Update: Stand by for Apple Watch news from WWDC, especially in the form of software update watch OS 3. It'll make this iPhone-compatible smartwatch a more attractive buy, even though the world waits for the Apple Watch 2. Here's our take.

Donning the Apple Watch in 2016 is a little more tempting because its price is lower, while its app count is higher. It's a fantastic smartwatch, as long as you're expecting an iPhone-tied convenience gadget.

That's why my Apple Watch is still ticking away on my wrist 12 months after its initial launch. It never ended up being called the "iWatch," but it really is "my watch" and Apple's most personal gadget yet.

This iPhone 5-and-up-compatible smartwatch has more than 71 flavors, with different case materials, colors, sizes and interchangeable Apple Watch bands. But, warning, none are inexpensive.

While the cheapest Apple Watch costs $299 (£259, AU$429), a small discount over the launch price of $349 (£299, AU$499), it still peaks at an exorbitant $17,000 (£13,500, AU$24,000). Ouch.

This means it's primarily for impatient early adopters and boutique store regulars. And Apple's vague sales numbers and "in learning mode" commentshint at just that; it's not for the masses just yet.

Speculation sets the second coming of Apple's wearable for September, along with the iPhone 7, but you probably want a smartwatch right now, especially with fresh Nylon straps to jazz it up.

Is it worth that still-tough-to-swallow Apple Watch price this late in the game? Well, beaming apps like Messages, Mail and every iPhone notification to an always-on-hand gadget is certainly a convenience.

I no longer retrieve my seemingly always-hiding iPhone 6S every time someone texts me, and I can locate my phone whenever it's lost or buried beneath the couch cushions. It has the easiest to use Find My iPhone app yet.

Similar conveniences are carried over to the thousands of apps. Checking into a flight thanks to a wrist-mounted QR code sure beats scrambling for my phone or paper boarding pass while moving my bags up in the security line step-by-step.

Those steps, it turns out, are being counted in the Apple Watch's fitness app. It's not the most comprehensive fitness tracker, but it enables me to keep tabs on metrics like my steps walked, calories burned and heart rate. Surprise: I need to move more when I'm writing reviews.

The Apple Watch OS 2 update opens up its Engine, Digital Crown and microphone to developers, meaning we've got a whole host of incoming apps that are set to supercharge the watch experience.

The Apple Watch update also features Wi-Fi connectivity, new watch faces with different customizable options, better Siri capabilities, email replies and even Transit directions courtesy of iOS 9 and iOS 9.3.

Apple is reportedly building on this novel idea with a proposed Find My Watchfeature, which is the reserve of its handy phone retrieval system, and an Android Wear-like "smart leashing" detector to deploy a light tap on the wrist when the wearer wanders too far from his or her phone.

Both may be a part of watchOS 3 at WWDC 2016, with the necessary iPhone and iPad software baked into iOS 10 on the phone and tablet end.

But not having to fetch my phone for each and every vibration in my pocket is very much a luxury rather than a necessity, and not one every iPhone user needs – at least for the current asking price.

• IRL: The 10 Apple Watch apps I use every single day

Why buy an Apple Watch?

Apple Watch is often oversimplified as an iPhone on your wrist, and almost everyone I have demoed it to has accidentally referred to it as "your phone" – even I slipped up once or twice in the last year.

It's not an unreasonable comparison. The square-shaped smartwatch is like a mini iPhone; it enables me to read emails, summon Siri and make and receive phone calls from my wrist.

The size is just right too. While many Android Wear watches look and feel chunky to the average person I talk to, the 42mm Apple Watch fits my wrist much more unobtrusively.

An even smaller 38mm size is also available, although most people should for opt for the bigger of the two. It offers better battery life and more useable touchscreen space (but does come at a slightly higher cost).

What feels strange about writing this review is that there's no point in really comparing it to Android Wear at all. Nobody chooses a smartwatch first and then decides on which phone to go with it; no, if you're reading this, you're probably either scanning through my review on the iPhone or with one close to hand, wondering if it adds enough convenience to make it worth the extra cost.

But do I need this Watch? On the one hand it's been great for changing my behavior, as too many times I've instinctively run to my phone, charging in another room, because it's ringing or because the default SMS chime has turned me into one of Pavlov's dogs.

How many times have I missed an important call or text? Just as important, how many times have I rushed to the phone and it was an unimportant telemarketing call or a friend replying with a text that simply says "OK" to something I said three hours ago?

These missed connections and potential disappointments are less insufferable thanks to the Apple Watch, and the ability to either pick up or dismiss these alerts in a tenth of a second.

Custom watch faces, like we've seen from Android Wear watches, are here (although only those that Apple makes, as it's sadly not permitting third parties to do the same thing), as well as new exclusive technology like the pressure-sensitive Force Touch touchscreen.

There are also a large number of Apple Watch apps already, including the easy-to-use Apple Pay in the US and UK, and the frequently used Uber car hailing service, equivalents of which have been slow to launch on Android Wear.

What's missing?

There are plenty iPhone features that aren't carried over to the wrist. Apple Watch is not a fully-fledged iPhone replacement.

It makes calls, but it can't add new contacts. It listens to dictated texts and sends them as an audio message or transcription, but it doesn't have any sort of edit function. Likewise, it can name songs through the Shazam app, but it listens with the iPhone microphone, not its own.

It tracks basic fitness goals, but not it's GPS-enabled and doesn't track sleep. It's also not nearly as good at motivating me to move compared to the Fitbit Charge HR and Fitbit Surge.

Having to carry a phone still is a weird disappointment to a lot of people who are missing the point of current smartwatches. "Wait, I still need my phone?" is the response I've heard from baffled people.

Of course you do. The Watch isn't big enough for watching YouTube videos on its tiny display size, and trying to comment on Facebook posts while pecking away on a teeny keyboard would be terrible.

Who would want to don a giant watch capable of such specs or a large enough battery to run that? You still need an iPhone with you at all times, but you'll use it less than before.

The bigger questions: can is do enough to be worth its price, and is it fashionable enough to wear everyday, by geek chic and non-geeks alike? Let's examine the design first.

Update: Apple revealed some pretty major upgrades to Apple TV at WWDC 2016 including a dedicated Apple TV remote control app for iOS, improved Siri search functionality, and a single sign on for all of your network TV apps. Read on below for all the latest upgrades.

Original review continues below...

If it existed in a bubble, the new 2015 Apple TV would be a stellar product. It offers a steady improvement over its three-year-stagnant predecessor - a device built for the then revolutionary new standard of 1080p - and comes with one of the most premium remotes on the market.

If there was nothing to compare it to, it'd be hard to point out the number of flaws the system has. It's lacking the majority of Australian streaming apps, for example, and Siri recognises less than half the commands on the new Apple TV than it does on iOS, watchOS or OSX.

The situation is improving. At WWDC 2016 Apple noted that 1,300 video channels have now made it to the device alongside 6,000 native apps.

That's not to mention the fact Siri is voiceless at the moment, relying on text and graphics to respond to any inquiries you might have.

Siri has had a major upgrade promised at WWDC 2016 however. Soon you'll be able to use Siri to search for film categories, as well as to search YouTube or even channel live streams.

The remote itself I really like, as do many of the developers I've spoken to about it. But it isn't the panacea Apple marketed it as. Entering text one letter at a time for a password is tedious, and even though you can now pair your Apple TV to your iPhone or iPad to enter text, it's still not an intuitive solution.

Thankfully at WWDC 2016 Apple announced that the remote's functionality would be coming to a dedicated iOS app. As well as offering touch navigation, Siri voice recognition and motion controls for games, you will also be able to use the keyboard on your iOS device to search for content. A very welcome addition indeed.

• Read: Check out our guide to the best Apple TV accessories!

But that's the snag with the new Apple TV: it's just shy of being the product we were promised.

It might very well be one day once the system grows up, gets a few patches and more developers see the same promise in the living room they see in our pockets and tablets. But, for now, there's a lot of work that needs to be done and the competition shows no signs of going easy.

New Apple TV (on left) sits next to an Apple TV (2013)

Before we dig into the latest prodigal fruit from Apple, let's first delve into the core of what made the original three Apple TVs worth buying.

Apple TV: What is it?

The Apple TV in question or, more precisely, what the company is calling the new Apple TV, is the fourth iteration of a "hobby project" Steve Jobs started in 2006. Jobs' vision was to create a dead-simple entertainment hub, one that could access your media in a few simple steps.

That came to fruition in 2007 with the first Apple TV. (Apple wanted the name iTV, however the major British broadcast network of the same name threatened to take legal action should Jobs brand Apple's new device using that moniker.)

In the time since then we've seen two sequels that upgraded the internal Wi-Fi antenna from 802.11b to 802.11a/b/g/n before landing on 802.11ac for the latest build. The processor has been radically changed in that time, too, starting at a 1 GHz "Dothan" Pentium M equipped with 256 MB and ending on a vastly improved 64-bit Apple A8 processor.

• Read: How to use Apple TV's Siri Remote with your Mac

Yes, a lot has changed since the first Apple TV. There's less hard drive space on the new unit, ironically, but that's because streaming has overtaken the notion of owning content.

Speaking of hard drive space, the new Apple TV comes in two sizes and price points: The 32GB version costs $149 (£129, AU$269) while the 64GB version comes in at $199 (£169, AU$349). The only difference between the two is the amount of memory which, considering how small most streaming apps are, means the former will probably have sufficient space for years to come and offers the better value right now.

The new Apple TV is driven by apps of all shapes and sizes, not just first-party ones anymore. For the first time ever you'll see the wealth and power of the Apple App Store in the living room, and I expect that once the system matures it will be a sight to behold.

And, unlike the bastardized OS of systems past, the new plastic runs a platform of its own called tvOS, a nomenclature taken from the Apple Watch's watchOS.

• Read: These are the best games and apps on Apple TV

What hasn't changed is that Apple still cares first and foremost about Apple products. The new Apple TV works best with iPads, iPhones and Macs thanks to Apple AirPlay and will allow you to easily stream content from your phone or tablet to the big screen.

And while there have been steps taken to make the system feel less Apple-centric, the iTunes store stands firmly in the center of everything. Every search includes results from iTunes. Every purchase goes through iTunes. You can't go more than five minutes without being shown some new TV show or movie that, as soon as you click on it, will bring you back into the icy-cold money-loving hands of Apple's ecommerce magnate.

Apple TV vs the competition

If you're entrenched in the Apple ecosystem (by which I mean you buy movies and shows from iTunes, subscribe to Apple Music and/or stick to phones and tablets running iOS), then the Apple TV will be a supremely good addition to your living room that will only improve with age.

The less of those features you care about, however, the less you'll like the new Apple TV against the other extremely strong contenders in the streaming video space.

Apple TV vs Amazon Fire TV: The Amazon Fire TV has been a thorn in Apple's side since its launch in 2013. It presents its own problems by restricting a good deal of content to Amazon Prime subscribers, but the most recent revamp of the system saw a huge improvement with the addition of 4K streaming.

The Fire TV is not nearly as good a game console as the Apple TV has the potential to be (or even currently is), but it does have the advantage in price - $99 (£79, about AU$140) vs the Apple TV's $149 (£129, AU$269). All that said, if you want Amazon Prime Instant Video you'll need to use an Apple device with AirPlay - Amazon hasn't made a native Apple TV app for Instant Video and it's unlikely to ever do so.

Apple TV vs Roku 4: If you're in the US, own a 4K TV and are more concerned about streaming video content than any app or game, stop reading right now and buy a Roku 4. At $129 (about £85, AU$180) it's about $20 cheaper than the new Apple TV and worth every cent.

The Roku 4 is the most egalitarian system of the bunch. It doesn't care if you pick Netflix over Amazon, or Vudu over Hulu. It doesn't want to sell you an Rdio subscription, and it could care less if you join YouTube Red. At the end of the day, all Roku's new device cares about is getting you to the content you want through the most affordable means possible. It's entertainment on your terms, and in my opinion the epitome of the cord-cutting movement.

Apple TV vs Android TV / Chromecast: It's hard to compare a full-size system to Google's pint-sized streaming disc, but if you could put the two against each other pound-for-pound, the $35 (£30, AU$49) Chromecast would probably eke out a win.

Google's streaming stick plays nicely with both iOS and Android apps, and while it doesn't have an interface of its own it boasts a relatively impressive app that essentially performs the function of a full streaming video box at a quarter of the price. Admittedly it's up to developers to support the Chromecast, whereas Apple can control its own destiny for the Apple TV, plus the Siri Remote - while troublesome at times - is actually pretty svelte.

The LG X Power is out to solve my biggest complaint about smartphones: poor battery life. And it's doing it within the less expensive mid-range category.

It's an issue that hits close to home when I'm far away, like when I traveled to Seoul, South Korea to test out the X Power and LG X Mach at LG's headquarters.

My other phones were constantly running out of juice throughout the day, with constant GPS use and hours spent looking up places to visit during my short visit.

With a 4,100mAh battery capacity, the LG X Power not only breaks through the 3,000mAh ceiling we see from some of the best phones we've tested, it goes beyond the 4,000mAh attic ceiling.

While there's no price available yet, it's supposed to fall into the mid-range category and arrive in Korea later this month. Here's what we thought of this phone so far.

Design and display

The LG X Power is designed with a little bit of extra heft to accommodate that big battery, but it's a fair trade off since you're still able to hold it in one hand.

Its dimensions are 148.9 x 74.9 x 7.9mm and weighs a reasonable 139g. I was expecting something worse when it was first described to me. It's actually not as thick as the speedy LG X Mach.

There's a pretty standard 5.3-inch HD display, which means that it runs at 720p and skips out on the Quad HD revolution happening among today's top phones. Not a big surprise from a mid-range device.

Pixels on the screen don't stand out - it looks good enough at its size. But the bezel on the white version I tested is noticeable. Luckily it comes in all-black for a better blend. There's also Indigo, Gold and Titan.

Specs and camera

There wasn't enough time to run a Geekbench 3 benchmarks on the LG X Power and that wouldn't be too fair. LG did remind me that both this phone and the LG X Mach were still considered unfinished.

However, I walked away knowing that it runs a 1.3GHz quad-core processor with 2GB of RAM. There's also 16GB of internal storage, but it's not the super-fast SSD variety, it's eMMC.

There's a 13MP camera on the back and I found a 5MP selfie snapper on front. Of the two phones, it seems like the X Mach had the more advanced camera, if you're mainly looking to share photos.

Android 6.0 Marshmallow is here and so is the LG UX skin that runs overtop of all the South Korean company's new phones. "Most" of the LG UX 5.0 features are here, according to LG reps showing it off.

The battery, of course, is the hallmark feature at 4,100mAh and, even when it does run out of juice, it's quick to charge thanks to a microUSB port (not USB-C) on the bottom that supports fast charging.

Early verdict

We got an early look at the LG X Power, and it delivers on its promise of packing a huge battery thanks to the 4,100mAh capacity inside. That's a really significant number.

Truth be told, we can't be sure of how meaningful that is until we run it through our lab tests, but it's bigger than most other mid-range phones. A lot bigger.

The design is appealing if you can look beyond the bezels (or skip the white version) and all of the specs seem to echo its mid-range category.

We're also waiting on the US and UK price and availability, if it makes its indeed makes its way out of Asia. Then we'll see if this affordable Android handset has the right extra capacity for our best budget phones list.

Third time's a charm, right? Well that's what OnePlus will be hoping with its third-generation flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 3.

True to its 'Never Settle' mantra, OnePlus is pushing forward with its 'flagship specs for half the price' game plan, and with the new OnePlus 3 the signs are positive.

After the initial breakout success of the OnePlus One in 2014, the follow up from the Chinese outfit was a little lackluster, with the OnePlus 2 failing to reach the same heights as its predecessor.

If anything, OnePlus was a victim of its own success, as expectations for its second installment went above and beyond what the still-small firm was capable of.

Check out our OnePlus 3 review video below

OnePlus founder Carl Pei told me during a briefing for the OnePlus 3 that "people have very, very high expectations. We got very lucky with the first device, and people wanted more. We have to balance expectations with what we're capable of".

As you may expect then, from a flagship handset costing just US$399 (£309, around AU$450), OnePlus has indeed had to balance features against expectation, but with the OnePlus 3 the compromises are more acceptable.

There's no QHD resolution (you'll have to make do with full HD), nor is there a microSD slot, and users have just one internal storage option: 64GB. But if you can look past those minor shortcomings, and embrace the power, premium design and performance the OnePlus 3 is offering, this is the firm's best ever device.

With a Snapdragon 820 processor, 6GB of RAM, 16MP rear camera, 8MP front snapper, fingerprint scanner and 3,000mAh fast-charging battery, the OnePlus 3 has the tools – on paper at least – to take on the big names.

The OnePlus 2 claimed to be the 2016 Flagship Killer, and while it fell way short of living up to that boast, the OnePlus 3 may just be able to claim the title.

We got sent a special OnePlus 3 box, find out what's inside!

Design

The single biggest advancement from the OnePlus 2 to the OnePlus 3 is the design. I forgave the original OnePlus One's polycarbonate looks because the phone offered such fantastic value for money, but when the OnePlus 2 came round many people, myself included, wanted more than what was on offer.

Thankfully OnePlus has answered fan's calls for a more premium design, delivering its first metal uni-body smartphone in the OnePlus 3, cut from a single slab of aluminum.

The result is pleasing. The metal chassis signals the evolution of OnePlus brand from a slightly shaky Chinese startup to a brand that knows what it's doing, and knows what people want. It doesn't break any new ground in terms of looks, with flashes of iPhone, HTC and Samsung, but it's great to eyeball and hold in the hand.

It's a shame that OnePlus hasn't taken smartphone design in a new direction, but a quick look at the top phones across all the major manufacturers shows that there's a fair amount of – how shall I put this – 'borrowing' when it comes to styling.

Front-on the OnePlus 3 isn't anything special – it's a relatively standard black slab coated in Gorilla Glass 4, with the main feature being the indented fingerprint scanner-come-home-button oval below the display.

The fingerprint scanner is much quicker at recognizing your digits and unlocking the OnePlus 3 than it was on the OnePlus 2, with a quoted time of just 0.3 seconds. While I can't vouch for the exact speed I can see that it's impressively quick, and I didn't have any issues when using it. OnePlus says it's faster than Apple's Touch ID, and I'm inclined to agree.

Either side of the scanner you'll find touch-sensitive navigation keys which are only visible when tapped, with a single white LED illuminating for a couple of seconds before disappearing into the bezel.

These are responsive and easy to hit, and you can program them in the settings menu, enabling you to perform extra functions with a hold action rather than a tap. You can also swap them round – so if you prefer your back key to be on the right rather than the left you can do just that.

As well as the toughened Gorilla Glass on the front of the phone, OnePlus has also included a factory-fitted screen protector to prevent scratches, but it's a little annoying. It doesn't cover the whole screen, and at times I could see the edge of the protector running down each side of the display, which distracts from the on-screen action.

Fortunately you can remove it pretty easily, and it doesn't leave any nasty residue on the glass – but you're unlikely to get the bubble-free finish if you try to re-apply it, so make sure you really want it gone before peeling it off.

Along the left side of the 7.35mm-thick OnePlus 3 are the volume rocker and notification slider. The latter has three positions: all notifications, priority notifications and silent, enabling you to quickly adjust the setting without waking the screen.

It's a hat-tip to Apple's mute switch on the iPhone, and it's something I found very useful during my time with the OnePlus 3 – especially when it came to quickly muting the phone during meetings and cinema trips.

On the other side is the power/lock key, which sits below the dual-SIM tray. Yes that's right – the OnePlus 3 can handle two SIMs. On some other devices, such as the Huawei P9, the second SIM slot also doubles as a microSD slot, but that's not the case here – as mentioned, there's no expandable storage option.

The explanation given to me by OnePlus's Pei for why the company continues to shun expandable storage comes down to user experience.

"MicroSD is a big ask [from our fans]," Pei explained, "but it's not a good ask. It's not a good user experience". You may not agree, but that's the thinking over at OnePlus.

The buttons are well positioned, and as long as your hands are big enough to grapple the OnePlus 3 you'll be able to hit them without issue when using the phone one-handed.

There's nothing on the top edge, while the base is packed with a speaker grille, USB-C port and headphone jack – OnePlus certainly isn't ready to ditch the 3.5mm jack just yet, unlike Motorola with the Moto Z.

Moving round the back, the gently curving rear and the antenna bands at the top and bottom of the handset are reminiscent of the HTC One M9, while the square camera bulge has something of the Samsung Galaxy S6 about it.

It's a pleasing premium look, if a little understated, and its arched backed means the OnePlus 3 sits nicely in the palm, enabling you to get a decent grip around what is a large handset.

The OnePlus 3 is a phone I really do enjoy holding, flipping it over repeatedly in my hand and gazing at it as it resides on my desk. There's nothing complex going on here, but it's that simplicity that I find alluring. In that sense it's similar to Apple's iPhone design, although the curved rear beats the flat backs of the Cupertino firm's handsets.

Design-wise, OnePlus has done something special then. The OnePlus 3 doesn't look out of place alongside the iPhone 6S, Samsung Galaxy S7, HTC 10 and LG G5, yet it's almost half the price. For that, at least, it must be applauded.