It’s a new year, and we’ve got a lot of awesome gadgets ahead of us. Even though December might have been a bit slower, we still had plenty of gadgets to check out and go through in the Christmas month – just not as many as usual.
Moving on from November’s list, Let’s get stuck into the gadgets that defined December.
Gizmodo Australia’s favourite EV of 2023
In December, we celebrated our favourite EV of the year, the MG4, and reviewed it in the same month. The MG4 is a victory for MG. It’s extremely difficult to dislike this car, and more than any other car, I’ve felt that this could be the one for me, in particular. Small and stylish with a nice range, and most importantly actually an affordable price point, it’s cars like the MG4 that will make the biggest difference in the shift to EVs.
Samsung’s new SmartTags
Samsung’s SmartTag 2 is a really good way to find your lost keys/ cat/ bag/ whatever. It’s not perfect, there’s still a fair bit of room for improvement in the gen 3 model. But if you have a Samsung Galaxy device, and want a device to help you find stuff, and you don’t ever want to use it with any other kind of phone, this is your best option.
The Garmin Edge 840 Solar
This is the bike computer for pros and people who want all the good bike toys. It presents information well on the whole, and the solar panel adds a little extra juice if you go out for a while. Whether you’d prefer the solar panel of the Edge 840 Solar or the larger screen of the 1040 is up to you. Most people would probably benefit from the larger screen more, unless they’re frequently going for rides longer than 32 hours without access to power. At $879 it is very expensive, particularly when the version without solar costs $749. But it’s very impressive. Reviewer Alice Clarke says that she has been spoiled and never wants to go back.
A smart mug (SMUG)
Despite a high price, reviewer Alex Kidman couldn’t deny that the Ember Smart Mug 2 does fulfil its mission of keeping my coffee nicely warm over an extended period of time. It does what it says on the tin – it keeps coffees heated – but it’s an extremely indulgent gadget. It could, however, be perfect for a luxury-craving coffee lover.
The PlayStation 5 slims down
The new, smaller version of the PlayStation 5 is the same console that came out three years ago, at least in most of the ways that matter. That’s for better or worse, though if you’re looking to pick up Sony’s premiere console, then at least you can feel better knowing it might actually fit in your TV cabinet. Gizmodo’s U.S. colleagues had the chance to set the two consoles up side-by-side, and can definitely say the new console is far shorter than the original (we compared the special edition Spider-Man 2 PS5 to the new Slim, but they’re still the same console). However, most of the size difference is the height and depth. The original PS5 measured 15.4 by 4.1 by 10.2 inches. The new console is 14.1 by 3.8 by 8.5 inches, so while it’s more than an inch shorter and more compact, it’s still nearly the same width thanks to the need for the extended optical disc drive shelf.
Logitech’s new headset cuts down on dongles and introduces a mess of wires
Logitech’s new headset has a great gimmick – being able to quickly switch between any of your consoles with the flick of a button. At first glance, it’s an exciting pitch that potentially cuts down on dongle complications. However, to achieve this, the headset requires a lot of cables, essentially requiring all of your devices to be located in the same space. It’s also quite expensive at $750.
The new Tesla Model 3 sure is flashy
We also took the 2024 Tesla Model 3 for a spin in December, and while the range improvements were welcome, along with the much more premium-looking exterior, the removal of indicator stalks and a physical gear shift left us unimpressed and a little bit annoyed. Don’t get us wrong though – it’s still a pleasure to drive – but having the shifter on the centre display isn’t fun.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro
This is the kitchen sink of keyboards. It’s massive overkill for everyone but the most dedicated esports players, and yet you want one. It is very expensive, there’s no getting around that (though occasionally it’s on sale for $100 off, so you might get lucky at the sales, but even on sale, that’s a lot). But those OmniPoint switches seem like they would be pretty pricey to make, and they’re absolutely worth it for people who spend a lot of time using their keyboards and think they would benefit from being able to individually customise the actuation distance of each of the main keys. Whether or not you need it is down to you. But damn is it good.
Russia’s new electric car
Details on the Amber are a little scarce, but the New Voice of Ukraine reports that all of the components will be Russian-made and that the production version will be built at the Avtotor factory in Kaliningrad that previously made cars for BMW, Ford, Kia and Hyundai, so you know the quality will be top notch. Things like range, power and price are completely irrelevant at this point. Forget buying Chinese EVs or even Teslas. The Russians have clearly beaten everyone at the electric car game. I mean, does your car have holes in the side for paddles? No? I bet you feel like a loser now.
A prototype of the Amber electric car was presented in #Russia. The manufacturer assures that all components were made in Russia, and the car will be launched on the market in 2025.
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) December 19, 2023
And the side holes for paddles? pic.twitter.com/xO6LkyTpJq
The HP Pavilion Plus 2023
All in all, HP’s Pavilion Plus is a pretty good deal for its price. It didn’t give our colleagues in the U.S. any major complaints throughout testing, and they believe it would work as a great entry-level or budget laptop for most users. The mediocre battery is a shame but its extremely impressive display, above-average performance, and decent design make up for that.
Skullcandy’s new headphones
The active noise cancellation sucks on the Skullcandy Crusher ANC 2 headphones, so if that’s important to you, then you should move on. But if you want to feel the bass more than you want to get lost in the delicate details of a song, these headphones are excellent. It’s a weird novelty to be sure, but reviewer Alice Clarke would have loved these if she were a 15-year-old. If bass-heavy songs are your bread and butter, then you could probably get away with these as your daily driver.
Razer Put RGB on a Lexus
Razer and Lexus have had this gamer car the works for a while, with a three-part series published on the Lexus YouTube page. They’re not long episodes, 3 minutes and 20 seconds at most, and the whole thing reeks of PR stunt, but we will stride in this endeavour. The backs of the front seats have been fitted with gaming monitors, and every seat is a Razer gaming chair – with RGB nonetheless – while the front seats have a shared central screen. There are even what appears to be fake sticks of RAM behind the back seats, looking a bit like a Flux Capacitor (except instead of time travel, they make sure you can have more Google Chrome windows open). Will it ever go on sale? Haha, no.
The BlueAnt X-3D Max gets loud
The BlueAnt X-3D Max is a generally decent speaker at a fair price if you just want simple audio. Reviewer Alex Kidman couldn’t ignore the fact that in this space there’s a bevy of available smart options that can do more, but equally, there’s a market of music listeners who abjectly do not want that.
Cybertruck month
Of course, how could we not talk about the Cybertruck, everybody’s favourite eyesore? The Cybertruck was officially delivered to (some) buyers in December, with much higher pricing than originally indicated, and much lower range. It’s unlikely to Australia
Feat of Strength 3: Cyberbeast (0-60 in 2.6s) pic.twitter.com/q0cK9zb21D
— Tesla (@Tesla) November 30, 2023
The CRKD Nitro Deck
If you’re a Switch gamer who predominantly plays away from your dock, then the CRKD Nitro Deck is a good option amongst many. There’s a rich and varied ecosystem of controllers out there, and what differentiates them largely are ergonomic factors, and to an extent build quality. Reviewer Alex Kidman had no complaints against the Nitro Deck in terms of build quality, but can see how the shape and positioning of its sticks, while not an issue for him, might be problematic for others.
Image: Gizmodo Australia
That’s all for October, but check out the others:
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from March
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from April
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from May
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from June
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from July
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from August
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from September
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from October
- The coolest and weirdest gadgets from November