The Best New Tech, Gadgets, Audio Gear and More of 2023

Nothing announced the second-generation of its flagship wireless earbuds. The Ear (2) look basically identical to the Ear (1), but have improved sound, active noise-cancellation and host of new features, including Bluetooth multipoint and more customizable EQ settings.

Price: $149

The Stand One is wireless charging stand that fully supports MagSafe. It’s unique because it’s a made of really premium materials — a solid metal body paired with a glass top — and weighs just over a pound. Available in silver or black (carbide).

Price: $110

Nanoleaf, the popular smart lighting brand, announced its first smart lights that work with Matter. In addition to this A19 bulb (pictured), it announced several other smart bulbs and a smart lighting strip — all of which support Matter.

Price: $20/ea

Samsung is finally making more OLED TVs. The S90C is a QD-OLED — so an OLED TV that’s integrated with quantum dot technology (for more vibrant colors) — and it’s notable because it’s Samsung’s cheapest OLED TV to date. A 55-inch model costs $1,899.

Price: $1,899 (55-inch model)

LG announced the pricing and availability of its new 49-inch curved UltraGear monitor. The new monitor (49GR85DC-B) has a DQHD (5120 x 1440) display with an ultra-wide 32:9 aspect ratio and an 1000R curvature. It will be available starting April 2.

Price: $1,299

The Schiit Rekkr is a tiny and affordable desktop-sized amplifier designed to drive smaller passive speakers or near-field monitors. The Schiit Rekkr is a low-powered amplifier that drives at just two-watts per channel. Available in black or silver finishes.

Price: $149

The Gjallarhorn is another new affordable desktop amplifer by Schiit, and it’s an essentially beefed-up version of Schiit’s Rekkr. It’s roughly twice the size, twice the price and is capable of delivering substantially more power: up to 10-watts per channel.

Price: $299

Master & Dynamic has released a new-and-improved version of its original MH40 headphones. The second-generation MH40 Wireless have the same leather and metal design, but boast improved sound, app compatibility and longer battery life.

Price: $399

The Ikea Vappeby is the company’s first rugged and waterproof portable speaker. It has an IP67 water-resistance rating and promises up to 80 hours of playtime (at 50-percent volume). It’s also just $15. Available in three finishes: black, yellow or red.

Price: $15

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is the newest addition to the company’s midrange line of A-Series smartphones. It has a triple rear-camera (main, ultra-wide, and macro camera) system, a 6.4-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, and 128GB of storage. It will be available on April 6.

Price: $450+

The FiiO K9 Pro ESS is a high-end desktop headphone amplifier/DAC capable of playing lossless audio (up to 32-bit/384kHz) and driving a wide variety of headphones (impedances ranging from 16 to 600 ohms). It also supports Bluetooth streaming, including aptX HD and LDAC codecs.

Price: $849

This is the first MagSafe wallet to support Apple’s Find My — if it becomes detached from your iPhone, you’ll still be able to locate it via the Find My app. The wallet itself has a built-in kickstand and three card slots. It’s available on Kickstarter right now.

Price: $39

As part of its mid-year cycle, Apple has announced that the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus are available in a new color: yellow. They cost the same as other colored iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 models. Both can be preordered now and will start shipping March 14.

Price: $799 (14); $899 (14 Plus)

The Era 300 is a speaker specifically designed to play immersive audio that supports Dolby Atmos. It has a total of six drivers — including one that fires upward — and you can configure two as really immersive rear-channel speakers when paired with a Sonos soundbar.

Price: $449

The Era 100 is a “remastered” version of the One speaker. It has an extra tweeter and a larger mid-woofer. It also supports Bluetooth and line-in (via USB-C) connections. It’s available for preorder and will ship on March 28th.

Price: $249

Wyze, the company best known for its affordable ecosystem of smart home gadgets, continues to surprise us — it’s newest gadget is a wireless gaming headset. It costs just $60 and can get up to 20 hours of battery life on a single charge (via USB-C).

Price: $60

This is Ring’s new battery-powered video doorbell. Aside from being wireless, it has a couple key upgrades over Ring’s previous video doorbells, including delivering a higher-resolution picture and an improved field-of-view so you can see if a package was left near the foot of your door.

Price: $180

ReMarkable released a keyboard case for its Remarkable 2. Whereas before you could only draw and take hand-written notes (which could then be turned into text) on the super-thin e-ink tablet, the Type Folio transforms it into a really capable note-taking machine.

Price: $199

Earlier this year at CES, Roku announced that it was going to finally make its TVs. This week, it announced that those TVs are available now. You can get a 65-inch Roku Plus TV (pictured) — which is the higher-end of the two lines — for under $800.

Price: $799 (65-inch model)

Bang & Olufsen introduced a new future-proof version of its Beosound A9 free-standing wireless speaker. It has pretty much the same circular design as its 2012-released predecessor, but comes with modular guts that can be replaced in time if its wireless streaming technology becomes obsolete.

Price: $3,699

The third-generation Beosound 2 is a multi-room wireless speaker — it has same cone-shaped design that’s made out of high-grade aluminium as its predecessors. The only real upgrade is that it has modular internals, which can be replaced in case its power or connectivity become obsolete, making it “future-proof”.

Price: $3,199

The Instax Mini 12 is Fujifilm’s newest instant film camera. Compared to its predecessor, the Instax Mini 11, the “12” is very similar. The biggest difference is it has a new lens that you can twist to enable a new “close-up” mode.

Price: $80

Jabra announced its new Speak2 range of speakerphones designed for hybrid work environments. There are three sizes (from biggest to smallest): Speak2 75 (pictured), Speak2 55 and Speak2 40. All have advanced mics and updated noise-reduction technology.

Price: $169 (40); $189 (55); $369 (75)

The FiiO R7 is for people who take desktop audio really serious. It’s a high-resolution audio player, streamer and headphone amplifier that’s specifically designed for your desktop setup. It has a touchscreen and 64GB of local storage (also supports up to 2TB storage via microSD card).

Price: $700

Klipsch’s newest set of powered speakers, The Nines, are essentially a bigger version of the company’s 2020-released The Fives. They have same vintage design and a multitude of wireless and wired connections (including HDMI-ARC for connecting to your TV).

Price: $1,499

The LG XBoom XL7 is the company’s newest “portable” Bluetooth speaker designed for outdoor parties. It’s 32 pounds, so it’s not exactly easy to move, and has with an front-facing LED panel for really setting the party mood.

Price: TBD

Lenovo’s second-generation of its ThinkPad Z13 and Z16 laptops have been updated with next-gen AMD processors and larger touchpads. You’ll be able to configure the ThinkPad Z13 (Gen 2) with an optional all-natural lid made out of flaxseeds. Available this July.

Price: $1,249+ (Z13); $1,749 (Z16)

The Honor Magic Vs is the company’s first foldable smartphone that will be available outside of Asia. It has similar design as Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4 — both flip horizontally open to reveal a larger “more tablet-sized” display — but should be slightly more affordable.

Price: $1,599+