Misfit Path review

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Misfit Path

Hybrid smartwatches are all the rage this year, with more and more fashion brands and watchmakers releasing traditional-looking watches that offer up some smart features. Misfit is the latest to release a hybrid — the Misfit Path — which was first announced at CES 2018. It doesn’t pack any major features we haven’t seen before, but the women’s watch is Misfit’s smallest hybrid to date.

With the Path, you can track basic fitness activity, receive notification alerts, and control some smartphone functions. For an affordable price of $150, the Misfit Path packs all the functions you need into a stunning, compact design. Let’s take a closer look.

Chic and refreshing design

Even though the Misfit Path is small, its slim bezels make the watch face appear larger than average hybrid smartwatches. The 36mm case is the same size as the Fossil Q Neely, another hybrid, but the Path feels much lighter on the wrist. While the Neely looks traditional and classic, we prefer the more modern and chic look of Misfit’s watch.

Our review model has a gold stainless steel case with a matte finish, paired with a purple silicone sport strap. The numbers on the white watch face are represented by small gold dots that make the timepiece look crisp and clean. The two buttons sit on the right edge of the watch, and they’re elongated and flat. This subtle look helps the Path keep its minimal aesthetic.

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

It looks great with any outfit, and it doesn’t stand out too much unlike the flashy Marc Jacobs Riley. Other colorways and materials the Path comes in are stainless steel, rose tone, gold tone, and stainless steel with a gold tone.

The 16mm watch straps wrap around the lugs, which slope down from the case. They are interchangeable, but you may be limited to a particular style of band — it’s not a traditional quick-release mechanism. The strap itself sits snug, without any gaps between your wrist and the watch, and it’s very comfortable to wear. Both the case and watch strap are durable — even after a month of regular use, the case kept its shine and the strap didn’t look worn out.

Stylish smarts

At a first glance, the Path doesn’t look like a smartwatch, but a regular timepiece. That’s the beauty of hybrid watches. Connect the watch to its companion app via Bluetooth, however, and you unlock a host of genuinely useful features.

Even though the Misfit Path is small, its slim bezels make the watch face appear large.

The Misfit app, available both on Google Play and the Apple App Store, lets you assign a function to the bottom button on the watch. The top button, sadly, is designated specifically for activity — when you press it, the watch hands will move to show how far along you are to reaching your step count goal. For example, if you’re halfway to completing a 10,000 step goal, the watch hands will move to the 6 o’clock mark on the watch face.

You can set the bottom button to control a variety of functions on your smartphone. For example, if you set it to control music playback, you can press it once to play or pause music, double tap to go to the next song, triple tap to play the previous song, and long press to increase the volume. You can also use it as a remote selfie button for your smartphone’s camera; and there’s even a “Preso Clicker” function, which lets you go to the next slide when showing a presentation (if the watch is paired to your computer).

While the top button tracks step count, you can also add more fitness functions by assigned the bottom button to track a specific activity, such as running, cycling, soccer, swimming, and more. You’ll need to choose one default activity, and then triple tap the button the start tracking it. You’ll be able to see your progress in the Home section of the app.

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

While the Misfit Path only allows you to designate one button for functions, that doesn’t mean you can stick to one function category. With the “Custom Button” option, you can also assign four different functions to the bottom button. For example, we set a single press to play and pause music, a double press as our selfie button, and long press as “Ring My Phone” – useful when you can’t find your smartphone.

With the “Custom Button” option, you can assign four different functions to the bottom button.

You also have the option of linking an IFTTT account to have the buttons trigger other activities, such as sending an email when you get a specific alert or hit a target goal. We weren’t able to access this yet as some of the Path’s functions in the app are still in beta.

Configuring the Misfit Path is a little more confusing than previous hybrid smartwatches we’ve used. It takes a few extra minutes to figure out the settings you want, but we quickly did get used to using the buttons. We do recommend spending time going through all parts of the app in order to become familiar with each of its features and customization options.

Assigning and receiving notifications

Notifications on most hybrid watches rely on assigning an app or contact to a number from 1 through 12 — the watch’s hands will move to one of these numbers when you get notification from that contact or app.

The Path doesn’t try to do anything different here — the wearable does vibrate, and the watch hands go straight to the tick mark on one of the numbers. If you set “Dad” to number three, for example, the watch hands will go straight to the number three if your father calls or texts you.

You can choose up to 24 contacts – 12 for texts and 12 for calls – as well as app notifications. On Android, you’re able to see notifications from any installed app. On our iPhone, we were limited to just six apps — Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Gmail, Line, WhatsApp, Skype, and Viber, which is far less than the 50+ apps we normally see offered on other hybrid smartwatches. We’ve reached out to Misfit to see why we can’t receive notifications from more apps on the iPhone, as it’s likely due to a bug with the beta.

Fitness and sleep tracking

Misfit began as company that offered stylish fitness-tracking wearables, and its emphasis on fitness hasn’t disappeared. Through the Misfit app, you can see the number of steps you’ve taken, calories burned, and miles walked on a daily basis as well as a summary for the entire week. As you scroll through each day, you’ll see more in-depth stats as it breaks down your activity on an hourly basis. We didn’t notice any discrepancies with the results — if you want to use the Path as a basic fitness tracker, it does the job well.

Misfit Path Compared To

Mondaine Smart Helvetica

Nixon Regulus

Alpina AlpinerX

Apple Watch Series 3

Samsung Gear S3

Motorola Moto 360 (2015)

LG Watch Sport

Huawei Fit

Samsung Gear S2

Apple Watch Series 2

Martian Passport MP100WSB

Garmin fenix 2

LG G Watch R

Martian Notifier Watch

Phosphor Touch Time

The Misfit Path also tracks sleep. Each morning, you’ll be able to track how many hours you slept, how long you were awake for, and the amount of time you were switching between light and restful sleep. We found the sleep tracker to be precise – recording the accurate amount of time we spent awake and asleep.

Since the Path is water resistant of up to 50 meters, you’ll be able to take it for a swim or shower without worrying about damaging it.

Misfit Move

The Misfit Path does add a feature we haven’t seen on many other hybrid smartwatches. It’s called Misfit Move, and it means the watch notifies you when you’ve been sitting for too long. Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit offer movement reminders like this, but it hasn’t been a common feature with hybrid watches.

Misfit Move is a sensible feature and we’re happy to see it present on the Path.

We set our Misfit Move alerts to remind us every two hours from at 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., when we’re sitting at a desk for the longest period of time. If you find that you don’t want to use the feature at all, you can toggle it off.

It’s a sensible feature and we’re happy to see it present on the Path. It’s an easy and helpful way to encourage people to complete their step goals, the reminder is subtle, and there are plenty of customization options to build it into your daily routine.

Warranty information

The Misfit Path will cost you $150, and the price is the same for all the other color variants. The watch is now available for purchase on Misfit’s website. Misfit offers a limited two-year warranty that covers manufacturing defects, but it doesn’t cover accidental damage to the case or watch strap.

Our Take

The Misfit Path is a comfortable, chic-looking smartwatch that offers a lot of functions for an affordable price tag.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, if you’re looking for a hybrid smartwatch that’s the same size as the Misfit Path but has a more traditional look, you’ll want to go for the Fossil Q Neely. With an analog design and leather watch strap, it can be worn for casual or formal events. At $155, it’s also affordable and comes with many of the same smartwatch functions.

For a modern but minimalist look, the Skagen Signatur T-Bar hybrid smartwatch also has similar features and a 36mm case. At $123, it’s cheaper than the Misfit Path, but it manages to look extremely elegant. You won’t be able to switch up the watch straps, but it comes in a variety of colorways that suit every style.

How long will it last?

The Misfit Path uses a standard coin-cell battery that’s replaceable through the back of the device. It will last you anywhere between four to six months. Since it connects via Bluetooth, you can keep track of the battery percentage through the app. We used the watch for almost a month with notification settings on, and it only went down to 97 percent.

Expect this timepiece to last you more than four to five years if you take care of it. It’s not made of high-quality materials like sapphire crystal, so it may be prone to scratches and dings if you’re not careful.

Should you buy it?

Yes, the Misfit Path has a beautiful and modern design along with a ton of functionality. It can be worn both day and night, so you’ll find yourself wearing it with almost every outfit.

Theft-resistant SafeSkin case puts your precious iPhone on lockdown

Your phone is much more than just a phone — it’s a way to contact friends and family, it’s our personal assistant, it’s an archive of our trips, and it’s a convenient camera. Our phones being stolen is a nightmare scenario for many of us. Thankfully for your heart, the SafeSkin case aims to make that anxiety a thing of the past.

The SafeSkin case doesn’t necessarily look much different from your usual protective case. It’s made from a tough material called PC ABS, which helps to make it drop-proof, and comes with a leather back panel in brown, black, or white — to match your iPhone. But look a little closer and you’ll start to see some of the extreme safety measures.

Once the case is on, it can’t be removed except by using the key to input the correct color code into the back of the case. But why would you want the case to be stuck on? One of the first things that any thief will do with a stolen phone is turn it off. That stops any software tracking solutions from working, and ensures it’s easier to later get control of the phone. Once the case detects the phone’s been taken, it will lock down the phone’s touchscreen and on/off button, making the phone immediately less desirable to the thief.

The case detects it’s been stolen through use of the second included accessory, the Eye. The Eye is a small gadget that connects to the SafeSkin app via Bluetooth, and can be set to alert the wearer if the Eye and the phone are taken too far apart from each other. Once detected, the Eye will send a signal to the case to go into lockdown, and will then emit an ear-splitting 100 decibel alarm on both devices until they’re reunited and deactivated.

“After having my phone stolen six times, yes, six times, I had enough and decided it was time to turn a reoccurring pain into an opportunity by finding a solution,” said SafeSkin co-founder and head of business development Julia Sohajda. “We sat down for a brainstorming session with my brothers and the idea of SafeSkin was born.”

The SafeSkin is currently being crowdfunded on IndieGoGo, and the creators say it will be available for the iPhone 7, iPhone 8, and the iPhone X. While there are no Android versions yet, a Q&A on the IndieGoGo page says that Android versions are being planned.

Editors’ Recommendations

• How to find a lost phone, whether it’s Android, iPhone, or any other kind
• Navdy head-up display review
• Lost and found: Here’s how to locate your iPhone when it goes missing
• How to sell your smartphone
• Give the iPhone X a headphone jack with this crowdfunded case

Ring Video Doorbell gets permanent price cut to just $100

Amazon also hints at possible Amazon Key functionality for Ring’s smart doorbells.

At the tail end of February, it was announced that Amazon had purchased smart doorbell-maker Ring for around $1 billion. That deal was officially completed on Thursday, April 12, and during an interview with CNET, Amazon’s head of devices (Dave Limp) shed some light on what we’ll see from the two brands going forward.

Right off the bat, the biggest change consumers will see is a permanent price cut for the base Ring Video Doorbell. The smart gadget usually sold for around $150, but going forward, it’ll have a new MSRP of just $100. Limp says this is a “major step” to get more people into the smart home security market, and it makes Ring’s option even more affordable than competitor Nest’s Hello smart doorbell that sells for $229.

On a similar note, Limp also hinted that we could see its Amazon Key feature expand to Ring’s doorbells in the near future.

Commenting on this, he noted that –

As it relates to Key, that’s obviously one that we’ll look at pretty closely. I wouldn’t want to make any commitments at this point in time, but it’s certainly one that’s on the list that we’ll start thinking about.

The original Ring Video Doorbell isn’t the best in its class, but for the new $100 price, it’s one of the most affordable options that consumers have to choose from.

If you still haven’t jumped on the smart doorbell bandwagon, will this new price push you to do so?

See at Amazon

ESPN+ launches on Android and Chromecast for $4.99/month

Available now through the ESPN app.

The number of video streaming services that are available to choose from is pretty staggering these days, and now another one’s joining the ranks in the form of ESPN+. ESPN+ is available as part of an update to the existing ESPN app, and it’s made by Disney-owned BAMTech – the same company that made streaming apps for HBO and WWE.

ESPN+ is already available on a number of platforms, including Android, Chromecast, Fire TV, iOS, Apple TV, and on the web. The service costs $4.99/month, and if you sign up by April 18, you’ll get a free 30-day trial. After that, the trial will be limited to just 7 days.

The service is accessed through the “Watch” section in the ESPN app, and it’s joined by ESPN’s other original and featured content.

Subscribers of ESPN+ will be able to watch one MLB and NHL game while they’re in season, but you won’t find any NFL or NBA games. Rather than being a replacement for the main ESPN channel offered through cable/satellite networks, ESPN+ is meant to be an extension of the content being served there. ESPN+ is, however, the sole place to watch every MLS match (national blackouts aside) in the U.S., replacing the previous MLS Live service.

Some of the shows currently available with ESPN+ include:

• Last Days of Knight – The behind-the-scenes story of why high school All-Americans were leaving Indiana University men’s basketball coach Bob Knight’s program, and the subsequent fallout after the story broke.
• Draft Academy – An 8-part documentary following six players on their journey to the 2018 NFL draft.
• Detail – Kobe Bryant breaks down a game from the night before throughout the NBA Playoffs.

ESPN+ is also home to the company’s entire archive of its 30 for 30 documentary series as well as “thousands” of hours of live tennis, boxing, golf, soccer, cricket, and rugby games. Video streams will be shown in HD at 60 FPS and you’ll have controls for pausing, rewinding, etc. as you see fit.

See at ESPN

Best In-ear Headphones in 2018

Whether you’re looking for a budget option or a high-end pair of earbuds, these are the best in-ear headphones available today.

Choosing a pair of in-ear headphones is tough. We all have different tastes, budgets, and needs, and there are thousand sof models to choose from. The audio industry has evolved over the last two years as more and more brands continue to get rid of the headphone jack, leading to a healthy selection of Bluetooth in-ear headphones as well as truly wireless options.

With such a diverse array of options available across price points — ranging from $20 all the way to $900 — there’s no dearth of in-ear headphones to choose from. We’ve compiled a list of the seven best options available, including budget picks that start off at just $15, USB-C earbuds, neckbuds, and wireless options.

The products listed below are sorted by price — starting from the most affordable to the costliest option. Without further ado, these are the best in-ear headphones available today.

• Panasonic RP-TCM125 Ergofit
• Xiaomi USB-C Earphones
• HiFiMan RE-400
• Marshall Mode EQ
• Jaybird X3
• Jabra Elite 65t
• 1MORE Quad Driver

Panasonic RP-TCM125 Ergofit

If you’re looking to get a pair of budget earbuds to replace the ones bundled in your phone’s box (if there’s a pair included in the first place), then the Panasonic RP-TCM125 should be at the top of your list.

The RP-TCM125 has been in the market for some time now, and its popularity stems from the fact that it is extremely affordable — it costs just $12 on Amazon, which is a steal for what’s on offer.

The earbuds deliver sound that’s on par with products that cost thrice as much, and you get a durable construction as well as an integrated microphone, and it comes in several color options.

See at Amazon

Xiaomi USB-C Earphones

If your phone doesn’t have a headphone jack and if you don’t want to go the wireless route, then the best option is to pick up a pair of USB-C earbuds. There aren’t many products that cater to this market, and the few that do cost in the vicinity of $100.

Xiaomi is also one of the manufacturers that decided to get rid of the 3.5mm jack on its flagships, but on the bright side its USB-C earbuds are some of the most affordable around.

The Mi USB-C Earphones has a durable construction that sees a braided cable and a titanium-plated housing for the earbuds. The sound quality is great, there’s a built-in mic, and best of all, it comes with the ability to tune out ambient noise.

Xiaomi built its name making affordable products that offer great value for money, and its USB-C headphones are a continuation of that effort. For $49, they effectively undercut Essential’s USB-C earbuds by half.

See at Gearbest

HiFiMan RE-400

HiFiMan rose to prominence thanks to its planar magnetic headphones, but the brand’s in-ear offerings are nothing to scoff at either.

If you’re looking for a pair of $50 earbuds, the HiFiMan RE-400 is an excellent choice. The earbuds offer an extremely comfortable fit, and they deliver a neutral soundstage that makes them stand out from the rest of the offerings in this price range.

The RE-400 manages to deliver exquisite detail while listening to movies or music, while not overcompensating on the bass. If you want a pair of earbuds that offer a balanced soundstage, then you’ll love what the RE-400 has to offer. Best of all, it costs just $49.

See at Amazon

Marshall Mode EQ

Marshall made its foray into the world of headphones a few years ago, licensing its brand name to Sweden’s Zound Industries. The company started rolling out products that resembled Marshall’s iconic guitar amps, and the sound quality on offer wasn’t all that bad either.

The Marshall Mode is like the HiFiMan RE-400 in that it delivers a balanced soundstage, but there’s an option to turn up the bass by pressing a toggle on the remote. It comes with a sturdy construction, a single-button remote that lets you receive calls and control music playback, integrated microphone, and retro design flair that makes it stand out.

For $99, you can’t go wrong with the Marshall Mode EQ.

See at Amazon

Jaybird X3

If you’re looking for a solid pair of workout earbuds that will endure the rigors of the gym, the Jaybird X3 is a great option. They’re extremely durable, the neckband connecting the two earbuds can be configured over- or under-ear, and Jaybird offers a one-year warranty against sweat-related damage.

The sound quality is pretty great, and you’ll particularly like these if you listen to bass-heavy tunes. There’s also the option of tailoring the EQ via the Android app, and you get over eight hours’ worth of battery life from a full charge.

The Jaybird X3 offers a variety of Comply tips, allowing you to find the perfect fit and making sure the earbuds don’t fall out in the middle of your workout. Overall, the $129 Jaybird X3 is a great choice if you’re looking for wireless workout earbuds.

See at Amazon

Jabra Elite 65t

There are a few decent options available if you’re in the market for truly wireless earbuds, and the Jabra Elite 65t is one of the best in this category. For $169, you get great sound quality, a comfortable all-day fit, volume controls, and they work with Google Assistant.

The Elite 65t offers two microphones in each earbud, and it does a fantastic job when it comes to eliminating background noise. The earbuds pair with your phone over Bluetooth 5.0, and you should see improved connection quality as well as better range provided your phone also has Bluetooth 5.0.

You get a five-hour battery life, and the charging case has a built-in battery that’s good for charging the earbuds twice over. The fit and finish as well as the overall sound quality makes the Jabra Elite 65t a great option if you’re looking to go truly wireless.

See at Amazon

1MORE Quad Driver

1More is known for delivering audiophile-grade sound for a fraction of the cost, and its latest Quad Driver earbuds are further proof that you don’t need to shell out big bucks for impressive sound quality. The 1MORE Quad Driver features four drivers in total — three BA (balanced armature) drivers along with a diamond-like carbon driver — and they manage to deliver stellar sound that’s balanced and full of detail.

The Quad Driver has robust build quality with kevlar-coated cables, and the housing for the earbuds is milled out of aluminum. You get a mic and a three-button remote for music playback controls, nine ear tips, and a leather carrying case. Oh, and they’re the world’s first THX-certified headphones.

See at Amazon

Keep the time in style with a $13 Bewell wooden watch

Amazon is offering a couple different colors of the Bewell Lightweight Vintage Wooden Watch for $12.99. Just clip the 50% off coupon located below the price to get in on this deal.

This watch received an average of 4.1 out of 5 stars from 195 customer reviews. It’s made of wood and has Roman numeral scales, luminous pointers, and Japanese movement. The battery will last up to 36 months and the adjustable band closes via a folding clasp.

This watch is sure to spark up some conversations. It’s unique, but not flashy, and it’ll work with your wardrobe whether you’re dressed casually or in a suit. It also comes packaged in a wood box, so you could totally give this as a gift for Father’s Day.

See at Amazon

The $7 CyberPower six-outlet wall tap can make hidden plugs accessible again

Use every outlet you have. Even the annoying inaccessible ones.

The CyberPower six-outlet swivel grounded wall tap is only $6.78 on Amazon. This wall tap was selling as high as $13 last year and has been selling for around $9 for most of this year. The drop to $6.78 is the lowest we’ve ever seen.

This simple device turns two grounded wall outlets into six outlets. Not only that, but the outlets can swivel up to 90 degrees. You should get one of these for that outlet behind your couch or desk where you can’t plug anything in straight on. This way you can plug in from a side angle and plug in three times as much stuff. The case is designed to be impact-resistant for extended durability. Users give it 4.3 stars based on 67 reviews.

See on Amazon

Best DualShock 4 Controller Charging Docks for PS4 in 2018

• Best Overall
• Best Third-party
• Best on a budget

Best Overall

PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station

See at Amazon

The PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the only officially licensed charging dock for your PlayStation 4 controllers. It works off of AC adapters to make it easy to plug your controllers in and get a charge without any additional hassle. With a design that makes it easy to plug in your controllers and doesn’t take up much room, this dock fits easily onto an entertainment system. From the design to the size, this dock makes it easy to keep your controllers charged and ready for you when it’s time to game. Ringing in at only $19, it’s not gonna hurt you too much when you put the cash into this charging station.

Bottom line: The PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the officially licensed charge dock, which means it’s the dock that you can trust with the solemn duty of charging your controllers. Additionally, it’s a small dock that is easy to fit into even a crowded entertainment system.

One more thing: This charging dock can charge up to two DualShock 4 controllers at the same time.

Why the PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the best

PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station makes it easy to keep your controllers stored and charged for when you need them.

There are plenty of great reasons that this controller dock is the best, and they all combine to deliver a stellar product. The design means that you can slot your controllers directly down and into the cradle, which means that properly plugging your DualShock 4 controller in is a breeze. You’ll hear an audible click when you plug your controllers in, as well as seeing your controller light up orange while charging. That same design also takes up as little room as possible.

Since you may well already have an overcrowded entertainment center, this means that it won’t be taking up too much room. It’s designed so that you don’t have to think about what you’re doing; just drop your controller in and go about your day. When you plug in your controller, you’ll hear an audible click and see the lightbar on the back of controller glow yellow to indicate a good connection While many other docks have a few more features, they don’t combine to form the excellent product that PowerA has delivered.

Best Third Party

Nyko Charge Base – PS4

See at Store

When it comes to third-party accessories, Nyko is well-known for delivering quality products that work exceedingly well. Its DualShock 4 charging dock is no exception to that either. The dock is small and easy to drop a controller into when it’s time to charge, and, like the official DualShock 4 Controller Dock, it can easily handle both of your controllers at the same time. It’s got a low profile design that you set your controller into when it’s time to charge, meaning that it’s easy to settle just about anywhere on your entertainment center. While it is a bit pricier than some of the other options, it does its job very well, so it’s worth it. The downside to this controller charging base is it’s the most expensive of the three, coming in at $25

Bottom line: Nyko’s charge dock is easy to use, can hold two controllers at once and has a low profile design that makes it easy to fit just about anywhere.

One more thing: When your controller is done charging, you’ll see an indicator light go out, letting you know that your controller is good to go for hours of gameplay.

Best on a budget

BEBONCOOL Charging Station for PlayStation 4

See at Amazon

When it comes to finding great accessories that fit into your budget, things can be a bit difficult. Thankfully, this controller dock is both easy to use and affordable, even when you don’t have much money to spare. The BEBONCOOL Charging dock for PlayStation 4 can easily handle two controllers at once and lets you easily remove and insert them into the charging dock. Indicator lights will let you know that your controller is charging and when it’s done charging, it will turn green. This charging station isn’t quite as sturdy as some of its competitors, but for just $15, it’s a solid purchase.

Bottom line: The BEBONCOOL Charging dock delivers a great product without a steep price tag. It can charge two controllers at once, has convenient LED indicators, and is easy to fit in your crowded entertainment center.

One more thing: The indicator lights will shine red when charging and then switch to green when your controller is fully charged.

Conclusion

There are plenty of charging docks that are available for your DualShock 4 controllers, and, thankfully, many of them are fantastic at their jobs. While they often have similar features and functions, there are definitely some docks that work better than others. That’s why we recommend the PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station. It offers all of the features that you might want, as well as a design that makes it easy to pop your controllers in and out of without any frustration. It’s affordable, easy to use, and the officially licensed PlayStation 4 charging dock for DualShock 4 Controllers. All of these things combine to deliver a stellar dock that can get the job done without any issues in the process.

Best Overall

PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station

See at Amazon

The PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the only officially licensed charging dock for your PlayStation 4 controllers. It works off of AC adapters to make it easy to plug your controllers in and get a charge without any additional hassle. With a design that makes it easy to plug in your controllers and one that doesn’t take up much room, this dock fits easily onto an entertainment system. From the design to the size, this dock makes it easy to keep your controllers charged and ready for you when it’s time to game.

Bottom line: The PowerA DualShock 4 Controller Charging Station is the officially licensed charge dock, which means it’s the dock that you can trust with the solemn duty of charging your controllers. Additionally, it’s a small dock that is easy to fit into even a crowded entertainment system.

One more thing: This charging dock can charge up to two DualShock 4 controllers at the same time.

Updated April 2018: We’ve updated this post with a new budget controller and prices for the other controllers as well.

PlayStation 4

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• Playing PS4 games through your phone is awesome

Amazon

This is an early look at Gmail’s new design for desktop

Gmail for the modern era.

In the “coming weeks”, Google will introduce a huge redesign for Gmail. Something along these lines is long overdue, and thanks to recently shared screenshots, we now have an early glimpse at what Gmail’s new desktop interface will look like.

Obtained by The Verge, these screenshots reveal that Gmail’s new aesthetic lines up nicely with the design language found in a lot of Google’s other apps. Corners are rounded, there’s a hamburger menu in the top left next to a fresh Gmail logo, and the red “Compose” button has been replaced with a white, circular one with a colorful “+” icon.

Like we already caught wind of, the images also showcase Gmail’s new Snooze functionality that allows you to dismiss emails from your inbox for a certain period of time — something that was first made popular with Inbox back in 2014.

One thing shown that we weren’t previously expecting is a new sidebar found on the far right. This allows you to quickly open Google Calendar, Keep, and Tasks without having to leave Gmail, and it would appear that you’ll be able to add additional apps to the sidebar as well.

Last but not least, Google’s added three layout views that’ll allow you to change how your mail is displayed. The default setup will showcase things like photos, documents, and other items that are attached to message, a comfortable option will remove these attachment highlights, and compact mode will show more emails on your screen at once.

It’ll still be some time before these changes make their way to all Gmail users, but seeing as how Google I/O is right around the corner, it’s safe to assume we could get more details on Gmail’s updated look during the upcoming developer conference.

A new Gmail design is launching ‘in the coming weeks’ with several fresh features

Researchers say some Android phone makers hide missed updates

A number of Android phones have a tendency to skip the occasional security patch while making it appear that the device is fully up to date, Wired reports. Researchers with Security Research Labs (SRL) looked into 1,200 phones from manufacturers like Google, Samsung, Sony, Nokia, Huawei, Motorola, LG, HTC, ZTE and TCL and found that there’s often a gap between what the phones say have been updated and what patches have actually been installed. “It’s small for some devices and pretty significant for others,” SRL founder Karsten Nohl told Wired.

Nohl and researcher Jakob Lell found that even companies like Sony and Samsung missed a patch every now and then, but it wasn’t consistent across models. For example, Samsung’s 2016 J5 accurately reported what was and wasn’t installed, but its 2016 J3 said all patches were up to date when 12 weren’t actually installed.

While Sony and Samsung phones were found to have missed few patches, on average, devices made by TCL and ZTE had on average four or more missed updates they claimed to have installed. HTC, Huawei, LG and Motorola all had between three and four skipped patches while Xiaomi, OnePlus and Nokia skipped, on average, between one and three security updates. SRL notes that the chips the phones used could be part of the problem. Those with Samsung processors skipped over few patches while models using MediaTek chips missed almost 10 patches, on average. “The lesson is that if you go for a cheaper device, you end up in a less well maintained part to this ecosystem,” said Nohl.

Due to these findings, SRL has updated its SnoopSnitch app, allowing Android phone users to get an accurate breakdown of which updates have and haven’t been installed.

A Google spokesperson sent us the following statement.

“We would like to thank Karsten Nohl and Jakob Kell for their continued efforts to reinforce the security of the Android ecosystem. We’re working with them to improve their detection mechanisms to account for situations where a device uses an alternate security update instead of the Google suggested security update.

Security updates are one of many layers used to protect Android devices and users. Built-in platform protections, such as application sandboxing, and security services, such as Google Play Protect, are just as important. These layers of security—combined with the tremendous diversity of the Android ecosystem—contribute to the researchers’ conclusions that remote exploitation of Android devices remains challenging.”

It’s good to keep in mind that while these skipped security updates introduce vulnerabilities, it doesn’t mean they have been or can easily be exploited. And patches aren’t the only Android security feature — you can read more about that here.

Via: The Verge