 |
| Created for conveniencebigstores.happyshop@blogger.com | Web Version |
|
|
|
Music and tech have long been entwined, from Thomas Edison’s invention of the phonograph through Kraftwerk’s pioneering electronica and up to Spotify, Sonos, AirPods, and everything else we take for granted today.
Record Store Day is less a celebration of tech than it is of vinyl records — but it gives us the opportunity to wax lyrical about our favorite turntables and other audio kit, so we’re going to take it all the same. Read on for our full guide.
Marc McLaren, Global Editor-in-Chief
|
|
|
| What happened – this week's biggest stories |
|
 |
| We're getting into the groove for Record Store Day (Tinyl) |
It's the vinyl countdown… We’re big fans of Record Store Day at TechRadar, partly because many of us are big music fans — but also because it gives us the perfect excuse to upgrade our audio kit. But where to start? Don’t fret, dear readers, we have everything you need to know…
All that, and we can also offer advice on how to clean your vinyl, too. You really have no excuse not to spend the weekend listening to music now — and let us know your plans for Record Store Day in this week's poll at the bottom of this newsletter.
|
|
 |
| Amazon is upgrading its Fire TV Sticks and Fire TVs (Future) |
Own one of Amazon's Fire TVs or Fire TV Sticks? Good news: Amazon is rolling out a major upgrade which it says will make it easier and faster for you to find the movies and shows you want to watch, along with new channels devoted to news, cookery, and more. Amazon is also rebranding its Fire TVs as 'Ember' — although we're not quite sure that conveys the right message visually — and introducing a new Artline model designed to rival Samsung's The Frame TVs.
Amazon also unveiled a new, slimmer Fire TV HD Stick that should be easier to slot into an HDMI port in between your other connected devices — but the media and retail giant is currently facing a lawsuit filed on behalf of customers who claim it deliberately 'bricked' older Fire TV Sticks in order to force them to upgrade.
|
|
|
| What else? The rest of this week's news in 60 seconds |
|
| Apple teases smart specs but faces a Maps backlash, and GoPro is on a Mission |
We've been hearing rumblings about Apple working on AR glasses for a while, and this week senior exec Greg Joswiak dropped the biggest hint yet that the company is indeed working on a rival to the Meta Ray-Bans. If and when these… iGlasses? arrive, our smart specs specialist Hamish Hector thinks Apple's emphasis on privacy could give its glasses the edge.
That said, the user experience may not be entirely free of intrusion — Apple Maps users are up in arms about the imminent arrival of ads in the app, so when you finally get to don your Apple specs, don't be surprised if you see a 'message from Apple's trusted partners' out of the corner of your eye.
The RAM crisis continues to bite, with Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets, and Microsoft Surface Laptops and Surface Pros, the latest devices to see hefty price hikes. RAM is also implicated in a worsening Mac mini shortage, as serious AI users snap up Apple's smallest Mac, and Mac Studios, and load them out with the extra RAM required to run local AIs such as OpenClaw.
Get caught up…
GoPros unveiled the biggest overhaul of its action cam line in 20 years with a trio of ‘professional’ Mission 1 8K action cams — and one of them supports hundreds of pro camera lenses.
The Wayback Machine could be facing a fight for survival
The DJI Pocket 4 offers 7 great upgrades over its predecessor
|
|
|
| Robot uprisings old and new, a photo feast for the eyes, and ChatGPT vs Claude |
Everything old is new again… Lance Ulanoff has been captivated this week by two very different videos featuring robots, one from a few days ago, and the other from 1897. He's been watching, and rewatching, a TikTok of a humanoid robot called Edward chasing wild boar through the streets of Warsaw, the Polish capital, which appeared just a couple of days after he wrote about what is probably the first robot movie ever created, made by the French filmmaker, toymaker and magician George Méliès.
More from the water cooler…
Forget Lego Smart Bricks — check out this ‘ridiculously wild’ home-built Lego PC
Matt Evans thinks Fitbit's new screenless tracker is a better fit for the brand than a smartwatch
Tim Coleman has been enthusing over the winning Sony World Photography Awards photos
Becca Caddy questioned her judgement after using ChatGPT to track Iran war news
Staying with AI, and returning to Lance, he's been weighing up the pros and cons of ChatGPT and Claude in the wake of the 'QuitGPT' movement, which sprang up following OpenAI's and Anthropic's highly publicized interactions with the US Department of War. Check out his video explainer below.
|
|
|
 |
| The Oppo Find X9 Ultra takes design cues from Hasselblad's cameras (Future) |
|
Our Cameras Editor, Tim Coleman, enjoyed some hands-on time with the Oppo Find X9 Ultra ahead of the smartphone's launch next week. Why, you might be wondering, would you task a cameras expert with testing a smartphone? Well, Oppo co-developed the Find X9 Ultra with camera brand Hasselblad, with the phone taking design and UI cues from its iconic cameras, and featuring Hasselblad optical tech.
Tim has long been a fan of Hasselblad cameras, and now he's smitten with the Find X9 Ultra, calling it "the most beautiful phone of 2026 so far" and adding "It really feels like a baby Hasselblad." Look out for his full review, coming soon.
More from the TR test bench…
James Davidson says the LG G6 is the new best option for brighter rooms
Is the Garmin Bounce 2 the top smartwatch for kids? We got a kid to test it
DJI Romo P vs Roborock Saros 10R — which robot vac is best at dodging obstacles?
Dyson's super-slim PencilWash got Cat Ellis' kitchen floor sparkling in minutes
Hamish Hector has been trying out the RayNeo Air 4 Pro, and he thinks they're the best affordable XR glasses money you can buy right now — check out his video review below.
|
|
|
|
| What's on – the week in entertainment |
|
|
This week, we take a look at the new DJI Pocket 4 vlogging camera, celebrate the arrival of Waymo driverless cars in London, and show you how to use the new AirDrop integration on Samsung Galaxy S26 phones. Follow TechRadar on TikTok!
|
|
|
| What to try: tips, hacks and our favorite new products |
|
| Enhance your AI image creations, relive the days of analog TV, and build a tiny ereader |
|
|
|
 |
| The TechRadar team treats the real-life Lance a little better than this… mostly (Nintendo) |
|
Gaming Editor Dashiell Wood has been busy looking after tiny versions of the TechRadar team in Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream in order to review the new Nintendo Switch life-simulation game, which was released yesterday. It turns out any game that lets you create an adorable Mii Lance Ulanoff is a winner, and Dash had plenty of praise for the "practically endless" possibilities for character creation and interaction.
|
|
|
|
| What you think – this week's poll |
|
| Are you planning to visit your favorite record store for Record Store Day tomorrow? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When you purchase through links in our content, we may earn an affiliate commission.
© Future Publishing Limited. Reg No. 2008885 England. |
| Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. |
|
|
|
|
