Just because they’re out of college doesn’t mean that the grads in your life won’t have time for gaming – it’s a great way to blow off steam after a hard day at work, or after a particularly grueling job search. But now that they’re older they could definitely up their accessories game a bit, so we’ve rounded up some of our favorite gaming items that will upgrade their experience, and a few hot titles that will give them plenty to do this and talk about this summer.

8BitDo Pro 2

8BitDo

Your grad is fully out in the adult world now, so they really deserve a pro-level controller for their gaming activities — particularly one that’s flexible for all their needs, be it mobile or console gaming. 8BitDo makes a number of great solutions, but the one that we’d recommend above all else is the Pro 2. This PlayStation-styled controller is super comfortable to hold, pairs easily via Bluetooth and is compatible with a wide range of devices, from Windows and macOS machines to Android devices to the Nintendo Switch. If your grad is a tinkerer, the Pro 2 will even work with the Raspberry Pi. This is truly the Swiss Army knife of game controllers.

Logitech G435

Engadget

A headset is a must-have if you want the best game audio, but being tethered to a computer or console is not so much fun. Neither is the selection of colors available for most headsets, unless you’re a big fan of red and black all the time. Luckily, Logitech has this stylish wireless headset for around $80. The G435 connects to a computer via a Logitech Lightspeed dongle so your gamer won’t have to worry about Bluetooth lag or an unreliable connection. As for looks, it comes in cheery colors like blue or lilac, and the padded ear cups and headband will keep a head cool while not mussing up their hair.

Elgato Stream Deck Mini

Elgato

If your grad is thinking about a career in streaming, they’re going to need the proper equipment to get started. It’s best to start out small, and the Stream Deck Mini is a nice, affordable way to dip their toe in the water. The Deck’s six buttons give budding streamers one-touch access to popular functions like lighting, audio and emotes. And it’s super easy to set up — just drop and drag in the software. Becoming a famous streamer can be a lot of work, and the Stream Deck just makes it a bit easier to handle.

Logitech Litra Glow

Logitech

Another key item to a successful streaming career is the lighting. After all, someone can’t be an on-camera personality if you can’t see them on camera. But ring lights can be expensive, unwieldy or just hard to set up. Logitech makes all those problems go away with its Litra Glow streaming light. This compact light can clip on the top of a laptop for on-the-go streaming while also providing soft all-over illumination — no telltale rings in your grad’s eyes when they stream.

Timbuk2 CS03 Crossbody Sling

Timbuk2

No more classes means your grad can slim down in the backpack department. But if they’re a gamer they’re still going to need something with lots of pockets to store cables and cards. Gaming accessory maker SteelSeries and shoulder bag company Timbuk2 have collaborated on a pair of bags made for the gaming lifestyle, and the smaller CS03 is perfect for carrying around a Nintendo Switch, headphones and other mobile gaming accessories. This crossbody bag may remind you of a fanny pack, but it has way more pockets for cords and game cards, and a padded lining to keep delicate LCD screens safe from scratches.

SteelSeries Rival 5 Gaming Mouse

SteelSeries

Gaming mice are great for a lot more than just gaming — they’re great for school and work, so if your grad doesn’t already have one, why not upgrade them to the versatile Rival 5? Its curved shape feels great in the hand and the customizable lighting isn’t too flashy so it works for both home and office. Players will appreciate the array of nine programmable buttons that fit all genres of gaming, including popular titles like Fortnite and Genshin Impact to deeper strategy experiences like the Civilization series.

Razer Huntsman Mini

Razer

Your gamer shouldn’t have to settle for the keyboard that came with their laptop. They shouldn’t have to settle for anything less than a premium mechanical keyboard, and you don’t have to break the bank to get them one. The Huntsman Mini is a small 60 percent deck with optical switches. That’s not word salad – this just means it’s a smaller keyboard without a number pad or arrows, and it uses lasers under each key for a super fast response time. It’s a great keyboard to have in a gaming arsenal for travel purposes, but it’s good enough that gamers might make it a full-time accessory.

Video games

Pokémon Arceus Legends

Nintendo

With the school year over and done with, grads have a bit of time on their hands, so why not give them a game to kick back and relax with when they’re not searching for a job? Players who grew up with the Pokémon franchise will appreciate this fresh take on the world, with action-oriented gameplay and a storyline that takes place in the distant past of the Sinnoh region from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. Even if they haven’t played a Pokémon game before, Legends can make a good entry point to the franchise that will get them ready for this fall’s new generation of creatures in Scarlet and Violet.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Nintendo

Kirby titles have gotten a lot easier over the years, but Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a game for the old-school gamers who like more of a challenge. This epic title has Kirby exploring a post-apocalyptic world, battling enemies and gaining new abilities. If your grad has ever wondered if Kirby could eat a car, this is the Switch game to get them. Fans are even calling it the best Kirby game since the ‘90s, so it’s sure to keep your loved one busy over the summer.

Elden Ring

FromSoftware

Your grad has probably been super busy this year so far, studying for finals and getting ready for graduation. So it’s likely they haven’t dipped their toe into the massive, immersive experience that is Elden Ring. This epic title can be brutally difficult with a big learning curve, which makes it less for casual gamers than for those players who have a lot of time on their hands… like someone just out of school. Soon enough they’ll be slammed with job offers, so give them this soon-to-be-classic while they can fully enjoy it.

Razer has increasingly gone from a specialized gaming accessory maker to more of a lifestyle brand. In addition to keyboards, mice, headsets and controllers, you can buy chairs, backpacks and even a wearable air purifier. But with this recent expansion into various aspects of the “gamer lifestyle,” there’s always been one obvious omission: home theater. Namely, speakers — an absence that’s especially annoying given that Razer released a soundbar way back in 2014. Now, the company’s back in that space with its new souped-up $250 Leviathan V2.

The original Leviathan was a small 5.1 Dolby Digital soundbar with 5.1 channels: two full-range drivers, two tweeters and a subwoofer. The somewhat diminutive V2 ups the ante with THX spatial audio and 7.1 channels. That’s two full-range drivers, two passive radiators, two tweeters and a downward subwoofer. The Bluetooth has been appropriately upgraded from v4.0 to 5.2, and it’s even easier to switch between multiple devices. In fact, in my hands-on time with the speaker it was basically seamless, only requiring the touch of a button.

Razer

The most noticeable change to the Leviathan is the addition of Chroma RGB lighting, so the soundbar’s look can be made to match the rest of a user’s Razer setup using the same software as its keyboards, headsets and mice. The nice thing about it is that the device itself isn’t adorned with a glowing logo or edges; the colors are restricted to underneath the speaker so it’s more like mood lighting.

The big thing about the Leviathan V2 is the spatial audio, which makes it possible for gamers to track movement by listening for it, something that headsets do well and soundbars usually can’t. But many players don’t like wearing headsets, and for a number of reasons — maybe they find headsets uncomfortable no matter how much padding the manufacturer adds, or maybe they prefer keeping their ears free so they can listen for real-world sounds like the doorbell or a baby crying.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

Razer also acknowledges that people are generally spending a lot more time in front of their computers, even watching their favorite TV shows and movies on a monitor but not having the sound system to back it up. And that’s where I noticed the most difference with the Leviathan V2. I got to watch some game footage and a few movie trailers with it, which was nice and loud with booming bass. It certainly made the idea of making my computer a home entertainment hub a lot more appealing, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it at home so I can give it a more comprehensive run-through with my preferred PC titles and find out if it really is a better way to game.

The following contains moderate spoilers for the fourth episode of ‘Star Trek: Picard’ season two.

Continuity is something that comes up in geek media a lot, from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to Star Wars to DC’s TV Arrowverse. It used to be a thing only hardcore nerds really cared about, but now it’s gone mainstream, with fans of all stripes cheering at callbacks and pointing out inconsistencies. Star Trek was probably the first major example of an interconnected universe that most people were aware of, but as the franchise continues to grow, with at least five shows in active production and more on the way, is consistent continuity something it can keep up with?

Out of all the current shows, Star Trek: Picard probably has the strongest ties to continuity right now. It’s billed as a direct sequel to Star Trek: The Next Generation and follows the adventures of Jean-Luc Picard 20 years after we saw him and the Enterprise-E crew in Nemesis. Season one found him a broken man, after a devastating attack on Mars and the banning of synthetic life. This storyline actually made a good follow-up to the events of The Next Generation, in which the rights of an artificial being like Data were constantly being called into question.

CBS

Season two so far has decided to focus on the relationship between Q and Picard, with the omnipotent being thrusting the old admiral into an alternate reality similar to, but not identical to, the twisted mirror universe where everyone is evil. In this reality Picard is an admired general in a genocidal empire. He makes the decision to travel back in time to the point of divergence with the reality he knows, a common Star Trek plot device.

It’s common enough that the episode makes two references to at least two other previous time travel adventures in the franchise: Seven and Raffi encounter a punk on a bus with a boombox blasting the song “I Hate You” at top volume, a recreation of a scene from The Voyage Home (even featuring the same punk), and later they find that their colleague Rios is being taken to a “Sanctuary District,” a concept first introduced in the Deep Space Nine two-parter “Past Tense.”

CBS

And yet, there’s an entire plot line that involves Picard heading to a set of coordinates only to arrive at 10 Forward Street, the location of Guinan’s bar in the season premiere. Picard even laughs when he sees the street sign, showing that even he’s aware of the amusing similarity to the name of Guinan’s bar on the Enterprise-D. Star Trek is no stranger to coincidences, though the next scene makes me wonder if the writers were aware that Guinan’s bar is called 10 Forward because it was at the very front of deck 10.

Even though it is 2024, Guinan does in fact happen to be there, though she’s closing up shop. But instead of a happy reunion between the two, this version of Guinan doesn’t recognize him at all. This doesn’t seem to perturb Picard in the slightest — he even withholds his name and where he really comes from so as to not disturb the timeline.

Long-time Trek viewers will immediately see the problem with this, namely in that another time travel adventure, the TNG two-parter “Time Arrow,” Picard met Guinan in the 19th century. He saved her life, even. And that adventure was actually an answer to a long-standing question on the show: How did the two become friends without ever meeting before she stepped foot on the Enterprise-D in season two of TNG? Guinan once said their relationship was “beyond friendship, beyond family” and while the whole adventure might not have been the ideal solution that fans wanted, it was good enough at the time.

So, when Picard walks into 10 Forward Street, it seems like the perfect opportunity to deepen the connection between the two characters further. Reunited after 131 years! It’s a level of “wibbly wobbly timey wimey” that Doctor Who is known for and has managed to make work, in particular when establishing the relationship between the Doctor and River Song. If the connection between Guinan and Picard is “more than friendship, more than family” there’s room for another adventure between the two to establish why they care for each other so deeply.

CBS

Instead, it’s like they’re meeting again for the first time. This Guinan is jaded, almost angry at the state of Earth, which is why she’s leaving now. It seems uncharacteristically bitter for her, who is usually a caring, curious person. And, while Picard feels like he can’t reveal details about the future to her, he does feel like he has to convince her not to leave Earth.

But… why? Long-time fans know that at some point she returns to her homeworld, only to become a refugee when the planet is attacked by (presumably) the Borg. And when we saw her in “Time’s Arrow,” she was merely visiting, and was unlikely to stay long lest her mother show up to come collect her. It doesn’t really track that she would have hung out another 131 years, even going so far as to open a business or have a dog.

CBS

I previously argued that there’s a point where it becomes unrealistic to expect fans to keep up with every bit of continuity. There are almost 30 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and days worth of TV shows to match. And it’s impractical to expect a new Star Trek writer to watch 800-plus episodes of old Trek before they’re allowed to write a single word of script.

But to watch at least a few episodes of the show relevant to the current storyline? That’s not a huge ask, especially in a world where everything is available via streaming. We’re long past the days of the BBC erasing the tapes of Doctor Who or the original prints of films like Star Wars disappearing into the void. And no longer are TV show archives locked away in corporate storage facilities or stacked in basements of hardcore collectors. Just a few clicks on Paramount+, and any episode of any Star Trek series can be pulled up on demand. Which includes “Time’s Arrow.”

CBS

But it’s even understandable that under a time crunch, perhaps the writers couldn’t watch every episode with Guinan. But even then the excuses are thin, since the writers could do what I did before writing this post: Google it. Pull up Star Trek wiki Memory Alpha, punch in “Guinan” and skim through the entry to get a full list of her appearances. There’s even a section specifically about Picard and Guinan’s friendship, which would have alerted any reader to the existence of the “Time’s Arrow” two-parter, even if the writers for whatever reason had never heard of it.

With 56 years of history and most of the writers born after the original series — and newer shows even employing people born after The Next Generation — they can’t be expected to know everything. But even as everything becomes “available forever,” there are people who’ve made it their jobs to sort through all of it and keep track of every little detail. Some writers argue that continuity can be stifling, and the jury’s still out on how much it matters, but in the case of Guinan and Picard the appeal is the characters’ shared history. A shared history that isn’t hard to look up on today’s internet.

In today’s world of Twitch and Zoom a good headset is becoming a must-have item for their comfort and audio quality. But there are two major stopping blocks toward them being an everyday item: their high cost and unfriendly designs. No one wants to look like an air traffic controller or call center employee, but at the other end it’s all severe black and neon green, more suited to Fortnite or Roblox than a meeting about your latest call about KPIs and OKRs. But Astro, one of the leading names in gaming headsets, might just have the solution with its new A10 headset.

The Logitech-owned company has an array of headsets with an “A” prefix followed by a number; the higher the number, the more advanced and expensive the headset. The current top of the line is the A50, a wireless set that comes with a base station for charging. It looks like a piece of equipment from a science fiction movie, and it costs $300.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

The new A10 sits at the opposite end of the lineup, a $60 wired headset that pretty much eschews all frills. There’s a flexible flip-to-mute mic and in-line volume control and that’s about it. The ear pads and headband are well-padded in a smooth cloth that is only lightly textured so it doesn’t catch on my hair when I slide it on and off. The mic has a rubbery feel to it, both to the touch but also in the way you can band it back and forth.

And it’s not just the mic you can bend back and forth; the band of the A10 can be twisted into a near spiral without showing any cracking or tearing. It’s designed to be dropped and thrown, which is good because I have knocked it off my desk several times today while working. (I have a messy workspace, okay?)

Kris Naudus / Engadget

Key to the new A10’s appeal is the color options; it comes in black, white, gray, mint and lilac. For my review unit I chose the latter color partly because of its novelty — most headsets come in grayscale tones — and because I already have Logitech’s G733 in lilac and wanted to do a direct comparison. The G733 is a more expensive ($150) wireless headset with lights on the front so it’s not really a competition in terms of features, but I was curious about the looks.

Though both Logitech G and Astro are sibling brands, the lilac shades of their headsets are distinctly different. The G733 is a bluish purple while the A10 is more on the pinkish side. I’m not sure which I actually prefer. The ear pads on the G733 are slightly better but when it comes to the headbands on the two sets the A10 is the clear winner, since the G733 uses a stretchy band which pulls at my hair and gives me a bit of a bird’s nest when I take it off.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

My biggest use case for headsets isn’t work calls but rather Dungeons & Dragons games with my friends over Twitch. In our last session I started off with the A10 since all I needed to do was plug it in; the headset comes with a detachable 3.5mm cable that is black and only black no matter which color headset you buy. It’s ugly. At first I actually plugged it in the wrong way; though both ends are the same width, they are slightly different lengths, the better for one end to fit in the jack on the headset itself. Once I got it sorted out the audio was serviceable, though there was some hollowness on the call that might have been shitty mic quality on my friends’ sides. However, I switched to the G733 midway through our evening and noticed some improvement.

Logitech G’s been making more fashion-forward headsets for a while; the closest analogue the company has to its sister brand’s A10 is the $70 G335. The G335 is largely identical to the G733 in terms of fit and feel; it just lacks the wireless capabilities and RGB lighting. It also doesn’t come in lilac, so if you’re looking for a cute, high-quality headset for under $100 in purple the A10 is your only option right now. Luckily it’s a good one.

Mobile gaming has been a huge thing for a decade now but it’s only recently that accessory makers like Razer and Logitech have taken it seriously, offering gaming headsets made especially for phones. On the controller front, however, SteelSeries has been ahead of the curve for some time, selling the Nimbus line of gamepads for Apple devices, and Stratus for Android and everything else. Today the latter gets a big upgrade with the addition of the $60 Nimbus+.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

At first glance it doesn’t seem like a big change for the gamepad; once again we’re looking at a matte black, Xbox-style controller. But this time around, the Nimbus comes with a phone grip in the box: no more buying a separate accessory. The clip is thin when folded, with two long metal prongs that you can push out to plug them into the top of the gamepad. It’s kind of satisfying to slide the clip and not difficult — which is good, because if you screw up you’re likely to scratch the finish on the gamepad, and the matte texture can only do so much to hide it.

In hand, the Nimbus+ is solid and doesn’t feel heavy, even with a phone attached to the top. The clip holds the phone securely, though placement is an issue since I have a Pixel 3, meaning the volume control sits midway on the right side, putting it right under where the clip would grip the phone. So yes, I ended up turning my volume down a lot if I wasn’t careful. That’s probably the hardest part of using the Nimbus+, since connecting via Bluetooth is super easy now.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

I fired up Brawlhalla on my device and started punching and kicking my way through levels. The buttons had satisfying bounce and were incredibly responsive; it’s always nice when the character does what they’re supposed to, especially in a fighting game where timing matters. Poor responsiveness is generally why I shy away from playing most action games on a touchscreen.

Which gets to the bigger question of whether I actually need something like the Nimbus+. I play games on my phone, sure, but it’s usually the kind of stuff I can play one-handed and that doesn’t require a lot of nimble finger work. (I had to download Brawlhalla for testing.) But at least for PC gaming it’s a solid option if you prefer Xbox-style wireless controllers.

The following contains minor spoilers for season four, episode 14 of 'Star Trek: Discovery.'

Season four has been an interesting one for Star Trek: Discovery. The show finally embraced a more episodic format, only to slide back into an ongoing storyline in the back half of the season. But today’s finale once again promises a return to the things that make Star Trek, well, Star Trek. And, while Discovery also made those promises at the end of last season, there’s more reason to believe that this time the changes will stick.

It starts with the fact that while the major threat this season began as a spatial anomaly (known as the Dark Matter Anomaly, or “DMA”), it was discovered to be merely a harvesting tool used by a previously unknown species, one the Federation calls the 10C. It may have seemed harmless to the 10C in its role as farmers, but the Federation found itself in the role of a rabbit in front of a plow. The DMA destroyed Kwejian; both Ni’Var (née Vulcan) and Earth were next.

CBS

In previous seasons this would have shifted Starfleet into action hero mode, and some characters did advocate for a more assertive and violent approach. But instead of merely jumping into the fray we got lots of… arguing. This may not sound exciting, but it’s always been one of the things Star Trek does best: people discussing conflicting ideas. Some advocated for a peaceful solution and that was ultimately the course decided upon, since it was closest to the Federation ethos of peace and exploration. In other series this might seem like a terrible idea, but Trek is supposed to be, in theory, a utopia. This kind of thinking is one of the cornerstones of the franchise.

There are those who disagree, spearheaded by Cleveland Booker and Ruon Tarka. But while their actions turn them into antagonists, they don’t become villains. We’ve seen this in previous shows like The Next Generation and Voyager, where terrorists like the Maquis were treated with empathy. In Discovery it’s even more at the forefront given Book’s status as a main character, but also the series’ ethos as the Star Trek show that’s all about feelings. While the show sometimes takes flak for all the crying, here the emotional elements feel well balanced, with everyone’s motives clearly articulated both to each other and to the audience. It’s easy to understand each character even if you disagree.

And understanding is the lynchpin of the plot here; the 10C are not carbon-based lifeforms and they don’t communicate like humanoids do. It’s a classic Star Trek problem, as seen in episodes like “Darmok” or “Amok Time.” So last week’s episode was dedicated to the crew and assorted ambassadors methodically working through mathematical and chemical solutions to build a working bridge language. They managed to establish to the 10C that there were problems with the DMA, opening up the door to further negotiation in this week’s episode.

“Coming Home” has a lot of meanings in the context of the actual episode. There’s the threat of the DMA heading toward Earth, there’s a number of scenes set in our solar system involving returning character Sylvia Tilly, and reconciliation between Michael Burnham and her lover Cleveland Booker, the person who grounds her in the 32nd century.

CBS

But there’s also meaning in that the episode is where Discovery finally reconciles itself as a Star Trek show, making its highest point of drama not the struggle to evacuate a doomed planet, or the attempts to stop Tarka’s plan, but the actual face-to-face (so to speak) discussion with the 10C. It’s nothing like the action-based approach of the Abrams films or even earlier seasons that dealt with war and time travel and evil sentient computers. It’s diplomacy. It’s a lot of talking, and sitting around and talking about feelings.

And some of those feelings are what you’d call… environmentally minded. It isn’t enough that the 10C merely stops destroying planets that house sentient life. The fact is, the DMA also creates pollution and that needs to be stopped as well. With Earth in immediate danger it seems like an unreasonable ask at the moment, but it’s also very much in the ethos of Star Trek to consider one’s general societal and galactic impact as well. The core of Star Trek is humanism and social justice, and so many classic episodes deal with issues of identity, civil rights, and environmental issues. Discovery has spent so much time dealing with one huge violent crisis after another that it hasn’t had time to do simpler humanist metaphors, and bringing that in at the end here seems to indicate a desire to deal with those issues more in upcoming seasons.

The entire denouement makes that promise: The Federation is growing in strength, the Discovery crew is taking some time off for themselves, and a very special guest toward the end seems to be the show making its politics clear to those segments of the audience who love to decry “woke Trek.” Star Trek has always been woke, but Discovery has only dipped its toe into the water in previous seasons. With its fifth season on the horizon, it’s ready to plunge fully in.

Kids love to imitate the adults in their lives. That’s why you can find such odd items in the toy aisle as baby-sized irons, mops and vacuums. Now you can add more weirdo item to that list, one that has some members of the Engadget staff howling with laughter: A baby gamer chair. Yes, you read that right. Baby. Gamer. Chair.

VTech, long-time purveyor of kiddie tablets and educational toys is now selling a tiny gaming chair for budding streamers and future Fortnite players. The $50 Level Up Gaming Chair is a plastic simulacra of bigger leather seats made for adults, complete with slick black armrests and a molded back with two cut-out sections for air flow. However, instead of wheels, the chair rests on four boot-like blue feet, so your baby won’t be tipping over while they’re pretending to curse out other players on the included headset. The tiny non-functional headset even has a tiny non-functional mic to complete the look.

Because this is VTech after all, the Level Up Gaming Chair has some interactive electronic parts, namely a light-up keyboard that kids can play with to learn numbers and letters and even piano keys — which we admit, is actually a step up from traditional mechanical gaming keyboards. The keyboard console can be detached for on-the-go play, and the tray it normally rests on can be used for snack time as well so kids never have to leave their gaming throne when it goes on sale this fall. (We recommend pairing it with Fisher Price's Laugh and Learn Controller.)

Mario has a lot of days worth celebrating — he made his first appearance in Donkey Kong way back in July 1981, while the first Mario Bros. title came out in July 1983 and Super Mario Bros. hit the scene in September 1985. So to make things easier Nintendo settled on March 10th as a day to celebrate all things Mario — written as “Mar10” for this now-yearly occasion. This year’s celebration is a bit of a subdued affair, but if you’re looking to save on some popular games, head on over to Amazon to order some normally $60 titles for only $40, a 33 percent discount.

Last week our deputy editor Nate Ingraham named Super Mario Bros. U Deluxeas one of his all-time faves for the Nintendo Switch, and right now you can snag it for only $40. Also for grabs at the same price are the must-have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, 2019's Luigi’s Mansion 3,Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury and Yoshi's Crafted World.

Sports fans might also want to add Mario Tennis Aces to their collection for only $40 — unfortunately there are no deals on upcoming titles like Mario Strikers: Battle League. Another standout is Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, which usually costs $100 for a single kart set but you can grab Mario or Luigi for $60 each right now.

Titles on sale at other retailers include the delightful Mario + Rabbits Kingdom Battle for only $10 over at Nintendo.com, and you can grab Super Mario Odyssey for $48 at Walmart if you’re one of the Switch owners who doesn’t own a copy yet.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Since you’ve been spending so much time at home these past two years, you could probably use a better tablet for when you’re kicking back on the couch or hanging out in the yard. And Apple’s new iPad Air might just be the screen you need in front of you. The company finally brought its home-grown M1 chip to the iPad Air for better working and gaming, but it is really your best option? 

The major competition includes Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S8 unveiled last month, and Amazon’s stalwart Fire 10 HD from 2021. We’ve got these three 10-ish-inch tablets and all their specs below, so you can get an idea of which one might hit the spot for you; stay tuned for our full review of the iPad Air later this spring.

Catch up on all of the news from Apple’s Peek Performance event right here!

The past few years have seen the major phone manufacturers release handsets that were low on price but big on features — basically flagship phones at a mid-range price. Today Apple announced an update to its own offering, the iPhone SE. It packs in the powerful Apple A15 Bionic, 5G connectivity and a dedicated home button, while coming in at a nice affordable $429 to start. But it’s still not the only stunning midrange phone; Samsung has offered up a slew of affordable handsets for years now, and Google continues its line of “a” phones with the 5a. And if you’re outside the US, you may even have the option of picking up a OnePlus Nord 2. We’ve taken all of these outstanding affordable phones and lined their specs up in the table below so you can get an idea of the power on offer, but make sure you check out our review of the new iPhone SE when it drops later this spring.

Catch up on all of the news from Apple’s Peek Performance event right here!