Every year the same question lands in our inbox hundreds of times: "what's actually worth buying this year?" Not the stuff that looks cool in press releases or the products that had the biggest marketing budget. The stuff that people actually buy, use for more than six months, and tell their friends about. We spent the year paying attention to exactly that. Here's what held up.
This list isn't compiled from press kits or spec sheets. These are products that our team has used extensively, that have maintained their relevance months after launch, and that we'd happily spend our own money on again. Some are expensive. Some aren't. All of them earned their place here.
Sony WH-1000XM5 — The Noise Cancellation Champion
Three years running, Sony's 1000X series sits at the top of the noise-cancelling headphone category for good reason. The WH-1000XM5 isn't a dramatic reinvention — it's a refinement of everything that made its predecessors great, with better noise cancellation, improved call quality and a design that's actually comfortable for long wear. I've worn mine on cross-country flights, in open-plan offices, and on the subway during rush hour. Each environment exposed a different strength, but the consistent theme was: these headphones disappear. You forget you're wearing them and just hear your music, your podcast, or blessed silence.
If you're in the market for noise-cancelling headphones and don't want to think too hard about it, this is where you end up. The only real competitor at this level is Apple's AirPods Max, and that debate comes down almost entirely to which ecosystem you already live in.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra — The iPad Pro Alternative That Delivers
The iPad Pro is the default answer when someone asks what tablet to buy. It's often the right answer. But the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra has quietly become the better choice for a specific type of person: someone who wants a tablet that can genuinely replace a laptop, who lives in the Android ecosystem, and who doesn't want to pay Apple's premium for the privilege. The S Pen is included. The keyboard cover is well-designed. Samsung DeX mode turns the interface into something laptop-adjacent that actually works. This isn't a consumption device pretending to be a productivity tool — it's a legitimate work device that happens to have a touchscreen you can also watch Netflix on.
Apple MacBook Air M4 — The Default Laptop, Refined
Apple's transition to its own silicon created a laptop category of one. The MacBook Air M4 doesn't try to be exciting. It tries to be correct in every way that matters: it starts at a reasonable price, it doesn't need active cooling, the battery lasts longer than any competitor, and it will still feel fast in four years. That's the whole pitch, and it works. If you're buying a laptop today and don't have a specific reason to look elsewhere — gaming, specific software requirements, a strict Windows environment — the MacBook Air M4 is the answer. It's the most friction-free computing experience available at its price point.
GoPro HERO13 Black — Adventure Photography Made Accessible
GoPro has faced increasing competition from DJI's Osmo Action line, but the HERO13 Black holds its ground through software and ecosystem. HyperSmooth 7.0 stabilization is genuinely remarkable — you can mount this camera to the handlebars of a mountain bike on a rocky trail and get footage that looks like it was shot on a gimbal. The new GPS data overlay features are genuinely useful for action sports enthusiasts. And frankly, the footage from a HERO13 Black in good light looks better than most people need it to. Not everyone needs to graduate to a mirrorless camera. This is the camera that gets you outside shooting.