Continuing our year-end specials, we’re doing it with a new one we’ve pulled from our sleeve, but it’s well-recognized: the best gadgets of 2022. We are talking about electronic devices, yes, but just in case…

What exactly do we mean by ‘gadget’? According to the introduction, which can be read on Wikipedia, “a gadget is a device that has a specific purpose and function, generally small, practical and innovative at the same time”. And what is a “device”. Well, according to the closest RAE meaning, it’s “a mechanism or contrivance to produce a planned action.” In other words, a gadget can be an electrical appliance, a peripheral, an accessory, a toy… any technological gadget, any separate piece of hardware will do.

The best gadgets of 2022, according to MC

With the previous bunch of concepts in mind, that is, with the freedom to choose what we want, this is how we created the following list with the best gadgets of 2022. And yes, there is a little bit of everything.

Apple TV 4K 2022

• Category: media player
• You can buy it on Amazon
• Recommended David Salces

Apple’s revision of its media player hit the market this year surprise that I still haven’t finished assimilating. And it’s because, as we’ve been telling you for the past few months, Apple is revising the prices of both its devices and services upwards. Some boosts are limited, yes, to certain regions, while others are global.

However, in this general trend of rising prices, the small and versatile Apple TV 4K surprised us not by keeping the price compared to the previous version, but by reducing it by a few euros, while doubling its storage capacity.

Compared to 199 euros and 219 euros for the 32 and 64 GB versions, we will now have to pay 169 euros and 189 euros respectively for the 64 and 128 gigabyte versions. There’s just one ‘but’, and that’s that the 64 gig version doesn’t have an ethernet port, so its connectivity is entirely wireless.

As a long-time Apple TV user, I am aware of its limitations, especially the lack of a web browser, and it is becoming increasingly clear to me that Apple should end this limitation as soon as possible. However, both because of its integration with the Apple ecosystem and above all because of its extreme ease of use, I still think so it is an excellent optionand now more than ever with this unexpected but more than welcome drop in price.

8BitDo Ultimate

• Category: Game peripherals
• You can buy it on Amazon
• Recommended J. Pomeyrol

I’ve bought a few “gadgets” this year, various gadgets of very different kinds and prices, and I’m pretty happy with almost everything. Also with the 8BitDo Ultimate (the Bluetooth model, not the entry level), one of my latest acquisitions and the one I decided to recommend here because… something needed to be put in and that seems interesting to me.

Namely: I was looking for a controller for both play on Nintendo Switchwhere the miserable drifting of the Joy-Con makes me sick, and on PC, where my old console controls and Steam Controller became obsolete. And while my first impulse was to go for the Nintendo Pro Controller, I quickly let it go because the problem of drifting without reaching Joy-Con level is a fact.

From the available options, after searching, checking and getting advice from my friend Eduardo Medina, among others, I decided on the new 8BitDo Ultimate Controller, the latest from this Chinese brand specialized in game controllers, which you can learn more about by reading linked article, Because I won’t go into details.

In short, 8BitDo Ultimate seems like a great choice to me for its design and ergonomics -if you don’t like it, we’re starting wrong – and of course because it works great both for playing on Nintendo Switch, even without compatibility, for example Rumble HD, and for playing on PC, so Windows or Linux. The last one is a crucial factor for me, because that’s where I play the most.

In fact, contrary to official indications, I use it on a Nintendo Switch with a 2.4GHz peak and on a PC via Bluetooth because that’s the only way compatible with linux. But it works perfectly and prevents me from pairing when changing platforms. The autonomy goes quite well, and the charging dock that it includes is not only practical, but also aesthetic.

The only downside I would get is the software that comes with the product, as it is a bit green, it only works on Windows or Android, depending on the purpose, and the experience could be more polished. Yes, it’s a recent command and over time the support will improve, but they released it like this and it must be said. However, it makes up for everything else and I didn’t even need to delve into its advanced features.

In summary: 8BitDo Ultimate is my new gaming controller and in addition to being above average in almost all sections, it -at least on paper- guarantees me that I will not suffer that drift again (note: due to the technology it uses to avoid drift, it may have if the battery is very low) worse than what Nintendo’s controls suffer from.

Nothing ear (stick)

• Category: headphones
• You can buy it at PC Components
• Recommended Maria

Nothing recently introduced their new Nothing Ear (stick) headphones, I had the chance to try them out for a few days, which I published a review about and which I was very excited about.

The Nothing Ear in stick format is a new generation of earphones from the Nothing brand that continues to twist design concepts to stand out from the competition.

They include a packaging that you won’t see in other headphones, it opens comfortably and is difficult to open by mistake in a bag, it fits in a toiletry bag or in a pocket. Plus headphones they are very comfortables if you are not keen on the in-ear ones.

You can control what we’re listening to from the earbuds, but they don’t do it with pressure sensors, by swiping your finger over the ear, but the buttons themselves are on the earbuds, so it’s much easier to control and reduce mistakes.

The ear (stick) lasts all day thanks to charging the case. Up to 7 hours of autonomy with headphones, while the case has an additional 22 hours of battery life. Fast charging takes only 10 minutes.

Orange Pi 5

• Category: SBC
• You can buy it on Amazon
• Recommended Juan Ranchal

Raspberry Pi celebrated its tenth anniversary this year with tremendous success, making it the sales leader in the category single board minicomputers or SBCs. Although the original goal of the British non-profit foundation of the same name was to stimulate the teaching of computer science in schools, its low cost and enormous flexibility of use made it extremely popular in a number of other segments, including development, IT. or any other.

Its great success has prompted several Chinese integrators to enter a market segment they handle like no other. Logical considering that most of the components are produced in this country. Shenzhen Xunlong, the company behind the development of the Orange Pi, which has “cool” products such as the complete keyboard computer (Pi 800) on the market, has announced a new SBC board, surely the most powerful one it has made so far. and that’s why we emphasize it.

This is largely due to the ARM Rockchip RK3588S processor that acts as the main engine. This is an octa-core SoC (four 2.4 GHz ARM Cortex-A76 cores and four 1.8 GHz Cortex-A55 cores), Mali-G610 MP4 graphics and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) for AI. Its memory capacity is four times that of the Raspberry Pi 4 and can reach up to 32 GB LPDDRx4. Its connectivity is also excellent, with Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, support for microSD memory cards and plenty of ports, USB, HDMI, Ethernet LAN and those for audio.

What do you use it for? Like the Raspberry Pi, you can use this Orange Pi 5 in many projects: for programming, as a multimedia center, as a basis for building basic PCs, as an anonymous router for TOR, for gaming machines, as a tablet, as a universal translator, such as arcades with minimal size and very long, etc., in which a number of enthusiasts of this development work. If you want to experience this SBC, it is ideal to do so and you will have a lot of fun along the way.

Corsair LC100 Lighting Accents

• Category: customization and lighting
• You can buy it on Amazon
• Recommended Isidro Ros

The Corsair LC100 Lighting Accents represents one of the most important and exciting innovations when it comes to personalizing our computer. They are very easy to use, they have a magnetic fixation system which simplifies the user experienceboth for connecting each triangle and attaching them to the surface where we want to use them, they have a high-quality RGb LED lighting system and integrate perfectly with iCUE.

With the Corsair LC100 Lighting Accents, we can do just that create different lighting effectsand we also have the option to add a larger number of triangles to expand the basic configuration or to expand and create new lighting effects in other areas of our chassis. Ultimately, the options it offers are very interesting and the installation and configuration process is very affordable.

Corsair LC100 Lighting Accents Starter Kit it comes with everything we need start enjoying these glowing triangles because it brings both the wiring and the Lightning Node Pro, which is the one that allows integration into iCUE. Through this software platform, we have access to various options for customizing lighting and creating different patterns and effects.

A great opportunity to give a pop of color and a unique finish for any computer. I plan to use it the next time I upgrade my computer, although I’m still not sure which pattern to adopt.

Dozens of Beurer EM49s

• Category: health
• You can buy it on Amazon
• Recommended Veronica Cabezudo Rey

Among the geek gadgets we can recommend, this may be one of the biggest, but for those who suffer from pain, it can also be one of the most useful.

And it is because TENS are Physiotherapists have long used it as an additional technique for muscle pain and it can be said that this model from the Beurer brand has a very good quality/price and above all it is effective.

Basically, it is a device connected to four electrodes that emit stimulation currents. With them, it is possible to reduce muscle pain or menstruation thanks to small massages that are created by transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. It has 12 pre-configured programs plus 3 that can be customized and saved.