We spend a lot of time in this industry chasing the next big thing. Foldables, AI assistants, VR headset. And there's nothing wrong with that — it's exciting, and it's why most of us are here. But every now and again, something much smaller cuts through all of that noise in a way that none of the headline-grabbing stuff ever quite manages.

It happened with the iPod for a generation of teenagers who were just falling in love with music and now had a companion to help them explore. It happened with Blackberry when the internet had developed enough to start making communication feel truly instantaneous. If you lived through these times, I’m sure you have a personal connection to similar bits of tech.

I've been thinking about this a lot recently, partly because I've had some time to think, and partly because a fairly unassuming little wristband, the Google Fitbit Air, has moved me in a way I wasn't expecting. Not because of what it does technically (though it does it well) but because of when it arrived and what I needed from it when it did.

The Google Fitbit Air is not even close to the most exciting thing I've reviewed this year, but it sure as well might be the most important.

It’s foldable season (yes, that’s a thing I’m coining). A time in the year when manufacturers have got all of their standard releases out of the way, clearing the runway for their jewels in the crown. And Honor is back with the V6, a cracking phone that comes at the wrong time.

It’s rare that a pair of headphones impress you in new ways but the Daisy One (I hadn’t heard of them either!) do that in multiple ways. First off, they look and feel incredibly premium, but there’s more to them that meets the eye…

See what I said about foldable season? Well, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes ton the form factor thanks to the movements coming from Apple. It could be a massive end to the year!

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. See you here next week!

~ Mark