As eventful as Google’s I/O was, May was just as much about gaming hardware as it was the Next Big Thing for Gemini AI. The Switch 2 may be on the foreseeable horizon, but other handheld gaming companies like MSI, Lenovo, and Anbernic weren’t goofing off and waiting for Nintendo to bowl them over. MSI dropped the Claw A8 in lime green, while Anbernic put out the RG34XXSP, a Game Boy SP-style retro handheld, and Lenovo launched its Legion Go S handheld gaming PC with SteamOS.
It’s not just about gaming. This month’s list has some wild cards, too, so scroll through for some gadgets that will upgrade your kitchen game, bring you back to a simpler time of taking photos, and maybe even kickstart your journey into pixel art.
Handheld gaming PCs may be getting bigger, but one thing that’s been holding them back, by most people’s accounts, is software (looking at you, Windows). Valve, which makes the Steam Deck, is here to make that hindrance just a little better by licensing its UI, SteamOS, to handheld makers, and Lenovo’s Legion Go S will be the first of such gadgets. We haven’t gone hands-on with the Legion Go S with SteamOS yet, but I can’t imagine that the new UI won’t give the Legion Go S a huge upgrade over the Windows 11 version. We already lauded the Windows model for its perfect ergonomics, so this software upgrade should make those pros feel more pronounced.
This camera might literally be a heavyweight, which is not great if you’re looking for something low profile, but it’s also got quite a few features that might make the weight feel worth bearing. Among those features is autofocus, enabled by the ability to swap between four different lenses inside the camera that are on a rotating gear. If you’re okay with a little heft, Polaroid’s Flip camera delivers photos with the characteristic and charming instant camera look that you’re used to—just make sure you’ve got proper lighting.
Do you need a device to display pixel art in your life? No, no, you do not. Would you like one, though? You might, especially if it’s this one from Govee, which is bright, versatile, and even displays GIFs at 30 fps. It’s not just images, either; this thing also has a speaker (albeit not a loud one) to pair your 8-bit artwork with some chiptunes. If you’re feeling truly compelled, it even has a feature that lets you track the price of Bitcoin, though we prefer to keep things uncomplicated with Mario or Metroid.
See Govee Gaming Pixel Light at Amazon
I’m a minimalist in the kitchen, but I fully acknowledge that a good kitchen gadget can change your life, and the Breville Paradice 9 rises to that level. I personally love using a sharp-ass set of knives, but sometimes you just want to make things easy, and that’s where food processors shine. The Paradice 9 has lots of strengths, including a dicing kit for even chopping and a feed chute that’s big enough to reduce the prep that you need to do going in. That means you can just cut an onion in half, throw that sucker in, and process away. It’s pricey for the field ($400), but it does its job and does it well.
See Breville Paradice 9 at Best Buy
The SP is Nintendo’s best Game Boy ever, and while you can’t relive that magic pixel for pixel with a new handheld, you can buy one from Anebernic that nails the classic SP form factor with a twist. The RG34XXSP is one of the many, many retro gaming handhelds from Anbernic that riffs off Nintendo’s Game Boy to bring retro emulation to a pocket near you at a price you can probably afford. My personal favorite is the GameCube colorway, but there’s also one that mimics the PlayStation and the Playdate. For $67 you can emulate all sorts of games, too, including N64 and Dreamcast titles.
Good news, TikTok, you’ve got a new Fujifilm to fawn over. The X Half is a new half-frame-esque camera with a high price tag but also a bunch of cool retro features, film simulations, and a vertical format that will make your social feeds happy. For $850, you get an 18-megapixel sensor with a lens that’s equivalent to 32mm with an f/2.8 aperture. If you’re into the vintage vibes, there’s a lot to love here, including a “film mode” where you need to use the frame advance lever after taking every picture, which simulates the experience of shooting on actual film. Your move, Gen Z.
If vibrators and dildos aren’t cutting it, Motorbunny has your back. We reviewed the Motorbunny Buck, which is a saddle with some serious horsepower. If you’re willing to shell out more money to get your rocks off mechanically, then the Motorbunny Buck is a solid option with powerful vibration, thrusting, and tons of attachments to fit your pleasure profile. For the gamers, there’s even an attachment that syncs vibrations to your game controller so you can really feel the heat.
We love a gadget that hits the sweet spot for affordability, and the Surface Pro 12 caters to that. While you still have to buy a keyboard separately, the Surface Pro 12 toes the line between tablet and laptop well and debuts at $800 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage at base. It also runs on Snapdragon’s X chips, which—despite being relatively new in the space—are already delivering great battery life in a range of well-priced devices. This thing is light too, at 1.5 pounds, which means you can actually use it as a tablet. Plus, on a more subjective note, I’m a sucker for purple gadgets.