Reviews

Looking to buy your next phone, laptop, headphones, or other tech gear? Or maybe you just want to know all of the details about the latest products from Apple, Samsung, Google, and many others. The Verge Reviews is the place for all of that and more. Whether you’re looking for buying advice, how to use products you already own, or the best deals on products we’ve tested and used ourselves and can recommend, you needn’t look any further.

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Oura Ring 4 review: still on top — for now

Oura furthers its lead among smart rings with hardware and software refinements, but its subscription is still its biggest downside.

Victoria Song

Oct 15|

Deals

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Voyage 2-in-1 Qi2 charger review.

Thomas Ricker

Oct 14|

Verge Score

Garmin Fenix 8 review: only kind of smart

The Fenix 8 adds smarter features, but they don’t quite make up for the price hike or lack of LTE.

Victoria Song

Oct 10|

How to

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Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro review: light ’em up

The company’s latest flagship earbuds might lack originality, but they nail sound quality, transparency mode, and voice call performance.

Chris Welch

Oct 9|

Thomas Ricker Oct 5

Qi2 3-in-1 wireless charging station review.

This one’s the $79.99 Kuxiu X40Q tri-folding magnetic wireless charger, but it’s available under many names and prices on Amazon or Temu. I love the design having owned a less-powerful no-name Qi version for about a year. It folds up super small for travel and unfurls into a “Z” to simultaneously charge my iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods while I sleep, all from a single USB-C cable.

<em>The box says it charges iPhones at 15W and Apple Watches and AirPods at 5W each. In practice, I was seeing it pull a maximum of 14W when charging only my iPhone 15 Pro and no more than 23W total when charging the phone, AirPods Pro, and Apple Watch Ultra simultaneously.</em>

<em>A reasonably strong MagSafe-compatible magnet holds the iPhone in place vertically or horizontally to take advantage of StandBy mode. There’s a weaker magnet on the folding Apple Watch puck, while the AirPods are held in place by gravity.</em>

<em>The aluminum alloy charging stand feels heavy in the hand, while the hinges have good resistance to maintain whatever shape you fold the stand into. </em>

<em>Here, you can read the rated specs for this Qi2 wireless charging stand branded with Kuxiu, model X40Q.</em>

<em>It ships with a 36W USB-C charger, cable, and carrying case.</em>

<em>It pulls as much as 23W when charging three devices, in my testing. Usually, it pulls less, however, which is normal.</em>

<em>The iPhone pulling 14W, just shy of the 15W maximum allowed by Qi2. Thanks, heat.</em>

<em>It can still charge in this shape if you only need to charge your iPhone. An LED indicator on the back next to the USB-C jack lights up briefly and then turns off so it doesn’t interrupt your sleep.</em>

<em>I love how small and portable this 3-in-1 stand is. A soft touch coating adds to the tactility, giving the overall build a feeling of high quality.</em>

1/9

The box says it charges iPhones at 15W and Apple Watches and AirPods at 5W each. In practice, I was seeing it pull a maximum of 14W when charging only my iPhone 15 Pro and no more than 23W total when charging the phone, AirPods Pro, and Apple Watch Ultra simultaneously.

Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Tech

The Pentax 17 is low-stakes analog photography fun that doesn’t feel like a toy

Antonio G. Di Benedetto

Oct 4|

Thomas Ricker Oct 3

Xgimi MoGo 3 Pro review.

At $449, this all-in-one Google TV projector is a good choice if portability is important and you already own a battery with USB-C PD 3.0 output. The speaker is good enough, and the auto-positioned 1080p image looks best at night but remains watchable during the day. A $499 bundle incudes a wobbly PowerBase Stand for about two hours of playback. Mine toppled over onto concrete but the projector survived!

<em>The MoGo 3 Pro can automatically hunt for the best image placement, level it, square off the corners, and focus it all while avoiding obstacles. Xgimi makes it easy to then tweak its best guess placement or turn off the ISA 2.0 tech entirely.</em>

<em>It’s small but not that small, measuring 299 x 159 x 145mm and 1.1kg. And you still have to provide power because this is BYOB: bring your own battery.</em>

<em>The projector can rotate up to 120 degrees which is not enough to point the image at the ceiling. </em>

<em>It can also be used as a Bluetooth speaker when in Ambient Light mode (slightly opened) with colors that seem to flicker instead of actually syncing to the beat of the music. </em>

<em>If you’re not happy with the sound produced by the integrated 2 x 5W speakers at the base of the unit, you can pair your own over Bluetooth 5.1. The MoGo 3 Pro also has GoogleCast built-in, but you’ll need to install MagiCast for Apple’s AirPlay support. </em>

<em>Even in Eco mode you get a decently bright and large image that can be enjoyed during the day, so long as it’s not too sunny outside. A brighter Performance mode takes better advantage of its maximum output of 450 ISO lumens but it’s only available when powered by the included 65W AC wall adapter. Unfortunately, this mode also causes the fan to kick on at a very loud 67dB, which is about as loud as a microwave!</em>

<em>I had to manually adjust the image to fit into this oddball space at dusk. Here, I’d turn off the ISA 2.0 tech at startup or when the unit is moved to avoid having to resize everything manually again.</em>

<em>The PowerBase Stand consists of two 16.1-inch sections to create a short tripod or a longer 26.1-inch tripod with 20,000mAh battery. In my testing, that’s enough power for about two-hours of continuous playback when the projector is in Eco mode.</em>

<em>A better look at everything that comes in the box with the $499 PowerBase Stand bundle.</em>

<em>ISA 2.0 automatic keystone correction kicking in. This can be set to happen at startup, when the device is moved, or never.</em>

<em>This flap doesn’t always close which is annoying. Otherwise the build quality is pretty good, if a little too plastic-y.</em>

<em>The USB and Micro HDMI (ARC supported) ports.</em>

<em>Attaching the </em><a href=other/xgimi-creative-optical-filter___em_%2449 Creative Optical Filter</em></a><em> to the front of the projector and downloading the XGIMI Wall app lets you project giant magnified lightshows around your space. Cute, but only worthwhile in very dark rooms. You don’t need this.</em>

1/14

The MoGo 3 Pro can automatically hunt for the best image placement, level it, square off the corners, and focus it all while avoiding obstacles. Xgimi makes it easy to then tweak its best guess placement or turn off the ISA 2.0 tech entirely.

Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

We tested six smart rings, and there’s a clear winner

Six smart rings for the wearable reviewer, but only one ring could rule them all.

Victoria Song

Oct 1|

Thomas Ricker Sep 26

ESR Geo wallet with Apple Find My review.

The $44 Geo Wallet looks like a normal-sized wallet but has Apple’s location tracking built-in so you don’t have to carry a thick AirTag or one of those bulky “credit-card sized” trackers. The wallet can’t be located with Apple’s “Find Nearby” ultra-wideband tech but it shows up on a map and emits a decently-loud tone when left in a cab or just down the hall.

<em>The Geo Wallet is average sized, and definitely not freakishly large even after stuffing it full of cards and cash. If you find the Indiegogo listing annoying (it is), ESR will start open sales on Amazon around mid-October.</em>

<em>The tracker is under the flap and produces an audible tone that’s a little louder than an AirTag which should help you locate the wallet when lost.</em>

<em>The battery will last for up to five months on a two-hour charge from a proprietary pogo pin charger... which I lost. Too bad the charger doesn’t also have Find My built-in.</em>

<em>Divider for receipts and whatnot.</em>

<em>This is my </em><a href=other/a__em_%c2%a0wallet — </em><a href=other/valentines-day-gift-guide-tech-gadgets-games-home-ideas-2020___em_a Verge favorite</em></a><em> — which makes the Geo Wallet look giant by comparison.</em>

<em>I live in a cashless society so I rarely need to bring my wallet anywhere. That makes its size less of an issue and being able to find it more important.</em>

1/7

The Geo Wallet is average sized, and definitely not freakishly large even after stuffing it full of cards and cash. If you find the Indiegogo listing annoying (it is), ESR will start open sales on Amazon around mid-October.

Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Verge Score

Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 review: big upgrade, much smaller earbuds

With a slew of improvements led by a far more comfortable design, Google’s latest earbuds are a compelling upgrade for Pixel owners.

Chris Welch

Sep 25|

Thomas Ricker Sep 25

Torras iPhone 15 Pro case review.

Instead of buying the new iPhone 16, I decided to change the look of my trusty iPhone 15 Pro instead. The name might suck, but I’ve fallen in deep like with the $39.99 Torras 360-degree Ostand R Rotated Stand MagSafe Case anyway.

I had no idea I was a kickstand guy!

<em>I’ve never had a kickstand for my phone before, but now I don’t want to be without it. It’s great for video calls, watching videos, or just keeping an eye on notifications. </em>

<em>Buying cases online is tricky because you never know if it feels grippy in the hand or if the sides form enough of a lip around the display and camera cluster to offer meaningful protection. The Torras case does all that.</em>

<em>I had never heard of Torras before the company contacted me. You?</em>

<em>The black case comes with easy to install orange and green buttons in the box that have good bounce.</em>

<em>Orange metallic buttons are far superior to green.</em>

<em>The plastic feels soft and grippy. Its magnets also attach confidently to Qi2 and MagSafe chargers. </em>

<em>The kickstand ring is useful when a more secure grip of the phone is desired.</em>

<em>I like that the ring snaps back against the case with a hearty thunk. </em>

<em>The ring lays completely flat when not in use and extends easily with a fingernail. </em>

<em>I do worry that I might accidentally snap the tiny hinge if the kickstand is bent too far. But after a summer of usage, it’s not been a problem so far.</em>

<em>The case sits high enough around the edges to protect the expensive display.</em>

<em>The camera cutout is basic but also high enough to offer protection for those lenses.</em>

1/13

I’ve never had a kickstand for my phone before, but now I don’t want to be without it. It’s great for video calls, watching videos, or just keeping an eye on notifications.

Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge

Verge Score

Google TV Streamer review: smarter than your average set-top box

With more storage, a (slightly) faster processor, and some proper smart home chops, Google’s new take on the Chromecast is its best attempt at a streaming device yet.

David Pierce

and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Sep 23|

Ford

Ford’s new Digital Experience brings Android and Apple into balance

Umar Shakir

Sep 21|

Reviews

This little box provides on-demand power when off the grid

Thomas Ricker

Sep 21|

Richard Lawler Sep 21

Let’s just start with the camera.

There’s a lot more to the iPhone 16 Pro and the Apple Intelligence-less launch version of iOS 18, but if you need a reason to consider upgrading now, it might be that confusing camera.

Reviews

Behold, the black Apple Watch Ultra 2

Victoria Song

Sep 19|

Keyboards

Wooting’s 80HE makes the best gaming keyboard even better

Tom Warren

Sep 18|

Keyboards

This retro mechanical keyboard kit is all modern on the inside

Nathan Edwards

Sep 18|

Apple

Apple iPhone 16 Pro review: small camera update, big difference

Nilay Patel

Sep 18|

Verge Score

Apple iPhone 16 and 16 Plus review: all caught up

It’s a good year for Apple’s basic iPhone, even if its AI is MIA.

Allison Johnson

Sep 18|

Reviews

Apple Watch Series 10 review: an Ultra sleek package

Victoria Song

Sep 17|

Verge Score

Apple AirPods 4 review: defying expectations

The AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation are worth springing for compared to the regular pair. Both sound good, but the ANC works surprisingly well — most of the time.

Chris Welch

Sep 16|

Jacob Kastrenakes Sep 15

Can you believe this thing still uses Micro USB?

Alright, maybe it’s unreasonable for me to be upset that a Super 8 camera doesn’t have the latest and greatest USB connector. Either way: it’s very cool that a new Super 8 camera just came out.

Jordan Drake at PetaPixel shot a few rolls to test out the $5,495 camera: