ReviewsAccessories & Wearables

Lenovo Made a Souped Up Oculus Go That’s Missing Just One Key Feature

Less than a week has passed since the first standalone VR headset was released, and already we have another. Except this one is made by Lenovo in partnership with Google and uses the Daydream VR platform. Like the Oculus Go, Lenovo’s Mirage Solo don’t need no phone or a wire connected to a nearby PC … Continued

ReviewsGaming

Nintendo Labo’s True Promise

As far back as the NES, the video game industry has been trying to sell us unnecessary accessories. (Remember R.O.B.?) Companies have occasionally come up with fun alternatives to playing with a controller—think Guitar Hero—but when you eventually finish or get bored of a game, you’re left with a mountain of unwanted plastic—think Rock Band. That’s … Continued

ReviewsOther Gadgets

This Handy iPhone X Lens Kit Gets You Even Closer to a Real Camera

Let’s face it, when you shell out upwards of $700 for a flagship phone, a huge chunk of that money is going towards its camera. Some people might say that’s nuts, but for others, who don’t don’t want the hassle or added expense of owning a real camera, it’s really not that ridiculous. However, even … Continued

ReviewsSmartphones

Huawei’s Triple Camera P20 Pro Is Too Cool for America

Despite having sold its phones here for years, 2018 was supposed to be Huawei’s big coming out party in the U.S. At CES, I sat through a presentation about how Huawei was expanding into home wifi and had even signed Wonder Woman herself as the company’s new brand ambassador. But then AT&T, Verizon, and Best … Continued

ReviewsOther Gadgets

This Is the Absurd Japanese Toilet of Cannabis Vaporizers

I’ve only used a fancy toilet seat once. It was a TOTO-brand washlet, that pampers your derrière with a stream of warm water, a heated seat, and a warm air dryer. I had the good fortune in a Michelin-starred restaurant, where the food you ingested was treated with nearly as much respect as the food you … Continued

ReviewsGaming

This Tiny Clone Perfectly Recreates the Commodore 64 Gaming Experience

Before the Super Nintendo, and even before the original NES arrived in North America, I cut my gaming teeth on the Commodore 64. It was sold as one of the first personal computers, but to many kids of the ‘80s, it was instead their first gaming console. I have many fond memories of the C64, … Continued

Reviews

Our First Look at AMD’s Second-Generation Ryzen CPU Is Proof It’s No One Hit Wonder

Last year AMD finally gave us something we desperately needed with the release of Ryzen: A viable rival to Intel in the CPU space. The rivalry has meant faster CPUs for desktops and laptops as each company races to surpass the other, but there’s a potential problem for AMD. It doesn’t have the same track … Continued

Reviews

This Is the Best Gaming Headset Under $100

If you’re serious about gaming, you need a good pair of headphones. And if you want to communicate to your team, you’re going to need a mic too. But that doesn’t mean you have to drop a ton of money on something that will address both issues. So to find out which headset does the … Continued

ReviewsTablets

The New Cheap iPad Is All the iPad You Need

It’s rare for Apple to make a reasonably priced product that is also excellent. The AirPods—love ‘em or hate ‘em—are an example of this happening. The new iPad is another. It’s good. It’s not great! But it’s probably all the iPad you need. Before diving right in, I should admit that Apple’s sales pitch for … Continued

ReviewsLaptops

This Laptop Is So Fast, You’ll Forgive It For Being Obnoxiously Big and Loud

MSI’s GT75 is a laptop in name only. Measuring 2.2-inches thick and weighing over 10 pounds, even the mere thought of lugging this thing aroud makes my back hurt. Oh, and did I mention that’s before you factor in that this 17-inch gaming behemoth requires not one, but two separate power bricks, which combined adds … Continued

ReviewsAccessories & Wearables

Garmin Made a Great Smartwatch for People Who Hate Wearing a Smartwatch

There’s no better example of the war between form and function than smartwatch design. There are boxy, bulging, touchscreen wearables that do almost everything your smartphone can, and there are sleeker analog alternatives that maybe keep track of how many calories you’ve burned. With the latest version of the Vívomove HR, Garmin has tried, and … Continued

ReviewsLaptops

HP’s Overkill Convertible Makes Your Surface Pro Look Wimpy and Weak

Want a laptop that lets you get in a quick Overwatch match after you’re done editing some video on its 4K display? How about a convertible that lets you crank out screeds even with the keyboard a few feet away? Need a tablet that lets you create and edit images without worrying about your stylus’ … Continued

ReviewsLaptops

MSI’s GS65 Stealth Is a Gaming Laptop Made for Adults

Shouty RGB lighting and aggressive red and black paints jobs can be a lot of fun, especially when you’re a teenager or someone who thinks putting lots of Xs in their gamertag makes them seem edgy. But at some point, it’s time to grow up. Now that doesn’t mean you need to cut out video … Continued

ReviewsAccessories & Wearables

Vive Pro Review: Way More Beautiful, Way Better—Way Too Expensive

When the Vive and the Oculus Rift came out in the spring of 2016, they did something incredible: they made VR actually worth caring about. Previously, the closest thing people had come to virtual reality were weird sci-fi movies or half-baked products like the Virtual Boy. Yet even now, nearly two years later to the … Continued

Reviews

Rivals Intel and AMD Got Together and Made Something Beautiful for Gamers

After Intel’s very bad last few months and AMD’s very good last few months, it seemed awfully confusing that the two rival CPU makers would team up for a new chip. Sure, it was all good for AMD—which is riding high on the success of its new Ryzen CPUs and Vega GPUs—but Intel has spent the … Continued

ReviewsGaming

Waking Up to the Game Boy Super Mario Land Theme Is the Best Way to Start Your Day

The original Game Boy was the first device to push my fascination with gadgets to an obsession. I saved for months to buy one, and to this day it’s still one of my favorite gaming platforms. That explains why, despite every gadget I use having an alarm clock built-in, I now prefer waking up to … Continued

ReviewsLaptops

This Laptop Is the MacBook Pro People Wish Apple Would Make

So there I am, six thousand miles away from home in a foreign country (whose language I don’t speak) covering a trade show by myself, and I realize the power brick on my XPS 13 is busted. This is a disaster. My laptop is my lifeblood. I need it to write stories, edit photos, and … Continued

ReviewsAccessories & Wearables

The Fitbit Versa Is the First Real Bargain Smartwatch

“That’s a nice watch,” said my colleague, about an hour after I strapped the Fitbit Versa to my person. The new fitness tracker, the company’s third pass at a smartwatch you can wear for days at a time, is a welcome update to its butt-ugly predecessor. The $200 Versa will more than likely satisfy any … Continued

ReviewsOther Gadgets

My Ultra-Competitive Side Loves This Sensor-Packed Smart Ball

A Bluetooth-connected foam ball packed with sensors and a battery you need to charge sounds like one of Silicon Valley’s worst ideas. Haven’t balls been adequately entertaining kids for centuries already? But it only took one toss of Play Impossible’s Gameball for me to understand why a ball upgraded with stat-tracking technology isn’t actually a … Continued

ReviewsLaptops

This Is the Big Laptop to Buy When All You Care About is Packing Light 

When you pick up the LG Gram 15 for the first time you’re going to find yourself, inexplicably, transported to an Ikea furniture showroom. It’s because the LG Gram 15 is so light. It’s a 15.6-inch laptop that weighs less than a 13-inch Macbook Pro and the body is a made of an alloy that … Continued