Welcome to this week’s episode of Trusted Recommends, the weekly show where we run you through the best products to pass through our lab over the last seven days.
It’s been a busy one this week with everything from top-notch Sony phones to Apple’s latest wearable being taken out for a spin by our team of product experts.
Every product in this has been thoroughly tested using a mix of real world and lab scenarios to ensure it is the best of the best, so you can trust our buying advice.
Without further delay, here are the latest batch of devices to earn a recommended badge.
Swytch eBike Conversion Kit
The Swytch eBike Conversion Kit is being pitched as a quick and easy way to add an electric motor to any “normal” bike. It proved to be a neat and relatively cheap way of upgrading your standard bike to be a fully-fledged e-bike. The only downside is that it has a slightly confusing ordering process but ultimately works with the vast majority of donor frames
Score: 4/5
LG UltraWide Ergo 34WN780-B
The Ergo 34WN780-B is an ultrawide monitor from tech powerhouse LG. We found the monitor to have a superb, ergonomic design and a form factor that works well in everyday work situations, making it a good fit for home office workers who don’t need top of the line image quality.
Score: 4/5
Sennheiser CX True Wireless
The CX True Wireless, as the name would suggest, are the latest set of true wireless earbuds from audio heavyweight Sennheiser to pass through Trusted Labs. There’s plenty to like here with the affordable buds offering a surprisingly good fit and seal, solid battery life and better audio than you’d expect from a set this price. The only real downside is that they don’t feature active noise cancellation.
Score: 4/5
Cleer Ally Plus II
The Cleer Ally Plus II are the second set of true wireless earbuds to feature in this week’s recommends. The buds offer a solid true wireless package with impressive noise cancellation, for the price. Be warned however, you’ll want to activate the Mimi Sound personalisation feature if you want to get the best possible audio from them.
Score: 4/5
Xperia 5 III
The Xperia 5 III is Sony’s answer to the Galaxy S21 Plus and iPhone 13. The mid-range phone comes packed with a wonderfully clean install of Android and reliable camera, complete with an awesome Pro mode inspired by Sony’s A-Series snappers.
Score: 4/5
Govee Immersion Wi-Fi TV Backlight
The Govee Immersion Wi-Fi TV Backlight is an attachment for your television that aims to offer users similar functionality to Philips’ ambilight tech. The smart LED strip changes colour to match what’s going on on-screen action. While it is a little fiddly to set up, it performed admirably and is a great option for any buyer looking to improve their home cinema set-up.
Score: 4/5
Nacon Revolution Unlimited Pro
The Nacon Revolution Unlimited Pro is a customisable gaming pad aimed at budding eSports professionals and hardcore online gamers. The controller left us feeling impressed, offering a wealth of wonderful customisation options and features that will keep even the most demanding of gamers happy.
Score: 4.5/5
Q Acoustics Q Active 400
Q Acoustics’ Q Active 400 is a high end audio system designed for serious music fans. If you can get past the lofty price tag, you’ll find a very capable wireless hi-fi system that combines two two floorstanding speakers and a central hub. The system features extensive inputs, is easy to set up and sounds superb, making it a great choice for any audiophile.
Score: 4.5/5
Rock Jaw Avant Air
The Rock Jaw Avant Air are the third, and final, set of true wireless to feature on this week’s instalment of recommends. Last is certainly now least however as these affordable buds are an excellent option for any gym goer or runner who doesn’t need noise cancelling. The buds offer a rock solid fit, sweat proof design and surprisingly good audio for the money.
Score: 4.5/5
Apple Watch 7
It might be light on big changes, but the Apple Watch Series 7 reigns supreme as the smartwatch king for iOS users. The bigger display is a subtle upgrade that crams more into your view and the faster charging goes someway to making up for the battery life that’ll still just get you through a day. There might be more feature-packed watches out there for the running and fitness die-hards, but for most people the Apple Watch 7 ticks all the boxes
Score: 4.5/5
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.
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.