The best TechRadar reads you may have missed

Spotify
(Image credit: Kaspars Grinvalds / Future)

Well, that was a busy week. From International Women’s Day to the Grammys to the fallout from a certain royal interview, the internet has been ablaze with activity over the past seven days – and the world of tech hasn’t been quiet, either.

We’ve had enough new phones, games, delays, and release rumors to keep the Silicon Valley press offices occupied for the foreseeable future, and we at TechRadar have done our best to keep you up to date with all the latest developments.

Below, you’ll find the best of our content from the past week, from a detailed rundown of the OnePlus 9 Pro’s fancy new camera to our assessment of whether or not you should fork out for a 48-inch OLED TV. We’ve even gone ahead and offered our thoughts on the crowdfunded Nintendo Switch lookalike creeping up on the handheld gaming industry.

There’s also heaps of review and opinion content for you to sink your teeth into, although if you’re after something a little easier on the eyes (but maybe not the ears), we’ve parked the latest episode of the TechRadar Noise Cancelling podcast at the end of this article for your convenient listening pleasure.

mobile phone

(Image credit: Shutterstock / ImYanis)

How to use your phone or wearable in an emergency  

Did you know your phone has some useful emergency features? Modern smartphones and smartwatches allow you to set certain features that will ping your last known location to emergency contacts in a situation where you’re unable to talk on the phone.

We break down how to set up these SOS features on your iPhone or Android phone, as well as on devices such as wearables from Garmin and Apple.

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Diablo 2

(Image credit: Blizzard)

The best games like Diablo to play while waiting for Diablo 4   

We know Diablo 4 is coming, but we also know it’s not coming soon. Thankfully, there are plenty of alternatives out there that not only scratch that Diablo itch, but may make it tricky for the de facto king of the genre to rule again.

Here, we highlight 10 of the best to keep you looting, power-leveling and ploughing through endless enemy swarms while waiting for Diablo 4 to arrive.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender

(Image credit: Paramount Plus)

What to expect from a new Avatar series  

Avatar Studios – the team behind the acclaimed Nickelodeon cartoon series Avatar: The Last Airbender – is confirmed to be working on a new animated feature film set in the Avatar universe. But what we really want to see, and expect to see in the near future, is a new TV series alongside it. 

We round up everything we anticipate from a new Avatar TV series, including its setting, characters and storyline.

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Arlo Essential Indoor camera

(Image credit: Arlo)

Arlo Essential Indoor Camera vs Ring Indoor Cam  

This is it: the Royal Rumble of indoor security cameras. Great for offering peace of mind when you’re not at home, indoor security cameras let you view a live feed from the device at any time from your smartphone – and there’s plenty on the market to choose from.

Here, we compare two of the best to help you decide which model is right for you (and your home decor).

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Philips

(Image credit: Philips)

Should you buy a 48-inch OLED TV?   

To buy or not to buy, that is the question. After several years of 55 inches being the smallest OLED TV set you could find, 48-inch models have finally arrived to shake up your home cinema set-up.

But should you opt for this new panel size? Will it be as good as a larger screen size, and will the price reduction really be worth it? We answer all your burning questions.

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music streaming services

(Image credit: Rawpixel / Shutterstock.com)

How to get the most out of Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal   

Times have changed. Gone are the days of borrowing dusty albums from your friends and relying on record shops to introduce you to new genres of music. Now, most people have millions of songs on-demand in their pocket. 

But with this new-found choice comes an equally daunting choice of music streaming providers. Here, we break down how to and get the most out of Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, comparing their features, prices and more. 

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Aya Neo handheld gaming PC

(Image credit: Aya Neo)

Behold, the handheld Windows gaming PC  

First things first: we know the Aya Neo looks like a Nintendo Switch. We agree. Right down to the screen size and joystick positioning, things are pretty similar between the two devices.

But when it comes to performance as a handheld games console, this crowdfunded portable project packs a lot more under the hood than meets the eye. We take a look at the internals of the Aya Neo and ask: has the Switch met its match?

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OnePlus 9 Pro

(Image credit: OnePlus)

How important is the OnePlus 9 Pro’s camera sensor?    

The arrival of the Samsung Galaxy S21 in January seemed to suggest that zoom capability would be the next big battleground for the best camera phones – but the imminent OnePlus 9 series clearly has other ideas.

The OnePlus 9 Pro looks particularly impressive on the sensor front, packing a Sony IMX789 sensor which has been custom-designed for the phone. Here, we pick apart this impressive bit of camera tech. 

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Porsche Cross

(Image credit: Porsche)

A very, very expensive ride  

We spotted an impressive new e-bike on the market last week – but it costs an eye-watering £9,600 (about $13,000 / AU$17,000). That’s because it’s made by Porsche, one of the world’s most famous sports car manufacturers, and is inspired by the new Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, which itself is no pocket-pleaser. 

But what makes the Porsche eBike Sport worth five times the price of our top-rated electric bike on TechRadar? Find out here.

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Google Lens

(Image credit: Future)

How to master Google Lens 

Google Lens is what you get when you feed the giant mountains of data from other Google services into a camera app. You can find out what a product is and how much it costs just by pointing your camera at said product, and it will even identify landmarks and geography based on its extensive database of worldwide imagery. 

Google Lens has actually been around since 2017, but has slowly built up increasingly impressive powers which might have gone under the radar for those not in the know. Here, we’ll teach you how to master Google’s AI camera app. 

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Bethesda on Xbox and NFTs explained: Noise Cancelling podcast episode 55   

The biggest news from the past week, in podcast form! We have you covered with the Noise Cancelling podcast, which is brought to you by TechRadar and our sister sites Laptop Mag and Tom's Guide.

This week's show is presented by Matt Phillips, TechRadar's Video Producer, and Sherri L. Smith, Editor-in-Chief of Laptop Mag, with guests James Peckham, Phones Editor at TechRadar, and Hamish Hector, Staff Writer at TechRadar, who join in (remotely, of course) to talk about the last seven days in tech.

Catch up on all the latest tech gossip, from our thoughts on the latest OnePlus 9 rumors to our reaction to whether future Bethesda games will be Xbox exclusive. 

Read more…

You can find every episode of Noise Cancelling here too

Axel Metz
Senior Staff Writer

Axel is a London-based Senior Staff Writer at TechRadar, reporting on everything from the latest Apple developments to newest movies as part of the site's daily news output. Having previously written for publications including Esquire and FourFourTwo, Axel is well-versed in the applications of technology beyond the desktop, and his coverage extends from general reporting and analysis to in-depth interviews and opinion. 


Axel studied for a degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick before joining TechRadar in 2020, where he then earned an NCTJ qualification as part of the company’s inaugural digital training scheme.