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This wireless lavalier microphone is designed specifically for Android phones

AG Deals Team
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Have you taken the pandemic situation and turned it into an opportunity? That is, did you pick up a side hustle or new passion over the last 18-20 months?

One of the more increasingly popular things for people to do now is document and share their life. Be it in the form of Facebook Live videos, Instagram, or something else, a lot of people are spending time in front of the camera.

Phones make it incredibly easy to shoot high-definition, even 4K video, but they don’t always do a great job of capturing quality audio. There’s always distance, wind, ambient noise, and other elements that can muddy your audio experience.

If you find that you’re in need of something better sound-wise, consider picking up something like the Movo EDGE-UC, a wireless lavalier microphone designed with phones in mind.

The lapel mic transmits up to 200 feet away which means you can put plenty of space between you and the camera. The pint-sized device lets users capture audio in both stereo and mono, control volume, gain, and monitor through headphones.

This is the sort of thing you can clip on your shirt and belt and work hands-free without worrying about cables. There’s no need for batteries or charging as it draws power from your phone’s USB Type-C port.

Head over to the AG Deals Store today and you’ll find the Movo EDGE-UC on sale for just $139.99.

Xiaomi offers up its own take on smart glasses

Scott Webster
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Xiaomi on Tuesday introduced its own approach to the growing field of smart glasses, following quickly on the heels of Facebook and its new Ray-Ban offering.

Xiaomi’s smart glasses, which are currently known as just that — Smart Glasses, weigh in at just 51g and can display notifications, make calls, and more.

The Xiaomi model is powered by a quad-core ARM processor and runs Android under the hood. The Smart Glasses feature a monochrome display which lets you view images that you take; its designed to allow for better light passage than a color display.

In addition to the camera capability, Xiaomi’s Smart Glasses can show notifications for things such as smart home alarms, messages from select contacts, and maps with directions. Moreover, the built-in mic and speaker system lets wearers take phone calls directly through the glasses.

As Xiaomi puts it, these are not made to be a secondary screen but something that operates as its own independent experience, too.

We need to build an interaction logic which “does not disturb ordinary use, but displays key information in a timely manner”. After many in-depth discussions, several key scenarios including “key notification”, “phone call”, “navigation”, and “photo translation” were finally confirmed, with XiaoAi AI Assistant as the primary interaction method. 

Availability

Xiaomi stops short of announcing the price and launch date for its Smart Glasses but we’ll be sure to share those details when they’re made available.

Best phones to buy with a headphone jack in 2021

Jason England
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I consider myself a bit of an audiophile, and as such, I own numerous pairs of headphones. Unfortunately, in looking through all of my headphones, a few of my favorite pairs are only offered in a wired connection.

That’s why nothing makes me sadder than the almost universal removal of the 3.5mm headphone jack in smartphones. This is especially apparent across flagship devices, as they’re pretty all-in with Bluetooth-only options. Never fear, there are still some quality smartphones out there with the headphone jack.

We’ve rounded up some of the best of them and are happy to share them below.

Pixel 5a

First up, is the Pixel 5a with 5G, one of the most affordable, and arguably one of the best phones available in 2021.

Google has really found its stride with its A-series lineup by offering good performance, guaranteed updates, long battery life, a clean user experience, and a fantastic camera at a reasonable price.

Plus, we can’t forget it also includes the headphone jack making this one of the best all-round phones to buy for general users.

Key specs:

  • Display: 6.34-inch 2400 x 1080 OLED
  • SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G
  • RAM: 6GB
  • Storage: 128GB
  • Cameras: 12.2MP f/1.7 main, 16MP f/2.2 ultra-wide
  • Battery: 4,680 mAh
  • OS: Android 11

Buy Now

Asus ROG Phone 5

While nearly every flagship smartphone has dropped the headphone jack, gaming phones are some of the last holdouts when it comes to getting the best specs and retaining this elusive port.

The Asus ROG Phone 5 is currently one of the best gaming phones you can buy, and that also makes it one of the best phones with a headphone jack.

Besides offering a 3.5mm port, the ROG Phone 5 sports blazing fast specs, a high refresh rate display, a massive battery, two USB-C ports, customizable gaming buttons, and more.

Basically, this is one of the fastest phones on the market that still features a headphone jack, but it won’t come cheap.

Key specs:

  • Display: 6.78-inch 144Hz 2448 x 1080 AMOLED panel
  • SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
  • RAM: 8GB, 12GB, 16GB variants
  • Storage: 128GB and 256GB variants
  • Cameras: 64MP f/1.8 main, 13MP f/2.4 ultra-wide, 5MP f/2.0 macro
  • Battery: 6,000 mAh
  • OS: Android 11

Buy Now

RedMagic 6

The Nubia RedMagic 6 is another gaming phone with stellar specs and a headphone jack. Along with its large 6.8-inch 165Hz display, it packs the Snapdragon 888 and up to 12GB of RAM.

In our review, I found it to be an extremely snappy phone with great performance but a little weak in the software and camera department. Regardless, if you need a headphone jack and top-of-the-line specs, the RedMagic 6 gives them to you at a bargain price.

Key specs:

  • Display: 6.8-inch 165Hz 2400 x 1080 AMOLED panel
  • SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
  • RAM: 8GB and 12GB variants
  • Storage: 128GB and 256GB variants
  • Cameras: 64MP f/1.8 main, 8MP f/2 ultra-wide, 2MP macro
  • Battery: 5,050 mAh
  • OS: Android 11

Buy Now

Asus Zenfone 8

If you’re looking for a smartphone with top-end specs and a headphone jack without the gaming flare, then the Asus Zenfone 8 has you covered.

It comes with a compact design, for these days at least, featuring a 5.9-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate, the Snapdragon 888 SoC, and up to 16GB of RAM.

The only real drawback to this fun-sized flagship is the lack of a telephoto camera on the back. At least it still gives you a wide and ultra-wide option though.

Key specs:

  • Display: 5.9-inch 120Hz 2400 x 1080 Super AMOLED panel
  • SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888
  • RAM: 6GB, 8GB, 12GB, and 16GB variants
  • Storage: 128GB and 256GB variants
  • Cameras: 64MP f/1.8 main and 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide
  • Battery: 4,000 mAh
  • OS: Android 11

Buy Now

Samsung Galaxy A52

Samsung may have nixed the headphone jack in its big flagship devices, but at least the mid-range lineup is still holding strong.

The Samsung Galaxy A52 is one of the best mid-range phones out there offering some real bang for your buck with a large high refresh rate display, a quad camera layout on the back, a Snapdragon 720G, and up to 8GB of RAM.

Key specs:

  • Display: 6.5-inch 90Hz 2400 x 1080 Super AMOLED panel
  • SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G
  • RAM: 4GB, 6GB, and 8GB
  • Storage: 128GB and 256GB variants
  • Cameras: 64MP f/1.8 main, 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, 5MP macro, 5 MP depth-of-field
  • Battery: 4,500 mAh
  • OS: Android 11

Buy Now

Xiaomi Poco M3

Last but not least, is the Poco M3 which aims to give you more for less. Poco is a spin-off from the Xiaomi brand for budget smartphones with great specs for the price.

The Poco M3 has a price starting under $200, making it the most affordable phone on our list featuring a headphone jack. For that price, you get a smartphone with three rear cameras, a large 6.53-inch display, a massive 6,000mAh battery, and a Snapdragon 662 SoC with up to 6GB of RAM.

Key specs:

  • Display: 6.53-inch 2340 x 1080
  • SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 662
  • RAM: 4GB and 6GB variants
  • Storage: 64GB and 128GB variants
  • Cameras: 48MP f/1.8 main, 2MP f/2.4 macro, and 2MP f/2.4 depth-of-field
  • Battery: 6,000 mAh
  • OS: Android 10

Buy Now

Govee Flow Plus Light Bars review

Jason England
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Not too long ago, I reviewed the Govee Flow Pro lights and fell in love with them. Now, Govee has a new, more affordable set of light bars called the Flow Plus. Keep reading to find out how they compare to the Flow Pro light bars.

Key specs:

  • Create lighting effects using up to 16 million colors
  • Flexible mounting with two different stand options available
  • Reacts to music
  • Intuitive and feature-packed app
  • Compatible with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant

Design

Inside the box, the Govee Flow Plus consists of two light bars connected by a Y-cable that plugs into the controller box. There is also a separate power cable that goes from the box to the wall outlet.

When it comes to mounting, Govee includes two different styles of stands. One set is for standing the light bars upright, this is perfect for using them with a computer or placing on your TV stand. While the other set is meant to allow you to attach the light bars to the back of your TV with 3M adhesive.

Both sets of stands work great and setting up the Flow Plus Light Bars is a breeze.

User experience

The Flow Plus Light Bars lose one of my favorite features of the Flow Pro Bars, and that’s the camera used to make the lights match the colors on your TV. However, if you’re afraid the changing colors might be too distracting, then the Flow Plus Light Bars will allow you to set the color manually and allow you to save some money.

Beyond using them for bias lighting with your TV, the Flow Plus Light Bars can also be used for mood lighting bouncing off of your wall and they also react to music.

In my experience, the music function is a bit hit or miss. I tried out all the different modes and the lights don’t always seem to react reliably to the music being played. Regardless, the light show it puts on still looks fantastic, even if it’s not entirely accurate.

App

One of the best parts of the Govee lights is the app. The Govee Home app is one of the most professional and well-laid out smart home apps I’ve ever used. It gives you extensive control over the lights and all without being overly complicated to use.

Without the camera included with the Flow Pro Light Bars, you’ll probably use the app quite a bit. That’s because you’ll either be changing the colors manually, setting one of the scenes, or even creating your own scenes to get the most out of the Flow Plus Light Bars.

Additionally, the app allows you to power the lights on or off, set sleep timers, or use the lights to gradually wake you up in the morning. Speaking of powering the lights on or off, the Flow Plus Light Bars also integrate with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. That makes it quite convenient to control the lights, and you can even change the color using voice commands.

Final thoughts

Essentially, the Govee Flow Plus Light Bars are the same as the previous Flow Pro, only without the camera, and with a lower price of $65 or more with the $15 off coupon available right now. That makes them perfect for using as a static bias lighting system for your TV or placing them with your computer.

For my money, I’d rather pay extra and purchase the Flow Pro Light Bars if you want a backlight for your TV. Having the lights react to what’s on the screen with the camera makes a world of difference.

However, if you’re only wanting to light up the wall behind your computer or you’re concerned the changing colors would be too distracting, the Govee Flow Plus Light Bars will be perfect for you.

Buy from Amazon Buy from Govee

Grab a Boost Mobile Samsung Galaxy A32 5G and one month of service for $100

AG Deals Team
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Are you in the market for a new smartphone? What are your primary concerns? Looking for a large screen, great battery, and 5G connectivity? Search no further than the deal we have for you today.

Swing by the AG Deals Store and you’ll find we have the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G handset with one month of service from Boost Mobile, all for just just $99.99. That’s right, the phone and your first month of service is included in the low price.

As an Android 11-powered handset, the Galaxy A32 5G offers up a 6.52-inch HD screen with a generous 5,000mAh battery. And thanks to its quad-core MediaTek processor and 4GB memory, it’s plenty of performance for most users.

The phone also comes with a four-camera array on the rear with a 13-megpixel shooter on the front. Toss in NFC, fast charging, and support for up to 1TB external media, and you’ve got a solid mid-range experience.

This offer is not just about the phone as it also comes with one month of service through Boost Mobile, too. Indeed, you’ll get unlimited talk and text with 5GB of 4G/5G data.

Order Yours!

  • Buy the smartphone + plan bundle from the AG Deals Store for just $99.99 today!
  • Wait for your Samsung Galaxy A32 to arrive via FedEx
  • Boost Mobile will email you a $25 ePIN (Re-Boost Card) to activate 1 month of service of the 5GB plan
  • Activate online at activate.boostmobile.com or by phone (866) 402-7366

AnkerWork PowerConf S500 review

Andrew Allen
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Working remotely from your own home is now a reality for more and more people post COVID-19. Many of us have enjoyed this shift but the longer it goes the more we realize expanding our office gadgets may be needed as well. Anker’s new Work lineup is starting to fill some of those voids and the PowerConf S500 speaker is a must-have for those taking calls at home.

Design

The PowerConf S500 is a sleek and solid piece of hardware. This conference device is well put together. Around the top, you have the speaker and mic arrays. These include four microphones with 32KHz of sampling rate to make sure voices never see a drop. You will also find the 1.55-inch speaker flanking the lid.

Just below the Anker logo is an LED-lit capacitive panel for your basic controls of audio levels and mic. There is a metal rim around the entire casing with another set of tactile buttons.

Calls and controls

Let’s dive further into the calling using the AnkerWork PowerConf S500. All calls that I’ve taken with the speaker have been without issues. All three methods of connection have worked great. That’s right, you can use USB-C and Bluetooth wireless options to utilize the PowerConf S500.

The third option is also Bluetooth, but it’s if your other devices don’t have it built into the included hardware. Underneath the PowerConf S500 is a Bluetooth adapter that came in handy for my work desktop which doesn’t have an internal wireless module.

The controls of calls and audio are just as thoughtfully laid out. As mentioned earlier the top houses capacitive buttons to get things done. You can raise or lower the volume, mute the mic, or take an incoming call straight from this panel.

All of these worked just as described in practice. I was able to control all the label features in Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. The same was also true on standard phone calls when wirelessly paired to my Pixel.

It uses adaptive VoiceRadar to determine the current speaker and hone in on that person. This focuses on noise-canceling to drown out the environment while amplifying the speaker’s voice to add clarity on the other end.

So what about the hardware buttons on the front? Three are pretty self-explanatory. You have power on and off, play/pause, and the Bluetooth pairing button. Long presses of the power button turn the speaker on and off. A single press of the play button starts or stops, playback. Finally, pressing the Bluetooth button sets the PowerConf S500 to pairing mode.

The second button from the right is a link mode switch. This allows two or more PowerConf S500 speakers to be linked together for larger audiences. Anker suggests that each speaker can properly handle chatter for around 10 people in most environments. So, if you know you’ll consistently be supporting calls with 15-20 folks in the room, another PowerConf might be worth it.

Battery

Anker rates the AnkerWork PowerConf S500 at 15 total hours of playback or calls. I’ve found that to be deadly accurate. I consistently get similar results with mixed use. This includes calls, video chats, and music playback.

Charging happens over a USB-C connection to the speaker. This doubles as the connection port if you want the lowest latency possible and keep it wired to your PC. A full charge took around four hours depending on the power source. It was slightly less when using a wall outlet adapter.

Conclusion

I genuinely like this market for Anker. Is it niche? Yeah, but it’s becoming the norm every day for people in the workforce. Anker has leveraged its history of making great consumer products into polished work devices like the PowerConf S500.

This conference speaking will surprisingly round out your home office or travel bag. But good things don’t come cheap. Full retail pricing is $220 on both AnkerWork’s website and Amazon. While it’s slightly past impulse purchase price tags, for the enterprise market this is more than competitive.

Yeedi launches 3-in-1 vac station

Andrew Allen
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Our homes continue to get smarter and smarter every day. Connected devices make our lives easier and one of the oldest in this category is robot vacuums. Yeedi has recently released its latest iteration and takes the evolution one step further with a self-dumping dust bin.

Basics included

As we said, robot vacuums are nothing new; the yeedi vacuum does the normal things you’d expect in this segment. You get 3000Pa force vacuuming to make sure every last crumb is taken care of. The vacuum is also capable on both hard surfaces and carpets.

Mopping is relative of any vacuum and yeedi has that covered in this new cleaning station as well. The included water tank and washable mop pads make shining up your new floors just as easy as vacuuming. Even better, the vac station can do both at the same time.

You can’t have a robot vacuum without the robot and yeedi’s vac station has all the major bullet points. Smart mapping of the home layout is onboard to make sure your little vacuum buddy knows where he’s been and not been. The vac also has smart floor identification to help determine the cleaning settings based on the materials.

Extra storage is always a plus

So what’s the ground-breaking new feature in this announcement? Well, it’s the station part of the moniker. The yeedi vac station has a charging base like most other robot vacuums, but the base also includes a silo to empty the dust bin.

This should extend the times you can use the yeedi vac with minimal maintenance between uses. No more need to remember to dump the vac dust bin every time you use the thing. yeedi claims that you can get up to 30 days of dust in the included dust bags before the vac station has to be emptied.

Available now

The yeedi vac station is available now on the company’s website. For $499 you can upgrade your automated cleaning habits in your home. If you already have the yeedi max vacuum, you can also add the new self-cleaning station for $199.

Xiaomi promises four years of security updates for upcoming 11T series

Scott Webster
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Xiaomi on Thursday announced that its forthcoming 11T and 11T Pro smartphones will receive three generations of Android updates. Moreover, the line will also be supported with four years of security updates, too.

This isn’t the first phone maker to make such promises for its devices; Samsung already offers this for many of its current-gen models. Nokia (XR20) and OnePlus have also committed to long-term support for some of their respective handsets as well.

As to whether Xiaomi will offer the same software and security support for existing devices, it remains to be seen. According to its Head of Product & Technology, Xiaomi appears up to the task of at least trying.

It is not a simple task for Xiaomi and its team to provide system updates and security patches to all of its previous smartphone models. However, the prospect of this challenge and meeting the desires of our customers is exciting.

If we were to hazard a guess, the newer the phones, the better the chance of it receiving an extended period of support and updates. Additionally, we suspect that Xiaomi may focus on flagship and higher-end models first. Budget devices and entry-level phones aren’t likely to see the same love.

The Xiaomi 11T and 11T Pro are expected to launch on September 15 and should feature some interesting hardware features. The flagship series are set to include noteworthy details such large 120Hz displays, 108-megapixel cameras, and support for incredibly fast charging. The 11T Pro, for its part, is expected to offer up to 120W charging.

Snag a refurbished Acer Chromebook for just $80

AG Deals Team
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With school season underway again things could be getting interesting around the house. Does your student need his/her own computer or Chromebook? Are you finding that multiple people are splitting time with the same device?

Stop worrying about lending your child that expensive laptop for homework and consider getting them one of their own. Right now you can find a refurbished Acer Chromebook in the AG Deals Store for just $80. That’s it – eighty bucks.

If your child is starting to find themselves having to log into a portal or submit homework online, the Chromebook is a perfect tool for such a thing. Moreover, it’s an inexpensive way of staying connected with social media, streaming services, and work email. And if you work from home, it’s a budget-friendly way of adding a backup computer to the home.

The Acer Chromebook starts in seconds, is powered by Intel Celeron Haswell micro-architecture processor, and has up to 8.5 hours of battery life. Run your favorite Google apps or access your photos, videos, music, and documents from anywhere there’s a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection.

The Acer Chromebook automatically stays up-to-date (and virus-free) without interrupting you.

  • 11.6″ HD Display. Enjoy your favorite movies, videos & more on a wide high definition screen
  • Intel HD Graphics. Run some of your favorite games
  • 4GB RAM. Run multiple apps & browser tabs simultaneously
  • 16 GB SSD. Store photos, music, files & more
  • Bluetooth 4.0. Wirelessly transfer media between devices
  • WiFi + Ethernet. Go online via wireless network or Ethernet cable
  • 8.5-Hour Battery Life. Use your Chromebook for longer hours

Refurbished Rating

NOTE: This product is listed with a grade “B” rating which means it may have light scuffing on the bevel/case or light scratches/dents on the body.

Order Yours!

Pick up the Acer C720 Chromebook from the AG Deals Store for just $79.99 while supplies last. Once this one is out of stock, it’s gone for good.

How to hide people, pets, and dates from Google Photos Memories

Jason England
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Google Photos is one of the best ways to manage your images on a mobile device and it provides a multitude of useful features. One of these is Memories, a way for Google Photos to resurface old photos of people or places from your image collection.

To accomplish this, Google uses machine learning to cull through your photos and place these Memories at the top of the app when you open it. In a lot of ways, this is a fantastic feature that helps you look back through some of the best times in your life, all without requiring you to browse through hundreds or thousands of images to find them.

Unfortunately, as well-meaning as the Google Photos Memories feature is, it’s not always a good thing. Look, we’ve all been there, a messy break-up or a loss of a loved one. It’s not something we want to be reminded of until or unless we’ve had time to process it. In some cases that time may never come.

To help from dredging up those painful memories, Google Photos has a way to hide people and even pets from showing up in these auto-generated Memories. Follow the steps below to learn how.

How to hide people or pets in Google Photos

1. Open Google Photos
2. Tap on your user icon in the top right-hand corner
3. Select Photos settings
4. Locate Memories in the list
5. Choose Hide people & pets
6. Tap on the faces you’d like hidden.

In this case, we’ll use Scarlett Johansson as an example of an ex.

After completing these steps, Google Photos Memories will no longer show photos of the person or pet you’ve chosen. Additionally, you won’t be able to view them via the People menu any longer; searches for the person won’t return any photos of them.

For something a little broader, Google Photos also allows you to black out certain dates or a range of time from showing up in your auto-generated Memories. To do this, follow the steps below.

How to hide dates in Google Photos

1. Open Google Photos
2. Tap on your user icon in the top right-hand corner
3. Select Photos settings
4. Locate Memories in the list
5. Choose Hide dates
6. Using the calendar view, select the day or range of days you’d like to be hidden. This can include weeks, months, or even years.

There you have it — peace of mind!

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