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This week on Breakfast Television, the Geeking Out TV segment highlights "Techtober" - a wonderful time of year where so many companies launch so many new gadgets in an effort to get them in stores (and shopper's minds) just ahead of holiday gift-giving season.
Saw some gadgets today on Breakfast Television and want to learn more? You've come to the right place!
Whether you're looking to take your Xbox gaming experience anywhere you go, upgrading your smartphone, or want a fun Toy Story robot to delight your kids or grandkids, let's dive into the gadgets you saw this Drew Kozub featuring on Breakfast Television.
The Portable Xbox
This month, the long-awaited ROG Xbox Ally and Ally X were released. These high (and higher) powered gaming machines allow you to enjoy your favourite Xbox games on the go while also pulling up titles from other gaming libraries and stores.
There's a few features that make these consoles different from the other portable gaming devices on the market: * Xbox First: As soon as you boot up this portable console you land in a new Xbox environment, making it feel like a slick gaming machine. * Comfortable Grips: There are simliar looking devices (many of which I've used) but I've never used one that felt so comfortalbe, even during long gaming sessions. * More Choice: Because there's two models (a powerful one and an incredibly powerful one) you have a bit more choice to suit the console to your gaming style (and your budget).
For a deeper dive you can read my (probably too long) review of the ROG Xbox Ally X right here and the review of the entry-level ROG Xbox Ally right here.
Geeking Out Shop
ROG Xbox Ally
Xbox Gaming on-the-go
The ROG Xbox Ally is an extremely capable gaming machine. While it doesn't have every bell and whistle that the X model has, for a $500 price difference, it's a great choice for the gamer who wants a pick-up-and-play portable solution to try and carve out more time in their day for gaming by taking a console with them on the go.
ROG Xbox Ally X
The ROG Xbox Ally X comes in at a premium price, but it also delivers a premium gaming experience. It does an excellent job of removing barriers and friction points of mobile gaming on a Windows-powered device to make the user feel like they have a dedicated gaming handheld. At launch, there are many great features, but based on upcoming software updates in 2026, the console looks like it will continue to improve from an already strong starting position.
If you're completely new to this idea of playing Xbox games on the go, I'll mention you can dip your toe into the water by pairing your smartphone with an high-quality controller grip for your iPhone or Android phone. This is definitely the low cost way to try a gaming on the go experience by using your smartphone's display and adding physical buttons for gaming. But for the absolute best experience, if you've got the budget, the ROG Xbox Ally/Ally X can't be beat.
iPhone: Latest Models
Apple refreshed their iPhone lineup back in September and we have more choice than we've seen with previous iPhone launches. In addition to the "regular" and Pro models, we also got a whole new version: the iPhone Air - the thinnest iPhone ever made.
The iPhone 17 is probalby the right choice for 80 percent of people. It has all the main features you'd want in your everyday life, and some nice-to-have improvements like a better display compared to previous models and a much more powerful front-facing camera for selfies. You can read my full review of the iPhone 17 right here.
iPhone 17
The iPhone 17 is the de facto choice for any iPhone user looking for an upgrade. Unless there's a very specific feature in the Pro model or you want the razer thin iPhone Air, the iPhone 17 is the best choice for most people's phone use and benefits from meaningful upgrades to the display and selfie camera.
The iPhone 17 Pro, as the name suggests, adds in pro-calibre camera features. Aside from the incredible zoom, I don't think non-pros will need to tap into many of the added features, so if you "only" have an iPhone 17, there should be no FOMO for the Pro model. It's also a bit heavier than the regular 17, so keep that in mind if you're waffling over which model you want to carry with you every day.
The iPhone Air is possibly the most interesting model this year, since it's one we've never had before. Apple designed this to be as sleek as possible. The raised part you see on the back with the camera - that also contains every other component reguiqred to run the phone, meaning the rest is just battery and display. This is how Apple made this phone so skinny. But just because it's slender, don't mistake it as not being durable. It is surprinsingly tough, even if you choose to use it without a case.
If you have the iPhone 16 there's no main reason to upgrade. If you have an iPhone 15 model and you're on the fence, you will notice a big improvement if you upgrade just based on Apple Intelligence along. And if you're coming from an iPhone 14 model or older you'll notice a massive difference in speed, screen, battery life and more.
Google Pixel Pro 10 Fold
Long name, great phone. The Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold takes everything that's great about the Pixel 10 Pro (and there's lots) and turns it into a folding phone giving you the option to open it up for a tablet-like experience.
For a deeper dive you can read the full review right here. For a quick glance at what makes this thing so special:
Useful AI
The latest Pixel devices have genuniely helpful AI features to make your photos turn out better (see Camera Coach), get more done quickly on your phone (new Magic Cue feature), and go beyond with, in the ase of the Pro Fold, one full year of Google AI Pro and it's suite of amazing features for free.
Gorgeous Finish
Obviously looks are subjective, but the Pixel 10 Pro Fold comes in Moonstone (a dark black-ish look) and Jade this gold and green beauty you may have seen featured in the TV segment.
Comfortable Form
Even though you can get twice the scree real estate with this phone, you don't get twice the bulk. The Pixel 10 Pro (non-folding phone) and the 10 Pro Fold are only a few millimeters different in thickness.
The Pixel 10 Pro Fold is a pricey phone (if you're buying it outright $2,399 CAD). But if budget is of no concern and you've been sitting on the sidelines of folding phones waiting for them to "get good," I can tell you the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is absolutely there.
Google Pixel 10 Pro
The Google Pixel 10 Pro is an excellent phone. You can use it to tap into some pretty impressive AI-powered tools for study, productivity, and creativity. The Pixel 10 Pro comes with one year of Google AI Pro for free. It's available in four colour options and two display sizes.
The more you use a folding phone, the more you start to realize the folding mechanism can be genuinely useful. 80% of the time you'll still probably be using it like a regular "slab" phone, but for those extra times when you're reading an e book or a long article, editing a photo, or using it as it's own stand when watching a movie on a plane, you'll enjoy your folding phone more and more.
Robosen Mini Robots
Robosen is known in the toy world for their absolutely incredible robots. We're talking Transformers that really transform. But their robots are also giant and pricey (like $1,000).
Enter their Disney/Pixar Mini Robots. This new line of robots bring the magic of their full-sized ones with a smaller size and a smaller price tag.
There's a whole collection of Toy Story characters as well as Wall-E, too (read more here). These robots can move and talk with movie-accurate looks and sounds.
Toy Story Mini Robots
You can buy individual figures, pairs, or the entire Toy Story collection. By using one base, you can swap in the various characters to enjoy their interactive gestures and hear their classic movie quotes.
The thing powering them is a special base that allows you to swap in and out multiple robots from your collection.
If you want to tinker, you can even connect the base to your laptop and enter Programming Mode allowing you to create custom moves and actions or download ones that other people around the world have created.
We're Geeking Out
Techtober is a great time of year for anyone who loves gadgets. It used to be that there was "Techtember." Then it started to trickle into October. As of last year, some of the big tech companies even started doing their major fall reveals as early as August. Regardless, there's so much choice right now in the world of video games, smartphones, and more so if you're due to upgrade in any category, you've got plenty of options.
If there's anything you saw in the TV segment or read in the article and want to know more about, feel free to send me a DM on Instagram.
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