The best gadgets and gear for 2020

The headphones: Sony WH-1000XM3

• Weight: 255g
• Battery life: 30 hours
• Noise cancelling: Yes

Our recommendation for both the best headphones overall and our top-rated noise cancelling headphones is still one and the same: the Sony WH-1000XM3. In short, we really approve of these cans. Sony wins on sound quality and design, with touch controls on the right earcup that work beautifully and a battery life that lasts up to 30 hours. With USB-C rapid charging and excellent wireless sound performance, these superstars are worth every penny.

The laptop: Dell XPS 13 

• Weight: 1.2kg
• Battery life: 21 hours
• Screen: 13.3-inch 1080p/4K

The Dell XPS 13 is the definitive MacBook-killer. This 13-inch laptop is slim and light yet is powerful enough to deal with a heavy workload. There are numerous configuration options, including non-glare screens, Full HD or UHD and touchscreen versions. The tiny screen bezel means it has a very small footprint, making it easy to fit in any bag and this 2019 edition comes with the webcam thankfully now positioned above the display. The 2020 model is in testing and goes on sale February 4.

The Bluetooth speaker: UE Megaboom 3

Weight: 925g 

 Battery life: 20 hours 

 Waterproof: IP67

The genuinely fantastic UE Megaboom 3 is our top pick from all the Bluetooth speakers we've tested. It balances features, sound quality and value better than any of its rivals with an impressive 20 hour battery life and the ability to stereo pair and daisy chain with other UE speakers.

The gaming laptop: MSI GE75 Raider 9SF

Screen: 17.3-inch 1080p 

GPU: RTX 2070

Storage: 512GB SSD + 1TB

The MSI GE75 Raider 9SF (£2,200) offers fantastic all-round performance and a vibrant 17.3-inch diagonal display. It runs on a Nvidia RTX 2070 graphics core that's capable of handling everything from demanding esports titles to single player games beyond 100fps, it's quieter than rivals and the good, chiclet keyboard is also a nice surprise.

The wireless speakers: Sonos

• Voice: Alexa, Google 
• Wi-Fi: Yes

•  Apple AirPlay: Yes

Painless to operate and with a range of comprehensive kit, Sonos (from £199) still offers the best pound-for-pound wireless, multi-room system around. The user experience is smooth and stable, there's a wide product range, including subs and amps, together with AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect etc (though no hi-res audio) and an up-and-at-'em sound. If you need somewhere to start we'd recommend the voice controlled and good value Sonos One.