Apple Watch Series 2 review – CNET

The Good The new Apple Watch is faster, has a far better OS, onboard GPS, a brighter display and is waterproof to 50 meters in salt or fresh water.

The Bad Same battery life, mostly. GPS activity causes a big hit on battery life for running. Lacks always-on display. A tad thicker and heavier. Requires an iPhone to work.

The Bottom Line The Apple Watch returns in a made-for-sports upgrade that adds swim functions and GPS, but anyone who’s not a runner or swimmer should consider the Apple Watch Series 1 instead.

There is a watch-shaped ring around my left wrist, a permanent tan-line.

I’ve worn a watch since I was a kid. I’ve always liked to sleep with my watch. To shower with my watch. To swim with my watch.

Not everyone likes to do this. But it’s helpful to have a watch be something that’s easy to use and just not worry about.

The Apple Watch Series 2 arrives a year and a half after the original Apple Watch first went on sale. Some things have changed: If you liked the idea of an Apple Watch before, this new version is seriously faster, has a brighter display and it’s a lot better for outdoor sports.

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Still good in bright light.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Other things remain the same. Its design and battery life are almost identical.

New software, WatchOS 3, is a great upgrade to the earlier Apple Watch experience. Like iOS 10, that’s a free upgrade to existing Watch owners, too — you don’t need to buy anything new.

But the combination of new hardware and software make a familiar-looking circle-in-the-square watch now feel like the smooth wrist companion it was always meant to be.

The new Apple Watch Series 2 comes in three different material designs (aluminum, stainless steel and a new ceramic edition that replaces last year’s absurd $10,000 gold watch). There are plenty of band options that come bundled in, too. It still comes in smaller (38mm) and larger (42mm) sizes. Prices start at $369, £369 or AU$529 for 38mm aluminum. They go up to $1,299, £1,299 or AU$1,899 for the 42mm ceramic option.

Keep in mind there are also special partnership watches with Hermes and Nike, both of which come with unique packed-in straps and pre-installed custom watch faces. My advice: Stick with the basic aluminum, especially if you’re looking for a lightweight fitness watch.

Apple Watch Pricing

size	US	UK	AU
38mm Sport	$269	£269	AU$399
42mm Sport	$299	£299	AU$449
38mm Aluminum	$369	£369	AU$529
38mm Steel	$549*	£549*	AU$799*
38mm Ceramic	$1,249	£1,249	AU$ 1,799
42mm Aluminum	$399	£399	AU$579
42mm Steel	$599**	£599**	AU879**
42mm Ceramic	$1,299	£1,299	AU$1,899

*Hermes versions for the 38mm Steel model go up to $1,299, £1,299 or AU$2,029

**Hermes versions for the 42mm Steel model go up to $1,399, £1,399 or AU$2,189

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Apple Watch variants, including Hermes.

James Martin/CNET

And there’s another purchase option, too. The original Apple Watch is still around, but with a bonus. Known as the Apple Watch Series 1, it’s the same basic hardware as the original, but with a new chip that’s said to be just as fast as the Series 2. It doesn’t have those same latest, greatest GPS and waterproofing features as the new model — it’s still water resistant for splashes and dunks like the iPhone 7, though — and it lacks that new brighter display. But it also costs less. (The original Apple Watch, though, has frequently been on sale for even less.)

I have a feeling that that new Series 1 Apple Watch may be the real go-to pick for a lot of people who don’t need GPS or swim tracking. Maybe it’s the watch everyone should wear.

Series 2 is my favorite Apple Watch, and it’s now my favorite smartwatch, too. But it’s still not everything for everybody.

But if you’ve been thinking of getting one and don’t have one, go for it. Or, update the software on your old Apple Watch and buy a new band instead. Or hang on for a comparative review with the less-expensive Series 1.

Oh, and by the way: Yes, you need an iPhone to use the Apple Watch, same as always. If you do have an iPhone, the best smartwatch you can get is the Apple Watch Series 2.

Editors’ note: The ratings in this review are tentative as we continue to test the Apple Watch Series 2, especially for battery life and swim tracking. We’ll also soon be reviewing the Apple Watch Series 1 for direct comparison.

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Water is no problem.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Swimproofing, and what it means

A growing batch of smartwatches and fitness trackers are toughening up, with water resistance starting to move from “nice to have” to “must have”. Apple Watch now leaps to the head of the pack with 50 meter water resistance. It’s also safe to take in fresh or salt water. Yes, that means the open ocean.

In fact, the Series 2 Watch can now record swim activity and estimated calories right in the Workout app. I, however, haven’t yet swam in the open ocean, or even in a pool. I did dip the watch into the East River briefly, and I’ve been showering with it. I’ve also been submerging it every chance I’ve gotten. But stay tuned for a real swim test from the CNET team in the near future because we intend to give it a deeper dive very soon.

View full gallery Sarah Tew/CNET

GPS onboard

The Apple Watch Series 2 also has something that many activity trackers already pack. GPS tracking for runs happens automatically on Apple Watch, and it starts acquiring position once the iPhone is away from it. This is useful for runners because it means a map of your run can be stored to look at where you went, and how far you ran. And it means you can finally leave your phone at home during the run.

Apple’s GPS function in its included Workouts app stores the data as a map that can be opened in Apple’s on-iPhone Activity app. The map of your run is color-coded to show how fast you were moving.

I tried it on a bunch of walks, and it knew where I was through my whole walk. More impressively, it acquired my position quickly.

GPS isn’t supported in other apps yet, but it will be — including the constellation-locating Night Sky and the hike-tracking app Viewranger.

For runners, the Apple Watch Series 2 will be helpful — but keep in mind that with GPS on, battery life during workouts shrinks down quite a bit. Expect around 5 hours, or less when listening to music. No, that’s not a lot. Apple advises you deactivate heart rate for longer GPS-connected runs, but other GPS heart rate-enabled fitness watches like the Fitbit Surge last longer.

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Apple Watch Series 2 (left) and original (right) in direct sunlight, max brightness.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Display brightness: fine in blaring sun

Apple boasts a 1,000-nit display on Apple Watch Series 2, up from 450. That’s seriously bright, and in the most intense sunlight in the middle of a 90-degree day in midtown NYC it was perfectly readable.

Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation) Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The new, improved Echo Dot ships in October for half the price of the original.

Amazon

It was only a few months ago that Amazon introduced the Echo Dot, the smaller version of its popular hands-free, voice-enabled Echo speaker powered by Alexa. Now it’s back with a new, updated version of the Echo Dot that costs $50 (£50) or nearly half the price of the original and comes not only in black but white. It’s available for pre-order now and ships in October.

The new Dot is sightly more compact and sleeker than the original and has the Echo’s same array of seven microphones and advanced noise cancelling technology that allow you to speak to Alexa from across the room, even when you have music playing. Amazon also says that the new Echo Dot features a more powerful speech processor, which delivers improved far-field speech recognition accuracy.

The Amazon Echo Dot is flat-out fantastic

Amazon packed everything we love about Alexa and the Amazon Echo into a much smaller, much more affordable package. Plus, it’ll work with your existing audio setup.

by Ry Crist

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Like the Echo, the Echo Dot gives you access to all of Alexa’s capabilities, including answering questions, playing music, turning on the lights, setting timers, giving sports updates, checking the weather, accessing over 3,000 Alexa skills and more.

The tiny speaker doesn’t output as much sound as the larger Echo, so think of it more as an accessory to Alexa-enable your home entertainment system (or powered speakers) or simply serve as voice-control device for compatible smart home products.

In fact, Amazon is hoping you’ll sprinkle Echo Dots throughout your home. To that end, it’s equipping the Echo Dot and Echo with ESP (Echo Spatial Perception) technology, which ensures that Alexa “responds intelligently from the device closest to you.” Amazon says this new feature will be available as a free update for all Echo devices, including Amazon Echo and the first-generation Echo Dot, starting in the coming weeks.

Here’s a quick look at the new Echo Dot’s specs, according to Amazon. We’ll have a full review of the new Echo Dot as soon as we get our hands on it.

• Amazon Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses Alexa to play music, control smart home devices, provide information, read the news, set alarms and more
• Connects to speakers or headphones through Bluetooth or 3.5 mm stereo cable to play music from Prime Music, Spotify and TuneIn
• Controls lights, switches, thermostats and more with compatible connected devices from WeMo, Philips Hue, Hive, Netatmo, tado° and others
• Hears you from across the room with 7 microphones for far-field hands-free voice control, even in noisy environments or while playing music
• Includes a built-in speaker so it can work on its own as a smart alarm clock in the bedroom, an assistant in the kitchen, or anywhere you might want a voice-controlled device
• Always getting smarter — Alexa updates through the cloud automatically and is continually learning, adding new features and skills
• Price: $50
• Also available as a six-pack (buy five, get one free) or a 12-pack (buy 10, get two free)
• Ships in October

Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

When you first see the new Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard ($80, £75 or AU $150), it’s obvious that it’s the big brother to the

The K780 is bigger — it has a full-size keyboard that includes a numbers pad and had an integrated slot for holding up a variety of smartphones and tablets, even the 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It also features dual connectivity for up to three devices, so you could connect to your devices through the Logitech Unifying USB receiver or Bluetooth (translation: you can have the keyboard connected to your Windows or Mac PC with the Unifying receiver and use Bluetooth with your tablet or smartphone).

The K780 Multi-Device Wireless keyboard is available now for $80.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Sounded interesting, so I called one in to test in advance of its launch. Indeed, the K780 is bigger and while it’s pretty slim, it’s significantly heavier and sturdier than the K380 and really is designed to be a true desktop keyboard.

I like the way the stand has been integrated — it’s hard plastic that’s covered with a grippy finish, which helps keep smartphones and tablets from sliding around in the slot.

Logitech K780 Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard…
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You can connect up to three devices to the K780 and toggle between and toggle between them using the numbered EasySwitch buttons. The keyboard is powered by two AAA batteries and there’s a spot in the battery compartment for storing the USB Unifying USB receiver. Logitech says that with a power-saving idle mode and an on-off switch, the K780 Multi-Device delivers up to 24 months of battery life. That’s quite good.

The responsive keys are larger than the K380’s and well spaced out. I used the keyboard for an afternoon and liked typing on it. I want to use it for a week before posting a full review, but my initial impressions are quite favorable, which isn’t surprising considering that I’m a fan of the K380.

The K780 viewed from above.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Here’s are the K780’s key specs, according to Logitech:

• Price: $80, £75 or AU $150
• Height: 22 mm or 0.86 inches
• Width: 380 mm or 14.96 inches
• Depth: 153 mm or 6.02 inches
• Weight: 875 g or 30.86 ounces
• Bluetooth 4.0 (range of 10 meters or 33 feet)
• 2.4GHz Unifying USB receiver for PCs
• Up to 24 months of battery life from 2 AAA batteries
• Compatible with Windows 8, Windows 10 or higher, Mac OS X 10.10 or higher, ChromeOS and Android 5.0 or higher
• Available now

Beddi Smart Alarm Clock review – CNET

The Good As alarm clocks go, Beddi looks terrific and comes jam-packed with handy features you won’t find elsewhere, including an impressive amount of smart-home integrations you can launch with the push of a button.

The Bad Those button-activated smart home integrations didn’t always work, and with HomeKit, you’ll need to keep the Beddi app open for them to work at all.

The Bottom Line Beddi is a likable bedside upgrade, and well worth considering if you’re a smart-home enthusiast.

The life of a smart-home guinea pig can be a fortuitous one. Case in point: about a month after my trusty alarm clock stopped working, I saw a pitch for an app-enabled, Kickstarter-funded one in need of review.

It’s called Beddi, and it’s basically the smart-home Swiss Army Knife of alarm clocks. Aside from telling the time and waking you up in the morning, Beddi syncs with Spotify, works with both Apple HomeKit and the Nest Learning Thermostat, and comes with three programmable smart buttons that can control your lights, trigger your IFTTT recipes, or even hail an Uber. It also features color-changing LEDs, a built-in wake-up light, two USB ports for charging your devices, and the ability to track your morning commute or read off the day’s weather forecast.

I took Beddi home, determined to discern whether or not those features were worth the relatively steep $99 asking price (about £75 in the UK, or roughly AU$130). Now, one week later, I’m giving serious consideration to buying the thing so I don’t have to send it back. It isn’t a must-have and it isn’t perfect, but it’s a deceptively cool little luxury, and an unexpected bright spot in the still-emerging smart home. It’d make an excellent gift for a groggy techie, or a justifiable splurge if, like me, you just really like the thing.

Geek joy for the smartest alarm clock ever
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Beddi makes a good first impression. It’s a simple, minimalist design that looks every bit the part of an alarm clock upgrade in both black and gray. Smarts aside, if I just wanted a bedside alarm clock that didn’t look cheap, Beddi would be on my list.

As alarm clocks go, Beddi is downright snazzy.

Ry Crist/CNET

Bring those smarts back into the equation and Beddi gets even more compelling. It syncs with your phone over Bluetooth, then lets you control everything on your Android or iOS device using an app that’s jam-packed with features. Aside from setting an alarm or two, you can control the way Beddi actually wakes you up, with options for things like alarm volume, music integration, wake-up lighting, and even the amount of minutes that come between snooze button bashes. It’s certainly superior to any alarm clock I’ve ever used.

But Beddi aspires to be more than just an alarm clock — it wants to be your smart home’s mastermind. Its secret weapon is a trio of programmable smart buttons on the top of the device. By default, the first two are set to toggle the rear-mounted wake-up light and the rainbow LEDs lining the bottom of the clock, respectively, but you can change both of them, as well as the third, to a whole host of additional magic functions. Here are just some of your options:

• Toggle your Philips Hue smart lights
• Toggle your Lifx smart lights
• Toggle your Belkin WeMo switches
• Trigger Apple HomeKit scenes
• Set your Nest thermostat
• Play a Spotify playlist
• Read the day’s weather forecast
• Play white noise
• Start a nap timer that wakes you up after a preset time
• Hail an Uber

You can sync Beddi with a variety of popular smart home gadgets and platforms.

Screenshots by Ry Crist/CNET

You can also assign functions to a long press or a double press of each button, giving you a total of nine potential smart triggers to activate right from your bedside.

Ry Crist/CNET

This is where Beddi gets into a bit of trouble, though. See, those smart buttons are awesome when they work as promised, and infuriating when they don’t. Sure enough, during my week of testing, there was more than one instance where an assigned function stopped working as expected, and I’d need to pull my phone out and set it up from scratch all over again.

Apple iPhone 7 review – CNET

The Good Improved front and rear cameras — now with optical image stabilization — deliver much improved photos, especially in low light. Water resistant. A faster processor, plus better battery life. More onboard storage than last year’s models for the same price.

The Bad No headphone jack (but there’s a dongle and compatible wired headphones in the box). Click-free home button takes getting used to. Only the larger 7 Plus has the cool dual camera. Shiny jet-black version scratches easily.

The Bottom Line The iPhone 7’s notable camera, battery and water resistance improvements are a worthwhile upgrades to a familiar phone design, but ask yourself if you really need an upgrade…and if the Plus might be a better choice.

Curved wraparound screen? Nope. Wireless charging? Not yet. Are you bothered that the new iPhone looks the same as last year’s iPhone? If you are, I understand the feeling. The iPhone 7 doesn’t feel like the “whole new thing.” Does that bother you? Maybe. But is it better? Yeah, it is. Except for one small 3.5-millimeter thing.

The iPhone 7, as you may have heard (you’ve certainly heard), has no headphone jack and it looks almost identical to the 2014 iPhone 6 and 2015 iPhone 6S. But there are still compelling reasons to consider an iPhone 7, even if you own last year’s model.

• The iPhone 7 is now fully water-resistant (it can take a shallow dunking).
• The camera takes notably better photos, especially in low light, and adds the optical image stabilization feature previously restricted to the 5.5-inch Plus model.
• The battery lasts longer — probably a couple of hours or more a day, under normal usage. (We’ll update this review after we test the battery in our lab.)
• The processor is faster, although you might only notice the speed on some intensive games and the video and photo-editing apps.

It’s also got a “wide color gamut” screen with enhanced color accuracy, and enhanced stereo speakers, though I didn’t find those improvements as critical as the ones above. And the home button isn’t “clickable” anymore — it uses the same pressure sensitivity and vibration feedback found on the 3D Touch screen. It works perfectly well, but takes some getting used to because there’s no mechanical click when you press the home button.

iPhone 7 up close: Better camera, water-resistant…
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As with last year’s iPhone choices, you can also opt for the step-up iPhone 7 Plus, which offers a larger screen (5.5 inches vs. 4.7 inches). But that model’s big attraction is the dual rear cameras, which can stitch together two images to offer unique effects such as 2x optical zoom and — after a future software upgrade — a cool in-camera bokeh effect, which blurs the background while keeping the foreground in focus.

Now, should you wait until 2017? All the rumors point to Apple delivering a major design overhaul for the iPhone’s 10th anniversary — anything from a Galaxy Edge-style wraparound OLED screen to a fingerprint sensor hidden under the screen to wireless charging. It’s tempting. But in the meantime, especially if you want to take advantage of the various retro-contract “free with 2-year commitment” offers, know that the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus are worthy, useful upgrades to their predecessors — even if they look almost identical from the outside.

All things iOS 10

• iOS 10: All the new features, tips and guides
• 23 hidden features in iOS 10
• 15 ways iOS 10 will make the iPhone better

Let’s not diminish the missing headphone jack. The loss will hurt, especially while other iPhones exist that still have a headphone jack onboard. If you want to plug regular headphones into your new iPhone, a process that seemed simple and uncomplicated before, you now need to consider whether you brought the included dongle, or have a pair of Bluetooth headphones. Or your special Lightning headphones that come in the box. But it’s surmountable. I lived with the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus for a week, and this is my story of life without the jack and with everything else in the new iPhones.

Editors’ note: We’re still testing the battery and performance of the iPhone 7. Consider the ratings to be tentative until finalized.

Apple’s fall 2016 lineup.

Sarah Tew/CNET

Headphone jackless

Mark me down as someone who will miss the headphone jack.

Despite living a mostly wearable, wireless world, I don’t like Bluetooth headphones. And I also hate dongles. I’m learning to deal with both now. Apple’s new AirPods make a case for how more-advanced Bluetooth mini-earphones could be fun to carry around. But to me, nothing beats a cheap pair of plug-and-play earphones for lazy convenience.

Other phones that offer what the iPhone 7 offers don’t seem to need to get rid of a headphone jacks. But maybe the trend will grow. The adoption of USB-C, a versatile jack, may lead to headphone jacks going away in Android phones, too. Maybe we should just get ready for the change.

No headphone jack means you’ll have to make do with a dongle.

Sarah Tew/CNET

True, the iPhone 7 gives you a number of options: Get a pair of Bluetooth headphones. Apple’s AirPods, maybe? I’ll get to those in a minute. You could use the included wired Apple EarPods, which now have a strange Lightning plug instead of a 3.5mm one. Or the Lightning-to-regular-headphone adapter dongle, which Apple’s thoughtfully included in the box. (You can buy extras for $9 a pop.) But you have to remember to take it everywhere with you, and who wants to remember to carry a dongle? (If you leave it attached to your headphones, you better not bring another pair of headphones.)

That little headphone jack is the one thing that I could see bothering people about this phone. Like the single USB-C port on Apple’s newest MacBook, it’s a compromise that feels forced.

If you’re already a wireless headphone power user, you won’t miss a thing. But someday — who knows when? — you’ll find yourself somewhere wanting to use a pair of wired headphones. And you’ll find that you can’t plug them in because you left your dongle behind. Don’t cry to me when that happens.

Design: Black is the new black

In a world of curved eye-popping displays, the iPhone now looks a little old-fashioned. It’s slim and attractive and still very well-designed, but the iPhone 7 looks just like the iPhone 6 and 6S. It’s like the MacBook Air, or the iPad: A familiar, old form. Maybe more durable, but it’s mostly the same. Apple smoothed out the seams that used to hide the phone’s antennae, so the aluminum around the back looks smoother. The camera bump is larger, by just a bit.

As Spinal Tap would say, the new jet-black variant (left) is “none more black.”

Sarah Tew/CNET

Apple added new colors this year, too. Now the phone comes in two versions of black in addition to the existing silver, gold and rose gold colors. Regular black is matte, while jet black is a high gloss. Jet black, it turns out, is a fingerprint and scratch magnet. Mine is already peppered with microabrasions after just a few days. My suggestion: Don’t buy jet black if you care about scratches.

But if you’re looking at the iPhone 7 from the front, it’s almost impossible to distinguish from the iPhone 6 or 6S. That’s how similar the design is.

A home button that doesn’t click

Using the new home button, even after a week, feels weird. It’s been a hard adjustment.

I’ve clicked so many home buttons. The iPhone 7’s “button” is really a solid state circle that doesn’t move at all. It’s like the new MacBook trackpads, in a sense. Push down, and you get a haptic “click” that’s not quite as satisfying.

Say farewell to the satisfying click of the home button.

Sarah Tew/CNET

You won’t wear down the button, though, because it doesn’t move. And really, it feels a bit like 3D Touch — Apple’s new pressure-sensitive touchscreen tech introduced on the 6S and returning on the 7 — moved into the home button.

So if that home button is now just a flat surface, it also feels like a carrot on a stick to use 3D Touch more. I still don’t use it much, but iOS 10 uses it a lot more…and to some effective ends. There are so many ways to pull up apps from the home screen, or check info, that the home button really isn’t needed much. Now that the screen auto-wakes on lifting, that’s doubly true. I bet that home button will just disappear next year, with the fingerprint reader absorbed into the display. Why not?

Yeah, it’s really water resistant (but don’t go swimming with it)

Apple’s IP67 water-resistance rating on the new iPhone finally catches up to phones that have been dunkable for a while. Samsung’s Galaxy S7 can survive a drop in the sink. The Note 7 can do it, too. Even the supercheap Moto G4 can do it.

How water resistant is the iPhone 7? Apple calls it “splash and water resistant,” and by the way, IP67 means 1 meter of water for 30 minutes and complete dust resistance. But Apple also warns that any dip in salt water should be followed by an immediate rinse in fresh water. And also, you have to dry your phone for at least a couple of hours before charging (I’d take the safe side with this).

Apple finally takes the plunge and waterproofs its iPhones.

Sarah Tew/CNET

I took the iPhone 7 in the shower. I dropped it in a fish tank a few times. I put it in a sink and turned on the tap and filled the sink with the iPhone in it. Stay tuned for further, longer tests. But it’s survived every test easily. But FYI, capacitive displays go nutty in water. You won’t be able to use it when submerged — nor should you.

Other small perks: Stereo speakers, a slightly improved display, buzzier haptics

I couldn’t appreciate Apple’s wider color-gamut display on the iPhone 7, which is supposed to the best next to the iPad Pro 9.7 and 5K iMac, as well as 25 percent brighter. It’s good, don’t get me wrong. But to my eyes, next to a 6S or 6S Plus, it felt the same. And in direct sunlight (I used it in seriously bright New York September sun), it was sometimes hard to see. Like all iPhones, but not really better.

The speakers sound louder. They surround the left and right sides of the iPhone now, instead of a single speaker down by the home button. It’s better for casual game playing or movie watching, but I’d take headphones every time. Or, if I was sharing with someone, I’d pick a larger screen. They don’t always sound as defined and crisp as I’d like.

Apple AirPods Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

I was one of the world’s first normal people to be photographed wearing Apple’s AirPods. Shortly thereafter, I became a meme. Or rather, Apple’s weird-looking earbuds did — I was just the ear model.

These little buds have become poster children for the awkwardness of wearable tech design. Noooope, the internet said. Instagram, Reddit and Twitter comments ranged from comparing them to cigarette butts to tampons. Consensus: People think they’re ugly.

James Martin/CNET

But let’s back up a bit. As everyone already knows, the new iPhone 7 and 7 Plus don’t have a standard headphone jack. You need to use the Lightning headphones, or the Lightning-to-minijack dongle, both of which Apple mercifully throws in the box. (But still, hey, no headphone jack.)

Of course, what Apple is really trying to do is condition you for an all-wireless world. Wireless Bluetooth headphones have been around for years, and they’ve gotten quite good. Beats, Apple’s own fully-owned subsidiary and the largest headphone brand on the planet, already sells plenty of wireless headphones, including three all-new models that debuted alongside the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus.

Apple AirPods are nowhere near as ridiculous…
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Apple’s AirPods, the company’s own, first-ever Bluetooth headphones, come with an Apple logo to set them apart. AirPods look exactly like the ubiquitous white EarPods that have come shipped with iPhones for years, albeit with the wires clipped, and they’re “true wireless” headphones, meaning they don’t even have a cable connecting the left and right earbud. They come with a charging case that doubles as a pocketable storage unit and a battery booster that can top off the 5-hour battery life for another 3 hours in just 15 minutes.

The new headphones cost $159, £159 or AU$229, but they won’t be available until October.

I’ve been wearing a pair for the better part of a week. And you know what? They look dorky as hell, but I still like these AirPods. I know you think I’m crazy, but read on to find out why.

Editors’ note: We’re continuing to test the AirPods, and will update this to a full rated review — with comparisons to competing models — in the near future.

How dumb did I feel?

AirPods feel like regular EarPods, but wireless. So, since I can’t see them while I’m wearing them unless I look in the mirror, I generally feel fine (until the internet uses a photo of me to demonstrate how silly they look. Details, details).

Then I look in the mirror. One AirPod looks like a futuristic Bluetooth headset. With two in place, they look like hipster earrings. Or tiny vape pipes. Or sci-fi jewelry. Or worse.

OK, AirPods look ridiculous. I don’t know why Apple put that weird tail on them, except maybe for an antenna, or to make the microphones better. (More on that later.)

CNET

How do they sound?

But here’s the thing: mostly, they’re good. I liked listening to music with AirPods. I started finding myself preferring them to plug-in headphones, thanks to the freedom of movement they provided.

Until, of course, they produced some of the same little pops and interruptions I always get from Bluetooth earphones when I’m walking. I didn’t seem to get quite as many with the AirPods, but they sometimes happened…and skipping interruptions made me wish for something wired.

The 5-hour battery life for the earphones isn’t great, but it’s good for earbuds this tiny. And the little dental-floss-box-looking charger not only packs enough total charge for 24 hours, but quick-charges them fast enough that I never worried about running out of juice in a day. Or even two. Or three. You just need to accustom yourself to swapping the buds back into the case when you’re not using them. And don’t expect to listen straight through on, say, an intercontinental flight without an extra boost from the case.

Will AirPods work with other Bluetooth devices?

Yeah, they’re Bluetooth headphones. They’ll work with any Bluetooth-enabled smartphone, tablet, computer or other wireless device. I paired them with the Galaxy S7 Edge, and they worked fine for music and calls. But when you use them with Apple devices, you get some extra special features such as auto-pairing (see below). In Bluetooth mode with non-Apple devices, the AirPods won’t turn on or off when removing them from your ears, either.

How does auto-pairing work?

The AirPods include a secret sauce that most other wireless Bluetooth headphones (except those three aforementioned new Beats models) don’t: simplified automatic pairing across all Apple devices running iOS 10 or MacOS Sierra.

CNET

That pairing process had hits and misses in my everyday use. To connect them the first time, just flip up the AirPod case’s lid and the iPhone asks if you want to connect. On the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus I tested with (running a build of iOS 10 software with AirPod compatibility added), AirPod pairing was mostly automatic.

Many Android phones have a similar “tap to pair” function that uses near-field communication (NFC) on compatible handsets and headphones. We’ve rarely seen that work as well as the Apple auto-pairing on these AirPods, but it’s something similar in concept.

Once paired, the headphones now work with all the compatible Apple devices you own via iCloud. But to use those devices, you need to find a sometimes-hidden button in iOS to pick your audio source, and tap “AirPods.” So, while not completely automatic, it saves you a trip to re-pair the earphones via Bluetooth…and more importantly, you won’t need to pair them again when you go back to your other device.

Having one setup process for multiple devices seems helpful, but where it really pays off is if you have an Apple Watch.

Apple Watch and AirPods: Why are these the best buds?

These are the Bluetooth earbuds Apple should have always had for the Apple Watch in the first place. AirPods, because they auto-pair to both iPhone and Apple Watch, act as conduits to both. The watch acts as extension of the phone. The AirPods to the watch. There’s a seamless feel as I wander around now. Especially with just Apple Watch and AirPods on; suddenly I feel like I’ve put on my wearable astronaut suit and left my phone-world behind.

It’s particularly nice because it fixes a problem I always had with Bluetooth headphones and making phone calls while wearing Apple Watch: call handoffs.

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It’s annoying to use Bluetooth headphones and smartwatches. You have to pick where you pair, which was especially awkward when answering incoming calls if you “accepted” them on the Apple Watch. If you have Bluetooth headphones paired to your phone, Apple Watch calls get answered on the Apple Watch speakerphone…not on the headphones.

With AirPods and iOS 10, if a call comes through, you can answer on either device and just start talking. You can use them for running and listen to music. Whatever you need. They’re seamless, or, almost seamless.

Sometimes there would be a bit of a click sound, and I realized the AirPods were now paired to my other device. A few times, the handoff happened too slowly, and I missed the call. Early days for the AirPod, perhaps. But the ability to answer calls in-ear makes the Apple Watch feel more like a true communication tool.

Occasionally, I sometimes had to swipe up and pick AirPods like you would select Apple TV in AirPlay. So, not always magical and seamless. I was running a pre-release version of iOS 10.0.1 that worked with AirPods, versus 10.0, provided by Apple to test the devices.

How do you control them?

There aren’t many remote controls. You can double-tap on an AirPod to activate Siri, or turn that control into play/pause in AirPod’s settings. But you can’t adjust volume, or do the variety of things you can do with the basic in-line Apple EarPod remote. I kept reaching for my phantom remote all day long, but it wasn’t there to help me.

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Can you share AirPods?

Yes, you can. I put one in my ear and one in someone else’s and we listened to music. The earbuds turn on via proximity sensors. They turn off when you take them out.

But you can’t share a pair for phone calls. I tried, and it always defaulted to just one AirPod: whichever was put in someone’s ear first.

Can you just use one by yourself?

Yes, to take phone calls. Either bud will work the same, and it’ll switch seamlessly if you change earbuds. It’s pretty clever. But you can’t play music this way: both buds need to be in.

What if you lose one?

See above. With one bud — either one — you still have a perfectly functional monaural wireless headset for making calls. But that’s about it.

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Are they sweat-proof or water-resistant?

Apple doesn’t make any water resistance claims on these AirPods. They should be fine for workouts, but if it starts to rain I’d pop them out in a hurry.

Did they stay connected?

Mostly, but I still heard audio pops from time to time. Not as many as I usually get with Bluetooth headphones, but they were still there.

Did they stay in my ears?

Mostly, yes. I jumped around, hopped, tried jogging in place, and they stayed on.

But they fit just like Apple’s free-in-box $30 white earphones. It’s one size fits all, and tough luck if they don’t. So if those standard Apple earphones fit, these will fit. And if they don’t, these won’t. Unlike most other in-ear headphones, there are no extra tips included for different sized ears.

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Can they be used as wireless microphones for video shoots?

No. Not yet, at least. The microphones in the AirPods don’t connect to all apps. I was able to record a voice memo, but I couldn’t wear one and shoot a video of myself. And recording quality sounded digitized, like a phone call — not nearly as smooth as a normal audio recording. Right now, AirPods have limited microphone uses beyond phone calls and chats. That might change when AirPods arrive in late October.

What’s it like using Siri?

It was fine. Double-tapping either bud brings up Siri. She heard me just fine, and I heard her.

Why not get Beats?

Besides the AirPods, Apple is making three other headphones equipped with the W1 chip — the hardware that enables that cool auto-pairing, and also helps with low-power battery use. Those three Beats models Apple announced are larger and the earbuds aren’t independently wireless. But the BeatsX (which haven’t arrived yet) are almost the same price, with double the battery life: 10 hours versus 5. Those could be the better choice for workouts.

Are there other true wireless headphones?

Yes. This has been an emerging market over the past year, with at least a dozen announced or available options from large manufacturers such as Onkyo and Samsung to smaller startups such as Doppler Labs and Bragi.

So, why get Apple’s wireless headphones?

There are plenty of other options on the market. Bluetooth headphones are everywhere, obviously.

Apple’s sound nice. I can’t yet say they’re the best because we’re still comparing them with rivals. But they’re priced competitively, almost identical to the better “wired wireless” headphones like the aforementioned BeatsX and Bose SoundSport Wireless. And the EarPod-style plastic earpiece, while it fits me fine, won’t appeal to a lot of people. It feels looser in-ear than any normal sport-type earphones.

Best wireless Bluetooth headphones for iPhone…
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But, they’re convenient for making phone calls thanks to embedded noise-canceling microphones in both ears. They work, and people could hear me, but sometimes I was told I sounded a little digitized or fuzzy.

At least they’re tiny, and interchangeable. Each bud is separately wireless. And if you like that idea, and having Bluetooth headphones that can become a hands-free headset in a pinch, you might like these. If you can get over how they look.

But seriously: Will I look dumb if I wear them?

I don’t know. They’re headphones. They’re not Google Glass.

What they could really portend is more wireless devices

The W1 chip Apple unveiled in the AirPods could easily be used in something else. Devices that easily auto-pair and sync across other devices you own could mean HomeKit-enabled smart home accessories, or VR headsets, or other wearables. Maybe even an Amazon Echo-like product. It suggests a landscape of connected things, and Apple striving to push chips into specialized devices in its ecosystem. Are you ready for that? It could be yet another platform in a sea of connected-device platforms.

As proof of how more connected devices could glom onto your iCloud device world, AirPods show interesting promise. And they could be the type of always-in wearables that extend beyond the Apple Watch. But for now, they’re mostly just small, nice wireless earphones.

Apple iPhone 7 Plus review – CNET

The Good Dual rear cameras delivers true 2x optical zoom, with a cool bokeh mode to come via a forthcoming upgrade. The phone is water resistant, and the battery lasts longer than last year’s model. Bigger storage options include 256GB model for serious photographers.

The Bad There’s no standard headphone jack: you’ll have to use Lightning, or the included adapter, or go wireless. Design is showing its age, as competing phones squeeze a 5.5-inch screen into smaller, sexier bodies.

The Bottom Line Apple’s best camera phone pushes the envelope to offer great results, but its full potential hasn’t yet been tested.

If you’re a hardcore photographer, go for the iPhone 7 Plus.

In the mobile phone Olympics between Apple and Samsung, the two have been playing ping-pong lately. Apple had the best camera; Samsung had the best camera. The game evens up, then one pulls ahead for a few months.

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When Apple first made the larger Plus phones back in 2014, the appeal was always about screen size, battery life, and to a small extent camera. Really, all the larger 5.5-inch model had that the standard 4.7-incher didn’t was optical image stabilization (OIS). This year, the iPhone 7 finally gets OIS — great for smoothing out shaky-handed pics and videos.

But the 7 Plus, reviewed here, leaps ahead with a a new first for an Apple phone: dual rear cameras. (Apple is following in the footsteps of LG and Huawei, both of which already offer dual camera models.) One is identical to the wide-angle model on the 7, but the second one adds telephoto, including true 2x optical zoom. And the phone’s software deftly fuses the two, so you can effortlessly jump between them, or have them stitch together a single image.

All things iOS 10

• iOS 10: All the new features, tips and guides
• 23 hidden features in iOS 10
• 15 ways iOS 10 will make the iPhone better

The 7 and 7 Plus have much in common otherwise. Really, they’re two variants on the same phone. Both are water resistant, and have the same fast A10 Fusion processor. Yeah, they both lack headphone jacks. Even battery life has evened out a bit: The smaller 7 makes greater gains over last year’s 6S than the 7 Plus does over the 6S Plus.

Two iPhones, straight outta Brooklyn.

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Put another way: Everything we like — and dislike — about the smaller iPhone 7 applies to the 7 Plus model, too. (Read the iPhone 7 review here.) Just know that you’re paying a premium of $120, £120 or AU$190 when you step up to the 7 Plus at each storage capacity. (Yes, the price has creeped up a bit from last year.)

I’ve bounced back and forth between the 4.7-inch iPhone and the 5.5-inch version over the past few years. I used to hate the idea of the Plus. Then I preferred it. Then I shifted back to the smaller iPhone and used a battery case. The smaller one feels better to hold. The larger one has the superior display, but feels awkward in my hand.

The iPhone 7 Plus is Apple’s most advanced phone to date.

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Samsung and other manufacturers are doing a far better job folding identical 5.5-inch or larger displays into bodies like the S7 Edge that feel smaller and better in your hand. But now with cameras that can truly differentiate it from its smaller sibling, the 7 Plus finally has an easy justification for that jumbo size. It’s finally the step-up experience the larger phone needed.

I’m not a pro photographer, but I’m trying to get better. James Martin, a Senior Photographer at CNET, is. He shot with the 7 Plus in the Bay Area, while I took it around and used it for everyday life in New York and New Jersey.

Compare and contrast James’ photos from the 7 Plus to 6S Plus to the Samsung Galaxy S7 here.

Editors’ note: We’re still testing the battery and the camera performance of the iPhone 7 Plus. Consider the ratings to be tentative until finalized.

Did we mention it’s water resistant?

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How the dual cameras up the ante

The dual cameras don’t actually zoom, like a point-and-shoot camera with a protruding lens. Instead, the phone switches between the wide-angle camera and the telephoto, from 1 to 2x. From there, the camera app can digitally zoom up to 10x versus 5x on the iPhone 7. For video, it’s 6x.

Digital zoom works better than it used to, but zooming in too far still results in blurry, digitized pics. It can’t work miracles. But adding the 2x optical helps frame photos: I found many landscape shots transformed.

The camera made these nosebleed seats look good.

Scott Stein/CNET

I walked around Brooklyn, went to the New York Jets’ season opener and sat in the cheap seats. And being able to zoom in closer to the game action with less loss of detail was a great change — all without a big heavy camera around my neck.

Note, too, that the camera equals the low-light performance of its smaller sibling, which is an improvement over the 6S/6S Plus models.

It takes better low-lighting photos than the iPhone 6S.

James Martin/CNET

TP-Link LB120 Smart Wi-Fi LED Bulb with Tunable White Light Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

The TP-Link LB120 smart bulb.

Ry Crist/CNET

By this point, there are plenty of smart lighting options that work with Alexa, Amazon’s voice-powered virtual assistant, but a new trio of smart bulbs from TP-Link are some of the most affordable yet. Dubbed the LB100, the LB110, and the LB120, the new Wi-Fi bulbs start at $20 each, don’t require a hub, and promise to work with Amazon’s Alexa right out of the box.

The LB100 (the $20 option) offers 600 lumens of plain, white, dimmable light from a power draw of less than 10 watts. Upgrade to the LB110, which costs $25, and you’ll bump the lumen count up to 800, putting it right on par with what you’d expect from a standard 60W incandescent.

The LB120 adds in “color tunability,” which lets you dial the bulb’s color temperature between a low, yellowy glow and a hotter, more bluish-white daylight tone. It’s the priciest of the three at $35, so the other two are the better buy if you aren’t picky about color temperature. If you are, then I’d recommend checking out the Lifx White 800 — it offers the same tone-shifting smarts and Alexa-compatibility as this TP-Link bulb, and it also supports third-party services that TP-Link doesn’t, like IFTTT and the Nest Learning Thermostat. Plus, you can currently get it from retailers like Target for about $30 — a few bucks less than TP-Link is charging.

All three of TP-Link’s bulbs connect directly with your router over Wi-Fi, so you don’t need an additional hub to use them. There’s some nice appeal there, given that low-cost competitors like the GE Link LED, the Cree Connected LED, and the Philips Hue White LED all require you to plug a hub into your router to translate their Zigbee signal into something your home network can understand. No such hassle here with TP-Link — just screw the bulb in, download the free ‘Kasa’ app to your Android or iOS device, and let the smart lighting begin.

Best known for making router hardware, TP-Link is no stranger to offering Alexa-compatible gadgets at a discount. It already offers a pair of Alexa-ready smart switches that work like the Belkin WeMo Switch does, but cost less. These bulbs are taking the same undercutter approach, and if they work as advertised, they stand to be a good option for folks looking to save some money on their smart home build-out.

At any rate, we’ll be sure to screw a few in at the CNET Smart Home and let you know how we like them. In the meantime, you can find the bulbs for sale on TP-Link’s website, on Amazon, or at Home Depot.

Toshiba OCZ VX500 SSD review – CNET

The Good The Toshiba OCZ VX500 SSD has great performance and a high endurance rating. The drive includes a five-year warranty with advance free-shipping replacement.

The Bad The new drive is rather expensive.

The Bottom Line The Toshiba OCZ VX500 SSD is an excellent performance SSD for those with a deep pocket.

Visit manufacturer site for details.

The OCZ VX500 is Toshiba’s latest mainstream 2.5-inch standard solid-state drive (SSD,) slated to be faster than the company’s budget drives, like the OCZ Trion 100. And in testing, the new drive was indeed a beast, with sustained copy speed of 447MB/s for writing and 437MB/s for reading, among the fastest I’ve seen.

CNET Labs SSD copy tests

Toshiba OCZ VX500

235.47

447.34

435.61

Samsung SSD 850 Evo

182.78

214.45

205.63

Samsung SSD 750 Evo

180

246.45

203.67

Crucial MX300

178.34

245.67

199.32

Toshiba Q300

165.67

355.6

202.7

Legend:

As OS drive (read and write)
As secondary drive (write only)
As secondary drive (read only)

Note:

Measured in megabytes per second. Longer bars mean better performance.

But with that performance comes with a stiff price. The new VX500 is available in four capacities of 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB that have the suggested retail price of $63.99, $92.79, $152.52 and $337.06. respectively, or somewhere between 30 to 50 cents per gigabyte, making it one of the most expensive among recent SSDs on the market. You can easily find many SSDs for less than 30 cents per gigabyte nowadays. Toshiba does say, though, that the street price will “very likely” be lower. Availability and pricing are currently not available for UK and Australia, but its current US price converts to around £48 and AU$85 for 128GB; £70 and AU$123 for 256GB, £115 and AU$202 for 512GB and £253 and AU$447 for 1TB.

PC Mark Storage test

Toshiba OCZ VX500

4990

267.84

Samsung SSD 750 Evo

4986

284.78

Samsung SSD 850 Evo

4983

276.16

Crucial MX300

4914

198.33

Toshiba Q300

4894

186.68

Legend:

Storage score
Storage bandwith (MB/s)

Note:

Longer bars mean better performance.

The OCZ VX500 doesn’t use the new and trendy 3D Flash memory, found in Samsung 850 Evo, or Crucial MX300. Instead, it uses the traditional planar MLC flash memory, making it the direct competitor of the Samsung 750 Evo that was released a few months ago. And while the OCZ was clearly faster in copy speed, in random access tests — which simulates a computer’s general activities such as application launch time, game performance and so on — it wasn’t faster. In fact, it was at times a tad slower than the Samsung, which currently costs slightly less.

But the OCZ VX500 more than makes up for that in its generous warranty. The drive includes a five-year warranty (as opposed to the three-year one offered on the 750 Evo) and also offers advance replacement. In case of defect, Toshiba will ship you a new — not refurbished — replacement drive right away and then pay for you to ship the old drive back. What’s more, the VX500 also has high endurance rating, meaning you can use it for quite a long time before it becomes unreliable. Generally this is measured in TBW — the number of terabytes of data that can be written to drive. Toshiba says the 128GB, 256GB, 512GB and 1TB capacities of the VX500 have endurance ratings of 74TBW, 148TBW, 296TBW, and 592TBW, respectively. To put this in perspective, if you write 50GB — which is two Blu-ray discs worth of data — per day and every day to the drive, it will take you 4 years to use up the endurance the 128GB version, or 32 years if you get the 1TB version.

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The Toshiba OCZ VX500 solid-state drive has a sturdy aluminum casing.

Dong Ngo

Should I get it?

Overall, Toshiba’s new OCZ VX500 is a terrific standard SSD. I do feel, however, that it’s a little too expensive. That said, you should wait for the street price to come down before buying one. But if you can’t wait, you won’t be disappointed either. It’s an excellent standard SSD for those needing performance. On the other hand, if you just want an SSD to upgrade an old computer that still runs on a regular hard drive, a budget SSD like the Plextor M7V, or the Crucial MX300 will get the job done for considerably less.