New Pixel devices, Meta Ray-Ban Display, ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X and more

Techtober is a busy time for our review team as a flood of new devices arrive ahead of the holiday season. We’ve put a lot of effort into our in-depth testing, but it’s understandable if you’ve missed a review or two over the past few weeks. Read on for all the reviews you might have missed, including the three latest Google Pixel devices.

Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold, Pixel Watch 4, and Pixel Buds 2a

Earlier this month, three new Pixel devices arrived for us to put through their paces. The Pixel 10 Pro Fold leads the pack, but the Pixel Watch 4 and Pixel Buds 2a are also highly capable devices in their respective categories. Leading review writer Sam Rutherford wrote that Google has eliminated one of the last remaining issues with foldable phones: durability. “Adding proper dust and water resistance to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold has eliminated one of the recent shortcomings of modern foldable devices, and that’s no easy feat,” he said. However, at $1,799, the price barrier is still difficult to overcome for most people.

Meta Ray Ban offer

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An exciting first-generation product, if you can get past the thick bezels.

Pros

• The screen is bright and clear and doesn’t feel overpowering
• The ability to preview and zoom in camera makes it easy to frame shots
• The visual feedback of Meta AI prompts is surprisingly useful
• Neural scope is highly accurate and reduces reliance on voice commands

cons

• The frames are too thick to provide comfort for most people
• The display is only compatible with a few apps
• Texting can be wonky

More information in Meta

The second generation Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses may be the best option for most people right now, but the Meta Ray-Ban display is the most exciting product for many. If you can get past the chunky looks and in-progress features, you still have to deal with the limited availability and $800 price tag. “On the other hand, the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses still look a lot like a first-generation product,” senior correspondent Carissa Bell wrote. “There are some really compelling use cases for the display, but its functionality is limited.”

ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X

ASUS/Engadget

Although its $1,000 price tag may be a drawback, the collaboration between ASUS and Microsoft on the ROG Xbox Ally

Pros

• A new full-screen Xbox experience
• Powerful performance
• Bright screen
• Durable battery life

cons

• beloved
• The larger handles make it a bit bulky
• Medium touches

$1000 at Best Buy

Microsoft’s collaboration with ASUS has produced an attractive portable gaming device that is certainly the Xbox. The combination of familiar controls and a full-screen Xbox experience gives this device an edge over its Windows-based competitors. “While Microsoft’s first real foray into portable gaming hardware doesn’t upend the status quo, and it’s too early to say whether this tool will save Xbox as a whole, it does make some notable advances,” Sam said. “The new full-screen experience makes launching and playing games on Windows devices so much smoother that it took a long time to get here.”

Bose QuietComfort headphones (2nd generation)

Boss/Engadget

The best noise canceling headphones are the best with enhanced Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) technology, improved sound, and more efficient power usage.

Pros

• The industry-leading ANC just got better
• Great sound and power upgrades

cons

• Still expensive
• The glossy finish is not for everyone

$449 at Amazon

Bose never leaves the top few spots on our best noise-cancelling headphones list, but its update to the QC Ultra headphones has put the company firmly in the top spot. The updates to active noise cancellation, audio performance, battery life, and power management are enough to recommend this model over the previous version and the Sony WH-1000XM6. “Similar to the second generation QC Ultra Earbuds over the summer, Bose hasn’t made huge upgrades to the updated version of the QC Ultra,” she explained. “But what you get here is a decent improvement over its predecessor.”

Razer Blade 18 (2025)

Scanner/Engadget

The Blade 18 is a massive 18-inch gaming laptop with all the power you could want, along with Razer’s excellent build quality. Just be prepared to pay a lot for it.

Pros

• Excellent performance
• Effective cooling
• Beautiful 18 inch screen
• Tons of ports
• Great keyboard

cons

• Ridiculously expensive
• Much heavier than 16-inch laptops
• There is no OLED or MiniLED

$2800 at Razer

Razer’s massive 18-inch gaming laptop has impressive performance, but its size and limited battery life don’t offer much convenience. “Personally, if I had to choose between Razer’s current lineup, I would choose the Blade 16 so I could carry it around and use it occasionally as a productivity machine,” senior review editor Devindra Hardawar wrote. “Not so with the Blade 18 — its short battery life of 2 hours and 17 minutes (in the PCMark 10 battery benchmark) means you’ll always need to use its beefy power adapter.”