Tom Petty’s four-decades-long run as America’s premier power-pop troubadour had plenty of unexpected phases: There was his late-’70s, working-class-hero years, in which he sparred with his record label, arguing that his music should be priced cheaper;...
On a cool September evening, Judy Johanson curled up on her living room sofa with her iPad, carefully examining mouse brains. Her husband, Steve, slept just a few feet away. It was granular work, especially for a woman who for 24 years ran a daycare center. Judy...
There are two schools of thought regarding wireless headphones. There’s the AirPods camp, which believes true wireless is the only wireless, and the best way to listen to music is with two individual buds shoved into your ear canals. To the other crew, wires...
Apple is hosting a big iPhone launch event in Cupertino on September 12. David, Arielle, and Michael open up their iPhones and ask Siri to predict what’s coming on Tuesday. All the hosts have so far are rumors, leaks, and guesses, but that’s more than...
Garmin’s Fenix line has long been among the best—if not the best—multisport watches money can buy. These capable wrist-puters add performance tracking and GPS-based mapping to just about every outdoor activity. Critics have been vocal about the...
Houston’s music, like the city itself, is a sprawl of possibility and community—and a deluge didn’t change...
Every smart speaker has its advantages. With Amazon Echo, you get access to tens of thousands of “skills,” the mini-apps that start a game of Jeopardy or help you mix a cocktail. With Google Home, you have the full power of Google search at your beck and...
Whenever it’s time to redesign a classic, automakers, especially those in the luxury business, must tackle a tricky problem. They know buyers will want the latest tech, but they want it in a package that stays true to the heritage into which they’re buying....
You have to credit Samsung for its chutzpah. The company’s tried every way it can think of to make its smartwatches happen, refining its line of Gear products year after year. Still, not even the latest Gear S3—one of the best smartwatches on the...
I have a love-hate relationship with wireless headphones. The idea is incredibly appealing, but the added complication of charging multiplied by the notoriously finicky Bluetooth tech still has me clinging to my rats’ nest of cords like a fogie who won’t...
The Ionic can track your heart rate, play music, make mobile payments, and display push notifications. Just don’t call it a wrist...
Every year, for the past 26 years, something truly remarkable happens: an entire city appears out of the desert. I’m speaking, of course, of Black Rock City, in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, erected for the quasi-ritualistic celebration of art, radical...
The US border with Mexico stretches 2,000 miles from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. It crosses four states and some of the most inhospitable terrain imaginable. Hundreds of millions of people cross it each year, making it the busiest border in the world. Yet...
The complex work of composer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith defies expectations. Her technique of blending synthesizers, acoustic instruments, and electronic-sounding human voices has made the 30-year-old musician a star among the next generation of post–New Age...
Your book club meets next month, but you’re just too busy to run down to Barnes and Noble to pick up Infinite Jest. Sure, you could order it on Amazon, but it’s way too heavy to lug around in your backpack and your bookshelf is looking pretty crammed....
Don’t gunk up your artfully appointed living room with artlessly boxy speakers. The Danes at Bang & Olufsen have designed a sonic solution for you. The wall-mounted BeoSound Shape is assembled from three flavors of hexagonal tiles: speakers, amplifiers, and...
Anker, the China-based accessory maker, blew up on Amazon with a simple plan: make decent-quality versions of everyday gadgets lots of people want, and sell them for less than Apple or Samsung. They don’t have fancy TV ads or cool packaging, but they do have a...
French Montana’s latest single is just the latest in a long line of songs that rode an Instagram dance challenge to the...
Google dismissed Damore for “perpetuating gender stereotypes” in a memo he posted to internal forums last...
By enabling the streaming of calls and music straight to cochlear implants, Apple is empowering those with hearing loss—and maybe, one day,...