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Is the Connect Smart Grilling Hub a great tool for outdoor cooking?
Weigh in on how well Weber's Connect Smart Grilling Hub works for outdoor cooking tasks!
What’s good about Amazon’s Fire TV Stick?
We want to hear why you chose your Fire TV Stick over other streaming devices.
Is the NookPhone good or bad for your Animal Crossing island?
No, you're not hallucinating and this isn't a late April Fool's joke. That is in fact, the NookPhone from Animal Crossing: New Horizons at the top of this post. It's safe to say that the game has really taken off in the two weeks since its release. It's the perfect salve for our troubled era, and a great way to kill time when you're stuck at home.
Tell us if the Garmin Forerunner 645 Music is worth buying
The Garmin Forerunner 645 Music is nearing the ripe old age of two soon, but it's still one of our favorite fitness devices to recommend. Reviewer Cherlynn Low complemented its battery life and ability to lock-on to GPS fairly quickly, which is essential for accurately tracking a jog. However, the 645 Music's biggest drawback was actually its marquee feature, the music player. The watch often struggled to connect via Bluetooth and had limited app compatibility. At the time we couldn't recommend it for the price. However, there have been a few sales since it came out, making the watch a much better buy.
Is the Pixel 3a your ideal budget phone?
As much as we loved the Pixel 3 and 3 XL, we were let down by their hardware, especially given how much they cost. Which is why the Pixel 3a and 3a XL were such a breath of fresh air: They offered the same great software features and excellent camera, but at half the price. They even had bigger batteries and a headphone jack!
Of all the smart speakers, what made you choose the Echo Show 5?
If you're in the market for a smart display, you have a lot of choices right now. If you need something small that works great as a bedside timekeeper, the Lenovo Smart Clock is ideal. For the kitchen, something bigger like an Echo Show 8 or Nest Hub Max will do. And somewhere in the middle is the Echo Show 5, a connected display that's big enough for watching videos but not so big that it takes up too much space on your kitchen counter. At $90 with a 5-inch screen, this Alexa device really hits a sweet spot.
The original iPad is turning 10 and we want your thoughts
The iPad turns 10 next month, and it's hard to remember a time when Apple's tablet wasn't ubiquitous. Sure, some of us derided it as "a giant iPhone'' when it debuted, but over the past decade the line has distinguished itself with accessories to make it more of a laptop replacement, along with plenty of useful apps and games that really take advantage of its size. But here we're going to focus on the OG iPad, a device that our reviewer called "a cohesive touch computing platform with very few rough edges."
Is the Roku Ultra your favorite streaming device?
Even as TVs and game consoles and cable boxes pack in more and more features, the best way to access all your favorite streaming content continues to be a Roku. These streaming sticks and boxes include the most popular apps, and it's super cheap to add one to an existing home theater setup. (The most expensive unit is the $100 Roku Ultra.) In fact, with the constant sales Amazon seems to be having, we wouldn't be surprised if you picked one up over the holidays.
How does the Switch Lite fit into your portable gaming life?
The original Switch is a pretty compact device but, if you never hooked it up to a TV, it might not have been diminutive enough. For those players Nintendo introduced the Switch Lite, a smaller and, dare we say, much cuter version of the OG Switch. The Lite can't be docked and the controllers don't detach. However, in return you get a more pocketable size and an actual D-pad on the left side. And of course, the Switch Lite is $100 cheaper, making it more accessible to budget-minded gamers.
How do you feel about the PlayStation 2 as it turns 20?
In a few short weeks, the PlayStation 2 will turn 20. It was released March 4, 2000 in Japan, with the rest of the world eventually getting their hands on it that fall. It was backward compatible with games for the original PlayStation, and also played DVDs. (Personally, it was the first video disc player I ever owned.) And of course, there were the games. Shadow of the Colossus, Kingdom Hearts, Katamari Damacy — plenty of classic titles and series got their start there, as well as new installments in famous franchises, like Metal Gear Solid 2 and Final Fantasy X. The system was ultimately in production for a whopping 13 years, with more than 4,000 games released in total and over 155 million consoles sold.
How would you score IKEA’s Sonos-powered smart speaker?
We've reviewed a lot of products on Engadget, from drones to automobiles, but the Sonos-powered SYMFONISK were the first IKEA products we've officially ranked and scored. The two models of speakers -- one that doubles as a lamp and the other designed to sit on your bookshelf -- were positively received by senior editor Nicole Lee. Though she preferred the sound on the lamp model, Nicole was impressed by their style and ability to work well within an existing multi-room audio setup. Despite their lack of a native smart assistant and no default dimming, the duo earned overall scores of 86 and 84 -- largely due to their reasonable pricing.
What does Dell’s XPS 15 excel at?
Dell's 2019 XPS lineup has done well across the board -- both reviewers and consumers alike were impressed by the performance, speed and sleek design of last year's XPS 13. Its big brother, the XPS 15, continued that trend. With a ninth-generation eight-core Intel i9 CPU, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1660 GPU, the configuration we tested in September delighted reviews editor Cherlynn Low. She was particularly thrilled by the vibrant display, powerful performance and long-lasting battery, though less enthusiastic about the laptop's rather hefty weight of 4.4 pounds. The XPS 15 earned a score of 85 (a full 8 points lower than the XPS 13).
What do you love most about the Genesis Mini?
Over the past few years, several companies have released throwback gaming systems intended to tug at gamer's heartstrings over the consoles (and games) of years gone by. Nintendo released the NES and Super NES Classic Editions, Sony botched the PlayStation Classic and more serious retro gamers will find a lot to like about Analogue's Mega SG and Super NT. Of all these contenders for the nostalgic crown, the one that scored best with Engadget editors was Sega's Genesis Mini. Thanks to its solid build quality, faithfully recreated controllers and strong game library, the Genesis Mini earned a well-deserved score of 89.
Is the WF-1000XM3 the best set of Sony earbuds yet?
Reviewers often find a lot of drawbacks with the sound and features of wireless earbuds, but that wasn't the case when Engadget senior news editor Billy Steele got his hands on Sony's WF-1000XM3. Not only did he feel the earbuds excelled at providing exceptionally good sound across a range of music genres, he was impressed by the active noise cancellation, features in the companion app and the stellar battery life. He also appreciated the price ($230) which helped the WF-1000XM3 earn a notable score of 89.
High rollers: Tell us all about your Galaxy Fold!
Samsung experienced a few missteps in the release of its first folding smartphone: The original release date was pushed back due to durability issues with the plastic screen (including users peeling off a protective layer) and, even after its redesign, there are still concerns about durability. Users have debated whether the high-profile handset is a clunky, but necessary, step on the path to a true folding phone or an expensive niche gadget that only an early adopter could love.
Is the MacBook Pro a better buy than the Air?
This year, Apple made some moves to simplify its laptop lineup, including an upgrade to the MacBook Pro which included an eighth-gen Intel quad-core processor, better speakers and a True Tone display. At $1,299 (to start), the newest model of Pro is now only $200 more than the Air. Deputy Managing Editor Nathan Ingraham found the slight price upgrade was well worth it for users who intended to push their machines performance-wise. He wound up awarding the device a respectable score of 86.
Tell us how Sony’s novel Xperia 1 phone works for you
Senior editor Chris Velazco's first experience with the Sony Xperia 1 was a mixed bag -- while the handset featured a gorgeous 4K HDR OLED screen and a speedy Snapdragon 855 chipset, its 3,300mAh battery was underwhelming and the speakers didn't do justice to the viewing experience. While the 6.5-inch panel and 21:9 aspect ratio made for easy split-screen multitasking, the inclusion of a vibration motor was distracting and the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack was (as usual) disappointing. In the end, Chris gave the adventurous device a decent, but not outstanding, score of 76.
PC gamers: Rate and review the RTX 2060 Super or 2070 Super
Affordable, fast and with excellent dual-fan cooling, NVIDIA's two new ray-tracing cards (the RTX 2060 Super and the 2070 Super) took the place of the company's excellent Ti lineup. NVIDIA's release of the GPUs was, according to senior editor Devindra Hardawar, "clearly a response to AMDs new midrange" cards. Dev managed to get impressive frame rates and gaming performance out of each, awarding the 2060 Super a score of 87 and the 2070 an 86.
Are the Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT ideal GPUs for your gaming PC?
In the battle of graphics cards, AMD and NVIDIA have been duking it out for space in your custom-built gaming tower. With the release of the Radeon RX 5700 and 5700 XT, AMD threw down two solid mid-range offerings showcasing its Navi architecture (now known as Radeon DNA or RDNA). Both 7-nanometer cards feature a minimalist design, a blower-style cooler (using a single fan to pull in air) and 8GB of GDDR6 RAM. Senior Editor Devindra Hardawar gave them scores of 85 and 86 respectively, dinging both slightly for their high temperatures and lack of real-time ray tracing.
Is the Valve Index the best high-end VR headset?
As VR becomes more and more mainstream, a key to its success will be the choice of headsets available. On the entry-level end is the Oculus Go, at $199. On the upper end is Valve's Index, which features two RGB LCDs running at 1,440 x 1,600 pixels, capable of a 120Hz (or 144Hz) refresh rate and selling for a stunning $999. Senior editor Devindra Hardawar reviewed the Index and found that it had nearly every feature one would expect to find on a high-end VR headset, including finger-sensing controllers, excellent image quality and plush cushioning around the eye pieces and rear head strap.
