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Between your laptop, phone, tablet, smartwatch, earbuds and other devices you use regularly, your desk or nightstand can quickly turn into a chaotic nest of charging cables. And if you’re tired of untangling cords every time you need to recharge, it may be time to upgrade your setup. Lamicall makes tons of stylish device stands to help you stay organized, and right now you can pick some up at a discount. Amazon is offering up to 47% off select Lamicall stands for phones, tablets and laptops, with prices starting at just $8 right now. There’s no set expiration for this sale, so get your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.

Whether you just need a phone holder for your nightstand, or you’re looking to reorganize your entire desk, you’ll find everything you need for less at this sale. For just $20, $10 off the usual price, you can pick up this padded phone and tablet holder that has a side pocket and four different viewing angles. Or you can snag this handy gooseneck phone holder, which clamps on to your desk or countertop and has a 38.6-inch bendable arm that can hold your phone at any angle. It’s on sale for $22, saving you $6 compared to the usual price. And if you’re tired of straining your neck to look down at your laptop, you can pick up this laptop riser stand for $30, saving you $20. It’s designed for laptops between 10 and 17 inches, can swivel a full 360 degrees and has adjustable height levels to help reduce the strain on your neck and back.

Apple’s sleek and powerful MacBooks remain some of our favorite laptops out there, claiming multiple spots on our list of the best laptops for 2023. But because Apple almost never discounts its own products directly, it can be difficult to find one at a good price. But right now, Best Buy is offering a rare opportunity to snag one of these popular laptops for less, and is offering up to $400 off select MacBook models. There’s no set expiration date for this sale, but some models have already sold out, so we’d recommend you get your order in sooner rather than later if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.

There are a few different MacBook models and configurations, so you’ve got some options to choose from at this sale. The 2022 MacBook Air is the absolute latest laptop in Apple’s lineup, and it comes equipped with the cutting-edge M2 chip. It features a stunning 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display and is less than half an inch thick, making it easy to slip in your bag or backpack and take on the go. You can snag the base model with 256GB of storage for $200 off right now, dropping the starting price down to $999.

Or, if computing power is your number one priority, you’ll want to pick up a MacBook Pro. The 2021 model is the latest in this lineup, and it features an M1 Pro chip, a Liquid Retina XDR display, Wi-Fi 6 support for speedy web performance and it’s equipped with an HDMI port, built-in SD card reader and headphone jack for serious versatility. The base model comes with 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, and you can pick up the 14-inch model for $1,599, or the 16-inch model for $2,099, both saving you $400.

And you can check out our roundup of all the best laptop deals for even more bargains.

NordVPN, a CNET pick for one of the best VPNs, recently completed a third-party audit of its no-logs claims, the company said Tuesday. The audit was conducted by Deloitte — one of the “Big Four” auditing firms — between Nov. 21 and Dec. 10, 2022, which confirmed in its Independent Reasonable Assurance Report that NordVPN didn’t record or store any logs of user activity during the time of the audit.

“Nord guarantees a strict no-logs policy for NordVPN Services, meaning that your internet activity while using NordVPN Services is not monitored, recorded, logged, stored, or passed to any third party,” NordVPN says in its Privacy Policy. “We do not store used bandwidth, traffic logs, IP addresses, or browsing data.”

If a VPN provider doesn’t collect or store logs of its users’ activity, the provider wouldn’t be able to furnish any such data should authorities request it. Though a VPN’s no-logs claims can never be fully verified with 100% certainty, a third-party audit can offer substantial assurance that the VPN provider’s claims are genuine and is a key element in providing transparency to consumers.

As part of its assessment of NordVPN’s no-logs claims, Deloitte inspected the server configuration and deployment processes of NordVPN’s standard VPN, double VPN, obfuscated, Onion Over VPN and P2P servers. Deloitte found that, as of Dec. 10, 2022, “the NordVPN service is implemented as described.”

“Our users need to know that they can trust us. When people use a VPN service, they need to know that it won’t monitor their data,” NordVPN product strategist Vykintas Maknickas said. “They need to have confidence in the security and effectiveness of its features and infrastructure. That’s what our audit process is all about.”

NordVPN’s no-logs claims were previously audited and confirmed by PwC in 2018 and 2020.

It’s a wrap on CES for another year, and together we’ve seen our share of both weird and wonderful devices in 2023, but… mostly weird.

Flying cars and obscure robots are so old hat now, and so I wondered if CES could do anything less practical and even more completely bonkers. Turns out it can! Over the past 20-plus years, I’ve seen gadgets so stupefying that sometimes they exist purely because journalists like me will write about them. But it’s time to call out the really awful ones, the worst of the worst. Vacuum shoes, toilet paper robots, MP3 weapon holsters, it’s your time to shine!

The most interesting part about this rogues gallery is that some of these products — the PePe pet dryer, the HapiFork and the HushMe, to name a few — are still being sold today. That’s right: You blew it up, you maniacs!

Dyson Zone Air-Purifying Headphones

Not technically a CES product as this was announced during 2022, but Dyson was displaying the Zone Headphones on its stand at CES 2023. Though the Zone looks like it should be a COVID mask, that’s unfortunately not what it does. According to the Dyson site, development on the Zone began way back in 2016 as a personal air filter — for pollution, mainly — and as such, it was never designed to protect against COVID. Furthermore, one critic has claimed the gadget’s force-driven fans could even help maximize your chances of catching coronavirus.

Read more: Dyson Zone Air Filtering Headphones on Sale in January for $949

Charmin Rollbot

Computer peripherals manufacturer Razer is the king of creating “look at me” products specifically for CES, but toilet tissue brand Charmin became notorious for this 2020 entry. That’s right, in the year that saw the mass panic buying of toilet paper came a robot that could bring you even more! Coincidence? Yes… probably. The RollBot was never going to be a real product, but we loved/loathed it anyway.

Read more: These Charmin robots make us wonder: Is pooping the next tech frontier?

Now playing:Watch this:Best of CES 2023: All the Best Tech We Saw

5:31

Kolibree Smart Toothbrush

Remember when we had to wash our hands for 20 seconds by singing songs to ourselves? The same methodology also applies to brushing your teeth, but why should you use your own brain and lips like a sucker? There have been many smart toothbrushes over the years, but today I’m picking on the Kolibree. Everything was just fine until the arrival of “the world’s first connected electric toothbrush.” Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…

Read more: CES 2014: Kolibree’s connected toothbrush aims for better dental health

Taser MP3 Holster

Back in the 2000s, the iPod became such a cultural phenomenon that every company rushed to create an MP3 player of its own. This culminated in what is one of the dumbest CES products in recent memory: the Tazer MP3 holster. Imagine trying to not only charge your holster but also connect it via USB to your computer to fill it up with 1GB of tunes.

Read more: What every Taser needs: a music-playing holster

Pepe Pet Dryer

Want to find a new way to make your small dog or cat hate you forever? Lock them in a cube prison for 25 minutes(!) and subject them to gusts of hot air. This combination torture device/dryer would have set you back $660, or you could just throw a towel over your wet dog like a normal human.

Read more: At CES 2019, a $660 sauna will give your dog the blow dry of his life

HapiFork

Throughout history, there have been so many gadgets designed to limit normal human behavior, but this one takes the (pan)cake. The HapiFork is yet another vibrating gadget that tells you to eat your meals slower (over 20 minutes), with the idea being that you are less likely to overeat. Personally, I wolf my own meals down like I’m in prison, so do your worst, HapiFork. I’ll eat with my hands if I have to! You’re not the boss of me!

Read more: Bolting your food? Put on the brakes with HapiFork

Hushme

The Hushme is literally a “dumb” product — it’s designed to make its user mute to other people in the immediate vicinity. It was pitched as being useful in workplaces, but… if a co-worker gave me one of these, they’d better be wearing vacuum shoes, in order to clean up the gleefully stomped-on bits.

Read more: Hushme may be the weirdest, yet most useful wireless headphone ever created

Belty

The original Belty was a prototype smart belt with a motor in it that adjusted itself to whether you just ate or were sitting down. Impractical as hell, but kind of cool? While there is a newer model, also called Belty, this one is even weirder — there’s no auto-sizing, but it does have a power bank charger in the buckle. OK, two things. Not only do I not want a potentially volatile compound near my nethers, I don’t want to connect a series of devices there either.

Read more: Meet Belty, the ridiculous but strangely popular show-stealer of CES Unveiled

Xybernaut Poma

First shown off at CES 1998, the Hitachi-Xybernaut wearable computer was a terrible idea long before Google Glass was even a gleam in Babak Parviz’s eye. The Windows CE-based Xybernaut Poma offered a 128-MHz RISC processor and 32 MB of RAM, plus it strapped to your arm and your face and your belt!

Read more: Hitachi fashioning wearable PCs

Denso Vacuum Shoes

Shoes. You wear ’em. They wear out, you buy more. But that’s not exciting now, is it? They need things in them — phones, rockets, rollers, and… vaccuums? There are so many puns I could make about even just the name of the Denso Vacuum Shoes, but the fact that they existed at all was the biggest joke of all.

Read more: Vacuum cleaner shoes show up at CES because why not

If you’re on the hunt for a new pair of earbuds, chances are that you’re actually looking for a pair of true-wireless earbuds. The difference being that truly wireless earbuds don’t have a cord or cable connecting the two buds. Fortunately, you won’t have any trouble finding some right now, as almost every pair of earbuds you see on shelves today will be completely wireless. However, with so many options to choose from, it can be tough to know which earbuds will work best for you. But whether you’re looking to prioritize durability, audio quality or style, you’ll find plenty of great options below on our list of the best earbuds 2023 has to offer.

In terms of style, some wireless earbuds are equipped with ear tips while others have an open design without tips (those are best for people who don’t like to have ear tips jammed in their ears and want to allow some sound in from the outside world). For the most part, only “noise-isolating” earbuds with silicone or foam ear tips offer active noise canceling — or noise cancelling (with a double l), as Bose and Google spell it — a feature that was once a rarity but has now become standard. And when you get a pair of wireless earbuds, many now come with a wireless charging case, too.

Yes, the top true-wireless earbuds can be pricey, but you can get surprisingly good ones for less than $100 — or even less. We regularly update this list as new top true-wireless earbuds hit the market.

CNET’s recommendations for the best wireless earbuds

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Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2

Best noise-canceling with top-notch sound

Battery Life

Rated Up to 6 Hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

No

Headphone Type

Wireless Earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX4 — Splash-Proof

Bose’s second-generation QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are not only about 30% smaller than their predecessors, but their case is about 40% smaller and truly pocketable. They feature best-in-class noise canceling and improved sound, thanks to Bose’s new CustomTune sound calibration system that customizes the sound for your ears. Voice-calling performance is also significantly better than that of the original QuietComfort Earbuds.

The other big change is to the ear tips. Bose has ditched its one-piece StayEar wing tips for a two-piece Fit Kit system that features separate ear tips and “stability bands” in three size options, giving you more flexibility to get a secure fit and tight seal.

The buds initially ship in the Triple Black Color with the Sandstone color to follow later in the year.

Read our Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 review.

$299 at Bose

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Earfun

Earfun Air S

Best budget noise-canceling earbuds

Battery Life

Rated up to 6 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

Yes

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX5 — protection against low-pressure water streams)

In the past, we’ve recommended Earfun’s AirPro SV and Air Pro 2 as excellent budget noise-canceling earbuds choices (they’re still good values). But the new-for-2022 Earfun Air S may be the best of the trio, with multipoint Bluetooth pairing, the latest Qualcomm QCC3046 SoC (system on a chip) with the AptX audio codec for Android and other devices that support it. It has the same 10mm wool drivers as the AirPro SV and features surprisingly impressive sound for its modest price point. They also work well as a headset for making calls with decent background noise reduction.

The buds have an IPX5 water-resistance rating, which means they’re splashproof and can withstand a sustained spray of water. Note that the earbuds cost as low as $49 when you activate the instant coupon and apply the CNET-exclusive discount code EFAIRS07 at checkout at Amazon.

$69 at Amazon

$70 at Earfun

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Apple AirPods Pro 2

Even better Apple noise-canceling wireless earbuds

Battery Life

Rated up to 6 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

No

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

Available for preorder now and shipping Sept. 23, the new AirPods Pro (2nd generation) are powered by Apple’s new H2 chip, which delivers more processing power while being more energy efficient, according to Apple. The new chip, combined with new low-distortion drivers, allows for improved sound that offers better clarity and depth. The noise canceling is also improved — Apple says the new AirPods have “double” the noise canceling of the original AirPods Pro. Additionally, the new AirPods add an extra hour of battery life, up from five to six hours with noise canceling on. Plus, a speaker in the case that emits a sound that helps locate your buds via Find My should they decide to hide from you.

Note that while Apple has discontinued the original AirPods Pro, they’ll remain on sale at discounted prices until supplies are exhausted. However, most people should get this newer model if they can afford it.

Read our Apple AirPods Pro 2 review.

$249 at Apple

$240 at Amazon

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Beats Fit Pro

Best wireless sports earbuds for everyday use

Battery Life

Rated up to 6 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

No

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

Hot on the heels of the third-generation AirPods, Apple has another new set of earbuds, this time from its subsidiary audio company, Beats. Technically, the new Beats Fit Pro ($200) aren’t AirPods, but they’re built on the same tech platform as the AirPods Pro. Unlike Beats’ earlier and less expensive Studio Buds, the Beats Fit Pro include Apple’s H1 chip and have most of the AirPods Pro’s features, including active noise canceling, spatial audio and Adaptive EQ. I’d venture to call them the sports AirPods you’ve always wanted. And for some people, they might just be better than the AirPods Pro.

Read our Beats Fit Pro review.

$200 at Apple

$160 at Amazon

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Sony WF-1000XM4

Excellent all-around wireless earbuds

Battery Life

Rated up to 30 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes

Multipoint

Yes

Headphone Type

Over-ear wireless headphones

Water-Resistant

No IP rating

No earbuds are perfect, of course, and not everybody will love the fit of the Sony WF-1000XM4 buds or be able to afford their high price. But if you’re looking for great-sounding earbuds with active noise cancellation, solid voice-calling capabilities and good battery life, these buds check all the boxes.

Read our Sony WF-1000XM4 review.

$278 at Amazon

$280 at Best Buy

$280 at Target

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Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro

Best Samsung wireless earbuds

Battery Life

Rated Up to 8 Hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

No

Headphone Type

Wireless Earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IP57 – Can Be Submerged for 30 Minutes Up to 1 Meter)

The Galaxy Buds 2 Pro offer improved noise canceling along with very good sound and voice-calling performance, plus support for high-resolution wireless audio streaming if you’re a Galaxy device owner with the right setup. That said, their biggest upgrade may be their new design and smaller size, which make them a better fit for more ears. Aside from their somewhat high price, their only drawback is that some of their key features only work with Samsung Galaxy devices.

Read our Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro review.

$190 at Samsung

$190 at Amazon

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Earfun

Earfun Air Pro 2

Excellent value wireless earbuds

Battery Life

Rated up to 7 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

No

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX5 — protection against low-pressure water streams)

The Earfun Air Pro 2 not only features solid active noise cancellation but their sound is also impressive for their relatively modest price, with overall well-balanced sound, decent clarity and solid bass performance. Some of Earfun’s buds have had a bit too much treble push — sometimes referred to as “presence boost” — but these mostly manage to avoid that. They do sound better than the original Air Pro.

The earbuds have some extra features, like an ear-detection sensor (your music pauses when you take the buds out of your ears) and a case that has USB-C and wireless charging, that you don’t often find at this price. Equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, they’re splash-proof with an IPX5 rating and offer up to seven hours of battery life on a single charge at moderate volume levels, though you’ll probably get closer to six hours with noise canceling on.

There’s also a transparency mode that lets ambient sound in. It actually sounds pretty natural and is closer than I thought it would to the AirPods Pro’s excellent transparency mode. Alas, there’s no companion app that allows you to tweak the sound or upgrade the firmware.

Earfun talks up the Air Pro 2’s voice calling capabilities — the buds have three microphones in each earbud — and I thought call performance was good but these didn’t reduce background noise as much the new Soundpeats T3, which are also good for the money ($40). However, while the Soundpeats T3 are better for calls, the Earfun Air Pro 2’s noise-canceling and transparency modes are superior and the Soundpeats don’t have the ear-detection sensor. Plus, the Earfun Air Pro 2 buds sound better, with richer, more dynamic sound. Also note that you can save $20 right now at Amazon by activating the instant coupon on the product page.

$70 at Amazon

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Jabra

Jabra Elite 7 Pro

Best Jabra true-wireless earbuds

Battery Life

Rated Up to 8 Hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

Yes

Headphone Type

Wireless Earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IP57 — Can be Submerged for 30 Minutes Up to 1 Meter)

Coming in at 16% smaller than the Elite 75t, the Elite 7 Pros are Jabra’s top-of-the-line earbuds in its new range and include the company’s new MultiSensor Voice technology with a bone-conduction sensor, four microphones and intelligent algorithms to deliver new “ground-breaking call quality,” Jabra says. The voice calling performance doesn’t quite live up to the hype, but Jabra has updated the buds’ firmware, adding multipoint Bluetooth pairing and slightly improving sound quality, noise canceling and headset performance. It took a while but they’re now excellent all-around buds.

These have adjustable active noise cancellation, Jabra’s HearThrough transparency mode and Bluetooth 5.2. They offer up to nine hours’ play time at moderate volume levels with noise canceling on, and nearly three additional charges in the charging case — total battery life is rated at 35 hours. The charging case has wireless charging capabilities.

The earbuds’ IP57 rating means they can be submerged in up to 1 meter of water. For those who like to use only a single bud, you can also use either bud independently in a mono mode.

$120 at Amazon

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David Carnoy/CNET

Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3

New Sennheiser flagship wireless earbuds

The Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds have excellent sound, improved noise canceling and voice-calling performance as well a smaller, more refined design with stabilizing fins (so the earbuds stay in your ears more securely). They’re among the best new true-wireless earbuds for 2022. They’re also one of the best true-wireless earbuds overall, giving the Sony WF-1000XM4 a run for the money.

Read our Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 review.

$196 at Amazon

$250 at Best Buy

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Bang & Olufsen Beoplay EX

Best-sounding wireless earbuds with stems

Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay EX buds are the company’s best true-wireless earbuds yet. They feature a comfortable, secure fit (except perhaps for those with really smaller ears), top-notch build quality, great sound, good noise canceling and improved voice-calling performance over B&O’s EQ buds, with three microphones in each earbud they help with reducing background noise while picking up your voice. While they’re out of most people’s price range, they’re arguably the best earbuds out there with stems and offer superior sound to the AirPods Pro with better clarity, deeper more powerful bass and richer, more accurate sound.

Battery life is rated at 6 hours at moderate volume levels with noise canceling on and there’s an extra 14 hours of juice in the brushed aluminum charging case (wireless charging is supported). The buds have an IP57 water-resistance rating, which makes them waterproof and dust-resistant. They feature Bluetooth 5.2 and multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect to two devices at the same time, such as a computer and smartphone. You can use a single bud independently and the earbuds have ear-detection sensors so your music pauses when you remove them from your ears.

The buds support AptX Adaptive for devices like Android smartphones that support Bluetooth streaming with the AptX HD audio codec (AAC is also supported). They’re available in the gold tone pictured as well as a graphite color.

$363 at Amazon

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Sony LinkBuds S

Compact Sony wireless earbuds with big sound

Battery Life

Rated up to 9 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

No

Headphone Type

Wireless Earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

Unlike the “open” LinkBuds, the LinkBuds S are traditional noise-isolating earbuds with tips you jam in your ears. They’re more compact and lighter than Sony’s flagship WF-1000M4 and also feature Sony’s V1 processor. While their sound and noise canceling don’t quite measure up to the WF-1000XM4’s, they’re close and cost less. They’re the Sony buds for people who can deal with larger buds like WF-1000XM4 but want 80 to 85% of those buds’ features and performance for $80 less.

Read our Sony LinkBuds S review.

$148 at Amazon

$150 at Best Buy

$150 at Target

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David Carnoy/CNET

Google Pixel Buds Pro

Excellent wireless earbuds for Android users

The Pixel Buds Pro are Google’s first earbuds to feature active noise canceling. While it’s nice that they finally have a feature that a lot of true-wireless earbuds have had for a while, what ultimately sets the Pixel Buds Pro apart and makes them worth considering — particularly for Android users — is their distinct design and winning fit. That helps enhance their performance on both the sound quality and noise-canceling fronts. While not quite elite for voice-calling, they also performed well as a headset for making calls. A couple of features are missing at launch — spatial audio and a five-band equalizer — but are due to arrive later in 2022, according to Google.

Read our Google Pixel Buds review.

$170 at Amazon

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Samsung Galaxy Buds 2

Best value Samsung wireless earbuds

Battery Life

Rated up to 8 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

No

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX7 — can be submerged for 30 minutes up to 1 meter)

Available in four color options, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 hew more closely to the newer Galaxy Buds Pro and Galaxy Buds Live, both of which have eye-catching glossy curved designs and the same compact charging case as this new model. In fact, it’s the Buds 2’s design and fit — they’re 15% smaller and 20% lighter than the Buds Plus — that make them a potentially more likable alternative to the slightly better-sounding Buds Pro.

Like the Buds Pro, the Buds 2 are equipped with active noise canceling. That means all the latest Galaxy Buds models now feature some form of active noise canceling, though it’s slight with the Buds Live, which have an open design sans ear tips. While the Buds 2 look more like shrunken versions of the Buds Pro, I found them more akin to the Buds Live in that they barely stick out of your ears and are fairly discreet. Because they sit more flush with your ears — and have that curved design — they also pick up less wind noise.

Read our Galaxy Buds 2 review.

$130 at Amazon

$150 at Best Buy

$150 at Target

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AirPods 3rd Generation

Best open wireless earbuds

Battery Life

Rated up to 6 hours

Noise Canceling

No

Multipoint

No

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX4 — splash-proof)

Take one look at the new design of the third-gen AirPods ($179), and the first thing you’ll probably think is: “Those look like the AirPods Pro without ear tips.” You wouldn’t be wrong. While they’re more fraternal than identical twins, the AirPods 3 are shaped like the AirPods Pro, with the same shorter stems and same pinch controls as those of the Pro. Aside from the design change, which should fit most ears better than the AirPods 2nd Generation (though not very small ears), the biggest change is to the sound quality: It’s much improved. Also, battery life is better, and the AirPods 3 are officially water-resistant.

Read our AirPods 3rd Generation review.

$179 at Apple

$158 at Amazon

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Master & Dynamic MW08

Best wireless earbuds from a brand you might not know

Battery Life

Rated up to 12 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (ANC)

Multipoint

Yes

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX5 — protection against low-pressure water streams)

Master & Dynamic’s earlier MW07 and MW07 Plus delivered top-notch sound for truly wireless, but they were a little lacking in the features department and weren’t so great for making calls. The 2021 MW08 offers some significant improvements, including the addition of solid noise canceling and call quality. Battery life is also very good (up to 12 hours with noise canceling off).

These buds may not fit everyone’s ear equally well, but they certainly have a distinct look, as well as excellent sound and a great listening experience if you can get a tight seal (I was able to get a secure fit with the largest tip). They deliver more of an audiophile sound profile, with smooth, well-balanced sound and well-defined bass.

Like their predecessors, the MW08 includes a swanky stainless-steel charging case (it charges via USB-C) that’s compact but carries more weight than your typical buds case. I prefer the matte finishes of the cases that come with the black and blue versions, and you also get a secondary pouch for safekeeping (yes, the charging case can get scratched up if you leave it in a bag).

$299 at Amazon

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JBL Live Pro 2

New AirPods Pro alternative for less

Battery Life

Rated up to 10 hours

Noise Canceling

Yes (Adaptive)

Multipoint

Yes

Headphone Type

Wireless earbuds

Water-Resistant

Yes (IPX5 — protection against low-pressure water streams)

Over the years, JBL has put out some decent true-wireless earbuds, but nothing that really got me too excited. That’s finally changed with the arrival of the Samsung-owned brand’s new Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 buds. Both sets of buds — the Live Pro 2 have stems while the Live Free 2 have a pill-shaped design — offer a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance, plus a robust set of features, including multipoint Bluetooth pairing, an IPX5 splash-proof rating and wireless charging.

The Live Pro 2 and Live Free 2 are equipped with the same 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicon tips. Aside from the design, the biggest difference between the two buds is battery life; the stemless Live Free 2 is rated for up to seven hours, while the Live Pro 2 is rated for 10 hours. The Live Pro 2 is available in four color options.

Read our JBL Live Pro 2 first take.

$150 at Walmart

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$150 at Crutchfield

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Honorable mentions

Beyerdynamic Free Byrd: Beyerdynamic may be late to the game, but it’s finally introduced its first true-wireless earbuds, which feature active noise canceling, up to 11 hours of battery life (with noise canceling off) and impressive sound quality. Read our Beyerdynamic Free Byrd review.

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds: Bose’s current flagship earbuds have excellent noise-canceling and good sound. A lot of people, including me, love how these buds’ StayHear Max tips create a comfortable, secure fit. They are on the larger side and their voice-calling performance could be a little better. Released in September of 2020, they’re due for an upgrade and have been on sale lately for $200 or even slightly less. Read our Bose QuietComfort Earbuds review.

Sony Linkbuds: The LinkBuds are, in a sense, Sony’s answer to Apple’s standard AirPods. While they don’t sound as good as Sony’s flagship WF-1000XM4 or the Linkbuds S noise-isolating earbuds, they offer a discreet, innovative design and a more secure fit than the AirPods, as well as decent sound and very good voice-calling performance. Like the third-gen AirPods, their open design allows you to hear the outside world — that’s what the ring is all about. Read our Sony Linkbuds review.

Bowers & Wilkins PI7: While pricey, these Bowers & Wilkins noise-earbuds are among the best-sounding out there (the step-down PI5 also sounds good but the PI7 is the flagship for a reason. It’s also worth noting that the PI7’s case transforms into a Bluetooth transceiver, so you can plug it into your laptop for AptX streaming or an in-flight entertainment system. That’s a nice bonus feature (the PI5 doesn’t have it). Read our Bowers & Wilkins PI7 first take.

JBL Live Free 2: Like the Live Pro 2, JBL’s new Live Free 2 buds are surprisingly good. With 11mm drivers, six microphones, oval tubes and oval silicon tips, they combine a comfortable fit along with strong noise canceling, very good sound quality and voice-calling performance. Features include multipoint Bluetooth pairing and wireless charging, and they’re rated for up to 7 hours with IPX5 water-resistance (splash-proof).

Beats Studio Buds: The Beats Studio Buds look a lot like the rumored stemless AirPods some people have been waiting for. Geared toward both iOS and Android users, they are missing a few key features on the Apple side of things (there’s no H1 or W1 chip), but they’re small, lightweight buds that are comfortable to wear and offer really good sound. While their noise canceling isn’t as good as the AirPods Pro’s they do have a transparency mode and they’re decent for making calls. Read our Beats Studio Buds review.

Sennheiser CX: If you can’t afford Sennheiser’s flagship Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds, the CX are a good alternative. They feature very good sound, plus decent noise canceling and voice-calling performance. The only issue is they stick out of your ears a bit and may not fit some smaller ears. This model, which often sells for less than $100 on Amazon, doesn’t feature active noise canceling but the step-up CX Plus does (the CX Plus is also a good value, particularly when it goes on sale).

Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro: Anker makes several earbuds that cost less than $100. But its Soundcore Liberty Pro is its flagship model that features premium sound, as well as support for Sony’s LDAC audio codec with compatible devices (mostly Android phones). Available in four color options with an IPX4 water-resistance rating (splash-proof), they’re frequently discounted to around $100 and are a good value when they’re on sale, though they do stick out of your ears.

Wireless Earbuds FAQs

How we test true-wireless earbuds

We test true-wireless earbuds based on five key criteria, comparing similarly styled and priced models. These criteria include design, sound quality, features, voice-calling performance and value.

Evaluating design, we assess not only how comfortable the earbuds fit (ergonomics) but their build quality and how well the controls are implemented. We also look at water- and dust-resistance ratings.

We evaluate sound quality by listening to a set playlist of music tracks and comparing the earbuds to top competing products in their price range. Sonic traits such as bass definition, clarity, dynamic range and how natural the headphones sound are key factors in our assessment.

Some great-sounding earbuds aren’t loaded with features, but we do take into account what extra features are on board. These include everything from noise-canceling and transparency modes (ambient sound mode) to special sound modes to ear-detection sensors that automatically pause your music when you take the headphones off your ears.

When we test voice-calling performance, we make calls in the noisy streets of New York and evaluate how well the earbuds reduce background noise and how clearly callers can hear your voice.

We determine value after evaluating the strength of the earbuds against all these criteria and what the buds are able to deliver compared to other models in their price class.

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Meta plans to stop supporting its original Quest virtual reality headset after 2024, the company has revealed.

The company will continue providing new features for the standalone Quest 1 headset through 2024, but some features will eventually go away, the company said in an email sent to Quest owners. However, the company said it will continue providing “critical bug fixes and security patches until 2024.”

The email, screen shots of which were posted to Reddit, indicate that Quest 1 users will still be able to use their headset and available apps, but they will lose the ability to join or create a party. Quest 1 users will also lose access to the Meta Horizon Home social features on March 5, meaning users won’t be able to visit other users’ Homes or invite them to visit theirs.

When the original Quest was introduced in May 2019, it was widely regarded as the best VR device of the year, providing a way for friends to connect, see theater experiments and feel briefly like you’ve escaped. But the aging headset has taken a backseat to the Quest 2, an improved, less expensive sequel, that was released in October 2020.

And while the Quest 2 is still the best self-contained VR headset right now, and the most affordable for its features, VR users are eagerly awaiting the Quest 3, a mainstream, lower-cost follow-up to the 2-year-old Quest 2 that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in October was expected to debut sometime this year.

Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US Federal Aviation Administration said that it may require all passenger and cargo aircraft to have 5G-safe equipment by next year, according to an agency statement provided to CNET

This would potentially end the years-long struggle between US carriers activating 5G mobile service in the C-band range and an aviation industry concerned that flights could be endangered by overlapping frequencies. Early in 2022, carriers agreed to temporarily block 5G signals around airports until July 2023 to give airlines time to upgrade their fleet’s equipment. Now the FAA is proposing a directive that would require all aircraft carrying passengers or cargo to have their equipment upgraded by 2024, as Reuters first spotted.

Aircraft need to upgrade to 5G C-band-tolerant radio altimeters, which operate on frequencies near the C-band range to help planes make low-visibility landings in inclement weather, or install an acceptable radio frequency filter. The directive would require aircraft operators to update their flight manuals to prohibit low-visibility landings after June 30, 2023, if planes haven’t updated their equipment.

Over 90% of aircraft flying into and out of all major airports in the US have either had their old altimeters upgraded or verified as safe to fly amid 5G C-band signal, according to an FAA page tracking the issue.

The directive will be open for public comments for 30 days after it’s posted in the Federal Register.

I put my hands out flat and loaded them into a pair of gloves loaded with joints, cables, pumps and tightening straps. All of this was connected to a backpack-size box that helped pump pressure around my fingers and create sensations of touching things. I was about to play Jenga in VR using an $80,000 pair of haptic gloves made by HaptX.

The future of the metaverse, or how we’ll dip into virtual worlds, seems to involve VR and AR, sometimes. If it does, it’ll also mean solving what we do with our hands. While companies like Meta are already researching ways that neural input bands and haptic gloves could replace controllers, none of that is coming for years. In the meantime, is there anything better than the VR game controllers already out there or basic camera-based hand tracking? I’ve tried a couple of haptic gloves before, but I was ready to try more.

I poked around CES 2023 in Las Vegas to get some experiences with devices I hadn’t tried before, and it suddenly hit me that there’s already a spectrum of options. Each of them was a little revelation.

Now playing:Watch this:Jenga With HaptX Gloves Threw My Hands Into Virtual Reality

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High end: Massive power gloves

HaptX has been recognized for years as one of the best haptic gloves products on the market, but I’d never had a chance to experience them. The hardware is highly specialized and also extremely large and expensive. I wish I’d gotten a chance to see them at the last CES I attended before this, in 2020. Finally, in 2023, I got a chance.

The gloves use microfluidics, pumping air into small bladders that create touch sensations in 133 zones per hand across the fingers and palm. At the same time, cables on the backs of the fingers pull back to simulate up to 8 pounds of force feedback. Used with apps that support them, you can reach out, grab things and actually feel them.

I’ve tried lower-cost haptic gloves at home that didn’t have the air bladders but did have cables to apply resistance. The HaptX gloves are a big step forward and the most eerily realistic ones I’ve ever tried. I wouldn’t say everything “felt real,” but the poking finger-feelings I had in my fingers and palms let me feel shapes of things, while the resistance gave me a sense of grabbing and holding stuff.

The most amazing moments were when I placed objects on my palm and seemed to feel their weight. Also, when another person’s finger virtually touched mine. Another journalist was in another VR headset with haptic gloves playing Jenga next to me. We never made contact, but occasionally we shook hands virtually or gave high-fives. Our fingers touching felt… well, oddly real, like sensing someone’s finger touching your glove.

HaptX is making another pair of smaller, more mobile gloves later this year that cost less (about $5,000) while still promising the same level of feedback, plus tactile vibrations like the haptic buzzes you might feel with game controllers. I didn’t get to demo that, but I can’t wait.

While HaptX’s tech is wild, it’s meant for industrial purposes and simulations. It represents actual reality, but it’s so massive that it wouldn’t let me do anything else other than live in its simulated world. For instance, how would I type or pull out my phone? Still, I’ll dream of interfaces that let me feel as immersed as these gloves can accomplish.

Now playing:Watch this:We Wore Really Portable VR Haptic Gloves

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Budget gloves: bHaptics’ TactGloves

At $300, bHaptics‘ yellow haptic gloves are far, far less expensive than HaptX. They’re also completely different. Instead of creating pressure or resistance, all they really do is have various zones inside that electrically buzz, like your phone, watch or game controller, to sync up with moments when your fingers in VR would virtually touch something. Strangely, it’s very effective. In a few demos I tried, pushing buttons and touching objects provided enough feedback to feel like I was really “clicking” a thing. Another demo, which had me hug a virtual avatar mirroring my movements or shake hands, gave enough contact to fool me into feeling I was touching them.

bHaptics also makes a haptic vest I tried called the TactSuit that vibrates with feedback with supported games and apps. There aren’t many apps that work ideally with haptic gloves right now, because no one’s using haptic gloves. But bHaptics’ support of the standalone Meta Quest 2, and its wireless Bluetooth pairing, means they’re actually portable… even if they look like giant janitorial cleaning gloves. The tradeoff with being so small and wireless is their range is short. I had to keep the gloves within about two feet of the headset, otherwise they’d lose connection.

The buzzing feedback didn’t prove to me that I could absolutely reach into other worlds, but they offered enough sensation to make hand tracking feel more precise, Instead of wondering whether my hand gestures had actually contacted a virtual object, I could get a buzzing confirmation. The whole experience reminded me of some sort of game controller feedback I could wear on my fingers, in a good way.

No gloves at all: Ultraleap’s Ultrasonics

Ultraleap, a company that’s specialized in hand tracking for years, has a different approach to haptics: sensations you can feel in the air. I waved my hand above a large rectangular panel and felt ripples and buzzes beneath my fingers. The feelings are created with ultrasonic waves, high-powered sound bursts that move air almost like super-precise fans against your fingers. I tried Ultraleap’s tech back in 2020, but trying the latest and more compact arrays this year made me think about a whole new use case. It was easy to make this logic leap, since Ultraleap’s booth also demonstrated hand tracking (without haptic feedback) on Pico Neo 3 and Lynx R1 VR and mixed reality headsets.

What if… this air vibration could be used for headsets? Ultraleap is already dreaming and planning for this solution, but right now ultrasonic tech is too power hungry, and the panels too large, for headgear. The tech is mainly being used in car interface concepts, where the hand gestures and feedback could make adjusting car controls while driving easier to use and less dangerous or awkward. The range of the sensations, at least several feet, seem ideal for the arm length and radius of most existing camera-based hand-tracking tech being used right now on devices like the Meta Quest 2.

I tried a demo where I adjusted a virtual volume slider by pinching and raising the volume up and down, while feeling discrete clicks to let me know I was doing something. I could feel a virtual “bar” in the air that I could feel and perhaps even move. The rippling, subtle buzzes are far more faint than those on haptic gloves or game controllers (or your smartwatch), but they could be just enough to give that extra sense that a virtual button press, for instance, actually succeeded…or that a gesture to turn something on or off was registered.

If these interfaces move to VR and AR, Ultreleap’s representatives said they’d likely end up in larger installations first: maybe theme park rides. Ultraleap’s tech is already in experiences like the hands-free Ninjago ride at Legoland, which I’ve tried with my kids. The 3D hand-tracking ride lets me throw stars at enemies, but sometimes I’m not sure my gestures were registered. What if buzzing let me know I was making successful hits?

Haptics are likely to come from stuff we already wear

Of course, I skipped the most obvious step for AR and VR haptic feedback: smartwatches and rings. We wear buzzing things on our wrists already. Apple’s future VR/AR device might work with the Apple Watch this way, and Meta, Google, Samsung, Qualcomm and others could follow a similar path with dovetailing products. I didn’t come across any wearable watch or ring VR/AR haptics at CES 2023 (unless I missed them). But I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re coming soon. If AR and VR are ever going to get small enough to wear more often, we’re going to need controls that are far smaller than game controllers… and ways to make gesture inputs feel far less weird. Believe the buzz: Haptics is better than you think.

Xbox is partnering with Oreo to create a limited-edition Xbox-themed pack of Oreos. The new snacks will launch exclusively in Europe this month in Oreo’s original chocolate wafer, cream-filled cookie, according to an announcement made on Monday. The tops of the wafer will be embossed with six custom designs including the Xbox logo, as well as the A, B, X, Y, of the Xbox Series X|S controller buttons.

Gamers can scan the packaging of the Oreos to play a mini-game where they try to crack cookie combinations in order to unlock Oreo-themed content in Forza Horizon 5, Sea of Thieves and Halo Infinite. These include a black-and-white ship in Sea of Thieves, a blue, white and black striped convertible to use in Forza Horizon 5 and an armor pack in Halo Infinite that looks like cookies and cream mixed with blue.

The cookies will be available in 22 countries, but only for as long as supplies last. Alternatively, you can attempt to get the skins without purchasing the Oreos by playing online.

Sadly, Microsoft confirmed that this is a European-only promotion for now and is currently unavailable in the US.

The most recent version of the Microsoft Office suite, Microsoft 365, includes tools that you probably use at home, school or on the job. The most popular way to access these apps is by buying a Microsoft 365 membership, but those fees mount over time and can discourage you from using Word, Excel, PowerPoint or other products. Fortunately, you can snag Microsoft 365 at no cost.

Microsoft’s suite of productivity software consists of classics like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, as well as newer apps like Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint. The Microsoft 365 collection typically costs between $70 and $100 every year for subscription access across devices and family members. Microsoft also released a new stand-alone version of Microsoft Office for Windows and Mac, called Office Home and Student 2021, for a flat $150 — no subscription required.

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Here are the versions of Office 365, Microsoft 365 and their apps that you can find online for free right now.

Get Microsoft Office 365 free if you’re a student or a teacher

If you’re a student, teacher or faculty member with an active school email address, you’re likely eligible to get access to Office 365 for free through Microsoft, with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Microsoft Teams and additional classroom tools.

All you have to do is enter your school email address on this page on Microsoft’s website: Get started with Office 365 for free. In many cases, you’ll be instantly granted access thanks to an automated verification process. If you attend an institution that needs to be verified, it might take up to a month to confirm your eligibility.

Recent graduates who want to stick with Office 365 can also get Microsoft 365 Personal for $12 for 12 months, with a valid school email address.

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Now playing:Watch this:Use Microsoft 365 Apps for free right now

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How to get Microsoft Office suite free if you’re anyone else

Anyone can get a one-month free trial of Microsoft 365. However, it does require you to enter a credit card number, and if you don’t cancel before the month is up, you’ll be charged $100 for a one-year subscription to Microsoft 365 Family (formerly called Office 365 Home).

The good news is if you don’t need the full suite of Microsoft 365 tools, you can access a number of its apps online for free — including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneDrive, Outlook, Calendar and Skype. Here’s how to get them:

1. Go to Office.com.

2. Click Sign up for the free version of Office under the “Sign in” button.

3. Log in to your Microsoft account or create one for free. If you already have a Windows, Skype or Xbox Live login, you have an active Microsoft account.

4. Select the app you want to use, and save your work in the cloud with OneDrive.

So what’s the catch for the free version?

You may be saying, “Wait a minute, if I can get all of those apps for free, why pay for Microsoft 365 in the first place?” Well, the functionality of the free apps is limited: They only run in your web browser and you can only use them while you’re actively connected to the internet. They also have fewer features than the full Microsoft 365 versions.

There are still a number of benefits, however, including the ability to share links to your work and collaborate in real time, similar to what G Suite tools allow. If you’re looking for basic versions of each of these apps, the free version should work well for you.

For more productivity coverage, check out all of the best features in Windows 11, how to take screenshots in Windows 10 or 11 and the best resume-building apps. You can also take a look at CNET’s list of the best Windows laptops.