Pixel 2 XL fingerprint sensor slower after 8.1 update

Google is aware of the issue and actively looking into it.

Android 8.1 started rolling out to Pixel and Nexus devices at the beginning of December, and while I’ve been enjoying the update without any issues, this hasn’t been the case for everyone.

Shortly after 8.1 started getting pushed out, some owners of the Pixel 2 XL took to Google’s official support forum to complain about a slowdown with the phone’s fingerprint sensor performance on 8.1 compared to 8.0.

The initial post stated that it takes the 2 XL “a good second” after using the sensor for the screen to turn on, and this was followed up with quite a few other users reporting similar issues. In addition to the fingerprint sensor, some users also say that the screen is slow to turn on when just pressing the power button to get to the lock screen.

Some people have noticed that this issue goes away when the 2 XL’s always on display is turned on, but for those that prefer not to enable this battery-hungry feature, a fix should be coming soon. A Google representative has stated that the team is aware of the issue and that they’ll be reaching out to users for bug reports to get to the bottom of what the heck is going on.

If you own a Pixel 2 XL running 8.1 Oreo, have you noticed any performance issues with the fingerprint sensor? Drop us a comment down below and let us know.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Deal: Pixelbook is $100 off and comes with free Google Home

Available at B&H, Best Buy, and the Google Store.

The Google Pixelbook isn’t the laptop for everyone, but if you’re an avid Chrome user and are a fan of impressive hardware, it’s pretty tough to beat. One of the biggest things going against the Pixelbook is its high price, but at select retailers, you can score the laptop for $100 off, and get a free Google Home.

That $100 discount is applied to both available models of the Pixelbook, meaning you can get the base configuration with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB RAM, and a 128GB SSD for just $899. If you want to keep the same processor and RAM but upgrade to a 256GB SSD, you’ll pay $1,099.

You can get the $100 savings pretty much everywhere the Pixelbook is sold, including Amazon, B&H, Best Buy, the Google Store, and Walmart. However, if you want to get the discount and a free Google Home, you’ll need to purchase it at either B&H, Best Buy or the Google Store.

Google will stop giving away free Homes with Pixelbook orders after December 31, and although there’s no confirmed date for the end of the $100 discount, we guess that it’ll either be on or around this same time.

See at Google Store

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Google Play is coming to Chromebooks
• Acer Chromebook 14 review
• Join our Chromebook forums

After Math: When you come undone

Oh hey, what a surprise, the guy who joked just last week about how he was a “puppet FCC Chairman” in front of his former Verizon bosses just so happened to spearhead a campaign to roll back Net Neutrality protections — something Verizon has long lobbied for. Such a coincidence. Of course those weren’t the only shenanigans to take place this week. The UK declared the website of accused serial rapist Julian Assange, Wikileaks, a media organization; a crew physically stole $1.8 million in cryptocurrency somehow, Disney managed to become an even larger evil empire than it already is and AOL finally took AIM out back behind the woodshed. Numbers because how else will you maintain an accurate body count?

A lot: That’s how much harder it will be for the US to ever extradite Julian Assange from his spider hole in the Ecuadorian Embassy located in London now that a UK court has ruled that his webiste constitutes a media organization.

$1.8 million: That’s how much Ethereum cryptocurrency armed robber, Louis Meza, tried to make off with in Manhattan before being arrested. He would have been better off by just hacking his way into the system and decrypting the mainframe.

$17,589: That’s how much Bitcoin is currently worth for virtually no reason whatsoever beyond that a bunch of speculators are telling everybody else it is. The wise investment: Emu ranching.

$52 billion: That’s how much Disney bought 21st Century Fox for because why not. Not like there were enough media monopolies in existence as it was. But hey, now at least we can look forward to a Beast from Beauty and the Beast and Beast from X-Men buddy cop movie in three years time. Won’t that be fun.

30 years: That’s how long AOL Instant Messenger managed to hold out in spite of the crushing march of technological progress.

2 million: That’s the number of forged comments supporting the rollback of Net Neutrality the FCC received, which Chairman Pai leveraged to support his campaign against the regulations. Isn’t that convenient.

The best toaster oven

By Brendan Nystedt

This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter, reviews for the real world. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter’s independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here.

After more than 50 hours of research and testing—and making stacks and stacks of toasted white bread, mini pizza bagels, and cookies—we think the Panasonic FlashXpress toaster oven is the best for most people. This model performed as well as (or better than) models that cost twice as much. The Panasonic FlashXpress delivers four slices of perfectly browned toast every time due to its unique combination of both quartz and ceramic infrared heating elements. Its compact size takes up less space on a counter, and its interior is still large enough to comfortably reheat leftovers and frozen snacks.

How we picked and tested

Toasting bread in the Breville Smart Oven. Photo: Michael Hession

We looked for toaster ovens that were easy to use, reliable, quick, great at toasting bread and baking cookies, and available for between $25 and $270. For our last update, a Wirecutter survey revealed that most of our respondents wanted to cook leftovers, pizza, and convenience foods like Hot Pockets, so we looked for a model with enough capacity for those jobs. But we didn’t want to go too big, because many of those surveyed said they toast only two to four slices of bread at a time. And, of course, we wanted to find a toaster oven that was durable and performed reliably.

For this update, we put seven toasters through a battery of tests with three tasters in our New York City test kitchen. We filled each toaster with as many slices of bread as we could, and then toasted them to a medium shade to see if the toaster had any hot spots. We also made break-and-bake Toll House cookies and Bagel Bites, judging each batch on its color, crispiness, and consistency. We also tried to cook boneless, skinless chicken thighs in the most promising toasters using the broil mode, but we were disappointed by the results of this test with every single model.

Our pick

The compact, Panasonic FlashXpress excels at basic tasks like toasting bread, reheating pizza slices, and cooking bite-size snacks. Photo: Brendan Nystedt

We recommend the Panasonic FlashXpress for its strong baking performance, compact size, and reasonable price. It cooked toast and other foods to an even, lovely golden-brown better than most other models we tried, and its toast-shade settings were among the most accurate we tested. For a relatively low price, the FlashXpress stands out from a crowded pack of mediocre, cheap models, offering performance and features we found comparable with toaster ovens that are larger and double the cost.

The Panasonic FlashXpress made crispy-yet-melty Bagel Bites that were more consistently browned from one edge of the oven cavity to the other. Some ovens’ results weren’t dark enough; others put out too much heat or hot spots in the center. The FlashXpress toasted evenly throughout, except for a 1-inch margin right behind the door. Only our upgrade pick, the Cuisinart TOB-260N1, performed better. It can fit four pieces of bread, which the overwhelming majority of our survey respondents said was the most they’d toast at one time.

A pricier, medium-sized toaster oven

The roomier Breville Smart Oven is our runner-up pick. Photo: Michael Hession.

If you need a larger toaster oven than our main pick, we recommend the Breville Smart Oven. This model did well across the board in our tests, evenly toasting bread almost as well as our upgrade pick, the Cuisinart TOB-260N1. Though it’s pricier than our main pick, the Breville Smart Oven has a more modern, intuitive interface and an easy-to-read display. This model doesn’t have an internal light, but it turned out consistent results batch after batch.

In our tests, the Breville Smart Oven toasted bread evenly from front to back, with paler results from side to side and could fit up to 6 slices of bread or a 12-inch pizza. The Breville Smart Oven comes with several accessories, too: a single rack along with a baking pan, broiler pan, and a nonstick pizza pan. We also liked the magnets on the Breville Smart Oven that glide the rack out when opening the door, making retrieving hot items easier.

A large toaster oven with more accessories

Our upgrade pick, the Cuisinart TOB-260N1, is large enough to fit nine pieces of bread. Photo: Brendan Nystedt

If you want your toaster oven to cook nine slices of toast at once, the big, versatile Cuisinart TOB-260N1 convection toaster oven is the best that we found. The Cuisinart TOB-260N1 is a different beast entirely than the Panasonic FlashXpress: It’s more than twice the price, almost twice the size, and its much bigger oven cavity can handle a wider variety of cooking tasks. Compared with all the other large toaster ovens we tested, this was the top performer by an impressive margin. It heated its voluminous cavity more evenly than any other comparable toaster oven. It includes metal hooks that pull the middle rack out when the door is opened, and it also has a better warranty, more accessories, and a slightly bigger capacity.

Our testers found that the Cuisinart TOB-260N1 preheated quickly, even when set to high temperatures, and cooked evenly throughout the cavity. It comes with a number of accessories: two racks, a baking pan, a broiling tray, and a pizza stone. These accessories, like the warranty, are also a step up from other competitors in this price range. The Cuisinart TOB-260N1 comes with a three-year limited warranty; most competitors include only a one-year warranty.

This guide may have been updated by Wirecutter. To see the current recommendation, please go here.

Note from Wirecutter: When readers choose to buy our independently chosen editorial picks, we may earn affiliate commissions that support our work.

Apple is Currently Sold Out of AirPods Until January

If you were planning to purchase AirPods as a last-minute holiday gift, it may be challenging to find a pair in time for Christmas.

Apple’s wireless earphones are currently estimated for delivery in early January if ordered today from Apple’s online store in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, and several other countries.

AirPods are also currently out of stock at most of Apple’s retail stores around the world, and at authorized resellers such as Best Buy, Macy’s, Target, Walmart, and Verizon in the United States. Bottom line: they’re hard to find anywhere.

At $159, AirPods are a more affordable gift idea than many Apple products, which may be causing stronger demand than Apple can keep up with.

If you are still hunting for AirPods, there may be one option. AT&T appears to have stock on its website, but you may have to pay an extra $14.95 for express delivery within 2-3 business days, and there is no guarantee they’ll arrive before Christmas.

Other gifts available by Christmas for under $200, and that an Apple fan is likely to appreciate, include the Apple TV 4K, BeatsX, an official Apple-branded iPhone case, Apple Watch bands, or simply an Apple Store or Apple Music gift card.

Apple’s online store is now offering free next-day delivery for all in-stock items ordered by 3 p.m. local time on December 22 in the United States.

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The best Macbook alternatives you can buy

The MacBook is the world’s most famous notebook for a reason. While not updated as frequently as some competitors, the Mac’s excellent design and build quality makes every system feel timeless. It’s common to call a new computer an “investment,” and with a MacBook Pro or 12-inch MacBook, that feels true.

But Apple isn’t a charity, and it charges a lot for the privilege of owning a notebook with its logo. Many who’d like to own a Mac simply can’t afford it. Fortunately, there are Windows and Chromebook alternatives that are nearly as well built, and they sell for hundreds less.

Here they are — the best MacBook alternatives you can buy.

Best MacBook Pro 13 alternative

Dell XPS 13 ($800)

Dell XPS 13 (2016)

The newest MacBook Pros aren’t exactly widely beloved. Thanks to the move to offering only four USB-C ports and that controversial Touch Bar, people came away unsure of where to put their money. The right choice for most people will be the 13-inch MacBook Pro without Touch Bar, which starts at $1,300.

There are a number of PC laptops that are good alternatives such as the HP Spectre 13 and the Lenovo Yoga 920. Our favorite, however, is the Dell XPS 13. It’s every bit as beautiful as the MacBook Pro, all while offering great CPU performance and a lot more port options.

The least expensive version of the XPS 13 might actually be considered a MacBook Air alternative. It’s only $800 and boasts a Core i3 processor paired with 4GB of RAM and a 128GB hard drive. If you were thinking about the MacBook Pro, though, we recommend the $1,000 model, which has a Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. The 128GB hard drive remains the same. The 1080p display isn’t quite as nice as the MacBook Pro’s, but when you bump it up to the Core i7 configuration for $1,300, the performance boost alone makes it worthy as an alternative.

Buy it now from:

Amazon

Best MacBook Pro 15 alternative

Dell XPS 15 ($1,000)

Yes, that’s right. Another Dell. The negative buzz from its unfortunate “Dude, you’re getting a Dell!” era still lingers, and that’s a shame, because the company builds the best PC notebooks available today.

The XPS 15 is essentially an XPS 13 on steroids. It has the same “Infinity Edge” display, but in a larger size, and with more powerful hardware. While a $1,000 configuration is available with a Core i3 processor, we recommend at least the $1,200 model. That nets a Core i5 quad-core processor, 8GB of memory, a 1080p display, a hybrid hard drive with 1TB of storage, and GTX 960M graphics. Aside from display resolution, this version of the XPS 15 makes few concessions to Apple’s 15-inch Pro. You can even upgrade it to a 4K display, though doing so will set you back $500 bucks.

There’s also a top-shelf, $1,700 model that’s worth attention. It boosts the hardware to a Core i7 with 16G of RAM and a 512GB solid state drive, and it also ups battery capacity to 84 watt-hours. Dell says that model can hit 17 hours of battery life in optimal conditions. Even this version is $300 less than Apple’s most affordable MacBook Pro 15, which doesn’t have a discrete graphics chip.

All models of the XPS 15, like its little brother, are notable because of their size. While it has a 15-inch display, it weighs as little as 3.9 pounds, a half-pound less than the MacBook Pro 15. That means Dell’s system is actually more portable than Apple’s more expensive alternative.

Buy it now from:

Dell

Best 12-inch MacBook alternative

Google Pixelbook ($1,000)

The Pixelbook is not a perfect laptop, but to be fair, neither is the 12-inch MacBook. However, the kind of person who’d be interested in the MacBook — someone who wants thin, classy, head-turning design — would also be interested in the Pixelbook.

Neither laptop has the best CPU, but you shouldn’t be picking up either of these laptops for their gaming and video-editing prowess. They are fantastic laptops at handling the daily tasks that the average person does, whether that’s streaming Netflix or working with 10-15 browser tabs open. The Pixelbook starts at $1,000, while the 12-inch MacBook starts at $1,300. On top of that, the Pixelbook is a 2-in-1, meaning you can flip around use it as a tablet in bed or on the go.

Buy it now from:

Amazon

Best MacBook Air alternative

Asus Zenbook UX330UA ($750)

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

This one is a two-fer. It’s not because the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Air are all that similar, but instead because the Asus Zenbook UX330UA is both a great notebook and an affordable one.

For $750, you get a powerful, long-lasting laptop with a great keyboard and display. The UX330UA avoids the pitfalls of many “budget” laptops by not compromising in any significant area. It’s got over 11 hours of battery life, and now comes packed with the newest 8th-gen. Intel i5 processor. In terms of processing power, you’ll be delighted by the comparison to what you get in the old MacBook Air or low-powered 12-inch MacBook. The cherry on top is how tiny this laptop is, coming in at thinner than even the MacBook.

Buy it now from:

Amazon

Editors’ Recommendations

• The best budget laptop you can buy
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• Keep your phone shining like a star with one of the 10 best Galaxy S5 cases
• Outfit the athlete in your life with one of the best gifts for runners
• Embrace the upsell! Your new TV deserves one of these killer sound systems

360-degree videos to help get you ready for the holidays!

Replace your world with something a little more Christmas-y.

Some people hit the day after Thanksgiving and immediately flip into Christmas Mode, and some feel that excitement at friends and family opening their gifts a little closer to the holiday. It’s a great feeling when it comes naturally, but a handful of folks out there need something to kick start that Christmas spirit with a specific event. Sometimes it’s that first glass of egg nog, or seeing family you haven’t seen in a while.

Other times it can be seeing your favorite holiday movie, and with VR and 360-degree videos filling the world there are some great new short experiences for you to dive into. Here’s a look at some of our favorites, guaranteed to get you ready for the holiday!

Read more at VRHeads

Toss Anker’s tiny Soundcore nano Bluetooth speaker into someone’s stocking for $16

All I want for Christmas is good music.

Anker’s super-small SoundCore nano is down to just $15.99 at Amazon in Gray or Silver when you enter promo code XMASANK8 at checkout to save $7 off its average price. This is also its lowest price ever.

This tiny Bluetooth speaker is so small, it can fit easily into a pocket, handbag, or Christmas stocking, making it a versatile option to use at home or on-the-go. While so compact, it still pumps out great sound with its 3W audio driver. Its battery can last for four hours of playtime.

You’ll receive an 18-month warranty on this purchase. This speaker has 4.6 out of 5 stars on Amazon with over 500 reviews.

The full-sized SoundCore is also currently on sale for just $23.95.

See at Amazon

Deal: Pixel 2 and 2 XL now $50-$75 off at Google Store

Get Google’s latest for as little as $599.

Your available time for online holiday shopping is quickly coming to a close, but in a last attempt to help you get some savings on the perfect gift, Google is now discounting its Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL. This deal is available exclusively on the Google Store, and it takes $50 off the smaller Pixel 2 and $75 off its XL sibling.

This discount is available no matter which color or storage configuration you decide to pick up, and it results in the following end prices:

• Pixel 2 w/ 64GB storage – $599
• Pixel 2 w/ 128GB storage – $699
• Pixel 2 XL w/ 64GB storage – $774
• Pixel 2 XL w/ 128GB storage – $874

In addition to these discounts, you can still trade-in your current phone with the Google Store’s trade-in program to get up to $435 back on your purchase, as well as a free Google Home Mini when buying a Pixel 2 or 2 XL.

These deals are available through December 31, but to make sure everything arrives in time for the holidays, we’d recommend placing an order soon.

See at Google Store

Ben Heck’s super glue gun: Designing a better enclosure

Karen and Ben break out the pencils and go back to the drawing board to redesign their super glue gun. After changing the auto stand in response to feedback from the element14 Community, the team is looking at how best to fit together the extruder and electronics. They also need to decide on the best plastic to use for the casing. After buying a few off-the-shelf glue guns for inspiration, Ben loads up Autodesk Fusion 360 and starts designing a 3D model to print. Is the team headed in the right direction? Let them know over on the element14 Community.