Articles by Tom Bedford, Contributor

OnePlus is reportedly merging with Realme and 'evaluating' its future — but I'm convinced that this is fantastic news for Android fans

By Tom Bedford Published 2 May 26

It's all doom and gloom in the Android world, with reports of OnePlus' imminent demise swirling — but looking forward, this could actually be a great development.

A graphic showing the Verified by Spotify badge.

'Verified By Spotify' is the music streamer's new way to help you avoid AI artists, but it doesn't go as far as I'd like — especially with Deezer, Qobuz and Apple Music making major anti-AI steps

By Tom Bedford Published 1 May 26

The Verified By Spotify badge lets you find out if an artist is real on the streaming giant, but you still can't filter out AI slop in playlists

The CoolGeek TS-01 turntable, with its platter glowing green, thanks to RGB lighting

I can’t believe I’ve found another RGB gadget for my home, but this flashy turntable is funky, affordable, automatic, and comes with some really neat touches

By Tom Bedford Published 30 April 26

The CoolGeek TS-01 is a new Kickstarter automatic turntable with glowing lights and an affordable price

The Topping DX9 Discrete in a silver finish, on a white surface with a pink background

'The best of both worlds': This innovative DAC and headphone amp uses a unique processing system that basically converts your Hi-Res Audio to DSD on the fly, to give you ultra-low-distortion music — and it's packed with wired and wireless connectivity

By Tom Bedford Published 29 April 26

The Topping DX9 Discrete DAC uses Hi-Res tech magic to give you the best of both worlds

The Pro-Jet Stream Box E next to a speaker.

Pro-Ject just launched a tiny box to turn any passive speakers wireless that attaches to the binding posts, and brings them into the Sonos-rivaling WiiM ecosystem — and there's a streamer box for hi-fi amps too… but Apple users should probably pass

By Tom Bedford Published 28 April 26

Pro-Jet’s two new wireless dongles further push WiiM as a huge Sonos rival for hi-fi fans

Still frustrated with the Sonos app? People have been making alternatives using AI to solve long-standing annoyances — and some are pretty damn cool

By Tom Bedford Published 27 April 26

Since the Sonos app remains divisive, some owners of Sonos speakers have used AI to vibe code their own alternatives.

2 Comments

The Soundcore Space 2 in front of a green bush.

Soundcore's brand-new headphones are so good at noise cancelling, I don't want to stop using them

By Tom Bedford Published 25 April 26

The Anker Soundcore Space 2 have a fantastic feature set and comfy design, even if the sound quality isn't the absolute best.

A pair of headphones with Scrub Daddy sponges on the outside of the earcups

Someone built headphones made from Scrub Daddy sponges, and that's not even the surprising part — they delivered 'godly' audiophile-level measurement results

By Tom Bedford Published 24 April 26

An audio engineer has made open-back headphones with an unlikely material, and everyone's shocked at how good they are.

The Samsung Galaxy A57 being held over a field, showing its back.

Samsung Galaxy A57 review: a competent all-rounder that lacks wow factor

By Tom Bedford Published 23 April 26

The Samsung Galaxy A57 has a thin body, clean software, and a good-looking screen, making it great as an everyday phone. But it struggles with performance and photography.

The Honor Choice Earbuds Clip 2 being worn by a woman who's also using an Honor phone.

'Could be the best open earbuds yet' — Honor's new clips solve my biggest open earbud problem, and I'm already ready to hand out awards

By Tom Bedford Published 23 April 26

The Honor Choice Earbuds Clip 2 Pro have anti-sound-leaking tech, to solve a major open earbud woe.

the chord mojo 2 portable dac connected to a tablet and earphones

'Turns out I'm deaf': Someone built a browser tool to test the difference between Hi-Res Audio FLAC and lossy MP3 with your own music, so you've no excuse for getting it wrong

By Tom Bedford Published 22 April 26

This ultimate FLAC vs MP3 tool tests whether your ears can pick out lossless vs lossy audio with the tracks you know best

'Makes the WH-1000XM6 seem cheap' — Sony just leaked elite 'Collexion' headphones, coming very soon

By Tom Bedford Published 21 April 26

Let's make a… Connexion

AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation earbuds held in a man's hand

New research suggests AirPods with cameras can't happen — unless Apple makes a few major changes

By Tom Bedford Published 20 April 26

Researchers have squirrelled a tiny camera module into earbuds that allows your listening gear to see what you see — but don't get excited about AirPods with cameras just yet.

The SoundPeats Air6 HS on a white and pink background.

'Better than AirPods': these rival earbuds boast better stamina, more reliable Bluetooth — and cost a third of the price

By Tom Bedford Published 15 April 26

The new SoundPeats Air6 HS take the tip-less build of the AirPods 4 and make some improvements.

A dusty vinyl, poking out of a record sleeve.

No, you don't need a new turntable this Record Store Day, just use this cheap extra to clean your vinyl

By Tom Bedford Published 13 April 26

Take it from me: a fancy record player won't improve how your vinyl sounds if you haven't tried this cheap extra first

The H20 Audio Ript Ultra balanced on a ledge.

Are these the best-designed workout headphones ever? I used them for a month to find out

By Tom Bedford Published 12 April 26

The H20 Audio Ript Ultra are designed to survive any kind of exercise — but with a few compromises along the way

The Gadhouse Miko Cassette Player on a blue blackground, with some cassettes spilling out.

'Everyone seemingly hates modern tech': this brand new retro cassette player proves the hipsters right

By Tom Bedford Published 10 April 26

The Gadhouse Miko Cassette Player is part of a growing trend of feature-packed physical music players.

The Honor MouseBud Pro with an earbud coming out.

What if your computer mouse ate a pair of earbuds? Meet Honor’s MouseBuds Pro with ‘skin-like coating'

By Tom Bedford Published 9 April 26

Is it a mouse? Is it earbuds? Is it a plane? No, it's the Honor Choice MouseBuds Pro, which you can buy right now if you really, really want.

An array of Cambridge Audio MSX kit arranged around a red bookshelf.

'Designed to be compact': these new speakers are perfect for small apartments, and come from a 5-star company

By Tom Bedford Published 8 April 26

The Cambridge Audio MSX line lets you build your own audio setup, and it's seen a refresh.

The Tribit Stormbox Micro 3 dropped in some mud.

'JBL-beating': our favorite 5-star cheap Bluetooth speaker just got a new model with double the battery life

By Tom Bedford Published 6 April 26

Tribit has unveiled the StormBox Micro 3, with a range of upgrades over a top-rated compact speaker.

A hand pulling out a CD from a collection next to an iPod resting on a laptop

I finally sold my CD collection — and it reminded me why iTunes was better than any streaming service in 2026

By Tom Bedford Published 4 April 26

Here's how burning discs onto an old iPod helped me appreciate physical media.

9 Comments

The Poco X8 Pro Max placed horizontally on a ledge.

‘The longest-lasting phone I've ever reviewed’ — I spent 3 weeks with the Poco X8 Pro Max, and it beats Apple and Samsung rivals in one big way

By Tom Bedford Published 3 April 26

The Poco X8 Pro Max offers a huge battery, and it lasts multiple days without needing to be charged. For many users, that will be enough of a selling point.