Gadgets

Gadgets

The iPhone 17 Pro Max received several camera upgrades this year, but the two that I'd like to focus on are the ProRes Raw video support and the 18MP Center Stage front sensor. With the former, videographers can record content while bypassing all the usual automated image processing, like adapting colors and sharpness. The result is footage that's friendlier to edit, can be matched to the tone you're after, and, perhaps most importantly, appears more consistent with content captured by other cameras.

Perplexity is different from Google It's not just a search bar, it's a knowledge engine When you search for something on Google, you're usually greeted with a page full of search results and often an AI overview. From this point onwards, it falls on you to decide which results are worth your time and contain the information you need. Google usually does a pretty good job of ranking the right pages higher up,

I regularly restart my Pixel 9 Pro, and there's a good reason for that. Actually, there are several reasons why I regularly restart my phone (weekly -- at least). Here's a short list for you to ponder: Improves performance by clearing temporary caches. Enhances security by disrupting possible cyberattacks and clearing possible malware stored in memory. Resolves issues such as if your phone has slowed down, is getting hot, apps are crashing, and you're having connectivity issues, a restart often will fix those issues.

While a printer upgrade might not sound like the most exciting way to spend your hard-earned dollars, the right machine can save you a ton of time and money. My favorite all-in-one printer and scanner, the Epson EcoTank ET-2980, is marked down by $50 on Amazon. It has all the features most home users will need, even daily printers, and is a much better value than ink cartridge, and even some laser printers.

While new Echo devices, Fire TVs, and Ring cameras captured most of the attention at Amazon's Devices & Services event this week, the company also unveiled a pair of upcoming Kindle devices -- the Scribe and the Scribe Colorsoft. (Check out ZDNET editor Nina Raemont's hands-on thoughts on both here). The new Kindles do mostly what you would expect from Amazon's e-reader, but a couple of AI-powered features in the announcement caught my eye.

Sure, concrete guitars do exist in the novelty space (they aren't a new idea), but they're typically solid slabs that weigh somewhere between 80 and 90 pounds, which makes them less "playable instrument" and more "sculptural middle finger to ergonomics." What these two pulled off is different. They engineered a semi-hollow body with 3/8 inch concrete walls, kept the whole thing under 20 pounds (19.8 to be exact), and somehow nailed the intonation without any adjustments.

Google's latest flagship, the Pixel 10 Pro, brings its Pixelized blend of AI smarts and photographic intelligence to the premium Android space. I'm always excited for the newest Pixel, but now more than ever, it faces some tough competition at $999. Also: I replaced my Samsung S25 Ultra with the Pixel 10 Pro XL for weeks - and don't regret it If you're on the fence about whether to pick up Google's newest Pixel, you should consider that several other phones

Strava is suing its long-time partner Garmin, and is seeking to permanently block the company from selling most of its current fitness and cycling gadget lineup. The lawsuit filed in the US District Court of Colorado on September 30th, first reported by DC Rainmaker, alleges that Garmin violated an agreement between the companies by infringing on Strava's patents for segments - route sections where athletes can compare performance times - and heatmaps that show popular areas for activity.

Your car already knows more about the road than you do. It can feel the pothole before your wheel does. It knows when you slam on the brakes at an obscured stop sign. It senses when traffic patterns don't match the posted speed limit. The question is: what if this knowledge could be shared to make driving safer for everyone?

When Lego announced its near 1:1, 421-piece Nintendo Game Boy set I wrote that it was charming, but "sadly not playable." Now that it has started shipping (as of yesterday), creator Natalie the Nerd proved me 100 percent wrong. She added the power to play genuine Game Boy cartridges, using real hardware and not an emulator, according to her post on Bluesky and a story on .

This little device represents a very specific philosophy of industrial design, one that prioritizes seamless integration into a person's life over raw power. In a world where smartphone cameras offer staggering digital zoom, carrying a dedicated optical tool seems almost archaic. But the experience is fundamentally different. It is tactile, immediate, and free from digital artifacts. Nikon is betting that there is still a market for a beautifully crafted, single-purpose tool, especially one that solves the core problem of traditional binoculars: their sheer, awkward bulk.

We're now only four weeks out from the NYC marathon. It's time to make sure you have all the gear you need picked out. What shorts you're wearing, perhaps a belt to carry your phone, maybe a fresh pair of running shoes if your current pair are reaching their limit - lots of prep to be done. My question is, how satisfied are you with your watch?

Lego's recently launched Game Boy is the most extraordinarily satisfying build, with results that feel uncannily realistic. It looks and feels perfect, complete with a just-too-murky screen to thoroughly emulate the real thing. Announced back in July and immediately up for pre-order (which I did as soon as I'd written the article), the Lego Game Boy was clearly a labor of love,

STEELPORT Knife Co., the Portland-based maker celebrated for its award-winning, American-forged kitchen cutlery, is doubling down on its mission to merge craftsmanship and innovation with the release of its newest product: the SteelCore™ Mini Cutting Board. Alongside the Mini, the brand has unveiled three curated Knife & Board Sets that make gifting high-quality kitchen tools easier than ever. Together, these launches mark the next step in STEELPORT's commitment to redefining the modern kitchen experience with heirloom-quality design.

This type of wearable tech uses tiny built-in microphones to pick up ambient noise and sound waves, and then cancels them out with its own sound waves. This process is called active noise cancellation (ANC), and it helps drown out noise, especially consistent, low-frequency sounds like a plane engine or people murmuring around you in busy airports. Most noise-canceling headphones also have a transparency or pass-through mode for when you want to be more aware of your surroundings,

Lags and blurs are frustrating. You can't just sit and wait for your screen to catch up while your opponent gets away. Odyssey G3 packs an impressive 180Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time for ultra-fast visuals that give an in-game advantage. Jumping on an enemy squad the moment you spot them, or slipping away from a close fight, becomes much easier.

As someone who's barely 5 feet tall with relatively small hands, if I felt this much discomfort, I can't imagine what someone bigger than me might experience. Unsurprisingly, my partner could barely get his index and middle fingers in the sleeves. We tried stretching the silicone, but that didn't help our cause. Frankly, it'd be more comfortable to tie the vibrators to my fingers than try to deal with the sleeves again.

The improved voice assistant can generate responses instead of simply repeating what it's been programmed to say. With generative AI, Alexa+ can engage in more natural conversations with users, rather than simply listening to a prompt and responding with a predetermined action. It also supports memory to recall preferences and conversations, maintaining context throughout a conversation. This allows it to remember what you asked at the beginning of a chat and respond in that context without you having to say, "Alexa" again.

I once spent four days hiking a volcano in Indonesia and became so fatigued on the way down that I collapsed and needed my friend's trekking poles to get me to the bottom. I know firsthand how important it is to have a hiking pack that fits everything you need-whether you're camping or hiking for the day without having your gear (literally) weigh you down.

HP is announcing a new jumbo-sized ultrawide monitor designed for productivity and office use. The HP Series 5 Pro 49-inch Conferencing Monitor uses a 32:9 VA IPS panel with 5120 x 1440 resolution, 165Hz refresh, and an 1800R curvature. Like other monitors of this size and resolution, it's equivalent to using two 27-inch displays side by side.

A few years ago, Microsoft offered some of the best deals in gaming. The spartan Xbox Series S was well-priced at $300 (and you could often find it even cheaper if you hunted for deals). A $15 monthly subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offered a vast catalog of games new and old. But my, how things have changed in 2025.

Unless OnePlus reconsiders launching a foldable phone this year, the latest may arguably be the company's most ambitious product in 2025. It has a bigger screen, a bigger battery, and even a bigger speaker system this time around. There's also a bigger price tag, but $699 for the Pad 3 has felt more reasonable as each day of testing has gone by.

For this experiment, I wore the crossbody strap with the iPhone Air. It just seemed like these two were made for each other. Apple also sent the very basic bumper case, a polycarbonate bumper that runs along the periphery of the phone and attaches to the strap. The combination of the two seemed like a perfect fit, even if my wife commented that I looked like a suburban soccer mom wearing it. Here's how things went.

A Simple, Cost-Saving Integrated Power Solution for Digital Nomads, RV Modders & Sailing/Boating Enthusiasts.

The Echo Dot Max is available for preorder in black, purple, and white with Alexa Plus Early Access for $99.99 at Amazon ahead of its release on October 29th. The Echo Studio is available for preorder at Amazon in black or white for $219.99, and will arrive in stores on October 29th. US customers will also get access to Alexa Plus Early Access when they place their preorder.

Leading the lineup is the GoPro MAX2, a dedicated 360-degree camera that sheds the multi-use approach of its 2019 predecessor in favor of pure, immersive capture. GoPro has dubbed the MAX2 "the world's best, most durable 360 camera," and the spec sheet justifies the claim. The device boasts dual lenses capable of recording True 8K video, giving users a full-resolution spherical image with no wasted pixels.

The wearable looks a bit like an Apple AirTag on a necklace. Friend is designed to be always-on to hear whatever the wearer says (as well as any other noise they're near), use AI to process those inputs, and formulate its own responses, which it then sends via text message to the wearer. "The more you talk to it, the more you build up a relationship with it. And that's really the whole goal of the product," Schiffmann told Fast Company in July 2024.

The company notes it chose this sensor because it would offer the level of fidelity that its Gemini models could use both now and going forward as the technology evolves. Plus, it wanted to ensure that users would be able to zoom and see a certain degree of detail - like a license plate on an unknown vehicle outside their home, perhaps - and balance that with a desire not to consume too much data.

I tested the 2024 base model Kindle and fell in love with its thin and portable build. I found myself downloading more e-books from my public library and reading a wider variety of novels because of how easy it was to rent them through Libby and read them while I sat on the subway or passed the time in the waiting room of doctor's appointments.

The Sony ULT Field 5 was launched in April alongside the ULT Field 3 and ULT Tower speakers. It joins the ULT Field 1 and ULT Field 7 in the growing ULT lineup of Sony's bass-focused audio products. I didn't like the ULT Wear headphones because the bass response sounded overly exaggerated. But after using the Sony ULT Field 5 on and off for the past few weeks, I think I can give the ULT range another chance.