Engadget has announced its first batch of best-of-2026 winners, chosen entirely by review scores. The early list highlights a few business-relevant patterns: premium devices can win awards despite steep prices, entry-level configurations may hurt a product’s reputation, and repairability is becoming a differentiator in categories where most rivals are sealed shut.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S12 Ultra took the top Android tablet spot, but reviewers noted that its 14-inch display is matched only by its price. Dell’s XPS 13, meanwhile, showed how a midrange spec with 16GB of RAM runs far better than the base 8GB model, raising questions about whether the cheaper version should exist at all. Both cases suggest that manufacturers are using high-end models to define their brands while leaving budget options with compromises.
In wearables, Qalo’s screenless SL-1 tracker was seen as a possible “My First Whoop” but was judged too expensive for what it offers. By contrast, Una’s GPS watch earned strong praise for being modular and easy to repair, with Engadget saying it made the titans of wearables look bad. For businesses, the takeaway is that repairability and clear value pricing are increasingly important in review scores, even if they are not yet standard across the industry.