Getting a drink home without spilling it is enough of a challenge for some of us. Toyota raises the stakes with a wet test track, an AE86, and an open cup of water. Its test driver attempts Takumi’s famous Initial D exercise, making the cup as compelling to watch as the car.
You spend time choosing furniture and matching colors, only to park a giant black rectangle in the middle of it all. Amazon’s Ember Artline fills that space with artwork between shows, without an art subscription. When it’s time to watch, redesigned Fire TV menus and a revamped phone app help with the choosing.
A camera pointed at the couch is only useful until the dog takes its mischief elsewhere. Ring’s new pan-tilt indoor model follows movement around the room, while four new 4K cameras cover the rest of the lineup. Between brighter lighting, sharper footage, and more power options, there’s plenty to choose from beyond a fixed view.
Six years is a long wait for a second-generation gadget, even one that spends its life sitting on a shelf. Apple’s HomePod mini 2 gives the little speaker new duties, from Mac audio to four-speaker movie nights. It also gets a music-reactive light show, with Siri AI joining through a later update.
Watching a show with someone who keeps asking questions can become a group research project. Apple’s new TV 4K lets Siri field those questions hands-free, with answers appearing on-screen. Add faster hardware and support for four HomePod speakers, and the little box has quite a few new duties for movie night.
A television with streaming apps built in makes another streaming device sound redundant. Amazon’s new Fire TV Stick 4K makes its case with quicker access to your shows and a remote you can navigate by feel. It also draws power from your TV’s USB port, leaving one less thing competing for an outlet.