Fitness is full of numbers meant to help you become faster and stronger. There’s your mile run time, your resting heart rate and measures of strength and flexibility. But perhaps the gold standard is VO2 max.
A handful of years ago, the test — which tracks how much oxygen your body absorbs — was an obscure tool mainly used by elite athletes. Today, it’s touted by fitness professionals and wellness experts like Peter Attia as being a useful measure for all exercisers.
But getting an accurate number requires an expensive and exhausting lab evaluation. And estimates provided by wearable devices might not tell you much. So how useful is it to invest time and money in the full work-up, and how important is knowing your VO2 max?
For everyday people who want to be healthy and live a long time, the measurement is “the best piece of empirical information we have on health and longevity,” said Kate Baird, a clinical exercise physiologist and the coordinator of running and metabolic services at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
The key, she said, is acting on what the data tells you.
What is VO2 Max?
“VO2 max” is a two-digit number that expresses how effectively your body metabolizes oxygen. The measurement itself is the milliliters of oxygen consumed in a minute per kilogram of body weight.
As you exercise, your body needs ever more oxygen. The more you can efficiently consume, the more energy your muscles will have, increasing the time and intensity you can exercise. Generally speaking, someone with a higher VO2 max will be able to sustain a run or an aerobic activity at a given pace longer than someone with a lower VO2 max.
The test has participants exercise to exhaustion to measure that threshold, essentially measuring the size of someone’s internal aerobic engine.
Most VO2 max tests are conducted with a medical professional in a lab, with a specialized mask that measures the amounts of oxygen and carbon dioxide that are inhaled and exhaled. Participants then work out with the goal of reaching maximal aerobic capacity, or the point of complete exhaustion.
The same score might be considered high for one person and low for another, depending on their genetics, sex, age and body composition.
The test is difficult, which can be a turnoff for those who don’t want to push to their limits, and it costs a few hundred dollars, which is generally not covered by insurance.
What does it tell you about longevity and performance?
Your VO2 max can decline by about 10 percent per decade starting at around 25, but it is possible to increase or maintain it with activity. A 2021 study of 2,000 middle-aged men and women found that small amounts of activity could improve VO2 max. The more effort you put in, the higher the benefit; moderate to vigorous physical activity increased that number even more dramatically.
Testing your VO2 max annually can show you whether you are slowing that decline, Ms. Baird said. For serious athletes, proper rest and sustenance are also key for maintaining or improving your score. Measuring VO2 max before and after a few months of focused training can reveal if you are working out too hard or if you are fueling properly during your workouts, among other things, according to Luke Greenberg, a physical therapist and co-founder of MotivNY, a physical therapy and training studio.
What about VO2 max on wearables?
Not everyone can afford to spend their time and a few hundred dollars on a lab-based test. As a result, dozens of wearables have recently entered the market claiming to measure VO2 max with algorithms that use heart rate and GPS data to extrapolate the value.
Some worry that those estimates may not be accurate, but it’s difficult to assess their accuracy because the algorithms are not published, according to Dimitris Spathis, a researcher at the University of Cambridge.
In 2022, Dr. Spathis coauthored a study in which researchers developed a model to better predict VO2 max using data from 11,000 participants. He’s hopeful that most athletes will someday be able rely on wearables instead of paying for tests.
If you don’t have the time or interest to take a lab test or use a wearable device, Ms. Baird advises finding other ways of setting goals to increase your fitness. There’s a good chance that a VO2 max test would tell you information that you already know.
“The best predictor of performance is your performance,” she said. If you enjoy running, set a time or distance goal. If you are more sedentary and aiming to exercise more, start moving in a way that feels tolerable and safe, starting with a walk of as little as 10 to 15 minutes.
And above all, be patient.
“Every single person is going to respond differently to training based on their genes and other lifestyle factors,” Ms. Baird said. “It can take years to move your body in the direction you want to go.”
A dangerous new malware attack on the iPhone was found in India and other 91 countries. Apple has notified possible victims of a “mercenary spyware attack,” Reuters reports. Interestingly, this malware attack isn’t a regular threat but is most likely state-sponsored.
In an e-mail seen by the publication, Apple sent iPhone users a message saying attackers tried to “remotely compromise the iPhone, and Apple would try to help users “who might have been individually targeted by mercenary spyware attacks.”
Still, Apple didn’t acknowledge that this malware attack was state-sponsored. However, it says these attacks have been “historically associated with state actors, including private companies developing mercenary spyware,” such as Pegasus spyware from NSO Group.
The Indian government might be behind this iPhone malware attack
According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Reuters, Apple has removed the term “state-sponsored” from this iPhone malware attack after facing pressure from the Indian government to link these breaches to state actors.
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The publication says Appls held “extensive talks with Indian officials before releasing the latest set of alerts,” while it’s not clear if “other governments have also raised similar concerns.”
These malware attacks are more sophisticated than regular cybercriminal activity but usually aren’t focused on regular users but politicians, investigative journalists, celebrities, and other authorities.
What makes this report interesting is that this is not the first time Apple has done something sketchy in the government’s favor. Cupertino is known for complying with several Chinese rules, as the company relies on the country to manufacture its products.
Now, with India being a significant part of Apple’s supply chain and plans to keep growing, it makes sense that Cupertino is now involved in the middle of its political controversies.
The privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo on Thursday introduced a new privacy protection subscription service called DuckDuckGo Privacy Pro. One subscription gives you three new DuckDuckGo services: a VPN and two tools called Personal Information Removal and Identity Theft Restoration.
DuckDuckGo said similar protections could cost you more than $30 a month if purchased separately, but Privacy Pro costs $10 per month or $100 annually. Privacy Pro is available in the US for iOS, Android, Mac and Windows users. DuckDuckGo said it plans to offer this service to other regions in the future.
Here’s what you should know about Privacy Pro’s features.
VPN
DuckDuckGo
DuckDuckGo wrote in a blog post that its VPN offers full-device protection on up to five devices at once. The company also said it has a no-logging policy, which means it doesn’t store any data that could connect you to your online activity or any other DuckDuckGo service. It’s important to note that all the VPNs we recommend have strict no-logging policies, although you can — and should — be skeptical of these claims. Virtual private network providers undergo third-party audits to verify zero-log claims. DuckDuckGo told CNET in an email that a third-party audit is currently in progress. The company said no significant issues have been found at this time, but a full report will be made available once the audit is complete.
“To encrypt your traffic and route it through a VPN server, we use the open-source WireGuard protocol, which is fast and secure,” DuckDuckGo CEO and Founder Gabriel Weinberg said. “We also route your DNS queries automatically through the VPN connection to our own DNS resolvers, which further hides your browsing history from your ISP.”
DuckDuckGo said it has VPN servers in the US, Canada and Europe, and it plans to add more in the future.
There is a whole digital ecosystem around the collection, aggregation and use of your personal data — like your address, marital status and phone numbers — by data brokers and people-finder sites. While data brokers say your information is anonymized, a study published in Nature Communications found that with 15 demographic data points, a person could be identified with a 99.98% certainty.
But DuckDuckGo said Privacy Pro’s Personal Information Removal feature works to remove this data from those sites.
“We scan dozens of these sites for your info and, if found, request its removal, even handling back-and-forth confirmation emails for you automatically behind the scenes,” Weinberg wrote.
Personal Information Removal will continue rescanning data brokers or person-finder sites even after your information has been deleted.
However, according to McAfee, some data brokers don’t allow third parties to request that information be deleted on a person’s behalf, so you might have to request the information to be removed on your own. DuckDuckGo does say its Personal Information Removal feature will show you the status of requests it makes on your behalf, so if one request doesn’t go through, you should at least know where to direct your inquiry.
DuckDuckGo partnered with Iris Powered by Generali, an identity and cyber protection service, to help you if your identity is stolen. So in the event of identity theft, Iris will collect information about your situation and may offer to assist you in several ways, like covering out-of-pocket costs or even helping you cancel and replace your sensitive documents.
DuckDuckGo does note that no personal information is shared between it and Iris, and you just need to contact an Iris adviser if your identity is stolen or you need help.
Weinberg said that DuckDuckGo’s goal is to make multi-faceted, best-in-class protection more accessible, and Privacy Pro seems to be another step toward that goal. These privacy features should give people more layers of protection, as well as the means to combat any breaches of that privacy.
“Millions of people already rely on our browser for seamless overlapping protections while they search, browse and email,” Weinberg said. “Adding Privacy Pro further expands this privacy layer … all in one simple package.”
What this means for DuckDuckGo’s business
While Privacy Pro is DuckDuckGo’s first time charging for a product, its $10 per month price tag should allow the company to continue to be the privacy-focused search engine it claims to be while offering more privacy options.
For years, DuckDuckGo has offered its privacy tools for free and made money through search ads. That means if you use DuckDuckGo to search for a car, you might see ads about cars. These are generalized ads, not the weird personalized ads you might see if you look up a shirt one day and then see ads for that shirt on every website you visit.
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“We are profitable based on these nonprofiling search ads alone,” the company wrote online.
However, Weinberg said that there’s only so much protection that can be provided through this kind of business mode, and that’s why the company is charging for the features offered in Privacy Pro.
“Some protections, like securing our users’ network connections with a VPN, require significantly more bandwidth and other resources,” Weinberg said.
This paid plan should also allow DuckDuckGo to remain a privacy-focused search engine. By offering Privacy Pro as a paid service, DuckDuckGo can continue to offer its other services, like its email protection service, at no charge. So, while $10 per month might sound like a lot, what you’re buying is additional privacy features and the peace of mind that your data isn’t going to be floating around online for malicious actors to take advantage of. I’m hoping DuckDuckGo will be able to provide even more privacy features to more people with this additional revenue stream.
Popular gaming hardware maker MSI announces its new Vision Elite 14th gaming desktop, with top-of-the-line specs and AI-powered features. It’s powered by Intel Core i9 14th Gen processor and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU.
The company calls this desktop “the ultimate showpiece in aesthetic power with the added benefit of standardized parts letting users easily expand and maintain the desktop for many years to come.” This desktop is built into the MSI Maestro chassis, a one-piece 270-degree tempered glass panel that provides a panoramic view of the interior without obstructive metal at the corners.
The MSI Vision Elite gaming desktop comes with Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 support, and a 2.5G LAN port for stable network connectivity while gaming on a wired or wireless connection.
The initial configuration includes an Intel Core i9-14900KF CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 gaming trio GPU, 32GB DDR5 RAM, 2TB M.2 NvmMe SSD storage, and a 1000W power supply, with a suggested price of $4,299.99.
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MSI unveils new generation of gaming desktops Assembled in America
Besides the new Vision Elite gaming desktop, MSI is also unveiling improvements in the Aegis and Codex series. According to a press release, the Aegi series now features configurations with distinct faceplates that include mesh-like designs and venting through the aluminum side panel, ensuring great performance from the hardware within by improving airflow throughout the system.
MSI says it brings “a DIY feel without the hassles of building a PC from scratch through the use of quality, standardized parts.” For the Codex series, it’s been refreshed with two new chassis styles with augments to airflow and design. This CPU is the perfect base for those looking to start their PC gaming journey.
You can discover all the latest MSI gaming desktops on the company’s website here.
A lot of the tech that I test can seem like science fiction, but using it in the real world can be a chore. That’s how I feel about the Humane AI Pin. I can see a future idea in this clip-on thing that promises a living version of a Starfleet Badge, but that future isn’t here yet.
The Humane AI Pin ($699) wants to be a self-sufficient phone replacement, a shiny voice-controlled communicator that also throws out laser displays you can control with your hands, like a magically projected dashboard. It’s amazing in concept, but so frustrating in execution. Humane’s Pin could be the future of wearables beyond our watches, but right now it doesn’t have enough consistency or connectivity.
Watch this: Humane’s AI Pin: Unboxed and Tested
This also won’t be the last AI wearable we see: Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses already have AI capabilities rolling out to the public in the next month; startup Brilliant is making display-enabled AI glasses; and the Rabbit R1 is a handheld AI-powered gadget, like a phone-meets-AI GameBoy.
The AI Pin falls in the middle of these. Many of these devices are striving for a way to reinvent the phone in my pocket, but I’ve gotta say: that phone is already pretty damn versatile and amazing. It already has my interconnected life living on it. That’s what AI wearables need to contend with, much like smartwatches did before. They need to be helpful, affordable extensions and not expensive attempts at reinventing what already works.
The Humane AI Pin between the Apple Watch and AirPods: it feels like a design cousin.
Scott Stein/CNET
Little, shiny, eye-catching
The AI Pin is certainly nicely made. The brainchild of former Apple engineers and designers Imran Chaudhri and Bethany Bongiorno, it looks like a cross between the Apple Watch and AirPods, if both somehow fused to become a camera-enabled mini-pod. Smooth and metal-edged, it reminds me of the design of the first iPhone in miniature.
The accessories are well-conceived too. The AI Pin has its own battery onboard and also a battery-extending booster that magnetically clips on through clothing and keeps an extra charge passing through. I’ve never seen anything like that before.
The AI Pin clips right to clothing magnetically, with a rear battery pack attaching and powering right through the cloth.
Numi Prasarn/CNET
The AI Pin includes an extra battery pack, as well as two ways to charge up. One, a little charge cradle, lets you use the Pin’s voice-activated features while still charging on a desk. The other, a little egg-shaped portable charge pack, has its own battery and feels like the kind of AirPods case EVE from Wall-E would use. It can also charge those battery boost packs while the other one’s being worn.
This swappable battery system is one of the best ideas about the pin. I found my everyday battery life lasting most of a day, far longer than the few hours I get with Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses before needing to take them off for a charge (and then not have glasses). I like the comfort of consistent charge options.
The little portable battery charger is adorable and helpful. Batteries can also be swapped out on the fly.
Scott Stein/CNET
There are also a few extra clip types for different outfits. That battery booster is a bit bulky and feels weird under my sweater, for instance, but a thinner backing clip without a battery is made for thinner shirts. Then there’s a clip with a metal add-on for when the magnet system is too weak for thicker clothes or jackets.
The pin is button-free, relying on a touchpad on the front to tap and hold for voice commands. There’s no voice activation, which means you’ll always be tapping (literally, like a Star Trek officer): one finger tap for voice, two fingers held for translation, two fingers double-tapped to take photos and tap and hold to record a video. Note: It can record only 15 seconds of video at a time.
The charge base can let you keep it deskside and still use voice commands.
Scott Stein/CNET
That wild projected laser with hand tracking: Amazing and frustrating
The AI Pin’s signature laser-projected magic trick interface happens when you tap the pin and hold your hand out. Near-range tracking sensors trigger a laser projector that casts a glowing blue display on your outstretched hand. Then, you can use that hand to tilt and pinch to control the interface. It looks like straight-up cyberpunk wizardry, and I got the hang of the concept pretty quickly. Navigation isn’t always easy.
Getting the display to pop up takes a few attempts sometimes, and depending on where you’ve put your pin, the throw distance and angle can shift, requiring a different hand angle. Pinching can feel a bit awkward especially when keeping your palm open. Tilting and moving my hand farther out or closer to select numbers, to enter my passcode for unlocking the Humane AI Pin every time I attach it to my clothes, is a hassle.
The AI Pin throws a laser display onto your hand, and hand gestures control the interface. Futuristic? Heck yes.
Numi Prasarn/CNET
And if you want to connect to Wi-Fi, you need to navigate to settings with pinches and then dictate your Wi-Fi password, which isn’t easy. (You can also use a QR code, but that’s weird). There’s no other way to connect since there’s no phone app. As a frequent wearable tester, this baffles me.
Unfortunately, the laser display is nearly useless outdoors in normal sunlight; it washed out completely, and I had to shield my hand to even try to make out text. Even indoors, the projection can be hard to read on your hand because the text can bend and shift. Unlike a screen, your hand isn’t perfectly flat.
Mid-day in New York City, I can’t see the display on my hands at all in normal daylight.
Numi Prasarn/CNET
Translation: Really cool, when it works
Tapping and holding with two fingers triggers instant translation, and whatever I say turns into Spanish the first time I try the pin. It works with 50 languages right now, according to Humane. It also automatically recognizes another speaker’s voice in the other language and translates it back into English for me.
Your phone can translate too, if you get the right app, but the AI Pin feels much closer to an instant magic translator. The problem is that my pin wouldn’t always switch languages. Sometimes it got stuck in German or French. Maybe this is an early issue, but it was certainly frustrating.
Much like Meta’s Ray-Ban glasses, the Humane AI Pin has a camera, and can use that camera to ping and analyze the world with AI.
Scott Stein/CNET
A camera on the world, with some AI sight functions
Much like Meta’s AI-enabled glasses, the Human AI Pin can scan the world with its wide-angle camera to process and react to what you see. The results vary widely. I have to ask the device to “look” and then figure out what I want it to tell me, which feels like consulting a genie. Sometimes the answer is helpful and sometimes nothing much happens at all.
You can have the pin read things out loud, try to identify cars, plants or locations or describe a room. The relay between taking a photo and having the AI Pin answer back takes more than a few seconds. It’s a fascinating idea for a future world where seeing cameras we wear can be assistive tools; a thought I had when testing Meta’s Ray-Bans, as well. The process isn’t as automatic or as fluidly helpful as I’d want. Sometimes the AI just didn’t help me at all or gave differing answers to the same questions.
A photo taken with the Humane AI Pin, outside near the office. It’s fine, but I couldn’t always make out how to frame my shots.
Scott Stein/CNET
The pin does take still shots using three snaps or 15-second videos. The camera quality is fine but not great. It’s also hard to predict what the pin’s photos will look like without a screen or viewfinder. You can preview shots in your hand but in blue monochrome. There’s something maybe fun about having a wearable camera that can just capture life moments without grabbing a phone, but overall I prefer Meta’s glasses for framing shots and what looks to me like better camera quality (but more to come on thoughts on how good the Humane AI camera can be). The limited video recording time means I’m not using it to save more than small snippets of real-time memories.
Some of the things I asked my AI Pin. It does have current news information.
Screenshot by Scott Stein/CNET
Voice-controlled AI: Incomplete, unreliable
When I held up a can of Spindrift and asked the AI Pin to “look and tell me what this is,” the response was “‘Luck’ is a 2022 film distributed by Apple TV Plus about the story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world, who finds herself in the Land of Luck and must unite with magical creatures to turn her luck around.” I’m guessing it misunderstood me as saying “luck and tell me what this is.” That’s my life with voice-controlled AI, in a nutshell.
When the AI Pin’s AI works, it’s fun. I asked when the next train was coming to my town, and it knew. I asked who the New York Jets’ latest offseason move was for and then asked for the player’s stats. You can do these things on a phone, but services like Siri and Alexa don’t handle voice requests as smoothly all the time.
The AI Pin didn’t always understand me. This is common with voice-controlled AI.
Screenshot by Scott Stein/CNET
The problem is that the generative AI assistant Humane AI gives me right now isn’t hooked into any of the services I use, and the answers are inconsistent.
The Humane AI Pin is disconnected from my world. As a self-contained, cellular-connected device, it doesn’t sync up with my phone at all. Instead of a phone app, the Humane AI Pin has a web dashboard where all my AI requests, photos and videos, and services are managed.
While I appreciate the ambition of what Humane is doing, it makes me feel like I’m starting my digital life all over again. It has no knowledge of my calendar, my emails, my notes or anything else. It can’t summon an Uber or look up my purchase history. That’s comforting, in a sense, but also points out how many services simply don’t integrate with it yet.
The web dashboard for Humane’s pin shows saved AI requests, synced photos and videos, and AI-recorded “memory” notes.
Screenshot by Scott Stein/CNET
Humane’s web dashboard currently connects with Apple to sync contacts, Microsoft (also for contacts) and Google (contacts, and syncing to Google Photos). It supports only one music service: Tidal. If you happen to subscribe to Tidal, the AI Pin can play streaming music and the pin’s bluetooth-pairs with headphones.
More hook-ins are coming, according to Humane’s founders. It’s not even day one, at the time I’m writing this. Still, for a device that leans entirely on AI services to help me, I need those to work for the AI Pin to be useful.
There are a lot of things I couldn’t do yet.
Screenshot by Scott Stein/CNET
I had plenty of moments where the pin told me it couldn’t do certain things yet. I couldn’t send an email. I couldn’t set a timer. I couldn’t check nutritional values. I couldn’t set a reminder. You can have the pin “remember” things, which get saved as notes in the Humane web dashboard. The pin will recall these later, like my kid’s names, for instance. I’d prefer it to import notes I already had stored elsewhere.
Another issue: Overheating
I found the AI Pin suddenly needed cooldowns whenever I used that laser display for more than a few minutes. An alert tells me the pin is overheated. When this happens, I can’t use the pin at all, which concerns me. First of all, what if I needed it? Second, I’m suddenly wearing a hot pin on my chest.
Humane’s founder, Bethany Bongiorno, said this is part of the pin’s thermal management. I’m hoping this issue gets addressed in updates because I wonder how this pin will handle everyday use if it’s already showing so many issues for me.
I started to get pretty frustrated with the AI Pin over the past week.
Numi Prasarn/CNET
Unless it gets more useful and reliable, I don’t want to keep wearing it
I want to take off the AI Pin. It’s not as useful as my watch and not as fun as Meta’s glasses. It’s also in a strange new place that’s not as easy to wear, and I feel concerned about it when I’m outside. Will it fall off? Will rain damage it? (It’s not listed as being water resistant.) Will someone steal this expensive thing by grabbing it off my shirt?
These everyday moments of frustration keep mounting. But, these are early days for AI wearables. I’ll try the AI Pin on a trip I’m taking and keep checking for updates. It’s cute-looking and fascinating, and I love new tech, but I don’t love how difficult it currently is to use it.
If I want to live a distraction-free life without looking at my phone, I need ambient tech to operate smoothly. We all do. That’s not easy for the AI Pin, and so far, it needs to do a lot better.
Editors’ note: CNET used an AI engine to help create several dozen stories, which are labeled accordingly. The note you’re reading is attached to articles that deal substantively with the topic of AI but are created entirely by our expert editors and writers. For more, see our AI policy.
The Google Nest WiFi mesh wireless system is among the most popular options out there right now. There are several different configurations available, but the hottest one among our readers is the setup with one router and one mesh point. It’s ideal for most homes since Google says it covers up to 3,800 square feet of space. Unless you live in a very big house, that’s probably more than enough coverage for your home. Plus, you should get decent signal in your front and backyards. That means your wireless home security cameras and other smart home gadgets should have no problem staying connected.
This particularly popular Google Nest WiFi setup retails for $269, but there’s a terrific deal available at the moment. The retail price is more than fair, but there’s currently a massive 61% discount that drops your price to just $105. That’s a crazy value, and it’s a perfect option for anyone looking to upgrade their home wireless network.
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As important as wireless connectivity is these days, people still often neglect their home wireless networks. It’s absolutely essential to have WiFi at home that is fast, reliable, and secure. After all, the computers in our best laptop deals guide, and the other wireless gadgets you own are practically useless if they can’t connect to a speedy wireless network.
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It doesn’t matter if you work from home or you just love streaming movies and shows on your Fire TV Stick. Whatever the case, you need a fast network with great coverage. And that’s exactly what you get with the Google Nest WiFi router and mesh point.
This dual-band setup offers a large 3,800 sq. ft. of WiFi coverage, so even large homes should be able to get away without adding another mesh point. You’ll also be able to connect up to 100 devices, so even complex smart home setups should be fine.
As an added bonus, the Google Nest WiFi mesh point is also a smart speaker. That means you can access Google Assistant to ask questions or control your smart home gadgets whenever you’re nearby.
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The regular retail price for this setup is $269, which is right in line with comparable mesh wireless systems. But Amazon’s current deal drops the price of this Google Nest WiFi setup to just $105. That’s a fantastic price for a top-reviewed wireless system. You can also pick up the bundle with three access points instead of two for around $155. That’s more than half off the $349 retail price.
There’s really only one downside to this Nest WiFi setup, but it might be a deal-breaker for some shoppers. Although Google’s mesh system is fast and secure, it doesn’t support WiFi 6.
If you’d like to check out some options that do support WiFi 6, I’ve got two good ones for you that are both discounted right now.
First, the TP-Link Deco X55 WiFi mesh system is on sale for $169.99. This system offers 6,500 sq. ft. of coverage, and it supports speeds of up to 3,000 Mbps. Or if you have a smaller space to cover, the top-rated TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 router is only $74.99 right now.
Choosing the best cordless vacuum cleaner for your home means finding one that has the right features and accessories for your needs. But finding one at a great price is also part of the equation, and we can help with that bit today. This deal gets you an Ultenic U10 Pro and a ton of accessories for just $80, $110 off its list price. That’s thanks to a $90 direct price cut and coupon code 3DR7LUZF which saves you a further $20 when entered at checkout. Be sure to act soon, that discount code won’t last forever.
The Ultenic U10 Pro has plenty going for it. It weighs only 5.9 pounds, making it highly maneuverable, and you can use it on hard floors, carpets and more. It has LED headlights so that you can see where you’re cleaning, and the 30,000 Pa suction power will help clean 99.99% of the fine dust on your floor.
It also has a large 2,200-mAh battery, which means that you can expect up to 35 minutes of cordless vacuuming on a single charge. And then we get to the accessories. This vacuum comes with add-ons designed for cleaning different parts of the home beyond your floors, like the stairs, between sofa cushions and other hard to reach areas. Plus, you can even use it to vacuum your car’s carpets, seats and more.
Prefer your vacuums to clean for you? Be sure to check out our collection of the best robot vacuum deals, too.
Reports a few months ago detailed a ghost touch issue for certain Apple Watch models that Apple was investigating. Some users discovered that their smartwatches’ displays behaved erratically as if someone was touching the screen, hence the “ghost touch” name for the Apple Watch issue.
The Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 models were initially impacted. Apple instructed authorized service providers not to replace devices that displayed erratic screen behavior but to wait for a software update.
Fast-forward to mid-April and Apple has a software update, but it doesn’t fix the problem completely.
Moreover, it looks like more models are affected. The good news is that you can fix the problem yourself with a force restart until Apple figures out a permanent solution.
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Apple issued a new memo to Apple Authorized Service Providers, per MacRumors.
This has JUST been extended to series 7, series 8, as well as ultra 1 just FYI
Apple has advised us not to replace watches for this issue and to tell people to basically force restart the watch by holding both buttons together for 10 seconds and also keep your watches up-to-date https://t.co/klrVeYhkD0
As seen above, service providers were told not to replace any Apple Watch showing ghost touch issues. The list of affected devices also includes older models, like the Apple Watch Series 7, Series 8, and Ultra 1.
Instead, repair shops should instruct users to perform a force restart on Apple Watches with ghost touch issues.
To restart, press the Side button and the Digital Crown simultaneously for 10 seconds. That should fix ghost touches, but the solution might not be permanent.
Apple also instructed repair shops to ensure that the Apple Watches showing the issue are updated to the latest watchOS version. The company issued a fix for ghost touches in watchOS 10.4, but it doesn’t look like it’s fully working.
It seems Apple continues to investigate the problem, and a more permanent fix might be coming down the road. When will it happen? We’ll just have to wait.
A different kind of ghost touch issue
I’m using the Apple Watch SE 2 and can’t say I’ve experienced the issues. However, the model is not included in the list of impacted devices that Apple just updated.
I will note that the Apple Watch SE 2 screen can experience ghost touching in certain conditions. For example, I’m training for a marathon and ran plenty of miles during the winter. That meant wearing additional layers, many of them covering the wearable. Towards the end of long runs, those layers might generate accidental touches, with sweating/water being a factor.
These ghost-like touches would only impact the Workout app rather than sending the screen into a frenzy. The easy fix is to enable the Water Lock button, which you’d use during swimming sessions. But this is an entirely different matter than the ghost touch issue that Apple is now addressing.
Apple released the first iOS 17.5 beta to public beta testers on April 4, two days after the company released the beta to developers and about a month after the release of iOS 17.4. The latest beta brings a handful of new features — like more ways for people in the European Union to download apps — to the iPhones of some developers and beta testers.
We recommend downloading a beta only on something other than your primary device. Because this isn’t the final version of iOS 17.5, these features might be buggy and battery life may be short, and it’s best to keep those troubles on a secondary device.
If you’re a developer or public beta tester, here are some of the new features you might find in iOS 17.5 beta 1. Note that the beta is not the final version of iOS 17.5, so there could be more features landing on your iPhone when iOS 17.5 is released. There’s no word on when Apple will release iOS 17.5 to the public yet.
Download apps from sites… but only for people in the EU
According to MacRumors, iOS 17.5 beta 1 introduces the ability to download apps right from a developer’s website instead of through an app store. However, this feature will only work for people in the EU. Apple announced this capability on March 12, alongside other EU-specific developer features, like the ability to choose the design of in-app promotions.
This is the latest EU-specific feature to come to the iPhone. When Apple released iOS 17.4 in March, a big part of that update was allowing people in the EU to download alternate app stores in order to comply with the Digital Markets Act.
Podcast widget changes color
The Podcast widget can change color to match what you’re listening to.
Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET
With iOS 17.5 beta 1, your Podcast widget will change color depending on the artwork of whatever podcast you’re listening to at the moment. So if the podcast you’re listening to has red artwork, the widget will turn red.
This aesthetic feature was in some early iOS 17.4 betas, but Apple removed it from that update’s public release. In iOS 17.4, Apple also brought transcripts to podcasts, which makes the audio media more accessible for more people.
Books app counter tool
It appears iOS 17.5 beta 1 also wants to help people achieve their reading goals. With the update, the Books app gets a counter in the top right corner of the app’s homepage. If you tap this counter, the app takes you to your Reading Goals menu. This menu shows you how much time you’ve spent reading today. There’s also a button here that reads Explore the Book Store which opens the Book Store.
At first, Books sets your daily reading goal for five minutes a day, but you can change this goal to anywhere between 1 minute or the absurd 1,440 minutes (24 hours) a day — I like to read, but that feels a little aggressive.
The Books app wants to help you reach your reading goal.
Screenshot by Zach McAuliffe/CNET
New puzzle game Quartiles for Apple News Plus subscribers
Apple’s iOS 17.5 beta 1 also introduces a new puzzle game to the News app for Apple News Plus subscribers, called Quartiles. At the start of each puzzle, you are given a grid of 20 tiles that have parts of words on them, like “te” and “tra”. You then have to combine these tiles to form different words. Words can be between one and four tiles long, but each grid can be made into five four-tile words — you get the most points by combining the tiles this way.
If you are an Apple News subscriber, which costs $13 a month, you can find Quartiles by going to News > Following > Puzzles and swiping the carousel at the top of the screen. You can also scroll down the Puzzles page to find Quartiles below the Crossword Minis.
Those are a few of the new features some developers and beta testers will see in the first iOS 17.5 beta. That doesn’t mean these are the only features coming to the next iOS update, or that these changes will stick when iOS 17.5 is released to the public. As of now, there’s no word on when Apple will release iOS 17.5.
The campsite, run by a 22-year-old volunteer, became a first stop for people seeking food, water and warmth as they waited to be apprehended by border authorities.
