Posts

I loved a lot of things about the Dell XPS 14 (2026), but it won't make me ditch my MacBook Pro... yet

Image
Dell XPS 14 (2026) Two-minute review During my time as a tech journalist I’ve seen a lot of big companies make big mistakes, but it’s been rare to see a company acknowledge, let alone reverse, an unpopular decision. So when Dell announced at CES 2026 that it was resurrecting the Dell XPS 14 (and other XPS laptops) , a year after it controversially dropped the XPS brand, I was pleasantly surprised. Now, having spent time using the Dell XPS 14 (2026) as my main laptop, I’m pleased to report that those warm, fuzzy feelings (could this be hope? Joy? In 2026?!?!) have stayed with me. After years of slowly dropping pretty much every Windows 11-powered PC from my life, the Dell XPS 14 (2026) has won me back, proving that you don’t need to shell out for a MacBook if you want a stylish and high-performing laptop. A lot of that is due to the latest Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (also known as Panther Lake) pro...

Huawei's new 'premium budget' smartwatch could be the fitness tracker to buy this year — even over the upcoming Fitbit Air

Image
Huawei Band 11 Pro: One minute review The Huawei Band 11 Pro is a bridge device, sitting right between a simple fitness tracker and a full-blown smartwatch. Released in early 2026, it extends the capabilities of the standard Huawei Band 11 by featuring a more sophisticated build and an upgraded set of sensors. In comparison to many of the best fitness trackers , the Band 11 Pro feels more premium than most cheap ones that I've worn, such as the Amazfit Bip 6, but I'm far from convinced about the 'pro' label. To give it its due, one feature inclusion that sets it apart from budget counterparts is the onboard GPS for tracking outdoor runs, cycles, and hikes, which is reason enough for the higher price tag compared to the likes of the Xiaomi Smart Band 10, which requires users to "piggyback" on a phone's GPS connection. Despite its core focus being a simple tracker for ...

Gigabyte’s latest OLED gaming monitor looks like a dream, but living with it was more complicated

Image
Gigabyte MO27U2: Two-Minute Review We’ve seen many glitzy gaming monitors over the past few years, so it’s almost refreshing to see a premium model that eschews all the in-your-face RGB lighting and pointy bits for a more sober option that better suits a mixed work-and-play environment. But is the Gigabyte MO27U2 actually worth buying? It’s a tandem QD-OLED screen with a multi-layer OLED structure that boosts brightness and efficiency, while Gigabyte’s OLED Care features help reduce burn-in risk. Its latest-gen sub-pixel technology fends off the spidery text that blighted predecessors, and this, plus the high resolution, high-pixel-density, reflection-reducing, glossy coating, means it’s also very good for work: multiple windows can be comfortably used at once and large spreadsheets can be more easily viewed. When it came to multimedia, the QD-OLED’s penchant for color vibrancy and contrast quick...

I'm an analog photography nut, and this cheap compact is as close as a digital camera has come to capturing the feel of shooting film

Image
RewindPix: two-minute review It's 2026, and retro is in. To be fair, retro is never not in — the definition of what's currently 'retro' just changes. Right now, in photography, the current retro hotness is the idea of a digital camera that 'takes pictures like film'. This is a very popular idea at the moment, and many cameras have tried to deliver it, from Fujifilm's expensive analog love letter the X half , to cheaper offerings like the screen-free Camp Snap . Into the cheaper end of this arena steps the RewindPix PS135. Funded on Kickstarter, it's the brainchild of former tech worker Xiao Liu, who had grown frustrated with what he viewed as the poor quality of most analog-like digital cameras, and set out to create the new benchmark for a digital camera that feels like shooting film. The camera that I've been out shooting with over the past couple of weeks is...