Yes, the All-Day Clear are FDA certified as self-fitting OTC hearing aids, which implies they include a full hearing test to optimize and customize the buds to your particular hearing deficiencies. However, the app's hearing test resembles a sound preference questionnaire more than a diagnostic tool. That means you must opt to pay an additional $250 for an In-Clinic Care Package, a physical visit to one of the company’s 500-plus authorized HCPs in the U.S., for a hearing test and bud tuning to get the best-customized improvement and performance.

With only about 500 authorized Sennheiser HCPs nationwide, many potential buyers will find them inaccessible. I live in Manhattan, for instance, and there is only ONE authorized HCP in New York City – in Queens. I did searches on the Sennheiser In-Clinic Package site in other major metro areas and found a similar dearth of Sennheiser-authorized HCPs; there is only one in Chicago, only one in LA, and one in San Jose, only two in Miami, none in Houston, and none in Phoenix (but six in Scottsdale).

Without this extra audiologist visit, you are left with just Sennheiser’s inadequate app-based hearing test, which consists of just three questions that set preferred volume, clarity, and left-right balance levels. Without the optional HCP visit, the All-Day Clear delivers excellent hearing improvement but at a far higher price than other, more customized, self-fitting models.

All of which is unfortunate. Styled as old-fashioned behind-the-ear RIC (receiver in canal) aids, the All-Day Clear(All-Day Clear) provide plenty of loud, clear, and customizable volume, tone controls, better-than-expected Bluetooth music listening, long battery life, and a minimal amount of feedback squeaking or squealing, even though I didn’t have my review sample tuned by an audiologist.

Ergonomics

Sennheiser sells two All-Day Clear models: regular and Slim; I tested the regular model. The feature set is the same between the two styles, but the Slim model is notably sleeker, potentially offering more comfort for individuals who wear glasses and featuring a more traditional canal-sealing Bluetooth earbud-style earpiece with a more optimally-placed microphone.

As noted, the All-Day Clear are traditional behind-the-ear hearing aids. A teardrop-shaped microphone/battery/control module sits behind each ear, the thin speaker wire hooks over your ear, and the “receiver in canal” (RIC) speaker tip sits inside the outer edge of your ear canal.

Included with the All-Day Clears are small, medium, and large silicone ear caps, eight wax guards, and a cleaning tool. While the larger ear tips better seal your canal for enhanced music listening, they also muffle your own voice when talking and magnify the sound of food chewing. I found the small ear tip a better all-around choice for more naturally sounding conversation at both ends.

I found the All-Day Clear light and comfortable for all-day wear, with the mic/battery module only jiggling occasionally with violent head shakes. But, like many RIC-style hearing aids, the All-Day Clear suffer a bit from microphonics – they slightly amplify the sound of the behind-the-ear nodule rubbing against your head or glasses temples, even when simply wiggling your ears. However, the All-Day Clear are virtually free of feedback squeal compared to all other similar models I’ve tested, a pleasant surprise.

On the rear of each behind-the-ear nodule is a multi-function toggle that provides most of the most common controls you’d need without having to use your phone. You can answer/reject/end a phone call, switch between sound modes, and manually raise and lower the volume when your phone isn’t handy or you disconnect the Bluetooth connection. I often disconnected Bluetooth when I didn’t want to hear sounds from the phone, such as sounds from social media posts, website videos, or games. While, say, watching TV or if I wanted to use my phone’s speaker to share my audio. Disconnecting from Bluetooth does not impact the All-Day Clear sound amplification, and you can use the behind-the-ear module toggle to control their volume manually.

In perhaps Sennheiser’s most curious ergonomic and functional misstep, the All-Day Clear round-ish charging case is HUGE, nearly four inches wide, two inches thick, and three inches wide. I found you can only carry it in a bag – in a pants pocket, it will look like you’re carrying a tennis ball. Even more shockingly, the All-Day Clear charging case doesn’t incorporate a battery to recharge the All-Day Clears on the go. The All-Day Clear case only charges the buds via a mini-USB power connection (yes, its connecting jack isn’t even USB-C). Why the All-Day Clear charging case needs to be so large – it just feels hollow – while lacking an integrated battery baffles me.

The All-Day Clear buds are rated to run for 16 hours, which includes 2-3 hours of streaming music listening, thereby justifying their “all-day” label.

You can also buy a compatible but expensive TV Connector ($349.99) to feed TV sound directly to the All-Day Clear, but I didn’t get one to test. By comparison, the Linner Nova includes a TV sound connecting box.

Setup

After creating an account, answering a lot of what I thought were unnecessary personal/demographic questions, agreeing to Sennheiser’s anonymous data collection, and agreeing (or not) to get notifications, you are asked whether you opted to buy the In-Clinic Care Package and have had your All-Day Clears programmed by an audiologist or other HCP. If you haven’t, you’ll take the Sennheiser All-Day Clear app “hearing test.”

All app-based, self-fitting OTC hearing aid tests I’ve taken take around 5-10 minutes. These self-administered app hearing tests evaluate each ear separately by playing and asking when you can hear a series of different tones played at various frequencies and volume levels. These test results are then programmed into the hearing aids to tailor their aural corrective performance to your needs. This self-test approximates, if not duplicates, the tests and tuning you’d get from an audiologist or HCP.

The Sennheiser/Sonova All-Day Clear app hearing test, however, comprises just three total screens for both ears simultaneously – a 1-7 ranking of volume, a 1-6 ranking of “sound clarity,” and a thumbs-up thumbs-down ranking of balance. The Nuheara IQbuds2 Max and Apple AirPods Pro, which are standard Bluetooth earbuds that can double as hearing aids, offer far more customized settings for ambient hearing preferences. Considering the insufficiency of this hearing test, I can’t imagine why and how the FDA classified the All-Day Clear as “self-fitting.”

Performance

Since there are no authorized HCPs anywhere near me, I could not get the HCP test and tuning that might make the All-Day Clear worth their premium price. So, I can only judge the All-Day Clear performance without the benefit of tuning, comparing them to other RIC-style OTC hearing aids, self-fitting or not.

Without fine-tuning, the All-Day Clear indiscriminately amplifies sounds. This includes unwanted ambient noise, like creaking floors, keyboard key clacking, running water, etc. The Sennheiser app doesn’t include a voice-enhanced setting, noise reduction, or microphone directional focus. Many other OTC hearing aids, self-fitting or not, and non-hearing aid Bluetooth buds such as the Apple AirPods Pro and Nuheara IQbuds2 Max use these tools to help compensate for the lack of a personalized test and tuning and improve overall performance. Their inclusion would have aided the All-Day Clear’s non-tuned performance.

The Sennheiser app does include a slide-adjustable three-band equalizer (bass, mid, treble) and the always curious wind-noise reduction toggle – why would anyone NOT want wind reduction? You also get three sound modes: automatic, Live Music, and Bluetooth Streaming; the latter automatically triggers when you start streaming music.

You can adjust the volume for each ear or combine the left-right slide controls into a single control in the app. In the app, volume can be adjusted up from 0 to 5, which provides plenty of clear, distortion-free amplification, or down from 0 to -5. I was initially confused by the negative volume options; it took me a second to realize that 0 is the baseline volume likely based on your “hearing test” volume preference.

While the All-Day Clear sounded clean and clear, they did not quite achieve the slightly more natural audio from other self-fitting hearing-only OTC models I’ve tested, such as any of the Eargos or the Sony CRE-C10. For instance, it almost seemed as if the All-Day Clear amplified the air flowing around my ears, and amplified sound occasionally warbled or wavered between left and right, as if I were moving my head in relation to a static sound source.

What might make the All-Day Clear worth their premium price is their Bluetooth music reproduction. No, the All-Day Clear do not produce anywhere near the audiophile experience you’d get from Sennheiser’s mainstream Bluetooth buds or headphones. But I was frankly surprised at the quality of the streaming sound, even if the sound was a bit thin and tinny compared to the larger, Bluetooth bud-style OTC hearing aids such as the HP Hearing Pro or the Sony CRE-E10.

For phone calls, my co-conversationalists reported I sounded “strange,” with a warbly voice, which is not unexpected. RIC-styled hearing aids place their microphones on the module behind your ear, which can block the sounds coming out of your mouth, as opposed to the microphones on in-ear buds, which are far closer to your mouth. I could hear perfectly well at my end, with no volume adjustment needed.

The bottom line

Sennheiser essentially forces customers to visit an HCP to get the optimal performance from the All-Day Clear when all other self-fitting OTC hearing aid vendors make their wares all-inclusive as intended by the legislation that created the product category. This is a shame because I can only imagine how much more natural and cleaner the All-Day Clear would sound with proper personalized tuning.

As it stands, the All-Day Clear ($1,399) offer the best hearing-first multi-function compromise, providing above-average performance for hearing assistance, Bluetooth music, and hands-free calling, though they are not the best in any of these functions. For single-function hearing aids, I recommend the Eargo 7 ($2,655), while the Sony CRE-E10 ($1,299) are my top choice for Bluetooth music listening-first hearing assistance.

I can only hope that Sennheiser has a change of heart and adds a more extensive hearing test and personalized bud programming capability – and a more pocket-friendly recharging case – to its next-gen All-Day Clear to eliminate the need and added expense of an HCP visit.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

The X1 Nano, as the name suggests, is a tiny powerhouse making it ideal for road warriors and students who need maximum computing flexibility in the most portable package possible. In my tests and benchmarks, the ThinkPad X1 Nano loaded with Windows 11 Pro endured weeks of cross-country travel in planes, trains, and automobiles without a hiccup. 

Design

Wrapped in a solid shell constructed of carbon fiber and magnesium, the ThinkPad Nano measures a skinny 0.57 by 11.5 by 8.2 inches and weighs a mere 2.1 pounds. So there’s little debate about whether or not to include it in your briefcase or backpack (it’s light enough!), and Lenovo notes that the Nano also meets the MIL-STD 810H durability standard set out by the U.S. Department of Defense, so the system can handle being tossed around. Indeed, over the course of several business trips the ThinkPad Nano proved it was no mere fair-weather friend, performing reliably in a variety of conditions whether I was editing slides, videos, or watching Lupin on Netflix.

For everyday tasks, the ThinkPad’s keyboard remains very comfortable for touch typists with enough response to keep you on your fingertips. There’s a fingerprint reader next to the Nano’s touch pad, but there isn’t enough real estate to accommodate a dedicated numeric pad, but only accountants will miss this.

In the center of the X1 Nano keyboard is the ThinkPad’s signature TrackPoint red dot pointing device, which you either love or ignore in favor of the touch pad under your thumbs. Many users find the lack of precision and inadvertent mousing that touch pads are notorious for an annoyance they can forego, thanks to the ThinkPad’s red dot, and I found the option of turning off the touch pad an extremely liberating experience. Either way, the Lenovo X1 Nano offers users flexibility to decide what’s best for their work.

Classrooms have gone hybrid, and the X1 Nano proved to be the ideal companion to adapt to the changing educational landscape. In person, the Nano design is compact enough to fit on a shared conference table without elbowing out one of my fellow seminar students. Online, the laptop’s 1080p camera and WiFi connection made for a seamless experience. If anything, the resolution of the Nano’s camera and screen was disturbingly good, revealing wrinkles and imperfections I’d prefer to ignore. Shy (or paranoid) online conference participants can always draw the X1 Nano’s physical webcam privacy shutter, a feature that should be mandatory on every laptop.

The audio component, usually an afterthought on laptops, is surprisingly robust on the diminutive Nano. Lenovo has built in four noise-cancelling mics for better voice performance on calls, while four built-in speakers and Dolby Atmos support means a better experience when you’re enjoying downtime and binge watching your favorite online Nordic detective series.

Performance

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano Specs as tested:

• Processor: Intel Core i7 1360P
• Graphics: Intel Iris Xe
• Memory: 16 GB
• Storage: 512 GB
• Display: 13.3-inch, 2160-by-1350 pixel LCD touch-screen
• Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Price as tested: $1,208.99

Even though the ThinkPad X1 Nano looks like a welterweight, it packs a heavyweight punch, thanks to a 12-core Intel i7 processor. The CPU has a top turbo speed of 5 GHz, which is touch better than the previous model’s 4.8 GHz clock. Together with the built-in Intel Iris graphics adapter and 16 GB of RAM, it did well in our benchmarks.

Running the full suite of PCMark 10 tests, the ThinkPad X1 Nano delivered an overall PCMark score of 5842, which is easily in the top half of similarly outfitted systems. The productivity portion of the test turned in a 7213 score while the video editing section earned a 6760 score – all very good test results indeed.

These scores translate into seamless computing performance. I habitually ran multiple video and audio streams, a couple of dozen open web sites, and conducted basic photo editing while working on a dozen documents and PDFs – and I never encountered a hitch, lockup, or crash. Such performance should be a given these days, but the truth is that it’s more the exception than the rule.

Moreover, the X1 Nano’s excellent display goes a long way to making such work a pleasure. The touchscreen’s 2160-by1350 pixel resolution is better than most in this weight class, and while it only has a 60 Hz refresh rate, only competitive gamers are going to notice the difference.

Battery Life

The X1 Nano comes with a 50 watt-hour battery. There are larger batteries available in laptops, but those models also weigh more, usually twice as much as the ThinkPad X1 Nano. In my weeks of testing, I regularly squeezed more than 11 hours of work out of it before I had to find a power outlet. That’s quite respectable considering I typically run streaming audio and video while working and rarely take breaks. Moreover, for travelers, it means the X1 Nano will definitely get you across the pond or from New York to San Jose without having to plug in.

Ports and Connectivity

If the ThinkPad X1 Nano has an Achilles Heel, it’s the system’s paucity of ports. The thin, lightweight design means there’s not much room for fat plugs. So, there are only three connections: an audio mini jack for headphones (or mic/earphones) and two USB-C Thunderbolt ports, one for power in and the other for accessories.

If you’re switching from an older, bigger laptop to the Nano, you’ll have to prepare to make some changes when it comes to connectivity. Presenters will bemoan the lack of a dedicated mini-HDMI port for PowerPoint projections, while others may miss the lack of a full-size USB port to accommodate older cables. Nevertheless, I found it easy to make the switch, and when I came across an external device that required the larger USB port, I simply used a $5 adapter to make the connection.

Thankfully, most connections are wireless these days, and the ThinkPad X1 Nano supports WiFi 6E for improved speeds. Its Bluetooth pairing was also simple and straightforward for all the devices I tested, including multiple true wireless earphones. And when those wireless earbuds ran out of power – long before the laptop did – I really appreciated the inclusion of a standard audio mini jack for my go-to wired Sennheiser headphones.

Bottom Line

There are a lot of laptop options for buyers and many shoppers right now are finding it’s time to go for an upgrade over models that were purchased in the depths of the pandemic. Our recommendation is to go light. A bigger, heavier model may seem like a bargain, but you’ll quickly get tired of hauling it around. And how much of a bargain is it if you don’t take with you?

Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Nano Gen 3 is an excellent lightweight choice for buyers ranging from high-school students to first-class road warriors. It delivers the right balance of power and performance without weighing down your backpack – or emptying your bank account.

[Image credit: John R. Quain/Techlicious]

John R. Quain has been covering science and technology for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Magazine, Esquire, and U.S. News & World Report. He was the on-air technology contributor to the CBS News Up to the Minute television show for 17 years and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.

Touted as a complement to 55-inch or larger TVs, the TCL S Class system handles Dolby Digital soundtracks (rather than the more advanced Dolby Atmos) and offers DTS Virtual: X support. Both modes deliver an immersive surround sound experience that movie lovers and sports fans will appreciate. However, if you're looking to fill a larger living room with earsplitting sound effects and want Dolby Atmos support, you will have to spend more to make the upgrade to a model like Samsung's $800 HW-Q800C Soundbar.

Design and Setup

The TCL S Class sound bar is actually a sound system. It includes a 31.89-inch-wide, 2.44-inch high soundbar that sits beneath your TV, two rear satellite speakers, and a floor-standing subwoofer. The 5.1 channel designation means that there are three channels up front from the sound bar, the two rear satellite channels, and then the subwoofer (the .1 channel). TCL rates the system for a total of 300 watts of power.

The hallmark of the TCL S Class sound system is its incredibly easy setup. True, soundbars always claim to be easy to install, but this model was exceptional. Just unbox it, plug the power in, and connect the center bar to the TV's HDMI eArc port, and presto, it will be pumping out sound in less than 10 minutes. Also true to the TCL instructions, just plugging in the satellites to the subwoofer and then plugging the subwoofer into a power outlet automatically made the wireless connection to the soundbar and brought the satellites to life. Not exactly magic, but pretty darn close. There was no awkward pairing process, no calibration needed, and no settings to adjust. The TCL S Class sound system worked straight out of the box.

As mentioned, although the subwoofer is wireless, the satellite speakers use cables to connect to the subwoofer. Fortunately, those cables are over 26 feet long each, which should offer plenty of flexibility for most installations.

If you are looking for more audio options, the TCL S Class sound system includes Bluetooth for wireless sound sources like a smartphone, an optical digital audio port for a stereo system, and a USB port for an MP3 player or similar device. There's also an analog stereo input. Plenty of options to handle most families' needs.

Audio performance

Given all those possible sound and music choices, TCL includes several preset audio modes to match, including a Music setting, Sports, Game, Voice (for focusing in on dialog), Movie, and Standard settings (for most broadcast programs). To switch modes, you depress the surround button on the supplied remote control, and a voice will tell you when you've switched modes.

Music mode, for example, directs more of the audio to come from the center of the soundbar, which tightens up the bass and gives it more midrange. It also focuses the soundstage up front and diminishes the role of the satellite speakers and the subwoofer. Still, when auditioning a video of Cream performing Born Under a Bad Sign live, the TCL S Series revealed a reasonable dynamic range and solid reproduction of Eric Clapton's guitar. On the other hand, Jack Bruce's fretless bass lacked focus, and the notes seemed loose. Aha's Take On Me confirmed the impression with stable high notes but a sloppy bass line.

While watching streaming content at night, I frequently tested the Voice mode. This setting noticeably reduces the volume of the side/back channels and midrange notes. Instead, the Voice mode focuses on higher, midrange frequencies to emphasize typical dialogue and direct much of the sound to the TCL S Class soundbar's center channel. It's effective, but some viewers may still resort to invoking subtitles (an ingrained habit of younger viewers).

Other modes render predictable sonic changes. Game mode focuses the sound up front and emphasizes the higher registers for first-person shooters with a more rounded bass profile to give explosions more oomph from the subwoofer. Sports mode transfers almost all the crowd noise up front and makes a college football game sound, well, more lively with very little bass and minimal participation from the satellite speakers. (If you want more from the satellites you can boost those separately.)

However, the real test of a surround sound system is an action-packed movie, and Guardians of the Galaxy 3 proved a worthy workout for the TCL S Class sound system. Songs from the movie's soundtrack received the space rock treatment with a convincing surround sound effect. Even better, the S Class system proved very effective at creating the sensation that rockets (and some alien projectiles) were coming at us from the side and back. Sparks and explosions in the initial fight scene came clearly from the left and right while maintaining the wisecracking dialog squarely in the center. All of this was enhanced by a better-than-average dynamic range.

Even when you don't have a Dolby movie soundtrack, the TCL S Class sound system can be switched to engage the DTS Virtual:X mode to enliven any source material. However, the DTS Virtual:X mode can also make some soundtracks seem artificial and cause listener fatigue. It is very much a matter of personal taste.

But no matter what mode you prefer, the TCL S Class will deliver a definite boost to your cinematic experience. In a medium-sized living room with few sound-reflecting surfaces, I pushed the volume up to 80 dB without any appreciable distortion. Consequently, most viewers will find it delivers enough volume for their Marvel movie nights.

Remote control

In addition to power, source, Bluetooth, and volume buttons on the sound bar, TCL includes a compact remote control with the sound system to manage a variety of settings. Its four-way directional pad is fairly straightforward but mastering its series of dedicated buttons and relying on just a series of LEDs on the soundbar to convey the system's status can make it challenging to operate.

For example, after a long press of the Voice enhance button, you then have to press the up/down buttons to switch from mute, default, and high enhancement levels. A short press and then touching the up/down buttons allows you to adjust whatever current enhancement level you've selected. Similarly, a long press of the Bass Boost button will enable or disable a night mode (which reduces the bass output so that the subwoofer's rumbling doesn't wake everyone in the house). A short press on the same button reveals the current boost level on the LEDs, and then you can tap to the up/down buttons to raise or lower the amount of bass output.

In other words, making finer adjustments on the TCL S Class with the remote control takes a bit of practice.

The bottom line

The TCL S Class Soundbar 5.1 sound system ($279.99, on sale for less than $200) does what such upgrades are supposed to do: make the experience of watching movies, sporting events, and streaming series more immersive and more entertaining. The added bonus is that you don't have to sweat technical details or finicky settings to get it all working. Sure, more expensive sound bar systems will offer some features that the TCL S Class model lacks, such as compatibility with Apple Airplay and support for Amazon's Alexa assistant. But for less than $200 retail, it's difficult to argue against the huge improvement in sound the TCL S Class system offers for movie nights and binge viewing.

[Image credit: John R. Quain/Techlicious]

John R. Quain has been covering science and technology for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Magazine, Esquire, and U.S. News & World Report. He was the on-air technology contributor to the CBS News Up to the Minute television show for 17 years and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.

In addition to its Google TV smarts, the TCL S Class S4 set has loads of 4K features, including support for Dolby Vision and HDR 10 (high dynamic range) programs, as well as Dolby Atmos soundtracks and DTS Virtual:X audio. It also works with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and it can automatically kick into a low-latency game mode when you switch to your favorite console. What's missing is a quantum-dot display layer, which can deliver richer colors, and a speedy 120-Hz display, a prized feature for hyper-competitive gamers. Nevertheless, the TCL S Class S4 uses a completely serviceable 60-Hz 4K panel and delivers a solid 4K picture that will suffice for most movie and TV viewers.

Setup

The design of the TCL S Class S4 set is utilitarian. Its chassis, for example, doesn't have the sort of smooth contoured back that high-end models sport, so there's a bump on its behind where the electronics are housed, and some vertical support structures are evident. Fortunately, this won't matter to most buyers since all this is usually concealed in a wall mount or tabletop installation.

The 65-inch TCL S Class S4 set has v-shaped legs at each end of the display, so it sits solidly on a tabletop. And if you decide on a wall mount, the set weighs just a little over 30 pounds, which is light for a display of this size and makes it easier to maneuver. (By contrast, the TCL Q Class Q7 4K QLED 65-inch model I recently reviewed weighs 45 pounds.) The one feature that the TCL S Class S4 set does compromise on is HDMI connections; it only has three, whereas more expensive models generally have four inputs. Otherwise, the S Class S4 includes all the usual connections, including WiFi and Bluetooth, optical and analog audio ports, and Ethernet and coaxial cable connections.

Setting up the TCL S Class S4 set is extremely easy – if you use the Google Home app, available on both Android and Apple iOS smartphones. Launch the app on your phone, scan the on-screen QR code with your phone's camera, allow it to connect to your home WiFi network, and away it goes. You can expect – as you can with all smart TVs – that the set will also require a software update, which took me about 15 minutes on the TCL S Class S4 set.

Part of the regular installation process also involves training Google Assistant with a handful of voice commands. ("Ok Google, remind me to water my freakin' plants every day.") And you can set up features such as a slide show of artwork to kick in when the TV goes to sleep, also known as ambient mode.

Picture performance

Two notable aspects of the TCL S Class S4 set's display technology do limit its overall picture performance. It doesn't include a quantum dot layer (often referenced as QLED sets), so it doesn't offer some of the more intense colors available on more expensive models, and it doesn't have local dimming – hundreds of backlights that can be individually turned on and off. That means it lacks some subtly when it comes to contrast ratios. In other words, while it can produce some deep, solid blacks, the TCL S Class S4 isn't as adept at revealing minute details in shadowy scenes. Nonetheless, neither of these limitations prevented it from faithfully reproducing a variety of programming and content, from 4K movies to streaming shows and broadcast TV programming.

The TCL S Class S4 set offers several pre-set video modes, including Low power, Sports, Movie, Game, and Vivid modes. I determined that Movie mode was best in terms of yielding accurate colors, brightness, and contrast. Sports mode, for example, produces over-saturated reds, and Vivid tends to cause bright objects on screen to bleed into other elements. I used Movie mode for testing, but if you want to make further picture adjustments, TCL allows you to adjust features such as digital noise reduction, sharpness, and motion clarity. You can also tweak a couple of expert calibration picture settings, including color space and white balance.

In Movie mode, the TCL S Class S4 set produced vibrant greens and generally spot-on color accuracy. In a 4K HDR10 version of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, red picture elements did look a little muted and leaned toward the orange end of the scale. Action sequences, however, were rendered without any annoying picture artifacts or distortions.

Later in the movie, however, the issues with contrast became apparent in the serpent's cave, where some details in the shadows were obscured. I also found that while off-axis viewing was consistent (so you don't have to sit in the center of the couch to get the best view), the TCL S Class S4 screen was a little more reflective than most, so it behaves best in a dimly lit room. Screen uniformity was also generally good, although the set has a propensity to reveal the occasional flaring along the picture edges of some solid color images.

On the other hand, the TCL S Class S4 handled color transitions very smoothly. There was no banding distortion in desert sky scenes, for example, and there was minimal haloing around bright objects like lightsabers. Furthermore, flesh tones looked pleasantly realistic across the board, and the set produced excellent 4K picture details even in complex scenes such as one in which multiple images were reflected through multiple panes of glass.

And while no TV can fix all the imperfections of programs like sporting events broadcast on compressed cable TV channels, the TCL S Class S4 set did a commendable job upscaling lower-resolution content to the 4K screen. There were certainly no serious distortions in racy car chase scenes, for example, where image blur and odd picture artifacts can sometimes be an issue.

Audio performance

TCL offers several preset sound profiles on the S Class S4 TV, including a Movie mode, as well as Music, Standard, Voice, Live, and Dynamic modes. There is no equalizer adjustment, but you can tweak the balance.

Oddly, the Dynamic mode tended to mute songs. The Voice mode, which is supposed to make notoriously difficult dialogue tracks easier to hear, tended to make speech sound reedy so that everyone sounded like REM's Michael Stipe. Movie mode produced the most pleasing overall sound, as one might expect, with a more rounded and wider soundstage in an attempt to give it more of a surround sound effect. Movie mode also seemed to boost midrange notes – all the better to appreciate those massive, blockbuster explosions – and Live mode proved to be just a more boisterous or brighter version of Movie mode.

Some listeners might prefer the Movie mode setting for music, but it can sound strained and artificial after a few songs. So I switched to Music mode for a variety of concerts and music videos. A live performance by Cream of "Born Under a Bad Sign" was dominated by the high-end notes (in a pleasant and not too tinny way), but Aha's "Take On Me" had virtually no lower bass, and the famously soaring vocals never hit the top notes.

If you're looking to fill a big room with sound, the TCL S Class S4 will need some assistance. With the volume set to about 85 percent on the set, I measured only 72 Db sitting about 12 feet away. That's not enough sound pressure to produce a full cinematic effect in a large living room, but it's also typical for a great many big-screen TVs, regardless of price. I didn't detect any serious distortion at high volume levels, either, but we'd still recommend adding a sound bar (like TCL's matching S4510 sound bar) to create a better home theater experience.

The bottom line

There is a constantly shifting and changing array of smart 65-inch 4K TVs on the market at a wide variety of price points. Moreover, in the $500 range, there's a lot to choose from, but the TCL S Class S4 65-inch TV holds its own against the competition both in terms of price and features. A $479.99, the Samsung 65-inch CU7000 Crystal UHD 4K Smart TV, for example, also uses a 60-Hz panel, but it doesn't use the more capable Google TV interface. And there's the Hisense 65-inch 4K UHD Smart Google TV (65A6H) available for $469.99. However, TCL's S Class S4, which retails for $529.99, can be found at shopping sites for less than both models (at press time, it was $399.99), and with such a good picture, one has to ask oneself, why pay more?

[Image credit: John R. Quain/Techlicious]

John R. Quain has been covering science and technology for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Magazine, Esquire, and U.S. News & World Report. He was the on-air technology contributor to the CBS News Up to the Minute television show for 17 years and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.

When we went hands-on with the original Freestyle in 2022, we found it to be both “a serious display device” and “pure fun without being a toy.” As the name implies, Samsung's FreeStyle 2 is the company's second-generation portable projector. For this iteration, Samsung has beefed up its performance so that it launches streaming video apps in seconds and switches between video sources seamlessly. It also delivers a better picture overall and includes new features, such as a solar-powered remote control, a gaming hub section for playing Xbox games without a separate console, and a feature called edge blending that lets you combine the pictures from two FreeStyle 2 projectors for a whoppingly wide picture.

Design and setup

Designed like a miniature, free-standing spotlight, the Samsung FreeStyle 2 has a built-in stand that allows you to rotate it 180 degrees in order to aim it straight at a wall or at various angles, including straight up at a ceiling (for those languorous, lying-in-bed movie nights). It is solidly built, and its white exterior makes it an inconspicuous addition to my living room. It does not have a built-in battery, although an external battery can be added (Samsung offers a $189.99 battery option that acts as a stand).

On the front is a lens cover you can leave on to turn the projector into a mood light or pop off to reveal the lens and a few manual controls, including the power button. Ergonomically, I found the power button to be poorly situated because owners should avoid looking directly at the projector's light. A safer spot for the manual controls would have been on the back of the projector. However, most of the time, you'll use the included remote control or Smart Things smartphone app to operate the projector, so this is a minor issue for me.

Setting up the projector could not be simpler. Just plug it in, aim it at a blank wall or screen, and power it on. The FreeStyle 2 automatically sizes and focuses the image. It even levels the picture by itself and does automatic keystoning (the latter eliminates picture distortion that can make the image look like a trapezoid in geometry class).

Picture performance

Samsung improved the performance of the FreeStyle 2, making the user interface more responsive and the 1080p picture crisper overall. Furthermore, while projectors still require a dark or dimly lit room for optimal performance, I found the Samsung FreeStyle 2's brightness quite impressive and much better than less expensive portable models I've tested, such as the $549 Anker Nebula Mars II Pro, which only delivers a 720p picture and not nearly the sound volume of the FreeStyle.

For convenience, the Samsung FreeStyle 2 has three preset video modes: dynamic, standard, and movie mode. I found the best mode for color fidelity and contrast was the movie mode, but you can also manually adjust picture settings, including brightness, contrast, sharpness, tint, and color. If you want to go deeper, there are extensive expert picture settings where you can tweak the white balance, gamma, and color space settings. For professionals, there's also a smart calibration setting that requires a separate device.

In movie mode, I found the Samsung FreeStyle 2's 100-inch picture was a pleasure to watch. Movies looked truly cinematic and film-like. Colors were generally faithful to their intended hues, and the contrast was good without going to extremes (which can make the picture look flat and artificial). Shadowy elements were still visible and yet bright areas didn't bleed into other parts of the picture. Of course, when compared to a 4K LCD TV, a perceptive viewer will note that in verdant jungle scenes, greens can look slightly yellowish on the projector's image, but such compromises are to be expected for the bigger picture.

If you have a Samsung smartphone, the FreeStyle projector can be controlled using the Smart Things app. Part of that includes an on-screen remote control on the phone, but the major new feature is something called "smart edge blending." This is the ability to combine the image from two FreeStyle 2 projectors to create one gargantuan picture. With the phone and two projectors on the same Wi-Fi network, it takes about a minute for the app to recognize both projectors and start the alignment process. The projectors shoot icons on the wall that you have to align by physically moving the two projectors. (I had to place the projectors on a table about 2 feet apart from one another.)

Once that's accomplished, you take a picture of the projector's image on the wall with your smartphone. The software detects the position of eight displayed icons on the wall (or screen), and then the software magically stitches the two images together (in either wide landscape mode or vertical portrait mode). This can be easy – or tricky – to set up, depending on how precise you are.

In one room, I had trouble getting the smartphone to recognize all eight icons. It turns out the projectors' pictures have to be pretty closely aligned to begin with (and I was somewhat lackadaisical about this in the beginning). All the icons on the wall or screen also have to be clearly visible without any distortions, such as appearing in a corner or at the edge of the screen.

Once I got the hang of it, however, I found the edge blended mode addictive. It maintains the original aspect ratio of whatever video source material you're using, but you can pinch and zoom it on your smartphone screen to get the super-wide picture on your wall. For example, when I zoomed in to fill more of the screen with the video of Coldplay's Clocks it worked extremely well, almost doubling the width of the image without appreciable distortion. You can also get a super-wide slide show of your own still pictures going for a party or family gathering.

One side note: combining two FreeStyle 2 projectors to create a bigger picture also effectively doubles the sound output because it emanates from both projectors. I kicked on Deep Purple's Highway Star for some long-haired heavy metal and found it boosted the volume – but still didn't incur my neighbor's wrath.

Sound performance

Overall, the soup-can-sized chassis of the Samsung FreeStyle 2 does enable a bigger sound than what you'll experience from most portable projectors. That makes the projector more suitable for larger audiences, say, for sporting events or parties. But don't expect surround sound system decibel levels. At 80 percent volume, the FreeStyle still only produced about 65 to 70 dB of sound pressure, so it's not going to power your next rave. On the other hand, you can easily connect an external Bluetooth speaker to the projector if you find you need more volume.

As for sound quality, the Samsung FreeStyle 2 exhibits some of the same shortcomings found in most big-screen TVs. Playing a welter of music videos, I found the projector produced a sound dominated by mid to high-range notes. In other words, there's very little low-end bass but lots of vocals on Aha's Take On Me (although it was still a little thin on the high notes). There are also preset sound modes: standard, adaptive, and amplify. The last proved effective for improving the audibility of movie and TV dialog.

Smart features

The Samsung FreeStyle 2 includes the company's standard support for all the major streaming apps, from Netflix to Disney+. So, you won't go wanting for things to watch. And the system works with Amazon's Alexa for voice control or Samsung's voice assistant called Bixby. I found both very helpful for finding shows and switching between video sources. You can even set up Alexa to work when the projector's screen is turned off. (You can also manually switch off the projector's microphone if you're concerned about your privacy.)

Samsung is also touting a new feature for players it calls its game hub. This effectively allows you to play video games on the set without the need to plug in an external console. I was able to access Xbox games, for example, via my existing account (a prerequisite). All you need to do is pair up a game controller. The FreeStyle 2 works with several different wireless controllers, including the Xbox Wireless Controller and Sony PlayStation DualSense.

Finally, there is a screensaver or mood setting that Samsung calls "ambient mode." It allows you to choose a video or animated sequence to effectively decorate your space with either your own photos or canned images and animations. You can choose a panoramic shot of the Rockies, for example, that makes it look as if you're looking out a window or an animation of a fireplace or twinkling Christmas lights. There are also some animated kaleidoscopic images if you're looking for a hypnotic effect.

Remote control

Since the Samsung FreeStyle 2 is considered to be a premium TV, Samsung has included a premium remote control with the projector: its latest solar-powered remote. The remote features a diminutive solar array on the back so that, when not in use, you can place the remote buttons-side down, and it will trickle charge the controller's battery using the ambient light in your room. (No, you don't need to put it in a window, like ripening tomatoes.) The remote does not have dedicated numerical buttons, but there are dedicated buttons for launching Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, and Samsung's own aggregation of streaming online programming.

The Bottom line

The Samsung FreeStyle 2 ($799.99) definitely sits at the upper end of portable projectors. There are compact projectors from the likes of Anker and Xgimi available for half the list price of the Samsung FreeStyle 2, but they have major disadvantages. They cannot be aimed at various angles using a built-in stand like the FreeStyle 2, they generally offer lower-resolution 720p pictures, and they deliver inferior sound. That makes the Samsung FreeStyle 2 a better option for movies or games where a big, bright picture with sound to match is paramount. And for businesses – or serious party planners – the blended edge feature makes the FreeStyle 2 an irresistible accessory.

[Image credit: John R. Quain/Techlicious]

John R. Quain has been covering science and technology for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Magazine, Esquire, and U.S. News & World Report. He was the on-air technology contributor to the CBS News Up to the Minute television show for 17 years and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.

It's worth noting that the Atoms are not legally “hearing aids,” despite the company’s branding, labeling, and marketing copy. The Atoms are not FDA-certified Class II medical devices as OTC self-fitting hearing aids are, so they unofficially qualify only as personal sound amplifier devices (PSAD) that indiscriminately amplify all sounds regardless of your specific hearing deficiencies.

However, most people won’t and shouldn’t care if the Atoms are FDA certified or if they aren’t really “hearing aids” as defined by the government, lack any aural frills, or don’t render sound as perfectly as higher-priced OTC hearing aids. While you’ll need to make some not-unexpected compromises, the Atoms solve the most nagging hearing loss issues for a broad swath of the slightly hearing impaired for a ridiculously low price.

Ergonomics and Set-Up

While slightly larger than more expensive self-fitting bud OTC hearing aids, such as the two Sony CRE models (starting at $999.99), the varying Eargo editions (starting at $1,450.00), and the Jabra Enhance Plus ($799.00), the flesh-colored Atom Pro buds, which we tested, are still small enough to be nearly invisible in most folks’ ears. Each Atom Pro bud is equipped with a short, thin stem to make it easier to grab and remove them.

The Pro charging case measures an eminently pocketable 2 inches wide, 1.75 inches tall, and 0.8 inches thick. Audien claims the case with inserted buds can be charged wirelessly, but it wouldn’t charge on three different Qi pads I tried. A USB-C cable and transformer block are included, and complete charging takes 4 hours, which is normal.

What isn’t normal is the Atoms’ long battery life; Audien claims the standard Atoms will run for 20 hours on a single charge and the Pros for 24 hours. Testing this claim would require my staying awake far beyond my usual bedtime, but the Pros stayed powered throughout my regular 18-19 hour days. Even if the Atoms’ lithium-ion battery life deteriorates by 10% or 20% over several years, you’ll still be left with all-day power. The Pro charging case will provide three additional full power charges, so you won’t need a charging cable for long weekends. The case for the lower-priced Atoms doesn’t double as a charger.

Two other things you need not worry about. First, there’s no on-off switch – the Atoms switch on as soon as you remove them from their case, and they switch off when you put them back into the charging case.

You also don’t need to worry about left/right – either bud can be placed in either ear.

Three sizes of translucent silicone “ear dome” tips are included; the Atom buds are fitted with the medium out of the box. Even though I usually opt for large tips for all other earbuds I wear, I actually fitted the Pros with the small tips. As a result, the Atoms didn’t seal my canals; instead, they rested comfortably but firmly in my ears. No matter how violently I shook my head, the Atoms remained solidly entrenched.

Audien doesn’t recommend a particular fitting, instead guiding you to place and twist the Atoms in your ear until they feel comfortable. Even though the ear dome tips aren’t perforated, which would create a more “open” soundscape, I got a natural mix of ambient and amplified sound.

The Atom buds wear lighter than I expected. After around 12 hours or so, I did want to remove them and rub the inside of my ears with my pinky for a bit before putting them back in, but otherwise, the Atoms remained comfortably innocuous in my ears all day.

What you do have to worry about is adjusting the buds’ volume level. To adjust the Atom Pro buds’ volume, you need to use the included screwdriver/cleaning brush tool to turn the slitted volume dial on each bud – a less-than-exacting process. For one thing, if your eyesight is as poor as your hearing, good luck focusing on the tiny volume controls to begin with. Plus, the turning radius of the volume screw does not match the minuscule +/- arc or arc tick marks imprinted on the inside of each bud. So it’s impossible to know just how loud you’re making each bud or if the volume matches for both buds, except by trial and error. It took me several days of minor adjustments to arrive at suitable volume settings – and I’m still not sure I’ve got each bud tuned just right.

Since you need the screw/brush tool to make these uncertain volume changes, forget adjusting the Atom volume on the fly. And be careful with the screw/brush tool – it’s black and only slightly bigger than a toothpick, so it is easy to lose and not easy to replace. That is unless you own that tiny screwdriver you use to adjust the screws on your eyeglasses. The brush end tip is magnetic, so you can stick it perpendicularly on a filing cabinet or any other metal surface.

All earbuds are prone to wax buildup, so thankfully, Audien includes four replacement wax guards. These wax guards fit under the ear dome tips and are attached to toothpick-sized removal/replacement sticks (the blue sticks shown above).

Performance

If you suffer age-related hearing loss, the Atom Pros won’t compensate or restore high- or low-end frequency losses. But considering the 10x-plus price delta between the Atoms and FDA-certified hearing aids, most folks won’t care as long as the world around them is simply loud enough to hear and understand. And the Atoms effectively double or more the volume level of everything around you – as much as if not more than the nearly $3,000 Eargo 7.

But with their cheap price and effective amplification, there are aural compromises you’ll have to make. The Atoms suffer from three major performance drawbacks that most higher-priced FDA-certified OTC hearing aids effectively deal with.

First, as noted, voices don’t sound as natural as they do compared to pricier hearing aids. People’s voices – especially your own – are louder but often tinged with a slight distortion buzz that reminds you that you’re wearing sound amplifiers. By comparison, FDA-certified hearing aids deliver a seamless, natural mix of ambient and amplified sound.

Second, the Atoms equally amplify all sounds. Upon initially wearing them, I thought I was actually hearing the flow of air around me, which turned out to be the amplified sound of the air conditioner. Most more expensive, self-fitting OTC hearing aids include circuitry and app settings to boost voices and suppress unnecessary ambient sounds. Audien does note that it will take some time – perhaps weeks – for your brain to adjust to the newly amplified sounds it is experiencing, which is what nearly all hearing aid makers explain.

Third, the Atoms tend to distort even slightly higher volume sounds. When a loud commercial popped up on TV or someone spoke in a normal tone close to my ear, including whispers in my ear from my wife, their voice was accompanied by an almost painful fuzzy screech. To stop the screech, I’d instinctively put my hands up to cover my ears, which then generated even more painful feedback, endemic to most hearing aids or in-ear PSADs. Over the first few days of wearing the Atoms, I was constantly adjusting their volume to find the happy medium between generating acceptable volume while minimizing distortion and feedback.

Because they are prone to feedback when anything solid comes near your ears (even though Audien claims the Pros include “enhanced feedback cancelation [sic]”) and because they are a bit larger than other OTC hearing aid buds, you can’t wear headphones over the Atoms. The plain Atoms lack the Pros’ “enhanced cancelation,” which must make their feedback an even bigger annoyance.

The bottom line is that voices in crowded environments will be drowned out due to these three deficiencies and the inability to lower their volume without the screw/brush tool. I ended up removing the Atoms in movie theaters, the ballpark, or other large gatherings simply because I was hearing way too much of the environment around me and not enough of what I wanted to hear near me.

But around the house, in casual social situations, and for watching TV, isolated incidents of distortion and feedback were largely tolerable, an acceptable tradeoff for the world being more hearable at such a low price.

The bottom line

The Atom ($99.99) and Atom Pro ($249.00) effectively double sound volume. For folks whose hearing problems are primarily lower volume, the Atoms offer a cheap and easy volume-boosting solution. Just keep in mind that you will have to put up with less-than-stellar voice enhancement, occasional distortion and feedback, and the inability to adjust the volume easily.

At some point, fingers crossed, the cost of OTC hearing aids will drop enough to dramatically decrease the price delta between them and these cheap Atom Pros and their non-FDA-certified PSAD ilk. Maybe the popularity of affordable in-ear PSAD solutions such as the Atom will accelerate this price shrinkage. Until then, the Atom Pro offers a cheap and easy, if somewhat compromised, solution for mild hearing volume loss.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

What do you get for the $30 price hike, and does it deserve a spot on my kitchen counter? After using the Sonos Era 100 in my home for a few weeks, I'm impressed with the new features, which include stereo sound, Bluetooth, and a privacy button for the smart speaker's microphone.

If you currently have a Sonos One (or Sonos One SL, which is the speaker without the voice control smarts) and aren't clamoring for Bluetooth or stereo sound from just one speaker, you don't need to rush out and upgrade to the Era 100 just yet, but there are some practical things to consider.

The Era 100 replaces the Sonos One, which will only continue to be available while the supply lasts. As of this writing, it's still available on the Sonos website. While Sonos says it will continue to support the product with software updates (new features, bug fixes, and security updates) for as long as possible, when we asked, Sonos says it's committed to providing new features via software updates for a minimum of five years after they stop selling a product. Once Sonos stops supporting it with bug fixes and security patches, you may leave yourself open to security issues if you continue to use the product.

If you're in the market for a new Sonos speaker, the Sonos Era 100 tops its predecessors in every way and is well worth the extra money.

Design

While the Sonos Era 100 is similar in size to the Sonos One, the design has changed slightly. Instead of the squared-off edges, it has a more rounded shape, and at 7.2 inches high, it's just a tad taller than the 6.4-inch-high Sonos One. I find the extra height and sleek shape gives it a more modern, updated look.

Capacitive touch controls on top of the speaker make it easy to play, pause, skip, and replay tracks, and while you can still tap to adjust the volume, the new volume slider is a simple way to control the audio level quickly.

Two new buttons on the rear of the speaker are welcome additions. One is a Bluetooth button, something we've only seen on Sonos' portable speakers, the Sonos Roam ($179) and Sonos Move ($399) until now. The addition of Bluetooth means a visitor can stream music to the speaker without having to connect to your WiFi and go through the Sonos app.

The second button turns off the smart speaker's microphone. You can still tap the button on the top to temporarily mute it, but if you want to turn the microphone off completely, the toggle switch will do that. One note about voice control: while the Era 100 supports Amazon Alexa and Sonos voice control, it does not support Google Assistant as it did on the Sonos One.

Audio quality

Sound is where you really see – or hear – the difference between the Sonos Era 100 and the Sonos One. The Era 100 delivers stereo playback, more bass, and a wider sound stage thanks to the speaker's two angled tweeters (up from one) and a single 25-percent-larger midwoofer.

While I've often paired my two Sonos speakers to create a more immersive, room-filling sound, I was surprised by how crisp and rich the audio sounded from just the Era 100. Of course, you can pair the speakers with your own Sonos speakers or connect them to a soundbar like the Sonos Beam ($499) or Sonos Arc ($899) for home theater sound.

Sonos is known for its Trueplay tuning technology, which helps balance the sound in large rooms. It involves using an app on your iOS device and walking around the room waving your arms up and down. Sonos now has a Quick Tuning feature that uses the microphones on the Era 100 (no phone needed) to measure a room and optimize playback, and it takes under a minute to do. I've always used Trueplay when setting up Sonos speakers because I live in a home with a lot of open space, which is where you can really tell the difference. Using Quick Tuning made this process so much easier and faster. And great news for Android users: while Trueplay was for iOS only, Team Android can use the new Quick Tuning feature.

Connectivity

In addition to the wider, deeper sound, some of the most exciting upgrades to the Era 100 are about connectivity. As mentioned above, this is the first non-portable Sonos speaker to have Bluetooth connectivity in addition to WiFi and AirPlay 2. To add even more flexibility, Sonos added a USB-C line-in port to the back of the speaker. With an optional $19 USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, you can connect a variety of external audio sources. Best of all, you can play that audio source on any speaker on your Sonos system.

The bottom line

While you might be tempted to buy the less expensive Sonos One ($219) while you still can, the Sonos Era 100 ($249) delivers more connectivity features, a more modern look, better bass, and a more expansive sound thanks to the additional tweeter. And while there's no SL or non-smart version of this speaker, the addition of a physical privacy button to turn off the speaker's microphone will appeal to those who prefer more secure privacy. The one downside is that the Era 100 doesn't support Google Assistant.

For most people looking to buy a new standalone Sonos speaker or expand their existing Sonos system, the Era 100 is the way to go. It's a feature-rich upgrade to the One, and you can feel confident that it will be supported by the company for years to come.

[Image credit: Andrea Smith/Techlicious]

Andrea Smith is an award-winning technology broadcast journalist, reporter, and producer. Andrea was the Technology Producer and an on-air Technology contributor at ABC News for over two decades before becoming the Lifestyle Channel Editor at Mashable, where she explored the ways in which real people, not just geeks, began using technology in their everyday lives.

Look and feel

If I handed you the 40 XE 5G, you would have no idea that it’s a sub-$200 phone. The fit and finish place it squarely as a mid-tier phone costing two the three times its price. It’s light without feeling plasticky and has a subtly textured back that makes it easy to hold.

The power and volume buttons are placed halfway down the right side, making them easy to reach for smaller hands. Unfortunately, that also places them squarely in the way of some car mounts.

Display

The 40 XE 5G has a 6.56-inch HD+ (720 x 1612) LDC display with plenty of brightness for easy viewing in bright sunlight. And at 90Hz, the display is plenty fast for most applications, including gaming – faster than similarly priced phones. However, you will notice a fall-off in color and brightness when you view the screen slightly off-axis.

Camera

The front selfie camera is 8MP, and there are three cameras on the back – a 13MP main camera, a 2MP depth camera, and a 2MP macro camera – about what you’d expect at this price point. For their resolution, the cameras do well when they have enough light. You’ll see a decent level of detail and the colors accurate, if slightly over-saturated.

However, in low light, images appear blurry and grainy. Phones like the Google Pixel 6a at $399.99 will give you far better results – keeping in mind you're paying four times the price of the 40 XE 5G.

Processor

Powering the 40 XE 5G is a MediaTek Dimensity 700 5G processor. It is capable of handling everyday tasks and light gaming but, not surprisingly, struggles with high-frame-rate, graphically complex games. As its name suggests, the chip supports 5G, specifically Sub6, for Verizon’s network.

Audio

The mono speaker on the 40 XE 5G is fine for casual listening, but voices sound tinny, and it’s lacking the depth you’d get from stereo speakers.

Like on some other lower-cost smartphones, you’ll find a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Battery

The TCL 40 XE 5G has a 5,000mAh battery, which delivers all-day battery life. The battery charges at a maximum of 18 watts, and, in a pleasant surprise, an 18-watt charger comes packed in the box.

Software

The 40 XE 5G runs a plain version of Android 13 and uses Google’s basic apps. Unfortunately, when Android 14 rolls out, it won’t get the OS upgrade.

The bottom line

The TCL 40 XE 5G can easily handle your everyday tasks, with its access to Verizon’s fast 5G network, bright display viewable in sunlight, and a battery that’s built to last all day long. Sure, there are a few tradeoffs in gaming and low-light photography, and you won’t enjoy conveniences like tap-to-pay. But for its current price of $99.99 on Verizon, the TCL 40 XE 5G is an amazing value.

[Image credit: Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

Your puzzlement is understandable. We thought the same thing, especially based on the Linner marketing hype about how effective the Nova are at improving your hearing. The Nova are Apple AirPod-like stick buds that boost your hearing and also double as wireless Bluetooth earbuds, increasing their potential value vs. plain, non-Bluetooth OTC hearing aids such as the nearly invisible Eargo 7.

Once we stuck the Nova into our ears and listened to the world around us, however, we soon discovered why the Nova are so cheap and why you shouldn’t be cheap when buying OTC hearing aids.

Nova’s primary problem is they amplify without clarifying. If your hearing issue is muddiness, that muddiness will be amplified by the Linner. If you’re missing high or low frequencies, the Nova will not restore them but merely magnify the sounds you can hear. In short, the Nova only makes what you already hear louder – MUCH louder – without additional clarity and without any restoration of what sounds you might be missing.

The reason the Linner Nova don’t compensate for what sounds you’re missing is that they are not “self-fitting,” which means the buds can’t be customized to match your specific hearing deficiencies. Yes, the Linner app includes a self-administered hearing test like other self-fitting OTC hearing aids, such as the Eargo 7 and the Bluetooth-enabled HP Hearing Pro, which takes only a couple of minutes to complete. But the screen displaying your test results states in small type that “This test is only for evaluating your hearing, which can’t replace a medical test.” In other words, the results of your hearing test are not applied to the buds to customize their performance to compensate for your hearing loss; the test exists merely to give you a vague idea of how poor your hearing is. This is why the Nova carry an FDA plain hearing aid QUG designation rather than the FDA’s more expansive QUH “self-fitting” designation [For more details, read What You Need to Know Before Buying OTC Hearing Aids]. And because the Linnear double as Bluetooth earbuds for music, they also are slightly pricier than the bargain non-self-fitting hearing-only hearing aids you often see advertised on TV.

But the Linner Nova also represent what a larger problem in the burgeoning OTC hearing aid business is – often purposely imprecise, oftentimes misleading, if not outright fraudulent labeling.

For instance, emblazoned on the Nova’s main web sales page is an official-looking gold badge that proudly proclaims “FDA Approved.” This is false. The FDA does not “approve” OTC hearing aids, with a gold badge or otherwise, which implies a federal government quality imprimatur. The FDA only “certifies” OTC hearing aids, which means devices simply comply with the agency’s device technical specifications and regulations, not recommending them for their quality or performance.

So, if you’re tempted by the Nova’s low price to improve your hearing – caveat emptor. The sound you hear will be louder but not better. But the low price, their ability to stream music, and the surprising inclusion of Linner Connect, a small TV adaptor that provides wireless amplified TV listening, may be enough for some.

Ergonomics and setup

Linner’s white Nova buds bear an uncanny – well, maybe not so uncanny – resemblance to Apple’s AirPods Pro. I intensely dislike the AirPods/Nova stick form factor; sticks are not as secure as other in-ear buds and are too easily accidentally dislodged. The white flat oval Nova recharging case is only slightly larger than that of the AirPods Pro; like the AirPods Pro, the Nova can be recharged wirelessly, although you may have the press the button next to the USB-C charging port on the case to activate charging.

Included are four sets of different-sized translucent silicone tips.

The buds automatically Bluetooth pair with your phone through the relatively simple Linner HA app. Initially, the app would not let me conduct the hearing test beyond my left ear, then refused to boot altogether. I finally deleted the app and reinstalled it, and everything worked fine.

Each Nova bud is equipped with two vertically aligned multi-use buttons, a line and a dot, colored red on the right bud and blue on the left. Single clicks of either long button increase volume, single clicks of either dot lowers the volume, a double click of either line pauses/plays music, a single push of the line picks up an incoming call, and a long two-second push of the line hangs up a call.

Linner doesn’t list a battery life rating – or any specs, another caveat – on its website. In real-world usage, I got 6.5-7 hours of mixed listening/music/TV watching usage, with remaining life for each bud displayed on the app’s splash screen. I have been unable to find out how many times the case will recharge the buds. For some reason, however, each bud drained power at different rates. Five hours of continuous wear and mixed ambience and music listening left the left earbud with 41% of power – but the right bud only 26%.

Inside the case is a UV-C lamp to sterilize the buds, perhaps a nod to folks who like to share. Linner recommends at least a minute of in-case sterilization to fully eliminate lingering bacteria and other assorted ear cooties.

The Nova user manual is a mess. For one thing, it could use a good copy editing, or at least proof reading, as it is replete with typos and misspellings. The manual also fails to adequately explain – or even include – many of the Nova’s functions, functions, and specs.

Performance

As noted, the Nova doesn’t improve sound – it doesn’t make what you hear cleaner or clearer or restore previously unheard frequencies. It merely amplifies what you can already hear. If voices sound muddy to you or difficult to distinguish or comprehend, they’ll still be with the Nova – only louder.

And because the Nova ear tips essentially seal your ears, you are totally dependent on the sound you get from the buds. Hearing through the Nova sounds like a good loud phone connection, not as natural as higher priced self-fitting OTC hearing aids, like our All Around Top Pick, the Sony CRE-E10. And because your ears are nearly sealed as they are with all the Bluetooth OTC hearing aid models, you’ll barely be able to hear your own voice, which means you’ll start talking louder.

You get four hearing improvement presets: Dialogue [sic], Restaurant, Commute, and Outdoor; each preset boosts voices a little less than the previous, while the Outdoor preset helps cut down on wind whine. While the Dialogue and Restaurant presets do raise voice volume levels, all other sounds also are raised indiscriminately and often create an incomprehensible cacophony. You’ll also hear slight occlusion as the ear tips move/rub against the inside of your ear as you unconsciously move your ears or jaws, or talk. Both these conditions can further muffle conversation and comprehension.

While the Nova don’t really increase conversation comprehension, they are loud. You can increase the volume from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) for each bud individually in the app or on each bud to compensate for uneven hearing. But the 5 setting is LOUD and introduces a great deal of distortion. I kept each bud at 1, which amply amplified all sounds.

Under the Media tab in the Linner HA app, you get two additional sound enhancement options. The first is Mix Mode, which “enable/disable hearing amplification when Bluetooth audio is streaming.” When toggled off, Mix Mode essentially muffles ambient sound when you are streaming music or TV sound; when toggled on, you’ll hear a mix of Bluetooth and ambient sound. Nova, however, do not include active noise canceling – how much ambient noise you hear (or don’t) depends entirely on how tight an ear canal seal you can create with each bud. With Mix Mode off, there’s a 2-3 second delay before the Nova’s ambient sound amplification returns after you pause music play.

The second Media option, Audio Enhancement, applies a mysterious “hearing amplification gain to Bluetooth audio.” For music listening, however, this mode just further amps up the distortion and muddies the sound.

For music listening sans Audio Enhancement, the Nova actually perform quite well with a solid response – or, as much as I could tell since the Nova don’t restore my missing high frequencies as other self-fitting hearing aids will.

Linner Connect

The included Linner Connect, a small rectangular puck that connects to your TV’s headphone jack via a double-male headphone jack for private TV listening, may be worth the Nova’s price tag all by itself.

If your TV isn’t equipped with a headphone jack – and many modern sets are not – you’re SOL – they can’t be paired to a TV via standard Bluetooth, at least not as far as we can tell, considering how sparse the instruction manual is. Also, connecting the Connect means only you will be able to hear the TV, not anyone else watching with you.

Successfully connecting/pairing the Nova buds to the Connect is a little tricky. Don’t put the Nova buds in your ears first – leave them in their case to start. You first have to plug the Connect into the TV’s headphone jack and switch the Connect on so its AUX LED switches on and the Pairing LED flashes. NOW take the buds out of their case and put them in your ears. I figured this sequence out via trial and error since the manual’s four-step instructions don’t indicate any of this.

Once the Nova and the Connect are successfully paired, you get plenty of earbud volume controllable by your TV remote, not the Nova on-bud volume buttons. Lip sync is a nanosecond off, but not annoyingly so. As with music listening, the Nova don’t compensate for your hearing deficiencies, but the app’s Media Audio Enhancement option, bad for music listening, does effectively boost TV dialog.

You may have to raise your TV volume far higher for Connect listening than it would normally be set at. If you do raise the TV volume for the Connect, make sure you lower it before you pull out the headphone jack to avoid an explosion of TV speaker sound.

Connect can be powered by its rechargeable battery, but you can just keep it plugged in for power via a USB jack, so you only have to worry about the earbuds’ power.

Connect also enables wireless microphone function. But the four-line manual instructions are more useless to figuring this function out than the TV listening instructions. Besides, a single wireless Lavalier mic is a more efficient – and far cheaper – wireless mic solution.

The bottom line

For those whose hearing issue is purely low volume, the Nova provide plenty of volume help. There are other non-self-fitting “hearing aids” you can buy for half or a third of the Nova’s price. But unlike most of these often sub-$100 hearing assist models designed only to raise the volume of the world around you, the Nova helpfully add Bluetooth music listening and hands-free calling, and the included Connect accessory successfully paired with the Nova buds provide an effective volume-boosting private TV listening experience.

But if your hearing issues include clarity or frequency loss, the Nova will simply amplify those problems, not solve them, which means you should opt for a pricier self-fitting OTC hearing aid.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

To be clear, the Winbot W1 Pro is not a vacuum – it only does windows. But for $399.99, it's an impressive cleaner that takes all the hassle – and risk – out of wiping windows whether they are on the ground floor or four flights up. In my tests, it handled everything from soot to guano and was so efficient and effective that I kept looking for more windows to clean.

Who Should Buy

Anyone with large windows, including sliders and French doors, will appreciate the cleaning skills of the Winbot, making it an excellent investment. It uses plain tap water, so there's no expensive special cleaning fluid you have to purchase. More important, it means you don't have to dangle yourself outside windows on upper floors, making it an excellent, safe way to keep your glass clean.

Window Washer Basics

Ecovacs already makes a line of robotic vacuums and floor-scrubbing bots, so the company has experience in the cleaning arena. The Winbot fills a gap in such devices by automatically cleaning glass windows without leaving visible lines on your windows after it's done.

The Winbot robot is 10.6 by 10.6 inches square and weighs about 3.4 pounds, so anyone can wield it. The device uses a detachable microfiber cleaning pad (two are included) on its underside and two spray nozzles to dispense water from a 60 ml reservoir that lasts for about an hour of cleaning; typically, that will cover about seven 25.5-by-66-inch sliding glass doors, depending on how dirty they are. Also underneath the machine are two rubber tractor treads to propel it along your windows and a suction fan for keeping it adhered to surfaces. Rubber bumpers prevent it from damaging window frames, and sensors at each corner keep it from running off the edge of frameless glass (such as a shower door).

For power, the Winbot W1 Pro has to be plugged in. The machine comes with a 15.4-foot power cord, but I had to use an extension cord for some second-floor windows that didn't have a nearby outlet. The main power switch for the robot is underneath so that you don't inadvertently cause it to fall off a window by hitting the wrong button. The Winbot also has a 4.9-foot safety tether. Attaching it to a curtain rod will prevent the washer from falling should the power fail, but I would recommend keeping people clear of any windows while the robot is in operation.

Performance

Like most electronics today, you can set up the Winbot with a smartphone app (Android or iOS). The app allows you to select a fast, deep, or spot clean. The first two modes run autonomously, with the latter allowing you to remotely control it to remove a stubborn mark. You can spin the robot, drive it up or down a window, as well as spray water. The tractor treads have small self-cleaning brushes to prevent them from leaving a trail, and the micro pads should be removed and washed by hand after use.

When you place it on a window holding down the start button, the Winbot makes an easily discernible change in motor tempo as it suctions onto the glass (so you know when to let go). A voice prompt can also be set to let you know you're good to go. According to Ecovacs, the Winbot generates 2,800 Pa (Pascals) of suction power, which delivers enough adhesion to let us confidently operate it on second-floor windows.

In my initial testing, I used the Winbot to clean seven full-sized sliding doors inside and out on both the ground and second floors of our test house. Truth be told, the windows had not been cleaned since mid-pandemic, and so presented something of a sordid mess. It turned out the Winbot was up for the challenge.

The Evcovacs device cleaned dirt, grime, and smudges (how did those get there?) off of all the windows. Better yet, it removed the remnants of bird droppings on my front slider, where an intrepid sparrow decided to build a nearby nest. On the inside of the windows, the robot even dealt with the remains of bugs whose lives I prematurely ended with a fly swatter. And the Winbot got into corners without leaving a single streak behind.

Granted, the Winbot's water and micro pad combination will not strip everything off a glass surface. For example, it could not get some polyurethane overspray off of one window, but the only thing that can do that is a razor blade and some elbow grease.

During operation, I found the Winbot usually generated about 68dB of motor noise, about the volume of a normal conversation. In deep cleaning mode, it takes about 8 minutes to clean one side of a 25.5-by-66-inch window. When the bot is finished, you push a button on the top side and grip the handle; it takes a couple of seconds to wind down, so if you forget, you've got a second or two to still grab its handle before it falls.

Some Limitations

The Winbot does an impressive job cleaning, but it does have some limitations. It can't be used on mullioned windows (which are too small) or on curved glass, where the suction system would fail, or on windows festooned with decals. I also found that lever handles on a pair of French doors prevented the 3-inch thick Winbot from completely squeezing underneath them to clean. Ecovacs notes that the Winbot also should not be used in rainy conditions, where a wet window would prevent traction, or when the temperature falls below 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

I also wish there was a cordless, battery-powered version so I didn't have to use an extension cord when the windows were far from a power outlet. And while its noise level was below 70 dB, I wish it were even quieter.

Bottom Line

Once you reach a certain age of maturity, it becomes obvious that hanging out of windows and risking defenestration just to improve the view isn't the most prudent use of your time. The Ecovacs Winbot W1 Pro does an excellent job of relieving people of this onerous and dangerous task. It's reasonably priced for what it offers, and it should be a standard piece of cleaning equipment for any homeowner with second-story windows. The only improvement that could be made is to deliver the same streak-free cleaning skills in a cordless model.

[Image credit: Techlicious]

John R. Quain has been covering science and technology for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Magazine, Esquire, and U.S. News & World Report. He was the on-air technology contributor to the CBS News Up to the Minute television show for 17 years and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.

The Nursery Pal Cloud comes with a Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080) fixed-lens camera with infrared for low-light video capture. A built-in speaker allows for two-way communication with your baby and the ability to play a small selection of lullabies, audiobooks, or your own pre-recorded audio. There’s an LED nightlight (you can choose from seven colors – white, yellow, red, light blue, dark blue, or green) and a temperature sensor to alert you if baby’s room becomes too hot or cold. All of these features are in line with higher-end models. You can digitally zoom the image captured by the camera, but you can't remotely tilt, pan, or optically zoom the camera as you can on most higher-end models.

The Nursery Pal Cloud camera sits on a magnetic base, so it’s simple to reposition as needed. And the magnet is strong enough that you can mount the base to the wall. However, it uses a short proprietary cord, so it needs to be close to power.

The Nursery Pal Cloud comes with a 5-inch battery-powered color monitor. The monitor is very lightweight and easy to carry, with a built-in kickstand. Hubble does not provide the resolution specs; however, it appeared in my testing to be an SD display, at best, The image looks pixelated on the screen, and you can even make out a screen door effect (where you can see the delineation between the pixels). Most baby monitors over $100 have displays with HD (720p) or higher resolution.

The image on the monitor is zoomed in 2x.

The camera and monitor use 2.4 GHz frequencies to communicate using a technology called frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS), which causes the devices to regularly change frequencies. This helps prevent interference and interception. Hubble Connected claims a range of up to 1,000 feet between the camera and monitor. In my New York City pre-war building (concrete construction), I was able to walk three rooms away and still receive a signal without any dropouts.

Hubble Connected offers advanced monitoring features for the Nursery Pal Cloud through the HubbleClub app. You can turn on motion and/or sound sensing to trigger alerts and record short videos. The alerts can be active all day or for specific hours, like overnight to capture your baby’s activity while you’re asleep. There are different levels of motion sensitivity, so if you have an active sleeper, you can adjust accordingly.

You can also use the app to set up a Baby Zone, so you’ll know if your baby left or entered an area. This is a great feature if you have a little one who likes to escape their crib. However, with basic service, you can't modify the Baby Zone after you set it up! With premium, there are no restrictions to modifying the Baby Zone after you set it up.

You can invite others to view the livestream and customize their access to it. Invite people for a set timeframe from hours to months, decide whether to include audio along with the video feed, and chose whether viewers can record the livestream. You can also disable the feed at any time. However, disabling doesn't just prevent viewing, it cuts the camera feed to the app entirely, so you won't receive notifications.

You can also use the app to help with sleep training. You can create a bedtime routine at a specific time, with colored light and audio to signal it's time to go to sleep. For the audio, you can choose from one of the included lullabies and audiobooks, or you can create your own recording, and you can choose to have the audio from one minute to 12 hours. And you can set up a wake-up routine with a different color for the light and audio selection.

And if you’re worried about your baby’s room becoming too hot or cold, you can set up alerts for when the temperature rises above or falls below the temperatures that you set. Out of the box, it’s set to a high of 89F and a low of 57F, but you can set the high end up to 104F and the low to 50F.

Most of the app features are available with a basic account (free for 18 months and then $2.99 per month) with some limitations. The premium service ($4.99 per month or $49 per year), which you can try for 14 days, has fewer limitations. Here are the main differences:

Image quality

If viewed in real-time through the app, the picture quality is pretty good, with accurate colors and few artifacts. Unfortunately, the frame rate is low, which results in jerky movement or blurring when there is motion. And since it’s a digital zoom, the image loses resolution as you zoom in, making it good enough for monitoring but not for capturing special moments. And in low light, the infrared night vision provides a clear, fairly detailed picture.

You can see individual pieces of hay and the fluffy fur of my daughter's bunny in this still captured from a video.

The bottom line

If the Nursery Pal Cloud came with all of the advanced features included in the premium service, you could justify the cost. But with the basic service, it's overpriced at $150, and if you pay an additional $50 for a year of premium service, it doesn't have the camera controls and image quality to compete with the products on the high end.

[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

The 4K TCL Q Class Q7 QLED 65Q750G has a list price of $999.99 (currently on sale for $699.99), and yet it boasts top-flight picture performance – not to mention a full set of premium features and options. Based on Google TV's software, it's a flexible smart TV supporting nearly every streaming app and service available. It also works with voice commands from Amazon's Alexa (and Google Assistant, of course). The screen itself uses a quantum dot layer to expand its range of displayable colors and full-array local dimming to improve contrast and brightness. The Q7 also boasts some of the more advanced picture modes, such as Dolby Vision IQ and Imax Enhanced, that some more expensive sets, such as models from Samsung, do not include.

Who Should Buy

The 65-inch TCL Q Class Q7 TV is for budget-constrained movie lovers, inveterate streamers, and gamers looking for a reasonably priced big screen that can handle higher variable refresh rates. In addition to its crisp, uniform picture, this TCL set also boasts enough smart TV features to keep the whole family happy, making it one of the best 4K TVs under $1,000 available today.

Setup

For a tabletop setup, the TCL Q7 uses a pair of V-shape legs about 55 inches apart for a sturdy perch. It stands about 2.9 inches high, so depending on the equipment you're using, you can slide a cable box or small sound bar under it. One design difference here compared to more expensive sets is that some people (not us!) may be tempted to fat-shame the 65-inch TCL Q7 because it's 2.8-inches thick; sets costing more ($1,500 and up) can be as thin as 1 inch if that matters to you.

Configuring a smart TV can be a trying experience, but it's a cinch getting it together on the TCL Q7 using the Google Home app on your Android or iOS phone. You simply use your smartphone to scan in the QR code on the TV's screen and then follow instructions on your phone from there. The TCL Q7 even lets you set privacy settings (so that you don't share data on your viewing habits or your location), and it connects you to your WiFi network via the phone – without asking you to dig out the password.

For making all the necessary video connections, the Q7 has 4 HDMI ports (including an eArc port for automatic synchronization with a compatible sound system and a 144-Hz port for gaming consoles). There is also an Ethernet port (in case you want a wired versus WiFi connection to your network), a coaxial cable connection (for an external HDTV antenna), a USB port, and headphone and optical audio outputs.

In terms of wireless connections, in addition to the requisite WiFi connection for a home network and Bluetooth support for headphones, speakers, or a keyboard, the TCL Q7 also works with Google's Chromecast to display what's on your smartphone on screen, and there's support for Apple AirPlay and Homekit.

Picture Performance

Usually, bargain 4K (3,840 by 2,160 pixel) sets use lesser LCD panels with a 60-Hz refresh rate, but TCL's Q7 uses a more advanced 120-Hz panel. That means it can produce a more solid and stable picture without resorting to excessive video processing – although all 4K sets use significant computer processing to perform such tasks as upscaling (turning an HD picture into a 4K picture) and reducing motion blur. TCL uses a processor it calls its AIPQ engine. It supports high dynamic range formats, which boost the color intensity in 4K content, including Dolby Vision IQ, HDR Pro +, and HLG for some streaming and broadcast channels.

As with all 4K TVs, the TCL Q7 has several preset picture modes. It offers Low Power (standard), Smart HDR (vivid), Sports, Movie, and Game modes. There's no Filmmaker mode, which uses settings intended to adhere to a director's original picture specifications. However, TCL's Movie mode is roughly equivalent and a good choice for those who find too much video processing flattens the picture and creates over-saturated colors.

I generally stuck to Movie mode for the several weeks I tested the TV. Even this setting proved bright enough to combat rooms drenched in sunlight (I actually turned down the brightness). In fact, the TCL set's typical brightness levels were generally higher than a recently tested Samsung Neo QLED 4K Smart TV QN90C ($2,799) premium set and a more budget-conscious Hisense U6H 65-inch ULED 4K TV ($600). In spite of the bright picture, the TCL Q7 managed to deliver excellent black levels, meaning that black areas of the picture (such as letterbox bars) were truly black rather than exhibiting a gray cast. Consequently, the set delivered some excellent contrast without glossing over the finer details in a picture.

The TCL Q7 also supports the Imax Enhanced format, which delivers a taller picture and reduces the black bars at the top and bottom of the screen in letterboxed movies. Movies that support the format, such as Eternals on Disney+, were particularly mesmerizing. It can also boost image highlights and increase perceived details, all of which worked extraordinarily well in such scenes as the seaside battle against monsters in the Marvel movie.

Depending on the content, the TCL Q7 65Q750G can be truly impressive. With 4K content, the HDR10 mode was automatically engaged for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The serpent cave scene, my favorite torture test for revealing dark shadows without generating picture artifacts like halos and other distortions, was a pleasure to behold with no detectable aberrations. The desert chase scene demonstrated excellent color uniformity and transitions without any banding, while the subsequent city night scene with snow flurries was impressively crisp. Again, the black areas of the picture were deep and dark, rather than the grayish cast that some sets display.

Experimenting with different video modes revealed some interesting additional differences. Using the Smart HDR mode rather than Movie mode for Bladerunner 2049, for example, turned the orange of the replicant/farmer's helmet much brighter and more reddish. But subtle contrasts in the film noir interior scenes showed more balance and detail in Movie mode, and I could clearly make out items like dark gloves in the shadows, which were obscured in Smart HDR mode. The different modes also affected the color reproduction: in Smart HDR mode, there was a greenish tint to some highlights, while in Movie mode, there was a more yellowish (warmer) cast to whites.

The difference becomes more apparent when the video source material has to be upscaled. When using Smart HDR mode for an HD version of Badlands, for example, it boosted colors and tended to exaggerate the contrast, which made images look a little flat. However, in either mode, the TCL Q7 still did an excellent job upscaling lower-resolution programming without introducing distortions like blocky, pixelated color transitions.

To process the video or not to process the video, that is the usual question. What TCL's latest set shows is that processing has improved, so viewers will find making that decision more difficult.

Once the bête noire of LCD TVs, improvements in quantum dot displays have all but licked the problem of washed out and distorted the colors from off-axis viewing. The TCL Q7 (and the recently reviewed Samsung Neo QLED 4K Smart TV QN90C) proved that the latest generation of quantum dot TVs has substantially improved in this regard. So sit wherever you like on the couch; you'll still get a good picture.

If movies aren't your thing, and blasting aliens yourself is more your style, the TCL Q7 has some noteworthy game-oriented features. It supports AMD Freesync Premium Pro that reduces distortion in fast-paced games, like stuttering graphics, image blurring or tearing, and input latency. And with its variable frame rate and an up to 144 Hz refresh mode, inveterate gamers should be very happy with the TCL Q7 set's responsiveness.

Audio Performance

Vanishingly few TVs deliver excellent sound or can reproduce cinematic surround sound effects in your favorite action or fantasy movie. The TCL Q7 isn't an exception to this, but it does deliver enough volume to fill a large living room with sound and offers enough ways to tweak the audio to satisfy many listeners.

To support movie soundtracks, the TV has Dolby Atmos as well as DTS Virtual: X modes. There is also a 7-band equalizer and several preset audio modes, which include Dynamic, Standard, Movie, Music, and Voice. Intended to make the dialogue more audible, Voice mode targets the typical frequencies for human voices, making the overall audio sound tiny, typical for this mode in TVs. By contrast, lower bass frequencies tend to be enhanced in Movie mode, while Music mode improves both lower and higher notes.

If you're looking to disturb the neighbors (or not), you'll discover that the different audio modes produce different overall volume levels. In Dynamic mode, for example, the high notes seemed overly accentuated, and it produced limited volume, even when we raised the levels almost to the maximum (about 70 dB). By contrast, in Music mode, the high sound of cymbals was still clear, but at about 90 percent volume, it was considerably louder (about 80 dB). Movie mode expands the soundstage to make it more immersive, while the Standard sound mode pulls the audio toward the center of the screen and gives the illusion of muting the music.

Smart TV Features and Remote Control

Streaming services, which are synonymous with binge watching these days, are amply covered thanks to the built-in Google TV software. Apps from Netflix to Pandora to the Criterion Channel are covered, so virtually any service you subscribe to or watch is on the TCL Q7 TV.

There's also a screen saver where you can select artwork ranging from Monet to Vuillard or opt to use your own photos that are stored on Google. The latter feature works when you link the TV to your existing Google account, which also means the TV will tailor some screens and suggestions based on your Web browsing habits. Some owners may find it creepy, however, that the home screen on the TCL Q7 will often feature suggestions based on your online favorites, like pushing music videos from Metric because you searched for the band on YouTube 9 months ago.

Bucking the trend to make remote controls smaller, the TCL Q7's remote is about 50 percent larger than, say, a Roku remote. It makes it easier for some users to pinpoint controls, and the buttons light up in the dark. The remote control also has all the essential buttons, including a search function, a four-way dial pad for navigating menus, separate up/down volume and channel rockers, and dedicated buttons for Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube.

To trigger voice commands and searches, you press and hold the remote's mic button—or opt for the spoken trigger, "Hey, Google." Voice searches using Google Assistant worked well in our anecdotal tests, landing on Steely Dan's Bodhisattva on the first try. And all the usual commands work, such as setting a timer or asking, "What's the weather supposed to be like tomorrow?" and it will read out the forecast as well as show you the details on screen. You can also use your voice to switch between TV functions, such as asking it to "Go to the home screen." "Turn down the volume" also works, but going deeper into the settings menus does not. All in all, the voice option delivers a nice level of convenience with minimal misunderstandings.

Bottom Line

The TCL Q Class Q7 may offer the best set of features and picture quality in a bargain-priced or mid-priced 65-inch 4K TV to date. It is well-equipped for binging and movie watching and even caters to Disney+ titles that use the Imax Enhanced format. Gamers will also be pleased with the set's low latency and variable refresh rate. Are there cheaper big-screen TVs? Yes, including models like Hisense's $600 65-inch U6H 65-inch ULED 4K TV. But such sets use inferior 60-Hz LCD panels and don't have the deep black levels that the TCL Q7 boasts. So, for now, 4K TV bargain hunters won't be tempted to end their relationship with TCL.

[Image credits: John R. Quain/Techlicious]

John R. Quain has been covering science and technology for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Magazine, Esquire, and U.S. News & World Report. He was the on-air technology contributor to the CBS News Up to the Minute television show for 17 years and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.

Along with the great sound, the EAH-AZ80 are also quite comfortable for all-day wear. I've been using them as my regular buds for over a month for phone calls, web conferencing, and music, with no complaints about ear fatigue. And with multipoint for up to three devices, going back and forth between using my phone and laptop was seamless.

The main downside is that the EAH-AZ80 don't offer the strongest noise-canceling performance. In that regard, the Bose QuietComfort II easily steal the show. But with some eartip fiddling, you can get the Panasonics in line with the rest of the pack.

Sound quality

The Technics brand has always been about audio excellence, and they didn't hold back with these earbuds. I tested the EAH-AZ80 across a variety of musical genres – rock, jazz, classical, folksy-type stuff – and head-to-head against popular earbud models from Apple, Bose, Jabra, and Anker Soundcore. Against every challenger, the EAH-AZ80 came out on top.

A selection of earbuds from the Techlicious test group (from the top left): Jabra Elite 7 Pro, Anker Soundcore Liberty 4, Anker Soundcore Life P3, Lenovo Wireless Earbuds,
Apple AirPods Pro (Gen 2), Technics EAH-AZ80, Bose QuietComfort II.

While every earbud we tested sounded at least fine, the Technics brought out nuances in the music that were simply absent elsewhere. On Chavela Vargas' La Llorona, the soulful longing of her voice came through in every sung verse and each breath in between. The Apple Airpod Pros and Bose QCs sounded flat by comparison. And the clarity was delivered across the frequency range, including at the low end, where many other buds become muddy. The EAH-AZ80s easily covered Mongolian heavy metal band The Hu's Yuve Yuve Yu's high-pitched horsehead fiddles, as well as the thundering bass line from the drums and electric guitars.

The EAZ-AZ80s were great out of the box, but if you want to tweak things to your liking, the Technics Audio Control app has a handful of preset sound modes and a 5-band equalizer for custom settings.

The sound quality was just as good on phone and web calls. Everything sounded loud and clear on my end, and the eight microphones did the same for those on the other end, as well.

Noise cancelation

Given the incredible audio quality, the noise cancelation was a disappointment. I used the Technics on two 3-hour flights, and they barely canceled any of the roar of the jet engines, no matter how I fiddled with the settings in the Technics Audio Control app. Back in the office, I did more testing against New York City street noise and with various noise generators, as well as asking my co-founder, Suzanne Kantra, to join the testing with a second pair of EAH-AZ80s to make sure it wasn't something unique to my ears or the review pair I was using. But in every case, the Technics couldn't come close to the incredible performance of the Bose QuietComfort II or even match my Anker Soundcore Life P3, which are decent buds sold for around $70.

After a bit of eartip trial and error, I found that using larger eartips than I was used to made a decent improvement on the noise canceling without impacting the comfort. However, this is more due to improving the passive canceling simply by better blocking my ear canal than the active canceling of the buds themselves. Under normal use, this should be fine, but this isn't the pair for frequent use in noisy environments.

In addition to standard noise cancellation, you can choose Ambient mode to allow outside noise in or Attention mode, which amplifies outside voices to hear airport announcements and the like. I found Attention mode provided too much amplification and, given that there isn't a huge amount of noise cancellation, unnecessary to hear outside voices, such as announcements in my airplane travels.

Features

The Technics EAH-AZ80 are laden with a solid set of convenience and customization features. Three-device multipoint lets you connect to your laptop, tablet, and computer simultaneously – helpful if you need to switch between listening to music on your computer and calls on both a work and personal phone. The buds can also be worn independently if you want to keep one ear free.

Using the Technical Audio Control app, you can find missing earbuds either by having them emit a beep (requires you to keep auto power off deactivated) or via the last location when they were connected to your phone, as long as your phone's GPS is on.

The touch sensor controls for both buds can be customized, as well. You can independently assign single, double, and triple taps and touch and hold for each bud.

The buds are IPX4 water resistant, which will protect against rain and sweat.

Comfort

Despite the somewhat bulbous, fully in-ear style, the EAH-AZ80s are some of the most comfortable buds I've worn. I've used them for hours on end for music and conference calls and never experienced any ear fatigue. The buds come with seven sizes of earpieces (versus the S/M/L from many competitors), so everyone should be able to find the correct match to make the earbuds fit properly. The way the EAH-AZ80s sit in the case makes them easy to grab onto for removal.

Battery life and charging

Battery life on the EAH-AZ80s is excellent. The buds are rated for seven hours of continuous playback with noise cancelation on and can be recharged in two hours. In addition, the charging case is rated to supply an additional 17 hours of playback time. I found the rated times to be in-line with my testing – it was pretty rare that I ever got to the point where I was even close to running out of juice. You can recharge the charging case via a USB-C cable or wireless Qi charging.

The bottom line

With terrific sound quality, a high degree of comfort, and plenty of features, the Technics EAH-AZ80 are easy to recommend. Despite the options at my disposal, they quickly became my preferred pair for my work and personal use. The one area I would have liked to see better performance is in the noise cancelation, though this mostly was an issue for plane travel, which isn't something I do frequently enough to drive my decision.

Retailing at $299.99 puts the EAH-AZ80 in direct competition with high-end models from Bose, Apple, Sony, and others. For music lovers, the Technics are the way to go.

[Image credit: Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News and Time.

Supporting its excellent picture, the Samsung QN90C comes with more than capable smart TV features, a respectable built-in sound system, and the company's latest video processing chip, the Neural Quantum Processor. The set also includes support for the filmmaker mode video format (which will please movie lovers), Dolby Atmos surround sound, and high dynamic range HDR10+ content, which produces more intense colors. About the only format the set doesn't support is Dolby Vision, an omission most viewers won't miss.

When compared against other premium sets in this price range – a group that includes models from LG, such as the 65-inch Class C3 Series OLED TV ($2,399), and Sony, such as the 65-inch Bravia XR X93L Mini LED 4K TV ($2,399) – the Samsung QN90C more than holds its own.

Setup

To set up the Samsung set, you can go through the various menus using the included remote control or use a smartphone. I chose the latter, which let me scan a giant QR code on the TV screen and then use Samsung's SmartThings app to connect to my WiFi network.

As part of the process, you're prompted to choose between Amazon Alexa and Samsung's own voice assistant, Bixby, to control the TV. I selected Bixby for searching for movies, playing music, getting weather updates, and other functions. Samsung also includes the option of using its Adaptive Picture feature that analyzes the viewing environment (are you in a bright room or is it at night) and the current video content to deliver the best picture. In all, Samsung's setup process is seamless and can be completed in less than 20 minutes.

Picture Performance

The QLED on the Samsung QN90C's nameplate stands for quantum-dot light-emitting diode. It simply means that the set uses an extra layer of quantum dots in the screen to increase the number of colors it can display; the LED part of the acronym refers to the way the screen is lit from behind using multiple LEDs. (This is not to be confused with OLED TVs, which Samsung also sells, which use organic light-emitting diode technology to create a picture.) QLED displays are no longer restricted to high-end TVs, but Samsung's Neo QLED QN90C still has the edge over lower-priced models in terms of overall picture performance thanks to its sophisticated video processing and higher refresh rate (120 Hz vs. 60 Hz).

Samsung also refers to the QN90C as mini-LED TV (not to be confused with micro-LED, a technology that still costs more than the average new car). Mini-LED means the QN90C uses multiple LEDs to independently illuminate different sections of the screen, allowing the TV to keep one corner of the screen dark for a shadowy look while simultaneously lighting up another corner to illuminate, say, the hero's flashlight or lightsaber.

The Samsung QN90C is based on a 120-Hz LCD panel, which means it can deliver a sharper picture than lower-priced 60-Hz TVs. In addition, the TV has several preset video modes, including Dynamic mode (for sports), Standard mode, Movie mode, and Filmmaker mode. (There's also an intelligent mode setting, but I found it wasn't that smart; its exaggerated contrast and brightness made colors bleed, and some images look flat and artificial.) After trying out various video sources, including streaming, broadcast, and Blu-ray discs, I found that the best mode to produce the most accurate picture on the Samsung QN90C was Filmmaker mode, which I used for most of my testing.

Overall, the Samsung QN90C offers an impressive picture with improved horizontal viewing angles so that those family members sitting off to the side can still appreciate the 4K image. However, the set's most striking feature is its excellent color reproduction. Realistic color is paramount, with skin tones, tans, and freckles all faithfully reproduced. Reds remain deep and rich even alongside yellow and magenta in an actor's sweater. Even verdant jungle scenes are naturally green and vibrant.

In 4K material, like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, details such as the blood-red cracks in Kylo Ren's helmet are clear and sharp. And in fast-action sequences, there's a clarity often lacking in other sets; you can actually see the arrow fly by Ray and strike the stormtrooper, for example. In desert scenes, screen uniformity is top-notch, so there are no hotspots or dim edges on the screen.

Furthermore, Samsung's video processing prevented the appearance of unnatural banding that can occur in scenes featuring sunsets or sunrises where a smooth transition between colors is called for. In the serpent's lair, shadowy corners were subtly shaded but still visible, and Ray's lightsaber rarely created unwanted halo effects. Even in Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows, the Samsung QN90C did well, revealing details in dark corners and subtle shading that even some OLED sets have trouble reproducing.

If you watch broadcast television programs, most of what you're looking at is in lower-resolution HD. So it's important that a 4K set does a respectable job converting HD into a 4K picture, so-called upscaling. Samsung has a lot of experience in this regard, and the computer processor and software it uses does a superb job handling HD programs. TV fare, such as the Brit mystery series Death in Paradise, looked seamless and detailed when upscaled on the Samsung QN90C. There was no image jitter or picture artifacts in movie or filmmaker mode. The lush rainforest scenes didn't blur any tree fronds, and the scintillating blue water looked clear and inviting.

As for games, the Samsung QN90C automatically recognizes when you switch to, say, an Xbox or PlayStation console, putting the set into game mode and triggering its auto low latency setting designed to minimize video processing that might slow down the picture. So for first-person shooters like Call of Duty (if that's your thing), there's minimal delay between your twitching finger and what appears on the screen. In other words, if you get eliminated by another player, you can't blame it on the TV’s slow reaction time.

Audio Performance

Since most TV makers focus their attention on picture quality, the sound performance of sets is usually their Achilles’ heel. However, Samsung has put more energy into the audio section of the QN90C so that it delivers above-average sound.

The set has two main preset audio modes, Standard and Amplify, as well as support for Dolby Atmos, the surround sound mode favored by most movie content these days. In Standard mode, the Samsung QNC90 doesn't have a very wide soundstage, but it takes a balanced approach that doesn't overly emphasize the high or low notes in music. Subjecting my neighbors to my favorite 80's hit, Aha's "Take On Me," the track retained a good portion of its bass line, although there was something missing when it came to those high, soaring vocals. I had a similar experience with tracks from Steely Dan's "Can't Buy a Thrill." The over-produced songs on the album did well, with individual instruments nicely separated, including maracas and vocals; even the background bongos were clearly discernible.

What you won't get in the Standard audio setting is a lot of volume. At the 70 percent level, for example, I received about 60 dB of volume in a large living room. If you switch to Amplify mode, as the name suggests, you'll get more sound pressure – 80 dB at the 70 percent setting. However, Amplify mode is designed to boost dialog in video content, so it overemphasizes vocals and higher notes in soundtracks, which will sound tinny to most listeners. (For making further adjustments, Samsung has a 7-band equalizer for lowering the treble or boosting the bass.) However, I found Dolby Atmos soundtracks were reasonably rendered. Still, as with nearly every slim TV, if you want the full home theater experience, you will want to add a soundbar or separate surround sound system to improve the sonic experience.

Like Sony and LG, Samsung offers a feature that can use the TV's speakers in tandem with a compatible sound bar (rather than turning off the TV's sound when you're using the soundbar). Samsung calls this feature Q-Symphony, and it can be quite compelling, delivering dialog that seems to come from the actor's lips on screen while simultaneously projecting sound effects that emanate from all around you. However, like other versions, Q-Symphony only works with Samsung's own recent soundbars, like the excellent 80C I reviewed. Unfortunately, I had already returned my review unit to Samsung, so I couldn’t test it with the Neo QN90C.

Design

All this technology is packaged in a handsome chassis with a bezel-less frame that's surprisingly svelte for a quantum-dot LCD TV. It's just 1.1 inches deep at its thickest point, which is not OLED skinny but is still quite slim. In comparison, most LED TVs are more than twice as thick. And aside from the ports on the right side of the back panel (4 HDMI, 2 USB, and optical and Ethernet ports) and the power connection on the left, the Samsung QN90C's smooth back means that if it has to be situated such that its back side will be exposed, it won't be an eyesore. The set's center-mounted stand completes the elegant design, and its heavy metal bass construction means the set is stable on a tabletop. The only hitch is that because the 10-inch-deep stand is in the center, it makes it tricky to fit a sound bar underneath it.

Smart TV Features and Remote Control

Samsung is one of the few TV manufacturers that is still developing its own smart TV software, called Tizen, for streaming video and juggling apps. Most other makers, with the exception of LG, have adopted either Google TV or Roku as their smart TV software platform. That's not to say Samsung has fallen behind. It offers all the main streaming apps and does a reasonable job of providing regular updates. It even supports less popular but essential apps for movie fans, such as the Criterion Channel.

And the company supplements the regular apps with aggregated content, including over 200 live streaming channels and thousands of free shows (usually supported by advertising). Since Samsung is also agnostic as to what streaming service you should subscribe to, the company doesn't promote, say, Amazon Prime options over Netflix. With large on-screen icons and additional categories like movies to rent for less than 4 dollars, you'll find listings that include everything from Amazon to Vudu.

To control it all, rather than a typical mundane remote control, Samsung offers something a little different. The remote is light and small, just under 1.5 inches wide and only 5.5 inches long, and it's rechargeable. But what makes it unusual is that it has a diminutive solar panel, so you may never have to plug it in to charge it. And you don't have to leave the remote in the sun; it gets its energy from indoor lighting, as well.

The remote for the Samsung QN90C has the home and settings buttons, a power switch, and a circular directional pad for navigating menus. There's also a mic button that you press and hold to ask Alexa questions or use Bixby, Samsung's voice assistant. You can also set up voice commands to work without having to press the mic button or even turn on the TV, a handy option when you just want to know the weather forecast. All you have to do is say, "Hi, Bixby," and then issue a command, including controlling other compatible devices, such as lights, that you've connected to the SmartThings app. Bixby is reasonably accurate but a little too literal. If you ask it to switch to Roku, it will default to Samsung's Roku app rather than a connected Roku streamer. In Samsung's browser, asking for The New York Times takes you not to the newspaper's site but to NYT videos elsewhere. And like other voice assistants, Bixby is easily confused. "Play Bodhisattva by Steely Dan" came out as "Booty sootfoot by Steely dan."

Bottom Line

To say that there's a lot of competition in the big-screen TV space is an understatement. Big-box stores have racks and stacks of bargain 65-inch models priced at under $1,000. But those TVs lack the features and picture performance of Samsung's QN90C ($2,799, on sale for $2,399 at press time). For serious movie fans who want the sharpest 4K picture possible, the QN90C's faster refresh 120-Hz display, mini-LED backlighting, and superb advanced video processing, you can't go wrong buying this set.

[Image credit: John Quain/Techlicious]

John R. Quain has been covering science and technology for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Magazine, Esquire, and U.S. News & World Report. He was the on-air technology contributor to the CBS News Up to the Minute television show for 17 years and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.

So, when Typhur offered me the opportunity to test their new InstaProbe instant-read thermometer, I was curious to see how it would fare against the reigning heavyweight champ. And, to my surprise, it fared very, very well. The Typhur InstaProbe proved to be as accurate as the Thermapen, with blazing-fast response times. And the bright OLED display and built-in magnet for sticking to your refrigerator, range hood, or grill pull it ahead of the Thermapen with features. I’m also a fan of the sleek modern design of the InstaProbe over the industrial aesthetic of the Thermapen, though I have some concerns over how well it will hold up to drops onto hard kitchen floors. On the downside, the InstaProbe also comes at a price premium of $109 versus the Thermapen at $99.95 (discounted to $74.96 at the time of this writing).

All in, the InstaProbe is an excellent instant-read thermometer that excels at its core purpose and looks great doing it.

Testing the speed and accuracy

The sole purpose of any instant-read thermometer is to 1) read the temperature accurately and 2) provide that reading as quickly as possible. With that in mind, I set up a series of accuracy tests for the InstaProbe both on its own and head-to-head against my existing Thermoworks Thermapen. I also measured the time it took to take a measurement in each scenario.

One issue with the testing process is that it’s very difficult to take exact measurements outside of laboratory conditions because liquids circulate, creating temperature variations. In my testing, I judged the InstaProbe accurate if it was a) within half a degree of my expected temperature (which is its rated calibration threshold) and b) within half a degree of my Thermapen. And while the InstaProbe measures temperature in .1-degree increments, I rounded to the nearest whole number because the accuracy rating is ±.5F (± 0.3C). The claimed temperature range is -58.0 to 572.0F, and I tested with temperatures that you would typically need to measure in the kitchen, from frozen ice cream to boiling oil.

As you can see, the Typhur InstaProbe delivered very accurate readings across a range of temperatures. In addition, I tested it with hot oil, and the measurements were in line with Thermapen (I’m not reporting exact readings because hot oil has significant temperature variations, making it impossible to compare exactly).

Typhur claims a .75-second response time for temperature readings. My experience confirmed readings in the 1-second range – much faster than my older Thermapen, which took 6-8 seconds to come to temp, and identical to the new Thermapen One’s claimed one-second read time.

Display readability

The Typhur InstaProbe has a large, bright OLED display that autorotates with the thermometer orientation. I found it much easier to read in a dark oven or sunlight than the Thermapen Classic. The new Themapen One has a backlit display. However, it’s lower contrast, so in most dimly lit environments, I would expect the OLED display of the InstaProbe to perform better.

The OLED uses a glass front, which gives me some concern that it may not hold up as well to drops as the Thermapen or other instant thermometers. And I’ve already broken a small plastic chip off the side of the case. For that reason, the InstaProbe may be better suited to a home kitchen, where there is less abuse, than in a commercial environment. In fairness, my Thermapen has worse damage to the plastic, and the battery cover no longer stays attached, though it took me a few years to get it to that state.

Other features

One standout of the InstaProbe is the integrated magnet that allows you to store it conveniently on your refrigerator, range hood, or grill. And if you’re storing it in the open, you’ll appreciate the modern black and grey design, which will complement any kitchen décor.

The InstaProbe is rated IP67 for water resistance and dust protection. It uses a 4.3-inch probe (about standard for the industry) that rotates up to 180 degrees – though the display orientation flips, the probe works better for righties than lefties when at an angle – a 270-degree rotation would have made it truly ambidextrous. It runs on 2 AA batteries (included), has a 30-second auto-shutoff to conserve the batteries, and a motion sensor to wake it back up with movement.

The bottom line

It’s rare that I find products that are good enough to replace my long-time favorites, but the Typhur InstaProbe ($109) accomplished that task. It’s as fast or faster than any Thermapen model, just as accurate, and the large OLED display makes it super-easy to read, even for my aging eyes. I also love that I can stick it to my refrigerator with the integrated magnet for easy availability, rather than having to dig through my miscellaneous stuff drawer to find it.

I do have some concerns about its resistance to damage from falls, so I wouldn’t recommend it for environments where it takes frequent abuse. And while the InstaProbe is nearly 50 percent more than the Thermapen’s sale price, as of the writing of this review, it’s not a huge premium ($35) for a device that I would expect to use in my kitchen for years to come.

[Image credit: Josh Kirschner/Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News and Time.

The whole idea behind the OTC hearing aid effort is to lower the cost of hearing aids by eliminating the expensive audiologist middle person. They are FDA-cleared Class II medical devices that are self-fitting, meaning you conduct your own app-based hearing test to tune the buds. So instead of spending $4,000-$8,000 on prescriptive hearing aids, most of the current first generation of OTC self-fitting hearing aids sells in the $700-$1,300 range. That's about a third of the price of the Eargo 7 ($2,950, currently discounted to $2,690). For instance, the best lower-cost alternative to the Eargo 7 is the Sony CRE-C10 is priced at $999, and offers similar invisibility and arguably better sound/voice amplification.

Why the extreme pricing delta between Eargo and its OTC self-fitting competition? Eargo’s higher pricing includes virtual audiologist visits, whether you want/need them or not. This audiologist-included price premium is a shame because Eargo’s hearing aids are a perfect all-day hearing solution for the tens of millions of folks with mild to moderate hearing loss who can’t afford prescriptive solutions, exactly who the new FDA OTC hearing aid law is designed to address.

Ergonomics

Like the other two currently available Eargo models (the physically-identical Eargo 6 and Eargo 5) and Sony CRE-C10, the Eargo 7 is a tiny (less than 0.75-inches long) receiver-in-canal (RIC) device. This is in contrast to the more familiar over-the-ear styled hearing aids, such as the Lexie B2 powered by Bose ($999). The Sony CRE-C10 and Eargo models are designed to be virtually invisible, comfortable enough to be worn all day, and simply restore your “normal” hearing – and nothing else. There is no Bluetooth for phone conversations or music playback.

While the Sony CRE-C10 are small and all-day comfortable, the Eargos are far more invisible to both view and feel – you’ll simply forget you’re wearing them. For example, one afternoon, I tried to stick a pair of Bluetooth buds into my ears to listen to music, and they wouldn’t go in. Puzzled, I thought I was sticking the left bud into my right ear – and then I realized I was still wearing the Eargo 7s! I always “knew” I was wearing the Sony CRE-C10.

Note that Eargo’s invisible all-day-wear restorative hearing design is in competition with the emerging category of Bluetooth-enabled ear bud-style OTC hearing aids. These include the $1,299 Sony CRE-E10 (my current favorite), the $699 HP Hearing Pro “powered” (made) by Nuheara, and the $799 Jabra Enhance Plus. These new Bluetooth hearing aid buds are decidedly not invisible but provide sound amplification plus high-fidelity wireless music playback and aren’t much more complicated than the Eargo to set up and use. But Bluetooth hearing aids are way too visible for most social situations and aren’t as comfortable as the Eargos for all-day wear, so they are best for as-needed use.

So, in short, the Eargo 7 (and the Sony CRE-C10) are for those who simply want to hear as clearly as they used all day long with minimal fuss and bother.

Set up

Eargo 7 follow the same set-up procedure as earlier physically identical Eargo models (see my Eargo 5 review for more usage and maintenance details). After a full four-hour charge, you conduct a video visit with an audiologist who will guide you through the set-up process and explain all the Eargo app controls and features. You will then complete your own app-based Sound Match app hearing test – you tell the app if you can hear a series of tones at varying sound levels and frequencies – to customize the Eargo 7 settings to match your hearing condition.

Thankfully, Eargo has vastly simplified the Eargo app controls and features, which include the ability to choose four ambient presets (meeting, TV, restaurant, etc.). If you do find the controls and features confusing, Eargo’s app contains plenty of text and video instructions. But you’re paying for the video visit, so why not take advantage of it? Or you can physically test and buy the Eargo 7 at one of the 1,500 Victra-owned Verizon brick & mortar stores that carry all the Eargo models. Otherwise, the set-up, care, and maintenance of the Eargo 7 are the same as for the 5 and the 6.

Physically, the Eargo 7’s only upgrade is sweat resistance in addition to the Eargo 6’s IPX7 water resistance for up to 30 minutes in less than one meter of water. You also get a two-year warranty with the Eargo 7 versus single-year coverage for the 5 and 6.

Like the Eargo 5 and 6, the 7 supplies 16 hours of single-charge battery life, and the circular flat battery case supplies two additional full charges, which means you’ll have to charge them every night. The Sony CRE-C10 use tiny single-usage size 10 hearing aid batteries that last several days, assuming you open the battery cases on each bud when you store them, but it’s impossible to know when the batteries will die. In addition, single-use batteries require you to buy and tote extra batteries with you when you go out, and an awkward battery switch that requires a bit of finger dexterity. I found establishing a regular recharging routine for the Eargo 7 was easier to deal with than the unpredictable battery replacement of the Sony CRE-C10.

Yes, the Eargo rechargeable lithium cells can degrade over time, which adds to eventual high replacement cost worries. But Eargo says – and my experience with the 5 confirms – that you’ll lose only around 20% of battery life over three years. For instance, after 18 months of usage, the Eargo 5 I reviewed still provides a solid 13-plus hours of listening life. But it’d certainly behoove Eargo to set up a lower-priced replacement program sans virtual audiologist visits.

Performance

After a few days of wear to enable your brain to adjust to the enhanced aural information it is now receiving from your damaged ears, the 7 almost magically transforms your muddy, fading soundscape into a crisp, crystalline natural one. As a result, your hearing will be restored to what you remember as normal hearing and enhance how you experience the often annoyingly noisy world.

What you won’t get with the Eargo 7 is the sound amplification that you get from the Sony CRE-C10. You get volume level control with the Eargo 7, but the world won’t get much louder than what would be with your normal hearing level, even at the app’s highest volume setting. While the Sony CRE-C10 provides noticeably louder results, especially for voices, I found the Eargo 7 sound a smidge more natural, even a bit more natural than the Eargo 5.

Eargo 7’s aural performance upgrade comes via an algorithmic Clarity Mode added to the Eargo 6’s SoundAdjust technology, now dubbed SoundAdjust+, which optimizes sound settings to match various loud or quiet ambient environments and cleans up speech accordingly. Compared to the Eargo 5, the SoundAdjust+ subtly but noticeably crystalizes the 7’s overall audio and almost imperceptibly increases its top volume.

In practical usage, the Eargo app’s high or medium noise filters slightly diminish – but do not mute or eliminate – unwanted ambient sound, allowing you to perceive conversation a bit more clearly in a noisy setting similar to the Sony CRE-C10. But I found it hard to discern differences between the varying SoundAdjust+ settings – Temporarily Emphasize Speech, Reduce Noise, or Automatically Adjust – or between its ambient environment presets (Meeting, Restaurant, TV, et al.).

Quite frankly, however, I really didn’t care if the SoundAdjust+ noise, clarity, or preset settings worked a little or a lot. What’s best about the Eargos and the Sony CRE-C10 is you can just stick ‘em in your ears and forget about them for the whole day. After 10-15 minutes, you’ll barely remember you’re wearing them, and their virtual invisibility means no one else will know you’re wearing them, either.

What you also don’t get with the Eargo 7 is feedback, unlike the Lexie B2 by Bose, unless you touch or block the buds by lying on the side of your head. If you want Bluetooth for phone calls or music listening, you can slip on a pair of wireless over-ear headphones, as you can with the Sony CRE-C10. I carry a pair of simple Bluetooth buds and swap out the Eargos when I want to listen to music.

The bottom line

If you want simple, discreet all-day hearing restoration with the least amount of fuss and bother, the Eargo 7 ($2,950, currently discounted to $2,690) are the best OTC hearing aids. They amplify so you hear "normally," and they're so comfortable, it's easy to forget you're wearing them.

But the Eargo 7’s $3,000 price tag is frustrating, especially if you know you’ll need to replace them in 3-5 years because of inevitable battery life deterioration. I wish Eargo would create a lower-priced option for all its models by eliminating the virtual audiologist visits so that the millions of more folks with mild to moderate hearing loss can afford them.

While still expensive, the Eargo 5 ($1,850, on sale for $1,550) offers the same basic all-day aural improvements, comfort, and invisibility for about half the price of the Eargo 7. The Eargo 5 only lack the 7’s slightly improved SoundAdjust+ audio results and water resistance. And if Eargo’s even more affordable buds are still too expensive, I’d recommend the Sony CRE-C10 ($999). While there is the annoying battery issue and slightly higher visibility and feel in your ears, the CRE-C10 are a little louder than the Eargo 7 and, by far, a more affordable all-day OTC hearing solution.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

The Combo j7+ is a lazy dweller's cleaning nirvana, a largely set-it-and-forget-it device in its non-mopping state. You just tell the Combo j7+ what rooms or areas within rooms you want vacuumed, when, and how often. Your floor cleaning chores are then automatically completed for days, weeks, or even months without any additional human interaction. Your only regular maintenance is replacing the bag in the Combo j7+'s Clean Base canister into which the dirt from all your vacuuming sessions is sucked every six months or so, depending on how often you run your robot vac and how filthy your floors and floor coverings get, changing the filter when you see it gets too clogged, and clearing hair from the rollers and corner brush every so often, depending on your pet or human hair shedding situation.

But in its dual vac-mop state, you lose the Combo j7+'s set-it-and-forget-it convenience. A full mopping reservoir can mop up to 1,000 square feet of bare or hardwood floors on eco mode, which means you'll need to refill it at least every other cleaning session, depending on how much of your bare floor space needs mopping and how effectively you need the floor mopped. You'll also need to swap out the mopping pad when you see it gets too dirty to clean your floors effectively. And, the mop doesn't have spinning scrub pads like the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni ($1,549, on sale for $999). So mopping, in this case, is really wiping. For low-traffic floors, wiping will be enough, but if you're looking for a scrubbed-clean kitchen floor, the Combo j7+ is not the mop vac for you.

The Roomba Combo j7+ is pricey for a mop vac at $1,099. However, it's the only mop vac that lifts the mop head up and out of the way for worry-free mopping and vacuuming in one run and is the best product on the market for low-traffic floors.

Design and logistics

Roomba's Combo j7+ is a self-emptying robot vac, which means it requires around two feet of vertical space against a wall to accommodate its canister, 18 inches on either side and at least four feet in front. Inside the canister is a place to slip in a vacuum bag to collect potentially months' worth of debris and a smaller space to store extra replacement bags ($19.99 for a three-pack). So to save a couple of shekels a year, you could empty and reuse the canister bag, but prepare for a dusty experience./p>

Otherwise, Combo j7+ set-up and ergonomics are straightforward. Just plug the base into a wall AC outlet, slide the actual robot onto the base's twin charging pins, and charging automatically begins; a swirling circular blue LED lets you know it's charging. You'll also need to slip the included crescent-shaped washable microfiber mopping pad into the lift-up retractable mopping extension. The Combo j7+'s mopping reservoir easily clicks out of the front of the robot, but it does take a bit of jostling to click it securely back in.

As with all robot vacs, you'll want to run the Combo j7+ a few times around your abode so its programming can construct a floor plan map of your living space. Once the map is created, you can edit it – create virtual room dividers, name your rooms, and block off rooms or spaces you don't need/want the Combo j7+ to go – within the extensive Roomba app.

It's relatively easy to program the Combo j7+ with the iRobot app. You can create favorite routines, which include picking which rooms to clean, the sequence of rooms to be cleaned (i.e., kitchen first, followed by the living room, then one bedroom, etc., depending on your abode's layout), and what cleaning methods you want to deploy in each room – vacuum only or vacuum + mop with the choice of low ("eco"), medium ("standard"), or high ("ultra") amount of mopping liquid applied in each room. You'll probably want to choose "ultra" liquid for high traffic/high dirt areas such as foyers and kitchens; standard or even eco are fine for other less trod rooms, especially if you demand all shoes off indoors.

Performance

So how well does the Combo j7+ clean? As a vacuum, its suction is not as powerful as a stick or canister model for heavier particles. But you can run the Combo j7+ every day or even multiple times a day to ensure anything missed will eventually get picked up. Or, if one room is particularly soiled (such as a foyer where mud or other mess is tracked in), you can set the j7+ to run two passes during a single session. After each session – or if it needs more battery power in the middle of a session – the robot automatically returns to its charging base, which sucks the accumulated dirt out and into the base canister with a loud WHOOSH! and recharges itself. When fully recharged, it then returns to its automated rounds.

While maybe not creating as powerful suction as a manual vacuum cleaner, the Combo j7+ is powerful enough to suck up – or at least get tangled in – light throw rugs such as light bathmats or towels, for instance, that it recognizes as floor coverings, while smartly skirting around odd pieces of clothing. I simply blocked off the bathroom to keep the Roomba from worsening the situation. The Combo j7+ cannot get behind doors or into other nooks and crannies narrower than its 12.5-inch width, but, at around 4.5 inches tall, it easily cleans under the bed and other upholstered furniture that often doesn't get cleaned beneath. It also has no trouble navigating over T-molding room dividers. The Combo j7+ can get trapped, however – it frustratingly struggled and failed to the point of draining its battery trying to extricate itself from within the spindly legs of our bar chairs, so I blocked off that small 4 x 2-foot area as well.

Instead of an extending mop arm that you find on many vacuum-mop combos, the Combo j7+'s mop rides on top and then tucks underneath the robot when it washes floors so the unit's footprint doesn't change when mopping. Generally, the Combo j-7+ can mop wherever it can reach to vacuum, but because the robot is round and the mop extension is crescent-shaped, it will naturally miss corners. The Combo j7+'s mopping arm lifts up and back atop the unit when only vacuuming instead of merely lifting up, usually up to 5mm, as with other models. This complete retraction of the mopping arm means there's no chance of wet mop waste dripping or dragging onto carpets and rugs when vacuuming, which is often an issue with other lift-only vac-mop combos.

The best of these lift-only models, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni, which has spinning and vibrating mops heads unlike the j7+'s stationary pad, will wash and heated-air dry its mop heads between runs, so you can program separate mop and vacuum runs, as you can with the j7+, without fear of cross-contamination. However, unlike the j7+, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 stores old mopping water until you manually empty its canister, so you're then dealing with sometimes storing stinky wastewater in its base.

Even with a double mop pass with "ultra" liquid application, the j7+ will not satisfactorily scrub away stubborn spots, especially in kitchens where stains can get ground into and remain obvious on a lighter-colored wood floor; for instance, the Combo j7+ took several sessions to satisfactorily obliterate some minor soap stains that I let accumulate for testing purposes. But, if you run the Combo j7+ often enough, you can stave off the eventual manual elbow-grease wet mopping or Swiffer scrubbing.

While the Combo j7+ might not be as efficient a cleaner compared to manually vacuuming or mopping, it is smart. It knows when it's on a covered or a bare surface – at no time did the Combo j7+ attempt to mop one of my rugs – and the app lets you know where the j7+ is and what it's doing.

Fueling the Combo j7+'s smarts is its sophisticated PrecisionVision Navigation camera-based object detection, identification, and avoidance system that, according to iRobot, recognizes more than 80 common objects. On only one occasion did the Combo j7+ suck in a short USB cable left lying on the floor, easily dislodged by a quick jerk. But I do try to clear the floor of unnecessary cables, paper, shoes, socks, etc., to get the best vacuum results, a habit I'm happy the Combo j7+ forced me into since clutter is my normal state of existence.

iRobot also insists it can understand around 600 voice commands, but this requires you to memorize each command's specific wording and syntax. I could barely remember the command for just initiating vacuuming and mopping everywhere. Voice commands worked fine when I uttered the trigger phrase correctly. Still, I found it easier to tap the app than frustratingly rephrasing a series of incorrect commands at Alexa, Google, or Siri.

One reason humans and pets are fascinated by robot vacs is their independence of movement. Some robot vacs advertise that they follow a logical, row-by-row snaking cleaning path. That's not the Roomba. I have followed the Combo j7+ around on its rounds and can make neither hide nor hair of its movement logic once it enters a room. That doesn't mean the j7+ doesn't complete its cleaning rounds – it does; I'm just not sure how it covers all the necessary territory, given its seemingly random meandering.

iRobot just added a new Check In security feature for its built-in camera. You can livestream what Combo j7+'s front wide-angle camera sees while it's cleaning, or you can just tell the unit to go to a specific room so you can see what's going on in there. Check In allows you to change the Combo j7+'s viewing direction and to zoom in, which means you can use it to locate objects that have rolled under furniture. Check In also lets you snap a picture of what it sees. Check In doesn't include night vision, though, so even with its front light, you might not always be able to see clearly in a dim or dark room unless the unit is right in front of an object. At press time, Check In was still in beta, and iRobot has not indicated when it will be broadly rolled out via one of the company's regular over-the-air software updates.

Maintenance

As noted, you'll have to refill the Combo j7+'s mopping reservoir frequently; the app gives you a four-wavy line indicator of its water/cleaner level. You'll get a notice in the app if the reservoir needs filling before a job; if you don't refill, the Combo j7+ will just vacuum. I got two-plus mopping runs of my compact 1,200-square-foot two-bedroom apartment on a single reservoir. You'll want to fill the reservoir over a sink because, with just a half-inch wide oval opening, which includes an attached rubber stopper, it will spill over as you add cleaner and water. Included are single session packs of Bona hardwood or non-wood hard surface (tile, vinyl, stone, laminate) floor cleaning concentrates, which you mix with water. You can buy a 128-ounce bottle of the Bona cleaning concentrate of your choice ($17.99).

One chronic Combo j7+ problem, a problem faced by all vacs, robot or manual, is long hair, both human and pet. The Combo j7+ is equipped with a "sweeping brush" – since the Combo j7+ is round, it needs this extending spinning brush to reach into corners. But long hair winds around this spinning brush and creates a sort of a hair beehive (see circled in the image below) that, every few sessions, needs to be cut away, which requires unscrewing the brush. You'll also have to cut away and pull out hair that entwines around the two relatively easily removable rubber rollers.

You'll also need to replace and wash the machine-washable mop pad and replace the filter attached to the side of the reservoir. Exactly when depends on how dirty they seem upon inspection. iRobot hints that pads should be replaced after every mopping, but this seems unreasonable from both a maintenance and cost perspective unless your whole family is constantly tracking in mud. iRobot does say that pads can be washed up to 30 times before needing replacement, but I suspect they'll last longer than that – microfiber is a rather hearty material.

Filters sit outside the mopping reservoir (pointed out in the photo below), so eyeballing it to determine if it needs to be replaced is easy. iRobot doesn't make any explicit filter replacement frequency/condition recommendations, and they can't be washed and reused like filters on stick vacs. But caveat emptor on identifying the correct replacement filter. There are two models of the j7+: this Combo j7+ and a NON-Combo vacuum-only j7+. Unfortunately, each j7+ model annoyingly uses a filter that's slightly different in size – they are NOT interchangeable (which I found out the hard way). iRobot told me that the filter's "dimensions are different because of the reworked Roomba Combo j7+ bin that accommodates the liquid in addition to dry debris." However, identifying the correct j7+ filter when shopping online can be a bit confusing, especially if you want to buy a cheaper non-iRobot replacement. A three-pack of iRobot Roomba Combo j7+ filters ($29.99) is available on iRobot.

Fortunately, the j7+ rollers and corner brush for both the Combo and vacuum-only versions are identical.

The bottom line

As a robotic vacuum cleaner, I don't hesitate to recommend the iRobot Roomba Combo j7+. It has plenty of suction, navigates well, and takes care of dry debris for weeks at a time. So it really comes down to the mopping feature, and then it's a matter of personal preference since there are tradeoffs for the best solutions on the market. Either you get the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni, which scrubs floors but has the downsides of storing potentially stinky wastewater from washing the mop head between runs, and the possibility of leaving mop droppings on carpets if you mop and vac in one pass. Or, you go with the Roomba Combo j7+, which mops and vacs in one pass, but wipes instead of scrubbing. For most people, the Roomba Combo j7+ is the best mop vac for low-traffic floors.

Price: $1,099.99

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious and Andrea Smith/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

For those looking to make excellent espressos, lattes, and cappuccinos at home, without the hassle of a manual machine, Nespresso’s top-of-the-line Lattissima Pro is the way to go. I’ve been a Nespresso user for years and have used various models, including the original Lattissima, the Pixie, and the CitiZ. I’ve been reviewing the Lattissima Pro (manufactured by DeLonghi) for the last few months, and it is by far my favorite for its combination of design, features, and performance.

If you’re not already familiar with Nespresso, it’s a pod-based system that uses hermetically sealed coffee pods to brew your espresso. The advantages of the pods over grinding beans are that the coffee is always fresh, there is no measuring or grinding required, and cleanup is simply a matter of emptying the pod container when it fills up. Pods typically cost around $.80 each, and are available in a variety of roasts and both caffeinated and decaf. Nespresso’s strength has always been its espresso (though it has a coffee-focused Virtuo line), as opposed to its competitors Keurig and Tassimo, whose focus has been on coffee.

Comparison of Nespresso models

All models of original Nespresso machines (excluding the Virtuo line) use the same pods and work pretty much identically as far as making espresso. Differences are mostly design-based. However, the Lattissima models are the only ones that offer integrated milk handling for lattes and cappuccinos; the other models all rely on separate frothers. Having an integrated frother makes pouring a cappuccino as simple as pushing a button, and the milk unit goes straight back in the fridge, requiring cleaning every few days.

Within the Lattissima line, there are three models: Gran Lattissima, Lattisima One, and Lattissima Pro. The Lattissima Pro model I’m reviewing here is the largest, with highest capacity water tank (44 ounces vs 34 ounces on the other models) and one of the highest capacity milk containers (17 ounces for the Pro and Gran Lattissima versus 4.2 ounces), so you’ll be able to make more drinks before refilling. The Pro offers a super-fast 15-second heat-up time, with the others taking a somewhat slower 25 seconds.

Beyond its capacity, the Lattissima Pro offers a touch-based display that supports both drink-making and various machine settings. All other Nespresso models use a simple push-button method. I’ll get more into the details on that later.

Of course, the additional benefits of the Lattissima Pro come at a price. The Pro and Gran Lattissima retail at a rather hefty $649, and the One at $399. The Gran Lattissima is the current top-of-the-line model, with more one-touch recipe choices, but it's slower to heat up, lacks the stainless steel finish. Regarding the One, is it worth the extra $250? I say “yes”, for the conveniences of the larger water and milk capacity alone.

Design and features of the Lattissima Pro

The Lattissima Pro has an elegant, stainless steel industrial design that will work well in any kitchen or on the counter at your office. It looks solidly built because it is solidly built, with a far higher quality look and feel than your typical plasticky Keurig machine. It also offers numerous convenience features over the other Lattissima models.

A foldable, metal cup rest, unique to the Pro among the Lattissima models, lets you accommodate glasses up to 5.5 inches tall or small espresso cups. You’re not going to fit a giant America-style coffee travel mug in there, but that’s really not what Nespresso is intended for. There's also an integrated light that helps you see where your cup is placed under the spout without cranking on your kitchen lights (helps when you want to sneak in that late night or early morning espresso shot).

The removable milk handling unit slides into place when needed and right back out again into the fridge when done. Unlike first-generation Lattissimas, the lid locks in place to prevent spills. Conveniently, the spout for hot water stores behind a sliding door on the side of the Lattissima Pro. Hot water is not available on other Lattissima models.

Refilling the water reservoir is simple. A pop-up lid on the top of the tank lets you refill the tank without removing it from the machine, or pulling the tank off and filling in your sink. The lid is strong enough to serve as a handle to carry the reservoir when full.

Size-wise, the Pro is a little smaller than the Gran, at 7.6 inches, 13 inches tall and 10.8 inches deep, and about an inch bigger in all dimensions than the One. My Lattissima Pro sits on the counter of my small New York City kitchen without much sacrifice.

To save energy, the Lattissima will automatically shut off after nine minutes (adjustable through the control panel).

The Lattissima is available in any color combination you want, as long as that combination is stainless and black.

Lattissima Pro control panel

The core operation of the Lattissima Pro is the same as the other Lattissima machines; stick a pod in, close the lever, push a button and out comes espresso, lattes and cappuccinos. Where the Lattissima Pro differs is in its touch-sensitive control pad, rather than the physical buttons of the Plus and Touch, offering seven drink options – ristretto, espresso, lungo, hot milk, cappuccino, latte and hot water.

The control pad also provides textual information about the drink being served, as well as reminders for when it's time to clean the milk unit and descale the machine. While there's no significant advantage to the touch control pad, it makes customizing the settings of the machine easier, so you can make your espresso a little stronger or add a little more milk to your cappuccinos. One potential risk: the touch-sensitive panel makes it a little easier to accidentally start the machine going if you touch it inadvertently.

The Nespresso capsule system

Nespresso machines use hermetically sealed capsules containing coffee in a variety of roasts and flavors. Pop the capsule into the machine, close the lever, choose your drink option and a 19-bar pressure pump forces hot water through the coffee capsule and into your waiting cup. Because the pods are self-contained, prep and clean-up is minimal, making Nespresso perfect for a those who are in a rush to get their morning latte or to make a round of cappuccinos for your next dinner party.

Currently, Nespresso offers 50 variations of coffee, from medium to very dark roast, caffeinated and decaf, and even flavored blends that change seasonally (right now, you can purchase Coconut Flavor Over Ice). As you taste your way through them (which you can do for free at one of the Nespresso boutiques if you’re buying pods), you’ll find your favorites, any of which can be ordered online through the Nespresso club.

The downside to the capsules is their cost. The pods typically run between $.80 and $.90 each, so if you like a double cappuccino in the morning like me, you’ll be putting out $1.60 plus the cost of your milk. That’s more than you would spend if you were buying your own coffee beans (unless you buy very expensive coffee), though it is still considerably less than what you would pay at your local Starbucks and far more convenient.

Performance of the Lattissima Pro

We've used the Lattissima Pro multiple times a day for months, and performance over the course of hundreds of espressos, cappuccinos, and lattes has been excellent. The Lattissima Pro heats up incredibly quickly (as little as 15 seconds for an espresso and a little longer for a cappuccino), so there's practically no wait to get your caffeine kick. And, once hot, the Lattissima Pro will continue to knock out drink after drink with no delay.

The quality of drinks is very good. If you're a frequent Starbucks drinker, you'll be very pleased with the results from the Nespresso. Espressos are full-flavored with nice crema. Cappuccinos and lattes are served with rich foam that is denser than with earlier Lattissima models (foam density and quantity can be adjusted to your liking). And all drinks come out hotter than on earlier Lattissima models, with no preheating of cups required. We typically use skim milk in our machine (works great), though you can use low-fat, whole milk (if cardiologist approved), or even non-dairy milk if desired.

For true aficionados, Nespresso doesn't brew with the intense richness the best manual espresso machines or top-end fully-automatic machines (like the DeLonghi Eletta) can muster. But you're not going to find anything with the convenience or price point of the Lattissima Pro that can compete.

Cleaning the Lattissima Pro

The Lattissima requires little effort as far as regular cleaning. All of the coffee is contained in the Nespresso capsules, and the built-in used capsule container can hold 15 of these pods before it needs to be emptied (the Plus and Touch have a 9-capsul capacity). Removing the capsule container also requires sliding out the bottom drip tray, which is a little tricky if you have the milk container in place.

To clean the milk carafe after each use, you turn a knob on the top to the "clean" position, and hot steam blows out any accumulated milk into a container. Then you just pop the carafe back in the fridge. When the carafe is empty, the components of the carafe can be deconstructed for cleaning in your dishwasher's top rack.

Your Lattissima will need to be descaled occasionally. Depending on the hardness of your water, you'll need to descale every 6 months to a year, at most. The Pro will provide a message on the display when descaling is required. It takes about ten minutes to run through the process using the descaling solution available through Nespresso ($8.95 for two descaling packets).

Warranty and service

The Lattissima Pro comes with a two-year warranty. If you need service, you can either get it done through your local Nespresso boutique or via phone through the Nespresso Club. Nespresso will provide a shipping crate and a loaner machine while your own is in the shop so you don't go into caffeine withdrawal.

Review summary

The Lattissima Pro is, without question, the best Nespresso machine available. It is very easy to use, makes excellent drinks and offers the best combination of features of any of the Nespresso models. Once you get used to having one around, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. I've had mine or four years now and it makes perfect cappuccinos and lattes every time.

The major downside to the Lattissima Pro is the cost; at $649 retail, it has a $250 premium over the basic One model. That said, I would still recommend it because of the additional capacity of the water and milk tanks, taller spout, and faster heat-up time.

[Image credit: Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News and Time.

Samsung's $800 HW-Q800C Soundbar fills out the picture with audio capabilities that can bring a blockbuster action flick like Top Gun: Maverick roaring to life or make you feel like you're sitting in front of the stage at the filming of Elvis. Better still, it can fill your living room with sound without also filling your living room with the clutter of multiple speakers and endless cables. The HW-Q800C soundbar is small enough to slide under most tabletop-standing 55- and 65-inch sets and its wireless subwoofer can easily be hidden under a coffee table or next to a couch.

Features

Fitting all the speakers needed to create rich, cinema-like sound into a slim component that doesn't block part of the picture has always been a challenge. Samsung has managed to do it with the Q800C whose profile is just 2.4 inches high and 43.7 inches wide. That is svelte enough to fit under most big-screen TVs, and it comes with wall brackets in case you need to match it with a wall-mounted TV.

The Q800C is what is known as a 5.1.2 channel sound system, which means that the soundbar has five full-range channels, three of which are aimed forward and two of which are aimed at the sides to produce a more immersive sound experience. Then there's one low-frequency channel (the separate subwoofer) and two upward-facing channels in the sound bar intended to boost 360-degree surround sound effects.

The net effect – backed by 360 watts of power – is room-filling sound that can decode most surround sound formats, such as DTS:X to make for the perfect movie night. The Samsung Q800C does particularly well reproducing popular Dolby Atmos soundtracks of streaming movies and shows, and it can handle a slew of high-resolution audio formats, including OGG (Ogg Vorbis), FLAC (free lossless audio codec), and ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec).

To send music through the soundbar from your smartphone, the system also works with wireless Apple AirPlay2 and Google Chromecast. And it has Amazon's Alexa built-in, so you can order it to follow standard commands (like setting a timer for the popcorn while you continue watching the show). Additional wireless connections can be made over WiFi and Bluetooth. For connecting your TV, the Samsung Q800C has two HDMI ports (one input and one output) and one optical input; there are no analog inputs for older AV equipment.

Managing the Samsung Q800C is handled using a supplied remote control. The compact remote lets you switch inputs, pair a Bluetooth device, switch surround sound modes, and, of course, raise and lower the volume on the bar and subwoofer. The remote control doesn't have lit keys or an LCD display, so it can be tricky to operate in the dark, but a scrolling LED display on the soundbar itself alerts you whenever you change a source or setting. And there's the requisite smartphone app (Samsung's SmartThings software) for making more advanced adjustments. For example, some cable stations and services have a slight audio delay that can make singers seem like they are lip-syncing to songs; a timing adjustment in the Samsung app fixes that, in addition to letting you set special sound modes like a night mode that reduces the volume of low rumbling effects so that you don't keep the neighbors awake. There's also an equalizer should you find the music doesn't quite match your sonic preferences.

Audio performance

Movie fans will appreciate the Samsung Q800C's ability to kick out everything from John Williams' symphonic flourishes to the endless explosions of the latest Marvel epic. Even at half volume, the Q800C produced plenty of sound pressure to push me back into my couch. And the subwoofer gave Dwayne Johnson's slugfest in Furious 7 an extra punch.

If you are switching from using the built-in sound from your TV to a soundbar, you will notice a very substantial improvement in audio with the Samsung Q800C, and it compares well to others in this category, such as the Polk Audio Signa S4 and Bose Soundbar 700. Dolby Atmos is intended to send sound all around the listener, and the Q800C does a remarkable job imitating this effect with just the soundbar and subwoofer. Creepy crawlies seem to bounce off the walls in scary movies while screams ("Don't go in the basement!") emanate directly from the front of the screen.

Samsung includes two technical features to make this all happen without your intervention or having to tweak multiple settings. The first is what the company calls SpaceFit Sound, which analyzes the reflected sound in your particular room and then adjusts the upper range of frequencies and low-end frequencies to suit your listening environment. This is a common feature on soundbars in the price range, and I found it generally works well and is comparable to others. Although, for my taste, it sounded a little too bright, a symptom of emphasizing high notes. This was easily remedied by using the equalizer in the app to match my preferences.

The second feature is Adaptive Sound, which is supposed to analyze the sound source in real time and automatically adjust the sound profile. So if you're watching the evening news, you'll hear more direct, streamlined audio from the sound bar rather than the more expansive surround sound effects you'll experience when you're watching a movie. I found this was moderately successful, although I still had to manually switch into standard sound mode when playing music. And there's also a dialogue or voice enhancement feature; it successfully mutes background effects and emphasizes the vocal frequency range for those of us struggling to hear mumbling actors.

Standard mode eliminates any overemphasis of high notes for music playback, and I was pleasantly surprised with this setting. Mid-range heavy rock and pop tracks from the likes of the Fountains of Wayne received the proper attention they deserved, with accurate and detailed reproduction. Some listeners may find it sounds muffled, but the standard mode plays it straight, delivering a more accurate rendering of the music without sound effects. It lets you blast Aha's Take Me On with excellent clarity and very little distortion, even on those stratospheric vocals. Steely Dan's Bodhisattva had excellent balance as per its polished production work, and the interplay between the lead guitar and keyboards was clear and concise. The Samsung Q800C even produced good stereo separation – no easy feat for most soundbars.

Samsung also offers a feature it calls Q-Symphony, which uses not only the sound bar but also the built-in speakers of a compatible Samsung TV to deliver an even more immersive surround sound effect (usually, a set's speakers are off when you use a sound bar). However, the Q-Symphony feature only works with compatible 2020 to 2023 Samsung models. (LG also has a similar feature, which again, only works with compatible LG TVs.) In company demonstrations, I found the Q-Symphony feature to be quite compelling. Unfortunately, I didn't have a compatible set at the time of review to conduct independent tests of this option.

The bottom line

The soundbar category is one of the most competitive and confusing markets. You can easily pay $2,500 for a single soundbar, such as the Sennheiser Ambeo Max, which will deliver rich, even sound, or spend about $130 for a small model designed simply to add more volume, such as the compact Roku Streambar. The Samsung Q800C falls in the middle of these two extremes, able to fill a large living room with (if you desire) ear-splitting soundtracks, and yet it can also play Miles Davis with aplomb when you just want to sit back and chill.

There are comparably priced, slightly superior home theater sound solutions that can deliver a more immersive experience with shots and tire squeals zooming past your head, but those systems involve setting up more speakers. If you have the real estate for a slightly more extensive system, consider Vizio's Elevate home theater system (about $800), which is a 5.1.4 package with a sound bar, subwoofer, and two additional wireless satellite speakers. The additional satellites give you more of a surround sensation, especially in larger living rooms.

Nevertheless, the Samsung Q800C is one of the better soundbar and subwoofer pairings, bringing simplicity and superior sound to the home theater experience.

[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious]

John R. Quain has been covering science and technology for over 20 years. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, PC Magazine, Esquire, and U.S. News & World Report. He was the on-air technology contributor to the CBS News Up to the Minute television show for 17 years and is a regular contributor to The New York Times.

It is this occasional, situational hearing assistance that the new class of Bluetooth-enabled over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, such as the HP Hearing Pro "powered" by Nuheara ($699), the subject of this review, as well as the Sony CRE-E10 ($1,200), and the Jabra Enhance Plus ($799), are designed for. All three of these standard-styled in-ear Bluetooth buds offer the features required by the new OTC hearing aid regulations and are currently the only products of their type on the market. They are self-fitting, which means you take an app-based hearing test to configure the buds to your specific hearing loss and are FDA-cleared Class II medical devices. Unlike "normal" hearing aids, even those with Bluetooth to enable hands-free phone conversations, Bluetooth OTC hearing aids double as regular – and high-quality – music streaming earbuds.

From the left, the Sony CRE-E-10, HP Hearing Pro, and Jabra Enhance Plus

The HP Hearing Pro powered by Nuheara are essentially an FDA-cleared self-fitting hearing aid version of the Nuheara IQbuds2 Max ($499), which qualify as personal sound amplification products (PSAP), an FDA hearing assistive device category. As an OTC hearing aid, the Hearing Pro have better speech understanding than the IQbuds2 Max in noisy environments and simplified features and controls for what is assumed to be an older buyer. And of the Bluetooth OTC hearing aid models we've tested, the HP Hearing Pro offer the best overall Bluetooth music listening experience. They are also the only ones with active noise canceling to actually quiet the world, especially helpful while grooving to your tunes.

But how do the HP Hearing Pro stack up as hearing aids against the three current Bluetooth-enabled OTC hearing aids? Overall, they fall in the middle, which still makes them a fine option for those with mild hearing loss seeking situational hearing assistance, especially since it is the cheapest of the three Bluetooth OTC hearing aid options we've tested. But HP and Nuheara's efforts to "simplify" the Hearing Pro for a more senior, assumedly tech-phobic audience lowers its functionality and value.

Ergonomics and set-up

Physically, the HP Hearing Pros buds and case are nearly identical to the Nuheara IQbuds2 Max, which means both buds and case are substantially larger than the buds and case of the Sony CRE-E10 and the Jabra Enhance Plus. The Pros tend to stick out further from your ears compared to the Sony and the Jabra, to the point that, while wearing the Pros, I was half-jokingly informed by a friend that Lt. Uhura wanted her earbuds back.

As with the IQbuds2, you are guided through an app-based hearing test to configure the buds to your specific hearing condition. You also get small, medium, and large sets of both silicone and foam tips. To reduce feedback squealing that is endemic with hearing aids, you'll want tips that completely seal your ear canal, which, for me, meant foam (which aren't as long-term comfortable as the silicone tips I use with the IQbuds2). However, even if you do get what feels like a completely sealed fit, I often heard short/sharp squeals that sounded as if a bird were chirping in the room. And your foam-overstuffed ears will heave a metaphorical sigh of relief when you remove the buds.

The HP Hearing Pro lags far behind in battery life compared to its Bluetooth OTC hearing aid competitors, supplying eight hours of hearing amplification on a single charge or five hours of Bluetooth music streaming – I got 6-7 hours of mixed usage. In comparison, I got 12-14 hours of mixed-use with the Jabra Enhance Plus and an astounding 26 hours with the Sony CRE-E10.

This extreme battery life difference, at least between the HP and the Sony, is largely due to how both OTC hearing aids wirelessly transmit audio between the buds and your phone. The HP uses a regular Bluetooth connection, whereas the Sony uses Bluetooth LE (low energy) and its own audio technology. This saves battery life but lowers both audio quality and the consistency of the Bluetooth LE connection. While the wireless music listening on the Sony can cut in and out in a dense wireless environment (i.e., a crowded Manhattan street), the HP Hearing Pro consistently maintained a solid Bluetooth stream. The HP Pro also lets you turn on active noise canceling, which also eats battery life. In other words, with the Pros, you're sacrificing battery life for a better Bluetooth music experience.

You will find circumstances where battery management is necessary. For instance, if you're out for a few hours listening to music, then enter a longer-term hearing assistive situation, such as watching TV or having dinner with family, you will need to do a quick recharge somewhere in between or find the Pros powering down unexpectedly. The buds get 8 hours of use per charge, and the fully-charged case provides three charges for a total of 32 hours of usage. The buds take 90 minutes to recharge fully, and the case takes three hours, which is average.

One of the great usability aspects of the Nuheara IQbuds2 Max is their on-bud touch controls – one tap of a bud enables you to pause music, turn off noise canceling, and turn on the microphone. To make the HP Hearing Pro "easier" to use for its more senior-targeted audience – and avoid additional FDA usage case clinical studies – HP, unfortunately, removed this on-bud control. Like the Sony and the Jabra, in order to move from music listening to ambient listening, you have to use your music app to pause playback, then switch to the HP Hearing app to turn off noise canceling.

Audio Performance

As hearing aids, the HP Hearing Pro do boost, sharpen, and clarify sounds somewhat more effectively than the IQbuds2 Max, but both are beaten in loudness slightly by the Jabra Enhance Plus and substantially by the Sony CRE-E10. With the Sony, I could turn down the TV sound to barely audible, and by turning up the buds' volume to only less than half of their maximum volume, I could clearly hear and understand the dialog. While the HP Hearing Pro effectively sharpens and cleans muddy sounds and dialog, when you turn their volume up to max, you get only marginally added amplification while increasing the possibility of feedback squeal.

I also found that the Sony CRE-E10 provided a slightly more natural-sounding amplified aural environment than the more shrill-sounding Pro. However, neither matches the natural soundscape provided by OTC hearing aids that don't seal your canal, such as the Eargo 7 (which I'm currently testing) or the Lexie B2 powered by Bose. Their open design allows ambient sound to meld with the amplified sound naturally. Also, gusts or strong breezes are amplified by the Pro and often overcome and then blank out their microphones, which effectively deafens you since you're now essentially wearing earplugs. For instance, I had to remove the Pros when riding in a car with road wind rushing through the open windows.

Just as HP removed bud tap touch controls to "simplify" usage, they also "simplified" the tone controls included with the IQbuds app. Gone are the IQbuds' voice/ambience and bass/treble sliding adjustments, which can audibly improve or compensate for situational acoustics.

Retained is the Nuheara "Focus" control that narrows the microphones' amplification from the usually useless 360 to around 160 degrees in front of you. By comparison, however, Sony's E10 offers more adjustable multi-step and narrower microphone directionality and includes the sliding treble/bass controls that HP removed.

However, music listening via the Pros is far fuller and more robust than the Sony and the Jabra and on par with the excellent IQbuds 2 Max, although the bass response is a bit lighter than I expected. Music playback performance is further enhanced by the Pros' active noise canceling, missing on both the Sony and the Jabra.

Like the Sony and Jabra, HP Hearing Pro's canal-sealing nature also means your voice seems disembodied, and chewing sounds are amplified. Unfortunately, these canal-clogging drawbacks – known as occlusion – seem to be simply the nature of the ear-sealing Bluetooth bud beast.

The bottom line

A huge piece of the decision between the HP Hearing Pro ($699), the Sony CRE-10 ($1,299), and the Jabra Enhance Plus ($799) comes down to price and usage.

If improving your hearing is the critical piece and music listening less so, the Sony CRE-10, with their far louder sound amplification, bass/treble tone controls, and more finely adjustable directional microphones, is the more satisfying choice. However, you'll pay a hefty $600 premium over the HP Hearing Pro for these aural assistive advantages.

If your hearing assistive needs are slight and Bluetooth music listening is as important as situational hearing assistance, then the HP Hearing Pro are your choice. They are the best OTC hearing aids for music lovers.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

The differences between these two OTC hearing aid bud styles and purposes present conflicting pros and cons for those trying to choose between them. Long-story short: while ultra-comfy and nearly invisible, the C10 use annoying-to-replace single-use button batteries, and if you want to listen to music from your phone, you either have to put on a pair of headphones over them or replace the C10s with standard Bluetooth earbuds; the Bluetooth-compatible E10s provide louder sound amplification, are powered by a rechargeable battery that supplies a hefty 26 hours of continual hearing use, and serve multiple listening purposes, but they're not as comfortable over several hours of wear, your own voice sounds a bit muffled, and they amplify the sound of chewing, especially crunchy foods.

Which would I choose? Since I am an avid music listener and don't need or want to wear hearing aids all day, I lean toward the dual-purpose E10 for occasional wear, especially when I'm out and about. But at $1,300, the E10 is an expensive (arguably over-priced) choice, especially considering the pending HP Hearing PRO, powered by Nuheara (makers of the seemingly similar IQbuds2 Max), which will nearly half the price at $699 and promise more features, such as active noise cancellation, when they launch at the end of the month.

I've been actively wearing and testing the E10 for the last two months, and they are just the latest OTC hearing aids I have tested. Other OTC hearing aids I've reviewed include the aforementioned Sony CRE-C10, the Lexie B2 Powered by Bose, the Jabra Enhance Plus, and the Eargo 5, which technically are not OTC hearing aids since they include audiologist support. In addition, I've been covering the OTC hearing aid category since the category's launch last October. Setting aside price considerations, I find that the Sony CRE-E10 offer the best auditory experience – music and general listening – of all OTC hearing aids with music streaming that are currently on the market.

Ergonomics and set-up

Sony's E10 buds are the size of smaller in-ear buds, with a charging case slightly larger than the Jabra Enhance Plus ($799) OTC hearing aids. Included with the E10 are four sets of "closed" silicone tips – "closed" meaning that the tips aren't perforated or vented, as are the "open" tips included with the Sony CRE-C10, which are designed to allow in ambient sounds – extra small, small (pre-attached), medium, and large.

Oddly, these ear tips, which Sony calls "Click Sleeves," are oval rather than round, which, for me, presented challenges when attempting to create the tight ear canal seal the E10 require to minimize feedback squealing endemic with many hearing aids. Each time I inserted the E10, I needed some bud-twisting experimentation before I was able to settle on a satisfactory seal feel.

You do not pair the E10 to your phone via Bluetooth. Like most OTC hearing aids, you pair the E10 to your iPhone via Settings > Accessibility > Hearing Devices. That's because the E10 don't use Bluetooth to transmit music to the buds. Instead, the E10, and all "Bluetooth" iPhone-compatible OTC hearing aids, use Apple's MFI (Made For iPhone) low-energy wireless standard – technically the 2.4 GHz ISM (industrial, scientific, and medical) radio band – and a proprietary Sony audio codec to stream audio, both music, and conversation.

You "self-fit" the E10 via the Sony Hearing Control app hearing test, the same test as for the C10. As with all similar earbud app hearing tests, you are asked whether you can hear a series of different tones at varying volume levels and frequencies for each ear to customize the buds' response to match your specific hearing impairment.

One of the E10's best features is its generous battery life – 26 hours of continuous hearing-only use. The case contains enough juice to fully recharge the E10s twice before it needs recharging, which means you get 78 hours of use on a single buds/case charge, plenty for even a long weekend. Sony's specs note that you get 23 hours of hearing with two hours of audio streaming; if my math is right, that means a full day's 17 hours of hearing mixed with six hours of music streaming.

But no one will want to wear the E10 for six hours at a stretch, much less 17. Unlike Sony's C10, which are not only nearly invisible to the eye but also to the feel while wearing them for lengthy stretches, you feel the E10s in your ears the way you feel any Bluetooth buds. The E10 are not UNcomfortable; they're just not as comfortable as "invisible" type hearing aids such as the C10 and the various Eargo hearing aid models, which you forget you're wearing. My ears felt a sigh of relief when I removed the E10s after several hours.

Auditory performance

Boy, are these E10s LOUD! – far louder than any other OTC buds I've used so far. Inside the Sony Hearing Control app, you can raise the volume to 15, but I found a level of 4-5 provided plenty of sound amplification. I needed to increase the E10 volume higher only while quietly watching TV next to my half-, soon to be fully-asleep, spouse.

Part of the self-fitting nature of the E10 is not only the volume control but the tone level (a bass/treble slide) – both available on the C10 – but mostly and best of all, Directional Hearing, adjustment features that aren't available for the C10. Sony's Auto mode provides a general 360-degree hearing boost. But tapping on one of the four direction segments of the app's hearing circle creates a more specific zone to hear sounds emanating from a specific direction, which is especially helpful in noisy environments when you just want to hear the person sitting right across from you or while watching TV. Other OTC hearing aids often provide some type of directional hearing customization, but none as effective as Sony's with the E10.

In all volume/directional E10 hearing boosts, sounds come through completely clean and natural. The E10s also solve one of my main issues with the Jabra Enhance Plus ($799)– you can hear your own voice, although you will sound a bit disembodied. I found myself unnecessarily talking louder to overcome this odd sense of hearing a slightly muffled version of my own voice.

One issue shared by all earbud-style OTC hearing aids is that by sealing your canals, you amplify noises inside your head, such as breathing – in a quiet room, my amplified breathing sounded to me like astronaut David Bowman floating around his empty ship in 2001: A Space Odyssey. Amplified chewing sounds muffle most ambient sound or even incoming streaming audio, so I don't recommend chewing gum while wearing the E10s, and over dinner, I started to learn to stop chewing when someone was talking. I also found the E10 not as effective as the C10 at stifling wind noise, but this is an issue only in steady winds of around 7-8-plus MPH.

Satisfying music listening requires some work. First, you need to create a tight bud-to-canal seal to limit fidelity-spoiling sound leakage and ambient noise. Second, to hear streaming sound through the earbuds in iOS, you have to tap the triangle/wave audio source icon in the music or video app and choose "hearing aids." Finally, you need to slide the Sony Hearing Control app's volume lever down to 0 to eliminate the E10 amplified ambient sounds. Once you've gone through this multi-step process, music sounds above average but a smidge underwhelming compared to the robust audiophile results one normally gets from Sony headphones or buds.

In addition, the music streaming connection is fragile – one bud or the other constantly blanked out while I wandered around midtown Manhattan, likely caused by interference from other nearby wireless connections.

Why don't the E10 perform either sonically or connection-wise as well as other standard Bluetooth earbuds? Because while the E10 are "Bluetooth compatible for audio streaming," it's not the same Bluetooth used to transmit music by other wireless earbuds or headphones. Instead, the E10 are using the Apple proprietary MFi hearing aid protocol, and this audio version of MFi includes Sony's own proprietary audio codec, not AAC or Bluetooth's built-in SBC (sub-band coding) audio codec. The specific details of this specification, however, are Apple's confidential information. Sony explains that audio is transmitted from your iPhone to the E10 via a Bluetooth Low Energy link, which is not to be confused with other Made for iPhone (MFi) labels on headphones, which explains the slightly lower fidelity and somewhat less reliable wireless connection. It is likely that other Bluetooth-enabled OTC hearing aids, such as the Jabra Enhance Plus and HP's Hearing Pro, will employ variations of this same MFi-Bluetooth scheme.

What's really challenging for music listening with the E10s is when you suddenly need to hear what's happening around you. The E10s provide no on-bud controls, so you can't single-tap to pause the music and activate the buds' external mics. Instead, when faced with an ambient listening situation, you must pause the music on your iPhone (or an Apple Watch, if you're wearing one), then navigate to the Sony Hearing Control app to raise the E10 volume, a comparatively awkward and annoying process to say the least.

Maintenance

As far as maintenance, the box includes a brush to clear potential earwax from the buds. However, but a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol work just as well as they would for any set of in-ear buds.

The bottom line

Only iPhone users should consider the E10, at least for now, since the E10's music streaming capability is compatible only with iOS.

For occasional wear, the Sony CRE-E10 delivers the most impressive volume and sound directionality of any OTC hearing aid I've tried. That's even with amplified chewing sounds and resisting the impulse to talk louder during conversations to overcome the disembodied sound of my own voice. And the E10 have decent sound when listening to music – the best audio quality currently on the market.

At $1,300, the E10 are way cheaper than any prescription hearing aid, plus you get streaming music and hands-free phone conversations. However, they're expensive when you consider the competition. The ergonomically/functionally similar Jabra Enhance Plus ($799) and the pending HP Hearing PRO earbuds-style OTC hearing aids are almost half the price at $699.

For now, the Sony CRE-E10 are the best OTC hearing aids with Bluetooth music streaming capabilities. However, if you can afford to wait, the HP Hearing PRO ($699) could perform on par with the E10 when they launch later this month for a lot less money.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

That lack of consumer choice and satisfaction creates a huge opportunity for services like T-Mobile 5G Home Internet, which utilizes the same 5G cellular networks powering our smartphones to deliver broadband inside your home. Because T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is cellular based, there is no need to run wires to your house. And it should, eventually, be able to support consumers wherever the T-Mobile 5G cellular network covers, even in rural areas where cable isn’t available. However, because the cellular network needs to be able to support the additional internet traffic, T-Mobile is rolling out Home Internet gradually in parallel with those network upgrades, and you may not be able to sign up immediately in your area, even if your neighbor is already on it.

Pricing

From a pricing perspective, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is refreshingly simple, especially for anyone used to paying the absurd extra fees associated with most cable bills. Home Internet is $55 a month, or $50 a month if you choose the autopay option, with no extra fees or taxes. You won’t pay extra to rent or buy a T-Mobile gateway. And there is no annual contract, so you can cancel at any time if Home Internet isn’t working for you.

My testing

To determine how well T-Mobile is delivering on this promise, I tested it over a couple of months head-to-head against my Verizon FiOS service here in New York City. Before sending me a 5G gateway test unit for review, T-Mobile confirmed that 5G Home Internet was available in my location (meaning the cell towers near my address had the capacity to handle Home Internet), and I also confirmed it directly via T-Mobile’s availability checker.

Set up

Setup with the 5G gateway is dead simple. First, you download the T-Mobile Internet app, which will guide you through the proper placement of your router. Since 5G signals don’t travel well through walls, putting the router near a window facing your local cell tower is important for the best connection and speed. The app walks you through this with a nifty virtual reality experience using your phone’s camera. Then you plug in the router, let it boot up, and scan the QR code on the back with your phone to pair the router to the T-Mobile app. Now you’re fully set up and ready to pair all your devices to the T-Mobile WiFi network.

The T-Mobile gateway has a built-in WiFi 6 router with your standard 2.4GHz and 5GHz frequency bands. Beyond changing your network name/password and your WPA encryption settings (which you likely won’t do) in the app, there’s nothing in the way of additional customization offered. If you need to enable port forwarding for gaming or other applications, there’s no way to do it through the device. And while it’s easy to hook up Eero or another mesh network using one of the T-Mobile gateway’s two ethernet ports, you can’t turn off the T-Mobile WiFi network to avoid conflicts with the mesh network WiFi (which I encountered in my setup). You’ll have to manage the conflict by ensuring some physical separation between the T-Mobile gateway and your mesh router. But for most home users, neither of these limitations should impact them.

The 5G gateway has a small screen that can display your network connection quality, the number of devices connected (but not what they are), and text messages to whomever the prior owner of the phone number associated with the 5G SIM card was (easily ignored, but humorous). T-Mobile says this text feature is to allow them to send support messages directly to your router. Though, it seems like a very clunky way of providing support updates, and in the six months since I first set the router up, I haven’t received a single support message.

Speed & reliability

Once up and running, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is very fast. I consistently measured download and upload speeds in the 100Mbps range. That should be more than enough capacity for the typical household, even with multiple people streaming and 4K content. The range of the built-in T-Mobile gateway WiFi router is roughly equivalent to what I experience with my current Verizon FiOS router. So, if you needed a mesh network before to reach across your home (as I do), you’ll need one with T-Mobile, too.

While speed was more than sufficient, I experienced some hiccups with network reliability; occasionally, my internet connection would cut out entirely for a minute or so. And, per Murphy’s Law, these drops always happened when I was on a work Zoom call or downloading a large file. I suspect the issue was related to constrained capacity on my local network tower. Conversations with T-Mobile suggested they also believed that to be the case. Unfortunately, that means there is no solution other than to deal with it while T-Mobile continues to upgrade its 5G network to handle Home Internet traffic. Your location may have fewer (or more) of these issues. Though, in the same Consumer Reports survey I mentioned earlier, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet is ranked very highly for performance, so I suspect these problems are rare. And, since T-Mobile 5G has no setup fee or contracts, you can try it out and see if it works well for you with little investment.

My recommendation

For anyone looking to replace their current ISP for reasons of cost, service, or otherwise, T-Mobile 5G Home Internet offers a compelling alternative. It’s easy to set up, provides quick internet access, and has a straightforward fee structure that requires no upfront or ongoing commitment. It may not be the best choice for gamers who need special configuration options, and the internet reliability has its quirks. Still, there’s a lot to like for most homeowners if it’s available in your area. Here's how to check if it's available in your location.

[Image credit: Techlicious, screenshots via Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News, and Time.

For the over-the-ear style Lexie B2, compared to the in-ear Sony CRE-C10, you surrender invisibility for more convenient battery management. The B2s have rechargeable cells that last a predictable 18 hours and get recharged every night, compared to the smaller Sony CRE-C10 hearing aids, which use awkward-to-change single-cell batteries that last a few days. Unfortunately, both lack the Bluetooth music/call capabilities of the very visible bud-style Sony CRE-E10 ($1,299.99, which I'm testing now), the Jabra Enhance Plus ($799), and the pending HP Hear Pro powered by Nuheara ($699).

Which OTC hearing aid characteristics are most important to you is a personal usage decision. While the Lexie B2 OTC hearing aids provide outstanding sound enhancement, it'll be up to you if the aesthetic and function compromises you're forced to make – and the price you'll have to pay – are worth their impressive aural improvements.

Ergonomics and setup

The Lexie B2 OTC hearing aids have a typical over-the-ear style. A teardrop module containing power and volume controls and rechargeable batteries sits three-quarters above and behind your ear, with an attached "receiver wire" tendril that runs down the front of your ear into your canal. Unlike in-ear buds, you must wrestle each B2 on and into each ear. And each bud has to be manually turned on via a button at the rear of the module. You also can adjust the volume up and down via these module buttons. The buds automatically turn off when conveniently magnetically snapped back into the charging case.

Even though the B2 module sits on your ear, the light grey coloring and placement make it virtually invisible – at least for those with lighter skin tones – unless someone looks at you from above and behind (Lexie's Lumen model comes in a wider variety of colors). The placement also shields the module from getting caught on shirts or pull-over sweaters when changing, and over-ear headphones worn over your ears feel fine.

There is no hearing test in the Lexie app to tune the Lexie B2s to conform to your specific hearing profile. Instead, the Lexie B2s are "self-tuning," which means you manually adjust the World Volume and tonal (bass/treble) levels to suit your hearing needs using the Lexie app. In addition to the World Volume and tonal (bass/treble) levels wheel controls, there is a separate left-right balance control in case your hearing loss in one ear is different from the other.

This DIY tuning technology "is an evolution from the hearing test-based approach you have experienced with other products," a Lexie exec told me. "Rather than relying on a wearer's feedback from a hearing test, this method relies on real-time tuning adjustments to learn their unique preferences and provide the clinically appropriate solution. And, of course, our Lexie customer solution team is ready and able to guide users who are not confident about adjusting the wheels themselves."

Lexie supplied Techlicious with clinical proof that its "self-fitting" DIY tuning approach is superior to the usual self-administered app hearing tests in the form of two journal articles: "Validation of a Self-Fitting Method for Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids" (Trends in Hearing, volume 24: 1–19) and "Comparing Population Coverage between Hearing Aids Using Presets vs Bose CustomTune" (The Hearing Review, June 3, 2021). However, three of the four authors of the first article are admitted Bose employees and their research was funded in part by Bose, and the lead author of the second piece is the same lead Bose researcher as the first article.

I remain cynical – I feel like I'm missing something without an app hearing test and subsequent automatic bud tuning for each ear. For a thousand bucks, I was hoping the Lexie B2s would be less DIY.

The B2s come with six pairs of silicone ear tips, which Lexie calls domes. The domes come in Size 1 = small, Size 2 = medium, and Size 3 = large (what happened to just S, M, and L?), and there are two types of domes – closed and open – in each size.

I initially stuck with pre-attached Size 2 open domes, which Lexie says fit 80 percent of users. However, the B2s squealed horribly whenever anything – my or my wife's hand, head, or arms, a neck cushion, pillow, etc. – came anywhere near my ears. This feedback is caused by the amplified sound from the speaker tips in your ears leaking out, bouncing off whatever is in physical proximity to your ear, then being picked up by the microphones on top of the teardrop modules on your ears.

One inadequate squeal-reducing solution is lowering the volume, which sort of defeats the whole World Volume self-adjustment theory discussed above. The more semi-effective solution is switching to larger, more ear-sealing closed domes. When the dome is set as deep in your canal as possible while still comfortable, it keeps amplified sound in your head with less leakage. When I switched to Size 3 closed domes, the squealing reduced slightly but not nearly enough to my satisfaction.

The best B2 fit and feedback results also depend on the receiver wire length (see the wire pointed out in the image below). As with the domes, the pre-attached wires go from the teardrop module to your ear. Lexie includes a measuring tool to ensure the included Size 2 wire is correct, and seven of the daunting 124-page manual pages are dedicated to measuring the receiver wire to determine if your fit is right. Unfortunately, Size 1 and Size 3 replacement receiver wires aren't included; they must be ordered separately by phone and are free during the 45-day trial period (the same as Eargo models) and $50 for one ear after that.

Performance

Once I got the volume/tone controls, dome size and type, and receiver wire measurement issues squared away, the Lexie B2 OTC hearing aids offer natural, satisfying sound amplification with no lag or echo between amplified and ambient sound.

Unlike the more aurally discriminating Sony CRE-C10s, the B2s amplify everything, including quieter sounds: light switches sound like rifle shots, creaking floorboards sound like breaking under my feet, keyboard taps sound like amplified tap dancing, and water from faucets sounds like Niagara Falls. And because the microphone is more exposed, the B2s pick up more wind noise than in-ear buds while lacking the wind noise suppression offered in the Sony CRE-C10s.

Since the modules include manual volume controls, it is easy to adjust volume levels by five percent, with each up or down tap to adjust to specific sonic circumstances.

Aside from volume and tone controls, the app also includes two directional presets: the default "Everywhere" for most use cases and "Front" for TV watching and when conversations are right in front of you. For example, in Everywhere mode, as I strolled down crowded Manhattan streets, I kept picking up nearby conversations that nearly blotted out the voice of my wife walking beside me. In Front mode, I needed to raise the volume by 5-10 percent to hear the conversation effectively.

You also get four environmental presets – Noisy Indoor, Outdoors, Music, and Everyday. You can customize each mode, but it takes a bit of work since you can't customize them until you find yourself in those aural situations, and who wants to be futzing with customizing an app when you're at a concert? The customization process itself is a bit complicated as well; it took a couple of trial-and-error attempts to figure it out.

To mute the buds, you must manually turn them off or take them off.

Because the microphone is on the above-ear module, you hear contact clinking each time you put on, move, or remove a pair of glasses. But if the B2s and your glasses fit firmly, you should experience minimal clinking over the day.

Battery and maintenance

The charging case does not contain its own battery; it charges the buds only when connected to AC power. Since the buds operate for up to 18 hours on a single charge, the larger charging case is designed not to be portable but stationary, to sit stolidly plugged into AC on a bedside table or desktop, and to be friendlier for those with finger dexterity issues. Complete recharging requires just three hours (the Eargo 5 buds require four hours of charging for 16 hours of usage).

In terms of maintenance and servicing, Lexie recommends replacing the receiving wires once a year for unclear reasons – and, at $100 a pair, there better be a good reason to replace them. Lexie also recommends replacing domes and wax guards every three months, but keeping these clean should elongate their effective life span. A tool to clear ear wax (yuck) off the domes and wax guards is included.

Four days after I received my review samples, I got a surprise check-in call from Lexie customer service. Apparently, when you purchase the B2s directly from Lexie, you get this call "immediately," presumably after registering the buds during the setup process. You then get a call once a month for the next three months and then a year later, all of which was nice and unexpected.

Summary

Once you get the tuning and dome/wire fit right, the Lexie B2 OTC hearing aids supply natural amplified sound. But so do the Sony CRE-C10, the B2's logical OTC hearing aid alternative, presenting a tough buying choice between the two. The B2 buds are more conveniently rechargeable, include on-bud volume controls, and offer excellent after-sale service. But they are clunkier than the Sony CRE-C10s, produce annoying feedback squeal, and amplify everything relatively equally, including wind. The Sony CRE-C10s are also more invisible with little feedback squealing, more aurally discriminating, and effective against wind noise, but require annoying and awkward replacement of single-use batteries every few days.

Which OTC hearing aids are better? I grudgingly prefer the Sony by a smidge, primarily because they don't squeal as much. But I also regret my choice each time I'd have to change those damned tiny batteries or run out and have to start hunting through drug stores for replacements.

As with all first-generation OTC hearing aids, at $999, the Lexie B2s are over-priced. I'm bemused by the section of the Lexie B2 web page explaining, "Why are Lexie OTC Hearing Aids so affordable?" – yes, affordable compared to insanely inflated prices charged by audiologists. Come back in a few months to see how a mass of OTC hearing aid competition redefines "affordable." Hopefully, as more vendors enter this new OTC hearing aid market, less expensive, rechargeable, non-squealing options will appear.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

In the world of electric shavers, Panasonic has always been at the forefront of performance. In reviewing various models over the years, from the entry-level Arc3 to the flagship Arc5, we’ve always come away impressed.

This year, Panasonic released the Arc6 in the U.S. as its new flagship model (released in Japan in 2021 as the Lamdash6). The Arc6, as its name suggests, now has six cutting blades – two titanium-coated blades designed to cut thick stubble, two stainless steel “finish blades,” and two lifting/cutting blades for longer hair. According to Panasonic, the large shaving head (about the same size as the Arc5) moves in 22 independent directions to maintain close contact with your skin as you go over your various facial hills and valleys.

There are two models of the Arc6 available: The ES-LS8A-K is a shaver-only model that retails for $399.99, and the ES-LS9A-K includes an integrated charging and cleaning station for $499.99. Yes, you read those prices correctly – if that’s a deal-breaker, you may want to stop reading now. Both are wet/dry compatible and include a hard-shell travel case, a cleaning brush, and a vial of lubrication oil.

Shaving performance

I’ve been testing the Arc6 for the last few months alongside a couple of other Panasonic shaver models (and a straight razor to bring out my manly side). And, once again, Panasonic showed why it deserves recognition as one of the two top shaver makers alongside a very competitive Braun. The Arc6 was like a lawnmower for my face (in a good way), able to slice through short and medium-length hairs and leave behind smooth skin that’s as close as shaving with the straight razor. So if you’re looking for the absolute best electric shaver, and price is no object, the Arc6 is the one.

The Arc6 is also very comfortable to use. The moving head feels natural – not too much or too little give – and I never had an issue with any hair pulling, even with nearly a week of growth. Nor did I ever experience any razor burn with the Arc6.

Operation is quieter than the Arc5. And, while I couldn’t compare head-to-head, users report it is quieter than the Braun Series 9.

But the Arc6 isn’t without some compromises that may not make it the best choice for everyone. If you’re working from home and regularly let your whiskers grow more than 3-4 days, the Arc6 will struggle with those longer lengths. Pre-cutting is advisable with the built-in trimmer. Of course, other shavers will struggle with the length, as well. So if this is you, you might want to consider The new Panasonic Multishape Grooming kit I was testing simultaneously with the Arc6. The modular kit offers a more robust trimmer and a shaver head that delivers a perfectly acceptable shave, if not quite up to Arc6 level.

The large head on the Arc6 can also be a big plus or minus, depending on your beardedness. If you’re a clean-shaven guy, that six-foil head can quickly cover a lot of ground, making shaving a dream. But if you’re working that metrosexual face growth like I am, the wide frame around the foil can make it tricky to get in close without fear of trespassing into beard territory. So again, the Panasonic Multishape Grooming kit is a good option here, or even Panasonic’s smaller yet mighty, Arc3.

Battery life

The battery life on the Arc6 is disappointing. My normal shaves regularly took 10% off the battery capacity, and that could get up to 15% if I spent time trimming longer hairs. I also noticed battery life trickle away during non-use, which really shouldn’t be happening in the short term with a Li-ion battery. Of course, this won’t matter for most people because you will have the shaver constantly charging on your bathroom sink. But if you’re going on a long trip of a week or more, make sure to bring your charger with you.

Cleaning & Maintenance

The cleaning stand for the ES-LS9A-K uses packets of proprietary Panasonic cleaning/lubrication fluid. One packet is included in the box and will last about a month. Replacement packets are around $4 a piece on Amazon. Alternatively, both Arc6 models have a sonic cleaning mode that lets you clean it effectively using water and a little hand soap. Just be sure to give it a little lube after with the included oil.

Panasonic recommends changing the shaving blades every 18 months under normal use. However, unlike prior Panasonic models, where you could replace the blades on their own, the blades on the Arc6 are integrated with the foils and shaving head as a single unit. And replacing this piece will set you back a whopping $115.

Summary

The Panasonic Arc6 (starting at $399.99, check price on Amazon) may be the best shaver on the market. It glides through hairs, leaving smooth skin behind. And never once did I experience any razor burn or pulling while using it. And the added benefit of quiet operation makes for a less jarring morning routine. If money were no object, it is the shaver I recommend for most people.

But if you don’t have (very) deep pockets, the Panasonic Arc5 (ES-LV65), which we reviewed and loved, provides a nearly equivalent shave, and you can pick one up for $200 less on Amazon. Similarly, the excellent Braun Series 9 with a cleaning station (9477cc) comes in at $100 less and may be a better option for those with beards, as it has a smaller head that will provide a little more visibility when shaving.

As prices drop for the Arc6 in the future (and I’m confident they will), this value equation will shift further to the Arc6’s favor.

[Image credit: Josh Kirschner/Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News and Time.

But while Sony giveth superb and discriminating audio amplification with great long-term wear comfort, they taketh away with the C10 being powered by minuscule single-use batteries, a major annoyance. I also have a bone to pick with Sony concerning the C10's price.

Rather than Bluetooth earbud-style buds with added hearing aid capabilities, the CRE-C10 are pure hearing aids comparable to the Eargo 5 and 6 prescriptive (i.e., the price includes tele visits with an audiologist) hearing aids and the OTC over-the-ear style Lexie B2 buds powered by Bose ($999). I've reviewed a plethora of hearing assistive devices over the last couple of decades and plan to review every new OTC hearing aid I can get my fingers on and into my ears.

Like the Eargos, the C10s are tiny, designed to be almost unseen in the ear, and don't include Bluetooth, so you don't get music listening or phone calls through them. At the other end of the OTC hearing aid design spectrum are the visibly obvious and fully Bluetooth functional buds, such as the Jabra Enhance Plus ($799) and the upcoming HP Hearing PRO powered by Nuheara ($699).

But instead of rechargeable batteries that nearly all Bluetooth earbuds and hearing aid batteries now operate on, the C10 are powered by round, nearly microscopic single-use size 10 hearing aid batteries that annoyingly require the sharp eyesight, finger dexterity, and rigid attention to detail of a watchmaker to swap them out. If you forget to tote extra batteries – and you will (and I did twice during my two-week-plus review period) – be ready to conduct a drug store battery treasure hunt. By comparison, the Eargo 5 and 6 and the Lexie B2 are both rechargeable, providing around 12-16 hours on a single charge.

While Sony may have set an aural performance standard with the CR10, it missed an opportunity to set a pricing standard. Not only are the C10 a thousand bucks, but you also have the additional ongoing cost for the replacement batteries.

Let's put Sony's price in context. For someone facing a $4,000-$8,000 outlay for a similarly featured prescription hearing aid, or even the $2,450 for an Eargo 5 or 6, $1,000 for a comparable if not superior replacement such as the CRE-C10 and the Lexie/Bose B2 sounds like a real deal.

But the actual cost of making these buds, which don't include a rechargeable battery or Bluetooth, is minimal; hearing aid technology, for instance, is a mature, well-understood technology. High hearing aid pricing is primarily predicated on the ability of audiologists to charge a premium for them since they controlled a monopoly on the hearing aid product and their medical services – not on the actual hearing aid cost of goods. Sony could have charged $499 or even $799 (still high considering the tech involved), which would have severely undercut its current and upcoming competition and made them a hero in the hearing-impaired world.

Also, bear in mind that these current OTC hearing aid prices will likely seem high a year from now or sooner. There's no doubt that a lot more models will come to market next year, and the competition is sure to force prices to drop.

Set-up and ergonomics

The C10s are tiny and light, nearly the same size and configuration as the Eargo 5 and 6 (shown below), weighing only 1 gram each (Eargo lists the 5 at "1.015 ± 0.05g"). Included are extra small, small, medium, and large vented silicone ear tips, vented to allow you to hear ambient sound, including your own voice, simultaneous with and nearly indistinguishable from the amplified sound. Since the C10s aren't designed to seal your ear canal, you pick a tip size based on comfort and how well the buds stick in your canals without shaking loose through normal head movements throughout your day. Mine comfortably stayed firmly inserted with no trouble using all three sizes.

For setting up, Sony first instructs you to turn off your phone's Bluetooth before "pairing" the C10s. Many post-purchase complaint reports about the C10 revolve around an inability to pair them, which I suspect is because buyers were trying to Bluetooth pair them without first reading the instructions. But the C10 don't use Bluetooth. Instead, the C10 connect to your smartphone and the limited Sony Hearing Control app "via a wireless high-frequency acoustic link," according to Sony.

Once you've "paired" the C10 to your smartphone and you've picked your tips, you'll take an app-guided hearing test to separately personalize the left and right bud amplification to compensate for your specific hearing loss in each ear. All OTC hearing aid hearing tests I've encountered, including those of the Jabra Enhance Plus and the Eargos (the audiologist Eargo includes doesn't conduct the hearing test), are essentially the same: in a quiet room, you insert a single bud, then listen while a series of varying tones at different frequencies and volume levels are played, and you simply tap the screen when you hear each; the process is then repeated with the other bud.

Once the C10 are personalized, you're pretty much done. The minimal Sony Hearing Control app includes only slide microphone volume between 0-15 and to increase/decrease bass and treble emphasis, but I could detect no difference in manipulating either, and there are no ambient or situational presets. Quite frankly, I didn't care that the app did nothing since the whole idea of the C10 is to not worry about them once they're in your ears.

Audio performance

Sony knows sound, so it's not a surprise that the C10s create completely natural amplified sound. While not producing the impressive volume of the Jabra Enhance Plus, the C10s nearly doubled my natural hearing with noticeably more volume than the Eargo 5 without a sacrifice in quality – both the Sony and the Eargo produce natural sounds without added artifacts, echo, or artifice. And, unlike the Jabra Enhance Plus that seal off your ear canal, you can naturally hear your own voice.

You get not only high volume but excellent voice-specific amplification with the C10. At large holiday dinners and at group dinners at noisy restaurants, I was often the only one not asking, "what'd you say?" While I was often asked to repeat myself – and no one has ever accused me of speaking softly – all I needed to hear C10-enhanced conversation from across the table was to occasionally cup my ear.

The C10 not only effectively enhances voice, but they seem to be more discriminating than other hearing aids or sound amplifiers I've used, including the Eargo, that seem to boost all noise equally. Ambient noises such as walking on even slightly creaky floors, flipping light switches, running water, keyboard key clacking, etc., didn't seem as sharply amplified as with other hearing assistive devices I've used. In addition, Sony suppresses nearly all wind noise until gusts reached 13 MPH or so, which is a bit more effective than the Eargo 5, but even then, the wind noise wasn't the steady shriek other hearing amplifiers often produce. However, the C10 can suddenly and startlingly squeal when they “hear” higher-pitched sounds, especially from the TV.

Comfort-wise, I barely sensed the C10 even up to wearing them 18 hours at a stretch and often forgot I was even wearing them. While not as nearly invisible as the Eargo models, the C10 are largely impossible for anyone standing right in front of you to see.

To listen to music, you can easily and comfortably slip on a pair of cup-style headphones with the CR10s in your ears. Phone call volume, with the phone pressed to your ear or using the phone's speaker, is similarly naturally boosted.

The battery problem

Sony says you'll get 70 hours of power via the size 10 single-use batteries, which comes out to around five days. But you can't turn the C10s off, and they don't automatically switch off when you take them out of your ears. To optimize battery life, you need to carefully open the tiny battery doors to disconnect power when you store the C10s in their slim oval case. Yes, rechargeable Bluetooth hearing aid batteries last just 5-16 hours, but we've grown used to both occasional and overnight recharging of wearable gadgets, and their apps reported when they need to be charged.

You'll hear a short sequence of tinkle tones when the C10 battery life is winding down, but with no indication of how much power remains; I found Murphy's Law reigned – the batteries seem to die just when I was in the worst circumstances to change them.

Sony helpfully includes a six-pack of size 10 hearing aid batteries to get you started. In the real world, size 10 hearing aid batteries cost 20 to 40 cents each, depending on where you buy them and in what quantities. You also need to be careful of stores stocking old cells – a CVS at which I bought some extras only stocked size 10 batteries that were recommended to be used by March 2020.

Each of these tiny round batteries is roughly the size of a thick pin head, so expect to drop and/or lose one or more batteries when you change them – these suckers will roll on forever, usually under immovable furniture. You'll want to change them on a tabletop with plenty of light.

The carry case cover has a rubberized cushion inside, so when you close the case with the C10 battery slots open, the buds won't rattle around, and the batteries will stay put.

You'll be able to buy replacement tips for the C10s – $14.99 for a six-pack, but just clearing them of wax periodically should help avoid this expense. Eargo recommends you buy expensive new ear petal tips, but with judicious cleaning, I haven't had to in the year-plus I've been wearing them.

The bottom line

Don't get me wrong – I really appreciate how effectively, effortlessly, and efficiently the Sony CRE-C10 enhanced my hearing. But no matter how much I admire their discriminating and natural sound amplification and in-ear comfort, having to remember to buy and carry around extra batteries, needing to open up the tiny battery slot before stowing them when not in use to preserve battery power, and having to awkwardly swap out the batteries usually at unpredictable and inappropriate times and circumstances every few days nearly negated all of the C10's aural advantages in my early days of testing.

But, over the testing period, I've started to get into a battery carry and swap routine. Sure, each time I have to change the batteries I curse the C10s, but they just sound and feel so good.

If the Sony CRE-C10 are of interest to you but their $1,000 price is still too steep, I advise patience – at least wait until I've had a chance to test the bud-style Bluetooth Sony CRE-E10 ($1,299), the Lexie B2 ($999), and the HP Hearing PRO ($699), all rechargeable models. At some point, perhaps even in the next few months, competition will force Sony to cut the C10's price, or a similar no-frills OTC hearing aid just as or nearly as good but with rechargeable batteries will come along from another vendor at a significantly lower price point.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

If you own an iPhone and suffer mild hearing loss, please continue.

So-called "self-fitting" non-prescription over the counter (OTC) hearing aids are becoming available in two form-factors. First, "invisible" models are designed to be heard through and not seen and worn all day. These more traditional hearing aids might include Bluetooth for phone calls, but if they do have Bluetooth, there will be no or poor music playback capabilities. The second OTC type of hearing aid essentially looks and acts like today's Bluetooth earbuds, which are designed for music and calls but with added medical-grade sound amplification capabilities. These earbud-style OTC hearing aids are designed more for occasional hearing amplification when needed. With its Enhance Plus OTC hearing aids ($799), Jabra, part of GN, which makes ReSound-branded prescription hearing aids, takes the second approach.

After weeks of testing the Jabra Enhance Plus, I found that the Jabra Enhance Plus hearing aids do a mostly excellent job at boosting ambient sounds, especially voices. However, they failed to meet my admittedly heightened expectations of a Bluetooth-earbud-style OTC hearing aid. Music playback is tinny and hollow, the buds lack many expected Bluetooth music playback features and functions, such as on-bud music controls and noise canceling, and it's hard to hear your own voice when speaking.

Design and setup

Once you download and install the Jabra Enhance and the buds are charged, open the case and follow the app's on-screen menus to pair the Enhance Plus to your phone.

Once paired, the Enhance Buds will NOT appear in your Bluetooth settings list of connected devices. According to Jabra, "the extreme miniaturization techniques used to pack our world-leading, medical-grade technologies into a super compact design require a highly efficient connectivity standard, as opposed to classic Bluetooth." Of course, I thought Bluetooth 5.2 LE, designed almost specifically for hearing aids and which these buds include, was supposed to solve such issues. Instead, options such as individual ear volume and microphone level adjustments are found in the iPhone's Accessibility > Hearing Devices > your hearing device settings.

Physically, the Jabra Enhance Plus are kissing cousins to the company's excellent line of Elite in-ear buds. Their case measures a mere 2.75 x 1.75 x .75, a smidge larger than a small Altoids box. You use a USB-C cable, which is included, to charge the case.

Like all Bluetooth earbuds, you get small, medium (already attached), and large transparent silicone ear tips; how easily you'll be able to attain a firm ear seal depends on the size and shape of your ears; I constantly suffered difficulty achieving a satisfactory seal. There is a single multi-function button on each bud to raise or lower listening value, mute, and answer/hang up calls.

Before you use the buds, you'll need to find a quiet room to take a guided hearing test. The app asks if you can hear emitted tones at varying levels and frequencies. Your answers enable the app to build an aural profile to compensate for your specific hearing loss for each ear. But ALL these app hearing tests are binary – you're asked to tap the phone screen if/when you hear or don't hear a tone without regard to the volume at which you hear that tone, which makes me wonder how precise the resulting hearing profiles can be. What you hear may be loud and clear, a barely audible echo of the sound, or something in between, and you must make an instant decision to tell the app if you "hear" the tone or not. I'd prefer if these hearing tests offered a bit more of a scale to rate what you hear – loud and clear, moderate, or barely – which would yield far more accurate settings for how the hearing aids enhance your specific hearing loss.

Unlike prescription or "invisible" style hearing aids, the Enhance Plus earbuds are not designed to be worn constantly. Instead, Jabra advises, "you put the earbuds in your ears when going into challenging hearing situations or wanting to stream music or calls. When you are done, you simply place the devices back in the case, where the earbuds will start charging." Since many hard-of-hearing people enjoy being able to occasionally (or frequently) tune out our overly cacophonous world, easily removing and stowing the Plus is, well, a plus.

Battery life is astounding. Jabra says you get 12 hours on a single charge, but I was getting nearly 14 hours of continual mixed usage (voice, calls, music) – although, after 14 hours, I was glad to get the buds out of my ears. Not that the Enhance Plus are uncomfortable, they're just not as comfortable as "invisible" style hearing aids such as the Eargos. Using the case, you get a total of 35 hours of listening.

Audio quality

The Enhance Plus earbuds do a fabulous job of cleanly and clearly amplifying sounds, especially voices. This is true in real life and on phone calls in almost all circumstances, including wind noise on breezy days – even more so than the Eargo 5 prescription hearing aids, which earned a Techlicious Top Pick award. You can set the Enhance Plus microphone level in the app – the default is 7 out of 10 – or on the buds themselves; at the top mic level, I got nearly twice as much voice volume and clarity than my naked hearing. Of course, how high you'll need to set the microphone levels will be based on how much of a boost you need depending on the ambient situation and your hearing needs.

To further enhance your listening experience, the Enhance app lets you choose a "speech filter" ("Clear," "Normal," and "Full") and supplies three ambient aural pre-set modes. Focus mode effectively cuts through noisy environments when the person you're conversing with is right in front of you. Adaptive mode dynamically adjusts to your ambient surroundings to deliver the best sound, especially voice, but I found the sound field kept suddenly shifting. And I found Surround mode to be the most natural and consistent setting for most ambient situations, especially watching TV or when you're at an event when you're trying to comprehend everyone clearly in group conversations. Unfortunately, there were a few loud group settings during which the Plus failed to allow voices to cleanly slice through the surrounding clamor using any of the modes.

Unfortunately, the Enhance Plus makes no accommodation for amplifying your own voice – when you talk, your voice will sound muffled. As a result, you'll end up subconsciously raising your voice even more so than those with hearing loss already subconsciously do.

Thanks to your ears being plugged by the Enhance Plus earbuds, the sound of you chewing food inside your mouth is amplified; the crunchier the food, the more deafened you will be. You could remove the buds while eating, but that defeats their voice-enhancing purpose when dining at an even mildly raucous restaurant. Whenever someone speaks to me during a meal, I have to stop chewing to hear them, which creates an awkward conversation/eating dance since you obviously can't reply to people until you're done chewing and swallowing. Invisible-style hearing aids, which are "open" and don't seal the ear canal, don't have issues with hearing your own voice or amplifying chewing noises.

One of the benefits of Bluetooth earbud-styled hearing aids, as opposed to the "invisible" type, is supposed to be the ability to enjoy full-bodied Bluetooth music listening. While Jabra's line of Elite earbuds deliver excellent audio quality, music heard through the Enhance Plus is barely good enough. The sound is tinny and hollow unless you can manage a firm ear seal (which I had a hard time consistently achieving) to reduce ambient sound leaking in. And there is no noise canceling to help fix the situation. Turning down the microphone level to 0 helps eliminate a chunk of ambient sound, which is essential for improving music quality.

There are a few basic on-bud controls to raise and lower the volume of the audio enhancement, accept, reject, and end calls, and mute the microphone. However, there are no on-bud controls to control music playback. That means you must take out your phone each time you want to pause your music, which is just negligent, IMHO.

My final disappointment with the Jabra Enhance Plus is that it doesn't support Bluetooth Auracast, a technology that enables public venues to beam sound directly to your hearing aids. None of the hearing aid manufacturers I spoke with know when Auracast-enable OTC hearing aids would be coming – likely, none of the first-generation products will support Auracast. I'm hoping we'll see them at CES in January.

The bottom line

Remember that the Jabra Enhance Plus earbuds are version 1.0 of earbud-type OTC hearing aids. They are expensive at $799, but that's cheap compared to a regular hearing aid you purchase with a prescription and on the low side of the first-generation OTC hearing aids. I expect the Plus's price, and the price of all OTC hearing aids, to fall as more companies introduce more v1.0 and v2.0 models.

The Jabra Enhance Plus OTC hearing aids did an admirable job of boosting ambient sounds but were otherwise disappointing. What I expected – and my bar for all Bluetooth earbud-style OTC hearing aids to come – is a hearing aid version of Nuheara's IQbuds2 Max ($499). The IQBuds2 Max earbuds slightly amplify voices, include a hearing test, feature noise-canceling and on-bud controls, and have top-notch music playback quality – and are nearly half the price of the Enhance Plus. Happily, it looks as if the coming HP Hearing PRO "powered" by Nuheara (price not set) will be the product I expected. The HP Hearing PRO should have Nuheara's sound control and music quality attributes, noise-canceling, and FDA-cleared hearing aid capabilities.

The HP Hearing PRO and Sony CRE-E10 OTC earbuds ($1,299), another Bluetooth headphone-style OTC hearing aid, are due to arrive for review. I have high hopes for their operation and features and will let you know in my upcoming reviews.

Price: $799.99

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious, Jabra]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

Amazon sent me an Alexa Voice Remote Pro and Fire TV Cube (3^rd generation) for testing a few days ago. I found the remote has small but significant upgrades over the other Alexa remotes, and three of the new features won me over immediately. First, you can ask Alexa to find the remote, and it will emit a sound. Second, the backlit buttons make using the remote in the dark possible. And finally, you can easily assign the two user-programmable buttons to anything – including Alexa commands. The Alexa Voice Remote Pro is a worthwhile upgrade, especially if you have Alexa-controlled smart home devices.

When it’s dark, a backlight will illuminate the keys for just a few seconds – long enough to find and press a button. You can jiggle the remote to reactivate the light if you need a second look.

Like the Alexa Voice Remote, the Pro has four dedicated channel buttons and buttons for settings, live TV, and Alexa, in addition to the buttons you’d expect to find for controlling your TV and video streaming. There are also unique buttons – two user-programmable buttons and a dedicated headphone button for connecting to Bluetooth headphones.

The two user-programmable buttons (labeled "1" and "2" in the image above) are my favorite feature of the Alexa Voice Remote Pro. You can assign the buttons to apps, Alexa commands, and a small selection of menu items – live TV guide, your Watchlist, notifications, Profiles, Amazon Photos, Amazon Music, and My Stuff (stuff you’ve purchased). Assigning the buttons is easy. You press and hold the button you want to program, and a list of options pops up. You’ll see the last app you opened and recent Alexa commands. For example, I always ask Alexa to turn off one of our living room lights when I watch TV. Now, I can just press a button. You can only assign a button to a individual show by creating an Alexa command to watch the show (press the voice button and say "play Pennyworth") and then linking the programmable button to that command. It's awkward, but it works.

The dedicated headphone button makes setting up and using your Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth speaker easy. Press the button, and you will see a menu to add a new Bluetooth device or select one you have already paired with your Fire TV product. Once paired, the Fire TV will automatically connect with a Bluetooth speaker or headphones if you turn them on nearby, and the headphones button will also disconnect your Bluetooth headphones when you want to use your TV or soundbar.

The remote finder is another handy feature of the Alexa Voice Remote Pro. Ask Alexa to find your remote, and it will play an impressively loud tone. I tried burying the remote under the sofa cushion, and I could still hear it if the room were quiet.

The Alexa Voice Remote Pro (top) is shorter than the regular Alexa Voice Remote (bottom) and noticeably heavier. It feels good in your hand, and is easy to access most buttons with one hand.

My one big disappointment in the Alexa Voice Remote Pro is that it uses regular AAA batteries instead of a rechargeable battery, like in the Roku Voice Remote Pro, which charges via Micro USB, and the Samsung eco remote, which has a solar panel for recharging.

The Alexa Voice Remote Pro works with most Fire TV streaming media players and TVs with Fire TV built-in (check the compatibility guide). All of these products come with a standard Alexa Voice Remote in the box. Still, the convenience of having user-programmable buttons, the remote finder function, and backlit keys for nighttime use make the Alexa Voice Remote Pro an experience-changing upgrade.

Price: $34.99

[Image credit: Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

The 757 PowerHouse is a power station, a type of generator that runs on batteries instead of fuel and is safe to use and store indoors. Unlike most other power stations, which use lithium-ion or lithium NCM batteries, the 757 PowerHouse uses lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. LFP batteries have six times as many charge cycles as other lithium-based batteries, giving the 757 PowerHouse an extra-long lifespan of 10 years.

While I couldn't assess the battery's lifespan, I spent more than a week testing the power and recharging capabilities of the 757 PowerHouse. I found it to be an attractive, well-built product that is a great choice for emergency backup power. Anker's LFP product is noticeably larger and heavier than similarly specced lithium-battery-based power stations, but the extra charging cycles are more than a fair tradeoff.

Design

The 1229Wh Anker 757 PowerHouse has a large array of charging ports and styling that's attractive enough you won't mind leaving it out in your home. However, it's bigger and heavier than similar capacity lithium-ion or Lithium NCM power stations at 18.2 by 11.3 by 9.3 inches and 43.9 pounds, just barely portable for me. In comparison, the slightly lower capacity 999Wh EBL Voyager 1000 ($999.00) measures 11.5 by 8 by 8 inches and weighs just 18.7 pounds.

The 757 PowerHouse has plenty of charging ports and outlets. There are six USB ports – one 100-watt USB-C, one 60-watt USB-C, and four 12-watt USB-A – which are stacked in a tower. I'd like them spaced out a little more, but it's fine. The real problem is with the six AC outlets. They are packed so tightly together that most power adapters will cover up the adjacent outlets. Also, only three of the outlets are the three-prong grounded variety. So, you may need to invest in adapters to make everything fit. There is also a DC car charger port. In total, you can charge up to 13 devices simultaneously.

A large 5-inch display on the front makes it easy to see how much power you have left, how many watts you're currently using, which ports are active, your charging mode, and more. So, for instance, when I plugged in a vacuum cleaner, I could see immediately how it impacted the remaining battery life.

At the top of the front panel is an LED light with three light levels. Often the light on these power stations is a bright white, but Anker chose a warm white, which wouldn't be out of place near a campfire.

On the back, you'll find the inputs for charging. You can charge via a regular AC outlet, your car's DC charger port, or solar panels (up to three). Cables for all methods of charging come in the box.

The 757 PowerHouse does not have an IP rating for water and dust resistance. Therefore, I would not recommend using it outdoors in places where it will be exposed to rain and dirt or sand.

Use

Using the Anker 757 PowerHouse is simple. For USB charging, you plug in your device, and it begins charging. The AC outlets and the DC car-charger port have power buttons you need to turn on before they work. The AC and DC outlets will slowly drain the battery if they are on, but you can activate Power Saving mode, which will turn off the power station once your devices are fully charged.

You can use the 757 PowerHouse as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in addition to using it as your primary power source. To use it as a UPS, keep the 757 PowerHouse connected to an AC outlet and your equipment plugged into the 757 PowerHouse. Then, if the power goes out, the power station will immediately start providing power from its battery.

Charging

Only a few power stations are capable of super-fast charging, including the Anker 757 PowerHouse. It takes just an hour and a half to fully recharge from a standard AC outlet and an hour to charge to 80 percent. That's because the 757 PowerHouse can accept a 1,000-watt input, one of the highest on the market. A single solar panel (100 watts) or a car charger (120 watts) will take significantly longer.

Anker claims 3,000 charging cycles and estimates the product will last ten years. In comparison, the maximum number of cycles for lithium-ion-based power stations is usually around 500 cycles, with a maximum of about 1,000 cycles. While I couldn't test the lifespan, the LFP battery technology is widely known to be able to attain the charge cycles that Anker claims.

The bottom line

If you're looking for a generator or UPS to help you ride out power outages, the Anker 757 PowerHouse ($1,399.99, on sale now for $1,249.99) should be on your shortlist. It is large and heavy, and the AC outlets are packed too closely together, but it's also well-built and stylish, making it blend into your décor. And for what matters most – recharge time and charging cycles – it's everything you want in a portable power station.

[Image credit: Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

The new Panasonic Multishape aims to pack all of your male grooming needs together into one handy kit, and, for the most part, it succeeds. Centered around a single battery-operated base/handle (choice of Li-ion or Ni-MH), you can pop on attachments for shaving, trimming (beard, body, or nose), and even a sonic toothbrush. While no one component is quite best-in-class, they’re all pretty good and, taken together as a package, make a compelling argument for replacing your existing grooming gear.

Multishape kit options

Panasonic offers both pre-packaged Multishape kits and the option to create your own kit with any combination of available attachments. At the heart of any of these kits is the Multishape’s battery-powered base/handle. Panasonic offers two flavors of the base – Li-ion ($60) and Ni-MH ($50). Given that small price difference, there’s really no reason not to go with the Li-ion version. It offers nearly double the operating time (90 minutes of trimmer use versus 50 minutes for the Ni-MH), a 3-minute quick charge, a low-battery warning indicator, and a rubberized anti-slip coating. (The Ni-MH handle doesn’t support quick charge). Both handles are waterproof and can be fully charged in an hour. Unfortunately, neither handle has a remaining charge indicator, forcing you to either make sure the unit is fully charged before you travel or take the cord with you.

For attachments, you have the option of:

• 3-blade shaver head ($35)
• beard & hair trimmer head with two combs ($35)
• body, hair, and beard trimmer with four combs ($40)
• electric toothbrush head ($35)
• Nose and ear trimmer ($20)
• Dopp kit “free gift” for orders over $100

All of the attachments pop on or off with the press of a button located on the back of the base.

There are three kits available starting at $135. One kit, oddly, is priced more than buying the pieces separately. And the other two will save you $15 – they both include a nose/ear trimmer, so the math only works if this attachment is important to you. If not, you’re better off buying separately.

Panasonic sent me the Ultimate All-in-One Kit ($170) for testing, which includes the Li-ion base, 3-blade shaver head, nose trimmer, and toothbrush with two brush heads. This kit usually includes the Dopp bags, but the bags weren't available when they sent me the kit. 

Performance

Panasonic has been making some of the top grooming products on the market for years. Their Arc5 was our pick for the best men’s shaver, and the Arc3 was our favorite shaver under $100, so my expectations were high for the shaver in the Multishape kit. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure whether that performance would play out in this new kit form or whether Panasonic had taken any shortcuts to hit the $35 attachment price point. However, after a couple of months of testing against other shavers, including Panasonic’s new flagship Arc6, I came away suitably impressed. The 3-blade Multishape shaver delivered a very clean shave with no irritation, even with a few days of working-from-home stubble to deal with. Perhaps not surprisingly, the foil and blades on the Multishape appear identical to those on the Arc3. Even side-by-side against the Arc6, it was hard to distinguish a significant difference; and for shaving around a beard, I actually prefer the smaller head on the Multishape.

The beard & hair trimmers, true to their Panasonic pedigree, also work great. The smaller 1-inch trimmer has long and short combs, offering 39 cutting lengths in half-millimeter increments from zero to 20mm. The wider 1.5-inch trimmer has four combs and can handle lengths up to 30mm. The settings are easy to adjust and lock securely in place (though I would have liked more contrast in the numbering – is there a reason why Panasonic chose light grey ink instead of white to print on a dark gray body?). With plenty of power coming from the base, the trimmer powered through my beard quickly and evenly.

The one letdown in my testing was with the toothbrush. Conceptually, I get Panasonic’s desire to crash the Oral-B/Sonicare electric toothbrush party and the lucrative replacement head business that comes with it, but the Multishape toothbrush isn’t fully up to the job. Cleaning performance is very hard to measure objectively, though the toothbrush seemed roughly on par with the Oral B and Sonicare models I’ve used. And that’s a big plus. However, the head of the toothbrush is not in alignment with your natural grip of the base handle (a flat side on the back makes for a centered grip, while the head is about 30 degrees off-axis) and never felt intuitive when brushing. And the toothbrush head, itself, would occasionally pop off during use.

On the flip side, the Multishape base offers far more battery power than my Oral-B or Sonicare units, which tend to die very quickly. That becomes a real pain when traveling, and I haven’t remembered (or bothered) to bring the charging base. So, while the Multishape works well as a substitute for travel, I wouldn’t recommend it as your day-to-day brush.

I couldn’t adequately test the nose/ear trimmer because and don’t know anyone with enough extraneous hair to need one. However, other Panasonic nose trimmers have received tens of thousands of excellent reviews on Amazon, and I would expect this one to perform similarly.

Cleaning & Maintenance

The Panasonic Multishape is a wet/dry shaver, so it is easy to clean in the sink with a quick rinse-off. The shaver head also comes apart for deeper cleaning of the blades and foil. When the blades need to be replaced, the Multishape uses the same blades and foils as the Arc3, so finding parts should never be an issue.

The toothbrush heads are only available on Panasonic’s dedicated Multishape site for $26 for a pack of four. When you add in the $10 in shipping charges (and you can’t get them anywhere with free shipping or pick up in-store), the price is slightly more than what you would pay for Philips Sonicare or Oral-B.

The bottom line

The Multishape system surprised me with both its convenience and performance. As a bearded guy who regularly uses both a shaver and a trimmer, having both features integrated into one base unit was convenient and offered admirable grooming results. In fact, it has replaced my older shaving devices for daily use. And since you can build your own kit, the Multishape lets you pick the right attachment mix for you and add to it later, as desired. The form factor is perfect for longer trips, where you need lots of devices and want to minimize suitcase clutter. I wish I was as impressed by the toothbrush – it’s definitely not the selling point for going with the Multishape, but it serves a purpose when traveling.

If you’re looking to upgrade your grooming kit or looking for a gift for one of the guys in your life, the Multishape deserves serious consideration. The Panasonic Multishape is currently available exclusively through Panasonicmultishape.com.

[Image credit: Josh Kirschner/Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News and Time.

I used to keep a Masterlock Key Lockbox on the front door of our New York City apartment because my kids were always forgetting their keys. It was practical solution to the key problem, but the lockbox was a bulky eyesore hanging off the doorknob. So when SwitchBot launched its Lock this summer, I was eager to try it out.

SwitchBot sent me the Lock for testing and included their Hub Mini ($39.00) and Keypad Touch ($59.99) fingerprint reader and keypad combo. On its own, the Lock uses Bluetooth to communicate with your phone or Apple Watch for locking and unlocking. The Hub Mini connects to WiFi so you can unlock your door remotely and receive email and text notifications. The Keypad Touch mounts outside your door for phone-free entry with a code or enrolled fingerprint.

After spending a month of extensively testing the SwitchBot Lock with my extended family, we came to love it – until it fell off our door without any warning. The 3M mounting tape used to hold the lock to my door failed, taking a layer of door paint with it. Fortunately, this happened when we were in the apartment. Had we been outside and not taken our keys (relying on the lock for entry), we would have been locked out. For us, that would have meant a call to our building security (not a big deal), but for others it could have resulted in an expensive call to a locksmith.

I wish I could recommend the SwitchBot Lock; it could have been the perfect solution for rental situations if it worked. And perhaps your door won't have the same issues ours did, but there's no way to know for sure. While these failures seem rare based on user reviews, they do happen. SwitchBot may need to rethink the design and create additional mounting support to stabilize the lock from the constant torque of locking and unlocking so less pressure is put on a single mounting pad.

Installation and setup

Everything you need to set up the SwitchBot Lock comes in the box. And if you manage to get it positioned the first time correctly, the installation takes just a few minutes.

The most important thing about installing the SwitchBot Lock is placement. You can place the lock so that the bulk of it is to the side, on top, or below the thumb turn. Whichever orientation you choose, the Lock has to move the thumb turn easily on its own. You may need to increase the depth of the Lock if you have a bulky deadbolt. There's an internal plate that you can adjust to give you more than an additional inch clearance (you can see in the photo below that my thumb turn required a little extra depth). There's a screwdriver in the box to adjust the Lock's plate, if needed – the only time you may need a tool during installation.

The first time I installed the Lock, I didn't test it with the Lock moving the thumb turn (I moved the thumb turn manually) and the placement wasn't quite right. The result was a jammed lock. The Lock installs with 3M tape, so removal is easy. And an extra tape square comes in the box for people like me who make an error in placement.

Unfortunately, the 3M tape is its Achilles heel. If the tape can't maintain its grip on the surface of your door under the torque of locking and unlocking, it will fail and leave you locked out.

Once you have the Lock installed, you also mount a magnet on the door frame that acts as an open/close sensor. If your door frame is made of metal, like mine, you may not even need the mounting tape.

Setting up the Lock with the SwitchBot App is simple, especially if you're using the Lock on its own, without the Hub or Keypad. You just create an account and then pair the Lock with your phone. That's it. If you have an Apple Watch, you can load the SwitchBot App onto your watch and use it to lock and unlock your door. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with any other smartwatches.

The app also lets you turn on auto-lock – set a time delay and the door will re-lock itself if it's open. You can also set up audible alerts to let you know if you left the door ajar or unlocked.

As the "Owner" of the Lock, you can send invitations to family members so they can access the Lock with their phones through the SwitchBot app. They receive an email with a link to the app and a code that they can use to set up "Member" access to the Lock. Only "Owners" can add "Members" to the Lock.

The Mini Hub ($39.00) connects to WiFi, enabling you to communicate with your Lock when you're away from home. Through its connection to your Lock, the Mini Hub adds remote unlocking capabilities and notifications. The Mini Hub also lets you control your lock using Google Assistant, Alexa, or Siri. You just need to connect your SwitchBot account with Google or Alexa and set a code to unlock your door. Once connected to your Google or Amazon account, you can add SwitchBot into routines. For instance, you could add locking your door to your bedtime routine. For Siri, oddly, you can only lock your door, not unlock it.

The Keypad ($29.99) or Keypad Touch ($59.99) adds phone-free control of your Lock. As the "Owner" of the Lock, you can assign up to 100 codes or fingerprints, which can be time-based (from one hour to five years), one-time (passcode only), or permanent. You can then use those discrete codes and fingerprints to track when people use the Lock.

Using the SwitchBot Lock

The SwitchBot Lock takes about five seconds to unlock or lock, whether you're using your phone, Apple Watch, or a Keypad. The Keypad also provides animation of the door unlocking or locking and a beep to let you know you can open the door. None of the six people who enrolled their fingerprints had trouble opening the door with the reader.

The audible Lock alerts for door ajar and door unlocked worked every time. However, the sound is not loud. I'd recommend using a short alert interval if you're not likely to be near your Lock after coming in the door.

There are two ways to use auto-lock, but only one works. There is regular auto-lock, which locks the door after you open and close it, and there is re-lock, which locks the door regardless of whether you have opened and closed the door. Only the re-lock feature worked during my testing. And I had to have both auto-lock and re-lock functions turned on for re-lock to work. While not ideal, the re-lock feature is the one that's important and it works.

If you're concerned about someone watching you enter your code on the keypad, you can hide your code by entering extra numbers. As long as you enter your code, you can add numbers before and/or after to confuse anyone watching. For instance, if your code was "865923," you could enter "164 865923 072," and the door would unlock. I tried various combinations with my code and it worked every time.

The Keypad will lock after five unsuccessful attempts, whether with a fingerprint or a code. The more unsuccessful attempts, the longer the keypad will lock – up to 24 hours. And the Keypad will be disabled if someone tampers with it or removes it until you enter the correct passcode or use an enrolled fingerprint. You'll still be able to use your phone or Apple Watch to unlock. I'd highly recommend giving a friend or family member access to your Lock, like you would a spare key, so they can let you in.

If you have a Mini Hub, you'll receive email and text notifications when someone opens the door, the door is left ajar, the door is left unlocked, there is an unsuccessful attempt to use your Keypad, or the Keypad has been disabled. All except the door ajar notifications all came through reliably. When I had door-ajar notifications turned on, I would receive a notification every time the door opened, which was overwhelming. I turned those notifications off because I found the audible door-ajar alert to be sufficient. Also, when you receive the notification that the door was opened, you don't see who opened it. Instead, you'll need to go into the SwitchBot app and look at the Logs for your Lock.

Using Google Assistant and Alexa to lock and unlock the door and Siri to lock the door worked every time. It was also easy to include locking the door into Google Home and Alexa routines to ensure the door was locked when I went to bed at night.

Design

The SwitchBot Lock is a big, black box that attaches to the back of your front door. If your door is a light color like mine, it's quite noticeable, but not ugly.

The Lock measures 4.4 by 2.3 by 2.9 inches in its most compact form. But, if you have a bulky deadbolt, the box may stick out even further than 2.9 inches.

The Keypad Touch isn't much bigger than a doorbell, measuring 4.4 by 1.5 by 1.4 inches. When you use the fingerprint sensor or input your code, the tiny display at the top shows the door unlocking, and there is an audible beep signifying the door has fully unlocked.

The Hub Mini is a tiny white box measuring 2.6 by 2.6 by 0.8 inches. You'll need to find a place where it can access WiFi and be within Bluetooth range of your Lock and Keypad. However, it's small enough to easily hide or mount with 3M tape.

The bottom line

The SwitchBot Lock could have been a great solution for anyone who needs to keep their existing lock intact. When used with the Mini Hub and Keypad Touch, the Lock provides all the smart lock functionality you need without having to change any part of your lock. And the basic functions of the Lock on its own work reliably and are easy to use. However, due to the SwitchBot Lock falling off our door after a month of testing, I can't recommend it.

Price: $99.99 for the SwitchBot Lock, $139.99 for the Lock, Keypad, and Mini Hub, $169.99 for the Lock, Keypad Touch, and Mini Hub

[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

There are many wallet trackers you can use with your iPhone. However, the Pebblebee Card stands out from its competitors, like the Apple AirTag and the Chipolo CARD Spot, for its unique combination of a rechargeable battery, slim credit-card-size design, and access to Apple's massive Find My item-tracking network.

There are two key considerations you should look for when deciding on which wallet tracker to go with. The first, and most important, is access to Apple's Find My. That's because the location of items that use Find My can be found by millions of internet-connected iPhones, iPads, and Macs around the world. The other important factor is the design; a wallet tracker should fit easily in your wallet without creating a huge bulge.

The obvious main competitors to the Pebblebee are the Apple AirTag and the Tile Slim ($34.99), along with the lesser-known Chipolo CARD Spot. The Tile Slim doesn't use the Find My network, which is a big drawback in this lineup. While the Apple AirTag's bulky design is not as well-suited for wallets. The Pebblebee Card and Chipolo CARD Spot ($35.00) are the only two trackers that combine both these features.

After purchasing and using the Pebblebee and Chipolo for several weeks, I found they have almost identical functionality when used on the Find My network. However, there's one big difference – the Chipolo CARD Spot has to be entirely replaced when the battery dies (approximately two years), whereas the Pebblebee Card has a rechargeable battery that can be recharged at any time with its included magnetic charging cable (though it is a proprietary design, so don't lose it).

It's this unique combination of a rechargeable battery, slim wallet-friendly design, and the use of the Find My Network that make the Pebblebee Card my choice as the best wallet tracker for iPhone owners.

Design

The Pebblebee Card is designed to be small and light enough that you won't feel that it's there after you slip it into a credit card slot in your wallet. Measuring 2.12 by 3.35 by 0.11 inches, it's about the thickness of two credit cards stacked together and just a hair thicker than the Chipolo CARD spot, which is 0.09 inches thick.

You'll find a bee icon on the front of the Pebblebee Card, which doubles as a button for pairing and checking the remaining battery. When you press and hold the button, a row of five LEDs shows how much battery is left. On the back, you'll see two tiny holes for the speaker and two slightly larger holes for the magnetic charger.

The plastic Card has an IPX6 rating, making it splash-resistant but unable to withstand immersion. It feels the same as the Chipolo CARD Spot – not particularly rugged. If you keep your wallet in your back pocket and sit on it all the time, I don't think it would hold up well over time (the Chipolo CARD Spot that I tested accidentally went through the wash and emerged cracked). However, I keep the Pebblebee Card in my wallet, which I carry in my purse, and the Card is in pristine condition.

Set up

There are two ways to set up the Pebblebee Card – with the Apple Find My app or the Pebblebee app (free for iOS and Android) – but Apple Find My is the clear winner if you want to find your wallet away from home. Compared to the Find My network, the Pebblebee network is nonexistent, so it doesn't make sense to use the Pebblebee app from a tracking perspective. In fact, I never located the Card when it was away from my iPhone because there weren't enough Pebblebee app users to provide location data – and I live in New York City.

The Pebblebee app does have valuable features, though, that the Find My app doesn't offer. You can share the location of your Card with anyone who downloads the Pebblebee app. Voice Tag lets you use Alexa or Google Assistant to find your Card. You can set up a virtual fence, so you're notified anytime your Card enters or leaves a specific area. And you can turn on the ability for the Card to ring your phone. However, if you use the Pebblebee app for setup, you have to use the Pebblebee network to find your Card when it's not near your phone and you won't be able to use the Find My app for tracking.

I also found these Pebblebee app features to be pretty kludgy. It was hit or miss whether the Card would ring my iPhone or I would receive an alert if my wallet went outside the virtual fence I set up. And after I did a factory reset of the Pebblebee Card, I couldn't get the Card to work again with Alexa and Google Assistant.

Setting up the Card with the Find My app is easy. You open the app, tap the plus mark, and select "Add Other Item." It took just a few seconds to find the Card. You can then name the device and choose an emoji to represent your Card on the Find My app map. That's it.

If you decide to use the Pebblebee app (which you probably shouldn't), the setup is essentially the same as using Find My. You need to set up a Pebblebee account, but it's just your email address that you verify with a passcode – no password necessary. You open the app, tap the plus mark, and the app finds the Card right away. Once you're paired and you name your Card, the tracker is ready to use.

Using the Pebblebee Card with the Find My app

If you set up the Pebblebee Card with the Find My app you'll enjoy most of the same features of an AirTag (but not the Precision Finding feature) and all of the same functions as the Chipolo CARD Spot. You'll find your Card on the Items map in the Find My app. Tapping on the icon for your Card will open a menu of actions.

You can tap "Play Sound" to trigger the Card to make a noise, which is plenty loud even when it's in your wallet at the bottom of a bag. And it's louder than the Chipolo CARD Spot and AirTag. Unfortunately, the Card (like the Chipolo CARD Spot) doesn't have an ultra-wideband radio, so it doesn't support Precision Finding, which supplies direction and distance information.

The "Left behind" alerts that occur when your Card is out of range of your iPhone work perfectly. Just keep in mind that it will take a few minutes for the notification to go through. For example, when I was staying at my aunt's house in Maine, the alert would trigger when I drove about a half mile from her house – every time. If you leave your wallet behind to exercise or walk the dog, you can set up exceptions for the left-behind notifications.

Privacy concerns

The Pebblebee Card has the same anti-tracking technology as the Apple AirTag when you set it up with the Find My app. If someone places a Card in your bag, it will let you know via your Find My app if it travels with you for a while. And if you're an Android user, you can download Apple's Tracker Detect app (free on Google Play) to scan for trackers, though the app won't check automatically for you.

The bottom line

For iPhone owners, the best wallet tracker is the Pebblebee Card. It's slim enough to fit in your wallet comfortably and it uses Apple's massive Find My network, the best tracking network for locating your wallet when you leave it somewhere. And it has a rechargeable battery with a battery indicator, so you don't have to purchase a new product every couple of years. While it doesn't have an ultra-wideband radio, like the AirTag, for nearby finding, the speaker is loud enough in most cases to overcome the deficit, and the slim design is well worth the tradeoff.

Price: $29.99

[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

Key features

The La Specialista Arte is a manual espresso machine with an integrated conical burr grinder. The grinder offers eight levels of fineness, and you can control the dosage level from nada to 40. Note: the dial settings do not correspond to specific measurements; it's just a reference you can use to adjust the dosage depending on the roasting level of your beans and your individual tastes. In practice, somewhere between 15 and 20 always worked best for the variety of medium to medium-dark roast beans I used in my testing, and I can't imagine needing to go much higher or lower than that.

If you're coming from the pod-based world, you may find the process of getting the right bean dose to be a bit frustrating. But it's hard to go too wrong if you follow the included dosage guide – you may just need a little trial and error to get it perfect. And once you're dialed in, there is no need to adjust the settings unless you're switching out the type of beans you buy.

Where the La Specialista Arte differs from other espresso machines with integrated grinders (including DeLonghi's) is its "barista kit" that includes a dosing funnel, tamper, and a mat to hold the filter while you're tamping. Created for the average home user, I found that the dosing funnel helps reduce the mess from the grinds, making cleanup easier. The tamping mat took up additional room on my counter, and I ended up storing it on top of the machine. The La Specialista Arte includes both single and double-shot filters. They're a pain in the butt to switch out without breaking a nail (a butter knife helps), though you're likely to be using the double shot filter more than 99 percent of the time, so it's not a huge deal.

Also important is that, unlike some prior La Specialista models, the Arte uses a standard (not pressurized) portafilter. Whether this is a drawback or a benefit depends on how you weigh foolproofness versus flavor. Pressurized portafilters are more forgiving if you don't have the ideal grind or tamping pressure for your beans, but do so at the expense of flavor extraction. For a machine like the Arte, I believe flavor should be the prime consideration, so going with the standard portafilter was the right choice by DeLonghi. The Breville Barista Express comes with both pressurized and non-pressurized filters, giving users the option.

One thing the Arte is missing is a bean sensor to stop the grinding when the beans run out and allow you to add more beans before finishing dispensing. While not a common occurrence, it's frustrating to have to toss a partially run dose or try to guess how much coffee is in the filter because you don't know how far the machine got before hitting empty.

The La Specialista Arte provides water temperature and quantity customization, as well. Each drink quantity – espresso (single/double), Americano (single/double), hot water – can be set separately across a wide range of volumes. Most people will probably stick with the default 70ml for a double expresso. For those who like big coffees, the Americano defaults at 8 ounces but can be set to as much as 14 ounces. Unfortunately, the clearance for the coffee dispenser is only high enough for a standard 12oz coffee mug; taller mugs or to-go cups can only be accommodated by removing the drip tray. Water temperature offers three settings: 197.6F/92C, 201.2F/94C, and 204.8F/96C. In my testing, the machine heated up in under 20 seconds – it was ready to go before I finished grinding and tamping my beans. The La Specialista Arte will pre-infuse the grinds to ensure more even extraction, and the overall process to dispense a double espresso is around 30 seconds.

A pressure gauge shows whether your grinding and tamping efforts have been a success and you're extracting your espresso at the "optimal" pressure (which should be around 9bar at the grinds). There is no option to customize the machine pressure (rated at 15bar at the pump); this won't be a concern for most home brewers, and issues with improper pressure are usually a matter of adjusting your grind fineness, tamping, or quantity.

The La Specialista Arte has an integrated steam arm that swings out for use and out of the way when not in use. The Arte uses the same boiler to produce both espresso and steam, so there is about a 10-second delay between when your drink is done, and the frother has enough pressure to begin steaming your milk. The frother is a standard all-metal design (none of the plastic bits of other machines) and works well for producing microfoam for your cappuccinos, though I wish it provided a little more clearance for your frothing pitcher from the machine. When swung back, the frother can be purged directly into the drip tray for cleaning. The La Specialista Arte includes a stainless-steel frothing pitcher in the box, and I use this frothing thermometer to keep an eye on my milk temp to avoid scalding.

Ease of ownership

Beyond occasional descaling (as you would with any espresso machine), the La Specialista Arte requires little maintenance. The drip trays slide out for cleaning and can go in the top rack of the dishwasher. All other parts, such as the filters, can simply be rinsed off in the sink after use or wiped down with a damp cloth (I love keeping one of these inexpensive microfiber cloths next to the machine for a quick wipe down of the wand after use).

The Arte looks attractive sitting on your kitchen counter. The stainless-steel exterior and quality buttons look and feel expensive. It also doesn't take up a lot of space at 11.22"(w) x 14.37"(d) x 15.87"(h) – something really important in my undersized NYC kitchen.

The integrated water tank holds 56oz and lasted me quite a while before needing to be refilled.

Should you buy it

There are a variety of espresso machine options that cater to a wide range of consumer desires for convenience, quality, and price. The pod-based models from Nespresso and others are at the convenience end of the spectrum. I've used a Nespresso Lattissima Pro for years (read my full review here), and you just can't beat its simplicity for dishing out quick espressos and cappuccinos. But that convenience comes at the price of…well…price, as those pods cost anywhere from $.50 - $1.00 a pop, and I go through two of them per drink. And while pod-based drinks deliver pretty good flavor (arguably as good or better than most chain coffee shops), they just don't compare to the richness of "real" espresso.

Superautomatic espresso machines, like the DeLonghi Eletta, will do all of the work for you – grinding the beans, tamping, and even foaming the milk for your cappuccino (the Eletta uses the same frothing system as the Nespresso Lattissima). But at a whopping $2,200, it's in a very different budget category. However, even there, it may pay for itself over time versus a pod machine just from the savings on beans.

The La Specialista Arte falls in the middle ground for $699.95. You get all the cost and quality benefits of grinding your own fresh beans without the crazy high prices of a full superautomatic. The trade-off is you have to manage some of the bean prep yourself (which is a good thing if you're into the hands-on part of the espresso process), and you're steaming your own milk for cappuccinos and lattes. Though in my testing of the different machine types, I've found that manual milk frothing done right gives a higher quality of microfoam than I get from the auto frothers, with the added bonus of customizing the milk temperature to your liking.

An alternative to the Arte in the DeLonghi line-up is the new DeLonghi Magnifica Evo (ECAM29043SB), which provides automatic bean handling and manual milk frothing. Retailing for $799.95, it's a bit more than the Arte but a better choice for those looking for simpler operation, especially if you occasionally have guests using your espresso machine and don't want to give them basic barista training before use.

[Image credit: Josh Kirschner/Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. In addition to his love of tech, Josh is an avid foodie and home cook who has traveled the world and eaten just about everything. He was voted "Best Chef in the World" by his kids.

To achieve the best audio quality in any environment, you need to understand the acoustics and tune the sound to that space. That's what CustomTune does. It uses a sound tone to map your ear canal and create a model of the acoustic characteristics, and then uses that information to tune the sound, including the noise canceling, specifically for your ear. The result is a personal auditory space, free from life's annoyances, where you can peacefully enjoy music or just relish the (almost) complete silence.

The one downside I found in my testing is that the QuietComfort Earbuds II struggled to cancel sounds in loud urban environments from intruding on my microphone during calls. My colleague complained that my voice often wasn't elevated above the ambient noise, and that sometimes the buds would amplify environmental noises, like kids yelling on a playground, as though it were me talking. This was not an issue for calls I made within my far quieter office.

For most people, I'd highly recommend the QuietComfort Earbuds II for their amazing noise canceling abilities.

Unboxing

In a year when diminutive earbuds and cases have become the norm, I was immediately struck by how large the QuietComfort Earbuds II buds (1.2 by 0.68 by 0.88 inches) and case (2.61 by 2.34 by 1.05 inches) are. The buds have a chunky top and short and wide stem. On the go, though, the bulk of the bud is largely hidden. And despite its size, the case’s rounded shape makes it easy to slip into your pocket.

There are three pairs of eartips and three sets of stabilizers in the box, the minimum I’d expect from high-end earbuds. There's also a USB-C to USB-A cable.

Set up

You can use the QuietComfort Earbuds II right out the box – they're ready to pair when you open the case, and you can use your device's Bluetooth settings. However, it's well worth downloading the Bose Music app to access useful tools for customizing your listening experience and verifying your earbuds fit properly.

Bose now has an Eartip Fit Test in the app. So once you select eartips and stabilizers and the buds feel good in your ears, the app can verify that the buds have a good seal.

The default sound is well balanced, but you can use the three-band equalizer in the app to manually boost and reduce the bass, mid, and treble frequencies from -10 to +10, or choose from the Bose presets for Bass Boost, Treble Boost, Bass Reducer, and Treble Reducer.

The buds come pre-loaded with Quiet mode, which is full noise canceling, and Aware mode, which lets through environmental sounds and automatically adjusts as noise levels change. Using the app, you can set up two additional modes with a custom level of noise canceling on a scale from 0 to 10. The earbuds cancel sound equally across frequencies, and as you slide the noise canceling bar you can hear the volume of the outside world rising and lowering to achieve the best mix of sound. Once you've set the modes up, they are added to the earbuds and you can select them using the on-bud controls.

Using the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

The QuietComfort Earbuds II are easy to use once they're set up. Equally important, they are comfortable to wear for hours at a time.

The experience starts with plucking them out of the case. Thanks to a ridge on the back of the earbuds, it's easy to get a good grip. You'll need it because the magnets holding the earbuds in place are fairly strong.

The buds have presence detection and will auto-pause or play audio when you remove or re-insert them. You can also automatically answer a call by inserting a bud. If you don't like these features, you can turn them off in the app.

The QuietComfort Earbuds II have capacitive touch controls for the usual play/pause (single tap), volume (swipe), and track skipping forward and back (double and triple tap). You can also use the app to assign a long press and hold on either bud to access your voice assistant or switch between noise-canceling modes. The capacitive controls are very responsive and easy to use. I especially like the swipe action for raising and lowering volume. Occasionally, though, I would inadvertently turn off the sound when adjusting my mask or putting my hair up.

While the buds are large, they are comfortable to wear for extended listening sessions. In my week-long test, I wore them for six hours one day and didn't experience ear fatigue.

The QuietComfort Earbuds II are IPX4 rated, making them sweatproof. However, I wouldn't recommend using them as your everyday workout headphones and consistently exposing them to high levels of moisture.

Unfortunately, there is no multi-point pairing. However, the buds will remember pairing with six devices, and you can easily switch between them using the app.

Audio quality

The QuietComfort Earbuds II produce great sound that is complemented by the best noise canceling I've experienced. However, the same level of excellence is not achieved when making phone calls in noisy, urban environments.

To test audio quality, I listened to music that I downloaded to my iPhone in lossless CD quality and streamed through the Apple Music app. The buds have Bluetooth 5.3 with support for AAC and SBC Codecs – no aptX for Android. I compared the QuietComfort Earbuds II to the Jabra Elite 85t ($229, on sale for $179) and SoundCore Liberty 3 Pro ($169, on sale for $129.99). I also tested call quality against these models from indoor locations and on busy New York City streets.

The earbuds process all sound, whether listening with full noise canceling or mixing in some ambient sound. Because the earbuds use CustomTune to tune the sound to your ear canal, the buds are better able to cancel noise than any other earbuds I've tried. At home, with the air conditioner running or the window open, there was near silence. When my co-worker spoke in a normal tone, I could only see his lips moving when the music was playing – no sound at all. Busy city streets and a full noisy train challenged the buds more, but they still did an admirable job. Without music, it was like I turned down the volume on the world. And when I was listening to music, I could enjoy it instead of being annoyed by the loud conversations and other noises around me.

Audio is a pleasure to listen to with the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, with plenty of rich bass and detail in the mids and highs. I like the Bose flat EQ, but if you like more bass or treble, boosting them doesn't result in boominess or brassiness.

Call quality is good if you're in a relatively quiet environment. However, the QuietComfort Earbuds II don't excel in applying noise canceling to the mic during calls in loud environments. The buds sometimes seemed to have trouble deciding when I was speaking, amplifying outside sounds that weren't my voice. That issue was compounded by the fact that sound mutes entirely when you're not speaking, so the person you're calling has silence from your end when you're not speaking and then bursts of sound when you're talking, including background noise.

Battery life

Battery life is average for the QuietComfort Earbuds II. They will run for up to six hours, which is average for noise-canceling buds. A full charge takes an hour and a quick charge of 20 minutes results in two hours of use. In addition, the case provides three extra charges for up to 24 hours of listening time.

An LED on the inside of the case shows the charge level for the earbuds, and an LED on the outside indicates the case's charge level. You can charge the case with a USB-C cable but not with a wireless charger, which is disappointing for buds at this price point.

The bottom line

If you're looking for the best noise-canceling listening experience in a true-wireless earbud, look no further than the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II. The noise-canceling is next level, and the sound is immersive, detailed, and backed by solid bass. The only significant drawback is the poor microphone noise canceling for calls in noisy urban environments – for in-office zoom calls and calls in quieter environments, the buds perform well. So for most people, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II would be my recommendation for the best noise-canceling true wireless earbuds.

Price: $299.00

[Image credit: Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

Here’s my takeaway.

Charging options

First and foremost, a power strip should be able to charge as many of your devices as possible as quickly as possible. The Anker 524 comes with a single 30W USB-C port with Power Delivery, two 12W USB-A ports, and three standard AC outlets. The AC outlets are one per side so you can plug chunky charging bricks into any or all of them.

That means the Anker 524 will support fast charging on most modern smartphones (though not the “super-fast charging” for Samsung Galaxy and Note devices, which requires 45W). Also important to note is that some laptops, including the Macbook Air, will be able to charge at 30W without a separate power adapter. For other models, you can use the Anker’s AC outlets, making it highly versatile.

Form factor

One of the things I really like about the Anker 524 is the way it packs all of those charging options into such a small 2.44-inch square form factor, making it perfect for travel (where you would never want to lug a full-size power strip) or hiding on (or under) your desk. That form factor also makes it useful for dorm rooms; I purchased one for my son who was heading off to college because his style is to work on his bed, and this little guy fit the bill perfectly.

The Anker 524 comes with a thick, but flexible, 5-foot power cord, and the plug end is flat to squeeze into tight places. Unfortunately, there is no longer cord option.

Price

The Anker 524 retails for $29.99 on Anker.com. Which is a pretty reasonable price for the features and getting the Anker reputation behind it – we’ve tested dozens of Anker products and countless other charger brands, and Anker is one that we regularly recommend.

[Image credit: Josh Kirschner/Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News and Time.

Tile has its own proprietary network made up of people who have the Tile app installed on their phone and has sold more than 40 million devices. I live in New York City and the coverage is great here and other highly populated areas. However, every iPhone, iPad, and MacBook has Apple's own Find My tracking service installed (and most have it turned on), so the coverage for AirTag and other devices that use Apple's Find My network is much larger. 

Apple doesn’t make a wallet-friendly tracker like the Tile Slim ($35), so you've been stuck with the compromise of either a chunky Apple device or the more limited Tile tracking network. But in June, Chipolo started shipping a slim tracker that’s compatible with Apple’s Find My network called CARD Spot ($35, check the price on Amazon). I purchased two CARD Spots in June and have been testing them in my and my son’s wallets since then. I found the Chipolo CARD Spot delivers one of the best wallet tracking experiences for iPhone owners. However, there are some durability and battery life issues to be aware of, which I'll get into below.

Chipolo CARD Spot Design

The CARD Spot is just 0.09-inches thick and about the size of a credit card (3.35 by 2.11 inches), making it easy to slip into a wallet.

The card is made of plastic and has an IPX5 rating, making it splashproof (the Tile Slim is more waterproof with a rating of IP67, though still shouldn't be submerged). The fully-encased lithium-ion battery lasts one to two years and can’t be replaced, though neither can the Tile Slim. The AirTag battery is replaceable. (There is a new rechargeable wallet tracker that uses the Apple Find My network called Pebblebee Card that I just purchased for testing). To compensate, Chipolo offers a 50% discount on replacement devices.

The CARD Spot is not rugged. It receives 3.6 stars on Amazon and most complaints cite durability as an issue, especially if you put your wallet in your back pocket and sit on it on a regular basis. (The Tile Slim gets 4.6 stars on Amazon and doesn't have durability raised as an issue.) Not surprisingly, my son's CARD Spot didn’t fare well when it went through the washer accidentally. It came out cracked and pinging randomly. The CARD Spot I use lives in a wallet that I carry in my purse, and it’s a perfect condition. I expect I won't have any durability issues based on my usage.

Setting up the Chipolo CARD Spot

Setting up the CARD Spot with Apple’s Find My app took about one minute. You open the app, tap the plus mark, and select “Add Other Item.” It took just a few seconds to find the CARD Spot. You can then name the device and select an emoji to represent your CARD Spot on the Find My app map. That’s it. For comparison, with Tile, you need to download the Tile app and set up an account for Tile’s trackers.

If you want to move your CARD Spot to different iPhone, you can press and hold the tracker's button (just a circular depression) to put it into pairing mode. I was easily able to transfer my CARD Spot to my son’s iPhone after he destroyed his in the wash.

Using the Chipolo CARD Spot

Since the CARD Spot uses Find My, it has most of the same features as Apple’s AirTag. You access everything by tapping the icon for your CARD Spot on the Items map in the Find My app.

Tapping the “Play Sound” button will cause your CARD Spot to make noise. If it’s in the same room, the ping sound is easy to hear from within several feet. However, if your wallet is buried in the sofa cushions or stuffed in a bag, you’ll need to be close to it to hear the ping.

You can also receive alerts when you’ve left behind your CARD Spot (and your wallet) and the CARD Spot is out of range of your iPhone. It often takes a few minutes for the notification to go through, but the CARD Spot never failed to alert me. You can also set up multiple exceptions for the notifications. For instance, I take my phone, but not my wallet, when I walk my dog. So, I have my home set up as an exception. For Tile trackers, this notification feature is only available through Tile’s paid subscription service, which costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year.

While the CARD Spot has about the same accuracy as an AirTag when relying on the Find My network, it doesn’t work as well when trying to find something in close range. The CARD Spot does not support Apple’s Precision Finding – the ability to view direction and distance information – because it doesn’t have an ultra-wideband radio like Apple’s AirTag. (The Tile Slim doesn't have ultra-wideband either.) Of course, your iPhone needs to support ultra-wideband as well, which you’ll find on iPhone 11 and newer models.

Battery life is estimated to be between one and two years (Tile Slim has an estimated battery life of up the three years). Like with any tracker, you should set your expectations based on how you’ll use your CARD Spot. If you are constantly pinging it or leaving it behind where it thinks it’s lost, you can expect the battery life to be short.

Privacy concerns about the CARD Spot

With any tracking device, there is always a question about how it could impact your privacy. The CARD Spot has the same anti-stalking feature as Apple’s AirTag. If someone places a CARD Spot in your bag and it travels with you over time, you’ll receive a notification, or the CARD Spot will ping as if you were using the “Play Sound” feature. Tile recently launched Scan and Secure, which lets you search for devices that may be tracking you. Unlike the Find My anti-stalking feature, which is constantly running in the background, Scan and Secure requires you to initiate scanning and walk, bike, or drive for 10 minutes to determine if any Tile devices are moving with you. 

The bottom line

If you’re an iPhone owner that wants an easy way to ensure your wallet doesn’t go missing, the Chipolo CARD Spot provides best-in-class wallet tracking. While it doesn’t have Precision Tracking, like an AirTag, the slim card-like form factor is a tradeoff worth making. And, the CARD Spot has a bigger tracking network than Tile Slim and provides free left-behind notifications, which you’d otherwise pay for if you use the Tile Slim. 

Price: $35.00

[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

I received a unit to review from Lenovo and was eager to see if the Duet line could maintain its reputation as one of the best budget Chromebooks. After using the Lenovo Chromebook IdeaPad Duet 3 for several weeks, I found the almost one-inch larger display and second USB-C port made a significant difference in how I use the Duet 3. On the road, the extra screen real estate makes the Duet 3 feel like a more substantial laptop and, at home, I am now able to use one USB-C port to plug in a monitor to a much bigger display, while using the second to keep the Duet 3 charged. The Chromebook Duet 3 improves on the Duet the line as a highly versatile 2-in-1 laptop for everyday computing and makes it worthy of a Techlicious Editor's Choice award.

Look and feel

The folio case is one of the most striking things about the Duet 3. It looks like fabric, but it's made of plastic with a non-slip grip that feels good in your hands – similar to the original Duet. The outside of the case and the keyboard are water-resistant, making spills and sticky fingerprints easy to clean up.

The Duet 3 case is a two-piece design – a detachable keyboard and a back cover with a built-in kickstand. Most other 2-in-1 laptops have the kickstand built into the back of the tablet, which ensures stability when you use it. For the Duet, the kickstand is built into a back cover that attaches magnetically. Unfortunately, the cover slides off fairly easily during adjustment, but once the kickstand is in the correct position (which may take a little nudging), the cover stays firmly in place. I spent hours balancing the Duet 3 on my lap on the train and never had a moment of worry that the case would come off. It feels just as secure as my Microsoft Surface with the Type Cover, which I've used while traveling for a couple of years.

The keyboard is small (though larger than the original Duet), but for my small hands there is enough room that I don’t feel cramped when typing, and the 1.4mm key travel provides satisfying tactile feedback. The trackpad is plastic, so not as responsive as glass trackpads I've used on pricier Chromebooks, but it works smoothly. The Duet 3 is compatible with the new USI 2.0 pen standard, but a pen doesn’t come in the box and no pens have come to market, yet. And, unfortunately, the Duet is not compatible with existing USI 1.0 pens. Other Chromebooks, like the HP Chromebook x2 (on sale for $419.99 on HP with 8GB RAM, 128GB storage), come with a stylus, if that's important to you.

The Duet 3 weighs 2.09 pounds with the case (1.14 pounds without the case) and measures 10.16 by 6.48 by 0.63 inches (0.31 inches thick without the case). That's heavy for this category, about a half pound heavier than its main competition, the similarly priced and configured HP Chromebook x2 11-inch 2-in-1 laptop ($369.99 on Walmart, with 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, no pen). However, the Duet 3 is still light enough to not think twice before popping in your bag.

The Duet 3’s display is a 10.9-inch Full HD (2,000 by 1,200 pixels) IPS touchscreen – almost a full inch larger than the original Duet, and the extra 0.8 inch makes a noticeable difference in usability. At just about 11 inches, it feels like a real laptop when the keyboard folio is attached, with enough screen real estate to pull up two windows. Otherwise, the Duet displays are the same. Both are IPS displays with good off-axis viewing, and both are rated at 400 nits of brightness – much higher than you’d expect on a budget laptop or even a mainstream laptop, though the same as the HP Chromebook x2.

Audio

The IdeaPad Chromebook Duet 3 has two tiny one-watt speakers. The sound is tinny and hollow, not something I’d recommend for watching movies, but adequate for video chat and casual web browsing. Unfortunately, there’s no headphone jack, so you’ll want to pack a pair of Bluetooth or USB-C headphones for serious listening. I received no complaints when I tested the built-in mic for video chats.

Cameras

Lenovo has increased the resolution of the front fixed-focus camera from 2MP to 5MP, which makes it better for Zoom calls. And, the camera is able to compensate well for a range of lighting conditions. However, the image is washed out to the point where it looks like you're using a retro photo filter. Not ideal, but also not a deal killer. The rear 8MP camera is better, capable of capturing more realistic colors, but still lacks the vibrancy you’d get using a smartphone camera. In the cropped photos below, you can see the difference in color accuracy and quality.

Performance

Lenovo moved from a MediaTek Helio P60T chip to a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7c Gen 2 chip, a newer and slightly faster processor. You can expect to easily perform everyday tasks, like having multiple tabs open in Chrome while sitting on a Zoom call. However, don’t expect to engage in heavy multitasking. I found the Duet 3 would lock up if I tried to run more than a few processor-intensive tasks simultaneously. Not surprisingly, the CrXPRT 2 benchmark scored it on the lower end for Chromebooks – a 60 – but that's higher than the HP Chromebook x2, which rated a 51.

The Duet 3 doesn't support the latest WiFi standards – 6 or 6E. It has WiFi 5 802.11ac (2x2), which is fine for this Chromebook because it doesn't have a 4K display and you won't be streaming 4K video and the processor isn't capable of handling high frame rate, data-intensive streaming games.

Battery and charging

Lenovo claims up to 12 hours per charge for the Duet 3, which is average for a Chromebook. In my testing, the battery lasted all day with plenty to spare. The Duet 3 comes with a 30-watt charger in the box, but you can use a 45-watt charger for a shorter recharge – about three hours versus four hours for a full charge.

Ports

The Duet 3 has two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports – the same as the HP Chromebook x2 and one more than the original Duet, which has a single USB-C 2 port. That additional USB-C port makes a huge difference in that you don’t have to choose between plugging into power and using an accessory, like an external monitor, USB-C headphones, or a mouse. And the bump from USB-C 2 to UBS-C 3.2 Gen 2 provides higher data rates and faster charging.

The bottom line

The Lenovo IdeaPad Chromebook Duet 3 provides excellent value for those looking for an attractive, capable 2-in-1 laptop. It’s not cut out for heavy computing or streaming, but it’s speedy enough to handle everyday tasks and small and light enough you won’t think twice about bringing it with you whenever you leave home.

Price: $379.00 on Best Buy with 4GB RAM, 128GB of storage.

[Image credit: Suzanne Kantra/Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra docked in its base.

What makes this mopvac part of a new category of cleaners is the dock which, once you set it up, does all the hard work. It takes up more space than previous auto-empty docks, but it does a whole lot more. It has tanks for clean and dirty water, as well as one that can hold up to two months' worth of dirt and debris. The dock also washes the mop pad for you; think of it as a mini-car wash for your robot floor cleaner.

In the last six months, I've tested more than a dozen current generation robot vacs and mopvacs alongside the S7 MaxV Ultra. I found the S7 MaxV Ultra to be a top-tier cleaner with strong suction power for vacuuming and a mop that does not leave messy streaks.

The biggest pain points for the current generation of robot vacuums are an inability to properly map a home and poor object detection. This next generation robot fixes those issues with the latest in advanced AI object detection and laser mapping, enabling it to reach more areas with fewer instances of getting stuck or mistakenly going over a carpet.

No one really needs a more than $1,000 robot house cleaner, especially a first version of a next-gen product. However, the S7 MaxV Ultra ($1,399.99 on Roborock, check price on Amazon) is an excellent next-gen robot floor cleaner if you want a virtually hands-off experience and have the money to splurge.

Design of the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra

The biggest downside of this autonomous mopvac robots is the size of the dock. It is massive. It takes up a lot of space at 16.5 inches tall and 19.4 inches wide, and the 16.6-inch depth means it sticks out pretty far in the room. For comparison, my self-emptying iRobot vacuum is 13 by 12 by 14. So, ensuring you have enough space for the base should factor into your decision making.

While the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra is large, you can see its closest competitor, the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni ($1,549.00, on sale for $1,049 on Ecovacs) in the background is also huge at 16.9 by 17.6 by 22.7 inches.

The base is large because it houses the three removable containers needed to keep things clean. There's one for holding debris emptied from the vacuum, one for clean water to refill the robot's water tank, and one for the dirty water that comes from cleaning the mop pad. The dock comes with one 2.5-liter dust bag in the container and an extra one in the box. You can order more when needed from Roborock's website (three for $18.99).

The Ultra Empty Wash Fill Dock is also rather unattractive, like having a huge piece of black plastic on the floor. The top is open, so the three tanks are exposed rather than hidden away. (They're hidden away in the Deebot X1 Omni’s base as you can see above.) Yes, this makes it easier to access them, but I'd rather have to open a lid than look at them. In addition, the water tanks are not see-through either, so to check the water levels, you need to pull them out and open them up to see inside.

I had a difficult time with the power cord in the back, which is very thick and long, and there's not enough space behind the dock to coil it, so it couldn't push as far back to the wall as I would like.

Setting up the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra

Setting it up is the same experience as any other robot cleaner, where you need to let the robot map your whole house. Having tested dozens of these, I was amazed at how little time (and frustration) it took to map my house, especially having recently tested 12 of the latest units to see how they compare. The S7 MaxV Ultra was one of the fastest and most precise mapping experiences I had.

While previous models took hours, sometimes days, and several passes throughout the house to complete the mapping run, the S7 MaxV Ultra completed the task in about 20 minutes. The combination of Lidar navigation and an onboard camera helped create a virtual map of my house, even labeling certain rooms as "bedroom" and "kitchen." Of course, you can relabel individual rooms and even add furniture in the app.

A precise map of your home is what enables the robot to be autonomous and precise when cleaning. Once you've created and labeled your rooms, you can set specific cleaning schedules for individual rooms. For instance, because the cat litter that gets stuck in my cat's paws always seems to accumulate on my floors, I set a schedule for it to automatically vacuum the guest bathroom (where the cat litter is) as well as the front entryway, and have it run each morning.

If you live in a multi-level home, you can save up to four maps, and the robot will recognize what floor it's on when you set it down and put it to work.

Using the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra

Obstacle Avoidance

This next generation of robot floor cleaners is clearly superior to others I tested in its ability to avoid obstacles. The S7 MaxV Ultra uses Roborock's ReactiveAI 2.0 Obstacle Avoidance System in combination with an RGB camera and a light scanner (placed on the front of the robot) to identify and avoid a lot more objects than previous robot vacuums. It uses a new neural processor to recognize obstacles and know whether it should clean around them. In my testing, it went around furniture and avoided cat toys and power cords well. It tried to go up onto my bathroom scale and knocked into the cat food dishes a few times, so I easily created no-go zones in the app to make sure the robot avoided them in the future.

Roborock says the new technology enables the robot to detect and avoid dog poop, something just a few robotic vacs can do. I didn't try poop, but I did try shoes, cables, and other objects and was impressed with how much better the object detection was compared to the other robot floor cleaners I've tried. It was right up there with my previous favorite robot vac, the iRobot Roomba j7+ ($799.99, check price on Amazon).

Vacuuming Power

Roborock has upped the suction power in the S7 MaxV Ultra with 5100Pa of high-power suction, which puts it at the top of robovacs and is stronger than any other robot I tried. The Deebot X1 Omni has 5000Pa, and most other robot vacuums top out at about 4,000Pa.

All that suction power means it does quite well picking up cat hair and dust from carpeting and hardwood floors. In addition, it has enough power to easily transition from flooring to carpeting and get over door saddles, another pain point for lower-powered robots.

Mopping Effectiveness

The S7 MaxV Ultra's mopping capability is very good – better than existing robot mops – but not quite as good as the Deebot X1 Omni. The Deebot X1 Omni has dual spinning mop pads. The S7 MaxV Ultra uses sonic vibration technology (3,000 per minute per the specs) to scrub the floor instead of just wiping, and I found that it did make my hardwood floors shine. It mopped the whole width of the pad on each pass and didn't leave any streaks or lines on the floor, an issue I saw with other mopping robots. In testing other robot mops, I've found most to be as effective as dragging a wet Swiffer across the floor, which means it sometimes just slides the accumulated dirt along the floor as it goes and doesn't always yield the desired result.

Another great feature: unlike many other smart robots (including the Deebot X1 Omni) you don't need to swap out the dust bin for a water tank when you want to mop the floors. Instead, you simply attach a mopping bracket onto the bottom of the S7 MaxV Ultra, and it draws water from the internal tank. This setup allows it to mop and vacuum in one run – no manual intervention is needed for weeks at a time.

Most hybrid robots have a carpet sensor that helps them avoid carpeting when on a mopping run. Since the S7 MaxV Ultra can go from vacuuming mode to mopping mode during a single run, it can switch off the mopping when it senses carpet. Called VibraRise, the unique technology lifts the mopping plate about 5mm so it can vacuum your carpets without mopping them at the same time. In vacuum mode, the robot automatically increases its suction power. It lowers the mop pad and resumes mopping when it senses hard flooring. In theory, this is great, but there were instances when I found my carpeting to be slightly damp. It's only lifting about 5mm (difficult to detect with your eye), so if your carpeting is taller than 5mm, it's best to avoid mopping and vacuuming simultaneously.

Most robot mops recommend using only water for mopping, but the S7 MaxV Ultra can use Roborock's branded floor cleaner, which you can buy on Amazon for under $20. I tried it, and it was very effective in cleaning and didn't leave streaks on hardwood floors as some others did.

For comparison, the Deebot X1 Omni uses only plain water in the tank – no cleaning solution – and requires separate mopping and vacuuming runs of the house. That's because the Deebot X1 Omni avoids carpeting completely. Instead, it will get right to the edge, sense the carpet, and turn to try to go around it. If you're concerned about your carpets getting wet, you might prefer this trade-off for better peace of mind.

Security Camera

Since these new robots use cameras to help with mapping and obstacle detection, they can now do double duty as a security camera with two-way talk capability through the mobile app. I don't find this feature particularly useful (it's turned off by default). Still, if you don't have a standalone security camera and want to view your home while you're away or perhaps check on the cats, you'll see a pretty clear picture of the house.

If you're worried about privacy, it doesn't record, it's livestream only, and it loudly announces "remote viewing is enabled" when it's on, so there's no possibility of surreptitiously monitoring someone.

Using the Roborock app

A robot floor cleaner is only as good as its accompanying app allows it to be. I've seen great cleaners with confusing and limited apps, which is a deal breaker. None of the apps is perfect, but Roborock's is among the best in terms of ease of use and functionality.

The Roborock app (free for iOS and Android) is intuitive. Creating a map of my house was easy, and the app goes so far as to show the type of floor in each room so that I see a plank floor in my hallways and living room, carpeting in the bedrooms, and tile in the bathroom. It does this so that when I set a cleaning job, I can change the intensity of each action on a room-by-room basis. For example, I can ask it to vacuum in one room and mop in another, setting the cleaning mode in each. Creating no-go zones was simple, and I could add furniture in specific rooms to let the robot know what to avoid.

The app supports a variety of cleaning options that you can set in individual rooms, as opposed to having the whole cleaning run use that setting. For example, you can select mop scrub intensity (mild, moderate, or intense) in the kitchen and then choose a suction power (Quiet, Balanced, Turbo, or Max) for the living room carpeting.

When the S7 MaxV Ultra runs low on battery, it returns to the base to recharge and clean the mop pads if used. Like other robots, once charged up again, it continues where it left off. This works great, except when you've forgotten it was recharging, and it wakes you at 2 AM to continue the cleaning process. I loved the Do Not Disturb feature in the app, which tells the robot not to run during specific times you set.

The robot is controlled through the mobile app, a manual button, or using your voice with an Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant smart speaker. I paired mine with Alexa and was able to use basic voice commands to start cleaning or return to the dock. If you want to tell it to start cleaning a specific room, you can do that in the app.

Another useful feature is Pin and Go, which lets you choose a specific spot in the app, and the robot will head there for a spot clean.

Cleaning the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra

Depending on your cleaning habits, once you've completed setup, you should get around two months of hands-free use before needing to refill the water supply or empty the bag in the dust bin. However, you might want to change out the dirty water more frequently. I did after a week, worried it might start smelling, though I didn't experience that. The bins are easy to access and clean in the sink and are labeled, so you know what goes where.

It's in the dock that the mopvac cleans itself. Each time the robot returns to the dock, it empties the robot's dust bin and washes the mop pads if it's been on a mopping run, extracting the dirty water into the proper container and refilling it with clean water.

Watching the full process was fascinating. Before it even left the dock, the robot washed the mop pad, filled the tank with water, and then announced it was ready to mop. It mopped the floor in an incredibly linear fashion and got stuck only once under my refrigerator and needed to be rescued.

When it was done, it returned to the self-emptying base and backed in so the mop pads could be washed. It was a cross between a gurgling sound and a coffee grinder sound, and then another gurgling sound, like water was being extracted. It went through a few periods of grind and gurgle and then announced that it would dock. The robot came out and away from the base, turned itself around, and then re-entered so that the charging sensors would line up. Once it was docked, it emptied the dustbin and started charging. The whole process took about three minutes.

When the robot is charging, the back end is lifted slightly so the mop pad can air dry between cleanings. That gave me the option of keeping the mop pad on rather than removing it after each run, which you need to do on previous models. In contrast, the Deebot X1 Omni dock uses an electric heating system to dry the mop pad.

After a few mopping runs, I washed the mop pad by hand in a sink, and there was very little dirt runoff. If you don't want to hand wash, you can also throw it in the washing machine. However, I wouldn't recommend putting the pads in the dryer.

The bottom line

If you're looking for the most autonomous cleaning robot, this next generation Roborock is the best I've tested. For those with pets and low pile carpeting who want a robot with a powerful vacuum that also mops really well, the Roborock S7 MaxV Ultra ($1,399.99) is expensive but worth it. It takes very little user intervention giving you the luxury of a "set it and forget it" robot.

If you're concerned about your carpets getting a little damp, I highly recommend looking at the Ecovacs Deebot X1 Omni ($1,549.00, on sale for $1,049.00). It has a more stylish design, takes up less space, and does an outstanding job avoiding carpeting altogether. However, you'll have to manually switch out the tanks and set your mopping and vacuuming runs separately, reducing the usefulness of the advanced features.

[Image credit: Andrea Smith/Techlicious]

Andrea Smith is an award-winning technology broadcast journalist, reporter, and producer. Andrea was the Technology Producer and an on-air Technology contributor at ABC News for over two decades before becoming the Lifestyle Channel Editor at Mashable, where she explored the ways in which real people, not just geeks, began using technology in their everyday lives.

However, if cost or installation worries are holding you back, they shouldn’t be. There’s a category of bidets seat designed specifically for installation on your existing toilet with no plumber required. The add-on bidets come in a variety of styles and features. For example, models like our Editor’s Pick, the Coway Bidetmega 200, and Brondell Swash 1400 include heated water and seat, a night light, and a little drying fan for your fanny. Plus, you’ll need an electrical outlet to plug it into or pay for an electrician to install one.

The Coway retails for $400, but there are much simpler models that slide under your existing seat and offer little more than a spray that you can pick up on Amazon for as little as $30. While much better than having no bidet, these cheap models tend to look…well…cheap, and some have a disturbing tendency for catastrophic failures of the valve or hose that create major water floods, always timed for when the homeowner is on vacation or out of the house. I also had a minor leak issue with the Puretide, but it was handled well by Kohler – more on that further down.

The Kohler Puretide Bidet is seated firmly at the high end of the basic models. My family spent months testing the Kohler Puretide in our home, and that bathroom instantly became everyone’s favorite. It comes as an integrated unit, like the more expensive models, and looks much higher class than the slide-under cheap models. The control handle, too, is elegantly designed to fit in with home bathroom décor. And unlike other brands that only come in white, the Puretide also has a biscuit option to match a wider variety of fixtures; there are also rounded and elongated versions to match your toilet bowl shape.

Feature-wise, it offers the spray with a little bit of a tilt action to get the job done. And at $137 on Kohler (around $100 on various discount sites - check price on Amazon), it is a solid choice for those bidet buyers looking to keep costs down without sacrificing the look of their bathroom, and who want to stick with a well-known plumbing brand.

Installation

Installing the Kohler Puretide is simple. Anyone who feels remotely comfortable operating a wrench and screwdriver can handle the job. You’re simply going to remove your old seat, install the new mounting plate, slide your new seat on, then hook up your new seat to your toilet’s water supply using the included t-valve and hose. The whole process takes under 30 minutes. If your home comes with especially high or low water pressure, alternative nozzles are included that will adjust the spray intensity (most people should be fine with the standard one that comes pre-installed).

Toilet fit is an important consideration with the Kohler Puretide. Unlike cheaper bidets that fit under your existing seat, the Puretide is a complete seat replacement, so it must match your bowl shape. There are two models of the Puretide, round (K-76923) and elongated (K-5724), so you should make sure to pick the right one. In addition, while the Puretide fits most Kohler toilets, it doesn’t fit all Kohler toilets, so be sure to check Kohler’s toilet seat fit guide before you buy. The Puretide is not recommended for my discontinued Santa Rosa toilet, and the seat doesn’t sit perfectly in the mounting because of the curve in my toilet tank; it’s usable but not ideal as it does shift around.

If you’re unsure what model toilet you have, open up your tank, and there should be a label or code embedded in the porcelain with the model number. Mine is K3323 in the image below.

The Puretide should fit many non-Kohler toilets, as well. Though without a fit guide, you may not know if it will work until you try it.

Another recommendation when installing the Puretide (or any bidet) is to swap out the included t-valve with a t-valve that offers a shut-off switch for the bidet. All the low to mid-range bidets I looked at have a history of leaks in the owner reviews, and the Puretide is no exception. A shut-off valve lets you turn off the water to the bidet in case of a leak without shutting off flow to your toilet tank (this is the one I purchased). And if you’re going to be out of the house for any length of time when a leak could create damage, it may be a good idea to shut off the bidet’s water proactively.

Customer support

In my research of bidet seats, I found that leaks – whether from the hoses or controls – were a frequent complaint. However, the Kohler Puretide appeared to have a lower ratio of complaints than other models, though there were issues with leaks from the handle.

Sure enough, the first unit I had developed a slow drip from the handle after a month of usage. So, I called Kohler customer service and got through quickly to a live person. The agent asked me about the issue and offered to send me a new one right away – I didn’t even need to verify my purchase information. The replacement arrived within a week, and I shipped the old one back in the same box with the included return shipping label. The new unit has been problem-free for the four months since.

That is customer service the way it should be.

Features & comfort

The Kohler Puretide provides a single spray wand with a tilting action to clean both your front and rear areas. The handle offers manual control to guide the tilting and adjust the water pressure. Pressure control is smooth and will easily go from a gentle trickle all the way up to “Yowzers!” The spray nozzle provides a wide enough stream for effective coverage while keeping things focused enough to avoid collateral damage. However, my female testers found the tilting mechanism less effective for hitting frontal areas – which required a little extra body shifting – than the double wand design of other bidets.

In short, the Puretide does what it’s supposed to and does it well.

Unlike more expensive bidets with electric water warmers, the Puretide will deliver water at whatever temperature is coming through your pipes. In practice, no one was bothered by the cold temps (even in winter); it turns out some parts of your body are not as sensitive to cold as you might think. If having that warm spray is critical, the Tushy Spa 3.0 is fitted with a second hose attachment for the hot water in your sink, and the water mix can be controlled using a knob. Though, depending on your bathroom setup, running that second hose may not be feasible, and if you need to run your faucets for a bit before hot water comes out, you may experience a similar issue with the Tushy bidet.

Everyone who used the seat in my family and guests found it to be comfortable (yes, they were questioned, too), even for extended sitting periods (hey, a man’s got to get his reading done somewhere). The plastic itself feels a little on the thin side, but it doesn’t affect the comfort. And the seat itself has a “quiet close” lid that prevents waking your household in the middle of the night. The entire seat can also be removed for cleaning by pressing a quick-release button on the side.

The “bottom” line

If you want to make the move to a bidet and have a limited budget, the Kohler Puretide should be on your shortlist. It doesn’t have any bells or whistles (nor does it require a power outlet – which you probably don’t have next to your toilet – to support those bells and whistles). However, it provides solid cleaning in an attractive package that looks far more refined than most other inexpensive bidets. And if you have an issue, Kohler’s customer service is very responsive.

[Image credit: Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News and Time.

The traditional treatments for mosquito and other bug bite itching have been calamine lotion and hydrocortisone creams, along with oral or topical antihistamines. But if you haven’t found these to work well for you, or you don’t want to apply chemicals or greasy lotions to your skin, there is another option – concentrated heat treatment. Research has shown that applying a targeted, short high-heat zap to the bite can reduce the swelling and itch of insect bites almost immediately.

While there are a number of consumer bug bite heat treatment products out there, the Bite Away device is specifically covered by existing clinical research (with the caveat that they were sponsors of the study linked above), and is both a CE-certified medical device and FDA-cleared for use in the US. Shaped like a large pen, with a small ceramic disk to apply heat to the bite and powered by two AA batteries. It’s available over-the-counter in-store, as well as on Amazon, for a retail price of $29.99. Pressing a button delivers either a 3 or 5 second burst of intense heat (around 125F) to remove the swelling and itch.

Does Bite Away work?

I tested Bite Away with my family during the summer months here in New York City and on our annual fall pilgrimage to the mosquito haven of coastal Maine, which gave us plenty of opportunity to use it on real bites. Overall, it was very effective at quickly reducing the itch from the numerous bites we fell victim to. And if the first zap didn’t do a good enough job, a second zap would do the trick – because Bite Away is drug/chemical-free, you can use it is often as needed.

The one downside to Bite Away is that the 3 or 5-second heat treatment is somewhat painful. It only hurts for the few seconds Bite Away is in contact with your skin, and the 125F heat isn’t hot enough to actually burn you, but you’ll feel it. In my opinion, a few seconds of mild burning to get rid of hours of annoying itching is well worth the tradeoff, and my tween/teen children had no issues tolerating the quick sting (though younger kids may require a little more convincing, at first).

In short, I would definitely recommend Bite Away as a treatment option for most people’s medicine cabinets or to pack for any trip where bug bites are a threat. It will certainly be returning to Maine with my family this fall.

[mage credit: Techlicious]

Josh Kirschner is the co-founder of Techlicious and has been covering consumer tech for more than a decade. Josh started his first company while still in college, a consumer electronics retailer focused on students. His writing has been featured in Today.com, NBC News and Time.

Unfortunately, their small size impacts their ability to produce rich sound, and call quality is dismal. So, the ComfoBuds Mini don't unseat our top picks for the best under $100 true wireless earbuds, the JBL TUNE230NC and Soundcore Life P3. However, the ComfoBuds Mini are significantly smaller and the ANC works well. After two months of testing, I find myself grabbing the ComfoBuds Mini when I want discreet and comfortable true wireless noise-canceling earbuds for casual, on-the-go listening.

Unboxing the 1More ComfoBuds Mini

In keeping with the ComfoBuds Mini's small size, the case is on the small side at 2.22 × 1.97 × 0.96 inches, and its oval shape makes it easy to slip into a pocket. Like the Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds, the ComfoBuds Mini comes with a USB-C cable for charging and three additional ear tips, which is unusual at this price point.

When I first plucked the ComfoBuds Mini earbuds from their case, they felt so small I was afraid of dropping them. However, the driver enclosure is offset from the eartip and is easy to grip. The styling is elegantly minimalist.

The ComboBuds Mini are IPX5 rated, making them sweatproof and able to withstand splashing water, but they should not be submerged.

Setting up the 1More ComfoBuds Mini

When you open the case, the ComfoBuds Mini flash white, signifying they're in pairing mode. To pair with your device, open Bluetooth settings, and you should see the earbuds available for pairing. To pair to another device, you hold the button on the side of the case for three seconds, and the earbuds will re-enter pairing mode. Unfortunately, the ComfoBuds Mini do not support multi-point pairing.

After pairing the earbuds, you'll want to download the 1More Music app. In the app, you can customize the listening modes and earbud controls, and take a test to create a custom sound profile, called SoundID.

I wasn't impressed by SoundID. Yes, you can hear the difference when you toggle it on and off in the app, but in actual listening it was hard to tell it was on.

There are three listening modes: ANC, Transparent, and Off. For most headphones, you just get those three choices, but 1More goes beyond and, for the ANC mode, you can choose between Strong, Mild, and WNR (wind noise reduction). Strong provides the most ANC, Mild provides less noise canceling for somewhat quieter environments, and WNR focuses on reducing the frequencies due to wind noise (more on how well these modes work below). When selecting an ANC profile in the app, that selection will remain when you switch between modes with the on-earbud controls. 

In the app, you can customize the on-earbud controls. You can assign double tap and triple tap to Play/Pause, Previous/Next Track, Volume up/down, or Voice Control. You can also designate what happens when you take the earbuds out of your ears and put them back in with Smart Playback. Your options are Auto-Pause Only, Auto-Pause & Play, or No Smart Playback.

You can use the earbuds together and either earbud individually.

Using the 1More ComfoBuds Mini

The ComfoBuds Mini case is easy to open, and the earbuds come out with little effort once you know the trick to extracting them. Since you can’t get a two-finger grip when the earbud is seated in the case, you have to start by using one finger to pull the top of the earbud toward you; then, you can easily puck it out of the case. Magnets inside the case guide the earbuds in place and ensure they are correctly seated for charging.

Getting the earbuds to fit correctly and achieve a good seal is easy, thanks to the included four eartips. The earbuds sit snuggly in your ear and feel secure when biking and walking. I experience minimal ear fatigue even after hours of listening.

The capacitive-touch on-earbud controls are very responsive without being overly sensitive – even when exercising. Out of the box, you can double tap to play/pause, triple tap for previous/next track, and press for 1.5 seconds to change listening modes.

Disappointingly, there is no multi-point pairing. However, multi-point is not an expected feature at this price point.

1More ComfoBuds Mini audio quality

The music I used for testing was downloaded to my iPhone 11 Pro in lossless CD quality and streamed through the Apple Music app. I compared the ComfoBuds Mini to our current sub-$100 picks, the JBL TUNE230NC ($99.95) and Soundcore Life P3 ($79.99), as well as more expensive models, including the Jabra Elite 85t ($229, on sale for $199) and SoundCore Liberty 3 Pro ($169, on sale for $129.99). I also tested call quality against these models from indoor locations and on busy New York City streets.

From the left, the 1More ComfoBuds Mini, Soundcore Life P3, and the JBL TUNE230NC

With ANC turned off, the ComfoBuds Mini have a pleasing sound with prominent mids and highs, but little bass and a small sound stage. However, when you turn on ANC, the bass appears with some richness and the sound stage becomes more extensive, but not enveloping. I like the more bass-forward Strong ANC profile. If you want just a minor bass enhancement, stick with the Mild profile. I found the WNR (wind noise reduction) profile bass to be boomy. Even with ANC turned on, the ComfoBuds Mini can't quite compete with the JBL TUNE230NC, which produces a fuller, more immersive sound that is balanced across frequencies. The Soundcore Life P3 earbuds also slightly outperform the ComfoBuds Mini with an overall more uniform and pleasing sound.

One major quibble with the ComfoBuds, the earbuds default to ANC off every time you take them out of the case. So if you're like me and prefer the richer, more immersive sound you can achieve with ANC, you'll be stuck turning ANC on every time.

The ANC does an admirable job of reducing environmental sound, whether it's fan noise, train noise, or the whoosh of air that’s audible through my open window on the 21^st floor. The ANC Strong provides the best ANC and enhances the sound quality the most. The Mild is good for less noisy environments, but you don't get as much of a bass boost, which is a good reason to stick with Strong. Unfortunately, WNR (wind noise reduction) doesn't help with wind noise, and it doesn't enhance the audio as much as the Strong profile. 

Call quality was good on my end, but people on the other side had a hard time hearing and understanding me; my voice sounded very muffled with and without ANC turned on.

1More ComfoBuds Mini battery life

The ComfoBuds Mini get a respectable maximum of five hours of play time with ANC turned on and up to six hours with ANC turned off, considering the tiny size of the earbuds. They also gain 1.5 hours of play time with just 10 minutes of charging. The case provides an extra three charges for 20 to 24 hours of listening. An LED on the outside of the case shows level of charge with a green, yellow, or red light, and will flash red if the case battery is too low to charge the earbuds. You can charge the case with any USB-C cable or pop it on a wireless Qi charger. 

The bottom line

You'll be pulled in by the 1More ComfoBud Mini's elegant, barely-there design, and enjoy them for their comfortable, lightweight fit. They don't deliver the best sound – I still prefer the JBL TUNE230NC – but the music quality is good enough for casual listening and the noise-canceling works well, though call quality is a weak point. However, if size is a critical factor for you – and these really are very tiny and light  – the ComfoBuds Mini are the best choice for ANC true wireless earbuds on a budget.

[Image credit: Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

Early soundbars were basic in function and capability. Today, you'll find models with highly sophisticated smart features and high-fidelity surround-sound capability, including 3D immersive sound like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The Samsung HW-S800B Ultra-Slim ($799) 3.1.2 Dolby Atmos soundbar and wireless subwoofer system is all of these things but packaged in an almost impossibly slender design.

When compared to the S800B, even the slimmest soundbars look chunky. This is particularly true for Dolby Atmos soundbars, which need to accommodate the physical width of the up-firing drivers. Consequently, Dolby Atmos soundbars are at least several inches deep and stick out more than the TV when wall mounted.

But the Samsung S800B is something different; it's radically shrunken in height and depth and a generous 45.6" wide, which makes it a great match for TVs 55" and up.

The S800B offers a dramatically lower profile than any soundbar I've seen or heard, much less reviewed. Despite its slenderized form, this Samsung incorporates Dolby Atmos with real up-firing drivers on the main soundbar, which are used for the Atmos height channels, instead of relying solely on height virtualization like many entry-level Atmos soundbars. It can also upmix non-Atmos content and uses the up-firing drivers for that.

Features and Specifications

The S800B is a 3.1.2 soundbar system consisting of the main soundbar and a compact wireless subwoofer. The dimensions of the soundbar speak for themselves: 45.6" wide, 1.5" high, and 1.57" deep. In addition, it is the first soundbar from Samsung that offers a wireless connection for Dolby Atmos, and it is compatible with 2022 Samsung TVs.

The form factor of the S800B is revolutionary. So is its wireless connectivity: Samsung touts it as the first-ever to offer a wireless connection for Dolby Atmos (when used with compatible 2022 Samsung TV, starting at the BU8000 and above).

Furthermore, the soundbar's Q Symphony feature works concurrently with the built-in speakers of Q Symphony-equipped Samsung TVs. Q Symphony is a function that combines the soundbar's speakers with the TV's built-in speakers, so they operate as one cohesive system. Q Symphony allows the combined TV and soundbar system to produce a more immersive and powerful listening experience than either can achieve on its own. Samsung has a full list of Q Symphony compatible TVs and an in-depth explanation of the features.

The S800B takes an ultra-minimalist approach when it comes to wired inputs. The single option is HDMI ARC, and there's no way to connect any other sources. However, this soundbar offers the option of wireless connection and streaming through both WiFi and Bluetooth. WiFi streaming uses Chromecast, Spotify Connect, or AirPlay.

With Bluetooth, you can connect various sources for direct playback—most likely a smartphone, but it'll also support dedicated players. Meanwhile, the WiFi option even supports Dolby Atmos, a capability that's a first for a wirelessly connected soundbar.

The reason you need a separate soundbar is that TVs have gotten ever thinner, and the front is now all screen. This leaves little or no room for built-in speakers. But with today's TVs, even a typical soundbar might be too tall to fit under the TV when on a stand, or it'll protrude excessively from the wall compared to a flush-mounted TV.

This soundbar is compatible with Samsung SWA-9500S/XY wireless rear surround speakers, allowing users to expand the surround sound and immersive audio capabilities from 3.1.2 to 5.1.4 channels. The surrounds are real 2.0.2 speakers with their own up-firing drivers, so you increase the height channel count to four when you add them. This configuration supports real Atmos as well as upmixed Atmos.

The SmartThings app for iOS and Android phones offers easy access to all the soundbar's functions and helps with setup, too.

Once connected to WiFi, the S800B offers Apple AirPlay and Chromecast built-in for easy audio streaming from mobile devices, in case you want to use it as a sound system. It also offers Tap and Play with compatible Samsung phones, letting you switch music playback seamlessly from the phone through earbuds to the soundbar using Bluetooth.

This soundbar offers multiple sound modes; for example, Game Mode Pro activates automatically when you start gaming and uses the up-firing speakers to create a maximally expansive surround-sound experience for gamers. I did not sense any latency, but I don't have a way to measure it.

There is an AVA (Active Voice Amplifier) function within each sound mode that offers enhanced audibility for dialog.

Unpacking and Setup

I had no idea what to expect when I first unpacked the S800B. I'd seen it before but never heard it or physically handled one. Because the packaging is sized to accommodate the subwoofer, it looks like any other soundbar.

However, the moment I took the S800B out of the box, my first thought was, "hey. I can twirl this like a baton or swing it like a sword," and if I was a Tik Tok influencer, I suppose that's what my review would consist of. The fact you can twirl it with one hand should give you some idea of how long and slender this soundbar is!

I used this soundbar in conjunction with a Samsung 8K QN900A Neo QLED, a 2021 model which supports Q Symphony, a feature of the S800B that lets the soundbar use the up-firing speakers on the TV for enhanced sound. However, the 2022 Neo QLEDs will offer additional functionality not available on the model I used: Wireless Dolby Atmos and the use of all the TV's speakers when Q Symphony is engaged (as opposed to just the up-firing speakers, like on the TV I used).

While my focus is on using the S800B with a Samsung TV since that plays to its strengths, I also tried it with a projector. It's the only Dolby Atmos soundbar I have seen that works perfectly within the constraints imposed by an ultra-short-throw (UST) projector. It fits whether wall-mounted right under the screen—where a regular soundbar would block the light—or resting on a stand or credenza in front of the projector, which normally would require an extra-deep credenza.

While I could not use the wireless Dolby Atmos function offered with 2022 TVs and the S800B, I was able to send 5.1 surround sound from the 2021 QN900A to the soundbar via WiFi and had no issue with the connection or sync/delay.

I relied on a wired HDMI ARC connection for sound, using the supplied micro-HDMI to HDMI cable to connect to the TV for most of my listening. One important caveat is that the S800B connects via ARC, not eARC, so it will not work with lossless Dolby Atmos. However, there's no issue with streaming apps and OTA TV (broadcast/cable); it'll work seamlessly with those sources, and you don't have to do anything to work. The only thing missing is support for Atmos on Blu-ray.

If you want to get the most out of this soundbar, you need to use the Samsung SmartThings app, available for Android and iOS devices. You can adjust all the settings with just the remote; the soundbar uses voice prompts and small flashing LEDs to indicate status, but all the settings are easily visible and accessible with the app.

Regardless of what phone I used—I tried both a Galaxy S20 Ultra and an iPhone 13 Pro Max—the app recognized the soundbar right away. I only had to add it once, and it became part of my SmartThings device collection, making it accessible from any phone that has the app.

Audio performance

Sound reproduction is all about physics, and the smaller you make a transducer (the part of a speaker that creates the sound), the greater the limitations in terms of what it can do, especially when it comes to bass output. Of course, this begged the question of how well the S800B handles movie night volume levels and whether the compact wireless subwoofer integrates seamlessly.

Through careful tuning, Samsung has found a way to make this system sound rich, full-bodied, clear, and immersive—at least in what I expect to hear in a soundbar in its price range. It is a distinct improvement over built-in TV sound, I compared it to the QN900A's built-in sound, and there was no comparison whatsoever—the S800B sounds far better.

There is no free lunch when it comes to the physics of audio reproduction, so Samsung had to do something to make the small drivers of this soundbar deliver such an impressive performance. Some measurements with Room EQ Wizard revealed the possible solution: Take it easy in the lower midrange, including where the soundbar's bass output crosses over to the sub.

Before going further, a quick bit of audio physics: Sound is measured in dB (decibels), and an increase of 10 dB equals a doubling of perceived loudness. But, it takes ten times as much power to create 10 dB more sound! Every extra 3 dB requires double the power. And the lower the frequency, the more power it takes to achieve a certain output level. This is why a subwoofer does the heavy lifting for the deep bass in many soundbar systems, including this one, but it also lends a hand with some mid/bass output. The trick is ensuring the subwoofer and soundbar blend well so the sound is cohesive.

When measured, this soundbar system has a robust subwoofer—especially considering its size—that cleanly covers a range from roughly 35 Hz (-20 dB) up to 160 Hz. Thanks to room gain, you can hear and even feel output starting at 35 Hz, and it picks up strength beginning at 50 Hz. Bass response drops off to near silence by the time you get to 30 Hz, but the good thing is while the driver is still working, there is no distortion or port noise like I'm used to hearing from most soundbar subs playing below their range.

Running my REW sweeps, I gleaned that the S800B uses a crossover roughly centered around 120 Hz, typical for a soundbar wireless sub. Above 150 Hz, the system's output experiences a dip of around 6 dB, which I attribute to tuning intended to prevent overloading the system (6 dB less takes ¼ the power to reproduce).

It's not a "textbook" smooth response curve. Still, it's also not a huge compromise and technically is within the +/-3 dB response range cited by most speaker specifications, so nothing to get too excited about! The SpaceFit room correction feature reduces this effect to only a 4 dB dip in response, which might be a big deal for an audiophile evaluating multi-thousand-dollar speakers. Still, it is quite a trivial deviation for a lifestyle soundbar system.

The tuning of this soundbar passes muster and has good tonality, with just a bit of brightness to the treble, which is not at all fatiguing and comes across as extra detail. Besides, that can be easily dialed out with the treble control, if you wish.

The response curve of the S800B makes sense to anyone who obsesses over the physics of sound. In my opinion, the goal is to ensure the soundbar does not overwork its miniaturized transducers.

The sub may be small, but it benefits from DSP tuning that lets it leverage a passive radiator to create clean deep bass from a very compact enclosure. It is so small, it fits directly behind my TV on the TV stand, totally hidden and taking up no extra space in the room! It also works great right next to the stand. The subwoofer level adjustment on the remote gets a discrete switch, one of the best features of any soundbar; it lets you dial in as much or little bass as you want—or that neighbors will tolerate.

With this or any soundbar, I recommend placing the sub near the soundbar because otherwise, you may be able to tell where it is located. When the sub is near the soundbar, it blends seamlessly.

Samsung's SpaceFit Sound function promises to actively apply room correction using the built-in mic, with no setup needed; you just enable it. I ran frequency response sweeps with the function turned on and off, and from any seat in my living room, the SpaceFit-enabled response curve offered a measurable and audible improvement.

Audio quality

In the context of a soundbar system, I'm thoroughly impressed with the performance Samsung squeezed into the S800B. It is especially impressive with movies containing sophisticated Dolby Atmos mixes, well beyond my expectations. For example, Mad Max: Fury Road is a staple of countless Dolby Atmos demos I've attended. The S800B pulled off the essentials with ease to my jaded ears, from the bass rumble of engines and so many percussive blasts from explosions and crashes. The sub is quite surprisingly powerful and precise, and capable. It easily keeps up with the demands made by the soundbar.

The S800B offered more 3D envelopment—whether Dolby Atmos or upmixed surround-sound—than any compact standalone soundbar has a right to! It's not something I can quantify, and yes, Samsung's own full-size Atmos soundbars will offer higher performance. Still, it was obvious that this soundbar can generate a holographic sound field, one that benefits from its Atmos and upmixing abilities. My impression is it creates a sound field that's as broad and enveloping as what I get from a full-size surround sound system featuring real speakers.

As for the height channels, I would not say it's anything like an AVR-based Atmos system in terms of overhead effects. But, the soundbar can make the whole sound field appear elevated and with dialog that appears to come from the screen itself. It does this regardless of what display you use, and you don't need a Samsung TV to enjoy this benefit. Along with the elevation, you get a great sense of width. The system can convincingly create distinct, focused sound effects that appear to float in the air, far to the left or right of the screen if the mix calls for it, and not merely emanating from a slim soundbar located just under the screen.

I tried the different listening modes and found that I could leave Adaptive Sound enabled; I found no need to second-guess the soundbar. I can't imagine anyone would want to fiddle with different sound modes to figure out which one works best. If you are playing a movie, Adaptive sound is, to my ears, just like the Surround sound mode. But if another sound mode does something specific you like—whether it's the toned-down Standard mode or the extremely expansive DTS Virtual:X mode—then by all means, use it.

I had zero issues with dialog clarity, regardless of what I watched. But for anyone that's an issue, Samsung has a Voice Enhancement function and the Active Voice Amplifier, which uses the built-in mic to determine how much to enhance dialog clarity. It's a rather strong effect, not something I'd use unless there is a specific issue, but it will ensure that every word comes through loud and clear!

One thing I wish I could comment upon further is Q Symphony. A few weeks before starting this review, I heard the effect of pairing a Q Symphony equipped 2022 Samsung TV and soundbar, and the combined effect is superior to the TV or soundbar operating on their own. The S800B I reviewed has this capability, and I wish I could comment further on how the pairing sounds in this review, but the 2022 TVs are not yet available to review.

While this soundbar is aimed at TV owners, I appreciated how I could use it with a UST projector. I review USTs for Projector Central and can unequivocally state that none can offer anywhere near the audio performance of the S800B. But because of the design of UST projectors, they sit where you'd usually put a soundbar or a center channel. I queued up Gravity, which unfortunately is not yet out in UHD 4K but has a truly excellent Atmos soundtrack that makes full use of the 3D immersion from the first scene onward.

With the S800B, that immersion did not extend above and behind me as it would with an AVR and speaker-based system, but it created an impressive bubble of sound around the TV with considerable width, some height, and some depth. It did not extend behind me, but all Samsung promises is 3.1.2 unless you add the optional surrounds. The one constant is the clarity of the sound, and it constantly defies expectations with its clarity.

Music also sounds great through the S800B. At times, shockingly so. This is great news for living rooms where the TV and soundbar are the primary sound system for the home. It was not lost on me that the QN900A TV included Spotify in its initial setup, and you can definitely use a TV to run a variety of music streaming services.

At first, I was apprehensive about listening to music because in my head, even if it could handle movies and video games, somehow, music would reveal the S800B to be some sort of gimmick. It didn't happen. I almost feel silly heaping such praise on a soundbar. Still, it's fun to listen to. It has qualities I'd associate with a high-fidelity sound system, not a soundbar that's deliberately trying to be as low profile as possible. In addition to the soundbar playing surprisingly loud and clear, the subwoofer handled bass nicely, it's tight, with good tonality, and you can feel it. Overall, the stereo sound field is satisfyingly wide and deep and detailed.

My greatest apprehension with music and soundbars is sung vocals. With instrumental electronic music, you can adapt to inaccurate sound; there's no point of reference to say, "hey, this is wrong," but that's not the case with singing. So I figured we're good to go if this soundbar can handle Queen. So I queue up We Will Rock You, let 'er rip, and it was finally time for my jaw to drop.

It sure sounds like Freddie Mercury, but not only could I hear the lyrics, I could listen to all the little nuances as the track builds to the guitar solo, and then the guitar itself came through with a focus and precision that took me completely by surprise. There's no way you can look at the S800B, consider its sound, and not be impressed.

So I thought, OK, passed the Queen test, let's see what happens if I feed this soundbar "A Day In The Life" by The Beatles. Not only have I been listening to the track for practically my whole 50-year life, but I have also been to Abbey Road and heard that chord— the one with the long sustain played at the end of the track—on the actual piano, in the same studio and in the same spot as The Beatles, so I have the ultimate subjective point of reference. And what shocked me was that by the time the track reached its climactic conclusion, the S800B triggered goosebumps. I got goosebumps from a soundbar!

Overall, The Beatles sounded excellent through this slim Samsung, as did other artists like Public Enemy, Bassnectar, and my current go-to work-at-home soundtrack, Blockhead. Unlike soundbars that rely purely on virtual surround processing for Dolby Atmos, this Samsung creates a sense of immersion without altering the character of the sound. Music comes through clear and detailed, and natural.

Finally, there's gaming. There's nothing to complain about here; the S800B gave me great game sound that had the same qualities as movies, with a wide sound field, distinctly localizable individual sounds, and an enveloping ambiance. All of which combine to create a greater sense of realism, or at least of being in the game. Although there is a dedicated Game sound mode, I found no reason to stop using Adaptive Sound for games since it sounds essentially the same to my ears.

The bottom line

The $799 S800B is a genuinely innovative soundbar system that offers an aesthetic advantage and placement flexibility beyond that of other soundbars offering 3.1.2 Atmos with up-firing drivers. It is optimized for use with Samsung TVs that offer Q Symphony and WiFi connectivity, but it will work with just about any TV or projector with an HDMI ARC port and Bluetooth-equipped devices. Despite its minimalist design, it is quite flexible.

What matters most, to my ears, is that the size reduction achieved by the S800B does not come at the cost of fidelity. The main limitation imposed by physics is output, which is to say you can buy larger and more powerful Dolby Atmos soundbars that will play louder than the S800B. But even so, I found it gets plenty loud for my needs and maintains clarity and dynamics even with the volume turned up high.

When I first saw the S800B, I wondered if Samsung could shrink a soundbar to this extent and still offer a compelling listening experience. I'm surprised the engineers pulled it off. The S800B demonstrates a mastery of compact soundbar design that, at times, seemed like pure sorcery. On its own, without the extra features you get with select Samsung TVs, it creates clear, balanced, surprisingly immersive, eminently listenable sound.

[Image credit: Mark Henninger/Techlicious]

Mark Henninger is an AV enthusiast, equipment reviewer, photographer and videographer. He is a THX-trained video calibrator and has extensive experience working with consumer displays including TVS, projectors, monitors and smartphones. Mark started the editorial review program at AVS Forum, where he served as Senior Editor and then Editor.

Bidet seats range in price and functionality. You can get a basic style that simply sprays water for under $100 all the way up to ultra-luxury models costing more than $1,000 with features like a built-in music player, a touchpad remote control, and automatic opening and closing of the toilet lid. 

But you don't need to spend over $1,000 to get many of the most enticing high-end features. Brondell's Swash 1400 Luxury Bidet ($649, check price on Amazon) has four water temperature settings, adjustable water pressure and stream, a heated seat, a remote with programmable settings, and a blue night light to guide you in middle-of-the-night visits.

If you've never sat on a heated bidet seat in the middle of the night in winter, you need to try it to discover how wonderful it can be. Take my word for it as someone who's tried many brands and types, including the Coway Bidetmega 200 that I reviewed ($449, on sale for $382) and countless bidets and bidet seats across Europe and Asia. Not only have I appreciated the heated seats, but also the variety of washing modes, lighting, and even music.

To test the Brondell Swash 1400, I've been using it for more than a month now and am enjoying many of the stepped-up luxury features like the built-in night light and the dual user-programmable remote. It has an impressive array of customizable features not always found in this mid-tier price point. However, the seat delivers a cold-water spray for a few seconds before the water comes up to temperature, which for me is a deal-breaker, especially at this price point.  

Installing the Brondell Swash 1400 

The Brondell Swash 1400 can be installed without needing a plumber if you know how to use an adjustable wrench and can turn off your water supply to the toilet. I'm proud to tell you, I installed mine myself in about 40 minutes, and it only took that long because I kept watching the installation video over and over to be sure I had it right before turning the water back on.

The Swash 1400 will also require an electrical outlet within three and a half feet of the toilet. If you don't already have one, that will be a job for an electrician. I went through this back in 2019 when I installed the Coway Bidetmega 200.

Before buying any bidet seat, you need to figure out if your toilet seat is round or elongated to ensure a proper fit. There are measurement guides on Brondell's website and the Swash 1400 comes in both sizes. 

Design of the Brondell Swash 1400

I really like the fact that it comes in a biscuit color as opposed to just white, something not many other brands offer. The white Coway bidet seat in my otherwise beige bathroom always looked out of place. The Swash 1400 biscuit toilet seat looks like it belongs.

The Swash 1400's contoured design looks sleek and modern and has a hidden pocket that hides the power cord and the water connections. The water line isn't protruding over the left side of the seat as it did with the Coway Bidetmega 200 (see the large knob in the image above), and the power cord can be run behind the seat, so it's out of the way. It gives it a much cleaner look.

The Swash 1400 is a tankless bidet seat, so it doesn't store any water, giving it a much more streamlined profile than the ones with a mini water tank. Tankless seats have a ceramic instant heater that heats the water as it flows in and then sprays out through the nozzles. Heating the water on demand means having a limitless spray of warm water. Unlike less expensive tank models, which will run out of water in under a minute, the Swash cycle will run for two full minutes unless you press 'stop' first.

Setting up your Brondell Swash 1400

Customization of the wash cycle is very easy. Two stainless steel nozzles come out when you press either the front or rear button on the remote. You can adjust the nozzle to one of seven positions for what's best for you, more than the average five positions found on most bidet seats. However, I still found the front nozzle doesn't come far enough forward, and I wind up moving myself to adjust for it.

Once you've figured out what water temperature, stream, and position work for you, you can program it into a preset button. There are two user preset buttons so someone else can program the wash cycle to their preferences. And if you have a guest, there's an auto button that runs a complete cycle, taking the guesswork out of it.

You can set the bidet seat to enter eco mode after a few minutes of non-use to reduce the seat's temperature. There are three LED lights on the back of the toilet that show whether the seat is on or in eco mode. Red lights mean the power is on and the seat is heated; green means it's in eco mode and has adjusted to the lowest seat temperature, so you always sit on a warm seat. Once the seat senses your body, it comes out of eco mode and increases the heat. 

Using the Brondell Swash 1400

Heated seat

One of my favorite features of bidet seats is the heated seat. There is nothing like sitting your cold tush on a warm toilet seat – talk about the lap of luxury! The Swash 1400 offers three temperature settings for the heated seat that you can set with the remote control. And when it's hotter out in the summer, you can turn off the heat.

Water spray

There's a button for spray width on the remote control, which lets you adjust the width of the spray from a narrow, concentrated spray to a wide, gentle spray. You can adjust this each time you use it or set it to your preference and save it in your user profile. 

You can also use the Move button to oscillate the nozzles back and forth while cleaning or set it as a user preference in your profile. 

While tankless models with instant water heaters are preferable and considered a luxury feature, there is a potential downside. With the Swash 1400, residual water sits in the line between the heater and the nozzle and isn't heated. So the first spray of water coming out of the nozzle is usually very cold. It only lasts for a second, and Brondell customer support tells me it will happen less in warmer months. However, I found it stressful to wait for that first blast of cold water, especially for the front wash.

I didn't have this issue on the Coway Bidetmega 200, also a tankless model, and it's possible their four-stage wash system, which starts with more of a gentle stream before the pressure increases, kept me from feeling the cold water; if there was any in the line.

It would make a huge difference if Brondell could figure out a way to expel the first drops of cold water from the nozzle before it hits the user's very sensitive areas. I may feel it less when the weather gets warmer, but it's a huge drawback for me now.

The bidet seat is activated when the sensor on the seat detects a person. The full spray cycle is two minutes, but it will automatically stop if you get up while the spray is running.

Air dryer

The Swash 1400 has a warm air-dry mode at the end of the cycle. This feature is usually found only in expensive models, and honestly, it's a feature I could live without. Think of it as a hand air dryer you would find in a public restroom; only you can adjust the temperature and strength. It takes forever to dry you off, and I find you never get fully dry. As my son said when he tried it, "It just kind of blows the stink all around." If you use the air dryer, I'd recommend flushing the toilet first.

Soft-close seat

Some more expensive models have seat lids that automatically raise and close. The Swash 1400 isn't automatic, but it does provide a function I find helpful – it doesn't let the lid slam down. Instead, when you push down on the lid, it lowers in slow motion, so you never hear it slam shut.

LED night light

I love the LED blue light, which acts as a night light. This feature is beneficial to people who don't want to turn on a light at night. It guides you right to the toilet.

I wish the seat had a light sensor so the LED light would automatically turn off during the day and turn on at night. I'd also like to be able to adjust the brightness of the LED light and a button on the remote to turn the light on and off. Without a dedicated button for the light on the remote, you have to go through a few extra steps to turn the light on and off. Even so, the light is a feature I'm glad to have. 

Remote control

The Swash 1400's wireless remote control buttons are large and easy to read, and almost everything you need can be controlled using the remote. The remote docks magnetically into its holder, which you can mount on the wall or conveniently leave on a vanity or shelf.

The remote in the Coway model I previously tested was attached to the side of the seat, and I found it cumbersome to use and difficult to read, so this is a big step up.

Maintaining the Brondell Swash 1400

Bidet seats don't take much more cleaning effort than cleaning a regular toilet seat. When you clean your toilet bowl, use a damp cloth to wipe the seat and the remote.

Most bidet seats have a self-cleaning nozzle, which runs water over the nozzle before and after each wash. If you want to do a deeper clean, which I do every week or so, you can press the button on the side of the seat labeled "Nozzle Clean," and the front wash nozzle will extend. You can use a cloth or a toothbrush with a cleanser to gently clean the nozzle. Press the button again, and the front nozzle goes in and the rear nozzle comes out. Rinse and repeat. Press the button once more, and the rear nozzle will retract.

In addition, there are buttons on the remote to both sterilize and deodorize the toilet. The nozzles are treated with silver nanoparticles that help keep them free of bacteria, so they're sterilized each time they're washed. Manually sterilizing the nozzles should become a part of your standard toilet cleaning.

There are well-located seat release buttons on either side of the seat, making removing the seat for cleaning super easy.

The replaceable carbon deodorizer ($19.99 on the Brondell site) helps neutralize odors, and Brondell recommends replacing it every six months or so, depending on usage. Unfortunately, there is no filter change indicator for the deodorizer, so make sure to put a reminder on your calendar.

The bottom line

The Brondell Swash 1400 is a luxury bidet seat with high-end customizable features at a mid-tier price of $649.  With two user-programmable settings and an auto mode for guests, it will work well for anyone in the family. Bonus points for the built-in night light that makes it easy to find in the dark. However, the initial cold-water spray is a deal-breaker for me.

For a mid-tier model, I'd recommend the Coway Bidetmega 400. At $599, it retails for $50 cheaper than the Swash 1400 (and is often significantly less on Amazon) and offers all of the same features, but without the initial cold-water spray. If you don't care about having a night light and wireless remote, I've been using the Coway Bidetmega 200 (which is otherwise identical to the 400) for a couple of years in my bathroom at home and love it, and at a retail price of only $449, you'd save even more.

[Image credit: Andrea Smith/Techlicious]

Andrea Smith is an award-winning technology broadcast journalist, reporter, and producer. Andrea was the Technology Producer and an on-air Technology contributor at ABC News for over two decades before becoming the Lifestyle Channel Editor at Mashable, where she explored the ways in which real people, not just geeks, began using technology in their everyday lives.

Setting up the Panasonic Nanoe EH-NA67-W hair dryer

The Panasonic Nanoe checks all of the boxes when it comes to hair dryers.

• The Nanoe is in the professional range of hair dryers with 1,875 watts of power.
• Like many hair dryers, it has three heat settings (cool, warm, and hot), two speeds, and a “cool shot” button you can press for room temperature air to seal the hair cuticle at the end of styling.
• It has a longer-than-average 8-foot cord, which is safer and more convenient (regular extension cords aren’t safe to use with hair dryers).
• It comes with two standard attachments, a diffuser and a concentrator, as well as its unique oscillating nozzle.
• It has a filter at the back that you can pop off for easy cleaning.
• It weighs 1.28 pounds, which is lighter than other premium hair dryers like the Dyson Supersonic (1.5 pounds) and BaByliss Pro Nano (1.8 pounds).

The one area where the Nanoe doesn’t shine is in its design. It’s bigger than other hair dryers and has an odd ridge on the top to accommodate the Nanoe technology.

Using the Panasonic Nanoe EH-NA67-W hair dryer

I have fine hair that becomes unevenly wavy when left to dry naturally and frizzy when I blow-dry it. So a hair dryer that promises to dry my hair in minutes and get rid of the frizz has huge appeal.

The Nanoe looks big when you hold it, but it feels light. And, the extra bulk doesn’t get in the way of styling.

Using the oscillating nozzle, I consistently shave a couple of minutes off the 5-7 minute dry time I was getting with my usual 1875-watt hair dryer. In addition, I didn’t have to think about constantly repositioning the dryer to avoid hotspots, which I really like because I blow out my hair straight from the roots. However, it does take some getting used to letting the attachment do the work. Also, the attachment makes an odd clacking sound as it oscillates, which some may find off-putting. The diffuser and concentrator attachments have no unique design elements and work like others I’ve used.

The Nanoe technology is built into the dryer; it’s not something you need to activate. The dryer generates ultrafine water particles, which the company claims contain 1,000 times more moisture than regular negative ions, which ionic hair dryers produce to help create a shinier, smoother look. In my experience, my hair is less frizzy when I’m done drying it with the Nanoe than with ionic hair dryers. It’s not frizz-free, but the finished product is smoother.

The bottom line

The Panasonic Nanoe EH-NA67-W delivers a speedy dry with a smooth finish, and its unique oscillating nozzle makes drying hotspot free. Yes, it’s expensive at $150, but if you struggle with frizzy hair and heat sensitivity while styling, it's worth it. 

[Image credit: Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

TV makers have long focused on performance improvements achieved through picture processing. Still, it's only in recent years that algorithms began to strongly compete with hardware advances in terms of impact on the final image. Today's premium LCD TVs have the brightness and color volume needed to make HDR pop, even in a bright room. To use a car analogy, the raw horsepower is there in the hardware, and the software is all about fine-tuning the handling.

When it comes to the wow factor, the QN90B's picture-quality magic is found in the Neo Quantum Processor 4K processor. Its big trick is the coordinated juggling of a wide array of computational tasks, performed with remarkable speed and executed with greater mathematical precision than before. It does this even with HD SDR (standard dynamic range) content, like broadcast, cable, satellite, and streaming services. But, there are visible benefits to 14-bit processing even with the best UHD 4K HDR (high dynamic range) content.

What's new for 2022

14-bit Processing may be new to Samsung's Neo-QLED TVs, but it is familiar to photo and video pros. It's the bit depth commonly used for RAW photo capture in professional DSLR and mirrorless cameras. The key advantage to 14-bit – versus the 12-bit processing and color that it supersedes – is the number of steps used to express gradations in color: There are four times as many per color, 16,384 vs. 4096.

It's important to note that standard HD video is only 8-bit, and HDR video is 10-bit, as is the panel used by the TV. Given these format and hardware limitations, you may wonder how 14-bit processing can make a difference. It's because when you process video, having the extra intermediate steps of 14-bit processing results in a cleaner and more precisely tuned final image.

The use of Mini LEDs, the "Neo" in Neo QLED, allows the FALD (full array local dimming) backlight to isolate areas of high brightness or deep darkness and represent them without distracting artifacts like halos or clouding. But to get the best picture, the panel and the backlight need to work in tandem. Long story short, the extra mathematical headroom of 14-bit processing helps the QN90B's advanced algorithms perform a more intensive optimization before putting a picture on the screen, with visibly better results.

Hands on with the QN90B

We can talk numbers all day long, but what does this all mean in practice? To find out, I recently spent a day getting hands-on time with a brand-new 2022 65QN90B. I auditioned demo material provided by Samsung and video from my source: An Xbox Series X. One of the first things I did was check the HDMI connection and the modes the Xbox Series X supports. I saw confirmation of 4K HDR, HFR (high frame rate), VRR (variable refresh rate), and ALLM (auto low latency mode). ALLM is especially handy; it puts the TV in Game mode when you play and takes the TV out of that mode when you are watching. This way, you can use Movie mode with cinematic content, even with the Xbox as a source, and not have to think about it.

Samsung showed me some ultra-high-quality 4K clips, with the TV set to its "Vivid" mode, which is the visual experience I'm used to seeing at CES in Las Vegas (but I did not attend this year). It shows what the TV can do if you engage all its processing full-blast and ask it for maximum light output on top of that. It's also akin to what you might see in a showroom, like Best Buy, and it looks surprisingly well balanced despite the pumped-up contrast and color.

Regardless of the picture mode, the upgraded processor results in an overall better picture when judged based on various picture quality parameters, like the smoothness of gradients in deep shadows as the image transitions to black, and even the overall amount of visual pop achieved by this FALD TV when playing HDR content.

For movies, I used Samsung's "Movie" picture mode. Meanwhile, I used the "Game" mode for video games, but with the color temperature switched to "Warm1" instead of the default "Standard," which to my eyes looks the most neutral.

For an immediate, visceral test of motion, detail, and color rendition, I used the Xbox to play Forza Horizon 5, one of the most spectacularly realistic-looking games out for next-generation consoles, and it did not disappoint. The 4K detail, the intensity of the colors, and the overall brightness and contrast – including deep yet detailed shadow regions – showed off the high degree of refinement Samsung has achieved by refining the already excellent 2021 QN90A (check out my review of the QN90A on AVS Forum). It makes the scenery look hyper-real and gives it a sense of depth that fools the eye into perceiving depth.

Testing HDR and brightness

I also checked out various torture-test HDR scenes from the Spears and Munsel UHD Benchmark Ultra HD Blu-ray using the Xbox One X. These scenes are available in 1000-nit, 4000-nit, and 10,000-nit HDR10. 10,000-nit mastering is as rare as unicorns, but more and more, you'll see 4000-nit content in addition to the common 1000-nit mastering. Anyhow, these are scenes that test various aspects of performance, like baby sheep hopping around in the snow, a fierce sunset, a closeup of honey dripping with a pitch-black background, and so on.

The 65QN90B takes the reproduction of these test scenes to a higher level than the QN90A by sorting out the details at the extreme ends of the spectrum – those brightest highlights and deepest shadows just on the verge of absolute black and white – and reproducing them with a smooth perfection that 12-bit processing cannot quite achieve. 1000-nit scenes are rendered perfectly which is a benefit of HDR TVs that can achieve greater than 1000-nit peak luminance, there's no need to tone map. The 4000-nit content also looks great, but I could spot some subtle highlight clipping in scenes with snow.

Neo-QLED is the most advanced LED-lit LCD screen Samsung offers, with around 3X more brightness than OLED. With full-screen white, an OLED might reach 200 or so nits (a measure of screen brightness), while the QN90B can sustain 600 nits. This brightness is needed to overcome the ambient light in a room.

Samsung's Neo-QLED design achieves levels of brightness OLED TVs can only dream about, not only peak brightness but also full screen. This results in excellent picture quality in bright environments, plus there's no risk of burn-in.

Testing dark levels

There's a scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II where Voldemort and his army assemble on a hilltop and attack. It is a bit of a legendary scene among TV reviewers for its ability to trip up the FALD algorithm on TVs, as well as the HDR tone mapping of projectors. It is common to see it represented as dim, or dull, and too dark. Not so the QN90B. Its rendition of the UHD Blu-ray is stunningly detailed and punchy, while preserving the figuratively and literally dark look.

One thing TV makers have really struggled with since the plasma era is handling the very deepest shadows, showing the darkest shades without crushing them, or creating banding and other digital artifacts. The QN90A can't quite get these extremes perfect, but from what I saw with my own eyes, Samsung has fully resolved this issue with the QN90B.

Another impressive way the QN90B handled the Harry Potter scene is when fireballs are launched, a true test of HDR if there ever was one because you have hot white orbs traveling over a deep dark backdrop. Not only did it render the scene with true HDR zip and pop but it kept things well under control in terms of light leaking into the letterbox bars. This is a TV that is not only happy to shine bright as you watch sports in the daytime but also it offers a compelling home theater-quality viewing experience when the lights are out.

Advanced features of the QN90B

This TV has numerous advanced features, shared by other top-tier models like Samsung's 8K neo QLED offerings. In terms of connectivity and features, the QN90B is fundamentally the same as the QN90A, which makes it one of the best TVs for next-generation console gamers. Equipped with HDMI 2.1 and eARC (enhanced audio return channel), it supports 4K up to 120 Hz with VRR (variable refresh rate), for the smoothest next-generation console gameplay.

Another advantage of the 120 Hz panel, it properly plays 24p video, the Hollywood standard for almost a century. Your eyes are so used to 24p cadence any variation of timing comes across as unnatural. While not unique to this model, because 120 is evenly divisible by 24, the TV can reproduce the motion in movies without any judder. By comparison, 60 Hz panels can't show 24p with a natural cadence because 60 divided by 24 is 2.5. Moreover, this TV's quantum-dot color covers the DCI/P3 color spectrum with what Samsung calls 100% Color Volume. DCI/P3 color is used in UHD HDR mastering of most HDR, whether streamed or on disc. Covering this gamut means a vibrant yet accurate color that fully expresses what the director intended you to see.

The QN90B gets Samsung's latest Eco Remote, which is notable for being battery-free and self-charging using solar and RF harvesting. This sleek remote self-charges using the small bit of current that it can harness from radio signals like WiFi, which are now ubiquitous in most homes. So even in a dark room, the remote is likely slowly charging. And if RF plus visible light is not enough to keep the remote perpetually charged, a quick USB fill-up takes care of business. Samsung's goal is to eliminate the need for disposable batteries.

Samsung equips this TV with its latest and greatest smart platform based on its Tizen operating system. There is a wide variety of apps to choose from and you can perform voice searches with the remote to access content if you use the TV apps. For voice search, you can choose from the company's Bixby smart assistant, as well as the usual suspects: Alexa and Google Assistant. Alas, Siri is not invited to this party.

Format support is deep and accommodates streaming from just about any device in just about any format, from photos to 360 video to music to various types of 4K HDR: HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG. It'll even act as an IoT hub with SmartThings support. And when you add up all it can do, the QN90B is a rather smart TV, indeed.

The bottom line

The QN90B is an excellent choice for 4K gaming, video streaming, TV watching, Ultra-HD Blu-ray movie viewing, and even to employ as a giant PC monitor. With its numerous user-friendly features and better-than-ever picture quality, it is arguably the all-around best 4K TV on the market, superseding the QN90A.

The QN90B series has size ranging from 50" up to 85" at launch. You can buy the QN90B 50" for $1,599.99, the 55" for $1699.99, the 65" for $2,499.99, the 75" for $3,499.99, and the 85" for $4999.99. 

[Image credit: Samsung, Mark Henninger/Techlicious]

Mark Henninger is an AV enthusiast, equipment reviewer, photographer and videographer. He is a THX-trained video calibrator and has extensive experience working with consumer displays including TVS, projectors, monitors and smartphones. Eight years ago, Mark started the editorial review program at AVS Forum, where he served as Senior Editor and then Editor.

Over the last year, I’ve been testing more than half a dozen stick vacs — Anker Eufy HomeVac S11 Infinity ($299), Dyson V15 Detect ($699), LG CordZero A9 Ultimate ($599), Miele TriFlex HX1 ($499), Proscenic P10 Pro ($199), Raycop Omni Air ($299), Roborock H7 ($499), Tineco Pure One S12 ($499). As with all cheaper stick vacs, you don't get the suction power of the higher-end stick vacs such as the Dyson V15 Detect (read my review) and Miele Triflex HX1 (read my review). In fact, the Eufy HomeVac S11 delivers lower than average suction and run time. Plus, larger items tend to not get stuck in the tube and redeposited on the floor when you turn off the vac. The S11 does have a front LED light and a second swappable battery, both of which are often not found at the sub-$300 price point, however they are not enough for me to recommend it. Here's why.

Setting up the Eufy HomeVac S11

Inside the box of the Eufy HomeVac S11, you'll find a second battery, a floor brush, a 2-in-1 combination, a long crevice tool, a soft roller brush and a wall mount dock. The dock can hold three attachments once you manually add a pair of clip-on wings. 

Using the Eufy HomeVac S11

The Eufy HomeVac S11 is among the lighter stick vacs I've used at about 5.5 pounds and it has a front LED that lights up the floor to illuminate what needs to be cleaned. However, you have to hold the S11's trigger for as long as you are vacuuming, which can be tiring for longer vacuuming sessions.

You get three cleaning modes: "max" (8 minutes of battery life), the default "mid" (25 minutes), and "low" (40 minutes). Given these relatively shorter-than-average battery times, you could spend the entire eight-minute "max" power life to effectively clean half a 20 x 12 carpeted room, which is why the second included battery is essential. Unfortunately, you can only charge the batteries one at a time; additional batteries are $79.99, and come with a separate chargers.

The Eufy lacks a status LCD display; when you cycle through the cleaning modes you have to listen for the sound change to know which mode you're in, and you'll have to count the number of consecutive blinking lights to discern remaining battery life or any vac hardware problems, such as over-heating or motor fault.

You'll need the max suction setting for most major vacuuming. While dust and hair were easily sucked up, the S11 had problem with larger particles. In its default "mid" suction mode, it took me multiple passes to suck up sand and paper shreds than other pricier vacs. The S11 simply spit many spilt Cheerios across the room instead picking them up.

Once vacuumed, larger particles often didn't get sucked up all the way into the S11's large 650 milliliter dust bin, so when I release its trigger, some particles trickled out back onto the floor. I had to remember to keep my finger on the trigger for a few seconds after completing my vacuuming to make sure everything is safely sucked up inside. I also was left with flotsam and jetsam that didn't get sucked inside on the top of the roller head that fell back onto my rug. If you aren't sure everything you vacuum made it up the tube and into its dustbin, you'll leave a trail of pieces behind you as you carry it to the trash can for emptying.

Once at trash can, I snapped off the roller head, and the rest of the paper exploded out of the open tube, ditto when I popped off the primary connecting tube. The roller was easily removed to cut off any hair with a pair of scissors.

The bottom line

I wouldn't recommend the Eufy HomeVac S11 as your primary floor cleaning tool. Considering its short maximum run life and below-average suction power, the S11 is best considered as a second room stick vac, something to keep in a bedroom, home office, or kitchen, for instance, for simple, quick clean ups. I'd recommend spending a bit more and investing in a stick vac that can be used as a primary vacuum cleaner, like our top pick, the entry-level Miele Triflex HX1 (currently on sale on Amazon for $479.99).

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CTA Hall of Fame inductees and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

Pros
Above average suction
Manually adjustable suction
Large color LED screen
Front LED light
Included second battery
Easy to clean

Cons
Needs to be wall mounted
Unexpected suction speed changes in Auto mode
Doesn't lay as flat for under upholstery cleaning as other models

Tineco'sPure One S12 ($499) is arguably the most fascinatingly featured stick vac I've run across – just listing the number of helpful bells & whistles can get dizzying:

• Manually adjustable suction speed – just run your finger up and down the touch control to choose the precise amount of vacuum power desired
• "iLoop Dust Sensor" – in Auto mode, the S12 can detect hard-to-see dust and automatically adjusts the S12's suction speed accordingly
• Separate attachment to quickly clean filter; two filters included
• Can be operated both intermittently by holding the trigger or continually via a "sustain" switch
• 3.5-inch round color LED screen that imparts more useful information than the display of any other stick vac
• Two batteries included, both able to be simultaneously charged in the wall-mount dock

The S12 is also quieter than other stick vacs I've tested – at its noisiest it generates a relatively subdued 71db of suction sound. A front LED light on its primary multi-surface brush illuminates the dirt ahead of it. There's also an accompanying app, although I couldn't discover its real-world value.

My only hesitancies to recommending the Tineco Pure One S12 at its sometimes discounted $429.99 price over the entry-level $499 edition of the Miele Triflex HX1 is the latter's top-shelf suction and modular flexibility (you can move the motor so it can stand alone upright), and the former's need to be wall mounted to charge. But at the S12's regular $499 price, even with all its unique pluses, I consider the entry level Miele Triflex HX1 a slightly superior stick vac value.

Setting up the Tineco Pure One S12

Upon first setting up the S12 you are confronted with this stick vac's biggest problem: the wall mount. All other stick vacs I've encountered include a wall mounting option, but all also can be charged without screwing anything into your wall. But with the S12's design, you need the permanently attached wall mount to hang charge the S12, an unnecessary necessity.

Attachments that are included:

• multi-surface brush
• mini power brush
• 2-in-1 dusting brush
• soft dusting brush
• crevice tool
• flexible long crevice tool

The wall mount does accommodate four of the included cleaning attachments as well as the combined wand brush/hair cutting tool. An included cloth bag holds the remaining attachments.

Also included is a slightly larger than average 20.3-ounce (600 milliliter) dustbin so you won't need to empty it as frequently as other vacs with smaller dustbins. 

Using the Tineco Pure One S12

S12's suction ranks just slightly below the Miele Triflex HX1 and the Dyson V15 Detect. And like these two top models, what the S12 sucks up stays sucked up – there's no dirt leakage from the cleaning head or the wand when you switch off power or switch attachments. Its suction was so powerful that I had to push hard across high or even medium pile rugs, and the S12 sometimes skipped when I pushed it. But I generally encountered few problems sucking up any of the substances I tested it with, including pet hair.

The S12's most unique feature is its auto/manual speed settings. In auto mode, the suction speed audibly and visibly adjusts depending on the surface and the cleaning need as sensed by the S12. If you don't like the frequent auto adjustments, just run your finger up or down the vertical surface on the handle to manually adjust the suction speed as high or low as you want; a white bar LED on the LCD screen indicates the power level.

Encircling the LCD screen is a "dust monitoring loop" LED. As you start the LED circle is all blue. As you encounter more dust, sections of the "loop" turn red. As you clean an area the LED turns slowly back from red to blue, but I never seemed to get back to solid blue on any surface I vacuumed. The "loop" LED combined with the front light on the primary 9-inch-wide cleaning head that illuminates the area to be vacuumed are better at confirming that you haven't missed a spot than with any other stick vac I tested. (The entry-level Miele Triflex HX1 lacks this cleaning head light.)

You get 50 minutes of vacuuming time on a single battery in auto mode, so around 100 minutes with its two cells, which is about average. And at top suction speed on a single battery, you get a slightly above average 10.5 minutes of cleaning time.

Maintaining the Tineco Pure One S12

The Tineco S12 is the easiest to maintain stick vac I tested. It's easy-to-remove brush roller is quickly cleared of hair using the including hooked cutting tool. My only complaint is the roller's black color, which makes it hard to see any remaining dark-colored hair.

Removing and cleaning the S12's filters is even easier. A HEPA filter installed in the top of handle requires just a push of an inset release to pull out for easy rinsing. Even better is cleaning the pre-filter – which helps maintain top suction – easily twists out from inside the dustbin. The S12 comes with two pre-filters, one of which is inside the separate filter cleaning attachment. Just insert the dirty filter into the including cleaning attachment, connect the cleaning attachment to the vacuum, set the suction to its highest speed and, in five seconds or so, the filter is sucked clean – no running it under water and waiting 24 hours for it to dry. It's a uniquely clever and efficient solution.

The bottom line

If you can find the Tineco Pure One S12 discounted from its regular $499 price, you'll score a cheaper and reasonable alternative to our top stick vac pick, the Miele Triflex HX1. The S12's finely tuned auto and manual suction modes are unmatched, you get a better cleaning confirmation, and it's almost a pleasure to clean. But, at its regular $499 price and with its required wall mounting, the S12 falls short of matching the overall function and value of entry-level edition of the Miele Triflex HX1, but is preferable to the LG CordZero Ultimate ($599) and maybe even the most powerful stick vac, the Dyson V15 Detect ($699.99)

.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CTA Hall of Fame inductees and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

But at its regular price of $499, the choice between the Roborock H7 and the entry-level $499 Miele Triflex HX1 is an easy one, regardless of the H7's virtues – of which it offers plenty. The Roborock offers above-average suction, is far lighter than the Miele, and runs longer on a single charge. It is compatible with disposable dust bags, its magnetic mounting bracket makes it easy to store and swap attachments, and it can be equipped with an optional mop head. But the Miele simply supplies more suction. The H7 also lacks the Miele's modular flexibility, wider brush roller, swappable battery, independent standing capability, and easier maintenance.

Pros

Lightweight
Magnetic attachments

Cons

No swappable battery
Easily jams with larger particles
Difficult to clean roller and filter
No front LED light

The bottom line is that at $359 or even $399, the H7 is a great stick vac buy. Not at $499.99. Here's why.

Setting up the Roborock H7

The Roborock H7's most distinctive and helpful logistical feature is how it deals with its attachments – they're magnetic. Not only do they easily stick to the wall mount, but they can also be stuck onto any magnetic surface. So, if you need an attachment only for the kitchen, you can stick it to the refrigerator or, for an office, to a filing cabinet. Attachments stay where they're stuck, yet they're also easy to remove for use. Attachments that are included:

• multi-surface brush
• motorized mini brush
• crevice tool
• dusting brush
• flex tube (to help access hard-to-reach areas with the crevice or dusting tools)

Otherwise, the H7 is rather average in its other logistical accouterments. However, at 3.2 pounds, it's less than half the operational weight of the Miele or Dyson, yet a smidge heavier than its predecessor, the Roborock H6. There's no battery charger – the AC cable simply jacks right into the top of the H7.

The H7's 16.9-ounce (0.5 liter) capacity dustbin is average for the stick vacs I tested. For those who don't like constantly cleaning, Roborock has included two disposable dust bags, and you can buy more (six dust bags for $18.89 on Amazon).

Using the Roborock H7

The H7 operates via a two-way trigger. It can run on sustained mode – you hold it to power it – or, if you tap the small thumb-accessible "sustain" button, the H7 runs without holding down the trigger. A small monochrome LCD displays its handy and unique child lock status, battery life percentage remaining, and three icons indicating the run mode. A physical "mode" button within thumb reach allows easy vacuuming speed mode shifts.

During testing, I evaluated the H7 for how well it handled a thick pile oriental rug with flour (as a stand-in for dust), sand, long and short human hair, pet hair (rabbit), shredded paper, and Cheerios – singularly and mixed together. As noted, the H7 provides above-average suction, but it sometimes pushed sand behind the brush head at the lower speeds, requiring an extra pass that the Miele or Dyson didn't, and shredded paper tended to jam it. But you are unusually warned in small print that "[f]lour, construction dust, and other fine particles should only be vacuumed in small amounts."

Like many stick vacs, it helps if you keep the H7 running for a few seconds after you've finished vacuuming an area to make sure everything gets sucked up through the wand and into its dustbin. When you release the H7's trigger immediately after cleaning, just-suctioned particles often tumble right back out onto the floor again or out of the wand when you swap cleaning attachments.

Maintaining the Roborock H7

The dustbin opens and empties with an easy lever push. And if you use the optional dust bag, you can just pull it out and discard. 

But two issues make cleaning the H7 a bit annoying. First, to get at the front filter, you must remove the dustbin then manually unscrew its interior "multi cyclone" assembly, which will be filthy. Worse, for some reason, the H7 doesn't have a removable roller, which makes it maddeningly frustrating to remove long hair. Of course, if no one in your abode has long hair, you'll have few roller clearing worries. But we'd hope in an updated version that Roborock fixes this flaw.

Roborock H7 battery life

Thanks to its more powerful lithium polymer battery, rather than the lithium-ion cells found on other stick vacs, you get 90 minutes of vacuuming life on a single charge on "eco" mode, which you'll really only use on bare floors. Roborock didn't supply battery life in its default "high" mode but I found it to be around 45 minutes, still far longer than other stick vac cells, and 10 minutes in "max" mode, which is a smidge above average. The battery recharges in an above-average 2.5 hours.

But, unlike other current stick vacs, the lithium polymer power cell in the H7 isn't swappable or even removable, which eliminates its usage time advantage. It's dead easy to simply swap batteries on other vacs, and the Miele dual batteries provide a combined 120 minutes of cleaning time in its eco mode, around an hour at its default standard speed. Plus, Roborock says the H7's battery will fall to around 85% capacity after around 600 recharges, which means its single-charge usage time advantage will dissipate after around three years of use. You might have to toss the whole unit when the battery life becomes too short to be functional (although, in fairness, that make take five years or more).

The bottom line

As long as you can buy the Roborock H7 for $359 or even $399, I consider it a high-value stick vac with its above-average suction and run time, magnetic attachments, and disposable dust bags. But at its regular $499, I'd opt instead for the Miele Triflex HX1.

[Image credit: Roborock, Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CTA Hall of Fame inductees and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

Unboxing the Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds

The Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds come with a 2 by 1.75 by 1-inch case, which is about the same size as an AirPods case. Lenovo ups the value over other sub $100 earbuds by including a USB-C cable for charging and three additional ear tips – most earbuds at this price point come with two extra sets of eartips.

The styling is similar to AirPods — a pipe style — but the Smart Wireless Earbuds have more angular lines, and the pipes are longer and thicker. As a result, the Lenovo earbuds are more noticeable when you wear them. However, they weigh the same as the AirPods Pro at 4.5 grams per bud. You can choose from black, which has a pearlescent graphite finish on the outside, and white, which has a matte silver finish on the outside.

The Smart Wireless Earbuds are IPX4 rated, making them sweatproof, but you wouldn’t want to drop them in the pool.

Setting up the Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds

If you have an Android phone, the Smart Wireless Earbuds will SmartPair through a popup window when you open the case. For Windows 10 and 11 devices, a pop up will appear when you choose to add a Bluetooth device. And for Apple devices, you need to press the function button on the case for three seconds, and the earbuds will become visible in Bluetooth settings for pairing.

Since the Smart Wireless Earbuds have Bluetooth 5.2 and support multi-point pairing, you can pair the earbuds to a second device by pressing and holding the function button for three seconds and pairing through the device’s Bluetooth settings. The whole process is simple.

Once you have your Smart Wireless Earbuds paired, you’ll want to download the Lenovo Smart Wearable app to access advanced features, including customized sound settings and earbud controls.

The app offers five equalizer modes in the app – Extra Bass, Natural, Vocal, Jazz, Treble – or create a custom listening mode. For the Custom mode, there is a 10-band equalizer that gives you plenty of flexibility to tweak the sound. The app also lets you turn on/off Active Noise Canceling (ANC) or set it to Ambient mode, which allows external noises that Lenovo's algorithms determine to be important – such as car horns or train announcements – to flow through.

The app is also the place where you can customize the on-earbud touch controls. Each bud can have four functions assigned to it – a single tap, double tap, triple tap, and a long press – to control playback, calls, and voice assistant. You can also turn on Auto Play Pause, which will start/stop audio when you insert or remove an earbud.

Finally, you can use the app to find your earbuds if you lose one or both when they are out of the case. It works by playing a loud dingy sound on the earbuds, so you’ll have to be close to the buds to hear it, there is no directional finder.

Using the Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds

A small indent below the top edge of the case makes opening very easy (you’d be surprised how hard some cases are to open). Similarly, extracting the buds is as simple as sliding the stems to the side, and they pop out. The magnets inside the case, which ensure the buds are seated properly for charging, have enough, but not too much force, to keep them in place.

With four eartip sizes to choose from, it’s easy to make the earbuds fit properly and get a tight seal. In addition, the buds are easy to insert and feel secure when they’re in place. Over long listening sessions, there is minimal ear fatigue.

The on-bud controls are capacitive touch and very sensitive. This is great if you’re sitting at your desk, but there’s a learning curve if you’re walking or working out. The trick for double and triple taps is to listen for the popping noise before initiating the next tap, but wait too long, and you’ve activated the single tap control. I never did quite master the technique while exercising.

I paired the Smart Wireless Earbuds with my Windows 11 laptop and my iPhone 11 Pro to test the multi-point pairing feature. The earbuds flawlessly and immediately switched to my phone whenever a call came in and back to my computer for music when the call ended.

Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds audio quality

To test the audio quality of the Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds, I listened to hours of music streamed from my iPhone 11 Pro in lossless CD quality through the Apple Music app, comparing them to our current sub-$100 picks, the JBL TUNE230NC ($99.95) and Soundcore Life P3 ($79.99), as well as more expensive models including the Jabra Elite 85t ($229, on sale for $149), LG Tone Free FP9 ($199, on sale for $139), and Anker SoundCore Liberty 3 Pro ($169). I also tested call quality against these models with my co-worker from indoor locations and on busy New York City streets.

From the top left clockwise: Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro, LG Tone Free FP9, Jabra Elite 85t, Soundpeats H1, JBL TUNE230NC, Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds, Soundcore Life P3.

The Smart Wireless Earbuds have a wide dynamic range with distinct bass, but the buds have a small sound stage, and the overall effect is flat. You can improve the sound out of the box by turning on the Vocals EQ or create a custom profile with the 10-band EQ. These modes widen the sound stage and make listening to music on regular-quality streaming services, like Spotify acceptable. The Extra Bass mode just makes the lows louder and muddy. In comparison, the JBL TUNE230NC earbuds have an immersive sound stage and rich, balanced sound across all frequencies. I would set the Soundcore Life P3 earbuds above the Lenovo earbuds as well, with their ability to deliver resonant bass, textured mids, and airy highs. 

Unfortunately, turning on active noise canceling or ambient mode impacts the audio quality. Most noticeably, the sound stage shrinks, and the overall experience is even flatter. The modes are well worth it, though, if you’re traveling by train or walking busy city streets. Repetitive noises are noticeably reduced for more pleasant and less fatiguing listening. You’ll want to make sure you turn these modes off when you’re ready for quiet listening.

In general, call quality is acceptable and in line with the other noise-canceling true wireless earbuds that I tested head-to-head. With the Lenovo buds, the caller’s voice sounds slightly distorted, and your voice sounds a little muffled to your caller. The audio quality is best for the person on the other end when noise-canceling is turned off – even if you’re talking on a busy city street. However, noise-canceling makes a big difference on your end when in loud environments, almost as good as sitting in a quiet office. So you're going to have to pick whose call audio you want to prioritize when deciding whether to use the noise canceling feature.

Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds battery life

The Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds have average battery life, getting up to 7 hours per charge. If they’re running low, you can pop them in their battery case for 10 minutes to get an hour of playtime. The case holds enough capacity to charge the buds up to three times, for a total of 28 hours of playtime if you're starting with fully charged buds. You can charge the case with any USB-C cable or pop it on a wireless Qi charger.

The bottom line

There will be compromises when buying true wireless headphones for under $100, whether it’s in audio quality or features. For instance, the JBL TUNE230NC doesn't have wireless charging and the Sound Life P3 doesn't support multi-point pairing. What the Lenovo Smart Wireless Earbuds deliver is a wealth of convenience features not found on many sub-$100 true wireless buds, including our top picks, but the sound, while fine for casual listening, isn't as rich or immersive. So, if the features are what you value most, go ahead and grab a pair. But for audiophiles on a budget, they're hard to recommend over the similarly priced JBL TUNE230NC and Soundcore Life P3.

[Image credit: Techlicious]

For the past 20+ years, Techlicious founder Suzanne Kantra has been exploring and writing about the world’s most exciting and important science and technology issues. Prior to Techlicious, Suzanne was the Technology Editor for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia and the Senior Technology Editor for Popular Science. Suzanne has been featured on CNN, CBS, and NBC.

You can assemble the aptly-named Triflex in three configurations, most uniquely with the motor placed at the bottom just above the cleaning head, more like a standard corded vac. It's in this motor-at-the-bottom configuration that the Triflex can stand independently.

The Triflex HX1 comes in three variants: Miele Triflex HX1 Pro ($799), the "Cat & Dog" ($699), or the plain Triflex HX1 ($499). The version I tested was the expensive Pro version ($799), which includes two batteries and a separate charging tray so you can simultaneously charge both batteries. The two lower-priced options include only a single battery: the Cat & Dog edition includes a special "electro compact handheld brush" for pet hair, or the plain Triflex HX1, which lacks a front light on the primary Electrobrush cleaning head and a HEPA filter, which filters out finer allergens. A second add-on or replacement battery, the HX LA, for one of these less expensive Triflex versions, costs $169, while a second HX LS chargerwill run you another $105. If you're a careful shopper, buying the $499 Triflex version plus the extra battery and charger costs around $150 less than the Pro edition, and you essentially only lose the front light and the HEPA filter.

Over the last year, I’ve been testing more than a dozen stick vacs.

• Anker Eufy HomeVac S11 Infinity ($299.99)
• Dyson V15 Detect ($699.99)
• LG CordZero A9 Ultimate ($599)
• Miele TriFlex HX1 ($499)
• Proscenic P10 Pro ($199)
• Raycop Omni Air ($299.99)
• Roborock H7 ($499.99)
• Tineco Pure One S12 ($499.99)

I evaluated each one for how well it handled a thick pile oriental rug with flour (as a stand-in for dust), sand, long and short human hair, pet hair (rabbit), shredded paper, and Cheerios – singularly and mixed together.

The Miele Triflex HX1 Pro is my pick of the stick vac pack. I’m sold on its stand-up convenience, three-way modularity, powerful suction, and other unique attributes, but it’s not perfect.

Setting up the Miele Triflex HX1 Pro

The Triflex's three-way configuration options are not a gimmick. First, the motor can be clicked into place at the normal stick vac position atop the wand, right under the handle. In this position, you can attach a long wand to clean underneath furniture, reach up to vacuum ceilings, curtains, or any other hard-to-reach locations or you can simply click-on a short attachment directly to the motor to create a sort of an advanced (and slightly heavier) dust buster to more easily vacuum sofas, beds, or other off-floor surfaces, as you can with other stick vacs.

Or, you can shift the motor to the bottom just above the cleaning attachment with the wand above it. The resulting lower center of gravity makes the Triflex easier to push/pull across a floor than any other stick vac – more like a corded vac – and can then be clicked into an upright position to stand up on its own.

Included with all three versions are four cleaning head attachments:

• the primary Multi Floor Electrobrush brush; the brush with the Pro and Cat & Dog versions are equipped with a front BrilliantLight to illuminate what you're vacuuming
• upholstery nozzle
• dusting brush with synthetic bristles
• crevice nozzle

An Electro Compact hand-held brush can be bought separately.

Unlike other stick vacs that often can't accommodate storage for all their included accessories, an included accessories holder can be integrated atop the Triflex' charging dock and conveniently holds its three attachments with the fourth presumably attached the vac. And because the Triflex can stand on its own, you don't need to wall-mount the dock – you can just connect the AC adapter directly to the Triflex motor.

The Triflex' instruction manual is poorly illustrated. Other than a parts identification diagram near the front, the other usage and maintenance illustrations are inconveniently grouped unlabeled and uncaptioned in the rear cover triple foldout.

Using the Miele Triflex HX1

Beyond its three-way configuration options, Triflex Pro offers additional advantages:

• an extra-wide 11-inch roller – most stick vac rollers average between 7 to 9 inches – which means fewer vacuuming back-and-forths over debris
• a front LED spotlight on the main brush to illuminate the dirt ahead of you
• a "backbar" that catches large particles that might otherwise be shot by the roller behind the vac, handy for things like spilled cereal, especially on bare floors
• an easy-to-reach thumb slide on the handle that makes it easy to quickly switch speeds with one hand
• an "Electrobrush" on the main brush head that automatically adjusts to an optimal height relative to the floor surface – you'll hear a slight change in the sound when the brush adjusts when you move from carpet to bare floor and vice versa
• a HEPA filter that doesn't need washing – just brush it off around once a month

For pure suction, the Triflex' Vortex technology trails only the Dyson V15 Detect in overall effectiveness (Miele doesn't release air wattage power specs) – but not by much. The Triflex usually needs only a single back-and-forth pass to suck up most debris such as sand, shredded paper, pet and long hair, and large particles such as spilt cereal, and its extra-wide 11-inch roller means slightly fewer push-pulls across the floor. On bare floors you only need the low speed, and you need only the top speed for denser carpets or rugs.

The Triflex's lower center of gravity with the motor mounted at the bottom is important: at nearly 7.9 pounds, the Triflex is the heaviest stick vac I tested, more than a pound heavier than the hefty Dyson V15 Detect. This extra weight makes hand-held cleaning more difficult. And, at 80db when vacuuming a carpet, the Triflex is also among the noisiest of the stick vacs I tested. Wearing wireless head or earphones while vacuuming is recommended.

In addition to its weight, there's some other bad news. Long hair winds tightly around the Triflex's narrow roller. You'll need an X-acto-like blade or scissors to cut it all loose, even with the narrow trench in the roller to guide your slicing. If no one in your household has shoulder length or longer hair, you'll encounter no issues.

The Triflex also is equipped with a surprisingly stingy 16.91-ounce (.5 liter) capacity dustbin that requires more frequent emptying than other stick vacs. There's a "Max" line around halfway up on the dustbin. You shouldn't let debris rise too high above it, otherwise you'll face problems shaking all the debris loose.

Rather than a status display indicating precise remaining battery time or percentage, you get a disappointing and imprecise three LED array on the front of the motor assembly with a solid or flashing light in various combinations. You need the manual to figure out how much battery life remains or what error messages are being presented. For such a pricey vac, you'd think Miele would have included an actual screen that presented all this information in plain English (or any other appropriate language).

Triflex' swappable batteries are a third larger than the cells on other stick vacs but don’t supply extra runtime. Expect about an hour of vacuuming at the low speed and around half that at medium speed, which is about average, and doubled if you add a second charged battery. The batteries require four hours of charge time, also about average.

Maintaining the Miele Triflex HX1 Pro

Triflex's dustbin has an easy twist top that opens its trap door for emptying. Be careful not to let the debris fill higher than the Max line or you'll encounter some trouble shaking stubborn debris loose – not an uncommon occurrence among stick vacs. The dustbin cannister comes apart for cleaning, you just need to make sure the dustbin is completely dry before reattaching it and using it again.

Both the pre-filter and the fine particle filters simply twist to lift out for cleaning. You don't wash the Triflex' conical filters, just tap and brush them clean about every month or so. Miele claims its filters' three stages of filtration "ensure the exhaust air is actually cleaner than the ambient air in the room."

A catch release on the rear of the main Electrobrush brush head lets you easily remove its roller for washing and hair removal. You can turn on the vac on to suck cut hair into the dustbin or just pull the hair off the roller.

The bottom line

I consider Triflex' weight, smaller dustbin capacity, confusing LED array, and long hair issues as minor tradeoffs when you consider the flexibility of its motor placement and its ability to stand up by itself. Plus, its excellent suction, auto surface height adjustment, and easy maintenance makes the Miele Triflex the most practical and flexible stick vac I tested.

Yes, it is the priciest stick vac I tested, $100 more than the also expensive Dyson V15 Detect. But if you don't need the front light and can survive with a single battery, the $499 version of the Miele Triflex stands out as an outstanding stick vac bargain.

[Image credit: Miele, Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.

On the pro side, the CordZero A9's primary tube wand collapses from 27 to 18 inches. So when it's resting in its floor-standing charging dock, the CordZero A9 is only 35 inches tall, around a foot shorter than most stick vacs in their wall-mounted charging docks. With its short stature, the CordZero A9 can sit on the blind side of a credenza or cabinet, essentially unseen from most points in an otherwise well-appointed room, or even moved to a closet when company comes.

On the con side, the CordZero A9 has a smaller than average dustbin capacity. There is a red push-down latch, which LG calls the Kompressor, that compacts the debris, so you don't need to empty the dustbin that often. However, the smaller capacity resulted in clogs.

During my testing of the CordZero A9 Ultimate, I also tested:

• Anker Eufy HomeVac S11 Infinity ($299.99)
• Dyson V15 Detect ($699.99)
• Miele TriFlex HX1 ($499)
• Proscenic P10 Pro ($199)
• Raycop Omni Air ($299.99)
• Roborock H7 ($499.99)
• Tineco Pure One S12 ($499.99)

Each model was evaluated on how well it handled a thick pile oriental rug with flour (as a stand-in for dust), sand, long and short human hair, pet hair (rabbit), shredded paper, and Cheerios – singularly and mixed together.

The CordZero A9 Ultimate has above-average suction and a clever telescoping design. However, its small dustbin and resulting clog propensity make this stick vac difficult to recommend over its premium competitors, including the Dyson V15 Detect.

Setting up the LG CordZero A9 Ultimate

The LG CordZero A9 Ultimate comes fully loaded, with a stand-up charging dock, two batteries, and a variety of attachments:

• A Power Floor Nozzle, equipped with a 9-inch-wide roller, but no front light
• a clever Power Punch Nozzle, equipped with a bumpy plastic plate that "punches" bed sheets, duvets, quilts, and upholstery to dislodge dirt for easy suction, while avoiding grabbing loose threads
• a common 2-in-1 extending combination tool with a brush for dusting
• the usual crevice tool, which you'll also need for extracting the main filter for cleaning.

LG sells around a half dozen other cleaning attachments to accessorize the CordZero further.

For storage, the LG CordZero A9 Ultimate uses a stand-up charging dock that the CordZero slides onto and also conveniently accommodates the included second bright yellow /orange rechargeable battery and two of the four cleaning attachments. The other attachments can be arranged atop the floor plate of the stand. The 9-inch-long cleaning brush tool, helpful to get at any stubborn debris in the dustbin, can nest inside one of the other attachments clicked into the charging dock – but don't, because you'll need to access the tool frequently for cleaning and clearing jams. The thin AC cable can be channeled down the rear of the stand and is easily unplugged, making it easy to hide the stand and vac in a closet temporarily or permanently if there's an AC outlet inside.

It takes a shorter-than-usual 3.5 hours to simultaneously charge the CordZero's batteries – one in the dock and one in the vac. And with two charged batteries to start your cleaning, you get 80 minutes of power when the CordZero is used in handheld mode, then 60, 18, and 12 minutes in Normal, Power, and Turbo power modes, respectively.

LG claims the CordZero delivers 140 watts of air suction power which, on the surface, does not compare favorably with the 230 air watts of suction claimed by Dyson for its V15 Detect. But LG says that Dyson measures its suction power by the nozzle closest to the dustbin while LG measures at the inlet closest to the floor. So the best test is in comparative usage.

Using the LG CordZero A9 Ultimate

The LG Cord Zero A9 Ultimate can be used single-handed. Instead of a trigger to keep depressed, on the top of the handle, within easy thumb reach, there are three buttons: one for power, one to increase power (the "+" button), and one to decrease power (the "-" button). Pressing and holding the "+" button puts the stick vac in turbo mode.

Annoyingly, there is no LED or LCD screen to tell you which mode you're in – you'll have to listen to the subtle sound changes as you toggle through the modes, then remember which mode you're in.

At 5.63 pounds without accessories, the CordZero is relatively light compared to the Miele Triflex and Dyson V15 Detect, making it easier to push and pull across thick carpets and keep elevated for handheld cleaning. Pushing becomes a challenge only in the infrequently used Turbo mode, in which the CordZero is also the loudest stick vac I tested, registering 84db. In the default Normal (low) or Power (medium) mode, the CordZero is no noisier than any other stick vac.

The CordZero's default mode is its lowest Normal setting, but its middle Power mode is the best combination of suction power and pushing ease. Even in Power mode, though, it might take an extra pass to suck up all debris compared to the leaders in my testing, the Miele Triflex and the powerful Dyson V15.

CordZero's above-average suction versus the broader group also assumes you're vacuuming normal dust and dirt in rugs and carpets. My tests with sand and hair, both human and rabbit, posed no undo problems. However, a few handfuls of shredded paper or Cheerios quickly filled the CordZero's small 0.4-liter dustbin and caused clogging – not only the bin but nearly the entire length of the connecting wand – and shutdowns.

Admittedly, it's unlikely you'll encounter a mass of shredded paper, Cheerios, or other larger particles that need to be vacuumed at one time. Keeping a close eye on the dustbin, liberal use of the Kompressor, and frequent dustbin emptying should forestall any clogs. But I encountered few similar large particle jamming issues with other stick vacs I tested across various price points. For instance, the $199 Proscenic P10 Pro, the least expensive of the stick vacs I tested but equipped with a .65 liter dustbin, managed to suction up nearly three handfuls of shredded paper before it ceased sucking (but still running). At the same time, the LG jammed and shut down after only about two handfuls. In many ways, LG's inclusion of the Kompressor and the cleaning brush tool almost makes me think the company expected more frequent jams.

Clearing clogs presents more challenges. Make sure you disassemble a clogged CordZero over a garbage can since debris that has been blocked drops out of the cleaning head, the wand, and the dustbin connecting tubes once detached. Shredded paper caused such heavy jams in the wand that it was difficult to clear out. The included cleaning brush tool isn't long enough, and tapping against a garbage can was barely sufficient. I found the quickest clearing method for a clogged wand was snaking a straightened wire hanger through it.

CordZero's Power Floor Nozzle isn't as effective on bare floors as either the Dyson V15's primary cleaning head or the V15's specialized bare floor Slim Fluffy head, especially on larger particles, which CordZero tends to push forward before sucking up on a pull pass. In my Cheerios test, the CordZero spit a few pieces across the kitchen.

Using the ThinQ app

The CordZero is the only stick vac I tested with an associated app, in this case, the LG ThinQ app.

Pairing the CordZero with your home WiFi can be a challenge. For one thing, the experience described in a YouTube instructional video, which shows pairing the CordZero directly to your home WiFi, didn't jibe with the app pairing experience I encountered, which entailed first pairing the CordZero via its own WiFi connection to your phone. In addition, the manual doesn't tell you the 8-digit password you'll need to pair the CordZero's WiFi to your phone – it's the last four alphanumeric digits of the CordZero's assigned WiFi name repeated. Then you pair the CordZero to your home WiFi, but only to a 2.4GHz network. I paired the CordZero to my tri-band Netgear Orbi mesh network, but not all mesh networks are as 2.4-5GHz band discerning.

Once the CordZero is connected, the app tells you how often and for how long you've used the CordZero. That's further broken down into what modes you've used over weeks, months, or the year. None of the information is essential. More useful is the app's Smart Diagnosis, which informs you of your CordZero's operational condition along with maintenance tips. The app also lets you know when charging is complete – I even got a "fully charged" update on my Apple Watch. The app conveniently includes the user guide and filter cleaning instructions.

Maintaining the LG CordZero A9 Ultimate

As noted, clearing jams can be a challenge. So can hair. CordZero's roller is black, making it hard to discern dark hair wound around it. Most stick vac rollers are more brightly hued to make hair of any color easy to see. While the CordZero's rollers brushes are raised, there are no grooves to slip a knife or scissors into to cut away tightly wound locks easily.

As with most stick vacs, the CordZero includes two filters. A cap on the top of the motor easily twists open to reveal the washable cloth pre-filter. Located inside the dustbin is the metallic tubular cyclonic mesh filter, which also can be washed, but you oddly need the crevice cleaning tool to twist and remove it; you can twist it back into place by hand, though. The included cleaning brush tool helps clear any stubborn debris in the cyclonic filter housing and dustbin, which CANNOT be washed under a faucet, as can the dustbins of other stick vacs. Instead, you are bizarrely instructed to wrap a wet paper towel around the cleaning brush tool to wash around the filter housing.

The bottom line

I loved almost everything about the LG CordZero ergonomics, and it provides above-average suction. And when limited to normal, everyday vacuuming (excluding large particle spills), the CordZero A9 provides a comfortable and efficient cleaning experience. However, the vac suffers from a small dustbin and lack of a display to let users know what power mode they're in, how much vacuuming time remains, and when the dustbin is at capacity and in danger of clogging. As a result, the CordZero A9 Ultimate is hard to recommend over other premium stick vacs.

[Image credit: Stewart Wolpin/Techlicious]

Stewart Wolpin has been writing about consumer electronics for more than 35 years, including news, reviews, analysis and history, and has attended and covered nearly 50 Consumer Electronic Shows and around a dozen IFA shows in Berlin. For the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), he is an elector for and writes the official biographies of the annual CT Hall of Fame inductees, and is the keeper of the industry’s official history.