2020’S GADGET WISHLIST

ALIENWARE CONCEPT UFO

Why shouldn’t PC gaming be properly portable? And we’re not talking luggable laptops, here – we mean the sort of thing you can play on the bus. Taking more than a few design ideas from the Nintendo Switch (to the point that we imagine a few furrowed brows at Nintendo HQ), Dell’s concept device suggests the company could be set to make that a reality. It’s not a finished product just yet but expect an eight-inch display, detachable controllers, USB Type-C monitor connectivity and syrupy-smooth (if slightly dialled-back) PC games on the go.

£TBC, alienware.com

TCL X915

Expect to see a lot more of this company in 2020 as it breaks into the UK, and this TV will be one way it makes waves. It’s an 8K TV with a QLED panel and local dimming for dramatic contrast – basically matching the tech in other 8K TVs, but it’ll likely arrive at an extremely aggressive price. Available in 65-inch or 75-inch sizes, it also includes Dolby Vision (and HDR10+) and IMAX Enhanced certifications, with audio from hi-fi specialists Onkyo, making it an all-round premium set. And it has a built-in camera that rises and hides automatically if you use a video-chat app through the Android OS.

£TBC, tcl.com

XBOX SERIES X

The PlayStation 5 is coming too, but we know a little more about the new topend Xbox model than Sony’s console (at the time of writing, at least). Next-gen processing and graphics tech promises mind-blowing visuals, including ray tracing support, which is a tech for realistically recreating the physics of light, so worlds look much more life-like. It will offer frame rates up to 120fps (great for racing or fast arcade games), and even promises 8K output, but we’ll believe support for actual 8K games when we see it. Expect it just before Christmas, likely over £400.

£TBC, xbox.com

BELKIN SOUNDFORM ELITE HI-FI SMART SPEAKER + WIRELESS CHARGER

A Google Assistant smart speaker with a little groove to place your phone. How neat. Oh, but there’s more: that groove houses a Qi charger, juicing up that device while you get on with something else. And that’s not all: Ludicrously, Belkin has teamed up with the high-end audio wizards at Devialet to create the vibration-reducing dual-woofer audio package, in a speaker far more affordable than Devialet’s usual fare. This promises to be the best sounding speaker Belkin has ever made – and we wouldn’t bet against it ruffling some feathers around the rest of the wireless speaker world.

$299 (around £230), belkin.com

AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-ANC300TW

Smaller, faster, cheaper sound processor and microscopic surface-mounted microphones mean it’s no wonder that active noise cancelling is fast becoming a standard feature in headphones, but trust Audio-Technica to take the ball