On October 29, Dreo recalled its HSH015 space heater because it could overheat. Two days later, the company's other heater, a near-twin that happens to be one of the most praised in the country, was still on sale and still not recalled.
That's the kind of detail that vanishes when you scan a list of the best new gadgets of 2026. Lists hand you a winner and a price. They rarely tell you how nervous the fine print should make you.
So this roundup works differently. It covers a heater, a plastic brick set, a dart case, a lightsaber and a few coffee mugs, all of which got fresh attention this autumn. Speakers and amplifiers aren't in this batch. What is here says something about where everyday hardware is headed, and what you should pay for it.
The heater with a lookalike problem
Start with the Dreo Whole Room Heater 714, because it's the one with a live question attached.
WIRED's Matthew Korfhage named it the best space heater overall after testing dozens over two years. It sells for about $90 at a discount, down from $100. His reasons are refreshingly unglamorous. The thermostat works, which he calls strangely rare in this category. The housing stays cool to the touch. It oscillates in two directions, side to side and up and down, without squeaking, and on its highest fan setting it's quieter than his refrigerator. Noise runs between 40 and 50 decibels.
The detail worth understanding is the split body. The temperature sensor sits apart from the heating elements, so it reads your room instead of the heater's own exhaust. Most cheap heaters get this wrong, which is why they cycle on and off like a nervous toddler with a light switch.
Power comes in three steps: a low 900 watts, a middle 1,300 and a full 1,500. Around that you get a remote, a sensor that kills the heat if the unit tips past 45 degrees, and a second thermostat that cuts power if things get too hot. On the downside, there's no shutoff timer, the controls sit low enough that you'll squat to read them, and the Dreo logo on the grill is the one spot that gets properly hot.
Now the recall. The HSH015, the model Dreo pulled, looks similar to the 714's real model number, HSH034. As of WIRED's latest update, HSH034 hasn't been recalled, and the publication says it's watching closely. Whether the two share parts is the open question, and nobody has said publicly. If you own either one, check the model number on the bottom of the unit before you plug it in this winter. It takes thirty seconds.
Here's the lesson worth carrying around from the heater tests: bigger space heaters usually aren't stronger or more effective than small ones, whatever the box claims. A standard American outlet caps what any of them can pull, so you're mostly paying for fan quality, sensors and safety cutoffs. Vornado's TAVH10 ($130 on sale) won the quiet slot, De'Longhi's Dragon oil-filled radiator ($190) took the radiator category, and Honeywell's new HHF365 at around $45 is the budget pick. None of those numbers are scary. A heater that won't set anything on fire is cheap insurance.
Bricks that talk back
Lego's Smart Brick idea is the most interesting toy-aisle experiment of the year, and Star Wars is where most families will first run into it.
The Throne Room Duel and A-Wing set from Lego's Smart Play line lists at $160, though Amazon has it near $125 and Walmart at $128. In WIRED's gift guide, Simon Hill describes recreating the final lightsaber fight from Return of the Jedi, with Palpatine watching from his throne as Vader and Luke clash. The bricks add swooshing saber noises and a synthesized take on "The Imperial March."
Hill's complaint is fair. The set lacks the authentic Star Wars sound effects, so it's a bit like hearing a cover band play the soundtrack. Still, he had fun, and he's built enough Death Stars with his kids to know when a set is coasting.
The rest of the Star Wars haul shows how far the premium end has stretched. Hasbro's Black Series Boba Fett helmet is $235 at Amazon, sitting between toy and movie-grade replica. The original battered version is discontinued, and resellers are asking bounty-hunter money for it. Target Darts sells a Darth Vader set for around $350 (list $380), and its Millennium Falcon dartboard surround with auto-scoring costs $200. A Displate metal print for the Revenge of the Sith 20th anniversary runs $50 to $57, and its magnetic mount lets you swap artwork in seconds.
Then there's the lightsaber. Padawan Outpost's Combat Saber Model Vader E6 costs $508, changes color, plays sound effects and music, and pairs with a phone app. Hill says there's a learning curve, but it looks and feels right. It is, to be blunt, a very expensive way to annoy your cat.
The common thread is apps, speakers and screens creeping into things that used to be plastic and imagination. Some of it is charming. Some of it is a subscription waiting to happen.
Mugs, ranked by how badly you drop things
Travel mugs sound dull until you've watched a latte meet a laptop.
WIRED's mug testers know this firsthand. Their travel mug guide added two newcomers this month: the BrüMate Strova and the Ember Tumbler 2, a self-heating cup. The Strova ($35 to $38) has a flip lid the tester shook, turned upside down and dropped without losing a drop of coffee. That reviewer once lost a computer to a spill, so the bar was high.
For dependability, the guide points to Hydro Flask's 16-ounce coffee mug with the Flex Sip lid. It costs $30, slides into most cup holders, and accepts swappable lids, including a straw option for iced drinks. The testers' verdict was that it's "built like a tank."
Owala's SmoothSip Slider is the value pick at about $30 for 20 ounces. Triple-layer insulation keeps drinks hot for roughly six hours or cold for 24. The lid didn't leak upside down, but it opens too easily for a bag.
One warning from that guide matters more than the rankings. The testers include a section on lead soldering in mug construction, which is worth reading before you buy a no-name tumbler for $12. Owala says its bottles are free of lead, BPA and phthalates, and a claim like that is exactly what you want in writing on a product page.
What the price tags say
Line up the numbers across these categories and a pattern shows. The best everyday gadgets are getting cheaper or holding steady. The novelty gadgets are getting pricier.
A top-rated heater costs $90. A mug that won't betray your electronics costs about $35. A metal-hilted saber replica, meanwhile, is $508, and a set of collector darts brushes $380. Fans will pay for the second group. Most of us should spend on the first.
Discounts matter too. Many of these products were already marked down 7 to 36 percent at the time of the latest price check, and some were only around those prices briefly. Treat list price as a suggestion and the sale price as the real one, especially with holiday promotions about to start.
What to watch before winter
Keep an eye on the Dreo situation. If HSH034 is pulled, the best-reviewed heater in the country becomes an object lesson in how fast a recommendation can expire. If it isn't, expect plenty of nervous owners to keep asking whether the two models share a heating assembly. Dreo hasn't said.
The Smart Brick line is the other one to watch. If Lego fixes the audio, those sets stop being a curiosity and start looking like the template for how toys talk to kids for the next decade.