We reviewed a mountain of stuff this year. Seriously, go catch up if you're new here. As 2020 comes to an end, we're looking back at the gadgets that moved the needle for us. The most fun, most useful, and most surprising tech that got us through The Longest Year Ever.
OnePlus 8 Pro
No gimmicks. Just high quality materials, super speedy performance, 120Hz refresh rate, and a quad-camera setup that's finally flagship level. It's so good we called it the "God Emperor of Android."
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Oculus Quest 2
Smaller, lighter, and with higher resolution output than the original all-in-one VR headset, the Oculus Quest 2 showed VR had staying power. It's also $100 cheaper than the OG, too.
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Lego NES
This 2,646-piece Lego NES set is a brilliant throwback to the original Nintendo console. Come for the hand-cranked 8-bit Mario level, level up with a mod that turns it into a real playable NES.
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Surface Headphones 2
Most noise-cancellation headphones are pricey. Microsoft's Surface Headphones 2 start at $250, which is less than Bose 700 ($380), Sony WH-1000XM4 ($350), and AirPods Max ($550). They sound great; they're light; and have control rings on each ear cup for noise-cancellation and volume.
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PlayStation 5
Compared to the Xbox Series S/X, which are literally boxes, Sony stole the show for next-gen with the ridiculously designed (and sized) PlayStation 5. With fancy new haptics in the DualSense and more exclusives, the PS5 easily "won" the next-gen launch.
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Galaxy Z Fold 2
While everyone else's foldable sucked, Samsung went and improved the original Fold in virtually every way. The Z Fold 2 is the pinnacle of phone innovation. It'll set you back $2,000, but damn is it nice.
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M1 MacBook Air
Apple's switch away from Intel to its own silicon made the impossible possible. Best-in-class battery life? Check. Best-in-class performance? Check. Fanless? Check. The M1 MacBook Air is the best thin-and-light laptop. Period.
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Nest Audio
The Nest Audio has few compromises. It gets very loud, sounds great, and comes with the Google Assistant, the smartest digital assistant in any smart speaker.
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Kobo Libra H2O
Amazon made over $100 billion this year. Off the pandemic. It's sickening. Stick it to Jeff Bezos with the Kobo Libra H2O, an e-reader that's arguably superior to a Kindle in every way.
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GoPro Hero 9 Black
Even though we mostly stayed at home this year, the camera releases didn't stop. The one that we loved most was the Hero 9 Black. The stabilization is better; the battery life longer; and GoPro finally added a display on the front (perfect for vlogging).
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Razer Kishi
Whether you're using the Kishi to play classic games via emulation or Xbox games through xCloud, Razer's smartphone controller delivers with excellent controls and compatibility.
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iPhone 12 (all of them)
Apple didn't mess around this year. It released not one, not two, not three, but four iPhone 12s. All with a new design, mmWave 5G, and A14 Bionic chip. Easily the most exciting iPhones in years.
🍎 Read reviews: iPhone 12 & 12 Pro, 12 mini, 12 Pro Max
reMarkable 2
Get an iPad if you want the best overall tablet. However, if you're a notetaking fanatic, the reMarkable 2 offers a more paper-like writing and sketching experience. The E Ink refresh has even gotten faster since launch.
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Looking for tech reviews? Check out our latest:
🦾 iPad Air 4 review: Android tablets will never catch up now
💻 MacBook Air M1 review: Windows laptops are so screwed
🎮 PlayStation 5 review: The most extravagant console in decades
🤯 We got the 'Cyberpunk 2077' phone and it's rad beyond your wildest dreams