The best audiobooks June 2026 has to offer, from Maggie O'Farrell's Land to Obama and Gladwell's Reconstruction. Fifteen picks, one month.
June 6, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Audiobooks June 2026: 15 Listens You Can’t Miss
May 2, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Wireless Earbuds UK 2026: Honest Buying Guide
Last updated: 2 May 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
The best wireless earbuds UK shoppers can buy in 2026 are better than ever, and the gap between cheap and flagship has narrowed dramatically. Truly wireless earbuds are the one gadget almost everyone owns and almost everyone settles for. You buy whichever pair is on offer, they're fine for six months, then one bud dies and you start the cycle again. This guide is about breaking that pattern: buy the right pair once and enjoy them for years.
We've split our picks by budget and use case, from the £49 bargains that punch absurdly above their weight to the £250 flagships that earn every penny. Plus a few honest words about durability, ecosystems and whether you actually need ANC.
This guide contains affiliate links. If you buy through our links, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
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May 1, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Noise-Cancelling Headphones UK 2026: Honest Picks
Last updated: 1 May 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
Noise-cancelling headphones are one of those purchases where the difference between "good" and "life-changing" is roughly £100. Fortunately, even budget options in 2026 are genuinely impressive. More importantly, between us we've worn every pair below for long enough to know which ones are worth your money, and which ones will start hurting your ears after an hour. This is our honest guide to the best noise-cancelling headphones UK shoppers can buy right now.
This guide contains affiliate links to Amazon. If you buy through our links, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All picks are based on genuine use and independent assessment.
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April 30, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Audiobooks May 2026: 14 Listens You Can’t Miss
Last updated: 30 April 2026
By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture
Welcome back to the monthly audiobook roundup. The best audiobooks May 2026 has to offer span thrillers, memoirs, romance, queer apocalyptic road trips, and one absolute wildcard that's basically Hamilton crossed with a forgotten chapter of American history. Fourteen picks, one month, plenty of reasons to plug in.
Some of these will keep you up till 2am. Some will make you cry on the bus. One is full-cast theatre brilliance you can listen to in a single sitting. Here's everything we're queueing up this month.
This post contains affiliate links to Audible and Amazon. If you sign up or buy through our links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All picks are chosen independently.
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April 23, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Black British Music Audiobooks on Audible 2026
Best Black British Music Audiobooks on Audible
Last updated: 23 April 2026
By Tristan · Arts, exhibitions and creative culture
If you have just been to The Music is Black at V&A East Museum, or you are planning to, there is a good chance you will want to keep listening once you leave. Luckily for you, the best Black British music audiobooks on Audible UK are genuinely brilliant. We have rounded up six standouts, from grime histories to Windrush epics, for the commute home, the canal walk or a proper evening on the sofa.
This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
Every pick below is live on Audible UK, with narrator and running time noted. Three are read by the author, which always adds something. Start an Audible free trial and your first listen is on the house.
Prefer print? Browse the full list on Bookshop.org UK, the independent bookshop alternative to Amazon, or pick up any of the titles below on Amazon UK.
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March 23, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Fairphone Fairbuds XL Review | Worth £219 in the UK?
Last updated: March 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.
This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
The Fairbuds XL review you didn't expect to go like this: Fairphone's over-ear headphones are not the compromise you'd assume. The sound is genuinely fun, the build is impressively sustainable, and there is a single control feature that every major headphone maker should have nicked by now and somehow hasn't. They're not perfect — the ANC and feature set have real limitations — but as a statement of intent about what consumer electronics could look like, these headphones are hard to argue with.
Cool Factor
★★★★☆
4 out of 5 — Stone cold
March 20, 2026Comments are off for this post.
Best Smart Speakers UK: HomePod vs Sonos vs Echo Compared
Last updated: 29 March 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
Choosing the best smart speakers UK buyers can actually get their hands on in 2026 is oddly complicated. Apple wants you all-in on Siri and AirPlay. Sonos wants you to forget about voice assistants and just listen. Amazon wants you to talk to Alexa about literally everything, including your shopping list. Three very different philosophies, three very different ecosystems, and a surprisingly wide range of prices.
This guide cuts through the noise. We compare every current speaker worth considering from Apple, Sonos and Amazon. In particular, we cover sound quality, stereo pairing rules, multi-room setups, app quality, ecosystem lock-in, future-proofing and genuine value for money. Whether you want a single kitchen speaker or a whole-home audio system, we will help you pick the right one.
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August 24, 2024Comments are off for this post.
Sonos App Update: What Changed, What’s Fixed, and What’s Next
Last updated: 22 March 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
The Sonos app update saga has been one of the most dramatic stories in consumer tech over the past two years. What started as a routine redesign in May 2024 spiralled into a full-blown crisis: broken features, a tanking share price, layoffs, and ultimately the departure of CEO Patrick Spence. Fast forward to 2026 and there's a new boss, new hardware, and yet another app overhaul on the horizon. Here's the full story of what went wrong, what's been fixed, and where things stand right now.
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June 30, 2024Comments are off for this post.
Sonos Ace Review UK: Premium Design, But Is the Sound Worth It?
Last updated: 22 March 2026
By Stiv · Design, technology and personal finance
This is an opinion piece. Views expressed are the author's own and do not constitute professional advice.
This article contains affiliate or referral links. If you click through and sign up I may earn a commission or referral bonus at no extra cost to you. It does not affect my editorial view.
This Sonos Ace review covers Sonos's first ever pair of over-ear headphones, a product that launched with sky-high expectations and a price tag to match. At £449 RRP, the Ace dropped into one of the most competitive categories in consumer tech, going head-to-head with the Sony WH-1000XM5, Bose QuietComfort Ultra, and Apple AirPods Max. After spending extended time with them, we can say with confidence that the Ace nails some things brilliantly and fumbles others. Here's where they land.
Cool Factor: 3/5
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December 2, 2020Comments are off for this post.
KORG iWAVESTATION – App of the week – (mini spotlight)
This is the second entry in our new weekly mini-series that will focus on our favourite new App of the week. This week our choice is iWAVESTATION by KORG.
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