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Smart locks usually involve a tedious installation process which can be intimidating for many, especially if you rent and don't want to lose that deposit. A good option to get around this is an August Smart Lock, which can be retrofitted on existing locks without much effort. Today's Father's Day sale knocks the price of the Smart Lock Pro's 'Smarter Hosting Bundle' down to $206, a whole 25% or $72 less than anywhere else.
If you want a smart speaker with a whole lotta sound, the Google Home Max sure is a good option. Originally $400, the speaker's price was later reduced by $100, and we've seen it drop to as low as $262 in a sale before. Today's Father's Day deal marks a new low — $242 for a Home Max, with a Home Mini thrown in for good measure.
Despite lackluster sales, continually declining revenue, and customer support issues, HTC, to the surprise of many, is still making new smartphones. The company has announced two new mid-range devices for its home market of Taiwan - HTC U19e and Desire 19+. This marks a move from a series-based naming system (U11 > U12) to a (presumably) year-based one, with the number 19 for devices launched in 2019 — because obviously, product nomenclature is HTC's biggest problem right now.
The Huawei ban has been a nightmare for the company, with organizations ranging from Google to the Bluetooth SIG having been pressured into severing ties with it, but it's not all bad news — Facebook bloatware apps can no longer be pre-installed on Huawei devices, according to Reuters.
If you've been looking for a small to mid-sized smart TV, but don't want to either break the bank or compromise on image quality, today's TV deal is for you — Best Buy has a 43-inch 4K 5-series TV from TCL on sale for $200.
Too much content to read but not enough time? Consider listening to it instead. Audm (pronounced 'autumn') is an app that gets professional voice actors to narrate long-form articles from the web. Previously iOS-exclusive, people have been asking for an Android version since 2016, and last year Audm hired a developer for the job. After a brief closed beta, the app is now publicly available for Android.
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- Live Transcribe is a useful tool for getting a written record of speech, but the spoken word only represents a portion of the sounds around us. Now Google's working to enhance the app's feature set by giving it the ability to recognize and describe sound events.
Google's focus on making Android more accessible has been evident — it opened last year's I/O keynote with morse code input on Gboard. In addition to that, Android Pie brought with it an array of new accessibility features, letting motor-impaired users easily jump to nine common interactions on their phones. Today, the Android Accessibility team announced Live Transcribe and Sound Amplifier, two new apps that look to materially improve quality of life for deaf and hard-of-hearing users. The apps are currently being tested on the Play Store and will be pushed to all Pixel 3 users in the next update.
You may not drive a car that's as up to date as your smartphone, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have any fun. Anker's Roav Bolt aims to bridge this gap by giving you a Google Home of sorts in the car — and it's on sale today for $40 at Best Buy and eBay (with Best Buy being the seller).
The Roav Bolt is both a dual-port car charger and a Bluetooth or wired companion to your smartphone. Once hooked up to your car and paired with your phone, you essentially get always-on voice functionality similar to a Google Home without having to keep your device unlocked at all times. The best part — it works with any car that supports Bluetooth or Aux cables, and will even work with iOS devices.Corbin reviewed the Bolt last month and could see the value proposition Anker was trying to make — albeit with a somewhat buggy implementation. He tells me that after the review, he has found the retail unit to be markedly more reliable, especially since the last few software updates.
We often find great deals on entry-level smart TVs (like this 55" 4K TV for $250) and while they're great for a guest or children's room (baby shark doesn't need Dolby Vision), you may want something with a bit more oomph for your primary telly. TCL's well-regarded 6-series line is known for offering higher-end TV specs at sub-$1000 price points, and today's sale brings them well below the $1000 mark — starting at $450.
Are you on the lookout for a budget smartphone? The tall and slim Sony Xperia 10 (not to be confused with the Xperia X10 of yesteryear), with a 21:9 display and side-mounted fingerprint sensor, is currently marked down to $300 on Amazon.
It's just over two months since the Galaxy S10 family went on sale, and the international edition can now be had on eBay for a cool 30% markdown — starting at $520 for the S10e. Keep in mind that these are dual-SIM international variants which are unlikely to be covered under US warranty though.
It has always been the dream to reliably control one's smartphone from a computer — through syncing notifications, texting from the PC, and screen mirroring. Several apps have targetted different aspects of this — Microsoft's Your Phone being one of the more high-profile ones. With the recent v.3.8.4 update, the Your Phone app now supports MMS and using mobile data to sync notifications, photos, and messages.
Anker had a Gold Box sale on Amazon yesterday with a variety of charging equipment being discounted, but an eagle-eyed commenter spotted an arguably better deal on another charger by Anker — a 50W USB-C charger for the princely sum of $22.
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- You can also pick up the higher end 4/64GB variant for $176, an additional $50. The other steps remain the same. If you're planning to actually use the phone as a daily driver, the extra RAM will be welcome. Thanks mistakenot
Here's an interesting Sunday deal — Best Buy is currently selling the unlocked 32GB Moto X4 along with a locked LG Fiesta 2 and $50 of Simple Mobile credit for just $126.
Xiaomi's popular Mi Band fitness trackers offer extraordinary bang-for-buck but have been let down by a sub-par app experience that felt rough around the edges. This could change today, as the v4.0 update to Mi Fit brings a brand new UI.
Live Relay is a new accessibility feature that's sure to be a boon for hearing and speech-impaired users. By combining text-to-speech and real-time transcription, it will allow you to conduct a phone call by just reading and replying to text messages on your screen.
E-readers are a niche product but offer a superior reading experience to regular light-emitting displays, while also freeing you from notifications and battery constraints. While Kobo and Sony also make them, Amazon has the e-reader market mostly cornered. The current gen Kindle Paperwhite introduced audiobook support and waterproofing and is now on sale for $90.
It's no secret that a lot of us at AP have switched from Wear OS-running smartwatches to Tizen-based watches by Samsung. If you've been thinking of jumping ship too, the Gear S3 Frontier (my daily driver) is currently marked down to $110, an all-time low.
Automation mega-app Tasker has a new update out, and it's a big one. The app, which recently changed hands, is now on v5.7, bringing new NFC, keyboard, and nav bar actions, amongst other things.