2024 has been an excellent and exciting year for all things gaming hardware. From brand-new consoles and controllers to gaming chairs and earbuds, folks looking to upgrade their gaming setups over the Holidays have a litany of excellent bits of kit to choose from.
TechRadar Gaming has been there every step of the way, testing, reviewing, and enjoying gaming hardware throughout the year. Many products we’ve tested have even ended up in a range of our lists, including best PC controllers, best Xbox controllers, best gaming earbuds, and best gaming chairs.
Now, at the end of the year, the TechRadar Gaming team has put together the following list of our favorite bits of gaming hardware from 2024. We’ve each included a winner, as well as a handful of runner-ups we felt worth mentioning – simply because it’s been far too difficult to just single out one product each! Read on, then, to learn more about the team’s favorite gaming hardware and products of the year.
Dashiell Wood, Hardware Writer
Razer Kishi Ultra
If you thought mobile controllers peaked with the Backbone One, then you’ve got another thing coming. The Razer Kishi Ultra is nothing short of the ultimate mobile gaming accessory and the one mobile controller that I would say truly delivers on the promise of console-quality gaming on the go.
It is an absolute ergonomic delight, with seriously comfortable full-size grip and delightful tactile buttons that make spamming attacks in Genshin Impact or hitting slides of Call of Duty: Mobile that much more satisfying. Paired with an excellent clicky d-pad, high-quality Hall effect triggers, and smooth thumbsticks, you have the ultimate input device for practically any genre.
It doesn’t just master the basics, however, as the Razer Kishi Ultra has a few innovations up its sleeve. Firstly, it has Razer’s great Chroma RGB lighting which helps its sleek design look even better. There’s also the Sensa HD Haptics that adds immersive rumbles and vibrations as your play. While some games have dedicated custom profiles, others rely on audio tech that dynamically converts sound into haptic feedback. Throw in brilliant software with its own great features, like virtual touch controls, and no subscription cost (take that, Backbone) and it’s a real winner.
Read more: Razer Kishi Ultra review
Runners-up
I don’t often get excited about gaming monitors, but the Sony Inzone M10S is really something exceptional. This 1440p display has a blisteringly fast 480Hz OLED panel, which truly has to be seen to be appreciated. It’s unbelievably smooth, with an incredibly fast 0.03ms response time that makes it ideal for competitive gaming.
It’s an absolutely perfect match for Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant, but even offers a dedicated PS5 mode for console gamers. Outside of its panel, it has a fantastic design, and easily one of the sleekest and most functional monitor stands that I have ever seen. Top marks for Sony.
Read more: Sony Inzone M10S review
Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner
An attachment that makes one of the most comfortable gaming chairs on the market even more enjoyable to sit in – what’s not to love? The Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner is an absolute treat, seamlessly attaching to the bottom of your Secretlab Titan Evo chair in seconds and adding a whole new level of support and comfort. It’s the best possible way to catch a movie at your desk and I loved taking a cheeky nap in between rounds of Counter-Strike 2.
Read more: Secretlab Ergonomic Recliner review
Rhys Wood, Hardware Editor
Razer Wolverine V3 Pro
I’ve tested and reviewed tons of hardware products in 2024, but few became a part of my regular gaming setup quite like the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro. Put simply, Razer’s latest Xbox and PC controller is the best I have ever used in my time as a hardware editor. And I feel it’s one of the very few premium controllers that’s genuinely worth its high asking price.
The Razer Wolverine V3 Pro is just so sublime on all fronts. It’s got truly exceptional build quality, feeling great in the hands and backed up by fantastic features like Hall effect sticks, satisfyingly tactile buttons, and an impressive amount of customizability that makes it a great choice for competitive gamers.
Not settling for just being one of the best Xbox controllers, the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro also innovates with the brand’s mouse click technology translating perfectly to its face buttons, bumpers, and ancillary remappable buttons. This creates a superbly responsive play experience, and it’s become my go-to controller for rising up the ranks in Tekken 8.
Read more: Razer Wolverine V3 Pro review
Runners-up
GameSir is easily one of my favorite controller brands out there, and it managed to deliver and then some with the GameSir Tarantula Pro. I enjoy this controller for many of the same reasons that apply to the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro.
But I’m also a huge fan of its symmetrical stick layout and quick-switch face button feature that can toggle between XInput and Switch button layouts in an instant. A real winner and impressively affordable as far as Pro-adjacent controllers go.
Read more: GameSir Tarantula Pro review
Blaze Entertainment’s Evercade is a bit of a guilty pleasure brand for me, as someone who spent a lot of time in their childhood discovering arcade games through various retro compilations and the annual caravan holiday to north Wales.
The Evercade Alpha brings that experience home via a countertop-sized arcade cabinet that ships with a bunch of Street Fighter or Mega Man games pre-installed (depending on which version you’ve purchased). And on top of that, it’s compatible with all existing and future Evercade cartridges. Certainly a bit of a luxury purchase, but one that brings life and charm to any gaming space.
Read more: Evercade Alpha review
Rob Dwiar, Managing Editor
SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds
Audio is the area of hardware and gaming tech that I have been reviewing and curating content for the longest time. And in all my years covering the gaming headset and earbuds space, I have rarely come across such excellence as the SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds; they really are the real deal and can do everything brilliantly.
Setting a new standard for what gaming earbuds can offer on all fronts the Arctis GameBuds are a joy to behold from every angle. The design and build are robust and slick, the compatibility is excellent, the battery life and bonus of a wireless-charging case is a fantastic feature, and they sound – despite being powered by just 6mm drivers – epic. The sound is incredibly impressive for the drivers and size of the buds, yes, but the buds can turn their hands to any media and provide beautifully detailed and crisp audio.
While tiny gripes like the controls taking some getting used to, and third-party foam tips helping them fit better are present, the Arctis GameBuds are now the gold standard for gaming earbuds and the standout gaming hardware release for me from 2024.
Read more: SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds review
Runners-up
A mid-generation refresh has proved a little tougher to convince folks about this time around, and the leaps and benefits the PS5 Pro offers are not quite the same or as extensive as its PS4 Pro predecessor – but boy is it a great console. For PlayStation enthusiasts, and those with a keen eye for detail, like myself, the PS5 Pro represents the very best way to play and appreciate PS5 games.
Largely removing the need for a choice between graphics and fidelity modes, the wizardry of Playstation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR) makes for the definitive way to experience a host of PS5 games.
Seriously, Horizon Forbidden West on the Pro is probably the best-looking console game I’ve ever played. Thrown in some great extra upgrades such as a 2TB SSD and Wi-Fi 7 and you’ve got a heck of a machine, even though its price tag will remain a significant obstacle while it remains so high.
Read more: PS5 Pro review
Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition
Offering perhaps the softest and most comfortable gaming chair I’ve ever tested, Secretlab’s NanoGen Edition is a standout bit of gaming tech from this year. Combining a new foam material and a new leatherette finish material for the seat and back, the NanoGen chair offers an extremely plush, luxurious, and soft treat for your posterior.
Combine these new materials with the known quality of the Titan Evo chair under the hood, and a new gaming chair enters the fray that is robust, sturdy, and incredibly durable, and also a well-cushioned delight. It comes in a bit more expensive than its Titan Evo brethren, but if you’re after maximum plush and soft comfort then this is the chair for you, and the standout seat of 2024.
Read more: Secretlab Titan Evo NanoGen Edition review