Playdate Handheld Gaming System

Portland-based Panic makes some of our favorite software. They helped make Firewatch, an amazing game. Soon, they'll be making hardware, too. The Playdate is an all-new handheld gaming system, and we can't wait to get our hands on it. It has a 400 × 240 black and white display, a d-pad, A+B buttons, a pause button, and, most interestingly, an analog crank that flips out from the side, providing a completely novel control element. The hardware was built in collaboration with Stockholm-based Teenage Engineering, while the games — delivered wirelessly once a week, and a complete surprise when they arrive — will be developed by world-class talent. The system will include the first season (12 weeks) of games and will be available for pre-order later this year, with shipments beginning in 2020.

Bose Home Speaker 300

With a similar sound to the 500 but minus its screen, the Bose Home Speaker 300 is an aluminum-bodied alternative to other screen-less smart speakers. It supports both Alexa and Google Assistant and has Bluetooth for more direct connection. An LED strip on the front lets you know when the mic is active, and AirPlay 2 makes playing from your favorite iOS a breeze. As an added bonus, it can link up with other Bose speakers and soundbars to create a Sonos-like wireless whole home speaker system.

Leica CL 100 Years of Bauhaus Camera

With a classic design that embodies the idea of form following function, the Leica CL is an ideal candidate for paying tribute to the legendary German art school the Bauhaus. The 100 Years of Bauhaus Edition does so with a black Leica logo, embossed "bauhaus" lettering on the black leather wrap and special carrying strap, and a serial number on the top for collectors. It ships with an Elmarit-TL 18 f/2.8 lens, and is otherwise identical to the standard model, with a 24-megapixel sensor, 49-point AF system, and Maestro II processor.

DJI Osmo Action Camera

DJI knows a thing or two about cameras — it's been building them into its drones for years. Now it's taking that experience and applying it in a whole new way. The Osmo Action Camera is a compact, dustproof, shockproof, waterproof, and freeze-resistant GoPro competitor. Its 1/2.3-inch sensor captures 12-megapixel stills and 4K video up to 60fps at 100Mbps with RockSteady electronic image stabilization for smooth footage. There's a screen on the front that makes it easy to shoot selfie footage, and screw-on filters let it adapt to different shooting scenarios.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Foldable PC

Foldable phones are a thing. It only makes sense that PCs follow suit. The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Foldable PC blurs the lines between tablet and laptop not by hiding a keyboard somewhere, but by letting the screen itself bend to a clamshell format. Powered by an Intel processor running a special version of Windows, it has a 13.3" OLED 2K display from LG that can fold in half, reducing its width by 50%. As you might expect, it's just a preview for now, but the company promises full details and availability in 2020.

OnePlus 7 Pro Smartphone

Flagship specs, midrange pricing: that's the promise of the OnePlus 7 Pro Smartphone. Its 6.67-inch, QHD+ bezel-free Fluid AMOLED screen — made possible by a pop-up selfie cam — runs at 90 Hz for buttery smooth animations. On the back, a 48-megapixel main camera is joined by ultra wide-angle and 3x telephoto lenses. A Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 delivers plenty of power, helped along by up to 12GB of RAM, and Warp Charge tech lets the 4,000 mAh battery hit a useable charge in just 20 minutes. Available in Mirror Gray or Nebula Blue.

Audeze LCD-GX Gaming Headphone

So-called "gaming" headphones have typically been more notable for their garish designs than their audio quality. Audeze is looking to change that with the LCD-GX. Set in a magnesium housing, their planar magnetic drivers are 2 to 4 times larger than those in typical gaming headphones. That size, combined with patented Fluxor magnets and ultra-thin Uniforce diaphragms, delivers unrivaled sonic performance both during gameplay and when monitoring, mixing, and editing audio. Handcrafted in California, they have memory foam ear pads and a weight-reducing suspension headband for comfort and a flexible gooseneck arm for optimal mic placement.

Astell & Kern A&ultima SP2000 Music Player

Built to satisfy the most demanding of audiophiles, Astell & Kern's latest flagship — the A&ultima SP2000 — is a technical tour-de-force. The company completely redesigned the amp configuration, with two Asahi Kasei AK4499EQ Digital-to-Analog-Converters laid out in a dual mono arrangement for a wider, more life-like soundstage, and separate, independent audio channels between the outputs. 512GB of internal storage holds more than 8,000 FLAC tracks, with support for 32-bit/768 kHz PCM audio. The battery lasts for up to 10 hours per charge and Wifi and Bluetooth let you stream music to wireless earphones — but if you're this serious about your audio, odds are you're more than happy with a wire running from the player to your cans.

Kromek D3S ID Gamma Neutron Detector

In comic books, gamma radiation can make you a superhero. In real life, it's nasty stuff. Designed for first responders, soldiers, and other security forces, Kromek's D3S ID RIID gamma neutron detector can identify radioisotopes and detects neutrons in seconds. Unlike conventional RIIDs, it's small, wearable, and concealable, leaving suspects unaware of any monitoring, and can warn of dirty bombs, radioactive contamination, smuggling of radioactive substances, and radiation at the scene of an accident or attack. Like most modern gadgets, it's USB rechargeable, with 12 hours of battery life and a Bluetooth connection to the companion app.

Nike Fit

Sizing shoes is tricky business — not all shoes run the same, nor are they meant to fit the same. Short of making a trip to the store to try them on yourself, it's a crapshoot. Nike Fit aims to do away with this. Coming this summer to the Nike app, it uses a combination of computer vision, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and algorithms to recommend just the right size for each shoe style. To do this it maps your feet using 13 data points, storing your foot dimensions in your profile so you always get just the right fit, whether you're shopping in the app, online, or at a Nike store.

Google Nest Home Max Smart Display

Google just combined its Nest and Home divisions, creating Google Nest that encompasses all the company's smart home efforts. So it makes sense their first new product would be a combination of things. The Google Nest Home Max Smart Display combines elements of the Google Home Max speaker, Google Home Hub display, and Nest Camera into a single package. It has a 10" HD display, a 6.5-megapixel camera, stereo speakers with a dedicated subwoofer, and Google Assistant built in. Thus it can act as a controller for other smart devices in the house, a video chat station, a speaker, and if you want, a mini TV. Shipping later this summer, a waitlist has already formed.

Google Pixel 3a Smartphone

Its body isn't any smaller than the Pixel 3 — but its price sure is. The Pixel 3a is a more affordable alternative to Google's flagship that manages to pack in more than enough tech for many. Most importantly, its 12-megapixel rear camera gets its big brother's Night Shot mode that can capture images in the dark, a powerful portrait mode, and an automatic selective color mode, as well as unlimited photo storage via Google Photos. Spec-wise, you get a 5.6- or 6-inch OLED display, 4GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 670 processor, USB-C quick charging, and active edge sensors, or nearly everything that makes the much more expensive Pixel 3 so great in the first place.

Wilson Audio WAMM Master Chronosonic Speaker

Dave Wilson has been building speakers for decades, but thanks to a spare-no-expense ethos, they're far from mainstream. That doesn't mean they're not great. The WAMM Master Chronosonic Speaker is arguably his masterpiece, a seven-foot, nine-speaker behemoth that reproduces sound with jaw-dropping clarity and realness. The most time-domain correct loudspeaker in the world, each of its speakers is housed in its own cabinet and set precisely to ensure the most lifelike sound possible. Limited to just 70 pairs, each one is a painstaking piece of engineering.

Moto Razr 2019

Most companies are using folding screen tech to make book-like gadgets. Motorola has other plans: to use it as the key component in a resurrection of one of most beloved phones ever. The Moto Razr 2019 has yet to be formally introduced, but these renderings — based on patents filed with the WIPO — give a good idea what to expect. It retains the flip-phone form factor that made the original such a success while dedicating the entire interior surface to a folding display that should provide roughly as much screen space as most modern smartphones. In the renderings, it also gets a large camera mounted below the exterior screen, but details such as specs and storage will have to wait to be confirmed.

Photos: Sarang Sheth / Yanko Design

Valve Index VR Headset

It might not have the most impressive specs, but Valve's Index VR headset aims to offer a premium experience based on the way everything works together. Its dual 1440x1600 RGB LCDs sit behind fine-tuned dual-element lenses and run at 120Hz for smooth, crisp visuals. Its off-ear speakers that make the sound seem as if it's coming from the surrounding environment, and the head size, face angle, ear position, and eye relief are all adjustable, so it fits as well as possible. It arrives with advanced controllers that use 87 sensors for hand, finger, and grip sensing, and uses laser-firing Lighthouse base stations to track the headset's position, letting the player make the most of the five-meter cable.

Reputation Defender

Your online reputation is just as important as the one you build in real life. While one bad real-life reference isn't a deal breaker, one online enemy can wreak havoc when they pop up early in search results for your name. Reputation Defender works with individuals and businesses alike, alerting them when negative content appears online and working to push it down the search rankings using proprietary algorithms and positive stories written by its staff. The result is a clean first page of Google results and an assurance that they represent your (or your business') best self.

Samsung Sero Pivoting TV

More and more of our shared content is vertical (not necessarily a good thing), which makes our horizontal main screens ill-suited for viewing it. Samsung aims to fix this with the Sero. This 43-inch QLED display sits on a floor stand that allows it to rotate from horizontal to vertical as needed. NFC makes beaming content from a phone or tablet simple, and built-in 4.1-channel, 60W speakers provide surprisingly robust sound. It launches exclusively in South Korea this May.

Mopar Hellephant 426 Supercharged Crate HEMI Engine

The 426 HEMI, introduced in 1964, was nicknamed the "Elephant" for its size and power. The new Mopar Hellephant is a worthy offspring, and the first OEM crate engine to produce 1,000hp. It achieves this with large displacement and an improved supercharger with a high-efficiency rotor. An all-aluminum block keeps weight down, and the package also includes a water pump, flywheel, front sump oil pan, fuel injectors, and coil packs. When paired with the Hellephant-specific Engine Kit, it offers plug-and-play ease for veteran mechanics and is designed for installation on pre-1976 street and off-road vehicles. A showcase vehicle for the new engine, the 1968 Dodge "Super Charger" Concept, was shown at the 2018 SEMA show, but we suspect the Hellephant will make its way into all sorts of different vehicles in the coming weeks and months.

Scan Dimension SOL 3D Scanner

3D printers are only part of the growing maker scene: if you want a complete solution, you need a scanner, as well. The SOL from Scan Dimension is a solid pick, thanks to its simple design. Capable of both near- and far-mode operation, it can scan objects up to 6.7" x 6.7" and weighing up to 4.4 lbs. Simply place the object on the turntable, cover it with the included tent, and press the button — the scanner and its companion software will do the rest, outputting a file that can be edited, shared, and, of course, printed.

Sony Master Series Z9G 8K LCD TV

It's not easy to make a five-figure TV seem cheap, but all one needs to do is look at the price of the 98-inch Sony Master Series Z9G to make its 85-inch counterpart look like a steal. While the still-huge 85-incher will sell for $13,000, the wall-sized 98-inch set is priced at a staggering $70,000. Both sets are powered by the Picture Processor X1 Ultimate chip, with an algorithm developed specifically for 8K that can detect and analyze each object in the picture for optimal detail and contrast. Built-in speakers are tuned to position the sound to match what's on the screen and are also compatible with Dolby Atmos. Netflix Calibrated Mode and IMAX Enhanced further ensure the best picture quality possible, and the sets run on Android TV with Google Assistant for hands-free operation.

Bowers & Wilkins Formation Suite Wireless Speakers

Positioned as a high-end alternative to Sonos, Bowers & Wilkins new Formation Suite of audio products combines convenience with outstanding sound quality. The lineup includes a nine-speaker soundbar, a pair of bookshelf speakers using the same top-mounted tweeter and Continuum cone driver as their wired speakers, a wedge-shaped speaker, a wireless subwoofer, and a box for connecting traditional, passive systems. A Patented mesh network provides the connection necessary for the imperceptible synchronization and 96/24 bit resolution, ensuring your music sounds its best across your entire home.