The Top Gear Tested And Compared On Features, Price And Build Quality By The Experts At Tech
Phones
Xiaomi Mi 11T Pro
This is a phone for serious techies and it comes with a superb 120 Hz refresh OLED screen, a quality 108 MP camera, great speakers and masses of processing power. Fast charging is a nice bonus.
R14 000
Samsung Galaxy A53 5G
The best-value phone below R10 000, this has truly outstanding AMOLED screen with 120 Hz high refresh, and an equally impressive triple camera set-up. It has tough Gorilla Glass on the front and is the only phone at this price with 1P67 waterproofing.
R7 499
Oppo A74 5G
There’s not much changed from the excellent A72 that it replaces, but it does just enough to stay on our list, thanks to the 90 Hz high refresh 6.5″ screen and the remarkably effective fast-charging abilities.
R7 099
Samsung Galaxy A22
This Samsung budget beater includes a 6.4-inch AMOLED screen with a 90 Hz high refresh rate, and a quad-camera set-up, which produced superb results whatever we threw at them. Add in Samsung build quality, and you’re winning here.
R4 000
Honor X8
Thin and light and easy to handle, it feels built for the long road, and that won us over. Despite its large 6.7-inch high-refresh screen, it was a delight to hold and pocket, but there is no 5G and only average cameras.
R5 000
Laptops
HP Envy X360 2019
This model ticks all our boxes for a versatile and convertible ultrabook that does not break the bank. We enjoyed the powerful battery-saving AMD CPU and graphics in this revamped model. Stylus included. AMD Ryzen 7, 13.3″ screen, 8 GB RAM, 512 GB storage, 1.3 kg.
R22 000
Acer Swift 1
This well-built thin and light model weighs just 1.3 kg and has a fanless CPU, which saves your battery, but at the cost of some processing power. But it’s a versatile model that will satisfy many kinds of users, and for an excellent price. Celeron CPU, 4 GB RAM, 128 GB SSD.
R7 000
Asus Vivobook 15 M513
This mid-priced model has a great balanced build with generous storage, loads of ports and, to top it all, a spectacular 15-inch OLED screen. It also comes with a built-in fingerprint sensor. AMD Ryzen 7, 16 GB RAM, 1.8 kg
R15 000
Apple Macbook Air M1
Apple’s highly regarded M1 chipset brings a huge boost in power and battery life to the new Air. Although it looks little changed from previous models, the build quality and horsepower means it will outlast most competitors. Al CPU, 13″ screen, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage
R19 000
Lenovo IdeaPad C340
This well-priced two-in-one won us over with its sturdy yet slimline design, generous 14″ screen and low weight. It could have scored even higher with more processing power and RAM. i5 (8th gen), 14″ screen, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1.6 kg.
R12 250
Accessories
Gizzu 8800 mAh Mini Dual DC UPS
Reduce loadshedding stress with this simple gadget: a powerbank with a variety of cables to power both your internet point and WiFi router, so your broadband keeps going when the power goes down.
R1000
DeskStand Laptop Riser
Save yourself a lot of neck- and back pain by lifting your laptop screen up to the height of your eyes using this simple but sturdy birchwood deck. It’s designed to let you use your full-sized mouse and keyboard below.
R600
Samsung Smart Monitor M5
Adding WiFi and speakers to a large 27-inch monitor means it can download streaming apps and function as a space saver TV or a hi-fi when you’re not doing computer work.
R5 200
Anker PowerCore 13000
Not all power banks are equal. This one packs a 13 000 mAh battery into space half the size of competitors, but weighs just 250 g. It also has two 3A outputs for fast charging, which is intelligently optimised for any device.
R650
Astrum USB-C to HDMI
For work-from-home, this simple, affordable gadget solves the problem of losing your laptop’s USB-C port to plug in a monitor. It converts erl to HDMI for your monitor but also provides an extra, full-sized USB-A port and another USB-C port.
R270
Best hi deals
Samsung A32
Available in blue, black or purple
Now R4 499
Samsung A13
Available in blue or black
Now R2 999
Oppo A16
Available in blue or black
Now R2 699
Hisense U50
Available in green
Now R1299
Itel Vision 1 Pro
Available in blue or Cosmic Shine
Now R1699
Headphones
Sony WH-1000XM5
The new version of Sony’s acclaimed headphones again delivers superb listening, and lifts its noise-cancelling to another level. They’re heart-stoppingly expensive, but for sheer listening pleasure and cutting-edge innovation, they’re almost impossible to beat.
R10 000
Logitech G335
We especially like the fuss-free nature of these cans that offer no USB or surround-sound effects but just get on with the job of delivering great sound and long-term comfort across games, music and movies.
R1200
Sony WF-0500
A downscaled version of Sony’s much more expensive buds, you give up the noise cancelling and some other high-end features, but these are easy to use, fit snugly and will delight music lovers and audiophiles on a shoestring budget.
R1000
Samsung Galaxy Buds+
Our favourite true wireless buds have been upgraded with more refined soundstage, better quality on voice calls and much-improved battery life while keeping the great shape that made them easy to handle and wear.
R2 800
Xiaomi Mi TW Earbuds Basic 2
These buds were a delight, from the proper rumbling bass ending in a well-balanced sound, to the physical control buttons, which we prefer over touch sensors. For the price, these are truly an unbeatable budget buy.
R300
Tablets
Apple iPad mini 6
The iPad still reigns supreme, offering masses of processing power, a superb screen and build quality that sees it easily outlast most other tablets. This smaller size is more affordable. 8.3″ screen, 293 g.
R10 000
Xiaomi Pad 5
The perfect size for learning, gaming and video bingeing, this near-4K screen also boasts 120 Hz fast refresh, so movies look great and socials scroll smoothly. 11″ screen, 511 g
R8 000
Nokia T20
It’s light, cheap and cheerful with a decent screen and solid build quality you can feel in hand. And Nokia promises years of Android OS updates. 10.4″ screen, 465 g
R4 000
Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
For reading documents, newspapers and books, the Kindle has no equal, thanks to the pin-sharp, passive, greyscale screen that doesn’t blast hard blue light at your retinas. 6.8″ screen, 208 g
R5 000
Microsoft Surface Go 2
Designed as a full-strength business tablet, it runs proper Windows and has a USB-C port for plugging in add-ons, which road warriors will appreciate. 10″ screen, 544 g
R10 000
Wireless Speakers
UE Wonderboom 2
This party-starting, go-anywhere speaker has multiple full-range drivers and delivers surprising amounts of bass for its size. It’s a rugged construction and fully waterproof, so it’s ideal for the beach, the park or the poolside, and comes in funky colours.
R1500
Astrum BT220 receiver
This tiny, inexpensive receiver connects with your phone over Bluetooth to pipe your music into your hi-fi and there’s minimal audio distortion using the aptX protocol. Or connect to your TV to listen on your Bluetooth headphones.
R380
Logitech Z407
These look fantastic and deliver wonderfully rich sound for a great price. Ideal for music lovers with limited space, the compact subwoofer delivers some real thump. The wireless dial lets you control your music from 20 m away, and you can Bluetooth your phone into the mix too.
R1500
Bitty Boomer
It’s no boom box, obviously, but this pocketable egg-sized dual-driver speaker is the most convenient way to share your tunes. It comes in loads of funky pop-culture designs and you can use the power button to remote-fire your phone camera.
R375
LG Xboom PL7
For rap and dance music fans this ghetto blaster-style speaker does not disappoint. The 30-watt output gets your party started with remarkably undistorted bass that you can feel as much as hear. Then there’s a RGB light show bling and IPX4 splashproofing too.
R2 000
Fitness
Garmin Venu 2
Our top tracker combines tons of detailed, accurate workout data with useful smartwatch functions in a cool, office-friendly design. We especially like the improved Body Battery function, which helps you balance rest and play.
R7 800
Xiaomi Mi Watch
With a very cool design, large colourful screen, solid tracking data (with GPS) and excellent battery life, this watch is a winner. Consider that it costs half as much as most competitors, and you can see why Xiaomi is now the industry leader in wearables.
R2 300
Huawei Watch GT2e
This update to the excellent GT2 has the same extraordinary two weeks of battery life with full GPS support, but it’s more sport focused with VO2 Max and SP02. It’s also a more streamlined shape, and has 4 GB music storage on-board.
R3 500
Xiaomi Band 6
The sharp and colourful screen is the winning feature here, along with exceptional battery life and decent step, heart- and sleep metrics. At this price, the lack of GPS won’t bother casual gym-goers.
R800
Huawei Band 6
Our favourite budget tracker doesn’t have built-in GPS, but the bright and sharp colour screen is a treat, and you’re getting SP02 and stress metrics in the mix. Great build quality at a fantastic price.
R1700
Prices correct at the time of print
Photography: Courtesy Images
