Category Archives: Blog

SAVE 40%: In the market for an air purifier? As of Jan. 7, the Medify MA-40 Air Purifier is on sale for $209.99 at Amazon. That’s a 40% discount on its original price of $349.

Summer allergies are probably the last thing on your mind right now as the contiguous U.S. gets slammed by winter storms and low temperatures, but pollen season will be here before you know it. Though we can’t help you brave the Great Outdoors without sneezing so much that people avoid you like the plague, the Medify MA-40 Air Purifier can at least save you from irritating particles in your own home.

With a H13 True HEPA Filter, the Medify MA-40 reduces dust, odors, dander, bacteria, smoke, mold, mites, asbestos, and more from an enclosed space of up to 840 square feet. It has a clean air delivery rate of 380m³/h, which basically just means that it’s both powerful and efficient. It will clean large spaces up to 1,600 square feet in one hour, or 840 square feet in 30 minutes, removing 99.9% of airborne particles.

In our pandemic times, that’s more of a selling point than ever — the MA-40 filters particles as small as 0.1 micron. For reference, the coronavirus has a diameter of around 0.125 micron. That means that this air purifier is effective in capturing airborne viruses such as COVID-19 in an enclosed space. The EPA has supported the fact that powerful air purifiers “can help reduce airborne contaminants, including viruses, in a home or confined space.”

But that doesn’t mean an air purifier is adequate protection against disease. As Wirecutter has reported, while having one reduces the infectious particles in the room, it may not rid the room of virus before you inhale if you’re very close to a contagious person. So the Medify MA-40 is by no means a substitute for vaccination, frequent hand-washing, or masking, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to reduce the amount of contaminating particles in the air.

The Medify Air brand was female-founded and “inspired by parents who wanted to provide relief to their daughters suffering from asthma,” and its products have plenty of features that take both medical and parental concerns into account. The MA-40 in particular is powerful enough to substantially improve air quality, but also has three fan speeds, the lowest of which is almost silent and will allow the machine to run quietly in your child’s room without disturbing their sleep. It has a child lock as well as a sleep mode, which dims the lights on its panel.

Explore related content:

• The best Dyson vacuums: A guide to the latest versions of stick, ball, and handheld cleaners

• 10 WFH essentials that you absolutely need

• 7 of the best air purifiers to deal with pets, pollen, and pollution

BMW unveiled a new concept SUV dubbed iX Flow. It’s wrapped in “digital paper,” the same kind used on Kindle screens, that lets it change color at the touch of a button.

Sometimes you look at a cast and think, “I’ll watch this movie whatever the plot.” You might well think that when you see the promotions for The 355, as it boasts a quintet of thrilling leading ladies: Jessica Chastain, Lupita Nyong’o, Penélope Cruz, Diane Kruger, and Bingbing Fan. You might then perk up because it’s a spy movie, presumably promising exciting twists and explosive action. But you might want to keep scrolling when this hits streaming. Because despite its stars — which also includes MCU Winter Soldier, Sebastian Stan — this thriller is a snooze. 

Directed by Simon Kinberg, The 355 follows female agents from secret intelligence agencies across the world, who reluctantly team up to chase down a hard drive so powerful it’s practically an Infinity Stone. It’s a McGuffin that’s absolutely unbelievable. The characters throw around words and metaphors about its genius and danger, and we’re meant to roll with it as they roll through one action set-piece to the next. 

Credit: Universal Pictures

Yeah, sure, there’s action: gunfights aplenty, explosions occasionally, chases through crowded market places, and hand-to-hand combat. But there’s nothing that makes any of these stunts particularly spectacular. The editing jumps about with little regard for geography or flow, making every fight scene a flurry of action with little build. The cinematography often veers to Bourne Identity-style handheld, that’s meant to bring energy to the frame. However, it mostly seems to be covering for uninspiring fight choreography. Some combat scenes are in aching need of speed ramping with punches so slow they look pulled. One battle is half-hidden between the flashbangs of a gun in a dark room. And even amid a film theoretically meant to spotlight women, the first act recurringly has men pair off to fight men, and women to fight women. 

Speaking of the supposed “girl power” of The 355, the film treats it like a flashy novelty. Male characters will be scolded by other male characters for being “beaten by a bunch of girls.” The heroines harumph of their male peers, “A girl really does need a guy to explain it all to her.” Or they’ll flatten womankind into a monolith with generalizations about how women blame themselves when things go wrong. But spoilers: it’s men’s fault. Such lines are propped up by stodgy stereotypes, including the steely blonde with “daddy issues,” the quirkily dressed hacker girl with quips, and the hardened agent brimming with vengeance rage. To remind us they’re battling in a boys’ club, each heroine has a male counterpart, who she either relies on, lies to, or tries to rescue. Thus, in this female-led movie, women are not only outnumbered by men (who play every supporting role and the color-by-numbers villain), but also these women’s identities are all built on their relations to men. Girl power! 

Credit: Robert Viglasky/Universal Pictures

With forgettable fight scenes, this half-hearted attempt at feminism is the flashiest thing about The 355. Forget the style and swagger of James Bond’s fancy cars, shaken cocktails, and hi-tech. Don’t expect the fantasy-level fashion of Ocean’s 8 or the spirited interaction between charismatic heroines. The chemistry between Chastain and her co-stars is so disconnected that you might wonder if they all shot remotely. With stern expressions, their thinly drawn characters practically choke on banal dialogue that mistakes playful banter for Mean Girls barbs like:

 “An enemy agent ruined my favorite dress.” 

“If that was your favorite dress, she really did you a favor.” 

Speaking of that dress, early on it’s a red flag that this movie will miss the mark of power fantasy and grounded thriller. Chastain wears an unremarkable floral sundress while barrelling down a crowded street in pursuit of an enemy. Then, remarkably, she pulls a large gun out of her dress. How? A secret pocket perhaps. The deepest pocket ever stitched into a sundress. A Mary Poppins pocket perhaps? A Mary Poppins pocket that not only allowed her to run smoothly while having a loaded gun holstered in it, but also didn’t make the SLIGHTEST impression on a light-weight sundress. 

Yes. This dress. That gun.
Credit: Robert Viglasky/Universal Pictures

A small detail, sure. Yet, it’s a telling one, reflecting how Kinberg had little interest in creating a world for his top-notch female spies that is remotely realistic or fantastical. It’s a murky somewhere in-between, where his lackluster heroines deliver punches and mournful monologues about stereotypically solemn backstories. Both of which hit with the power of a damp sponge. Part of the problem is that The 355 plays as if the writers think the audience — and their characters — have never seen a spy movie before. So, the cliches are played with stone-faced severity, while supposedly shocking twists are telegraphed by casting choices and painfully predictable setups. This mediocre movie takes itself so seriously, that it has bled all the charm of its stars and any life from its premise. With zero self-awareness, it’s a parade of mundane action, tired tropes, and tedious dialogue, like “Marie, you’re good at everything, except taking orders.” 

Simply put, The 355 is a movie you can miss. Because if you’ve ever seen a mediocre action movie with a surprisingly stacked cast, then you’ve basically seen this. 

The 355  is now in theaters and will be coming to Peacock soon. 

As of Jan. 7, plenty of Dash kitchen appliances are on sale at Amazon. Check out our picks and spruce up your breakfasts in 2022.

• OUR TOP PICK: Rapid Egg Cooker, a handy gadget that can cook eggs six different ways — $16.90 $29.99 (save $13.09)

• FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER: Everyday Deluxe Electric Griddle, which is ideal for pancakes, eggs, burgers, and more — $49.99 $59.99 (save $10)

• FOR FAST FAMILY BREAKFASTS: The Sous Vide Style Family Size Egg Bite Maker makes up to nine servings at a time — $39.99 $49.99 (save $10)

If your 2022 resolution was to start eating breakfast, we’ve got you covered. As of Jan. 7, Dash has deals on tons of kitchen appliances that will make your first meal of the day the best.

Score up to 44% off compact, cute gadgets like egg cookers, toasters, toaster ovens, and griddles. We recommend scooping up a few of them for the full brunch experience every day of the week.

Check out the full Dash sale (including all the color options) at Amazon.

OUR TOP PICK: Rapid Egg Cooker — $16.90 (save $13.09)

Let’s be real: Poaching eggs is hard, but with this Dash rapid egg cooker, you’ll never have to worry about swirling water, adding vinegar, and carefully dropping in an egg ever again. This useful gadget comes with accessories that allow you to make perfect poached eggs, omelets, hard boiled eggs, and soft boiled eggs. That means you can have fancy homemade brunches with minimal effort every weekend.

FOR BREAKFAST, LUNCH, AND DINNER: Everyday Deluxe Electric Griddle — $49.99 (save $10)

We love a multifunctional kitchen gadget, and this Dash griddle fits the bill. It’s the perfect tool for an all-American style breakfast with pancakes, hash browns, eggs, and bacon, but it can also be used for burgers, carne asada, melty, cheesy sandwiches, and more.

FOR FAST FAMILY BREAKFASTS: Sous Vide Style Family Size Egg Bite Maker — $39.99 (save $10)

Fast, healthy breakfasts are the name of the game with this sous vide egg maker. With nine individual egg cups, you can make customized mini omelets for the whole family in less than 10 minutes. It’s also great for folks following keto, paleo, or low-carb diets, and it can be used for various desserts. Mini cheesecakes, anyone?

MORE DASH DEALS

Sous Vide Style Egg Bite Maker — $24.99 (save $5)

If your household is a party of one or two, you can still make fancy sous vide-style egg bites. This mini version of Dash’s egg bite maker cooks up to four egg bites or one sandwich-sized egg at a time. Toss in your favorite veggies, meats, or cheeses, and a balanced breakfast will be ready in a flash.

Clear View Toaster — $39.99 (save $10)

Never burn your toast again with this clear view toaster. The glass window is perfect for checking on your bread’s toast level, and it also works for waffles, bagels, and other baked goods. Its compact size makes it ideal for small kitchens, too.

Dash Express Countertop Toaster Oven — $59.99 (save $10)

Normal ovens take forever to preheat and cook food, but toaster ovens are infinitely more convenient. This Dash toaster oven has a roomy 12-liter capacity and can cook up to four slices of bread or a nine-inch pizza at a time. It reaches up to 450 degrees and has easy-use settings that allow you to select temperature, time, and cooking type.

Explore related content:

• The best air fryers for making crispy food faster than the oven

• The 10 best toaster ovens you can buy on Amazon

• The best convection toaster ovens for multi-purpose cooking and baking

SAVE 70%: The VAVA USB-C Hub is on sale for just $17.99 at Walmart as of Jan. 7. That’s 70% off its original price. Turn your one-trick pony laptop into a connectivity haven.

Whether you’re working with a MacBook released between 2016 and 2020, a Chromebook, or a tablet with a single port, your connectivity options are limited. Heck, even if you opted for a newer model and were blessed with a few extra ports, you probably still don’t have enough. That’s where a USB-C hub can come in handy.

The VAVA 7-in-1 USB-C Hub is on sale for just $17.99 at Walmart as of Jan. 7, down 70% from its usual $59.99. It supports Mac, Windows, Unix, and Chrome operating systems and, for its small size, offers massive possibilities.

The VAVA 7-in-1 Hub has three high-speed USB 3.0 ports, which are convenient for connecting external peripherals like keyboards, flash drives, and hard drives. There’s also an HDMI port that supports 4K video at 30Hz or 1080p video at 60Hz. If you want to mirror or extend your screen to a monitor, HDTV, or projector, this is the way to go for a lag-free connection.

To round off the seven ports, you’ll also get an SD card reader, TF card reader, and a 100W PD charging port, which allows you to charge your computer, tablet, or other type-C devices while transferring data. You can use all seven ports simultaneously.

Explore related content:

• Apple will launch MacBook Pro with HDMI and card reader this year, report claims

• The best cheap laptops

• The Framework laptop can turn anyone into a ‘Right to Repair’ believer

PREORDER: Announced at CES 2022, The Freestyle is a versatile new Bluetooth projector from Samsung with a 180-degree design and smart TV app support. Reserve one on Amazon for $897.99 (normally $899.99) ahead of its Feb. 14 release and you’ll get a free case worth $59.99.

Watching TV on a TV is so 2021.

Samsung dedicated a portion of its CES 2022 keynote this week to unveiling The Freestyle, a new portable Bluetooth projector that can rotate up to 180 degrees and display an image on any surface up to 100 inches (even if it’s angled) — no screen required.

“It’s also got access to smart TV apps so you can stream all your favorite shows and movies onto the kitchen ceiling [or wall or floor], if that’s useful for whatever reason,” per Mashable tech reporter Alex Perry.

Calling The Freestyle just a projector would be doing it a disservice, though. When you’re not using it to catch up on Yellowjackets or the final season of Search Party, you can also use it as a smart speaker; it supports multiple voice assistants and packs a 5-watt woofer for 360-degree sound. Need some mood lighting? Turn on its ambient mode and pop on the translucent lens cap — it’ll even pair your music with some visual effects, Samsung said.

And don’t feel like you need to limit The Freestyle to a boring life on a shelf. It weighs in at just under two pounds and works with portable USB-C chargers, “making it possibly the most versatile projector out there,” Perry wrote. It’s only as big as a soup can, so it’ll fit into a backpack, weekender bag, or carry-on.

The Freestyle is set to launch on Feb. 14 and will cost $899.99, but if we were you, we’d lock in a preorder from Amazon ASAP: As of Jan. 7, the retail giant was selling it for $897.99 and throwing in a carrying case worth $59.99 for free with any order placed before Jan. 24. (Note that Best Buy and Samsung.com were also offering the free case preorder promo, but that $2 discount is an Amazon exclusive.)

Explore related content:

• For a movie night under the stars, an outdoor projector is your best bet

• The best 4K TVs: For gamers, Netflix binge-watchers, and everyone else

• Your TV needs a soundbar. Here are our faves.

Welcome to AirFryDay, where — you guessed it — every Friday Mashable covers the latest trends, dispenses advice, and reviews recipes for your air fryer.

I’m all for making cooking less of a hassle. Cooking is perhaps my favorite hobby and, as such, I want it to be as accessible and approachable as possible.

Kitchen hacks often promise ease, but I’ve found they often don’t deliver. Single-use tools, for instance, have found a million ways to reinvent the knife. A recent air fryer hack on TikTok — where you create a liner out of parchment paper to reduce mess — proved to be more of the same.

In case you haven’t seen it, there have been a number of different versions of this hack. The basic idea is to cover the bottom of your air fryer basket to make it easier to clean. I decided to base my test on this version from @ketoaccountable for a couple of reasons. One: It was super popular, racking up nearly 2.5 million views. Two: It involved punching holes in the parchment paper to allow for air flow, which I feel is necessary because rapidly circulated, hot air that hits the food at all angles is the entire point of an air fryer. If you cover the whole basket with parchment paper, you’re defeating the purpose.

The process from @ketoaccountable was relatively straightforward. Cut a sheet of parchment to roughly the size of your air fryer basket, fold the paper, then punch holes. Lay it down inside the air fryer basket and, presto, you have a liner. Here’s what their process looked like.

Easy enough.
Credit: Screenshots: TikTok / @ketoaccountable

I set out to test it myself but here’s the TL;DR: for most people, doing the hack isn’t worth the time it takes to actually do the hack.

I needed to test something really messy because, well, a liner should help with the messiest meals. I settled on a chicken thigh, marinated in a sticky soy and honey mixture. I also tossed in some broccoli, because veggies are amazing in the air fryer and because broccoli florets make a huge mess. Bits of broccoli get everywhere when you cook it, so a liner should, in theory, help.

I followed the steps of creating the liner. I cut a sheet until it was roughly the size of my six-quart basket. I folded it and punched holes, albeit with a less-perfect pattern than in @ketoaccountable’s TikTok. Side note: Who has a hole puncher lying around anymore? Somehow I dug one up out of Mashable’s supply closet. Anyway, I laid down the liner before adding food.

The liner, all set to go.
Credit: Mashable

From there, I fired up the air fryer until the internal temp of the chicken registered 165 degrees and the broccoli was nice and charred. I removed the food carefully and, looking at the liner, it might’ve helped a bit. It definitely soaked up a portion of the rendered chicken fat, as well as the cooked-off marinade. But still, lots of fat and florets made their way below the parchment and grate. There was definitely a cooked-on mess that would take a little effort to remove. The parchment liner did not stop all the mess, and I still had to wash the basket and grate.

The parchment paper did catch some of the mess.
Credit: Mashable

Despite the parchment, my air fryer grate had a fair amount of cooked-on marinade and other mess.
Credit: Mashable

That gets to my point. For many people, this liner hack is pointless. If your air fryer looks like mine — a nonstick basket with a nonstick grate — then it’s super easy to clean. Warm water, a sponge, and a few minutes and you’re done. That’s the magic of nonstick material. Making a parchment liner takes only a few minutes at most, but that’s time wasted for many air fryers. You’re adding a step that doesn’t cut out the same amount of time during the wash later. It’s wasting both materials and time.

Now a big caveat: If your air fryer has a mesh basket, then I might consider this liner hack. Mesh baskets have tiny openings that truly suck to clean. Small bits of food or sauce can get lodged in those tiny spaces, making it hard to get with a sponge. For that sort of air fryer — typically found on older models — I might consider using this hack. As for me, I doubt I’ll ever be reaching for a hole puncher again.

Withings debuted a new smart scale at CES Monday that can tell you more about your feet than how much weight you put on them every day.

Called the Body Scan, it can calculate body composition, and even show where there is fat versus muscle concentration, and take a number of cardiovascular measurements, like heart rate and “Vascular Age,” which Withings determines by comparing your cardiovascular metrics to an average of the scores of others your approximate age. It sure seems a lot like a shiny, consumer-friendly medical device that the FDA hasn’t actually cleared yet, though Withings says it is working on that. But the most unexpected metric comes from measuring your… Foot sweat.

Yep, foot sweat! So don’t be ashamed, oh damp toe’ed ones. Apparently, testing the ability of your feet to sweat can contribute to the picture of your overall health.

The Body Scan’s extendable handle allows it to send electrical pulses through the body to measure body composition.
Credit: Withings

To paint that picture, electrodes in the scale will send a pulse through your feet to see at what level your feet release chloride ions, which are conductive particles in — among other things — sweat. This is the process of “tracking sweat gland activity in the feet” to “provide a daily assessment of small nerve activity,” which is a test of your “sudomotor function.”

Mashable asked Withings to clarify, and that’s all a fancy way of saying the scale will measure how active your sweat glands are, which indicates how well the nerves that activate those glands are working. Um, why would you want to do that? Because abnormal nerve activity could be an indicator of other things going on in your body. 

“A number of health conditions, including diabetes, may affect small nerve density & function,” Withings said. “We don’t detect or track neuropathies or diabetes, however since peripheral neuropathies often affect the small nerves in the feet and lower extremities, in the future we hope to show a good correlation between our metric and these pathologies, notably by performing a clinical study in the US and submitting it to FDA.”

The toes knows!

However, as Withings itself is conducting this research, the proof of concept for measuring foot sweat activity is not super well established. Leada Malek, a doctor of physical therapy, noted via email that it is a fairly new area of research. However, the research is “favorable” that “small nerve fiber dysfunction has been found to occur early in metabolic syndrome and diabetes.” So Malek agrees the scale could be useful to some people if they want to get more information about their health.

“It always is nice to have additional data to help measure your efforts towards a healthy lifestyle,” Malek said. “But it’s important to collaborate with your physician on reading the results or if they warrant further assessment. But in the grand scheme of things, detecting possible disorders early on can help achieve earlier intervention so things don’t progress and seriously affect your health and wellbeing.”

The companion app is where you can track your measurements — foot sweat and otherwise — over time.
Credit: Withings

One issue, though, is that the nerve activity assessment is connected to a scale. It’s a very fancy scale, sure, but ultimately, it’s a tool that helps you measure your weight and body fat.

Withings’ press materials envision the Body Scan as part of a person’s daily routine of getting on the scale. Personally, this sounds like a horrible routine to me. Measuring your body in pounds has become an increasingly questioned way of monitoring your health because that one number can give an inaccurate or incomplete view into your overall health. 

“Sometimes scales and measurements can be anxiety provoking,” Malek said. “However, if you’re someone who likes these tools, and it continues to fuel a healthy effort towards exercise and nutrition for your overall health, it might not hurt to look into it!”

That’s precisely why Withings positions the Body Scan as oh so much more than a scale. Scales and measuring the LBs might be out of vogue. But body composition, heart rate, and, of course, foot sweat?! That’s so now.

If that all sounds good, you can snag the Body Scan for $299 in the second half of 2022, pending FDA approval. But maybe — especially at this time of the year when diet ads and body image pressures abound — don’t sweat the scale.

For nearly two years during the pandemic, office workers across the globe have acclimated to only seeing their coworkers as floating heads on video calls. But a French startup at CES showing off its 7-foot digital video chat system wants you to see colleagues from head to toe, even when you’re far apart.

While it may sound like a solution to our collective Zoom dread, the massive video portal has an intrusive element that makes using it as a work-from-home device ripe for mishaps.

Called le Vitre, which translates to the window, it never turns off. Like the two cabinets at Hogwarts and Borgin and Burkes that form a passage, la Vitre is “permanently opened to another space,” the company says. While it “can be blurred for privacy reasons,” having something that’s always on in your home office has the potential to get complicated.

The screen is currently used mostly in office settings and at events to present speakers on stage, but Romuald Boulanger, co-founder and CEO of la Vitre, said in an email that expanding to home offices could be in the company’s future.

“Why not, one day, open it to other scenarios such as homes?” he said.

It isn’t the first company to try to make virtual interaction at work more lifelike; a video-conferencing robot nicknamed “FaceTime on wheels” comes to mind. But unlike a tablet on a rolling stick-shaped robot, la Vitre is designed for optimal realism.

“It was designed to provide the most immersive experience possible,” said Boulanger. “Sound and video quality, elimination of external noise pollution, everything was thought of to make discussions more fluid.”

But whether you’re at work or working from home, would the sudden lifelike appearance of your colleague be a little too immersive?

There’s no hiding in sweatpants with la Vitre.
Credit: la Vitre

To video chat with a colleague, users tap on the screen “as if they were knocking on the door of the neighboring office,” according to the company. When you hear a “knock,” one would simply move in front of la Vitre to engage in the conversation. Nothing like a friendly knock from a digital abyss to start your work day.

Users can upload and share documents and media while awkwardly standing face to face as they converse. The interactive touchscreen, which is compatible with LG and Samsung, also allows users to write messages like “help” or “I’m watching you.” OK, hopefully not those messages, but it could happen. The product can also translate what’s being said in 60 languages into text on screen, la Vitre says, but we haven’t seen that in action.

“Ultimately, la Vitre is a huge time saver, and it is more efficient to see each other for 5 minutes through it than the long email conversations which often become unintelligible,” Boulanger said. However, there are plenty of office workers across the globe who wish more meetings could be emails. The screen is available for 36-month leases, but when asked about pricing, Boulanger said the company has yet to set a price for the U.S. market and didn’t share pricing in other markets.

If la Vitre does eventually make its way into remote home offices, just make sure to wear pants if you’re walking near the portal.

The annual Las Vegas consumer electronics convention looks a lot different this year. With the pandemic raging on, the event (which typically draws massive crowds) was notably empty.