Consoles, VR headsets and living-room entertainment, with honest notes on who each one is for.
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The console to buy for Nintendo's games and for playing anywhere, with a large step up in performance over the original Switch and Switch OLED. Battery life in demanding games is short, and the LCD gives up the deep blacks of the Switch OLED's screen.
The default console for most PlayStation players: the full exclusive library, 4K output and a disc drive for physical games. Players with a large 4K TV who want sharper, steadier frame rates in supported games should look at the PS5 Pro instead.
A comfortable all-round headset for people who play on more than one platform and want long battery life. It has no active noise cancellation, and Xbox players need the separate Nova 7X version.
The most comfortable way to play Switch 2 docked, and reviewers call it Nintendo's most refined gamepad. It costs more than most third-party options, lacks Hall effect sticks, and does not work on the original Switch.
The best-performing PlayStation for players with a large 4K TV, delivering sharper images and steadier frame rates in Pro Enhanced games. Gains vary a lot by title, and reviewers agree it is hard to justify as an upgrade from a standard PS5.
The sharpest standalone headset in Meta's lineup and the better choice for mixed reality and text-heavy apps. The Quest 3S runs the same games on the same chip and costs less, but its Fresnel lenses are blurrier toward the edges.
The best way to play Xbox and Game Pass games on a TV, with the most raw GPU power of the standard consoles and a disc drive. Microsoft raised Xbox console prices twice in under a year, and many Xbox games now also release on PC and PS5, so it makes most sense for players already invested in Xbox.
The only first-party PS5 controller with back buttons and replaceable sticks, worth it for competitive players who want custom profiles. Battery life is shorter than the standard DualSense, and the sticks are still conventional potentiometer designs rather than Hall effect.