When it comes to cooking meat, finding that all-important sweet spot between under- and over-cooked can be tricky to get right every single time. That is, unless you’re using one of the ThermoWorks instant-read thermometers that we’ve been big proponents of for a long time. And right now our favorite one is down to a record low of $76 in select colors, as part of the brand’s fall warehouse sale. Usually priced at $109, you’re saving $33 if you pick one up now.

The Thermapen One records accurate temperatures in an instant (specifically one second or less), which can be the difference between a perfectly medium-rare steak and one that requires a bit too much chewing. This model also has a handy auto-rotating backlit display that allows you to easily see the reading regardless of how you’re holding it. It also has useful auto-wake and sleep features, which again, are useful when doneness deals in seconds. An IP67 waterproofing rating means you don’t have to worry about it getting splashed. That said, the thermometer isn’t suitable for dishwashers, so keep that in mind.

The Thermapen One took home our best thermometer award, so this is definitely a deal we’d confidently recommend taking advantage of, but it isn’t the only one available right now. ThermoWorks’ sale also includes offers on its various BBQ alarm thermometers, battery banks, kitchen utensils and more. You can shop all the deals here.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-thermoworks-thermapen-one-is-30-percent-off-right-now-163043164.html?src=rss

Stream on ESPN (US) or Premier Sports (UK)Use NordVPN to watch from anywhereReal Oviedo vs Real Madrid – Sunday, August 24 at 3.30pm ET / 8.30pm BSTSunday's Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live stream sees La Liga football finally return to the Estadio Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo, as the Spanish league's minnows take on its biggest fish.Los Blancos' start to the domestic season was steady rather than spectacular. A Kylian Mbappé penalty was enough to secure a 1-0 home win over Osasuna in a game that was more notable for league debuts for the incoming Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dean Huijsen and Álvaro Carreras.Making their first appearance in the top flight for 24 years, Oviedo couldn't have been handed a much tougher start. They lost an away trip to Villareal first up, having debutant Alberto Reina getting sent off in the process. And now they face 36-time winners Real MadridRead on for our guide on where to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live streams online in La Liga wherever you are.How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live streams in the USThe Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live stream is on the newly rebranded ESPN streaming platform in the US. Monthly subscriptions cost from $11.99 a month with the ESPN Select tier or you can upgrade to an Unlimited Plan for $29.99 a month or $299 a year, which also bundles in standard ESPN channels.Alternatively, if you have access to ESPN Deportes via cable or an OTT streaming service, this La Liga game will also be shown there.On holiday outside of the US? A VPN will allow you to access your usual US subscription from abroad. We recommend NordVPN as the best overall streaming VPN.Use a VPN to watch any Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid streamEditors ChoiceNordVPN – get the world's best VPNWe regularly review all the biggest and best VPN providers and NordVPN is our #1 choice. It unblocked every streaming service in testing and it's very straightforward to use. Speed, security and 24/7 support available if you need – it's got it all.The best value plan is the two-year deal which sets the price at just $3.09 per month with 3 extra months free. There's also an all-important a 30-day no-quibble refund if you decide it's not for you.- Try NordVPN 100% risk-free for 30 daysVIEW DEAL ON TV tips email: Never be stuck for anything to watch againHow to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live streams in the UKPremier Sports is broadcasting the Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid La Liga match live in the UK.Premier Sports costs £16.99 on a rolling monthly basis. To save money, you can commit to a year for £11.99 per month or one upfront payment of £120.Not in the UK right now? To access your usual streaming service from outside the UK, you'll need to download a good VPN, as detailed above.How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid in CanadaLa Liga fans in Canada can live stream Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid thanks to the TSN Plus streaming service. It costs $8 a month or $80 for a whole year. The service carries all TSN live sports on the likes of web browsers, smartphones, tablets, select Smart TVs, Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku and Xbox.This match is not listed as showing on TSN on TV.Outside Canada while the soccer is on? Simply use a VPN to watch from abroad.How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid in AustraliaSoccer fans in Australia can watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid on beIN Sports, with kick-off at 5.30am AEST on Monday morning.beIN Sports costs $15.99 a month or you can save big by going for the annual plan that's currently discounted to $129.99. And if you're new to the specialist sports streamer, you can take advantage of its free one-week trial.How to watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid in New Zealand?In New Zealand the Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid live stream will be on beIN Sports, which offers new users a 7-day FREE trial. The match starts at 7.30am NZT on Monday morning.You can add beIN Sports to most pre-existing TV packages, or you can sign up as a separate subscription. It costs $14.99 month or $129.99 if you pay for a year up front, once that week-long trial ends.In New Zealand on vacation right now? You can simply use NordVPN to catch all the action you need.When does Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid start?Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid kicks off at 9.30pm CEST in Spain on Sunday, August 24, which is 3.30pm am ET / 12.30 PT in the US and 8.30pm BST in the UK.That's 5.30am AEST / 7.30am NZST on Monday, August 25 for fans based in Australia and New Zealand.Can I watch Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid on my mobile?Of course, most broadcasters have streaming services that you can access through mobile apps or via your phone's browser letting you live stream Real Oviedo vs Real Madrid on the go.We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

'Thousands' of GCHQ storage devices are missing or unaccounted forMost are likely protected by encryption or PIN accessWatchdog is 'concerned' and 'disappointed'The UK's intelligence and cybersecurity agency, GCHQ, has been slammed by its very own watchdog after failing to account for thousands of missing storage devices.The 2025 Investigatory Powers Commissioner's Office (IPCO) report ultimately concluded GCHQ has failed to establish the location or status of thousands of removable storage devices such as USB sticks, external hard drives and memory cards.While the exact number of devices is unconfirmed, the IPCO report does confirm the estimate to be "in the thousands" – and that's a GCHQ estimate, not a third-party estimate.GCHQ has seemingly lost thousands of USBs, external drives, memory cards"There is a programme of further work to locate and account for as many of these devices as possible," the report adds, noting that "GCHQ will be able to report how many devices have been confirmed as lost."Nevertheless, the IPCO expressed disappointment at how long investigations and remedial action had taken – the problems were actually first brought to the watchdog's attention years ago, so it's not a newly discovered issue. "We remain very concerned about this issue and are disappointed with the time it has taken GCHQ to investigate."The issue was already raised in the IPCO's 2024 report, when the watchdog confirmed that it has asked GCHQ and MI5 to "review their internal allocation and audit of removable media" the year prior.Back then, it was already acknowledged that many of the missing devices were either encrypted or required a PIN to access, however given the intense sensitivity of many of these artefacts, significant risk could still be on the cards.The latest report acknowledged the technical and practical difficulties involve with the ongoing investigation, but calls for continued senior-level oversight." According to the report, GCHQ has commissioned a new tool to monitor the issue.

Windows 11 just got a revamped internet speed test in previewThis feature was shuttled swiftly through development using agentic AI in combination with human oversightMicrosoft boasts that this is about: "Getting from idea to customer value faster. Without AI slop." Others are more cynical, thoughWindows 11 just got a useful change in preview, with its built-in internet speed test being revamped, and the new version was produced using AI (in conjunction with human oversight, I should add).Windows Latest spotted that Marcus Ash, Microsoft's VP of Windows Design and Research, posted on X to explain that the "team moved pretty fast on this one", adding that following feedback asking for the speed test to be improved, "within a day, Diego had a working prototype." (Diego Baca is VP of Design for Windows).Ash tells us: "From there, our connectivity team worked with partners to bring the experience into Windows. The design and build work was driven by an agentic AI workflow, with a person guiding the process in their spare time."The Microsoft exec further explains that this is where he sees "a lot of potential in AI" and using agentic workflows, in terms of "Getting from idea to customer value faster. Without AI slop. That is the way."Analysis: AI, oversight, bugs, and jobs(Image credit: Microsoft)Of course, this is a controversial topic. Mention AI being involved in the coding of Windows 11 and some tempers will flare online, even though we know this is happening anyway. Microsoft has made no secret of that fact.Indeed, among the AI hate and flames on social media, a lot of people are point out that these days pretty much all software is being developed in conjunction with Large Language Models (LLM agents) — even Linux.As one Redditor makes clear: "Newsflash — every single piece of software you use, except for open source projects that are making a statement, you should expect to have AI written code in it. It is pervasive, it is everywhere."The key aspect here is exactly how the AI agent in question is employed.It's one thing for such an agent to be given a task to write a piece of code for a certain feature, and then just to slap that into your software or operating system as it is (or maybe after a cursory glance through the work). It's another thing to have a human programmer working on a feature and using an agent to perform grunt-work (easy but perhaps time-consuming) coding therein — and then to properly check the AI's output.Theoretically, there's nothing wrong with the latter approach, at least in terms of the soundness of the coding work. And as Microsoft's Ash points out, this is really accelerating development times — meaning Windows 11 users will get new features (hopefully capabilities they want, like this improved internet speed test) much more swiftly. Which is exactly why almost every developer is now utilizing this tech.There are problems here, though, and they're bound up in the public perception of Microsoft. Do Windows 11 users trust the company to be using AI in the right — i.e., properly checked and vetted — way? Not really, in many cases, as there remains a lot of doubt over the overall quality of Windows 11 code, and rightly so given the regularity, and severity, of the bugs we've seen (with more prevalence since 2024, and that 24H2 update).As another Redditor observes: "People aren't calling Windows slop because it's being made using AI these days. They're calling it slop because it's being made using AI with woefully insufficient human oversight and even more woefully insufficient QA, leading to repeated disastrous bugs making it to production and end users being treated as beta testers. You want people to stop calling your product slop? Stop shipping updates that take down people's computers or break existing features."The other issue here is that of AI stealing coding jobs from people. Agents may make things happen a lot more quickly, but as Ash notes, this revamped speed test was implemented mainly by an agent — including its design — with the software engineer "guiding the process in their spare time", making it sound like a rather casual amount of effort on the human side of the equation.Is it a particularly sensitive approach to be touting the benefits of AI — as real as they may be for an operating system's ongoing development and maintenance — in this way at a time when Microsoft has been swinging the axe with various job cuts and pushing staff towards voluntary redundancy in a big way? I'd suggest it isn't, and the timing of this particular push of the value of agentic AI is dubious in that respect.At least in this case Microsoft is being upfront and transparent about what it's doing — and we can expect a good deal more AI acceleration of Windows 11's development going forward.

It's hard to believe that Black Friday deals are already live at several retailers in the UK, but it's true. Currys, Argos, and John Lewis are just a few of the big names that have launched early seasonal sales this week - and naturally, that includes thousands of laptops.Where to start? Well, luckily, I've been looking through thousands of listings this week, and I've already found great prices on laptops we'd recommend at TechRadar.You can see my editor's picks just down below, including everything from super-cheap Chromebooks to high-end gaming laptops and Apple MacBooks. For ease of use, I've split my choices out into cheap, premium, and gaming laptops, so please feel free to scroll through based on what you're looking for.Highlights include a huge £400 discount on this Snapdragon-equipped Microsoft Surface laptop at Currys, a MacBook Air M2 for just £699 at Argos, and this budget-friendly £599 gaming laptop at Very. Read more about these choices, and others, just down below.While you're here, make sure you check out our ongoing Black Friday deals live blog for even more coverage of early retailer sales this weekend. Also see our main Black Friday page for other spotlights, roundups, and recommendations.Early Black Friday laptop sales - quick linksArgos: starting at just £129Currys: cheap MacBooks, gaming laptopsJohn Lewis: £200 off Chromebooks and moreLaptops Direct: 40% off all types of laptopsVery: cheap laptops from £199Early Black Friday laptop deals: cheap laptopsProcessor: Intel CeleronRAM: 8GBStorage: 128GBThis version of the Lenovo Chromebook Slim 3 offers an impressive amount of power for the price. It includes a very basic Intel Celeron processor and only 128GB of storage, but you do get 8GB of RAM to boost performance, boot times and load times. Battery life is solid at up to 10 hours on a single charge, which is more than enough to last a full working day. At under £200, it's a bargain for school or college, or just as a home laptop that you use for light use and everyday tasks.View DealProcessor: MediaTek Kompanio 520RAM: 4GBStorage: 128GBIf you like a proper laptop setup, but would also appreciate the flexibility of a tablet, this Asus Chromebook gives you the best of both at a reasonable price. It's a very basic machine with only 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, but that's fine for light use, schoolwork and everyday tasks, thanks to the simplistic and efficient ChromeOS. You also get the added versatility to flip the 14-inch display around to tablet mode at any time to make web browsing or watching videos even more comfortable. There's an impressive 14 hours of battery life, too.View DealProcessor: AMD Ryzen 5RAM: 16GBStorage: 512GBIf I were shopping for a cheaper Windows 11 laptop in the Argos Black Friday sale, I'd go for this Acer Aspire Go. It's a decently sized 15.6-inch model with a respectable Ryzen 5 chipset, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. These are really great specs for everyday use - and should last you a few good years, too. It's not a super high-end machine, but it's much better than the cheaper options at the retailer today.View DealProcessor: Intel Core i3RAM: 8GBStorage: 512GBIf you want a good value Windows laptop, then this configuration of the Asus Vivobook Go is a solid buy. It features an entry-level Intel i3 processor, 8GB of RAM and a large 512GB SSD to ensure good performance for general use and a surprisingly large amount of speedy storage for the price. It's a top buy right now if you're on a budget and need a basic laptop for everyday use, admin tasks and light work.View DealEarly Black Friday laptop deals: premium laptopsProcessor: Snapdragon X PlusRAM: 16GBStorage: 256GBMicrosoft knocked it out of the park with its latest range of Surface Laptops – and now you can pick one up for a fantastic low price at Currys, following this £400 saving when you use the code 'Copilot100' at checkout. It's a powerful mid-range version of the device, too, with the super-efficient Snapdragon X Plus processor and 16GB of RAM ensuring speedy performance and amazing battery life of up to 23 hours. Storage is a bit pathetic at 256GB, but that's enough for essential files and applications, especially if you rely on a lot of web services such as Google Docs.View DealProcessor: Snapdragon XRAM: 16GBStorage: 1TBWe haven't reviewed this iteration specifically, but we've always found the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 to be a solid and sturdy laptop for the money. It's not a high-end model, but this listing is for a surprisingly premium configuration, complete with a Snapdragon X chipset, heaps of storage, and a lavish OLED display. Because this is a Snapdragon model, though, you'll want to make sure all your favourite apps are fully supported before you jump onboard.View DealProcessor: Apple M2RAM: 16GBStorage: 256GBThis is an older MacBook Air (it's two generations older, in fact), but it's still a decent buy. The M2 chipset in this machine will still hold up great for the basics, and should last a few good years down the line, too. The downside with this particular model is its slightly dated design, with thicker display bezels versus the later iterations. Argos is currently listing this one as a 2024 MacBook, but note this is in fact a 2022 model with an upgraded 16GB of RAM.View DealProcessor: Apple M4RAM: 16GBStorage: 256GBSpeaking of newer models, the specialist retailer Laptops Direct currently has the exceptional MacBook Air M4 on sale with a deal that matches the previous record-low. I was personally hoping for a deeper price cut but this is still easily one of the best laptop deals on the market right now. We rate the latest MacBook Air as the best laptop for most people right now thanks to its compelling mix of a high-end design, heaps of performance, and value. Today's deal further adds to the value!Note, you may need to disable your adblocker for our link to work.View DealProcessor: Apple M4RAM: 16GBStorage: 512GBHere's another superb MacBook Pro deal from Laptops Direct on the slightly older M4 Pro 14-inch model. This one has just been superseded by a new M5 variant, but it's still a wildly powerful machine that will last many good years down the line. With £80, today's deal brings this machine back down to its lowest price yet. It is a price that we've seen before on occasion, however.Note, you may need to disable your adblocker for our link to work.View DealEarly Black Friday laptop deals: gaming laptopsGraphics card: GeForce RTX 3050RAM: 16GBSSD: 512GBStrictly on a budget? Very's current clearance deal on this MSI gaming laptop is a record-low. Yes, it's a little older now, but this entry-level machine is still worth checking out at £599 if you're happy with the basics. With an RTX 3050 and Core i5 chipset, you should be able to play a fair amount of games smoothly at 1080p. For demanding titles, however, I would recommend trying to spend a little more. View DealGraphics card: GeForce RTX 4050RAM: 16GBStorage: 512GBAnother really good budget option - you're getting a decent Ryzen 7 chipset with this discounted Asus Nitro at Currys. That should pair up nicely with the RTX 4050 graphics card for decent performance at 1080p resolution if you're willing to tweak a few settings here or there. Overall, a solid pick that I could see as doubling-up as a good cheap laptop for work or university. View DealGraphics card: GeForce RTX 5060RAM: 16GBSSD: 512GBIf you've got a little bit of cash to spend, you could consider picking up something a little more up-to-date (and powerful), like this MSI Cyborg 15 at Laptops Direct. Not only do you get the excellent RTX 5060 under the hood here, but you're also getting one of the latest Intel Core 7 chipsets. While this machine still only features a 1080p display, you should get plenty of performance here.Note, you may have to turn off your ad blocker for this link to work.View DealGraphics card: RTX 5060RAM: 16GBStorage: 1TBA 10% discount makes this Medion gaming laptop more affordable in today's Argos Black Friday sale. It doesn't come cheap, of course, but you get a powerful RTX 5060 graphics card here, which is more than enough to play all the latest games smoothly at 1080p resolution. You can consider this one an investment if you just want a quick laptop that will last a few years without having to fiddle with the settings.View Deal

Betis vs Nottm Forest: Thursday, September 25, 2025Time: 3pm ET / 12pm PT / 8pm BST / 5am AEST (Sep. 29)Free Streams on Tabii (Turkey)Access your usual streaming services with NordVPN (save 70% today)The Europa League proper gets under way this week, and both these teams will fancy their chances of going deep into the competition. The Tricky Trees are back in major European competition for the first time since 1996, and face the defeated finalists from last season's Conference League.Despite their long absence from Europe, the English team are one of the bookmakers' favourites to lift the trophy, and are now led by the man who won this competition last season. Ange Postecoglou's success with Tottenham couldn't save his job in north London and he has had a difficult start to life in Nottingham. The Aussie will be looking to turn things around as this European campaign begins.The game will though be a real test for the visitors. They are taking on a home side who have started La Liga well, losing just one of their opening six games. Former West Ham striker Pablo Fornals has found himself amongst the goals in the early part of the season. Stopping him will be a challenge for a fragile Forest defence already playing with Postecoglou's famous defensive high line. Former Man Utd player Anthony is also starting to feature, having permanently moved back to Seville this summer.This is the first time Real Betis and Nottingham Forest have ever played each other. Both will want to get points on the board in the Europa League league phase.Here's how to watch the 2025/26 Europa League live streams from anywhere in the world.Can I watch the Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest for free?Luckily for soccer fans in Turkey, TRTSpor, TRT1 and TRT2 are showing Europa League games, including Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest, via Tabii, for no cost at all.Outside of Turkey for Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest? Use a VPN to access your Tabii stream from anywhere in the world. Use a VPN to watch Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest live streams Visiting a different country for Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest?This is where a VPN comes in clutch. A VPN allows you to make your device appear as though you're back at home, so you can still access all your regular streaming platforms without them being locked behind a location wall. We recommend NordVPN, it's the best on the market. Nord is the best way to unlock your Europa League streams this season and offers great speeds and an even greater price.NordVPN – try the world's top VPN for the Europa LeagueWant to watch Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest live streams whilst travelling abroad? If you're away from home right now, use NordVPN to access your domestic streaming services like Paramount+ as if you were back home. We've tested all major providers and rate NordVPN as the best VPN. With 24/7 support, a 30-day money-back guarantee and over 70% off with the current deal, it's perfect for streaming this years rendition of the Europa League. Check out full details in our NordVPN review.Try NordVPN 100% risk-free for 30 daysView DealIt's really simple to use a VPN to watch Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest.1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For example, if you want to watch Paramount's stream of Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest this Wednesday, select 'U.S.A.' from the listed countries.3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to Paramount+, sign in, and watch the action unfold.How to watch Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest live streams in the USAFans in the US can catch all the Europa League action, including Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest, on Paramount+Paramount+ subscriptions start at $7.99/month, rising to $12.99 to remove ads. You can save on either package by committing to a yearly subscription.Outside of the US right now? Use a VPN while you're away from home so you don't miss any of the action.How to watch Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest live streams in the UKThe Europa League, including Real Betis vs Nottm Forest, will be broadcast on TNT Sports in the UK. Europa League fans can catch all the action across TNT Sports' channels this season. Fans will need a subscription to access TNT's live streams.Subscriptions can be accessed by a adding the sports package to your EE, BT or Sky broadband deal costs £16 per month. Or for on-the-go streaming, fans can pay £30.99/month for Discovery Plus Premium, which includes TNT Sports.Traveling away from the UK right now? Use a VPN to watch while you're away from home.How to watch Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest live streams in CanadaIn Canada, DAZN has the rights to broadcast the 2025/26 edition of the UEFA Europa League, including Real Betis vs Nottm Forest. DAZN also offers fans the opportunity to watch the Champions League, Bundesliga and Championship games across the year as well as rugby and tennis.In order to watch DAZN's Europa League footage, fans will need the DAZN soccer package which starts at CA$24.99/month.For fans travelling outside of Canada, use NordVPN to connect to your DAZN account from anywhere in the world.How to watch Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest live streams in Australia(Image credit: free)Stan Sport is you go to for Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest in Australia.Subscriptions cost AU$20/month on top of a Stan subscription, which starts at AU$12/month.Not in Australia right now? You can use a VPN to access Stan Sport's coverage of the Europa League from anywhere.We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad.We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Get ready for the least controversial sentence you'll read today: modern life is stressful.Whether it's long commutes, social planning or trying to find time for hobbies, there’s no shortage of things demanding our attention. And while the best tech can help us manage our workloads and connections, often the digital world can itself contribute to feeling overwhelmed.However, every now and then a piece of tech comes along that's actually designed to help us relax. Recently, I've been trying out the Mood Pan from legendary electronic music gear maker Roland, a digital instrument which simulates a hand pan and instruments like it. Far from the company’s legendarily raucous drum machines and synthesizers, the Mood Pan is designed purely for chilling out.For reference, a hand pan is an instrument of Swiss design, based on the Trinidadian steelpan, that sits somewhere between the percussive and melodic categories – it's played by striking your hand against divots in a metal dome, the resonance of which produces harmonic tones.Hand pans, and similar instruments like the tongue drum, are prized for their unique timbre and involved playing styles. They play a small but important role in Western popular music, most notably appearing in the Minecraft soundtrack – in fact, I still hear C418’s Aria Math played by buskers on the London Underground network.The Mood Pan features nine responsive pads, plus a smaller control pad (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)The Mood Pan offers the same form factor as a hand pan, with a few added bells and whistles. It offers a variety of sound profiles, from the hand pan, to sustained strings, to custom samples loaded via the Mood Pan Plus app. It's made of tough plastic, with a silicone-feel top cover, and unlike many a Bluetooth speaker, the whole thing is satisfyingly weighty and resilient. It also boasts sound effects, its own built-in speakers, and is powered by USB-C or a hefty six AA batteries.As well as being TechRadar’s Staff Writer for Mobile Computing, I'm also one of the team's resident music nerds. I've got nearly a decade of hobbyist music production experience and have filled every living space I've ever occupied with synthesisers, controllers, and of course the best speakers I can find.On a more personal level, I've been looking for new ways to relax and use music to reconnect with the world after long days at the office. With all of that in mind, I stepped out to one of my favorite chillout spots to see how the Mood Pan fared as an instrument of music and meditation alike.Meditation machineThe Mood Pan features built in speakers, so jamming outdoors with friends is a totally viable option. (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)The Japanese Garden at Peckham Rye features lush greenery, peaceful water features and pockets of open space to catch the sun in – a perfect place to test out the Mood Pan.In the morning light, I perched on a shaded rock formation to try out Roland's new instrument – and was immediately surprised by how intuitive playing the Mood Pan felt. Its nine pads all feel responsive, and can be further altered with taps between the pads and on the side of the instrument, sustained presses or by holding the small ‘control pad’ near the centre of the top panel.Granted, “hit the circle to make a sound” is not the most complex methodology, but I was able to string together melodies pretty easily, and how hard you hit each pad has a notable effect on volume and timbre.POV: You're the most chilled person in the park's zen garden (not that it's a contest) (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)There was nobody around while I tested the Mood Pan, so I was free to enjoy the built-in speakers. These offer serviceable sound quality and a good amount of volume, even outdoors – they can't match a real hand pan on clarity or high-frequency presence, but they do the job. Additionally, the Mood Pan can function as a standalone Bluetooth speaker (and the fact it's also a musical instrument in its own right gives it a decent USP, if we were conducting a fully star-rated review for potential inclusion in our best Bluetooth speakers guide).There's also a headphone jack for private listening – you can use this to plug into external speakers, but keep in mind that headphone jacks are usually quieter than dedicated output channels.I also tried playing the Mood Pan with the background music feature enabled – activated with a conspicuously large button, this backing track is formed of wandering synth pads, chimes, and gongs. It's reasonably calming, but I found it a bit too repetitive to leave on for more than five minutes. However, I loved the effects on offer; a single dial on the front panel activates some subtle reverb and echo that gives the Mood Pan a much more enveloping presence.Custom controls The front panel contains scale, timbre, and effect controls. (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)The front panel, located under the top plate in a cutout section of the main body, offers deeper options. You can select from a number of scales and modes – some of these follow musical convention (Major, Minor, Ionian), while others are what I'd call ‘vibe-based’ (Relax, Dreamy, Meditation).This offers variety, but not as much control – you can't tune the Mood Pan to a specific key signature and you can't assign each pad a specific note. That really limits the Mood Pan's possibilities as a studio instrument, and though you can still use it to work into songs and live arrangements, it's clearly not Roland's focus this time around. The lack of dedicated output jacks narrows the Mood Pan's scope as an instrument, but the device can control software with MIDI over USB-C.Across my Peckham Rye excursion and a few more sessions, I really enjoyed my time with the Mood Pan. I recently picked up the acoustic guitar again after a few years of playing only electronic instruments, and the Mood Pan actually feels more like the former – it trades depth of control for focus, and offers a unique interface that feels as engaging as it does playful.All in all, I do feel more relaxed – paired with a pair of the best headphones, the Mood Pan offers a really grounding screen-free experience. The Mood Pan costs $659.99 / £572.99 / AU$1,199, though I've seen it listed for a little less in all three territories. The in-built Bluetooth speaker also really adds to the value for money.And for what it's worth, once you get the riff from Aria Math down, you never want to stop playing it.Would you try the Roland Mood Pan? Let us know in the comments below. You might also likeLG's excellent new Bluetooth speaker is getting a 'culturally rich' AI DJ on-device, so you can make requests and ask questions about the musicI've been using Spotify Mix for weeks, and I can’t stop pretending that I’m the world’s best DJBose-level ANC, B&W-adjacent sound, cheap Sony money: check out the best headphones you’ve never heard of