Home Office Setup & Equipment

Over the years, Apple Music has improved its algorithmic playlists. There's now an AI DJ, and you can use ChatGPT to generate playlists. With iOS 26.4, which is currently in beta, Apple wants you to make playlists with its own AI tech. The upcoming update includes a feature called "Playlist Playground," which lets you generate AI playlists directly in the Apple Music app—as long as you're running iOS 26.4. How to download and install iOS 26.4 I do not recommend installing and running beta versions of iOS on your primary iPhone. Beta software is unfinished, which means you could run into bugs and glitches that may impact how you use your iPhone, or even result in data los…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Garmin is known for its GPS smartwatches designed for rugged outdoor adventures and camping trips. The Garmin Instinct 2X Solar Tactical Watch is one of the brand’s best solar-charged options—an right now, it’s 40% off on Amazon, dropping its price from $499.99 to $299.99. Garmin Instinct Solar 2X Tactical Watch $299.99 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. On paper, the Samsung Galaxy S26 lineup seems like a pretty standard upgrade. The phones have received a new chip, some new AI features, slight bumps to the battery life and charging speeds (depending on your model), and even a fancy new gimmick in the Privacy Display. But once you add one of these new handsets to your cart, you'll notice another detail that's changed: Two of the Galaxy S26 phones cost $100 more than their Galaxy S25 counterparts did at launch last year. We were all hoping it wouldn't happen, but as AI demand makes components like storage, memory and even displays more expensive, the first major tech lau…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. This morning, upstart smart glasses company Even Realities launched Even Hub, an open app store and developer platform for its G2 line of display style smart glasses. This could be the first salvo in a war between open- and closed-platform display smart glasses. On one side is Meta. The Goliath of the smart glasses market has thus far taken a completely closed approached to its newish Display glasses: Meta decides what your smart glasses can do and determines what apps you can access. The David to Meta's Goliath is Even Realities, a boutique tech company that just launched a storefront with over 50 apps made by third-pa…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Attention Kindle readers: Amazon may soon end support for your e-reader. Now, if you recently acquired a Kindle—recently meaning anytime in the past 10 years—you don't need to worry. But for anyone who is still rocking an older Kindle, you might be affected. The news started spreading on Tuesday, followed by a confirmation from Amazon. In a statement to PCMag, Amazon said the following: “Starting May 20, 2026, customers using Kindle and Kindle Fire devices released in 2012 and earlier will no longer be able to purchase, borrow, or download new content via the Kindle Store.” Amazon's first ever Kindle dropped back in 200…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Bose knows how to make products that last, and very much follows the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mantra. Take the Bose SoundLink Micro: Released in 2017, it was such a hit, the company waited until last September to introduce a second generation. And right now, you can get the Bose SoundLink Micro (2nd Gen) from Amazon for $99 (originally $129), the lowest price it has reached anywhere, according to price-tracking tools. Bose New SoundLink Micro Portable Bluetooth Speaker (2nd Gen) …

If you mostly use Reddit on a desktop browser, you probably have no issue jumping from subreddit to subreddit. On mobile, it's a different story: Reddit really wants you to use its mobile app, and it makes that clear with pop-ups whenever you access the site in your browser. If you'd rather not download another app onto your phone, dismissing the pop-ups is easy enough—until it isn't. That's the situation this week. Some users accessing the Reddit home page or jumping directly to individual posts on the mobile site are running into a new roadblock that stops their browsing in its tracks. Things seem normal when first loading up a thread, but as you start scrolling, a lar…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The new Google Fitbit Air is finally out. It costs $99.99, but if you pre-order by May 25, Google is offering $35 in Google Store credit after your order ships. The watch also comes with three months of Google Health Premium, which unlocks a wide range of Gemini-powered AI coaching features. Compared to Whoop-style trackers, which the watch is designed after, this is an especially appealing offer since Whoop’s premium plans start at $199 a year, depending on the region. Google Fitbit Air $64.99 …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. As the average running watch gets increasingly high-tech, there’s a new normal for pre-race rituals: Staring at your watch the week before a big event, hoping the algorithm has good news for you. Both Garmin and Strava offer race time predictions, but how accurate are they, really? I put each platform to the test during the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 16, 2026. Here’s what I experienced, and what I think every runner needs to know about what these tools actually measure. How Garmin's Race Predictor works Garmin's Race Predictor has been a fixture on its mid-range and advanced running devices for more than a decade. T…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Earlier this month, I strapped on two different Garmin watches to race a 10K—a mid-range model on one wrist, a premium one on the other—to see how they stacked up. This time, I branched outside of Garmin's ecosystem. For the Brooklyn Half-Marathon, I wore the Garmin Forerunner 970 ($749.99) on my right wrist and the Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro ($449.99) on my left, pitting one of the most trusted running watches in the game against Amazfit's more affordable and most ambitious claim to the long-distance running space. Here's how it went. Garmin® Forerunner® 970, Premiu…

We all get enough spam messages these days that we can avoid the obvious scams: If an unknown number texts you asking for money, or a spammy email address warns you about a computer virus, you'll likely delete them and move on. But if the message comes from a company you trust, like Microsoft, with a legitimate email address at that, you wouldn't be blamed for assuming that email was real. In this specific case, however, it's not, and you should be wary when interacting with it. As reported by TechCrunch's Zach Whittaker, scammers are sending emails from a legitimate internal Microsoft email address: msonlineservicesteam@microsoftonline.com. Microsoft uses this address …

It's 2025, and Google is now bringing its own agentic AI feature to the Gemini app. While the company has discussed agentic AI prototypes before, it now seems ready to take them mainstream. At the Google I/O 2025 keynote, Google discussed how the new feature can go out on the web on its own and perform tasks for you. Just like OpenAI's Operator, it can take a prompt, make a checklist of things that need to be done, and then do them for you. According to Google, Agent Mode combines features like live web browsing and deep research with data integration from Google apps to accomplish its online tasks. The model is supposedly capable of executing multistep actions, start t…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Along with display-style glasses, Meta's 2025 line of smart spectacles includes a new version of Oakley Meta glasses. Called Vanguard, these shield-style smart glasses will cost $499 and go on sale Oct. 21. Vanguards feature a wrap-around frame and a 12MP camera that shoots 3K video from a center-mounted camera that can be operated hands-free. According to Meta, Vanguard glasses have a battery life of up to nine hours of daily use, improved audio, and (of course) integration with Meta's AI. At the company's Meta Connect 2025 keynote, the company also announced partnerships with Garmin and Strava. Garmin users will be abl…

You know the feeling. You sit down to work on something important, and within minutes, your hand is reaching for your phone. Maybe it buzzed. Maybe it didn't. Either way, you're suddenly 20 minutes deep into Instagram Reels or doomscrolling through news you'd rather not read. When you finally look up, your focus is shattered, and you can't quite remember what you were doing in the first place. If this sounds familiar, you're not alone. The average American now spends over six hours a day staring at screens, with much of that time devoted to mindless scrolling on smartphones. I don't go a day without lamenting my "phone addiction" and vanishing attention span. If smartph…

For me, part of the appeal of TikTok is seeing smaller, less polished videos from people who don't fashion themselves as influencers. But what do I know? The company has announced it is holding its first U.S. awards show later this year. It seems the Oscars-ification of short form video is here. In a blog over on the TikTok site, the company said the show, fittingly called the TikTok Awards, will be held in the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles on Dec. 18, 2025, and will "honor the creators who have inspired, entertained, and connected communities across the country." To that end, the site also says it will invite users to "vote for their favorite creators" starting on N…

If 2024 was the year podcasts scrambled to find their footing after the massive wave of acquisitions and consolidation during the pandemic, 2025 is the year the medium truly hit its stride (and I should know...I not only write a podcast newsletter and run a podcast company, I also listen to literally thousands of hours of podcasts every year). Whatever kind of show you're seeking—from a scripted story about demon possession, to a deeply reported investigation into outlaws at sea, to a brilliantly improvised comedy series—my guide to the best podcasts of 2025 has you covered. I've divided the list into categories to help you find exactly what you’re in the mood for—and b…

Rewarding yourself can backfire. If you tell yourself, “I’ll only listen to my favorite podcast while I’m at the gym,” it takes just one moment of weakness to realize you can cheat and listen to it any time you want. Instead, try this: Reward yourself with something that has no enjoyment value whatsoever. Like a checkmark on your calendar. I first heard this tip from writer Tim Clare’s podcast. If you want to stay motivated, he says, the reward has to be so crappy that you’re not actually working for the reward. He said that he puts a checkmark on his calendar every day he writes, and at the end of the week enough checkmarks earn a gold star. The same approach has worke…

It's easy to take this for granted, but not everyone is able to immediately look at a shooting or strategy game and find the reticle or map. Gaming UIs can get complicated, and for less-seasoned gamers, they can be pretty intimidating, too. Lenovo's new concept "AI Frame" monitor, shown off at CES 2026, aims to make some games a bit more approachable, although experts might consider it cheating. Hardware-wise, this is a normal 21:9 ultrawide gaming monitor, but it's not actually meant to be used like that. Instead, you play your game in a left-justified 16:9 rectangle that takes up most of the screen, and in the remaining space, the AI will automatically zoom in on part …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Living in a comfortable, heated house is something a lot of us take for granted. When the cold weather hits, we just put on thick socks, turn up the thermostat (or take other steps), and go about our business. But most modern homes rely on the electrical grid to keep that heat flowing. Even if your home is heated by natural gas or heating oil, there’s most likely an electric component to your heating system. That means that when the power goes out—say, in the middle of a fierce blizzard—so does your heat. Even recently built homes can lose interior heat pretty quickly, dropping to uncomfortable (and even unsafe) temperat…

Customers of automated investment platform Betterment are being targeted with a cryptocurrency rewards scam following a data breach that allowed threat actors to obtain some user data and send fake emails promising huge returns on Bitcoin and Ethereum deposits. According to a Jan. 12 security update posted on Betterment's website (and sent to users via email), hackers gained unauthorized access on Jan. 9 to a third-party platform used for marketing and operations. Following the breach, they sent fraudulent messages to some customers with offers to triple crypto investments. Betterment crypto rewards scamThe scam emails were sent to Betterment users on Jan. 9, soon after…

Yesterday, your phone might have been borderline unusable—at least, when you were away from wifi. That was due to Verizon's nationwide outage, which impacted roughly two million customers across the United States. If you were among them, you couldn't use your phone when you were on the go, which is sort of the idea behind cellphones in general. This included the ability to use navigation apps in your car, send emails or messages for work, or make calls outside of SOS mode, which basically limited you to emergency services. Worse, some users are still experiencing issues this morning following Verizon's official resolution, though there's likely a quick fix for that. I d…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. I've been testing portable projectors for a bunch of different use cases, but few, if any, have come close to the complete package offered by the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro. It's my favorite of the lot, and right now, you can get a sweet bundle with the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro portable projector and the PowerBase Stand (which you do honestly need) for $368.99, down from $500 at release. This is its all-time low price, according to price-tracking tools. XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro Bundle …

Selling a house is one of the largest transactions most of us will ever make. Considering how much you’ve invested in the place in terms of both money and sweat equity, it’s natural to want to get as much profit from the sale as possible. One strategy to maximize profits that most real estate professionals will recommend is staging: temporarily dressing, furnishing, and arranging the home to make it as appealing as possible. Staging works—it’s been shown to speed up the time to sale and to increase the sale price of a house. But it’s not magic—there’s a specific psychology to staging a house that you have to keep in mind, especially if you’re choosing to do it yourself i…

A useful feature baked into iOS 26 is the ability to autofill credit cards stored in Apple Wallet across apps and browsers. If you don't use a password manager (which you absolutely should), AutoFill via Apple Wallet saves you the trouble of having to manually enter your credit card information every time you want to make a purchase on your phone. Even if you have a password manager, though, not all plans allow payment card storage and autofilling, and the feature can be clunky on those that do. As 9to5Mac points out, AutoFill for credit cards was already available in Safari and is now supported systemwide, managed through Apple Wallet. How to set up and use AutoFill in…

Spotify is about much more than music these days, and nothing makes that clearer than the company's recent commitment to books—not just audiobooks, but old-school paper ones. Today, Spotify announced it's coming hard for Amazon's Kindle and Audible businesses, and will soon start selling physical copies of books in addition to audiobooks. Starting today, the company is also introducing "Page Match," a feature that allows you to use your phone's camera to instantly sync an audiobook with either a physical book, or one you're reading on an e-reader. How you'll buy physical books through Spotify Spotify's physical book sales infrastructure isn't quite ready yet, but the mer…