If you’ve been eyeing Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds but were put off by the steep price tag, now would be the perfect time to pick up a set. The premium earbuds, normally $ 300, are down to a record low price of $ 230 on Amazon, for a savings of $ 70. This deal only applies to the earbuds in black. The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds were released in summer 2023 and brought major upgrades over the previous model. They boast the best noise cancellation and call quality of Sony’s earbuds lineup, and have built-in Alexa support.
The Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds are our top pick for the best earbuds for this year. They’re more comfortable than the WF-1000XM4s, being 25 percent smaller and 20 percent lighter for a much better fit. The charging case, too, is more compact than its predecessor. In terms of sound quality, they further improve upon the already impressive capabilities of the 1000X line. The speakers are slightly larger than the previous model’s, and their Dynamic Driver X drivers make for rich, clear sound and bassier bass. Sony WF-1000XM5 scored an 87 in our review last year.
The earbuds offer Adaptive Sound Control, which will automatically adjust your noise cancellation settings to work best for the environment you’re in or activity you’re doing. You may want active noise cancellation on when you’re working from home, but switch to transparency mode when you’re going out for a run. You’ll need to enable location services for this feature using Sony’s Headphones Connect app.
The app allows for other types of customization as well, like changing the controls assigned to the touch sensors on the earbuds. Sony’s WF-1000XM5 earbuds also support multipoint Bluetooth connections, which means you can pair them with two devices at the same time. There’s a Speak-to-Chat mode that pauses audio when it senses you’ve started a conversation, and an equalizer in the app where you can adjust your sound settings.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/our-favorite-sony-wireless-earbuds-are-on-sale-for-a-record-low-price-145310563.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Apple has added various new features in Apple Music that make it easier to keep track of your favorite songs, playlists, and albums. Here’s how to use them.
Digital Trends
I sometimes need to record interviews as part of my job, and the best free recorder apps I’ve used are probably already installed on your phone.
Digital Trends
ExpressVPN has become a household name – or at least as close to one as a VPN is likely to get – taking over mainstream advertisements on sites like YouTube. On our roundup of the nine top providers in June, it came out tops for streaming services, frequent travel and gaming. But, notably, it wasn’t the overall best, falling short on areas like security and user friendliness.
There are three main VPN use cases on top of general security: geoblocking, streaming and gaming. That means my tests looked like watching Shrek on the clock, by using a VPN to access Canadian Netflix from my US-based home office, where the ogre movie isn’t currently available.
ExpressVPN was easy to sign up for, download and use, but compared to the other services, it didn’t wow me. Competitors like ProtonVPN, for example, had easier ways to sign in across platforms. But an ExpressVPN subscription does come with a password manager to store and autofill credentials across websites. That’s a plus in a world where complex passwords are crucial to keeping your accounts secure.
The best VPNs stay out of your way and you’ll barely even notice they’re running. But one oddity was that ExpressVPN internet speeds outperformed our baseline internet speed measures. The service is likely circumventing traffic shaping by the internet service provider or a similar anomaly because every other VPN will hurt internet speed in some way. But it did successfully mask the IP address, and pass the DNS and WebRTC leak tests as privacy measures.
It was also easy to access geo-blocked content using ExpressVPN, with little-to-no buffering. There were some loading delays that only lasted a few seconds when I tried to stream the news on YouTube using ExpressVPN, but no lag came up after that. Finally, ExpressVPN passed the gaming test by avoiding lag and maintaining a normal loading time. Although, it was a pretty basic test where I logged into online game Slither.io from a UK-based VPN to play the worm-eating competition with international users. Surfing the web with ExpressVPN was just as easy as being online without it. With ExpressVPN, a ping test measured how long data takes to travel from the computer to the server and back at 100 milliseconds, versus 16 milliseconds with no VPN turned on.
ExpressVPN’s biggest perk is that it supports up to five devices at once. That means I could conduct all tests simultaneously and still had no slowdown. That’s great for sharing it with a family, or folks that like to game, watch TV and scroll on their phone at the same time. It’s the main reason ExpressVPN landed as our top choice for streaming and gaming. The connectivity was solid, it had a wide range of servers in 94 countries and provided clear instructions on configuration for any device.
But security-wise, I found myself wanting more. ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, which the company touts because the territory lacks any foreign intelligence operations and does not participate in 14 Eyes intelligence-sharing agreements. But it is owned by Kape Technologies, which also owns competitor CyberGhost, and Kape has a problematic history that includes spreading malware. Not only that, in 2021, the Department of Justice charged ExpressVPN CIO Daniel Gericke for cyberspying activities on behalf of the UAE. ExpressVPN stood by the CIO in a blog post.
But it’s not all bad. ExpressVPN publicly shared security audits of its mobile apps, protocol and desktop apps last year. That’s a win for security transparency. Still, a 2021 Consumer Reports study found that ExpressVPN didn’t support multifactor authentication, did not meet brute force mitigation checks and retained some data even after an account was terminated. ExpressVPN did, however, exceed industry standards in protections against unauthorized access, implement a vulnerability disclosure program and said it would not pursue legal action against security researchers. That means when it comes to security standards and practices, ExpressVPN as a company has a few too many misses and not enough hits.
I recommended ExpressVPN as our top choice for gamers, frequent travelers and heavy users of streaming services because it lets users access a wide range of locations from a variety of devices with high speed connections and no lag. With options to configure directly to routers and gaming consoles, it’s a solid choice for people that put a lot of strain on their ISPs. Still, there are better VPNs for the security-minded or those who want something more affordable.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/vpn-review-expressvpn-2023-gaming-streaming-160052492.html?src=rss
Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Here are the best cheap phones for those on a tight budget. Find out what you can get for around $ 500 or less as we highlight the best budget smartphones.
Digital Trends
The Samsung Galaxy S23 is a spectacular smartphone that can last years. Make sure it does with one of the best Samsung Galaxy S23 cases!
Digital Trends
It’s Memorial Day, and the Memorial Day sales are in full swing. Here’s where to shop the best Memorial Day deals today.
Digital Trends
As Black History Month comes to a close, here are five of some of the most thought-provoking apps made by Black developers in the U.S.
Digital Trends
The Apple Card isn’t the newest or best credit card available today. But in 2023, it still remains my absolute favorite. Here’s why.
Digital Trends
If you’re planning to purchase wireless earbuds, we highly recommend the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, which are currently available from Best Buy for an affordable $ 100.
Digital Trends
The new Fitbit Inspire 3 is an accurate, affordable, and exceedingly comfortable minimalist fitness tracker.
Wearables | Digital Trends
Finding recipes on Google is a chore, so I decided to use TikTok and YouTube instead. And the results might surprise you.
Mobile | Digital Trends
As we wrap up our Cooking Week on Engadget, my purchase of a milk frother is just one part of the Engadget team’s surprisingly broad selection of essential small kitchen gadgets — big spenders can scroll down to Breville’s bonkers induction cooker.
But back to me: Nespresso’s Barista Recipe Maker heats and froths your milk (or milk alternative) simply to upgrade your espressos or moka coffees into flat whites, cappuccinos and more. I’ve owned mine for a couple of years, and I love how easy it is to clean. The spin mechanism is magnet-based, too, so it’s less likely to break and should last plenty of summers filled with iced macchiatos.
We’re also cheerleading digital scales, a not-so-digital Microplane and some other coffee-making upgrades. For all the other kitchen-centric stories this week, you can find them here.
— Mat Smith
How the new PlayStation Plus stacks up against Xbox Game Pass
Epic Game Store sale includes huge discounts for ‘Final Fantasy 7’ and ‘Far Cry’
AIAIAI Studio Wireless+: Finally, low-latency headphones for music producers
Framework brings 12th Generation Intel Core chips to its modular laptop
Melvin Capital, the hedge fund considered the nemesis of the meme stock affair encompassing GameStop, Blackberry and several others, is shutting down. Investors were told the “appropriate next step” after steep losses was to liquidate assets and return cash to investors. Its public bet against GameStop and other struggling companies made it one of the largest victims of a GameStop-centric investing spree by people coordinating across Reddit and social networks. As a result, the fund reported a 53 percent loss in January 2021.
Roku has joined forces with Element to create a 55-inch outdoor TV, the companies announced. The Element Roku TV looks nigh-on identical to Element’s existing 55-inch Patio TV, just with a different OS. It offers a good but not spectacular 700 nits of brightness, along with 4K streaming and HDR. More importantly, though, it has tempered anti-glare glass to combat reflections and IP55 weather protection.
Another Federal probe into Tesla’s Autopilot system is underway. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is looking into more than 30 incidents involving Tesla’s Autopilot.
This follows an accident with a Model S, which occurred on May 12th in Newport Beach’s Mariners Mile strip. The EV reportedly struck a curb and ran into construction equipment, killing all three occupants. Three construction workers were also sent to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Police declined to say whether Tesla’s Autopilot was involved.
HP is bringing upgrades and updates across practically all of its premium notebooks, including clamshells and 2-in-1s. The two stars of the updated Envy line are the Envy x360 13.3-inch and the Envy 16-inch. There are OLED display options for both, and all of the new Envy laptops are also getting upgraded 5-megapixel webcams with head tracking and beamforming mics to help you look and sound your best during video calls. You even get native handwriting recognition and a hidden magnetic stylus mount on the side of the system.
Whether it’s a single burner or a full cooktop, induction tops heat faster than regular stovetops and offer more precise temperature control. Yes, yes, you can get a standalone burner for under $ 100, but there’s also Breville’s PolyScience Control Freak: a $ 1,500 induction device that reaches exact temps quickly and holds them there. The burner has a temperature range of 86 to 482 degrees Fahrenheit (30 to 250 Celsius). This gives you the option of everything from low-heat slow cooking to high-temp searing. We had to try it.
The long-awaited PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt once again has a release window. The new edition, which is also coming to PC, is expected to arrive in the last three months of the year, according to CD Projekt Red. It will be a free upgrade if you own the respective last-gen version on PC, PS4 or Xbox One.
At the beginning of November, users were able to vote for their favorite app and game on the Play Store for the Google Play Users Choice Awards that are held every year. The Google Play editorial team also reveal its choice of best apps and games based on their quality, design, technical performance, and innovation. […]
Come comment on this article: Google Play users have voted for their favorite game and app for 2021
There's no better way to find new music than to get recommendations from someone whose taste you share. Spotify is capitalizing on that by testing out a new feature called Tastebuds, which lets you see what your friends have been listening to and dis…
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No Man's Sky developer Hello Games has released the latest update for its popular space exploration game. Titled Synthesis, the highlight of the update is a new upgrade system that allows you to visit one of the game's many starship-outfitting termin…
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The LG G8 ThinQ is one of the most underrated phones we’ve reviewed this year. It’s not without its faults, but it’s a pretty compelling Galaxy S10 alternative, especially when you can catch a good deal on one. A good deal, for example, like the current one where you can get a G8 for less […]
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Our favorite Galaxy S10 alternative is on a stupidly good deal right now
Amazon recently purchased eero, the little mesh router company that could. Since then we’ve seen some pretty nice deals on packs of their routers, including a good discount on some right now for Labor Day. These are the newer versions of eero’s routers, too, so you’re getting some of the best wireless networking performance available […]
Come comment on this article: [Deal] Amazon’s selling our favorite mesh network routers at a big discount right now
It didn't take long for us to declare 2017 a pretty great year for games, with a spectacular roster that included Super Mario Odyssey, Wolfenstein: The New Colossus and Assassin's Creed Origins. In our roundup last December we also listed what we wer…
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By Courtney Schley This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full learning apps guide here. We sp…
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Plex is in an almost constant state of adding new features to the platform, making it one of the most robust and powerful media servers on the planet, especially with the right Android TV box. Next up on the feature list is a way to ease the pain in trying to find subtitles for […]
Come comment on this article: Plex is adding easy subtitle support for your favorite movies, but dropped some little used features
The Wyze camera, one of our favorite options for an incredibly cheap and effective option to keep an eye on your house, has picked up a new trick to better integrate with the rest of your smart home. The latest update makes the camera compatible with an Amazon Alexa skill, so you can use your […]
Come comment on this article: Our favorite cheap security Wyze cameras now support Amazon Alexa integration
Streaming services are great, but sometimes you don’t have a reliable connection or you just really want your videos offline. That can be hard to do without knowing what you’re doing, but that’s where PullTube comes in. Right now we’re offering a lifetime license for PullTube, a program that will effortlessly save your favorite videos […]
Come comment on this article: [TA Deals] Download your favorite videos with a discounted PullTube license!
There's a good chance you've seen a classic GIF and wondered just where it came from. But where do you start looking if the answer isn't obvious, and you don't want to comb through a dedicated website? If you use Twitter, you just have to ask. Fil…
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Last week we ran a poll about which music streaming services all of you are regularly using. I don’t think anyone will be too surprised about the winner, but I think there were some surprises in the results. Google Play Music was the clear favorite, snagging nearly 40% of all of the votes cast in […]
Come comment on this article: [Poll] And your favorite music streaming service is…
We spent time on the show floor at the recent London Wearable Technology show, finding the most unusual, fun, different, and downright mad new gadgets on display. Here are our five favorites from the show.
The post 5 of our favorite mad gadgets from the London Wearable Technology Show appeared first on Digital Trends.
A $ 100 bill can get you further than you might think, that is, so long as you know where to look. Check out our favorite tech for under $ 100, whether you’re in the market for a walnut-accented pair of headphones or a virtual reality headset.
The post Got a Benjamin to burn? Here are our 17 favorite gadgets under $ 100 appeared first on Digital Trends.
The CES technology show isn’t only about big-name announcements, there are plenty of cool accessories on display too. We toured the halls and found our five favorite new products for your smartphone.
The post Our favorite phone accessories from CES 2017 appeared first on Digital Trends.
Over the past few years, Cyber Monday has increasingly rivaled the discounts on Black Friday. Here are the best Cyber Monday deals as of right now.
The post Get the best tech at the best prices with our favorite Cyber Monday deals appeared first on Digital Trends.
Want Oprah’s O-pinion on a tech gift this year? She put a TV, headphones, and kitchen gadgets on her list of Oprah’s Favorite Things for 2016. Check out her tech picks here.
The post Oprah’s favorite things of 2016 are here, and she is loving the tech! appeared first on Digital Trends.
Using built-in ultrasonic wave technology that works whether the set is on or off, LG Electronics has created mosquito-repelling TVs now being sold in India. The Moquito Away sets will also be marketed in the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
The post Catch your favorite show and keep mosquitoes away with LG’s bug-free TVs appeared first on Digital Trends.
Another year, another massive, exciting E3 showcase. The biggest names in the video game industry brought out their newest games and hardware, including two console announcements (and controllers) from Xbox and a ton of fresh games from PlayStation w…
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No one likes a bruised Apple. Scratches, scuffs, and cracks on a new iPhone 6 are enough to ruin anyone’s day. Check out the best iPhone 6 cases and get some protection on that shiny new smartphone.
The post 40 of our favorite iPhone 6 cases for style and protection appeared first on Digital Trends.
It’s hard to see big differences in flagship smartphones year-over-year, but you can see a lot of high-end features trickling down into affordable phones. Take a look at a few recently-announced smartphones, aimed at emerging and developing markets.
The post Cheap 'n cheerful: Our favorite affordable phones from MWC appeared first on Digital Trends.
Need a little extra help getting into shape? Your Android is pocket-sized workout companion that’ll help you track your fitness and improve your health.
The post Find your fitness with our favorite health and fitness apps for Android (Updated) appeared first on Digital Trends.
Last year, we announced an initiative to invest in the creativity of our top YouTube stars. We wanted to give them an opportunity to realize some of their long-held creative ambitions by developing new content for YouTube. Today, we’re announcing some of the original series and movies we’ll be debuting with YouTube Red.
YouTube Red is the experience fans have been asking for. For just $ 9.99 a month, you’ll be able to enjoy videos across all of YouTube without ads, save videos to watch offline on your phone or tablet and play videos in the background.
But we’re not stopping there. Starting next year, YouTube Red members will get access to new, original series and movies from some of YouTube’s biggest creators. We’re excited to announce some of them today, with more to come:
We’re excited to bring these original series and movies to YouTube Red members and give you even more for your membership beginning next year. Viewers in the U.S. can try YouTube Red for free with a one month trial starting on October 28.
Susanne Daniels, VP, Global Head of Original Programming, recently watched “If Google Was A Guy (Part 4).”