Apple has some new laptops, and the largest and most powerful one is a beast packing more power than most of us — including me — needs.
Except for the notch and perhaps the weight, nobody had anything bad to say about Apple's 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro running on Apple's M1 Max silicon. It was fast, powerful, efficient, and even brought back all the fan-favorite features Apple had previously stripped away, such as slots for HDMI and SD cards. Even for someone like me who's quite vocally anti-Apple when it comes to smartphones, I couldn't deny the M1 Max MacBook Pro's greatness. After I returned my review unit to Apple, I purchased my own the next day, and it's been my main work machine since. It may be the happiest I've ever been with a tech purchase in half a decade.
Kensington's SD5780T combines the SD5700T and SD5750T for better compatibility and some other worthwhile upgrades
Kensington was one of the first manufacturers to break into the Thunderbolt 4 docking station market in 2021 in the form of the SD5700T and SD5750T docks. These are both still available and are considered some of the best Thunderbolt 4 docking stations around, but buying one or the other can cause some confusion due to compatibility. The Kensington SD5700T was built to handle Windows and macOS devices, while the SD5750T was built Microsoft Surface compatibility. The docks are identical and share the same port selection, and it's not a far reach to assume that some buyers unknowingly picked up the wrong version when shopping. And what about users swapping between Surface and other devices?
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the most powerful phone on the market because it strikes the perfect balance between power and capabilities.
When it comes to smartphones, "power" is hard to define. Is it pure computational ability? One may say so, but a smartphone with the best raw computational power but a borderline unusable user experience wouldn't be considered powerful. Is it the capabilities? Maybe, but there are mid-range Samsung phones that support DeX alongside all the other use cases of a normal smartphone. As a result, "power" is likely defined as a mix of the two, and that's why the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is, to me, the most powerful Android phone on the market.
Lenovo's ThinkPad T16 replaces the old 15-inch model with a more modern one, but the poor display makes it hard to recommend.
Over the past couple of years, more laptops have been transitioning from 16:9 displays to a taller 16:10 format. It started with the best laptops on the market, but this aspect ratio has become more common over time, and it's trickled down to more affordable machines. Lenovo's ThinkPad T series is where the company's more mainstream business laptops live, and in 2022, it was their turn to get that upgrade. The Lenovo ThinkPad T16 is the result of that transition, replacing the T15 models of the past.
Razer made a meticulously designed mobile gaming device, but why not just use a smartphone instead?
Mobile gaming is bigger than ever thanks to how powerful phones have become and the mainstream acceptance of cloud streaming, and many companies are trying to get in on the action. Some of the biggest smartphone makers are working to make their devices good for gaming, which is enough for most people, but other manufacturers are trying a different path with accessories and specialty devices. Handhelds are an especially fast-growing sector, with the Nintendo Switch kicking it off the modern age in 2017 and companies like Valve following suit with the Steam Deck.
Samsung's Galaxy Book 3 Pro fixes the pain points of its predecessor but takes away what made it special.
Samsung's Galaxy Book laptops have always been some of my favorite laptops, but they've also definitely been flawed. Last year's Galaxy Book 2 series came with AMOLED screens standard, but they only had a 16:9 aspect ratio and FHD, even on the 15.6-inch models.
Apple has an underrated product that few people have the courage to discuss or try. Let's examine Apple's Polishing Cloth.
When someone talks about Apple many thoughts cross our minds: its excellent iPhones, ecosystem, walled garden, unrivaled Macs, overpriced, versatile iPads, and more. However, beyond the company's popular devices lies an often neglected product, one that very few people will talk about out loud, let alone get anywhere near. Shielded by a $19 price tag, this item is rarely noticed or purchased by anyone with a sane mind.
The Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved USB-C Hub (U3423WE) is an excellent ultrawide monitor that can do almost anything. Almost.
When it comes to work or school, you'll often hear the word "productivity" thrown around a lot. After all, your boss or teacher does want you to get the most work done during the day. This is why from my many years of reviewing monitors, I'll tell you one thing: To truly be productive, you need an ultrawide monitor, particularly one with USB-C connectivity.
Oppo's clamshell foldable phone is finally reaching a wider international audience after its China launch, but is it enough against the competition?
If you wanted a foldable phone over the past several years, chances are your only options were a Samsung Z Fold or Z Flip. Foldables from other brands (all Chinese), for whatever reason, have stuck to selling only inside China. This made for an odd situation where the foldable phone scene was highly competitive in one country. Everywhere else, there's a monopoly operated by Samsung.
The Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro is another great gaming keyboard, but did you know it's great for work, too?
From the different switch types to features like RGB lighting, there are many things you want to consider when buying a mechanical keyboard. It's why in my many years of reviewing peripherals, I've found Razer's products to be the most versatile for a gamer's needs. There's the speedy and well-performing Huntsman lineup for esports professionals or the DeathStalker for those who want a low-profile slim gaming keyboard.
The Plugable USB-C Stand dock combines a stand and docking station into one handy device, helping to turn your tablet into a proper workstation.
One of the cool parts of owning a great tablet like the iPad Pro or Surface Pro 9 is the versatility. Attach the Type Cover keyboard to the Surface Pro 9 and you get a laptop-like experience. Or with an iPad, you can prop the iPad Pro into the Magic Keyboard, so you get a device great for more casual computing. What's not so great about these devices, though, is the port selection. Tablets (and phones) don't have a lot of ports like a traditional laptop might, so this complicates using them for work.
Samsung's T7 Shield is made to withstand harsh conditions and to offer the expected T7 lineup's speedy performance
Samsung's T7 is one of the best portable SSDs on the market. It's compact, it's fast, it's available in various capacities and colors, and it's competitively priced. But it's not quite the complete package. That's why Samsung introduced the T7 Touch a few years ago, which essentially added a fingerprint reader to the standard T7 to boost security. Samsung wasn't done there, knowing that its customers working in rugged conditions would want something equally up to the task.
The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is a more refined Galaxy S22 Ultra, and while it might have features you don't need, it's one of the best.
Samsung is back with a brand-new batch of flagship smartphones in the Galaxy S23 series, with the Galaxy S23 Ultra leading the pack. This is the first non-folding Samsung phone I’ve used since the Galaxy S10, but ever since the first Galaxy Ultra phone came out with its crazy Space Zoom camera feature, I’ve been itching to try one out for myself. The wait has been totally worth it.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is here, and in comparison to the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+, it's clear that it's one of the best mobile chipsets.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 arrived to much fanfare in the Android world, seemingly answering all of last generation's problems. A better CPU and a better GPU in a more power-efficient package can only be a good thing, and after the homerun Qualcomm hit with the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, we were excited to see how it fared. We intend on putting it to the test against multiple different chipsets, but the one we were most interested in is the MediaTek Dimensity 9000+.
OnePlus' new earbuds brings all the features a modern set of wireless earbuds should, but is it enough to challenge the likes of the AirPods Pro?
OnePlus recently launched a new phone, the OnePlus 11, that is priced reasonably well and offers performance that punches above its price class. So do the OnePlus Buds Pro 2, which launched alongside the phone, fare similarly?
Dell's Latitude 9330 2-in-1 finally competes with its premium competitors.
The Latitude 9330 2-in-1 is the best business laptop I've seen from Dell to date. If there's one takeaway here, that should be it. In the past, I've complained that the relatively new 9000 series wasn't ready to compete with Lenovo's best ThinkPads and HP's EliteBook 1000 series, but that all changes with this device.
With a wide range of ports and exceptional performance, the CalDigit TS4 leaves most docks in its dust.
CalDigit has been making some of the best Thunderbolt docks and other connectivity hardware for years, building up a strong reputation for quality and powerful performance. The TS4 is CalDigit's major release from 2022, and it acts as a successor to the TS3 Plus, which used the now-outdated Thunderbolt 3 to connect. The CalDigit TS4 uses the latest Thunderbolt 4 technology to boost performance and port selection, and the result is an impressive dock that bests most of the competition.
With its new pricing model, does the company have any remnant left of a "flagship killer?"
Once upon a time, OnePlus thrived from a business model that delivered premium hardware specs at conventionally lower prices. Over time, the Chinese company departed further from this pattern year after year, eventually succumbing to competing dollar-for-dollar with other flagship smartphones.
The OnePlus 11 is OnePlus' most powerful smartphone yet, though that isn't the full picture.
There are few brands as synonymous with speed as OnePlus, and the OnePlus 11, with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, aims to maintain that reputation. It's the company's most powerful smartphone to date, and with its release outside of China, we put it to the test to see just what it's capable of and how well it performs. Not only does it pack the fastest Android SoC on the market (well, technically, that crown goes to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy), but it packs UFS 4.0 storage, too, the fastest storage you can get currently.
The Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is versatile and unique, but it needs polish and a price drop.
If there's one thing tech geeks can all agree on, it's that having more screen is always better. No one would ever claim working off a 12-inch screen is better than working off a 15-inch screen. But laptops can't just keep increasing in size the way TVs or monitors can because they must maintain portability (and the ability to fit inside bags). So most of the best consumer laptops have settled on a 13-inch screen, with more ambitious machines going for 16 or 17 inches.
