Updated 9 am Thursday, June 25: I’ve added new deals on the Insta360 Go Ultra and some accessories.
The Best 360 Camera Deal
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
By far the best camera deal this Prime Day is GoPro’s Max 2 360 camera, which is currently 40 percent off. The GoPro Max 2 (7/10 WIRED Recommends) is my favorite 360 camera. The dual 14-mm (35-mm equivalent) lenses of the Max 2 each record up to a 1/2.3-inch chip, yielding what GoPro calls “True 8K” (10-bit) video. The larger sensors of the Max 2 provide sharper, clearer footage than other 360 cameras, and you can record 10-bit color in log for greater flexibility in post-production color grading—a capability you’d be hard-pressed to find in other 360 cameras. Even if editing log footage is too much work (I hear you), GoPro’s natural-looking color rendition in the default color profile is still the best I’ve tested.
As with most GoPros, the Max 2 has three mounting options: folding fingers, a tripod hole, and a magnetic system. This means you can mount the Max 2 just about anywhere. It also has the simplest lens-cover replacement process. To do it, just twist off the lenses with your fingers and pop on the new ones. You’ll get all the usual GoPro video modes, including HyperSmooth video stabilization, horizon leveling, TimeWarp, and more.
The one flaw in the Max 2 is its lackluster audio quality. The best way to avoid that issue is to pair the camera with a Bluetooth mic. Also note that if low-light video is on your list of must-haves in an action camera, the Insta360 X5 (below) is probably a better bet. For everyone else, though, this is the 360 camera to get—especially at this discounted price.
The Best Action Camera for Vlogging
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
The Insta360 Ace Pro 2 (8/10 WIRED Recommends) combines a great Leica lens with an 8K-capable sensor and a handy flip-up rear screen, which is why it’s my favorite action camera for vlogging. The 8K video is not that great for action footage, but the camera is nice for slower shots, which you can crop and still export to 4K. The standout feature, though, is the rear screen. Other action cameras offer a small front screen to compose selfies, but the Ace Pro 2’s entire huge rear screen is there to help you frame yourself. The rear screen also simplifies shooting from the hip and nailing other unusual angles, especially when paired with the Xplorer Grip Pro ($10 off).
#GoPro #Deals #Good #Youll #Jump #Cliffamazon prime day,cameras,gopro,shopping,deals,buying guides,amazon prime day deals">
Updated 9 am Thursday, June 25: I’ve added new deals on the Insta360 Go Ultra and some accessories.
The Best 360 Camera Deal
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
By far the best camera deal this Prime Day is GoPro’s Max 2 360 camera, which is currently 40 percent off. The GoPro Max 2 (7/10 WIRED Recommends) is my favorite 360 camera. The dual 14-mm (35-mm equivalent) lenses of the Max 2 each record up to a 1/2.3-inch chip, yielding what GoPro calls “True 8K” (10-bit) video. The larger sensors of the Max 2 provide sharper, clearer footage than other 360 cameras, and you can record 10-bit color in log for greater flexibility in post-production color grading—a capability you’d be hard-pressed to find in other 360 cameras. Even if editing log footage is too much work (I hear you), GoPro’s natural-looking color rendition in the default color profile is still the best I’ve tested.
As with most GoPros, the Max 2 has three mounting options: folding fingers, a tripod hole, and a magnetic system. This means you can mount the Max 2 just about anywhere. It also has the simplest lens-cover replacement process. To do it, just twist off the lenses with your fingers and pop on the new ones. You’ll get all the usual GoPro video modes, including HyperSmooth video stabilization, horizon leveling, TimeWarp, and more.
The one flaw in the Max 2 is its lackluster audio quality. The best way to avoid that issue is to pair the camera with a Bluetooth mic. Also note that if low-light video is on your list of must-haves in an action camera, the Insta360 X5 (below) is probably a better bet. For everyone else, though, this is the 360 camera to get—especially at this discounted price.
The Best Action Camera for Vlogging
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
The Insta360 Ace Pro 2 (8/10 WIRED Recommends) combines a great Leica lens with an 8K-capable sensor and a handy flip-up rear screen, which is why it’s my favorite action camera for vlogging. The 8K video is not that great for action footage, but the camera is nice for slower shots, which you can crop and still export to 4K. The standout feature, though, is the rear screen. Other action cameras offer a small front screen to compose selfies, but the Ace Pro 2’s entire huge rear screen is there to help you frame yourself. The rear screen also simplifies shooting from the hip and nailing other unusual angles, especially when paired with the Xplorer Grip Pro ($10 off).
#GoPro #Deals #Good #Youll #Jump #Cliffamazon prime day,cameras,gopro,shopping,deals,buying guides,amazon prime day deals">GoPro Deals So Good You’ll Jump off a Cliff to Get Them
An action camera can capture life’s most exhilarating moments. Whether you need one to strap to your head before leaping into the void on your next bungee jump, or you want something waterproof so you can video the kids in the pool, there’s a good option for you. And Prime Day is the perfect opportunity to score a deal on some new camera gear. Below, I’ve rounded up the best action camera deals you can get right now.
Updated 9 am Thursday, June 25: I’ve added new deals on the Insta360 Go Ultra and some accessories.
The Best 360 Camera Deal
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
By far the best camera deal this Prime Day is GoPro’s Max 2 360 camera, which is currently 40 percent off. The GoPro Max 2 (7/10 WIRED Recommends) is my favorite 360 camera. The dual 14-mm (35-mm equivalent) lenses of the Max 2 each record up to a 1/2.3-inch chip, yielding what GoPro calls “True 8K” (10-bit) video. The larger sensors of the Max 2 provide sharper, clearer footage than other 360 cameras, and you can record 10-bit color in log for greater flexibility in post-production color grading—a capability you’d be hard-pressed to find in other 360 cameras. Even if editing log footage is too much work (I hear you), GoPro’s natural-looking color rendition in the default color profile is still the best I’ve tested.
As with most GoPros, the Max 2 has three mounting options: folding fingers, a tripod hole, and a magnetic system. This means you can mount the Max 2 just about anywhere. It also has the simplest lens-cover replacement process. To do it, just twist off the lenses with your fingers and pop on the new ones. You’ll get all the usual GoPro video modes, including HyperSmooth video stabilization, horizon leveling, TimeWarp, and more.
The one flaw in the Max 2 is its lackluster audio quality. The best way to avoid that issue is to pair the camera with a Bluetooth mic. Also note that if low-light video is on your list of must-haves in an action camera, the Insta360 X5 (below) is probably a better bet. For everyone else, though, this is the 360 camera to get—especially at this discounted price.
The Best Action Camera for Vlogging
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
Photograph: Scott Gilbertson
The Insta360 Ace Pro 2 (8/10 WIRED Recommends) combines a great Leica lens with an 8K-capable sensor and a handy flip-up rear screen, which is why it’s my favorite action camera for vlogging. The 8K video is not that great for action footage, but the camera is nice for slower shots, which you can crop and still export to 4K. The standout feature, though, is the rear screen. Other action cameras offer a small front screen to compose selfies, but the Ace Pro 2’s entire huge rear screen is there to help you frame yourself. The rear screen also simplifies shooting from the hip and nailing other unusual angles, especially when paired with the Xplorer Grip Pro ($10 off).
#GoPro #Deals #Good #Youll #Jump #Cliffamazon prime day,cameras,gopro,shopping,deals,buying guides,amazon prime day deals
An action camera can capture life’s most exhilarating moments. Whether you need one to strap…
Updated June 2026: I’ve tested a number of new laptops that I’ve added or considered for this update, including the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x, HP OmniBook Ultra, HP OmniBook 3, Asus Zenbook A16, Acer Swift 16 Ai, and Asus TUF Gaming A14. I’ve also included mention of announcements from Computex.
The Laptops I Recommend Most
Apple
MacBook Air (M5, 2026)
When friends or family ask what laptop to buy, I always start with the MacBook Air. It is far more powerful than its compact size suggests. With the new M5 chip, its GPU matches the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, easily handling everything from gaming to video editing. That’s not at all what the MacBook Air is designed for, but the performance is there when you want to dabble. It’s what makes it feel like a do-it-all machine, all contained in a fanless chassis that’s still one of the thinnest laptops you can buy. Oh, and did I mention it’ll last well over a full work day away from the wall and perform as well on battery as when plugged in? In almost every aspect, it’s the gold standard.
While the lower price of the new MacBook Neo might be tempting, the MacBook Air is the better choice for anyone working at a computer all day. With its superior performance, extra memory, faster storage, and Thunderbolt ports, you will never have to question if you have the right tool for the job. (And unless you already know you need a MacBook Pro, you probably don’t.)
If you prefer Windows or need it for specific applications, the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is the strongest alternative to the MacBook Air. It might just be the best laptop HP has ever made. The device is beautifully built and incredibly sturdy, with a thin chassis (though the height of the feet makes it taller on the table next to the MacBook Air), an oversized haptic trackpad, and polished metal edges. I also appreciate the three Thunderbolt 4 ports split between both sides for convenient charging, as well as the surprisingly good speakers.
I tested the high-end model, which features a fast Snapdragon X2 Elite and 32 GB of RAM, and a gorgeous 2880 x 1800 OLED display. The screen offers near-perfect colors, excellent brightness, and astounding HDR performance. It doesn’t get much better than this. My only real complaint is that the glossy OLED screen is quite reflective and lacks an anti-glare coating. The displays of the two configurations of the OmniBook Ultra are quite different though. Hopefully there will be more configuration options in the near future, as I’d love to see something with the higher-end OLED panel available in a cheaper configuration. The base configuration sold directly from HP is lower resolution and dimmer.
My other favorite alternative to the 15-inch MacBook Air is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x. I was impressed by the overall package for this laptop, which retails for $900 before any discounts. It’s not as refined as the OmniBook Ultra or MacBook Air, but it makes up for it in other areas. For example, while it lacks a haptic trackpad, it boasts a fantastic 2560 x 1600 OLED display with a 165-Hz refresh rate. I highly recommend the $30 upgrade from the base panel to get this screen. Additionally, while it is slightly thicker than the MacBook Air, that extra space allows for a great selection of ports, including HDMI, USB-A, and an SD card slot.
But the smart thing about the IdeaPad Slim 5x is that it undercuts the MacBook Air and competitive Windows laptops in terms of price. When it comes down to it, it’s currently the best Windows laptops under $1,000.
I used to recommend the Surface Laptop 13.8 (also known as the 7th Edition) as one of my top picks. While I still love this laptop, it’s risen in price dramatically and no longer feels like a good value, especially since it’s two years old at this point. I’ve been waiting for Microsoft to refresh the Surface Laptop to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 chips for improved performance, which still hasn’t happened. In the meantime, I’ll just keep waiting for the Surface Laptop Ultra that comes out later this year.
Cheap Laptops That Are Actually Good
While “cheap” means something different to everyone, the best budget laptops generally fall under $750. This is where Windows truly shines, offering great specs for less money. Thanks to the latest processors from Qualcomm and Intel, these laptops now offer battery life that rivals Apple. The best deal I’ve tested is the HP OmniBook 5. It features a Snapdragon X processor, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, and a 14-inch OLED screen. Discounts fluctuate frequently, but right now you can find it directly from HP deal for $660, which is an incredible value.
Updated June 2026: I’ve tested a number of new laptops that I’ve added or considered for this update, including the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x, HP OmniBook Ultra, HP OmniBook 3, Asus Zenbook A16, Acer Swift 16 Ai, and Asus TUF Gaming A14. I’ve also included mention of announcements from Computex.
The Laptops I Recommend Most
Apple
MacBook Air (M5, 2026)
When friends or family ask what laptop to buy, I always start with the MacBook Air. It is far more powerful than its compact size suggests. With the new M5 chip, its GPU matches the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, easily handling everything from gaming to video editing. That’s not at all what the MacBook Air is designed for, but the performance is there when you want to dabble. It’s what makes it feel like a do-it-all machine, all contained in a fanless chassis that’s still one of the thinnest laptops you can buy. Oh, and did I mention it’ll last well over a full work day away from the wall and perform as well on battery as when plugged in? In almost every aspect, it’s the gold standard.
While the lower price of the new MacBook Neo might be tempting, the MacBook Air is the better choice for anyone working at a computer all day. With its superior performance, extra memory, faster storage, and Thunderbolt ports, you will never have to question if you have the right tool for the job. (And unless you already know you need a MacBook Pro, you probably don’t.)
If you prefer Windows or need it for specific applications, the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is the strongest alternative to the MacBook Air. It might just be the best laptop HP has ever made. The device is beautifully built and incredibly sturdy, with a thin chassis (though the height of the feet makes it taller on the table next to the MacBook Air), an oversized haptic trackpad, and polished metal edges. I also appreciate the three Thunderbolt 4 ports split between both sides for convenient charging, as well as the surprisingly good speakers.
I tested the high-end model, which features a fast Snapdragon X2 Elite and 32 GB of RAM, and a gorgeous 2880 x 1800 OLED display. The screen offers near-perfect colors, excellent brightness, and astounding HDR performance. It doesn’t get much better than this. My only real complaint is that the glossy OLED screen is quite reflective and lacks an anti-glare coating. The displays of the two configurations of the OmniBook Ultra are quite different though. Hopefully there will be more configuration options in the near future, as I’d love to see something with the higher-end OLED panel available in a cheaper configuration. The base configuration sold directly from HP is lower resolution and dimmer.
My other favorite alternative to the 15-inch MacBook Air is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x. I was impressed by the overall package for this laptop, which retails for $900 before any discounts. It’s not as refined as the OmniBook Ultra or MacBook Air, but it makes up for it in other areas. For example, while it lacks a haptic trackpad, it boasts a fantastic 2560 x 1600 OLED display with a 165-Hz refresh rate. I highly recommend the $30 upgrade from the base panel to get this screen. Additionally, while it is slightly thicker than the MacBook Air, that extra space allows for a great selection of ports, including HDMI, USB-A, and an SD card slot.
But the smart thing about the IdeaPad Slim 5x is that it undercuts the MacBook Air and competitive Windows laptops in terms of price. When it comes down to it, it’s currently the best Windows laptops under $1,000.
I used to recommend the Surface Laptop 13.8 (also known as the 7th Edition) as one of my top picks. While I still love this laptop, it’s risen in price dramatically and no longer feels like a good value, especially since it’s two years old at this point. I’ve been waiting for Microsoft to refresh the Surface Laptop to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 chips for improved performance, which still hasn’t happened. In the meantime, I’ll just keep waiting for the Surface Laptop Ultra that comes out later this year.
Cheap Laptops That Are Actually Good
While “cheap” means something different to everyone, the best budget laptops generally fall under $750. This is where Windows truly shines, offering great specs for less money. Thanks to the latest processors from Qualcomm and Intel, these laptops now offer battery life that rivals Apple. The best deal I’ve tested is the HP OmniBook 5. It features a Snapdragon X processor, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, and a 14-inch OLED screen. Discounts fluctuate frequently, but right now you can find it directly from HP deal for $660, which is an incredible value.
#Testing #Hundreds #Laptops #Models #Recommendlaptops,laptop,mac,macbook,buying guides,hp,dell,lenovo,intel,amd,shopping,qualcomm">After Testing Hundreds of Laptops, These Are the Models I Recommend
I’ve been reviewing laptops for well over a decade, sometimes testing over 30 devices per year. As you can probably guess, they aren’t all winners, and many should be avoided, no matter how cheap the discount is. Good news: It’s my job to recommend laptops that fit your budget and won’t make you regret your purchase six months later. So, don’t fall for the marketing, fake sales, or knockoff brands on Amazon. These are my favorite laptops that I’ve tested myself and would highly recommend you buy.
Updated June 2026: I’ve tested a number of new laptops that I’ve added or considered for this update, including the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x, HP OmniBook Ultra, HP OmniBook 3, Asus Zenbook A16, Acer Swift 16 Ai, and Asus TUF Gaming A14. I’ve also included mention of announcements from Computex.
The Laptops I Recommend Most
Apple
MacBook Air (M5, 2026)
When friends or family ask what laptop to buy, I always start with the MacBook Air. It is far more powerful than its compact size suggests. With the new M5 chip, its GPU matches the M3 Pro MacBook Pro, easily handling everything from gaming to video editing. That’s not at all what the MacBook Air is designed for, but the performance is there when you want to dabble. It’s what makes it feel like a do-it-all machine, all contained in a fanless chassis that’s still one of the thinnest laptops you can buy. Oh, and did I mention it’ll last well over a full work day away from the wall and perform as well on battery as when plugged in? In almost every aspect, it’s the gold standard.
While the lower price of the new MacBook Neo might be tempting, the MacBook Air is the better choice for anyone working at a computer all day. With its superior performance, extra memory, faster storage, and Thunderbolt ports, you will never have to question if you have the right tool for the job. (And unless you already know you need a MacBook Pro, you probably don’t.)
If you prefer Windows or need it for specific applications, the HP OmniBook Ultra 14 is the strongest alternative to the MacBook Air. It might just be the best laptop HP has ever made. The device is beautifully built and incredibly sturdy, with a thin chassis (though the height of the feet makes it taller on the table next to the MacBook Air), an oversized haptic trackpad, and polished metal edges. I also appreciate the three Thunderbolt 4 ports split between both sides for convenient charging, as well as the surprisingly good speakers.
I tested the high-end model, which features a fast Snapdragon X2 Elite and 32 GB of RAM, and a gorgeous 2880 x 1800 OLED display. The screen offers near-perfect colors, excellent brightness, and astounding HDR performance. It doesn’t get much better than this. My only real complaint is that the glossy OLED screen is quite reflective and lacks an anti-glare coating. The displays of the two configurations of the OmniBook Ultra are quite different though. Hopefully there will be more configuration options in the near future, as I’d love to see something with the higher-end OLED panel available in a cheaper configuration. The base configuration sold directly from HP is lower resolution and dimmer.
My other favorite alternative to the 15-inch MacBook Air is the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5x. I was impressed by the overall package for this laptop, which retails for $900 before any discounts. It’s not as refined as the OmniBook Ultra or MacBook Air, but it makes up for it in other areas. For example, while it lacks a haptic trackpad, it boasts a fantastic 2560 x 1600 OLED display with a 165-Hz refresh rate. I highly recommend the $30 upgrade from the base panel to get this screen. Additionally, while it is slightly thicker than the MacBook Air, that extra space allows for a great selection of ports, including HDMI, USB-A, and an SD card slot.
But the smart thing about the IdeaPad Slim 5x is that it undercuts the MacBook Air and competitive Windows laptops in terms of price. When it comes down to it, it’s currently the best Windows laptops under $1,000.
I used to recommend the Surface Laptop 13.8 (also known as the 7th Edition) as one of my top picks. While I still love this laptop, it’s risen in price dramatically and no longer feels like a good value, especially since it’s two years old at this point. I’ve been waiting for Microsoft to refresh the Surface Laptop to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 chips for improved performance, which still hasn’t happened. In the meantime, I’ll just keep waiting for the Surface Laptop Ultra that comes out later this year.
Cheap Laptops That Are Actually Good
While “cheap” means something different to everyone, the best budget laptops generally fall under $750. This is where Windows truly shines, offering great specs for less money. Thanks to the latest processors from Qualcomm and Intel, these laptops now offer battery life that rivals Apple. The best deal I’ve tested is the HP OmniBook 5. It features a Snapdragon X processor, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage, and a 14-inch OLED screen. Discounts fluctuate frequently, but right now you can find it directly from HP deal for $660, which is an incredible value.
I've been reviewing laptops for well over a decade, sometimes testing over 30 devices per…
The only downside I could find with the G2 is that it is largely devoid of offline features, so the glasses have to be connected to the internet to do much of anything. Considering the G2’s capabilities, it’s a trade-off I am more than happy to make.
Other Captioning Glasses I Tested
There are plenty of capable captioning eyeglasses on the market, but they are surprisingly similar in both looks and features. While many are quite capable, none had the combination of power and affordability that I got with Even’s G2. Here’s a rundown of everything else I tested.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
Leion’s Hey 2 is the price leader in this market, and even its prescription lenses ($90 to $299) are pretty affordable. The hardware, however, is heavy: 50 grams without lenses, 60 grams with them. A full charge gets you six to eight hours of operation; the case adds juice for up to 12 recharges.
I like the Leion interface, which lays out caption, translation, “free talk” (two-way translation), and a teleprompter feature on its clean app. You get access to nine languages; using Pro minutes expands that to 143. Leion sells its premium plan by the minute, not the month, so you need to remember to toggle this mode off when you don’t need it. Pricing is $10 for 120 minutes, $50 for 1,200 minutes, and $200 for 6,000 minutes. There’s no offline use supported, and I often struggled to get AI summaries to show up in English instead of Chinese (regardless of the recorded language).
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
You’re not seeing double: XRAI and Leion use the same manufacturer for their hardware, and the glasses weigh the same. The battery spec is also similar, with up to eight hours on the frames and another 96 hours when recharging with the case. XRAI claims its display is significantly brighter than competitors’, but I didn’t see much of a difference in day-to-day use.
The features and user experience are roughly the same, though Leion’s teleprompter feature isn’t implemented in XRAI’s app, and it doesn’t offer AI summaries of conversations. I also didn’t find XRAI’s app as user-friendly as Leion’s version, particularly when trying to switch among the admittedly exhaustive 300 language options. Only 20 of these are included without ponying up for a Pro subscription, which is sold both by the month and minute: $20/month gets you a max of 600 upgraded transcription minutes and 300 translation minutes; $40/month gets you 1,800 and 1,200 minutes, respectively. On the plus side, XRAI does have a rudimentary offline mode that works better than most. For prescription lenses, add $140 to $170.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
AirCaps
AirCaps Smart Glasses
AirCaps does not make its own prescription lenses. Instead, you must purchase a pair of $39 “lens holders” and take them to an optician if you want prescription inserts. I was unable to test these with prescription lenses and ultimately had to try them out over my regular glasses, which worked well enough for short-term testing. Frames weigh a hefty 53 grams without add-on lenses; the company couldn’t tell me how much extra weight prescription lenses would add to that, but it’s safe to say these are the bulkiest and heaviest captioning glasses on the market. Despite the weight, they only carry two to four hours of battery life, with 10 or so recharges packed into the comically large case. Another option is to clip one of AirCaps’ rechargeable 13-gram Power Capsules ($79 for two) to one of the arms, which can provide 12 to 18 extra hours of juice.
The AirCaps feature list and interface make it perhaps the simplest of all these devices, with just a single button to start and stop recording. Transcriptions and translations are available for free in nine languages. For $20/month, you can add the Pro package, which offers better accuracy, access to more than 60 languages, and the option to generate AI summaries on demand (though only if recordings are long enough). As a bonus: Five hours of Pro features are free each month. Offline mode works pretty well, too. The only bad news is that these bulky frames just aren’t comfortable enough for long-term wear.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
The most expensive option on the market (up to $1,399 with prescription lenses!) weighs a relatively svelte 40 grams (52 grams with lenses) and offers about four hours of battery life. There’s no charging case; the glasses must be charged directly using the included USB-connected dongle.
The glasses are extremely simple, offering transcription and translation features—with support for about 80 languages, which is impressive. I unfortunately found the prescription lenses Captify sent to be the blurriest of the bunch, making the captions comparatively hard to read. And while the device supports offline transcription, performance suffered badly when disconnected from the internet. I couldn’t get translations to work at all when offline. For $15/month, you get better accuracy and speaker differentiation, and access to AI summaries of conversations. Prescription lenses cost between $99 and $600.
The only downside I could find with the G2 is that it is largely devoid of offline features, so the glasses have to be connected to the internet to do much of anything. Considering the G2’s capabilities, it’s a trade-off I am more than happy to make.
Other Captioning Glasses I Tested
There are plenty of capable captioning eyeglasses on the market, but they are surprisingly similar in both looks and features. While many are quite capable, none had the combination of power and affordability that I got with Even’s G2. Here’s a rundown of everything else I tested.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
Leion’s Hey 2 is the price leader in this market, and even its prescription lenses ($90 to $299) are pretty affordable. The hardware, however, is heavy: 50 grams without lenses, 60 grams with them. A full charge gets you six to eight hours of operation; the case adds juice for up to 12 recharges.
I like the Leion interface, which lays out caption, translation, “free talk” (two-way translation), and a teleprompter feature on its clean app. You get access to nine languages; using Pro minutes expands that to 143. Leion sells its premium plan by the minute, not the month, so you need to remember to toggle this mode off when you don’t need it. Pricing is $10 for 120 minutes, $50 for 1,200 minutes, and $200 for 6,000 minutes. There’s no offline use supported, and I often struggled to get AI summaries to show up in English instead of Chinese (regardless of the recorded language).
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
You’re not seeing double: XRAI and Leion use the same manufacturer for their hardware, and the glasses weigh the same. The battery spec is also similar, with up to eight hours on the frames and another 96 hours when recharging with the case. XRAI claims its display is significantly brighter than competitors’, but I didn’t see much of a difference in day-to-day use.
The features and user experience are roughly the same, though Leion’s teleprompter feature isn’t implemented in XRAI’s app, and it doesn’t offer AI summaries of conversations. I also didn’t find XRAI’s app as user-friendly as Leion’s version, particularly when trying to switch among the admittedly exhaustive 300 language options. Only 20 of these are included without ponying up for a Pro subscription, which is sold both by the month and minute: $20/month gets you a max of 600 upgraded transcription minutes and 300 translation minutes; $40/month gets you 1,800 and 1,200 minutes, respectively. On the plus side, XRAI does have a rudimentary offline mode that works better than most. For prescription lenses, add $140 to $170.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
AirCaps
AirCaps Smart Glasses
AirCaps does not make its own prescription lenses. Instead, you must purchase a pair of $39 “lens holders” and take them to an optician if you want prescription inserts. I was unable to test these with prescription lenses and ultimately had to try them out over my regular glasses, which worked well enough for short-term testing. Frames weigh a hefty 53 grams without add-on lenses; the company couldn’t tell me how much extra weight prescription lenses would add to that, but it’s safe to say these are the bulkiest and heaviest captioning glasses on the market. Despite the weight, they only carry two to four hours of battery life, with 10 or so recharges packed into the comically large case. Another option is to clip one of AirCaps’ rechargeable 13-gram Power Capsules ($79 for two) to one of the arms, which can provide 12 to 18 extra hours of juice.
The AirCaps feature list and interface make it perhaps the simplest of all these devices, with just a single button to start and stop recording. Transcriptions and translations are available for free in nine languages. For $20/month, you can add the Pro package, which offers better accuracy, access to more than 60 languages, and the option to generate AI summaries on demand (though only if recordings are long enough). As a bonus: Five hours of Pro features are free each month. Offline mode works pretty well, too. The only bad news is that these bulky frames just aren’t comfortable enough for long-term wear.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
The most expensive option on the market (up to $1,399 with prescription lenses!) weighs a relatively svelte 40 grams (52 grams with lenses) and offers about four hours of battery life. There’s no charging case; the glasses must be charged directly using the included USB-connected dongle.
The glasses are extremely simple, offering transcription and translation features—with support for about 80 languages, which is impressive. I unfortunately found the prescription lenses Captify sent to be the blurriest of the bunch, making the captions comparatively hard to read. And while the device supports offline transcription, performance suffered badly when disconnected from the internet. I couldn’t get translations to work at all when offline. For $15/month, you get better accuracy and speaker differentiation, and access to AI summaries of conversations. Prescription lenses cost between $99 and $600.
#Captioning #Smart #Glasses #Leads #Packbuying guides,shopping,smart glasses,eyewear,health,augmented reality,accessibility">I Tried the Best Captioning Smart Glasses, and Only One Leads the Pack
Unlike the other glasses I tested, Even doesn’t sell a subscription plan; everything’s included out of the box.
The only downside I could find with the G2 is that it is largely devoid of offline features, so the glasses have to be connected to the internet to do much of anything. Considering the G2’s capabilities, it’s a trade-off I am more than happy to make.
Other Captioning Glasses I Tested
There are plenty of capable captioning eyeglasses on the market, but they are surprisingly similar in both looks and features. While many are quite capable, none had the combination of power and affordability that I got with Even’s G2. Here’s a rundown of everything else I tested.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
Leion’s Hey 2 is the price leader in this market, and even its prescription lenses ($90 to $299) are pretty affordable. The hardware, however, is heavy: 50 grams without lenses, 60 grams with them. A full charge gets you six to eight hours of operation; the case adds juice for up to 12 recharges.
I like the Leion interface, which lays out caption, translation, “free talk” (two-way translation), and a teleprompter feature on its clean app. You get access to nine languages; using Pro minutes expands that to 143. Leion sells its premium plan by the minute, not the month, so you need to remember to toggle this mode off when you don’t need it. Pricing is $10 for 120 minutes, $50 for 1,200 minutes, and $200 for 6,000 minutes. There’s no offline use supported, and I often struggled to get AI summaries to show up in English instead of Chinese (regardless of the recorded language).
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
You’re not seeing double: XRAI and Leion use the same manufacturer for their hardware, and the glasses weigh the same. The battery spec is also similar, with up to eight hours on the frames and another 96 hours when recharging with the case. XRAI claims its display is significantly brighter than competitors’, but I didn’t see much of a difference in day-to-day use.
The features and user experience are roughly the same, though Leion’s teleprompter feature isn’t implemented in XRAI’s app, and it doesn’t offer AI summaries of conversations. I also didn’t find XRAI’s app as user-friendly as Leion’s version, particularly when trying to switch among the admittedly exhaustive 300 language options. Only 20 of these are included without ponying up for a Pro subscription, which is sold both by the month and minute: $20/month gets you a max of 600 upgraded transcription minutes and 300 translation minutes; $40/month gets you 1,800 and 1,200 minutes, respectively. On the plus side, XRAI does have a rudimentary offline mode that works better than most. For prescription lenses, add $140 to $170.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
AirCaps
AirCaps Smart Glasses
AirCaps does not make its own prescription lenses. Instead, you must purchase a pair of $39 “lens holders” and take them to an optician if you want prescription inserts. I was unable to test these with prescription lenses and ultimately had to try them out over my regular glasses, which worked well enough for short-term testing. Frames weigh a hefty 53 grams without add-on lenses; the company couldn’t tell me how much extra weight prescription lenses would add to that, but it’s safe to say these are the bulkiest and heaviest captioning glasses on the market. Despite the weight, they only carry two to four hours of battery life, with 10 or so recharges packed into the comically large case. Another option is to clip one of AirCaps’ rechargeable 13-gram Power Capsules ($79 for two) to one of the arms, which can provide 12 to 18 extra hours of juice.
The AirCaps feature list and interface make it perhaps the simplest of all these devices, with just a single button to start and stop recording. Transcriptions and translations are available for free in nine languages. For $20/month, you can add the Pro package, which offers better accuracy, access to more than 60 languages, and the option to generate AI summaries on demand (though only if recordings are long enough). As a bonus: Five hours of Pro features are free each month. Offline mode works pretty well, too. The only bad news is that these bulky frames just aren’t comfortable enough for long-term wear.
Photograph: Christopher Null
Photograph: Christopher Null
The most expensive option on the market (up to $1,399 with prescription lenses!) weighs a relatively svelte 40 grams (52 grams with lenses) and offers about four hours of battery life. There’s no charging case; the glasses must be charged directly using the included USB-connected dongle.
The glasses are extremely simple, offering transcription and translation features—with support for about 80 languages, which is impressive. I unfortunately found the prescription lenses Captify sent to be the blurriest of the bunch, making the captions comparatively hard to read. And while the device supports offline transcription, performance suffered badly when disconnected from the internet. I couldn’t get translations to work at all when offline. For $15/month, you get better accuracy and speaker differentiation, and access to AI summaries of conversations. Prescription lenses cost between $99 and $600.
While we’re here, let’s go even cheaper, shall we? Asus has two dirt-cheap Chromebooks that I tested last year that I was mildly impressed by. The Asus Chromebook CX14 and CX15. Notice in the name that these are not “Chromebook Plus” models, meaning they can be configured with less RAM and storage, and even use lower-powered processors. That’s exactly what you get on the cheaper configurations of the CX14 and CX15, which is how you sometimes get prices down to as low as $130. I definitely recommend the version with 8 GB of RAM, but regardless of which you choose, the both the CX14 and larger CX15 are mildly attractive laptops. You’d know that’s a big compliment if you’ve seen just how ugly Chromebooks of this price have been in the past.
With these, though, I appreciate the relatively thin bezels and chassis thickness, as well as the larger touchpad and comfortable keyboard. The CX15 even comes in a striking blue color. The touchpad isn’t great, nor is the display. Like the Acer Chromebook Plus 516, it suffers from poor color reproduction and only goes up to 250 nits of brightness. It only has a 720p webcam too, which makes video calls a bit rough. But that’s going to be true of nearly all the competition (and there isn’t much).
Of the two models, I definitely prefer the CX14 though, as it doesn’t have a numberpad and off-center touchpad, which I’ve always found to be awkward to use. Look—no one’s going to love using a computer that costs the less than $200, but if it’s what you can afford, the Asus Chromebook CX14 will at least get you by without too much frustration.
Whatever you do, don’t just head over to Amazon and buy whatever ancient Chromebook is selling for $100 for your kid. It’s worth the extra cash to get something with better battery life, a more modern look, and decent performance.
Other Good Chromebooks We’ve Tested
We’ve tested dozens and dozens of Chromebooks over the past years, having reviewed every major release across the spectrum of price. Unlike Macs and Windows laptops, Chromebooks tends to stick around a bit longer though, and aren’t refreshed as often. I stand by my picks above, but here are a few standouts from our testing that are still worth buying for the right person.
While we’re here, let’s go even cheaper, shall we? Asus has two dirt-cheap Chromebooks that I tested last year that I was mildly impressed by. The Asus Chromebook CX14 and CX15. Notice in the name that these are not “Chromebook Plus” models, meaning they can be configured with less RAM and storage, and even use lower-powered processors. That’s exactly what you get on the cheaper configurations of the CX14 and CX15, which is how you sometimes get prices down to as low as $130. I definitely recommend the version with 8 GB of RAM, but regardless of which you choose, the both the CX14 and larger CX15 are mildly attractive laptops. You’d know that’s a big compliment if you’ve seen just how ugly Chromebooks of this price have been in the past.
With these, though, I appreciate the relatively thin bezels and chassis thickness, as well as the larger touchpad and comfortable keyboard. The CX15 even comes in a striking blue color. The touchpad isn’t great, nor is the display. Like the Acer Chromebook Plus 516, it suffers from poor color reproduction and only goes up to 250 nits of brightness. It only has a 720p webcam too, which makes video calls a bit rough. But that’s going to be true of nearly all the competition (and there isn’t much).
Of the two models, I definitely prefer the CX14 though, as it doesn’t have a numberpad and off-center touchpad, which I’ve always found to be awkward to use. Look—no one’s going to love using a computer that costs the less than $200, but if it’s what you can afford, the Asus Chromebook CX14 will at least get you by without too much frustration.
Whatever you do, don’t just head over to Amazon and buy whatever ancient Chromebook is selling for $100 for your kid. It’s worth the extra cash to get something with better battery life, a more modern look, and decent performance.
Other Good Chromebooks We’ve Tested
We’ve tested dozens and dozens of Chromebooks over the past years, having reviewed every major release across the spectrum of price. Unlike Macs and Windows laptops, Chromebooks tends to stick around a bit longer though, and aren’t refreshed as often. I stand by my picks above, but here are a few standouts from our testing that are still worth buying for the right person.
Photograph: Daniel Thorp-Lancaster
#Chromebooks #Correctchromebooks,laptops,buying guides,google">The Best Chromebooks Are Doing Their Best to Course Correct
I was delighted to see that the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 didn’t skimp on a crappy touchpad. That goes a long way toward improving the experiencing of actually using the laptop on a moment-by-moment basis. I wasn’t annoyed every time I had to click-and-drag or select a bit of text. This one’s biggest weakness is definitely the screen, which is true of just about every cheap Chromebook I’ve tested. The colors are ugly and desaturated, giving the whole thing a sickly green tint. It’s also not the sharpest in the world, as it’s stretching 1920 x 1200 pixels across a large, 16-inch screen. But in terms of usability and performance, the Acer Chromebook Plus 516 is a great value, combining an Intel Core i3 processor with 8 GB of RAM and a 128 GB of storage. For a Chromebook that’s often on sale for $350, it’s a steal.
While we’re here, let’s go even cheaper, shall we? Asus has two dirt-cheap Chromebooks that I tested last year that I was mildly impressed by. The Asus Chromebook CX14 and CX15. Notice in the name that these are not “Chromebook Plus” models, meaning they can be configured with less RAM and storage, and even use lower-powered processors. That’s exactly what you get on the cheaper configurations of the CX14 and CX15, which is how you sometimes get prices down to as low as $130. I definitely recommend the version with 8 GB of RAM, but regardless of which you choose, the both the CX14 and larger CX15 are mildly attractive laptops. You’d know that’s a big compliment if you’ve seen just how ugly Chromebooks of this price have been in the past.
With these, though, I appreciate the relatively thin bezels and chassis thickness, as well as the larger touchpad and comfortable keyboard. The CX15 even comes in a striking blue color. The touchpad isn’t great, nor is the display. Like the Acer Chromebook Plus 516, it suffers from poor color reproduction and only goes up to 250 nits of brightness. It only has a 720p webcam too, which makes video calls a bit rough. But that’s going to be true of nearly all the competition (and there isn’t much).
Of the two models, I definitely prefer the CX14 though, as it doesn’t have a numberpad and off-center touchpad, which I’ve always found to be awkward to use. Look—no one’s going to love using a computer that costs the less than $200, but if it’s what you can afford, the Asus Chromebook CX14 will at least get you by without too much frustration.
Whatever you do, don’t just head over to Amazon and buy whatever ancient Chromebook is selling for $100 for your kid. It’s worth the extra cash to get something with better battery life, a more modern look, and decent performance.
Other Good Chromebooks We’ve Tested
We’ve tested dozens and dozens of Chromebooks over the past years, having reviewed every major release across the spectrum of price. Unlike Macs and Windows laptops, Chromebooks tends to stick around a bit longer though, and aren’t refreshed as often. I stand by my picks above, but here are a few standouts from our testing that are still worth buying for the right person.
Now, there’s another class of high-end gaming laptop that focuses more on performance than being thin or portable. The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 is one of my favorites in this class, featuring a beautiful white chassis and glossy OLED display. Unlike some OLED displays, the Legion 7i’s screen can be cranked up to over 1,000 nits of brightness. The result is some really splendid HDR performance that brings games to life. HDR is a powerful way of improving the visuals of your games without a performance cost. The Legion 7i Gen 10 is one of the very best in this regard.
It’s still fairly thin at 0.7 inches thick too, while a lot of the ports are found on the back. It’s the definition of a “clean” gaming laptop. It’s no slouch when it comes to performance either, offering either the RTX 5070 Ti or RTX 5080 for graphics.
Cheap Gaming Laptops That Are Worth It
No gaming laptops worth buying are actually cheap. High-refresh rate displays and discrete graphics will always make them more expensive than standard laptops. But as you get closer to $1,000, there is one laptop I always come back to: the Lenovo LOQ 15. Pronounced “Lock,” this Lenovo subbrand is known for cutting the fluff and focusing on giving gamers the performance they need at an affordable price. No laptop does that better than the LOQ 15. Many laptop manufacturers sell their RTX 5060 configurations for hundreds of dollars more. In reality, if you’re shopping around $1,000, there’s no reason to not buy the LOQ 15. Just do it.
If you do want to save some extra cash, there is another option that is cheaper than the LOQ 15 with a few compromises in key areas. The Acer Nitro V 16 is that laptop, which comes with an RTX 5050. This was as affordable as $600 at one point last year—before prices on laptops have risen due to the ongoing memory shortage—but it remains the only laptop cheaper than the Lenovo LOQ 15 that’s actually worth it. It’s fairly powerful for the RTX 5050, and while the screen is pretty shoddy, it’s not a bad-looking laptop. The one big caveat is that the 135-watt power supply it comes with doesn’t deliver quite enough power to keep it charged in Performance mode. Read more about this issue in my review, as it’s important to know about if you’re planning to buy it.
There are other cheap gaming laptops out there I’ve tested, such as the MSI Cyborg A15, but either the Acer Nitro V 16 or Lenovo LOQ 15 are better, cheaper options. You will also find lots of gaming laptops under $1,000 that use older graphics cards, such as the RTX 4050 or 3050. In general, I’d recommend staying away from these. They’re only one or two generations back, but remember: Nvidia only releases new laptop graphics cards every couple of years. So, an RTX 4050 laptop may be well over two years old already, and an RTX 3050 is over five years old. Not only do you get worse graphics performance, these laptops are much more likely to need to be replaced sooner.
Experimental Stuff
One of the exciting things about the world of gaming laptops right now is the experimentation. While clamshell gaming laptops with a conventional Nvidia GPU are the most standard way to go, there’s a few different ways to take your PC games on the go that stretch the boundaries. You might consider a gaming handheld, for example, like the Steam Deck or Xbox Ally X. These handhelds have their fans, and while you can’t also do your homework on these devices, they’re great on couches, trains, and planes.
Now, there’s another class of high-end gaming laptop that focuses more on performance than being thin or portable. The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 is one of my favorites in this class, featuring a beautiful white chassis and glossy OLED display. Unlike some OLED displays, the Legion 7i’s screen can be cranked up to over 1,000 nits of brightness. The result is some really splendid HDR performance that brings games to life. HDR is a powerful way of improving the visuals of your games without a performance cost. The Legion 7i Gen 10 is one of the very best in this regard.
It’s still fairly thin at 0.7 inches thick too, while a lot of the ports are found on the back. It’s the definition of a “clean” gaming laptop. It’s no slouch when it comes to performance either, offering either the RTX 5070 Ti or RTX 5080 for graphics.
Cheap Gaming Laptops That Are Worth It
No gaming laptops worth buying are actually cheap. High-refresh rate displays and discrete graphics will always make them more expensive than standard laptops. But as you get closer to $1,000, there is one laptop I always come back to: the Lenovo LOQ 15. Pronounced “Lock,” this Lenovo subbrand is known for cutting the fluff and focusing on giving gamers the performance they need at an affordable price. No laptop does that better than the LOQ 15. Many laptop manufacturers sell their RTX 5060 configurations for hundreds of dollars more. In reality, if you’re shopping around $1,000, there’s no reason to not buy the LOQ 15. Just do it.
If you do want to save some extra cash, there is another option that is cheaper than the LOQ 15 with a few compromises in key areas. The Acer Nitro V 16 is that laptop, which comes with an RTX 5050. This was as affordable as $600 at one point last year—before prices on laptops have risen due to the ongoing memory shortage—but it remains the only laptop cheaper than the Lenovo LOQ 15 that’s actually worth it. It’s fairly powerful for the RTX 5050, and while the screen is pretty shoddy, it’s not a bad-looking laptop. The one big caveat is that the 135-watt power supply it comes with doesn’t deliver quite enough power to keep it charged in Performance mode. Read more about this issue in my review, as it’s important to know about if you’re planning to buy it.
There are other cheap gaming laptops out there I’ve tested, such as the MSI Cyborg A15, but either the Acer Nitro V 16 or Lenovo LOQ 15 are better, cheaper options. You will also find lots of gaming laptops under $1,000 that use older graphics cards, such as the RTX 4050 or 3050. In general, I’d recommend staying away from these. They’re only one or two generations back, but remember: Nvidia only releases new laptop graphics cards every couple of years. So, an RTX 4050 laptop may be well over two years old already, and an RTX 3050 is over five years old. Not only do you get worse graphics performance, these laptops are much more likely to need to be replaced sooner.
Experimental Stuff
One of the exciting things about the world of gaming laptops right now is the experimentation. While clamshell gaming laptops with a conventional Nvidia GPU are the most standard way to go, there’s a few different ways to take your PC games on the go that stretch the boundaries. You might consider a gaming handheld, for example, like the Steam Deck or Xbox Ally X. These handhelds have their fans, and while you can’t also do your homework on these devices, they’re great on couches, trains, and planes.
#Ive #Tested #Gaming #Laptops #Decade #Buylaptops,computers,shopping,buying guides,gaming,windows pcs">I’ve Tested Gaming Laptops for Over a Decade. This Is What I Think You Should Buy
Lenovo
Legion 7i Gen 10 (16 Inch, Intel)
Now, there’s another class of high-end gaming laptop that focuses more on performance than being thin or portable. The Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 10 is one of my favorites in this class, featuring a beautiful white chassis and glossy OLED display. Unlike some OLED displays, the Legion 7i’s screen can be cranked up to over 1,000 nits of brightness. The result is some really splendid HDR performance that brings games to life. HDR is a powerful way of improving the visuals of your games without a performance cost. The Legion 7i Gen 10 is one of the very best in this regard.
It’s still fairly thin at 0.7 inches thick too, while a lot of the ports are found on the back. It’s the definition of a “clean” gaming laptop. It’s no slouch when it comes to performance either, offering either the RTX 5070 Ti or RTX 5080 for graphics.
Cheap Gaming Laptops That Are Worth It
No gaming laptops worth buying are actually cheap. High-refresh rate displays and discrete graphics will always make them more expensive than standard laptops. But as you get closer to $1,000, there is one laptop I always come back to: the Lenovo LOQ 15. Pronounced “Lock,” this Lenovo subbrand is known for cutting the fluff and focusing on giving gamers the performance they need at an affordable price. No laptop does that better than the LOQ 15. Many laptop manufacturers sell their RTX 5060 configurations for hundreds of dollars more. In reality, if you’re shopping around $1,000, there’s no reason to not buy the LOQ 15. Just do it.
If you do want to save some extra cash, there is another option that is cheaper than the LOQ 15 with a few compromises in key areas. The Acer Nitro V 16 is that laptop, which comes with an RTX 5050. This was as affordable as $600 at one point last year—before prices on laptops have risen due to the ongoing memory shortage—but it remains the only laptop cheaper than the Lenovo LOQ 15 that’s actually worth it. It’s fairly powerful for the RTX 5050, and while the screen is pretty shoddy, it’s not a bad-looking laptop. The one big caveat is that the 135-watt power supply it comes with doesn’t deliver quite enough power to keep it charged in Performance mode. Read more about this issue in my review, as it’s important to know about if you’re planning to buy it.
There are other cheap gaming laptops out there I’ve tested, such as the MSI Cyborg A15, but either the Acer Nitro V 16 or Lenovo LOQ 15 are better, cheaper options. You will also find lots of gaming laptops under $1,000 that use older graphics cards, such as the RTX 4050 or 3050. In general, I’d recommend staying away from these. They’re only one or two generations back, but remember: Nvidia only releases new laptop graphics cards every couple of years. So, an RTX 4050 laptop may be well over two years old already, and an RTX 3050 is over five years old. Not only do you get worse graphics performance, these laptops are much more likely to need to be replaced sooner.
Experimental Stuff
One of the exciting things about the world of gaming laptops right now is the experimentation. While clamshell gaming laptops with a conventional Nvidia GPU are the most standard way to go, there’s a few different ways to take your PC games on the go that stretch the boundaries. You might consider a gaming handheld, for example, like the Steam Deck or Xbox Ally X. These handhelds have their fans, and while you can’t also do your homework on these devices, they’re great on couches, trains, and planes.
LenovoLegion 7i Gen 10 (16 Inch, Intel)Now, there's another class of high-end gaming laptop that…
Every time I’ve written about Meta’s AI-enabled glasses, I invariably get asked these questions: Why do you even want these? Why do you want smart glasses that can play music or misidentify native flora in a weirdly cheery voice? I am a lifelong Ray-Ban Wayfarer wearer, and I’m also WIRED’s resident Meta wearer. I grab a pair of Meta glasses whenever I leave the house because I like being able to use one device instead of two or three on a walk. With Meta glasses, I can wear sunglasses andworkout headphones in one!
Meta sold more than 7 million pairs in 2025. Take a look at any major outdoor or sporting event, and you’ll see more than a few people wearing these to record snippets for Instagram or TikTok. Meta’s partnership with EssilorLuxottica has made smart glasses accessible, stylish, and useful and is undoubtedly the reason why Google, and now Apple, are trying to horn in on the market. After the notable flop that is the Apple Vision Pro, Apple is recalibrating its face-wearable strategy, moving away from augmented reality (AR) toward simpler, display-less, and hopefully good-looking glasses.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be careful how you use these glasses. Meta doesn’t have the greatest track record on privacy, and the company has continued to push forward with policies that are questionable at best. Even if you’re not concerned that face recognition will allow Meta to target immigrants or enable stalkers to find their victims, at the very least, people really do not like the idea that you could start recording them at any moment.
Probably the biggest hurdle to wearing Meta glasses is that even doing so seems like a gross violation of the social contract. After all, these are Mark Zuckerberg’s “pervert glasses.” When I pop these on my head, I’ve had friends (and my spouse) recoil and say, “I have apps to warn me away from people like you.” The best part, though, is that Oakley and Ray-Ban already make really great sunglasses. Even if the battery runs out or you don’t use Meta AI at all, these are stellar at shading your eyes from the sun.
Last year, Meta upgraded the original Meta Ray-Ban Wayfarers that became a smash hit. These are Meta’s entry-level glasses, and they come in a variety of lens styles. You can order them with clear lenses, prescription lenses, transition lenses, or the OG sunglass lenses, as well as in a variety of fits, including standard, large, or high-bridge frames. Improvements to this generation include an upgrade to a 12-MP camera and up to eight hours of battery life; writer Boone Ashworth’s testing clocked in at five to six hours.
Every time I’ve written about Meta’s AI-enabled glasses, I invariably get asked these questions: Why do you even want these? Why do you want smart glasses that can play music or misidentify native flora in a weirdly cheery voice? I am a lifelong Ray-Ban Wayfarer wearer, and I’m also WIRED’s resident Meta wearer. I grab a pair of Meta glasses whenever I leave the house because I like being able to use one device instead of two or three on a walk. With Meta glasses, I can wear sunglasses andworkout headphones in one!
Meta sold more than 7 million pairs in 2025. Take a look at any major outdoor or sporting event, and you’ll see more than a few people wearing these to record snippets for Instagram or TikTok. Meta’s partnership with EssilorLuxottica has made smart glasses accessible, stylish, and useful and is undoubtedly the reason why Google, and now Apple, are trying to horn in on the market. After the notable flop that is the Apple Vision Pro, Apple is recalibrating its face-wearable strategy, moving away from augmented reality (AR) toward simpler, display-less, and hopefully good-looking glasses.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be careful how you use these glasses. Meta doesn’t have the greatest track record on privacy, and the company has continued to push forward with policies that are questionable at best. Even if you’re not concerned that face recognition will allow Meta to target immigrants or enable stalkers to find their victims, at the very least, people really do not like the idea that you could start recording them at any moment.
Probably the biggest hurdle to wearing Meta glasses is that even doing so seems like a gross violation of the social contract. After all, these are Mark Zuckerberg’s “pervert glasses.” When I pop these on my head, I’ve had friends (and my spouse) recoil and say, “I have apps to warn me away from people like you.” The best part, though, is that Oakley and Ray-Ban already make really great sunglasses. Even if the battery runs out or you don’t use Meta AI at all, these are stellar at shading your eyes from the sun.
Last year, Meta upgraded the original Meta Ray-Ban Wayfarers that became a smash hit. These are Meta’s entry-level glasses, and they come in a variety of lens styles. You can order them with clear lenses, prescription lenses, transition lenses, or the OG sunglass lenses, as well as in a variety of fits, including standard, large, or high-bridge frames. Improvements to this generation include an upgrade to a 12-MP camera and up to eight hours of battery life; writer Boone Ashworth’s testing clocked in at five to six hours.
#Meta #Glasses #Comfortable #Functional #Spouse #Recoil #Fearbuying guides,accessories and peripherals,wearables,meta,smart glasses,shopping,outdoors,fashion,lifestyle">Meta Glasses Are Comfortable, Functional, and Make My Spouse Recoil in Fear
Every time I’ve written about Meta’s AI-enabled glasses, I invariably get asked these questions: Why do you even want these? Why do you want smart glasses that can play music or misidentify native flora in a weirdly cheery voice? I am a lifelong Ray-Ban Wayfarer wearer, and I’m also WIRED’s resident Meta wearer. I grab a pair of Meta glasses whenever I leave the house because I like being able to use one device instead of two or three on a walk. With Meta glasses, I can wear sunglasses andworkout headphones in one!
Meta sold more than 7 million pairs in 2025. Take a look at any major outdoor or sporting event, and you’ll see more than a few people wearing these to record snippets for Instagram or TikTok. Meta’s partnership with EssilorLuxottica has made smart glasses accessible, stylish, and useful and is undoubtedly the reason why Google, and now Apple, are trying to horn in on the market. After the notable flop that is the Apple Vision Pro, Apple is recalibrating its face-wearable strategy, moving away from augmented reality (AR) toward simpler, display-less, and hopefully good-looking glasses.
That’s not to say that you shouldn’t be careful how you use these glasses. Meta doesn’t have the greatest track record on privacy, and the company has continued to push forward with policies that are questionable at best. Even if you’re not concerned that face recognition will allow Meta to target immigrants or enable stalkers to find their victims, at the very least, people really do not like the idea that you could start recording them at any moment.
Probably the biggest hurdle to wearing Meta glasses is that even doing so seems like a gross violation of the social contract. After all, these are Mark Zuckerberg’s “pervert glasses.” When I pop these on my head, I’ve had friends (and my spouse) recoil and say, “I have apps to warn me away from people like you.” The best part, though, is that Oakley and Ray-Ban already make really great sunglasses. Even if the battery runs out or you don’t use Meta AI at all, these are stellar at shading your eyes from the sun.
Last year, Meta upgraded the original Meta Ray-Ban Wayfarers that became a smash hit. These are Meta’s entry-level glasses, and they come in a variety of lens styles. You can order them with clear lenses, prescription lenses, transition lenses, or the OG sunglass lenses, as well as in a variety of fits, including standard, large, or high-bridge frames. Improvements to this generation include an upgrade to a 12-MP camera and up to eight hours of battery life; writer Boone Ashworth’s testing clocked in at five to six hours.
I had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.
If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.
Stylish Smart Lights
Govee
Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights
I’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)
Fresh Bulbs
Cync
Smart LED Light Bulb, PAR38
If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.
Remote-Controlled Garage
Chamberlain
MyQ Smart Garage Controller
Chamberlain
MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener with Integrated Camera
If your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.
Smart Shades
SmartWings
Motorized Roller Shades
Lutron
Caseta Smart Shades
The front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.
Invisible Swaps
Looking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.
Yale
Approach Lock
This smart lock just swaps out the inner half of your front-door lock to make it smart without requiring a new key or changing your exterior hardware. You can also add on a keypad—or not, if you’d rather keep the smarts a complete secret.
Cync
Outdoor Smart Plug
This outdoor plug is visible at the outlet itself, but if the outlet is covered by something or is around the corner from your front door, no one will know that your lights or other electrical devices are connected to this smart plug.
I had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.
If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.
Stylish Smart Lights
Govee
Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights
I’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)
Fresh Bulbs
Cync
Smart LED Light Bulb, PAR38
If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.
Remote-Controlled Garage
Chamberlain
MyQ Smart Garage Controller
Chamberlain
MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener with Integrated Camera
If your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.
Smart Shades
SmartWings
Motorized Roller Shades
Lutron
Caseta Smart Shades
The front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.
Invisible Swaps
Looking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.
Yale
Approach Lock
This smart lock just swaps out the inner half of your front-door lock to make it smart without requiring a new key or changing your exterior hardware. You can also add on a keypad—or not, if you’d rather keep the smarts a complete secret.
Cync
Outdoor Smart Plug
This outdoor plug is visible at the outlet itself, but if the outlet is covered by something or is around the corner from your front door, no one will know that your lights or other electrical devices are connected to this smart plug.
#Smart #Home #Gadgets #Amp #Curb #Appealsmart home,shopping,household,buying guides,how-to,yardware upgrade">The Smart Home Gadgets to Amp Up Your Curb Appeal
I tried the battery version, which does require you recharge it every couple of weeks, but the wired-in version is the top recommendation on our guide to the Best Video Doorbells.
A Better Birdhouse
I had a new-to-me problem this spring: bird invasion. A little bird made a nest in my front-door wreath without us noticing. One evening, my sister opened the door, and the bird flew out of the nest and straight into our house. After a 30-minute battle to get it outside again (and keep my cat from eating it), it wasn’t until we saw the bird fly off the door again the next day that we realized it was calling our home its home, too.
If this is a common problem at your house, our resident bird-gear tester Kat Merck has a solution: a smart nesting box. Birdfy makes a few different smart bird feeders we like for bird-watching, and the Nest Duo is a birdhouse that lets you watch the birds while they nest inside of it. It’s a slim, attractive box that will add to your front yard’s style while also packing two solar-powered cameras (one facing the entrance, one focused inside) so you can bird-watch from multiple angles. It comes with different hole sizes to appeal to different species, metal predator guards to prevent chewing around the hole, and a remote control to reset or recharge the camera without disturbing your feathered neighbors.
Stylish Smart Lights
Govee
Outdoor Clear Bulb String Lights
I’ve liked Govee’s smart outdoor string lights before, usually for my holiday decor, and have previously recommended something similar with a bistro-light-like look that happened to be smart. These clear bulb string lights are part of Govee’s current lineup and have a contemporary twist with a triangle in the center instead of the wire filament. These are a fun option for outdoor lights you can enjoy on warm nights, and they can do every color and shade of white without looking as bulky as permanent outdoor lights. (Added bonus, these lights are also Matter compatible!)
Fresh Bulbs
Cync
Smart LED Light Bulb, PAR38
If you have light fixtures you want to remote-control, add an outdoor smart bulb. There are tons to choose from, and you can usually find one from any brand you already have at home. The only downside is that outdoor-rated smart bulbs are usually 4.75-inch-diameter PAR38-style bulbs, so they’re best for downward-facing floodlights on your porch or balcony. They’ll likely be too big to fit in a wall fixture as a replacement for a normal-sized bulb. Don’t just grab any smart bulb—not all are outdoor-rated. Check for mentions of outdoor use and waterproof ratings to make sure they’re safe to use. I’m a big fan of Cync bulbs, and the brand has an outdoor version of the Cync Full Color bulbs I like to use indoors. You’ll be able to add fun colors as well as shades of white, so you can turn the porch a spooky orange or red for Halloween, pink for Valentine’s Day, or the colors of your favorite sports team on game day.
Remote-Controlled Garage
Chamberlain
MyQ Smart Garage Controller
Chamberlain
MyQ Smart Garage Door Opener with Integrated Camera
If your garage is the centerpiece of your home’s curb appeal, you can control it as easily as a smart door by adding a smart controller. You can do two different styles: I have the Chamberlain MyQ professionally installed smart garage opener, which means the device that controls my garage has these smarts built into it (plus a camera, but I find it doesn’t work great with how far the device is from my Wi-Fi router), or you can get a smart garage controller that can add smart features onto an existing garage door. Both let you check whether the garage is open or closed and operate it remotely, and you can add a video keypad that doubles as a video doorbell and can let you open or close the garage without your phone.
Smart Shades
SmartWings
Motorized Roller Shades
Lutron
Caseta Smart Shades
The front of my home faces west, so it’s absolutely baking at the end of the day. What I need to add are some of our favorite smart shades to automate closing the shades on that side of the house at the right time of day. These also give your home a nice, cohesive look and immediate, controllable privacy from the outside world. WIRED reviewer Simon Hill recommends the SmartWings shades as his top picks, and Lutron’s Caseta shades if you’re looking for a more upgraded look.
Invisible Swaps
Looking to add some smarts without touching your existing setup? These switch-ups can make your front door and yard smart without being visible.
Yale
Approach Lock
This smart lock just swaps out the inner half of your front-door lock to make it smart without requiring a new key or changing your exterior hardware. You can also add on a keypad—or not, if you’d rather keep the smarts a complete secret.
Cync
Outdoor Smart Plug
This outdoor plug is visible at the outlet itself, but if the outlet is covered by something or is around the corner from your front door, no one will know that your lights or other electrical devices are connected to this smart plug.
What I tend to do is drop a four-cup batch of coffee into the Carter, and screw the lid off and on when I take a sip. Sixteen ounces of coffee can stay warm for hours without introducing a lot of oxidation or heat. The coffee in a thermal-insulated drinking container tends to taste better, longer, than any coffee that’s been subjected to the heat and air of a coffee warmer.
This said, while the Carter is prettier than most travel mugs, it’s never going to be my favorite mug (which, for the record, is a Grinderman tour mug from 2010.) The Carter also doesn’t release aromatics quite as well as a more open-topped mug. I could, technically, keep coffee warm in the Carter and then pour it into another mug I am more sentimental about. But in practice, I don’t. I just drink out of the Carter. It’s still a good morning.
Other Coffee Mug Warmers We Recommend
Ember Mug 2 for $150: Oh, the Ember. It is likely the most sophisticated and technologically advanced of self-warming mugs. It has an app. It’ll light up a little LED or even notify your phone when your coffee is ready to drink. Honestly, one can go back and forth on its virtues and excesses. It’ll “wake up” when you pour coffee in. It’ll go to sleep when you’re not around. And unlike other picks here, it’s a true self-heating mug with a battery, and it can travel with you on your dog walk. But after using the Ember for years, WIRED reviewer Simon Hill turned instead to the Ohom Ui 3. Why? In part, it’s that the Ember only works with a proprietary mug that’s not dishwasher-safe or dunk-proof. Replacement mugs and heating elements are expensive. But mostly it was a yen for simplicity: Not everything needs an app, and thermal mugs are now good enough that I sort of prefer them while on the go. Still, the Ember mug has had fervent fans at WIRED, it’s a nifty device, and its makers are continually working to improve it. Arguably, the people at Ember are thinking harder about coffee warming than anyone alive, and I’ll always happily test the next and the next version to see what’s up their sleeve.
Bestinnkits Mug Warmer for $26: This utilitarian little mug warmer turns on when you have a mug atop it, and turns off when you don’t. The scale is its only “smart” feature. No Alexa, no Siri, no app. This is a nice feature, and great for safety. This said, it does mean the warmer doesn’t start warming till your cup’s atop it, vs a warmer like the Cosori or Mr. Coffee that can preheat before your cup is there and thus keep temp immediately. It’s a decision, and it’s yours to make. The cost difference is somewhat negligible among them all.
#Dont #Drink #Lukewarm #Coffee #Warmershopping,kitchen,buying guides,food and drink,coffee">
What I tend to do is drop a four-cup batch of coffee into the Carter, and screw the lid off and on when I take a sip. Sixteen ounces of coffee can stay warm for hours without introducing a lot of oxidation or heat. The coffee in a thermal-insulated drinking container tends to taste better, longer, than any coffee that’s been subjected to the heat and air of a coffee warmer.
This said, while the Carter is prettier than most travel mugs, it’s never going to be my favorite mug (which, for the record, is a Grinderman tour mug from 2010.) The Carter also doesn’t release aromatics quite as well as a more open-topped mug. I could, technically, keep coffee warm in the Carter and then pour it into another mug I am more sentimental about. But in practice, I don’t. I just drink out of the Carter. It’s still a good morning.
Other Coffee Mug Warmers We Recommend
Ember Mug 2 for $150: Oh, the Ember. It is likely the most sophisticated and technologically advanced of self-warming mugs. It has an app. It’ll light up a little LED or even notify your phone when your coffee is ready to drink. Honestly, one can go back and forth on its virtues and excesses. It’ll “wake up” when you pour coffee in. It’ll go to sleep when you’re not around. And unlike other picks here, it’s a true self-heating mug with a battery, and it can travel with you on your dog walk. But after using the Ember for years, WIRED reviewer Simon Hill turned instead to the Ohom Ui 3. Why? In part, it’s that the Ember only works with a proprietary mug that’s not dishwasher-safe or dunk-proof. Replacement mugs and heating elements are expensive. But mostly it was a yen for simplicity: Not everything needs an app, and thermal mugs are now good enough that I sort of prefer them while on the go. Still, the Ember mug has had fervent fans at WIRED, it’s a nifty device, and its makers are continually working to improve it. Arguably, the people at Ember are thinking harder about coffee warming than anyone alive, and I’ll always happily test the next and the next version to see what’s up their sleeve.
Bestinnkits Mug Warmer for $26: This utilitarian little mug warmer turns on when you have a mug atop it, and turns off when you don’t. The scale is its only “smart” feature. No Alexa, no Siri, no app. This is a nice feature, and great for safety. This said, it does mean the warmer doesn’t start warming till your cup’s atop it, vs a warmer like the Cosori or Mr. Coffee that can preheat before your cup is there and thus keep temp immediately. It’s a decision, and it’s yours to make. The cost difference is somewhat negligible among them all.
#Dont #Drink #Lukewarm #Coffee #Warmershopping,kitchen,buying guides,food and drink,coffee">You Don’t Have to Drink Lukewarm Coffee Ever Again. Get a Warmer
A lot of these travel mugs tend to take the form of a sippy cup. But when sitting at home, my ideal pick is the Fellow Carter, which sips like a normal drinking vessel and is stainless steel—not plastic. It’s ceramic-lined on its interior to avoid coffee-oil buildup or any hint of metallic tang. If you like sippy cups, Fellow also offers a nice 3-in-1 lid system ($57) with straw and slider lids.
What I tend to do is drop a four-cup batch of coffee into the Carter, and screw the lid off and on when I take a sip. Sixteen ounces of coffee can stay warm for hours without introducing a lot of oxidation or heat. The coffee in a thermal-insulated drinking container tends to taste better, longer, than any coffee that’s been subjected to the heat and air of a coffee warmer.
This said, while the Carter is prettier than most travel mugs, it’s never going to be my favorite mug (which, for the record, is a Grinderman tour mug from 2010.) The Carter also doesn’t release aromatics quite as well as a more open-topped mug. I could, technically, keep coffee warm in the Carter and then pour it into another mug I am more sentimental about. But in practice, I don’t. I just drink out of the Carter. It’s still a good morning.
Other Coffee Mug Warmers We Recommend
Ember Mug 2 for $150: Oh, the Ember. It is likely the most sophisticated and technologically advanced of self-warming mugs. It has an app. It’ll light up a little LED or even notify your phone when your coffee is ready to drink. Honestly, one can go back and forth on its virtues and excesses. It’ll “wake up” when you pour coffee in. It’ll go to sleep when you’re not around. And unlike other picks here, it’s a true self-heating mug with a battery, and it can travel with you on your dog walk. But after using the Ember for years, WIRED reviewer Simon Hill turned instead to the Ohom Ui 3. Why? In part, it’s that the Ember only works with a proprietary mug that’s not dishwasher-safe or dunk-proof. Replacement mugs and heating elements are expensive. But mostly it was a yen for simplicity: Not everything needs an app, and thermal mugs are now good enough that I sort of prefer them while on the go. Still, the Ember mug has had fervent fans at WIRED, it’s a nifty device, and its makers are continually working to improve it. Arguably, the people at Ember are thinking harder about coffee warming than anyone alive, and I’ll always happily test the next and the next version to see what’s up their sleeve.
Bestinnkits Mug Warmer for $26: This utilitarian little mug warmer turns on when you have a mug atop it, and turns off when you don’t. The scale is its only “smart” feature. No Alexa, no Siri, no app. This is a nice feature, and great for safety. This said, it does mean the warmer doesn’t start warming till your cup’s atop it, vs a warmer like the Cosori or Mr. Coffee that can preheat before your cup is there and thus keep temp immediately. It’s a decision, and it’s yours to make. The cost difference is somewhat negligible among them all.
#Dont #Drink #Lukewarm #Coffee #Warmershopping,kitchen,buying guides,food and drink,coffee
A lot of these travel mugs tend to take the form of a sippy cup.…
The Gozney makes truly excellent high-temperature pizza. Most backyard ovens, even our other favorites on this list, tend to struggle to reach and maintain the 900-degree temps needed for proper Neapolitan crust. The Dome Gen 2 gets there in 20 minutes, it heats admirably evenly, and it’s responsible for the best pizzas that my colleague Kat Merck says she’s made in her entire life. This is worth noting, given that she was editor and recipe tester for pizzaiolo Ken Forkish’s iconic pizza book The Elements of Pizza. (For what it’s worth, Forkish also uses a Dome Gen 2 at home, while enjoying his retirement. He likes using dough at 67 percent hydration, while cooking at 900 degrees in the Dome.)
A couple caveats, however: Gozney often markets the Dome as being able to cook two pizzas at the same time. This is a silly thing to do at the temperatures you’re cooking at. Cook one pizza. If you use the Neapolitan Arch, it’ll make the oven’s aperture narrow enough that you’ll need to limit yourself to a 12-inch peel anyway. The price of a Gozney Dome also rises considerably once you start delving into the accessories. With the stand, cover,Neapolitan arch, wood fire control kit, turning peel, and 15 pounds of Gozney-brand kiln-dried hardwood, the final price for the Dome Gen 2 can rack up as high as $3,270.
Best Big Pizza Oven for Families: Ooni Koda Max
Ooni’s large oven is for everyone who is sick of feeding their families with multiple teeny-tiny 12-inch pies and just wants to make a massive 20-inch cheese pizza for all the kids at once. You can either attach a propane tank or hook it to your natural gas line. If this is a possibility for you, then I recommend the latter. Ooni has a new gas management technology that keeps the temperature consistent across the huge surface. But big, powerful ovens use a lot of fuel: Its 35,000 BTUs put this Koda Max nearly on par with a 3-burner Traeger griddle. That heat will also come pouring out the open front of the oven, which means the Max is not ideal for small patios.
The Gozney makes truly excellent high-temperature pizza. Most backyard ovens, even our other favorites on this list, tend to struggle to reach and maintain the 900-degree temps needed for proper Neapolitan crust. The Dome Gen 2 gets there in 20 minutes, it heats admirably evenly, and it’s responsible for the best pizzas that my colleague Kat Merck says she’s made in her entire life. This is worth noting, given that she was editor and recipe tester for pizzaiolo Ken Forkish’s iconic pizza book The Elements of Pizza. (For what it’s worth, Forkish also uses a Dome Gen 2 at home, while enjoying his retirement. He likes using dough at 67 percent hydration, while cooking at 900 degrees in the Dome.)
A couple caveats, however: Gozney often markets the Dome as being able to cook two pizzas at the same time. This is a silly thing to do at the temperatures you’re cooking at. Cook one pizza. If you use the Neapolitan Arch, it’ll make the oven’s aperture narrow enough that you’ll need to limit yourself to a 12-inch peel anyway. The price of a Gozney Dome also rises considerably once you start delving into the accessories. With the stand, cover,Neapolitan arch, wood fire control kit, turning peel, and 15 pounds of Gozney-brand kiln-dried hardwood, the final price for the Dome Gen 2 can rack up as high as $3,270.
Best Big Pizza Oven for Families: Ooni Koda Max
Ooni’s large oven is for everyone who is sick of feeding their families with multiple teeny-tiny 12-inch pies and just wants to make a massive 20-inch cheese pizza for all the kids at once. You can either attach a propane tank or hook it to your natural gas line. If this is a possibility for you, then I recommend the latter. Ooni has a new gas management technology that keeps the temperature consistent across the huge surface. But big, powerful ovens use a lot of fuel: Its 35,000 BTUs put this Koda Max nearly on par with a 3-burner Traeger griddle. That heat will also come pouring out the open front of the oven, which means the Max is not ideal for small patios.
#Thousand #Pizzas #Find #Pizza #Ovenshome,outdoors,pizza oven,buying guides,yardware upgrade,kitchen">We Made More Than a Thousand Pizzas to Find the Best Pizza Ovens
The Dome is big. It’s not portable, practical, or inexpensive. It accepts the romance of wood, or the brute power of propane or natural gas. Its height makes it versatile enough for steaks, fish, or other skillet meals. This pizza oven is designed to be a fixture in your life and backyard, bolstered by an ever-expanding accessory set. And it also more than earns its place there, once you buy a snap-on Neapolitan arch accessory ($60) to bolster its insulation.
The Gozney makes truly excellent high-temperature pizza. Most backyard ovens, even our other favorites on this list, tend to struggle to reach and maintain the 900-degree temps needed for proper Neapolitan crust. The Dome Gen 2 gets there in 20 minutes, it heats admirably evenly, and it’s responsible for the best pizzas that my colleague Kat Merck says she’s made in her entire life. This is worth noting, given that she was editor and recipe tester for pizzaiolo Ken Forkish’s iconic pizza book The Elements of Pizza. (For what it’s worth, Forkish also uses a Dome Gen 2 at home, while enjoying his retirement. He likes using dough at 67 percent hydration, while cooking at 900 degrees in the Dome.)
A couple caveats, however: Gozney often markets the Dome as being able to cook two pizzas at the same time. This is a silly thing to do at the temperatures you’re cooking at. Cook one pizza. If you use the Neapolitan Arch, it’ll make the oven’s aperture narrow enough that you’ll need to limit yourself to a 12-inch peel anyway. The price of a Gozney Dome also rises considerably once you start delving into the accessories. With the stand, cover,Neapolitan arch, wood fire control kit, turning peel, and 15 pounds of Gozney-brand kiln-dried hardwood, the final price for the Dome Gen 2 can rack up as high as $3,270.
Best Big Pizza Oven for Families: Ooni Koda Max
Ooni’s large oven is for everyone who is sick of feeding their families with multiple teeny-tiny 12-inch pies and just wants to make a massive 20-inch cheese pizza for all the kids at once. You can either attach a propane tank or hook it to your natural gas line. If this is a possibility for you, then I recommend the latter. Ooni has a new gas management technology that keeps the temperature consistent across the huge surface. But big, powerful ovens use a lot of fuel: Its 35,000 BTUs put this Koda Max nearly on par with a 3-burner Traeger griddle. That heat will also come pouring out the open front of the oven, which means the Max is not ideal for small patios.
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