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12 Best Amazon Echo and Alexa Speakers (2024): Earbuds, Soundbars, Displays

12 Best Amazon Echo and Alexa Speakers (2024): Earbuds, Soundbars, Displays

Amazon’s family of Alexa-enabled devices is vast. From the spherical Echo to the swiveling Echo Show 10, you can get Alexa into your home in many ways. These devices can answer your questions, help you order essentials, set timers, play all sorts of audio content, and even function as the control hub for your growing smart home. These are our favorite Echo- and Alexa-compatible speakers for every home and budget.

The best time to buy any Amazon speaker is during a major sale event like Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day, as there usually are steep discounts. If you’re trying to decide which smart devices might be best for you, be sure to check out WIRED’s picks in our roundups: Best Smart Speakers, Best Smart Displays, and Best Bluetooth Speakers. We also have guides on setting up your Echo speaker, creating Alexa routines, and Alexa skills that are actually fun and useful to help you get started.

Updated February 2024: We’ve added the Echo Show 8 (3rd Gen) as our new smart display pick. We’ve also added advice for controlling content shown on your Echo Show device.

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7 Best Theragun-Alternative Massage Guns (2024): Portable, Affordable, and Heat Therapy

7 Best Theragun-Alternative Massage Guns (2024): Portable, Affordable, and Heat Therapy

Lyric Massager for $172: Lyric’s massager was one of our top picks. As of this writing, the brand’s website is down to prepare for “a whole new Lyric experience,” but it was like that the last time we checked in November. Hopefully it actually does come back. If you happen to find it in stock, it’s a great massager that also looks pretty. The small touchscreen explains each of the four attachments and walks you through guided massages—or you can use it manually. Plus, it has an extension handle you can click on to get hard-to-reach areas like your back.

Bob and Brad D6 Pro Massage Gun for $250: This massage gun feels very high-end. It’s heavy in a good way, with nice attachments. I also like that the brand was started by two physical therapists. But it’s pricey compared to our other favorites, and I found the noise it makes to be quite annoying.

Turonic GM5 Massage Gun for $160: I really like using the Turonic. It’s light (much lighter than the LifePro Sonic above) and has one of the lowest intensity levels. That’s good for people who generally feel that “low” isn’t quite low enough on massage guns. It’s still quite powerful too. It has seven attachments.

Dr Massage Prowlr Massage Gun for $100: The Prowlr looks a bit like you’re putting a floor sander on your body. The large head spins, instead of the hammering-like motion of other guns. It feels more like a traditional rubbing massage, rather than a device that pounds into deep muscle knots. The handle is great for gripping and getting difficult-to-reach areas, but the attachments feel cheap. I also wish there was one smaller head for working on areas like your neck.

Hyperice Hypervolt Plus Bluetooth for $229: If you can find the Hypervolt on sale, it’s a good option that has a Bluetooth-connected app like Therabody’s devices. It’s heavy and doesn’t come with a carrying case, though it has a small case for its five attachments.

Yunmai’s Slim Elegant (SE) for $180: Like the Lyric, Yunmai’s Slime Elegant was our favorite non-Theragun device. It lived up to its elegant name with its soft coating on the attachments and charging stand. However, it’s nearly impossible to find on sale.

23 Best Wireless Chargers (2024): Pads, Stands, iPhone Docks, and More

23 Best Wireless Chargers (2024): Pads, Stands, iPhone Docks, and More

Does my phone support wireless charging?

Not all phones support wireless charging, but most brands have models that do, so look up your phone model first. You’ll usually see “Qi wireless charging” (the default standard) or simply “wireless charging” if it does. Phones that support the latest Qi2 standard, bear the Qi2 logo and have a ring of magnets for easy alignment (just like Apple’s MagSafe).

Do wireless chargers work if you have a phone case?

Yes, most wireless chargers can charge through cases, unless it’s a particularly thick case. Check the product listing—there’s usually a case thickness limit in millimeters. Phones can get hot when charging wirelessly, so don’t worry if your phone is really warm when you pick it up. Most smartphones have limits to stop accepting a charge if they get too hot.

Yes, cords will charge your phone faster

Some manufacturers like Apple and OnePlus make wireless chargers that recharge their respective phones faster than others, but if you’re looking for speed, you’re better off sticking with a cord. Wireless charging is best for desks or nightstands when you’re not really using your phone or in a rush to recharge it.

What’s a fast wireless charging speed?

We said this at the beginning of our guide, but you’ll see “Compatible with iPhones and Android phones” under each slide, and that means the charger has a standard charging speed of 7.5 watts for iPhones or 10 watts for Android phones (including Samsung Galaxy phones). The latest MagSafe and Qi2 chargers can go up to 15 watts, and there are a handful of proprietary wireless chargers for specific phone models that can charge even faster. It’s worth noting that, even where phones support them, the maximum charging rates are only reached some of the time (the charging rate is automatically adjusted to preserve battery health).

Is wireless charging safe to use?

There’s no definitive evidence that it’s harmful. You may worry the phone’s battery might degrade faster with wireless charging, but manufacturers set safe limits for phone batteries, stipulating how much a battery can be charged and how far it can discharge. Regardless of the charging source you use, whether you plug into a wall adapter or use a wireless charging pad, these limits can’t be overridden. There’s no risk of overcharging your phone by leaving it on a wireless charger all night.

How do I keep my phone’s battery healthy?

However, try to keep your battery between 50 and 80 percent for optimum battery health. Keeping your phone fully charged or fully discharging the battery will degrade it slightly faster, and regularly swinging between full and empty will shorten its life. Battery technology has improved in recent years, and phone batteries are more reliable than ever. If you switch phones every two to three years or don’t mind paying a modest fee for a battery replacement on that timescale, it’s not worth worrying too much about how often or when you charge your phone.

20 Best Portable Battery Chargers (2024): For Phones, iPads, Laptops, and More

20 Best Portable Battery Chargers (2024): For Phones, iPads, Laptops, and More

There are a few things worth thinking about when you’re shopping for a portable charger.

Capacity: The capacity of a power bank is measured in milliampere-hours (mAh), but this can be a little misleading because the amount of power you get out depends on the cable you use, the device you are charging, and the charging method (Qi wireless charging is less efficient). You will never get the maximum capacity. We try to provide an estimate of what you’ll get in terms of charges for devices.

Charging speeds and standards: The charging rate for devices like smartphones is measured in watts (W), but most power banks list the voltage (V) and the amperage (A). Thankfully, you can calculate the wattage yourself simply by multiplying the voltage and amperage. Unfortunately, getting that maximum rate also depends on your device, the standards it supports, and the charging cable you use. Many smartphones, including Apple’s iPhones, support the Power Delivery (PD) standard, meaning you can use higher-power power banks to recharge the device with no issues. A few phones, such as Samsung’s Galaxy S range, support a supplementary PD protocol called PPS (Programmable Power Standard) that goes up to 45 W. Many phones also support Qualcomm’s proprietary Quick Charge (QC) standard. There are also other proprietary fast-charging standards, but you won’t generally find power banks that support them unless they come from the smartphone manufacturer.

Pass-through: If you want to charge your power bank and use it to charge another device simultaneously, it will need pass-through support. The Nimble, GoalZero, Biolite, Mophie, Zendure, and Shargeek portable chargers listed support pass-through charging. Anker discontinued support for pass-through because it found that differences between the output of the wall charger and the input of the device charging can cause the power bank to cycle on and off rapidly and shorten its lifespan. Monoprice does not support pass-through charging, either. We would advise caution when using pass-through, as it can also cause portable chargers to heat up.

Travel: It’s safe to travel with a power bank, but there are two restrictions to keep in mind when you board a flight: You must have the portable charger in your carry-on luggage (it cannot be checked in), and it must not exceed 100 Wh (watt-hours). If your power bank has a larger capacity than 27,000 mAh, you should check with the airline. Below that should not be a problem.

Why Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ Has Taken Over TikTok

Why Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ Has Taken Over TikTok

In her delightfully cheeky Verizon Super Bowl commercial, Beyoncé swore to do one thing: Break the internet. As the commercial demonstrated, she could not—at least not in the literal sense. Instead, after the commercial ended, she did something else: She hacked the internet, dropping two new songs, “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” the former of which is already on its way to becoming TikTok’s viral dance song of the year.

This was always going to happen. Pretty much everything Beyoncé does—every album drop, every outfit—goes viral. That’s why her Verizon commercial didn’t look like a shallow attempt to astroturf hype. Moreover, “Texas Hold ’Em” is a big pop-country crossover track, and its rapid banjo riffs (from maestro Rhiannon Giddens) and lyrics about whiskey and taking it to the floor are perfect for line dancing. Line dances, which lend themselves to fun mimicry and interpretation, naturally do well on social platforms. It would have been weirder if TikTok hadn’t been flooded with new dances in the week after the song dropped. (If you’re looking for the video that best exemplifies this trend, check out this chart-topper from performers Matt McCall and Dexter Mayfield and then just follow the sound on down, down, down.)

Inevitability, though, isn’t the whole reason “Texas Hold ’Em” is currently the backing track to nearly 134,000 videos with millions of collective views. The song is boot-scootin’ its way onto TikTok at a time when a lot of music has been muted on the platform following a dustup between TikTok and Universal Music Group.

Back in January, after the two companies failed to come to terms on a licensing agreement for UMG music, the massive record company pulled songs that it owns the rights to from TikTok, including cuts from artists like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. That means any video using music from those artists now plays without sound. Beyoncé’s music is distributed by Columbia/Sony, a UMG rival, so “Texas Hold ’Em” now sits at Number 5 on TikTok’s Viral 50 list.

Now, like a shiny holographic disco horse, Beyoncé is atop the social web. When she announced her new album, Act II, and dropped “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” the internet was in a tizzy about the fact that Beyoncé was making what appeared to be a whole country album, a continuation of the country-infused “Daddy Lessons” from 2016’s Lemonade. (“She coming to put the cunt in country!!” went the replies on the @BeyLegion X account. “‘Daddy Lessons’ reloaded!” went another.)

On Tuesday, “Texas Hold ’Em” made Beyoncé the first Black woman to debut at number one on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The song has currently been streamed nearly 20 million times.

TikTok sounds don’t count toward Billboard chart rankings, but there is no doubt that viral dances create the kind of hype that leads to song streams, album sales, and radio play. Beyoncé has no control over the TikTok/UMG situation (probably), and she had no way of knowing whether their licensing dispute would still be ongoing when her new music dropped (again, probably), but its existence has paved the way for her new song to be one of the biggest things happening with music on the platform right now. No doubt it would’ve hit these heights regardless, but with less competition, there’s nothing holding it back.

Signal Finally Rolls Out Usernames, So You Can Keep Your Phone Number Private

Signal Finally Rolls Out Usernames, So You Can Keep Your Phone Number Private

The third new feature, which is not enabled by default and which Signal recommends mainly for high-risk users, allows you to turn off not just your number’s visibility but its discoverability. That means no one can find you in Signal unless they have your username, even if they already know your number or have it saved in their address book. That extra safeguard might be important if you don’t want anyone to be able to tie your Signal profile to your phone number, but it will also make it significantly harder for people who know you to find you on Signal.

The new phone number protections should now make it possible to use Signal to communicate with untrusted people in ways that would have previously presented serious privacy risks. A reporter can now post a Signal username on a social media profile to allow sources to send encrypted tips, for instance, without also sharing a number that allows strangers to call their cell phone in the middle of the night. An activist can discreetly join an organizing group without broadcasting their personal number to people in the group they don’t know.

In the past, using Signal without exposing a private number in either of those situations would have required setting up a new Signal number on a burner phone—a difficult privacy challenge for people in many countries that require identification to buy a SIM card—or with a service like Google Voice. Now you can simply set a username instead, which can be changed or deleted at any time. (Any conversations you’ve started with the old username will switch over to the new one.) To avoid storing even those usernames, Signal is also using a cryptographic function called a Ristretto hash, which allows it to instead store a list of unique strings of characters that encode those handles.

Amid these new features designed to calibrate exactly who can learn your phone number, however, one key role for that number hasn’t changed: There’s still no way to avoid sharing your phone number with Signal itself when you register. The fact that this requirement persists even after Signal’s upgrade will no doubt rankle some critics who have pushed Signal’s developers to better cater to users seeking more complete anonymity, such that even Signal’s own staff can’t see a phone number that might identify users or hand that number over to a surveillance agency wielding a court order.

Whittaker says that, for better or worse, a phone number remains a necessary requisite as the identifier Signal privately collects from its users. That’s partly because it prevents spammers from creating endless accounts since phone numbers are scarce. Phone numbers are also what allow anyone to install Signal and have it immediately populate with contacts from their address book, a key element of its usability.

In fact, designing a system that prevents spam accounts and imports the user’s address book without requiring a phone number is “a deceptively hard problem,” says Whittaker. “Spam prevention and actually being able to connect with your social graph on a communications app—those are existential concerns,” she says. “That’s the reason that you still need a phone number to register, because we still need a thing that does that work.”