Update: Oppo has yet to reveal release details for Android 6 Marshmallow software meaning you will likely have to wait a bit longer for the latest features on your Oppo F1 Plus. We'll be sure to update our review once the software is released. The Oppo F1 Plus is an expensive-looking smartphone that's actually half the price of the current crop of flagships. If you'd like an iPhone 6S, but your budget won't stretch, this could be a contender. At a cost of £299 (AU$599, around US$430), you get a lot of phone for your money. A decent battery, a 5.5-inch 1080p display, and an impressive 16MP selfie camera are just the beginning.
Updated: The Xbox One S and Project Scorpio might be just around the corner, but the Xbox One is still going strong almost three years after its original release. Check out our list of the best Xbox One games for our top picks from the system, and if you're excited for what's to come then why not have a read of our roundup of Microsoft's press conference from E3 this year in anticipation for what's to come over the coming months and years. Original review below: Buy Microsoft Xbox One (500GB) at Amazon for $240.00 The new Xbox that emerged at launch was both traditional and under-featured, a disappointment borne of a company reeling from the negative reaction to its original vision and trying to offer something else in a short space of time.
In a now infamous u-turn, Microsoft scrapped plans for the always-online revolution that would have allowed for disc-less play, easy game sharing on other owner's consoles, mandatory system scans and an end to second-hand purchases as we know them. Almost two years later, however, the Xbox One has slowly grown into a true contender to the PS4's throne. And with an excellent showing at this years's E3, offering some huge platform and timed exclusives as well as genuinely impressive new features, the future is really looking bright for Microsoft's chunky console. Not only has it had a price cut (you can find a basic edition for well under £300 these days), the regular firmware updates, an expanding game library and some excellent additions to its media playback capabilities have made for better games console.
It's sleek, it's small and it's most definitely smart, but Sony's latest Blu-ray player begs a big question: Why hasn't Sony made a machine that plays Ultra HD Blu-ray discs? Given its movie studio arm's propensity to push 4K movies, that's something of a surprise, but the Sony BDP-S6700 isn't without a trick of its own – it's cheap. It might be one of the last reasonably premium Blu-ray players that doesn't support Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. And since high-end UHD Blu-ray Players come with a huge premium for the privilege (we're looking at you, Samsung UBD-K8500 and Panasonic DMP-UB900), its price might be its best defense. After all, the Sony BDP-S6700 goes for just US$130/UK£150/AU$229.
What the Sony BDP-S6700 does promise from its diminutive 255x39x192 mm, 900g package is 4K upscaling (for those with an Ultra HD 4K TV), Full HD 3D support (time to crank-up that Gravity 3D Blu-ray disc) and wireless music features galore.
As far as laptop ranges go, there's very little introduction needed for the ThinkPad family. First produced by IBM more than twenty years ago, Lenovo acquired the entire range a decade later. It managed not only to keep the successful line going but more importantly infused some interesting features while sticking to the ThinkPad ethos, which was critical in terms of retaining existing customers. Buy Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga (512GB) at Amazon for $1672.79 Which brings us nicely to the ThinkPad X1 Yoga Ultrabook (not to be confused with the ThinkPad X1 Carbon or the ThinkPad X1 Tablet), a fusion of the classic ThinkPad DNA with Lenovo's very own Yoga, a range that's only four-years-old but has been one of the most popular in the industry, and almost singlehandedly rekindled the 2-in-1 category.
Update: The JBL Legend CP100 is delayed due to a software specification change after the unit was submitted for certification. The specification change required software tweaks and re-submission for certification by both Apple for CarPlay and Google for Android Auto. Its still coming, but there isn't a formal release date yet. JBL is a well-known brand for audio products, whether its home, car or portable products. The company produces aftermarket speakers, sound processors and amplifiers for cars, but never attempted to take over your dashboard, until now. The new JBL Legend CP100, announced at CES 2016, is the company's first double din radio aimed at luring car owners into adding Android Auto and Apple CarPlay capabilities to their cars. Harman's demo hall at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, during CES 2016, had the JBL Legend CP100 on display in a demo box. I was able to get some hands-on time with the unit running Android Auto and Apple CarPlay functions.
If there was nothing to compare it to, it'd be hard to point out the number of flaws the system has. It's lacking the majority of Australian streaming apps, for example, and Siri recognises less than half the commands on the new Apple TV than it does on iOS, watchOS or OSX. The situation is improving. At WWDC 2016 Apple noted that 1,300 video channels have now made it to the device alongside 6,000 native apps. That's not to mention the fact Siri is voiceless at the moment, relying on text and graphics to respond to any inquiries you might have. Siri has had a major upgrade promised at WWDC 2016 however. Soon you'll be able to use Siri to search for film categories, as well as to search YouTube or even channel live streams. The remote itself I really like, as do many of the developers I've spoken to about it. But it isn't the panacea Apple marketed it as. Entering text one letter at a time for a password is tedious, and even though you can now pair your Apple TV to your iPhone or iPad to enter text, it's still not an intuitive solution.
Not every phone can be the Samsung Galaxy S7. For one thing, not everyone can afford a Galaxy S7 – but for a while Samsung went dark on budget phones, to the disappointment of fans of the brand who lacked capacious wallets. However, it's fired out loads of cheapies and mid-rangers over the last year or so – and its latest effort in this department, the Samsung Galaxy J3, is roughly what you'd get if you took the Moto G4 and injected it with a good shot of Galaxy S7 DNA. Buy Samsung Galaxy J3 (8GB) at Amazon for $145.95 But, while that sounds promising, in reality the Galaxy J3 misses out on a couple of near-essential basic features, making it a worse buy than some of the usual-suspect budget picks – it doesn't unseat the Motorola Moto G4, and the Oppo F1 is superior too.
You do need to be doubly careful about which model you buy though, as there are several differently-specced versions of the Samsung Galaxy J3 floating about across the world, some with worse cameras than others; we're reviewing the UK version. Design A few years ago even Samsung's top-end phones were plastic. Remember the Samsung Galaxy S5? Great phone, dodgy styling. The Samsung Galaxy J3 looks quite a lot like the latest Samsung flagships, but the feel is more like that of the old guard. It's an all-plastic phone aside from the glass used on the front, and the central select button, which is metal.
