GADGET GURU’S MAGIC BOX

Cripes almighty, reader. The wait is over, and Guru has nothing but good things to say about the Steam Deck (from £350). That is a lie, of course. Guru is nothing if not a grumble fountain. Let’s give his gripes their due: the fan gets really loud if it’s tested, the battery is decent if not spectacular, and the process of configuring games to get the very best out of its hardware is the kind of secret sauce that reminds Guru that his brain has been around for over 40 years and is now calcifying with alarming speed. Apart from those things it’s absolutely lovely, and Valve’s upgraded manufacturing process means you can now get your hands on one within about a week.

GaGu has thoroughly abused his connections to get a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 (£999) in his hands, so (lucky you) here’s a second dose of his patented mini reviews. It’s nice! The battery isn’t the best, as expected, and the performance is middling, but neither of those things are the point: the form factor is, to Guru’s eyes, pretty perfect. Thunking the screen shut with one hand, popping the squarish nugget in one’s pocket, it just feels right – and not only in a 2000s nostalgia sense. Damn the expense, because Guru will probably not be going back to a boring flat non-bendy phone for some time to come. Have you put the heating on yet? GaGu hasn’t. He’s also been told, in Mrs Guru’s sternest and most certain terms, not to use the tumble dryer given that Guru Towers’ monthly energy expenses are already high enough to be attracting the attention of the IMF. So the house is now a maze of damp, sad drying racks, backed up by a second dehumidifier: the Meaco 25L Humididryer (around £320). It’s effective, if boring, and Guru has found himself emptying its 5 litre bucket twice a day. Not quite the 26 point something litre daily maximum, but enough to starve the black mould.