AI
Amazon Put Alexa in Your Alarm Clock, Photo Frame, and Floor Plan
Amazon’s new Echo lineup adds a smart clock, photo frame, camera-speaker and $500 display. The hardware is clever; the intimacy is extra.
Consumer Tech
Apple Gave the MacBook Pro an M6 and Called Restraint a Feature
Apple’s $1,999 M6 MacBook Pro brings faster graphics, Wi-Fi 7, and 24-hour battery life to a design that has achieved tenure.
AI
Brilliant Labs Put Your Memory in Glasses and Added Side Quests
Halo’s $399 open-source AI glasses remember what you see and hear, then gamify daily life. The privacy design is smart; the side quests need work.
Review
8BitDo Built an Arcade Controller With a Screen, Because Buttons Needed Supervision
8BitDo’s Arcade Controller Pro adds hot-swappable switches, a tiny display, and five remappable buttons. Fighting games just got a $120 control panel.
AI
Apple Put OLED in the iPad Mini and Left 120Hz at Home
Apple’s $699 iPad mini adds OLED, waterproofing, serious silicon, and a screen that makes sound—then calmly leaves 120Hz for the expensive table.
AI
Alloop Turns One Health Sensor Into a Ring, Wristband, and Lifestyle Interrogation
Alloop Trio shifts one sensor between ring and wristband, then lets an AI agent interpret your habits. Clever modularity meets Kickstarter reality.
Review
NACON Gave the Xbox Controller a Knob for Your Thumb
NACON’s €129.99 Xbox controller lets you tune thumbstick tension by hand. Smart competitive hardware, with just enough pro-gamer overreach.
AI
Sakana Puts AI Agents in an Aquarium. Finance Controls the Feeding.
Sakana launches Aquarium to give AI agents shared definitions and human approvals. Sensible plumbing; the productivity miracle still needs receipts.
Review
OPPO Put 600 Megapixels in a Phone and Charged Accordingly
OPPO’s Find X10 Pro Max packs three superb 200MP cameras and a huge battery. It may be the best camera phone you should not casually buy.
Review
Honor Put Two Fans in a Gaming Phone. Your Pocket Has Entered the Cooling Era.
Honor’s WIN2 gaming phone adds dual fans, a 2K 185Hz display, and a 10,100mAh battery. Smart thermal engineering or pocket-sized overkill?
Review
Honor Put Two 31,000-RPM Fans in the WIN 2 Phone
Honor’s WIN 2 gaming phone adds dual 31,000-rpm fans, a 10,100mAh battery, and 185Hz OLED. Excessive? Yes. Pointless? Surprisingly, no.
Review
Turtle Beach Put a Touchscreen on a $200 Controller. Naturally, It Has Opinions.
Turtle Beach’s $199.99 Stealth Ultra II adds a touchscreen, TMR sticks, 8K polling, and a charge-through case. It is excessive. It is also smart.