Your monthly ‘how to spend it’ guide for all the cool new gadgets.

STYLE MEETS SUBSTANCE

The Apple Watch 6 widens the gap over the competition with new wellness features, and a new line-up of colours and finishes including two new spiffy coloured cases — a cool blue, and a Product Red edition. A new S6 chip is at the heart of this smartwatch and offers a lightning-quick experience, as well as better battery life. The new Always-on display (500 nits) is now 2.5 times brighter than its predecessor. The headline feature of the sixth-gen watch is Blood Oxygen monitoring, or SpO2 tracking, that measures the oxygen saturation in your bloodstream. Apple has added a new set of sensors on the back of the watch — four LED clusters and four photodiodes, to measure light reflected back from blood. Rs 40,900 onwards

PUREPLAY ANDROID

Google might have finally nailed its Pixel strategy in India with the Google Pixel 4a. It ticks all the key boxes at a compelling price tag. At 143 gm, this device feels great in your hand, and is designed for one-handed navigation. The 5.81-inch OLED boasts of crisp colours, while the 3140 mAh won’t let you down. But the real showstopper is the Pixel camera — a 12.2MP rear lens (f/1.7 aperture) that rides on Google’s brilliant software optimisation to deliver great results. It’s one of the best cams for lowlight photography. And then, there’s the pureplay Google experience, minus all the bloatware. Rs 29,999

RETRO-ACTIVE

The Amazfit Neo will take you right back to the 1990s. The design language is straight out of a Casio-type digital watch playbook — a rectangular 1.2-inch black and white, STN (Super-twisted nematic) display, and a plastic frame (it comes in black, green, and red) with a polyurethane strap. It’s easy to forget that this is a smartwatch with a bunch of capabilities. The Neo offers quite a few fitness features at an affordable price tag, backed with incredible 28-day battery life. It tracks steps, heart rate, counts calorie burns, and also tracks sleep. There’s also a cool call alert that sounds like an alarm — again, a ’90s throwback. Rs 2,499

FLAGSHIP CHALLENGER

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is the latest device to roll off the brand’s busy assembly line. FE stands for Fan Edition — this device delivers on all key features of fans’ wish lists. It might be a more affordable version of the brand’s flagship devices but doesn’t skimp on the features that really matter. Samsung offers an array of funky colours, and then there’s the brilliant 120Hz refresh rate on the Infinity-O 6.5-inch display. The S20 FE is kitted with a triple rear cam that snaps sharp lowlight images, and offers up to 30X Super-Resolution Zoom. The device is powered by an Exynos 990 processor that teams up with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage. Rs 49,999

FITNESS FIRST

The TicWatch GTX from Mobvoi is a compelling smartwatch option (with a bright 1.28-inch TFT display) for first-time users, or if you’re making the switch from a basic fitness tracker. It offers 14 workout-tracking modes (including soccer and basketball), and also comes with sleep tracking. The sporty creds are underlined with a comfortable TPU watch band and IP68 certification — this watch is poolproof. The watch offers multiple watch faces, you can also create your own watch faces. Rs 6,999

AUDIOPHILES UNITE

If you assumed that only bulky, over-the-ear headphones can deliver stellar sound, think again. Sennheiser’s CX 400BT earbuds come with the same 7mm dynamic drivers in the brand’s premium Momentum True Wireless 2 (one of the finest in terms of sound quality). The companion App (available on both Android and iOS) offers quite a few customisations and controls, including a clever equaliser feature. These buds sit comfortably in your ears, thanks to the ergonomically-designed silicon ear tips, and offer great sound insulation, allowing you to immerse yourself in your favourite playlist. Rs 16,990

A PAD FOR CHARGING

The ongoing pandemic and, consequently, WFH routine has made some things pretty clear. Some gadgets are more useful than others. Wireless earphones, for instance, and charging pads, for we are constantly on our phones. If you think likewise, allow us to point you towards the Belkin Kakao Friends 10W wireless charging pad. Irrespective of whether you care, or are even aware of who Kakao Friends are — emoticons featuring on KakaoTalk, a popular Korean messaging app — you’ll find that the pad comes in pretty handy. This Belkin can charge a range of Qi-certified devices, and that includes flagship phones from the big two — Apple and Samsung — as well as AirPods, Samsung Buds+, and the like. A white LED indicator shows stable charge status and the FOD (Foreign Object Detection) function lights up an amber indicator. The charging pad ships with a USB-A cable (no adapter), and does the job smartly and reasonably fast. Rs 3,499

FUTURE PERFECT

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2 is the follow up to Samsung’s first two foldable devices — the Fold and the Z Flip. The device features two bezel-less Infinity-O displays. The cover screen is 6.2-inches, while the massive primary screen stretches to 7.6-inches once you unfold the device. This is a welcome change from the smaller external display on the first edition of the Fold, and makes the external display more usable without having to flip the device open each time. The device is thinner now (just 6mm thick), and also has a thinner gap between the displays, making it easier to slip into your pocket. There’s also a reimagined hinge; it’s not just more durable, but also features what Samsung calls a ‘sweeper’ that employs elastic fibres to flush out dust or debris from the hinge. The device is powered by the best of breed Qualcomm Snapdragon 865+ processor. Rs 1,49,999

SOUND NO BAR

Clean lines mark the design language of the Zoook Studio Solo. This soundbar is very light and portable — just 1.1 kg — and is about 60 cm long. It won’t occupy too much space in your living room and looks refined enough to rub shoulders with your flat-screen TV. You can pair the Solo via Bluetooth, or rely on the 3.5mm jack to use a wired connection. The Solo peaks at 50W feature built-in subwoofers and has a battery back up of three hours. Rs 3,499