Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20 RS quick look

We’re still working on our review of the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, but today we had the opportunity to try out the €1,695 Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20 RS.

Internally, there’s not much different with the Porsche Design model. The baseline option is running 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but Huawei is also selling a 512GB storage option for €2,095. It’s still running the same Kirin 980 SoC you’ll find in the standard edition Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro.

Editor’s Pick

Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS review: Is it worth that premium?

Huawei is one of the few brands keeping the luxury phone trend alive. It doesn’t have diamond-encrusted notches or Vertu-level pricing, but the Porsche Design Huawei Mate RS reaches well beyond its Huawei P20 stablemates …

The primary difference with this device is aesthetic. The Porsche Design Huawei Mate 20 Pro has two strips of genuine cow leather on the back, surrounding a center strip of black glass. This glass also embeds the cubed camera array, and there is no camera bump like there is on the standard Mate 20 Pro. Near the center of the glass, you’ll find a Porsche Design logo, with the Huawei logo directly underneath.

You’ll also have access to a few special wallpapers exclusive to the device, with a couple of live wallpapers animating the Porsche stripes. We’ve gone ahead and stripped these wallpapers from the device and have them available for download here.

How do you feel about a company partnering with a car brand to boost brand value? We’ve seen other moves in the past from the likes of Oppo and Lamborghini, so it’s not like this move is completely unheard of.

Check it out at Porsche Design

Snatch this year’s Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar at a discount

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Amazon has the latest edition of the Lego Star Wars Advent Calendar on sale for just $33.99 today. Last year’s version was a hit that became harder to find as Christmas crept closer, so purchasing it now not only saves you some cash but also a headache if you might want one later this year.

This advent calendar is perfect for the young Star Wars fan in your life as it comes with 24 Lego Star Wars surprises for every day of December leading up to Christmas! Some of the surprises might be minifigures to add to the collection, while others might be buildable mini models of vehicles like a Tie Fighter or an AT-ACT walker. It includes 307 pieces in total along with a foldout play mat.

See at Amazon

Chrome OS is skipping Oreo entirely, grabs Pie and new Assistant UI

Oreo, Oreo, wherefore art thou Oreo?

Chrome OS has had Android apps for a while, and as such has Android Nougat running as a subsystem within Chrome OS. Now, Nougat is two years old at this point, and replacing it will be Android 9.0 Pie rather than Android 8.0 Oreo. Android Pie has a lot of improvements and expanded features within its lovely crust for Chromebooks to savor, and while the first Canary channel update for Chromebooks to contain Pie — which is pushing out to Pixelbooks on that channel — has a lot to reveal about just what the Chrome OS team will be taking advantage of, there are a couple changes that are quite noticeable in the new version.

Source: Chrome Unboxed

The look of the Settings app on the new Canary channel release — as displayed on Chrome Unboxed — is quite similar to what you’d see on Android tablets or phones and, honestly, has a lot more dead space than before. I’m not thrilled, but hopefully before it comes to Beta or Stable channels, Settings can refine itself to a menu that resembles Android but take advantage of a Chromebook’s increased real estate.

The other big change here involves Google Assistant. The search bar at the top of the Chromebook dock has been replaced with a Google Assistant bar, complete with suggested sites and apps below the bar, and when you summon Google Assistant, instead of a window that hides off in a corner, Assistant sits proudly with a wide window front and center on your Chromebook’s screen, making Assistant much easier to see, read, and engage.

Source: Chrome Unboxed

The Google Pixel Slate showed the same Google Assistant bar in its app drawer and dock in our hands-on last week, so it’s unclear if this new Assistant UI might be arriving on Beta or Stable channels for more devices before Android Pie, but it is definitely progress, and it reminds us that Chrome OS is indeed ever-evolving.

Want to make the jump to the Canary channel? Read this first.

VPNSecure is currently 94% off

Banking information. Mortgage payment history. Your important documents. Nearly all of your life is online these days, and, while convenient, that can be scary. There are many people out there looking to act maliciously, and we need to be sure that is in the back of our brains at all times. While you can’t avoid using the internet (in most cases), you can ensure that it is a secure connection when you do use it.

VPNs have become more and more popular as the time passes because people want to make sure that the information they are transmitting is getting to the right places. VPNSecure is a great option, and right now you can score a sweet deal on a lifetime subscription to the service. With it you’ll be able to connect up to five devices at the same time, use unlimited bandwidth and more.

Some of the key features include:

• Allows you to bypass geolocation blocks on your favorite streaming networks
• Encrypts your traffic so hackers can’t access your data
• Hides your location & IP address
• Supports torrents
• Allows you to connect five devices simultaneously
• Grants you the ability to choose Data Cipher
• Uses Stealth VPN to render your VPN traffic unrecognizable
• Delivers unlimited bandwidth
• Does not keep any logs of your activity
• Includes servers in 46+ countries & counting
• Protects against DNS leak fixes, kill switches & more

You are getting a whole lot for your money here. VPNSecure normally costs $450 for the lifetime subscription, but right now you can pick one up for only $25.

Browsing the web can get you in loads of trouble if you aren’t careful, so be sure to grab this at its 94% discount to secure your browsing sessions.

See at Android Central Digital Offers

Better Together is rolling out to Dev channel Chromebooks

Not sure what’s new in Chrome OS? We’ve got you covered!

Chrome OS, Google’s own desktop operating system, receives regular updates to outfit it with new features, bug fixes, and more. There are three main levels of Chrome OS (Stable, Beta, and Developer) and while you can learn more about what these mean here, this guide will be updated regularly to highlight the main additions with each new release.

Since Google releases updates so frequently, we’ll only share them when something significant is added or patched as new builds are rolled out.

Without further ado, here’s what’s new in the Stable, Beta, and Developer Channels for Chrome OS!

Stable

September 19, 2018 — Stable Channel now getting Chrome OS 69 with Material Theme UI, easy emoji access, and more!

After making its way to the Beta Channel last month, users in the Stable Channel are now receiving their official update to Chrome OS 69.

All of the changes we were introduced to last month are included here, meaning there’s a new UI for the Files app, refreshed Material Theme design for the Chrome browser, the night light feature can be enabled without having to mess with flags, and using a Chrome OS device in tablet mode should now feel a lot better.

Chrome OS 69 also brings something we’ve been waiting for for years — easy access to emojis! Just right-click on any open text field, click “Emoji”, and a virtual keyboard will pop up at the bottom so you can quickly find what you want.

The update is rolling out to everyone on the Stable Channel now, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

June 7, 2018 — Progressive Web Apps can be installed and Tablet Mode gets split-screen support

Chrome OS’s Stable Channel was updated to 67.0.3396.78 on June 7, and it comes equipped with a host of new features.

One of the big highlights is the ability to download Progressive Web Apps as standalone applications — similar to how you’d download Android or regular Chrome OS apps. Progressive Web Apps are technically portals to websites but come with refined user interfaces and increased performance. They essentially give you desktop apps for things like Spotify, Flipboard, and more without developers having to create apps specifically for Chrome OS, meaning that we’ve just about ended the complaint that Chrome OS doesn’t have enough applications available for it.

Another big addition is that you can now use apps/websites in split-screen while in Tablet Mode. With devices like the HP Chromebook X2 and Acer Chromebook Tab 10 now around, a feature like this couldn’t have come at a better time.

Other goodies include a cleaner list of your Bluetooth devices, the ability to zip files on Google Drive via the built-in Files app, and new shortcuts that pop up when holding down your power button.

Read through the full changelog here

Beta

August 24, 2018 — Chrome OS 69 adds a blue light filter, Linux app support, and Material Theme UI

Chrome OS 69 is rolling out now to the Beta Channel for “most” Chrome OS devices, and there’s a lot of cool stuff to check out.

First of all, Linux app support is finally included! This is something that’s been limited to the Developer Channel for quite some time, so it’s exciting to see it now be ready for Beta users. Linux support is only available for select Chromebooks, including the Pixelbook, HP Chromebook X2, Samsung Chromebook Plus, and more.

Also new is a night light / blue light filter mode right in the quick settings. This is something that previously required you to enable a flag, so while not an entirely new feature, it’s much easier to access now.

Lastly, this update brings an updated UI with elements from Google’s Material Theme aesthetic and changes to the BIOS and trackpad firmware.

June 7, 2018 — All HTTP sites are now labeled as “Not Secure”

HTTPS is the future of website security, but for whatever reason, there are still some sites that continue to use the old HTTP standard.

As it stands right now, sites using HTTPS show a green “Secure” badge to the left of the domain. Starting with the Chrome OS 68 beta, that “Secure” badge is being removed and all HTTP sites wil show a “Not Secure” label so users can more easily identify if they’re on a site that’s not as safe as it should be.

Read through the full changelog here

Developer

October 21, 2018 — ‘Better Together’ Android phone pairing feature rolling out

Pairing and syncing between Chromebooks and Android phones has been something we’ve all wanted for a while, and Google has been working on the Better Together feature to do it for quite a while, but until now, we’ve only had placeholders, rumors, and strings of Chromium. Well, some users are getting the chance to actually test out Better Together as the service rolls out on the Chromeook Dev channel.

Source: Android Police

If your Chromebook is eligible, you’ll receive a notification about the service asking you to set it up and manage your device preferences in the new Connected Device settings. Currently, those settings include two of the three features that Better Together was reported to include back in the summer: SMS syncing through the Android Messages desktop client and Smart Lock to keep your Chromebook unlocked when your phone is nearby.

The last feature was Instant tethering — something that the Pixelbook and Pixel phones already do — but as the feature is just beginning its time on the Dev channel, there are plenty of changes that could happen in the coming weeks and months.

July 11, 2018 — Android Nougat’s app shortcuts are now live!

App shorcuts, first introduced with Android Nougat, are finally making their way to Chrome OS.

On July 11, 2018, Chrome OS evangelist François Beaufort announced that they are now live in the Chrome OS Dev Channel.

To start using them, simply enable the flag chrome://flags/#enable-touchable-app-context-menu. Once that’s done, right-click on an Android app that’s pinned to your shelf or in your app drawer and you’ll see the app shortcuts menu pop up.

The flag is still experimental, so don’t be alarmed if things are a bit buggy right now.

June 8, 2018 — The Pixelbook’s power button can act as a physical two-factor authentication key

Two-factor authentication is a great way to secure your online presence, and one way to go about this is by using a USB key. If you’ve got a Pixelbook running the Developer Channel, you can now mimic the functionality of a USB U2F key with its power button.

To enable this, simply open a Chrome Shell and enter u2f_flags g2f. As with everything in the Developer Channel, this feature isn’t the most stable so consider having a USB key anyways just in case something goes wrong.

June 5, 2018 — Chrome OS’s emoji shortcut is now available!

Chrome OS has long been in need of an easy way to access emojis, and if you’re running the Developer Channel, there’s a new tool that allows you to do just that.

After enabling the flag chrome://flags/#enable-emoji-context-menu, right-click on a text field and you’ll see a new “Emoji” option. Click on this, and you’ll be able to insert whatever emoji you’d like.

It’s reported that the implementation is still a little wonky, but it should smooth out as it makes its way through the Beta and Stable Channels.

How to change your software channel on Chrome OS

Chromebooks

• The best Chromebooks
• Chromebooks in education: Everything you need to know
• Should you buy a Chromebook?
• Chromebook Buyers Guide
• Google Pixelbook review
• Join our Chromebook forums

Smart bulbs, gaming laptops, and more are discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

There’s never a shortage of deals available, but sorting through all of them can be difficult at times. We’ve handpicked all the best tech, and everyday essentials discounts that you can take advantage of right now and brought them to one central location. From wireless routers to trucker hats, these are today’s best deals.

Tech Deals

View the rest of the deals

Everyday Essentials

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

…and a clock, and microwave, and a… [#acpodcast]

Daniel Bader, Andrew Martonik, Alex Dobie, and Jerry Hildenbrand are here to celebrate the 400th episode of Android Central Podcast with some seriously deep Pixel 3 gazing and analysis of the Huawei Mate 20 series phones! They also discuss Pixel Slate, Google Home Hub, and a ton more!

Plus, as a special bonus, Ara Wagoner is joined by Des Smith of T-Mobile to chat about the history of Android phones and share some of their favorite devices. This is a truly epic episode. Don’t miss a syllable!

Listen now

• Subscribe in iTunes: Audio
• Subscribe in RSS: Audio
• Download directly: Audio

Show Notes and Links:

• Google Pixel Slate hands-on
• Google Home Hub preview
• Google Pixel 3 review
• Huawei Mate 20 Pro hands-on
• Huawei Mate 20 series: Everything you need to know!
• My Logitech Harmony remote is one of the best purchases I’ve ever made
• @askdes Des Smith on Twitter
• Android Central Celebrates 400 Episodes of the #ACPodcast — Special Edition LIVE Video Podcast ***This is a special video stream that’s entirely different from the Ep. 400 audio podcast.

Sponsors:

• Thrifter.com: All the best deals from Amazon, Best Buy, and more, fussily curated and constantly updated.

Here’s every Google Pixel 3 case we could find

Keeping your Google Pixel 3 in mint condition has never been easier, with so many cases available for Google’s latest flagship. Whether you’re looking for a thin case, a heavy-duty case, a wallet case, or anything else, this list has all the options for you in one place!

Thin cases

Spigen Thin Fit

Spigen Thin Fit

$12 at Amazon

Incipio NGP

Incipio NGP

$20 at Incipio

Totallee Case

Totallee Case

$29 at Totallee

Avalri Ultra Thin

Avalri Ultra Thin

$12 at Amazon

Cimo Slim Grip

Cimo Slim Grip

$8 at Amazon

VRS Thin Grip

VRS Thin Grip

$11 at Amazon

MNML Case

MNML Case

$15 at MNML

Clear cases

Spigen Liquid Crystal

Spigen Liquid Crystal

$12 at Amazon

Spigen Ultra Hybrid S

Spigen Ultra Hybrid S

$14 at Amazon

MoKo Clear Case

MoKo Clear Case

$8 at Amazon

Ringke Fusion

Ringke Fusion

$9 at Amazon

Ringke Fusion X

Ringke Fusion X

$11 at Amazon

Caseology Waterfall

Caseology Waterfall

$10 at Amazon

Speck Presidio Stay Clear

Speck Presidio Stay Clear

$40 at Speck

Tech21 Pure Clear

Tech21 Pure Clear

$40 at Tech21

Trianium CLARIUM

Trianium CLARIUM

$8 at Amazon

VRS Cleasr case

VRS Clear Case

$8 at Amazon

Rugged Cases

Spigen Rugged Armor

Spigen Rugged Armor

$13 at Amazon

Spigen Neo Hybrid

Spigen Neo Hybrid

$14 at Amazon

Caseology Vault Series

Caseology Vault Series

$12 at Amazon

Speck Presidio Grip

Speck Presidio Grip

$40 at Speck

Tech21 Evo Check

Tech21 Evo Check

$40 at Tech21

UAG Pylo

UAG Pylo

$40 at UAG

Digital Hutty Protective Cover

Digital Hutty Protective Cover

$11 at Amazon

Heavy Duty Cases

Spigen Slim Armor

Spigen Slim Armor

$39 at Amazon

Spigen Tough Armor

Spigen Tough Armor

$17 at Amazon

Caseology Legion Series

Caseology Legion Series

$16 at Amazon

Otterbox Defender Series

Otterbox Defender Series

$50 at Amazon

Tech21 Evo Max

Tech21 Evo Max

$45 at Tech21

UAG Monarch

UAG Monarch

$60 at UAG

Poetic Revolution 360 Degree Protection

Poetic Revolution 360 Degree Protection 

$17 at Amazon

CoverON HexaGuard Series

CoverON HexaGuard Series

$8 at Amazon

Leather & Wallet Cases

Bellroy Lather Phone Wallet

Bellroy Lather Phone Wallet

$89 at Bellroy

Bettop Anti-Slip Case

Bettop Anti-Slip Case

$8 at Amazon

Bellroy Calssic Leather Case

Bellroy Calssic Leather Case

$45 at Bellroy

Arae Wallet Case

Arae Wallet Case

$13 at Amazon

Maxboost Wallet Case

Maxboost Wallet Case

$10 at Amazon

KEZiHOME Two-Tone Laather Case

KEZiHOME Two-Tone Laather Case

$17 at Amazon

Other Cases

Wood Cases by Carved

Wood Cases by Carved

$40 at Amazon

Google Fabric case

Google Fabric case

$40 at Google

Moment Photo Lens Case

Moment Photo Lens Case

$35 at Amazon

This entire list is full of a bunch of great options to protect your Pixel 3, regardless of your budget or style preferences. A personal favorite of mine is the Spigen Neo Hybrid because I find it has the best mix of style, protection, and thickness, that makes it feel good either in my pocket or in my hand. Either way, no matter what you’re looking for, there’s a case out there for you.

Google Home Hub Review: Little, fierce, and nearly perfect

The most impressive example of Google’s design chops I have ever touched.

Adding a display to smart speakers is a relatively new thing still, so a lot of companies are experimenting to figure out the “best” experience for everyone. For such a simple concept, it really does require careful design to create something you can put anywhere and still have it be great. The way the speakers fire, the angle of the display, and the amount of space the whole thing takes up are all incredibly important. Mess one of these things up, and your smart display stops being useful in several rooms of most homes.

Google’s Home Hub was announced with a couple of bold claims. According to the marketing materials, this is the smart display you’d actually want to put in your bedroom, or feel comfortable putting anywhere else and enjoy the way it disappears into the environment until you want to use it. For anyone who has used an Amazon Echo Show or Lenovo Smart Display, you know these claims are more than a little lofty.

After a few days using it, however, I see this isn’t marketing fluff at all. Google’s Home Hub really does disappear into a room, and it really is the only smart display I would ever put in my bedroom. And it all comes down to the simple, brilliant design decisions that went into this impressively tiny assistant.

Just about perfect

Google Home Hub

$149 at Best Buy

The hype is absolutely real

If you want a smart display for any room but the kitchen, this is the thing to get. Google nailed every aspect of this design, and Google Assistant has never shone brighter.

The Good

• Flawless LCD display
• Fantastic night modes
• Practical privacy features
• Nearly perfect microphones
• Clever new Smart Home management tools

The Bad

• WHY NO NETFLIX, GOOGLE?

Google Home Hub What I like

After the last year of the bulky Amazon Echo Show and the massive Lenovo Smart Display taking up space in my kitchen, the first thing that continues to blow me away about Google’s Home Hub is how compact it is. This thing is tiny compared to the current batch of smart displays. The 7-inch screen sits in front of a conical speaker with two buttons on the entire body, and that’s the privacy switch to disable the microphone and a volume rocker. The bezels on the display aren’t bad either, so you really just get the display and a little bit of the stand when looking at it head on.

This thing is tiny.

Firing Home Hub up felt neatly identical to the Lenovo Smart Display, even though they aren’t both running Android Things. Instead, Home Hub is running something lighter-weight and based on Google Cast, but you really wouldn’t know it by looking at or interacting with this thing.

The way it reacts to “Hey Google” and the kind of information it displays is identical, save for one key place. There’s a top menu you can pull down with a swipe, and it looks a whole lot like the Home controls in your Google Home app. You can swipe around to control lights, outlets, thermostats, really anything connected to your network that works with Google Assistant. It’s a souped-up version of the home control system you see on the Amazon Echo Show, and a worthy addition to this experience.

The real star of the show here is the display. This 7-inch LCD panel works with a light sensor on the front on the Home hub to match your room in the same way your phone does. If it’s dark in the room, the panel dims. If you use LEDs that lean more on the cooler end of the color spectrum, Home Hub will adjust to match. If the lights are out entirely, Home Hub will shift to a super dim black-and-white clock that you could easily use on a bedside table.

When you’re not using it at all, Home Hub’s brightness will drop to a position that makes it so the display is almost impossible to notice unless you’re looking for it. Where most displays are bright enough to catch your attention as you walk through a room, Home Hub intentionally avoids this. My son, poking at the new thing in the house, remarked that the display looked like an actual photo was taped to the front of it, instead of like a screen. When you aren’t using this thing, Google wants it to disappear. And it does.

This is a stunning example of how much Google as a company is focusing on quality design and functionality, while being dead simple to set up and use.

There’s nothing missing from this experience, either. Using Google Cast instead of Android Things does not mean it is missing something the Lenovo Smart Display offers. You can stream music and video to it, dial out and receive video calls with Duo, and access all of the same great kitchen-friendly cooking instructions. The microphones easily picked up my voice from across the room even when blasting music at 90% of its max volume, and it connects to any other Google Assistant speaker for a unified music experience.

And for my privacy-focused friends out there, you will find no camera on this smart display and the microphone is very easily disabled with a physical switch. What you will find is incorporation with Digital Wellbeing in the form of Downtime support. You can set Home Hub to stop responding at certain points of the day, which is handy when you want some personal time with a significant other or you want the kids to actually go to bed when you send them.

Home Hub can also be set to filter music and Actions to a PG rating, which is handy if you have little ones. Couple that with Google Assistant’s ability to only grant access to your personal information when it hears your voice making requests, and Google Home Hub quickly becomes the best option for safe and smart access to home controls.

Google Home Hub What I don’t like

There’s very little about this Home Hub I don’t like, but there are a few things about this design that are necessary compromises. The speakers on Home Hub are not the loudest in the world. They sound very good, especially when you use the Google Home app to customize the bass and treble to your personal liking, but if loud is all you’re looking for you won’t find it here. The massive speaker in the Lenovo Smart Display or Echo Show 2nd Gen are much louder — which makes sense because they’re also considerably larger. The speaker in Home Hub sounds pretty close to what you get with Google Home, which makes sense given the size.

My biggest frustration with Google Home hub is a piece of the software. Specifically, the confusing way you can’t use every Google Cast app with this display. Like the Lenovo Smart Display, you can’t connect Netflix at all. If you tap the Cast button in Netflix, smart displays don’t show up. Hulu, Plex, and dozens of others work just fine, and once you get a stream started from Cast on your phone you can control everything on Home Hub with your voice or with touch. We have yet to get a satisfactory answer from Netflix or Google on why this doesn’t work, but as someone who enjoys having a show on while I cook this really needs to be fixed.

Google Home Hub: Should you buy it?

I am already on board with smart displays, especially in the kitchen. But Google Home Hub is the first smart display I have wanted to use in other parts of the house. It’s a digital photo frame that looks like it’s holding real photos, a quality music speaker when you’re jamming out, and a fantastic way to start your day by asking for your news feed while getting dressed in the morning. This is a stunning example of how much Google as a company is focusing on quality design and functionality, while making things dead simple to set up and use.

And, honestly, the price is perfect. At $150, this is something you can be comfortable trying even if you’re not totally sold on smart displays. Once you have this one in your house, I’m pretty sure you’ll agree it’s just about as close to perfect as a smart display can get right now.

5
out of 5

Something I didn’t focus on much above, Home Hub comes in four really interesting colors. The Chalk (white) and Charcoal (black) colors are pretty safe for just about any house, but the Aqua (blue-green) and Sand (pink) colors really pop in person. Personally, I’m a fan of the Aqua, but the variety of options makes choosing the right one for you a lot more fun.

$See at Best Buy

These $60 truly wireless earbuds are better than you’d expect

These earbuds aren’t perfect, but for $60, they’re definitely worth a look.

TaoTronics makes some of the most popular budget headphones on Amazon, and if you caught my review of the company’s noise-canceling headphones, you’ll know that I’ve previously been impressed with what TaoTronics can pull off with such competitively-priced products.

The latest TaoTronics headphones to hit the scene is a pair of truly wireless earbuds. This is the very first time TaoTronics has tried making a pair of earbuds in this form factor, and while they’re far from perfect, this is a really valiant first result that’s still worth your consideration.

On the right track

TaoTronics True Wireless Earbuds

$60 at Amazon

A good entry into truly wireless earbuds.

Truly wireless earbuds require a lot of work to be any good, and while TaoTronic’s first shot at them isn’t perfect, reliable Bluetooth performance and a great price makes them worth a look.

The Good

• Easy pairing process
• Bluetooth connection is (mostly) reliable
• Multiple listening modes
• IPX7 water resistant

The Bad

• Sound quality is just OK
• Charging case feels cheap
• Finicky touch controls

TaoTronics True Wireless Earbuds What’s good

With truly wireless earbuds, one of the easiest things to get wrong is the pairing and connectivity. So many models utterly fail in these regards, but somehow TaoTronics has managed to avoid most of these pitfalls.

Upon pairing them to your phone for the first time, just put both earbuds in your ears, tap on them from the list of Bluetooth devices on your phone, and they’ll connect. From that point forward, they’ll automatically connect when you put them in your ears and disconnect when they’re placed back in the case.

While not quite as magical as what you’ll find with AirPods with an iPhone, everything here works much better than I was expecting. Bluetooth 5.0 is used to deliver strong connectivity for up to 10 meters (33 feet), and while I noticed a couple of tiny dropouts during my testing, it was for less than a second and nothing that really detracts too much from the overall experience.

You can listen in full stereo sound with both earbuds in each ear, or listen to mono audio with just one. Along with that, TaoTronics also offers a Twin Mode that allows two people to each use one earbud.

Add that together with IPX7 water resistance, customizable ear tips, and solid battery life (3 hours of playback with 40 chargers with the charging case), and it’s easy to see that TaoTronics did a lot of things right.

TaoTronics True Wireless Earbuds What needs some work

On that same note, there are a few areas where I’d like to see some improvements made if we get a version 2 of these earbuds at some point down the road.

For starters, sound quality can’t help but feel a bit lifeless. It’s perfectly fine for casual listening at the gym or around the house, but don’t expect anything more. Songs and podcasts aren’t unenjoyable to listen to, but bass is virtually nonexistent.

Sound quality for these earbuds is just OK.

You can control your tunes using a variety of taps on the side of either earbud, ranging from skipping tracks, playing/pausing a song, and even adjusting your volume. Having access to all of these controls is nice and something you won’t even find on the $160 AirPods, but if you’re not precise with each tap, it’s easy to not have anything be registered or to accidentally skip a song when you just meant to pause it.

As for the charging case, I’m a bit hesitant about how well it’ll hold up after a few months of solid use. It’s relatively portable and simple to use, but the button to open it is extremely mushy and the top plastic feels like it could pop off at any second.

Should you buy them? If you’re on a budget, maybe

Time to get down to business — should you buy the TaoTronics True Wireless Earbuds?

For its first shot at earbuds of this form factor, I think TaoTronics did an admirable job. The earbuds are enjoyable to use and give you the same conveniences of other products that cost $100 more.

If you absolutely need the truly wireless style, TaoTronics’ earbuds are some of the best you’ll find within this price range. Then again, if you’re okay with the traditional wireless style that has a wire connecting both earbuds, you can get similarly priced products with much better sound.

3.5
out of 5

I wouldn’t recommend everyone rush out and buy these ASAP, but for the right buyer, they could be exactly what you’ve been looking for.

See at Amazon