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Entertainment group says it looks ‘forward to engaging with Federal Communications Commission to answer its questions’View the full article

The chancellor has made herself a prisoner of market movements, while the party’s MPs fret over how cuts will go downView the full article

The use of a group chat to discuss military attacks has called into question the competency of senior officials, despite their brazen defiance View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. This post is part of Find Your Fit Tech, Lifehacker's fitness wearables buying guide. I'm asking the tough questions about whether wearables can really improve your health, how to find the right one for you, and how to make the most of the data wearables can offer. Runners were some of the first people to embrace smartwatches. I remember back when a “running watch” was a brick-like GPS device strapped to your wrist, and it was a game-changer when those bricks started tracking heart rate as well. These days, every smartwatch can track your heart rate, not to mention your location and potentially a half-dozen other things. For a running watch to be special, it needs tons of extra fitness-centric features—and some critical small details, like physical buttons. Read on for my picks. What to look for in a running watchIt’s easy to get lost in spec sheets and marketing claims, but at the end of the day, what matters in a watch is whether it can do what you want a watch to do. Think of it like hiring an employee: you don’t want the person who can do the most things, you want the person who can do the job that you need done. So here are some things to think about when crafting the “job description” for your running watch. Some might be critical to you; some might be irrelevant. Does it have physical buttons? For most everyday functions, it may not matter if you’re clicking a physical button or booping an icon on a screen. But when you’re running laps at the track, your shaky, sweaty fingers are going to have a hard time with a touchscreen. For that reason, runners often prefer a watch with real buttons. All of my picks below have physical buttons. How good is the GPS? All running smartwatches track your location with GPS—that’s the main reason they exist. (To be pedantic about it, GPS is just one type of global navigation satellite system, or GNSS, which is what we really mean when we talk about location tracking.) But some location systems are more accurate than others. The least accurate watches are the ones that rely on your phone's GPS rather than having their own built in. (Whoop and some Fitbits, for example.) The most accurate smartwatches use multiple bands of GPS, plus other location systems like GLONASS and Galileo. Pay attention to which systems a watch uses and whether there are settings to know about. Most watches allow you to switch between higher accuracy modes that use more battery and lower accuracy modes that save battery life. All of my picks below use multiple satellite systems (with one obvious exception, as you’ll see). It’s worth noting that GNSS keeps getting better over the years, so newer models outperform older ones as a general rule. What is the battery life? While phone-based smartwatches like the Apple Watch usually need to be charged every day, running and fitness watches typically have a battery life that will last at least a few days between charges. Many will last a week or more, and some Garmins can make it a whole month. But if you do very long runs—you’re training for a marathon, perhaps—you’ll also want to know how long you can run. Playing music and tracking your location use more power than just wearing a watch in its regular timekeeping mode, so check how many hours of active use the watch provides. I’ll note battery life for my picks below. Does it help you navigate, or just track where you’ve been? Some running watches contain a full navigation system, with pre-loaded maps and turn-by-turn directions. Others can lay a trail of digital breadcrumbs for you, letting you see the path you've taken and retrace your steps, but without any extra information or help about where exactly you are in the world. All running watches can track your route in a way that lets you see a map when you get home. I'll note which watches include maps. Does it tell you what to do, or just track what you’ve done?Fancier running watches can track your fatigue and readiness, suggest workouts for you, and even guide you along a customized training plan. Meanwhile, the more basic watches will trust that you’re planning your own training; their job is just to be a tool to track what you’ve done. Do you want a running watch, or a general purpose smartwatch? Before we get into the specs of the best running watches, an important question to ask yourself is whether you want a running-specific watch with general features, or a general watch that you can bring on a run. The models below are for running first, everyday life second. Check out my guide on trackers for general health and fitness if you want something that’s more of a “smartwatch I can run with.” With those features in mind, I have picks for a variety of budgets and needs. The sweet spot: Garmin Forerunner 265 Credit: Beth Skwarecki The 2xx line of Forerunner has been the most popular for years. Strava's end-of-year reports have consistently found four- and five-year-old Forerunners among the most popular devices for serious runners. I personally run with a Forerunner 265S, and I've written here about why this is my favorite running watch out there. I don't need maps, so I didn't opt for the fancier 965; but I do appreciate the training status and upgraded GPS that the 265 series has and the 165 doesn't. The "S" at the end indicates that it's the smaller size; I also have a breakdown here of every difference between the 265 and 265S. (Bottom line: pick the one that fits you better.) The 265 has a bright, sharp AMOLED screen, where previous generations like the 255 had a MIP screen. I have a breakdown of the differences here; I prefer AMOLED, but MIP also has its die-hard fans. You can often catch a good sale on the older Forerunner 255, so it's worth considering if you want a good watch on a budget. Why the Forerunner 265S? Battery life: 13 to 14 days in smartwatch mode, 16 hours of running with GNSS, and 6 hours with GNSS and music. Provides suggested workouts and Garmin Coach training plans. Has a variety of training and recovery metrics, including VO2max, Body Battery, training load, recovery time, and intensity minutes. Location tracking: includes multi-band GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo. Garmin Forerunner 265 $390.00 at Amazon $449.99 Save $59.99 Shop Now Shop Now $390.00 at Amazon $449.99 Save $59.99 The best budget pick: Garmin Forerunner 165I previously called the Forerunner 55 my budget pick, but I'm changing my mind. This past Christmas, I bought a Forerunner 55 for my husband, since he said he wanted a lower-end watch. After spending a week with its low-resolution screen and clunky features, which looked positively archaic next to my 265, I asked him if he might be happier with a 165. We ended up returning the 55 and getting a 165 instead, and he's so much happier. That said, the 55 is fine. Don't let me talk you out of it, especially if you're able to get one on sale. (It's an aging model, so the price will likely continue to drop). The Forerunner 55 can track your runs just fine and provide some extras like sleep tracking. But the 165 has a nicer screen, better GPS, an altimeter, compass, Garmin Share (one of the best hidden features, in my opinion), HRV status, more workout modes, more ways to set your heart rate targets—just so much more good stuff, for only $50 more. Honestly, it may be best to think of the Forerunner 165 as a pared-down version of the 265. For $200 less than my favorite watch, you get most of the same features. It's only really missing multi-band GPS and a few analytics like training readiness and training status. Do note that it comes in Music and non-Music versions, charging a premium if you want to be able to play music directly from the watch. Garmin Forerunner 165 Music $295.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Shop Now Shop Now $295.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg The best-kept secret: Coros Pace Pro Credit: Beth Skwarecki Garmin has long been the unquestionable leader in the running watch biz, but I’m seeing more and more runners move to Coros watches. They may not be as common, but their owners love them, citing the lower price for similar features compared to a Garmin. The Pace 3 model is a lightweight MIP screen device that I found couldn't quite beat out the Garmin on features, but put up a heck of a fight in my head-to-head comparison. The watch I'd like to spotlight here, though, is the newer Coros Pace Pro. It has an AMOLED screen and features onboard maps, making it pretty comparable to a Forerunner 965 for hundreds of dollars less. When it comes to personal favorites, I still prefer the Garmin ecosystem and the smaller sizes that are available in Garmin watches (the Pace Pro is only available in a 46 millimeter size). But I can't deny that, when it comes to features and price, the Coros Pace Pro outperforms the Garmin Forerunner 265. Coros Pace Pro $349.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg Get Deal Get Deal $349.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg The fancy watch for fancy runners: Garmin Fenix 8 Solar SapphireIf you’ve got a generous budget for a running watch and you want the best one out there, it’s hard to go wrong with the Fenix line. This one comes in three sizes and several different feature sets, but I'd like to highlight this one. It has a sapphire screen, meaning it's literally made of sapphire mineral for scratch resistance. It also features solar charging, so you can extend your battery life outdoors without needing to stop to charge on long outings. Garmin also introduced an AMOLED screen on the Fenix 8, but AMOLED and solar charging don't go together, so you'll have to choose one or the other. Fenix watches, generally, have all of Garmin’s best bells and whistles, with an incredible battery life. In smartwatch mode you’re looking at a couple of weeks, not days (four weeks with solar charging is the official estimate), and the watch will last 13 hours of active use with all-systems GPS and music playing. Garmin Fenix 8 Solar Sapphire $1,099.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $1,099.99 at Amazon The barebones option that elite runners use: Timex IronmanYes, this is a "dumb" watch. No, I’m not including it as a joke. A lot of runners—including, and I might say, especially the pros—find the fancy features of smartwatches to be more of a distraction than a help. The Timex Ironman is a watch with physical buttons, a stopwatch, and a backlight that you can turn on when needed, and it retails for $60. It can remember your split times for a whole workout, and your average and best splits for past workouts. Timex Ironman $33.50 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $63.00 Save $29.50 Shop Now Shop Now $33.50 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $63.00 Save $29.50 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. I love my (admittedly last-gen) Kindle Paperwhite, but even though I know its 6.8-inch screen isn't actually that much smaller than most paperback pages, I still sometimes feel like I have to squint to read it. Maybe it's my fault for seeing it as more of a tablet than an out-and-out digital book, but I do sometimes feel tempted to read on my iPad instead and just put up with the glare. Luckily, Amazon does make a bigger Kindle, and now it's on sale. Amazon Kindle Scribe $324.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $399.99 Save $75.00 Get Deal Get Deal $324.99 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $399.99 Save $75.00 The Kindle Scribe is Amazon's only e-note, meaning it's intended more for writing on than reading with, but it will work for both. It can access your entire Kindle library, and thanks to its 10.3-inch screen, text and images do feel like they have more room to breathe on it. This can be especially good for comics (although, the black-and-white screen might make you want to stick to manga) and articles, and I've been tempted to upgrade for that reason alone before. The problem was the price, which is normally a little steep at $400. Starting at $325 with this sale, though, it's suddenly a much more attractive prospect. And that goes double when you take into account the Kindle Scribe's intended use case. It comes with a stylus that lets you mark up PDFs and jot down notes in either your own documents or in dedicated boxes in existing books, and Amazon says it's retuned this model to have a more paper-like feel when writing on it. Yes, there is AI here too, although it's fairly unobtrusive—when you're done handwriting a note, you can have the Scribe quickly summarize it, "refine" it, or reconfigure it into a digital font, if you like. There are arguments to be made for other e-notes despite all this functionality—my colleague, Joel Cunningham, recently reviewed a similar device, the Boox Note Air 4C, that has a color screen and can run Android—but if you're already in the Kindle ecosystem, this Scribe sale could make for a handy little upgrade. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

Phone call comes following Washington’s announcement of additional 25% levies on imports of foreign-made carsView the full article

The Federal Reserve governor said it is healthy to examine the regulatory architecture, but stressed the importance of the central bank having insight into the banking system. View the full article

Comments increase pressure on Nato ally Denmark as vice-president JD Vance tours military base on islandView the full article

This week has brought cave-ins to the White House but also signs of a fightbackView the full article

Meta wants to revive Facebook’s old-school appeal by introducing a new Friends Tab, which will focus solely on posts shared by a user’s friends and family. This Friends Tab will replace the section in the app that previously displayed friend requests and suggested friends. Instead, users in the United States and Canada will now see a scrolling feed featuring photos, videos, friend requests, birthday reminders, and text posts. “Over the years, Facebook evolved to meet changing needs and created best-in-class experiences across Groups, Video, Marketplace and more, but the magic of friends has fallen away,” the company wrote in an unattributed blog post. “We’ll be adding several ‘OG’ Facebook experiences throughout the year, beginning with the revamped Friends tab.” Importantly, the new Friends Tab won’t replace the Home feed, which still includes recommended content. However, Facebook may see this as a way to offer the best of both worlds. The company received significant backlash in 2022 after announcing plans to introduce recommended content from users who weren’t added as “friends.” Although Meta scaled back that content, users continued to see their feeds flooded with posts from creators and brands over time. This algorithm-driven approach has generally been seen as a strategy to boost engagement. Instead of checking in occasionally to stay connected with friends, many users turned to social media for endless scrolling. “Social media should feel social,” the company wrote. “In that spirit, we’ll be adding more fun, simple experiences to help you connect and share on Facebook throughout the year.” Facebook’s user base continues to skew older. A Pew Research Center survey from fall 2023 found that only a third of American teens ages 13 to 17 reported using Facebook—a steep drop from the 71% who said they used it in a 2014–2015 survey. It’s unclear how many young users will actually see the latest updates. Still, the move could appeal to users weary of algorithms and brand-driven content. Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg said during a January analyst call that there are many opportunities to make the app “more culturally influential than it is today.” 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. I've used earbuds to help me sleep for a while now, but I never expected a company to actually make earbuds specifically for sleeping. Anker's Soundcore Sleep A20 are exactly that: earbuds designed to block out excess noise without pressing uncomfortably against your ear. I've been using them for a year and can't recommend them enough. Right now, these sleep earbuds are on sale for $119.99 (originally $149.99) during Amazon's Big Spring sale—that's the lowest price they've been, according to price tracking tools. Soundcore Sleep A20 Noise Blocking Sleep Headphones, Small Earplugs for Side Sleepers, 80H Playtime, Sleep Monitor. $119.99 at Amazon $149.99 Save $30.00 Get Deal Get Deal $119.99 at Amazon $149.99 Save $30.00 The Sleep A20 are not active noise canceling earbuds, which is how they're able to have such a small, unobtrusive form factor. Instead, they use the in-ear seal to create a natural noise blocker, which, in my opinion, works well enough to block out sounds. They fit very comfortably and don't press against your ear when you sleep on your side. Very rarely do I wake up with one of them lost in the covers after falling off during the night, but it does happen occasionally. The battery life is 14 hours on sleep mode, which includes sounds from the Soundcore app (think like white noise or relaxing sounds). If you have it in Bluetooth mode, where you can listen to Spotify or whatever you want, it's eight hours, but the charging case gives it a total life of up to 80 hours between plug-ins. The companion app is great, with many useful features for sleeping. You can turn your earbuds off after a set amount of time, have a sleep tracker that records your sleep data, a smart volume feature that increases or decreases in volume depending on the sound in your room, full EQ, and other features. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

Top US banking regulators plan to withdraw an overhauled rule meant to tackle redlining and boost lending to lower-income areas after industry groups sued to block the updated legislation last year. View the full article

Auto groups told ministers on Friday they wanted more support for the sector domestically View the full article

When I reviewed the Kindle Colorsoft, one of my biggest points of criticism was how simple the tablet itself is. There's no stylus support or page turn buttons, even though Amazon previously had buttons on the now discontinued Kindle Oasis, and competitors like the Kobo Libra Colour and Boox Go Color 7 are still using them. Until now, that meant that turning the page required you to physically touch the screen, potentially leaving behind a distracting fingerprint. Personally, that's not a major issue to me—I just tap the margins. But it's a major distraction to my husband, who's taken to reading all of his books on his Kobo instead. With its most recent Kindle update, though, Amazon has now introduced an alternative way to turn your page, albeit with some limitations. As part of the 5.18.1 Kindle Software update, the Kindle Colorsoft and the 12th Generation Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition now let you turn the page by double-tapping pretty much anywhere on the device itself, whether that's the sides or the back. After updating, you'll get a brief intro screen, and then you're free to open a book and try it out. And don't worry—tapping once on the screen instead still works. It can be a bit tricky to get the timing down at first, but keeping the window for a double tap short also helps prevent accidental skips forward. It only took me a couple of minutes to land on a cadence that works every time, and I wouldn't say double tapping requires too much force or is too uncomfortable. That said, I mostly tested it out on a novel. If you advance your pages more frequently than once every minute or so, I could see the gesture getting tiresome. As for the downsides, double tapping only lets you move your page forward. There's no double tapping to go back, which is a bit of a bummer. My guess is that the Kindle just doesn't have the tech to differentiate between taps on the left side of the device vs. taps on the right side, so Amazon opted to map all double taps to moving forward a page instead. Still, you might have to retrain your muscle memory a little bit—using your left hand for this won't suddenly make you start rewinding. If you're on your Kindle's home screen, the double tap gesture will also scroll down slightly, which is a nice touch. The 5.18.1 software update is available now, and you can theoretically access it under Settings > Device Options > Software updates. That said, my Kindle didn't show it as an over-the-air update option, instead saying I was "on the latest software" when I was clearly still on version 5.18.0.01. If this happens to you, you can instead manually download the update to a computer through Amazon's website, then transfer it to your Kindle using the instructions below. Download the 5.18.1 software update for your device using the above link. Turn on your Kindle. Connect your Kindle to your computer (Amazon suggests using the included charging cable, but this wasn't necessary for me). Using your computer's file manager app, drag and drop the software update to your Kindle. Note that, if you're on Mac, you might need a separate app to actually see your device. Tap "Disconnect" on your Kindle (or eject it from your computer) and unplug it from your cable. Navigate to Settings > Device Options and tap Software Updates. Your Kindle will restart and apply the update. With that, you should be all set. Your Kindle will show the double tap tutorial and automatically enable the feature. That said, if you do find yourself accidentally double tapping a little too much, you can toggle it off under Settings > Device Options > Double tap. View the full article

The new state law can't ban the calls outright, but requires solicitors to disclose to mortgage consumers their identity and how they purchased the lead. View the full article

Investor enthusiasm for companies linked to artificial intelligence boom has waned this yearView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Dutch ovens are heavy duty cast iron behemoths ready to take on your next cooking challenge whether it’s steamed, braised, boiled, or fried. But usually with that much power comes (you guessed it) a ridiculous price tag. It’s important to note, while Staub and Le Creuset can retail for $200 to $500, other brands are just as effective. Here are three good options—well below $100—on sale right now for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale. For a smaller Dutch ovenI’m a fan of Lodge—I’ve had a 12-inch cast iron skillet that’s been a fabulous helper for nearly a decade—and their 3-quart Dutch oven has been deeply discounted. Normally this petite Lodge Dutch oven retails for over $100, but you can get it for $55.17. (Note that some of the different colors might come up at $60.) While a 3-quart pot isn’t very large, you can still cook three to four servings of side dishes, stews, and soups in this size pot. Here are some of my favorite things to cook in my Dutch oven. This size is great for smaller storage situations, and considerably lighter if you’re not interested in hoisting a 15-pound hunk of metal onto your stove. This heavy duty piece of cookware can last a generation if you take care of it, and look snazzy while doing it. Larger options Overmont. While I’m not familiar with Overmont, this Dutch oven is a good option if you’re looking for a larger pot. This highly rated Dutch oven is a 5.5-quart pot, which is better for baking loaves of bread or making six to eight servings of soups and stews. It’s also good for braising roasts or thick cuts of meat, and can withstand temperatures up to 500°F, moving seamlessly from stove top to oven for braising, or high-temperature bread baking. It’s $59.49 with a $5 coupon right now. Lodge. If there’s a Lodge option for a bigger pot then I’m going to find it—and I have. This is their 6-quart Dutch oven on sale for $67.49. Granted, it’s a few bucks more expensive than the 3-quart above, but with that extra space you can do a whole lot more. The Best Amazon Spring Sale Deals You Can Get Now Apple AirPods Pro 2 Wireless Earbuds — $169.99 (List Price $249.00) Ecobee Smart Thermostat Enhanced — $169.00 (List Price $189.99) soundcore by Anker Q30 Hybrid Active Noise Cancelling Headphones with Multiple Modes, Hi-Res Sound, Custom EQ via App, 40H Playtime, Comfortable Fit, Bluetooth Headphones, Multipoint Connection — $55.99 (List Price $79.99) Blink Mini 2 (White, 2-Pack) — $37.99 (List Price $69.99) 2024 Apple iPad mini A17 Pro chip, Built for Apple Intelligence, Wi-Fi 128GB - Blue — $399.00 (List Price $499.00) Apple Watch Series 10 (GPS, 42mm, Black, S/M 130-180mm, Sports Band) — $299.00 (List Price $399.00) Sonos Era 100 Wireless Speaker - White — $199.00 (List Price $249.00) Fire TV Stick 4K Max Streaming Player With Remote (2023 Model) — $39.99 (List Price $59.99) Fitbit Inspire 3 Health & Fitness Tracker (Midnight Zen/Black) — $69.95 (List Price $99.95) Roku Express 4K+ HDR Streamer with Voice Remote — $30.22 (List Price $39.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Facebook wants to be your friend again, by showing you what your real friends are up to. In an attempt to save itself from the AI slop and clickbaity images that are all over its algorithmic feed, Facebook is now updating its mobile app's dedicated Friends tab to be a whole feed, showing you updates only from the real people that you actually care about. That's a pretty big change, since before, all the Friends tab did was show you friend requests and people you may know. According to Facebook, the new Friends tab is one of "several 'OG' Facebook experiences" that are set to be released throughout the year, so this is just the beginning. That said, while the new feature started rolling out yesterday in the US and Canada, there's no timeline for a global rollout yet. How does the new Friends feed work? Credit: Meta In addition to having buttons up top for viewing friend requests, birthdays, and suggestions for people to follow, the Friends tab will now let you scroll down to see your friend's stories, reels, and posts, just like in the good old days. It still doesn't seem entirely chronological—Facebook hasn't been clear about how posts on this tab are organized—but hey, it's a start. How to pin the Friends feed to the tab barBy default, the new Friends feed is quite hidden. Don't expect to see it front and center simply because you updated the Facebook app. You should find it in your home feed's navigation bar on the very bottom of your screen, hidden behind an icon depicting one person standing in front of another. But if you don't see it, you can also pin it your navigation bar manually. To do that, click your Profile picture and go to Settings & Privacy > Settings > Tab Bar. Here, click the button next to Friends and choose the Pin option. Credit: Meta Now, the Friends feed will be available in the tab bar. You can press and hold the Friends tab to unpin it if you don't want to use this feature down the line. Hey, you can't turn off Meta AI, but getting to see your friend's life updates is at least something. View the full article

Consumer sentiment darkens while Federal Reserve’s inflation gauge risesView the full article

Fannie Mae increased its mortgage volume and home sales predictions, but that comes from cutting its forecasts for U.S. gross domestic product growth in 2025. View the full article

The Treasury Department told the OMB that all 11 programs in the CDFI Fund are statutorily mandated. The White House said "no final decisions have been made" about the programs. View the full article

The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency say they will move to rescind a 2023 reform to the Community Reinvestment Act, citing litigation concerns about the rule. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Right before the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January, I noticed a trend in robot vacuums. The suction power these robots were reporting were astronomical. Where Pa (suction power is measured in pascals) in 2024 was considered “high” at 8,000 or 10,000, the Ecovacs x8 is 18,000, the Dreame x50 is 20,000, and the Roborock Saros 10 is 22,000. In calls with the marketing reps and engineers of these machines I would routinely ask, “Is there a limit to how much suction is realistically useful?” And on more than one occasion, engineers revealed that the reason Pa levels had gone sky high was primarily because internal studies had revealed suction power was the primary way consumers chose robot vacuums. While I disagree that suction power translates to a good vacuum, I understand why consumers use this basis to choose: What other criteria would be important? Suction is only one factor in getting debris off the floorTo understand why suction power isn’t a good determining criteria, you first have to understand how robot vacuums function. Regardless of brand, almost all robots work like a regular vacuum does. On the bottom of the robot are a roller or series of rollers, like a regular vacuum. As the rollers go over debris, the suction from the robot pulls the debris off the rollers and sucks the debris into an internal, bagless chamber. To move debris toward these rollers, most robots have brushes that sweep the debris. In a perfect situation, all debris is picked up by the rollers, suctioned off of them into the chamber, and the floor is left clean. On this Roborock Saros, you can see underneath the robot, the sweep at the front of the robot is designed to move debris towards the rollers. This split design roller is meant to help debris move through the rollers without clogging. Credit: Amanda Blum The reality is that certain types of debris, such as hair, tie up the rollers, which wraps around the roller and can slice the silicone on it. Larger debris, like a receipt or even a small piece of mulch can get stuck in the roller, requiring a human to dislodge it. Debris can also be sucked up but clog the pipe because it gets stuck on the way to the internal chamber. In some of these cases, more suction might help, but how straight a suction tube is designed, or even how big the flapper is on the internal chamber make a difference, too. In truth, the entire design of the system, and all the parts working in concert is what makes a robot vacuum successful (or not). Even on this Roborock QRevo, you can see that the rollers occasionally get stuck with debris like floof, despite having high suction power. Credit: Amanda Blum For instance, while recently testing the Eureka J15, which has over 16,000Pa, I noticed that even though the sweepers were moving debris directly towards the rollers, the debris wasn’t making it up into the roller, so the robot left the debris behind. The Dyson 360 Vis Nav, which has over 20,000Pa, rides so low to the ground that some debris can’t get to the rollers to be affected by the suction and is instead simply pushed around the floor by the robot. Meanwhile, the original Switchbot K10+ had only 3,000Pa and did a spectacular job grabbing debris off the floor because it rides a little higher, allowing the rollers to access more debris, and the rollers are designed so that debris doesn’t get stuck as often. My favorite robot vacuum and mop of all time, the Roborock MaxV Ultra Vacuum, has only 10,000Pa but is undeterred by any type of debris and gets floors cleaner than any other vacuum I’ve tried. Roborocks have a very effective roller design that doesn’t seem to suffer from getting beat up by debris, and their sweepers are always being redesigned to be more effective at sweeping debris toward the rollers. Navigation, AI and the robots size matter, tooIt’s not only the rollers, sweeper, and suction that determines how well it will suction debris off the floor—the robot also has to be able to access the space where the debris is. Robots are now getting slimmer so they can slide under more furniture, but they’re generally still 12-13 inch objects trying to squeeze themselves into spaces, and if you have a lot of floor furniture, the robot will have trouble getting between those objects to effectively clean. Robots do best in big, open spaces, with walls that have no toekicks. The AI on board most robots can sometimes identify debris as obstacles, and tell the robot to avoid the debris altogether. (This is a repercussion of a few robot vacuums accidentally rolling over pet waste years ago and smearing it all over a room; now, robots are overly cautious about anything that could be remotely interpreted as such by AI). Debris also has to move through the dockThere’s another point where suction matters, though most product listings don’t discuss it: the robot dock. This is where, in most cases these days, the robot will be auto-emptied into a real vacuum bag that has to be changed every few months. The value of the auto empty is infinite; it’s what makes robot vacuums autonomous. If the dock gets clogged, it’s a lot more work to solve than if the robot does. Recently, I’ve seen mentions of docks like the Narwal Freo Z getting redesigned so there’s less turns in the suction pipe that receives the debris in the dock, since that will translate to less clogs. Ultimately, there likely isn’t one “best” robot vacuum, but rather the best robot vacuum for your home, since each house is different. For example, if you have a lot of large debris in your home, you would likely want a Roborock, since they handle that type of debris better than most. If your house has a lot of obstacles, you might consider the Switchbot K10+ Pro, which is much smaller than most robots, and can navigate into smaller spaces. If you have high thresholds in your home, a robot that can navigate those thresholds, like the Dreame x50 or the Roborock Saros line would be important. While suction is a factor of robot success, it shouldn’t be the only or determining factor when making a buying decision. View the full article

Arguments for slashing overseas development assistance in favour of defence fail on their own termsView the full article

If you’ve bought the antihistamine medication Benadryl from Amazon in the past few years, you’ll want to make sure to carefully check its packaging to make sure it is not part of the recall that was posted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) this month. That’s because a select Benadryl product sold on the e-commerce giant’s website has a fault that could lead to the risk of a child being poisoned. Here’s what you need to know. Benadryl Liquid Elixir sold on Amazon.com is being recalled On March 20, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission posted a recall notice on its website for Benadryl Liquid Elixir imported by Arsell Inc. of Brooklyn, New York. The medication was manufactured in Canada. While the medication itself is safe, the Benadryl Liquid Elixir’s packaging is not child-resistant as required by law. This means that the product poses a safety risk to young children. If they open the product and swallow the medicine inside, they could be poisoned. “The Benadryl contains diphenhydramine, which must be in child-resistant packaging as required by the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. The packaging of the products is not child-resistant, posing a risk of poisoning if the contents are swallowed by young children,” the notice posted on the CPSC website warns. What Benadryl product is being recalled? According to the notice posted on the CPSC website, only one specific Benadryl product is being recalled. The details of that product are: Product name: Benadryl Liquid Elixir, 100 mL bottles Product packaging: paper box with a round dark plastic bottle inside. Label code: X003VRIGUL In total, about 2,300 bottles are being recalled. Images of the product packaging can be viewed here. Where was the recalled Benadryl product sold? According to the notice on the CPSC website, the recalled product was sold online at Amazon.com. It was sold between July 2023 and October 2024. The price of the product ranged from $16 to $19. Have any children been harmed by the recalled Benadryl product? Thankfully, no. As of the March 20 posting date, the recall notice says that there have been no reported injuries or incidents so far. What do I do if I have the recalled product? The CPSC notice says the recalled product should be immediately secured and kept out of sight and reach of children. People with the product should contact the importer, Arsell, for a full refund. You will be asked to provide proof of your Amazon purchase and proof that you have disposed of the bottle and its contents. Those with the recalled Benadryl can contact recall@arsellsupport.com to begin the recall process. Full details of the recall can be found on the notice here. View the full article