The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is a standout in the smartwatch market, designed to cater to both tech enthusiasts and fitness aficionados. With its rugged design, advanced features, and impressive performance, it aims to compete with the best in the industry.

Design and Build Quality
The Galaxy Watch Ultra boasts a robust and premium design, featuring a titanium case that ensures durability while maintaining a sleek appearance. Available in three colours—Titanium Gray, Titanium Silver, and Titanium White—the watch offers a variety of styles to suit different tastes. The 47mm case size is substantial, making a bold statement on the wrist.

You can also choose from three band options to personalise your Galaxy Watch Ultra: the durable Marine silicone band in dark grey, orange, or white; the breathable Trail fabric band in dark grey; or the classic Peakform rubber band in dark grey. All bands are included in the price. For this review, Samsung sent us the Titanium Gray watch with a dark grey Marine band.

One of the key highlights is the digital bezel, which replaces the traditional rotating bezel found on previous models. This change allows for a more streamlined design and offers intuitive navigation through swiping around the edge of the display. The watch is also equipped with a customisable quick button, adding to its user-friendly interface.

Display
The Galaxy Watch Ultra features a 1.5-inch Super AMOLED display that is bright and vibrant, ensuring excellent visibility even in direct sunlight. The large display is perfect for viewing notifications, fitness stats, and other information at a glance. The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass DX, which adds an extra layer of durability against scratches and impacts.

The Galaxy Watch Ultra boasts a 10ATM water resistance rating, allowing you to submerge it in up to 328 feet of freshwater or saltwater. This is a significant improvement over the 5ATM rating on previous models, which limited submersion to 164 feet. Moreover, Samsung claims the Watch Ultra can withstand extreme altitudes ranging from 1,640 feet below sea level to 29,527 feet above it.

The watch is also protected against dust and water with an IP68 rating and meets the MIL-STD-810H certification, ensuring durability in harsh environments. This means they can endure extreme temperatures, sand, vibration, and shock.

Performance and Software
Running on Samsung’s Exynos W1000 processor, the Galaxy Watch Ultra delivers smooth and responsive performance. It also comes with 2GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. It operates on Wear OS, providing access to a wide range of apps and services through the Google Play Store. The integration of Samsung’s One UI Watch interface ensures a seamless user experience, with intuitive navigation and easy access to essential features.

One of the standout features is the AI-powered health insights, which offer detailed analysis and recommendations based on your activity and health data. The watch also supports Samsung’s latest BioActive sensor, which includes heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen measurement, and even a temperature sensor.

Fitness and Health Tracking
The Galaxy Watch Ultra is designed with fitness enthusiasts in mind. It offers comprehensive tracking for a variety of activities, including running, cycling, swimming, and more. The watch is equipped with GPS, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a barometer, providing accurate tracking and data for your workouts.

Battery Life
Battery life is a crucial aspect of any smartwatch, and the Galaxy Watch Ultra does not disappoint. It offers more than a day of battery life on a single charge, which is impressive given its extensive feature set. However, heavy usage of GPS and other power-intensive features may reduce battery life. The watch supports fast charging, allowing you to quickly top up the battery when needed.

Verdict
The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra is a premium smartwatch that excels in design, performance, and functionality. Its rugged build and advanced features make it an excellent choice for outdoor enthusiasts and fitness buffs. While the high price tag may be a deterrent for some, the watch offers good value for those seeking a top-tier wearable.

With its comprehensive health and fitness tracking capabilities, AI-powered insights, and durable design, the Galaxy Watch Ultra stands out as one of the best smartwatches on the market. Whether you’re an athlete looking for a reliable training companion or a tech enthusiast wanting the latest in wearable technology, the Galaxy Watch Ultra is worth considering.

Price: AED 2499

The HONOR Magic V3 is the newest contender in the foldable smartphone arena, striving to set new standards with its innovative design, superior build quality, impressive display, advanced camera system, AI capabilities, robust internal specs, outstanding performance, long battery life, and excellent value for money. Let’s explore each feature to see how it measures up.

Design and Build Quality
The HONOR Magic V3 stands out as a marvel of modern engineering, claiming the title of the slimmest and lightest book-style foldable phone available. Building on the success of its predecessor, the HONOR Magic V3 sets a new industry standard with its impressively slim folded thickness of just 9.2mm, comparable to a regular flagship bar phone.

This feat is achieved using 19 innovative materials and 114 microstructures. The HONOR Magic V3’s design boasts timeless aesthetics, featuring a dome-shaped octagonal camera module inspired by classic architecture. Available in three nature-inspired colours—Reddish Brown, Green, and Black—it adds a touch of elegance to its overall appeal. The variant reviewed here is the Green variant.

The proprietary HONOR Super Steel Hinge guarantees the device can withstand up to 500,000 folding cycles and has earned the SGS Durability Certification. To further enhance its resilience against accidental drops, the display features the HONOR Super Armored Inner Screen and HONOR Anti-scratch NanoCrystal Shield, offering additional protection for both screens.

Display Quality
The Magic V3 boasts two impressive OLED displays. It features a 6.43-inch external display and 7.92-inch internal foldable display, offering immersive dual-use functionality. The foldable also comes with an AI Defocus Display technology to alleviate nearwork-induced transient myopia (NITM). HONOR claims that the on-device AI can simulate retina defocus effects for myopia control.

In addition, the HONOR Magic V3 features a comprehensive set of AI-powered, human-centric eye-comfort innovations, including 4320Hz Risk-free PWM Dimming, Dynamic Dimming, Circadian Night Display, and Nature Tone Display. The inner screen offers a resolution of 2344-by-2156 pixels and an aspect ratio of 9.78:9. The outer screen meanwhile offers a resolution of 2376-by-1060 pixels and an aspect ratio of 20:9.

The inner display is nearly crease-free, marking a significant improvement over earlier foldable models. The colours are vivid, and the brightness levels are more than sufficient for outdoor use.

Camera Quality
The HONOR Magic V3’s camera setup is impressive, featuring a 50MP wide lens with an aperture of f/1.6 and OIS, a 50MP telephoto lens with an aperture of f/3.0 and OIS, and a 40MP ultrawide lens with an aperture of f/2.2. The camera app comes with a wide range of shooting modes such as AI photography, Super Wide Angle, Aperture, Night, Portrait mode, Photo, Pro mode, Video, Panorama, Filter, Watermark, Scan Document, Super Macro, Capture smiles, Time-lapse, Timer, Movie, Slow-MO, and Story.

The camera performance is excellent, thanks to large sensors and wide apertures that excel in low-light photography. The Studio Harcourt portrait effects – such as Harcourt Vibrant, Harcourt Color, and Harcourt Classic – first seen on the HONOR 200 Pro, are also available, making this phone a strong contender for the best foldable camera phone.

The device also boasts AI-enhanced photography features, including HONOR AI Motion Sensing and the HONOR AI Portrait Engine. The AI Portrait Engine captures stunning optical portrait shots with a natural bokeh effect.

AI Features
The HONOR Magic V3 integrates both on-device and cloud AI innovations to deliver a convenient and intelligent user experience. Running on MagicOS 8.0.1 based on Android 14, it features Magic Portal on Foldable, which uses on-device AI to understand the user and provide tailored recommendations.

The AI capabilities include intelligent photo enhancements, scene recognition, and real-time translation. Additionally, the AI optimises battery performance and manages background processes to ensure smooth and efficient operation. These features make the HONOR Magic V3 not only a powerful device but also an intelligent one.

The HONOR Magic V3 also leverages on-device AI to provide habit-based app recommendations on the homepage and organises your pages by app types. It also features Parallel Space, enabling you to operate dual-space apps independently, as if you had two phones. The HONOR Magic V3 is equipped with three bespoke chips that work together to enhance fluency, stability, battery optimisation, and hardware-level security.

Internal Specifications
Beneath its sleek exterior, the HONOR Magic V3 is driven by the cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, paired with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. This powerful combination ensures the device can effortlessly handle everything from multitasking to gaming. Additionally, the phone is equipped with a substantial 5,150mAh battery, supporting 66W wired HONOR SuperCharge and 50W wireless charging, allowing for quick and convenient recharging.

Performance
The AI performance of the HONOR Magic V3 is impressive. Powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor and enhanced by HONOR’s AI optimisations, the device runs smoothly and efficiently. The AI features boost camera performance, optimise battery life, and effectively manage background processes. This makes the Magic V3 a smart and efficient device that adapts seamlessly to your usage patterns. The device provides a smooth and intuitive user experience, even during gaming sessions.

The HONOR Magic V3 also supports the HONOR Magic-Pen on both its internal and external displays, allowing you to write, draw, and annotate. The Magic-Pen also enhances precision, especially in art and text editing scenarios. Additionally, you can seamlessly switch between the internal and external displays without needing to set the HONOR Magic-Pen aside, ensuring a continuous and uninterrupted experience.

Battery Life
The battery life of the HONOR Magic V3 is also pretty good. As mentioned earlier, the HONOR Magic V3 comes with the ultra-large 5150mAh third-generation HONOR Silicon-carbon Battery which ensures reliable performance and exceptional battery life. Plus, its fast charging capabilities offer quick recharges when necessary.

Verdict
The HONOR Magic V3 sets new benchmarks in the foldable smartphone market with its ultra-thin design, impressive displays, powerful performance, and advanced AI features, making it a compelling choice for tech enthusiasts. The HONOR Magic V3 comes with a premium price tag, which aligns with its high-end features and specifications.

It delivers excellent performance, a stunning design, and impressive camera capabilities. While the cost may be a barrier for some, those seeking a top-tier foldable phone will find the Magic V3 to be a worthwhile investment. Overall, the HONOR Magic V3 is a strong contender in the foldable phone market and worth considering if you’re looking for a premium foldable device. The HONOR Magic V3 thus walks away with the Gadget Voize Editors’ Choice Award.

Price: AED 6899

The Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro is a unique addition to the world of wireless earbuds, designed with a specific audience in mind: outdoor fitness enthusiasts. These open-ear earbuds aim to balance situational awareness and audio quality, making them ideal for activities like running, cycling, and hiking.

Design and Comfort
The AeroFit Pro features an open-ear design, which means the earbuds sit over your ears rather than inside them. This design allows you to hear ambient sounds, which is crucial for safety during outdoor activities. The earbuds are lightweight and have a detachable neckband that ensures they stay in place during intense workouts. The neckband is adjustable, providing a secure fit without causing discomfort.

The earbuds are available in several colours, including Dynamic Black, Aqua Blue, Electric Purple, and Frost White, catering to different style preferences. The build quality is robust, with an IPX5 rating for water and sweat resistance, making them suitable for various weather conditions.

Sound Quality
When it comes to sound quality, the AeroFit Pro offers a mixed experience. The open-ear design naturally limits the bass response, which might disappoint those who prefer a deep, immersive sound. However, the earbuds provide a wide stereo image and clear mids and highs. The sound is transparent and natural, allowing you to enjoy your music while staying aware of your surroundings.

The AeroFit Pro supports the LDAC codec, which enhances audio quality over Bluetooth. The Soundcore app offers customizable EQ settings, allowing you to tweak the sound profile to your liking. However, the preset EQs are not very powerful, and the custom EQ might not satisfy audiophiles looking for a rich, full-bodied sound.

Battery Life
One of the standout features of the AeroFit Pro is its impressive battery life. The earbuds themselves offer up to 10 hours of playback on a single charge, and the charging case provides an additional 38 hours, totalling up to 48 hours of use. This extended battery life ensures that you won’t have to worry about frequent recharging, even during long outdoor activities.

The charging case is compact and easy to carry, although it does not have an IPX rating, so you’ll need to be cautious about exposing it to water or sweat. The case charges via USB-C, which is a convenient feature.

Connectivity and Controls
The AeroFit Pro offers reliable connectivity with Bluetooth 5.2, ensuring a stable connection with minimal dropouts. Pairing the earbuds with your device is straightforward, and they maintain a strong connection even in busy environments.

However, the control options on the earbuds are somewhat limited. There are no on-ear controls for adjusting the volume or skipping tracks, which means you’ll need to rely on your device or the Soundcore app for these functions. This can be inconvenient, especially during workouts when you might not want to reach for your phone.

Additional Features
The AeroFit Pro comes with a few additional features that enhance its usability. The detachable neckband is a thoughtful addition, providing extra security during vigorous activities. The earbuds also come with a magnetic clasp that helps keep them together when not in use, reducing the risk of losing them.

The Soundcore app is a valuable companion, offering firmware updates, customisable EQ settings, and other useful features. The app is user-friendly and adds to the overall experience of using the AeroFit Pro.

Performance in Different Scenarios
The AeroFit Pro is designed primarily for outdoor fitness activities, and it performs exceptionally well in this context. The open-ear design allows you to stay aware of your surroundings, which is crucial for safety. The secure fit and water-resistant build make them suitable for running, cycling, and other outdoor sports.

However, the earbuds might not be the best choice for indoor use or environments where you want to block out external noise. The open design means that ambient sounds will always be present, which can be distracting in certain situations.

Verdict
The Anker Soundcore AeroFit Pro is a well-designed pair of open-ear earbuds that cater specifically to outdoor fitness enthusiasts. While they may not offer the deep bass and immersive sound that some users crave, they excel in providing situational awareness and comfort during workouts. The impressive battery life, customizable EQ, and reliable connectivity make them a solid choice for those who prioritize safety and convenience over audio fidelity.

If you’re looking for earbuds that allow you to stay aware of your surroundings while enjoying your favourite tunes, the AeroFit Pro is worth considering.

Price: AED 418