ASUS ZenBook A16, AirPods Max 2, Sonos Play and LG Sound Suite

Spring has actually sprung right here at Engadget. Nicely, it has by way of reviews, a minimum of. We’ve put over a dozen units by way of their paces since my final roundup, which supplies you a large number to compensate for over the weekend. Learn on for the rundown of all of the opinions you would possibly’ve missed.

ASUS ZenBook A16

ASUS

The Zenbook A16 is the lightest 16-inch ultraportable we’ve seen but, and it’s surprisingly succesful because of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 chips.

Professionals

• Surprisingly mild
• Polished design
• Glorious OLED display
• Tons of ports
• Large efficiency leap over X1 chips

Cons

• Potential Arm incompatibilities
• Doesn’t help all PC video games

ASUS’ ZenBook A14 didn’t reside as much as our expectations final yr, however now the corporate is again with a 16-inch machine and a shot at redemption: the A16. “Compatibility points apart, the ZenBook A16 delivers nearly every thing I need in an ultraportable,” senior reporter Devindra Hardawar mentioned. “It’s received a stunning OLED display and the entire ports you want. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite chips additionally give it a much-needed energy increase. And better of all, it is one of many lightest and sleekest 16-inch Home windows laptops I’ve come throughout.”

Apple AirPods Max 2

Apple/Engadget

The H2 chip delivers a number of latest options, however it’s time for a complete redesign on these expensive headphones.

Professionals

• Comfy
• Glorious sound high quality
• A number of new options

Cons

• Similar design, once more
• Costly
• Just one listening to well being characteristic

Till this yr, Apple’s solely updates to the AirPods Max have been new colours and a USB-C port. The corporate lastly gave its pricey over-ear headphones the highly effective H2 chip, delivering a number of useful options from the AirPods Professional. “The H2 chip brings Apple’s over-ear headphones on par with the remainder of the AirPods lineup, particularly the AirPods Professional 3,” I mentioned. “And since I don’t anticipate Apple to announce new earbuds this yr, that parity ought to stay for some time.”

Sonos Play

Sonos / Engadget

The Play sounds nice, has a large and versatile characteristic set and gained’t break the financial institution. It’s a welcome return to kind for Sonos.

Professionals

• Compact design
• Nice sound high quality for its dimension
• Options like line-in and Bluetooth grouping make it extraordinarily versatile
• Lengthy battery life

Cons

• Doesn’t include an influence adapter
• Extra colours can be welcome

Sonos badly wanted a win. Fortunately, the corporate regained a few of its mojo with a new portable speaker that gives the most effective of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi in the identical system. “The most recent Sonos speaker presents spectacular sound high quality, flexibility and portability, and it’s the sort of product that may assist Sonos rebuild its fame after its current difficulties,” deputy editor Nathan Ingraham mentioned.

LG Sound Suite

LG/Engadget

LG’s newest house theater system presents immersive sound and many choices. It’s costly although, and the marquee characteristic isn’t all the time simple to make use of.

Professionals

• Detailed and expansive house theater audio
• Dolby FlexConnect is genuinely helpful
• Nice for music
• Straightforward to make use of as particular person audio system

Cons

• Costly
• Irritating setup and connectivity
• Every merchandise is bought individually
• Some configurations require LG TVs

After a powerful CES debut, LG’s Sound Suite was my most anticipated evaluation of the yr. Regardless of spectacular sound high quality and Dolby Atmos FlexConnect, there are nonetheless some kinks to work out in each the setup and common use. “There’s no denying that LG has created a robust and immersive lounge expertise with its Sound Suite lineup,” I mentioned. “Whereas I did expertise some setup and software program points, these are issues LG can iron out over time — Sound Suite remains to be model new, in spite of everything.”

DJI Avata 360, Fender Audio, Nebula X1 Professional and extra

The previous couple of weeks have been fairly audio-heavy right here at Engadget, together with the primary headphones and speakers from Fender Audio, two sets of headphones from JBL and the Roland Go: Mixer Studio. I additionally reviewed the primary of Sony’s 2026 soundbars, the Bravia Theater Bar 5, and contributing reporter Steve Dent reviewed the Anker Soundcore Nebula X1 Pro all-in-one projector.

Senior reporter Sam Rutherford actually took one for the workforce and spent a while with the Robosen Soundwave Transformers robotic. Lastly, Steve took flight with the DJI Avata 360 drone, which is a direct reply to Insta360’s Antigravity A1.