Mobile

The History of iOS, from Version 1.0 to 17.0

By admin December 24, 2023

The History of iOS, from Version 1.0 to 17.0, A complete view of the operating system that launched the smartphone revolution

iOS is the name of the operating system that runs the iPhone and iPod touch. It’s the core software that comes loaded on all devices to allow them to run and support other apps. iOS is to the iPhone what Windows is to PCs or macOS is to Macs.

Below you’ll find a history of each version of iOS when it was released, and what it added to the platform. Click the name of the iOS version, or the More link at the end of each blurb, for more in-depth information about that version.

See our article What is iOS? for a lot more on this innovative mobile operating system and how it works.

iOS 17

Apple announced iOS 17 at the June 2023 WWDC, with a public rollout to take place in Fall 2023.

One of the most notable updates to iOS 17 is the change from, “Hey Siri!” to, “Siri,” as well as the ability to give Siri back-to-back commands,

iOS 17 includes upgrades to Phone, FaceTime, and Messages, which also features an all-new Stickers experience. AirDrop has been upgraded to include NameDrop to allow for easy contact sharing. Journal is an entirely new app that provides an intuitive journalling experience based on your photos, locations, contacts, music, podcasts, and more.

In addition, iOS 17 offers a fullscreen experience called StandBy, which is similar to Nightstand Mode on Apple Watch. While you’re charging the phone, you can put it into landscape mode to display the time and other information on a minimalist, easy-to-read display.

iOS 16

iOS 16 was announced at 2022’s WWDC in June. It rolled out to consumers in Fall 2022.

Updates include new Messages features, SharePlay availability in FaceTime and Messages, and upgrades for Apple Wallet including Apple Pay Later and Apple Order Tracking.

iOS 16 also featured an Apple Maps redesign and new features, such as cycling, lookaround, and multi-stop routing. The iOS upgrade also offers improvements to Spatial Audio that allow for the personalization of audio on AirPods.

The History of iOS, from Version 1.0 to 17.0

iOS 15

Apple Inc.

Support ended: n./a
Current version: 15.5, released May 16, 2022
Initial version: 15.0, released Sept. 24, 2021

Much like iOS 14, iOS 15 is more of a collection of improvements to the iPhone platform than it is a themed release. Generally speaking, iOS 15 moves forward a number of important things Apple has been working on for a number of releases: Increases security and privacy, blocks more ad tracking, improves Siri and the camera app, and much more.

Some of the biggest steps forward are influenced by the recent remote-work trend. Features in that area include improvements to FaceTime audio, support for FaceTime conferencing on the web and Android, improvements to the Messages app, and more.

Key New Features:

• FaceTime received numerous improvements aimed at improving the experience of using the app and expanding the audience for it, including:

1.SharePlay allows people on a FaceTime video call to watch video or listen to audio together, and share screens

2.Spatial Audio brings Apple’s more-natural, 3D audio experience to improve the naturalness of FaceTime sound

3.Enhanced Mic Modes allow you to isolate your voice from background noise to improve audio quality

4.Portrait Mode brings this terrific still-photos feature to video to blur your background

5.Cross-Platform support allows you to invite anyone to a FaceTime call with a link and for them to join from a web browser or Android devices.

• Focus adds a set of smart notification and communication s settings based on what you’re doing at that moment.

• The Photos app gains major improvements such as:

1.Live Text lets the app detect text inside your photos and convert it to text that can be copied and pasted, or phone numbers that can be tapped to call

2.Visual search lets you search within the Photos app for text embedded your photos.

• In keeping with Apple’s ongoing commitment to user privacy, iOS 15 adds:

1.App Privacy Report lets you know what permissions each of your apps has, how often it accesses your data, and what third-party domains the app has contacted.

2.Mail Privacy Protection blocks tracking pixels, hides your IP address from marketers, and blocks the connection of your data from email with other data sources.

3.On-device Siri means that Siri recordings are no longer sent to or stored in the cloud. Siri works completely on your iPhone, and now works offline.

• Support for the iCloud+ service that adds new Homekit and VPN-style features.

• Notifications scheduling and summary.

• Improved driving directions in Maps.

• A redesigned experience and features for managing tabs and groups of tabs in Safari.

• Better ways to find content shared with you and to share medical data from the Health app with your family.

Dropped Support For:

• iPhone 6 series. All iPhone models from the 6S series and up are supported.

• 6th Gen. iPod touch. Only the 7th Gen. iPod touch is supported.

iOS 14

Apple

Support ended: n/a
Current version: 14.6, released May 24, 2021
Initial version: 14.0, released Sept. 17, 2020

There’s no single major change or theme to the changes introduced with iOS 14. Instead, iOS 14 is a collection of numerous small and medium-sized changes to the user interface, features, and overall ease of use that add up to making the experience of using an iPhone even better.

Maybe the most notable changes are around customization, thanks to the addition of Homescreen Widgets, the ability to choose default apps in some cases, and improved privacy controls.

How to Change the Color of Apps on iOS 14

Key New Features:

• Homescreen Widgets for customized home screens and shortcuts.

• Smart Stacks that deliver different Homescreen Widgets at different times of the day based on your habits.

• Set third-party apps as default for email and web browser apps.

• App Library, a new way of organizing apps and keeping your home scree neat

• App Clips

• Picture in picture mode

• Improved privacy features to block tracking online.

• Built-in language translation for 11 languages.

• Spatial audio for AirPods delivers surround sound, along with other AirPods improvements.

• Design changes allow phone calls and FaceTime calls to take up less space on the screen and allow you to do other things at the same time.

• Numerous improvements for group texts in iMessage, including threaded replies and mentions.

Dropped Support For:

• None. iOS 14 supports the same set of devices as iOS 13

iOS 13

Apple Inc.

Support ended: n/a
Current version: 13.7, release Sept. 1, 2020.
Initial version: 13.0, released Sept. 19, 2019

Perhaps the biggest change introduced with iOS 13 is that the OS no longer runs on the iPad. That’s due to the release of iPadOS (which begins with version 13). That’s a new OS dedicated to the making the iPad a more useful productivity device and a potential laptop replacement. It’s based on iOS 13 and has many of the same features, but also adds iPad-specific items.

Beyond that, iOS 13 shores up some core features, including launching apps faster, unlocking devices with Face ID faster, and overhauling pre-installed apps like Reminders, Notes, Safari, and Mail. Maybe the most obvious new feature is the Dark Mode, but the changes range much wider than that and further bolster the already-strong OS.

Key New Features:

• System-wide Dark Mode

• Sign In With Apple user account system

• New privacy and security options

• New Portrait Lighting options

• Look Around, a Google Street View-style feature for Apple Maps

• New, improved Siri voice

• Overhauled stock apps like Reminders and Notes

Dropped Support For:

• iPad (due to the release of iPadOS)

• 6th Gen. iPod touch

• iPhone 6 series

• iPhone 5S

iOS 12

Apple Inc.

Support ended: n/a
Current version: 12.4.8. It was released July 15, 2020
Initial version: It was released on September 17, 2018

The new features and improvements added in iOS 12 aren’t as extensive or revolutionary as in some previous updates to the OS. Instead, iOS 12 focused more on making refinements to commonly used features and on adding wrinkles that improve how people use their devices.

Some of the key features of iOS 12 included improvements to Siri like Siri Shortcuts, enhanced Augmented Reality with ARKit 2, and giving users and parents ways to monitor and control their device use with Screen Time.

Key New Features:

• Grouped Notifications

• Screen Time

• ARKit 2

• Siri improvements, including Siri Shortcuts and multi-step actions

• Memoji, a personalized kind of Animoji

Dropped Support For:

• N/A

iOS 11

Apple Inc.

Support ended: n/a
Current version: 11.4.1. It was released on July 9, 2018
Initial version: It was released on September 19, 2017

iOS was originally developed to run on the iPhone. Since then, it’s been expanded to support the iPod touch and iPad (and versions of it even power the Apple Watch and Apple TV). In iOS 11, the emphasis shifted from the iPhone to the iPad.

Sure, iOS 11 contains lots of improvements for the iPhone, but its major focus is turning the iPad Pro series models into legitimate laptop replacements for some users.

This is done through a series of changes designed to make iOS running on iPad a lot more like a desktop operating system. These changes include all new drag and drop support, split screen apps and multiple workspaces, a file browser app, and support for notation and handwriting with the Apple Pencil.

Key New Features:

Dropped Support For:

• iPhone 5C

• iPhone 5

• iPad 4

• iPad 3

iOS 10

Apple Inc.

Support ended: 2019
Current version: 10.3.4. It was released on July 22, 2019
Initial version: It was released on Sept. 13, 2016

The ecosystem Apple built around iOS has long been referred to as a “walled garden” because it’s a very pleasant place to be on the inside, but it’s hard to gain access. This was reflected in the many ways Apple locked down the interface of iOS and the options it gave to apps.

Cracks began to show in the walled garden in iOS 10, and Apple put them there.

The major themes of iOS 10 were interoperability and customization. Apps could now communicate directly with each other on a device, allowing one app to use some features from another without opening the second app. Siri became available to third-party apps in new ways. There were even apps built into iMessage now.

Beyond that, users now had new ways to customize their experiences, from (finally!) being able to delete built-in apps to new animations and effects to punctuate their text messages.

Key New Features:

Dropped Support For:

• iPhone 4S

• 5th gen. iPod touch

• iPad 2

• 1st gen. iPad mini

iOS 9

Apple, Inc.

Support ended: 2018
Final version: 9.3.9. It was released on July 22, 2019
Initial version: It was released on Sept. 16, 2015

After a few years of major changes to both the interface and technical foundation of iOS, many observers began to charge that iOS was no longer the stable, dependable, solid performer it had once been. They suggested that Apple should focus on shoring up the foundation of the OS before adding new features.

That’s just what the company did with iOS 9. While it did add some new features, this release was generally aimed at solidifying the foundation of the OS for the future.

Major improvements were delivered in speed and responsiveness, stability, and performance on older devices. iOS 9 proved to be an important refocusing that laid the groundwork for the bigger improvements delivered in iOS 10 and 11.

Key New Features:

• Night Shift

• Low Power Mode

• Public beta program

Dropped Support For:

• N/A

iOS 8

Apple, Inc.

Support ended: 2016
Final version: 8.4.1. It was released on Aug. 13, 2015
Initial version: It was released on Sept. 17, 2014

More consistent and stable operation returned to iOS in version 8.0. With the radical changes of the last two versions now in the past, Apple once again focused on delivering major new features.

Among these features was its secure, contactless payment system Apple Pay and, with the iOS 8.4 update, the Apple Music subscription service.

There were continued improvements to the iCloud platform, too, with the addition of the Dropbox-like iClould Drive, iCloud Photo Library, and iCloud Music Library.

Key New Features:

Dropped Support For:

• iPhone 4

iOS 7

Corbis News / Getty Images

Support ended: 2016
Final version: 7.1.2. It was released on June 30, 2014.
Initial version: It was released on Sept. 18, 2013

Like iOS 6, iOS 7 was met with substantial resistance upon its release. Unlike iOS 6, though, the cause of unhappiness among iOS 7 users wasn’t that things didn’t work. Rather, it was because things had changed.

After the firing of Scott Forstall, iOS development was overseen by Jony Ive, Apple’s head of design, who had previously only worked on hardware. In this version of iOS, Ive ushered in a major overhaul of the user interface, designed to make it more modern.

While the design was indeed more modern, its small, thin fonts were hard to read for some users and frequent animations caused motion sickness for others. The design of the current iOS is derived from the changes made in iOS 7. After Apple made improvements, and users became accustomed to the changes, complaints subsided.

Key New Features:

Dropped Support For:

• iPhone 3GS

• iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, 3rd gen. iPad, and iPad 2 couldn’t use all features of iOS 7

iOS 6

marco_1186 / Flickr

Support ended: 2015
Final version: 6.1.6. It was released on Feb. 21, 2014
Initial version: It was released on Sept. 19, 2012

Controversy was one of the dominant themes of iOS 6. While this version introduced the world to Siri — which, despite being later surpassed by competitors, was a truly revolutionary technology — problems with it also led to major changes.

The driver of these problems was Apple’s increasing competition with Google, whose Android smartphone platform was posing a threat to the iPhone. Google had supplied the Maps and YouTube apps pre-installed with the iPhone since 1.0. In iOS 6, that changed.

Apple introduced its own Maps app, which was badly received due to bugs, bad directions, and problems with certain features. As part of the company’s efforts to solve the problems, Apple CEO Tim Cook asked the head of iOS development, Scott Forstall, to make a public apology. When he refused, Cook fired him. Forstall had been involved with the iPhone since before the first model, so this was a profound change.

Key New Features:

• Apple Maps

• Do Not Disturb

• Passbook (now Wallet)

Dropped Support For:

• None, but iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPad 2 couldn’t use all features of iOS 6

iOS 5

Francis Dean / Getty Images

Support ended: 2014
Final version: 5.1.1. It was released on May 7, 2012
Initial version: It was released on Oct. 12, 2011

Apple responded to the growing trend of wirelessness, and cloud computing, in iOS 5, by introducing essential new features and platforms. Among those was iCloud, the ability to activate an iPhone wirelessly (previously it had required a connection to a computer), and syncing with iTunes via Wi-Fi.

More features that are now central to the iOS experience debuted here, including iMessage and Notification Center.

With iOS 5, Apple dropped support for the iPhone 3G, 1st gen. iPad, and 2nd and 3rd gen. iPod touch.

Key New Features:

• iCloud

• iMessage

• Notification Center

• Wireless syncing and activation

Dropped Support For:

• iPhone 3G

• 1st gen. iPad

• 2nd gen. iPod touch

• 3rd gen. iPod touch

iOS 4

Ramin Talaie / Getty Images

Support ended: 2013
Final version: 4.3.5. It was released on July 25, 2011
Initial version: It was released on June 22, 2010

Many aspects of the modern iOS began to take shape in iOS 4. Features that are now widely used debuted in various updates to this version, including FaceTime, multitasking, iBooks, organizing apps into folders, Personal Hotspot, AirPlay, and AirPrint.

Another important change introduced with iOS 4 was the name “iOS” itself. As noted earlier, the iOS name was unveiled for this version, replacing the previously used “iPhone OS” name.

This was also the first version of iOS to drop support for any iOS devices. It was not compatible with the original iPhone or the 1st generation iPod touch. Some older models that were technically compatible were not able to use all features of this version.

Key New Features:

Dropped Support For:

• Original iPhone

• 1st Gen. iPod touch

iOS 3

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images News

Support ended: 2012
Final version: 3.2.2. It was released on Aug. 11, 2010
Initial version: It was released on June 17, 2009

The release of this version of iOS accompanied the debut of the iPhone 3GS. It added features including copy and paste, Spotlight search, MMS support in the Messages app, and the ability to record videos using the Camera app.

Also notable about this version of iOS is that it was the first to support the iPad. The 1st generation iPad was released in 2010, and version 3.2 of the software came with it.

Key New Features:

• Copy and paste

• Spotlight search

• Recording videos

iOS 2

Jason Kempin / Getty Images

Support ended: 2011
Final version: 2.2.1. It was released on January 27, 2009
Initial version: It was released on July 11, 2008

One year after the iPhone became a bigger hit than almost anyone projected, Apple released iOS 2.0 (then called iPhone OS 2.0) to coincide with the release of the iPhone 3G.

The most profound change introduced in this version was the App Store and its support for real third-party apps (rather than web apps). Around 500 apps were available in the App Store at launch. Hundreds of other crucial improvements were also added.

Other important changes introduced in the 5 updates iPhone OS 2.0 included podcast support and public transit and walking directions in Maps (both in version 2.2).

Key New Features:

• App Store

• Improved Maps app

iOS 1

Apple Inc.

Support ended: 2010
Final version: 1.1.5. It was released on July 15, 2008
Initial version: It was released on June 29, 2007

The one that started it all, which shipped pre-installed on the original iPhone.

This version of the operating system wasn’t called iOS at the time it launched. From versions 1-3, Apple referred to it as the iPhone OS. The name shifted to iOS with version 4.

It’s hard to convey to modern readers who have lived with the iPhone for years how profound a breakthrough this version of the operating system was. Support for features like the multitouch screen, Visual Voicemail, and iTunes integration were significant advances.

While this initial release was a major breakthrough at the time, it lacked many of the features that would come to be closely associated with the iPhone in the future, including support for real third-party apps. Pre-installed apps included Calendar, Photos, Camera, Notes, Safari, Mail, Phone, and iPod (which was later split into the Music and Videos apps).

Version 1.1, which was released in Sept. 2007 was the first version of the software compatible with the iPod touch.

Key New Features:

• Visual Voicemail

• Multitouch interface

• Safari browser

• Music app

FAQ

• How can I see the version update history of an iOS app?

Go to the App store, select an app, and tap Version History. There, you will see all updates for the app, plus the date of each update.

• How can I get notifications about new versions of iOS apps?

To receive notifications about new versions of iOS apps, you must turn off automatic updates on your iOS device. Go to Settings > App Store > turn off App Updates. When you turn off automatic updates, the App Store is forced to notify you that an update is available for your iOS app.

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The best AI photo editors in 2023

By admin December 19, 2023

The best AI photo editors in 2023, While AI image generators are attracting all the headlines, AI photo editors—apps that take your image and automatically edit or improve it in some way—have been quietly developing in the background.

And really, AI editors are the more useful tool. Most of the time, you aren’t looking for an image of a Canadian man riding a moose through a maple forest in the style of some long-dead impressionist artist. Instead, you want the photos you’ve shot to look their best—whether they’re selfies or product photos for an ad campaign. These are the AI photo editors that can help you do it.

As a photographer, I’ve been shooting and editing images for nearly 15 years, and a huge amount of my writing career has actually been about photography. I’ve been testing and using AI photo editors (and AI features in standard photo editors) since they’ve been available.

For this article, I spent more time testing all the options out there, and based on that experience, these are the best AI photo editors.

The best AI photo editors

•Adobe Photoshop for a full-featured photo editing and design app

•Luminar Neo for an AI-powered photo editor

•Canva for an AI-powered design app

•Pixlr for an easy-to-use online AI editor

•Lensa for a mobile AI photo editor

What does an AI photo editor do?

AI photo editing has been around for a long time. Take Photoshop: Content Aware Fill was added in 2010, the first AI-powered “Neural Filters” were launched in 2020, and many of its most powerful features rely on some level of machine learning. Unlike AI art generators, which rely on some major recent advances, most AI image editing features are based on iterative updates to older technologies.

So what kind of things can they do? Here are some of the major AI photo editing software features you’ll see in these apps.

• Upscaling and sharpening low-resolution or blurry images.

• Detecting whether you took a portrait, a landscape, or some other kind of photo and suggesting appropriate edits or tools.

• Cutting your subject out from the background with a single click.

• Replacing the sky with a different one, and matching the lighting in the rest of the image.

• Automatically making simple adjustments to light levels, colors, and contrast.

• “Improving” faces by smoothing skin, brightening eyes, and making other tweaks.

• Repairing or colorizing old black-and-white photos.

• Selecting or masking your subject, so you can make hands-on edits.

And that’s just the big ones.

Some of these features rely heavily on AI. For example, Photoshop’s new Generative Fill works the exact same way as DALL·E 2 or Stable Diffusion. Others, like Lensa’s ability to detect whether you shot a portrait or a landscape, rely on far simpler image recognition algorithms.

Either way, at the core, these photo editors are relying on AI techniques like machine learning to create an intelligent and automated image editing experience. However you slice it, that sounds like AI image editing to me.

How I tested each AI photo editor

How we evaluate and test apps

All of our best apps roundups are written by humans who’ve spent much of their careers using, testing, and writing about software. We spend dozens of hours researching and testing apps, using each app as it’s intended to be used and evaluating it against the criteria we set for the category. We’re never paid for placement in our articles from any app or for links to any site—we value the trust readers put in us to offer authentic evaluations of the categories and apps we review. For more details on our process, read the full rundown of how we select apps to feature on the blog.

I’ve been writing about image editors for more than a decade, so I was already familiar with most of the 30 apps I had to test. But since this is a list of AI photo editors, I focused on evaluating the general usability and (artificially) intelligent aspects of every app. That means I didn’t have to re-try every single Photoshop feature—just the AI-focused ones.

For most of the apps on the list, this meant editing a few sample photos to see what automatic adjustments they made, how they handled low-quality images, and how good they were at cutting out tricky subjects and removing objects. The majority of apps that didn’t make the final list failed to perform here.

For the apps that did well, I spent even more time playing around and editing images. I also considered the overall usability and pricing—some fairly average apps charge Photoshop pricing, and they got dinged for that.

What makes the best AI photo editor?

It’s pretty easy to call any kind of automated image editing feature “AI” now. And it’s not entirely wrong to do so. Still, there’s a big difference between a few one-click options that brighten and add contrast to a photo, and tools that genuinely help you work better and faster by making intelligent suggestions and adjustments.

So while there are many apps that claim to be AI image editors, I was looking for the best of the best. Here’s what I kept my eye out for as I tested each app:

• Advanced AI editing features, like built-in generative AIs, automatic subject detection and selection, intelligent upscaling, and a general focus on powerful, effective tools.

• Full apps with a start-to-finish image workflow. There are lots of great plugins for Photoshop and Lightroom, as well as powerful AI image generators like DALL·E 2 and DreamStudio, but they aren’t really full image editors. I only included tools that could handle a full workflow.

• Fast, effective, and intuitive experience. In other words, the apps had to be powerful, with a learning curve that matched their feature set. Photoshop isn’t exactly simple to use, but its layout and options are intuitive once you put a small amount of time into understanding what it does.

• Good results. Quite a few AI picture editors I tested were too heavy-handed with contrast or color adjustments, unable to correctly select the test subjects, or otherwise just didn’t do a very good job. With the number of great AI photo editors around, there just really wasn’t a call to include any that do a less-than-stellar job in most situations.

• Customization and control. I’m not really a fan of one-click edits—they seldom deliver great results. Instead, the best AI photo editors give you control over how strong certain edits are and what areas of your image are affected. They also give you manual editing tools, so you can make any final tweaks yourself.

Based on all my testing, here are my picks for the five best AI image editors.

Best full-featured AI photo editor and design app

Adobe Photoshop (Windows, macOS, iPad)

Adobe Photoshop pros:

• Some of the best AI-powered tools you can find in any app

• It’s still Photoshop, with all the power and control that gives you

Adobe Photoshop cons:

• No one has ever said learning how to use Photoshop is easy

Adobe Photoshop has been the industry standard image editing app for more than three decades now, but instead of showing its age like a lot of other 30-something-year-old software, it still feels fresh and cutting edge.

I was going to make the joke that it’s easier to list the photo editing tasks that Photoshop can’t do than the ones it can—until I realized I legitimately could not come up with a list of things it can’t do. In short, Photoshop is the best full-featured image editor around.

And that extends to AI features. Take the Remove Tool that got introduced recently. While Photoshop has always made it possible to remove unwanted objects, people, and artifacts from your images—and features like the Patch Tool and Spot Removal Tool have done their best to blend in with your image—the Remove Tool takes it to another level. Of all the apps I tested, this one was by far the best at removing something from an image and replacing it with generated content that blended in. There’s also a text-to-image generator called Generative Fill in the beta.

You can see both of these things in action in the screenshot above. The original image is in the center. I was able to replace Gunther with grass that matches the rest of the image—including the depth of field blur—just by painting over him once. I was also able to replace the background with a castle—again, matching the depth of field—just by selecting it and typing “medieval castle.” I even got three variations to choose from.

Photoshop has plenty of other AI-powered tools, too. There are Neural Filters that can do things like intelligently adjust your subject’s facial expression, transfer the color palette from one image to another, and remove compression artifacts. The automatic subject and background selection is excellent, and the automatic tone, color, and contrast adjustment all work as you’d expect.

Best of all, Photoshop is still the fully-featured app it’s always been. For most AI features, you get plenty of control, and you can always manually edit them and integrate them into your image. If the AI messes up, you have all the tools you need to fix it—even if it takes you a bit longer.

Adobe Photoshop pricing: From $19.99/month as part of the Photography Plan including Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. (Lightroom is another great image editor in its own right, but it just doesn’t have the same deep AI feature set as Photoshop. Still definitely worth checking out if you just want to edit photos.)

Best AI photo editor for being truly AI-powered

Luminar Neo (Windows, macOS)

Luminar Neo pros:

• AI is legitimately integral to the whole app

• Designed for photographers, so you get a lot of control over how strongly any effects are applied

Luminar Neo cons:

• Very expensive for a standalone photo-focused app

Luminar Neo was one of the first photo-editing apps to go all in on AI. And of all the apps on this list, it has the deepest AI integration across the whole app. Of course there are the headline features, like the AI-powered enhance (which automatically adjusts tone, contrast, and color) and the AI sky replacement (which really works, especially with blown-out or boring gray skies).

But then there are all the smaller touches. Luminar Neo automatically detects the subject of your image and suggests appropriate presets as a starting point. The AI crop generally does a good job of cutting out extraneous elements without going too close to your subject. And features like the AI face and skin adjustments focus in on the relevant areas of the image, and quickly allow you to do things like brighten your subject’s eyes to draw more attention to them or tone down shiny skin.

Luminar Neo is almost exclusively an app for photographers, or people who really, really care about taking high-quality selfies. As a result, you get a huge amount of control over how the various effects are applied. There isn’t really any one-click magic here: for every tool, you get a slider, so you can control how strongly any edits are made to be sure your photos look how you want. It makes for a great, balanced workflow: the AI lets you work quickly, without pushing things too far.

Strangely, Luminar Neo is the only app on this list that couldn’t exist without its AI features. They’re so integral to the whole experience. While you can make simple edits, and often will to make final tweaks, it’s almost impossible to edit a photo without heavily relying on the AI at some point.

Luminar Neo pricing: From $9.95/month for the Explore plan; from $14.95/month for the Pro plan that includes additional AI-powered features like noise removal and upscaling.

Photo AI from Topaz Labs is a good alternative to Luminar Neo. It’s a similar product for photographers, but it’s just too niche for most people. It’s worth checking out if you only want to sharpen, remove noise from, or upscale your images using AI.

Best design app with an AI photo editor

Canva (Web, iOS, Android)

Canva pros:

• Super powerful template-based design with nice AI extras

• By far the easiest tool to use to create real-world designs like social media posts, CVs, and invitations

Canva cons:

• Image editing tools aren’t as good as dedicated apps

Over the past year, Canva has introduced a heap of new AI-powered features, making what was already an excellent template-based design app even better. It’s always been perfect for quickly creating everything from invitations to Instagram posts, and the AI features make things even easier.

Here’s a full rundown of Canva’s major AI features, but I’ll give you a few of the highlights from my testing:

• Text to Image is a generative AI that you can use to add whatever you want (like the party panda above) to your designs.

• Magic Eraser instantly removes unwanted objects from your images. It’s not quite as reliable as Photoshop’s implementation, but it’s good enough for simple clean-up jobs.

• Magic Edit uses a similar generative AI as Text to Image to allow you to replace elements of any image. Want to change a regular cake to a way better chocolate cake? Be my guest.

• Magic Design flips the creation process. You start with your design element, select a color profile, mood, and a few other options, and Canva automatically creates a few template options. It’s how I designed the invitation above.

Surprisingly, Canva’s AI features never feel shoehorned in—and it’s still an incredible design app whether you use them or not. But if you want to experiment with AI-powered layout options and generating party pandas with written prompts, you can do that too.

Canva pricing: Free with limited access to AI tools; from $12.99/month for Pro with more AI tools and higher usage limits.

Best easy-to-use online AI photo editor

Pixlr (Web, iOS, Android)

Pixlr pros:

• Affordable and available through any browser without even signing up

• Separates AI apps out so it’s easy to use the parts you want

Pixlr cons:

• A bit rougher than some of the other apps on this list

There are a handful of freemium photo editing and design web apps out there that all have broadly similar features. Based on my testing, Pixlr has the best AI offerings. And even without them, it’s a handy, easy-to-use, and reliable image editor worth checking out.

One of my favorite things about Pixlr is that, rather than cramming every feature into one app, it separates them out into Pixlr E, Pixlr X, Photomash, Remove Bg, and Batch Editor—even if the AI features are pretty similar in each one.

• Pixlr X is a Canva-like template-based design tool with a usable AI image generator.

• Pixlr E is a Photoshop-style image editor. It’s decent, and the AI features (like automatic subject selection and object removal) work relatively well.

• Photomash similarly uses the AI subject selection to create “one-click magic”—it’s the app you can see in the screenshot above.

• Remove Bg uses the same technology to cut subjects out and gives you the options to tweak things, which is pretty handy.

• Batch Editor allows you to make the same edits to a series of images. It’s another handy tool, though it lacks much in the way of AI.

Really, Photomash and Remove Bg are the standout AI photo editing parts of Pixlr, since both are really easy to use, and in my testing, did a pretty good job of cutting both easy and awkward subjects out.

The other thing Pixlr has going for it is the price. It’s one of the cheapest AI photo editor apps out there, and you can use a limited version of most AI features on the free plan.

Pixlr pricing: Free for limited AI use; from $7.99/month for Premium with all features.

Pixlr is just one of a number of very similar apps. I preferred its AI features and price, but Fotor, PhotoRoom, and BeFunky are all equally competent and often had a nicer UI, so they could be solid Pixlr alternatives.

Best mobile AI photo editor

Lensa (iOS, Android)

Lensa pros:

• Handles portraits and selfies incredibly well

• Free to save one photo a day

Lensa cons:

• Editing images on a small screen is rarely as effective as using a laptop or other large screen

Lensa is probably best known for its Magic Avatar feature, which trains a Stable Diffusion model using a series of selfies to generate a collection of wacky AI portraits. That part of it works exactly as described, though I’m not sure it strictly counts as photo editing. Still, the rest of Lensa’s AI features are more than enough to get it on this list as the best mobile photo editor.

It has a Magic Retouch tool that can automatically identify and tune up portraits with either a Morning, Day Look, Go Out look, or full-on Glam look. It works, and the results are far better than they sound, especially if you’re wearing makeup. It’s also got slightly less AI-driven skin, face, and makeup retouching tools that can help you fine-tune things.

As for other features: the AI-powered Suggest a Filter was a nice way to navigate the few dozen options. The AI Eraser was better than most other apps I tested, though still far short of Photoshop. The Backdrop Cutout and Sky Replacement tools both did really good jobs even with challenging images, and I actually really like the options you could drop in instead.

On top of all that, the regular image editing tools, art styles, effects, and everything else are as good as any I’ve used on a mobile app. It makes Lensa a pretty complete package with an interesting pricing model. On the free plan, you get every feature for free—but can only save one image per day. After that, you have to sign up for a paid subscription. If you only use the app occasionally, it’s incredibly generous—otherwise, it’s a fairly expensive mobile subscription.

Lensa pricing: Free to save one image per day; from $2.99/week or $4.99/month; Magic Avatars are a separate purchase from $3.99.

What about AI art generators?

The tools above are all purpose-built for image and photo editing. But some of the biggest names in AI image generation are able to use AI to do photo editing, too. Here are some examples:

• With DALL·E 2, you can do inpainting (where you erase part of an image and use AI to fill in the gap) and outpainting (where you expand an existing image).

• With Midjourney, you can zoom out (automatically creating more image content), zoom out while adding an additional prompt, or pan (expand your image in a certain direction).

• With Stable Diffusion (through the DreamStudio app), you can also do inpainting and outpainting—but honestly, you’re better off using DALL·E 2, which feels a bit more cohesive in its editing options.

So if you’re just playing around with AI photo editing to get a feel for how it works, an AI art generator will absolutely do the trick. But if you’re serious about your photo editing, you’ll want to choose a dedicated AI photo editor from the list above.

Expect AI photo editors to change fast

We’re at the very start of a huge number of generative AI features getting integrated into photo editing apps. Things like Photoshop’s Generative Fill and Remove Tool are more impressive than a regular text-to-image generator because of how well they integrate with real images. It’s not about creating something from your imagination; it’s about having the power to change huge elements of a photo with a few keystrokes.

Expect some of these features and apps to get a lot more powerful over the next few years—and expect a lot more AI photo editors to come on the scene.

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The best TVs of 2023

By admin December 14, 2023

The best TVs of 2023, from Sony, Samsung, LG, TCL, and more 2023 has been an excellent year for TVs, and we’ve had the great privilege of testing several top-notch QLEDs, OLEDs, and QD-OLEDs ourselves. That being said, if you’re thinking about upgrading your living room set, plan on purchasing one as a gift, or simply want to add multiple screens to your home, we’ve put together this list of all the best TVs you can buy right now.

These are available in stores and online from popular retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, and Amazon. And considering the time of year, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to score an awesome deal or two on some of our favorite 2023 sets as we eagerly await CES 2024 to see what the TV world will have in store for us next year.

OK, so what’s the best TV you can buy? Well according to our own editor-at-large Caleb Denison, the flagship king of 2023 has got to be the Sony A95L. This QD-OLED has got it all, folks; from amazing brightness levels and ultra-rich colors, to pulse-pounding sound and terrific 4K upscaling. By and large, Sony TVs are usually pretty amazing, but the A95L truly changes the game. Let’s just say it’s going to be tough to beat this model come 2024.

We’re also big fans of all things LG and Samsung, which is why we’ve also featured the LG G3 OLED and Samsung S95C QD-OLED as top picks, too. Do keep in mind that our roundup considers the best TVs for all types of viewers and budgets, but the vast majority of our selections are going to cost upwards of $1,000. After all, these are the very best TVs you’ll be able to find.

Sony A95L QD-OLED

The best TV you can buy right now

For those of you familiar with our video content, you’ll know that our own Caleb Denison is quite the discerning TV expert. So when Mr. Denison says that the Sony A95L QD-OLED is the best TV he’s ever reviewed, you know you’re in for some seriously good picture, sound, and other features. And yeah, Sony’s 2023 flagship is a totally killer TV, that just so happens to be equipped with cutting-edge QD-OLED display tech.

For those unaware, “QD-OLED” stands for Quantum Dot-Organic Light Emitting Diode. What we’ve got here is an OLED backbone, complete with a screen that contains self-emissive pixels. But on top of that, there’s also a layer of quantum dots built into the A95L, which does wonders for overall color and peak brightness levels; not to mention the supremely wide color gamut you’ll get to experience. Those are just the fundamentals though, with Sony giving us plenty more to love about this phenomenal TV.

It’s not too often we get to rave about a TV’s audio system, but we couldn’t believe the type of sound quality the A95L is capable of. With powerful representation in the treble, midrange, and bass sectors, you’d think you were using a great soundbar or surround sound-lite, but nope: it’s all in the TV speakers, friends.

Picture-wise, the list of terrific things to say is nearly endless, but highlights include some of the best color purity and saturation levels we’ve ever seen on a TV, or at least one with these max nit figures. The A95L also delivers some tremendous 4K upscaling, which not only brings lower-res content closer to Ultra HD quality, but also reduces picture noise and other onscreen artifacts to give you final frames that look clean and sharp. The A95L is also a fantastic TV for modern gaming, especially for those of us who own a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S.

Price-wise, this is going to be one of the most expensive picks on our list, but we really can’t praise the Sony A95L enough. And if you’re on the lookout for a super-great deal on one of last year’s flagship sets, now is the time to track down a Sony A95K.

The best TVs of 2023

LG G3 OLED Evo

Almost the best

With Samsung and Sony’s QD-OLED TVs from last year stealing some of OLED’s thunder for their ability to hit on both the perfect blacks that OLED is known for and the high brightness and pure colors of QLED, it left many TV aficionados wondering how OLED would respond. The 2023 LG G3 OLED is that response, and as Denison says in his review: “Wow. Just … wow.” Denison was also thoroughly blown away by the equally impressive Samsung S95C QD-OLED that we’ll get into more below, but here we’ll also point out some of the differences between our two top picks.

The first of LG’s TVs in the U.S. to brandish LG’s new micro-lens display (MLA) and “Brightness Booster Max” technology, LGs new OLED panels deliver better brightness, better viewing angles, and better energy efficiency than their previous TVs, with the LG G3 pumping out between 1,450 and 1,520 peak nits in our testing. In short: you no longer need to look to QLED or QD-OLED (like the Samsung S95C) if maximum brightness is a key buying point for a new TV.

That, and you also get those perfect, deep black levels that LG’s OLED panels are famous for — now it doesn’t matter whether you put this TV in a dark basement living room or a sun-soaked main floor family room.

Like its predecessor, the LG G3 comes in 55-, 65-, 75-, and 83-inch models and, as part of LGs Gallery Series, is meant to be wall mounted — it even comes with a no-gap wall mount, something the Samsung S95C does not. Connection options include four HDMI 2.1 ports, an eARC port, Wi-Fi 6E, an Ethernet connection, and Bluetooth 5, and the LG G3 has support for HDR10, HLG, Dolby Atmos sound, and, most importantly, Dolby Vision, which I’ve left to the end to point out that it could be the one sticking point over the S95C as Samsung still does not support Dolby Vision.

Denison’s review also predicts that gamers in particular are going to be into the LG G3’s extra brightness, but also its 120Hz refresh rate, NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility, AMD FreeSync Premium, and VRR specs, which will translate into some super-smooth gaming experiences.

We’ll leave off with Denison’s final thoughts on the G3: “Top to bottom, the LG G3 is an absolute star of a TV. It’s a delight. It’s exciting. It’s luxurious. It is everything a super-premium TV should be.”

Samsung S95C OLED

Ties with the LG G3

For 2023, Samsung has pushed forward with its stellar flagship quantum dot OLED TV, moving the S95B up the alphabet to its next-generation, the off-the-charts S95C. As we mentioned in our intro, after reviews of the LG G3 and Samsung S95C, both TVs are so good that flipping a coin would be the best way to choose. But let’s get into the Samsung S95C.

First off, the S95C is every bit as good as the S95B (which is still on our list below), but improves on it with better brightness, sleeker design, and better features. In fact, Denison calls the S95C “the best TV Samsung has ever made.” Although it doesn’t come with a wall mount like the LG G3, the all-metal stand mount is sturdy, stable, and leaves enough space for a soundbar underneath, but more importantly, it cradles the S95C’s

One Connect box that was once only found with Samsung’s 8K QLED TVs. One of the main differentiators from the LG G3, the One Connect box is a rather ingenious solution for messy and awkward cables at the back of your TV as it puts all those connections in a separate sleek box that connects to the TV with one cable.

As you might expect, picture quality is off the charts. Starting with brightness, the S95C is 60% brighter than its predecessor, peaking at 1,600 nits in our own tests. And that’s bananas. True to QLED and QD-OLED panels, this TV will be more than fine in any bright room you want to put it in. Color brightness is also very good and accurate on this TV, with 100% of P3 color space, and 75% of BT.2020, and Denison praised it for having a “super vivid vibe that, when combined with OLED’s perfect blacks,

is simply unmatched by any other TV technology.” However, there is that matter of Samsung still not supporting Dolby Vision, the dynamic HDR format that’s supported by several streaming services. If that’s a deal breaker for you, and it shouldn’t be, then scroll back up to the LG G3.

Gamers will be delighted by the S95s Game Mode that supports fast gaming at up to 120Hz, and because it’s a Samsung, gamers can also tap into Samsung Gaming Hub for cloud gaming without the console.

One of the other differentiators between the S95C and the LG G3 is the Samsung’s array of eight bass transducers on the back of the TV, which, Denison reports, don’t really add much to the native sound of the set and you’d still be better off getting a soundbar. Speaking of sound, the S95C does support Dolby Atmos sound, as well as pass through via eARC, but not DTS passthrough, sadly.

Available in 55, 65, and 75-inch models ranging from $2,500 to $4,500, this TV and the LG G3, are going to be hard TVs to beat.

LG 77-inch M3 Wireless OLED

Premium picture meets cutting-edge tech

The LG M3 Wireless OLED has arrived to solve a problem that a lot of home theaters struggle with: having too many wires to run. When it comes to power cables, we’ll always be reliant on a lead and power brick (at least for the foreseeable future), but as far as AV connections go (HDMI and digital optical), this is where TVs like the LG M3 are starting to change the game. In terms of picture quality, the M3 is pretty much toe-to-toe with the amazing LG G3, our favorite OLED this year. But the true calling card feature is the M3’s ability to wirelessly receive picture and sound from a broadcasting unit called the Zero Connect Box.

The Zero Connect includes three HDMI ports that can push 4K at up to 120Hz (and the second port is eARC/ARC compatible), digital optical, ethernet, two USB-A, and an output for an IR blaster. And as long as the transmitting device is in range of the M3 TV’s receiver, you’ll be able to enjoy wireless audio and video. Do keep in mind that if you’re planning on using a soundbar, you’ll want to have the Zero Connect located fairly close to the TV, otherwise, you probably won’t have enough cord length to place the soundbar under the M3.

As mentioned, the picture quality on this model is right on par with the LG G3, and when we tested the M3 ourselves, we experienced zero troubles with latency or any kind of compression or pixelation. This is definitely the kind of next-gen TV that leans on one awesome feature more than any other, and at $5,000 we do wish the Zero Connect box was a little smaller and completely reliable in the signal-range department.

But if you told us a year ago that we’d have the ability to go wireless with our HDMI gear, and the picture and sound would be just as good as running physical cables, we’d scoff and laugh. But the LG M3 Wireless OLED has proved us wrong.

TCL QM8 mini-LED

The TV most people should buy

Sure, the LG G2 and Samsung S95C are the cream of the crop this year so far, but around $3,000 for either of those 65-inch panels can be a jagged pill to swallow. And even if you consider that the latest step-down 65-inch LG C3 OLED is still north of $2,000, may we present to you a TCL TV that has closed the performance-versus-price gap so thoroughly, that it surprised us: the 2023 TCL QM8.

With appeal to an extremely broad audience, the TCL QM8 sits at the top of TCL’s new Q class flagship lineup with this 4K mini-LED QLED TV that runs Google TV. As we mentioned in the intro, 2023 has so far been all about brightness, something that TCL promises with the QM8 with its “High Brightness ULTRA LED Backlight” technology. So … it’s bright then?

You betcha. In fact, in our review of the QM8, Caleb Denison’s calibration tool is only rated to accurately read up to 2,000 nits of brightness, which is already insanely powerful. The QM8 blew past that, giving readings of up to 3,500 nits in HDR mode before some tweaking settled things to a more consistent 2,500 (TCL’s website lists the peak nits at 2,000 though). The TL;DR here is: schnikies, it’s bright.

But how about the black levels? While deep inky blacks is the calling card of OLED technology, this mini-LED gets really close, with excellent contrast and support for Dolby Vision IQ, HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG. Denison was impressed, stating: “The contrast on this TV is just out-of-this-world impressive, partially because it can get so bright, yes, but also because its blacks are remarkably good.” The brightness and black level capabilities make this a great choice for both dark home theater dens and bright rooms.

Color-wise, the TCL QM8 is great, too, covering 97% of DCI-P3 and about 76% of BT.2020 color gamuts, and the TV looks excellent out of the box even without calibration. And while Denison did see some motion judder when viewing some higher-quality shows, there’s a de-judder option in the settings that can nip that in the bud. But gamers will be pleased with the QM8’s support for VRR, and there’s an auto game mode with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.

The TCL QM8 is available in 65-, 75-, 85-, and 98-inch variants ranging in price from $1,200 to $10,000.

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Best wireless earbuds for 2023

By admin December 14, 2023

Best wireless earbuds for 2023, For millions of people across the country, the two tech items you can pretty much count on finding in most pockets, purses, and backpacks at any give time are a phone and a pair of wireless earbuds. And their uses are vast — they bring in beautiful sound, block out annoying, distracting sound, and let us work, workout, and get from A to B while doing it.

But picking through the jungle of wireless earbuds available has gotten increasingly difficult as the breadth of brands continues to grow and tech-heavy features like active noise cancellation (ANC), transparency mode, hi-res audio capabilities, dust and water resistance ratings, and more challenge what it is we need and want in our earbuds, as well as what we can and are willing to pay for them.

That’s where this list of the best wireless earbuds comes in. We test a boatload of wireless earbuds. And the ones that really stand out from the crowd in terms of value, performance, and features are assembled right here. Right now we struggle to find a better pair of wireless earbuds that tick all our boxes for features-to-price ratio than Sony’s latest and greatest, the WF-XM1000XM5. Sony just crushes it year after year with this model line, which has consistently live atop our list for years. Check those out below, but don’t stop there as we go through a whole bunch more that might hit your sweet spot better.

Want a set of true wireless earbuds that are guaranteed to not break the bank? Check out our selections for the best cheap headphones, with plenty of models all under $100

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Sony WF-1000XM5

Best overall wireless earbuds

A new model of Sony’s flagship earbuds is always a major event — after all, its WF-1000XM lineup has sat at the top of the earbuds mountain for several generations now. And for good reason – they’re consistently great sounding and super comfortable, have fantastic battery life, and deliver some of the world’s best ANC. And while Digital Trends’ headphone reviewer, Simon Cohen, billed the Sony WF-1000XM4s as “almost perfect wireless earbuds,” it appears that the new WF-1000XM5s have bested them. Also, it should be noted, the XM5s have now bested the Jabra Elite 7 Pros, which you can still get, if you’re lucky.

The XM5s are smaller and 20% lighter than the XM4s, and Sony has addressed some of the key concerns users had with the predecessor right out of the gate. The XM5s are also more streamlined and elegant, and the microphone port, which used to have a slightly protruding gold cap around it, now sits flush to the earbud’s body, making it less intrusive and sleeker. Fit-wise, the XM5s have redesigned foam eartips and come with a new extra small size, bringing the total to four options to fit ears of even more shapes and sizes.

New accelerometers in the XM5s open the door for some neat head-movement gestures (nod to accept a call, shake your head to decline), and Sony has switched to a dual processor system that, combined with resigned microphones and drivers, allow for a dedicated chip to specifically handle noise cancellation. Active noise cancelation is slightly better on the XM5s than the XM4s, and the model has a decent voice-targeting mode that helps you better hear conversations. But if ANC is a high priority for you, Cohen admits that the XM5s don’t quite match the Apple AirPods Pro 2 for that.

With redesigned drivers that are 40% bigger than on the XM4s, it’s no surprise that the XM5s sound every bit as good as the XM4s, and then some. Bass response is great, vocals are clear and defined, the soundstage is wide for a set of earbuds, and there’s even new head-tracked spatial audio support that works well, as long as the phone you’re using supports it.

Sony added Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity to the XM4s in an update last March, and thankfully the feature has hopped over to the XM5s as well, allowing you to connect to two devices at once.

All-important battery life is unchanged in the XM5s, giving you up to eight hours of playtime with ANC on and 12 when it’s off, along with two full charges from the case, for a total of up to 35 hours. A quick three-minute charge nets a whopping hour of playtime.

Of course, if it wasn’t already evident here, the Sony WF-1000XM4s are still a top-notch set of earbuds that you should definitely consider as well, especially as they start to drop in price as the new kid in town takes over.

Best wireless earbuds for 2023

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC

The best budget earbuds

Every so often, a pair of budget earbuds comes along that are so good for the price and have so many features that they leave us impressed and scratching our heads. Anker’s latest Soundcore Liberty 4 NC are $100, but are arguably better than most of what you can get for twice that price.

The Liberty 4 NC are comfortable, fit well and snugly, and have an IPX4 rating that workout folks will appreciate as they can stand up to sweat and can be rinsed off. They sound robust and balanced, have excellent bass response, and keep things free of distortion at reasonable volumes. There’s also an app (HearID) that gives you some good personalization options for your perfect sound. For the audio nerds out there, the Liberty 4 NCs also support the hi-res LDAC audio codec (Android only, sorry), which is rare for a budget pair of earbuds.

The Liberty 4 NCs shine when it comes to ANC and transparency mode, though, with our reviewer gushing that the ANC stood up to even the $250 AirPods Pro 2. And the features! For your hundred clams, the Liberty 4 NCs feature excellent adaptive noise canceling, presets for things like planes and busses, and a manual slider for you to pick yourself. Transparency mode, our reviewer found, sounds natural, like you’re not wearing earbuds, and does a good job of letting in just the right amount of outside noise. Call quality on the Liberty 4 NCs is good too, with solid compression of environmental noise.

But how’s the all-important battery? The Liberty 4 NC will last up to eight hours on a charge with ANC turned on, and a total of 40 hours when you include the charging case. They best the AirPods Pro (5.5/24 hours), and their next-step-up sibling, the $150 Soundcore Liberty 4 (7/24). Just buy them already.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Sony WF-1000XM4

Still outstanding

Even with the new kid in town, the latest Sony WF-1000XM5s, it’s still hard to beat Sony’s WF-1000XM4 earbuds for an overall superb listening experience. Sony threw the kitchen sink at these buds, adding proper water resistance for workouts, wireless charging, and Sony’s own LDAC Bluetooth codec for wireless hi-res audio performance, they’re the whole package.

Sound quality has always been a Sony strength, and the XM4 continue this tradition with even richer bass. There’s a warmth and resonance to the low end on these buds that benefits a variety of music genres, especially with string instrument- and drum-centric styles like jazz, classical, and even EDM. Sony made the decision to equip the XM4 with foam eartips as opposed to the usual silicone style. This increases comfort and provides an excellent and secure seal, but it also has a slight tendency to rob the high frequencies of precision.

The Sony Headphones app gives you deep control over all settings, like EQ, ANC, transparency, and touch controls, and includes an option to customize both the earbuds and your music apps (like Tidal, Deezer, and Amazon Music) for use with Sony’s 360 Reality Audio (360RA) immersive music format.

Active noise cancellation is superb, as is transparency mode, but Sony throws in a cool new feature: Voice sensing. Simply start talking and the XM4 will automatically shift into transparency while dropping the volume of your tunes. Speaking of, well, speaking, the WF-1000XM4 are some of the few true wireless earbuds that give you hands-free voice access to your choice of Google Assistant (Android only) or Amazon Alexa (iOS and Android).

Battery life, at eight hours of playtime with ANC turned on and 12 hours when it’s off, is excellent, although total playtime — at 24 hours — is pretty standard. A fast charge will get you an additional hour for just five minutes of charging.

With an update in March this year, Sony added Bluetooth multipoint connectivity, so, huzzah! Our only critiques of the WF-1000XM4 are small: Their size and shape might simply be too big to fit some ears, something that has been remedied in the XM5s.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

Impressive noise cancellation

If you know anything about Bose, you know that noise cancellation is kind of the company’s calling card. Bose was the first to debut the technology in a set of headphones and has been refining the science of silence ever since.

And while it’s only been about a year since Bose dropped the second-gen QuietComfort Earbuds II (QCE II) on us, rest assured, its latest version is still a marvel when it comes to keeping the outside world at bay with some of the best ANC on the planet and adaptive “Aware Mode” transparency mode that sounds natural.

So why a new set of QCEs so soon then? And should you upgrade? Design-wise, they still fit comfortably and are almost identical save for a new metallic paint job. Sound-wise our reviewer didn’t notice much of a difference either — they’re still clear, rich, and extra sparkly in the mids and upper high frequencies.

What is different is that, first, the QC Ultra Earbuds now supports higher resolution audio through Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Sound platform that incudes its aptX Adaptive and aptX Lossless Bluetooth codecs for hi-res audio, and second, Bose’s own take at spatial audio with head tracking it calls Immersive Audio.

Battery life is, sadly, one area that hasn’t changed from the QCE II, and it remains on the lower end: Six hours per charge, with an additional 18 hours in the charging case. With immersive audio on, though, you only get 4/16, and you can quick-charge the earbuds, which earns an extra two hours after 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, there’s still no wireless charging or Bluetooth multipoint pairing, which is a bit of a bummer.

These caveats aside, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds are easily some of the best true wireless buds you can buy, and a must-have for those who crave quiet.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Master & Dynamic MW09

The best sound for audiophiles

Master & Dynamic (M&D) continues its run of making very good wireless earbuds with its latest model, the MW09, a $350 set of earbuds that build off of their predecessors, the MW08, by adding hi-res audio, Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity, and wireless charging this time out.

M&W has kept its unique and stylish aesthetic with the MW09s, as well as their easy-to-use physical controls on each earpiece. They’re also very comfortable and come with both silicone and foam eartips to you can get the perfect fit. The M&D app also has a fit test and the earbuds themselves feature an IP54 rating making them tolerable to sweat and rain, although our reviewer suggested that there are likely better earbuds for working out due to the MW09’s extra bulk.

The MW08s were, by our estimation, some of the best sounding earbuds you could buy, and we’re glad to report that the same is true for the MW09s. Full, beautiful bass is complimented by their insane level of definition and clarity in the mids and highs. EQ presets and five-band EQing is also available through the app, too, but they sound great out of the box.

However, new surprises on the sound front come with the addition Snapdragon Sound, which brings aptX Adaptive on board for the ability to enjoy lossy hi-res at up to 24-bit/96kHz, and lossless CD quality at up to 16-bit/48kHz. Sadly though, these advanced audio codecs will only be available to those with Android devices and those with support for Snapdragon Sound. Apple devices need not apply.

While the MW09’s ANC and transparency modes don’t compete on the same level as the AirPods Pro, Sony WF-1000QM5, or Bose QC Ultra Earbuds, they’re still pretty good at blocking out all of life’s everyday noises and letting you hear conversations and the outside sounds you want to hear. Call quality also holds its own, too.

You get to choose from two charging cases, one made of kevlar, and one made of aluminum, and they both offer wireless charging, IPX4 water resistance, and 32 hours of charging capacity. The MW09 earbuds themselves deliver an impressive 12 hours per charge with ANC on and 16 hours with it off, which is more than you’ll ever really need.

Zeke Jones / Digital Trends

Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C

The best for Apple fans

With the original AirPods Pro proving to have been one of the most successful wireless earbuds of all time, Apple needed to show it could do it again with the second-gen model. First, it did, adding to their great design, comfortable fit, and improvements to ANC and battery life. But then they did it again is September of 2023 by ditching Lightning for USB-C, and adding dust resistance for a new IP54 designation.

All that said, the new AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C still feature shockingly good active noise cancellation. They are the only buds to give the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II some real competition. Transparency — always a high point for the AirPods Pro — has a feature called Adaptive Transparency. Just like Bose’s ActiveSense, it keeps loud sounds from causing you discomfort and it works like a champ.

The Apple H2 chip in each earbud also delivers better call quality that handily kills off any background sounds that might interfere with your voice being heard.

Sound quality is excellent, too, with beautiful detail and depth, and excellent bass response and compatibility with Apple’s immersive Spatial Audio. There’s still no EQ adjustments, but if you love music, you’ll love the way the AirPods Pro 2 sound.

Battery life in the latest USB-C version still stands at six hours per charge, with 30 hours total when you include the charging case – which still has a built-in speaker, lanyard loop, and Apple U1 chip for ultra-precise location reporting via Find My. It also gets the same IP54 protection upgrade, and you can now charge the AirPods Pro 2 with your iPhone 15 or Mac using a USB-C-to-USB-C cable, which is super handy if you don’t have access to power or a portable charging bank.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Google Pixel Buds Pro

The new standard for Android users

Apple has its AirPods Pro, and Google has answered with its first “Pro” earbuds. The Pixel Buds Pro build on their lesser cousins with the addition of Active Noise Cancellation that’s just a hair’s breadth away from Apple’s.

The Pixel Buds Pro are comfortable, they look good (and come in four colors), and the starting price undercuts AirPods Pro by $50. The multipoint connection works great with multiple devices, and Google’s got a little extra AI available for Android users, with the goal of better predicting what you need to hear from which device at what time. It’s not quite magic, but it works very well.

That’s not to say that you can’t find serious competitors in the space for a little less money. You can. But the Pixel Buds Pro absolutely are a strong winner from Google, and that means extra software features if you’re also using an Android phone.

Still in the works, however, is the inclusion of spatial audio. For now, we’ll wait on the firmware update.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Technics EAH-AZ60

Classic Technics sound, affordable ANC

For the price, we are hard-pressed to think of a set of earbuds that offer a better combination of sound quality and ANC performance than the Technics EAH-AZ60 — they are superb. But the best part is that these qualities are just the starting point for a set of buds that might fly under a lot of people’s radars.

They’re very small and ergonomically shaped — a big improvement over the older AZ70 — and we’d argue they’re almost as comfortable as the Jabra Elite 7 Pro, which is saying something. The AZ60s lack some of Jabra’s features, like full waterproofing (the AZ60s are sweat- and splash-proof), wireless charging, and wear sensors, but they justify their higher price through their amazing sound, and absolutely killer noise cancellation and transparency modes.

Like the WF-1000XM4, they support Sony’s LDAC Bluetooth codec, which will give you as close to lossless, hi-res audio as you can get right now in a set of wireless buds (as long as your Android phone supports it). Android users also get the option of hands-free access to Amazon Alexa, which is a helpful feature.

Battery life is very good at seven hours per charge and they’ll last for a total of 24 to 25 hours when you include their charging case. But my favorite feature is Technics’ inclusion of Bluetooth multipoint on the EAH-AZ60 — which lets you stay connected to two devices at once — perfect for those of us who need to juggle Zoom calls on our computers and voice calls on our phones.

If you like the idea of wireless hi-res audio via the LDAC codec, the 1More Evo are an excellent alternative, at a significantly lower price. They can’t quite match the AZ60’s ANC performance, but given how they sound, you may not care.

Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Final Audio ZE3000

The best sound for under $200

With features like ANC, transparency mode, wear sensors, and wireless charging now showing up on wireless earbuds for as little as $100, can we really justify recommending a set that has none of these options, yet still cost $149? Yes, as long as that set is the Final Audio ZE3000.

The ZE3000 may lack a lot of bells and whistles — in fact, they’re missing just about every feature we can think of – but they excel in one area that matters above all else for music lovers: Sound quality. With an impressive amount of accuracy and detail, these earbuds offer the best sound quality you’ll find under the $200 mark, and we’d argue they even hold their own against many models that are more expensive than that.

The ZE3000 have a warm but still very balanced EQ that lets each frequency come through clearly and distortion-free, which provides the perfect sonic platform for a huge array of music genres. We think they perform their best with jazz, classical, and vocals-intensive tracks, but their energetic mids and highs make them just as enjoyable for pop, rock, and EDM.

Bass is beautifully balanced with the rest of the frequency spectrum, but this is one area where some folks may find the ZE3000 lacking — if you want chest-pounding low-end, you should consider the Technics EAH-AZ40 instead.

With an IPX4 rating and seven hours of battery life (35 in total), the ZE3000 can join you on any adventure, and in quiet environments, they have stellar call quality. As long as you can forgive their lack of other features, these earbuds will reward you with fabulous sound for the money.

Jabra

Jabra Elite 8 Active

The best for sports and athletes

Jabra has always done a great job at making earbuds for active people who need quality products that can take a beating, whether that’s during workouts or, say, you find yourself getting in a lot of water balloon fights.

The Jabra Elite 8 Active ANC earbuds are a perfect match for this kind of punishment. They’re affordable at $200, they come from the same pedigree as Jabra’s flagship Elite 10s, and they come with an impressive IP68 dust and waterproof rating. In fact, they even carry the U.S. military’s STD-810H standard, which means they’ve gone through a battery of tests, including for corrosion, heat, humidity, vibration, and more.

Another thing Jabra has gotten right over the years is great sound. The Elite 8 Active, with their snug fit and great seal (courtesy of Jabra’s “ShakeGrip” liquid silicone rubber eartips), allow for balanced sound on all frequencies that can also be tailored to your exact specs with the earbuds Jabra Sound+ app. The Elite 8 Actives also feature Dolby Audio spatial sound for immersive audio, but sadly there’s no head tracking if you’re hip to that kind of thing.

Jabra’s adaptive hybrid ANC system can’t match the Elite 10s, but they do a great job at listening to your environment and filtering out all the nonsense, and their hear through transparency mode offers wind neutralizing when you’re running your fastest lap. Calls are also beautifully quiet. and Bluetooth Multipoint connectivity means you can take those calls from one connected device while still having sound form another.

The Jabra Elite 8 Active’s battery offers up to eight hours of playtime with ANC on, with a total time of up to 32 hours with the case. A five-minute quick charge adds an hour of playtime.

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The best Android apps in 2023

By admin December 4, 2023

The best Android apps in 2023, Samsung, Google, OnePlus, and even Motorola have been coming out with fast new Android phones that match a number of lifestyles and design tastes. And that means you’ll need apps that can take advantage of those larger screens and faster processors. They’re how we communicate with friends, watch movies, stay productive, and so much more. You can have the best Android phone on the market, but if you don’t also pair it with the best Android apps, you’re missing out.

There are millions of Android apps on the Play Store. Many of them are great, some are fine, and others are bogus. To help you sift through everything and focus on the apps you should actually care about, we’ve rounded up 50 of our favorite ones right here. If you’re looking for games, check out our list of the best Android games. And if you are in the market for a new Android phone, make sure to check out our latest smartphone reviews.

If you have an Apple iPhone, then check out these helpful guides: best iPhone apps and best iPhone games.

Android essentials

YouTube

It’s probably the Android app, so you likely have YouTube already — but that doesn’t make it any less essential. YouTube’s mobile app is sleek and intuitive, bringing the entirety of the video-sharing site to the palm of your hand. For those subscribed to YouTube Premium, you’ll have access to premium content, as well as special features like audio playback while the screen is off. But even when used as a free app, YouTube is essential.

GOOGLE PLAY

X (formerly Twitter)

Now that Elon Musk has purchased Twitter and renamed it “X,” there have been some interesting developments at the company. That little blue tick, which used to mean you were a bona fide and verified VIP, can now be purchased by anyone, and those who have been banned from the platform are welcomed back. But that doesn’t mean a lot of people are not using the popular platform.

Sometimes unfairly viewed as the lesser version of Facebook, X is the place where everything seems to happen instantly. Birthplace of the now now-ubiquitous internet facet, the hashtag, X is the best place to be if you like to be on top of the latest breaking news as it happens. Follow your favorite content creators, actors, or crazes, and follow all the news, impressions, and opinions as they roll in. Musk has big plans for X and aims to add voice calling and financial payments to the platform down the line, so it’s worth keeping an eye on regardless of how you feel about the recent changes.

GOOGLE PLAY

Google Home

There’s no time like the present to complete that connected-home project you always swore you’d do. If you are the proud owner of a Google Home device, then you already know the ins and outs of a digital assistant. The Google Home app takes this one step further, allowing you to control a plethora of connected smart home devices. It also serves as a command central for any native Google-connected device and your Google-connected accounts, like maps, contacts, calendars, and more.

GOOGLE PLAY

The best Android apps in 2023

Movies and videos

JustWatch

It’s not a streaming service, but JustWatch is the app that tells you what to watch and where to watch it. So no more wondering where you can catch the latest season of The Boys or whether The Witcher is available to stream on Netflix — JustWatch will keep you right. The app also gives you personalized recommendations based on your streaming services and supports casting to your TV from your device. There are over 90,000 movies and TV shows listed, and you can check out trailers, cast details, and synopses before you watch. There’s even a handy timeline showing what’s coming to your favorite streaming services and when, plus you can create your own Watchlist.

GOOGLE PLAY

Netflix

Netflix isn’t just one of the best video-streaming services; it’s the video-streaming service. There’s a huge selection of Netflix movies and TV shows for subscribers, and the performance is silky smooth. It’s not just restricted to old favorites either, as Netflix has produced a huge amount of excellent exclusive content. If you’re anything like us, though, you’ll just put Seinfeld on again.

GOOGLE PLAY

Disney+

Disney holds possibly the largest library of film and television properties in the world, and they are all on Disney+. From Hamilton to The Mandalorian, you’ll find something for every member of the family. As theatergoers are slow to return all around the globe, Disney has begun using Disney+ for major blockbusters like Mulan and Soul. You’ll also have access to original television shows like Marvel’s The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

GOOGLE PLAY

Music and audio

YouTube Music

If you listen to as much music on YouTube as we do, then it’s a no-brainer to use YouTube Music. The music app is geared very well toward your tastes if you’ve spent much time watching and listening to music videos on YouTube, and the ability to listen with the screen off is very helpful, but the key element is being able to listen to any live performance or other alternative performance of a song.

GOOGLE PLAY

Pocket Casts

Pocket Casts is one of the last podcast players left standing after the assault by music apps like Spotify, and the reason it’s still around is because it’s very, very good. You’ll find most of the popular podcasts here (as long as Spotify hasn’t signed an exclusivity deal with them, of course), and you can sort and arrange podcasts into folders and set up filters to find what you’re looking for even faster.

In episodes, you can speed up, slow down, and set the player to skip out periods of silence, and your listening progress and playlists sync across devices. If you want to take advantage of all it has to offer, like the web-based player, you’ll need to pay for the Plus service, which costs $40 a year or $4 a month.

GOOGLE PLAY

Spotify

Spotify is probably the first name that springs to mind when you think about music apps — and for good reason, as it’s one of the best streaming services out there. There’s a massive selection of music on offer, from the latest huge releases to up-and-coming acts. Spotify also now offers video support for some of the best podcasts on its platform.

There’s a free version if you want to try it out, but if you want ad-free listening and to download music, play any song, and have unlimited skips, then you’ll need to subscribe for $11 a month, though Spotify does offer a generous three-month free trial. Spotify also offers a family household plan for $17 a month, a student account at the reduced cost of $6 a month, and a Duo account covering two people in the same household for $15 a month.

GOOGLE PLAY

News

NewsBreak

It’s not hard to find news apps that cover national and international news, but what about more local events? NewsBreak specializes in digging out the news that’s local to you so you can stay updated with your personal community. It’s not just about the news, though — it also has safety alerts to show you nearby hazards and can help you find local experts to guide you around new areas if you’re visiting or want to know more about your home. Just make sure to add Digital Trends to your news feed!

GOOGLE PLAY

The Wall Street Journal

During these harrowing financial times and in a volatile macroeconomic environment, you’d be well served to stay up to date on the goings-on of our economy, markets, and financial news. The Wall Street Journal app places all this information in your pocket as well as the multifaceted award-winning journalism that’s been printed there since 1889.

GOOGLE PLAY

NPR News

The official app of National Public Radio provides a steady stream of straightforward reporting in both print and audio. Users can listen to news reports and various NPR staples such as All Things Considered and Radiolab.

GOOGLE PLAY

Sports

Fox Sports

Get the same industry-leading coverage you can expect from Fox Sports television right on your smartphone. Track your favorite teams, players, and leagues, and watch it all unfold live from inside the app. The Fox Sports app offers a complete experience with bonus cams and angles of the game you caught on television, as well as up-to-date sports news.

GOOGLE PLAY

ESPN

Having the official ESPN app installed is a no-brainer for any die-hard sports fan, especially if you have ESPN+. You can quickly get the latest news on your favorite teams and leagues, including MLB, NFL, NCAA, MLS, NHL, and more.

GOOGLE PLAY

Social media

TikTok

Essentially Vine for a new generation, TikTok is the home of short videos that are amusing, meme-laden, and just generally fit for easy consumption. What started as the app Musical.ly, geared at miming songs while dancing, has bloomed into one of the fastest-growing social media apps in the world. Its algorithm has become legendary as it curates content for you based on what you like and interact with, and there is now content on the app for all generations, hobbies, backgrounds, and interests.

GOOGLE PLAY

Instagram

Instagram is ubiquitous in photography now, so you might as well have it on your phone. Owned by Facebook, the social network centered on photos offers great filters and connectivity with others. Instagram has also been angling for a younger market share with its TikTok competitor called Reels.

GOOGLE PLAY

Messaging

The Google Play Store has no shortage of messaging apps, but WhatsApp’s secure end-to-end encryption and feature-rich interface mark it as one of the best. This cross-platform app lets you send and receive messages, pictures, audio notes, and make video calls for free. A must-have for messaging addicts, travelers, and anyone with loved ones abroad.

GOOGLE PLAY

Discord

Hugely popular among PC gamers and office workers, Discord is a place for messaging, image sharing, and voice and video calls. It features an intuitive interface that makes it easy to communicate and share with friends and co-workers. Discord is also home to countless communities where members with shared interests can hang out digitally.

GOOGLE PLAY

Dating

Grindr

The largest social networking and dating app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people of all sorts, Grindr uses your phone’s location to put you in contact with other nearby members to chat, swap photos, or meet in person. Initially launched as a dating app, Grindr now has a much larger remit as a great chat and networking app.

GOOGLE PLAY

Hinge

Hinge is the app “designed to be deleted.” By highlighting our most personal values, future plans, wants, and needs, Hinge focuses on bringing people together looking for serious relationships. The company also enforces a zero-tolerance policy on harassment, abuse, or any untoward behavior against their terms of service. Hinge sets out to provide an alternative to the fast-casual nature of many other dating apps, and according to the company, four out of five users go on second dates.

GOOGLE PLAY

Reading

Kindle

Don’t worry if you don’t have a Kindle — you can still read your ebook directly on your smartphone. From best-sellers to the classics, it’s all here, with more than 900,000 titles in Amazon’s store.

GOOGLE PLAY

Audible

Audible is the premier place to consume audiobooks on your Android device. There are thousands of audiobooks on offer, from classics to the most recent hits, and you get your first audiobook for free. A $15-per-month subscription gets you a credit per month to spend on any audiobook, and options for playback speed and cross-device syncing make listening even easier. There’s even a car mode for listening on the go.

GOOGLE PLAY

Gaming

Roblox

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Roblox deserves a spot as an essential app because it is so much more than just a game. With over 160 million active users and representing more than half of all children under age 16 in the United States on the platform, Roblox has ballooned into an online universe reminiscent of the “metaverse” that purports to be the future of online life and interaction. Roblox is itself a platform for game development and is responsible for millions of children gaining an interest in coding and software development.

GOOGLE PLAY

Twitch

While platforms like Facebook Gaming try their best to compete, Twitch remains the preeminent option for video game streaming and sports a growing roster of celebrity streamers. With the power of Amazon behind it, it’s unlikely Twitch will be dethroned anytime soon.

GOOGLE PLAY

Nutrition, cooking, and food

DoorDash

There are so many food delivery apps out there to choose from, but DoorDash is one of the most popular. That’s likely because not only can you order from your favorite restaurants — from Wendy’s to The Cheesecake Factory — but you can also get alcohol, fresh groceries, household goods, and more delivered to your doorstep with no minimum spend. Whether you forgot some ingredients for cooking, ran out of shampoo, or are craving sushi, DoorDash will deliver, and if you sign up for DashPass, there are zero delivery fees for your first month. You can also schedule deliveries for a future date, track orders in real-time, and pay via Apple Pay, Venmo, PayPal, or credit card.

GOOGLE PLAY

Yummly

There are plenty of recipe apps, but Yummly is one of the best. There are over2 million recipes stored in this app, but don’t be scared by the sheer number of choices, as Yummly uses AI to narrow down your list of options and presents them to you based on what you’ve made before. You can set up dietary requirements and filter by cooking time, ingredients, and other criteria. You can even set up a smart shopping list for your trip.

GOOGLE PLAY

Fitness and health

MyFitnessPal

Like it or loathe it, there’s little doubt about the effectiveness of calorie counting. But it can be tough to keep track of everything you’re eating, especially when you have to look up calorie counts for everything. Thankfully, MyFitnessPal can do it for you, with its enormous database of foodstuffs, bar code scanning, and more.

GOOGLE PLAY

Caliber

Caliber is an all-in-one training app that includes strength training, nutrition tracking, and reminders to build healthy habits so you can focus on your fitness goals without having to juggle different apps for every aspect of your journey. A Caliber membership gets you personal coaching to ensure you’re hitting your personal goals, as well as supplies in-depth analysis, but you can also use the app for free and keep track of your activity, schedule workouts, and take short weekly lessons.

GOOGLE PLAY

GoodRx

GoodRx can help you save on your prescription medicine costs by helping you find coupons for your most important prescriptions accepted at most pharmacies. The app also offers a medicine tracker and pill reminder to help track your daily health routine. Before you pickup a prescription, check GoodRx to save some money.

GOOGLE PLAY

Finances and money

Acorns

Looking to save a little more money? Acorns helps you invest by rounding off your credit card or debit purchases to the nearest dollar. Once you’ve accumulated a little money, it’s easy to transfer the funds to your bank account. Acorns also offers retirement accounts like a Traditional IRA, so you can start saving for retirement now.

GOOGLE PLAY

Fidelity Investments

Fidelity Investments brings the power of the brokerage and financial services company Fidelity into your pocket. Open a retirement or taxable account and handle your trades and portfolio right from the app. Fidelity allows you to buy fractional shares, and execute trades with $0 commission fees on U.S equities or ETFs.

GOOGLE PLAY

Shopping

eBay

There’s very little that you can’t buy or sell on eBay. The app is full-featured and much easier to use than the website. Bid on items, track your orders, and sell all of your unwanted stuff right here.

GOOGLE PLAY

Amazon Shopping

There’s no more essential shopping app than Amazon. Practically anything you need, anywhere you live, and anytime you want, Amazon has it. With the Amazon app, you can order groceries through Amazon Fresh and all your essentials through Amazon Prime.

GOOGLE PLAY

PayPal

The easiest online checkout method is on your smartphone. You’ll be able to manage your PayPal account, send and receive payments, and more. The app can also notify you of transactions, offering handy reminders and alerts when you use PayPal as a payment method or have an upcoming bill due.

GOOGLE PLAY

Travel and events

Duolingo

The Duolingo owl is one of the most celebrated (and feared) app mascots around, and for good reason. Duolingo is an excellent way to learn a language, with a constantly updated learning track evaluated by experts and bite-sized lessons that you can complete in a matter of minutes. Learn as much or as little as you want, but keep in mind your hearts (mistakes) are limited on free accounts, and if you want completely limitless learning, you’ll need to subscribe to Duolingo Plus.

GOOGLE PLAY

Uber

If you need to get somewhere and don’t have wheels of your own, hop in someone else’s ride. Uber allows you to call upon a private driver in your city who will help you get to where you need to go. It’s all the ease of a taxi at a lower cost and without the fumbling for cash at the end.

GOOGLE PLAY

Airbnb

Forego the headache of trying to find and book a hotel and instead find an open room or home to stay at on your travels. Users can search for accommodations, communicate directly with hosts, and book, all without leaving the app.

GOOGLE PLAY

Going out

Overdrop

One thing you need to know before you head anywhere is what the weather’s got in store. Never get caught in an unexpected rain shower or snow flurry again with Overdrop, the app that gives you a live weather forecast powered by Dark Sky, Accuweather, and WeatherBit. There are over 60 widgets to choose from, a 96-hour radar map, severe-condition alerts, an air quality index, and seven themes to choose from. Get a 24-hour or seven-day forecast, and use colorful temperature, rain, and wind graphs to see what the weather will be like in advance.

GOOGLE PLAY

Tripadvisor

Tripadvisor is the ultimate going-out app, with millions of recommendations and reviews from people all around the world, covering the best things to do wherever you are. Plan ahead with Tripadvisor’s tools, allowing you to organize your hotel bookings, restaurant trips, and attractions. You can even book them from the app with Google Pay access. It’s also great when you’re traveling, thanks to support for mobile tickets and bookings.

GOOGLE PLAY

Waze

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Never get caught off guard by a car accident, broken traffic light, or speed trap again. Waze harnesses all the power of user-submitted information to help drivers avoid the common pitfalls of their daily commutes or long road trips. Waze is designed to get you where you’re going as quickly as possible by using up-to-the-minute live information to navigate. It will even help you find the cheapest gas along your route.

GOOGLE PLAY

Photo editing and management

Snapseed

Snapseed is the best option if you’re looking to edit a photo. Google’s photo editing app has tools for whether you’re quickly polishing up a snap or diving in really deep to dramatically change the details of a photo. Snapseed’s control method can take a little getting used to, but once you’ve got the hang of it, it’s intuitive and incredibly fast to use. Best of all, it’s absolutely free.

GOOGLE PLAY

Adobe Photoshop Express

Image used with permission by copyright holder

While not as feature-filled or extensive as the desktop version, Adobe Photoshop Express still offers an impressively wide array of tools for editing and creating images directly on your Android device.

GOOGLE PLAY

VSCO

One of the original players in the photo editing space, VSCO sparked an entire movement and brought an iconic photo aesthetic to a generation of social media users. The VSCO photo editor offers a variety of presets, vintage filters, and texture effects. VSCO also supports video editing for those longer video posts.

GOOGLE PLAY

Documents, web, and email

OfficeSuite

It’s one of the most downloaded apps on the Play Store, and that’s for a very good reason. OfficeSuite is a full-featured alternative for Microsoft Office, and includes tools to view, edit, and create Word, Excel, and Powerpoint documents, as well as including support for various PDF operations. It’s an all-in-one solution for your document woes, and it’s free to get most of the features. OfficeSuite Premium gets you the ability to work on password-protected files, 50GB of cloud storage, the ability to export PDFs to other formats, and more.

GOOGLE PLAY

Dropbox

Dropbox is another cloud storage service, and while you think you have that covered with Google Drive, Dropbox is still useful to download and use, because it often works with many third-party apps Drive doesn’t. It only gives you 2GB for free, but if you use it primarily for smaller files you should be okay with that amount.

GOOGLE PLAY

Grammarly

Grammarly has grown above and beyond its key use case of email writing assistance and has grown into an integrated extension and app offering grammar and spelling suggestions or corrections for not only emails, but across all apps on your smartphone. Whether you’re composing a LinkedIn message, a text, or a Yelp review, Grammarly will help you maintain composure by perfecting your composition.

GOOGLE PLAY

Productivity

Memorigi

Feel like you’re always ticking off an endless to-do list? Step up Memorigi. This colorful app acts as a daily planner, to-do list, and task manager — and actually makes staying organized more fun. The My Day feature focuses on today’s most important tasks, or you can add shopping lists, goal lists, or a simple to-do list, as well as create reminders for appointments and payments. The app also has cloud sync, making it easy to keep on top of things from any device. Upgrade to premium and you’ll get Google Calendar integration, progress tracking statistics, and the awesome Nag Me feature, designed to make procrastinating a thing of the past.

GOOGLE PLAY

BitWarden

BitWarden has been the password manager of choice for many since LastPass changed the way its free tier worked, making this app the best free choice for keeping your passwords safe and secure. Save your passwords to BitWarden’s vault and lock it up tight, and then access it on your smartphone or computer or generate super-secure passwords automatically. It can be set up to automatically fill recognized password fields or do it with a single click. It’s free, and the paid tier is incredibly cheap at less than $1 a month.

GOOGLE PLAY

Slack

Slack remains one of the biggest communication tools for businesses everywhere. Organize your teams and employees into channels to help with team productivity. Slack’s intuitive layout and ability to integrate workflows with other popular productivity apps such as Google Drive, Salesforce, and Dropbox make it a powerful tool to help get work done.

GOOGLE PLAY

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The best AI photo editors

What does an AI photo editor do?

How I tested each AI photo editor

How we evaluate and test apps

What makes the best AI photo editor?

Best full-featured AI photo editor and design app

Adobe Photoshop (Windows, macOS, iPad)

Best AI photo editor for being truly AI-powered

Luminar Neo (Windows, macOS)

Best design app with an AI photo editor

Canva (Web, iOS, Android)

Best easy-to-use online AI photo editor

Pixlr (Web, iOS, Android)

Best mobile AI photo editor

Lensa (iOS, Android)

What about AI art generators?

Expect AI photo editors to change fast

Sony A95L QD-OLED

The best TV you can buy right now

The best TVs of 2023

LG G3 OLED Evo

Almost the best

Ties with the LG G3

LG 77-inch M3 Wireless OLED

Premium picture meets cutting-edge tech

TCL QM8 mini-LED

The TV most people should buy

Sony WF-1000XM5

Best overall wireless earbuds

Best wireless earbuds for 2023

Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC

The best budget earbuds

Sony WF-1000XM4

Still outstanding

Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds

Impressive noise cancellation

Master & Dynamic MW09

The best sound for audiophiles

Apple AirPods Pro 2 with USB-C

The best for Apple fans

The new standard for Android users

Technics EAH-AZ60

Classic Technics sound, affordable ANC

Final Audio ZE3000

The best sound for under $200

Jabra Elite 8 Active

The best for sports and athletes

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Android essentials

YouTube

X (formerly Twitter)

Google Home

The best Android apps in 2023

Movies and videos

JustWatch

Netflix

Disney+

Music and audio

YouTube Music

Pocket Casts