The best of
SMARTPHONE
THEY say new iPhone sales have been disappointing, but if that’s true it can’t be anything to do with the quality of this magical device.
It says something, I suppose, that at £749 we’re talking about it as the cheaper iPhone X (its big brother, the XS, starts at £999). But you’re definitely not getting £250 less for your money. In fact, in some ways the XR is better than the XS. All it’s really missing is the dual-lens camera unit on the back – the processor is the same. The screen is a winner, and the computational photography features – like background blur and HDR – are spot on. I think iOS is the best mobile operating system, and that’s why this phone is the best of this year.
RUNNER-UP
SOME people like Android phones and it’s true to say the gap between Google’s efforts and Apple’s has narrowed enormously over recent years.
Google’s own Pixel 3 is a frontrunner for the title of best Android phone (it has a great camera) – but for power alone and all-round quality, Samsung’s flagship the Galaxy S9 just wins it by a nose.
It looks great with its curved edge-to-edge screen, and has all the features you’ll find on an iPhone and more (like a fingerprint scanner).
It’s not cheap, though, which at one time was the main selling point of Android phones. But we live in a world now in which, if you want the cutting edge, you’re going to have to pay for it.
SMART-SPEAKER
STILL ahead of the pack, Amazon’s smart-speakers are the easiest and best way to dip a toe into the smart world without breaking the bank.
The Dot is the smallest in the range, but an update this year brought an excellent boost to audio quality. It won’t do for audiophiles, but it’s good enough for most of us.
You are not tied to Amazon’s music streaming service, either – the Dot supports Spotify, and a recent update in the US brought Apple Music to the platform, too, which likely means it’s on its way here eventually.
RUNNER-UP
AMAZON’S Alexa is at the heart of the Sonos One, but the device is really built for listening to music.
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It’s a lot cheaper than Apple’s HomePod, which has the edge audiowise, but if you’ve bought into a streaming service other than Apple Music, Sonos will be the way to go.
The quality is outstanding, and it’s an expandable system that works seamlessly together.
You’re not totally out of the loop if you’re an Apple person, though – the Sonos works well as a bluetooth oth streaming speaker from your phone e or tablet.
SMARTWATCH
APPLE wins again in the smartwatch category – in fact, the Apple Watch is just about the only device of its kind doing well, it would d appear.
The Series 4 has built on the design quality and features of previous editions to arrive in 2018 as a more attractive device than ever before.
The health and fitness feature upgrades alone make it much more compelling – but even so, it may just about still be a device you want rather than need. The direction Apple is taking, though, makes the future very exciting indeed.
RUNNER-UP
IF you must go with Google’s Wear OS you could do an awful lot worse than Samsung ’s latest est effort – and save £50 50 over the latest Apple Watch.
The Gear S3 Frontier is a rugged device with good looks that mimic a traditional top-end d timepiece.
Wear OS itself continues to mature and could be a sensible choice if you’re deep in Google’s world.
E-READER
THOSE who love their Kindles use them an awful lot, so it kind of makes sense for Amazon to build a high-end version o of its allconqu conquering e-reader. Made from metal, the h Oasis is a beautiful yet robust device with a sold gogo-anywhere feel. Higher battery capacity and an immensely readable screen make it the best Kindle by far. Add to all that the fact that it was the first waterproof Kindle then the choice is a no-brainer.
The price may be a bit of a downer but, like I say, if you love your Kindle, you’re going to use it a lot.
RUNNER-UP
THE Paperwhite almost took the prize after a late update brought waterproofing, but it’s still made of plastic. If you don’t fancy paying more than £200 for an e-reader, but you still like reading in the bath, the update was more than welcome and made an already compelling device unbeatable… almost.
TABLET
WHEN running on an iPad, iOS still feels like a smartphone interface with a few useful modifications. But the hardware elements of the newest iPad Pros make them a clear winner in this category.
The prize should be shared with the new Apple Pencil, which makes this device so much more useful – if the iPad Pro is a laptop replacement, the Pencil is the mouse equivalent that makes it all possible.
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The new iPad Pro is fast, light, versatile, and very beautiful. It does a lot of things better than a traditional computer and will be absolutely unbeatable when iOS evolves to feel truly at home on the bigger screen.
RUNNER-UP
AMAZON’S tablets are perhaps best described as cheap and cheerful – they win no prizes for design or construction quality, but who can argue with th the price? As a device for watching, g, reading, surfing, gaming, shopping, g, and all the other r mainstream things people use computers for, it’s perfectly adequate.
It’s the perfect example of a device made with all the compromises in exactly the right places.
SMART-HOME DEVICE
THERE are better smart security cameras than the Blink, that’s for sure – but there are none that offer better value for money.
Amazon obviously thought so, too, as it bought up p the company this year and rolled it into its smart ser vices offerings. So the cheap wireless indoor and outdoor cameras work well with Alexa, and integration is only likely to get better. There’s no two-way audio (only audio out), but they are motion sensitive and Blink says the two AA batteries that power them should last a couple of years in normal use.
The cheapest home security system you can buy...
RUNNER-UP
IT might not look like much, but Ikea’s new smartplug could be the start of a little revolution… eventually.
You need a hub ub for it to work (which costs £25), but once you’ve got that the plugs cost just jus £9 each, which wh is, I reckon, rec the cheapest ch you can ca find.
The Tradfri system s already y offers o a load of smart bulbs and motion sensors, and the plug is a fine addition to the system. The plug will work via the Tradfri app with Google Home and Amazon Alexa, and the word is that Apple HomeKit support is coming soon – which will make this device far and away the cheapest way to bring Siri voice control to your home.