Grab one of iOttie’s popular car mounts for as little as $14 today

Amazon has a variety of iOttie’s popular mounts on sale, with prices starting at just $13.94. There are a few different models available, each slightly different from the other.

• Easy One Touch 4 CD Slot – $13.94 (Was $20)
• Easy One Touch 4 Dashboard Mount – $17.45 (Was $25)
• Easy One Touch Qi CD Slot – $32.95 (Was $50)
• Easy One Touch Qi Air Vent – $32.95 (Was $50)
• Easy One Touch Qi Dashboard Mount – $32.95 (Was $50)

You can also grab this mount for your bicycle or motorcycle for $12.95 today.

These Prime Day discounts make Philips Hue lights far more affordable

Light up your room with some colorful lights.

Philips Hue is one of the most well-known smart light makers, and people tend to fall in love with the bulbs once they try them out. Amazon currently has a whole bunch of Philips Hue products on sale, from single bulbs to multipacks, and even bundles.

Whether you’re looking to kickstart an obsession or scratch an itch and add a few more bulbs, you’re going to want to check out these great offers before they sell out.

The deals you won’t want to miss include:

• 2-Bulb Starter Kit with Echo Dot Bundle – $119.99 (Was $200)
• 2-Pack White Dimmable LED Bulbs – $34.99 (Was $50)
• 4-Pack White Dimmable LED Bulbs – $39.99 (Was $50)
• White & Color Ambiance Bulbs – $36.99 (Was $50)
• White Candle LED Lights – $22.99 (Was $30)
• Color Candle LED Lights – $34.99 (Was $50)
• White & Color Ambiance LightStrip+ – $64.99 (Was $90)
• Hue Go White & Color Portable Table Lamp – $62.99 (Was $80)

There are a few other discounts available as well, so be sure to check them out. You can also check out more smart home-related deals here.

Store 256GB of data securely with the $40 SanDisk Ultra Fit Flash Drive

This compact flash drive is ready to store your important data.

Amazon has the SanDisk 256GB Ultra Fit USB 3.1 Flash Drive on sale today for just $39.99. This deal saves you $30 off what it sells for regularly and is an all-time low price for the product. This deal is exclusively available to Prime members as part of Amazon’s Prime Day. If you’re not a member, you can still get in on this deal by starting a free 30-day trial.

Other sizes of this item are also on sale today, including the 128GB version for $21.99.

This compact flash drive is compatible with laptops, game consoles, car stereos and more. It features read speeds up to 130MB/s and comes with RescuePro Deluxe data recovery software with the capability of transferring a full-length movie to the drive in under 30 seconds.

See at Amazon

Here’s how to mirror your smartphone or tablet onto your TV

It’s a pretty fantastic world we live in these days, especially when it comes to mobile technology. Hours upon hours of entertainment rests at our fingertips, available in virtually any place at any time, all from a sleek little device that fits in your pocket. As convenient and wondrous as smartphones are, though, there’s something to be said for viewing content on a big, flat-screen TV. For those who access more content from their tablet or smartphone than anywhere else, that big screen in the living room can create some serious size envy.

So why can’t you have your cake and see it too? You can, thanks to the magic of mirroring. A rapidly growing arsenal of devices allows anything on your phone or tablet to be mirrored from your phone’s screen onto your TV. For those looking to marry the second screen with the screen that started it all, we’ve put together this list of the best, most convenient, and most affordable ways to do so. We’ve done all the research for you, so dive right in and pick your poison.

Set-top boxes

Apple TV ($150 to 200)

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Not to be confused with the mythical stories of the actual television that Apple was long rumored to release, the Apple TV set-top box is a streaming device that competes head-to-head with Roku devices (see below), Amazon’s Fire TV devices, and other streamers. Boasting a wide selection of apps, an intuitive touch remote, and direct access to iTunes (no other streamer can claim that), the Apple TV — or, if you’re feeling frisky, the $200 Apple TV 4K — makes a great choice for those entrenched in the Apple ecosystem.

What makes it great for our purposes is AirPlay. Apple’s proprietary wireless protocol suite is a brilliantly simple way to mirror video, audio, and pretty much any other content wirelessly from your iOS device to any display with an HDMI input. It’s done by swiping up from the bottom of the screen and clicking the Airplay symbol in the quick menu (which looks like a square with a triangle through it). AirPlay mirroring is really just the start, too. Savvy users can find all kinds of interesting ways to use this box as a media or smart home hub. Even if an iPhone is your only piece of Cupertino currency, the Apple TV makes a lot of sense as the mirroring device of choice. AirPlay 2 even offers increased functionality, though it doesn’t offer any new mirroring features.

Read our Apple TV 4K review

Roku ($30 to $100)

Caleb Denison/Digital Trends
Caleb Denison/Digital Trends

Roku’s diverse collection of streaming devices are perennial favorites among reviewers and consumers alike. What really makes Roku fly is its ridiculous selection of apps (which numbers well over 1,000) and its intuitive interface. Better yet, while the Roku family (which includes multiple iterations and price tiers) was long bereft of any real native mirroring, the company updated its devices, allowing for its newer models to offer straight-up screen mirroring for Android and Windows devices.

The service is available for Android devices running 4.2 or higher, and Windows devices running 8.1 or higher. Your “hardware must support screen mirroring,” according to Roku, though most devices do in one form or another. For Android devices, Roku notes that there are many terms used for mirroring, including Smart View, Quick Connect, SmartShare, AllShare Cast, Wireless Display, HTC Connect, Screen Casting, and Cast. Once you’ve identified the correct terminology, you can usually enable mirroring from the settings menu under “network” or “display” headings.

For Windows 8.1 devices or higher, you can mirror by following this Microsoft article. For Windows 10 devices, open the Action Center, select Project, then Connect to a wireless display, and then select the Roku device on your network.

While iOS devices can’t mirror to Roku natively, users can display personal photos, video, and music to the Roku with the Play on Roku feature in the Roku app. In addition, a few popular apps allow you to sling content to the TV through Roku, including Video & TV Cast and AllCast. Third-party apps may require more time to set up, as platforms require you to download apps to both your destination device and your iOS device. For AllCast, you’ll need to upgrade to the $5 version (otherwise, you’ll be limited to a few minutes of video playback). These apps also work with Roku TVs, like the excellent, affordable TCL P-Series TVs and other TCL models.

Read our Roku Streaming Stick+ review

Amazon Fire TV ($30 to $120)

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

After much fanfare, Amazon’s Fire TV made its debut in April 2014, with several newer (and more powerful) iterations following in the years since. The latest is the Fire TV Cube, which offers a bevy of features, including the ability to control most of your home theater gear with only your voice. Like other newer Fire TV devices, the Fire TV Cube also boasts support for 4K, HDR, and Alexa.

Early in the Fire TV’s history, Amazon added native mirroring for Android devices via Miracast, though at first users had to have their device tethered to the same Amazon account as their box. But, thanks to an update, any user with a compatible device can get in on the fun. Enabled devices include Android devices running 4.2 Jelly Bean or higher, Amazon’s Fire HDX tablets, and the Fire Phone (if anyone still has one). Older Fire TVs don’t support mirroring. To enable mirroring, go to Settings > Display & Sounds > Enable Display Mirroring. Then connect your desired device from your Android phone or tablet.

Just like the Roku, iOS users will find AllCast as a viable option when it comes to transmitting videos, photos, and other media to the Fire TV from outside the Android mafia. Another (paid) app to try out is Reflector 3, which also works with iOS devices.

Read our Amazon Fire TV review

Dongles

Chromecast ($35 or less) and Chromecast Ultra ($60)

Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

Since its debut in 2013, Chromecast has become the go-to device for affordable wireless streaming. For those with 4K UHD TVs, Chromecast Ultra offers 4K streaming in a tiny, dongular (yes, we made that word up) form factor. What makes Chromecast special is its ability to bypass your device’s internal resources thanks to its “cast” method of streaming, allowing you to start playback on your device. Just click the cast icon and let the Chromecast take it from there, which lets your phone or tablet to rest and save battery.

Outside of casting from streaming apps, though, Chromcast and Chromecast Ultra also feature near latency-free mirroring of anything on an Android smartphone or tablet, including games, photos, video, and more. The options combine to make for a host of very cool applications. As of now, Android devices running Android 4.4.2+ offer mirroring with Chromecast; some are “optimized,” while others might not run as smoothly. Make sure your Google Home app is updated, and check here for more help. As a bonus, Chromecast can also mirror anything from a Mac or PC’s Chrome browser by simply clicking the Cast button in the corner of your browser, but performance quality varies.

If you’re an iOS user, don’t fret; Chromecast mirroring isn’t supported for content loaded on your device, but Chromecasts are great for streaming content from tons of popular apps, including YouTube, Spotify, Netflix, Hulu, and Google Play Movies & TV. To cast, simply start playback in your app of choice and look for the cast icon. You’ll need to download the Google Home app first, though.

Miracast ($40 to 70)

While Google is making it more and more enticing to stay in its home-baked lineup, if you’re an Androidian, third-party Miracast devices from lesser-known companies are also available. Miracast is Wi-Fi certified, high-definition wireless protocol similar to AirPlay. Unlike AirPlay, though, Miracast is unique in that it does not require a Wi-Fi network. Instead, it sets up its own private streaming network through a protocol that arrived with Android 4.0 called Wi-Fi Direct. The network is accessible from other local devices but is safe from any internet hooligans outside of its short range.

Miracast is extremely versatile and offers a host of mirroring capabilities. While it works with Android devices, it is especially useful for mirroring PCs. Like AirPlay, its Achilles’ heel is relying on your device’s internal resources, which ties it up and drains the battery. Still, if Android (and especially PC) mirroring is your game, Miracast-compatible devices may be worth checking into (though we’d probably just go with one of the devices above).

Some options with solid reputations include the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter and the Belkin Miracast Video Adapter. Miracast is also available for use with the Kindle Fire HD through a few devices, including the popular Netgear Push2TV.

Gaming consoles

Xbox One ($239), Xbox One S ($300) Xbox 360 ($100 to $200)

Screen mirroring on the Xbox One is, unfortunately, a hit-or-miss proposition thanks to a slew of somewhat unreliable apps. The Xbox doesn’t have any native mirroring capability, so you’ll need to rely on third-party solutions, like the aforementioned AllCast, or AirServer for iOS. Neither app is free (AirServer’s Xbox app costs a whopping $20) and users across the web have had mixed results. The Xbox mobile app offers a lot of neat features, but mirroring isn’t among them.

While mirroring is limited, the best way to stream videos from your phone to your console is with Plex. Plex is available in the Xbox store and takes only a quick search to find. You’ll need to download the Plex app on your Android or iOS phone, then sign up for a Plex account if you haven’t already. In order to take full advantage of the app, you’ll need a paid subscription and you’ll also have to pay a one-time activation fee for your device. If you’re only using Plex to stream files saved directly to your phone or tablet (rather than stored on a Plex server), you can opt out and remain in trial mode instead. Plex is an awesome solution for those with extensive digital libraries, but those who prefer streaming services will need to access them directly from the Xbox.

PlayStation 4 ($290-plus), PS4 Pro ($400), and PlayStation 3 ($100-plus)

Unfortunately, none of Sony’s gaming consoles — including the PS3, PS4 or PS4 Pro — have native mirroring features included. While there is an official PlayStation smartphone app that allows you to control your PS4 and browse the PlayStation Network remotely, that’s about all it can do. Instead, users will have to resort to third-party options. Plex is probably your best bet here, as with Xbox. Other options, like R-play, allow you to do the opposite of phone mirroring, i.e., play games from your PlayStation to your phone for iPhone. If you have an Android phone, there are more complex ways to get R-play, but it’s not yet available on the Google Play store and we cannot vouch for their quality or viability.

TVs

Many newer TVs have mobile mirroring built right in. If you’ve got a newer TV and you’ve noticed an acronym on one of the HDMI inputs labeled MHL, you already have a plug-and-play solution to connecting your Android phone, albeit from a decidedly 20th-century, hardwired connection. MHL stands for Mobile High-Definition Link, and allows you to mirror most content right on your display through an HDMI input. All you’ll need is a cable that converts your smartphone’s connection to an HDMI connection. Note: MHL will also power and charge your device while connected, but we haven’t seen a lot of great reviews for the cables in our searching, so you’ll need to proceed at your own monetary risk.

Of course, wireless mirroring is much more useful for the couch potato in all of us, and that capability also comes with some of newer flat-screen models. Unfortunately, most of the built-in mirroring options available are proprietary, like Samsung’s AllShare system, which works only with select Samsung Galaxy phones. Still, if you happen to already have the goods required, then all the better. Roku TVs, for instance, work just like the set-top devices. For other TVs, check your settings manual to find out if MHL or wireless mirroring are part of the package (alternately, here’s a handy list from Best Buy of some televisions with mirroring capability).

Editors’ Recommendations

• How to connect your phone to an Xbox One
• The best head-up displays (HUDs) for your car
• Keep your shiny bezel-less phone safe with the best LG G6 cases and covers
• The new AirTV wirelessly beams broadcast channels to your streaming device
• Battle of the streaming sticks: Chromecast vs. Roku vs. Fire TV Stick

Aston Martin’s cars figuratively fly. The Vision Volante does it literally

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Aston Martin has joined the race to put flying taxis in the skies above the world’s most crowded cities. The British company introduced a futuristic design study named Volante Vision at the biennial Farnborough Airshow that illustrates what the vehicle might look like when it embarks on its maiden voyage.

The announcement describes the Volante Vision concept as a hybrid-electric aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities. Think of it as a giant drone developed to carry passengers. It offers space for three adults arranged in a triangular configuration; one passenger sits front and center while two more travel side-by-side directly behind the front seat. Rolls-Royce — the plane maker, not the car maker — provides at least part of the propulsion system but Aston Martin stopped short of providing concrete technical details. We don’t know exactly what it’s powered by or how far it can travel and at what speed. The company notes its concept can fly itself thanks to state-of-the-art autonomous technology.

Like Aston’s land-bound vehicles, the Volante Vision concept puts a strong focus on style and luxury. Design boss Marek Reichman points out his team drew inspiration from cars like the DB11, the Vantage, and the upcoming Valkyrie when drawing the Volante Vision.

The company added a wide, high-resolution head-up display that looks like it comes from a fighter jet to replace the instrument cluster. It provides passengers with key data about the Vision Volante and its surroundings like its speed, its range, and its altitude. Bringing it to production would be reasonably straight-forward because it’s based on an existing technology quickly spreading across the automotive industry.

Though it looks like a prop made for the next installment of Star Wars, Aston Martin suggests wealthy travelers will be able to commute in the Vision Volante in the near future.

“The Volante Vision concept will enable us to travel further with our hourly commute, meaning we are able to live further away from where we work. Cities will grow, and towns that are today too far away from cities to be commutable will become suburban,” Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer noted in a statement.

Rivals working on similar projects, like Uber and Airbus, tentatively plan to start producing their own flying taxis between 2020 and 2030. Though Aston hasn’t released its time frame yet, that is the rule it will need to play by if it wants to remain competitive in this burgeoning segment of the luxury market.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Aston Martin shoehorns V8 Vantage S running gear into a Cygnet for Goodwood
• The best sports cars of 2018
• The most expensive cars in the world
• Aston Martin Rapide AMR boasts 205 mph top speed, limited production run
• Germany plans to put Airbus and Audi’s cool flying taxi concept into the sky

TopGreener’s popular dual USB wall outlets are down to $13 each

Make your outlets more useful!

Conventional wall outlets are great but can be made so much better by swapping them with TopGreener’s dual USB wall receptacles. Normally they sell for $20, but right now they are marked down to just $12.65 each for Prime members. If you want one of the colored versions, they are still at the full price.

Each one has two AC plugs and two USB ports, which turns a space that used to charge two devices into one that can easily charge four. The USB outlets have a 2.4A output to quickly charge your devices. Installing this receptacle is quite simple, though there are a few things to know. Be sure to check out this video before trying it for yourself. If you aren’t comfortable trying it on your own, most local electricians charge very reasonable rates for swapping these things out.

See at Amazon

Eufy’s discounted RoboVac 11 can keep your floors clean while you relax

No effort cleaning.

Summer is here, and it is HOT. Way too hot to do chores. Let the popular Eufy RoboVac 11 clean your floors while you cool off with your head in the fridge or something. Right now it’s down to just $159.99 at Amazon. That’s a match for the lowest we’ve seen and $90 off what it normally goes for.

It offers 100 minutes of constant, powerful suction, has a wide rolling brush to clean the floors well, and comes with a remote to help you control it. It has 4.1 stars based on 492 user reviews.

Even the entry-level Roomba models start at around $300. Sure, they can offer a few additional features, but at nearly double the cost it’s harder to justify the upgrade here.

See at Amazon

The best Amazon Prime Day smartwatch deals

Prime Day is here, and Amazon is offering deals on a variety of products from July 16 through July 17. We’ve looked at some of the best smartphone deals available, but if you’re seeking something you can wear that’s fashionable, we’ve also rounded up the best smartwatch deals.

Here are the best Prime Day smartwatch deals.

Fossil Q Venture

Brenda Stolyar/Digital Trends

The Fossil Q Venture is one of the fashion brand’s latest Wear OS smartwatches for women. It’s not the most functional smartwatch — it lacks GPS, a heart rate monitor, and NFC for Google Pay — but it is quite stylish, with lots of pretty watch faces to match outfits. Amazon is offering deals on various Fossil Q Venture models, from the rose-gold or silver-tone stainless steel model to one with a leather strap, and prices vary by model. Read our full Fossil Q Venture review.

Buy it now:

Amazon

Fossil Q Explorist

Simon Hill/Digital Trends

The Fossil Q Explorist is the men’s version of the Fossil Q Venture. It runs Google’s Wear OS (formerly Android Wear), and has the Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor and three buttons to press that can open a pre-configured app. There are discounts on the Explorist silver-tone model, as well as the gold-tone and silver-tone with a brown leather strap. Read our full Fossil Q Explorist review.

Buy it now:

Amazon

Diesel On Full Guard

Andy Boxall/Digital Trends

If you’re a fan of big watches, the Diesel On Full Guard may be the smartwatch for you. It runs Google’s Wear OS platform, and it has a nice, big 1.4-inch, high-resolution screen to see notifications. It initially cost $350 and then went down to $228, but on Prime Day it’s available for just $158. Read our full Diesel On Full Guard review.

Buy it now:

Amazon

Skagen Falster

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Skagen Falster is one of the most beautiful smartwatches you can buy right now. It’s slim, contemporary, and comfortable to wear, with interchangeable straps. It also runs Google’s Wear OS. There are a few models that are discounted from the original $295 price tag for Prime Day, including silver-tone and rose gold-tone models with mesh straps, as well as a model with a leather strap.

Buy it now:

Amazon

Garmin Approach X40 GPS Golf Band

Are you a golfer? The Garmin Approach X40 is a band you can wear to not only get standard activity-tracking data, but also measure shot distances, and track your heart rate, distance to greens, hazards, and more. It works well with Garmin’s other golf sensors to give you even more data. For Prime Day, the price has dropped from $250 to $200.

Buy it now:

Amazon

We strive to help our readers find the best deals on quality products and services, and choose what we cover carefully and independently. If you find a better price for a product listed here, or want to suggest one of your own, email us at dealsteam@digitaltrends.com.Digital Trends may earn commission on products purchased through our links, which supports the work we do for our readers.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Amazon slashes prices on Echo, Fire TV, and Kindle for Prime Day
• Amazon Prime Day 2018: Here’s everything you need to know
• Amazon Echo devices get steep discounts for Prime Day
• Here are the best Amazon Prime Day smartphone deals
• This 34-inch, curved, ultrawide 144Hz gaming monitor is only $385 on Prime Day

Nintendo Virtual Boy emulator lets you enjoy VR like it’s 1995 again

Virtual reality might not have quite taken over in the way some predict it will, but there is no denying that it’s come a long way in a short space of time. Case in point? Comparing the Virtual Boy, Nintendo’s ill-fated, red-tinted head-mounted display, with today’s HMDs. While the Virtual Boy deserves credit for being one of the first console attempts at providing stereoscopic 3D graphics, it now looks every bit its 23 years — and possibly a few more as well. It’s hard to believe it came out just one year before the Nintendo 64.

Still, if you’re in the mood to relive the Virtual Boy, and you happen to also own an Oculus Rift headset, you can do so, courtesy of a fan-made VBjin emulator which gives your old Virtual Boy a new lease on life. The Oculus-based VBjin VR was developed by Jay Mattis, founder of indie game developer High Horse Entertainment, makers of the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and PC game Disc Jam. A project Mattis began in 2012 when he backed the first-gen Rift on Kickstarter, VBjin VR was recently spotlighted in an article for Venture Beat.

“I owned a Virtual Boy back in the day,” Mattis told Digital Trends. “Once the console was discontinued, Blockbuster Video was trying to get rid of their inventory and I actually bought it pre-owned, along with their entire games catalog, for dirt cheap. I loved it, but I couldn’t play it for long periods at a time. I had to sit in an awkward position to keep my face in the visor, and the whole setup took way too much room on my desk to keep it connected all the time. When I got the emulator running, I was excited to re-play some of the games I remember so fondly but in a significantly more comfortable setting.”

VBjin for Oculus features two play modes. In one, the screen is fixed and static like the original console, while the other has the screen exist in its own “world” so that you can move closer to or further away from the rendered pixels. You can also change the color from the Virtual Boy’s signature red to gray, which some people might find a lot more comfortable.

If you’re interested in finding out a bit more, head over to the project’s page on Github, where you can read more of the technical details. Or you could bust out an original Virtual Boy, put on your best flannel shirt, and fully commit to the whole “relive 1995” thing.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Oculus TV arrives, letting you watch a big screen TV without taking up any space
• Chrome’s desktop browser now supports web-based VR on the Oculus Rift
• Oculus Rift review
• Gamers aren’t convinced by Windows Mixed Reality headsets
• Oculus Rift vs. Vive Pro

Strike while the iron is hot: DJI’s best drones are dirt cheap during Prime Day

If you’ve been waiting patiently for the right time to buy a drone, today might be the right day to strike. As part of the online shopping bonanza known as Amazon Prime Day, DJI is offering some of its most popular drones at heavily discounted prices.

The company’s widely-lauded Mavic Pro drone, for example, is on sale for just $799 starting today — a full $200 less than its usual retail price. If you opt for the Fly More Combo, which includes extra batteries, spare parts, and a case; you can snag the whole bundle for just $999 — $300 off the usual price. Just keep in mind that rumors are floating around that DJI might release the Mavic Pro 2 sometime soon, so if you want to be on the bleeding edge of drone tech, you might be wise to save your money and wait another month or two.

DJI is also offering deals and discounts on its pint-sized Spark drone. The price of this little bugger has already dropped significantly since the day it launched, but during Prime Day this year, DJI is knocking the price down even further. The Fly More Combo, which includes a the Spark and a bunch of extra parts and accessories, can be had for $379 — 50 bucks less than it typically sells for.

If you don’t mind using pre-owned gear, DJI also plans to sell a wide range of refurbished drones, camera gear, and other accessories for discounted prices. Here’s the full list of deals, which are set to go live on July 17 at 9PM PST, and will run for 24 hours.

• DJI Phantom 4 Advanced – $819 (was $959)
• DJI Phantom 4– $599 (was $699)
• DJI Inspire 2 – $2,199 (was $2,399)
• DJI Inspire 1 Pro – $2,199 (was $2,399)
• DJI Inspire 1– $1,129 (was $1,399)
• DJI Goggles – $259 (was $279)
• DJI Spark – $259 (was $279)
• DJI Spark Combo – $379 (was $439)
• DJI Osmo Mobile – $89 (was $109)
• DJI Osmo – $259 (was $279)

To get your hands on all this stuff, you can head over to DJI’s Amazon Prime Day spotlight, or DJI’s official store.  For discounts on other electronics and gear, you’ll definitely want to check out DT’s full list of Amason Prime Day deals. This cheat sheet was painstakingly curated by our editorial staff, so you can rest assured that if something made the list, it’s definitely a good deal.

Editors’ Recommendations

• DJI Mavic Air review
• The best drones of 2018
• DJI Spark review
• Next Mavic Pro could offer swappable cameras and safer flights
• Shoot smarter in the woods with the best photography gadgets for camping