which includes WHOIS privacy, SSL certificate, and protection against spam calls and unauthorized transfers or changes.
However, name.com offers some serious first-year discounts if you bundle Titan Email or Google Workspace. This is how it works:
If you buy Titan Email (Name.com’s paid email hosting, costs $24 per year), they’ll throw in the domain for free for the first year.
If you buy Google Workspace (Google’s email/productivity suite, sold via Name.com, costs $42 per year), you can get the domain for only $0.99 for the first year.
If you buy both, the best discount (i.e. the Titan Email one) will be applied, so your domain will still be $0 for the first year.
It’s worth noting that both Google Workspace and Titan Email are available at a flat 50% discount with name.com.
(Image credit: Future)
Hosting products: web, cloud, and WordPress
Name.com now offers a decent list of hosting products, ranging from simple web hosting to cloud and one-click install WordPress hosting.
The most basic web hosting plan lets you build a single website and set up 100 email accounts for $6 a month on a 1-year subscription. Note that name.com does not offer multi-year subscriptions for its hosting services. The business plan, which is built for scale, is priced at $13 a month on a 1-year subscription and supports unlimited websites, unlimited email accounts, and unlimited storage.
Every account also includes a free SSL certificate, automated backups every 48 hours, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and the industry-standard cPanel for easy management. Even better, you’ll get a free domain name for the first year. For example, if you choose a .com domain that usually costs $12.99, it will be free for the first year and then renew at its usual rate from the second year onward.
That said, keep in mind that the privacy bundle for a domain name (around $4.99) is not included in the free package. You’ll have to pay for that separately.
Cloud hosting is also more than decent. Name.com has partnered with DigitalOcean and offers its basic shared Droplets. For a standard 60 GB Droplet, you’ll have to pay $216 a year, and if that wasn’t expensive enough, backups - which are usually free with other providers - will set you back another $72 a year. This is pretty expensive by industry standards.
That said, there are still some strong points on offer: you get global data centers, one-click deployments, and support for popular platforms like WordPress, Ubuntu, Debian, and CentOS. The provider also mentions easy upgrades. However, with cloud hosting, the gold standard is automatic scaling and geo-redundancy. Name.com doesn’t clearly state how many data centers it offers, while other dedicated cloud hosts are more transparent, letting you confirm redundancy before signing up.
Also, this is shared hosting and not managed cloud, so you won’t get managed extras. In fact, the website’s FAQs state directly that you’ll need a base-level understanding of Linux and the command line to take full advantage of this self-managed cloud hosting. So it’s definitely not for everyone.
As for WordPress hosting, name.com offers just a single plan at $29.95 a year. It comes with everything you’d need for a basic website: one-click installation, unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, free daily backups, plugin support, and a free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate. However, if you’re looking for more advanced features like staging environments, automatic updates, or optimized caching, you might be better off elsewhere.
All in all, unless you’re looking into name.com’s hosting products to simply get everything (hosting, domain, site builder) in one place, you’ll be better off with a dedicated web host, as you’re likely to get more features there - and at a better price.
Performance & customer support
The last time we tested name.com, it actually cropped up above-par performance, delivering consistent uptime and impressive speeds.
Our latest tests, though, are still ongoing, and we’ll soon update this page to reflect the most recent findings - so stay tuned.
Name.com's hosting is aimed more or less at beginners, and that means the company needs to provide the quality support its target audience requires. The company's knowledgebase is decent enough, with menus and links pointing you to various topics, featured articles highlighting common issues, and there's a search box to help you track down what you need.
We tried a few test searches. The engine regularly reported finding large numbers of articles, but these cover all name.com products, not just web hosting, so we had to scroll through various domain registration and email hosting articles to find what we needed.
The situation picked up once we located more relevant content. There's usually not a lot of detail, but most articles cover the core points, with screenshots to point you in the right direction, and some video tutorials if you prefer.
There's a support team to deal with more complex queries. They're available via telephone and live chat, only for a limited number of hours (7am to 10pm phone and 12pm to 3am Monday to Friday for phone, 2am to 8pm chat), but there's 24/7 ticket support if you need it.
Final verdict
Name.com is a fantastic storefront where you can find everything you need to get an online business underway. It offers excellent and affordable domain registration, along with bundled extras like Google Workspace with Gemini and Titan Email with AI-driven features. On top of that, you also get hosting options, including WordPress hosting.
That said, if your main priority is hosting, you’ll likely be better served by a dedicated web host. While name.com has expanded its hosting range, these services still feel more like strong add-ons that complement its core strength: domain registration.
Whilst many of the best standing desk brands out there often with several models for different sizes and weight capacities etc. Vernal aims to make the customers life simpler by introducing one frame to do it all at a price of £430 (at time of writing).
With a rated load of 120kg, it should be more than enough to lift anything a regular work from home environment can throw at it.
(Image credit: Future)
Vernal Standing Desk: Unboxing
The desk came as expected in two parts, one large heavy box for the frame and very flat for the desk top.
The frame was well boxed with all parts separated by protective foam, cardboard and plastic. All the assembling accessories were packaged neatly in one box. The screws, tool etc were in a bandolier of plastic, each section marked in size and part number.
All sections of the desk had nice, large and more importantly low tack sticker labels identifying each part. This allowed easy identification of parts and removal of the labels post assembly without leaving that horrible sticky residue.
The desk top was equally well packaged with large rubber like corner protectors. We opted to go with the 120cm x 60cm walnut laminate desk top, the smallest size on offer from Vernal.
You also get a nice, premium feeling beech wood coaster.
(Image credit: Future)
Vernal Standing Desk: Assembly
Assembly of the desk was equally easy. Vernal provided all the tools necessary, namely an M6 Allen Wrench and Phillips Head Screwdriver, so if you have absolutely no tools, you can still put this desk together. We had power tools at out disposal making assembly significantly quicker.
The manual was incredibly clear and easy to follow being like a large book. We start by putting together both the legs, side and mounting brackets together then the desktop. Vernal’s desk tops already have pre threaded metal inserts showing where the mounting brackets are to be screwed in.
This easily done by mounting one set of legs to one side, then sliding the cross bars in before finally sliding the opposite side legs on and screwing it all down. Vernal has also provided the screws as well for non-Vernal desktops along with separate instructions on how to do this.
I chose to put the control panel on the left side and this is where I noted the first issue. The screws appeared to be short, they are only 15mm long. The control panel bracket is quite thick, I measuring the screw against it, I saw that only the tip, about 5mm of it, would bite into the desk.
As expected, on my first try, the screw tore desktop veneer and failed to grip, same thing with the second screw. With no other provided screws, I had to go and rummage in my tool box to get some longer screws.
Once the control panel fiasco was done, it was matter of attaching the control box, connecting all the cables, tidying the underside up before covering it with the decorative cable cover for a neat install and lastly the cable tray hooks.
(Image credit: Future)
The feet are last to go one, before the inaugural flip, they can be positioned center or offset back, the choice/preference is yours. I opted to have it central as I am sure that is how most end users would want it. The desk is then flipped the right way up, to add the finishing touches, two hooks and decorative plates, one on each side.
The last part had me a little concerned, most brands supply all metal parts pre molded or bent to shape. However Vernal has chosen to allow the end user to bend the cable tray themselves along a perforated line.
Whilst I found this easy to do, it did crack the paint on the sheet of metal. I’m not sure how confident others would be doing this for fear of breaking or damaging this part. Hooking on the cable tray is the last part of the assembly save for putting the desk where it needs to go.
(Image credit: Future)
Vernal Standing Desk: In use
Over the past few weeks, the desk was put to the test by me and wife who works exclusively form home. The Vernal standing desk was big upgrade from her smaller Ikea desk, just in terms of real estate.
Vernal claims that this desk should be able to lift 120kgs easily with max load of 160kgs. Sitting all my 100kgs on it I found the desk seem to be slow to raise, and it had to stop a few times under the load of me. However, I did not hold this against the desk as carrying 100kgs is unusual for what is an office desk.
Putting the usual office equipment on it, the Vernal desk had no problem lifting and lowering the load smoothly and quietly.
(Image credit: Future)
The control panel is simple in form yet provides all the needed functions for going up, down and three memory functions. I like that the buttons had to be pushed physically into actuate them as some other tested desk will activate simply by you brushing against the control panel. The panel can be switched between metric and imperial measurements and other settings based on button presses.
(Image credit: Future)
The hooks on either side are a nice feature allowing you to hang handphones or other peripherals off the desk rather than crowding it. Each side of the desk has a Vernal magnetic vanity plate on the legs, ostensibly to hide two screw heads. This is a subjective matter but I would have preferred a more subdued such as black engraved rather than the Silver.
I was initially skeptical about the size of the cable tray as it was so large, however this has proved to be a boon for ease of access from all angles of the desk.
What I wasn’t a fan of were the feet of the desk. The feet, whilst planted firmly on the ground has a “decorative” plate on top that extends beyond the actual feet, this plate is thin and more crucially at toe stubbing level as I found to my detriment.
(Image credit: Future)
Vernal Standing Desk: Final verdict
Overall, the Vernal Standing Desk is a great desk, for the price and simplicity of only having one model puts them ahead. The assembly, large cable tidy tray, head phone hooks and easy to use control panel make this a breeze to own and use.
However, it is sorely let down by the fact that the screws for the control panel are not adequately long enough, some bending is required by the end user and the most egregiously, the toe stubbing feet of the desk.
The Turtle Beach Racer absolutely has the potential to shake up the entry-level racing wheels market. Sim race enthusiasts need not apply; the Racer is a relatively basic offering that ditches higher-end features like force feedback and on-screen displays - the likes of which we see from the Thrustmaster T248R et al. But for more arcade-adjacent racing games like Tokyo Xtreme Racer and Forza Horizon 5, the Racer is a bit of a cheat code to unlocking even more fun from such titles.
I’ve had a blast testing the Turtle Beach Racer over the past week. Don’t let its relatively low price point fool you; it boasts surprisingly good build quality and is impressively versatile to boot.
While a pair of clamps on the base means you can mount the wheel on a desk, the inclusion of a pair of lap rests allows you to sit back and essentially use the Racer more like a traditional controller if you prefer to play on the couch. That’s driven (hehe) home even more with the addition of wireless connectivity via a 2.4GHz dongle compatible with Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC. No PlayStation-compatible version exists at the time of writing.
Put simply, the Turtle Beach Racer is one of the best Xbox racing wheels I’ve tested in a while. There are some small issues, like the slight bump you’ll feel every time the wheel travels past neutral, and the lack of a pedal set (you’ll instead use the rear paddles for acceleration and braking by default) puts a dampener on immersion. But overall, this is a very impressive package for the price, and makes for a great product for first-time wheel owners or younger players.
(Image credit: Future)
Turtle Beach Racer: Price and availability
$179.99 / £139.99 / AU$299
Available to buy now
Pricier than some budget models, but comfortably under the mid-range bracket
The Turtle Beach Racer is available to buy now for $179.99 / £139.99 / AU$299. It’s on the higher end of that budget ballpark, but it is comfortably more affordable than mid-range wheels that offer more features like the Thrustmaster T248R and the Logitech G923. It’s also costlier than similar budget wheels like the Hori Racing Wheel Apex ($119.99 / £99.99), though I do prefer what’s on offer here with the Racer at a slightly higher asking price.
Turtle Beach Racer: Specs
Price
$179.99 / £139.99 / AU$299
Weight
7.5lbs / 3.4kg
Dimensions
11.7 x 11.1 x 10.9in x 297 x 282 x 277mm
Rotation
360 degrees
Connection type
Wireless (2.4GHz), Wired (USB-C)
Compatibility
Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
Battery life
Around 30 hours
Turtle Beach Racer: Design and features
As I mentioned in my initial Turtle Beach Racer preview at Gamescom 2025, it was the product’s build quality that immediately surprised me. It’s not something that many budget-facing wheels are known for, and while the Racer’s build is primarily plastic, it’s of a good quality. Plus, there are a number of flourishes that take the overall build up a notch.
The steering wheel’s rubberized textured grips are extremely welcome, allowing for a slip-free racing experience. The lap rests, meanwhile, are metallic and have a satisfying weight to them. They each have a strip of textured rubber, allowing them to sit firmly in place. The lap rests can be adjusted, too, meaning you won’t necessarily need to squish your thighs together. I preferred to place mine as far out as they could go, and was able to sit comfortably in my Razer Fujin Pro office gaming chair while playing.
On-board buttons aren’t particularly anything to write home about, but they feel good to press and are all within reach of the wheel itself. There’s a good amount here, too. You’re getting a d-pad, face buttons, and three multifunction buttons that you can assign to your preference.
A pair of pressure-sensitive paddles sit on either side of the wheel, and they’re impressively sturdy. That’s important, because you are likely going to use these for acceleration and braking in the absence of a set of pedals. These are the left and right trigger equivalents on the best Xbox controllers, and were assigned as such across all games I tested.
(Image credit: Future)
Turtle Beach Racer: Performance
I have very limited desk space at my home office, so I personally think that the inclusion of lap rests with the Turtle Beach Racer is a great, forward-thinking addition to the overall package. What’s important to note here, in relation to performance, is that I felt no loss of control in using the lap rests over the more traditional desk clamps. And having tested both methods for this review, either of them is a fine choice for your racing sessions.
Initially, I did feel as if the default wheel sensitivity was a bit on the low side, across titles like Forza Horizon 5 and Tokyo Xtreme Racer. However, this was quickly remedied with the Turtle Beach Control Center 2 software, which you can download on PC and Xbox consoles. Here, I was able to adjust sensitivity and remap buttons to my liking.
Another issue I had with the wheel is the slightly uncomfortable bump sensation when it returns to neutral. Let go of the wheel, and it snaps back to its default center position almost immediately. This means that while turning left to right, you will feel a bit of a hitch as it passes that neutral zone. I got used to it after an hour or two, but it’s something to keep in mind if you were hoping for an ultra-smooth racing experience.
Besides this hiccup, the Racer is an incredibly enjoyable racing wheel. The pressure-sensitive paddles are a delightful addition and are a decent substitute for pedals if you don’t mind the loss of immersion or tactility. Being able to apply specific amounts of pressure here made several things easier between games, such as drifting in Forza Horizon 5 and long-term tire management in F1 25. If the lap rests are the big winning feature here, then the paddles are certainly the unsung heroes of the package.
I also have to mention the Racer’s wireless performance, and it’s another area the product seriously impressed me. Turtle Beach estimates that the wheel can go up to 30 hours on a full charge. I find this to be accurate, as I didn’t have to charge the device until the tail end of my week of testing.
(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Turtle Beach Racer?
Buy it if…
You’re after an affordable, value-busting racing wheel experience While not the absolute cheapest option on the market, the sub-$180 price point is compelling and affords the Racer some nicer materials to boot.
You lack the desk space for a fuller setup The Turtle Beach Racer’s lap rests are a brilliant, forward-thinking addition that allows the wheel to sit comfortably on your legs, and the snug fit makes for surprisingly comfortable long-term gaming sessions.
Don’t buy it if…
You want immersion above all else No pedals and no force feedback mean the Racer isn’t aimed at more serious sim racing types. For that, you’ll want to consider pricier options like the Logitech G923 or Thrustmaster T248R.
Also consider...
Not sold on the Turtle Beach Racer? Here are a couple of similarly priced alternatives worthy of your consideration.
Turtle Beach Racer
Hori Racing Wheel Apex
Logitech G920
Price
$179.99 / £139.99 / AU$299
$119.99 / £99.99 (around AU$183)
$299.99 / £349.99 / AU$549.95
Weight
7.5lbs / 3.4kg
3.09lbs / 1.4kg
4.96lbs / 2.25kg
Dimensions
11.7 x 11.1 x 10.9in x 297 x 282 x 277mm
11 x 10.8 x 11.3 / 280 x 275 x 286mm
10.6 x 10.2 x 10.9 / 270 x 260 x 278mm
Rotation
360 degrees
270 degrees
900 degrees
Connection type
Wireless (2.4GHz), Wired (USB-C)
USB-A
USB-A
Compatibility
Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
PS5, PS4, PC
Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
Hori Racing Wheel Apex While not quite as impressive as the Turtle Beach Racer, it’s far from a bad budget option and does include a set of pedals. However, the cheap plasticky build and rather listless-feeling pedals put a damper on the overall racing experience.
Logitech G920 A mid-range Xbox-compatible offering, the Logitech G920 is the Microsoft counterpart to the PlayStation-facing G923. The brake pedal’s a little stiff by default, but Logitech’s superb build quality and detailed force feedback really win through here.
I tested the Turtle Beach Racer over the course of a week, playing titles on Xbox Series X Digital Edition and my gaming PC. Games I played with the racing wheel include Forza Horizon 5, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, Old School Rally, and F1 25.
While lacking the multitude of buttons and immersive features that make it worthwhile for sim racing, I found the Turtle Beach Racer to be ideal for more casual, arcade-like experiences. In that regard, features like the lap rests and pressure-sensitive paddles made for an easy and comfortable testing period, and above all, a very fun one.
Okay, so it's still hard to stop oneself from playing a game of Spot the Difference concerning Nothing's earbuds offering – but what of it? Apple's AirPods lineup is much the same, no? The problem is that this time (unlike Nothing's last major earbuds release, which came in at $50 / £30 cheaper than their older siblings) there's a price hike involved; and simply put, I'm not quite sure the extra perks here do enough to justify the extra outlay.
Sure, I'd say the new Nothing Ear (3) are they still among the best earbuds of the year – but one option in the duo of buds they replace has dropped so low in price that they've actually jumped into our best budget earbuds buying guide. So you see, to build a case for paying quite a bit extra for the new Ear (3), they'd need to be quite a bit better – and that's where I'm struggling.
To put the pricing into context, their closest rivals now would no longer be Sony's class-leading WF-C710N, which sell for around $120 / £100. No, at $179 / £179 / AU$299, the Nothing Ear (3) aren't exactly rubbing shoulders with the likes of the $299 / £299 / AU$450 Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), but they have moved up a level – and it's tough company to keep.
There's no head-tracked spatial audio support (the device- and service-agnostic spatial audio option is either 'Static' or 'off') in the Ear (3), and although the ANC is solid and a new 'Super Mic' is fun to play with in calls, it hasn't become the new must-have earbuds feature for me – and if it was going to appeal to anyone, someone who remembers a world of landline phones only was probably the Nothing Ear (3)'s best shot.
My biggest gripe is the battery life, which I'll explain fully later. That said, I experienced no small sense of pride when wearing and showing off the Ear (3), thanks to the new aluminum 'elevated' build quality and finish – along with the return of the fidget-spinner case detail.
Is all of this enough to make the Ear (3) a hit? Perhaps, when you consider that the splendid hearing tests remain, along with advanced EQ tabs and LDAC support – all of which make the sound engaging, if a shade off excellent for dynamic nuance and treble clarity. Oh, and it's worth noting that if you have a Nothing phone, that Super Mic becomes a quick transcription tool, which admittedly makes it much more useful (I don't have a Nothing handset, so I'm typing out this review, dear reader)…
(Image credit: Future)
For anyone scratching their heads as to how many Nothing earbuds iterations we're into now (because it certainly isn't three), Nothing fully admits its earbuds naming strategy to date may not have been the smartest. So to explain, the Ear (3) is an update on the flagship Nothing Ear primarily, but also on the Nothing Ear (a), which both launched in April 2024 on the self-same day – with the cheaper pair still sitting happily at the tippy-top of our best budget earbuds guide.
And here's my problem with that: a quick scan of current prices reveals that the aforementioned five-star Nothing Ear (a) are currently available for $89 / £69, which means they're half the price of the new Ear (3). And honestly, that makes the newest set even harder to recommend…
Nothing Ear (3) review: Price & release date
Released on September 18, 2025
Priced $179 / £179 / AU$299
The Nothing Ear (3) come in black or white finishes (no yellow this time around), and at this pricier level – Nothing's previous flagship Nothing Ear arrived with a list price of $149 / £129 / AU$249 – their closest competition may even be Apple's AirPods Pro 3, which retail for $249 / £219 / AU$429.
Yes, there's still a $70 / £40 difference between Apple's new top-tier AirPods Pro and Nothing's best buds, but if your budget stretches a bit further it does bring Apple's flagship earbuds into the conversation. And given that those AirPods now offer heart-rate monitoring, live translation and better stamina, Nothing is squaring up against some stiff competition.
Hello, yellow! (Image credit: Future)
Nothing Ear (3) review: Specs
Drivers
12mm custom driver
Active noise cancellation
Yes
Battery life
Buds: 5.5hrs (with ANC; up to 10 hours without) Total with case: 22hrs (ANC on; up to 38 hours without)
Weight
5.2g per earbud
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC, USB-C
Frequency range
20Hz–40 kHz
Waterproofing
IP54 buds
Other features
New Super Mic case, 3 mics per earbud, Nothing X App support, Custom EQ with Advanced options, Static Spatial Audio, Personal Sound (Audiodo)
(Image credit: Nothing)
Nothing Ear (3) review: Features
'Static' spatial audio and Personal Sound curation
Total Radiated Power (TRP) up 15%; Total Isotropic Sensitivity (TIS) up 20%
'First of its kind Super Mic' in the charging case
Like many of tech's heavy-hitters (Samsung, Sony, Apple, I'm looking at you), Nothing would love to snag you and embroil you in its ecosystem with the promise of walled garden perks – and here, Nothing really does start to come into its own.
The ace up the collective sleeve of Nothing's earbuds prior to now has been that for owners of the Nothing Phone (3), the Phone (2), Phone (1) and Phone (2a) – because Nothing has been far more sensible concerning the naming of its handsets – Nothing has offered instant access to ChatGPT via a pinch-to-speak motion on the stems. Now, users of a Nothing smartphone can use the Super Mic on Nothing Ear (3)'s case to capture transcription of your voice notes, which will sync to your on-device 'Essential Space' for easy location.
Nothing calls Super Mic a "first of its kind" breakthrough, and although it initially struck me as very similar to the 'record' button on the Viaim RecDot earbuds, there are of course those aforementioned walled-garden perks.
Otherwise, Nothing's Super Mic is quite like those little clip-on wireless mics that content creators like to hold very close to their mouths (does this look a bit silly to anyone else?). Nothing calls Super Mic a "breakthrough dual-microphone system driven by ambient-filtering technology."
In a nutshell, the dual MEMS beamforming mics built into the case are designed to hone in on your voice, cutting through surrounding noise (up to 95dB is the claim) for clearer capture in calls or notes – and in my tests, it worked well. On a very blustery day on the cliffs and beaches of the UK's 'Jurassic coast' in Dorset, I found using the Super Mic over the three-mics-per-bud in the earpieces a welcome aid; "much better" was the general feedback from calls.
Voice AI using ChatGPT is coming using Nothing Ear (a) using your Nothing smartphone… (Image credit: Future)
You're also getting Bluetooth v5.4 (the older set used 5.3), and LDAC support for hi-res audio (the Sony-developed codec that lets you stream high-resolution audio up to 32-bit/96kHz over Bluetooth at up to 990kbps), which is a valuable inclusion at any level, but will benefit Android users most since iPhones can't support LDAC natively.
There's now onboard spatial audio wizardry too, irrespective of your phone or the music service you're streaming from – but only the 'static' kind (so you don't get to use your phone as a fixed-point source device) and in my tests, it was a little clunky and not quite as immersive or convincing as similar offerings from Bose, LG or of course Apple.
However, you do get in-ear detection (to pause music when they're out and resume it when they're in), an Auto-Transparency mode to make transparency kick in whenever you're on a phone call, an ear tip Fit Test, Find My earbuds (which issues a trigger sound from whichever earbud you've lost), a Low Lag toggle for gaming, issue-free multipoint to two devices, a Bass Enhancement toggle, an 8-tab EQ graph that lets you adjust both gain and the actual frequency of certain registers (provided you're prepared to switch off the spatial audio augmentation), and Personal Sound.
This last perk is perhaps my favorite, because the tests only take around three minutes – they involve sounds at different frequencies being piped into each ear, getting gradually quieter until you tap the screen to say you hear nothing – but the result (a fully curated personal sound profile) is very good indeed.
Now, the noise cancellation: hit ANC (rather than 'Transparency' or 'Off') and you can pick from High, Mid, Low, and Adaptive profiles. High is not bad at all – and it shouldn't be when the claim is 45dB (effective to 5kHz). The Transparency option is still signified by a woman exhaling, and it's still one of the best prompts in the business (aside from Matt Berry in Cambridge's headphones and earbuds), and it too is perfectly acceptable. But here's the thing: I did not find any of the ANC profiles better than on the Nothing Ear (a), which makes sense because that 45dB claim is the same as the older model.
And when that older model is now half the price of these newer earbuds, you have to be asking yourself if a Super Mic in the case and spatial audio that doesn't offer dynamic head-tracking is worth the extra outlay.
Features score: 4.5 / 5
The new Ear (a) next to the Ear (2): a fun game of Spot the Difference (Image credit: Future)
Nothing Ear (3) review: Sound quality
LDAC adds to the performance (but the spatial audio can be beaten)
Forward, full-bodied sound
A shade off excellent for dynamic nuance
Occasionally in hi-fi circles, you'll come across the 'integrated hi-fi listen versus fun and exciting' sonic debate concerning portable audio. It boils down to this: do you want a faithfully accurate, neutral representation of a recording with everything as intended, or an energetic, potentially more emotive version of the track?
In the second option, certain frequencies might be augmented just slightly, to give you the 'feels' of a live gig from small drivers fitted into your ear. And the odd thing is that what you may think you want may not actually be what your ear prefers (as mystical and strange as that may sound)…
Anyway, the Nothing Ear (3) sit firmly in the latter camp. What you'll get here is excitement, energy, bass clout and oomph. Those with a Sony smartphone (I'm still using the Sony Xperia 1 IV, because it isn't broken, so why would I fix it?) will find LDAC codec files are delivered with extra expanse and detail over more 'vanilla' Bluetooth streaming, but the tuning is the same regardless – very little has been held back.
Streaming Fontaines D.C.'s Starburster is a head-nodding celebration of the track, where drum fills and Grian Chatten's voice leap two-footed into each ear with all of the bite and impetus the group could possibly want, but there is a downside. Some lesser backing vocals and sloping string elements occasionally get lost just slightly; it's hard to compete when so much emphasis and energy is placed on sounds at the forefront.
Yes, there are plenty of ways to tweak things more to your liking in the Nothing X app and here, the eight-tab EQ graph is the place to go – it does help. What I personally would leave well alone is the Bass Booster. It isn't necessary – this is a meaty listen from the box. Also, I'd tone down the treble; I know my own ear is sensitive to these frequencies, but nevertheless, stream Kate Bush's Army Dreamers and if you're anything like me you'll hear occasional harshness through the treble that can become a little wearying.
Sound quality score: 4 / 5
See how Ear (a) is just slightly bigger than Ear (2), across the board? (Image credit: Nothing)
Nothing Ear (3) review: Design
Solid, cool, pocketable case with 'TALK' button
IP54 earbuds are secure – but the comfort levels can now be beaten
Nothing's design language is even more striking now
After switching out to the smaller ear tips (you get four in total now: an XS, S and L options are supplied in addition to the pre-fitted M set), Nothing's ear tip fit test tells me I've nailed the fit.
I say that if you've got smaller ears I really would encourage you to try before you buy – and my guide to the best earbuds for small ears is worth consulting – because I found the driver housing just that little bit harder to accommodate this time around. It could be because of that larger 12mm driver (and "patterned diaphragm" which Nothing claims gives these buds "a 20% larger radiating area when compared to the previous generation"), or it could be because said earpiece is mounted at a slightly different angle to the stem now – see a close-up of Ear (3) next to the Ear (a) above – but they weren't as comfortable this time.
(Image credit: Future)
On this, readers might simply remark "Well, they're based on AirPods, can't really knock them for that – Apple did it first" but here's the thing: AirPods are different now! You might not have spotted it because it's all very new (and the heart-rate monitor and live translation perks have hogged headlines), but the AirPods Pro 3's fit has been completely reworked. I'm working on a full review of those too (they keep me chained up in TR HQ you know) but even at this early stage and during my testing, I can tell you that for me, the AirPods Pro 3 are much comfier than the Nothing Ear (3) now.
Nothing's pinch stems still work really well, but again (and at the risk of sounding like a broken record) it's only as good as the older, cheaper Nothing set. You can still customize what the morse code short- and long-press combinations do for each stem – including volume – and they also work with gloves on, unlike a lot of touch-capacitive solutions.
Now, the new case. If you've got a metallic-finish smartphone, the Nothing Ear (3) are going to look glorious beside it. Aesthetics really is one of Nothing's strong suits, and these earbuds are the ace in the pack. 'Elevated' is the word Nothing's team keep repeating on this; and it's true, they look more high-end now. There's a new custom Metal-Insulator-Metal (MIM) antenna, engineered to just 0.35 mm thick, that now runs along the still-see-through stems of the earbuds to keep connections stronger than ever. It's the same, but refined – it looks like a more expensive version of what was there before.
And if it's elevation we need to be focusing on, the charging nest is the thing that's, er, risen the most. It is now crafted from a block of 100% recycled aluminum and CNC machine finished through 27 processes. Nano injection moulding also "fuses the metal and transparent plastic without glue, achieving tight ±0.03mm tolerances for a seamless, compact body" according to Nothing, so there's no glue anywhere here. And the shiny 'TALK' button is placed directly under a nice snappy magnet where the case opens. Nothing assures me it has been positioned so that you won't cover it with your hand, and the green light-up LED to denote that you're recording is a strong touch.
Design score: 4.5 / 5
Rarely have I had so many colleagues strike up a conversation with me over a set of earbuds (Image credit: Future)
Nothing Ear (3) review: Value
Great-looking earbuds
LDAC adds sound-per-pound value
…but this is higher-end territory, and the Nothing Ear (a) still exist
The older Nothing earbuds were near-rivals for Sony's cheaper earbuds, but that's no longer the case: Sony's excellent affordable WF-C710N cost $119 / £100 / AU$189, so they're in a different category to the $179 / £179 Nothing Ear (3).
And although there's a lot to enjoy in the Ear (3), unless you have a Nothing handset for transcription features, the Super Mic really is just a better mic for calls and certain voice notes – it doesn't support WhatsApp voice notes (yet), which I explain in more depth in my early Ear (3) experiential.
The personalization is very very good, but the audio has suffered a little for me in this iteration, becoming a little harsher through the treble on occasion, probably due to the slightly bigger driver and tweaked acoustic architecture.
Value score: 3 / 5
Should I buy the Nothing Ear (3)?
Section
Notes
Score
Features
Solid spec sheet, but the Super Mic is really only a standout feature if you own a Nothing phone
4.5/5
Sound quality
Zeal and get up and go to a fault? Almost. They're vigorous and exciting, but there's occasional treble harshness
4/5
Design
Beautiful design language, but the earpieces are no longer among the comfiest around
4.5/5
Value
Given the price of older iterations, it's hard to see huge value for money here
3/5
Buy them if...
You're a content creator The Super Mic could be just what you're looking for to glean better voice capture – and the general aesthetic of the Nothing Ear (3) is more than Instagram-worthy
You have a Sony or Android phone Does your phone support LDAC? Hurrah! LDAC is also back in the Ear (3), and that means better-quality wireless audio from your device on the go
You prioritize style Hey, there's nothing wrong with that! I loved wearing these (and using the case) during my testing. Make no mistake, these are good-looking earbuds.
Don't buy them if...
You have small ears If your concha (aka ear-well) is particularly bijou, you may struggle here. I find them that bit harder to wear compared to the Ear (a), which were already on the slightly larger side. You have been warned!
You want head-tracked spatial audio wizardry No dice here; you get a static profile it's true, but it's not as immersive or detailed as something like the LG Tone Free T90Q (head-tracked using Dolby Atmos), or Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), an admittedly premium proprietary offering that combines adaptive sound profiles with head tracking.
You're on a tight budget The thing is this: most of the things I loved in the cheaper Ear (a) are still here in the Ear (3), and when those still exist –and for big discounts – the smart money is arguably still on the 2024 product… View Deal
Nothing Ear (3) review: Also consider
Nothing Ear (3)
Nothing Ear (a)
Sony WF-C710N
Price
$179 / £179 / AU$299
$99 / £99 / approx AU$192
$119 / £100 / AU$189
Drivers
12mm custom
11m custom
5mm
Active noise cancellation
Yes
Yes
Yes
Quoted battery life
Buds: 5.5hrs (with ANC; up to 10 hours without) Total with case: 22hrs (ANC on; up to 38 hours without)
Buds: 5.5 hrs (9.5 hours without ANC Total with case: 24.5 hrs (42.5 hrs without ANC)
8.5 hrs (ANC ON) / Max. 12 hrs (ANC off); up to 30 hours with the case
Weight
5.2g
4.8g
5.2g per earpiece
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.4 with LDAC, USB-C
Bluetooth 5.3, LDAC, USB-C (no wireless charging)
Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C, Sony 360 Reality Audio, AAC, SBC
Frequency range
20kHz-40kHz
5000Hz range
20Hz-20kHz
Waterproofing
Yes, IP54
Yes, IP54 earbuds; IPX2 case
Yes, IPX4
Other features
Static spatial audio, Super Mic case feature, Personal sound profiles, advanced EQ
Sony 360 Reality Audio
Sony WF-C710N If you want Sony's 360 reality Audio support as well as its LDAC hi-res codec, this money buys you that – and by "this money", I mean "cheaper than the Nothing Ear (3)". The build is plastic and doesn't feel anywhere near as premium as Nothing Ear (3), but then, they are cheaper… Read whether it matters, in our full Sony WF-C700N review
Nothing Ear (a) I'm putting these here because for the money, they're exceptional – and at half the price of Nothing's premium set, I'm struggling to see why you would pay double the price. Is wireless charging support, a Super Mic, static spatial audio and/or a more advanced EQ tab worth the extra outlay? That's up to you, of course, but to me the smart money may still be with the 2024 set – especially since I prefer the slightly more detailed, marginally less full-bodied audio in the Ear (a). View Deal
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) You'll have to part with a bit more money to get it, but scale that food chain and you can get the QCUE (2nd Gen) and enjoy really, really good ANC and remarkable spatial audio that works in conjunction with those talented spatial sound profiles. Learn more in our in-depth Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen) review
How I tested the Nothing Ear (3)
(Image credit: Nothing)
Tested for two weeks, listened against AirPods Pro 3, Bose QCUE (2nd Gen) and Technics EAH-AZ100
Listened at work (in the office, walking on a beach, on a train) and at home
Listened to Tidal, Qobuz, Apple Music and Spotify on an iPhone 15 Pro Max, MacBook Pro and heard LDAC on Sony Xperia 1 IV
The Nothing Ear (3) became my primary musical companions for 13 days – after a thorough 48-hour run-in period.
They accompanied me to London (walking brusquely from St. Pancras Station to Waterloo owing to strike action on the London Underground and my need to get a train back to Dorset in 43 minutes!) and at home – where I actually missed delivery of a review sample owing to the efficacy of Nothing Ear (3)'s ANC.
It goes without saying that to better test the comfort levels (and battery life claims), I followed TechRadar's meticulous methodology testing. I also used TechRadar's reference playlist (spanning everything from hip-hop to folk music) on Apple Music and Tidal, and also my own musical selections and podcasts. I wore the Ear (3) to watch YouTube videos (mostly about the Austrian singer Falco, since you ask) from my MacBook Pro.
I’ve been testing audio products for well over five years. As a dancer, aerialist and musical theater performer in another life, sound quality, fit, and user experience have always been imperative for me personally, but having heard how wonderful ANC can be when done well, I know what I'm listening out for here also.
The SwitchBot K11+ is a scaled-down robot vacuum that's perfect for cramped homes. It delivers solid vacuuming and navigates with surprising speed and confidence, even if it doesn't always avoid all the obstacles it should. If you have a home with lots of nooks and crannies, it will be compact enough to squeeze into them, although note that while it's small in width, it's about standard height.
The dock is perhaps the smallest auto-empty option I've seen – sitting happily out of the way beneath my bed – and packs a surprisingly generous 4L dust bag. For that reason alone, it's a contender for the best robot vacuum for small homes.
The only major disappointment here is the "mop", which takes the form of a disposable wet-wipe that the bot drags across the floor. For the level of cleaning it delivers, it isn't worth the effort of attaching it. In fact, if you ignore the mopping capabilities altogether and just treat the K11+ as a vacuum-only bot, it becomes a far stronger proposition overall.
It isn't perfect, however. Aside from the dodgy mop, the app has a few weird quirks – and the auto-empty function is rather noisy. Overall, though, there's something very charming and appealing about this little bot. At full price it's clear you're paying a bit of a premium for the small size, but discounts are easy to come by, and if you snag one of these it can be very strong value for money.
That's the short version; read on for my full SwitchBot K11+ review.
(Image credit: Future)
SwitchBot K11+ review: price & availability
List price: $399.99 / £399.99
Available: US, UK
Launched: September 2025
The SwitchBot K11+ launched in September 2025, and is available to buy direct from SwitchBot, but also via Amazon. At list price it costs $399.99 in the US and £399.99 in the UK. However, at time of writing, there were significant discounts available one both sides of the shore. You're paying a bit of a premium for the dinky size here, although even at full price I think it's decent value for money.
Two of the best cheap robot vacuums on the market, the Dreame D9 Max Gen 2 and the Roborock Q7 M5 are both cheaper and offer far more capable mopping than the K11+, but neither come with an auto-empty dock. You'll be able to pick up better-value auto-empty hybrid robot vacuums if you're happy to go for an older model – a good example is the Roborock Q5 Pro+. Note, though, that the dock is much bigger, and is unlikely to fit under your bed.
Value for money score: 4 out of 5
SwitchBot K11+ specs
Max suction:
6,000Pa
Robot diameter:
9.8in / 24.8cm
Robot height:
3.6in / 9.2cm
Dock dimensions (W x D x H):
9.4 x 7.1 x 9.8in / 24 x 18 x 25cm
Dust bin volume (base):
4L
Water tank volume:
None
Base type:
Charge, auto-empty
Max threshold clearance:
0.7in / 1.7cm
Smart home compatibility:
Matter (Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home)
SwitchBot K11+ review: design
Small (but not short) robot with rubber roller and side brush
Mop is a wet-wipe dragged across the floor, then disposed of
Compact dock with auto-empty and storage for mop plate
The SwitchBot K11+ is a dinky robot vacuum with an equally compact base. The bot itself measures 9.8in / 24.8cm in diameter, whereas most bots these days are about 13in / 33cm. This means it can clean in narrow spots – although note that at 3.6in / 9.2cm, height-wise it's pretty average, so it won't be sneaking under a low sofa – for example – to clean.
Below you can see it next to the Roborock Saros 10 – while the K11+ is significantly smaller in diameter, its puck makes it taller; the Roborock's puck is retractible.
The pint-sized K11+ next to the more normally proportioned Roborock Saros 10 (Image credit: Future)
On the top of the K11+ you'll find buttons for On and Return to dock. Lift off the cover (which appears to just sit in place – I'd prefer some magnets to hold it a little more securely – and you'll find the dust cup clipped to the side.
There's a raised LiDAR puck, bumpers around the edge, and a camera at the front. Flip the K11+ over and you'll find a rubber roller. Sensibly, SwitchBot has made this almost the full width of the robot, which means the suction area is actually relatively large. There's also an angled side brush, to avoid hair from becoming tangled around it.
Image 1 of 4
There are a couple of manual buttons, and a raised LiDAR puck (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 4
The rubber roller takes up most of the width of the robot (Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 4
The dust cup clips on the side of the bot (Image credit: Future)
Image 4 of 4
The mopping setup is just a wet wipe (Image credit: Future)
The K11+'s mopping capabilities appear to have very much been an afterthought. To launch the function, you attach a wet-wipe to a base plate, and clip this to the underside of the bot, on top of the suction area. The wipe is then dragged across the floor, and disposed of afterwards. Note that the wet-wipe isn't biodegradable.
Although you need to attach the mop plate to activate "mopping", it is possible to specify carpet and no-mop zones on the map, to avoid the mop wiping down any areas that should not be wiped. However, you can't set a no-mop zone where the dock sits.
(Image credit: Future)
Speaking of the dock, the K11+'s station is far smaller than those you find accompanying the vast majority of bots nowadays. In fact, it's significantly more compact than the already-small dock that came with this model's predecessor, the SwitchBot K10+ (specifically, 2.9in / 7.3cm shorter and 0.8in / 2.1cm narrower).
(Image credit: Future)
This dock has TARDIS-like properties, though: lift the lid and you'll find a far larger than usual 4L dust bag. SwitchBot has also added storage for the mop plate beneath the lid – just one of a number of thoughtful design touches (my other favorite is that the handle on the onboard bin doubles up as a clip to secure it in place).
It's far from the most fully featured dock in town, though. There's no mop pad cleaning or refilling of water tanks (because there is no mop pad, nor is there a tank to fill). However, I'd wager that there are plenty of people who'd prefer a smaller dock with a large dust bag to a gigantic one with tanks included.
Design score: 4 out of 5
SwitchBot K11+ review: performance
Navigates quickly and confidently, decent obstacle avoidance
Good suction performance but bin emptying rather loud
Mopping not worth the effort, and dock can't be in a no-mop zone
When I set the SwitchBot K11+ off on its first cleaning run, the first thing that struck me was its speed. This bot powers up and down floors like there's no time to waste.
Despite that, it seems to do a good job at picking up dust and debris – I paused it before it could auto-empty, and the onboard bin had plenty in it, even though the room had been vacuumed the previous day, and I was using the second-weakest suction mode. (You can choose to clean a room once or twice, and there are four suction options: Quiet, Standard, Strong and Max.)
This dinky bot navigates with speed and confidence (Image credit: Future)
As usual, you can request the bot clean a room or a zone. However, the "Spot clean" function – where a robot will clean an area that's about a square meter or so around a chosen position – was still in beta testing at the time of writing, which is a little annoying if you want to clear a spillage.
Although fairly quiet in operation, the auto-empty process is really rather noisy. However, you can set different auto-empty durations via the app, to save at least some unnecessary disruption.
The auto-empty process is a little noisy (Image credit: Future)
Mopping is a different story. Attaching the wet wipe is fiddly, and ends up with a lot of the wipe on the underside of the base plate. It barely left my bathroom floor damp – imagine trying to clean the entire floor of a room with half a single wet-wipe. It also deposited bits of grime next to every grouting line.
I'll get into the results of the mopping tests in a second, but the short version is that if I owned this bot, I just wouldn't bother with the mopping functionality – in my opinion, it just isn't worth the effort.
The wet-wipe mop setup deposited grime whenever it hit an uneven bit of floor (Image credit: Future)
Navigation and obstacle avoidance
As a result of its speed, you might assume the K11+ experiences a fair few collisions, but this isn't the case. On test, it skirted its way around furniture and avoided permanent obstacles with impressive accuracy and reliability.
Ad hoc obstacle avoidance was less consistent. During one cleaning run, the K11+ drove into the dog (who, thankfully, remained unbothered) and then went on to push his water bowl across to the other side of the room.
During my set obstacle avoidance tests it hit my shoe, but on encountering the same shoe a second time, the bot carefully skirted around it before continuing. The K11+ also sucked up a red ribbon I'd used in place of a charge cable, but I wound't say that was surprising – I've yet to find a robovac that can successfully avoid cables, whatever the manufacturers may claim.
Image 1 of 2
The K11+ didn't always avoid obstacles (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2
Definitely tidy away cables before sending it out (Image credit: Future)
Cleaning tests
Next I moved on to TechRadar's official suction tests. For this, I sprinkled dry tea (from a tea bag) and a handful of oats onto the carpet, and monitored how effectively the bot sucked them up.
A single pass in Standard mode took care of most of the oats but only the top layer of tea, and a second in Max sucked up the rest of the oat crumbs and a decent amount of tea. That's a good result – the tea test is purposefully tricky (I used a Dyson V15 Detect to clear it completely).
Image 1 of 3
Tea and oats on carpet, ready for suction tests (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
This was what remained after a single pass with the K11+... (Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
... and after two passes (Image credit: Future)
Moving onto the mopping tests. This one felt unfair because it isn't so much a mop as a wet-wipe. Nevertheless, I persevered. I smeared a tiny amount of ketchup on a tiled floor and left it to dry, and also spilled a little soy sauce, to see how the K11+ could clear it.
Predictably, it could not. The soy sauce ended up smeared all over the floor and the ketchup was completely unaffected. I sent my Roborock Saros 10 in to clean up after it.
The K11+'s wet-wipe "mop" did not impress in the mopping tests (Image credit: Future)
If I owned this bot, I wouldn't bother with the mopping function at all. For the level of cleaning it delivers, it isn't worth the effort of attaching the wet-wipe. It also limits where you can position the dock, because it can't live in a no-mop zone.
Performance score: 3.5 out of 5
SwitchBot K11+ review: app
Pretty well designed and easy enough to use
Fine-tuning options are limited
Some minor illogical quirks
Since SwitchBot is a brand that makes a number of smart home products, its app is a hub for any SwitchBot gadgets you might own, rather than being dedicated to robovacs only. That means you'll have to click through twice from the homescreen to reach the K11+'s control options.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: SwitchBot / Future)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: SwitchBot / Future)
Once you reach the right section, it's much like most other robovac apps I've used. Editing a map is straightforward, and you can easily add no-go zones and merge or split spaces. The control options are more limited than you'll find in other, pricier robot vacuums, but all the main bases are covered.
There are a few niggles, though. I was pleased to find a Boost mode for carpets. However, specifying an area of carpet adds a pattern on top of the map that's so dark you then can't see the robot's cleaning path. Slightly annoyingly, there's an 8-character limit on room names that prevents you from, for example, labelling "Top floor", and bafflingly, there's no "Hall" or "Corridor" type option within the room defaults.
App score: 3.5 out of 5
Should you buy the SwitchBot K11+?
Attribute
Notes
Rating
Value
Budget / mid-range at full price, but big discounts are common. Paying a bit of a premium for the small size, but still decent value.
4 / 5
Design
Tiny robovac with an equally compact dock. Not exactly feature-packed, and mopping is very basic, but it looks great with some useful design features.
4 / 5
Performance
Vacuuming is solid and navigation is good, but emptying is noisy and mopping isn't worth bothering with.
3.5 / 5
App
Decent app with a few illogical quirks.
3.5 / 5
Buy it if...
You don't have much space for a dock If you want auto-empty capabilities but don't have room for a massive dock, this bot is perfect – it has perhaps the smallest auto-empty dock I've seen.
You're dealing with lots of dust or hair Although the dock is small, its internal dust bag is far bigger than you'll find in most auto-empty docs, with space for plenty of dust or pet hair before it needs replacing.
You want a speedy cleaner The K11+ rattles along at quite a pace, which means despite its small size, it will get your rooms clean quickly.
Don't buy it if...
Your priority is mopping The mopping here is really very basic, and for most people, not worth the effort.
You don't have lots of dust or hair If you're dealing with low levels of dust, you could consider not bothering with auto-emptying at all. There are plenty of excellent full-sized bots with very compact, charge-only docks, for less money than you'll shell out for the K11+.
How I tested the SwitchBot K11+
I used the SwitchBot K11+ as my main vacuum for a fortnight, to get a feel for its general cleaning performance and ease of use. I also ran a series of set suction tests to assess this bot's cleaning powers, seeing how effectively it cleared fine (tea leaves) and chunky (oats) spillages. To assess the mopping, I spilled soy sauce and smeared ketchup on a tiled floor. To test obstacle avoidance, I scattered common items you'd usually find around a home across my living room floor to see if it could correctly identify and avoid them.
During my review period, I assessed how easy it was to set up the SwitchBot K11+, how accurately it made its way around my home, and if there were any annoyances with its performance. I compared my experience with other robot vacuums I've tested, both budget and premium models.
The SwitchBot K11+ is a scaled-down robot vacuum that's perfect for cramped homes. It delivers solid vacuuming and navigates with surprising speed and confidence, even if it doesn't always avoid all the obstacles it should. If you have a home with lots of nooks and crannies, it will be compact enough to squeeze into them, although note that while it's small in width, it's about standard height.
The dock is perhaps the smallest auto-empty option I've seen – sitting happily out of the way beneath my bed – and packs a surprisingly generous 4L dust bag. For that reason alone, it's a contender for the best robot vacuum for small homes.
The only major disappointment here is the "mop", which takes the form of a disposable wet-wipe that the bot drags across the floor. For the level of cleaning it delivers, it isn't worth the effort of attaching it. In fact, if you ignore the mopping capabilities altogether and just treat the K11+ as a vacuum-only bot, it becomes a far stronger proposition overall.
It isn't perfect, however. Aside from the dodgy mop, the app has a few weird quirks – and the auto-empty function is rather noisy. Overall, though, there's something very charming and appealing about this little bot. At full price it's clear you're paying a bit of a premium for the small size, but discounts are easy to come by, and if you snag one of these it can be very strong value for money.
That's the short version; read on for my full SwitchBot K11+ review.
(Image credit: Future)
SwitchBot K11+ review: price & availability
List price: $399.99 / £399.99
Available: US, UK
Launched: September 2025
The SwitchBot K11+ launched in September 2025, and is available to buy direct from SwitchBot, but also via Amazon. At list price it costs $399.99 in the US and £399.99 in the UK. However, at time of writing, there were significant discounts available one both sides of the shore. You're paying a bit of a premium for the dinky size here, although even at full price I think it's decent value for money.
Two of the best cheap robot vacuums on the market, the Dreame D9 Max Gen 2 and the Roborock Q7 M5 are both cheaper and offer far more capable mopping than the K11+, but neither come with an auto-empty dock. You'll be able to pick up better-value auto-empty hybrid robot vacuums if you're happy to go for an older model – a good example is the Roborock Q5 Pro+. Note, though, that the dock is much bigger, and is unlikely to fit under your bed.
Value for money score: 4 out of 5
SwitchBot K11+ specs
Max suction:
6,000Pa
Robot diameter:
9.8in / 24.8cm
Robot height:
3.6in / 9.2cm
Dock dimensions (W x D x H):
9.4 x 7.1 x 9.8in / 24 x 18 x 25cm
Dust bin volume (base):
4L
Water tank volume:
None
Base type:
Charge, auto-empty
Max threshold clearance:
0.7in / 1.7cm
Smart home compatibility:
Matter (Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home)
SwitchBot K11+ review: design
Small (but not short) robot with rubber roller and side brush
Mop is a wet-wipe dragged across the floor, then disposed of
Compact dock with auto-empty and storage for mop plate
The SwitchBot K11+ is a dinky robot vacuum with an equally compact base. The bot itself measures 9.8in / 24.8cm in diameter, whereas most bots these days are about 13in / 33cm. This means it can clean in narrow spots – although note that at 3.6in / 9.2cm, height-wise it's pretty average, so it won't be sneaking under a low sofa – for example – to clean.
Below you can see it next to the Roborock Saros 10 – while the K11+ is significantly smaller in diameter, its puck makes it taller; the Roborock's puck is retractible.
The pint-sized K11+ next to the more normally proportioned Roborock Saros 10 (Image credit: Future)
On the top of the K11+ you'll find buttons for On and Return to dock. Lift off the cover (which appears to just sit in place – I'd prefer some magnets to hold it a little more securely – and you'll find the dust cup clipped to the side.
There's a raised LiDAR puck, bumpers around the edge, and a camera at the front. Flip the K11+ over and you'll find a rubber roller. Sensibly, SwitchBot has made this almost the full width of the robot, which means the suction area is actually relatively large. There's also an angled side brush, to avoid hair from becoming tangled around it.
Image 1 of 4
There are a couple of manual buttons, and a raised LiDAR puck (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 4
The rubber roller takes up most of the width of the robot (Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 4
The dust cup clips on the side of the bot (Image credit: Future)
Image 4 of 4
The mopping setup is just a wet wipe (Image credit: Future)
The K11+'s mopping capabilities appear to have very much been an afterthought. To launch the function, you attach a wet-wipe to a base plate, and clip this to the underside of the bot, on top of the suction area. The wipe is then dragged across the floor, and disposed of afterwards. Note that the wet-wipe isn't biodegradable.
Although you need to attach the mop plate to activate "mopping", it is possible to specify carpet and no-mop zones on the map, to avoid the mop wiping down any areas that should not be wiped. However, you can't set a no-mop zone where the dock sits.
(Image credit: Future)
Speaking of the dock, the K11+'s station is far smaller than those you find accompanying the vast majority of bots nowadays. In fact, it's significantly more compact than the already-small dock that came with this model's predecessor, the SwitchBot K10+ (specifically, 2.9in / 7.3cm shorter and 0.8in / 2.1cm narrower).
(Image credit: Future)
This dock has TARDIS-like properties, though: lift the lid and you'll find a far larger than usual 4L dust bag. SwitchBot has also added storage for the mop plate beneath the lid – just one of a number of thoughtful design touches (my other favorite is that the handle on the onboard bin doubles up as a clip to secure it in place).
It's far from the most fully featured dock in town, though. There's no mop pad cleaning or refilling of water tanks (because there is no mop pad, nor is there a tank to fill). However, I'd wager that there are plenty of people who'd prefer a smaller dock with a large dust bag to a gigantic one with tanks included.
Design score: 4 out of 5
SwitchBot K11+ review: performance
Navigates quickly and confidently, decent obstacle avoidance
Good suction performance but bin emptying rather loud
Mopping not worth the effort, and dock can't be in a no-mop zone
When I set the SwitchBot K11+ off on its first cleaning run, the first thing that struck me was its speed. This bot powers up and down floors like there's no time to waste.
Despite that, it seems to do a good job at picking up dust and debris – I paused it before it could auto-empty, and the onboard bin had plenty in it, even though the room had been vacuumed the previous day, and I was using the second-weakest suction mode. (You can choose to clean a room once or twice, and there are four suction options: Quiet, Standard, Strong and Max.)
This dinky bot navigates with speed and confidence (Image credit: Future)
As usual, you can request the bot clean a room or a zone. However, the "Spot clean" function – where a robot will clean an area that's about a square meter or so around a chosen position – was still in beta testing at the time of writing, which is a little annoying if you want to clear a spillage.
Although fairly quiet in operation, the auto-empty process is really rather noisy. However, you can set different auto-empty durations via the app, to save at least some unnecessary disruption.
The auto-empty process is a little noisy (Image credit: Future)
Mopping is a different story. Attaching the wet wipe is fiddly, and ends up with a lot of the wipe on the underside of the base plate. It barely left my bathroom floor damp – imagine trying to clean the entire floor of a room with half a single wet-wipe. It also deposited bits of grime next to every grouting line.
I'll get into the results of the mopping tests in a second, but the short version is that if I owned this bot, I just wouldn't bother with the mopping functionality – in my opinion, it just isn't worth the effort.
The wet-wipe mop setup deposited grime whenever it hit an uneven bit of floor (Image credit: Future)
Navigation and obstacle avoidance
As a result of its speed, you might assume the K11+ experiences a fair few collisions, but this isn't the case. On test, it skirted its way around furniture and avoided permanent obstacles with impressive accuracy and reliability.
Ad hoc obstacle avoidance was less consistent. During one cleaning run, the K11+ drove into the dog (who, thankfully, remained unbothered) and then went on to push his water bowl across to the other side of the room.
During my set obstacle avoidance tests it hit my shoe, but on encountering the same shoe a second time, the bot carefully skirted around it before continuing. The K11+ also sucked up a red ribbon I'd used in place of a charge cable, but I wound't say that was surprising – I've yet to find a robovac that can successfully avoid cables, whatever the manufacturers may claim.
Image 1 of 2
The K11+ didn't always avoid obstacles (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2
Definitely tidy away cables before sending it out (Image credit: Future)
Cleaning tests
Next I moved on to TechRadar's official suction tests. For this, I sprinkled dry tea (from a tea bag) and a handful of oats onto the carpet, and monitored how effectively the bot sucked them up.
A single pass in Standard mode took care of most of the oats but only the top layer of tea, and a second in Max sucked up the rest of the oat crumbs and a decent amount of tea. That's a good result – the tea test is purposefully tricky (I used a Dyson V15 Detect to clear it completely).
Image 1 of 3
Tea and oats on carpet, ready for suction tests (Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
This was what remained after a single pass with the K11+... (Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
... and after two passes (Image credit: Future)
Moving onto the mopping tests. This one felt unfair because it isn't so much a mop as a wet-wipe. Nevertheless, I persevered. I smeared a tiny amount of ketchup on a tiled floor and left it to dry, and also spilled a little soy sauce, to see how the K11+ could clear it.
Predictably, it could not. The soy sauce ended up smeared all over the floor and the ketchup was completely unaffected. I sent my Roborock Saros 10 in to clean up after it.
The K11+'s wet-wipe "mop" did not impress in the mopping tests (Image credit: Future)
If I owned this bot, I wouldn't bother with the mopping function at all. For the level of cleaning it delivers, it isn't worth the effort of attaching the wet-wipe. It also limits where you can position the dock, because it can't live in a no-mop zone.
Performance score: 3.5 out of 5
SwitchBot K11+ review: app
Pretty well designed and easy enough to use
Fine-tuning options are limited
Some minor illogical quirks
Since SwitchBot is a brand that makes a number of smart home products, its app is a hub for any SwitchBot gadgets you might own, rather than being dedicated to robovacs only. That means you'll have to click through twice from the homescreen to reach the K11+'s control options.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: SwitchBot / Future)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: SwitchBot / Future)
Once you reach the right section, it's much like most other robovac apps I've used. Editing a map is straightforward, and you can easily add no-go zones and merge or split spaces. The control options are more limited than you'll find in other, pricier robot vacuums, but all the main bases are covered.
There are a few niggles, though. I was pleased to find a Boost mode for carpets. However, specifying an area of carpet adds a pattern on top of the map that's so dark you then can't see the robot's cleaning path. Slightly annoyingly, there's an 8-character limit on room names that prevents you from, for example, labelling "Top floor", and bafflingly, there's no "Hall" or "Corridor" type option within the room defaults.
App score: 3.5 out of 5
Should you buy the SwitchBot K11+?
Attribute
Notes
Rating
Value
Budget / mid-range at full price, but big discounts are common. Paying a bit of a premium for the small size, but still decent value.
4 / 5
Design
Tiny robovac with an equally compact dock. Not exactly feature-packed, and mopping is very basic, but it looks great with some useful design features.
4 / 5
Performance
Vacuuming is solid and navigation is good, but emptying is noisy and mopping isn't worth bothering with.
3.5 / 5
App
Decent app with a few illogical quirks.
3.5 / 5
Buy it if...
You don't have much space for a dock If you want auto-empty capabilities but don't have room for a massive dock, this bot is perfect – it has perhaps the smallest auto-empty dock I've seen.
You're dealing with lots of dust or hair Although the dock is small, its internal dust bag is far bigger than you'll find in most auto-empty docs, with space for plenty of dust or pet hair before it needs replacing.
You want a speedy cleaner The K11+ rattles along at quite a pace, which means despite its small size, it will get your rooms clean quickly.
Don't buy it if...
Your priority is mopping The mopping here is really very basic, and for most people, not worth the effort.
You don't have lots of dust or hair If you're dealing with low levels of dust, you could consider not bothering with auto-emptying at all. There are plenty of excellent full-sized bots with very compact, charge-only docks, for less money than you'll shell out for the K11+.
How I tested the SwitchBot K11+
I used the SwitchBot K11+ as my main vacuum for a fortnight, to get a feel for its general cleaning performance and ease of use. I also ran a series of set suction tests to assess this bot's cleaning powers, seeing how effectively it cleared fine (tea leaves) and chunky (oats) spillages. To assess the mopping, I spilled soy sauce and smeared ketchup on a tiled floor. To test obstacle avoidance, I scattered common items you'd usually find around a home across my living room floor to see if it could correctly identify and avoid them.
During my review period, I assessed how easy it was to set up the SwitchBot K11+, how accurately it made its way around my home, and if there were any annoyances with its performance. I compared my experience with other robot vacuums I've tested, both budget and premium models.
