We're approaching the middle of the year, and the new products keep on coming. Of course, the end of June marks the end of developer season, having already survived Microsoft Build, Google I/O, and Apple's WWDC.
If you're looking for the hottest new tech that we've had the privilege of testing out ourselves, peruse the products below that we highly recommend.
Still the best, only faster
Dell XPS 15 (9520)
- Streamlined and solid build
- Aesthetically perfect
- Strong productivity and creative performance
- Above-average battery life
- Excellent keyboard and touchpad
- Superior OLED display
- Outstanding audio
- Expensive
- Performance ceiling limited by thin chassis
The XPS 15 has been our go-to 15-inch laptop for years now. And even though it hasn't received the same radical redesign that the XPS 13 has, its familiar aesthetics are far from feeling outdated. The carbon fiber weave in the palm rests still looks and feels pleasant — and, of course, the tiny bezels around the display are industry-leading.
Most importantly, this year's model pushes more performance than in previous years, adopting Intel's latest 12th-gen H-series processors. Thanks to the advances made by Intel's hybrid approach, the Dell XPS 15 has more (and faster) cores at its disposal than ever. The OLED screen is great, as always, and even though it lacks the extreme battery life of the MacBook Pro 16-inch, the XPS 15 is as close as you'll get to a serviceable alternative on the Windows side of the fence.
A gamer's take on true wireless
HyperX Cloud Mix earbuds
- Excellent battery life
- Comfortable
- Solid sound quality in games
- Work with virtually any device
- Great microphone quality
- Frustrating touch controls
- Expensive
- No ANC
If you're going to have dedicated wireless earbuds for gaming, they'd better be good. HyperX seemed to know that going to the design of the Cloud Mix earbuds. They're the kind of product that work just as well for gaming as they do for everyday work and phone calls — thanks largely to the available 2.4GHz connection. Instead of relying solely on Bluetooth, the Cloud Mix earbuds give you that low-latency connection that gamers need, regardless if they're playing on the Nintendo Switch or their own gaming PC.
While it doesn't have ANC, the HyperX Cloud Mix certainly make an interesting case for gaming earbuds — and we're fascinated to see how this growing product category blooms over the next year or so.
Built-in cooking smarts
Weber Genesis Smart Grill
- Nice design
- Durable build
- Easy to light
- Smart technology built in
- AC or Power bank option for smart module
- Lots of storage
- Extra burner is handy
- Cost?
- Learning curve with Weber app
- Assembly takes a while
A smart grill isn't as wacky of a concept as it might seem. The Weber Genesis builds Weber's smart module (which you can purchase and attach separately) into the grill. It can monitor the temperature of your food with the included cooking probe and alert you through the app when your food is ready.
The app is great, filled with recipes that are designed to work with the sensor and send notifications to your phone. The grill itself is still the star, though. We liked the smart module a lot, but the Weber Genesis is a high-end grill at the end of the day with a durable build, plenty of storage space, and an extra burner on hand.
Form, meet function
Logitech MX Mechanical keyboard
- Excellent typing experience
- Works with Windows and MacOS
- Pairs with up to three devices at once
- Adaptive, useful backlight
- Pairing is a breeze
- A bit expensive
- Limited key remapping options
- No hot-swappable switches
The Logitech MX Mechanical just makes sense — and frankly, we're surprised it took Logitech this long to have a proper mechanical keyboard in its MX range. The MX Mechanical offers one of the best typing experiences you can get right now due to its low-profile switches, which offer the perfect amount of snap for hours of typing. Logitech offers three different switch options, too, so you can customize the feel how you want.
It's expensive, but the MX Mechanical earns its price. You can pair it with up to three devices across different operating systems, and toggle between them with the press of a button. Even better, the keyboard automatically switches between a Mac and Windows layout depending on the device you're using, so you don't need to fuss around with toggle switches.
Sound incredible, cost a fortune
Master & Dynamic MW75
- Luxurious materials
- Top-notch build quality
- Incredible sound
- Very good battery life
- Digital wired connection
- Wear sensor
- Very expensive
- Huge carrying case
- Heavy
- Annoying ANC mode switching
If you're spending $600 on noise-canceling headphones, you want them to go beyond just great audio quality. And that's what Master & Dynamic's MW75 headphones offer. They sound better than even Sony's WH-1000XM5 headphones according to our audio expert Simon Cohen, and they're built with top-notch materials that look as good as they feel.
For sound, the MW75s stand out with a digital wired connection. You can run them in a straight analog mode, or you can hook them up with the USB-C to USB-C cable to take advantage of the headset's built-in digital-to-analog converter (DAC). A DAC alone will run you at least $200 (and several thousand at the high end), so it's a great inclusion to see on the MW75s.
A versatile must-have for the kitchen
U by Moen Smart Faucet
- Delivers precise water temperatures
- Accurate measurements
- Voice control works great
- Nice design in many styles
- Battery power or AC
- Can be DIY-installed
- Versatile: Sse handle, motion or voice
- Require substantial initial set up
- Some may be intimidated by installation
Moen's U smart faucet seems like an unnecessary product until you actually use it. It can regulate your water temperature so you don't burn your hands, but it's the voice control and custom presets that make the U stand out. Using Alexa or Google, you can ask the faucet to dispense the exact amount of what you need and at the temperature you want.
Create a preset for your pet's water bowl, or let the faucet do the work and ask it to wash your hands (which will run you through a proper hand washing routine with warm water). From hands-free operation when you're doing the dishes to precise measurements free of a measuring cup, the U by Moen is a shockingly potent centerpiece in the modern smart home.
