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ReviewsLaptops
HP’s MacBook Rival Has a Lot to Love, but the Thermals Are Terrifying
Sometimes the only thing differentiating a gaming laptop from a workstation laptop is the aesthetic. A lot of gaming laptops are dressed in a deep, matte black and accented with an RGB keyboard, or the air vents resemble a muscle car rear end. Mobile workstations blend into the coffee shop environment much more subtlety, only … Continued
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ReviewsHome EntertainmentSoundbars
Roku’s Streambar Is a Sandwich-Sized Soundbar Powerhouse
Most TVs these days can be improved with a soundbar—even a budget bar. But a soundbar that also doubles as a premium streaming device will check multiple boxes for people looking for both, particularly if their older sticks or boxes are no longer getting software updates that support newer streaming services. If this is you, … Continued
By Catie Keck -
ReviewsHome EntertainmentSet-top Boxes
The $50 Chromecast with Google TV Is the Best and Smartest Streaming Dongle for the Money
For the past few years, I never felt like I understood Google’s approach to streaming video. It vexed me, I was terribly vexxed. That’s because while Google was happy to provide Android TV to partners like Sony, Hisense, Nvidia, Xiaomi, and others for use in TVs and streaming video boxes, when it came to Google’s … Continued
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ReviewsOther Gadgets
If the Future of Skincare Is AI-Generated Serums, I’ll Pass
On Instagram, I am besieged with ads for personalized skincare and hair care. Curology, Skintelli, Proven, Skinsei, Prose, Function of Beauty—you name it, and I have been targeted by it. The general gist is that either via a selfie, quiz, or sometimes even a form of DNA testing, I can get a direct order beauty … Continued
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ReviewsSmart Home
The Roomba i3+ Brilliantly Tamed My Pet Hair-Covered Home
For the entirety of the two years I’ve coexisted with my dog, Cila, my house—previously a stronghold of order and peace—morphed into a wasteland of blonde fur tumbleweeds that materialized as if by magic, even when I’d spent the entire afternoon prior cleaning the space from top to bottom. I’d assumed that short of vacuuming … Continued
By Catie Keck -
ReviewsHeadphonesBeats
The Beats Flex Are the Best Cheap Bluetooth Earbuds You Can Buy
Cheap Bluetooth earbuds are usually very shitty. You have to make trade-offs for the lower price tag, which means that, depending on the earbuds, you end up sacrificing battery life, audio quality, or Bluetooth performance. But after nearly a week of using the $50 Beats Flex, I can’t find a single downside. These earbuds are … Continued
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ReviewsPhonesGoogle
Google Is Bucking Trends with the Pixel 5, and It’s Awesome
Ever since Google bought a big chunk of HTC and began integrating its U.S. and Taiwan teams (the Pixel 3a was the first Pixel primarily designed in Taiwan), it’s felt like Google has been a bit confused about the Pixel’s direction. Two years ago we got a large Pixel with dual selfie cams and a … Continued
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ReviewsHome EntertainmentSpeakers
The Best Bluetooth Speaker for $100 or Less
These days, finding the perfect Bluetooth speaker can feel a bit like looking for a needle in a very large haystack—particularly in the budget category. Any big box store will have dozens of options to choose from, and attempting to find one in a sea of products on Amazon is nothing short of daunting. Plus, … Continued
By Catie Keck -
ReviewsFirst Look
The Fujifilm X-S10 Is a Fun, Beginner-Friendly Take on One of the Best Mirrorless Cameras
Fujifilm’s X-T4 is one of the best APS-C cameras on the market. However, for people just getting into photography, Fujifilm’s old-school dial layout can be a little intimidating, so on the new X-S10, Fujifilm took the X-T4’s guts and crammed them into an even lighter and more compact beginner-friendly body. I know that for a … Continued
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ReviewsPhonesOnePlus
The OnePlus 8T Is a Solid Phone, But OnePlus Needs to Level Up
Over the last couple of years, OnePlus has sort of had the “budget flagship” phone segment to itself, offering well-built phones with top-notch specs for hundreds less than its traditional high-end competitors. However, with the price of premium phones having risen to $1,000 (or more), especially in 2020, many mainstream phone makers like Samsung and … Continued
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ReviewsPhonesSamsung
The Galaxy S20 FE Is the More Affordable Samsung Phone You Really Want
When Samsung chose the Galaxy S20 FE’s name (FE stands for Fan Edition), it did so because FE tested better in focus groups compared to other tags like “Lite” that normally get slapped on slightly cheaper budget flagship devices. But you know what? I’m kind of OK with that slice of corporate nonsense because it’s … Continued
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ReviewsCamerasMirrorless
The Sony A7Siii Is a Dreamy Video Monster
The original A7Siii was my first Sony camera. I got it when I set out to travel the country in a van because I wanted a full-frame camera that could handle photo and video in low light, because I knew I’d never carry a flash. Over the years, as I shifted more and more toward … Continued
By Brent Rose -
ReviewsOther Gadgets
The Future of Male Sextech Sounds Like a Bike Pump
The Arcwave Ion, a new sex toy from a company called Wow Tech, promises a different kind of male orgasm. They deliver… kind of. BTW, friends, this review is NSFW. Wow Tech makes the disgustingly-named Womanizer, a popular ladies toy that uses vibration and suction to directly stimulate the clitoris. The product, which took the … Continued
By John Biggs -
ReviewsPhonesAsus
You Might Not Like It, But the ROG Phone 3 Is What Peak Android Performance Looks Like
The ROG Phone 3 is big, it’s heavy, and it’s got more vents and RGB lighting than most people are probably comfortable seeing on a mobile device. But if you’re a gamer or you just want the absolute best performance you can get from an Android phone, like it or not, Asus’ unapologetically aggressive handset … Continued
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ReviewsLaptopsGaming Laptops
Gateway’s Back With an Imperfect But Delightful Budget Gaming Laptop
I have fond memories of late 90s and early 2000s Gateway computers. Sure, they were my dad’s preferred PC brand. So by proxy, it was ours until us kids went to college. But they were reliable, inexpensive machines. We didn’t need the latest and greatest when our social lives revolved around what we could do with … Continued