Gadget No. 18

E-cars are slowly moving into pole position. After years of being relegated to near-science-fiction status, 62 per cent of new car buyers now say they expect to buy a fully-electric car in the next decade. What’s more, according to a new study by Bosch, 71 per cent of those future e-car owners think all cars will be electric in 15 years. You can also see e-cars growing acceptance reflected in the type of motors that have been announced this year. Auto manufacturers have switched gear from showing off luxury super cars aimed at the Silicon Valley elite in favour of family sedans and mini vans. The most notable example is the Tesla Model 3, a spacious five-seater that Elon Musk says will be the most affordable yet, and comes with…

Dave Harfield Editor In Chief I think so. The sensors used in self-driving cars are very impressive. You can learn more about them on page 48. Drew Sleep Production Editor Humans are stupid, they make errors. I for one welcome our self-driving overlords. Aiden Dalby Staff Writer No, the tech is very new and I’m not sure I’m prepared to trust it my life just yet. Maybe in ten years. Stephen Williams Senior Art Editor Yes. I have more faith in the Google autonomous car’s driving skills than my own.…

Battery blues When in handheld mode the battery lasts between two to six hours depending on the game. Legend of Zelda, for example, lasts around a short three hours Share screenshots The left Joy-Con controller has a ‘share’ button that will capture a screenshot that can then be shared to social media It’s a hybrid The key selling point of the device is it can go from traditional home console to a handheld device you can play on the move almost instantaneously Multiplayer capabilities Up to eight consoles can be connected in local wireless gameplay or online over Wi-Fi, although online will eventually require a subscription fee Joy-Con controller The two Joy-Con controllers can be detached from the console and then connected to a controller grip, used independently in each hand or two players can use one each Nintendo has…

As we sat down with the Nintendo Switch the first thing that stuck out to us was just how small the device is. It’s roughly the same size as the Wii U’s gamepad, which measures in at around 5.5 x 10 inches, but the Nintendo Switch is much slimmer. Taking the console out of the dock and into handheld mode had no loading time, attaching the controllers and taking it away all felt seamless. As a handheld the Nintendo Switch plays no differently than when it’s in ‘console mode’, it was comfortable to hold, and while it had some weight to it, it’s no different to holding any other tablet device, such as an iPad. The Switch’s rumble feature took us by surprise with how different it was, compared to…

Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild The most ambitious Zelda title yet, there are over 100 shrines to discover so expect to spend countless hours if you want to complete everything. Arms Customise your fighter with different weapons as you jump and dash around arenas using the Joy-Con’s motion controls to punch and grab you opponents. Splatoon 2 A unique shooting game where the goal isn’t to mindlessly kill everything you see, your gun shoots ink that you use to cover as much of the arena in the match’s given time. 1-2-Switch Breaking the norm, 1-2-Switch charges players to compete against each other, each holding a Joy-Con, without needing to look at the Switch’s screen. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe With new characters, tracks and items this is the definitive edition of Mario Kart 8. Play with up to…

01 Best for insane gaming While only a concept, our inner gamer squealed when Razer revealed ‘Project Valerie’. Initially it looks like just another gaming laptop, but then two more 17.3-inch monitors slid out of either side of the main screen. Each display would offer 4K quality, adding up to an eye-popping 12K panorama. This much GPU would be powered by a cutting-edge Intel Kaby Lake processor and Nividia’s 1080 graphics card. The only downside is that if this ever comes to market – and that’s a big if – it would cost a lot. Razer Project Valerie TBC | razerzone.com 02 Best non-wrist wearable While Sony’s crazy thin E Ink smartwatch concept came close, the best wearable at CES 2017 wasn’t for your wrist. The Motiv Ring comes with an accelerometer and heart-rate monitor…