@engadget

The Fitbit Sense is a comprehensive health-tracking machine with basic smartwatch features and a new navigation system that can be difficult to master. It offers more wellness tools than Apple and Samsung at a cheaper price, and it’s especially great for people who don’t mind wearing a watch to bed to glean more information about their health. For $330, Fitbit is hoping you’ll want a sensor that measures your body’s reaction to stress, as well as other things like skin temperature and blood oxygen. The device also introduces a new buttonless design but otherwise doesn’t look all that different from the company’s previous smartwatches. Still, the Fitbit Sense is the company’s stab at what it calls an “advanced health” device and it’s chock full of features to help it meet that promise. It can feel overwhelming when confronted with all the new data, but the Sense lays the groundwork for a future when all this information will be put to good use. Click the link in bio for the full review from @cherlynnstagram

Say hello to Apple’s new, 8th-generation iPad. With its classic iPad looks and its lack of substantially new features, it’s just about as unexciting a tablet update as you could hope for. But what the 2020 iPad lacks in thrills, it makes up for with power. It now packs the A12 Bionic chipset, which we first saw in the iPhone XR, XS, and XS Max. Yes, those chips are now two years old, but they’re enough to give the cheapest iPad noticeably smoother performance.  And like some of its more expensive siblings, the 2020 iPad also has a side-mounted Smart Connector, so you can magnetically attach accessories like keyboards and screen covers.  Apple’s choice of chipset also means its cheapest iPad finally gets a Neural Engine, which should give this iPad a boost when it comes to tasks that rely on machine learning. With all that said, though, this year’s cheap iPad has the same relatively skimpy 3GB of RAM as last year’s model did, so we’ll have to see how performance really shakes out in our full review. Until then, click the link in bio for more from @vlzco

The Apple Watch Series 6 is here! Physically it looks and feels much like its predecessor but sports some hidden hardware upgrades and new software tricks in watchOS 7. The Series 6 runs on Apple’s latest S6 system-in-package that it claims is 20 percent faster than the old one. The chip is also more power-efficient than the last, allowing the always-on display to be 2.5 times brighter than on the Series 5 and it helps the Series 6 charge faster. But the Series 6 isn’t just about the hardware. Some of that tech brings new features as well, such as better sleep tracking, V02 max calculations and blood oxygen measurements. The Apple Watch Series 6 has certainly made a good first impression — but is it worth an upgrade from the Series 5? We’ll wait to answer that in our full review, but regardless, the Series 6 looks to be a promising (if subtle) update to an already excellent smartwatch. Click the link in bio for more from @valentina_lucia

With the Galaxy Z Fold 2, Samsung might just have the first great foldable. Its design has been fortified significantly. Both of its screens are bigger and better than before. It uses the fastest smartphone processor you’ll find in an Android phone today. And best of all, the Fold 2 is even more capable than the last one. When it comes to hardware, Samsung did a fantastic job. But the future of devices like isn’t just about hardware. Some of Samsung’s software choices continue to confuse, and getting the most of the Fold 2 requires plenty of time and effort. Beyond that, lingering app compatibility issues mean devices like the Fold 2 still feel inconsistent. But this is still the finest foldable you can buy right now. Samsung did the hard work of making a great foldable phone -- now it, and everyone else, has to get to work and reshape the ecosystem to help devices like the Fold 2 flourish. Click the link in bio for the full review from @vlzco

A new class of devices is rising -- a type of device that wants to be both a phone and a tablet. The Surface Duo is one of the more exciting attempts to straddle that divide. Instead of going for a foldable screen like Samsung, Motorola or Huawei, Microsoft simply connected two screens together. The Surface Duo is decent as a phone, quite bad as a tablet, and somewhat functional as everything in between. It is, however, fantastic as two screens stuck together, like a laptop connected to an external monitor. That is, when the software works as promised. But bugs and app incompatibility plague this $1,399 device, which will need monthly updates from Microsoft to fix its numerous issues. Click the link in bio for the full review from @cherlynnstagram. 📸 by @vlzco

Like its predecessor, Android 11 is an iterative update to Google’s mobile OS that brings useful features like expanded power menu controls and better permissions settings. It also offers a long-awaited built-in screen recorder and controversial chat bubbles. Yes, some updates are redundant, but the good news is that Google gives you the option to disable most of it. Android 11 is not a big leap forward, and while it does potentially add more clutter, it also gives the user more controls and options. This is an Android that power users can tweak to their heart’s content… as long as they can get past the initial mess. Click the link in bio for the full review from @cherlynnstagram

This is the MOD Duo X. It's an effects processor. It's a synth. It's a virtual modular. It's basically a Linux computer that runs audio plugins. Plus, its open source plugin platform leaves a lot of room for future expansion and the CV tools unlock a world of advanced possibilities. If you’re looking for an all-in-one portable device that can be a multi-effects unit, a direct recording box, a headphone practice amp and a live sound mangler the Duo X is a solid choice, as long as you’re willing to spend the $749. Click the link in bio for the full review from @terrenceobrien

When we first got a look at the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, we weren't blown away. It seemed like an incremental upgrade over last year's models. And after a week with the phone, well, it is, but that still makes it an upgrade over one of our favorite Android phones ever. The Note 20 Ultra refines and polishes what was great about the Note 10, adding a buttery smooth ultra-low latency S-Pen, a variable refresh rate screen that's probably the best display we've ever seen on a phone, and pairing it all with a superfast processor and decent battery. Are there other phones that are as fast? Sure. Are there other phones that take as good photos? Definitely. Are those phones cheaper than the Note 20? Absolutely. But if you want the best there is all is one sleek package, there's nothing else quite like it. Click the link in bio for the full review from @vlzco

The Galaxy Watch 3 is the best non-Apple smartwatch on the market. Samsung’s latest watch introduces familiar features like fall detection and a built-in electrocardiogram (ECG) test. But the Galaxy Watch 3 also does a few things better than the Apple Watch, like sleep tracking and just generally getting you to move. Plus, its signature rotating bezel is still a superior way to navigate a smartwatch. At $400, the Watch 3 costs the same as the Apple Watch Series 5, making it clear who Samsung sees as competition. Its battery life could be longer and software could be smoother, but the Galaxy Watch 3 easily holds onto the title of best smartwatch for Android users, an honor it’s held for the past two years. Click the link in bio for the full review and more pics by @cherlynnstagram

These are Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Live. They’re the first Galaxy Buds with active noise cancellation (ANC), but their unique “open type” design comes with some downsides. While this might keep you from cramming them in your ears, it ultimately means sacrificing sound quality and the effectiveness of ANC. There are some attractive features here, but the company’s Galaxy Buds+ are the better option at this point. Click the link in bio for more from @wmsteele

Apple has released the first public beta for watchOS 7. While Apple has for years allowed people to check out its tentpole iOS and macOS updates before they’re publicly available, 2020 is the first year that it has done a public beta for a new watchOS release. However, you may not want to jump at the opportunity. Early versions like this usually have a few bugs, but if you must have the newest OS make sure to click the link in bio for more info before downloading. 📸 by @vlzco.

Sony has made the best even better. With a bunch of seemingly small changes, the company has further improved its already stellar headphones. The WH-1000XM4 sounds great and the custom ANC automatically adjusts if you choose to let it. They are a bit pricey at $350, but you won’t find a more feature-packed set of headphones right now, and it’s unlikely you will until Sony updates these again. A refined design, improved audio and new features firmly plant WH-1000XM4 at the top of our best headphones list right out of the gate. Now we’ll wait and see if anyone can dethrone the king. Click the link in bio for the full review and more photos from @wmsteele