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I waited for the Nintendo Switch 2 for a long time. Rumors of an allegedly-real-but-never-released Switch Pro swirled around for years as I watched fewer and fewer AAA third-party games make their way to Nintendo’s little console that could. There were always enough first-party titles and indie games to tide me over, but I watched with some envy as games like Elden Ring took the world by storm, knowing I’d have to wait until Nintendo’s next generation hardware arrived to add them to my Switch library. Now, finally, it’s here.

The Switch 2’s core strength for me boils down to it being a better version of the original Switch. Its 7.9-inch 120Hz 1080P screen looks sharp — yes, an OLED display would have been nicer, but I’m not complaining — and its ability to output at up to 4K, or up to 120Hz at lower resolutions, is a welcome improvement. It can play most original Nintendo Switch games, some of which have been updated through free or paid patches to run at a higher frame rate or resolution.

As a writer, I take the tools of my trade relatively seriously. I’m not crazy enough to drop $3,600 on a keyboard, but I also find typing on a MacBook for extended periods of time deeply unsatisfying — and distracting. So this spring, I started looking into distraction-free writing setups, which included an e-reader / writer and a mechanical keyboard.

I started with the Boox Palma 2 because its E Ink screen and limited connectivity could make it a solid distraction-free solution if paired with a good keyboard. After a lot of research, the keyboard I settled on was the NuPhy Air60 V2, with the company’s heaviest tactile Moss switches and the gorgeous NuFolio case in “nostalgic tan,” which is really more of a bold yellow.

About a year ago, we said you probably don’t need the Remarkable Paper Pro. The e-ink device is equal parts outrageous and luxurious; it’s not ideal for consuming books, and the screen can sometimes feel painfully slow. Then there’s the starting price, which is, quite frankly, ludicrous at $629 (up from $579 thanks to US-induced tariffs). Add in the $229 Type Folio, and holy hell.

Based on that description, most sane people would stay far, far away, and maybe spend their money on, I don’t know, Apple’s latest MacBook Air. We’ve seen Apple’s laptop drop down to as low as $738, making it the more affordable option against the combined price of the Remarkable Paper Pro and Type Folio keyboard case.

I was never a Boy Scout, but I have always embraced their “be prepared” motto. When I leave the house it’s never without my everyday carry kit that, among other things, includes wireless earbuds, a small battery, extra glasses — and a flashlight. In fact, I’ve long been on the hunt for what I consider to be the perfect flashlight, and as a result I now have more of them than any one person could ever need. But the $25 Wuben G5 could be my last, thanks to a compact design that pairs clever functionality with lots of illumination that’s easy to adjust.

I bought the G5 as a replacement for the Nitecore TINI 2 keychain flashlight I used to carry. Nitecore’s is surprisingly bright given how small it is, but the lock option that prevents the flashlight from turning on accidentally is far from foolproof. In reality, the TINI 2 would regularly turn on by itself while bouncing around inside my sling bag, draining its battery without me realizing it. You can’t effectively “be prepared” with a dead flashlight.

Emma Roth is a news writer here at The Verge, “and for me,” she explains, “that means every day is different. During the four years I’ve been here, I’ve covered breaking news and written about basically everything in the realm of tech, whether it’s streaming price hikes, the latest in AI chatbots, privacy issues surrounding age verification, and a whole lot more.”

Although she covers the latest tech news and products, it turns out that one of Emma’s favorite home appliances is a decades-old vacuum cleaner. I asked her about it.

Every once in a while, Slack conversations among The Verge’s staff are interrupted by photos of incredibly cute dogs, cats, and other pets. (We even have an occasional discussion about smart home editor Jennifer Pattison Tuohy’s chickens.)

Naturally, anyone who has a pet wants the best for them — and that includes carriers, feeders, and automatic litter boxes. So we asked the Verge crew to tell us about the gadgets and other items — some of them homemade — they use to help keep pets happy and healthy. Here are some of their answers.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy is a senior reviewer at The Verge covering the smart home, Internet of Things, and, as she puts it, “as many kitchen gadgets as I can get my hands on.” In her four years here, she’s tested everything from smart locks, lights, and doorbells to robot vacuums (some with arms), robot lawnmowers, and an actual home robot. But, she says, “the heart of my home is my kitchen, and I love a good smart kitchen gadget. I’ve tested a smart trash can, smart mixer, smart pizza oven, smart ice maker, and yes, even a smart fridge. But none of these could ever replace my favorite kitchen gadget — my Le Creuset sauté pan.”

When did you get your Le Creuset pan?

Marina Galperina is a senior tech editor at The Verge who works with staff writers and freelancers on reports and theme weeks. She recently started a new newsletter called The Stepback, which breaks down one essential story from a writer of the week every Sunday. (From Marina: “Please subscribe!”)

During a recent discussion of Labubus on Slack (yes, this is the kind of topic that comes up during the workday), Marina introduced us to a strange-looking object that she called her “Soviet Labubu.” So, understandably, I had to ask her about it.

About two years ago, we ran an article in which Verge staffers talked about their favorite backpacks and other bags. It’s time for a new one, and so we asked the staff to tell us about their favorite travel packs, day-to-day bags, and other ways to carry stuff around. Here’s what they told us.

I like to travel light, but as a dad, that’s almost impossible. I bought a Tom Bihn Synik 30 a few years ago and found that there’s a reason it’s on almost every backpack list you’ll find. (Any serious one, that is.) It holds everything I need for a day out with the kids or a weekend traveling… or longer if I travel light. Tom Bihn bags are known for their high-quality materials — mine still looks brand-new after about six years — and the Synik 30 has a ton of pockets for storing anything from a change of clothes to a small first-aid kit or whatever else dads carry. I also love that there’s a water bottle pocket right in the front-center of the bag, that the large main pocket has straps to buckle down clothes for a weekend trip, and that it has a dedicated laptop sleeve.

Barbara Krasnoff is officially the reviews editor for The Verge, but although she has done a great deal of reviewing in her time, she doesn’t tend to do a lot of it in her current position. “I was originally hired here to write and edit to-do articles,” she explains. “Now, I spend most of my time editing, overseeing various projects, and coaxing staffers to write about their favorite stuff.”

Where did you first hear about the Dell mobile adapter?

It’s summer travel season once again, and The Verge staffers are preparing to roam, whether it’s to follow a story, check out a new tech device, or enjoy some down time away from home. Most people who travel have gear — tech or otherwise — that makes the process easier or more enjoyable. We asked our staff for some examples of their favorite travel tools, from bags and power banks to water bottles and portable bidets.

I first used a Tortuga travel backpack for a trip to Japan years ago. It was a super convenient bag for toting stuff around the country and keeping my hands free for holding a phone, map, or snack. I recently broke it out again for a business trip, and I was happily reminded just how dang great it is while traveling. The bag just fit under an airplane seat, meaning I could easily access my food, Steam Deck, and laptop during the flight. When the flight was over, I didn’t have to wait to fish a bag out of an overhead bin — I just picked the Tortuga up and walked off the airplane.

Allison Johnson is a reviewer for The Verge who writes about phones and mobile technology. “Occasionally,” she adds, “I yell at your wireless carrier.”

I asked her if there were any items that she especially liked using, and after thinking about it, she eventually came up with… a pencil sharpener.

Andru Marino is an audio and video producer at The Verge. “I make videos on our YouTube / TikTok / Instagram channels, and have produced our podcasts like Vergecast, Decoder, and Why’d You Push That Button?” He also keeps a lot of notes, and his latest favorite places to keep them are the Triangle and Sidekick notebooks. I asked him about them.

Where did you first hear about these notebooks?

Two years ago, we published a list of our favorite summer gear — and it’s time to do it again!

Things can get a little tense out there in the world, so sometimes you have to pause and take a breath. We’re looking forward to taking some time for ourselves by hiking, biking, or hanging out and listening to our favorite tunes, maybe accompanied by some soft-serve ice cream to cool things down. We’ve asked our staff about the gadgets they plan to use this summer to help get away and have fun. Here’s what some of them recommend.

Sean Hollister is a senior editor here at The Verge. He runs news, writes reviews, and edits stories, and he specializes in, as he puts it, “fun gadgets.” He goes on to say, “It hit me recently that I’m basically a big kid: I want to play. So now I try to spend most of my time toying with nerdy hardware and filming it weekly for you. Please tell me if you see something I absolutely must try!”

When we asked him to choose one of his favorite current gadgets, he volunteered to talk about the 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller.

Cath Virginia is the senior designer here at The Verge, who creates illustrations and collages for our articles. However, she also has “dabbled” (as she puts it) in feature designs for articles such as 2004 was the first year of the future (which won the 2025 ASME Award for Best News and Entertainment Design), How the Stream Deck rose from the ashes of a legendary keyboard, and The Lurker. “I also designed the branding for Notepad by Tom Warren and recently refreshed the look of Verge Deals,” she explains.

When not doing this impressive work, Cath sews. A lot. And so, when I asked her what one of her favorite gadgets was, she said it was her Brother 1034D Serger. If you’re not quite sure what a serger is (I certainly wasn’t), read on.

While we all wait to find out what effect the upcoming — well, maybe upcoming — tariffs will have on prices, many of us are making mental lists of some of the items we might need that, hopefully, won’t demand a bank loan to be affordable.

Last year, we asked the staff members here at The Verge whether they had any favorite items that cost $50 or less. This year, because things are getting more expensive, we thought about upping the limit to $75, but it turns out that our staff has a good instinct for finding great, low-cost tech gadgets, cooking gear, tool kits, and other items that not only don’t suck, but are actually good to own. With any luck, they’ll remain $50 or less — for now, at any rate.

I have a tendency to hold on to my phones as long as they work reasonably well, and although I must admit I’ve been tempted by the Pixel 9A, I will probably still be using my Pixel 6 for a bit longer. The only issue that I’m starting to hit is battery life — after over three years of use, it’s not unexpected that I will sometimes hit the 20 percent mark toward the end of the day. So I recently realized that I’m going to have to start carrying around a portable charger.

At first, I was going to go with the 20,000mAh Anker Zolo Power Bank, which had gotten a good number of recommendations. But it weighs over 11 ounces and when I dropped it into my bag, it felt like I had added a small brick. That’s why I traded it in for the less powerful but much lighter Anker Nano Power Bank, which plugs into my phone’s USB-C slot like a small add-on peripheral. The Nano weighs only 3.5 ounces and supplies 5,000mAh of battery power — enough to keep me going to the end of the day. And it comes in several pale colors (I chose Ice Lake Blue), which means I can see it more easily in the dark reaches of my bag. — Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor

Antonio Di Benedetto started out working on The Verge’s deals beat, where he searched out the best prices for the best tech purchases. However, since then, he’s become our resident laptop reviewer. “So, as you’ll see,” he says, “I like staring at nice screens (preferably large ones) and I love getting a sweet deal.” One of those nice screens — and sweet deals — were LG’s 77-inch C3 OLED TV, and Antonio decided to take advantage of it.

Jess Weatherbed is a news writer and part of our international team. Jess describes herself as “mostly a generalist who covers a wide range of stories before my US and Canadian colleagues jump online.” Their main beat, however, is with the creative industries, where they cover what tech and software they are using, how creators are being displaced, and more. We saw her wonderful Twinkly Strings setup when she showed us her home workspace last year and thought they looked great.

How did you first find out about Twinkly Strings?

Sometimes we treasure our devices and tools not just because they’re practical, but because we like their style — the way they look, the way they make our surroundings look, or just because it’s nice to work with something that is, well, snazzy. It reflects our taste. It gives us, or our living space, style.

So this month, we asked the staff of The Verge what they used that had real style. We got back answers ranging from handbags to smart thermostats to shower caddies. Here’s some of what they told us.

Okay, hear me out: I know $200 is a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a glorified shower caddy, but shower accessories are largely ugly, and this one is just so beautiful. I did weeks of research before I purchased it, looking for a more affordable alternative, and winced a little when I added it to my cart. But I’ve never regretted it.

I think the shower should be one of the most intentionally designed and organized spaces in your home. I love paying time and attention to the most private spaces in our apartment, and it feels extra decadent to invest in practical aesthetics that are just for us. I finished up the shower with a shower curtain from Quiet Town and a no-tools-required swap of our ugly showerhead with a color-coordinated wand from Sproos. — Kristen Radtke, creative director

Kristen Radtke is creative director at The Verge. “I work with the art team on the overall look and feel of the site across illustrations, photos, and branding,” she explains. “I also design feature stories and custom packages.” One of her favorite software packages is Calligraphr, and so we asked her about it.

What exactly is Calligraphr?

Victoria Song is a senior reviewer at The Verge who mostly focuses on health tech and wearables and who, she says, occasionally has “existential crises over silly gadgets I bought on TikTok against my better judgment.” One of her favorite gadgets is the Logitech MX Vertical wireless mouse.

When did you get the Logitech MX Vertical?

Many members of The Verge’s staff enjoy cooking — and all enjoy eating. Inspired by that admittedly obvious thought, we asked them to say which kitchen tools they most enjoy using these days.

We got a wide and fascinating array of answers. They include gadgets that need to be charged, such as electric kettles, blenders, and smart thermometers, as well as simpler, non-powered tools like egg holders, spreader knives, and wooden spoons. (Sometimes simpler can be better.)

We’ve got several parents on our staff, and as members of The Verge, they are also into gadgets. Put the two together, and you’ve got some really interesting stuff that can be used to keep your infant, toddler, or child safe, happy, educated, and / or out of trouble.

Here are some of the devices that the folks here use to help be better — and happier — parents.

When it comes to entertainment and education, we can choose from podcasts, videos, games, live performances, or books, one of the oldest and still most popular ways to learn something new or escape (at least temporarily) from today’s troubled world. We asked the staff of The Verge what their favorite reads were in 2024. Their answers ranged from fantasy and science fiction to histories of engineering and clothing to autobiographies, insights on body image, and more.

Read on, and see if there’s anything here that you want to check out during the holidays.