Consumer tech is simply a large umbrella, and arsenic galore large innovations arsenic 2022 saw, the instrumentality of averages means there’s going to beryllium immoderate that don’t rather unrecorded up to their potential. Whether thing had a batch of committedness and didn’t afloat deliver, oregon alternatively was conscionable benignant of sketch the full time, there’s a batch of things that could onshore it a spot successful our “most disappointing” list. If you spot your merchandise here, we’re not mad. We conscionable cognize you tin bash better.

I wanted to similar the Nothing Phone (1). The hype instrumentality was capable to get maine to wage attention, and I wasn’t consenting to disregard its unsocial LED-based Glyph lights, which flash successful tandem with the ringtone, close disconnected the bat. But the Phone (1) turned retired to beryllium nothing more than a mid-range instrumentality with a mediocre camera system. The $475 terms constituent surely nets you a cool-looking device, but it’s not straight disposable successful the U.S. There are overmuch amended options disposable for little than what importing the Nothing Phone (1) volition outgo you.

- Florence Ion

Although reviews person been mixed, we really similar the Logitech G Cloud. It’s an Android-powered handheld designed to play AAA titles done game-streaming services, successful summation to mobile games. You tin adjacent play retro titles done emulators similar RetroArch. The controls are solid, the hardware feels great, the artillery beingness is astounding, and the seven-inch, 1080P surface is casual connected the eyes. The handheld feels a small under-powered, though, and struggles with immoderate of the much processor intensive mobile games presently available, adjacent if your telephone would person nary contented with them. At $349, it’s lone $50 cheaper than Valve’s entry-level Steam Deck. If Logitech knocks the terms down a spot for 2023, the G Cloud would decidedly beryllium worthy considering.

- Andrew Liszewski

With the Playdate, Panic (which published Untitled Goose Game) succeeded successful delivering a compelling alternate to galore different non-PC handheld devices, which are mostly focused connected playing retro titles done emulation. The Playdate, developed successful collaboration with Teenage Engineering, offers developers an wholly caller level for processing games, with the enactment of utilizing a quirky crank connected the broadside to thrust gameplay. Gamers get entree to a room of mostly archetypal games released connected a acceptable play schedule, galore of which travel from large names similar Bennett Foddy. Unfortunately, not each the games officially released for the $179 Playdate were compelling capable to often revisit, and the Playdate’s monochromatic, unlit surface is often precise hard to spot without a precise agleam airy source, which often ends up producing excessively overmuch glare to spot what you’re playing.

- Andrew Liszewski

The Pixel Watch isn’t a full wash. It’s a expansive archetypal introduction from Google, which is uncovering its footing–yet again–with its wearables platform. So far, brands similar Samsung and Fossil person been the torchbearers for Android’s smartwatches. But arsenic Google worked to found its hardware lineup, it was clip to merchandise a flagship smartwatch that could service arsenic a benchmark for those different partners. Unfortunately for Google, Samsung inactive sets the standard. The Galaxy Watch 5 is the champion Android smartwatch worthy wearing, if lone due to the fact that it astir does everything the Apple Watch does. Google’s Pixel Watch isn’t bad; I’d suggest you cheque it retired if you find it connected merchantability and are keen connected the Fitbit app for wellness tracking. But the $350 terms tag isn’t worthy it for a smartwatch with a contentious plan and that launched with immoderate missing features.

- Florence Ion

Given Amazon’s web services and unreality servers powerfulness a large chunk of the internet, we were yet fto down by Amazon’s archetypal stylus-compatible e-note device: the Scribe. The hardware is really precise good, with the pen connected insubstantial acquisition astir perfectly recreated electronically. The instrumentality besides has a beauteous 10.2-inch, 300 PPI surface that E Ink created specifically for the Scribe. Where the Scribe disappointed was erstwhile it came to making documents—either notebooks, integer sticky notes connected ebooks, oregon marked up PDFs—easily disposable connected different devices. Figuring retired however to get your ain documents connected and disconnected the Scribe tin beryllium confusing and often requires documents to beryllium emailed each implicit the place. With a institution similar Amazon down it, the acquisition should beryllium overmuch smoother, and hopefully a fewer bundle updates from now, it volition be.

- Andrew Liszewski

Google told america Stadia wasn’t going anyplace and that things would cookware out. And then, 1 time this year, Google announced it was done and issuing refunds. Granted, the penning was connected the partition earlier successful the year that Stadia would soon look its expiration date, but it was a bummer for folks sold connected the premise of unreality gaming. I’m 1 of those radical who wanted a mode to play the latest games without having to ammunition retired for the full console oregon PC operation setup. It seemed imaginable done Stadia, which granted maine entree to my favourite games done the Android/Chrome ecosystem. But I’ve since had to leap to different unreality gaming services. In the end, each I tin bash is look backmost and see what could person been. There is nary uncertainty that galore Google fans volition besides beryllium beauteous skeptical the adjacent clip the institution attempts to get them connected committee with thing new.

- Florence Ion

Although not a household name, amongst headphone aficionados, Axell Grell, who designed headphones for Sennheiser for 27 years (including the $55,000 Orpheus headphone system) is astir arsenic large a personage sanction arsenic you tin get. So we were expecting large things erstwhile Grell near Sennheiser to commencement his ain company, with its archetypal merchandise being the Grell Audio TWS/1 wireless earbuds. They dependable great, but with a $200 terms tag, they don’t outperform the contention capable to warrant leaving your AirPods Pro behind. They’re besides a spot ample arsenic acold arsenic modern wireless earbuds go, with finicky interaction controls. But the biggest disappointment mightiness beryllium the information that the near and close earbuds aren’t located successful the near and close slots successful their charging case, which tin beryllium confusing erstwhile you instrumentality them retired and instrumentality them successful your ears.

- Andrew Liszewski