The tech industry had a slower-than-usual October, largely due to Google and Microsoft announcing their usual fall hardware earlier this year. Still, we’ve seen a number of companies introduce new devices over the past two weeks, while Amazon’s October Prime Day continues.
Whether you’re busy shopping or watching Elon Musk talk about robotaxis and Cybervans, the team at Engadget continues to review recent (and not so recent) products. As always, this bi-weekly roundup is here to help keep you updated, though since I missed last week’s edition (because I was on vacation), the cadence is a little slower.
From Meta’s Quest 3S VR headset and DJI Air 3S drone to Sony’s midrange suite of audio gear, these weeks have coincidentally been all about the less premium, more affordable “un-flagships,” if you will. And it turns out you don’t have to spend a large chunk of your retirement savings on companies to get great devices that are worth your money.
Meta Quest 3S Review: Great VR for $300
The Quest is arguably the industry’s leading VR headset for consumers, especially considering that it costs much less than other options while still delivering a relatively high-quality immersive experience. Unlike the Apple Vision Pro, which costs $3,500, the new Quest 3S is a much more palatable $300.
And, as Devendra observed in his review, it’s comfortable, fast, and allows wearers to access Meta’s large library of VR apps and content. In Devendra’s words, “This isn’t Meta’s first $300 VR headset, but it’s still a tremendous achievement.”
The main thing I learned from Billy’s recent reviews of Sony and Bose headphones is that flagship, premium-level noise cancellation is trickling down to midrange products. And I, as a person, am happy with that.
It seems like most of the things you’ll miss out on if you choose to save some money include spatial audio, head-tracking, and things that should make for a more immersive, seamless listening experience. Personally, I’m willing to miss out on those things for now – I really just want good sound, good sound quality, and competent reduction of background noise.
Even if you’re not keen on buying headphones, be sure to check out Billy’s device review of Sony’s Linkbuds trio, as he put his ears through quite literally pain to test the oddly designed earbuds for us. In fact, one of the rejected titles for the review was “Why am I feeling pain?” We salute you, Billy.
Continuing the trend of great products that cost less than normal, the DJI Neo is a great drone for just $200. It might seem like an exaggeration to call it the best $200 drone ever, but we really can’t think of another drone that costs the same amount that even comes close to delivering the same performance as the Neo.
And although according to our reviewer Steve, one of its main drawbacks is that it sounds like a banshee, I honestly think it would be a Pro for me just for comedy.
I never thought I’d be in the market for a drone with a sound like a banshee, but here I am thinking that $200 is a fair price for the aerial videos I can get, and I can easily do enthusiastic, opera-like singing over the footage.
On the other end of the spectrum, Steve has also tested the high-end DJI Air 3S drone and Canon’s EOS R5 II, both of which will cost you a lot more money.
The good news is that Canon’s EOS R5 II is now so much better that it rivals Sony’s rival products, as well as having attractive features such as Eye-Control autofocus.
Of course, it’s still too early to believe this. But if you have the money for these premium products, you’ll get to experience cutting-edge technology, perhaps part of the appeal is that they may not always work well.