Setting Up Your Home Office

iOS 26 is one of Apple's biggest operating system updates in years. The new "Liquid Glass" design, while controversial, offers the first major UI overhaul since iOS 7, while new features like call screening and hold assist might change the way your make and receive phone calls. If you have an iPhone, you may be tempted to install the new update—and, seeing as it has been out for a week and a half now, you might have updated already. If you haven't installed iOS 26, yet, however, think twice before you do, because you're going to be stuck with it: Apple has made it impossible to downgrade and return to iOS 18. You can't go back to iOS 18As reported by MacRumors, Apple sto…

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. If you’re looking for in-ear earbuds with superior sound quality, long-lasting battery life, and a secure fit, the Beats Powerbeats Pro wireless earbuds are a reliable option, especially for those who are fans of Beats headphones. Right now, you can get an open-box pair for just $100 on Woot, a 60% discount. Open-Box Beats Powerbeats Pro Ear…

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. "Never pay full price for a MacBook Air" seems to be the takeaway from the latest Apple launches. Apple unveiled its updated lineup of M4-powered MacBook Air laptops in early March, and all the M4s saw their first discounts a few weeks later. The M4, M3, M2, and M1 MacBook Airs are all discounted right now, with some at their lowest prices ever, according to price-tracking tools. If…

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 latest Apple Watches now boast a sleep score, which gives you a number on a scale of 1 to 100 for how well you slept. But that’s not all—you can even get this number without the Series 11 watch, as I discovered this morning while waiting for my new watch to be delivered. To get the new sleep score, just make sure you have iOS 26 and watch OS 26 installed. Where to find the sleep scoreYou can view the sleep score on your iPhone or on your Apple Watch. On the watch (Series 6 or later), go to the Sleep app…

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 s…

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. Want customized workout plans, real-time feedback, and 24/7 motivation, all without the cost of a human trainer? AI personal trainers sound like a perfect solution. Download an app, answer some questions about your goals and fitness level, and receive a personalized training program. I've tested some of these apps myself, and I definitely see the appeal. But more than anything, I see companies stuffing AI into apps where it doesn't belong. There's Strava's Athlete "Intelligence"; Garmin's underwhelming Conn…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When I put the new Viwoods AiPaper Reader through its paces for my review, published yesterday, I made the mistake of trusting the company's own statements when I described its capabilities. According to Viwood's website, the phone-shaped device has mobile data functionality (specifically, 4G/Wi-Fi 2.4G), which I tested using a data-only SIM card. Nowhere does Viwoods advertise that its new e-reader call make and take phone calls. But it can. I'd love to say I figured this out on my own, but I actually first saw a post about it on Reddit shortly before I went to bed last night. By the time I woke up, I had an email in my i…

SMART goals are a helpful way to turn your ideas and to-dos into actionable plans for the near and far future, but they're not always the best approach. If you work on a larger team or need to track highly ambitious, long-term goals, for example, SMART might not be the best method to turn to. Other goal-tracking methods, like FAST and PACT, may be a better fit. You'll need to start by familiarizing yourself with these alternate methods, but once you do, you'll see that they are more tailored to specific needs and might just be your best bet. When should you use SMART goals?SMART goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound—that's what the acronym s…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In Lifehacker’s series, “A Guide to Automating Your Entire Home,” we’re highlighting all the ways you can power your home with autonomous technology, room by room. Whether you want to build a smart security system, turn a “dumb” device smart, or simply control your lights from your phone, this guide will help walk you through it. Temperature is crucial to your comfort at home, and smart tech can help you find that perfect balance—starting with smart thermostats, but extending to other devices and apps to help through the summer and winter months. Not only does a smart tech overhaul like this mean more precise temperature c…

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 …

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. Ever get a suspicious text from someone claiming to be your friend, but they appear to be texting from the right number? Well, in an era of number spoofing, which involves manipulating Caller ID to make yourself look like someone you're not, one can never be too careful. That's why Google is finally taking out of beta a Messages feature that helps you fight back. Called "Android System Key Verifier," the idea is simple, and has actually been available as a separate app before. Now, right from the Messages…

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. It's an exciting time to be an iPhone user. There's iOS 26, of course, which brings a number of major changes to the platform. For the daring, there's the iOS 26.1 beta, which continues to build upon the foundation of Apple's latest OS. If that weren't enough, however, it seems Apple is also working on yet another iPhone update—this time intended mostly to fix problems with the last one. The update, iOS 26.0.1, could drop any time in the coming days. These types of updates aren't necessarily unusual: Apple …

In the beginning, WhatsApp users could not protect their chat backups with encryption—while all communications were encrypted end-to-end, backups weren't afforded the same protection. Since 2021, however, WhatsApp has offered two ways for users to encrypt these backups: a standard password, or a 64-digit encryption key. There are security issues with both of these methods. Passwords can be secure, but let's be real, many of us use very simple passwords that are easy to remember, and, in some cases, we even repeat passwords from account to account to make things easier on our brains. If your password for WhatsApp backups is the same password you use for your email, and th…

You have probably heard of skimming, a type of fraud in which criminals install physical devices capable of capturing your payment card details on ATMs, gas pumps, and point-of-sale terminals. If you enter your debit or credit card into one of these fake card readers, your data is stored for later download or transmitted wirelessly in real time to a device controlled by scammers, who will use the information to steal from your accounts. Unfortunately, online shoppers aren't immune from this scheme. Web skimming is a type of cyberattack that uses malicious code to steal card data during checkout, and researchers have identified an ongoing campaign targeting major payment …

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. Study methods are usually all about what you can do in your own time to maximize what you learn and that's generally most important, but bringing someone else in to your process can be helpful if done correctly, too. That’s what Richard Feynman, a theoretical physicist, thought—at least in theory. According to many possibly apocryphal sources, the Nobel Prize-winner once said, “If you cannot explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it. The best way to learn is to teach.” It’s entirely poss…

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. Apple has reportedly paused its plan to revamp its Vision Pro headset in favor of speeding up development of smart glasses. According to Bloomberg, Apple internally announced last week that it was shifting employees and resources away from the next iteration of the Vision Pro and towards developing two models of yet unnamed Apple-branded smart glasses. The first Apple glasses, codenamed N50, are audio-and-AI-focused spectacles designed to pair with iPhones, similar to the first generation of Ray-Ban Meta gl…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. At the company's Meta Connect 2025 event yesterday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg officially unveiled its long-rumored and recently leaked display-focused smart glasses. Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses will cost $799 and go on sale on Sept. 30. The next generation of Meta smart glasses will feature a full-color, monocular, 600 × 600 pixel HUD in one of the lenses that will only be visible to the user. Display smart glasses will also include improved versions of the audio, video, and AI capabilities of non-display Meta glasses. …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. In Lifehacker’s series, “A Guide to Automating Your Entire Home,” we’re highlighting all the ways you can power your home with autonomous technology, room by room. Whether you want to build a smart security system, turn a “dumb” device smart, or simply control your lights from your phone, this guide will help walk you through it. So, you want to start a smart home, but you don't know where to begin? Whether you're starting a smart home from scratch or figuring out how to configure the one you already have, the good news is that it's much less of a headache now than it used to be. Smart home tech has undergone significant s…

If you don’t like Halloween, we can’t be friends. I don’t care whether you celebrate with a drunken costume party, pumpkin carving, door-to-door candy begging, or a more personal observance like watching horror movies alone, but respect must be paid to the awesomest of all holidays. But where did Halloween come from, and how did it end up like the modern holiday we now celebrate? The origins of Halloween are surprisingly slippery. Oct. 31 is next door to a Christian religious holiday, and it's around "harvest time," which might generally explain the date, but no one really knows why we put on costumes and beg for candy. There are a ton of theories describing how modern H…

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Here we go again. After hiking the price of Xbox consoles earlier this year, Microsoft just announced it is already raising prices again—the second price hike in four months. Now, even Microsoft's cheapest console, the Xbox Series S, will cost at least $400. As someone who got an Xbox Series S for $150 a few years back, that stings. (Granted, I got a really good deal. Still.) Microsoft is blaming "changes in the macroeconomic environment" for the new prices, so read into that what you will. How much more expensive will the Xbox be?Here is what Microsoft's consoles will cost after the new pricing takes effect: Xbox Series …

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 Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. The whole point of studying is to retain information you’ll need later in life, even if it’s just for an impending test on a subject you may never think about again in the future. That’s not easy when you’re taking in a bunch of unfamiliar phrases and concepts—which is why you need a quality method to structure your study sessions. Try the SQ3R technique next time you’re studying, and see the difference it can make. What is the SQ3R study method?I touched …

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. Netflix's October lineup has a little something for everyone. There are new seasons of familiar favorites, including the ninth installments of both Love Is Blind (Oct. 1), this time set in Denver, and real estate reality show Selling Sunset (Oct. 29). Nobody Wants This (Oct. 23), the rom-com series starring Adam Brody and Kristen Bell, is returning for another season, along with other Netflix originals The Diplomat (Oct. 16) and The Witcher (Oct. 30). The documentary slate this month is long: Those who l…

Did you know you can customize Google to filter out garbage? Take these steps for better search results, including adding Lifehacker as a preferred source for tech news. In iOS 26, Apple has expanded its Visual Intelligence feature from the camera lens to what's on your screen. Now, you can use Visual Intelligence to ask about what you're seeing on your iPhone's display, to add events to your Calendar, or to look up images using Google (similar to Google’s Circle to Search). All of this is quite cool, but it also comes with a redesigned, full-screen preview that pops up whenever you take a screenshot. When all you want to do is take a quick screenshot, maybe while you're …

The latest Apple Watch costs $429. A basic Peloton Bike is $1,395, plus a $49.99 monthly subscription. Throw in a WHOOP membership at $149 annually, maybe an Oura Ring for another $349, and suddenly you're looking at thousands of dollars to participate in what's become the standard way many Americans approach their health. For some, that price tag is steep. For others, it's a non-starter. I'm no stranger to the appeal of the latest, greatest wearables and smart health devices. But as all this wellness technology become the norm, what does this mean for people who don't strap a smartwatch onto their wrists? If comprehensive health data—and the insights it provides—becomes …

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Black Friday sales officially start Friday, November 28, and run through Cyber Monday, December 1, and Lifehacker is sharing the best sales based on product reviews, comparisons, and price-tracking tools before it's over. Follow our live blog to stay up-to-date on the best sales we find. Browse our editors’ picks for a curated list of our favorite sales on laptops, fitness tech, appliances, and more. Subscribe to our shopping newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox. Sales are accurate at the time of publication, but prices an…