TCL C8L - I Was So Wrong About This Brand

Before this review, I knew very little about TCL TVs.

In my mind, because I'd seen them selling for significantly lower prices than other so-called "premium" brands, I'd assumed they were not only cheap but very likely nasty as well and not worth my consideration.

Well, now I've tried one, I'm here to tell you, they're most definitely worthy of your consideration.

When TCL approached me to review the C8L SQD-Mini LED TV, I was asked what size I'd like to try.

Recently, I upgraded my own 65-inch telly for a 75-inch one, which suited my space in the living room perfectly.

But as I had even more space down in the family room, I thought I'd try the 85-inch C8L instead.

It also comes in a 98-inch version - which I was tempted by, but I honestly don't think I have anywhere in my house that would do a screen of that size justice.

As it is, the 85-inch Super QLED panel is frankly, enormous. It's so big, I was worried I'd have trouble getting it unboxed and set up, but its ultra slim design and cleverly thought-out stand design meant I was able to get it out of its box, unwrapped, stand attached and up on the entertainment unit in under an hour.

Don't ask me how I managed to lift a 42kg TV onto a cabinet by myself. Let's just say, where there's a will, there's a way. (Definitely a two person job for future reference)

The aforementioned stand is connected by a fair number of screws - but its not fiddly, just time consuming, and with a TV of this size, you want to be sure it's sitting on a solid base. The stand also features a generous number of cable channels that allow you to feed any connecting leads through, concealing them with the clip-on cover and running them down, out of sight behind the central column. Tidy.

The TCL C8L runs Google TV for its OS, so setup is effortless, using your phone to add your accounts and log into your streaming services. The Google TV home screen is not my favourite - I find the interface rather cluttered and full of content recommendations for services you may or may not be interested in or even be subscribed to. Luckily, there is a setting that lets you change the display to "apps only" - although it's quite hard to find and even when you activate it, you will still get a recommended content splash screen at the top of the page.

I'd love the option to jump straight back into the app you were last using - which you can do with external sources like streaming boxes or gaming consoles.

Google TV also means Google Gemini. If you're into that sort of thing.

The remote is long and slim, with a lot of shortcut buttons for services you may or may not be subscribed to. You can talk to Gemini through it but it doesn't have any play/pause or fast forward/rewind controls. That means at least one extra click of the central control wheel when you're navigating your video. What a hassle.

But let's talk about the important bit; the picture. In a word; sublime.

The C8L is classified as an SQD-Mini LED TV. You definitely know what that means, right?

Don't worry, nobody does. Certainly not me. Oh, I've tried to research it. I've done a lot of reading up on Super QLEDs and Ultra Colour Filters. I could lecture you on ultra-focused golden curvature, DBR nano-uniform light film and multi-refraction light control... but I'm sure you've heard it all before. I mean, just how wide do you want your colour gamut, anyway?

Yup, this is what it's come to - TV technology has become so advanced, you pretty much need to be a professor in quantum physics to understand it.

What I do kind of comprehend is the idea of local dimming zones. This is what essentially turns on and off to make the image go light or dark - then all that other guff is what makes the colour pop. So the more dimming zones you have, the more precisely controlled the image. The C8L has a lot of dimming zones. Around 3,200 in fact.

That means you can have something very bright, right next to something very dark and you won't get those two things spilling into each other - that "halo" effect you might have noticed on other, lesser TVs. In short, the picture on the C8L is sublime. Although I might have said that already.

Whether it's fast moving action sequences in superhero movies, the beauty of nature in all its varied hues in wild-life documentaries or just a chocka-block weekend of sport, the C8L masters it all. It gets very bright - up to 6,000nits. It gets very black when required (not washed out grey or brown) and the depth of colour is almost tactile.

For my situation, the biggest downside of the C8L is its glossy screen. Although TCL claims the WHVA 2.0 Ultra panel has a special layer of anti-reflective tech to combat bright lights or sun streaming in from windows, as you'll see from the video below, it's far from perfect. In saying that, watching the video back, the reflection in real life is nowhere near as obvious as it appears in that footage.

That's it. The screen being a little bit too shiny is literally the only thing I can find wrong with this TV.

And that's before you get to how it sounds.

I've been doing this a while. I've seen plenty of tech brands claiming they've collaborated with a famous name in audio engineering to come up with a whole new evolution of sound technology. "Our speakers have been specially tuned by..." or "Our surround sound experience is thanks to an algorithm developed by..." It's all hype. Built-in speakers on flat-panel TVs are never much good. How can they be? They're squished into a flat panel! And even if they manage to create something approaching stereo or even height effects, you'll never get any decent bass for things like explosions, crashes and dance music.

Until TCL teamed up with Bang & Olufsen, that is.

I have never heard sound this good from a TV's own speaker array before. 200W of pure, spacious, 3D, bassy power.

I mean, the two large drivers on the back of the C8L do look pretty distinctive, but the results have been so impressive, I simply haven't felt the need to connect up my soundbar, woofer and rear speakers - other than to prove they connect easily via the eARC HDMI port. There are four HDMI 2.1 slots, by the way - all capable of carrying 4K signals at 144Hz.

I'm not exaggerating here, the Dolby Atmos effects are real. Things fly over your head. When people walk out of shot, your hear them continue off to the side. And bass? There's actually bass.

The B & O sound system also includes a rather unique on-screen tuning tool called, Beosonic. By moving the cursor between four points on a disc, Bright, Relaxed, Energetic and Warm, you can tailor the style of audio to your individual preference in seconds. So intuitive.

Of course, once I did plug my dedicated sound system in it sounded better. But not by much.

From the moment I peeled the box off it (because, that's actually how you do it with an 85-inch telly) the C8L surprised and impressed me again and again and again.

If this is what TCL calls mid-tier, I can hardly imagine how good the next level X11L must be. Not when the C8L is basically everything I ever wanted in a TV. 

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the TCL C8L.

Hisense Series 8i 10kg Heat Pump Dryer - Setting New Standards In Efficiency

Are you a dryer person or a clothesline person?

If you're a dryer person, you probably find it hard to believe there are people out there who are so philosophically opposed to the concept of using a dryer, they don't even own one.

I've met a few of these weirdos over the years.

And to be honest, they make some good arguments.

Number one; the cost. We all know electric dryers pretty much burn money in order to get your laundry dry, while all a clothesline costs is a bit of time and effort.

Number two; Condensation. This is just physics. Blow hot air out into a cold room and windows will fog up and eventually ceilings will start to drip.

Number three; (and this one's a bit more open to interpretation) Laundry dried "naturally" just feels better.

So this review is especially for them. Oh... and if you're not using a heat pump dryer, it's for you too.

Right from the outset, the Series 8i heat pump dryer from Hisense looks like a class product. In keeping with current trends, it's charcoal - not white - and compliments its stablemate, the Series 8i washer, perfectly.

I'll bring you my review of the washing machine in the weeks to come but I will say the minimalist design of both devices really suits my personal taste, with the only significant physical features being the identical, large, circular glass doors.

Well... not necessarily identical, as it turns out.

When you're dealing with an appliance you have to use multiple times every week, it's the little things that make all the difference. Things like the reversible door on the Hisense dryer. This not only gives you more flexibility when installing but it means if you're setting it up side-by-side with your washer, you can have the two doors opening out in opposite directions, a godsend when it comes to transferring your laundry from washer to dryer. 

My laundry is also my garage, and even though I have marine carpet, I'd rather not drop any of my wet gear on the floor, as I reach around the open door to get it into the dryer. Previously, this meant pulling it all out into a washing basket, only to take it all out again a few seconds later. Well, no more - my review Hisense heat pump dryer came with the door installed on the opposite side to the washer but even if it hadn't, it's only a matter of a few screws to swap it over.

As you will see me point out in the video below, the 8i Series dryer carriers an incredible energy efficiency rating - 10-stars in fact. As of February this year, that made it New Zealand's most energy efficient 10kg dryer - so that cost-benefit equation the clothesline people always bring up starts to look a little shaky.

I've also been impressed with how quiet it is when it runs - and that's not even using the Night Drying mode, which drops the sound down a few more decibels further. That's got to be good news for anyone living in a smaller home, perhaps with a bedroom or living room unavoidably close to where the drying happens.

But let's tackle that other big issue homeowners have been contending with, pretty much since the electric dryer was first invented; condensation. I know some people have gone to the trouble to have their laundries flued, (vented) so the moist, warm air can be expelled outside. But let's be honest, most of us just open a window.

The result; a cold house and possibly a very real security threat.

The Hisense 8i heat pump dryer has a much better solution. Any condensation created during the drying process is separated out and drained into the Condensate Box - a long, narrow drawer on the upper left-hand side of the machine. This can be easily pulled out and drained every couple of drying sessions and definitely beats leaving a window open all night long.

Alternatively, the Series 8i dryer ships with a separate drainage hose you can attach to the outlet at the back of the machine instead, syphoning off any moisture directly to the drain in your laundry tub, just like the drainage hose does on a washing machine. I fully intended to use this method but when I came to install the dryer, I realised a) my laundry tub drainpipe only has a single spigot to attach a drainage hose to (which the washing machine was obviously already occupying) and b) the drainage pipe for the dryer is significantly more narrow.

Now, I'm not averse to a bit of medium-level DIY, so I wasn't too daunted by the prospect of replacing the S-bend drainpipe under the laundry sink with a dual-spigot version - but after a lot of Googling I soon discovered a part like that was surprisingly hard to source. Then, even if I could find and install one, I'd still have to adapt the end of the narrow drain hose from the dryer, to fit the wider spigot underneath the tub.

I decided not to force the issue and just left the original Condensate Box system as it was.

Powering on and setting up the Series 8i dryer is pretty foolproof, thanks to the iPlay intuitive touch panel and the ConnectLife app - your one-stop-shop for all things Hisense. From the app you can connect the dryer to your Wi-Fi and install any firmware updates.

Now, I realise many of you reading this will be questioning why on earth your dryer needs to be online - and indeed, you can run it perfectly well from the easy to read, 3.55-inch full-colour control panel. The large, central jog wheel clicks through a list of 17 preset routines - from cotton to baby care to towels. And more likely than not, you (like me) will just select Auto and let the dryer decide how long and how hot to run, depending on the weight and type of laundry it senses you've chucked in.

But there are some significant benefits to having a fully connected dryer like this. Firstly, it means it can talk to your matching Hisense washing machine (which I'll be reviewing for you in the coming days). This saves time because via Smart Link, the washer can tell the dryer what sort of a load is coming its way, so it's all ready to crack on, the moment you transfer your wet stuff across.

It's also very handy being notified when the dryer has finished, when the lint filter needs cleaning and when the condensate tank needs emptying. These are all messages that'll flash up on your phone and guarantee you won't just leave that load, forgotten, sitting there, until you happen to walk past it the next day.

You even have the option of steam-drying, something Hisense calls iCare. Adding water to the drying process may seem counter-intuitive, but I have a friend who swears by dampening her dresses then popping them in the dryer to shake out any wrinkles and generally freshen them up. This is what Hisense's iCare does for you. It doesn't get much cleverer than that.

Oh - except for the drying rack. That's also pretty clever. Ever wanted to chuck your sneakers in after a rainy walk but you don't love the idea of your $400 kicks tumbling over each other like an avalanche of boulders down a hillside? Just insert the rack. It suspends your less tumble-proof items in the middle of the dryer so you get all the benefits of the heat-pumped air and none of the knocking about.

There are so many more little features that all add up to a genuinely impressive device. A light inside the drum that means you'll never leave a stray sock behind again. Even the capacity - 10kg - that really makes a difference, reducing the number of drying cycles you need over time.

It's faster, it's quieter and it doesn't fog up my garage. It lets me know when it's done, when to clean it and when it needs emptying. And operating in excess of its ten-star efficiency rating means it's a laundry upgrade you'll never regret. Even if you're a clothesline person.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Hisense Series 8i 10kg Heat Pump Dryer.

Apple Watch Series 12 - It's What You Can't See That Makes It Great

Right. So you know all the cool stuff I said about the Apple Watch Ultra 4 the other week?

(If you don't, go back and read the review. It's pretty great)

Well, what if you could get most of that stuff for about half the price?

Good deal?

Then read on.

The Apple Watch Series 12 looks like... well... an Apple Watch.

Apple, perhaps more than any other tech brand, certainly loves to take an, "If it ain't broke..." approach to its design aesthetic. AirPods still look like AirPods. iPads still look like iPads. And iPhones still look like iPhones... well, until the Duo hits the shelves, anyway.

But that doesn't mean you should never update. Or indeed, jump on board the Apple ecosystem train for the first time.

There's always going to be a new chip, for example. The Watch Series 12 uses the same S11 chip as the Ultra 4 - and just like the Ultra, the Series 12 is poised to make the most of forthcoming Audio Intelligence features like Live Rewind and Siri Recap (using the built-in mic array to transcribe life's most important moments for you) or Shazam - identifying the song you're hearing faster than ever, right on your wrist.

And yes, just like the Ultra 4, Series 12 capitalises on the extra processing power of the S11 chip to power Apple's most radically redesigned health sensing system. More and larger sensors enable the Series 12 to monitor your heart rate more constantly, measure HRV more regularly and estimate your calorie burn more accurately.

This all results in a fine-tuned Vitals app that does a deeper dive into your health metrics than ever before - so deep Apple now brings you an entirely new app; Readiness.

Fitness, Vitals and Sleep data combine to give you a glanceable Readiness score. If it's good, that's encouraging. If it comes up less than you were expecting, at least you can quickly discern what needs work; perhaps an early night will get you back up to a 7 or 8?

Although the Series 12 was never going to match the Ultra 4 when it comes to durability and sheer toughness, 2026 still sees an important upgrade in that area too. The display is now protected by Ceramic Shield 2, which is 60% tougher than the previous Ion-X watch faces. This is welcome news for me as I have managed to scratch just about every watch I've ever worn. I'm not doing it deliberately, I swear. I just have abnormally long arms and sometimes it's hard to keep them under control - or away from door frames, walls and other hazards. So far so good with the Series 12 though. Loving Ceramic Shield 2.

If there's one area people love to hassle Apple about, it's battery life. Although devices like MacBooks and iPads consistently manage to set industry standards when it comes to how long a full charge will last, that certainly hasn't always been true on the iPhone and Apple Watch side of the equation. The last few years have seen significant gains, but a bad battery reputation is hard to shake. 

Unfortunately, despite the more efficient chip, I haven't been blown away by the battery life of the Series 12. It's not bad - in fact, Apple's website suggests you'll get up to 24 hours use on a 100% top-up. But if you're making use of the extra connectivity required to do regular Apple Fitness workouts, beaming your metrics to your Apple TV or iPad, that's going to drain things a little quicker. As is switching the display to Always On mode.

Remember; you're going to want to wear this thing to bed to make sure that Readiness app counts up all your Zs - so even 24 hours is only just going to be enough.

There is some good news here though. The new wireless charging puck, included in the box, is crazy fast. Charging for just 15 minutes gets you another 12 hours use. You'll see me demonstrate this IRL in the vid below.

In my books, a quick charge is almost as good as a bigger battery - especially when that charge is as quick as it is with the Series 12.

Finally, when I said there wasn't really anything new to see - that wasn't strictly accurate. While the "base-model" aluminium options are the usual Light Gold, Black and Space Grey - you can also opt for a new Dark Bronze casing, which I'm thinking would match pretty well if you've scored yourself one of those fetching new Burgundy iPhone 18 Pros.

The two 2026 titanium variants have been highly polished so the Natural option looks like gleaming silver and the Radiant Gold version truly lives up to its name, sparkling brightly, just like "real" gold, while still retaining the extreme durability of titanium.

Or, if you want to take stylish scratch-resistance to the next level, ceramic is back, in either Pearl White or Night Blue.

I feel as though, a bit like the AirPods 5, Watch Series 12 didn't quite get the love it deserved at this year's big launch. Although shining brighter than ever, there was no way it was ever going to out-shine the introduction of Apple's first folding phone.

But be assured, this is definitely more than just an iterative upgrade. Externally, there's a tougher screen, some pleasing cosmetic innovations and a raft of new, improved sensors on the underside of the Watch. Internally, thanks to the S11 chip, there really isn't much separating the performance of this device from it's more rugged, Ultra sibling. Siri AI is about to ramp up considerably and the Watch Series 12 is certainly poised to be a "vital" part of that process.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple Watch Series 12.

Apple AirPods 5 - Challenging Everything I Thought I Knew

It's been about a month since Apple's big "Surprise and Shine" product launch.

The Duo, Apple's first folding phone, stole most of the headlines because, well, it's Apple's first folding phone. Hopefully I'll get my hands on one in the coming weeks and we'll be able to find out if it's actually any good.

These September launches are often thought of as iPhone events - but there were also new Apple Watches to pair with the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

But there was something else in there that many people may have missed completely. Which is a shame. Because it's completely rocked my world.

The AirPods 5 look a lot like any other AirPods you've ever seen or used.

They're still white. They still have stems. They're still open-ear fit. And they still come in a white charging case.

But a whole lot else has changed.

There are two versions of AirPods 5, the difference being for $50 more, you get a wireless charging case with a FindMy speaker, a bit more battery life and volume swipe control on the force sensor on the stems. As far as I'm concerned, those extras are well worth the extra money, especially being able to charge the case wirelessly. I'm big on wireless charging. In fact, I'm always banging on about it. And when it comes to small devices like AirPods, it just makes so much sense to be able to pop them on a charging pad when not in use.

So obviously, for the sake of this review, I'm reviewing the wireless charging version.

If there's a weak point to the AirPods 5, it might actually be battery life. Up to 5 hours play time on a full charge (or 22 hours including the case) isn't terrible. But it's a lot less than many other options on the market today. And not much better than the previous generation from 2024.

However...

By almost any other measure, the AirPods 5 punch well above their weight.

There are some solid reasons why I've never really been a fan of this open ear form factor. For starters, because they sit more on your ears than in them, it doesn't take much of a jiggle to send them bobbling out. That's just physics.

Also, without the airtight seal achieved by buds with silicone or foam ear-tips, you can't really achieve convincing bass reproduction. That's just physics.

And the thing that really puts me off is noise cancelling - or the lack of it. Obviously, an open fit means very little passive noise cancelling - there's not much preventing outside sounds getting in. That's just physics. What's more, Active Noise Cancelling can't really work either; without a super tight seal, how is an ANC chip supposed to filter out a whole world of noise? That's just physics.

Well, it seems the team at Apple has had a good hard look at the laws of physics, and decided they no longer apply.

Admittedly, there was a version of the previous generation that had ANC too. And yes, it impressed me two years ago - but this is different. As I sit here typing, listening to the sublime sax and jazz piano on Isaiah J. Thompson's "Higher Calling", that's all I can hear; despite the fact a robot vacuum is going about its business just metres from me. How is this possible? How has Apple managed to all but completely nullify any sound leaking in from this open ear fit?

Not only that, but they've done something to the Transparency mode that makes it sound normal - not like you're hearing the world through a tin can and a piece of string.

It gets better.

I just fired off the 2012 remaster of "The Way You Make Me Feel" Michael Jackson. It starts with one of the most iconic bass riffs in pop music - something I was expecting to be lost or at least thinned-out through the AirPods 5 but no, not only does every element of the King of Pop's exquisite production find its own space, the bass actually sounds phat. Again? How? Just how? Incredible.

Okay, so sonically, we're now really not that far behind what the fully-sealed fit of the AirPods Pro 3 produces. Very impressive. But surely there's one law of physics the AirPods 5 can't bend; gravity.

Except...

I've worn them jumping up and down my way through HIIT classes. I've worn them digging in the garden. I've worn them doing bicycle crunches and side planks during my core workout. They stayed put the whole time. Somehow, the physical design has been ever-so-subtly tweaked and evolved so you still get all the benefits of that super-comfy open ear fit, but now you can put the IP57 sweat, dust and water resistance to the test as you exercise as well.

The AirPods 5 have exceeded all my expectations to the point I no longer know what kind of earbuds I like best! And that's before you get to the new and improved Siri AI, Live Translation and gesture controls - like shaking your head to flick away spoken notifications.

Over the years I've probably reviewed more earbuds than any other kind if device, so I thought I was a bit of an expert. Now I feel like I don't know anything at all. I always knew AirPods were great - but these might just be the greatest. 

    

Click here for more information and pricing on Apple AirPods 5.

EZVIZ EP8 Ultra Dual Cam Video Doorbell with Chime - When Seeing Double Is a Good Thing

I've come to expect a lot from my doorbell.

At the very least, I want to be able to hear it ring all over my house.

Ideally, it would let me know if someone's there, even if I'm not.

In a perfect world, it would tell me exactly who's there, and if they've left a package for me.

Oh. and it goes without saying I want all that stuff without having to pay an ongoing subscription.

That's not too much to ask, is it?

Much like the dual-cam EZVIZ camera I reviewed last week, there's a lot to love about the EP8 Ultra video doorbell before you even power it up.

Firstly, as you will have gleaned from the title, this is another example of EZVIZ giving you two cameras in one; the main, 6MP upper camera boasts a 162° diagonal field of view, while there's also a smaller 2MP sensor with an 88° diagonal FOV, angled towards the ground.

Obviously, this second camera is not there to provide detailed information on your visitors' footwear choice. Rather, it'll give you a nice clear view of any packages left on your doorstep.

The second pleasing find included in the box is the compact plug-in chime - a pre-paired wireless device you can set up somewhere in the house where you might not otherwise hear the doorbell ring. The majority of my living areas are upstairs, so this is essential for me.

And finally, there are two 9,600mAh rechargeable lithium battery packs - one for the camera and one to charge and swap out when you need to, meaning no downtime just because the battery needs charging. Short of a solar-powered device, like last week's EZVIZ camera, having two batteries to interchange is a great idea. In the past with other similar devices, I've had to buy the extra battery. Not with the EP8 Ultra though.

In fact, if you're replacing a wired doorbell, you won't even need those batteries, as there's a mains-wire kit in the box too, so you can just splice the EP8 Ultra straight in.

There's one more piece of included hardware worth mentioning; an "inclined" or angled mounting bracket that's perfect for my installation situation - but I'll get to that shortly.

Meanwhile, setup is merely a matter of charging up the batteries, connecting the doorbell to your Wi-Fi and naming it via the EZVIZ app, then screwing in the main bracket to hold the EP8 Ultra in place. (Don't be intimidated by this wee bit of DIY - it's literally just a couple of screws)

Once powered up, you'll discover another very important feature; the full-colour, AI interactive display. When the doorbell senses someone approaching, a loveable smart character - your choice of Pandie Panda, Ray Raccoon or Harry Husky - appears on screen, pretty much guaranteeing a smiling face on camera when you check to see who's there.

There's another, more practical outcome from having a loveable husky or portly panda welcoming your guests; it draws their attention to where the doorbell actually is. I know that sounds like a weird thing to say, but I've always mounted my doorbell on the wall next to the front door, not on the front door itself. The main reason? It's easier to screw something into wood than steel.

That's where the extra inclined mounting bracket comes in; angling the doorbell more towards the entry path for a better view of anyone approaching.

This is doubly important as just like the HB90 camera from last week, the EZVIZ EP8 Ultra is always recording, so you can wind back footage to the seconds leading up to when motion was detected - crucial if you're trying to identify someone who thinks they can get away with dashing up and grabbing your package before setting off the camera. The joke's on them.

And you're pretty much guaranteed a crisp, clear shot, day or night. WDR (wide dynamic range) means both bright spots and dark shadows are evened out for more precise detail, while Lens Distortion Correction or LDR fixes that "wall-eye" effect some wide-angled cameras are prone to.

What's more, there's built-in lighting for both cameras to ensure crystal clear, colour footage, even after sundown.

Ironically, my main criticism of the EP8 Ultra is at the top end; while that lower camera is giving me a pretty good view of any packages left on my doorstep, the main camera tends to cut taller visitors off at the neck if they're standing too close. I wonder if EZVIZ will ever decide a third, up-firing camera might be useful too? 

Back to that screen though. Apart from housing cute AI huskies, it also means you can chat with your visitors via two-way video, not just audio - and not just when you're home either. You can answer the door from anywhere, using the EZVIZ app, as long as you're connected to Wi-Fi or mobile data.

You can even use AI assisted search functionality within the app to ask things like, "Did a courier drop something off this morning?" And if you're sensitive about someone hearing your voice when you answer the door, you can use AI to disguise it. The EZVIZ AI assistant will also summarise the day's detections for you, saving you reviewing all your notifications for anything significant.

Best of all - every one of these features is subscription-free. Your video footage is even stored locally on the EP8 Ultra's built-in 32GB eMMC storage and can be downloaded to your phone any time.

If you prefer the added security of cloud storage, EZVIZ CloudPlay offers several options for a monthly or annual fee.

As with the other EZVIZ device from last week, Familiar Face detection still seems to be a work in progress. I've only received one notification advising me the doorbell has spotted someone who matches the faces I've stored in the app to train it. Yet, weirdly, when I ask the AI assistant for a list of videos with one of those people in them, usefully, that list appears in quite short time.

There's also a promise of "Festival greetings" and "Decorative designs" to come in a future update to the on-screen options, which for now is restricted to the animated animals mentioned earlier.

So many options and features in just one doorbell - and I haven't even covered them all. Did I mention the rich notification thumbnails that appear on my Apple Watch? There's no doubt, this is the most high-functioning door-cam I've ever trialled. The notifications are accurate and timely, I can pair the EP8 with my other smart speakers around the house so I never miss a visitor and the built-in storage has capacity for up to six months of videos and alerts.

And the best thing about EZVIZ? No compulsory subscriptions! You know I love that.

Click here for more information and pricing on the EZVIZ EP8 Ultra.

Apple Watch Ultra 4 - Why It's Still the Best

From its very first iteration, the Apple Watch Ultra quickly became my favourite smartwatch.

The base model Apple Watch had already impressed me with its seamless integration with the wider Apple ecosystem.

Although it's a little frustrating to have a watch that will only pair with an iPhone, at least that means everything dovetails together flawlessly. There are very few smartwatches out there that let you read and reply to emails, texts and other DMs, including opening pictures and other attachments on the watch screen itself. Likewise, other apps like contactless payments and customer loyalty cards work so reliably that I find it quite frustrating when I'm reviewing other devices that don't work so well.

I was excited by the add-on abilities the Watch Ultra brought to the table; a more durable design, better GPS tracking and vastly superior battery life to name a few.

And while both the Ultra 2 and 3 further refined the original design, I've found it hard to recommend an upgrade for those who were already enjoying the benefits of the first model. It's rare to get a product so very-nearly perfect, first time out - and then it's hard to improve on that.

Until now.

You could be forgiven if you're thinking this is just the same Watch Ultra as last time and the time before that. From the front, it's true; very little has changed.

In fact, the Watch Ultra 4 doesn't even come in a new range of colours. The choice is still Black or Natural titanium. Yes, there are several new bands to choose from and the Translucent range of Ocean Bands are particularly unique. I was sent a Burgundy Trail Loop to pair with my review Watch Ultra 4. The Trail Loop is a very comfortable, lightweight nylon band that stretches a bit, so you can keep it nice and stuck for more accurate health and fitness tracking.

Overall, this year's colour range on the new bands tends towards more muted, natural tones - the browns, oranges and greys reminiscent of a late 1970s Anchorman-style news show set. As usual, if that's not your vibe, there are plenty of third-party options out there.

The Always-On squircle-shaped Retina display is still one of the biggest around, protected by incredibly tough sapphire crystal. It can achieve peak brightness of 3,000 nits, so it stays super clear, even on bright white snow days, or during midsummer surf sessions. It can also dim right down to just 1 nit, so you can avoid lighting up the whole bedroom when checking the time in the middle of the night.

And unlike the "ordinary" Apple Watch, the Ultra 4 still has a large, orange Action button on the left side you can customise to perform a shortcut of your choice - perhaps launch your favourite workout or open the Translate app.

Fantastic. This is all great. But none of it is new.

However, turn the Watch Ultra 4 over and you'll begin to see just how much has really changed with this device.

Just physically, you'll see there are now 8 LED sensors where there were just four previously, while the number of electrodes has skyrocketed from two to 32. There are also four photodiodes in a ring - making this the most accurate watch Apple has ever produced - and perhaps the most accurate health and fitness tracker on the market.

The beefier, yet more efficient S11 chip collates all the information this impressive raft of new sensors detects into metrics that are more detailed and useful than ever.

Because heart rate is being monitored fifty times more frequently, Heart Rate Variation (HRV) is picked up right away - not just at night while you're asleep. This can be a great indicator of either improving fitness or an advanced warning of deteriorating health.

Even the pedometer - that most fundamental of any tracker's abilities - is more accurate, and can now log your steps correctly if you're walking while keeping your hands in one position - for example, holding a drink bottle or perhaps pushing a pram or stroller.

A more efficient chip means better battery life - and that's an upgrade on something the Watch Ultra was already leading the way on. Yes, there are plenty of trackers (and even a few genuine smartwatches) that will last for days or even weeks between charges - but not with this level of functionality. Apple suggests you'll get up to 50 hours of "normal" use on a full charge and that certainly matches up with my testing.

What's more, the Watch Ultra 4 charges faster than before too - using the charger included in the box. Just 15 minutes of charging can result in an 18 hour boost. That means I hardly take it off. A quick top-up while I read a few chapters of my book before bed is really all it takes to keep my Ultra 4 running all through the night and the following day. 

That's more important than ever, because not only does Watch OS now feature a far more detailed Vitals app, bringing all your metrics together in one easy-to-follow interface, including sleep data, workouts and stats like HRV, skin temp and blood oxygen levels - Apple takes it all one step further with a daily Readiness score. A quick glance reveals your mark from 1-10 and a brief explanation on why you scored what you did.

I'm sitting on 8 today, thanks to plenty of activity over the weekend and a decent night's kip last night.

And the best is yet to come. Quite literally.

Apple has been doing a lot of work behind the scenes to evolve Siri into a digital assistant with genuine artificial intelligence. The idea is your questions and requests are not only responded to as quickly as possible, but in a more natural, conversational way.

Again, on the Watch Ultra 4, the S11 chip's neural processing abilities come into play here and already I've been impressed with the notable jump in reaction time when it comes to using my watch to control IoT devices like my garage door and bedside lamp.

But in the coming months, even smarter features are coming to Apple Watch. Live Rewind will transcribe the last 15 seconds of conversation as picked up by the Ultra 4's microphone array, in case you missed the bartender explaining tonight's cocktail special, or your vet giving you instructions on which pill to give your dog when.

Actually, for something as important as that, another pending feature, Siri Recap, is probably more appropriate, listening and summarising all the important events of your day, from lectures or meetings to that list of jobs that need doing around the house.

Of course, there's also the new Siri Modular watch-face to give you instant access to some of these new apps and functions.

Ultimately, although the Watch Ultra 4 doesn't look a whole lot different, I'd argue this is the biggest upgrade since the original launched in 2022. Between the new sensors, more accurate tracking, extended battery life and the beefed-up chip, if you do decide to trade up, you'll definitely notice the improvements.

    

Click here for more information and pricing on the Apple Watch Ultra 4.