Your monthly ‘how to spend it’ guide to all the cool new gadgets.
CUT THE CORDS
Apple’s long awaited AirPods refresh has finally happened. The third gen AirPods come with a whole new design; lightweight and contoured, sitting at just the right angle for comfort and to direct audio into the ear. The stem is shorter, and features the same intuitive force sensor as AirPods Pro for media control. They’re also geared for a run through a drizzle — they are resistant to both sweat and water, with an IPX4 rating for both the earbuds and the charging case. Battery life is improved too — 30 hours of total listening time (with the case). We’re most excited about computational audio that brings breakthrough experiences like Adaptive EQ and spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, that were previously reserved for the AirPods Pro and Max. Rs 18,500.
FLAGSHIP CHALLENGER
The Samsung Galaxy A52S 5G features a minimalist design. It weighs under 190 gm despite a large (4500 mAh) battery under the hood. The 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display (1080 x 2400 pixels) is one of our favourite features of this device. Colours are punchy, and the 120Hz refresh rate makes the overall user experience much more immersive and fluidic. The quad rear cam includes a 64MP primary lens with OIS (optical image stabilisation) that makes a significant difference in our lowlight tests. Videos benefit from the video stabilisation mode (you can activate it in the camera menu) while shooting videos. This device doesn’t only get a 5G upgrade but also features a zippy Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor under the hood. Rs 35,999 onwards.
PARTY PROOF
The Sonos Move has enough thump to power your next house party. The Move stays consistent with Sonos’ minimalist design language, the indent on the back of the speaker makes it easier to cart around. The Move is kitted with a far-field microphone array that uses advanced beamforming and multi-channel echo cancellation so your voice assistant can be readily activated. Alexa and Google Assistant are baked in. The Move boasts of two Class-D digital amplifiers perfectly tuned to match the speaker drivers and acoustic architecture. The downward firing tweeter is designed to provide an omnidirectional soundstage. You don’t have to worry about positioning yourself in the ideal spot, you hear the music regardless of where you’re positioned in relation to the speaker. Bass is really rich, with a wide soundstage. Rs 37,999.
THE PERFECT SHOT
The Fujifilm GFX 50S II is the latest addition to the brand’s GFX Series of mirrorless digital cameras equipped with a large format sensor. This pro cam packs a 51.4MP large-format sensor to boast an incredible image-resolving power, capturing every detail in sharpness across the frame. The resulting image reproduces deep tonality and texture from shadows to highlights, and delivers image clarity with minimal noise even when taken in low light. It is complemented by GF lenses’ edge-to-edge sharpness to accentuate the main subject against a blurred background for added three-dimensional definition. It’s also incredibly compact, weighing only 900g. Rs 3,79,999 onwards.
BLING THING
The OPPO Reno 6 Pro 5G Diwali edition is a showstopper. OPPO introduced a proprietary, new Reno Glow effect with the Reno 6 Pro. This unique anti-glare process lends this device a distinctive sheen that’s further accentuated by a Diamond Spectrum Process that gets a whole new spin with this special edition. It’s bound to grab attention at your favourite nightspot. OPPO has customised its Color OS and added a matching wallpaper, UI, as well as a charging interface. Aside from the golden glow, it’s the slim form that’s likely to catch your attention. The device is under 8 mm, and weighs just 177 gm despite a solid 4500 mAh battery under the hood. The other highlight is the 6.55-inch display (1080 x 2400 pixels), replete with a 90Hz refresh rate. Rs 41,990.
GO PRO
Apple’s new MacBook Pro is here, and it’s powered by the all-new M1 Pro and M1 Max — the first pro chips designed for the Mac. These power packed beasts come in two sizes — 14 and 16 inches. The M1Pro features a powerful up-to-10-core CPU with eight high-performance cores and two high-efficiency cores, along with an up-to-16-core GPU while the M1 Max features the same powerful 10-core CPU as M1 Pro, and doubles the GPU with up to a massive 32 cores. There’s a stunning new Liquid Retina XDR display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while battery life gets a boost too — the 14-inch model delivers up to 17 hours of video playback, while the 16-inch model gets up to a remarkable 21 hours of video playback. Rs 1,94,900 onwards.
