https://the-gadgeteer.com Gadget news and reviews since 1997! Fri, 22 May 2026 10:20:57 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://the-gadgeteer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cropped-cropped-wp-icon-gadgeteer-logo-32x32.jpg https://the-gadgeteer.com 32 32 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/22/5-solar-power-banks-worth-buying-for-summer-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/22/5-solar-power-banks-worth-buying-for-summer-2026/#respond Fri, 22 May 2026 09:46:59 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508124 Memorial Day weekend kicks off peak outdoor season, from coastal trail runs to multi-day basecamps and weekend road trips, and the device most likely to die on you out there is still your phone. A solar power bank solves the math by stacking a usable battery and a built-in panel into a single piece of […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/22/5-solar-power-banks-worth-buying-for-summer-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/22/m5-macbook-pro-sale-memorial-day-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/22/m5-macbook-pro-sale-memorial-day-2026/#respond Fri, 22 May 2026 05:30:06 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508117 If you’ve been holding out for a price break on the 14-inch MacBook Pro with Apple’s M5 chip, Memorial Day weekend 2026 is delivering. The M5 14-inch only launched in October 2025, and Apple refreshed its base config as recently as March 2026, so real discounts on the latest chip are still rare. This weekend, […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/22/m5-macbook-pro-sale-memorial-day-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/google-io-2026-hardware-reveals/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/google-io-2026-hardware-reveals/#respond Fri, 22 May 2026 01:33:52 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508076 Google I/O 2026 was an AI keynote with a hardware coda. The keynote ran almost entirely on Gemini 3.5, Gemini Spark, a Search rebuild, and agentic tools, then Google saved the last segment for the hardware story it has been building toward for two years: smart glasses. The hardware list out of Shoreline this week […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/google-io-2026-hardware-reveals/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/soundcore-liberty-5-pro-max-review/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/soundcore-liberty-5-pro-max-review/#respond Fri, 22 May 2026 00:01:21 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508098 Soundcore today announced the Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max at Anker Day in New York, and they’re the first two products built around Anker’s new co-developed THUS AI chip. The headline trick is on the Pro Max: a 1.78-inch AMOLED touchscreen baked into the charging case that records meetings directly to the […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/soundcore-liberty-5-pro-max-review/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/anker-solix-s2000-portable-power-station-2026-review/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/anker-solix-s2000-portable-power-station-2026-review/#respond Thu, 21 May 2026 18:44:50 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508079 Anker SOLIX just unveiled the S-Series, a new home-backup line built around a single, very specific promise: keep the fridge running longer than any other 2kWh power station, per Anker. The debut model, the Anker SOLIX S2000, packs 2,010Wh of LiFePO4 capacity, 1,500W of continuous AC output, and the first-ever TÜV SÜD A+ Runtime certification, […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/anker-solix-s2000-portable-power-station-2026-review/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/meta-quest-4-leak/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/meta-quest-4-leak/#respond Thu, 21 May 2026 15:18:39 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508065 Meta has shelved its 2026 Quest 4 prototypes, pushing the true successor to 2027 at the earliest. Industry reporting from June 2025, leaked internal memos from December 2025, and Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth’s January 2026 Davos interview line up on the same picture: both planned tiers of the next flagship are off the table, and […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/meta-quest-4-leak/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/5-noise-canceling-earbuds-spring-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/5-noise-canceling-earbuds-spring-2026/#respond Thu, 21 May 2026 13:36:22 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508057 Spring 2026 brought two true flagship launches, Sony’s WF-1000XM6 in February and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds 4 Pro in March, into a market where three strong 2025 holdovers (Apple’s AirPods Pro 3, Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds (2nd Gen), and EarFun’s Air Pro 4+) are still the picks to beat in their respective lanes. Whether you need […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/5-noise-canceling-earbuds-spring-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/royal-oak-lookalike-amazon/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/royal-oak-lookalike-amazon/#respond Thu, 21 May 2026 11:00:46 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508039 AP’s Royal Oak waitlists run years for anything worth owning, and the pre-owned 15500ST sits near $40,000. If you want the Gerald Genta look (octagonal bezel, exposed screws, integrated bracelet), you’ve got two options: wait, or buy a homage. Interest in the Royal Oak just spiked again. Swatch and AP’s “Royal Pop” is a bioceramic […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/royal-oak-lookalike-amazon/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/pixel-11-specs/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/pixel-11-specs/#respond Thu, 21 May 2026 08:11:12 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508033 An early-May Telegram leak spilled most of Google’s 2026 Pixel playbook in one shot: Tensor G6 on a 2nm process, new Samsung OLED panels on the Pro tier, smaller batteries across the board, fresh camera sensors on the Pro models, and an ambient lighting feature called Pixel Glow. With Google’s August event still about three […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/21/pixel-11-specs/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/home-robots-available-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/home-robots-available-2026/#respond Thu, 21 May 2026 04:27:59 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508016 January’s CES floor was thick with home robots. Booths lined up humanoids, rolling AI projectors, and dual-armed butlers, and every press release headline read some variant of “available in 2026.” Six months later, almost none of them sit in actual living rooms. Three units clear the bar as of May 2026. 1X NEO is open […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/home-robots-available-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-smart-locks-no-subscription-fee-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-smart-locks-no-subscription-fee-2026/#respond Wed, 20 May 2026 22:10:37 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=508005 Subscription fatigue has crept into every corner of the smart home, but your front door doesn’t have to be next. The 2026 crop of smart locks finally lets you skip recurring fees without giving up fingerprint entry, app control, or local video storage. Renters who don’t want to commit to a cloud plan and homeowners […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-smart-locks-no-subscription-fee-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/dorm-tech-gifts-under-50-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/dorm-tech-gifts-under-50-2026/#respond Wed, 20 May 2026 18:45:55 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507986 Graduation cards are stacked on the kitchen counter, the cap-and-gown photos are queued for the family group chat, and somewhere a parent is panic-shopping for a gift that won’t get lost inside a shared dorm closet by October. Most graduation tech roundups solve the wrong problem, pushing full-size appliances that violate dorm fire codes or […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/dorm-tech-gifts-under-50-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-compact-travel-tripod-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-compact-travel-tripod-2026/#respond Wed, 20 May 2026 15:19:45 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507968 Most “travel tripods” don’t actually travel. Anything under 5 pounds qualifies in marketing copy, but the list that rides inside a carry-on is much shorter. The same trick applies to stability, a 60-inch max-height spec usually requires a center column cranked all the way up, which is where stability disappears. Heading into the 2026 summer […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-compact-travel-tripod-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/iphone-air-sale-memorial-day-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/iphone-air-sale-memorial-day-2026/#comments Wed, 20 May 2026 11:53:39 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507955 A $150 cut, no successor in sight The iPhone Air just hit its lowest Memorial Day price, and the timing tells you everything. The 256GB unlocked model dropped to roughly $850, a $150 haircut off the $999 launch price. That’s the steepest discount it’s seen since hitting shelves. Price: From $789 Where to Buy: Amazon […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/iphone-air-sale-memorial-day-2026/feed/ 1 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-budget-sports-watches-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-budget-sports-watches-2026/#comments Wed, 20 May 2026 08:27:35 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507938 The Sub-$300 Sports Watch Stopped Being a Compromise The under-$300 sports watch used to be the watch you bought when you couldn’t afford the watch you actually wanted. That math broke in late 2025. Apple shipped the SE 3 in September at $249 starting, with the S10 chip, an always-on display, and sleep apnea notifications, […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/best-budget-sports-watches-2026/feed/ 1 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/computex-2026-preview/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/computex-2026-preview/#respond Wed, 20 May 2026 05:01:26 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507929 Computex feels less like a trade show this year and more like a forced reckoning. Arm laptops, hybrid handhelds, and a heavy NVIDIA presence are about to collide in Taipei, and the silicon teased over the next two weeks could shape what your next ultrabook or gaming handheld actually looks like. The show opens Tuesday, […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/20/computex-2026-preview/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/airpods-pro-3-deal-199/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/airpods-pro-3-deal-199/#respond Wed, 20 May 2026 02:36:14 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507916 Apple’s flagship earbuds rarely sit on the discount shelf for long, and the AirPods Pro 3 just hit a price that even patient shoppers haven’t seen before. Amazon, Verizon, and Costco are all running the same AirPods Pro 3 deal at $199 this week, which is $50 off the $249 list price and the steepest […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/airpods-pro-3-deal-199/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/rugged-smartwatch-specs-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/rugged-smartwatch-specs-2026/#comments Tue, 19 May 2026 23:00:10 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507888 Why 2026 is the year every brand wants a rugged watch The rugged category was niche for a decade, and then it wasn’t. Every major brand now treats “rugged” as a default product line, and the shift didn’t happen because watches got tougher. It happened because the fastest-growing sport among mainstream tech buyers is being […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/rugged-smartwatch-specs-2026/feed/ 1 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/edc-pocket-knife-folders/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/edc-pocket-knife-folders/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 18:00:53 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507899 Pocket knife law used to live in a fog of city ordinances, county add-ons, and state preemption fights. A handful of statehouse moves this cycle have started thinning that fog. North Carolina’s H439, advancing through the 2025-2026 session, defines an “ordinary pocket knife” as a folder with a blade up to 6 inches. Ohio and […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/edc-pocket-knife-folders/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/oppo-reno-16-series-launched/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/oppo-reno-16-series-launched/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 15:30:29 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507871 OPPO has put a date on the Reno 16 series, and it’s closer than most rumor threads expected. The brand has confirmed a May 25, 2026 launch event in China at 6 PM local time, with two phones already locked in for day one and at least two more variants lining up behind them for […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/oppo-reno-16-series-launched/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/best-soundbars-under-500/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/best-soundbars-under-500/#comments Tue, 19 May 2026 13:00:11 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507859 The jump from built-in TV speakers to a real soundbar is bigger than the jump from a $500 soundbar to a $1,500 one. The first upgrade fixes everything that was broken. The second upgrade chases marginal gains most living rooms can’t even reveal. The change shows up inside five minutes of plugging one in. Dialogue […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/best-soundbars-under-500/feed/ 1 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/audemars-piguet-x-swatch-royal-pop-accessories/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/audemars-piguet-x-swatch-royal-pop-accessories/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 11:00:06 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507840 The Audemars Piguet x Swatch Royal Pop dropped on May 16, 2026, and it isn’t a wristwatch. It’s a pocket watch, in eight Pop Art colorways, built around the Royal Oak’s octagonal case and powered by a hand-wound SISTEM51 movement. It ships in two case styles: the open-faced Lépine at $400 and the hunter-cased Savonnette […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/audemars-piguet-x-swatch-royal-pop-accessories/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/best-electric-lawn-mowers-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/best-electric-lawn-mowers-2026/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 08:30:40 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507825 The electric lawn mower finally got good enough this spring. Cordless decks used to feel like a compromise for green-minded buyers, but now they’re the first thing we’d point most homeowners toward, and the specs back that up. People who would’ve laughed off a battery mower two years ago are walking past the gas aisle […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/best-electric-lawn-mowers-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/memorial-day-amazon-headphone-deals-2026/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/memorial-day-amazon-headphone-deals-2026/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 06:23:04 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507808 Sony’s WH-1000XM5 just hit $278 on Amazon, its lowest tracked price since launch, as Memorial Day deals go live across the audio category. Bose is also shaving $120 off its mainline QuietComfort, and Nothing’s first KEF-tuned over-ears are matching their all-time low. We’ve pulled eight picks that we’d actually spend on, across over-ears, true wireless […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/19/memorial-day-amazon-headphone-deals-2026/feed/ 0 https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/18/garmin-venu-4-smartwatch-review/ https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/18/garmin-venu-4-smartwatch-review/#respond Tue, 19 May 2026 03:30:08 +0000 https://the-gadgeteer.com/?p=507798 Garmin’s loudest watches have always been the Forerunners. The fenix gets the marketing budget, the Forerunner 970 gets the running coverage, and the Venu has spent four generations stuck between “the friendlier Garmin” and “the one that isn’t a fitness computer.” That positioning’s finally over. Price: $499.99 (On Sale) Where to Buy: Amazon The Venu […]]]> https://the-gadgeteer.com/2026/05/18/garmin-venu-4-smartwatch-review/feed/ 0