Stuff - UK (2021-08)

KEY SPECS

O 23.5in 4480x2520 Retina O Apple M 1

O 8/16GB RAM O 256/512GB/1/2TB SSD

O macOS Big Sur O 2x Thunderbolt 3

(USB 4), 2x USB 3 (8-core only), 3.5mm

O Mains power O 547x461x14.7cm, 4.46kg

STUFF SAYS +++++

Smart, slim, silent – the new iMac is

the only all-in-one worth considering

APPLE

iMAC 24IN

from £1249 / stuff.tv/iMac24

THE HOMEWORKER

If you’ve cancelled your commute for good and now only get dressed from the

waist up on weekdays, welcome to your ultimate working-from-home setup

40

GET MORE DONE

f your home is also your office

your computer doesn’t need to

be portable, but Apple’s latest

iMac is so slim and light it’s almost like

having a laptop that’s been torn in two,

or an iPad Pro fixed to its own stand.

Of course, you can’t get a MacBook or

an iPad with a 24in 4.5K Retina screen; so

if it’s pixels you’re after, the iMac delivers

in spades, with impressive brightness and

superb colours.

Speaking of colours, it comes in green,

yellow, orange, pink, purple, blue and silver,

so you can choose one to match the decor

of that home office you carefully converted

the spare bedroom into when it looked

like lockdown was here to stay. Even the

mouse, keyboard and magnetic power

cable are co-ordinated. Nice.

M1 can fall in love

The new iMac is powered by Apple’s M 1

chip – and it’s just as much of a success

here as it is in the MacBooks, particularly

with apps that are optimised for it. Even

with only 8GB of RAM it makes light work

of almost anything with not a whisper of

complaint from the fan. It can’t be upgraded,

though, so go for 16GB if you might need a

bit more oomph in the future.

Apple reckons this iMac has the best

camera, speakers and mics ever. You won’t

want to record an album or shoot a movie

with one, but even though the screen

can’t be adjusted vertically, Janet from

marketing is unlikely to complain that she

can’t see or hear you on Zoom. Whether

that’s a good thing or not is your business.

NOW

APP

THESE

FOCUS

Can’t trust

yourself not to

get distracted by

a Reddit thread

that’s just

pictures of bread

stapled to trees?

Focus lets you

create a timed

blocklist.

£4.49/m /

macOS

COFFITIVITY

Missing the

general hubbub

of the office?

Coffitivity plays

the ambient

soundtrack of

a coffee shop,

with three

environments

to choose from.

from £free /

web, macOS

BETTER

SNAPTOOL

There aren’t

many things

that Windows

does better than

macOS, but it

has the edge in

arranging your

open apps.

BetterSnapTool

fixes that.

£2.99 / macOS

I

GOOGLE

NEST HUB

Unless you’ve bribed

one of the kids into

being your PA during

the school holidays,

nobody’s going to

respond if you start

barking orders and

asking who your

2pm is with, so why

not get a Nest Hub?

Its 7in screen offers

easy access to your

calendar and you can

ask it to play whatever

music you want.

£90 /

store.google.com

NETGEAR

WI-FI 6 ORBI

Some people don’t

spend £700 on their

laptop, let alone their

Wi-Fi... but if you have

to get a good signal to

every corner of your

crib, this is the daddy

of mesh networking.

The modules are

pretty hefty but just

two of them can

bathe up to 4000ft 2

in 6Gbps Wi-Fi, with

enough capacity for

over 100 devices.

from £700 /

store.netgear.co.uk

EPSON

ECOTANK

ET-2720

Like unlimited toilet

rolls and help-yourself

stationery, free

printing is a perk

that disappears when

you leave the office

behind. If you’d rather

not fork out for new

ink every few weeks,

Epson’s EcoTank

printers support Apple

AirPrint and have

big old tanks that

should last years

between refills.

£200 / epson.co.uk

HUMANSCALE

FREEDOM

HEADREST

WFH rule no1: don’t

work from bed. That’s

easy to say when

you’ve got a nice chair

to prop yourself up in,

but not if you’ve been

sitting at the kitchen

table since last March.

Humanscale’s chairs

aren’t cheap, but this

one’s self-adjusting

recliner system takes

the strain off your

poor aching body.

from £862 /

uk.humanscale.com

MEACOFAN

1056 AIR

CIRCULATOR

Sometimes it’s worth

putting up with inane

office bantz if it

means access to

aircon when summer

turns the heating up;

but if you’re full-time

WFH, that’s not an

option. While the

12-speed 1056 fan

isn’t much of a looker,

its circular oscillation

means you get cool

air blasted into every

nook and cranny.

£100 / meaco.com

BREVILLE

ONE-TOUCH

VCF108

With all the money

you’ve saved by

not stopping off in

Costabucks every day

you could probably

treat yourself to a

Porsche... or at least

a decent coffee

machine to satisfy

your craving at home

instead. This one

lets you use either

ground beans or pods,

depending on how

long your to-do list is.

£149 / breville.co.uk

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