Engadget Review Recap: MSI Claw 8 EX AI+, Sony A7R VI, Ray-Ban Meta Optics And More

Hot Reviews Summer™ is in full swing, and we’re back with another round of devices that we’ve recently put through their paces. If you’re into gaming handhelds, smart glasses, smart speakers and both pro-grade and vlogging cameras, this week’s roundup is for you. Keep scrolling to catch up on some of the reviews you might’ve missed before the next batch arrives. 

New gaming handhelds are popping up all of the time, and MSI’s Claw 8 EX AI+ made a lasting impression during our tests. It’s expensive, but for the high price you get massive performance, according to senior reviews writer Sam Rutherford. “The Claw 8 EX is a beastly handheld that has pushed mobile PC gaming performance to new highs,” he said. “It just sucks that the price basically makes it off limits to most folks, unless you have seriously deep pockets.”

With Sony’s cameras, you typically have to choose between either speed or resolution. The company hasn’t delivered both in the same model until the arrival of the A7R VI. And that combination, according to contributing writer Steve Dent, makes a near-perfect high-resolution camera. “The A7R VI is Sony’s most impressive camera in years, offering ultra-high resolution images and impressive speed,” he said. “It’s still primarily a portrait and landscape camera, but might tempt action photographers who would love the extra megapixels to crop in on distant subjects.”

The Ray-Ban/Meta team-up has delivered several options for the smart glasses crowd, but only recently has the duo given users the ability to grab a pair with prescription lenses. They aren’t cheap, but they do offer a better fit than previous versions. “Ultimately, if you already like Ray-Ban Meta glasses, and you want to use them with your prescription, the Optics line is definitely the most comfortable, premium version you can get,” senior reporter Karissa Bell said. “It’s just a question of whether you can justify what it costs.”

Insta360 is not only coming for DJI’s grip on the gimbal camera market, but the company beat its rival to the punch with a dual-lens model. The Luna Ultra also offers optical zoom and a clever detachable display, but the most attractive feature (for now) is availability. “The good news is that the Luna Ultra is independently a great vlogging camera,” said contributing reviews writer James Trew. “Insta360 made a great debut into the category and we’re all just waiting to see how DJI responds.”

Google has a new smart speaker for the new Gemini for Home era. Unfortunately, that means we may not know the ultimate usefulness of the plainly named Google Home Speaker for a while. “If you’re someone who already has some Google or Nest speakers and aren’t happy with how the Google Home app and Gemini are working, this new speaker doesn’t change that,” deputy news editor Nathan Ingraham said. “Hopefully Google will continue to improve things on the software front, because the Google Home Speaker does a good job of holding up its end of the bargain.”

If you’re worried AI could ruin your smart glasses experience, look away now. Senior writer Daniel Cooper discovered an awfully creepy AI assistant on the XGIMI MemoMind One glasses, despite the device having several excellent qualities. “The irony is that I actually quite like using MemoMind One as my glasses, because I find having a second screen to be tremendously useful,” he said. “What lets all of this down is the finer margins that just need a little more time in the oven before they’re fully baked. Perhaps that could be a wish the creepy Wishes app could capture and fulfill, deleting itself from the product before it launches.”