You.com, a search engine launched last year promising more customizability, began offering a ChatGPT-style chatbot on its website Friday that can answer questions and hold a conversation, bringing more artificial intelligence-powered technology to the wider web. Though, it does offer some answers with incorrect facts.
The search engine’s new feature follows ChatGPT, an AI chatbot that went viral earlier this year for being able to offer unique answers to complex questions, based on information it gleaned from around the internet. You.com said it hopes to stand out though by offering answers to more-current questions, like, “Won the 2022 World Cup?” People who use the site should be careful though, as its confident answer appeared to get details wrong, like where the game was held.
ChatGPT has information only up to last year. You.com’s chat program is limited in other ways, however, and is seemingly unable to provide useful responses to requests like, “Write me a solitaire program in HTML for the web.”
Both chat programs do things like offer results from the web and repeat encyclopedia-like entries on various subjects. They can also write a letter in response to a prompt like, “Write me a letter to an old friend who I don’t really like but keep in touch with out of obligation.”
You.com answers who won the World Cup in 2022, but says the event happened in Russia. It was held about 3,000 miles away, in Qatar.
You.com
ChatGPT, You.com and other similar chatbots are part of a broader shift in the tech world, where artificial intelligence programs are increasingly being coded to create new forms of art, music, writing and even their own code. Their popularity and seemingly fast evolution has begun raising questions about what art is, and whether computers can truly create unique products drawn from a reservoir of information.
An example of ChatGPT writing code based on a simple prompt.
OpenAI
For now, ChatGPT and You.com exist mostly as interesting demonstrations of what the future of AI could look like.
For example, when asked to write a haiku about Jamaican beef patties, You.com produced this novel result:
Flaky crust, so golden
Seasoned beef inside, so savory
A Jamaican treat
One other thing that separates the two chatbots for now is that You.com will display website results alongside its responses, something ChatGPT isn’t currently designed to do.
On a chilly Saturday afternoon in San Francisco, I was under a patio heater with a group of friends when someone said we should get a group photo. What happened next was surprising. Instead of using his phone to take a commemorative photo, my friend pulled out a point-and-shoot camera. I thought to myself, “Wait. The phone killed the point-and-shoot camera years ago. Why didn’t he just use his iPhone?” Granted it was the high-end Sony RX100 VII, which is an excellent compact camera and one of the few point-and-shoots still made today.
Phones from Apple, Samsung and Google include some of the best phone cameras you can buy, like the iPhone 14 Pro, Google Pixel 7 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. But for professional photographers and filmmakers, that’s not always enough. The holy grail is being able to have a truly large image sensor like the one you’d find in a high-end mirrorless camera and a lens mount that could attach to your phone. Sounds simple enough right? Wrong.
Everyone from Samsung to Panasonic, Sony and Motorola has tried to make this dream a reality in some way. Now Xiaomi, the world’s third largest phone-maker (behind Samsung and Apple) is the latest to rekindle the quest for the phone camera holy grail. The company has a new prototype phone that lets you mount a Leica M lens on it.
But this is just a concept. If you’re wondering whether phones will ever make dedicated pro cameras obsolete the way they did with point-and-shoots, the answer is a resounding no. The past decade has shown us why.
Why phone cameras are limited
First, it’s important to understand how your phone’s camera works. Behind the lens is a tiny image sensor, smaller than a single Lego brick. Sometimes there are headlines that Sony, Sharp or, years ago, Panasonic put a 1-inch sensor in a phone. Sadly, that name doesn’t refer to the actual dimensions and in reality, a 1-inch image sensor is about 0.6 of an inch diagonally or, for the sake of approximation, two Lego bricks. The 1-inch sensor is the hoverboard of cameras, but it’s still one of the largest to be put into a phone.
Dedicated cameras have sensors that are closer to 12 Lego bricks (positioned side-by-side in a four-by-three rectangle) and most come with a lens mount that lets you change lenses. The “holy grail” is to put one of these larger sensors into a phone.
But bigger sensors are more expensive than the little ones used in your iPhone and there are space considerations. A lens for a phone camera sensor is relatively small. But lenses for a full-frame sensor are larger and require more space between the back of the lens and the sensor. Phones simply lack this room without becoming significantly thicker.
Every year we see Apple, Samsung and the like take small steps toward improving phone photography. But phone camera hardware has largely hit a ceiling. Instead of radical camera improvements, we get modest upgrades. This could be a sign that companies have honed in on what consumers want. But it could also be a consequence of space and size limitations of tiny sensors.
Instead smartphone-makers use computational photography to overcome a tiny sensor’s limitations — smaller dynamic range and light sensitivity. Google, Apple, Samsung all use machine learning algorithms and artificial intelligence to improve the photos you take with your phone.
But hardware is also important. Earlier this month Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, shared a photo on Twitter, above, of a visit to Sony in Japan. While it’s been widely assumed that Apple uses Sony’s image sensors in the iPhone, this is the first time Cook formally acknowledged it. And as CNET readers already know, Sony phones like the Xperia 1 IV have some of the best camera hardware found on any phone sold today.
The Xperia 1 IV won a CNET Innovation award for its telephoto camera, which has miniature lens elements that actually move back and forth, like a real telephoto lens. The result is that you can use the lens to zoom without cropping digitally, which degrades the image. Can you imagine an iPhone 15 Pro with this lens?
The bottom cutout on the Sony Xperia 1 IV’s camera bump is for the telephoto camera. The phone has a lens with elements that actually move to zoom in — a first on a modern phone.
James Martin/CNET
The Xiaomi 12S Ultra Leica lens prototype is so 2013
That brings us to Xiaomi, which is the latest company attempting to merge pro-level cameras with your phone. In November, Xiaomi released a video of a phone camera concept that shows a Leica lens mounted on a 12S Ultra phone. This prototype is like a concept car: No matter how cool it is, you’ll never get to drive it.
The Chinese company took the 12S Ultra and added a removable ring around its circular camera bump. The ring covers a thread around the outside edge of the camera bump onto which you can attach an adapter that lets you mount Leica M lenses. The adapter’s thickness is the same distance that a Leica M lens needs to be positioned away from the sensor in order to focus.
A few caveats: The Xiaomi 12S Ultra concept uses an exposed 1-inch sensor, which as I mentioned earlier, isn’t actually 1-inch. Next, this is purely a concept. If something like this actually went on sale, it would cost thousands of dollars. A nice dedicated camera like the Fujifilm X100 V, which has a much bigger sensor, costs $1,399 in comparison.
Xiaomi isn’t the first phone-maker to try this. In 2013, Sony took an image sensor and put it on the back of a lens that has a grip to attach to the back of a phone. The idea is to use your phone’s screen as the viewfinder for the camera system, which you can control through an app. Essentially you bypass your phone’s cameras.
Sony made several different versions of this “lens with a grip” and used sensors that were just a bit bigger than those found in phone cameras. Sony also made the QX-1 camera, which had an APS-C sized sensor that in our Lego approximation is about six bricks positioned side-by-side in a three-by-two rectangle. That’s not as large as a full-frame sensor, but vastly bigger than your phone’s image sensors.
From left to right: a Sony lens, the QX-1, a phone grip and a Sony Xperia phone.
Sony
The Sony QX-1 has a Sony E-mount, meaning you can use various E-mount lenses or use adapters for Canon or Nikon lenses. Because the QX-1 is controlled with Bluetooth, you could either attach it to your phone or put it in different places to take photos remotely.
The QX-1 came out in 2014 and cost $350. Imagine having something like this today? I would definitely buy a 2022 version if Sony made it, but sadly the QX-1 was disconitntued a few years after it went on sale. That’s around the time that Red, the company that makes cinema cameras used to film shows and movies like The Hobbit, The Witcher, Midsommar and The Boys, made a phone called the Red Hydrogen One.
The Red Hydrogen One was a beast of a phone with a lot of hope and hype.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Despite being a phone made by one of the best camera companies in the world, the $1,300 Red Hydrogen One’s cameras were on par with those from a $700 Android phone. The back of the phone had pogo pins designed to attach different modules (like Moto Mods), including a “cinema camera module” that housed a large image sensor and a lens mount, according to patent drawings. The idea is that you would use a Hydrogen One and the cinema mod to turn the phone into a mini-Red cinema camera.
A diagram that shows the Red Hydrogen One phone and attachable modules for a battery and a cinema camera with sensor and lens mount.
Red
2023 will show that pro cameras won’t be killed off by our phones
There aren’t any rumors that Apple is making an iPhone with a camera lens mount, nor are there murmurs of a Google mirrorless camera. But if Xiaomi made a prototype of a phone with a professional lens mount, you have to imagine that somewhere in the basement of Apple Park sits an old concept camera that runs an iOS-like interface, is powered by the iPhone’s A-series chip and able to use some of the same computational photography processing. Or at least that’s what I’d like to believe.
How amazing would photos look from a pro-level dedicated camera that uses the same processing tricks that Apple or Google implement on their phones? And how nice would it be to have a phone-like OS to share those photos and videos to Instagram or TikTok?
The Samsung Galaxy Camera was a point-and-shoot that ran on Android. The menu had apps just like a phone.
I don’t think Apple will ever release a standalone iOS-powered camera or make an iPhone with a Leica lens mount. The truth is that over the past decade, cameras have gotten smaller. The bulky dSLRs that signified professional cameras for years are quickly heading into the sunset. Mirrorless cameras have risen in popularity. They tend to be smaller, since they don’t need the space for a dSLR mirror box.
If there is a takeaway from all of this, it’s just a reminder of how good the cameras on our phones have gotten in that time. Even if it feels like they’ve plateaued, they’re dependable for most everyday tasks. But they won’t be replacing professional cameras anytime soon.
If you want to step up into a professional camera, find one like the Fujifilm X100 V or Sony A7C, that pack a large image sensor, a sharp lens and can fit into a coat pocket. And next time I’m at a dinner party with friends, I won’t act so shocked when someone wants to take a picture with a camera instead of a phone.
This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.
Still playing your PlayStation 4 while you cross your fingers for a PS5 this holiday season? You can play games together or share your game library with friends and family members who are also still using their PS4, thanks to a feature called Share Play. (If you do have a friend with a PS5, you can also play their PS5 games on your PS4 with Share Play, too.)
Here are two ways to use Share Play to share digital copies of a PS4 game with another PS4 player.Just note that to use the Share Play feature, both of you will need to have a PlayStation Plus subscription.
How to gameshare on the PS4
One option you can try that’s been around for some time — gameshare — works the same as lending someone a physical disk. That means you can essentially digitally lend someone your game, but you can’t play at the same time. (And no, game sharing is not illegal on the PS4.) Both users need a PlayStation Plus subscription. Here’s how:
1. Log into your PlayStation account on a friend’s PS4 console.
2. Choose Settings.
3. Choose Account Management.
4. Select Activate as Your Primary PS4 and confirm the choice. You might need to deactivate your own PS4 console, but don’t worry, you can reactivate it.
Now player two will see all of player one’s games in their library and they’ll be available for download on your PS4 hard drive.
Here’s how to use the Share Play feature with a friend:
1. On the Invite Players screen, add the friend you want to start a party with by searching for them, or select them from your friends list. Follow the instructions and choose Send Invitation.
2. Load the game you want to play.
3. Press the share button on your DualShock 4 controller.
4. Choose Share Play on your TV screen.
5. Select the friend you want to share your game with from your list. After they accept your invitation, your game systems will link and the 60-minute session will start. After the session expires, you can immediately restart another session and pick up where you left off.
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5:59
The person you’re Share Playing with will be able to see your screen as well as talk to you if you’re both playing with microphones. After you’re in a session together, you can also let your friend try out the game. Here’s how:
1. Press the share button on your controller.
2. Choose Go to Party for Share Play on the TV.
3. Select Give Controller to Visitor.
4. From there you can choose either Allow Visitor to Play as You or Play a Game Together (if your game has a multiplayer mode). The host will need to be a PlayStation Plus member to do this, but the visitor doesn’t. Playing co-op requires both gamers to be PlayStation Plus members, but only the host needs a copy of the game in both cases.
To go back to basic screen sharing, press the share button on your controller again, select Go to Party for Share Play and choose Take back Controller. This is also the path you’ll take to Stop Share Play.
The NBA’s annual all-day Christmas Day marathon has arrived. Five games, starting with the Sixers and Knicks at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) and running through Suns and Nuggets at 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT). Whether you are looking to break away from the family or just relax and bond with some hoops, ABC and ESPN will have you covered. Here’s the full schedule for Christmas Day:
Philadelphia 76ers at New York Knicks, 12 p.m. ET (9 a.m. PT) on ABC, ESPN and streaming on ESPN Plus
Los Angeles Lakers at Dallas Mavericks, 2:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN
Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics, 5 p.m. ET (2 p.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN
Memphis Grizzlies at Golden State Warriors, 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN
Phoenix Suns at Denver Nuggets, 10:30 p.m. ET (7:30 p.m. PT) on ABC and ESPN
While all of these games should be easy to find even if you don’t have cable (thanks to the simulcast across both ABC and ESPN), watching and streaming the NBA is a bit more complicated the rest of the year.
Here is everything you need to know about watching and streaming the NBA this season with or without cable.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks will be heading to Boston to take on the Celtics on Christmas Day.
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
What you need to know about watching and streaming the NBA
NBA fans looking to follow the drama and stream their team’s games throughout the year will need access to a few channels to catch every second of game time. In addition to your regular regional sports network, you’ll also need ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV for nationally televised contests.
All out-of-market games will continue to air on NBA League Pass, which is a great choice if you follow a team in a different city from where you live. This year the service even got a price cut that brings the starting price for the full season (with the NBA TV channel included) down to $100. The NBA has also worked on revamping its NBA app for phones, tablets and TVs to stream games closer to real-time and cable feeds this year.
With the season in full swing, the price for regular League Pass has dropped to $70 for the remainder of the season while League Pass Premium (which allows two streams at once) is now $90.
It’s important to note that local fans aren’t able to watch their team play on League Pass, as broadcasts of these contests air exclusively on regional sports networks. National games — including playoff games on ABC, ESPN and TNT — are similarly blacked out.
While you absolutely don’t need cable to watch basketball this year, it still might be the easiest and cheapest choice depending on where you live.
Die-hard sports fans are beholden to regional sports networks, or RSNs, that carry the majority of the games for their local team. These RSNs are usually included in local cable packages, so most cable subscribers never have to worry about gaining access to the broadcasts on these channels: They can simply turn on the TV and watch the game.
Cord-cutting basketball fans have a tougher path. Because of rights agreements, most live TV streaming services like YouTube TV or Hulu with Live TV don’t carry many RSNs. DirecTV Stream is the exception. It has nearly every RSN, particularly the Bally Sports channels (formerly Fox Sports) offered by Sinclair, but you’ll need to spring for its $90-a-month Choice plan.
Ultimately, depending on your location, getting a cable subscription that includes ESPN, TNT and the local RSN might actually be cheaper and easier than streaming — especially if it’s bundled with the home internet you’ll likely be getting anyway.
For NBA fans looking to watch a ton of out-of-market basketball, a subscription to NBA League Pass has a lot to offer. You can get the whole NBA slate for $70 for the remainder of the season, with commercials and one device, or $90 for the season with in-arena feeds instead of commercials, and the ability to watch on two devices at once. Those interested in following only a single team can buy a Team Pass for $60 for the remainder of the season.
The catch here is “out-of-market.” Most fans are in-market, meaning they follow the local team, and unfortunately for them RSNs have broadcast exclusivity in the region that they cover. That means local NBA games are blacked out on NBA League Pass.
If you’re living in Los Angeles, for example, you won’t be able to watch Lakers or Clippers games on NBA League Pass. The same goes for Knicks or Nets fans in New York, Bucks fans in Milwaukee and so on. The only way to watch most of those home team games in your home market is to get a service that has the local RSN, namely Spectrum SportsNet, Bally Sports SoCal, MSG Network, YES Network or Bally Sports Wisconsin.
Services like NBA League Pass use IP addresses to block out games in viewers’ regions — you’ll just get a black screen or message telling you it’s unavailable if you try to watch those games. That’s why League Pass is ideal for those who want to follow one or more of the teams based in cities other than their own, aka out-of-market teams, but for local fans it’s not as useful.
Some RSNs, particularly some Bally Sports networks, will allow you to pay for their channel without signing up for cable.
NBA League Pass is perfect for catching out-of-market NBA action. While it doesn’t allow you to stream games airing in your local city or on national TV, with its new lower $100 starting price (and bundling of NBA TV) it is ideal for fans looking to keep up with everything happening around the league.
Bally Sports Plus: Best local alternative, if your team is included
Bally Sports Plus launched in September and offers users in its coverage area a way to stream Bally Sports channels without cable. The service costs $20 a month or $190 a year for your local Bally Sports channel, including NBA and NHL games (plus MLB games in certain areas). In markets where you normally have two different Bally Sports channels, you can choose to only buy one, or you can bundle them together for $30 a month.
Bally Sports Plus uses your billing ZIP code to determine which channels are available to you, though you’ll be able to log into your channels from anywhere in the country.
This service is only available for those whose billing ZIP code falls in locations covered by Bally Sports channels. Users can pay $20 a month or $190 a year for streaming access to their local Bally Sports channel without cable. Those who live in areas covered by multiple Bally Sports networks will be able to bundle them together for $30 a month, or pick one network for $20.
DirecTV Stream: Simplest for fans of the local team at $90 for Choice package
For those determined to watch their local basketball team without a cable or satellite TV subscription, a live TV streaming service is the best bet. While it is pricey, DirecTV Stream is the best option for most people, particularly those where the local games air on Bally Sports networks.
DirecTV requires its $90-per-month Choice package to get RSNs, though this option also includes ABC, ESPN, TNT and NBA TV, so you should be all set for basketball. If you live in a Ballys area, you could pair a Bally Sports Plus package with something like YouTube TV and save a few bucks per month.
It’s worth noting that the Choice package will be increasing by $10 and will cost $100 per month starting in January.
YouTube TV similarly includes all the major national channels and normally runs $65 per month, while Ballys — as mentioned above — generally runs $20 to $30 per month depending on your area. While in some cases this will be $5 per month cheaper than DirecTV, you will need to switch between different apps to stream everything.
Below is a chart of all of the NBA teams in the US and their corresponding RSNs.
Note: None of the (US-based) services carry the RSN for the Toronto Raptors. Fans in the US looking to watch Pascal Siakam and co. need to use NBA League Pass to get all the games that are not either on your local RSN or on a US national broadcast.
RSN availability by team and streaming service
Team
Network name
DirecTV Stream
FuboTV
YouTube TV
Hulu Plus Live TV
Sling Blue
Atlanta Hawks
Bally Sports Southeast
Yes
No
No
No
No
Boston Celtics
NBC Sports Boston
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Brooklyn Nets
YES Network
Yes
No
No
No
No
Charlotte Hornets
Bally Sports Southeast
Yes
No
No
No
No
Chicago Bulls
NBC Sports Chicago
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Cleveland Cavaliers
Bally Sports Ohio
Yes
No
No
No
No
Dallas Mavericks
Bally Sports Southwest
Yes
No
No
No
No
Denver Nuggets
Altitude
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Detroit Pistons
Bally Sports Detroit
Yes
No
No
No
No
Golden State Warriors
NBC Sports Bay Area
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Houston Rockets
AT&T SportsNet Southwest
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Indiana Pacers
Bally Sports Indiana
Yes
No
No
No
No
Los Angeles Clippers
Bally Sports SoCal
Yes
No
No
No
No
Los Angeles Lakers
Spectrum SportsNet
Yes
No
No
No
No
Memphis Grizzlies
Bally Sports Southeast
Yes
No
No
No
No
Miami Heat
Bally Sports Sun
Yes
No
No
No
No
Milwaukee Bucks
Bally Sports Wisconsin
Yes
No
No
No
No
Minnesota Timberwolves
Bally Sports North
Yes
No
No
No
No
New Orleans Pelicans
Bally Sports New Orleans
Yes
No
No
No
No
New York Knicks
MSG
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Oklahoma City Thunder
Bally Sports Oklahoma
Yes
No
No
No
No
Orlando Magic
Bally Sports Florida
Yes
No
No
No
No
Philadelphia 76ers
NBC Sports Philadelphia
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Phoenix Suns
Bally Sports Arizona
Yes
No
No
No
No
Portland Trail Blazers
Root Sports Northwest
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Sacramento Kings
NBC Sports California
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
San Antonio Spurs
Bally Sports Southwest
Yes
No
No
No
No
Utah Jazz
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Washington Wizards
NBC Sports Washington
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Some key takeaways:
The RSNs above are typically only available to local subscribers. Refer to the individual service’s details below to find out if you live in a place where you can receive a particular RSN.
DirecTV Stream’s $90-a-month Choice package includes NBA TV and all of the RSNs for basketball, with the exception of NBC Sports Philadelphia. Sixers fans hoping to watch Joel Embiid pulverize the competition will have to look elsewhere.
They could jump over to FuboTV, Hulu Plus Live TV or YouTube TV, which all carry NBC Sports Philadelphia, but fans of other teams will mostly be out of luck. FuboTV only offers 10 RSNs for basketball, while Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV only have six. Sling TV doesn’t offer a single RSN.
One other note: If you don’t recognize the name of some of these channels, don’t worry. What were formerly Fox Sports RSNs have been rebranded as Bally Sports, because the channels are no longer owned by Fox but Sinclair, which partnered with casino group Bally’s to rename them.
DirecTV Stream is expensive. It’s the priciest of the five major live TV streaming services, but it’s also the one with the most RSNs. Its cheapest, $70-a-month Plus package includes ESPN, ABC, TNT and TBS. You’ll need to move up to the $90-a-month Choice plan to get any available RSN as well as NBA TV. You can use its channel lookup tool to see which local channels and RSNs are available in your area.
Aside from DirecTV Stream, the odds are long that a live TV streaming service carries the RSN for your local team’s games, which makes the other four services better bets for watching nationally televised games.
Sling TV’s Orange plan includes ESPN, and both plans offer TBS too, but neither of them gives you access to ABC or the regional sports networks found on more expensive services. NBA TV is available as part of the Sports Extra add-on, which costs $11 a month for either the Blue or Orange plan, or $15 for the combined Orange-and-Blue plan. The individual plans cost $40 a month each, and the Orange-and-Blue plan costs $55 a month. You can see which local channels you get here.
YouTube TV costs $65 a month and offers six RSNs for basketball, along with all of the national broadcasts including NBA TV. Plug in your ZIP code on its welcome page to see which local networks and RSNs are available in your area.
FuboTV costs $70 per month for its Pro option and offers 11 RSNs for basketball. It also includes ESPN, but not TBS — which might be a problem for some basketball fans. But you can add NBA TV for an extra $8 a month with the Fubo Extra Package. Check out which local networks and RSNs it offers here.
Hulu Plus Live TV costs $70 a month and carries six RSNs for basketball, along with ESPN, ABC, TBS and TNT, but not NBA TV. Click the “View all channels in your area” link at the bottom of its welcome page to see which local networks and RSNs are available where you live.
Each live TV streaming service offers a free trial, allows you to cancel anytime and requires a solid internet connection. Looking for more information? Check out our live TV streaming services guide.
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The rise in popularity of smartwatches over the past couple of years comes as no surprise. What other device allows you to make phone calls, text messages, listen to music and track your heart rate all on your wrist?
However, well-known brands like the Apple Watch Series 7, Galaxy Watch 5, Fitbit Versa 4 and Fitbit Sense 2 can get expensive. That’s why we’ve curated a list of solid budget-friendly smartwatch alternatives. While these smartwatches won’t match the capabilities of more expensive smartwatches, they’re perfect for those who don’t necessarily care about all the bells and whistles that smartwatches such as the Apple Watch offer.
These three watches are the best budget smartwatch options for most people, especially those also wanting a health and fitness tracker at an affordable price. All three work with all smartphones — both iOS and Android — and they come with great features like step, calorie, sleep and activity tracking, GPS, touchscreens, water resistance and a heart-rate monitor.
You can find my full impressions and reviews of each of these Android smartwatches in the video below, or read on for the cheat sheet.
Now playing:Watch this:Our favorite budget Apple Watch alternatives
In addition to the basics that I listed before, this cheap smartwatch displays smart notifications from your Android device and has a sleep monitor. In fact, I found this budget smartwatch had the most accurate sleep tracking of the three watches in this comparison
Its 1.3-inch color display is decent, but doesn’t get as bright as one of the other watches on this list. Plus you only get four watch faces to choose from.
The ID205L tracks eight workout types — walking, running, cycling, climbing, yoga, treadmill cardio, hiking and stationary biking — and can sync your fitness tracking data with Apple Health. This is the best smartwatch that tracks distance during an outdoor workout, you’ll need to take your phone with you as this watch has connected GPS, rather than onboard GPS.
The battery lasts for up to 10 days with regular use, which can be extended to 30 days if you keep it in standby mode.
This best budget smartwatch proves that looks can be deceiving, because the $65 price tag doesn’t match its premium exterior and smart features. NDur’s smartwatch has a sleek metal frame and comfortable strap, and the 1.4-inch color touchscreen was the brightest of the watches I tested for this. It’s easy enough to see in direct sunlight.
It can track seven workout types: walking, running, cycling, skipping, badminton, basketball and football. It has connected GPS like the Fitbit Charge 4, meaning you’ll need your phone on hand to track distance and see your workout route mapped.
Sleep tracking doesn’t seem to be as accurate, however, as it thought I was sleeping while I was sitting on the couch watching TV and doing the dishes before bed. But it is the only one out of these smartwatches that monitors blood oxygen levels, or SpO2 on the spot. It can even monitor blood pressure with on-demand reading. That said, be aware that the notifications from this watch’s app sensors are not medically cleared and should never be used to replace a medical device or to determine whether or not to seek treatment.
The battery lasts for around seven days of continued use.
The priciest smartwatch on this list doesn’t have as many features as its pricier sibling, the Amazfit GTS, but for it’s here for good reason. Its 1.3-inch TFT touchscreen stays on at all times, similar to the Apple Watch Series 6, Galaxy Watch 3, TicWatch Pro, and Fitbit’s Inspire and Sense watches, so you won’t have to raise your wrist every time you want the time. The touchscreen doesn’t look as premium as more expensive watches, but this watch does have a backlight.
The Bip S also has built-in GPS, so you can leave your phone behind when you’re out for a run or another outdoor workout. It has the most robust exercise tracking, too, with support for 10 workout types: running, cycling, elliptical, treadmill cardio, walking, spin, weights/freestyle, yoga, indoor/outdoor swimming. It also automatically pauses your workout when it detects you haven’t moved for a while. This affordable smartwatch has the biggest selection of watch faces to choose from, plus the option to customize some of the metrics displayed — like weather, activity tracking or heart rate monitoring.
As for battery life, the company claims the Bip S can get up to 40 days of use on standby. But with regular use, including a few GPS workouts, you’re more likely to get 15 days between charges.
Working from home is normalized in the post-pandemic world. As a result, people are building home offices with must-need gadgets. If you’re invest up to eight hours a day (or sometimes more), it’s important that you have the right accessories to provide you enough support to stay focused and get things done. We’ve gathered some of our favorite webcams, monitors, USB mics and other devices that help make remote working that much easier. Add these essentials to your home office and see how your work from home experience improves.
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The home office must-haves for a remote worker are obvious: a full-size keyboard, a wireless mouse and an external monitor
. But there’s a handful of other gear — from a proper desk to blue-light-blocking glasses to a good pair of noise-canceling headphones — that can make your workday less frustrating, more productive and comfortable. Our recommendations for the best home office essentials for your home office setup are below. We’ll update this list periodically as we review new products.
Logitech’s new-for-2020 mouse is ostensibly geared for travel, but it’s really just a good all-around mouse for anyone who finds the step-up Logitech MX Master 3 to be overkill. From the scroll wheel to the programmable side buttons, this mouse can handle any pointing task. It charges via USB-C, and interfaces with devices via the included USB-A Unifying dongle or Bluetooth. There’s also an Apple-centric model available for the same price.
It’s not my favorite webcam — that would be Logitech’s StreamCam, which has been hard to find in recent months — but the C920S will get the job done. The image quality and sound pickup are pretty good and the clip-on design makes it suitable for an external monitor or laptop computer. The physical privacy shutter is a nice, confidence-inspiring flourish that promises to protect you and your office space from prying eyes.
If it’s sold out, you can use a tripod and your phone’s HD camera for video chatting. Here’s how to do it. And if you’re looking for other gear to help enhance your meetings online, we’ve got a roundup of gear for video chats.
The Shure MV5 digital condenser microphone combines an unfussy setup and high-quality audio with a compact form factor. I wouldn’t recommend it for high-stakes recording projects, but it will certainly boost the sound quality of your Zoom meetings and other webconferencing interactions. It comes with both USB-C and Lightning cables.
If you’re willing to spend more, and can find it in stock, the Blue Yeti is an even better mic for advanced users. It features three capsule microphones, four pickup patterns (for different kinds of recording) and just enough controls to help optimize the way you sound without overloading you with super technical features.
Many newer gadgets have transitioned to USB-C charging, but plenty of us still have legacy USB-A cables around the house. With the Aukey Omnia 65-watt charger, you’re good to go with any of them. It’s got both types of jacks, and the USB-C one is Power Delivery compatible, meaning it can charge most compatible laptops, too.
This sneaker-slipper hybrid may be the most comfortable footwear I’ve ever worn. The recycled “looped wool” interior keeps things temperately balanced, so your feet stay warm but not sweaty. The thick rubber outer sole provides support and protection from the elements. And the appealing future-primitive aesthetic is slick enough to transform your sweatpants and inside-out t-shirt into a fashion-forward ensemble. I wear these all day, every day. Highly recommended.
There’s a lot to like about the Edge Desk System. It provides a highly ergonomic sitting position, with an ergonomic chair and knee supports that can relieve the tension of sitting in a traditional chair. It’s highly adjustable and we’ve been able to change the height and angle to accommodate everyone in my family, including an 8-year-old child. It can also easily and quickly fold up into a surprisingly compact and mobile package; you can essentially use it in any room, whether your work environment is your living room or even next to your kitchen table.
Apple’s Magic Keyboard is awesome. It has the old-school Mac keyboard design and space, with the pleasing scissor key mechanism, and it’s wireless, connecting via Bluetooth. Best of all, the battery, which is rechargeable via USB, lasts for months on a charge. (I also love Apple’s Magic Mouse 2 for the same reasons.) The larger version with the numeric keypad — yep, that’s great, too.
You can use Apple’s peripherals with Windows machines, but if you’re looking for an alternative Bluetooth keyboard that will work with anything from Windows PCs to Macs to iPads to phones, the Logitech K380(about $30) is a great choice. Pair it with up to three devices, and toggle between each of them with the click of a button.
If your kids invade your office and you really need to tune out distractions from your home setup, headphones are a good way to maintain focus. V-Moda’s Crossfade 2 Wireless are comfortable to wear and deliver absolutely killer sound quality — with full bass and high detail. Though the headphone design runs too close to the steampunk aesthetic for me, the audio, intuitive controls and sturdy design more than make up for it. And these headphones, which come in three different color combos, are currently on sale for $200.
A backup pick: The Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 provide excellent wireless noise canceling and they cost considerably less than comparable models from other companies. They’re also comfortable to wear, sound great on phone calls and are smart enough to pause whatever you’re listening to when you take them off. If you need more options — including AirPods-style true wireless models — check out our list of best noise-canceling headphones.
When you work from home, making coffee becomes a sacramental practice. Think of this kitchen appliance as the Swiss army knife of the drip coffee maker world. The Ninja programmable brewer (with frother, thermal carafe and reusable filter) offers an uncanny degree of flexibility, making it the best coffee maker for those who don’t always want the same cup. It can create everything from solid drip, to perfect cold brew, to iced coffee, to latte-style drinks with its milk frother, and it will adjust the temperature according to your choice. Its thermal carafe will keep tea or coffee hot up to two hours. This programmable coffee maker even lets you brew iced coffee and hot coffee in multiple sizes, from small cups, mugs and travel mugs, all the way up to half and full carafes.
When you’re not commuting, there may be some more time for dinner prep. Dinnerly rolls out exciting-sounding and delicious meals such as summery chicken panzanella and risotto with asparagus and cannellini beans. But with no more than six ingredients per recipe, the damage done to your time and kitchen is minimized. The price tag for Dinnerly puts it squarely in the budget-friendly category, clocking in with a cost per serving of around $5. The subscription options include a Two-Person Box for $30, or a Family Box for $60, each with three recipes for the week. Looking for more options? Check out our list of best mealkit services.
If space is tight but you need to print shipping labels, shopping lists or homework assignments a few times a month, this is your machine. The HP LaserJet Pro M15w is a great fit for practical, nonfussy tasks and its tiny footprint, measuring about 8 inches deep and 14 inches wide, fits perfectly on a bookshelf or filing cabinet. And it connects via Wi-Fi to nearly any device, which means you can print from your phone. If the students in your family can live without a scanner — after all, phone cameras can handle most scanning jobs now — and color output, the LaserJet Pro M15w is a great choice for under $120. Just make sure you stock up on printer paper too.
Tabletop real estate is at a premium in my house these days, with two adults working full-time and two kids who occasionally dabble in remote schoolwork. In an effort to make a room of her own, my wife bought this simple, inexpensive and surprisingly adjustable two-piece desk system. Aside from the roller wheels, which are great, but which weren’t fun to install, the setup was painless. The desk allows her to work seated or to use it as a standing desk, with one platform for a keyboard and another for a laptop or display.
The Freedom search (libertas.world) engine is now available in the iOS app, making it even easier to avoid search engine spying.
Freedom Search positions itself as a search engine that provides maximum privacy and confidentiality. The system does not record requests and IP addresses, does not collect or analyze any data about the user, does not track your location, behavior and remains anonymous – you always remain a guest.
In addition to the fact that Freedom Search has a special private mode by default, which is activated in the issue and does not allow sites to track your actions, it also evaluates sites on a privacy scale.
As a nice bonus from Freedom – ad blocking. In addition to the usual banners, after buying air tickets to Paris, you will be relieved of intrusive advertising of French hotels and special offers from airlines!
Well, as for its main task – the Freedom search engine helps to easily and quickly search for information, in particular in foreign languages.
Download Freedom Search to your phone and Internet surveillance will no longer scare you.
I grew up with a video game controller in my hands. Video games have gone through a major evolution since my childhood — and while everything else has become more expensive, games have stayed roughly the same price.
But in 2017, Microsoft launched Xbox Game Pass, followed by Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in 2019. These are subscription services that give players unlimited access to an expanding library of over 400 new and old games, and cost $120 or $180 for one year, respectively. XBGP lets you play on console or PC, and XBGPU lets you play console, PC and cloud gaming. These prices make either Game Pass plan attractive, but in the end, is it cheaper to buy physical copies of games?
I did the math and found a year of XBGPU with an Xbox Series S is a better value than buying physical copies of games to play on an Xbox Series X, especially if you play a lot of different games.
To calculate the costs, I started with the cost of the Series S, $300, and Series X, $500, since you need a console to play games on. The Series S is a digital-only console with no disc drive, so it can’t play physical copies of games. The Series X has a disc drive, so it can play either digital or physical copies of games. It’s important to include both, since the Series S is the more budget-friendly option, but the Series X has more gaming capabilities. If you already own either console though, you can scroll down for a yearly price breakdown of just the gaming service versus buying physical copies of the games.
Next, I found the price of each Xbox Game Pass plan without promotional deals, $10 and $15 a month. I multiplied both costs by 12 to give us the cost of the subscription over a one-year period. This is how we get $120 for XBGP and $180 for XBGPU.
Then, I found the price of new physical games. Many new games are $60, but game publishers are starting to increase game prices to $70, as was the case for NBA 2K21. Microsoft said it would start charging $70 for games made by its studios in 2023. That’s why there are two prices for new physical games.
The right Xbox for you depends on your budget and preferences.
Andrew Lanxon/CNET
A Series S with either Game Pass plan is budget-friendly gaming
We have two columns reflecting a Series S with one year of either game pass plan. A Series S with XBGP costs $420, the least expensive option. The Series S with XBGPU is $480, the second least expensive option. Both of these cost less than the Series X, and that’s before you buy a game or a subscription.
A Series X with either Game Pass plan and physical games cost more
There are five columns to show the Series X with one year of either Game Pass plan, Series X with one year of either Game Pass plan and physical games and Series X with just physical games.
As you might expect, the Series X with XBGPU and one physical game costs the most, at $740 or $750. Next, the Series X with XBGP and one physical game costs $680, and the Series X with XBGPU costs $680 or $690 with a $70 physical game. The Series X with XBGP costs $620. Finally, an Xbox Series X with one physical game costs $560 or $570.
As you can see above, the consoles are responsible for the majority of the costs in the first year. For the second year, we remove the cost of the consoles, and this also gives us an idea of what the cost will look like moving forward.
XBGP (1 year)
XBGPU (1 year)
Physical game (1)
Total
$120
$180
$60-70
As a reminder, one year of XBGP is $120, one year of XBGPU is $180 and a physical copy of a new game is between $60-70. You could buy up to three new $60 games in a year to equal the cost of XBGPU. If you buy $70 games, you can get two for the price of XBGPU or just one for the cost of XBGP. If you usually play more than two or three games a year, either Game Pass plan is worth it.
With both Game Pass plans, subscribers have access to over 400 games. Some of those games are new, like A Plague Tale: Requiem, while others are classics, like Doom. Games are added to the Game Pass library periodically, but they are also removed, like how Netflix adds and removes shows and movies over time. The number of games has also increased from when Microsoft launched the subscription service, so it’s safe to say that number will continue to rise.
Xbox Game Pass gives you hundreds of games for your monthly subscription fee.
Dan Ackerman/CNET
Online play included with XBGPU, not physical games
Another important thing to consider is whether or not you plan on playing games online. If you want to do that with physical games, you need to subscribe to Xbox Gold Live.
XBGP (1 year) + Xbox Live Gold (1 year)
XBGPU (1 year)
Physical game (1) + Xbox Live Gold (1 year)
Total
$180
$180
$120-130
Xbox Live Gold is $10 a month, or $60 a year. You would need to pay for a physical copy of a new game ($60-70) and then add the cost of one year of Xbox Live Gold ($60) to get $120-130.
If you have XBGPU then Xbox Live Gold is included with your subscription, so you don’t have to include that cost with your plan and you have access to the game library. However, an XBGP subscription doesn’t include Xbox Live Gold, so you’d have to pay for that separately or upgrade to XBGPU for the same cost.
Is either Xbox Game Pass plan worth it?
If you’re on a budget and want access to hundreds of games and online play, you should consider a Series S with XBGPU. And if you already have a console, XBGPU is still a great deal. You have unlimited access to over 400 games as compared to buying a few physical games, plus you can play online with your friends. If money isn’t an issue, then ball out with a Series X, XBGPU and as many physical games as you want.
This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.
You’ve found the perfect holiday gift for someone but you don’t know the correct address to send it to. You don’t want to text them to ask for their address because that would give away the surprise — but if you don’t ask then you’re left with a great gift and no address to mail it to. Unfortunately, while the internet can solve most problems, a correct address can be harder to find. But if you’re shopping for a holiday gift on Amazon, all hope is not lost. There’s an amazing Amazon shopping feature that makes it possible to send a stealthy gift with just the recipient’s phone number or email address.
Is there a catch to sending Amazon gifts without an address?
Yes, here are the puzzle pieces needed to make this convenient shopping hack work. You must:
Be an Amazon Prime member.
Have the recipient’s email address or mobile phone number.
Use the mobile app to send the gift without a specific shipping address. (The new shopping feature won’t work with Amazon.com, only the mobile app.)
Ship and receive the gift to the continental US — sorry, Hawaii and Alaska.
Important note: Not every gift is eligible. For example, we couldn’t send the baby clothes we picked out for our colleague’s newborn this way, but we were able to select a pair of $36 Amazon over-ear headphones (not currently available) to send to a recipient without a physical address on hand.
How does the Amazon Prime gift option work?
This is what it looks like in your mobile Amazon app to select sending a gift to a recipient using just their email address or phone number.
Jessica Dolcourt/CNET
We’ll share more details in the step-by-step below, but in general, as the gift-giver you just have to send a gift receipt and select the new delivery option. The recipient will then be notified to accept the gift by providing their address. If they decide to not accept the gift, they can exchange it for an Amazon gift card. Amazon says it won’t tell the person who picked out the gift if the recipient chooses a gift card instead.
How to send a gift on Amazon without knowing the recipient’s address
If you just picked out a gift for your family member or friend on Amazon, here’s how you can send it to them through text or email:
1. Add the gift to your cart using Amazon’s mobile app.
2. Tap Add a gift receipt for easy returns and then tap Proceed to checkout.
3. Once at checkout, select the option to Let the recipient provide their address and tap Continue.
4. Enter the recipient’s phone number or email address. This is where you can also add a custom message sent alongside your gift. You can also select gift wrapping at this stage. (Note that this typically costs another $5 for an Amazon gift bag.)
5. Place your order by clicking Continue. The recipient will then be notified and asked to accept the gift.
If you have been sent a gift through Amazon, here’s how to accept it (or get a gift card instead):
1. Click on the text or email notification from Amazon and tap View and accept your gift.
2. Tap on your present to unwrap it and watch an animation of your gift being revealed.
3. Once you’ve virtually unwrapped your gift, you can choose to Accept and provide an address or Exchange for an Amazon gift card.
4. If you choose to accept the gift, you will be prompted to provide your delivery address. After you enter your address, tap Deliver to this address and then Accept the gift.
5. Amazon will then ship your gift to you with free Prime shipping.
If you spend a lot of time working out of your home office, it’s a good idea to invest in a proper pair of headphones. They’re critical for those who work remotely as they allow you to tune out any distractions in the background and focus on your work. And while active noise cancellation is a necessity, some of the very best headsets for working from home will also have a built-in microphone with clear audio that you can use during meetings and business calls.
Headphones used for working should offer top-notch sound quality and comfort since you’ll be wearing them for hours on end. They should also include excellent communication features for making voice calls, including any sort of video chats. Good noise reduction is key, as is being able to hear your own voice in the headphones as you talk so you don’t end up shouting. Good bonus features include strong battery life and multipoint Bluetooth pairing, allowing you to switch between two devices.
You may specifically be looking for a headset or headphones designed to work with Unified Communications applications and certified for Skype for Business, optimized for Microsoft Lync and suitable for softphones from Cisco, Avaya and Skype. I’ve included some UC headphones on this list, but the majority of these are mainstream consumer headphones that also work well on the go. We have curated this list of the best headphones for work as a tool to help you see which features each brings to the table so that you can decide which fit is best for you.
When you have a product that a lot of people love, change can be risky. Such is the case for Sony’s WH-1000XM5, the fifth generation of the 1000X series headphones, which were first released in 2016 as the MDR-1000X Wireless and have become increasingly popular as they’ve improved with each generation. Over the years, Sony has made some tweaks to the design, but nothing as dramatic as what it’s done with the WH-1000XM5. Other than the higher $400 price tag ($50 more than the WH-1000XM4), most of those changes are good, and Sony’s made some dramatic improvements with voice-calling performance, as well as even better noise canceling and more refined sound. You can also pick them up for around $50 off at the moment.
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.
The QuietComfort 45 has virtually the same design as its predecessor, the QuietComfort QC35 II, which many people considered one of the most comfortable over-ear headphones — if not the most comfortable. (And, if comfort doesn’t make them the best headphones for working, what would?) It has the same drivers, according to Bose, and the buttons are in the same place. However, there are small but notable changes. First off, these thankfully have USB-C instead of micro-USB.
Secondly, the microphone configuration is different. Not only have the mics been shifted on the headphones, but there’s now an extra external microphone for voice pick-up, which means the QC45 has a total of six microphones, four of which are beamforming and used for voice. By contrast, the QC35 II has a total of four, two of which are used for voice. (The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 also have six microphones total.)
The end result is these are excellent for making calls. They’re similar to the Bose Headphones 700 in that regard and also feature top-notch noise canceling, as well as multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect them with a PC and your phone simultaneously. Read our full review of the QuietComfort 45.
Plantronics’ original Voyager Focus UC has long been considered one of the best work-from-anywhere headsets. Now we get the Voyager Focus 2 UC from Poly (the company Plantronics morphed into after it acquired Polycom), and it’s improved in several ways, including better noise reduction (it’s stellar), two levels of active noise canceling, increased battery life (up to 19 hours with ANC off and 16 hours with it on) and superior wireless range with Bluetooth 5.1.
You can pair the Voyager Focus 2 UC with your computer with the included USB dongle or your phone (or tablet) via Bluetooth. It can also connect to a desk phone if you want to bring it to the office. Also worth noting: The boom microphone has a mute button on it, but when you flip it up it also automatically mutes the microphone. The original Voyager Focus doesn’t mute when you lift the boom microphone.
The Focus 2 comes in several different versions, including USB-A and USB-C models and a version that’s Microsoft Teams certified. You can get the headset by itself or in a bundle that includes a charging dock. All versions include a nice protective carrying pouch.
The Voyager Focus 2 UC is expensive but offers excellent performance and is quite comfortable for an on-ear headphone. It also sounds good for music listening with nicely detailed sound and ample bass. It may not be quite up to the level of the Sony WH-1000XM4 for music, but it offers a nice music listening experience for a work-centric headset.
The original Voyager Focus UC (see below) can be had for closer to $120, so expect this next-gen to come down in price with time. I don’t know if it’s worth $100 more, but it clearly performs better and has a swankier design than the original.
Released in mid-2020, the Jabra Elite 45h were essentially billed as the best on-ear headphones for the money and among the best headphones for work. While there’s nothing terribly fancy about them, they are a great value for on-ear headphones, with good sound quality, a sturdy design and comfortable fit — for on-ear headphones, anyway. They perform well as a headset for making calls too, and include a sidetone feature that allows you to hear your voice so you don’t talk too loudly. Battery life is also good and it has multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect to both your computer and your smartphone at the same time, and easily switch between the two should a call come in on your phone. It mostly works.
Available in multiple color options, it lists for $100 but sporadically gets discounted to $70 and sometimes less; sometimes certain colors cost less than others.
Note that the $274 Evolve2 65 (on sale for $159 right now), which has an integrated boom microphone, is essentially the souped-up office version of these headphones.
Known for its value headphones and earbuds, JLab offers a pair of on-ear headphones with an integrated boom microphone (it can be rotated up when just listening to music) and multipoint Bluetooth pairing so you can connect them to your phone and computer simultaneously. I’m more partial to the Jabra Elite 45h, which list for $100 but usually sell for around $70. But if you don’t want to spend quite that much, the Go Work are solid headphones — and a good headset — for the modest price. They’re also comfortable to wear with a lightweight design. You won’t mistake these for premium headphones, but the build quality means that they are among the best headphones for work for around $50.
Battery life is rated at up to 45 hours at moderate volume levels, and you can mute calls using the multifunction button (an LED lights up at the end of the boom mic when the call is muted). I wouldn’t call the sound quality for music listening and the headset performance stellar, but it’s good, particularly for the price. For music listening, there’s ample bass and clarity and a cable is included for wired use. The headphones charge via USB-C.
Jabra recently released the Evolve2 30, a new more affordable wired on-ear office headset with an integrated boom microphone. It’s lightweight and comfortable and comes in USB-C and USB-A versions, as well as stereo and mono versions (I tried the USB-A stereo version). Alas, it’s hard to get at the moment — apparently, there’s plenty of demand for office headphones/headsets at this price point.
The headphones are OK for music listening, but they’re primarily meant for voice applications. They feature dual microphones — one for picking up your voice and the other to help reduce ambient noise around you so callers can hear you better.
Yes (IP55 — protection against low-pressure water streams)
Shokz has turned its OpenRun (formerly called the Aeropex) bone-conduction headphones into a more communications-friendly headset with an integrated boom microphone. Since these leave your ears open (the sound is conducted through your cheekbone), they aren’t for people who want to seal their ears out from outside noise. Rather, the idea is that you can hear everything around you without having anything covering your ears or jammed inside them. Some folks find that liberating.
While Shokz are arguably the best-sounding bone-conduction headphones, they aren’t great-sounding for music because they’re lacking in the bass department. However, they’re great for speech so they work very well as a headset for making calls, with good noise reduction. These also have multipoint-Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair them with your phone and PC and easily switch to your phone if a call comes in while you’re on your computer. (Here are the instructions on how to use it.)
As long as you don’t mind the boom microphone, you can use the OpenComm for sporting activities as well. The OpenRun and other Shokz headphones, including the flagship OpenRun Pro, are favorites for runners who want to keep their ears open to hear the outside world for safety reasons. They’re also water-resistant. The only downside is they require a proprietary charging cable instead of USB-C. Battery life is rated at 16 hours of talk time and eight hours of listening time.
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.
In a surprise move, Sony announced that you can now upgrade Sony’s excellent WF-1000XM4 noise-canceling with multipoint Bluetooth with a firmware upgrade (the LinkBuds and LinkBuds S earbuds are also eligible for the same upgrade). That was their only missing feature, and while Sony will likely release a new WF-1000XM5 in 2023, these are still great-sounding earbuds. They have great noise canceling, solid voice-calling capabilities and good battery life. While they fit a lot of ears, including mine, they may not be a comfortable fit for folks with smaller ears.
An oldie but goodie, the Plantronics Voyager Focus UC allows you to switch between a Bluetooth connection on a smartphone or tablet and a computer. You may find these to be the best headphones for work if you want lightweight, comfortable on-ear headphones that have excellent noise reduction. They also have a retractable boom microphone so people have no problem hearing your voice, and you can hear your voice in the headphones.
Note that Plantronics has become Poly and there is a newer model called the Voyager Focus 2 (see above).
If you’re looking for a souped-up version of the Elite 85h, the recently released Evolve2 85 offers even better telephony options along with a Unified Communications USB dongle for PCs. While it has similar sound quality to the 85h, it has an updated audio chipset, a hideaway boom arm and two additional microphones (10 altogether, with the extra two in the boom arm) for noise reduction and picking up your voice. Its build quality is also a step up. A Microsoft Teams-certified version is available for those who need it.
I found it comfortable to wear over several hours — it offers an impressive 37 hours of battery life or slightly more than the Elite 85h.
Downside: It lists for a whopping $494, though it sometimes sells for less.
There’s a lot to like about Logitech’s Zone Vibe 100 wireless over-ear headset, which comes in off-white, carbon and rose color options. For starters, it’s lightweight and comfortable to wear, with a retractable boom microphone that you can flip up to mute, plus it has a mute button on it. Additionally, it features multipoint Bluetooth pairing, so you can pair it simultaneously with your Mac or Windows PC and your smartphone and easily switch audio back and forth between the two devices. These aren’t active noise canceling headphones but they offer a decent amount of passive noise isolation. Battery life is rated at up to 20 hours of listening time.
People said I sounded clear on calls and there’s some sidetone, so you can hear your voice in the headphones as you talk (that way you don’t end up raising your voice too much). I thought they sounded good while listening to music on my phone. However, the sound quality wasn’t quite up to the same level when streaming Bluetooth audio on my computer, though it was still decent. The Logi Tune app for iOS and Android does allow you to tweak the sound profile, adjust the sidetone and set when the headset goes to sleep when not in use.
This also comes in a version USB dongle for your computer called the Zone Vibe 125 for $30 more.
Jabra’s Evolve 65E UC is an around-the-neck model that offers a comfortable, secure fit. You get three sizes of stabilizing fins along with three sizes of ear tips. This version is Skype for Business and UC certified and the included USB Bluetooth adapter allows you to be connected to your PC (Windows or Mac) at the same time as your smartphone.
While these headphones are decent for music listening — they’re a little shy on the bass — they excel as a headset for making phone calls, with good noise reduction, especially wind noise. The integrated inline microphone sits close to your mouth so people have no problem hearing you. Battery life is rated at 13 hours.
Note that this is the business-grade version of the Elite 65e. Jabra also makes the step up Evolve 75E UC that features active noise canceling. I didn’t think the noise canceling was great, however, so it’s probably best to save the money and get the 65E UC.
If you’re an Apple-centric person who works on a MacBook and also has an iPhone (and maybe an iPad), Apple’s AirPods Max noise-canceling headphones allow you to easily connect to multiple Apple devices simultaneously (so long as you’re signed into your iCloud account on all the devices) and switch between them. If you’re on a Zoom teleconference and a call comes in on your iPhone, the AirPods Max automatically switch to the iPhone if you pick up the call.
They sound great, and with all their microphones they do an excellent job picking up your voice and reducing ambient noise. Aside from their high price, their other potential downside is their heavy weight. Although I found them comfortable, some people have trouble with that.
UC headsets that include a USB dongle so you can easily connect the headset wirelessly to your computer tend to cost more than headsets that just feature Bluetooth connectivity. Listing for around $130, the Cyber Acoustics Essential Bluetooth Headset HS-2000BT sells at a discount compared to similarly styled models from Jabra and Poly. I’m not going to say the HS-2000BT is better than those models, but it’s lightweight and comfortable to wear and offers similar features, including a retractable boom microphone with automatic muting (when you retract the boom mic). It also has a couple of bonus features: active noise canceling and wireless charging (Qi wireless charging pad not included).
Callers said I sounded good though not quite as clear as when I was using the Logitech Zone Vibe 100. I thought the HS-2000BT sounded good when using them to listen to music, though the sound is on the warmer side (pushes the bass a bit). The headset is worth checking out, particularly if it goes on sale.
