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Check out our improved and expanded buyer's guide!
Remember gdgt? The social network-slash-product database where gadget enthusiasts rated the things they'd bought (and bookmarked the stuff they wanted)? Well, it never went away: For the past few years, the gdgt database has lived on at Engadget, where we've continued to serve up things like specs, user ratings and aggregated reviews from sites we trust. Over the past year, we've sought to bring back the best of gdgt and merge it with the Engadget's Buyer's Guide. Our vision is a one-stop, comprehensive buyer's guide -- one where our readers can help each other make better purchasing decisions. We already had all the ingredients we needed -- we just needed them to live under the same proverbial roof.
New in our buyer's guide: Apple, Google and a little Sonos
Separate from our holiday gift guide, it was time for us to update our year-round shortlist of recommendations. Since our last round of additions, three months ago, we've reviewed a boatload of flagship handsets, with the iPhone 8/8 Plus and Pixel 2/Pixel 2 XL all making the list. (It's not that we don't recommend the iPhone X, but we recommend the 8 and particularly the 8 Plus for more people.) While we were at it, we also decided that the Sonos One, Google Home Mini, Apple TV 4K, second-gen Daydream View VR headset and the GoPro Hero6 were also worthy of this list. Find all that and more in the Engadget buyer's guide.
The three TVs that made our buyer's guide
Hot on the heels of updating our buyer's guide, we have three more additions, and they're all TVs. Of all the models out there, we've edited our selection to just three: two reasonably priced ones, and another for the "money is no object" crowd. So which nabbed the crown? You might want to revisit our Best of CES Award winners for a hint.
New in our buyer's guide: The Gear VR controller and lots of audio gear
Less than a month after our last buyer's guide update, we're back with a slew of new additions. This round of updates focuses mostly on audio products, including several headphones and speakers at various prices. But we also threw in some other miscellany, including the Gear VR-and-controller bundle. We belatedly decided that the 10.5-inch iPad Pro also deserved a spot on the list, along with the Huawei Watch 2 and two Chromebooks. Next time, we'll be beefing up our list of TV picks. Stay tuned, and check out our ever-evolving buyer's guide right here.
New in our buyer's guide: The OnePlus 5 and two Surface devices
This month's buyer's guide additions fill almost every product category: We've got a smartphone, VR headset, games console, notebook and a 2-in-1. Those last two both come from Microsoft in the form of the Surface Laptop and the new Surface Pro. At the smaller end of the screen-size spectrum, we have the new OnePlus 5 the Nintendo Switch and Google's Daydream View headset. Find all that in more in our buyer's guide, and stay tuned for even more updates in the coming weeks.
New in our buyer's guide: the Pixel and Pixel XL, and more!
Nope, we're not done adding phones to our buyer's guide. Hot on the heels of inducting the new iPhones (and before that, the Galaxy S7 and HTC 10), we're tossing in both of the new Google phones, the Pixel and Pixel XL. While we're at it, we decided the PlayStation VR deserved a spot in our gaming section right alongside other premium virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. At the opposite end of the price spectrum, the $50 Amazon Echo Dot is a great value at that price. Lastly, GoPro -- a staple company in this list -- earns a spot for its newest flagship action camera, the Hero5 Black. Find all that in more in our buyer's guide, and stay tuned for our next round of additions, likely sometime after CES.
New in our buyer's guide: The iPhone 7 and Fitbit Charge 2
Well, well, well. After just a few months of phone releases and reviews, our smartphone buyer's guide section looks very different than it did recently. New to the guide, as you'd expect, are the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, both of which earned strong reviews from us. The HTC 10 and Galaxy S7 have held their spots there, with the OnePlus 3 rounding out the list at the lower end. (And yes, we are thanking our lucky stars that we didn't have time to add the highly rated Galaxy Note 7 into the guide before it was recalled and discontinued.) We've also made some changes to our wearables section, with the Apple Watch Series 1 and Series 2 both making the cut (the Series 2 is the best in absolute terms, but we recommend the Series 1 for more people). You'll also find the Fitbit Charge 2, our new favorite all-around fitness tracker. Find all that and more right here in our buyer's guide, and be sure to check back soon -- we plan to review some highly anticipated releases like Google's new Pixel phones as well as the PlayStation Pro.
New in our buyer's guide: All the phones (just the good ones)
It took us a while, but now that we've reviewed the Moto Z, we think we're done testing flagship phones until the iPhone 7 or next Galaxy Note come out (whichever arrives first). With that in mind, we can now confidently say that the following phones belong in our buyer's guide: the Samsung Galaxy S7, the HTC 10 and the iPhone SE. (Sorry, LG, maybe next year.) While we were at it, we also inducted the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive VR headsets, since we likely them more or less equally. And, in the less-expensive realm, we added the Roku Streaming Stick in the A/V category. Head over to our buyer's guide hub for all the details on these and many more. That's it for now, but stay tuned -- who knows what we'll add after the next gadget-reviewing frenzy.
New in our buyer's guide: Lenovo's Yoga 900 and Samsung's Gear VR
It's been about two months since Engadget's updated its buyer's guide -- we were busy eating holiday cookies, preparing for CES, going to CES and then recovering from CES (phew). Fortunately, though, even in those nine weeks, we haven't actually reviewed much that we think is worth of our shortlist. The only two exceptions would be Lenovo's thin-but-well-performing Yoga 900 and Samsung's latest Gear VR headset, which we think is a great deal at $99. That's all we've got today, but keep checking back in soon --after all, we'll soon be pretty busy reviewing the products that just debuted in Vegas.
New in our buyer's guide: The iPhone 6s, Surface Book and much more
Sorry we haven't updated the buyers's guide in a couple months -- we've been too busy pumping out reviews of all the new devices. Now that things have finally started to slow down (fingers crossed), let's take a step back and look at all the awesome stuff we've had a chance to test this fall. For starters, there's a bunch of excellent smartphones that we absolutely need to add to our guide. Namely: the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, the Nexus 6P and 5X, and the Moto X Pure. On the tablet side, we're inducting both the iPad mini 4 and the Surface Pro 4. Microsoft makes another appearance in the laptop section, where we've added the Surface Book, along with Dell's Chromebook 13. Rounding out the list, we threw in a few miscellaneous items, including the new Xbox One Elite Wireless controller, the redesigned Sonos Play:5 wireless speaker and Google's $35 Chromecast Audio.
The top 18 gaming products you can buy right now
In general, gaming hardware has a bit of staying power, at least until you get seduced by a next-gen console. The latest update to our buyer's guide included many carryovers from last time, although we saw fit to spin off both Sony's and Microsoft's respective cameras as their own entries. For the PC gaming set, we swapped in MSI's latest laptop powerhouse, the GT80 Titan, which offers top-of-the-range options and the satisfying clack of a mechanical keyboard. Also, we had to include Nintendo's latest 3DS XL; with face-tracking 3D, new buttons and Amiibo support, it's better than ever. You can find the whole lineup in the gallery below, but if you want to see some picks in other categories, our complete buyer's guide is always ready and waiting for you.
The 17 best laptops you can buy today
Our last buyer's guide update had a pretty solid list of laptops, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? We do have a couple of new additions to spice things up, however. We felt compelled to add the agile ASUS Chromebook Flip, which serves up a 360-degree rotatable touchscreen and killer battery life. For PC gaming, MSI's power-packed GT80 Titan is definitely worth a look. It offers top-of-the-range graphics and processing options, along with a large display and full mechanical keyboard. There are plenty of great choices out there right now, so if you're in the market for a laptop or thinking of an upgrade, it's worth taking a spin through the gallery below. Feel free to swing by our complete buyer's guide, too, for a rundown on some of the best gadgets across the board.
New in our buyer's guide: the Chromebook Flip and some gaming gear
Yes, we know: A bunch of phones just came out. Don't worry, we'll be reviewing those shortly. In the meantime, we have a handful of items we'd like to induct into our buyer's guide. Included among them: not one, but two laptops, including the impressive Chromebook Flip and MSI's GT80 Titan gaming notebook, which packs a mechanical keyboard. Rounding out the list are Teenage Engineering's pocket-sized synthesizers and a pair of gaming peripherals, including the newer Xbox One Kinect sensor and the PlayStation Camera. Also, though there's nothing wrong with the old wireless Xbox 360 controller, we've updated our guide to recommend you hold out for the wireless Xbone version. In any case, that's all for now -- check back next month to see what we add next.
The top 14 portable audio gadgets you can buy right now
We love our tunes and we're guessing that most of you do too. If you're in the market for some portable audio gear or summer's been so great that you've inflicted serious damage on your current devices, we've got a fresh list of some of the best items out there. Samsung's Level On Wireless headphones are surprisingly comfy and sound great, while UE's affordable new Roll Bluetooth speaker doesn't disappoint. There's plenty more, so check out the gallery below for a rundown of what's new in portable audio or swing by our complete buyer's guide for a full listing of gadgets in every category.
Engadget's new buyer's guide picks: the GS6, Spectre x360 and more!
Another month, another handful of reviews. Which means another round of new additions to Engadget's various buyer's guides. For the fifth month of the year, we've got five new products to induct, including Samsung's excellent Galaxy S6 and the HP Spectre x360, one of our new favorite laptops. As you'd expect, our other recommendations are solid too, but they each fall squarely in the "not for everybody" category. That includes the Apple Watch, currently the best smartwatch on the market, along with the low-powered Surface 3 and the 12-inch, mostly port-less MacBook. Whatever your tastes, chances are we've got something that makes sense for you. Check out the full guide here, and stay tuned for even more picks -- because who knows what we'll be buzzing about next month?
Engadget's new buyer's guide picks: the MacBook Pro, Moto E and more!
It's been one busy month for reviews: Engadget has published seven in the past four weeks alone. That means we've got quite a few additions to our various buyer's guides. First up: the HTC One M9. No, we don't like the camera quite as much as the UltraPixel shooter on last year's M8, but on the whole, the M9 is still among the best Android handsets you can buy right now. We've also made a nod to the new and improved Moto E, which remains one of the best budget phones on the market. Meanwhile, we have not one, but several new favorite laptops. This includes the refreshed 13-inch MacBook Pro (even despite its slightly less comfortable trackpad) and the much-improved Chromebook Pixel. Also, we'll soon be adding the Samsung Galaxy S6 and HP Spectre x360, both of which were still being testing as we were putting this latest guide together. Check back soon to find those listed, and stay tuned to see what else we might add -- we can tell you now we already have some more big reviews in the works.
Engadget's new buyer's guide picks: the Dell XPS 13, HP Stream 11 and more!
It's been a while since we updated our buyer's guide -- nothing like a bunch of winter holidays and then CES to slow us down. Fortunately, we haven't stopped reviewing stuff in the meantime and indeed, there are several top-notch gadgets we'd like to induct into our gear guides. Starting with the laptop category, we're adding HP's Stream 11 "Chromebook killer" -- a great deal for just $199. Meanwhile, at the high-end, MSI's GT72 Dominator gaming notebook replaces the older GT70. Dell's XPS 13 Ultrabook, which recently earned a near-perfect score of 90, was also a no-brainer.
Introducing Engadget's gaming and portable audio buyer's guides!
When Engadget unveiled its new and improved buyer's guides earlier this year, we started out with just a handful of categories: smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables. You know, the stuff we're most likely to give the full review treatment. Still, a few of our readers wondered why we didn't include a wider range of products. To all you who were craving a little more, the answer is: We were already on it. Today we're adding two new guides to the mix, including one for gaming gear and another for portable audio gadgets. As always, when deciding what to include, we asked the people who know best: the Engadget writers who are already testing this stuff. In the case of gaming, that includes our resident game writers Ben Gilbert, Sean Buckley and Tim Seppala. Likewise, we consulted our biggest audiophiles on staff, Billy Steele and James Trew, who in a previous life wrote about music for a living. Have a peek at our gaming and audio guides, and check back over the coming months -- you never know when we'll add a hot new item to the list.
Meet Engadget's new buyer's guide picks: iPad Air 2, Note 4 and more!
New iPads. A new Galaxy Note. New Google... everything. Chalk it up to the holiday shopping season, but we've been mighty busy reviewing new gadgets lately. Which means, it's high time we update our buyer's guides. This time around, we're replacing the iPad Air with, you guessed it, the second-gen edition. Interestingly, though, we've declined to add the iPad mini 3 -- we still think that for most people the cheaper iPad mini 2 is the smarter buy. Oh, and we got rid of a couple tablets too: Since the Nexus 7 and the 2013 Kindle Fire HD have both been discontinued, it doesn't make sense to keep recommending them.
The Engadget Buyer's Guide is back and better than ever!
If you've been reading Engadget regularly, you know we've been offering buying advice for quite some time now. And if we do say so ourselves, we're pretty good at it. Still, it was high time we shook things up a bit. Today, we're introducing our new and improved buyer's guides, which combine a sleek design with professional photography and expert advice. Whereas we used to refresh our picks only four times a year, we're now going to put up one guide each for smartphones, tablets, laptops and wearables -- and then update them whenever a hot new product comes out. That means each time we review a device that we'd recommend to family or friends, we'll add it to the buyer's guide, allowing us to give our readers real-time advice. Which is important, considering companies unveil new products seemingly every week. You can find our guides here, or you can click the handy "guides" tab at the top of the page. Have a look, and then keep checking back in. Who knows? By next month, we could have a host of new favorite gadgets.
