BEST BUYS… Curated picks of third-party kit
DESKTOP SPEAKER Ruark MR1
£329.99 ruarkaudio.com
Winner of MF357’s head to head, the MR1 speaker set looks and sounds the business. The dome tweeter and longthrow woofer can handle a variety of audio styles with aplomb. You get a good variety of connectivity options, and we love the chunky function/volume dial too.
IN-EAR EARPHONES M&D MW07 Plus
£279 masterdynamic.com
Master & Dynamic’s MW07 Plus offer 10 hours of listening time, and the charging case holds an additional three charges (so you get 40 hours in total). These greatsounding earbuds are IPX5 rated, so they’re excellent for workouts and commuting. The marble-effect finish gives them a premium aesthetic, as does the stainless steel charging case.
USB FLASH DRIVE
SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive Luxe 1TB £243.99 shop.westerndigital.com
Yes, this flash drive is expensive. But it’s also a great little gizmo! You get a USB-C connector on one end, and USB-A on the other so it offers a neat way to transfer data or add storage. The read and write speeds are not spectacular, but just look at the size of this thing for 1TB of storage! The all-metal body also sports a keyring/lanyard hole.
THUNDERBOLT 3 HUB
Brydge Stone Pro Hub £229.99 brydge.co.uk
If you’re looking for a hub that offers multiple connectivity and impressive power delivery, this could be the one for you. You can power up your MacBook, thanks to over 87W of power from the wall power supply, and you can also charge up to four extra USB devices at once (three USB-A and one USB-C). You also get a dual-purpose audio and mic mini jack port.
HEADPHONES
Beats Solo Pro £269.95 beatsbydre.com
The latest Beats headphones pack an impressive 40-hour battery life and Active Noise Cancellation. We love the unfold to power design and sound reproduction is excellent. Powered by Apple’s H1 processor, the Solo Pro also offer simple pairing, Hey Siri detection and audio sharing with iOS 13 or later.
WI-FI ROUTER
Zyxel Multy U WSR30 £199 zyxel.com/uk
Zyxel’s Multy U mesh router hits the sweet spot, offering great performance at a competitive price, making it ideal for homes and small offices. The AC2100 router offers up to 280Mbps with a range of 6,000sq ft, and the nodes are easy on the eye, too. The companion app comes with helpful speed tests and diagnostic tools, as well as parental controls.
MULTIROOM SPEAKER Libratone Zipp 2 £279 libratone.com/uk
The Zipp 2 is louder, smarter and better in every way than its predecessor. With a great 12-hour battery life, you can enjoy your music on the go for longer. The speaker also comes with Amazon Alexa built in, making it handy for dictating your shopping lists or notes, or controlling your smart home.
EXTERNAL SSD
Samsung T7 Touch SSD 1TB £194 samsung.com/uk
This SSD from Samsung offers just the right balance between speed, security and portability. The sleek 58g device comes with a fingerprint sensor built in, offering an extra layer of security. With a transfer speed of 1.05GBps, moving files with this SSD is lightning quick. It also comes with USB-C connectivity and AES 256-bit encryption.
MACBOOK BAG STM Goods Myth £100 stmgoods.com
Winner of the group test in MF336, this backpack has had every element of its build carefully considered. From the pocket that lifts your MacBook off the ground, to the little extras like supersoft pockets and the key clip, you’ll find this a functional and comfortable option for carrying your MacBook and more.