Latest from TechRadar in Health-fitness

The latest Apple Watch update promises better treadmill workout tracking — so I tested it

Michael Sawh — Sat, 31 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0000

Back when Apple announced watchOS 27 back in June earlier this year, there was one new feature that piqued my interest more than the promise of a smarter version of Siri or a Workout Buddy that now operated more standalone. Apple revealed that it was delivering more accurate distance tracking during walks and treadmill runs. It’s primarily doing that by making improvements to the algorithms that help to calculate the distance covered when you step onto that belt.

It's website states that 'improved motion tracking algorithms help measure the distance of your treadmill runs and walks more precisely straight from your wrist.'

As a runner that does his fair share of runs on a treadmill (and not just because it’s got cold outside — treadmill running is great for specific pacing and incline drills), I liked the prospect that the best smartwatch’s indoor activity credentials could now match its very solid outdoor performance — which I tested on the London marathon course’s infamous GPS black spots.

So, has Apple actually managed to deliver more accurate distance tracking for indoor runners? I’ve been spending the last couple of months testing the feature across the best Apple Watches — including the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4 — to find out.

How I tested

(Image credit: Getty Images)

I began my testing using the beta versions of watchOS 27 running on the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the Apple Watch Series 11. When watchOS 27 was given a public release, I also strapped on the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and the Watch Series 12 to see how Apple’s latest smartwatches fared indoors.

I didn’t have my own treadmill (or indeed, have the room to house one), so I relied on the treadmill at my gym. While I did my best to stick to the same treadmill for these test runs, that wasn’t always possible. That did mean I’d be stepping onto treadmills of various conditions and belt wear, which does have an impact on the reliability and accuracy of the treadmill distance tracking feature.

With the Apple Watch strapped alone to one wrist, I had a Coros watch on the other paired to the Coros Pod 2. This foot-worn pod is designed to track distance, among other metrics, and was an additional source of data that could offer a more reliable picture of my running distance than the motion sensors that usually do that from the wrist. I used the foot-worn pod as a control device, the same way we use the best heart rate monitors to test the readings from smartwatches.

With watches on wrists and the pod on my feet, I captured a range of runs covering different paces and distances. That included short one-mile test runs, steady hour-long runs and interval runs during which I mixed up my pace.

I stuck to the same incline for all runs and used Apple’s own Workout app to track the workout. Apple suggests tracking an outdoor run of at least 20 minutes to calibrate the watch and help those algorithms do a better job of understanding your stride length, and in turn, deliver more accurate distance tracking. I did that with each Watch I tested.

The results

(Image credit: Ljupco Smokovski / Shutterstock)

On the early runs in my testing using the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the Series 11, I found a difference of about 300 metres (0.3km) from the distances the treadmill and Coros Pod 2 reported. If I’m looking at that difference in terms of a longer distance race such as a marathon, that’s quite a small difference. If we’re looking at that difference over a shorter distance race such as a 5km, then it might be the kind of difference that mattered.

When I switched to testing with the publicly available version of watchOS 27 with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and the Series 12, there tended to be a difference between the treadmill and watches of roughly 200 metres. Again, that’s a very good performance and a small difference when you’re banking a longer run.

Sample run	Apple Watch Series 12 distance	Coros Pod distance	Treadmill distance
1 mile test	1.2 miles	1.01 miles	1 mile
Interval run	4.2 miles	4.4 miles	4.5 miles
Steady 5 mile run	4.8 miles	5.02 miles	5 miles

The improvement in distance tracking should, in theory, have a positive impact on capturing your running pace. While I found the pacing data to in general be similar to the Coros Pod 2 and the treadmill, there were times I felt the Apple Watches struggled to register faster sections of certain running sessions and typically was more noticeable during interval-style sessions.

This is generally where treadmills can struggle too, and I’m not convinced the various Apple Watches always got a good grip of my real-time pacing.

Is the Apple Watch fit for the indoor run tracking job?

After hitting double-digit treadmill runs across a series of Apple Watches that promise more accurate distance tracking for indoor runs, I can say that I never saw the Watch and treadmill entirely match up. What I did see was that those Watches weren’t far off. reporting similar distances to the kilometers listed both on the treadmill and on the Coros Pod, especially on steady or easier paced runs. However, they were never exact.

Like most watches and badly-calibrated treadmills for that matter, the pacing during those runs did feel off and made using the Apple Watch for faster runs more problematic. I do feel that those algorithm tweaks will be more appreciated by those choosing to do their walking indoors, and are mainly focused on the distance they cover during that inside walking time.

If I was choosing to track my runs indoors, I’d still make sure I was performing that 20-minute outdoor run calibration to get the most reliable data. I’d also say that having a footpod sensor like the Coros Pod 2 or a Stryd that captures your stride data closer to the point of the body that’s actually doing the moving will get you a better level of accuracy. While the Coros Pod 2 is tied to Coros watches, the Stryd does work with the Apple Watch.

What it really showed is that if you care about accurate distance and pace data, getting outside and putting the onboard GPS sensor will still be the best way to get you that. It will also give that indoor running time a boost as well — while the Apple Watch has improved, it’s not pinpoint-accurate and you should take indoor running metrics as a generally accurate guideline, giving or taking a couple of hundred meters. For most exercisers, that will be enough.

As the RAM crisis bites, has Garmin just hinted at higher prices next year?

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:56:51 +0000

Garmin's CEO Cliff Pemble mentioned the components crisis during Garmin's quarterly earnings call with investors
Garmin had a cache of components and memory bought cheaply before the crisis hit, but now it's buying memory at "significantly higher" prices
Pemble said pricing is "one of the things [Garmin] can look at", referring to increasing device costs

If you want to pick up the best Garmin watch, you'd be wise to do it soon, because the company's CEO Cliff Pemble has revealed that pricing changes aren't off the table due to the rising costs of electronic components.

During the company's quarterly earnings call, in which Garmin's C-suite speaks to its investors, CEO Cliff Pemble said that while the company is having a good year, he sees some headwinds in its near future.

The RAM crisis is a shortage of memory, as most of the available stock is being bought up to cope, in part, with the massive expansion of AI and the drive to build data centers. This leaves a shortage of memory for consumer devices such as computers and phones, which is driving up costs for device manufacturers.

Wearables, which use comparatively little memory compared to a phone or a computer, have so far largely escaped unscathed. Even when Apple raised prices across the board, it didn't do so for the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4. However, that reprieve appears to be over.

According to the transcript of Garmin's Q3 earnings call, as published on The Motley Fool investment website, Pemble said that Garmin has been spared because it bought a lot of surplus stock at the old prices, but the company is now buying components at prices "significantly higher than last year".

"Our results will soon reflect the higher cost of memory and other raw materials which have increased significantly since last year, driven by both high demand and limited supplies."

Does this mean price increases?

Later in the call, Pemble said: "Definitely pricing is something that, you know, when I mentioned the mitigations that we can use, it is one of the things that we can we can look at.

"It is one of the tools that we have, but we do not overfocus on one particular thing, and we try to get the best balance of all the different ways that we can mitigate cost increases in our supply chain in order to achieve an outstanding result.

"I would probably just remind people that a little more than a year ago now, everyone was faced with higher supply chain costs really driven by tariffs. And that was something that we were able to navigate because of the diversity of our business and our vertical integration and our ability to create products that people want."

It sounds like Pemble is hoping that Garmin's diverse portfolio of products and services can offset an Apple-style price increases for its smartwatches and other gadgets, but he stopped short of ruling it out. We'll have to wait and see what 2027 brings.

Are you looking for a Garmin watch, but not sure what to get? Take our quiz below to find your perfect smartwatch.

Google Pixel Watch Ultra rumors begin — but a rugged Pixel Watch needs 3 fixes first

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Thu, 29 Oct 2026 10:51:40 +0000

A Google Pixel Watch Ultra? Google is reportedly mulling over a sequel to its best Android watch of 2026, and the next iteration might be cut from the same cloth as the Apple Watch Ultra 4, Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 and Garmin Fenix 9 Pro.

According to Gadgets & Wearables, Google is circulating a survey in its app to 'select users' regarding the future of Pixel Watches. We haven't managed to see the survey — if you do get a screenshot, please email it in to matt.evans@futurenet.com — but G&W states that, among other questions, users were asked 'whether they would pay extra' for a rugged watch and 'what would make the Google Pixel Watch 5 feel more premium'.

That's a clear indication that Google is looking to launch, if not a Google Pixel Watch Ultra, then something along those lines. The use of the word 'rugged' is a dead giveaway: according to G&W, Google is looking at the successes of the Apple Watch Ultra and Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra lines with envy, and is seeking to replicate them.

The only problem is, the Pixel Watch will need some changes before it enters into the Ultra watch arena. Here are three key design elements it needs to adopt, borrow or steal in order to be mentioned in the same breath as the Apple Watch Ultra 4 or Garmin Fenix 9 Pro.

Add a bezel, keep the dome?

(Image credit: Future)

The last couple of generations of Pixel watches have sported a domed display, which has become iconic in the world of wearable tech and unique to its Pixel pebble shape. The domed display provides improved glanceability, more surface area overall for its Materia 3 Expressive software design language, and looks the business from all angles.

What happens when we try to rugged-up the Pixel Watch by adding a titanium bezel to the mix? One of the principle functions of a raised bezel is to protect the screen, especially for adventure watches — but when the screen's a dome, the bezel will need to be strangely thick in order to protect the raised section.

Yet, you can't really have a rugged adventure watch, made for a beating, which is all glass — if they're going to get rugged, a bezel must be included.

The folks at Google are much cleverer than I am, and I'm sure they'll come up with a couple of ways to keep the dome and add the bezel. However, I wouldn't be surprised if the domed screen is quietly done away with for the Pixel Watch Ultra.

Improve battery life

(Image credit: Garmin)

One of the Pixel Watch's biggest failings is its lackluster battery life. While each model receives incremental improvements, the drive to also increase the watch's power means it never gets very far. Google will need to address this in order to compete in the Ultra stakes.

The Apple Watch Ultra, when launched in 2022, managed 36 hours of battery life, and since then has crept up to 50 hours with the Apple Watch 4. Samsung managed the get the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 up to 100 hours in low-power mode, although in practice most people will get around three days of use out of it. Meanwhile, Garmin, Coros, Suunto, and others dominate this space, frequently measuring their watch's battery lives in weeks — although their devices tend to be far more specialized and training-orientated than Apple, Samsung, and Google.

Google will have to make strides in this arena if it wants to compete with more expensive watches. It's likely a Google Pixel Watch Ultra would get battery life similar to Samsung's, around 3-4 days of use on paper.

But it will need to be able to hit those numbers in practice too, with long workouts using multi-band GPS and an always-on display enabled. Rugged smartwatch users do not want their tech to die in the middle of an ultramarathon.

Find space for more buttons

(Image credit: Future)

The Google Pixel watch is a perfect circular dome, interrupted only by a single digital crown. The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra series was the first in Samsung's rangle to adopt the squircle titanium 'cushion', providing defined sides to the watch, and as such, logical places to put extra buttons. Where the hell do you place them on the watch pictured above?

The reason we need more buttons is that Ultra-style watches have to be able to be operated while wearing gloves during exercise, rather than touchscreen-only. It's why most Garmins have between two and five buttons to aid in interface navigation. A Google Pixel Watch Ultra will need at the very least a programmable Action button-style extra, and preferably more than one.

(Image credit: Future)

That redesigned bezel will also have to take button placement into account. If you're thickening up the watch's surrounding casing, you could create something akin to a Garmin Fenix or a Forerunner, which are round watches with thick cases, bezels, and protruding buttons.

But how do you do that while keeping the Pixel Watch's distinctive design language? I guess we might find out one day in the not-too-distant future.

Why the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro is my Fitness Device of the Year award winner

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Wed, 28 Oct 2026 22:00:00 +0000

The Garmin Fenix 9 Pro is Garmin's latest — and greatest — watch. The Fenix series always occupies a flagship position in Garmin's lineup: while the company does make more expensive watches, most of those are specialist pieces of gear, such as the Tactix for soldiers, the Descent for professional divers, and the Marq series as an ultra-premium option for fashion-forward Garmin users.

The Garmin Fenix series is its top-tier 'generalist' watch, and considering it only comes out once every few years, anticipation is always high. Fortunately, the Fenix 9 Pro lives up to the hype, and is my Fitness Devices of the Year at the TechRadar Product of the Year Awards 2026.

It's a powerhouse of a watch, from construction and performance, and has coped with every test we have thrown at it, from hikes in Chamonix, to comparison tests against the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and an electrical heart rate monitor, the Frontier X2.

Let's start with construction. The Fenix 9 Pro's entire case is now made of titanium, rather than a titanium bezel and fiber-reinforced polymer (that's plastic, to you and me) elsewhere.

It's thinner, and the lack of visible screws (aside from the back plate) make for a refined, sleek aesthetic. The display is sapphire crystal as standard, too, protecting the super-bright AMOLED touchscreen display, with the usual MIP Power Glass solar charging options as an additional extra.

The construction makes for an amazing watch, and these upgrades make the Fenix 9 Pro really feel just that, Pro — more like a Marq. I'm wearing the 43mm version, and it really doesn't feel like an ultra-chunky Fenix. In fact, it feels far more like wearing an upmarket metal dive watch.

This sealed unit design necessitated a redesign in the buttons, according to Garmin's promotional material, in order to make sure it remained waterproof up to 40m deep, but Garmin cracked it and the watch retains Garmin's distinctive five-button design.

It's even revamped the LED light, with an introduction of a third green option to add to its black and red tones. The green light offers improved visibility compared to the red option, without sacrificing your night-eyes.

Software-wise, the UX is familiar to Garmin watch users, as everything is innately customizable, from the widget stack to workout views to watch faces. New features include Garmin Epic, which allows you to string several workouts together into one mega-event, such as multiple ski runs over one long weekend, for example. You can start it from the watch, and view or share it in the app. Rucking also got a useful redesign, while Maps has been updated to provide an angled POV option.

(Image credit: Future / Julia Clarke)

In our performance test, I was expecting accuracy — after all, the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro retains Garmin's Elevate V5 heart rate sensor array from previous years — but I wasn't expecting it to cleave so close to the heart rate monitor and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 (which Apple claims is the most accurate wearable to date) during my test workouts.

Rerouting course directions has proven to be responsive and speedy, while the battery performs as described, lasting for a week, and the watch is comfortable to wear during sleep, workouts and every day.

There wasn't really any doubt that the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro was going to be a good watch, or even a great one. Like the Apple Watch Ultra 4, it builds on everything Garmin has done before to create a worthy successor to the ever-popular Fenix line. When the Fenix 10 comes out in a few years, this one will come down in price just like the Fenix 8 before it, and we'll see far more adopters take it on and have fun with it.

I suppose I could have chosen something like the cheap Google Fitbit Air, the Garmin Cirqa, or the Apple Watch Ultra 4 to be our Fitness Device of the Year. But when I thought about what was going to dominate my limited wrist real estate if I sign up for a race, there was only ever going to be a handful of options, and the 43mm Garmin Fenix 9 Pro was first on the list.

It's smart enough not to look out of place in the office, it's got everything I need for training, it's got all the complications I need from the Connect IQ score, like Spotify and Komoot, and a week-long battery life (sorry Apple) that cinches it for me over the Ultra 4.

Meet the TechRadar Product of the Year 2026 winners

TechRadar — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 20:05:44 +0000

Though 2026 has been a tumultuous time for technology when it comes to price hikes and shortages, the tech that's reached us has been excellent — in fact, it's been a banner year in most areas, just with some downsides for your wallet.

We've already crowned the best tech of the year as chosen by you in our TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 — but this is where we let our experts have their say.

Our writers and editors chose their favorite products in nearly 100 categories, ranging across all the kinds of products we review. In some cases, we agree with the readers; in lots of cases, we don't. So read on to see which gadgets we rate as being the most impressive of the last 12 months.

Phones & tablets

Phone of the Year

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

Wherever you look, the iPhone 18 Pro excels. It might not have the biggest camera sensor or the longest-lasting battery of any phone on the market, but it does offer a near-unrivaled combination of premium flagship features. From its variable aperture feature and pro-level video capabilities to its phenomenal performance and gorgeous display, the 18 Pro is the Swiss Army knife of 2026 smartphones.

Read our full iPhone 18 Pro review

Phone Brand of the Year

Honor

The Chinese company has brought something competitive to the table at every turn in 2026. The Honor Magic 8 Pro is an extremely capable flagship. The Magic V6 is easily one of the best foldables you can buy. The Honor 600 series offers some serious value for money in the mid-range sector. The MagicPad 4 is an iPad-beating tablet in several ways. And the Robot Phone is, well, the Robot Phone. Honor’s products aren’t globally available in the same way as, say, Apple's or Samsung’s, but those who have tried the brand’s phones and tablets will know about their level of hardware quality.

Phones Innovation of the Year

Honor Robot Phone

Sticking with Honor, it’s hard to see past the Robot Phone as the most exciting Phones Innovation of the Year in 2026. There's been some competition from foldables in this area this year, but Honor deserves credit for bringing something wildly different to the market (in China, at least). Will we ever see the Robot Phone and its fully motorized mechanical gimbal arm in Western markets? I doubt it — but that doesn’t make it any less exciting.

Read our Honor Robot Phone hands-on

Best Value Phone

Motorola Edge 70 Fusion

The Motorola Edge 70 Fusion is in another world for pure value compared to most phones — for example, compared to the iPhone 17e, it costs almost exactly half the price and offers an extra camera, a much larger battery, faster charging, and a higher display refresh rate. The Edge 70 Fusion is not a flashy phone, but it certainly punches above its budget price tag.

Best Mid-Range Phone

Apple iPhone 17

The Apple iPhone 17 is over 12 months old now (it just slips into this year’s eligibility window), and it wasn’t replaced with a successor in September — but it didn’t need to be. With its 120Hz refresh rate, two great rear cameras, powerful A19 chipset, and still-industry-leading Center Stage selfie camera, the iPhone 17 is still the iPhone we recommend to most people.

Best Folding Phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the only globally available passport-shaped foldable we’ve tested fully (and that's eligible for this year's awards), and it's earned our pick as the Best Folding Phone of the year. We were skeptical about the practicality of the Z Fold 8’s stumpy form factor, but after living with the phone for a month, we came around to its charming oddness.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Z fold 8 review

Best Flip Phone

Motorola Razr Ultra 2026

The Motorola Razr Ultra 2026 (or Motorola Razr 70 Ultra, as it’s called in certain regions) is, for us, the best phone you can buy in this category. The Galaxy Z Flip 8 has better software, a newer chipset, and is slightly more affordable — but the latest Razr Ultra has a larger battery, faster charging, and better cameras. It’s a close-run thing, but this is the flip phone we'd choose.

Best Camera Phone

Oppo Find X9 Ultra

The Oppo Find X9 Ultra is an absolute beast of a camera phone. It boasts a 200MP main lens, a 50MP ultra-wide lens, a 200MP 3x telephoto lens, and a 50MP 10x telephoto (f/3.5) lens, which is a combination that helped it beat the Galaxy S26 Ultra and hold its own against even the Lumix TZ300 and Nikon Z8 in our head-to-head comparisons. It’s heavy, thick, and eye-wateringly expensive, but the Find X9 Ultra is the closest we’ve come to a truly camera-rivaling smartphone.

Read our full Oppo Find X9 Ultra review

Best Gaming Phone

RedMagic 11 Pro

If you’re looking for an unashamedly gamer-y smartphone, it doesn’t get much better than the RedMagic 11 Pro. With its exposed water-cooling system, capacitive shoulder buttons, powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, and gorgeous 6.85-inch OLED display, it’s more handheld console than phone.

Read our full RedMagic 11 Pro review

Best AI Phone

Google Pixel 11 Pro

Even though Google’s latest Pixel series doesn’t bring much newness to the table, it’s hard to argue against the Pixel 11 Pro’s status as the Best AI Phone money can buy. There’s Camera Coach, Magic Cue, Magic Editor, Magic Capture, Rambler, and, of course, system-wide Gemini integration to take advantage of with Google’s latest flagship. If AI is your jam, the Pixel 11 Pro should be your phone.

Read our full Google Pixel 11 Pro review

Best Phone Accessory

DJI Osmo Mobile 8P

Phone gimbals aren’t the flashiest products around, but the DJI Osmo Mobile 8P deserves credit for being one of the best phone accessories money can buy. As we noted in our review, the 8P adds a remote control and even better tracking capabilities to the already impressive Osmo Mobile 8 formula, and as such, it’s an easy recommendation for content creators.

Read our full DJI Osmo Mobile 8P review

Best Tablet

Honor MagicPad 4

The Android tablet market is a real mix of good, bad, and terrible right now, but the Honor MagicPad 4 surprised us by being a genuinely iPad-rivaling slate in testing this year. For a lower price than the latest iPad Air, the MagicPad 4 offers a thin and lightweight design, a stunning OLED screen, an excellent eight-speaker stereo setup, and near-unbeatable update support. Here’s hoping Honor continues its hot streak into 2027.

Read our full Honor MagicPad 4 review

Best eReader

Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025)

The last 12 months have seen plenty of great ereaders and digital note-takers come to market, but the Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) has become our go-to recommendation for those after an ereader/notebook hybrid. It's pricey, yes, but the Scribe’s 11-inch E Ink Carta 1300 display is a joy to behold.

Read our full Amazon Kindle Scribe (2025) review

Cameras & drones

Camera of the Year

Sony A7R VI

Perfect ratings are rare, but the A7R VI earned five stars with its 66.8MP stacked full-frame sensor, image stabilization, new processor and improved subject-detection autofocus, which combine for class-leading quality and performance. Whether you shoot landscape photography or action, the A7R VI can handle it all, and its excellent handling and new and improved battery was the cherry on the cake. Our verdict? "Sony can stop making cameras now."

Read our full Sony A7R VI review

Brand of the Year

Sony

Following a relatively quiet year, Sony has stood out in 2026 with three top cameras and a raft of new lenses. We gave a perfect five-star rating to the Sony A7R VI, which received high praise from our veteran Cameras Editor who said it had "no weaknesses". The A7 V took top spot in our best mirrorless cameras guide, while the RX10 V revived bridge cameras and extended Sony’s lead at the top in this category. Add Sony’s stellar macro lens to the mix and this award was inevitable.

Camera Innovation of the Year

Antigravity A1

The Antigravity A1 was a first-of-its-kind drone, one that can shoot true 360 degree video thanks to its dual camera array. The Insta360-backed company effectively gave us an airborne Insta360 X5, with immersive 8K video recording that sees in every direction. At the launch event, we donned the company’s goggles and followed racing cars around a track, and the whole experience was intuitive — but most of all immersive. You don’t need to worry about framing the shot, because that happens later using Insta360’s clever software, which can frame and compile videos after the fact.

Read our full Antigravity A1 review

Best Beginner Camera

OM System PEN

It was a tight call between the OM System PEN and the Lumix L10, but ultimately we felt that the PEN is the better starting point for beginner photographers, at a much lower price point. Not only is the PEN easy on the eye, but it features image stabilization, a rangefinder-style EVF, a weatherproof body, and a host of clever computational photography modes that smartphone upgrades will feel at home with, and that encourage creativity. A huge choice of lenses and a new weatherproof kit lens complete the package.

Read our OM System PEN review

Best Mid-range camera

Sony A7 V

The mid-range full-frame category is fiercely contested by Canon, Nikon, Sony and Panasonic, but Sony stole back its crown with the new A7 V, in a year that Canon also released the stellar EOS R6 Mark III. Between those two 5-star cameras, we felt the A7 V had the (slight) edge overall; there's nothing to choose in terms of resolution, but the A7 V has a partially stacked sensor for what should be quicker readout speeds, plus snappier subject detection autofocus, wider dynamic range, versatile flip-and-tilt screen, and class-leading battery life.

Read our Sony A7 V review

Best Professional Camera

Sony A7R VI

It’s actually been a quiet year in the professional camera category, but that's probably good for the other companies, because the A7R VI would’ve been hard for anyone to compete with. It ups the bar with a class-leading 66.8MP full-frame stacked sensor that's backed up with the power, speed and pro-grade body that make the camera a formidable tool in any pro photography scenario. We shot landscape, portrait and wildlife photography, and the pro camera thrived in all situations.

Read our full Sony A7R VI review

Best Compact and Instant Camera

Ricoh GR IV

Being intimately familiar with the GR III, we were super excited about the GR IV launch and the upgrades it would bring. A new 26MP APS-C sensor with five-axis stabilization and improved battery life topped the improvements, but we’ll have to keep fingers crossed for next time for the improved build quality, a tilt screen and built-in-flash we wished for. Even still, the GR IV can shoot the best quality photos from a truly pocketable camera, with a dedicated Monochrome edition that came alter to boot. The price hike stung, but no other brand is making a compact like Ricoh is.

Read our Ricoh GR IV review

Best Action and Vlogging Camera

DJI Osmo Pocket 4P

It’s been a busy year in this category, with Insta360 and DJI in particular trading blows. First came DJI's Pocket 4, which was a modest upgrade of the Pocket 3, but DJI had something extra special up its sleeve; a twin-lens gimbal camera Pocket 4P, which would change the game for vlogging. Insta360 then tried to steal DJI’s thunder with its innovative Luna Ultra's twin lenses and removable remote module — but DJI's Pocket 4P feels like the more polished of the two, and the one we have found ourselves turning to more often for shooting stabilized 4K content.

Read our DJI Osmo Pocket 4P review

Best Camera Lens

Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art

Lenses is a competitive category year after year, and 2025-2026 was no different, with a top Sony macro optic, Nikon's slimmed down 70-200mm f/2.8 and a number of superb-value Viltrox optics. However, we must recognize innovation and give credit where it's due, which is why Sigma’s first 135mm telephoto lens with a f/1.4 aperture blew us away. Bulky, yes, but we gave it five stars in our review, calling the 135mm F1.4 DG / Art the 'bokeh master' — if you want the dreamiest portraits, look no further.

Read our Sigma 135mm f/1.4 DG | Art review

Best Camera Accessory

Insta360 Mic Pro

DJI and Insta360 have been trading blows all year, but it was Insta360’s Mic Pro that was the final piece of the jigsaw for the 360 camera maker’s ecosystem. Insta360 fans using the likes of the class leading X6 360-degree camera, Ace Pro 2 action cam and Luna Ultra vlogging cameras can enjoy all the benefits of direct compatibility with one of the best wireless mics we’ve ever tested — mixing and matching their camera with a third party mic is no longer necessary. And what a mic it was — the Mic Pro has DJI-beating noise cancellation and an eye-catching, customizable e ink display.

Read our Insta360 Mic Pro review

Best Drone

DJI Avata 360

First came the Antigravity A1 drone, and then came the DJI Avata 360, which felt like the more polished and versatile 360-degree drone of the two. Where the A1 has two fixed lenses to capture 360-degree footage, the Avata 360’s twin lenses are mounted to a gimbal which can rotate 90 degrees to switch between regular (front-facing) single-lens and top/bottom facing 360-degree use. The product also joins DJI's existing Avata ecosystem, which already includes superb FPV goggles and motion controller accessories. Bottom line — the A1 came first, but the Avata 360 upped the bar, and it costs much less.

Read our DJI Avata 360 review

Computing

Laptop of the Year

Apple MacBook Neo

If there's one laptop that has made the biggest impact in 2026, then it's the MacBook Neo. When Apple announced its brand-new MacBook earlier this year, along with the impressively-affordable starting price of $599 / £599 / AU$1,049, it sent shockwaves through the industry. That might sound like hyperbole, but by releasing a budget laptop that still features a premium-feeling (and looking) design and without too many compromises when it comes to features and performance, the MacBook Neo shook rival PC makers out of their complacency and got them to up their budget laptop game. We had numerous laptop makers freely admit that they were releasing $600 laptops to challenge the MacBook Neo. For the sheer impact alone, the MacBook Neo has to be our pick as laptop of the year.

Read our full MacBook Neo review

Computing Brand of the Year

Nvidia

Once again, Nvidia has dominated the computing industry this year — all without releasing a new consumer graphics card. While the AI bubble, and Nvidia's role in it, continues to have a huge impact on the computing industry, the company has continued to innovate. DLSS 4.5 brought improved image quality to Nvidia's upscaling tech, while also introducing 6x Multi Frame Generation that can help improve gaming performance, especially on lower-end cards. Nvidia also released RTX Spark, its Arm-based System-on-Chip (SoC) aimed at taking on Apple's M-series chips, especially in regards to creative and local AI tasks. Even its controversial DLSS 5 feature has won over some critics since its announcement.

Best Computing Innovation

Intel Arc G3 Extreme

This year's release of the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip — yes, another SoC, this time one that's been specifically designed for mobile gaming devices by concentrating on graphics performance and power efficiency. So, it's not surprising that it is the beating heart of many of the most powerful and exciting PC gaming handhelds that have come out this year, including the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, Acer Predator Atlas 8, and OneXPlayer 3. They're all expensive, sadly, but they offer truly brilliant gaming performance in even the most graphically-intensive titles, and the Intel chip is why.

Best Value Laptop

Dell XPS 13 (2026)

While we were very tempted to give the MacBook Neo our award for the best value laptop of 2026, we've actually gone for one of the laptops it influenced: this year's XPS 13. In the past, Dell's XPS 13 laptop was a premium thin and light laptop, but Dell relaunched it as an affordable alternative to Apple's laptop, initially targeting the same $600 starting price. This isn't a conspiracy — Dell explicitly compared the XPS 13 to the MacBook Neo when showing off the laptop to us. The reason we're giving the XPS 13 the edge is that it feels like Dell made fewer compromises with its affordable laptop, especially when it comes to backlit keyboard and faster USB-C ports.

Read our full Dell XPS 13 (2026) review

Best AI Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra

Pretty much any laptop these days ships with some form of AI feature included, even baked into the operating system — but of all the laptops that have come out this year, the Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra is, in our view, the best AI laptop because it doesn't just settle for adding AI features from other companies. Instead, Samsung has included its own Galaxy AI features, which offer additional tools, and work across its laptops, smartphones, and tablets. While not every Galaxy AI feature is a killer app, it shows a level of ambition and investment that many of its competitors lack.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Book6 Ultra review

Best Gaming Laptop

Razer Blade 18

Razer has been putting out excellent gaming laptops for years, marrying cutting-edge technology with thin and light designs that banish any memory of big and bulky gaming laptops of yore. This year's Razer Blade 18 is no exception, offering almost desktop-levels of performance thanks to some of the most powerful components on the market today, with up to an RTX 5090 GPU and 128GB of DDR5 RAM. You can throw any game at this thing and it'll handle it like a champ, and its large 18-inch display offers UHD+ resolution at 240Hz, and FHD+ at an incredibly fast 440Hz, for unbelievably slick performance in games.

Read our full Razer Blade 18 (2026) review

Best PC Gaming Handheld

MSI Claw 8 EX AI+

While all the Intel Arc G3 Extreme-powered PC gaming handhelds that we saw at Computex were impressive, one stood out: the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Not only was it one of the first handheld to come with Intel's latest hardware, but MSI completely redesigned the device itself to make it feel more comfortable and responsive when playing. This bore out in our full review, which highlighted the incredible performance (for a handheld) and the bright and vibrant screen that really made the games look spectacular.

Read our full MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ review

Best Gaming Keyboard

Corsair Makr Pro 75

Reliability, performance, and build quality are all incredibly important considerations in a keyboard, and the Corsair Makr Pro 75 ticks every box. Its Corsair MGX Hyperdrive magnetic hot-swappable hall effect switches are an absolute joy to type on, and the overall build quality is exceptional (if a little heavy). It's expensive, and the software isn't great, but when crowning 2026's top gaming keyboard, there was only one choice here.

Read our full Corsair Makr Pro 75 review

Best Gaming Mouse

Razer Naga V3 Pro

The Razer Naga V3 Pro is an incredibly versatile gaming mouse that, thanks to its swappable side plates that offer gamers two, six, or 12 additional buttons, will appeal to almost any one, no matter what time of games you play. We use this mouse with the six-button side plate (which is easily attached via magnets) for quick access to macros and shortcuts while playing current obsession Planet Coaster 2. The mouse feels very comfortable to use, the 50K optical sensor offers fantastic control and with an 8,000Hz polling rate, even when used wirelessly, this is a mouse that can give you a serious competitive advantage.

Read our full Razer Naga V3 Pro review

Best Gaming Monitor

Alienware AW3426DW QD-OLED

The Alienware AW3426DW is an ultra-wide gaming monitor with a stunning five-layer tandem OLED panel that offers incredible, vision-spanning image quality. It supports Dolby Vision HDR, and a very fast 280Hz refresh rate that makes it a great choice for fast and frantic competitive games. The 3440x1440 (offering a 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio) offers plenty of detail without putting too much strain on your GPU, and that wider field of vision, along with the fast refresh rate, could make a huge difference when playing.

Read our full Alienware AW3426DW QD-OLED review

Gaming

Gaming Device of the Year

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite

The Arctis Nova Elite is the best gaming headset we've ever tested. It's simply that good. It's not just a headset that has you covered by collecting features you'll find elsewhere altogether either; this is a genuinely individual beast. The design and build are of premium materials: SteelSeries has made a custom Carbon Fiber driver with a brass surround ring for spectacular hi-res audio. Connectivity is all you could ever want in terms of need and convenience, and the whole experience is absolutely fantastic. A world-beater of a gaming headset and device that is peerless.

Read our full SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite review

Gaming Brand of the Year

Asus

With an enormous number and diversity of products being launched by the gaming brand, from first attempts at desktop soundbars to quality PC gaming handheld follow-ups, and more excellent gaming monitors with the latest panels in that you can shake a stick at, Asus has been the hardware brand to beat this past year.

Gaming Innovation of the Year

Nvidia DLSS 4.5

With PC gaming becoming increasingly demanding, DLSS has never been more important, and DLSS 4.5 is one of the biggest leaps forward for upscaling tech yet. It delivers such high image quality and clarity that you can barely tell the difference between Quality and Performance modes, helping supported games like Doom: The Dark Ages and Arc Raiders look better and run better than ever before.

Best Console Accessory

Corsair Novablade Pro

A pleasant surprise in the past year or so's gaming hardware releases, the Novablade Pro leverless fightstick is a fantastic game controller that oozes quality and prioritizes customization to make life easier and better for fighting game players.

Read our full Corsair Novablade Pro review

Best Gaming Service

Amazon Luna

With hardware prices spiraling out of control, cloud gaming has never been a more attractive proposition — and Amazon continues to offer one of the best services in the space. This year saw Amazon Luna games integrated directly into the Prime Video app on Fire TV devices, making it easier than ever to access great games wherever you are.

Read our full Amazon Luna review from 2024

Best Gaming Controller

8BitDo Pro 3

The 8BitDo Pro 3 looks like a small upgrade compared to the Pro 2, but in real-world use, the improvements are simply astronomical. 8BitDo has crammed drift-eliminating TMR thumbsticks, magnetic hot-swappable face buttons, trigger locks, and an extra pair of optional remappable buttons into a versatile, budget-friendly package that is miles ahead of the competition.

Read our full 8BitDo Pro 3 review

Best Gaming Headset

SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite

The best gaming headset we've ever tested. The Nova Elite raises the bar for premium, do-it-all, high-end gaming headsets, and this ticks every box from feature set to battery life, and from connectivity to audio quality, design, and build.

Read our full SteelSeries Arctis Nova Elite review

Best Gaming Chair

Secretlab Atlas

Secretlab's latest chair is a hit. This practical task chair offers the brand's supreme materials and build quality in a less gaming-oriented format, making it perfect for your work-from-home setup. It's attractive, comfortable, and feature-packed — what more could you ask from your seat?

Read our full Secretlab Atlas review

TV & home theater

TV of the Year

LG C6

In terms of all-around performance, features and versatility balanced with price, the C6 is the best TV around. When we tested it next to its predecessor, the LG C5, it was a noticeable upgrade: one that's rare to come across, and that was helped by LG adding its highest-end image processing. If you want a TV that can do it all, the C6 is that TV. Few TVs have impressed me as much this year as the C6, and that's why it takes the top spot.

Read our full LG C6 review

Home Entertainment Brand of the Year

Sony

Sony released two RGB LED TVs this year after years of teasing, and both of them were best-in-class, and are the TVs that most have me believing that OLED really should watch its back based on where this technology could do. Outside of this, the brand has also produced some excellent soundbars and speakers across the board, including the ground-breaking Bravia Theater Trio wireless LCR system, which is something we've been hoping to see a company make for years.

Home Entertainment Innovation of the Year

Sony True RGB

RGB TVs have been the big buzz of the TV world in 2026, and while it's been a mostly mixed bag, Sony's version called 'True RGB' stands above the rest. While it delivers spellbinding colors and superb brightness, it's the OLED-level black tones that impressed me most. I've tested Sony's two True RGB TVs and it's the best that dark and high-contrast scenes have ever looked on a backlit TV. In terms of innovation, it doesn't get more impressive than this in 2026.

Best Gaming TV

LG C6

For gaming, there's no better option in 2026 than the LG C6. Not only does it have a full list of features — 4K at up to 165Hz, full variable refresh rate support, and Dolby Vision Gaming — and fantastic performance, but it's also available in 42-83-inch sizes to suit all gaming spaces. When I played games on the C6, I had a fantastic time thanks to its buttery-smooth response times and excellent picture quality. There are other great gaming TVs around, but none delivers such a good all-round experience for the same price.

Read our full LG C6 review

Best TV for Sound

Sony Bravia 9 II

While TV sound is often a mixed bag, no other TV delivers better built-in audio in 2026 than the Sony Bravia 9 II. It delivers impeccable detail and clarity with a wide soundstage and pinpoint accuracy. Watching our reference scenes just impressed us across the board — very few other TVs have ever delivered such a level of audio authenticity.

Read our full Sony Bravia 9 II review

Best OLED TV

LG C6

Our TV of the Year is also the best OLED TV of 2026. More premium models may deliver better picture or more features, but none deliver a more complete package that's a significant step above their predecessor for a seriously competitive price. The C6 is a jack-of-all-trades TV that ticks every box a user could need across a wide range of sizes, and no other OLED has impressed me as much as the LG C6 when compared to last year's models.

Read our full LG C6 review

Best Mini-LED TV

Sony Bravia 9 II

RGB mini-LED is the next step in the evolution of mini-LED and no other TV this year does it better than the Sony Bravia 9 II. It delivers fantastic backlight control, OLED-rivaling black tones, vibrant, rich colors and realistic detail. No backlit TV has ever wowed our reviewers more than the Bravia 9 II, and it's an exciting sign for the future of mini-LED.

Read our full Sony Bravia 9 II review

Best Value TV

TCL QM7L/C7L

It really doesn't get better in terms of bang-for-your-buck value than the TCL QM7L (US model) and TCL C7L (UK and Australian version). The new SQD panel delivers great brightness and color, as well as excellent backlight control. Its great for gaming for a near-full suite of features, and it has credible built-in sound. The real highlight however is its price-to-size ratio, where you can get a big screen at a ridiculously affordable price, given how good the picture looks. If you want the best value, the QM7L/C7L is our top pick.

Read our full TCL QM7L review

Best Projector

Hisense XR10

This projector simply creates the most impressive pictures you can expect from a living-room-friendly projector — anything beyond this requires going pro. It's bright enough to work for lit rooms as well as dark-room viewing, and looks fantastic in both cases — and it even has a slick decor-friendly design. Sure, it lacks 120Hz at 4K, but cinephiles won't care — and this is made for cinephiles, make no mistake. Our full review will land shortly.

Best Soundbar

Sonos Beam Ultra

This wasn't the only soundbar this year to earn a rare five-star rating, but it's the one with the most 'wow' factor, because it's hard to believe such an expansive sound is coming from such a small design. The Dolby Atmos effect reaches a scale you'd never expect for a compact bar, and does it with clarity and precision of spatial audio. This feels like a premium bar, but with a mid-range price, and that's why it earns this award.

Read our full Sonos Beam Ultra review

Best Wireless Home Theater Speakers

Sony Bravia Theater Trio

This is product option we've wanted for so long: a wireless LCR system (meaning left, center, right channels) that's as easy to set up as a soundbar, but with the better width and impact that you get from a separates system. And that's what you get here: tons of power, a super-immersive Dolby Atmos experience, and a sense of scale to match a projector screen or giant-screen TV in a way a soundbar can't match. It's the wireless living home theater dream come true, especially with its easy expansion to add rears and subs. Our full review is coming soon.

Streaming

Streaming Service of the Year

HBO Max

Three years on after winning our coveted Best Streaming Service of the Year crown, HBO Max has done it again — and with good reason. Its long-overdue launch in multiple European nations, including the UK and Ireland, and the introduction of new user-friendly features are two such reasons why it was an early contender for this year’s prize. Throw in its unrivaled catalog of unmissable new shows and returning TV favorites, ongoing movie-exclusive partnership with acclaimed indie studio A24, and ever-expanding live sports coverage, though, and no other platform came close to besting it.

Best for Movies

Prime Video

Movie lovers should flock to Prime Video, as it boasts a library of over 20,000 movies in the US. The streaming service regularly adds new movies from Hollywood blockbusters, independent films, and classic cinema across the years, as well as its own Prime Video Original movies. Recent additions include the romantic comedy Love of Your Life and survival horror The Devil's Mouth.

Best for Documentaries

Netflix

Considering Netflix has everything from true crime to celebrity-fronted food documentaries, it's the place to be if you love all things real life. There's plenty of shocking stories of scandals, murders, mysteries and more, as well as lighter options for those in need of some escapism. Whatever you're after, Netflix probably has it. Recent must-see documentaries include a nail-biting series called Worst Neighbor Ever and the shocking Titan: The OceanGate Disaster.

Best for TV Shows

Apple TV was the most awarded streaming service at the 2026 Emmys, with many of its original series being hailed as the best. We’re inclined to agree, considering the quality of Apple TV shows has been consistently excellent across the board. Whether you want a mind boggling thriller like Severance or a horror comedy like Widow’s Bay, there’s plenty on offer for all tastes.

Best Free Streaming Service

Tubi or not Tubi? That’s the question we ask ourselves who should win our annual Best Free Streaming Service of the Year award. Well, this year, it is Tubi. Supported on over 30 devices — the most of any ad-supporting video on demand (AVOD) service — it’s available to every kind of person working to every kind of budget. Add in its movie and TV show catalogs, which number hundreds of thousands of offerings covering numerous genres, as well as its ongoing featuring of myriad live television channels and networks, and it’s the 2026 people’s AVOD champion.

Audio

Headphones of the Year

Apple AirPods Max 2

As we said in our full review, these cans are "doubtless the best noise-cancelling iPhone headphones on the planet" — and we weren't expecting to love them as much as we did. Aside from the USB-C lossless audio and incredible comfort, they also boast some of the best voice capture on any headphones we've ever experienced. This was a really hot year for headphones, the AirPods Max 2 still lag behind the competition for battery life (and the weird bra case continues to mystify) — but that they won out should tell you just how good they are in every other way.

Read our full AirPods Max 2 review

Audio Brand of the Year

iFi

Hi-res specialist iFi isn't afraid of conquering the whole hi-fi market, serving up launches such as the excellent five-star elite iFi iDSD GR2 and the cheap and cheerful Go Cable this year. We love seeing this hard-working visionary outfit in full flow. Whatever level you're at, it's got something for you — and it's hard to look past a brand that hires out London's Tower Bridge, gets its entire team into black tuxedoes, plasters the walls with the word 'Phantom' so it feels as if 007 himself could drop in at any minute and then unveils the most stunning-sounding flagship DAC we've ever heard. Bravo, iFi. For you, the world is not enough…

Audio Innovation of the Year

Cambridge L/R S speakers

Before I heard these speakers, I thought Cambridge had taken a big risk here. Then, I gave them a thorough listen and I knew they were winners. The L/R S is a genuinely active stereo speaker system, so it does not involve a powered primary speaker and a dumb counterpart to make a pair. OK, only the primary speaker receives power, but there are two channels of amplification for each speaker. Then, there's a full DSP crossover which acts as a PWM signal to each amp — and that's before the bespoke four-conductor cable to connect the primary speaker to the secondary! Might we call them over-engineered? Maybe — or you could simply call Cambridge's work ethic ‘admirable’, as I do.

Read our full Cambridge L/R S review

Best Wireless Headphones

Nothing Headphone (a)

There's something so untethered about Nothing's approach to audio architecture and design that it makes these cans downright joyous in their appeal — we actually have the pair with yellow accents (you can call them over-easy eggs if you like, that actually makes me dig them even more). The company upgraded and finessed the audio compared to the original Headphone (1), while keeping the excellent on-ear controls (the roller for volume is a true highlight) stellar battery life, very good ANC and truly useful app — then somehow shaved a load off the price. A deserved winner.

Read our full Nothing Headphone (a) review

Best Wireless Earbuds

Soundpeats H3

These delightfully different, affordable and sonically superb buds from Soundpeats sound better than some buds at twice their price (and at around $129 / £129, they're really quite humbly priced), thanks to their triple-driver array per bud, a secure fit, plus aptX, aptX Adaptive, aptX Lossless and LDAC support. Audiophile on a budget? Add this name to your list.

Read our full Soundpeats H3 review

Best Open Earbuds

Shokz OpenFit Pro

Our Audio Editor uses these superb, if pricey, open earbuds multiple times per week, and it's hard to look past the personal recommendation. The fit is sports-worthy (aided by extra optional bands in the box, useful for sports that require a different fit, such as tennis) but they're also office-friendly and professional in terms of design — and the excellent active noise reduction is as unusual as it is class-leading. As far as I'm concerned, Shokz served an ace here.

Read our full Shokz Openfit Pro review

Best Value Headphones

CMF Headphone Pro

We knew we loved these minty fresh cans as soon as we slipped them over our ears. Would you expect hearing tests for a personalized sound profile, LDAC support, an excellent volume 'roller' control on the right ear cup, glorious build quality, zealous wireless sound, exemplary battery life and 3.5mm hi-res wired listening for under $100 / £100? The design flair, energetic audio quality and additional perks won this race.

Read our full CMF Headphone Pro review

Best Value Earbuds

JLab JBuds Mini ANC

Look at them! The JLab JBuds Mini ANC's one perceived failing stems from their biggest selling point: because they're tiny enough to fit on a keyring (they are the smallest ANC earbuds on the planet), you might think they're little more than junk. I'm here to tell you emphatically that they are not — in fact, they're so far from junk that you can't lose them. They're the first earbuds to have support for Apple's Find My network. I don't think any rival came particularly close to the value you get here for $39 / £39 — our full review is coming soon.

Best Value Open Earbuds

Baseus Bowie MC2

We think a Labyrinth-era Bowie (that's 1986, to save you the bother of checking) in full Goblin King Jareth regalia would've put these dark, cuff-style open earbuds on without a second thought — and he'd have looked fantastic in them. These cheap clip-style buds often had us wondering whether you even need to spend more on a flagship set from class-leaders such as Shokz or Bose. If all you need is good sound with surprisingly regimented, impactful bass (and you're prepared to forego expensive extras) these Baseus buds are a winner.

Read our full Baseus Bowie MC2 review

Best Wired Headphones

Meze Audio Strada

We're going for a set of stunning racing green closed-back headphones that sound as airy and spacious as open-back headphones, except nobody hears your playlist. As a closed-back option, they're also relatively easy to drive and they're capable of supremely detailed, organized and thoroughly addictive audio.

Read our full Meze Audio Strada review

Best Wired Earbuds

Sennheiser CX 80U

I said it before (because these were your choice too, dearest reader) and I'll say it again: when people ask me, "What's the cheapest way to get better sound from my phone?" my first response is to suggest these delightfully inexpensive 2026-release USB-C wired earbuds. For around $35 / £30 you really cannot do better. You don't get volume controls on the in-line remote and the mic doesn't deliver crystal-clear calls, as our Sennheiser CX 80U review explains. What you do get is acutely nimble but impactful bass, clear mids and sparkling, appealing highs. Pair that with their surprisingly effective passive noise isolation and you’re looking at an incredibly good pair of wired buds for the money.

Best Bluetooth Speaker

JBL Xtreme 5

Do you want a Bluetooth speaker you'll be able to slip into a purse and take to the park for a podcast, or do you want a party-ready beast with a shoulder strap all of its own? Because JBL's Xtreme 5 is in the latter camp, but if that's what you want, you'll be delighted with it. This is one of the best bigger Bluetooth belters we've ever tested — as our five-star JBL Xtreme 5 review will impress upon you at great length. OK, enough talk: let's dance!

Best Wireless Speaker

Denon Home 400

I got a chance to hear this speaker among its siblings (the Home 200 and 600) at launch, and it is my favorite of Denon's 2026 wireless home trio. It is also the best-looking new wireless speaker on the market, for me (it's about the size of a chopping-board rack or bread bin, fitting neatly on shelves and bookcases while serving up delicious sound). Another great feature is that during setup, you are encouraged to list where the speaker is placed — far from a wall, close to one wall or in a corner — within the HEOS companion app. You can then opt for a 'pure' stereo hi-fi mix, or add 'width' to boost the horizontal spaciousness of the sound field. The spatial and directional stuff is a lot of fun to play with and, as our full Denon Home 400 review explains, provided you don't rely on a voice assistant to do your bidding at home (I do not) it's a hugely talented wireless speaker.

Best Portable Audio Player

Astell & Kern PD5

I absolutely get why the TR readership chose Astell & Kern's newest 'entry level' hi-res audio player, called the A&K PD5 (I put 'entry level' in quotation marks because A&K's definition and ours may well differ). And while I've been lucky enough to listen to the May 2026-release flagship Astell & Kern SP4000T, very briefly — and I have to tell you, it's excellent — it is a huge chunk of cash. This option is far more palatable from a purely financial perspective and is still a fantastically gifted DAP. We gave the PD5's wonky, quirky SR35 older sibling a glowing five-star review, and now this glorious successor is here in a more conventional form factor. Our full review is almost here, but here's a spoiler alert: it's good news. I predicted this category would be won by Activo's parent company, and so it has come to pass — the hi-res DAP specialist is truly bossing the quality portable music machine market.

Best Turntable

Fluance RT87

This is a player for the purist, and so it is pretty light on convenience-focused features — there's no built-in phono preamp, for example — but we don’t think that is a bad thing. The Fluance RT87 is designed for someone who is ready to enter a more serious vinyl listening state and is prepared for manual tone arm adjustment and tweaking to make the turntable as flat as possible using the provided bubble level. This means you won't damage your particularly irreplaceable presses when you spin them — that's the kind of person this turntable is aimed at, and it nails that brief.

See our full Fluance RT87 review

Best DAC

iFi iDSD GR2

When we chose iFi as our Audio Brand of the Year, one of the key deciding factors was this phenomenal digital-analog-converter. It's all stunning design, punchy power, exceptional performance, and a brilliant OLED touchscreen for extra features. I love iFi's dedication to K2HD restorative mastering tech, and its fan-fave XBass and XSpace filters. This DAC even has a lower asking price than its xDSD Gryphon predecessor at launch. It would be churlish to ask for much more than that in 2026.

Read our full iFi iDSD GR2 review

Best Stereo Speakers

Dali Sonik 1

While these may be small and budget-friendly, sonically they’re huge and luxurious. Think clear-headed, stunning vocals with more room to breathe than should be possible at this level, plus tangible transients through to a deep, thrumming low-end. They are far from the first of this type of speaker, and they certainly won’t be the last — but they’re emphatically among the best currently on the market, especially at such a wallet-friendly price.

Read our full Dali Sonik 1 review

Health & Fitness tech

Health & Fitness Device of the year

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

Expensive the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro may be, but the ultimate adventure smartwatch is one of the best devices Garmin has ever produced, building on years of technical advancements. It's a money-no-object powerhouse with amazing build quality: the all-titanium case houses a powerful battery, behind the super-tough sapphire crystal lies a vibrant AMOLED screen, and during my test runs against a heart rate monitor it's consistently accurate. I've been wearing the 43mm version non-stop since getting my testing unit — a clear indicator that it's first in line for valuable wrist real estate this year.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

Health & Fitness Brand of the Year

Garmin

Garmin has had a strong 2026. It's revamped its cycling range, brought out a few new features such as AI-powered nutrition tracking to justify the cost of its Garmin Connect+ service, and has developed a few extremely well-reviewed gadgets — notably, the screenless Garmin Cirqa fitness tracker and the top-flight Garmin Fenix 9 series, both of which feature in this list to no-one's surprise. It remains the brand to beat in the endurance world, but the Cirqa shows that it's making inroads with the gym crowd too.

Health & Fitness Innovation of the Year

Huawei Watch D3

This watch advances the smartwatch-as-medical-device category further into refinement, boasting more than its signature medical-grade blood pressure cuff technology. With emergency fall detection, blood pressure trends, sleep tracking and six days of battery life compared to the Apple Watch's 24 hours, it's the watch I recommend to people looking for a health-orientated smartwatch for seniors. It's all packed into a sleek Apple-inspired design.

Read our full Huawei Watch D3 review

Best Smartwatch

Apple Watch Ultra 4

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 retains its crown for another year as this year's top smartwatch. Like every other Apple Watch Ultra model before it, this is an iterative update to an already-excellent watch, rather than a top-down redesign, but did we expect anything else from Apple? If it ain't broke, don't fix it. What has changed is the back of the watch: a redesigned LED Health Sensing System ensures better-than-ever accuracy and more frequent heart rate readings, enabling improved sleep tracking (along with a boost in battery life, as you're less likely to take it off to charge it) and the new Readiness Score.

Read our full Apple Watch Ultra 4 review

Best Running Watch

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

The Garmin Fenix 9 Pro is back. The redesigned Maps feature places you right into the middle of things, mimicking your perspective to reduce the glance-to-interpretation delay when you're trying to find your way on long runs, which even the Apple Watch doesn't do. It's a triathlon athlete or ultra marathon's dream watch thanks to its trail features, while its battery life is more impressive than the Ultra 4. Recommended workouts based on your Training Readiness score and Garmin Coach training plans are the icing on the cake.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

Best Fitness Tracker

Garmin Cirqa

The Garmin Cirqa narrowly beats up the Fitbit Air: even though it's more expensive up-front, the lack of reliance on a subscription service and its tactile button (just click it to start tracking, no messing around with the app) means it's the screenless fitness tracker of choice this year, and the best new fitness tracker overall.

Read our full Garmin Cirqa review

Best Smart Ring

Oura Ring 5

The competition was super-hot this year, but Oura came back swinging with the Oura Ring 5. It's thinner than ever, which is so important in a smart ring, earning top marks for design in our review. Its slickly-orientated app and smorgasbord of metrics justify the ongoing, mandatory subscription, making this a great premium smart ring option.

Read our full Oura Ring 5 review

Best Electric Toothbrush

Suri Core 1.0

The Suri Core 1.0 takes the original Suri brush's elegant, simplified aesthetics and environmental credentials, and manages to cut a few corners to shave some money off the price. A bio-plastic handle rather than aluminium, and a slightly less powerful motor and battery, helps keep the Core affordable. You can still recycle the brush heads for free, and the unit still looks nice and stylish, especially with its slick magnetic mount. Its battery life will last over a month between charges.

Read our full Suri Core 1.0 review

Best Connected Fitness Tech

Withings BodyScan 2

Withings is a brand that's quietly been making excellent health products for years, from discreet hybrid smartwatches to under-mattress sleep analyzers and, well, smart scales. The Withings BodyScan 2, with its handle creating a circular current and offering a comprehensive list of 40 different metrics, is not just its best yet, but our best smart scale at the premium tier. It tracks blood oxygen levels, hypertension risk and estimates your vascular age. And you thought scales were just for BMI!

Read our full Withings BodyScan 2 review

Home tech

Home Device of the Year

DJI Romo P

The Romo P is DJI's first robot vacuum, but you wouldn't know from its performance. It offers the best obstacle avoidance of any robovac we've tested, as well as superb wet cleaning on hard floors, and very good vacuuming on carpet. It gets our seal of approval as this year's best robot vacuum, if your wallet can take the hit.

Read our full DJI Romo P review

Home Tech Brand of the Year

Philips Hue

Philips Hue is the biggest name in smart lighting for a reason, and this year it's become more accessible than ever with the launch of Hue Essential — a range of budget-friendly bulbs and LED strips that are an affordable entry to the smart lighting ecosystem. Meanwhile, power users can enjoy AI-powered lighting tools thanks to the new Hue Bridge Pro, which supports over 150 lights in a single network.

Home Tech Innovation of the Year

Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool

The smartest fan we’ve tested this year, the Dyson Find+Follow uses AI to track you as you move around the room, ensuring you’re kept cool and comfortable at all times. It blew us away with its 350 degrees of oscillation, super quiet operation, and smooth air flow — and its voice and app controls make operating it a breeze.

Read our full Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool review

Best Home Light Tech

Philips Hue Omniglow Strip Light

The Omniglow uses tiny micro LEDs to produce a seamless gradient unlike any LED lightstrip we’ve seen before — and it looks amazing. Not only are the individual LEDs invisible, it’s also incredibly bright, and looks particularly stunning when flowing from one color to the next in a Dynamic Scene. One of the most exciting smart lights I’ve seen in recent years.

Read our Philips Hue Omniglow review

Best Home Security Device

Aqara Camera Hub G350

It might look like a children’s toy, but the Aqara Camera Hub G350 is a serious home security camera, and one you can trust to guard a whole room thanks to its 360-degree panning. Despite its cute looks, the G350 is packing a 4K wide-angle camera, plus a 2.5k telephoto lens for getting up close. It’s compatible with all the main smart home ecosystems, and you can store footage on an SD card so there’s no subscription necessary. And, for some reason, it has detachable bunny ears. What more could you want?

Read our full Aqara Camera Hub G350 review

Best Robot Vacuum

DJI Romo P

DJI's first robot vacuum is a triumph — the company has put its expertise in obstacle-detection to good use, and the DJI Romo P is the best robovac we've ever tested when it comes to avoiding common hazards. Its cleaning is top-notch as well, with its mopping function proving particularly effective at removing tough spills from hard flooring.

Read our full DJI Romo P review

Best Vacuum

Roborock F25 Ultra

The F25 Ultra packs a lot more cleaning power than your typical wet/dry vacuum, with steam-cleaning, hot-water degreasing, and powerful suction to tackle huge amounts of dirt and water. Its power-assisted wheels make it feel surprisingly nimble too. Perfect for households with pets, children, or both — your floors won't know what hit them.

Read our full Roborock F25 Ultra review

Best Air Fryer

Ninja French Door Premier Air Fryer Convection Oven Toaster

This is much more than just an air fryer — it’s a full countertop oven, with an extra-large cooking area that can accommodate an entire pizza or chicken. It cooks astonishingly fast, with 10 dedicated modes, and produced perfect fries, vegetables, quesadillas, and even bagels during our tests. It looks great as well, and you can open the French doors one-handed for easy access.

Read our full Ninja French Door Premier Air Fryer Convection Oven Toaster review

Best Coffee Machine

Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2

The classiest coffee maker we've tested in the last 12 months, and the one I'd be proudest to have in my own kitchen, the Meraki Gen 2 is a pleasure to use, automating certain parts of the brewing process without taking over, and helping you hone your own barista skills. The results? Sensational coffee, provided your wallet can stand the hit.

Read our full Meraki Espresso Machine Gen 2 review

Best Value Coffee Machine

Philips Baristina

If you're looking for an affordable coffee maker, you can't go wrong with the Philips Baristina — an innovative little appliance that combines the best features of manual and automatic espresso machines. It handles the whole brewing process for you, but without the awkward maintenance of your typical bean-to-cup machine. Look for the version bundled with a milk frother and you'll never bother buying takeout coffee again.

Read our full Philips Baristina review

Best Fan

Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool

Dyson's smartest fan to date, the Find+Follow tracks your movement as you walk around the room, and makes sure its airflow is always angled in your direction. The airflow is smooth and quiet, which makes the Find+Follow an ideal choice for night time as well, and the filtration system effectively removes dirt and allergens while it's keeping you comfortable.

Read our full Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool review

Strava improves its mapping, route planning and strength training features

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Tue, 27 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Strava has added new route planning features to its app
The changes cover route discovery, mapping, offline tools, and more
Strava has also recently upgraded its strength training features

You might think of Strava as built for runners and cyclists, but it can track many more activities. With its latest updates, it’s added a few more features for walking, hiking, and strength training that fitness fans might enjoy.

According to a new press release, Strava has improved its route discovery and mapping tools, with the changes being “aimed at making it easier for users who love outdoor activities to find, plan, and follow the best routes.”

To that end, the search function has been made more intuitive and should understand prompts made “in your own words.” More routes are available, offline maps are simpler to use, and route cards have been updated with a new design.

Strava also says paying subscribers will soon be able to hear turn-by-turn audio directions without using their hands. Community tagging of points of interest will be available in the future, and users will also be able to find new routes on the web, not just in the app. These features aren't in the app just yet, but Strava says they are “coming soon.”

More features for strength training

(Image credit: Strava)

The routing update follows hot on the heels of another change to Strava in October, which brought strength workouts designed by fitness coaches to the app. In that instance, subscribers can now see animated guidance for strength exercises, with live set and rep tracking as the workout progresses. Free users, meanwhile, will get a “sample workout” for free, and “a number of additional workout series” and new ways to track strength workouts are due before the end of 2026.

Together, the updates to running and strength training help to make Strava a broader fitness app, one that is moving away from its origins in tracking running and cycling. With the addition of coach-created workouts, it’s taken a step toward a more hands-on, guided approach than we’ve seen before.

Strava is already one of the best fitness apps around, and these updates might help make it more attractive to anyone who is currently on the fence about joining. With more features on the way, it could be a good time to get started.

I'm a sleep expert — these are the relaxation gadgets I'd recommend to beat the gloom

ruth.hamilton@futurenet.com (Ruth Hamilton) — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 17:24:16 +0000

The evenings are drawing in, the clocks will be going back soon (or, if you're in the UK, they have already), and while the lack of sunshine can feel gloomy, I say it's the perfect time to lean into the cosiness. Below, I've rounded up my favorite sleep and relaxation aids designed to help you wind down, chill out, and get some high-quality rest. Some of these are designed for use in the day, if you're feeling overwhelmed, and some will be helpful if you're struggling to drop off at night.

I spent two years as a Sleep Editor, and one of the key things I learned is that sleep is an incredibly personal thing, so what works for one person won't necessarily work for everyone. Take a look at the gadgets below and see what appeals to you — I've added a blurb for each one, explaining what it is and how it's designed to work (tap the View details button to see it).

Wind-down time

Morphee

Sleep Aid

This whimsical relaxation aid is controlled via a mixture of symbols and winding keys — not only is there no screen, there aren't any buttons or even words on this gadget, save for the brand name, surrounded by twinkly stars. Twist the keys to select one of 218 breathing and relaxation routines, and how long you want to listen for (8 or 20 minutes). Options include routines designed to calm your heart rhythm, guided visualizations, and background noise from the natural world.

View on the Morphee site

Soundcore

Sleep A20

Want to be able to tune into your favorite wind-down podcast without disturbing your bedmate? Most headphones aren't particularly comfortable to sleep in, but these have an ultra-shallow profile that means they'll tuck neatly in your ear, with minimal protrusion. They're also designed to help if it's your bedmate causing the disturbances: there are twin-seal ear tips to block out sound, and you can pipe in white noise to drown out snores.

View on the Anker site

Therabody

SmartGoggles

At a glance, the Therabody SmartGoggles might look like your average sleep mask, but they're actually a whole lot more hi-tech. Sure, they'll black out all the light. But they'll also deliver a compression massage, soothing heat, and/or vibrations, depending on what sounds good to you. The brand says these can also help with stress relief and headaches.

View on the Therabody site

Hatch

Restore 3

The Restore is an alarm clock with a difference: instead of emitting an aggressive beep, it gradually brightens to mimic the sunrise and rouse you gently from your slumber. The Restore can also emit soothing sleep sounds, and double-up as a nightstand light, and there's a dimmable digital clock display.

View on the Hatch site

Moonbird

Breathing Tool

Ignore that slightly NSFW appearance — the Moonbird is actually a minimalist breathing aid to help relive tension and calm you down. You hold it in your palm and it'll expand when you should breathe in, then contract when it's time to breathe out. This gadget includes a heart rhythm sensor, there's a companion app that provides data on every session, and you can also pair it with Oura, Apple Health, or Google Health.

View on the Moonbird site

Homedics

Soundsleep Aura

The SoundSleep Aura is an all-in-one, screenless relaxation aid that can operate as a meditation guide, sound machine or night light. It can glow different colors (with adjustable brightness), emit a whole range of sounds, and guide you through three different breathing routines. It's compact and cordless, with up to 68 hours of battery and USB charging, so perfect for traveling with.

View on the Homedics site

Meet the TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 winners — all 100% chosen by you

TechRadar — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:55:19 +0000

It's been an excellent year for tech releases, with the arrival of everything from new TV panel developments, to groundbreaking drones, to awesome spatial audio speakers, to a new breed of AI-connected screenless fitness wearable.

It's also been a really difficult year in tech, though, due to the component crisis and rising prices across nearly all products. In the middle of that tension, it only makes sense for us to find out which companies navigated the challenges best by asking the community of tech lovers out there — and so here are the first TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards.

The results are in, so below we've listed the TechRadar Readers' Choice Awards 2026 winners winners in every category, all 100% voted by you!

Phones & tablets

Phone of the Year

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

It’s no great surprise that readers chose the iPhone 18 Pro as the Phone of the Year. After all, this — along with the iPhone 18 Pro Max — scored five stars in our review, which is a rating we hardly ever give out to phones. But with its excellent camera system — complete with genuinely useful upgrades like a variable aperture and pro controls — plus an exceptionally fast chipset, great battery life, beautiful new Burgundy and Glacier colors, and a superb screen and software, the iPhone 18 Pro excels in just about every area. So its five stars, and Readers' Phone of the Year award, are well deserved.

Phone Brand of the Year

Apple

Given that the iPhone 18 Pro won Phone of the Year and that Apple’s handsets are well represented among the other Readers’ Choice award winners below, it’s hard to see how any other company could have won Phone Brand of the Year. Apple might not release as many different models as some brands, but it still has a phone for almost everyone — whether you want a high-end flagship, a top-tier gaming phone, a DSLR alternative, something more affordable, or even, this year, a foldable phone (though the Duo was released too late to be eligible for these awards). And not only has Apple covered most of the bases here, but all of its handsets excel and e with genuine upgrades compared to last year’s models.

Phones Innovation of the Year

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8

Given that the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 was the first passport-shaped foldable to arrive on the scene in Western markets this year, it's easy to see why readers voted it as the Phones Innovation of the Year. This new form factor makes it even more pocketable than a book-style foldable, but still gives you a large screen when it’s unfolded. The smaller cover screen also makes it perfect for one-handed use when you don’t need the large inner display, and coupled with flagship performance and high–quality displays, this is a great all-round phone — not just an innovative one.

Best Value Phone

Apple iPhone 17e

The iPhone 17e might not be the cheapest phone, but its lower price makes it highly affordable by iPhone standards, and it comes with double the storage of the iPhone 16e without upping the starting price. Plus, with features like MagSafe and an A19 chipset, you’re getting a lot for your money, so it’s no wonder this was voted Best Value Phone. iPhones tend to get updated for many years and hold their value well too, so this isn’t just good value on day one — it should also serve you well for a long time.

Best Mid-Range Phone

Apple iPhone 17

There’s no base iPhone 18 yet, and it’s a testament to just how good the iPhone 17 still is that readers have voted it the Best Mid-Range Phone. Everything that was good about the iPhone 17 at launch still remains so in 2026 — including its powerful A19 chipset, always-on display with ProMotion, and improved cameras. The iPhone 17’s price hasn’t dropped since launch (in fact, thanks to the ongoing RAM crisis, it's actually gone up), but you’re still getting a lot for your money compared to many other mid-range phones.

Best Folding Phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra

While the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is the Readers’ Choice Phone Innovation of the Year, it’s the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra that readers think is the overall Best Folding Phone. This isn’t surprising either, as while the form factor here is nothing new, this is Samsung’s most polished, premium, and feature-packed foldable yet — so much so that it got ‘Ultra’ added to the name. For the first time, the foldable screen is essentially flat, with a near-invisible crease, and the Z Fold 8 Ultra also has a bigger battery, more power, and improved cameras compared to its predecessor, while still being slimmer, making for a phone that lives up to its ‘Ultra’ name.

Best Flip Phone

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8

Samsung is clearly still the king of foldables for now in readers’ eyes, since they’ve also voted the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 8 as the Best Flip Phone. Arguably, this phone didn’t have much competition outside of the Motorola Razr line, but that doesn’t take away from its achievements, including new Horizontal Lock and Fan Cam features, which make it a major upgrade for recording videos. Coupled with a slightly slimmer design than last year, improved software, and a chipset upgrade, it’s no wonder the Z Flip 8 has flipped its way into readers’ hearts.

Best Camera Phone

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

The iPhone 18 Pro — along with the iPhone 18 Pro Max — have some serious camera upgrades, so it makes sense that readers would have voted this the Best Camera Phone. You’re getting a trio of 48MP cameras on the back, covering wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto (4x zoom) views, and in a rare move for phones, the wide snapper also has a variable aperture. That feature, coupled with new pro controls, gives you more power than ever to take control of your shots. But the iPhone 18 Pro still shines for point-and-shoot photography, too, and its cameras capture more detail than ever before.

Best Gaming Phone

Apple iPhone 18 Pro

The iPhone 18 Pro also takes the Readers’ Choice Best Gaming Phone award, and this makes total sense too, given the sheer amount of power on offer here. The phone has a seriously fast A20 Pro chipset paired with improved thermal management — so it can keep cool and maintain its smooth performance even over a lengthy gaming session. On top of that, the App Store simply has a better selection of high-end games than you’ll find over on Android, and they’re usually well optimized for Apple’s hardware.

Best AI Phone

Google Pixel 11 Pro

Between them, Samsung and Apple have swept almost all of these awards — but not quite all of them, as readers voted the Google Pixel 11 Pro as the Best AI Phone. Despite Siri’s recent AI makeover, this makes perfect sense, as Google has spent the last few years improving the Pixel’s AI features and more deeply integrating them into the operating system. The result with the Pixel 11 Pro is a phone with AI everywhere. You can tap into Gemini from any screen, and new features such as Rambler for voice dictation and Magic Capture for photography bring genuinely useful AI-powered upgrades to this phone's core functionality.

Best Phone Accessory

UGreen Qi2 25W Wireless Power Bank

The UGreen Qi2 25W Wireless Power Bank is a top-tier portable charger with speedy 25W wireless charging, an ultra-compact design, and a lightweight feel. As well as wireless charging capabilities, the model has an integrated USB-C cable for charging your devices or the power bank itself, a USB-C port that supports 30W charging, and even a neat little display. Pair that with high build quality and 13-layer protection for safe charging, and you’re looking at one of the best wireless power banks on the market — and TechRadar readers clearly agreed.

Best Tablet

Apple iPad Pro (M5)

The Apple iPad Pro (M5) is a powerhouse of a slate, with that M5 chip delivering what our review described as “amazing performance.” It also has a sumptuous 11-inch screen, a sleek design, and impressive cameras and software. Whether for work or play, this tablet can handle tasks exceptionally well, so it’s a deserving winner.

Best eReader

reMarkable Paper Pure

This isn’t just an ereader, it’s a lightweight, distraction-free writing tablet that’s portable, comfortable, and — according to our reMarkable Paper Pure review — offers a “flawless writing experience.” So while this isn’t necessarily going to be the best choice to read a novel on, if you’re after an epaper tablet to sketch and write on, this is an ideal choice — so it’s no real surprise this was voted Best eReader.

Cameras & drones

Camera of the Year

Sony A7R VI

From a shortlist that included the Canon EOS R6 Mark III, Sony A7 V, Leica M-EV1 and a trio of five-star DJI products, it was the A7R VI that topped your votes, and it’s easy to see why: Sony gave us highly-detailed images and blazing-fast performance in a single, well-designed model, rounding the package off by debuting its first new battery in almost a decade for class-leading endurance. We rarely use the word ‘perfect’, but for many photographers, the Sony A7R VI mirrorless camera will be just that.

Camera Brand of the Year

Sony

Readers voted the A7R VI as a double winner, the A7 V as the Best Mid-range Camera, the RX10 V as the Best Compact Camera and the 100mm F2.8 macro as the Best Lens winner — so it’s little wonder that the camera giant wins the Brand of the Year vote too. And the accolade is fully deserved; other leading brands have had a majorly quiet year by comparison, besides perhaps the relentless DJI. Sony’s mirrorless camera lineup is looking strong, and its lens range is formidable. If you can afford its admittedly pricey gear, it’s the ecosystem that has it all.

Camera Innovation of the Year

Antigravity A1

Antigravity was a complete unknown before this year, but the Insta360-seeded company burst onto the scene with the world's first 360-degree drone, the A1. Pipping DJI to the post, the Antigravity A1 is effectively an Insta360 X5 that flies, which means it shoots crisp 8K video of every angle, and when paired with the company’s goggles and motion controller, gives a flight experience that’s both immersive and intuitive. The possibilities for this tech are truly exciting.

Best Beginner Camera

Fujifilm X-T30 III

Love Fujifilm’s retro design but can’t stretch to the pricey X100 VI or X-E5? In steps the portable Fujifilm X-T30 III, fitted with the company’s entry-level 26MP APS-C sensor for sharp stills, 6K video with 10-bit color depth, a tilt screen, EVF and a flash. It’s an excellent entry point to the Fujifilm X-mount for photography-focused users, with very few rivals at its affordable price point, besides the recent OM PEN. The X-T30 III is set to become one of Fujifilm's best sellers.

Best Mid-range camera

Sony A7 V

The Sony A7 IV held onto top spot in our best mirrorless cameras guide for years and had only recently lost its spot to the Nikon Z6 III, only for Sony to wrestle it back with the mark IV’s successor. The Sony A7 V feels like the complete camera; its new processor, ‘partially stacked’ sensor and improved subject tracking autofocus deliver a boost in stills and video performance, even if the A7 V has the same 33MP resolution as its predecessor. The A7 V is a true all-rounder.

Best Professional Camera

Sony A7R VI

Of course the readers' Camera of the Year also scoops top prize in its individual category. With Canon doing its business last year, and Nikon remaining totally quiet, the A7R VI really stood out. and it's a solid upgrade of the A7R V, with a bump in resolution from 61MP to 66.8MP, but more importantly it’s a quicker stacked sensor that’s ultimately way more versatile. The completely new battery (for class-leading battery life) and Sony’s best autofocus and design yet add further polish to the Sony A7R VI.

Best Compact and Instant Camera

Sony RX10 V

We didn't see it coming, but nine years after the now-discontinued RX10 IV, Sony revived its series of bridge cameras, and made the best even better. It ditched the Cyber-Shot name and brushed up the Sony RX10 V’s design to feel more Alpha, but ultimately the shooting experience from the same 20.1MP 1-inch sensor and 24-600mm F2.8-4 lens combo is entirely familiar, and it's one that many enthusiast wildlife photographers will love. Add the chunkier battery, better autofocus and faster burst shooting, and it’s an even better, albeit pricier, all-in-one camera.

Best Action and Vlogging Camera

Insta 360 Luna Ultra

DJI was busy priming its twin-lens Pocket 4P camera to attempt to change the vlogging camera game, only for Insta360 to steal its thunder with the Luna Ultra, and what an innovative camera it is. Taking the compact, gimbal-mounted camera formula of the Pocket series, the Insta360 Luna Ultra went one step further by adding a 3x telephoto camera, and fitted the device with a clever detachable remote module, which can control the camera remotely and doubles up as a mic. Never has solo vlogging been easier.

Best Camera Lens

Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS

At 10 years old, Sony’s 90mm macro lens was beginning to look a little dated, and so Sony macro photographers were delighted when the company released an entirely new model with a larger than life 1.4x magnification: the Sony FE 100mm F2.8 Macro GM OSS. Much like the similar Canon 100mm macro lens from 2021, Sony’s doubles up nicely as a portrait lens too, plus it's supported with image stabilization, compatible with teleconverters, and optically it's pretty much flawless.

Best camera accessory

Birdfy Bird Bath Pro

We’ve been reviewing bird feeder cameras for years, but it was the Birdfy Bird Bath Pro that made a splash in 2026 (pun intended). Amid warnings of the part that flat tray bird feeders can play in spreading avian diseases, in stepped this unique bird bath camera, with a more hygienic fountain, and that enabled us to observe a different kind of splashing and preening bird behavior from up close, with the same live feed and app notifications we've come to love from bird feeder cameras. The first generation product needs a little refining, but there's nothing else like it for bird lovers.

Best drone

Antigravity A1

The Antigravity A1 clearly made an impression on readers, picking up its second award here. It’s great to see a company besides DJI entering the drone space, and to do it so well with its first 360–degree drone. The Antigravity A1 shoots 8K video taken from any angle, and delivers an immersive flight experience through its goggles and motion controller. And with firmware updates and new accessories since the product's launch, Antigravity looks like it's just getting started.

Computing

Computing Brand of the Year

Apple

Apple shook up the computing world this year with the introduction of its affordable MacBook Neo, which combined a relatively low price tag with a premium design, all without making too many compromises when it comes to performance. It left Windows competitors scrambling to compete, so we ended up with a range of excellent affordable Windows 11 laptops arriving later — which means Apple had perhaps the biggest impact on computing in 2026, and readers clearly felt it.

Best Computing Innovation

Nvidia DLSS 4.5

Out of all the AI upscaling tech that's been helping PC gamers eke out more performance from their rigs, Nvidia's DLSS is by far the most advanced, and its 4.5 release brings better image quality, while Dynamic Multi Frame Generation does a great job of balancing image quality with high frame rates. Nvidia also added 6X Frame Generation, which allows compatible GPUs to reach incredibly high frame rates.

Best Value Laptop

Apple MacBook Neo

When Apple launched the MacBook Neo earlier this year for $599 / £599 / AU$1,049, it made a huge impact. It was a lower price than many of us were expecting, and no Windows 11 laptop, or Chromebook, that cost similar could compete. Sure, there were compromises to keep the price down, such as a lack of backlit keyboard, slow USB ports and just 8GB of memory, but the overall package offered incredible value for money. So, it was a bit of a shame that Apple increased the price a few months later to $699 / £699, making it less good value. Still, even with the price rise, you won't find a better laptop for the price.

Best AI Laptop

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch M5 (2025)

After a few years where it felt like Apple was being left behind, it's beginning to roll out more of its Apple Intelligence (AI) features, and while it's still early days, the results are promising, with many of the tools featuring Apple's signature polish. Because the company has been including its Neural Engine in its chips for years, it actually has a bit of a head start when it comes to on-device AI, and the latest MacBook Pro is a great example of this.

Best Gaming Laptop

Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026)

Gaming laptops don't come much bigger and brasher than the Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2026). It features desktop-grade performance thanks to a mighty RTX 5090 laptop GPU, plus a cutting-edge Intel Core Ultra 9 processor. Its huge 18-inch screen is also fantastic, powered by mini-LED technology, which makes modern games look gorgeous. However, all this power comes with a high price tag.

Best PC Gaming Handheld

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20

While some PC gaming handhelds are going all-in on raw performance with cutting-edge components, the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 is more of a refinement of the existing ROG Xbox Ally — but that is actually a bit of a masterstroke, as it means it's cheaper than rivals such as MSI Claw 8 EX AI+. Don't think this is a budget device, however, and the Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 features some nice improvements such as an OLED screen that looks fantastic, as well as improved buttons and TMR joysticks.

Best Gaming Keyboard

Turtle Beach Command Series KB7 TKL

The Turtle Beach Command Series KB7 TKL is an unusual gaming keyboard, because instead of a physical numpad, it has a built-in touchscreen that can give you quick access to macros, apps, and shortcuts that can give you a competitive edge. Thanks to its 8K polling rate, it's fast and responsive, and when you're not playing games, it feels great to type on as well.

Best Gaming Monitor

Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF

The Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SF is a brilliant gaming monitor for people who are seriously into their competitive esports, thanks to its incredibly fast 500Hz refresh rate. Matched with ultra-low response times, and you have a monitor that will keep up with even the most frantic of games, and the OLED screen tech makes those games look incredible.

Best Gaming Mouse

Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike

The Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike more than earns its rare five-star rating thanks to its fantastic build quality and lightweight design that makes it feel comfortable no matter what your grip type is. It also features a unique haptic inductive trigger system that lets you fine-tune the mouse buttons to perfectly suit your playstyle.

Gaming

Gaming Device of the Year

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro 2

The new Stealth Pro 2 headset from Turtle Beach is a fantastic premium headset that builds on everything great about its predecessor. The sound quality is spectacular, of course, but there's now improved battery life and solutions within its dock, a slick new lifestyle-friendly design, and a fantastic microphone all working together at the core of what makes it excel in gaming audio.

Gaming Brand of the Year

Turtle Beach

Gaming hardware behemoth Turtle Beach has released a whole heap of awesome gaming gear and devices in the past year or so, from pushing the boundaries of what a gaming mouse can be, deploying brilliant aesthetics to controllers, all the way to following up one of the best headsets of recent times with a superb successor.

Gaming Innovation of the Year

Turtle Beach MC7

A screen on a mouse?! Outrageous! But also: excellently innovative by Turtle Beach. In terms of changing perceptions about what gaming mice can do, the Command Series MC7 is a brilliant gaming product and should increase the functionality that gaming mice can offer players.

Best Console Accessory

Turtle Beach VelocityOne Race KD3 wheel

Offering a brilliant direct-drive bundle, the KD3 wheel is a fantastic addition to the budget end of the market and offers incredible value for money. The feedback from the 3.2Nm motor, pedal set, and even the aesthetics all play their part in making the VelocityOne Race KD3 a brilliant racing wheel.

Best Gaming Service

Xbox Game Pass

Having its price slashed this year, thankfully, is a big boon to players, and it has meant that Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass subscription still offers good value while also allowing players to jump into the likes of Gears of War: E-Day without paying the full price of a game.

Best Gaming Controller

Turtle Beach Pacific Skyline Wireless Controller

This might be the best possible controller for GTA 6. With a delightfully retro pastel aesthetic, this Xbox pad stands apart in a sea of comparatively boring-looking alternatives. It's got beautiful RGB lighting to boot, and competitive specs, including features such as remappable rear buttons and built-in audio controls, to back up the good looks.

Best Gaming Headset

Turtle Beach Stealth Pro 2

A premium headset that does it all, the Stealth Pro 2 from Turtle Beach is about as close to the full package as gaming headsets have gotten in the past year. It also had a tough act to follow, with its predecessor being so good too, and is worthy of its place as one of the past year's best.

Best Gaming Chair

Secretlab Atlas

Having thoroughly mastered the gaming chair, this year saw Secretlab branch out into something new. The Secretlab Atlas is a strong task chair that's perfect for work, relaxation, and, of course, gaming. The unique design incorporates a fantastic self-adjusting lumbar mechanism, which makes comfortable seating effortless.

TV & home theater

TV of the year

Sony Bravia 9 II

A TV needs to be sensational to stand out from the best TVs of 2026, and the Bravia 9 II is exactly that. Its RGB mini-LED panel delivers OLED-grade contrast and color, but with the brightness of mini-LED — and its audio system means it sounds as good as it looks.

Home Entertainment Brand of the Year

Sony

With multiple gongs in this year's reader-voted awards, it's not a surprise to see Sony pick up the Brand of the Year award too. Sony's focus on making premium products with innovative tech has yielded impressive results across TVs and soundbars, and its RGB technology and wireless speaker systems have been especially worth the wait.

Home Entertainment Innovation of the Year

Sony True RGB

True RGB is Sony's branding for its RGB mini-LED technology. Like other mini-LED displays, True RGB uses a very bright mini-LED backlight to deliver brightness that OLEDs can only dream of. RGB mini-LED takes the tech further, with each LED packing separate, independently controlled red, green and blue diodes instead of a single color. That means much better color accuracy and off-angle viewing. Sony isn't the only company to introduce this tech in 2026, but the way it designed its version has led to the most impressive results.

Best Gaming TV

TCL QM8L

The TCL QM8L is a superb TV for gaming thanks to its support for 4K at up to 144Hz across all four HDMI 2.1 ports, variable refresh rate at up to 288Hz, low latency, and impressive built-in audio as a bonus. We gave it a maximum score for gaming in our review, and said it's "a pleasure to game on" — and clearly the readers agree. This TV is TCL doing what TCL does best: delivering lots of fun for a way lower price than you expect.

Best TV for Sound

Sony Bravia 9 II

It's another win for Sony's flagship, this time for its Acoustic Multi-Audio+ sound system that has two full-range drivers, two subwoofers, two tweeters and a pair of angled beam tweeters to add height. With 80W of power, the Sony Bravia 9 II is impressively loud as well as beautifully detailed, and it sounds terrific in movies and music.

Best OLED TV

LG G6

The LG G6 stood out this year for massively improving its visibility in even very bright rooms, and it set a very high bar for OLED excellence overall this year. The picture quality is outstanding, it's phenomenal for gaming, and webOS remains one of our favorite smart TV platforms.

Best mini-LED TV

Sony Bravia 9 II

RGB mini-LED is spectacular, and right now nobody's doing it quite like Sony. The Bravia 9 II is the best backlit TV we've ever seen, breaking new ground when it comes to color and contrast, but maintaining the realistic, reference look that Sony strives for.

Best Value TV

TCL QM7L

The TCL QM7L is a remarkable achievement, reaching image quality shockingly close to the heights of TCL's flagships for a significantly lower price. Like its award-winning QM8L sibling, it's a superb gaming TV, and it's an excellent all-rounder with a good specification and a generally premium feel.

Best Projector

Anker Soundcore Nebula P1

It looks like you share our view of the Anker Soundcore Nebula P1: it's a lot of fun, and as a package it's hard to beat. The P1 takes the best bits of the much more expensive X1, including its nifty wireless speakers, and boils them down into a much more affordable portable projector package so you can enjoy big-screen fun anywhere.

Best Soundbar

Sonos Beam Ultra

The days when Sonos had the premium soundbar sector to itself are long gone, but the Sonos Beam Ultra puts the company right back at the head of the pack: five out of five stars-good as we detailed in our Sonos Beam Ultra review. It's an Arc Ultra but smaller, delivering superbly detailed and immersive audio in a really small package.

Best Wireless Home Theater Speakers

Sony Bravia Theater Trio

The Sony Bravia Theater Trio is an LCR system, which means it has left, center and right wireless speakers to create a much wider soundstage than the best soundbars alone can deliver. It delivers a powerful, warm and wide sound, and if you add a wireless subwoofer things get even more entertaining. In the world of giant-screen TVs, this is a really tempting option, as our voters clearly felt.

Streaming

Streaming Service of the Year

Netflix

Netflix is always a controversial company, especially when it comes to price hikes — but there's a reason it can get away with all the rises, and that's because it's the best. Its own Netflix Originals continue to excite and delight, it makes smart buys from all around the world, and its documentaries are often superb. Add in excellent parental controls, apps for every conceivable device and a very affordable ad-supported tier and you can see why Netflix is a worthy winner.

Best Streaming Service for Movies

Netflix

Netflix's mix of original movies and bought-in blockbusters in a huge range of genres means there's always some movie magic to stream, whether that's the latest Wallace & Gromit movie (100% on Rotten Tomatoes), Godzilla Minus One, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse or classics such as Jaws. Netflix's current movie catalog features some of the world's most celebrated filmmakers including Alfonso Cuarón, Martin Scorcese, Jane Campion, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Spike Lee and many more.

Best Streaming Service for Documentaries

Netflix

Netflix was quick to recognize the power of documentaries to deliver big drama with very low budgets, and its current slate includes a huge range that stretches from the hard-hitting to the heart-warming. From true crime reconstructions to spectacular shows such as American Symphony, Netflix's documentary department is full of must-watch stories.

Best Streaming Service for TV Series

Apple TV

The recently renamed Apple TV, formerly Apple TV+, may not have the massive catalogs of its streaming rivals, but when your line-up includes the likes of Slow Horses, Pluribus, Small Prophets, Hijack, Shrinking, Severance, Margot's Got Money Troubles, Widows Bay and more, it's clear that you're prizing quality over quantity. Apple's one-tier approach is refreshing: there's no need to pay more for ad-free viewing, higher resolution or spatial audio.

Best Free Streaming Service of the Year

Tubi

Like many readers we're big fans of Tubi: it's one of the finest free ad-supported streamers around, with a huge range of entertainment to choose from. Don't expect the very latest hit shows or blockbusters, but the catalog is impressively large and wide-ranging so there's always something fun to watch — and the ads aren't so frequent that they become irritating.

Audio

Headphones of the Year

Apple AirPods Max 2

As we said in our full AirPods Max 2 review, these cans are "doubtless the best noise-cancelling iPhone headphones on the planet" while also being incredibly comfortable and boasting some of the best voice capture on any headphones we've ever experienced. Clearly the readers felt the same way, and like us were able to overcome the fact that Apple kept that weird, weird case…

Audio Brand of the Year

Bowers & Wilkins

There's something undeniably elite, sophisticated and next-level about B&W's products, whether it's the luxurious five-star PX8 S2 headphones, the deliciously expensive earbuds, or its astounding new-generation Diamond-series speakers. Clearly, the readers agreed that the attention to both design and sound here is a cut above the rest.

Audio Innovation of the Year

Cambridge L/R S speakers

We called this set of bijou active speakers "an immediate pound-for-pound market-leader contender" in our five-star review. There are two channels of amplification for each speaker, and a full DSP crossover which acts as a PWM signal to each amplifier, for astounding accuracy, and custom connecter between the speakers for ensuring all of that comes through appropriately. Are they a tad over-engineered? Perhaps — but this is an innovation award, and it seems like that's exactly what the readers responded to.

Best Wireless Headphones

Sony 1000X The Collexion

What better way to mark a whole decade (yes, we feel old too) since Sony's now modern classic 1000X headphones landed than to distill everything that's ever been great about them into a solo, celebratory product? OK, they're the company's priciest set of wireless Bluetooth headphones yet but, as we said in our Sony 1000X The Collexion review, "their luxurious build, detailed sound, and top-tier comfortability help to justify their price tag."

Best Wireless Earbuds

Sony WF-1000XM6

Another Sony winner, and no one can argue with Sony's detailed sound quality. But Sony's buds are also always a leader due to their features, and the Quick Attention option, should someone need a quick word with you have the ANC on, alone is a good enough reason for the readers to have voted for these buds.

Best Open Earbuds

Shokz OpenFit Pro

We were happy to see that, despite their not-insignificant asking fee, these are getting the recognition they so fully deserve. The fit is secure and fuss free (aided by extra optional bands in the box, which are useful for sports), and the excellent active noise reduction is nothing short of class-leading. Read our full Shokz Openfit Pro review for the full match report, but as far as we're concerned, Shokz hit an ace here.

Best Value Headphones

Sony WH-CH730N

There's a strong set of features in Sony WH-CH730N for the money, plus competent sound and a nifty, foldable design. At such a low price, the all-round quality you get here is impressive, and Sony's budget headphones have been popular for years — evidently, the new model is landing with readers as well.

Best Value Earbuds

Earfun Air Pro 4 Plus

Earfun's built up a huge, loyal fanbase owing to its consistently good, affordable earbuds. The Earfun Air Pro 4 do nothing to buck that trend, delivering very good value for money, and premium features. So we're not surprised to see them as the readers' pick, and they're a deserving winner.

Best Value Open Earbuds

Anker Soundcore Aeroclip 2

Yes, we're into second-generation ear cuff-style open earbuds in 2026 and long may they reign! The Anker Soundcore AeroClip 2 are a solid upgrade over their predecessors, offering higher-resolution audio, better waterproofing, clearer calls, and a more tailored sound, as we explored in our Soundcore Aeroclip 2 review. They benefit from a bit of extra tuning to sound exciting, but they're a great option for fans of this clip-on design, particularly in the pictured 'Burgundy Red' finish. Very 'new romantic'!

Best Wired Headphones

Audio-Technica ATH-ADX7000

A huge win for a set of 58mm open-back drivers and A-T's known wizardry in the game. I'd caveat the win by saying you can't just buy these headphones and expect great sound from your source device — you have to buy a decent amp to drive them too — but we've covered it all in our five-star Audio-Technica ATH-ADX7000 review. Know this: get them properly powered and, as long as you don't care that other people will hear whatever you're listening to, they'll reward you with some of the best audio quality we've ever heard from headphones.

Best Wired Earbuds

Sennheiser CX 80U

When people ask us, "What's the cheapest way to get better sound from my phone?" our response is to name-drop these cheap 2026-release USB-C wired earbuds. For around $35 / £30 you really cannot expect more. OK, you don't get volume controls on the in-line remote and the mic isn't especially good in calls, as we note in our glowing Sennheiser CX 80U review — but you do get agile bass, clarity through mids and vivid, sparkling highs. Pair that with their surprisingly solid noise isolation and you’re looking at an awesome pair of wired buds for music.

Best Bluetooth Speaker

JBL Xtreme 5

JBL seemingly cannot go wrong when it comes to portable speakers, whatever their size — although it's worth noting that this is a big boy… but the triumph is big too. Truth be told, we've never met a JBL Bluetooth speaker we didn't like quite a bit, but this particular model? This is one of the best portable Bluetooth puppies we've ever tested — as our five-star JBL Xtreme 5 review emphasizes — so it's easy to see why the readers picked it.

Best Wireless Speaker

Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker

If your budget can stretch to it, there’s just so much to like about the Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker, and so little to take issue with — and we're happy that you think so too. In our Bose Lifestyle Ultra Speaker review we appreciated the tall, punchy and well-defined spatial audio performance from a winsome and well-made Wi-Fi speaker.

Best Portable Audio Player

Astell & Kern PD5

Astell & Kern's newest 'entry level' hi-res audio player (we put that in quotation marks purely because entry level for A&K may be different for the rest of us…) is a simple and deserved winner here. The hi-res digital audio player specialist knows what it's doing with quality portable music machines.

Best Turntable

Sony PS-LX5BT

This is Sony's joint-newest Bluetooth record player (the slightly pricier of a new duo), and because the PS-LX5BT features Bluetooth transmission via the aptX Adaptive codec, it'll give you better-quality streams if your receiver is up to it. Because of its onboard phono stage, it can also hard-wire to pretty much any system you care to mention — and to top it all off, Sony's made the whole thing automatic where playback is concerned. See our full Sony PS-LX5BT review for the full scoop on why this is the beginner-friendly player to beat — something the readers clearly agreed with.

Best DAC

Astell & Kern AK HC5

In our full-fat review of the HC5, we praised this little hi-res audio DAC for the spacious detail it brought to our portable music game, its classy build and finish and the fact that it really is portable. Essentially, it gives your phone, laptop or even your games console the audio skills of a top-end hi-res music player.

Best Stereo Speakers

Cambridge L/R S

A double win for the colorful little Cambridge speakers! These little beauties also won our readership's Audio Innovation of the Year gong too, and it means Cambridge's gamble with these all-new active speakers (the smallest and most-intriguing in a new three-strong range) has really paid off. As our Cambridge Audio L/R S review and the awards here prove, they're a winner.

Health & Fitness tech

Health and Fitness Device of the Year

Apple Watch Ultra 4

It's always tough to push the Apple Watch Ultra off the top spot, and readers once again voted it to give it the top price, and that's because it's such a comprehensive best-in-class beast of a smartwatch. While it doesn't look much different from last year's design from the front, the Ultra 4's redesigned sensor array means it can record heart rate readings up to 60 times more often as older models, plus it (finally!) gets a Readiness score. It remains the smartwatch to beat for another year at least.

Health & Fitness Brand of the Year

Garmin

Garmin has had a good year. The hugely popular brand went from strength to strength this year, not only delivering another five-star watch with the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro (among other great adventure- and cycling-focused devices), but also delivering the wearable we named the best screenless fitness tracker of 2026 (and there have been quite a few) — the Garmin Cirqa.

Health and Fitness Innovation of the Year

Google Fitbit Air

Despite hot competition (including the Garmin Cirqa), our readers voted the Google Fitbit Air (which came first) the best health tech innovation of 2026. It was quite revolutionary in the fitness tracker field: up until it landed, the screenless space was dominated by the cripplingly expensive Whoop. The Fitbit Air broke this trend and used the power of Google's existing Gemini AI framework to democratize the AI element, delivering it at a lower price, while keeping the basics nice and cheap for under $100 / £90.

Best Smartwatch

Apple Watch Ultra 4

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 hasn't changed a huge amount since last year (or indeed, since its inception), but it's improving on an already-excellent model with increased battery life and a redesigned health-sensing LED array. This new 'Health Sensing System' takes heart rate readings 60x more often during the day, resulting in what Apple says is the most accurate heart rate detection ever on a wearable. Of course, it's also a fantastic smartwatch with a sumptuous screen and useful features.

Best Running Watch

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

From a technical standpoint, this may be Garmin's finest watch yet, and the one on every serious endurance athlete's Christmas list. The Fenix 9 Pro takes Garmin's excellent Fenix 8 and adds a brighter screen, an all-titanium nano-moulded case, a new green light for improved visibility, better maps, InReach and Solar options, and loads more. We rated it a five-star triumph in our Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review.

Best Fitness Tracker

Garmin Cirqa

Although the Fitbit Air came first, we labelled the Garmin Cirqa as our ideal 'Goldilocks' tracker: cheaper than the Whoop, but more feature-rich than the Fitbit. Garmin's tracker lasts for over a week and features a tactile button to start-stop workouts and alarms, after which you get a haptic notification. This is a terrific way to interact with a screenless device and get assurance your workouts are being tracked, rather than opening up the app to manually start an activity.

Best Smart Ring

Oura Ring 5

Although there were other smart rings released from the likes of RingConn and Circular this year, the Oura won out again this year simply by virtue of its app's powerful smarts. You do need a membership, but Oura is a premium device, and new health insights along with a redesigned, slimmer ring means it's easy to see why the readers voted it as their pick.

Best Electric Toothbrush

Suri Core 1.0

Suri is the toothbrush company that creates simple sonic toothbrushes with sustainable elements, and it's managed to bring the price down a touch with the Suri Core 1.0, becoming more affordable while retaining its Apple-esque, good-looking design ethos. With the magnetic back attachment and simple dual modes, it's unspectacular, but a free brush head recycling program and a slick look go a long way to making it popular.

Best Connected Fitness Tech

Withings BodyScan 2

Withings' top-flight smart scale is this year's best connected tech entry, which offers so much more than just weight. The retractable handle enables the scale to run currents through the whole body, taking heart rate readings and cardiovascular snapshots in addition to all the usual metrics and a new 'vascular age' metric. Its accurate, reliable, and usable by the whole family with multiple profiles.

Home tech

Home Device of the Year

Philips Hue Essential

The Philips Hue Essential series is an affordable entry to smart lighting that doesn’t compromise on quality. Philips Hue Essential bulbs and LED strips are compatible with all devices in the Hue ecosystem, but work equally well on their own, with brightness, color reproduction, and responsiveness that rivals smart lights costing several times the price.

Home Tech Brand of the Year

Philips Hue

It's been an epic year for Philips Hue. At one end of the scale, the brand has made smart lighting more accessible with the budget-friendly Hue Essential series of bulbs and LED strips. At the other end, the new Philips Hue Bridge Pro lets power users connect over 150 lights in a single network and delivers exciting AI features — with lots more on the horizon. Smart lighting has never been so exciting.

Home Tech Innovation of the Year

Philips Hue Essential

If you like the idea of installing smart lights, but have been put off by the price, the Philips Hue Essential series is for you. This innovative collection of smart lights offers all the best features of the Philips Hue system without the hefty price tag, meaning that it's a game-changer for people put off by the price of whole-home smart lighting in the past.

Best Home Light Tech

Philips Hue Essential

Another win for Philips Hue Essential, though this one was inevitable given its other victories here. The Essential light range is affordable and versatile, offering brightness, color, and smart functionality that belies the products' modest price. In side-by-side tests, it’s hard to differentiate between these and their premium counterparts, and they’re fully compatible with automations, scenes, switches and sensors through the Philips Hue app. A perfect entry to smart lighting.

Best Home Security Device

TP-Link Tapo C660

When it comes to home security cameras, the TP-Link Tapo C660 checks off everything on our wishlist: easy installation, extra long battery life topped up with a solar panel, crisp 4K footage, and no subscription necessary to store it all. It’s remarkably affordable too, and if you have a large property, a multi-camera bundle will let you watch over it from all angles. For peace of mind, it's unbeatable.

Best Robot Vacuum

Dyson Spot+Scrub Ai

The ingenious Spot+Scrub Ai is designed to tackle stubborn dried-on stains that other robovacs can’t handle, using artificial intelligence to identify troublesome dirt and then mopping it repeatedly until it’s gone. Its self-cleaning is exceptional too, and overall it’s an excellent choice for little-and-often cleaning that will keep your floors looking immaculate.

Best Vacuum

Dyson V10 Konical Cordless Vacuum and Auto-Empty Dok

A winning pair — the ultra-light and super-maneuverable Dyson V10 Konical funnels hair to the center of the brushroll to prevent it wrapping around the spindle, while the Auto-Empty Dok removes all the hassle and mess of emptying the vacuum’s dust cup. A perfect duo for allergy-sufferers and pet-owners alike.

Best Air Fryer

Ninja Crispi Pro Glass Air Fryer

The Ninja Crispi Pro’s standout features are its clever glass cooking dishes, which let you store, cook, and serve food with no mess or hassle. The air fryer cooks quickly and quietly, whether you’re crisping up a few fries or roasting a whole chicken, and the dishes are a cinch to clean in the dishwasher when you’re done. Air frying should always be this easy.

Best Coffee Machine

Lavazza Assoluta

The Lavazza Assoluta takes the guesswork out of making espresso with a clever system that scans the barcode on your coffee beans, then tweaks the machine’s brew settings accordingly. Its built-in milk frother prepares creamy lattes and macchiatos without the need to master a steam wand, and its drinks menu is fully customizable. Want an extra shot in your cappuccino? No problem!

Best Value Coffee Machine

Philips Baristina

The Philips Baristina makes brewing espresso with fresh beans just as simple as using coffee pods. It handles dosing, grinding and extraction for you, and its ingenious design with a removeable portafilter handle makes it a cinch to clean compared to a typical automatic coffee maker. A perfect entry-level espresso machine — and accessibly priced, too.

Best Fan

Dyson Hot+Cool HF1

This compact fan will serve you well all year round, offering effective cooling during the summer and efficient heating during the colder months. It’s supplied with a remote, but we were most impressed by the Dyson Hot+Cool HF1's mobile app, which made setting timers and schedules a breeze — and even let us pre-heat a room so it was cozy when we arrived home.

How to switch fitness trackers without losing your old health and workout data

Max Slater-Robins — Sun, 25 Oct 2026 02:00:00 +0000

When an ageing fitness tracker finally needs to be replaced, sometimes you're tempted to switch brands — for example, trading in your ageing slim Fitbit for a bigger running watch. You might be getting a new running watch in the Black Friday sales, or hoping for one under your tree — but a new tracker sometimes that means losing years of data about your workouts, sleep, heart rate, and general activity.

Your historical health data is useful for more than just flexing on your Strava contacts or keeping those fitness rings closed. Changes in your resting heart rate or sleep pattern, for example, can contribute to a fuller picture of your health. That's why in 2026, many of the best options like the Apple Watch, Google's Fitbit lineup and the best Garmin models have made transferring your data remarkably simple – or at least easier than ever.

To help you upgrade to a newer model or switch brands entirely, we've broken down the data transfer processes for the major fitness tracker makers.

Check what you can transfer before switching

Not every move is tricky: going between different Garmin versions, or upgrading your Apple Watch, is a generally straightforward process that can take moments, due to operating from the same account.

Switching manufacturers, however, is where things can become a little more complicated. Going from a Garmin Forerunner to a COROS Pace 4 can require manually exporting your data and then importing it into a new platform.

Think of it as three distinct processes: backing up your data, syncing new activities between apps, and importing historical records, each with their own requirements.

Before we continue, it's worth noting that while common activity data (think workouts or routines) are transferable, proprietary metrics like sleep scores are unlikely to make the jump. Not every brand has Strain, Readiness or Sleep scores that are calculated the same way.

If you are unsure, check which file formats and historical records your new device's companion app supports could go some way to avoiding disappointment.

(Image credit: Apple)

Back up your fitness data first

Before doing anything else, make sure that your fitness tracker has synced with its companion app on your smartphone, including any recent workouts and health measurements.

Most major platforms offer ways to export your data, either as an account archive or as individual activity files. Take some time to find out how to access these, and then download a copy somewhere safe and accessible, whether that's on your computer or in private cloud storage.

For example, Garmin requires you to access Garmin Connect using its web browser, then going to Data Management → Export Your Data. Apple, meanwhile, allows you to tap your profile in Apple Health, and hit Export All Health Data.

Individual activity files commonly come in formats such as FIT, TCX, and GPX, each of which preserves different types of workout information.

Keep your account active until you know the migration is successful and don't reset your old tracker just yet.

How to transfer data from Apple Health

(Image credit: Future)

If you're upgrading from one Apple Watch to another, the process is simple. Apple stores your Health and Fitness data in iCloud, provided syncing is enabled.

On your iPhone, head to Settings → your name → iCloud → See All → Health, and make sure Sync this iPhone is switched on. When pairing your new Apple Watch, you can also restore a previous backup to carry over your settings.

As you might expect, switching to another manufacturer takes a little more work. Open the Health app, tap Summary → your profile picture → Export All Health Data, and choose where to save the resulting XML archive.

You can also manage which third-party apps have access to your data under Apps or Devices in your Health profile.

It's worth noting that not every type of health data will make the journey. The resulting XML archive won't necessarily work directly with another manufacturer's app, but services like COROS support transferring historical Apple workouts using third-party apps.

How to transfer Google Health and Fitbit data

(Image credit: Fitbit)

Google's fitness ecosystem has changed considerably in 2026, with the old Fitbit app replaced by the snazzy new Google Health platform.

If you're upgrading to a newer device, such as the Pixel Watch 5, your existing fitness history should remain accessible through the same Google Account.

To download a backup, head to Google Takeout, select Google Health, and follow the instructions to export your records, including any workouts, sleep, and heart rate data.

Google's Health Connect service is handy if you're moving between compatible Android apps.

On Android 14 or later, open Settings → Security and Privacy → Privacy Controls → Health Connect → App Permissions. From here, you can choose which apps can access different types of health data. (Some integrations must first be enabled within the destination app itself.)

Google Health also offers direct connections under Connections → Partner Apps or Apps and services. On iPhones, supported information can be shared through Apple Health instead.

As with Apple, there is unfortunately a catch: exporting an archive or connecting two services doesn't guarantee that years of historical measurements will appear in your new app.

Different integrations support different records, and Health Connect normally grants new connections access to only the previous 30 days unless additional historical permissions are available, so keep this in mind.

How to move Garmin Connect data

(Image credit: Garmin)

Sticking with Garmin is fairly straightforward, as with Apple and Google.

Whether you're upgrading an old Forerunner or moving to something like the Garmin Venu 4, your Garmin Connect account preserves your existing fitness history without needing to manually transfer it.

Switching manufacturers takes a little more effort. On the Garmin Connect website, open Activities → All Activities, select a workout, and click the settings cog to export it as a FIT, TCX, or GPX file.

If you have years of workouts, Garmin's data export service lets you request a complete account archive, with a download link sent by email.

These workout files can then be imported into compatible services, like the COROS Training Hub. However, if you want to move daily health measurements and proprietary recovery metrics, you might be out of luck.

How to preserve your workout history with Strava

(Image credit: Lauren Scott)

For anyone switching between fitness trackers, Strava should be your best friend: the service lets you keep years of running, cycling, and other workout records in one place.

Unlike Apple Health or Garmin Connect, however, it isn't designed to preserve your complete health history.

To link a compatible tracker, open the Strava app and head to Settings → Connect an App or Device, then follow the instructions for your manufacturer. You can also check out our guide to using Strava with your smartwatch.

For older workouts, visit Strava's website, click the plus icon → Upload Activity → File, and select your exported FIT, TCX, or GPX files. Free users can upload 15 files at once, rising to 25 for subscribers.

It's worth remembering that connecting accounts won't necessarily import older activities automatically – you may need to upload these separately.

Check everything has transferred correctly

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Once you've done the hard part, there are a few things to check to make sure your record and workout data made the switch – and then you can enjoy your shiny new fitness tracker.

First, open your fitness app and compare workouts, including any recent sessions, to see what has successfully transferred. Look for missing information (things like routes or heart rate data) and check if proprietary metrics made it.

Make sure to check for duplicates, which can happen if you are connecting multiple services at once, and allow for differences in how devices might track something, like your long-term trends.

Until you are completely happy, it's worth keeping your original account active and retain any downloaded data in a safe place.

Switching trackers definitely doesn't mean turning your back on years of data and progress, and we hope this guide has demystified the process. Now go and work on beating that PB!

Frontier X2 review: the heart rate monitor I actually prefer using

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Frontier X2: One minute review

While the Polar H10 chest strap is used by athletes the world over as a heart rate monitor accuracy benchmark, one of its biggest pain points can be its connectivity issues. It’s hard to know whether it’s going to drop out, or you need to replace or clean the strap, until you actually start a workout. There’s also no interface or control on the heart rate monitor itself, and the app is cluttered and outdated. I like using the Polar H10 for its accuracy, but when it doesn’t work for me, it’s not always obvious until after the fact — which, when testing multiple devices simultaneously, is a frustrating experience.

Frontier X2 from Fourth Frontier offers a different chest strap experience: a more modern app and a USB-chargeable device, with a screen and a button allowing you to manually start a workout and receive haptic feedback. That haptic feedback also triggers when you cross heart rate zone thresholds.While you can’t view the screen while wearing it on your chest of course, it does make workout preparation and phone connection so much easier than Polar’s offering. Guessing the heart rate monitor is working, even checking your phone to make sure heart rate is streaming correctly, only to have it drop out halfway through and lose my data due to a poor connection or crap strap, is an experience I’d like to leave in the past.

The Frontier X2 uses heart rate information to calculate Whoop-style metrics like a Strain score, Stress score, Heart Rate Variability (HRV), Breathing Rate, and estimates calories burned. That last metric is somewhat outdated, as research from Stanford University found that calorie estimates based on heart rate are unreliable as they measure effort rather than energy expended. A premium tier subscription costs an additional $119.99 / £109.99 per year, adding a Readiness score, VO2 Max and even sleep stage analysis. As an already-expensive device, I wouldn’t recommend this unless you’re planning to make Frontier X2 your privacy fitness tracker, and accuracy is hyper-important to you.

The continuous electrocardiogram, or ECG, can livestream an ECG scan for yourself or a medical professional to the Frontier app. Not only is this useful for spotting irregular heart rate rhythms over time, but I most often used it to check the HRM is streaming data correctly before starting working out in earnest, which is recommended, as the scan flags up in the app if there’s insufficient data due to poor connection.

In terms of accuracy, I had no complaints. I took it for a test run against the Apple Watch Ultra 4 (which offers a redesigned Health Sensing System said to be ‘the most accurate ever on a wearable’) and the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro, which uses Garmin’s Elevate V5 that I’ve already tested against the Polar H10 and found to be very accurate.

The results of the Frontier X2’s test run were excellent, with just 2 bpm separating the Frontier X2 from the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Garmin Fenix 9 Pro’s average heart rate readings, a clear indication that all three devices are telling the same story about my body, and thus all three are very likely to be accurate. After some more solo runs and workouts, I feel like I could certainly recommend the Frontier X2, if you don’t mind paying the hefty premium price.

(Image credit: Future)

Frontier X2: Price and availability

$599 / £449 / AU$775
Very expensive for a HRM
Not competitively priced compared to the industry standard

The Frontier X2 can be found on storefronts like Amazon for $599 in the US and £449 in the UK. In Australia, it’s more difficult to locate, but Selfridges’ AU storefront lists it for AU$775. The optional subscription for premium features on top is tough to swallow at this price.

This is a lot for a device that fundamentally only measures heart rate, and although the Frontier X app can interpret strain, readiness, training load, specific workout profiles and other metrics, it’s still a lot to ask for compared to the $89.95 / £79.50 / AU$139 Polar H10.

However, it does address quite a few of Polar’s pain points, notably including a micro-USB charger rather than a replaceable coin battery, and a screen for an easier indicator of connection. The continuous ECG is a nice touch too, offering a way to test the monitor’s connection in addition to providing reliable ECG data for a medical professional. All in all, it’s an excellent package, but I wouldn’t call it excellent value.

Value score: 3.5/5

Frontier X2: Specifications

(Image credit: Future)

Component	Frontier X2
Dimensions	73mm x 24mm x 13mm
Weight	25g without strap
Case material	Plastic
Connectivity	Bluetooth
Water resistance	IP67
Accelerometer	Yes
Battery	14 days typical usage

Frontier X2: Scorecard

Category	Comment	Score
Value	A premium product with more to recommend it over Polar, but not enough to stretch your budget.	3.5/5
Design	So many pain points addressed.	4.5/5
Features	More than most HRMs, but limited.	4/5
Performance	Accurate and reliable with little friction.	4.5/5

Frontier X2: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if…

You want the best heart rate monitor

If money is no object, the Frontier X2 won’t let you down.

You want a rechargeable battery

Don’t want to faff around with coin batteries? The Frontier X2 uses standardised micro-USB.

You want ECG

The Frontier X2 is as good for people watching their heart health as it is for serious athletes.

Don’t buy it if…

You’re running a triathlon

The Frontier X2 isn’t for use in saline water.

You’re on a budget

Just get a Polar H10 instead, although you’ll have to put up with its app and the odd connection dropout.

Also consider

Coros Heart Rate Monitor

While not electrical, but optical like a smartwatch, this arm-mounted HRM performed incredibly well during testing.

Read our full Coros Heart Rate Monitor reviewView Deal

Polar H10

The industry-standard accurate heart rate monitor.

Read our full Polar H10 review

How I tested

I took the Frontier X2 on test runs, gym sessions and meditations, draining the battery down and wearing it consistently. I used its continuous ECG functionality, compared its in-app metrics to competitor wearables, and cleaned the band after each use.

First reviewed: October 2026

Apple Watch Series 12 review: The best (mainline) Apple Watch in years?

jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol) — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Apple Watch Series 12: One minute review

While the Apple Watch Series 12 is a decidedly modern-looking smartwatch in a pleasingly thin profile, it’s not a major redesign from the Cupertino-based tech giant. And if you're upgrading from the Series 11, you'll probably notice more of a difference in what the watch can do rather than in how it looks. Apple has updated the Health Sensing System (its array of LEDs and sensors used to collect your health data), introduced Readiness Score, and made everyday tracking more useful, with real-time steps and heart-rate information easier to access.

I've been wearing the Series 12 for more than a month, and Readiness Score is the addition I've found myself using the most. It takes your sleep and other health data and turns it into a score out of 10, giving you a quick idea of how ready you might be for the day. I've generally found the results match how I feel, and it's a feature that can genuinely influence what I do, whether that's heading out for a workout or taking a longer walk with my dog, Rosie.

I've also been comparing the Series 12 with the Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, as well as the Oura Ring 5 and Pixel Watch 5. That has helped me put Apple's latest watch into context, particularly when looking at health tracking and heart-rate readings. The Series 12 has generally delivered the sort of everyday experience I'd expect from an Apple Watch, with battery life that's worked well for me most of the time.

A couple of things to consider, though. The design is very familiar, so there's little reason to upgrade purely for its appearance, and I did have two nights when the battery ran out before morning. Apple's upcoming AI features are also still a reason to wait rather than buy immediately. If they're what you're most interested in.

For anyone using an older Apple Watch, particularly a Series 9 or earlier, the Series 12 makes a much stronger case. The combination of newer health features, Readiness Score, performance, and battery life makes this an upgrade worth considering.

Apple Watch Series 12: Specs Table

Component	Apple Watch Series 12 (42mm)	Apple Watch Series 12 (46mm)
Price	$399 / £369 / AU$679 for the 42mm	$429 / £399 / AU$699 for the 46mm
Dimension	46 x 40 x 9.7mm	42 x 37 x 9.7mm
Weight	31.5g (without band)	38.6g (without band)
Case/bezel	Aluminum, Titanium, or Ceramic	Aluminum, Titanium, or Ceramic
Display	42mm Always-On Retina LTPO3 OLED display (up to 2,000 nits)	46mm Always-On Retina LTPO3 OLED display (up to 2,000 nits)
Processor	Apple-made S11 chip	Apple-made S11 chip
GPS	Precision L1 GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)	Precision L1 GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)
Battery life	Up to 24 hours with normal use	Up to 24 hours with normal use
Connections	4G LTE, Satellite SOS, Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.3	Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.3, and 4G LTE
Water resistant	Water resistance 50m	Water resistance 50m

Apple Watch Series 12: Price and availability

$399 / £369 / AU$679 for the 42mm
$429 / £399 / AU$699 for the 46mm
Prices unchanged from last year

The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399 / £369 / AU$679 for the 42mm with a recycled aluminum case and standard strap, and $429 / £399 / AU$699 for the 46mm. LTE-capable models, which can be added to your data plans, as well as optional improvements to the finish — titanium or ceramic — are available at an additional cost.

It doesn’t represent outstanding value in the same way as, let’s say, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium might, but it’s fine — the price has actually held steady on Apple Watches for the last couple of years, which is encouraging given the electronics industry is undergoing a supply chain crisis at the moment.

Value score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Design

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Same ‘squircle’ and digital crown design
Retains slimmer look from Series 11
Redesigned sensor array and GPS architecture

If you expect the Apple Watch Series 12 to look substantially different from the Series 11, you'll be disappointed. Apple has kept the familiar rectangular ‘squircle’ design, with the Digital Crown and side button on the case, and the overall look remains very much the same.

After using the Series 12 for more than a month and comparing it with the Series 11, I haven't found the exterior to be a major reason to upgrade. It doesn't look dramatically different on your wrist, and Apple hasn't tried to reinvent a design that already works.

That's not necessarily a problem, though. The Apple Watch Series 12 remains a comfortable everyday smartwatch, and wearing it all day and overnight matters when you use it for sleep tracking and the Readiness Score. The biggest changes are on the rear of the case, as Apple has redesigned the LEDs and internal architecture to make its data collection more accurate. However, a watch can have all the health features in the world, but they're less useful if you don't want to wear it consistently.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

The Series 12 comes in 42mm and 46mm sizes, with aluminum and titanium options alongside ceramic, which is returning and still adds a bit more heft. That gives you some choice in look and finish, though the core experience stays the same. The aluminum model is the more straightforward choice for most people, while titanium and ceramic offer alternatives if materials and appearance matter more to you.

The always-on OLED display is familiar, too. It lets you glance at the time, check a notification, or see your workout metrics without having to wake the screen manually. That's one of those features that quickly becomes part of your routine, particularly if you use complications to keep useful information on the watch face.

One addition I've found handy is the real-time step-count complication. I check steps regularly, and seeing the number at a glance saves me from opening the Fitness app. The heart rate complication works the same way, especially when I want to keep an eye on my readings during the day.

Compared with the Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, the Series 12 feels more like a familiar everyday watch. The Ultra models have their own appeal, particularly if you want a larger, more rugged watch, but the Series 12 is easier to recommend to someone who doesn't need that design.

The main point is that the Series 12 doesn't feel like a new design generation. If you're upgrading, look at the back of the case, with its improved health features enabling the Readiness Score and overall experience, rather than expecting a noticeable aesthetic change to the watch itself.

Design score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Features

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Readiness score is a major boon
More frequent heart rate data collection
Upcoming Audio Intelligence features

The Readiness Score is the biggest reason I'd consider the Series 12, and it stood out most during my testing. It uses overnight sleep and HRV data, along with other health and activity information and some custom processing, to produce a score from 1 to 10. The idea is to give you a quick indication of how ready you might be for the day, rather than leaving you to interpret a collection of separate metrics yourself. Tested against the Garmin Cirqa, our senior fitness editor Matt Evans found both devices provided identical Readiness scores after wearing both for one week’s worth of sleep.

I like how Apple presents it: a half-moon graphic that’s easy to read, with an accompanying explanation that gives context for the score. It feels grounded in the data, rather than relying on vague wellness language that doesn't explain why you got a particular result.

My scores have generally been high, and they've mostly matched how I've felt. Getting my first 10 out of 10 was satisfying, of course, but the more interesting part is how I can use the information. If I've slept well and feel good, a strong score might encourage me to fit in a workout or take Rosie on a longer walk. It won't make every decision for me, but it gives me another useful piece of information to consider.

I've used an Oura Ring before, so I know the appeal of a daily Readiness score and the help it can provide beyond raw data. I appreciate that Apple built the feature into the watch I already use. I don't need to add another device to my routine, and Readiness Score doesn't require a separate subscription.

That makes it a particularly interesting addition for existing Apple Watch owners who want more from the health data their watch collects. Instead of simply checking how long I slept or looking at the previous day's activity, I get a more immediate summary I can use to plan my day. However, we have to acknowledge the wait for this feature — most other devices have had Readiness for years, but Apple has stated the feature has been enabled by its redesigned sensors taking heart rate and HRV readings more frequently, up to 60 times more often than previous Apple Watches.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

I've also been paying attention to heart rate readings while comparing the Series 12 with the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and Ultra 4, along with the Oura Ring 5 and Pixel Watch 5. In my everyday use, the Series 12's readings have been broadly consistent with what I've seen from those other devices.

Having heart rate information readily available is useful during workouts, too. I've used the watch for yoga, outdoor walks and runs, and indoor cycling, and it has fit naturally into those sessions. The real-time heart rate complication also makes it easier to check my readings without navigating away from the watch face.

The Series 12 retains the wider Apple Watch health feature set, including ECG, heart-rate notifications, wrist-temperature sensing, sleep tracking, respiratory-rate tracking, cycle tracking, hearing-health features, hypertension notifications and blood-oxygen tracking where supported. These aren't all new to this generation, but they contribute to the overall package.

Apple's upcoming AI (‘Audio Intelligence’ this time) features aren't a strong reason to buy right now. Live Rewind and Siri Recap sound interesting, but I haven't been able to test them because they aren’t out yet. If you're considering the Series 12 for those, I'd wait until Apple confirms when they're shipping and what will be available in your region, as there is some contention with Siri AI in certain regions such as the EU.

For now, Readiness Score is the feature I'd focus on. It's useful today, fits into the existing Apple Watch experience, and has made the biggest difference in how I use the Series 12. Best of all, it’s not locked behind another subscription … and that’s simply refreshing.

Design score: 5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Performance

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

S11 chip drives excellent performance
Accurate compared to other wearables
Responsive with no stutters

While the Series 12 still feels and looks like an Apple Watch in pretty much every sense of the word, you can’t judge a book by its cover, especially when it comes to performance. Under the hood, the Series 12 runs on Apple’s new S11 chip, and the new health-sensing system on the back enables the Readiness score and HRV features. All of this comes together to make the Series 12 feel responsive, with none-to-minimal stutters when calling on a particular feature set.

I've now used the Series 12 for more than a month, and I've compared it directly alongside the Series 11, Ultra 3, and Ultra 4. These comparisons have helped me understand how the Series 12 fits into the wider wearable landscape, and while the latest generation doesn’t run laps around the previous gen or the one before that, the responsiveness is definitely noticeable.

Whether you’re customizing a Watch Face with your favorite complications, calling on Siri to remember a piece of information or drafting a message, controlling media playback, making a call, recording a voice memo, checking your activity score, monitoring your heart rate, or starting a workout, the Series 12 feels very responsive. We’ve also tested the same heart rate system, albeit on the Ultra 4, against a chest-mounted heart rate monitor, the Frontier X2, alongside the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro, and found Apple’s latest gen is highly accurate.

Battery life has been good overall, and it certainly meets Apple's all-day battery life promise. On a normal day with plenty of interaction points and one extended workout, I typically have around 30%–45% battery remaining by bedtime. That's enough to get through a normal day, and faster charging makes it easier to top up when I need to. Depending on how I use it, I can get through a full day and sometimes stretch it to a day and a half.

So far, the Series 12 has run out of battery overnight twice, and I think it’s especially worth mentioning because you need a full night of sleep data to wake up with a Readiness Score. And that means an unexpected shutdown can interrupt that routine. My general solution, even if the percentage hasn’t dropped super low, is to give it a quick charge before bed rather than assuming it will always have enough power to last the night.

The faster charging helps here. A short top-up with the USB-C to Apple Watch dongle that ships with the Series 12 can make it easier to keep the watch going overnight while still wearing it.

If you’re coming from an older Apple Watch, the all-day battery life paired with fast-charging will likely make a big difference. It’s not just a quality-of-life upgrade from, say, a Series 10 or older; compared with the rest of the features, it's a significant leap in what watchOS can accomplish and how long you go before you need to charge.

Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Apple Watch Series 12?

Buy it if..

You're upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 9 or older and want better health tracking, Readiness Score, and faster charging.

You want a responsive everyday smartwatch with useful at-a-glance health metrics and no extra subscription for Readiness Score.

Don’t buy it if..

You already own an Apple Watch Series 11 and want a major design change or a substantial leap in performance.

You're buying primarily for Apple's upcoming AI features, or you need battery life you can count on for every night of sleep tracking without a top-up.

Also consider

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

The Apple Watch Ultra 4's biggest competitor in the premium adventure watch space.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

How we tested

We tested the Apple Watch Series 12 by wearing it day and night, tracking workouts, monitoring sleep, and putting its features to the test over multiple weeks. We compared its health and fitness readings with other wearables and an electrical heart rate monitor, tested battery life, and explored as many features as possible to see how it holds up in everyday use.

First reviewed October 2026.

Samsung's next-gen OLED tech might arrive before LG's, bringing better brightness and efficiency

Carrie Marshall — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Samsung Display is developing more efficient OLED pixel tech to rival LG's FLiPP tech
It could start production very soon, but the prototype is only 7 inches
The tech seems to target watch and phone screens over larger panels

As we reported last week, LG Display is moving forward with next-gen Fine Metal Mask-free OLED pixels that could mean brighter, more efficient and maybe more affordable OLED panels. And it looks like Samsung Display is thinking along very similar lines.

A new report by trade site The Elec says that Samsung Display has been working on a prototype seven-inch FMM-free OLED panel using its proprietary Micro Patterned OLED technology, or MPO for short.

The Elec has been speaking to unnamed industry sources, who said that Samsung has been working on MPO product development since March 2026 with a target date at the end of 2026, although that may slip into early 2027.

As with LG's FLiPP technology, the plan is to focus on a particular screen size at first. Samsung is aiming at phone or watch-sized displays, while LG is aiming at laptop or monitor-sized displays. (Neither is aiming at TVs in the near future, alas.)

But while the two companies are taking slightly different approaches to FMM-free manufacturing, the result is likely to be the same: brighter, more efficient and more affordable OLED panels.

LG's FLiPP process promises to reduce waste and make OLED production more efficient (Image credit: LG Display)

What is Samsung Display's MPO technology, and how does it differ from LG Display's FLiPP?

First, why do these companies want to drop 'Fine Metal Mask' tech? This is currently how the material for OLED pixels is deposited into each pixel, and while the tech is useful and mature, it makes for pixels that aren't very efficient.

The primary goal of moving to a more efficient tech is make it so that more of the area of each pixel is filled with light-emitting elements, which means the panel will be brighter, or can be the same brightness but uses less power to do it, which great for battery life and longevity of devices. FMM-free pixels could also be cheaper to make, long-term.

LG's FLiPP technology (FMM-Less innovative Pixel Patterning) essentially covers the panel with organic materials and then removes the bits it doesn't want via etching and photolithography. MPO does things slightly differently, creating microscopic structures that fence in the organic materials so they're only laid where they need to go. Those structures are then removed. That means less waste and simpler manufacturing, which will ultimately mean lower manufacturing costs, in theory.

The most important difference may not be technical, however: as The Elec points out, there are various active patents regarding FMM-free technologies, and MPO may enable Samsung Display to avoid them.

What we don't know yet is how well the technology will scale. As one of the unnamed industry insiders explained, "MPO is being developed in a direction better suited to high-resolution OLED displays than medium- and large-sized panels. Once a 7-inch-class sample is available, it will be possible to assess how effectively MPO’s technical advantages can be realized at an actual product size."

The big problems for OLED screens, and the thing that keeps them more expensive than LCD panels, is yield rates — that means how many panels you produce are actually usable. The new FMM-free technologies might work perfectly and be cheaper in terms of the material used, but if only 50% of the panels you make are good enough to ship, you haven't actually saved anything.

That's why the production test runs of both technologies will be the make-or-break moment — though both are behind the roll-out of inkjet-printed OLED, arriving in monitors now, which hopes to deliver all the same advantages.

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 review: Another triumph

jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol) — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 19:30:00 +0000

Apple Watch Ultra 4: One minute review

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 isn't a radical aesthetic redesign, but it doesn't need to be. Apple's rugged smartwatch keeps the familiar 49mm titanium build, bright display, and customizable Action Button, while upgrades to its rear health sensors and internals make it a more capable companion for everyday wear and endurance workouts.

The biggest upgrade is arguably its battery life. Apple promises up to 50 hours of normal use, but I've easily managed two days with the Always-On display enabled and sleep tracking running overnight. That's seriously impressive for a fully featured smartwatch, even if some lower-power rivals like the best Garmin watches can last longer.

The new S11 chip keeps everything feeling responsive, with apps opening quickly and watchOS 27 running smoothly. Faster charging is another welcome addition, letting me replenish around 30% of the battery in just 15 to 20 minutes.

Health and fitness tracking also gets a meaningful boost. The new Health Sensing System improves measurements, and Readiness Score is one of my favorite additions to watchOS 27. It gives you a useful snapshot of how prepared you might be for the day, without requiring another subscription.

It also adds plenty of smaller quality-of-life improvements, including real-time step-count complications. Siri AI also brings more intelligence to the wrist, with features like Shazam and Sound Recognition. Siri Rewind and Live Recap have yet to arrive and prove themselves.

The downside is that the Ultra 4 looks and feels much like its predecessor, so Ultra 3 owners may not find enough here to justify an immediate upgrade. And while the battery life is excellent, the Ultra 4 still can't match every rival in sheer endurance.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349 and is available now in Natural Titanium or Black Titanium. Both finishes come with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity, so there's no need to choose between separate Bluetooth-only and cellular models, as you can with the Apple Watch Series 12.

Ultimately, the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is a refined, reliable smartwatch that builds on an already excellent foundation. Its multi-day battery life, capable fitness tracking, and smoother watchOS experience make it a compelling choice for endurance athletes and Apple fans who want a rugged watch that does it all.

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Video review

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Specs Table

Component	Apple Watch Ultra 4
Price	$799 / £749 / AU$1,349
Dimension	49 x 44 x 12mm
Weight	63g (without band)
Case/bezel	Grad 5 Titanium
Display	49mm Always-On Retina LTPO3 OLED display (up to 3,000 nits)
Processor	Apple-made S11 chip
GPS	Dual‑Frequency GPS (GPS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)
Battery life	Up to 50 hours with normal use
Connections	4G LTE, Satellite SOS, Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.3
Water resistant	Water resistance 100m

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Price and availability

$799 / £749 / AU$1,349
No increase from last year
You’re paying for an LTE model as usual

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349, and comes in Natural Titanium or Black Titanium, with both finishes including Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity as standard. This means you’re paying for your phone’s ability to add to a data plan whether you want to or not.

The watch is more expensive than other Apple Watches, which is standard for the Ultra series, but crucially, it’s the same price as the Apple Watch Ultra 3, with no annual price increase. In an era of an electronics components crisis, this is great news. It’s also absolutely stuffed with features as usual, with a premium build quality that, together, justifies the high price.

Value score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Design

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Redesigned sensor array
Identical display and case
Useful programmable Action button

Like the Apple Watch Ultra 1, 2, and 3 before it, the Ultra 4 stands on its own in Apple's smartwatch lineup, offering one option: a squircle 49mm screen in a thicker, much more rugged design that's ready for the road — and truly any road. It still comes in Black or Natural Titanium and looks pretty much the same as previous iterations on your wrist. Still, the one-size-fits-all device is an issue for smaller wrists.

I've been testing the silver Natural Titanium version, and it's been a welcome change after rocking the Black Ultra 3 for well over a year. I like the contrast of the silver rim around the 49mm Retina display, and especially how the ‘Ultra Orange’ Action Button on the left side pops against the silver case.

The Action Button remains a nice addition for easily running a customized Siri Shortcut or quickly starting a workout, and the 49mm Always-On Retina OLED LTPO3 display still looks great in pretty much any condition, whether that's under fluorescent lights, in the gym, or outside on a very sunny day.

The Action Button sits alongside the speaker and microphone on the left side, while the rugged Digital Crown (with its orange ring) and the main side button live on the right. The top and bottom of the Apple Watch are still where the bands connect, and there's no change to the connector — fingers crossed Apple never changes that, as it’s exemplary.

The main design changes, aside from the new bands, are on the rear. Apple is rolling out a new Health Sensing System to the Ultra 4 and Series 12, which looks a little like a complex sundial on the back of the case. It features a new wider layout for electrodes and diodes to cover a larger surface area on the wrist, which lets the Apple Watch take more accurate health measurements — particularly when tracking heart rate.

This is also where the magnetic Apple Watch charger attaches, and the box includes an updated charging puck. It still connects to a wall adapter or another power source via USB-C, with improvements to charging speed. And while the Series 12 is still a stunner and the Ultra 3 could run laps around plenty of other watches, there's a larger battery inside the Ultra 4. I'll share more on this in the Performance section, but battery life is seriously impressive, surpassing its 50 listed hours.

Aside from the Health Sensing System on the back, though, much of the design here is Apple sticking with what has made the Ultra successful since its launch. It's an ultra-rugged, road-ready Apple Watch that's likely a necessity for endurance athletes, but its distinctive build also appeals to those who simply want something different from the standard Apple Watch.

Design score: 5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Features

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Readiness score is excellent
Siri AI features to come
Improved vitals app

With the design mostly unchanged, much of what's new with the Apple Watch Ultra 4 comes from watchOS 27 and its health and activity features. I'm starting with the latter, as it's truly been the highlight of my testing.

I've worn an Apple Watch since it first launched in the spring of 2015. My original aluminum model arrived on launch day, and I was admittedly hooked on closing my rings. Now, after more than a month with the Ultra 4 — alongside the Apple Watch Series 12 — my new favorite feature is Readiness Score. It received a big round of applause at the launch event, and for good reason: it fills a gap in Apple's health feature set compared with the competition.

Many other wearables, including smartwatches and smart rings, offer ways to contextualize your data and help you understand what it means. Most notably, the Oura Ring provides a daily score that gives you an idea of what you're ready to take on. It's not medical advice, of course, but it can help you make sense of the data it collects. However, that feature sits behind a paywall, as do comparable offerings from Whoop, although Google Health, Garmin, and others provide it for free after you purchase a tracker.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Apple's take on a Readiness score is sometimes less elaborate, but it's free if you have a compatible new Apple Watch and enough data for it to work. Based on your sleep score and previous day's activity, you'll get a score from 0 to 10 tailored to you, alongside a matching phrase. It's presented as a curved line or half-moon graphic. Sometimes, I was greeted with a blue 7, marked "Ready," with the explanation: "You had a good night's sleep last night, and all your other metrics are typical. It looks like you're rested and ready for today."

Jacob Krol/Future

Below is a smaller breakdown of Fitness, Vitals, and Sleep Score. These can change throughout the day depending on your activity rings and whether you log workouts. When you open the Health or Fitness app on your connected iPhone, there's more data to explore, too.

It's become my favorite feature of watchOS 27 because of how it integrates with the Activity Rings experience, while building on Vitals. Rather than opening another app each morning and scrolling through a series of statistics, you're presented with a single score that feels actionable. Compared with other health wearables, it's also nice that Apple isn't locking it behind a monthly subscription. You do need a compatible recent Apple Watch, so there's an upfront cost, but you won't have to keep paying to use the feature.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

watchOS 27 also brings Siri AI to the wrist, provided your Apple Watch is paired with a compatible iPhone. While some more extensive requests can take an extra beat, the experience has been smooth, whether I raise my wrist to talk or simply say "Hey Siri." You can also ask for relevant information about your activity directly from your wrist.

The new Siri Modular watch face certainly spotlights this feature, placing Siri Suggestions below the time and above other complications. At times, it might suggest identifying a song with Shazam, remind you of your upcoming bedtime, provide the weather forecast, or offer other contextually relevant information.

Thanks to the new Health Sensing System, which supports activity and heart-rate tracking, blood oxygen measurements, hypertension notifications, and sleep tracking, Apple says heart-rate measurements are more accurate than ever. The Ultra 4 also introduces heart-rate variability (HRV) to the experience. You can add a complication that updates your heart rate in real time, as well as one for your step count.

Features score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Ultra 4: Performance

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Battery life performs as described
Accurate against HRMs and competitor wearables
Not yet able to test Audio Intelligence features

Apple's new S11 chip is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in the Apple Watch Ultra 4, and it's a noticeable part of the experience. Apps open quickly, navigating watchOS 27 feels incredibly responsive, and everything runs smoothly. Suffice to say, it’s what you expect from a $799 smartwatch in 2026, and while it doesn’t run laps around the Ultra 3, it has its moments where it has a bit more pep in its step.

The S11 also features a Secure Enclave and a separate always-on processor, helping balance performance with efficiency. That last part matters even more with the Ultra 4's physically larger battery.

Apple promises up to 50 hours of battery life with normal use, up to 84 hours in Low Power Mode, and up to 45 hours in Max Extended Workout Mode. In my testing, I've easily managed two and a half days on a charge with the Always-On display enabled and sleep tracking running overnight. That's seriously impressive for a fully featured smartwatch, even if some competing watches can last longer. The Ultra 4 won't win every battery-life comparison, but getting multiple days of use without sacrificing those everyday features is a big deal.

When you do eventually run low, faster charging makes it easier to top up. I've been able to get about 30% battery back in 15 to 20 minutes, which is handy if you forgot to charge overnight or want to give the watch extra juice before heading out. It doesn't eliminate the need to charge, of course, but combined with that extended runtime, it makes battery anxiety much less of a concern.

The S11 chip and new Health Sensing System also help power features like Readiness Score, which has quickly become one of my favorite additions to watchOS 27. But the chip is also laying the groundwork for Apple's forthcoming Siri Rewind and Live Recap features.

I haven't been able to test either just yet, and while I still expect them to arrive in the coming months, Apple hasn't confirmed exactly when they'll ship. If those features are the main reason you're considering the Ultra 4 — or the Apple Watch Series 12, for that matter — I'd wait until Apple provides a firm release date and we've had the chance to put them through their paces.

There are other smaller improvements that make the Ultra 4 nicer to use, too. Shazam and Sound Recognition are handy additions to have on your wrist, letting you identify music or recognize certain sounds without needing to reach for your iPhone. Shazam still struggles with some live music, though, so don't expect it to identify every song you hear at a concert.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

Then there's the pedometer. It's a little wild that it's taken this long, but you can finally add a complication that updates your step count in real time right on your watch face. It's a simple quality-of-life improvement, but one that makes the Ultra 4 more useful at a glance.

In my testing across indoor cycling, outdoor walks, yoga, and indoor walks, the overall workout statistics and heart-rate readings have been in line with those from other devices, including the Oura Ring 5, Pixel Watch 5, Fitbit Air, and Apple Watch Series 12. Against an electrical heart rate monitor during a 5km run, the Apple Watch Ultra 4’s average heart rate reading was just 2 bpm away from the monitor’s. That’s well within the margin for error and just 1 bpm away from the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro’s readings during the same run.

Taken together, these aren't necessarily the sorts of changes that will make an Ultra 3 owner immediately rush out to upgrade. Instead, the S11 chip delivers a smoother, more efficient experience, while the larger battery makes it easier to take advantage of everything the watch has to offer. And with two and a half days of real-world battery life, that's a combination that's hard to beat.

Performance score: 5/5

Should you buy the Apple Watch Ultra 4?

Buy it if..

You need long battery life

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 can last for days, performing for up to two and a half days of real-world use in my testing.

You want Apple’s latest health features

The Readiness Score and Health Sensing System are only available on the current gen watches.

Don’t buy it if..

You don’t need Apple’s AI features

If you don't want the Audio Intelligence features or the Readiness Score, the experience is pretty close to Ultra 3.

Also consider

Apple Watch Series 12

Apple's cheaper, less powerful wearable.

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

The Apple Watch Ultra 4's biggest competitor in the premium adventure watch space.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

How we tested

We tested the Apple Watch Ultra 4 by sleeping, working out, and living with the watch during a testing period comprising multiple weeks, staff members, and a review unit. We compared the watch's readings against competitor wearables, including an electrical heart rate monitor, drained the battery, and used as many available features as possible.

First reviewed October 2026.

Winter running essentials kit list: gadgets and clothing to keep you protected and warm in the cold and dark

ruth.hamilton@futurenet.com (Ruth Hamilton) — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 13:26:42 +0000

Want to become a hardy, all-season runner? The cold, dark, wet winter evenings sure don't feel like the most natural time to head out on a run, but the right kit can make a major difference.

There are two key elements here: comfort and safety. Specifically, you want gear that'll keep you warm and relatively dry in cold, damp weather, and that'll ensure you're visible to others and aware of your own location and surroundings if you're running in the dark.

(On the latter point — there are obviously many situations where it's not safe to run after dark. Make sure you're taking into account the specifics of your situation before deciding to head out. An indoor workout is sometimes just the only option, and that's fine!)

For warmth, layering is key. I'd also be wary of fully waterproof apparel — it often inhibits breathability, and being stuck with all that extra cold sweat next to your body is not going to help matters. However, there are some waterproof or water-resistant pieces that are designed specifically for running. Keep your extremities covered, and opt for touchscreen-compatible gloves to avoid frustration with your phone or fitness tracker.

If you must run with music, opt for bone conduction-style headphones that let you stay aware of your surroundings. And knowing where you're going will be doubly important, so it's worth investing in a good GPS running watch that'll keep you on track.

Cool runnings

Petzl

Swift RL

New Balance

Lightweight Skull Cap

Shokz

OpenRun Pro Bone Conduction Headphones

Read our full review

Pros

Great sound quality for bone conduction headphones
Very light, comfortable, and stable
Good battery life with fast charging

Cons

On the expensive side
Slightly strange controls layout

Inov8

Race Elite Gloves

Garmin

Forerunner 70 GPS Watch

Read our full review

Pros

Still a solid performer without Garmin’s latest sensors
Lots of new training and smartwatch features added
Sharp, vibrant AMOLED display

Cons

More expensive than the Forerunner 55
Doesn’t get all of Garmin’s latest smartwatch features
No open water or triathlon modes

Sealskinz

Holverstone Waterproof Running Sock

Ronhill

Recharge Light Armband

Reflect360

Men's Fully Reflective Running Jacket 2.0

Reflect360

Women's Fully Reflective Running Jacket 2.0

Black Diamond

Sprinter 500 Headlamp

Sealskinz

Cley Waterproof Cold Weather Beanie Hat

Coros

Pace 3

Read our full review

Pros

Outstanding value for road and light trails
Lots of metrics
Battery lasts for some time

Cons

Feels slightly cheap
Touchscreen is a little slow
Stripped-back smart features

JLab

Go Air Sport Running Headphones

Read our full review

Pros

Secure, comfortable fit
Great sound quality for the price
Impressive battery life
Volume control (Hallelujah!)

Cons

No ANC
Mic is its weak link

Pebble watches are getting plug-in support, and might rediscover their mojo

David Nield — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 11:59:30 +0000

Pebble has announced plug-in support for developers
It should lead to improved app and watch face experiences
Eric Migicovsky calls it 'the biggest change since forever'

If you own a Pebble smartwatch (or are thinking of getting one), a major update is on the way: plug-in support is coming to the Pebble OS platform, which will mean much more flexibility and variety for apps and watch faces.

As announced by Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky (via Android Authority), the upgrade is "the biggest change to the SDK since... forever". Plug-ins are now available as a developer preview, but there's no timeframe yet for a full rollout.

It essentially means that developers putting together Pebble apps or watch faces will be able to call on pre-packaged add-ons for tasks like checking the weather, controlling music playback, activating smart lights, chatting to AI, and more.

Migicovsky describes them as being similar to Apple Watch complications except "way more flexible and awesome". As developers start to get to grips with plug-ins, look out for their appearance in third-party apps and watch faces.

Is Pebble finding its mojo again?

Pebble devs - we're working on something big for you 👀The biggest change to the SDK since...forever. Plugins: headless apps that provide data (eg weather, finance, traffic) or offer actions (home control, music, webhooks) to other apps, watchfaces and the Index agent.
— @ericmigi.com (@ericmigi.com.bsky.social) 2026-10-29T09:39:28.935Z

I've been rooting for Pebble since the very beginning really — way back in 2013 — because the tech landscape needs more smaller, independent companies. It also needs more devices that users can customize and tinker around with.

In the 13 years since Pebble first appeared, it's had its ups and downs, but its return in 2025 was widely welcomed. The introduction of plug-ins is a sign of a platform and ecosystem that's maturing and ready to develop further.

Expect watch faces that are more useful, apps that are more versatile and easier to operate, more consistency between apps, and improved privacy (you'll be able to configure permissions for individual plug-ins as needed).

Questions like "what's on my calendar?" or "unlock the front door" would be able to be routed to plug-ins rather than apps having to do all the heavy lifting. It's a strong step forward for the Pebble 2.0 project, and a sign of some serious mojo coming back.

I tested my Apple Watch Ultra 4 against Casio's cheap step-counting retro watch, the Casio F-B100W

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 04:00:00 +0000

If you've been following TechRadar's fitness coverage over the last couple of months, you'll have heard about the Casio F-B100W.

It's a cheap Bluetooth digital watch — ($65 / £55 / AU$119) and despite looking very similar to the classic, extremely cheap F-91W, it's got some differences. It's a little bit bigger, it's got an additional button, a dual time-zone mode, and, crucially for our purposes, a few smart features thanks to its Bluetooth capability: Find My Phone, and a step tracker.

This stripped-back approach to smartwatches is great for people who are looking to increase their activity levels, but don't want to pay for a smartwatch or use all the bells and whistles of a full-fledged fitness tracker. In fact, it reminds me of the very first Fitbits, which were simple pebble-shaped Bluetooth-enabled step trackers that clipped to your clothes.

I had a lot of fun with this watch, as I loved the retro styling, and it had just enough smarts to be useful. As a perpetual phone-misplacer, Find My Phone functionality is an essential for me for any smartwatch, while the most basic movement-based metric of step tracking remains useful even today. In the app, your step counts are broken into bar charts over a week, month or year to analyze trends.

But, considering the extraordinary cheap price of the watch, I was wondering how accurate it could be. So I decided to test it against this year's best smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 4. The Ultra 4 costs $799 / £749 / AU$1,349, a far cry from the cost of the Casio, and is equipped with top-of-the-range fitness metrics for every eventuality.

(Image credit: Future)

To start with, it's worth noting that I can't separate the Casio's daily step counter into a specific workout, so by the time I'd strapped both watches on, and gone up and down the stairs putting my shoes on, finding my keys and earphones, and stepping out to the starting point of my run, I had already walked 269 steps, and that was reflected in the Casio's score. Not the best start to the experiment.

However, after the run was complete, I checked the scores on both apps immediately. Once the Apple Watch's workout was marked as 'complete' it stopped tracking my steps, so I didn't want to make the same mistake again and inflate the Casio's score. The moment I finished my workout on the Apple Watch, I screenshotted both apps.

And I was impressed. The Casio recorded a score of 4,910 steps. Minus my initial 269 steps, that leaves us at 4,641 steps in total for the Casio F-B100W.

The Apple Watch Ultra 4 recorded 4,679, a difference of just 38 steps. That's a teeny margin of error for two completely different watches in two completely different price brackets, operating solely on estimations from their onboard sensors, and I'm thrilled with this result.

What does this mean in practice? It means that if all you're interested in is tracking your steps, and you like the retro digital watch vibe (after all, retro tech has been making a comeback for a while now) I can say that the humble Casio F-B100W was just as good a step counter as the most expensive Apple Watch on the market, and I can double-down on my recommendation. It's a great watch.

Admittedly, it doesn't have the other advanced metrics of the Apple Watch (or any other metrics, for that matter), but this test was an exercise in testing the Casio step counter's quality, not objectively comparing the two watches — and it passed that test with flying colors.

Garmin's Connect IQ store gets an 'enormous influx' of submissions, and it's likely down to AI slop

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 11:48:27 +0000

Garmin's Connect IQ store has seen an 'enormous influx' of new submissions
These include apps and watch faces, and are causing a big backlog as developers struggle to get their submissions reviewed
It's likely AI is to blame, as the sudden wave of submissions 'was never a problem in the past'

If you wear one of the best Garmin watches, you might have used the Garmin Connect IQ store to download an app like Spotify or Komoot, a new free or paid watch face (even a Pokémon-branded one), or a fun community-made complication like the Walk with Frodo app. However, downloading stuff from the Connect IQ store in future may involve sifting through thousands of low-quality, AI-generated submissions.

Watch face and app developers are complaining on Garmin's forums about delays in submission review: while the process typically takes 1-2 days, according to some devs, the process is now taking up to 13 days.

Garmin Connect IQ moderator/representative Brandon posted directly to one thread, stating: "This is not due to a bug — we have gotten an enormous influx of app submissions in the last month, with no signs of slowing down, and are working through approvals as quickly as we can.

"This was never a problem in the past, except perhaps delays because of a long holiday weekend (e.g. Christmas)."

(Image credit: Future)

The fact this glut of submissions is a sudden problem or new phenomenon points to one thing only — AI. Garmin Connect IQ has likely been flooded with vibe-coded or AI-generated products designed to make a quick buck by flooding the digital marketplace.

One Garmin user said in response to Brandon: "You need to limit the upload frequency for each developer; those poorly made AI-generated watch faces will consume everything."

Another said: "I have observed this trend worsening significantly as well. The Connect IQ Store is increasingly flooded with low-effort, repetitive submissions that hurt discoverability, degrade user trust, and crowd out well-crafted apps."

While this is bad for developers (who get charged $100 annually to sell apps on the Connect IQ store) it's also bad for Garmin users. We'll now have to wade through a sea of AI slop watch faces in order to get to faces and apps created the old-fashioned way — with human-led, thought-out complications developed and designed by real Garmin users.

It's just one more example of digital merchants being reduced to dealing with an avalanche of AI slop submissions, just like other app stores, and almost every other breed of online storefronts for digital products. We reported as far back as 2023 that AI-generated e-books were flooding Kindle Unlimited, making it difficult for users to find new books, and the problem has only gotten worse with time. The same will likely happen to the Connect IQ store.

I've reached out to Garmin for comment on the situation, and will update this article if I get any response. In the meantime, if you're a Connect IQ user and you've noticed the change, let us know in the comments below.

This Garmin feature is killing users’ battery life — here’s how to disable it

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 11:32:11 +0000

Garmin users noticed huge battery drains after updating their watches
The new ‘OK Garmin’ wake word could be to blame
It’s enabled automatically but can be disabled quickly and easily

If you’ve installed the latest software update on your Garmin watch and have noticed a significant reduction in battery life as a result, there could be a simple explanation — but it’s one you might not even have thought to check.

According to multiple posts on forums and social media, many Garmin users have seen sizeable decreases in battery life when using their smartwatches on the latest software update. And the main culprit appears to be the device’s voice activation.

Starting with Garmin’s September update, you no longer need to press a button to launch voice activation on the Venu 4, Forerunner 970 and other smartwatches. Instead, you just need to say “OK Garmin,” then input your command.

The problem, as many users have found, is that this new feature can drastically reduce your battery life because it requires you watch to always be listening out for the wake word, adding a noticeable load to the battery.

Indeed, one poster on the official Garmin forums found that their battery life estimate had dropped from 15 days to nine days — a reduction of 40%. For another user, their estimate was cut in half from 12 days to six, while another went from 23 days to 12. For some people, disabling the OK Garmin feature instantly restored the battery estimate to its previous duration.

Disabling the culprit

(Image credit: Future)

Forerunner 970 owner’s manual, for example, warns that enabling the “OK Garmin” wake word “reduces battery life,” although the company doesn’t say how much of an impact it can have.

What some users might not have realized is that the voice activation for the Garmin assistant is enabled automatically when you update to the latest software. That could leave you wondering why your battery life has been cut in half without you changing anything manually.

If you want to disable the wake word, you’ll need to go to Watch Settings > System > Voice, then disable the OK Garmin feature.

It’s possible that something else might be causing significant battery drain on your Garmin watch. But with multiple reports indicating that the OK Garmin feature could be to blame, it’s worth trying to disable it if you’re more concerned about battery life than having an always-on voice assistant on your wrist.

This easy Garmin quiz will find your perfect smartwatch

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 17 Oct 2026 03:00:00 +0000

Which Garmin watch is right for you? If you don't know which of the best Garmin watches to choose from, shopping for smartwatches can be a very frustrating experience.

Browsing the website, you have to deal with weird names like 'Fenix' and 'Vivoactive' and many of the watches offer the same features, making the brand's offerings tough to separate. What are the differences, for example, between a Forerunner 70, 170, 570 and 970? Should you get an Instinct 3, or a Venu 4?

That's where I come in. I've been writing about Garmins for many years. I've reviewed or tested almost every modern Garmin watch, and I've taken my knowledge and condensed it into one handy flowchart personality quiz.

All you need to do is click on the quiz below and answer five easy questions, only the first of which is multiple choice, to get my recommendation for your ideal smartwatch. I've even linked the full review of each watch, so you can read more about it and find the best deals.

The quiz operates first by finding out your preferred forms of exercise, then hits criteria like budget, watch size, importance of outdoor features, and so on.

If an activity profile you want isn't there, pick the closest one in spirit — for example, snowboarders should pick the 'skiing' activity profile in the first question, while I've lumped football, netball, rugby, baseball, etc. into 'team sports'.

Let me know your result in the comments — including whether your result was accurate!

Withings is charging smart scale users $100 for a basic health data feature

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Withings users must now pay a hefty premium to sync data to Apple Health
The change requires a $100 annual subscription to Withings+
Customers are incredibly unhappy with the move

The whole point of using a health and fitness tracker, one would think, is to be able to analyze your data in order to understand your own well-being. New users of Withings’ smart scales, however, have just been stung with an extortionate annual subscription if they want to enjoy that privilege.

As noted on the Withings forum, the company has decided to lock the ability to sync your wellness metrics to the Apple Health app behind a paywall. And this isn’t just some token fee either — you’ll be charged a whopping $99.99 a year. All to do what has always been free (and what many rivals still offer at no cost).

Withings apparently justified the move to the forum poster by citing unspecified “privacy measures” and an “AI connector.” Yet syncing data to Apple Health using the HealthKit framework doesn’t require any server-side processing or hefty AI lifting that might justify such an expensive fee. Instead, the paywall simply gives the impression of being an opportunistic revenue booster.

The post on the Withings forum described the move as a “silent and incredibly anti-consumer change” and pointed out that anyone who signed up on or after October 13, 2026, would be subject to it. Existing users won’t be forced to pay, but that’ll come as little consolation to everyone else.

A controversial move

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It’s safe to say that the optics don’t look good for Withings, and users have been understandably upset at the move. The original poster on the Withings forum labeled the change “an obvious cash grab” that “ruins the hardware experience and destroys the trust in the brand,” adding that “We shouldn't have to pay a subscription to access our own health data.”

On Reddit, users echoed that dissatisfaction, saying “$99 a year is a real joke” and, about Withings’ decision-makers, “They are digging their own grave.” Another Redditor asked, “Why would I ever buy another Withings product, let alone recommend the products to other people, if you have to pay a subscription to access your own data?”

A Withings representative tried to explain that the $99.99 Withings+ subscription includes other features — including “An improved Health Assistant” and “Better-priced access to medical services” — but no user seems to care about any of that. The main concern is the decision to lock a fundamental feature behind a paywall when said feature appears to require no additional costs on Withings’ part.

Given the strength of the customer reaction already, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Withings backtrack and unlock Apple Health syncing in the near future. With many users already saying they’ll either ditch their Withings devices or abstain from buying one in the first place, the ball is firmly in Withings’ court.

Suunto may be working on a screenless heart rate monitor to take on Garmin

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 13:22:24 +0000

A leak suggests Suunto is working on a screenless fitness tracker
The device would monitor your heart rate and health
Photos have appeared but few other details are known

Screenless fitness bands are having a moment right now, with the likes of the Fitbit Air and the Garmin Cirqa showing that you don’t need a display to get a great wearable. Now, it looks like Suunto might be about to enter the fray with its own screenless option, and it might end up ditching the expensive subscription as well.

The device was first spotted by the5krunner, which found a listing in the UAE’s Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority database. This described a Suunto heart rate monitor under the codename HR264, and it follows similar listings made in South Korea and Singapore in recent weeks.

Unfortunately, we don’t know much else about the device. The listing does not include a product name, price or features list, so much of the details remain unknown for now. As pointed out by the5krunner, we don’t even know if the device is a chest strap, armband, wrist-worn tracker, or something else.

However, the5krunner notes that “certification photos of its HR264 heart rate monitor show a rechargeable optical band used for 24/7 recovery tracking,” with images appearing to show the product measuring roughly 44mm in height and 30mm in width.

Suunto’s app is currently free and offers an optional paid AI coach on the side, and it seems the HR264 heart rate monitor could take a similar approach. That would help it avoid the kind of expensive subscription that is required for devices made by the likes of Whoop.

Still ‘months away’

I've put the photos, where it sits against CIRQA, LOOP and the rest, and what's still unknown on the page. I'll keep it updated until launch. https://t.co/uCKnUPIcUiOctober 15, 2026

Suunto has established itself as a maker of impressive smartwatches, with the likes of the Vertical 2 scoring highly when we reviewed it. And Suunto has past pedigree with heart rate monitoring, with its Race 2 smartwatch performing well in this area when we tested it last year.

But the HR264 would be the company’s first foray into screenless devices, and this is a very different area to compete in because the user experience relies almost entirely on the product’s companion app. But as our reviewer noted when they tested the Vertical 2, “While Suunto’s smartphone app is perfectly acceptable, I’d argue it isn’t as good nor as all-encompassing as Garmin.”

Still, there’s time for Suunto to get this right ahead of the HR264’s launch, which the5krunner believes could still be “months away.” When that happens, there will be another screenless fitness tracker for interested users to investigate, and that competition could help drive the industry forward if it brings something new to the table.

Amazon's Bee AI assistant is now a wearable listening device

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:02:39 +0000

Amazon has released the Amazon Bee Frontier and Amazon Bee Eclipse, two AI devices featuring microphones for audio transcription
The Bee Frontier is a wristband wearable, while Bee Eclipse is a magnetic phone attachment
Both devices will transcribe conversations, set event reminders, and enable 'personalized shopping'

Last year, Amazon acquired Bee, a startup with a single product: a wearable that featured a microphone that fed audio files to an LLM, which transcribed the audio into searchable text. We've seen these kinds of devices before, such as the Pebble Core Index 01, the Plaud Note AI pin, and most recently the Apple Watch Series 12 and Apple Watch Ultra 4, which offer similar Siri Recap and Live Rewind features.

Now, Amazon has officially thrown its hat in the AI wearable ring and unveiled two new products: the Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse. The Bee Frontier, priced at $74.99 (around £56 / AU$108) is a fitness-tracker style Pebble with up to seven days of battery, that can be worn on your clothes or an included wristband, like a Fitbit. However, instead of collecting biometric data, it features dual microphones with a prominent 'on' button, that records and transcribes audio into summaries and recaps.

Amazon says that "when turned on, Bee gathers context from your conversations and connected apps to provide insights and recommendations,'" creating summaries in the Bee app or a purpose-built desktop app, with "templates tailored to your specific needs". Students might sort summaries and transcriptions into a Lectures template, while office workers may have a Meeting Minutes template.

(Image credit: Amazon)

Bee Eclipse is a slightly different version of the concept, which is a magnetic credit card-sized version of the device which snaps to the back of a smartphone, designed to "give customers more options beyond a wearable". It costs $99.99 (around £75 / AU$145) It's similar to devices like the Plaud Note, which shares the magnetic credit-card design and single-button record. The Bee Eclipse shares the same transcription software and access to the Bee app with the Bee Frontier.

Amazon says "Bee Frontier is for people on the go who want to stay present in the moment. Whether it’s remembering the details of important meetings, taking note of the coffee plans you made in passing, or simply ensuring you purchase the dish soap you said you’d buy, Bee Frontier will remember the details for you."

Upgrade to a Bee Pro subscription

Transcription isn't the Bee range's only trick though. Bee comes with a 14-day memory, summaries and recaps. However, a Bee Pro subscription, which costs $11.99 (around £9 / AU$17) per month, includes "unlimited recent conversation summaries; integrations with Amazon.com and Alexa+; integrations with third-party applications; suggested to-dos; daily memories; a personal chat assistant; and conversation templates; and the Bee desktop application."

Those integrations with third-party apps include Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook, allowing Bee to bee-come (sorry) a personal assistant by adding events and reminders to your calendar and draft emails, along with other apps like Apple Healthkit.

That integration with Amazon.com, however, allows Bee to "enable even more personalized shopping recommendations" by surfacing items you mention in conversations, with "product recommendations on the Amazon homepage, and in the Bee mobile and desktop apps".

Buzzy, or a sting in the tail?

The Bee Eclipse, attached to a smartphone. (Image credit: Amazon)

As mentioned, AI recorders are nothing new. They see a lot of use in the workplace — many journalists like myself now use AI transcription services to help us turn interviews into text, for example, and offices use them for meeting notes.

However, the push to use devices like this in our personal lives, to encourage buying more products and remembering coffee dates, may steer away from the obvious usefulness of the feature and verge on 'creepy', depending on who else is being recorded, whether or not they have given you permission to do so, and the insidiousness of recommending products based on casual conversations.

Amazon and Bee, like Apple did when debuting its Live Rewind and Siri Recap features, has ensured privacy features have been laid out in no uncertain terms: audio is never stored, the microphone is button-operated with a recording LED light like Meta Glasses, and transcripts are encrypted. It remains to be seen whether these assurances are enough for widespread adoption.

Skip the OpenRun Pro 2 — these cheaper and 4.5-star-rated bone conduction headphones from Shokz are a brilliant budget buy

james.pickard@futurenet.com (James Pickard) — Wed, 14 Oct 2026 15:13:34 +0000

It was about time again for another price cut on some of the best bone conduction headphones you can buy — and here it is. The Shokz OpenRun Pro are reduced to $109.95 (was $179.95) once more at Amazon. Again, this is $10 more than the record-low price from previous sales, but still a fantastic offer on the 4.5-star-rated fitness headphones.

It's well worth considering the older model, as the current-generation OpenRun Pro 2 are priced at $70 more and the upgrades are fairly minimal. Outside of more modern charging options and a slightly improved battery, there's not a whole lot to shout about.

So, I think most will be more than happy with the offering from the standard OpenRun Pro. They boast excellent audio quality, good battery life of up to 10 hours, and a stable fit that makes them ideal for running, going to the gym, or just general exercise, all for an awesome low price.

Today's best Shokz headphones deal

If you've never tried bone conduction headphones before, now's a good time to buy while a $70 discount is available once again on the Shokz OpenRun Pro. Even though this is the older model, the 4.5-star-rated headphones still offer excellent audio quality, a comfortable and slim fit, and good battery life of up to 10 hours. Runners or fitness enthusiasts who want to avoid in-ear options, or anyone who prefers to be aware of their surroundings while out and about, will find these a great buy at this more budget-friendly price.View Deal

When we originally reviewed the Shokz OpenRun Pro, we called them "the best bone conduction headphones you can buy". Of course, newer models have been released since then, but when re-evaluating them in 2024, they remained a top choice for many — and an even better pickup at this much lower price.

Even though more modern options have upgraded useful features such as battery life and charging options, there haven't been too many significant developments in the tech that make the older OpenRun Pro dispensable. Unless you really need the most up-to-date items, I'd strongly recommend this model for the key features and savings alone.

Our full guide to the best bone conduction headphones goes into more detail about what you should consider before picking up a pair, so do give that a read before hitting the buy button if you want to confirm these discounted OpenRun Pro are the right choice for you.

I asked Google about its new multi-year partnership with Flo Health, in light of privacy concerns

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 13:10:35 +0000

In Google's most recent closed press briefing, in which Google's top brass revealed the new Fitbit Edge fitness tracker to a video call full of international journalists, it also revealed Google was entering into a "multi-year partnership" with an app called Flo.

Flo is a women's health app that can track your period, ovulation windows, and pregnancy stages, and it's widely used across the world.

Google said the new partnership was going to involve creating "personalized experiences for women". This includes building new products, and incorporating Flo into the AI-forward Google Health app.

Google says it's "working hard to sync Google Health with Flo for deeper insights", using trackers such as the Fitbit Air to collect data and Google Health to organize and surface that data, possibly with the AI chatbot Google Health Coach premium service.

During the presentation, Google stated that "Flo has spent more than a decade earning the trust of women". But a high-profile lawsuit against Google and Flo — and Google’s fellow big tech giant Meta — ended with Google and Flo paying a settlement of $56 million.

What happened?

In a consolidated lawsuit against defendants Flo, Google and Meta, representatives of Flo app users between 2016 and 2019 alleged that sensitive period tracking information was shared by Flo to Google and Meta without their knowledge or consent, through Flo's in-app software development kits.

According to Reuters, Google and Flo chose to settle out of court to the tune of $56 million combined, with an addition $3.5 million from a now-defunct mobile company Flurry.

Meta, which chose not to settle, was found liable for having 'violated the California Invasion of Privacy Act' according to court documents, and its attempts to overturn the motions were denied.

Google's new stance

(Image credit: Google / Flo)

It's big tech's MO to collect an enormous amount of information from across the web, but sometimes we don't quite realize the extent or personal nature of the information these companies collect.

I asked Google the following:

"The announcement of the multi-year partnership between Google Health and Flo comes after the high-profile $56 million class-action settlement by Flo and Google. Meta chose not to settle, and was found liable. Given the nature of the case, what additional privacy assurances can Google make to ensure the health data of Flo users remains safe?"

Google responded, stating that "Google Health Coach onboarding incorporates explicit consent informing users that shared third-party app data is utilized specifically to deliver personalized coaching."

Google also added that "Google Health Coach algorithms are designed not to log or store sensitive women’s health-related events and ongoing monitoring ensures AI responses remain aligned with sensitive communication standards."

Google also reiterated in the press briefing I attended that it will not use Google Health information for Google Ads. Google's blog post on the subject also says that 'no data will move between the apps without your explicit permission — given separately for each type of data and each purpose — and you have the control to withdraw permission at any time. Flo data shared with Google Health will never be used for advertising, never be sold, and will not be made available to other apps or developers through Google's health platforms.'

What this means for your data

Google says its algorithms aren't logging or storing anything, and therefore Google's AI isn't being trained on your sensitive health data. The lack of usage for Google Ads means Google says it won't use information from Flo to personalize and tailor ads to your interest and profile. Your data won't be sold or moved between parties without consent. All of this is good.

However, Google and Flo's controversial partnership history may mean that some users are put off from using the platforms' women's health tracking features. As Flo users found out prior to the lawsuit, data processing can be an opaque process.

As users, we can withdraw consent if we're concerned about the treatment of our data. You can view which third parties have access to your health information through your Google account by visiting Google's Privacy Checkup page, and you can also use this page to remove any third parties' access to your data.

Your Fitbit Air is about to get much smarter thanks to Google’s next update

rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies) — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 11:17:39 +0000

Google is rolling out improved automatic detection for over 100 new workouts
Compatible devices will use an upgraded LLM to create a more reliable and accurate wellness tracking experience
Health Guardian is also coming to Fitbit Air and Fitbit Edge, but this requires a Google Health Premium subscription

Google's screenless Fitbit Air wearable and Garmin Cirqa rival is set for a fresh dose of updates following user feedback.

The most notable upgrade is Fitbit’s improved automatic workout tracker, which will use a new LLM foundation to boost its activity detection abilities. Google hasn’t given an exact date, but we know it’s coming to the Fitbit Air, Pixel Watch 3, 4, and 5, as well as the recently announced Fitbit Edge later this month.

Since screenless wearables don’t have an interactive bezel like the rest of the best fitness trackers, users put their faith into automatic detection tools to record workouts and log activity. The fact that the Fitbit Air can read your body movement to detect what you’re doing is beyond smart, however false tracking is always a possibility — so this upgrade is highly welcome.

Furthermore, activity that meets your minimum duration threshold with a sustained elevated heart rate will automatically be picked up by your Fitbit/ Pixel Watch, with a summary sent to your mobile app within 30 minutes.

The update is not only designed to make the experience more reliable, but it’s also much broader with what it can track. Now, your wearable can pick up on more than 100 new workouts as opposed to the mere 10 that were available before, which includes strength training, swimming, and more.

Fitbit’s upgraded workout detection is also powered by Google Health’s critical context readings, a tool that takes data such as your exercise routines, history, and location (with your permission) to detect activity with 2x more accuracy. It also cuts missed workouts by more than half. ‘This marks a huge advancement for automatic tracking, and we will keep working to make it even better,’ the company shared in its release notes.

Fitbit Air and Fitbit Edge get the Health Guardian treatment

(Image credit: Google)

On top of workout tracking improvements, you’ll also be getting access to Google’s roster of Health Guardian features, which use background health-monitoring tools to track shifts in your health over time. As exciting as this sounds, it requires a Google Health Premium subscription ($9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.99 a month).

With Health Guardian, you can set up and keep tabs on trends in the app including blood pressure and insulin resistance and, as per Google’s release notes, ‘if you meet the monthly wear requirements, you'll get a report at the beginning of each month to help you make lifestyle adjustments early’.

As well as this, Health Coach is also handy for contextualizing changes in your patterns, and giving you informed guidance on your personal lifestyle and wellness. However, Google iterates that this feature isn’t designed to diagnose or treat any health issues that may occur, and encourages you to seek professional medical advice if you have any concerns.

'We didn't set out to build a mechanical watch': Garmin's COO on the new Garmin Marq 3rd-Gen range

Andrew Williams — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 11:16:30 +0000

Garmin has dropped the third-generation Garmin Marq series, a range of six of the best Garmin watches that are as much about luxury and style as they are about performance.

If you're already a Garmin user, there's a good chance you’re most familiar with its adventure and activity smartwatches like the Fenix, Instinct and Forerunner series’. They’re renowned for their practicality and a big well of features. However, the Garmin Marq series is its ultra-premium, style-forward luxury range that lets the company flex some different muscles, while still retaining the same featureset and software that people love.

The six models include the classy Aviator model, designed with complications for pilots; the debonair Adventurer; the serious military Commander; the Athlete with its energy drink colour accents; the ‘maritime blue’ Diver (new for this generation, replacing the seafaring Captain); and the exceptionally green Golfer.

The titanium price

(Image credit: Future / Andrew Williams)

The price of these watches varies a little between models, but you're looking at $2,500 / £2,199 / around AU$3,500 and up, double that of the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro. A higher budget lets Garmin indulge in the kind of watch manufacturing touches that just can’t be justified in its sport and outdoors models, like polished ceramic bezel inlays, micro-knurled buttons and a full grade-5 titanium casing, with no significant plastic elements on show.

This alone requires feats of engineering to ensure the antennas have enough room to figuratively breathe — metal blocks their signal, and a fitness watch without reliable GPS or Bluetooth is not going to be much use at all.

The solution is slim strips of plastic polymer in the frame that you probably wouldn’t even notice unless you look close, and know they are there. These polymer strips are fused to the titanium metal of the casing ‘at nano scale’ using a process called nano-moulding technology. In effect it’s similar to the little non-metal strips in an iPhone’s casing, applied with what sounds like a pretty expensive procedure.

Built to last, just not forever

(Image credit: Future / Andrew Williams)

Garmin COO Brad Trenkle explained to me the company isn’t fooling itself into thinking it’s making a direct alternative to a Patek Philippe, Rolex or Audemars Piguet here.

“We didn't set out to build a mechanical watch that was designed to be passed down from from generation to generation,” says Trenkle. Smartwatches inevitably have a shelf life due to being a sealed unit with lithium batteries. But the way people use their Garmin watches means they have more longevity than some other kinds of consumer gadgets, according to Garmin’s own user data.

“Most users actually tend to use their Garmin watches longer than they they use their smartphone,” says Trenkle.

Making an ultra-premium smartwatch is different to making an heirloom analog watch. Case in point: the buttons, and how you add them to a watch designed to dive over 40 meters deep. Over the last few years Garmin has played around with button tech, a move forced by dive-ready water resistance becoming a common feature in high-end sport watches.

When the Garmin Fenix 8 arrived in 2024 there was a lot of talk about how watch’s inductive buttons made the series’s 40m dive-ready water resistance possible. It’s a design that means there’s no hole made in the casing to house the buttons.

“We have this wall of polymer that makes a complete seal between the watch case. There's no gasket, and it's just one piece,” explains Trenkle of the new Marq.

The style is ideal for hardcore water resistance, but not so great for the feel of the buttons. A Garmin Fenix 8’s buttons feel pretty spongy compared with other models. But in a classic Garmin Marq exercise of low-to-no compromise design, these watches have a mechanical clicker purely for the feel, combined with an inductive button for actual function. The result is perhaps what I noticed most clearly about the Marq Adventurer while wearing it: it has exceptionally bright but substantive button feedback.

Garmin Marq’s leveled-up tech

(Image credit: Future / Andrew Williams)

The tactical Commander and scuba-friendly Diver relate to features like aircraft outboard systems and interfacing with dive equipment, but all six watches share some common upgrades. For example, while the Garmin Fenix 9 and Enduro 4 have shown 64GB storage is now the standard for higher-end Garmin models, the Marq Generation 3 has 128GB.

These watches don’t offer massively exciting ways to use that space beyond adding more maps, music, podcasts and audiobooks. But it’s an upgrade such a luxury watch surely deserves.

Similarly, when the second Marq arrived in 2022 I was half confident its unique magnetic charge interface would inevitably dip down to prestige series like Fenix. Years later, that still hasn’t happened, and now the Marq generation 3 has its own tweaked version of that standard — a four-pin magnet interface. Not more jamming in that classic Garmin charger bung, which would hardly befit a luxury watch.

(Image credit: Future / Andrew Williams)

A lot of the Garmin Marq’s design touches aren’t shouty, but they do add up to make the physical presence of these watches feel distinctly different to, for example, the Forerunner 970. I wore the 970 alongside the Marq Adventurer on a test hike, and could really feel the difference between the two watches.

Once you get deeper into watch specs, the Garmin Marq series starts to sound very familiar. These watches have 1.4-inch AMOLED screens with peak brightness of 3000 nits. There is no micro LED option, or any MIP display models.

All that changes in the display is a “borderless” design than lets the metal of the bezel reach right up to the start of the display panel. It’s a sleek look, but not an improvement I would necessarily have clocked without being pointed towards it.

All Marq models have a mid-table diameter of 47mm, and the same kind of Elevate V5 heart rate array used in other top Gamins (accurate as tested against a heart rate monitor and the Apple Watch Ultra 4). There’s a flashlight, support for ECG readings and battery life is rated at 18 days, or seven days with the always-on display mode engaged. Like the Fenix 9 Pro, the Garmin Marq also supports not just communication over 4G/LTE, but satellite too, when used with an InReach subscription.

Should you buy?

Is a Garmin Marq “worth it” for the average Garmin shopper? Absolutely not.

These watches are here for the person who wouldn’t baulk at the price tag, let alone the rising costs of the Fenix family. It nets you that series’ best bits in a more stylish chassis, plus even more storage and model-specific features if you pick one of the specialised Marqs like the Aviator.

Which of the six is your favourite? Let us know in the poll below.

Garmin Marq AdventurerFuture

Garmin Marq AthleteFuture

Garmin Marq AviatorFuture

Garmin Marq CommanderFuture

Garmin Marq DiverFuture

Garmin Marq GolferFuture

The last Fitbit app holdouts are being forced to switch to Google Health

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:54:03 +0000

Fitbit users are being forced to switch to the Google Health app
The changeover process started months ago
The switch has not been mandatory until now, and users aren’t happy

It’s been a few months since Google started encouraging Fitbit users to switch over to the company’s Google Health app, but the move has never been completely mandatory. That’s all changed now, though, as Fitbit fans are finding themselves forced onto Google’s platform — and many are deeply unhappy about the move.

As documented by users on social media, opening the Fitbit app now serves up a new prompt that reads: 'A newer Fitbit app is available. Updating is recommended.' The word “recommended” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there, as the only button available is one that says 'Update', and it’s impossible to tap away from the notification to make it disappear. In other words, this is a forced update for the last die-hards who are still using the deprecated Fitbit app.

When it became apparent that Google was compelling the last Fitbit users to jump over to its Google Health app, many took to social media to complain. “I hate the new Google Health app,” wrote one, before adding: “I routinely swiped back to view my workout and sleep data from previous days and that ability is now gone … I’m a Premium member so I’m paying for this new garbage.”

“Google health app is so baaad. I also want my Fitbit app back,” lamented another. When asked what made the Fitbit app so good, another said: “It was elite. The food tracking was next level. It always detected when I was getting sick with my HRV and all that. Tracked my sleep to a tee … I fear I’ll never have this kind of tracking again.”

A forced app migration

(Image credit: Guilty-Implement-261 on Reddit)

The Google Health app does not have a particularly strong reputation, in part thanks to its unreliable AI assistant. Users have documented it hallucinating phantom workouts, inventing food-tracking metrics, and much more. The situation got so bad that Google added a way for users to disable the app’s AI assistant altogether.

It’s this unreliability that could be behind a lot of the reluctance among Fitbit users to switch to Google Health. With something as important as your health and wellbeing, after all, you want to know that the advice an app is giving you is accurate and well-founded.

Another issue centers on tools that many people feel are missing from Google Health. It’s something brought up by several people on social media, who noted that features like estimated health for your age and a simple and intuitive layout are absent in Google Health. “None of the features I liked from Fitbit’s app are left,” bemoaned one person.

If you’re one of the last remaining holdouts still rocking the Fitbit app, you’ll have to switch to Google Health imminently. If Google’s app isn’t to your taste, there are alternatives — but perhaps none quite like Fitbit’s discontinued offering. Let us know what you think about Google's latest move in the comments below.

Google Fitbit Edge unveiled, reinventing the old pebble-style Fitbit

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 13:00:00 +0000

The Google Fitbit Edge fitness tracker has arrived, with Google's 'largest and brightest tracker screen yet'
It's 11.5mm thin, and costs $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$269
It's got a physical side button, because 'people love physical buttons'

If you thought the Google Fitbit Air spelled the end of the 'old style' screen-bearing Fitbits, think again — Google has dropped the Google Fitbit Edge, a slim tracker with Google's 'largest and brightest tracker screen yet', and according to Google, it sits in between the 'quiet simplicity' of a Google Fitbit Air and a Google Pixel Watch.

It costs costs $179.99 / £159.99 / AU$269, and features a powerful 'hybrid OLED' screen delivering 46% more viewing area than previous Fitbits, designed for direct sunlight visibility.

The screen offers an improved browsing experience based on Tiles that, while not sporting full Wear OS, seems to take cues from Google's Materia 3 Expressive design language it uses on its best Android watches. It sports call and notification management, as well as — surprisingly — Google Maps support, so it really is like a smartwatch-lite.

The exercise app features improved automatic activity tracking that can automatically detect up to 100 workout types, without you needing to manually start a workout. This will also be rolled out to the Google Fitbit Air. It's also packing onboard GPS, unlike the Fitbit Air, so Fitbit Edge users can run, cycle, swim or hike and track their routes and speeds without piggybacking off your phone.

Menstrual cycle tracking, sleep tracking, and all of Google Health's usual tools (including the AI fitness coach) are present and correct here, as are the new Health Guardian features like Insulin Resistance Trends and an ECG scan functionality.

(Image credit: Google)

The chassis is 11.5mm thick, features metal touchpoints 'everywhere' across the device, and a 'satisfying' physical button. This is terrific news for me, because I love the buttons on the best Garmin watches and older Fitbits. It's nice that Google is bringing some of that old-school Fitbit heritage back — even though it's axed the old Fitbit app and migrated all users to Google Health.

The Fitbit Edge sports a long-lasting battery life that will go for a week, and a 90-minute charge can bring it back to 100%. The battery is also replaceable, extending the life of your hardware.

Like the Google Fitbit Air, and previous Fitbits before it, bands are swappable: you can choose an Active Sport band, a micro-adjustable, flexible Performance Loop, or more stylish Metal Links for a watch aesthetic.

Tactile, repairable, affordable

This 'middle ground' Fitbit, situated between a Google Fitbit Air and full Pixel Watch, looks terrific.

I'm not the biggest fan of Google's new Health app due to its reliance on the AI coach, but Google absolutely nails its wearable hardware, and the Fitbit Edge looks like another winner, reinventing the classic Fitbit pebble design.

I love the form factor of the Pixel Watch and the Fitbit Air alike, and a halfway-house featuring a tactile button (my favorite feature on the Garmin Cirqa, and something I missed on the Fitbit Air), week-long battery life and the repairability of a replaceable battery for under $180 / £160 / AU$280 sounds like a slam-dunk. I look forward to testing it.

What do you think of the Fitbit Edge? Let us know in the comments.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 vs Garmin Fenix 9 Pro: Both watches nailed my accuracy test

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 04:30:00 +0000

The Garmin Fenix 9 Pro and Apple Watch Ultra 4 are two of the best (and most expensive) smartwatches to come out this year. But just how accurate are they?

Much has been made of Apple's redesigned Health Sensing System, supposedly the most accurate ever on a wearable. It certainly measured my sleep well enough, and Apple says it tested its accuracy by pitting it against an electrical heart rate monitor — which, funnily enough, is my process for reviewing smartwatches too.

I set out to find out how accurate Apple and Garmin's best smartwatches were by putting them against each other in a head-to-head battle, wearing them both during a 30-minute run, one on each wrist. To create a benchmark, I wore an ECG-capable electrical heart rate monitor on my chest, just like Apple's own tests; I used the Frontier X2.

The 30-minute run was more challenging than usual, because it was a very hilly route with a long incline as the midpoint — it certainly made my heart rate spike.

The figure I'm most interested in during these tests is average heart rate. I recognize that different companies use different processing algorithms, so you'll never get a 1-1 match on all heart rate data points: all you can look for is consistency in your wearable of choice, and to make sure it's generally telling the same story as a benchmark-level tool such as a chest-mounted electrical HRM, which are generally more reliable than LED-based sensors.

The closer the average heart rate, calculated by the wrist-based LED-using wearables, can get to the average heart rate calculated by the electrical HRM, the better.

Generally, I classify under 5 bpm of difference as an insignificant margin of error, meaning that's a device I'd happily keep using and recommending to others. Under 10 bpm is generally fine for light or occasional exercisers for general trends, but not one I'd recommend to fitness buffs who care about things like heart rate zones.

Anyway, on to the results — how did the Apple Watch Ultra 4 and Garmin Fenix 9 Pro stack up?

The results

(Image credit: Future)

The results were excellent. It’s really cool to see the Frontier X2 heart rate monitor, Garmin Fenix 9 Pro and the Apple Watch Ultra 4 all within two beats per minute of each other on average.

From left to right in the screenshots above, the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro measured 159 bpm, while the Apple Watch Ultra 4 measured 160 bpm. The Frontier X2 measured 158 bpm.

Wearable	Average heart rate (bpm)
Frontier X2 HRM	158
Garmin Fenix 9 Pro	159
Apple Watch Ultra 4	160

All the devices being within 2 bpm of each other is a wonderful indication of accuracy across the board. Algorithmic processing differences aside, all three devices are telling the same story about my body during that 30-minute session of exercise.

Other metrics between the two watches are similar, too. Calorie counts for example, which can vary wildly between devices, look similar as both devices estimate a burn in the high 300s — 388 vs 375.

The Frontier X2 also estimates a calorie count that's very different than the watches, but I'm discounting that as the watches collect far more information to draw from. I'm only trusting its heart rate numbers.

So, I'm more than happy with the ratings I got from these watches, and can continue to recommend them as extremely accurate health and fitness tracking tools.

So, which do I prefer? Even though both watches are very accurate, they're tailor-made for serious sports and endurance, and they're both packing dive modes and satellite communication features, they're not quite made equally.

The Apple Watch's software, third-party apps and smartwatch functionalities far outshine the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro, while the Garmin watch is built with a longer-lasting battery (10 days vs Apple's 48 hours) and features more survival tools, such as the LED flashlight.

If you're a multi-day adventurer type, I'd opt for the Garmin every time, but for day-to-day wear and shorter excursions, the Apple Watch is nicer to use — even if, unfortunately it'll need a charge every other day.

Vacuums, hair dryers… toothbrushes? I asked Jake Dyson how the brand decides what gets to be a Dyson product

ruth.hamilton@futurenet.com (Ruth Hamilton) — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 01:00:00 +0000

It had been a while since Dyson had genuinely surprised us with a product launch, but then the brand unveiled its first toothbrush. Dyson is already a familiar name in personal care, thanks to its now well established hair-styling gadgets, so a move into oral care wasn't entirely left-field. Still, when the CameraJet made its debut, it was still quite the swerve – taking Dyson from the dressing table to the bathroom sink.

The first product has to be radically different... otherwise we wouldn't consider it
Jake Dyson

When I caught up with Jake Dyson — son of founder, James, and Dyson's chief engineer — at the brand's Unveiled event, I wanted to know what prompted such a move. And, more broadly, how a brand might end up with such a twisty, turny product roadmap.

(For clarity, throughout this article I'll be using "Dyson" to mean the brand, and "Jake" to mean the person.)

So, if a toothbrush can become a Dyson gadget, is there anything that couldn't be? "No, it doesn't," Jake declares. "It has to be radically different."

He expands: "The first product has to be radically different, and have performance claims, and a difference against a competitor by a magnitude; otherwise, we wouldn't consider it."

Remember when every hair dryer didn't look like this? (Image credit: Future)

In short, the brand isn't interested in having a go at anything; it wants to make a splash in markets that have grown stagnant. The launch of the first Dyson Supersonic hair dryer in 2016 is a great example — it blew new life into a market that had barely seen change in decades.

And the CameraJet is far from your average toothbrush. It's kitted out with a camera that will stream a live view of the inside of your mouth back to you, and is trained to recognize gaps in your teeth and shoot water/mouthwash at them, to take care of flossing. Whether or not it enjoys the success of the Supersonic remains to be seen, but it certainly checks that "radically different" box.

Striving for perfection

The potential to shake things up is essential, but before a new-category product is launched, other criteria must be met. "It's got to work properly," asserts Jake. "I mean, we probably could have launched [the CameraJet] two years ago, but it wouldn't have hit every gap perfectly, and that's not acceptable."

If we're going to go into a new area, then we'll do that knowing that we've got more products behind it
Jake Dyson

It's unfortunate then that shortly after our conversation, reports of CameraJet faults began rolling in from early adopters. Dyson has blamed this on an isolated production issue that's now under control, so I'll give the company the benefit of the doubt in this instance.

Barring any further hiccups, you should expect more unusual oral care products to also be hitting the market before too long; Jake's third golden rule is that you never launch with just one product. "If we're going to go into a new area, then we'll do that knowing we've got more products behind it," he tells me.

When pushed if he means further iterations, he clarifies the brand aims for "expansion in that category, quite quickly", and confirms it will start with a roadmap of multiple products.

Doubling up

Breaking new markets is an expensive business, but Jake is savvy about not wasting effort. "I think you try not to do things twice that take an awful long time and a lot of investment," he says. "You try to use it again in another product."

He talks about innovations that the brand wants to "platform". A great example is the shrunk-down mechanics and battery system that Dyson developed for its Airwrap, and which also appears in its Supersonic r hair dryer. A version of it is used in the brand's new hot brush, and it also features in the PencilVac and now the PencilMop.

Dyson's shrunk-down mechanics are now used across multiple products (Image credit: Future)

As for exactly how the innovations make their way across team lines, it isn't a defined process. "It happens naturally. You cross-pollinate, you join the dots. 'If we put that with that, we could do this.'," says Jake. "And as a company, we're getting much better at predicting that before we do it."

He explains that this cross-pollination will also sometimes highlight the gaps that Dyson needs to fill. "It makes us realize there are other technologies we need to develop ourselves — which we are, behind the scenes — to enable us to go into those new areas and do something better than anyone else."

What "radically different" products might be on the horizon at Dyson? I'll be watching with interest.

Dyson product tour

Here's a quick rundown of some of Dyson's newest releases — hit the View Details button to read more about each one.

Dyson

R1 Nurovi Dry

Dyson

R2 Nurovi Wash+Dry

Learn about the R3 model (not yet on sale): "It will light up your home like a bowling alley" — Dyson's new Nurovi robot vacuum has a UV light to show up invisible spills, but I'm not sure I'm ready to see what's on my floors.

Dyson

CameraJet

Review: This game-changing toothbrush offers liquid flossing, precision-brushing, and a camera that doubles as a dental endoscope — I tried it for a week.

Dyson

Spot+Scrub Ai Robot Vacuum

Read our full review

Pros

Good hardware
Great at little-and-often cleaning
Excellent self-cleaning
Smart obstacle avoidance
Auto vacuuming works well
Bagless design

Cons

Some navigation issues
Unreliable self-empty
Loud in every mode
Large vacuum and dock
Hair wrap on roller
Transparent bins display dirt

Dyson

HushJet Mini Cool Fan

Pros

Powerful concentrated air flow
Runs for up to 6.5 hours on a single charge
Stylish, unusual design
Significantly cheaper than closest competitor

Cons

Air intake holes are easy to cover with your hand when holding

Dyson

Supersonic Travel

Pros

Fast drying for a compact dryer
Impressively light
Universal auto-voltage (100–240V)
Intelligent heat control
Compatible with Supersonic Nural attachments

Cons

Reduced airflow versus full-size
No travel case included
Only one attachment in the box
Price sits at the very top end of the travel dryer market

Dyson

PencilWash Wet Floor Cleaner

Read our full review

Pros

Extremely lightweight
Comfortable and easy to use
Effective wet and dry cleaning
Super flexible articulated floorhead
Compact size is ideal for small homes

Cons

Costs the same as a good wet/dry floor cleaner
Doesn't reach right to the edge of baseboards
Dirty water tank can be messy to empty

Dyson

HushJet Purifier Compact

Read our full review

Pros

Super fast reaction times
Whisper-quiet
Covers very large rooms
Easy-to-use app
Five-year electrostatic filter life

Cons

Expensive for purifying only
Larger than its 'compact' name suggests
Very limited on-device controls
No carry handle

Dyson

V16 Piston Animal Submarine

Read about the regular version in our review

Dyson

PencilVac Fluffycones

Read our full review

Pros

Ultra-light and extremely compact
Very nimble and maneuverable
Soft rollers excellent on hard floor
Compression maximizes bin capacity
Lasers illuminate hidden dirt
Useful screen counts down runtime

Cons

Not the most powerful suction
Angled floorhead awkward for edges
Not suitable for carpet
Still rather a small bin
Particles get stuck in bin casing

Prime Day is over, but someone forgot to turn off the Samsung Galaxy Watch deals

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:18:37 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Prime Day deals were excellent, and if you wanted in but somehow missed them, I have great news for you — the Samsung Galaxy Watch deals are still live on Amazon US, somehow. Clearly, someone on the back end forgot to turn them off.

Right now, you can get the extremely popular Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic LTE for just $449.99 (was ~~$549.99~~) at Amazon, saving you a hefty $100, even though Prime Day's now a distant memory.

These discounts also extend to the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8, which now starts from $219.99 (was ~~$299.99~~) at Amazon, saving you $80 on the 40mm Bluetooth-only model. The larger 44mm model gets a smaller 8% discount, from $329.99 to $304. You'll only save $26, but hey, a discount is a discount.

You can even save on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 which starts from $159.99 (was ~~$249.99~~) at Amazon, with a massive 36% saving. Check out the deals on all three devices below.

Today's best Samsung Galaxy Watch deals

Galaxy Watch 8 Classic (LTE): was $549.99 now $449.99
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is so popular because it features a dive watch-style rotating bezel, which also acts as a way to control the device, alongside the Quick button that debuted on the Galaxy Watch Ultra. The LTE version, which is the one on offer, can be added to a phone's data plan — but it's now cheaper than the Bluetooth-only version, so either way there's no reason not to snap this deal up.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic reviewView Deal

Galaxy Watch 8 (Bluetooth-only), 40mm: was $299.99 now $219.99
I labelled the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 'a triumph' in my review due to its highly successful redesign, advanced running features, and lovely interface. I'd definitely recommend it, especially at this record-low price. The larger 44mm is discounted by $26 to just $304 (was ~~$329.99~~).

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 reviewView Deal

Galaxy Watch 7 (Bluetooth-only), 40mm: was $249.99 now $159.99
The older Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 design is still supported, and is a great way to get a Galaxy Watch wearable for a rock-bottom price. It's got Galaxy AI features like the personalized Energy Score that newer models have. The 44mm is available for $189.99 (was ~~$279.99~~).

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 reviewView Deal

I'd recommend all the Samsung Galaxy Watches above to Samsung users, but for those looking for a smartwatch to stream music, answer emails and take calls on-wrist, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic is absolutely the answer. Our writer Hamish Hector likes this watch so much, he wore it to his wedding — talk about a ringing endorsement!

We don't know how long these post-Prime deals are going to last, so I'd get them while they're hot, as there's no telling when Samsung could call a halt to them.

I'm getting these Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds to replace my AirPods at night

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:15:46 +0000

I'm a habitual audiobook listener, but I get a lot of my listening done at night. I calm my mind with books that I've read before and enjoyed, usually older classics like Sherlock Holmes stories, The Three Musketeers or The Lord of the Rings.

I go to bed with an audiobook, and if I wake up at night, I put an audiobook back on to help me go back to sleep. I try and avoid disturbing my wife, so I use my AirPods, but they stick out of my ears, and are uncomfortable if I roll onto my side.

That's why I'm getting these Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds, which are down to $159.99 (was ~~$229.99~~) at Amazon US in the Amazon Prime Day sales. In the UK, they're also heavily discounted, now just £122.55 (was ~~£199.99~~) at Amazon UK.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

I've included full details on the US and UK deals below. I was convinced to buy them after several of our writers tested the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds and rated them very highly, with tech reviewer Becca Caddy writing "they’ve become my go-to earbuds over the past few months. And because I review audio gear for a living, that's not something I say lightly".

Check out the deals in full below.

Today's best sleep buds deals

Save 30% on the Soundcore Sleep A30, which offer active noise cancellation technology to eliminate distractions, and a flatter fit to make sure even side sleepers are as comfortable as possible. At just 3g each, they're light and very comfortable, while you can get up to five nights of use with the charging case. Free sleep content from Calm is also available in the app. View Deal

Save an impressive 39% on the Soundcore Sleep A30 earbuds. The sliding clamshell case is nice, and the buds' tiny size and lightweight build make them ideal for sleep, yes — but also great for many other scenarios, as you use the ANC to tune out the world. In the app, there's a library of sleep-focused soundscapes, from waves to crackling fire, and they're all customizable with extra layers or density. View Deal

Sleep earbuds are having a bit of a moment, and you'll find plenty around from companies like Anker and Oslo, along with earplugs from brands such as Loop. However, Loop doesn't solve my audiobook problem, as I need proper earbuds rather than simple silicon ear plugs.

I like the Anker buds due to their discreet size, stylish case and active noice cancellation. Next time I wake up in the middle of the night, I will be able to reach for the Soundcore Sleep rather than my AirPods and not worry about sleeping on my side.

More Prime Day deals in the US

Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.36
Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $28
Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $89
Smartwatches: up to 36% off Garmin & Apple
Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $49

More Prime Day deals in the UK

Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
Amazon Devices: up to 67% off Fire, Ring & Blink
Amazon Haul: extra 15% off for Prime members
Appliances: up to 40% off Ninja & De'Longhi
Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
Essentials: cleaning & groceries from £2
Fashion: up to 50% off
Gaming: record-low Nintendo Switch 2
Headphones: up to 50% off Anker & Sony
Laptops: up to £800 off Microsoft & Asus
Tablets: up to 50% off Fire tablets
TVs: from £129.99
Vacuums: up to 50% off Shark & Dyson
Wearables: Samsung & Oura from £31

Up to 50% off on waterproof jackets from The North Face, Rab, Arc'teryx, Patagonia and more — I've rounded up the best deals

ruth.hamilton@futurenet.com (Ruth Hamilton) — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:00:54 +0000

Rainier days are coming, and now's a great time to make sure you have your wet weather gear sorted. If you've missed the memo, we're in the middle of Amazon's Prime Day sale (actually, we're nearing the end — the two-day event finishes at midnight). I went hunting for waterproof jacket deals in the Amazon sale, and unearthed some gems from The North Face and Columbia in the mix.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

There were also plenty of strange, no-name brands included in Amazon's sale, but as a former outdoor gear tester my advice would be to stick to brands that are known and trusted. The good news is that a number of the big outdoor retailers are running sales alongside Prime Day. I've rounded up all the best offers, from Amazon and beyond, below.

In the mood for some more bargains? Head to our Amazon Prime Day tag page to browse all the deals we thought were worth spotlighting.

Men's waterproof jacket deals

Hop down to the women's jacket deals

The North Face

Men's Antora Jacket, Cedar/blk

Rab

Khroma Kinetic Jacket - Men's

The North Face

Men's Venture 2 Jacket, Cedar

Patagonia

M10 Anorak - Men's

Columbia

Men's Collegiate Field Bound Jacket

Marmot

Men's Cascade Waterproof Rain Jacket, Trail Blue

Patagonia

M10 Storm Jacket - Men's

Columbia

Inner Limits III Jacket - Men's

Arc'teryx

Beta SL Jacket - Men's

Marmot

Superalloy Bio Rain Jacket - Men's

Arc'teryx

Beta AR Jacket - Men's

Mammut

Taiss HS Hooded Jacket - Men's

The North Face

Lightning Zip-In Jacket - Men's

Rab

Firewall Mountain Waterproof Jacket - Men's

The North Face

Men's Venture 2 Jacket, Shady Blue

The North Face

Men's Venture 2 Jacket, Iron Clay

Women's waterproof jacket deals

The North Face

Women's Antora Jacket, Opal Frost

Rab

Firewall Light Jacket - Women's

The North Face

Women's Venture 2 Jacket, Black

The North Face

Women's Venture 2 Jacket, Mars Dust

The North Face

Alta Vista Rain Jacket - Women's

Helly Hansen

Momentum 3L Stretch Jacket - Women's

Helly Hansen

Graphic Rain Jacket - Women's

More Prime Day deals in the US

Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.36
Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $28
Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $89
Smartwatches: up to 36% off Garmin & Apple
Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $49

I've tested almost every Garmin watch — here are the three I recommend for Prime Day

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:42:46 +0000

As TechRadar's Senior Fitness and Wearables Editor, it's my job to test every Garmin watch that crosses my desk. As a result, I've tested almost every modern Garmin watch released in the last five years, and I've parsed the Amazon Prime Day Garmin deals to find the best Garmin watches worth your time.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

It's tough to just say "buy this one" and be done with it, because there are a) so many different Garmin watches, each with their own target demographic — adventurers, runners, gym-goers and so on — and b) so many different deals across the US and UK.

I'm not seeing the broad swathes of discounts I've seen in previous years. However, the three deals I've picked offer good value for money — should get a lot out of whichever watch you choose, especially at these reduced prices.

Below, you can find the three models I've chosen, links to the deals, plus a little bit about why I've chosen these particular models, and who should buy them.

Garmin Fenix 8

(Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)

US deal: Garmin Fenix 8 (47mm): was ~~$999.99~~ now $731.34 on Amazon US
UK deal: Garmin Fenix 8 (47mm): was ~~£699.99~~ now £595.56 on Amazon UK

The Garmin Fenix 8 is a powerful watch. In our official Garmin Fenix 8 review, we gave it five stars, calling it "rugged, expensive perfection". It's amazing for long-distance running, skiing, multi-day hikes, and any workout that involves finding your way outdoors. However, it's not cheap.

That's why it's nice to see some lowest-ever prices in the US and the UK for this watch. We know the reason why — the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro and 9 have just been released, so it's only natural to see the Fenix 8 coming down in price. However, that doesn't stop a Fenix 8 for under $750 / £600 feeling less like an extravagant purchase and more like a smart deal.

This is the Garmin deal to get if you're a serious outdoor enthusiast, long-distance athlete, or hiker.

Fenix 8 (47mm): was $999.99 now $731.34
Save an impressive $268.65 on the listing price of the Garmin Fenix 8. This is a lowest-ever price on the standard 47mm Fenix 8, and the only version of the watch that's seriously discounted, with other colors and sizes costing more. However, the middle-of-the-road size offers incredible performance, full-color maps, SatIQ multi-band GPS, all the health metrics you could want, and a battery life of up to 16 days.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 8 reviewView Deal

Fenix 8 (47mm): was £699.99 now £595.56
Save a cool £100 off the UK listing price of the Garmin Fenix 8. This is the ultimate adventure watch, and while the discount isn't quite as good as the US one, the lowest starting retail price means you end up with an equivalent value. Given the price of other watches such as the Forerunner 570, which doesn't have all the features of the Fenix 8, I can heartily recommend this deal.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 8 reviewView Deal

Garmin Forerunner 165

(Image credit: Future)

US deal: Garmin Forerunner 165: was ~~$249.99~~ now $198.99 at Amazon US
UK price: Garmin Forerunner 165: now £160.99 at Amazon UK

The Garmin Forerunner 165, like the Garmin Fenix 8, has been replaced in the lineup this year by a more recent model, this time the Garmin Forerunner 170. As a result, we're seeing prices drop on the older model, which means you're getting a good watch at a great price.

When I reviewed the Garmin Forerunner 165, I gave it 4.5 stars, noting its wonderful bright screen, feature-rich software and 11-day battery life as good value for the price even then. It's all-plastic, so it can feel a bit cheap, but it does make the training tool very lightweight.

The US deal gets you 20% off, and while the UK Amazon deal doesn't state a temporary drop in price, it began life as a £249.99 watch, and Currys has it listed at £199 right now, meaning the above Amazon link is the cheapest place to buy it.

As the name suggests, regular runners should look closely at this watch. While it doesn't have full-color maps, it's got more than enough functionality for most people running distances from 5-10km up to marathons, in addition to daily health tracking.

Forerunner 165, Black: was $249.99 now $198.99
The Garmin Forerunner 165 is ideal for runners, as it provides race-adaptive training plans based on your upcoming events, and daily suggested workouts. A combination of buttons and touchscreen operation means it can be used with gloves in the cold winter months, and it tracks your training and recovery with its Readiness score. The Whitestone color is available for an extra $10.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 165 reviewView Deal

Forerunner 165, Black: was £199.99 now £160.99
Nominally, this isn't a deal, as Amazon hasn't labelled it as such, but the Forerunner 165 has come down in price. You're still saving 20% at Amazon compared to other retailers like Currys, so I'd recommend buying it here rather than elsewhere.

Read our full Garmin Forerunner 165 reviewView Deal

Garmin Vivoactive 5/6

(Image credit: Future)

US deal: Garmin Vivoactive 5: was ~~$299.99~~ now $189.90 at Amazon US
UK deal: Garmin Vivoactive 6: was ~~£234.99~~ now £176.34 at Amazon UK

The Garmin Vivoactive series is a watch for generally active people, rather than one specifically geared towards runners or adventurers, and as a result, it's very popular. I gave the Garmin Vivoactive 6 an impressive 4.5 stars in my review, calling it "a pocket rocket" Its small size and cheaper price make it a great gift, and it's come down in price in the UK.

In the US, the Vivoactive 6 is still at full price. However, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is shockingly cheap in America, and there isn't that much difference between them. The Vivoactive 6 packs advanced running metrics, course mapping on-wrist, double the storage its Smart Wake alarm, but the two watches share the same screen, software, battery life, fitness tracking and general look.

I'd recommend these watches to gym-goers, joggers or sporty people — anyone who loves the gym or multi-disciplinary forms of exercise, and wants something longer-lasting than an Apple or Samsung watch.

You can save a huge 37% on the Garmin Vivoactive 5 in the US. Its 11-day battery life, bright AMOLED screen and combinations of buttons and touchscreen make it really versatile, while metal accents and notification management ensure it's wearable all week long, and looks nice in the office and on the street as well as in the gym.

Read our full Garmin Vivoactive 5 reviewView Deal

Save 25% on the do-it-all Vivoactive 6 in the UK. It takes the 11-day battery life, AMOLED screen and button-touchscreen of the 5, adding more comprehensive running metrics, a silent Smart Wake alarm linked to your sleep tracking to rouse you at the lightest stage of sleep, basic route navigation features using Garmin's excellent Create a Course functionality, and an Evening Report as well as a Morning one.

Read our full Garmin Vivoactive 6 reviewView Deal

More Prime Day deals in the US

Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.36
Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $28
Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $89
Smartwatches: up to 36% off Garmin & Apple
Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $49

More Prime Day deals in the UK

Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
Amazon Devices: up to 67% off Fire, Ring & Blink
Amazon Haul: extra 15% off for Prime members
Appliances: up to 40% off Ninja & De'Longhi
Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
Essentials: cleaning & groceries from £2
Fashion: up to 50% off
Gaming: record-low Nintendo Switch 2
Headphones: up to 50% off Anker & Sony
Laptops: up to £800 off Microsoft & Asus
Tablets: up to 50% off Fire tablets
TVs: from £129.99
Vacuums: up to 50% off Shark & Dyson
Wearables: Samsung & Oura from £31

My favorite heart rate-monitoring sports earbuds are back to their lowest ever price for Prime Day, and if you own an iPhone, your workout regime needs them

becky.scarrott@futurenet.com (Becky Scarrott) — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 03:00:00 +0000

Having a quick glance at our Amazon Prime Day deals coverage before a quick 5k? You're a more dedicated person than I am, and that means something.

So let me tell you about a set of earbuds I love for that kind of activity — when I actually get around to it — that are also heavily discounted for Amazon's October Prime Day (aka Big Deal Days). You'll probably recognize 'em anyway, because their older 2019 siblings were the wireless earbuds for a long while. The product is their update, the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2, and right now, they're only $179 (was $249) in the US, or £179 (was £249) in the UK, both at Amazon.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

And while both discounts equate to 28% off, in the US that's a return to their lowest-ever price, while in the UK it's not — they briefly dipped to £141 in December of last year. I know, that's madness… and I don't think it'll happen again, sadly.

Today's best Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 deal, US

Powerbeats Pro 2: was $249.99 now $179.95
I'll be honest, the lilac (or 'Hyper Purple') is my top choice. I remember that when I tested them, I could choose my review sample loan product, and I loved them. That said, the 'Quick Sand' gray, 'Jet Black', or 'Electric Orange' finishes are all discounted too. If you own an iPhone, your workouts will not be the same after this purchase. View Deal

Today's best Powerbeats Pro 2 deal, UK

The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 are some of the best running headphones you can buy, now at a steep discount. They beat their predecessor in almost every category, with a modern Apple H2 chip, lighter weight, longer battery life, and new features like heart-rate monitoring and Qi wireless charging. The battery lasts an impressive 45 hours total with both the buds and case, which beats many of the best workout earbuds by a long shot.View Deal

My Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review is the place to get the full scoop, but in a nutshell: even outside of the heart-rate monitor (which I actually prefer here to the solution in AirPods Pro 3, because I find the Beats fit better and stay secure in the scenarios in which I need to get a reading), their lightweight build and head-tracked spatial audio make them a winner. As a plus, they also add wireless Qi charging.

The long battery life is also one of the most convenient features — and again, it's something you won't find in Apple's ice-white AirPods. The Powerbeats Pro 2 can last up to 45 hours in total, when using both the earbuds and the charging case. This is much longer than most rivals on the market.

To check out competing options, see our guides to the best workout headphones and best running headphones,

but I test these kinds of earbuds for a living and, as I said in my review: "The reason the Powerbeats Pro 2 get the rating they do is their enviable 45-hour maximum battery life, excellent in-ear security, talented head-tracked spatial support in Apple Music, and a useful heart-rate monitor for your workouts."

If you need wall-of-silence ANC, they're not the buds for you — I'm going to tell you right now. But if you're running in them, I'd strongly suggest that's not what you need. If you do need that, see a couple of other Prime Day deals below (don't worry, I'll let you know which have great noise-nixing).

More Prime Day headphones/earbuds deals to consider, US

Apple Airpods Pro 3 Wireless Earbuds With Active Noise Cancellation: was $249 now $179
Amazon has dropped Apple's AirPods Pro 3 to $179.99, which is the best price you can find right now. Upgrades to the AirPods Pro 3 include vastly improved Active Noise Cancellation and audio, a better in-ear design, live translation and the ability to track heart rate, workouts, and calories burned. They're the complete package, especially for iPhone owners. View Deal

Sony WH-1000XM6: was $459.99 now $378
They're class-leaders for a reason folks. These flagship Sonys really are the best that Sony can offer: think supreme comfort, big cosy ear cups and cocoon of silence ANC. Oh, and a whopping $82 off! View Deal

Liberty 5 Pro: was $169.99 now $135.99
While 20% off isn't as big a saving as for the Space 2, it's nothing to turn your nose up at. I can't see any previous discounts in the deal history, so this could be the first time the buds have been reduced. And they're absolutely worth it — one of my colleagues won't use anything else. View Deal

Quietcomfort Headphones: was $359 now $169
This is the older-gen set, not the new 2nd-generation QuietComfort — but for this money and with this iconic design, you cannot go wrong. Oh, and many of the colorways (including this limited-edition green) are in the sale, so you can have a style set to match you fall wardrobe. View Deal

Need something super-cheap, right now? Here you go: Sony's WH-CH520 on-ears have recently been superseded by the WH-CH530, but look what that has done to the price tag! For the same price as an ad-free Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max bundle you can have these indefinitely — and yes, the sound quality absolutely befits Sony's name. View Deal

Space 2: was $129.99 now $99.99
It seems that Soundcore's over-ears are $10 cheaper than they've ever gone before. Symbolically dropping into double-figures, that makes them seem like a real bargain, especially now that they're half the price of the Pro sibling.View Deal

More Prime Day headphones/earbuds deals to consider, UK

They may not be Sony's newest flagship model, but the Sony WH-1000XM5 still have an awful lot to offer, with amazing ANC, exciting and punchy audio, an attractive look, and no end of features to play around with in Sony's Sound Connect app. At less than £200, you're looking at an unbeatable value for money option.View Deal

Space 2: was £129.99 now £99.99
Double-figure pricing on these reliable over-ears is great, especially because it puts them at the same price point as many tempting rivals. All the color options are reduced too, so you can get the lovely blue version I use.View Deal

If you're a fan of on-ears, then I'd highly recommend scooping up the Sony WH-CH520 right now. For under £30, the quality you get in return is astonishing. With clean, balanced sound, 50 hours of battery life, and excellent in-app controls, there's just so much to love.View Deal

Liberty 5 Pro: was £149.99 now £112.49
At a quarter off, this is the biggest proportional saving of the lot. The discount applies on all four color options, but not the Pro Max model. Personally, I'd go for the Pros, even before the discount, and the wider price discrepancy makes it a no-brainer. View Deal

I love the expansive sound signature of the Sony 1000X The Collexion, as well as their incredibly comfortable fit, luxurious looks, and gigantic feature-set. Now, you can net £75 off Sony's most premium wireless headphones ever, making them a must-buy for anyone that wants the ultimate blend of premium sound and design.View Deal

More Prime Day deals in the US

Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.36
Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $28
Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $89
Smartwatches: up to 36% off Garmin & Apple
Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $49

More Prime Day deals in the UK

Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
Amazon Devices: up to 67% off Fire, Ring & Blink
Amazon Haul: extra 15% off for Prime members
Appliances: up to 40% off Ninja & De'Longhi
Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
Essentials: cleaning & groceries from £2
Fashion: up to 50% off
Gaming: record-low Nintendo Switch 2
Headphones: up to 50% off Anker & Sony
Laptops: up to £800 off Microsoft & Asus
Tablets: up to 50% off Fire tablets
TVs: from £129.99
Vacuums: up to 50% off Shark & Dyson
Wearables: Samsung & Oura from £31

Garmin's new Approach S72 golf watch looks great, but I was hoping for a new Marq

rob.dwiar@futurenet.com (Rob Dwiar) — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:38:01 +0000

Garmin has announced a brand-new golf watch to join its lineup, the Approach S72, and while it looks like an excellent watch already in terms of form and features, it's simply not the one I was really hoping would be revealed.

I'd long been anticipating the next Garmin to join our best golf watches list, so my hype levels were elevated, and looking into the pattern of releases, I had really high hopes for one model in particular: the MARQ Golfer Gen 3.

Don't get me wrong, I will absolutely be all over the Approach S72 — I reviewed the Approach S70 and really enjoyed it, and am sure the S72 will eclipse it and provide a really excellent golf experience. Garmin simply doesn't miss when it comes to golf wearables and tech.

It quadruples the memory over its S70 sibling, for starters, but I also love the sound of mixing golf and biometric data to understand a round of golf more.

There are two features that I'm also really keen on. First is the Swing metrics feature, which will offer golfers insights into their swings such as hand speed, backswing length, wrist rotation and more. Second is the Driving Range activity profile, which will give me information like my tendencies and habits on the range but also log it as a workout, working toward my fitness goals. These are definitely welcome and help to make a device that can be your golfing companion both in training and on the course.

The cherry on top is that it does look like a more lifestyle-friendly timepiece too, which is very welcome.

The addition of a flashlight, a speaker, and a microphone also gives it new functionality and day-to-day usage, which is definitely a plus. The shift from a rubber to a ComfortFit material strap is something I'm personally less keen on, though I can get the attraction if you're also going to be wearing it for running, in the gym, or other workouts — which you can, of course, because it'll make use of Garmin's excellent general fitness functions too.

But it just won't be that mega-premium, everything-turned-up-to-11 kind of wearable that the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) was for me. And that's what I really want the MARQ Golfer (Gen 3) to be — a hero piece.

The premium golf watch to rule them all

(Image credit: Future/Rob Dwiar)

The Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) left such an impression on me when I reviewed it that I was sad to send it back. It's a complete package of a golf watch and — at least when I reviewed it last year — it was easily the most lifestyle-focused watch in the golf lineup.

It had all the features Garmin offered in golf at the time — although I really do wish Garmin would stop locking a lot of the coolest and most helpful features behind the Connect+ subscription, something it continues to be guilty of even with the new S72 — all displayed on a wonderful, punchy screen, and it was easy to navigate with intuitive controls. I even remember just using the screen for any function being a joy; it was that good.

And with that watch first releasing in late 2022, and with the S50 and S44 golf watches arriving earlier this year, I pinned my hopes on the next launch being the Gen 3. The time felt right for a new premium watch, encapsulating everything that Garmin has advanced and developed in the past few years, to be released and offer a new premium package to strive for. Heck, even the existing Gen 2 has seen price cuts, and that watch's availability is starting to wane, giving my prediction extra weight. But it wasn't to be, and my wait continues.

In reality, I don't think the Approach S72 will be anything to be disappointed about; of course it won't — but it's just not going to be quite the dizzying heights of what I will have to continue imagining the Gen 3 of the MARQ Golfer will be.

While I wait for the Gen 3, I'll just be over here, swapping out the ComfortFit fabric strap on the S72 with a nice leather one to get that MARQ feel.

The Garmin Approach S70 is available to order on October 9 and will cost $799.99 / £699.99 for the 47mm variant, with a smaller 43mm variant also available.

Garmin just launched two new smartwatches, including the Enduro 4

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:42:54 +0000

Garmin has launched the Enduro 4 with 90 days of battery life
The Approach S72 also lands with dedicated features for golfers
If you’re after a bargain, the Fenix 8 might be a better option

Garmin has just released two new contenders for our best Garmin watches list: the Enduro 4, an update to its popular line of high-performance, battery-first smartwatches, and a new Approach S72 golf watch that is intended to help people “better understand their whole game,” according to Garmin.

The Enduro 4 uses a 1.4-inch MIP display to provide up to 90 days of battery life, which Garmin says makes it the company’s “longest-lasting GPS smartwatch.” There’s a new ComfortFit fabric band replacing the older nylon hook-and-loop style on the Enduro 3.

Dedicated power modes are on board to extend accuracy or battery life, with grade-adjusted pace-based workout targets and the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro's new Epic and Stamina features to help you better understand your endurance. Otherwise, it's very similar to the old Enduro 3, right down to the weight (57g) and materials (Power Sapphire lens, titanium bezel, polymer shell).

As for the Garmin Approach S72, it looks like an upgrade over the older, excellent Garmin Approach S70. It comes with 'golf biometric data' that allow you to analyze your performance on the green through your heart rate, matching it to key moments during your game.

You can also make phone calls, use voice commands, and get up to 20 hours of battery life (or up to 16 days with GPS switched off).

Enduro 4 vs Fenix 9 Pro

(Image credit: Garmin)

Garmin has priced the Approach S72 at $ $799.99 / £699.99 / €799.99, while the Enduro 4 will set you back $899.99 / £799.99 / €899.99. The cost of the latter is interesting because it’s $200 shy of the Fenix 9 Pro, one of Garmin’s most capable (and most expensive) smartwatches.

If you opt for the Enduro 4, there are a few things you miss out on from the Fenix 9 Pro. That includes a 3,000-nit AMOLED display, the titanium case, a built-in speaker/microphone combination, and double the internal storage.

However, the Enduro 4 has a few benefits of its own, notably relating to battery life: you’ll get up to 90 days of juice in smartwatch mode or up to 320 hours in activity mode, compared to up to 10 days with the Fenix 9 Pro. The Enduro 4 also boasts solar charging to keep itself topped up.

While the Enduro 4 is a little cheaper than the Fenix 9 Pro, whichever one you go for depends on your needs. The former focuses squarely on long-lived battery performance, while the latter is more of a high-end all-rounder for people who need the best of everything.

Today's best Garmin deals

In the US and UK, it's Amazon Prime Day, or Amazon Big Deal Days, and there are plenty of deals on top Garmins to be found.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

In the US, the Garmin Fenix 8 (47mm) in Black is currently available at Amazon for $729.99 (was ~~$999.99~~) a saving of 27% off the RRP. We'd expect prices to start falling on the Fenix 8 now the 9 is out, but this is a great deal by any metric.

In the UK? The same Garmin Fenix 8 47mm model is available at Amazon for £595.96 (was ~~£699.99~~) saving you a cool £105. Check out both deals in full below.

Fenix 8 (47mm) Black: was $999.99 now $729.99
Save $270 on the Garmin Fenix 8, one of the best multisport watches on shelves at the moment. Garmin's powerful AMOLED screen, an LED torch, rugged titanium bezel, dive mode, full-color topographical maps... it's got enough for any adventurer, and it's also got a golf mode. View Deal

Fenix 8 (47mm) Black: was £699.99 now £595.96
Garmin's excellent adventure watch in its middle size gets a cool £104 discount. I've used this particular model and it's excellent — at this price, it's approaching the now-outdated Garmin Epix Pro and Fenix 7, and offers better value and software support. A great deal. View Deal

The Apple Watch Series 12 just got its first price cut on Amazon

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0000

It's Amazon Prime Day, or Big Deal Days as Amazon's taken to calling it, and there are lots of deals on all manner of fitness and wellness kits — but my first port of call was to check the Apple Prime Day deals for any Apple Watch discounts. As luck would have it, there are quite a few in both the US and UK — so now's the time to get yourself a new smartwatch.

In the US, the brand new Apple Watch Series 12 just got its first discount. Right now on Amazon US, the GPS-only Apple Watch Series 12 in 42mm is $349.99 (was $399). Meanwhile, the 46mm, GPS-only Apple Watch Series 12 is available on Amazon for $399.99 (was ~~$449~~).

If that's out of your price range, however, I've got an affordable alternative: the Apple Watch SE 3 now starts at just $199.99 on Amazon (was ~~$249~~) for the 40mm GPS-only model. That's a terrific value pick, and the discount also extends to larger and GPS+Cellular models.

You can check out the full deals below, including the GPS+Cellular versions of both watches, which can be added to a phone's data plan.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

In the UK, you can get the Apple Watch Series 11 starting at £259 (was ~~£319~~) on Amazon for its smaller 42mm size, and the 46mm is down to £278.02 (was ~~£349~~), saving you 20%. Those numbers are for the GPS-only models, but the discounts extend across Cellular versions too.

The Apple Watch SE 3 is also on sale in the UK, starting at £199.99 (was ~~£249~~) on Amazon. Check out the deals using the 'UK deals' hotlink or scroll down to see the full list.

Apple Watch deals in the US

Today's best Apple Watch deals: Quick links

Apple Watch Series 12: 42mm (GPS-only): was ~~$399~~ now $349.99 at Amazon
Apple Watch Series 12: 46mm (GPS-only): was ~~$449~~ now $399.99 at Amazon
Apple Watch SE 3: 40mm (GPS-only): was ~~$249~~ now $199 at Amazon

Watch Series 12 (GPS-only) 42mm: was $399 now $349.99
The brand-new Apple Watch Series 12 offers a redesigned Health Sensing System, which means more accurate heart rate readings, a Readiness Score, and more metrics in your Vitals app. Audio Intelligence features like Shazam, Live Rewind and Recaps make your new Apple Watch smarter, too.

42mm GPS+Cellular: was ~~$499~~ now $449.99 at AmazonView Deal

Watch Series 12 (GPS-only) 46mm: was $449 now $397.99
The larger 46mm Apple Watch Series 12 is great for larger wrists, with its liquid-retina OLED display showing off its Maps complication, Photos watch face, and larger Smart Stack, making it easier to use at a glance than ever.

46mm GPS+Cellular: was ~~$549~~ now $499.99 at AmazonView Deal

Watch SE 3 (GPS-only) 40mm: was $249 now $199
Save 20% / $50 on Apple's cheapest Apple Watch, making it better value than ever. The SE 3 may have the older 18-hour all-day battery life, but it comes with fast charging and most key watchOS 27 features.

44mm GPS-only: was ~~$279~~ now $229 at AmazonView Deal

Apple Watch deals in the UK

Today's best Apple Watch deals: Quick links

Apple Watch Series 11: 42mm (GPS-only): was ~~£319~~ now £259 at Amazon
Apple Watch Series 11: 46mm (GPS-only): was ~~£349~~ now £278.02 at Amazon
Apple Watch SE 3: 40mm (GPS-only): was ~~£219~~ now £199 at Amazon

Watch Series 11 (GPS-only) 42mm: was £319 now £259
Last year's Apple Watch Series 11 is by no means long in the tooth: although it lacks the Series 12's redesigned Health Sensing System, it's an excellent, accurate watch in its own right, with the latest model's 24-hour battery life and watchOS 27 smarts.

42mm GPS+Cellular: was ~~£419~~ now £357 at AmazonView Deal

Watch Series 11 (GPS-only) 46mm: was £349 now £278.02
The larger 46mm Apple Watch Series 11 offers a slightly bigger discount, saving you a full 20%. At this price, it's definitely worth buying over a full-price Apple Watch Series 12.

46mm GPS+Cellular: now £399 at AmazonView Deal

Watch SE 3 (GPS-only) 40mm: was £218 now £199
Save twenty quid on the SE 3. While there are some cheaper construction elements and older parts used on the watch, it's still the best-value (not just the cheapest) Apple Watch on shelves and a steal at under £200.

44mm GPS-only: was £249 now £229 at Amazon View Deal

More Prime Day deals in the US

Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.36
Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $28
Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $89
Smartwatches: up to 36% off Garmin & Apple
Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $49

More Prime Day deals in the UK

Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
Amazon Devices: up to 67% off Fire, Ring & Blink
Amazon Haul: extra 15% off for Prime members
Appliances: up to 40% off Ninja & De'Longhi
Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
Essentials: cleaning & groceries from £2
Fashion: up to 50% off
Gaming: record-low Nintendo Switch 2
Headphones: up to 50% off Anker & Sony
Laptops: up to £800 off Microsoft & Asus
Tablets: up to 50% off Fire tablets
TVs: from £129.99
Vacuums: up to 50% off Shark & Dyson
Wearables: Samsung & Oura from £31

The Urevo Spacewalk E1L walking pad is now under $130 at Best Buy

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 21:00:00 +0000

Anybody looking to get their steps in and continue their fitness goals over fall and winter — but doesn't like the idea of walking in the cold and dark, be it for comfort or safety reasons — should give under-desk treadmills or walking pads a look.

Slimmer and cheaper than normal treadmills, they can slide under a sofa or bed when not in use, so they're easy to store. They're not fast because they lack guardrails, but they're perfect for getting you moving while watching TV or working (alongside a standing desk). Having this kind of low-impact cardio fitness equipment at home makes it easy to hit step goals and keep moving, even during winter, helping you to stay healthy.

My pick of the deals so far is the Urevo Spacewalk E1L, now available at Best Buy for just $129.99 (was ~~$189.99~~), saving you $60. Check out the deal in full below:

The Urevo Spacewalk E1L is portable, features five layers of shock absorbers in the belt, and supports up to 265lbs of user weight. It comes with a remote control to manage speed, and features an LED display at the head of the treadmill. No fuss, no frills, and it's usable right out the box. View Deal

While we haven't reviewed this model, we have reviewed its sibling treadmill, the Urevo Spacewalk E4w, which shot right to the top of our best under-desk treadmills buying guide. It has a similar weight, top speed, and power, so I feel comfortable recommending the E1L with the deal on, based on the quality of the E4w.

Not in the US? You can check out this UK deal from Amazon on another Urevo treadmill, the 2-in-1.

2-in-1 under desk treadmill: was £139.99 now £99.99
Save £40 on the 2-in-1 treadmill. With a similar 2.5HP motor and profile as the treadmill above, the main difference here is the treadmill's incline capability, with the capacity to go up to 9% to simulate more challenging hill walks. View Deal

Why get an under-desk treadmill?

(Image credit: LLoyd Coombes)

Whether you're looking to work on a standing desk or you're interested in getting your step count goals smashed while staying cozy at home, an under-desk treadmill is a smart health purchase, especially for exercisers who may not enjoy or be able to take part in higher-impact training. I've reviewed quite a few walking pads during my stint as TechRadar's fitness editor, and asked writers to review others for me.

They're useful gadgets. Research found that for people unable to tolerate moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, lower-intensity walking was still beneficial for improving health. If you loathe running or cycling, sticking to one of the best streaming services and settling in for a binge-watch while walking on a treadmill might be just the thing to get you exercising.

The 4.5-star Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is now cheaper than the Apple Watch SE 3

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:44:28 +0000

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is a terrific smartwatch, and I actually preferred it to the bigger, more expensive Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Classic. I found that slim 'squircle'-shaped chassis is a nice wide surface that locks to the wrist very nicely, making it a great workout watch for exercising as it doesn't move as much as more chunky watches.

It's also got an onboard running coach with over 160 plans, from beginner 5Ks to long-distance races, and its bright 3,000 nit screen is perfect for fielding notifications and answering messages as well as checking your stats mid-workout. Samsung's sleep tracking is stellar too.

I've spotted some great deals on the watch at Currys. Right now, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 in its 40mm, Bluetooth-only model for just £219 at Currys (was ~~£269~~). That's cheaper than the cheapest Apple Watch (the SE 3) and a whole lot of value. The LTE-enabled version of the smaller 40mm is also available for £269 (was ~~£319~~), saving you £50 just like the deal on the Bluetooth-only model.

The Watch 8 discount is available in the larger 44mm size, with the Bluetooth-only model at £249 (was ~~£299~~) while the 44mm LTE version is £299 (was ~~£349~~). Check out all four deals below.

Today's best Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 deals

Galaxy Watch 8 (40mm) Bluetooth-only: was £269 now £219
The 40mm Galaxy Watch 8, which we rated 4.5 stars in our review and called "unequivocally the best mainline Galaxy Watch in ages" is now cheaper than the cheapest Apple Watch. It's packing 64GB of storage, AI-powered health metrics like Sleep and Energy scores, along with Heart Health Management suite and tons of fitness features.

44mm Bluetooth-only model: was ~~£299~~ now £249View Deal

Galaxy Watch 8 (40mm) LTE: was £319 now £269
The LTE-enabled version of the watch can be added to a phone's data plan, allowing you to use WhatsApp, email, and other apps without your phone nearby. Very useful if, for example, you go for a run without your phone.

44mm LTE model: was ~~£349~~ now £299View Deal

If you're in the US, there aren't as many good deals around on Samsung watches yet, but I did spot this 44mm Bluetooth-only Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 discounted to $307 (was ~~$329.99~~) at Best Buy.

Galaxy Watch 8 (44mm) Bluetooth-only: was $329.99 now $307
Save on the 44mm Bluetooth-only version of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 at Best Buy. The other models have much smaller discounts (like 12 dollars off the 40mm) or none at all, so I've highlighted the best one here. View Deal

Why get this deal?

Even though Samsung has already brought out the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9, it's a very iterative upgrade: you're not losing much by sticking with the older model. In fact, as prices have now gone down for the older model due to its replacement hitting shelves, you're looking at a better value buy than getting the latest version.

Who should get one? For starters, Samsung phone users. The watch can act like a camera viewfinder and interface with Samsung apps, including Samsung Health for all those AI-powered insights.

Runners of all levels of experience will love it due to the extensive coaching plans and comfortable lockdown on the wrist, but anyone interested in keeping fit and managing notifications phone-free will get a lot out of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8.

Fitbit Edge leak reveals a new fitness tracker with a screen

James Rogerson — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 10:03:02 +0000

The Fitbit Edge has leaked with similar specs to the Fitbit Air, plus an added screen
This reportedly gives it access to apps like Google Maps and YouTube Music
It could launch as soon as this month

In recent years, Google has seemed more focused on the Pixel Watch line than its Fitbit trackers, but it hasn’t abandoned those devices completely, with the screen-free Fitbit Air landing earlier this year — and now, a new wearable reportedly dubbed the Fitbit Edge has been sighted.

This device has been extensively leaked by Android Headlines, complete with images — some of which you can see below — and specs, but it sounds a lot like a Fitbit Air with an added screen. Like the Air, the Edge reportedly has up to seven days of battery life, GPS, elevation tracking, automatic activity tracking, and support for both Android and iOS.

But thanks to its screen, it also supports a handful of apps, like Google Maps, YouTube Music, and Find My Phone. You’ll also be able to get notifications on your wrist, and of course, you’ll be able to view things like your step count and heart rate without having to look at your phone.

Android Headlines

A middle ground

So the Fitbit Edge should essentially sit somewhere between the screen-free Air and the Google Pixel Watch 5 — the latter being a full smartwatch with even more capabilities, but with worse battery life and no iOS support.

Android Headlines notes that you could also look at it as a successor to the Fitbit Charge line — a series which we haven’t seen a new entry in since 2023.

According to Android Headlines, the Fitbit Edge will come in black, green, and orange shades, with the potential for more options down the line.

It doesn’t sound like the site has any inside information on the price or release date, but it speculates that the Edge could launch this month, so that it’s on shelves in time for the holiday season, and that it might cost between $149 (roughly £110 / AU$215) and $199 (around £150 / AU$285).

Apple Watch Series 12 vs Garmin Cirqa for one week — sleep scores compared

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 21:00:00 +0000

I've been wearing the Apple Watch Series 12 to bed every night for a week now, which means, after seven nights of calibration, I finally got the benefits of the revamped Vitals app and the new Readiness Score. The Watch has to learn your baseline metrics so it can see outliers, which is why it takes a week for the Vitals app to gauge whether your heart rate variability, respiratory rate, blood oxygen and more fall within your 'typical' range.

Readiness is the last metric, as it aggregates your sleep quality based on these parameters, compares it with your activity levels and gives you a score from 1 to 10 on how energetic and prepared-for-the-day you might be feeling.

This is the first time Apple devices have had a Readiness metric, compared to the long-serving nature of the features on the best Garmin watches, Samsung and Google wearables, and many others, so naturally, I wanted to compare it with another wearable device.

These days, I'm most often using my Garmin Cirqa for sleep tracking, so I kept wearing it on my right wrist, and the Apple Watch Series 12 on my left. Below, I've compared my sleep scores from across the week for accuracy, as well as my Readiness at the end of it all.

Sleep scores across the week

(Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)

I fully expected Apple and Garmin to provide disparate scores at first, only to tighten up as the week progressed and Apple learned more about my body. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened, as Apple gave my first night a score of 93 compared to Garmin's dismal 62.

After that, you can see above that the graph follows the same general trends: a rising incline as the week progresses, with a dip in the middle, and a high final night.

The main outlier other than night 1 is night 6, for which I have no explanation. Garmin gave me a score as high as 87, while Apple gave me a mere 68. You can see the difference in the graphs above, but I've listed all my scores in the table below, too.

Date	Garmin	Apple
26/09/2026	62	93
27/09/2026	67	56
28/09/2026	78	82
29/09/2026	95	84
30/09/2026	77	72
01/10/2026	87	68
02/10/2026	87	83

Perhaps there will always be these outliers here and there. Research from health data API creator Terra measured 77,000 nights' sleep across six major wearables companies, and found that while most trackers are accurate enough to converge on duration and general trends, sometimes outliers in their data exist due to the different sensors and algorithms used between manufacturers.

The study stated that "once you break sleep into stages [light, deep, REM phases of sleep], agreement [between wearables] falls apart: REM, deep, and light can diverge by hours in direct comparisons."

However, are these outliers statistically important, as long as the wearables are all charting similar trends coming to the same conclusions?

Readiness

(Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)

At the end of the week, I got my first Readiness score from Apple. It was a 7/10, indicating that I was 'ready' without being 100% prepared for a mammoth workout.

Checking the Garmin Connect app, I was surprised to see a Readiness score of 70/100, indicating that even though there were some outliers along the way, the wearables came to the exact same conclusion after a week of constant wear. Success!

Conclusion: Pay attention to the trends

While some discrepancies were present during the week, Garmin and Apple both came to the same conclusion on Readiness and offered a similar-shaped sleep score graph, indicating that they're internally consistent and generally quite accurate.

I'd be happy to wear either one to track my sleep, Readiness and fitness in general terms. However, the differences in individual data points are a reminder not to get too caught up into the weeds of the data: as clever as they are, these devices are imperfect, and they estimate. You can see differences in my Apple Watch Series 12 vs Garmin Fenix 9 Pro test too.

If you find yourself stressing too much over your scores or your data, or you feel differently than your watch says you ought to feel, prioritize the messages from your body over the ones from your wearable — and don't be afraid to get a night of untracked sleep now and again to free yourself from sleep score anxiety.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 — a 'Garmin-rivaling powerhouse' — is now up to $200 off

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 16:25:28 +0000

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 was our top pick for the 'best smartwatch overall' throughout 2025 and 2026, although now the Apple Watch Ultra 4 has come along to replace it. We're just finishing our tests with that one, but for now, I bring you very important news — the Apple Watch Ultra 3 has had its price cut at Best Buy and Amazon, even though the Amazon Big Deal Days sale doesn't start until next week.

Right now, you can get the Apple Watch Ultra 3 with its iconic Ocean Loop band for $699 at Best Buy (was ~~$799~~) in both its natural and black titanium colors. The watch is one-size-fits-all, with its hefty 49mm screen, and GPS and cellular options come as standard, so you can add it to a phone's data plan or not — your choice.

Even cheaper, Amazon's offering the Apple Watch Ultra 3 at 25% off, with its Large-sized Alpine Loop for just $599.99 (was ~~$799~~), saving you $200 over Best Buy's $100 and bringing the Ultra 3 down to its lowest ever price. At this price, it might even be worth buying a second smaller, third-party band with it over the Best Buy deal.

If you're after something a little classier, Amazon is also doing the Apple Watch Ultra 3 with its Titanium Milanese Loop band for $699.97 (was ~~$899~~), saving you $200.

Check out all the deals below.

Watch Ultra 3 with Alpine Loop (L): was $799 now $599.97
Save an impressive 25% on the Apple Watch Ultra 3. It's got a 42-hour battery life, high-powered Siri AI smarts, and outstanding health tracking. During my tests, it matched my electrical heart rate monitor practically beat-for-beat, so you know it's accurate. This is a lowest-ever price: while the large-sized Alpine Loop may not be for everybody, I'd recommend checking out the third-party bands and maybe buying the watch with one of those in your basket too. View Deal

Get the Apple Watch Ultra 3 with Ocean Loop: was ~~$799~~ now $699.99 at Best Buy
Get the Apple Watch Ultra 3 with Milanese Titanium Loop: was ~~$899~~ now $699.97 at Amazon

(Image credit: Future)

I rated the Apple Watch Ultra 3 as my best smartwatch of 2025. I wore it for most of 2026, and I can attest to the fact it's both an excellent fitness wearable and a fab daily driver for productivity and notification management.

Although the Apple Watch Ultra 4 is now available, the best thing about the new device cycle isn't that the new, shiny toys are out: it's that last year's still-excellent models, like the Ultra 3, come down in price and become better value. This is a terrific deal I don't expect to stick around.

I've tested every modern Garmin watch — and I'd recommend these 8 deals to get race-ready over winter

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 10:07:04 +0000

It's October, and while the best of the year's weather is behind us, if you're a keen runner your thoughts might already be turning to next spring. April onwards is marathon season, and if you've entered the New York or Berlin events, London's mammoth two-day event, or one of the many other marathons held in cities around the world, you'll want to start getting race-ready over winter.

Alternatively, you might be getting fit for the first time, or after a long absence, and deciding to do what the kids call a 'winter arc' after a summer of indulgence.

The best Garmin watches are perfect tools for runners of all levels preparing for the next step, and there are tons of deals up for grabs right now at retailers, including Amazon, ahead of its Big Deal Days sales event next week. I've reviewed almost every modern Garmin watch, and tested them all, so I'm well qualified to help you find your perfect watch at a great price.

I'm seeing discounts on loads of Garmin watches, such as the high-end Garmin Fenix 8 (we gave this incredible watch a full five stars in our Garmin Fenix 8 review), the budget Garmin Vivoactive 5, and everything in between. I've picked the eight watches getting the best discounts on Amazon, and I've applied our price-checking tool to them all. If those prices change, or a better deal pops up elsewhere, you'll always see the best deal.

Scroll down to see the best deals on the eight Garmins I recommend to get race-ready for less this winter.

Today's best Garmin watch deals

Garmin

Fenix 8 (47mm)

Pros

Advanced GPS
New heart rate sensor
Garmin’s trademark modularity

Cons

Expensive
Bulky

Garmin

Vivoactive 5

Pros

Upgraded AMOLED display
On-watch music streaming
Powerful health and sports tracking options

Cons

Minimal buttons
No barometric altimeter
No Training Readiness

Garmin

Forerunner 170 GPS Watch

Pros

Light and smallish-sized
Great performance
Smart features are useful
Music download includes streaming playlists

Cons

Highly priced compared with 70
No microphone/speaker/voice assistant

Garmin

Forerunner 70 GPS Watch

Pros

Still a solid performer without Garmin’s latest sensors
Lots of new training and smartwatch features added
Sharp, vibrant AMOLED display

Cons

More expensive than the Forerunner 55
Doesn’t get all of Garmin’s latest smartwatch features
No open water or triathlon modes

Garmin

Forerunner 265s

Pros

First small Forerunner with a touchscreen
Bright, crisp AMOLED visuals
Small and pretty
Run button easier to use with gloves

Cons

More expensive than 255 & 255S
Screen boost means (slightly) worse battery life

Garmin

Forerunner 165 (43mm)

Pros

Retains many previously-premium training features
Good-looking AMOLED touchscreen
13 days of battery life

Cons

Not cheap enough to replace the Forerunner 45 or 55
Music storage is extra

Garmin

Instinct 3 (45mm)

Pros

Choice between AMOLED and MIP Solar
Built-in flashlight
All-new fitness tools

Cons

No topo maps
Polymer, not metal casing

Garmin

Instinct 3 Tactical

Pros

Choice between AMOLED and MIP Solar
Built-in flashlight
All-new fitness tools

Cons

No topo maps
Polymer, not metal casing

Daylight saving starts this weekend — here are 8 products to help adjust to the time change seamlessly

nico.arboleda@futurenet.com (Nico Arboleda) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 07:22:59 +0000

Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days sale has delivered plenty of discounts this week, and it’s set to run straight through the long weekend (at least for some parts of Australia), ending at 11:59pm on Monday, October 5.

If you’re in New South Wales, South Australia or the Australian Capital Territory, you’ll probably also know the Labour Day public holiday is partly meant to help you adjust to the start of daylight saving time, where the clock moves one hour ahead.

To help make the transition potentially easier, I’ve hunted down eight deals on sleep tech and related devices such as sunrise alarm clocks, eye masks, earplugs and more that should see you survive the long weekend, and hopefully improve your sleep moving forward.

Follow our dedicated live coverage of the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days 2026 sale for more deals and discounts

Unless you have blackout curtains in your room, it can be hard to stay asleep when the sun gets up, especially with the combination of daylight saving and summer’s longer days, but a sleep mask can be an affordable alternative. While there are plenty of cheap basic options, spending a little bit more for something that can block all light, has breathable materials, adjustable fit and optimised for side sleeping — like this Manta Pro Sleep Mask — makes a lot of sense if it can ultimately help you sleep better.View Deal

Eyeris 1 eye massager: was $89.99 now $64.99
For a different kind of eye mask, the Renpho Eyeris is a massager that aims to relieve eye strain, dry eyes, eye puffiness, sinus pressure and even headaches. It also has Bluetooth connectivity for music playback through the built-in speakers. You can also fold it for storage, making it portable for travelling. It’s relatively bulky and heavy at 662g, so it may not be suitable as a sleep mask, but it can be serviceable for quick naps.View Deal

We called it "nearly the perfect fitness tracker" in our Oura Ring 4 review, praising the design, ease-of-use, long-lasting battery and detailed health information it offers. This fascinating bit of tech hasn't been cheaper and, even though you need a subscription, it could be well worth it for the comprehensive health data you can get. Note that prices vary depending on colour and size, but most are discounted.View Deal

Sleep A30: was $319.99 now $259.99
Earplugs not cutting it? These sleep earbuds from Soundcore have active noise-cancelling that aims to block out sounds like snoring, pets, appliance hum and outside traffic. Its charging case also detects snoring sounds to mask them even further than what the ANC can block. The design is also optimised for side-sleepers to make it comfortable and secure through the whole night. The previous generation A20 is cheaper at AU$199.99, but it does rely on basic passive noise isolation — though it also has a longer 14-hour battery life compared to the A30’s 9 hours with ANC.View Deal

D1+ white noise machine: was $69.99 now $54.14
If you’re not keen on the idea of sleeping with earbuds, then a white noise machine can still provide some ambient sounds to help you nod off. This one from Dreamegg also integrates an alarm clock and a night light to become a multifunctional bedside device. The alarm is available in six different tones with adjustable volume to let you personalise how you want to be woken up. The included night light is bright enough to guide you in the dark but also soft enough that it shouldn’t wake other people up.View Deal

Smart Light Bulbs E27 (4-pack): was $99.99 now $69.99
Forget harsh overhead lights — lamps with LED bulbs are much better for bedrooms (and even living rooms) for providing a cozy, inviting mood to help you wind down after a long day. These smart bulbs from Govee also make lamps much easier to manage by controlling them all remotely, either through a centralised smart home hub or via your smartphone. These can also integrate with Alexa or Google Home, where you can also set up automations. You can check out Amazon’s deals on lamps here.View Deal

Tower Fan 5000: was $179 now $113.05
Tower fans generally run more quietly than pedestal fans, and this one from Philips is rated for 39-46db depending on the chosen speed, compared to 65db from most pedestal fans in the market. This also works great for smaller spaces with a narrow 23.8cm frame while standing 109.5cm tall to provide more cooling.View Deal

Turboblade Ultra: was $399.99 now $279
If you’re keen to splurge a bit, this dual-mode oscillating fan from Shark can work in a vertical ‘tower’ setup like the Philips above, or alternatively be rotated 180º and positioned horizontally to cover a wider area. It runs similarly to the Philips at 40db at its quietest, but note its more powerful modes can emit up to 53db — which is, admittedly, still quieter than most conventional pedestal fans.View Deal

Oura partners with Xella Health to combine your smart ring data with AI-powered biomarker testing

jacob.krol@futurenet.com (Jacob Krol) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 20:00:00 +0000

Oura has partnered with women's precision health platform Xella Health
Members can share sleep, HRV, temperature, and cycle data with Xella's clinicians
Xella pairs that data with biomarker testing and physician-guided treatment plans

Oura has a new partner integration, and this time it’s a women's health platform that combines lab testing with telehealth care, dubbed Xella Health. Folks with an Oura ring in the US can now sign up to send ring data and other analysis right into Xella Health’s systems, assuming you’re subscribed to the platform.

Those subscribed to Xella Health can choose to share sleep, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, temperature trends, recovery, activity, and menstrual cycle insights — essentially all the core Oura stats. Xella then runs what it calls "multi-omic" diagnostics, using custom AI to analyze the physiologic data from Oura alongside your hormones, metabolism, inflammation, nutrition, reproductive health, and cardiometabolic risk to spot patterns that may indicate a change in your health.

This assumes that Xella already has that information, and that you’re a Xella member. If so, combining wearable stats with Xella’s in-depth health metrics might shed light on changes with Oura readings, such as why a Readiness or Sleep score is fluctuating.

From there, Xella’s AI creates a care plan with a doctor, which can include treatment for more than 130 conditions that impact women, such as endometriosis and PMOS. The integration with Oura enables Xella and its doctors to keep an eye on your Oura trends as care continues to catch any significant changes in your health. The partnership between Oura and Xella is targeting fertility, perimenopause, cardiometabolic health, hormonal health, and women's longevity.

"Wearables have transformed our ability to detect physiologic change," Kelly Lacob, CEO and co-founder of Xella Health, said in a statement. "By combining continuous data and insights from Oura with Xella's molecular diagnostics and clinical care, we're creating a more complete picture of women's health."

It's worth noting that Xella is a separate, paid membership on top of Oura that requires an annual fee of $499. Women in all U.S. states, except New York and New Jersey, can sign up to integrate with Xella and go through the process. Of course, an Oura Ring 5 starts at $399 and has a monthly cost of $5.99, but it’s also not a medical device; it's a smart wearable without a screen.

Pairing wearables with lab testing is becoming a battleground for the premium screenless crowd. One of Oura's biggest competitors, Whoop, has opened its blood-testing and cancer-screening service to non-Whoop owners, and Oura has already partnered with women's health app Natural Cycles.

Xella gives Oura a clinical, women-focused answer to Whoop's approach.

Casio is reportedly working on a second version of its digital watch ring

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 19:00:00 +0000

Casio is reportedly planning to launch CRW-002, a second version of its popular CRW-001 ring
The first-generation ring, although something of a novelty, instantly sold out
Casio's retro pull is strong, as its step-tracking F-B100W 'smart' watch is also very popular

Casio's CRW-001 gadget, the catchy name for its retro digital watch ring, sells like absolute hotcakes. Since its December 2024 debut, periodic restocks of the niche little watch-ring hybrid continue to sell out. We're not sure whether this can technically be classed as one of the best smart rings, but this weird little gadget certainly has its devotees.

Now, a new version is apparently on the horizon, according to a report by Russian website Casioblog, spotted and translated by Notebookcheck.

Dubbed, sensibly, CRW-002, the new smart ring is based on Casio's iconic metal A168 watch series. It's said to be available in steel and gold, and will sport some of the same text as sported on the original A168 watch, with phrases like 'Chronograh', 'Illuminator' and 'Water Resist'.

The band of the ring is also a replica of the strap, injection-molded, according to the images posted by Notebookcheck. Features reportedly include "dual time, a 60-minute stopwatch, an LED backlight, a calendar, 12- and 24-hour formats, and Time Flash, which blinks the light on the hour and at a time you set", according to Notebookcheck.

The price is said to be $135 (around £100 / AU$195), which lines up with the average prices of the CRW-001 (around $200 / £105 / AU$250), and it's reportedly set to be released in November.

More than a novelty

(Image credit: Future)

Retro-style Casio watches are evergreen and nostalgic, perhaps because they're part of a growing counterculture.

Analog is back in. Be it retro keychain film cameras, vinyl, or DVDs and Blu-Rays, people are becoming sick of increasing surveillance capitalism and anti-consumer practices, and are looking to return to a time when tech was exciting — albeit without losing their modern conveniences. Wearables are also a part of this movement.

The Casio F-B100W, the Bluetooth-enabled digital watch with a simple step tracker linked to an app and a Find My Phone functionality, has sold like crazy. It was a sell-out hit in Japan, and some outlets in the UK, and very recently landed in the US. I called it "an absolute belter of a watch for the price" and the "most fun" smart wearable I've worn this year when I tried the Casio F-B100W in September 2026.

While the ring-watch has a... unique look, shall we say, obviously enough people like it o make it a hit, and it makes sense Casio would want to repeat its success.

Casio’s F-B100W smartwatch launches in the US after selling out in Japan

alexblake.techradar@gmail.com (Alex Blake) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:04:30 +0000

The Casio F-B100W watch has just gone on sale in the US
It combines a few smart features with a retro-themed design
The device previously sold out in Japan and the UK

Not every smartwatch needs to come with an overwhelming array of bells and whistles — sometimes, a simple digital timepiece with a few handy extras is all you need. That’s the case with the Casio F-B100W, and after selling well in Japan, this retro-themed ticker has finally gone on sale in the US.

As spotted by Notebookcheck, the F-B100W is listed for $64.95 on Casio’s website. It’s available in three colors: black with blue highlights (the F-B100W-1A), the all-black F-B100W-1B, and the green F-B100W-3A.

The Casio F-B100W comes with a smattering of smart features, including basic fitness tracking through its pedometer, a Find My device locator, a timer, a stopwatch, an alarm, and a two-year battery life. And that’s about it.

It originally went on sale in Japan in August, but sold out within hours of becoming available. Its Japanese price of ¥8,800 includes a 10% tax, making it ¥8,000 before tax. That translates to about $50.95, meaning there’s a $14 premium on the US edition.

Still, anyone who’s been wanting to get hold of the Casio F-B100W since it went on sale in Japan might not mind that.

The 'most fun' watch we've tried in 2026

(Image credit: Future)

The Casio F-B100W hasn’t just been restricted to Japan — it’s also been available in the UK, where TechRadar’s wearables guru Matt Evans snapped one up and took it for a spin.

He was so impressed that he described it as the watch that had provided him with “the most fun this year,” adding: “Reader, I am in love.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s also sold out in many places in the UK.

One of the things we enjoyed about the F-B100W was how it balanced just enough “smart” features with a simple, rugged design. That helped keep costs down, meaning you got “an absolute belter of a watch for the price.”

Now that it’s up for sale in the US, American users will get a taste of what it has to offer. Provided they move quickly, that is — with the device selling out in Japan and being increasingly tough to find in the UK, they might not stick around for long.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 review: making smartwatches easy

tom.bedford@hotmail.co.uk (Tom Bedford) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 16:46:33 +0000

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9: One minute review

Every time a new smartwatch is released, it’s sold on its ability to collect new and improved types of health data. Any old fitness tracker knows more about your body’s comings and goings than you do, but without interpretation, these figures, statistics and metrics are all just numbers to you and I. A graph of my blood oxygen through the day, or my HRV while sleeping, won’t tell me how fit I am.

That’s why the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 feels like a breath of fresh air. Its core upgrade isn’t some new facet of health to track, or a different kind of number which it can count, but something simpler. It ties into recent Samsung Health changes to actually provide actionable advice based on your data.

It’s the aggregate watch. All your workouts and body data are condensed into a Fitness Index, which compares your wellness in several different departments to other Samsung users on average, and helps you expand your exercise regimen to improve. Your sleep schedule, daily cadence and heart rate turns into your Energy Score, which helps you understand if, and when, it’s time to workout.

All of that is to say, that the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is far more useful than most wearables I’ve tested, because it actually makes your data mean something. Its smarts may be unnecessary for prolific exercisers, who already know how to use their data, but the average person who cares about health but hasn't yet dived into their fitness with the same granuarity will find it incredibly useful.

Perfect it is not. There are all the usual smartwatch quirks: navigation, and information locations within the UI, can sometimes feel counterintuitive, and it’ll easily pick up scuffs and marks over time. More significantly, the battery life is poor: it’ll go for about a day of use on a single charge, or even less if you’re doing multiple exercises per day, but this has always been a sticking point with Samsung watches.

Some features are also only available if you own a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, and although one could argue that these are more minor tools, it’s still a shame that not all buyers get the same smartwatch.

Still, this feels like one of the most accessible smartwatches you can buy, in terms of its feature set and performance. It’s worth buying if you’ve been on the fence, liking the idea of a smartwatch but never feeling like they justify themselves; this one does.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9: Specifications

Component	Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 (40mm)	Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 (44mm)
Price	From $379.99 / £349.99 / AU$647	From $409.99 / £379.99 / AU$697
Dimensions	42.7 x 40.4 x 8.6mm	46.0 x 43.7 x 8.6mm
Weight	30g	34g
Case/Bezel	Armor Aluminum	Armor Aluminum
Display	1.3-in super AMOLED	1.5-in super AMOLED
GPS	GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo	GPS, Glonass, Beidou, Galileo
Battery Life	Up to 30 hours	Up to 40 hours
Connection	Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 6.0	Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 6.0
Water Resistance	5 ATM	5 ATM

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9: Price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

40mm Bluetooth model starts at $349.99 / £319 / AU$649
44mm model starts at $399.99 / £349 / AU$699
Available to pre-order July 9

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 was unveiled at Galaxy Unpacked on July 22, 2026, alongside the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra.

There are many variants of the watch. You can choose between Bluetooth or LTE connectivity, in 40mm or 44mm size, in a range of body and band sizes and colors, with certain different types of band. You can see some of the prices below for the main four configurations.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 prices
variant	US	UK	AU
40mm Bluetooth	$379.99	£349.99	AU$647
40mm cell / LTE	$429.99	£399.99	AU$747
44mm Bluetooth	$409.99	£379.99	AU$697
44mm cell / LTE	$459.99	£429.99	AU$797

At that price, the watch slightly undercuts the Apple Watch Series 11 – bearing in mind that Apple’s sizes are slightly bigger. However it’s slightly more expensive than the Galaxy Watch 8 was, which is sad but unsurprising in the current tech market given the supply chain crisis.

It’s worth pointing out that lots of the new Galaxy Watch 9 features come from Samsung Health, and many other Samsung wearables are also compatible – and get many of the new tools as a result. They won’t be baked into the watch interface like on the Watch 9, but you’ll still get access to the new tools for cheaper.

And of course, if you’re not interested in this aggregated data, there are budget wearables for literally a fifth of the price which will do the job just fine. If you need any old smartwatch or tracker, you can get one offering a lot better value for money.

Value score: 4/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9: Design

(Image credit: Future)

Relatively thin and lightweight: solid on wrist
3,000 nits screen works well outdoors
Unchanged design from Watch 8

To look at it, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is incredibly similar to its predecessor. You’re getting the same circle display, housed in a squircle metal ‘cushion’. The similarities are more than aesthetic: design-wise, this is basically the same watch.

That’s not a complaint; we gave the Watch 8 a five-star design score. It’s a sleek watch, with two barely-protruding but easy-to-tap buttons on the right edge. It’s small enough to be comfortable to wear in bed, and light enough not to wiggle around when you’re running or working out.

The watch has a 5ATM rating for waterproofing (up to 50 meters), a MIL-STD-810H certification for protection (against extreme temperature, altitude, dust, drops and many more military-grade requirements) and is also IPX8 rated. That is to say, it’s pretty well protected… though it’ll show its war wounds. My review unit, as you’ll see in images, quickly picked up a few dings and scrapes.

All these similarities extend to the screen. A Super AMOLED panel with a max brightness of 3,000 nits, it’s nice and bright for when you’re out in sunlight, or to double as a torch if you need one. Not once did I struggle to see what was going on.

(Image credit: Future)

Mostly, the screen was responsive, but a few times it wouldn’t recognize my touch if my swipe began off the screen (as the screen isn’t huge, it’s easy to miss on gestures). On the 40mm, then, some gestures can be a little finickity, but I don’t imagine this is the case on the 44mm model.

You can buy the watch with Sport, Misty or Fabric bands, in a range of colors. My test sample had the former, which quickly gave me a rash; if you have sensitive skin, I’d recommend avoiding this strap. Luckily, loads more are available to buy online, and they’re easy to replace with a simple press-to-release catch system on the watch body.

The watch’s user interface seems quite simple on the surface, but mastering it can speed up the way you use your watch. Swiping down for quick settings or right for notifications is easy, as is pulling up to see your app drawer. Swiping left brings you Tiles, which are basically on-watch widgets which you can customize. They let you easily see metrics, start tracking certain activities or see information from weather or calendar apps, and learning to use these properly transformed my time with the watch.

It’s not quite perfect, and there are some navigation quirks which are quite annoying. It’s hard to change app on the fly; for example if you’re tracking your cycle ride while also navigating on Google Maps and managing your tunes on Spotify, you’ll constantly have to jump back to the main menu rather than swiping between menus. But these are minor gripes.

Design score: 5/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9: Features

(Image credit: Future)

Aggregates all your data for useful scores
Offers pointers and feedback which are mostly useful
Requires Samsung phone for all features

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 feature set revolves around the brand’s redesigned Samsung Health. The key note change is this: instead of simply recording and reporting all your health and fitness metrics, the watch (and app) will boil all your data down into several key metrics, and then provide feedback and analytics.

Some are really useful. Fitness index was a handy way to compare my strengths and weaknesses in several departments, while Heart Health is a handy way to nudge you towards best cardiovascular practice. However not all are equal: Daily Cardio Load should help you decide whether you’re exercising enough, but it only takes into account logged workouts, rather than actual activity (ie, 20,000 steps will count for less than a 100 meter run), so its feedback doesn’t feel relevant. Likewise, the energy score felt light years from accurate; I’d wake up feeling exhausted, and be told by the watch that my energy level was ‘excellent’.

But for good or ill, it’s great that Samsung Health actually does something with the data the Watch 9 collects. Features like the sleep score and sleep coaching, and the aforementioned Fitness Index, can give you useful pointers towards various goals. For example, the latter tool can give you recommendations to hit health targets, and show you data over time.

Again, the results are sometimes mixed. Running coach – which is admittedly in beta – gave me a laughably incorrect assessment of my running habits, giving me a 4-week training plan which I could complete in two days.

(Image credit: Future)

Some might find the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9’s approach a little oversimplistic, and if you’re in that camp, you might need a device geared more towards pros.

I was constantly surprised by what the Galaxy Watch 9 could track. You can use its sensors to measure body composition, stress and antioxidant levels in the body – obviously these won’t match the accuracy of an actual medical test, but it’s useful for contributing to the aforementioned metrics. I also really appreciated receiving a sweat loss figure during runs, telling me how much to rehydrate.

During testing, I paired the Galaxy Watch 9 with both a Samsung phone, and later a non-Samsung one. Unfortunately, some features are gated for Galaxy device owners, like ECG or blood pressure, so if you have another device you’re missing some of the tech you’re paying for.

Generally, Bluetooth connection was reliable. I had a few unexpected drop-outs, but most of the time, the watch could re-pair to my phone easily. Only once did I need to reboot the watch to regain connection.

Beyond the fitness tools, the Galaxy Watch has plenty of useful extra tools like a torch, music controls and Play Store for extras. I really appreciated the ability to set vibration alarms, so my wrist-mounted wake-up call wouldn’t also rouse my partner, and set alarms on my wrist before bed.

Features score: 4/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

Mostly accurate for exercises and sleep tracking
Battery only lasts a day per charge
Lots of activities to train, but they range in usefulness

Let’s start with one of the weak elements of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9: its battery life. In my testing, it generally lasted a day of serious use; by that I mean workouts tracked most days (sometimes multiple a day), a night of sleep tracking, and notification handling. In fact, during busy days, I’d have to top it up in the afternoon.

A sole day of battery life isn’t ideal, as it means charging the device takes up a significant amount of your potential use time. By reducing my workout frequency, turning off raise-to-wake and reducing notifications handled, I managed to get the device to last closer to two days, but not everyone will want to switch off many features of their fancy smart device.

When it comes to tracking activities, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 felt largely accurate. Its location results matched other trackers I’ve used, as well as GPS mapping tools, and heart rate data was comparable to another fitness watch I used at the same time.

Sleep tracking was a little more iffy. The watch was great at recognizing sleep time versus idling in bed time, avoiding a common wearable problem in which your pre-sleep book reading or post-wake-up dawdle would count as more sleep. However it didn’t always catch my waking up during the night, and sometimes didn’t report all my sleep data after I woke up. Oh well – I was just happy to wear a fitness tracker which wasn’t so big that it disrupted my sleep.

(Image credit: Future)

The watch’s sleep coaching is quite useful: after a test, I was told I sleep like a penguin, and given some tasks to accomplish to get better rest. Since many of these are self-reported, I lied a little bit – yes, Galaxy Watch, of course I meditated before bed – but pointers to get out of bed quickly after an alarm were handy.

Generally, the Samsung is adept at auto-recognizing pauses in your workout: when I stopped at traffic lights, it could tell when I was motionless, and when I’d resumed. It’s a little more unreliable for auto-tracking exercises though. When I took the watch on holiday and spent days wandering around a city, it’d sometimes track my wanders and other times neglect to. Don’t rely on this tool.

The Galaxy Watch has about ten activities available to track via its menu, but you can easily add more from a pre-determined list, or create your own activity if your favorite one is missing (there was no bouldering, so I had to make my own). These are often quite basic – when making bouldering, I could only set it to track duration and calories burnt – but it all contributes to the fitness metrics.

Done a workout? Good luck finding the data. As far as I can tell, you can’t see past workouts on the watch, even via the Samsung Health applet. You can see any done on that day on Samsung Health, but your long list of past workouts is hidden incredibly well within the app (I only found it by clicking a ‘View Records’ pop-up at the top of the app – not the other ‘View Records’ which takes you to your steps. It’s silly!) . Presumably, the brand doesn’t think you’re going to want to see historic data, but I often find this useful to check against.

Performance score: 4/5

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9: Should I buy?

(Image credit: Future)

Buy it if...

You want advice, not numbers

The Galaxy Watch 9’s focus on actionable intel means it’s useful for general health users who could do with some advice, motivation or pointers in order to work out better.

You want something lightweight

I really appreciate how slender and non-bulky the Galaxy Watch is. You can run with it or sleep in it without it weighing you down.

You want something that survives everyday life

This is no rugged Ultra watch, but its protections ensure it’ll survive normal life. No bumps, splashes or unexpected dust storms are going to stop it working.

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a budget

This isn’t a super cheap smartwatch, and plenty of brands make good-value wearables for a much lower price. They won’t do everything the Samsung does, but they’ll do a lot.

You don’t have a Samsung phone

Some features are exclusive to Samsung phones, which also have the necessary Watch software pre-installed.

You need a multi-day device

Because of its low battery life, I can’t recommend the Galaxy Watch for multi-day use. Expect to charge it regularly.View Deal

Also consider

Apple Watch Series 12

Apple’s newest fitness tracker mostly offers AI-centric upgrades, but it’s still the best wearable for Apple fans due to its wide range of features and tools. You'll need an iPhone though.

Review coming soon

Garmin Venu 4

A weighty, powerful watch and the best Garmin watch for generally active people.

Read our full Garmin Venu 4 review

How I tested

I used the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 for three weeks, wearing it on my wrist most of the time over that period. For the first week it was used alongside my Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8, and the second two with the Fairphone 6 Plus.

During that span of time I slept with it, wore it while working, and took it on a week-long holiday. I also tracked various kinds of exercise including runs, walks, bouldering, cycles and tennis, and used all of Samsung Health’s features all that time.

I’ve been reviewing gadgets for TechRadar for eight years, and in that time have tested countless smartwatches and Samsung Galaxy devices. I’ve completed multiple marathons and am training for another, giving the Galaxy Watch 9 something to work towards.

Could a treadmill make you a better runner than an Apple Watch? Peloton execs believe the Peloton Tread Vision's AI cameras offer 'much higher accuracy' than wearables

matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 15:36:40 +0000

Peloton is name that remains synonymous with stationary exercise equipment, despite the company's ups and downs. It experienced huge highs as Covid forced people to exercise indoors, and became a market leader in the best treadmills and exercise bikes, even if it was never quite able to recapture the zeitgeist position it once held as restrictions lifted and people returned to their gyms.

Six years on, the premium exercise equipment company shows no sign of slowing down: its slickly-produced live and recorded classes feature instructors who are treated like celebrities in their own right, and its algorithmic, addictive content meshes with its high-end machinery to make for a 'magic formula' which keeps Peloton power users addicted to indoor cardio.

Now Peloton has announced a trio of new treadmills that will launch starting October 1: the Peloton Tread Flex, the Tread Vision, and the Tread Vision Plus.

Let's start with the Peloton Tread Flex. Costing $2,195 / £1,999 / AU$3,499, it's Peloton's cheapest treadmill, and its cheapest product so far, although it won't be available in regions outside the US until spring 2027. It's designed for smaller spaces and smaller budgets, and it's also Peloton's first folding treadmill, with four caster wheels to help you tow it around in its upright configuration without needing tools.

"We've put a lot of work into that," Nick Caldwell, Peloton's Chief Product Officer, tells me when I meet him and VP of Product Management Meg Higgins at Peloton HQ in London. "It's 46% of the footprint of our Tread Vision base platform, and also super quiet... You're getting great value with the capability to do folding and flex, and you're going to get a ton of new software features with this as well."

(Image credit: Peloton)

Some of those software features include the great-looking ReRun feature, which extracts and replicates the elevation profile of real-world routes, like parts of the New York City Marathon, and replicates them on the Tread. The Tread will respond by adjusting the gradient automatically to replicate the route, and show you your progress on a virtual map. Not only is this cool in its own right, it also allows runners hoping to tackle popular races around the world an opportunity to dry-run those iconic courses.

"Out of the box, we'll have some built-in ones," says Higgins. "We'll take the New York City Marathon and break it up into five digestible chunks... so you can get dialed-in training for the course." Higgins adds that runners will be able to upload GPX files from their outdoor runs and replicate them on the treadmill, too.

(Image credit: Future)

Next up is the Tread Vision, a more powerful non-folding, AI-powered model starting at $3,495 / £2,999 / AU$4,999. It features a new cushioning system underneath the tread for more comfort and energy return, and a redesigned button system with jump-up and jump-down options alongside the old dial system. But the real advancement is the Movement Tracking Camera.

"We've created a new form feedback system for runners", Caldwell tells me. "This is using vertical displacement to a) count your steps, give you a cadence figure, and b) it'll tell you whether or not your form is correct, and whether your running efficiency is being maximized".

Covering stats like vertical oscillation (how much you bounce while you run) as well as cadence, the system will give you a Running Efficiency Score, as well as personalized AI-powered feedback. We've seen similar features in products like the Peloton Guide, and incorporated into earlier Cross Training labelled devices, but here Peloton has applied it to a treadmill.

"We've already seen this improved folks who are trying to do marathon prep, and things like that," adds Caldwell, indicating that it's more accurate than similar running efficiency-based metrics from wearables such as the best Garmin watches.

(Image credit: Peloton)

Finally, we have the Tread+ Vision, priced at $6,695, with pricing for other regions TBC. This treadmill also features Sled Mode, a Hyrox-style workout that has you grip two vertical bars and replicate a sled-pushing exercise against variable levels of resistance.

"There is one other competitor that has this on the market, that treadmill costs $15,000," says Caldwell. "I know this thing isn't cheap, but, like, you know, for around seven grand US, you're getting an immense value in the form of the highest-quality energy return service, and now Sled Mode."

With all these treadmills, you get Peloton IQ features such as the new ReRun functionality and an IQ Pace Target, which uses AI to calculate times for you to aim to achieve for various distance. These features are also coming to historic treadmills too.

"The only thing that is gated is the Run Analysis because it uses that Computer Vision camera," says Higgins. "Our philosophy is if the hardware allows it, to give it to everyone."

You also naturally get access to Peloton's smorgasbord of live and historic classes, depending on your subscription tier. Heart rate zone-specific workouts are a new addition to the roster, allowing people to connect heart rate monitors and wearables from Garmin, Apple, Google and now Whoop, alongside new running, walking and hiking workouts.

Seeing the Vision

(Image credit: Future)

Seeing as we were at Peloton HQ, I had the opportunity to have a quick go on the Tread Vision to try some of the new running tools for myself. The cameras were quick to set up, putting in some information such as my height and capturing my body in vertical orientation as a phone camera does.

During a brief 10-minute test run, I can attest to feeling as though there has been some improvement of the energy return of the belt compared to my experience with the previous model. The belt was nice and spacious, and using the jump-up and jump-down buttons as opposed to, or in conjunction with, the dial was helpful when following the class's cadence as dictated by the instructor. No more spinning the dial too far and trying to course-correct during a class.

After that short test, I ended up with a fairly pedestrian Running Efficiency Score of 66, viewable in the Peloton app, with individual scores for specific metrics, and some apparently genuinely helpful advice on working on my vertical oscillation. However, given the brief nature of the trial, I imagine the feature would become more accurate with longer workouts — at least, that's my excuse.

I'm looking forward to trying all three new treadmills over a longer test period — stay tuned.