Trusted Recommends: Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones and VW230ES projector get five stars
Welcome to another another edition of Trusted Recommends, where we round up the highest scoring tech over the past seven days.
It was a good week for Sony as it scored two five-star ratings for its WH-1000XM5 wireless headphones and VW230ES 4K projector, while elsewhere there was a very expensive and impressive 4K projector from JVC and good scores for the likes of Asus, Honor and Treblab.
All of the products mentioned have been tested by the team at Trusted Reviews to provide an in-depth look at how they perform, along with how they compare to other products on the market.
Tile Sticker (2021)
The Tile Sticker does what it says on the tin. It’s a device designed to stick to things and keep track of them. Viewed in this context, it’s a success. However, it is disappointing that the battery can’t be replaced by the user as that would expand its lifespan, and the notification chime is a little quieter than we would have liked, which rather defeats the point of it.
Trusted Score: 4/5 stars
Treblab Z7 Pro
The Treblab Z7 Pro are affordable noise cancelling headphones with a water resistance, which means they can pull double duties and be used for exercise too. They’re comfortable to wear, offer a balanced sound and should appeal to lovers of bass. Given the price, there’s more good than there is bad, which makes them good-value headphones.
Trusted Score: 4/5 stars
Asus ZenBook Pro 14 Duo OLED
With Asus’ ZenBook Pro, we’ve rarely seen a laptop packed with as many features. The H-Series Intel chip is great for heavy workloads, the OLED screen dazzles with photos and videos, and the intriguing secondary screen opens the laptop up for some multitasking. All of this has come at a price though, with poor battery life and a cramped keyboard knocking this laptop down a few marks. This Asus won’t be for everyone but it’s an impressive effort nonetheless.
Trusted Score: 4/5 stars
Honor Magic 4 Pro
The Magic 4 Pro smartphone from Honor is a capable all-round smartphone, delivering in all the key areas for a top-level device. It produces great camera results, the screen is great to view content on, the battery is good and it boasts some outstanding fast charging skills. The bulky design may put some off, but it’s not all about looks, there’s plenty of substance to this phone’s performance.
Trusted Score: 4.5/5 stars
Shark Premium Handheld Vacuum WV270UK
This vacuum from Shark is a clear upgrade over the original as it delivers more power, greater flexibility around the house and longer battery life. For those who need a handy grab-and-go vacuum for small jobs, the the Shark is currently the most powerful model we’ve tested. The option of a motorised pet tool would have been nice but that’s a minor complaint in light of the performance the Shark offers.
Trusted Score: 4.5/5 stars
JVC DLA-NZ8
The JVC is the first of two projectors to appear on Recommends this week, and while its asking price will likely make your wallet scream in despair, you get what you pay for with this 4K projector. And that you get are stunning native 4K images that benefit from class-leading black levels and excellent HDR. It’s also capable of 8K processing, features a laser light source that extends its lifespan over lamp-based models and includes HDMI 2.1 connectivity, all of which brings some future-proofing. One of the best projectors we’ve tested.
Trusted Score: 5/5 stars
Order the JVC DLA-NZ8 at Audio Visual Online for £15,799
Sony VPL-VW290ES
Technically, the VPL-VW290ES projector has actually been discontinued by Sony, but you can still find it elsewhere online and if you’re after a 4K projector at relatively affordable levels, you may want to seek this one out. £3999 may not seem like a bargain to most but the native 4K picture offers exceptional sharpness and detail that we’ve seen at this price, while its HDR performance is pretty fantastic for a projector.
Trusted Score: 5/5 stars
Sony WH-1000XM5
We thought the WH-1000XM4s couldn’t be bested but it seemed Sony though otherwise. The 1000XM5 sport a new design that assists the noise cancelling performance but also means they’re no longer foldable. The noise cancellation and ambient sound modes are thoroughly impressive, making all kinds of environments spookily quiet while the audio has had a number of tweaks, making for an even better audio performance. As an overall proposition, the WH-1000XM5 set a high benchmark.
Trusted Score: 5/5 stars
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.