Engadget review recap: Dell 16 Premium, Nikon ZR, Ooni Volt 2 and more
We’ve slept off our collective turkey coma and returned to the review lab here at Engadget. Our team may also be in full CES prep mode, but we’ve got a few more devices to get off or our desks before 2025 is over. Catch up on all of the reviews you might have missed over…
We’ve slept off our collective turkey coma and returned to the review lab here at Engadget. Our team may also be in full CES prep mode, but we’ve got a few more devices to get off or our desks before 2025 is over. Catch up on all of the reviews you might have missed over the last few weeks — a perfect activity for a lazy December weekend.
Dell 16 Premium
Dell
Dell’s 16 Premium looks as beautiful as ever, but the company’s usability issues from the XPS lineup remain.
- Sleek minimalist design
- Fast performance
- Solid keyboard
- Invisible trackpad isn’t user friendly
- Capacitive function keys disappear in sunlight
- Needs more ports
- Mediocre battery life
There’s no denying the design of the Dell 16 Premium makes the laptop live up to its name. Unfortunately, all of that polish leads to some issues: a high price and hampered usability. “The more I looked at the Dell 16 Premium’s beautiful facade, the more I wanted something… more,” senior reporter Devindra Hardawar wrote. “It needs more usable ports, like HDMI and a full-sized SD card reader. It needs more useful function keys that are visible in bright light — and also stay in one place — so I can touch type more easily. And for the love of god, just give up on the invisible trackpad.”
DJI Osmo Action 6
DJI
DJI’s Osmo Action 6 has the first-ever variable aperture and a bigger square sensor. Those features make it outperform rivals in low light and for social media, but the lower video resolution is a disadvantage.
- Clean video in low light
- Excellent battery life
- Built-in storage
- Flexible formats
- Lower video resolution than rivals
- Manual aperture control limited
- Not enough film tone settings
DJI’s drone business in the US faces an uncertain future, and the company’s action cams could be swept up in the ordeal as well. Thankfully, our contributing reporter Steve Dent resides in the EU where he observed first hand the Osmo Action 6’s superior low light performance and battery life. “With a bigger sensor and larger aperture than the competition, DJI’s Action 6 is now the best action cam on the market for night shooting, delivering clean, sharp video with better stabilization than rivals,” he said. “It’s also ideal for users who output to both YouTube and TikTok.”
Nikon ZR
Nikon
Nikon’s ZR offers the best RAW video quality in any consumer camera, including models costing much more. At the same time, it’s more practical than cinema cameras thanks to the excellent autofocus and in-body stabilization. It does lack an EVF, though, and battery life isn’t great.
- RED RAW offers excellent video quality
- Fast and reliable autofocus
- Pro video monitoring tools
- Huge and bright screen
- Mediocre battery life
- No electronic viewfinder
- Stabilization less effective than rivals
In keeping with the video theme, Steve also spent time testing the Nikon ZR. While this is primarily a model for shooting video, it benefits from the addition of RED RAW, excellent autofocus and more. “With the ZR, Nikon has shown that it’s finally catching up to and even surpassing its rivals for content creation,” he explained. “Whether you’re doing social media, YouTube, documentaries or even film production, this camera is versatile and powerful with few compromises.”
Ooni Volt 2
Ooni/Engadget
Ooni completely revamped its concept of an electric pizza oven for the Volt 2. The result is a more refined small appliance with plenty of handy tools for aspiring pizzaiolos of all skill levels.
- Smaller than the original
- Good mix of presets and customization
- Large viewing window
- More affordable than the first-gen Volt
- Still heavy
- Only cooks 12-inch pizzas
- For indoor use only
- Exterior gets quite hot
The Ooni Volt brought the company’s popular brand of pizza making indoors for the first time, but that model wasn’t without it faults. Now Ooni is back with the Volt 2, and the completely overhauled design is a big upgrade over the original. “It’s easier to use for all skill levels thanks to its clearer controls and large display,” I explained. “Presets work well, but they can also serve as a starting point for further recipe refinement for experienced users. And the pizza — my goodness, the pizza is consistently restaurant quality (or better) across a range of styles.”
Antigravity A1
Antigravity/Engadget
Antigravity’s debut FPV drone is fun, unique and crammed with features. There’s no drone like it.
- Fun to fly
- Intuitive controls
- Unique features
- Crisp clean video (in good conditions)
- Great editing tools on both mobile and PC
- Setup can be finicky
- Lower video quality than traditional video drones
- Price
Insta360’s spin-off Antigravity is now shipping its first drone and our UK bureau chief Mat Smith has already flown it. The A1 comes with a controller and FPV headset to assist with the piloting, but the mix of unique features and crisp video (in good conditions) is also laudable. “The intuitive controls and ability to look all around you make it unlike anything else currently available,” he said. “It’s a delightful introduction to drones, FPV or otherwise, but a shame that software issues marred my tests.”
Other recent reviews
On the gaming front, Mat spent some time with Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles while deputy editor Nathan Ingraham put Metroid Prime 4 through its paces. Contributor Tim Stevens stepped back in time with the Analogue 3D to revisit some Nintendo 64 classics after getting behind the wheel of the 2025 Porsche Macan Electric.
