• Buy the HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth for $949 / £839 at Amazon

The recent un-coloured tuning trend has been a great thing for affordable personal audio. Headphones like the closed-back Sennheiser HD 480 Pro Plus and IEMs such as the Crinear Reference have committed to a balanced, neutral-sounding profile, and all around the $400 mark. They sound exceptional in their clarity, and they are hands down some of the best audio releases I've heard in recent years.

Yet none of this has caught on in the world of high-end headphones. And the HiFiMan HE1000 Stealth – the 2023 iteration of a line that dates back to the $3,000, 2015 original – is no exception.

After all, the best-sounding wired high-end headphones are about specialisation – bold, sometimes risky tunings that don't need to be liked by everyone, just a few wealthy enthusiasts. Each pair of eye-wateringly expensive headphones is like a piece of modern art: the perfect mix of colour and form for some, a derisory mess that a child could replicate for others.

Now, the HiFiMan HE1000 may not be for everyone, but it is certainly for me.

In this review I dig into what exactly the HE1000 is trying to achieve with its specific tuning, and I'll do my best to help you decide whether this $949 high-end headphone is the End Game set for you.

Sound profile

Overall, there are a few things that jump out at me when I first put on the HE1000 Stealth (just HE1000 from now).

First, the expansive sense of space – these open-back headphones feel and sound really open. If you like an intimate, vocal-forward tuning, look elsewhere. And it's not just because of the scooped upper mids that present a sense of space – the ear cups are huge and let a lot of air through. Combined, the HE1000 gives me the most grandest sense of space of any headphone I've tried.

Second, the bass response is satisfyingly extended, measured and void of bloat. Then there's the fresh, bright-leaning presentation that brings a sense of detail. And finally, there's the correct-sounding timbre, despite its upper midrange colouration. For me, everything works together in harmony. Though I'd never call the HE1000 neutral, it offers a coloured sound that remains balanced.

The HE1000 makes an event of listening to music – it's as satisfying as it is impressive.

Bass: As with all HiFiMan planar magnetic driver headphones, the HE1000 delivers a refined bass response, which extends deep into the sub-bass region, though it drops off a cliff below 20Hz. It's linear without massive peaks, or tactically placed dips, so you get a textured, well-articulated bass that isn't over-done, isn't bloomy or overbearing, yet it's impressive for such an open-back set.

I don't want to overstate, as I've heard open-back headphones with more mid-bass slam and sub-bass rumble (like the Sony MDR-MV1), but for an exceptionally open-back headphone such as the HE1000, its bass extension and sense of body is really impressive.

Many reviewers have reported that it's the HE1000 Stealth's planar magnet design which provides extra tactile punch and lightning-fast speed... I don't know about that, and I'd much rather focus on my personal take on the tuning of a headphone than what the tech might be doing to the sound.

Bottom line: I get a textured, impactful bass from the HE1000, and there's precision there too. This is top quality stuff, and it's perfectly balanced with the rest of the frequency response.

If you're reading this review, the chances are that you're aware of HiFiMan's house sound, and the reason why many believe HiFiMan headphones provide the most expansive 'soundstage' of all headphones. Here's a quick recap, just in case...

HiFiMan open-back headphones feature a deliberate dip in the upper midrange frequencies (roughly 1.25–2.5kHz), which psychoacoustically pushes parts of vocals and lead instruments further back in the sound presentation. This tuning, which is very much present in the HE1000, can translate into an expansive, non-fatiguing, spatial presentation, giving listeners a sense of depth and width to their music, while also allowing more complex tracks to breathe with a sense of airy separation.

Now, full disclosure: This recession will strip many vocals and instruments of some of their natural intimacy, body, and presence, and that can be a solid turn-off for some. When this type of tuning is too extreme, the sound can feel slightly hollow. And though some of the body of vocals and lead instruments are definitely put on a diet with the HE1000, I never get a sense that I'm missing out; that HiFiMan went too far and took out something of the soul of the music. I just enjoy a different presentation of the sound.

This is because the overall balance of the frequency response remains cohesive. The genius of the HE1000 is that although it scoops out a chunk of the upper midrange (from 1.25kHZ to 2.5kHz) to give that sense of space, the timbre of instruments and vocals is never compromised.

Of course, this is all relative, and when comparing the HE1000 to a much more neutral headphone, such as the HEDD D1, the latter's timbre is more correct. Yet the smidge of accuracy you loose in the HE1000 is easily made up for by its inviting, exciting and embracing presentation.

Ultimately, this spaciousness effect is exactly that – an effect. But it's expertly done, and a great deal of fun.

The only thing that bugs me about the midrange is that because of this fun dip, the following peak – around 3.4kHz – does provide a level of spice that some may find too much. It's fine for me, but if this is a known trouble spot for you – and let's be honest, the ear gain region is a trouble spot for many – then it's definitely worth keeping this in mind.

Some people may find the HE1000's treble off-putting (as treble so often is). For me, it isn't a problem... until it is.

After listening to my whole library un-critically, then my 'headphones' playlist critically, it wasn't until I got to two tracks that I felt the HE1000's treble reached my limits of spice.

The static squeaks and squelches of K-Lone's slk started to grate towards the end of the track, and the immediate high hat bursts of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean verged on too much... still, two out of 631 tracks isn't bad!

Casting a spotlight on it, there are hot spots around 6.5–7.3kHz, then there's a dip around 7.6kHz followed by a noticeable peak around 9kHz. Of course, you may hear the HE1000 differently to me – especially the treble frequencies – so that's more of a guide than a prescription. But the point to take away from this is that there definitely are peaks in the HE1000's treble. For me, they largely serve to sculpt sharp dimensions to the music, giving it texture and clarity.

Price & value

This section was always going to be the hardest part of the review. After all, how can a pair of headphones that cost $950 offer good value?!

Firstly, I want to share a few facts about me... I can't afford these headphones, and yet if stars aligned, and I was able to squirrel enough money for them, I would absolutely buy a pair. But that doesn't mean they're a great option for all readers of this review.

Tuning gets bold, singular, daring and divisive in the high end of audio, but that doesn't mean it's all snake oil to be avoided. What it does mean is that the HE1000 is going to be the perfect end game headphone for far fewer listeners than, say, a neutral-leaning pair of headphones like the HEDD D1, or a slightly darker, warmer set like the HiFiMan Edition XV.

For me, the HE1000 offers an audio experience that no other headphone does. Because I'm not overly sensitive to its specific colourations, and because I really enjoy the spacial effect it offers, I think it represents great value. And I'll continue to until someone releases headphones that do the same thing for a smidge of the price.

Build & comfort

I can imagine that the look of the HE1000 isn't for everyone, but I think generally the build quality stands up to its kilobuck price tag. The comfort of the HE1000 is certainly top notch.

I love the retro, 70s-tinged, wooden trimmed vibe it's got going on, though I'm the first to admit that for $950, we really should be getting real wood trims! Instead we get a wood-printed vinyl veneer.

It would be enough to take half a star off, if I didn't find this weirdly charming.

What stands up to any scrutiny is the real suede headband which further sells the retro vibe and ramps up the comfort. Add to that subtle, light and comfy earpads, and very large earcups that will never irritate you by rubbing against your ears (no-one's ears are that big), and brushed aluminium, and you've got an incredibly comfortable set that feels solid in your hands.

I've read that the HE1000's massive ear cups can create seal issues on smaller heads, though I experienced no such issue. What I will say is that the supplied cable felt a bit stiff and prone to tangling, so I ended up using my trusty Custom Cans' ultra-low capacitance balanced litz cable.

Should you buy it?

I don't think we need to over-complicate things here. The HE1000's $949 price does a good job of answering the question 'should you buy it?', after all.

I can't afford them... but if I could, I would 100% buy a pair, because I find the experience I have with them to be amongst the most enjoyable I've experienced in audio to date. The specialist tuning is spacious and welcoming, seemingly sculpting music with added dimensions.

Also, in the fantasy world where I can afford the HE1000, I could probably also afford the more neutral, and objectively 'better' tuned HEDD D1 headphones, so I'd have the best of both worlds! Out of the two, I think the similarly-priced $799 D1 is a better choice for the majority of people. But there will be a few of you out there that will find the HE1000 as special as I do.

But let me be clear – this is absolutely a pair of headphones that you need to get on your head and try out before buying, because there's a fair chance that the spacious affect and bright higher end is not your cup of tea, or you might just hear them differently to me – such is the nature of personal audio.

I'm excited about the current trend towards neutral that's occurring in budget and mid-range headphones, and I love how many of those new headphones sound. And at the same time, I equally love it when some old-school high-end cans, like the HE1000, utterly ignore the trends, and plough on with their bold, daring tuning.

In a world of billboard ads and social media campaigns, Savage X Fenty's playful approach is a refreshingly tactile take on advertising that proves simple concepts can have a big impact. Nearly impossible to ignore and perfectly placed to snatch passersby's attention, the cheeky campaign is a prime example of experiential design at its best.

Looming above Seventh Avenue and Fashion Avenue, Savage X Fenty's bold campaign turns the streets of New York City into a living, breathing ad experience. The oversized lingerie set casts a shadow on the Garment District, creating a dual display when the sun hits just right (bonus points for aligning it so the crosswalk hits right in the middle).

Just in case you were wondering who's behind the mysterious floating undergarments, the lingerie set is bordered by the Savage X Fenty logo, while the clothing itself bears the Savage wordmark in a slick serif font. It's a simple concept with expert execution, proving that breaking the mould of conventional advertising can be a strong move that gets people talking.

For more advertising inspiration, check out how the subvertising has held up a mirror to some of the biggest brands or take a look at this ad platform that sparked brand romance with 100 love letter billboards.

The American football team finally retired the 'Redskins' logo and name in 2020 due to its racist connotations. So why did it drop a fresh collection of merchandise with the old branding just ahead of the new NFL season? According to the team, it effectively has a legal obligation to continue to promote racist stereotypes.

The Washington Commanders' retro redskins merchandise sold out in just 48 hours, which is perhaps a sign of how much some fans are still attached to the old brand. The Association on American Indian Affairs criticised the drop and raised concerns that the limited-edition release could have been a trial to test public reaction ahead of a possible backslide towards using a racial slur in its branding.

The club claims that's not the case. It also claims the use of the controversial logo wasn't for nostalgia's sake. It argues that it has to continue to occasionally sell products with the questionable branding so that others can't. Otherwise, it could be argued that the team has abandoned its trademarks, like a social media company recently tried to claim regarding the Twitter name.

Some aren't convinced by the team's argument. The controversial merchandise drop was hardly discreet: it included an Art Monk T-shirt with a huge image of the Redskins logo. Trademark law doesn't say anything about having to efforts to maximise merchandise sales to avoid claims of abandonment.

Outside of sport, some brands have found much more discreet solutions. Quaker Oats continues to use a small placement of its Aunt Jemima logo on Pearl Milling Co packaging to avoid leaving it up for grabs.

Either way, the legal scholars Chris Buccafusco and Jon J. Lee suggest that the incident shows there's an argument for the law to be changed. Writing for MS Now, they say legislation could be changed to prevent claims of abandonment in cases where the public still associates a former trademark with the original owner, or that Congress could create a registry for retired trademarks that have historical significance connected to commercial success or major political or social issues.

"With such a law, the United States Patent and Trademark Office would be empowered to stop others from selling merchandise bearing the trademarks, ensuring that the trademarks would be removed from the marketplace for good," they argue. "It also allows companies that want to sever ties with their racist pasts to do so with less concern that others will be able to swoop in to take their place."

Then we can go back to debating the merits of the Washington Commanders' folded 'W' alternate logo.

We rate this the best budget 3D printer in our comparative guide to the best 3D printers overall. We think it's a good choice for beginners since it makes it so simple to get started pretty out of the box with very minimal setup needed.

An ideal budget 3D printer for beginners

We highly rate Elegoo's first foray into Core XY FDM printing. Unlike many FDM 3D printers out there, the Elegoo Centauri Carbon leaves very little work to do in assembly. There are no gantries to bolt together. All that is needed is to remove the accessories and shipping foam from inside, remove three screws and plug in the screen. You can be up and running in just a few minutes.

The enclosed system is styled similarly to Elegoo's Mars resin printers, with similar graphics and a dark grey metal housing. It's solidly built and caters well to filaments that require different setups with a lift-off glass top panel, and a two-sided build plate, both of which are clearly marked so you know what to use and when.

There's a built-in camera, so you can film timelapses of your print jobs and monitor in real time, and a self-clean function. And despite making things as easy as possible, there's plenty of opportunity to dive deep once you're ready to start getting more hands on.

We think it's suited to anybody who needs speed, reliability and accuracy and can work within the 256 x 256 x 256mm build volume.

If you prefer to use liquid resin materials when 3D printing, check out my review of the Elegoo Saturn 4 Ultra, which is another super beginner-friendly machine from Elegoo.

It feels right because, back then, gaming PR was in its prime: the drinks flowed, the games were good, everyone seemed to know everyone, and the whole thing had a loose, scruffy excitement that has largely disappeared from the industry. Now we get presentations, demo stations and carefully managed hands-on windows, so being able to sit down with a beer and actually play the Evercade Nexus felt like a bit of a throwback.

It was a pretty good way to meet the Evercade Nexus for the first time, particularly after reading Alan Wen's Gamescom Nexus hands-on report. I've been an avid fan of the Evercade EXP-R (it's on my best retro game console guide), and I really like it. I like the size, the slightly chunky handheld feel, and that Evercade has resisted the temptation to make its machines look like yet another generic retro emulator. So when I first saw the Nexus, my immediate reaction, compared to the EXP-R, was that it was big.

Having actually held it, though, I'm less bothered by the size than first impressions suggest. It is bigger than the EXP-R, obviously, but it's also surprisingly light, and the shape works nicely. The rear grips give you somewhere to put your hands and, after a few minutes, I stopped thinking about the size. The Nexus isn't better or worse than the EXP-R in that respect; it's just going after something different.

Evercade Nexus is designed with purpose

The Nexus feels like Evercade has finally decided what it wants its hardware to be: a proper handheld that can comfortably play 32- and 64-bit games. And because of that, two things hit me immediately: the screen and the sticks. The 5.89-inch display is big, crisp, and bright, and after spending time with the EXP-R, the new Nexus's extra screen real estate is obvious. The difference is even more noticeable when you start playing 32- and 64-bit games, because these are designed around TVs, not little handheld screens.

Then there are the two analogue sticks, sitting symmetrically on either side of the display. I really like this. I've found it takes me a little while to adjust whenever I go back and forth between controllers with different stick layouts, and I still sometimes find myself thinking about where the offset sticks are on a Nintendo Switch 2. The Nexus doesn't ask me to do that. Both sticks sit where my hands expect them, and after a few minutes it just feels natural.

I had the chance to chat to Blaze Entertainment’s Senior Product Designer, Haydn Thomas, over a beer, and apparently the position of those sticks was one of the things the design team went back and forth on during development, which I can believe. It’s one of those decisions that sounds trivial until you hold the finished console and realise how much it changes the feel of a handheld, because it feels right for the games Evercade will be playing now and in the future – full 3D shooters and platformers – demand dual analogue sticks.

The games on Nexus matter

That’s the takeaway: I didn't really understand why Nexus needed to be this big until I started playing the games. The games at launch – Banjo-Kazooie and Doom – aren't games that particularly care that you've got a nice little retro handheld; they need analogue movement, direct camera control, and enough screen space to actually see what's happening – though Haydn and I do laugh at how our eyes aren’t getting any younger, and a larger screen is handy.

Banjo-Kazooie in particular feels like a good test. It's a game where you want to look around, move the camera, make those little adjustments as you navigate a level or search for secret little hidden collectables, and having two proper sticks on a big screen makes perfect sense. Playing Banjo-Kazooie and Doom was the moment at which I understood what Blaze is aiming for with the Nexus – a retro 3D games handheld. The hardware is changing because retro games are changing.

Yes, you can play Doom on the smaller EXP-R handheld, but you could probably play Doom on a pregnancy test if someone really committed to the bit. But why would you?

The other thing that surprised me was how much personality the Nexus's physical design has. Look closely, and you start spotting these little Evercade touches that make it feel like a lovingly designed handheld. Hayden points out how the ‘A’ from the Evercade logo has been pulled out and worked into the texture on the rear grips, while the cooling vents have a repeated ‘A’ design, and the light-up NEXUS logo on the front signals various statuses as well as personalisation, which gives it a slightly PlayStation-ish feel, but with the sharpened flat shell edges that recall the first Evercade EXP handheld.

None of this will sell a console on its own, obviously, but I like it. I've played enough anonymous retro handhelds to know what happens when the hardware is only there to push emulation. You pick one up, marvel at how many games it can run, then five minutes later you've forgotten what it looked like. The Nexus doesn't feel like one of those; it feels like an Evercade.

Because Evercade has built a unique ecosystem around physical cartridges, licensed games and collecting, the hardware having a recognisable identity makes sense. You aren't just buying a little box that happens to run old games; you're buying into a particular way of doing retro.

I see that thinking in the games too, particularly with Banjo-Kazooie and its sequel Banjo-Tooie. Blaze's new Banjo cartridge is a pretty big statement of intent because the company has worked from Rare's original source code rather than simply dumping an old ROM onto a cartridge. The result includes new assets and enemy designs, plus things discovered in the original code, including material that apparently wasn't even known to the original developers. There's even a level editor.

The Evercade EXP-R can play the Evercade library, including the new 32- and 64-bit cartridges like the upcoming Banjo-Kazooie Double Pack and Doom Collection, so Nexus isn't some hard reset where everything before it becomes obsolete. But after playing these games on Nexus, I can see why I'd want one.

Designed with 3D games in mind

The bigger screen and dual analogue sticks make a difference when you're playing something designed around 3D movement. That's what I kept coming back to at the event – it wasn't really about having a better spec sheet; it was about sitting there with Banjo or Quake running and feeling that the controls and screen were finally giving these games the space they need.

And now I'm thinking about what comes next. Give me Ready 2 Rumble, the weird forgotten Dreamcast games and those PS1-era oddities. Hopefully more Rare and Microsoft collections – Perfect Dark and Jet Force Gemini, perhaps? If Evercade can also keep digging into games that slipped through licensing cracks and never made it onto modern consoles, then Nexus can find its place.

I went into that London pub expecting a nostalgic afternoon of old games, but instead I found myself wondering what I wanted to play next. Maybe that's nostalgia talking, or the event’s ‘vibe’, but just the fact that I’m already thinking about what I’d like to play next on Nexus means it’s made an emotional connection, and in retro gaming, that matters a lot.

Pre-orders are open for the Evercade Nexus, releasing this October for $199.99 / $169.99.

Currently on sale for $639 USD for a DIY kit, or $799 fully assembled, it’s the most affordable of all the Prusa Research machines. Josef Prusa’s business philosophy is that each of his machines can last a long useful life, with practically unlimited support and upgrades. The model shown here sports the five-colour MMU3 upgrade, which is a bit less beginner-friendly than the rest of the machine

What's in the box?

The MK4S DIY kit comes with all the tools you need to assemble them, plus a bag of Haribo Goldbears to fuel your journey. You also get a full size spool of Galaxy Black Prusament PLA, a USB Stick, and a printed guide book to 3D printing on the MK4S. The USB stick presliced models to test your printer.

Prusa is the only major manufacturer that still sells scratch-built DIY kits, claiming it’s the best way to truly learn how the machine works. While an experienced maker can slap the machine together in 8 hours or so, I suggest clearing the kitchen table for a full weekend. Thankfully, real human customer support is just a chat box away, 24-7, in seven languages.

The MK4S has a robust build, with a powder coated die-cast aluminum-alloy frame, plus more than a few PC Blend Carbon Fiber parts 3D printed in Prusa’s print farm. Though some parts are injection molded, the company firmly believes that printing their own printers is the best proof of Prusa quality.

Performance

The MK4S has fully automatic bed leveling, using a load cell sensor connected to the nozzle to physically tap the bed. Cooling is provided by a turbine suspended in front at a 45-degree angle. The updated fan has a “360” shroud to bathe the entire nozzle in cooling, enough to allow the MK4S to print up to a 75-degree overhang without supports.

Filament loading on the single color version is super simple. A manual spool rack is mounted to the top of the frame, which allows the MK4S to use both plastic or cardboard spools from any brand of filament. There are no pesky tubes to deal with, so you only have to grab the filament and push it a few centimeters into the top of the Nextruder. The machine will automatically grab it and pull it into the nozzle.

The MK4S is blazing fast for a bedslinger, with default speeds topping out at 250mm/s in order to keep the emphasis on precision. The extra speed comes from a custom high-flow CHT nozzle that increases the printer’s volumetric flow rate 44% to 50% faster than the previous MK4.

Software

Every 3D printer needs a slicer program to translate a digital model file into code your machine understands. This code is tailored to the make and model of your 3D printer, and also includes detailed instructions regarding temperature, speed and other values required by your chosen filament.

Open source PrusaSlicer has been the foundation for every other manufacturer's software for over ten years. The program is free to download and does not require the internet to operate once installed. If allowed online access, the slicer includes a link to Printables for finding free files to print and Prusa Connect for remote operation of your machine.

PrusaSlicer has Beginner, Normal and Expert Modes which are all overwhelmingly nerdy data dumps to new users. Beginners can start with EasySlice, a much simpler to use web based slicer installed on both Printables and Prusa’s mobile app. This fully functional slicer has a more graphic based interface and built-in tutorials to understand how slicing works. Sliced files can be downloaded to a USB stick or sent via the internet using Prusa Connect.

The Original Prusa MK4S typically retails $729/£579 for a DIY kit and $999/£729 for a fully assembled single color machine. A back to school sale is currently running in the US with prices as low as $639 for the kit and $799 fully assembled. The optional multicolor MMU3 is $359/£329 for a DIY kit and $389/£359 pre-assembled. These prices include duties, tariffs and taxes.

The MK4S is certainly not a budget machine, with competitors like Anycubic’s Kobra X costing a fraction of the price at $344/£259. However many budget focused 3D printers are difficult to repair and impossible to upgrade, making them feel disposable. We’ve seen other brands trot out new designs as little as six months later, making buyer’s remorse a real challenge. A Prusa is made not only to last, but to grow with you.

Price

The Original Prusa MK4S typically retails $729/£579 for a DIY kit and $999/£729 for a fully assembled single colour machine. A back to school sale is currently running in the US with prices as low as $639 for the kit and $799 fully assembled. The optional multicolour MMU3 is $359/£329 for a DIY kit and $389/£359 pre-assembled. These prices include duties, tariffs and taxes.

The MK4S is certainly not a budget machine, with competitors like Anycubic’s Kobra X costing a fraction of the price at $344/£259. However many budget focused 3D printers are difficult to repair and impossible to upgrade, making them feel disposable. We’ve seen other brands trot out new designs as little as six months later, making buyer’s remorse a real challenge. A Prusa is made not only to last, but to grow with you.

Should you buy the Prusa MK4S?

• Buy it if you value the right to repair and cloud free data security.
• Don’t buy it if your budget is tight or you can make do with a budget entry level printer.

Prusa Research makes practical printers tailored for enthusiasts, educational settings, print farms and small businesses. It commands a higher price not because it’s a luxury brand, but because it’s a well-engineered European machine backed by 24/7 customer support and an outstanding open-source community. Beyond build quality, you’re also buying peace of mind. For creators and print farms handling proprietary designs, Prusa’s ability to function without a satellite hookup keeps your files exactly where you can see them.

It’s IP68 rated and MIL-STD-810H certified, which isn’t just noise from a marketing spec sheet; it can actually survive being submerged in 1.5 meters of water for half an hour, and the screen even works with gloves on or wet hands, which if you’re working on-location in the pouring rain or doing a job that means you’re often in wet, dusty conditions, then it’s going to matter a lot more than something aesthetically pleasing. However, if you’re a creative looking for something that’s more general-purpose, you should probably look elsewhere, such as the Lenovo Idea Tab.

Key specs

Size: 25.7 x 16.8 x 9.93cm

Screen size: 10.95-inch

Panel: IPS (2560 x 1600)

Brightness: 600nits

Battery: 10,200mAh

Camera: 13MP (back), 8MP (front)

GPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Processor (2.50 GHz)

RAM: 8GB

Storage: 256GB

Connectivity: 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax & Bluetooth® 5.4, some models 5G

Design and Screen

• 10.95-inch IPS LCD screen
• IPS68 rated and MIL-STD-810H certified
• Durable rubberised casing

As soon as you unbox the Lenovo ThinkTab X11, you know this is no ordinary tablet. It’s thick, it’s chunky, and the rubberised casing that surrounds the screen is surprisingly nice to hold. This doesn’t feel like a tablet that is going to break easily, which is good because that’s what it’s designed to be.

One of my favourite design features has to be the slot on the side of the case for the Tab Pen. It fits snugly, so you know it won't fall off or drop out, unlike the magnetic Apple system. The rubber case isn’t a permanent fixture; it just pops off, although you do have to apply some pressure so you can rest assured it won’t come off if you drop it.

And then once it’s off, you can access the battery panel to replace the battery if needed. It’s not the easiest getting that panel off, so it’s not something you’re going to want to do all the time, but having a system where you can switch out the battery is really handy, especially if you can’t risk the battery running out whilst you’re working in the field. Inside the battery area, you’ll also find the slot for the MicroSD and, if it’s a 5G-capable machine, the Nano SIM slot.

The 10.95-inch screen is a 2.5K IPS LCD panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. The screen is pretty bright at around 600nits, but colours and blacks aren’t quite as vibrant and deep as you’d see on an OLED screen. But if you’re using this as the workhorse it’s intended to be, you probably won’t notice that much.

The screen is also reinforced with Corning Gorilla Glass, so it feels strong and sturdy. I did find the screen lagged quite a bit, it was slow to respond, especially when it was wet. The dual USB-C ports are a smart touch too, letting you charge and plug in a peripheral at the same time without having to use a separate adapter or dock.

Design score: 4/5

Features and Performance

• Dual USB-C ports
• Removable battery
• A Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor

The Lenovo ThinkTab X11 is actually loaded with features. You get two USB-C ports, which I mentioned above, perfect for charging while using an external drive or keyboard, you also get a 3.5mm headphone jack, a microSD expansion slot which supports up to 2TB and a front facing NFC for quick tap and go logins or payments.

The battery is, for me, one of the key features. We’ve all been in the middle of a project when the battery suddenly dies. Well, there’s no need to worry about running out of power with this tablet because you can switch the battery out for a fully charged one or use the battery-less mode, which means you can plug it in to charge and use.

The performance is adequate on this tablet. Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 and with 8GB, it handled a range of productivity tasks like web browsing, office apps and basic photo editing well. The Tab Pen XE was responsive and was pretty good at writing handwritten notes and basic sketching, but anything with more detail is going to be a struggle.

It has two cameras; the rear 13MP camera has autofocus and a bright LED flash. It doesn’t really measure up to what you’d get from a modern smartphone these days, but it’s ok; it does the job and is ideal if you’re just snapping photos for reference. The placement of the camera is in a bit of an odd spot, as it’s easy to cover it over with your hand when holding the case. The front-facing camera is just 8MP, which is good enough for a quick video call. But it’s worth keeping in mind that this is more of a business tablet; it hasn’t been built with designers and photographers in mind and that shows.

Features score: 4/5

Price and availability

• Double-check you’re buying the right tablet as some of the names are very similar
• 5G models aren’t available in the US

The ThinkTab X11 was released back in April and has a retail price of £680/$580 for the 8GB RAM, 256GB storage and 5G model. This also comes with the rugged smart case and Lenovo Tab Pen XE bundled in. It is worth noting that in the US you only get the Wi-Fi version, but for the price above, that does come with the case and pen bundle.

The best place to buy it is from Lenovo directly, as they seem to be the cheapest, but the model is available to buy on Amazon, just at a higher cost. It is worth just double-checking that you’re buying the right tablet when it comes to buying Lenovo products,

Price score: 3.5/5

Who's it for?

• Field workers, at a push, creatives who spend a lot of time on location
• Anyone who needs a tablet that can withstand rough treatment

This isn’t a tablet that creatives are going to rush to buy. It’s built for people who need a screen that will survive being dropped, rained on or handled with gloves. It’s also perfect for anyone who would prioritise a long-lasting battery over a stunning OLED display. If your work takes you outdoors, on location, or somewhere a normal tablet wouldn’t hold up, then the ThinkTab X11 is worth a look. If you’re looking for something lightweight and easy to create on, then keep on looking.

Buy if…

• You need a tablet that can survive drops, water and dust
• Your role involves being out on location or working in the field.
• Battery life matters more than speed or fancy screens

Don’t buy if…

• You want a tablet for photo editing, illustration or other creative work
• You want a screen with excellent colour accuracy
• You want a sleek, lightweight tablet for casual use

Benchmarks - Geekbench 6 scores

• Single-core: 1159
• Multi-core: 3396

No, don't worry. It's nothing to do with the terrible viral Chinese animation Niu Lai. This bovine-themed production is a graduation short film created by students from the French cinema school ESMA, or École Supérieure des Métiers Artistiques (don't miss our pick of the best laptops for animation and the best animation software if you're inspired).

Cows follows Moo Moo, a cow who grows tired of her ordinary life on a traditional farm. When a high-tech, modern farm opens across the road, she escapes in search of a better life, only to discover that reality does not match her expectations. The story explores freedom, the illusion of greener pastures and the clash between dreams and reality.

Despite being computer-animated in 3D, Jonathan Lally, Elio Molinaro and Nicolás Acevedo Ferraté used a distinct claymation stop motion visual style reminiscent of the work of Aardman (is this something like what we'll see in Disney's Clay).

The Silver award went to the The Panic Inside by Matthias Strasser (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Germany), while Bronze went to Gauze by Noran Fikri Alezabi, Xinyue Ma and Yulin Yue at Gobelins in France.

Gauze (below) tells the story of fourteen-year-old Zain, a Palestinian swimming champion facing war and man-made famine, who becomes the sole caregiver to his little brother. When aid drops into the sea, Zain is forced to swim, not for passion, but survival.

The Student Academy Awards competition received 2,972 entries from 894 colleges and universities this year. All of the winning animations will be eligible to compete for the Animated Short Film award at the 99th Oscars next year.

Here he presents four examples of his character designs with striking, dramatic compositions. For more inspiration, see our other features on digital artists.

Huang Zhong: The Veteran Warrior

“This piece features the aged but formidable Huang Zhong, with mellow tones reflecting his fortitude and legendary archery skill.”

Hzhang Fei: The Fierce Vanguard

“I made use of bold brushwork here to convey Zhang Fei’s fearless spirit, with ink splashes emphasizing his imposing battlefield presence.”

Guan Yu: The God of War

“Here, I depicted Guan Yu’s battlefield prowess, merging ink textures with dramatic light and powerful composition.”

Ma Chao: The Mighty Cavalier

“This captures Ma Chao’s wild cavalry prowess, with dynamic composition and ink shades highlighting his heroic charm.”

You can see more of Xianglong's work on his ArtStation profile.

Inspired to work on your own digital art? See below for deals on drawing tablets that we've reviewed.

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Usually when we cover these cases, it's the logo design itself that's the problem (like this recent case with Louis Vuitton). Here, even though the logos are nothing alike, it's surprising that the logo design isn't what's being contested. It feels unbelievable that anyone could try to claim ownership over a term as ubiquitous as "bnb."

The owners of Bnb-side, which was conceived to financially support the not-for-profit festival B-side, spoke to BBC Radio Solent and said they're holding firm. Rocca Holly-Nambi, director of B-side, and Cat Wightman, manager of the Bnb-side guesthouse, said: "We're just going to sit with our values and we are going to sit it out because we need to secure the future of B-side festival on the island, and the Bnb-side has been our way of doing this."

Talking to The Guardian, they made the point that Portland is overrun by Airbnb properties, and many small local guesthouses have been put out of business because of it. Targeting Bnb-side in this way really isn't a good look for Airbnb.

Big companies often go after small ones for trademark infringement, and some have more basis than others. Of course, two brands operating in the same space would normally strengthen the case for a copycat claim – but do you really think this instance is fair?

Which is why Autodesk’s big AI pitch at AU26, held this year in Las Vegas, has caught my attention. The company is talking about “closing the gap between what we can imagine and what we can build”, which is corporate language, certainly, but there’s something behind it that I find more interesting than the usual AI promise of making things faster, cheaper and with fewer people.

Raji Arasu, Chief Technology Officer and EVP at Autodesk, put the idea more bluntly during the keynote: “Our mission [is] to unlock capacity for you.”

More than any individual AI feature, this is what I think Autodesk is actually selling at AU26. The company is essentially arguing that AI should increase what people can accomplish with the resources they already have, whether that’s a designer trying to get through a mountain of repetitive work, an engineer juggling increasingly complicated product data or an animator trying to get a character to do what they imagined in their head without spending half the day fighting keyframes.

Can AI take away the drudgery?

After years of speaking with animators and game artists, that last one is the easiest for me to wrap my head around. Anyone who has spent time animating, or in any creative job, knows there’s the fun stuff and then there’s the stuff you have to do because, well, that’s how animation works. If AI can take some of the second category away while leaving artists in charge of the first, I’m interested. If it starts making the creative decisions for artists and animators, I’m much less interested.

That distinction runs through much of what Autodesk is showing at AU26, across architecture, engineering, manufacturing, and media and entertainment, and points to a general direction of travel for digital and 3D arts. Take the new standalone, agent-first version of Autodesk Assistant. Instead of making you figure out which Autodesk application contains the tool you need, the idea is that you start with the outcome you want, and Assistant uses your project context to determine which Autodesk capabilities are relevant.

I like that direction, partly because I’ve spent enough time with creative software myself, even just as a hobbyist and journalist and not a pro, to know that finding the right command, tool, or workflow can sometimes be half the battle. More importantly, though, Autodesk is trying to make the AI understand the work you’re doing rather than simply understand a prompt and do it for you.

Arasu described that ambition as “understanding not just what’s happening on your project, but why and what to do next.”

It's a small distinction, but it shapes how you use and approach AI; here at Autodesk, a creative project isn’t a blank box waiting for you to type something into it. It has models, drawings, materials, revisions, decisions, mistakes, constraints and a fairly sizeable pile of accumulated context. Autodesk wants its AI to work with that stuff, which is why the company keeps coming back to the slightly grand term “project intelligence”.

In less corporate language, I think the idea is that the software should actually know what you’re doing, help you do it, but not take over. Arasu put it another way when she described how, once AI understands a project’s context, “it becomes grounded in your workflow, your company, and your project ecosystem”.

The broader AI take-up

When you get into Autodesk’s creative tools, that subtle shift from replacer to helper piques my interest. Flow Studio is probably the AU26 announcement and demo I’m most curious about, coming tomorrow. The idea is that creators can create and assemble characters and AI-generated worlds, then bring them into an editable 3D environment to direct and refine what they’ve made.

We’ve already seen a lot of AI demos where someone types a sentence and gets a character, a landscape, a shot or an entire little film spat back at them, and yes, it’s impressive, but I’m starting to think the generation is actually the least interesting part of using AI creatively.

Give an animator a character in a blank space and tell them they can now decide how that asset moves, how they’re framed, what happens to them, what needs changing and what needs throwing away, and animators will be back in territory that feels much more like making something and a lot less like prompt jockeying to a final scene. It’s the difference between generation and direction, and I suspect a lot of the genuinely interesting creative work around AI will happen in direction.

I've already covered why MotionMaker in Maya fits into this approach to how AI can and should be implemented. Autodesk uses machine learning to reduce manual keyframing in character animation while keeping the artist in control of the final performance.

Again, I don’t particularly care that a machine can produce movement; I care more about whether it can save artists and animators from the parts of the process that keep them from spending time on the performance itself. If AI can get a rough motion in place quickly and then an artist can spend time pushing the pose, timing, weight and personality around until it feels right, that’s a compelling use of AI.

The machine has done some work, but it hasn’t really made the creative decision for you. And that, I think, is where Autodesk’s wider AI strategy starts to make more sense, even if you have to wade through a lot of Autodesk terminology to get there. Across the company’s different industry clouds, the pitch is broadly the same: give people more useful information, remove repetitive work and let them spend more time making decisions that actually matter.

Arasu summed up Autodesk’s intended outcome at the end of her section of the keynote: “less searching, less stitching, less AI complexity, more creating, more solving, and more innovating.”

And while it feels like a healthier AI place to be than simply saying “look how much content we can generate now”, it also leaves the bigger question hanging: if AI increases the amount of work one person can do, what happens to the number of people a company decides it needs?

The impact of AI won't go away

Autodesk can talk about unlocking capacity, helping businesses win more work, and making projects more predictable, but that doesn’t magically remove AI's economic reality. A tool that lets one animator do the work that previously took two people could be fantastic for the animator who gets to spend more time on the creative side of the job, but less fantastic for the second animator who no longer gets the job.

I don’t think Autodesk has an answer to that, even though CEO Andrew Anagnost has been honest about the impact on jobs, and I don’t think any software company can simply declare the problem solved. What I do think is useful is that the company is at least making a case for AI as an extra layer around human expertise in all creative sectors, rather than presenting the human as the inconvenient bit of the workflow.

That’s why the Flow Studio developments and what Autodesk shows around MotionMaker interest me more than another shiny generative demo. I want to see what happens when AI gets good at the tedious parts and leaves the messy, subjective, frustrating, very human business of deciding what something should actually be like to the person making it.

Maybe that’s where the real test for creative AI will be, not whether it can make something impressive from nothing – we already know it can – but whether it can give an artist enough extra time, control and freedom to make something better than they could have made before. That’s a much harder thing to demonstrate in a keynote, and it’s also the bit I’ll be watching most closely at AU26.

Visit AU26 for more news and announcements as they happen.

Speaking at Autodesk University 2026, Autodesk CEO Andrew Anagnost commented on the latest AI doom debate and split the argument into two camps. “There’s a cynical interpretation to this, and then there’s a non-cynical interpretation. I kind of prefer the cynical interpretation,” he says.

He explains: “The idea that any of these companies are going to self-regulate themselves at this point is ridiculous. I think some of this is a little bit of political theatre, you know, designed to pump themselves up, ‘look at how great our tech is’ – it’s so good, it’s so dangerous, there’s a 10% chance that we’ll kill everybody.”

He isn't arguing that the technology is harmless; quite the opposite, as he states, “There really is a real need to start putting guardrails on this technology. It’s a potentially dangerous technology that can be used in dangerous ways.”

The here and now consequences of AI

For Autodesk, the AI conversation is also becoming much more practical. The company is putting AI into Maya to automate parts of animation and make existing artists more productive, while Flow Studio is taking a broader look at how much of the production process can be connected and automated. MotionMaker, for example, can generate character movement from relatively simple inputs, while Autodesk has been expanding Flow Studio towards AI-assisted characters, assets and production workflows.

And there is a consequence to all of that which Anagnost is quite happy to say out loud. “There’s nothing we can do about the fact that these tools are getting more efficient, and because they’re getting more efficient, there are fewer FX artists per film,” he says.

That is a much more immediate problem for people working in VFX than whether AI will go full Skynet and wipe out humanity in ten years. If the software gets better at the work, studios don't necessarily need as many people to make the same film. From Anagnost’s point of view, the hope is that studios use that efficiency to make more things rather than simply making the same number of things with fewer people.

“The question is, are they going to be making more films with high-quality content? It’s unclear where that goes. It’s a very dynamic space,” he says. “Ideally, what would be happening here is that you’d be making more high-quality content. The artists that are available out there just have fewer hours per piece of content and more content.”

That thinking runs through Autodesk’s approach to animation. Maya remains the high-fidelity tool for professional artists, with AI and automation being added to reduce some of the more repetitive work. MotionMaker is one example, and Anagnost says Autodesk will keep adding technologies that take on more grunt work while artists remain in control.

Then there is Flow Studio, which Anagnost describes as a "second track", aimed at smaller teams that want to put together an entire production using a collection of increasingly automated tools. “We’re looking at a small team mashing up a bunch of stuff and bringing something together, script to screen in a highly automated way,” he adds.

Anagnost sees the eventual destination in film as a kind of script-to-screen system in which artists can assemble and direct much more of a production themselves. “The script-to-screen, the highly art manuscript-to-screen, I think we’re going to move to that world, and Netflix will have to eventually accept that,” he explains. “Because the artist feels like they’re in control; they can run a small team now through this, right? And they can pull technologies to use.”

There are obvious implications for the size of creative teams. If a small group can do work that previously required a much larger production, some jobs disappear from individual projects, even if overall content increases. Whether that extra content actually arrives is still an open question. The film and VFX industry is already dealing with changing budgets, streaming economics and a difficult production market, so there is no guarantee that money saved through AI will come back as more work for artists.

Anagnost acknowledges that the industry still hasn't figured out what comes next. “I think we might settle into a place where we’re actually creating more content, lower price, but high-quality content,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve gotten to the knock-on business. Business is still realigning.”

For artists, then, the immediate AI question probably isn't whether a machine will end civilisation. It’s whether the next film needs 500 people to make it, or 300, or 50, and what those people end up doing when the software starts handling more of the production.

The extinction argument is still there, and Anagnost thinks AI needs real guardrails. But Autodesk is also planning for a future where AI simply makes the production process dramatically more efficient, and that future has consequences for artists long before anyone has to worry about the machines taking over the planet.

The anticipated Switch 2 exclusive officially launches on 5 November 2026.

• Pre-order Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for $59 at Amazon

As we've seen from Nintendo's recent Zelda 40th Anniversary Direct, this is far from a simple HD texture do-over. Series producer Eiji Aonuma calls it a “faithful interpretation using modern technologies,” which translates to a pretty ambitious visual overhaul (if the many stills that have been released are to be believed).

Between the soft shadows, realistic materials, and a funky new mechanic that lets you hum into the Switch 2 microphone to play the ocarina (yes, really), Nintendo isn't just remaking a 1998 classic, they’re messing with our memories of it.

Naturally, the fans that don't hate the concept of making a 90s classic 'modern pretty' are rushing to secure their copies.

If you're eager to get your hands on the physical edition, you'll be treated to a gorgeous special foil cover while supplies last. The physical game retails for $69.99 / £54.99, while the digital version comes in slightly cheaper at $59.99. Crucially, physical collectors can breathe a sigh of relief: Nintendo is shipping the full estimated 27 GB game on the Switch 2 cartridge, meaning no game-key codes in sight.

In the US, Amazon and Walmart are currently leading the pack with an early discount, dropping the physical release down to a tempting $59.88. Meanwhile, in the UK retailers like Smyths Toys, Argos, and Currys are fully stocked, with Smyths and Currys even shaving a few pounds off the launch price.

If you're an absolute design purist or a die-hard collector, you might want to brave the queues at the official Nintendo UK online store. They are offering an exclusive pre-order bonus that’s already causing severe FOMO across the internet: a stunning set of 3D replicas of the Spiritual Stones.

Whether you think the new art direction looks like an Unreal Engine 5 fan demo (you’re wrong, it looks ace) or the absolute pinnacle of modern Zelda aesthetics, this remake is shaping up to be a technical marvel. We'll definitely be playing it come November.

I'd argue there's no strict formula for creating the best movie posters, but there certainly needs to be a little curation to make a memorable design. With all the charm of early 2000s clip art, it's safe to say that the new Musk poster is iconic (albeit for all the wrong reasons).

Leaning heavily on typography, the Musk poster features a bold font filled with what appears to be a low-res explosion graphic. Be it the poster's barren design or the strange, warped letters of the film's title, the design has a distinctly amateurish feel that doesn't quite match the grandeur of the documentary’s 4-hour runtime (be thankful it was reduced from the reported 6-hour director's cut).

"This poster has Tropic Thunder fake movie vibes," one Redditor wrote. "It looks like the kind of shit I used to do back in school for media studies," another wrote, while one commenter added, "Thankfully great art direction isn't anything I'm really looking to find from this documentary because this poster is horrible." Ouch.

I'd like to give the Musk poster the benefit of the doubt – surely the low-res look and awful font scaling are a conscious choice to appear countercultural and edgy? Then again, given its mammoth runtime, I'm unsure whether self-awareness was a factor in production.

For more poster design news, check out this ridiculous film poster that made me wish movies would get silly again or take a look at why horror movie poster design has a problem.

According to US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink, the development of an "on orbit" weapon was a necessity to protect US forces against hostile enemy action. Meanwhile, the US Space Force has confirmed that its capabilities are both defensive and offensive. But the new Space Force uniform designs don't exactly help dispel fears that things won't swing be more towards the latter. They look more than a little Third Reichy.

If you're going to redesign the US Space Force uniforms, I'd say you have one main task: make sure they don't look like Star Wars, Star Trek or the SS. As noted by many people on social media, the new designs posted by US president Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform appear to fail that test spectacularly.

“Designing the Space Force uniforms to look like the evil bad guys from Star Wars, who are led by an elderly, power hungry tyrant, who lose, repeatedly, is a bit too on brand, no?” one person writes on X.

Worse still, it seems that the costume design fail was not accidental. The description on the document shared by Trump states in all earnestness that the service unform design was “inspired by the discipline and the functionality of the Starship Troopers uniform. Modernised for the guardians of the space domain."

For those who haven't seen Paul Verhoeven's 1997 sci-fi movie, it's a satire of fascism and authoritarian. The director intentionally used aesthetics inspired by Nazism to parody the Third Reich's propaganda movies. In the US, famous for allegedly not understanding irony, many critics didn't get that and condemned the film as a "fascist movie". Now, the current US administration appears to be embracing that.

Of course, the public has come up with some alternative suggestions.

It's not the first time that the regime has openly depicted itself as evil through sci-fi movie references. Previously, it's been Star Wars. Campaign manager Brad Parscale compared Trump's 2020 reelection campaign to the Death Star, the White House comms team has depicted the president with a red lightsaber, and the Department of Homeland Security posted an AI video depicting itself as Darth Vader and gang members and human smugglers as the good guys.

There has already been much mockery of the Space Force logo and the Star Force insignia designs for their resemblance to Star Trek.

Could this be one of the best chairs for back pain sufferers? We’re seeing more chairs that feature electronic lumbar support — such as DXRacer’s Martian Pro — but it’s something Hbada needs to get right to make it worthwhile, especially when the X7 is priced over $1,000 / £1,000.

I've spent a couple of weeks with the Hbada X7, and while it might seem like a dream chair, it doesn't quite live up to its promises.

Comfort & ergonomics

The Hbada X7’s big selling point is its AI-powered lumbar support, which follows the curve of your back as you move around the chair. Lean back and it will automatically recede into the chair; move forwards and it follows you. I like the way that it takes the guesswork out of lumbar support settings, but I found that its constant robotic shuffling with every infinitesimal micromovement became deeply distracting rather than comforting.

This autonomous lumbar support also includes a massage system, which feels like fingers manipulating the small of your back, in a pleasant enough way, helping relax and recharge in both work and play. In AI mode, it kicks in automatically every now and then while you’re working, which is ... terrifying! It's like a ghost is trying to push you off your chair.

The back is also heated, which is a nice touch, and the base can get cool thanks to a couple of fans. The whole thing is controlled via a quaint wired remote with an LED display. You can also charge an onboard battery, which provides about five days of power, with a magnetic charging adapter that snaps on easily and snaps off when you forget it’s there and trip over it.

The X7 is definitely a chair that prioritises adjustments, and there are a lot. The headrest, backrest, lumbar support, seatpad and armrests all move in all manner of directions to ensure you’re supported. At 6’ 4” I often find that chairs come up a little short for me, but here I was able to dial in the adjustments to keep me supported and comfortable throughout the working day.

One final detail is a flip-out footrest which, when used with the reclining backrest, transforms the chair into a more horizontal position which feels relaxing. I’m currently writing this review in this semi-curled position, and the fact that I’m not hunched over a desk seems to be making me much more productive. I live in a small house and I’m a frequent loser in our bloodthirsty battles for the living room, but with this chair I’m able to work and relax in the same place.

The X7 is one of the more comfortable chairs I’ve used, and it’s versatile and supportive, but the lumbar support’s usefulness is outweighed by its intensely annoying nature.

Design & aesthetics

Hbada’s design team has raided the history books of human-focused design. The thick, sturdy grey plastic carries a 1970s aeroplane interior vibe, while the silver-plated curvaceous back support and accents look like something from a 1990s hi-fi catalogue, with the wired remote adding to the retro feel. I actually like this jet-age aesthetic, but the black version tones it down a bit if you’re not a fan.

The overall design makes the X7 a very bottom-heavy chair, with a chunky seatpad and a bulging column at the back, presumably because this is where all the tech has been stuffed in, but it tapers upwards gracefully and helps the chair fit in at the office.

However, there are details that feel cheap for such an expensive chair. The seatpad may look like it’s cushioned, but closer inspection reveals that it’s mesh, and you can literally see the cooling fans beneath it if you look close enough. The headrest doesn’t always slot into the right place, and some of the bits that look chrome are actually plastic.

I’m sure it’s solid enough, and Hbada includes a five-year warranty, but it feels as if the company’s focus on cramming it with tech has resulted in neglect elsewhere.

Specs

Assembly

Tech-heavy chairs also tend to be heavy, and the X7 is no exception: at 38 kg it’s about the same weight as a leopard, although it has fewer dangerous pointy bits. This heft makes assembly tricky, especially the herculean task of attaching the backrest. Everything else is straightforward, and there’s only one connector for the electronic components, which can become remarkably complicated on other chairs.

While most of the chair is preassembled or easy to put together, there is the chore of bolting the legs onto the five-star base. This annoyed me because bases are usually ready to rock from the box on chairs cheaper than this one. At the base you’ll also find a silver cover that’s made entirely from plastic, which again feels like a corner cut on a chair with a premium price tag.

Price & value

The Hbada X7's RRP is an eye-watering £1,509 / $1,509, but it's currently on sale for £1,169 / $1,169, which is marginally less eye-watering: more chopping onions than end-of-Titanic.

Strip the tech out of the X7 and you’d basically have Hinomi’s H2 ($759 / £759) a remarkably similar chair that I loved for its comfort and intricate adjustability. While the X7 includes its smart lumbar support plus a footrest as standard, the H2’s flippable armrests, folding design, and more reasonable price just about edge it out.

DXRacer’s Martian Pro ($699 / £699) also includes massage goodies, warming and cooling, and electronic lumbar support. It lacks the X7’s AI-powered automations, but I think this is a good thing. I really liked the Martian's electronic features, and its lower price makes it more accessible.

Should you buy?

The Hbada X7 feels like a chair that's not quite ready for mainstream. While the massage functionality and versatility of the chair make it perfect for both work and play, the much-vaunted motorised lumbar support and oddly horrifying massage feature is just so annoying that I ended up turning it off.

This is not a chair that I’d want to pay anything north of £1,000/$1,000 for: there are a few elements, such as the sketchy headrest and self-assembled base that are usually reserved for budget units. They’re small things, but they add up. If the Hbada X7 is on sale for a reasonable price then it's worth investigating, but for now it's not enough chair for too much money.

Looking towards Spring 2027, the new defining colours embody a boldness and zest for life, with lime greens, rosy pinks and fiery oranges dominating fashion's near future. If you're looking for a fashion-forward way to shake up your interior design, there are plenty of deals to snag to help you stay on trend. From stylish Smeg coffee machines to Le Creuset crockpots, these are the best kitchen accessories to bring a fashion week flavour to your space.

If you're getting started yourself, see our guides to the best 3D modelling software and the best laptops for 3D modelling.

You can see more of Tian's work on her ArtStation profile.

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That got me looking at some of the other marketing assets, and I was struck by the original teaser poster. The bold typography-led design dig deep into the annals of movie graphic design history and borrows more than a little inspiration from one of the greats (see our feature on famous graphic designers).

Digger is a disaster movie with a difference. Instead of an alien invasion or an asteroid heading for Earth, the calamity in this satirical black comedy is of a human-made kind. Tom Cruise stars as Digger Rockwell, a super rich oil tycoon whose aggressive drilling in places like Greenland trigger a global ecological disaster and ground fissure.

The teaser poster design is the work of BLT Communications in Los Angeles. Depicting the movie's title arranged to form the shape of a character carrying a spade, it's guaranteed to stand out in a foyer full of floating-head designs.

It takes its cues from the legacy of the great Saul Bass, deconstructing the movie's narrative into a single, powerful visual symbol. The result is as much a work of art as a piece of marketing.

Heavily influenced by modernist and Bauhaus design principles, Bass removed anything unnecessary from his designs and relied on flat colors, geometric shapes, strong negative space. He favoured symbolism over realis, combining minimalist design, cut-out shapes and bold high-contrast palettes. He also integrated raw, hand-drawn, kinetic or broken typography that often interacted directly with the graphic imagery rather than sitting separate from it.

These are techniques that today are more often reserved for book cover design than movie posters. Film studios usually want to show the faces of the main stars, sometimes because it's a contractual obligation, but also because of the belief that it's the star that sells the movie.

Modern movie poster design tends to prefer clarity over mystery. They show us what to expect, from the lead actors to the villain, the major action scenes or visual effects, all crammed into a crowded canvas with names, quotes and franchise branding.

Saul Bass posters feel different because they were designed to sell an idea rather than a product. For the Man with the Golden Arm, a broken arm represented addiction. For Hitchcock's Vertigo a spiral represented obsession and disorientation. The fragmented body in the poster for Anatomy of a Murder represents both the victim and the complexity of the case.

Bass asked "What is the essence of this story?", and his interpretation of the answer created curiosity. At least for me, the Digger teaser poster works in the same way today. It makes me more interested in seeing the movie than a key art poster showing Tom Cruise in prosthetics.

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 2710-UD solves that issue. This Ultra HD monitor doesn’t just have a remarkable screen; it also comes with a detachable 4K webcam, six built-in Dolby Atmos speakers, and a USB4 setup, making it ideal for anyone who wants to get rid of desk clutter for a seriously minimalist look.

None of this comes cheap, and this monitor does attract a premium price tag. But if you want everything all in one, it’s a great option. Here’s what I thought of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 2710-UD and whether it should be on the shortlist for your next monitor purchase.

Key specs

Resolution: 3840 x 2160

Refresh rate: 120Hz

Screen size: 26.5in

Response time: 0.03ms

Panel type: QD-OLED Penta Tandem

Ports: 4 x USB C, 1 x HDMI 2.1, USB4, DisplayPort Out

Speakers: 4 x 7W, 2 x 3W certified by Waves MaxxAudio & Dolby Atmos

Aspect ratio: 16:9

Webcam: Modular Camera with 4K Video at 30 FPS and Full UHD Video

Design and build

• It comes ready to go right out of the box; no assembly required
• The detachable webcam is perfect for straight-to-camera vlogging or video calls

I’ll be honest, the unboxing of a monitor isn’t usually something that I’d mention, but Lenovo have done something a little different with this one. The box lies flat and opens up rather than making you battle to retrieve the monitor between two clumps of polystyrene, so it gets extra credit for coming in very recyclable packaging. But also, the stand is already attached so you don’t have to balance it while you clip on the screen; it’s just ready to roll right out of the box. OK, so it’s not going to save you tons of time, but it’s a little touch that does make a big difference.

Once the monitor is up and running, it looks really good. It has slim bezels and doesn’t look chunky or plasticky; it’s the sort of screen you imagine to be featured in one of those “look at my desk” pictures on Instagram (which I could’ve obviously done if the rest of my desk didn’t look like it had been involved in a fight).

The camera, however, is the one design feature that really sticks out. It comes in the box separately and attaches to the top magnetically. No fuss, and if you don’t want a camera pointing at you all day long, you can just take it off. It does have a handy lens cover, which automatically turns the camera off so you don’t have to worry about any embarrassing moments where you didn’t realise it was on. Plus, there are four integrated microphones, so no need to worry about separate audio accessories.

Around the back is where you’ll find all the ports. And there are plenty of them. There’s a USB4 with daisy-chaining, HDMI, DisplayPort, a VESA bracket if you’d rather wall-mount your monitor and a light sensor that will adjust the brightness automatically.

The stand is a little disappointing; it’s not very easy to make adjustments. There’s also no way of flipping this monitor into portrait mode, and yes, I know that’s not something that everyone needs, but it is kind of a given that you can rotate the screen when it comes to modern monitors.

Score: 5/5

Features and Performance

• The QD-OLED panel delivers excellent colour accuracy out of the box
• The webcam and speakers really make this monitor stand out

Let’s start with the screen, because that’s what it’s really all about. It’s a 26.5-inch, 4K QD-OLED panel. It has superb colour accuracy; the blacks were very black, and it also held up well, whatever angle you looked at it from. It runs at 120Hz, so perfect for day-to-day use and video editing; it’s also pretty good for some basic gaming. I did notice that the brightness wasn’t as bright as some other monitors I’ve tested, such as the BenQ MA270S, but for everyday work, it’s not really noticeable.

The webcam, of course, is the star of the show when it comes to features. Rather than it being a slapped-on afterthought, Lenovo have really thought this one through. It uses a Sony IMX678 sensor and shoots at 4K at 30fps with continuous autofocus. This is what makes it great for bloggers who like to do their piece to camera and (like me) have a tendency to shift around in their seat a lot. The four built-in microphones mean that you’ll also get crystal-clear recording and negate the need for any external mic setups. Honestly, for anyone doing talking head videos, tutorials or podcasts on camera, this is a step above what you’d find on most laptops, let alone monitors.

And then there’s the sound. I have tested a lot of monitors, and usually the speakers are awful. This one, they are amazing. The Dolby Atmos speakers give proper spatial sound rather than that tinny thing that built-in speakers usually do.

There’s also a neat little trick if you have a Lenovo laptop. If you pair this monitor with a Yoga Pro, for example, the built-in Colour Sync will match the colour between the two screens, and the speakers will all work in tandem. Of course, that is only a great feature if you already own or are planning on buying a Lenovo laptop.

Score: 5/5

Price

• You’re paying a premium over rival OLED monitors just for a webcam
• It’s still cheaper than an Apple Studio Display

The Lenovo Yoga Pro 27UD-10 retails at £1,000 / $1,499, so it’s certainly a monitor for those with deep pockets. I don’t think that Lenovo are aiming to compete with the Apple Studio Display in the same way that companies like BenQ do, but if you want the Apple, this does make a good alternative, and if you’re in the UK, it’s a lot cheaper too.

Price: 4/5

Who’s it for?

• Users who use a webcam a lot, so ideal for vloggers, streamers, podcasters etc
• Anyone doing colour-sensitive work and wants a screen they can trust

This is a monitor for people who make things, not just those who look at spreadsheets. However, if you are looking for a monitor for productivity purposes, you still won’t be disappointed. If you’re using a webcam daily, whether it be for video calls or recording content, then this is a no-brainer. It is also a great choice for anyone working with images and video where having a monitor that offers great colour is essential. The Yoga Pro 27UD-10 really earns its keep, especially with the OLED screen and those built-in speakers. If you’re after a big, sharp screen and don’t care about the camera or speakers, go for something cheaper, but if you want an all-in-one package, this one is perfect.

Buy if…

• You want to declutter your desk without having to give up on awesome speakers and a decent webcam
• You do colour-sensitive work and need an OLED that will give you great colour accuracy.
• You’ve got or you’re planning to get a Lenovo laptop

Don’t buy if…

• You’re watching your budget, there are 4K OLED screens out there for less
• You’ve already got a webcam and speakers that you like
• You’re a hardcore gamer who needs competitive refresh rates

Just days later, rumours suggest that Apple's developing its first gaming hardware since the best-forgotten Pippin in the form of two controllers. But is there a market for them?

The probable development of Apple gaming controllers was first noted by a MacRumors reader, who highlighted references in the latest macOS 26.7 release code to devices named T6502 and T1057. These identify themselves to Apple's Game Controller software framework as “Made For iPhone" gamepads.

The regular Apple rumour purveyor Mark Gurman of Bloomberg has confirmed that two controllers have been in development for over a year. They're said to feature usual controls like D-pad, dual thumbsticks, shoulder buttons, and analogue triggers.

One seems to be a fairly basic wired controller. The other reportedly supports Bluetooth and adds an accelerometer and gyroscope, which makes it sound like a potential 'Pro' version.

Aside from jokes about the possibility of a charging port in a frustrating location, (looking at you, Magic Mouse), the news has been hailed as confirmation that Apple's finally going all in on gaming, aiming to make the iPhone a genuine competitor for the likes of the Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck, including for AAA games.

But there's a detail that's raised eyebrows. The reports suggest that the controllers will be released under the Beats brand, not the Apple name.

It seems the Cupertino tech giant wants in on gaming but is still worried that gamers don't click with the Apple brand. The bolder, more youthful Beats might be a better fit – but only just. Beats doesn't have rep with gamers either. It's branched out into speakers and iPhone cases, but it's still essentially a headphones brand. A move into gaming peripherals is a big leap.

So why make a foray into gaming hardware with a secondary brand that's only known for one thing? Some people would buy an Apple controller for the aesthetic and for brand loyalty.

There's an argument that using Beats would allow Apple to avoid sullying its main brand through the use of the less premium materials, allowing it to ensure a competitive price point. There's no shortage of third-party controllers for iPhone, from peripherals from Backbone or SteelSeries that clamp to the phone to universal controllers like the Sony's DualShock 4 and DualSense, the Xbox Wireless Controller, Nintendo Switch Pro Controller and devices from brands like Razer.

Beats is also a platform agnostic brand, suggesting that the potential Apple controllers would be marketed as a universal mobile gaming accessory rather than for iPhone specifically.

But if Apple's really is serious about gaming, the controllers should be less about hardware sales and more about strengthening its gaming ecosystem, from Apple Arcade to potential Apple TV gaming, Vision Pro integrations and better cross-device experiences. The Beats name might detract from that.

But I suspected there's also another consideration. From Apple Watch to the Vision Pro to new iPhone Duo, Apple enters mature markets late only when it thinks it has something it can present as a new innovation, or as the perfection of what everyone else has been aiming for. If it's launching gaming controllers under the Beats name, that suggests it doesn't have an innovation: they're just more controllers in an already crowded market. So why bother at all?

Two years after we tested it, the Sihoo M18 remains the only budget office chair in this price range that we've awarded a 10 out of 10 review. We think it combines ergonomic comfort and adjustability, good looks and a very attractive price – as we note in our guide to the best office chairs for back pain.

Not in the US? See budget office chair deals in your region below.

That's still a lot o money for a set of headphones, and it makes Apple's AirPods Max look cheap – a current deal has them reduced from $549 to $429, also at Amazon. But then the build quality, comfort and sound of the MG is really in another league as we noted in our ears-on Focal Bathys MG review back in June (for more options, see our guide to the best wireless headphones).

Today's best headphone deal

Behind the Focal Bathys MGs' striking design

Last month, we spoke to Edgar Paccoud, innovation project manager at Focal, about the unusual design of the Bathys MG headphones. He told us that those striking grilles on the cans are much more than just a pretty decoration: every design decision has an acoustic or mechanical requirement.

"The choice of skin, fabric, perforation patterns and even the foam density has a measurable impact on the acoustic performance of the headphone," he said.

That said, the design was also clearly influenced by an aesthetic vision. Edgar said the company aimed to shut out other headphone designs and instead seek inspiration in high-end car design and watch making.

"We intentionally use sharp edges, precise surfacing and dynamic proportions to create a sense of tension and performance," he said, arguing that where most competitors chase minimalism, Focal wants, "the object to express the technology it contains."

But it seems Sweeney isn't letting it hold her back, after starring in a new campaign for US sports prediction market company Novig. With the fresh controversy causing backlash online, even catching the attention of Olympic athletes, it's clear that the new ad has only added fuel to the fire.

The ad in question features Sweeney 'performing' (and I use that term lightly) various sports in several states of undress, under the guise that it's "just sport". With an overtly sexual tone to the ad, there's no denying that Novig is taking a 'sex sells' approach to branding – one that many believed was a thing of the past.

The comments were ablaze with criticism from women who felt the ad was sexist, setting us back to the Y2K era of sexualised branding. "Thank you for undoing everything women try to build in sports," one Instagram commenter sarcastically wrote. "As a former athlete and a woman who has personally experienced sexualized comments, I’m genuinely disgusted and deeply disappointed by this campaign. We’ve spent years fighting to be seen and respected for our talent, strength, and achievements-not reduced to our bodies…" another added.

It wasn't long before female athletes began speaking out against the ad, with Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus saying, "Not only is it a kick in the face to every woman who had dedicated her life to perfecting her craft, but every women who enjoys sports for what it really is – teamwork, friendship, dedication, excellent, unity … How do we live in a world where monetising a woman’s body and sexualising women’s sport is still a thing?”

In a post-race interview, Team GB runner Amy Hunt took a shot at Sweeney, gesturing to the arena behind her, claiming, "Sydney Sweeney, this is what women in sport look like."

Sweeney later responded to the backlash by posting images of female athletes like Serena Williams, Ronda Rousey, and Megan Rapinoe in stripped-down shoots. While the Instagram stories may have been an attempt to quell the backlash, they only highlighted the glaring issue with Sweeney's ad.

There's a stark difference between a female athlete stripping down in the name of empowerment and an actress masquerading as a sportswoman for male gaze ragebait. Given Sweeney's controversial history with American Eagle, I have strong suspicions that Novig knew it could stir up some controversy with her behind the campaign.

It might not be a graceful way to attract attention, but rage-bait marketing is certainly effective (albeit short-lived). Like we've seen with endless controversial billboards and divisive rebrands, getting the internet riled up will work for a time, but brands built on rage rarely stand the test of time.

There's also the question of portability. If you want something you can put in your bag and run around with, you'll be looking for the best Macbook for content creators. But if you're only going to use it in one place, you can get more power and value from a desktop-bound Mac mini.

So to make things easy for you, in this article I've picked out the best Mac for content creators and the best Macbook for content creators, for both light work and heavy content creation.

If you're after laptops for graphic design too, these machines will double up nicely, and if your content occasionally strays into laptop for 3D modelling territory, I've flagged where that changes the calculation.

Best Mac for light content creation

By light content creator work, I mean editing footage that doesn't make to many demands on your Mac's processor: no dense colour grading, no huge multicam projects. In other words, if you're making video with your phone or shooting on compact cameras (in automatic mode and not in massive formats like Log), these are your best options.

The MacBook Air is our top recommendation for anyone who needs to do some light editing on the go. Despite being super-thin, its powerful M5 chip will handle Photoshop and lighter Premiere workloads without ever breaking a sweat.

Since the arrival of the MacBook Neo, the Air is no longer the cheapest Mac on the market. Yet it's still much closer to the M5 MacBook Pro in real-world performance. In our Geekbench 6 testing it came in only a few percentage points behind the entry-level Pro, and in Photoshop it was just 14 per cent slower, while more than doubling the Neo's scores.

Where it does fall away is in heavier video tasks: pushing raw footage through Premiere, it delivers roughly half the performance of the Pro. But don't worry about that too much: for anyone editing phone or compact camera footage in automatic mode rather than Log, that gap simply won't be felt.

The base 16GB model with a 512GB SSD is plenty for most light workflows, although it's worth noting the Air tops out at 32GB of RAM, so it's not a machine to grow into if your ambitions are likely to grow over time.

For a fixed setup, the Mac mini is hard to beat on value. It's tiny, quiet and its CPU performance outpaces machines costing far more, making it the perfect option for anyone doing photo editing or light video work from a permanent desk. The lack of a screen and keyboard means you'll need to budget for those things separately, but that's the only real compromise here.

In our benchmarking, the entry-level Mac mini's multi-core Geekbench score outdid an older Mac Studio, which gives some idea of just how much has been packed into such a small box. It starts with 16GB of unified memory and a 256GB SSD, which is enough for everyday photo editing, general productivity and non-3D graphic design work, and configuration options stretch up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of storage if you want the same box to last you a few years.

Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI, Ethernet and a headphone jack round out the connections, and it supports up to three external displays depending on resolution. The only real limitation is graphics: the integrated GPU is respectable for photo editing and light video, but it's not intended for 3D work or gaming, so if that's what you're looking for, you may be better with number 4 on our list.

Best Mac for heavy content creation

What do I mean by heavy content creator work? Well, if you film in Log footage, shoot 10-bit, and lean on lots of effects, plugins and multicam timelines, you need more sustained power and more memory headroom than the light-work machines can comfortably offer. In that case, here are the best Macbook for content creators and the best Mac for content creators to choose between.

This is the sweet spot for most serious content creators. The standard M5 MacBook Pro performs similarly to the Air, so it's not worth the upgrade on its own, but stepping up to the M5 Pro model brings a big jump in multi-core performance and a proper cooling system that keeps it running at full pace for longer. Aim for 48GB of RAM if your budget allows it, though the stock 24GB will still cope fine with most Log and multicam work.

The extra cores make a real, noticeable difference to multi-core performance over the standard M5, and battery life remains excellent despite that extra power on tap, comfortably seeing you through a full day's editing. SSD speeds are startling too; easily fast enough for shunting large ProRes or RAW files around without a second thought.

Where it's less convincing, though, is GPU-heavy work. Windows laptops with a dedicated Nvidia GPU will outpace it for tasks like AI image generation or transcoding 8K proxies, so bear that in mind if your workflow leans that way.

The M5 Max model, by contrast, is probably overkill for most content creation. It'll give you significant extra headroom and is an excellent chip in its own right, particularly for those doing heavy 3D or VFX work, but for the majority of creators it comes down to cost versus value: you're paying a lot for performance you may rarely touch.

If your heavy workflow happens at a desk rather than on the road, the Mac mini with M4 Pro is currently your best desktop option. With up to 64GB of unified memory, a 16-core GPU and Thunderbolt 5 on the higher configurations, it comfortably handles Log footage, colour grading and effects-heavy timelines.

Here's something important to bear in mind, though. I said "currently". Apple has already launched the next model of Mac mini, which is available for pre-order and arrives on 22 September.

On paper, that model looks like the natural successor to the machine we're recommending here. It boasts a new M6 chip alongside a M5 Pro option, offering up to an 18-core CPU, a 20-core GPU and Neural Accelerators for AI-heavy workflows. So it's likely to be the better buy for anyone starting from scratch.

But "likely" is doing some work in that sentence: Apple doesn't always deliver a big leap between generations: the M3 MacBook Pro, for instance, was a distinctly underwhelming step up from the M2. So we're not certain the M5 Pro Mac mini will comfortably beat the M4 Pro in every respect until we've tested it ourselves.

In the meantime, the Mac mini with M4 Pro remains an excellent machine for heavy content creator work, and it's likely to become even better value once the new model lands and the price (hopefully) starts to drop.