Strava has built its reputation on runs, rides, and swims. Strength training, however, has always felt like an afterthought in the app. Strava is trying to close that gap with its new guided strength workouts, and I spent some time with the beginner session to see whether it delivers.
Strava’s new strength coach feature
The update brings guided workouts directly in the app. Instead of just logging that you lifted, you're walked through each exercise with animations, and you track sets and reps live as you go. Tap into any exercise, and you'll find form guidance, tips, and the specific muscles it targets.
When you finish, everything (every exercise, set, and rep) is saved automatically to your activity through the Workout Log. Your muscle map then updates to show where the effort went, which is a neat way to see at a glance whether you've been neglecting certain areas.
The feature is rolling out to subscribers over the next few weeks, and free users get access to a sample workout, so you can try it before deciding whether it's worth paying for.
My experience with Strava's strength workouts
I started with the beginner workout, and I want to be clear about who it's for: true beginners. There's no equipment required, so you don't need dumbbells, bands, or a gym membership. If you've been lifting for years, this isn't going to challenge you—but that's clearly not the point. For this first workout, it's designed to lower the barrier to entry.
Credit: Meredith Dietz
The interface is clean and easy to use. I especially liked the graphics, which make it simple to follow along without having to pause and decipher what a movement is supposed to look like. Everything worked smoothly throughout, with no glitches, lag, or lost progress.
I have only two real notes:
Exercise instructions sometimes cut off. A few of the written descriptions were truncated with no way to see the full text, so I couldn't always read the full guidance on form.
Switching sides isn't always clear. For movements that work one side at a time, it wasn't obvious when I was supposed to switch. A simple cue or prompt would go a long way, especially for beginners who are already juggling a lot of new information.
Exercise instructions sometimes cut off.Credit: Meredith Dietz
What's coming next to Strava's strength workout feature
Strava says more workout series will arrive before the end of the year, which should give the feature more range beyond that first beginner session. The company is also planning additional ways to log strength work:
Screenshot uploads: Snap a screenshot of text-based sets and reps from a training plan or notes app and import it instantly.
Build-your-own workouts: Create custom sessions instead of relying only on Strava's.
More partner integrations: So strength data can flow in automatically from wherever you already train.
These additions are what could turn this from a nice beginner tool into something I'd actually use. The real test will be whether Strava delivers the variety, progression, and range that lifters need to stick with it over time. For now, if you're new to strength work or curious, the free sample workout is an easy way to try it out. I'll be watching to see where Strava takes it from here.
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In a market where every year there is an expectation of releasing a new model, how long tech companies take to feel the need to upgrade a product is a testament to how good the product is. The Sennheiser Momentum 4 has been around since 2022, and they were only succeeded this summer with the Sennheiser Momentum 5. However, they are still great headphones, and with their $204.60 price (originally $299.99) after a 32% discount, they're a great opportunity to get top-quality headphones at a more than reasonable price.
The Momentum 4 competes with other flagships from its time, including the Sony 1000XM5 and the Bose QuietComfort 45, in terms of comfort, design, audio quality, and other features. The Momentum 4 has a more bass-forward sound compared to its competition, but it's still balanced. The biggest con is that you don't have full EQ control, only being able to select certain presets from the Momentum app. The ANC is great, but not a match compared to the Sony and Bose competition. Where it does beat its competition is with the codecs it supports, including AAC, AptX, AptX Adaptive, and SBC codecs. This means better audio quality for Android devices than the Sony or Bose options.
The battery is powerful, reaching about 60 hours of juice at mid-level. It also has a 3.5mm audio cable, so you can use it wired. The microphone is perfect for making calls, with four-MEMS-mics helping make your voice stand out even in noisy environments. You can see more features from the Momentum 4 in PCMag's "excellent" review. If you're looking for a bargain on an established flagship headphone model without having to pay the premium in 2026, the Sennheiser Momentum 4 are a great pair to consider.
Sadly, we did not manage to abolish Daylight Saving time changes during that brief, hopeful moment a few years back, so in just a few weeks we will all be going ahead with our usual ritual: Wake up early, forgetting that the time changed during the night, then get confused when the time on our phone doesn’t match the one on the microwave. Here’s how to be a little more prepared.
Know exactly when daylight saving time ends
Daylight saving time is what we call the time in summer, and yes, it’s daylight “saving” time, singular. This time actually gets its own time zone abbreviation: EDT (Eastern Daylight Time) instead of EST (Eastern Standard Time) on the east coast, with corresponding CDT, MDT, and PDT across the country. So in November we change from daylight time to standard time.
Specifically, daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. That’s when the clocks “fall back.” (In the spring, they "spring forward"—get it?) If you’re changing your clocks manually, 2 a.m. becomes 1 a.m. This means that if you’re used to waking up at 7 a.m., you’ll open your eyes after sleeping the usual amount of time to find that it is now 6 a.m.
Decide how to spend your “extra” hour
The fall time change is a great moment for me, a night owl. When I was younger I would be thrilled to stay up an extra hour and still not feel excessively tired in the morning. These days, I’m more likely to use the time change as an assist to my morning routine. I’ll be up at 6:30 (for example) instead of 7:30, and I can get in an early workout or do some journaling.
If you’re more of a morning person, this may be a bit less pleasant. You’re going to fall asleep watching TV in the evening—earlier than you usually do, anyway. Maybe you should try to stay up a bit, to get a head start on shifting your routine an hour later.
Start adjusting pets' and kids' schedules now
For the creatures in your house who are blissfully ignorant of the concept of standardized time, routines are about to get a little weird. Most importantly: They’ll get hungry (and everything else) an hour earlier than usual.
If you think ahead, you can start moving breakfast time later, before the time change arrives. Instead of feeding your dog at 7, start feeding him at 7:15 now, and you’ll be less likely to get a cold nose in the face at 6 a.m. (Since we have about two weeks from this writing, you can shift the time to 7:30 after a few days, and then 7:45. You get the idea.)
Same goes for kids: Expect them to wake up an hour before the clock says they should, and to get tired (and overtired) an hour earlier than they normally would. A gradual shifting of routines will help here as well, and you may want to explain the situation ahead of time to kids who are old enough to understand. And if you expect your own tummy to be grumbling on cue? Consider a gradual change in mealtimes for yourself, as well, or at least have a snack on hand in case you need it.
Expect a colder, darker evening
When daylight saving time ends, we stop “saving” that extra hour of sunlight in the evening. Your evening workout or your evening commute will be darker and colder than before. On the bright side, we’ll see light earlier in the morning, which can be a good excuse to take a morning walk you might not otherwise take. (Morning light and morning exercise both help to set your body clock and may put you in a better mood for the day to come.)
It may be easier to wake up after the time change, but the flip side is that it may be harder to go to bed. This is a good time to take a look at your bedtime routine, or even to create a bedtime routine if you haven’t really had one.
I have a guide to good sleep hygiene here, but one of the most important tips is to give yourself a wind-down time in the evening—30 minutes minimum—where the lights are dim and you aren’t staring at a screen. It’s a good time to take a bath, read a book, or do something else you find relaxing. Soon you’ll be locked in to your new schedule—at least until our next time change in the spring.
I look forward to the fall time change every year, because I have plans for that extra morning hour. Turning back the clock is a perfect opportunity to kick-start a morning routine, since you can get up an hour early without it feeling like you're getting up an hour early.
We are, unfortunately, still doing clock changes twice a year. But I will take advantage of that fact while I can, because the fall time change gifts us with an extra hour in the morning, even if it is cruelly ripped from our evening routines. I'm not a morning person by nature, but my day always goes better when I get my workout in early, so I'm going to take that extra morning hour and use it for a workout instead of recalibrating my body clock to wake up later. I recommend all my fellow night owls do the same.
When to wake up if you're taking advantage of the time change
I mean, you could use your extra hour to sleep in—take it if you need it. But personally, I'm going to set my alarm an hour earlier than I get up, starting on Nov. 1, the first day of standard time for 2026. An hour is enough time for a simple strength workout or for a short run and a quick shower before officially starting your day. I reserve one day a week for sleeping in, which for me is Saturday. On days I'm resting from exercise, I'll still wake up on schedule but use my morning hour for something fun or relaxing, like reading a book.
If you want to fit a full workout in and need more time than the hour gives you, this is still a good way to soften the blow. For example, you can wake up 90 minutes earlier (according to the clock) with it only feeling 30 minutes earlier than usual (according to your circadian rhythms). I've been using my extra hour a little differently each year, depending on how committed I am to those morning workouts. This year, I may split it between extra sleep and a mini workout.
How to plan for morning workouts
On the first day you wake up "early," things will be much as they always are. But now that you're becoming a morning exerciser, you'll have to come to terms with the winter darkness. It will creep in, sunrise getting a few minutes later each day, until your morning jog is, most likely, fully in the dark.
If you are running in the early mornings, definitely get yourself a light to help you see and be seen. I have a Petzl Tikkina, which I bought a few years back because Petzl has a reputation for reliability, and the Tikkina is one of their more affordable models. It's worked so well that the second winter I used it, I sprang for the rechargeable battery that fits in place of its three AAA cells. The rechargeable is designed to work well even in cold conditions, which is a nice plus for winter runs. Also consider wearing bright colors, a reflective vest, or even something like the Noxgear Tracer to give you good visibility on the side of the road. I have a neon pink jacket that comes out on cold dark mornings.
At the gym, be aware that the rhythm of the place will change. There will be a different group of regulars, and it may be more or less busy than you're used to. But even if everything is the same, there’s something luxurious about being able to take your time, when normally you have to squeeze your last few exercises together and rush to work. Savor that extra hour.
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If you’re shopping around for a reliable laptop but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg on a premium model from Apple, Lenovo has some highly underrated options that are versatile and offer great processor performance for the price—and it's now even more affordable, thanks to Walmart’s newly discountedLenovo V14 G5 14-inch FHD Laptop, now 37% off and down to $629 (originally $999.99).
It’s powered by the 10-core Intel Core i7-13620H, with six performance cores and four efficiency cores) and has a maximum turbo speed of 4.9GHz. It’s more powerful than many similarly priced 14-inch laptops and can excel at heavy multitasking, light video or photo editing, and data-heavy office work. It includes 16GB of DDR5 memory, comes with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD for additional storage, and is powered by a modest 47Wh battery.
Despite its power, it’s relatively lightweight, clocking in at around three pounds and 0.7 inches thick. One reason the weight stays low is its plastic build. It might not feel as durable or premium as an aluminum laptop, but the tradeoff for an under-$650 price tag makes it worth it for those on a budget. The V14 G5 includes a range of ports, including two USB-A ports, one USB-C port, and an HDMI 1.4b port, as well as a headphone and microphone jack.
It supports Wi-Fi 6 and includes a physical webcam shutter for added privacy. The keyboard is designed for office use and has a conventional layout that’s helpful for those who find added touchscreens and convertible hinges unnecessary. Despite having a relatively sharp resolution and an anti-glare coating, the panel technology is somewhat outdated and has limited contrast, so it may not be the best choice for photographers, designers, or video editors.
Still, if you’re looking for an everyday office or personal laptop with a strong processor, a solid port selection, and a lightweight build—but don’t mind a couple of cost-cutting compromises—the budget-friendlyLenovo V14 G5 14-inch FHD Laptop strikes the right balance between affordability and performance, especially at nearly $370 off.
AllTrails is a popular tool for finding walking, hiking, running, and biking routes around the world. You can use it to locate trails and check user reviews, but the app has plenty of features for customizing activities, tracking conditions, and navigating (safely) in real time. Here are the tips and tricks to get the most out of AllTrails.
Scrub the elevation chart to find hill grades and obstacles
The elevation map is useful for visualizing total gain and loss on your route, but you can scrub the chart on mobile to see exactly where climbs or obstacles are on the map. For example, you can see where the grade increases (and what the percentage is) or how far you are from stream crossings or switchbacks. Open the map from the trail page or the Navigate function and drag your finger across the elevation profile to track the location marker on the map.
Stack AllTrails search filters to find less traveled trails
You may be most likely to search for trails based on length and difficulty as well as location, but AllTrails has a wealth of filters to find routes with specific features, or that are dog- or kid-friendly. You can also use filters to identify trails that are likely to be less crowded (though if a route is on AllTrails, it certainly isn't a secret). In the Search window, tap All to open available filters. Select Not very busy under Visitation and Loop under Route type (out-and-back trails can feel busier). Select a rating and add any other requirements, then hit Show trails.
Reverse engineer custom routes from other hikers’ completed activities
When you use AllTrails to log an activity or write a review, a map of your track is saved to the trail listing and visible to other users. You can disable this in Settings > Privacy settings > Content—but even if you don't display your activity, you can use those that are public to find custom routes that string multiple trails together or add a ridgeline not included in the official AllTrails track. Scroll down to the reviews section and tap the activities link to pull up maps of completed activities. Note, though, that some variations in routes may not be actual detours, and you should still follow Leave No Trace principles and stay within your skill level when it comes to difficulty.
Connect an REI membership to get a discounted AllTrails subscription
A free AllTrails account will get you most of the service's basic features, but you have to pay for a Plus subscription—$35.99 per year—for things like offline maps and wrong-turn alerts. If you have an REI membership, you get a 30% discount on paid AllTrails subscriptions, bringing the annual fee down to $24.99 per year. (A Peak subscription that usually costs $79.99 per year drops to $49.99 per year.) In the AllTrails app, go to your profile > Settings > REI Membership and follow the steps to connect your account and claim the discount.
Keyword search reviews to get specific intel about conditions
User reviews can give you a good sense of current trail conditions, such as seasonal closures and whether there are muddy or snowy conditions, as well as more global environmental considerations like bugs and river crossings. You should obviously read the most recent reviews for your route, but you can also keyword search on desktop (CTRL/CMD + F) for terms like "mud," "scramble," "snow," "gate," "bugs," or "ticks." A trail may be marked as "easy," but this can reveal issues like snowmelt that have made running water trickier to wade through. You can read the reviews from the same month in previous years too.
Open directions from the AllTrails listing to route to exact GPS coordinates
When you search trails and trailheads by name on popular mapping apps, you may not always get directions to the exact starting location pinned on AllTrails. Instead, launch directions from the AllTrails listing to use the GPS coordinates, which you can then search in Google Maps or Apple Maps. On the trail page, scroll down to Get directions, then select your preferred map app (or copy the coordinates to the clipboard).
Add waypoints during navigation to leave notes about your route
When you record an activity in AllTrails, you have the option to add a waypoint, which is essentially a note pinned to a specific location on the route. This can be useful if you want to remember details, such as tricky turns or hidden features, and you can opt into adding your waypoints to community layers to help other users. Open the Navigator in the mobile app and tap the arrow in the lower-right corner. Swipe up and tap Add Waypoint. Select the waypoint type, add details and select privacy settings, and tap Save.
Use Airplane Mode plus AllTrails offline maps to save your device’s battery
Paid AllTrails subscribers have access to offline maps that allow you to navigate routes in real time even if you don't have a signal. To ensure you don't drain your phone's battery while you're mid-hike, download offline maps for your trail in advance and then switch to Airplane Mode once you lose connection. GPS passively receives signals to triangulate your position, but it does not require the ability to transmit, so you can still follow your location on the map in Airplane Mode without straining the battery by constantly searching for a signal.
Apply AllTrails map overlays to see real-time environmental conditions
AllTrails maps have optional layers that contain a lot more data than just the route itself. All users have access to the Wildfire overlay, which shows current wildfire perimeters in the U.S. With a premium subscription, you get additional overlays for precipitation, temperature, ground conditions, snow depth, fall foliage, and community heat maps so you can see real-time environmental conditions at that specific location. A Peak subscription unlocks advanced overlays for slope angle, high-definition terrain, and public and private lands. Open a map and tap the Layers button in the upper-right corner.
Turn on Live Share to let friends and family know you're safe
Basic trail safety includes letting someone know exactly where you're going and when you plan to return. The AllTrails Live Share feature (available on paid plans) centralizes this information and shows trusted contacts where you are in real time so they can send help if things go wrong. When you share a link with safety contacts, they'll be able to see your real-time location, planned route, recorded mileage and elapsed time, estimated end time, coordinate info, and cell signal strength. They can also opt into SMS alerts. Activate Live Share under the Navigate tab—you'll need to generate a unique link each time you head out.
If you've ever been on your feet all day and your calves felt like two sandbags, you know how tough it can be to find relief. I'm a marathon runner, so I know it well. Training blocks mean high mileage, and calves take a beating on every mile. I've tried foam rollers, massage guns, stretching, and my favorite maneuver: lying with my legs up against the wall.
This week's upgrade is the first recovery tool that seems to do all the work for me, and hey—after a long run, I'm not complaining. It's my first foray into compression boots: the Hyperice Normatec Go.
The Normatec Go is a pair of wearable compression sleeves that wrap around your calves and give you a dynamic air compression massage. Hyperice describes it as a fully portable version of its Normatec line, which pro athletes and recovery rooms have used for years.
The sleeves inflate and deflate in a pulsing pattern (as opposed to just squeezing constantly). Hyperice calls this compression "gapless": There are three overlapping zones of 360-degree compression working through the calf. In theory, the wave of pressure helps push fluid and blood through your lower legs, which is why Hyperice says the massage increases circulation and reduces tension and swelling.
Hyperice also points out that the calf is often called the body's "second heart" because it helps push blood back up from your lower legs. That matches my experience: After a long run, calves are where the heaviness and tightness show up first.
Why I recommend these compression boots
The biggest upgrade over traditional compression boots is that you don't need to set up a whole system. You strap on the sleeves, open the app, pick an intensity, and relax. I've worn them at my desk, on the couch, and while answering emails after a long run. I show up to my next run feeling fresher, and for a marathon runner, that's the whole point of recovery.
A few features make the experience better:
Seven compression levels (40 to 200 mmHg), so you can go gentle after an easy run or firm after a long one
The two sleeves always stay in sync for a symmetrical massage
Bluetooth control through the Hyperice app, so you adjust everything from your phone
1.2 pounds total, and TSA friendly, so they can travel with you
Hyperice recommends sessions of about 20 to 30 minutes. You can go up to 60 after a tough workout, or use a shorter 15- to 20-minute session at medium intensity before a run to warm up your legs.
The Normatec Go costs $379. Full-size compression boots that cover your whole leg usually run well over $1,000, so that's a big difference. These only cover the calves, but if calves are where you need relief, you don't have to pay for coverage you won't use. They're also FSA/HSA eligible.
At the same time, the obvious limitation is that these are for calves only. I suppose it's a testament to the product that I've never been more tempted to spring for full-size boots, so that my quads and hamstrings can experience the same treatment.
The battery life also leaves something to be desired. Hyperice claims they last three hours per charge, but in my experience, you're better off charging between every hour or so of use.
If you're training for a race, spending long days on your feet, or just tired of tight, heavy calves, the Normatec Go is the upgrade I'd recommend. I can't imagine my recovery routine without it now.
This week's Out of Touch Guide delves into the musical genre/sub-culture of "Loser Core," a pointed response to overly polished music and Instagram-polished fashion. We also define some slang, so if a young person says you have EBK or nods and says "GiGis" to you, you'll know whether you're being insulted or complimented. And then there's Biddy Blas, Star Wars fandom's newest Glub Shitto.
What is Loser Core and the Loser Core Playlist?
Loser Core is a growing subculture and musical style among young people. The music is influenced by indie, alternative, and lo-fi, with lyrics that tend toward depressing. They're usually about alienation, teen angst, and how hard it is to talk girls. Loser Core is like emo, but more homemade and more hopeless, or like grunge with less anger. Prominent Loser Core artists include Memo Boy and Wifiskeleton. Notable influences include Radiohead and Weezer.
The Loser Core look is anti-fashion: over-size, slouchy hoodies, anime T-shirts, digital watches, and beat-up sneakers. The personality type is alienated nerd with niche hobbies and few friends. So basically, depressed young people who gravitate to depressing music and a slobby look. No matter your age, I'm sure you knew (or were) this type of person when you were 17.
Here's a video that explains it a bit more:
So that's Loser Core, the genre and lifestyle. Explaining the prominence of the Loser Core Playlist is a little more complicated. Created on Spotify by depay178, LOSERCORE is a playlist of 155 songs in the Loser Core genre. Back in June, a TikTok user called @user406398991 started posted AI-generated cartoons to promote the LOSERCORE playlist. The videos feature a recurring cast of characters, are usually about music, and end with a recommendation to visit the LOSERCORE playlist. Here's an example:
The videos started appearing on a lot of people's feeds in October, raising the profile the musical genre and generating reenactment videos like this:
Online chatter about the playlist revolves around the perceived lack of quality of the videos, and why, exactly, someone would spend so much time promoting a playlist on Spotify when you can't monetize the followers it gets.
It's a good question. There are indirect ways this list could be making someone money—maybe there's a connection between the promotion and the bands on the list who get paid per stream—but I like to think it's just kids who identify with these artists and want other kids to hear what they're into, like people did with zines in the old days. We don't have to monetize everything, right?
What does "EBK" mean?
EBK stands for "Extreme Baller Knowledge." It goes beyond the sports reference to apply to to anyone who has deep knowledge of a subject. It's usually used ironically.
What does GiGis mean?
Pronounced like the name Gigi, "GiGis" comes from sports by way of gamer culture. The post game pleasantry "good game" has been a staple in sports since forever. Gamers adopted it and shortened it to "GG" in text. So GiGis is a way of saying "good game."
Viral video of the week: Biddy Blas
This week's viral video comes by way of a video game cut-scene. Star Wars: Galactic Racer was released on Oct. 6, and its breakout star has emerged: Biddy Blas. You won't find him in any of the Star Wars movies or TV shows. Biddy is only in this one game, and basically only exists as an opponent to be beaten in a race. But Biddy is too great to go out in obscurity. Just check him out:
Soon after the release of the game, fans dubbed Biddy the "best Glup Shitto (Star Wars background character with a silly name)" and started making memes to celebrate him, like these:
Biddy Blas' popularity is the result of voice actor Richard Summers-Calvert's spirited performance, particularly his reading of Biddy's catchphrase, "scrib doon," (i.e.: "Write that down."). The phrase gets caught in your brain:
and there are so many occasions when "scrib doon" is the perfect thing to say:
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Samsung’s HW-Q800H soundbar has dropped to $696.99 from its usual $1,097.99, which brings it to its lowest price so far, according to price trackers. This 2026 model combines a soundbar and wireless subwoofer in a 5.1.2-channel setup, with dedicated channels for dialogue, surround sound, and overhead effects, plus a separate subwoofer to handle the bass. That layout makes it a sensible upgrade for anyone who keeps turning up the TV volume to catch a conversation—only to turn it down again when the action gets loud—since most built-in TV speakers lack a dedicated center channel to separate voices from the rest of the soundtrack.
Samsung builds on that center channel with two dialogue enhancement modes and a new feature called Sound Elevation, which attempts to raise the apparent height of voices so dialogue seems to come from the actors on screen and not from beneath the TV. That could be particularly useful if your soundbar sits on a low entertainment unit. And if you already have a compatible Samsung TV, Q-Symphony lets its speakers work alongside the soundbar, potentially creating a broader soundstage without buying any extra hardware.
The HW-Q800H also supports Dolby Atmos, adding a greater sense of height and space to compatible movies and shows, though the lack of DTS support is worth considering if you regularly watch Blu-rays with DTS soundtracks. Also, since there are no separate rear speakers included, surround effects won't feel quite as immersive as they would with a full home theater setup. Samsung does include automatic room correction, though, which adjusts the sound to suit your space without requiring much manual tweaking.
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The CRKD Nitro Deck (in the Renegade Raider Fortnite Edition) is down to $34.99 on Woot, a noticeable drop from its usual $79.99 and lower than its current price on Amazon. Price trackers also suggest this is the lowest it has gone so far. Shipping is free for Prime members and costs $6 for everyone else, with the deal expected to last about a week unless it sells out earlier. Keep in mind that Woot doesn't ship to Alaska, Hawaii, or P.O. Box addresses.
At its core, the Nitro Deck is trying to solve one of the Nintendo Switch’s most persistent problems: Joy-Con stick drift. But it isn't a traditional controller—it's a full shell that your Nintendo Switch slides into and locks in with a simple latch system that feels secure without being annoying to use. Once it's in place, it feels more like holding a proper controller with a screen attached—the grips are thicker and shaped more like what you would find on a standard console controller, so your hands have something to rest on instead of flattening out against the Joy-Cons. The sticks are full-sized, the triggers have more travel, and there are four back buttons you can map if you like customizing controls.
You still get motion controls and rumble, and there is also a USB-C passthrough for charging or video output. The right stick sits a bit too far out, so using it for camera control or aiming can feel cramped and slightly awkward. It is manageable for short bursts, but it can get uncomfortable over time. The kickstand is also limited—it works, but you don't get much flexibility in how you prop the system up. And because everything is built into one shell, you lose the option to detach the controllers entirely, which is part of what makes the Switch unique in the first place. And while the added bulk improves grip, it makes the system less portable. Still, if you mostly play in handheld mode and want something sturdier with drift-resistant sticks, the Nitro Deck feels great, especially at this discounted price.
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Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch Ultra in the summer of 2024, and then refreshed it in August of 2025 with double the storage and new color options. The Galaxy Watch Ultra emphasizes outdoor and exercise features, putting it in competition with the Apple Watch Ultra as a premium fitness watch at a premium price. Ever since the Galaxy Watch Ultra2 came out this year, the 2025 Galaxy Watch Ultra has been dropping in price, currently reaching a new low price of $471.78 according to price-checking tools, over $175 off the original $649.99 price tag. And if the extra storage isn't a big deal to you, you can get the 2024 version for $399.99 (originally $649.99).
The Galaxy Watch Ultra excels over other watches in one key aspect: its outdoorsy features. If you're an avid hiker or an athlete who spends long hours outdoors, this is a worthwhile choice. Like any good rugged watch, this one is tough, made out of Grade 4 titanium, and has an IP68 water- and dust-resistant rating. You can also take it up high altitudes (up to 9,000 meters) and it can withstand up to 10ATM of pressure (about 330 feet underwater). You also get a built-in siren in case of emergencies. The screen is a 1.47-inch Super AMOLED display, brighter than previous Samsung AMOLED smartwatches. The only downside is that it comes in just one size—47mm.
The watch runs WearOS from Samsung and comes with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The 590mAh battery is one of the best for its price point, making it perfect for prolonged outdoor use. If you don't use any power-saving modes, it'll last 60 hours, but it can go up to 100 hours if you're conservative.
One of the new features this watch brings is AI-based health metrics and advanced sleep tracking, which you can read more about in PCMag's "excellent" review. If you're looking for a more budget-friendly (and smaller) option for more general use, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 at $220 (originally $329.99) is a great option.
It will soon be time, once again, for our clocks to “fall back.” Nov. 1 is the date most places in the U.S. quit daylight saving time for 2026 and go back to standard time. We're still on this clock-changing treadmill, despite legislation that was supposed to eliminate it a few years ago, and despite medical professionals warning that these clock changes are bad for our health.
For example, a study out of the Stanford School of Medicine found that switching the time back and forth every year probably contributes to increased rates of stroke and obesity. Permanent daylight saving time would be an improvement on that, and permanent standard time would be even better, health-wise. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine published a position paper a few years ago stating that scientific evidence supports the idea "that the United States should eliminate seasonal time changes in favor of permanent standard time, which aligns best with human circadian biology."
But despite all this, we’ll still have to turn the clocks ahead again in spring. So whatever happened to those bills in Congress aiming to abolish the time changes?
The most recent attempt to eliminate clock changes failed
The Sunshine Protection Act was a federal bill that would have made Daylight Saving Time permanent. If enacted, it would have taken effect on Nov. 5, 2023, the date that we would otherwise have changed the clocks. The result would be that our winter mornings would stay dark an hour longer than they currently do, but we’d get an hour more of daylight in the winter evenings.
The bill passed the Senate in March of 2022, but it wasn't taken up by the House of Representatives. In July of 2026, a similar law passed the House of Representatives, and President Trump wrote on Truth Social this month that "Republicans in the Senate have to get moving on what I call the 'No More Changing of Clocks Act.'" The Senate Majority Leader said it doesn't have the support to pass, since it would mean dark mornings for commuters and for children waiting for morning buses.
Which time would we stay with if we stopped changing the clocks?
We operate on two different times throughout the year: "standard time" and "daylight saving time." These even get their own time zones! For example, if a time is marked as "EST," that means eastern standard time, which is different from eastern daylight time.
Standard time is the one we use in winter, and daylight saving time is the one we use in summer. The bill mentioned above would have done away with standard time and kept us on daylight saving time year-round. Meanwhile, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine has taken the position that we should stay on standard time (that is, winter time) year-round, since screwing with our circadian rhythms twice a year has detrimental effects on our health and safety. If they got their way, we would fall back some year and then never spring forward again.
What about state laws?
States have their own ideas about what time it should be. Currently, states are not allowed to switch to permanent daylight saving time, but they are allowed to stay on standard time year-round if they prefer. Two states do so: Hawaii and Arizona (minus the parts of Arizona in the Navajo nation).
Nineteen states have passed laws or resolutions that would allow them to switch to permanent daylight saving time if the federal government ever allows them to do so. Those states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, are Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Three other states have made attempts to join the list: Similar bills made it partway through the Kentucky and Ohio legislatures but were not signed into law. California voters have authorized a law that isn’t yet officially on the books.
Until a federal law passes, those states are stuck with their current time zones. Current federal law, as passed in 1966, allows states to opt out of daylight saving time (as Hawaii and Arizona have) but does not offer a way for states to make daylight saving time permanent or to choose their own dates for changing the clocks. If you’re sick of time changes, you can always move to one of the territories that don’t observe daylight saving, which include the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
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Whether you love camping, own an RV, frequently deal with seasonal power outages, or just want to be ready with off-grid essentials, it's useful to have a power station. TheAnker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 has received a 40% price cut, bringing it down to $899.98 (originally $1,499).
This power station delivers a 2,048Wh capacity and 2,400W output, with 4,000W peak power for running a variety of appliances, including a dual-door fridge for up to 32 hours. It has two handles on its sides and is relatively lightweight for its capacity at 41.7 pounds. The LiFePO4 battery can last up to a decade and is rated for 4,000 charging cycles. It recharges to 100% in under an hour (or three hours via solar) and is expandable up to 4kWh. It supports up to 800W solar input (panels sold separately) for off-grid charging and includes five AC outlets, as well as a car outlet, RV connection, and high-output USB-C ports.
Compared to its predecessor, it’s quieter and more compact in both weight and footprint, and the added perk of app connectivity makes it easy to monitor and control. If you want reliable, high-capacity portable power, theAnker SOLIX C2000 Gen 2 is a great emergency essential, though if you want something with true grab-and-go appeal, you may want to opt for theAnker SOLIX C1000 Gen 2, which weighs about 40% less but has half the battery capacity—and also happens to be 46% off right now.
This week, Suunto launched its newest addition to its Race line of performance watches, the Race 3S. At $599, it’s lightweight with a premium feel, and to me, its most interesting upgrade is the new silicon-carbon battery, which Suunto says offers up to 38 hours of dual-band GPS, up to 45 hours in Endurance mode, 10 days of training use, and up to 12 days in daily mode. While I usually stick to my Garmin Forerunners, I’ve been personally testing the Suunto 3S and loving it on first impression.
Suunto may be one of the lesser-known fitness watch brands, but its offerings, aimed at hikers and outdoorsy people, have long been well regarded. The company sorts its sports watches into families: Run, Race, and Vertical. Three families of watches, all with several generations of models and a lot of overlapping specs, are enough to leave you staring at a product page, wracked with decision fatigue. This week’s launch of the Suunto Race 3S, the newest member of the Race family, is a good enough reason for me to help you sort it out.
The Suunto Run series: Lightweight and run-focused
Best for: Road runners, 5K-to-marathon trainers, and anyone who wants a watch they forget they're wearing, including overnight. It's also a good first step into Suunto's ecosystem.
In her review of the Suunto Run my colleague Beth Skwarecki calls this watch on of her favorite running watches, pointing to features that not only rival, but maybe even outshine Garmin and Coros watches at a similar price point. Both watches in the Run series, the Run and the Run 2, are known for being easy to wear and simple to use, but still with all the core features of a reliable running watch.
The Suunto Race series: Performance training and racing
Best for: Trail runners, triathletes, and runners who want serious training tools and navigation.
The Race S is the compact option, while the Race 2 has since replaced the original Race and has a bigger screen and larger case. It might best suit people with bigger wrists who want a big display and don't mind the weight.
As of today, the Race 3S is the lightweight premium pick. It combines the Race S's compact size with a titanium and sapphire build, a bigger battery, a brighter screen, and double the storage. Suunto says its battery capacity is 46 percent larger than the Race S's, and its display is 233 percent brighter.
When in doubt, the Race series is the middle of the lineup, and it's a natural sweet spot to land on. If you can't decide between the Run and Race options, Beth's got you covered with an in-depth comparison.
The Vertical series: Built for the backcountry
Best for: Ultrarunners, mountaineers, backpackers, and anyone doing multi-day trips where charging isn't an option. It's also a good fit if you want a watch that holds up to rough use.
The Vertical 2 is marketed as an expedition-grade watch. It weighs about 87 grams and measures 49 mm, and it's available in stainless steel or titanium. It's water-resistant to 100 meters. It has a built-in LED flashlight that the lighter Race and Run watches lack, a redesigned heart rate sensor, and more storage and processing power than the original. Its main selling point is battery life—allegedly up to 65 hours of GPS in Performance mode and up to 250 hours in Tour mode.
The original Vertical is the older model, with a solar-assisted MIP display. It's still sold and often discounted, but the Vertical 2's AMOLED screen is a major step up in clarity.
The bottom line
The Suunto Run series is for runners who want a light, simple watch. The Race series is for performance athletes who want a premium build and strong all-around training and navigation tools. The Vertical series is for people who go far from civilization and want the longest battery life and the toughest build.
The Suunto lineup also includes Core outdoor watches and dive computers like the Ocean, but those are a different conversation. For runners and trail athletes, the choice comes down to Run, Race, or Vertical, and which of them fits how far, how long, and how rough you like to get:
If you mostly run on roads and want a lightweight entry-point watch, look at the Run.
If you race, train across several sports, or run trails and want a premium build, look at the Race 3S, or the Race if you're sticking to a smaller budget. Or you can choose the Race 2 if you prefer a bigger case and screen.
If your adventures last days rather than hours, choose the Vertical 2.
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Amazon has dropped the 46mm Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS + Cellular) to $679 from $799, taking $120 off this titanium model. Although it's no longer Apple's newest smartwatch, the Series 10 still has plenty going for it, with PCMag giving it an "outstanding" rating and an Editors' Choice award, along with naming it the best Apple smartwatch of 2024. Much of its appeal comes down to the design, which is thinner and more comfortable than the Series 9, with a larger always-on OLED display that gives you more room to read notifications and messages without making the watch feel particularly bulky. The titanium case also gives it a more polished appearance than most smartwatches, especially if you plan to wear it beyond workouts.
The cellular connectivity is particularly useful if you like leaving your iPhone behind occasionally, since an active carrier plan lets you make calls, reply to messages, stream music, and receive notifications directly on the watch, even when your phone isn't nearby—in practice, that means your phone can stay on the kitchen counter during a morning jog or a quick trip to the corner store, and you’ll still be able to pick up a call from work or reach someone if something goes wrong. It also supports Apple Music playback through its built-in speaker, though you'll probably want to connect wireless headphones for longer listening sessions.
The watch is just as capable as a health tracker, logging your heart rate and sleep, taking ECG and blood oxygen readings, and using its accelerometer to spot breathing disturbances overnight that could point to sleep apnea. Swimmers get a depth gauge and water temperature sensor as well, handy for seeing whether you’ve drifted a few feet below the surface while snorkeling or how chilly the lake is once you’re in. As for battery life, PCMag recorded around 36 hours in testing (though using LTE regularly can drain it faster), which is decent for an always-on smartwatch but still falls short of the Apple Watch Ultra 2. You’ll also need an iPhone to use it, since the Series 10 doesn’t work with Android devices.
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Amazon has dropped the 27-inch LG Ultragear 27GS93QE OLED gaming monitor from $899.99 to $499.99, bringing it to its lowest price ever, according to price trackers. That’s a $400 reduction (plus 90 days of free Amazon Music) worth considering if you’ve been thinking about upgrading from a conventional IPS gaming monitor to OLED, particularly since you’re getting a 1440p display with a 240Hz refresh rate. And the difference isn’t just speed, either—OLED’s individually controlled pixels produce deep blacks without the backlight glow you sometimes notice on LCD screens.
That picture quality gets another boost from VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification, a 1.5 million-to-one contrast ratio, and 98.5% DCI-P3 color coverage, which help bring out the details in darker scenes and make colors look more vibrant. Once the action picks up, the monitor’s 240Hz refresh rate and near-instantaneous 0.03ms response time keep movement smooth and sharp, while AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility reduce tearing and stuttering when frame rates fluctuate.
It's worth noting that getting the full benefit of 240Hz at 1440p does require a capable PC, and although the two HDMI 2.1 ports and DisplayPort 1.4 input all support that refresh rate, console gamers won't benefit from anything beyond their system's 120Hz output limit. There’s also the usual OLED risk of burn-in to consider, particularly if you spend long stretches working with static elements like taskbars and application windows on screen—though LG offers some reassurance with a two-year limited warranty that covers the OLED panel, subject to terms.
Security-wise, most browsers are an open door, happy to reveal your screen size, operating system, language preferences, or GPU model when a website asks. But telling those websites to stop selling your data to third parties is still more confusing than it should be.
Although about a dozen U.S. states—including California, Delaware, New Jersey, and Texas—now require businesses to honor consumers’ privacy preferences online, most browsers do not offer a native opt-out option that lets you signal those preferences by default. Now, the California Opt Me Out Act, which goes into effect on Jan 1, 2027, is making it mandatory for browsers to do so.
Still, for now, native support for a global privacy opt-out remains inconsistent among web browsers. TSome privacy-forward browsers like Brave, DuckDuckGo, and Mozilla Firefox enable this feature by default, while others, like Chrome or Edge, require you to install third-party extensions such as the EFF Privacy Badger. Since coverage and setup vary wildly, I’ll walk you through the exact steps to enable this feature on every major browser.
What is Global Privacy Control?
Global Privacy Control (GPC) is an open-source consumer privacy protocol developed jointly by several universities, media organizations, and privacy-focused tech companies. Instead of having to hunt for a manual “Do Not Sell” or “Refuse Third-Party Cookies” link on every website and app, you enable this feature once in your browser to send a legal notification to every online destination you visit that you’d like to opt out of all data sharing and targeted advertising features.
On a technical level, GPC combines an HTTP header (Sec-GPC) with a JavaScript property (navigator.globalPrivacyControl) that your browser sends with every website fetch request to let website owners know that they are not supposed to share or sell your data.
Unlike previous iterations like Firefox’s Do Not Track, GPC issues a specific request that’s backed by leading data protection legislation, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), making websites and businesses more likely to honor them. With over 150 million users and more than 66,000 participating websites, the GPC project has garnered support and participation from the Mozilla Foundation, The Washington Post, Automattic, Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), The New York Times, and others. It has even been made into an official work item at the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
Unfortunately, even when enabled, GPC isn’t foolproof. USENIX found that about 45% of the 11,708 websites they surveyed did not honor privacy signals even when regional laws required them to do so. Still, it’s better than having no legal privacy opt-out at all, since cookie and tracker blockers work client-side and may end up breaking functionality on certain sites.
How to enable Global Privacy Control on your browser
When it comes to GPC support, web browsers fall broadly into two camps. There are privacy-focused platforms like Brave Browser, DuckDuckGo, and Firefox that offer native support using a built-in toggle, or just enable it by default. Then there are mainstream browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Safari that offer limited support through third-party extensions, or sometimes none at all. Here are the exact steps to follow to enable Global Privacy Control on Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Brave Browser, and others:
Brave
Being a privacy-first Chromium-based web browser, Brave has GPC enabled by default on Windows, macOS, and Android. However, due to certain platform limitations on iOS, Brave can only enable the feature through the JavaScript API and not the HTTP header on iPhones.
You don’t need to do anything to enable GPC on Brave Browser, but there’s an easy way to confirm whether it’s active and running:
Launch Brave. In the address bar, type in “brave://flags/#brave-global-privacy-control-enabled” and hit Enter.
Confirm that the Settings page reads Default or Enabled, not Disabled.
To disable GPC on your browser, navigate to Settings > Brave Shields and Privacy to find the corresponding toggle.
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo, like Brave Browser, enables GPC by default on Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and iPadOS. There’s no built-in toggle to disable it, which tells you just how seriously this browser takes its privacy implementation. (There's even a DuckDuckGo Search & Tracker Protection extension you can add to Chrome, Edge, and Firefox to enable GPC on those browsers, too!)
If you’d like to confirm that GPC is on when you’re using DuckDuckGo, there’s an easy way to do that:
Open a new tab on DuckDuckGo Private Browser and visit the Global Privacy Control website.
Check the notification banner at the very top to see if it reads “GPC signal detected.”
To avoid breaking certain websites on Android, iOS, and Mac devices, DuckDuckGo only sends the GPC signal to websites that are known to respect it. However, you still get full coverage on Windows or if you use the Chrome extension.
Firefox
Firefox has offered GPC support since version 120. However, it’s not enabled by default, and you need to hunt for a specific toggle to switch it on.
Click on the menu button on your Firefox app, then navigate to Settings.
Access the Privacy & Security tab from the panel on the left.
Keep scrolling until you see Additional protections. On Android version 122+, look for a section that says Enhanced Tracking Protection.
You should see a checkbox next to an option that reads “Tell websites not to sell or share my data.” This is what you’re looking for.
Make sure you check the option to enable GPC, then relaunch Firefox.
Chrome
As of this writing, Google Chrome does not offer a built-in toggle or native support for GPC. However, you can install a third-party browser extension like the Privacy Badger by EFF or DuckDuckGo Search & Tracker Protection to enable Global Privacy Control very easily.
Search for Privacy Badger on the Chrome Web Store.
Once you find it, click Add to Chrome. Make sure to enable any required permissions for the extension to work too.
That’s it, GPC is enabled on all sites now. You don’t need to fiddle around with the settings since everything comes pre-configured.
Edge
As with Chrome, Microsoft Edge users must also rely on third-party extensions to enable Global Privacy Control. And like before, you can choose between Privacy Badger or the DuckDuckGo extension to activate this feature.
Open the Edge Add-ons store and look for Privacy Badger. EFF’s website lists both Edge and Edge for Android as supported browsers for the extension.
Click Get, followed by Add extension.
GPC is now on by default. You don’t need to configure anything else.
The difference between GPC and an ad blocker
At this point, you might be wondering if there’s any difference between this and just using an ad or cookie blocker extension on your web browser. Well, there are a few important distinctions.
First, GPC is a signal. It merely informs websites of your privacy preferences, but does nothing to actively block or prevent tracking or sharing of your data. Second, GPC is narrower in scope because it only covers selling or sharing your data with third parties, not collecting or storing data for a website’s own use.
Finally, ad blockers are very likely to break functionality on websites that rely on certain cookies or trackers to work as intended. Since GPC is a request rather than a blocking mechanism, it preserves existing functionality while sending a legal notification to websites that they may not share your data with anyone.
When you’re enabling Global Privacy Control instead of using an anti-tracking app or ad blocker, you’re trading coverage and effectiveness for convenience. You’ll have to just trust that websites will honor your privacy preferences, which many don’t, even when they are required to. For example, Disney just settled a $2.75 million lawsuit with the California AG’s office because it didn’t honor opt-out requests for logged-in users on every device like it was supposed to.
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TCL has been pushing the boundaries of QLED TVs, making some of the best in the market at very competitive prices. This year, the company released its QM8L model, introducing a new design and impressive features and specs to a series that isn't even their flagship. Right now, the 65-inch QM8L is $1,297.99 (originally $2,499.99), its lowest price since it launched in April, according to price-tracking tools. Larger sizes are also seeing good discounts.
One of the first things you'll notice about the QM8L is the “Zero Border” bezel design, which gives it a modern, minimalistic look. When you turn it on, you'll likely note how bright this TV gets, which is a huge advantage QLEDs have over OLEDs. TCL claims it reaches 6,000 nits, and seeing as the brightest OLED TV on the market only reaches 700 nits, no OLED can come close to this unit's brightness. Another important spec to note here is the local dimming zones: TCL claims this TV has up to 4,000, which means it gets top-tier backlight control, limited light blooming (thanks in part to TCL's "Halo Control"), and incredible contrast levels that some might not be able to distinguish from an OLED.
While many of us won't manually calibrate our TVs, the picture modes you can switch to in the settings will be most people's go-to. This TV's "Filmmaker mode" provides accurate color and picture, and if you're a gamer, you can use the native 144Hz high-refresh rate. If you don't already have a surround sound system at home and want to keep a minimalist setup, the QM8L comes with Dolby Atmos-ready Bang & Olufsen speakers, which offer above-average audio output compared to most TVs. You can read more about these features in CNET's 8.8/10 review. If 65 inches isn't quite right for your home theater setup, take a look at the QM8L's other sizes, which are also discounted right now.
Goodreads is a popular platform for managing your To Be Read (TBR) pile, finding recommended titles, tracking your reading stats, and sharing reviews, ratings, and notes with friends, but there are ways to make the experience better. If you're an avid reader, use these tips, tricks, and hidden hacks to get the most out of what Goodreads has to offer.
Use the barcode scanner to vet books while you're in the bookstore
The Goodreads mobile app has a built-in scanner that uses your device's camera to scan either the book cover or barcode. It then pulls up information about the title, including a description and ratings/reviews from other Goodreads users, so you can decide whether to add it to My Books while you're in the store or perusing a friend's shelf. Simply tap the camera icon in the search bar. You can also see a history of scanned books in the camera tab.
Log rereads with separate dates to avoid overwriting your existing data
There are some books that are worth reading multiple times, and Goodreads allows you to track each reread as a separate activity so you don't overwrite your original entry or affect your reading challenge stats. If you just hit the Read button on the title page, it'll simply log the item as read without any additional information. Instead, select Edit my activity > Add read date to enter start and finish dates for each reread.
Select your book’s correct edition to get accurate progress tracking
If you care about nitty-gritty reading stats, make sure you choose the specific edition of the title you're reading. Different editions have different page numbers, and you can also select audiobook versions if you're listening rather than reading to keep those pages from being counted in your totals. Find available editions on the book's title page, or tap Show all editions and select Switch to this edition next to the correct one.
Exclude audiobooks and graphic novels from your Reading Challenge to preserve your stats
Goodreads counts all books read within a calendar year toward your annual Reading Challenge, but there may be titles you don't want included in your year-end stats. For example, if you're tracking audiobooks, graphic novels, or children's books in Goodreads, you can exclude them from your Reading Challenge so they don't count toward your page goal. You can also exclude titles if you want your Reading Challenge to focus specifically on one type of book. In the app, go to More > Reading Challenge > Challenge details, select the book you want to remove, and hit Remove from challenge > Remove. (This can be found under your profile on the web interface.) To add titles back later, remove and re-add the read date.
Use Goodreads to access Kindle notes and highlights directly
If you're a Kindle user, you can link your Amazon and Goodreads accounts to see your Kindle notes and highlights centralized on Goodreads, including those for library books read through Kindle. You can add to or edit existing notes, which sync back to your Kindle book, as well as share notes and highlights with other users. On the web, open the profile menu and select Kindle Notes & Highlights > Connect your accounts.
Create a secret group to maintain a private reading log
Goodreads doesn't have the option to make a bookshelf private, meaning anyone can view your activity. Even if you set your profile to private, your shelves and reading activity are visible to your Goodreads friends. To keep a reading log that no one can see, you can create a secret group of which you are the only member and use the group's bookshelves to track private activity. On the web, go to Community > Groups > Create a group and select This group is secret.
Use a DNF shelf to separate abandoned titles from those you've read
A DNF shelf is spot for titles that you started but abandoned, giving them a dedicated place separate from your other categories. Earlier this year, Goodreads added a default Did Not Finish shelf alongside Want to Read, Currently Reading, or Read, so you no longer have to create one manually. If you give up on a book before finishing, you can still track progress but put it on your DNF shelf. (Note that these books will still count toward your goals if you include a read date with the entry, so you'll need to exclude them using the steps above if you only want to count books you've read all the way through.)
Use Compare Books to find recommended titles for book club or reading with friends who have different tastes
If it's difficult to find books that both you and your friends want to read together, you can use Goodreads' Compare Books feature to see a head-to-head comparison of your shelves for shared interests. Go to your Friends list and tap compare books next to their name to pull up an analysis of your libraries, including a list of books you have in common and a score for how your tastes line up.
Set sort criteria to keep highly ranked titles at the top of your TBR
Goodreads has granular settings for what criteria you can view and sort by on your bookshelves. If you have hundreds of titles saved on your Want to Read list, customize and save a category to sort by so you always see the highest-rated books (or those with the lowest page count or most recently published, for example) at the top. Each shelf must be sorted separately. Open the Settings tab at the top of the list, select inclusion criteria, and then choose a sort option from the dropdown. Press Save Current Settings to your shelf to lock them.
Export your data for backup or for in-depth analysis of your reading history
Goodreads tracks your reading history and stats, but you may want to do a regular backup of your data to ensure you don't lose years of logs if something happens to your account. Library exports include fields like book title, author, publisher, year published, and number of pages, as well as read dates, ratings, and notes. When downloaded as a CSV, the data can also be sorted and analyzed in myriad different ways. To export your books on desktop, go to My Books and click Import and export under the My Tools section. Click Export Library followed by the file name to download it to your device.
The market for smart bands is getting pretty crowded. It’s hard to beat the Fitbit Air on value or the Whoop on performance analytics, and anything in between struggles to make itself stand out. But the Speediance strap caught my eye for an unusual feature it includes: a sensor that claims to measure your core body temperature during workouts.
Does the Speediance Strap really measure core temperature?
The only other device I’ve seen make a similar claim is the Core 2 thermal sensor, which I wore for a summer’s heat training and found it valuable and useful (though not without a few caveats). A Speediance rep told me their device works the same way as the Core 2: It has a sensor for skin temperature, and another for heat flux, which can estimate how much you’re warming up over the course of a workout.
Core 2 requires that you pair its device to a chest strap heart rate monitor because its algorithm can only relate data from the sensors to your core temperature if it knows how your heart rate is responding. It also asks you to wear the sensor on the chest strap, so that it’s as close as possible to your actual core temperature. Speediance doesn’t have those requirements; you can get temperature estimates while wearing the device on your wrist and without any extra equipment.
To test Speediance’s claims, I wore both devices together for several workouts and compared the heat strain each device says I was under. While the Core 2 device is geared toward heat adaptation, Speediance uses heat data mostly to tell you when you’re done warming up and when your performance may be suffering due to heat.
How I tested the core temperature features of the Speediance band
Credit: Beth Skwarecki
The Speediance app shows your “heat load” during workouts, right on the same screen that shows your heart rate, time, and running mileage. At the beginning of a workout, you’ll see a label that says you’re insufficiently warmed up. Once your body temperature rises by about 0.5 to 1 degree Celsius (about 1 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit), you’re deemed to be in the “optimal performance” zone. A numerical strain index increases as you get warmer; above 5.0, you’re told you’re in “performance decline,” and above 7.0, you’re in “heat overload.”
For comparison, the Core 2 sensor uses a slightly different scale, or at least has different cutoffs: Between 1.0 and 2.9, you’re increasing your heat training load, and from 3.0 to 6.9 you’re more effectively increasing that load. Above 7, you’re not recommended to train because risks of overheating are too high.
It’s fall as I was testing the Speediance strap, and the weather was beautiful, so I wasn’t able to test this feature in any extreme temperatures. I did notice that, in a strength workout in my garage, my warmup was supposedly over before I had barely done any work. And I hit the “performance decline” level of heat load toward the end of several relatively cool runs.
To get a better sense of how the Speediance band does at measuring temperatures, I took it out alongside the Core 2 for an hour-long trail run on an unseasonably warm day (it was in the high 70s), and compared the heat load readings at various points during the run.
Credit: Beth Skwarecki
The numbers didn’t match up directly; the Speediance band always read several points higher than the Core 2 sensor, and seemed to show more ups and downs. But both climbed more or less together. I don’t think I’d say the Speediance band is as accurate—and in any sense, I don’t have a gold standard to compare to—but it seems like it could certainly be useful in monitoring how your performance varies with temperature in hot weather.
How the Speediance band performs for activity and sleep
Credit: Beth Skwarecki
If you’re going to get a Speediance band for its temperature features, you’re probably also going to use it for general activity and sleep tracking. On that front, I have plenty of good news. It’s comfortable to wear, with a soft band that feels a bit nicer than Whoop’s. I often completely forgot I was wearing it.
The app has a lot of nice little features. You get a circular visual of your day, showing when you slept versus when you exercised. My only complaint here is that the background is a generic visual that suggests you’re looking at a graph of daytime and nighttime, but it’s not lined up with the actual times of sunrise and sunset. Aligning those times with the visual would do a much better job of showing how your habits are (or aren’t) matching up with your circadian rhythms.
The band and app measure all the usual things, and display the data well: My HRV, skin temperature, and resting heart rate are all reported as vital signs, and I can easily see how they’ve changed over the past week, month, and year. A “TRIMP” number shows up among my daily metrics, which I know refers to the same thing that other apps call cardio load. A little obscure in the naming, but a good metric to track. The app suggests a bedtime, and its sleep tracking seems relatively accurate (not counting the time it read a dentist appointment as a nap—although, to be fair, I was lying still for half an hour).
But I’m disappointed by a few things. One annoyance is that, since Speediance is primarily a home gym company, you can’t log a strength workout without creating an exercise routine. (I ended up logging my strength sessions as “mixed cardio” instead.) If you want to share your exercise data on a graphic, you get stock images of Speediance equipment for backgrounds.
And I was never able to properly sync my workouts to Strava. I got a message in Chinese after attempting the connection, which a translation app told me means “the binding is successfull!” and the settings in my app told me in English that Strava was connected. Still, nothing ever showed up on my Strava page. That’s a bummer, both for everyday use if you use Strava, and for me personally since I could have used Strava to download more specific data from my workouts than I can get from just viewing workouts in the Speediance app.
Is the Speediance strap worth the money?
At $159, I’m on the fence. The temperature features of the Speediance strap could be useful for anyone who wants to keep track of how heat affects their workouts, especially in the summer. It doesn’t track heat adaptation, so it can’t replace the Core 2 sensor, but I do appreciate that Speediance is offering something more than just another heart rate measurement.
But the glitches (especially the lack of Strava connection) are a dealbreaker for now, and I wasn’t able to get as much information as I’d like about how well it measures heart rate. If I could overlook those, I don’t think this band is particularly worse than the Polar Loop or the Garmin Cirqa, which both cost a bit more. But I certainly can’t say it’s better than the Fitbit Air or the Whoop. Perhaps with time, this will be a better device, but at this point, I’m more inclined to watch for improvements than to recommend it as is.
While ChatGPT might have been first out of the generative AI gate, Google has established itself as more than a major player in this new technological race. While plenty of people use Gemini free of charge, there are also a plethora of paid subscribers who want access to Google's latest and greatest models. Like other AI subscriptions, Google's best plans are wildly expensive, but it's cheapest paid tier, AI Plus, is much more reasonable: For $4.99 per month, you get access to faster Gemini models, and bump your Google storage up to 400GB to boot.
But if you're subscribed to Google AI Plus for access to better versions of Gemini, change is coming. Google is warning subscribers this week that they're losing a major perk—perhaps the perk—of the AI Plus subscription tier, as subscribers will soon no longer have access to Gemini's advanced models.
How Google is changing its subscription tiers
As 9to5Google reports, this isn't necessarily out of the blue. When Google rolled out Gemini 4 Argon, the company advertised that its latest model would only be available on AI Pro and AI Ultra plans, not AI Plus. At the same time, the company said that its plans meant AI Plus subscribers would soon lose access to all Gemini Pro models. It now seems those plans are now rolling out—one Redditor shared an email they received from Google as an AI Plus subscriber, which reads:
We wanted to let you know about changes to the models that you can access with your Google AI Plus plan.
Starting on 13 November 2026, the ability to select Pro models in both the Gemini app and AI Mode in Google Search will only be available to Google AI Pro subscribers and above. You’ll still have access to our latest Flash-Lite model and Flash, built for speed and intelligence. Your previous chats using the Pro model can be continued with a different model.
To learn more about these changes, you can visit our Help Centre article for additional details. You can manage or cancel your subscription at any time.
Thank you for being a Google AI Plus subscriber.
– The Google One team
According to the message, AI Plus subscribers have less than a month left to access Gemini Pro models. On Nov. 13, these users will be limited to Flash-Lite and Flash in both the Gemini app and AI Mode. While it's fortunate that previous Pro chats will still be available, users will need to use one of these less powerful models if they want to continue those conversations.
So now, access to models in Google's AI subscriptions looks like the following:
Free: Gemini Flash-Lite
AI Plus ($4.99 per month): Gemini Flash-Lite and Gemini Flash
AI Pro ($19.99 per month): AI Plus perks, plus Gemini Pro models and access to Gemini 4 Argon
AI Ultra 5x ($99.99 per month): AI Pro perks, plus higher access to Gemini Pro models and 5x higher usage limits
AI Ultra 20x ($199.99 per month): AI Ultra 5x perks plus 20x higher usage limits and highest access to Pro models
It always rubs me the wrong way when companies take away features after customers have already paid for them. If Pro models were always locked to a higher tier I could think, whatever, that's just what Google charges. But the fact that AI Plus subscribers have paid for access to Pro models, and now the same $4.99 subscription is missing a major feature for no particular reason, is, in my view, scummy. If you're subsequently rethinking your choice of Google subscription, here is a full breakdown of all perks across the various subscription options.
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Powered by the M6 chip, the compact 2026 Mac mini is currently 13% off at Amazon, dropping its price to $779.99 from $899. That gives shoppers in the Apple ecosystem a small but mighty computer, meant for home offices and creative workspaces short on desk space.
The entry-level model pairs a 12-core CPU and 12-core GPU with 16GB of unified memory and a modest 256GB SSD, but its speed and five-by-five-inch footprint help make up for the limited storage. If you want to upgrade to the 512GB model, you can still get a 14% discount, although it costs $170 more. The Mac mini supports up to three monitors and can handle everyday work and multitasking.
It comes in a sleek aluminum enclosure with rounded corners, and the metal case sits atop a rubberized plastic base lined with cooling vents. It has front-facing USB-C ports and a headphone jack, as well as plenty of connectivity options, including Thunderbolt 4, HDMI, 2.5Gb Ethernet, wifi 7, and Bluetooth 6. For those with iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices, it also offers seamless integration. PCMag, which gave it anEditors’ Choice award, praises its ability to stay cool and quiet under load, along with its impressive CPU and GPU performance.
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I've been a fan of Soundcore's Sleep A20 earbuds since I first put them on to sleep over two years ago. I've never experienced earbuds that feel so comfortable when sleeping on your side. But that model was missing one crucial feature: ANC. The new Sleep A30 Special earbuds have taken care of that, and more—and despite their release this January, they're already significantly discounted. Right now, you can get them for $168.99 (originally $229.99), the lowest price ever, according to price-tracking tools.
As noted in Mashable's review, the Sleep A30 Special are the most popular and arguably the best sleeping earbuds you can buy right now. They're designed for sleep in every way: Side sleepers can doze off without feeling pressure in their ears, since the earbuds sit comfortably inside, and with the addition of ANC, you can now block more outside noise than before.
The battery life isn't the best, but this new Special version from 2026 will get you through the night: You can get eight to 10 hours of juice with ANC on, with some variation depending on your settings. There's also some cool tech and features designed for sleeping: The companion app lets you set a timer for your music so you don't drain the battery after you've fallen asleep; the earbuds now integrate with the Calm app for sleep-focused meditations and sleep stories; the charging case's microphones use Adaptive snore masking to block snoring sounds by increasing white noise; and the app includes an alarm and sleep-tracking features, among other features.
All in all, I really can't recommend these earbuds enough to anyone who values quality sleep and doesn't mind wearing earbuds to bed. If the ANC isn't a big deal to you and you're looking to spend a bit less, the refurbished Sleep A20 or a refurbished Sleep A30 Special pair are cheaper options.
The new streaming series Crystal Lake takes us back to the early days of the Friday the 13th franchise to explore the origins of hockey-masked killer Jason's power and fury—by focusing, once again, on his mom (Linda Cardellini). Is this backstory we needed? Probably not! But I'm happy to revisit the bloodiest (and horniest) summer camp in America. If you're looking for other like-minded horror adaptations, here are 10 chilling shows to stream next.
Bates Motel (2013 – 2017)
You want some more backstory on an iconic serial killer and his mom? Say no more. Freddie Highmore stars as Norman Bates, the character author Robert Bloch based on the real killer Ed Gein, with Vera Farmiga playing his mother Norma (in her pre-desiccated-corpse days). Norman might not have accrued nearly the body count of Jason, but he's a lot more charming. Like a lot of media spun off from Alfred Hitchcock's seminal Psycho, it's better than it has any right to be, with impressively compelling character development and several surprises, even if we already know more or less where it's headed. Stream Bates Motel on Prime Video.
More high-minded than Crystal Lake, this reboot/prequel/fresh take on the Thomas Harris novels came from Bryan Fuller, who took a first crack at the Friday series before A24 decided it wanted something a little closer to the movies than what he'd proposed. Fuller goes back to the source material here, adapting the first Lecter novel with grand, operatic style and a visual flair unmatched on network television (you're still unlikely to find more gorgeously constructed scenes of carnage). What's more, the deeper, sexier relationship between the Doctor (Mads Mikkelsen) and profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy) adds some brilliant subtext as the two work together to hunt serial killers. It ended a bit too early, but the three seasons still make for a satisfying meal. Stream Hannibal on Prime Video.
Just a British meta-slasher-comedy on a boat (initially). Oscar Kennedy plays Jamie Walsh, who takes a job on board a cruise ship in order to investigate the disappearance of his sister, last seen working on the same vessel. Once on board, he soon realizes that everyone is a suspect and, being that he's on a boat, there's no escape from the murderous web of conspiracy in which he's deliberately entangled himself. The show has an infectious energy that blends Agatha Christie-style mystery elements with gnarly kills among a largely queer group of suspects. Season two moves the action to an island camping retreat for the ultra-wealthy, offering up an even more explicit Friday the 13th vibe. Stream Wreck on Hulu.
Drawing inspiration from Evil Dead, Stan Against Evil stars John C. McGinley as the crotchety, obnoxious former sheriff of a New Hampshire town overrun with vengeful spirits. Janet Varney comes to town as his replacement, and the two soon realize the uneasy spirits and demons aren’t going to be quiet for much longer. The awkward chemistry between the leads is a big selling point, as are the old-school practical monster effects that harken back to the great slasher horror movies of the late '70s through the '80s. The show leans more toward funny (and it’s often very funny) than scary, but the monster effects are well done, and the show doesn’t shy away from great 80s-style gross-out gags. Stream Stan Against Evil on Shudder and AMC+.
One of our most reliable horror franchises went the series route with impressively smart results—not really surprising for fans of the tongue-in-cheek, increasingly meta film series. Zackary Arthur is Jake Wheeler, a queer teen subject to relentless bullying at school and abuse at home from his homophobic father. Jake picks up America's favorite serial-killing doll at a garage sale school art project, and Chucky begins to see the (justifiably) angry kid as a potential protégé. Before long, characters from Chucky's past pop in to complicate things, but the relationship between Jake and Chucky remains the show's beating heart. Even with its dark sense of humor and over-the-top murders, the show became an unlikely critical favorite. Stream Chucky on Peacock and Prime Video.
Each season of this series tells the story of a single serial killer and their would-be victims, stretching out a traditional slasher-movie narrative over several hours. With that time, the show (like Crystal Lake) manages to actually build lives and backstories for its characters, something that movies don’t always have time for or can't be bothered with. It works here, and each season has introduced fairly compelling characters—it doesn’t hurt that the focus is largely on adults, rather than more typical teenage victims. The whole series is excellent, but for our purposes, I'll direct your attention to season two's "Guilty Party," in which a group of former counselors returns to the scene of the crime to retrieve the body of the camper they all accidentally killed, and whose death they purposely concealed years earlier. Stream Slasher on Netflix.
Cheating just a tiny bit by including this series, technically a run of movies, but it plays so much like a miniseries as to be pretty indistinguishable. Adapted from the R. L. Stine books, Fear Street Part One: 1994 kicks off the series by introducing the town of Shadyside, which the local kids call “Shittyside,” and which has a dark history of multiple murders. A group of teens upsets the grave of a witch, kicking off the revival of a killer cult, which requires a trip back in time to truly understand. There is some legit gore and scares (it’s YA, more or less, but definitely not kids’ stuff) as Janiak pays homage to a wide range of horror movies past, particularly with an impeccable camp slasher homage in Fear Street Part Two: 1978 and then an origin tale that brings the initial trilogy to a conclusion in Fear Street Part Three: 1666. Stream Fear Street on Netflix.
Mike Flanagan never really misses, and this series has a summer camp vibe with a deeper, darker twist while rarely feeling entirely gloomy. Based on a few different YA Christopher Pike novels, it concerns a group of eight terminally ill young patients at a bucolic hospice home run by a secretive and mysterious doctor (A Nightmare on Elm Street's Heather Langenkamp). Each night the kids meet to share scary stories covering a wide range of genres and styles, with each also promising to return from beyond the grave when their time comes. It's spooky and often moving without ever being schmaltzy or precious. It was planned as more than a miniseries, so the cancellation leaves several questions unanswered—but that works in terms of the overall tone and subject matter, which grapples with unanswerable mysteries about life and death. Stream The Midnight Club on Netflix.
AHS is always wildly divisive and more or less critic-proof. The fun 1984 season is as over-the-top as you'd expect, with the show's style grounded thoroughly in the milleau of '80s slasher sequels. Starting with a prologue involving a summer camp threesome that turns into a slaughter, we jump forward 14 years to revisit the same camp with a new group of counselors, hunted this time by both the fictional Mr. Jingles (John Carroll Lynch) and the real-life Night Stalker Richard Ramirez (Zach Villa)—at least until the mid-season twist throws everything out the window. The references come fast and furious and the period vibes are exquisite. Stream American Horror Story: 1984 on Prime Video and Hulu.
How does Friday the 13th: The Series tie into the Jason mythology, you may well be asking? It doesn't—not even a little bit, sharing nothing with the film series other than a name, the presence of a couple of actors, and the involvement of producer Frank G. Mancuso Jr. And yet, this creepy, late-night gem has much to recommend it, blending an anthology format with bits of serialized storytelling and a recurring cast. The premise: Cousins Micki Foster (Louise Robey) and Ryan Dallion (John D. LeMay) inherit an antique shop from an uncle who died under mysterious circumstances that turn out to involve years of dealings with Satan that eventually went wrong. Now, the two are stuck trying to reclaim a bunch of cursed artifacts with the help of family friend and occult expert Jack (Chris Wiggins). There's no Jason, but much of the horror goes impressively hard, even if we know that our leads will (mostly) make it through to the end. And if you aren't convinced, consider this: Guest directors David Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan helmed standout episodes. Stream Friday the 13th: The Series on Fubo.
The worst thing about your favorite chat app is trying to get your friends and family to use it. WhatsApp may be the most popular messaging platform in the world, but in the United States, it is hardly universally adopted. On the contrary, you'll find plenty of people who don't use it at all. In short, it's difficult to get a whole group to commit to any one platform, which can make casual video calls frustrating: If you don't use WhatsApp, and your friends are hosting a call, what are you supposed to do? You can't join a WhatsApp call without a WhatsApp account.
That's now changing. Meta, WhatsApp's parent company, announced "guest calling" on Wednesday. Now, any WhatsApp user can invite any non-WhatsApp user to a call, even if the recipient doesn't have an account. These calls still get the same core perks as traditional WhatsApp calls, Meta says: They're free and end-to-end encrypted, so you won't be compromising on your privacy by calling a non-WhatsApp user this way.
Non-WhatsApp users are still limited. Meta says these users always need a call host's approval to join. If you're a non-WhatsApp user, you'll find yourself in a waiting room until the call host lets you in. Meta also says that you can be kicked off the call at any time, and you won't be able to see other callers' phone numbers. You won't be able to send messages or add other users to the call. You are purely a participant.
How to invite someone without a WhatsApp account to a WhatsApp call
If you're trying to add a non-WhatsApp user to a call, first head to the Calls tab in the app. Here, hit (+), create a call link, then send it to the recipient. Meta says the user can open the link in their computer browser, enter their name, and join. This applies to one-on-one calls as well as calls with up to 32 people. While guests will have the aforementioned limits, they do have some features available to them. They can share their screen, react with emojis, or raise their hand.
WhatsApp isn't the first chat app to offer such a feature. Apple's FaceTime platform, for example, lets you create call links that anyone can join, whether they're calling in on an Apple device or a device running Android or Windows (or Linux, for that matter).
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The 65-inch LG Evo C6 OLED TV has dropped to $1,499.99 from $1,699.99, a $200 price cut that brings it to its lowest price ever, according to price trackers—and the savings aren't limited to this particular size either, with discounts extending across the C6 lineup, from the compact 42-inch model to the massive 83-inch version, although the 65-inch screen is particularly appealing if you want a larger OLED without spending more than $2.000. You also get a 90-day free trial of Amazon Music with the purchase.
Beyond the discount, there's plenty to like about the C6 itself, with PCMag calling it an excellent midrange OLED that is slightly brighter than last year’s Evo C5 while still retaining its color accuracy and sleek design, giving you much of what makes LG’s flagship OLEDs appealing at a considerably lower price. The nearly bezel-free design also keeps the focus on the picture, while its 4K OLED panel delivers bright HDR highlights in Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG content. That should work well in most living rooms, although a particularly sunny space may still benefit from a brighter Mini-LED TV.
For streaming, LG’s webOS platform covers most major services, and AirPlay and Google Cast make it easy to share videos or photos directly from your phone. You can also use hands-free voice controls through LG's assistant, Google Gemini, or Microsoft Copilot to search for content or ask questions without reaching for the remote. Gamers will also appreciate the C6’s native 120Hz panel, which supports variable refresh rates up to 165Hz, along with AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync compatibility to help keep fast-moving games smooth and tear-free. It’s also highly responsive, with an input lag of just 4.6 milliseconds at 1080p120 and 12.8 milliseconds at 4K60. The C6’s main drawback is its Wi-Fi 5 connection, which feels dated for a TV at this price, although it should still handle most 4K streaming without trouble. It also lacks an ATSC 3.0 tuner, meaning you won't get support for newer over-the-air broadcast standards.
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The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG27ACDNG is down to $549 on Amazon, a $210 discount from its usual $759 price. This is a high-end gaming monitor designed for players who want top-tier performance without stepping up to a larger display—and you also get 90 days of Amazon Music free with your purchase right now. It pairs a 27-inch QD-OLED panel with a 2560x1440 resolution and a 360Hz refresh rate, a combination that has become one of the most sought-after setups for competitive gaming, placing the XG27ACDNG in direct competition with premium models like the Alienware AW2725DF.
Image quality is one of the monitor's biggest strengths. The QD-OLED panel delivers deep blacks and excellent contrast, making games and movies look especially striking in darker rooms. The monitor also supports both FreeSync and G-Sync, helping gameplay stay smooth across a wide range of frame rates on either AMD or Nvidia systems. Performance is equally impressive, especially in motion handling—the 360Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time keep fast-moving objects sharp, making competitive shooters, racing games, and esports titles feel especially responsive. Input lag is also very low, further enhancing that sense of immediacy.
Outside of gaming, Asus has also included several features aimed at long-term usability—including a built-in heatsink and OLED Care+ tools, which are designed to help minimize the risk of burn-in, a USB-C port with 90W power delivery, a USB hub, and a KVM switch—making the monitor more useful for work setups and multi-device users. That said, like many QD-OLED monitors, the panel can lose some of its inky-black appearance in bright rooms, where ambient light may cause darker areas of the screen to take on a slight purple tint. VRR flicker can also become noticeable when frame rates fluctuate, particularly in darker scenes, and there are no built-in speakers.
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Finding a pair of headphones or earbuds that precisely meet your needs—whether you’re using them at the gym, while working from home, or even when showering—doesn’t have to mean shelling out a ton of money. The best of them can be really expensive, yes, but if you're a patient shopper, you can usually find a good deal on just about any pair of headphones.
With that said, here are the best deals, discounts, and sales you can find on earbuds and headphones right now. I'll be regularly updating this list as offers come and go, so check back in as needed—but given these prices can change at any time, I would advise you not to wait if you spot a pair that fits your needs and budget.
Nothing keeps impressing with its value. The Nothing Ear (a) earbuds come with a companion app that lets you customize the sound with presets or adjust the bass, mids, and highs individually. They support AAC, SBC, and LDAC codecs, Bluetooth 5.3, plus multipoint for two devices at once, ANC, and a 9.5-hour battery life. If you have a Nothing phone, you can use a pinch-to-speak ChatGPT feature. You can now get them for $66.99 (originally $109 at launch).
The best Apple headphones are $120 off
The new AirPods Max 2 currently have a rare discount and are down to $429 (originally $549.99), their second-lowest price yet. The biggest upgrades to the AirPods Max 2 include the new "dynamic range" amplifier, live translation, and Apple's H2 chip. But there are many other upgrades also worth noting.
The older but still capable Shokz OpenRun Pros are discounted to $109.95 ($179.95 at launch), the lowest price they've reached. If you've never used bone conduction headphones, they're worth a try, and the Shokz OpenPros are a great introduction to the technology. As the name implies, these are meant to be used on outdoor runs. They have an IP55 rating for dust- and water-resistance, are lightweight and comfortable, and can be worn with bicycle helmets and sunglasses. You can use them as everyday headphones too; they can even take calls, but you'll need to be mindful of the fact that they don't block any competing sound.
The Beats Fit Pro earbuds are $75 off
The Beats Fit Pro (1st Gen) earbuds aren’t the newest exercise earbuds on the market (or even in the Beats line; that would be the Powerbeats Pro 2), but they’re a classic option with ANC and a comfortable fit, making them a sportier version of the AirPods Pro, with a slight edge when it comes to battery life. You can get a pair in white or pink for $124.95 (originally $199.95), their lowest price ever.
The older and refurbished Sony 1000XM5 are just $160
If you don't need the latest XM6 headphone, the older XM5 version are still incredible headphones. Right now, a refurbished pair is $159.99 on Amazon. A new pair will run you $298, which is still a pretty good deal compared to the $399.99 launch price.
The Sony WH-CH720N are just $104
Not everyone needs or can spend nearly half a grand on the latest Sony headphones. If this sounds like you and are looking for a bargain on a budget, then perhaps the more affordable Sony WH-CH720N could work for you. While they're not quite as premium, they're significantly cheaper and offer good enough quality for most people. You can get them for $103.99 (originally $179.99) on Amazon right now.
The Sleep A30 earbuds are $50 off
The new Sleep A30 earbuds have ANC and new features the older A20 model didn't have—and despite their recent release this past August, they're already significantly discounted. They are my favorite earbuds for sleep, and right now, you can get them for $168.99 (originally $229.99), the lowest price ever.
The Nothing Ear (Open) is just $99
The Nothing Ear (Open) are Nothing's open-ear earbuds from 2024, and they're currently $99 ($149) for Prime Members, the lowest price they've ever been. They come with a multipoint connection, so you can hook them up to your phone and laptop simultaneously. There's also a "Find My Earbud" feature that plays a loud sound on the earbuds if you misplace them. There's also a low-lag mode with 120 milliseconds of latency for gaming, so the audio will be in sync with your actions. If you use a supported Nothing phone, this feature is automatic, and there's also a ChatGPT integration that you can access directly through the earbuds.
This is your chance to get the AirPods Pro 3 for $199
The AirPods Pro 3 are a big step up. The third iteration of Apple's iconic earbuds comes with a number of quality-of-life and software improvements that make them worth the typical premium over the AirPods Pro 2—and right now, the AirPods Pro 3 are even cheaper than the previous generation. They're $199 on Amazon, down from $249 and matching their second-lowest price ever, according to price-tracking tools.
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Apple announced a lot of new devices during its "Welcome Home" event yesterday. The Apple HomeView, the company's first smart display hub, stole the show, with its squared-off seven-inch display and its "oversized Apple Watch meets iMac G4" design, but Apple is also collaborating with LG and Schneider on a collection of smart devices, like lights, doorbells, and cameras, that the HomeView can control. Plus, the company also announced updates to existing products, including the Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini.
None of these items is currently available to pick up in-store. However, many—but not all—of them are already available to preorder, if you're interested in being among the first to try them. Here's how you can reserve the HomeView, Apple TV 4K, and HomePod mini 2 today.
The best preorder deal on the Apple HomeView
Apple's HomeView is a unique product for the company. With it, you can control your entire smart home, chat with Siri AI, check your messages, take FaceTime calls, and play music, among other tasks. Though it's generally far more limited than an iPad, it's the only device of the two to offer individualized experiences per user: It can recognize up to six people in your household and display personalized information (like Messages) for each. You can preorder the HomeView from stores like Apple, Amazon, and Best Buy. However, if you opt for Amazon, you can take $10 off the Space Gray and Starlight standard models:
Just remember: If you're buying a wall-mounted option, you'll need to buy the actual mount separately. If you buy the Power Mount USB-C wall connector, that'll add $59.99 to your total, while the Power Mount AC-wired option will add $79.99.
Apple's newest Apple TV 4K looks a lot like the previous model, but what's inside has changed. This model uses Apple's A19 chip and can connect to up to four HomePod devices at once. The new Siri Remote supports Precision Finding through Find My, and has a speaker you can ping if you lose it in your couch. Apple doesn't always make its product names all that clear. For example, the latest iteration of Apple TV 4K is simply called "Apple TV 4K." If you're looking to buy one, don't just buy any "Apple TV 4K" you see. Instead, make sure it is the fourth-generation model. You'll have two clues there, besides the (4th-gen) label: First, it isn't currently available to purchase, so you'll only be able to preorder it; second, it costs $299, $100 more than the third-gen Apple TV 4K.
The HomePod mini 2 comes in refreshed colors that just so happen to match Apple's iMacs. The new speakers run on the Apple S10 chip and come with a new "Sound Glow" feature that can pulse to the music with colors that match the track's album art. They can also act as default speakers for iMacs over Wi-Fi 6e. Amazon doesn't have Apple's latest HomePod mini device ready to preorder. If you search for it, you'll only find previous-generation speakers available to purchase now—and only renewed versions, at that. In addition to Apple, Best Buy also has the new HomePod mini 2 available to preorder in all five colors:
The Apple Home Collection is pricey, but Apple won't be taking your money for it just yet. While the company has a landing page for the new smart devices, including the $349.95 LG Smart Deadbolt Lock and $399.95 LG Floodlight Cam, none of them are officially available to preorder or purchase. Apple says some of these devices will be available in December, while others will arrive in early 2027, though it doesn't say which devices will launch when.
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OLEDs are known for having the best picture quality TVs can offer, if you're okay with the trade-offs. One of the biggest cons of OLEDs is their price; if you've never owned an OLED because they've cost too much, Samsung made an OLED that's within reach: the Samsung S90H Series TV. Right now, the 65-inch Samsung S90H Series TV is $1,497.99 (originally $1,897.99) after a 21% discount, reaching its lowest price ever according to price tracking tools. This TV is also considered one of the best OLED TVs for most people.
What makes the Samsung S90H TV stand out is its picture quality, because it's comparable to far more expensive OLEDs. Some other stand-out features are its excellent response time for gaming—9.33 milliseconds, according to CNET's review—and its anti-reflective filter, which makes it a great fit for bright environments.
The display's anti-reflective coating helps eliminate glare and reflections while watching TV during the day or when lamps or lights are placed at angles that can make the screen less visible. This is a huge benefit—OLED TVs are known to already not be as bright as QLEDs. On top of the specialized coating, the light output of the S90H is comparable to more expensive OLEDs, like the LG C6, reaching up to 1,600 nits of brightness.
The S90H comes with Amazon Alexa built in, has AI Motion Enhancer Pro (a type of motion smoothing), 4K AI Upscaling Pro (an upscaling technology that increases the resolution), and comes with Samsung's updated Tizen OS.
If you've been wanting to upgrade to an OLED but haven't been able to justify the price, the S90H is an incredibly worthwhile option.
It turns out the kids can't get enough of John Steinbeck. The Florence Pugh-led, Zoe Kazan-created adaptation of his novel East of Eden has been a massive hit for Netflix, its epic story covering decades in the lives of two California families in the run-up to World War I. And why not? It's got grand family drama and plenty of sex, set against a massive historical backdrop and stuffed with biblical allusions that make it all feel like less of a guilty pleasure. If this is your bag, here are more similar shows to stream after you've finished your binge-watch.
The House of the Spirits (2026)
One generation will inevitably influence those that follow, for better and worse—sins and strengths in equal measure, dramatized most succinctly, perhaps, by Steinbeck's East of Eden and in Isabel Allende's seminal novel, adapted here (indicentally, both books are among the most frequently challenged in the United States). Told from the perspective of Alba (Rochi Hernández), House of the Spirits starts in the 1970s and works backward as Alba explores four generations of family history through he journals of her grandmother, Clara (Dolores Fonzi). Though their country is never named, Allende based it all on the real history of Chile through those decades of political violence and upheaval, and on her own family's triumphs and tragedies in its wake. Stream The House of the Spirits on Prime Video.
The most recent adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic, and a pretty good one. We begin in 1805, during the height of the Napoleonic Wars, meeting Pierre (Paul Dano), the idealistic illegitimate son of an oligarch; romantic and impulsive dancer Natasha (Lily James); and thoughtful, high-minded Andrei (James Norton), destined to become a soldier. Throughout the years of war that follow, the three of them and their families move in and out of each other's lives, as tragedy alternately unites and divides them. Stream War and Peace on Peacock and Prime Video.
Starting in 1915, this multigenerational saga follows one woman (played in different time periods by Youn Yuh-jung and Kim Min-ha) and her family, taking us from the Japanese occupation of Korea through the decades of the Korean diaspora. With her opportunities limited, Sunja leaves her home and family in Busan to pursue a life in Japan, even as racism and anti-immigrant sentiment are rampant amid the war. In a parallel narrative that begins in 1989, we see what has and hasn't changed for Sunja and her family. It’s a journey as personal as it is epic, with better location cinematography than most movies. Stream Pachinko on Apple TV.
I haven't been the biggest fan of the newer adaptation of the John Galsworthy novels—though The Forsyteshas already been renewed for a further two seasons, so I'm apparently in the minority. Nevertheless, I'll direct you back to 2002 and this extended miniseries led by Damian Lewis. It starts off in 1884 when the slightly scandalous engagement of one of the wealthy new-money Forsytes is marred by the revelation of an affair between cousin Joylon (Rupert Graves) and the governess, kicking off an impossibly complicated series of events that plagues the family for decades. Author Galsworthy was inspired to write by his own extramarital affair, so the drama is in the show's DNA. Stream The Forsyte Saga on Netflix.
An epic love story that cleaned house at the 2025 Baeksang Arts Awards (that's South Korea's most prestigious entertainment award ceremony), Tangerines stars IU as Oh Ae-sun (and as Ae-sun's daughter and the series' narrator, Geum-myeong), a young woman born in the 1960s on rural Jeju Island. The series spans decades in her life with friend and later romantic interest Yang Gwan-sik (Park Bo-gum), as South Korea changes around them. The focus is more on Ae-sun's own love story than some of these broader narratives, but the scope is epic all the same. Stream When Life Gives You Tangerines on Netflix.
Not to be confused with the American Civil War miniseries North and South from the 1980s, this series adapts Elizabeth Gaskell's 1851 novel that follows Margaret Hale (Daniela Denby-Ashe) and her family, forced to leave their Hampshire home and travel to the industrial north of England to avoid religious scandal involving the clergyman father. Poor but well-educated, Margaret runs up against the wealthy owner of the local mill, John Thornton (Richard Armitage), whose family sees her as haughty despite her circumstances; meanwhile, hers sees John and his peers as gruff and inhumane where workers are concerned. Despite their very opposing views, you won't be surprised to learn that Margaret and John find themselves growing closer over the subsequent years, even as their families remain divided.Stream North & South on Prime Video and Tubi.
There's plenty of upper-crust family drama in this loosely-based-on-real-events series, but it comes from Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders), so expect bloody fisticuffs, too. The first episode begins shortly after the death of Sir Benjamin Guinness, who became the wealthiest man in Ireland by expanding the trade in Guinness beer throughout the British Empire. The cracks begin to show on the way to the funeral: Religious leaders deplore all of the beer-drinking, while Irish Republicans want the company brought down for colluding with the Empire. Sir Benjamin's four heirs have wildly different goals and/or hate each other, so, you know—lots of drama, and lots of beer. The show has been renewed for a second season, so a second round is on the way. Stream House of Guinness on Netflix.
Subtitled The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley in his novel, Roots, in any of its incarnations, is hard to top as an epic family drama grounded in history. Absolutely nothing can match the cultural importance of the 1977 miniseries, also an easy recommendation, which centered the generations-long story of a Black family at a time when such narratives were rare on television. The 2016 version couldn’t possibly have that kind of impact, but it works just the same: it's impressively acted and adds a modern polish that doesn’t detract from the story’s power. Covering much of the same ground, the newer version goes further in focusing on the American family at its center, spending less time leading white viewers into the story that begins with Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby) captured in Gambia and sold as chattel. There’s a very reasonable debate about the preponderance of slave narratives in film and television and the purpose they serve for white audiences; while both versions of Roots are unflinching in that area, they also go beyond it by engaging with what came before and after. Stream Roots on Prime Video and Tubi.
A dark turn down an alternate path in American history, The Plot Against America asks: what if Charles Lindbergh had succeeded in his bid for political power in the 1930s, bringing to bear his vision of an America that followed in the footsteps of Nazi Germany by halting the “infiltration of inferior blood” (by which he meant, mostly, Jewish people). Adapted from the book by Philip Roth, the series bends imagination with real history, depicting Lindbergh's successful campaign for the American presidency against Franklin D. Roosevelt, which ultimately keeps the U.S. out of World War II—and which results in things at home growing increasingly dangerous for the Jewish family at the show's center, which splinters between members who advocate for resistance, quiet acquiescence, or active participation. Morgan Spector, Zoe Kazan, Winona Ryder, and John Turturro star. Stream The Plot Against America on HBO Max.
Rarely has so much drama been sparked by a herd of sheep, but here we are with this blockbuster miniseries adapting Colleen McCullough's novel in suitably grand style. It's set on a sheep station in the Australian outback over several decades in the 20th century. Rachel Ward plays Meggie Cleary, a tough but damaged young woman who becomes the de facto leader of her family after her father uproots the family from New Zealand to New South Wales to live and work on a ranch owned by her wealthy, widowed Aunt Mary (the legendary Barbara Stanwyck, whose performance lives on in "Kiss me on the mouth!" gif reactions). Both Mary and Meggie have eyes for the same man, Ralph de Bricassart (Richard Chamberlain), who just happens to be a priest. It's expensive, star-studded melodrama par excellence. Buy The Thorn Birds from Prime Video.
Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday bug count has been trending higher since the beginning of the summer, and October is no different. The company just issued fixes for a record 1,411 vulnerabilities, including three zero-days, which are flaws that have been actively exploited or publicly disclosed before an official patch is available, making them especially risky.
For comparison, in October 2025, Microsoft issued patches for fewer than 180 flaws—six of which were zero-days—which was considered a large update at the time. Fixes typically numbered in the double digits until the middle of this year, when the totals jumped to 206 (June), 570 (July), 400 (August), and 966 (last month). That steep increase is largely attributable to AI models, which are making it easier for bad actors to develop hacking tools to exploit vulnerabilities, and for companies to find and patch these flaws more quickly. This means that update cycles are being shortened and/or include a significantly higher number of fixes. Companies like Microsoft are using AI to discover and address bugs, though AI isn't as good at the latter, and may, in some cases, introduce additional vulnerabilities in the process.
October's Patch Tuesday fixes 1,411 flaws, including three zero-days
As BleepingComputer reports, the October 2026 security update addresses flaws across the following categories: 677 elevation-of-privilege vulnerabilities, 40 security feature bypass vulnerabilities, 317 remote-code-execution vulnerabilities, 254 information disclosure vulnerabilities, 28 spoofing vulnerabilities, and 73 denial-of-service vulnerabilities. 70 of the bugs are rated "critical" and include remote code execution, elevation of privilege, and spoofing flaws. Microsoft patched an additional 348 bugs earlier this month for various Azure, Mariner, and Microsoft products.
One of the zero-days patched this month has been actively exploited in the wild. CVE-2026-96951 is a security feature bypass vulnerability in Windows Shell that allows attackers unauthorized access over a network. Microsoft has not provided details on who disclosed this flaw or how it was exploited.
The other two zero-days were publicly disclosed. CVE-2026-108398 is a security feature bypass vulnerability in the .NET framework that would allow attackers to bypass Windows Defender Application Control restrictions and run unauthorized applications without user interaction. This flaw has been attributed to James Forshaw of Google Project Zero. Finally, CVE-2026-92707 is a denial-of-service vulnerability in MessagePack-CSharp credited to an anonymous source.
You should update your PC ASAP
PC users should ensure that they download and install all security updates as soon as they're available. Patch Tuesday typically releases on the second Tuesday of every month around 10 a.m. PT and should be applied automatically. However, given the increasing risk, it's a good idea to confirm your machine's update status via Start > Settings > Windows Update > Check for Windows updates.
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Samsung’s HW-Q600F soundbar is down to $389.99 at Amazon from $499.99, a $110 discount that brings it to its lowest price ever, according to price trackers. This 2025 model sits in the middle of Samsung’s Q-Series lineup and pairs a sleek, angular bar with a subwoofer in a 3.1.2 setup, where the bar’s nine drivers cover the left, center, and right channels as well as two up-firing height channels. Those up-firing drivers let it handle Dolby Atmos and other object-based audio correctly, an advantage over Samsung’s 5.1-channel HW-B750F, though it gives up the extra audio channels, app support, and broader connectivity of the pricier HW-Q800F.
For everyday listening, the HW-Q600F performs particularly well, with balanced tuning across the stereo and center channels that keeps dialogue clear without requiring much adjustment. It also preserves the dynamics of a soundtrack, so an explosion still lands with more force than the conversation before it. Dolby Atmos also brings a modest sense of height, and effects track cleanly from left to right. Surround sound, on the other hand, is less convincing, since the soundbar doesn’t include rear satellite speakers and downmixes surround formats, which limits its ability to convincingly place effects behind you. You do get a graphic equalizer and sound presets for adjusting the audio to your preferences, though without a companion app, you’ll be making those changes through the included remote.
On the connectivity side, the bar includes an HDMI input, so you can plug a game console into it and pass video through to your TV, while an optical port covers older devices. That said, HDMI audio latency runs slightly high, potentially requiring an adjustment in your TV's settings to keep dialogue synchronized with what's happening on screen. As for wireless connectivity, it is limited to Bluetooth, meaning no wifi streaming or multi-room audio. Also, Samsung's SpaceFit Sound Pro room correction and Q-Symphony integration, which lets the TV’s speakers play alongside the bar, only work with compatible Samsung sets.
Gemini 3.1 Pro launched back in February of this year—quite a while ago, in AI terms. Now Google has jumped to the next full number with Gemini 4 Argon, which it says "excels at deep work in complex, real-world tasks."
You can get the new AI model now inside the Gemini app if you're on the AI Pro ($19.99 a month) or AI Ultra ($99.99 or $199.99 a month) plans. Users on the free and AI Plus ($4.99 a month) plans miss out for now, though you can expect a smaller, cut-down version of Gemini 4 Argon to roll out to these tiers eventually.
What can Gemini 4 Argon do?
Google has a long list of areas where the new AI model excels. There's mention of complex engineering tasks (like checking millions of lines of code for efficiency improvements), predicting molecular structures in chemistry, and delivering 3D visualizations. It also enhances knowledge work across legal, finance, science, and coding.
Google says Gemini 4 Argon is now better at advanced physics modeling, picking through genetic databases, protecting software from vulnerabilities, and resolving problems in physical space (handy for robotics development). The new model "answers questions more directly with less hedging, doesn't repeat itself more than necessary, and skips clichés throughout the responses," according to Google.
Gemini has some suggestions for how to use the new model.Credit: Lifehacker
With many in the industry worried about an AI-driven apocalypse of some form or another, Google has upped its defenses against misuse and jailbreaking. The company has significantly upgraded its blockers for harmful requests, limits on AI agent overreach, and resistance to malicious prompt injections.
All of these stats are things you would expect to read about in a new AI model announcement, whether it's from Google, Anthropic, or OpenAI: "Our new model is better and safer than ever, and particularly good in these specific benchmarks we've chosen." But is it any more helpful for the average user tapping away in the Gemini app?
I don't have any pressing scientific breakthroughs to research or large-scale software optimizations to run, but I have put Gemini 4 Argon to the test against GPT-6 Sol, which is the latest model available to consumers through the ChatGPT app—though you need to be on at least the Plus plan ($19.99 a month) to get to it.
Testing Gemini 4 Argon against GPT-6 Sol
Make no mistake: Both of these new AI models are quite capable. I first prompted Gemini 4 Argon and GPT-6 Sol with the following: "Using information online, create a web app I can run locally that plots the lighthouses of the world on a map. Clicking on a lighthouse should give me some details about it, show how far its light reaches, and display a simple 2D model showing its shape and height (if known). Put a lighthouse keeper in each model pop-up for scale."
At the highest, slowest levels of "thinking," these AIs took a while to get back to me: Nearly 10 minutes for Gemini and almost 26 minutes for ChatGPT. Both hit the same problem—restricted access to map data online—but both were able to make a rudimentary world map of their own when prompted a second time.
The ChatGPT effort, dubbed "Beacon," wasn't bad, apart from a bit of map clunkiness (it clearly needs to work on its cartography skills). It presented plenty of information, laid out everything well, and gave me nice, neat diagrams on each of the lighthouses featured. The day/night mode worked fine, and it was an impressive bit of coding work, even if it did take 26 minutes.
However, the Gemini effort, called "Pharos," was better in almost every respect. The map was more detailed, lighthouses actually showed their light range (with an impressive animation), and there was more information on each location—perhaps due to Google's expertise in web search. Some of the layout choices were a bit off, but Gemini 4 Argon produced what was clearly the superior app in less than half the time.
ChatGPT's lighthouse map was pretty good—but had its problems.Credit: Lifehacker
Next, I fed PDFs of 10 recent scientific studies into each AI model. The prompt: "Give me a brief summary of each of these studies in plain English, with a single sentence each for the main finding, one study strength, one study weakness, and the main implication." While I hadn't read the studies through entirely myself, I had read news stories on all of them, and I lowered the "thinking" level to low.
This time ChatGPT was faster—25 seconds versus Gemini's 55 seconds—and gave what I thought were the better summaries, at least for my purposes. Gemini did well, and its answers were accurate and to the point, but the summaries ChatGPT gave were easier to understand and shorter. ChatGPT also offered some overall thoughts on the most promising study, which Gemini didn't.
Finally, I checked the imagination and creative juices of the models: "With the success of the Apple TV shows Severance, Slow Horses, Silo, and Widow's Bay, give me five pitches for new show ideas on the platform that combine elements from some or all of these shows. Try and be as original as possible and keep each pitch to around 100 words." I put the "thinking" level back up to "high" for this job.
Gemini's lighthouse map offered more information and a better layout.Credit: Lifehacker
(Is this how Apple TV executives actually get their ideas nowadays? I hope not.) As far as the answers the AIs gave me, Gemini was faster than ChatGPT (1 minute and 28 seconds against 3 minutes and 48 seconds, respectively), and both served up responses that were a bit more literal in their mashing up than I wanted: failed secret service agents and supernatural terrors abounded, which is I suppose what I asked for.
The ideas were mostly "Widow's Bay set somewhere else" or "Slow Horses set somewhere else," and didn't make a whole lot of sense for the most part, but the best Gemini offering was about a Silo-style underground bunker whose operators go through a Severance-style procedure every 24 hours: outside, the bunker protecting it from zombies by night; inside, the bunker planning social activities for residents by day. It's not perfect, but I might watch the trailer at least.
My favorite of the ChatGPT suggestions was a show about a remote, Severance-style weather station whose employees discover they're not recording the weather—they're creating it. Again, it didn't really logically hold up, but overall I found the suggestions from GPT-6 more nuanced, more likely to be an actual show, and better "thought" through. Maybe Gemini should've given itself more time to "think."
This is only a narrow set of quick tests, but, in my view, it seems Gemini is back to, at the very least, an even playing field with ChatGPT. It performed much better on the lighthouse task, though its summarizing and TV show pitching weren't quite as impressive. Access to the best models requires a subscription on both platforms, but if you're able to, it's worth comparing them against each other on the jobs you most commonly need AI for.
YouTube TV is one of several streaming services for live TV—and a particularly good pick for sports fans who want to be able to watch and record every matchup from their favorite leagues. If YouTube TV is your platform of choice, here are the tips and tricks to optimize your experience.
Set up family sharing to separate recommendations and storage limits
If you and members of your household have wildly different streaming tastes, you can create unique profiles for each person to prevent recommendations from one from influencing another and to separate DVR libraries. A single subscription can be shared with five additional family members, who technically must reside in the same household, and those who are outside of the home need to check in once every three months (more on that below) to maintain access. You're also limited to three active streams at a time, so six people can't be watching on six separate devices at once.
Regularly reset your YouTube TV 90-day home area allowance
If you travel frequently or are part of family sharing based anywhere besides your home, make sure you launch YouTube TV whenever you are in the account's home area. YouTube TV requires all users to check in every 90 days to avoid losing access when away from your home area. (For baseball fans, MLB imposes viewing restrictions after just 30 days.) If you get in the habit of resetting your 90-day window, you're less likely to find yourself locked out when you're on the road.
Create custom multiviews to monitor multiple games or content types at once
YouTube TV has pre-built multiviews that show you three or four channels at once—these are often either several games across a single sport or a combination of sports channels. Earlier this year, the platform launched customizable multiview, which allows you to select up to four channels across content categories. This means you can choose the specific games you want or mix and match sports with news, TV shows, and movies so that everyone in your household can be entertained. From any livestream, press the down button and select Multiview > Your multiview to choose up to four channels.
Use “catch up through key plays” to get curated highlights before syncing with live action
YouTube TV is heavy on features benefiting sports fans. If you can't begin a broadcast when a game starts, the platform offers you several options when you launch the stream: Start from the beginning, join live, or catch up to live through key plays. The latter shows you only the highlights of the action then drops you into the live stream, so you don't miss anything important but don't have to watch or fast-forward through the entire game to see what's happening now. You can also find the key plays view via Scores & stats at the bottom of the screen. This feature is supported for events from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, and college basketball.
Hide sports scores to avoid spoilers until you can watch a recorded game
Another way to avoid spoilers for live sports is to hide scores, which prevents final scores or live previews from launching before you start watching. For NFL, NBA, and MLB games, you can hide scores on a team-by-team or league-wide basis. If a league doesn't have pages for individual teams, you can hide scores for the whole league. On the team or league page, go to More and turn on Hide all scores for this team/league.
Customize your YouTube TV Live Guide to minimize scrolling
If you aren't sure what you want to watch on YouTube TV and none of the recommendations do it for you, you can use the platform's Live Guide just like the channel guide from traditional cable. However, this version is customizable, so you don't have to scroll through dozens of channels you never watch to reach the ones you do. On the web browser or app, go to Settings > Live Guide to reorder, favorite, or hide channels from your list. This can't be done directly from a streaming box, but when you open the live guide on your TV, select the Custom filter view to see your updates.
Pause your YouTube TV watch history when you don’t want content informing your algorithm
Your watch history informs recommendations on YouTube and YouTube TV, which is useful for discovering new content but also means that your algorithm can be influenced by anything and everything you watch. If you don't want certain content affecting what you're served—let's say you're binge-watching a show you wouldn't normally or you have someone staying at your house and using your account—you can pause your watch history temporarily. Tap your profile photo, go to Settings > Privacy, and toggle on Pause watch history.
Select specific teams or franchises for recording to keep your library under control
YouTube TV has unlimited DVR, but that doesn't mean you need to fill your storage with content you don't plan to watch. You can record everything from an entire sport or league, or you can select only the specific teams or franchises you care about. This depends on how you set up recording: You can search for the league and tap Add + or the "+" icon to get every game, or search for your favorite team or individual matchup. DVR playback has similar options to live events you start on delay, including resuming where you left off and watching key plays.
Switch from VOD to DVR versions on playback to skip ad breaks
Some content you record from the live feed may also be available as video on demand (VOD). With the former, you can fast-forward through ads; with the latter, ads can't be skipped. However, you may be able to choose your version if you used DVR. Click down on the stream to see whether you're on VOD or DVR, then go back to the show page and select Choose a Version > DVR (if available).
Check Stats for Nerds to diagnose streaming issues
If you have technical issues with YouTube TV, the built-in Stats for Nerds feature can help you diagnose the problem (and whether it's coming from your network or YouTube TV itself). For example, if your resolution drops significantly, connection speed, buffer health, and dropped frames can give you a clue as to whether your wifi is the culprit. Access Stats for Nerds on your TV via player controls > More > Bug icon. On your computer, right-click on the video player; on mobile, tap More > Stats from the video player.
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Apple’s latest flagship headphones, the AirPods Max 2, are currently $429 (down from $549.99) on Amazon—taking $120 off every available color and bringing them within $30 of their lowest price ever, according to price trackers. They’re still a considerable investment, but the AirPods Max 2 have plenty going for them, earning a spot on our shopping editor Daniel’s list of the best over-ear headphones of 2026. PCMag is similarly impressed, giving them an “outstanding” rating for their excellent sound quality, noise cancellation, and seamless integration with Apple devices.
Much of what makes the AirPods Max 2 an improvement over their predecessor comes down to two hardware changes: a new high-dynamic-range amplifier and Apple’s H2 chip, replacing the older H1. The amplifier delivers cleaner audio, fuller bass, and better instrument separation with minimal distortion, while spatial audio makes movies and compatible music feel more immersive. Meanwhile, the H2 chip improves active noise cancellation, Transparency mode, and Voice Isolation, which helps callers hear you more clearly when you're speaking from a crowded environment.
Also, noise cancellation is now adaptive, meaning it adjusts how much outside sound comes through as your surroundings change, saving you from constantly switching listening modes. You’ll also find some useful additions beyond audio performance, including Live Translation, which lets you hear supported foreign-language conversations translated through the headphones when paired with a compatible iPhone. The buttons on the headphones can also act as a remote shutter for your iPhone’s camera, which could come in handy for group photos or hands-free recording. All said, the AirPods Max 2 makes the most sense for someone already invested in Apple's ecosystem, since several of their more interesting features depend on compatible Apple devices and software.
The Fitbit brand has long been defined by fitness trackers with tiny screens, yet it's been three years since it released a new one. Now that the Fitbit Edge has been announced (and pre-orders have opened), longtime Fitbit users are probably wondering how it compares to the last Fitbit release with a screen, the Charge 6.
The design is the first clear difference: The Edge fits in perfectly between the screenless Fitbit Air and the smooth, curved screen of the Pixel Watch. It runs on the same operating system as the Fitbit Air, which is slightly different from the OS that runs on Pixel watches. Like other Fitbits, the Edge pairs with both iPhones and Android devices. Now, let's look at what Google has added since the Charge 6—and what it took away.
I just unboxed the Fitbit Edge that Google sent me to review, and can confirm: There is a physical button on the right side of the casing. It makes an audible click when you press it in, even when the device is turned off. The Charge 6 has a "button" that is just a haptic nub—squeeze it, and if you're lucky it might recognize your touch and buzz in response. (Sadly, I found it often didn't work.)
The Fitbit Edge has an altimeter and an allegedly better GPS chipset
The altimeter is a brand-new bit of hardware in the Fitbit Edge. You have to go back to the Charge 4 to find a Fitbit tracker with an altimeter. This is the sensor that tells you your altitude and enables a measurement of how many "floors" you have climbed throughout the day. It also allows for more accurate tracking of hills on your hikes and hilly runs.
The Charge 6 and the Edge both have GPS capabilities, allowing the device to know where you are in the world, even if you left your phone at home. (The Fitbit Air, by contrast. does not have its own GPS and has to pester your phone to find out where you are and how fast you're running.) The Charge 6's GPS has some serious flaws, the main one being that tightening the wristband too much could strain the GPS antenna, leading to comically distorted maps, as you can see from my testing. Google says the Fitbit Edge has better GPS hardware. I believe them, but mainly because it would be hard for it to be worse.
The Fitbit Edge does not have Google Pay or NFC capabilities
This is the biggest downgrade: With the Charge 6, you could set up Google Wallet and be able to tap your Fitbit to pay for things at stores. That's a convenient feature if you like to run or walk without your phone and still be able to buy a drink at a convenience store. But the Fitbit Edge dropped this capability, probably to make room for other internal components. If you loved Google Pay on your older Fitbit, you'll miss it if you upgrade to the Edge.
The Fitbit Edge will be able to play music from any app, not just Youtube Music
The Charge 6's music player is one of the most frustrating things about it. The music controls only work for Youtube Music. That's a premium service, meaning you need to pay a monthly subscription fee just to be able to control music playing on your phone, and it has to be a subscription to Youtube Music—Spotify or Apple Music users are out of luck.
Fortunately, that's been fixed in the Fitbit Edge. Google says it will be able to control whatever is playing on your phone (like pretty much every other watch in existence) rather than relying on a specific app.
Google Maps directions are unsupported on the Edge—but "coming soon"
At launch, the Fitbit Edge doesn't support Google Maps directions—but Google's spec sheets say it's "coming soon." To be fair, Google Maps directions were never particularly useful. They lived in their own little app, and only gave you turn-by-turn directions, not a map view showing where you are. In the long run, this isn't likely a difference that matters, since Google plans to bring this feature to the Edge. But if you enjoy it on your Charge 6, you should know it's not going to be available right away on the Fitbit Edge.
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If you’re looking to outsource as much of your floor cleaning as possible, a combination robot vacuum and mop is your best bet short of hiring regular house cleaners. TheRoborock Saros 10R Robot Vacuum and Mop is a great option, with powerful suction, a slim silhouette that gets into tight spaces, and a bevy of automated features that deliver a mostly hands-off experience—especially at its current 44% off price of $899.99 (originally $1,599.99).
Though it comes in at under $1,000, it still delivers reliable obstacle avoidance, a super-slim design, and powerful hard-floor vacuuming and mopping, with up to 22,000 Pa of suction. According to Mashable, it’s better at mopping than competitors like the Saros 10, and comes with dual rotating mop pads and an extending arm to get into nooks and crannies, as well as a split brushroll to reduce hair or fur tangles. Its slim 3.14-inch profile means it more easily fits under low-profile furniture than bulkier robot vacuums, which are typically about an inch taller.
While it excels at cleaning hard floors, it’s also more effective than older Roborock models at managing rugs, thresholds up to 4 centimeters high, and rooms with various obstacles, including furniture. The low-maintenance dock empties the dustbin, refills the Saros 10R’s water tank, and washes and dries the mop pads. While it accomplishes quite a lot, the self-cleaning station does require dedicated floor space, as the dock is on the larger side.
If you want an everyday cleaner that excels at navigation and hands-off routines, theRoborock Saros 10R Robot Vacuum and Mop is one of the most reliable “set it and forget it” vacuum-and-mop combos available. And at a lower-than-ever $700 off, it offers a fantastic value right now.
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QLEDs are a great mid-tier TV option, sandwiched firmly between cheaper LEDs and premium OLEDs—but there's a wide range within that QLED category, too. The Hisense E7SF QLED is in the low to mid-range of that category, but with its 46% discount, the price is much lower. Amazon currently has the 100-inch Hisense E7SF QLED for $1,697.99 (originally $2,999.99), a new record-low price, according to price-tracking tools. The other sizes are all also seeing discounts, like the 65-inch E7SF QLED, which is down to $599.99 (originally $999.99). These discounts are especially notable given this TV came out in April of 2026.
The first thing you'll notice about the Hisense E7 is how thin and lightweight it is. It comes with four HDMI ports, including one with eARC support for connecting a soundbar and two that support a native 144Hz refresh rate for smoother gaming. Like most new TVs these days, it'll be 4K and have AI modes that improve picture quality. This will be most noticeable when watching sports; the TV will recognize the content and automatically switch the picture settings to sports mode. Because this is a Fire TV, it'll come with built-in Alexa+, which is a nice touch for those already in the Alexa ecosystem. You can also install Kodi to watch virtually anything for free.
Another standout feature is the support for Dolby Vision IQ and Dolby Atmos, which can make your streaming much more immersive as your TV adapts its picture in real time to its environment and gives you a 3D surround-sound experience (if you have a sound system). For its price, this is an excellent choice for someone looking to upgrade their TV to a new 2026 QLED without breaking the bank.
Apple's new HomeView smart hub is fun. It looks like a cross between an iMac G4 and an Apple Watch, especially if you opt for the one with the stand—which you should probably do, seeing as the wall-mounted option requires separate hardware purchases. If you have more than one Apple user in the house, it's certainly a tempting product. But as sleek as the HomeView looks, I can't help but wonder: Is this really a better decision than an iPad on a stand?
After all, you can already control smart devices from the Home app on your iPad, not to mention take FaceTime calls, play music, check the weather, etc. And, since it's an iPad, it's inherently more versatile than a device made as a smart hub. Would you be better off buying one of Apple's tablets with a stand, and calling a day? The short answer: maybe, but not necessarily. After thinking it through, it might not make sense for everyone to splurge on the iPad in this scenario.
Feature crossover between the HomeView and iPad
Despite being a new product, there's a lot of crossover between the HomeView and your average iPad. They both support FaceTime, and both place the camera along the top bezel—at least, if you have one of Apple's modern iPads. (For years, the company put the camera along the short side of the iPad, which meant it was always off-center for landscape video calls.) They both run the Home app, which means both can control your compatible smart devices. You can access Apple Music on both devices, as well as the Messages app. To that point, they both run some of the same first and third-party apps, including Calendar, Weather, Podcasts, and Find My, but it's a bit too early to know the full list of compatible apps. That said, Apple told The Verge that any app that works with CarPlay and supports audio and video streaming will appear on your HomeView if you have it on your iPhone or iPad.
Both devices also come with Safari. That's obvious on the iPad, but it's a welcome addition on the HomeView. I'm not seeing much about how Safari works on HomeView, however, other than the fact you can tap "Start Cooking" on a recipe you find in the browser to see the steps in a "streamlined format." While you can do many things on HomeView with simple gestures and voice commands, Apple also includes an on-screen keyboard here, so the iPad isn't the only device of the pair you can type on. Depending on the iPad, HomeView might actually be on-par power-wise, as well: Apple outfitted this device with the A18 chip, one generation newer than the A17 Pro in the iPad mini, and two generations newer than the chip in the A16 iPad. That runs Apple Intelligence and Siri AI, a big selling point for Apple with this device. Like other smart displays, the company wants you to ask Siri AI complex questions and make requests across your apps. That's something you can do on certain iPads too, as long as they support Apple's AI suite.
The iPad can do a lot the HomeView can't
It might sound like the HomeView and the iPad are surprisingly similar, but there's a wide array of features that are exclusive to Apple's dedicated tablet. Perhaps most importantly, you have a dedicated OS to work with on iPad. It might not be macOS, but you can run multiple apps side-by-side, including with desktop-like window management, if you'd like. Speaking of apps, you'll have many more options on iPad than on HomeView. It's great that there's third-party support on HomeView, but your iPad can also tap into the entire App Store; HomeView can't.
iPads have mouse and keybord support as well, in case you don't want to rely on gesture and touch controls for everything. There's also Apple Pencil support; optional, but useful. And while both devices have front-facing cameras, all iPads have rear cameras—some better than others, but they come in handy. If you're on a FaceTime call, you don't have to turn the entire device to show someone something in front of you. There's a host of other smaller features that may matter to some, but not all, like a USB-C port, or external drive support.
The HomeView has exclusive features of its own
On the flip side, there are perks you get with a HomeView that you just don't get on an iPad. While you can place an iPad on a stand in your kitchen, you won't be able to take advantage of HomeView's dedicated "faces." That includes the Home face, which puts all your smart devices on-screen in tiles. If your home is relatively smart, this is useful (not to mention sleek), and is a bit more streamlined than moseying over to the Home app on your iPad. To that point, HomeView's other faces make it stand out in your room: You can use it as a dynamic clock or calendar, with fun designs and effects. Even the Weather app's face looks better on HomeView than the Weather app on iPad.
The HomeView really shines if you have multiple people in your house—at least, on paper. Apple says the device can recognize up to six different users, and personalize the experience to each. You can have a custom Home Screen layout, and only be able to access your own data (like Messages); then, when a different member of your household looks at HomeView, they can access their personal setup. This type of personalization is great, and is sorely missing from the iPad. Hopefully, Apple adds profiles to iPadOS at some point in the future, like it does on macOS. Until then, HomeView offers a much better experience for multiple users.
HomeView also has the advantage when it comes to speakers—particularly if you buy the model with the stand. Apple says the screen comes with two full-range drivers, while the base has a down-firing woofer and two force-canceling passive radiators. If you opted for an iPad on a stand, you'd need some sort of external audio solution to match that, which would only increase your costs.
The HomeView's price actually makes sense
If you're torn on buying an iPad as a HomeView alternative, the cost might just be the decision maker here. Apple is pricing the HomeView on a stand at $299, which, to me, sounds a bit pricey at first. But you get a lot for that money, especially when you consider the other option: Apple's cheapest iPad is still quite expensive, retailing for $449. The iPad mini, which gives you a more comparable display size to the HomeView, is even more expensive. Your best bet would be to find a refurbished iPad, but even then, you're likely still spending more than the cost of the HomeView. That's before you factor in a stand, or even alternative audio solutions, like a Bluetooth speaker or HomePod mini.
If you plan to use your iPad as a dedicated tablet in addition to a smart home display, that additional cost might be worth it. After all, you can switch from taking FaceTime calls in the kitchen to sending emails, making music in GarageBand, or playing games like Minecraft and Stardew Valley. But if your main goal is finding a smart display that fits in well with your existing Apple ecosystem, the HomeView isn't a bad buy.
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Although October Prime Day is officially over, some significant deals on home-maintenance essentials are still available. One of the best is the Ecovacs Goat O1000 LiDAR Pro Robot Lawn Mower, now 37% off at an all-time low of $949.05 (originally $1,499.99).
The O1000 Pro can mow up to 0.25 acres and handle slopes of up to 45%, making it ideal for smaller suburban lawns that need regular upkeep. It uses LiDAR, a 3D time-of-flight sensor, and an AI camera to map and navigate, so it doesn't need perimeter wire or an RTK antenna. In the app, you can create zones and no-go areas, adjust cutting settings, and schedule mowing.
The built-in TruEdge trimmer is what sets it apart from many competitors. Unlike some robot mowers that still leave a strip for you to finish manually, this model has edge trimming integrated to reduce cleanup. Another perk is how quiet it is: The mower operates at just 61 dB (significantly quieter than a gas mower), though the trimmer can reach around 81 dB.
While it has a PIN and lift alarm, it doesn’t offer the same location-tracking protection as premium competitors, which could matter if your mower is accessible from the street. Still, if your lawn is a quarter acre or less, somewhat level, and regularly maintained, the wireless Ecovacs Goat O1000 LiDAR Pro Robot Lawn Mower can handle most of your weekly mowing needs—and is even more appealing at nearly $550 off.
Google announced the Fitbit Edge earlier this week, making it the company's first Fitbit with a screen since the Charge 6 was released in 2023. Pre-orders are open now, and the devices are expected to start shipping on Oct. 27.
The Fitbit Edge ($179.99) has features and a price that are right in between the Fitbit Air, which has no screen and retails for $99.99, and the Pixel Watch 5, a full-featured smartwatch that starts at $399.99.
You can pre-order the Fitbit Edge here. It comes in black with a black band, silver with a "fog" (gray) band, "champagne gold" with a salmon-pink band, and a metallic color they're calling "satin pyrite" with an olive green band. There's also a Steph Curry edition for $219.99 in gray and orange. The standard packages come with two bands, a small/medium that fits wrists 130 to 170 millimeters around, and a medium/large for wrists 170 to 210 millimeters. There are a few other bands available for an extra fee: an "active sport" band with larger holes for ventilation ($39.99), a magnetic band ($49.99), and a band with metal links ($149.99).
What's new in the Fitbit Edge
Unlike the screenless Fitbit Air, the Fitbit Edge adds its own GPS chipset, so you can track distance without bringing your phone, and an altimeter to detect elevation changes like hills. The latter also enables a "floors climbed" metric each day. The Fitbit Edge also has an ECG app, a morning report, and can control music playing on your phone no matter what app is playing it.
If you're upgrading from a Fitbit Charge 6, the Edge adds an altimeter and a morning report, and you'll be glad to see the music controls work for any music app, not just Youtube Music. The Edge is missing some features, though: With no NFC, it can't do tap-to-pay with Google Wallet. The Edge also does not have Google Maps directions at launch, although Google says these are coming soon. The EDA scan and stress tracking are also gone. (Personally, I'm glad about that. Stress tracking isn't accurate enough to be useful.)
Yesterday the MARQ Gen 3 turned up on Garmin's support pages, and today, the company has made it official. Garmin launched its third-generation luxury smartwatch collection, a lineup of six models priced from $2,500 to $3,100. That sure is a lot of money for a watch. Let's take a look at what exactly you get with the new Garmin MARQ Gen 3.
The new collection consists of the MARQ Athlete, Adventurer, Aviator, Commander, Golfer and Diver. Across all six, Garmin has moved to larger AMOLED displays, added LTE and satellite connectivity, expanded its mapping, and brought in its latest health and fitness features that I detail in my review of Garmin's other recent release, the Fenix 9 Pro.
The hardware follows the luxury formula the MARQ line is known for. Each watch has a 47 mm Grade 5 titanium case, a sapphire crystal lens, and a ceramic bezel inlay. Each is 15 mm thick and carries a 1.4-inch AMOLED display, up from 1.2 inches on the previous generation.
At the bottom of the range, the MARQ Athlete is the entry point at $2,500. It comes on a silicone strap with VO2 max markings on the bezel, and includes Garmin's full collection of running and training features. The MARQ Adventurer costs $2,700 and pairs an Italian leather strap with a compass bezel. This one is aimed at hiking, navigation and climbing, and includes preloaded ClimbPro information.
And so on: The remaining four models are each built around a specific pursuit, as MARQ variants have been since the line debuted. The MARQ Aviator is the flight-focused model, the MARQ Commander is the tactical one, the MARQ Golfer is built for the course, and the MARQ Diver is the one for the water. Garmin's pricing and strap details for these four sit between the Athlete's $2,500 and the $3,100 top of the range.
What else is new about the Garmin MARQ Gen 3?
In terms of software updates, the biggest addition is embedded inReach connectivity. All six watches support LTE calling, messaging and location sharing without a phone nearby, along with satellite messaging and emergency SOS through Garmin Response. Note: These services require a separate inReach subscription.
Garmin has also added a speaker, a microphone, and an LED flashlight. Other upgrades include the ECG app in supported regions, newer health and recovery metrics, and worldwide TopoActive maps with address search. Storage has jumped from 32GB to 128GB, and battery life reaches up to 18 days in smartwatch mode, or seven days with the always-on display enabled.
How the MARQ compares to non-luxury Garmins
What's most exciting is how these changes bring the MARQ much closer to Garmin's latest high-end sports watches, as opposed to being more of an aesthetic purchase. Previously, MARQ buyers were paying a considerable premium for hardware that lacked some features already available elsewhere in the range. Honestly, the earlier MARQ was, in effect, a fancy-materials version of a watch you could get for less, with fewer capabilities.
Now, the MARQ Gen 3 is finally a watch that tops the Garmin lineup with all the features of a Fenix. And for the first time, the MARQ has pluses the Fenix doesn't, like increased storage and on-device mapping features. The question of whether such premium price Garmin has set is worth it? That's still up for debate.
You just finished running a race, but your watch disagrees with the official distance and timing. Which should you trust? While race organizers can screw up their distance or timing, they usually don't. Let's look at how races are measured and why they may disagree with your watch—which happens more often than you might realize.
How races measure your time
Before we compare a watch time to an official race time, we need to know what kind of official race time we're looking at. There are two different numbers you might see from a race: gun time and chip time. They may differ from each other and from your watch. Here's where each comes from:
Chip time
Chip time, also sometimes called net time, is the time from when you personally cross the start line until you personally cross the finish line. This is the time that matters for most of us.
Chips measure your personal start and finish because big races often have a crowd at the start line. If you’re running a big-city marathon, it could be 10 minutes or more of waiting and then slowly moseying forward with the crowd before you are able to cross the start line. In that case, your marathon could have a 4:40:00 gun time and a 4:30:00 chip time.
The “chip” in the name refers to a computer chip that is usually embedded in your racing bib (the numbers you pin to your shirt). The timing system registers a data point whenever you cross a timing mat on the ground. There is a timing mat at the start and another at the end of the race. (Longer races like marathons and half-marathons may also have timing mats at a few checkpoints along the way, such as the halfway point.)
Gun time
Gun time is the time from when the race starts (often signaled by a starting pistol, hence “gun”) until you cross the finish line. This is also sometimes called clock time.
If you are trying to actually win the race, you may need to care about gun time. Sometimes the rules specify that the person who wins the race is the person who crosses the finish line first, regardless of when they crossed the start line. If you are an elite athlete who is in the running to win a big race, you’ll generally work out arrangements with the race organizer to be at the actual start line when the race starts, so that the gun time accurately reflects how long it took you to run the race.
But for the rest of us, gun time doesn’t matter at all. The exception is if you are in a very small local race that doesn’t use chip timing, or that only has one mat at the finish line (no mat at the start). In that case, only a gun time will be reported, and no chip time.
Watch time
Watch time is the name I’m using here for the time you see on your wristwatch, or in your running app after the fact. If you start and end the timer exactly when you cross the start and finish lines, and never pause it in between, in theory, it should be the same as the chip time. All the major brands of running watches and smartwatches do an accurate-enough job in most situations. But you shouldn't trust it too much—let me explain why.
As I mentioned above, gun time only matters if there is no chip time, if you’re trying to win an award in a race that uses gun times for awards, or if you’re trying to qualify for the Olympics.
Use the chip time anytime you’re telling someone what you ran, or when you’re keeping track of your personal bests (PBs). (Only use a watch time if you ran a race with no chip time, and even then make sure to use your actual total time between the start and finish lines, no pausing. In that case, you're not trusting the watch over the chip time; you're just using it to estimate a missing chip time.)
Watch time should be the same as chip time if you started and stopped your watch at the start and finish lines. But it’s often not. Some of the reasons your watch time might be wrong:
Your watch auto-pauses. This is a convenient setting on training runs, if you often stop for a water break or to wait to cross a street. Your watch will pause your run when you stop, and resume recording when you move again. But during a race, stops aren’t free! If you stop to spend two minutes in a porta-potty, that’s still part of your race time.
Your app (such as Strava) might report a “moving” time. Same idea as above, but it happens even if your watch recorded the whole thing. For example, on one longish run I did, I remember stopping to tie my shoe. Strava shows this run as taking 1:17:02. But if I scroll down through the numbers it gives, I can also see an elapsed time of 1:17:28. I guess it took me 26 seconds to tie my shoe.
On Strava, you can make your elapsed time show up first by selecting Edit Activity and then changing Type of Run to Race. If I do that on my shoe-tying run, the elapsed time with the extra 26 seconds shows up on that Strava activity.
There is one other reason why your official race result might not make sense, even if it’s a chip time and it’s showing the same as your watch’s elapsed time: Every now and then, a race organizer fucks up.
One time, I was running a 2K race (1.2 miles) and was expecting a finish time somewhere between nine and 10 minutes. My watch registered a number in that range, but I knew it was probably off by a few seconds. When I checked the official results shortly after crossing the finish line, I had a time of 12:29, about three minutes longer than I was expecting! And in this case, I had started near the start line (it was a small, local race), so I couldn’t blame a gun/chip time difference. Turns out the timing service had accidentally added three minutes to everyone’s times. They noticed the error pretty quickly, though, and my official time was soon updated to 9:29. (I got an age group medal that day, and wrote my time on the back, which is why I remember it all these years later.)
So if your official race result is way off, consider speaking to the race organizer. There may have been an error that affects everybody, or they may only have a gun time and not a chip time.
How races measure distance
There’s one other consideration here: not just the time on your watch, but the distance. You may find that your watch’s time was within a few seconds of your chip time, but the distance seems wrong—usually too long. Or if you upload your run to Strava, you may find that the notorious "Strava tax" has been applied, appearing to shave off a bit of distance. (My best 5K in the last few years was recorded on Strava as 4.99 kilometers and thus didn't update my 5K PR. Am I mad? OK, yes.)
The first thing to check is whether the race course was certified. (Most are.) The process of certifying a race course ensures that the course has been measured to be the correct distance. And that distance is nearly guaranteed to be shorter than most runners actually run. So, yes, you will probably run a smidge longer than 3.1 miles in a 5K (3.1 mile) race!
You can read the USATF course certification guidelines here. Of particular interest is this part: "A race course is defined by the shortest possible route that a runner could take and not be disqualified. A given runner might not follow the shortest possible route…[t]he actual path of any given runner is irrelevant. The shortest possible route is a reasonably well-defined and unambiguous route that ensures all runners will run at least the stated race distance." (Emphasis theirs.)
How does one find the shortest possible route? "You might envision the shortest possible route as a string, stretched tightly along the course so that it comes within 30 cm (one foot) of all corners, straight through S-turns, and diagonally between corners when crossing a street. You should measure the course following the same route as that hypothetical string." In addition, there is a 0.1% correction factor added to the measured distance, to ensure “that your course will not be short, even if you make small errors in following the shortest possible route.”
The only time your smartwatch’s distance should make you doubt the course measurement is if your watch thinks you covered a significantly shorter distance than the advertised length of the race. In that case, check your map to see if the GPS route looks like the route you actually ran. If you had poor GPS accuracy, your watch (or phone) might draw a line that cuts a corner that you did not actually cut.
If your map looks correct, but your distance is still short, it’s worth checking with other runners to see if they had a short distance as well. Mistakes in course measurement or signage are rare, but they happen! The San Francisco Marathon accidentally shaved half a mile off its half-marathon course once. If you think your race course was short, contact the race organizer.
What counts as my PB?
Your PB, or personal best, can be whatever you want it to be in your heart. But if you want to brag about your times or compare them with other runners, you'll want to talk about chip time.
This is where the distance issue comes up. Maybe you finished your first 5K in 30:03 chip time, but your watch congratulated you on a 5K PR of 28:59. What gives? Check the distance, and you might see that your total race distance was 3.22 miles, with 28:59 being the time it took you to hit 3.1 (at which point the finish line was in sight, but you weren't actually done with the race). Sorry, but you didn't officially run a sub-30 5K.
This is why we distinguish race PBs from training PBs. The race course's timing is more accurate, and its certified distance is more accurate than your GPS even though the actual route that you personally run may be a bit longer than the certified distance. People tend to hit PBs at races because that's when you're the best prepared for a big effort and you have a crowd cheering you on. But the distance being potentially longer than advertised means that it is more of an accomplishment to run a "5K" race in a certain time than to run exactly five kilometers in that time.
So when another runner asks for your 5K time, they mean a race. You can proudly and accurately cite your chip time—in our example, 30:03. But you could also add: "My best training PB for that distance is 28:59, so I know I'm going to break 30 minutes officially soon." You will. I believe in you.
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Having a powerful monitor with high-end specs can make gaming more immersive and make input lag as small as possible, which is helpful for any serious gamer looking for an edge over their opponents. The Samsung Odyssey G9 is a 49-inch gaming monitor with some impressive specs, including a 240Hz refresh rate and a 1 ms response time. It's available for $797.99 (originally $1,299.99 at launch), $502 off and the lowest price it has reached this year, according to price-checking tools.
The Odyssey G9 came out in January 2024 as a refresh of the QLED Odyssey G9, sporting a new stand, HDMI 2.1, a black design, and a cheaper listing price (the 2020 version launched at $1,479). In addition to the low response time and high refresh rate, this monitor has NVIDIA’s and AMD’s adaptive sync technologies. Its huge 49-inch diagonal screen has a sharp curvature of 1000R and a 178-degree viewing angle. Because of its curve, the monitor measures 11.5 inches front to back, so make sure you have enough space on your desk before buying.
The VA screen panel has a 5,120 by 1,440 resolution with a 32:9 aspect ratio, which is equivalent to two side-by-side 2,560 x 1,440 monitors. Since this isn't the OLED version, it can get brighter, reaching 1,000 nits of brightness while still giving you a good contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. You can swivel, tilt, and adjust the height of the monitor.
If you're an Xbox Series X or PS5 gamer, be mindful of the output at 16:9, meaning you'll have empty space on the sides of the screen. Try the even bigger Odyssey Neo G9 if this one isn't enough.
Apple's "Welcome Home" event has come and gone. Unlike the company's recent iPhone event, this one wasn't livestreamed. Instead, Apple invited select members of the media to see the announcements firsthand in New York City. Concurrently, the company posted all of its updates to its Newsroom. If you weren't at the event in person (I wasn't), you can check out everything that's new below—including a look at the company's first smart hub, new Apple TV 4Ks and HomePod minis, and a new line of smart home devices.
Apple HomeView is the company's first dedicated smart hub
Without a doubt, the biggest announcement of the day is the new "Apple HomeView." This is Apple's first dedicated smart hub, complete with a seven-inch square display attached to a domed speaker by a stainless steel hinge. While it doesn't resemble anything in Apple's current collection of devices, it is vaguely reminiscent of the iMac G4. Like Apple's other screens, the display comes with True Tone, and while it reaches a respectable 500 nits of brightness, it can also drop to as low as 0.3 nits, which Apple says makes it great for nightstands. It is also selling a display-only HomeView that mounts to your wall.
Apple isn't positioning HomeView as a personal device—the smart hub can recognize up to six people, so each member of a household can set their own Home Screens with custom apps and widgets, while shared data (like photos and music) can be accessed by anyone, even guests. Apple also designed Apple Watch-like faces for HomeView: You can customize your HomeView face to include things like calendars, clocks, full-screen images, the weather, and more.
Like other smart hubs, HomeView uses an AI assistant to answer questions and run tasks. As such, it seems well-timed with the launch of Apple's new Siri AI. If you have an Apple Intelligence-compatible iPhone or iPad, you can ask Siri AI to take action in the app or pull relevant info from Messages, Calendar, and Apple Music. Any conversation you have with Siri on HomeView syncs across the Siri app on your other devices.
Apple is also touting the HomeView's speakers. The company says the device has two custom full-range drivers in the display, as well as a down-firing woofer and two force-cancelling passive radiators in the base. You can stream audio and video from Apple's many services, including Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Apple News, Apple TV, as well as some third-party apps. If you have more than one HomeView, HomePod, or AirPlay-compatible device, you can beam audio to all. It even works with Handoff, so if you're listening to or watching something on your iPhone, you can pick it up on your HomePod.
The HomeView's greatest strength might be as an always-available FaceTime receiver. It has a camera built into the top bezel with Center Stage, which makes it easier to stay in frame when walking around the room. HomeView can read your messages and let you respond with your voice, but there's also an on-screen keyboard. If you have other HomeViews or HomePods, you can use Intercom to send an audio message to everyone in the house.
This is a smart hub, so HomeView comes with a smart home dashboard to control all of your smart devices. You can check on video feeds (including up to nine at once), adjust lights, or change the thermostat, in addition to a number of other tasks. Apple is adamant that the A18 chip in the HomeView, including its Secure Enclave, ensures all data passing through the device is protected. It even notes that personal data, like Messages, is not accessible until the user verifies themself via Face ID.
How much will the Apple HomeView cost?
Apple is charging $299 for HomeView or HomeView (Wall Mounted). If you choose the latter, you can pick from three different wall-mounting options, each sold separately. You can preorder either starting today. A note: You need an iPhone or iPad running iOS 27.2 or iPadOS 27.2 or later to use the HomeView, so don't order one if you don't.
Apple also announced its next-generation Apple TV 4K this morning. At first glance, you wouldn't know anything's changed. Both the Apple TV and its remote look just about the same as the previous model. But the major changes are inside, not out. Apple is positioning this Apple TV 4K as a home hub of its own, pairing an upgraded processor with Siri AI to offer new smart capabilities.
Like other smart devices, you can ask Siri AI on Apple TV 4K questions in natural language and get results in kind. Apple says you can request things like "What Apple TV shows won at the Emmy Awards this year?" or "What are some nature documentaries available on Apple TV?" While watching content, you can ask Siri AI about what's on screen, including questions like "Where was Pluribus filmed?" or "Is this movie appropriate for a 14-year-old?" Apple says Apple TV 4K won't stop your content to answer a question; it will place answers in a subtle overlay, so you can keep watching while getting your answer. Apple even recommends trying to control Apple TV 4K hands-free now, which I suppose is a response to complaints about how easy it is to lose the remote.
If you do lose the remote, you're in luck: It now comes with Find My support with Precision Finding. You can play a sound on the remote from your iPhone to make it easier to find, or you can get guided directions to know exactly where it is. (Spoilers: It's between your couch cushions. It's always between your couch cushions.)
Inside, the Apple TV 4K runs Apple's A19 chip, which Apple says improves the CPU performance by up to 50% and offers up to double the GPU performance of the previous model. Apple says the new Apple TV 4K offers a new AV1 decoder, which should improve the quality of streams while using less data. You can also pair the new Apple TV 4K with four speakers if you have Apple's new HomePod mini 2 (more on that below). Apple's AI calibrates the speakers to your space by analyzing their position in your room.
While Apple would love for you to buy a HomeView too, you can also control all your smart devices from the new Apple TV 4K. You can see who's at your front door and unlock it if necessary, and even set the Apple TV 4K to guest mode if you want your friends to be able to adjust the lights when you're not around.
How much is the new Apple TV 4K?
Apple's newest Apple TV 4K starts at $299, or $49.83 for six months. You can pre-order it today, and it will go on sale starting Friday, Nov. 13.
HomePod mini 2 has an upgraded chip and cute new colors
Credit: Apple
Apple's second-generation HomePod mini is now official. While the new HomePod mini 2 isn't as radical a change as the HomeView or even the Apple TV 4K, it does have some upgraded hardware and comes in new colors: pink, green, blue, white, and midnight.
Apple says the new HomePod mini 2 comes with its S10 chip, quite an upgrade from the S5 chip used in the original HomePod mini. While we'll need to wait for testing to confirm sound quality, Apple says the S10 chip powers the mini's new computational audio, which automatically optimizes things like dynamic range, loudness, and acoustics to fit your space. As mentioned above, you can now pair four HomePods together with the Apple TV 4K, including any assortment of HomePods and HomePod mini 2s.
While the original HomePod mini has a glowing touchpad, the new HomePod mini 2 takes it a step further with "Sound Glow." This new feature glows and pulses in sync with your audio, and reacts to both bass and treble in real time. Sound Glow pulls the color scheme from the current album art. Of course, this announcement is all about smart home, so Apple also touted how you can control your smart home from your HomePod mini 2 as well. You can ask Siri AI on the speaker to configure your smart home devices, and you can find manual controls from the Home app as well.
Apple Home Collection includes third-party devices designed to work together
Credit: Apple
Finally, there's "Apple Home Collection." This is a series of devices not made by Apple, but by partner companies that now sell their devices through Apple. The idea is that these devices were all designed with Apple's smart home experience in mind, which means you can buy them knowing they'll work with HomeView, Apple TV 4K, and the HomePod mini 2. (Apple also seems quite proud of how each device matches the company's overall look.) Here's what's in the collection:
LG Video Doorbell: This doorbell has dual cameras (one 2.5K camera, one 1080p camera), a built-in spotlight, and a chime that plays on HomeView, HomePod, and HomePod mini. ($249.95).
LG Floodlight Cam: This camera comes with dual floodlights that automatically turn on when it detects motion. It also supports low-light color night vision. ($399.95.)
LG Outdoor Cam: This camera supports low-light color night vision with flexible angles. ($299.95.)
LG Indoor Cam: This camera can automatically adjust itself, including tilting out of frame when someone comes home. ($199.95.)
LG Smart Deadbolt Lock: This lock uses Ultra Wideband to automatically unlock when the user approaches it. You can also tap to unlock with your iPhone or Apple Watch, use the hardware keypad, or use the hidden physical key slot. The lock alerts users if it detects tampering. ($349.95.)
Smart Thermostat: Apple is working with both LG and Schneider to sell two different thermostats. Schenider's is square, while LG's is round. Both pull from iPhone data to automatically adjust the temperature based on certain scenarios, such as whether anyone is home, time of day, or user preferences. There are also optional temperature and humidity sensors. ($199.95 per thermostat, $39.95 per sensor.)
With an iCloud+ plan, you can access up to 10 days of video event history, with automatic video descriptions and summaries of those events. You can use natural language to search your event history for specific clips, and there are built-in storage options to retain data when a connection goes down.
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The DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Creator Combo is currently down to $495 from $629, saving you $134 and bringing the bundle to its lowest price ever, according to price trackers. That's a decent discount if you've been considering a dedicated camera for vlogging, travel videos, or social media content, particularly since the Creator Combo includes accessories you'd otherwise have to buy separately—along with the camera, you get a DJI Mic 2 transmitter for clearer voice recordings, a battery handle for longer shooting sessions, and a mini tripod that comes in handy when you want to film yourself without holding the camera.
As for the camera itself, it uses a one-inch (Type 1) sensor that handles dim light better than earlier Pocket models and records 4K video at up to 120fps, so you can capture everything from everyday vlogs to slow-motion footage. And because it has a three-axis mechanical gimbal, you can walk around while filming without ending up with shaky footage, while the wide 20mm-equivalent lens gives you enough room to fit yourself and your surroundings into the frame. Its rotating two-inch touchscreen also makes switching between horizontal videos for YouTube and vertical clips for Instagram fairly simple.
PCMag also praised its natural-looking color profiles, while more experienced creators can use 10-bit D-Log M for greater control over colors during editing. Audio gets similar attention, as the camera records in stereo and connects directly to up to two DJI Mic 2 or Mic Mini transmitters, so the bundled transmitter clipped to your collar keeps your voice clear during an interview or a walk down a busy street. Its main limitation is durability: It isn't weatherproof or particularly rugged, so rain, dust, and rough handling are concerns. You'll also need a microSD card for storage, and there's no HDMI output.
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Ever since I got my power station, I've been sleeping a bit better whenever a storm comes through, confident I'm covered if my power goes out. Power stations are pricey, so the best time to get one is during a sale, and not when a storm is imminent or the food in your fridge is spoiling from a power outage.
Right now is a good time to buy: The Anker SOLIX S2000 is 46% off, landing at $649.99 (originally $1,199). The S200 is great for anyone who lives in an area that is prone to losing power or in need of a compact but powerful portable power station they can take camping. It can power an average fridge for 35 hours, according to Anker, which gives you an idea of how powerful it is.
Don't let the size or weight of the Solix S2000 fool you. Although it's small, at 8.2 × 11.1 × 12.7 inches (LWH), and relative light, weighing in at around 36 pounds, it has a battery capacity of 2,010 Wh. According to PCMag's "excellent" review, the Solix S2000 delivers an unusually high percentage of its rated capacity while consuming remarkably little idle power on intermittent loads like refrigerators and routers. It's very quiet while operating, and the Anker app is one of the best power station apps I've used.
There are two AC outlets in the back and three more on the front. There are also two USB-C ports in the front, along with a USB-A port and a solar port that will allow you to attach an optional Anker solar panel to recharge the unit.
To give you an idea of how long you can expect to have the S2000 last, if you were to use this power station and charge it every day, it would give you about 15 years of use (10,000 charge cycles) before the battery becomes severely affected. That's a long lifespan for a small power station. If you don't have a solution to power your home essentials in an emergency, this is a great option at a huge 46% discount.
Proton Pass is the password management app from privacy-focused Proton (whose suite of tools also includes Proton Mail and Proton VPN). Whether you're already a Proton user or are looking for a new password manager to securely store your credentials and other data, these are the tips and tricks that will help you get the most out of Proton Pass.
Create a separate shareable vault in Proton Pass for guests
Password managers offer a secure alternative to writing down wifi passwords and other logins or sending them via text. In Proton Pass, you can create a separate vault specifically for your home and share a limited list of credentials—such as guest wifi, smart lock codes, and streaming information—with visitors. Vaults can be set as view only, and you can revoke access at any time. Users without a Proton Pass account receive a shared link, which can be set to expire after a specific amount of time or number of views.
Build an emergency kit vault in Proton Pass to share with trusted contacts
Another use case for separate vaults is as an "in case of emergency" selection of items that you can share with trusted contacts. For paid users, Proton Pass has a dedicated emergency access feature, which lets up to five contacts of your choice get into your account after a dedicated waiting period in the event of your illness or death. Alternatively, you can set up a vault that contains only specific items, such as logins or secure notes, and share it with those who may need the information if you are incapacitated or unreachable. Remember that guest access can be set to expire or revoked at any time.
Use custom hidden fields to protect security answers and PIN codes
When you create an item in Proton Pass, you have the option to add custom fields, which allow you to save additional information relevant to your credential, such as text notes and 2FA codes. You can also select a Hidden field, which masks the text by default until you reveal it (similar to how passwords are masked). This prevents someone from looking over your shoulder and catching sight of sensitive information, such as security question answers and PINs. Custom fields are available on paid Proton plans.
Create burner identities for online shopping by combining email aliases and virtual cards
A Proton Pass selling point is its hide-my-email alias feature, which generates a unique email address when you sign up for a new account. Email aliases forward to your main inbox, but they prevent you from having to share your real address, essentially creating burner identities that you can use for online shopping, newsletters or promotional lists, and other activity that you don't want tied to your personal email. Free users get 10 hide-my-email aliases, while those on paid plans have an unlimited number. While Proton Pass doesn't yet have an integrated virtual card option like 1Password, you can use a service like Privacy.com or Revolut to create single-use or merchant-locked payment cards that protect your real account information.
Add custom descriptions to hide-my-email aliases to track who is selling your data
Another benefit of hide-my-email aliases is that you can find out who is selling your data (again, without compromising your personal email address). When you generate an alias, add a custom text field with notes on exactly what the address is being used for. If you start receiving marketing emails or spam to that alias, you'll know where that compromise came from. You can then disable the alias instantly within Proton Pass.
Add multiple login URLs to one master entry to avoid duplicate accounts in Proton Pass
Some employers, universities, and service providers have multiple URLs for accessing online portals, but you use the same credentials across all of them. Instead of cluttering your vault with duplicate entries, you can add multiple URLs to an item so Proton Pass will autofill that item across all of them. This also prevents an issue where you have to update a password and then remember to sync it across duplicate items. When you edit an entry, simply tap Add in the Website box.
Recover old credentials using item history in Proton Pass
Proton Pass stores a history of your saved items so you can see previous passwords and information that's since been changed. This makes it easy to revert back to earlier versions if you encounter an error when updating a credential. You have access to the last 50 versions of an item on paid plans, and you can restore earlier versions to be the current version directly from the item history.
Switch password generation to passphrase for secure but easy-to-type credentials
When you create a new credential, Proton Pass can randomly generate a strong password to match site requirements. Alternatively, you can opt for passphrases, which are strings of words separated by hyphens (or another symbol). These are still highly secure but much easier to remember and type than a random string of letters, numbers, and symbols. Passphrases can be useful on accounts for which you have to manually enter your credentials.
Enable Extra Password to provide an additional layer of protection to your Proton Pass vault
When you sign up for Proton Pass, you start by creating a global Proton account that works across Proton apps. You should, of course, make this password highly secure and enable multi-factor authentication, but you may also want to set up a password specifically for your Proton Pass vault(s) so even if your Proton account is somehow compromised, your credentials remain protected. You'll find this option under Settings > Security > Extra password on the browser extension and under Profile > Account name > Manage account on the mobile app. Note that if you forget or lose this password, you won't be able to access your Pass account.
Use notes and attachments to create an encrypted document vault in Proton Pass
Some of the best password managers can double as encrypted storage vaults, meaning you can upload sensitive documents that you don't want to entrust to other cloud services that may be more susceptible to compromise. Proton Pass includes 1 GB of storage on its free plan and 10 GB for paid users. You can create secure notes and attach uploaded files to any item in your vault.
Is the treadmill harder or easier than running outdoors? Survey runners, and you’ll get plenty of different opinions on which feels harder or easier, but the basic physics of running are the same on both. (I promise.) So why do people who are used to treadmills find that they’re suddenly slower when they run outdoors? I’m going to run through the factors that are at play here, and talk about how to adapt if you want to be able to enjoy both.
Why treadmills sometimes feel harder than running outside
If you find treadmill running harder, you probably already know the reason: It’s boring. You have nothing to distract you from your own effort and the glowing numbers telling you how little progress you’ve made. This is a problem that we can train our brains to solve for us over time, whether with distractions, mindfulness, or simply being grateful that we’re not outdoors in the bad weather.
The treadmill does not move your feet
Physics-wise, running on a treadmill is pretty much identical to running outdoors in identical conditions. It is not true that the treadmill "moves your feet," as I have seen runners claim. Running is the action of pushing off the ground to move yourself forward relative to the ground. If the “treadmill moves your feet” theory were correct, would we not have to consider the rotating Earth its own sort of treadmill? And thus it would be 2,000 times harder to run west than to run east?
In reality, you have to spend just as much effort to stay in place on a treadmill going 6.5 miles per hour, as you do to move forward at 6.5 miles per hour on flat, steady ground. In other words: in both scenarios, you are asking your muscles to push off with a force that will keep you moving 6.5 mph faster than the ground. Physics is not the reason why the treadmill feels different.
You only need to add a 1% incline if you are running very fast
Then there’s the issue of wind resistance. Some runners will say you need to set the treadmill’s incline to 0.5% or 1% to mimic outdoor air resistance. Even on a calm day, your body has to push into the air to keep moving. Adding a small incline to the treadmill is supposed to mimic that extra effort.
But that is only true if you run at a pace of 7:30 per mile (8.0 mph) or faster. Below that, “the difference is so small as to be meaningless,” a scientist who studied the question told Runner’s World. So if you’re jogging at 6 mph, you don’t have to worry about accounting for wind resistance. Now that we understand the physics, let’s talk about why treadmill runs often feel easier than outdoor runs.
The treadmill may feel easier because it handles the pacing
Pacing is probably the biggest factor (aside from weather) in why outdoor running feels harder for a person who is used to treadmill running. On the treadmill, you decide on a pace, punch it in to the treadmill, and then you'll keep going at that pace whether you're thinking about it or not.
But outdoors, you don't know when you start what pace you're running. Even if you're relying on a watch to tell you your current pace, it can take a moment to catch up and give you the correct numbers. It's easy to take off a little too fast, especially if you have a good song playing or you're excited to get the workout going (or over with).
So you, the treadmill runner, head off on an outdoor run without a good sense of how fast you’re going, and maybe you find yourself tired out a few minutes in. Meanwhile, outdoor runners learn to develop a sense of pace out of necessity. They know you have to listen to your body, not just look at a number, to know whether you're running at a pace you can sustain for the whole workout. Fortunately, you can learn this skill! Just run outdoors at least some of the time, and pay attention to your breathing and effort level.
The treadmill has no weather
If all your treadmill runs are inside of a 68-degree gym, they’ll all feel pretty similar. But the great outdoors is fond of blessing us with heat, wind, humidity, rain, snow, ice, and similar complications.
Heat slows us down a lot, especially if we aren’t used to it. (You do build up some heat adaptation throughout the summer.) Humidity, in combination with heat, makes this even worse. Your body can’t cool itself as well through sweating, so you get hot and stay hot. It’s normal for your pace on a hot day to be anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes slower each mile.
Heavy winds can also slow you down (when you’re running into the wind) or speed you up (when you’re running with the wind at your back). Ice can make you slow down to watch your footing. Snow can make you work harder as your feet sink into the ground and you have to fight to pull them back up again.
On the other hand, a cool, dry day is better for your performance than the conditions inside a sweaty gym. Perfect running weather is (in my opinion) around 50 degrees, calm, and overcast. Most people will run a lot faster and feel better in those conditions than on a treadmill at room temperature.
The treadmill has no unexpected hills
If you live in a pancake-flat part of the country, you can skip this section. But many of us live where there are hills. Big ones, little ones, maybe some mountains. On the treadmill, you get to choose what incline to run with. Outdoors, your choices may be limited.
I live in a hilly place, so even my “flat” outdoor routes aren’t entirely flat. A regulation running track is my only truly flat option. Even gently rolling hills can add up over the course of a long run, making you work harder on the uphills without ever fully giving you that speed back on the downhills.
The treadmill has a more predictable surface
A treadmill only has one surface. Every step meets flat ground. Every step is the same softness or hardness. Outdoors, there’s so much more variation.
Even on a simple city run, you’ll find yourself traversing curbs, slightly tilted sidewalk slabs, cambered edges of roads, pebbles, stray garbage, and occasional patches of grass or dirt. Take your run to the trails and you’ll also hit packed dirt, mud, soft grass, leaf litter, rocks, sticks, logs, little streams you have to hop over, ruts carved by mountain bike wheels—you get the idea. Your feet have to land and push off just a little differently for each of these.
The variety in outdoor running is good for your feet, but it can be fatiguing on the small muscles of your feet and lower legs if you’re not used to it.
How to train for an outdoor race if you prefer to run on the treadmill
It’s OK to do plenty of your training on a treadmill, even if you're training for an outdoor race, and in some situations it may be necessary. The treadmill can let you get your training in when the weather is bad, when you can’t line up child care at your running times, or any number of other reasons.
The important thing is to still run outdoors at least sometimes. If you’re training for a marathon, try to do your long runs outdoors, even if some of your shorter runs and speedwork have to be on the treadmill. Get outside when you can. That way, you’re adapting to the weather, training your feet on different surfaces, and building the muscles and mindset necessary to tackle hills.
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