Hardware season is in full swing. Apple launched the iPhone 16, AirPods 4 and Apple Watch Series 10 on Monday this week. On the same day, at the very same time, the review embargo for the Pixel Watch 3 lifted, and we managed to get most of our piece up then.
Not only that, we also saw Sony announce the PlayStation 5 Pro this week, plus in the last two weeks there has been plenty of news out of the IFA conference in Berlin. There were things like Huawei’s tri-fold phone, reMarkable’s Paper Pro tablet, DJI’s $200 Neo drone, a new GoPro as well as more concept Lenovo laptops.
As you can imagine, it’s been a hectic couple of weeks for those of us who cover consumer tech, and the events are far from over.
Reviews of all the big products announced recently will also be coming soon, if they haven’t already, and I am once again back to help you catch up on all the reviews we published in the last two weeks. I will also explain why there are some products we haven’t written up, like the OnePlus Pad 2.
Pixel 9 Pro Fold: Two reviewers, one comprehensive analysis
Since our foldables expert Sam Rutherford is on parental leave, the task of reviewing the Pixel 9 Pro Fold became mine. But Sam, being the responsible and helpful reviewer that he is, took time out to share his thoughts and impressions with me.
He even took the review photos for our piece, and I especially appreciate his using mahjong tiles as an interesting backdrop for his pictures.
While I focused my testing on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold as a viable smartphone alternative and its use as a multimedia consumption device, Sam provided his insight by comparing Google’s foldable to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 6.
Our review brings together those two perspectives, making for a fairly comprehensive analysis, if I do say so myself. We’ve got camera comparisons between Google and Samsung’s offerings, with evaluation of both their software, battery performance, build, shape and more.
I was also able to shoot a video encompassing all our reviews of the Pixel 9 family of phones, which covers the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and Pro XL as well as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold. The footage goes into some extra detail around things like the Add Me and Made You Look camera updates, as well as what Emergency SOS via Satellite looks like on a Pixel phone. Check it out at the top of this article!
Pixel Watch 3 review: Fighting against Apple
Google didn’t make our lives very easy with its Monday embargo on September 9th, especially with Apple’s iPhone 16 launch event happening the same day. But the good news is, our review units had arrived about two weeks prior, so we had enough time with the Pixel Watch 3 to get a better sense for it in the real world. I spent my time with the smaller 41mm model while Sam was able to share some testing insight of the new larger 45mm variant.
Within a couple of days, Sam and I were trading notes about how impressed we were with the Pixel Watch 3’s battery life. Since I hate wearing watches to sleep, Sam graciously filled me in on the watch’s sleep-tracking and auto bedtime features. Once again, teamwork made the dream work here (quite literally for me, as I would not have been able to fall asleep otherwise).
On my end, I focused on workouts and activity-tracking, double-wristing the Pixel Watch 3 with my Apple Watch Series 9 everywhere I went for two weeks. I was stoked that the Google smartwatch was better at automatically detecting my every walk, run and bike ride, but found it a little too thick compared to the competition. I also enjoyed the new customizable run workouts that let me set sprint and rest segments during my treadmill sessions.
I know that a day and a half sounds just about average in terms of battery life for modern smartwatches, but considering older models could barely last 24 hours, the improvements to runtime feel huge. Together with some Google and Pixel integrations, the Pixel Watch 3 finally feels like it’s ready to take on the likes of Samsung and Apple’s flagship wearables.
Ultimate Ears Everboom: A floatable speaker that’s more loud than good
In this review, Billy once again shows us what to look for when getting gear for a party outside. Judging by the beautiful pictures accompanying his review, it’s clear that when he’s not testing headphones or grilling meats in his backyard, Mr. Grilly Steele spends ample time at the beach for (work-sanctioned) speaker testing. I support it.
With the UE Everboom, Billy makes clear that the sound quality isn’t stellar, and music lacks in the mid range. But if it’s volume that you want, the Everboom delivers, beaming sound out in 360 degrees. Plus, it does so in a rugged, waterproof body that can also survive a toss into the pool, since, like the company’s other speakers, it floats!
However, with a score of just 75, the Everboom didn’t quite make the cut to be one of the products we award the Recommended title.