Stuff UK March 2021

welcome

‘Consumer insight’ is a terrible way to open an editor’s letter but bear with me. Consumer insight shows that, when it comes to the smart home, cost versus the value you’re going to get from a gadget is the deciding factor in whether to buy it. We’re also told that people are bewildered by the choice, and because everything seems so complicated they give up. We feel you. So this month we’ve unravelled the smart home maze: which platforms exist, which products are worth your money, and how to provide a sound broadband basis so it all works. But before immersing yourself in the ‘serious’ part of the mag, hit up the Hot Stuff section. From the CES gadget spectacular (usually in Las Vegas) where we’ve selected our ‘Most Wanted’ picks, to…

resident evo thrillage

In ancient times (like, a decade ago) you had two choices when it came to a flatscreen TV: LCD or plasma. Things are much more complicated now, with OLED, QNED Mini LED and NanoCell tellies in LG’s 2021 range; but the pick of the bunch is the G1 series, which uses OLED Evo tech – a new type of luminous panel that LG reckons will make the picture clearer, brighter, punchier and more realistic than ever. A new tripod-style Gallery Stand sets things off with a bit more flexibility when it comes to where you actually put it, while LG’s new A9 Gen 4 AI processor promises to do a load of nifty picture-polishing business – and uses machine learning to improve upscaling and analyse individual scenes so they look more…

better the devil you neo

The Matrix franchise gets a new film this year (apparently), but now there’s another Neo in town. And while Samsung insists microLED is the future of TV, it’s not done with QLED yet. ‘Neo QLED’ is the name Samsung has picked for its miniLED sets (not to be confused with microLED, a whole new tech with even smaller diodes), which replace the traditional TV backlight with a more precise and sophisticated solution. Powered by Quantum Matrix tech (yes, really), Neo QLED is claimed to eliminate blooming effects for cleaner images plus the promise of vibrant colour with wider dynamic range. The new Neo Quantum Processor uses deep learning for improved upscaling, delivering crisp pictures even with lower-res streams, plus there’s a speaker system that analyses what’s on screen for 3D positional…

even more screen time

PANASONIC JZ2000 Panasonic’s new 4K OLED is powered by a new HXC Pro chip that uses AI to optimise picture and sound quality based on what kind of content you’re watching. TCL 8K 6-SERIES ROKU (R648) No, you still don’t need an 8K telly, but it’s notable that budget-friendly champion TCL is updating its top-value 6-Series with 8K resolution support for 2021. SONY BRAVIA CORE Sony claims its new streaming service (yes, another one) can deliver streamed UHD movies at near-lossless 4K Blu-ray quality at up to 80Mbps. Mind, you’ll need stellar broadband to pull that off (see p52). PHILIPS 9000 SERIES Philips’ first miniLED TVs are the 9639 and 9506. The former gets an integrated B&W soundbar; both have the fifth-gen P5 chip and support all the major HDR standards.…

downward blog

We vaguely scoffed at (but also quite liked) the Sero, Samsung’s crazy vertical TV for millennials that landed last year – but Lenovo’s idea of using a similar concept on a desktop PC makes a massive amount of sense whether you’re a TikTok fanatic, have an aversion to scrolling through blogs, or find yourself regularly navigating very, very long spreadsheets. The all-in-one Yoga AIO 7 doesn’t scrimp on specs either. The vertical/horizontal rotating 4K display is obviously the showpiece, and can also be tilted back by up to 20%; but it’s joined by JBL stereo speakers, a top-spec AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics, which feels like a brutal enough combination to handle gaming and creative willy-waving. Whether Lenovo’s idea of incorporating ‘human billboard’ spin tricks into…

holding out for a heron

On page 60 of this month’s magazine we review what we believe to be an eye-wateringly expensive mirrorless camera from Leica. Well hold my beer, says Sony, because this is the Alpha 1, its new flagship snapper, and it’s yours for six and a half grand. With a 50MP full-frame sensor and the ability to record 8K video, if there is to be any eye-watering, this is the camera to capture those tears in even greater detail. There’s a huge supply of processing power on tap too, as the Alpha 1 can shoot stills at full 50.1MP resolution at speeds of up to 30fps, which is significantly quicker than most of its rivals. For video shooters, this is Sony’s first 8K-capable mirrorless camera, and it also records 4K at 120fps for…