The fourth quarter of every year tends to see some big-name releases, and this winter started with impressiveOctober drops of top-shelf techled by the latest line of Google Pixel hardware. November saw the savings-packed and somewhat frantic Black Friday and Cyber Monday buying holidays come and go, and dedicated shoppers managed to snag some fantastic, new gadgets in addition to the heavily discounted stock that normally gets liquidated this time of year.
Here at Android Police, we had some great hands-on experiences throughout the month reviewing a handful of earbuds, over-ear headphones, gaming consoles, and other fun accessories. Not everything we tested made the cut, but we ran across enough well-engineered, newly released, and sometimes surprisingly well-priced devices to make it worth reflecting on the best electronics we reviewed over the last four-plus weeks.
1Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds
Jabra has a massive presence in the commercial headset industry, but doesn’t get nearly as much press on its personal audio solutions. But its latest high-end earbuds, theElite 8 Active, deserve plenty of attention, with impressive physical design and electronics engineering that make them great for a variety of use cases. They’re as rugged as any pair of earbuds we’ve used, with an IP68 rating against dust and moisture and a practically indestructible build. Theirexcellent noise canceling performancemay remain a step below what Sony and Bose deliver, but that’s a high bar to meet, and the Jabras do cost less than other top-of-the-line ANC earbuds.
They stand out in particular for exercise both indoors and out, with their robust, waterproof, well-balanced build promising a consistent, comfortable fit. In-development testing also guarantees they stay safe from drops of at least a meter. In fact, AP audio expert Jesse Hollington took the liberty of tossing them on the ground from head height a few times, and they didn’t only stay in one piece, they emerged without a single scratch. Impressive. It also helps that a decent amount of traction on the soft-touch exterior makes them easy to put and take out without worrying they’ll slip out of your hands, and extreme temperatures in either direction pose no issues.
Like most earbuds, they’re not exactly intended to satisfy demanding audiophiles — in-ear speakers typically never are. To that end, they do restrict you to the SBC and AAC codecs, but most humans can’t tell an appreciable difference between AAC and higher-fidelity compression like AptX HD, anyway. And, the relative inefficiency of AAC on Android compared to iOS appears to shrink with every iteration of Google’s open-source smartphone software.
From a sound quality perspective, they’re tuned just right to juggle the needs of music listeners and phone talkers alike. Predictably, Jabra’s noise-canceling mic array and software algorithm do a fantastic job of sending your voice over the line while removing background noise. Their output profile sports a slightly boosted bass and sub-bass without getting too boomy, and mids are a bit understated, while highs are crisp with no noticeable distortion. You shouldn’t have to fiddle with them much for good audio from any genre, but if you’re picky, know that they do respond well to equalization.
The Jabra Elite 8 Active came out at the end of August, 2023, and we’d consider them worthwhile at their $200 sticker price. But despite being pretty new, they’ve already seen a couple discounts, sometimes up to $50 of instant savings from third-party retailers and Jabra’s own website.
Jabra Elite 8 Active
2Ayaneo Pocket Air Android gaming console
With high-dollar devices like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally taking up all the headlines, you’d be forgiven if you missed the reemergence of ultraportable, budget-friendly handheld gaming. A long way past the classic, nigh-indestructible Game Boy, Android-based consoles like the compactAyaneo Pocket Airaim to bring fun into your hands on the go without investing an incredible amount of money on something that can’t even do word processing or make phone calls.
Naturally, the company’s first shot at a fully mobile-centric handheld platform isn’t nearly powerful enough to run the most demanding games from your Steam library. You’ll need to shell out hundreds more on the aforementioned Valve or Asus gaming slate, or a similarly expensive competitor, for full-featured, resource-intensive 3D gaming on the Linux and Windows platforms.
But the Pocket air costs just $300, and we’re comfortable calling that good value. To put this in perspective, the original Game Boy hit the shelves for $90 in 1989, or roughly $220 adjusted for inflation in 2023. Given the state of gaming these days, and the vast library of free and low-cost Android games available, that’s a good starting point for a handheld console that can surely deliver countless hours of fun with little post-purchase investment.
For that matter, the MediaTek Dimensity 1200 SoC inside the Pocket Air roundly beats the pants off the Nintendo Switch’s outdated (albeit supposedly custom) Nvidia Tegra X1 in benchmarks, and the latter still sees regular new titles at $70, compared to the glut of reasonably priced Android games.
Our own real-life experience with the Air confirmed that it’s not just a good idea, but it works great in practice, too. The slim, lightweight design, with a familiar layout and good ergonomics, never gave us a reason to complain. High-quality Hall Effect joystick modules, a pair of effectively placed speakers, and thoughtfully engineered air vents and handle shaping make it a pleasure to use. The 5.5-inch OLED screen also looks better than it has any right to at this price.
The performance satisfies, thanks largely to Android’s low-overhead coding, but Aya’s software still feels a little rough. Luckily, you can choose from a host ofgreat Android emulators, and we expect the Pocket Air’s own native launcher to get better with the inevitable upcoming improvements. Battery life and connectivity also shine, promising hours of stutter-free gameplay even when streaming AAA titles through services like Xbox Game Pass. All told, the Ayaneo Pocket Air might be the most fun device we’ve reviewed in a long while, when viewed through a lens of hours played vs. price.
Ayaneo Pocket Air
3JBL Tour Pro 2 earbuds
JBL pulled no punches with its latest high-end earbuds, theTour Pro 2s. The first glance at the HD, touchscreen-enabled case makes it clear these are positioned to be the mobile in-ear speakers of the future. A look at the specs gives the same indication, with built-in support for the Nascent LC3 codec, which is poised to replace the shockingly old, yet still-commonplace SBC compression.
Their adaptive noise cancellation comes surprisingly close to neck-and-neck with the standard-setters from names like Bose and Sony. General sound quality needs no fixing, either, as these should satisfy anybody but the pickiest critical listener (who probably wouldn’t use earbuds for critical listening, anyway). A three-microphone array delivers the best in voice isolation, and JBL does a great job implementing phone calls for good quality. Even the battery life is worth writing home about, with 8 hours of ANC listening per charge, and three full refills from a fully charged case.
While the software side isn’tquitewhere we’d like it to be — inconsistent Bluetooth pairing and the lack of any AptX codecs both bummed us out a little — it’s not a huge problem, and JBL does have time to fix some of the (admittedly minor) issues. Their $250 MSRP really isn’t a bad figure considering their quality, and at the time of publication you could get them for a respectable $50 off. Either way, these are the best earbuds JBL has ever released, and we had a great time using them.
JBL Tour Pro 2
4Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids (2023) tablet
Amazon’s Fire HDtablets tend to fulfill relatively focused use cases. “My kid needs a tablet and I need effective parental controls” has always been one of the most popular, and for good reason. Amazon’s tightly controlled Fire OS and app ecosystem lends itself perfectly to keeping kids on kid-friendly content, and avoiding the general hazards and relative awfulness of uninhibited child internet access.
That remains as true as ever with the latestFire HD 10 Kids, which is really just the 2023 Fire HD 10 wrapped in a remarkably resilient, high-impact case. Performance is better than ever (although still in line with a sub-$200 tablet, of course) with battery life, display quality, and app availability just fine for young folks. The other features differentiating the Kids' model from the baseline Fire HD include a complete lack of the built-in ads (which normally drop a Fire tablet’s price) and the inclusion of a one-year subscription to Amazon’s hand-curated Kids+ platform.
With all that said, you’re not actually limited entirely to Fire OS and its restricted software catalog. While not included in the stock OS, it’s easy toside-load the Google Play Storeonto a Fire tablet and massively expand the list of available apps. Of course, that will negate some of the protection Amazon’s walled garden provides, but you’ll also then have access to additional third-party parental control suites from across the web.
Some of our in-house experts, including the esteemed Will Sattelberg, have cooked up several incredibly helpfulguides to using Fire tabletsand getting the most out of them. With this knowledge and expertise, alongside the cheap-yet-capable 2023 Amazon Fire tablet, you can have your little one’s tablet up and running in no time, with countless fun games and educational experiences on the horizon.
Amazon Fire HD 10 Kids (2023)
5GameSir T4 Cyclone Pro controller
Resident AP gaming fanatic Jon Gilbert spent some time with thewired T4 Kaleid controllerearlier this year, and had mostly good things to say about it. Fast-forward a few months, and Mr. Gilbert excitedly took on theGameSir T4 Cyclone Pro, coming out the other side with the highest praise possible: a real, live, 10/10 rating.
GameSir’s done a great job in the last couple years of embracing premium build quality and consistent engineering, putting a lot of other (sometimes more popular) third-party controller manufacturers to shame. Joystick movement and zone detection, button clicking, surface feel and grip, and general ergonomics on the T4 Cyclone Pro are as good as they get. In truth, it’s both a little refreshing and frustrating that aftermarket Android and PC controllers finally live up to the long-running champions from console giants Sony and Microsoft.
And that might be the highest praise of all: The T4 Cyclone Pro looks and feels like a high-end peripheral from a big-budget manufacturer. While we had some minor complaints (GameSir insists on selling the plastic phone clip separately, for example), this is one of the best Android gaming HIDs we’ve had the pleasure to use. When you factor in a price lower than the current-gen Xbox and Playstation controllers, this one’s an easy sell for on-the-go gaming, or even for using with your high-powered desktop.
GameSir T4 Cyclone Pro
6Acer Chromebook Spin 714
We’re always quick to point out how Android doesn’t call for massive amounts of RAM or processing power to work great. But there’s definitely something to be said for a Chromebook that can mow down the most resource-intensive Android apps without breaking a sweat. And as Chrome OS itself continues to develop its versatility and performance, we’re seeing more of a a trend toward full-on multitasking with these once-limited laptops.
That’s where Acer’s Chromebook Spin 714 comes in. The latest in one of our long-favorite Chromebook lines, we had no misconceptions about what this device was going in. A $700 sticker price makes it clear this is not your average high school-issued clamshell, but instead a productivity-focused machine that can also do a number on entertaining content.
Inside, the combination of a gen-13 Intel Core CPU, 8GB of RAM, and a real PCIe SSD deliver the kind of performance rarely seen in a Chromebook. You won’t have trouble running anything available for Chrome OS or Android. Outside, the display panel produces colors and brightness levels that few others can, and even works well on sunny days outdoors. We also continue to love the convertible 2-in-1 form factor, with the Spin 714 just barely light enough to use in tablet mode, and especially convenient in tent mode for hands-free viewing.
Is it cheap? For a Chromebook, no. But it does boast an incredible 10-year support lifespan, something Google’s been aiming to promote heavily with its own devices, as well as devices dedicated to running its lightweight laptop OS. If you want a long-lasting, high-performing Chromebook with a dependable build quality, the Spin 714’s our favorite in recent memory.
Acer Chromebook Spin 714 (2023)
7Royal Kludge H81 mechanical keyboard
Agood mechanical keyboardperforms lightyears ahead of most plebian, dirt-cheap membrane keyboards. They’re also infamous for a relatively cult following, with dedicated keyboard nerds (and we say that lovingly) regularly shelling out hundreds just for a few premium keycaps. Royal Kludge pretty much takes the cake as a budget-minded manufacturer that, despite its great prices, pumps out well-made typing devices with consistent construction, competent design, and enough features to satisfy nearly anybody.
Those three qualifications perfectly describe theRoyal Kludge H81, a compact, tenkeyless wonder equipped with your choice of some of today’s most advanced switches. We had the pleasure of reviewing the linear-yet-clicky Sky Cyan switches, but you can also opt for tactile Brown, short-actuation linear Speek Silver, or cusomtizable Pale Green switches.
Those extensive options should give you the first clue you’re dealing with a high-end keyboard, regardless of its reasonable price. They’re all hot-swappable, too, so if you ever get the hankering for a new keyboard feel, go right ahead and change them out. Another big selling point is the combination of connectivity, with the standard USB connector present, in addition to Bluetooth connectivity and essentially latency-free 2.4-GHz capability as well.
And when it comes to build quality, even more expensive brands don’t hit the mark as often as Royal Kludge. In the H81’s case, it’s absolutely rock solid, with three angles to choose from, no body flex whatsoever, and a consistently pleasant typing feel. Its $85 list price is entirely reasonable, and you may even find it on sale on a regular basis.
Royal Kludge H81
8Anker Soundcore Motion 100 Bluetooth speaker
TheAnker Soundcore Motion 100may not be the absolutebest Bluetooth speakerby any single metric, but it’s still the complete package in an important way. Anker makes a habit of developing low-cost audio solutions that vastly outperform even more costly competitors, and that holds very true with its latest budget-friendly portable speaker.
It weighs just over a pound, measures 8 by 2 by 3.5 inches, and lasts for up to 12 hours of playback before needing a charge. Its pair of 10-watt drivers produce real, stereo sound, although it’s admittedly more for adding flavor than creating a truly immersive audio experience. It won’t win any awards for bass rumble, but we certainly wouldn’t expect anything in this form factor to pump out the low end in any significant way.
We are, however, pleasantly surprised by not just the inclusion of the LDAC codec, but also its effective implementation. LDAC, which claims to offer near-lossless compression, has been baked into Android for a while, and is clearly superior to the bog-standard SBC codec most cheap Bluetooth speakers insist on using. It also connects readily to multiple devices at once, for added convenience when you’re on the go.
While we’ve recently reviewed some other speakers that do sound a little better (like theTribit StormBox Flow), the Soundcore still stands out as one of the best values around. Its low price makes it practically an afterthought, but one you’ll be happy you thought about when you’re relaxing on the beach or in the backyard with your favorite tunes, but no big hole in your wallet.
Anker Soundcore Motion 100
9JLab Studio Pro ANC headphones
The concept of studio-grade headphones can be a little misleading. Typically, a few specific models from Sony, Sennheiser, and Audio-Technia rule the roost when it comes to the flat, unaffected response curve that actual studio engineers need when digging into recordings and masters. TheJLab Studio Pro ANCheadphones are not those headphones, because despite their name, they aren’t really meant for studio use. And that actually means they’re excellent for us consumers, who usually prefer to listen to music that’s already been recorded, mixed, and fully mastered for production.
Effective active noise reductiongives the first indication these aren’t for studio engineers, but end users. And although it’s not the best ANC in the world, it’s actually quite functional — notably, more so than the $100 list price might lead you to expect. They make most genres of music sound far better than the average pair of cheap cans, despite only offering support for the lowly SBC codec. JLab’s built three equalizer profiles directly into the headsets, and you may access each without ever bothering with any apps or other software. That’s another thing we like about these headphones: You get 100% of their functionality without needing to sign away your privacy or get tracked by eternal cookies the second you connect them to your device.
Considering the above-average sound quality, more-than-sufficient 40-hour battery life, dependable wireless connectivity, understated-yet-sleek black appearance, and generally comfortable fit, we’d expect these to retail around $130. Happily, they list at $100, and can sometimes be found at 10-20% off. They’re even backed by a two-year warranty against defects. Just beware if (like me) you have an oversized head, as the ear cups and headband are more suited to those with smaller stature.
