The Best Gadgets of October 2026

Just when we thought the busiest tech announcement time of the year was drawing to a close, pretty much every major tech company decided to spend October adding even more to the market. Is the parade of new gadgets over until CES? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Because September’s Apple Event just wasn’t enough, the Cupertino company also spent the last two weeks of October announcing a slew of new tech. We got our first look at the long-rumored HomeView (not HomePad, as we once thought), along with a whole bunch of smart home gadgets Apple’s co-creating with LG. Apple spent the rest of the month focusing on computers: some with the company’s M6 chip (iMacs and MacBook Pro) and some with the M5 Pro/Max chip (including, at long last, a MacBook Pro with an OLED touchscreen!).

And where Apple leads, other tech companies often follow suit—so we ended up with a bunch of cool new audio, photography, and smart home gadgets this month, too. Let Gizmodo’s Consumer Tech team take you through it all. Here are the best gadgets of October 2026.

CMF Speaker M

Bluetooth speakers are a dime a dozen these days, but how many of them look like milk cartons? CMF—a Nothing spin-off brand—released its first wireless speaker this month, and thank god it prioritizes some whimsy. They sound good, too, and you can pair two for stereo output. If you’re into 3D printing, those face plates and buttons can be customized to your heart’s fullest desire. The price is right, too.

Bose Sport Open Earbuds

We’ve seen a huge influx of clip-style earbuds on the market this year, and now Bose has two pairs. While the Ultra Open Earbuds (2nd Gen) are sort of an everyday pair, the new Sport Open Earbuds are geared towards active users. They have a snug fit, nice colors, and decent sound, and while Senior Writer James Pero says they don’t exactly hit the same highs as the Ultra Open Earbuds, they do have great call quality and are good for sports use cases.

Microsoft Surface Laptop Ultra

Microsoft’s high-end Surface Laptop Ultra has been one of our most anticipated laptops of the year, and it did not disappoint when we finally got our hands on it for a full review. With an MSRP of $5,900, the Surface Laptop Ultra definitely isn’t for everyone, but it is a super solid laptop with some unique capabilities. It’s got a super bright screen, a solid shell, cool haptics in the trackpad, excellent battery life, and strong performance when it’s not plugged in—a great choice for many mobile power users.

M6 iMac

Okay, so the new iMac doesn’t have an OLED display, but it does offer plenty for Apple fans looking for a new desktop. The colorful built-in display doesn’t change much over its predecessor in terms of design, but it has one very notable update: Apple’s house-made M6 chip. Apple claims the new M6 iMac is 18 times faster than an Intel-based Mac, and it has Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 connectivity thanks to an N1 chip inside, too.

Echo Time

The newest addition to Amazon’s Echo lineup is the Echo Time, which is pretty much exactly what you think it is. The clock-forward Echo is about the size of an Echo Dot, and it comes with features to gradually wake you up with light and sound. It also uses ultrasound technology to monitor breathing patterns and make inferences about your sleep. The Echo Time will even go out of its way to wake you at an ideal moment in your sleep cycle.

Xbox Nano Controller

Xbox’s new controller prioritizes its cute factor over any sort of expert features—and for that, we’re thankful. It’s just half the size of a regular Xbox controller while still containing all the traditional inputs you’ll need for gaming (other than back buttons, which aren’t exactly the most useful thing to have, anyway). It weighs just 3.5 ounces and measures about five inches. Oh, and it has a rechargeable battery instead of the AA batteries used by other Xbox controllers. You can use it with iPhones, Android devices, and some smart TVs, too.

Alexa Tablet 12 Pro

This month, Amazon made a big move by killing off its Fire line of inexpensive tablets. The company’s full tablet reset replaces the Fire tablets with a lineup of Alexa tablets, available in 8-inch, 11-inch, and 12-inch sizes. The 12-inch model comes with a “Pro” moniker, with a 2,800 x 1,840 display that maxes out at 120Hz. It’s only 6.5mm thick and has a premium body like other tablets on the market. You can buy a Pro Keyboard and a Pro Pen to round out the device for on-the-go use.

Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20

The updated Asus ROG Xbox Ally X is what Senior Writer Kyle Barr calls “the most aesthetically pleasing gaming handheld” he’s ever held. It’s got a bigger (and more beautiful) OLED display, modified controls for extra comfort, a nice grippy back, and anti-drift TMR joysticks. At $1,300, it’s not exactly cheap, but it’s not the most expensive handheld gaming device out there—and it manages to pack in a lot for that price.

Eufy Omni E35

Luxury robot vacuums are, to be blunt, not always worth their high price points. But Eufy’s Omni E35 actually lives up to its MSRP. Its excellent vacuum and mop performance are bolstered by great battery life and actually useful object avoidance. It’s also Matter-compatible and certified to be Asthma & Allergy Friendly. Gizmodo contributor Wes Davis says it’s “the first $1,000-plus mopping, sweeping floor bot I’ve tested that can get under a couch and doesn’t feel like a total waste of money.”

Nothing Headphone 1 Pro

Nothing makes some of the coolest-looking gadgets available today, and its new Headphone 1 Pro manages to be both quirky-looking and amazing-sounding. Some of its features will definitely only appeal to a niche crowd—like a “FLAT” button that removes processing and coloration on whatever you’re listening to—but they can be ignored if you’re not into them.

Fujifilm Instax mini Evo 2

Fujifilm continues to lead the pack when it comes to innovative entry-level camera releases. The Instax mini Evo 2 is a hybrid camera that lets you view your photos digitally before printing them out on instant photo paper. It includes a few notable upgrades over the original mini Evo, including a better sensor, a much larger LCD touchscreen, and cool features like Immersive mode, which lets you record the four seconds leading up to a shutter press for later viewing.