18 T3 OCTOBER 2020
Horizon
COOLNESS
INNOVATION
FEATURESTECH-O-METER
COOLNESS
INNOVATION
FEATURESTECH-O-METER
COOLNESS
INNOVATION
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game library. A definite upgrade for
most, but a step down from the
all-powerful Series X. What’s most
interesting is the price: Microsoft is
offering an affordable step on the
next-gen ladder, placing this firmly
within Christmas present territory.T3 SAYS: Will this place Sony on the
back foot? Only time will tell.MICROSOFT XBOX SERIES S
£249, microsoft.comMany expected it to happen, but
most presumed Microsoft’s sort-of
next-gen console would hit some
time after the main launch of the
Xbox Series X. Nope: looks like the
slimline Series S, the compact
successor to the Xbox One S (not a
confusing name scheme in the
slightest) will be landing at the same
time as the Series X in November. No
concrete details on specs as yet, but
leaks suggest 120fps at 1440p,
meaning the digital-only Series S will
hit a power mark around that of the
current-gen Xbox One X, only with
access to Microsoft’s forthcoming
DROPLABS EP 01
$299 (around £230), droplabs.comWhen you’re at a concert, the
experience is made up of much more
than just the sound of the music
reaching your ears: there’s the
on-stage performance, the thump of
the bass in your chest, and the
rumble of those frequencies going
through the ground to your feet. The
Droplabs EP 01, a shoe which has
somehow been in development for
a few years now, solves that latter
problem for personal listening,
projecting certain frequencies up into
your body through your soles. It’s a
fundamentally rather silly idea,
certainly, but the EP 01 has practicalbenefits beyond just vibrating your
feet: you can add a little rumble to
movies as well as music, and if you’re
playing twitchy games you may well
be able to detect the enemy
sneaking up on you thanks to that
extra sense you’ve added to the mix.T3 SAYS: A cute concept – and these
kicks look pretty sharp, too.NUBIA WATCH
$400 (around £305), nubia.comWrap-around screens on
smartwatches have been done
before, but none has yet pulled off
the curve quite like Nubia. Sporting a
super-long bendy AMOLED display,
customisable with your choice of
watch face, the newest Nubia Watch
is certainly ambitious. It’s a slimline
follow up to the company’s rather
cumbersome Nubia Alpha wrist-
mounted phone, one which focuses
more on fitness and watchy things
than incorporating elements like
cameras and microphones. That’s
undoubtedly a good thing, and while
we have some obvious concerns as
to how good the interface will be- it’s running on an older Snapdragon
2100 processor, with custom
WearOS-esque software packaged
on board – we can’t help thinking it’s
going to have a big impact on future
smartwatch design.
T3 SAYS: It’s no surprise the Nubia
Watch sailed past its Kickstarter goal.IMAGE^SOURCE:^ MICROSOFTIMAGE^SOURCE:^ DROPLABS^EP01IMAGE^SOURCE:^ NUBIA