About Ryan Whitwam
Ryan is a tech/science writer, skeptic, lover of all things electronic, and Android fan. In his spare time he reads golden-age sci-fi and sleeps, but rarely at the same time. His wife tolerates him as few would. He's the author of a sci-fi novel called The Crooked City, which is available on Amazon and Google Play.
Latest Articles
Philips Hue app accidentally offers a glimpse of upcoming 'Natural Light' scene
The long-delayed feature could be ready soon
You've got more choices for smart lights than you probably have lights, and many of them are cheaper than Philips Hue. For my money, though, Hue is worth it. The "scene" ecosystem is part of why Hue lights are so popular. With a tap, you can change the character of your Hue lights to match your mood or the time of day. A recent app update revealed a new scene that matches your lights to the outside world, but as quickly as it was there, the Natural Light scene was snatched away... for now.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra review: Room to breathe
Too big and expensive, but this is the undisputed king of Android productivity
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Traditionally, carrying a tablet is less of an inconvenience than carrying a laptop. That is not the case with the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, which earns the "ultra" title every bit as much as the S22 Ultra does. If you want the biggest, most powerful Android tablet on the market, this is it. Clocking in at 14.6 inches, the massive OLED panel looks amazing, but it's not a practical piece of technology. There are still too few tablet-optimized Android apps, and the $1,100 price tag puts it up there with the most expensive iPad Pro. Even as an Android fan, you won't get your money's worth. Apple's high-end tablets are a better value, as is the cheaper Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+.
Our favorite smart lock is $80 off for Prime Day
The August Smart Lock works with your existing deadbolt, and it's down to $150
Smart locks can be some of the most useful smart home gadgets, but they're also annoying to install. If you have a non-standard door, it can be impossible to replace your existing lock with a smart one, but that's why the August Smart Lock is our editor's choice pick. This device fits over top of your existing deadbolt, giving you all the same functionality as an all-in-one solution. It's usually just as expensive as other smart locks, but the price has been slashed for Prime Day to just $149.99, an $80 discount.
The ultra-comfy Bose QuietComfort 45 headphones are $100 off for Prime Day
The latest ANC cans from Bose drop to just $229 today
A good pair of noise-canceling headphones are indispensable these days. They can keep distractions at bay when you're stuck working in a noisy environment or temper the incessant whine of airplane engines during your next flight. Some of the best headphones money can buy are deeply discounted today. The Bose QuietComfort 45 Bluetooth headphones usually retail for $329, but they're a whopping $100 off for Prime Day.
Sony's loopy LinkBuds drop to $148 for Prime Day, their lowest price ever
The LinkBuds are a tough sell at full price, but this discount is just right
Most true wireless earbuds follow the same basic design rules, but not the Sony LinkBuds. They launched earlier this year with a strange open-ear design and the promise of all-day comfort. We were not convinced of their value at full price, but today's Amazon Prime Day sale drops it by $30 to the lowest price yet; just $148.
The easiest smart plug ever is only $13 with this Prime Day deal
Amazon's Alexa-friendly smart plug is half-off for Prime Day
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: smart plugs don't have to do much to be good products: they need to turn on and off when required and not take up too much space in the outlet. The Amazon Smart Plug nails that, and it's on sale for Prime Day. On a bad day, the plug retails for $25, but it's just $12.99 today.
Amazon Fire TV Stick Lite drops to its lowest price ever for Prime Day
Amazon's entry-level streaming dongle is just $12 right now
Most TVs have some built-in smarts these days, but even a cheap streaming box will probably do a better job. It just so happens that's what Amazon has on offer today. The Fire TV Light usually retails for just $30, which is already a steal. For Prime Day, it's down a whopping 60% to $11.99, marking the lowest price ever for this device. If you need a streaming box, and the price is a factor, there's no reason to get anything else.
Google reportedly offers to reorganize ad business to head off US antitrust case
But it's probably not enough to assuage the feds
Big Tech is increasingly in the sights of US regulators, and Google is at the top of the list. For the last several years, Google has been the target of a Justice Department probe that observers believe will lead to a Microsoft-style lawsuit seeking to break up the search giant. A new report claims that Google is so concerned about the prospects of a suit that it's willing to voluntarily reorganize its ad business. And it's made some interesting offers to the government.
Amazon Echo Show 5 review: Compact and competent
This bargain-priced smart display is a great way to get started with Alexa
Amazon launched its Alexa virtual assistant with the original Echo smart speaker in 2015, and just two years later it was pioneering the use of smart displays with the original Echo Show. Today, there are several versions of Amazon's Alexa-powered display, including the budget-friendly Echo Show 5. This device gives you hands-free access to Alexa, and the addition of a display makes it easier to control smart home devices, track packages, and more. The 2nd gen Show 5 costs just $85 when it's not on sale, but given the approach of Prime Day, it's almost half-off right now. If you prefer Alexa to Google Assistant or Siri, the Show 5 is easy to justify when it costs almost nothing.
Google blocks popular app's update in South Korea over third-party billing
The KakaoTalk messaging app has over 100M downloads, and it's stuck in update limbo
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Google has long been wishy-washy about billing rules in the Play Store, but it announced strengthened enforcement in 2020. Not all developers were pleased with the changes, which forbade bypassing the Google Pay system. Epic filed (another) lawsuit, and lawmakers in South Korea passed an in-app payment law known colloquially as the "anti-Google law." It's being put to the test now that the rules have gone into effect. According to local reports, the popular KakaoTalk app is unable to submit updates because includes a link to its website for payments rather than integrating with the Play Store payment platform.
You can now repair your own Pixel with replacement parts from iFixit
If your Pixel is a little worse for wear, iFixit has what you need
Smartphone makers have traditionally been iffy about letting customers do their own repairs—Apple famously changed the screws on the iPhone to make it harder to open. Although, even Apple is starting to come around, and Google does what Apple does. Google and iFixit announced several months ago that official Pixel parts would come to the latter's online storefront, and today is the big day. If you've got a busted Pixel, you can now get what you need to fix it yourself.
Roborock Q5+ review: A powerful, convenient robot vacuum
With a bundled auto-emptying dock, you can ignore the Q5+ for weeks at a time
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Smart home technology is supposed to save you time and energy, but that's not always the case. Some inexpensive robotic vacuums end up being more trouble than they are worth as you constantly rescue them and check for areas they missed. The Roborock Q5+ is different—this bot can accurately map your space, suck up almost all the grime, connects to Google Assistant, and it even empties its own dust bin. That makes it an excellent way to beef up your smart home. With automated scheduling, you can leave this robot to do the dirty work for weeks at a time. You'll have to pay for the privilege of keeping your hands clean, though. Roborock wants $700 for the Q5+, which is hundreds more than robots that are almost as good, but you can spend hundreds more if you want something that requires even less of your attention.
Samsung Internet Beta v18 lets you copy text from images
Plus, a smattering of foldable improvements
While Google offers a perfectly serviceable Android browser in the form of Chrome, Samsung's browser has a surprising number of fans. There's a new beta release of this app today (v18), and Samsung has called out a few notable improvements. Chief among them is the new text extraction tool, foldable tweaks, and a more advanced form of tracker blocking.
Eero Pro 6E review: Dude, where's my gigahertz?
Even with the best specs, these routers don't offer a meaningful upgrade over cheaper models
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If you're anything like me, you live your life swimming in a sea of wireless signals, linking myriad gadgets together in the name of convenience. So many routers and mesh systems end up unreliable on busy networks or just can't provide enough range, but Eero has a reputation for offering a premium experience without the hassle. Eero (a part of Amazon's web-spanning operations) offers several mesh Wi-Fi systems, and the Eero Pro 6E is the most expensive at $700 for a three-pack. You probably don't need three of these new 6GHz nodes, but even the cheaper kits still cost a pretty penny.
T-Mobile has started selling your app data to advertisers
But you can opt-out in a few taps
You can't spend long on the internet without seeing people fretting over how much data "big tech" has on us, but that's nothing compared to ISPs and mobile carriers. These companies see a lot more of your data, and they're not shy about monetizing it. T-Mobile has a history of taking liberties with your data, and it's not slowing down now that it has digested Sprint. T-Mobile has just officially launched its new ad platform, known as T-Mobile Advertising Solutions. That innocuous name hides a rather sketchy business model—it aggregates your mobile application usage and sells it to advertisers.
Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra review: This robot cleans everything—even itself
It's a vacuum, mop, and security camera all in one
I remember watching The Jetsons growing up and thinking how cool it would be to have a robot that could clean up after me. Yes, also flying cars, space houses, and so on—that's not pertinent to this review, though. Even as robot vacuums have become commonplace, they haven't gotten anywhere close to the capabilities of Rosey because I always feel like I need to make allowances to ensure they don't get trapped or suck up something that clogs the works.
Dish's new 5G service is now live in 120+ cities
Project Genesis promises the latest and greatest 5G tech, but you can't bring your own phone
Dish is best known for providing satellite TV service, but it's also been sitting on wireless spectrum licenses for years. Now, it's finally putting them to use. After testing its new 5G network in Las Vegas, Dish has expanded "Project Genesis" to more than 120 cities across the US. While Dish says it covers 20% of the population, don't expect access in any major cities just yet.
8BitDo’s new Bluetooth controller aims to make gaming accessible for everyone
It lays flat, stays put, and has all the buttons on the face
Despite the rhetoric in some darker corners of the internet, video games are for everyone. Unfortunately, not all gamers have the manual dexterity or strength to hold a standard game controller. That's where 8BitDo’s new Lite SE comes in. It's been designed with accessibility in mind and costs just $35, much less than other limited mobility controllers.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 leak points to bizarre CPU configuration
Qualcomm wants simpler names, but its CPU config is only getting weirder
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the current top-of-the-line for Android smartphones, but the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 should start appearing soon. This is just a tiny speed bump over the current flagship, but a leak on the Chinese Weibo social platform suggests the follow-up system-on-a-chip (SoC) will be something of a departure. SM8550 chipset, which we expect to be released as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, reportedly has four different CPU islands, making for a more complex design than the Gen 1.
Pocket Operator for Pixel hands-on: I have no idea what I'm doing, but it sure is fun
The app from teenage engineering is an enchanting little AI experiment
Google has endeavored to improve the value proposition of Pixels with regular "feature drops" over the past few years. These are usually new features built into the OS update, but the June 2022 drop included a new app exclusively for Pixels in the Play Store. It's called Pocket Operator by the well-known music design firm, teenage engineering, and it leverages the power of TensorFlow to make music. It's fun, and a little bit silly, but most importantly, you don't have to know a thing about music to have a good time.