Tag Archives: author_name|Valentina Palladino

Dyson 360 Vis Nav review: Superior suction at a steep price

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Dyson helped pioneer the cordless vacuum space, and now it’s testing the waters of the robot vacuum arena. The Dyson 360 Vis Nav has been available in other parts of the world for a little while, but it recently came stateside to the tune of $1,200. The company claims a 360-degree vision system, complete with cameras and LED lights, along with suction power akin to that of its stick vacuums sets the 360 Vis Nav apart from competitors. But even if that’s true, Dyson is undeniably late to the party. Robot vacuums have gotten a lot better in the past three to five years, and there are dozens on the market — including some that offer much more in the way of features for a similarly exorbitant price. That said, did Dyson pull an Apple and shake up a product category despite its late entry to the stage? I spent some time with the 360 Vis Nav to find out.

Unboxing and setting up the 360 Vis Nav is similar to any other robot vacuum. In addition to the device, the box contains a charging cable and the vacuum’s base, a rectangular, purple unit with two black-and-white checkered spots at either corner. While it’s refreshing to see a gadget that doesn’t wear the typical black or gray uniform, the 360 Vis Nav and its dock stick out like sore thumbs among the other items and furniture in my home. There’s no semblance of “blending into the decor” with this robo-vac.

Once docked for the first time, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav’s small onboard display prompts you to choose a preferred language and get connected via the mobile app. The screen doubles as a button, too, so you can press fully down on it to select options and move forward in the setup process. As I learned while using the machine, the display also shows helpful maintenance tips and accompanying graphics when you need to clean the robot’s sensors. The My Dyson app (on iOS and Android) provides all of the same information and more, and will guide you to connect the machine to your home’s Wi-Fi network, update the firmware if necessary and finish the prerequisites before you get to cleaning. Aside from waiting a few minutes for my review unit to update its firmware, the entire process took me only about 15 minutes.

To get the lay of the land, let’s revisit the few things Dyson claims set the 360 Vis Nav apart from other robot vacuums. The D-shaped design isn’t one of them, but it certainly helps the machine’s side-edge actuator when cleaning room corners. Dyson claims the actuator only opens up when cleaning corners like this, and it uses suction (rather than sweepers like other robo-vacs do) to capture debris from these hard-to-reach places. Along with that, the machine has a 360-degree vision system that helps it map our your home and clean around furniture and other objects, plus a sensor that detects the amount of dust present so it can kick up the suction when necessary and create a heat map of the dirtiest parts of your home. Those are the main differentiators, along with the claim that the 360 Vis Nav essentially has a similar level of suction power as one of Dyson’s cordless stick vacuums.

So how did all of that come together in practice? Pretty well, as it turns out. For the initial go-around, I had the Dyson 360 Vis Nav clean the main floor of my home, rather than map it out first. I did this mainly because I like chaos, but also because I wanted to see how the machine would navigate around coffee tables, couches and other furniture, plus small things like cat toys left in its path. Dyson states very clearly in the setup process that you should remove all small obstacles out of the way of the 360 Vis Nav before it cleans — I picked up a couple of reusable bags languishing from our last grocery run and the smaller cat toys, but I left some charging cables snaking on the ground because, let’s be real, most people aren’t going to clean before sending the robot they bought to clean for them out to do its job.

I was quickly struck by how many times the Dyson 360 Vis Nav came to a complete stop, “looked” around and kept moving during the first cleaning. It did a decent job avoiding large pieces of furniture like chairs and couches because — when it did get close to pieces like that — it seemed to sense it a few inches before hitting it, so it could then stop and redirect itself. It was most confused by a coffee table with a supporting beam that runs on the floor in between two legs. The 360 Vis Nav has adjustable wheels that allow it to “climb” on top of things like thicker rugs when it’s cleaning, and I think it confused this roughly 0.5-inch supporting beam for a piece of decor. The robo-vac tried so hard to climb over it; it was borderline concerning, but I was rooting for it the whole way. It actually did manage to climb over the beam, get back down onto the floor and keep cleaning, so kudos to the little guy for never giving up.

After that thrilling show, I left the 360 Vis Nav to its own devices. It proceeded to clean the main floor of my home for almost an hour, audibly notching up the suction when it detected a messier area. Notably, it seemed better at avoiding furniture than other robot vacuum cleaners I’ved tried. Yes, it did knock into a few things, but the number of times that happened was slim to none. The first run I did was in Auto mode, the default cleaning setting and one of four you have to choose from, and while the machine was a tad loud, it’s nothing that will drive pets or young children from a room. It’s loudest when the machine automatically kicks the motor into high gear upon detecting a high-dust area, which it did a few times in the highest trafficked areas of my kitchen and on top of a few area rugs. Like any other robot vacuum worth its salt, the 360 Vis Nav automatically returned to its dock to recharge when the battery got low.

I deemed that first cleaning job a success, and the case was the same when I did the first mapping run. The 360 Vis Nav is much quieter when it’s puttering around your home not sucking up dirt, but rather just using its vision system to create a map of your home and all its furniture and obstacles. The map it created of my main floor was accurate, and the Dyson app makes it simple to add boundaries and create rooms that you can label. Once you do this, you can create no-go zones and other restrictions like cleaning without the brush bar. And like most other vacuums with smart mapping, you can tell the 360 Vis Nav to only clean certain rooms with each job if you please.

Like most other robot vacuums, the companion app experience focuses on home maps, schedules and basic on-off controls. Dyson lets you choose from Auto, Quick, Quiet and Boost cleaning modes before you start a job, and if you have rooms designated on your map, you can customize cleaning modes for each room every time. For example, I could tell the machine to clean my kitchen in Auto mode and then the den in Quiet mode. The app presents a heat map of your home after every job that highlights the areas with the most dust, which is interesting to look at but didn’t provide me with a ton of groundbreaking information. I was not surprised that the dirtiest spots on my main floor were almost always next to the front door and my deck door.

Ultimately, the two things that impressed me the most about the Dyson 360 Vis Nav were its suction power and its obstacle avoidance capabilities. I live in a one-cat household, but if you saw how much cat hair my cordless stick vacuum sucks up every time I use it, you’d think I live with a few more felines. There’s always more fur in the bin after I clean the upper floor of my home, since it’s carpeted. After leaving the 360 Vis Nav on my upper floor to clean for almost an hour, I was surprised to see that the contents of its bin looked nearly identical to that of my cordless stick vac after cleaning up there. Even the best robot vacuum cleaners I’ve used in the past never sucked up this much pet fur in one go-around on carpeted floors — it’s impressive.

As for obstacle avoidance, I didn’t expect much from the 360 Vis Nav in this department because the instructions tell you, more than once, to clear your floors of any obstructions before cleaning. Most of the time, I had at least a few pairs of shoes, a couple of charging cables and other small objects on the floor while the machine was cleaning, but I never once got an alert that it was stuck. Some robot vacuums I’ve tested have sent me close to a half dozen alerts during a cleaning job, and I’d have to remove an object they were choking on before they could start up again. That never happened with Dyson’s machine.

With the Dyson 360 Vis Nav coming in at an eye-watering $1,200, the competition squarely within that price range is pretty slim. The $1,400 iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ is arguably its most direct competitor and it offers quite a bit more for that extra $200. (We’ve seen the Combo j9+ drop to as low as $1,000 in the past, so you might be able to pick it up for even less than Dyon’s machine.) As a “combo” device, the j9+ vacuums and mops without the help of a human (mostly) and it’s smart enough to know when it needs to switch from sucking up dirt to mopping floors using its built-in scrubbing pad and water reservoir. It also comes with a self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days worth of dry debris and refill the water reservoir with clean supply. While auto-mopping is more of a nice-to-have than a requirement on a robot vacuum, it’s painful that Dyon’s $1,000+ machine doesn’t come with a clean base — a piece of hardware included in some models half of its price.

When you understand the lay of the robot-vacuum landscape, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav seems almost quaint — and a bit confusing. Robot vacuums aren’t new, they’ve been around for a long time — long enough where you can get a pretty decent one for less than $300. For Dyson’s machine, spending $1,200 gets you a damn good robot vacuum with possibly the best suction power I’ve experienced on one, impressive obstacle avoidance, good home mapping and a clean app experience. But none of those features are unique to the 360 Vis Nav. Its suction power and obstacle avoidance may be superior, but is that enough to justify the cost? If you’re already willing to spend $1,000 or more on a robot vacuum, you have other options that will give you similar features and more, including mopping and self-emptying capabilities. That said, there are two groups of people who I’d recommend the 360 Vis Nav to: those who are willing to give up advanced features in exchange for the most suction power possible (and have cash to burn), and Dyson diehards.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dyson-360-vis-nav-review-superior-suction-at-a-steep-price-130010791.html?src=rss

Memorial Day 2024 tech deals you can still get this weekend – Sales from Apple, Samsung, Anker and more

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Memorial Day is here, and along with the holiday has come a swath of tech deals available across the internet. In addition to the typical outdoor gear we see go on sale during this time, a number of our favorite earbuds, tablets, streaming devices and other gadgets are discounted at the moment. Most of the deals we’ve curated below represented record-low prices, or the best prices we’ve seen so far all year. You’ll likely have to wait until Black Friday (or Amazon Prime Day in July) to see even steeper discounts, but nevertheless, these sales are worth considering if you have tech on your shopping list. Here are the best Memorial Day sales on tech and gadgets that you can get for 2024.

Our top picks

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/memorial-day-2024-tech-deals-you-can-still-get-this-weekend---sales-from-apple-samsung-anker-and-more-115046898.html?src=rss

Our favorite Anker wireless earbuds are back on sale for $50

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Anker's Soundcore Space A40 wireless earbuds are a good example of a pair that punches above its weight — and now you can get them for one of the best prices we've seen. Amazon has all three colorways for half off, bringing the final price down to $50. While that's technically $1 more than their record-low price, you're essentially getting the buds for as cheap as we've seen them.

The Space A40 top our list of the best budget wireless earbuds you can get right now thanks to the fact that they offer an impressive number of advanced features at an affordable price. Normally costing $100 (and frequently discounted to around $60), these earbuds have a small, comfortable design with an IPX4 rating, which should allow them to work well even during sweaty workouts. They support adaptive active noise cancellation and transparency mode, and while performance for both of those features isn't as strong as those on higher-end buds, it's still impressive for a pair of $50 earbuds.

You'll find a warm sound profile on the Space A40 buds, and Anker's Soundcore companion app allows you to adjust the EQ to your liking. You can connect these buds to two devices simultaneously as well, which makes for easy switching between, say, your phone and laptop. Battery life is formidable too at eight hours per charge — plus you get another 40 hours in the charging case, so it's unlikely that you'll ever get caught with completely depleted earbuds.

Our biggest gripes with the Space A40 buds are its lackluster microphones and a lack of auto pausing, the latter of which means your audio will continue to play even when you remove a bud to listen to someone speaking. But despite these shortcomings, the Space A40 offer a ton at their regular price, making them an even better bargain when on sale like this.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/our-favorite-anker-wireless-earbuds-are-back-on-sale-for-50-125051545.html?src=rss

The Apple Watch Series 9 is on sale for as low as $295 right now

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Those looking to pick up a smartwatch for the first time, or upgrade from an older model, should check out the sale running on Amazon right now on the Apple Watch Series 9. Certain sizes and colors have deep discounts, including the 41mm Product Red version that's down to a record low of $295 — more than $100 off its regular price. The 45mm model with cellular connectivity is also on sale by way of a clippable $80 coupon, which brings the final price down to an all-time low of $350.

The Apple Watch has been at the top of our list of the best smartwatches for quite some time, and the Series 9 (introduced in September 2023) is a big update from its predecessor. It runs on a new S9 SiP, which is the most meaningful upgrade to the wearable's processor in years. While we didn't notice a huge jump in general performance — the Watch has been speedy and responsive for a long time — the SiP update does allow for faster Siri responses and enables offline Siri interactions.

The latest model also supports the new Double Tap gesture based on Assistive Touch. This allows you to navigate the Watch's interface without actually touching the screen, doing things like dismissing timers or starting workout tracking using finger gestures. You can only use Double Tap in specific instances in watchOS 10, but those actions are made easier and more accessible with this feature.

In addition, the Series 9 has a second-gen ultra wideband (UWB) chip that works with a new Find My iPhone interface, plus its screen is brighter than previous versions. All of those things combine make the Series 9 feel like the biggest update to the Watch in a few years. Nevertheless, the caveats remain the same as they have been for some time: you can only use the Apple Watch if you're an iPhone user, and it lags behind the competition when it comes to sleep tracking. Battery life contributes to the latter, but you'll still get a full day's worth of use before you need to charge it up overnight.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-apple-watch-series-9-is-on-sale-for-as-low-as-295-right-now-131012915.html?src=rss

One of our favorite headphones for running is 20 percent off in the Amazon Big Spring Sale

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Spring is officially here and if you've been itching to get back outside for a run, or you want to start a new workout regimen, the Amazon Big Spring Sale might have just what you need to upgrade the music portion of your routine. A number of Jabra earbuds have been discounted for the sale, including a couple of our top picks for the best headphones for running. Key among them is the Jabra Elite 8 Active, which is on sale for $160 — only $10 more than its record-low price. The same sale price can be found direct at Jabra as well.

These nearly bested the Beats Fit Pro for the top spot in our guide. Not only are the Elite 8 Active buds comfortable and secure when doing any kind of workout, but they're also IP68-rated for dust and water resistance. Jabra also put these earbuds through military-grade testing to protect them from extreme humidity, high temperature, rain and altitude, so it's fair to say these buds can take a beating (probably way more than what you'd put them through even during your sweatiest runs).

The Elite 8 Active have solid sound quality and ANC out of the box, but you can customize EQ settings using its companion mobile app. If you prefer bassy sounds to get you in the zone before a workout session, you can change the sound profile to accommodate that. They also support spatial sound with Dolby Audio, which is a great perk to have and it will make the Elite 8 Active an even better option for those who want just one pair of buds to use all day, every day, not only during workouts. Jabra's HearThrough transparency mode is also handy, especially for runners who often train outside, since it lets some sound in so you can stay more aware of your surroundings.

Our biggest gripe with the Elite 8 Active buds is that HearThrough doesn't sound quite as natural as the transparency mode on our top pick, the Beats Fit Pro. Otherwise, they're a fantastic option for runners or anyone else who wants a solid pair of wireless earbuds that provide a complete package when it comes to sound quality, ANC and protection against sweat and the elements.

If you're looking to spend even less, it's hard to find a better value in Jabra's lineup than the Elite 4 Active earbuds. Those are on sale for $90 right now — not a record low, but close to it. They're our budget pick in the same guide thanks to their comfy, IP57-rated design, good sound quality and ANC, solid battery life and support for multipoint connectivity. And even though you don't get spatial audio on the Elite 4 Active, they do support custom EQ with the Jabra mobile app.

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/one-of-our-favorite-headphones-for-running-is-20-percent-off-in-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-141545370.html?src=rss

The best headphones for running in 2024

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There’s nothing quite like getting into the zone during a run, and for many of us, the right soundtrack is a requirement. Whether you need classic rock, reggaeton or an immersive audiobook to properly settle into your morning jog, you'll get the best listening experience if you have the best running headphones that suit your style and needs. But not all wireless workout headphones are created equally, and runners need to consider specific needs before investing in a pair like how long your runs are, what type of music or other audio you prefer listening to and how much you want to block out the world during a session. If you’re just getting into a new running routine and need a pair of headphones that can keep up, or you’re a seasoned pro looking for an upgrade, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve tested more than a dozen pairs to come up with our top picks for the best headphones for running and help you decide which is right for you.

Editor's note (July 2024): Jabra recently announced it will exit the consumer earbuds business, which is disappointing considering the company has made excellent headphones for running (and all other types of exercise). Our top picks include two Jabra models and we feel comfortable recommending them still because Jabra plans to support its current earbuds for "several years." However, we're constantly testing new buds and reassessing our top picks, so we'll update this list accordingly in the future.

Before diving in, it’s worth mentioning that this guide focuses on wireless earbuds. While you could wear over-ear or on-ear Bluetooth headphones during a run, most of the best headphones available now do not have the same level of durability. Water and dust resistance, particularly the former, is important for any audio gear you plan on sweating with or taking outdoors, and that’s more prevalent in the wireless earbuds world.

Most earbuds have one of three designs: in-ear, in-ear with hook or open-ear. The first two are the most popular. In-ears are arguably the most common, while those with hooks promise better security and fit since they have an appendage that curls around the top of your ear. Open-ear designs don’t stick into your ear canal, but rather sit just outside of it. This makes it easier to hear the world around you while also listening to audio, and could be more comfortable for those who don’t like the intrusiveness of in-ear buds.

Water resistance and dust protection are crucial for the best running headphones to have since you’ll likely be sweating while wearing them. Also, if you have the unfortunate luck of getting caught in the rain during a run, at least your gear will survive. Here’s a quick rundown of ingress protection (IP) ratings, which you’ll see attached to many earbuds on the market today. The first digit after the abbreviation rates dust protection on a scale from one to six — the higher, the better. The second digit refers to water- resistance, or waterproofing in some cases, ranked on a scale from one to nine. A letter “X” in either position means the device isn’t rated for the corresponding material.

Check out this guide for an even more detailed breakdown. All of the earbuds we tested for this guide have at least an IPX4 rating (most have even more protection), which means they can withstand sweat and splashes but do not have dust protection.

Active noise cancellation (ANC) is becoming a standard feature on wireless earbuds, at least in those above a certain price. If you’re looking for a pair of buds that can be your workout companion and continue to serve you when you’re off the trail, ANC is good to have. It adds versatility by allowing you to block out the hum of your home or office so you can focus, or give you some solitude during a busy commute on public transit.

But an earbud’s ability to block out the world goes hand in hand with its ability to open things back up should you need it. Many earbuds with ANC support some sort of “transparency mode” or various levels of noise reduction. This is important for running headphones because you don’t want to be totally oblivious to what’s going on around you when you’re exercising outside along busy streets. Lowering noise cancelation levels to increase your awareness will help with that.

All of the earbuds we tested have a battery life of six to eight hours. In general, that’s what you can expect from this space, with a few outliers that can get up to 15 hours of life on a charge. Even the low end of the spectrum should be good enough for most runners, but it’ll be handy to keep the buds’ charging case on you if you think you’ll get close to using up all their juice during a single session.

Speaking of, you’ll get an average of 20-28 extra hours of battery out of most charging cases and all of the earbuds we tested had holders that provided at least an extra 15 hours. This will dictate how often you actually have to charge the device — as in physically connect the case with earbuds inside to a charging cable, or set it on a wireless charger to power up.

When testing to determine the best running headphones, I wear each contender during as many runs as possible. I typically run three to five days each week, completing at least a 5K (3.01 miles) each time. I’m looking for comfort arguably most of all, because you should never be fussing with your earbuds when you’re on the tread or trail (as a note, I primarily run outside). I’m also paying attention to fit over time, particularly if the earbuds get slippery or loose while I sweat, or if they tend to pop out or feel less stable in my ears as I pick up speed or make quick movements.

I also use the earbuds when not running to take calls and listen to music, podcasts and the like throughout the day. Many people will want just one pair of earbuds that they can use while exercising and just doing everyday things, so I evaluate each pair on their ability to be comfortable and provide a good listening experience in multiple different activities.

While I am also listening for audio quality, I’m admittedly not an expert in this space. My colleague Billy Steele holds that title at Engadget, and you’ll find much more detailed information about sound quality for some of our top picks in his reviews and buying guides. Here, however, I will make note of audio-quality characteristics if they stood out to me (i.e. if a pair of earbuds had noticeably strong bass out of the box, weak highs, etc). Most of the wireless workout headphones we tested work with companion apps that have adjustable EQ settings, so you’re able to tweak sound profiles to your liking in most cases.

The Apple AirPods Pro have an IP54 rating, which protects them from brief encounters with dust and splashes. While that’s more dust protection than many other earbuds we tested, it’s the same level of water-resistance that most exercise-specific competitors have. We generally like the AirPods Pro, but the Beats Fit Pro offer many of the same features and conveniences (namely good transparency mode and the H1 chip), with a design that’s more appropriate for working out.

The Powerbeats Pro are a good alternative to the Beats Fit Pro if you’re a stickler for a hook design. However, they cost $50 more than the Fit Pro (although they’re often hovering around $180) and don’t offer any significant upgrades or additional features aside from their design. They’re also quite old at this point (having launched in 2019) and it appears Beats is putting more effort into updating its newer models instead.

The Soundcore AeroFit Pro is Anker’s version of the Shokz OpenFit, but I found the fit to be less secure and not as comfortable. The actual earbuds on the AeroFit Pro are noticeably bulkier than those on the OpenFit and that caused them to shift and move much more during exercise. They never fell off of my ears completely, but I spent more time adjusting them than I did enjoying them.

The most noteworthy thing about the Endurance Peak 3 is that they have the same IP68 rating as the Jabra Elite 8 Active, except they only cost $100. But, while you get the same protection here, you’ll have to sacrifice in other areas. The Endurance Peak 3 didn’t blow me away when it came to sound quality or comfort (its hook is more rigid than those on my favorite similarly designed buds) and their charging case is massive compared to most competitors.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-headphones-for-running-120044637.html?src=rss

Dyson enters the US robot vacuum market with the 360 Vis Nav

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Dyson’s one of the biggest players in the cordless vacuum and air purifier space (and, more recently, hair styling as well), but it’s kept a relatively low profile in the robot vacuum market. Today, the company’s bringing its latest robot vacuum to the US and Canada. After being available in other regions, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav is now available to order in the US for a whopping $1,199 from Dyson direct and other retailers like Amazon.

While we haven’t had the chance to test the 360 Vis Nav yet, we were able to get more details from Dyson about how the new robot vacuum works. A few things stand out as departures from traditional robot vacuums, the first being the 360-degree vision system that uses a camera on the top-center of the robot to map out your home as it cleans. Home mapping isn’t new in this space, but Dyson claims that the images captured by this vision system will help the machine better understand the layout of your home, including where obstacles like furniture live, make note of corners and edges and help it recognize where it’s cleaned and where it still needs to go to finish a job. The camera is surrounded by eight LEDs that balance exposure and better help the robovac navigate in low-light situations as well.

Second, whereas most robot vacuums use small sweepers to collect dust bunnies hiding in room corners and along furniture edges, Dyson’s machine has a side-edge actuator that opens automatically when cleaning spaces like these. It then uses suction to collect debris, which Dyson claims provides an even more thorough cleanup. I’m eager to see how this works in practice because cleaning the corners of rooms is one of the hardest things for a robot vacuum to do right, even for those that have the advantage of a D-shaped design like the 360 Vis Nav.

Finally, Dyson’s robot vacuum uses a Piezo sensor similar to those found in the company’s stick vacs to detect dirt and, subsequently, help the machine do a couple of things: kick up its suction power to the max 65 air watts when necessary, and create a heatmap in the My Dyson app of the dirtiest parts of your home. This sounds like a more useful application for a piezo sensor than that of Dyson’s cordless vacuums; I found in my testing that seeing how many dirt particles you’re sucking up with a manual vacuum might be fun to watch change on a digital display as you clean, but it’s not very actionable once you’re done vacuuming. But in this application, particularly with the heatmap, that information can show you areas of your home you may want to clean more often and you can program the 360 Vis Nav to only clean those spots from within the app.

The Dyson 360 Vis Nav has a similar design to some of the higher-end robot vacuums on the market right now, with two squared-off edges that help it get into room corners more easily. Under the hood, it has a Hyperdymium motor and a removable filter, plus a triple-action brush bar that spans the entire width of the machine, something you don’t often see in competing robot vacuums. Naturally, the cleaning surfaces borrow a lot from those on the company’s stick vacs: there are carbon fiber bristles and stiff nylon bristles for deep-cleaning carpets and a “fluffy” softer nylon surface that’s better on hard floors. The whole machine is HEPA-compliant, which means air that’s been sucked up cannot escape through other parts of the machine, making it better at trapping microscopic particles like allergens and dust mites.

Dyson may have waited a bit to enter the US robot vacuum market, but it appears it wanted to find the right ways of integrating technology from its cordless vacuums into this space before doing so. On paper, that technology could set the 360 Vis Nav apart from other robot vacuums when it comes to raw suction power. When we’re able to get testing time with the device, I’ll be interested to try out its four cleaning modes (Auto, Boost, Quick and Quiet), see if the advertised 65-minute runtime (in Auto Mode) actually holds up and judge how robust and easy to use the My Dyson app is.

But what already sets the 360 Vis Nav apart from the competition is its sky-high, $1,199 price tag. That’s a price we’ve only seen on robot vacuums that come with self-emptying bases, and the 360 Vis Nav doesn’t have one of those (its dock only recharges). But this won’t be a surprise if you’re familiar with other Dyson products, which are often priced at a premium.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dyson-enters-the-us-robot-vacuum-market-with-the-360-vis-nav-153013678.html?src=rss

Dyson enters the US robot vacuum market with the 360 Vis Nav

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Dyson’s one of the biggest players in the cordless vacuum and air purifier space (and, more recently, hair styling as well), but it’s kept a relatively low profile in the robot vacuum market. Today, the company’s bringing its latest robot vacuum to the US and Canada. After being available in other regions, the Dyson 360 Vis Nav is now available to order in the US for a whopping $1,199 from Dyson direct and other retailers like Amazon.

While we haven’t had the chance to test the 360 Vis Nav yet, we were able to get more details from Dyson about how the new robot vacuum works. A few things stand out as departures from traditional robot vacuums, the first being the 360-degree vision system that uses a camera on the top-center of the robot to map out your home as it cleans. Home mapping isn’t new in this space, but Dyson claims that the images captured by this vision system will help the machine better understand the layout of your home, including where obstacles like furniture live, make note of corners and edges and help it recognize where it’s cleaned and where it still needs to go to finish a job. The camera is surrounded by eight LEDs that balance exposure and better help the robovac navigate in low-light situations as well.

Second, whereas most robot vacuums use small sweepers to collect dust bunnies hiding in room corners and along furniture edges, Dyson’s machine has a side-edge actuator that opens automatically when cleaning spaces like these. It then uses suction to collect debris, which Dyson claims provides an even more thorough cleanup. I’m eager to see how this works in practice because cleaning the corners of rooms is one of the hardest things for a robot vacuum to do right, even for those that have the advantage of a D-shaped design like the 360 Vis Nav.

Finally, Dyson’s robot vacuum uses a Piezo sensor similar to those found in the company’s stick vacs to detect dirt and, subsequently, help the machine do a couple of things: kick up its suction power to the max 65 air watts when necessary, and create a heatmap in the My Dyson app of the dirtiest parts of your home. This sounds like a more useful application for a piezo sensor than that of Dyson’s cordless vacuums; I found in my testing that seeing how many dirt particles you’re sucking up with a manual vacuum might be fun to watch change on a digital display as you clean, but it’s not very actionable once you’re done vacuuming. But in this application, particularly with the heatmap, that information can show you areas of your home you may want to clean more often and you can program the 360 Vis Nav to only clean those spots from within the app.

The Dyson 360 Vis Nav has a similar design to some of the higher-end robot vacuums on the market right now, with two squared-off edges that help it get into room corners more easily. Under the hood, it has a Hyperdymium motor and a removable filter, plus a triple-action brush bar that spans the entire width of the machine, something you don’t often see in competing robot vacuums. Naturally, the cleaning surfaces borrow a lot from those on the company’s stick vacs: there are carbon fiber bristles and stiff nylon bristles for deep-cleaning carpets and a “fluffy” softer nylon surface that’s better on hard floors. The whole machine is HEPA-compliant, which means air that’s been sucked up cannot escape through other parts of the machine, making it better at trapping microscopic particles like allergens and dust mites.

Dyson may have waited a bit to enter the US robot vacuum market, but it appears it wanted to find the right ways of integrating technology from its cordless vacuums into this space before doing so. On paper, that technology could set the 360 Vis Nav apart from other robot vacuums when it comes to raw suction power. When we’re able to get testing time with the device, I’ll be interested to try out its four cleaning modes (Auto, Boost, Quick and Quiet), see if the advertised 65-minute runtime (in Auto Mode) actually holds up and judge how robust and easy to use the My Dyson app is.

But what already sets the 360 Vis Nav apart from the competition is its sky-high, $1,199 price tag. That’s a price we’ve only seen on robot vacuums that come with self-emptying bases, and the 360 Vis Nav doesn’t have one of those (its dock only recharges). But this won’t be a surprise if you’re familiar with other Dyson products, which are often priced at a premium.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dyson-enters-the-us-robot-vacuum-market-with-the-360-vis-nav-153013678.html?src=rss

The best E Ink tablets for 2024

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I’m a longtime lover of pen and paper, so E Ink tablets have been intriguing to me ever since they started becoming more widely available. After having hundreds of half-filled notebooks over the years, I, at some point, turned to digital tools instead because it was just easier to store everything on my phone or laptop so I always had my most important information at my fingertips.

E-Ink tablets seem to provide the best of both worlds: the tactile satisfaction of regular notebooks with many of the conveniences found in digital tools, plus easy-on-the-eyes E-Ink screens. These devices have come a long way in recent years — now you can find them in multiple sizes, some have color E Ink screens and others double as full-blow ereaders with access to ebook stores and your local library’s offerings. I’ve tested out close to a dozen E Ink tablets over the past year or two to see how well they work, how convenient they really are and which are the best tablets using E Ink screens available today.

Editor’s Note (November 2024): We’re in the process of testing Supernote’s latest device, the A6 X2 Nomad E Ink tablet, and the Onyx Boox Note Air4 C, and we’ll update this list accordingly once the testing period is complete.

An E Ink tablet will be a worthwhile purchase to a very select group of people. If you prefer the look and feel of an e paper display to LCD panels found on traditional tablets, it makes a lot of sense. They’re also good options for those who want a more paper-like writing experience (although you can get that kind of functionality on a regular tablet with the right screen protector) or a more distraction-free device overall.

The final note is key here. Most E Ink tablets don’t run on the same operating systems as regular tablets, so you’re automatically going to be limited in what you can do. And even with those that do allow you to download traditional apps like Chrome, Instagram and Facebook, E Ink tablets are not designed to give you the best casual-browsing experience. This is mostly due to the nature of E Ink displays, which have noticeable refreshes, a lack of color and lower quality than the panels you’ll find on even the cheapest iPad.

Arguably the biggest reason why you wouldn’t want to go with an iPad (all models of which support stylus input, a plethora of reading apps, etc) is because it’s much easier to get distracted by email, social media and other Internet-related temptations. An e-reader is also worth considering if this is the case for you, but just know that most standard e-readers do not accept stylus input. If you like to make notes in the margins of books, underline and mark up PDFs and the like, an e-reader won’t cut it.

I discovered four main things that can really make or break your experience with an E Ink tablet during my testing; first is the writing experience. How good it is will depend a lot on the display’s refresh rate (does it refresh after every time you put pen to “paper,” so to speak?) and the stylus’ latency. Most had little to no latency, but there were some that were worse than others. Finally, you should double check before buying that your preferred E Ink tablet comes with a stylus.

The second thing to consider is the reading experience. How much will you be reading books, documents and other things on this tablet? While you can find E Ink tablets in all different sizes, most of them tend to be larger than your standard e-reader because it makes writing much easier. Having a larger display isn’t a bad thing, but it might make holding it for long periods slightly more uncomfortable. (Most e-readers are roughly the size of a paperback book, giving you a similar feeling to analog reading).

The supported file types will also make a big difference. It’s hard to make a blanket statement here because this varies so much among E Ink tablets. The TL;DR is that you’ll have a much better reading experience if you go with one made by a company that already has a history in e-book sales (i.e. Amazon or Kobo). All of the titles you bought via the Kindle or Kobo store should automatically be available to you on your Kindle or Kobo E Ink tablet. And with Kindle titles, specifically, since they are protected by DRM, it’s not necessarily the best idea to try to bring those titles over to a third-party device. Unless the tablet supports reading apps like Amazon’s Kindle or the Kobo app, you’ll be limited to supported file types, like ePUB, PDF, MOBI, JPEG, PNG and others.

Third, most E Ink tablets have some search features, but they can vary widely between models. You’ll want to consider how important it is to you to be able to search through all your handwritten notes and markups. I noticed that Amazon’s and Kobo’s E Ink tablets made it easy to refer back to notes made in books and files because they automatically save on which pages you took notes, made highlights and more. Searching is less standardized on E Ink tablets that have different supported file types, but their features can be quite powerful in their own right. For example, a few devices I tested supported text search in handwritten notes along with handwriting recognition, the latter of which allows you to translate your scribbles into typed text.

The final factor to consider is sharing and connectivity. Yes, we established that E Ink tablets can be great distraction-free devices, but most manufacturers understand that your notes and doodles aren’t created in a vacuum. You’ll likely want to access them elsewhere, and that requires some form of connectivity. All of the E Ink tablets I tried were Wi-Fi devices, and some supported cloud syncing, companion mobile apps and the ability to export notes via email so you can access them elsewhere. None of them, however, integrate directly with a digital note taking system like Evernote or OneNote, so these devices will always be somewhat supplementary if you use apps like that, too. Ultimately, you should think about what you will want to do with the documents you’ll interact with on your E Ink tablet after the tablet portion is done.

Lenovo made a solid E Ink tablet in the Smart Paper, but it's too pricey and too married to the company's companion cloud service to warrant a spot on our top picks list. The hardware is great, but the software isn't as flexible as those of competitors like the reMarkable 2. It has good Google Drive integration, but you must pair it with Lenovo's cloud service to really get the most use out of it — and in the UK, the service costs £9 per month for three months, which is quite expensive.

The Boox Tab Ultra has a lot of the same features we like in the Note Air 2 Plus, but it’s designed to be a true, all-purpose tablet with an E Ink screen. Running Android 11 and compatible with a magnetic keyboard case, you can use it like a standard 2-in-1 laptop, albeit a low-powered one. You can browse the web, check email and even watch YouTube videos on this thing — but that doesn’t mean you should. A standard 2-in-1 laptop with a more responsive screen and better overall performance would be a better fit for most people who even have the slightest desire to have an all-in-one device. Like the rest of Onyx’s devices, the Tab Ultra is specifically for those who put reading and eye comfort above all else.

We got to spend some time with TCL’s latest E Ink-like tablet at CES, the NXTPAPER 14 Pro. Using the company’s NXTPAPER 3.0 technology, the device isn’t precisely an E Ink tablet but one that attempts to strike a balance between the displays of ereaders and standard slabs. It focuses on eye comfort by filtering out up to 61 percent of blue light, using a Circularly Polarized Light (CPL) screen and the like. TCL has not revealed pricing for the NXTPAPER 14 Pro, but it did confirm it would arrive in the US in early 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/best-e-ink-tablet-130037939.html?src=rss

The Google Pixel 7a drops to a record low of $374 ahead of the Amazon Big Spring Sale

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Android fans looking for a reasonably priced phone to upgrade to are in luck thanks to the Amazon Big Spring Sale. Although the event doesn't officially start until March 20, we're already seeing early deals pop up on Amazon. One of which is the Google Pixel 7a, which has dropped to a record low price of $374. We've seen the handset drop to this price before, but as of late, it's been hovering around its regular price of $499.

The Pixel 7a has sat at the top of our best midrange phones list since it came out last year and it offers a ton of value even at its standard price. It runs on Google's Tensor G2 chip, which gives it solid performance considering its cost, and it has a lovely 6.1-inch, 90Hz OLED touchscreen and support for wireless charging. Its design looks very similar to the flagship Pixel series phones and it has an IP67 rating for water resistance.

But the camera array makes the Pixel 7a truly stand out among other phones in its price range, and certainly among budget Android phones that typically come in at around $350. The 64-megapixel rear shooter takes impressive images that preserve details and highlights, and Google's Night Sight mode allows it to take solid low-light images. The 13MP selfie camera can record 4K videos, too. While the Pixel 7a suffers a bit from its lack of dedicated zoom and telephoto lenses, those are relatively small sacrifices to make when you're getting an otherwise stellar camera system for the price.

Ultimately, the Pixel 7a is the smartphone to get if you want the best value Android handset and don't want to spend more than a few hundred dollars. Snagging it while it's under $400 during this sale means you're getting it at the best price we've seen, making it an even better buy. However, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the concurrent sales on the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro — those are up to $250 off right now, down to $499 and $749, respectively. These are the best Android phones you can buy right now, period, and both offer Google's Tensor G3 chipset, a more refined design, long battery life and useful AI features that make taking photos and using the Google Assistant much better.

Your Spring Sales Shopping Guide: Spring sales are in the air, headlined by Amazon’s Big Spring sale event. Our expert editors are curating all the best spring sales right here. Follow Engadget to shop the best tech deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale, hear from Autoblog’s car experts on the best spring auto deals on Amazon, and find spring sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-google-pixel-7a-drops-to-a-record-low-of-374-ahead-of-the-amazon-big-spring-sale-131529572.html?src=rss