The JMGO N3 Ultimate is the new, top-of-the-line option from JMGO. It brings a lot of what the brand had already been packing into a new design with a motorized gimbal stand and adjustable optics that provide quick or finely controlled setup options.

The JMGO N3 Ultimate's projection can be splendid, thanks to bright RGB lasers that give the projector enough juice to hold up in even well-lit rooms. The N3 Ultimate has vivid color and crisp detail, too. Unfortunately, the brightness isn’t matched by effective dimming to offer better performance in dark scenes, which is perhaps its biggest setback. Its motion could also be smoother without so many artifacts, but it’s not terrible either.

All told, it’s a capable projector that could serve a lot of people well, as long as they’re not seeking out dark, home theater setups where contrast is as important as brightness. At its $2,999 / £2,499 list price, it’s competitively priced compared to the best projectors, but it’s been on sale for much less and becomes all the better a bargain.

JMGO N3 Ultimate Review: Price and release date

• Release date: 2026
• List price: $2,999 / £2,499

The JMGO N3 Ultimate launched in 2026 and is now widely available. It has a $2,999 £2,499 list price, but it has already seen substantial discounts. At the time of writing, it was available for $2,349 / £2,119.

JMGO N3 Ultimate Review: Specs

JMGO N3 Ultimate Review: Design and features

• Built-in Google TV
• Motorized gimbal stand and optical lens adjustments
• 1080p/240Hz VRR mode for gaming

JMGO has been rocking the same design for a few years now, and the JMGO N3 Ultimate does little to shift that. It’s still a fairly compact, two-tone rounded box sitting aloft on a gimbal stand with a rotating base, making it easy to set up and point the projection where you want it.

This go around, JMGO has incorporated small motors for electronic control of the stand. By holding a dedicated button on the remote control and using gyro controls, you can adjust the tilt and rotation of the projector. It’s good for quick adjustment but not for fine tuning.

In an interesting twist, the N3 Ultimate is JMGO’s projector that least needed this technology, as the projector incorporates advanced optics with adjustable zoom and lens shift. The zoom can shift the projector from a 0.88:1 to a 1.7:1 throw ratio, giving it a ton of range. Meanwhile, the lens shift lets it move the projection up or down by 130% or sideways by 53%, so you really just need to point it perpendicular to your wall, and you should have no trouble shifting and squeezing the projection to fit without any keystone correction.

Those manual controls are how you’ll get the best picture, but the JMGO N3 Ultimate has a host of automated tools that can quickly make adjustments for you, which may be convenient if you’re moving it often. It can analyze the projection area available to it, re-aiming, shrinking, and shifting the picture to fit. I found this using digital keystone even when it really wasn’t called for, though, so I wouldn’t count on it doing the best job.

One additional automatic tool that may be more helpful is the wall color adaptation. This uses the projector's camera and a series of test patterns to tweak colors so they appear better on your wall. You won’t need this if you use a screen, but it worked well on my beige walls.

Since the projector can move quite a bit in operation, it fits its connectors all at the base, rather than the rear of the projection unit itself. This can still get in the way of rotation, but makes vertical tilt a non-issue. The projector doesn’t have a great selection of ports, though, with just two HDMI 2.1 ports, one of which is eARC and probably should be kept for that purpose. There’s also a single USB-A port.

Thankfully, you don’t need to use any of those HDMI ports for basic streaming. The projector has built-in Google TV, and it operates quickly on its 4GB of memory. Annoyingly, it pauses playback while navigating menus sometimes (sometimes it doesn’t), but it’s quite serviceable otherwise. It even gets 64GB of storage, which can be useful if you use lots of apps. Perhaps, more crucially, the projector connects over Wi-Fi 6, giving it faster and more stable connectivity to work with while streaming.

For cinephiles, the JMGO N3 Ultimate supports HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Meanwhile, for gamers the projector can shift from 4K60Hz over to 1080p/240Hz and even brings VRR for smooth, low-latency, responsive gaming. There are some trade-offs though. Enabling VRR hurt clarity no matter if I left the projector at 4K or swapped to 1080p. Even at 1080p, VRR took a small toll on clarity. Fine text exhibited artifacts that looked like chroma subsampling. In games, it wasn’t an issue, but navigating Windows on PC to select games to play, it was a nuisance.

Apart from its gyro controls, the Ultimate's remote is pretty basic. It has the standard Google TV controls and thankfully a pill-shaped volume control that’s easy to feel out in the dark. It includes shortcuts to Prime Video, Netflix, YouTube, and one app of your choice. Google TV Freeplay gets a separate shortcut at the top of the remote. Annoyingly, there’s no mute button for quick silencing and while the remote has motion-activated lighting behind some of its keys, it doesn't behind the shortcut buttons.

Since the JMGO N3 Ultimate is fairly portable, JGMO includes a foam carrying case that can fit it, the remote, and the power adapter all inside. It’s not exceedingly robust or impressive, but it’s not too bulky and should do a better job protecting the hardware than a typical backpack would.

• Design & features score: 4.5 / 5

JMGO N3 Ultimate Review: Picture quality and performance

• Wonderfully bright and colorful
• Black levels could be darker
• Crisp 4K visuals and responsive 1080p gaming

The JMGO N3 Ultimate has brightness in spades, and that’s where it shines best. When it comes to darkness, it can struggle. It fails to sink into darkness where it needs to, and the raised grays are distracting to see, never mind the regularly present letterboxes. Even when scenes aren’t very dark, these shortcomings are clear. Neither Dolby Vision nor adaptive brightness features seem to do the trick.

Thankfully, as soon as more light is called for, the JMGO N3 Ultimate delivers. It pumped out over 5,200 lumens by my measurements, which is plenty for most scenarios and not too far off the rated 5,800 lumens (nor did it require an awful picture setting). Bright scenes are clear and vibrant. Shadows look stronger in contrast to the brightness and the brightness is even enough to give the JMGO N3 Ultimate a solid showing in a modestly lit room. This makes it a great match for casual viewing, news, and bright cartoons. That brightness makes it all the easier to go big without the image getting too dim.

Alongside the brightness, the color of the RGB laser projection is stunning, just as it’s been in other projectors I’ve tested with the tech. When watching Supergirl, the glow of the green sun has plenty of depth, and the red cape glows majestically whenever the sun hits it. When Kara’s laser vision rips through the Brigands, it’s properly dazzling. The world of Pandora in the Avatar series is also lushly presented.

Motion can be hit or miss. By default the projector wants to use unsightly interpolation that presents loads of artifacts and makes the projection feel like anything but high-fidelity. With the MEMC setting dropped to low, it doesn’t look so bad, avoiding distracting soap opera effect and serious artifacts while helping reduce some of the stutter that occurs when it’s disabled entirely.

One area RGB laser projectors have been improving is the DLP rainbow effect. I’m not terribly sensitive to it, but I can usually catch it if I’m looking for it. Lately, I’ve been spotting it less and less on high-end laser projectors, but I can still catch it on the JMGO N3 Ultimate. Thankfully, it’s subtle, and I find it’s largely limited to subtitles

The adjustable optics help ensure a sharp picture from wherever you want to project. Stretched across about an 150-inch section of my wall, 4K looked brilliant in my living room.

Outside of movies, the JMGO N3 Ultimate proves a great option for gaming. You want crisp detail from corner to corner in games, since you never know where something precious is hiding, and the optics help provide this. Latency is satisfyingly low at 4K but sinks to negligible levels at 1080p/240Hz. Mousing around my screen and zipping through levels in Hades 2, I didn’t feel a hint of latency in that mode.

The speakers on the JMGO N3 Ultimate aren’t bad, but they certainly aren’t an adequate match for the projection. They put out decent volume, helping ensure you’ve got enough sound to work with when you want to plop the projector down somewhere and start enjoying right away. They even provide some low-end, helping bump up effects in movies. But the quality of stereo sound won’t be very good unless you’re sitting perfectly in center with the projection.

• Picture quality & performance score: 3.5 / 5

JMGO N3 Ultimate Review: Value

• Can serve multiple purposes well
• Cheaper than many rivals while offering competitive brightness

The JGMO N3 Ultimate is a capable projector and can work well for folks who aren’t committing to a pitch-black home theater where its weaker black levels will steal focus.

At $2,999 / £2,499, it’s still fairly competitive with what’s on the market, but at $2,349 / £2,119, it’s more of a steal. It can compete with large TVs on value while providing the flexibility to enjoy movies and TV in 4K or switch over to 1080p for high-speed gaming. The different realms it can cover all from a single product help boost its value.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the JMGO N3 Ultimate?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

JMGO N3 Ultimate review: Also consider

How I tested the JMGO N3 Ultimate

• Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
• Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
• I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade

I tested the JMGO N3 Ultimate at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and console gameplay.

My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models I and colleagues at TechRadar have tested.

I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.

• First reviewed: November 2026
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

Porting this cinematic, explosive action-adventure title onto the Switch 2 has undoubtedly been a tough test for developer Shift Up, but just how well have they scored?

I’ve put around 15 hours into Stellar Blade on Nintendo’s hybrid console, during which time I’ve worked through most of the story, completed a number of side missions, and collected a whole lot of cans. So, here’s whether I think Stellar Blade on Nintendo Switch 2 is worth your time and money.

Save the world on Switch 2

While I’m more interested in discussing the quality of Stellar Blade on Switch 2 as a port, it only seems right for me to share some of my thoughts on the core game to begin with.

Stellar Blade’s premise is pretty simple. You play as the protagonist Eve as she battles through a post-apocalyptic future in order to save humanity from aliens known as the Naytibas. With assistance from survivors Adam and Lily (among others), you’ll aim to track down the dangerous Alpha Naytibas and Elder Naytiba and reclaim Earth once and for all.

In my view, the premise itself is totally sound, and the high-octane opening certainly makes a strong first impression.

However, I felt that the narrative failed to hold my attention in the long run. A combination of dry dialogue and bland characters really let Stellar Blade down in the storytelling department. While the stakes are undoubtedly high, it doesn't always feel that way, with emotive moments lacking heart, character interactions seeming awkward, and voice acting often coming across as stiff.

But luckily for Stellar Blade, its lacklustre narrative doesn’t actually hold it back all too much. And that’s simply because the core gameplay experience is a whole lot of fun.

The combat system has solid depth, with no end to combos and eccentric abilities available to the player. You can also expand Eve’s move set with unlockable skills, enhance your weapon and drone assistant, and discover new ways to vanquish your foes as the story unfolds.

Though the timing can feel a little unusual, you’ll need to learn how to ‘perfect parry’ and counter hard against your opponents, which feels satisfying to execute. I also enjoyed bettering my exospines and gear to dodge away from enemies more effectively, and deal huge damage with Beta attacks.

Without a doubt, though, the true highlight of Stellar Blade is its mesmerizing boss fights. Each battle feels phenomenally tense, unique, and genuinely memorable, and I loved figuring out the ideal combos and evasion patterns for each and every showdown. It’s in these moments when the game truly comes alive.

General exploration is pretty enjoyable too. Just roaming around and hacking away at enemies, discovering new areas, and completing some side missions kept me pretty entertained. Yes, platforming segments can feel a little janky at times, but swift movement speed and fun puzzles keep the overall gameplay experience feeling fresh.

All in all, Stellar Blade is a good, albeit flawed title. Boss fights see the game at its brilliant best, with edge-of-the-seat action sure to keep you hooked. Sure, the unremarkable cast and dialogue hold it back to some degree, but this game is all about the action — and it largely nails that.

A solid but not quite Stellar port

Right, now you must be wondering: how does Stellar Blade hold up on Switch 2? Well, the answer is somewhat nuanced.

First of all, I want to make it clear that this is a technical and demanding title, and cramming it onto the Switch 2 — which is considerably weaker than the PS5 — is no easy task. With that in mind, I’d say that the Switch 2 Stellar Blade is decent, but it’s certainly not without its flaws.

Let’s start on a positive note, though. I have to say that the sheer versatility of this Switch 2 edition is staggering. You can genuinely play in just about any way, using Joy-Cons or Pro Controller with a traditional configuration, with gyroscopic aiming, or even with mouse controls. I found that each method worked nicely when testing, yes, even mouse mode. And although I kept gyro aiming off for the most part and played with the Switch 2 Pro Controller, I’m glad that this port plays to the system’s strengths.

I’ll also say that the game runs decently in docked mode overall. During skirmishes and general exploration, frame drops never felt particularly egregious, and inputs felt pretty responsive.

But there are some issues that I have to discuss. It sometimes feels like the Switch 2 can’t keep up with the speed and fluidity that Stellar Blade demands. It targets 60fps in both handheld and docked modes with frame generation, which combines NVIDIA DLSS upscaling with AMD FSR 3.1 frame interpolation, and sometimes, this simply doesn’t cut it.

With frame generation active, gameplay feels fairly smooth in docked mode, although there are some drops during the most cinematic segments — especially with large explosions. Handheld mode, while certainly playable, feels a bit too sluggish in my opinion. The inconsistent frame rates mean that performing precise blocks and dodges felt more challenging, with some action-packed sequences seeming to be a touch choppy. I also noticed that the movement of distant enemies was pretty unstable — whether playing handheld or docked — something I’ve seen in other Switch 2 ports like Resident Evil 4.

You can turn frame generation off and play at 30fps instead, but it all comes back to that word ‘fluidity’ — it’s at the heart of this game’s agile, reaction-based combat, which just didn’t quite click for me at a lower frame rate.

Visually, the port is a bit of a mixed bag too. In docked, it looks OK, with Eve’s character model appearing fairly detailed. But environments tend to look a bit flushed out, and intricacies of certain textures seem slightly subdued. Even when playing docked, though, I noticed quite a lot of texture loading issues and pop-in, and elements such as Eve’s hair lacked definition. It was a similar story in handheld, with character models looking a little rough around the edges and wide-open areas short on detail and definition.

Ultimately, the game runs just fine in docked, despite a few visual gremlins and frame drops. But in my view, the handheld experience doesn’t quite deliver the speed or responsiveness that this title requires — at least as things stand.

Back to the positives, though, I was really impressed with the quality of haptic feedback on the Switch 2, which has been specifically tuned for HD Rumble 2. This made every movement and attack feel so satisfying, and helped to truly immerse me in the action. I was also satisfied with the inclusion of DLC and unique costumes (this is the Complete Edition, after all), fantastic accessibility options, and the fact that this game is fully on cart if you purchase it physically — you’re not getting no code in a box ‘round these parts.

But let’s answer that all-important question: is Stellar Blade worth buying on Nintendo Switch 2? If you have a PS5 or PS5 Pro, then my answer is probably no. Sure, the Switch 2 lets you play on the go, but you’ll get more consistent frame rates, better graphical fidelity, and smoother all-round performance from Sony’s systems. Haven’t got a PS5? Well, if this sort of game is your jam, then I think Stellar Blade’s worth a shot. It has its imperfections in docked mode, but it still performs well overall, and you’ll find plenty to love about the core experience.

Should you play Stellar Blade on Nintendo Switch 2?

Play it if…

Don’t play it if…

Accessibility features

I’m happy to report that Stellar Blade has an extensive set of accessibility options on Nintendo Switch 2. You can adjust a number of settings to account for motion sickness, mobility, vision, and hearing needs, and there’s also a colorblind preset. In addition, you can toggle subtitles on and off, alter camera controls, and select one of multiple difficulty modes.

How I reviewed Stellar Blade on Nintendo Switch 2

I spent about 15 hours with Stellar Blade Complete Edition, during which time I worked my way through most of the story and a number of side missions.

For the most part, I played with my Nintendo Switch 2 console docked, hooked up to the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and Marshall Heston 120 soundbar. I mainly used my Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller when playing, but I also made sure to try out mouse mode with a pair of Joy-Con 2. However, I did indulge in some handheld gameplay from time to time, and used the JBL Live Beam 4 to experience in-game audio.

More generally, I've spent years testing gadgets and games here at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. I've reviewed a number of titles, be that major first-party exclusives like Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave or Switch 2 ports, such as Yakuza Kiwami 2.

First reviewed November 2026

One of the first gaming mice I ever used was a Razer Basilisk, and I enjoyed it so much I wore the grippy rubber sides down until they were completely smooth. I’ve moved over to much more lightweight pointers in the years since, but with Razer launching the Basilisk V4 Pro, has the company done enough to tempt me back and resurrect that fond old love affair?

Spoiler alert: not completely. Because while the Basilisk V4 Pro is an excellent upgrade over its predecessor, it also comes with a few drawbacks that prevent it from being a total must-buy. It’s a great gaming mouse and might be ideal in the right (large) hands, but don’t go into this expecting perfection.

Let’s start with the positives. Razer has kept the Basilisk’s familiar ergonomic form factor, which is best suited to palm grip users, and its comfortable sculpted shape fits snugly into your hand. The build quality is also good, with solid plastics throughout and grippy textured finishes on the sides. And while it’s still a fairly hefty 100g, that’s still 10% lighter than the 112g Basilisk V3 Pro.

Battery life has increased to 200 hours in 2.4GHz mode at a 1,000Hz polling rate, or 275 hours on Bluetooth LE — up from 140 hours and 210 hours on the Basilisk V3 Pro. Note that that’s with the RGB lighting disabled. My review unit arrived with 66% battery, and in my testing (using it in 2.4GHz mode with a 1,000Hz polling rate and the RGB switched on), that dropped to 0% after 45 hours, so you can probably expect just under 70 hours on a full charge when using these settings. That’s a sizeable drop on 200 hours, but you’ll get much more juice if you dim the RGB lights.

Compared to the Basilisk V4 Pro’s predecessor, Razer has outfitted the latest version with a couple of extra buttons: one on the top-left corner of the left click and another next to the side buttons. That means you’ve now got 14 customizable controls on this device, making it a sort of halfway solution between a regular mouse and the button-crazy Razer Naga V3 Pro.

One of those buttons — the additional on one the side — could be assigned to Razer’s “Perfect 180” feature, the company suggested. This instantly spins your in-game character around 180 degrees, and if you think that sounds like cheating, you might have a point — even Razer admitted to us that they thought it could get banned in competitive games. Still, until that happens…

Razer also told us it had made the left and right click buttons sound less “ticky,” and they do have a satisfyingly soft and quiet actuation, one that’s a little less piercing to the ears than those on the Viper V4 Pro. They’re not silent, but they’re pleasing in use.

Sandwiched between those buttons is Razer’s HyperSpeed scroll wheel that, while not strictly a gaming feature, might be one of the Basilisk V4 Pro’s best aspects. You can set it to spin freely or ratchet (with two strength options) in Razer’s Synapse app, but its real party trick is its Smart-Reel feature. If you’ve set it to ratchet, a quick spin of the wheel automatically flips it into free-spin mode; put the brakes on and it moves back to ratcheting. It’s a great way to rapidly move through documents and spreadsheets without having to manually change modes.

But while I liked the HyperScroll wheel, I didn’t love it. Every time it switches modes (from free spinning to ratcheting, say), there’s a loud and slightly disconcerting crunching sound that starts to grate after a while.

Pushing it in to click the scroll wheel also feels very soft and mushy — it’s imprecise compared with Razer’s own alternatives like the Viper V4 Pro, which is much crisper to click. It’s a welcome feature on the mouse, but it’s clearly inferior to the MagSpeed wheel you’ll find on the Logitech MX Master 4.

This was something I found time and again with the Basilisk V4 Pro: I’d often be pleased with one feature, only to observe a downside to it after I’d used it a little more. I was happy to see an extra side button that I could program to my needs, for instance, but then started to notice it getting in the way and messing up my two-side-button muscle memory.

Or take the RGB lighting as another example: it looks lovely (especially on the Spectrum Cycling setting), but considering you never look at the mouse when using it, and your hand covers it up anyway, it felt a little pointless. Perhaps Razer could have done away with it and eked more battery life out of the Basilisk.

Ultimately, the Basilisk V4 Pro hasn’t converted me back to its temptingly sculpted form factor. It offers a capable combination of features, buttons and comfort, and for many gamers — especially those with larger hands — it’ll be an attractive option. It’s still one of the best gaming mice around, despite its drawbacks.

But for every two steps forward, there’s one step back that tempers its progress, whether that’s the imperfect HyperScroll wheel, the hard-to-reach buttons for all but palm grip users or the questionable, battery-draining RGB. I went into this looking to rekindle my love for an old flame, but in the end, I found myself stuck in the Basilisk’s friend zone.

Razer Basilisk V4 Pro: Price & release date

• Available to buy now
• Priced at $169.99 / £169.99 / $289.95 AUD

The Razer Basilisk V4 Pro is priced at $169.99 / £169.99 / $289.95 AUD and is available now from Razer’s website and third-party retailers. Its price has crept up by $10 / £10 / $10 AUD versus the Basilisk V3 Pro 35K.

Razer Basilisk V4 Pro review: Specs

Should I buy the Razer Basilisk V4 Pro?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested the Razer Basilisk V4 Pro

• I spent a week testing the Razer Basilisk V4 Pro in various games to see how it managed in different genres
• I also explored its customization options in the Razer Synapse app to see how well it could be adapted to different needs

I tested the Razer Basilisk V4 Pro over the course of a week. I used it for everyday tasks like browsing the web and writing this review, and tried it in a range of different games, including Call of Duty, Football Manager 27 and Stardew Valley. Additionally, I explored its customization options in the Razer Synapse app to see how easy it was to adjust its settings.

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

Apple iMac (2026, M6) scorecard

How the Apple iMac (2026, M6) scored in our review

Value

4.5

Design

4.5

Performance

5

Overall

4.5

Group 1 Data

Product	Value ()	Design ()	Performance ()	Overall ()
Apple iMac (2026, M6)	4.5	4.5	5	4.5

Apple iMac 24-inch (M6) Review: Value for money

Apple's iMac with M6 isn't a revolution, but rather a lesson in squeezing more value out of a familiar package without raising the price. And I want to underscore the latter, as the iMac starts at $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,399 for the entry-level configuration, which is the same price as the M4 iMac — although Apple did increase the price of the M4 model earlier this year. For that price, you get a well-equipped Mac desktop that gives you everything you need to get started right out of the box.

That starts with the iMac itself, which is a modern, slim, colorful unit that won't take up much real estate, while giving you the canvas of a 24-inch 4.5K Retina display. Even without nano-texture glass — if you choose not to upgrade, as with my review unit — it's a colorful, vibrant, and rich experience that works well for everyday tasks and more creative work alike.

And, of course, there's the new M6 chip. It's a meaningful performance upgrade that keeps everything running smoothly, whether you're juggling everyday apps, working across multiple browser tabs, or getting stuck into more creative tasks. The addition of the Dual 16-core Neural Engine is another important part of the equation, helping accelerate AI-powered features, and giving this iMac more room to grow as Apple Intelligence continues to evolve. It's not just about getting a faster Mac today, but having a capable desktop that should feel ready for what's next, too.

Ultimately, it's excellent value for someone buying a new desktop Mac, whether it's their first iMac or an upgrade from an older machine. If you already have the M4 iMac, though, there's less reason to rush out and upgrade. This is a speed bump rather than a reinvention, but getting more performance for the same price is still a win.

If you currently have an older iMac or an aging Mac, and want a desktop that gives you everything you need out of the box — including a great display — there’s really no better value in Apple’s lineup.

Apple iMac 24-inch (M6) Review: Design

• Familiar, colorful all-in-one design
• Immersive 24-inch 4.5K Retina display
• You can still get it with nano-texture glass

Apple's iMac is still instantly recognizable as the latest generation of its iconic all-in-one. The new iMac with M6 looks just like the iMac with M4, M3, and M1 that came before it. It's still plenty colorful, and offers an expansive 24-inch 4.5K Retina display, all in a remarkably thin build that takes up minimal space wherever you decide to place it.

On the front, the 24-inch screen is surrounded by a white bezel, with the bottom featuring a chin in whichever color you've chosen. I'm testing the Purple model, just like last time, which is a light, likely Wonka-approved take on the shade. The rear and sides feature a darker, matte aluminum version of purple that really pops, while the giant Apple logo remains front and center on the back.

For connectivity, the left side has a headphone jack — yes, the iMac has a proper audio jack — while the rear houses the power connection, which magnetically snaps into place. It's convenient, though not a quick-release connection like MagSafe on the MacBook Air or MacBook Pro. Around back, you'll either get two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports or four, depending on the configuration. I'm testing the higher-end option with all four, and the power adapter also features a 2.5Gb Ethernet port.

Not much else is different here, especially since Apple introduced this design way back with the M1. If purple isn't your shade, there are six other color options: Orange, Blue, Yellow, Green, Silver, and Pink. You'll also get a color-matched keyboard and Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad in the box, along with a matching USB-C to USB-C cable.

The display is really good, with a 4480 x 2520 resolution and up to 500 nits of brightness. Using it as my daily Mac, I've found it to be a great screen for just about everything. Colors pop, there's plenty of detail, and the resolution scales nicely whether I'm checking email, browsing the web, replying to messages, putting together presentations in Keynote, scrolling through Photos, or hopping on a FaceTime call.

It's equally enjoyable for watching content, whether that's a full-screen YouTube video or something playing in a window while I work. And for more creative tasks, there's plenty of detail and color to work with when editing photos or videos.

Apple iMac 24-inch (M6) Review: Specs

Apple iMac 24-inch (M6) Review: Performance

• Apple's M6 chip brings a welcome performance boost over M4, M3, or M1
• Everyday multitasking feels effortless, even with 16GB of RAM
• Improved Neural Engine makes AI and creative tasks feel snappy

As I hinted at above, the main change with Apple's iMac for 2026 is the processor. Apple's all-in-one computer is jumping from M4 to M6, and there are still two main configurations to choose from. For most folks, the entry-level iMac should be more than enough. Priced at $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$3,499, you get an M6 chip with a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, and Dual 16-core Neural Engine, alongside 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.

For $1,699 / £1,699 / AU$3,699, you can step up to an M6 with a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU, along with the same Dual 16-core Neural Engine, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. That extra horsepower should come in handy for more creative tasks and on-device AI functionality.

It's also worth noting that neither configuration comes with a price increase over the previous generation. Both feature improvements to Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, now sitting at Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, along with Thread connectivity to help with the smart home.

I've been testing the step-up model with the fully specced M6 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. Out of the box, setup was a breeze, and the iMac is running macOS 27.2. Here's a pro tip: as part of the onboarding process, you can choose to set up your new Mac using an iPhone or iPad, which speeds things up a bit.

From there, you're presented with a welcome screen; hit Enter, and you're ready to start using your iMac however you'd like. And, as has been the case with most Macs since Apple made the jump to its own chips — Apple Silicon — everyday performance isn't really an issue. In my daily use, I've had no trouble running Safari and Google Chrome, both with more than a dozen tabs open, alongside Messages, Mail, Photos, Pixelmator Pro, and Slack, all without skipping a beat. Thanks to the M6 chip, multitasking is effortless, and everything feels zippy and responsive. That's particularly impressive given that this configuration has just 16GB of RAM.

One key advantage of the M6 is its Dual 16-core Neural Engine, compared with the single Neural Engine in earlier iMac models. This helps power Siri AI and other Apple Intelligence features, and I've found some of the multimodal capabilities particularly snappy. For instance, I can ask Siri to create a calendar event based on an invitation displayed on my screen in Mail or Gmail, and even have it invite other people. You can type your request into Spotlight or use the built-in microphones to get started.

Similarly, as part of the latest updates to Apple Creator Studio, Generative Fill within Pixelmator Pro works quite snappily here. It's also easy enough to ask it to try again if the result isn't quite right. You can also use Siri AI within Numbers, Pages, and Keynote for a little extra assistance. I've found myself making good use of the big screen, too, starting with a photo edit in the Photos app using tools like Expand or Clean Up before sending it into Pixelmator Pro to refine things further. The Super Resolution functionality is particularly handy for boosting overall image quality.

Previously, my iMac with M4, which was specced with a beefier 32GB of RAM, scored 3,646 in single-core and 14,724 in multi-core testing with Geekbench 6.3. The iMac with M6 surpassed those results, scoring 4,553 in single-core and 20,038 in multi-core with Geekbench 6. That's roughly a 25% improvement in single-core performance and a 36% jump in multi-core performance over the M4.

We also ran Geekbench 7, where the M6 iMac scored 3,931 in single-core and 21,374 in multi-core testing. While those results aren't directly comparable to my previous Geekbench 6.3 scores, they further demonstrate the kind of performance this machine can deliver.

It's an impressive leap over two generations of Apple Silicon, and one that matches my real-world experience over the past few days. The iMac with M6 feels zippy, responsive, and ready for a challenge, even with just 16GB of RAM inside.

The iMac remains the centerpiece of Apple's all-in-one desktop lineup. Unlike the Mac mini or Mac Studio, you're getting a complete system that's ready to go right out of the box. That means a screen, speakers, ports, keyboard, and mouse are all included, making it an excellent choice for someone buying their first desktop Mac, upgrading from an older model or even a PC, or a business looking for a straightforward, all-in-one solution.

The iMac has always served a lot of different use cases, and Apple's latest iteration doesn't change or revolutionize that. But a speed-bump upgrade can still be a worthwhile one, especially when it brings more performance without increasing the price. You're getting more computer for the same money, and that's always welcome.

Should I buy the Apple iMac with M6?

How I tested the Apple iMac with M6

I've spent the past five days putting the Apple iMac with M6 through its paces. After unboxing it, I set it up in two different spaces — my kitchen island and my desk — to get a sense of how it fits into different environments. I downloaded a range of apps for work and play, including Google Chrome, Pixelmator Pro, Final Cut Pro, Slack, and Geekbench.

I used it as my daily work machine, juggling browser tabs, messages, and creative projects, while also running benchmarks and more demanding tasks. Outside of work, I played games, took calls, watched movies, and listened to music to get a feel for its overall performance and entertainment experience.

First reviewed November 2026.

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display scorecard

How the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display scored in our review

Value

3

Design

4.5

Performance

5

Battery life

5

Overall

4.5

Group 1 Data

Product	Value ()	Design ()	Performance ()	Battery life ()	Overall ()
Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)	3	4.5	5	5	4.5

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max): Value for money

Starting at $2,899 / £2,899 / AU$4,599 for the 14-inch version, and $3,399 / £3,399 / AU$5,499 for the 16-inch model, and going all the way up to an astonishing $14,549 / £14,549 / AU$22,424 for the fully specced-out model, the question of value isn’t so much about price, but about what this laptop can enable you to do.

Put simply, if you just want a MacBook that will excel at day-to-day tasks you’d be much better off buying a MacBook Air (M5), and even for more ambitious workloads, the recently-announced MacBook Pro (M6), which starts at $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,199, will likely more than suffice. Neither of those, of course, feature a touchscreen, but I wouldn’t suggest buying any model of the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display for the touchscreen alone.

Thankfully, this version of the MacBook Pro has other features that help to justify the higher price tag, including tandem OLED screen technology, a lighter design, and more powerful components. Despite being older than the M6 chip, both the M5 Pro and M5 Max outperform it, so if you need a seriously powerful laptop, and image quality is of the utmost importance, the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display could be a worthy investment, especially if its raw performance means you can complete projects faster, allowing you to take on more work, for example.

If you don’t need that kind of horsepower, then there are much more affordable options you should consider, tempting as the touchscreen functionality or OLED display might be.

Compared to rival RTX Spark laptops, the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is much more competitive. The Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark starts at $4,399.99 / £3,899.99 / AU$7,999, though it comes with a lot more memory, packing 64GB.

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max): Design

• PROLED XDR screen is a clear highlight
• Slightly lighter than previous models
• iPhone-like Dynamic Island replaces the controversial ‘notch’ around the webcam

Given that the MacBook Pro design hasn’t changed in years, the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display in both size variants comes with some major tweaks in this department. This isn’t, though, the kind of overhaul we saw when Apple introduced the 16-inch and 14-inch MacBook Pros that replaced the 15-inch and 13-inch models, respectively, around five years ago; instead, this is a more subtle refinement of the design, and pretty much all of the tweaks are a result of the new display, so let’s start there.

Apple calls the new PROLED XDR screen "the best display on a laptop" and, to be fair, it has a good reason to be boastful. Previous screens on the MacBook Pro were already pretty darn good, and now Apple has swapped the mini-LED tech for tandem OLED. This essentially uses two layers of organic light-emitting diodes (OLED) on top of each other, rather than just a single layer, so peak brightness can go even higher, while the display can remain power-efficient. The PROLED XDR screen can achieve 2,000 nits of peak brightness, whereas the mini-LED screen of previous MacBook Pros had a peak brightness of 1,600.

1

2

3

SDXC Card Slot

Memory card slot for importing photos and videos straight from your camera

HDMI & USB-C port

On the right-hand side there's a full size HDMI port and one of three USB-C Thunderbolt 5 ports

Touch ID button

This button powers on the MacBook Pro, and can scan your fingerprint to log in

Side view of the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)

Explore

Combine that with the usual benefits we’ve come to expect from OLED displays, namely the higher contrast ratios and lack of halo effects (where there’s noticeable bloom surrounding light colors that bleeds into pixels that should be showing darker, or completely black, colors) that come thanks to each OLED pixel being independently controlled (including being able to be turned off completely), rather than relying on an LED backlight, which offers less precise control over the pixels in the display.

The contrast ratio of the PROLED XDR screen is an incredible 10,000,000:1, a pretty huge bump over the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio of the previous model with a Liquid Retina XDR display. Contrast ratio is a way of comparing the brightest white to the darkest black of a display, and the greater the difference, the more vibrant the image quality, so you can forget about washed-out colors and blacks that look more gray, and enjoy rich, deep colors that really pop compared to darker tones, and even the total blackness that OLED technology enables.

While MacBook displays have supported the P3 color gamut, which is particularly important for people working with video who require accurate colors, the PROLED XDR screen also supports the Adobe RGB gamut, which offers wider coverage for green and cyan colors, and is popular with photographers and designers.

The addition of touch functionality has also had implications for the design. The hinges of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display have been tweaked to reduce movement and flex when you touch the screen. I’d have loved it if Apple had taken this opportunity to increase the amount by which the screen can be pushed back, ideally introducing hinges to allow the touchscreen to lie flat on a desk, or even flip behind the keyboard to turn the laptop into an iPad-like device.

This would have made the redesign of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display even more ambitious, and would have likely meant much more work for Apple to ensure the macOS operating system works with a 2-in-1 laptop form factor, but it would have made the whole idea of a touchscreen much more viable. Instead, we’re still stuck with a traditional clamshell laptop design, so touchscreen gestures require you hovering your arm over the keyboard as you jab horizontally at the screen — it's not the most natural-feeling way to interact with a device, and this was one of Steve Jobs’ biggest criticisms of touchscreen laptops when, as CEO, he dismissed the idea of Apple making one all those years ago.

The PROLED XDR screen also allows for thinner bezels around it, and the once-controversial notch that surrounded the webcam has been replaced by Apple's Dynamic Island, as seen on the iPhone, which gives you quick touch access to controls such as media playback, AirDrop sharing and accessing Spotlight. It’s one of the best examples of Apple tweaking macOS to better make use of the touchscreen, and I can confidently predict that the Dynamic Island will be less hated than the notch, which was just dead space that intruded on the desktop.

The more compact Dynamic Island and thinner bezels mean the screen of this 16-inch Pro is slightly larger than on previous models at 16.3 inches vs 16.2 inches, with a higher resolution of 3472 x 2266 pixels vs 3456 x 2234 pixels.

The OLED screen technology (and new thermal system that’s used to keep the laptop’s components cool) has also helped Apple reduce the weight of the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max) by half a pound — that's 15% lighter — and make it around 1mm thinner.

The MacBook Pro was always a great showcase that proved powerful workstation laptops don’t need to be big and bulky, so it's impressive that Apple has been able to make this new model both lighter and thinner.

The final design change is a relatively minor one, but one that will likely prove to be very popular. Apple has returned to having an illuminated Apple logo on the back of the lid — it's a nod to the past, while also helping the latest MacBook Pro stand out more compared to the previous models.

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026): Specs

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max): Performance

• No M6 version with PROLED XDR Display
• Touchscreen is responsive, but not an essential addition
• Very fast SSD

I’m going to be honest: I think Apple has got itself into a little bit of a pickle with its M-series naming convention and release cadence. For a company that was often lauded for offering an elegant simplicity here, compared to the complexity of some competitors, it’s made a bit of a confusing mess.

Want the very latest M-series architecture, the M6, which is the company’s first-ever 2nm compute chip? Well, if so, you can forget about the PROLED XDR Display, as Apple is only offering it in the 14-inch MacBook Pro with Mini-LED screen. If you want the M6 and don’t care about a touchscreen or OLED, but prefer the larger 16-inch screen size, then you’re out of luck.

If you want the most powerful chips in a MacBook, then you’re left with the previous-generation M5 Pro and Max chips. But, getting an M5 Max-powered MacBook Pro doesn’t guarantee it’s the most powerful chip, as the default M5 Max chip that comes with the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch features an 18-core CPU and 32-core GPU, but you can upgrade (for $300 / £300 extra) to a more powerful M5 Max with a 40-core GPU. To be honest, unless you’re working with extremely graphically-intensive projects, the standard M5 Max chip will be more than enough, and even the M5 Pro will handle pretty much anything you throw at it.

As I mentioned, if you want the M6 generation and the improvements it brings, namely with a smaller 2nm process, which should lead to better power efficiency, and a dual 16-core Neural Engine for improved on-device AI performance, then you’ll need to forego both the PROLED XDR Display and 16-inch screen size.

Benchmarks

How the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max) performed in our suite of benchmark tests

< Prev

3DMark

Next >

3DMark: Steel Nomad

4402

3DMark: Steel Solar Bay

78412

020,00040,00060,00080,000

Score

3DMark

Data

Product	3DMark: Steel Nomad (Score)	3DMark: Steel Solar Bay (Score)
Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)	4402	78412

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test: Write

13335

Blackmagic Disk Speed Test: Read

12783

03,7507,50011,25015,000

Score

Blackmagic Disk Speed Data

Product	Blackmagic Disk Speed Test: Write (Score)	Blackmagic Disk Speed Test: Read (Score)
Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)	13335	12783

Geekbench 6.7.2: Single-Core

4359

Geekbench 6.7.2: Multi-Core

30327

Geekbench 7.1.0: Single-Core

3766

Geekbench 7.1.0: Multi-Core

35679

Geekbench AI 1.8 (Core ML/Neural Engine): Single Precision Score

6200

Geekbench AI 1.8 (Core ML/Neural Engine): Half Precision Score

47515

Geekbench AI 1.8 (Core ML/Neural Engine): Quantized Score

64473

020,00040,00060,00080,000

Score

Geekbench Data

Product	Geekbench 6.7.2: Single-Core (Score)	Geekbench 6.7.2: Multi-Core (Score)	Geekbench 7.1.0: Single-Core (Score)	Geekbench 7.1.0: Multi-Core (Score)	Geekbench AI 1.8 (Core ML/Neural Engine): Single Precision Score (Score)	Geekbench AI 1.8 (Core ML/Neural Engine): Half Precision Score (Score)	Geekbench AI 1.8 (Core ML/Neural Engine): Quantized Score (Score)
Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)	4359	30327	3766	35679	6200	47515	64473

PugetBench for Adobe CC (Photoshop)

18431

PugetBench for Adobe CC (Premiere Pro)

155248

050,000100,000150,000200,000

Score

PugetBench Data

Product	PugetBench for Adobe CC (Photoshop) (Score)	PugetBench for Adobe CC (Premiere Pro) (Score)
Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)	18431	155248

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)

109

037.575112.5150

fps

Cyberpunk 2077 (Ray Tracing Ultra, 1920 x 1200) Data

Product	Value
Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)	109

1 of 5

The MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display model Apple sent to me for review comes with the M5 Max chip with 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU, 128GB of unified memory, and 2TB of storage. That’s a hefty list of specs, and would set you back a similarly hefty $7,399 / £7,399 / AU$11,699.

I’ve previously tested the M5 and M5 Pro in the 14-inch MacBook Pros launched earlier this year and late last year, and as expected, the M5 Max in my 16-inch Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display is incredibly powerful, with macOS and its built-in apps all launching quickly and feeling fast and snappy.

When it comes to the touchscreen, macOS again feels fast and responsive, and using a finger to quickly browse up and down a website, selecting options in a dialog box or menu, and moving windows around the screen all feels natural, especially if you’ve ever used an iPhone or an iPad.

Unlike people who have only used Macs and MacBooks from the once touchscreen-phobic Apple, I’ve had extensive experience using Windows laptops and Chromebooks with touchscreens, so using one on the MacBook Pro isn’t as big of a culture shock as it might be to some. While it worked well, and there are some nice touches (forgive the pun), such as pressing down your finger on certain tools in Final Cut Pro to open up a radial menu for more precise touch control, I have to say that Windows 11, Chrome OS, and Google’s new Googlebook OS are better suited to touch controls.

This might come as little surprise, as this is Apple’s first MacBook to have a touchscreen, while Windows laptops and Chromebooks have had them for decades, and in the case of Chrome OS and Googlebook OS, Google has used its experience working on Android to develop the operating system. And, for as much grief as a lot of us (myself included) gave Windows 8 when it launched back in 2012, it inspired Microsoft to make a touchscreen-friendly interface, elements of which are still found in Windows 11, primarily with larger, easier to tap, buttons and menus.

Currently, macOS Tahoe still looks and feels like an operating system that’s best used with a traditional mouse and keyboard, because that’s what it is. But that also means some elements of the user interface, such as menus, feel a bit fiddly to control via touch.

Hopefully this will change if more MacBooks come out with touchscreens. But, because Apple has decided to put its first laptop touchscreen on its most powerful (and expensive) MacBooks, there’s a danger that the company will end up thinking that because the numbers of touchscreen MacBook users is so small, it’s not worth making big changes to the interface.

Another issue I have with Apple’s decision to put a touchscreen on its highest-end MacBook Pros, rather than a more mainstream MacBook Air or Neo — something I’ve written about — is that touchscreen gestures and controls often aren’t the best way to control a laptop when you're performing complex tasks where precision is key. Sure, you can pull up a virtual piano in Garage Band and tap on the keys on screen, but while this is handy for quick ideas, you don’t want to play or write an entire song using it.

Most professionals will have peripherals, such as physical MIDI keyboards, for precise control. It’s the same with photographers and digital artists — using your fingers to pinch and zoom an image feels fast and natural, as does scribbling some notes or doodles, but for long-term use, many professionals will use a drawing tablet. If the MacBook’s PROLED XDR Display was compatible with the Apple Pencil stylus, that would make it a more useful tool for professionals, but it's not, which is a rather odd omission.

One touchscreen-friendly change Apple has made to macOS, and which I’m a big fan of, is adding an iPhone-like Dynamic Island where the notch around the webcam used to be. Tapping this gives you quick context-relevant tools, such as media controls when watching a video. Spotlight search and Siri AI are now located here as well. This is a great addition that adds value to the MacBook Pro’s touchscreen, and I’d like to see it expanded, and more touch-friendly UI elements to make the touchscreen a must-have, rather than nice-to-have-but-far-from-essential, which is what it feels like at the moment.

The tandem OLED tech powering the PROLED XDR Display is a much bigger deal, and likely the reason why most people will consider the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display over the standard model. The previous Mini-LED screen was already one of the best displays you’d find on a laptop, and thanks to tandem OLED, this new screen is even better. Straight out of the box without needing any calibration, the colors are bright and vibrant — so much so that I was surprised to see that the screen was only at 50% brightness.

Placing my 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M5 chip and Mini-LED screen next to the 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch really highlighted just how much better the PROLED XDR screen is. The Mini-LED looked dimmer, despite it being at 100% brightness, even with the PROLED XDR screen remaining at 50%. Now, as I said, the Mini-LED display of the (slightly) older MacBook Pro is no slouch, so to see such a stark difference in image quality is a big deal, especially for people who want a laptop for working with photos, videos and digital art. The new support for Adobe RGB color gamut is another big plus here, though as usual for Mac devices you’ll want to turn off the True Tone feature — it tweaks the colors of the screen depending on the ambient light you’re working in, which can make what’s on the screen look better to you in that moment, but could lead to color inaccuracies in a production workflow.

I won’t delve too deep into the performance of the M5 Max, as it’s been in other Apple devices for a while now, but this is the first time I’ve used a MacBook running it (I have tested both the previous M5 and M5 Pro MacBook Pro models).

According to Apple’s benchmarks, the M5 Max is around nine times faster than the M4 Max when it comes to ‘first token performance’, while AI image generation is apparently around six times faster. If those are the kind of stats that excite you, then enjoy!

In our benchmark tests, compared to the M5 MacBook Pro with a 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU, the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max) with an 18-core CPU and 40-core GPU unsurprisingly outperformed the older MacBook Pro when it came to graphic-intensive tests. In the 3D Mark Wild Life Extreme graphics test, for example, the M5 MacBook Pro scored 73.6fps compared to the M5 Max’s 214.1fps.

With gaming, the M5 MacBook Pro hit 11fps at 1920 x 1200 with Ray Tracing set to Ultra, while the M5 Max model managed a much more playable 38.75fps. This is a good example of the graphical performance gap, but if you want a laptop to game on you’re still better off buying a dedicated gaming laptop, which is a bit of a shame, as the PROLED XDR Display makes games look fantastic.

The SSD inside the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max) offers up to 14.5GB/s speeds, with Apple claiming it’s twice as fast as the SSD in the previous generation, and in our tests it scored a very good 13,334.7MB/s and 12,782.7MB/s write and read speeds, respectively. A fast SSD like this is important if you’re working on large files and complex projects.

The SSD in the Surface Laptop Ultra with RTX Spark N1X chip scored a rather paltry 1,921MB/s write speeds in comparison. Check out our benchmark result charts for more comparisons.

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max) review: Battery Life

Battery life results

How long does the battery last?

Versus Comparison Data

Attribute	Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)	Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (2024, M4 Pro)	Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark
Battery life video test	24.35	21.5	11.383333333333333

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (2024, M4 Pro)Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark

VS

Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (2024, M4 Pro)Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark

Battery life video test (hours, mins)

+13%24:21:00

21:30:00

Our battery life benchmark involves playing a looped 1080p video at 50% brightness until the laptop turns off.

Apple has claimed the new 16-inch MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display lasts up to 24 hours on battery when streaming videos, and up to 17 hours when browsing the web, and I found those claims to be pretty much spot on, with the device lasting an incredible 24 hours and 21 minutes in our battery test, which involves playing a looped 1080p video at 50% brightness.

It blows past the MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024), which managed 21 hours and 32 minutes in the same test, and over double the 11 hours and 23 minutes the Asus ProArt P16 RTX Spark hit. The MacBook Pro is able to sustain its performance when on battery life, rather than throttling it to conserve energy, so you’ll be able to go multiple work days on a single charge while still being productive, though of course the battery will drain more quickly if you’re using it for more intensive tasks.

Should I buy the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)?

Also consider

How I tested the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max)

• I used as my main work laptop for five days
• I used a variety of apps during my testing
• I have extensive experience reviewing MacBooks, laptops and Chromebooks

As soon as Apple sent me the Apple MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max) I started using it as my daily laptop, and even wrote some of this review on it. I tested numerous apps including Photoshop, and played Cyberpunk 2077 on it to see how it performs, and to see how good the PROLED XDR Display looks. I also viewed and edited some very high-quality photos by photographer Paul Reiffer, and supplied by Apple.

Throughout my time with the MacBook Pro with PROLED XDR Display 16-inch (2026, M5 Max), I used both the standard keyboard and touchpad, and the touchscreen.

I’ve been reviewing laptops, including MacBooks and touchscreen laptops, for nearly 20 years, and have used that experience to inform this review.

• First reviewed: November 2026
• Read more about how we test

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (2026, M6) scorecard

How the Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (2026, M6) scored in our review

Value

4

Design

4

Performance

4.5

Battery life

4.5

Overall

4

Group 1 Data

Product	Value ()	Design ()	Performance ()	Battery life ()	Overall ()
Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (2026, M6)	4	4	4.5	4.5	4

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M6) Review: Value for money

No, this isn't the headline-grabbing new MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen and a thinner, lighter build. Alongside introducing those new models, Apple is sticking with a trend I'm a big fan of: yearly updates that ensure the entry-level MacBook Pro remains a solid proposition, with Apple's latest silicon and other top-end specs under the hood.

Apple hasn't changed much with the 2026 14-inch MacBook Pro, but it didn't need to. As the entry-level Pro, and a step up from the MacBook Air in terms of specs, it offers more ports in a familiar design that's slightly bulkier than the Air, but still plenty portable. You also get a very capable 14-inch Liquid Retina XDR mini-LED display with a notch at the top, a clicky-clacky keyboard with nice travel, a larger trackpad, and great sound with Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos support.

The big change is the M6 chip under the hood, with this model joining the still-available M5 Pro and M5 Max models. Those chips, while older, are more powerful, but don't let the M6 Pro's entry-level positioning fool you: Apple's latest silicon is no slouch, delivering excellent everyday performance with plenty of power for more intensive tasks, including photo and video editing, coding, and AI work.

I've been using the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 for the best part of a week, and it's been smooth sailing. It's handled my daily mix of productivity and creative work in apps like Slack, Safari, Google Chrome, Notes, Pages, Pixelmator Pro, and Final Cut Pro, running alongside Messages and FaceTime, effortlessly, without me needing to quit or close anything. The configuration I'm testing pairs the M6's 12-core CPU — split between two super cores, four performance cores, and six efficiency cores — with a 12-core GPU and Dual 16-core Neural Engine, and the base 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M6) Review: Design

• Same design as M5 Pro, with plenty of ports
• Excellent 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display with ProMotion
• Comfortable keyboard, oversized trackpad, and 12MP Center Stage camera

The M6 14-inch MacBook Pro sticks with the well-loved and well-tested design of recent Pro models. It's a little bulkier than the Air on account of its plentiful connectivity options, which include three Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, a headphone jack, and a MagSafe 3 port.

It's the same sleek design as the M5, M4, and even M3 versions that came before it. It's a design I know well, and one I use daily myself, and I appreciate that it doesn't feel too light or flimsy, but also not too heavy at just 3.4 pounds.

It keeps the same overall dimensions as last year's 14-inch Pro at 12.31 x 8.71 x 0.61 inches. You also get the same two color choices, Space Black or Silver; my review model is Silver, and it contrasts quite nicely with the darker, mirrored Apple logo on the rear — unlike the logo on the newly redesigned touchscreen MacBook Pro, though, this one doesn't light up.

The M6 Pro also doesn't pack Apple's fancy new tandem OLED display, which is a stunner, with especially impressive contrast and the added benefit of not having the notch. The 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display here is no slouch, though, and even with that higher-end model's arrival, this remains one of the best laptop screens on the market.

It supports refresh rates up to 120Hz thanks to ProMotion, and delivers a 3024 x 1964 resolution with vibrant colors and excellent contrast, including wonderfully inky blacks. I've found it great for photo editing in Photos or Pixelmator Pro, video editing in iMovie, CapCut, or Final Cut Pro, streaming videos, FaceTime calls, and even the more straightforward task of writing this review. I always appreciate those inky blacks as I type away.

I've become used to the rectangular cutout notch centered at the top of the display, and I'm still confident that if you've never experienced it before, any initial annoyance at its presence will quickly fade. I am eyeing the pill-shaped Dynamic Island on the more expensive MacBook Pro, but it's really not a necessity.

Here, the menu bar wraps around the notch, which houses a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera that keeps you in the frame and looking sharp during video calls. It also supports Portrait mode to blur your background, and you can use the edges of the screen as a ring light in low lighting conditions.

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M6) Review: Specs

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M6) Review: Performance

• M6 is an excellent chip
• Handles everyday multitasking, creative apps, and gaming with ease
• Apple's N1 chip brings support for latest Wi-Fi and Bluetooth standards

Any Mac with Apple silicon really pushes the value meter, and the M6 inside the MacBook Pro is no different. But that also means that if you have an M5, M4, M3, or even an older MacBook Pro or MacBook Air, and its performance is still good enough for your needs, you likely don't need to rush to upgrade just yet.

The M6 14-inch Pro sits alongside the M5 Pro and M5 Max, and only one chip configuration is available as the entry-level option. It's a 12-core CPU — made up of two super cores, four performance cores, and six efficiency cores — alongside a 12-core GPU and a Dual 16-core Neural Engine. While the M5 Pro and M5 Max can outperform it on the GPU front, those chips don't feature efficiency cores in the CPU or the doubled-up Neural Engine. The M6 starts with 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage — the configuration I've been testing — but can be specced with up to 32GB of RAM and 4TB of storage.

So just how good is the M6 chip inside the 14-inch MacBook Pro? Well, quantitatively, it scored 4,752 in Geekbench 6's single-core test and 21,184 in multi-core. In Geekbench 7, it hit 4,027 single-core and 22,305 multi-core. Compare that to the M5-powered 14-inch MacBook Pro, which scored 4,288 and 17,926 in Geekbench 6, respectively. That's a considerable improvement of around 11% in single-core performance and 18% in multi-core. It also shows off the M6's multitasking chops and efficiency, the latter of which is mission-critical for a laptop with a battery inside — more on that below.

On the storage front, the SSD is largely unchanged. In the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test, the M6 MacBook Pro clocked read speeds of 6,684.6 MB/s and write speeds of 6,501.6 MB/s. That's essentially on par with the M5 model, which managed 6,619.7 MB/s read and 6,517 MB/s write. So, no major improvement here, but not a step backwards either.

Over the past few days, I've put the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 through its paces as my daily machine. I regularly use Slack, Google Chrome, Safari — both browsers with dozens of tabs open, as I don't love closing them — Notes, Photos, Pixelmator Pro, Siri, and Music, alongside Messages and the occasional FaceTime or iPhone Mirroring session. I also put it through some video exports and project-creation work, mainly for social video at 2K or 4K, using iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and Edits. I also spent some time gaming with titles like Mini Metro, Mini Motorways, and Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Apple Intelligence is another area where the M6 feels right at home. Siri AI was particularly quick in my testing, especially with multimodal tasks, such as asking it about items on-screen or handling multi-step processes. Apple's Creator Studio improvements also ran smoothly, including Generative Fill in Pixelmator Pro. These are the kinds of tasks that show off the M6's Neural Engine, and I didn't have to wait around for results.

Generative Fill in Pixelmator Pro, as part of Creator Studio, is really impressive, and while it can take a beat to process, it's on a par with Photoshop's Generative Fill. Take a look at the example below, where I added a river below a photo of a Rivian R2 in a parking garage.

With plenty of apps open and a demanding workload running, I did occasionally hear the fans kick in, but never for sustained periods. For the most part, the MacBook Pro remained quiet, even with my usual mix of productivity and creative apps running.

The M6 doesn't quite beat the M5 Pro or M5 Max 14-inch MacBook Pro models for more intensive tasks, like larger video exports. It can certainly hold its own, but those jobs take a little longer, and the fans might kick in along the way. For everyday use and then some, though, whether that's photo or video editing, music creation, or even gaming, the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 easily holds its own.

And that's the case whether you're plugged in or unplugged and running on battery. I didn't notice any performance throttling when switching to battery power, so you can expect the same capable performance without being tethered to an outlet.

Beyond adding the M6 chip, Apple also upgraded the connectivity specs, with the in-house-made N1 wireless chip bringing support for Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and the Thread smart-home standard.

Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro (M6) Review: Battery Life

• All-day battery life
• Beats Apple's own web-browsing estimate of 16 hours
• Lasted an impressive 19 hours and 5 minutes in our browsing test

Unsurprisingly, the 14-inch MacBook Pro remains a battery-life champ with the M6 inside. Since Apple switched to its own in-house chips, performance, efficiency, and battery life have all improved compared to its previous Intel-powered laptops.

The M6 model features a 72.4-watt-hour lithium-polymer battery like the M5 before it, with Apple promising up to 24 hours of video playback, 16 hours of web browsing, and, as always, "all-day battery life." You can still charge it either with MagSafe — Apple includes a USB-C to MagSafe cable in the box — or via USB-C.

Even with pretty heavy use, the 14-inch MacBook Pro can comfortably last a full workday, and might stretch to multiple days without charging, depending on what you're doing. That's seriously impressive — and as I noted above, performance stays fast whether you're plugged in or running on battery.

Should I buy the Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6?

How I tested the Apple 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6

I spent five days using the 14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 as one of my daily work machines, taking it through the kind of workload I'd typically throw at my own MacBook. That meant plenty of writing, editing, and multitasking, with dozens of tabs open across Safari and Chrome, with Slack, Notes, Messages, and other everyday apps running alongside creative tools like Pixelmator Pro.

I also tested how well the M6 handled more demanding tasks, including video exports, Apple Intelligence features, and gaming. I compared its performance with the M5 Pro-powered 14-inch MacBook Pro and an M4 14-inch MacBook Pro, and I also used it plugged in and on battery to see whether performance changed when untethered.

First reviewed November 2026.

You may not have heard of Redmi, but you likely know its parent company, Xiaomi, which regularly features in our coverage of the best phones.

While Xiaomi focuses on premium smartphones and tablets, Redmi offers solid mid-range smartphones that aim to compete with the similarly priced competition from Google, Samsung, and Nothing.

Indeed, the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G stands squarely against the Google Pixel 10a, Samsung Galaxy A57, and Nothing Phone 4b in the mid-range category. But while those devices stand out for camera, design, or overall polish, Redmi has chosen to focus on raw durability with the Note 15 Pro Plus 5G.

The star feature is an SGS 5-star certified Titan Durability frame with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, offering up to 2.5-meter drop resistance alongside flagship-level IP68 and IP69K dust and water resistance. That’s paired with a large 6,500 mAh battery with 100W fast charging — both market-leading at the phone's £350 price point.

Still, at that price, there’s always a catch. The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G prioritizes tough hardware over software refinement. The 6.83-inch 120Hz display is sharp and supports Dolby Vision, but aggressive auto-dimming hampers outdoor visibility. The 200MP main camera takes great daylight shots, but the 8MP ultra-wide is mediocre, and there’s no dedicated telephoto lens.

Meanwhile, the mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 processor struggles under heavy gaming loads; Xiaomi’s HyperOS has a bundle of ads through native apps, and there’s a general lack of UX refinement, all of which lead to a more sluggish experience than you'll find on other phones.

You'll notice these trade-offs throughout daily use, but the phone's excellent battery life and solid drop protection make it a champion in its own right.

If you can live with less polish and the usual mid-range trade-offs, you’ll get something that can withstand much more than most phones. And if you know a chronic butterfinger who can’t keep a phone in their hands — my sister, for instance — the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G is the exact phone you should buy them.

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G review: price and availability

• Launched for £429 in January 2026
• Currently available from ~£349 in the UK and Europe
• Not officially sold in the US or Australia

The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G was announced in December 2025 and launched in January 2026 at £429 in the UK. It was quickly followed by launches in India and across Asia, but like many Xiaomi phones, it's not available in the US or Australia.

Six months later, at the time of writing, the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G has dropped to around £350 for the model with 8G of RAM and 256GB of storage, the latter of which is double that of its three key competitors — the Pixel 10a, Galaxy A57, and Nothing Phone 4b.

The upgraded version with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage costs just £50 more, offering excellent value for money, especially given the ever-increasing cost of RAM and storage driven by AI. A price of £479 is relatively unheard of in this price bracket, as phones with 512GB usually cost considerably more.

Like most Redmi phones, there are a few colors to choose from. Mocha Brown features a vegan-leather rear panel paired with a gold frame and matching camera-ring accents. However, this model is slightly thicker and heavier than the Glacier Blue and Black versions, which both feature a fiberglass back with a matte texture and color-matched side rails.

• Value score: 5 / 5

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G review: specs

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G review: design

• A sleek, modern phone, not a bulky industrial brick
• IP68 and IP69K water resistance ratings
• 2.5-meter drop resistance onto hard granite
• Touchscreen remains responsive in pouring rain or with wet hands

If there’s one area where the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G truly stands out, it’s design — specifically, durability.

What makes this device unique is the sheer lengths Xiaomi/Redmi went to in order to build one of the most durable smartphones on the market without incurring the classic "rugged phone" penalty. Instead of resembling a heavy industrial power tool, the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G looks and feels like a standard, stylish mid-ranger.

Underneath that homogeneous exterior sits a “Titan Durability” frame, certified by SGS, with a 5-star rating for drops from up to 2.5 meters onto granite. Add full IP68 and IP69K water and dust protection — a high-temperature, high-pressure rating that many of the best smartphones skip — and you have an absolute durability champion.

The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G proves that drop-proof hardware doesn't have to look industrial. Offered in either a faux-leather finish or two matte fiberglass backings with color-matched frames, it demonstrates that extreme durability can coexist with different aesthetic styles.

This achievement becomes obvious when put side-by-side with its direct rugged price rivals:

• Samsung Galaxy XCover 7 (~£320): Wrapped in a heavy black rubber casing with chunky bezels, the XCover measures 10.2mm thick and weighs 240g. The Redmi is 2mm thinner, 33g lighter, has a higher drop rating (2.5m vs 1.5m), and superior water protection.
• Nokia XR21 (~£360): Matches the IP69K rating, but caps drop protection at 1.8 meters while measuring a thicker 10.4mm and weighing 231g.
• Doogee S200 (~£330): Offers solid protection, but at a massive 16mm thick and 369g — nearly double the Redmi's weight. It looks like an archetypal construction-site brick, whereas the Redmi comfortably slides into standard jeans pockets.

The Redmi's durability is further enhanced through software features like water ejection, which works the same way as a smartwatch by ejecting water from the speakers using low-frequency sound/vibration, and screen algorithms optimized for use with wet hands.

The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G is attractive enough to appeal to casual buyers who aren’t looking for a rugged phone, but its build stands head and shoulders above its rugged competition.

• Design score: 5 / 5

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G review: display

• Vibrant 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel with Dolby Vision and HDR10+
• Smooth 120Hz refresh rate and ultra-high 3840Hz PWM dimming
• 3,200 nits peak brightness is bright enough for outdoor use but…
• … aggressive thermal auto-dimming makes it much harder to use in direct sunlight

The display on the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G is a strong performer for a mid-range phone. You get a large 6.83-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel (2772 x 1280) that delivers crisp details, rich 12-bit colors, and deep contrast. With both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support included, media streaming looks noticeably punchier than on baseline 1080p mid-range screens.

In daily use, scrolling feels fluid thanks to the adaptive 120Hz refresh rate. Xiaomi also equipped the panel with 3840Hz PWM dimming to reduce eye strain during late-night scrolling — a thoughtful touch rarely prioritized at this price point.

The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G falls short in Xiaomi’s aggressive thermal management in direct sunlight. While Xiaomi claims a massive 3,200-nit peak brightness — which is higher than most phones at this price point — the company employs aggressive auto-dimming that kicks in quickly when outdoors to protect the panel from overheating. It’s fine for basic tasks, but it won't maintain its peak brightness in sustained summer heat, and it is definitely less enjoyable to watch content on while outdoors.

That aside, this screen is a solid upper-mid-range offering, and it further reinforces that you can have a great display in a rugged phone.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G review: cameras

• 200MP primary camera (1/1.4" sensor) with OIS delivers detailed daylight stills
• Effective 2x somewhat compensates, but you do miss the telephoto
• 8MP ultra-wide lens is a noticeable drop in sharpness and color fidelity
• Video tops out at 4K/30fps on the main camera and 1080p on the front selfie camera

The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G camera is the epitome of mid-range compromise, with a single main camera doing all the heavy lifting to compensate for weak or missing additional cameras.

The 200MP main camera features an f/1.7 aperture and OIS. In daylight and great lighting conditions, it uses 16:1 pixel binning to capture 12.5MP photos with a wide dynamic range and punchy colors. The high-resolution choice means the 2x and 4x zoom options achieved via in-sensor cropping are fairly capable for casual portraits and macro shots, but the lack of a dedicated telephoto lens means this doesn’t stand out for its zoom capabilities.

Beyond the main sensor, the camera quickly falls apart. The 8MP ultra-wide camera lacks the detail and color accuracy of the primary lens, with soft detail and noticeable grain even in challenging lighting. Nor is the Redmi Note 15 Pro+ 5G a champion at video, with 4K recording at 30fps limited to the rear cameras, and the 32MP selfie camera locked to just 1080p video.

• Cameras score: 3.5 / 5

Poco F8 Pro review: camera samples

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G review: performance

• Powered by Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 (4nm) processor
• Up to 12GB of RAM is great, with other phone makers cutting back or increasing costs
• Paired with older UFS 2.2 storage speeds
• Handles daily tasks and media smoothly, but stutters under heavy load

The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G has an admirable 8GB or 12GB of RAM, and this is ultimately necessary to provide a somewhat smooth day-to-day experience. However, under heavy loads, the 4nm mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 starts to struggle, and you are quickly reminded that this is a mid-range phone.

Xiaomi is quite generous by offering 256GB of storage as the base option, but it uses slower UFS 2.2 storage, which means app installations, accessing storage in apps, and heavy gaming loads are noticeably slower than on rivals using UFS 3.1 or UFS 4.0 standards.

The 5,200mm2 vapor chamber does keep the phone relatively cool during heavy gaming sessions, which is a pleasant surprise, but as we covered before, it doesn’t prevent the screen from aggressively auto-dimming in response to high temperatures in direct sunlight.

Overall, this is about the experience you’d expect from a mid-range phone, and if you’re coming from a phone with a flagship processor, you’ll definitely notice the difference. Compared to its rugged rivals, though, the performance package is above average.

• Performance score: 3 / 5

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G review: software

• Ships with HyperOS 2 built on Android 15
• 4 major OS updates and 6 years of security patches beats most rugged rivals...
• ... but falls short of the 6–7-year policies on the Pixel 10a and Galaxy A57
• Preloaded bloatware is annoying
• Has features like Circle to Search, Google Gemini, and IR Blaster

Xiaomi isn’t known for offering the longest support or fastest updates across its smartphone range, and the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G firmly sits at the lower end of the update spectrum for modern mid-rangers. Yes, Xiaomi is offering four major OS updates and six years of security patches — which easily beats niche rugged rivals — but Xiaomi is notorious for slow regional rollouts.

Considering the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G launches on Android 15 while non-durable competitors at this price point will soon be receiving Android 17, the software commitment doesn't feel particularly future-proof. At best, you’ll get Android 19 support, but it won’t be particularly fast to roll out.

Further, Xiaomi’s HyperOS 2 remains one of the more frustrating aspects of the user experience. Out of the box, it comes cluttered with preloaded bloatware and opt-out system ads tucked inside native utility apps. Yes, you can uninstall many of them quite easily, but it’s a frustrating first impression.

On the positive side, HyperOS 2 isn't short on practical utility. You get Google’s native Circle to Search feature and solid Gemini Integration, while Xiaomi’s Hyper Connect suite allows for handy cross-device clipboard sharing and PC integration. The pre-installed Mi Remote app also makes great use of the top-edge IR blaster.

However, the overall software experience would be far more appealing if Xiaomi adopted a lighter, cleaner approach.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G review: battery life

• 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery delivers genuine two-day endurance
• 100W fast charging charges to full in 40 minutes
• 22.5W reverse wired charging
• No wireless charging support

Many people turn to rugged phones because their large batteries are worth the obvious trade-offs in features and design. There are also many customers who would like the larger battery but are not willing to accept the same trade-offs.

The Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G sits in the Goldilocks zone between these two camps, with a 6,500mAh battery that’s much larger than those of its non-rugged competition at this price, and also bigger than the batteries in several key rugged rivals. Yes, it’s not as large as the 10,000 mAh battery you’ll find in the Doogee S200, but the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G strikes the best balance of capacity, longevity, and overall design.

In real-world usage, this 6,500mAh battery delivers genuine multi-day battery life, with the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G regularly lasting two full days with between 10 and 11 hours of screen time. This is among the best battery life you’ll reliably get on a smartphone, and even if it does run low, it’s fast to recharge.

The 100W superfast charging is faster than most of the competition, rugged or otherwise, and takes around 40 minutes for a full charge. This gives it an average speed of 162.5 mAh/min, which is among the fastest of any phone I’ve tested.

There’s also the option of 22.5W reverse-wired charging, which is fast enough to charge your accessories, or even your friend’s phone in a pinch. In many ways, the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G is almost the perfect smartphone if you like to go camping for a weekend, as it’s versatile enough for many use cases.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G: also consider

There are four real competitors to the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G worth considering, but each has its compromises.

How I tested the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G

• Review test period: ~2 weeks
• Testing included: Daily driver usage, including GPS navigation, web browsing, social media feeds, photography, casual and 3D gaming, video streaming, music playback, and outdoor brightness checks.
• Tools used: Synthetic benchmarks (Geekbench 6, 3DMark), battery drain logs, native Android stats, official Xiaomi chargers, and real-world drop tests.

I tested the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus 5G as my primary smartphone for two weeks, evaluating everyday performance, real-world battery endurance, outdoor screen visibility, and camera output across various lighting conditions.

Read more about how we test

First tested: May 2026

The SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini might just be perfect for you, if you're looking for a compact gaming mouse that makes no sacrifices when it comes to performance.

The SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini has everything a competitive gamer could ever want, be that true 8K polling, programmable buttons, 42K DPI sensitivity… you name it. It even brings ‘infinite power supply’ tech to the table, meaning you’ll have next to no downtime when duking it out against your opponents.

However, this mouse doesn’t come cheap. At $179.99 / £169.99 (about AU$250), it sits firmly in the premium category, meaning it has to go above and beyond to prove itself against the best mice on the market. But is it truly worth that steep asking price? Here’s my view after hours of intensive testing.

Let’s start things off by looking at some of the features that the Rival Pro Mini has to offer. I may have piqued your curiosity when I mentioned that ‘infinite’ power supply just now — but what exactly does that mean?

Well, the Rival Pro Mini and its accompanying Ultra Wideband base station come with hot-swappable batteries. One will slot into your mouse while gaming, and the other will sit in the base station and charge up in the meantime. When your mouse eventually runs dry — around 60 hours with 1K polling or 16 hours with 8K — you can simply pop the battery out of your base station, slot it into your mouse, and continue playing in an instant.

This is a truly brilliant feature, and means you’ll never run out of juice when competing in a tournament or playing a few casual rounds. Even though the Rival Pro Mini mouse has no USB slot for wired use, this tech means that you’ll never truly need it.

But there are so many more features to discover on the Rival Pro Mini. First up, you’re getting true 8K polling for ultra-smooth performance. SuperSync is also here, which enables you to independently set tracking and clicking polling rates. There’s also aim tools, 42K DPI sensitivity, and six fully programmable buttons on board.

You can customize the way that buttons function in the GG app or web platform, which also lets you adjust sensitivity, polling rate, and power management among other things. I found both the downloadable and web app to be incredibly easy to use and navigate, with no shortage of options at my disposal.

But just how does the Rival Pro Mini feel to use in practice? Just as good as you’d hope. When playing Cyberpunk 2077 on the LG UltraGear 25G590B 1000Hz gaming monitor, I was blown away by the all-round quality on offer. When aiming, movement felt supremely stable and accurate, and even basic functions like turning the camera was super smooth and highly responsive.

In addition, the optical switches had a great feel to them, and allowed me to blast down my foes with unrivaled speed and precision. Like typical optical switches, these aren’t the quietest around, but their satisfying click felt never seemed obnoxiously loud or distracting to me. The mechanical scroll wheel also impressed me with its control and tactility, and its ridges provided ample grip when gaming or simply performing everyday tasks at work.

This mouse gets it right when it comes to ergonomics too, although it is a more compact model, so if you have larger hands I’d recommend picking up the full-sized Rival Pro instead. But the mouse’s molded exterior and lightweight feel fantastic, and I was able to use the Rival Pro Mini for hours on end without any cramp or fatigue. This is an ergonomic model for right-handed gamers, though, so if you’re a lefty, I’d suggest checking out the symmetrical SteelSeries Sensei Pro Mini.

The Rival Pro Mini plays it fairly safe looks-wise, but it does have a sleek aesthetic, and the orange scroll wheel gives it a bit of pop. It also has strong build quality, and I liked its lightly textured matte finish, which adds a premium touch. One thing I will say, however, is that this finish does turn the Rival Pro Mini into a bit of a fingerprint magnet, so it’ll need a good wipe down every now and then if you want to keep it looking pristine. Still, fingerprints will likely seem less visible if you opt for the white colorway over the black variant I tested.

There’s very little holding this mouse back, though one thing could prove to put some gamers off. And you guessed it: it’s that asking price.

While I think that the Rival Pro Mini offers solid value thanks to its exemplary functionality, at $179.99 / £169.99 (about AU$250), it’s unquestionably expensive. It’s also priced identically to the larger, full-size model — no big deal given that they share the same features, but it would’ve been nice to get this one at an ever-so-slightly lower price.

When all’s said and done, though, I had an overwhelmingly positive experience with the SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini. Its S-tier performance, clever hot-swappable batteries, and customizable buttons make it a great option, even for the most competitive gamers out there, and if you can stomach the price, it’s well worth picking up.

SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini review: price & release date

• Priced at $179.99 / £169.99 (about AU$250)
• Released in October 2026

The SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini first arrived in October 2026 alongside three other models, namely the larger SteelSeries Rival Pro, as well as the SteelSeries Sensei Pro and Sensei Pro Mini. The Rival Pro Mini has the same list price as the full-sized model, coming in at $179.99 / £169.99 (about AU$250). As you’d expect, that places it in the premium category with competition including the Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike and the Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro — both of which you can learn more about in the ‘also consider’ section.

SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini review: specs

Should I buy the SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini review: also consider

How I tested the SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini

• Tested intensively for hours
• Used for gaming and general productivity
• Made use of all features in the GG web app

I tested the SteelSeries Rival Pro Mini across the course of a few days, and spent hours using it for both gaming and general productivity purposes.

For playing games, I made sure to pair the Rival Pro Mini with the LG UltraGear 25G590B 1000Hz gaming monitor, which helped me get the best performance possible out of the mouse. I also made sure to try the mouse with a variety of games, though I mainly used the PC version of Cyberpunk 2077 to test its capabilities. What’s more, I made sure to trial all of the mouse’s features and customization options in the GG web app.

More generally, I’ve spent years testing gadgets here at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. I’ve reviewed everything from premium wireless headphones to mechanical keyboards, and have tested a number of mice, including the Logitech Mobi Fold.

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

Leak has been doing very nicely as its own tribute act lately, and the latest product to get the ‘walnut and aluminium’ mid-20th century modern retro treatment is a network streamer called TruStream.

But while it looks like a throwback, the TruStream is thoroughly modern on the inside. Wired and wireless connectivity, balanced and unbalanced analogue outputs, a top-end 32bit ESS Sabre DAC and a streaming platform provided by Silent Angel all contribute to a player that’s absolutely got it where it counts. Its control app could learn a thing or two from pretty much anyone else’s control app, mind you…

Given some good hi-res content to deal with, the Leak proves an expansive, detailed listen that controls both the layout of a soundstage and the description of rhythms really well. Its powers of insight and resolution make for an absorbing listen — although the sensation of outright fidelity is undermined just a little by the integrated DAC’s tendency to attack high frequency information a little too readily and by a relative lack of dynamic headroom. But given everything it does well in sonic terms, and given that it’s a visually unique offering in a “me too!” market, don’t be surprised if plenty of people are able to overlook these shortcomings…

Leak TruStream Review: Price and release date

• Launched in April 2026
• Costs $1,499 / £999 / AU$2,199

The Leak TruStream network music player is on sale now having hit shelves in April 2026 for most of us, and in the United Kingdom it costs £999. In Australia it goes for something like AU$2,199, while in the United States it will set you back $1,499 or thereabouts.

And while that's not crazy money in the world of hi-res audio and hi-fi, it's emphatically an investment — and Leak's still up against stiff competition from the likes of Cambridge, with the CXN100, priced at $1,099 / £899 / €1,049 (around AU$1,665).

There's also a November 2026-launch Yamaha dual hi-fi streamer launch to cast your eye over if you're looking for alternatives, starting with the cheaper Yamaha WXC-70, which at the time of writing is due to sell for £859 (about $1,170, AU$1,700), so it's the cheaper of the two models.

Then again, Nagra's Compact Streamer was launched just before the Leak, in March 2026 — and that will set you back a slightly more eye-watering £6,000 / AU$9,495 (around $8,000). So, there's plenty to think about within Leak's chosen territory.

Leak TruStream review: Features

• 32bit ESS Sabre DAC
• Digital outputs as well as balanced and unbalanced analogue outputs
• Silent Angel streaming platform

You’re not short of choice when it comes to network streamers at this sort of money, even if the rest of them don’t have a hint of the TruStream’s visual panache. Good looks will only carry a product a little way, though, so it’s just as well Leak has specified the TruStream to be fully competitive.

The TruStream uses Silent Angel technology for its streaming platform, and that’s an uncomplicatedly good thing. Low-noise digital transmission and stable networking are the foundations of Silent Angel’s reputation, and when you also consider the Leak’s wide compatibility with streaming technologies it looks like a very wise choice indeed. Apple AirPlay 2, ‘Connect’ for Qobuz, Spotify and TIDAL, and TuneIn internet radio are all available, and in addition the TruStream can deal with playback from network-attached devices via DLNA or from physically connected USB drives. By way of an encore, it’s also Roon Ready.

The Leak takes care of the critical digital-to-analogue business with a 32bit ESS Sabre ES9038Q2M DAC chipset. It’s able to deal with every worthwhile digital audio file type (as well as quite a few of the more esoteric alternatives) and can operate at resolutions of up to 32bit/768kHz PCM and DSD512. You can get the information to the DAC using Ethernet, dual-band wi-fi or one of the three USB inputs on the rear of the machine — there’s a USB-C for use with PCs and a couple of USB-A slots for direct connection of storage devices.

You’ve a few options when it comes to getting it out again, too. As well as balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA analog outputs, the Leak also features digital coaxial and digital optical outputs - which is handy on the off-chance you have a more capable DAC somewhere in your system than the one fitted here. There’s also a 6.3mm headphone socket on the fascia, which is powered by a dedicated current-feedback headphone amplifier that’s able to drive even quite tricky loads presented by unhelpful headphones.

• Features score: 5 / 5

Leak TruStream review: Sound quality

• Detailed, organised sound delivered at considerable scale
• Could be more dynamic
• Treble response can be provoked

It’s not, strictly speaking, a game of two halves here — because the things the TruStream gets right outweigh the things it struggles with more than somewhat. Its shortcomings, though, do undermine its overall performance more than a touch - so I may as well start with them before I get into the good stuff.

The Leak is not an especially dynamic listen where the broad strokes of ‘quiet/loud’ and ‘gentle/intense’ are concerned. The two-and-a-half hours of Aphex Twin’s Selected Ambient Works Volume II feature more than a few fluctuations of this type, and while the TruStream is able to make the differences in volume and attack apparent, it doesn’t have the headroom to put proper distance between them. Some similarly priced rivals describe the distance between ‘quiet’ and ‘loud’ in miles, but the Leak measures them in meters.

The same recording reveals its tendency to hit the higher frequencies quite hard, too — or, at least, it does when it’s doing its own digital-to-analog converting. The onboard DAC has a lot going for it — as I will get to shortly — but it’s fairly edgy where treble sounds are concerned and in the wrong circumstances can become quite fierce. A listen to the way the Leak hits the plosives in the vocal during Dalliance by The Wedding Present lets you know what ‘the wrong circumstances’ are.

Elsewhere, though, the TruStream has plenty going for it. The scale of its presentation, for instance, is straightforwardly impressive. It generates a large and persuasive soundstage that manages to incorporate a sensation of ‘front to back’ as well as ‘left to right’. The areas between participants on the stage are described just as carefully as the activities of the participants themselves, and there’s more than enough breathing space available for even the most complex recordings to sound organised and coherent.

Aside from the latent treble issues, there’s a nice neutrality to the tonality and an evenness to the frequency response that’s on display here. At the bottom end the TruStream hits good and hard without being showy about it, and controls the attack of bass sounds with such confidence that rhythms are always expressed in a positive and naturalistic manner. It transitions into the midrange smoothly, and once there it’s perfectly capable of revealing the full range of attitude and character in a vocal performance.

In fact, detail levels are gratifyingly high at every stage — even the most minor occurrences in a recording are picked up on, and the Leak has real expertise when it comes to giving these details the proper weighting and context. It’s particularly adept when it comes to identifying the harmonic variations that come to fore when listening to unaccompanied voice or solo instrument, and those same circumstances also let it highlight its facility with transient information.

• Sound quality score: 3.5 / 5

Leak TruStream review: Design

• 118 x 330 x 288mm (HxWxD)
• A single, quite distinctive, finish
• Goes without a display

Whoever it was that said “people who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like” was really onto something. Not everyone will want their network streamer to look like it was designed 70 years ago, of course — but the rest of us will get one look at the diminutive (118 x 330 x 288mm, HxWxD) walnut casework and immediately feel covetous.

The fact that the TruStream is very nicely constructed and impeccably finished, and the aluminium of its fascia contrasts nicely with the wooden panelling - both materials are as tactile as they are visually alluring.

I realise the whole md-century vibe might be compromised by a fascia display, but nevertheless it conceivably puts the TruStream at a disadvantage when you consider the price-comparable rivals that feature quite large, crisp, bright, colourful screens displaying album artwork and what-have-you.

Yes, that information is all available on the device you’re using to stream to the Leak — but ultimately I have to hope the money that has been saved by not implementing any display technology, and the absence of the inevitable electrical activity a display creates inside a streamer, results in a player that outperforms anything of similar price that has one.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Leak TruStream review: Usability and setup

• Remote control handset
• ‘Leak TruStream’ control app
• A few fascia controls

Setting up the Leak TruStream is, with one significant caveat, straightforward. It needs to be plugged into the mains, of course, and a physical connection made to the system into which it’s forming a part — all that’s required then is to get it onto your local network and you’re good to go.

But because of the way the ‘Leak TruStream’ control app (which is free for iOS and Android) is configured, this is not as simple as it really should be. It uses a mixture of fonts, all of them rather small and some of them with unnecessary serifs that look fussy and spoil legibility. The occasional use of black type on an orange background is unhelpful too — yes, it passes WCAG (web content accessibility guidelines) standards but is nevertheless difficult to read, especially as those guidelines tend to concern themselves with ‘normal’ and ‘large’ text. The colorblind or otherwise visually impaired will find these elements fatiguing if they can read them at all.

It’s only fair to mention at this point that the app is stable, wide-ranging and does all of the stuff you’d reasonably expect: browse internet stations, check for firmware updates, build playlists and so on, and there’s a degree of home-page customisation available too. But it’s hard to shake the suspicion that this started as a desktop application and has been transferred to mobile devices either on the cheap or in a hurry (or both).

The big remote control handset is a system control, and so the majority of its buttons are surplus to TruStream requirements. Still, it’s a sight more legible than the control app. And the very few fascia controls (power on/off, input selection and volume) feel nicely positive in their action.

The volume control allows the Leak to function as a preamplifier when connected directly to active speakers or a power amp, as long as you don’t mind ‘the system’ consisting of a network streamer — there are no inputs for external source devices, of course.

• Usability and setup score: 3 / 5

Leak TruStream review: Value

If you can put a price on a pleasing aesthetic, on the look and feel of premium materials, and on hard-to-come-by individuality, then the Leak TruStream seems a pretty compelling offering even before you consider the thorough nature of its specification or the sound it makes. And though the sound it produces is not entirely without issues, there’s so much to like about it in sonic terms that it seems likely that many listeners who are sold on the look will reach an accommodation with the slight shortcomings in the sound.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Should I buy the Leak TruStream?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Leak TruStream: Also consider

How I tested the Leak TruStream

I use the TruStream as a source, connected to an Eversolo DAC-Z10 first by its analogue outputs and then by its digital equivalent - which makes assessing the relative quality of the Leak’s DAC straightforward. I also connect it directly to a Cambridge Edge W power amp using its XLR outputs - which means it’s now a preamp as well as a network player. Alternating between wi-fi and Ethernet connections allows access to Qobuz and TIDAL Connect, as well as giving access to a Synology BeeStation Plus (full of very hi-res content) on the local network.

• First reviewed: October 2026
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

NordVPN review scores

NordVPN price plans

• Prices start from $3.49/month with NordVPN Basic.
• Complete offers the best value balance of features and price.
• Auto-renewal fees are eye-watering – remember to opt out.

NordVPN has changed some of its plans and their respective prices in recent months. It’s removed the Plus tier and now offers three tiers instead of four: Basic, Complete, and Prime.

While all countries offer Basic and Complete plans, top-tier plans vary by country: in the US it's Prime, in Canada it’s Ultra, and in the UK it’s known as Ultimate Max. For this review, we're primarily focusing on the US plans.

Still, one constant is that you can secure up to 10 devices simultaneously – matching ExpressVPN and Proton VPN.

NordVPN’s current pricing puts it at the premium end. It’s particularly expensive when comparing its one-month subscription plans. While its entry-level Basic plan is $14.99/month – the same as ExpressVPN – the latter’s mid- and top-tier equivalents are significantly cheaper.

There’s little reason to choose NordVPN if you want the flexibility of a short-term plan. Only Surfshark’s base tier is more expensive at $18.95.

You’re better off considering Proton Plus at $9.99/month, or PIA for $11.99/month. Let’s not forget Mullvad either, which, at €5 a month (roughly $5.60 at the time of writing), is a steal - three months of Mullvad is almost the same price as one month of NordVPN Basic.

Where NordVPN gets more competitive is with its one- and two-year subscriptions. This is where the steep discounts kick in, though you’ll need to pay the full amount upfront.

One-year prices of $4.99, $5.99, and $8.99/month are on par with ExpressVPN and Proton VPN. However, Surfshark has the edge, offering plans from just $2.99 a month.

Two-year plans deliver the biggest savings. NordVPN’s prices of $3.49, $3.99, and $6.99/month put it below those of ExpressVPN. Proton VPN is similarly priced, but Surfshark is cheaper, starting at $2.19/month.

When you total the yearly cost, the numbers won’t add up – that’s because you’re getting three extra months included too. Also note that the prices quoted are pre-tax, and the final bill will increase based on your country’s sales tax.

There isn’t too much of a gulf between the total price you pay for NordVPN’s Basic and Complete plans, at least not initially. Upgrading from Basic to Complete costs just $1.00/month more on the annual plan, or $0.50/month more over two years.

This represents solid value considering it adds Nord’s next-gen antivirus, call, email, and message protection, a password manager, and cloud storage.

The bigger price jump is between Complete and Prime – $45 upfront for the annual term, or $81 for the two-year plan, for advanced identity protection via Coveron. That’s an extra $3/month either way, though it won’t be worth it if you’re outside the US since Coveron’s identity protection is US-only.

We then have to consider NordVPN’s auto-renewal prices which are significant to say the least. Take NordVPN’s Complete plan over two years, for example. That’s just $107.73 for the initial two-year term, but it rises a staggering 358% on renewal to $438.86.

You’re not just paying more later, either – you’re also getting fewer months. The initial term throws in three extra months so your lump sum stretches over 27 months; the renewal charges full price for just 24.

If anything, this is a reminder to make sure you turn off auto-renewal upon signup to prevent any nasty surprises further down the line. And if you want the best NordVPN deal, you’ll likely find the deepest discounts during major sales events like Black Friday.

Price and plans score: 8/10

Features: What can NordVPN do?

• NordVPN Basic and Plus plans are the same across the world.
• Full NordProtect cyber-insurance only available in the US.
• NordPass password manager included with all plans apart from Basic.

NordVPN Basic

The Basic plan from NordVPN does exactly what the name suggests. The main feature is the VPN product itself and not too much more. It's the same full VPN software as available on all NordVPN plans.

NordVPN Plus

The Plus plan is my favorite NordVPN plan. Available in any region, it strikes a good balance between value and power by incorporating what I think are NordVPN’s most essential tools and features.

Most notably, you’re given Next Gen Antivirus. This adds malware protection via file scanning, ad-blocking capabilities (including tracker blocking), and measures to protect against phishing and other malicious websites.

Unfortunately, these improvements can only be seen on NordVPN’s desktop apps, which is great if your home PC is the device you’re most concerned about, but leaves you short-changed across all of your mobile devices.

This is especially unfortunate since Surfshark, for example, offers its complete protective toolkit for mobile too – including antivirus on Android, which NordVPN doesn’t have whatsoever.

Something included across almost any device, however, is NordPass. We rate NordPass as the best password manager available right now, so getting it thrown in alongside your VPN package is some serious value.

It’s compatible across all major desktop operating systems, as well as popular web browsers such as Chrome, Brave, Firefox, Edge, and Opera, and of course, iOS and Android mobile devices.

NordPass encrypts your passwords using XChaCha20 but also secures password generation, passkey support, and easy synchronization of data between platforms, so you’re never stuck without the details you need.

What's more, you can use NordPass' data breach scanning – which is traditionally kept for premium NordPass plans. That said, we found it only worked through the NordVPN app, which could be confusing if you're using it alongside NordPass.

NordVPN Complete

Entering the upper echelons of NordVPN is where things get complex since, as mentioned, no one country gets the same premium plans. For the moment, we’ll stick with what the US gets.

NordVPN Complete adds two features to the spread offered by a Plus Plan: firstly, 1 TB of end-to-end encrypted storage. For an extra dollar a month, that may initially seem to be a great deal, but first, consider whether the added storage is actually going to be used.

If, like me, you’ve already pushed the limits of your free storage allowances on systems like Google and iCloud, then maybe it will, but will the added storage outweigh the convenience these services offer? The value for money for that 1 TB of storage is good, but, if you won’t use it, why pay more?

In terms of the value, it’s definitely worth mentioning that among the top VPN providers, only Proton VPN currently offers encrypted storage with any of its packages.

Though to get 500 GB of storage with Proton, you pay $3 per month more than you’d pay for a NordVPN Complete plan. And that makes NordVPN Complete comparatively better value if storage with your VPN is a priority.

Next up is Scam Call Protection. This is NordVPN's latest feature addition, offering potential scam detection, caller identification, and caller categorization (such as telemarketers). For now, this is an Android-only feature, NordVPN has confirmed it's planning to bring the functionality to iPhone users soon.

NordVPN Prime

Prime only brings one new thing to the party, though this time it’s a biggie – NordProtect.

NordProtect is an all-in-one package aimed at protecting your identity at all costs. Firstly, Dark Web Monitoring searches for your social security number, phone number, and email on the dark web 24/7, with immediate notifications should anything be found.

Your credit card also gets similar protection. 1-Bureau credit monitoring notifies you about changes, including inquiries into your credit file, new accounts, and unauthorized use. You can also make use of VantageScore credit scoring, should you wish for insights into how to improve your credit.

TransUnion, the company behind VantageScore, also provides credit freeze assistance as part of NordProtect. This not only helps to prevent credit card fraud, but also ensures your credit score isn’t impacted if you fall victim to it.

If that wasn’t enough, you’re also provided with identity theft insurance up to $1M in coverage, and cyber extortion insurance up to $100K in coverage.

All this protection does come at a hefty cost, however, as Prime Plans start from $6.99 per month on the two-year plan.

That takes your total payment to $50 more than Complete, and your cost on renewal rises to around $340 before tax. So, make sure you really need NordProtect before signing up.

A surprising omission from almost all NordVPN plans worldwide is Incogni. Developed by Nord Security, NordVPN and Surfshark’s parent company, Incogni is a data removal tool that removes your personal information from company databases and people search sites, helping reduce the risk of scams, fraud, and identity theft.

Only Canada’s Ultra plan includes Incogni. Though, much like the US Prime plan, you’ll be forking out a fair sum for it, with prices starting from CA$8.19 per month.

If there’s one constant piece of advice we can give about picking a NordVPN plan, it’s this: know what you want. They all offer value, but only if you actually use the features you're buying.

Score: 10/10

Server network and locations

• Most countries covered of any tested VPN (150).
• Most locations overall with 225
• Approximately 8,000-strong network of RAM-only servers.

NordVPN offers the largest selection of server locations of any VPN we test. Nobody beats NordVPN's 225 locations, while only Proton VPN's 149 countries come close to NordVPN's chart-topping 150

The spread of these locations also earns it top marks. 77 locations in North America is the most of any VPN, 54 locations in Europe are only usurped by NymVPN, ExpressVPN, and Proton VPN, and 30 locations in Africa are only topped by Proton’s 33.

NordVPN also remains top for locations in South America and Oceania, while its 43 Asian locations keep it second to Proton VPN's 51.

The provider offers around 79 virtual locations in regions where physical servers are not possible. This is perfect if you're travelling to regions with tight internet restrictions and require a stable, secure connection. However, you can't see in-app which locations are virtual when on Windows, which is unfortunate.

Much like other top VPNs, NordVPN’s network runs on RAM-only servers. This is now reasonably standard practice, since RAM-only servers not only ensure no user data is accidentally stored (since they wipe on reboot) but they are also more efficient in terms of speed, latency, and power consumption.

This ensures the servers are capable of handling NordVPN’s various server uses, be that P2P, multi-hop, or Meshnet, without noticeable drops in performance.

Handily, NordVPN also recently made all of its servers P2P compatible. That means you no longer need to select a dedicated P2P server from the dedicated 'Speciality Servers' list, instead, you can use whichever NordVPN server works best for your needs.

Earlier in 2025, NordVPN threw a challenge to the VPN industry, claiming that the exact number of servers across its locations isn’t important. This means we no longer have a precise figure to use to compare NordVPN with its competitors.

Surfshark, a VPN also owned by Nord Security, uses around 4,500 servers currently, while Proton VPN uses over 15,000. Our latest research suggests NordVPN's figure is somewhere over 8,000 servers, which is above average, but by no means the most.

Realistically, however, we rarely see VPN servers reach absolute maximum load, and, frankly, with the spread of locations NordVPN has, you'll never be short of another place to connect to. There's really nothing we can complain about here, loads of locations, RAM-only servers, top marks!

Score: 10/10

Privacy

• Strong, privacy-focused protocol choices – NordLynx and NordWhisper
• Double VPN and Onion over VPN boost privacy and anonymity
• Tapjacking protection is a handy bonus for Android users

NordVPN’s privacy is founded on its no-logs policy. Not only is the policy in depth, but it has been audited six times, most recently by Deloitte at the end of 2025.

That depth doesn't make for good casual reading but it does successfully cover every important topic, and in enough detail that we’re comfortable with saying that nothing is amiss.

The closest NordVPN comes to recording data is its enforcement of the 10 device limit. As it explains, username and timestamp information is “used to limit the amount of concurrent active user sessions and is automatically deleted within 15 minutes after a session is terminated”.

In-app, NordVPN’s primary privacy focal point is its NordWhisper protocol.

Introduced in January 2025, the protocol is based on the Tor Project’s WebTunnel technology. It wraps your encrypted VPN traffic in a standard HTTPS connection to hide it from detection. This disguises it as standard web traffic and makes NordWhisper especially effective in regions of high internet censorship and places where people found to be using VPNs can be punished.

For everyday connectivity, you’re not short of options either. OpenVPN is available in both its TCP and UDP forms. The former provides a more stable, reliable connection for emailing, browsing, and the like. The latter is more focused towards speed for gaming, streaming, or similar.

Alongside this, you also get NordVPN’s other proprietary protocol, NordLynx. NordLynx uses a ‘double NAT’ system to remove privacy vulnerabilities you’d be at risk of by using traditional WireGuard.

By combining double NAT technology and WireGuard, NordLynx allows you to experience the speed benefits of WireGuard, without any identifiable information being stored, even temporarily, in a server.

NordLynx is also NordVPN’s first post-quantum encrypted VPN protocol. It ensures that your data remains secure even once quantum computing arrives with its enormous boost in code-cracking, number crunching power.

NordVPN has chosen to use ML-KEM, an approved quantum-resistant cryptographic standard, with NordLynx.

NordVPN’s use of RAM-only servers helps too. Since RAM-only servers don’t store any data permanently. That means you’re never at risk of being personally identifiable should Nord’s servers be seized, since there’s no data to be found.

Connecting to NordVPN offers several privacy-centric options. Double VPN works as the name suggests, routing your connection through two VPN servers rather than one. In other words, your data is encrypted twice.

That makes your connection twice as difficult for cybercriminals to crack, your IP address is further protected (since the second server doesn’t have any information about it), and your ISP knows nothing about where you end up on the web.

This makes Double VPN perfect for those needing greater protection in regions where governments attempt to intercept messages or surveil online activities.

NordVPN currently offers 12 Double VPN locations, including 2 locations in the US and Canada. This is far fewer than the likes of Proton VPN and Surfshark.

Proton VPN offers 64 locations that utilize its Secure Core technology, while Surfshark’s Nexus network allows you to make any two server connections you want from its entire server network.

Another option for concealing your VPN connection is NordVPN’s obfuscated servers. These servers now use NordVPN's NordWhisper protocol in addition to extra protections to ensure your VPN connection isn't detected. The shift to using NordWhisper also means you can now connect to obfuscated servers in almost all of NordVPN's locations.

If you’re looking to access the darker corners of the web securely, NordVPN also offers Onion Over VPN connections. Available via its Amsterdam, Stockholm, and Zurich server locations. This connection routes your traffic through both a VPN server and the Tor Network.

As a result, since the Tor Network’s servers are volunteer-operated, you are secured by a VPN before entering it in case a bad actor has planted servers intent on tracking your online activity and stealing your data. This added security when using Tor is something only offered by a few top VPNs, the most notable of which are NordVPN and Proton VPN.

Depending on the platform you’re using, NordVPN also offers several handy privacy settings you can use to further affirm your privacy. Android users get arguably the biggest spread. Notably, NordVPN’s ‘Tapjacking protection’ is something you won’t find on any other NordVPN platform, or offered by any other VPN for that matter.

The system aims to protect users against malicious overlays and is as simple to use as toggling on and forgetting about it. Having had the protection turned on for a matter of months now, I can comfortably say I've never found an instance where an overlay has slipped through the net, and I've never noticed it adding unwanted strain to my phone’s performance either.

Score: 10/10

Security

• Strong encryption and post-quantum encryption standards already live.
• Next Gen Antivirus performs well against malware and phishing sites
• Lots of options for granular security customization.

NordVPN’s security is top-notch.

We tested its claims of strong AES-256-GCM encryption on OpenVPN using a 4096-bit Diffie-Hellman key, and we saw exactly that. Our tests registered AES-256-GCM-SHA384 encryption with 4096-bit certification using TLS 1.3. This makes NordVPN’s OpenVPN protocol as secure as possible, ensuring you needn’t worry about your connection, no matter your location.

On NordLynx, you’re similarly protected. Since the protocol is based on WireGuard, it uses the same ChaCha20 encryption you’d expect to see, using Poly1305 for authentication. This means you’re using the latest and greatest encryption capabilities across both of NordVPN’s primary protocols.

Post-quantum encryption has also already reached NordVPN. While providers such as Proton VPN and Surfshark are yet to implement it or are in the early stages, NordLynx is already post-quantum ready, with the future-proof encryption method available at the switch of a toggle.

While that might seem superfluous right now, it's a key differentiator given the existence of harvest now, decrypt later attacks.

OpenVPN and NordWhisper aren’t post-quantum-equipped quite yet. It's worth knowing that if you turn on post-quantum encryption, it'll turn itself off if your automatically selected protocol isn't NordLynx. This can be fixed in a matter of clicks by turning automatic protocol choosing off, instead selecting to always use NordLynx

You also won’t be post-quantum-protected when using Meshnet or NordVPN’s obfuscated server connection; the same goes if you add a dedicated IP to your plan.

If you’ve turned on post-quantum encryption before using Meshnet, beware that this automatically turns Meshnet off, making you choose between your secure local network and a super-secure VPN connection.

NordVPN also, of course, a more standard suite or security options in place.

Auto-connect jumps straight to mind, since you can fully customize exactly when and how NordVPN auto-connects you to a server.

It covers both the server type, and the instances in which it connects. This includes options for Double VPN, Obfuscated, Onion-Over, and P2P servers, and connecting when on Wi-Fi, Ethernet, or mobile networks. You can even create lists of trusted networks that are excluded from auto-connect parameters.

I use this kind of customization to make sure that I'm always protected and I particularly like it to my ensure my connection on-the-go.

If you want to continue the granular levels of security tailoring, you can also control the DNS server address you connect to, your visibility over LAN, and, on desktops, whether your computer can still be accessed remotely when connected. It’s worth noting, with LAN invisibility especially, toggling these settings can impact performance.

For example, with LAN invisibility turned on, iPhone, iPad, and Mac users won’t be able to use AirDrop. You may also experience significant performance impacts due to how Apple integrates the relevant API parameters in its hardware. If you want to know more, NordVPN released a complete breakdown you can read here.

Something that continues to impress is NordVPN’s kill switch. It's often the downfall of less secure VPN providers. In our security testing, a kill switch is key to ensuring your connection is never inadvertently exposed to bad actors, governments and the like.

We tried to break NordVPN’s kill switch in various ways, including uninstalling NordVPN’s network adapter driver while connected. Not only did NordVPN disconnect us successfully without any IP leaks, but it recognized the issue, reinstalled and activated the driver, and reconnected us, all within seconds.

If we could wish for one thing to improve NordVPN’s kill switch, it would be moving away from the native kill switch system on Android devices.

Across all platforms aside from Android, you can turn the kill switch on and off as you please. On Android, the native kill switch forces you to use the VPN at all times and disconnects you completely from the internet should the connection fail.

While this is super-secure, it’s frustrating should you only require a VPN connection in certain situations.

Something we’ll cover in more depth in the compatibility section is NordVPN’s feature parity across platforms. Split tunneling, another of NordVPN’s security capabilities, is a notable victim of some of NordVPN’s variations by device.

Windows users can create either a list of apps that must use the VPN or a list of apps that must not. Android users can only choose which apps won't use the VPN, and Mac and iOS users don’t get split tunneling at all – though this is reasonably common among VPNs owing to the security systems in place on Apple devices.

Our testing showed no reason to doubt NordVPN’s split tunneling capabilities, though it would be great to see its Android apps gain the same capabilities as Windows. Lacking the choice in this way puts NordVPN behind the likes of Surfshark and Proton VPN, which offer both choices on their Android apps.

We’ve mentioned NordWhisper already, but NordVPN also offers traditional obfuscated servers too. This is helpful since, at the time of writing, NordWhisper isn’t quite available on all platforms as yet – though Windows, Android, Linux, Mac, and iOS all have it already.

These servers, however, have one big problem: accessibility. Not only does NordVPN only offer obfuscated servers in 16 of its 127 countries, but also, depending on the app and protocol you’re using, you may not even see the option. NordVPN’s obfuscated servers only work over OpenVPN, which is understandable given the added security it brings, even if at a huge speed deficit, but if you’ve not manually selected OpenVPN as your protocol choice, your app may not show them.

Our testing on Apple devices showed the option simply doesn’t exist in the app unless you go into your settings and change to OpenVPN.

Windows and Android users don’t face the same issue. The option appears in the ‘Specialty Server’ section, no matter the protocol chosen, which makes much more sense and begs the question of why it isn’t this simple across all devices.

What’s more, the lack of locations means those in regions distant from a server will face even greater performance drops than you’d expect anyway from obfuscated servers.

Another feature lacking in locations is NordVPN’s Onion-over VPN capabilities, though in this instance, this is less of a problem since many providers don’t offer this at all. Onion-over VPN allows you to connect to sites on the Tor Network while secured by a VPN connection, something only offered by Proton VPN among other top VPN providers. In NordVPN’s case, it offers three countries to connect to: the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

By comparison, Proton’s six locations include Sweden and Switzerland, but the additions of France, Germany, Hong Kong, and the US give the VPN provider not only wider EU coverage but broader coverage worldwide.

As with any VPN connection, reduced locations often mean worse speeds, either due to distance to the server or the load the server is under, and NordVPN’s Onion-over VPN servers prove no different.

Onion-over VPN connections (otherwise called Tor-over VPN) always require greater processing. That makes a dent on performance straight away, no matter the location, but the 741 Kbps download speeds we saw in testing demonstrate just how limited you can be, yes, that was Kbps by the way!

Finally, Double VPN. This is NordVPN’s version of a multi-hop connection, though its simpler than some competitor alternatives. This is because NordVPN doesn’t allow you to choose your entry and exit server, unlike Surfshark.

Even Proton, whose Secure Core Technology limits the choices you have, gives users a few choices. We won’t directly compare NordVPN and Surfshark here, since Surfshark’s Nexus technology gives users complete freedom to multi-hop between every Surfshark server, something no other VPN provider offers.

Outside of the VPN itself, NordVPN also offers Next Gen Antivirus. This works at a deeper level, protecting your desktop devices from phishing and malicious URLs, as well as ads and trackers. It can even scan for and block malicious downloads.

While this is nice, there are several downsides. Firstly, Next Gen Antivirus, oddly, isn’t actually an antivirus. It can’t scan files already on your computer for malware, nor can it remove them. Secondly, the full Next Gen Antivirus suite is only available on desktop devices, while mobile users only get Threat Protection.

That limitation puts NordVPN behind Surfshark here. Surfshark includes a full antivirus with its Surfshark One plan – and it works on mobile as well as desktop.

That said, you can hardly fault Next Gen Antivirus’s results.

We tested Next Gen Antivirus against 50 brand-new malware-hosting and phishing pages, and it was the top-performing software of anything similar we tested among VPNs. It blocked 92% of phishing sites and 80% of malware sites.

By comparison, Surfshark Antivirus achieved only 48% and 28% in these same tests, putting a stretch ahead.

While these results do impress when compared to VPNs, a dedicated antivirus software performs far better than even Next Gen Antivirus.

The likes of Avast, Norton, and ESET achieved equal or greater success in phishing protection tests carried out by AV-Comparatives in 2025. This is why we normally recommend picking up one of the best antivirus software in addition to your VPN of choice.

It's also worth mentioning that Next Gen Antivirus's remit is constantly expanding. In recent months, Email Protection, hijacked session and double extension alerts, search result safety indicators, and crypto wallet checks have all joined the mix. While many of these are niche solutions, they're a handy addition should they fit your everyday needs.

Score: 10/10

Speed

• NordVPN is still among the fastest VPNs using WireGuard.
• Minimal latency and jitter make the best VPN for gamers.
• Struggled over OpenVPN in latest speed tests.

We recently completed our second round of testing using a 10 Gbps line with an increased number of data points.

This time around, NordVPN's NordLynx speeds saw a slight improvement, recording 1427 Mbps, having previously achieved 1249 Mbps. Despite this, NordVPN remains slower than Proton VPN and Surfshark using WireGuard and ExpressVPN’s Lightway Turbo protocol.

Take ExpressVPN’s results with a pinch of salt, though, since Lightway Turbo is only available on its Windows app, and ExpressVPN has warned that it might cause issues with some websites and games.

None of that is true for NordLynx and, although Lightway Turbo’s 1479 Mbps speeds put it a margin ahead of NordLynx on paper, most users won’t see this difference in day-to-day usage.

Instead, you’ll likely benefit more from the added compatibility of NordLynx.

NordLynx’s results do, however, put it among the best VPN protocols for gamers, since in our testing, it recorded only 7 ms latency and 2.2 ms jitter when connected to our nearest server.

High latency results in laggy gameplay, and high jitter can lead to unstable gameplay and stuttering, so recording latency and jitter at low result is key when choosing the best gaming VPN.

Connecting to US NordVPN servers from the UK proved less effective, though still improved over last time around. NordLynx achieved 939 Mbps connecting over the pond this time, having only managed 688 Mbps last time.

This is still slower than many other VPNs over the same distance. That said, you'll rarely struggle with these results no matter what streaming or gaming you test it with.

NordVPN did still hold up well for latency and jitter over long distance, proving, again, that it's a great gaming VPN choice – perfect, in this instance for avoiding unwanted lag while connecting to servers abroad for gaming, streaming, or other high-intensity tasks.

Unfortunately, NordVPN's OpenVPN performance has yet again dropped off. Previously registering 688 Mbps, it now only achieved 633 Mbps, much lower than several other top VPNs.

Score: 9/10

Unblocking streaming services

• Only struggled with two streaming services we tested.
• Never encountered unwanted CAPTCHAs, or dropouts.
• All servers are streaming optimized.

NordVPN was the clear winner in our latest unblocking testing. It struggled with the fewest streaming services of every VPN we've tested.

We test Netflix, across the US, UK, Australia, Canada, and Japan, Prime Video, Disney+, and YouTube. We also tested NordVPN at unblocking local free streaming services, including BBC iPlayer, ITVX, C4, 9Now, and 10Play.

Only YouTube US and Prime Video Australia proved inaccessible. Aside from these, we never encountered VPN detection, unwanted CAPTCHAs during login, or any dreadful lag, buffering or connection dropouts to ruin our streaming experience. This was the same whether we were attempting to watch something live or catching up on demand.

So, while there are now some small blips on NordVPN's record, most won't be heavily impacted.

Proton VPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark all equally struggled with US YouTube. Proton also struggled with Disney+ USA alongside ITVX and Channel 4 in the UK. Surfshark suffered a spread of issues across platforms worldwide, a big change from a near-flawless performance last time out.

What was even more impressive was the lack of impact of NordVPN's Threat Protection Pro ad-blocker. Normally, we find that the ad-blockers of VPN services disrupted the streaming capabilities of local, ad-based services like Channel 4 and ITV, but we saw no such issues with NordVPN. The same cannot be said of Proton VPM and Surfshark.

NordVPN never found itself unable to load services due to their advert reel requirements, even when connecting to ad-based services abroad, such as Peacock. Top marks.

Something certainly playing into this success is that all of NordVPN’s servers are streaming-optimized. This move not only means you never have to scroll through to find those with the correct optimization, but it also means you’re never short of another server to connect to if one struggles to connect to the streaming service you’re trying to access.

Score: 10/10

P2P and torrenting

• Most servers are P2P optimized.
• Lots of guides to help beginners get started.
• No port forwarding support.

Nothing summarizes NordVPN’s torrenting capabilities more than the fact that all but four of its countries offer P2P-optimized servers – sorry to those looking to torrent connected to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, and North Macedonia!

What’s more, finding the server you need is super simple. NordVPN’s P2P-optimized locations can be found in its Specialized Servers section on any app, and you even get the option to quickly connect to the fastest server if you’re not after somewhere specific and would rather sheer performance.

Thankfully, NordVPN’s speed capabilities mean your torrenting experience is likely to be more limited by your peers than your VPN. What’s more, its security measures meant we never found ourselves receiving warnings from our ISP when testing its capabilities with uTorrent, no matter if we were using NordLynx or OpenVPN.

As is standard among top VPNs, NordVPN doesn’t support port forwarding due to the security risks posed. A full blog article outlines their reasons for this, which you can read here.

If you’re new to torrenting, it’s also great to see NordVPN has a whole variety of guides for setting up proxies with popular torrenting services, including BitTorrent, uTorrent, and qBittorrent. They’re easy to digest and come with all the information you need packed in, too.

Score: 4/5

Compatibility

• Apps for every platform – including Linux GUI and routers.
• A similar look across almost every app.
• No Threat Protection Pro on mobile.

NordVPN has apps across every platform out there, including a GUI Linux VPN and router VPN capabilities, alongside the expected web extensions and smart TV apps.

The majority of NordVPN's apps share a similar feel and consequently enough regularity that the features you can access will be found where you’d expect them. Smart TVs are, as expected with most VPNs, the platform with the most differentiation in layout, but that change brings added simplicity and makes it easy to use.

I mentioned already that NordVPN isn’t stellar in terms of its feature-parity across platforms, but for the most part, NordVPN’s compatibility is nothing to be concerned about.

As you can see, in the table below, like most VPNs, Windows gets everything, and iOS users get the least. In amongst this, though, are several key differentiators.

NordVPN users on iOS and Mac don't get to enjoy split tunneling. In the past, that proved difficult for all VPN providers on iOS and Mac due to Apple's security infrastructure, but now the likes of IPVanish and Surfshark are beginning to roll the feature out. NordVPN users have no such luck.

It’s not often that we see Android users facing big feature shortfalls as well but, most frustrating, of the absentees is that there's no Threat Protection Pro on any mobile devices. That's a real loss.

Threat Protection Pro is the best-performing VPN security add-on we've tested, and is a notable step up from the results we saw basic Threat Protection, which mobile users do get.

By comparison, Surfshark's full antivirus capabilities are available across any platform, including the regular file scanning feature – something not offered by NordVPN.

Score: 4/5

Usability

• Simple set up – but ensure you disable auto-renewals.
• Similar user experience across most apps.
• Reducing the use of the map has improved functionality hugely.

Set up

Setting up NordVPN is simple enough. Once you’re signed up, you can download the VPN directly from the website (unless you’ve signed up within the iOS or Android app, in which case you’ll have already installed it to do so). From there, you’re almost on your own.

Loading the installer gives you the option of also adding NordPass and the NordVPN browser extension to your device. Both are great tools and super handy to have – and then you’re straight into the NordVPN app.

Something we recommend doing as soon as you’re in is stopping your auto-renewals. This will stop you getting a nasty and very expensive surprise when your initial NordVPN agreement runs out.

Stop auto-renewal by heading to the Account section of your Settings menu. It takes almost no time at all.

User Experience

NordVPN is as close to identical as it can be across the majority of its apps nowadays, which is only a good thing for sure.

The only times you’ll see anything especially different is on smart TVs, as is expected with most VPNs, and streaming devices such as Fire TV Sticks.

Older Fire TV Sticks, especially, will be in for a shock, as, depending on your device generation, you can be hit with a much older-appearing UI than anywhere else.

Even NordVPN's Chrome extension shares a similar feel. While you can't use it to access VPN protocols or specialist servers, you're never left wondering where anything is.

What's more, you're still equipped with everything from the kill switch, auto-connect, and split tunneling, to otherwise hidden features such as location spoofing, which is only available via the web extension and sets your browser to the location and time zone of your VPN server. It's by no means perfect, but you have all the essential tools in a familiar package.

One of NordVPN’s quirky inclusions in its desktop and mobile apps used to be an interactive map interface you could use to select your server. While this did look rather pleasing, we’ve never found ourselves using it in all the years it’s been there, nor did it ever do anything to make the connection process quicker. So, we’re glad to see it getting phased out on desktop devices in favor of more screen space for features such as Threat Protection Pro.

This change makes it supremely quick and easy access to almost every tool, whether on mobile or desktop.

The home screen brings quick access to every VPN country available, each of NordVPN’s specialty server types, Meshnet, Dark Web Monitoring, and the three key aspects of Threat Protection Pro – anti-malware, advanced browser protection, and ad and tracker blocking.

Accessing these features in more detail is as simple as clicking the corresponding icon on the side-nav, and once you’re where you want to be, you’re greeted by explainer after explainer giving you everything you need to know to understand the tool and how it’ll benefit either your VPN connection or your online security.

I do have two gripes with the desktop version however:

Firstly, the search bar isn’t the most advanced. While some VPN providers will allow you to search for a location and choose between its specific capabilities, for example, P2P or obfuscated, Nord’s shows you the location as though you were connecting normally.

If you’re after, say, a P2P server, you’d have to search P2P, and then choose a server from the icon that appears – a method slower than simply choosing P2P in the specialty servers section you’re greeted with on the home screen.

Secondly, the desktop app no longer offers both choices of pausing your connection or disconnecting entirely. Instead, you now get a pause button which, once clicked, becomes a dropdown with a series of pause durations alongside a disconnect button.

While I understand adding steps to the disconnection process reduces the chance someone will, thus improving their security, for those of us who know when we do and don’t want to be connected, it’s an unnecessary added step. Still, it's a pretty minor beef.

Mobile users get a similarly efficient experience, which we love. While it retains the interactive map, you can access every country, Meshnet, and all of Nord’s Specialty Servers from your home screen – though, understandably given screen restraints, there’s no room for Threat Protection or Dark Web Monitoring this time round.

You still get the same detailed explanations of each feature and setting throughout the app, though you’re still stuck with the same limited search capabilities and pause button that the desktop app uses.

Oddly, something omitted from the main screen across desktop and mobile is any reference to key features, such as protocols or the kill switch. To set up or change these, you need to head into the settings instead. What’s more, while on desktop you can click one button to set the server you’re connected to as your auto-connect, you’re given no such convenience on mobile – though for many this won’t be so useful.

Aside from the minor gripes, NordVPN’s apps are the best they’ve been in years – efficient, clean to look at, and easy for beginners.

The few issues we’ve found, and their minor impact show just how much thought has gone into NordVPN's usability across the board.

Score: 5/5

Accessibility

• NordVPN's website is among the most accessible VPN websites.
• Not a huge amount of language support.
• Keyboard-only navigation could be better.

We put NordVPN.com through an AccessibilityChecker audit, and its score of 83% puts it among the most accessible VPN websites out there. It scores higher than Proton VPN (35%), Surfshark (41%), and ExpressVPN (21%) and PIA (10%). This makes it the most accessible VPN website of all our best VPNs.

Website Accessibility Scores

AccessibilityChecker audit of the home pages of each VPN website

Accessibility score

NordVPN

83

Surfshark

41

ExpressVPN

23

Proton VPN

35

PureVPN

35

Mullvad

89

IPVanish

71

CyberGhost

17

AdGuard VPN

17

PrivadoVPN

10

Hotspot Shield

23

TunnelBear

74

Accessibility score Data

Product	Value (Percent)
NordVPN	83
Surfshark	41
ExpressVPN	23
Proton VPN	35
PureVPN	35
Mullvad	89
IPVanish	71
CyberGhost	17
AdGuard VPN	17
PrivadoVPN	10
Hotspot Shield	23
TunnelBear	74

NordVPN offers a very easy to navigate website for those with visual accessibility needs. The apps could have better keyboard-only support, though.

The site passed all interaction and navigational checks. One element failed a screenreader test due to a prohibited ARIA attribute, and 36 elements failed visual and structural accessibility tests because of poor contrast between foreground and background.

On investigating the contrast issue, it turned out it referred to text that became clearer when scrolled over.

Looking at NordVPN on desktop, we found it supports 13 languages, including options including English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional.)

However, much like Surfshark, it lacked others, including Arabic, Turkish, and Swedish. This seems a simple enough area both NordVPN and Surfshark can improve on, especially since providers such as Norton VPN and Proton VPN have 26 and 28 languages supported, respectively.

Keyboard support on NordVPN is also not the best. Disconnecting our mouse for a second, it quickly became apparent that doing anything other than actually connecting to a VPN server wasn't easy enough.

Unless you’d happened to connect to where you wanted to recently – so it’d appear in your ‘Recent Connections’ list – it was nearly impossible to get a connection going. Using Meshnet, Threat Protection Pro, or anything else, however, was simple.

An easy comparison to make here is with PIA, whose app allows you to scroll its country list, highlight a country, and connect within a few taps of the keyboard – it really should be this simple.

Score: 2/5

Customer support

• 24/7 live chat and email support available alongside a support site
• Easy access to support via the apps
• Excellent online user guides.

NordVPN offers several customer support options, including a support site, 24/7 live chat, and a 24/7 email ticketing system.

Usefully, the app gives you easy access to raising a ticket or accessing the support site if you need help.

We found running diagnostic testing from within the app when you encounter a problem helps speed up the support process, as it reduces the number of additional questions agents need to ask. You can even include a list of apps installed on the impacted device in case any of them may be a contributing factor that the support agent can identify.

Putting its Live Chat service to the test, we found it sufficiently responsive, with an agent responding typically after 2-3 minutes. Its email service wasn’t so hasty. We had to wait around 18 hours before receiving a response to our test question.

Despite its sluggishness, the email system was effective. Our agent solved our test issue by asking a selection of relevant questions at once, collecting our responses, and using them to diagnose the problems.

It was also refreshing to avoid the typical customer support responses of “have you reinstalled the app?” or “have you cleared your cookies?” since the questions we were asked required detailed enough responses that there was no need. This also reduced the amount of back-and-forth required to resolve our test issues.

NordVPN’s customer support page is also very helpful. It doesn't bombarded the reader with category options to click between straight away, as is expected nowadays. Instead, you’re greeted by five overarching categories, one of which is about exploring other Nord Security products. So, in reality, four categories, and a search bar.

There is a trade-off for usability, though. For example, entering any of the categories removes the search bar from your screen, forcing you instead to use the breadcrumb trail at the top of the page to return to the main screen and search from there.

This leaves you doing a lot of unnecessary navigation if you’re merely looking for a quick fix, especially if you’ve clicked through several options in the categories already to try and find your answers that way.

To NordVPN's credit, once you find the article you need, it's usually extremely helpful.

For example, Nord’s proxy setup guide for uTorrent not only gives you the super-clear steps you need, but it also tells you how to then check that what you’ve done is working.

This is great for any kind of VPN user and typically of how strong NordVPN is on customer support.

Score: 4/5

User reviews

Although all review sites should be approached with a level of skepticism, they do offer a good enough gauge of how trustworthy a VPN is and how well it performs if you’re looking at a quick glance.

Across Google Play and the App Store, NordVPN has ratings equal to the very top VPNs. Its rating on TrustPilot is lower than most at only 4.2 out of 5, with 12% of the 44,000+ reviews being 1-star too.

The majority of negative reviews on Trustpilot surround NordVPN’s auto-renewals, which, should you be worried about it, can be turned off in a matter of clicks. We recommend doing this early on in your subscription to ensure you’re not stung down the line.

Track record: can you trust NordVPN?

• Reasonably spotless reputation throughout its history.
• 2018 breach is only notable blot on its record.
• Currently facing some lawsuits around its auto-renewal practices.

NordVPN’s history is, for the most part, positive, though 2018 proved to be a tricky year.

A breach in March 2018 saw NordVPN’s reputation tarnished, in part due to the obvious security concerns, but mainly since it didn’t admit to the breach for another 18 months, with the announcement coming only in October 2019.

The breach was only to one VPN server in Finland, and NordVPN explained in the belated announcement that none of NordVPN’s own servers were compromised, claiming the breach “was made possible by poor configuration on a third-party data center’s part”.

NordVPN was supposedly only made aware of the issue in April 2019, prompting a review and the consequent delay in announcing the breach to customers.

It’s not thought that any identifiable data was stolen in the breach, due to its small scale and the fact that it didn’t breach Nord’s central infrastructure, and all 5,000 servers NordVPN used at the time were audited on the breach’s discovery to remove further vulnerabilities.

NIST’s vulnerability database also has three weaknesses on record from that same year, though thankfully, none in the seven years since, suggesting that there’s little to worry about now.

In 2019, NordVPN would become one of the founding members of the VPN Trust Initiative (VTI), an industry-led consortium focused on “improving digital safety for consumers by building understanding, strengthening trust, and mitigating risk for VPN users”.

This consortium also consists of ExpressVPN, StrongVPN, Surfshark, and encrypt.me, and aims to improve public trust in VPNs and help users make informed decisions.

While this bears no direct impact on its reputation, it’s a clear sign of good intent from NordVPN that has shown little reason to be doubted since.

NordVPN would go on to experience around five years with its reputation out of the spotlight, but a lawsuit against its auto-renewal practices would abruptly end this.

Wittels McInturff Palikovic (WMP) filed a $100m lawsuit against the VPN provider, alleging that it "uses deceptive and illegal auto-renewal practices" in August 2024. In May 2025, a second action was filed on similar grounds.

While this case remains ongoing, the topic of auto-renewals remains on the lips of almost all VPN users, with many of the best VPNs adopting similar practices.

This has lead to similar instances across the industry of users facing unexpected payments for subscriptions and getting pretty upset about it.

If you’re concerned about getting stung, we recommend turning off auto-renewal once you’re logged into NordVPN. You can do that as soon as you've installed it in a matter of a few clicks.

NordVPN's latest headache came in January 2026, when a hacker claimed to have breached a NordVPN development server. No sensitive user information was compromised in the alleged breach, and NordVPN has continuously denied its success.

Score: 4/5

Final verdict

NordVPN is the best VPN for most people. While it’s more expensive than Surfshark, it has superior streaming performance, comparable speeds, and a suite of features, including the best password manager available, depending on the plan you choose.

We recommend a NordVPN Plus plan over its other alternatives. It provides tools, including premium password management and ad and tracker protection, as well as malware blocking and data breach alerts, all alongside its full VPN capabilities.

Who should use NordVPN?

✅ Those looking for top streaming performance: NordVPN performed near-flawlessly across our streaming tests. It had no issue unblocking any provider we threw at it aside YouTube US and Prime Video Australia. It never struggles with buffering or unexpected dropouts. Plus, it has apps for almost any platform you might wish to stream on.

✅ Those wanting a top password manager alongside the VPN: Included in Plus plans and above, NordPass ranks as our top password manager right now. It offers passkey support, features including secure password sharing and strength detection, and is compatible with almost any platform.

✅ Those wanting effective ad and malware blocking: NordVPN Threat Protection Pro performed the best in our latest testing for protection against malware and blocking ads.

Who should try a different VPN instead?

❌ Those wanting full antivirus protection included: While Threat Protection Pro offers solid security capabilities, it is by no means a fully-fledged antivirus. Providers such as Surfshark offer true antivirus protection in their more premium plans, alongside features included with NordVPN such as ad and malware protection.

NordVPN FAQs

NordVPN testing methodology

Throughout this review, I'll refer to things either 'I' or 'we' have seen. Whenever I say 'I' have seen something, this means it is something I, Rob Dunne, and I've seen it in hands-on testing of NordVPN.

When talking about things that 'we' have seen, this refers to anything uncovered during our technical lab testing. This is performed by VPN Technical Editor, Mike Williams.

We test each VPN every six months. These tests cover speed, ad-blocking, anti-phishing and malware, streaming service unblocking, and local IP address leaks. Plus, the server networks are spot-checked to confirm that the VPN server locations are accurate. We also check through each VPN provider's security credentials, privacy policy, and executable files.

You can take a look at our VPN testing methodology to see the full measures we put each VPN through.

The TechRadar VPN team fact-checks every VPN review we write, using our own research and knowledge alongside information provided by NordVPN. We update this review regularly to include any new features or information about the product, ensuring that what you’re reading is 100% up to date and as you would find the product if you downloaded and used it today.

If you notice anything while using NordVPN that doesn't match what you read on this page, please let us know in the comments or by emailing us. We will then do our best to offer product support information or include corrections and warnings to other users, depending on which is appropriate.