Gozney Roccbox pizza oven
Since May, you may have noticed that you’ve been feeling a little different. You haven’t been able to pinpoint why, but something basic seems to have shifted this summer. Yes, the barbeque has been dethroned from its throne as the king of outdoor cooking. Take a peek at this beauty for proof. Gozney’s Roccbox is little but mighty, with a high dome that ensures uniform, consistent fire and a 19mm-thick stone bottom that wicks moisture away for a crisp, light base. Plus! There’s a thermometer built right in. Plus!! It’s a lot less terrifying to be around thanks to the insulating silicon covering. If you want to attempt wood-firing your pizza, you can choose between gas or dual fuel.
Price: £399
Rock Jaw Avant Air
Wireless earbuds are fine and all, but there comes a point where you have to pry them out of your ears and sit with a bag of ice in each lughole for a bit. The comfort-sound quality trade-off is difficult to resolve, but after testing these British-engineered Rock Jaw earbuds, they’re lighter, more comfortable, and have punchier sound than most earbuds in this price range, and they come with 12 hours of battery life, plus an additional 39 hours in their charging case. All-rounders who can do it all.
Price: £119.95
CarLock
Using your smartphone, keep an eye on your car at any time of day and from any location. The CarLock app (available for Android and iOS) can track when your vehicle is moved, when the engine is started, and if there are any unusual vibrations, as well as providing information about your car’s battery. Then there’s the detailed GPS feature, which allows you to monitor where the vehicle is heading (if it’s been stolen) or has gone in the past. At £6.95 per month, the entire subscription package is very inexpensive.
Price: £59.90
Beats Studio Buds
We got our hands on a pair of Beats’ new true-wireless Studio Buds, which will be available this summer, and we’re really satisfied with the whole package. First and foremost, they’re extremely comfortable — compact yet secure and well-designed, they’re ideal for workout or mad dashes to catch the train (even without over-ear hooks). The audio quality is excellent, as is the active noise cancellation functionality, and, perhaps most importantly, the pricing – they are significantly less expensive than many competitors with comparable specifications. In addition, there’s a sleek charging case.
Price: £129.99
Nolii Set Battery
This is the world’s first modular plug and power bank system, according to London-based brand Nolii, which means it eliminates the need for separate charging cords entirely. The silicone plug magnetically attaches to the power bank, which features a built-in lightning wire (as well as a USB-A port for non-iPhone related emergencies.) It’s a brilliant idea! How many times have you grabbed a power bank in a rush to get out the door only to discover it’s dead? It also doesn’t hurt that Nolii makes some of the best-looking phone accessories around.
Price: £59.99
Philips NeoPix Prime 2 Home Projector
Philips’ Prime 2 is up there with the best cheap projectors on the market, producing vibrant colours that scale up to 200 cm from less than 2 metres away. The machine’s remarkably low power usage is also environmentally benign, meaning it can survive up to twenty years. There’s also Wi-Fi screen sharing and a streaming-app-loaded operating system.
Price: £199.99
Audio Pro P5 Wireless Speaker
The new P5 wireless speaker from Swedish brand Audio Pro is as little and portable as it is strong, measuring just 22 x 10cm and weighing half a kg. It has superb sound and supports a wide range of files (including FLAC). It’s wind and rain resistant to IPX4, has an 18-hour battery life, and can be linked with another P5. In other words, it’s ideal for all those park and BBQ-based get-togethers you’ve planned.
Price: £140
Marshall Major IV Headphones
Marshall has been at the top of the audio game for almost fifty-five years, but it wasn’t until a decade ago that they decided to branch out into headphones. The retro-inspired Major series is now in its fifth version, and it’s one of the best inexpensive over-ear alternatives available: 80+ hours of wireless gameplay, wireless charging, and a much-improved foldable design. Not to mention the excellent sound. They’re as uncomplicated as they are spectacular.
Price: £129.99
Honor Band 6
With each passing year, smartwatches get more sophisticated, and the prices frequently reflect this. But what if all you need is the most basic fitness features? So, what’s next? There are dozens of inexpensive models that do just that, and the Honor Band 6 is one of our favourites. With a 1.47″ AMOLED touchscreen and a modest array of strap colour options, the design is subtle, understated, and quite comfortable. It automatically detects the type of workout you’re doing and provides a menu of options, while blood oxygen, sleep, and heart rate sensors keep you on top of your health.
Price: £41.76
The Tech Bar Momax IoT Wireless Lamp
The home office appears to be here to stay. According to a Pew Research report released in December, nearly 90% of individuals want to work from their own desks at least a few days a week in the future, which necessitates outfitting it with the appropriate technology. The Tech Bar’s sleek, adjustable wireless lamp is not only stylish, but it can also charge your phone at the base (that is, if your phone supports wireless charging too). You can even use an app to control it and schedule it.
Price: £129.95
Sonos Roam
Sonos’ newest product is as sleek and powerful as you’d expect, with great quality and the type of toughness you’d expect from a portable speaker. It’s drop-resistant and waterproof up to three feet (for thirty minutes), and it has a 10-hour battery life. But what is the most striking feature? Trueplay tuning, which adjusts the sound of the Roam to your environment and whatever you’re listening to.
Price: £159
Logitech StreamCam
Have you ever fantasised about quitting your work to become a Twitch streamer, spending your days playing FIFA in front of a live audience? They deserve the best, so if you want to do it well, you’ll need to invest in a high-end camera. The Logitech StreamCam captures HD 1080p footage at 60 frames per second and monitors your face to keep it in focus at all times. You can also alter the video dimensions for different social networking sites, and it has an auto-exposure mode that protects against unexpected light fluctuations.
Price: £139
Hydrow
Hydrow is striving to do what Peloton did for home cycling with the modest rowing machine. A 22″ touch screen (with front-facing speakers) displays exercise programmes and all the metrics you need to measure your progress, as well as allowing you to train with other rowers and friends. With an ergonomically padded 10-roller system seat, it’s also quiet and comfy. Rowing is believed to engage 86 percent of your muscles, and this is the easiest and most high-tech way to test that idea.
Price: £2295
Polaroid Go
Polaroid’s new analogue instant camera is a top-tier party camera. It’s a genuinely compact device with a few interesting bonuses. It’s pocket-sized and generates the brand’s characteristic square prints, as well as double exposure, a self-timer, and a selfie mirror. It’s also rechargeable, making it a lot cheaper than competitors like the Instax Mini. It’s a bit of a departure, but one that we wholeheartedly endorse.
Price: £109.99
Angell E-Bike
The Angell is up there with the best e-bikes available, deceptively light and packed with useful tech (an LCD screen that displays calories burned, GPS instructions that feed through to vibrations in the handlebars, a weather and pollution index, an anti-theft alarm, and unique speed settings of up to 15 mph). French designer Ora-to created its classic clean lines, and creator Marc Simoncini intends to make it the “iPhone” of the electric bike market.
Price: £2860
Amazfit T-Rex Pro
Not everyone requires a wrist-worn supercomputer. Sometimes all you need is something that does the basics well and can withstand the elements. The Amazfit T-Rex Pro is a true adventure watch, as it not only guides you around, tracks your workouts, and measures your blood oxygen levels, but it also has a weather tracker, a sunrise and sunset monitor, a moon phase display, a compass, and a barometric altimeter (for altitude). Furthermore, it boasts an absurdly long battery life of 18 days.
Price: £139
NACON PS4 Stereo Gaming Headset
The siege is over, the light is rising, and you know what that means: it’s time to staple the curtains shut and set up a respectable gaming system. You don’t need military-grade headphones for gaming – these NACONs, built for the PS4 but also compatible with PCs and Macs, are more than capable and look cleaner than your regular pair of tins. Comfortable, adaptable, and extremely cost-effective.
Price: £24.99
Therabody + (RED) Theragun PRO Massager
A muscle cannon that relieves pain while also saving lives? Until now, it was only a dream, but Therabody and (RED), a non-profit organisation dedicated to eradicating COVID-19 and HIV/AIDS, have made it a reality. With speeds ranging from 1750 to 2400 percussions per minute, the Theragun PRO is the most powerful and advanced model on the market. It also has an OLED screen, six different attachments for various body parts, and an app that lets you fine-tune your rehabilitation.
Price: £550
Fender Amp
One disadvantage of playing electric guitar is that it is not particularly friendly to your neighbours or flatmates. Fender’s new pocket-sized amp, on the other hand, is a very straightforward solution: you simply plug it into your guitar, put on your headphones, and play through one of 12 various Mustang amp sounds and effects. It’s small and light, and it has a USB interface for recording directly to your laptop. Extremely useful.
Price: £89.99
Moleskine Plain Paper Tablet
It’s got the looks of a classic black Moleskine notebook, but the notes you jot down with the smart stylus will be sent to your device via Bluetooth so you can share and edit them digitally.
Price: £26
Therabody Wave Roller
Designed to increase flexibility, speed up healing, and provide a total muscle-soothing experience. Therabody, the industry leader in massage guns, has launched a Bluetooth-enabled foam roller that can be used before and after exercises for focused relief. It comes with top-of-the-line vibration technology, five intensity settings, and an app that lets you customise your approach. It’s also quite quiet and has a 3-hour battery life. It’s fantastic.
Price; £125
EMBER Mug²
You make a cup of tea but set it aside to cool. You’ve been burned far too many times in the past. However, you become distracted by something unrelated to tea and return to the kitchen to find a lukewarm mug of regret. So, what’s the answer? Are you paying more attention? Should you take on more responsibilities? Why don’t you cut back on your squandering? My friend, not on your life. The stainless steel Ember Smart Mug2, which retains your drink at the right temperature for up to three hours, is the real deal (or all-day if its placed on the charging coaster). You can even operate it using your smartphone! The future is both frightening and tedious.
Price: £130
Oral-B iO Series 9 Toothbrush
Smart toothbrushes are proving to be more difficult to sell than they should be. Why do we cut corners when it comes to dental care, knowing well well that poor oral care can lead to some very nasty consequences? A manual toothbrush simply cannot provide the same level of service and protection as a high-tech model, therefore it’s worthwhile to invest in something that can provide a customised experience. This toothbrush is at the top of the list because to its 3D tooth tracking feature, which makes brushing fun and provides a complete clean every time, as well as the seven distinct smart modes that adapt the toothbrush to your needs.
Price: £249.99
RHA TrueControl ANC Earphones
The noise-cancelling TrueControl ANC earbuds from RHA were designed in Glasgow and give crisp, detailed sound while two microphones record the outside environment and produce anti-noise to drown it out. You can also customise the EQ, your ambient sound, and hunt down where that other earbud went with the use of a handy app. A word of caution: if you have small ears, these may cause irritation if you wear them for long periods of time; they’re meticulously constructed to fit snugly inside your ear, but they’re not small. You’ll quickly find out whether you have small little ears if you don’t already know.
Price: £249.49