A collection of some of our favorite tech to hit store shelves in June 2016. While we typically focus on smartphones, our "Best Tech" series expands our scope and lets us to take a look at the various devices our smartphones can control. Which device is your favorite?
It’s that time when we talk about the best tech devices to hit store shelves in the month of June 2016. Not all these products were released last month but as you know, we do try to feature the freshest products around. We have an assortment of good ones to show you all today so let’s not waste any time. We’re already a little bit behind schedule so let’s get started.
Believe it or not, all the tech mentioned in this video can fit in the pockets of this jacket. This is the Sterling Jacket from SCOTTeVEST, a professional, business style jacket for the tech enthusiast. There are 25 pockets found here but you really wouldn’t know that from looking at it all zipped up. Of course, you have your standard outside pockets but the magic is really located on the inside. There’s one big pocket with a clear plastic cover that will fit a smartphone and allow you to navigate it while keeping it safe and secure in the process; great for listening to music. It doesn’t fit the iPhone 6s Plus unfortunately but that’s a very tall phone, as you guys know. Anything smaller, it’ll fit just fine. There is a much larger pocket below that which, believe it or not, will fit a full-sized iPad. That’s crazy.
Now the jacket itself seems well insulated. But it’s also summer time so I have yet to really test it in the cold weather. For the warmer temperatures, I recommend removing the sleeves like so because you can do that. The Sterling Jacket for men costs about $200 but it’s on sale now for $150 because it’s off-season right now.
Triby is the first third-party device to feature Amazon’s Alexa Voice Assistant. And if you know me, you know I love the Amazon Echo so I had to get my hands on Triby. Just by looking at its form factor, you’ll see that it resembles nothing like the Echo line of devices. It’s really meant to be placed on a fridge so you can take advantage of its connected message board where you can add notes for others to see or for you to remember. You can also draw a pictures and share texts from your smartphone, which can then be sent to the Always-On E-Ink display. I think it’s an appealing feature if you live with somebody else (aka are in a relationship). A yellow postal flap will even pop out when a message is received. It’s pretty unique. I haven’t seen that before.
Triby takes Alexa to another level with the ability to make calls over VoIP or with a paired smartphone from 15 feet away and given its size, the sound quality is pretty solid. It delivers a very crisp sound with no noticeable bass. The Alexa functionality still needs some work though. It’s nowhere near as consistent as an official Echo device. The third-party Alexa is a little bit buggy at times and there’s not as much customizable options found in the Alexa or Triby app. With that said, the messaging and calling features are pretty unique and its design makes for a portable speaker. It has a handle where you can grab it and go. For an at home device, the fact that it runs on a 2-day battery lifespan may be unappealing but for a portable Bluetooth speaker, the 1 or 2-day battery life is pretty great.
ChargeTech Portable AC Battery Pack
This is the ChargeTech Portable AC Battery Pack. Basically, it’s a 27,000 mAh battery pack with support for an AC plug outlet and USB port. What this means is that you can charge/power literally any electronic device you have thanks to the AC plug here (that means laptops, cameras, MacBooks, speakers). The model I have is the limited edition model, which features a scratch-resistant housing and added internal insulation to reduce heat and maximize performance. It’s also matte black so the feel of the device is going to differ a little bit.
As you can see, it’s not terribly big even though it does feature 27,000 mAh of power. The USB ports are equipped with fast charge technology to deliver 2.4 amps to your devices. There’s also an included high-speed cable to charge the unit itself within two hours. The AC outlet will power any electronic device up to 85 watts. Like I said earlier, this is the LE (Limited Edition) variant which costs more. It costs about $250 but you can get the standard variant with all the core features for $185.
The Roku 4 made it on the list because it’s one of my favorite media players. It’s not terribly new, it came out last year. But I’ve been looking for a 4K media streaming device to actually test out my new 4K TV so I sent an email to Roku and they shipped me out a unit no questions asked. (Thanks Roku!) Anyway, the Roku 4 comes with a sleek form factor. It’s thinner but wider than its predecessor. The remote features support for a quick launch for Netflix, Amazon, RDIO, and Sling TV button and the headphone jack is on the side to listen to shows and movies via headphones that you actually plug into the remote; a neat feature that many competitors don’t offer.
The UI of the Roku is certainly the most lackluster feature. It’s not very stylish like the Apple TV’s UI or even Android TV. But it’s very functional. It’s very quick. I haven’t noticed any significant lags or freezes in my daily usage. But I think the reason why you’ll want to buy the Roku 4 is for its 4K streaming capability. And it delivers. If you have a 4K TV and you’re using the Roku 4, content will look great; much better than streaming content through an Xbox 1 for example or any none 4K streaming device. Obviously, it’s 4K; it’s going to look better and it does. Also, if you’re thinking about getting a 4K TV within the next year or so, you’ll want a new streaming device, you might want to get a Roku 4 to futureproof yourself. HDR is strangely not present but it should go live with an update any day now, I imagine. The Roku 4 retails for about $125.
The last device on the list is the OnePlus 3, the flagship killer budget smartphone while we’re still working on our review. It’s fair to say the OnePlus 3 is a killer device. Flagship killer, that’s debatable but for $400, you get a lot. You get a 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED display, Snapdragon 820 processor with 6GB of RAM, 16MP camera sensor, 64GB of onboard storage, 3,000 mAh battery, and Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Arguably, best of all you can purchase the device without an invite. That’s pretty cool.
With that last one, those are some of the best tech devices from June 2016.