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Ok, ok, hear me out. I was never that fussed about having a 4K projector in my home.

In my mind, a high-performing television was usually cheaper than an equivalent projector, would hold up better in well-lit environments, and wouldn’t have a fan whirring loudly in the background while it was running.

Not to mention the software on projectors, which are usually stuck with old smart TV platforms that pale in comparison to the latest UI enhancements on the best Samsung TVs, best LG TVs, or otherwise.

If I was looking for an upgrade on my current setup, why not just get a new 4K TV instead?

My mind changed, though, when testing out the Vava 4K laser projector, a crowdfunded model we ended up giving 4.5 stars in our review (and adding to our list of the best projectors available today). Here’s how it won me round.

Lasers and lockdown

One of the biggest perks to a capable projector is the maximum image size, which often sits in the 80-100 inch range, if not as large as 150 inches.

This was never really an option for me, given the size of the flat I rent in London. I could just about fit a 55-inch television on the counter in my living room, with 65-inch televisions (depending on the height of the stand) sometimes having to sit rather unceremoniously on the floor.

The Vava laser projector (Image credit: TechRadar)

As a rented property, I wasn’t installing any projectors in the ceiling either, and standard projectors that need a bit of a distance from a wall or screen didn’t have a convenient place to put them. Ultra-short throw projectors – which can be placed almost flush against the projected surface – got around this rather nicely, but I’d still be stuck projecting at around 65 inches, meaning I couldn’t get the full effect of what more impressive projectors were capable of compared to the TVs I was reviewing.

That changed when lockdown went into effect in the UK back in March. I was staying at my girlfriend’s flat on the other side of London, and ended up staying to ride out what we imagined would be a few weeks of entrapment at most. (As you know, reader, I was wrong.)

What this new flat did have, was a slightly larger living room. With a wall that could feature up to 120 inches of projection, and a sofa sat nine feet away (rather than the six feet distance at my own apartment), I was able to enjoy the conveniences of a far larger projection – and it was hard to readjust to staring at a 65-inch screen after that.

Not to mention the benefit of being able to restore the wall to, well, a regular wall when I wasn’t using the projector – which was about 22 hours of the day. At a time when I couldn’t go out to the cinema, and was stuck in this living room most of the day, not having a massive black rectangle in my eyeline at all times was something of an improvement. 

A projection image I could control the size and placement of – even switching it off entirely – was absolutely the best solution for keeping the room from feeling crowded.

A Roku streaming stick was an easy fix for the projector's software (Image credit: TechRadar)

Seeing the light

Some of this is simple maths: a bigger wall or screen lets you fit a bigger image, and a bigger viewing distance increases the image size you can comfortably fit in your view. This will obviously only apply if you have the square footage to make use of it – which not all of us have. 

But for making a lockdown sentence easier to live with, and replicating some of the effect of watching movies on the big screen, I found a 4K projector was one of the best things I could have brought into the home. And even if you don’t have the space for a 150-inch projection, you may find the space-saving advantages of a projector are worth the switch from a regular television screen.

My concerns over basic smart TV software were justified, but using a Roku Streaming Stick+ offered an affordable ($49 / £49 / AU$79) way to upgrade the operating system and offer up-to-date app support, and worked well in tandem with the projector's other strengths.

That said, I did find the increased light of the summer months less conducive to a projector, which – even more so than LCD TVs – requires a relatively dim level of environmental light to keep images visible. 

If you experience a lot of light leakage in the summer evenings, or don’t want to huddle on the sofa with the curtains drawn in the middle of August to make out the action shots in The Old Guard, then you might want to stay put with your current setup for now.

• Here are the best projectors you can buy

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It's raining in the UK – a real deluge. Enough to water all the farms of the country and film enough rom-coms to fill Netflix up for good. This rain came at the perfect time, breaking up several weeks of painfully hot summer.

One side-effect of this unexpectedly horrible summer (in the UK we like to complain about it being too hot any time the sky is blue) is that barely anyone felt like exercising – no-one wants to do an activity that makes you hot and sweaty when merely being outside has the same effect.

I am one of those people – despite desperately needing to exercise to fend off those lockdown weight gains, it was hard to do in the heat of the summer. I had all but given up hope of exercising when I found a feature on the Fitbit Versa 2, which ended up saving my summer workouts.

• What we want to see in the Fitbit Versa 3

Finding the Fitbit

I'm not a fancy exerciser – my technique is to run until I get tired, and then rest for a few days until I'm not tired. I only do any other kind of exercise to check out different modes in watches I review, never for fun. In heat like the UK was having, exercise for me basically just involves running to the end of the street and back.

My running technique has an advantage in my line of work – smartwatches and fitness trackers, which I test, all offer different running modes, but they all have a generic 'running' one. Therefore I can always use that one mode and easily compare results on different devices.

As I said, though, it doesn't really work in summer, so, for the most part, I gave up exercising (it's a hard life, I know). Well, I did for a while, but when those lockdown pounds began accumulating, I knew a change was needed. But I realized if I wanted to exercise at all, I needed to try something different to my usual routine.

None of the Honor Magic Watch 2's modes really inspired me to run (Image credit: Future)

My usual go-to running watch is the fantastic Honor Magic Watch 2, but none of its modes really inspired me to run; likewise, the sheer options available to me in the Moto 360 (it uses Wear OS, so has all the Google Fit tracking options) dissuaded me from even looking. Then I found the Fitbit Versa 2.

I gave up on the Fitbit Versa 2 not long after first testing it – I found its battery life sub-par, and I could never get the notification handling to work. But scrolling through its list of options, I found one that leaped out at me: interval training.

• These are the best Fitbits you can buy

Keeping fit

Before finding the Fitbit Versa 2, the idea of interval training had always been in the back of my mind – quick bursts of action followed by rests felt perfect for the hot weather, so you're never working too hard for too long. I'd get to do my favorite thing repeatedly – that is, to stop running!

I probably should have done some research to see if experts concur, or if there's a better way of running in the sun. I should have, but didn't.

Seeing interval training mode in the Fitbit made me realize that specific training modes like this on smartwatches feel quite rare (not including dedicated running watches, obviously). Watches and fitness trackers have plenty of modes to track what you do, but too few to tell you exactly what to do.

I was glad I'd looked around at the various options available to me – finding this interval training mode inspired me to finally go on a run.

• These are the best fitness trackers out there

Run, Fitbit, run

I briefly Googled 'interval training' to check what it was (to save me any nasty surprises) then headed over to my new go-to running spot, London's Highbury Fields, ready to do some exercise.

The Google search told me interval training consisted of three minutes of hard work, then three minutes of rest. I was very surprised, then, when after 30 seconds of sprinting , the watch buzzed, and told me to rest. Already? Well, I figured, maybe that was a warm-up.

Then, after another roughly 20 seconds – buzz – time to go again. It was way sooner than I expected, and I had to stumble straight into a sprint in front of a bunch of confused onlookers.

The Fitbit Versa 2 buzzed and told me to rest or run in random intervals (Image credit: Future)

That's how the workout went – it felt like the watch buzzed and told me to rest or run at random intervals between 20 and 40 seconds long. In fairness, it could have been the same amount of time consistently, with my sense of temporal reality distorted by my haphazard exercising and all the cute dogs in the park.

I'm sure I looked a bizarre sight – a guy running, stopping for seemingly no reason, then bursting into runs again. I tried to look at my watch when it buzzed to signify to people 'my watch is telling me to do this', but for all they know the watch could have been showing me nasty messages I wanted to get away from, 'Tom did you remember to put the bins out?'.

• Check out the best running headphones

Two's a crowd

The Fitbit Versa 2's interval training mode lasted roughly eight minutes long, after which I was sufficiently energized, tired and full of adrenaline. My techsperimentation to find a new way to exercise had paid off.

Except, I wasn't too tired. I could probably go again. Maybe I should tweak the settings so the interval training lasted a little longer?

I had previously set the interval training timing by distance, but this time I decided to set a calorie goal instead. It's probably worth pointing out I don't really know much about calories, because in hindsight, it seems 600 was way too high.

The Versa 2's mode had encouraged me that I could keep exercising in the hot weather (Image credit: Future)

The Versa 2 set me off again, but this time it was worse - much worse. The workout went on far longer than before, more iterations of stopping, sprinting, stopping, sprinting, courting the confused stares of people going for a nice walk out or enjoying a picnic.

After doing about as many intervals as I did for my first round, or perhaps a few more, I packed it in – I could feel the skin melting on my face and my legs were about to explode. Like Frankenstein, my experiments with new technology had gone too far, and made a monster.

• Check out our Fitbit Versa 2 review

Point proven

After a few more runs with the Fitbit Versa 2, I stopped using it and moved to other tech – not because the Versa had wronged me, but because I had a smartwatch come in that I had to test, which became my new running companion.

The key thing to note, though, is that I did continue running. The Versa 2's mode had encouraged me that I could keep exercising in the hot weather, even if I didn't need to be using the Fitbit when I did so.

So next my time I feel uninspired by my usual running routine, I know I can jump into the Fitbit Versa 2 or maybe another fitness watch I have laying around, in order to find something that encourages me to work out in another way.

I'm going to have to test this theory very soon, too - as the introduction to this article says, the UK version of monsoon season has just started. Running in the hot sun is bad, but trying to do so in gale force wind and rain? Time to open that tech drawer...

• Lockdown is the perfect time to buy a new fitness tracker – here’s why

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The iPhone 12 launching with a USB-C port is incredibly unlikely - Apple has stuck with its proprietary Lightning port in nearly all its handheld devices for a long time now, and we wouldn't expect the new devices to be any different.

At the beginning of 2020, the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the introduction of a 'standard' charging medium, but as one leaker suggested, "Apple will go portless before they go USB-C". 

Apple avoiding USB-C is probably a matter of pride at this point, and we'd also expect it to go for a portless design (which uses wireless charging for power) before using USB-C.

However, as much as Apple tries to avoid using USB-C, the modern smartphone standard, the port would provide plenty of benefits to the new iPhone. Apple likely knows this too, given its iPad Pro models now use USB-C.

Here we're going to delve into Fantasy Land, to a place where Apple as we know it is completely different, and envision this mystical iPhone 12 that comes with a USB-C port. These are all the ways that iPhone 12 would be better than the one we're likely to get with Lightning.

1. Much faster charging

Lightning ports just don't transfer power as fast as USB-C. Case in point: the iPhone 11 charges at 18W, while the Xiaomi Mi 10 Ultra uses USB-C to power up at a whopping 120W. Even looking at not-top-end USB-C phones, 30W or 65W charging is common.

That means the iPhone takes a lot longer to power up than an Android phone, which can be annoying for people who don't want to plug their phone in for ages.

Sure, Apple has found a way to offset this problem - but it's by giving iPhones small batteries, so it doesn't take as long to fill them up. That's not exactly a perfect solution though.

If an iPhone used a USB-C port, it could have much faster charging, letting you charge a big battery quickly, so overnight charging becomes a thing of the past.

iPhone 11 Pro (Image credit: Future)

2. Quicker data transfer

A USB-C port isn't just faster for powering up things, but it also makes data transfer quicker.

Most people likely send files and pictures wirelessly now, and even if you use wires you're probably not sending enough to require a faster sending speed but some users will benefit from that. If you've shot lots of videos on your iPhone and want to send them to your iPad or computer to edit together, you'll appreciate that extra speed.

For the few people who actually need that super-fast data transfer speed, an iPhone 12 with USB-C port would give them that possibility they'd otherwise miss.

3. All peripherals would work on all devices

If you've ever transferred from an iPhone to Android device (or vice versa), or even just bought a tablet from the opposite team to your smartphone, you'll have found that most of the peripherals you've bought can't be plugged in both.

Selfie sticks, tripods, certain audio cables, solar chargers, some power banks and more sometimes get sold in 'iPhone' and 'Android' variants, complete with cables that only work for that device.

If Apple pivoted to using USB-C ports in all its devices (an idea it has already flirted with in the iPad Pro), the gadgets you buy in the future will work on all your devices.

This will save you money, by stopping you buying multiple peripherals, and make it easier to re-sell them or pass them on to friends when you don't need them any more.

Lightning charger (Image credit: google)

4. Much less e-waste

If you have an iPhone and an iPad Pro, or an Android phone and a standard iPad, you're going to need two different chargers - isn't that just a little bit baffling? 

People should be required to own as few chargers as possible, and given you can power up some wearables, many headphones and soon the PS5 controller all with USB-C, it makes sense iPhones join the party.

Apparently Apple is considering not putting a charger in the box with iPhones, a commendable change to crack down on e-waste, but it'd be great if consumers didn't need to buy a Lightning cable because they already owned the right charger.

E-waste is a huge problem after all, with an estimated million tonnes of power supplies manufactured each year, and that situation is partly because you need a different charger for your iPhone than for anything else.

In our fantasy world, the iPhone 12 has USB-C so we don't need a separate cable for it. Saying that, in this magic land, global warming isn't a problem at all, so it may be a moot point.

• iPhone 12 delay: when will you actually be able to get the new iPhone?

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The Xbox Series X won’t have Halo Infinite when it launches in November this year, but it will have Xbox Game Pass and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has expressed confidence in the pulling power of this combination. 

Appearing on Gary Whitta’s Animal Talking earlier this week, Spencer acknowledged that while the delay of Halo Infinite “is disappointing to people, it’s disappointing to us”,  the absence of the exclusive title “isn’t going to change too much” for the Xbox Series X launch strategy.

According to Spencer, when it comes to the launch of the Xbox Series X “you were going to hear a lot about the console and a lot about Game Pass and how we think those two things together are a real great value proposition for gamers going into the next generation.” 

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Through discussions with customers, Spencer said they’re finding that the service is “a real decision maker for people that are both on our platform and people evaluating Xbox Series X as a console for them.” 

Focus on Game Pass

It’s become clear in recent months that Microsoft is determined to increase the appeal and value of a Game Pass subscription to consumers, with moves like including Project xCloud streaming in Game Pass Ultimate for no additional cost. 

It seems that, particularly in the absence of Halo Infinite, Microsoft will double down on Game Pass and backwards compatibility, with Spencer emphasising during the interview that “our investment in Game Pass and that portfolio continues to be strong. We’ve got some more good announcements, really great, strong announcements to come about things that will be coming to Game Pass.”

What those announcements might involve and when they’ll happen remains unclear. However, there have been some rumors that Xbox is planning an August showcase which, while still unconfirmed, could be an ideal time and place for Xbox to make some reveals that would take the focus off the Halo Infinite delay and continue to make its case for why gamers should choose the Xbox platform over the PS5. 

• PS5 vs Xbox Series X: everything we know so far

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Windows 10 May 2020 Update is finally being delivered to various Microsoft Surface hardware including the Surface Pro X, according to online reports.

While the rollout of the May 2020 Update first started on May 27, some of Microsoft’s own devices have still not received the update in the last few months, which does seem rather odd – given that you’d expect OS updates to be thoroughly tested with the firm’s own hardware before release, really.

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However, as MS Power User reports, online reports (and the site’s own experience) indicates that the Surface Pro X, Surface Laptop 2, and Surface Pro 5 models are now receiving the May 2020 Update.

A thread on Reddit observes that the most recent feature update has arrived on the Surface Pro X and Pro 5, and we spotted another freshly created post indicating that a fair few folks have now received it on their Surface Pro 7.

You may recall that while the May 2020 Update was blocked from some Surface devices for a while due to potential compatibility issues, we reported in June that this block had been lifted for Surface Pro 7 users (and Surface Laptop 3 owners for that matter).

However, Microsoft did clarify that the block was being removed gradually over a number of weeks, so it seems it has taken quite some time for it to be lifted for everyone.

Still rolling out…

There remain reports on that Reddit thread that some Surface users haven’t received the Windows 10 May 2020 Update still, including Surface Pro 6 owners, although others have already got it.

It seems, then, that the gradual rollout principle still applies here, but at least the majority of Surface folks who are keen to get the May 2020 Update now have it – or are hopefully about to have it delivered to their PC.

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Energy regulator Ofgem recently announced that it will lower the price cap on default dual-fuel energy tariffs from £1,126 to £1,042, which is a saving of £84. Alongside this, the pre-payment meter cap will also fall by an average of £95 to £1,070.

Across the UK, 11 million homes are currently on default tariffs and a further four million are on prepayment meters. This means that 15 million households will save on their energy bills this October.

• Reduce your energy bills now

Last week, the regulator announced that the energy price cap will fall to its lowest level since it was introduced in January 2019. This is because the coronavirus pandemic has caused energy demand to be much lower than usual. As a result, wholesale gas and electricity prices have fallen to historic lows.

When announcing the new price cap, Ofgem’s chief executive Jonathan Brearley said that “millions of households, many of whom face financial hardship due to the Covid-19 crisis, will see big savings on their energy bills this winter when the level of the cap is reduced.”

Has Ofgem gone far enough?

However, although Ofgem’s cap reduction will help millions of households, some analysts believe that the regulator hasn’t gone far enough to help people who are experiencing financial hardship.

Some point out that the price cut falls short of industry forecasts, which had suggested a cut of at least £85 and up to £100 a year for standard variable energy tariffs.

And there's a wider issue, too: the new energy price cap is still at least £200 more expensive than the best energy deals. The 11 million UK households that are currently paying the price cap are still paying more annually than people who have switched to a new energy supplier on a fixed-term deal.

How to get the best energy deal

The energy price cap effectively provides you with money off the most expensive tariffs on the market. You shouldn’t rely on it to reduce your bills: instead, it's better to find for the best possible tariff available.

So, if you’re looking to save on your gas and electricity bill, then you should switch to a fixed-term deal with a new provider. These tariffs are often far cheaper than standard variable tariffs, and you could save hundreds of pounds a year by switching. 

The easiest way of finding out how much you could save is by running an online energy comparison. By providing some basic information about your household and energy usage, you’ll be able to see the best energy plans in your area - along with how much you would save by switching to each. 

Energy comparison: Find the best energy deal for your home
We've partnered with MoneySupermarket to help you find the best energy deals in your area. Our energy comparison tool takes less than five minutes to use, and could save you hundreds on your energy bills. Save money now

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Opinions often differ when it comes to the humble spreadsheet - some of us are traumatized by complex formulae and others celebrated as Excel savants - so word that spreadsheets have entered the third dimension is likely to split the room.

Researchers from Coburg University, Microsoft Research and the University of Cambridge have ported popular spreadsheet applications Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets to virtual reality (VR).

The project is designed to improve upon the cumbersome spreadsheet experience on mobile devices, as well as boost productivity and introduce new functionalities.

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The spreadsheets are rendered into a virtual space, where menus, charts and individual cells can be visualized in 3D. Users can also position multiple sheets above, below and to the sides of their display for better multitasking.

Meanwhile, the increased field of view allows spreadsheets to spill beyond the bounds of the screen, meaning users can more easily grapple with large amounts of data.

3D spreadsheets

The researchers’ set-up consisted of an HTC Vive Pro headset, Microsoft Surface Pro 4 tablet and a stylus used for navigation and input. Both the tablet and pen were “spatially tracked” and rendered into the simulation.

In theory, this combination of gadgets and technologies could allow business users to interact with spreadsheets in a more fruitful and engaging way.

“VR can enhance the display and interaction of mobile knowledge work and in particular, spreadsheet applications. While spreadsheets are widely used yet are challenging to interact with, especially on mobile devices, using them in VR has not been explored in depth,” explains the research paper.

“Combining the precise on-screen input of a pen with spatial sensing around the tablet, we propose tools for the efficient creation and editing of spreadsheet functions such as off-the-screen layered menus, visualization of sheets dependencies, and gaze-and-touch- based switching between spreadsheet tabs.”

The researchers also celebrate virtual reality’s ability to de-limit the space in which workers can operate. The opportunity to work beyond the bounds of the tablet screen effectively expands the user’s work surface, which could prove particularly handy for anyone working out of a cramped home office.

The project is very much in its nascent stages, though, and the kit could prove prohibitively expensive for most businesses (costing $1,500+ per person). This means you’re unlikely to be faced with a 3D spreadsheet any time soon, which could be good news or bad, depending on your perspective.

However, this proof-of-concept demonstrates there could be value in conducting certain business tasks in virtual reality, where physical space is no concern and software is given an extra dimension to work with.

• Check out our list of the best business VR headsets on the market

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The watchOS 7 public beta is finally live, giving Apple Watch owners an early look at the software update coming later this year. Chief among the new perks is the new Sleep app, which will purportedly bring long-awaited Apple-branded sleep tracking to the smartwatch. And yet, after a few days of testing, I’m not too impressed – instead, I’m more excited about the sleeptime advancements coming in iOS 14.

Let’s get the usual caveat out of the way: this is beta software, so we could be using an imperfect or incomplete version of what will eventually be released in watchOS 7 proper (which we’re expecting in September alongside the release of the Apple Watch 6). 

But the Sleep app we’ve used tracks the most basic data – just hours slept and weekly totals – that could’ve been done by, well, any of the existing sleep tracking apps. Where’s all the advanced data we expected from an Apple-quality sleep app?

In fact, the watchOS Sleep app feels more like an extension of iOS 14’s enhanced Bedtime feature (heck, it even has the same app icon). Which isn’t to say it’s useless – just that I had different expectations, and you might, too. So here’s what watchOS 7’s sleep app does do.

• How to get the watchOS 7 beta on your Apple Watch
• How to also get iOS 14 beta on your iPhone (which you'll need for watchOS 7)

(Image credit: Future)

watchOS 7 Sleep app: turning your Apple Watch into a hand alarm

Understandably, the Sleep app coordinates with the alarms you set on your iPhone, but you can tweak them yourself on your Apple Watch. Admittedly, this is handy, especially if you’re the kind of person who tucks their phone away at night lest full screens wake you up. You could do all this before when setting simple alarms, of course, but now there’s a more robust way to set up sleep schedules.

Yes, sleep schedules pretty much mimic the iOS alarm functionality (with options to customize which days it’s active) – but now you can set a ‘bedtime.’ Once past that, your watch dims into a proper sleep mode, with brightness set low and just big numbers on the screen (which you can opt to remove, if you want). It’s kind of like a low-power mode that you have to twist your Apple Watch’s crown to dismiss.

This works a lot like iOS 14’s new Bedtime function: when activated, your iPhone’s screen dims, doesn’t show notifications, and only allows access to a few apps (selected by the user beforehand). To get past that, you’ll have to hit a couple on-screen buttons. It’s clear Apple is inserting a soft barrier between your sleepy eyes and bright screens. This, we’re a fan of.

(Image credit: Future)

We’re also surprisingly fond of the Watch’s battery check: if you have less than 30% battery left on a night before an alarm is scheduled, you’ll get a reminder to charge your Apple Watch, ensuring your sleep is tracked and you’ll wake without a nearly-dead smartwatch (in our testing, the Apple Watch lost around 10% through the night while Sleep was activated). 

One of our major worries was that sleep tracking would be hindered by the Apple Watch line’s limited battery – most last less than a day on a full charge – but this reminder helps. Best of all, your iPhone will even add a silent notification that your Apple Watch has been recharged, which reminds me to put it back on before bed.

(Image credit: Future)

And in the morning – after your Apple Watch vibrates you awake – the Sleep app will greet you with a ‘Good morning’ screen showing the time, your Apple Watch’s battery life, the weather, and a basic graph showing last night’s sleep patterns (duration and how many times you woke up). Simple.

That’s...about all the watchOS 7 Sleep app does, at least from what we’ve seen. Ergo, don’t expect dynamic and informative sleep-tracking. Instead, think of it as an extension of the enhanced bedtime experience coming with iOS 14 – which you should be excited for instead.

What’s cool about iOS 14 Bedtime?

If you’ve used your iPhone to set alarms on particular days, or weekends, or make half a dozen alarms set five minutes after the other to desperately wake up – good news, none of that has changed. The improved version of Bedtime just augments that with a little UX TLC. 

In the Alarm section of your native Clocks app, iOS 14 has added a section titled ‘Sleep | Wake Up.’ If you’ve set up an alarm for the next day, this will show what time it’s set to go off. Click the big ‘change’ button on the right to tinker with this night’s alarm only – which is a remarkably easy way to fiddle with your wake-up time thanks to an easy-to-tweak dial that you tap-and-hold to alter. Easy!

Some time before your scheduled bedtime (an internal the user sets), your iPhone will nudge you to start preparing for bed and start limiting your lock screen in a feature called ‘Wind Down.’ It hides all notifications and gives shortcut access to a handful of pre-selected apps, essentially closing off intrusions so you can, well, Wind Down. 

Once past your set bedtime, the lock screen dims to a deep slate gray and notifications remain hidden with a ‘Shortcuts’ button, which is a godsend when all you want to do is check the time and not get informed of stray emails or texts that can wait until morning. Even when you hit ‘Dismiss’ to see said notifications, the phone remains dimmed in ‘Do Not Disturb’ mode, saving your eyes from whatever bright background you normally have.

Best of all, you can switch on Bedtime whenever you want – upgrade to iOS 14 and the bed-shaped shortcut button is already added to your Control Center. Click it, and your Apple Watch switches on its Sleep app. 

That kind of ease-of-use is what gets us far more excited for iOS 14 than the watchOS 7’s Sleep mode, though they’re kind of inextricable anyway. And did we say the Apple Watch doesn’t provide any sleep data? That’s not entirely true – navigate to iOS Health app, look at the revamped Sleep section, and you’ll see that the watchOS 7 Sleep app feeds in heart rate and sleep length data, which is visualized in graphs. 

In other words, watchOS 7 and iOS 14 contribute to a more robust understanding of your sleep patterns, and provide the tools to help you fall asleep on a more regular schedule. That’s pretty exciting – though if the rumors are true, the blood pressure and blood oxygen tracking coming in the Apple Watch 6 could add so much more to the tech giant’s sleep-tracking capabilities.

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BMAX Y11 2-in-1 laptop - $286 at Banggood
(£241/AU$441)
With coupon code BGBmax002, you can bring the price of this impressive 2-in-1 down to under $300. It packs some very decent hardware indeed, so grab it while you can.View Deal

There’s a lot to like about convertible laptops; their versatility means they can be used for a variety of use cases, which is especially important today now devices are used for both work and play. 

The was format popularised nearly a decade ago by Lenovo with its Yoga brand, which wowed the world with its 360 degrees acrobatics, but there are now plenty of excellent alternatives on the market.

Meet the BMAX Y11 laptop, for example, available with Chinese online retailer Banggood at $283 for new customers (with code BGBmax002new) and $286 for existing customers (with code BGBmax002).

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That’s actually a really good price for a laptop that packs some very decent hardware and has a finish worthy of a tier-1 vendor.

Open it up and you'll find an Intel Celeron N4120, which is roughly equivalent to a 7th generation Intel Core i3 CPU (based on Passmark’s numbers). There’s also an 11.6-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen display, 8GB LPDDR4 memory configured in dual-channel mode, a 256GB M.2 SSD, 802.11ac, Bluetooth 5.0 and a 26.6WHr battery.

The device has an aluminum alloy chassis, which looks smart enough and keeps the weight low (circa 1kg).

The only issue we have is the fact that there's a microUSB 3.0 port - in addition to one Type-C and microHDMI slot - instead of an extra Type-C, which would have been preferable. 

Note, we also reviewed a few similar devices last year, including the Teclast F5 and the Jumper EZbook X1.

• Here's our list of the best business laptops out there

Bear in mind

• If this product comes from mainland China, it will take at least a month to reach either the US or the UK (and potentially more). You may be levied a tax either directly or through the courier.
• If you've managed to get hold of a cheaper product with equivalent specifications, in stock and brand new, let us know and we'll tip our hat to you.

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