5 unmissable tech reviews of the week: why the MacBook Air (M4) should be your next laptop and the best sounding OLED TV ever

At last. The Apple MacBook Air 15-inch has received the brand’s new chip. While it feels like the Air line is relatively late to the M4 party, receiving the powerful Apple silicon after the MacBook Pro, the iMac and even the Mac mini, it’s still important to not understate what a step forward this is for the MacBook Air. It absolutely secures its place as the best laptop for most people.

While you might not need to immediately upgrade if you bought the previous MacBook Air (M3), for owners of older models and newcomers to Apple laptops, it will offer a serious performance boost. Not only that but it’s also had an actual price cut, starting at $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,099, compared to its predecessor’s $1,299 / £1,399 / AU$2,199. Now that’s a bargain.

Less than 12 months have passed since the iPad Air last received an upgrade with the launch of the iPad Air (M2). So what’s new with the iPad Air 11-inch (M3)? At first glance, not a lot: it features the same design, the same display, even the same colorways. But it’s under the hood where the main change has taken placed.

As the name suggests, the biggest change here is the iPad Air has received upgraded Apple silicon, leveling up to the M3 chipset. This has made it lightning fast – while it can’t quite keep pace with the iPad Pro M4, it’s still plenty powerful enough to make short work of video editing or AAA gaming. It adds a serious speed boost to what was already one of the best tablets you can buy.

The Philips OLED+959 is a premium OLED TV that offers a truly unique viewing experience. Its gorgeous picture offers deep blacks and fantastic contrast levels, as well as serving up colors that are rich and vibrant enough to rival any of the best OLED TVs. Its improved Ambilight Plus backlighting adds to this impact, although this is sometimes too cluttered for its own good.

But the real surprise is the sound. Its built-in 5.1.2 channel system offers such lively, detailed and immersive sound that it matches many of the best soundbars in terms of performance, even providing a convincing Dolby Atmos height effect. Couple in a comprehensive suite of current gaming features and this is a compelling purchase for any living room.

The Sennheiser HD 505 are a great addition to the brand’s range of (semi-)affordable headphones. Their open-back design means they sound open and have a broad, expressive soundstage. On top of that, their tonal balance is perfectly weighted – despite perhaps not having the kind of deep sub diehard bass fans will be thirsting for – and they have plenty of dynamic headroom to handle substantial shifts in volume.

When it comes to their design, they’re light and comfortable enough that you’ll happily be able to settle in for lengthy listening sessions. They don’t necessarily have the luxe feel of some of the best wired headphones though and they’re far from your only option – they have several excellent competitors at a very similar price.

The Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) is an undeniably premium, pro-level desktop computer that continues to build on its predecessors’ dual identities in a satisfying way. First of all, it offers staggering speed. Coming either with the M4 Max or the confusingly named but even more powerful M3 Ultra chipset, it offers astounding performance, of the kind you’re unlikely to need unless you’re running a large-scale 3D animation operation.

Despite this, its design remains as sleek and compact as ever. Measuring just 3.7 x 7.7 x 7.7 inches (9.5 x 19.7 x 19.7cm) and a weighing from just at 6.1lbs / 2.74kg, it’s a studio production powerhouse that you can easily sling in a backpack. While you may never strictly need it and it’s not upgradeable once it’s configured, it still offers more power per pound than you’ll get from any of the other best computers.