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Showing posts from November, 2025

This deal on smart glasses was too good for my husband to pass up

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You can snag a pair of Amazon’s Alexa-enabled smart glasses for an all-time low price this Cyber Monday. The last thing I need is a new Amazon Echo smart speaker. As The Verge’s smart home reviewer, I currently have a dozen scattered around my home for testing. But when Amazon’s Echo Frames smart glasses went on sale for $115 for Cyber Monday, down from $300, it was an offer my husband couldn’t refuse. He chose the prescription-ready model (over the blue-light-filtering option), which meant he also got the Echo Spot, Amazon’s handy $80 smart speaker/smart alarm clock, thrown in for free. That’s a total savings of $265 and a total tally of about 13 smart speakers for me. Amazon Echo Frames with a free Echo Spot Amazon’s Echo Frames are down to an all time low of $115, plus the prescription-ready models come with a free Echo Spot smart alarm clock. The smart glasses resemble a pair of regular eyeglasses but can be used to listen to music, take calls, and perform a range of Alex...

My favorite snore-blocking sleepbuds are down to their lowest price

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These slimline earbuds can help side-sleepers get more shut-eye. Anker’s seriously small Soundcore Sleep A20 sleepbuds can be nabbed for $108 right now at Amazon , their best price since they launched on Kickstarter at $90 last year. They normally sell for $179.99, making this a standout deal for a pair of ultra-tiny sleep buds that I barely notice as I drift off to the soothing sounds of rain or birdsong. Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 Anker’s Soundcore Sleep A20 are sleep buds that block external sounds, allow you to play Bluetooth audio and white noise, and track your sleep. Read our review. Where to Buy: $179.99 $107.99 at Amazon $179.99 $107.99 at Best Buy I’ve had mine since they launched in 2024 and wear them almost every night. I love that they include built-in soundscapes, so I don’t need to keep my phone nearby. But with a quick tap, they switch into standard Bluetooth earbuds if I decide I’d rather fall asleep to The Tortured Poets Department streaming from my ...

You need to read the treatise on spacing out, Bored and Brilliant

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Take a walk. I have a tendency to space out. A lot. Whether it's staring out the window on Amtrak or pausing at work to fixate on a blank spot on the wall instead of my screen, I often let my mind wander. When I was younger, I would often be derisively called a daydreamer, a space cadet, or just plain distracted. Obviously, one can be too absent-minded, but Bored and Brilliant by Manoush Zomorodi convincingly makes the case that letting your mind wander is not only essential, but a luxury we shouldn't take for granted in our hyper-connected age. Zomorodi is the current host of NPR's TED Radio Hour , but she was also the host of WNYC's Note to Self for ma … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/report/834063/treatise-on-spacing-out-bored-and-brilliant-manoush-zomorodi

The best Cyber Monday deals on some of my favorite smart home gear

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Apple’s HomePod is $30 off, and you can also grab a deal on the excellent Eve Energy smart plug that works with it. ‘Tis the season to score some serious bargains on smart home gear. While Black Friday is behind us , Cyber Monday is coming up fast, so there is still time to grab a bargain on that smart lock you’ve been eyeing or take the plunge on a robot vacuum. Here I’ve rounded up the best deals I’ve spotted so far on some of my favorite smart home gear. Savings on smart speakers and smart displays Amazon Echo Spot (2024) The Echo Spot is down to $49.99 at Amazon , close to its all-time low. This is a great bedside table Alexa smart speaker/ alarm clock, thanks to its small footprint, minimalist display, and impressive sound for its size. Read my full review . Where to Buy: $79.99 $49.99 at Amazon $79.99 $49.99 at Best Buy $79.99 $49.99 at Lowe’s Apple’s second-gen HomePod is $30 off at Best Buy , at $269.99. The best Siri-enabled smart speaker you can buy, the ...

These are my picks for the best Black Friday deals on Garmin watches

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The Epix Pro is 50 percent off! Every deals holiday, I break my brain and eyeballs scrolling through endless lists of smartwatch models so you don’t have to. Garmin has a ton of deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but there are only a few that I’d be putting in my cart if I were buying for the outdoorsy person in my life. First off, I’m a big fan of the Forerunner 265 . It’s comfy, it’s slim, it’s got dual-frequency GPS, and for an OLED smartwatch it has great battery life. When I reviewed it, my only gripe was the $450 price tag. “Good news, everyone,” as Dr. Farnsworth from Futurama would say, because this model is now 33 percent off its original price, selling at $299.99 at Amazon and Best Buy. Sure, it’s a two-year-old watch, but Garmin fans tend to keep their devices for several years, the company is excellent at pushing software updates to older models, and I don’t think you’re missing out on much compared to newer watches. Garmin Forerunner 265 Garmin’s midrange...

97 percent of people struggle to identify AI music, but it’s not as bad as it seems

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People don’t like not being able to identify AI-generated music. Streaming service Deezer ran an experiment recently, with the help of research firm Ipsos. The finding - that 97 percent of people can't tell the difference between fully AI-generated and human-made music - was alarming. But it's also not the whole story. In the survey, 9,000 participants listened to three tracks and were asked to guess which, if any, were completely AI-generated. If the participant failed to guess all three correctly, they were put in the fail pile. That means if you got two of three correct, Deezer and Ipsos still said you couldn't tell the difference between fully AI-generated music and the real deal. Deezer sent me th … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/830393/ai-music-deezer-survey-spotify

One of the world’s fastest power banks got a Black Friday discount

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The Rapid Power Pro power bank is currently $149 ($30 off). The Desktop Charger that lets its recharging speeds soar to 320W isn’t discounted, though. | Image: Thomas Ricker / The Verge Ecoflow’s Rapid Pro power bank is one of the most powerful portable batteries we’ve tested , and it’s selling at an all-time low price of $149.99 ($70 off) at Amazon and from Ecoflow’s store during Black Friday . The 27,650mAh battery pack has three USB-C ports (one 140W port, plus two 65W ports), a two-foot-long retractable 140W USB-C cable — enough to charge four devices at once — and it has a maximum power output of a whopping 300W. And, yes, you’re allowed to bring this model on a plane, since it falls just below the FAA’s 100Wh limit for carry-on bags. EcoFlow Rapid Pro Power Bank Where to Buy: $219.99 $149.99 at Amazon $219.99 $149.99 at EcoFlow That speed allows you to charge a pair of 16-inch MacBook Pros from zero to 50 percent in about half an hour, with enough juice lef...

I wish this $169 deal was around for the viral TikTok skincare wand when I got one

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I’m so salty this wasn’t available when I decided to splurge two years ago. | Image: Amazon I’m a skincare dork. So much so that two Black Fridays ago, I bought Medicube’s viral fancy pants skincare wand for $215. In the dark ages of 2023, you couldn’t even buy Medicube’s products on Amazon so I felt pretty, pretty slick getting 40 percent off of a $330 luxury skincare device. Medicube Booster Pro + TXA Niacinamide serum Where to Buy: $299.99 $169 at Amazon Well, I sure do feel salty now because Amazon has a deal on a fancier, limited edition version of the Medicube Booster Pro plus the company’s TXA Niacinamide serum for $169. Or, 44 percent off the list price. To rub even more salt in the wound, my version of the wand only has one mode. This one has four. Listen, I’m going to use my version until it dies out of sheer bitterness and principle. But if you’ve got a Korean skincare nerd in your life, sighing at night, doomscrolling because TikTok keeps shoving influen...

ModRetro recreated the N64 controller for its M64 console

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Following the launch of the Chromatic Game Boy last December, ModRetro revealed its next console will be an upgraded remake of the Nintendo 64. Like the recently released Analogue 3D , it will play N64 games in 4K through the use of an FPGA. ModRetro — the company founded by the controversial figure Palmer Luckey who’s also behind a defense contractor that makes military tech — has been teasing details about the console on social media over the past few months, but today it finally revealed the console’s design, and an accompanying remake of the N64’s unique three-pronged controller. Similar to the recently-launched Analogue 3D, the M64’s design is inspired by Nintendo’s original hardware with a gently curved top panel, cartridge slot on top, and four ports on the front compatible with the N64’s original wired gamepads. On the front corner of the top panel you’ll find a power button, while the other corner features a dial labeled “Menu.” Aside from presumably navigating on-screen...

My favorite Nintendo Switch 2 accessories are heavily discounted for Black Friday

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The $449 Nintendo Switch 2 is one of the hottest holiday gifts, so it’s no surprise that you won’t find any discounts on the console, which was released in June and has already amassed a library of must-play games. However, the next best thing — discounts on accessories that we recommend — is in full swing during Black Friday . Whether you’re getting or giving a Switch 2, add-ons that will protect or enhance the console are cheaper than usual. I’ve reviewed numerous screen protectors, cases, controllers, and other accessories made for the Switch 2, and the ones I think are best (and that have the best discounts) get VIP placement below. I’ve also included other Switch 2 accessories that shoppers will like. Samsung P9 microSD Express Card This is one of the most affordable microSD Express cards on the market. Where to Buy: $54.99 $47.49 at Amazon (256GB) $99.99 $74.99 at Amazon (512GB) tomtoc slim carrying case for the Switch 2 Simple and protective, with plenty of Swi...