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Wyze Plug Outdoor review, one month later: $17 for a smarter smart home
...unless you're an Apple user
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If you want cheap smart home gadgets, Wyze is increasingly at the top of the list. It has cameras, vacuums, other cameras, wearables, a smart lock, and still more cameras. They're all a bit cheaper than the competition, but that doesn't automatically make them a good deal. In the case of the new outdoor plug, though, it definitely is a good deal. For a mere $16.98 (shipping included), you can get a capable outdoor plug that integrates with Alexa and Google Assistant.
TCL 20 Pro 5G review: Just another pretty face
The TCL 20 Pro looks great, but there are some problems under the slick façade
TCL has spent most of the modern smartphone era making phones under brand names like Alcatel and BlackBerry, but it recently stepped out of the shadows to brand phones as plain old "TCL." It's released a few mid-range devices over the past year, but the TCL 20 Pro 5G is the most ambitious piece of hardware yet. It has a high-quality OLED screen, a quartet of cameras, and a very attractive design. However, TCL is also asking more for this phone, and the $500 price tag puts it up against capable phones from Samsung, Motorola, and others.When you look at the specs all listed out (as you can below), the TCL 20 Pro 5G seems like a reasonable deal. However, integrating a phone into your life takes you beyond the specs, and there's less to like under the surface. The TCL 20's software is buggy and inconsistent, and the cameras are middling at best. Even the 5G connectivity, which is supposed to be a big selling point of this phone, was disappointingly spotty. TCL is making progress, but I'm not sure it's enough.
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Time was, OnePlus phones were always incredible deals, but the price crept upward with each iteration, and now we're in a place where OnePlus is competing with Samsung in the flagship space. The company can still bring a great value to the market, just not at the high-end. The Nord N200 5G is currently the cheapest 5G phone in the US, and it comes with remarkably little in the way of "5G tax." For $240, you get a 1080p display, the brand new Snapdragon 480 SoC, and pretty good software.The Nord N200 isn't perfect, but in some ways, that just reminds me of the old days. The camera could be better, and you lose OP classics like Dash Charge and the alert slider. Still, the specs surpass similarly priced phones, and that's what made OnePlus notable in the first place.
T-Mobile is selling 5G gin, and I drank some
Now you can get drunk on 5G marketing hype just like a carrier
You probably heard, but T-Mobile finally succeeded in merging with Sprint last year. The decade-long dance came together with T-Mobile in the driver's seat, which might not have been the case if the merger went through five or six years back. That's why we've got "T-Mobile 5Gin" commemorative booze instead of, I don't know, Sprint Sangria? T-Mobile is in a strong position for the era of 5G, and it's commemorating its latest 5G milestone with 5G-branded booze. And you can buy it! Should you?
Motorola has been seeing success with its line of stylus-equipped G-series phones. So naturally, Moto has announced its third stylus phone in less than two years. The Moto G Stylus 5G has, you guessed it, 5G connectivity. It has solid specs for a G phone, too, but the $400 price tag puts it in the realm of Pixels and Galaxies.
Sony's WF-1000XM4 true wireless earbuds launch today for $280
Longer battery life, HD audio, and more
Sony is struggling to make appealing smartphones in a world dominated by Samsung and Apple, but it's ahead of the curve in other areas. Case in point: the company has just unveiled the thoroughly leaked WF-1000XM4 true wireless earbuds. Their predecessors were among the best earbuds money could buy, and Sony says the XM4s are even better. Get ready to spend big, though. These earbuds will run you $279.99 when they go on sale later today.In case you're not following Sony's personal audio products, the 1000X is its top-of-the-line. The WF-1000XM4 are the true wireless counterparts to the WH-1000XM4 noise-canceling headphones, which launched last year. The WF-1000XM4 (yes, bad name) promises a whopping 8 hours of usage per charge, plus another 16 hours in the redesigned charging case. It's much smaller and sleeker than the previous version, which was monstrously large compared to the competition.
The buds themselves have slimmed down as well. They're still large compared to most true wireless buds, but they're tiny compared to the XM3s. The WF-1000XM4s also have support for the LDAC HD audio codec, enhanced AI processing with DSEE Extreme, and speak-to-chat. That last feature comes over from the WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones.Sony's latest 1000Xs are available for purchase today from Best Buy and Amazon. The links might now work right away, but be patient—you will be able to drop almost three Benjamins in a few hours. We'll also have a review in the not too distant future, so feel free to wait on that before you spend the money.[EMBED_YT]https://youtu.be/YGa87YR2dPs[/EMBED_YT]
Time is relative. Sometimes 10 minutes can seem like forever, but other times it's the blink of an eye and that pot you have in the kitchen is boiling over. Setting timers can prevent that, but what if you need more than one? That wasn't an option on the Apple Watch until now. At WWDC, Apple casually mentioned that multiple timers are coming to its wearable.
Apple's iOS 15 Wallet app will get you through TSA checkpoints with digital IDs
That much closer to replacing your real wallet
Apple Wallet started out with support for credit cards, but it's been expanding to support things like airline tickets and transit passes. In iOS 15, Apple is aiming to finally make your wallet obsolete. You'll be able to store your credit cards, keys, and even your ID all in the Wallet app. Apple says the ID scanning feature is even going to be supported by the TSA.
How to get unlimited Google Photos storage for life
You better pick up an original Google Pixel while they're still around
Big changes just rolled out to Google Photos. The service, which has since 2015 offered free photo uploads, will now count every pic you upload against your Google account storage cap. You can save photos as original quality or "high," but they both take up space. Unless you've still got a first-gen Pixel. Google pledged to offer free photo backups for life on that phone, and it's holding to that. Here's how you can use the 2016 Pixel to keep the free upload gravy train running.
Should you buy the Galaxy Buds Pro, or another pair of Samsung wireless earbuds?
Samsung still sells four different versions
Folks on the Apple side of the fence can pick up the AirPods if they want a tightly integrated audio experience, but the closest we've got on Android is Samsung's Galaxy Buds lineup. If you have a Samsung phone, these true wireless earbuds work like a dream, and they're still pretty good on non-Samsung phones with the Galaxy Wearables app. Samsung even offers bonus cash when buying a new phone to make accessories like earbuds cheaper... if you can decide which ones to buy. Samsung has launched new Galaxy Buds at every opportunity in the last few years, and they're all still on sale. So, which ones should you get?
2021 is the year of the Chromebook — or at least, Google says a whole lot are coming
At least 50 new models will hit the shelves this year after massive growth in 2020
It's no secret that 2021 was a huge year for Chromebooks. Google's web-first operating system grew by leaps and bounds as people looked for ways to stay connected during quarantine. What's new in 2021? Well, lots of Chromebook hardware, for one.
Google I/O is a busy time—announcements flying left and right, blog posts going up, and more Google talking heads than you can shake a stick at. It can be hard to keep up when you've got your own life to live, so Google was good enough to distill all the important day one announcements into a single 9-minute video.
Deceptive (toast) notifications will be... toast in Android 12
Toasts get a smattering of Material You, too
Android 12's visual changes are significant, to say the least. As Googlers pointed out repeatedly during the first few I/O 2021 streams, Material You touches almost every part of Android. Yes, even the lowly toast notification. In the new beta, some apps are firing off more informative pop-ups.
Wear OS has been in need of a fresh coat of paint for... well, always. Every time Google tried to fix Wear OS, it seems like it just made things worse. Wear OS has been languishing for the last few years, but today Google has announced a major shift. It has partnered with Samsung on a new wearable platform that combines "the best of Wear OS and Tizen." It's still called Wear OS—at least for now.
In a vacuum, Android Auto isn't a great product. So, it speaks volumes about the sad state of automotive infotainment systems that Android Auto has spread to 100 million cars. Google just announced that number, along with a number of other improvements that will make your phone feel more central to the driving experience. In the next version of Android, your phone might even be able to start your car, but only if you've got the right combination of mobile device and automobile.
Google Nest Hub 2nd Gen review: I remain unconvinced
Sleep Sensing works, but I wouldn't pay extra for it
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Google released the original Nest Hub (née Home Hub) in 2018, and we liked it even at $150. That price came down substantially, giving more people a chance to try out what was arguably the best Assistant smart display. Google says one in five people put that device in their bedrooms, thanks largely to the lack of a camera. The second-gen Hub still doesn't have a camera, but it does watch you. Hiding inside the almost identical chassis is a Soli radar module, which monitors your movement and breathing to track sleep. Any technology product that watches you sleep is bound to come off a little creepy, but there's more to the Hub than sleep tracking.
Qualcomm expands its chipset monopoly to Mars
The CPU inside the OnePlus One takes flight on the red planet
Anyone who's been following the ins and outs of Android for the last few years will remember the OnePlus One. The teasers and promotions were pretty obnoxious, but the phone itself was great when it launched in 2014. A big part of that was thanks to the Snapdragon 801, which made the OPO faster than any other phone in its price range. This powerful ARM chip popped up in a lot of less influential (and more expensive) devices that same year, and now it's on Mars. The Snapdragon 801 is at the heart of NASA's Ingenuity helicopter, which just made history as the first machine to take flight on another planet.
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With movie theaters still closed in most places, the home theater experience is more important than ever. A spiffy Atmos surround sound system can take your viewing experience to the next level, but maybe you don't want to run wires or have speakers permanently installed around your room. Well, that happens to be the niche JBL is targeting with the JBL Bar 9.1. It's an Atmos-enabled soundbar with a whopping 820W of power and detachable satellite speakers that you can place around the room when you need them. It also has full integration with Google's Chromecast platform, so you can manage it from the Home app. While the audio experience is great, the price is not. JBL wants a cool grand for the Bar 9.1, which is more than most people should pay for the convenience.
Sony RA5000 review: Space-age design with an out-of-this-world price
$700 is a lot for so little content
There are a lot of smart speakers available these days. Some of them are cheap and not great for music, like the Nest Mini and Echo Dot. And then, there are devices at the other end of the spectrum like the Sony RA5000. Despite the uninspiring name, the RA5000 is the big debut for Sony's high-end 360 Reality Audio speakers. The sound you get from this speaker is fantastic across the board, but it's extremely expensive like most Sony products, and there isn't much 360 audio out there. Still, if you're looking for a new way to experience music at home, this could be it.
Sony reveals Xperia 1 III and 5 III with the first-ever variable telephoto camera in a smartphone
Three cameras, four different zoom levels
Sony has been making Android phones since the early days, just like LG. Unlike LG, Sony isn't throwing in the towel after years of struggling to get noticed. The company has announced its new flagship lineup for 2021, featuring the Xperia 1 III and the Xperia 5 III. We don't know when these devices launch or how much they'll cost, but we can surmise the Xperia 1 III won't be cheap with a first-of-its-kind variable optical zoom lens, 5G, and a 4K OLED.