How to Customize the Monogram on Your Apple Watch

The monogram complication on Apple Watch is designed to let you choose up to four letters to appear on your watch’s display. Previously it was only available on the Color watch face, but if you’re a Series 4 owner, you can also use it on the new Infograph watch face.

The idea behind the monogram is to let you add your initials to your watch display, but there’s nothing stopping you from adding other characters. Emoji aren’t supported, but most unicode characters are, including of course the Apple  symbol.

You can find all manner of unicode characters on the web – try searching for “unicode faces” for some fun combinations. You could also download a unicode iPhone app like UniChar for a more complete selection. Just remember that you can only combine up to four characters in your monogram.

How to Add a Monogram to Your Apple Watch

Copy the unicode character(s) you want to use in your monogram to your iPhone’s clipboard. To copy from a web page, highlight the symbol(s) with a long press and then tap Copy from the popup menu.
Next, launch the stock Watch app on your iPhone.

Tap the My Watch tab if it’s not already selected.
Tap Clock.
Tap Monogram.
Paste the character(s) into the Monogram field.

Now, return to the main menu in the My Watch tab, and a select a Color or Infograph watch face from My Faces. (If you’re not yet using one, you can choose one from the Face Gallery.)
If you’re using an Infograph face, tap Sub-dial Top and choose Monogram. If you’re using a Color face, make sure the Monograph toggle is on.Once that’s done, your monogram should show up the next time you switch to the Color or Infograph watch face on your Apple Watch.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 5Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
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Uber agrees to pay $148 million for 2016 hack and cover-up

Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images

Uber’s 2016 shenanigans that saw it fail to report a massive data breach and led to it paying the hackers $100,000 has ended up costing the company $148 million.

The ridesharing giant has agreed to pay the sum after reaching a settlement with all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia that had accused it of breaking the rules.

The breach, in which hackers gained access to personal information linked to 57 million Uber customers and drivers around the world, came to light toward the end of 2017, a year after it had taken place. Uber knew about the hack but had tried to conceal it, going so far as paying the hackers $100,000 to destroy the stolen data.

The Washington Post described the $148 million settlement as “the largest multi-state penalty ever levied by state authorities” for an incident of this nature, and marks “the first time the company has settled a matter with the top law enforcement officials from all 50 states and the District.”

“Uber’s decision to cover up this breach was a blatant violation of the public’s trust,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “The company failed to safeguard user data and notify authorities when it was exposed.”

Becerra said that consistent with Uber’s substandard corporate culture at the time, the company “swept the breach under the rug in deliberate disregard of the law. Companies in California and throughout the nation are entrusted with customers’ valuable private information. This settlement broadcasts to all of them that we will hold them accountable to protect their data.”

The data breach took place during Travis Kalanick’s time as CEO and at a time when the company was fighting battles on multiple fronts. Dara Khosrowshahi replaced Kalanick in August 2017 and during an overhaul of the company’s business practices, insiders revealed its wrongdoing.

Khosrowshahi said he only found out about the hack shortly before it was made public, admitting that the company should have notified regulators as soon as they learned of the incident.

“None of this should have happened, and I will not make excuses for it,” the CEO said at the time while insisting that Uber would learn from its mistakes.

The $148 million fine will be split among the states and each will decide how the money is used. Uber has also agreed to continue with ongoing efforts to incorporate new systems aimed at preventing future hacks, and to improve its corporate culture.

In his first day in the job as Uber’s chief legal officer, Tony West said on Wednesday that he was “pleased” the agreement had been reached, adding that it had been right for its current management team to disclose the incident, and that the decision “embodies the principles by which we are running our business today: transparency, integrity, and accountability.”

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Google celebrates 20 years with a slew of Easter eggs and new Google Images

Google is turning 20. The company may lead the way in mobile technology and self-driving cars these days, but 20 years ago it started as a humble search engine that ultimately changed the internet forever. To celebrate its 20th birthday Google has announced a slew of Easter eggs that flash back to when the company first started — and they can be found in a few different Google products.

For starters, as you might expect, there’s a Google Doodle celebrating the 20th birthday of the company. The Doodle is playable and when you click on it, the video will show a number of popular searches from the past 20 years.

For those searching some arguably outdated terms, Google will also now help you flash forward to 2018. For example, if you search “MP3 file,” Google will ask if you meant “stream music.” If you search “chat room,” Google will ask if you meant “text the group.” And so on.

There are Easter eggs beyond those in Google Search. For example, you can stroll through the original Google Garage in Street View, and check out where the now-massive company was started 20 years ago. As you walk through the side door of the garage, you’ll find things like an old CRT computer monitor showing the original Google beta website. Then, you can walk through the house, you’ll find things like ideas for the Google logo, a series of power cables snaking through the house, and more. It’s a good look into the history of the company. As Google describes, as the company grew, it grew into the bedrooms and the rest of the bottom floor of the house, and as you explore that area, you’ll find different items like a collapsible mini rainbow sphere, surf-frog terrarium, and so on.

Google isn’t just celebrating with Easter eggs, it’s also launching a redesigned Google Images desktop website, which includes a new ranking algorithm designed to help you find what you’re looking for more easily.

“Over the last year, we’ve overhauled the Google Images algorithm to rank results that have both great images and great content on the page. For starters, the authority of a web page is now a more important signal in the ranking. If you’re doing a search for DIY shelving, the site behind the image is now more likely to be a site related to DIY projects. We also prioritize fresher content, so you’re more likely to visit a site that has been updated recently,” Google said in a blog post.

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Google celebrates 20 years with a slew of Easter eggs and new Google Images

Google is turning 20. The company may lead the way in mobile technology and self-driving cars these days, but 20 years ago it started as a humble search engine that ultimately changed the internet forever. To celebrate its 20th birthday Google has announced a slew of Easter eggs that flash back to when the company first started — and they can be found in a few different Google products.

For starters, as you might expect, there’s a Google Doodle celebrating the 20th birthday of the company. The Doodle is playable and when you click on it, the video will show a number of popular searches from the past 20 years.

For those searching some arguably outdated terms, Google will also now help you flash forward to 2018. For example, if you search “MP3 file,” Google will ask if you meant “stream music.” If you search “chat room,” Google will ask if you meant “text the group.” And so on.

There are Easter eggs beyond those in Google Search. For example, you can stroll through the original Google Garage in Street View, and check out where the now-massive company was started 20 years ago. As you walk through the side door of the garage, you’ll find things like an old CRT computer monitor showing the original Google beta website. Then, you can walk through the house, you’ll find things like ideas for the Google logo, a series of power cables snaking through the house, and more. It’s a good look into the history of the company. As Google describes, as the company grew, it grew into the bedrooms and the rest of the bottom floor of the house, and as you explore that area, you’ll find different items like a collapsible mini rainbow sphere, surf-frog terrarium, and so on.

Google isn’t just celebrating with Easter eggs, it’s also launching a redesigned Google Images desktop website, which includes a new ranking algorithm designed to help you find what you’re looking for more easily.

“Over the last year, we’ve overhauled the Google Images algorithm to rank results that have both great images and great content on the page. For starters, the authority of a web page is now a more important signal in the ranking. If you’re doing a search for DIY shelving, the site behind the image is now more likely to be a site related to DIY projects. We also prioritize fresher content, so you’re more likely to visit a site that has been updated recently,” Google said in a blog post.

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PlayStation 4 players will get Black Ops 4 content a week early

Boots are back on the ground.

It wouldn’t be a year in gaming without the annual Call of Duty release blessing the fall launch schedule. The last title we got was a non-Black Ops game, which means we’re due for another from the talented team over at Treyarch.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is poised to build on the previous game by implementing changes inspired by fan feedback and introducing some interesting new game modes that’ll change your expectation of what a Call of Duty experience is supposed to be. Here’s everything you need to know.

September 26, 2018 — PS4 gets content a week early

Sony has revealed new details about their timed content exclusivity deal for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. New content — which you get as part of owning the Black Ops Pass — will arrive 7 days early on PlayStation 4. Such a deal isn’t new for Sony and Activision, though it does mark the first time since this marketing partnership began that the gap has been narrowed from 30 days to 7.

We also have a bit better of an idea regarding the timeline of the first content drops. Here’s what’s planned:

• Nuketown: This fan-favorite map returns in November in an all-new take.
• Specialists: The first of several new characters will debut in December.
• Blackout: Launch day is only the start; Blackout will continue to evolve after launch with regular map updates, expansions and new Blackout modes.
• Events: Seasonal, weekly, and time-limited events bringing new game modes and content to players.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches October 12th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

September 4, 2018 — New Blackout beta details arrive

Waiting for the Blackout beta for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4? The wait isn’t long now, with PlayStation 4 gamers finally able to check the new Battle Royale game mode out on September 10th, while friends on other platforms will get a chance to play starting on September 14th. No matter which camp you fall in, you’ll have until September 17th to see what it’s all about.

The official Call of Duty Twitter is getting folks hype about its arrival by sharing our first look at the Blackout map, which is naturally the largest in franchise history. The map shows several classic names, including Nuketown Island, Hyro Dam, and Firing Range. You’ll note that these are based on maps from older Call of Duty games, except they’ll all exist on the same seamless map in Black Ops 4’s Blackout mode.

Where are you dropping first?This is Blackout, featuring the largest map in Call of Duty history. Pre-order #BlackOps4 and get access to the Blackout Beta, playable September 10 on PS4: https://t.co/XFvGMDwF3M pic.twitter.com/RAxzzDxjPO

— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) September 5, 2018

We count just 14 unique locations named throughout the map, which is a little on the light side compared to Battle Royale games like Fortnite and PUBG. But the areas should be highly detailed, and there are lots of other smaller settlements and compounds which don’t have names littered throughout the map. It’ll be just a few days before we can see how all of this looks inside the actual game world, so get ready.

July 20, 2018 — Mystery Box Collector’s Edition is now up for pre-order

There’s a new pre-order option for those who eat, sleep and breath Black Ops. It’s the “Mystery Box Edition” and it’ll launch October 12, 2018.

The biggest thing that comes with the Mystery Box is, well, the box itself. If you aren’t in the know, these boxes are scattered throughout Zombies maps, and allows the player to get a random weapon, item, or perk upon opening it. It looks like Black Ops 4’s box is more ominous than ever, with skeleton heads whose eyes light up in blue. It looks really cool.

You’ll find an interesting assortment of collectibles inside the box. There are FigPins, a pop socket, the first edition of a new Dark Horse-made Zombies comic, 10 specialist patches, 3 lithographs, as well as the game itself inside a nice steelbook case. On the digital side, you’ll be getting the Black Ops pass, which grants you access to all the new zombies and multiplayer content that’ll be released in Black Ops 4’s life cycle.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Mystery Box Edition will run you a whopping $199.99, but considering all it comes with it just may be worth the money. Head to Amazon to pre-order yours today.

See at Amazon

What is Call of Duty: Black Ops 4?

This is the latest game in the Call of Duty series, and, specifically, the fifth such game made by Treyarch, the studio which got its start with Call of Duty: World at War and exclusively made Black Ops games ever since.

Black Ops games have never followed traditional Call of Duty standards in terms of story. They’re set in a dystopian-like universe that explores alternate realities. One of the games even straddled the line of supernatural, with Black Ops 3’s events all taking place inside someone’s head.

While the original Black Ops game was set in a period during the Cold War, subsequent titles have gone for a more futuristic setting so as to introduce interesting new gameplay mechanics.

Is there a story mode?

Earlier Black Ops games featured original stories, but Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will not. In fact, this will be the first ever Call of Duty game that doesn’t have a single-player campaign.

It was originally rumored that Treyarch had started on a campaign for the game, but scrapped it during development as it wouldn’t be finished in time. We later learned that this wasn’t the case, and it was instead a conscious decision by the team to focus their time on multiplayer as a majority of players don’t finish the single-player campaigns in Call of Duty games.

If you love a good single-player campaign and nothing more, it’s wise to skip this one. But Treyarch has mentioned that this isn’t necessarily the start of a trend and that single-player campaigns can and will return to future Call of Duty titles.

Gameplay

With multiplayer being the sole way to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Treyarch wants to ensure they make the deepest shooter possible, and also looked to address some of the more unpopular things they tried in Black Ops 3. Jetpacks and wall-running have been completely removed from the game.

The fan cry for “boots on the ground” has been quite loud, which is why many were ecstatic for Call of Duty: World War 2’s launch. Treyarch’s removal of the feature is a testament to their ability to listen to feedback and not only understand what their fans want, but take action on it.

A lot of the good stuff is returning, though, including the game’s use of Specialist characters. These characters are unique and feature special traits, abilities, and finishing moves. We’re getting four new characters with this launch for a grand total of 10:

• Torque: This is the builder of your team. You can make barricades to control firing lanes in the game, as well as more advanced deployment of barbed wire. Torque’s barricades have heat and distortion fields built-in, so anyone looking to challenge the area you’re denying will have a tough time.
• Ajax: When you need someone to push into an enemy zone, Ajax is the pick. He has a shield, and the shield has a hole in it, so whoever uses him can still be a deadly force. Ajax also has a flashbang that can be cooked, and the longer you cook it, the more flashes it will set off.
• Recon: A new fog of war mechanic means enemies won’t always show up on your radar whenever they shoot, so Recon’s goal is to reveal them.
• Crash: Medic fans will love Crash. He can not only heal allies, but he can also buff them in certain ways. And if you’re wondering why he has to heal anyone, it’s because Black Ops 4 will not have regenerative health.

All of these specialists share much of the same weapon and equipment pool, but there will be some mods and attachments specific to each character. And not all attachments will be made equally, with tier 2 versions of mods offering greater benefits than their standard ones.

Speaking of which, gunplay is getting a big upgrade in Black Ops 4. Treyarch has implemented predictive recoil patterns for each gun, which means you’ll have a rough idea of how your gun will react whenever you shoot it. The recoil mechanic in previous games was based on RNG, something Treyarch felt was important to eliminate as they wanted all of the game systems in Black Ops 4 to be learnable.

Scorestreaks are back. This staple Call of Duty feature nets you game-changing perks and bonuses as you rack up kills. Treyarch hasn’t yet revealed any new scorestreaks or changes to existing ones.

Players will do battle on a number of maps, five of which are fan favorites from previous Black Ops games that have been remade. Those include Jungle, Slums, Summit, Firing Range, and, of course, Nuketown. The former four will be available at launch, though Nuketown will arrive a bit later.

When you want to take a break from multiplayer, you can play Solo Missions, a collection of missions that’ll let you test your skill with any of the specialists. These missions will contain light backstories for each specialist if you’re interested in learning more about them.

It’s clear Treyarch wants more for Call of Duty than its roots as a simple twitch shooter. The continued focus on unique character abilities and an upgraded ballistics system puts it in league with the likes of Rainbow Six: Siege, and should help position it well to become a fun game to follow and play for eSports.

Zombies

What’s a Black Ops game without a zombie mode? Zombies in Black Ops 4 will have the most launch content we’ve seen yet. This coop mode lets you and up to three other friends take on a horde of zombie enemies across several big maps, with each wave being interspersed with time-sensitive objectives.

Black Ops 4 will feature three such maps at launch, two of which are entirely new and one that has been remade from a previous game. The new maps – Voyage of Despair and IX – have a short storyline of their own to follow, and will feature all-new original characters Scarlett, Shaw, Diego, and Bruno.

The remake is Blood of the Dead, which is based on the Mob of the Dead map from Black Ops 2. Its story will feature the original Primis gang, including Nikolai, Takeo, Richtofen, and Dempsey. A fourth map made for the Primis characters named Classified is also on the way, but will only be available for Black Ops Pass owners and anyone buying the Special Edition versions of the game.

You’ll get more customization than ever before, as players can now customize their starting loadouts before each game. And the game at large can be played to your exact liking with over 100 variable “mutations” that can be applied. These mutations can alter things like zombie speed, health, damage, and overall difficulty.

And to give players a reason to keep coming back, Treyarch will run events called Callings. These limited time events may offer rewards or introduce new gameplay twists to help keep things fresh.

Blackout Mode

Peg Call of Duty as another game jumping on the Battle Royale bandwagon. Black Ops 4 will have its own royale mode called Blackout, and it’ll feature the single largest map we’ve ever seen in a Call of Duty game. It’s said the original test map for Blackout mode was 144 square miles wide. We don’t know how much it’s been shrunken or enlarged since then, but it sounds massive either way. The map will have iconic locations from previous Black Ops games, and it can be traversed by land, sea, or air.

Treyarch doesn’t seem to be touting any crazy twists on the genre. The teaser trailer for the mode suggests players will parachute down into the play area to find their starting loot before the game eventually shepherds players into tighter areas. Their whole selling point, then, is that this is a Battle Royale game with the tried and true gunplay, smooth controls, and fast-paced action that Call of Duty is known for. They’re also taking care to ensure each game feels different through the mode’s core mechanics, something they hope will keep players hungry for more.

In the mode, you’ll be able to play as series favorites Alex Mason, Raul Menendez, and all of the original Primis crew, among other characters. Treyarch didn’t have much to say regarding how, exactly, the mode will operate, but we do know the company is looking to incorporate bullet drop, a first for a Call of Duty game.

Black Ops Pass

Treyarch is trying a different monetization model with Black Ops 4. Instead of offering up new maps in flat-rate map packs, you will now have to buy a Black Ops Pass. The pass will offer up access to new content as soon as it becomes available.

Pricing information for the Black Ops Pass hasn’t yet been revealed, but we do know that the pass will eventually offer up 12 additional multiplayer maps, four exclusive characters to use in Blackout mode, and four Zombies maps throughout 2019, as well as the Classified Zombies map at launch.

Activision has also confirmed that you will need to buy special editions of the game starting at $100 if you want the Black Ops Pass at launch. They have plans to make the pass available separately, but not until a later date.

Beta

Yes, there’s a private beta, and you’ll be able to play it by doing one simple thing: pre-order the game. Treyarch hasn’t ruled out other ways to access the beta, but this is your safest best to try it out early if you don’t mind committing your money to a pre-order.

A beta launch date has yet to be set, but previous rumors suggest we’ll see it at some point in August. An open beta is also still a possibility leading up to the game’s launch.

Pre-order deals

There are lots of good things to be had for pre-ordering Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. All standard edition pre-orders will be in line for a Black Ops 3 map pack that will feature Jungle Summit, Slums, and Firing Range. You’ll also get access to the private beta in August.

See at Amazon

Get the Digital Deluxe Edition for $100 and you’ll get 2,400 Call of Duty Points and the Black Ops Pass to go along with it.

See at Amazon

The Digital Deluxe Enhanced Edition is the same as the Digital Deluxe Edition, but comes with 8,500 Call of Duty Points. It’ll run you $130.

See at Amazon

Finally, there’s a $120 Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Pro Edition that adds in a steelbook, a pop socket, 10 specialist patches, three Zombies-inspired collectible art cards, 1,100 Call of Duty Points, and a Call of Duty Endowment (C.O.D.E.) calling card. This version of the game is available exclusively at GameStop.

See at GameStop

When can you play it?

The boots hit the ground for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 on October 12th for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Let us know if you’ll be joining in on the fun.

Updated September 2018: We’ve added new information about content timing plans for PlayStation 4 players.

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Epic Games working on unlinking Fortnite accounts from consoles

Sony hasn’t opened PS4 for cross-play like other platforms have

This year at E3 2018 it was announced that Fortnite is now on the Nintendo Switch. Now you can cross-play with Fortnite on your PC, Switch, Mac, iOS, Xbox, and soon on the PlayStation 4.

Update September 26, 2018

Sony finally caved and said there will soon be a Beta program for PlayStation users to be able to use cross-play abilities across all of the consoles. Users are excited to soon get the chance to play with their friends who own different consoles. But, what does that mean for all your purchases and all the problems with linking your Fornite accounts (like what we’ve noted below)?

Well, Epic Games gave us a heads up today on Twitter saying they are working on two different things. “1) An account-merging feature to combine Battle Royale purchases, coming in November. 2) Enabling unlinking a console from one Fortnite account, and relinking to another Fortnite account. Coming in a few days.” They have since deleted the Tweet, but we caught it for you.

The current system already allows you to unlink and re-link your account. But, when you do, you lose everything. It’s nice to know that Epic Games will be fixing the issues on their end just like Sony is on theirs!

If you want to use cross-play, don’t link your account to PlayStation 4

If you create a Fortnite account and link it to your PS4, it will not allow you to log in on any other platform besides PC. This means you’ll be required to make a separate account to use on another platform. If you are a new player looking to get into Fortnite who intends on using the crossplay options make sure you link your account to anything but your PlayStation.

.@PlayStation, fix this.Not allowing me to sign-in to Fortnite Switch with my Epic account because it’s linked to PS4 is tone deaf and points more to fear than market dominance. It does the opposite of what you want — it makes me think about moving to Xbox for Fortnite. pic.twitter.com/D9xqv9aWdF

— Greg Miller (@GameOverGreggy) June 12, 2018

Basically, what I’m saying is, if you want to use the cross-play options then don’t link your Epic account to your PlayStation 4. You don’t want your account locked to a PC and PlayStation when you have so much more abilities to play with a lot more people by keeping it connected to literally any of your other platforms. On top of this, your PlayStation 4 account purchases don’t transfer to your Xbox, Switch or PC accounts. But, if all your friends are playing on PlayStation 4, and you have no intention of linking it to another account, then you have nothing to worry about.

Unlinking your Fortnite account from PlayStation

There are a few warnings we want you to know before you do this. You will lose just about everything connected to your account as you can not carry it from one console to another. These warnings and instructions will work for PSN ID, Nintendo account, Xbox gamertag, or another external account.

• All of your saved data lives on your Epic account, not your connected account.
• If you disconnect your PSN ID from the Epic account that is currently connected to, any purchases, stats, and saved data will be lost.
• Platform Locks on Fortnite cannot be circumvented, even by replacing one connected account with another.

If you’ve read the warnings and still want to disconnect your PS4 account so that you can connect it to another platform:

Go to your Connected Accounts page.
Click the DISCONNECT button below the external account in question.

Now your account is free to connect to any console you so wish to connect it to.

Update September 2018: Sony will soon allow cross-play, and Epic Games is going to merge account purchases!

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The PlayStation Gold wireless headset now comes in White

Same design. Cool new color.

The PlayStation 4 Gold wireless headset now comes in White in addition to the standard color. While not quite available yet, you can pre-order it for $99.99 at Amazon before it becomes widely available in October.

Of course, the regular version is $79.99 at Amazon, Target, and other retailers. So if color doesn’t matter to you, you can get that one right away at a reduced cost.

You might not think of a White headset as matching your current PlayStation setup, but we have been seeing a lot more color variety come out of Sony recently with special editions like the Amazing Red Spider-Man PS4 and the translucent dark blue console. A white headset just opens the door for even more color variety.

These headsets have features you can only get when using them with a PlayStation 4 and the headset’s companion app, including an audio mode that helps you experience the audio of the game the way the developers intended.

This isn’t the only new product announcement from Sony, either, with this limited edition Red Dead Redemption 2 console right around the corner, too.

See on Amazon

Google Maps has a new tool to help you and your friends decide where to eat

Coming to the Android and iOS apps this week.

If you’re like me, you Google Maps is your go-to app for finding new restaurants to check out. The clean interface and wealth of information make it a joy to use, but if you’re trying to plan a night out with a group of people, deciding where to go can prove to be a chore.

That’s where Maps’ new group planning tool comes into play.

When you’re looking for places to go, long-press on an option and you’ll now be able to drag it into a shortlist on the right side of the app. After building up your list a bit, you can tap on it to share with your friends. From there, each member viewing the list can vote up or down on the place they want to go to.

Group planning is rolling out to the Google Maps app this week for both Android and iOS. Be sure to give it a look!

Download: Google Maps (free)

Chamberlain MyQ is an easy way to smarten up a garage door

Just because you can make something smarter doesn’t necessarily mean you need to.

Not everything needs to be “smart.” Not everything needs to be “connected.” Sometimes, simple, dumb products still do what needs to be done better than something more expensive, more complicated, and ultimately not necessary.

So has been my foray — twice now — into smartening up my garage door.

I’ve got a smart security system on my windows. I can unlock my front door from anywhere in the world. But when it comes to my garage door, I’d always relied on the old RF receiver. Hit a button in the car, and it does its thing. Neither of our cars her has HomeLink, so things won’t be opening on their own.

It’s simple, and it works. Time to change that.

See at Amazon

The MyQ Smart Garage Hub system from Chamberlain takes your dumb garage door and makes it smart. It’s a quick and easy retrofit. A sensor goes on the door, and another module plugs in near your garage door opener to actually control things.

The one big caveat here — you’ll need to make sure you have a Wifi signal in your garage.

Setup was relatively painless. The instructions walk you through where to place the hardware. (And it’s pretty self-explanatory, too. One goes on the door, the other near the garage door opener.) Fire up the MyQ app on Android or iOS, and you’re on your way. You’ll hook it up to your Wifi (and doing that is always a little bit of a crapshoot, but I got the job done after a couple tries) and then you’ve got the ability to open and close your garage door from your phone. Cool.

Or, actually, not really that cool. Because this is one of those instances when opening up an app just to open and close a garage door isn’t all that quick or helpful. It’s a nice backup, I suppose, if your remote control dies, or if you need to give someone else access and don’t have a keypad. But the simple fact is that a cheap, plastic remote control that’s always at the ready works the first time, every time. If you have HomeLink built into your car, even better.

So, fine. It’s not great for that. It works, but using your phone in this instance maybe isn’t the best idea. But MyQ does have a few other tricks up its sleeve.

First is that it connects with a few other services. The list is short, but distinguished. It’ll work directly with:

• Nest
• Wink
• Xfinity Home
• Google Assistant
• IFTTT
• Alpine
• Clare ControlsEVE Connect for Tesla

When you go to connect one of those services (and note that there’s no Amazon Alexa, but you can hit it up with unofficial skills, or through IFTTT), you’ll be met by something that actually surprised me at first — a payment plan. That is, it costs a dollar per month (or $10 a year) to connect to any one of those services.

I’ll admit, I balked at that, at first. Maybe it was because you have to pay by credit card and there’s not other method by which to do so. No Google Pay. No Apple Pay. No PayPal. No easy in-app billing. (And there’s also no payment information on Chamberlain’s site. With whom have they paired for processing? Is it a reputable service?)

That aside, $10 a year actually isn’t bad. I think it was a mental roadblock more than anything, and you get a month’s free trial to see if it’s actually worth it.

And that’s the real question here. Is MyQ worth it? All in all it’s not a bad product. It does what it advertises — it allows you to open and close your garage door with your smartphone.

But here’s my thing — while I have Nest stuff all over my home, I don’t need to pay to control it from the Chamberlain app. It works just fine in the Nest app — better, really, because the Nest app is a much better app. I don’t need to pay to control my garage door via Google Assistant, because I’ve never once needed to control my garage door via Google Assistant.

No, this is one of those times in which the simple timer on the garage door itself (it closes automatically after a set amount of time) and the basic keypad outside my home (please don’t break in) and the cheap remote control in my car (which very much still works) means the door always closes at some point, and it’s easy for anyone who needs to to open.

Sometimes that’s plenty good for an everyday product. If you need more, MyQ Hub can do more.

I just don’t need it to.

See at Amazon

The best car chargers for the Google Pixel and Pixel 2

We’ve all been there (some of us more than others): you hop in your car ready to hit the road, and then you check your phone — it’s dying at a rapid pace! You’ve barely enough battery to get to your destination, let alone for the rest of the day once you get there. Well, that’s what car chargers are for, and if you have a Google Pixel or Pixel 2, here are some of the best car chargers you can buy for it.

Top pick

Aukey Car Charger with 27W USB-C PD and 5V/2.4A USB-A

Aukey’s charger features both a USB-C port and a USB-A port, which is the best of both worlds. You can charge your Pixel or Pixel 2 — or even a laptop — over USB-C at a full 27W, which is the “rapid charge” rate you’d get from the in-box wall charger. At the same time, you can charge another device over USB-A at a respectable 5V/2.4A — enough to get any other phone charged up pretty quickly.

$20 at Amazon

Mid-range choice

Aukey Car Charger with 5V/3A USB-C and Quick Charge 3.0 USB-A

This version of Aukey’s charger has a USB-C port with 15W (5V/3A) of output, which will still charge up your Pixel or Pixel 2 quickly, but doesn’t match wall charging speeds. In return, the USB-A port below it has Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0, which will charge most other recent Android phones extremely fast, just as they would from a wall charger.

$15 at Amazon

Most Reliable

Anker USB-C Car Charger with USB-PD

Trust and great warranty — that’s Anker’s promise. With its car charger, you get two ports, a USB-C port that supports your Pixel’s fastest charging speeds, and a second USB-A port to top up another device like a tablet. The distinctive blue color is easy on the eyes, and the 18-month warranty lets you rest easy that your charger will work — or it will get replaced.

$30 at Amazon

Double USB-A excellence

Spigen 30W Quick Charge 3.0 Dual USB-A car charger

Spigen’s dual USB car charger is a high-quality part that won’t overheat your Pixel or Pixel 2. While not USB-C PD compliant since it uses USB-A, it supports Qualcomm’s Quick Charge 3.0 standard, which offers up pretty quick charging for most Android phones. It supports a total of 30W between the two ports, so even with two phones plugged in, they’ll both charge up at the maximum rate.

$14 at Amazon

Your picks?

Are you using an awesome USB-C charger that we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments below!

Updated September 2018: We’ve updated this list to reflect new prices.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

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

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