A nonprofit organisation, CDP drives companies and governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Voted number one climate research provider by investors and working with institutional investors with assets of US$87 trillion, it leverages investor and buyer power to motivate companies to disclose and manage their environmental impacts.

Every year more than 6,800 companies disclose data about their environmental impacts, risks and opportunities to CDP for independent assessment against its scoring methodology. Companies receive scores of A to D for how effectively they are tackling climate change, deforestation and water security, while those that don’t disclose or provide insufficient information are marked with an F.

L’Oreal is one of two only companies to score an A for all three of CDP’s themes. This is in recognition of its impressive actions in the last reporting year to mitigate climate risks, tackle deforestation in its supply chain, enhance water stewardship, and lead the new sustainable economy based on its 2018 disclosure to CDP.

Jean-Paul Agon, chairman and chief executive of L’Oreal said: “It is once again an honor for L’Oreal to be awarded an A in the three CDP’s rankings. L’Oreal is the first and only company in the world to have achieved a triple A score for the third year in a row. Sustainability drives our research, our innovation and our operations in exciting ways and reinforces our commitment to our employees and the communities in which we operate. L’Oreal’s teams, committed on a daytoday basis all over the world, can be proud of this recognition, which demonstrates L’Oreal’s strong commitment on the path to transformation towards a more sustainable model and encourages us to go further and faster in tackling the major environmental challenges that the world faces today.”

Paul Simpson, chief executive of CDP, added: “Congratulations to all companies that made it onto CDP’s A List this year. As the severity of environmental risks to business becomes ever more apparent, these are the companies that are positioning themselves to provide solutions, seize new market opportunities and thrive in the transition to a sustainable economy. We need to urgently scale up environmental action at all levels in order to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. It’s clear that the business world is an essential player in this transition and the A List companies are set to make a substantial contribution to those goals”.

Find out more at http://www.cdp.net.

The survey, which was undertaken by Nielsen Thailand, in collaboration with The PARQ by TCC Assets (Thailand) and managed by Frasers Property Holdings (Thailand), identified core trends in Bangkok’s office working population with regards to the time they spend at work.

The survey, conducted in November, encompassed 400 respondents living in Bangkok aged 25 to 45, with an equal gender distribution, working for both Thai and international companies. The objective was to gain insights about Bangkok’s workers current work-life circumstances and their attitudes towards their workspace, to better understand how office space plays a role in both job selection and satisfaction, and to help plot upcoming office space trends for both employers, and commercial real estate developments.

Office location is extremely important

For 92 per cent of respondents, an office’s location was voted as extremely important and important, with location subsequently voted as the most significant factor for future Bangkok office satisfaction. And with surveyed worker’s daily commute time an average of 60 minutes, combining two to three transport means, 91 per cent of those surveyed rank proximities of their office building to public transport as very important, with access to mass transit gaining the highest score in importance of direct access from office buildings (69 per cent).

Younger workers are placing more importance on convenience and proximity than ever before. Overall 72 per cent of respondents said they’d prefer to walk less than 500m from their office to the nearest BTS / MRT station, with the 25-30 years old almost twice as likely as the other age groups refusing to walk more than 100m to public transport (13 per cent) and twice as likely to travel to work less than 30 minutes daily compared to all other age groups (31 per cent), with 85 per cent of the 25-30 years old respondents using BTS / MRT for their commute. Executive level employees aged 41-45 had the longest commute overall, with 37 per cent travelling more than 90 minutes to the office.

Another key trend shows the office building is more than just a workplace. The survey highlighted three major factors that help increase workplace satisfaction, such as comprehensive services on property (43 per cent), good safety and security (42 per cent) as well as greenery and public areas for relaxation (36 per cent).

Comprehensive services are key when choosing an office building

One of the main findings of the survey shows that convenience is the most important factor when choosing an office building – from its location to the services offered on site, shifting attitudes in the office workers’ preference show that the presence of a food court, convenience store, a gym or after work dining options on site are far more important to today’s generation of office workers, being chosen as the top 4 value-adding services.

When asked if healthy food availability at the office will help them eat more mindfully, 92 per cent definitely and strongly agree. Office workers also strongly agree that fitness facilities in their office building and being nearby a public park, will allow them to exercise more frequently (93 per cent of respondents).

Safety and energy management systems are top smart tech office requirements

Smart technology is one of the key factors that all age groups have in common as a must-have in their office building. While 62 per cent of respondents say security systems are most important for a modern office building, energy management systems comes second at 50 per cent, showing an increased concern for environmentally friendly buildings. Smart car parking is also in the top three, counting 47 per cent of the respondents’ choices.

By gender, more women prefer hand-free automated toilet systems for better hygiene and convenience (46 per cent) than men, whereas men place higher importance on electric vehicle charging stations (16 per cent and 9 per cent respectively). Younger generations place importance on having customer service mobile apps at the office building, at a rate of 46 per cent, almost double their older counterparts, reflecting the same digital trends seen in society. Growing awareness of sustainability at the workplace can also be seen in the high preference for recycling and water management systems in office buildings (40 per cent).

Top Factors to Enhance Productivity and Workplace Satisfaction

Reflecting a global shift towards better health and wellness-focused trends, the survey revealed office workers seeing top-rated factors to improve productivity and wellbeing as being: good indoor air quality (64 per cent), access to natural light and views (45 per cent) and plants and green spaces (40 per cent). More access to fitness and relaxation facilities on site in 39 per cent of choices are a clear indication of a shift towards wellness-focused trends.

Conversely, city office workers were united in their greatest office building concerns of uncomfortable working conditions (41 per cent), and poor air quality (40 per cent).

“By understanding the evolving expectations of office workers, the growing awareness of convenience and quality of life, executives can improve their ability to attract and retain talents by creating a work space that integrates wellness, smart technology, and natural spaces,” says Viraj Juntani, executive director of Consumer Insights, Nielsen Thailand. “The uncovering of important measures in modern Bangkok office (features, location and facilities) and the ability to leverage the understanding of those measures is one of the keys towards increasing employee satisfaction.”

The provocative new directions will have the most meaningful impact on the US$4.2-trillion global wellness industry and the future – from the rise of a “dying well” movement and wellness remaking the fashion industry to “meditation going plural” and scent playing a more dramatic role in our emotional health.

Well fashion – way beyond athleisure

It’s striking how little attention has been paid to the intersection between “wellness” and “fashion” beyond the familiar story of athleisure disrupting the market. And how few people that are wellness and eco-minded have really grappled with their over-consumption of clothes and the insanely destructive environmental impact that has.

This is the pivotal year for change, with a huge wave of sustainable, ethical, intelligent, healing, more inclusive, and meaningful fashion on the rise. A more “well” fashion market and mindset is ahead.

Wellness takes on over-tourism

As tourists bombard cities, more travellers will crave healing, serene oases in metropolises, so another major trend is the rise of the urban wellness resort.

It seems counterintuitive, but some of the world’s top wellness travel brands are moving beyond their roots in idyllic locations to set up shop in big cities. And by “setting up shop” we mean deep, mind-boggling comprehensive wellness programming served up to both hotel guests and locals.

Meditation goes plural

Meditation will evolve from a singular to a plural practice, from a generic concept to understanding specific types and their unique brain impacts, just as this explosive market blooms – like yoga and boutique fitness before it – into many varieties.

The wellness market always pushes the “next” button (“like, meditation is so 2015”). But the meditation research and market is extremely young and just approaching an adoption and conceptual tipping-point (and there’s no expiration date on 5,000-year-old solutions).

The future is meditation, with more types tailored to what you need most.

Prescribing nature

As people continue to be overworked and overwrought, they will answer the call of nature, so to speak. And it’s a call that comes from deep within, according to scientists who have been studying this. Our bodies – and our minds – need nature.

And as more evidence becomes available in mainstream media, more people will seek this “treatment,” and more physicians will be prescribing it. And the price is right, as it doesn’t cost anything to take a walk outside.

MediScent: Fragrance gets a makeover

The sense of smell is having a wellness renaissance. Once dismissed as the least relevant of the five senses, today, evidence-based studies around scent’s powerful impact on our physical and emotional wellbeing are being released fast and furiously.

We expect that the neuroscience of scent will become more pervasive in everything we do, and fragrances will be used in ways we would never have dreamed of—both in public and personal spaces.

China uncovers wealth in wellness

No country will have a bigger impact on the future global wellness economy than China, suddenly an economic, political and tech powerhouse. With a population of 1.4 billion, China’s middle class will skyrocket from 430 million today to 780 million by 2025. The country already drives more than half of all global e-commerce.

Wrap your mind around China’s outbound travel growth, which has expanded 20-fold since 2000 – now at 145 million international trips annually, to rise to 200 million in two years, and then doubling to 400 million by 2030 (when China will represent 30 percent of the entire international travel market).

Nutrition gets personalised

Enter the age of personalised nutrition where science, low-cost medical testing and new technologies identify what foods are right just for us – not only for weight management but, more importantly, to boost overall health and wellbeing. In the near future, we will know much more about what the enormous ecosystem inside each of us is telling us, including how much exercise you really need to how our bodies react to specific nutrients.

Fad diet confusion, new tech, and the “power of me” will propel personalised nutrition into the mainstream.

Dying well

As people become aware of how environmentally toxic traditional embalming, burial and cremation is, we’re seeing some seriously out-of-the-box, eco-friendly “burial” options.

Research shows that denying death can cause serious mental issues, so more people are actively exploring death as a wellness practice, and many more online platforms, classes, festivals and events are meeting the hunger to just talk about it, such as “death cafes” now held in 64 countries. The future: a “better death” becomes an integral part of a “well life”.

The 13th annual Summit will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong from October 15 to 17.

Find out more at http://www.GlobalWellnessSummit.com.

The unlimited storage of video and photos at their original quality sets a new precedent for platforms of its kind.

“GoPros are used to capture life’s most meaningful experiences, and GoPro Plus provides the peace of mind that your memories will be preserved in one place with the uncompromised image quality GoPro is known for,” said GoPro founder and CEO Nick Woodman.

With the Plus subscription service, your GoPro videos and photos conveniently auto-offload from your GoPro to your phone and are then auto-backed up in the cloud. The Plus service eliminates the need to connect your GoPro to a computer or buy new SD cards, saving you time and money.

And GoPro Plus now offers subscribers 50-per-cent off most GoPro mounts and accessories available at GoPro.com. This increased discount, up from 20 per cent previously, makes it easy for subscribers to use their GoPros in new ways and experiment capturing new perspectives.

Unlimited cloud storage and GoPro.com discounts combine with these existing Plus features for just Bt179:

– “You Break It, We’ll Replace It” damaged camera guarantee, no questions asked (available internationally later this year)

– VIP status, placing subscribers first in the queue for phone and chat support

Current GoPro Plus subscribers around the globe will enjoy the enhanced benefits beginning today, while new users are invited to sign up for a 30-day free trial.

To learn more about GoPro Plus, including details and terms surrounding camera replacement, accessories discounts and availability of benefits worldwide, visit the GoPro Plus page at GoPro.com.

According to Chinese traditions, it is crucial to have a positive start to the New Year – be it travelling or seeking blessings. The Hong Kong Tourism Board is featuring the Chinese zodiac fortunes provided by celebrated feng shui master Mak Ling Ling whose predictions are a fixture on TV programmes and media publications across Asia.

Rabbit

Thanks to the auspicious stars, this is an excellent year for those born in the year of the Rabbit to focus their energy on their career. Be careful not to overwork, and to take short vacations regularly, which can help to reduce stress and prevent insomnia. As you place more emphasis on your career, your love life will be affected. Singles can opt to be on the lookout for potential interests at work. Rabbit people will enjoy an increase in direct income and an enhanced ability to accumulate savings in 2019.

Rat

Those born in the year of the Rat will find themselves surrounded by benefactors wanting to lend a helping hand.

With enhanced romance luck, ladies will be rewarded with budding romance. Avoid being too extravagant, as it will invite gossip. Use your network to help you grow your career and wealth. However, invest sparingly as wealth still stems from your direct income. Grasp opportunities at work, as they will do you well. While vacationing will help boost your overall fortune, be careful of what you eat as indigestion will be frequent.

Rooster

An overall improvement comes in 2019 and you benefit from enhanced mental clarity, which will do well especially for those who studying or are headed for job interviews. Focus on your career in the upcoming year; grasp all the opportunities given at work and you will be rewarded. Work-life balance is essential, as you tend to neglect your loved ones. When it comes to wealth, you have to work hard for it. Be extremely careful while vacationing, as it is easy for you to get pick pocketed. Avoid dangerous activities such as rock-climbing and skydiving.

During a visit to Che Kung Temple in Hong Kong, don’t forget to turn the copper windmill in a clockwise direction to sweep in good luck before you leave. /Courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board

Ox

2019 will be a smoother year than 2018 and is therefore a good time to restart. With auspicious stars shining, you will be able to showcase your abilities at work. There will be chances of promotion, but remember not to rush into things. Singles may be so immersed in work that romance no longer appeals to them. Business owners need to be careful of expenditure when it comes to expansion due to the lack of wealth stars, but are blessed with benefactors who are willing to lend a hand. Avoid strenuous or dangerous activities and opt to partake in yoga to boost your health outlook.

Dragon

With a smooth career, great interpersonal relationships, and blissful romance forecast ahead, 2019 is set to be a great year for Dragon people. If you are looking for a change of job, it is important to weigh your options and reconsider before making a decision. For those who suffered break ups in 2018, there will be opportunities to embark on a new romance in the coming year. With an increase in social activities, remember to have enough rest and keep a healthy lifestyle. Remember to save regularly. Contributing to charity can help to boost overall fortune.

Goat

With a stable year ahead, 2019 will be a year for restarting. Refrain from letting your feelings of loneliness affect your relationships. Focus your time on your career; it will receive a boost from the abundance of ideas you have in 2019. Be humble, do not rush into decisions, and always consult your colleagues before a big move. A tough year ahead for romance so try to meet new people to develop friendships than to date. Contributing to charity will aid your health outlook. It is good to be surrounded by nature, and a relaxed mind can boost your fortune.

Dog

Those born in the year of the Dog will enjoy a stable year and can indulge in a small game of mahjong, as there will be indirect income fortune. However, it is important to keep a rainy-day fund for unforeseen circumstances. Health-wise, you can enjoy reduced mental stress and general positivity. Married and attached individuals need to prevent unwanted romantic temptations; always draw a clear line with the opposite gender. You might feel a lack of concern from your other half, and should therefore maintain healthy communication with them. There will be less gossip and fewer changes at work.

Lantau Island is Hong Kong’s largest island and offers a variety of attraction from grand vistas, temple, high peaks, amusement park to quiet beaches and historic villages. It’s a great place to spend time with the entire family./Courtesy of Hong Kong Tourism Board

Tiger

2019 will be a year of turbulence for those born in the year of the Tiger. Be careful of indulgence and overeating when social events increase. There will be opportunities for partnerships but it pays to be careful. Tap into your female friends for help; singles can seek female friends’ introductions to get to know potential love interests. Good news if your superiors are female! Promotions will be coming your way as long as you work hard. However, it is good to remain humble and keep a low profile even when your career is on the rise.

Horse

With an overall improvement from 2018, Horse people have auspicious stars protecting them from harmful forces in 2019. Benefactors will lend you a hand at work, whilst promotion or a salary raise is in sight. Do not partake in gossip, as it will backfire on you. With an unstable wealth lookout, sound financial planning is essential. Be very careful when going into any investment. Changes to your vacation plans can happen, thus it is good to be prepared for any unforeseen circumstances. As you place more emphasis on work, romance is less likely to appeal. If you are seeking a new relationship, it is good to be introduced by an acquaintance in a higher position.

Monkey

Monkey people will experience equal gain and loss in 2019 and while there are benefactors helping you, malicious people will still seek to harm you. Being positive, maintain good interpersonal relationships, and take part in joyous occasions to improve your fortune. You can venture into investments as long as the risk is within your limits. With a better health forecast, refrain from overindulgence during social events. A stable relationship for those who are attached or married, spending time by cultivating similar hobbies is recommended. You will be able to showcase your capabilities at work and be rewarded. Keep a low profile to prevent gossip.

Pig

There’s a turbulent year ahead for those born in the year of the Pig so it is important to keep a positive mindset even when problems and gossip knock on your door. For budding entrepreneurs, success is within grasp, as long as you are prepared to strive hard. Due to tiring interpersonal relationships, you will think of finding a new job, which might not be the best move for you in 2019. Being outstationed for work will be a better option for you. Have healthy communication with your other half to prevent misunderstandings. Being occupied with work will do well for your relationship. Pay attention to both you and your family members’ health.

Snake

A challenging year ahead, people born in the year of the Snake need to take things positively in 2019. Going overseas can help relax mind and body and bring you opportunities to meet potential love interests. With an unstable wealth fortune, re-evaluate before any big spending. Be extremely cautious of your health, and spend more time with the elders at home. It’s good to take extra care of your limbs. Being on the move will better your overall fortune, but take note of sudden changes to your vacation plans.

The new flagship smartphone from Asus, the ZenFone 5Z, is smart, strong and impressively fast. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor and the version I tested was equipped with 6 gigabytes of working memory and had 128 GB of internal storage with a UFS 2.1 memory chip.

It looks sleek too with a glass-covered body built from special aerospace-grade aluminium that’s light but strong. Zircon-sandblasting technology and an intricate eight-layer optical coating process give it a beautiful finish and a final varnish coat under the glass blesses it with a deep, rich colour and Asus’s signature concentric circle pattern etched into its rear panel. This allows its reflection to shimmer and change when viewed form different angles.

Both front and back are protected by strong Gorilla Glass panels that have 2.5D contoured edges.

The phone is very slim at just 7.7mm thick and although the 5Z has a smaller frame than its 5.5-inch predecessor, it now has a 6.2-inch display.

That Super IPS display comes with high resolution of 2,246×1080 pixels with 550 nits brightness and supports the DCI-P3 colour gamut.

The 5Z was really fast during my test. The menus and touchscreen were very responsive and games and applications ran fast and smoothly, as did HD video clips.

I used the AnTuTu Benchmark v7.1.1 to measure ZenFone 5Z’s performance and it got an impressive score of 270,656 points.

The 5Z, which supports LTE CAT18, also has fast Internet connection. I found that applications were downloaded very fast and my snapshots were backed up to my Google Photos cloud storage in no time.

The Ookla Speedtest app measured the connection speed for me and ZenFone 5Z got a download speed of 85.0 Mbps and an upload speed of 39.2 Mbps.

ZenFone 5Z also sounds good with 2nd Generation dual NXP9874 Smart Amps that power dual speakers. This allows the 5Z to play music at maximum volume clearly and loudly but without distortion. And the 5Z supports Hi-Res Audio that is 4x CD quality. I tested it with Sony’s MDR-1ABT Hi-Res headphones and the music sounded great with good details and powerful bass.

The 5Z also supports DTS Headphone:X 7.1 Virtual Surround, meaning you’ll love the virtual surround sound when you wear the headphones to watch a movie.

ZenFone 5Z has a dual camera system for the rear cameras and they use Artificial Intelligence to capture images with good quality.

The main rear camera has 12-megapixel resolution, using a Sony IMX363 sensor with large 1.4 micro pixel. The lens is bright with f/1.8 aperture.

The second rear camera uses Omnivision 8856 sensor with 8MP resolution and a f/2 aperture 120-degree wide-angle lens.

The main camera is good for taking portrait shots and focusing on isolated objects as well for night and low-light shots. The second 120-degree wide-angle camera is the best choice for snapping broad landscapes, in confined areas or capturing more of a scene from the same spot.

In Auto mode, the camera uses AI data model to detect up to 16 different scenes and subjects to select the most optimised setting for the current scene. Asus says its AI data model is created by referencing thousands of stock photos stored on Asus servers and that the data model will be upgraded with each firmware update of the smartphone.

The 16 different scenes and subjects include People, Food, Dog, Cat, Sunset, Sky, Green field, Ocean, Plant, Night view and Stage. Once the camera identifies the scene, it will apply the ideal settings using the AI data model for the detected scene or subject.

During the test the AI worked effectively to identify scenes and allowed me to capture beautiful photos with ease.

And ZenFone 5Z comes with AI-powered Portrait mode that lets you achieve professional-looking shots of people or objets with blurred background or bokeh effect in real time. The front camera can also use this mode but the rear cameras have better quality because ZenFone 5Z uses two lenses simultaneously to add an even more precise depth perception.

The Portrait mode can be activated from the top row of the main interface. This mode automatically creates pleasing portraits of subjects against an artistically blurred background depending on your choice of aperture value. Simply slide the aperture value bar to get the effect you want. The less aperture value, the greater the blurred effect.

I was able to capture beautiful shots with the rear dual camera system and all the portraits had a pleasantly blurred background.

The rear camera also comes with Beauty mode. Here too, the camera uses AI to detect the gender of human subjects and apply beautification accordingly. Asus says the mode references more than two million combinations of different races, skin colours, skin tones, ages and genders to find the perfect beautification settings that best suit the subject best. And the AI beautification can recognise human subject faces within 0.03 of a second.

If you are an advanced photographer, you can also select the Pro mode that allows you to adjust focus, shutter speed, ISO sensitivity value, exposure compensation and white balance value manually.

The 5Z has multiple levels of biometric security. There’s a fingerprint scanner with a damp finger reading capability that works to unlock the phone.

The 5Z also has Face Unlock functions and they worked fast and effectively during my test.

ZenFone 5Z has 3,300 mAh battery with BoostMaster and AI Charging technology. The AI Charging allows the phone to detect your daily charging patterns and estimates the periods when you let it charge for longer amounts of time. It then varies its charging pattern to reduce heat or speed up charging as needed. The BoostMaster allows for very fast recharging –just five minutes is enough to give two hours of talk time.

ASUS ZenFone 5Z with 6GB RAM and 128 GB storage retails for Bt15,990 and the model with 8GB RAM and 256 GB storage Bt19,990.

Key Specs

Network: GSM, HSPA+, LTE CAT18

OS: Android 8.0

CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor

CPU: Adreno 630

Memory: 6GB DDR4 RAM

Storage: 128 GB UFS2.1 storage, expandable with microSD by up to 2TB

n Display: 6.2-inch Full HD+ (2246 by 1080) Super IPS+ display, 550 nits brightness, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass

Cameras: Main rear: 12MP Sony IMX363 sensor, f/1.8 lens; Second rear: 8MP sensor, f/2.2 120-degree lens; Front: 8MP f/2.0 84-degree lens

SIM: Dual nano SIM slots

Connectivity: Wireless: 802.11ac Wi-Fi, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, USB 2.0 Type C, audio jack

GPS: GPS, aGPS, Glonass, BDS

Audio: Dual NXP9874 Smart Amp powered dual speakers

Battery: 3300 mAh with BoostMaster & AI Charging

Dimensions: 75.6 x 153 x 7.7mm

Weight: 155 g

New from leading American audio maker Master & Dynamic come the MW07, true wireless in-ear headphones that look sleek and have impressive sound quality.

The earphones boast a handcrafted acetate body and Master & Dynamic says the MW07 are the world’s first in-ear truly wireless earphones created in acetate housings.

The handcrafted acetate has an exquisite pattern on both earbuds, which are stored in a polished aluminium case that reflects their premium look.

The MW07 comes with a hand-polished stainless steel charging case complete with LED lights to show both the battery level of the case and each earphone.

The earbuds hold 3.5 hours of listening time when fully charged. The charging case has an additional three full charges for the earphones, which should be placed inside the case when they are not in use to ensure they are charged to the fullest each time you start using them. With the case, the MW07 provides 14 hours total listening time.

The earbuds take 1.5 hours of charge time for full charge or 45 minutes of charge time for 1.5 hours of playtime. It takes 15 minutes to charge 40 per cent of the carrying case’s battery capacity or 40 minutes to fully charge the case.

When you take the MW07 out of the charging case for the first use, it will be automatically ready for pairing with your smartphone. Next time you remove them from the case, the earphones will be automatically linked to the smartphone.

The earphones also come with optical sensors that detect in-ear placement to automatically play and pause the music when you remove them from your ears and re-insert them.

The package comes with five pairs of ear tips – XS, S, M, L, and XL, allowing you to select the ones that best fit your ear canals. Two sizes of fit wings – S and L – are also provided to secure the ear placement in case you use the phones while jogging or during other forms of exercise.

MW07 conforms to the IPX4 splash proof rating so you can wear the earphones for exercising as they are designed with sweat and moisture protection.

At just 9 grammes each, I found the MW07 phones were comfortable to wear for hours on end.

The MW07 uses Bluetooth 4.2 connection with aptX streaming protocol. I found during my test that when properly seated in m ear canals, the earphones reproduced impressively good sound quality for in-ear type earphones. The mids and highs were outstanding and the bass deep enough to enjoy rock music.

The right earpiece of the MW07 has multi-function button on the top that is used for controlling the music. You pause the button once to pause the music and again to resume. To answer an incoming call, touch the right earbud button then touch it again to hang up.

While playing music, you can press the button twice to skip to the next track and press it three times to skip back to the previous track.

When the earbuds are in, you can press the multi-function button and hold it to activate your voice assistance. Press and hold it while the right earbud is out of your ear to activate pairing.

There are also volume up and down buttons on the top of the left earbud.

Master & Dynamic MW07 is available in Grey Terrazzo, Tortoiseshell, Steel Blue and Matte Black, for Bt11,900 at Munkong Gadget, Studio 7 by Com7, iStudio by CPW, DotLife, Sound Proof, Lazada, Shopee and Mercular.

Key Specs

Drivers: 10MM Beryllium drivers

Materials: Acetate body, stainless steel case

Connectivity: Between Earphones – NFMI

Bluetooth profile: Bluetooth 4.2 – aptX

Connectivity distance: 20+ metres

Waterproof: IPX4 splash proof

Microphone type: MEMS, Omni-Directional

Batter: 3.5 hours for earbuds; charging case: 3 Additional charges, 14 hours total listening time

Earphone charge time: 1.5 Hours of playtime after 45-minute charge, full charge after 1.5 hours

Case charge time: 40 per cent in 15 minutes, full charge in 40 minutes

Dimensions: Earphones: 25 x 22.2 x 28.3mm; Case: 64.6 x 26.8 x 45.1mm

Weight: Earphones: 9G Each; Charging Case: 76G

In the box: earphones, USB adapter, USB-C charging cable, canvas earphone pouch, two pairs of fit wings, five pairs of ear tips

“The Blessing of Prosperity” event, which continues at all branches through Wednesday (February 6) features meet and greets with superstars, Film Thanapat, Alek Teeradetch, Tay Tawan and New Thitipoom, fortune telling with Professor Khatha Chinbunchon and many other fun activities.

Eight special dishes recognised by Michelin’s Bib Gourmand are being offered. First up is selection of roasted duck cooked Guangzhou style by Choy Roast Duck served with the restaurant’s signature sauce made to a recipe that has kept secret for more than 50 years. The roasted duck or “Yienga”, is one of the most auspicious dishes for Chinese people and is one of the “SaSae” (3 important meats) that is used in offerings to the Deities.

Wassana’s special chicken rice comes with a tempting garlic aroma and is served with a soybean-based sauce with added ginger and chilli, and hot soup. The chicken represents great fortune in the workplace. When offering the chicken to the Deities, one must offer every part, including the head, wings, legs, and innards.

Kung Thagra Setthi Restaurant serves up Baked Crab and Glass Noodles at The Mall Bang Khae.

The other dishes are Aow Huer Nueng (Baked Fish) from Thammachart Seafood Restaurant; Pork Leg in a Paloe Sauce of Happiness from Kamoo Chula Restaurant Samyan; Abalone in Red Sauce of Riches from Hongmin Restaurant (Prosperous Merchant), Fried Garlic Lobster, a Billionaire’s Dish, from the Kung Thagra Setthi Restaurant and Auspicious Golden Oranges or Taikik.

The summit brought together 650 wellness experts from 50 nations from the medical, travel, spa, beauty, fitness, nutrition, technology, financial and architecture worlds to debate where wellness is headed.

Here are eight wellness trends that will have the most meaningful and impact on the $4.2 trillion global wellness industry.

Well Fashion – Way Beyond Athleisure

It’s striking how little attention has been paid to the intersection between “wellness” and “fashion” beyond the familiar story of athleisure disrupting the market and how few eco-minded people have really grappled with their overconsumption of clothes and the destructive environmental impact that causes. But 2019 will be the pivotal year for change, with a huge wave of sustainable, ethical, intelligent, healing, more inclusive, and meaningful fashion on the rise. A more “well” fashion market and mindset is ahead.

Wellness Takes on Overtourism

As cities get bombarded by tourists, more travellers will crave healing, serene oases in metropolises, so another major trend is the rise of the urban wellness resort. It seems counter-intuitive, but some of the world’s top wellness travel brands are moving beyond their roots in idyllic locations to set up shop in big cities and offering comprehensive wellness programmings to both hotel guests and locals.

Meditation Goes Plural

Meditation will evolve from a singular to a plural practice, from a generic concept to understanding specific types and their unique brain impacts, just as this explosive market blooms – like yoga and boutique fitness before it – into many varieties. The wellness market always pushes the “next” button but meditation research and market is extremely young and just approaching an adoption and conceptual tipping-point. The future is meditation with more types tailored to what you need most.

Prescribing Nature

As people continue to be overworked and overwrought, they will answer the call of nature, so to speak. And it’s a call that comes from deep within, according to scientists who have been studying this. Our bodies and our minds need nature. And as more evidence becomes available in mainstream media, more people will seek this “treatment,” and more physicians will be prescribing it. And the price is right, as it doesn’t cost anything to take a walk outside.

Medi-Scent: Fragrance Gets a Wellness Makeover

The sense of smell is having a wellness renaissance. Once dismissed as the least relevant of the five senses, today, evidence-based studies around scent’s powerful impact on our physical and emotional wellbeing are being released fast and furiously. Expect the neuroscience of scent will become more pervasive in everything we do, and fragrances will be used in ways we would never have dreamed of – both in public and personal spaces.

China  – Uncovering the Wealth in Wellness

No country will have a bigger impact on the future global wellness economy than China, suddenly an economic, political and tech powerhouse. With a population of 1.4 billion, China’s middle class will skyrocket from 430 million today to 780 million by 2025. The country already drives more than half of all global ecommerce. China’s outbound travel growth has expanded 20-fold since 2000 and is now at 145 million international trips annually, It’s expected to rise to 200 million in two years, and then double to 400 million by 2030 (when China will represent 30 per cent of the entire international travel market).

Nutrition Gets Very Personalised

Enter the age of personalised nutrition where science, low-cost medical testing and new technologies identify what foods are right just for us – not only for weight management but, more importantly, to boost overall health and wellbeing. In the near future, we will know much more about what the enormous ecosystem inside each of us is telling us, including how much exercise you really need to how our bodies react to specific nutrients. Fad diet confusion, new tech, and the “power of me” will propel personalised nutrition into the mainstream.

Dying Well

As people become aware of how environmentally toxic traditional embalming, burial and cremation is, we’re seeing some seriously out-of-the-box, eco-friendly “burial” options. Research shows that denying death can cause serious mental issues, so more people are actively exploring death as a wellness practice, and many more online platforms, classes, festivals and events are meeting the hunger to just talk about it, such as “death cafes” now held in 64 countries. The future: a “better death” becomes an integral part of a “well life.”