Stuff UK March 2022

Hello and welcome to this smart home special issue. This time around we’re focusing on new upgrades to add to your existing setup rather than leading you through the basics; there are oodles of cool new bits for you to peruse. We’ve got the latest networking gear to speed up your connectivity, fresh smart lighting innovations, hot thermostats, kitchen gear, outdoor tech and much more besides. On that note, we’ve also reviewed the latest Facebook Portal video-calling smart displays, which offer a major improvement on their predecessors. And our first test is the seriously impressive Garmin Fenix 7, the sports watch that can track pretty much any activity you throw at it. We’ve also spent quality time with Oppo’s Find N foldable phone and some Philips bone-conducting headphones, while in games…

When we grow up we tend to turn into our parents – but we only take the best bits. We start doing things like watching The Repair Shop, listening to Steely Dan and reading books about the A303. It turns out mobile phones are no different, because the Galaxy S22 Ultra is gradually turning into the Galaxy Note. Not only does it come with a whopping 6.8in QHD+ AMOLED screen with 120Hz refresh rate, but the new Ultra is the first ‘S’ phone to come with somewhere to store the S-Pen stylus. The camera setup isn’t messing about either, with a 108MP wide snapper, a 12MP ultrawide and two 10MP telephotos with different levels of optical zoom. There’s also a 40MP selfie-cam, and all of them benefit from improved AI that…

Powerful as the Apple iPad Pro might be, hardcore gamers will still scoff at the idea of playing on a tablet. That could all change with the Asus ROG Flow Z13 – essentially a Windows gaming laptop squeezed into a slim and nimble slate. Chipset options top out with a 12th-gen Intel Core i9, along with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of SSD storage. The graphics hardware is punchier still: the top option is Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3050 Ti, which is a proper laptop GPU. Clearly this thing is not designed for propping up in the kitchen to help you with cake recipes. It’s compatible with XG Mobile, which means you can connect an external card in a caddy for a massive graphics boost. Of course, that will make it…

It costs nothing to explore the great outdoors. Alright, you might stop off for a ploughman’s at that nice place by the river, or pick up a postcard for your nan at the visitor centre, but you can easily enjoy a day out in the country without spending a penny. Sadly, most intrepid activity trackers are not so cheap – but Suunto’s new 5 Peak should leave you with enough cash for some more pub lunches. Suunto hasn’t scrimped on quality to keep the price down. Its sturdy stainless steel shell and polyamide lens are built to withstand weather far worse than anything you’ll encounter in the Peak District, while GPS and support for 3D heat maps via Suunto’s app mean you get turn-by-turn instructions that’ll help you find your way…

If you’re at a party and somebody starts telling you about their Wi-Fi router, there’s a clause in the Human Rights Act 1998 that allows you to punch them in the face until they stop. But that law might need updating – because the TP-Link Archer AXE200 Omni demands an exemption. It has four motorised antennas that wiggle around in search of the best signal – and if you own a router that does something as sci-fi as that, it’s your duty to tell everyone all about it. Take your tablet upstairs for a Netflix marathon and if you hit ‘Enhance’ in TP-Link’s app the router will adjust the position of its protrusions to make sure you’re getting the best connection possible – and with tri-band support, it certainly means business.…

In the olden days, after a hard day hunting woolly mammoths and trying not to get eaten by sabre-toothed tigers, our ancient ancestors would retire to their caves and start a fire. With nothing to watch on TV yet, they had to find other ways to while away the evenings – but while back then the shadows their hands cast on the wall would probably be enough, these days most of us demand something a little bit more sophisticated. Samsung’s The Freestyle still only requires the wall of your cave/house to work, but with the ability to pump out a 100in Full HD picture, a speaker that offers 360° sound, a Tizen-powered OS that includes all your favourite streaming services, plus mirroring and casting from both Android and iOS mobile devices,…