It's Monday, the world keeps turning and you need your tech reading fix. We're here to deliver, so explore our weekly roundup of TechRadar top reads, bringing you up to speed with all the biggest news, best features, and reviews of lust-worthy products our team has been working on. From the popular OnePlus Nord to the epic PS4 samurai game Ghost of Tsushima, there's something for everyone. Do you prefer listening instead of reading? Scroll down for the latest episode of our noise reduction podcast for in-depth commentary on the latest tech news.
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(Image credit: OnePlus) Tom bedford We know the chipset, we know it supports 5G, we know how many front and rear cameras it has, we even know why it's called OnePlus Nord. While we feel like we know it all, there are actually a few things we haven't heard about the OnePlus North. So while it may be shocking to hear... OnePlus has more to announce at the launch event on July 21. For the most part, these are not obvious things. We know the design, we know the price, we know how it stacks up against other OnePlus phones, but it's worth thinking about if you're considering buying the OnePlus Nord when it goes on sale. Here are the seven key things we have yet to find out about the OnePlus North. read more
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(Image credit: Gtech) Jack Ellis Electric bikes are fantastic: they're fun to ride, take the sweat out of commuting, and make cycling accessible to people who may not have enjoyed it before. They are also expensive. A cheap electric bike will cost you around a full-size, and a mid-range bike will cost twice as much. You may be covered by your home insurance, but these policies will generally only cover bikes stolen while locked in your home, not moved from a rack, or damaged on the road. There may also be an expensive premium to pay, and your home insurance may limit the amount you can claim for a stolen bike, which may only be a fraction of the cost of your electric bike. read more
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(Image credit: Samsung) Henry St Léger If you've ever bought a new Samsung TV with the OneConnect box, you'll know the benefits of an elegant cabling solution, one that externalizes all those annoying cable inputs and ports away from your lines. of vision, which allows you to maintain the area around your TV. delete it and avoid walking around the back of the TV to connect a PS4 or sound bar. A standard sight for Samsung designer TVs such as The Frame, Three-legged Serif, or Rotating Sero, the One Connect Box is an accessory that combines style and convenience, and it's no surprise that Samsung has big plans for the device. It's been around in one form or another for a number of years, either as an optional accessory or bundled with select 4K TVs, and has been featured in TechRadar reviews since 2014. However, the OneConnect box isn't as widespread in 2020 as we'd hoped. While Samsung's nifty body was originally meant to be a standard feature of its QLED lineup, you'll now find it on a much smaller fraction of new TVs than in 2019. Read More
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(Image credit: Sony) Gerald Lynch I've never played a game before that rewards you for writing a haiku poem, but that's exactly what Ghost of Tsushima does. The long-awaited PS4 exclusive not only lets you live out your samurai dreams, hacking and slashing at bandits and invaders, but also lets you fully experience the Japanese feudal backdrop that serves as the setting. What the game lacks in overall originality, it makes up for with an impeccable commitment to respectfully portraying this storied era, translated into an elegant assortment of the best ideas seen in this generation's open-world games, and An Adapted Swan Song. for PlayStation 4. Read more
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(Image credit: Lewis Leong) Olivia Tambini Once upon a time, the way a pair of headphones sounded largely depended on how they were built; the size of the pilots, the quality of the materials, their shape and their form factor. Today, however, digital signal processing (DSP) is an increasingly important deciding factor in the way our headphones sound, and as technology advances, this software can improve the audio quality of headphones that they would otherwise be held down by inexpensive equipment. . read more
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(Image credit: Xiaomi) James Peckham Xiaomi introduced the Mi Band 5 earlier this year in China, where the fitness tracker had tech that could compete with the best from Samsung, Fitbit and more. The same product has now been introduced to the global market, for example you can now buy the tracker in the UK, but it's missing some basic components that Xiaomi obviously thinks it doesn't need. read more
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(Image credit: Shutterstock) Kim Key While humans have evolved slowly, video games have evolved at a rapid pace. Gone are the days of 2D graphics and static backgrounds. Video games create living worlds with 3D characters and landscapes and just send the human body slowly evolving. read more
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(Image credit: Sony) Gerald Lynch We're months away from the launch of the PS5 and its competitor, the Xbox Series X. The start of a new generation would normally be a moment of fanfare and exhilarating anticipation for me. The piggy bank would be broken, wish lists would be launched and the calendar would be marked and the days would be counted. But as the sun sets on the current generation of video games, I'm not so worried. I'm in no rush to update. Because? The PlayStation 4 is still going strong, and its latest series of games like Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us 2 are even better. Read More Can't find time to keep up with the latest tech news? Looking for amazing block-on listening? We've got you covered with the Noise Canceling podcast, brought to you by TechRadar and our sister sites Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide. The show is hosted by Gareth Beavis, Global Editor of TheComparison, and stars Sherri L. Smith, Editor of Laptop Mag. This week, our guests are Adam Vjestica, Senior Writer at TheComparison, and Gerald Lynch, Editor-in-Chief at TheComparison, who join us (from a distance, of course) to talk about the past seven days in the field of technology.