This is the summer’s coolest new smart kitchen gadget — literally
GE Profile’s newest nugget ice maker is an expensive upgrade to your summer drinks, but, for some, it may be worth it.
Some smart home gadgets could be considered essential. A smart thermostat can save you money, and a smart door lock can prevent you from getting locked out. But, unlike those gadgets, it’s hard to argue you need the smart GE Profile Opal Ultra 2.0 Nugget Ice Maker ($579, or $629 with the side tank). However, you may want this gadget — because it makes The Good Ice.
Yes, $630 is a lot of money for any countertop gadget, let alone one that just freezes water. Spending this much on a connected gadget whose smarts are largely limited to scheduling and asking Alexa to make more ice feels like an even bigger stretch. But nugget ice is a hill many will die on — my family included. It just makes drinks taste better, they cry. Anything that encourages my children to hydrate is a big win in my book.
Mmmmmm. Nuggets!
In case you’re unfamiliar with nugget ice (aka chewable ice, Sonic ice, pellet ice, or, as my family calls it, “the good ice”), it is small pieces of ice made from layers of flaked ice frozen together. It is really quite addictive and goes well in everything from a tall glass of water to iced tea and lemonade. It’s practically required if you’re making Tiki cocktails.
Nugget ice can turn a room-temperature drink into a cold drink in seconds and doesn’t melt as quickly as crushed ice. It’s also really fun to chew on. My daughter likes to get a glass full of ice and chow down.
Sadly, there isn’t a fridge that can make true nugget ice. Samsung makes one that produces “ice bites,” which are small ice cubes, but these are apparently not the same thing. So, it’s go countertop or go to the drive-in.
In the week I’ve had the Opal on my kitchen counter, it has become my family’s favorite kitchen gadget. They love scooping its nuggety goodness into a tall glass of lemonade or filling up their Tervis cup before tackling the summer heat.
The Opal is super easy to set up, simple to use, and makes ice very fast — up to 38 pounds a day. It doesn't require plumbing, just power, but you will want the optional water tank if you want a continual flow of ice. We only have to refill that every other day on average and have more than enough ice for all four of us.
The biggest downside so far is the Opal Ultra is noisy. The tubing makes a high-pitched whining noise as the water filters through, and the ice production clunks gently. But here’s where those smarts do come in handy — you can schedule when it's making ice in the Smart HQ app to avoid interfering with movie time — or just tell Alexa or Google to turn it off.
The Opal was first launched in 2015, and the Ultra is the fourth version of GE Profile’s popular nugget ice machine. It comes with some behind-the-scenes improvements to make cleaning the unit easier. These include a new scale-inhibiting water filter, a reusable air filter, and alerts that tell you when it's time to sanitize or descale (on the device and in the app).
All of these enhancements add up to — in theory — more time between cleaning / descaling and should keep the ice tasting better for longer. (The good news for current Opal owners is that the new water filter is compatible with existing models).
Upgrades with the Ultra include a magnetic scoop holder and a stainless steel scoop.
The cleaning / descaling process is lengthy. It requires a special solution (or vinegar, if you prefer) and up to a day of downtime as the stuff does its work. And you need to keep up with it if you want it to keep producing fresh ice. In my short time testing the unit, I’ve not had a descale alert appear, but the sanitize one did, which happens after 25 hours of ice-making.
The sanitizing process was largely painless and took about 30 minutes. However, combined with descaling — which you’ll need to do once every 2 weeks to 4 months based on your water hardness — this gadget requires a lot of maintenance. (GE Profile notes that if you use distilled water in the Opal, you probably won’t need to descale it, but you’ll still need to sanitize and clean.)
Other updates with the Ultra from the current Opal 2.0 model include new colors (white or black in addition to stainless steel) and an upgraded touch display for powering on/off, connecting to Wi-Fi, and checking status. Plus, there’s now a magnetic scoop holder and stainless steel scoop — which makes it easier to store the scoop on the side of the unit and should help with cleanliness.
If you can get the Opal 2.0 on sale that’s probably the way to go. Overall, the Ultra’s upgrades feel like aesthetic and quality-of-life tweaks. You still have to manually clean the machine, even if potentially not as often. Plus, you can buy the new water filter and the new scoop with holder separately starting in August and use them with the Opal 2.0, although that may cancel out most of your savings.
The Opal 2.0 Ultra is very expensive, requires a lot of work to maintain, and takes up a sizeable chunk of my kitchen counter. But it does an excellent job of producing fresh, chewable, crunchable ice that makes any drink taste better. It’s also one of the few smart gadgets I’ve brought into my home that everyone in my family loves — which says a lot.
If you, too, crave good ice and go into this knowing the struggles you’ll need to endure to keep getting it, then you’ll be very satisfied with this gadget.
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Electric bikepacking: lessons learned over four days and 250 miles
E-bikes open up cycling sports to more people, and not just the cheaters.
“Electric bikes are for cheaters” is the refrain sung by cocksure men in lycra, worried their weekend hobbies will be invaded by unfit neophytes on battery-powered gravel, mountain, and road bicycles.
It reminds me of the early internet when AOL users were considered inferior to the online elite who did the hard work of subscribing to a regional ISP. Back then, losing an argument with an aol.com email address was reason enough to sell your modem. Now, the ultimate humiliation is being overtaken by someone in street shoes casually pushing a throttle.
But make no mistake, electric sport bikes are becoming increasingly common on trails and roads, just as electrics are slowly replacing regular bicycles in cities around the world.
To understand the appeal, I decided to pick just one electric sport bike — the Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Comp — to test on steep asphalt, rutted trails, loose gravel, mud, sand, and some green mushy stuff that smelled of doom. And to truly test its limits, I loaded the bike down with an absurd 50 pounds (23kg) of gear for a four day e-bikepacking trip.
And to test the performance of the e-bike, I was joined by an avid roadie who is currently training to ride over 800 miles (1,300km) from Amsterdam to Venice, Italy. He’s not only 10 years younger than me — he’s also fitter and carried just half the weight on his acoustic road bike.
What follows is my e-bikepacking experience over nearly 150 miles (400km) and 4,265 feet (1,300m) of elevation change. It covers my evolving charging strategy, favorite gadgets and bike gear tested, and lessons learned from over 600 miles (1,000km) of in-the-saddle testing.
Spoiler: I’m not a convert, but I can appreciate how e-bikes make cycling sports accessible to more people, even bikepacking if you live in the right places.
Charging
The Veluwe is a sprawling forest system in the heart of the Netherlands, rich in woodlands, heath, and wetlands divided by sandy hills cut by glaciers. It’s not a place you’d expect to find an extensive network of e-bike chargers. Yet, I found them to be so plentiful on my four-day trip that I was able to shed my initial range anxiety.
There were more charging options available then you’d think.
Each of the three campsites I stayed at cost around €10 to €15 (about $11 to $16) per night and offered free e-bike charging. The charging facilities ranged from a luxurious covered garage — important for keeping the charging brick dry when it rains — to a simple extension cord that snaked out of a solar-powered tent.
Wild camping away from official sites — which isn’t allowed in the Netherlands — would have made the charging logistics more difficult. But it was certainly possible: three of the four cafes I randomly stopped at during the tour offered free public chargers run by companies like Ion and Laad.
The Specialized e-bike I rode (more on that later) takes about 3.5 hours to fully charge both the main battery and one range extender using the included 164W (54.6V/3A) charging brick. My days would usually end with about 20 percent (out of 150 percent) of battery power remaining, which would have meant scheduling three hours of charging breaks along the route had I been wild camping. That’s certainly doable if spread over multiple food stops, especially on the long summer days found in Northern Europe. Nevertheless, charging in one go each night at a campsite was more convenient and required less planning.
Frankly, I was surprised by all the charging options I found along my route — but really, I shouldn’t have been. The Dutch are rightly lauded for their bicycling infrastructure. In the last few years, e-bikes have outsold regular bikes across the Netherlands, and a new survey suggests that electric bikes are now the majority of bikes ridden. But long before VanMoof helped make e-bikes trendy for young Dutch riders, it was the over-60s you’d see being propelled along bicycle paths. These are the same people who now strap a pair of e-bikes to RVs parked at campsites in the forests. I can only surmise that this remote charging infrastructure emerged in support of boomer demand.
You might not be able to replicate my multiday e-bikepacking experience where you live, but you will eventually, especially in Europe with its shorter distances and fast rate of e-bike adoption. It’ll take a bit longer in the US with its massive scale and dominating car culture.
The bike
For this trip, I rode the $6,500 / €6,000 Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Comp drop-bar gravel / road e-bike. My European review bike was capped at a top speed of 15.5mph (25km/h) and 50Nm of torque from the company’s own 250W / 330W mid-drive motor. Buyers in the US will receive a faster Class-3 e-bike with a top speed of 28mph.
The Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Comp ready to ride after packing up all the gear.
There are several reasons why I chose the Creo 2 Comp for my first e-bikepacking adventure. First, it’s lightweight for an e-bike at just 14.47kg (32 pounds) making it almost 5kg (11 pounds) lighter than DJI’s attention-grabbing electric mountain bike. Impressively, the Creo 2 Comp is just 1.3kg (almost 3 pounds) heavier than my own hardtail MTB.
The Creo 2 Comp also features multiple attachment points for all the cages and racks needed to haul lots of gear, and a front shock built into the handlebar stem that allows for 20mm of travel. That’s not a lot of dampening compared to mountain bikes, but my hands definitely benefited after several hours of daily riding over rough gravel, tree roots, and bumpy single track.
Specialized’s two-wheeler also supports healthy tire volumes, including the chunky 29 x 2.2-inch variety commonly fitted to mountain bikes. My review bike came with the company’s smaller 700 x 42 Pathfinder Pro tubeless tires. They proved to be smooth rollers on pavement and gravel and plenty capable in sections of sand and muck that stopped my friend who rode on thinner tires.
My riding companion’s regular road bike, fitted with gravel tires.
But the main reason I selected the Creo 2 Comp was for its battery expansion. The electric gravel bike features a main 320Wh battery that can be easily supplemented with $450 160Wh range extenders. Specialized sent me two extenders for a total capacity of 640Wh. The company also sent me a Y-cable for dual-battery charging.
Unfortunately, that main battery is fully integrated into the frame and can’t be removed for charging. Specialized did this to help keep the weight down. But the Y-cable can only charge the main battery and one range extender simultaneously — not two range extenders — ruining my plan to keep the bike securely by my tent while the two smaller batteries were charging elsewhere. That meant leaving Specialized’s very expensive bike and one range extender charging outside in the rain on three occasions — twice overnight, and a few hundred meters away — protected only by a lightweight lock and rain fly made from a trash bag. Not ideal.
Another intriguing feature of the Creo 2 Comp is Specialized’s smart battery control. In Smart Control mode, you can enter the distance and duration of your planned travel, and the bike will adjust the pedal assist to ensure you don’t run out of power. I ended up not using this mode for a few reasons. First, Smart Control requires tracking the ride in the Specialized app, and I didn’t want to drain my phone’s battery unnecessarily (the bike doesn’t have a USB charging port for bike computers and phones). The second reason I didn’t use Smart Control is that I was easily getting about 68 miles (110km) from the internal battery and range extender combo, even with all that gear and riding in Sport mode — Specialized’s medium setting, which nicely balances pedal assistance with battery conservation. Without all the gear, I was getting closer to 93 miles (150km) from the battery plus extender.
And let’s face it: the real reason I chose the Specialized Creo 2 Comp for the trip is that it barely looks like an e-bike. But the motor’s audible whir made it obvious to anyone nearby that I was getting an electrical assist.
Planning
For this tour, I upgraded to the Komoot Premium ($59 / year) service to access its multiday cycling trip planner. My plan started with a premade gravel tour called the Green Divide created by Erwin Sikkens, which I segmented into a custom four-day journey that extended to my home in Amsterdam. Komoot also helped me add cafes and campsites along the way. I then exported the maps to my old Garmin 530 bike computer.
My modified Green Divide route on Komoot Premium.
When booking each campsite, I called ahead to confirm the availability of e-bike charging since I wanted to camp in the more isolated backpacking sections of the campsites, away from the busy charging poles used by all the parked RVs. Little did I know that this was a common amenity offered by every campsite I contacted in the area.
Komoot Premium also displays detailed weather reports along the route. It showed mostly tailwinds for my dates of travel allowing me to plan a quicker-than-average pace, but the rain forecast meant packing additional protection.
I brought along a $270 Spinshift jacket from Gorewear to fight back the cold wind and rain. My review jacket kept me warm and completely dry and packed down small into the jacket’s zip pocket. It fit snuggly with my arms extended on the Creo 2 Comp e-bike, especially when fully stretched into the drop-bar position. But that also meant that the stiff (thin and lightweight) Gore-Tex fabric bunched up a bit when just standing around — a tradeoff I’m always happy to make in a cycling jacket. The Spinshift performed far better than my friend’s rain jacket, which quickly filled with air (slowing him down) and caused him to overheat more frequently. The Gorewear Spinshift jacket isn’t cheap, but it’s worth the price.
If you’re in the US, you’ll also want to check if the trails along your route allow for e-bikes, especially if you’re on a fast and powerful Class-3. Europe’s less powerful pedal-assisted e-bikes have fewer such restrictions.
Baggage
The 14.47kg (32 pounds) Creo 2 Comp weighed a staggering 37kg (82 pounds) after loading it up with 1.5L of water and everything I needed for four days of camping in the rain and cold. For food, I only needed to pack breakfasts and energy snacks since lunches and dinners would be found at markets and cafes along the way.
Ironically, the heaviest items were all related to keeping the e-bike’s motor running. This included the two external range extenders, the massive charging brick, and the heavy-duty Y charging cable. I also brought along a CEE-to-Schuko adapter cable just in case I needed to charge the e-bike from one of those blue charging poles at campsites (I never did). I also never used the second range extender battery, but I was happy to have it in reserve.
I installed an extended rear axel to act as quick-release mounting points for the rack.
To support all that weight and volume, I had to fit the Creo 2 Comp with a rack and pannier bags. For this, I chose a carbon-fiber AeroPack rack and organization system from Tailfin to review. That 50 liters of waterproof on-bike storage proved to be fantastic, albeit expensive, at nearly €1,000 (almost $1,100).
The AeroPack rack I reviewed attaches to the seat post and to an extended rear axle I had to install on the e-bike — a procedure that took about 30 minutes. Tailfin’s 16L Mini Panniers and the entire rear rack that includes an integrated 18L top bag are designed for quick attachment and detachment. That was super helpful since I wanted my gear at my tent while the bike was charging far away.
All my small gadgets and cables went into the smaller Tailfin Packing Cube that cinches shut, while most of my clothes went into the larger 6L Cube.
The big Cube is a perfect fit for the top bag. The other two Cube are designed to stack on top.
I used Tailfin’s Packing Cubes to help keep things organized inside those deep storage bags. Most of my clothes went into the 6L Cube, which fit snugly into the AeroPack top bag. All my cables and small electronics went into the 2.5L Cube, and the toiletries and microfiber towel in the 3.5L Cube. Both of those organizers went into the waterproof panniers alongside items like my trusty JetBoil camping stove I’ve had for something like 15 years. All my stored gear stayed completely dry despite three days of on-and-off rain.
The rest of the bags were my own, including two feed bags for quick access to snacks, my lock, and a water bottle; a partial frame bag for my tools and first aid kit; and a small top-tube bag for a USB battery pack, wallet, and miscellaneous items needed during the ride.
I’ve never carried so much gear on a bikepacking trip before, but I never had a motor to help carry the load, either. Still, the Tailfin bags remained firmly in place with zero sway, which has never been my experience when using those elongated saddle bags that often go limp after a bit of rough riding and end up dragging on the rear wheel.
Tailfin’s setup is totally worth the price, in my opinion.
Sleeping
The other star of the trip was the $500 Hubba Hubba Bikepack 1-Person Tent MSR sent me to review. It’s tiny and weighs only 2 pounds 1 ounce (0.9kg) but has a long list of very smart features for bikepackers. Notably, it comes in a waterproof handlebar bag / stuff sack with plenty of attachment points for add-ons. It features thick spacers that give room for the bike’s cables and a compartment for tent poles that are shorter than normal to not interfere with steering.
The waterproof and nicely ventilated tent and rainfly kept me completely dry in lots of rain, even a thunderstorm. The uniform rectangular shape made it easy to set up and provided plenty of headroom to sit upright. The Hubba Hubba tent also features plenty of internal pockets to store gear and a large vestibule outside the side entry to keep my shoes, helmet, bags, and other bits out of sight and dry while I slept. I also made good use of the internal and external clotheslines to dry my gear.
The Hubba Hubba Bikepack tent is hands down the best lightweight tent of the dozens I’ve tried over the last three decades. It’s clearly been designed by people who spend a ton of time cycling away from civilization. Still, $500 is very expensive. My friend’s $110 NatureHike Cloud tent (which I also own) is only slightly heavier, and he seemed just as comfortable and dry. You don’t absolutely need the Hubba Hubba for bikepacking — but you’re right to want it.
Rounding out my sleep gear was a very comfortable and warm $200 NeoAir XLite NXT four-season air mattress that Thermarest sent me to test. And despite measuring a thick three inches (7.6cm), it packs down small and light at 13 ounces (370g). I appreciated the WingLock Valve that let me inflate (and deflate) it quickly without exhausting myself using the included pump sack and some good ol’ Bernoulli physics.
Thermarest also sent me a down-filled Vesper 32F/0C Quilt to review; $400 for a trail blanket is expensive, but it weighs just 15 ounces (425g) and packs down into an impossibly small ball. Despite being lightweight, it was a bit too warm when falling asleep in 64 degrees Fahrenheit (18 degrees Celsius), but I was happy to have it when temps dropped down to 48F (9C) a few nights — Thermarest says the quilt’s sweet spot is around 41F (5C). It’s silky soft to the touch and stretches around the NeoAir XLite NXT to prevent slippage and drafts.
I slept reasonably well with this setup or at least as well as I do at home. But I just can’t get comfortable with any inflatable pillow I’ve tried. Someday, I’ll find the perfect pillow, but the Trekology Aluft Pro I bought on Amazon isn’t it.
Gadgets
As a nerd, I brought far more gadgets than a typical person would. That meant bringing several USB power banks along to keep everything charged over a period of four days: two 10,000mAh (40Wh) batteries and one 27,000mAh (100Wh) behemoth. That’s far more than I’d normally bring, but again, I had a motor and tons of storage.
Some gadgets I always bring with me on bikepacking trips. These include my iPhone in a QuadLock bike-mount case and my Apple Watch — both set to low-power modes. I also brought a GoPro with extra batteries that I never even used. My aging but formidable Garmin 530 bike computer provided turn-by-turn navigation. To my delight, it was able to read power, cadence, and speed data off the Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Comp after I manually added each bike sensor.
I also had to bring the little SRAM AXS battery charger that came with the bike just in case its wireless electronic shifter died. Something that nearly happened to me earlier during 370 miles (about 600km) of preparation for the trip.
Naturally, I also brought along plenty of gadgets to review.
The Baseus over-the-ear slug let me hear sounds around me while also providing better quality than bone-conduction units favored by many cyclists.
I tested a pair of $60 Baseus Eli Sport 1 open-ear Bluetooth headphones to be sure that I could still hear everything around me. Most riders prefer bone-conducting headphones for this purpose, but I’ve never been a fan of the flat sound. With the rain-proof Eli Sport 1, I could slip on just one of the two over-the-ear slugs for the duration of the ride to hear the navigation. They’re so lightweight and comfortable that I’d forget I was wearing one by the end of the day, and it never fell off my ear, even on the roughest trails or when taking off my helmet and sunglasses. At night, I could pop on the second slug and listen to music or watch videos with real bass, though anyone nearby could hear the audio bleed into the quiet even at modest volumes. The case also kept the headphones charged for the duration of the trip despite heavy all-day usage. For the price, they proved to be outstanding, but I should note that Amazon says it’s a frequently returned product.
The Milo communicator mounted to the top tube where it didn’t perform as well as I had hoped — probably too far from my mouth. Will try on an arm band and handlebar mount next time.
I also tested a pair of Milo Communicators. I’ll have a full review coming later, as these need to be tested in a few more scenarios. My first impressions are mixed. They were invaluable in finding out that my friend had fallen off his bike in a gnarly sand patch a few hundred meters behind me, but they frequently failed to clearly deliver insults and warnings when both of us were riding full out over noisy gravel, wind, grunts, and woo-hooing. We had the Milos mounted on the bikes, and that might have been too far away to properly isolate our voices (the company offers several mounting options). It’s promising tech, so more on this later.
Yes, that’s a HoverAir X1 drone in my mouth, something I wouldn’t try with a DJI.
I’ve also been testing a HoverAir X1 drone for the past few weeks. And honestly, I think I love it. It’s so easy to grab and set aloft without needing any type of controller. And like they say, the best drone is the drone you have with you, and I wasn’t about to bring a DJI drone on this trip. A full review is coming.
The FlexTail Tiny Repeller S kept my tent lit and free of mosquitos, but more testing is required.
Last but not least is the Flextail Tiny Repeller S combination bug repellent and lantern. It kept my tent mosquito-free and well-lit at night, but I need to test it in a few more scenarios, which requires a full review. That one is coming later this summer after I test it in an RV, but so far, so good.
Truthfully, if this hadn’t been a work assignment I would have left most of my electronic devices at home. I love technology’s ability to bend nature to my will, but it can be very distracting from just living in the moment and creates a lot of charging stress where no stress should be.
E-bikepacking is indeed, a thing.
Conclusion
Let’s be clear: the vast majority of people don’t need to spend nearly $10,000 on an electric bike, top-of-the-line camping gear, and premium bike bags to go bikepacking.
If you’re already moderately fit, then you’d be amazed at what you can do with a bunch of bungee cords strapped to a regular ol’ second-hand mountain or gravel bike — and you’ll never need to worry about finding a charger. You can even splurge a little on inexpensive bikepacking gear from brands I’ve used, like Naturehike and Rhinowalk.
But e-bikepacking is most definitely a thing and will become more popular as the charging infrastructure spreads to more wilderness areas around the world. That motor is a game changer, allowing for heavier loads to be carried (even trailers with pets and small kids), tall mountain passes to be flattened, and for people with lesser abilities to get outside and do more.
Notably, e-bikes can help recreational riders join their hardcore cycling partners and friends on their long weekend rides. After which, they’ll be regaled with stories full of grit, cadence, and power stats while gobbling back all those spent calories.
My e-bike allowed me to keep up with my younger and fitter riding mate — basically leveling the field. He got his training sessions in, and I got the camaraderie I was seeking. I got a solid workout in myself since European pedal assist cuts out at 15.5mph (25km/h), and we’d regularly be traveling at speeds above 19mph (30km/h) whenever things flattened out.
Despite the immense amount of fun I had on the very capable Specialized Turbo Creo 2 Comp, I won’t be trading in my trusty hardtail mountain bike for an electrified version any time soon. I still enjoy the exercise and simplicity of conquering terrain with a pure mechanical assist.
I get the urge for gravel, road, and mountain bikers to dunk on e-bike riders, but let’s not reflexively call them all cheaters. Cheating is an act of dishonesty to unfairly gain an advantage over another, and plenty of people buy electric sport bikes after an honest assessment of their own limited abilities. They give people new options for enjoying the benefits of being active and upright on two wheels, even as they get older. And that’s something we should be celebrating.
But I was definitely cheating, and I will miss listening to my friend’s exclamations anytime he fell behind on long climbs or found his little baby tires stuck in the mud or sand that I had already traversed.
To everyone else: apologies if I knocked you off the Strava segment leaderboard — you should try harder.
The Polar Grit X2 Pro is a smartwatch that feels adrift
You’re not getting enough for the $750.
This is meant to be the best Polar’s got, but it has no business being this expensive.
Polar makes good multisport watches. They’re just not particularly smart. That wasn’t always a problem because there used to be a clear line. Athletes went for Garmins and Polars. Casual users went for an Apple Watch, Fitbit, or Samsung smartwatch. Things are less clear now. There are more casual, stylish Garmins, while Apple and Samsung have their own smart multisport watches — and that leaves the $749.95 Polar Grit X2 Pro stuck between a rock and a hard place.
The Grit X2 Pro is meant to be a premium outdoors watch. It improves on the previous Grit X Pro with upgraded sensors (e.g., heart rate, skin temperature, etc), a bigger display, dual-frequency GPS, EKGs (no atrial fibrillation detection, just more accurate heart rate data), offline maps, and USB-C. These kinds of updates are generally good. The problem is everyone else has made much bigger strides in the past two to three years. The Grit X2 Pro feels a bit frozen in time.
My black Grit X2 Pro looks nice, but it doesn’t particularly stand out compared to the competition.
As far as fitness tracking, this is a capable watch with oodles of battery life. (I got about eight to 10 days on a single charge.) But for $750, there’s a lot you can’t do on this watch. For instance, you get notifications and alarms, but that’s about it. If I want to leave my phone and play my music via the watch, I can’t. Offline playlists aren’t a thing; the most you can do is use your Grit X2 Pro as a media controller. Say I want to pay for a Gatorade after a long run at my local 7-Eleven. Nope, no contactless payments. If I want to make a phone call, use a voice assistant, or feel assured that someone will be notified if I take a hard fall, that’s not happening.
Five years ago, this wouldn’t have been an issue. But in 2024, I can pay $800 for a Garmin Fenix 7S Pro Solar — a fancier-than-standard model — to get pretty much everything the Grit X2 Pro has plus solar charging, offline playlists from Spotify and YouTube Music, Garmin Pay, safety features (though these require your phone), and EKG tracking that does have AFib detection.
An $800 Apple Watch Ultra 2 gets me a much better third-party app ecosystem, LTE connectivity, car crash and fall detection, music streaming, EKGs, and much better integration with my smartphone. When it arrives this fall, watchOS 11 will bring a training load feature, which, while not as robust as what Polar or Garmin offer, gets the job done in a digestible way. Samsung is rumored to be launching a Galaxy Watch Ultra this month — and I’d bet good money it’ll offer a similar experience for Android users. The point is, if you’re going to spend on a premium fitness smartwatch, you have many alternatives that deliver more bang for your buck.
You could argue that Polar isn’t trying to fix what ain’t broke. It made its name with in-depth fitness metrics, great GPS, and long battery life — much like Garmin. So long as it does those things well, who cares? It’s a fair point. If those are the only criteria that matter to you, I have few complaints about the Grit X2 Pro other than it’s expensive and a bit chonky for my liking. In testing, GPS and heart rate accuracy were on par with my Apple Watch Ultra 2, a few Garmins, and a bunch of other Android smartwatches. Sleep tracking and recovery metrics were roughly on par with my Oura Ring. The most novel metric was Sleep Boost, which predicts the times of day you’ll be most alert. (In practice, I find it hard to trust as it’s very hit or miss.)
There’s more sensors now.
There’s preloaded maps offline maps and the usual Polar mapping tools like backtrack and turn-by-turn navigation.
Whatever statement Polar’s trying to make with the Grit X2 Pro, it’s window dressing. You can slap on a more premium design and upgrade a few sensors, but Grit X2 Pro doesn’t meaningfully improve the things that’ve always been annoying about Polar watches. The Polar Flow app still feels horribly cluttered and stuck in 2016. Easily digestible it is not. On the wrist, Polar’s interface is still clunky with finicky swipes and one-too-many button presses to get what you want. This is a matter of taste, but the Grit X2 Pro’s watchfaces are mid at best, don’t make the best use of the OLED display, and don’t convey the elegance warranted from this price tag.
Given what else is out there, I feel only Polar diehards would seriously consider a Grit X2 Pro. And even then, I’d opt for the $599.95 Vantage V3. It gets you about 95 percent of what the Grit X2 Pro offers, but trades the heavier-duty materials and luxe look for a lighter, more wearable design. Frankly, I think that’s something most athletes — Polar’s target audience here — would prefer.
Unfortunately, the Grit X2 Pro’s disparate parts don’t add up to the premium watch that I think Polar was hoping for. For that, it had to be smarter or add something Polar was previously lacking. As it is, this is a competent watch. But for $750, competent just isn’t good enough.
On ‘Hard Fork,’ a Hard Look at the Future of Technology Kevin Roose and Casey Newton reflect on the success of their podcast and look toward what’s next.
The FTC’s ban against noncompete agreements may be under threat
Illustration by The Verge | Photo via Getty Images
A federal judge could block the Federal Trade Commission’s impending ban on noncompete agreements from going into effect. Noncompete agreements are intended to make it difficult for employees to switch to similar positions at other companies or start businesses of their own, and they’ve been a contentious issue within tech companies in particular.
The ban had been set to go into force on September 4th, but on Wednesday, Judge Ada Brown issued a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought against the FTC. For those plaintiffs, the FTC’s ban will no longer go into effect on September 4th. Brown says she plans to rule on their entire challenge to the FCC “on or before August 30, 2024,” potentially stopping the FTC from blocking noncompetes nationwide.
Tax firm Ryan LLC filed the lawsuit against the FTC the same day the ban was announced in April, arguing that the ban is “an unauthorized, unconstitutional attempt to eliminate a long-established private economic arrangement.” The US Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable are among those who have joined the suit since its filing.
Brown writes that she granted the preliminary injunction because the plaintiffs are “substantially likely to prevail on the merits of their challenge to the FTC’s Non-Compete Rule.”
“The FTC stands by our clear authority, supported by statute and precedent, to issue this rule,” reads a statement from FTC spokesperson Douglas Farrar. “We will keep fighting to free hardworking Americans from unlawful noncompetes, which reduce innovation, inhibit economic growth, trap workers, and undermine Americans’ economic liberty.”
The FTC voted 3-2 in support of the ban. At the time, the FTC argued that the ban would allow for more than 8,500 new businesses to be made each year.
Update, July 3rd: Added statement from the FTC, and clarified when the FTC’s ban may or may not go into effect.
The Verge’s guide to Amazon Prime Day 2024
Illustration by Hugo Herrera for The Verge
Amazon Prime Day 2024 is nearly here. The annual two-day super sale will start on July 16th and run through July 17th, bringing with it a treasure trove of discounts, promos, and exclusive deals for Amazon Prime subscribers. It may not be the only Prime Day event we see this year — Amazon has recently taken to hosting a second shopping event in the fall — but it will likely remain one of the best opportunities of the year to score discounts on a range of tech outside of Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Like in previous years, we’re highlighting the best deals on a variety of Verge-approved gadgets and gizmos, from the latest laptops and OLED TVs to robot vacuums that can leave your hardwood floors as spotless as your living room carpet. We’re also rounding up anti-Prime Day deals from competing retailers, including Walmart and Target, as well as an array of useful tips and tricks for making the most of the 48-hour event.
The price cuts are sure to be fleeting, but if you’re quick enough, you may be able to knock a few items off your holiday wish list before the eggnog even begins to arrive.
Judge Backs Challenge to F.T.C.’s Noncompete Ban, at Least for Now Granting an injunction to several plaintiffs, a judge said the Federal Trade Commission’s pending ban on noncompete agreements was unlikely to prevail.
DJI expands into e-bikes and drive systems
An exploded view of the Amflow PL e-bike showing the Avinox drive system. | Image: DJI
DJI is expanding into electric bikes in a big way with its new Avinox drive system and Amflow e-bike brand. The company best known for its drones is launching its first e-bike — the carbon fiber Amflow PL electric mountain bike — before the end of the year, complete with the mid-drive Avinox motor and fast-charging battery. It has so many smart and powerful features packed into a relatively lightweight e-bike that it should catch the attention of competitors like Bosch and Specialized.
As a showcase for DJI’s new Avinox drive system, the Amflow PL e-bike features a very impressive 120Nm of max torque and 1000W of on-demand boost power to overcome even the steepest inclines. Otherwise, its “remarkably quiet” mid-drive motor is rated for 250W of nominal output with an 850W peak. Its removable 800Wh battery can fast-charge from zero to 75 percent in a speedy 1.5 hours when using Amflow’s 2A/508W GaN charger.
Despite all that power and battery capacity, the Amflow PL weighs just 19.2kg (just over 42 pounds), thanks in part to a 2.27kg carbon fiber frame and 2.52kg Avinox drive system.
The bike features a two-inch color OLED touchscreen display integrated into the frame and an Avinox app for wireless access to the bike and all the riding data. The bike will sound an alarm in case of trouble and alert you of its location in the app. It has four pedal-assist modes, including an auto mode that adapts power delivery based on riding resistance. Rounding out the highlights is a USB charging port for your phone or bike computer, a full suspension system from Fox, and a frame that can accommodate both 27.5-inch and 29-inch rear wheels.
“Our expertise in battery and motor technology accumulated in drones and camera stabilization systems, have led us to the creation of Avinox,” says Christina Zhang, senior director of corporate strategy at DJI. “It is a natural move for DJI to expand into this field as we have been mastering the technologies essential to an electric bike system, in terms of reliable motor development, battery management, mechanical design and engineering.”
The company has also been developing intelligent driving solutions for automobiles in China over the last few years, some of which can already be found in several car models. More recently, the company expanded into the large consumer battery market with the launch of its first power stations.
The Amflow PL is expected to ship in Q4. DJI tells me to expect a pricing somewhere between €7,000 and €12,000 ($7,500 and $12,850), which puts it into direct competition with premium electric sport bikes like Specialized’s Turbo series. DJI says the Amflow PL will be available from authorized dealers in Germany, the UK, and Australia “amongst others.”
Investors Pour $27.1 Billion Into A.I. Start-Ups, Defying a Downturn Funding for A.I. firms made up nearly half the $56 billion in U.S. start-up financing from April to June, according to PitchBook.
This dual-screen laptop swings horizontally — and quotes the Whole Earth Catalog
The Acemagic X1, a laptop with a side-folding second screen for multi-monitor use. | Image: Acemagic
Unlike the Asus Zenbook Duo and Lenovo Yoga Book 9i we reviewed earlier this year, it’s not a twin-screen tablet with a detachable keyboard; this one’s most definitely a laptop with an extra screen on a hinge that swings all the way around. And unlike the upcoming GPD Duo, it swings horizontally instead of vertically. The company is calling it the “world’s first horizontally foldable 360 degree laptop.”
Image: Acemagic Image: Acemagic
While we don’t have a price, release date, or full spec sheet yet, it seems this laptop isn’t shooting for gaming or high-end productivity; it’ll be equipped with a two-year-old 12th Gen Intel Core i7-1255U processor (we’re expecting 15th Gen this fall), 16GB of DDR4 memory, and a 1TB PCIe 3.0 SSD.
It also only supports 5Gbps transfer speeds from its USB-A and USB-C ports and HDMI 2.0 rather than HDMI 2.1 for its video output. And one of its two USB-C ports is only for charging.
Image: Acemagic
In addition to the ports, you can see Acemagic’s geared hinge mechanism;Tom’s Hardwaresaw a unit and says the hinge seems to work well.
Still, there are lots of tasks that don’t necessarily need lots of horsepower but could benefit from more visual real estate — and the second screen isn’t the only unique thing about this machine!
The Acemagic X1 also includes, and I quote:
Adding to its distinctive appeal, ACEMAGIC has engraved Steve Jobs’s iconic quote, “Stay hungry, Stay foolish,” in real gold on the left side of the keyboard. This touch symbolizes the device’s premium quality and innovative spirit.
I am assuming Acemagic doesn’t realize that Steve Jobs was actually quoting the Whole Earth Catalog in his 2005 commencement speech, but hey, bonus points for countercultural message written in gold?
(No, we don’t have a picture of the gold lettering to see if Steve Jobs’ name is also on the side of this laptop.)
In Ukraine War, A.I. Begins Ushering In an Age of Killer Robots Driven by the war with Russia, many Ukrainian companies are working on a major leap forward in the weaponization of consumer technology.
Here are the best AirPods deals you can get right now
Apple’s second-gen AirPods Pro are down to $199 ($50 off) at Amazon ahead of Prime Day. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
If you know where to look, you can often score discounts on Apple’s ever-popular AirPods. Since Apple launched the third-gen AirPods at the end of 2021, we’ve seen the starting price of the second-gen, entry-level model consistently dip below $100. And now that the second-gen AirPods Pro have been on the market for nearly two years, we’re also seeing their price fall more often, too. We’re even seeing great deals land on the updated AirPods Pro with USB-C.
Before we dive into the deals, though, we wanted to remind you that Prime Day will be taking place this year from July 16th through 17th. In the past, we’ve seen some excellent deals on AirPods, so if you’re looking to purchase a pair it may be worth it to wait. If you can’t, though, here are the best deals currently available on each model, including the entry-level AirPods, the AirPods Pro, the third-gen AirPods, and the AirPods Max.
The best AirPods (second-gen) deals
In 2021, Apple lowered the list price of the second-gen AirPods — now the entry-level model — from $159 to $129. It now only sells the model with a wired charging case, however, which charges via a standard Lightning cable. Despite their age, we found that the easy-to-use, second-gen AirPods still offer great wireless performance and reliable battery life, making them a great pick if you can live without a wireless charging case.
For Black Friday, Apple’s most affordable pair of earbuds dropped to an all-time low of $69 ($60 off) at numerous retailers. Right now, however, the second-gen earbuds are only on sale at Amazon and Walmart with a Lightning charging case for $89 ($40 off), which matches their second-best price to date.
With support for the company’s MagSafe technology and an asking price of $179, Apple’s third-gen AirPods are often considered the middle child in Apple’s current AirPods lineup. The shorter stems make for a more subtle design, too, while improved sound and features like sweat and water resistance, support for spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and improved battery life render them a nice improvement over the last-gen model.
In 2022, Apple quietly introduced a new, slightly cheaper option of the third-gen AirPods that comes with a Lightning-only charging case. Unfortunately, they’re only on sale at B&H Photo right now for $159.99 ($10 off), with neither Amazon nor Walmart offering their usual discount of $30 off. That being said, the MagSafe option is available to Costco members for $149.99 ($30 off) or at B&H Photo for $169.99 ($10 off).
In 2022, Apple announced the second-gen AirPods Pro, which feature a similar build to the first-gen model but offer better noise cancellation, swipe-based controls, and an extra-small pair of swappable silicone ear tips for smaller ears. Apple followed them up last year with a minor refresh, one that features a USB-C charging case and an upgraded IP54 rating for water and dust resistance. The newest model also supports lossless audio when used with Apple’s new Vision Pro headset.
Apple’s updated AirPods Pro are currently on sale at Amazon for $199 ($50 off), which is about $20 shy of the all-time low we saw at the end of April. They’re also available at Best Buy, Walmart, and Target, though only for their full retail price of $249 or so.
The AirPods Max aren’t the iconic in-ears that have become synonymous with the AirPods name. They’re large and luxurious, comprised of aluminum, steel, and mesh fabric that remains comfortable during extended listening sessions. They also sport excellent noise cancellation, Apple’s spatial audio feature, and expansive, balanced sound, even if they lag behind some of their peers when it comes to bass response and features. They’re not the best noise-canceling headphones for most people — blame the sticker price — but it’s hard to find a better pair of Bluetooth headphones if you’re an iPhone user.
Woot and other retailers have previously discounted the AirPods Max as low as $409. Right now, though, the best you can do is $479.95 (about $69 off) at Amazon and B&H Photo — which is still one of the best prices we’ve seen so far this year.
A major SmartThings update brings support for appliances, robot vacuums, and more through Matter
Samsung is bringing Matter 1.2 to its SmartThings smart home platform. | Image: Samsung SmartThings
Samsung SmartThings looks set to become the first major smart home platform to fully support Matter 1.2. According to a press release, the SmartThings platform now works with Matter 1.2, so manufacturers and developers can start integrating their compatible devices with the platform. The SmartThings app won’t be updated to support Matter until later this summer — so you won’t be able to control your Matter-compatible Roborock robot vacuum or Midea dishwasher through SmartThings until then.
Samsung also announced several other updates to its smart home platform, including app design improvements, new device control options, a hub backup option, shareable routines, and the gamification of its SmartThings Energy feature.
Support for Matter 1.2 in SmartThings means the appliances added to the new smart home standard — developed jointly by Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, and others — will now work with Samsung’s smart home platform.
This includes refrigerators, room air conditioners, dishwashers, washing machines, robot vacuums, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, air quality sensors, air purifiers, and fans. You’ll be able to add the devices directly to the SmartThings app via Matter, control them, and receive notifications and alerts through the app.
The SmartThings platform already supports many of these appliances, both its own Samsung brand as well as those from other manufacturers (including Thermador, Bosch, and Dacor). But those are generally through cloud integrations.
Matter will bring these integrations local, which should mean faster response times and the ability to control devices even if your internet is down. While Samsung’s connected appliances work with the SmartThings app, they are not Matter certified. This means they only work with the SmartThings app, whereas Matter appliances can work with any smart home platform that supports Matter.
However, the other major platforms, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple Home, have yet to add support for Matter 1.2. Apple announced it will support robot vacuums later this year, but there’s no word on any of the other device types. Home Assistant supports Matter 1.2, but its Matter integration is still in beta. While Matter 1.3 was announced in May, bringing support for energy management, microwave ovens, ovens, electric cooktops, extractor hoods, and electric dryers, it’s unclear when we’ll see widespread platform support.
There are currently only a handful of Matter-certified appliances in the newly supported categories — Roborock’s S8 MaxV Ultra,Ecovac’s Deebot X2 Combo robot vacuums, and AiDot’s air purifier being some examples. But now that one of the major platforms has announced support, I expect we’ll see manufacturers enabling it in their appliances. Whirlpool (which owns KitchenAid and Maytag), Midea, LG, and Haier (which owns GE Appliances) are all notable brands that have said their products will support Matter.
Samsung announced a few other enhancements for its platform besides a Matter update. It’s adding a new Hub Manager interface in the SmartThings app to provide a single place to manage multiple hubs. This adds the option to choose a primary hub as well as a new Hub Backup feature. If you have multiple SmartThings hubs, a secondary hub can kick in if the primary hub fails.
SmartThings has expanded its hub infrastructure significantly in recent years, adding SmartThings hubs into its TVs, soundbars, and smart fridges. With the Hub Backup feature, since it’s more likely you have multiple hubs in your house, if one gets unplugged, fails, or you replace it, your smart home will continue to operate. Most of Samsung’s newer SmartThings hubs support Thread, Zigbee, and Matter, but only the Aeotec SmartThings hub also supports Z-Wave.
Samsung Galaxy smartphone users are getting a new quick access Device Control feature. You’ll now be able to choose devices to add to your own home control page on the phone’s quick panel for fast access to adjust the TV’s volume or change a light’s brightness without opening the SmartThings app.
Image: Samsung SmartThings
SmartThings Energy is getting gamified. Now, if you save 400Wh a day by using the energy management feature, you can earn Samsung Rewards.
Energy management is a key feature of the smart home, and SmartThings Energy, SmartThings’ energy management service, is one of the more robust options. Now, Samsung is adding a neat gamification feature to the platform, which lets you view and manage energy use from compatible appliances to help you save energy. When you use Samsung’s AI Energy Mode, which automatically adjusts appliances’ energy use, you can earn an Energy Stamp for every day you save 400Wh of electricity. These can be converted into Samsung Rewards and spent on Samsung products at Samsung.com.
The SmartThings app is also getting some interface updates. The Devices tab will now display Rooms as top-level tabs, making managing your devices by room easier. Searching for devices has also been “enhanced” to help you find what you need quicker. Devices will also feature more glanceable information on their card, including the device's status — for example, a door lock will indicate if it’s locked or unlocked.
You’ll also now be able to share any routines or automation you create in the app with friends and family. Shareable Routines will let you generate a QR code of a routine you’ve created for someone to scan to activate in the SmartThings app.
While these are mostly incremental improvements to the platform, they are all welcome updates that — if they work as advertised — will make using SmartThings to manage your smart home easier and more reliable. The platform has also been leading the way in Matter adoption, and while Matter is still far from the smooth, seamless smart home experience we’ve been promised, SmartThings now offers one of the most robust implementations.
Supreme Court Declines to Rule on Tech Platforms’ Free Speech Rights The justices returned both cases, which concerned state laws that supporters said were aimed at “Silicon Valley censorship,” to lower courts. Critics had said the laws violated the sites’ First Amendment rights.
Meta’s Ad-Free Subscription Violates Competition Law, E.U. Says Regulators said the subscription service introduced last year is a “pay or consent” method to collect personal data and bolster advertising.
Facebook and Instagram’s ‘pay or consent’ ad model violates the DMA, says the EU
Image: The Verge
The EU has formally charged Meta with violations of its Digital Markets Act (DMA), marking its second such charge in as many weeks. The European Commission writes in a preliminary ruling that the “pay or consent” advertising model that launched last year for Facebook and Instagram users runs afoul of Article 5(2) of the DMA by not giving users a third option that uses less data for ad targeting but is still free to use.
Regulators found in their investigation that Meta gives users a “binary choice” that forces them to either choose to pay a monthly subscription fee to get the ad-free version of Facebook and Instagram or consent to the ad-supported version. Where Meta runs afoul of its rules, it says, is by not letting users opt for a free version that “uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the ‘personalised ads’ based service” and by not allowing them to “exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data.”
“Our preliminary view is that Meta’s advertising model fails to comply with the Digital Markets Act,” wrote Margrethe Vestager, who leads the region’s competition policy. “And we want to empower citizens to be able to take control over their own data and choose a less personalised ads experience.”
The commission explains the part of the DMA it believes Meta has violated:
Under Article 5(2) of the DMA, gatekeepers must seek users’ consent for combining their personal data between designated core platform services and other services, and if a user refuses such consent, they should have access to a less personalised but equivalent alternative. Gatekeepers cannot make use of the service or certain functionalities conditional on users’ consent.
The #DMA is here to give back users the power to decide over their #data#Meta has forced millions of users across EU into a binary choice : “pay or consent”.
In our preliminary conclusion this is a breach of the DMA.
“Subscription for no ads follows the direction of the highest court in Europe and complies with the DMA,” Meta spokesperson Matthew Pollard told The Verge in an email. “We look forward to further constructive dialogue with the European Commission to bring this investigation to a close.”
The commission says that it has informed Meta of its charges and has the opportunity to respond to its findings. If Meta is ultimately found to be in violation when the investigation concludes next year, the EU could fine it as much as 10 percent of its total worldwide revenue, which, for Meta, could be as much as $13.4 billion based on its results for 2023. The penalty could grow to up to 20 percent if the company is found to continue violating the DMA.
Meta is the second company charged since the DMA went into full force in March 2024. The commission asserted last week that Apple’s App Store “steering” policies don’t allow sufficient competition.
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