A very late Christmas present or a gift to kick-off the new decade. However you want to see it, Vodafone currently has a promotion on its best fibre broadband deal that you can’t really ignore.
The offer is simple, invest in its Superfast fibre 2 package and you’ll pay the exact same price as with its lower speed fibre plan. That means you’re essentially getting a free speed boost, paying just £23 a month for speeds averaging 63Mb.
And, it’s even better news for existing Vodafone mobile customers as the cost drops down to just £21 a month, which is edging nearer to ADSL in price over fibre. Ready to get your hands on a free speed upgrade? You can find out more about it below.
Vodafone’s cheap fibre broadband deal in full:
Vodafone Superfast 2 Broadband | 18 months | Avg speeds 63Mb | Line rental incl. | FREE activation | £23pm (or £21 for existing Vodafone customers) It’s a simple offer – get Vodafone’s fastest fibre package for the same price as its regular Superfast 1 option. That means speeds averaging 63Mb at a monthly price of just £23 – the best price around for speeds of this calibre. View Deal
What other broadband deals are there right now?
While Vodafone has the world of fibre locked down, there are some even cheaper prices if you’re willing to drop your speeds.
Thanks to the addition of £50 in cashback, Plusnet currently stands tall as the cheapest broadband deal around. It costs £17 a month but when you take into account the cashback, you’re effectively paying just £12.83 instead.
Of course, if you do really want fibre but want it from another name, BT could be a good option right now. With speeds averaging 36Mb at a price of just £24.99, this is one of the best prices you can pay for BT right now.
Drop whatever weekend plans you might have had lined up because we have the perfect, fun way for you to spend your days off – buying your new phone contract. Yep, we lied, it’s not fun at all…but if you’re looking to invest in Apple’s best then we can at least help relieve the stress of it all.
That’s because we have spent the entire time the brand new iPhone 11 series has been out analysing what is available and finding the absolute best of the best. And although prices aren’t quite Black Friday-standard anymore, there are still some promising options lurking around.
With some big data plans, doubled storage options, the best EE can offer and more, we’ve compiled the best five iPhone 11 deals you can get your hands on this weekend below.
The top five iPhone 11 deals this weekend:
1. Best on EE
2. Go big on storage
3. A bargain on big data
4. SIM-free iPhone 11:
5. Upgrade to the iPhone 11 Pro
What makes the iPhone 11 so good?
The iPhone 11 is the cheapest of Apple’s latest trio and yet, really isn’t much of a downgrade. You still get Apple’s new incredibly fast CPU, a 6.1-inch screen, IP68 rating and even a 3046mAh battery, enough to keep you going all the way through the day on one charge.
LG might be struggling in the smartphone game but it is excelling as usual with the rest of its consumer tech business. Its TVs are among the best in the industry, while white good sales of fridges and washing machines remain strong.
It’s those white goods that LG normally focuses on at CES, and what we expect its press conference will be mostly about.
It has also already announced most of what it will be showcasing early, and the tagline for its press conference is ‘Anywhere is home’, strongly hinting we’ll mainly be seeing white goods and appliances.
But there’s a chance we could see a phone announced too. Here’s how to tune in to see for yourself.
When is the LG CES 2020 press conference?
LG’s press conference at CES is on Monday 6 January at 8am local time, which is 4pm UK time.
How to watch the LG CES 2020 press conference
Helpfully, LG will live stream the entire press conference for free on YouTube. We’ve embedded the video at the top of this page for you to do just that. At the right time, just click play.
What to expect from LG at CES 2020
In true LG fashion, the company has announced a lot of what it’ll be showing at CES already. It’s a tactic that it has used for a few years now in an attempt to whip up excitement before the show, rather than getting lost in the noise.
Among the announcements are its latest , , a new and a wacky.
There’s a slim chance we’ll see a smartphone announced, though LG normally waits until MWC for that. There has been a leak of what @OnLeaks says is the LG G9, complete with four cameras and a notch. If accurate, it means LG’s next G phone will ditch the biometric hand vein sensors of the G8 for something simpler.
So… As my first 2020 leak, here comes your very first look at which I assume will be launched as the #LGG8 successor and thus, the #LGG9 I guess…
360° video + gorgeous 5K renders + dimensions, on behalf of my Friends over @Cashkarocom ->
LG could also use the CES presser to announce the LG V60, the follow up to the V50. The V50 was LG’s first phone with a dual screen accessory case. We’d expect the V60 to continue this trend.
LG’s phone division is a little worse for wear since its commercial peak around 2014 with classic phones like the G3 and G4. We’re always hoping for a return to form, but its generic recent smartphones don’t leave us with much confidence.
Think about a phone or a mobile handset and the first thing that often comes to mind is a slab of glass, not a watch.
Well, turns out that a smartwatch may now be the cheapest way to make a phone call – and we’re not talking about bluetoothing your way to a proper handset.
No, there’s a whole raft of smartwatches that take a SIM card and allow you to make calls. Take the LEEHUR V8 (loosely based on L’heure, meaning the time in French) which retails for $8.99 at Gearbest and comes in black, white, red and blue.
A wonderful piece of technology that shows how far we’ve evolved. Something like this would have cost several thousand dollars just two decades ago. A mini computer on your wrist that has a camera, the ability to browse the web and a wealth of other features. All for less than the price of a cup of posh coffee. View Deal
Timely
It packs a proper chipset, the Mediatek MTK6261D, with 64MB RAM and 128MB storage. You can add a microSD card of up to 32GB capacity. The screen itself is a 1.22-inch touchscreen model with a 240 x 240 pixel resolution.
The LEEHUR V8 comes with Bluetooth 3.0, a front facing camera camera with a claimed resolution of 1.3-megapixel, a 380mAh battery and a stainless steel chassis. It has a slew of features but bear in mind that this is a watch that costs $8.99 so there’s plenty of things that can go awry.
The biggest one is that the phone operates on GPRS/2G spectrum so no blazing 3G speeds here. Battery life is likely to be poor and it is not waterproof. Some of the features won’t work on an iPhone as there’s no app for it in the App Store. We’ve called one in for a quick look.
Dell has updated its entire line of PC monitors ahead of CES 2020 with the aim of unleashing worker creativity and maximizing productivity.
The new Dell UltraSharp 43 4K U4320Q allows workers to maximize productivity with the ability to connect up to four PCs and view content from each computer simultaneously. This new monitor is ideal for professionals in finance and engineering that require multi-monitors with high resolution for details.
The U4320Q is also the world’s first height adjustable 42.5-inch 4K monitor and the device’s USB-C connection can even deliver up to 90W of power.
For those interested in picking up Dell’s UltraSharp 43 4K U4320Q monitor, it will go on sale at the end of January with a starting price of $1,049.
Dell 86 4K Interactive Touch Monitor C8621QT
In an effort to help facilitate workplace collaboration, the company has announced the new Dell 86 4K Interactive Touch Monitor C8621QT.
This new 85.6-inch interactive touchscreen display features a 4K UHD resolution, 20-point multi-touch and USB-C connectivity. In order to improve accessibility and reachability for users of various heights, Dell has also included its exclusive Screen Drop Feature.
The Dell 86 4K Interactive Touch Monitor C8621QT will be released later this year in April and the device will likely appeal to both the enterprise and education market.
How much tech can you take? Next week aims to stretch your horizons, as well as your credulity, as thousands of new products are launched and demoed at the giant CES expo.
Artificial intelligence, 5G, foldables, surveillance tech, 8K and robotics are set to be among this year’s buzzwords.
But also expect Trump to feature. The President’s clashes with China have led some of the communist country’s biggest tech firms to cancel or reduce their involvement in the Las Vegas event. But the prospect of an imminent trade deal points towards tensions easing and greater access to Chinese consumers.
Ivanka Trump – the US leader’s daughter – is also attending to give a “keynote” interview to CES chief Gary Shapiro.
Now Mr Shapiro faces criticism himself for inviting Ivanka to discuss “the future of work”. Critics claim she is benefiting from nepotism while better-qualified female tech champions are overlooked.
But some of Silicon Valley’s most powerful women are taking part.
Apple’s privacy chief Jane Horvath is making a rare public appearance. It’s the first time her company has formally been involved in CES since it hawked its Newton handheld back in 1992.
In addition, ex-Hewlett Packard chief Meg Whitman will co-host another keynote with former Dreamworks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, to showcase Quibi. The platform aims to outmanoeuvre Netflix and Amazon on mobile with a range of 10-minute-long shows.
But the reason CES generates so much interest is its gadgets. Here are our hot spots from this years show:
SMART HOME
Amazon and Google will once again be hiring out lots of floor space to spotlight products that tie into their virtual assistants.
The success of their smart speakers helped global demand for net-connected home products grow by a healthy 24% in unit terms in 2019, according to research firm IDC.
The challenge at this point is to pioneer new types of devices, rather than tweak what is already on the market.
Bathroom specialist Kohler is already attracting attention for Moxie. The showerhead integrates an Alexa-enabled speaker and microphone – but thankfully no camera.
Meanwhile many of CES’s smaller start-ups have looked to the kitchen for inspiration.
Smartypans has a frying pan that checks the weight and temperature of ingredients before guiding you through the cooking process via an app.
Inirv wants you to swap your cooker’s knobs for its smart dials.
They let owners turn up the heat via voice command, and automatically turn off the stove if it is left unattended for too long.
And PantryOn aims to automate food shopping lists via smart shelves that monitor when a family’s favourite groceries run low.
The caveat is that its current prototypes look to be quite bulky, leaving less storage space as a result.
Not all home tech requires an always-on net connection.
BrightLock unlocks front doors by detecting a pattern of light pulses fired from a smartphone’s flash.
The idea is that you can easily share a light-based code with friends, tradesmen or others needing temporary access.
Townew promises to liberate you from the toil of having to tie up rubbish bags.
The bin self-seals sacks at the touch of a button, but requires you to be locked into buying the manufacturer’s bin liner refills.
And Lua wants to “turn your plant into a pet” with a sensor-packed pot that shows animated faces to let you know when your foliage is thirsty, or in need of sunlight.
One theme to watch out for is the further rise of the pod, with a number of companies seeking to emulate Nespresso’s coffee capsules.
They include Tigout, whose machine makes bite-sized bakes and souffles, and AI-Plus Plantbox, a smart-farming appliance that turns pods full of seeds into small batches of vegetables and herbs.
One further home-tech trend is smaller appliances for compact homes.
Morus Zero is a countertop tumble dryer that uses a vacuum-based system to dry clothes.
DaanTech’s Bob is another example, with what it claims is the world’s smallest dishwasher.
It only has space for two people’s tableware. Surely the sink wouldn’t take too much longer?
There will be lots of new home security products too.
Ring should expand its portfolio of thief-deterrent tech, but will this be the moment it upgrades its surveillance capabilities? Its parent Amazon has the AI know-how, but may be biding its time to avoid controversy.
Others aren’t hanging about.
Amaryllo will promote Athena, a security camera that recognises people’s voices and faces, to distinguish friends and family from strangers.
Furthermore, it can recognise a fire from afar and raise the alarm.
It looks like the big news this time will be a no-bezel edge-to-edge screen from Samsung and a flexible OLED model from LG that rolls down from the ceiling. The question for both is whether the impressive engineering involved comes at the cost of fragility.
There’s also likely to be a big push to take 8K mass-market. The tech features four times as many pixels as 4K sets and 16 times as many as 1080p screens.
Tokyo’s Summer Olympics are being filmed in the “super hi-vision” format, but it’s still unclear which broadcasters will support it beyond Japan’s NHK and Italy’s Rai.
With little other 8K content, TV-makers are under pressure to prove that their upscaling technologies noticeably enhance lower-resolution Blu-Ray disks and video-streams. It can take considerable computing smarts to do this well, but several companies say they have trained “deep learning” systems that are capable of the task.
As if the differences between LED, OLED, QLED and microLED were not baffling enough, there will be a new technology in town: Mini-LED.
This involves using smaller light-emitting diodes than normal, to illuminate a screen’s colour pixels. This allows there to be more distinct lighting zones, which in turn should reduce the blooming effect you sometimes get when light spills from bright objects in a scene into surrounding darker areas.
It won’t produce the deep blacks of OLED, where each pixel is self-illuminating. Nor will it match microLED tech, where the diodes are so small they can be assigned to the pixels on a 1:1 basis.
But it should deliver an impressive HDR (high dynamic range) picture at a relatively affordable price.
TCL has confirmed it will launch Mini-LED TVs at CES, and other brands may do so too, even if they call them by another name.
Also look out to see which brands adopt the new Filmmaker Mode.
A number of Hollywood directors, including Martin Scorsese, James Cameron and Christopher Nolan, have spearheaded an initiative to let TVs display movies as their creators intended.
At a single button push, motion-blurring is switched off, and the colours, frame rate and aspect ratio are all adjusted.
LG, Panasonic and Vizio have already indicated they will adopt this in at least some new TVs.
ROBOTS & AI
Samsung’s skunkworks unit Star Labs has teased Neon in the run-up to CES 2020.
It is described as being an “artificial human” but little else has been confirmed beyond the fact it isn’t intended to replace the firm’s Bixby virtual assistant. All will be revealed on Monday.
Other companies have been more forthcoming about their robo-plans.
Picnic will show off a machine that can prepare up to 300 pizzas an hour, each with a customised set of toppings controlled by an app. The start-up has ambitions to extend into sandwiches, salads and tortillas soon, and is pitching the product at restaurant chains, rather than consumers.
Other robots on show will be more focused on keeping us entertained, rather than concentrating on the workplace.
China’s Elephant Robotics will demo MarsCat. It’s a kind of feline twist on Sony’s robo-dog Aibo – it can play with toys, recognise its owner’s voice and even interact with real cats.
But what extends its appeal is that it runs off a Raspberry Pi, which means it is programmable and can be used to teach students to code AI applications.
At the other end of the scale, Tombot will promote its robotic labrador puppy. The touch-sensitive machine is designed to provide comfort to residents in old people’s homes, and others who would benefit from a pet, but cannot deal with a real animal.
It has been designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop – the team behind the Muppets – and is certainly cute, if limited in function.
Pibo looks set to be a trickier sell. The humanoid robot with a camera in its mouth is being pitched at teenage girls. Marketing videos show it taking photos of them and their food, recording their diary entries and telling them it loves them. It seems odd and a little creepy.
Yukai’s Bocco robots may have a better chance of hitting the mark in the cuteness stakes.
They offer a way for children to send and receive voice messages to their parents, and babble back in their own language if addressed themselves.
They can also be paired with add-on sensors to disclose when a family member has arrived home, what the weather is doing and whether or not the front door was closed properly.
Switching tack to software-focused AI, there’s a tension between what can be done and how to prevent it.
For example, facial recognition specialist Cyberlink will demo its latest capabilities. They include using its FaceMe system to determine the age, gender and emotional state of passers-by, to show them appropriate ads.
But D-ID is seeking to frustrate facial recognition checks with a program that makes minor changes to photos, to prevent people being recognised by computers even though they remain identifiable to the human eye.
It should give people a way to share images online with less risk of being tracked as a consequence.
Elsewhere, Hour One will demo its synthetic character software.
It uses AI to create the video and voices of computer-generated characters.
In time, the company hopes to build up a bank of celebrities who will let their likenesses be leased to promote products, without the stars having to get directly involved.
Mirriad will be holding private meetings to show off a system that lets TVs and movies add brand placements after they have been shot.
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Check out the results in our video above.
And keeping it quirky, Getcoo will exhibit its crowdfunded Lego-scanner.
The Piqabrick is a small cabinet that uses object recognition software to identify any part of the toy’s vast library of pieces.
TRANSPORT
You can keep your self-driving cars (and there will be a lot of them).
Manta5’s Hydrofoil e-bike offers a new way to travel that’s ready to roll – or at least glide.
The water cycle’s pedals push a propeller, and in the place of wheels there are wing-like parts that create more lift the faster the user cycles. The rider’s efforts are aided by an electric motor, which can help the e-bike achieve speeds of up to 13mph (21 km/h).
It’s the first commercial product of its kind. But a decade’s worth of R&D doesn’t come cheap – each e-bike costs £5,800.
Staying off-shore, there’s a number of companies pitching underwater drones for recreational use, or as a way to aid fishing expeditions. But one aquatic vehicle has the potential to save lives.
OceanAlpha’s Dolphin1 is a remote-controlled lifebuoy designed to save people at risk of drowning. Rescuers can avoid putting themselves at risk by staying out of the sea, and may even be in a better position to keep the victim in sight as a result.
Back on land, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai and Nissan are among the automakers promising to show off new concept designs.
The Detroit Auto Show was previously held soon after CES. But this year it has shifted to June. That may give the car giants more scope to make real-world announcements, as well as show off dream designs.
For now though, only the electric car start-ups Byton and Fisker are certain to show off new models destined for production.
The former is hosting a press conference to demo the user interface of its forthcoming M-Byte four-wheel drive, which includes a “dark mode”.
The latter will show off its Ocean car to the public for the first time.
It features a full-length solar panel roof to drip-feed the battery, although the tech is at least decades away from being capable of being the main power source.
There will also be lots of chatter about new in-car infotainment experiences too.
Honda has said it will unveil its own virtual assistant, which can be summoned with the wake words “OK Honda”.
LG will showcase webOS Auto, an operating system for internet-connected cars. It is based on the firm’s much-commended smart TV system, but will face competition from the incumbents Apple Carplay and Android Auto.
Meanwhile, Bosch has been teasing a new kind of 3D display for car dashboards that doesn’t require the driver to wear special glasses.
The firm claims that drivers’ brains react more quickly to alerts as a consequence, in addition to it being able to show turnings on sat-nav maps more clearly.
Elsewhere, scooter giant Segway Ninebot will demo a self-balancing, self-driving two-wheeler that can be summoned via an app.
It will also seek feedback to the Apex – its first motorcycle, which it has yet to commit to putting on sale.
And French start-up Wello hopes to attract interest for an unusual compact three-wheeler.
It is designed for short journeys in which a single passenger is transported at up to 25mph (40km/h).
HEALTH & WEARABLES
Beyond headphones, the wearable tech market has never taken off to the degree the industry had hoped for, with the possible exceptions of Apple’s Watch and, in Asia, Xiaomi’s wristbands.
Fitbit, once the dominant player, is set to be sold to Google, so may be quieter at this year’s CES than in the past.
But others are hoping to make headway by aiming above the arm.
They include Human Capable, which will be showing off the Norm glasses.
It says they will be able to make calls, show directions and recipes, and both shoot and play videos – so a less geeky-looking Google Glass for the 2020s.
Waverly Labs is back at the expo with its second take on language-translating earbuds.
Ambassador lets up to four people chat by pairing their headsets to a single smartphone.
When the BBC tested it last month, there was a 2-3 second delay, but the firm says 5G networks should help it deliver near-instantaneous interpretations soon.
Plus, Ao Air has a face mask that looks like a cyberpunk movie prop.
The Atmos uses a fan-based system to filter the air, and doesn’t need a tight seal against the wearer’s face. That means make-up shouldn’t get smudged and glasses won’t steam up, at least in theory.
Feet also get a look-in at the show.
Wahu is a pair of shoes that change the shape of their soles to suit the local environment.
The goal is to produce extra grip or cushioning, as required. The trick will be keeping both shoes in synch.
Staying with footwear, Shoeblast has a gadget that promises to prevent older shoes from stinking.
The device uses a humidity sensor to judge how much heat and ultraviolet light to apply to sterilise trainers.
And there are also all kinds of new ways to address our wider physical health.
They include Bisu and Vivoo, rival pee-on-a-stick smart urine analysers.
Both analyse the results to make diet and lifestyle change suggestions. Just make sure to wash your hands before using their apps.
Meanwhile, EnvisionBody wants to help the public get fitter by showing them what they would look like if they did more exercise.
It plans to work with gym equipment-makers to show idealised versions of users’ physiques as they work out.
Whatever the physical benefits, the firm will face questions as to what effect this would have on users’ mental health.
OTHERS
And there’s more.
Impossible Foods’ chief executive is hosting a press conference as well as headlining a high-profile dinner. He’s already acknowledged work on a follow-up to the firm’s plant-based beef substitute, so is it ready for mass consumption?
Big smartphone news is typically held back for Mobile World Congress in February. But OnePlus will have a concept handset at CES that hides its rear cameras when they are not in use by electronically tinting an otherwise transparent glass panel above them.
Samsung could also have more to disclose about a folding design it trailed in October.
Others are working on ways to retrospectively turn existing handsets into foldables.
The makers of the Castaway will show off progress on a flip-open case that doubles as a detachable second screen.
And Pocket Display aims to go one better with an add-on that trebles the owners’ view.
Plenty of gadgets will be of even more questionable value.
Does the world really want a circular handset?
Is there truly a gap in the market for a table-in-a-suitcase?
And are dog owners crying out for a harness to show them how their pet is feeling?
These may seem like money-losing nightmares. But bad ideas are sometimes the stepping stones to good ones.
So with that in mind, who can be sure that Procter & Gamble’s Rollbot – a smartphone-controlled robot that fetches you more loo paper when you run out – might not go on to wonderful things after its CES 2020 debut?
If even the iPhone 11‘s budget flagship price (to say nothing of the iPhone 11 Pro Max‘s pricetag) is too much for you to stomach, but you still want a big-screened iPhone, then perhaps the iPhone 8 Plus is the way to go.
It has a 5.5-inch screen and an impressive camera that continues to get better with iOS 13, even if doesn’t have the extra lenses of Apple’s leading phones. It’s still not the cheapest handset, so you’ll definitely want to peruse all the iPhone 8 Plus deals that you’ll find here – but at less than half the price of the leading iPhone 11 Pro, it’s the best compromise between iOS value and power in the iPhone range.
Below you’ll find deals from carriers like T-Mobile and Verizon, which include discounts on a second phone and offers for your trade-in. Further down the page you’ll find unlocked options.
If you’d rather purchase directly from Apple, you can expect to pay $699 for the 64GB model or $949 for the 256GB model, but you can get up to $315 in credit when you trade in your old iPhone.
Don’t need such a big phone? Check out these iPhone 8 deals.
The best iPhone 8 Plus deals from US Carriers
iPhone 8 Plus for $699.99 at Sprint | Get the iPhone 8 Plus for $14.17/mo with eligible trade-in Order the iPhone 8Plus for $14.17 per month with a Sprint Flex 18-month lease. You must trade in an eligible phone within 30 days of activation, and you’ll see the credits applied within two months. You can return and upgrade to the latest iPhone any time after 12 lease payments. View Deal
The short answer is $799. That’s what Apple charges for the 64GB iPhone 8 Plus, available in silver, gold, or space gray.
Of course, if you need more memory, then it’s going to cost you more; your only other option is spending an extra $150 and grabbing a $949 256GB iPhone 8 Plus.
As we’ve outlined above, there are ways to get a deal, or at the very least, break your cost out into more manageable monthly payments (also available via Apple).
