If you're looking for a coffee maker that will make preparing a delicious brew as simple as possible, you're in the right place. I test over a dozen coffee makers each year here at TechRadar, and here I've put together the three I think are the most beginner-friendly, and accessibly priced too.

There are scores of sophisticated bean-to-cup machines around that will brew complex coffee drinks at the tap of a button, but they require a lot of cleaning and are usually very expensive. All the options here are simple to maintain and affordable, making them a better choice overall if you're new to brewing.

Here I've picked three different machines for different brewing styles: a drip coffee maker for brewing a large pot of coffee with minimal hassle, a simple bean-to-cup espresso machine that requires minimal maintenance, and an easy-to-use capsule coffee maker that eliminates the need to handle beans or grounds entirely.

Breville Luxe Brewer Thermal

Brewing a batch of drip coffee is, fundamentally, a very straightforward process — you just pour hot water onto ground coffee and let it drip into a carafe — and the Luxe Brewer Thermal keeps things simple while providing a handful of genuinely useful customization options.

In my tests, the default settings worked well, but if you don't get just the right flavor from your beans, you can tweak the bloom time (how long the coffee is pre-infused with hot water), bloom temperature, brew time, and brew temperature to fine-tune the extraction.

The machine can also prepare a batch of cold-brewed coffee. Load it up with ground coffee (the Luxe Brewer Thermal comes with a handy guide to help you measure out the optimal amount), add water to the line on the tank, remove the carafe lid so it doesn't begin to drip, and press the button to start. Your coffee will be steeped cold for 24 hours, and the machine will beep to alert you when it's ready.

Read our full Breville Luxe Brewer Thermal review

Philips Baristina

This is the smallest and cheapest bean-to-cup coffee maker I've ever tested, and it's so easy to use, it's ideal for beginners and a great option for anyone thinking of making the switch from coffee capsules.

Just load your beans in the top, fill the water tank, push in the empty portafilter handle, and slide it to the right. The Baristina will grind the perfect dose of coffee into the basket, tamp it down, then slide the whole handle to the left and pull the shot for you.

It's a piece of cake, and much easier to clean than a typical automatic espresso machine because there's no moisture or debris building up inside an enclosed case. The only drawback is that it can't steam milk (unless you pick up a bundle with the standalone milk frother), but Philips has just launched an updated version — the Baristina Latte — that solves that particular issue. I'm very much looking forward to testing it

Read our full Philips Baristina review

Bosch Tassimo Finesse Friendly

Friendly by name, friendly by nature — unlike most coffee pod machines, the Finesse Friendly can create rich foam using pods of long-life milk for lattes and cappuccinos in an instant.

You can get plain milk for regular cappuccinos and lattes, or capsules of flavored milk designed to pair with a particular coffee capsule (like cinnamon roll latte, for example). I'm not usually a great fan of flavored coffee capsules, but Tassimo pods are genuinely tasty, and not overwhelmingly sweet.

The Finesse Friendly is cheap too, and is often discounted to £49.99 (about $70 / AU$90). The downside is that the capsules can be quite expensive, particularly for drinks that require two pods (one for coffee and one for milk). It still works out cheaper than an elaborate takeout habit, but bear in mind that this machine isn't currently available outside Europe unless imported.

Read our full Bosch Tassimo Finesse Friendly review

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: two-minute review

In August 2026, Tineco launched its most advanced floor washer to date — the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum. With a suction power of up to 25,000 Pa, it’s one of the most powerful wet-dry vacuums on the market, picking up fine materials like flour in a single pass and large materials like 8-12 leaves in less than a minute. With the lie flat design, you can reach further under furniture. Side edge cleaning doesn’t get better than this. You can clean along the front of the vacuum up to about one-half to one-eighth of an inch. With a battery that lasts 65-75 minutes on Auto mode and up to 100 minutes on Quiet mode, you can clean most houses in a single go.

Thanks to four cleaning modes, including a dirt detect mode, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum soared through our various cleaning tests from dry debris to wet messes and stubborn stains. A HydroBurst sprayer that can spray solution on tough stains is a great addition, but kind of unnecessary since the mopping power is exceptionally good. Not only does the wet-dry vacuum use hot water to clean (and continuously washes the brushroll as it mops), but the brushroll presses against the floor for a deeper clean and utilizes a streak-free scraper when the wet-dry vacuum goes in reverse. This helps to remove tough messes and prevent streaks or water stains.

The most notable upgrade, however, is the Smart Refresh Station. Tineco clearly took inspiration from robot vacuum bases and created a base that automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum with cleaning solution and clean water from a 5-liter water tank. This reduces the maintenance required, which is already impressive considering the base uses hot water and hot air to clean the brushroll. Maybe soon enough Tineco will surprise us with a base that removes dirty water and debris too.

Perhaps the biggest drawback to this wet-dry vacuum is the price. It’s one of the highest on the market. If you’re willing to do a little more maintenance, the Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro cleans just as well. Still, I can’t deny that the Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum might do better with larger debris and is a great investment for those with larger homes who want to clean their space on a single charge.

Keep reading for my full review of the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet and Dry Vacuum and see why it’s currently my favorite on the market.

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: price and availability

• List price: $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660)
• Launch date: August 2026
• Availability: US

The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum launched in the US in August 2026 at a list price of $1,199 (about £880 / AU$1,660), making it Tineco’s most expensive wet-dry vacuum and a premium-priced wet-dry vacuum on the wider market. It’s sold through Tineco, as well as third-party retailers like Amazon and Walmart.

The price is not surprising, considering it may be the first wet-dry vacuum to offer a base station that auto refills the unit with water and solution. I’ve been testing wet-dry vacuums for years, and though this isn’t new technology (in that we see it utilized with wet-dry robot vacuums), it is new for wet-dry vacuum bases. Add in the exceptional battery life, solution sprayer, and streak-free scraper technology, and this price makes sense.

Perhaps during the holidays, the Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro will be discounted. For now, you could go with the equally exceptional Tineco Floor One S9 Artist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum if you’re willing to refill the water tank by hand. It’s usually $849, but it’s discounted to $599, and I can say firsthand that it has a similar cleaning prowess as the S9 Scientist Pro.

• Value score: 4 out of 5

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: specs

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: design

• 180-degree lie-flat design for hard-to-reach places
• Four cleaning modes and a solution sprayer for tough stains
• Self-cleaning and clean water auto-refilling base

It took minutes to put the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum together. All I had to do was remove it from the packaging, slot the handle into the unit, and put it to charge on the base. A bottle of cleaning solution, extra brushroll, and a cleaning brush were provided in the packaging.

The first few things I noticed about the design were the thickness of the vacuum head and the sleek rectangular box design of the body. It looks almost robotic-like, and as I delved further into the design, it makes a lot more sense why the vacuum looks the way it does.

The Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is 30lbs, so it’s not lightweight, but thanks to a self-propel system, it doesn’t feel heavy. I liked that vacuum head and the body are flexible and twist and turn easily. The wet-dry vacuum can also lie 180-degree flat making it easy to reach under beds and sofas to clean. This is possible because the dirty water tank is on the back of the vacuum body and the clean water tank is on the top of the vacuum head — hence why the vacuum head is so bulky.

A streak-free scraper under the vacuum head lifts when you push the vacuum forward and drops when you pull it backwards, so that it can scrape excess water and tough stains. This results in a completely clean floor free of water stains and streaks. A white headlight helps to illuminate dark spaces, while a comb and scraper near the brushroll prevents the tangling of hair and other debris.

A small LED screen is placed on the handle with three buttons. The power button turns the unit on and off, while the change mode button lets you move between the four cleaning modes — Auto, Max, Quiet, and Suction. The mode in use and battery life appear on the LED screen. A HydroBurst button causes cleaning solution to spray from the front of the vacuum head onto tough stains.

Tineco has done something a bit different with the Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum in terms of the Auto Mode (or the dirt detect system). When using Auto Mode, a light blue digital ring on the front of the unit’s body appears. Parts of the ring turn red to notify you how dirty the floor is. The more red the ring is, the dirtier the floor.

While this digital display is intuitive, there are seven status displays in total that appear on the front of the vacuum’s body and not all of them are easy to remember. The seven displays are Dirt Level, Battery, HydroBurst, Self-Cleaning, Drying Mode, Malfunction, and Water Filling Indicators. Each one has a different shape and a different color indicator. This is probably the biggest design drawback for me, as I think Tineco could’ve displayed such indicators in an easier-to-understand method. With the voice commands, you’ll understand what each indicator means, but if you turn off the voice commands, you might find yourself slightly confused.

There is also a self-cleaning button on the top of the handle. It’s to be pressed when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base. Three buttons appear on top of the vacuum body when it’s on the base. The 'Hot Water Refill' button refills the wet-dry vacuum with hot water, while the 'Silent' button results in a longer brushroll drying period. The brushroll dries in five minutes if you press the 'Flash' button.

The base may be large, but consider this: it charges the wet-dry vacuum, self-cleans it with hot water and air, and auto refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank with water and cleaning solution. At the back of the base there is a cleaning solution compartment that can hold an entire bottle of Tineco cleaning solution. A 5-liter tank of clean water is then placed on top the cleaning solution compartment, so that when the wet-dry vacuum is on the base, the base can move hot water into the wet-dry vacuum hands-free.

While the design outshines other wet-dry vacuums on the market, I see some room for slight improvements in the future.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro: performance

• Phenomenal cleaning capabilities with great edge cleaning
• Does a outstanding job suctioning liquids and large debris like leaves
• Front edge cleaning varies between ½ and 1/8th of an inch from the wall

From the get-go, I really liked how the handle of the the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum twisted and turned so easily. This especially helped when I laid the wet-dry vacuum flat to clean under my bed. I was able to reach around the legs of my bedframe easily.

The dirt detection system was fantastic, recognizing even the smallest amounts of dust. My home is very dusty because it’s historic, and I was glad to see that the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum suctioned up the dust rather than spreading it about or pushing it back into the air. The headlight illuminated dust and debris in dark spaces, though I would’ve preferred a green rather than a white headlight as green lights make dust and debris more visible. At least, I could trust the Auto Mode to 'see' hidden stains or dirt that I couldn’t see under the white headlight or with the naked eye.

The suctioning capabilities of the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum are beyond impressive, which isn’t surprising considering it has a suction power of 25,000 Pa. (Trust me, that’s massive.) I used the wet-dry vacuum to pick up a lot of dried leaves that had fallen around one of my plants. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wet-dry vacuum accomplish such a task in such a short time. Most struggle to suction one or two leaves, much less 10. Even the reverse cleaning was better than most wet-dry vacuums.

One of the first things I tested was the edge cleaning. There was no space between the wall and the side edge of the vacuum head. However, I noticed that there was about half an inch along the front edge of the vacuum head and the wall. That was a bit disappointing, until I realized that with certain things, like my really tall thresholds, the space shortened to about 1/8th of an inch. After some experimenting, I realized that if I approached the wall slowly with the front of the vacuum head, the front edge cleaning improved and I could clean closer to objects or walls.

Because the wet-dry vacuum’s head is so bulky, I couldn’t reach under cabinet overhangs. This has been my biggest gripe with wet-dry vacuums since they started putting the clean water tank on the top of the vacuum head because it means I have to go back through the house with a vacuum to clean those spaces.

The clean water tank lasted about 30 minutes (which is quite long), while the dirty water tank had to be emptied at about 40 minutes. These results are well above average.

While most people may use a robot vacuum or vacuum to clean daily, the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is a really great wet-dry vacuum to have on hand for weekly deep home cleanings and stubborn stains.

Cleaning tests

I ran several cleaning tests to see how well the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner cleans on Auto mode and was impressed with the results. I sprinkled flour, coffee, and crunchy oats on my laminate flooring, and spilled a variety of liquids like water, soy sauce, and barbeque sauce. I also place an egg on the ground and sprayed some chocolate sauce and siracha sauce and let them both dry slightly.

The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner picked up all the fine and large materials in a single pass, though some flour got stuck on the wheels when I reversed over the flour. The Suction mode did a fantastic job suctioning up the water. I used the Auto mode for the barbecue and soy sauces just to ensure the floor wasn’t sticky afterwards. It cleaned both sauces in a single go without any remaining residue.

While the wet-dry vacuum picked up the slightly dry siracha sauce in a single pass, it took about four passes to pick up the driest and thickest parts of chocolate sauce on auto mode. The thinner areas of the chocolate sauce only took a single pass.

I test a lot of wet-dry vacuums throughout the year, and Tineco consistently beats every other brand in cleaning capabilities. The Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum Cleaner didn’t disappoint, and proves that this wet-dry vacuum cleans the most consistently and effectively (and with less effort!) compared to others on the market.

Maintenance

The Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum stands out among all wet-dry vacuums because of its base which is outfitted with a 5-liter water tank and a solution bay (that can hold a single solution bottle). The base automatically refills the wet-dry vacuum’s clean water tank in less than 30 seconds – and it’s pretty amazing to watch.

After each cleaning session, I placed the wet-dry vacuum on the base and ran the self-cleaning system which uses hot water to clean the brushroll. This hot water process is quite effective as the brushroll comes out super clean. I only found a very small amount of dust under the vacuum head when I removed the brushroll — far less than I have found with other wet-dry vacuums that I’ve tested.

The base dries the brushroll and filter with hot air that’s 230 degrees Fahrenheit. Flash dry takes five minutes to dry the brushroll, while silent dry results in a quiet (40 dB sound rating) drying process. I wish I could say that the brushroll was completely dry when using either of these settings, but there was a very slight amount of dampness. On the flash dry setting, the brushroll was 95% dry, while the silent dry mode made the brushroll about 98% dry.

The only thing the base can’t do is empty the dirty water tank – so you have to do it by hand. A brush is provided by Tineco to remove debris. The debris catcher design could be better, but it catches a decent amount.

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

Tineco Floor ONE Station S9 Scientist Pro: battery life

The battery life of the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum is more than adequate for most homes. I was able to clean my 1,600-square-foot home in 30 minutes on Auto mode, and still have 50% of the battery life left.

Overall, the battery lasted between 65-73 minutes on Auto mode, which is in-line with Tineco’s predictions that the battery, on Auto mode, can last up to 75 minutes. Remember on Auto mode, the vacuum automatically increases the suction and cleaning power depending on how dirty the floors are. It could use more power and thus more battery life if your floors are especially dirty.

Battery score: 5 out of 5

Should you buy the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

How I tested the Tineco Floor One Station S9 Scientist Pro

Testing the Tineco Floor One Station Scientist Pro Wet Dry Vacuum occurred over multiple weeks during a Texas summer in my 106-year-old house that produces a lot of dust and has multiple high traffic areas with dirt and debris.

My 1,600-square-foot house is a mix of laminate and historic hardwood flooring, making it a great testing space. I ran a variety of cleaning tests with various liquids, barbeque sauce, eggs, flour, coffee, and dried chocolate sauce, making sure to utilize different cleaning modes and taking notes on things like edge cleaning, battery life, and maintenance requirements. For more details, see how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

First reviewed September 2026

Cosori may be better know for making some of the best air fryers we've tested over the years here at TechRadar, but now its engineers have taken on a new challenge: pour-over coffee. Getting a perfectly-extracted pour-over coffee calls for just as much skill and care as espresso, and the new Cosori Juni aims to replicate that technique mechanically with a system that mimics the movements of a trained barista within the brewer.

Unlike most drip coffee makers, which shower water over the basket of ground coffee in an attempt to achieve an even extraction, the Juni uses a rotating basket and an extendable nozzle to recreate the movement and speed of a barista wielding a goose-neck kettle.

According to Cosori, this mechanical process creates a 360-degree spiral flow that evenly saturates the coffee grounds while avoiding creating channels that would cause uneven extraction. Better yet, the process is consistent and repeatable, so once you've found the ideal brew settings for your preferred beans, you can be sure you'll get exactly the same flavor profile every time.

"The physics weren't the difficult part," says Pierce Barnard, Head of Product Innovation at Cosori. "The real work was understanding the human element: spending 18 months studying and mapping how skilled baristas move across the coffee bed and translating that motion into a system that can deliver the same result, every single morning."

The Cosori Juni can handle as much or as little of the brewing process as you like, whether you want to keep things simple of refine the brewing technique and temperature to suit your chosen coffee. The Juni can even use AI to help you pick the optimal settings, and warn you if you've not picked the ideal brewing profile. Just scan your bag of coffee beans, and the machine will generate a brewing profile based on the bean type and your chosen cup-size, then invite you to tinker with factors like agitation, temperature flow rate, and pause time.

It's not yet clear whether the Juni will only be able to scan a particular brand of coffee, as is the case with the Lavazza Assoluta espresso machine I tested earlier this year, which can only adapt its brew settings to Lavazza's own beans.

Alternatively, manual mode lets you take control yourself, though if you want a little guidance then the machine's AI can still warn you if any of the settings you've picked are likely to result in an under- or over-extracted drink. For simplicity, there are also one-touch presets for different coffees and roasts.

If you don't like the idea of such tinkering first thing in the morning, don't worry. Like most of the best drip coffee makers I've tested, the Juni has a timer, but Cosori has gone one step further by letting you set different times for each day of the week, and even allows you to set a reminder to prepare the machine the night before.

Despite its complexity, the Cosori Juni costs a reasonable $299.99 (about £220 / AU$430), which is significantly less than the similarly technical Fellow Aiden Precision Coffee Maker, which has a list price of $365 / £365 (about AU$580). I'm hoping to put it to the test soon, to see how the two advanced brewers compare.

• Dyson has launched an updated version of its 2020 Corrale straightener
• The Corrale CoolShine has a clever heat-removing attachment
• The brand has also unveiled a hot brush called the Airsmooth

In recent years, Dyson's hair gadget efforts seem have been mostly focused on its Airwrap styler and Supersonic hair dryer lines. So when I was invited to a showcase of the brand's new launches, I was expecting, perhaps, some cool new attachments or an upgraded Supersonic. I was equal parts surprised and pleased to see something altogether more novel.

There's a brand new tool — which I'll get into in a minute — as well as a surprise second-gen version of the Corrale straightener, called the Corrale CoolShine. If that name isn't ringing any bells, I don't blame you. The original Dyson Coralle came out in 2020 and never quite managed to set the haircare world alight.

I tried a Corrale out at the time and although I didn't hate it, it didn't make it into my regular styling routine. So I was especially pleased to see that the surprise second gen has tweaked or removed my least-liked features, and added some more that I'm genuinely excited to use.

One key feature of the original was that it was cordless. That's all well and good, but the knock-on effect was that it was also really very heavy and chunky. The Corrale CoolShine is not cordless, and as a result it can be nice and streamlined and lightweight. I'm very happy with this about-turn; the new, compact shape is much more comfortable to hold, and easier to direct precisely.

What a flex

The flexible plates from the first-gen version are still present here. They have to be, really — these are what 'corrale' the strands of hair, applying gentle pressure to, theoretically, allow for effective straightening at lower temperatures.

However, they've been downsized in line with the general shrinking of the straightener, and are slimmer in width. In their new format, they look much less likely to snag on strands of hair, as the previous version could sometimes do.

That's the 'Corrale' covered, but where does the 'CoolShine' come in? This refers to a unique-to-the-market cooling attachment. It comes in the form of a pair of frames that slide over each of the hot plates, and clip in place. They feature a heat-extracting copper pipe that contains water and is designed to help remove residual heat from hair.

So the central plate gets hot as usual, and then the bars either side of the plate pull the heat away immediately, helping you avoid heat damage. Dyson promises "hair that is cooler to the touch during and after styling, with a smoother, softer feel".

When it was initially announced, it sounded like kind of cold plumbing system, but speaking to a Dyson representative at the product showcase, I learned the system is subtler and more complex.

The tube has just a 'bead' of water in it — if you're envisaging cold water running through it, that's not the case — and it will absorb some of the heat of the plates as you style, so don't expect those bars to remain cold as you style. I'd be very interested to try it out for myself to see how much of a difference these plates make in practice.

There was a Dyson Corrale CoolShine being demoed at the event, and I was very impressed at how it managed to take the model's coily hair to perfectly smooth with an incredible glassy finish — but the kicker is that the stylist (and Dyson rep) wasn't using the CoolShine attachment.

The representative explained to me that the frame is removable to allow for precision styling, as well as in instances where you need to get right up to the root. Both were required here.

A final welcome touch is that Dyson has added universal voltage, so you'll be able to take the tool away with you when you travel abroad.

Full of hot air

The other new gadget is the Dyson Airsmooth brush dryer. This is a fairly traditional hot brush, for creating bouncy blowouts, but — of course — there's a bit of a Dyson twist.

The engineers have added two different types of bristles: some with loops at the top, and some with open bases. The former are engineered so they provide the right amount of tension for a smooth finish, without snagging on a range of different hair types. The latter are meant to diffuse and control the airflow for less turbulence and less frizz.

Dyson has given the Airsmooth a teardrop profile, to enable you to get closer to the root. I've seen this before, on the Shark Glam, and it works well there. There's also intelligent heat control keeping temperatures stable, and again, there's universal voltage — good news for your holiday hair.

The Dyson Corrale CoolShine straightener will have a list price of $329 / £TBC / AU$499. The Airsmooth dryer brush will cost $249 / £199.99 / AU$399 at sticker price.

The Airsmooth dryer brush goes on sale from Dyson US and Dyson UK today (September 8) in the US, with the Corrale CoolShine joining it on September 15.

At Dyson Australia, the hot brush is already on sale (launched September 4) and the straightener will arrive in November.

• Dyson has launched three new fan-purifiers, all with star-shaped nozzles
• The nozzle is designed to be both powerful and very quiet
• I saw them in action, and they're super-effective... but the styling will be divisive

Dyson's loop fans are instantly recognizable. In the home appliance world, their sleek, bladeless design has gained somewhat iconic status. But now we are about to enter a new Dyson fan era — and the design could not be more different to those sleek loops. With their chunky, curving bodies topped with a gaping, star-shaped opening, the new Dyson HushJet fan-purifiers remind me of nothing more than the giant sandworms in the new Dune films.

I perhaps should have seen it coming. Dyson debuted the new look with the HushJet Purifier Compact in September 2025, and it's also used for the HushJet Mini Cool personal fan. But when I saw the new, full-sized range on show in Berlin last week (at Dyson's IFA 2026-adjacent event) I was momentarily stunned.

Both of the previous HushJet fans were compact gadgets, and there was something about seeing the design scaled up — to quite gigantic proportions, in the case of the largest options — that made it feel significantly more unsettling.

The star nozzle draws inspiration from aviation engineering. I spoke to a Dyson engineer about it last year, and she explained the shape was especially good at minimizing the turbulence in the airflow, to create a quiet yet powerful jet of air.

I got to try the new fans out, and I was blown away — pun intended — by how powerful they were. When it came to blasting air, they felt significantly more effective than the loop-style Dyson fans I've used. So while I wasn't immediately sold on the styling, I had no complaints about the effectiveness of the airflow. I'd very happily have one of these in my bedroom over the summer, regardless of the fact it wouldn't blend in at all.

Double-duty

Like most of Dyson's fan models, the HushJets are pulling double- or even triple-duty. They operate as air purifiers, too, and one can also be used as a heater. At the top of the range is the Dyson HushJet Big+Quiet Cool Pure+ Formaldehyde air purifier (and kudos to the Dyson engineer I spoke to, who managed to remember that name without having to check his notes).

The purification capabilities are the most advanced of any of the new models, with the ability to capture a huge range of pollutants, including formaldehyde, and shift a massive amount of air, very quickly. It's around the same diameter as the Dyson Purifier Big+Quiet — ie really very chunky. It's designed for use in large spaces like offices, but it can also be used to clean multiple rooms in a home.

There are also a couple of medium-sized options, built for at-home use. These are the HushJet Pure Cool+ Formaldehyde, and the HushJet Hot Cool Pure+ air purifier, which loses the formaldehyde-capturing capabilities but can be used as a heater over the colder months.

I have no doubt the new-look design will end up being divisive — I think the quirky styling might fit more naturally in an office or commercial setup than it would in a living room, where it'd surely stick out like a sore thumb in many cases. When I asked the Dyson rep if the plan was for the HushJet range to eventually replace the loops, he suggested perhaps not, given how instantly recognizable the loops are as Dyson appliances. I'll be watching with interest.

Pricing and availability

Pricing is as follows: the medium-sized HushJet Pure Cool+ Formaldehyde will cost $599 / £549.99 / AU$999, and the medium-sized HushJet Hot Cool Pure+ air purifier will be $599 / £549.99 / AU TBC. The large HushJet Big+Quiet Cool Pure+ Formaldehyde will come in at $1,099 / £899.99 / AU TBC.

In the US, all three will go on sale in fall 2026. In the UK, the large and medium Formaldehyde options will launch in October and the heater option will arrive in December. In Australia, it's October 2026 for the Cool Pure+ Formaldehyde and "early 2027" for the other two.

• The Lissome R1 is a compact countertop dishwasher for small apartments
• Its water tank is filled manually, so it doesn't need to be plumbed in
• It has a surprisingly large capacity — designed for up to three meal sets

For the past decade I have been getting by without a dishwasher. My small apartment just doesn't have space for one — at least, not if I want to have, say, a sink. So when I saw Lissome's countertop dishwasher at IFA 2026, it was like my prayers had been answered at last.

The Lissome R1 is a compact dishwasher designed exactly for situations like mine: small households or apartments that don't have space for a full machine, or rented homes that you can't plumb something new into.

"Dishwasher ownership often assumes a cabinet opening, fixed plumbing and unused worktop space," says the brand. "R1 is designed around the homes where those assumptions do not hold, giving users a compact alternative without asking them to redesign the kitchen first."

It's a compact 280mm wide, 507mm deep, and stands 502mm tall. That means it should be able to squeeze into your kitchen without eating up all your counter space. More useful — for renters especially — is that it doesn't need to be plumbed in. Instead, the water tank is filled manually, giving you plenty of flexibility about where you put it . Plus, you can easily take it with you when you move homes.

Lissome is keen to emphasize that the R1 is designed to be a main dishwasher rather than an overflow machine. In fact, it's rather TARDIS-like, with the ability to hold up to 34 items — it's meant for up to three people's place settings.

It's not a plain white box, but instead has glass windows on three sides. Not only does it look good, but it also allows me to finally satisfy my long-held curiosity as to what actually happens inside a dishwasher. (How well the glass-forward design holds up after being exposed to many weeks' worth of cereal, sauce and coffee dribbles remains to be seen.)

Lissome says the inner workings are built around "the World's First Sweeping Jet Technology". Essentially, there are two rotating arms in the base, shooting out artfully coordinated jets of water that arc gracefully — picture the Bellagio Fountains — across the whole interior chamber.

There are six preset programs. These include Quick Wash, which combines 13 minutes of speed-washing with two minutes of steam-release and drying, and Smart Wash, which uses an AI-powered sensor that "detects water turbidity and grease levels, then adjusts the cleaning cycle and detergent dosage" to get your dishes sparkling without wasting water or cleaning fluid.

Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact: 30-second review

The Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact might be a bit of a mouthful to say, but there's plenty to like about this air fryer.

Things start off well when you open the box with a useful quick start guide and fun little cookbook with over 20 recipes, showing you the range of possibilities available with this appliance.

With roast, grill and bake modes alongside the standard air fry function, and with an 8.6L basket that also has a divider so you can cook two things simultaneously, the Twinfry Compact could replace multiple appliances in your kitchen.

From crispy chicken wings, roast potatoes and wonderfully baked cakes, to gooey cookies, grilled burgers, and reheated pizza, I enjoyed using this air fryer.

The controls are straight forward, the basket is easy to clean, and it's not going to set you back as much as some of the more premium machines - while giving you results which are almost as good as expensive rivals.

It's a large device, so those with smaller kitchens might struggle to fit it in, while the lack of a shake reminder means you'll need to be vigilant when it's in use to make sure your food is turned/tossed correctly.

But these are minor points against what is a very capable air fryer, and one you should consider buying — especially if you can find it discounted.

Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact: price and availability

• £159.99, but I’ve seen it discounted to £130
• This model isn't available in the US and Australia

The Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer price is £159.99, putting it in the middle of the larger-basket market, although I have seen it discounted to £130 at some retailers, so it’s worth shopping around to find the best price.

That means the Twinfry Compact finds itself up against some strong competition, including the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket and Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer.

The list price equates to around $220 / AU$300, but this particular model isn't available in the US and Australia.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact: specifications

Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact: design

• Well designed with clear buttons and useful quick-start guide
• You can split the basket in two, and there are six preset modes
• No shake reminder or window on the basket

The Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer is nicely designed, with a sleek matte finish and clear controls. Sure it’s on the larger side, but the sizable 8.6L basket has to go somewhere.

It does mean you’ll need a chunk of worksurface space to fit the 339cm (D) x 482cm (W) x 281cm (H) machine, so those with smaller kitchens might find it a struggle to comfortably place this air fryer, or have enough space in a cupboard to store it. If you are tight on counter space, consider a smaller basket air fryer, or a vertically stacked, dual-basket option such as the Philips 4000 Series Stacked Dual Basket or Ninja Double Stack XL.

You can split the 8.6L basket into two 4.3L offerings with the included divider in the box. This allows you to cook two separate foods, at different settings, simultaneously, offering greater flexibility.

Get past the size though, and there’s a lot to like. I was particularly impressed with the quick start guide in the box, which explained the main functions clearly and offered up a big table of different foods with the best cooking mode, temperature and time. This makes it really easy to get cooking.

What helps the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact stand out from the crowd however, is its four heating elements. Two above, and two below the basket, providing even heat above and below your food, for an improved cook.

You get six preset cooking modes too, with Air Fry, Roast, Grill, Bake, Reheat, and Dry - but there are no food-specific presets like you see on some air fryers.

I do like the button layout on this appliance, with clearly labelled buttons making it easy to select if you’re cooking on one side of the basket, or doing a large batch in the whole thing — Cosori calls this the 'grandzone'.

Temperature and time are easily adjusted with up and down arrow buttons, while the ‘match’ button can copy the settings from one side of the basket to the other, and sync allows you to cook two foods in each side of the basket for different durations, but have them finish at the same time by delaying the start of the side with the shorter time.

There’s no shake reminder though, which is a small miss as you need to remember to shake or turn the food yourself. There’s also no window on the basket, so you can’t keep an eye on the food while it cooks, you have to remove the basket which pauses cooking.

When you come to remove the basket from the air fryer, the large handle that runs the full width of the basket makes it easy to grip and move around. Although, if you’ve loaded up the basket with food it can be heavy, so you’ll need to use both hands.

Before you put any food in the air fryer for the first time though, you need to wash the basket and pop the air fryer through a test run. The manual says to run the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact for five minutes at 200C (give the basket, divider and trays a quick wash first) to ensure it's working and to remove any residue on components. During this time it will smell a bit, but don’t worry as it’s doing what it needs to.

Cleaning is pretty easy too. The basket, divider and trays are all dishwasher safe, while you can also hand wash them with warm water, mild soap, and a non-abrasive sponge. The size of the basket does mean washing it in smaller kitchen sinks can be a touch tricky, but it’s not a huge issue.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact: performance

• Great results from air fry, bake, grill and roast modes
• It takes time to fully understand the best temps and timings
• Opt for shorter cook times, to avoid burning food

At 60dB (from my own tests), the fans on this air fryer are noisier than some, so you’ll be well aware that it’s on and cooking. It’s not loud enough to drown out conversation, but you might want to take a step or two away from it if you are chatting to someone.

Whenever I review a large basket air fryer one of my go-to first cooks is pizza. When I tested the Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer I was able to fit a small circular pizza in the drawer. With the Cosori, the basket isn’t as big, nor as deep as the Tower, which means I had to slice my pizza in half to fit it in the basket.

Round pizza

Cooked using Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer

Before

After

This wasn’t an issue as it was a fresh pie, but had I purchased a frozen pizza I wouldn’t have been able to cook it in this air fryer. I selected air fry mode, set the temperature to 180C and the time to eight minutes.

After six minutes the pizza was done, with a crispy base and melted cheese making for a satisfying lunch. I returned a few days later with an oval pizza that I could easily fit in the basket. Another six minutes at 180C and again I had a nicely cooked pizza. It’s quicker and easier than using the oven.

Frozen fries

Cooked using Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer

Before

After

I was also able to air fry a large batch of delicious homemade fries (200C for 20 minutes), that came out wonderfully crispy on the outside while remaining fluffy in the middle.

Frozen fries come out equally as well, with the same temperature and duration as their homemade counterparts to achieve a similar cook. The adjustment I made when I came to cook fries again was to reduce the time by a couple of minutes, to avoid the outside of the fries being quite so well done.

Chicken wings

Cooked using Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer

Before

After

Chicken wings, coated in a buffalo ranch rub, came out with wonderfully crispy skin and succulent meat after 20 minutes at 185C.

I was able to fit eight full size wings in the basket, and I might have been able to squeeze one or two more in if I bunch them up a bit, but I didn't want to compromise the cook.

While they were very good, they weren't quite as moist inside as the wings I steam fried in the Philips 5000 series.

Cookie cup

Baked using Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer

Before

After

I also tried a Marks & Spencer cookie cup, currently doing the rounds on social in the UK as a must-try air fryer treat. I went for the Smores Cookie cup, and after 10 minutes in zone 1 (the left side of the basket) at 160C I got a cup that oozed chocolate topped with nicely toasted marshmallows.

And while we’re on the subject of sweet treats, the bake mode was another favorite of mine, with the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact capable of excellent results. I cooked a simple banana bread in the grandzone for 25 minutes at 160C, and a further 20 minutes at 140C.

It rose wonderfully, and delivered an excellent bake that was soft, fluffy and flavourful. I also whipped up a batch of cookies, and on the bake mode for eight minutes at 175C I was treated to gooey-centered delights with a crispy exterior. The cook on them wasn't quite as impressive as the more premium Philips 5000 series I had recently tested, but they were still tasty.

Banana bread

Baked using Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer

Before

After

The roast mode is also a useful addition. I was able to cook fluffy roast potatoes (with a reasonably crispy exterior) in less time, and using less power than my oven. And there was no need to par boil them either.

I cooked them for 25 minutes at 200C using the roast mode, and while you'll get crispier results using an oven, the Cosori is a great option when you're looking for faster results.

I roasted the potatoes alongside broccoli and sprouts, using the divider so the vegetables could be cooked for 15 minutes at 190C (per Cosori’s own instructions).

This turned out to be too long, as after 10 minutes they were already overcooked. An example of the initial trial and error required when understanding a new air fryer. However, for chunkier veg — such as carrots and parsnips - this setting works much better.

One of the slightly more unusual cooking modes available here is grill, but it works surprisingly well. I tested it out with four beef burgers, with the quick start guide that came with the air fryer suggesting I cook them for 11 minutes at 230C.

I was initially worried when I pulled them out at the end that they could be overcooked, but I was happy to find they were still juicy in the middle. You wouldn’t know it was the work of an air fryer rather than a traditional grill, and it was incredibly easy to do.

If you are someone who grills a lot, the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact can replace your traditional grill, as well as being a strong air fryer and baking machine.

Burgers

Cooked using Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer

Before

After

Something I did notice was you want to lean towards the shorter end of cooking times, because if forget about the air fryer, or set the timer for the higher end of a cooking range, you might find food gets a little cremated.

This is all part of the air fryer ownership journey, and during the first couple of weeks you’ll need to spend some time closely monitoring how quickly food is cooking to get a better understanding of the performance.

The lack of a shake reminder means it’s easier to forget about checking how your food is getting. But don’t let this put you off. All air fryers come with this learning curve, and with the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact less tends to be more when it comes to cooking duration.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact?

Buy it if

Don’t buy it if

Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact: also consider

How I tested the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact

• I used the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact for multiple weeks in my kitchen
• I cooked a variety of food, including fries, cakes, vegetables, pizza and meat
• I tested the various cooking modes, and the cleaning process

For my review of the Cosori Dual Blaze Twinfry Compact Air Fryer, I used it for a number of weeks at home, cooking a wide variety of food and testing out the various functions.

I baked cakes and cookies, air fried fries, chicken wings and pizza, roasted potatoes and vegetables, and grilled kebabs and burgers. I even reheated leftover pizza the next day - which was sensational on a slight hangover.

I also hand-washed the components, and ran them through a dishwasher, to ensure cleaning and maintenance was easy.

First reviewed September 2026

Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: 30-second review

The Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer is an air fryer and then some.

Sure it does a great job at being an air fryer, and so it should for the premium price tag it comes in at. The sizable 9.5L basket offers plenty of space for family-sized portions, while the handy divider allows you to cook two different foods, at differing durations and temperatures, simultaneously. It’s pretty par for the course these days, but the 5000 Series Megabasket is only just getting started.

Things are turned up a notch with the steam functionality Philips has built in. Being able to perfectly steam vegetables, fish and dumplings without the need for a separate appliance saves on counter and cupboard space, and the results here are just as good as the air fryer.

However, the versatility is kicked into overdrive with the streamfry function, allowing you to bring the best of both worlds to your food. The crispy finish of an air fryer combined with the moisture locking abilities of steam. The result? Some of the best chicken wings I’ve ever made.

All this functionality not only comes at a cost to your wallet, but also your counter top. This is a wide, tall air fryer that requires plenty of space — especially when using the steam or steamfry function, as the water vapor vents from the rear.

I’m a big fan of Philips’ controls though. The touch buttons are intuitively laid out, with easily recognizable icons that require little reference to the manual to work out - that can’t be said of all air fryer brands.

The basket, trays and divider are dishwasher safe, and you can also use the steam function to give the appliance its own steam clean. You will need to give the top a wipe every now and then, as the glossy finish attracts grime — but it’s a minor point in what is an overwise excellent appliance.

Whether you’re looking to make cakes, cookies, sausages, chicken wings, fish, vegetables, fries, dumplings or pretty much anything else, the Philips 5000 Series Megabasket delivers consistently great results.

Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer price and availability

• At £259.99 (about $350 / AU$490), it’s at the premium end of the air fryer market
• Available in the UK, but not in the US or Australia

The Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer price is £259.99 (about $350 / AU$490), putting it at the premium end of the market, and pits it against the Ninja Foodi FlexBasket in the larger-basket arena.

There are cheaper, big-basket air fryers on the market that also perform well, with the Philips 1000 Series Dual Basket and Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer both coming in at around half the price of the 5000 Series.

This exact model (the NA465) isn’t available in the US and Australia, with these regions instead getting the $349.99 / AU$499 5000 Series Dual-Basket Airfryer with Steam (NA551) with two separate drawers, rather than one large one.

• Value score: 4/5

Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: specifications

Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: design

• Wide and tall, but for good reason
• Set of tongs included in the box is a nice touch
• Touch controls are easy to understand and well laid out

The Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer is big, it’s almost as if a UFO has landed on your worktop. Wide and tall, it dominates the kitchen counter — but for good reason.

The spacious 9.5L basket provides great flexibility as one large cooking space big enough for 2.5kg of fries, 1.9kg of ribs, or whole chicken, but can easily be split into 3L and 6L baskets with the included divider. This allows you to cook two separate things, at different temperatures and durations, at the same time.

You can even just choose to use one of the sides only, saving on power consumption when cooking smaller portions.

The only small issue with the basket is its handles, which consist of two small protrusions on either side. It means you have to use two hands to open the drawer, and to lift and carry it.

When the basket is fully loaded with food, it’s heavy so you’ll be using two hands anyway, but for times when you want to quickly check on cooking progress, you can’t open it with just one.

The additional height of this air fryer is down to the inclusion of Philips’ clever steam function, giving you more ways to cook from a single machine. You can steam food in this air fryer, as well as 'Steamfry', which combines both cooking methods.

What this means is you’ll need to consider where you want the air fryer to go, and whether you have suitable space for this 496mm x 329mm x 355mm model to fit - especially if you have low-hung wall cabinets over your worktops.

Hot air vents from the rear of the machine, so you need to leave space between it and the wall, and when using the steam function water vapor will also rise from the back of the machine.

The one meter power cable will be long enough for most kitchen setups, and the Philips 5000 Series comes with a clip-on cable tidy for the rear to keep things neat if you like to store your air fryer in a cupboard when not in use. Although, it’ll need to be a sizable cupboard.

A nice inclusion in the box was a set of tongs, a particularly useful addition when cooking with an air fryer, as it makes tossing food and removing it from the basket much easier.

There’s also a paper manual in the box that covers all the basics, mainly via pictorial guides, but for those who want a more detailed breakdown of functionality you’ll need to download the free HomeID app on your phone.

What isn’t made obvious out of the box is the need to run the air fryer empty initially to burn off the protective shipping coating.

Diving into the app deeper, Philips advises to wash the basket and accessories with a soft sponge, water and washing up liquid, dry them, and then run the air fryer empty, a 200C, for the maximum cook time (which for this model is 180 minutes).

That seemed excessive to me. I did an initial four minute cycle at 180C, allowed the basket to cool down, and then washed it, the divider, and the crisp trays, and set the machine at 200C for 50 minutes. The smell did get very strong during this time, but it did the trick.

When I came to cook with the air fryer for the first time, there was a slight smell during cooking, but it didn’t transfer to the food.

The controls here are excellent, just as they are on the Philips 4000 Series Stacked Dual Basket Air Fryer. The illuminated touch buttons on the top of the machine make it really easy to select the basket size you wish to cook with, and to set the temperature and time.

The only slight negative against this design is the glossy black surface quickly gets dirty, and shows up finger smudges. Plus, if your hands aren’t clean it can sometimes struggle to pick up your presses.

There are a number of presets to pick from too (frozen fries, mixed vegetables, chicken drumsticks, tray bakes, fish, dumplings, reheat), if you want to just press and play.

While the presets are useful, I did find during my weeks of testing they sometimes needed to be fine tuned to my preferred cook level. It’s all part of the early trial and error of using a new air fryer to work out the times and temps that work best for the food you’re cooking regularly.

When it comes to cleaning, the good news is the basket, trays and divider are all dishwasher safe. If you don’t have access to one, hand washing also works - although the sheer size of the basket means it can be tricky to clean in smaller sinks.

Another nice feature is the steam cleaning function. Simple to enact - just make sure the water reservoir is full and select the steam clean mode - it does a good job of loosening grease and marks in the basket. It means you can just run a cloth or paper towel round the basket and it’s pretty much clean. No need for hard scrubbing. It’s not going to remove stubborn marks or pieces of food debris, but it’s a handy option when only lightly used.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: performance

Performance

• Steam and SteamFry functions are excellent
• Quiet operation
• Great all-round cooking performance

The Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer is one of the quieter models I’ve tested, making it an excellent cooking companion, especially in smaller kitchens as the noise doesn’t dominate the room.

As well as the presets, there are a couple of other useful features here. First is the shake reminder, where the 5000 Series will work out how many shake intervals are required based on the cook duration you’ve set, and will beep at set times to alert you to the fact you need to shake or turn the food in the basket.

This allows you to ensure an even cook, be it fries, chicken wings, vegetables, or pretty much anything else you’re cooking. If you’re not using a preset, you will need to manually enable the shake reminder by pressing the icon on the control panel.

The second handy feature is sync, allowing you to utilize the dual basket setup, and cook two different foods, at different temperatures, for different lengths of time, but have them finish at the same time.

The air fryer delays the start of the side with the shorter cook time, starting it when its duration matches that left on the other side. It’s simple to set up, and works really nicely.

The 5000 Series Megabasket is certainly well equipped, but how does it actually perform when it comes to cooking food?

As this is a large basket air fryer, and given my penchant for consuming pizza, I decided to kick things off with a simple, store-bought margarita. When I reviewed the Tower Elite 11 Litre Flexi Drawer, I was able to fit a whole round (admittedly small) pizza into the basket.

With the Philips, the basket isn’t as deep, which meant I had to slice my circular pizza in half and lay the two halves at an angle in the basket. It worked fine, but if this pizza was frozen rather than fresh, I would be forced to use the oven.

After warming up the air fryer for a couple of minutes first, I cooked the pizza at 190C for nine minutes. It turned out this was a minute or so too long, as the topping came out a little overdone. It was still fine to eat, but a glass window on the basket would have allowed me to keep a better eye on the progress being made. Alas, there’s no window on the basket.

I returned a few days later however with an oval shaped pizza. This easily sat in the basket, and having learned my lesson I cooked it for seven minutes at 180C.

The final cook was much better, with a crisp base and juicy toppings, although I noticed the part of the pizza towards the back of the basket was slightly more cooked than that at the front.

You don’t always get a completely even cook from this air fryer, but it wasn’t a problem during the weeks of cooking I did.

Fries came out great with this air fryer, whether they were frozen or fresh. Crispy on the outside, fluffy in the middle, and using the frozen fries setting I got automatic reminders to shake the basket a few times during the 24 minute cook at 200C.

For the fresh fries I had to set the temperature (200C) and time (21 minutes) manually, as well as enable the shake reminder. Still, the results were great.

Baking is another highlight when using the Philips 5000 air fryer, with a simple banana bread recipe producing a moist inside, crunchy-topped loaf with an excellent texture. I cooked it at 160C for 25 minutes, and then 20 minutes at 140C.

I also produced delicious, gooey-centered chocolate cookies, with an eight minute bake at 175C doing the job nicely. The chicken breasts, mixed green vegetables and sausages I also cooked using the air fryer mode all came out well.

But air frying is only part of the story. The reservoir atop this device is the signal this device has more tricks up its sleeve. The Steamfry function, that utilizes both the air frying components along with generating steam, aims to lock in moisture and enhance tenderness, creating juicy and golden textures. Basically, the best of air frying and steaming in one.

And it works really well. I used the entire basket to Streamfry large, hand-seasoned chicken wings on the chicken preset (32 minutes at 200C).

During the cook there are periods of air frying and periods of steaming, the latter of which are obvious as you can hear the steam being produced, and see it vent out the rear of the machine. If you have it up close to a wall, or under a kitchen cabinet, expect significant condensation. I’d recommend giving it plenty of breathing room when using a steam function.

The results were superb. Wonderfully crisp skin, and juicy meat made for a delicious dinner, and had me returning the next day for lunch to cook the rest of the wings I didn’t need the night before.

And when it comes to solely steaming, the 5000 Megabasket performs well yet again. Popping a selection of Japanese chicken and vegetable gyoza into the right side of the basket (steam and steamfry are available in the whole basket, or the right side only) and using the preset dumpling mode produced perfectly steamed, silky pillows.

A word of warning on the presets though, they aren’t a sure-fire win every time. When I cooked some green beans, broccoli, sugar snap peas, I split the batch between the two compartments. The veg I put in the smaller side I air fried, while I opted for steam on the larger side.

I selected the vegetables preset for both, which gave me settings of 200C for 30 minutes for the air fried veg, and 100C for 14 minutes for the steamed side. I also selected the sync option, so both sides would finish at the same time. However, at the first shake reminder for the air fried side (after 15 minutes) it was clear my veg was already overcooked.

I completed the full cycle for both sides, and the air fried veg was cremated. Thankfully, the steamed side had cooked very well, with tender broccoli stems, beans and peas.

Put bigger, chunkier pieces of veg in the air fry side (such as roughly chopped carrots and parsnips) and the preset is closer to what you need. It’s a good reminder that you need to spend time with your air fryer in the initial weeks to find out which settings work best for the food you cook - even with premium models such as the 5000 series.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer?

Buy it if

Don’t buy it if

Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer: also consider

How I tested the Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer

• I used the Philips 5000 Series air fryer for multiple weeks in my kitchen
• I cooked a wide variety of food with it, including fries, cakes, vegetables, pizza and meat
• I tested the various cooking functions, and the cleaning process

I spent multiple weeks using the Philips 5000 Series Megabasket with Steam Air Fryer in my kitchen. During that time I cooked using the air fry, steamfry and steam settings, and used the various preset modes, along with manual setting.

I cooked a wide variety of food, including baking cakes and cookies, air frying chips, pizzas, sausages and chicken, steaming vegetables and dumplings, and steam frying chicken wings.

I also tested the steam cleaning function, and cleaned the basket, trays and divider both by hand, and with the dishwasher.

First reviewed August 2026

• The Ninja CrushBOSS is a blender, food processor and to-go tumbler in one
• It has a 1,200W motor, with presets for precise chopping, slicing and dicing
• It's on sale now for $319 / £239 (about AU$460)

If, like me, you love a good kitchen device you'll be well aware of the perennial problem: finding space for all your gadgets and their accessories on your counter or in your cupboards. So I'm intrigued by the strangely-named but fun-looking Ninja CrushBOSS, which is designed to replace three distinct products: a blender, a food processor and a smoothie maker, all with the same shared base.

The CrushBoss has a 1,200W motor and a 2.1 liter / 72oz jug for blending and a 710ml / 26oz tumbler cup for drinking on the go. And it has a smart menu system that promises to make even the most tedious chores quick and easy.

Ninja CrushBOSS: key features and pricing

The Ninja CrushBOSS's jug has a curved square design to eliminate dead zones, and the SmoothSense system offers optimized blending, presets for chopping and mincing, and a custom control with 10 manual speed settings.

There's an integrated touchscreen display and a straightforward dial control, and it's designed to handle everything from smoothies and ice to shredding, slicing and dicing. There's an optional dicing kit accessory designed to deliver consistent dicing for more intensive tasks such as chopping ingredients for salads, salsa and other ingredients.

It's an interesting alternative to a full food processor whose various bits and bobs require quite a lot of storage: while there are still individual blades and bodies here they're not as numerous as the ones gathering dust at the back of my kitchen units. And if you've been disappointed by all-in-ones in the past, the high power here – 1,200W, which is 100W more powerful than the Ninja BlendBOSS — should make short work of even the toughest veg and effortlessly crush ice for your cocktails.

The Ninja CrushBOSS (including all attachments) is available for $319.99 in the US, and £239.99 in the UK. That's about AU$460, though the Australian release date has yet to be confirmed.

Want to make delicious lattes and cappuccinos at home without using a steam wand? You need an electric milk frother — and as TechRadar's resident barista, I've put together the top three I recommend, whether you enjoy plant milk or dairy.

Before we get started, I should note that electric milk frothers and steam wands both have their pros and cons. A manual steam wand works much more quickly than an electric milk frother, and once you've got your eye in, it allows you greater control over the texture of the milk (more creamy for lattes, and 'drier' for a cappuccino, for example).

Electric frothers, however, can usually whip up cold milk foam as well as hot, and make it easy to prepare other drinks including hot chocolate and protein shakes. The inside of an electric milk frother usually has a non-stick coating, making it a breeze to clean. An electric frother is also a great option if you have limited mobility, often featuring just one or two physical buttons that can be operated with one hand. Sounds good? On with the recommendations...

Dreo Baristamaker

If you enjoy plant-based milk, the Dreo Baristamaker is the electric milk frother for you. While the other two in this guide are optimized for dairy, the Baristamaker also has settings for soya, almond, coconut, and oat — as well as half-and-half if you want something richer in your coffee.

The base of the unit contains the heating element and motor, and the two whisking attachments are held in position (and spun) using magnets. One attachment looks like your standard milk whisk, while the other has large blades to pull the milk in towards the center, where a mesh screen breaks up large bubbles and turns them into fine foam.

During the foaming process, the Baristamaker will alternate between stirring and foaming, which is intended to create an even texture. It's also the only electric milk frother here whose pitcher has a fine spout, which is essential for creating latte art, though in my tests I found that the foam was less smooth than milk steamed the old-fashioned way, and I couldn't achieve the same results when pouring it.

Nevertheless, for sheer versatility, the Baristamaker is my number one pick if you're looking for an electric milk frother, provided your budget can take the hit. If you're looking for something a little more affordable (or just smaller), read on for two more options.

Read our full Dreo Baristamaker review

Smeg Mini Milk Frother

The Smeg Mini Milk Frother is an ideal companion to the Lavazza A Modo Mio Smeg capsule coffee machine, but its clean, minimalist design would look right at home anywhere (particularly since it comes in a wide array of colors, including black, white, and pastels).

Its controls are extremely simple: just one button on the front, which you press once, twice, or three times to choose your preferred setting (hot milk foam, hot milk, or cold milk foam). There are no options for different milk types, and according to Smeg, it's intended to be used with chilled full-fat dairy milk, which it turns into quite a thick foam. I also tried it with barista-style oat and almond milk to see how it compared with the Baristamaker; oat milk produced similar results to dairy, while almond was 'drier' and less creamy.

Whether I used the hot milk or hot milk foam option, the milk was always heated to exactly 140F / 60C, which is optimal for coffee. However, it's a shame the milk vessel doesn't have a fine spout like the Baristamaker; the milk pours cleanly without drips, but the lack of fine control combined with the thick texture means it's impossible to create latte art.

Read our full Smeg Mini Milk Frother review

Philips Baristina Milk Frother

This smart-looking electric milk frother is available on its own, or bundled with the Philips Baristina coffee machine — one of my all-time favorite espresso machines. When my colleague Max Langridge tested this frother, he found it "consistently produces thick milk foam, whether hot or cold", but as with all the devices we've tried, the foam it produces tends to be on the stiffer side and not ideal for pouring latte art.

Unlike the other frothers here, the Baristina doesn't use a heating element underneath the pitcher to heat your milk. Instead, it has a heated coil, which needs to be removed first if you want your milk cold. There's no audible beep to tell you that your milk is ready, but there is an LED indicator, and at just 40dB the while heating and whisking process is very quiet.

There are no options for tweaking the texture of your finished froth, but unlike the Smeg Mini Milk Frother above, Philips says that the Baristina frother is designed to be used with all types of milk — plant and dairy. However, Max noticed that whatever type of milk he used, the foam was always on the thicker side, and like the Smeg frother, there's no spout for pouring patterns onto your coffee.

If you're considering the Baristina coffee maker and milk frother bundle, you should also be aware that Philips has recently launched the Baristina Latte, which bundles both into one compact package. I've not had the opportunity to test it yet, but I have high expectations.

Read our full Philips Baristina Milk Frother review

You might have a small kitchen, but that doesn't mean you can't make cafe-quality coffee at home. I test over a dozen coffee makers every year in my own small space, and I've found that when it comes to preparing delicious espresso, size really isn't everything.

If you want a machine that will prepare 40 different beverages at the press of a button then, yes, you'll need to dedicate a significant amount of space on your kitchen counter to a hefty fully automatic machine. However, if you just want to make delicious espresso, there are far smaller options that will do a superb job.

Here, I've picked out my all-time top-three compact coffee makers for small spaces, including one bean-to-cup brewer, one capsule coffee maker, and one more traditional manual brewer. I'd happily use any of the three myself — and they're all very reasonably priced as well.

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo

I tested this coffee maker just a few days ago, and it's the smallest I've ever used, measuring a mere 4.9 x 8.3 x 13 inches / 124 x 210 x 330mm (W x H x D).

If you're looking for a compact coffee maker that will brew a good espresso with minimum fuss, this is the one for you. It takes Lavazza's own A Modo Mio pods, which you drop into a slot on top of the machine, before pushing back the large lever and hitting the "brew" button. Once you're satisfied with the quantity in your cup, tap the button again to stop the flow. Done.

You don't get Nespresso-like fancy flavors with Lavazza's pods, but I'd argue that's no bad thing. Coffee laced with added aromas often tastes unpleasantly sweet or artificial, and while Lavazza offers plenty of choice for beans and roasts, all the aromas come from the coffee itself, rather than from additives.

The only downside for me is that A Modo Mio pods are plastic, and can be difficult to recycle if you don't have a collection point near you. I'm lucky to have one quite nearby, but you can't send your pods in the mail — if there's no drop-off spot nearby, your only option is to start one yourself.

In all other respects, this is a superb little coffee maker. It's affordably priced, too, and its pods are some of the cheapest around.

Read our full Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo review

Philips Baristina

The Philips Baristina makes brewing espresso with fresh coffee beans just as simple as using pods. It measures 7 x 13.6 x 15 inches / 18 x 34.5 x 38cm (W x H x D), which is a fraction of the size of most bean-to-cup machines, and it's half the price too.

Pour your coffee beans into the hopper located on the top surface of the Baristina, fill its water tank, and slide the portafilter handle into place. Choose whether you want a single or double espresso and the machine will grind just the right quantity of coffee. Tamp it down, then slide the filter underneath the brewing group, and dispense a perfectly extracted drink directly into your waiting cup.

It's refreshingly simple, and cleanup is a piece of cake. Most bean-to-cup coffee machines do all the brewing inside a closed case, and the moist conditions combined with any leftover coffee grounds create the perfect conditions for mold to grow – unless you open everything up, clean it thoroughly, and leave the case open to dry overnight. With the Baristina, this isn't a problem.

The only drawback of the standard Baristina is that there's no steam wand for preparing milk. However, you can find the coffee maker bundled with a standalone milk frother, and Philips has recently launched a new machine called the Baristina Latte, which has a milk system built in. I've not had the opportunity to try it yet, but I have high hopes.

Read our full Philips Baristina review

De'Longhi Dedica Duo

We've had a capsule machine and a bean-to-cup coffee maker – now we have a traditional espresso machine, with a choice of portafilter baskets (both pressurized, making it easier to achieve a nice thick crema) and a manual steam wand. It measures 5.5 x 12 x 12.6 inches / 14 x 30.5 x 32cm (W x H x D), allowing it to slot onto even tiny kitchen counters.

The Dedica Duo has a list price of $299.95 / £279.99 (about AU$600), which is very affordable for a manual espresso machine, and would usually sound warning bells — espresso machines in this price bracket are usually pretty bad, and incapable of sustaining the steady temperature and pressure necessary for consistent brewing. That's not the case here, though; this is a De'Longhi machine through and through, with no compromises on build quality or performance. Everything feels solidly made, and it's a pleasure to use.

The "Duo" in the name refers to the fact that this little coffee maker can also make a cold-extracted espresso using water directly from the tank (bypassing the boiler). This takes longer then brewing hot, but works very well and produces a pleasingly mellow-tasting drink that's an ideal foundation for iced drinks. A superb little all-rounder.

Read our full De'Longhi Dedica Duo review

KitchenAid KF2 two-minute review

The KitchenAid KF2 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is the entry-level model in the company’s six-strong range of automatic coffee machines, and was launched in mid-2026 alongside the KF3 and KF4.

It adopts the exact same slim build as its two siblings, making any of them ideal for smaller kitchens. It also benefits from the exact same Intelligrind coffee bean grinder, which automatically determines the best grind size depending on the beans you’ve put in. The brewing unit is the same also, and in my taste tests, I couldn’t notice any obvious difference between the three. That means you’re going to get a wonderful, tasty espresso with each use.

What sets the KF2 apart — and where KitchenAid has made cuts to bring the cost down — is its feature set regarding drink presets and general usability. It’s also the only model in KitchenAid’s entire fully automatic coffee machine range to rock a steam wand for foaming milk — the others all use a hose-based system. While this may seem like a drop down in specification, I personally found the steam wand to perform the best when making foamy lattes and cappuccinos. What’s more, a steam wand is inherently going to perform better with non-dairy milk as it allows for greater control over temperature.

As with the KF3 and KF4, the KitchenAid KF2 is capable of making iced-coffee drinks, although as I found in my KitchenAid KF3 review, the results are a little underwhelming. This is because the brewed espresso is hot enough to quickly melt the ice in your cup or glass, despite KitchenAid claiming it’s brewed at a lower temperature.

Where the KitchenAid KF2 loses points slightly is the fact it doesn’t offer user profiles. I’ve been used to having profiles for some time at home, as I currently use the KitchenAid KF4 and have previously used the Philips LatteGo 4400, which offer four profiles and two profiles, respectively. Having them makes brewing a coffee incredibly quick and simple: just select a profile, select a drink and that’s it.

The fact the KF2 doesn’t have profiles means that brewing a variety of coffees will take longer, as you’ll have to select the drink and adjust any settings each time. It therefore might not be the best option for larger households, but for households of one or two people it’s still worthy of consideration.

The other slight niggle I have, which affects the KF3 and KF4 also, is that the unit can go through water relatively quickly due to it running a rinse cycle on start up and shutdown. The shutdown cycle I can understand, but I find the start-up cycle to be a little redundant.

All things considered, the KitchenAid KF2 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is another fantastic option from the brand. It brews a well-extracted espresso each and every time and the steam wand works wonders for milk-based drinks.

KitchenAid KF2 review: Price & availability

• Launched in UK and US April 2026, Australia in July 2026
• List price $799.99 / £699 / AU$1,099

The KitchenAid KF2 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine launched in the US and UK in April 2026, before making its way to Australia in July 2026. It has a list price of $799.99 / £699 / AU$1,099, making it the company’s most affordable fully automatic machine.

The step-up KF3 adds a small color display to improve navigation and usability, four customizable profiles and a larger menu of drink presets, with a list price $999.99 / £749 / AU$1,349.

The top-tier model, the KF4 ($1,299.99 / £899 / AU$1,599) offers much of the same functionality as the KF2 with regard to grinder and brewing unit. It gains even more recipes, a large color touchscreen and KitchenAid’s hose-based milk-foaming system, complete with milk carafe.

I’m of the opinion that the KF2’s steam wand is the best option for expertly-frothed milk and for using with non-dairy milk varieties, instantly giving the machine a leg up over its siblings. And, since the actual coffee-brewing process is the same across all three machines, the KF2 represents excellent value.

That being said, the Ninja Luxe Cafe Premier offers more in the way of features, including a dedicated cold brew setting and cold-extraction for improved iced-coffee results, along with intelligent grind and dosage settings. Its list price is less than the KF2’s at $599.99 / £549.99 / AU$799.99, although it too doesn’t offer user profiles either and requires more hands-on input.

• Value score: 4 / 5

KitchenAid KF2 review: Specifications

KitchenAid KF2 review: Design

• Compact size will suit smaller space
• Steam wand suits plant-based milks
• No dishwasher-safe components

Of the three new compact automatic models, the KitchenAid KF2 sticks out the most for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it’s only available in a matte black finish (the KF3 and KF4 also come in Porcelain White, which I’m personally a fan of), and secondly there’s no color display.

The matte black finish is still sleek and smart-looking, it must be said, although there is a shiny, fingerprint-loving panel on the front at the top. You’ll want to keep a cloth nearby to keep it looking its best.

I don’t consider the lack of a color display to be a huge negative against the KF2, as the backlit panel is bright and clear when selecting a drink and adjusting settings. The color screens on the rest of KitchenAid’s espresso machine range do offer useful assistance with features like images of the drink you want to make, but it’s not something I missed when testing the KF2.

Physically the KitchenAid KF2 is the same as the other two compact models released in 2026, measuring 14.2 x 7.7 x 18.5 inches / 361 x 196 x 470mm (H x W x D). This compact form makes it easy to place the unit on a kitchen counter, and should be especially ideal for those with smaller kitchens. A couple of built-in wheels on the bottom at rear of the machine aid with manoeuvring into position.

Interacting with the KF2 is done via five buttons on the front panel. These select the drink type, dosage and strength — each of which can be pressed multiple times to cycle through options — one to activate cleaning cycles and a final button to initiate and cancel brewing. Each button press reveals a different backlit symbol on the front panel which are relatively self-explanatory.

Drink type cycles between espresso, coffee and over ice, dose lets you choose between one or two servings (either two cups under the dispenser or one for a double serving), and strength is a scale of one to three. This refers to how much coffee is ground into the brewing unit, from 7g (setting one) to 14g (setting three).

The bean hopper recessed into the top of the KF2 is large enough to hold 250g worth of coffee beans, which is accessed via a removable lid. While this does mean there’s no visual indication as to how many beans are left, it does at least mean the beans are kept airtight and away from light, helping to retain their freshness. There’s also a small chute for pre-ground coffee, and a scoop is included in the box.

The 1.8L water tank slides in and out the rear of the machine and has an integrated handle to make the process simple, although I personally prefer a side-mounted tank like the one found on the Philips LatteGo 4400 as I find it makes refilling that little bit easier. However, the KF2’s tank does at least feature a hinged lid, allowing you to fill it up from a jug if you wish.

KitchenAid supplies a water filter with the KF2 that it claims lasts up to two months when used with standard tap water. If you use filtered water, its life can extend to up to six months. The filter can seem to be a little fiddly to install due to the water tank being so tall. Thankfully the included coffee scoop doubles up as a tool that clips onto the filter, giving you the extra length needed to screw it into place.

The drip tray is deep and extends virtually the full depth of the KF2, and has a large spout integrated into its rear for easy emptying. However, as I found with the KF3 and KF4, when you pour water out it can occasionally spill onto the front panel section as it can’t be removed. It’s not a huge dealbreaker, just prepare for a little extra clean up. Used coffee grounds are deposited into a removable bin in the center that can be tipped out when full. An icon will light up on the front panel to let you know when it’s time.

One of the standout features of the KitchenAid KF2, in my opinion, is its Pannarello steam wand used for milk foaming. I was surprised to find one used, not only because KitchenAid uses a proprietary hose-based system in the KF3 and KF4, but also because other brands such as De’Longhi and Philips have also turned their backs on steam wands (in general) in the pursuit of an entirely automatic coffee-making process.

Personally, I appreciate KitchenAid's choice to include a steam wand here, as it enables you to create genuine milk foam, even when using non-dairy alternatives. In my experience, the hose system on the KitchenAid KF3 and KF4, the LatteGo system on the Philips 4400, and the LatteCrema system on the De'Longhi Magnifica Evo Next all fell short of producing a satisfactory level of milk foam for my taste.

The use of the steam wand does mean there’s some hands-on input required, as you need to hold the jug (which isn’t included in the box) under the steam outlet until the foam reaches your desired level. There’s also no built-in thermometer, so unless you use a third-party thermometer, you’ll have to judge when the milk is ready based on touch.

Whether you are crafting a flat white or a cappuccino, the wand features a small slider for 'more foam' or 'less foam' to ensure you get the perfect texture. By opening and closing the integrated air intake, this slider regulates the airflow: increasing the intake pumps more air into the milk, which creates a more voluminous and aerated foam. Keeping it closed is ideal for texturizing milk for lattes that don’t require as high a level of foam.

The KF2 features thorough cleaning cycles, including the ability to completely evaporate the internal system of water. There are also programs for descaling and cleaning the brewing unit, which require you to press a variation of buttons to initiate. A complete set of useful instructions is included in the box. Do note that none of the removable parts are dishwasher safe.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

KitchenAid KF2 review: Performance

• Consistently well-extracted espresso
• Steam wand delivers silky, well-foamed milk
• Lower brewing temperature for iced drinks still too hot

Having already reviewed the KF3, and knowing it uses the exact same brewing unit, I was expecting the same excellent results from the KitchenAid KF2. Fortunately my expectations were realised, as the compact KF2 produced a great-tasting espresso with each use.

Much of its success can be attributed to the IntelliGrind system that automatically determines the ideal grind size depending on your chosen beans. You can’t see the grinder at work, nor does the unit tell you what grind setting it’s chosen, you just have to put your trust in it to deliver optimal results. Your trust is rewarded.

However, if you're not completely satisfied with the crema or taste of your espresso, then the KF2 does offer the ability to manually adjust the grind to a finer or coarser level by way of a lever behind a compartment on the right-hand side of the machine. A finer setting is recommended for light-roast beans, while dark-roast beans benefit from a coarser setting. Since I was using medium-roast beans, I left the slider at the default setting in the middle.

Before you consider adjusting the grind level, you’ll first want to experiment with the strength of either the espresso or coffee drink presets. As mentioned earlier, there are only three coffee-based drink recipe presets: espresso, coffee and over ice. If you move up to the KF3 or KF4 you’ll gain recipes including latte macchiato, flat white and caffe latte, to name a few.

You can also adjust the volume of water used for each drink type, and the temperature it’s brewed at, by pressing and holding a specific set of buttons. You’ll find the full details in the supplied user manual. I was perfectly satisfied with the default settings, but it’s good to know KitchenAid offers the ability to personalize each drink.

Do note that if you do adjust any default settings, they will become the new norm until you change them again. Since there are no user profiles, you may want to consult with other people in your household before you make any tweaks.

If you want milk with your coffee, then the Pannarello steam wand is capable of producing thick, velvety foam that’s perfect for lattes, macchiatos and cappuccinos. It’s semi-automatic in use, as all you need to do is hold a milk pitcher under the wand and press the start button on the main unit (once you’ve cycled the ‘drink type’ menu through to ‘steam’). A word of warning, make sure you already have the steam wand submerged in milk. I pressed start with the pitcher still on the drip tray and ended up with milk all over the counter and myself.

A small slider on the side of the steam wand housing can be used to adjust the level of foam you achieve, either ‘less’ or ‘more’. In my tests this worked a charm, with the ‘more’ setting aerating the milk to such a high level that it nearly overflowed from the pitcher.

I much prefer the use of a steam wand compared to the hose systems used on the KF3 and KF4, as it’s capable of producing a much better level of froth. It’s also a hell of a lot easier to keep clean, as it doesn’t require constant rinse cycles to ensure the hose is free of residue. I actually wish the steam wand was featured on the company’s other machines.

Do note however that there’s no built-in thermometer to automatically detect when milk reaches your desired temperature. You’ll either have to invest in a dedicated one, or go off touch to determine when to shut the steam off. Also note that a milk pitcher isn’t included in the box. You can buy one directly from KitchenAid for $19.99 / AU$29. I wasn’t able to find a listing on the company’s UK store, but in all honesty, the pitcher available is relatively basic, so you could always get one from Amazon for the same or less money.

Where the KitchenAid KF2 falls down slightly — in a similar fashion to the KF3 and KF4 — is with its iced drinks function. KitchenAid has designed the KF2 to brew an espresso shot at a lower temperature compared to a regular shot when you select the ‘over ice’ drink type.

For starters, iced coffee fanatics will likely prefer a genuinely cold shot of coffee as opposed to having to pour a cooler shot of espresso over ice. Admittedly KItchenAid isn’t the only company to employ this function, as the Philips LatteGo machines also ask you to put some ice into a cup or glass before brewing an espresso.

However, I can’t agree with KitchenAid’s claim that the iced coffee espresso shot brews at a lower temperature, as I used a thermometer to check the temperature of a regular shot and iced shot, and both returned a measurements between 45ºC/113ºF and 50ºC/122ºF, which was hot enough to quickly melt the ice I had in my glass. It’s not necessarily a huge dealbreaker, but the fact remains there are other machines such as the De’Longhi Dedica Duo and the Jura J10 that are able to pour proper cold-extracted espresso for longer-lasting iced drinks.

It is, however, pleasing to find the KF2, like other KitchenAid espresso machines, is QuietMark-certified, signifying it should be whisper-quiet when grinding and brewing. And in reality, that’s certainly the case. I was able to record an average of 70dB while the machine was grinding and an average of 60dB when brewing. That, perhaps expectantly, puts it on par with the KF3 and KF4. That being said, we found the flagship KF8 to be quieter still with an average of 44dB during the entire coffee-making process.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the KitchenAid KF2?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

KitchenAid KF2 review: Also consider

How I tested the KitchenAid KF2

I used the KitchenAid KF2 over a one-week period. I was confident knowing how to use the machine, having previously reviewed the KF3 and from using the KF4 on a daily basis at home.

I prepared all of the available drink recipes — espresso, coffee and over ice — and used a thermometer to test the temperature of the ‘over ice’ espresso shot to determine if it was actually brewed at a lower temperature, as KitchenAid claims.

I also used the integrated steam wand in both its ‘less foam’ and ‘more foam’ settings to determine if there was indeed a difference in results. I also tested it with dairy milk and a barista-style oat milk to find out if it worked well with non-dairy milk varieties.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed August 2026

Air fryers aren't just for small cooking tasks or one-to-two person households. There's a new wave of air fryers that come kitted out with two drawers, enabling you to cook two components of a meal at once. They offer more space than your standard, one-drawer offering, and provide an easy way to keep different foods separate, but they also go further than than that.

You can pick a different temperature for each drawer, and most will have a sync function that means the appliance will automatically figure out your timings and sync up cooking so both drawers of food are finished at once. If you have a small kitchen, there are a number of models that have the two drawers stacked one on top of the other, to provide a generous cooking capacity without eating up all your counter space. It's enough to make you want to retire your proper oven for good.

We have a general guide to the best air fryers, but in this roundup I've narrowed things down to just my favorite two-drawer options. The main name to look out for is Ninja — this brand makes a wide variety of dual-zone options of different sizes and with different functions. I've included a number of options below, but I've also featured alternatives from rival brands, including some budget-friendly options.

Double trouble

• The Do Hiemon Box will cool you down for 20 minutes
• It blasts air on you at temperatures of 5°C or 41°F
• The units are being sold to construction sites and golf courses

If you're in Japan, you have an alternative to air conditioning units and portable fans when it comes to staying cool in sweltering temperatures: a human-sized refrigerator that you can sit inside when the heatwaves get too much.

This is the Do Hiemon Box from Trusco Nakayama (via The Japan Times), and it'll blast your body with air cooled down to a refreshing 5°C or 41°F — about the same temperature as a chiller in a standard refrigerator.

It requires no installation, can be moved on wheels, and according to Trusco Nakayama it beats other solutions by cooling the entire body down evenly. After 20 minutes, the unit automatically switches off to prevent overcooling, and you're back out into the heat.

As per The Japan Times, a couple of hundred of these units have been sold across construction sites, golf courses, leisure facilities, and university campuses since the chamber went on sale earlier this year.

It'll cost you

You need a standard electrical outlet for this to work, and you also need access to the 1.5 million yen it costs (that's about $9,480 / £7,040 / AU$13,460). These personal cooling machines don't exactly come cheap.

The idea is that you get quick, temporary protection against heat exhaustion and heatstroke — a growing problem in our warming world — rather than using this as an air conditioned office or a space to relax in.

According to a Trusco Nakayama executive speaking to The Japan Times, enquiries about the fridge have come from as far afield as Germany and the US. The company is hoping to find more business at summer festivals and shopping malls.

Before long you might find yourself queuing up for a slot in the human fridge as well as for the loos at your next festival trip — another depressing sign of the consequences of climate change that show no signs of being reversed.

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: one-minute review

The Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo is an exceptionally small capsule coffee maker, which brews espresso using the company's own A Modo Mio pods. These vacuum-packed capsules are available in a wide variety of coffee types, roasts, and blends, but unlike Nespresso capsules, there are no elaborate brews with added flavors to choose from.

That's no bad thing in my opinion, because the Jolie Evo produces some of the best espresso I've had from a pod machine, and flavored coffees often tend to taste artificial.

The Jolie Evo is very reasonably priced too (considerably less than the A Modo Mio Smeg and A Modo Mio Deséa), though you'll need to pick up a standalone milk frother too (I recommend either the Smeg Mini Milk Frother or Philips Baristina Milk Frother) if you want to make lattes and cappuccinos.

The controls are extremely simple, with just a single button and a large lever. However, bear in mind that there's no timer, so you'll need to manually tap the button to stop the flow once the machine has dispensed the right amount of coffee.

Overall, it's an excellent compact espresso machine. For me, the only real drawback is that the plastic pods aren't particularly easy to recycle. They can only be dropped off at designated collection points, which can be scarce outside big cities.

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: specifications

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: price and availability

• List price £99 / AU$129 (about $190)
• Widely available in UK and Australia
• Listed on Lavazza's US site, but not available at the time of writing

The Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo has a list price of £99 / AU$129, which is about $133, but at the time of writing the machine doesn't seem to be available to actually buy in the US — even though it's listed on Lavazza's site. So it may become available in the future.

If you're in the UK, you can get the coffee maker for £49 if you subscribe to Lavazza's coffee capsule delivery service.

Even at full price, that's very reasonable for a good quality capsule coffee maker. For comparison, the Lavazza A Modo Mio Smeg is £249 / AU$349 (about $350), while the Lavazza A Modo Mio Deséa is £249 / AU$349 (about $330) — though the latter machine also has a built-in milk-frothing system.

If you want to make lattes and cappuccinos with the Jolie Evo, you'll need a standalone milk frother like the Lavazza MilkEasy Plus, which is priced at £79 / AU$119 (about $150) — or the Smeg Mini Milk Frother or Philips Baristina Milk Frother I mentioned earlier.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: design

• Ideal for small kitchens
• Only two controls (lever and button)
• Lever is ergonomic and easy to use

The Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo is easily one of the smallest coffee makers I’ve tested, measuring a mere 4.9 x 8.3 x 13 inches / 124 x 210 x 330mm (W x H x D). That’s even tinier than the diminutive Nespresso Vertuo Pop, which is 5.3 x 9.8 x 16.7 inches / 136 x 250 x 426mm. It’s ideal for slotting into small spaces, and you can even route the power cable right or left underneath the machine if you need it to sit against a wall.

The Lavazza machine looks classier than its Nespresso counterpart as well, with a smart matte finish and a large chrome handle on top. Pulling this handle up opens a slot on top of the machine. so you can slide a coffee pod inside.

Pushing it back down closes the drawer and pierces the pod, and pulling it up a second time will drop the used capsule into a small bin behind the Jolie Evo’s drip tray. The bin has a grille at the bottom that allows the pods to drain so they’re dry when you remove them for recycling, which is a thoughtful touch.

The large lever is easy to grip and requires barely any force to move, which makes this a particularly good option for people with limited strength or mobility in their hands.

The drip tray has a plastic grate that can be removed for easy cleaning, and is just the right height for an espresso cup. A standard size cup or mug will fit neatly under the dispenser with the drip tray detached.

Other than the handle, there is just one control on the Jolie Evi: a button on top of the machine, with a white light to indicate the machine’s current status: blinking means heating, and white means ready to brew.

It’s available in black and white in Australia, with a gray option also offered in the UK. It was sold in green and red too when it launched in the US.

• Design score: 5/5

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: performance

• Extremely simple to use, but there's no timer for the coffee dispenser
• It makes delicious espresso in moments
• Its pods can be hard to recycle compared to Nespresso aluminum ones

What makes the Jolie Evo different from all other capsule coffee makers I’ve tested to date is its lack of a timer for brewing different sized drinks. Once you’ve pressed its single button, the little machine will continue dispensing coffee (or hot water, if there’s no pod inside) until you either tap the button again or the tank is empty.

This isn’t ideal if you want to leave your coffee maker to handle itself while you’re preparing the rest of your breakfast, but making a double espresso takes less than a minute so it’s no real hardship.

I would recommend using a measuring cup as your recepticle, though, at least until you’ve got your eye in, because it’s easy to under or over-estimate the output. You could use a coffee scale to a perfect measure, but it would be overkill; this entry-level machine makes a very good espresso, but it’s not intended for real aficionados.

It uses Lavazza’s own A Modo Mio capsules, which are excellent value compared to most coffee pods. Different types command different prices, but you can pick up 80 Qualità Rossa pods direct from Lavazza for £24.50 (about $30 / AU$50). That’s just over 30p per drink, compared to 49p for the cheapest Nespresso Vertuo pods.

Unlike Nespresso, the Modo Mio selection doesn’t include elaborate flavored drinks; there are various beans, blends and roasts to choose from in Lavazza’s store, but each pod contains only ground coffee with no extras. That's no bad thing, in my opinion — coffee capsules with added flavors can taste unpleasantly artificial.

I tested the Jolie Evo with three of Lavazza’s coffees: Qualità Rossa, Passionale, and Qualità Oro. Each comes in a box of 16, and is marked with an intensity score out of 12 to give you an idea of what to expect. The first is a blend of robusta and arabica beans, while the other two are 100% arabica.

My personal favorite was the Qualità Oro, which produced one of the best-tasting espressos I’ve had from a capsule machine and is described as “Sweet and delicate taste, with an intense and fragrant aroma”.

It goes particularly well with milk in a white americano or (if you also pick up a milk frother) a creamy latte.

The problem with these pods, delicious though they are, is that they can be difficult to recycle. Nespresso pods are made entirely from aluminum, which is relatively easy to process once the coffee grounds are removed, and there’s almost certain to be a location nearby where you can drop off the used capsules. If not, you can mail them off for recycling with a pre-paid bag.

By contrast, Lavazza A Modo Mio pods are mostly plastic and can be recycled in the UK through the company’s partnership with Terracycle, but collection points are few and far between.

If there’s nowhere to drop off your pods, your only option is to start your own collection point, accepting pods from other people and sending them for processing yourself. Individuals can’t send their pods in the mail.

South England is relatively well-served, but at the time of writing there are only four drop-off points in Scotland, and none at all in Wales or Northern Ireland.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Jolie Evo is the right espresso machine for you, here are two others to think about.

How I tested the Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo

I used the Lavazza A Modo Mio Jolie Evo in place of my usual espresso machine for two weeks. I used three different types of A Modo Mio capsules (Qualità Rossa, Passionale, and Qualità Oro), drinking it neat as an espresso, and using the Jolie Evo to add extra hot water to make an americano.

I set up and cleaned the machine following the directions in the instruction manual, and allowed the components to air-dry before reassembly.

• For more details, see how TechRadar tests, reviews, and rates products.
• First reviewed: August 2026

Shrinking kitchens in modern homes mean appliances are working harder than ever to earn a place on your counter. It's not unreasonable to expect your blender to double as a food processor, or your microwaves that moonlight as air fryers are now commonplace. Panasonic, however, has combined two gadgets I never thought I’d see wed: a bread machine and an ice cream maker.

I traveled to Sauce, a cooking school at the Langham Hotel in London, to get hands-on with the new Panasonic Mini Bread and Ice Cream Maker, plus a selection of other multi-talented appliances. I tied on my apron alongside a mix of journalists, influencers, and (unusually for this sort of event) their family members — including several young kids.

All the dishes on the menu combined to make a meal for a family to enjoy together without having to adapt elements, or cook separate things for children — and the recipes were so straightforward even the little ones could help out (with the assistance of a step stool).

First, we saw a demonstration of the intriguing bread and ice cream machine, then got to grips with it ourselves. When I first received details of the event, I assumed these were separate appliances and that the invitation contained a typo, but no, this compact device can indeed do both. It makes some sense when you think about it — bread requires kneading, and ice cream needs churning, which are very similar mechanically — so why not?

As with most bread makers, preparing a loaf is a simple matter of pouring your ingredients into the machine, selecting a program, and then leaving it to handle the requisite kneading, proving, and baking.

The particular loaf we made was enriched with butter (thereby increasing the proof time), and studded with mixed seeds. Since we only had a few hours, we didn’t get to see our own loaves through to completion, but there were several finished examples available to try, and they were delicious spread with a little butter — crusts crisp and centers springy.

We then saw a demo of the ice cream making process, which starts with chilling the two-in-one machine’s churning bowl in the freezer for at least eight hours. When the bowl is frozen, remove the bread tin from the machine, slot in an adapter, and then simply place the ice cream bowl on top. Pour in your prepared ingredients, hit the button on the control panel, then close the lid and let the machine handle the rest.

The result was light and flavorful (and we were advised that if you’re not vegetarian, adding a little gelatin to your ice cream mix will give an even creamier texture). The frozen yogurt was a particular winner, and a welcome treat on a hot summer day, and one you can prepare in a couple of minutes provided the bowl is frozen ahead of time. Want something fruity? You can make your own compote to swirl into the mix, or just add a spoonful of jam.

Next, we got stuck into some hands-on cooking with a Panasonic 4-in-1 Air Fryer Combi Microwave Oven. Despite looking no larger than a standard microwave, this appliance also serves as a convection oven and air fryer, and is packed with preset programs that combine these different cooking methods.

It’s a bit of a cliché to say that a multi-purpose appliance could replace your conventional oven, but with its tiered trays and large capacity, I think this one genuinely might for smaller families.

Of the two recipes we tried in the Combi Microwave, my personal favorite was a miniature baked cheesecake — just the right size for a snack or small dessert. You could even devour it during your morning commute if you didn’t have time for breakfast, and make yourself the envy of your fellow travelers.

The basic ingredients had already been blended together before we arrived (using a Panasonic blender, naturally), but I was very pleased to realize that they included banana. If you’re anything like me, you have a frankly ridiculous stash of overripe bananas in your freezer, and cheesecake is a very welcome change from banana bread.

All we had to do was pour the mix into the molds, add a scattering of fresh berries, and pop them in the combi microwave for a few minutes. The finished cheesecakes were delicious — perfectly set, finished much faster than you could manage in a regular fan oven, and with a lightly caramelized top that you couldn’t achieve in a standard microwave.

I will definitely try them again — I don’t have bar-shaped molds, but I do have a set of silicone muffin cases that could serve the same purpose.

Katsu-style cornflake baked fried chicken was next on the menu, made using fresh chicken breast coated in well-seasoned buttermilk and egg, then covered in a mixture of crushed cornflakes and flour (again, with plenty of seasoning). We arranged the coated chicken pieces on the microwave’s crisper plate, and within a few minutes they were cooked through without being dry in the center, and deliciously crisp outside, all with no added fat.

They were perfect alongside a freshly-cut salad, and rice prepared using Panasonic’s new multi-cooker. Rice cookers have been quietly finding their way into more and more kitchens over the last couple of years (and we’ve started reviewing more of them here on TechRadar), so it makes sense that Panasonic is launching a new model in the UK soon as well — with Fuzzy Logic Technology that adjusts cooking on the fly.

It’s hard to choose a favorite, but ultimately I think the bread and ice cream machine was my top pick of the appliances we tested. It’s just such an unusual combination — and better yet, I learned it includes a mochi paddle so you can make your own chewy and delicious treats filled with ice cream or red bean paste. All that, plus freshly made, crusty bread? I’m sure I can find a little extra space on my kitchen counter…

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review

The Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S has an advantage over traditional fans. While traditional fans provide what feels like a cooling breeze in the sweltering heat, they don’t in fact actually cool the air around you. That’s where the Dreo's clever misting technology comes in, reducing the temperature inside your home.

The brand claims the 765S can drop the temperature in a room by up to 6 degrees Celsius (roughly 11F), which makes all the difference when the mercury is rising.

It’s not the only misting fan on the market — for example the Shark FlexBreeze sits proudly atop our best fans list as I write this — but with super-quiet operation and bold room-cooling claims, can Dreo topple it from its top spot? I’ve put the 765S through its paces to find out.

Setup is pretty simple, but do take a moment before you remove the fan from its packaging. You need to remove the weighted base plate first, then prop the fan tower up on the edge of the box so you can fix the base to the bottom. It clips onto the bottom of the tower and is secured with a screw, included in the box.

There's a variety of protective packaging around the fan that needs to be removed before operation, including cardboard and plastic in the water tank. It’s worth taking your time to check you’ve removed all the various stickers, plastic film and cardboard protection — I did miss a couple of things initially.

Stand it up, plug it in and then setup is ready to be completed via the free Dreo app. App setup is as easy as the physical. Create an account, pair the app with the fan, enter your Wi-Fi password, and you’re good to go.

And the app is pretty good: it's clearly laid out, although it only offers basic controls (on/off and timer) on the main screen. For any deeper controls, you have to tap the picture of the fan. It’s not difficult, but I’d like to see a few more options without having to tap into another menu.

Fortunately, you're not solely reliant on the app, as there are touch controls on the top of the fan, plus you get a remote (and the two AAA batteries required to power it) included in the box.

With the remote, you can control the power, fan speed, fan mode, oscillation, misting and timer. It feels a little cheap in the hard with a basic plastic shell — Dyson’s remotes are far more premium, plus they magnetically cling to the top of the firm’s fans — but it’s functional and feels sturdy.

It’s annoying that there’s just one fan speed button on the remote though, forcing you to cycle through all speeds levels to get your desired one. I’d rather have up and down buttons for faster control.

When filling the water tank, it slides out from the front of the fan, and comes with a fold up carry handle to make transportation easier. You might think you don’t need it as you carry it empty to the sink, but once filled to the max level line you’ll find it surprisingly heavy. If you have a shallow sink, you might find filling a little cumbersome due to the size and shape of the tank.

The 765S's design is sleek and modern, with a pillar shape that tapers towards the top. The circular display on the front is bright and easy to read, even from across a room.

And at the bottom of the tower the water tank itself hides a fun feature. Power the fan on and you’ll notice a funky ambient light. It’s not just decorative, as the color can indicate the current humidity in the room. Blue signals humidity of 70%, while orange means the air is dry, at 30% or less. Green signals a comfortable humidity between 30% and 70%.

However, you can just have it illuminated in a color of your choice instead, with no link to the fan's performance or the room’s humidity.

There are three other lighting modes to choose from: constant, breath, and cycle. Constant allows you to pick a color of your choice for the light to be, while breath will see your color selection slowly pulsate. Cycle, as the name suggests, will cycle through a range of different colors, fading from one to the next. I found this to be a handy party mode when I had guests over and we were listening to music.

But what’s it like as a fan, I hear you scream? The good news is: pretty darn good.

At fan speed two, you can comfortably feel a breeze from four meters away, and it’s very quiet at this level, making it perfect for chatting with others, working, or watching TV. Even at its highest speed (12), I got a peak reading of 65dB directly in front of the machine, which is equivalent to normal conversation. It’s quieter than that when you’re sitting away, allowing you to speak to others without the fan being a distraction.

When it’s warm and you are looking for a breeze to take the edge off, this is all you really need. Higher fan speeds are useful when the fan is placed in larger, open-plan spaces, while the misting function is only really required when the mercury starts to soar.

But when the temperature does rise, the misting function is excellent. There are four misting vents — two on each side of the main airflow vent that runs down the middle — and they’re angled slightly up so moisture is directed into the air, rather than at the floor / furniture.

And it surprised me in two ways. Firstly, there’s hardly any increase in noise when the misting function is on, which means you could leave it on overnight in your bedroom and not be disturbed. Second, I was impressed with how fine the mist produced was. The ultrasonic atomizers used in the 765S produce a 17um ultra-fine mist — this means it evaporates quicker, preventing damp building up on objects nearby.

I could sit comfortably just a meter away from the fan, enjoying the cooling breeze without a sensation that it’s lightly raining. What’s even better is the misting function actually delivers on the claim that it reduces the temperature in your room.

During my tests, I saw a degree knocked off the room temperature after just 10 minutes of misting. It instantly makes a difference, and I was able to set a target humidity so the fan wouldn’t just keep pumping out water unnecessarily.

Keeping the fan running continuously for several hours, room temperature dipped by another degree, but I never saw more than a 2C drop during my weeks of testing. That’s some way off Dreo’s “up to 6 degrees” temperature reduction claim, and I’m not sure what sort of ideal scenario is needed to achieve this in the real world.

Still, a reduction in temperature is always a win, and the misting adds an additional layer of cooling, keeping me comfortable in what otherwise would have been a stuffy home office.

Dreo says the 6L water tank will last for 24 hours (or more) of run time when the misting mode is enabled, and I’m inclined to agree. I ran the 765S with misting turned on for a variety of different durations, and even during longer four to five hour sessions the water level reduced only marginally.

One slight frustration though was the limited oscillation angle. The 765S can only rotate 90 degrees. For many that’ll likely be enough, but having recently tested the Dyson Find+Follow Purifier Cool that has 350 degrees of movement, the Dreo feels a touch restrictive.

If you live somewhere hot and dry, the TurboCool Misting Fan 765S will provide all-day misting without breaking a sweat. Dreo claims the TurboCool Misting Fan 765S can reduce temperatures by up to 6C and although I didn’t get this level of cooling, it did make a significant difference in the rooms I tested it in, making them far more comfortable to work, relax, and sleep in.

It’s not going to deliver the same cooling as air conditioning, but the 765S offers an excellent middle ground between AC and traditional fans. It can genuinely reduce the heat in the room, keep humidity at a comfortable level, and does it all so quietly you might even forget it’s there.

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review: Price and release date

• The TurboCool Misting Fan 765S costs £199.99 / $199.99
• It’s available now via Amazon in the US and UK
• A cheaper, table-top version is also available

The Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S is available for a list price of £199.99 / $199.99, having gone on sale in April 2026. That’s the same price as its core rival, the Shark FlexBreeze, giving it a fighting chance in the market.

If you’re after a more compact offering, Dreo also has the table-top TurboCool Misting Fan 516S for £99.99 / $99.99. Meanwhile the TurboCool Outdoor Misting Fan 711AS — also £199.99 / $199.99 at Amazon — is, as the name suggests, designed for use both indoors and out. So if you’re looking to keep things cooler whether you’re in the garden or in bed, this is the one to go for.

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review: Specs

Should I buy the Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review: Also consider

How I tested the Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S

• Used the TurboCool Misting Fan 765S for several weeks
• Tested in rooms of varying size and temperature
• Tried out the various modes, including misting

I used the Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S for several weeks in my home, testing it in rooms of varying size and temperature. I used it in my lounge to see how effectively it could cool a modest room, had it running overnight in the bedroom to experience how loud it is when sleeping, and in my open-plan kitchen/diner for large space use.

I used the included remote, the free smartphone app, and the on-device buttons to find out how easy it was to control. I also used the misting function in the day and at night to test its cooling credentials.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: July 2026

During my years as a TechRadar Homes Editor, I tested an awful lot of vacuums. But the one that's been my constant companion throughout has been the Dyson V15 Detect. It's not a review sample — my partner bought it, and it's the vacuum we've been using at home for the past 21-plus months. It's been used to clean hard tile floors, carpets, lots of stairs, and a whole heap of dog hair.

The V15 is not the newest Dyson vacuum. It came out in 2021 and there are now two newer flagship models: the Gen5detect (launched 2022) and the V16 Piston Animal (2025). However, despite not being the latest-and-greatest, it's still the model that sits atop our best Dyson vacuum guide.

So after nearly two years of regular cleaning with the V15, would I still recommend it? How does it match up against the rest of the best cordless vacuums on the market — and specifically, the newest models from Dyson's great competitor, Shark? Here's my long-term review.

Smooth mover

Let's start with what I love about our Dyson dust-sucker. The suction is excellent, and the Auto mode (where the suction will increase or decrease depending on how much dirt is detected on the floor) is a very welcome addition. I use this mode almost exclusively, and it can be relied upon to do a thorough job of clearing whatever debris has gathered on the floor. I haven't noticed a drop in cleaning performance over our two years of use.

The V15 is also extremely easy to maneuver. Our home has lots of stairs, and plenty of nooks and crannies where dust and hair like to collect and lurk, and the V15 Detect does a great job of getting into all of them. I love how easily and smoothly the head pivots, and the fact it can lie completely flat to the ground for cleaning under beds.

Many of the newest Shark vacuums have a hinge on the vacuum wand, which enables it to bend forwards for cleaning under furniture. It works well, but adds bulk to the wand, and the whole thing is slightly unwieldy in its folded state. For my home, the Dyson setup works perfectly well, but if you're lacking in maneuvering room, perhaps Shark's 'MultiFlex' / 'Flexology' solution would be a better fit.

I'm also a huge fan of the Dyson V15's secret crevice tool. It's hidden in the wand, so I'm never without it. Our house is tall and thin, with four floors, and this built-in tool means that if I spot a dusty corner at the top of the house, I don't have to traipse all the way down to the utility room to fetch a detail tool to deal with it. As far as I'm aware, this feature is exclusive to Dyson at the moment.

Having tested a number of vacuums from Dyson and various other brands, I'm always struck by how consistently high quality and well-built the Dyson vacs feel. There's a strong attention to detail in the design, and they feel sturdy and reliable. That's still true of the V15 after nearly two years of use.

Lasers and data

Now on to a couple of features that have divided opinion within my household. The V15 comes with a couple of different floorheads: the Digital motorbar head, which has bristles and is designed for use on any floor type, and the Fluffy optic head, which is entirely soft and built for use on hard flooring. The latter is equipped with a green light to illuminate dust.

I'm very on board with the Fluffy floorhead. I love that it feels gentle on our tiled kitchen floor (and doesn't clatter over it as most vacuum cleaner heads will), and I appreciate the way the light draws attention to dust and hair lurking in dingy corners. I find it very satisfying to then whisk that dust away, and always feel I'm getting a far more thorough clean than I would without this feature.

However, my partner is not so enamored with the Fluffy floorhead. He feels the Digital motorbar floorhead works perfectly well on hard floors, and it's not worth the hassle of swapping the heads over.

Then there are the real-time dust reports on the screen. I find these endlessly fascinating, and I enjoy seeing the dust hotspots causing the bar graphs to spike. However, when I asked my partner for his thoughts, it became clear that not only was he not paying them any attention, but he didn't really know what they were. Is is possible the general public is just not as invested in the intricacies of vacuum cleaning as I am? Maybe.

Bulking up

Moving on to the down-sides of the V15. The most significant complaint I have with it is that V15 Detect is that it's pretty heavy. Further to that, the weight is concentrated in the main motor section, which itself is rather elongated in shape. That makes it rather unwieldy, and especially when used in handheld mode.

All of Dyson's newer vacuums (I'd say from this model onwards — so the V15, the Gen5detect and the V16 Piston Animal) suffer from this weight distribution issue.

Looking to Shark's range, the fancier models, such as the PowerDetect Cordless, are actually heavier overall. However, the motor/handle section is more squat in shape, and there's more weight through the wand and into the floorhead. That means more even weight distribution, which can make for a more comfortable vacuuming experience.

A triggering issue

Another big complaint I have with the V15 is that it's trigger-operated, with no option to lock it for continual running. I find that irritating when I'm using the vacuum for long periods, or trying to get into awkward corners while keeping the trigger compressed.

I prefer the setup on Dyson's newer models, where there's a one-press power button. However, that's still not perfect — it requires you to have a hand free to turn the machine on and off, because the power button is not reachable from your holding hand.

Most modern Shark models use button operation, and just like the Dyson designs, you can't reach the button from your holding hand. My ideal design is one where the vacuum is trigger-operated but with a lock for continual running. No Dyson vacuum has this setup, and neither do any of Shark's newest stick vacs, although that brand's range is so sprawling you might find a trigger-plus-lock design somewhere.

One comment that I hear sometimes about Dyson stick vacuums is that they don't always last as long as customers expect. Our V15 is still going strong after just under two years (which is actually at the lower end of how long cordless vacuums are meant to last, although most people would probably hope for longer).

Prior to that, my partner had a Dyson Cyclone V10, which lasted over five years. At that point the battery conked out, and replacing it only fixed the issue for a few months. I think that's a decent lifespan for a vacuum, but your mileage may vary.

Is it worth it?

After two years using my Dyson V15, I'd still recommend it. Its cleaning powers are excellent with no signs of fading, its special features genuinely useful, and I love how maneuverable it is.

I personally also prefer it to Shark's newest models. I cover my main thoughts on this in my Shark vs Dyson article, but as a short overview, it's special features feel superior — Dyson's laser lights are far more effective than Shark's headlamps, and its Auto mode feels more precise. The Dyson also pivots more smoothly and the overall design feels sleeker and more high-end.

However, it's not a clear-cut decision. The Shark PowerDetect Cordless offers the best outright cleaning performance of any vacuum I've used, including all the Dyson models. Shark's models also arguably deliver better value for money — although its higher-spec models still sit in the premium price tier.

The bottom line? After using the V15 for a couple of years, and testing multiple other vacs from different brands including Shark, I'm still something of a Dyson fan-girl. When our at-home vac finally bites the dust, we'll probably end up buying another Dyson, although I will still be checking out what Shark has to offer...

If you love coffee, you’ll be very aware of the impact of factors like grind size, water temperature, and infusion time, but there’s something else that’s often overlooked. A double espresso is at least 90% water, and the minerals and other substances it contains can have a huge impact on the overall taste.

I’m a big coffee-drinker (which is just as well, since I test over a dozen coffee makers every year for TechRadar), and I’m planning to buy a water filter to take my brewing to the next level — but what should I look for — and what should you consider if you’re thinking of taking the plunge into filtered water too?

To find out, I spoke to Andy McPhilbin, Head of Aquaphor Professional for UK and Ireland, and Genevieve Upton, beverage industry expert and Head of Water Filtration at Our Taap.

Why does water matter?

“Water quality can have a considerable impact on how coffee tastes, with chlorine, mineral composition, alkalinity and pH all influencing the final flavour profile,” says Upton.

“Most tap water supplied to UK homes is disinfected using chlorine-based compounds. Residual chlorine can react with components in coffee and tea, contributing bitter, medicinal or chemical notes that may overwhelm the more delicate characteristics of the coffee. Boiling water can reduce the levels of chlorine, though it can also create other unwanted flavours, such as by reacting to a plastic kettle.”

She explains that the mineral composition and pH of the water also play an important role when it comes to how your coffee tastes.

“Slight differences in acidity, together with the concentrations of minerals and buffering compounds, influence extraction efficiency and the balance of flavors in the final cup. As water companies vary their supply sources throughout the year, you might notice that the same beans, brewed in exactly the same way, taste different from season to season.”

In fact, using unfiltered water doesn’t just mean your coffee tastes sub-optimal - it could cause your expensive coffee machine to break down — and it won’t be covered by the manufacturer's warranty..

“The warranty only covers manufacturing defects, and unfortunately, hard water is not a manufacturing defect,” explains McPhilbin. “So you can turn something that is a very efficient espresso machine into something very inefficient within a matter of weeks. You get a millimeter of scale forming within a matter of six weeks.

“Now, is that important? It is, because you want the life of the machine to be good, but also you've got little injectors which put the right amount of water into that espresso. If they're blocked, you're not going to get the right amount of water. You're going to have the wrong taste. It's got to be precise.”

What types of filtration are there?

Our Taap specializes in home water filtration Its latest system is the Our Taap Home Water System II — a countertop unit that connects to your mains water supply, and uses a triple filtration system with UV purification to remove contaminants while retaining minerals.

Aquaphor makes water filters for commercial and home use, including under-sink systems, pitchers, and even water bottles. Its most advanced systems for home users are the RO-101, RO-102, and RO-202, all of which use reverse osmosis (RO).

This involves forcing water through a semi-permeable membrane that removes chlorine, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, and microplastics. Standard RO filters also strip out minerals, but Aquaphor’s systems can optimize the concentration of calcium and magnesium so they’re just right for coffee — something McPhilbin says “really is a science”.

“The mineral content is measured in TDS [total dissolvable solids], and we want that TDS to be somewhere in the realms of between 80 and 120 [parts per million],” he explains. “We have a couple of ways in which we do it, but generally we can either feed more minerals in it by making it tuneable, or we can take them out as well by turning it the other way. But if you have too little, you can cause corrosion, and if we have too much, we're going to get limescale. So we try to hit that sweet spot, which is 100 parts per million in the middle there.”

Our Taap’s filters use granular activated carbon filtration, which Upton says “is particularly good at removing chlorine and some of its by-products, which can mask the more delicate flavour notes in coffee.”

“By reducing these compounds, the water has a cleaner, more neutral taste, allowing the natural characteristic of the coffee beans to come through. Whether you’re brewing with a cafetière, pour-over or espresso machine, using filtered water can help create a smoother, more balanced cup with greater flavour clarity.

"It's worth remembering, however, that activated carbon filters are designed primarily to remove chlorine and certain organic compounds rather than minerals,” she adds. “As a result, they have little effect on the calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate levels that influence water hardness, alkalinity and extraction.”

Under-sink or countertop?

So which type of filter is right for you? Do you need an under-sink reverse-osmosis system, or would a countertop filter be better? McPhilbin says the decision will mostly depend on how much filtered water you need.

“I think it's down to capacity more than anything,” he says. “Our jug filters have twice the capacity of the competition because we use a unique media called Aqualen, which is a patented media based on ionic exchange and carbon, so you're getting a dual-purpose piece of filtering equipment there. Reverse osmosis has a massive capacity, and [the filter] is not something [you’re] changing all the time.”

Upton says your choice of filter will also depend on the problem you want to solve.

“If your tap water has a noticeable chlorine taste or smell, a filter with activated carbon is usually the best place to start,” she says. “This technology is available in everything from filter jugs to more advanced under-sink or countertop systems, with plumbed-in options offering great convenience for households that use filtered water regularly.

“If you’re dealing with limescale build-up in kettles or coffee machines, it’s important to choose a filter that specifically reduces water hardness, as not all filtration systems are designed to do this.”

I know I live in a hard water area (the limescale in my kettle is proof) but even if your tap water is soft, McPhilbin says a water filter is still a good investment.

“Most of the water in the UK is chlorinated, and that can affect the taste quite a lot,” he says. “And it might be that you've not got enough minerals in it to get the best taste.”

If you’re not sure about the type of water you’re working with, there are online tools that can help you understand its composition.

“The Our Taap Water Confidence Index is a great way to look up your postcode and understand what’s in your local water and how this impacts taste, scent and quality, so you can find the best filter for your needs,” says Upton.

According to the Confidence Index, I’m lucky - my tap water is better than 93% of UK postcodes. However, it is moderately hard (as I expected), with a normal level of chlorine and an elevated level of overall minerals. I’m still deciding exactly which type of filter to choose, but considering these results and my penchant for espresso, I’m leaning towards under-counter reserve osmosis with mineral balancing. What about you?

Air stylers are very much the hot hair tool of the moment. When Dyson's first Airwrap hit the shelves in 2018, it felt like we were immediately hooked. We watched, entranced, as this wand-shaped styler grabbed a limp piece of hair, span it around, and left a perfect curl in its wake. And all without any extreme heat? It felt too good to be true.

And maybe it was. When I spoke to Dr Julie Chung, co-founder of major haircare brand T3, she advised that we take a much more cautious approach to the air styler phenomenon than we're used to hearing.

"This device is not for all hair types," she tells me. "And for any company to say, 'Oh, this is for all hair kind', 'this is for every single woman', it's simply not true."

She talks about how cool air-styler tools look on social media, but how, after the initial curl-creation magic has been captured, many women will find the styles just don't last on their hair.

"The more that I would watch women use this device on social, the more I saw women being very, very upset that they spent $600 on a device that created a curl for maybe a minute. They'd be in the mirror, it looks great, then they turn away for two seconds, look back and the curls have fallen," she recalls of the early days of air stylers.

One size does not fit all

Dr Chung is clear that even T3's own air styler — the Aire 360 — isn't for everyone. "Curls in general… it depends on the woman's hair type," she explains. "Some women can use a Dyson Airwrap with no product and be able to curl their hair and it'll stay. But that's because these are women whose hair tends to hold a curl really, really well.

"A woman with fine hair, for example, will dm me and say, the Shark didn't work. The Dyson didn't work. Should I get the Aire 360? And I would tell her, no. Just like Brandy Melvilles [a fashion brand that's been criticized for only offering clothing in one, small size] one size does not fit all. I can't even get the shorts over one leg."

So you might have hair that will naturally hold an air styler curl with no further effort required. Or you might need to add product, and take time to cool and set the air-styler curl.

Alternatively, a curling iron might give you much better and longer-lasting results (Dr Chung is also of the belief that 'heat has been demonized incorrectly — but that's a different subject), or you might need to use a curling iron to create ribbon curls. Dr Chung mentions T3's CEO, whose hair won't even hold a curling iron curl, and who needs a hot-roller set.

Your needs will be shaped not just by your hair texture, Dr Chung explains, but all manner of other aspects, from your lifestyle to the kind of climate you're living in, to your hair cut, and whether it's been colored, and the products you're using on it. There's a full spectrum of needs, and a full spectrum of tools.

She adds: "I've always said this to both consumers and editors alike: I can help you find the tool that will work for you, but that one tool that you're looking at, that some companies say it's for everybody. It's not for you. "I'm not going to sell you something that you'll come back and say it didn't work because I knew it wasn't going to work. I don't think that's some mind-blowing concept."

The hot topic — no pun intended — in haircare gadgets right now is heat. More specifically, the evils of heat, and how it's a one-way street to fried locks and frizz. So when I spoke to Dr Julie Chung, co-founder of haircare brand T3, I was surprised to discover she has a rather different take.

"Heat in general has been sort of demonized incorrectly," she tells me. "Women always think, 'Oh heat is terrible for my hair, I'm just gonna let it air dry, I'm gonna shower and just sleep on it.' Hair is actually in its most fragile state when it's wet. It tends to be much easier to break — that tensile strength is decreased and it's more likely to snap. And not to mention when you air-dry your hair, usually the hair is very frizzy and it tends to look even unhealthier if your hair is already in a dried out state."

That focus on hair health is nothing particularly new. "Women have always been obsessed with trying to find the healthiest option," Dr Chung tells me. "You know, people pursuing this idea of healthy heat is something I'm seeing [right now], but that's something that I've seen for 20 years."

However, the conversations have been buoyed up by the arrival of air stylers like the Dyson Airwrap. They've been heralded as the solution to all our heat-damage fears, but Julie is skeptical about that, too.

"The air styler category has grown quite big and there's this notion that air curling is better than curling iron curling, which I don't necessarily agree with," she continues. "I think it's right for some women in terms of ease of use, but I think curling irons can be just as healthy as air styling. It really depends on how many passes you go through in the hair, how adept the woman is with her styling."

So hot tools aren't inherently terrible, which is good news, because — as Dr Chung is at pains to point out — air stylers won't work for everyone. If your hair type isn't the kind to happily hold a curl that's been created by just a waft of a breeze, and you do decide to swap your air curler for a hot tong or enlist the help of a straightener to create ribbon curls, then it's worth finding a good one. Julie suggests paying attention to the kind of heat and how it's being delivered.

"The key there is ceramic. So in our Aire 360, for example, we have a ceramic coating instead of plastic because we know that ceramic is a better conductor of heat," Dr Chung explains. "We have a specific proprietary ceramic blend that evenly heats the plates without any hot spots. So it has a gentle delivery of heat along with far-infrared heat, which is a gentler heat as well."

Big air, better hair

What about hair dryers — those are safe, right? Wrong. Here, too, Dr Chung has opinions that seem to butt up against those of other makers, with their fixation on packing the most power possible into their dryers.

"The biggest secret sauce — which isn't even a secret because I talk about it so openly, but even now our competitors do not want to embrace — is the fact that you do not need heat to be at the highest setting, and you do not need the highest velocity," she insists. "This is something that stylists sometimes need in order to do a quick blowout very quickly, but the average woman cannot and should not be using high velocity heat every day."

Dr Chung talks about how people will often add a concentrator "without really thinking", then use a round brush and really focus the heat in, with the aim of smoothing out the hair. "It's extremely damaging when done repeatedly", she warns.

Similarly, if you regularly pop your dryer on full-blast when rough-drying your hair, so it feels "like a wind tunnel where your hair is flying all over the place", that's not great either — and not just because the wind tunnel effect will kick up static.

"It'll dry your hair, yes, but will make it extremely dry and not just dry your hair, but take all the moisture out of your hair without sealing the cuticle," she explains.

The brand has found an innovative way to avoid this, without sacrificing efficiency, and the concept dates right back to T3's debut product. "We had this idea called Soft Air, where we delivered a larger volume of air at lower heat, so it would dry your hair very, very quickly, but without stripping it of all its moisture."

She explains how the team shaped the concentrator and the barrel of the dryer so that the air wasn't expelled in a dense stream, but instead came out in a larger volume, occupying a larger space. The idea of Soft Air is that it could still dry hair efficiently, but without the need to max out on power or temperature, and when combined with ions helps to decrease static frizz.

I've been trying out one of the brand's dryers (the T3 Afar) and the air delivery feels noticeably gentler — almost unsettlingly so — and less concentrated than any other hair dryer I've tested. It's slower to dry my hair than the likes of the Dyson Supersonic Nural, but it does leave my locks feeling softer and with less frizz than usual. So maybe Dr Chung is on to something. Excuse me while I dig my curling tongs out of storage.

KitchenAid KF3: Two-minute review

The KitchenAid KF3 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is the middle child of the company’s 2026 release of a trio of compact bean-to-cup coffee machines, sitting below the KitchenAid KF4 and above the KF2. Because of its slim build, it’s a great option for smaller kitchens, but it can easily service a larger household thanks to four customizable user profiles and a solid selection of over 15 coffee-based drink recipes.

It benefits from KitchenAid’s IntelliGrind system — also featuring on the company’s larger machines like the KF8 and KF6 — that automatically determines the best grind size depending on the beans you pour into the top-mounted hopper. During my testing, I found it consistently delivered a well-extracted and tasty espresso.

The KF3’s automatic milk system uses a hose that you need to place into your own container (the KF4 uses a similar system but includes a container), letting you make a variety of drinks including lattes and cappuccinos. Despite not claiming to work with non-dairy milks, I found it delivered a good level of foam when using a barista-style oat milk.

KitchenAid has given the KF3 a couple of iced coffee recipes too. As with the KF4, and other machines I’ve tested such as the Philips LatteGo 4400 Series, you need to put some ice cubes in your glass or cup first, and KitchenAid claims that the machine will brew espresso at a lower temperature. However, when checking the temperature of a regular shot at 'medium' temperature and an iced-espresso shot with a food-grade thermometer, both registered at around 40ºC / 104ºF, meaning the iced espresso was still hot enough to melt the ice, resulting in a lukewarm and diluted drink.

The other slight niggle I have with the KF3 is that it goes through water quite quickly as it performs a rinse cycle on startup and shutdown. I can understand the latter process to clean out the internals, and the rinsing of the milk hose to keep everything hygienic, but the start-up rinse cycle seemed unnecessary. Fortunately the rear-mounted water tank is quite large at 1.8L, but if you have a larger household or you drink a lot of coffee each day, you'll be refilling it regularly.

Overall, however, the KitchenAid KF3 is a fantastic mid-range automatic espresso machine that’s well made, brews delicious drinks and is ultimately easy to maintain. In fact, I'd say that it does more than enough to compete with the best coffee makers.

KitchenAid KF3: Specifications

KitchenAid KF3: Price and availability

• Launched in UK and US April 2026, Australia in July 2026
• List price $999.99 / £749 / AU$1,349

The KitchenAid KF3 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine launched first in the UK and US in April 2026, and eventually made its way to Australia in July 2026. It has a list price of $999.99 / £749 / AU$1,349, meaning it’s one of the company’s more affordable machines, while being classified a mid-range option in the grand scheme of things.

Only the lower-spec KF2 is cheaper at $799.99 / £699 / AU$1,099 if you want an automatic machine, while the Semi Automatic Espresso Machine is cheaper still, although that naturally requires a bit more hands-on involvement.

The top-tier model in this latest series, the KF4 ($1,299.99 / £899 / AU$1,599) offers much of the same functionality as the KF3, albeit with a wider selection of recipes, a bigger touch display and ships with a milk carafe.

The similarly specced Philips LatteGo 4400 Series is also worth considering in this price range, with its list price of $799.99 / £599.99 / AU$1,199.

• Value score: 4 / 5

KitchenAid KF3: Design

• Compact size makes it great for smaller spaces
• Milk system is simple to use and clean
• No dishwasher-safe components

At first glance, the KitchenAid KF3 looks very similar to other models in the company’s lineup, from the KF4 and up to the KF8 (there’s currently no KF5). It’s more compact than the KF6-8, but the same size as the KF4 and KF2, at 14.2 x 7.7 x 18.5 inches / 361 x 196 x 470mm (H x W x D), making it easy to slide onto a kitchen counter. And slide it you can, as there are two small wheels on the bottom at the rear, so you can lift from the front and move it forwards and backwards with ease.

Looks-wise, it adopts a similar aesthetic as the rest of its siblings. It’s boxy, with rounded corners, and is available in either Porcelain White or Matte Black. To cut manufacturing costs, KitchenAid has ditched the predominantly metal build of the larger models, replacing it with plastic. It still looks and feels very much a premium product though.

The clearest indicator that lets you know this is the KF3 is the small 2.4-inch / 6cm color display. The KF2 doesn’t have one at all, while the KF4’s color screen is larger and touch enabled. It’s a relatively low-resolution screen compared to the likes of the Philips Café Aromis, but is still bright and clear, and the use of color helps to identify the drink you want to make.

The KF3's display is flanked by 10 touch buttons: four that provide quick access to user profiles, drinks menu, rinsing cycles and machine settings; two to initiate and cancel brewing; and four to cycle forward and back through menu options, return and select.

The top-mounted hopper is large enough to accommodate 250g of coffee beans and, as with the other compact machines in the series, it features a removable opaque lid with a silicone seal. This means you can’t easily see the amount of leftover beans (there’s a clear audible indication if it doesn’t have any to grind) but, then again, the beans aren’t exposed to light and air, keeping them fresher for longer.

Furthering its benefits for smaller kitchens, the lid is removable rather than hinged means it’s easy to fill the hopper if you have the KF3 positioned under a wall cabinet. There’s also a small chute for pre-ground coffee, and a scoop is included in the box.

The 1.8L water tank slides in and out the rear of the machine and has an integrated handle to make the process simple, although I personally prefer the side-mounted tank on the Philips LatteGo 4400 as it makes refilling a little bit easier. However, the KitchenAid’s tank features a hinged lid, so more often than not I would leave it in place and pour water in from a jug.

KitchenAid supplies a water filter with the KF3 that it says is good for around two months of use. It was initially a little fiddly to install, but the included coffee scoop doubles up as a tool that clips onto the filter, giving you the extra length needed to screw it into place.

The drip tray is deep and extends virtually the full depth of the KF3, and has a large spout at the back for easy emptying. Used coffee grounds are deposited into a removable bin in the center that can be tipped out when full — you'll see a notification on the display when it's time to do so.

The KF3’s milk system uses a silicone hose that connects to the side of the dispenser located on the front of the machine. You need to insert one end of the hose into a small socket, while the other end drops into a tall glass or bottle. KitchenAid offers a sealed container with a double-ended hose as an optional extra for $59.99 / £39 / AU$59, which is included with the KF4 by default.

The KF3 features a thorough rinsing cycle for the hose to ensure it’s kept clean, but note that none of the removable parts are dishwasher safe.

Lastly, the height of the coffee dispenser can be adjusted to suit a variety of cup sizes, including large mugs and tumbler glasses. I found I needed to use a little bit of force to move it, but this is a minor niggle.

• Design score 4.5 / 5

KitchenAid KF3: Performance

• Well-extracted espresso time after time
• Good, but not great, milk foaming
• ‘Iced’ drinks still hot
• Four customizable user profiles

The best thing about the KitchenAid KF3 Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is that you can confidently rely on it to deliver an excellent espresso with every use. The IntelliGrind system automatically determines the best grind size depending on your chosen beans to ensure it brews a tasty shot with good crema. I used medium-roast and dark-roast beans during my testing period and I was more than satisfied with the results in each case.

The fact that you don’t have to worry about grind size makes this a fantastic option for coffee novices who aren’t sure how to get the best results. If you're not entirely satisfied, then you'll find a lever hidden behind the side compartment (which provides access to the brewing unit) that you can use to adjust grind size to a finer or coarser level. I ultimately left it at the default setting in the middle.

That being said, the KF3 does give you the option to adjust the strength and body of the espresso. Strength is denoted on a scale of one to three, with the difference being the dose of coffee that’s ground into the brewing head — 7g being the lightest strength and 14g being the strongest.

You can also select light, medium or strong body, which relates to the rate at which water flows during extraction. A strong-bodied coffee, for example, takes the longest, as the water flows through slowly to extract the most amount of flavor.

You’re also able to adjust the volume of coffee delivered for each drink and the water temperature.

Auto Milk is KitchenAid's milk-foaming system and it works well, although I’m of the opinion that a steam wand will always produce superior results. I was, however, pleased to find that it worked well with plant-based milks, despite not having a dedicated option. Coffee machines that cater specifically to plant-based options, such as the KitchenAid KF8, will heat it to a lower temperature compared to dairy for optimal results.

When I made a cafe latte using a barista-style oat milk, I found the KF3 produced a good level of foam with a silky texture, and at a drinkable temperature. I achieved similarly good results with full-fat dairy.

There are four user profiles on the KF3 for you and your household to store their own drink preferences. While the KF4 lets you name them, they’re fixed at User Profile 1, 2, 3 and 4 here.

KitchenAid understands that iced drinks are popular, even at home, and has given the KF3 dedicated presets for cold coffees. In theory, the shot the machine dispenses is brewed at a lower temperature, although you do still need to put ice in your cup or glass, but that didn't seem to be the case in reality.

I used a thermometer to measure the temperature of both a regular espresso shot and an iced espresso shot and found them to be similar. The regular shot was around 50ºC when brewed at a medium temperature, while the iced shot was around 45ºC. I conducted this test twice, with the same results both times.

As such, the iced espresso shot was still too hot and melted the cubes in my cup relatively quickly, resulting in a diluted drink. If you like your cold coffees, you'd be better off considering other machines like the De’Longhi Dedica Duo and the Jura J10 that offer proper cold-extracted espresso.

The KF3, like other KitchenAid espresso machines, is QuietMark-certified, indicating it should be whisper-quiet in use. That’s something I can certainly attest to, as I recorded around 70dB while grinding and 60dB when brewing, using the decibelX app on my iPhone and standing next to the machine in a relatively quiet space. That puts it on par with the KF4, although we found the flagship KF8 to be quieter still with an average of 44dB during the entire coffee-making process.

Keeping the KitchenAid KF3 clean is incredibly simple. Not only does it automatically complete a rinse cycle on startup and shutdown (which, as I mentioned does mean the water tank can empty relatively quickly), but it will also prompt you when it’s time to empty the ground container and drip tray. It will also ask you to rinse the milk system after every use. You can skip this process at first, but when you turn the machine off — or it automatically shuts down after a predetermined amount of time — it won’t do so until the hose has been flushed.

There are further and more thorough cleaning procedures within the settings menu for washing the brewing unit with special cleaners, and a couple of tablets are included in the box. You will need to buy descaler and a milk system cleaner separately.

There’s also an option to evaporate all the water from the system entirely, which my colleague Cat Ellis has previously expressed as being a feature she wishes all automatic espresso machines had. This is particularly useful if you know you’re not going to be using the machine for an extended period of time and keep it hygienically dry for the duration.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the KitchenAid KF3?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

KitchenAid KF3: Also consider

If you're not sure whether the KitchenAid KF3 is the right espresso machine for you, here are three other options to keep in mind.

KitchenAid KF3: How I tested

I used the KitchenAid KF3 for two weeks, and having already spent time with the KF4, I was well versed with what to expect from the slightly lesser-specced machine. I prepared a wide range of drinks with and without milk, and used two different styles of coffee beans to test the IntelliGrind feature on the KF3.

I used a barista-style oat milk and full-fat dairy milk to test the automatic milk-foaming system, and ran the machine’s recommended cleaning cycles.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed July 2026

Whether it’s a vacuum cleaner, a hand dryer, an air purifier, or a fan, Dyson products rarely look like anything else on the market — and that’s particularly apparent at the company’s campus in Malmesbury, southwest England, where images of recent launches decorate the walls like modern art. The sprawling complex, in a particularly beautiful patch of Wiltshire countryside, is home to Dyson’s global Research, Design and Development (RDD) center, and the Dyson Institute, where students from around the world study while working alongside engineers on live projects. I visited the center to meet the company’s Chief Engineer Jake Dyson — son of founder Sir James Dyson — and learn more about the company’s approach to design.

Jake Dyson didn’t join his father’s business immediately; instead he set up a workshop and made a name for himself in the world of industrial lighting. Sitting in his office, I asked whether his experience in that sector had contributed to his work at Dyson today.

“Yes, it comes down to identifying problems and solving them,” he explained. “When LEDs first entered the market, I realized people weren’t cooling them properly. The promise of LEDs is that they should last a lifetime, but in reality they were being treated like disposable lightbulbs. I visited Osram in Asia, and they explained that if you keep the diode temperature below about 50C [120F, you can maintain brightness, color quality, and lifespan. That became my goal.

“I looked at how satellites manage heat. In space, temperatures swing from extremely hot to extremely cold, so they need precise thermal control. I applied similar thinking by designing systems that passively dissipate heat. For example, the heat moves away from the chip and is cooled by airflow, maintaining a stable temperature even at high power. That process, spotting a problem and solving it, is what drives everything.”

That problem-solving approach has always been the driving force behind the Dyson brand, and explains its unusual portfolio of products; its engineers have never been afraid to venture into new areas when there’s a problem to be solved.

“Sometimes it comes from frustration," said Jake Dyson. "'This product is rubbish, how can we make it better?’ Other times it’s curiosity: ‘Why does this work the way it does?’”

Problem-first design

James Dyson’s book Invention: A Life of Learning Through Failure, describes how the problem-first process led to the creation of many of the company’s most iconic and recognizable products — starting with a humble wheelbarrow. Dyson and his wife Deidre were renovating a house in Gloucestershire, England, and wanted to create a garden, but the traditional tools proved frustrating.

“I used a navy barrow in anger and its limitations became increasingly clear,” writes Dyson. “Cement slopped out of it. Its tubular legs sunk into the ground. It was hard to steer. Its sharp edges damaged doorframes. The more I used it, the more I realized that nobody had really thought about these problems or bothered to fix them.”

After much experimentation with shapes, materials, and manufacturing processes, the result was the Ballbarrow: a molded plastic bucket on a steel frame, with the conventional wheel replaced by a pneumatic ball made from EVA (ethylene-vinyl acetate). This spread the weight of the load more evenly on soft ground, and was easier to maneuver than a wheel — and in bright orange, it looked unlike anything else at the time.

The product itself was a success, but due to a series of poor business decisions, Dyson senior eventually lost control of the company he had founded around it, Kirk-Dyson, and was ultimately kicked out by the other shareholders.

“I had lost five years of work by not valuing my creation,” he wrote. “I had failed to protect the one thing that was most valuable to me.”

It was a painful experience, but one he learned from as he pressed on with identifying and solving problems — starting with the creation of the first cyclonic vacuum cleaner, which he designed after realizing that dust bags don’t just serve to collect dust — they also act as filters that block airflow, drastically reducing suction power.

“I remembered the same clogging problem on the calico cloth with the powder coating in the Ballbarrow factory and the giant cyclone we had made to solve it,” he wrote. “What if I could develop a much smaller version and replace the clogging bag in a vacuum cleaner?”

Thousands of prototypes later (5,127 to be precise), he had the world’s first bagless vacuum — and a vast collection of patents to protect it.

Dyson’s understanding of airflow and cyclonic technology has informed almost all of the company’s subsequent products; but like the vacuum, each one started with a problem. The Dyson Airblade hand dryer was created to reduce waste paper towels; the Airmultiplier fan solved the issue of ‘choppy’ air from conventional fan blades; the Pure Hot+Cool purifier was made to tackle indoor air pollution; and the Supersonic hairdryer solved the problem of heavy and uncomfortable hairdryers with weighty motors.

In every case, the form of the finished product was dictated by the problem it was designed to solve — even if the result looked totally unlike established versions of the device.

“That’s why Dyson products often look unusual; they’re built around their function,” said Jake Dyson in his Malmesbury office. “They’re also beautiful. A hair dryer has a hole through it because of how the airflow works. Fans and other products expose their engineering principles through the way they look — we’re not hiding how things work, we’re expressing it.”

Creative color

Those unusual designs are often set off by equally unusual color schemes, which tend to highlight buttons, switches, removable canisters, and other functional parts.

“We have a team here, CMF, which is colors, materials and finishes, that look into the appearance but also materials of our products," said Jake Dyson.

The CMF team doesn’t just draw on experience from successful projects, but also failed ones like the cancelled Dyson electric car, which provided finish and material ideas for many of the company’s health and beauty devices.

Most recently, CMF lent its expertise to Dyson's first hand-held fan — the Dyson HushHet Mini Cool — which launched just in time for a series of heatwaves in the UK. It sold out almost immediately, and after testing it myself, I can see why; it’s compact, much more powerful than its closest rival, the Shark ChillPill, and more affordable to boot.

“We’ve seen strong demand [for the HushHet Mini Cool], and it’s one of those products where people don’t initially realize they need it but once they try it, they understand the value,” said Jake Dyson. “It’s designed to be reusable, not disposable like cheaper alternatives. I've seen people with the cheap plastic fans that break very [easily], but we wanted ours to be well engineered, durable, quiet and efficient.

“We’re working on scaling production, but demand has been very strong, so availability can sometimes be limited. That said, it is coming back to market.”

So what does the future hold? The company is investigating ways to use AI where it will actually add value, helping machines interpret data and make better decisions, and Jake Dyson says that "vision systems and new product directions" are the most exciting areas for him.

"We’ve historically been very strong in mechanical engineering motors, airflow, performance. But now, adding cameras and vision systems allows machines to detect what they’re looking at, understand it and act accordingly.

"That opens up entirely new categories of products and capabilities, so we’re moving from purely mechanical devices to machines that can see, think, and respond, and that’s where the next wave of innovation is coming from."

It'll be fascinating to see which problems the company will be looking to solve with those new technologies, and there's no way of knowing what the next generation of Dyson products will look like as the company expands into new areas. We'll just have to wait and see — but it's definitely not going to be boring.

Following the launch of Dyson's first ever compact hair dryer, the Supersonic Travel, I spent four weeks putting it through its paces, including during a trip to San Francisco — you can read about this in depth in my Dyson Supersonic Travel review.

What I kept coming back to was how similar it seemed to Dyson's Supersonic Nural, despite there being a $150 / £150 / AU$300 gap between the two. Both use the same motor and the same intelligent heat control technology. Both use the same magnetic attachment system, meaning any nozzle or diffuser from either machine works on both. And both deliver the same smooth, frizz-free finish that Dyson has become known for.

I've tested many of the best hair dryers on the market, and Dyson consistently sits near the top. So if the technology is this similar, what exactly are you paying the extra cash for — and is the Nural worth it? I tested the two side by side. Here's what you need to know.

Dyson Supersonic Travel vs Supersonic Nural dryer: efficiency

On sheer drying power, the Nural wins. It's a full-size dryer with full airflow, and on my fine, mid-length hair it dried in around two and a half minutes on high heat. The Travel took around four minutes in the same conditions.

Four minutes is fast for a travel dryer — faster than every hotel dryer I've used and faster than some standard home dryers too. The finish was smooth and shiny every time, which is the more important result. But the gap is significant, and if you have thick or long hair that already takes 15 or 20 minutes at home, you'll feel it a lot more than I did.

Both have a 110,000 RPM motor, and both use a built-in thermistor sensor that continuously monitors air temperature to prevent heat damage and protect your hair's shine.

Interestingly, the cheaper Travel measures temperature more frequently than the pricier Nural — over 100 times per second versus 40. However, where the Travel uses it as a protective measure, the Nural uses it in more advanced ways for its Scalp Protect Mode. This mode uses a network of Nural sensors and an infrared beam to measure the distance between the dryer and your scalp in real time, automatically reducing heat and airflow as it gets closer to maintain a consistent 131 F / 55 C at the roots.

Winner: Dyson Supersonic Nural

Dyson Supersonic Travel vs Supersonic Nural dryer: design & comfort

Both the Nural and Travel look unmistakably like Dyson products. They have the same cylindrical head, narrow handle, and magnetic barrel as the entire Supersonic range. I tested the Travel in Ceramic Pink/Rose Gold and the Nural in Red Velvet/Gold, and both have a stylish soft matte finish.

The biggest and most obvious design difference is in size.

The Nural weighs 1.5lbs / 684g and measures 3.8 x 3 x 11.3 inches / 9.8 x 7.7 x 28 cm. The Travel is 32% smaller — at 2.7 x 2.8 x 8.7 inches / 6.8 x 7.1 x 22.2 cm — and almost half the weight. This makes it small and light enough to drop into a handbag without rearranging everything around it and I carried the Travel to San Francisco in a tote bag alongside my laptop and it barely registered.

Both put airflow and temperature buttons on the rear of the barrel, with LEDs above each button showing your current setting. On the Nural, these LEDs change color as you cycle through settings to make it easier to see, at a glance, what setting you're on. The Travel's stay white, making it harder.

Beyond this, the Nural offers four heat settings plus three airflow speeds. The Travel has three heat settings and two airflow speeds. On the Travel, its cool shot requires sliding the power button upward past its 'on' position. This will be familiar if you own a Dyson Airwrap i.d but if you don't, this feature won't feel obvious the first time you use the Travel.

The Nural gives you meaningfully more control over both heat and airflow, which matters if you have multiple hair types or needs in your household, or if you regularly switch between drying and styling with different attachments.

Cord length is 9.2ft / 2.8m on the Nural and 6.6ft / 2m on the Travel, and neither folds. The Travel's cord is longer than I'd like for a machine sold primarily on portability but this longer length does make it easier to use in a hotel room when the plug socket aren't always in the most useful places.

Winner: Draw – even though the Nural has some standout design benefits compared to the Travel, they fit different needs: the Nural is better designed for home, while the Travel is better for everywhere else.

Dyson Supersonic Travel vs Supersonic Nural dryer: special features

The Travel's standout feature is auto-voltage. It adapts automatically to any supply between 100V and 240V without the need for a converter or a switch. I used it in San Francisco with a standard plug adapter and there was no drop in power, change in noise or overheating.

The Nural counters with Scalp Protect Mode, which uses proprietary sensors to detect proximity to your scalp and automatically drops the air temperature. When you pull the dryer away, it returns to your selected setting. This setting works in the background, and over months of daily use I haven't once scorched my roots on a high heat setting. For anyone with a sensitive scalp, fine hair, or hair growth concerns, it's a functional benefit rather than a convenience feature.

The Nural also has Attachment Learning, which recognises which nozzle is fitted via RFID chips and remembers your preferred settings.

For example, if you swap to the diffuser, the Nural will automatically drop to your usual diffuser heat and speed. The Pause Detect feature then cuts the airflow when the dryer is put down and resumes when you pick it back up.

The Travel has neither of those features but it is compatible with the entire Supersonic and Supersonic Nural attachment range. If you already own the Nural, you can pack your existing nozzles and diffuser and use them on the Travel.

Winner: Dyson Nural – the Travel's auto-voltage is the most widely practical feature across the two dryers but the Nural is a much more advanced choice.

Dyson Supersonic Travel vs Supersonic Nural dryer: specs

Should I buy the Dyson Supersonic Travel or Supersonic Nural dryer?

Buy the Dyson Supersonic Travel if...

✅ You travel frequently and your hair matters to you: Hotel dryers are a lottery. The Travel gives you consistent Dyson-quality results wherever you are.

✅ You already own a Dyson Supersonic or Nural: The attachment compatibility means you're not buying a second set of nozzles – just a travel body for your existing routine.

✅ You have fine or mid-length hair: The reduced airflow won't be an issue for finer hair types. Four minutes is still fast, and the intelligent heat control means the finish is just as good as you'd get from a full-size dryer.

Buy the Dyson Supersonic Nural if...

✅ You want the best Dyson for home use: Full airflow, smarter controls, color-coded LEDs and five attachments make this the more complete package for everyday drying.

✅ You have a sensitive scalp or fine hair at the roots: Scalp Protect Mode works in the background and over months of daily use, the difference in root and hair health is noticeable.

✅ You dry your hair every day: The Nural's Attachment Learning and Pause Detect are small features that add up to an easier daily routine.

I test over a dozen of the best coffee makers every year here at TechRadar, but having a small kitchen means I have to be very picky about which I choose to buy myself. The problem is, I love both drip coffee and espresso equally. I'd happily pick up a compact espresso machine and a quality drip coffee maker such as the Breville Luxe Brewer Thermal, but that would mean sacrificing valuable food prep space and, potentially, not having enough work surface available for rolling pastry and kneading dough.

Of course, a kitchen with no space in which to make pies or bread would be tragic — but, thankfully, it doesn't have to come to that because the Ninja Prestige DualBrew System can handle all my espresso and drip coffee-making needs in one convenient package.

I first tested the DualBrew System (known as the Ninja Espresso and Coffee Maker Barista System in the US) about nine months ago, and it's still the most impressive two-in-one coffee system I've ever used. It isn't a particularly glamorous appliance to have sitting on your counter — it's designed for function rather than looks — but it's enormously practical and has clearly been designed by people who know and love their coffee.

On the left of its roughly cuboid-shaped body, you have a fully featured drip coffee maker, with a standard-sized brew basket and toughened glass carafe. It has all the features you'd expect from a good-quality standalone brewer, including different intensity settings (regular, rich, or over ice) and a timer to start brewing when you wake.

However, there are also some great additions, such as a drip-stop system that means you can safely remove the carafe partway through brewing without making a mess, as well as a fold-down drip tray so you can brew directly into a travel cup rather than the carafe if you want your coffee to-go in the morning.

Some drip coffee makers use of a double-walled insulated carafe to keep your drink at the ideal temperature after brewing, whereas others use a hotplate. The DualBrew System is in the latter camp, but unlike any other drip coffee maker I've tested, it has a smart hotplate that doesn't just heat your coffee consistently, but instead turns on and off to help maintain the right temperature without stewing your brew. It also turns off automatically when you take the carafe away.

Espresso is handled on the right-hand side of the machine. The DualBrew System uses Nespresso Original-style coffee capsules, which means there's a huge array of different beans, blends, and roasts to choose from. Nestlé no longer owns the patent to this type of capsule, so any company is free to package its own freshly ground coffee in these little pods.

Personally, I like to use capsules from my local roastery, and an espresso made using these pods in the DualBrew System tastes almost identical to the same beans prepared with a manual coffee maker.

There's a choice of three drink sizes, and the espresso machine has an adjustable-height drip tray so you can use any cup you want. When you're done, the spent pod drops into a bin, ready to be emptied later.

The only downside of the DualBrew System is the lack of a steam wand (which makes sense, since there's no pressurized boiler here). Instead, there's an electric whisk that folds out from the rear of the machine. This doesn't heat your milk, but the DualBrew System offers a handy guide that advises how long to heat your milk for in the microwave, and how to whisk it for different espresso drinks. It's not the same as steam, but it's fine in a pinch when you don't have much space.

If that's a deal-breaker, a standalone milk frother such as the Dreo BaristaMaker or Smeg Mini Milk Frother will deliver more authentic results, and is small enough to tuck into the corner of a cabinet when it's not in use.

If you love coffee in all its forms but don't have acres of countertop space to spare, the DualBrew System provides everything you need in a single, neat package — and it's affordable, too. At the time of writing, it's available for $249.99 / £179, down from a list price of $279.99 / £249.99. You'll find all today's best deals at the bottom of this article.

Can't decide what kind of coffee you'd like in the morning? De'Longhi has just launched a new coffee maker that can prepare both hot and cold espresso drinks — and even drip coffee if you're in the mood for something different. The De'Longhi Magnifica Duo offers a menu of 20 preset drinks, which you can choose with a quick finger-tap.

If you want to fine-tune your coffee, there are three user profiles, which let you save drinks with custom size, intensity, and temperature settings.

The Magnifica Duo is a successor to the Magnifica Evo Next, which our reviewer Josephine Watson awarded four stars out of five. The Duo has a similar look, and should be just as simple to use, but with the ability to prepare authentic cold-extracted espresso as well.

Unlike some other bean-to-cup coffee makers, which pour a shot of hot espresso over a cup of ice, the Magnifica Duo extracts espresso using cool water directly from the tank and passes it through the freshly-ground coffee beans more slowly to achieve a mellow, but still well-rounded flavor without bitterness.

Not only that, the Magnifica Duo also has a pair of swappable carafes for preparing hot and cold milk foam, so you can easily make iced lattes and cappuccinos. It's the same LatteCrema Hot and Cool system used by the De'Longhi Primadonna Aromatic, and is quite ingenious.

With the Hot and Cool system, milk never enters the machine itself, so you don't need to worry about any buildup inside, and each carafe can be disassembled into a few dishwasher-safe parts for quick and hygienic cleaning. It works with both and plant-based milks too, and in my experience testing the Primadonna Aromatic it delivered excellent results with both.

The De'Longhi Magnifica Duo is available now for $999.95 in the US, and £699.99 in the UK. That's about AU$1,350, though it hasn't launched in Australia just yet. I'm hoping to test it soon to see whether it can earn a place in our roundups of the best coffee makers and best espresso machines.

• The Jura E10 is a new premium espresso machine from the Swiss brand
• It offers hot and cold brewing, syrup-infused foam, and Light Brew mode
• It's available now for £1,425 (about $1,910 / AU$2,720)

Jura, known for its luxury espresso machines, has just launched a new coffee maker that packs a staggering array of advanced brewing features into a surprisingly compact package. The new Jura E10 offers hot and cold brewing, syrup-infusion for flavored drinks, and a new timer that means the machine can start brewing when you wake so your favorite coffee is ready and waiting the moment you wake up.

The feature set sounds very similar to that of the Jura J10 I tested last year, which is still one of the most advanced coffee makers I've ever used. It poured a perfectly-extracted espresso, and its cold-brewed espresso was mellow and flavorful.

Its milk system was excellent as well, whether using hot or cold milk, but what impressed me most was the Sweetfoam system that mixes the syrup of your choice into the milk as it's dispensed.

Flavored coffees are usually made by pumping syrup into the cup before adding coffee and milk, which means the flavor is concentrated at the bottom. With Sweetfoam, the syrup is evenly distributed throughout the whole drink, which means you get the full flavor with every sip, and only need to use a very small quantity. You can use regular or sugar-free syrup, and during my tests I found it had the added benefit of stabilizing the milk foam so it lasts and lasts.

Perfect for small kitchens

Like the J10, the new E10 offers a huge menu of hot and cold drinks, but now they're organized into a color-coded menu that makes it easier to find the one you want.

These options now include Light Brew — a new feature not available in the J10 — which uses a smaller dose of coffee and a lower brewing temperature to prepare a drink with a less intense flavor that's ready to enjoy straight away.

The coffee-timing feature means the machine will start brewing your coffee automatically exactly when you want it to — a feature you'd normally only see on drip coffee machines. However, it's worth noting that this is only available if you also pick up the Jura Wi-Fi Connect V2 module, which adds wireless connectivity to your coffee machine and costs an additional £49.95 (about $70 / AU$100).

All of these brewing functions are packed into a surprisingly slim package that will slot more easily into small kitchens:

The Jura E10 is available now direct from Jura and a handful of third-party stores for £1,425 (about $1,910 / AU$2,720). It's currently only sold in Europe, but the rest of the E range is available in the US, so I'm expecting it to launch there in the coming months.

Dimplex FlexBlade Multi-Directional Bladeless Fan: two minute review

The Dimplex FlexBlade isn't your traditional tower fan, although you can use it as one. It's bladeless, Dyson-style, so it delivers smooth airflow without the buffeting of a bladed fan.

The design is very flexible, enabling you to use it as a T-shaped floor fan, a vertical pedestal fan, or any angle in between. Air comes out of two wide vents, and those vents can be rotated 90 degrees in either direction so that you can have wider airflow or cool two areas simultaneously. That could be useful in shared spaces such as offices, although as the fan's stand isn't telescopic, one of you will get a cool back while the other gets cool legs.

The FlexBlade looks like it'll be extremely powerful but the strength of airflow drops off quickly with distance, so at full power with both blades pointing forward it felt like a breeze at three meters. It's fairly quiet, though, and delivers similar airflow and noise levels to our trusty Dyson Hot+Cool fan.

This isn't the most powerful floor fan we've tested by any means but it does move a decent amount of air and that flexible design makes it useful for multiple applications, such as the bedroom at night and home office or living room during the day.

Dimplex FlexBlade fan review: price and availability

• Launched June 2026
• UK only
• £199.99 (about $160 / AU$230)

With fortunate timing, the FlexBlade launched during a month of record-breaking heat in the UK. The Dimplex FlexBlade Multi-Directional Bladeless Fan launched in the UK in June 2026 with a recommended retail price of £199.99 (about $160 / AU$230). It isn't currently available in Australia, and Dimplex doesn't sell its home cooling products in the US.

I'm writing this as more really hot weather is toasting the UK, so I need to temper my usual buying advice with the fact that for many people the only criteria for a fan right now are 'will it cool me down?' and 'is it in stock?', to which the answers are yes and at the time of writing, yes. But I would point out that Dimplex dropped the price to just £123 for Amazon Prime Day 2026, so if you're not reading this in sweltering temperatures you can expect similar discounts in the cooler months when demand sags.

Value for money: 4/5

Dimplex FlexBlade fan review: design

• Horizontal and vertical adjustment
• Horizontal oscillation
• Simple but effective controls

I can't talk about the design of the Dimplex FlexBlade without addressing the elephant in the room, or rather the Shark: the Shark TurboBlade cooling fan, which seems to have inspired Dimplex's designers. Both have a propeller-esque T-shaped design with two independent, rotatable bladeless vents. Both can pivot from horizontal to vertical mode. Both project air up to 20 meters. Both have a magnetic remote control. Both have a quiet sleep mode. And both have multiple speed settings: 10 for the Shark and five for the Dimplex. I think the Shark is a little nicer looking, more flexible thanks to its telescopic pole and less top-heavy — the Dimplex wobbles a bit when you touch it — but it's also £50 (about $70 / AU$100) more expensive when it's not in the sales.

The FlexBlade arrives in six parts: the main motor unit, a two-part riser with a heavy base, and the two vents. It's simple and quick to put together – the only tool required is the provided Allen key for securing the base — and the remote attaches magnetically to the top of the unit so it's always handy.

Controls are kept to a minimum on the fan itself: power/speed, oscillation and timer. The remote is simple too, with the addition of dedicated speed up/down buttons, a full speed button and a sleep mode button to put the fan into its lowest power state overnight.

The T-shaped, two-vent design delivers a lot of flexibility. You can't adjust the 1.1m height of the main motor unit but you can position the two blades vertically, horizontally or in between, and you can rotate them independently up to 180 degrees to push air in two opposite directions at once. The rotating blades are a little stiff but not awkwardly so. The blade adjustments are manual but the fan itself can oscillate automatically, delivering horizontal oscillation of 30, 60 or 90 degrees.

Design: 4/5

Dimplex FlexBlade fan review: performance

• Oscillation and adjustable vents
• Quieter than similar rivals
• Best experienced reasonably close

The Dimplex promises airflow in excess of 6m/s with a 20-meter range and 90-degree sweep, but at full power with both blades pointed directly at me from three meters away it felt like a very mild breeze. At that distance and with the blades arranged vertically the remote control was very hit and miss.

The Dimplex is a bit quieter than the Shark – Dimplex's figures say it's 36dB at its lowest setting and 58dB at full pelt, compared to the Shark's 40dB to 66dB – but it still gets loud at higher fan speeds with the telltale whoosh we've come to expect from bladeless fans. It's not Dyson hand dryer loud at full power, though; it's more like a hair dryer on a very low setting.

I compared the Dimplex's airflow to two other room fans: a Dyson Pure Hot + Cool and a Meaco Sefte 10-inch air circulator. Both the Dimplex and the Dyson are bladeless and moved air a similar distance with similar noise levels, although the Dyson's wider diffusion mode made its output quieter at the expense of focused air. But the Meaco was quieter than both and delivered significantly stronger airflow across a large living room.

Performance: 3/5

Dimplex FlexBlade fan review: should you buy it?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Dimplex FlexBlade fan review: also consider

Dimplex FlexBlade fan review: how we tested

I tested the FlexBlade for a week at my home in Scotland during July 2026's UK heatwave. Scotland escaped the worst, because while England boiled the temperatures here were milder, peaking at 27ºC / 80.6ºF. That's hot enough to need a powerful fan but not so hot that I was crawling into my freezer or taking cold showers fully clothed.

I work from home in a long downstairs room that gets sunshine from both directions during the day, and that means it's often warmer inside than out – especially in the evening, as UK homes are typically made to retain heat rather than reflect it. I tested the FlexBlade as a daytime fan in my living room/office and as a bedroom fan overnight to see if it could keep me cool during the day, cool my family in the evening and help me sleep better at night.

First tested July 2026

Laifen T1 Pro: two-minute review

On first impressions, the Laifen T1 Pro wows. Open the box and you're greeted with Apple-inspired packaging, while the shaver itself immediately looks the part. Its CNC-machined unibody aluminium body looks and feels genuinely premium and, if you're used to cheaper shavers like the Philips OneBlade – my usual razor – it's impossible not to grin at the magnetically attached shaving head, which somehow manages to feel genuinely futuristic.

Modern conveniences like USB-C charging, an aeroplane mode to stop the power button being pressed in your bag while travelling and IPX7 waterproofing all add to the premium feel. Based on the spec sheet and those first impressions, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Laifen T1 Pro was one of the best electric shavers on the market.

The problem is that, with a shaver, the only thing that really matters is the shave itself, and that's where the Laifen T1 Po disappoints. I shave twice a week and have fairly coarse stubble, and despite repeated attempts the T1 Pro simply couldn't deliver a comfortable shave and often snagged on my hairs, which was painful and left me with patchy stubble. You have to limit your expectations a bit with single-blade razors, but I've been getting an effective shave with my Philips OneBlade for years, and often I found myself reaching for it to finish up and get the hairs that survived the T1 Pro's efforts.

This leaves the Laifen T1 Pro in an awkward position. It's beautifully designed and genuinely pleasant to use in every respect until it comes to shaving, but if I have to reach for a second razor to finish the job, the premium build and thoughtful features become little more than a nice distraction. I'd love to see Laifen revisit the shaving head in a future model because the engineering elsewhere is genuinely impressive, but as it stands I can't recommend the T1 Pro.

Laifen T1 Pro: price and availability

• List price: $149 / £149 / AU$246
• Launched: September 2025

The Laifen T1 Pro launched in September 2025. Listing prices vary but are consistent with other premium shavers. In the US it's currently selling for around $129, in the UK it's £149 and in Australia it's $239. However, it doesn't come with a case, cleaning materials or anything else so it may feel steep in comparison

• Value score: 2/5

Laifen T1 Pro: design

• CNC-machined aluminum feels premium
• Magnetic head feels futuristic and makes cleaning a breeze
• USB-C means you're just taking one cable away with you

The Laifen T1 Pro makes an excellent first impression. Unlike the plastic-bodied shavers that dominate the market, the T1 Pro is built around a CNC-machined unibody aluminium chassis that immediately feels more like a premium gadget than a bathroom appliance. The fit and finish are excellent, while the magnetically-attached shaving head snaps satisfyingly into place and makes cleaning refreshingly simple.

Laifen has also packed in plenty of thoughtful features. USB-C charging means one less proprietary cable to keep track of, an airplane mode prevents the power button from being accidentally pressed in your luggage, and the IPX7 waterproof rating means you can use the shaver wet or dry before simply rinsing it under the tap to clean it up.

The compact dimensions work in the T1 Pro's favour. It's comfortable to hold despite the lack of any rubberized grip, and the aluminum body never felt slippery during my testing, even during a heatwave when I was, perhaps a little sweatier than I'd like to admit. Its low weight, just 3.3oz / 93g, makes it easy to use precise movements in the tricky areas like the jawline and around the mouth — areas that can be difficult with larger, clunkier, shavers.

It's a minor thing, but I found myself squeaking with joy each time I opened the little cap at the bottom of the razor to reveal the USB-C charging port. It's a small thing, but the cap fits so neatly in and comes away so delicately it sparks joy every time I charged it.

In many ways, the T1 Pro feels like the product of a company obsessed with industrial design. From the premium materials to the magnetic shaving head and clean, minimalist aesthetic, there's very little to criticize about the hardware itself.

• Design score: 4/5

Laifen T1 Pro: performance

• Foil snags on coarse hair, which is painful
• The shave is patchy and inconsistent
• Long-lasting battery means you'll only need to charge occasionally

Ultimately, the Laifen T1 Pro lives or dies by the quality of its shave, and that's where it struggles. I have fairly coarse facial hair and typically shave twice a week, which proved to be a challenge the T1 Pro never really overcame.

Rather than cutting cleanly through my stubble, the shaver frequently pulled at beard hairs, making each shave less comfortable than it should have been. It also struggled to achieve an even finish. Even after several passes, I was often left with patches of missed stubble that required further attention. The trimmer head was more prone to this snagging, but the shaver head didn't eliminate the problem and also left my skin irritated.

The T1 Pro's light weight makes it easier to use, but its small size means covering your face takes longer than with a larger foil shaver. As a result, multiple passes quickly became the norm, and each additional pass increased the likelihood of the shaver snagging on thicker patches of hair.

I repeatedly found myself reaching for another razor to finish the job. Not only did it clean up the areas the T1 Pro had missed, but it also did so more comfortably. That's difficult to overlook given the T1 Pro's premium price.

The 120-minute battery life is excellent and should last most people several weeks between charges.

Unfortunately, The Laifen T1 Pro looks and feels like a premium electric shaver, but in my experience it simply doesn't deliver the shave the design promises, which makes it impossible to travel with because I also have to toss a second razor into my bag.

• Performance score: 1/5

Should you buy the Laifen T1 Pro?