Best replacement watch bands for the Gear S3

Samsung makes it easy to upgrade your band to something new.

The Samsung Gear S3 is one of our favorite smartwatches, and a great alternative to many of the Android Wear watches out there. The Gear S3 supports standard 22mm watch bands, making it really easy to upgrade with something new.

Here are a few of the best third-party watch bands to consider once you pick up your brand new Samsung Gear S3!

• ArtStyle nylon strap
• EloBeth Milanese Magnetic Loop Strap
• Snowoxen genuine leather strap
• TRUMiRR Milanese stainless steel band
• Barton silicone band
• Rechere stainless steel watch band

ArtStyle nylon strap

Keep things simple, fun, and functional with the ArtStyle watch band made from a sturdy nylon material and a durable metal buckle! The ArtStyle nylon strap is easily adjustable and is hypoallergenic, making it the perfect band to wear if you have sensitive skin.

$9 at Amazon

The material from this particular band is also breathable and waterproof on top of being extremely comfortable to wear day-to-day. One downside, though? It might interfere/cover up your Samsung Gear 3’s heart rate sensor.

On top of the ArtStyle’s practical design, the watch strap comes in a ton of different, bright colors, including red, blue/yellow, black, black/gray, navy blue, gray, khaki, orange, army green, black/blue, black/green/red, black/gray/blue, black/gray/orange, black/gray/green, black/red starting at around $9.

EloBeth Milanese Magnetic Loop Strap

If you’re someone who struggles with putting on your Samsung Gear S3 with one hand, or if you simply want a little bit of additional security when you’re sporting your S3, then the EloBeth Milanese Magnetic Loop Strap might be a good option to take a peek at.

$12 at Amazon

The strong, magnetic clasp keeps this $12 – $13 watch band tight around your wrist, and can easily be adjusted to fit almost any wrist type, so if you have especially larger or smaller wrists, this band might be a great option for you.

The EloBeth Milanese Magnetic Loop Strap is made out of a high-end stainless steel that’s perfect for day-to-day wear, and if there are any issues with the band, you have an 18-month warranty to fix any issues.

You can pick up the EloBeth Milanese Magnetic Loop Strap in black, gold, rose gold, or silver finishes.

Snowoxen genuine leather strap

There’s nothing more simple and stylish than a classic leather watch band, and Snowoxen nails it with their affordable leather band for the Samsung Gear S3! Made from a high quality and sturdy yet lightweight and soft leather, the Snowoxen genuine leather strap comes with an easy-to-buckle stainless steel clasp, making it the perfect day-to-day band.

$14 at Amazon

Unlike some other watch straps, the Snowoxen’s design is super simple and void of all logos, so it’s perfect for people who want a classic-looking smartwatch accessory.

The Snowoxen leather band also comes in a number of vibrant, eye-catching colors, like gray, dark red, coffee, navy, and so much more for around $14.

TRUMiRR Milanese stainless steel band

The Milanese look has been a staple with traditional watch designs for decades, so incorporating the TRUMiRR Milanese stainless steel band might be the perfect fit if that’s the particular style you’re after.

$11 at Amazon

This 22mm watch band is designed with a mesh, woven, stainless steel wire, and is adjustable for a variety of wrist sizes, so you never have to be uncomfortable while sporting your Samsung Gear S3 — and for $11 – $12, that’s quite the steal!

To attach and detach your watch band, all you need to do is release a small spring bar, minimizing annoying tools. The TRUMiRR may not come in a ton of colors, but it does come in a shiny silver, blingy gold, or a clean, classic black design.

Barton silicone band

After garnishing its fair share of positive reviews online and coupled with an easy-release design, vibrant colors, comfortable feel, and much more, the Barton silicone band is a great option to check out while you’re customizing your Samsung Gear S3.

$14 at Amazon

The Barton silicone watch band is designed with a textured back, making the slipping and sliding of most smooth silicone bands a thing of the past. The silicone design also makes it a great tool for working out, as you can easily remove and wash it if it starts to look dirty or stink.

To change your watch band, simply turn the band over and flip the switch — no tools are required! You can pick your Barton band from a number of vibrant colors, including black, white, turquoise, forest green, brown, gray, burgundy, yellow, navy blue, orange, peach, dark gray, and baby blue for around $14.

Rechere stainless steel watch band

The Rechere 22mm stainless steel watch band is an affordable, high quality strap that keeps your Samsung Gear S3 looking classic and clean without any clutter or useless accents of other watch bands.

$11 at Amazon

Unlike some other straps, the Rechere cannot be adjusted to fit individual wrists with a simple tightening system; rather, users will have to remove the links near the band’s clasps in order to make the stainless steel Samsung Gear S3 accessory smaller. You can pick up this band for around $11.

To remove the Rechere, you will have to use a small tool which comes with the band. The Rechere only comes in one color, silver, but if you’re looking for a watch with a similar style in a different color, then we suggest taking a peek at the Vetoo.

Your pick?

Is there a third-party watch band that you think would be perfect for the Samsung Gear S3?

Drop a link in the comments with a brief description of why you like it so that others can check it out as well!

Updated August 2018: All the options on this list are still the best of the best!

The best Google Home for apartments isn’t a Google Home at all

With a portable battery, big sound, and a small price tag, Insignia makes a better Google Home than Google does.

Google Home is no longer the only option for a great home speaker featuring Google Assistant and all of its goodness. Google’s AI has been added to speakers by big-name brands like JBL, Onkyo, Sony, and more, but the best buy in Google Assistant’s speakers comes from Best Buy’s in-house electronics brand, Insignia.

Insignia has two models of Insignia Voice speakers powered by Google Assistant: a smaller, non-portable speaker and a larger speaker with a five-hour battery life. While both are easily price performers over the rest of the currently available Google Assistant speakers, the portable version is bigger, bolder, and better in every way. Now that the Insignia Voice Smart Portable Bluetooth Speaker is only $5 more than its little sister, it’s the perfect smart speaker and alarm clock for those who like to bring their music with them from room to room as they go about their morning.

Insignia Voice Smart Portable Bluetooth Speaker

See at Best Buy

Price: $44.99

Bottom line: This big speaker features a bigger sound that Google Home while delivering the same Google Assistant goodness. A well-hidden carry handle and 5-hour portable battery let you keep the party going from room to room in your home.

The Good

• Big sound and big battery let you jam out all afternoon before you need to plug back in
• Large, grippy carry handle hidden under the touchpad
• 0-99 volume control for precision

The Bad

• The clock display can’t be turned completely off
• Controls aren’t explained very well, especially to turn it off
• Proprietary power adapter instead of standard charger

Okay, Google, rock my world

Insignia Voice Smart Portable Bluetooth Speaker What I love

This portable speaker is a tall drink of Google Assistant, sporting a frosted front display that always shows the time and can show the temperature when you ask it as well as showing the volume when you’re turning it up or down. That volume goes from 0-100%, and while this speaker isn’t as big as a Google Home Max or Sonos PLAY:5, 100% can shake the windows with its big sound. Even putting the speaker at 66% made me worry about noise complaints from the neighbors, but if you need to fill a big backyard party or barn-burner of a hoedown, the Insignia Voice can fit the bill all on its own.

Big speaker, even bigger sound

The height of the Insignia Voice’s display is great for low nightstands and cluttered countertops, with the time easily visible above mugs, kickstanded phones, and recipe ingredients, though the black mesh covering the bottom half of the unit can pick up stains from sugar, flour, makeup, and other powdery substances as you go about your day. With Google Assistant’s custom routines, Insignia’s alarms are even easier to set than traditional radio alarms since you can set time-triggered routine alarms from your phone or set music alarms on the fly with voice commands.

When was carrying the Insignia home in its sizable box, I had my doubts about how truly portable such a heavy speaker could be, but they were completely unfounded. While the speaker looks like a single, solid block, there’s actually a carry handle hidden on the back of the speaker and stretching under the top touchpad. It’s wide enough to fit four fingers into, then wrapping my palm around the top of the speaker for a secure grip as I carry it from room to room.

Portable but clunky

Insignia Voice Smart Portable Bluetooth Speaker What could still improve

While you can easily carry the Insignia Voice from room to room, but since it uses an AC adapter power supply, you can’t leave charger cables to plug it up in multiple rooms the way the TicHome Mini — Mobvoi’s portable Google Assistant speaker — can with its standard microUSB port. AC adapters are the norm for home speakers, but most portable speakers have long shifted to more standard connections for convenience, and USB-C and the USB-PD fast-charging standard would have been much appreciated here.

Controls on the Insignia Voice are similar to a Google Home, but differ in a few distinct and confusing ways. You have to hold the mute/power button down for 4 seconds to turn it off, but if you hold it down too long, the Insignia will factory reset itself instead, which is exactly what I did the first time I tried turning it off.

The in-store displays let passersby change tracks by waving their hand over the speaker, but I haven’t been able to do that with mine at home; waving just illuminates the volume and command buttons so you can hit them in the dark.

That said, it’s never truly dark in your bedroom with the Insignia Voice. While you can dim the clock display, you can’t turn it all the way off, and since that clock display is so high up, you’ll need to get creative when blocking it. I’ve taken one of my AC mugs, stuffed an old stretchable book cover inside for padding, and us that to cradle my phone at night while propping it up high enough to block the clock’s light.

Insignia Voice Smart Portable Bluetooth Speaker

The Insignia Voice isn’t perfect, but for $45, it’s the only Google Assistant speaker I need in my one-bedroom apartment. Whether I’m carrying it to the bathroom to jam out while I shower — this speaker is not waterproof, I leave it on the vanity counter — bringing it to the kitchen for timers and recipe instructions, or using it on the balcony while I write in the sunshine, its battery lasts long enough to get it back to its proprietary charger.

4.5
out of 5

With Google Assistant’s magic, the Insignia Voice can wake me up, get me ready for my day, wind me down, and then put me to sleep for less than half the price of a Google Home. Smart speakers with Google Assistant like this price-performer are only getting more and more plentiful, and there’s one for rooms and homes of every size showcased on the Google Assistant website. If the Insignia doesn’t strike your fancy, tell us what might that which one should review next.

See at Best Buy

Instagram Announces Support for Two-Factor Authentication Apps and Streamlined Account Verification

Instagram today announced several new security enhancements that are being implemented to make the social network safer for all users.

Starting soon, Instagram is implementing support for third-party authenticator apps, which will allow them to be used for two-factor verification purposes in lieu of a phone number.

Instagram has supported two-factor authentication for some time, but it was tied to a phone number and required users to receive text messages, which has proven to be insecure and left some Instagram users vulnerable to SIM hacking.

SIM hacking is a method hackers use to gain access to a person’s phone number, using it to get into high-profile social media accounts. Some instagram accounts with short handles are valuable and have been stolen through this method, something a third-party authenticator app can protect against.

Instagram says that users can go to the Settings section of the Instagram app, choose Two-Factor Authentication, and then select “Authentication App” to implement two-factor authentication that does not involve a phone number.

Support for third-party authenticator apps is rolling out and will be available globally “in the coming weeks.”

Along improved two-factor authentication, Instagram is also enhancing security through a new “About This Account” section that will be added to high-profile Instagram accounts. This feature will allow users to see more information about accounts that reach large audiences, allowing users to “evaluate the authenticity of the account.”

To see more about an Instagram account, users can tap on a profile, tap the hamburger menu option and then select “About This Account.” Information displayed will include the date the account joined Instagram, the country where it is located, recent username changes, and ads the account is running.

Starting in September, people who have accounts that reach large audiences will be able to review the information that will be available, and after that, the feature will roll out worldwide.

Instagram also plans to make it easier for Instagram users to earn a blue verified badge that lets people know an account is the “authentic presence of a notable public figure.” Verification has been available on Instagram, but prior to now, there was no streamlined process for requesting account verification.

To be verified, an account must comply with Instagram’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines. We will review verification requests to confirm the authenticity, uniqueness, completeness and notability of each account. Visit the Help Center to learn more about Instagram’s verification criteria.

Instagram users who want to apply for verification can do so by accessing the Settings app and choosing “Request Verification.” Username, full name, and a copy of legal or business identification will be required. Like the other features announced today, the verification option is rolling out to users but could take some time to show up for everyone.
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Apple Releases macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update for 2018 MacBook Pro Models

As we await the launch of macOS Mojave this fall, Apple has quietly released an updated version of macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 that’s designed for the 2018 MacBook Pro models.

The new version of the software can be downloaded directly from the Mac App Store or through the Software Update function in the Mac App Store on all compatible Macs that are already running macOS High Sierra.

According to Apple’s release notes the update will improve the stability and reliability of the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, and is recommended for all 2018 machines.

The macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 Supplemental Update 2 improves the stability and reliability of MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2018) computers, and is recommended for all users.

For detailed information about the security content of this update, please visit: https://support.apple.com/kb/HT201222

It’s not entirely clear what specific bugs or security issues are addressed in the new software, but it features build numbers of 17G2037/15P6805, while prior build numbers were 17G2208/15P6703.

Some 2018 MacBook Pro owners have experienced crackling speakers and issues with kernel panics perhaps related to the T2 chip included in the machines, so it’s possible the update addresses some of these issues.

Apple in July released an initial supplemental update for the 2018 MacBook Pro models to address a problem that caused the machines to excessively throttle when doing system intensive tasks. Today’s update could also potentially include further refinements to processor performance.

macOS High Sierra is reaching the end of its life as Apple prepares to release macOS Mojave, the newest version of macOS that’s currently being beta tested by developers and public beta testers. This is likely to be one of the final updates to the High Sierra operating system.

macOS Mojave introduces multiple enticing new features, such as a system-wide dark mode, dynamic wallpapers that shift throughout the day, Desktop Stacks for organizing desktop files, Finder improvements like a more useful Quick Look view and support for Quick Actions, and new apps like Apple News, Stocks, Home, and Voice Memos.

For details on what’s coming in macOS Mojave, make sure to check out our macOS Mojave roundup.

Related Roundup: macOS High Sierra
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Bose Introduces HomePod Competitor With Display for $400, AirPlay 2 Support Coming in 2019

Bose today revealed the “Bose Home Speaker 500,” a new smart speaker that comes with Amazon Alexa built into the device and support for Bluetooth music streaming from iOS and Android smartphones. The Wi-Fi enabled speaker has many of the same features as competitor devices like HomePod and Sonos One, including music streaming, smart home automation, smart assistant inquiries, multi-room music syncing, and more.

In “early 2019,” Bose says that it will introduce support for AirPlay 2 in the Bose Home Speaker 500, as well as in a pair of smart soundbars also announced today, the Bose Soundbar 500 and Bose Soundbar 700. For the Bose Home Speaker 500, the device includes an eight-microphone array for near-field and far-field voice pickup — all when it’s both silent and noisy from currently playing music.

For music playback, users will be able to play Spotify or Amazon Music directly from the Bose Home Speaker 500 when it’s connected to a home Wi-Fi network. Buttons on the top of the speaker will also allow customers to set up to six different presets for playlists, Internet radio stations, and more. Of course, with Bluetooth any audio can also be streamed from a smartphone or tablet.

The company says the Home Speaker 500 has “the widest soundstage of any smart speaker available today,” and is encased in an anodized aluminum shell that measures 8″ high by 6″ wide by 4″ deep. Two custom drivers pointed in opposite directions ensure that sound reflects off surrounding walls to separate instruments and “place vocals where the artist did,” all without “artificial effects or distortion.”

“Voice-controlled speakers aren’t new, and there are plenty of great options to choose from. But we had a different vision for ours, inspired by what we could uniquely do to make the experience better,” said Doug Cunningham, category manager in the Bose Consumer Electronics Division.

“All of our new smart speakers double up on functionality. It takes just one Home Speaker 500 to deliver true stereo separation — there’s no need to pair two. Our Soundbar 700 and 500 are thin and discreet with jaw-dropping surround sound — whether you’re streaming Spotify or watching a movie. They combine Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for unbeatable ease of use, can be mixed and matched to play in sync or separately, and with new Alexa functionality and more VPAs on the way, they’ll only get better over time.”

Notably, Bose’s smart speaker includes a front-facing display, but it doesn’t appear to be a touchscreen. In the announcement, Bose says that, “when touch control is preferred … there are buttons for basic functionality located right on the top,” allowing users to skip track, adjust volume, and more. In the owner’s guide, Bose says, “The speaker display shows speaker information and icons as well as the streaming service, album and artist currently playing.”

To compare, the HomePod has a 6 microphone array that allows the speaker to hear spoken Siri commands even when loud music is playing. HomePod measures in at 6.8 inches tall and 5.6 inches wide, so Bose’s option is also slightly larger. Compared to the Bose Home Speaker 500’s aluminum, Apple went for a mesh fabric webbing around the HomePod, and it only has a small 272 x 340 LED display at the top to display Siri’s waveform when commands are invoked.

The Bose Home Speaker 500 will launch in October for $399.95, which is about $50 more than HomePod’s $349.99 retail price and $100 more than recent discounts for Apple’s speaker. The Bose Soundbar 500 and 700 will cost $549.95 and $799.95, respectively, and also launch in October at Bose retail stores, Bose.com, and at authorized Bose dealers.

Tag: Bose
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Deals: RAVPower Discounts, eBay Sitewide Sale, B&H Photo MacBook Pro Savings, and More

RAVPower today launched a new sale on Amazon, offering its 26,800 mAh Power Bank for $51.99 with the MacRumors exclusive promo code RUMORS058, down from $81.99. We’re also entering the final week of our current exclusive sale with RAVPower, offering seven charging devices at a discount until September 2.

At B&H Photo, you can save $100 to $300 on the latest MacBook Pro models during a sale that will end this Friday, August 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The cheapest model in the sale is the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (2.3 GHz, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $1,599.00, down from $1,799.00.

Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.

15-inch models are also up for a discount, with the 15-inch MacBook pro with Touch Bar (2.2 GHz, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $2,099.00, down from $2,399.00. Check out every MacBook Pro on sale at B&H Photo right here, and if you prefer Adorama the retailer is also matching many of these prices.

Additionally, eBay’s latest sitewide coupon launched today, offering shoppers the chance to save 15 percent off nearly everything on eBay with coupon code PREGAME15. Exclusions to “everything” include warranties and protection plans, coins and paper money, gift cards and coupons, and real estate. Otherwise, you can shop today on eBay, add items worth $25 or more to your cart, and enter the code to get 15 percent off your order (capped at a maximum value of $100).

The code expires later tonight at 10:00 p.m. PT. As usual, eBay’s sitewide coupons are perfect for a wide variety of product categories, including smart home products, HomeKit devices, laptops, video games, smartphones, and much more. eBay’s Daily Deals page is a good place to start looking, but if you’ve been shopping around for something, chances are a seller is offering it on eBay and if it isn’t part of exclusions you might be able to save a little money during the flash sale today.

Lastly, if you’re on the hunt for App Store and iTunes gift card sales, Costco currently has the best discount online for its members: you can get the $100 gift card for $84.49 and the $25 gift card for $21.49. Both gift cards will be delivered via e-mail and the discounts expire on September 1. Costco also still has the HomePod on sale for $299.99, down from $349.99.

For more sales, head over to our full Deals Roundup.

Related Roundup: Apple Deals
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Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 fitness tracker only has one truly unique selling point: its price. For around $25, you can get a fitness tracker capable of pretty much everything a casual user could need. Its feature set rivals Fitbits that cost significantly more, to the point that they risk becoming almost obsolete. Unlike other budget options, this tracker doesn’t feel cheap or poorly made either.

However, there are still some compromises. In this Xiaomi Mi Band 3 review, let’s take a look at how well the tracker keeps pace with its pricier rivals.

Design

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 has a fairly by-the-numbers design, but it gets the job done. Like more affordable Fitbits, the device itself is separate from the band and can be popped out for charging, and the straps can be swapped out for different colors. Xiaomi sells blue and red straps directly, and third-party alternatives will undoubtedly appear in the near future as well.

The band that comes with the device is rubbery and somewhat plain. Bailey was understandably concerned about the latching mechanism degrading over time. It’s made from the same material as the previous two Mi Bands, both of which had this same problem. So far it’s done just fine and replacing it is easy if something does goes wrong. It’s comfortable to wear too, thanks to its slim profile and light weight. There are ample size settings available, so it should fit most wrists.

It’s like a snow globe with a little screen inside it…

Compared to previous Mi Bands, the 3 is a looker. The face is made entirely of curved glass, which gives it a very premium feel given the price point. The OLED display sits in the middle of the screen’s glass panel with invisible bezels. This look works well, and it feels nice to swipe and touch. It’s also very responsive. The screen didn’t pick up any scratches during my testing, but only time will tell if this remains the case.

Other than swipes and scrolling, the only other interactive element is the small indent at the bottom of the screen, which works like a back key.

The one downside with regards to this display is the severe lack of sunlight visibility. Bailey says this is an upgrade from the Mi Band 2, but that’s more an indictment of that device than praise for this one. It’s very hard to make out what’s going on in direct sunlight. However, since most interaction is handled on the phone (more on this in a moment), that’s not as big a problem as it could be.

The one downside with regards to this display is the severe lack of sunlight visibility

As an added bonus, the device is water resistant, meaning you can wear it in the shower or pool without worrying about ruining your new toy.

Features and performance

The real question is whether the Mi Band 3 can do everything you need. The answer depends very much on who you are and what you need.

As a basic health tracker, the Mi Band 3 can do a lot. It can track calories, count steps, monitor your heart rate, and register sleep. It does all of these things well for the most part. The heart rate monitoring seems fairly accurate and consistent with what I’d expect throughout the day, corroborating what devices like the Garmin Vivoactive 3 and Motiv Ring have told me when worn simultaneously. You can decide in the app how frequently it checks your heart rate, allowing you to better balance the completeness of the data with the device’s battery life.

You can choose between one, 10, and 30-minute intervals for heart rate monitoring. This is a very welcome feature we wish more trackers offered — getting your heart rate checked every minute provides much more detailed and granular insight into your day. It lets you do fun things like observe how your heart rate goes through the roof during a date, or after a strong coffee. This is something a lot of trackers just can’t offer, even at the more expensive end of the spectrum.

With one minute tracking, the battery life is roughly two days. That’s still impressive, but certainly something to keep in mind if you’re switching from previous Mi Bands, which consistently offer weeks of battery life. With 30-minute tracking, it can impressively last for a couple weeks — more than enough juice for most people.

The sleep tracking is basic but accurate. You basically just get the total time spent sleeping, along with how that time was divided between light and deep sleep. Being told you aren’t getting enough deep sleep is a useful nudge to change some habits and it’s encouraging to see how smart sleep hygiene changes can benefit you in this regard. Sleep detection is also automatic, so you won’t need to remember to tell the Mi Band you’re going to bed. Again, this was accurate in my time with it — it even identified brief periods of wakefulness during the early hours of the morning.

Bailey mentioned he wished it worked for shorter naps, but this is less of a problem for those of us no longer in school (it wouldn’t hurt to have the option to manually begin sleep tracking — especially for those working night shifts or other unusual hours which will currently go untracked). The Mi Band falls short of the far more in-depth feedback offered by Fitbit’s more expensive trackers, but that is par for the course with a device this inexpensive.

Step counting is likewise very good, so you should be able to calculate your calories with reasonable accuracy, minus the caveats and limitations inherent to all such devices I’ve discussed previously.

Activity tracking

Activity tracking is less impressive. The Mi Band 3 only has four activity profiles: running, treadmill running, walking, and cycling. If you plan to lift some weights and monitor your heart rate during that workout — or even just log it for posterity — you will be sorely disappointed. The same goes for swimming, playing sports, or engaging in pretty much any other kind of activity. All Xiaomi had to do was to create a “misc” profile to avoid this, and perhaps give us the opportunity to rename workouts after-the-fact.

I’ve know talked about this glaring oversight before, but it’s a common gripe I have with trackers. In my experience, more people go to the gym to lift weights than those that run, and yet it seems running is the top priority of 99 percent of devices. It doesn’t make a lot of sense.

The only way to start a run is through the app. So not only do you need the app with you to track said activity, but you also need to get your phone out of your pocket to trigger or even pause it. It’s a bit of a nuisance.

For what it’s worth, you get a fairly decent amount of detail after a run, including average speed, pace, stride, total steps, uphill, and more. You can also see your heart rate, pace, and other information over time in convenient charts. The app will also use your phone’s GPS to map out where you’ve been, and when running in completely random directions I’ve been unable to fool it. Although this is better than you might expect (and more detailed than some comparable devices from Fitbit), it won’t challenge any serious running watches or higher-end fitness trackers.

Software

The software experience with the Mi Band 3 is in keeping with the rest of its barebones approach.

Setting up the Mi Fit app is easy enough and navigation is fairly straightforward once you learn where everything is (not always where you expect it). Information on the home page is presented in a vertical list which lets you view paired devices, your sleep, your heart rate, weight, and goals. At the top of the page is a graphic showing your overall step count and calories at a glance. Tapping that symbol will give you a more detailed breakdown of your day, with autodetected elements like walks and “light activity.” These activities aren’t shown elsewhere in the app, and you can’t expand on them for more detail. This is where you might be able to see something like a workout appear, or a quick walk to the shops. It’s nice to have some record of your activity outside of runs, but it could be expanded on and made a lot clearer.

There are some elements lacking here too. There’s no way to directly synchronize with MyFitnessPal, which a lot of dieters rely on. Thankfully, you can do this via Google Fit, which is a fortunate saving grace. Social features are limited to adding friends via QR codes, and you don’t get any of the “insights” or suggestions you get with some similar apps. The app presents the data, but you’ll have to draw your own conclusions about it.

You’ll be left to draw your own conclusions as to how this should inform your healthy choices going forward.

The software mostly gets the job done, but it isn’t perfect and bring nothing new to the table. If some additional time were spent on this part of the equation, we feel it would be possible to get even more out of the hardware. Xiaomi is generally pretty good in this regard, so we hope the software continues to improve. If not, hopefully an SDK will be made available so developers can plug the gaps, which has also happened in the past.

Smartwatch features & firmware

It would be generous to call the Mi Band 3 a smartwatch, but its smart features are still impressive, given its price. You can get notifications from five different apps, call notifications, and the weather. There’s a “find my phone” function (I wish this worked with all my possessions). It’s even got a stopwatch, with a few different watch faces. It’s not much but it’s all very welcome. Bailey and I both had the screen freeze up on us on occasion, however.

The biggest overall problem was an inconsistent Bluetooth experience. On my Galaxy S8 Plus, I had no problem pairing and syncing the device, and it reliably updated whenever I opened the app. On the Honor 10 however, I found it impossible to sync. The Honor 10 has been a little prone to these issues in the past, but it should still work with this watch. If you’re thinking of buying the Mi Band 3, you should do your research to ensure it works with your device first (or just be willing to return it if you have any issues).

The bigger concern was that my Mi Band 3 also unpaired from the S8 Plus without explanation or warning. The tracker didn’t stop syncing — it just completely forgot about my phone. I didn’t catch this right away (the S8 Plus is not actually my current daily driver — I was using it to check when I got home), so I actually lost over a day’s worth of data. It could be that the device only stores 24 hours of data — no sync, no record.

Bailey had no such problem, and you would hopefully be less likely to notice this issue if the device were to sync to your daily driver. However, it’s illustrative of an occasionally buggy experience.

Closing thoughts

We don’t want this all to come across as a whine — it absolutely isn’t. To reiterate, this thing is 169 Yuan (~$24.37). That’s incredibly cheap. It would still be a good deal with a fraction of the information it gathers compared with the competition.

It makes the price of something like the Fitbit Alta (otherwise a great device) pretty hard to defend.

This isn’t quite on par with the top-end trackers out there. It’s close, and it certainly beats a lot of significantly more expensive devices. However, the video reviews popping up on YouTube with titles like the “Best Fitness Tracker?” are clickbait nonsense. This is certainly not the best, nor is it meant to be.

However, this might very well be the best value fitness tracker out there. It might even be the best for you. As long as you aren’t a serious athlete, you’ll probably get everything you need from this device — from notifications on your wrist to in-depth heart rate monitoring. Just keep the syncing issues and narrow selection of activity tracking options in mind when considering buying one.

The price here makes competition such as the Fitbit Alta pretty hard to defend

The Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is cheap enough that even more serious users could probably buy this as a backup device and still get their money’s worth. If you’re on a tight budget or just looking to get your feet wet with an activity monitor, it’s easy to recommend the Xiaomi Mi Band 3.

Samsung’s external X5 SSD blazes like the stick-shaped drive in your desktop

If you’re looking for a quick way to save your files on an external drive, Samsung just introduced its first external NVMe-based solid- state drive: the Samsung Portable SSD X5. It requires a Thunderbolt 3 connection, meaning your files will transfer to and from the drive at up to 40Gbps. The X5 targets professionals and content designers who need a fast, durable drive while they’re on the go.

The key takeaway from here is the NVMe aspect, short for Non-Volatile Memory Express. It’s a specification for NAND flash memory for connecting a storage device to a host PC’s PCI Express bus. In other words, it communicates with the fast lines in your PC versus taking the slow routes used by standard hard drives and cartridge-sized SSDs.

As previously stated, Thunderbolt 3 promises transfer speeds of up to 40Gbps, depending on how many PCI Express lanes the connection can access. By comparison, the older USB 2.0 ports trot along at 480Mbps while the newer USB 3.1 ports are faster at 5Gbps (Gen1) and 10Gbps (Gen2). All three pale in comparison to Thunderbolt 3 connectivity.

That all said, Samsung’s new external drive boasts read speeds of up to 2,800MB per second, and write speeds of up to 2,300MB per second. That’s crazy fast for a hand-held external drive thanks to the Thunderbolt 3 connection and the NVMe-based NAND flash memory. According to Samsung, that read speed is 25.5 times faster than what you will find with a USB-based hard drive.

But Samsung isn’t just targeting speed. The new Portable SSD X5 features a shock-resistant internal frame and rugged metal housing capable of withstanding drops of up to 6.6 feet. This frame is enclosed with a full-metal body sporting a glossy finish. A non-slip mat lines the bottom so it’s not easily dropped or gliding across your desktop surface.

“The Dynamic Thermal Guard technology and a heat sink — a mechanical internal solution — safeguard the X5 from overheating, ensuring reliability while maintaining optimal operating temperatures,” the company says. “The X5 also offers powerful data protection with ‘Samsung Portable SSD Software,’ based on the AES 256-bit hardware data encryption, including optional password protection and easy configuration of security settings.”

Of course, Samsung’s new external SSDs don’t come cheap. The 500GB model retails for $400, the 1TB model sells for $700 and the 2TB version for a hefty $1,400. The drives won’t be made available globally until September 3.

Meanwhile, here are a few more specifications:

• Capacity: 500GB / 1TB / 2TB
• Interface: Thunderbolt 3 only (via USB-C)
• Size: 4.7 x 2.4 x 0.8 inches
• Weight: 5.3 ounces
• Performance: Up to 2,800MB/s read – Up to 2,300MB/s write
• Performance (500GB model only): Up to 2,800MB/s read – Up to 2,100MB/s write
• Encryption: AES 256-bit hardware-based
• Security: Samsung Portable SSD Software
• Compatibility: MacOS 10.12 or higher – Windows 10 Creators Update (64-bit) or higher
• Warranty: Three-year limited warranty

Editors’ Recommendations

• How to choose an external hard drive
• Intel’s ruler-shaped SSD packs 32TB of storage, aims to redesign servers
• SSD vs. HDD
• The largest flash drives
• What changed on Apple’s new MacBook Pro (and why you’ll care)

How to create a good password

You should always use a good unique password everywhere. Here’s how to create them.

Every person reading this needs to know a password or two. Probably a lot more than two. So much of what we do every day is done online where being able to safely and securely identify ourselves is uber-important, and companies offering services are obligated to give you what’s needed to make that happen. That means a username and a password.

It also means that your password simply has to be good. In this case, “good” means complex enough so it’s not easy to guess, difficult to brute-force, and there’s an easy way to manage them all because you never use the same password twice. It’s complicated and a part of everyday life.

Making good passwords and keeping track of them all can suck. Here’s a fun little test: open 10 instances of a blank page in any note taking app or program. In each, type out a random string of characters. Now go back and look at them all and see if you can find the places where your typing is anything but random. It will be because of ergonomics and whatever keyboard we use (physical or virtual) has the same characters in the same place. If furiously banging (or tapping) on keys can’t create a random password, what can we do?

A good password

Typically, a good password is eight unique and randomly ordered characters, written in the form of a single word. That doesn’t mean a passphrase that’s eight characters long, but that there are eight characters — including numbers, symbols, and punctuation — in the passphrase that are not repeated. Why eight? Because that’s what researchers have determined: eight characters bring the minimum amount of information entropy needed to be secure. I’m a bit of a math nerd and in case you are, the formula used to calculate how much entropy a password has is:

H = log2 NL = L log2 N = L logN/log2

Where N = number of possible characters, L = number of total characters in the passphrase. H = entropy in bits (log is any base).

That’s not very useful to anyone who isn’t an information security analyst who specializes in cryptology, math nerd or not. It’s just here to show that there are people who have figured things out and recommended to Google that it require an eight-digit password. For our purposes, a good password is one that is complex enough to meet the criteria without making our head spin around in circles. According to those folks mentioned above a good human-generated password should:

• Use a minimum length of 8 unique characters, and up to 15 if permitted.
• Include lowercase and uppercase alphabetic characters, numbers and symbols if permitted.
• Be unique.
• Include no words found in any dictionary of any language.
• Include no proper names.
• Include no numerical information about yourself (no birthdays, anniversary dates, etc.).
• Contain no numeric sequences based on well-known numbers (911, pi, 999, etc.).
• Be accompanied by easy to guess password restore security questions.

OK, so this means we’re probably not going to want to use something like ABC123 or OICU812. There’s a reason for this, and it’s one we can all understand — computers have become incredibly powerful in a very short time and cracking passwords using brute-force attacks can be automated on rented equipment.

You can even try to crack passwords using a phone instead of a supercomputer. Technology has come a long way in the last 10 years.

An attacker can rent an unlimited amount of GPU cores from Amazon for as little as $3 each and use them to run dictionary-based attacks against lists of known accounts until Amazon catches on and shuts them down. The people who do this aren’t looking for you or me (unless we’re like rich and famous) and are instead just trying to breach as many accounts as possible. It really sucks when one of those accounts is yours.

Making a good password

Now that we can appreciate how difficult a task researchers and cryptologists face when they decide what constitutes a good password, let’s talk about how to make one.

There won’t be any math here because the answer is simple — use the password generator tool that a good password manager has. There’s no reason not to do it — you’ll need some sort of password management system that you can keep with you and there are plenty of good password manager apps available for free in Google Play. If you insist on generating your own password by hand, remember the basic guidelines above and don’t keep a list of your passwords on your phone. It can be done, even though it’s a lot more work.

If you decide to let the pseudo-random wizard inside a password manager app build passwords for you, here are a few tips:

• Make a strong master password and change it every six months.
• Don’t keep a copy of the master password on your phone but do keep a copy somewhere safe.
• Check if your password generator has options (it probably does). If so:
  • Make every password a minimum of 8 characters.
  • Blacklist characters that are hard for a human to read (the numbers zero and one, the lower case letter L, the upper and lower case letter O, and the piping symbol | are examples). You might need to enter the password by hand from time to time!

Also, make sure to keep your password manager app up to date and only use one from a company you trust. And don’t forget to use two-factor authentication for every account that offers it.

More: Best Password Managers for Android

Is it worth getting the Note 9 or should you wait for the Galaxy S10?

If you’re a Samsung fan, you’ve got a big decision to make right now.

The Galaxy Note 9 just came out last Friday, and if you caught our full review of the phone, you’ll know that we’re big fans of Samsung’s latest creation. The Note 9 checks off just about every box you could ask for, including a great display, long battery life, plenty of software features, etc.

There’s no question that the Note 9 is an excellent phone, but is it the right device to get? We’re likely just a few short months out from the Galaxy S10, and as such, holding off for it may be the better move.

Here’s what some of our AC forum users have to say on the matter.

TechNut79
08-27-2018 04:02 AM

“

If you keep waiting, you’ll never get a device because a newer one is always on the horizon. Get the S9 or S9+ or pay a little more and get the Note 9.

Reply

amyf27
08-27-2018 05:43 AM

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Depends on your knees really. Are you having any issues with the S8 plus? I had that one for a while and it’s a great phone. And don’t 9 I have now and it’s absolutely fantastic but a bit of a price tag LOL just a few things to consider there. Depending on what carrier with there may be some decent offers on trade ins or other offers related to getting into the note 9. I would suggest going into…

Reply

Nakrohtap
08-27-2018 05:47 AM

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If you have no issues with it your current phone, just wait it out a few more months. It doesn’t sound like you really want a Note. If you have an S8+, it sounds like you have a little patience, anyways.

Reply

dov1978
08-27-2018 07:29 AM

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I’m waiting for the S10+ personally. I had the Note 8 and the Note 9 is only a minor update. The S10’s are shaping up to get a big overhaul with more new features etc so I’m way more excited by that

Reply

What do you think? Is it worth getting the Note 9 now or should you wait for the Galaxy S10?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

• Samsung Galaxy Note 9 review
• Galaxy Note 9 vs. Note 8
• Where to buy the Galaxy Note 9
• Galaxy Note 9 specifications
• Is the Note 8 still a good buy?
• Join our Galaxy Note 9 forums

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