It’s been a slower-than-usual October in the tech world, thanks in large part to Google and Microsoft holding their traditional fall hardware launches earlier this year. Still, with Amazon’s October Prime Day in full swing, a significant number of companies have announced new devices in the past two weeks. Whether you’re busy shopping or watching Elon Musk talk about robotaxis and Cybervans, the Engadget team continued to review recently (and not-so-recently) released products. As always, this bi-weekly roundup is here to catch you all up, but I missed last week’s edition (I was away on vacation) so I’m a little off pace.
From Meta’s Quest 3S VR headset and DJI Air 3S drone to Sony’s suite of midrange audio equipment, recent weeks have coincidentally been all about less premium, more affordable “non-flagship” products. It was something. And it turns out you don’t have to spend the majority of your retirement savings on a company to get a solid device for your money.
Reviews of Sony LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
Written by Billy Steele
sony
Sony has pushed the limits of mobile audio with the LinkBuds Fit, combining great sound with a host of features.
- small and comfortable design
- surprisingly loud sound
- Lots of useful features
- ANC performance is insufficient
- battery life
- Call quality is good, but not great
$200 at Sony
The main thing I learned from Billy’s recent reviews of Sony and Bose headphones is that the premium-level noise cancellation of flagships is now making its way into mid-range products as well. And I’m happy about that too. Most of the things you’ll miss out on when trying to save money seem to be features that should make for a more immersive and intuitive listening experience, like spatial audio and head tracking. Personally, I’m fine with missing out on these features for now. All I really want is decent sound, good audio quality, and good reduction of background noise.
Even if you’re not into the headphone market, be sure to check out Billy’s review of Sony’s LinkBuds trio of devices. He literally tortured his ears to test out some strangely designed earbuds for us. In fact, the headline that was rejected in review was “Why Am I in Pain?” Billy, I salute you.
Written by Devindra Hardawar
Meta
Meta Quest 3S offers immersive virtual reality for just $300. It’s fast, comfortable, and has tons of games and VR experiences to choose from.
- fast performance
- Comfortable to wear
- excellent controller
- large app library
- Old Fresnel lenses cause artifacts
- no headphone jack
- average mixed reality camera
$299 on Amazon
The Quest is undoubtedly the industry-leading VR headset for consumers, especially considering it offers a relatively high-quality immersive experience while costing a fraction of other options. Unlike the $3,500 Apple Vision Pro, the new Quest 3S is much more drinkable at $300. And, as Devindra notes in his review, it’s comfortable, fast, and gives wearers access to Meta’s large library of VR apps and content. In Devindra’s words, “This isn’t Meta’s first $300 VR headset, but it’s still an impressive accomplishment.”
DJI Neo and DJI Air 3S reviews
Written by Steve Dent
DJI
DJI’s Air 3S is the company’s first consumer drone equipped with LiDAR, which is designed to make night flying safer.
- excellent image quality
- LiDAR improves obstacle detection at night
- ActiveTrack 360 produces cinematic tracking shots
- long battery life
- Equipped with 42GB internal storage
- Small obstacles may not be detected
$1,099 at DJI
Continuing the trend of great products that are usually cheaper, the DJI Neo is a great drone for just $200. It may seem hyperbolic to call this the best $200 drone ever, but I can’t think of any other drone that can match the performance of the Neo for the same price. According to critic Steve, one of the main drawbacks of this movie is that it sounds like a banshee, but to be honest, it’s a pro for me just in terms of pure comedy. I never expected to see a drone on the market that sounds like a banshee, but here we think $200 is a fair price to pay for the aerial video you can get. Either way, you can easily layer upbeat, operatic songs over the footage. .
On the other end of the spectrum, Steve also tested the high-end DJI Air 3S drone and Canon’s EOS R5 II, both of which cost a pretty penny. The good news is that Canon’s EOS R5 II has been significantly improved and is more in line with its Sony rivals, with interesting features such as line-of-sight autofocus. True, it’s still too early to trust. But if you have the money to buy these premium products, you’ll be able to experience cutting-edge technology. Part of the appeal may be that they don’t always work.
Written by Dan Cooper
Noteworthy / Engadget
reMarkable adds a color screen to your e-paper tablet for a best-in-class, distraction-free writing experience.
- Color is a welcome and useful addition
- Backlight allows you to work in dark environments
- Significantly improved performance
Remarkable for $579
I know Dan was a little concerned about giving such a high score to a niche device like the reMarkable Paper Pro, but after a little discussion we both agreed it was a good fit. Agreed. As it stands, the reMarkable Paper Pro is easily the best e-paper writing tablet with a color screen, even after this week’s announcement of Amazon’s first color Kindle. According to Dan’s review, Paper Pro not only takes it to the next level with the addition of color, but also becomes faster and more reliable in the process.
In particular, we like the care taken to blend handwriting and typed text more seamlessly for a more natural note-taking and annotation experience. And while we’re straying from this edition’s general theme of inexpensive products with premium specs, we did manage to scrape together the $600 or so needed to pack the Paper Pro ourselves, complete with Dan’s recommended accessories. The temptation to find a way to do that is still very tempting.
Reviews of Phoenix Springs and Nevaeh
Written by Jessica Condit
I’m not a huge gamer, but I love learning about games from Jess. She recently reviewed the sci-fi mystery Phoenix Springs and the dreamy platformer Neva. The pieces are so beautifully written that I can’t wait to check out each title. That way you can get a clear sense of how she is working on them. I also follow Technology Reporter in Phoenix Springs, which covers my favorite genres (sci-fi and mystery), and Neva’s art just looks gorgeous. I don’t know yet if I’ll be able to find time to play new games, but these two have definitely been added to my list.
Upcoming reviews: Coming soon
The Engadget team is interested in a lot of things, and when we start creating our holiday gift guides, we think about the products we love for ourselves and our loved ones. Many of us love e-readers and writing tablets. I’m certainly keeping an eye on one of the new Kindles announced this week, especially the new Kindle Scribe and possibly Colorsoft. These won’t be available until later this year, so for now I’ll keep my eyes glued to the reMarkable Paper Pro. I’m also curious to know what Amazon’s head of hardware, Panos Panay, does besides cans of Diet Coke; when I had a chance to speak in an interview this week, he said ( I found myself enjoying it (like many people).
Many of us are millennials and have a huge interest in retro gaming. Our executive editor Aaron Souppouris spoke with the folks at Analogue. Read his beautifully constructed article to learn more about the upcoming Analogue 3D.
This week, Apple surprised us a bit by announcing a new iPad mini powered by the A17 Pro processor and tuned to offer more storage and power. Of course, it also supports Apple Intelligence. This seems like a minor update, but some of my colleagues and I still like the idea of a small tablet. I wish I had a better screen.
All of these recent announcements feature on our review list, alongside products launched in recent weeks such as Google TV Streamer and Samsung Galaxy S24 FE. As November approaches and holiday shopping gets into full swing, we hope hardware launches slow down appropriately. We still look forward to Apple events for the Mac, and we still remember being surprised by Humane’s AI Pin announcement late last year. But for now, we live well, with occasional indulgences in nostalgia and longing for simpler times.
