These SanDisk Extreme portable SSDs have never been more affordable

Fast, portable, and rugged. You’ll want one.

SanDisk’s 250GB Extreme Portable SSD is down to $89.99 at Amazon today. This limited-time deal marks the first time it has ever been significantly discounted from its regular price of $100. The 500GB version is also down to a new all-time low price of $125.99 for those who need more storage.

Portable SSDs are relatively new. At least, affordable ones are. This SSD has read/write speeds of 550 MB/s and 500 MB/s respectively. It is dust-resistant, shock-resistant, and water-resistant. The interface is USB 3.1 Type-C with an adapter for Type-A. It works with both Windows and Mac.

At Amazon, close to 70 customers have reviewed this portable SSD with 4.6 out of 5 stars.

See at Amazon

Should you buy a Galaxy S9+ or wait for the Galaxy Note 9?

Two big phones with one big difference.

We now know the Galaxy Note 9 will be unveiled at an event in New York City on August 9, and that gets all of our wheels turning thinking about the possibilities of what we can expect and whether it’s worth waiting for. For Samsung fans looking to make the move to a new phone, there really are two options: buy a Galaxy S9+ today, or wait for the Galaxy Note 9.

Let us help you down the path of choosing which one is right for you, and whether you should wait it out.

Who should buy a Galaxy S9+ now

The Galaxy S9+ has a massive advantage here: it’s actually available to buy. The Note 9 will likely be available to pre-order about a week after announcement, but retail availability will probably take a week more, meaning we’re still well off from having a true head-to-head comparison here. Smartphone fans may be willing to wait for a specific phone to come out, but you may not be so flexible. If you need a phone right now, don’t try to scrape by for a month and a half with a broken phone (for example) just to get the Note 9 — pick up a Galaxy S9+ and you’ll be happy.

Unless you have a strong affinity for the Note line, just get a Galaxy S9+ now.

Now we don’t know exactly what the Galaxy Note 9 will offer in terms of specs or features yet, but we can make an educated guess based on previous releases. We can count on the Note 9 to basically match the GS9+ in terms of internal specs, with the same processor, RAM and storage options — though the base storage may bump up to 128GB, that isn’t really an advantage considering the GS9+ has that option already. The screen will likely be a little bigger, but keep the same resolution — and the Galaxy S9+’s screen is fantastic still no matter what. The cameras are likely to be the same or ever-so-slightly tweaked for a new feature. The software will also be similar, since Samsung typically reserves the Galaxy S release to debut altogether new software designs and features.

So really, the core of the Note 9 experience will just be the same as the Galaxy S9+. That bodes well for Note fans, because they’re getting a preview of how great their next phone will be, but it’s also good for anyone who just wants a Samsung phone now — you won’t be missing out on much. If you don’t have any affinity for the Galaxy Note line, it makes the decision even easier to just buy a Galaxy S9+ now and start enjoying your new phone. The Note 9 promises to be even more expensive than the GS9+ as well, so you’ll save some money in the process.

Reasons to wait for the Galaxy Note 9

With so much shared in the core platform of the Galaxy S9+ and Note 9, the differences are going to be minimal — but just in case you’re looking for the absolute best, the Note 9 is expected to improve in a couple areas. The Note 9 is purported to make an improvement in battery size, perhaps going up to 4000mAh, which would be a welcomed return to the Note series offering more capacity than the plus-sized Galaxy S. The Note 9’s display may make another leap in brightness and outdoor visibility, too. And then of course there’s the one feature the Galaxy S9+ can’t match: the S Pen stylus.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9: Everything you need to know

Diehard Note fans shouldn’t settle for the Galaxy S9+ — especially this close to announcement.

To put it simply, if you’re a diehard Note fan you won’t be satisfied with a Galaxy S9+. Yes the screen is almost as big, but the GS9+ is missing the feature that makes the Note name so important to people: the S Pen. If you’ve spent your time getting used to the power and precise input of the S Pen on your current Note — perhaps a Note 5 or even Note 8 — it’ll feel like a downgrade moving to the Galaxy S9+ even though it’s a great phone in itself. We don’t know what changes Samsung will make to the precision, pressure sensitivity or software of the S Pen, but even without any improvements it would still be far and away the best smartphone stylus available.

If you’re happy with your current phone and not in dire need of a new device, the best course of action is to just wait it out. With the Galaxy Note 9 launch event on the horizon, it’s an easy task to simply wait a bit until you have all of the information in front of you for a proper decision. Even if you’re not all that enamored with the idea of an S Pen, an extra month of patience can help you out with a potential reduced price for the Galaxy S9+ if you decide to go that direction.

Are you going to wait?

Whether to grab a currently available phone or wait for a new model to be released is a constant debate, but it’s never more heated than when we’re talking about Samsung flagships. Are you inclined to wait for the Note 9, or just pick up a Galaxy S9+?

Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+

• Galaxy S9 and S9+: Everything you need to know!
• Galaxy S9 review: A great phone for the masses
• Complete Galaxy S9 and S9+ specs
• Galaxy S9 vs. Galaxy S8: Should you upgrade?
• Join our Galaxy S9 forums

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What color Galaxy Note 8 should you buy: Black, grey, gold, or blue?

So you’re going to get a Galaxy Note 8 — but what color do you choose?

It’s the question so many people will be asking themselves as they eyeball the Galaxy Note 8. Which of the available colors is “best” for me? Well we can’t make up your mind for you, but we can offer looks at each of the four colors of the Galaxy Note 8, all side-by-side, and talk about a few of each one’s characteristics.

Hopefully with that extra info and some pretty pictures, you’ll have the knowledge you need to make a call on which one is the right color for you.

Galaxy Note 8 in Midnight Black

You can never go wrong releasing a black phone. Just like the Galaxy S8 and S8+, the “Midnight Black” Note 8 is black on black from the screen bezels to the metal surround to the back glass. It’s glossy all around, and at a glance it’s actually tough to differentiate between the high gloss metal and the glass on either side.

Who is it for?

If you’re not sure about what color you want to get, black is always a safe choice. It’s sleek, simple and understated, without being boring thanks to its shiny exterior. It’s also best equipped to handle the daily scratches and scuffs it’s likely to pick up as you use it, so this would be a great choice for those who may not use a case.

Galaxy Note 8 in Orchid Grey

You’d be forgiven for thinking that an “Orchid Grey” Galaxy Note 8 would be the same color as an “Orchid Grey” Galaxy S8 … but actually, they’re different. The Note 8’s take on the color is considerably lighter, and far more on the spectrum of blue rather than purple. It’s so different we’re kind of surprised Samsung uses the same name.

It’s still very attractive, for sure, and without being as reflective and outright shiny as the Maple Gold color.

Who is it for?

Orchid Grey is the lightest color available for the Note 8, and offers a light color option for people who don’t want to go with gold or would have previously gone with a white phone when Samsung was making that color available.

Galaxy Note 8 in Maple Gold

Samsung has been doing some sort of gold/champagne/silver color for a few years now, and Maple Gold on the Galaxy Note 8 is a slight tweak on the historical norm. It’s a bit deeper in color than previous versions, and it’s accented by a super-shiny gold metal band around the sides. When the light catches it just right, the metal lights up — and at the same time the back glass can shift to a softer champagne or silver color.

Who is it for?

If you want to flashy, Maple Gold is the color for you. The bright gold frame really stands out from the other three colors, and will do the same in the company of phones from other companies as well.

Galaxy Note 8 in Deep Sea Blue

Deep Sea Blue instantly became a favorite of the Android Central team because of its deep, luscious hue of a navy-like blue with just a bit of a turquoise tinge depending on how the light hits it. It actually looks quite similar to the deep blue color offered in the Galaxy Note 5, though with more depth to it. The frame is the same kind of blue, and it’s more on the dull side than the other colors.

Who is it for?

If you want a deep, strong color to your phone but don’t want the flare and shine of the maple gold or orchid grey colors, this is going to be for you. It stands out from a crowd, but can just as simply blend in if you toss a case on it.

Regional differences matter

Don’t get too attached to a specific color before you figure out which colors will actually be available where you live. If you’re in the U.S., you’ll have Midnight Black and Orchid Grey to choose from if you buy from the carriers, plus Deep Sea Blue if you go to Best Buy (carrier models or unlocked) or Samsung.com (unlocked). In Canada, the color choices are Midnight Black and Deep Sea Blue. Internationally, with some potential variations by market and retailer, you’ll have access to all four colors.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

• Galaxy Note 8 review
• Galaxy Note 8 vs. Galaxy S8+
• Which Note 8 color is best?
• Complete Galaxy Note 8 specs
• Join our Galaxy Note 8 forums

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Best Buy

Samsung Gear Sport vs. Gear S3: Which should you buy?

The wearable landscape is heading toward fitness, and there are plenty of choices.

Samsung offers a nice three-pronged approach to wearables, starting at the bottom with the fitness-driven Gear Fit 2 Pro, notching up to the fence-sitting Gear Sport and impressing at the top with the all-around performer Gear S3. For someone who wants comprehensive fitness tracking but also a bigger screen that can handle more traditional smartwatch functions, they will instantly narrow down to just the Gear Sport and the larger Gear S3.

So which of these two Tizen-powered smartwatches is right for you? We’re here to lay out the details and help you decide.

See Gear Sport at Amazon
See Gear S3 at Amazon

What’s the same

Despite a few spec and size differences, Samsung uses the same software and interface paradigm across its Gear S2, Gear Sport, and Gear S3. It’s the same Tizen OS we’ve been using for a couple of years now, with an emphasis on maximizing its circular interface and rotating bezel (plus a couple side buttons) for navigation.

Samsung Gear Sport review

Both watches offer you the same apps, core software capabilities, connection to your phone directly via Bluetooth or remotely via Wi-Fi, and some standalone features. They have the same 768MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and a 1GHz processor inside. The screen resolution between the two is even the same, 360×360, though the diameter is different.

The core specs, experience, and even design, is shared between these two.

As you can see in the photos, the Gear Sport very much feels like a shrunken version of the Gear S3 Frontier. There isn’t a “Classic” version of the Gear Sport, but if you compare directly to the Frontier, you get most of the same design cues. The gunmetal exterior and combination of a couple different textures looks good, and the rotating bezel remains with a slightly different knurl to it.

Even though the Gear Sport is smaller and therefore has a smaller battery, Samsung’s battery claims remain consistent with the Gear S3. That’s thanks to a smaller screen size, and it’s great to see that you can use either one for a couple solid days without rushing for the charger. With simple use and turning off always-on watch faces, you could stretch that out for three whole days on either one.

What’s different

The differences between these two smartwatches effectively come down to size. The Gear Sport, as its name implies, is more focused on being a fitness tracker and therefore had to shrink down in size to keep from being cumbersome. Compared to the Gear S3 Frontier, the Gear Sport is 3mm narrower, 4.5mm shorter, 1.3mm thinner and 12g lighter (sans strap). Talking about millimeters and grams doesn’t seem like much, but not a watch it makes a big difference: the Gear Sport stays closer to your wrist and isn’t as likely to get in your way when you’re on a run or hitting the gym. It also has more heavy-duty water resistance, staying safe up to 5 ATM, with included swim tracking if that’s your exercise of choice.

It really comes down to overall size and some relatively fringe features.

Being an overall smaller watch, the Gear Sport also uses a smaller watch band attachment. It will still let you use any standard watch bands you’d like, but you’ll need to shop for 20 mm straps rather than the 22 mm you can currently find for the Gear S3. Outside of the dozens Samsung will make available designed to specifically match the Gear Sport, you should have no trouble finding other great-looking bands from retailers like Amazon

In that smaller package, the Gear Sport misses out on a few hardware features you can find on the Gear S3. It notably offers Samsung Pay, but only via NFC and not the neat MST technology that enables payments at any swipe-style card terminal. It doesn’t have any LTE option, so you’ll be on Bluetooth or Wi-Fi only. It has a smaller screen, 1.2-inches instead of 1.3, and a corresponding smaller battery.

Which should you buy?

With so much shared between the Gear Sport and Gear S3, for most people this will simply be decided by what size watch they want to wear and how often they’ll use some of the niche features of the larger watch. The Gear Sport at $299 is darn close to the now-discounted Gear S3 that hovers around $325 and even drops down to the same $299 price as the Sport, making the price of little consequence.

The Gear Sport offers the same core experience in a smaller package at a lower price.

With price differences so small, the Gear Sport gives you the same core software experience as its larger sibling surrounded by a smaller casing that’s easier to exercise with but also simply more compatible with a wider range of wrist sizes. It lacks a few extra features like full Samsung Pay support, LTE connectivity and a larger display, but that’s probably a worthwhile trade-off for many people to have something that’s comfortable for everyday wear.

The Gear S3 Frontier and Classic will still stand as the top-tier options for people who are less focused on fitness but would prefer to have something big and even more capable on their wrist. If you’re going to spend more time moving through on-watch apps and managing dozens of notifications rather than tracking a gym workout, the Gear S3 may be worth it.

See Gear Sport at Amazon
See Gear S3 at Amazon

This Kindle Unlimited 40% off sale is just Amazon trying to get you to read

If you’re getting ready to hibernate for the winter, you might as well keep your reading supply fresh.

Kindle Unlimited is Amazon’s $10 per month subscription service to Kindle books. Amazon is discounting the service by 40% if you sign up for twelve months, bringing the total down to $80.32 (from $120) when you enter promo code PDKU18 at checkout. This product would be a fantastic, easy pick gift for the reader in your life, allowing them to choose from a wide selection of novels. They don’t even need a Kindle to use this membership either, as Kindle ebooks can be read via the Kindle app on devices like smartphones, tablets, and your desktop computer. You can also grab a two-year subscription for $143.86 right now.

If you’re not sure the service is for you, you can try it out with a three-month subscription for only $1 for a limited time. That deal is exclusive to Prime members however. Both of these deals come courtesy of Amazon’s countdown to Prime Day 2018.

Kindle Unlimited includes access to more than one million titles. The list includes great books like Slaughterhouse Five or The Handmaid’s Tale, and novels you’ve always said you read but never actually did like 1984. With your subscription, you can read whatever you want that’s covered under the Unlimited banner for free. You also get access to any available audio books, which has the nifty feature of taking over wherever you stopped reading so you can go from the couch to the car without losing your place.

Remember to check out Amazon First Reads, which releases brand new reads each month for Amazon Prime members.

See at Amazon

Best Text Messaging Apps for Android in 2018

There are plenty of great text messaging apps to choose from, and these are some of our favorites.

Text messaging is a big part of phone use for many people, and while all phones come with native messaging clients, they can be painfully, horribly bad. Some native text messaging apps don’t handle MMS the way we’d like. Some native text messaging apps are laid out poorly. Some are just lacking. Thankfully we have the option to use one of many, many third-party SMS clients — some of which are minimal messaging apps, and others that offer features above and beyond the rest.

• Android Messages
• Textra
• Pulse
• Mood

Android Messages

Android Messages is Google’s official SMS app, and it features a simple interface and plenty of features for the average user without going overboard with bells and whistles. It also supports Google’s RCS features, which allow for iMessage or WhatsApp-like features like read receipts and larger file transfers as long as your carrier supports it. If you’re just looking for a dependable, simple text messenger that will work well, support RCS, and do MMS right, Android Messages has got you. Messages has implemented Android Oreo’s notification settings to allow you to set individual notification tones and settings on a per conversation basis. It lacks some of the more nuanced theme options — like a dark theme for us late-night drunk-texters — but it’s a nice easy app to learn your way around.

As an recently added bonus, Android Messages now allows you to text via computer thanks to Android Message’s website, which pairs with your phone via QR code. Here’s how to get started with it.

Download Android Messages (free)

Textra

A long-time favorite, Textra is a clean-looking SMS app with plenty of features for hardcore users. Textra offers a slew of customization options with various theme colors, notifications, and per-contact settings. Want to make your text messages look like iMessage? Textra can look amazingly like an iPhone. Want to set special colors and notification tones for texting your boyfriend versus texting your parents? Textra is there to help. There’s built-in SMS scheduling, quick replies, improved group messaging, SMS blocking and more.

Download Textra (Free, in-app purchases)

Pulse SMS

Pulse SMS is an interesting and very, very customizable text messaging app in its own right, but that’s not the real draw for Pulse. Pulse is a text messaging app that helps bring your text messages to all your other devices, too, from tablets to computers. It’s a paid service — which is now competing with Android Messages’s free SMS-from-desktop service — but one that multi-device users will find quickly pays for itself. Pulse has also added password-protected private conversations box, in case you need to protect the identity and messages of your sources or your side piece. Pulse, like Messages, has implemented Android Oreo’s notification settings to allow you to set individual notification tones and settings on a per conversation basis.

Download Pulse SMS (Free, in-app purchases)

Mood Messenger

Mood Messenger wants to be a fusion of web messengers and text messengers, and it’s certainly a tantalizing idea. If you have enough people who actually use Mood to use it as a WhatsApp alternative, great for you, but for the rest of us, Mood is still worth a look as a solid SMS app with an interesting UI, dedicated themes, and excellent developer support. Mood also had the option for a Quick Compose persistent notification with a user-selected group of contacts so that they can quickly rattle off a quick text without having to go to the full app, and it is the easiest app to set custom notification tones for contacts in.

Download Mood Messenger (Free)

Your favorite?

What are some of your favorite text messaging apps? Hit up the comments and let us know!

Updated July 2018: We’ve updated this article to reflect the new additions in Android Messages like the ability to text from your computer. Now if only they could get a dark theme…

Amazon has already started sharing some Prime Day deals, and here are the best ones

The celebrations have already begun!

Amazon Prime Day doesn’t officially begin until July 16, but that didn’t stop the company from beginning the deals a little bit early. Alongside the announcement, Amazon announced that a few deals would be available instantly for Prime members, and there are a few that you definitely won’t want to miss.

To kick things off, the company slashed $100 on the price of the Echo Show, dropping it down to just $129.99. This is the lowest we’ve ever seen it go and makes it the same price as the smaller screened Echo Spot. We’ve seen Amazon offer Voice Shopping exclusive deals in the past during Prime Day, so if you don’t have an Alexa device, or want another, this is a no-brainer purchase.

If you’ve yet to try out Amazon’s Music Unlimited service, you can get a four-month membership for just $0.99. That’s right, all four months of unlimited access to all the music in the company’s library (which is rather extensive) for just one dollar. Prefer to read books instead of listening to music? No worries, Amazon has three months of Kindle Unlimited available for $0.99 as well. This gets you access to over a million book titles, and you can read as many of them as your heart desires during that time frame.

You can also go all-in on a Kindle Unlimited subscription and save 40% when you checkout with the coupon code PDKU18. This drops the one-year subscription down to $80.32 and the two-year subscription to $143.86. If you want to just buy a few books, you can get $10 towards any Kindle, print, or Audible book purchase when you buy any Kindle book for $5 or more before July 15.

Finally, Amazon is offering a free PC game each day through July 18 via Twitch Prime. There are popular titles like Pillars of Eternity, Q.U.B.E, Hue, and more. You’ll also get exclusive in-game look for Warframe and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, and if you’re looking to load up on Twitch apparel, the merch is 50% off right now.

Of course, to take advantage of any of these offers you need to be an Amazon Prime member. If you aren’t already, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial so you can access all these deals and save during the big event.

Huawei P10 camera guide

Inez del Prado Photography

The dual-lens, Leica co-developed cameras on the back of the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus are prime reasons to go out and buy one of these great phones. They take beautiful shots, whether in color, monochrome, a portrait or a photo with a cool, blurred background. Most enticingly, the P10 boosts your confidence as a photographer, and its ability to produce wonderful pictures pushes you to go out and experiment.

If the P10 is in your hand right now, but you’re a newcomer to Huawei’s phones and software, it can be difficult to know where to start. We’ve put together a guide on how to make the most out of the P10’s excellent camera, and its intuitive user interface, that’s applicable to both the P10 and P10 Plus.

Getting started

Huawei’s main camera app, like the lenses on the phone, has been co-developed by Leica; mimicking its own user interface. It’s intuitive and attractively laid out, and goes a long way to making the P10 so usable. Open the app and you’re presented with the viewfinder, along with the shutter release below, and a menu above it.

Return to the main viewfinder screen by swiping to the left, then swipe to the left again to reveal another screen, this time filled with settings for the camera. Among features like a watermark, smile capture, and a timer, we do recommend using one of the Grid options. These help frame and compose your photos, and although there are some complex options available, the simple Grid is fine for most people.

Back on the main screen, below the viewfinder is a button to change between stills and video to the right of the shutter release, and a shortcut to the gallery on the left. From here, you can start snapping away, but to get the best from the P10, you’ll want to play around with some of the other modes.

Portrait, wide aperture, and more

Turning our attention to the menu above the viewfinder window, there are two buttons that you’ll end up using most. The first is the Portrait button, which looks like a person’s head and shoulders in a circular window, and the second is Wide Aperture mode, which looks like a camera lens.

Tap Portrait mode, and the camera sets itself up to take pictures of people. The P10 cleverly looks for faces, and, using some complex and detailed face scanning algorithms, tracks 190 points in 3D space, then adjusts the scene to suit the person — including artificial light sources, blurring out the background to give the picture a bokeh-style pop, and enhancing the color in the foreground.

Don’t think this only works with the color lens either. Swap to the monochrome lens — swipe left, and tap Monochrome — to get the same effect, only in striking black and white. It’s not only for use on the rear camera, so tap the button on the top right of the upper menu to swap to the selfie camera, and get the same great features. Huawei enhanced Portrait mode with a beauty effect, which can be adjusted along with the bokeh style, using two buttons overlaid on the viewfinder. The button with the number value tweaks the beauty mode, while the button below it activates the bokeh shot. Play with both to get the right look for your photo.

Wide aperture mode is for activating the bokeh mode, giving the blurred background effect that’s such a trend in mobile photography at the moment. When activated, the mode brings up another button for adjusting the camera lens aperture, and a slider lets you strengthen or lessen the blur. Don’t feel restricted by getting the blur right at the time of taking the picture, as it can be adjusted after the photo has been taken, too.

To do this, open the Gallery app — or tap on the preview image in the camera app — and look for the same camera lens icon used to activate the wide aperture mode initially. Tap this, and then choose the area in the photo you want in focus, or blurred out. A slider at the bottom of the screen widens the aperture, emphasizing the blur. There’s also a filter button to add different effects. Don’t pass these by, as they add really unusual looks to the picture. Try the monochrome filter to see what we mean!

Together, these two modes make the Huawei P10 one of the most versatile, creative, and competent camera phones out there.

Best Yeelight Products in 2018

Yeelight offers a great selection of smart lighting options.

There are plenty of options available if you’re in the market for smart lighting solutions, and Yeelight is a brand that rose to prominence in recent years. Yeelight is a Chinese lighting brand that counts Xiaomi as one of its main investors, and its products are sold as part of the Mi Ecosystem label in China. Much like Xiaomi, Yeelight is notable for rolling out products that offer great value for money.

Starting this year, Yeelight starting selling its more popular products directly on Amazon.com, making it easy for consumers in the U.S. to pick up its wares.

Yeelight LED bulb

The Yeelight LED bulb is an affordable alternative to the Hue ecosystem. Like Hue, the Yeelight smart LED bulb is available in both white and color options, and they’re also rated as a 60W equivalent. The main difference is that unlike Hue, the Yeelight bulbs don’t need a dedicated bridge to work, which lowers the barrier to entry.

For instance, you can get started with the Yeelight LED bulb by just picking up one unit and seeing how it functions in your home environment, all for just $29. The bulb has a color temperature between 1700K to 6500K, and you can set up lighting effects, add a schedule, adjust the intensity of the lights, and more from the Yeelight app.

Like all smart bulbs in the market today, the Yeelight LED bulb is compatible with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, and you’ll be able to launch routines and set up schedules with your voice. There’s also the option to configure actions via IFTTT.

See at Amazon

Yeelight LED Lightstrip

Like the LED bulb, Yeelight’s light strip is similar in functionality to the Hue Lightstrip. The two-meter light strip has 3M adhesive at the back, and you can bend it or cut it to length as needed. It also connects over Wi-Fi to your home network, and is controllable with the Yeelight app.

It also comes with a one-button control that lets you toggle the light strip on or off and switch between various colors. The light strip is currently sold out at Amazon, so you’ll have to pick it up from GearBest for $29.99

See at GearBest

Yeelight Ambient Light

The Ambient Light is the latest addition to Yeelight’s catalog. It essentially mimics a candlelight — it has a fixed color temperature of 1800K. There’s a control ring that lets you adjust the intensity of the light by rotating the glass housing clockwise or counterclockwise.

The candela features Bluetooth mesh tech, so you can set up several lights and control the lighting options by changing the setting on one unit. There’s even a flicker mode that recreates a similar effect you get with candlelights.

There’s a 2100mAh battery that provides up to six hours of continuous battery life, and the candela is portable enough that you can carry it with you. As the candela works over Bluetooth, you won’t be able to control it with Alexa or Assistant, but the control ring on the glass housing comes in handy for toggling the light on or off.

See at Amazon

Yeelight Bedside Lamp

Yeelight’s bedside lamp is packed with 14 LEDs that offer a uniform light. The lamp has 16 million colors, and comes with a control surface at the top that lets you toggle the light and switch colors.

You can set up a wake timer from the Yeelight app that will create a visual alarm of sorts: the lamp automatically switches on in the morning, and slowly increases the intensity of the light until your specified alarm time kicks in. Unlike the candela, the bedside lamp needs to be plugged into a power outlet to work.

See at Amazon

While Yeelight has some accessories up for sale in the U.S., the list pales in comparison to what the company sells in China. If you’ve used Yeelight gear in the past and are interested in seeing what the brand has to offer, head to GearBest from the link below to see all the products up for sale.

See at GearBest

What’s your go-to Yeelight?

Do you Yeelight? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!

MoviePass: Everything you need to know

Here’s your one-stop-shop for all the MoviePass news, controversies, and more.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, there’s a good chance you’ve heard a thing or two about MoviePass. Although the company was founded way back in 2011, it’s picked up a lot of steam over the past year or so with its too-good-to-be-true offer of allowing you to see one movie per day for just $9.95/month.

MoviePass has become one of the most disruptive companies of recent memory, and whether you’re looking for the latest controversies or want to learn more about the service before you sign up, you’ve come to the right place.

Without further ado, this is everything you need to know about MoviePass!

The latest MoviePass news

June 22, 2018 — MoviePass Peak Pricing, Bring-A-Guest, and Premium Showings

Get ready, folks. There’s a lot changing with MoviePass, so let’s dive right into the big highlights:

• Bring-A-Guest: If you’re going to the movies with a friend or family member that doesn’t have MoviePass, you can purchase their ticket from the MoviePass app. You’ll still pay the full ticket price, but it should make the ticket-buying process a bit more seamless. You can pick a seat for you and your guest if you’re going to a theater that supports e-ticketing and reserved seating, and if your friend signs up for MoviePass without 24 hours of your showtime, you’ll get a full refund for the ticket price.

• Peak Pricing: For showtimes where “the combination of demand for a title, date or part of day is higher”, you’ll need to pay a “small additional fee” for your ticket. You can avoid the added cost by seeing a different movie or seeing that same title on a different day, and MoviePass will give you a Peak Pass once a month that waives the fee for you. If you’re billed annually or quarterly, you won’t be subject to Peak Pricing until your subscription resets.

• Premium Showings: No matter what plan you’re on, you’ll have the option of seeing RealD 3D, 2D IMAX, 3D, and other Premium Large Format movies by paying an upgrade fee.

MoviePass says these features will be rolling out to members “in the coming weeks.”

June 11, 2018 — A family plan is coming!

Since MoviePass’s inception, one of the features users have been asking for the most is a family plan. We’ve been waiting and waiting for something along these lines to be announced, and on June 11, Helios and Matheson Analytics CEO (MoviePass’s parent company) Ted Farnsworth confirmed that a family plan is, in fact, in the works.

With MoviePass’s family plan, you’ll be able to book tickets for you and your family members/significant other all in one app/transaction. There won’t be any sort of discount for the family plan, but the added convenience of not having to bother with multiple apps and subscriptions will be a welcome treat.

Farnsworth said that they “might do something down the road to get more of a discount for the family plan”, but it’s unclear if/when that’ll happen.

All the important details

There are two plans to choose from

Right now, you’ve got two options to choose from if you want to get MoviePass — MoviePass and MoviePass Unlimited.

The former of those two is a limited time offer and allows you to see three movies per month + comes with an extended three-month trial of iHeartRadio All-Access.

While it’s nice that MoviePass has this available if you want to save a couple bucks each month, I’d recommend going all the way with MoviePass Unlimited. For $9.95/month, you can watch one new movie per day in theaters every single day.

Both plans are billed monthly and can be canceled at any time.

See at MoviePass

E-ticketing makes everything easier

MoviePass is regularly partnering with more and more theater chains to support e-ticketing, and if you happen to live near one that offers this, you’re in for a real treat.

For theaters that don’t support e-ticketing, using MoviePass requires you to be within 100 yards of the theater you’re going to, check-in to the showtime on your phone, and then swipe your card to get your ticket. If the showing happens to sell out by the time you get to the theater, you can either choose another movie or call it a night.

However, if there’s a theater near you that does support e-ticketing, the process is way simpler. Once you find the showtime you want to go to, a “Get E-Ticket” button will pop up instead of the “Check In” one.

E-tickets can’t be canceled once you buy them, but they do have the added benefit of allowing you buy them wherever you are. Also, if you’re theater supports e-ticketing and reserved seating, you can even choose your seat right from the MoviePass app! Once you get to the theater, just type in the redemption code for your e-ticket or scan the QR code.

Right now, e-ticketing with MoviePass works at Goodrich Quality Theaters, Studio Movie Grill, and MJR Theaters.

Only 2D movies are supported, at least for now

As it currently stands, you can only use your MoviePass to watch regular 2D movies. In the near future, however, that will soon be changing.

In the coming weeks, MoviePass will allow you to pay an upgrade fee to see RealD 3D, IMAX 2D, 3D, and other Premium Large Format movies.

It’s unclear right now how much those upgrade fees will cost, but you can absolutely expect them to be considerably less than the full ticket price.

You can’t rewatch movies

As good of a deal as MoiePass is, it’s not without a few limits here and there — the first of which is the fact that you can’t rewatch movies.

MoviePass experimented with letting people rewatch the same movie over and over again for a few months but eventually decided to revoke the right to prevent ticket-scalping and other misuses of the service.

It would certainly be nice to have the option of seeing a movie again that you particularly like, but don’t expect this to come back anytime soon.

You can still benefit from your theater’s loyalty program

If your theater has a loyalty program that rewards you with points for buying tickets and concessions, you can link it up to your MoviePass account and still get rewarded for the tickets you “buy” with your MoviePass subscription.

As it currently stands, you can link loyalty programs from Goodrich Quality Theaters, D Place Entertainment, and Starlight Cinemas.

It’s an admittedly small list right now, but it’s one that should only grow more and more as time goes on.

What’s the deal with “Peak Pricing”?

MoviePass is always trying to find ways of adapting its business model as more and more people join, and one of those latest efforts is seen with Peak Pricing. On June 22, MoviePass said the following:

Under this plan, if the combination of demand for a title, date or part of day is higher, subscribers may be asked to pay a small additional fee depending on the level of demand. You can avoid this peak surcharge by choosing an alternative date or film.

It’s unclear right now how much that “small additional fee” will be, but MoviePass also notes that it’ll give all subscribers one Peak Pass per month that’ll waive the fee for one movie.

If you’re currently subscribed to an annual or quarterly plan, you won’t have to deal with Peak Pricing until your plan ends and renews.

Be mindful of the device authorization limit

If you’re someone that lives the two phone life or frequently goes from device to device, you’ll want to keep MoviePass’s device authorization limit in mind.

To “keep your account secure”, MoviePass only allows you to be signed into the MoviePass app on one phone at a time. However, if you do get a new phone or need to sign into another one for whatever reason, you can log into your account on another phone every 30 days.

Just download the app, enter your credentials, and confirm that you want to use that as your authorized device.