Let’s reach into our pillow cases to pull out our favorite tech treats of October.
October was full of frights, but at least the tech on offer proved to be an occasional delight. We started off the month with a new slate of handheld gaming PCs from Lenovo and the dual might of Microsoft and Asus. Then, Apple came along and dumped a whole gaggle of gadgets on our doorstep, all sporting its new M5 chip. In between that, we had the chance to check out more wireless earbuds, wearables, and way too many AR smart glasses, some that are worth wearing and others of dubious quality.
Nothing came through announcing its most controversial phone yet, the budget-end Phone 3a Lite which comes preinstalled with several apps you can’t completely delete. DJI launched product after product, none of which can come to the U.S. due to its upcoming federal ban. Microsoft’s Xbox brand is suffering after quarter after quarter of declining hardware sales. But, hey, at least we can say smart candles are a thing, finally.
But if you really want to see how October compares to the rest of 2025, check out Gizmodo’s Best Tech of 2025 awards. Don’t worry, there’s more to come as we crunch along the leaf-strewn path toward the end of the year.iPad Pro (M5) / Vision Pro (M5) / 14-inch MacBook Pro (M5)
Apple has a penchant for dropping its big chip launch late in the year, but this October was even more “Scary Fast” when it launched a refresh of the iPad Pro, Vision Pro, and 14-inch MacBook Pro, all with the M5 chip. Both the laptop and tablet are still top of their class with category-leading performance and build quality. Each device also packs surprising upgrades. The new MacBook Pro features extraordinarily fast storage read and write speeds. Meanwhile, the Vision Pro now supports third-party peripherals, specifically the Logitech Muse stylus and the PlayStation VR2 controllers, which may provide a new slate of interesting apps on Apple’s aging visionOS.Asus ROG Xbox Ally X
While we had to wait a long while for the first novel Xbox gaming hardware in five years, what arrived was more of a PC than any console sharing the same branding. However, for PC gaming, it showed up in style with extra comfortable controller-like grips and a new SoC (system on a chip) that managed to perform well in our benchmarks. The more important aspect is the new Windows UI for handhelds, dubbed the “full screen experience.” This makes it easier to access your game launchers and the games themselves on the relatively small, 7-inch display.
