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SAMSUNG GALAXY UNPACKED Samsung has finally unveiled its latest generation of flagship slab phones, the Galaxy S23 series. It's a year for cautious upgrades though – the main S23 and S23+ have changed a lot in how they look, but a little less on the inside. Meanwhile, the S23 Ultra doesn't look so different, but does benefit from an overhauled 200Mp main camera – and all three phones get the benefit of Qualcomm Snapdragon silicon worldwide. So, what should you expect if you're considering picking up an S23? Here's what you need to know. ON SALE DATE Samsung's new phones are available to buy now. This launch includes the standard S23 model alongside the + and Ultra variants – these are the models we'll focus on here. In 2020, Samsung…

Price: £319 from fave.co/3YfFqxH Poco's 2023 X-range phones are here, and the cheaper of the pair is the Poco X5. Launched alongside the Poco X5 Pro, this phone comes complete with a dazzling 120Hz AMOLED display (a first from a base X-range Poco phone), fastcharging technology and a 48Mp triple camera set-up. But is the phone still good value for money, especially considering its place in the highly competitive mid-range space? I've spent some time with the Poco X5 to see how it handles everyday use. DESIGN The Poco X5 comes with an understated yet sleek finish – a welcome relief from the days when Poco used to blaze its logo on the entire back. The phone is 7.98mm thick, and weighs just 189g, so it's relatively slim and lightweight…

AUDIO Price: £179 from fave.co/40O7w4B Although they have only been popular for the last five years or so, wireless earbuds are now so ubiquitous it's difficult to know where to begin when buying a pair (unless you just go and buy AirPods, of course). The bottom line with the OnePlus Buds Pro 2 is they are some of the best wireless earbuds for under £200, with features you don't normally find at this price range such as superb active noise cancelling (ANC) and Hi-Res Audio support. The successor to the OnePlus Buds Pro feel a little cheaply made and I experienced some connection issues but judged on their sound quality and ANC the Buds Pro 2 are a success. DESIGN The Buds Pro 2's slightly cheap looking and feeling plastic…

FEATURE Let's get one thing out of the way: Android 13 isn't your average Android update. There's no way around it: Google's most recent Android version looks ho-hum on the surface. It almost seems like a subtle refinement to 2021's far more consequential-feeling Android 12 release, with few marquee features and the appearance of more polish than progression. The reality is much more complicated. Android 13 actually is significant – monumentally so. In fact, it may ultimately prove to be one of Android's most important releases. But its most consequential changes are aimed at the tablet and foldable front, and most of us won't feel the full effect of their presence quite yet. While the software's impact on the traditional phone front may be relatively limited, though, Android 13 definitely…

SAMSUNG GALAXY UNPACKED The new Galaxy S23 Ultra looks exactly the same as 2022's Galaxy S22 Ultra. Look art the image opposite and try to spot the differences. This is because it is practically the same phone. Samsung can't even be bothered to try and hide it. How can it when squared off corners with the same size screen house a phone with an S-Pen stylus and five circular camera cut outs on the back? Put the two phones side by side and you'll struggle to tell them apart. The S23 Ultra gets the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a 200Mp main camera, and a few new software tricks, but really this is evolution, not revolution. Qualcomm equipping the S23 with a special version of the 8 Gen 2,…

REVIEWS Price: £289 from fave.co/3YeyIaZ Motorola's G line-up has long been a solid pick for any budget-conscious phone buyer — the manufacturer has a reputable name, the phones have always been solid (if unspectacular), and as the trickle-down of phone tech from flagship devices continues, Motorola has been quick to improve its devices. The G82 5G looks more expensive than it is, thanks to its impressive OLED screen and 50MP camera. Corners have been cut to reach that mid-range price point, though, but it handily beats out the prior Moto G22 while still offering a 5G option for those that can take advantage of it. DESIGN As mentioned, the Moto G82 continues the Motorola streak of good-looking phones that don't cost the earth. The front is an almost all-screen design,…

BUYING GUIDE Dual-SIM smartphones let you use two SIM cards in a single phone. Most people who use them find the functionality useful for mixing work and pleasure, saving them from carrying separate phones for their work and personal lives. Dual-SIM phones are also useful for maintaining two personal contracts, whereby one might offer a good rate on calls and texts and the other offers unlimited data. Or perhaps you frequently travel abroad and would like to carry your usual SIM for when you're at home and another that's local to the country you're visiting. These days you don't even need two physical SIMs to achieve this dual-SIM functionality. Some phones, for example Google's Pixel 7, support physical dualSIM along with eSIM, which means you can have one standard SIM…

FEATURE Got extra smartphones sitting around? How about tablets? As we move multiple generations into mobile technology, more and more of us are building up collections of old, dated devices from both our work and our personal lives. And more often than not, those devices do little more than take up space and gather dust. Here's a little secret, though: your abandoned Android gadgets are actually virtual gold mines. You just have to find the right way to tap into their potential and give them new life. Here are 20 ways to make your old phone or tablet useful again. 1. USE IT AS A WIRELESS TRACKPAD AND CONTROLLER FOR YOUR COMPUTER With the right software and a couple minutes of configuration, your old Android device can act as an…

REVIEWS Price: £799 from fave.co/3ljFSMD The early flagship phones from OnePlus made their name by having top end specs but miraculously costing hundreds less than the competition. Those days are seemingly behind the company now, but the OnePlus 11 is still a competitively priced Android phone that's good enough to recommend above more expensive competing phones. If you want a phone with a large screen, amazing performance, great cameras, and long software support, you can't do much better than this for £799 – hundreds less than the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and even a little less than the regular S23. DESIGN The OnePlus 11 is a large phone but feels slim and compact enough even in small hands thanks to its rounded edges and its curved display. It's only 8.5mm…

AUDIO Price: £379 from fave.co/3jy5XXJ Bowers & Wilkins has updated its flagship wireless, in-ear headphone. And while this isn't a from-the-ground-up redesign – the B&W Pi7 S2 use the excellent same drivers as the model that shipped in 2021 – improvements in a host of other areas result in better battery life and longer Bluetooth range. More importantly, if your primary consideration is the quality of an earbud's audio reproduction, they deliver fantastic listening experiences. Your decision could get more complicated as you consider other features, such as active noise cancellation, EQ options, and price. Bowers & Wilkins has helped define the British hi-fi audio sound for nearly six decades with its highly regarded loudspeakers. The company entered the powered speaker market with its iPod-compatible Zeppelin speaker in 2006 (since…

FEATURE We're still in the early days of 2023, but we're pretty excited about the year ahead. It's rapidly shaping up to be a significant one when it comes to Pixel device. Google's riding the longbuilding momentum of its homemade Android products and gearing up for a monumental year of potentially shapeshifting launches. The Pixel prize we're hearing the most buzz about right now, without a doubt, is the on-again off-again (and still completely unofficial) folding Pixel phone — believed to be known as either the Pixel Fold or the Pixel Notepad, depending on which rumour you've read most recently. But novel as the notion of a folding phone may be — and intriguing of an idea as it may seem on the surface that Google could be getting into…

FEATURE Few apps are as essential to mobile productivity as the humble word processor. I think I've probably spent a solid seven years of my life staring at Google Docs on one device or another at this point, and those minutes only keep ticking up with practically every passing day. While we can't do much about the need to gaze at that word-filled white screen, what we can do is learn how to make every moment spent within Docs count — and in the Docs Android app, specifically, there are some pretty spectacular tucked-away time-savers just waiting to be discovered. Make a mental note of these shortcuts and options, and put them to good use the next time you find yourself staring at Docs on your own device. 1. IN-APP…