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I don’t know if you can believe it, but we are almost at the end of January. And I want to start the first review recap of 2025 by acknowledging how busy it has been. CES 2025which to me seemed to go on for a year, now feels like it happened months ago. We witnessed TikTok disappear and returna new president was sworn in and Samsung has launched new phones. Despite all that is happening, our testers are hard at work, along with Devindra NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 test and Billy in a number of headphones and grills. So much for mitigation in 2025.
Before I give you the full recap, I also want to shout out some of the reviews we published in the latter half of December, as well as some we recently updated. This article usually comes out every two weeks, but with the holidays, CES and Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked, we had to skip a few editions. At that time, I didn’t have a chance to tell you everything about our re-review of gaming consoles launched years ago, such as the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. We want to revisit our reviews of these systems and their respective game libraries, to see how well they stack up today.
The team also publishes and updates reviews of colorful Kindles, Intel processors, Samsung Chromebooks and more. Here’s a quick list, but you can always go our Review page to scroll on your own time, if you want:
ICYMI: The 12 best gadgets we reviewed in 2024
If you missed it, instead of a typical review recap, we published a list of the 12 highest rated products we reviewed last year. Spoiler alert: there are a lot of flagship phones, cameras and drones on the list. I’ve also included the two worst gadgets we’ve tested, and you’ll have to guess what they are. Or read the article, perhaps.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 review
by Devindra Hardawar
NVIDIA/Engadget
NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 5090 is insanely fast thanks to DLSS 4, but at $2,000 it’s not for mere mortals.
- Very fast
- DLSS4 frame rendering is excellent
- Excellent cooling
- Very expensive
- Why is it so expensive?
- Incredibly power hungry
If you’re the kind of person who’s in the market for a $2,000 GPU, then the GeForce RTX 5090 is something you might want to consider. It’s fast, powerful and NVIDIA’s frame generation is very impressive, according to Devindra. But for the rest of us with actual, reasonably sized budgets, the company’s top offering is probably out of reach. We’ve probably set our sights on the $550 RTX 5070, and I’m waiting for our review to see how different a product that costs $1,500 less is.
Traeger Woodridge and ThermoWorks RFX reviews
by Billy Steele
Drager
Traeger’s Woodridge may be the new base model, but the grill is far from standard. Sturdy construction, reliable performance and smart grilling features allow this grill to punch above its weight.
- Solid build quality
- Reliable performance
- Handy Wi-Fi features
- Easy touch design
- The base model lacks advanced features
- No Super Smoke mode
- No pellet sensor
- Shelves and storage are add-ons
Grills and cooking accessories continue to be increasingly high-tech. And Billy continues to expand his expertise in the space, as he delights his editors with exciting descriptions of smoked and barbecue foods. Believe me, I always have to feed myself before starting an edit, and I remain a little jealous that I don’t have a place for a dedicated grill like Traeger Woodridge. But as I read Billy’s pieces, I silently made notes of what I wanted to get myself in the future.
Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review
by Billy Steele
Bowers and Wilkins
The Pi8 is an audio upgrade over last year’s Pi7, but average ANC performance and only basic features hinder the overall experience.
- Excellent audio clarity
- Enhanced bass
- Reliable multipoint connectivity
- dear
- performance of the ANC
- No advanced features
Billy is busy, that’s for sure. As our resident audio guru, he spends most of his days with the latest set of headphones in his ears, seeing how they perform not only in daily use but also against the competition. Bowers & Wilkin’s Pi8 may provide excellent audio, but according to Billy they don’t offer enough special features for the money. In fact, as he says, “$399 should get you more than just better audio.”
On the horizon: future reviews
Our reviewers already have units of the latest Samsung Galaxy S25 phones and are testing them in the real world as I write this. Devices announced at CES 2025, such as some headphones, laptops, smart glasses and even LED masks are also on their way to our team members, so stay tuned for our reviews. We’re also planning some longer term reviews of popular products, and welcome your feedback on things you’d like to see us do! Moving forward, Billy Steele will take over this roundup, so I’ll leave you with this most appropriate and relevant image to remember me by.
