Faster chip, tremendous battery life, premium touch points and a price cut make the best even better Apple’s latest MacBook Air adds more power to an already potent package while maintaining its very long battery life and coming at a lower price than its predecessor. The 2024 model ships with Apple’s latest M3 chip, first seen in the MacBook Pro, giving the company’s thinnest and lightest machine a boost in performance. On the outside the laptop is identical to the 2022 model ..read more

Packed with swappable parts including the keyboard, ports and graphics card, this machine is unique Framework is back with the new, larger and more powerful Laptop 16 that is its most ambitious device yet: a highly modular and upgradeable 16in machine that can transform in layout and power in minutes. It is quite unlike anything else on the market. Packed with hot-swappable components, the laptop can be customised in myriad ways, converting from a fast but quiet workhorse by day into an LED-strewn gaming PC by night ..read more

Laptop upgrade adds M3 chips, more power, longer battery life, brighter screen, lower price and darker colour Apple’s latest upgraded MacBook Pro adds a wider range of chip options, a cheaper price and a new black colour option, alongside even greater performance and battery life. The much-loved laptop now starts at £1,699 (€1,999/$1,599/A$2,699), which isn’t exactly cheap but is £450 less than its predecessor, lowering the barrier to entry significantly. Screen: 14.2in mini LED (3024x1964; 254 ppi) ProMotion (120Hz) Processor: Apple M3, Pro or Max RAM: 8, 18 or 32, or up to 128GB Storage: 512 ..read more

If you are tempted to ask Santa for the latest smartwatch or phone, think again This Christmas, many Apple enthusiasts will be mulling over whether to shell out almost £800 for a new iPhone 15, while some commuters will be thinking of putting the new Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones on their list, although at £450, Santa will need to be feeling generous. But is it really necessary to keep on updating our phones, laptops, smartwatches and headphones as new models hit the market? The simple answer is no ..read more

Big chip and graphics upgrades come at great cost to wallet and battery life for difficult second act Microsoft’s latest top-end laptop sticks with its novel screen-flipping form, with upgrades on the inside aimed at keeping up with the powerhouse competition – but these improvements come with a very steep price increase. The Surface Laptop Studio 2 starts at £2,069 (€2,239/$1999.99/A$3,343) – a £620 increase over the outgoing model. That takes it far away from the normal premium consumer range on which Microsoft has built its Surface reputation, and places it firmly in the creative workstatio ..read more

We’ve got used to dumping old devices. But a new breed of firms is making products that they hope you will hang on to It is a habit that has become ingrained in so many consumers that you could be forgiven for thinking there was no other way: dumping your old and tired tech for a shinier model every year or two, shelling out hundreds of pounds in the process. But a new generation of technology is creeping into the mainstream that is designed to upend this consumerist churn – devices that can be taken apart, repaired and upgraded by the user, and not via an over-priced service ..read more

Thin and light M2 Mac has fast performance, a very long battery life and one of the best screens on the market Apple’s much-rumoured 15in MacBook Air is here, marking the firm’s return to this part of the market and adding more screen to what is arguably the best consumer laptop available. The 15in MacBook Air starts at £1,399 ($1,299/A$2,199) – £250 more than the excellent 13in version, which has been given a £100 price cut since its launch ..read more

Thin and light performance machine continues to set standard for fixable, upgradeable laptops The fixable and upgradeable premium Framework Laptop 13 has been improved all round for 2023 and is packed with small changes that are backwards compatible with older models, making a great laptop even better. The original Framework broke new ground last year as a laptop designed to be taken apart and upgraded, and with a modular selection of ports, too. Crucially, the company followed through on promises to provide parts and upgrades for existing machines – first with 12th-gen Intel chips and now new ..read more

Windows 11 workstation has top creative and gaming performance housed in sleek 16in laptop design The top of Samsung’s new 2023 laptop line is the Galaxy Book 3 Ultra: a powerhouse 16in machine aiming squarely at Apple’s 16in MacBook Pro for creatives and gamers. A laptop called Ultra obviously doesn’t come cheap, costing from £2,449 ($2,200), which is about the same price as Windows 11 rivals from Dell and Razer but slightly cheaper than Apple’s top machines. Screen: 16in 3K AMOLED 2880 x 1800 (120Hz; 201 PPI) Processor: Intel Core i7-13700H or i9-13900H (13th gen) Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RT ..read more

Mouse movers have existed for years, but have recently become a symbol of resistance against workplace surveillance Watching Premier League matches can be difficult when you live in the US. For midweek games, the kickoff is often in the middle of the work day, posing a challenge even for remote workers: how do you keep your online status from going idle? The solution is a mouse mover: a tool that keeps your cursor jiggling even as you turn your full attention to the game. And last month, the Premier League’s US Twitter feed endorsed goofing off by offering a “PLinUSA mouse mover” to a lucky wi ..read more