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One handy feature of a modern smartphone is the ability to turn it into a mobile hotspot, allowing you to share your phone’s internet connection with other devices, such as laptops, tablets, or even other phones. Whether you have one of the best Android phones or the best iPhone, this guide will walk you through the steps to set up and use your phone as a mobile hotspot. What is a mobile hotspot? A mobile hotspot turns your smartphone into a wireless access point, allowing other devices to connect to the internet using your phone’s data connection. This feature is especially useful when you’re travelling, working remotely, or when there’s no Wi-Fi available. How to set up a mobile hotspot on Android Setting up a mobile hotspot on an Android phone is straightforward. Here’s how to do it: Start by opening the ‘Settings’ app on your Android device. Tap on ‘Network & internet’ (the name may vary slightly depending on your device, sometimes it’s labelled as ‘Connections’ or ‘Wireless & networks’). Look for ‘Hotspot & tethering’ and tap on it. Here, you’ll find several options, including ‘Wi-Fi hotspot’, ‘USB tethering’, and ‘Bluetooth tethering.’ Toggle the switch next to Wi-Fi hotspot to turn it on. You may also need to configure your hotspot by setting a name (SSID) and password for the connection. Tap on ‘Wi-Fi Hotspot’ to customise your hotspot settings. You can change the network name, set a secure password (ensuring your hotspot is secured with a strong password to prevent unauthorised access), and choose the preferred security type (WPA3 is recommended for the best security). On the device you want to connect, find your hotspot network in the Wi-Fi settings, select it, and enter the password. Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry It’s important to monitor your data usage while using a mobile hotspot, as tethering can consume a significant amount of data quickly. How to set up a mobile hotspot on iPhone For iPhone users, the process of setting up a mobile hotspot is just as simple. Follow these steps: Go to the ‘Settings’ app on your iPhone. Scroll down and tap on ‘Mobile Service’ and turn on ‘Mobile Data’. Then, go back and tap on ‘Personal Hotspot’. Toggle the switch next to ‘Allow Others to Join’ to enable the mobile hotspot. By default, the network name will be your iPhone’s name, and a password will be auto-generated. You can tap on ‘Wi-Fi Password’ to change the password to something more memorable. On the device you want to connect, search for your iPhone’s network name in the Wi-Fi settings, select it, and enter the password. Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry Using your iPhone as a hotspot can drain your battery quickly, so it’s a good idea to keep your phone plugged in. Also, be mindful of your data usage. If you want to make sure you never run out of data to use, check out our list of the best mobile phone networks in the UK and the best Pay As You Go phone networks in the UK right now...

If you struggle with low energy during the winter months, it could be seasonal affective disorder (SAD). SAD sufferers tend to experience restless sleep, lethargy, and low spirits – all caused by the decrease in light levels during the winter. But a good SAD lamp can help to ease the symptoms. Even people without a SAD diagnosis can benefit from a light box. Dr Victoria Revell, an associate professor at the University of Surrey and sleep researcher, spoke at an event hosted by Lumie to explain why the winter months are hard on us. “Light is really important for synchronising our body clocks. You have 24-hour rhythms in pretty much every aspect of your physiology and behaviour. Your sleep cycle is your most obvious one. But actually your body has rhythms in how your stomach functions, how your muscles function, how your lungs function. As we come into winter months and we’re getting a lot less light in general, first of all our body clock can become a little bit dissociated from the outdoor day, so you often want to sleep in a bit later, so you feel sluggish and you struggle to get going. But also we know light has a really powerful effect on how you feel, your mood, how alert you are feeling and how well you’re able to perform. And if we’re not getting that bright light in the morning that helps us to get up and going, people often start to feel quite down and quite depressed.” A SAD lamp or light box is designed to mimic the natural outdoor light we miss during the winter months, and stimulate the same physiological response in users. It can boost your mood and your energy levels. You can’t use any lamp and get the same benefits. Lumie is a specialist in making SAD lamps and light alarms, which is why we’ve chosen to review the brand’s devices. If you’ve been diagnosed with SAD and you live in the UK, you’re entitled to waive the VAT on products designed to help with symptoms. SAD lights are classed as medical devices. You can find out more reading Government guidance but, in short, you’ll pay less at the point of purchase. You’ll find the option available when you click to buy a SAD lamp from Lumie’s online shop.  You may also find that a light alarm helps you to wake up on dark winter mornings and feel refreshed. A light alarm reproduce the stages of early daylight to allow you to wake naturally, and can be a huge help to people struggling with a lack of light in their winter routines. We’ve tested some of the best in our round-up of the best light alarms.  For more information on SAD lamps, and for buying advice, read on after the chart. The Best SAD Lamps 1. Lumie Task – Best design Pros Elegant design Dual use 10,000 lux brightness Renders colours accurately Cons Height can’t be adjusted Expensive This beautiful lamp will provide 10,000 lux to brighten up your day. Plus, it’s a brilliant task light with a colour rendering index of 95+, making it a perfect light for drawing, sewing, painting and other crafts. If you want a SAD lamp that fits in with the decor in your home and doesn’t take up too much space, this is the model to go for. It’s slim and elegantly designed and will look good wherever you place it. Plus, it comes in five genuinely appealing colours. We tested the charcoal blue, but it’s also available in sage green, golden yellow, steel blue and white mist. You can get a look at all the colours on the John Lewis website. It’s dimmable, with a lovely operating mechanism: just swipe your finger along the Lumie logo on its base to choose your brightness. The lamp’s direction and angle are fully adjustable – but bear in mind that its height is fixed. Still, we found it the perfect height for working, or for using as a SAD lamp. Yes, it’s expensive but if you’re a SAD sufferer and you buy direct from Lumie, you can save over £40 as you won’t need to pay VAT. Read our full Lumie Task review 2. Lumie Vitamin L – Most budget-friendly Pros Bright Not harsh light Well priced Cons Single function Best Prices Today: $99 at Amazon Lumie’s Vitamin L SAD Lamp is slim, slight and simple enough to find a spot for in any room. It’s incredibly bright, but manages not to be harsh thanks to its rippled design – it can illuminate a whole bedroom or small living room if you want it to. The entirety of its large rectangular surface lights up for optimum exposure. It has to be plugged in, but the cable is long enough that you can pop the lamp on a bedside table or a desk. It can stand in portrait or landscape position thanks to its kickstand, and the only button or control is the on/off switch on the back. The effects of the lamp will vary from person to person, so it’s tricky to offer a verdict on whether or not it’ll work for you, but 30 minutes while getting ready for work made us feel noticeably more awake and alert in the morning. It’s one of the best priced SAD lamps we’ve seen, but others with higher price tags often include additional features, while this is a straightforward, simple solution.  3. Lumie Zest SAD & wake-up light – Best dual-function lamp Pros 10,000 lux Wake-up light Cons Best for bedroom use The Lumie Zest has dual functionality. It’s both a SAD lamp and a wake-up light.  This compact little dedicated SAD light box boasts up to 10,000 lux output and adjustable brightness levels to suit your tastes. For light therapy, you can set it on a choice of brightness and timer settings, and use the adjustable stand to position it towards your face for the most effective light therapy.  The wake-up light has a 15 or 30 minute sunrise option, along with a snooze function. The blue-enriched white LEDs give the impression of natural daylight coming into your room, making it a gentle light to wake up to. You can set an optional beeping alarm, but you can’t choose any other soothing sounds as you can on dedicated wake-up lights. The Lumie Zest does need to be plugged in all the time but because it’s so small, you can move it around your home easily. It may not offer all the same features as some of the dedicated products, but this little hybrid definitely packs a punch.  4. Lumie SAD Desklamp – Adjustable height desktop SAD lamp Pros 4 brightness settings Cons Other features limited This SAD lamp from Lumie doubles as a table lamp. It has four brightness settings which you can cycle through by tapping the base, but you won’t find any other features such as timers or alarms – which may underwhelm some, considering that the Desklamp costs over £100. Compared to some other SAD lamps, the design is basic, with an adjustable neck and a smooth plastic finish. It’s not battery operated, so it will have to remain plugged in for use. The Desklamp’s style is quite severe and clinical (it doesn’t surprise us that it’s a Class 2a medical device). We found it to be fairly chunky too. The light itself, however, is clear and bright at 10,000 lux at full strength – which makes it a great study or work lamp if you wanted to integrate it into your day-to-day life. It comes with a detachable diffuser. Lumie recommends sitting under the light for 60 minutes a day, or 30 minutes a day with the diffuser removed. FAQ 1. How do I use a SAD lamp? Recommendations can vary by device, so it’s always worth checking the instructions. For a 10,000 lux device, you should use it for somewhere between 30 minutes to an hour per day. There’s no need to sit and stare into it. In fact, that’s not a good idea. Instead, angle it so you look past it while you read, work or watch TV. Just make sure that its light can reach your eyes directly. To do so, it should be placed on a desk, table or shelf around 15-25 inches from your face. But this information is just a guide. All SAD lamps will have slightly different instructions, so if you buy one, check the manual before using it. 2. What is the difference between a SAD lamp and a light alarm? A light alarm is different from a SAD lamp, although both devices can be useful to people who struggle with the lack of light over the winter months. A light alarm will come on in place of an audio alarm, brightening from a low, warm light over a period of time to mimic dawn. They’ll help to wake you gently and make you feel more refreshed by the time you have to get up. Typically, they also have audio alarms and can be used as bedside and reading lights. 3. Is a SAD light worth it? SAD lamps are expensive devices, so you may be wondering if it’s really worth it to get one. If you suffer from seasonal affective disorder, we think the answer is yes. Here’s why. Bright light therapy is one of the best accepted treatments for seasonal depression. Light therapy works by controlling the production of melatonin, the hormone that regulates the sleep cycle. It also boosts the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that affects your mood. In short, it can help to sort out your sleeping pattern and improve the way you feel. SAD lamps are different from ordinary lamps, hence the price. They’re medical devices designed to produce at least 10,000 lux of brightness. You can’t sit under an ordinary lamp and get any kind of wellbeing boost from it. But there’s good news. If you’re a SAD sufferer in the UK, you may not need to pay VAT on your purchase of a SAD lamp. Visit Lumie and buy there and you’ll see the option when you are ready to add the device of your choosing to your basket...

At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsLots of guidance to safe habitsMany smart featuresAffordableConsAnti-theft protection would have been niceOur VerdictIt’s not the cheapest, but for the base price you actually get an unusual amount, including a good VPN service. Excellent additional social media security is a bonus. With McAfee Mobile Security, you get virus protection that’s tight enough. In AV-Test’s review, it lets through the occasional malware attack, but very few, and it still beats Google Play Protect by a small margin. And there are other reasons to get it. There are some great tools that can help you live a safer online life. The browsing protection scans links not only on the web, but also in social and messaging services, and warns you if you’re about to visit risky sites. There is also a phishing protection that includes SMS and Wi-Fi network security checks. There is also identity monitoring that keeps track of email addresses, phone numbers, credit cards, passports, bank accounts, credit cards and more. It alerts you if information about them has been leaked online. It’s better than most similar services, which only monitor email addresses. The premium plan I tested also gives you access to a well-functioning VPN service that you can basically have active all the time to surf more anonymously. It has servers in about 40 countries around the world that you can freely choose from, and many of them are passably fast if not exactly stellar. Don’t expect to be able to use it for video streaming, although it can be done, on and off. Interface and features Mobile Security has a nice airy interface with clear panels that provide quick access to the most important features. But individual features and panels are unnecessarily large for a compact mobile app, so there’s a lot of scrolling to get to them all. At the top is a row called quick actions with actions the app thinks you should take. Initially, these are things like giving the app the right permissions so it can do its job. Then you get periodic reminders to do scans and other things to keep your phone safe. However, it’s a bit annoying that some actions seem to pop up constantly even though I’ve recently done and ticked them off. It is disturbingly rarely empty in the “to-do list”. Watch out for the price There are different options but choose wisely. The two-year plans are the best value starting at £19.99 per year for Basic (one device), which renews at £79.99 per year. You can then select Plus for five devices at £22.49 per year (renews at £95.99 per year) or Ultimate at £27.49 giving you 10 devices (renews at £109.99 per year. All of the above are Total Protection plans so you can use the software on Android, iOS, Windows and Mac. There’s a 30-day money-back guarantee. In the US, plans start at $39.99 per year for Essential and rise to $89.99 per year for Advanced (Individual) and $119.99 per year for Advanced (Family). See all the details here. You can also choose to skip the payment step altogether. Then you get the virus protection, which checks that apps being installed are safe, and lets you manually scan the system. You also get two bonus features: manual wifi security check and manual scan for leaked email addresses. Specs McAfee Mobile Security Android 9+ App control Privacy overview Browsing protection VPN Wi-Fi control Backup Identity monitoring...

At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsExcellent virus protectionDetailed web protectionBest in class VPNConsLacks anti-theft protectionRelatively expensiveOur VerdictIt’s not the cheapest, but for the base price you actually get a lot, including a good VPN service. Excellent extra security on social media is a plus but more features would have been nice. Norton 360 Mobile Security is part of the manufacturer’s Norton 360 multi-licence security package, but it can also be purchased separately for mobile only. You choose between a subscription without VPN and identity monitoring for dark web leaks, and one that includes them. Both are relatively expensive: the simplest subscription costs £12.99 per year or $19.99 in the US and the full version with VPN for £22.98, again for the first year. Norton doesn’t have a free version, but you can get a full refund within the first 14 days. Just remember to unsubscribe before then in the Google Play Store if you don’t want to keep paying. It’s also available for iOS. After installation, an initial virus scan, and the usual fiddling with all the permissions the app needs, I’m greeted by a clean and uncluttered interface. It utilises the limited screen space well, but it can be a little difficult to intuitively understand where your various functions are. VPN, for example, is under the privacy section, and it’s the only feature there. Why not just call it VPN then? However, there aren’t that many individual functions, so you’ll learn that quickly. Scanning and VPN You do a manual virus scan with a swipe down on the screen, and swipe up to find a security report. It logs the app and user activity, and also gives you a detailed list of installed apps and their risks, how much data they collect, what permissions they request, and more. Norton blocks access to malicious websites in apps like Chrome, Instagram, Facebook, and Outlook. Probably more apps too, but these were the relevant ones I had installed on my test phone. Even links in text messages are scanned before you can click on them. You can also get a quick icon to Norton Safe Search, a separate search box that provides safe search results. The same feature is also available in the Windows version of Norton 360. The VPN (if you choose this plan) is one of the better ones I’ve tried, with fast servers, or at least fast enough, all over the world. There aren’t as many to choose from as, for example, McAfee’s service, with servers in about 30 countries. But even on the other side of the planet, they are fast enough to stream from video services, for example. Whether that means you can always escape regional locks is no guarantee, but no VPN can claim that. Identity monitor and more Identity Monitor, which keeps track of sensitive information on the darknet, lets you register five email addresses, five phone numbers, ten credit card numbers, and some other information like gamer tags and passport details. Norton’s service provides the same warnings as its competitors on whatever I choose to monitor, but is far less intrusive compared to McAfee, which doesn’t take note when I manually mark a problem as fixed. It’s much more discreet and smooth. All of Norton’s features are individually very good. It’s 100% virus-proof, it adds excellent protection for web browsing and links in instant messaging, SMS and email, and the VPN service is really good if you feel like paying for it. But that’s it, you don’t get any bonus features like backup, call control or anti-theft. Then the somewhat high price can make it hard to justify a purchase. Specs Norton 360 Mobile Security Android 8+ Current and previous two versions of Apple iOS Privacy monitoring Browsing protection Secure search VPN Wi-Fi control Number blocker Identity monitoring...

After ending support for the third-generation Apple TV, Netflix has confirmed that it will also end full support for older iPhones and iPads. Models such as the iPhone X and the first generation iPad Pro cannot be updated to iOS 17 and will therefore not be guaranteed to get updates for the latest version of Netflix, according to the website Powerpage. “We’ve updated the Netflix app! To use the latest version, please install iOS 17 or later” says a message displayed to users using iOS 16. For now, if you are affected, you can ignore the message and continue using the app, but there’s a chance that it may stop working in the future. The Verge contacted Netflix for comment and spokesperson MoMo Zhou confirmed that updates will only be shipped to these devices where critically necessary. Originally, the media thought that the app would not update on iOS 16 at all, but Netflix has since debunked that. The following devices cannot be updated to iOS 17, so if you have one of these then you may be affected: iPhone 8 iPhone 8 Plus iPhone X iPad 5 (2017) iPad Pro (1st generation )...

The Great British Bake Off is one of the biggest shows of the Autumn season, with plenty of Hollywood Handshakes and wholesome goodness – and Channel 4 announced who will be competing for the crown in 2024. Here’s everything you need to know, including when to tune in, who the presenters are, how to watch it from the US and abroad and how to apply to compete in the main series yourself.  When is Bake Off coming back? Channel 4 has revealed that The Great British Bake Off series 15 will air on Tuesday 24 September 2024 at 8pm BST, which is what we predicted. In the US, The Great British Bake Off typically hits Netflix on Fridays. Based on the launch date, The Great British Baking Show will be available to stream on Friday 27 September 2024 in America. While you wait for the new series, take a look at this best of Bake Off compilation: In these modern times, you don’t just have to watch the bakers struggle with a technical recipe the traditional way. Instead, you can watch on the Channel 4 website – live or on-demand with catch-up through a wide range of devices including smart TVs, games consoles, media streamers, phones and tablets. Is there a trailer for The Great British Bake Off 2024? While there isn’t a full classic trailer yet, Channel 4 has been teasing the show in its indents during the Paralympics. These have cartoon bee versions of the presenters, who have a brief fun conversation. You can watch the brief Bake Off 2024 teasers here. On Friday 6 September, Channel 4 released a longer animated trailer for the show, teasing that the new series would be “coming soon”. Watch that below: Who are the Bake Off 2024 contestants? The bakers for this year’s series have now been announced. Find out more about them below: Channel 4 Channel 4 Channel 4 Andy – Age 44, from Essex, Car Mechanic: Andy learned to bake alongside his mum, and loves family staples such as apple crumble and Bakewell tarts Christiaan – Age 33, from The Netherlands, Menswear Designer: Christiaan’s love of fashion and gardening translate to his bakes, which are detailed, beautiful and full of floral and citrus notes and flavours Sumayah – Age 19, from Lancashire, Dentistry Student: Her love of baking came from a macaron tower she made for her aunt’s mehndi wedding celebration Dylan – Age 30, from Buckinghamshire, Retail Temp: Dylan uses sweet and spice in is baking, inspired by his Indian and Japanese-Belgian mixed race heritage Georgie – Age 34, from Carmarthenshire, Paediatric Nurse: Forager Georgie takes inspiration from food that grows in the wild, and the discoveries she’s made travelling Gill – Age 53, From Lancashire, Senior Category Manager: Gill’s love of prevision data and creativity translate to her baking skills, which she’s had since she was young Hazel – Age 71, From Kent, Former Nail Technician: Hazel loves adding working parts to her bakes, including cars with remote-controlled wheels and lights Illiyin – Age 31, From Norfolk, Birth Trauma Specialist Midwife: One of eight siblings, Illiyin helped her mum to bake and became the person to rely on for birthdays Jeff – Age 67, From New York, Former University Lecturer: Jeff baked from being little, learning from his grandmother and Hungarian great-grandmother Mike – Age 29, From Wiltshire, Farm Manager: Mike enjoys big, hearty beaks using high-quality local ingredients, especially seasonal fruits from his own farm Nelly – Age 44, From Slovakia, Palliative Care Assistant: Self-taught baker Nelly adds Slovakian flavours to her bakes, and spices that represent her husband’s Pakistani heritage John – Age 37, From West Midlands, Directorate Support Manager: John learned baking from his nan, and loves to make classics with a twist It's time to meet your new besties ❤️Bake Off starts Tuesday 24th September at 8pm on Channel 4. #GBBO pic.twitter.com/fIfsgPJuF7— British Bake Off (@BritishBakeOff) September 16, 2024 Who are the presenters and judges for Bake Off 2024? Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith will once again be judging our bakers. There were rumours that Prue would retire after this series, but the judge has so far claimed that she’s only taking a break from the Celebrity edition of the show. She explains more below: Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond will return for presenting duties – expect plenty of laughter as usual. Who won The Great British Bake Off 2023? The winner of The Great British Bake Off 2023 was Matty, the underdog of the year who went from strength to strength during the show: Where to watch Bake Off from outside the UK As per usual, Bake Off will be available through regular UK broadcast TV (or however you get your TV), airing on Channel 4. If you want to watch from outside the UK – such as the US, where you might know it as The Great British Baking Show – then there are a couple of ways to watch the latest series.  Watch The Great British Baking Show on Netflix Netflix US has the rights to The Great British Baking Show, and typically airs the latest episodes three days after they release in the UK. Therefore, you can catch all the activity in the tent on Fridays, providing you have a Netflix account. Subscriptions for this start from $6.99 per month.  Watch The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4 with a VPN If you’re worried about spoilers and want to watch the new series as soon as it airs, then there is another way: use a VPN (virtual private network) to make it appear as if your device is local if you want to watch along with the UK on the Channel 4 website. There are loads of VPNs out there, but our top recommendations are NordVPN and Surfshark, both of which we’ve found to be reliable, speedy, and pretty affordable. If you want to see what other options are out there, then take a look at our list of the best VPNs for streaming video. Once you’ve downloaded and installed your VPN onto your device, here’s the steps you need to take: Connect to a UK sever on your chosen VPN Head to the Channel 4 website or app  Sign up for an account (it’s free, but requires your email) Search for The Great British Bake Off, click on the latest season and watch away! The Channel 4 website requires you to turn off any ad-blockers – which includes any optional ad-blocking in your VPN – so make sure you do that before trying to watch. If you still can’t connect, try a different server within your VPN until you find one that works for you. Please note that this is against Channel 4’s terms of service, so proceed at your own risk. How to apply to be on the GBBO  If you’re a budding baker and would like to apply for Bake Off, then applications for 2025 will likely open when the new series returns. You’ll be able to enter via the official sign-up page. ...

When it comes time to consider buying a new phone – especially if you’re looking at picking up a device outright – it’s important to remember that the asking price covers more than just a premium finish, high-end silicon, or any brand-exclusive apps and features. Some might take into account the added value that included operating system and security updates offer as part of the cost, but one aspect that’s often overlooked beyond all that is a device’s warranty. Whilst buying a device in many regions means they come with some degree of statutory cover that can result in repair or replacement free of charge, manufacturers tend to offer their own additional assurances too; to be honoured and/or redeemed under the right circumstances. For the most part, in regions like the UK and US, you can expect standardised terms for most devices, there are edge cases. Most recently (at the time of writing), Motorola announced that its upcoming Motorola S50 Neo would be sold in China with an extended warranty that boosts the term of coverage from one to four years in total, and other phone makers do have similar offerings too. Here we’ll use each manufacturer’s current flagship as the example, but mention if other entries within their respective current smartphone portfolios come with different warranty terms for any reason, otherwise assume the same rules apply. Best warranty phones 2024 1. Fairphone 5 Pros Incredible five-year extended warranty Eight years of software support User-repairable design Cons Chunky proportions Hardware not likely to age well Performance is lacking out the box One of the key reasons we love the Fairphone 5 is its impressive warranty offering. Fairphone is a company whose primary purpose is to ensure that the products it sells can last as long as possible, in an effort to minimise e-waste, as well as wider environmental impact, and an extended warranty certainly supports this endeavour. As per EU law, Fairphone has to sell its wares with a minimum two-year warranty. However, the company then offers up its latest Fairphone 5 (and the Fairphone 4, for that matter) with the option an an extended three-year warranty on top; meaning your Fairphone can be covered for up to five years total. Even if you don’t buy your Fairphone directly from the company, they promise to still offer this extended warranty, provided you activate it within 90 days of the device’s purchase date. This carries through to 2025 too, meaning you could technically buy a Fairphone 5 with a warranty that doesn’t expire until 2031. At the time of writing, the company hasn’t yet brought its latest Fairphone 5 to the US, but previous models have made it across the Atlantic, so if it does, we hope that it’ll come packing the same impressive warranty offering the company serves it up with in Europe and the UK. 2. Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Pros Exceptional performance Wonderfully versatile cameras Great long-term software support Cons High asking price Large, bulky proportions Lacklustre fast-charging speeds Best Prices Today: $1,174 at Amazon Unlike Fairphone’s extended warranty offering, the rest of the warranties mentioned here all run the statutory length required in a given region. In the case of Samsung’s current top dog – the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra – (along with the rest of the company’s current smartphone lineup) the company offers a 24-month warranty in the UK/EU and a 12-month standard limited warranty in the US. Samsung’s warranty terms cover defects in materials and workmanship but don’t cover consumables (like the battery). If you want added cover, the company does sell extended warranties, the pricing for which varies based on your device. Similarly to Apple Care+, Samsung Care+ is an optional insurance policy (different from an extended warranty) that allows for up to two claims per year and covers accidental damage and theft; depending on which plan you choose. As for the S24 Ultra itself, despite being one of the first big flagships of 2024, several months on it remains one of the most formidable. With a refined design – newly strengthened by titanium and offering improved ergonomics, a revised and more versatile camera setup, and our first taste of the company’s Galaxy AI smarts, this latest Ultra remains the year’s best Android phone to date. Read our full Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra review 3. Apple iPhone 15 Pro Pros Excellent cameras Apple A17 Pro chip is exceptional Attractive, bright screen Cons Mediocre charging Lacks the Pro Max's 5x optical zoom No meaningful Dynamic Island upgrade Best Prices Today: $899.99 at Best Buy Running concurrently to the two-year statutory warranty term in the UK and the ‘implied warranty of merchantability’ – whose duration varies by product and state in the US – Apple offers its own one-year limited warranty (check out Apple’s UK warranty details and Apple’s US warranty details, as required) on select products; including iPhones. You might know this warranty better as AppleCare, which differs from AppleCare+, an optional form of insurance against additional maladies, such as accidental damage and theft. Assuming you’re comfortable with the terms of Apple’s warranty offerings, the products it covers are among the best in the business; the latest iPhone 15 Pro chief among them. Provided you don’t need the super-sized screen of the iPhone 15 Pro Max or its 5x telephoto camera, the standard iPhone 15 Pro serves up what is arguably the best iPhone experience overall, right now; squeezing impressive performance into a comparatively small package. So long as you can swing the high asking price, the 15 Pro also benefits from noteworthy upgrades in both performance – thanks to the company’s latest A17 Pro chipset, and convenience, with the move (finally) away from Lightning to USB-C. Read our full Apple iPhone 15 Pro review 4. Google Pixel 9 Pro XL Pros Some of the best software around Outstanding AI-supported cameras Impressive seven years of software support Cons Battery life could be better  Charging could be faster Price bump from previous model Best Prices Today: $1,099 at Amazon$1099 at Best Buy Thankfully, Google – like Samsung – offers up its latest Pixels with a 24-month warranty in the UK and 12-months cover in the US. For added peace of mind, you can also pick up what it calls Preferred Care (if activated within 90 days of the original device purchase), which covers repair and replacement on select Pixel phones (and other Google hardware), including its current best and brightest: the Pixel 9 Pro XL. The phone itself is the current top tier offering from Google, with much being made of the Gemini-AI integration that is one of the main selling points of the device. The voice interface can interact with various Google apps to organise your life and answer your questions. The hardware is also impressive, with a new design making it instantly recognisable (thanks in large part to the camera bump on the rear), plus there are the usual fantastic Pixel cameras onboard. Read our full Google Pixel 9 Pro XL review 5. Motorola Edge 50 Ultra Pros Stylish design Compelling camera setup Clean user experience Cons Performance is behind the curve Middling battery longevity Bloatware starting to muddy UX Motorola’s limited warranty covers its entire lineup for 12 months in the US and every smartphone sold in the UK on or after 1 March 2017 comes with 24-months cover in the UK. That, naturally includes the company’s most recent flagship phone series, topped by the Motorola Edge 50 Ultra. Like Apple, Samsung and Google, MotoCare (UK) and MotoCare (US), serve as additional insurance that extends coverage beyond the terms of the company’s limited warranty. Motorola is among one of the largest singular phone brands in both the US and UK, and its Edge series demands a not-insignificant amount of influence. To capitalise on this, the latest Edge 50 Ultra delivers one of the most elegant designs we’ve yet seen from the company, containing a capable camera system and other perks that place it above other entries in this list, like fast charging. The characteristically clean Motorola software experience does have a little more bloat than we’d like and performance from its Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset isn’t up there with the likes of the Galaxy S24 Ultra, but it otherwise remains a competent all-rounder. Read our full Motorola Edge 50 Ultra review Related stories for further reading Best phone deals Best phone network Best smartphones Best mid-range phones Best new phones coming soon...

This October, Disney+ US subscribers are in for yet another price hike. The cheapest ad-supported tier will be increasing from $7.99 per month to $9.99 per month – the first price increase we’ve seen since this option was introduced. There’s no annual version available for this tier. The standard ad-free tier will be increasing from $13.99 per month and $139.99 per year to $15.99 per month and $159.99 per year for both new and existing subscribers. In addition, two other streaming services under the Disney umbrella will see a price increase. Hulu’s ad-supported tier will be changing from $7.99 per month to $9.99 per month, while the ad-free one will increase from $17.99 per month to $19.99 per month. Sports service ESPN+ prices will go up from $10.99 per month to $11.99 per month. With the cost of living creeping up, this price increase won’t be a joy for many. However, if you time it right, you can save money for longer. We’ve rounded up all the options you can try to keep costs down. You can also read up on Disney’s plans to crack down on password sharing. Buy an annual subscription The first thing you can do is buy or renew your account with an annual subscription before the price hike kicks in. An annual subscription currently costs $139.99. If you’re a new subscriber, you can sign up for this on the Disney+ website. If you need to renew, take the following steps before 17 October 2024: Open the Disney+ website in your browser Click on the profile icon on the right-hand side and tap ‘Account’ on the drop-down menu Follow the steps to manage your account and change your subscription – this will be different depending on how you pay for Disney+ The closer you wait until the date that the price increase takes effect, the longer you can avoid the price increase. If, however, you’re mid-way through your annual subscription by the middle of October, this may be a pain. Fortunately, there is another thing you can do. Buy a 12-month Disney+ gift subscription Another way to save money ahead of the Disney+ price hike is to buy a 12-month gift subscription for yourself. Gift subscriptions can be activated at any time. Therefore, you could lock in for an annual subscription first, and then activate this when your 12 months are up to keep the lower prices for longer. There’s currently no expiration date on gift subscriptions, so we don’t see why this shouldn’t be possible.  Disney Disney Disney Here’s what you’ll need to do before 17 October 2024 if you’re in the US: Head to the Disney+ gift subscription page Enter the recipient’s name and email address – make sure it’s an address not registered with the site already as it only applies to new customers Purchase the 12-month subscription for $139.99 Once the gift card arrives in your inbox, don’t activate it until you wish to When you want to use the gift card, sign up for a brand-new Disney+ account using the gift card as your payment option Change to a Disney+ bundle subscription If you frequently switch between different streaming services, then it may be worth opting for a bundle instead which is much more economical. The Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ bundle starts from $10.99 per month. As well as all your Disney staples like The Acolyte and MCU films, you’ll also get access to shows such as Only Murders in the Building and Shōgun, and a plethora of sports. There’s also a new bundle with Disney+, Hulu and Max – so you can stream the likes of House of the Dragon and The White Lotus. This starts from $16.99 per month. Bundle in Disney+ with a broadband contract Another way to keep costs down with your streaming subscription is to bundle in Disney+ with a broadband contract. The longest Disney+ offer we’ve seen so far is for six months of the service with one of Verizon’s unlimited data plans in the US. You can read more about this deal in our article on how to get a discount on Disney+.  Cancel your subscription altogether If none of these options are suitable for you, then you can cancel your account with Disney+ altogether. You can always rejoin further down the line if a show/movie you’re desperate to watch becomes available on the platform. Here’s what you need to do to cancel a subscription: Open the Disney+ website in your browser Click on the profile icon on the right-hand side and tap ‘Account’ on the drop-down menu Follow the steps to manage your account and cancel your subscription You can find more granular instructions – including how to cancel from a phone or TV – in our guide to cancelling Disney+. ...

Amazon already held its big Prime Day sale in July, but the retail giant will be back for another round of Prime-exclusive deals in October. A two-day event known as ‘Amazon Prime Big Deal Days’ will be happening on 8 and 9 October 2024, and Amazon says it will “offer Prime members big savings on a wide selection of products in the lead up to Christmas”. LG, Sony, Bose, Shark and Tefal have all been specifically mentioned, but there will be “hundreds of thousands” of deals in total. However, to access them, you’ll need to be a Prime member. This usually costs £8.99/$14.99 per month or £95/$139 per year, but you can get a free 30-day trial in the UK or US if you haven’t signed up before. It means you’ll essentially get access to all the exclusive deals for free. There are plenty more benefits though, which you can read about in our full guide to Amazon Prime. Below is the rest of the article as it appeared on the second day of Prime Day on 17 July. Most of the deals below will have expired, but it gives you an idea of what to expect in the October sale. UK Prime Day deals Prime Day is huge in the UK and we have been scouring through pages and pages of deals on Amazon to find you genuinely great offers on mobile and home technology. Best Prime Day deals on Amazon devices It’s no surprise that Amazon offers huge discounts on its own hardware (and services) including Fire TV, Kindle, Fire Tablet, Ring, Eero and more. 5-months of free Amazon Music Unlimited 3-months of free Audible Amazon Fire TV 43-inch 4-series 4K – £249.99 (42% off) Amazon Echo Spot (2024) – £49.99 (38% off) Amazon Echo Show 5 – £54.99 (39% off) Amazon Kindle (2022) – £64.99 (24% off) Ring Alarm kit (medium) – £189.99 (30% off) Ring Indoor Camera (2nd Gen) two-pack – £49.98 (50% off) Amazon eero 6+ mesh (3-pack) – £199.99 (33% off) Best Prime Day smartphone deals It’s a great time to get a SIM-free smartphone and there are plenty of deals on the top brands including Samsung, Google, Motorola and more. Google Pixel 8a – £398.05 (20% off) Google Pixel 8 Pro – £616.16 (38% off) Samsung Galaxy S23 – £527 (30% off) Samsung Galaxy A15 – £137.74 (18% off) Motorola G84 5G – £179 (28% off) Honor 200 Pro with free Harmon Kardon Onyx Studio 8 speaker – worth £279.99 OnePlus 12 5G – £829 (17% off) Motorola Moto G54 – £140.10 (22% off) Best Prime Day tablet deals Tablets are often a favourite for Prime Day and you can pick up the likes of Apple, Samsung, Lenovo and others at low prices. Samsung Galaxy Tab A9 – £119 (30% off) Apple 2022 10.9-inch iPad Air – £476.61 (28% off) Lenovo Tab M11 with Pen – £149.61 (25% off) Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE – £379 (16% off) Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 – £629 (34% off) Best Prime Day smartwatch deals A new companion on your wrist is less of a financial burden with these deals on Apple, Samsung and Google smartwatches. Apple Watch Series 9 (45mm) – £344 (20% off) Google Pixel Watch – £129 (62% off) Google Pixel Watch 2 – £249 (29% off) Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (44mm, LTE) – £199 (46% off) Best Prime Day air fryer deals Air fryers are all the rage and if you’ve been holding off getting one or looking for an upgrade now is the time. Deals are available on top brands like Ninja, Philips and Tefal. Ninja Double Stack XL – £209.99 (22% off) Ninja Foodi MAX Dual Zone (Amazon Exclusive) – £159.99 (36% off) Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer Dual Zone – £199.99 (20% off) Philips Airfryer 5000 Series XL – £99.99 (44% off) Tefal Easy Fry Dual Zone Digital Air Fryer – £99.99 (44% off) Best Prime Day electric toothbrush deals Avoid expensive trips to the dentist with these deals on Oral-B, Philips, Suri and more. Oral-B iO8 – £149.99 (67% off on page price) Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush – £56.25 (25% off) Oral-B Pro 3 (2-brush set) – £64.49 (60% off) Oral-B iO Series 5 – £89.99 (68% off on page price) Oral-B iO Series 9 – £220 (£280 off via Oral-B) Best Prime Day vacuum cleaner deals A cleaner house leads to a less stressful life and you can do that better with these deals on Capsule, Shark and more. eufy X10 Pro Omni Robot Vacuum Cleaner with Mop – £599 (25% off) Capsule X Vacuum Premium Bundle – £249.99 (51% off via Capsule) Samsung Jet 75E Pet – £223.25 (50% off) Tineco Pure One S15 – £249 (17% off) Tefal X-Force Flex – £299.99 (38% off) Best Prime Day health and beauty deals Shave your face, do you hair and more with these health and beauty deals. Philips OneBlade 360 with Connectivity Face – £39.99 (33% off) Shark FlexStyle Limited Edition Teal Gift Set – £229.99 (28% off) Dyson Supersonic Origin Hair Dryer – £199.99 (£80 off via Boots) Best Prime Day other deals LG C3 OLED smart TV 48-inch – £799 (19% off) Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones – £259.99 (31% off) Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones – £179.99 (49% off) Bose QuietComfort SC headphones – £170.95 (47% off) Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Laptop (2024) – £499 (41% off) US Prime Day deals Prime Day is one of the biggest sales events on the US calendar and we’ve searched through countless deals to bring you the best ones on smart tech. Best Prime Day deals on Amazon devices Amazon slashes huge amounts off its own-brand products for Prime Day and this year is no different making it bargain central for TVs, smart speakers, streaming sticks and more. Amazon Echo Spot (2024) – $44.99 (44% off) Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max – $34.99 (42% off) Amazon Fire TV 43-inch Omni QLED Series – $359.99 (20% off) Best Prime Day smartphone deals Picking up a smartphone in the Prime sale is a smart move with offers on Google, Samsung, Motorola and more. Google Pixel 8 Pro – $699.99 (30% off) Samsung Galaxy S24 – $599 (25% off) Motorola razr+ – $599.99 (40% off) Motorola razr 2023 – $322.99 (54% off) Samsung Galaxy A35 – $299.99 (25% off) Samsung Galaxy S23 FE – $449.99 (25% off) OnePlus 12 – $699.99 (22% off) Best Prime Day tablet deals Save on the top tablet brands including Samsung and Apple to get a new entertainment or productivity partner. Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (2024) – $199.99 (39% off) Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ – $142.49 (35% off) Apple iPad (10th Generation) – $299 (14% off) Apple iPad Air 13-inch (M2) – $738 ($60 off) Google Pixel Tablet with Charging Speaker Dock – $349 (30% off) Best Prime Day smartwatch deals Smartwatches (and smart rings) are a big part of the sale and even include the brand-new Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 as well as older models. Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 (40mm) – $159.99 (47% off) Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (40mm) – $349.99 ($50 off) Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra – $649.99 ($80 off) Apple Watch SE (2nd Gen) (40mm) – $169.99 (32% off) Oura Ring Gen 3 – $282.69 (19% off) Best Prime Day air fryer deals Ninja Air Fryer Pro 4-in-1 – $89.99 (25% off) Ninja DoubleStack – $155.25 ($74.74 off via Walmart) Ninja Foodi 6-in-1 Smart 10-qt. 2-Basket Air Fryer – $149.99 (40% off via Ninja) Bella Pro Series 6-qt. Digital Air Fryer – $39.99 ($60 off via BestBuy) Best Prime Day electric toothbrush deals Clean your teeth for less and avoid trips to the dentist with deals on Oral-B and more. Suri Sustainable Sonic Toothbrush – $87 (25% off) Oral-B iO8 – $149.99 ($80 off at BestBuy) Oral-B iO3 – $59.99 (40% off) Oral-B iO2 – $52.22 (20% off) Oral-B iO9 – $237.49 (21% off) Best Prime Day vacuum cleaner deals Keep your home clean for less with these low prices on vacuum cleaners from Shark, Dyson and more. Shark HV322 Rocket Deluxe Pro Vacuum – $91.99 (69% off) Dyson V15 Detect Plus Cordless Vacuum – $549.99 (27% off) Shark NV356E Navigator Lift-Away Professional Upright Vacuum – $159.99 (20% off) Bissell CrossWave OmniForce Multi-Surface Hard Floor Cleaner Wet Dry Vacuum – $218.49 (43% off) Best Prime Day other deals Here are the best of any other tech deals we spot. Apple AirPods Pro (2nd gen) – $168.99 (32% off) Mregb solar charger – $35.99 (88% off) Michael Vi/Shutterstock.com Michael Vi/Shutterstock.com Michael Vi/Shutterstock.com FAQ 1. Do I need to be a Prime member to access deals? In simple terms, yes. The sale is exclusive to Prime members. You will still find discounted products on Amazon available to anyone but the best offers will be the ones in the Prime sale for members. If you’re not a member, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial here meaning you don’t need to pay extra to access the deals. 2. What time will the Amazon Prime Day sale end? The Prime Day discounts will be available until 11:59pm on 17 July. Despite being called Prime Day, the event lasts 48 hours. If the deals available aren’t quite what you’re looking for, then never fear. Other sales will no doubt take place over the summer with rival retailers such as Currys in the UK and BestBuy in the US. Black Friday will come around again before we know it and takes place on Friday 22 November 2024, with Cyber Monday following on Monday 25 November 2024. Both will offer plenty more discounts, and not just from Amazon. 3. What products will be on sale for Prime Day 2024? Amazon has said loosely said that the sale will include “electronics, homeware, fashion and beauty” but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Just about anything you can think of will be on sale, from batteries to cat food to smartphones. 4. Why trust Tech Advisor for the best Prime Day deals? Here at Tech Advisor we’re interested in the best Prime Day deals on tech and we’ll be extensively shopping the sale for you to find the lowest prices on phones, tablets, smartwatches, air fryers, electric toothbrushes, vacuum cleaners and lots more. Our expert team has covered countless sales events over the years and knows how to spot and verify a deal – not all are as good as they might seem for various reasons. As well as being able to spot a deal on instinct and experience, we go through a meticulous process of price-checking the individual product’s price history as well as cross-referencing it with official stores and rival retailers. We’ll also factor in extras like a free gift or service. 5. How to find specific Amazon Prime Day deals If you want a discount on a particular item, then you can set up a deal alert by visiting the Prime Day deals page. If an item is discounted, you’ll get a push notification. It’s a good idea to know what you want to buy in advance, whether it’s a type of product like an electric toothbrush or a specific model from a brand like Oral-B. With hundreds of thousands of deals to browse, it can quickly get overwhelming so narrowing down your search is critical. We will be shopping the deals for you so keep an eye on our Prime Day feed for the top deals. 6. Which countries is the Amazon Prime Day 2024 sale available in? There will be 24 countries that will have Prime Day events in July, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S., andthe UK. Prime members in India can shop on Prime Day later this summer. 7. When is the next Amazon Prime Day?  Amazon has not yet confirmed a date for the next Prime Day but our best guess would be that it’ll take place in October. Amazon has done it in October in previous years and we see no reason why it won’t do the same again...

We’re in the middle of an arms race at the top end of the phone market, with Samsung, Google, Huawei, and others all duking it out for the most eye-catching foldable design. But if rumors are to be believed (and yeah, that’s a big “if”), Samsung is working on a rolling screen phone that could bring the stuff of science fiction to your very real pocket. The rumor is that Samsung is bringing the Rollable Flex OLED concept display it showed off in 2023 to a mass market design. Korean news outlet The Elec says that this phone would start off with a typical “candybar” form factor, but roll out to a massive 12.4-inch display. That’s about the same size as an iPad Pro, in a gadget you can fit in your pocket (assuming you wear men’s pants, anyway). The phone is said to be earmarked for release in the latter half of 2025, which would put it in the same general rollout as next-gen Galaxy Z phones, presumably the Z7 Fold and Z7 Flip. The only other detail shared is that it uses the under-screen camera the Z series has been showing off for several generations. Folding phones are still a tiny sliver of the market despite the category being more than five years old now. Blame it on those prices creeping up towards the $2000 USD mark, and users hesitant to plop down that much cash for a device that’s inherently less durable than a conventional smartphone. The leak says that Samsung is particularly disappointed in the sales of the Galaxy Z6 and S24 series. Again, that might, just might have something to do with phones that cost more than a month’s rent. But even so, Samsung needs to stay in the high-end status symbol market, if only to keep up appearances. In addition to the usual cutthroat competition with the iPhone, the shine is coming off the Z Fold series. Google’s Pixel 9 Pro Fold is ever-so-slightly thinner and Huawei currently holds the crown for jaw-dropping presentation with the triple-folding Mate XT and its 10.2-inch screen. Samsung needs a new aspirational device, the phone equivalent of a Nissan GT-R, to get people excited about the brand and its down-market devices where the real sales volume and money are. And Samsung is certainly equipped to make that swing. It’s the largest company in South Korea, frequently competing for the most cutting-edge tech in the market with its Display division, and supplies millions of screens a year even to its competitors. Remember, most of the iPhones you see have a Samsung OLED panel inside them. But this is still a huge risk. This kind of form factor would have immense engineering challenges on its way to a retail product, most notably getting a usable battery for a tablet-sized screen into a phone-sized frame. Disappointing performance from split batteries are still one of the big weaknesses in Samsung’s sixth generation of folding phones. The 2023 concept display used a motorized frame to show off the rolling action, with no hands-on demonstrations available. Who knows if that would make it into a final design. So even if this rumor is true, there’s a sizeable chance that Samsung could encounter such difficulty in developing the device that it misses a 2025 release window, or just gets scrapped entirely. But even as someone who waits for a generation or two before buying new tech, I can’t deny that I’m excited. I’ve literally dreamed about a device like this, a phone-sized thingamabob that transforms and rolls out into a laptop-sized display. I hope it’s real, and I hope Samsung can make it a retail reality...

If you have a lot of hard flooring and dread getting the mop out, there is a better option. Wet and dry vacuums will do most of the hard work for you – often, even their own clean-up. You’ll just need to charge the appliance, fill the clean water tank and go. In most cases, they’re self-propelling as well, making light work of mopping. Dirty and debris is funnelled into a waste tank, which you unclip and empty at the end. Bear in mind that you can’t use most of the following cleaners on carpet, so you’ll need to hang on to your regular vacuum. There are a number of very similar models on the market, so in our round-up below, you’ll find details of features, battery life and water tank volume – as well as price and availability, so you can find the perfect wet and dry vacuum for you. If you’d like to see our top vacuum cleaner recommendations across all categories, have a look at our round-up of the best vacuum cleaners we’ve tested. And for hands-free cleaning, see the best robot vacuums. Best wet and dry vacuums 1. Dyson V15s Detect Submarine – Best complete cleaning system Pros Submarine head easy to use and effective Illuminating laser on Fluffy Optic Head Separate carpet and hard flooring cleaning heads, plus other tools Cons Price No steam sanitising Submarine head best for regular cleaning Fairly heavy (8.3lbs/3.75kg) and has trigger Drain trench can leak when full Best Prices Today: $939.53 at Amazon The V15s Detect Submarine is essentially the V15 Detect with an additional wet roller head, making it a modular, complete home floor cleaning system that’s effective and easy to use. Buy it and, as well as the Submarine head, you’ll get the Digital Motorbar cleaner head for carpets, the Fluffy Optic cleaner head for hard floors, the Hair Screw tool, a crevice tool and a combination tool with a wide nozzle and a brush. You can get up to 60 minutes of use from the battery, which recharges in 4.5 hours. Plus, the battery is swappable, so you can buy a second one to give yourself more cleaning time. The Submarine head can hold up to 300ml of water, which will give you 1,000 square feet of cleaning. You can add diluted detergent to the water for extra cleaning power, but not bleach, and there’s no steam function. Like many other floor cleaners in this round-up, the Submarine is self-propelling, which is good news as it’s heavy at 8.3lbs/3.75kg – more with a full water tank. You’ll also need to keep the trigger pressed down in use, which adds a bit of extra strain. Our only caveat in terms of its effectiveness is that the Submarine head is best for light, regular mopping. It’s not ideal for tackling really grimy floors. The other caveat, of course, is price. Read our full Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review 2. Tineco iFloor 5 – Best value buy Pros Enhanced edge cleaning Self-cleaning mode Flat wastewater roller scraper for a cleaner, drier finish Cons Proprietary cleaning solution Can’t vacuum or mop under low furniture You can’t dry vacuum alone Best Prices Today: $239 at Amazon Like the WashG1, the iFloor 5 can vacuum and mop at once, so if you have have lots of hard, sealed flooring, you can cut your cleaning time in half. Also like the WashG1, it can’t be used to sterilise floors. However, it doesn’t clean in both directions like the WashG1 does, so it’s not quite as fast. But it is effective. When we tested it, we found it be a very efficient cleaner. It cleans very close to the wall but it can’t get right into corners and, as it can’t lie flat, you’ll have to shift large, low pieces of furniture out of the way to clean underneath. It can be used with Tineco’s own cleaning solution, for extra cleaning power. It’s motorised and feels light to use. You’ll get over 30 minutes of use in eco mode and over 20 minutes in max and it charges in 4-5 hours. Its large tanks are easy to empty and fill and we didn’t find that hair got tangled around the brush. It also has a self-cleaning mode. If you’re looking for an effective vacuum and mop and don’t mind missing out on voice mode and smart features, this is a very good buy for its price point. Read our full Tineco iFloor 5 review 3. Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet – Best steam cleaner Pros Self-cleaning brush roll Hygienic floor cleaning Headlights Three modes Cons Noisy Cable can be limiting Lengthy maintenance after each use Bissell’s CrossWave HydroSteam Pet wet and dry vacuum is a corded cleaner, so if you don’t want to worry about battery life, it’s a good option. It’s also more powerful than many cordless competitors. You can use it dry, wet and in steam mode – for every aspect of pet clean-up on hard floors. It can even be used to clean up area rugs. Its clean water tank is a comfortable 820ml and its dirty water tank (effectively) 640ml, so you won’t need to be emptying and refilling too often. Among its most useful features are headlights to illuminate water left on the floor, and a self-cleaning mode. We found it to be an effective cleaner, with its steam mode giving it an edge over competitors, but it’s not flawless. At 5.67kg/12.5lbs, it’s heavy. It’s noisy in use as well, and you may not be able to rely entirely on the self-cleaning mode, which means it’s less of a time-saver than it could be. Read our full Bissell CrossWave HydroSteam Pet review 4. Dyson WashG1 – One-sweep vacuuming and mopping Pros Vacuum and mop in one go Quick and manoeuvrable Edge cleaning on one side Self-cleaning programme Cons Doesn't steam or sanitise Pricey Rollers only last for 25 hours of cleaning The WashG1 can be used on any type of sealed hard flooring. Its main advantage is that you don’t need to vacuum and mop separately – you can do both at once. It’s manoeuvrable, fast to use as it cleans going back and forward, and there’s edge cleaning on one side that lets you get right up to the wall. But it can’t be used with very hot water or bleach, so it can’t sanitise floors. What sets the WashG1 apart from other cleaners in this round-up is that it doesn’t use direct suction to pull dirt, hair and spills from the floor. Its rollers pick it all up, flick the solids into a tray, and the dirty water is pulled into a tank. This should mean fewer blockages, no nasty odour from the machine, and no need for you to pull clumps of hair from tubing or tanks inside the cleaner. There’s a self-cleaning programme for the rollers as well, but you will have to remove debris from the tray by hand – and it’s not pleasant. The 1-litre clean and dirty water tanks are easy to remove, and they come off together, for quick refilling and emptying. A tank will give you around 35 minutes of cleaning time – enough Dyson reckons, to clean an entire tennis court. Altogether, if you have almost all hard flooring in your home, it will be a huge time-saver. People with a mix of carpeting and hard flooring, however, will probably be better off with the V15s Submarine, the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua, or separate wet and dry vacuums altogether. Read our full Dyson WashG1 review 5. Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua – Best Submarine alternative Pros Eco, auto and turbo modes Jointed for reaching low Hook for cleaning breaks Flexible crevice tool Cons Short runtime Mount doesn’t store all tools Single battery If you like what the Dyson V15s Submarine does but not its price and want a similar, modular cleaner with wet and dry attachments, the Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua is one to consider. It comes with a dry vacuuming head, a wet mopping head and three cleaning tools (short and long crevice, combi brush) that, together, will allow you to tackle any cleaning jobs in your home. Among the things that make it such a great cleaner are its handy features, such as the small ring inside the dustbin’s filter that Bosch calls the Rotation Clean, which spins to flick particles into the bin itself. But battery life is limited. The maximum run time is 40 minutes – but that’s on the Eco setting with a tool. Attach a floor head on the same mode and the run decreases to 30 minutes. You’d expect a longer duration for a hard and soft floor cleaner. Swap Eco for Turbo and the run is 10 minutes. We also found that the mopping head is best for little and often cleaning and isn’t the best for dealing with larger, sticky spills, which can be smeared around the floor. Read our full Bosch Unlimited 7 Aqua review 6. Roborock Flexi Pro – Good for edges and under furniture Pros Cleans well Accesses (almost) everywhere Self-cleaning Cons Small, opaque water tanks No stand-alone vacuum cleaner function Expensive Best Prices Today: $499.99 at Amazon The Flexi Pro has a simple, sleek design that may give it the edge over competing models, especially if you don’t have space to hide it away. It also has a longer battery life than many rivals, with a cleaning time of up to 50 minutes. It charges in 4 hours. We also found that its design helps it clean right up to edges and that it can lie flat to get right under most pieces of furniture. We found that it gave a good clean and that its detection mode, which automatically adjusts power as needed, worked well. It does have a self-cleaning cycle, but you might have to clean the roller yourself after tackling more serious spills. The downside of its minimalist build is that its clean and dirty water tanks are built into the body of the cleaner and are thus fairly small (0.73 litres for clean and 0.43 litres for dirty). And, as they’re semi-opaque, you’ll have to remove them to check the water level. Read our full Roborock Flexi Pro review 7. Gtech Orca – Full colour digital display Pros Upright stand charging Speedy Self-cleaning Cons Proprietary detergent Sealed floors only Working too close to upright can trigger power off The Gtech Orca has three cleaning modes: mopping (in which it both dispenses and draws up water), eco vacuum and max vacuum mode (in both of which it only draws up water). It doesn’t offer steam cleaning. Charing takes around five hours from flat to full. From a fully charged battery, you’ll get 20 minutes of mopping, or 40 minutes of vacuuming time. While testing it, we found that was plenty of time to give floors a really good clean and were able to cover over 50m2 in under 15 minutes. Its suction is excellent and, while you won’t be using it as your day-to-day vac, it’ll handle any spills easily. It has a 0.8-litre clean tank and a 0.7-litre waste tank, which are easy to fill, empty and clean. It has some advanced features to simplify use, including a digital touchscreen display that shows settings and, more importantly, a clear battery life indicator. It also has a self-cleaning mode that you can switch on when it’s docked. Read our full Gtech Orca review 8. Ultenic AC1 – Voice mode Pros Washable HEPA filter Self-cleaning and drying Long battery life 1 litre water tanks Cons Heavy You’ll still need a second vacuum Unhelpful instruction manual Cleaning solution hard to buy The Ultenic AC1 has a great feature set. It’s self-propelled, has a voice mode (which can be muted, although it’s handy when you’re switching between modes), an LED display that shows the remaining battery life %, the cleaning mode in use and any error messages. The AC1 is self-cleaning (including a UV light for sanitising) and drying, although it still won’t get the roller perfectly dry. It also features the longest battery life of the wet and dry vacuums we’ve tested at 45 minutes – and 25 minutes in maximum mode. What’s more, you can buy a second battery and swap it out to get an even longer cleaning time. It charges in 4 hours. It has four cleaning modes: smart (auto dirt detection), max, suction and deep clean (although the last of these is somewhat perplexing). You can use it with plain water, or the provided cleaning solution. It has huge, 1-litre clean and dirty tanks and something that not all of the cleaners in this round-up do: a debris filter in the dirty water tank, making it easier (and less unpleasant) to empty. The only snag is that it’s hard to get hold of in the UK at the moment, but US users can buy it from Amazon. Read our full Ultenic AC1 review 9. Tineco Floor One S3 – Smart features Pros Light Cordless Easy to clean Propels itself forward HEPA filter Cons Small water tanks Pricey at RRP Best Prices Today: $399.99 at Amazon In the UK, a great alternative to the New400 is the Tineco Floor One S3, another sealed flooring cleaner. Its specs don’t quite live up to the Ultenic AC1 and it’s not quite as budget-friendly, but it’s come down in price since its launch and represents good value. It’s also self-propelling and weighs 4.5kg (9.9lbs). It has a 600ml clean water tank and a 500ml dirty water tank. On top is a digital display with a battery life percentage indicator – it’s not quite as good as a Dyson display that’ll give you the time left in minutes, but it’s much better than bars. It has a maximum runtime of 35 minutes and it takes 4 hours to charge. It has smart features as well, but we only regularly used the app to check the battery life while charging – which was very handy. It also has a (mutable) voice mode, which is useful if you’ve failed to attach a part properly. It cleans itself after use as well. Read our full Tineco Floor One S3 Wet & Dry Vacuum Cleaner review 10. Tineco Floor One S5 Extreme – Three cleaning modes Pros Self-cleaning function Vacuums and mops hard floors Suction only mode for spills Uses plain water or detergent Cons Doesn’t clean floor edges App has limited functionality Heavy Pricey The S5 Extreme is a bit more expensive than many other models here, but if you can get it on sale or when the price comes down, you won’t be disappointed. It can be used to vacuum and mop at the same time, is self-propelling and has voice guidance. It’s fairly heavy at 4.5kg/10lbs, so you won’t want to be carrying it up and down stairs. It has a digital display that shows suction mode, remaining battery life % – and has a colour coded ring that’ll show you when it encounters a lot of dirt. Unlike many rivals, it has three cleaning modes: suction only for spills or drying wet floors; auto, which ramps up the power when it finds dirt; and max. You’ll get 35 minutes of cleaning time in auto mode and 28 minutes in max. Charging time is 4-5 hours. You can clean using the supplied cleaning fluid mixed with water, or using plain water alone. There’s no steam clean function. The water tanks are large, at 800ml for clean and 700ml for dirty, but we found that you’ll need to empty the dirty water tank more often, especially when cleaning up wet spills. Also, as the clean tank is so long, you may need to fill it from a jug, as it might not fit under a tap. We found it to be very effective on fresh spills but less so on hardened or ground-in dirt. It also struggled with hair, so you may find yourself needing to use an ordinary vacuum to get the worst up first. The smart features add little to the usefulness of the vacuum but its self-cleaning mode will save you an unpleasant job. Read our full Tineco Floor One S5 Extreme review 11. Wessex 18L Wet & Dry Vacuum – Best budget buy (UK only) Pros Cheap Good suction Vacuums up liquid Cons Flimsy, paper dust bags Dust bags are expensive from Toolstation Very basic build quality If you’re looking for a cheap wet and dry vacuum as a shop vac for a garage or another area of indoor/outdoor hard flooring, this Wessex model could be for you. It doesn’t clean floors with water or a cleaning solution. Instead, it’s just there for vacuuming up wet spills, dust and chunky debris. It comes in three sizes: 18, 20 and 30 litres. We tested the 18-litre model on sawdust, dust, dirt, mud and on a water leak and found it to be powerful and effective. It has 18,000Pa of suction and comes with a main brush head, crevice tool and hose adapter that’ll connect to the outlet of some power tools. It has a 1.5m hose and 5m power cable. You can use it on wet or dry spills but bear in mind that you’ll have to add or remove the bag, filter and a locking nut depending on the task, so it’s not as simple to use as pricier models. You can also use it as a blower, but that also requires adjustments. As you’d expect from its price point, there are compromises where the build quality is concerned. It’s almost entirely plastic, there’s no angle adjustment on the floor brush and its bags are made from not-very-sturdy paper. You’ll be able to replace them with universal bags, although you can buy ones made for the vacuum from Toolstation for £4.98 for a three-pack. This isn’t a buy-it-for-life model, but if you need something cheap, it’s a good option. Read our full Wessex 18L Wet & Dry Vacuum review...

At a glanceExpert's Rating ProsPremium look and feelSnappy day-to-day performanceBig bright displaysClean softwareGreat camerasConsTensor G4 is underwhelmingCharges very slowlyGemini Advanced features require a subscriptionOur VerdictThe Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is one of the most well-made and premium-feeling book-style foldables money can buy, and it’s a delight to live with. Strong competition from the likes of Samsung and Honor complicates things, though, and if you’re seeking the best bang for your buck, this is not it. Google’s original Pixel Fold was a bit of an outlier, launching separately to the brand’s other devices, in between the Pixel 7 series and Pixel 8 series. It was Google’s most premium and expensive handset ever, yet only a few months after its launch, it already felt outdated. It was rocking the Tensor G2, while the Pixel 8 devices had the Tensor G3. Then there was the design, which was unlike any other foldable on the market, with a wide, squat cover screen that was almost passport-shaped. Not to mention some massive bezels on the inside screen. Some loved it, but many weren’t so convinced. With the introduction of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, everything has changed. It’s now part of the mainline Pixel 9 family, which means the specs are bang up to date, and it has a much more traditional shape, almost feeling like a regular candybar handset when folded down. On first impressions, it seems Google is doing everything right this time around, and it feels like a truly premium flagship foldable. However, the competition is more fierce than ever. Honor’s Magic V3 feels impossibly thin and light, while Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6 is the brand’s most refined folding handset to date. Does the Pixel 9 Pro Fold have what it takes to compete? I was determined to find out, and after using it as my main device for the past week, here’s everything I learned. Design & Build 155.2 x 150.2 x 5.1 mm unfolded 162.5 x 75.8 x 8.9 mm folded IPX8 rated, 257g The first thing that struck me about the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is how sturdy and well-made it feels. I’ve tried just about every large format foldable in 2024, and something about the Pixel makes it feel more expensive and premium than the rest. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker It’s not the slimmest handset around, measuring just under 9mm thick when folded down, and it’s not the lightest either, at 257g. It’s still slimmer than the Z Fold 6, Samsung’s slimmest to date, but I moved into this phone directly after the Honor Magic V3, and it felt very chunky by comparison. Part of this is due to the boxy, iPhone-like shape. It matches the rest of the Pixel 9 lineup, with flat side rails and flat displays, and I think it looks great. It’s almost exactly the same size as the regular Pixel 9 Pro when folded, just thicker, with a squared-off side for the hinge. It’s almost exactly the same size as the regular Pixel 9 Pro when folded, just thicker, with a squared-off side for the hinge This means that using the cover display feels extremely natural. You don’t lose any height like you did on the previous Pixel Fold, and you don’t have a cramped keyboard like you do with the more narrow Z Fold 6. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker Unlike the other Pixel 9 models, the Fold has a matt finish on its side rails, and I much prefer it. It’s much less fingerprint-prone and still very grippy. However, the hinge still has that high-gloss smudge magnet finish as you’ll find on the other phones. Speaking of the hinge, it’s one of the most impressive that I’ve come across, only rivalled by Samsung. It can be adjusted to almost any angle without snapping open or shut. It’s great for when you’re trying to frame a photo in tripod mode, or watching YouTube in flex mode. Around the back, you get a flat frosted matt rear panel in either Porcelain (off-white) or Obsidian (dark grey/black). The camera island is positioned at the top left, very similar to the older Pixel Fold, and it’s not an oblong bar shape like the rest of the Pixel family. It’s not as iconic, but I think it still looks rather fetching, and it’s wide enough not to introduce wobble when it’s placed on a desk. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker One thing I just couldn’t get used to on this phone is the positioning of the volume rocker. It’s really low down, so turning the volume down requires some serious thumb gymnastics when using the phone one-handed. Those with smaller hands may not have as much trouble, but I found it very annoying. The haptics on this phone are fantastic, and among the best you’ll find on a foldable. The precise strong vibrations feel great when you’re typing quickly, and there’s a satisfying thunk when you toggle a setting on and off. Screen & Speakers Cover: 6.3-inch, 1080 x 2424, 120Hz OLED, 2700 nits Main: 8-inch, 2076 x 2152, LTPO OLED, 1800 nits Stereo speakers I’ve already touched on the cover display dimensions, but it’s worth repeating that this phone is almost identically sized to the Pixel 9 Pro. Unlike Samsung’s narrow cover display, using this one doesn’t feel like a compromised experience, and there are only a few tells that you aren’t dealing with a regular slab phone. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker Obviously, it’s a thicker and heavier phone, but the bezels on the cover display are also much chunkier. It’s not something that really bothered me in use, but it looks a little dated compared to the competition. It’s also not an LTPO panel, so the refresh rate only shifts between 60- and 120Hz. Again, it didn’t really bother me, but it’s an odd omission on the screen likely to get the most use. Elsewhere, the cover display left me with no complaints. The 2700 nit peak brightness was more than enough to contend with direct sunlight, and a fully flat panel meant no phantom touches or weird reflections to deal with. On the inside, there’s a massive 8-inch foldable display, and this one is an LTPO panel. It’s not quite as bright, peaking at 1800 nits, but I never had trouble seeing it in a wide variety of lighting conditions. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker Google claims the 9 Pro Fold has the biggest display on a foldable, and that might be true in the US market, but it’s not the case for those of us with access to handsets from Chinese manufacturers. It’s certainly larger than the Z Fold 6, but I found that the Honor Magic V3 and Vivo X Fold 3 Pro both have larger usable display space, due to the curvy corners and thicker bezels on the Pixel. That said, it’s still a wonderfully spacious display that’s great for multitasking and watching full-screen content. I like that the selfie camera cut-out is tucked away in the corner, too, as it means it rarely interrupts full-screen videos. It’s a much more modern-looking solution than its chunky bezel-ed predecessor, and personally, I find it less distracting than Samsung’s low-res patch that covers the under-display selfie camera. There’s still a pretty sizable crease and it’s more noticeable than some of its rivals due to a high-gloss screen protector The Pixel 9 Pro Fold actually folds flat, which is an upgrade compared to the previous model, which liked to sit a slight V-shape. There’s still a pretty sizable crease and it’s more noticeable than some of its rivals due to a high-gloss screen protector. I do think it’s better than Samsung’s crease, but next to the Honor Magic V3, it’s not the most impressive. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker The positioning of the speakers makes it feel like the phone is designed to be held in portrait orientation, with the fold running down the centre, whereas a lot of my other foldables encourage you to flip the phone into landscape mode. I say this because one speaker is almost always muffled by my palm in landscape mode, and the almost-square aspect ratio means that 16:9 content doesn’t get much larger when you rotate it. That’s fine by me, it’s much more convenient than spinning it around.  The speakers can get extremely loud and they sound superb, with more low-end response than your typical phone. They trade blows with the Z Fold 6 speakers, although Samsung often pulls ahead slightly with the bass frequencies. Specs & Performance Google Tensor G4 16GB RAM 256GB / 512GB storage The Pixel 9 Pro Fold runs on Google’s fourth-generation Tensor G4 chip, just like the rest of the Pixel 9 series. It’s well-documented at this point that this processor isn’t a massive upgrade over the last generation Tensor G3, at least outside of some very specific AI-based workloads. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker It’s paired with a respectable 16GB of RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage. Thankfully, Google chose to forego the 128GB option on this model. Going in with this knowledge, I wasn’t expecting too much in the performance department, but I was pleasantly surprised. In day-to-day use, scrolling social media, messaging and consuming content, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels lightning-quick. In day-to-day use, scrolling social media, messaging and consuming content, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels lightning-quick Whatever Google is doing to squeeze the most out of this chip is clearly working, and whether it’s a trick of the animation style or some clever optimisation, navigating the OS feels snappier and more responsive than the experience with most rival devices. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker In benchmarks, however, we can clearly see that Google is a few steps behind flagships with Qualcomm and its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. For that reason, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is unlikely to be the top choice for keen gamers. That said, the device can still play games well, even graphically challenging ones. I found that Zenless Zone Zero would run fairly smoothly at 30fps with max graphic settings, however when I tried pushing it to 60fps there were plenty of frame drops and stutters to sour the experience. I was also impressed by the thermal performance. It does get warm when playing GPU-heavy games, of course, but it never got too hot or uncomfortable to hold, which is all you can really ask for. Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold benchmarks Cameras 48Mp main camera 10.5Mp ultrawide 10.8Mp 5x periscope telephoto 10Mp selfie camera Pixel phones are well known for their photographic capabilities, but in contrast to some other brands, most of the prowess comes from image processing, rather than cutting-edge hardware. In the case of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, there are no hardware upgrades for the camera system, but that might not matter so much. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker Still, it means you have some very low-resolution sensors in the lineup. Only the main camera sports a 48Mp resolution, while the others all hover around the 10Mp mark. They’re all quite small sensors, too, especially when compared to Chinese brands like Honor and Vivo. This means the Pixel has to rely on night mode and noise reduction more heavily when shooting in low-light conditions. In the day, images from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold have the signature Pixel charm – they look bright, sharp and detailed, with excellent dynamic range. It’s a slight step down in quality compared to the mainline Pixel snappers, but results are similar enough, and it’s just as reliable as a point-and-shoot camera for social media posts. Images from the Pixel 9 Pro Fold have the signature Pixel charm – they look bright, sharp and detailed, with excellent dynamic range When it gets darker, the main camera is the way to go. It produces the sharpest images with the most detail, meanwhile, the telephoto and ultrawide cameras look a little soft and are very prone to motion blur. I suspect the muddiness comes from over-active noise reduction, as in video mode, these sensors look quite grainy, but in photos, it all disappears. There are two selfie cameras with identical specs, they’re both 10Mp punch-hole units and neither has autofocus. These cameras are good enough for video calls but I found them unimpressive for photos. Lots of my snaps came out looking washed-out, and low-light shots often looked blurry. The good news is that this is a foldable, so it’s just as easy to take selfies using the vastly superior main camera. One thing I wish Google would spend some time improving is its portrait mode. It feels very limited on this phone, especially compared to the Honor Magic V3. It only works on the main camera, and it always applies at least a 1.5x crop to the image. There are no filters, no control over the amount of blur, and the subject detection is a little hit-and-miss. One of the new Fold-exclusive features is something called “Made you look”. It uses the cover screen to display animated cartoon characters to attract the attention of babies and toddlers. I thought this was going to be a gimmick, but when I tried it with my friend’s kid, I was amazed. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker The kid immediately stopped running around and was glued to the screen, making it super easy to grab some pictures. Unfortunately, that’s where I also realised this mode’s big shortcoming. It uses the cover screen selfie camera rather than the main camera. It makes sense, as that’s where the child will be looking, and that’s fine in the day, but I was in a dimly lit restaurant, so my photos were a blurry mess. Of course, you get all the other Pixel-exclusive photo features on this phone, too, including the new Add Me feature, along with post-processing tweaks like Best Take, Photo Unblur and Super Res Zoom.  Add Me seems to work just as well on this phone as it does on the other Pixels, but I can’t help but feel it’s a bit over-complicated. After all, it seems much easier to snap a group selfie, ask a stranger to take a picture or use the phone’s own built-in tripod mode. If you fancy cloning yourself, though, this is an easy way to do so. Battery Life & Charging 4650mAh battery 21W charging 7.5W wireless charging  The Pixel 9 Pro Fold houses a 4650 mAh battery pack, just managing to outdo the chunkier Galaxy Z Fold 6’s 4400 mAh capacity. But with larger and brighter screens on board, will that result in better real-world battery life? Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker In my experience, yes, but only slightly. An average day saw me going to bed with around 20-30% left in the tank, but when I spent an hour or so gaming or took lots of photos, that figure was significantly reduced. Throughout my testing, I never needed a mid-day top-up, but expect to charge every night without fail. An average day saw me going to bed with around 20-30% left in the tank There’s no charger included in the box, just a USB-C cable, and the charging speeds are truly underwhelming. I’ve spent plenty of time moaning about the Z Fold 6′s sluggish charging, but somehow the Pixel 9 Pro Fold manages to be even slower, maxing out at a measly 21W with a wire and just 7.5W wirelessly. In real-world terms, that means a 50% charge will take just over half an hour, while a full charge is likely to take around an hour and 40 minutes. On the plus side, the OS has battery health measures built-in, meaning you can leave it plugged in overnight without fear. Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker Software & Apps Android 14 Gemini AI features New Screenshots, Weather and Pixel Studio apps Like the rest of this year’s Pixel lineup, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold launched in advance of Android 15, so it’s running Android 14 instead. However, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing new here, on the contrary, Google has added three new first-party apps, as well as a slew of extra AI-powered enhancements. Most of what you’ll find here is identical to the other Pixel 9-series devices, and Pixel 8 models, too. With this being a large-format foldable, though, the multitasking experience is much more important. For the most part, I like the way Google has approached this. It’s quick and easy to understand the split screen mode, and it’s simple to set up your most common app pairings, too.  Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker The problem is that it’s slightly too simplistic. With no support for floating windows, you’re stuck with a maximum of two apps side-by-side in split-screen mode. Other brands are doing more here, and Google needs to step its game up if it wants the Fold to be a true productivity powerhouse. Otherwise, I like the Pixel UI. It’s completely free from bloatware, it feels quick and responsive, and there are nice quality-of-life features built in. I love the Now Playing feature that lets you know what music is playing on your lock screen, the integration with Google Home is excellent, too. On the flip side, there are some very basic features that the Pixel interface is still lacking, like the ability to move apps around in bulk. Google spent a lot of the Pixel 9 launch event talking about its new Gemini-powered AI features, and some of them are really impressive. At times, talking to Gemini Live feels like a glimpse into the future – but the problem is, it’s not a Pixel feature.  Luke Baker Luke Baker Luke Baker I can do the same thing on most other Android phones, and I have. Pixel owners get a 1-year free trial of Gemini Advanced to try it, but once it’s up, Google’s asking for a £18.99/$20 per month subscription that I’m sure most can do without. The three new apps have varying degrees of usefulness, and I’m a little miffed about them being separate apps. For instance, I think the Screenshots app is quite useful, but I don’t see why it couldn’t be integrated into Google Photos. The same goes for the new Weather app, which is very pretty, but I already have a weather app that I like, and I don’t need an extra non-deleteable version. One thing that I do love is Circle to Search. It’s nothing new, we’ve seen it on all of this year’s Samsung flagships and Google devices, but it’s great and I miss it when it’s not there. Another big selling point is the seven years of both OS and security updates that Google offers. It’s not the only foldable with this promise – the Galaxy Z Fold 6 has identical support – but still very impressive. Price & Availability The Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold is available to purchase now in most regions across the globe. If you buy it outright, the 256GB model will cost you £1,749/ $1,799 while the 512GB model goes for £1,869/$1,919. It’s certainly not cheap, but this is a large format foldable, and this kind of pricing comes with the territory. If you’re paying upfront, you can grab the phone from the Google Store in UK and US, as well as Amazon UK and Amazon US. Of course, there are plenty of contract deals that can help to spread the cost. We’ve rounded up both in our best Pixel 9 deals article, but more contract options are available below: Should you buy the Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold? I’ve loved living with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, it’s such a vast improvement on the previous model and one of the most polished and premium-feeling foldable handsets on the market today. Despite having a slower processor and fewer software features, I still prefer it over the Galaxy Z Fold 6. If we’re only talking about phones that you can buy in the US, then it’s extremely easy to recommend. In the UK, however, Honor has the Magic V3, which bests the Pixel in almost every area and comes at a lower cost. Sure, its AI features may not be quite as advanced, but I found the camera more impressive, it’s quicker, has a bigger battery, faster charging and more storage – all for about £100 less. That said, the Pixel does have its charms, and if you love the bloat-free Pixel experience, the Honor device is no substitute. It has a longer support term and will be one of the first devices to get all the goodies that come with Android 15, too. It might not be the best hardware available, but it’s still one of the best folding phones. Specs Android 14 Cover: 6.3-inch, 1080 x 2424, OLED, 120Hz Main: 8-inch, 2076 x 2152, LTPO OLED, 120Hz Side-mounted fingerprint sensor Google Tensor G4 16GB RAM 256GB / 512GB storage Cameras: 48Mp main camera 10.5Mp ultrawide 10.8Mp 5x periscope telephoto 2x 10Mp selfie cameras Up to 4K @ 60fps rear video Stereo speakers Dual-SIM + eSIM Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be Bluetooth 5.3 4650mAh battery 21W charging 7.5W wireless charging  155.2 x 77.1 x 10.5 mm (folded) IPX8 certified 257g Colours: Porcelain, Obsidian...