IOS - Page 27 of 65

How to Build a Motion-Triggered Raspberry Pi Security Camera

Home security camera systems have exploded in popularity while decreasing in price over the past few years. For example, you could purchase a Ring Indoor Security Camera for around $60, but there are some drawbacks: first, vendors like Ring often charge a monthly fee to store your data and second, you might not want video and photos from inside your home being shared with a third party (in Ring’s case, Amazon) where strangers could potentially see them.

MotionEyeOS, a free open-source application, allows you to turn a Raspberry Pi with a camera into a home video monitoring system, where the photos and videos can either stay on your device (and home network) or, if you choose, be uploaded automatically to a cloud-storage service such as Google Drive or Dropbox.

In this tutorial, we will show you how to set up a Raspberry Pi security camera with MotionEyeOS. This software works with almost any Raspberry Pi (connected to the internet) and almost any webcam or Pi camera. There’s no fancy coding to be done in this project; it just works.

Here are a few of the cameras I’ve successfully used with MotionEye.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

This Raspberry Pi security camera can be used to record porch pirates, monitor children or pets or to watch out for burglars.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Disclaimer: This article is provided with the intent for personal use. We expect our users to fully disclose and notify when they collect, use, and/or share data. We expect our users to fully comply with all national, state, and municipal laws applicable.

What You’ll Need

Raspberry Pi 4 or Raspberry Pi 3B+, or Raspberry Pi Zero W
8 GB (or larger) microSD card
Raspberry Pi Cam, HQ Camera, Infrared Camera, or webcam
Monitor/Power supply/Monitor/HDMI Cable (for your Raspberry Pi)
Your Windows or Mac computer.

Install MotionEyeOS

In this section, we will download MotionEyeOS, flash to a microSD card for our Raspberry Pi security camera, and set our WPA credentials.

1. Download the latest version of MotionEyeOS corresponding to the specific model of Raspberry Pi you are using from https://github.com/ccrisan/motioneyeos/releases

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Image 2 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Insert your microSD card into your computer to be read as a storage device.

3. Launch Raspberry Pi Imager. You can download the imager here if you don’t already have it installed on your computer.

4. Select “Use custom” for the Operating System.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

5. Select the motioneyeos version that you just downloaded. This should be a .img.xz file.

6. Select your microSD card under “SD Card.” Note that all data on your microSD card will be erased in the next step.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

7. Click “Write” in the Raspberry Pi imager. The ‘write’ process could take 1 to 2 minutes.

8. When the process completes, physically remove and then reinsert your microSD card. We do this because the software automatically ejects the microSD card when the process completes, but we need to add one file before the next step.

9. Create a new file named wpa_supplicant.conf with the following text, replacing “YOUR_NETWORK_NAME” and “YOUR_NETWORK_PASSWORD” with your information. A source code editor such as Atom works great for this purpose. WordPad and Notepad are not recommended to create this file as extra characters are added in the formatting process.

country=us
update_config=1
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant

network={
 scan_ssid=1
 ssid="YOUR_NETWORK_NAME"
 psk="YOUR_NETWORK_PASSWORD"
}

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

10. Save wpa_supplicant.conf to your microSD card. Eject your microSD card.

11. Insert your microSD card into your Raspberry Pi.

12. Connect your camera, monitor and power supply to your Raspberry Pi. Power up your Pi.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

13. Find your internal IP address on the Pi screen. In most cases your internal IP address will start with 192.168.x.x or 10.0.0.x. Alternatively, if you do not have access to a monitor, you can download Angry IP Scanner and find your IP address for your Motioneye Raspberry Pi. Look for “MEYE” to identify your MotionEye Pi.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

14. Enter your internal IP address into a browser window of your Windows or Mac computer. Alternatively, you could use a Chromebook or a tablet. At this point your Motioneye should start streaming.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

In most cases, the system will automatically stream from the attached camera. If no image comes up, the camera may be incompatible with the Raspberry Pi. For example, an HD webcam may be incompatible with the Raspberry Pi Zero, but will work with a Raspberry Pi 3. There may be some trial and error in this step. Interestingly, most older webcams (manufactured before the Pi) will work with Motioneye. Here’s an old Logitech Pro 9000 connected to a Pi Zero W with a 3D printed stand.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Configuring MotionEye for Raspberry Pi Security Camera

In this section, we will perform a basic configuration of Motioneye and view our Raspberry Pi security camera video stream.

1. Click on the Profile icon near the top left within your browser menu to pull up the Login screen.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Log in using the default credentials. The username is admin, and the password field should be blank.

3. Select your Time Zone from the dropdown menu in “Time Zone.” Click Apply. Motioneye will reboot which will take a few minutes. This step is important as each photo and video is timestamped.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

4. Motioneye detects motion when _% of frames change. The intent is to set your % low enough to pick up the movement you are tracking, but high enough to avoid recording a passing cloud. In most cases, this is achieved through trial and error. Start with your default 4% Frame Change Threshold and then move up until you reach your optimal setting.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

5. Click the down arrow to the right of “Still Images” to reveal the corresponding settings. Do the same for “Movies.” Set Capture Mode and Recording Mode to “Motion Triggered” and length of time to “Preserve Pictures” and “Movies.”

I have chosen “For One Week” since I’m only working with an 8GB microSD card. The photos saved locally will serve as a backup. You’ll save all of the photos to Google in a later step. Click Apply to save your changes.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

6. Set your Camera Name, Video Resolution, Frame Rate and other options in the “Video Device” section. Click Apply to save your changes.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Viewing Raspberry Pi Security Camera Images / Video Locally

If you don’t wish to upload images to a third-party service such as Google Drive, you can view the images and/or videos) captured locally on your Raspberry Pi security camera. If you choose this method, the images will never leave your local network.

1. Click on the live camera feed and new icons will appear.

2. Click on the image icon to view images.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

3. Or Click on the “Play”button icon to view movies.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Automatic Uploading to Google Drive (Optional)

In this step, we will configure our Raspberry Pi security camera to automatically upload all of the photos (and videos) taken to Google Drive. This method (with a couple of nuances) also works with Dropbox. Of course, you have to be comfortable with having your images in the cloud.

Most users create a separate Gmail account specifically for this purpose, to maximize free storage space from Google. Additionally, this will come in handy if you decide to enable email notifications in the next step.

1. Click the down arrow corresponding to “File Storage” in the main admin menu.

2. Toggle “Upload Media Files” to ON. This should automatically toggle “Upload Pictures” and “Upload Movies” to ON, but if not, hit ON.

3. Select Google Drive from the “Upload Service” dropdown menu.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

4. In your Google Drive, create a new folder for storing your photos and videos. I chose “PorchCam” for the name of my folder.

5. Enter “/” followed by your folder name for ‘Location.’

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

6. Click “Obtain Key” and accept associated permissions by clicking “Allow.”

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

7. Copy and paste the authorization code into your “Authorization Key” in Motioneye.

8. Click the “Test Service” button. If you don’t get an error message in Motioneye, then it was a success.

9. Go to your Google Drive folder and test your setup by pointing the camera at yourself and waving to the camera.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Configuring Automated Email Notifications (Optional)

In this optional step, we will configure our MotionEye to automatically send us emails with attachments containing the photos our Raspberry Pi security camera has taken. It is highly recommended that you create a separate Gmail account specifically for this purpose. These instructions are specific to Gmail only.

1. Enable “Less Secure Apps” in your Gmail account.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Expand “Motion Notifications” in Motioneye.

3. Toggle ON “Send An Email”

4. Enter your Email address, password.

SMTP Server = smtp.gmail.com

SMTP Port = 587

Use TLS – Toggle to On

Enter a value for “Attached Pictures Time Span”

5. Click the “Test Email” button.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The first email is a text only email. Subsequent emails will contain attachments.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Mobile App Access to Raspberry Pi Security Camera

MotionEye also features a mobile app for iOS and Android / Google Play stores. Keep in mind that the app will only work while you are on the same network as your Raspberry Pi (unless you enable port forwarding, which is not encouraged for security reasons).

MotionEye iOS app – https://apps.apple.com/us/app/motioneyeos-client/id1485489242

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Google Play app – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jairaj.janglegmail.motioneye&hl=en_US&gl=US

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

How to install Apple’s watchOS 7 and iOS 14 betas so you can unlock your phone with your watch

Apple’s iOS 14.5 beta is out, and with it comes the ability to have your Apple Watch unlock your Face ID-protected phone if you happen to be wearing a mask. If you really want this feature right now, you’ll have to download the latest iOS and watchOS betas — something that does come with at least a little risk, as it’s unfinished software. There are bugs, and features might change between updates. There have been reports in the past of watches being bricked by betas (though I didn’t find any for this release).

With all that said, I’ve been using the betas since they came out, and I haven’t noticed anything acting particularly buggy. So if you’re willing to throw caution to the wind to get access to the new Apple Watch unlock feature, here’s how you can get the betas.

First, start by going to beta.apple.com on your iPhone. If you’ve never participated in a public beta before, you’ll have to tap on the sign up button, and if you have, you can tap on the sign in button.

Click the Enroll Your Devices button to get the beta profiles for your phone and watch.

Once you’re logged in, tap the down arrow on the header, and go to Enroll Your Devices. I highly recommend following Apple’s advice to make an archived backup of your device, as iCloud backups won’t necessarily be accessible if you have to switch back from a beta. Apple explains how to make one on the Enroll page. Go ahead, I’ll be here when you get back.

After you’ve backed up your device, you can scroll down and tap the Download profile button, and your phone will let you know that you have to review the profile before it installs.

Before we do that, though, let’s grab the profile for the watch by scrolling up to the top and choosing WatchOS from the list. There, you can tap the Download profile button, then press Allow.

Tap install to add the beta profile to your Watch.
You’ll then have to reboot your watch.

This will automatically open the Watch app, where you can press Install. This will reboot your watch, so while that’s happening, let’s install the phone’s profile by going to Settings, then Profile Downloaded.

There, you can tap the Install button, and your phone will restart.

Tapping install will add the beta profile to your phone.

After you’ve got the profiles downloaded and your devices rebooted, you’ll have to update your phone, then your watch. Unfortunately, you have to wait until the phone is updated before you can even start on the watch, so you can’t multitask.

Once you’re officially running iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4, we can finally enable the unlock with watch feature.

Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode

Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode, and scroll down to the new Unlock With Apple Watch option. Toggling it will turn on the feature, there’s nothing you have to do on the watch.

Toggling Apple Watch under Unlock with Apple Watch turns the feature on.

Now that you have it installed, here’s what you can expect. First, and most important to note, is that your phone isn’t looking for your face with a mask, it’s looking for a face with a mask. With this feature on, if my wife was wearing a mask, she was able to unlock my phone with no problem if I was within three or so feet.

Apple’s mitigation to this is whenever your Apple Watch is used to unlock your phone, it buzzes you with a notification saying your phone has been unlocked, along with a button to lock it. Pressing that lock button immediately locks your phone and requires a passcode on next unlock.

With that caveat out of the way, so far I’ve had great success with the feature. I tried it with a variety of masks, and it worked with all of them for me. It is worth noting that, again, it is still looking for a face with a mask. This feature won’t help you in the situation where your phone is laying on the table and you want to unlock it without the Face ID camera being able to see you.

Still, for me, not having to put in my passcode every time I want to check my grocery list while shopping is a huge benefit and worth what I consider to be relatively minor security trade-offs. The feature may not be for those with super-secret info on their phones, but for everyone else it’ll be a nice quality-of-life improvement, whether you decide to go for it right now or wait for the official release.

The Verge’s 18 favorite kitchen gadgets

When you’re stuck at home because of pandemics, bad weather, or just because you don’t feel like going out, there’s nothing more satisfying than cooking something really fantastic. Even if you’re not an experienced or enthusiastic cook, sometimes it’s really satisfying to create a new and tasty dish for you, your friends, and / or family.

We asked the staff of The Verge what kinds of equipment, gadgets, and tools they use to make their kitchen adventures better tasting, easier, or just more fun. Here are some of the answers we got.

Immersion blender

The Mueller Austria Ultra-Stick hand blender.

Photo: Mueller Austria

This is one of my favorite tools in the kitchen. It’s a hand-held blender that can be used to prepare soups, smoothies, whipped coffee, and more. I often use it in my Indian cooking just to smooth out the sauce a little and bring the dish together. It’s a game-changer, and I honestly just have so much fun using it. We also don’t own an actual blender so this has come in handy to make smoothies and shakes as well.

Dilpreet Kainth

Social media manager, video

When I was in college, I drove through a literal Maine blizzard to buy an immersion blender because I really wanted soup.

Nicole Wetsman

Health tech reporter

I have been making a lot of sauces and smoothies, and since I have a tiny kitchen, I don’t have a lot of counter space for more gadgets. This is why I love my immersion blender.

Kim Lyons

Weekend editor

I love my Breville hand blender. It makes soups and stuff that you don’t want to transfer into a blender so easy. I love the model I have, but clearly, there are a lot of good options out there.

Amelia Holowaty Krales

Senior staff photographer

Cooking app

Paprika Recipe Manager

The Paprika Recipe Manager is my entire cooking process now. Paprika is good because it:

Isn’t linked to a specific cooking service, so the features aren’t tied to a particular set of recipes
Can download and cleanly convert recipes from almost any site pretty well, either through its built-in web browser or a bookmark widget
Comes with a meal calendar and grocery list function that has become remarkably useful now that I do weekly grocery runs

Adi Robertson

Senior reporter

I’m seconding Adi’s recommendation of Paprika, which is the best recipe app, bar-none. It’s also got really great app support, with desktop and mobile apps on every platform (Mac ($15), Windows ($15), iOS ($5), and Android (free for up to 50 recipes).

Chaim Gartenberg

News editor

Air fryer

GoWise air fryer.

Image: GoWise

We just received a GoWise Air Fryer as a quarantine gift, and we couldn’t be happier with it! It replaces our microwave 90 percent of the time for reheating, and food comes out tasting crisp and delicious. It’s also great at cooking. We’ve made stuffed mushrooms, fried chicken, steak sandwiches — you name it, this thing makes it.

Grayson Blackmon

Senior motion designer

Electric kettle

Bonavita electric kettle.

Photo: Bonavita

In the UK, where I’m from, it’s pretty unusual for a kitchen to come without an electric kettle, and honestly, I’ve got no idea how anyone manages without them. Obviously, the main thing my kettle gets used for is brewing cups of tea, but it’s just as happy boiling water for coffee if you’re brewing it in a device like an AeroPress. When the water’s boiled the power automatically cuts off, which certainly feels a lot safer than the risk of leaving a burner on. Unfortunately, the US’s lower voltage means that electric kettles aren’t quite as fast as a burner if you’re boiling water to cook with, but I think they’re still a pretty useful kitchen addition.

Jon Porter

Reporter

It’s so fast, and I never have to worry about stuff catching fire.

Russell Brandom

Policy editor

Also +1ing an electric kettle. I love my Bonavita kettle.

Dan Seifert

Deputy editor

Food mixers & processors

KitchenAid mixer.

Photo: KitchenAid

KitchenAid stand mixers are great for mixing cake mix or whisking, but the thing I most regularly use mine for is kneading dough using its dough hook accessory. I’m sure there are purists out there who’ll claim that a machine can never match the process of kneading by hand, but for me, it’s worth it just so I can get dough ready for baking without having to cover an entire work surface with flour. I will accept that using a stand mixer means I’ll never end up with Paul Hollywood’s forearms of steel, but that’s my burden to bear.

Jon Porter

I can’t stop buying KitchenAid attachments! Specifically, the sifter, scale, and the pasta roller.

Sarah Smithers

Editorial coordinator

There are so many great things you can do with the Cuisinart food processor: pesto, perfectly mandolined veggie slices for lasagna, babka dough, savory crackers, dicing onions without weeping. My mom met a Cuisinart employee who swore by the 11-cup as their least-repaired model.

Helen Havlak

Vice president

Instant Pot

Instant Pot cooker.

Photo: Instant Pot

I’ve never been a great cook so, in an attempt to get me to eat more home-cooked food, my mom gifted me an Instant Pot. This was years ago, and I’ve never looked back. I am the queen of soups, but it’s such a handy tool to cut down cooking time and effort on almost any dish. For the most part, you just toss in all the ingredients, set the timer, and go about your business.

Kaitlin Hatton

Social media manager

About 90 percent of our quarantine meals have been made in an Instant Pot. There’s just no time to do anything anymore, and we can make large amounts of healthy food, with little attention, and have leftovers. I liked it before, but now I’m ready to build a shrine to it.

Christopher Grant

SVP, Polygon and The Verge

+1 to everything above. Also, the Instant Pot makes delicious rice — just make sure to wash the rice a few times before you put it in!

Jay Peters

News writer

Coffee makers

Baratza coffee grinder.

Photo: Baratza

I really like my overpriced Baratza Virtuoso coffee grinder. It’s expensive but has served me well for nearly five years now. It works very well for everything from fine-grind espresso to coarse French press. Almost every part is replaceable, as well, meaning I can keep it going for many more years to come. (Apparently, the exact model I have has been replaced by this newer one with a digital timer.)

Dan Seifert

I’m a big believer in the AeroPress. It’s especially good for camping.

Andrew Hawkins

Senior reporter

Cast iron pot

Lodge Cast Iron Double Dutch Oven.

Photo: Lodge

Cast iron pots are one of my key kitchen tools. First off, they’re essential for getting a great crust on a homemade loaf of bread (especially sourdough). But they’ve got myriad uses beyond that: soups, stews, roasting, deep-frying, and more. Plus, they’re relatively cheap, and if you take care of them, they can last a lifetime.

I’m a big fan of Lodge’s Double Dutch Oven since the lid doubles as a second cast iron pan, making it twice as useful.

Chaim Gartenberg

Fish spatula

Agrus fish spatula.

Photo: Agrus

Full disclosure: I have never used my fish spatula for fish. But its thin, flexible edge makes it perfect for getting under the edges of fried eggs, seared meat, and grilled cheeses.

Nicole Wetsman

We actually do use our fish spatula for fish, among other things, and it works beautifully, especially when trying to flip over delicate filets. If you’re picking up an especially large piece, two are better. And if you’ve got one of the Lodge cast iron pans (see above), you can use it to scrape off the burned bits.

Barbara Krasnoff

Reviews editor

Cutting board

Bamboo cutting board

Photo: Royal Craft Wood

I hate when pieces of chopped veggies roll off the edge of a cutting board, so I insist on using one big enough to fill up most of the counter. It can fit an onion and garlic with room to spare, so I don’t feel cramped while I’m focusing on my (mediocre) knife skills.

Nicole Wetsman

Sous Vide

A sous vide heats your food with the help of a mobile app.

Photo: ChefSteps

I only use it once every few months, but I love my Joule sous vide. It takes a bit of setup, but once everything is in the water bath, my job is basically over for a few hours. It cooks everything to the perfect temperature every time, meaning no more over- or undercooking. I get the perfect amount of pink with my steak, my veggies don’t get mushy, my chicken breasts stay moist, and I don’t have to stick everything with a food thermometer 15 times to make sure I don’t accidentally give my family food poisoning.

Sarah Smithers

A sous vide is great. I use mine all the time — I can proof bread in it, make garlic confit, lots of good meat / fish options.

Chaim Gartenberg

Ice cream machine

Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream, and Sorbet Maker.

Photo: Cuisinart

Is it big? Yes. Is it extremely limited in what it can do? Also yes. Can I make ice cream and sorbet whenever I want? Yes.

Chaim Gartenberg

Pancake batter mixer

Whiskware Pancake Batter Mixer

Photo: Whiskware

Who doesn’t like pancakes? There’s something simply beautiful about a short stack of pancakes. But I felt I was using way too many dishes whenever I made pancakes. So I bought this pancake batter mixer.

It looks like a huge baby bottle, but it’s one of the best things I purchased for under $20. You place all the ingredients to make the batter in the bottle and shake it like a protein shake. Once the batter forms, you can squirt the batter out and adjust how big or how little you want your pancakes. The nozzle is great because it’s wide enough for things like chocolate chips to squeeze out the bottle as well.

Taylor Lyles

Writer

Garlic rocker

Garlic rocker / mincer / crusher

Photo: Joseph Joseph

We use a lot of garlic in my household, and traditional garlic presses never did it for us — they usually produced a messy, slushy paste. A friend of ours introduced us to the garlic rocker, which is not only fun to play with but produces beautifully minced pieces of garlic, perfect for sautéing and other uses.

Barbara Krasnoff

Digital scale

Ozeri Pronto digital scale.

Photo: Ozeri

A must for bread baking, especially if you’ve gotten your hands on some sourdough starter (or made your own). Anything that measures in grams and ounces will work — just get whatever’s cheapest.

Chaim Gartenberg

Update February 5th, 2021, 10:30AM ET: This article was originally published on June 6th, 2020; prices have been updated and a pancake batter mixer has been added.

Our 14 favorite gadgets and hacks for working at home

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

It’s been nearly a year since many of us started working from home due to the pandemic, and if you haven’t yet adjusted your workspace to accommodate your needs, then it’s probably time to get to it. Whether you’ve set yourself up in the guest bedroom, on your living room couch, or in a walk-in closet, you may need a little extra to make it possible to type comfortably, meet online, or just concentrate. Sometimes it means buying a new desk, lamp, or monitor; sometimes it just means finding a household item that will make life a little easier.

We asked the staff of The Verge what they’ve been using to make their work-at-home situations more practical, more pleasant, or simply more possible. Here are some of the answers we got.

Tech products

Apple AirPods Pro

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

I basically live in my AirPods Pro during the day. They let me listen to music, catch Slack pings, and take calls, all with the added benefit of some noise cancellation to help drown out outside noise. Their range is also great for my apartment — I can be anywhere in the house without losing connection to my computer, which is really nice if I need to step away from my desk to, say, microwave my second cookie of the afternoon. —Jay Peters

Apple AirPods Pro

Phone as webcam

Turning my phone into a fully functional webcam was surprisingly easy and cost-effective. I already had a Nexus 6P sitting around, and with these steps that work on most Android and iOS devices, I now have a phone-meets-webcam. It’s got video quality that’s roughly on par with a standalone webcam that would probably cost $200 right now. What makes it even better is that my iOttie car mount connects perfectly to my glass desk, so I don’t have to awkwardly arrange the phone to get a good angle on my face. —Cameron Faulkner

Satechi Aluminum Multi-Port Adapter V2

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

While I’m working off a MacBook, this Satechi hub has been a lifesaver for plugging in podcasting mics and any other gear I’m suddenly using on my own. —Adi Robertson

Satechi Aluminum Multi-Port Adapter V2

Rechargeable batteries

I go through tons of batteries with my flash when photographing at home and I find that these rechargeable batteries last so much longer than regular single-use batteries. Not only do they save me trips to the store and keep more batteries out of the landfills, but they also save me money in the end. —Amelia Holowaty Krales

Panasonic AA NiMH 2,550mAh rechargeable batteries

CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock

Photo: CalDigit

This Thunderbolt 3 dock lets me switch my whole desk setup (keyboard, mouse, speakers, Ethernet, display, external storage drives, and microphone) from one computer to another by just moving one cable. I plug all of my peripherals into the dock, and then just use the one Thunderbolt cable to hook up my Mac or whatever Windows machine I need to test at the moment. It also has a very useful high-speed SD card slot on the front, which is great for whenever I need to dump images from my camera onto my computer. —Dan Seifert

CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock

Google Nest Wifi Router

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Last year, I installed a Google Nest Wifi router with a mesh point. I’ve had a lot of networking equipment over the years, and this was immediately the best. And it was extremely easy to set up. —TC Sottek

Google Nest Wifi router

Ultrawide monitor

Photo: LG

An ultrawide monitor is the best purchase I ever made for working from home. It’s so big I have to physically lean from side to side to see it all. I can have three full-size windows up at the same time or countless windows overlapping. (Right now, I have nine different windows open and it doesn’t feel cramped at all.) Mine is an old LG 34UM94-P that they don’t make anymore — it looks like there is an updated version, the LG 34BL850-W. However, any monitor that is at least 34 inches in size with 1440p or better resolution is what I recommend. —Dan Seifert

LG 34BL850-W 34-inch QHD monitor

Home office helpers

Fully Jarvis Bamboo Standing Desk

Photo: Jarvis

We heard from three staffers about this desk:

The Jarvis from Fully was recommended to me by my colleague Christian Mazza, and it’s been far and away my best work-from-home purchase in years. It’s rather pricey by desk standards, but cheap by standing desk standards.

Assembly was far less cumbersome than I thought it would be. Just having the option to sit or stand, when you’re cooped up in your room or home office all day, makes a big difference. Plus it looks great and has some nice customization options for color and desk material. —Nick Statt

I love my Jarvis desk for all of the same reasons Nick does. If you’re considering one, I highly recommend spending the extra $20 for the extended-range height, which lets the desk get lower for sitting and higher for standing, and the extra $35 for the programmable height switcher, which lets you preset heights that you can switch back and forth to just by pressing a button.

I also sprung for the $29 casters so that I could wheel the desk around my apartment, which lets my wife and I use it as a mobile entertainment system. When we’re done working for the day, we can roll the desk over to our comfy chairs and watch Netflix or play Animal Crossing on the desk’s monitor. —Jay Peters

I have the Jarvis, too, just in a larger size. It has served me well for about four years now. It’s a comfortable, stable, spacious desk that has more versatility than typical desk options. —Dan Seifert

LapGear Designer Lap Desk

Photo courtesy LapGear

I should work at a desk more, but I spend a lot of time working from a couch. It’s bad for me, but also very comfortable. Using a lap desk like this one helps me at least pretend to be a little more conscientious about my posture; plus, it’s helpful for writing on physical paper (or when my laptop gets too hot). —Chaim Gartenberg

LapGear Designer Lap Desk

Huanuo monitor mount stand

Photo: Huanuo

This monitor mount brings my screen up to a nice height so that I don’t hunch over, and it’s the tallest one I’ve found. Other monitor arms I tried just weren’t tall enough for me when I was standing while working — and I’m not that tall at five feet, 11 inches. The mount also lets me adjust my monitor to exactly the right height for movies or Animal Crossing when I’m using my desk as a mobile entertainment center. —Jay Peters

Huanuo monitor mount stand

Nespresso Inissia Espresso Machine

Photo: De’Longhi

I’m hopelessly addicted to iced lattes and I finally invested in this espresso machine with my stimulus check. It makes waking up in the morning a little more exciting when I don’t have to French press my coffee. And it came with a milk frother! —Makena Kelly

Ello Devon Glass Tumbler

Photo: Ello Products

I never drink enough water. I just seem to forget to and I get headaches from dehydration, but something about this bottle helps remind me. Maybe it’s the design? I love it! —Amelia Holowaty Krales

Ello Devon Glass Tumbler

Herman Miller Sayl Chair

The Herman Miller Sayl is a common chair — Vox Media’s NYC office has hundreds of them. I bought one without arms, though, because it works a little better for my posture. I’m tall, and it’s hard to find chairs that don’t encourage me to slouch. Also, I like the red. —Sam Byford

Herman Miller Sayl Chair

Notebook and pen

While all of my work and most of my writing happen on my computer, sometimes it’s easier (especially for sudden phone calls or when I don’t want to switch out of a video) to simply turn to the notebook I keep next to my laptop and jot down a note or two. And I’ve found that using a classy pen is not only good for my morale, but makes it a lot less likely that I’ll find myself out of ink (or with a hand cramp) when I need to get something important written quickly. Currently, I’m using a True Writer ballpoint pen from Levenger that I got as a birthday present, but any pen that makes you feel good will do. —Barbara Krasnoff

Update February 4th, 2021, 2:37PM ET: This article was originally published on April 28th, 2020, and has been updated to include changes in prices and circumstances.

KEF unveils Mu3 true wireless headphones with active noise cancelling

(Image credit: KEF)

UK Audio specialist, KEF, has just introduced the Mu3: the company’s first set of true wireless headphones that also boast noise cancelling. They’re designed by Ross Lovegrove – of KEF’s high-end Muon speakers and bijou Bluetooth Muo fame – and engineered by the firm’s Maidstone acoustic team.

2021 sees KEF celebrating its 60th anniversary too, so why not mark it with some new high-spec wireless headphones to rival Apple’s AirPods Pro? The audio performance benefits from KEF’s specially tuned active noise cancellation technology, promising to eliminate external noise without altering the details that bring your music to life.

Each of the Mu3s’ sculptural enclosures contain an 8.2mm full-range dynamic driver and the ergonomic design also promises a comfortable and secure audio experience. The Mu3s are apparently balanced in the ears by smart weighting, which KEF assures us stops them from falling out. They also come with a choice of four subtly different sized ear tips to give the most tailored fit for your ears – ie. the perfect seal for noise isolation and security.

The Mu3 also boasts Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity further enhanced by the introduction of simultaneous transmission, where both earphones receive a signal at the same time (rather than the more common approach where audio is sent to one earpiece and relayed to the other, therefore running the risk of latency) for improved true wireless audio on both Android and iOS devices.

(Image credit: KEF)

KEF promises a simple setup, automatic pairing and an ambient mode too, where at the touch of a button active noise cancellation is disengaged and instead, the audio picked up on the microphones is filtered in, providing the wearer with instant awareness of their surroundings. The IPX5 splash-proof rating actually beats the AirPods Pro’s IPX4 rating for water ingress and the high-capacity, quick-charge batteries boast a full day’s listening (a claimed nine hours of playtime with a further 15 hours in the charging case) even with noise cancellation engaged.

They’ll be available by the end of February, priced at £199 ($230, AU$300) – slap bang in AirPods Pro and Sony WF-1000XM3 territory. Are they set to become the best AirPods alternatives on the block? There’s tough competition at that level, but we’re very interested to find out…

MORE:

Read all our KEF reviews

See our pick of the best wireless noise-cancelling headphones 2021

Touch of insomnia? Peruse the best headphones for sleeping 2021: wired wireless and noise-cancelling

Apple’s new betas let you try its Watch-based solution for masked iPhone unlocks

With the upcoming release of iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4, Apple will let you use your Apple Watch to authenticate and unlock your iPhone while you’re wearing a mask. But if you want to try the feature now, you can, as Apple has released public betas for both iOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4.

Before these releases, people using iPhones with Face ID while wearing a mask could only unlock their phone by entering in their passcode manually, which can quickly become a hassle. But with the new updates installed, if your Apple Watch is unlocked (which it most likely is if it’s sitting on your wrist) and as long as it’s nearby, when you try to unlock your iPhone while wearing a mask, you’ll feel a little buzz from your Apple Watch and your iPhone should authenticate you.

There are a few caveats to this feature, though. It only works for unlocking your iPhone — it won’t work for authenticating things like App Store or Apple Pay purchases. And you’ll still have to manually enter your passcode on your iPhone every once in a while as an extra security measure.

If you want to get the public betas to try the feature out, head over to Apple’s beta program site. Note that you’ll need to install the iOS 14.5 beta first before you can install the watchOS 7.4 beta. And be warned that because this is beta software, you might run into unexpected bugs, crashes, and performance issues. Install with caution.

Google is weighing an anti-tracking feature for Android, following Apple’s lead

Google is considering developing an Android alternative to Apple’s upcoming App Tracking Transparency, a new planned opt-in requirement the iPhone maker will impose on developers that demands they ask for permission to track iOS users across apps and websites. The news, first reported on Thursday by Bloomberg, underscores the increasing pressure on large tech companies, many spurred on by Apple, to take more proactive measures to better protect user privacy.

Google won’t say whether it is indeed working on an anti-tracking privacy measure for Android. But in a statement, a Google spokesperson tells The Verge, “We’re always looking for ways to work with developers to raise the bar on privacy while enabling a healthy, ad-supported app ecosystem.”

First announced at Apple’s developer conference last summer, App Tracking Transparency effectively slides a system-level opt in between an app’s tracking capabilities and a user’s preferences. If the user says they would rather not be tracked, there’s nothing the developer can do to get around that because Apple will disable a developer’s ability to gather the so-called Identifier for Advertisers code, or IDFA. That code both lets advertisers track users from one app or website to another for ad targeting while also helping advertisers measure the effectiveness of ads, such as whether a user ends up purchasing a product they saw on one app by using the mobile website of the merchant.

Apple intends to police developers using audits and other methods to enforce its policies, which include potentially suspending or banning apps from the App Store if a developer does not comply. Both Facebook and Google have publicly expressed concern for how Apple’s opt-in requirement could negatively affect their mobile advertising networks. But Facebook has gone a step further and begun waging a public relations war against Apple over the change by complaining it will harm small businesses and accusing Apple of being self-serving.

Google’s take on App Tracking Transparency would likely not be as severe, Bloomberg reports. Instead of forcing opt-in requirements on app developers, the Android alternative may resemble some of the upcoming privacy controls planned for Google’s Chrome browser, in which the company seeks to end some of the more insidious tracking technologies on the web today by developing less invasive alternatives and giving users more opt-out mechanisms.

Google’s work to develop new privacy practices and standards for the web is known as the Privacy Sandbox. As part of that ongoing project, Google has taken steps to phase out third-party cookies on Chrome and is working on tools that allow advertisers to target groups of users instead of directly targeting individuals. All of this could inform how Google develops an anti-tracking measure for Android, Bloomberg reports.

Deliveroo vs Just Eat vs Uber Eats: UK delivery apps compared

(Pocket-lint) – Getting meals delivered to your home, whether it’s a pizza, takeaway, sandwich or anything else under sun, has become an absolutely normal thing in the UK after just a few years.

It’s actually quite difficult to imagine a time before the widespread availability of delivery apps, but they’re here now and we’re thankful for it. That said, there are three really big options in the UK, and you might be stuck deciding which to actually go for. Here we’ll run you through Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats, to let you know what’s different about each.

Deliveroo

Download on iOS | on Android

Deliveroo is the biggest name in delivery for a reason – it was one of the very first services that really took off, and certainly has the slickest experience to offer up to users.

It’s simple to get started – you just download the app to your phone, then put in some details to create an account and let it know where you’re located. You’ll then be able to see what sort of food you can get from your area, each with its own rating, menu and information about how far away it is, and when you can expect the food to arrive if you do order.

The range of takeaways available is huge, and big brands like KFC and McDonald’s are also on board, so you’re unlikely to be short of places to choose from, especially if you’re in a city.

Once you’ve picked, there’s a small service fee and a delivery charge, although you can opt to pay £3.99 each month to waive the delivery fee over a minimum amount – the maths on that being worth it will depend on how often you order and in what quantities!

Just Eat

Download on iOS | on Android

Just Eat is another major player in the delivery space, and actually has far more options on its books than Deliveroo, having been on the scene a bit longer. The app isn’t quite as slick as Deliveroo’s, though, in particular lacking the ability to see where your order or delivery person actually is to get a sense of how imminent it is.

However, because many restaurants take advantage of the app’s ability to waive delivery charges or hold discounts, you can often find really affordable and knocked-down prices on Just Eat that wouldn’t be matched elsewhere.

It’s also fairly common for smaller, independent eateries to be on Just Eat but not Deliveroo yet, in our experience, which can make it a good way to find local favourites without leaving home.

Uber Eats

Download on iOS | on Android

Finally, we come to Uber Eats, a pivot from Uber that took many people by surprise when it was announced but makes sense when you think about the logistics of routing drivers around being fairly similar whether they’re ferrying food or people.

It’s a separate app in the UK to the ride-sharing service, which isn’t true in the US, and has a fairly slick UI that lets you quickly and easily filter restaurants by type of food and proximity, both of which can be very handy.

It’s not always the cheapest place to find food but, perhaps because it’s not got a huge market slice yet, Uber Eats does often run promotions to give you free credit or discounts, helping to cut costs, so it’s always well worth checking out the app to see what’s available near you.

It’s possibly worth noting that Uber Eats doesn’t have quite as widespread a network, either, so if you don’t live in a town or city you might find it short of options!

Verdict – which app is best?

When it comes to which app is best overall, we’re going to have to be a little non-committal. That’s because the key variable behind which you’ll get the most mileage from is likely to be the one that has the best local eateries signed up.

If everything were totally equal on that front, we think Deliveroo would be the top dog based on its app’s slick UI and features like being able to track your rider’s journey. However, what it really comes down to is how good (and fairly priced) the food in your area is – if the apps even have any options near you. The only way to find that out for yourself is to download them and have a go!

Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.

YouTube ends support for old 2012 Apple TV, but you can still use AirPlay

Starting next month, YouTube will no longer be natively available to stream on the third-generation Apple TV, first released in 2012. 9to5Mac reports that a message is being displayed to users warning them of the upcoming change. The fourth-gen Apple TV HD and fifth-gen Apple TV 4K, the two streaming boxes Apple currently sells, are unaffected.

Here’s the full message being shown to users (via 9to5Mac):

Starting early March, the YouTube app will no longer be available on Apple TV (3rd generation). You can still watch YouTube on Apple TV 4K, Apple TV HD, iPhone, or iPad. With AirPlay, you can also stream YouTube from your iOS device directly to any Apple TV (3rd generation or later).

While it will soon no longer be possible to natively run YouTube on the third-generation Apple TV itself, owners will still be able to stream the service from an iPhone or iPad using AirPlay. We’ve got a guide on how to do so right here.

Other streaming services have also gradually been dropping support for older Apple TV models. Last year, HBO pulled its HBO Now app from second- and third-generation Apple TV boxes, after initially delaying the move due to the pandemic. These apps won’t be the last, either. While its newer devices run tvOS and feature a built-in App Store, the built-in apps on Apple’s old TV boxes relied on streaming services working directly with Apple to offer support.

If you own an old Apple TV and simply can’t live without the YouTube app, then it might be time to replace your streaming device. Our current top picks for the job are the Roku Streaming Stick Plus and Roku Premiere, which are both more affordable than Apple’s current lineup of streaming devices.

H. Moser’s latest Apple Watch troll is a next-level $30,800 Vantablack loading wheel

Swiss watchmaker H. Moser has returned with another cheeky spin on the iconic Apple Watch design with the Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade. It’s a $30,800 Vantablack-infused creation that mocks not just Apple’s design but the loading wheel found on Apple’s macOS, iOS, and watchOS products, via Hodinkee.

“No updates required, no lousy autonomy, no unnecessary features, no annoying notifications, just the only reminder you ever really need: To disconnect from all the noise and cherish each and every moment,” Moser boasts.

Moser has been making its Alp Watch series of Apple Watch-esque timepieces for years, going back to the original model (which launched a few months after Apple’s original smartwatch). The company is known for its edgy design choices in the watchmaking world: at one point, it created a watch made of actual Swiss cheese in protest of watchmaking standards, for instance.

Image: H. Moser

Since 2016, Moser has released several variants on its Alp Watch in a variety of colors and materials. But the Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade model (as the name implies) is apparently the final time the company will be poking fun at the folks in Cupertino.

The Final Upgrade model might be the most entertaining of all the pastiches, though, with a Vantablack face (which absorbs 99.965 percent of visible light) that promises to be an even darker black than even the “true blacks” of Apple’s OLED panels. The hands of the watch are actually also black; they just don’t look it in comparison.

But the cleverest aspect is the “loading wheel” at the 6 o’clock position that apes Apple’s boot indicator. The wheel is actually a fully functional mechanical second hand indicator. It’s comprised of cutouts in the Vantablack face, behind which the rotating gradient second hand wheel creates the loading effect.

For all the lightheartedness, though, the Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade is a serious piece of hardware: Moser is still a top-tier watchmaking company, and the hand-wound HMC 324 Manufacture movement inside is an incredible piece of machinery.

The H. Moser Swiss Alp Watch Final Upgrade is a limited edition model, with just 50 pieces planned — if you can afford the $30,800 price tag.

Apple Fitness+ vs Fiit: What do they offer, how much are they and which should you sign up to?

(Pocket-lint) – Apple Fitness+ is a paid-for service from Apple that lives within the Fitness app. Like Fiit and Peloton, it focuses on home workouts, with studio-style on-demand workouts available anytime and anywhere.

If you’re trying to decide between Apple Fitness+ and Fiit, we’ve got you covered. Here’s how the two services differ, how much they both cost and what they offer to help you work out which might be the right one for you.

Fitness+ vs Fiit price

Fitness+: $9.99/£9.99 a month
Fiit: $25.99/£19.99 a month

Apple Fitness+ is available as a standalone subscription, or as part of the Apple One Premier subscription. As a standalone, Fitness+ costs $9.99 or £9.99 per month, or $79.99 or £79.99 per year.

It is included within the Apple One Premier subscription along with News+, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, Apple TV+ and iCloud, though this is $29.99 or £29.99 a month.

Fiit meanwhile, offers monthly, quarterly and yearly subscription options. A monthly subscription costs $25.99 or £19.99, a quarterly subscription costs £44.99 or $57.99 and a yearly subscription costs £119.99 or $159.99.

Fitness+ vs Fiit features

Fitness+: Apple users, Burn Bar, variety of workouts, filters, music
Fiit: All users, leaderboard, Fiit points, live workouts, training plans, variety of workouts, filters, music, review system

Apple Fitness+ is based around the Apple Watch, and while you can do workouts without the Apple Watch, you won’t get the full experience.

With a compatible iPhone or iPad and Apple Watch, a Fitness+ workout will display your Apple Watch rings, heart rate, calories and the Burn Bar in the top left, along with the time left on the workout and the countdown timer when you are doing a HIIT workout for example. The Burn Bar will offer feedback during the workout as to how you are doing in relation to other users who have completed the workout before you. It’s possible to turn it off if you don’t want to see it.

Fiit is compatible with the Apple Watch, among other fitness devices like the Samsung smartwatches and Fitbit, which when linked up will allow you to see your heart rate on the workout screen, as well as your Fiit points. There’s also a dedicated Fiit device (a chest strap) to track heart rate, as well as reps on strength workouts for example. Similar to the Burn Bar though, the Fiit points help you compare your efforts with others who have taken the class prior to you. There is a main leaderboard too – something Fitness+ doesn’t offer.

Both apps offer a variety of workouts, trainers and training types, from Yoga to HIIT, though Fiit has a more accomplished catalogue at the moment. Fiit also offers training plans and challenges, like ’14 Days of Cardio’, or a six week ‘Lift’ plan, which Apple Fitness+ doesn’t yet.

There are also live workouts on Fiit, allowing you to schedule yourself onto a class with at least one every half an hour throughout the day. Currently, Fitness+ doesn’t offer live classes, though it does have dedicated audio workouts for walking.

Both Apple Fitness+ and Fiit have music built into their workouts (unlike Joe Wicks and the Body Coach app) and you can filter by music too on both apps, so if you’re someone who likes to workout to dance music, or RnB, both apps have you covered. The Fiit workouts have a bit more going on, with flashing lights in the background of the trainers, while the Fitness+ workouts keep things simple.

For Apple Watch users, both Fitness+ and Fiit automatically select the right workout type, and once you start, they will end automatically too, with a record in the Summary tab of the Fitness app and allowing you to see all your data from there.

One of the final things to note in terms of the difference in features between Fitness+ and Fiit is the way workouts are run. Fiit offers different workouts for different levels. Some workouts have two trainers, with one offering one level and the other a more advanced level, but otherwise, you would typically choose a workout from the options within your level.

Fitness+ meanwhile, takes a slightly different approach. Rather than have different workouts for different levels, Apple has three different trainers for each workout, with all offering the different levels and you follow the trainer that represents your capabilities.

Fitness+ vs Fiit app

Fitness+: Simple, curated sections, trainers section, summary section in different place
Fiit: More comprehensive, stats section, activity section, more filter options

Both the Apple Fitness+ and Fiit apps are easy to use and they both offer a filter function to help you select the workout that is right for you or what you are after.

The Fiit app is a little more extensive compared to Fitness+ at the moment and it has more filter options, with target body part, target area, and equipment and class level all options. Apple Fitness+ only allows you to filter by the type of exercise, followed by the time, music and trainer.

Both apps have curated sections within their apps, such as “New this Week”. Apple Fitness+ has more of these sections, with a Popular section, My Workouts section and Simple and Quick section.

Both have a Trainers section – allowing you to choose your favourite trainers. You’d be surprised how quickly you warm to certain people’s enthusiasm. We love Adrienne Herbert from Fiit for example, and we like Jamie-Ray on Fitness+, though he is also a Fiit trainer, as is Kim so there is some crossover.

Fiit has a Profile section on the app that will show you your All Time Stats, Stats by Studio, your favourite classes and your activity so you can see all the workouts you’ve done. It also has a rating system, allowing you to rate each workout after you finish it to help it work out which ones you like more, improving its algorithm. You can see your past workouts in the Summary tab of the Fitness app for Fitness+ but there’s no specific section within the Fitness+ tab itself, nor are there any stats or streak information.

Fitness+ vs Fiit conclusion

So which is right for you? Well, that depends on what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend. If you’re not an Apple user and you don’t have an Apple Watch, then Fiit is a no brainer between these two.

If you are an Apple user and you have a compatible Apple Watch, Fitness+ is good, but it is lacking in a few features. It just depends if those features really matter to you or you don’t mind waiting as chances are, they will eventually come to the platform in some form.

Fiit is more expensive – double the price of Fitness+ in fact – but it offers more workouts, as well as more features. There are live workouts available, training plans, challenges, a leaderboard to keep you motivated, a section for all your activity and the option to review a workout when you have finished it to help the algorithm suggest others you might like. You can also AirPlay it to a compatible TV, or cast or stream using Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon TV or Sky Q.

Fitness+ meanwhile has a good selection of workouts, it’s simple and therefore very easy to use and navigate, it has good curated sections, we love the Burn Bar and it works well with Apple Watch. The workouts are more subdued than Fiit, which some will prefer, while others will like the buzz the flashing lights bring to the Fiit workouts. Also, until iOS 14.5 comes out when AirPlay 2 compatibility is coming, the only way to get Fitness+ on your TV is if you have an Apple TV 4K or Apple TV HD. It doesn’t support Chromecast or Amazon TV.

At the moment, we would say Fiit offers more out of these two options, but so it should for double the cash.

Writing by Britta O’Boyle.

Good news, cinephiles: Arrow streaming service launches in UK (and at half-price, too)

(Image credit: Arrow)

Following its launch in the US and Canada, Arrow’s subscription video-on-demand and streaming service has now arrived in the UK.

The Arrow catalogue comprises films hand-picked and curated by the Arrow team, naturally including a wealth of titles from the discerning Arrow Films roster. Those familiar with the specialist horror- and arthouse-advocating label will know what to expect – indie horror, giallo, Asian extreme, cult classics, westerns, 4K restorations etc – but it isn’t exclusively an Arrow affair, mind you. This month there’s a season of films from director Lars Von Trier, too, featuring his latest feature film, The House That Jack Built.

Arrow will also “strive” to debut the best new releases each month, with this month’s headline (and exclusive) title being Adam Stovall’s hauntingly beautiful A Ghost Waits. Future debuts are set to include the “sensationally shocking” The Stylist in March, and “must-see” film documentary Clapboard Jungle in April.

The service’s tagline is “The Alternative”, which is enough to tell you that this offering is more about quality than quantity – similar to streaming service MUBI.

New subscribers can take advantage of a 30-day free trial, after which the monthly subscription costs £4.99 (or is £49.99 annually). Sign up now and you can get your first three months for £7.47 (£2.49 per month) thanks to a 50 per cent discount.

The Arrow app is available on all Roku players and TVs, Amazon Fire TV sticks, Apple TV, Android TV and iOS and Android devices. Of course, it can be accessed via web browsers at www.ARROW-Player.com too.

MORE:

Best Netflix alternatives: streaming services for serious film fans

15 of the best horror movies on Netflix

10 of the best movie scores to test your system

33 Spotify tips, tricks and features

(Image credit: Spotify)

As of February 2021, Spotify boasts 155 million Premium subscribers and 345 million monthly active users. The platform has long been the world’s most popular music streaming service, and with good cause – it got in on the ground floor and its simple interface and vast library make it a compelling choice even in the face of stiff competition from Apple Music, Tidal, Deezer, YouTube Music, Amazon Music Unlimited and others.

But are you getting the most from your Spotify membership?

We’ve compiled a list of our favourite Spotify features, tips and tricks to help you get the most out of the service – from mastering offline listening to getting the best possible sound quality, sharing your music to filtering your recommendations. Some of these are only for Spotify Premium subscribers only though, so if you want the full experience, you’ll have to cough up the £9.99 per month…

Spotify Connect: what is it? How can you get it?
Tidal vs Spotify: which is better?

Set up

1. Get the best sound quality

First things first: head to the settings menu (below your account name, top right, and although it’s set to ‘automatic’ by default, you can change the music quality – choose Low (24kbps), Medium (96 kbps), High (160 kbps) or Very High (320 kbps). Admittedly, these aren’t going to sound as sweet as lossless Tidal Master or Qobuz files, and taking the Very High path might take up more of your data allowance to stream. But that’s a small price to pay for better listening.

2. Save music for offline listening

Spotify Premium users can download tracks to listen to offline. Not only does this save you valuable data, it also means you can listen where you don’t have mobile reception. Win-win. Save your playlists in the best possible quality, naturally. Hit the three dots then select ‘download’ on Android, or select the playlist then hit ‘download’ at the top on Apple.

3. Create a new playlist

To create a new playlist, head into the playlist category in ‘Your Library’. At the top you’ll find an music icon with a plus sign on it (Android), or tap ‘Edit’ and then ‘Create’ (iOS) start your brand new playlist. On the desktop app, you’ll see a plus-sign and ‘New Playlist in the bottom-left, underneath any playlists you’ve already created.

4. Transfer your music from other apps

You can transfer your existing playlists on other music services to Spotify. The Soundiiz website is a great way to get it done and supports all the services you’d expect.

Interface

5. See your stats

Click on your profile icon in the top left to see who’s following you and who you’re following. It will also show your most recently listened-to artists and public playlists.

6. Sort your now-playing queue

Cue tracks in Spotify by selecting ‘add to queue’ from the three dots next to the track title. On iOS? You can also swipe right on a track to add it to your now-playing playlist.

7. Search for your favourite tunes

Want to find a track from your own library? On mobile, pull down on the screen when you’re in any of the sub-categories (albums, playlists, artists) in the ‘Your Library’ tab to reveal a search bar at the top, complete with filter options. This searches your own saved tracks rather than the whole of Spotify (which is done via the main ‘Search’ icon at the bottom).

8. Listen using the web interface

Not allowed to install software on your work computer? No problem. Head to play.spotify.com and you can listen without installing the Spotify desktop app (or relying on your phone). Take that, overzealous IT department.

9. Master keyboard shortcuts

Did you know you can control Spotify using just your keyboard? The Space bar is play/pause, next track is Control-Right (Control-Command-Right on a Mac), back is Control-Left (Control-Command-Left on a Mac), Volume is Control-Up or -Down (Command-Up or -Down on a Mac) and to create a new playlist press Control-N. And that’s just scratching the surface.

Check out the full list here.

Organising your music

10. Build your own library

There are a couple of ways to build your music library. Adding your favourite tracks to playlists is one way, saving music to your own library is another. Add tracks, albums, artists radio stations, podcasts and playlists by hitting the plus/save sign (either next to the song in the desktop app, or by tapping the three dots on mobile), then access your music via ‘Your Library’.

11. Add music that isn’t on Spotify

Missing out on those artists that are absent from Spotify? Add them yourself. Go to Spotify’s ‘Preferences’ on the desktop app, scroll down and click ‘Add a Source’, then select a folder containing your own music files. You can then see them in your Spotify library – they’ll be under ‘Local Files’ in the left sidebar.

12. Recover a deleted playlist

Spotify’s Account website can help restore playlists that you’ve deleted. Log in, go to ‘Account Settings’, and select ‘Recover Playlists’. Hey presto.

13. Find clean and explicit versions of songs

If you think a lyric sounds unlike the witty line you remember, chances are an expletive was swapped out in favour of a less explicit word. Spotify can help you track down the original. Scroll down and select the pull-down menu on the right-hand side. If it says ‘1 More Release’, that could well be the explicit version.

Music curation

14. Follow some friends

Is your pal always first with the best new music? You can piggyback off their hard work by following them on Spotify. This way you’ll be able to see what they’re listening to, and pass those killer tracks off as your own discoveries. (We suppose they are, in a way.) Select ‘Find Friends’ to locate them, and instantly expand your listening.

15. Share music with friends using Spotify Codes

Spotify Codes is another way to share music. Scan a code on your friend’s phone to download a tune, or import a code posted by an artist to hear their latest single. You can also scan a code from a poster, flyer or billboard. Tap the ‘…’ context menu next to a song, and you’ll see a Spotify Code appear at the bottom of the album artwork. Use the ‘Camera’ icon to scan it, or tap the Code-enhanced artwork and save it to ‘Camera Roll’ for uploading to a social network.

16. Make a collaborative playlist

Maybe you’re putting together a set list for a friend’s wedding or a party. Start a collaborative playlist and everyone can chuck in their tuppence-worth, no matter how misguided. Right-click on the playlist name, and it’ll give you the option of making it collaborative. Then grant friends access to it, and brace yourself for some terrible choices. Alternatively, you can make a playlist secret, too.

17. Let the Radio option open your ears to similar artists

Stuck for what to listen to? ‘Radio’ can help. On desktop, select it from the left-hand pane, then choose ‘Create new station’ and pick an artist, album or playlist you like. Radio will then serve up a selection of artists/songs similar to your choice, that you’ll (hopefully) like. On mobile? Hit the three dots top right when on an artist, album or song and then select ‘Go to Radio’.

18. Filter out the chaff

Yes, of course you want to listen to James Brown. No, you don’t want anything from his Lost ’80s years. Thankfully you can filter out the wilderness era. Type the artist name in the search bar followed by the years that you want to hear (with no spaces). For example “James Brown year:1970-77”.

19. Sort out your search

Use the word “Not” after your search term to omit artists you don’t want, and the “+” symbol or “And” to include those you do.

20. Listen to Spotify’s Weekly Discover Playlist

This is a playlist of 30 tracks Spotify compiles based on your listening habits. It tends to be scarily good. It updates every Monday and sits in the ‘Made For You’ section (or in Browse – Discover, or you could simply type ‘Discover Weekly’ into the search bar). There’s also the Release Radar playlist that updates every Friday with brand new music releases.

21. Listen to your Daily Mixes

Too impatient to wait a whole week? Spotify now offers six Daily Mix playlists that are tailored to users’ listening habits.

22. Check out the What Hi-Fi? playlist

And we have to mention our own playlist… Each month, we update our Spotify playlist so you can see what we’ve been listening to over the past four weeks. It’s a great mix of tunes we use to test our review kit, as well as a few personal favourites from the team. You know it makes sense.

Connecting other devices

23. Listen through your home cinema speakers

Using the Google Chromecast streaming dongle, you can play Spotify through the speakers attached to your TV. Just select ‘Chromecast’ from the ‘Devices Available’ section of the Spotify app and get playing.

24. Control it with your voice

Good news. The Amazon Echo and Echo Dot speakers play nice with Spotify. Just connect your Spotify account in the Alexa app, and then start barking commands like “Alexa, play me some Bowie on Spotify!” and the Echo will do as it’s told. You’ll be grooving to Let’s Dance in no time. If you set Spotify as your preferred streaming service, you won’t even need to request Spotify by name, either. Apple users can control music playback by asking Siri, too.

25. Send music to your speakers with Spotify Connect

Premium subscribers can use their phone as a remote control and play music on connected Spotify Connect speakers, such as Sonos – although certain devices (the PlayStation 4, for example) are happy to work with Spotify Free. Play a song on your phone and make it fullscreen. Select the ‘speaker’ icon at the bottom of the screen, then select your speakers. Instant house party.

26. Listen in your Uber

Connect your Spotify account in the Uber app and you can then take control of your car’s stereo (assuming your driver has allowed it). They’ll love your choice of music, we’re sure…

More features

(Image credit: Spotify)

27. Share songs instantly with anyone

Heard a song you just have to send to a friend? Tap the three dots, then ‘Share’, then send it on to the social media platform (Facebook, Instagram Stories, Skype even), your WhatsApp groups, or simply copy the song link.

28. Preview music on iOS

Tap and hold the title of a track, album or playlist, and you’ll get a preview. On a playlist or album you’ll see the first five tracks – slide over each piece of cover art and you can preview each song.

29. Use private listening to hide your guilty pleasures

Not everyone needs to know about your love of Wang Chung. If you want to keep your listening private, click ‘Settings’ (top right), then ‘Private Session’ on Android or ‘Settings’ then ‘Social’ then ‘Private Session’ on iOS. That way, friends won’t know you’ve spent all morning blissing out to big-haired saxophone-heavy ’80s cheese.

30. Make a playlist tailored to your running speed

Spotify can also pick tracks that are close to the same tempo as your running speed. Start running, pick a running playlist from the ‘Browse’ screen, and Spotify will use your phone’s sensors to select songs to suit your stride. See it in action here.

31. Link to a specific part of a track

If there’s a great solo you want to alert someone to, you don’t have to tell them to skip to 2:53 in the track. Just send them a link and they’ll jump right in at the relevant part. On desktop, copy the track’s URI (uniform resource identifier) by right-clicking the track and selecting ‘Copy Spotify URI’. Then paste it into an email or text message, and add ‘#time2:53’ to the end. When the respondent clicks it, they’ll be transported to exactly the part you were talking about. Magic.

32. Find out about live gigs

OK, large gatherings aren’t the thing right now, but looking ahead: Spotify can help you see your favourite act in the flesh. To see when an act might be playing near you, click ‘Browse’ on your desktop app, then ‘Concerts’ to see which acts you’ve listened to are playing nearby. Going to be out of town? Just change your location to see what’s happening near you.

33. Listen to podcasts

Did you know you can listen to your favourite podcasts on Spotify? Well, now you do. Head to ‘Browse’ and then ‘Podcasts’ (on desktop) to follow your faves, and go to the Podcasts section in ‘Your Library’ to find all your saved podcasts.

Best music streaming services 2021: free streams to hi-res audio
11 of the best Spotify playlists to listen to right now
25 of the best podcasts on Spotify
Listen to the What Hi-Fi? playlist

Epson EpiqVision EH-LS300B

Our Verdict

Epson’s EH-LS300 UST projector is practical for everyday use, with some limitations, as well as for truly immersive bigscreen movie nights.

For

Powerful bright image
Free-to-air TV catch-up services
Convenient way to get a really large picture

Against

No Netflix or Prime support
No Ethernet
1080i/50 and 576i/50 issues

Sound+Image mag review

(Image credit: Future)

This review originally appeared in Sound+Image magazine, one of What Hi-Fi?’s Australian sister publications. Click here for more information on Sound+Image, including digital editions and details on how you can subscribe.

Ultra-short-throw projectors are going great guns. Even mainstream companies not previously or not recently involved in projection (LG, Samsung, Hisense) have realised that a projector sitting on a bench can deliver a large-screen ‘TV-like’ experience with a convenience that a conventional projector cannot when it has to be pushed back in the room or hung on a ceiling.

As a consequence the ultra-short-throw is rapidly evolving. Since it’s going to work like a TV, shouldn’t it have speakers? Shouldn’t it be smart, like a TV? Yes it should. So here comes Epson, a company which declares itself the world no.1 in projection (on the reasonable basis it has been declared so by Futuresource Consulting for the last 17 consecutive years), with models for just this space. The ‘4K Pro UHD’ EH-LS500 arrived first, and now this EH-LS300, which offers Full-HD resolution of 1920 x 1080. With such underlying expertise, but a lower resolution, does it deliver the promised new age of UST?

Build

Ultra-short-throw projectors use a combination of lenses and mirrors to cast the picture up onto a screen almost immediately above them. The Epson EpiqVision EH-LS300B is a fairly compact specimen at 467mm wide and 400mm deep. Inside there are three 15.5mm LCD projector panels using Epson’s C2 Fine technology, and a laser diode. That kind of light engine works by firing the laser into some phosphor, which then produces a bright white light.

The use of this kind of light engine means several good things. Firstly, long life. The projector is rated at 20,000 hours of lamp life. Secondly, the projector turns on fast – 5.5 seconds when in standby, according to our stopwatch, or 6.5 seconds if it has been disconnected from power. It goes off fast as well.

And the lamp can be controlled in level to help darken scenes. Epson says that the dynamic contrast ratio is as much as 2.5 million-to-1 (on the datasheet) or 1.5 million-to-1 (in the US manual we found online).

There are two HDMI inputs, a USB socket for playing back video content from a USB stick, and Wi-Fi for the smart TV stuff. Surprisingly, there’s no Ethernet connection – we’d prefer that option rather than having to rely on Wi-Fi in our somewhat RF-congested modern environments. But it is dual-band Wi-Fi – 2.4GHz and 5GHz – supporting the 801.11ac standard, so it may well outperform the usually-installed 100Mbps Ethernet of many devices. (Our 100Mbps test clip was pretty choppy… but we do have an extremely busy Wi-Fi environment.)

Best projectors 2021: Full HD, 4K, portable, short throw

(Image credit: Epson)

Sound

A nice touch: built-in sound that is quite good. As always, we believe that the sound of your system should match the scale of the video. Since the Epson EpiqVision EH-LS300B delivers big vision, a decent external sound system should be in order. But absent that, we were quite impressed with the audio built into the projector. Epson relied on the audio expertise of Yamaha for this: a 2.1-channel forwards-firing audio system with 20W of power, better than any actual TV that we’ve used – and we’ve used plenty. We also checked the Audio Return Channel capability via HDMI to a connected home theatre receiver, and it worked perfectly well.

Setting up

The projector is available on its own at £2500 ($2000, AU$4000). But in Australia you can also get it as a package with an ‘Ambient Light Rejection’ screen in 100 inches (AU$5099 package) or 120 inches (AU$5699). These employ a surface treatment which reduces the reflection of light coming from above or directly in front, increasing their contrast ratio when there’s light in the room. These screens weren’t available to us at the time of review, so we used our regular viewing screen.

Epson EH-LS300 tech specs

(Image credit: Epson)

Projection technology: 3 x 15.5mm C2 Fine LCD panels

Resolution: 1920 x 1080 pixels

Aspect ratio: 16:9

Lamp: Laser diode

Lamp life: 20,000 hours (Normal and Quiet modes)

Brightness: 3600 lumens (both white and colour); 1800 lumens (ECO mode)

Inputs: 2 x HDMI, 1 x USB, Wi-Fi

Outputs: Optical digital audio

Control/other: Mini-USB (Service)

Dimensions (whd): 467 x 133 x 400mm

Weight: 7.2kg

In a couple of ways an ultra-short-throw projector is a little trickier to set up than a regular projector. There is no zoom lens, for example, so the size of the picture is determined entirely by the distance between the projector and the screen – far less than a conventional projector, but still significant for the largest screen sizes. For a 100-inch screen, the distance from the wall to the back of the projector (the side facing the wall) should be 26.6cm. With the largest recommended screen size of 120 inches, the distance is just 38.6cm. The projector itself is getting on for 40cm deep, so its front will end up more than 75cm from the wall – which is a lot of bench depth.

The other slightly tricky thing is that the image is cast at such an extreme angle you have to adjust everything with better-than-millimetre precision. The slightest angle to one side and you have a marked trapezoid of a picture. You really don’t want to be nudging the projector when you’re dusting.

But there is a clever adjustment system for picture geometry. There’s even a dedicated button on the remote. With this you can drag the corners of a box to make sure everything’s square. It’s kind of like a supercharged keystone correction system. But like keystone correction, it’s done digitally, which means that Full-HD input signals are no longer directly mapped onto the display pixels, so detail is lost. So it’s best avoided if you can.Get the physical placement right instead.

Last thing on physical set-up: we found the focus adjust lever quite spongy, so a bit tricky to get the focus exactly right. With perseverance we did succeed. (One of the oddities about this kind of projector: focus adjustment has basically no effect at all at the bottom of the screen, which is always in focus, and a massive effect at the top.)

As for the smart set-up, Android TV has this well under control. You just use the Google Home app on your phone – it works on iPhones as well – which talks you through with very little fuss. We had the unit connected within a couple of minutes.

(Image credit: Epson)

Performance

It turns out that 3600 lumens allows a surprisingly viewable picture even under the full glare of our room’s fluorescent tubes! Not that we did any kind of critical viewing that way, we hasten to add. But we suspect that kids would be perfectly satisfied with afternoon cartoons served this way, especially onto an Epson directional screen. And it’s fine for the news and such. So consider this not just a home cinema device, but a (kind of) everyday TV.

Then, when night fell, we started to use it as a real home cinema projector. And we were impressed. What impressed us? The colour and the black levels. The subjective black levels were entirely satisfying. Which is to say that with all the material we viewed – including HDR content from 4K Blu-ray – the black elements of the picture seemed, well, entirely black. And yes, 4K Blu-ray, because even though the projector delivers 1080p output, it supports Ultra-HD inputs including HDR (and Dolby Vision, which it treats as HDR).

We jammed in as much night-time viewing as we could in the time available, and we must say that we found it entirely satisfying: bold, accurate colours; sharp, detailed image.

The EpiqVision quickly demonstrated that it’s not really one for interlaced video in Australia. With both 576i/50 and 1080i/50, it seemed simply to assume that all such signals were video-sourced. So it applied motion-adaptive deinterlacing, rather than checking to see if a simple weave might be better for any given bit of video. Most of the time you won’t notice this, but occasionally there’ll be some lines or grid in the picture which adversely interact with the processing and develop distracting moire patterns. The solution, as always: use a source with good quality deinterlacing.

Best portable projectors: the best mini projectors 2021

Network streaming

When you first set the Epson up, you’re offered a default bunch of apps, including (in Australia) TV station apps such as iView, SBS On Demand and so on. There’s YouTube, Google play Movies & TV, Disney+ and Stan, Vimeo, Spotify and Tidal and a whole lot more. Even after we’d finished the setting up, it took a little while to download and install them one by one. It was kind of fun watching them pop up in the list of apps as they were loaded. When it had finished, we went to fire up Netflix – one of the paid video services to which we subscribe. We couldn’t find it.

So we figured we’d try Google Assistant to help us find it. A press of the microphone button on the remote and the utterance of the word Netflix, and the projector announced in the familiar Google Assistant voice, ‘Here’s Netflix on the Google play Store’. And there was, indeed, the play Store entry for Netflix. Only problem was, at the bottom of the screen it said, ‘Your device isn’t compatible with this version.’ This was also the case for Amazon’s Prime Video.

We checked the projector’s website and, sure enough, there it was in the fine print: “Not all streaming apps are natively available on the EpiqVision EH-LS300B. An external streaming media device is required to stream some services, including Netflix. Netflix cannot be streamed using Chromecast from Android TV, iOS, Mac or Windows devices.” (We assume by that ‘Android TV’ that Epson actually means Android, as in an Android phone.)

In other words, not only does this projector not support Netflix, apparently you can’t stream Netflix from your phone to the projector via Chromecast. We tried. In fact, we could kind of stream Netflix from our phone, but only in the slowest, choppiest most broken-up way. To compare, we plugged an actual Chromecast with Google TV device into one of the EpiqVision’s HDMI inputs, and found that Netflix would stream fairly smoothly via that route.

YouTube, by contrast, streamed smoothly via either route, as did iView and SBS On Demand and Stan. We did find it quite puzzling why any version of Android TV would not support Netflix and Prime, the second and fourth most popular streaming services (that’s counting YouTube as being number one).

Apparently the projector is also able to support video calls using the Epson Online Meeting app – powered by Zoom. You’ll need to plug a camera and microphone into the USB socket for that.

(Image credit: Epson)

Verdict

Aside from the inability to play Netflix and Prime Video direct, we were impressed. The Epson EpiqVision EH-LS300B delivers a bright and impressive image to a large screen – and we would indeed recommend using a screen such as one of Epson’s, rather than a non-flat non-reflecting bit of wall, because we assure you, walls will never get the image truly flat. Plus the good quality sound and the extremely long-life light source makes this unit practical for everyday use, with some limitations, as well as for truly immersive bigscreen movie nights.

Best home theatre speaker systems 2021