Tom Bedford

Tom Bedford

Contributor

Tom Bedford joined TechRadar in early 2019 as a staff writer, and left the team as deputy phones editor in late 2022 to work for entertainment site What To Watch. He continues to contribute on a freelance basis for several sections including phones, audio and fitness, as well as many other websites.

He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working on TechRadar, he freelanced in tech, gaming and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist.

He grew up in Bristol, UK, and has also lived in Norwich, UK, Salt Lake City, UT, and currently resides in London, UK.

Articles by: Tom Bedford

The Sivga M260 on a wooden table.
Ever wish for earbuds with the disc-style fit of Apple's original iPod buds, but with hi-fi-quality sound and a USB-C cable? Then I've got great news for you — but don't expect them to come in all-white

By Tom Bedford Published

The Sivga M260 look like Apple's iPod earbuds, but with a big driver, premium build and multiple connection options.

The Jamo Concert Legacy 11 staddling a cupboard of vinyl records.
'A Lego brick that plays music': A great Scandi loudspeaker brand returns with 7 new products, including a shallower option designed for narrow bookshelves

By Tom Bedford Published

Danish audio brand Jamo has unveiled two new families of products, including some pretty small, thin options.

The Garmin JL Audio CS Centerpiece with a Primacy S3 speaker on either side.
Garmin has just launched super-elite hi-fi gear, through its sub-brand that's best-known for its maritime sound systems — and the stereo speakers are priced (perhaps appropriately) like a pair of Bowers & Wilkins' Nautilus

By Tom Bedford Published

Garmin has unveiled some hi-fi speakers through its JL Audio brand, including a streamer, loudspeakers and floor speakers.

Person holding up the Sony WH-1000XM6
Is Sony teasing its ultra-premium AirPods Max 2 rival? It looks a lot like it, as F1 star gets spotted wearing the super-chic cans, two weeks before tipped launch — and Sony itself is drawing attention to the suspiciously high-quality photos

By Tom Bedford Published

Sony's WH-1000XX The ColleXion has been spotted adorning the ears of Damson Idris, in what appears to me to be an early tease of the super-premium cans

The AudioVector R 5 Arrete next to a chair and a plant.
This beautiful hand-made floor-standing speaker ain't cheap, but I can't take my eyes off it and I haven't even heard it yet

By Tom Bedford Published

The R 5 Arreté from Audiovector looks incredible, and should sound it too, even though it's far from cheap.

The Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 on a grassy backdrop.
I took a great cheap Bluetooth speaker to the rainiest place possible, and it survived 7 busy days of abuse without a complaint — I'd definitely recommend it as a reliable music companion for your adventures

By Tom Bedford Published

I took the Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 on a rainy trip, and its features and design ensured it was just as useful outdoors as on the dining table

A split image with the OnePlus 15 on the left and Realme GT Neo 2's logo on the right.
OnePlus is reportedly merging with Realme and 'evaluating' its future — but I'm convinced that this is fantastic news for Android fans

By Tom Bedford Published

It's all doom and gloom in the Android world, with reports of OnePlus' imminent demise swirling — but looking forward, this could actually be a great development.

A graphic showing the Verified by Spotify badge.
'Verified By Spotify' is the music streamer's new way to help you avoid AI artists, but it doesn't go as far as I'd like — especially with Deezer, Qobuz and Apple Music making major anti-AI steps

By Tom Bedford Published

The Verified By Spotify badge lets you find out if an artist is real on the streaming giant, but you still can't filter out AI slop in playlists

The CoolGeek TS-01 turntable, with its platter glowing green, thanks to RGB lighting
I can’t believe I’ve found another RGB gadget for my home, but this flashy turntable is funky, affordable, automatic, and comes with some really neat touches

By Tom Bedford Published

The CoolGeek TS-01 is a new Kickstarter automatic turntable with glowing lights and an affordable price

The Topping DX9 Discrete in a silver finish, on a white surface with a pink background
'The best of both worlds': This innovative DAC and headphone amp uses a unique processing system that basically converts your Hi-Res Audio to DSD on the fly, to give you ultra-low-distortion music — and it's packed with wired and wireless connectivity

By Tom Bedford Published

The Topping DX9 Discrete DAC uses Hi-Res tech magic to give you the best of both worlds

The Pro-Jet Stream Box E next to a speaker.
Pro-Ject just launched a tiny box to turn any passive speakers wireless that attaches to the binding posts, and brings them into the Sonos-rivaling WiiM ecosystem — and there's a streamer box for hi-fi amps too… but Apple users should probably pass

By Tom Bedford Published

Pro-Jet’s two new wireless dongles further push WiiM as a huge Sonos rival for hi-fi fans

An even closer shot of the Sonos Era 100 SL, showing the Sonos logo on the front and the play/pause and skip buttons on top.
Still frustrated with the Sonos app? People have been making alternatives using AI to solve long-standing annoyances — and some are pretty damn cool

By Tom Bedford Published

Since the Sonos app remains divisive, some owners of Sonos speakers have used AI to vibe code their own alternatives.

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The Soundcore Space 2 in front of a green bush.
Soundcore's brand-new headphones are so good at noise cancelling, I don't want to stop using them

By Tom Bedford Published

The Anker Soundcore Space 2 have a fantastic feature set and comfy design, even if the sound quality isn't the absolute best.

A pair of headphones with Scrub Daddy sponges on the outside of the earcups
Someone built headphones made from Scrub Daddy sponges, and that's not even the surprising part — they delivered 'godly' audiophile-level measurement results

By Tom Bedford Published

An audio engineer has made open-back headphones with an unlikely material, and everyone's shocked at how good they are.

The Samsung Galaxy A57 being held over a field, showing its back.
Samsung Galaxy A57 review: a competent all-rounder that lacks wow factor

By Tom Bedford Published

The Samsung Galaxy A57 has a thin body, clean software, and a good-looking screen, making it great as an everyday phone. But it struggles with performance and photography.

The Honor Choice Earbuds Clip 2 being worn by a woman who's also using an Honor phone.
'Could be the best open earbuds yet' — Honor's new clips solve my biggest open earbud problem, and I'm already ready to hand out awards

By Tom Bedford Published

The Honor Choice Earbuds Clip 2 Pro have anti-sound-leaking tech, to solve a major open earbud woe.

the chord mojo 2 portable dac connected to a tablet and earphones
'Turns out I'm deaf': Someone built a browser tool to test the difference between Hi-Res Audio FLAC and lossy MP3 with your own music, so you've no excuse for getting it wrong

By Tom Bedford Published

This ultimate FLAC vs MP3 tool tests whether your ears can pick out lossless vs lossy audio with the tracks you know best

Person holding up the Sony WH-1000XM6
'Makes the WH-1000XM6 seem cheap' — Sony just leaked elite 'Collexion' headphones, coming very soon

By Tom Bedford Published

Let's make a… Connexion

AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation earbuds held in a man's hand
New research suggests AirPods with cameras can't happen — unless Apple makes a few major changes

By Tom Bedford Published

Researchers have squirrelled a tiny camera module into earbuds that allows your listening gear to see what you see — but don't get excited about AirPods with cameras just yet.

The SoundPeats Air6 HS on a white and pink background.
'Better than AirPods': these rival earbuds boast better stamina, more reliable Bluetooth — and cost a third of the price

By Tom Bedford Published

The new SoundPeats Air6 HS take the tip-less build of the AirPods 4 and make some improvements.

A dusty vinyl, poking out of a record sleeve.
No, you don't need a new turntable this Record Store Day, just use this cheap extra to clean your vinyl

By Tom Bedford Published

Take it from me: a fancy record player won't improve how your vinyl sounds if you haven't tried this cheap extra first

The H20 Audio Ript Ultra balanced on a ledge.
Are these the best-designed workout headphones ever? I used them for a month to find out

By Tom Bedford Published

The H20 Audio Ript Ultra are designed to survive any kind of exercise — but with a few compromises along the way

The Gadhouse Miko Cassette Player on a blue blackground, with some cassettes spilling out.
'Everyone seemingly hates modern tech': this brand new retro cassette player proves the hipsters right

By Tom Bedford Published

The Gadhouse Miko Cassette Player is part of a growing trend of feature-packed physical music players.

The Honor MouseBud Pro with an earbud coming out.
What if your computer mouse ate a pair of earbuds? Meet Honor’s MouseBuds Pro with ‘skin-like coating'

By Tom Bedford Published

Is it a mouse? Is it earbuds? Is it a plane? No, it's the Honor Choice MouseBuds Pro, which you can buy right now if you really, really want.

An array of Cambridge Audio MSX kit arranged around a red bookshelf.
'Designed to be compact': these new speakers are perfect for small apartments, and come from a 5-star company

By Tom Bedford Published

The Cambridge Audio MSX line lets you build your own audio setup, and it's seen a refresh.

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