The tech you need to upgrade your life

The Leica CL was already the most coveted compact camera on the market. Now the German manufacturer has made it even more desirable by introducing a silver option. The new version contrasts black leather trim with silver anodised baseplate, top deck and control elements. Like its original all-black stablemate, it benefits from intuitive handling as well as the L-Mount lens interface. Under the hood is a high-resolution 24MP APS-C format sensor, which is not just good for stills, but able to capture video in 4K, too.

The Leica CL’s real party piece is its electronic viewfinder with EyeRes technology developed specifically for this camera. With a latency time below the threshold of perception, the final image is visible in the viewfinder before the shutter release is pressed. Talk about picture perfect. Leica

Mad Max meets Transformers with some Star Wars thrown in for good measure? It can only be MB&F. The boundary-pushing Swiss watch brand has teamed up with L’Epée 1839 to create a clock like no other. Named Grant (more Ulysses than Hugh), the robot is battle ready, with functional tank treads and a shield on its back. The latter is in fact a clock face, behind which is mounted a timekeeping mechanism made up of 268 components.

It is brilliantly bonkers – and turns the uptight world of haute horology on its head. Do you need one in your life? You must be mad! But then, that’s the whole point. MB&F

The BeoSound 1 has to be the coolest wireless speaker on the market. The aesthetics are pure B&O: like a spacecraft has mated with a Dalek. But unlike the latter, this one can go upstairs: it’s portable, lightweight, and there’s a battery-driven option. It even has a small groove under the top to ensure a better grip when it’s lifted. The original version came in metal finishes, but the latest iteration is this slick piano black. The sound quality is as good as you’d expect – the conic body hovering slightly above the ground, letting the bass thump from underneath. Come on, feel the noise! Bang & Olufsen

What do you buy when you have all the gadgets in the world? A submarine, natch. And this Triton is the Aston Martin of submersibles – literally. The British car marque has teamed up with the sub manufacturer to create the coolest thing to go under water since James Bond’s Lotus. Project Neptune is capable of travelling as deep as 500m. Its interior is trimmed with carbon fibre and hand-stitched leather. Aston Martin 

If mere photos of your summer holiday don’t cut it any more – and you really want to rub in your latest jolly on your return to the office – then you need a Vuze+ 3D 360 VR Camera. With one of these you can record 360-degree video footage in 4K. This is genuine next-generation technology. It even has spatial audio capture so the sound levels match your experience, too. It’s less a camera, and more a transportation device. Capturing memories will never be the same again. Vuze Camera

Outside of the military, drones don’t come more sophisticated than the new DJI Mavic 2 Pro and Zoom. This duo of quad copters are both equipped with omnidirectional object sensing, hyperlapse and more than 30 minutes of flight time. The Zoom features a 24mm-48mm optical zoom lens, whereas the Pro features a fixed Hasselblad camera with adjustable aperture. Both fold up for easy transport. DJI 

Richard Mille has always been a technophile’s watchmaker. It’s all about high-tech, high-mech engineering and limit-pushing craftsmanship. The RM 68-01 tourbillon is a great example of this: a horological tour de force. But what elevates this particular model to a new level is the collaboration with street artist Cyril Phan aka Kongo. In honour of this year’s Frieze, the graffiti master added his unique take to almost the entire movement. The result is a riot of colour, and a watch that straddles art and technology like no other. Richard Mille 

Sony’s Aibo started winning the hearts of tech geeks the world over in 1999. The new generation was launched at this year’s CES – and stole the show. The latest robo-dog has facial recognition so it can detect different members of your family and can tell people apart from objects. It even has AI capabilities, so can develop its own personality. It’s only on sale in Japan currently, but should be in the UK next year. Sony

SwissKubik has been making watchwinders for more than a decade now. The 100% Swiss-made devices make 1,900 revolutions per day as standard – this frequency corresponds to the majority of automatic watches. Its advanced technology allows you to customise this rate if your watch requires. As well as more sober black options, the brand has a range of more exciting colours in its StartBox collection. Swiss Kubik

Last month, Samsung released the first commercially available 8K TV – the Q900R QLED 8K. Available in a choice of 65, 75, and 85-inch, the new screen combines the market’s highest resolution with tech that optimises content for 8K presentation. Why do you need 8K? Well, the bigger the TV, the more resolution you require to maintain the same degree of quality. And sometimes bigger is just better. Samsung