Hey there! Welcome to What Tom's Guide tested. This is the first in a regular column where our writers round up the winners and losers from that week's product reviews. All of these products have passed through the scrutinizing gaze of our expert reviewers, and have been judged. Some are worth buying, others maybe not...
Find out more about how we test and rate products
Here at Tom's Guide, it's our mission to help you find the best tech at the right price. That naturally means we need to test and review a lot of tech, and we're blessed that some of those products are incredible. The flip side of the coin is that we also have to suffer through some of the worst tech you can buy. But it's worth it!
I'm Pete, and I head up the reviews team here at Tom's Guide. It's my team's job to test and review products day in, day out. And it's what we love to do. To help you see what we see all in one place, each weekend we'll be rounding up the best and worst from the last week of testing and reviewing. Maybe you'll see something here that you've been mulling over, and this article will help you make up your mind to buy or skip.
This week, starting Monday 16th December, we were lucky enough to test mostly fantastic products, from the latest Insta360 action camera with its powerful video credentials through to a feature-packed electric toothbrush that talks to you (which is kinda creepy, if we're honest). Our staff writer Eve Butt was the only team member with a sub 3* product this week. But she also got to test out a 5* set of gaming earbuds, which kinda made up for it.
Here's what our writers and editors thought of this week's standout reviews.
What Tom's Guide tested this week: What we loved
Final VR500 gaming earbuds ★★★★★
I’ve never really considered earbuds to be an option for gaming audio, let alone a wired pair, until I came across the Final VR500.
With perhaps the most immersive 3D audio I have experienced on any pair of headphones, let alone earbuds, the VR500 seriously impressed me with how well they bring the world of in-game audio to my ears. I don’t think I’ve ever been more immersed in the relaxing countryside sounds of Baldur’s Gate 3, or the horrors of the Western Front in Battlefield 1.
For those looking for a pair of earbuds to elevate their competitive gaming experience, look no further. Identifying footsteps and getting the drop on the enemy team in Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant has never been easier than with the VR500.
While they aren’t necessarily designed for music and multimedia, they still hold up as a great pair of headphones for listening to your favorite songs. Louder and more chaotic tracks felt intensely layered and I loved being able to hear different instruments as if I was literally in the middle of a live performance.
The truly mind-blowing thing is that these earbuds cost under $35, and I’ve seen the price go much lower. Amazing performance aside, these are comfortable and sleekly designed earbuds which are mindblowing value for money. My message to you is this: maybe give that game on the Steam Christmas Sale a pass, and pick up the Final VR500 earbuds instead — you won’t regret it.
By Eve Butt — Read Eve's full Final VR500 earbuds review.
Sansui 55" 4K OLED TV ★★★
I came into this review really wanting to enjoy this budget OLED TV as, after all, cheaper OLEDs is much better for the industry. While I still do think OLEDs are going to get cheaper, do I think a $799 OLED from a distributor like Sansui is worth the investment? Only if you're willing to live with the myriad concessions.
While the 55-inch Sansui OLED TV does come equipped with Google TV, it's incredibly sluggish and even mundane tasks take far too long to take effect. You could always pair the Sansui OLED TV with something like the Roku Ultra (2024) or even the Google TV Streamer if a sluggish interface is of concern, but if you're going to spend an extra $100 why not just buy the $999 LG B4 OLED TV?
The Sansui OLED TV actually uses a WOLED panel made by LG Display, which can be found on both the LG B4 OLED and Samsung S85D OLED TVs. It commands a 120Hz refresh rate with a range of HDR certifications that includes Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG. That's not too shabby for just under $1,000.
It's when you look at its metrics where the true story unfolds. Not only does it forego any major screen tearing technology, like FreeSync or G-Sync, but it also has a 21.2ms input latency, which we like to see under 10ms. That's atrocious for any serious gaming, especially for such titles like Armored Core 6 or Black Ops 6.
Do yourself a favor and get the LG B4 OLED instead. It's built on webOS 24, runs much smoother, and has many more gaming features (like a 9.2ms input latency and a Game Dashboard).
By Ryan Epps— Read Ryan's full Sansui OLED TV review.
Insta360 Ace Pro 2 ★★★★
While I didn't dislike the original Insta360 Ace Pro, it didn't bowl me over when it launched in 2023. It was competing primarily against the GoPro Hero12 Black, but cost $50 more than the GoPro — it's always a pretty bold move to charge more for an action cam than GoPro, which let's face it, sets the benchmark. The justification for this price were the camera's Leica lens, which wasn't any sharper than other action camera lenses, and 8K recording, which is a bit of a gimmick given 4K is where YouTube and most monitors max out. I felt it wasn't worth the spend versus the competition.
The new Ace Pro 2 competes with this year's GoPro Hero13 Black and the best action camera you can buy, the DJI Osmo Action 5 Pro. And I like it a whole lot more. Still present are the 8K and same Leica lens, but Insta360 has now dropped the launch price by $50 versus the original, to $399. So you're no longer being charged a premium for relatively pointless features.
The Ace Pro 2 sports a redesigned microphone assembly featuring a wind guard, meaning internal audio is surprisingly clean. If you do want to hook up a mic, it supports wireless connection external mics, including to the epic DJI Mic 2 (DJI is insta360's arch-rival). Audio is something online creators really care about, so these upgrades are great to see.
4K looked incredible and stabilization was fantastic in testing, as was build quality and the camera's smartphone app. This is all par for the course from Insta360. If you're shopping for a new action camera over the holidays, this is definitely one to buy.
By Pete Wolinski — Read Pete's full Insta360 Ace Pro 2 review.
Oclean X Ultra S ★★★★
As someone who’d been metaphorically limping along with an ancient Oral-B toothbrush desperate to start its retirement, I practically jumped at the chance to review a brand-new AI-enabled smart toothbrush. The Oclean X Ultra S toothbrush is just that — and for only $129.
Not only does this toothbrush look incredible, it also works like a charm. There’s a seemingly endless amount of custom cleaning modes (literally, you can customise your own personalized cleaning style) and a massive 40-day battery life. However, there’s one aspect of this toothbrush that has me quaking in my boots.
It talks to you in a creepy robot child voice. Now, I’m not sure why Oclean decided to use a child AI vocal command instead of an adult AI, but whatever the reason, it’s weird. The X Ultra S announces things like “Switch area” and “Excessive force” in the voice of a first grader. It’s enough to be the start of a low-budget horror movie.
Thankfully, you can switch off this AI voice, so the toothbrush doesn’t have to soundtrack your nightmares. With the AI child voice disabled, do I recommend this toothbrush? Yes, 100%. I’ve already sent my Oral-B brush into its long-overdue retirement.
By Erin Bashford — Read Erin's full Oclean X Ultra S review.
Kodak Ultra F9 35mm ★★★★
I’m a photography aficionado so whenever a camera lands on my desk and I get to review it, I can’t help but smile. So of course, my favorite product that I’ve reviewed this week is a camera — a 35mm film camera, to be precise. The Kodak Ultra F9 is one of the best film cameras out there, and it costs just $49.
This reusable film camera is incredibly easy to use so it’s perfect for those just starting out in film photography because it handles everything on its own — I’m talking about shutter speed, exposure, and more. So if you aren’t familiar with the semantics of photography, don’t fret. And the photos it captures? Stunning.
The beauty of film cameras is that you have to wait until they come back from the lab to see the results, and it’s well worth the wait. The Ultra F9 captures great retro photos in bright conditions (albeit with some chromatic aberration). Did I mention that buying film is quite cheap too?
Sure, low-light performance isn’t the best and the viewfinder is a little small, but it costs less than my weekly grocery shop! For $49, I really can’t complain about this camera.
By Nikita Achanta — Read Nikita's full Kodak Ultra F9 review.
What Tom's Guide tested this week: What we didn't love
Cherry K4 V2 ★★½
To put it simply, the Cherry K4V2 is everything I don’t like about gaming keyboards. When gaming, I at least need my keyboard to nail all of the basics, let alone give me game-winning features — sadly, the K4V2 falls at the first hurdle, and there aren’t even any standout features worth sticking around for.
You might be drawn in by the moderately low price of the keyboard. Although it retails for $119 from Cherry, you can pick up the wired mechanical keyboard for under $80 on Amazon, which is a mid-range price in the enthusiast keyboard world. It might sound like a decent deal at first, but the various issues make the keyboard pale in comparison to other boards in this price range. I quickly found myself reaching for the embrace of my nearest, dearest Redragon K673 budget keyboard after only a few days of testing the K4V2.
The main feature of the board, and the reason for the ‘V2’ in the name, are Cherry’s MX2A red switches — the most recent iteration of their iconic MX switches. While the performance wasn’t terrible, I found in my testing that there was a scratchy feeling to each keystroke. When the main selling point of the switch is smoothness, this was pretty disappointing to see (or feel).
And that was just one part of a bigger picture: this is a very cheap feeling (and looking) gaming keyboard. Whether it's the off-white color of the plastic Retro case, the cheap and glossy ABS keycaps or the dull and offputting sound of the keys, there aren’t many joys to be had with the Cherry K4V2.
By Eve Butt — Read Eve's full Cherry K4V2 TKL review.
Also tested this week
More from Tom's Guide
