It’s almost Thanksgiving in the US, and that means the gift shopping season is in full swing. Our review team can also breathe a sigh of relief as equipment launches are delayed while companies wait for you to receive their goods. Unfortunately, this reprieve will be short-lived as we begin preparations in earnest for CES 2025, while preparing several year-end retrospectives. Most of our team members will be meeting in Las Vegas through December ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show, which officially kicks off on January 7th this year, and the news will come on January 5th.
Meanwhile, our team holiday gift guide and Black Friday shopping content Our site is dominated by the relentless hard work of everyone at Engadget. There are many people behind the scenes involved in the process as we try to find the best deals this season to better serve our viewers. I went myself Camel Camel Camel Making sure that the permanent mirror shelf is really 30 percent off and not just being listed at the same price as during off-sale periods. You have to be so careful with your money and don’t fall for scam deals and our trading team is really good at comparing the good stuff with the bad stuff.
Between all the work for our holiday gift guides, planning CES, and putting in a decent amount of time, our team of reviewers still managed to deliver some great reads just in time for the holidays.
Apple M4 iMac review
By Steve Dent
apple
Apple’s 2024 iMac model comes with a powerful M4 chip and starts with 16GB of RAM, making it a better value than past models.
- Powerful M4 processors
- 16GB of RAM comes as standard
- Much improved webcam
- Nano textured screen option
- Upgrades are still very expensive
- Need more screen size options
- There is no vertical height adjustment
Steve is one of our expert photographers and videographers and his review of the new iMac super insightful as a content creator. I have always admired Steve’s depth of knowledge and his background brought a different perspective to our research that I found relevant and helpful.
The biggest takeaway from Steve’s review is that Apple is finally offering more RAM in the entry-level model, and that’s the most interesting upgrade here. Although the webcam now has a sharper 12-megapixel sensor and the display can be configured with a nano-coating, the most significant improvement is having twice the RAM of the base configuration. Steve clearly explains why.
Comrade Aiden’s review
By Billy Steele
Companion/Engadget
The Aiden is an automatic drip coffee machine that actually delivers on the promise of hand pour quality brews. It offers many customization options and controls, plus guided brewing for novice users.
- Excellent casting performance
- Lots of customization
- Can be reconfigured for single cup use
- Graph pours easily
- The one-button interface slows you down
- Some app features are still under development
When Billy submits a draft for something outside the audio category, I know I have to be ready. Mouth-watering descriptions of the meats he pulls or the pizzas he makes with the cooking tools he reviews often evoke FOODMO (food-induced FOMO), and oddly enough, this one did. Review of Fellow Aiden. It’s an automatic coffee maker that promises to replicate the quality of brews you’d get using a pour-over cone. I’m a casual coffee drinker, so I know I prefer dark roasts, and I can tell the difference when a cup is well made. But convenience aside, I couldn’t tell you exactly why I prefer my casting cone to a French press or drip machine.
Billy’s review makes it clear why the Aiden is the best of the coffee makers that claim to deliver pour-over quality on an automatic system. At the same time, it somehow makes me crave an expertly prepared cup of breakfast. Be warned, if the bean imagery makes your mouth water, definitely make sure you have a glass of your favorite drink nearby before reading this.
Check out Loop Switch 2
By Billy Steele
Loop/Engadget
Switch 2 lets you use Loop for social gatherings, concerts, commuting, and more. delivers on its promise to safely filter out loud noise without over-muffling the sound.
- Easy to adjust while wearing
- Very convenient
- The most expensive model from Loop
- Noise levels vary by 3dB
We don’t usually review earplugs, but Billy did a pretty in-depth test Circuit breaker 2and had enough experience to compare with some competing products. That’s why we felt confident in scoring these noise-canceling headphones. You may notice that the scorecard is smaller than usual – this is something you’ll see more progress on. These represent reviews for products that have been first-hand, thoroughly tested, but for various reasons may not rise to the level of our full reviews. Rest assured that a rated review on Engadget will always include a thorough first test and thoughtful criticism and evaluation.
I was intrigued by Billy’s piece on the Switch 2, especially when I recently went to a concert and was worried about the loud music and potential damage to my hearing. I never knew earplugs were so advanced, and I learned a lot from Billy’s description of how you can switch between noise filtering levels without removing these buds from your ears.
Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet review
By Jeff Dunn
Amazon
The Fire HD 8 remains a decent value for casual media consumption tablets, especially when it’s on sale, but its underwhelming screen and ad-heavy software make it less attractive at full price.
- Cheap and frequent discounts
- Lightweight and comfortable to hold
- Improved performance compared to the previous generation
- Good battery life
- There is a microSD slot and a headphone jack
- Fire OS is ad-heavy and Amazon-centric to the point of hostility
- Limited application selection
- The screen needs to be refreshed
- Poor cameras
- Still, it’s powerful enough for light gaming and media consumption
Many Amazon tablets fall into the category of products we want to review, but usually don’t have the time or bandwidth to get around to. So I was excited when Jeff was able to find the time Try the Fire HD 8especially since it is familiar with the Amazon product ecosystem. There are plenty of Android tablets out there, and the Fire series is among the most affordable, making them a popular choice. That’s why it’s important for us to test them, to better understand what people are using, and to inform our other coverage and reviews. While Jeff didn’t love Fire OS, he found the HD 8 good enough to be a decent value. As long as you can put up with the ad-heavy interface and limited app selection, you’ll probably find this a capable device for, say, your child to use on the go.
Sonos Arc Ultra review
By Billy Steele
Sonos/Engadget
Sonos’ latest premium soundbar relies on new technology to improve sound quality, and the upgrade delivers more than just bass boost.
- Improved bass performance
- Sharp, clear and impressive sound
- Enhanced Speech Enhancement
- Compatible with Ace headphones
- Again, a single HDMI port
- Expansion remains expensive
- Large footprint
Sonos’ Arc Ultra manages to deliver better bass and sound than the original, and thanks to that Billy explains the company’s latest Sound Motion technologyI understand better how it is different. According to Billy, the acoustic improvement is significant, and the company’s upgraded software creates a greater overall experience that could be worth the extra $100. Given that the Sonos Arc now retails for $699 and the Ultra costs $999, the larger difference in cost might be harder to justify.
Sony’s PlayStation Portal improves cloud streaming
By Devindra Hardawar
Sony announced this week that it’s bringing cloud streaming to PlayStation Portal, the handheld gaming console that lets you play previously PlayStation-only games in your home. Since this was one of Devindra’s main complaints when he reviewed Portal last year, he dusted off his Portal and testing the new cloud streaming feature and was generally impressed with the performance and latency. It’s nice to see companies introduce features after a product launch, and it’s even nicer when it works well.
But since Devindra still has some confusion with Portal and delays connecting to PlayStation, the cloud streaming add-on doesn’t warrant our initial review and score update just yet. If Sony further updates the Portal and truly improves the experience, we will revise our rating. For now, Devindra says he’s just “starting to hate this thing a little less.”
On the horizon: Future reviews
We’re still waiting for a review of Amazon’s new Kindle Scribe, which it announced in October, and we’re still tinkering with our gadgets, which include the Roku, Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, and Apple Watch Ultra 2. we’re taking some time to revisit some older products so we can review them some time after launch, which will give us a better idea of how the things we’re testing will hold up over time. Stay tuned for all of this and send us your feedback and suggestions on what you’d like us to review. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it and see you soon!
