Home Office Setup & Equipment

Since their initial launch in 2016, Apple has released nine iteration of the AirPods, from the now iconic white earbuds, to the upgraded AirPods Pro, to the the AirPods Max, Apple's pricey take on over-the-ear headphones. Whatever the model, however, these things are meant to be simple: You open the case, tap a prompt on your iPhone, and presto, your AirPods are ready to go. Despite their ease of use, however, AirPods are packed with features and settings you can adjust to your liking. Here are 10 hacks you should know if you own a pair Apple's headphones, whether standard, Pro, or Max. (A note: Whenever I refer to "AirPods settings" in this article, I am generally refe…

Hyrox classes are popping up everywhere, and there are a few massive Hyrox races planned in various U.S. cities this year. I am (I say with some trepidation) signed up for one of them. So here's a breakdown of what Hyrox is, why people like it, and what to expect if you decide to give it a try. At the end I'll go through a couple of common questions people have. Hyrox’s origins (and what "Hyrox" means) Hyrox is a young sport, and was started by a company that holds a trademark for the name. In that way it’s a bit like Crossfit, which is also a trademarked name for a specific company, not just a term for a style of working out. It’s been said that Hyrox is short for “hy…

Apple brought RCS (Rich Communication Services) messaging to the iPhone with iOS 18 last year, giving green-bubble users access to more features and functions. But what exactly is possible with RCS on the iPhone, and what is still exclusive to iMessage users? Are Android RCS users now fully integrated into chats in the iOS Messages app or not? I'll lay out exactly what you can do in RCS chats between iPhones and Android phones, and explain which features are still missing—and when you might be able to get them. If you've got contacts on other mobile platforms, this should help you understand more about what the experience is like from their end. To use RCS, you must have…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Apple Watch Series 11 is a step up from the 10 in all the ways that matter. It has a longer battery life and tiny tweaks that make a big difference, like a brighter screen, greater durability, and new software features. Right now, the Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS 42mm) is down 25% to $299 (originally $399), marking its lowest price ever on Amazon. Apple Watch Series 11 (GPS 42mm) …

Since ChatGPT kicked off the generative AI revolution in 2022, it seems like every company under the sun has tried to stuff AI features into their products in one way or another. Sometimes, these features can be useful; often, they're not, only serving as proof these companies are "keeping up with the times." Can you even say you're a tech company if you aren't all-in on AI in 2026? There's nothing wrong with companies offering AI features to users, so long as they also offer easy ways to disable them. Some customers don't want AI in their day-to-day products, but, anecdotally, I know many do not. Give us an off switch though, and it's all good. The issue is when these f…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Ever since Google acquired Fitbit, it has managed to improve its Pixel Watch series. The Google Pixel Watch 2 is a great mix of the Fitbit health-tracking features and Google's tech-heavy smartwatch and is a capable smartwatch option for Android users even in 2025. After Google announced the Pixel Watch 3 along with the Pixel 9 and Pixel Buds Pro 2 last summer, the predecessor received a hefty discount. Right now, the LTE Google Pixel Watch 2 is $199.99 (originally $399.99 at release), matching the lowest price it has been on Amazon since its Octo…

I am extremely concerned about the prevalence of AI content on our social media feeds. Now that just about anyone can generate hyper-realistic videos with a simple text prompt, I fear that disinformation will rise exponentially, distorting worldviews faster than algorithms have so far been able to do. So you can imagine how I feel about Meta's plans to add a "huge corpus" of AI content to its feeds. Good luck out there, everyone. That's directly from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg himself. In a Meta Platforms, Inc. earnings call on Wednesday, Zuckerberg confirmed the company's plans to add this self-described huge corpus of content, thanks to how easy AI makes it to create an…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. In the years since the launch of ChatGPT, AI tools have developed a bad reputation in the academic world for how easy they make it for students to cheat, passing off the work of a large language model as their own. Even if an LLM can produce writing for you that doesn't come off as unnatural and riddled with hallucinations, you'll be shortchanging yourself, because you won't actually absorb any of the material. But that's not to say these tools serve no purpose in the academic world. If used correctly,…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Pixel 9 is the latest series of the Google Pixel phone lineup. They were released late last summer along with the 9 Pro and Pro XL, while the budget Pixel 9a came out earlier this year. If you're looking for the latest middle-of-the-pack Pixel, the 128 GB unlocked Pixel 9 is just $639.99 (originally $799) after a $160 discount, the second-lowest price it has been since its release, according to price-tracking tools. Google Pixel 9 (128 GB) Storage: 12…

Big news for runners with an Apple Watch: You can now follow Strava routes directly from your wrist. Route navigation on Strava-compatible watches isn't exactly new technology—it's just been inexplicably absent from Apple's platform until now. In a Reddit post from Strava's product team, the news was welcomed by runners, cyclists, and hikers who've long wondered why their Apple Watch couldn't do what Garmin and Coros devices have offered for years. What's new with Strava's Apple Watch appThe core update here is users can now view maps directly on their Apple Watch during activities, seeing both where they're headed and how to backtrack if they take a wrong turn. For subs…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As a marathon runner, I've always taken a minimalist (read: cheap) approach to my gear. But when it comes to properly investing in—and maybe even splurging on—running gear, nothing is more important than your shoes. According to Jessica Lyons-Quirk, director of footwear merchandising at Road Runner Sports, wearing proper footwear is crucial for staying injury-free: "The biggest thing about injuries and foot health is that you need to be in the right shoe for your foot—every foot is different." So as you're racking up miles and incorporating different types of runs into your training, is one pair of sneakers really getting…

Malicious extensions do occasionally find their way into the Chrome Web Store (and similar libraries in other browsers) by posing as legitimate add-ons. They are particularly difficult to catch when they are benign to begin with, only morphing into malware after gaining user trust. That's what happened with a number of extensions on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge: researchers at Koi Security identified add-ons across both browsers that operated legitimately for several years before receiving malicious updates that allow hackers to surveil users and collect and exfiltrate sensitive data. The scheme, known as ShadyPanda, reached four million downloads and is still activ…

When it's time to buy a new car, you don't necessarily need to stick with the one you had before. You don't lose your cloud-based photos by switching from Toyota to Subaru, nor will your friends yell at you for ruining the group chat by buying a Kia. That's not the case with smartphones: When you buy an iPhone, it's tough to switch away from it. The same goes for Android: While it's easy enough to switch within the Android ecosystem, such as between Pixel or Galaxy, moving from Android to iPhone can also be a pain. Tech companies tend to make it tempting to stick with their platform, and introduce friction when you try to leave. That, of course, is entirely business-bas…

AI isn't coming for your job. Probably? Look, it's complicated. And anyone who has ever played around with a chatbot has likely asked themselves, "This is what they want to replace a human with?" It's a valid concern, because generative AI chatbots like Google's Gemini aren't super useful. To my surprise, though, Gemini's Canvas feature can be. I will say up front, I'm coming at this as a generative AI skeptic, but I'm also not an AI doomer. There are some situations—like creating alt text for images to boost accessibility—where AI-based tools can come in handy. I prefer to find where tools can be genuinely useful, and ignore the noise. To that end, Gemini's Canvas is the…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve ever thought about practicing a new language, then put it off because an owl got too passive-aggressive, this Rosetta Stone deal might be more your speed. StackSocial is offering a lifetime subscription to Rosetta Stone for $179.99 right now, down from its usual $399. That’s a pretty deep cut for anyone curious about dipping into Spanish, French, Korean, or even something less commonly studied, like Irish or Farsi. You can access 25 languages in total, though you can only use one at a time. You can switch between them anytime, making it …

Earlier this year, OpenAI announced ChatGPT apps. Not the ChatGPT app, mind you: That's been out for more than a couple years now. ChatGPT apps, on the other hand, are programs that work within ChatGPT. You can access them in any given conversation with ChatGPT—in fact, they may appear based on the context of the conversation. These aren't necessarily apps that OpenAI builds itself, either; rather, you'll find options here based on apps you may use yourself. The initial batch of apps included with the feature's rollout included Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Figma, Expedia, Spotify, and Zillow—big apps you've likely used before. While in a conversation with ChatGPT, yo…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. If you’ve been eyeing premium wireless earbuds but don’t want to shell out big bucks, this deal on the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds might catch your attention. Originally priced at $279.95, they’re now going for $89.99 on Woot—but only for two weeks or until they're sold out. Plus, Prime members get free standard shipping, while others will have to pay $6 (just a heads up—this sale is only available in the contiguous U.S., and free shipping isn’t available for Alaska, Hawaii, or PO boxes). You also get a two-year Sennheiser manufact…

If you're a Pixel owner, you may want to update your settings for Phone by Google. 9to5Google reports that a handful of users have experienced a bug with the Take a Message feature that records and sends audio to callers as they are leaving a voicemail. Take a Message is a recently introduced feature for the Phone app that activates when the recipient is not available to answer (or declines the incoming call). The caller hears the following: “The person you have called is not available. Please leave a message after the tone.” If you, as the recipient, tap the Take a message notification on your device, you can see a transcript of the audio in real time and hit Answer if …

Every home needs upkeep and maintenance. Sometimes it can feel like you get one problem fixed, only to face another one. That can lead to tunnel vision, focusing on the present because you feel like there’s no time to worry about the future. But the future is coming, and if you don’t want to inordinately trouble your future self, there are several small steps you can take to make Future You a little happier. Record your paint Painting is an easy way to upgrade your house. Choosing the right color and sheen can be a project in itself, but once you get there you’ll have a space you feel comfortable in. Right as you start your paint project, snap photos of the can’s mixi…

If you were under the assumption that Siri was soon going to be supercharged with AI, you wouldn't be alone. In fact, Apple has advertised as much since last WWDC, showing off its ChatGPT-like assistant in commercials and promotional materials. It's been nearly a year since WWDC 2024, and that new Siri is still not here. The thing is, it likely won't be for a long time. How long is anyone's guess (I've been tracking the delays here), but one thing seems for certain: Apple is not showing off AI Siri at next month's WWDC 2025. Apple's AI program is a mess In Mark Gurman's latest piece for Bloomberg, he describes a chaotic situation regrading Apple's AI department. The …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Two months ago, I downloaded and started using the Steppin app, which locks up your most distracting apps and forces you to trade your real-world steps for them. After just three days, I was finding it enjoyable enough to review it, but now that I've spent 68 days with the app, I'm even more impressed. While it's still only available on iOS, an Android version is available on a waitlist and not much has changed in terms of interface or use since I first reviewed it, but I've found it much easier to navigate and incorporate into my life. My social media use is definitely down The app works by syncing with your Apple Heal…

Mother’s Day is supposed to be wholesome and sort of boring: some flowers, a Hallmark card, maybe doing some chores around the house for once. But the American version of Mother's Day wasn’t born in a garden. It was forged in the smoke and death of the Civil War, shaped by radical women, and became a battleground between profit and principle—a holiday so contentious its own creator devoted her life trying to destroy it. Mother's Day's history is dramatic as hell. The ancient ancestors of Mother's Day Moms have been around for a long time, and so have celebrations to honor them. These kinds of celebrations have been around at least since the ancient Greeks and Romans thr…

The internet is a wild place, and not particularly kid-friendly. Unfortunately, it's highly impractical to keep your kids entirely off the web. That's where family accounts come in handy: Parents can set their kids up with supervised accounts, giving them access to essential apps and services, without allowing unfettered access to the entire net. It's often imperfect, and kids find workarounds for the guardrails, but still; it's better than nothing. Every company that offers a family account handles things differently. Meta, for example, continues to update their policies in the wake of criticism surrounding how addictive and harmful their apps can be for children. Thes…

Picture-in-picture (PiP) is a great feature for us multitaskers. We have things to do, sure, but there are so many videos to watch, too. Why not kill two birds with one stone, and cross off our to-do lists with a floating media player in the corner of our screens? The thing about PiP, however, is it's not always the most convenient feature to use—especially on desktop. Usually, you need to learn how to activate it in the first place, which might entail a keyboard shortcut, or perhaps a double right-click to reveal a hidden menu. Unless your browser or app contains a convenient shortcut, it's often more of a hurdle than it should be. Contrast that with how it works on mobi…