[Open Discussion] What’s the best bit of tech you’ve bought recently?

[George]

I’m a huge tech fan. So thought I’d start a thread to see if anyone has bought anything cool recently! 

I’ll kick things off. 

I know a lot of people buy super expensive wireless headphones. But I bought this pair of these JLab Sports Go (Headphones) for £30, and I have to say I’m chuffed! 

Why do I think they’re great: 

• Well, they were £30 not hundreds like some other options 
• They stay in my ears when I exercise thanks to the comfortable hook design 
• The audio is good enough - Not Apple Air Pods quality, but good enough 
• The mic for calls is surprisingly useable 
• The battery life is crazy good - I’m talking almost 2 days of heavy use 

I’ve attached some pic’s below in case anyone's interested. 

Look forward to hearing about everyone’s recommendations 😃! 

[leedorney]

I don't know if this counts tho I do have a weather station and its just great for giving you everything to do with weather 👍 #geekfactor10

[YulianK]

That sounds interesting. Do you get real-time data only or there is a forecast too?

[BrianHu_1636511]

Sounds like a good bit of kit will invest in one

[GrahamBl_296767]

I remember installing a weather station many years ago, claimed on insurance for storm damage. Loss adjuster came round, " you state the wind speed was gusting over 70mph, how do you know that?"

I just point to the mast on the side of the house.

" Oh, I can't really argue with that."

Over 70 is classed as a storm.

[Astrophsica]

The latest big tech purchase for me is the Oculus Quest 2, which is a really good purchase! No expensive computer needed.

The latest tech purchase for me is a powerbank. Found a 10,000mah at BnM for under £20. So far, been a great purchase!

[YulianK]

Welcome to community @Astrophsica 

Quite intrigued by the VR set, there is so much you can do with them. If you care, let us know more about it here.

[Imprintz]

I love the quest 2 

I make the personalised skins fir them 😉

Check my etsy shop etsy.com/uk/shop/imprintzltd

[YulianK]

Recently got Huawei laptop and Samsung A52 phone, love both of them. Casualty rate for any tech devices is quite high in my household, so I prefer good value tech that could be easily replaced.

[UmranSat_262723]

Were did u get them fr???

[YulianK]

Ao.com. Interestignly, laptop doesn't have a web camera. It's something that's expected, so I didn't even bother checking, although it's not a bad thing in the end of the day. 

[Swarming1095]

I'd have to go with the Apple TV 4K, the new 2022 model. It's absolutely astonishing. If you're used to something like a Roku or Amazon Fire Stick, and you use it a lot, then you owe it to yourself to upgrade. Yes it's more expensive. But everything about it is so much nicer to use. There's zero lag at all, ever. No hitching, no framerate drops as you switch between apps. The UI is beautiful and very intuitive. It's got some solid horsepower too, and there are excellent games available for it, and it works with all modern controllers. And the more is stunning. Plus the Siri integration works really well.

Honestly, if you use a streaming stick a lot, treat yourself by getting an Apple TV 4K. You'll wonder how you ever lived using something else.

[Bubblesthefish6]

My Galaxy buds Pro and nothing phone 1. Was very supprised my nothing 1 works with Smarty wifi call ans 4G calling, but it does and i’m still very happy with it. My galaxy buds pro are amazing, and have got to be better than any airpods - since they have lossless bluetooth.

[YulianK]

Buds are quite good, they work with any Samsung tech flawlessly and not only. Although, got one for my better half but she prefers unbranded headphones bought from Amazon. Live and learn 😀

[DelDeeSmartE]

I bought a BOSE soundbar for my TV from Amazon, it was a bargain at £149 as it's normally £230. Great sound quality and nice and compact too. 

[YulianK]

Great buy! І have purchased a JBL Bar 2.0 soundbar from Currys for £79 just a few days ago. It's an entry level in the world of soundbars but the experience is life changing 🎶 

Huge upgrade from the standard TV speakers.

[Pwfcomp]

Love the way you can program the bose hand control too use on your tv as well.   

[Wardysays]

Mine is my upgrade to an Apple Watch Ultra. As a keen long distance runner I only take my watch to stream music, track the run and other bits alongside my AirPods. Only reason I never took them on a half or full marathon is due to the battery. The Ultra beats that hands down! 

I’ve had 70 hours of battery with my phone near and around 17 on its own. Plenty of battery!!!! 

[YulianK]

Yes, I have one of the Galaxy Watches (2 or 3) gathering dust somewhere. Really enjoyed it initially but battery life and the need to recharge constantly just killed it for me. 

[ChrisGi_1537052]

Bought some Philips Hue lights for my daughter, they are brilliant so far, so many options and possibilities for addons around the house.

[YulianK]

Had to Google them but they look super cool, thanks for sharing👍

[vista]

Steam deck. It's brilliant being able to play pc games on a handheld device.

[LammyTs1-230]

My wife has just very generously treated me to the new Galaxy watch 5 pro, i had the original galaxy watch since they 1st came out and I have to say what an amazing upgrade. I loved my original watch so i am shocked at how much better this one is, from the build quality to the apps and things the watch can do. Which is far too much to list here but as you can possibly tell I really like my new gift. I have all the health apps etc but if anyone can suggest an app that they like for their own smartwatch please do not be shy and let me know. 

[ChrisGi_1537052]

Love the strava app on mine for ease of use whilst running with the breakdown of distance and speed with route options.

[AriBole_1018761]

I literally just bought the Asus ZenFone 9, and I've got to say it's amazing. 

I tried the s22, but screen refresh rate was nowhere near 120, and it didn't feel great. This phone, though, is something. It's snappy, has amazing battery life, and is small...

[leedorney]

I've had a Mi Band 6 NFC for a while and was interested in something bigger ie the screen, 1stly tried a Garmin vivoactive 3 not bad but screen was much, then tried an Oppo 46mm watch better screen size tho software clunky, and lastly which I feel ill keep is the Xiaomi S1 active and the screens fantastic + has a barometer & altitude guage built in too, good deal as well @ £112 👌

[RobSmit_1387071]

A 4G+ WiFi router with the Smarty unlimited data to replace my BT broadband 😁

[Mathemagic]

I'm keeping an eye on that. My in-laws already use a 4G wifi router as their broadband is slower than a snail (2Mb on a good day). Even though I am rural, I'm about 1 mile away from being able to receive 5G - grrr - so close and yet so far! 

[KRISTINA_390086]

These look Great would love those and will put them on my Birthday list...

[HannahW_17]

I had a pair of jlab headphones and yes they are really good especially for the price. I have to say though I recently took the plunge and got the Samsung earbuds pro and they are just amazing. The sound quality, the fit, the noise cancelling is serious impressive. I complete advocate for both however if you have the money and spend a fair bit of time in the gym I'd say get the pros you will not be disappointed. On that note they are definitely my fave bit of tech kit at the moment. 

[LKD70]

I recently picked up some new speakers for my PC. I've always been passionate for sound, sadly last year my old KEF coda 7 bookshelf speakers finally gave out. I looked around for a bit and found a reasonably cheap alternative to sticking to the amplified option I grew used to.

Picked up a set of Edifier r1280T's. It's a more obscure brand, not exactly high street - but given the amazing price, the great IO and the constant good reviews I decided to give it a go. They are just about perfect for my PC setup so I'm very pleased so far!

[Mathemagic]

My best "buy" (it was a requested Christmas present) was a toolset - see below. 
OK, so not exactly tech, but I've been volunteering to refurbish and set up some old laptops and desktops for people recently and getting by with just two or three tools and often having to adapt. Now, I shoud, hopefully, have a tool for even the smallest and most unusual screws!

[jonnyphone]

that looks really good, have a full set of all the main computer screws there!

[RonnieMa_777889]

My Smarty Sim whiche allows data connectivity from anywhere , especially from my car as I have digital radio enabled and connect my laptop from work on the go should I need to. It also is a useful backup should my home network be unavailable for any reason. My other is my Meta Quest 2 headset which is so good for so many things including exercise apps and of course untethered gaming as it connects to my desktop via a streaming app 

[PeterWh_1550878]

Hi I have recently gone kinda the other way - I have some way cheap h/phones, but recently bought a pair of Sony WH-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones - 30 hours battery life - Over Ear style, so not too bad passive NC if the battery does run out. The Active Noise Cancelling is very effective at say getting rid of most road noise - You know on motorways mainly it makes a big difference. I can actually practice some Meditation - as well as listening to music etc. Not used them much for calls, but when I have the quality was great! 

[jonnyphone]

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/1188581?clickSR=slp:term:jlab%20pop%20air:3:4:1

Got these couple of weeks back, when they were £17.99, sound awesome and the bluetooth (BT5.1 AAC) works well on iPhone, can't believe they're so cheap really.

[MrAye]

I bought a ZTE801A 5G modem, it was great. 

Then Smarty forced a firmware upgrade on behalf of Three, now it can’t hold onto 5G on any other network. 

[MaDO13]

I have bought similar very cheap they are clip on on the outside ear really good unfortunately they are 5.1 notcomoatible with some bluetooth devices so i purchased some very small corded ones 4.1 

expensive not always thebest 

Sadly I can’t add photos!

[AmandaB_2130865]

Thanks for the info! I’ve been thinking of getting some that won’t break the bank. 

[Matthew_2235958]

It's very low tech but we purchased a Rapid Cool bottle which cools the babies bottle down from boiling to drinkable in about 2mins. Would highly recommend one to all new parents.