Gadgets

Vertical video has been taking over for years, and David Pierce says the conquest may now be complete. It didn’t have to be this way.

It’s the first expansion outside the US for the service, which covers multiple Apple devices against loss, theft or accidental damage under a single subscription. Availability opens on August 4th, with prices starting at £16.99/€20.99/$29.99 AUS per month to cover up to three products.

There are very few unexplored frontiers for the iconic first-person shooter. Microsoft Word, an Ikea smart lightbulb, even tractors are fair game. But this is the first time I’ve seen Doom running on a modular synthesizer. Don’t be fooled by the laptop, it’s just streaming video from the synth.

If the launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved has you feeling nostalgic, Walmart has the Gel Blaster Halo Plasma Rifle on sale for $59.50 (usually $99.95). This faithful replica of the classic Halo weapon fires harmless, non-toxic gel balls at a range of up to 100 feet that dissolve. Unlike the in-game version, when the battery runs low you can charge it via USB-C, rather than chuck it at an unsuspecting Grunt.

I forgot to bring my USB-C SD adapters to CES last year — but now that the $25 BaseQi lives inside my notebook, that won’t be a problem!

I’m no microphone professional, but Neat’s Bumblebee 2 USB-C mic has been a great addition to my setup. It’s small, makes me sound pretty good, has 3.5mm audio monitoring, and can be removed from its stand to mount. Usually around $30, it’s down to $11.70 when you enter the code LEVEL22 at checkout over at Woot.

In ReStory you’re tasked with growing your “quaint electronics repair shop in mid-2000s Tokyo” by dismantling, repairing, cleaning, and restoring devices like cellphones, consoles, and cameras. Developed by Mandragora Studio the game launches on Steam on August 6th

The new $149.99 VelocityOne Flightstick II upgrades the original with a new full color screen at the top of the joystick, 38 mappable inputs, and Hall effect sensors. It’s joined by the $149.99 VelocityOne Dual Throttle featuring two levers with adjustable tension, 35 programmable inputs, and an LED throttle indicator.

Someone had to do it, I guess? BMX, the charger company launched last year by the founder of Hyper, launched a lineup of gallium nitride-equipped chargers called…GaNsta. It sells multi-port wall chargers with different output speeds starting at 70W for $60, going up to 140W for about $90 (it has similar specs to Ugreen’s $65 model).

Mattel’s older Mega line of building sets included a couple of Halo sets featuring the Warthog, but Amazon Australia leaked a larger and more detailed 935-piece buildable UNSC M12 Warthog that’s part of Mattel’s recent Brick Shop line. There’s no pricing, but the model includes working independent suspension and customizable detailing.

The 15-inch Key Light Air MK.2 is available for $139.99, providing creators with up to 2100 lumens of illumination for filming and streaming. It’s USB-C powered, but the MagSafe ring on the back also snaps onto any compatible holder or power bank for cable-free lighting on the go.

The smart wearables company has a new feature for its companion app called “UltraSphere,” which provides over 60 suggested actions to improve rest, wellness, and recovery. The actions are location- and weather-aware, and tailored to the user. Suggestions can include things like “get light,” “cut caffeine,” and “wind down.”

Another byproduct of Framework’s new RAM pricing is that preorders for the Ultra X7 358H version of the Framework Laptop 13 Pro jumped from $2,099 to $2,899. Framework’s announcement didn’t specify this config, but the Wayback Machine shows it.

The new Sony FX5 has a huge list of features for cinematographers. To name a few: a full-frame fully-stacked 5K sensor with open gate recording, three base ISO settings, dual gain shooting, and up to 120fps recording. And instead of just a typical add-on handle for XLR connections, you can instead slap on a $698 tiltable OLED viewfinder.

It’s the prize pack I just boxed up for the second winner of our Today I’m Toying With giveaway. I’m drawing for the third winner right now, and you can enter to possibly become the fourth winner starting today! BTW, anyone need whistles? Those bags in the background are full of ‘em.

We’ve just published the best preorder deals on Samsung’s new foldables, but you can also get a $50 Amazon gift card with the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 or a $100 Amazon gift card with the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. As we noted in our hands-on impressions, both offer longer battery life and new preventive health features, including a unique Fitness Index that compares metrics like strength with other Samsung users.