Logitech Brio 300
Webcams are essential for not just communication with friends, gamers and family, but for game streaming and recording YouTube videos. The Brio 300 brings some interesting ideas to the mix, including an auto brightening feature that helps you stand out in dark areas, and background noise cancelling for clearer vocals. There’s a privacy shutter so no one can spy on you, and some filter effects to muck around with. The 1080p, 30fps, 2MP camera does provide a crisp look, too. The only bummer is the clasp, which doesn’t hug onto some monitors as well as we would like.
MacBook M2
If you’re looking for a lightning-fast laptop that’s good enough to run just about anything, the new M2 MacBooks from Apple are super impressive. Coming in base, Pro and Max variations, the M2 is the name of the new chip, and it’s not only a huge step up from the M1, it blows most other laptops out of the water, too. It’s got an 18% faster CPU, 35% faster GPU and 40% faster Neural Engine. The latter being the AI that runs a lot of the processes. All with greater battery life. It’s a beast as good as any PC desktop.
Samsung Q990C Q-Series Soundbar
If you want a cinema-like experience while playing video games, it doesn’t get much better than the latest soundbar from Samsung. This 11.1.4 channel titan will bash your ear drums into happy oblivion. That’s speakers in front of you, behind you and shooting upwards. You can connect to it directly, or via wireless, and still get full Dolby Atmos support. There is a game mode that allows for 3D audio, too. Finally, it has got SpaceFit Sound Pro, which is an AI that auto calibrates the sound based on what objects are in your room. Impressive!
Samsung 34” Odyssey OLED G8
If you’ve never played a game on a big curved monitor before, it’s pretty awesome. This screen wraps around your eyes with a 34” display at a huge 21:9 aspect ratio, adding to gaming immersion. Games and TV look incredible with its bright OLED screen, offering a ridiculous 0.03 millisecond response time and 175Hz refresh rate. The Neo Quantum Processor allows lesser looking games to feel sharper, deeper and better, and FreeSync Premium stops screen tearing. We also love the glowing LED lights around its back.
Sony WF-C700N earbuds
Big things can come in little sizes. These light and small earbuds from Sony actually house 5mm drivers that deliver impressive sound wirelessly from any Bluetooth enabled device. It uses the Digital Sound Enhancement Engine to bring audio to life, which you can then customise using an equalizer on the app. Noice cancelling also helps, as well as being really comfortable to wear. The only major drama is the battery life, which isn’t as long as we would have hoped at just 7.5 hours.
Ecoflow River 2 Max
Just because you’re going camping in the middle of nowhere doesn’t mean you can’t play games when it starts raining. All you need is a power station like the River 2 Max from Ecoflow. Charge it up before you leave home, and get over 570 watt-hours of on-demand power. That’s enough to charge up a Switch many times, or a laptop, and even run a TV. And with the USB-C and USB-A ports, and Australian power-points, it’s easy to use, too. It’s pretty light for this big a battery as well, and can be recharged via solar.
