Gadgets: Meet the new reality, same as the old one

The kids are back at school, the barbecue is back in the shed, and guess what? We’re all back in the office, commuting on crowded public transport, sitting in the M50 car park and queuing up in cleverly named coffee shops for our flat whites to get us kick-started.

It’s like The Event never happened. The workplace is filled up again and the water cooler that has lain forlorn in the corner for the past three years is once again a busy hub for office chat about last night’s streaming TV.

As companies firm up their back-to-the-office policies, working from home already feels like a past idyllic life, and though some of us will have done a deal with our company that allows us to keep working remotely some of the time, most of us will have to get used to this new reality – which is pretty much the same as the old reality before 2020.

Now that we’re on the move again and back out in the world, we’re going to have to tailor our tech gear to suit this new daily flux. We’re probably going to be lugging our laptops in to work, along with our other personal gear such as headphones and smart watches, so we want to make sure our gadgets are maximised to work in both the home and office environment – and on whatever mode of transport we’re using to travel between them.

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After all, you’re out in public again – don’t want your clunky, beat-up old workhorse bringing down the tone of the place. And we’ll also need to decouple some of our home tech from our work tech, just to keep some psychological boundaries in place.

Luckily, the big tech firms have launched lots of new products this year – some with ramped-up capabilities, some with whittled-down size and weight and others with simply a sleeker, more aesthetic look – that will work to help us keep that work-life-balance running smoothly even as we get used to running for that bus again.

So, arm yourself for an active autumn with these cool new tech gadgets designed to keep you in the loop wherever you happen to be.

Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Generation, €299

At its World Wide Developers Conference in June, Apple announced its new iOS 17 operating system with a big fanfare – and even a marching band. The reason for all the hoo-ha? The iOS 17 system allows Apple to do some extra cool stuff with its devices, a case in point being the AirPods.

Apple has now added Adaptive Audio to its range of AirPods, which pans between Active Noise Cancelling and Tranparency mode as you move through an ever-changing sonic environment. So if you suddenly encounter a gang of leaf-blowers or, indeed, a marching band, it will automatically mute them.

But if, say, you step into the path of a car you’ll still hear its horn honking (though you can mute the driver yelling out the window at you). And when you bump into someone you know and stop to have a chat, the new Conversation Awareness mode will kick in, lowering the volume of your music and reducing background noise to focus firmly on the person talking to you – all without having to lift a finger to your ear.

MacBook Air, €1,349 (13″), €1,649 (15″)

Whether you’re in the office full time, doing the hybrid thing or holding out in your home with furniture barricading the door to stop the boss from dragging you back into the office, you’re going to need a versatile, high-performing laptop that’s light and durable. And, what do you know? Apple has just released its new 15-inch MacBook Air with advanced M2 chip, making it one of the fastest laptops around for getting everything – and we mean everything – done on the go.

The appeal of the bigger 15-inch screen is obvious: there’s more space on screen to everything you need to do and the expansive Liquid Retina display is so vivid you could practically jump through the screen and happily live in Macworld, where you’ll find a billion colours and twice the resolution of a PC laptop.

The MacBook Air may have a bigger screen but it’s still ridiculously skinny – just 1.15cm – and stupendously fast, thanks to its supercharged M2 chip. Ballpark figure, think twice the speed of your comparatively priced PC laptop. It’s also got a good 18 hours of battery life but you won’t be using it for that long, as this device will put a rocket under your to-do list and power you through your workload with a light touch, leaving you plenty of time to meet up with your mates at the bistro.

All this performance comes with minimal cost to the planet, says Apple. The MacBook Air is made with a 100 per cent recycled aluminium enclosure that’s tough and long-lasting, and it’s got a fan-less design so you don’t get that whirring sound every time you try to watch something on Netflix or design up a cover for your latest novel.

If you’re doing FaceTime with friends, family or colleagues the high-definition camera will show you in the best possible light and you can maximise your music listening with immersive sound thanks to Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos. The MacBook Air also comes in 13-inch but for me the bigger size gives you more computing power without compromising on the weight and thinness.

Guinness Nitrosurge, €30 nitrosurge.guinness.com

It’s great that we can go back to the pub and enjoy a pint – although the threat of the tenner pint is looming ever closer. There are times, though, when you won’t be able to pop into your local and have your trusty barman pull you the perfect pint of Guinness. So what do you do? Do you forego the Guinness just because you’re at home?

Not a bit of it. Buy yourself a Guinness Nitrosurge device and a six-pack of Guinness Nitrosurge cans, and you can do the iconic two-part pour in the comfort of your own snug.

Here’s how it works: First you open a cold Nitrosurge can of Guinness (make sure they’ve been in the fridge at least a day for the optimum temperature and taste), then you attach the Nitrosurge device to the can by lining up the nozzle with the can opening, pressing down firmly to attach. Switch on the power button and when the Guinness harp lights up, it’ll be ready to use.

Hold the device horizontally, tilt your glass at a 45-degree angle, and then pour nice and gently. When it’s two-thirds full, leave to settle for 30 seconds, then smoothly pour in the last few drops to finish off that lovely creamy head. Then drink up.

The Nitrosurge works by using an ultrasound transducer to agitate the nitrogen in the can and magic up a perfect, velvety pint of the black stuff. Be careful, though: you could get used to being your own barman and decide to put off going back to the office for another few years.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 256 GB Icy Blue, €1,999

It’s time to make your choice: are you a flipper or a folder? Samsung has launched its new Galaxy Z in two modes, so you can pick between the foldable one that opens like a book, or the flippable one that opens like a make-up compact. Whichever one you go with, you won’t be disappointed with the performance of the Galaxy Z, Samsung promise.

Me? I’m a folder, and the idea of being able to double the size of my screen with ease of opening a book really appeals. If you’ve ever tried to open your laptop on a crowded bus, you’ll appreciate how nifty the Fold5 is in tight spaces. This is Samsung’s brightest-ever foldable screen, with everything coming across in vibrant colour and vivid detail – even when the sun is batin’ down – which might well happen during the Irish autumn.

Of course, you don’t have to unfold the Fold every time you use it – the 6.2 inch cover screen is plenty big enough to handle all your day-to-day stuff. But when you need more screen space to work on documents or designs, or get an amazing gaming experience on the go, you can switch seamlessly to the larger 7.6 inch screen.

Once you have the Fold5 opened out, you’ve got a range of working options, including the ability to view three apps at the same time, drag and drop your apps, and store a dozen of your favourite apps on the task bar. Flex Mode means you can switch to a hands-free split screen – so, for instance, you can join your work video meeting on one screen and take notes on the other using your S Pen (you are taking notes, I trust?).

And despite all the extra features, the Fold5 is still 15 per cent thinner and 10g lighter than previous models, but still tough enough for everyday bumping and banging, thanks to its Armour Aluminium frame and Gorllla Glass Victus 2 screen. It’s also got IPX8 water resistance to withstand the changeable Irish weather.

All this flexibility doesn’t come cheap at just shy of two grand but Samsung does offer a monthly payment option and also a trade-in deal that could see you knock off up to half the price. Don’t worry, with all the extra productivity afforded by the Fold5 you’ll make it back in no time.

Sonos Era 300, €499 sonos.com

Speakers used to come in standard rectangular box shapes – life was simpler then and if we wanted to optimise the sound, we just turned the speakers a smidge, or moved our beanbags into a better position. But now we’re in a new era of bluetooth speakers, with such advances in sound reproduction that you can get amazing stereo sound off something that looks like an ashtray.

Speakers come in all shapes and sizes these days, from spherical to cylindrical to amphibious landing-craft (as Basil Fawlty would say). The Sonos Era 300 is probably the first speaker, though, to come in a “cinched hourglass” shape, but no point dwelling on the dimensions – just listen to that superb, crystal clear, all-immersive surround sound and marvel at the new sonic shapes revealed in your favourite tunes.

The Era 300 boasts next-level spatial sound driven by Dolby Atmos and powered by six drivers delivering pristine sound in all directions. The upshot of it is you don’t have to move the speaker around the room to maximise the sound – wherever you sit, you’ll be fully immersed in the sound of the Era 300, and enjoy an extraordinary listening experience.

A recent review of the Era 300 had one complaint: it was too ahead of its time. But if you don’t mind the future being here now, and want to feel surreal levels of surround sound, get an ERA 300 speaker for either the home or office. You can also create the ultimate home cinema sound by pairing up two Era 300s and adding a Sonos Sub third generation subwoofer for just over €1,700 in total.

Linn Sondek LP12-50 turntable, €59,500 linn.co.uk

This one is strictly for the home, for when you finally get to unwind after a busy week about in the world. Let’s put it this way: at a cool 60 grand, you’re not going to be leaving this one lying around the office for someone to spill their latte on.

The Linn Sondek is, for serious audiophiles (is there any other kind?), the ne plus ultra of turntables, the one every other turntable is measured against. The LP12 established its dominance in the 1970s – built, as its name suggests, to play 12-inch vinyl LPs like no other turntable can – and this 50th-anniversary edition has been designed in collaboration with creative collective LoveFrom.

It claims to have the best vinyl reproduction ever achieved by the company – a bold claim but one Linn backs up with its new Bedrok plinth technology, made up of dense orthogonal layers of pressurised beech that forms a solid housing for the mechanism, reducing resonance and allowing for incredible reproduction.

Linn was one of the first audio companies to realise that good sound quality begins when the needle hits the vinyl, and set out to design turntables that turn those grooves into a superb sonic experience. So whatever kind of amp and speaker set-up you have at home, once you hook up the LP12-50, you’ll be amazed at the huge leap forward in sound quality. And before you’re even halfway through hearing your record collection in a whole new light, you’ll know it’s silly money well spent.