5 top tech reviews of the week: Philips’ bargain, bassy soundbar and the most powerful handheld vacuum you can buy

While the original LinkBuds brand originally applied just to Sony’s open-ear earbuds, it’s increasingly expanding to offer more lifestyle audio options. Case in point: the Sony LinkBuds Speaker. Far from being aimed at listening to music when you’re out and about, this little homebody thrives indoors, providing a flexible audio experience wherever you need it.

Although its sound won’t fill whole rooms like the best bluetooth speakers, its 25-hour battery life and petite size mean you can easily take it with you wherever you go. On top of this, its built-in microphone enables you to use it as a smart speaker effectively. But perhaps our favorite feature is that it includes a charging cradle, which acts as a handy hub for charging it whenever you’re done taking it for a walkabout.

Given Nothing is known for both affordability and game-changing design, it’s not surprising that its CMF Watch Pro 2 is one of the best cheap smartwatches you can buy at the moment. It’s seriously cheap, even for this price bracket, and yet offers a super-cool design. It also offers a whole load of features that make it the perfect smartwatch for newcomers to the world of wearables.

Naturally, you won’t get every feature that comes with more premium smartwatches. You won’t get access to NFC payments nor can you wear it in the water. On top of this, there are occasional bugs with some functionality like raise and tap to wake or workout detection. Still, for the price, it really is hard to beat.

The Philips TAB6309 is a solid entry-level soundbar. Its sound is detailed, offering great clarity for speech, while its bass is dynamic yet well-controlled. Visuals on screen match up well with the sound you hear, and it offers a surprisingly broad soundstage, even if its Dolby Atmos height effects can’t quite rival some of the best soundbars. And it’s nice and slim, making it a breeze to situate it in front of your TV.

But what transforms it from good to great is that price tag: at £299, it’s very competitively priced. That’s not a lot to spend for sound this strong and makes it a much more compelling purchase for anyone looking to upgrade their TV’s sound without investing loads of cash.

The Dyson Car+Boat puts other handheld vacuums in the shade. The main reason for this? It’s not really a handheld at all: it’s actually the powerful Dyson V8 packaged up with different attachments. As a result, it offers suction like a gale-force wind, easily guzzling down dust, mud, and even stones caught in your car’s upholstery. Its epic battery life also means you shouldn’t struggle to get your whole car spotless, even if it’s a hulking Humvee.

Of course, the flip side of this powerful build is that it’s not always the most maneuverable, meaning it can be trickier to squeeze it into tight spaces. But it’s still a great choice for anyone looking for one of the best handheld vacuums that can handle pet hair or the dirt and debris left by an outdoorsy lifestyle.

Effectively more of an update than an upgrade, the Panasonic Lumix G97 refreshes and improves the formula of 2019’s G95/50. So, this is not one to get that excited about, right? Wrong. Not only has it had the resolution of its rear screen boosted, but it’s also had its video recording limit removed, and a USB-C was added for faster charging. On top of this, even by the standards of today’s best mirrorless cameras, its hardware is still impressive, feeling responsive and offering decent power.

For example, its in-body image stabilization system is extremely effective, while its twin-dial control system gives you control over different elements in various modes. Finally, if you opt for the 12-60mm lens bundle, you’ll get one of the kit lenses available, both for zoom range and image quality. As a result, you’re getting an intermediate-level camera while only having to pay a beginner’s price for it.