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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Every model in the 2025 lineup of M4 MacBook Air laptops is currently marked down by $200 on Amazon, taking them to record-low prices. Of these, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air with 16GB unified memory and 256GB SSD storage is arguably the best MacBook Air for most people, and a great buy at $799 (originally $999). 13-inch M4 MacBook Air 16GB Unified Memory, 256GB SSD Storage, 12MP Center Stage Camera, Touch ID $799.00 at Amazon $999.00 Save $200.00 Get Deal Get Deal $799.00 at Amazon $999.00 Save $200.00 Although this is ostensibly the entry-level MacBook Air, it is well-equipped to last you for many years. It comes with 16GB of RAM standard, twice what the previous generation's basic model included. The 13.6-inch "Liquid Retina" display has a resolution of 2,560 by 1,664, a P3 wide color gamut, and a maximum brightness of 500 nits. You'll also get an excellent backlit keyboard with Touch ID, Wi-Fi 6E support, and great speakers and microphones. Apple even decided to bring back MagSafe charging with this laptop. The 12MP camera comes with the Center Stage, which follows your face as you move around the frame during video calls. The two USB-C ports are Thunderbolt 4 means you can extend to up to two 6K external monitors. For a "basic" laptop, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air offers incredible capabilities and features for the price, and is arguably a much better value than the Pro, according to Lifehacker Senior Tech Editor Jake Peterson. If you take into account the current discount, it really is the best all-around MacBook you can buy. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

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. iOS 26 has been out for a few days now, and with it, a bunch of convenient little tweaks to how you use your phone. Not everything’s a keeper, and I’ve already written about how to disable the new Liquid Glass transparency effects or fix Dark Mode icons that appear tilted. Still, there are things to like about this update, even if you have to go out of your way to turn some of them on. After spending a couple nights tweaking iOS 26 to my preferences, here are my favorite new features in Apple’s latest operating system. Resize the clockThis one works well with my iPhone 15 Pro’s always-on display. As a millennial, I don’t always have old-school clocks conveniently placed around my apartment. Instead, I’ll just carry my phone around with me and plop it down somewhere in my peripheral vision where I can quickly glance at the always-on display to check the time. The problem was, until now, the clock was tiny. With iOS 26, though, you can now resize the lock screen clock (and by extension, the always-on display clock). That makes for less wasted space on my screen, and makes it easier to see at a glance or from a distance. It’s a small change, but it’s probably made the biggest difference in how I actually use my phone. To resize your lock screen clock in iOS 26, simply navigate to your iPhone’s lock screen, then long press. Hit the customize button, and then drag the lower right corner of the clock widget until you’re satisfied with the clock’s size. Note that the resized clock will only work with the first available font. If you don’t see a selection frame around the clock widget’s lower right corner, you’ll first need to tap into it and change the font before you can resize it. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Also, as a bonus, depending on your wallpaper, you can trigger a depth effect by clicking the three-dots icon in the lower right corner. This will allow you to place some photo elements in front of the clock, which could hurt legibility but might be worth it to see more of your background, depending on your tastes. For instance, here are my cat’s ears appearing over my lock screen clock. The clock still appears unobstructed on my black always-on display (on the iPhone 14 Pro and up, you can change how your always-on display looks under Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On Display). Call screeningI pretty much never pick up phone calls anymore. As my grandparents used to say “if it’s important, they’ll call back.” That said, sometimes I do worry about missing a chat I really needed to have, or just coming across as rude. That’s where iOS 26’s new Call Screening feature comes in. Credit: Apple When enabled, under Settings > Apps > Phone > Screen Unknown Callers > Ask Reason for Calling, this will have your iPhone pick up calls from numbers you don’t know for you, then ask the caller their reason for calling. As they answer, a transcript of what they’re saying will appear on screen, and you’ll be able to pick up the phone if it seems important. I actually haven’t gotten a spam call since turning it on, so I haven’t personally tested it yet, but it seems like a great way to avoid spam while not worrying about missing something important along the way. And if you want to go nuclear, you could instead toggle on Silence instead of Ask Reason for Calling, which will simply send all calls from unknown numbers straight to voicemail. Note that Call Screening does not work for contacts, so you’ll still have to decide whether it’s worth picking up your long-winded uncle’s calls for yourself. The improved fitness appUntil now, the iPhone’s Fitness app has been useful for getting a summary of your fitness data, or for accessing Apple Fitness+ workout videos, but not for actually tracking workouts while you’re on a run or in the gym. Now, though, that’s changed. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt Once you’ve updated your phone to iOS 26, open the Fitness app. You’ll see a new Workout tab in the navigation bar towards the bottom. Tap it, and you’ll see a number of workouts that you can start right from your phone. These are all for outdoor exercises, like walking, running, cycling, and hiking. The idea is that, even if you don’t have a health tracker, your phone can use GPS data to estimate metrics for you (tapping on any of these will bring up a screen where your phone asks for location tracking permissions). But that’s not all you can do. If you pair your phone with a heart rate tracker, like the one built into the Apple Watch (although you’re not limited to Apple’s own peripherals for this), you’ll also get access to other workout types, like Indoor Run, Yoga, and High Intensity Interval Training. You’ll just need to wear your tracker while exercising. It doesn’t only work in the background, too. Start any workout, and you’ll see your metrics live on your phone while you’re exercising—no more peeking down at your smartwatch’s tiny screen to see your stats. This will also work for workouts started from your Apple Watch, as they’ll simply mirror to both the Fitness app and a Live Activity on your iPhone’s lock screen. Nice. Hold assistI have a trip coming up next week, and I need to call my pharmacy to get some prescription refills before I head out of town. Unfortunately, they love to leave me on hold for way too long. That’s where Apple’s new Hold Assist feature comes in. Credit: Apple With this, your iPhone will detect when you’ve been put on hold (by listening for cues like hold music), and will offer to hold the call for you so you can step away. Press the “Hold This Call?” button that pops up, and your call will shrink to a small pill towards the top of your screen. Audio will be muted, and you’ll be able to walk away or use your iPhone as usual. When the other line takes you off hold, they’ll get a short message saying Hold Assist is active, and you’ll get a notification along with a ring and/or vibration to let you know you can pick up the call again. You’ll also see a transcription of what the other person said while they waited for you to pick up. Hold Assist should be active for you by default after installing iOS 26, but to double check, simply navigate to Settings > Apps > Phone > Hold Assist Detection and ensure the toggle is enabled. A spam folder for the Messages appFinally, your iPhone will automatically sort away spam messages for you. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been getting so many scam texts as of late, like for unpaid traffic tickets (I don’t drive). Already, the new Spam folder in Messages has done a good job of keeping me from seeing these. Essentially, it works just like the Spam folder in Gmail. Simply open your Messages app, and you’ll probably notice fewer scam texts or solicitations in there. To see where they’ve all gone, click the three-lines icon in the top right corner, then the Spam folder. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt You’ll see any texts your iPhone has decided to mark as spam, as well as buttons to mark them all as read or simply delete them. Of course, be careful when looking at these messages—you probably don’t want to click any links in them. And that’s it. Note that, just like in Gmail, there is a chance for false positives, so you might want to check this folder if you’re expecting an important text and aren’t seeing it. If you leave a message in the Spam folder for more than 90 days, it will be deleted, but you can click Recover under a message you want to keep to send it back to the main text folder. Like with Hold Assist, spam filtering should be enabled for you by default, but to double check, head over to Settings > Apps > Messages > Unknown Senders and ensure the Filter Spam toggle is on. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. 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. The Eufy X10 Pro Omni is currently selling for $549.99 on Amazon, a steep drop from its $899.99 list price and the lowest it has gone for, according to price trackers.] Eufy X10 Pro Omni Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo $549.99 at Amazon $899.99 Save $350.00 Get Deal Get Deal $549.99 at Amazon $899.99 Save $350.00 It’s pitched as an all-in-one cleaning machine: it vacuums, mops, empties its own bin, and washes and dries its mop pads. On paper, that’s the dream—drop it in the corner, set a schedule, and let it handle the basics while you do anything else with your day. In practice, the X10 Pro Omni hits some impressive notes while missing others. Navigation is excellent, especially in tricky rooms where many robots get stuck or spin in circles. It hugs walls and edges well, even using a dedicated “edge-hugging” mop feature to clean right up against the wall (something most bots leave untouched). The dual mop pads also wiggle as they move, which does a better job of lifting dirt when you run multiple passes. Rugs and pet hair aren’t a big issue either, as long as the roller brush is clear. Where it stumbles is with larger debris and error recovery. If something small gets caught, it can throw the whole system into a loop of alerts and failed attempts to restart. This Lifehacker review notes that instead of recovering quickly, it sometimes spirals into repeated errors that need manual intervention. That leaves the X10 in an interesting spot. If your home mostly deals with dust, daily dirt, and the occasional hair tumbleweed, it can be a huge help. It’s especially appealing for homes with complicated layouts since its obstacle avoidance and pathfinding are among the best around. But if you’ve got kids dropping food or floors that collect bigger debris, this model may test your patience. At $549.99, you’re getting a feature-rich robot that nails navigation and edge mopping at a lower price than its rivals, but you’ll want to be realistic about what it can and can’t handle. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

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. iOS 26 is here, and with it, Apple’s “Liquid Glass” design revamp. Yesterday, I covered how to quickly undo most of the harshest changes that come with Liquid Glass, but a complaint users are making today requires an entirely separate fix. Luckily, there is an option that could help you, although it’s not for everyone. Dark Mode icons look a little tilted right nowAs users are posting over on Reddit, it turns out that Dark Mode app icons don’t play nicely with iOS 26’s new Liquid Glass aesthetic. How much this will bother you will vary from person to person, but essentially, some folks online (and on the Lifehacker team) are now complaining that their Dark Mode icons look tilted, as if they’re not perfectly dead center. Personally, I have a hard time seeing this when looking at my home screen as a whole, but after a colleague sent me a more zoomed-in shot, I can see how it would bother him. It’s an optical illusion, as the icon positioning is the same, but it’s there. Credit: Joel Cunningham The problem, it seems, is in new highlights added to certain, but not all, app icon corners while using Dark Mode. The uneven lighting produces an effect that, as reported by Lifehacker sister site Mashable, has some users complaining of dizziness. Worse yet, how prominent the highlights are depends on your background—I can see them more easily over dark parts of my background, but they tend to bleed into lighter parts. Technically, those highlights are also there when using app icons with lighter backgrounds, but they’re less noticeable, since they don’t contrast with them as much. Again, you may not be susceptible to the effect. If I’m not concentrating on it, I do tend to forget about it. But if it is bothering you, what can you do? Reducing transparency does nothingUnfortunately, the one-toggle fix that undoes most of the issues with Liquid Glass, “Reduce Transparency,” doesn’t seem to do anything for your app icons. Here’s my iPhone Home Screen with Reduce Transparency on, and the same screen with it off (please don’t judge my unread mail and unchecked reminders). iPhone Home Screen with Dark Mode app icons and Reduce Transparency off (left) vs. on (right) Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt That’s a shame, since Reduce Transparency is easy to implement: You just turn it on under Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, and it’ll get rid of most of the see-through elements in Liquid Glass for you. But because the icons are solid anyway, it won’t do anything here. Instead, you’ll need to get creative. Try tinting your app iconsRight now, I unfortunately don’t have a fix for Apple’s Dark Mode app icons. Even custom icons that use Apple’s Dark Mode background color will still have the new highlights. But I do have one piece of advice that will get you close to the same experience. It turns out, setting your app icons to Dark Mode isn’t the only way to get them to use more subdued colors. If Dark Mode looks ugly to you right now, you could try tinting your app icons instead. This gives your app icons a monochrome appearance with white or gray text, and while that does unfortunately mean losing out on app icons with more than two colors, it also means you can swap over to other dark colored backgrounds that might look a bit less tilted to you. The offending highlights will still be there, but with the right tinted background, you might be able to make them less noticeable. To try it out, head to your home screen, then long press until your apps start jiggling. Click Edit in the top left corner, then Customize. In the menu that pops up on the bottom of your screen, pick Tinted. You’ll get two color picker bars, as well as the option to choose Light or Dark icons (this is separate from the general Light and Dark mode app icons, which aren’t monochrome). Think of the top color picker bar as the app’s general color, and the bottom as a way to get more specific within that color zone. Meanwhile, Light will make the app’s text and graphical elements white, while Dark will use a more grayish tone. Credit: Michelle Ehrhardt You can play around here to get an app tint you like best, although Apple does have a few shortcut buttons to help you find the color for you. Personally, I like the leftmost button, under the color picker bars, that takes you to a standard black and white if you’ve selected Light or a more subdued black and dark gray if you’ve selected Dark. If neither of those work for you, there’s also an Apple Intelligence button that will try to pick a tint that goes well with your wallpaper, or an eyedropper that will let you pick a color from your wallpaper. None of this is quite the same as just using Dark Mode icons, but if you’re like me, it might be close enough. Or, wait for an updateIf tinting your app icons doesn’t work for you, though, don’t despair. It’s likely Apple is seeing these complaints and will adjust Liquid Glass accordingly. It already toned it down twice over iOS 26’s beta, so maybe the real solution here is time. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. The Eufy Video Smart Lock E330 is a multitasking three-in-one smart home device that combines a fingerprint-scanning smart lock, a 2K HD camera, and a video doorbell. Right now, it’s 37% off at Amazon, marking its lowest price in the past few months. If you want a multipurpose smart lock with a clean, minimalist aesthetic, this gadget has been vetted by PCMag, which dubbed the best smart lock of 2023. Eufy Video Smart Lock E330 $189.97 at Amazon $299.99 Save $110.02 Get Deal Get Deal $189.97 at Amazon $299.99 Save $110.02 You can unlock this thing in multiple ways: via fingerprint, by inserting a pin into the keypad, or by using an app or even voice control via Alexa and Google Assistant. (Of course, you can also stick a manual key into the keyhole, which is hidden behind the doorbell button.) The E330 has built-in WiFi and 8GB of local storage (no ongoing fees or subscription required). When paired with the Eufy HomeBase 3, you can expand storage up to 17TB. The 2K HD camera offers sharper image quality than 1080p video doorbells, and four infrared LEDs enable night vision. Intelligent motion detection and dual motion sensors help the device distinguish humans from vehicles, according to PCMag's review. It also has an IP65 weather resistance. Because the camera is housed in a lock located in the center of the door, the field of view may be more limited than a doorbell camera mounted above or to the side, and door jambs may also restrict the view. While the Eufy Video Smart Lock E330 is normally on the pricey side at $300, its current discount takes it down to $220. It even comes with all the tools you need to replace your old lock. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

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. Among competitors like Twitch and even Instagram, YouTube might not be the go-to name in livestreaming, but its latest features are doing their best to change that. Announced at Google’s Made on YouTube event today, the site will soon let streamers go live with simultaneous horizontal and vertical streams, plus use AI to automatically “clip that.” Oh, and there’s some new corporate cross-promotion, too. Stream horizontally and vertically at the same timeCurrently in testing and set to get a wider release “in the coming months,” YouTube’s combined support for horizontal and vertical streaming is probably the most exciting news to me here. I tend to put streams on in the background, and I much prefer doing that on a second monitor rather than on my phone. But with sites like TikTok getting more popular these days, plenty of streamers are eschewing more traditional platforms for them, meaning I’m likely to miss out on content unless I go looking for vertically oriented streams on my mobile device. Now, though, YouTube will let creators put out both horizontal versions of their streams, meant for larger screens, and vertical ones meant for smaller screens, at the same time. That means there’ll be less incentive to stick with a mobile-only platform to try to hop on the new trend, and users across all devices will be able to watch streams however they wish. Whether you’re watching the horizontal stream or the vertical one, you’ll be thrown into a chat room with everyone, and the streamer won’t have split view counts across different uploads. The vertical stream will just have a cropped or letterboxed view, as usual, depending on the content. It seems like a perfect solution, and I’m excited to see more creators trying it out once it’s available to them—finally, at least on YouTube, I won’t have to worry that I’m missing a stream from a favorite creator by not watching on my phone. AI-generated livestream highlightsMeanwhile, as for actually watching streams themselves, YouTube’s making it a bit easier for creators to create highlights from their streams. Personally, while I do have favorite creators, I’ll admit I don’t have the time to watch all of their content, and will often just sort through clips in my free time instead. Unfortunately, not everything gets clipped, because it takes manual effort to do that—that’s why you’ll sometimes see creators tell their fans to “clip that” after a memorable moment. Now, though, YouTube’s throwing some automation into the mix. Starting “in the next few weeks,” you’ll be able to task AI with sorting through your livestreams to automatically find highlights and turn them into YouTube shorts, which you’ll be able to check before uploading. It’s kind of become expected in some corners of the internet for stream clips to be uploaded via unofficial channels, since they currently need a bit of manual work. While I’ve seen streamers express appreciation to their fans for doing this, I also do worry that I’m not supporting the actual content creators enough by watching through these sources. Hopefully, the new tool will make it easier to see clips straight from creators themselves. Live reaction and streaming 'Playables' Credit: Google Finally, there are two additional features that are set to make it a lot easier to promote content via YouTube. The first is “React Live,” which will allow you to start a vertical livestream with content you’re watching in the upper half and your own feed in the bottom half. This will make it easier for creators to create reaction streams, without forcing them to capture video on their own, but it’ll only work with events and creators that allows their content to be reacted to. Still, if you like to watch tech keynotes alongside your favorite commentators, this should allow creators to start them up without bothering to independently license a stream first, assuming the company behind the keynote allows reaction streams. YouTube expects this to enter testing “early next year.” The second is the ability to stream YouTube’s “Playables” browser games with the touch of a button, again without needing to capture the gameplay yourself. Having played a bunch of these, I personally think the quality is all over the place, but it should be a good way to get started with streaming without worrying about tech or capture software. And there are a few noteworthy games in there, including Angry Birds Showdown and Cut the Rope. YouTube says this should come to some creators next month, ahead of a larger rollout later this year. Why does this matter?I’m personally thrilled to see YouTube drop a few barriers to streaming, both by making it easier to find content to react to, as well as to reach multiple types of viewers at once. In particular, the new updates seem designed to help the site cross the threshold between desktop and mobile without losing its existing audience, which is funny, given that one of YouTube’s top competitors just made it harder to stream on mobile. In order to go live on Instagram, as of one month ago, you now need to have a public account and at least 1,000 followers. That probably saves Instagram some server load, but also kills new talent right out of the door. With YouTube quickly catching up, it’s possible it could soon be eating Meta’s lunch. Will other streaming sites be next? View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. As someone who spends most of my training time pounding pavement in preparation for marathons, I'll admit that rowing has always felt like foreign territory. Sure, I'd hop on the occasional rowing machine at the gym for cross-training, but I never really got it. That all changed when I had the opportunity to test Hydrow's newest release—the Hydrow Arc Rower—which launched today with some seriously impressive AI-powered features. I’ve just begun testing it out, so stay tuned for my in-depth review of the Arc later this month. For now, here are my first impressions of Hydrow's latest high-tech rowing machine. Hydrow Arc Rower $2,295.00 at Hydrow Shop Now Shop Now $2,295.00 at Hydrow First impressionsRight out of the gate, the Arc feels like what I imagine would happen if Peloton decided to make a rowing machine. The build quality is immediately apparent. In other words, it feels high-end compared to the typical rower at your local gym. The touchscreen is large and crystal clear, and the overall aesthetic screams premium home fitness equipment. It's hard to do justice with my phone's camera, but the Arc's screen is big and beautiful. Credit: Meredith Dietz Because here's what struck me most as a runner: The motion is incredibly smooth and intuitive. I've used plenty of rowing machines at various gyms over the years, and there's usually this clunky, disconnected feeling. The Arc eliminates that entirely. The difference is like comparing a cheap stationary bike at your local gym to a high-end indoor cycling setup. The standout feature that sets the Arc apart is undoubtedly HydroMetrics, Hydrow's "proprietary strength measurement system." As someone obsessed with running metrics (pace, heart rate zones, cadence, you name it), I was immediately intrigued by the promise of intelligent scoring for rowing. Here's how it works: Complete at least two rowing workouts (longer than 5 minutes, excluding warm-ups and cool-downs). HydroMetrics analyzes your performance and provides scoring. Click "Tap for HydroMetrics" on your workout stats screen to dive deeper into your data. The AI-powered system helps you understand your performance and motivates continued progress toward strength goals. Here's where you can choose to see your AI-powered insights. Credit: Meredith Dietz Here's what HydroMetrics look like after a beginner workout. Credit: Meredith Dietz What impressed me most is how the system doesn't just throw numbers at you. As someone unfamiliar with rowing, I found it actually provides context and actionable insights. As a data-driven athlete, this resonated with me immediately. Learning proper form (finally)Another strong first impression: Hydrow's how-to videos are exceptional. As someone who has probably been embarrassing myself on rowing machines for years, these quick tutorials were eye-opening. They address questions I didn't even know I should be asking: Should my heels should lift during the motion? Am I properly driving power from my legs, or just yanking with my arms? The instruction quality makes me think about all those times I mindlessly hopped on a rower for a "quick cardio session" without any real technique. Now I understand why rowing never felt particularly effective for me before. Improving my form next to all my snacks. Credit: Meredith Dietz Personally, what excites me most about the Arc is its running-specific programming available in its catalogue. As marathon runners, we're always looking for effective cross-training that complements our running without adding unnecessary impact stress. Rowing checks all those boxes: It's low-impact, works different muscle groups, and provides excellent cardiovascular benefits. The Arc takes this a step further with dedicated running programs that seem designed specifically for people like me. After completing my first session, I immediately followed up with a five-minute yoga cool-down, and the seamless transition between activities felt natural within the ecosystem (another moment that makes me think of Peloton's ecosystem). Technical specs that matterIf you're already a fan of Hydrow or at-home rowing machines, here's what you need to know. The Arc shares the same footprint as Hydrow's flagship Origin Rower (formerly the Pro), but packs significantly more processing power under the hood. Allegedly the improved hardware supports the constant AI advances that power features like HydroMetrics, provides more memory for smoother operation, and delivers better audio through upgraded speakers. The 24" touchscreen display is also an upgrade worth writing home about. It's way easier to work out with so many video options delivered in such a quality viewing experience. But let's be honest about the drawbacks. This machine is substantial. It's a whopping 147 pounds, measuring 86"L x 25"W x 48"H. We're talking serious equipment here, not something you casually tuck in a corner. While there is a vertical storage option, the Arc is definitely best suited for people with dedicated home gym space. Living in a tiny Brooklyn apartment, I found myself wishing I had more room to make this a permanent fixture. The other consideration is price and commitment. This is premium equipment with a premium price tag, and you'll want to make sure you're actually going to use it consistently to justify the $2,295 investment. More on that in my official review, coming soon. Bottom line: This could be my cross-training obsessionAfter several sessions on the Arc, I'm genuinely excited about incorporating rowing into my training routine in a more meaningful way. The combination of proper instruction, intelligent metrics, and running-specific programming addresses every complaint I've had about traditional rowing machines. Like with Peloton for cycling, it's not just about having a machine at home; it's about having access to a comprehensive training ecosystem that understands and supports your goals. The AI-powered features like HydroMetrics provide the kind of data-driven feedback that serious runners appreciate, while the instructional content ensures you're actually getting the most out of each session. If you have the space and budget for premium home fitness equipment, the Arc deserves serious consideration as your next training investment. I'm still in the early stages of testing the Arc, and I'll be providing more detailed insights as I continue to explore its features and programs over the coming weeks. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Amazon's Prime Day 2025 sale was its biggest ever, stretching for four days this past July—but the company is not done with your wallet yet. The fall version of the mega-sale, known as Prime Big Deal Days, is just around the corner. Here is everything you need to know to prepare for the fall's biggest sale (at least until Black Friday rolls around. What is Prime Big Deal Days?You can think of Prime Big Deal Days as fall's answer to Prime Day. It's a two-day sale with deals in virtually every category you can think of. While Prime Day is the bigger sale of the two, Prime Big Deal Days has grown substantially since its first iteration back in 2022. When is Prime Big Deal Days this year?Amazon announced Prime Big Deals Days 2025 will take place from Oct. 7–Oct. 8. This is the fourth year for Amazon's fall Prime Day sale. Do you need to be a Prime Member to shop during Prime Big Deal Days?Yes, you will need to be a Prime Member to shop the exclusive sales during Amazon's Prime Big Deal Days. Prime membership starts at $14.99 per month. While only you can decide if buying a yearly Prime membership is worth it for you, remember you can always sign up and then cancel your Prime membership once the sale is over: Amazon offers a free 30-day trial, so you can shop both days of the event (and even get some early Black Friday deals) before canceling without being charged. Here's how to sign up for a Prime account. What sales you can expect during Prime Big Deal DaysPrime Day happens in the summer, when you're more likely to see deals on outdoorsy stuff, like gardening equipment, grills, and hot tubs, in addition to the usual tech and Amazon device deals. Since Prime Big Deal Days happens in the fall, you're likely to see more deals on gaming and indoor gym equipment. Amazon has already announced some categories that will be on sale, including: Home, apparel, toys, beauty, electronics, groceries, and household essentials. Some brands you can expect are: LEGO, Fisher-Price, MAGNA-TILES, Tonies, Samsung, LG, Sonos, Lancôme, National Tree Company, KitchenAid, and Beats devices. Early Prime Big Deal Days deals will be live earlierAs is usually the case, Amazon will kick off their sales with some early deals in the leadup up to the main event. While they haven't kicked off yet, we will be covering as soon as they do. Make sure to follow our coverage to stay on top of the best deals. The competition also offer salesYou can expect major retailers to have their own competitive sales like they've done in the past years, the big ones being Best Buy, Target, and Walmart. I'll be updating this post as those sales are officially announced. Some tips for a successful Prime Big Deal DaysIf this will be your first October Prime Day, there are some basic things you need to know about Amazon sales: You can share your Prime membership with family members even if they don't live with you You can set price alerts for products you want and your Alexa devices can notify you when they go on sale There are usually some "Invite-Only" deals that you can sign up for There are tools you can use to see if the deal you're looking at is good or not. But if you only take one bit of advice for shopping on Prime Big Deal Days, let it be this one: Don't buy anything you weren't going to buy anyway. A good way to make sure you do this is by making a list of the products you do want, and only having eyes for those. View the full article

Since Apple first introduced iOS 26 during its WWDC keynote address this past June, most of the attention has been on the divisive "Liquid Glass" design overhaul—but there's a lot more to the latest version of the iPhone software. While the big iOS 26 features, including ones that Apple borrowed from others, got everyone talking, some of the most exciting updates have gotten a lot less attention. Here are three dozen of my favorites. 36 of the best under-the-radar features in iOS 26 Credit: Apple The above slide is all we have to go on for these features. Some of them are obvious from the title alone, but others aren't so clear. I've tried to add context wherever I can, but there is some speculation necessary here until we know more about iOS 26: Custom snooze length for alarms: If you want to snooze for more or less than the standard nine minutes, this feature could be really useful. AirPods Automatic Switching with CarPlay: Automatic switching lets you quickly connect your AirPods to the Apple device you're actively using. It looks like Apple is extending it to CarPlay, too. Enhance Dialogue: This feature should mean Apple Podcasts can boost vocals in podcasts and suppress background noises. All of the best podcast apps must have this feature. Use Focus to silence SIM: It looks like iOS 26 will let you use Focuses to silence one SIM, which is great for those who use two numbers on their iPhone. Communication requests: Screen Time could be getting support for requests to use messaging apps. This may allow parents to better regulate who their children are talking to. 'Add Contact' button in groups: This could make it easy to add people to your contacts from a group in the Messages app. Rich entry layout: The Journal app is getting a better layout for starting a new entry, but we don't quite know what that is yet. Events in Photos: It looks like iOS 26 will add support for events in the Photos app. Lens cleaning hint: If your iPhone or iPad's camera lens is dirty, iOS 26's Camera app will ask you to clean it. Specify spelling with Dictation: A neat way to reduce typos when you're using Dictation to type. Auto-Categorize: Reminders will be able to automatically sort your to-dos. Manage AutoFill credit cards in Wallet: It appears that Apple is moving stored credit card data to the Wallet app. Safety Check while blocking a contact: Safety Check removes other people's access to shared iPhone data, such as your location. Apple seems to be adding Safety Check prompts when you block a contact as another way to ensure your safety. Photo previews: Messages is gaining the ability to show image previews on your iPhone, though it's not clear exactly how that compares to the current system. Relevant video thumbnails in search results: Based on this description, it looks like search results in Photos may now include specific parts of a video that are relevant to the search term. Arabic Calculator: The calculator app is getting a new mode. Braille Access: A braille note taker is coming to your iPhone. AirPods pause media when asleep: Your AirPods can detect when you've dozed off and pause media accordingly. This detection likely ties to Apple Watch. Easier controller pairing: Apple's making it easy to pair gaming controllers with your iPhone and iPad. Suggested reminders: iOS 26 might suggest reminders based on your iPhone activity. Select partial text in a bubble: In iOS 18, the Messages app lets you copy an entire text you've sent or received, but it doesn't allow you to select a part of the message. That's about to change with iOS 26. More playback speeds: Apple Podcasts in iOS 18 supports playback speeds from 0.75x to 2x. It's going to get more speed options in iOS 26, though we don't know which or how many yet. Multiscript keyboard for Arabic/English: For easier switching between the two languages. New Monogram styles: The Phone app now supports more Monogram options. Natural language search: It might be easier to search in Messages. Natural language could let you narrow down searches even if you don't remember the correct search operators. Adaptive power: Your iPhone will make small changes, such as lowering brightness, to improve battery life. Password history: Apple Passwords will remember older passwords used with any login item. Accessibility Reader: This makes it easy to read small text in any app. Estimated time to charge: This tells you how long you need to wait until your iPhone's battery is fully charged. See your entries on a map: The Journal app will save location metadata to help you find entries by location. Export Notes to Markdown: Apple Notes is gaining support for Markdown exports. Create multiple journals: The Journal app will now let you create more than one journal. Screen sharing and SharePlay on a phone call: It looks like these features are no longer exclusive to FaceTime calls. Create reminders from Action button: The Action button gets yet another useful action. Block list in Settings: This appears to be an improvement to the way blocked contacts are handled. New incident report types in Maps: When you want to report an incident in Apple Maps, you'll find more report types in the app in iOS 26. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Meta seems to have inadvertently revealed its full line-up of Meta and EssilorLuxottica's smart glasses ahead of tomorrow's Meta Connect 2025 event, including the long-rumored display-style smart glasses. Yesterday, UpLoadVR posted a (since removed) video they said they'd grabbed from Meta's own YouTube channel. Check it out: This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. If the video is legit (and it sure looks legit) it confirms the following: Ray-Ban Meta glasses with a monocular display, controlled by dedicated wristband Navigation and AI apps for the display glasses, as well as the ability to "type" provided by the wristband. "Shield" style sports glasses from Oakley with a center camera The leak confirms the biggest rumors that have been swirling around for months about Meta's fall line-up, and may have debunked a few as well. The video does not feature a wrist controller that doubles as smart watch, nor were the rumored Prada Meta glasses shown (although those could still be shown during a different part of the presentation). Beyond their existence and some basic features, there's still a lot to learn about Meta's fall lineup of smart glasses. How much will they cost? What will they actually do? Those details and more will likely be revealed tomorrow at Meta Connect 2025. Where you can watch Meta Connect 2025Meta Connect 2025, Meta's annual big two-day event to reveal new technology, will begin with a keynote from CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. ET and continue through the 18th. You can stream the keynote and developers conferences on Facebook or the official Meta Connect site. Predicting event announcements is naturally full of speculation, but it's informed speculation based on online rumors and sources that have been accurate with past leaks and rumors. If you plan to watch the event—or just want an idea of what might be coming—here's what I expect to see at Meta Connect 2025. Hypernova smart glassesThe biggest hype at Meta Connect 2025 is likely to be about Meta's next generation of smart glasses, code-named "Hypernova," or maybe "Meta Celeste." According to online rumors, the next Meta glasses will feature a dedicated display on one lens for alerts and mini-apps, as well as all the AI, audio, and camera/video features of the current generation of Meta Ray-Bans and Meta Oakley smart glasses. All of this will be facilitated via a wireless wristband that will let you control various aspects of the glasses with small wrist movements. The display glasses will supposedly retail for $799, but when they'll hit the market remains to be seen. Sources report they'll be on sale this month (Zuckerberg adding, "...and they'll be available tonight" at the end of his keynote would be cool), but it could be anytime later this fall. These glasses would mark a definite step forward in smart glasses, but they won't be the full augmented reality that Meta has shown off in its "Orion" smart glasses. New details on the third-generation Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta smart glassesIf you're more interested in a better version of the Meta Ray-Bans and Meta Oakleys, Meta Connect could feature details on third-gen Meta smart glasses. Along with expected improvements like longer battery life and maybe a better camera, the biggest innovation to Meta glasses may be improvements to the glasses' AI. Internally called "super sensing," Meta's improved AI will stay on for longer periods, seeing what you see and interpreting it. Your glasses might tell you left the oven on, or tell you where you left your car keys (the single feature I most want from smart glasses). Another rumored addition to Meta's AI could be facial recognition (another thing I'd use all the time). The technology already exists for smart glasses to tell you who you're looking at, but Meta has supposedly been leery of pulling the trigger due to privacy concerns. Generation 3 Meta smart glasses are expected to hit stores this fall. Ray-Ban Meta - Wayfarer Large glasses with Meta AI, Audio, Photo, Video Compatibility - Polarized Gradient Graphite Lens (Refurbished) - Matte Black $263.00 at Best Buy Get Deal Get Deal $263.00 at Best Buy Third-party apps for Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glassesIf third-party app support for Meta smart glasses is revealed at Connect 2025, it might be through "the future of computing" developer keynote to be held on Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. ET. Meta opening its smart glasses to other developers' apps could low-key be the biggest announcement at the show, as it would expand what you could do with your glasses in ways that can be hard to even imagine. New improvements to Meta Horizon OSThere doesn't seem to be much evidence that Meta will announce a Quest 4 VR headset at Connect 2025, but that doesn't mean Virtual Reality Gang will be totally ignored. Tech site VRUpload recently did some data mining and dug up evidence that Meta is planning to revamp both the Home and Worlds components of the Meta Horizon. Meta is supposedly re-vamping the "starting space" for Quest users, taking it from its current static state to something that makes it "easier to connect with others and transition smoothly into Horizon Worlds and immersive apps." Other potential Horizon announcements may include a more responsive and better-looking Horizon Worlds social hub, and a new theater space within Horizon Worlds called Events Arena. If you want to tune in live, you can stream Connect 2025 on Facebook or the official Meta Connect site. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. The 10th-generation iPad is considered Apple’s entry-level budget tablet and was one of the best tablets on the market until the 11th-generation iPad was released. Right now, you can pick up the 256GB wifi version for the lowest price it has been since its release: $349.99, down from its listed $499 price. After looking at price-tracking tools, I can say this is the cheapest price the iPad has reached since its 2022 release. 10th Generation iPad $299.00 at Amazon $349.00 Save $50.00 Get Deal Get Deal $299.00 at Amazon $349.00 Save $50.00 The 10th-generation iPad came out in 2022 and it’s $50 cheaper than the newest iteration, making it a good budget option for those who don't need the latest specs. Since it's not on the list of Apple products no longer receiving software updates, you'll likely still get a few more years of updates. This iPad is still considered the best tablet for most people, as PCMag dubbed it in their "excellent" review, where it received their Editors' Choice award for affordable tablets. But if you can afford the extra $50 for the 11th generation, it is a better investment since it'll have a better chip, battery life, and features. This tablet's processor is an Apple A14 Bionic. It's not as fast as the newer iPad's A16 Bionic chip, but it is still powerful enough to do all the basic tasks you're likely to use the tablet for. The screen resolution is a sharp 2,360 by 1,640 pixels with a 10.9-inch screen. You can expect about six hours of juice with a full charge, which is between the iPad Mini and the 9th-generation iPad. The camera is a 12MP for the front and back. Recommended iPad accessories:Apple Magic Keyboard Folio for iPad 10th Gen, $199 (originally $249) Apple Pencil (USB-C), $69 (originally $79) MoKo Case for iPad 10th Generation, $9 (originally $9.99) Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation), $199 (originally $249) Apple AirPods (4th Generation), $99.99 (originally $129) If you are planning on getting the tablet, some useful (but not absolutely necessary) accessories include the Apple Magic Keyboard Folio, which will make your iPad work like a laptop, and the Apple Pencil USB-C, a stylus that will allow you to make the most of your iPad's touchscreen abilities. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. 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. Right now, the Arlo 2K Essential Indoor/Outdoor Camera (2nd Generation) is available in a three-pack at 59% off, bringing it down to $109.99 and marking its lowest price ever, according to price trackers. If you’re looking to boost your home security system and cover multiple vantage points, this is a strong option. Arlo 2K Essential Indoor/Outdoor Camera (2nd Gen) $109.99 at Amazon $269.99 Save $160.00 Get Deal Get Deal $109.99 at Amazon $269.99 Save $160.00 This security camera bundle features 2K video resolution, which is a step up from many cameras that only have 1080p resolution—like this indoor Arlo camera, which received an “Excellent” rating from PCMag. And unlike that model, this one can be used both indoors and outdoors. It’s weather-resistant and features a wireless design. Plus, it has a rechargeable battery. For low-light conditions, the camera has a built-in spotlight and color night vision. Its field of view is around 130°, and it can zoom in up to 12x, letting you identify minute details. (This zoom is likely digital rather than true optical zoom, so quality may degrade if you’re zooming in too closely.) The spotlight doesn’t just illuminate the coverage area—it acts as a built-in deterrent (as does the integrated siren), upgrading this system from passive recording to actively dissuading intruders. Like most cameras, it features two-way audio that lets you listen and speak, but smart features like person and vehicle detection, which can cut down on false alarms, require a paid subscription, as does cloud storage. If you have a smart home ecosystem like Google Home or Alexa, this camera bundle can integrate seamlessly, allowing for features like automation and voice control. That said, there are some limitations. This camera only works on 2.4 GHz wifi and may require frequent recharging if there’s excessive motion or the postlight is being activated often. Additionally, a subscription is required for many features, like smart detection, that come for free from brands like Blink or Wyze. Still, if you want a versatile, easy-to-install setup that can monitor your home’s exterior or interior and cover more than one area, the Arlo 2K Essential Indoor/Outdoor Camera Bundle (2nd Gen) offers solid bang for your buck. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. I usually focus on something a subset of the population gets wrong, so the rest of us can feel smart, but this week, I’m going bigger and broader, and describing something that you, me, and everyone we have ever met has been wrong about in the past, is currently wrong about, and will be wrong about in the future: mistaking correlation for causation. People have been repeating some variation of "correlation is not causation" since at least 1739, when David Hume articulated the concept in A Treatise on Human Nature. To paraphrase Hume: Just because two things happen at the same time doesn’t mean one is causing the other. Every smart person already already knows this, and it's repeated constantly, but we all still get it wrong. Here are some examples: The last 20 years of research on "gut biomes" could be wrong, partly as a result of both scientists and the media mistaking correlation and causation. (I've always had a gut feeling—get it?—this research was suspect.) For years people believed that drinking alcohol in moderation is good for your health. But it isn't. It's correlated with better health in some populations, but it doesn't cause better health. Defenders of mistaken beliefs derived from the correlation/causation fallacy will often compile volumes of data that shows a nearly exact correlations between, say, higher rates of autism and higher rates of vaccination, which makes it totally understandable to believe one causes the other. But there's no evidence that vaccines cause autism, and the correlation is probably because children received vaccines around the age autism is generally diagnosed, and we've gotten better at both vaccinating children and diagnosing autism. But "probably" is doing some lifting in that sentence. While no causal link between vaccines and autism has ever been demonstrated, there could be any number of reasons the rates line up. Classic debunking examples of correlation and causation, like the link between ice cream sales and shark attacks, tend to offer a pat explanation for the causal link—it only seems like ice cream causes shark attacks because both ice cream sales and swimming in the ocean rise when the weather is warmer—but even that is potentially mistaking correlation for causation. It makes sense, but we don’t actually know why those two numbers line up. And sometimes there just isn't any reason for connection between two pieces of disparate information. Check out the chart below. It's proof that the ratings of Two and Half Men directly correlates with the amount of jet fuel used in Serbia. Credit: www.tylervigen.com Or check out the exact connection between people googling "my cat just scratched me" and U.S. fruit consumption. Credit: https://www.tylervigen.com I made the second example on Tyler Vigen's Spurious Correlations, with a tool that will lets you make random connections all day. Not only that, the site uses AI to generate bogus "research papers" to explain the connection. In the case of the cats, ChatGPT offers this as a possible explanation: "Health-conscious households (those that track diet, buy fruit, etc.) are more likely to treat even minor injuries cautiously. A person who eats more fruit is not more likely to be scratched, but they are more likely to Google 'my cat scratched me' to check for infection risks or treatment steps." Even though I know it's bullshit, it still tracks. That's why we can never really stop being wrong in this specific way. Our brains want to believe. A neatly phrased explanation, a tidy chart, a plausible-sounding theory—it's so satisfying. A simple "we don't know" can't hold a candle to that certainty. Mistaking correlation for causation makes us go on fad diets and believe we're being healthy by drinking wine at dinner. It shapes health advice, public policy, and personal decisions in ways that can actually hurt people. The best we can do is try to be aware of it—when we read a headline that says "X causes Y," to assume this is a "cat scratches cause fruit consumption" situation until there's evidence that it isn't. View the full article

At Think Productive, we believe productivity isn’t about squeezing more into the day. It’s about working with clarity, focus, and intention. One of the most practical tools we use in our productivity workshops is the 4 Modes of Work model, a framework that helps individuals and teams match the right type of work to the right environment. Why Teams Need the 4 Modes of Work Modern organisations often default to one mode: meetings. Whether virtual or in-person, too much of our collective energy is consumed by unnecessary group discussions. The result? Burnout, meeting fatigue, and reduced productivity. The 4 Modes of Work framework gives hybrid teams and managers a practical way to design smarter collaboration. By naming and planning for each mode, organisations can reclaim focus, reduce distractions, and boost employee engagement. The 4 Modes of Work Explained 1. Solo Work Deep, focused work done alone. Examples: strategy writing, creative thinking, or preparing a presentation. Solo mode requires uninterrupted time and space, essential for knowledge workers who need to think clearly. 2. Tandem Work Two people working together in real time on the same task. Common in coaching, co-drafting, or pair problem-solving. For hybrid teams, Tandem mode reduces email chains and accelerates decision-making. 3. Tag Team Work Asynchronous handovers between people. You finish your part, then pass it to someone else. Ideal for distributed teams working across time zones or when deep reflection is needed before progressing. 4. Collaborative Work Multiple people together in real time, sharing ideas, making decisions, or aligning on actions. Collaborative mode should be used with intention, not as the default. Shorter, focused meetings deliver the best results. The Cost of Ignoring Work Modes When organisations don’t distinguish between these modes, inefficiency rises: Solo time disappears into a blur of notifications. Tag Team opportunities get replaced by unnecessary meetings. Tandem sessions are avoided in favour of endless email threads. The outcome? Slower projects, increased stress, and disengaged teams. How to Apply the 4 Modes of Work Look at your calendar for the week ahead and ask: Do I have enough Solo time protected for deep work? Could this long meeting be replaced with a Tag Team handover? Would 30 minutes of Tandem collaboration speed things up more than days of back-and-forth? By shifting just a few activities into their correct mode, teams immediately see improvements in productivity, engagement, and wellbeing. Why HR Leaders and Managers Should Care For HR professionals, people managers, and hybrid team leaders, the 4 Modes of Work model offers: A shared language for managing workload and expectations. A tool to prevent burnout and boost retention. A framework to design hybrid work cultures that balance focus and collaboration. Bringing the 4 Modes to Life At Think Productive, we integrate the 4 Modes of Work into our Leading Hybrid Teams workshop. Again and again, managers tell us it’s the missing piece: a simple, evidence-based model that makes hybrid working more effective. Want to help your team thrive in hybrid work? Explore our Leading Hybrid Teams workshop. The post The 4 Modes of Work: A Smarter Way to Design Your Day appeared first on Think Productive UK. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. 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. The second-generation Arlo Video Doorbell is currently down to $59.99 on Amazon, a big drop from its usual $129.99 price and the lowest it’s ever been, according to price trackers. Arlo Video Doorbell 2nd Generation $59.99 at Amazon $129.99 Save $70.00 Get Deal Get Deal $59.99 at Amazon $129.99 Save $70.00 PCMag named it the best video doorbell of 2024, which says a lot considering how crowded the smart doorbell space has become. This is a wireless doorbell with a built-in camera that gives you a sharp 2K head-to-toe view of your doorstep. You can either hardwire it into your existing doorbell wiring for trickle charging or just stick with the built-in battery, which lasts up to four months before you need to recharge with the included USB-C cable. The housing is weather-resistant, so it’s fine outdoors, and the design is simple: white casing, glossy black face, backlit button, and a speaker tucked underneath. Day to day, it works a little differently than most. When someone presses the button, your phone actually rings like a call. Pick it up, and you’re instantly looking at whomever’s outside with options to talk back or play a quick pre-recorded message. The 180-degree lens is wide enough that you don’t just see floating heads but the full head-to-toe view, and motion detection makes sure it’s recording when someone shows up, even if they don’t press the button. Video looks sharp in the daytime, and while there’s no color night vision, the black-and-white feed still holds detail out to a decent distance, notes this PCMag review. Audio is clear enough for quick back-and-forth conversations, and there’s a built-in siren you can trigger from the app if you want to deter unwanted visitors. While live video is free, you’ll need an Arlo Secure subscription to unlock recorded event storage and smart alerts. At $7.99 a month for one camera, you get 60 days of video history, object detection for people, packages, and vehicles, plus animated alerts that help you see what triggered the notification without opening the app. Compatibility is solid with Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, and IFTTT, though Apple HomeKit is missing. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Noise Cancelling Wireless Earbuds — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge 256GB Unlocked AI Phone (Titanium JetBlack) — $699.99 (List Price $1,099.99) Apple iPad 11" 128GB A16 WiFi Tablet (Blue, 2025) — $299.00 (List Price $349.00) Roku Streaming Stick Plus — $29.00 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

I love finding new ways to use apps to make my life easier, but sometimes, I find that I'm using so much tech in my real life that I get a little bogged down. That's been true with my workouts and health for a while: I weigh myself in the morning on a smart scale, which distributes the data to a nutrition app, Apple Health, and Peloton. I go to the gym and use my Apple Watch's Workouts feature to track my cardio, then open up Strong to track my lifting. At home, I use Peloton to track my cycling workouts, stretching, yoga, and much more. It all gets to be a little much! That's why I was pumped when I found an overlooked feature on my Peloton app recently: I can track my non-Peloton workouts with it, meaning I don't have to fiddle as much with some of my other apps. I can keep more of what I'm doing in one place, easy to reference, and streamlined. How to track independent workouts with PelotonWhen you open your Peloton app, you'll see a bottom menu with five options: Home, Classes, Track, Community, and You. Most of these are pretty obvious and I'm guessing that the majority of the time, you're hitting Classes to follow along with one of the thousands of guided workouts the app offers for up to $44 per month. But a few weeks ago, I decided to hit Track just to see what it was all about. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson/Peloton Tapping Track brings up a screen that says Track an activity. You have options and those will depend on what types of classes or workouts you use the app for most often. For me at this very moment, the app suggests Outdoor Walking, Cycling, and Strength, but you can hit More options to see a whole slate of choices that include running, yoga, cardio, meditation, and more. When you select one of these, they'll be filed as "Just" classes in your Peloton history, like Just Ride or Just Walk. If that reminds you of the Apple Watch's built-in Workouts app, that's because it's basically the same thing. If you select one of those choices on Peloton, a screen pops up with a timer, start and pause buttons, a prompt to share your location "for accurate metrics," a calorie counter, and a heart rate tracker. Basically, the same stuff the Workouts app monitors, too. This is most useful if you've paired a heart rate tracker or wearable to your Peloton app, which is something I think everyone should do, since that will help the app better estimate your calorie burn and heart rate. Why I love thisFirst and foremost, I like to keep data in one place. I ride my Peloton bike frequently, for instance, but I also teach in-person spin classes, and I want to know how those two instances of cycling match up in terms of output, not only for my fitness goals, but for my continued success and employment as a teacher. Tracking my in-person classes with the Peloton app makes these two categories of cardio much easier to compare. Plus, I get better data this way. I tracked a lift the other day using the Peloton app, trusting it to monitor my heart rate and effort. I got a detailed graphic showing my heart rate over the two-hour span of my workout, a "strive score" (a Peloton-specific metric that measures your output), and a breakdown of how long I spent in each heart rate zone. You get different kinds of data depending on what you do, too. If you do a Just Walk, for instance, you get a little map of your route and can even see what your pace and elevation were at every point along it. Moreover, the strength workout was automatically added to my Workouts and Apple Health data, helping me satisfy the (admittedly arbitrary) goals I set within those apps for daily active minutes and daily burned calories. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson/Peloton That leads to another reason I like this setup: I use apps not just because it's important to track what I'm doing and monitor my progress, but because they force me into some accountability. As I mentioned, I try to meet my pre-set Apple Health goals every day by "closing my rings," but I also am dedicated to continuing my Peloton "streak" of active days. Do these things really matter? No, but doing them motivates me—and the threat of failing to do them on a given day forces me to action when I might otherwise choose to remain sedentary. View the full article

In 2023, Apple introduced the Double Tap feature for Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2. This allows a user to perform common actions, like answering or starting a song, simply by quickly tapping their thumb and index finger together twice. It was an intuitive way to confirm when you wanted to do something on your watch without tapping a tiny touchscreen button, but what if you wanted to dismiss something? Now, with the release of watchOS 26, Wrist Flick is here to solve that problem. Also available on Apple Watch Series 9 (and higher) as well as Apple Watch Ultra 2 (and higher), Wrist Flick is kind of like Double Tap’s evil twin. If you get a notification you don’t like, or a call you want to mute, now you can quickly twist your wrist to dismiss it, like you’re tossing it into a garbage bin. To try it out, first install watchOS 26 on your Apple Watch. Using a paired iPhone with iOS 26 installed, open the Apple Watch app, navigate to General > Software Update, and start the upgrade to the new version of watchOS. Alternatively, you can simply ensure Automatic Updates are enabled, and so long as your iPhone has iOS 26, your watch will simply choose a time to update on its own while charging (likely overnight). Then, once watchOS 26 is installed, put on your watch and navigate to Settings > Gestures. Toggle on Wrist Flick. That’s it. You’ll simply need to wait for a notification or call to come in, or for a timer you want to silence to go off, and you’ll be able to turn it off with a quick flick of the wrist. It might take some practice, but essentially, you want to quickly rotate your wrist away from your body, as seen on this page on Apple’s website. Used together with Double Tap, the goal is that you won’t need to fiddle with your watch’s touchscreen for most basic activities anymore, so you won’t have to interrupt your workout (or, if you’re like me, you’re leisurely sit on the subway) by tapping away at it. The only limitation is that, while Double Tap has some basic mapping functions that let you customize what exactly it does, Wrist Flick currently doesn’t offer that level of control, instead sticking to Apple’s default “dismissing” behavior. That means you won’t be able to use it to, say, go back one tile in your Smart Stack, like how you can set Double Tap to advance you by one tile. Here’s hoping Apple expands its functionality soon. View the full article

We’re just 7 days away from the first official day of fall, and I’m almost giddy with excitement. I’m embracing my favorite cool-weather rituals and finding comfort in the fact that this seasonal shift is providing a greater sense of predictability. After a busy and chaotic summer, fall is when I once again find my The post Team productivity peaks in fall when you set the stage now appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding my work at Lifehacker as a preferred source. Spotify is finally giving its free-tier customers a feature that’s been requested since the music streaming platform launched nearly 20 years ago: the ability to listen to any song they choose. That's right: The days of searching for a song, then hitting “skip” until it rolls around on a Spotify-generated playlist are over. Free-tier users can choose songs in three ways: through the search function, by clicking on any song from the Spotify interface, or by clicking on a link shared by other users. Free-tier users can also listen to podcasts through Spotify, and create and listen to playlists too. Spotify's previous "six skips per hour" rule also appears to be no more. There are still limitations to Spotify’s free accounts, of course. The most obvious is that you still have to listen to ads. Free users will also face a cap on how many minutes of music they can listen to on demand, won’t be able to queue tracks, and won’t be able to access Spotify’s “AI DJ” feature. (No great loss; trust me.) They also won't have access to another new Spotify feature exclusive to paid accounts: lossless audio. Premium Spotify customers to get lossless audio"Premium" Spotify perks are improving too. The first, most important upgrade in the long-awaited launch of lossless audio on the service. Lossless audio (streaming files that are bit-for-bit copies of the source material) is rolling out to over 50 Spotify markets from now through October. Premium users will also be able to send private messaging, to make music-sharing easier, and add and customize transitions between songs within a playlist. The changes make Spotify more competitive The upgrades to both levels of Spotify’s service aren’t really about making life better for users; they’re about staying relevant and profitable in a crowded and ever-changing marketplace. The hope from Spotify is to increase ad revenue by increasing the number of ears listening to ads, entice more free users to upgrade to pay services, and shed fewer customers who leave for other services. Until the change, Spotify’s free tier was close to a radio service—you could listen to music that you kind of wanted to hear, maybe, if you also put up with frequent ads. This model may have made sense when streaming was newer, but more and more younger users are turning to YouTube, where you can listen to whatever song you want (and see a video for it) on demand, and for free. And young people are discovering music on TikTok, not on Spotify. Changes to Spotify’s premium service are aimed at the more “mature” listener. Lossless audio doesn’t make a ton of difference without decent headphones or speakers. But “our music is lossless” has long been a selling point for Apple Music and Tidal, but it won’t be anymore. View the full article

Apple’s iOS 26 drops today, and with it comes a bunch of small tweaks and improvements to how your iPhone works. The catch? A lot of them are opt-in, so you need to turn them on before you can reap their benefits. Here are the settings you should turn on after updating your iPhone to Apple’s latest operating system, although note that some of them require an iPhone 15 Pro or later, as they rely on Apple Intelligence. Adaptive battery modeIf you’re like me, you can never decide whether it’s worth it to swap your phone over to Battery Saver mode. Now, if you have an iPhone 15 Pro or above, your iPhone can make the decision for you. Apple’s new Adaptive Power mode uses Apple Intelligence to intelligently determine when your battery usage is running higher than usual, and makes small tweaks to bring it back under control. These might include slightly dimming your display or slowing down less important tasks, like those that are running in the background or are particularly intensive. Then, once your phone’s been on an even keel for a while, it’ll start turning things back to normal. Think of it as a less aggressive “low power” mode that only affects certain processes, and can make adjustments based on more than your phone’s remaining charge. To try it out, simply navigate to Settings > Battery > Power Mode. Just don’t forget to turn it back off if you find its compromises aren’t worth the extra battery life. Turn on call screening Credit: Apple I’ll be honest—I barely pick up phone calls anymore. Instead, I usually prefer to wait until after the call, and then call back if the caller was someone I knew or if it was important enough to leave a message. This usually works out for me, but I’ll admit, sometimes I do feel a bit bad for leaving people who call me in the lurch, especially if it turns out they had a good reason to dial me up. That’s where Apple’s new Call Screening feature comes in. This one doesn’t require Apple Intelligence, so it’ll work on any iPhone running iOS 26. Simply open your Settings, then under Apps, tap Phone and look for the Screen Unknown Callers option. You’ll have three choices. Never will work just like before, with calls ringing for a bit before they go to your Recents list. But now, you’ve got two additional options you can choose instead. First is Silence, which will turn off your ringer for calls from unsaved numbers, then send them to Voicemail and display them in the Recents list. Essentially, it just cuts out the middle-man of having to wait for the caller to give up before you move on with figuring out what they wanted. But the more exciting addition is Ask Reason for Calling. Choose this, and your iPhone will pick up calls from unsaved numbers for you, then ask the caller a few questions about their reason for calling. You’ll see a transcript of their answers on screen, and then you’ll be able to choose whether you want to pick up. It’s a clever trick, and should make me feel a little less bad for anyone who tries to chat with me over the phone. I do wish it worked for Contacts as well, to be honest, but I can understand why my family might not be enthused to call me and get a robot secretary instead. Try out the new ringtonesWith iOS 26, Apple’s added a few new default ringtones to pick from. Six are variations of the classic “Reflection” ringtone, but there’s also a new one called “Little Bird.” You can find them all under Settings > Sound & Haptics > Ringtone, or check out the embeds below to hear them for yourself. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. Personally, “Bouyant” is probably my favorite, although my colleague Jake Peterson likes “Dreamer” the most. I’ll probably still stick with my custom ringtone, but if you’d rather not bother downloading a ringtone manually, you now have more choice than ever. Fix Liquid GlassThis next one is technically about turning a feature off instead of turning it on, but I couldn’t ignore it. With iOS 26, Apple’s redesigned its design language to focus on transparency, and not everyone’s a fan. If you remember the transparent bezels Microsoft added to app windows in Windows Vista, it’s a lot like that, but more aggressive. Essentially, instead of showing a solid background, many buttons and overlays will now appear clear, allowing a blurred version of whatever is underneath them to bleed through. Luckily, there’s a pre-existing accessibility control that essentially sets your iPhone back to how it was before. Simply navigate to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size, then toggle on Reduce Transparency. This will bring back solid background across your entire iPhone, which you can see in effect here. Notice how the play button no longer allows blurred album artwork to bleed into it? If you prefer that flatter, more contrast-y look, this could be for you. Custom backgrounds in iMessageThis one’s just fun. Now, in iMessage, you set custom backgrounds for your conversations and group chats on a per-chat basis. These include presets, like Water and Sky, but you can also pick solid colors, choose a photo from your library, or if you have an iPhone 15 Pro or above, generate a background using Apple Intelligence. To get started, open a chat, click its title towards the top of the page, then choose Backgrounds. Note that your chosen background will appear for everyone in the chat, but if you don’t like a background someone else set, you don’t have to live with it. Go to Settings > Apps > Messages and disable Conversation Backgrounds to turn the feature off. Notification summaries for newsIf you have an iPhone 15 Pro or above, Apple is actually bringing back a previously deleted feature with iOS 26: Notification summaries for news and entertainment apps. These initially launched in the iOS 18.3 beta, but were quickly pulled after Apple’s AI had misrepresented some major BBC headlines, including one about United Healthcare shooting suspect Luigi Mangione. Now, Apple is confident enough to bring these notification summaries back, although with a new warning that says “Summarization may change the meaning of the original headlines. Verify information.” If you’re comfortable with that, according to my colleagues over at CNET, you don’t have to do much to turn them on. Apple will actually greet you with a splash screen once you download the iOS 26 update, which will ask your preferences for which apps will get notification summaries. You’ll have three options, and you can select as many as you wish. All other apps will summarize notifications from non-social apps, like Maps, while Communication & Social will throw in notification summaries for apps like TikTok and Mail. These were available already. What’s new (again) is the News & Entertainment option, which will add notification summaries for apps including BBC or Netflix. Simply make your choices, and you’re good to go. If you change your mind later, you can adjust your summaries under Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications. You can also adjust notification summaries on a per-app basis here, which isn’t available in the splash screen you get after installing iOS 26. Get clear icons in iOS 26 Credit: Apple Let’s say you actually like Liquid Glass, but think it doesn’t go far enough. In that case, you might want to turn your icons clear too, so you can see your background through them. I promise I won’t judge. To turn your app icons clear in iOS 26, simply long press on your home screen’s background until your apps start jiggling. Then, tap Edit in the top-left corner, followed by Customize. Then, choose Clear. You can also choose between Clear Light or Clear Dark, with the dark mode opting for a more subdued tint. This will make your app icons look like frosted glass, similar to iOS 26’s new lock screen clock. You do you. (If you’re like me, you might prefer the new Tinted Light Mode option instead, which finally allows you to set a custom color for your app icons’ graphical elements alongside a bright background. You can find it in the Tinted option next to Clear while selecting your app icon appearance). New ways to customize your lock screeniOS 26 gives you more control over how your phone looks while locked than ever before. To get started, lock your phone, then press the power button, tap and hold on the lock screen, and tap Customize. First off, you can now adjust the size of your clock by grabbing one of its corners and dragging it down, although this will only work with certain fonts. Second, you can now justify your widgets box to the bottom of the lock screen, as well as add an Apple Music search widget to it, if you like. If you actually start playing something, you’ll notice it’ll enable a large Now Playing interface that shows album art. Finally, there’s support for Spatial Scenes. When selecting a Photo wallpaper, you can now tap on a small icon of a mountain and a sun to separate the photo’s subject from the background. Now, when moving your iPhone, the subject will move with it, to help them pop. Your clock might also move to fill up space in the photo, including slightly behind the subject, to help give an illusion of depth. Or, your widgets might automatically shift to the bottom of the screen if placed elsewhere, to better frame the photo subject. Other settings you can enableThere’s plenty more you can do to make iOS 26 truly yours. If the above changes aren’t enough for you, here are 36 other tweaks you can make to get the most out of your iPhone’s new operating system. View the full article

Many of you have been asking me about the assassination of the conservative commentator Charlie Kirk earlier this week during a campus event at Utah Valley University. At the time of this writing, little is yet known about the shooter’s motives, but there have been enough cases of political violence over the past year that I think I can say what I’m about to with conviction… Those of us who study online culture like to use the phrase, “Twitter is not real life.” But as we saw yet again this week, when the digital discourses fostered on services like Twitter (and Bluesky, and TikTok) do intersect with the real world, whether they originate from the left or the right, the results are often horrific. This should tell us all we need to know about these platforms: they are toxic and dehumanizing. They are responsible, as much as any other force, for the unravelling of civil society that seems to be accelerating. We know these platforms are bad for us, so why are they still so widely used? They tell a compelling story: that all of your frantic tapping and swiping makes you a key part of a political revolution, or a fearless investigator, or a righteous protestor – that when you’re online, you’re someone important, doing important things during an important time. But this, for the most part, is an illusion. In reality, you’re toiling anonymously in an attention factory, while billionaire overseers mock your efforts and celebrate their growing net worths. After troubling national events, there’s often a public conversation about the appropriate way to respond. Here’s one option to consider: Quit using these social platforms. Find other ways to keep up with the news, or spread ideas, or be entertained. Be a responsible grown-up who does useful things; someone who serves real people in the real world. To save civil society, we need to end our decade-long experiment with global social platforms. We tried them. They became dark and awful. It’s time to move on. Enough is enough. The post On Charlie Kirk and Saving Civil Society appeared first on Cal Newport. View the full article

Last fall, a Norwegian psychology professor named Lars Dehli was asked to give a lecture on intelligence. It had been a while since he had taught the topic, so he looked forward to revisiting it. As he explained in ​an essay​ about the experience, he decided to start the lecture by discussing the so-called Flynn Effect—the well-known phenomenon, first observed by James Flynn, whereby measured IQ scores have been steadily increasing since World War II. “It’s always fun to tell students that their generation is the smartest people who have ever lived,” Dehli wrote. But as he gathered data to build an up-to-date chart, he was “very surprised” by what he discovered: “IQ has actually started to fall.” Dehli was not the first person to notice this decline. In recent years, a growing number of researchers have been documenting what has become known as the Reverse Flynn Effect. Consider, for example, ​a recent paper​ published in the journal Intelligence that studied IQ scores over time in an American population. It found a steady decline in almost every intelligence metric studied as part of a 35-item assessment. Here’s a chart that shows these declines broken out by education level: There’s no consensus on the causes of the Reverse Flynn Effect. But in a ​recent podcast appearance​, James Mariott, a critic and columnist for The Times of London, summarized a hypothesis that has been gaining traction: as we switch our information consumption from print to digital devices, our ability to think deeply degrades. As Marriott explains: “Print requires us to make a logical case for a subject. A really significant feature of books is that if you make a case in print, you have to make it logically add up. You can’t just assert things in the way you can on TikTok or on YouTube…print privileges a whole way of thinking and a whole way of processing the world that is logical, that is more rational, that is more dense information, that is more intellectually challenging. If you lose these things in our culture, which I think we really are in the process of losing them, it’s not surprising that people are getting stupider…and that we seem to find that IQ is declining.” The data on the Reverse Flynn Effect includes several pieces of evidence that support Marriott’s claims. The IQ reversal, for example, seems to begin right around 2010—the point at which smartphones began their rapid ascent to ubiquity. In addition, according to the Northwestern study, the demographic suffering the steepest declines is 18 to 22-year-olds, who also happen to be the heaviest users of smartphones. As with most psychological findings, it is unlikely that we will ever fully attribute this effect to a single, specific cause. But based on common sense and lived experience, there’s certainly a ring of truth to this device hypothesis. It’s grown standard to say things like, “my phone is making me so dumb!”, but this is often intended to be a figure of speech; a self-deprecating shorthand for the reality that the things we do on our phone are dumb, or that we spend less time doing “smart” activities than we used to. If these technological interpretations of the Reverse Flynn Effect hold up, it might turn out that this quip is way more literal than we may have originally assumed. The post On the Reverse Flynn Effect appeared first on Cal Newport. View the full article

Fall feels like productivity’s new year. The summer haze fades, the air sharpens, and suddenly you remember what sharpened pencils smell like and spend far too much time shopping for the perfect bullet journal. But here’s the problem: motivation lasts about as long as the caffeine buzz from a venti pumpkin spice latte. You might The post The Fall Focus Challenge: one month to reclaim your workday appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article

Subscribe to Work LifeGet stories like this in your inbox Subscribe 5-second summary Divergent thinking is a creative process that generates new ideas through free-flowing, unstructured brainstorming. It encourages exploring any and all possibilities, rather than taking the fastest, straightest path to one answer. Divergent thinking is most effective when the people doing it feel safe, have the time and space to get inspired, collaborate with others, set expectations as a group, and warm up first. Using divergent thinking exercises can help you get started by providing a little structure and inspiration to a purposely unstructured process. If you’ve ever come up with a name for a child, pet, or even a beloved plant or car, you’ve already engaged in divergent thinking. As you were thinking of names, you let your mind wander, imagining all the possibilities. You might have compared ideas with a loved one too. Perhaps one person was thinking of popular names like Emma and Ava, while the other wanted a more unique moniker like Eowyn or Aurelia. Eventually, you converged on a name for your bundle of joy – something perfectly unique, yet easy to say and spell – but only after you diverged and brainstormed without boundaries. That’s the power of divergent thinking. What is divergent thinking? Introduced by psychologist J.P. Guilford in 1956, divergent thinking is a creative thought process used to generate new ideas through free-flowing, unstructured brainstorming. In a typical problem-solving or brainstorming session, people are often trying to find the most direct path to one “right” solution, often channeling “convergent” or “lateral” thinking. Divergent thinking, on the other hand, is unrestricted, judgment-free, and takes a meandering path to explore all viable (and some not-so-viable) options. There’s no right way to do it, and there are no wrong answers. This approach offers a number of advantages: It allows you to see a problem or concept from many perspectives and angles. It produces more ideas to choose from. It encourages creativity and open-mindedness, which often lead to even better solutions. Paving the way for creative collaboration Divergent thinking unlocks new ideas and even better solutions at work – but only if the team and environment support it. These tips can help prepare your group for a successful session. Foster a sense of psychological safety Related Article What does psychological safety mean, anyway? By Katie Taylor In Teamwork Psychological safety, a term coined by Harvard researcher Amy Edmondson, is a shared belief held by members of a team that it’s safe to take risks. When people feel psychologically safe and know it’s ok to make mistakes, they’re more comfortable, more open to exploring new ideas, and more inclined to work together to find the best solution. Set aside time and a new space It can be hard for teams to be strategic and creative when they’re busy with day-to-day execution. Reserving a designated time for divergent thinking and changing up the environment – another conference room or even an off-site location – helps everyone get in the right mental and physical space to think differently. Include 5 – 7 diverse collaborators Approaching your attendee list like Goldilocks will help make sure the group isn’t too big or too small, but rather, juuuuust right. Research shows brainstorming sessions are most efficient when they include five to seven people: big enough to generate enough ideas, but not so big that it becomes unwieldy. Inviting people with diverse perspectives can also help ward off groupthink, when people abandon their own beliefs to conform with the group. Diversity could be represented in the form of different disciplines (e.g., design or development), departments (e.g., Sales or Product), critical thinking perspectives (e.g., front-line, functional expertise, or creative/innovator), identities (e.g., culture or gender), etc. Related Article How team agreements help you navigate the brave new world of hybrid work By Sarah Goff-Dupont In Teamwork Set expectations for the team with mutual agreements Divergent thinking is most effective when participants are focused, open, and collaborative. Creating mutual team agreements and expectations (e.g., put devices aside, share all ideas that come to mind, suspend judgment, and build on others’ suggestions) can support the group in being efficient and effective. Start with a warmup Like warming up your body before exercising, warming up your mind before brainstorming gets you in the right headspace and primes your brain for creativity. Warmups can be more structured, like these icebreaker activities, or more free-form, like listening to music or drawing. where does ai fit in? To maximize the benefits of divergent thinking, start without AI, so those initial ideas are truly yours – unanchored, a little weird, and definitively human. By keeping this early divergence tool-free, you’ll avoid bringing in model bias or sensitive info; build creative confidence; and keep everyone in “quantity over quality” mode when it really counts. Then, when you’re ready to narrow, call on AI to group similar ideas, identify recurring themes, spot duplicates or gaps, write a short recap of what you explored, and draft a first-pass plan of action. 6 divergent thinking exercises for brilliant brainstorming Now that the team feels safe, focused, and warmed up, it’s time to let their creativity loose! Here are a few exercises to help get started. We’ll use the following example to see how each divergent thinking exercise would be applied in a problem-solving brainstorm. Problem statement: “Registrations for our new grocery shopping app have plateaued. We want to increase registrations by 25% within one year.” 1. Freewriting Freewriting is the ultimate free-association activity – you simply write words, phrases, sentences, diagrams, doodles, whatever without stopping, and without worrying about spelling, mechanics, drawing skills, or the feasibility of an idea. There are no wrong answers and no constraints (aside from time, if you choose to set a timer). If your team works best with a bit more structure, you can try 6-3-5 Brainwriting, where six people each write three ideas on a sheet of paper as many times as they can during a five-minute round. Then, they pass their sheets to the next teammate, who spends the next five minutes adding to the other person’s ideas. Freewriting in action: Each team member starts with the word “registration” and writes any words that come to mind, such as: Sign upHappinessSmilesSignsSurprisesRewardsLooking upExcitementIncentivesOptimismDelightPositive reinforcement The team could then expand on certain ideas or themes for more specific solutions, such as ways you can add delight to the registration process or rewards you could offer for signing up. Learn more and try it! 2. Mind mapping A mind map builds new ideas off one central concept or subject. After writing down the primary concept, teams brainstorm supporting ideas, tasks, and questions around it. Then, they repeat the process for each of the secondary concepts, then the tertiary concepts, etc. The result is an organized diagram that shows lots of new ideas and how all of them are linked. Mind mapping in action: With all of these ideas mapped out, the group could then converge and narrow down which ones should be prioritized based on the impact they could have on registrations vs. the effort they would take to implement. Learn more and try it! 3. Disruptive brainstorming Disruptive brainstorming reveals new solutions by introducing hypothetical constraints. After brainstorming one set of ideas, teams use Disrupt Cards to look at the same problem or question from a new perspective. After diverging, each group converges on the ideas that are most achievable, supportable, and relevant, then assigns owners to investigate how to bring each one to life. Disruptive brainstorming in action: The team brainstorms one set of ideas for increasing registrations. Then, they pick the “Scarcity” Disrupt Card and brainstorm how they might apply scarcity to boost registrations even more, such as limiting signups to 100 per day and displaying the number available in real time next to the “Register” button. Once the brainstorming session comes to a close, they cut the ideas that aren’t doable or aligned with the product strategy, and assign owners to the rest to begin the planning process. Learn more and try it! 4. Alternate Uses Designed by J.P. Guilford in the 1960s, the Alternative Uses Test is a way to generate creative ideas and solutions from a single concept or piece of information. This approach can help look at something familiar from a new perspective. Alternative Uses Test in action: What might be alternative ways to learn about our grocery shopping app and sign up for it? (Wacky ideas welcome!) Sample answers: Scanning a QR code in the grocery store Mail a welcome kit to new parents with a promo code to try the app App mascot hands out flyers outside dorms during college move-in days Guerilla marketing campaign where we put stickers on grocery store doors that say, ”We could have saved you this trip.” Professional skydivers spell out the app name above the Super Bowl (we meant what we said: no bad ideas) Then, the team could either build on a few of the most promising ideas or filter some of the more granular concepts that might be more feasible. 5. Collaborative drawing and storytelling Collaborative drawing and storytelling (also known as a “one-word story”) expand on others’ ideas spontaneously. One person writes one word or starts a drawing. Then they pass it to another person, who adds the first word or drawing that comes to mind, and so on. The team repeats this process until there are enough potentially viable ideas to begin narrowing down and planning next steps for the best concepts. Collaborative storytelling in action: We could increase registrations by… Person 1’s answersharing Person 2’s answer3DPerson 3’s answervideoPerson 4’s answerwalkthroughsPerson 5’s answeronPerson 6’s answerTikTok (Sounds silly, but hey, we’ve seen stranger things go viral!) Even if the team ends up moving forward with a scaled-down concept or alternative plan, going through the exercise is a great way to uncover outside-the-box ideas. Learn more and try it! 6. Yes, and… A core tenet of improv comedy, “Yes, and…” encourages open-mindedness and exploration by accepting any scenario that is presented, then adding to it. When one person shares an idea, another person immediately embraces it and adds something that takes it to the next level. “Yes, and…” in action: Person #1: “We could show the average time the whole process takes on the first screen so users see it’s fast.” Person #2: “Yes, and we could put a completion tracker at the top of each registration screen so they see where they are in the process.” Person #3: “Yes, and we remove any unnecessary steps from each screen to make the process even faster.” Learn more and try it! From naming babies with your partner at home to developing new ideas and solutions with your team at work, divergent thinking is a powerful way to stimulate creativity and uncover new possibilities. Like any new thought process or method, your team may feel a bit unsure about how to do it or where to begin. But just because divergent thinking is free-form doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all. With a little preparation and a few exercises to get the momentum going, you can add just enough structure to a purposely unstructured process and set your team up for a brilliant brainstorm. Ready to try it? Yes, and…let’s get started! Subscribe to Work LifeGet stories like this in your inbox Subscribe The post Use divergent thinking to generate fresh ideas in your next brainstorm appeared first on Work Life by Atlassian. View the full article

August really is the Sunday of summer. It’s the moment we realize the easy days are slipping away and we’re about to jump headfirst into the busy routines of fall. There’s a drop in temperature (finally), but there’s an uptick in commitments. All of a sudden, your Google Calendar is a rainbow of colors with The post Collaboration without chaos: How to fix overloaded fall calendars appeared first on RescueTime Blog. View the full article