The Wirecutter’s best deals: Save $50 on Bose QuietComfort 20 headphones

This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer’s guide to the best technology. Read their continuously updated list of deals at TheWirecutter.com.

You may have already seen Engadget posting reviews from our friends at The Wirecutter. Now, from time to time, we’ll also be publishing their recommended deals on some of their top picks. Read on, and strike while the iron is hot—some of these sales could expire mighty soon.

HiFiMan HE400S Headphones

Street price: $300; MSRP: $300; Deal price: $250

The first good drop we’ve ever seen on these headphones, despite tracking them for a long time. It’s rare to see any discount on these at all, let alone a $50 discount.

The HiFiMan HE400S are our pick for the best open-back headphones under $500. Brent Butterworth said, “Unbelievably spacious and natural sound—along with unusual versatility—makes these the only open-back headphone all of our panelists loved.”

“The HiFiMan HE400S headphones were the only ones of all those we tested for this guide that every panelist agreed was worthy of our recommendation. Not only do we feel it (arguably) matches or exceeds the performance of any under-$500 headphone we tested, it’s comfortable to wear and it’s relatively affordable for about $300.”

Bose QuietComfort 20 Headphones

Street price: $300; MSRP: $300; Deal price: $250

This is only the second time we’ve seen a great deal on these headphones. We’ve had them as a pick for years, and the first sale we saw was about a month ago. This deal matches that low price. This is for the black Android version, which has a slightly different remote than the white Apple version.

The Bose QuietComfort 20 are our pick for the best noise-cancelling in-ear headphones. Geoffrey Morrison wrote, “The Bose QuietComfort 20 offer significantly better noise reduction than any other in-ear headphone.”

For more detail about the noise reduction, “the main takeaway is that at certain frequencies, the QC20s drop the ambient sound by 45 decibels. This is an incredible amount. To put this amount in perspective, the average noise levels inside an airplane and a library are roughly 45 dB apart.”

Crock-Pot Programmable Cook and Carry Oval 6-Quart

Street price: $50; MSRP: $60; Deal price: $40

This deal comes within a couple of dollars of the lowest price we’ve seen it before, and is the first decent deal we’ve seen in a few months. Outside of a lightning deal, this is pretty close to the best price you’ll see on this slow cooker. This deal is only for the silver model of the Crock-Pot.

The Crock-Pot Programmable Cook and Carry Oval 6-Quart is our runner-up pick in our guide for the best slow cooker. Christine Cyr Clisset wrote, “If you find you need a timer that goes longer than 14 hours (which is the upper limit on the Set & Forget), we recommend the highly reviewed and easy-to-use Crock-Pot Programmable Cook and Carry Oval Slow Cooker. It does cook for 20 hours, compared with the Set & Forget’s 14, and looks more up-to-date (because it is); we like its handles and locking mechanism a little better, too.”

Z-Edge Z3 Dash Cam

Street price: $106; MSRP: $200; Deal price: $90

Here’s a decent $16 drop on our pick for the best dash cam. This dash cam has been featured in a couple of lightning deals before, and this sale matches the price from the last lightning deal. Since the last few notable deals have either been lightning deals or incredibly brief, it’s unlikely that this price will last long.

The Zero Edge Technology Z-Edge Z3 is our pick in our guide for the best dash cam. Eric Adams wrote, “The affordable Zero Edge Z3 hits all the marks with great video quality in the wide 2560×1080-pixel format across a range of difficult outdoor light. Though the Zero Edge Z3 was a late entry in our testing, it impressed us with its high-quality video and build, which is on a par with dash cams that cost almost twice as much. It also includes a 32GB microSD card, making it an even better deal. Combine that with the best mount of any camera we looked at, video footage that is easy to see fine detail with, rock solid build quality, and easy setup, user interface, and installation, and you have a camera that easily beats the competition.”

Deals change all the time, and some of these may have expired. To see an updated list of current deals, please go to The Wirecutter.com.

Messages in iOS 10: How to Send Handwritten Notes

The Messages app in iOS 10 has been entirely overhauled, adding a slew of new capabilities that make it more fun to keep in touch with friends and family. One of the more personal touches added to Messages is a new handwriting feature, which allows users to send handwritten messages to their loved ones.

Using the handwriting feature is simple, but it’s also a bit hidden on the iPhone, because the button to activate it won’t show up unless you’re in landscape mode. Here’s how to do it:

On an iPhone, turn it to landscape mode. On the iPad, you can use handwriting in landscape or portrait mode.

Tap the handwriting squiggle to the right of the return key on the iPhone or to the right of the number key on the iPad. On the iPhone 6 and 6s, the handwriting screen will pop up automatically.
Use a finger to write whatever you would like to say on the screen. Once you reach the end of the screen, press the arrow if you would like to keep writing. Go back to the beginning by using a two finger swipe.

Alternatively, tap one of the pre-written options below, which include phrases like “thank you,” “happy birthday,” and “I’m sorry.”
When finished, tap “Done” to return to the standard keyboard. Your handwritten message will be available as an image to send in the message compose box.

After you send your handwritten message to someone, it will display as a neat little animation that lets the person on the other end watch as you write each letter. Handwritten messages need to be viewed within the Messages app and notifications for them will simply read “Handwritten Message.”

Message length is limited to two screens on the iPhone or iPad, so the handwriting feature is primarily designed for short phrases meant to complement longer text messages, but it’s a simple addition that adds a sweet personal touch to your conversations. As a bonus, it can also be used to send little drawings, much like Digital Touch.

Related Roundup: iOS 10
Discuss this article in our forums

First iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Pre-Order Customers in New Zealand Begin Receiving Shipments

With time zone differences, Apple customers in Australia and New Zealand are always the first to get their new devices when orders begin shipping out.

It’s just about 9:00 a.m. in New Zealand, so customers who pre-ordered an iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, or Apple Watch Series 2 are beginning to receive their shipments and have begun sharing photos of their devices on social networks like Instagram and Twitter. Deliveries will begin soon in Australia.

Image via Instagram user Hamad960
As September 16 hits around the world, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus will be available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UAE, the UK, US Virgin Islands and the US.

Image via Instagram user 0anna0banana0
Retail stores in those countries will be opening at 8:00 a.m. local time letting customers pick up reserved devices and purchase new phones via walk-in. Customers who did not pre-order will have a limited selection of iPhones for walk-in purchases, as Apple has said there are no iPhone 7 Plus models and no Jet Black iPhone 7 models available at all.

Customers who planned to wait in line to obtain an iPhone 7 Plus or a Jet Black iPhone 7 should instead order online. Delivery estimates for those devices range into November based on color and configuration.

In the United States, the first iPhone 7 deliveries will begin starting at approximately 8:00 a.m. local time, with the first deliveries occurring on the east coast.

Related Roundup: iPhone 7
Discuss this article in our forums

Visually stunning puzzler Pavilion makes debut exclusively on SHIELD TV

Discover the mysterious world of Pavilion on your Nvidia SHIELD Android TV!

Fans of the Nvidia SHIELD will get a rare exclusive look at a brand new indie title, as Pavilion makes its debut exclusively for the Android TV console today, available on the Google Play Store for $10.

Pavilion is a beautiful “fourth-person puzzler”, which drops you and the main character into a mysterious world without any text instructions, backstory or really any context at all. With no tutorials or guides, players explore and interact with objects in the beautifully crafted levels as an omnipresent orb, as you try to help the A.I.-controlled main character work through intricate puzzles.

The real standout here is the beautiful, hand-drawn 2D levels, which has earned the game developers at Visiontrick Media heaps of praise over the past year. The environments are rich with fine details and take on a dreamlike aesthetic that runs throughout the game. Accompanying the beautiful images is a wonderfully ambient soundtrack that blends environmental sounds with a calming musical score. Taken as a whole, Pavilion’s sounds and visuals create a fully-immersive experience.

After a week of SHIELD exclusivity, Pavilion will launch on Steam and the Humble Store on September 22. The game will hit consoles such as the PlayStation 4 and mobile Android devices later in the year. This release is called Chapter One, so we can also expect more Pavilion puzzles in 2017.

Check out the launch trailer to prepare yourself for an otherworldly gaming experience!

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How much faster are Samsung’s Fast Wireless Chargers?

How much faster are Fast Wireless chargers?

Wireless charging is one of those things most folks tend to ignore for two reasons. No Android phone that supports wireless charging has ever included a wireless charger in the box, and wireless charging is never as fast as the charger you do get in the box. It’s only marginally more convenient to set a phone on a little tray than it is to plug it in, so the list of positives has never really been high enough to justify mass adoption.

Samsung’s recent phones have included a new kind of wireless charging — dubbed Fast Wireless Charging — which aimed to do something about the charging rate. With more Samsung phones arriving with this Fast Wireless support, we decided to take a look at the difference between these new chargers and the older Qi chargers from the Nexus 5 days.

Your average wireless charger

Qi and Powermat chargers have been around for a while, and while most of them look like small platters you connect Micro-USB cables to there are a few that have drifted from this design. Zens has a cool Qi car charger you just slip your phone into, Fonesalesman makes a battery pack with a Qi coil on top, and the list goes on. The problem with these chargers is rarely design, and usually output. These chargers had a maximum output of 5V/1A, which charges a Galaxy S7 from 9% to 100% in about five hours.

This is fine if you’re charging your phone overnight, or if you’re leaving your phone at your desk all day during work, but when your power cable can replenish 30% of your battery in 10 minutes that wireless charger becomes a lot more difficult to justify. The only real benefit here is less stress on your Micro-USB or USB-C port, which is frequently not worth the cost of a wireless charging accessory. Even a really cool one.

Fast Wireless Charging

Setting the same Galaxy S7 on a new Samsung Fast Wireless charger offers a mostly similar experience. You get a notification that your phone is charging wirelessly with a fun animation, and the phone starts charging. There’s a small indicator for faster charging, like you get with Samsung’s included rapid charger, but the results are a little different.

On a Fast Wireless charger, our Galaxy S7 charged from 9% to 100% in just over two hours, cutting the total charge time in half. A quick look at power input through Ampere confirmed that Fast Wireless Charging was delivering almost exactly twice the amount of energy to the phone. This isn’t quite as fast as a rapid charger, which will take this same Galaxy S7 from 9% to 100% in 90 minutes, but it’s still pretty great when compared to the alternative.

Should you upgrade?

Samsung’s Fast Wireless Charger certainly delivers a much faster charge than the previous generation of Qi and Powermat chargers, but it’s still an additional accessory you need to buy for your phone. That means shelling out around $50 for one of these accessories from Samsung, or keeping your eye out for a deal on third-part Fast Wireless Chargers. Now that Fast Wireless chargers exist for the house and car, it may be worth considering a full replacement to wireless charging. On the other hand, your included power cable still delivers the fastest overall charge.

Best AT&T phones

What are the best phones you can buy at AT&T right now?

Whether you’re a loyal AT&T subscriber, or you’re looking to jump ship to its giant cellular network, take a peek at our list of the best smartphones the carrier has to offer.

We’ll be updating this guide throughout the year to keep you informed of the latest devices worth wielding as your daily driver. Be sure to read through our reviews for the full rundown on each smartphone.

• Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Active
• LG G5
• Samsung Galaxy Note 7
• LG G3

Samsung Galaxy S7/S7 edge

The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge are Samsung’s flagship devices for the year and the two best Android devices on the market. Both smartphones feature cameras with advanced features we all want, a fingerprint sensor embedded in the home button, and a Power Saving mode that actually works.

The Galaxy S7 and S7 edge run on the same hardware, including the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 and 4GB of RAM. The 5.1-inch Galaxy S7 comes equipped with a 3000 mAh battery and is available in black and gold, while the 5.7-inch Galaxy S7 edge comes with a 3600 mAh battery and is available in black, gold, and silver.

Want to get more in-depth?

Read: Samsung Galaxy S7 review

Read: Samsung Galaxy S7 edge review

Ready to make your purchase?

See the Galaxy S7 at AT&T

See the Galaxy S7 edge at AT&T

Samsung Galaxy S7 Active

If you’re the Bear Grylls type, you might also want to check out the Galaxy S7 Active, which is an AT&T exclusive. It’s the ruggedized, nearly life-proof version of the Galaxy S7, and it has all the same features in addition to a significantly larger 4000 mAh battery, better water resistance, and shock resistance.

Read: Samsung Galaxy S7 review

See at AT&T

LG G5

The LG G5’s modular smartphone offerings might not be your thing, but that doesn’t discount the fact that the G5 is still a solid smartphone. LG’s flagship features a Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM, removable storage, and a removable battery. Its rear-facing 16-megapixel and secondary wide-angle camera are a delight, too. As written in the original G5 review, “The cameras are where LG really shines with its phones.”

The G5 also comes with a whole host of “friends” — that is, swappable modules that you can pop on and off the G5’s chassis, though there are still only two to choose from, including a helpful camera module that adds on physical camera controls.

The LG G5 is available in four colors, including pink, gold, titan, and silver.

Read: LG G5 review

Ready to buy?

See at AT&T

Samsung Galaxy Note 7

AT&T’s got Samsung’s latest phablet, too. The Galaxy Note 7 is the sixth-generation successor to last year’s Galaxy Note 5 and it’s a major improvement. The 5.7-inch smartphone features the same Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB of RAM, and stellar 12-megapixel rear-facing camera as its flagship predecessors listed above. It’s also equipped with a pressure-sensitive stylus and it’s water resistant, so you can take it with you into the pool to take some notes — though don’t dunk it for too long! The device can only withstand five feet of water for up to half an hour.

Read: Samsung Galaxy Note 7 review

Note: Samsung has issued a broad recall for the Galaxy Note 7 due to battery issues. We still recommend the Note 7, but we advise checking with AT&T to ensure that it has received new stock of the phone that was made after the recall. Follow the link below for more information.

Samsung Galaxy Note 7 recall FAQ

AT&T has also suspended sales of the phablet until the recall has been “called off.”

See the notice at AT&T

LG G3

Sometimes, the best budget phone is merely an older flagship. If you’re looking to save some cash but still want a smartphone that’s worth wielding, AT&T is offering the certified pre-owned LG G3 for a mere $160 upfront. That’s quite affordable for an older smartphone that’s still pretty capable.

Most budget smartphones will skimp out on the processor and camera performance, but you don’t have to compromise with an older high-end smartphone. The G3, which launched in 2014, features a 5.5-inch Quad HD display, a Snapdragon 801 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 3000 mAh battery. It also comes with a 13-megapixel rear-facing camera that was actually quite capable for its time, though its low-light performance isn’t as good as what you’d get with today’s flagships. No matter: for the price, it takes better photos than anything the pricier Samsung Galaxy J3 offers — that shoots at a measly 5 megapixels!

You don’t have to worry about the G3 being pre-owned, either. AT&T offers a two-week trial period after you purchase the device, so you can take it for a test run before you fully commit. The only bummer is that you’ll miss out on an official update to Android 7.0 Nougat, though you will be able to update to Marshmallow.

Read: LG G3 review

Think you wanna bring one home?

See at AT&T

Best Smartwatch For Kids

Your kids want a smartwatch? Android Wear isn’t where you start.

Russell has been covering Android since the G1, and has had his head in VR headsets since the first Oculus Rift dev kit. Managing editor at VRHeads, video and podcast host, you can follow him on Twitter @russellholly. For suggestions and updates, you can reach him at russell@androidcentral.com

Best overall

VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX

Find on Amazon

Instead of a tool for connecting to a smartphone, VTech created an experience that is mostly toy but partially useful. Amid all the games and onboard camera tricks you’ll find a functional calendar for appointments, a voice memo app, and several other tools that work well with the smartwatch aesthetic. This is a great way to get kids thinking about using technology for more than entertainment, without completely pulling them away from the shiny world of fun things.

Bottom line: If you have a youngster who wants a smartwatch just like you, this is a fantastic place to start.

One more thing: This watch comes in Blue and Purple, depending on what color you think your child will prefer.

Why VTech Kidizoom is the best

Smartwatches are already luxury accessories, and for kids they become little more than toys. VTech’s smartwatch for kids has a few games, but also lets them take photos from their wrist and have some fun with the photos. It’s a fun way for a kid to emulate their smartwatch-wearing parent without needing to be tethered to a smartphone, and it actually includes some tools that could be useful. Calendar access, for example, gives you an teaching opportunity. Calculator apps let children explore math on their own. There’s plenty of fun to be had here, but the need to charge the watch regularly in order to use it and the availability of actually useful apps could become tools for teaching children how to care for their hardware and use it properly.

Best value

Supvin U80 Smartwatch

Find on Amazon

U80 is a barebones traditional smartwatch. It pairs to a phone via Bluetooth 4.0 and acts as notification sync. It’s a limited experience, but one that covers the basics of smartwatch use and fitness or sleep tracking. It’s simple, and the biggest feature here is the price. If you’re looking for a very basic smartwatch, this is where you start.

Bottom line: This is the beginner smartwatch you buy for a kid on their first smartphone, who really wants something inexpensive.

Only on AT&T

FiLIP 2

Find on AT&T

FiLIP 2 is less about giving your child a cool watch full of features and more about giving your child a one-way phone they can strap to their wrist so you can reach them and track them as you desire. The FiLIP app allows you to send one-way text messages and track the GPS in the watch, and because the watch has a phone number you can call to check in whenever necessary. For the child, it’s a fairly simple watch with an emergency button that calls each of the contacts built in to the watch while recording the background audio just in case.

Bottom line: This is more or less a tracking bracelet for a child you don’t trust with a phone.

Only on Verizon

GizmoPal 2

Find on Verizon Wireless

LG’s GizmoPal 2 is a wrist-mounted phone with some simple features for both parents and children. For kids, pre-programmed messages and emoji can be sent to a list of approved contacts. Two-way calling ensures your child can reach and be reached when necessary, and there’s a fitness function onboard for jump rope or step counting. The big feature for parents is real-time tracking through the Android app, which gives you GPS coordinates and offers notifications if your child strays from GPS boundaries you have set up.

Bottom line: This is a simple, friendly watch for kids who aren’t ready for their first phone yet.

Conclusion

While there are certainly some great Android Wear watches out there, these are the best options for most kids. VTech offers a great fun accessory that doesn’t require a phone. U80 is an inexpensive way to offer base smartwatch features. If you’d prefer the smartwatch be more for your peace of mind than your child’s entertainment, AT&T and Verizon have you covered with the FiLIP 2 and GizmoPal 2 exclusives.

Best overall

VTech Kidizoom Smartwatch DX

Find on Amazon

Instead of a tool for connecting to a smartphone, VTech created an experience that is mostly toy but partially useful. Amid all the games and onboard camera tricks you’ll find a functional calendar for appointments, a voice memo app, and several other tools that work well with the smartwatch aesthetic. This is a great way to get kids thinking about using technology for more than entertainment, without completely pulling them away from the shiny world of fun things.

Bottom line: If you have a youngster who wants a smartwatch just like you, this is a fantastic place to start.

One more thing: This watch comes in Blue and Purple, depending on what color you think your child will prefer.