I buy a lot of gadgets to test for this site. Here are 5 I have actually used this year, with honest verdicts. None of these are sponsored. I bought them all.
1. Apple AirTag (4-pack) —
Verdict: Worth it.
What works: Genuinely useful for tracking wallet, keys, luggage. The Find My network is huge and reliable. Battery lasts a year.
What does not: Only useful in Apple ecosystem (Android equivalent is much weaker). Some privacy concerns about tracking abuse have been addressed but not fully.
Bottom line: If you are on iPhone, the AirTag has prevented multiple "where did I leave that" panics. Worth the cost.
2. Kindle Paperwhite (latest gen) — 9
Verdict: Worth it (with caveat).
What works: Battery lasts weeks. Reading experience is genuinely better than phone or tablet for long-form text. Waterproof. Dark mode is excellent.
What does not: Tied to Amazon ecosystem. Side-loading other formats works but is awkward. Slower than my last Kindle for some operations.
Bottom line: If you read books, this is a worthwhile dedicated device. If you read mostly articles or short content, your phone is fine.
3. Stream Deck (15 button) — 9
Verdict: Worth it (for specific users).
What works: Customizable hardware buttons for any computer action. Excellent for streamers, content creators, complex workflow people. Build quality is solid.
What does not: Limited use case for general computer users. Software setup takes time. Premium price for what looks like simple hardware.
Bottom line: If you have a workflow with repeated complex actions, this is genuinely useful. Otherwise mostly novelty.
4. Logitech MX Master 3S mouse —
Verdict: Worth it.
What works: Best wireless mouse on the market. Comfortable for long use. Excellent scroll wheel. Battery lasts months.
What does not: Right-handed only. Premium price for a mouse. Some users dislike the shape.
Bottom line: If you spend many hours daily at a computer, the comfort and reliability are worth the cost.
5. A trendy "smart" garden gadget —
Verdict: Skip.
What works: The sensor accurately measured soil moisture.
What does not: The app was buggy. The "AI plant care recommendations" were generic. The required cloud subscription emerged after purchase. The novelty wore off in 2 weeks.
Bottom line: Sticking your finger in the soil tells you what you need to know. Skip.
What I would NOT buy again
Other gadgets I bought this year that disappointed:
- A trendy "smart" coffee scale. Worked. Did not need to be smart. A regular scale plus my phone timer accomplished the same thing.
- A high-end webcam. Modern laptop webcams are good enough. The premium webcam was minor improvement at substantial cost.
- A "smart" notebook with pen recognition. The technology worked. The friction of using it was higher than just using a regular notebook plus phone scanning.
The pattern across what worked
The products I love share characteristics: they do their core thing extremely well, they have clear use cases, they integrate cleanly into existing workflows.
The products that disappointed share characteristics: "smart" features that did not need to be smart, cloud dependencies that emerged post-purchase, novelty that faded fast.
This is the pattern across most gadget testing: focused tools that solve real problems beat clever tools that solve invented problems.
How to evaluate before buying
Questions I now ask:
- Does this solve a problem I actually have?
- Is the simple version of this solution available?
- Will I still use this in 6 months?
- Does it have cloud or subscription dependencies?
- Are independent reviews positive past the initial enthusiasm?
The takeaway
Most hyped gadgets are not worth the money. Most genuinely worth-it gadgets are boring tools that solve specific problems well.
Buy the focused tools. Skip the "smart" everything. Wait for community feedback past initial enthusiasm. Your gadget drawer will be less cluttered and your wallet will thank you.
