The Best Gadgets of 2023

Valve calls the Steam Deck OLED the “definitive first-generation Steam Deck.” The stunning OLED display makes returning to the OG Steam Deck’s LCD nearly impossible once you see the difference. Almost everything that annoyed you about Steam Deck has been improved, from the bigger OLED display and better thermals to an even bigger battery that’ll last roughly 30% longer. All while somehow being lighter!

This thing should hold over until the Steam Deck 2. —Jorge Jimenez

Despite some surprisingly low sales numbers, the Meta Quest 3 is perhaps the best VR headset normal folks like you and me can actually afford. More importantly, it’s completely wireless and features inside-out hand tracking, so there’s no need to set up base stations around the room. The Quest 3 even actually makes a compelling case for showcasing mixed-reality content and turns your living room into a gym or a place to fight demons. —Jorge Jimenez

The Pro model MacBooks haven’t changed much in recent years, at least based purely on cosmetics. However, the latest version of Apple’s mainline, more expensive laptop brand is easily the most powerful rendition yet. The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip can handle difficult rendering tasks just as well as it can play some pretty intensive games (all those that actually work on Mac, that is), and it doesn’t even break a sweat. This was the second MacBook Pro model released in a single year, but despite that, the M3-powered laptop was more powerful than what came before. It was also better looking too, thanks to the “Space Black” colorway. We still hope Apple does away with the notch and upgrades the screen in later editions, but it’s hard not to recommend the MacBook Pro when all somebody wants is a powerful, portable PC. —Kyle Barr

Foldables really came into the spotlight in 2023. It was the first year that companies like Motorola and Google decided to deliver their own products to the still-infant foldable market, though with mixed results. Despite the domineering presence of Samsung, which released its fifth generation Galaxy Flips and Folds this year, OnePlus, with its OnePlus Open, turned the tables on every other company with good, old-fashioned, solid design. It all comes down to the smooth folding, unfolding action, and minimal internal screen crease.

The company’s Hasselblad camera array is big but takes some impressive pics. Plus, it was slightly cheaper than the other foldables at $1,700 base at release compared to the $1,800 you needed to fork over to Samsung and Google. Foldables still have some ways to go before they hit their prime, but OnePlus still managed to show up all the other companies on its first try. —Kyle Barr

The Freewrite Alpha is a $350 writing-only implement, plain and simple. It’s lightweight and has enough battery life to follow you wherever you might go. Its small screen doesn’t have a backlight, but it effectively kept me on task. However, the keyboard is the star of the show. The keys with their Kailh Choc V2 switches offer great feedback and that real “typewriter” kind of feel. This may seem like an odd pick amid all these other ultra-modern devices, but sometimes the design details matter more than how much processing power you can stuff inside a plastic box.—Kyle Barr

They’re big. They’re expensive. Yet, as we face more extreme weather across the country and as blackouts become more of a threat, a portable battery seems more and more like a necessity. The Anker PowerHouse 767 is a massive $2,000 insurance that your food won’t spoil during a short-term disaster. It’s Anker’s biggest battery yet, with a full 2048Wh capacity, and in Gizmodo’s tests, we found it includes all the ports one needs to keep laptops or phones charged when you need a connection to the outside world. However, know this thing won’t keep your home powered for weeks at a time. It will keep things going for a day, but we were still impressed with its overall design and how well it communicates its lingering power to users through its on-device screen and mobile app. —Kyle Barr

Without Apple releasing its 11th-gen iPads this year, there was far less competition in the space. While it would normally mean Samsung would take first place by default, Google’s first Pixel Tablet proved to be a strong contender. While it lacks an attachable keyboard and its display is limited to a 60 Hz refresh rate, it managed to beat out Samsung’s massive Tab S9 Ultra or the Tab S9 FE thanks to smart home integration and the included dock. It essentially acts as a sidegrade to the Google Nest Hub Max. When docked, it easily connects to other Nest Hub products, making it a surprisingly innovative piece of smart home tech that doubles as a tablet. It’s definitely not for everyone, especially those who only want a quality tablet, but when there’s been so little innovation in the tablet space over the last few years, Google’s first entry into the space proves to be a good one. —Kyle Barr

I wasn’t expecting to like the Pixel Watch 2 so much, especially since it looks exactly like last year’s release. But this year’s performance and sensor improvements paid off. Google’s Pixel Watch 2 feels like a stylish wearable worth donning to check your notifications and stay tuned to heart rate data. It’s also the first Android smartwatch I’ve willingly slept with.

It’s not Apple’s best iPhone, but it is one of the best deals. Apple’s sub-Pro tier iPhone is an excellent package if you’re not looking for a phone that’s not all pomped-up bells and whistles. It comes in two sizes, various brushed pastel color offerings, and, more importantly, the Dynamic Island and USB-C.

Sony’s WF-1000XM5 are once again our favorite wireless earbuds. This year’s release offers a robust feature set: improved ANC, adjustable EQ settings, and sound that outperforms other wireless earbuds we’ve tested at the same $300 price point.

It’s a bummer when the phone you’re carrying each day gets outpaced by its mid-range cousin half a year after its debut. But all that is a testament to how good of a phone the Google Pixel 7a is. Google’s mid-range release offers strong camera quality for the price, the same chips as its flagships, and it’s one of the few phones you’ll find with wireless charging for under $500.

Sonos revamped its smart speaker lineup this year with a new “era” of devices. The Sonos Era 300 is a massive Atmos-capable speaker with powerful woofers and sound with presence even at a low volume. The Era 100 and Era 300 were re-manufactured to be easily repairable. The only bummer is that Sonos still only plays best within Apple households.

If you want to play retro games on the go, the Anbernic RG35XX is a comfortable fit for anyone with fond memories of the Game Boy era. This handheld can emulate thousands of retro games, up to the earliest PS1 titles, since there are no analog joysticks for anything beyond that. But you’ll want some familiarity with tweaking an emulation device like this to play 16-bit titles without stuttering. The screen on this handheld device could also be better.

Teenage Engineering is not known for skimping out on the small things, but at first glance, the company’s latest digital tape recorder, the TP-7, might seem like an ultra-expensive luxury toy with its rotating click wheel. Once you have the device in hand, you quickly realize how much quality design has gone into the $1,499 recorder. For one, it’s simply fun to use. You can scroll backward using the spinning wheel, or the rocker paddles on the side. It also packs some high-quality audio recording mics that pick up on small nuances of nearby sound, whether that’s voice or even music. Is it excessive for a mere tape recorder? Yes, absolutely, but that doesn’t cut down on the TP-7’s quality engineering.