The Editorial Team’s 2023 best and worst of tech

Florian Bodoky

25.12.2023

Translation: Veronica Bielawski

Each member of the Digitec Editorial Team tests dozens of technical devices every year – from PCs and smartphones to headphones and keyboards and everything in between. In this article, each editor presents a device that stood out to them this year and explains why it did.

Be it escaping high streaming costs, a love for ageing devices or frustration with monitors, 2023 had our tech editors on a rollercoaster of emotions. Here are the hits and misses.

Michelle: my Zoom75 is a mix of cute and elegant

The Zoom75 is a mechanical keyboard from Meletrix. I designed and built mine myself. It’s housed in a black metal casing and sprinkled with pops of gold. Every time I look at the key with an engraved telescope on the bottom right, my heart swells. And every time I turn up the volume with the elegant rotary knob, I could jump for joy. But the best part is the keyboard’s typing feel and sound. I opted for linear switches and built in all the foam parts included in the kit for dampening.

For the keycaps, I went with the Subarashi set from PBT-Fans. They’re purple and white with little kittens and paws, creating the perfect space-cat theme. This keyboard is right up my alley and makes writing articles even more fun.

Florian: no more Netflix thanks to the Synology DS423+

My favourite gadget of the year is something I purchased for myself, namely, the Synology DS423+. With prices for streaming services continuing to rise and offers becoming more and more fragmented due to licensing reasons, I decided to build my own streaming portal based on Plex. I packed it with four 12-terabyte HDDs from Western Digital.

I run them in Raid 10, so I have 24 terabytes of storage available. RAID 10 shortens the access time to my data and increases security should a hard disk fail. I have enough space for thousands and thousands of movies and series – especially since I download most of them in 1080p. I prefer a good bit rate over a higher resolution. So long, Netflix!

David: the Canon EOS R50 is a steal

The Canon EOS R50 isn’t the best camera of 2023 – but it was the most pleasantly surprising one. Given the low price, I wasn’t expecting much. But the scene recognition outperforms cameras that cost many times more, and the rest is also okay or better. The R50 is so small and light that I don’t have to think twice about taking it with me. Sure, smartphones take good pictures these days. But photography is just more fun with a real camera.

Snapping a good photo with a cheap camera makes me happier than getting a similar picture with an expensive device. And photos don’t automatically get better if you use more expensive equipment. In general, I prefer working with inexpensive devices – and not just when taking photos.

Kevin: the Nintendo Switch never gets old

My favourite device for 2023 has been around since 2017. In fact, I’ve owned it since 2018 and rediscovered it this year. Most people criticise the Switch for its antiquated hardware, including my colleague Philipp Rüegg.

I don’t mind that my Nintendo Switch is getting long in the tooth. Why should I? As a father, I rarely get to game anyway, and when I do, I play indie games or Metroidvanias. My Switch manages both without any problems. I play in handheld mode, so I can squeeze in a few minutes between diaper changes or cooking lunch. But admittedly, I will retire my Switch at the latest once the Steam Deck is officially available in Switzerland.

Samuel: the LG OLED Flex has me in despair

The dumbest device I tested in 2023 is the LG OLED Flex. To prevent burn-in, the monitor automatically dims the brightness – the more white spots the image content contains, the more it dims. It also gets darker if the image is too static for about two minutes – for example, every time I write an article. These two «features» had me despairing for a month.

The entire product is a prime example of a concept that wasn’t thought through to the end. LG has taken an OLED panel from an 800-franc TV and built it into a flexible monitor (you can bend the Flex at the touch of a button). This is a nice gimmick, but doesn’t really offer any advantage over a monitor with a fixed curve. Because of the complex mechanism, the device cost an absurd 3,000 francs at launch. Why would anyone buy this monitor?

Domi: the Ricoh GR III is my trusty companion

I thought long and hard about which camera to take with me on my four-week trip to Japan. In our A Tech Affair podcast Episode 156 (podcast in Swiss German), we discussed the topic in detail.

I came to the conclusion that I need a camera with a fixed focal length that’s as compact and easy to use as possible. I wanted to be able to take it with me wherever I go and quickly snap higher quality photos than I’d get with my phone.

My fellow editor Simon recommended the Japanese compact camera Ricoh GR III to me. I was immediately sold.

The big advantage of the Ricoh is its ultra-fast speed, especially if I take the time to play around with the system settings. With the right presets, I can shoot faster than Lucky Luke! What’s also great is that it offers various camera film presets. For Japan, I opted for the Positive Film profile – a subtle retro look that has the colourful streets and lights of Japan shine in a dreamy glow. You can see more photos from my trip here.

Phil: the ROG Ally gets on my nerves

I’ve tested seven handhelds this year. None has cost me more nerves than the ROG Ally from Asus. I was really looking forward to my first Windows handheld; I do find the Steam Deck fantastic, but it’s such a pain that other game stores can only be installed on it with difficulty and Game Pass games don’t work at all. The ROG Ally should do better here. Unfortunately, there were other problems at every turn.

One thing or the other was always malfunctioning. Games crashed, the resolution was wrong, the controls didn’t respond… the list of bugs grew with each passing day. The initial joy I felt quickly evaporated, and I found myself longing for the end of my test period. I don’t know if Asus has patched the device into a usable state in the meantime. In any case, any successor has a lot to make up for before I subject myself to it again.

Jan: the Microsoft Number Pad could be so good, but…

Mine is a case of disappointed love. I had high hopes for the Microsoft Number Pad. I find myself having to type ALT-0171, ALT-0187, ALT-0150 or ALT-0215 more often than I’d like. The separate numeric keypad is supposed to allow me to use a smaller keyboard without sacrificing the convenience of easily entering special characters.

When I stumbled across the wireless Number Pad from Microsoft, my heart skipped a beat. After ordering it – and composing a symphony of praise in my head – I crashed back into reality. Pairing via Bluetooth was quick, as is entering phone numbers, bank details and PINs. So what’s the problem? The Number Pad has no ALT key – and it ignores that of other keyboards. And while the included software does allow me to change some key assignments, it doesn’t include options for my beloved special characters or an ALT key.

With that, I’m forced to continue using keyboards with a numeric keypad. Or I’d have to fall so in love with a non-numeric-pad keyboard that I’d be willing to insert all special characters using Windows + V. Until then, you’ll find me passing the Microsoft Number Pad around the office in the hopes that someone will warm up to it.

Tinu: my new LED plant lamp has grown on me

My new favourite device is an LED plant lamp called Lumatek Zeus 600W Pro 2.9that costs over 1,200 francs. It’s part of my new cannabis grow setup.

The Zeus LED isn’t just horrendously expensive, it’s actually too powerful for my four hemp plants. But the fact that it’s dimmable and illuminates my tent evenly makes it perfect. What’s more, according to my calculations, it pays for itself after just a few months of use.

Richie: this steam cleaner can do it all

Tech keeps my colleagues and me busy not only in our day-to-day work, but also in our private lives. As a fan of gadgets, I naturally also rely on them for household chores. This is a point of contention with my wife, who swears by manual labour.

My discovery of the year is the Kärcher SC 5 EasyFix Premium steam cleaner.

Since getting the Kärcher, we’ve used it everywhere: in the kitchen, in the bathroom, on our floor. The power of steam is amazing. Burnt-on sauces on the ceramic hob or limescale residue around the kitchen taps are no match. And they get removed in record time to boot.

Thanks to the various attachments, we also use the steam cleaner to polish windows, and even to smooth out wrinkled T-shirts. I even give the surface of my desk a thorough clean from time to time. A bonus: our use of cleaning products has gone down drastically. The only downside is that I didn’t discover the steam cleaner sooner!

Florian Bodoky

Editor

Florian.Bodoky@digitecgalaxus.ch

I've been tinkering with digital networks ever since I found out how to activate both telephone channels on the ISDN card for greater bandwidth. As for the analogue variety, I've been doing that since I learned to talk. Though Winterthur is my adoptive home city, my heart still bleeds red and blue. more

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