Spotify Wrapped 2021, The best stocking stuffers, Pixel 6 charging issues, Qualcomm's new chip, and more

December 2, 2021

Music is just the greatest, am I right? I spent all year having the time of my life listening to all my favorite artists on Spotify, like Radiohead and the Cure, and even discovering a ton of new favorite bands and songs. So, man, was I ever excited to see my end-of-year Spotify Wrapped 2021 results!

Turns out I listened to over 16,000 minutes of music in 2021—a number I want to double next year. Spotify also showed me my top five songs, my Audio Aura, let me play “two truths and a lie” with my top bands, and gave me a cool playlist to remember the year by! We know how you can get your own Spotify Wrapped results, so click on our top story for all the deets.

Other Highlights:

• The holidays are rapidly approaching! If you’re looking for a few cool (and affordable) stocking stuffers, we gathered up a bunch of our favorites.
• Is your brand new Pixel 6 or Pixel 6 Pro not charging? It might be due to the cable or power adapter you’re using.
• Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip might make face unlock suck less. Or will it make it suck more? 
• Google just made your Chromebook even more useful. How? By rolling out tons of cool new features, like the ability to scan documents with its webcam.
• … and so much more!
• -Suzanne

Music fans rejoice—Spotify Wrapped 2021 is finally here! The end-of-year recap is available for Spotify users worldwide and includes a ton of fun new features, including a music-based card game and a free reading of your “audio aura.”  Here are all the new Spotify Wrapped features, plus instructions to get Wrapped working on your device. Read More »

Nothing, led by Carl Pei of OnePlus fame, launched the Ear 1 earbuds to a bunch of fanfare and hype. The company focused its marketing campaign on its partnership with Teenage Engineering and the product’s transparent design, but how do they sound? I’m here to tell you that they’re pretty damn good. Read More »

To original Xbox and PS2 fans, The Bard’s Tale is a legendary title full of snarky jokes, fantastic role-play elements, and killer narration from the late Tony Jay. But like most console games, The Bard’s Tale and its sequels have been practically inaccessible to blind and visually impaired gamers. That ends this month, when The Bard’s Tale Warlocks of Largefearn arrives on Amazon Alexa. Read More »

Your Chromebook’s neglected Camera app just got a lot smarter. Google is rolling out a ton of genuinely useful new features for the Chromebook Camera app, including the ability to scan documents with your webcam or crop the video feed from external cameras. Read More »

Qualcomm’s latest smartphone chip is the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. It’s a powerful sequel to the Snapdragon 888+, the first chip to use Qualcomm’s new naming convention, and oddly enough, the first Snapdragon chip with always-on camera support. Qualcomm claims this feature will dramatically improve Face Unlock functionality, but it also comes with some privacy concerns. Read More »

Sure, the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch OLED are cool and all, but these handheld vintage single-title video games were even cooler. This one features the iconic retro Jurassic Park title from the 90s in the classic electronic LCD video game that is perfect for 90s kids and any fan of retro titles. You can play as Tim and Lex and help them successfully race to restore power and escape the park while dodging raptors, poison-spitting dinosaurs, and of course, the T-Rex. The game features four timed stages, each with five lives, and you’ll lose a life when you can’t avoid an obstacle or dinosaur (but you can reach out to Dr. Grant for help).

Get it at Amazon →

As reported by our friends at 9to5Google, tons of Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro owners are complaining that their phone won’t charge with some cables or power adapters. It seems that the Pixel 6 will simply ignore some charging accessories, even if these chargers work fine with other devices. Read More »

Back in October, Wyze announced that it would finally deliver camera webview support, something owners have wanted for years, and now it’s here. The Wyze webview public beta is live for all, letting users view camera live feeds and recordings from any web browser, but it’ll cost you. Read More »

Did you know that the power supplies included with laptops like the MacBook Air don’t actually support their device’s top charging speed? If you want to charge your devices as fast as possible, you’ll need a powerful third-party charging brick. Thankfully, Satechi is offering all of its chargers for 20% off with coupon code CHARGERS20. Read More »

A weird black dot is probably one of the most disheartening things you can run into when buying a new screen. That, dear readers, is a dead pixel. Here’s why they happen and what you can do about it. Read More »

Upgrading to a smart thermostat is a great way to save money on your annual energy bill and automate your home. Choosing the right one for your home, however, isn’t an easy process. Here are our favorite smart thermostats currently on the market. Read More »

As audiences get ready to return to the world of The Matrix, it’s the perfect time to revisit the Wachowskis’ groundbreaking sci-fi vision, which remains hugely influential. Here’s how to stream every movie in The Matrix franchise. Read More »