May’s best gadgets had a clear theme: premium devices got even pricier, and the ones worth buying leaned hard into big screens, smarter software, and a little bit of unnecessary flair. From backup batteries and E Ink tablets to gaming laptops, XR glasses, and headphones that cost more than some laptops, the month’s standout devices showed where tech is heading: upmarket, modular, and not especially interested in your budget.
That shift is not happening in a vacuum. Gaming hardware already took a hit this month as memory prices pushed up the cost of major consoles and handhelds, while the broader industry keeps stuffing AI into everything from search to wearables. So the best gadgets of May are not just the coolest objects on the shelf; they are also a snapshot of a market where ”good enough” keeps getting replaced by ”more expensive, but better.”
Backup power and home audio lead the pack
Anker’s Solix E10 stands out because it is practical in a way most flashy gadgets are not. It is a modular home battery system that can stack up to five batteries in a single power module and connect up to three of those modules in one unit. That flexibility gives it an edge over pricier all-in-one systems like Tesla’s Powerwall 3, especially as more people think about outages as a normal part of life rather than a disaster scenario.
On the entertainment side, Bose’s Lifestyle Ultra Speaker is the sort of Wi-Fi speaker setup that could make Sonos nervous. It is wired, so yes, it stays put at home, but the payoff is room-filling sound with enough quality to make a stereo pair tempting. In a market full of compact plastic boxes promising ”immersive audio,” this one sounds like it was made by adults.
E Ink, fitness bands, and headphones without the subscription tax
reMarkable’s Paper Pure keeps the company’s streak alive with a black-and-white tablet that feels aimed squarely at students and heavy note-takers. It uses a plastic build, but the faster refresh rate and sharp screen make it a more appealing everyday E Ink device than a lot of pricier alternatives. The company has quietly turned minimalist note-taking into a category people will actually pay for, which is more than many tablet makers can say.
Google’s Fitbit Air goes after Whoop with a cleaner pitch: pay once, not forever. For $100, the slim band packs health sensors, including heart-rate tracking, and can last around a week on a charge. The bigger story is less the hardware than the business model: if Google can make subscription-free tracking feel complete enough, it could put real pressure on rivals that have built their moat on monthly fees.
Then there is the Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max, which overachieves in the usual Anker way. The active noise canceling is the headline feature, but the case’s recording and AI transcription tricks make these earbuds feel built for people who treat their headphones like tools, not just accessories. That screen-on-the-case gimmick might sound silly until you realize it solves a real workflow problem.
Gaming laptops and displays keep going bigger
- Alienware 16 Area-51 (2026): OLED display, anti-glare filter, Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus CPU, and a keyboard that feels excellent in daily use.
- Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo (2026): dual screens, a magnetic keyboard, and a starting price of $4,500 before you even get to the top-end Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU.
- Sony Bravia 9 II: True RGB screen technology, 4,000 nits of peak brightness, and a black filter tuned for contrast-heavy viewing.
These are not subtle machines. Alienware’s new Area-51 is built to sit on a desk and dominate it, while Asus is still committed to the two-screen laptop idea in a way that feels both absurd and oddly useful. Sony’s Bravia 9 II, meanwhile, shows how far premium TVs have drifted from basic ”looks good in a store” territory. The fight in high-end displays now is about brightness, color accuracy, and control, not just resolution.
XR glasses and expensive audio point to the next wave
Google and Xreal’s Project Aura is the most promising XR tease of the month because it appears to aim for the sweet spot between a full headset and ordinary glasses. It supports limited hand tracking and major Android apps, but it is light enough to wear on a flight without looking like you are volunteering for a demo. The missing pieces are obvious: price and release date. For now, that uncertainty is almost part of the product.
Finally, Sony’s 1000X The Collexion makes a very Sony argument for premium headphones: if you want excellent sound, expect to pay for it. At $650, with vegan leather, new drivers, and DSEE Ultimate audio upscaling, they are priced well above the already expensive AirPods Max. That will annoy plenty of shoppers, but it also underlines a familiar pattern in audio: the companies with the strongest reputations keep testing how far people will stretch.
And then there is Anker’s Nebula SpaceFlow, which may be the strangest gadget on the list. It uses AI-generated projections to map custom images onto your house for holidays and other occasions, and it costs $400 on top of the Nebula X1 projector system. That is a lot of money for a product that exists somewhere between decorative theater and expensive chaos, which feels very on-brand for May.