Engadget review summary: Best budget apps

It’s a slower October than usual in the tech industry, thanks in large part to Google and Microsoft holding their usual fall announcements earlier this year. However, we’ve seen a fair number of companies unveil new devices over the past two weeks, as Amazon Prime Day continues. Whether you were busy shopping or watching Elon Musk talk about robots and cybervans, the Engadget team continued to explore new (and not recent) products. As usual, this bi-weekly collection is here to help you catch up, however because I missed last week’s edition (as I was out of time), the cadence is a bit off.

From Meta’s Quest 3S VR headset and DJI’s Air 3S drone, to Sony’s audio equipment set, this week has coincidentally been about “flagships” that are not cheap, if you would like. And you don’t have to throw away chunks of your retirement savings at companies to get solid equipment worth the money.

by Devindra Hardawar

The Quest is clearly the industry leader in consumer VR, especially considering that it costs a fraction of other options while still providing a high-quality immersive experience. Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, which costs $3,500, the new Quest 3S is a lot cheaper at $300. And, as Devindra noted in his review, it’s comfortable, fast and allows users to access Meta’s huge library of VR apps and content. To quote Devindra, “It’s not Meta’s first $300 VR headset, but it’s still a huge success.”

Reviews of Sony LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open and Bose QuietComfort Earbuds

by Billy Steele

The main thing I learned from Billy’s recent reviews of Sony and Bose headphones is that high-end noise cancellation falls short of midrange products. And I, for one, am happy about it. It seems that most of the things you’ll miss out on if you choose to save some money are features like surround sound, head tracking and things to do for a powerful, clear listening experience. Personally, I’m not likely to miss those things at the moment – I just want decent sound, good voice quality and good background noise reduction.

Be sure to check out Billy’s review of three of Sony’s LinkBuds devices even if you’re not in the market for headphones, because he’s put his ears through real pain to test these amazingly designed earbuds for us. In fact, the topic rejected for the test was “Why do I feel pain?” Goodbye, Billy.

DJI Neo and DJI Air 3S reviews

by Steve Dent

Continuing the trend of good products that cost less than usual, DJI Neo is the best drone for only $ 200. Calling it the best $200 drone ever made might sound hyperbolic, but we really can’t think of any drone costing the same amount that came close to delivering on that. same function as Neo. And while one of its biggest drawbacks, according to our reviewer Steve, is that it sounds like a banshee, I honestly think it’s a pro for me for the pure humor of it all . I never thought I’d be in the market for a banshee drone but here I think $200 would be a reasonable price to pay for the aerial videos I could get, and I could sing easily, singing with words .

On the other side of the spectrum, Steve also tested the high-end DJI Air 3S and Canon’s EOS R5 II, both of which will cost you a lot of money. The good news is that Canon’s EOS R5 II has improved to the point that it is better than Sony’s offerings, while bringing interesting features such as eye autofocus. Of course, it’s too early to be confident. But if you have the money for these premium products, you will experience bleeding edge technology, perhaps part of the appeal is that they may not always work well.

by Dan Cooper

I know that Dan was a bit worried about giving a tool like ReMarkable Paper Pro such a high rating, but after some discussion, we both agreed that it was right. As it stands, the ReMarkable Paper Pro is arguably the best writing pad with a color screen, even after this week’s announcement of Amazon’s first color version. According to Dan’s review, Paper Pro not only improved with the addition of color, but also became faster and more reliable in operation.

I really enjoy how care has been taken to integrate text and fill-in more clearly for a more natural way of taking notes and making comments. And while it falls outside of this issue’s general theme of being an affordable product with premium specs, I’m still incredibly tempted to find ways to cough up $600 or more. needed to get Paper Pro yourself with the tools Dan recommends.

Reviews of Phoenix Springs and Neva

by Jessica Conditt

I’m not much of a gamer, but I love learning about games from Jess. He recently reviewed the sci-fi mystery Phoenix Springs and the fantasy platformer Neva, in pieces so beautifully written that I can’t help but itch to check out each title to hear his take on it. clarity. Phoenix Springs even follows a tech journalist and covers my favorite genres (science fiction and mystery), while Neva’s art just looks beautiful. I don’t know if I’ll find time to play the new games, but these two have been added to my list.

Future thoughts: When he’s around

The Engadget team knows a lot, and when we start writing our holiday gift guide, we think about our favorite products for ourselves and our loved ones. Most of us love e-readers and writing tablets. I have my eye on one of the new Models announced this week, especially the new Kindle Writer and possibly Colorsoft. Those won’t be available until later this year, so for now I’ll keep an eye on ReMarkable Paper Pro. I’ll also wonder what Amazon’s device manager, Panos Panay, has up his sleeve, other than cans of Diet Coke – something I’ve learned (like most people) he enjoys when I get the chance to talk to him. in discussions this week.

Most of us are millennials and have a soft spot for retro games. Our senior editor Aaron Souppouris spoke with the folks at Analogue, and you can read his well-written piece to learn more about the upcoming Analogue 3D.

This week, the Apple brand surprised us by announcing the new iPad mini, designed to provide more storage and power with the A17 Pro processor. It will support Apple Intelligence, of course, and while it seems like a minor upgrade, my colleagues and I still love the idea of ​​a small tablet. If only it had a better screen.

All of these newly announced items are on our review list, along with things like the Google TV Streamer and the Samsung Galaxy S24 FE that debuted a few weeks ago. As we get closer to November and all the holiday shopping that brings, hopefully the hardware starts to slow down. We’ve been waiting for Apple’s event for Mac, and we still remember being surprised by the announcement of Humane’s AI Pin late last year. But for now, we’re walking around taking a shower sometimes longing for a simpler time.