-
ReviewsVPNFitness+ Is Hands Down the Best Apple Service
Apple’s services aren’t terrible—it’s just the competition is usually better. Despite Apple’s best efforts, Spotify is most people’s music streaming app of choice. TV+ is nowhere near the best TV streaming service. Apple Arcade just doesn’t have much appeal to die-hard gamers. There are a bazillion other cloud storage services besides iCloud. But the newly … Continued
-
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Space News We’ll Be Watching in 2021
Blast off to adventure in the amazing year 2021! No doubt, we’re expecting a ton of cool and exciting space-related happenings next year, with these stories being among the most highly anticipated. Three—count ‘em—three mission to Mars Our ability to study Mars will take a gigantic leap forward in 2021 owing to the arrival of … Continued
-
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Heroic Tech That Helped Us Endure 2020
Humanity will survive this pandemic, but the past 10 months spent isolating, social distancing, and quarantining has been rough for us all. As bad as this year has been, it could have been a lot worse were it not for a handful of technologies that stepped up to help us all get through it. Some … Continued
-
ReviewsBuyers GuideLast, Last, Last-Minute Tech Gifts That Don’t Suck, According to Me
I didn’t pour a ton of money into upgrading my tech this year. Our flailing economy and my general unease about the impact of the pandemic on our already troubled news industry left me feeling a little more conservative than usual about how to spend my pocket money. Where I did invest, however, I believe … Continued
By Dell Cameron -
ReviewsYear in ReviewThis Was the Most Exciting and Disappointing Year for Computers and Consoles
This fall was a blizzard of hardware and console announcements from practically every major company, all timed to launch just before the holiday shopping season. Nvidia wowed us with new graphics cards. AMD hit the ground running with new processors and its own graphics cards. Intel’s Iris Xe integrated GPU was impressive, not to be … Continued
-
ReviewsYear in ReviewThe Best and Worst of the World’s Covid-19 Response
On January 7, 2020, I wrote about a mysterious, pneumonia-causing viral illness making people sick in Wuhan, China. It was the first Gizmodo article about what eventually became known as covid-19, the second pandemic to strike humanity in the 21st century. It’s eerie to look back at those early days and weeks, when it still … Continued
By Ed Cara -
ReviewsHeadphonesBowers & WilkinsThese Ultralight Carbon Fiber Headphones Are Perfect for Traveling Again, Whenever That Might Be
Carbon fiber, the high-tech material that now makes up everything from car hoods to iPhone cases, is light and strong. When Bowers & Wilkins designed a Carbon Edition of its PX7 headphones, the goal was to create a pair of headphones that were rugged and streamlined with solid audio quality. They pulled it off. B&W … Continued
By John Biggs -
ReviewsLaptopsDell’s XPS 17 Proves Big-Screen Laptops Are Back, and They’re Awesome
A few years back, a lot of major laptop makers began quietly paring down the number of 17-inch laptops they made (aside from monstrously large gaming rigs), with Apple and Dell dropping the 17-inch MacBook Pro and XPS 17 respectively. However, thanks to improvements like smaller bezels and improved energy efficiency, thin and light laptops … Continued
-
ReviewsYear in Review
How Smartwatches, Workout Apps, and Connected Bikes Dominated 2020
Back in January 2019, as I huffed and puffed on the Peloton Tread (now Tread+), I thought to myself, “This thing is really nice, but I don’t know in what world the average person would fork over $4,000 for this.” The answer is one in which a global pandemic leaves gyms and boutique fitness studios … Continued
-
ReviewsFirst LookAttak Piks are High Tech Guitar Picks that Mix Up Your Music
Guitar picks are pretty low-tech. They’re usually little pieces of plastic and you buy a few dozen and keep them for years or promptly lose most of them and then buy another few dozen. Now, however, there’s a new pick in town. Called the Attak Pik, these oddly-ridged guitar picks promise distortion and harmonics that … Continued
By John Biggs -
ReviewsThe Physics of Tenet Is Shaky, but It Still Kicks Ass
“Don’t try to understand it,” a scientist tells the protagonist of Tenet, as she briefly explains the physics of Christopher Nolan’s $205-million, time-traveling spy thriller. Sure, the physics is often unrealistic and confusing, but it’s fascinating. And with its many Easter eggs, Tenet sets up some nice jumping-off points for Wikipedia rabbit holes. (Sator square? … Continued
-
ReviewsOther GadgetsI Love This Bike So Much
Peloton is a cult. I say that lovingly and without judgment, because I am now part of it, and if you buy one, you will almost certainly become part of it, too. I didn’t realize how much I loved it until I recently found myself on Peloton Reddit trying to figure out the best combination … Continued
-
ReviewsFirst Look
Stadia on iOS Runs Like a Gem
Google officially launched iOS compatibility for Stadia via the Safari browser today. Good news if you are a Stadia and iPhone or iPad user! Just navigate to the Stadia website, log in, and off you go. Stadia’s new compatibility with iOS now puts it in the same league with GeForce Now, Shadow, and Luna, with … Continued
-
ReviewsWearablesSmartwatchesThe Amazfit GTR 2 Raises the Bar for Budget Smartwatches
Generally speaking, budget smartwatches tend to keep things simple. You usually get one advanced feature, cheaper materials, a fuzzier display with big bezels, and a barebones companion app—basically, a fitness tracker in a smartwatch form factor. The affordable Amazfit GTR 2, however, blows up that formula. For $180, you get on-demand SpO2 readings, two voice … Continued
-
ReviewsHeadphonesBoseThey’re Too Big!
The Bose QuietComfort earbuds slip into my ears relatively easily. They connect to my phone, and the moment they do, that pleasing Bose brand of silence washes over me. I can’t hear the fridge’s compressor or the steady hum of my server—only silence. Then, because the Bose QuietComforts are pretty large, one pops out of … Continued
By Alex Cranz -
ReviewsOther GadgetsThis Hideously Expensive Smart Bed Cured My Back Pain
In the last few years, tech companies have sunk an incredible amount of time, money, and hype into solving sleep. Some companies offer to help you track your sleep with wearables, some aim to help you sleep more soundly with meditation services or devices, and others have developed products that will cure your insomnia with … Continued
