This is Optimizer, a weekly newsletter sent from Verge senior reviewer Victoria Song that dissects and discusses the latest gizmos and potions that swear they're going to change your life. Opt in for Optimizer here.

For the past week, I've been testing the Google Pixel Watch 5. In many ways, it's a typical, modern smartwatch. In others, it feels like one part of a wearable future that's increasingly in flux. Everyone I've spoken to in wearable tech has roughly the same goal - soon, your tracker of choice will feature a helpful AI coach, "check engine" alerts that preventively flag hard-to-detect health conditions, and personalized health re …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Almost everything with high-end memory or storage is more expensive these days, and tablets are no exception, so we’re glad to see that Amazon and Best Buy have the most recent 11-inch iPad Air with the M4 chip on sale for $649. That’s $100 lower than the new retail price that went into effect (alongside plenty of other Apple price hikes) in June. You can also grab the 256GB model for $749 (usually $849), and the version with a cellular antenna for $799 (usually $899).

Apple iPad Air M4

Where to Buy:

• $749 $649 at Amazon (128GB, Wi-Fi)
• $749 $649 at Best Buy (128GB, Wi-Fi)
• $899 $799 at Amazon (128GB, LTE)

We reviewed the M4 iPad Air when it released in March, and found a very similar experience to the previous generation, for better or worse. The upgraded internals give the system a performance boost and better connectivity, like Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, but otherwise this update is short on notable or exciting features if you’ve used an iPad Air the past few years.

Read our Apple iPad M4 Air review.

Other deals to consider

• The Garmin InReach Mini 2 is discounted to $249.99 at a variety of retailers, including Amazon, REI, and directly from Garmin. This compact device uses a satellite connection, which requires a Garmin InReach subscription, to provide emergency services, location sharing, and even text messaging when paired with smart device.
• Best Buy has the Anker 140W 4-Port Laptop Charger on sale for $55.99, a $24 discount off the usual price. With three USB-C ports and a USB-A port mounted on its bottom to prevent sagging in your outlet with multiple devices plugged in, you can easily charge a weekend worth of devices. The built-in display lets you check your total power usage at a glance, or make sure you’re charging at the right power level.
• Amazon is selling the Marshall Stanmore III Bluetooth speaker for $199.99, half off the usual retail price and matching the lowest price to date. While it doesn’t have a phono pre-amp, it does have RCA inputs for use with a properly-equipped record player, and vintage amplifier styling that helps set it apart from the crowd of other speakers.

The foldable phone market is in the middle of a huge transformation, but no one told Google.

Last year, Samsung transformed its Galaxy Z Fold 7 with a dramatically thinner design. This year, it made its phones thinner and lighter again, almost eliminated the crease, and introduced a new passport-sized form factor that feels like the future. Next month, Apple is expected to enter the market with a foldable iPhone that, rumor has it, includes all of the above and adds iOS too.

In the face of all that flux, Google's Pixel 11 Pro Fold has hardly changed a thing.

Like the other Pixel 11 phones, this is an iterative hardware upgrade, but unlike …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The Google Pixel Watch 5 has, in many ways, been the hardest Pixel Watch to accurately review. Barely anything has changed in terms of hardware. The sizes are the same, the chips and battery got an itty-bitty boost, and there's a new pyrite satin case finish. Instead, the big updates are all software-related: This year's watch gets ambitious new health features that expand on the overhauled Google Health app and its AI coach introduced with the Fitbit Air earlier this year.

The only problem is those health updates aren't here. The watch's most interesting new features - blood pressure and insulin resistance trends, nightly sleep breathing q …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Having the right to repair your hardware doesn't matter much if you don't have hardware you can repair. As phones have become more svelte and complex, they've also become significantly more difficult to take apart. Even with the right tools and detailed instructions from a joint like iFixit, replacing the battery in a recent iPhone can leave you having nightmares for a month. — Read the rest

The post Fairphone finally sells its repairable phones directly in the US appeared first on Boing Boing.

The Apple AirTag may be a jack-of-all-trades - people use it for keeping track of keys, suitcases, backpacks, purses - but I think the most logical use case for it, by far, is keeping track of your pet. I attach it to my corgi Jelly's collar via a matching silicone holder. Have I ever once truly needed it to find her, and do I think she'd ever run off on me? No - she's a pretty loyal herding dog, so she likes to keep an eye on her parents - but just like whatever else you may attach an AirTag to, there's a significant chance that the one time you truly need it, you'll be thanking God that you had it. (Kind of like insurance.)

I think it'd b …

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Framework has refreshed its 12-inch convertible laptop, introducing Intel's latest Core Series 3 processors, expanded hardware customizations, and a pre-built Linux option. The cheapest pre-built base configuration for the Framework Laptop 12 now starts at $699 - $100 less than the previous version when it launched last year. Preorders are open now, with the first wave of deliveries expected to ship in October.

That pre-built base configuration is only available in green, and includes an Intel Core 3 304 CPU, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. It also comes preloaded with Linux Fedora 44 KDE Plasma, a decision brought on by Framework finding …

Read the full story at The Verge.