We had the privilege of reviewing a lot of products in 2022 by companies seeking to innovate, inspire and bring new awareness to new and existing product lineups. While we are currently collating data on what we think was the best Product released in this calendar year, we want to remind you of some of the contenders for this year’s coveted prize!
COROS Vertix 2
With an impressively large 1.4-inch ultra-clear display protected by diamond-like sapphire glass, housed within a premium titanium bezel with a very clever and convenient mechanical navigational dial, this dustproof and 10ATM water-resistant beast is a contender to be reckoned with.
The Vertix 2, like its predecessor, offers all-day activity plus sleep tracking and features such as advanced navigation, offline mapping, camera controls, and premium health features like heart rate variability and blood oxygen monitoring. However, the star of the show is its new global offline mapping features with landscape, TOPO, or hybrid mode options that are helped in part by the watches’ ability to communicate to all five major satellite tracking systems – GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and Beidou.
The watch is also stacked with a multitude of different indoor and outdoor workout tracking profiles including – run, bike, mountain climb, hike, pool swim, speedsurfing, windsurfing, rowing, whitewater, flatwater, triathlon, strength, gym cardio, ski, snowboard, cross-country ski, multisport, multi-pitch, walking and more. It is the most comprehensive list we have seen on a fitness watch to date. This is aided by seamlessly never-ending battery life, seriously, it is so good we misplaced the charging cable because it lasts that long! COROS promises 60 days in basic watch mode or 140 hours straight in full GPS mode and we fully agree with this estimate in our testing. Put plainly, this is not your annoying 1.5-day Apple Watch battery life. It is a game-changer.
Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra
The S7 MaxV Ultra is a brilliant combination of Roborock’s S7 MaxV automatic vacuum which improves on the original S7 by adding more suction power (5100pa) and what they call “Reactive AI 2.0 Obstacle Avoidance System” or put simply, it recognizes objects using its Lidar sensor, structured light 3D scanning, and RGB camera and will not run over them, a common cause of robot vacuum distress. It also includes its sonic-powered floor cleaner to help mop up those high-traffic floors with ease do not worry the mop lifts 5mm when it detects carpet, so there is no need to keep removing and replacing the mop pad based on which rooms you want to clean. In case you are wondering where the ‘Ultra’ title comes from, it refers to their newly upgraded docking system that will empty, wash, and refill your vacuum when it is done.
Arguably one of the greatest things to come out of CES 2021 Roborock has turned this experience into so much more than the original self-emptying dock. Not only does it automatically empty the dust receptacle on the S7 MaxV upon its return, like its predecessor, but it also refills the approved cleaning solution in the mopping tank and even cleans the mop head and collects the dirty water for disposal in a separate tank. This one is punching above its weight.
Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro
Weighing in at a measly 59g, do not let their size fool you. These earphones from Soundcore feature a brilliant and comfortable ergonomic design with silicone ear wings which include an air pressure relief structure to combat wearing discomfort. Soundcore has also redesigned the Astria Coaxial Acoustic Architecture 2.0 (AACA) now with its coaxial-aligned acoustic architecture and Knowles balanced armature driver that is married to a 10.6mm dynamic driver, these earbuds deliver sound with even greater detail and virtually zero distortion for the best possible listening experience.
The standout feature of the Liberty 3 Pro though is their simply brilliant customizable HearID ANC, which is capable of automatically customizing noise reduction based on outside conditions while creating a unique, tailor-made sound profile by analyzing in-ear pressure for the most precise and comfortable experience. Additionally, to personalize the listening experience and tune the sound even further to an individual, users can use the HearID sound function in the Soundcore app, which, after performing a simple “hearing test,” can boost frequencies independently that are lacking for each ear. This versatility means you are getting the best possible sound quality for your individual hearing needs.
Also of note is the inclusion of the LDAC codec, which when used with compatible devices, transfers three times the amount of data versus standard Bluetooth formats, and provides a true high-resolution audio experience for listeners. You also get an impressive 8 hours of battery life as well as fast wired and wireless charging; customizable user touch controls and for those that love to take calls or record audio notes on their device: 6-mic AI uplink noise reduction helps minimize background noise during calls.
Huawei Mateview
This down-and-out contender came back swinging in 2022 with the release of its Mateview Monitor. With a unique full-screen 3:2 aspect ratio mounted on a low-profile stand that features built-in ports, a power button and speakers, this minimalist design got people talking. Featuring a screen that can be lowered or angled very easy to find a comfortable viewing level and incorporates its own very clever Smart Bar – an OSD (On Screen Display) touch control that contains almost all the controls and settings for the monitor with the slide of your finger, we liked what we saw here.
With a focus on productivity, the Mateview features a vibrant and bright 28.2-inch display capable of a resolution of 3840×2560 which translates to about 1.5 million more pixels than a standard 4K monitor and it is quite striking to look at with deep blacks and accurate bold colors, nearly 1.07 billion to be precise. It is also HDR-certified and capable of achieving 98% of the DCI-P3 cinema standard color gamut meaning colors are incredibly accurate too.
These combined with the 94% screen-to-body ratio make for an immersive experience that is unlike anything we have tested before. Lastly, if you use Huawei’s laptop or smartphone, you can wirelessly project in 2K resolution directly to the Mateview to increase the readability of your other connected devices.
Google Pixel 7/7 Pro
A heavyweight hitting release from Google this year with their latest lineup of Pixel devices. Both phones come in the same sizes as last year with both 6.3-inch and 6.7-inch variants featuring a vibrant LTPO OLED screen in either FHD+ or QHD+ resolution. The Pixel 7 Pro’s screen is also less curved than last year which is a change we gladly welcome and par for the course is that both phones retain a high screen refresh rate of either 90Hz or 120Hz for fast and fluid navigation around apps and the OS. This year there is a notable bump in screen brightness up to 1500 nits on the 7 Pro and 1400 on the smaller 7 and this is a welcome change in outdoor visibility. Again, we get the very convenient Always on Display but new is the return of Face Unlock, a feature notably missing from the last few generations of Pixel devices. This is another means by which users can unlock their devices quickly and satisfyingly. We are also happy to report that the Fingerprint scanner up front is also much improved and much more consistent than last year.
The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are both powered by Google’s new Tensor G2 chip, which promises advanced machine-learning capabilities and computational photography powers. The Pixel 7 features 8GB of RAM with 128GB or 256GB of storage and is powered by a 4,355 mAh battery for all-day use, while the Pixel 7 Pro features 12GB of RAM either 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB of storage and a massive 5,000 mAh battery which combined with the new Tensor 2 chipset has delivered some impressive battery life thus far on both devices.
The Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro come with Android 13 and next to Apple’s iOS, it is the most responsive and fluid Android experience. The best way to describe the experience of Android 13 on a Pixel phone is that it just works. You have the least amount of work to do to get a clean, working system up and running. Apps open lightning fast with not a snag or a stutter to mention. You also get granular control over app permissions; you can add themed icons and even resizable widgets to your main screen to make the device truly yours *cough, Apple*. Gaming has also been a pleasant experience on the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, no, these are not dedicated gaming phones but, in our testing, we did not see any instances of slowdowns or thermal throttling to speak of. Then there are also the Pixel exclusive features which we would argue is a reason to buy the phone alone, features such as the powerful spam call killer – Call Screen, a powerful photo editor in Magic Eraser; Real Tone technology to better capture accurate skin tones and a new photo Unblur feature, which uses the power of A.I. to magically sharpen any photo to make it less blurry, even if you took it 15 years ago.
Last and certainly not least are the cameras! The Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro both feature a 50MP main camera with f/1.8 aperture and a 12MP ultrawide lens with f/2.2, but the Pixel 7 Pro adds a 48MP 5x telephoto camera with up to 30x Super Res Zoom for zooming in even further than least years’ 6 Pro. The regular Pixel 7 may not have a dedicated telephoto lens, but it is capable of up to 8x Super Res Zoom, which in our testing did look pretty good for digital zoom. The Pixel 7 Pro also benefits from a wider field of view at 125.8 degrees vs. 114° for the Pixel 7 which means you can capture more in each frame. The improved ultra-wide lens on the Pixel 7 Pro also now has auto-focus which enables for the very first time a Macro Focus mode for enhanced close-up shots and boy do these look great.
Synca Hisho Massage Chair
The comeback king and previous Product of the Year winner Synca are back with a new contender in the ring. With a larger more premium all-leather build and the ability to recline into a full “zero gravity” position, the chair effectively reduces the impact on the body by taking pressure off the lower vertebrae, reducing restriction points on your blood vessels, and cradling and supporting your body in just the right way to provide balanced support from the legs to the head.
This is accompanied by a brilliant dual S and L track massage system which seemingly follows the contours of your back hugging the lumbar and neck but also travels directly up and down the back in a straight line, directly extending out underneath the seat to reach the glutes. This system, while being cradled in the neutral posture position, ensures you receive the largest coverage area while also maintaining the highest quality of massage. New with the Hisho is the use of an adjustable and extendable footrest to meet the heights of different consumers but this is also paired with reflexology foot rollers that work to help reduce swelling and tight muscles in the arches of your feet and air compression technology seamlessly massages the calves (and forearms) to increase blood flow. We have also come to love their built-in carbon fiber lumbar heaters that provide soothing heat therapy to loosen stiff muscles.
Lastly, the Hisho delivers 6 different massage modes for consumers to select from using their very intuitive controller. Everything from full body massage to relief and even night massage to help you sleep is on offer here. Using a combination of kneading, tapping, and sync massage techniques, users can select the intensity of the pressure they would like and can even manually direct the massage to problem areas with ease. Our favorite must be what they call the Vigor massage which essentially is like having a big burly Japanese sumo wrestler attack tight muscles like he is training for a battle.
We have posted a poll on the @onecutreviews IG account. Be sure to head over there and cast your vote for which product you think deserves to win!