Google's hardware division didn't have a particularly strong 2025, releasing new phones that didn't really stand out as particularly innovative. That's not the best strategy in any market, but it's particularly damaging in those outside the US where more makers are present.
And, sure, Google isn't primarily a hardware company, but it makes phones, earbuds, and smartwatches every year and fails to make a meaningful market impact against the likes of Samsung and Apple, its main rivals.
Still, Google's phones are getting better and better even if not always at an impressive pace. There are...
Before you get too excited, nothing is confirmed as of yet. We only recently learned about the Samsung Exynos 2600 chip – the first to be made on a 2nm process. Said chip is rumored to power the upcoming Galaxy Z Flip8 and potentially the S26 family in at least one country. Back when the Exynos 2600 was unveiled, Samsung was suspiciously silent about its modem. Now details have started coming in about an Exynos Modem 5410, which could be a part of the Exynos 2600 package.
The Exynos Modem 5410 integrates LTE DTC, NB IoT NTN, and NR NTN on a single chip. NB IoT NTN, or NarrowBand...
Nothing has released the stable version of the Android 16-based Nothing OS 4.0 for the CMF Phone 1. The company says Nothing OS 4.0 "brings a more refined and personal experience, with visual refreshes, deeper customisation across the system, and improvements designed to make everyday use smoother and more comfortable." You can head over here to learn more about what's new in Nothing OS 4.0.
The Nothing OS 4.0 update is rolling out in phases for the CMF Phone 1. The CMF Phone 2 Pro will get the update "in the coming weeks," while the Nothing Phone (3a) Lite will start receiving it "at...
Confirmed: Harlan Coben's Run Away is the most fun you can have on New Year's Day without leaving your sofa. In truth, it wouldn't be a festive veg-out session if a new Harlan Coben mystery wasn't waiting for us, with Fool Me Once taking Netflix by storm in 2024. I'm no psychic, but I predict the same happening with Run Away.
Why? We're returning to the tried-and-tested formula of book adaptations after Prime Video's Harlan Coben's Lazarus in October. That's both a plus and a disadvantage depending on how you look at it, but when it comes to Coben's signature craft, we're in safe hands.
Not only that, but this might just be Coben's wildest story yet. Simon (James Nesbitt) is desperately searching for his runaway daughter Paige (Ellie de Lange) after she leaves home for her abusive, drug-addicted boyfriend, Aaron (Thomas Flynn).
When Aaron turns up dead, Simon is the number one suspect. Going against the police, his family, and his better conscience to find Paige, he discovers far more than he ever bargained for.
While that's not ideal news for the Greene family, it's perfect for us. Paige's disappearance is only the tip of an incredibly unhinged iceberg that turns a family tragedy into a web of betrayal, lies, and deceit.
I'm not going to give away any spoilers in this review, so you'll have to trust me when I say that there's no way on Earth you'll be able to guess what's to come... and Coben's final twist is the ultimate hand-clapped-over-mouth moment.
Harlan Coben's Run Away turns belligerent teen drama into a criminal rollercoaster you can't tear your eyes away from
Coben is getting to the stage where his fictional lore rivals that of the MCU or Lord of the Rings, and Run Away is no exception. If you watch all eight episodes in one go, not only will your brain break in half (like mine did), but you might also need a police whiteboard just to keep up with the explosive secret and inscrutable subplots.
It's this sense of immersion that's always made Coben's work the cream of the crop, and partnering his style of writing with a stellar cast not afraid of getting their hands dirty means you've got streamable magic. James Nesbitt was born to play an aloof yet naive father in a British crime drama, with Minnie Driver getting the slightly easier job of mostly lying in a hospital bed.
It's Ruth Jones as Elena Ravenscroft that's the most pleasing addition here (though her character sounds like a Harry Potter extra). The UK has particularly been hellbent on pigeonholing Jones as nothing more than Nessa in Gavin & Stacey, rarely taking notice of her varied existing body of work.
She might be a Queen of comedy, but Jones injects some light-hearted relief into Run Away that perfectly offsets Nesbitt's erratic chaos.
"Sexy prick" DS Fagbenle (Alfred Enoch) is another intriguing layer of the puzzle. In his work, he's incredibly standoffish, but the personal relationship he's cultivating in secret makes you want to step inside his mind and unravel the man we're not properly getting to see. Even when we're getting answers to the big questions, it's nice that something is kept back from us, especially when we don't need it spelled out.
How much are you willing to suspend belief for a whodunnit mystery?
Elena and Simon discuss strategy. (Image credit: Netflix)
The biggest problem with a mind-boggling mystery is when it starts to veer into ridiculous territory. For the first half of Run Away, the drama feels grounded in reality. It's incredibly possible for a teenage girl to lose her way in life thanks to an abusive partner, with her family being broken apart as a result.
But when you start tying in seemingly unconnected murders and cult behavior, things get a little more far-fetched. I know that fictional drama doesn't have to stay true to life, but shows like this also aren't soap operas. Between episodes 5-8, I can picture families across the globe saying to each other, "For God's sake, that's enough now."
For the most part, I think Coben gets away with it... right up until the astonishing final twist. Not only does the reveal feel incredibly unnecessary, but it also changes the entire tone of the story in the last few minutes. It's the secret that tips Run Away over the edge into genuinely unbelievable, and perhaps a case of 'less is more' would have made for a more effective ending.
On the other hand, the narrative beats of the overarching story fit snugly into the Coben formula, and that's either stoic and dependable or more of the same. It's probably important to remember that Run Away is slotting into an existing collection of mysteries, so some level of uniformity is needed. We're dealing with signature Coben drama here, and while that might put some viewers off, I think enough people will find comfort in knowing what to expect – in the broadest sense.
Where Lazarus faltered, Run Away shines. I definitely believe the book-to-screen adaptation is a huge strength for Coben, mining a level of satisfaction we were missing earlier in the year. I was giddy the entire way through watching it, and it's safe to say that I've never enjoyed following a grisly murder more.
Xiaomi’s 2025 was filled with great products across a wide range of categories. Gone are the days when the brand was playing catch-up to the likes of Apple and Samsung, as Xiaomi proved it is forging its own path across more than just smartphones.
Xiaomi is one of the fastest-growing EV brands in China, and the success of its very first vehicle - the SU7 is shaping up to be an even bigger hit. But smartphones are still Xiaomi's bread and butter, so let's kick off the list with one of our favourite devices of the year.
Winner: Xiaomi 15 Ultra
While the Xiaomi 15 Ultra wasn’t a...
With the Ninja name comes an expectation of quality. From air fryers and coffee machines to blenders and ice cream makers, Ninja kitchen appliances are among the most popular on the market – with several of their products topping our buying guides lists. The Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker MC1101UK offers the level of quality you’d expect while combining the power of multiple appliances into one compact package. This multicooker offers the capabilities of a rice cooker, slow cooker, steamer, and hob in one appliance, helping reduce your need for kitchen storage space and the amount of washing up after a meal.
The PossibleCooker offers eight main functions: sear/sauté, slow cook, white rice, brown rice, pasta (without drainage), porridge, steam, and keep warm. During our testing, we found results were consistently excellent. The 6L cooking pot offers plenty of space, while the appliance itself isn’t as bulky as you might imagine. And, thanks to a thorough user manual and clear markings inside the pot, it’s easy to ensure your liquid-to-oat/rice ratio is accurate with every cook.
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While this multicooker will likely become a firm favourite in your household, it’s not flawless. Some cooking functions, like rice cooking, take longer than they maybe would on the hob, though the results are worth the wait. And while using the appliance is straightforward, its small digital display is quite basic, indicating a preheating function only via symbols and offering no timer for rice cooking functions.
We also found that the non-stick coating on the inside of the pot began chipping away within a week of testing, despite carefully following the cleaning instructions. Ninja says the cooking pot and lid are dishwasher-safe, but we’d recommend handwashing where possible, especially as it’s easy to do even with stubborn residue.
Overall, for £119.99 ($129.99 / AU$249.99 for non-UK models), the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker is an excellent value multicooker for households big and small who want more efficiency in the kitchen.
Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker: price and availability
MC1101UK model costs £119.99 at Ninja UK
MC1101 model available for $129.99 in US, and AU$249.99 in Australia
Available at third-party retailers like Amazon, John Lewis, and Staples
Regular discounts at Ninja and third-party retailers
The Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker MC1101UK (which is the model I tested here) retails for £119.99 at Ninja UK, while non-MC1101UK models are available in the US and Australia for $129.99 and AU$249.99, respectively.
Considering the quality of the results, the pot’s 6L capacity, and the functions on offer, we believe it‘s excellent value for money. Especially when you consider what buying a dedicated rice cooker, steamer, and slow cooker would cost combined.
What’s more, we regularly see discounts on this appliance at Ninja and third-party retailers, so keep an eye out for these to pick it up for even less.
Value score: 5/5
Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker: specifications
Review model
MC1101UK
Color
Midnight Blue
Number of baskets
1 cooking pot
Number of cooking functions
8 cooking modes
Cooking functions and modes
Sear/Sauté, Slow Cook, White Rice, Brown Rice, Pasta, Porridge, Steam, Keep Warm
280mm (H) x 420mm (W) x 290mm (D) / 11in (H) x 16.5in (W) x 11.4in (D)
Dishwasher-safe
Yes (but we don't recommend it)
Guarantee
2 years
Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker: design
6L capacity cooking pot
Fairly compact and quiet
Minimal effort needed to clean
Non-stick coating on pot can easily come off
Digital display can be confusing
Out of the box, the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker MC1101UK comes with a silver main unit (with a black control panel), a 6L midnight blue cooking pot, a glass lid, a rice cup, a rice spoon, and a steam rack, plus a thorough user manual and recipe booklet.
Immediately, we were surprised by how compact the appliance is, given its capacity. When assembled, the PossibleCooker takes up less than one kitchen counter space, making it a great choice for those with fewer storage options or a smaller kitchen work surface.
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On the main unit is a fairly straightforward control panel, listing the eight cooking functions on the left, beside a small digital display. On the right-hand side are arrow buttons for function, time, and temperature, alongside a start/stop button.
The cooking pot has a black non-stick coating inside, with clear lines indicating where to fill up to with water for white rice, brown rice, and oats, corresponding to the number of cups you’ve added. The included recipe booklet provides more thorough instructions on this in its grain and pasta chart, which covers a variety of rice types (and certain pasta), alongside handy cooking tips. So, if, like me, you struggle to get your ratios right, keep it near. This recipe manual also offers guidelines for commonly slow-cooked meats and steamed vegetables, plus some recipes to get you started. We did, however, find the recipes weren’t as flavoursome as they sound, and some of the instructions aren’t particularly clear.
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Using the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker is straightforward, but we highly advise reading the user manual first to understand how each cooking function works. Though the advice given in the manual can sometimes contradict the recipe book: for example, in the manual it advises to keep the lid on during cooking, while the recipe book recommends removing it after boiling.
To use the appliance, turn it on, use the function buttons to navigate to the relevant function, and then (where applicable) adjust the temperature and timing settings before pressing start. Some functions kick in straight away, while others have a preheat period. This preheat period is indicated by progress symbols (lines) in the display window, but the user manual doesn’t make the preheating process particularly clear, or how long it will last. For searing/sauteéing, these progress symbols are followed by the instruction to add food, but for other functions, this isn’t the case. After several uses, we got to grips with this feature, but it can be confusing initially.
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When running, the PossibleCooker is quiet, but lets out a loud beep when cooking is complete. The appliance has markers indicating which parts will get hot during the process (and not to touch with bare hands), and the user manual makes it clear, too. So, if you’ve got little ones, we advise moving it away from the edge of your counter and ideally positioning it near or under an extractor fan (it gets steamy).
After letting the appliance cool down, the main unit can be wiped down with a cloth, and you can hand-wash the cooking pot with ease – though avoid using anything abrasive on its non-stick coat. However, despite carefully following the instructions, the coat began to chip off around the rim of the pot, possibly due to wear from the lid, within a week. So, while Ninja claims the pot is dishwasher safe, we advise (as we do with any non-stick coated appliance) to only hand-wash for longevity.
Design score: 4.5/5
Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker: performance
Eight cooking functions, including rice and slow cooking
High quality results across all modes…
But expect a wait for some products
Medium slow cook temperature would be beneficial
We started our testing of the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker MC1101UK by using its white rice function. Cooking perfect rice every time is no mean feat, and this reviewer regularly gets the ratios wrong. Fortunately, the rice chart made it easy. We added two cups of long-grain white rice to the cooking pot and filled it with water to the corresponding mark.
It’s initially a bit unclear whether the appliance is on. Following the progress symbols, the display doesn’t show anything, so you’re left in the dark about how long the rice will actually take to cook. On average, it can take around 30 to 40 minutes to cook this amount of rice. We, however, waited slightly longer.. The result was perfectly fluffy rice, but it took around 40 to 50 minutes. We will caveat, however, that you can expect this wait with some other rice cookers.
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We had the same results with brown rice, which has its own function. This time, we tried the Cajun Dirty Rice recipe from the booklet, which first requires you to cook 360g of brown rice (two cups) using the corresponding function. The booklet suggests this will take approximately 50 to 60 minutes, but we found it took 75 minutes altogether. Brown rice typically takes longer to cook than white, and you may wait longer than the booklet suggests, but the result was perfectly cooked grains once again. Well worth the wait, as long as you expect it. If speed is your priority, though, this may not be the appliance for you.
The Cajun Dirty Rice recipe allowed us to test efficiency and the multi-functionality of the PossibleCooker. After removing the rice, we easily cleaned out the inside of the pot with a cloth, ensuring it was dry before the next use. When you use more than one function of this multicooker for a recipe, expect extra waiting times for the pot to cool enough to be cleaned. Fortunately, the pot was quickly washed up, and I selected the sauté function (which requires a preheat) for the next section: browning off pork and beef mince.
The cooking pot essentially acts as a pot or pan on a hob when this function is selected, though the controls only let you select High, Medium, or Low temperature (giving you less control over the heat). It works a treat, though, and the digital display shows how long the pot has been heated for, so you can easily keep track of your timings. After cooking my minced meat, followed by my veg, I added stock and brought the pot to the boil before folding in the brown rice. The recipe itself was a bit flavourless, but the result was perfectly cooked rice, meat, and veg.
This multifunctionality is also useful when slow-cooking. Rather than the abundance of pots and pans I usually use for my go-to beef stew recipe, we were able to soften the veg in the pot using the sautée function before adding liquid and beef. After four hours at High temperature, we were thoroughly pleased with the results: the beef was tender, the vegetables soft but not mushy, and the sauce reduced and flavoursome without being watery or congealed.
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We had similar results with a Beef Tinga recipe, a Ninja recipe accessed via the QR code on the appliance’s box. This one didn’t require using the sautée function, but allowed us to test the slow cooking function’s capabilities on the Low temperature setting. After adding all the ingredients to the pot and setting the time to eight hours, the meat was melt-in-your-mouth, but the recipe was (again) a bit bland. Our main takeaway here is that the functionality of the appliance is great, but maybe use it for your own recipes.
The steaming and pasta functions are perhaps the only ones that we had a couple of issues with. Following Ninja’s guidelines, we chose to steam 200g of Tenderstem broccoli. The guidelines tell you the amount of water to add to the pot. You then place the provided steaming rack inside the pot and place the broccoli in a single layer across it before placing the lid on top. The digital display, again, showed the progress bar indicating preheating, but it’s not entirely clear what the appliance is doing at that time. Building up its steam?
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Either way, this heating time isn’t taken into account when you set your timer. So, for example, we set our timer for eight minutes as recommended, but the preheating/presteaming process wasn’t accounted for in those eight minutes, so you may need to account for that when cooking. We also found water bubbled around the lid of the pot during steaming, with a little water coming out the top. Overall, the broccoli was steamed well: with a slight crunch but not too floppy. It may have been easier to steam it the old-fashioned way, however.
Pasta, too, offered mixed results. The guidelines in the recipe book recommend the amount of water to add for the weight of pasta you’re using (the lines in the pot don’t apply to this). The booklet advises adding the pasta first, followed by the water, and then select the function. The pasta function seems to work more like the rice function, not giving you control over (or insight into) temperature or time, but telling you when it’s done.
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The draw of the pasta function is that it allows you to cook pasta without needing to drain the water, but the time it takes almost makes it not worth it. After preheating for about six to nine minutes, it’s meant to take around 18 to 20 minutes to cook (again, it’s unclear if preheating is taken into account), but the appliance didn’t beep for over 22 minutes, at which point we stopped the cooking because the pasta was starting to make a skin on the bottom of the pot. While the timings were questionable, and the skin gross, the actual resulting pasta was perfectly al dente. And, in fairness, we didn’t have to drain any water.
Overall, the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker's results are excellent, but you may need to wait a little longer than you expect from some cooking functions – and spend some time getting used to its quirks.
Performance score: 5/5
Should you buy the Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker?
Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker score card
Attribute
Notes
Score
Value
This is a budget to mid-range appliance that's well worth its value when you consider the price of purchasing individual appliances and the quality on offer.
5/5
Design
Compact, quiet, but with a 6L capacity, this appliance is a great fit for bigger and smaller kitchens – and it looks pretty sleek, too.
4.5/5
Performance
While you may need to be patient with some of its functions, this multicooker provides consistently excellent results across its eight cooking functions.
5/5
Buy it if
You want to save kitchen space
If you’re struggling to fit a steamer, rice cooker, and slow cooker in your kitchen cupboard, this multicooker could help you save some space by combining these appliances into one, fairly compact package – without sacrificing capacity.
You want a quality, multi-functional cooker that won't break the bank
The Ninja Foodi PossibleCooker provides excellent results across its eight cooking functions, but at £119.99, it is much more affordable than other premium instant cookers. It’s great value for money considering the quality and multi-functionality on offer.
You suck at making rice
If, like me, you struggle cooking perfect rice every time, it’s well worth considering this appliance. With a handy ratio guide that covers everything from white rice to sushi rice, the PossibleCooker makes rice cooking easy – even if you have to be a bit patient.
Don't buy it if
You'll only use one cooking function
While the PossibleCooker is great value for money, you need to actually get your money’s worth. If you want to use just one of its functions, and don’t care much about the others, you might be better off buying an appliance solely dedicated to that cooking function.
You're impatient
This multicooker provides great results, but you may need to wait a little longer for them. We found that two cups of brown rice took over an hour to cook, pasta took over 20 minutes, and white rice took over 40 minutes. If you can’t be bothered waiting, you may be better with a stove.
You want an multicooker with a pressure cooker built in
If you're not swayed by the PossibleCooker's functions, and would prefer a similarly priced instant cooker with pressure cooker capabilities, we highly recommend the Instant Pot Duo Plus, which retails for $119.99/ £99.99. Instant Pot is the go-to name in instant cookers, and this one has some excellent cooking functions, including pressure cook, slow cook, sous vide, yogurt, and sauté, without breaking the bank.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra went official in China yesterday. Alongside it, the company also announced new products including the Watch 5. Xiaomi’s new smartwatch offers a circular AMOLED display, a dual-chip architecture, and is claimed to deliver up to 6 days of battery life.
Xiaomi’s Watch 5 features a stainless steel case that houses a 1.54-inch circular AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 60Hz, 480x480-pixel resolution, and up to 1,500-nit brightness.
The smartwatch gets a synthetic sapphire crystal glass on the front (display) and on the back. It weighs 56g without the strap and is...
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra went official in China yesterday. Alongside it, the company also announced new products including the Watch 5. Xiaomi’s new smartwatch offers a circular AMOLED display, a dual-chip architecture, and is claimed to deliver up to 6 days of battery life.
Xiaomi’s Watch 5 features a stainless steel case that houses a 1.54-inch circular AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 60Hz, 480x480-pixel resolution, and up to 1,500-nit brightness.
The smartwatch gets a synthetic sapphire crystal glass on the front (display) and on the back. It weighs 56g without the strap and is...
The Honor Win and Win RT have been announced in China. The gaming-focused phones come with the latest flagship Snapdragon chipsets, an active cooling fan, up to 185Hz refresh rate, and massive 10,000mAh batteries.
The Honor Win is equipped with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, which is coupled with the Adreno 830 GPU. Meanwhile, the Win RT gets the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset. The phones get up to 16GB of LPDDR5X Ultra RAM, and 1TB of UFS 4.1 internal storage.
Both handsets come with a 6.83-inch OLED display with a refresh rate of 185Hz, up to 6,000-nit peak brightness, Full-HD+...
The Astro A20 X is basically a jazzed-up version of the Logitech G522 Lightspeed - but is that such a bad thing? That latter headset is, in my eyes, one of the best wireless gaming headsets of the year, and many of its strongest qualities have carried forward into the Astro A20 X.
You’re still getting fantastic, well-balanced sound that, despite lacking a bit of bass out of the box, can be easily tweaked to perfection in the strong Logitech G Hub companion software. On PC, there’s support for DTS Headphone:X too, which delivers immersive spatial audio that’s perfect for immersive story titles like Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.
It features the same excellent detachable 48kHz microphone, which picks up your voice clearly when you’re chatting on services like Discord, and the handy red LED indicator that tells you when it’s muted.
The level of comfort offered by the headset is unchanged, too. It’s lightweight but feels suitably durable, with plush earcups and a pleasantly soft headband. The design looks bulky on my head, but it's hard to complain about this too much when it’s so comfortable to wear.
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So what is actually new this time around? The big new addition isn’t found on the headset itself, but rather what else you get in the box. The Astro A20 X comes bundled with a small Playsync base and two USB Type-C cables. This is its wireless dongle, and it can be plugged into two different systems at the same time.
Tapping a tiny new button found on the back of the headset itself switches between the two systems almost instantaneously, which is a game-changer if you’re like me and use a PlayStation 5 and PC (or Xbox and PC) with the same display. The feature works fantastically, but I can’t help but feel that the use of the Astro branding is a bit of a misstep from Logitech.
Sure, Astro products do generally support multiple platforms - but the headset’s design looks nothing like existing models like the Astro A50 X or Astro A10.
It doesn’t even have an Astro logo on it - bearing the same Logitech G branding as the Logitech G522 Lightspeed. As a big fan of the Astro brand, there’s something a little sad about seeing it lose some of its identity like this.
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Astro A20 X: Price and availability
Costs $179.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99
More expensive than the G522 Lightspeed
Worth it if you use multiple platforms
At $179.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99, the Astro A20 X is priced just a touch higher than the Logitech G522 Lightspeed, which costs $159.99 / £139.99 / AU$299.99. It can be found at most of the same retailers, meaning Amazon and Best Buy in the US or Amazon, Currys, and Argos in the UK. In Australia, it can be purchased at Amazon and JB Hi-Fi.
Whether the extra $20 / £30 / AU$50 is worth it compared to the Logitech G522 Lightspeed is largely going to come down to your platform preferences. If you use two or more platforms in the same setup, the Astro A20 X makes a lot of sense and will be the more convenient option.
At this increased price point, you will need to consider alternatives like the Razer BlackShark V3 or SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Wireless more seriously, though. That latter model is significantly cheaper at $129.99 / £129.99 / AU$139.95 and offers similarly good audio quality, though you do miss out on the convenient platform switching.
Astro A20 X: Specs
Price
$179.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99
Weight
10.23oz / 290g
Compatibility
PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, iOS
Connection type
Bluetooth, Lightspeed Wireless, Wired USB-C
Battery life
40 hrs (default lighting), 90hrs (RGB off)
Features
Detachable 48kHz / 16 bit omni microphone, Lightsync RGB, Playsync Base
Software
Logitech G Hub (PC) / Logitech G app (mobile)
Astro A20 X: Design and features
Almost identical to the G522
New platform switching button and base
Spatial audio support on PC
Logitech hasn’t taken any risks with the design of the Astro A20 X, making only minimal changes compared to the G522 Lightspeed. On the headset itself, the only noticeable change is two extra buttons on the back of the right earcup.
One is a volume mix rocker that increases or decreases the volume of a call compared to your game, while the other is a little red switching button. This works in tandem with the new Playsync Base - a super compact dongle that connects to two systems with USB Type-C.
The front of the base features two LED lights, which illuminate to denote your selected input device. On the back, you’ll find the two USB Type-C ports and two little switches.
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These switches are labeled Xbox / USB and PC / USB, respectively, and should be selected depending on what you have plugged in. Luckily, a useful guide is printed on the bottom of the Base to tell you what you need to choose if you want to use a PC, Xbox, PlayStation, or Switch.
The Base has two little rubber feet that help it grip the surface of your desk a little better, though I find that it can still slip off from time to time. The base is very, very light, and even just the weight of the plugged-in USB cables can move it around.
The new platform switching aside, the Astro A20 X otherwise boasts identical features to the Logitech G522 Lightspeed, with highlights like PC spatial audio support and customizable RGB zones on each earcup. The colorways of the Astro A20 X are also slightly different from the G522 Lightspeed. There’s still a Black and White option, but both feature red accent colors rather than blue.
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Astro A20 X: Performance
Comfortable to wear
High quality audio
Great microphone
Being nearly identical to the excellent G522 Lightspeed, it’s very hard to fault the performance of the Astro A20 X.
It sounds great out of the box, though as with that headset, I would personally use the companion Logitech G Hub software to crank the low frequencies (20Hz, 50Hz and 125Hz) up by 3dB, 2dB, and 1dB then add 0.5dB at the higher end for slightly better all-round sound as the bass is a little weak by default.
You can access all the same good presets of the G522 Lightspeed with the Astro A20 X, too, including a bass boost mode, gaming mode, dedicated FPS mode, and a media mode, or download hundreds of alternatives created by the community.
The microphone is indistinguishable too. It’s high-fidelity at 48kHz and picks up your voice well, though it does tend to allow in background noise, so I would suggest making sure the noise cancellation features of the Logitech G Hub software are on.
Battery life is identical to the G522 as well, and in my testing, I easily managed a touch over 40 hours with RGB enabled, which is a decent result.
On top of all this, the new platform switching feature works flawlessly with no noticeable delay, swapping you over, and has no issues with pairing.
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Should I buy the Astro A20 X?
Buy it if...
You play on two systems on one display The platform switching feature of the Astro A20 X makes it a great choice if you play on a console and PC or two consoles via the same display.
You’d like strong audio and a great mic The Astro A20 X has the same audio chops as the G522 Lightspeed. It sounds clear and crisp out of the box, with a killer microphone to boot.
Don't buy it if...
You don’t need to frequently swap platforms If you’re only going to be playing on one system or don’t switch between them often, you're better off with the G522. Moving its dongle between machines isn’t too much of a hassle, and you’ll save some cash.
Also consider...
Not sold on the Astro A20 X? Here are two other options to consider, including the original Logitech G522 Lightspeed.
Astro A20 X
Logitech G522 Lightspeed
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5
Price
$179.99 / £169.99 / AU$349.99
$159.99 / £139.99 / AU$229
$129.99 / £129.99 / AU$139.95
Weight
10.23oz / 290g
10.22oz / 290g
9.5oz / 266g
Compatibility
PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, iOS
PC, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, Android, iOS
Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac, Mobile
Connection type
Bluetooth, Lightspeed Wireless, Wired USB-C
Bluetooth, Lightspeed Wireless, Wired USB-C
Wireless (2.4GHz via dongle), Wired (USB-C), Bluetooth 5.3
Battery life
40 hrs (default lighting), 90hrs (RGB off)
40 hrs (default lighting), 90hrs (RGB off)
Up to 60 hours
Features
Detachable 48kHz / 16 bit omni microphone, Lightsync RGB, Playsync Base
Detachable 48kHz / 16 bit omni microphone, Lightsync RGB
360-degree spatial audio, retractable ClearCast 2.X mic
Software
Logitech G Hub (PC) / Logitech G app (mobile)
Logitech G Hub (PC) / Logitech G app (mobile)
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 Companion App (mobile), SteelSeries GG
Logitech G522 Lightspeed The Logitech G522 Lightspeed is nearly identical to the Astro A20 X minus the platform switching feature, but it comes in cheaper. You can still use it with multiple systems if you’re willing to manually swap the dongle or Bluetooth pairing each time.
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5 The SteelSeries Arcis Nova 5 is an absolute titan of the mid-range headset demographic and becomes a seriously tempting option compared to the Astro A20 X. It’s much cheaper, but still offers great sound - you do lose the functionality of the Playsync Base though.
Throughout my time with the headset, I compared its performance to a range of other models that I’ve tested, including the Logitech G522 Lightspeed and SteelSeries Arctis Nova 5, plus more premium alternatives like the Razer BlackShark V3 Pro and Astro A50 X.
