It’s been ten days since Apple announced the iPhone SE (2022) and the iPad Air (2022) , and now these two gadgets are available to buy – meaning that if you pre-ordered them, you might find them on your doorstep today.

For those who were waiting for reviews, we’ve delivered our full verdict on both, awarding them each four stars.

Of the iPhone SE (2022) we said that it’s powerful for what it costs (thanks to packing the same A15 Bionic chipset as the iPhone 13 range) and praised the presence of 5G, but noted that the 64GB starting size is stingy – especially given that it has a higher price than the iPhone SE (2020) .

As for the iPad Air (2022), that has similar upgrades, with the powerful M1 chipset found in the latest iPad Pro models, along with the addition of 5G. But it also starts at a stingy 64GB, and its price is creeping rather close to that of the iPad Pro.

So there are similar pros and cons across these two new Apple gadgets, but they’ll undoubtedly be great options for some buyers.

If you haven’t put your order in yet, you can grab the iPhone SE (2022) starting at $429 / £419 / AU$719, while the iPad Air (2022) starts at $599 / £569 / AU$929. Or you can find iPhone SE deals here and iPad Air deals here .

Analysis: Apple might need to rethink things next year

While these are both impressive devices and strong upgrades on their predecessors, they also have issues that Apple should really address for the next models.

The iPhone SE (2022) has what’s now an incredibly dated design, so we’ll really be unimpressed if Apple trots it out again next time – a move to the modern look with Face ID in place of Touch ID is much needed.

There’s a good chance that move will happen though, especially as Apple is rumored to be further modernizing the design of its top phones, by removing the notch from the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. So if the next iPhone SE has a notch, it will still stand out as a lower end model.

As for the iPad Air, Apple’s real problem here is that the latest model is now very similar to the iPad Pro range, so big changes could be needed either to the next one or to the next iPad Pros to differentiate them.

Your allergy season hero is here: The Dreo Macro Pro air purifier

One morning you wake up the same as any other, but the next you wake up sniffly and groggy with itchy eyes from a cloud of invisible pollen. Allergies affect 50 million Americans. Whether they’re from animals in our home or seasonal allergies that come and go but always seem to last too long, they’re a pain to have to bear. The Dreo Macro Pro air purifier can help you fight back.

It’s hard to fight something you can’t always see. Animal dander, pollen, and mold are difficult to keep up with, and they can float right on in through the windows of your home. But their size won’t help them in a fight against a true HEPA filter like that in the Dreo Macro Pro. With its robust filtration, the Dreo Macro Pro is able to capture 99.97% of particles down to 0.3 microns in size. Allergens don’t stand a chance against that level of filtration.

The first level of filtration in the Dreo Macro Pro tackles the larger matter, like hair, dust, and pollen. That sees the most basic stage already putting a wallop on allergens. With its H13 HEPA filter, the Macro Pro also filters out mites, bacteria, and virus particles. Finally an activated carbon gets bad odors, formaldehyde, and volatile organic compounds out of the air.

With all of those nasty little particles captured in the filters, the air coming out of the Dreo Macro Pro is incredibly fresh. Better still, all of the allergens trapped inside aren’t going to get into your nose, eyes, and lungs.

To make the most of the powerful filtration system in the Dreo Macro Pro, it needs to move a lot of air. Fortunately, it’s built to do just that. The Dreo Macro Pro features a 360-degree air intake system with a powerful fan that helps it suck in air from all directions at a rate of 183 cubic feet per minute. That’s high enough airflow to completely clean the air in a 300-sq.-ft. room in just 13 minutes or even a 679-sq.-ft. room every 30 minutes.

Keep the Dreo Macro Pro running, and allergens will struggle to accumulate in large rooms and won’t stand a chance in smaller ones. You don’t have to worry about a high energy bill from running the Dreo Macro Pro all the time either. It runs at very low power levels, only costing about 30 cents to run non-stop at full power for a whole week.

With the powerful filtration and energy efficiency of the Dreo Macro Pro, you can set it up and have it running wherever you need in the house, and even keep it breezing along beside your bed in its low-volume Sleep Mode while you rest, letting you wake up without the cruel reminders of allergy season.

You can pick up the Dreo Macro Pro Air Purifier directly from Dreo and from Amazon .

Apex Legends Mobile is here far, far too late

After years of anticipation, several months of speculation and weeks of limited beta trials, Apex Legends is nearly here - it's now available for pre-registration on the Google Play Store ( here ) or Apple App Store ( here ).

That doesn't mean you can play Apex on your smartphone just yet - the full release is coming at an unspecified point later in 2022.

The full Apex Legends game was released over three years ago, in February 2019, and given the huge popularity of mobile games, a port was all but guaranteed from the get-go. But a lot has changed in three years and, from this writers' perspective, it's too little, too late.

Lockdown game time

I've played mobile games for years, but it was in Covid lockdowns when I really hit my mobile game peak.

I spent the first few months in a dingy basement flat staring at my PS4, but when the lockdown crazies subsided and I decided to see the sun again, I was no longer content huddled in a hoodie and playing hours of No Man's Sky - no, I went into the garden, sat under windows, and no longer found the console experience necessary.

Or, more likely, I just got bored of my PS4 - but not of gaming.

I started playing games like Call of Duty: Mobile, Rome Total War, XCOM and Tropico basically non-stop - all of the ports of other games, all of them great on phones or tablets. I dived into new titles like XCOM 2, Northgard, that Crash Bandicoot runner and Mechanicus when they came out over lockdown. I got huge on my mobile games, spending hours each day on these titles.

I could game in bed. Game on the toilet. Game in the kitchen. It was a paradise (well, it felt like it at the time, though in hindsight putting life on hold for two years so I could spend every waking hour staring at screens in the same flat probably did more harm than good).

Apex Legends 2020

I had a fixation on Battle Royale games for a part of lockdown. There was a time when my lunch break would consist of a round of Apex Legends and a round of Warzone, and I got good at both.

I find that's the only way to enjoy multiplayer games - play them constantly. Otherwise, the average skill of plays shoots up over time and you find yourself at too big a disadvantage when you jump back in after a few months away.

During lockdown in the UK, I was super keen for Apex Legends Mobile and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile, both things that were just rumored at the time but are now confirmed. I would have devoured both those things if they had been released in 2020, or even the first half of 2021.

But that's not the case anymore.

Sun's out, we're out

There was a very particular point in mid-2021 when I realized that, even though Covid wasn't over, I had to treat myself like it was. Had to leave the house as much as possible, if just to see the sun; had to reconnect with friends who I'd lost contact with, even if just online; had to look to the future instead of just looking at screens.

So I started spending more time being social, more time focusing on my creative hobbies, more time exercising. Life stopped being about the three basic modes: sleeping, working and gaming, and starting resembling pre-pandemic life (as much as it could given all the rules about leaving the home).

Mobile gaming was a natural, and immediate, victim of this change. No longer was I playing incessant games of Call of Duty: Mobile, I never finished my Mechanicus campaign, and I even uninstalled most of the games that I was, at one point, addicted to.

This wasn't an intentional change. It was just a shift in circumstances which meant my life was about more than just games, especially mobile ones.

Since that happened, mobile gaming just hasn't been part of my daily routine anymore - I have to force myself to play games now and then to test phones, but that's very much part of my 'testing time', not something I do to relax.

Apex Legends Mobile in 2022

Two years ago, the imminent release of Apex Legends Mobile would have driven me rabid with excitement. But given my post-lockdown life rebound, the thought of this new title fills me with apathy.

Will I play it when it releases? I don't know and, honestly, I don't really care. It might be a great port. It might be a terrible one. I'm sure the developers have worked hard, and I hope it finds a captive audience, but I'm not even interested enough to wonder if I'll play it.

I can't be the only one in this position: since the world re-opened, life has become a lot more about the experiences that exist outside the confines of my house. In the last few weeks I've been to music concerts, had drinks at weird novelty bars, played pool, watched films I made at festivals on big screens with captive audiences.

In the midst of all that, do I have time to play mobile games? Sure. But do I have the inclination? Nope. Apex Legends Mobile would have been a lockdown hit but in 2022, it's here far, far too late.