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Welcome To CNET Parenting!


Welcome to CNET Parenting!


CNET is no stranger to baby tech -- it's something we've covered for many years, from a review of the smart Snoo bassinet to apps to help you navigate your baby's first few months. But now we're doubling down on our efforts by giving you all the advice and product picks you'll need, from when you first get pregnant (or start trying) to the toddler years and beyond.

Our Parenting section will cover reproductive health, fertility, pregnancy, birth, infants, toddlers and school-aged kids. We've put together a team of writers who are parents of babies or young kids and are producing all this content for you under the guidance of CNET's first Parental Advisory Board. 

This board is made up of a group of parents across all of CNET who are sharing their extensive experience in child-rearing and their advice on the products that made a difference for them. And when writing about physical, mental or behavioral health, we also consult with medical experts from top medical schools and hospitals around the US, including Harvard, Stanford and the University of California, San Francisco.

We're here to give you all the advice and product recommendations you need for you and your kids, from pregnancy well into childhood. You can also expect the news and explainers that matter (like that sunscreen recall), so stay tuned for all the great content yet to come! Sign up for our newsletter above to make sure you don't miss any parenting stories.

We're excited to have you join us as we expand our Health and Wellness coverage to include one of the most pivotal parts of life: pregnancy to birth to early childhood.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.


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Installing An EV Charger At My House Was Easy


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Installing an EV Charger at My House Was Easy


Installing an EV Charger at My House Was Easy

With more and more electric vehicles coming through our test fleet -- including our long-term 2022 Mini Cooper SE -- I decided it was time to install a home charger. It's crucial for me because I live in a small desert town and the only public chargers are Level 2 units that deliver electricity at a super-slow speed of 8.3 kilowatts. The last thing I want to do is sit in the parking lot of the California Welcome Center for hours on end.

My first step was to look at my home's electrical panel and see if it could accommodate a Level 2 charger. I have a 100-amp panel and I want to charge at 50 amps, which should let me put 37 miles worth of juice back into the long-term Mini in about an hour. But I didn't want to have to upgrade my house to a 200-amp panel, which I thought I might need to do since I'd want to run things like the air conditioner at the same time.

The $699 ChargePoint Home Flex charger I bought can be set to a variety of amps, from 16 all the way up to 50. A good middle-ground charging speed is 40 amps, which puts about 30 miles of range back into the Mini each hour. Plus, by keeping the charging speed below 48 amps, I didn't need to have the charger hardwired to the house, which saved a few dollars during installation, and I didn't have to upgrade to the 200-amp panel. It's good to know that, if I'm hit with a heat wave, I can set the charger's amps lower and still crank the air conditioning.

With our long-term Mini Cooper SE's small battery, home charging is a must.

Emme Hall/CNET

What I like best about my ChargePoint charger is the app. I can use it to find public charging stations when I'm out and about, but I can also use it to schedule my home charging schedule, set reminders, check on charging activity and adjust the amperage remotely.

My local electrician installed the ChargePoint L2 charger for right around $2,000. That included running conduit from the panel in the back of the house under the eave of my home and into the garage, pulling wire through said conduit and then installing a junction box and wiring up the charger. My electrician also added a 240-volt box for a future welder I want to purchase, so I probably could've saved some money if I hadn't asked for that extra work.

Just as there are incentives for buying an electric vehicle, there are also incentives for installing a home charger. The ChargePoint website has a handy search function so you can find rebates in your state. Unfortunately, my utility company and my county in California don't participate. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Not everyone can install a charger at home; renters definitely don't all have this luxury. But having the home charger has improved my time with the Mini, especially since it has a tiny 32.6-kilowatt-hour battery pack that gets an EPA-estimated 114 miles of range. In our testing, we've been seeing anywhere between 110 and 115 miles, but for me, that's one trip into Los Angeles. Having a charger at home -- especially one with an app like ChargePoint's -- means I can plug in and charge when it's most convenient. No more waiting around in the parking lot.


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https://housemyc.pops.my.id/

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Arcade1Up Infinity Game Table Review: The Digital Board Game Coffee Table You Didn't Know You Needed


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Arcade1Up Infinity Game Table review: The digital board game coffee table you didn't know you needed


Arcade1Up Infinity Game Table review: The digital board game coffee table you didn't know you needed

I spent all afternoon playing Monopoly, backgammon and Sorry! with my family, sitting around the coffee table. We previously did this a lot, but we've done it a lot more since the games were actually embedded in the table, no cardboard box or plastic tokens needed. 

We have tons of board games in our house and tons of iPads and game consoles that can play games, too. And yet, we all still ended up loving the most unlikely game console to enter our living room: a giant 24-inch screen embedded in a tablet with metal legs. The Infinity Game Table is, most definitely, a table. And it's also a game platform. 

True to the "infinity" name, the game table has, so far, kept out a steady trickle of new games since I started playing. Most are Hasbro-based, but some, like Ticket to Ride and Pandemic, are welcome additions. They also cost extra ($10 each for those, and anywhere from $3-$8 for others). The Infinity Game Table includes over 50 games for free. The 62-game (and counting) total library is a much bigger bundle of games than any of Arcade1Up's other cabinets, and it's what makes the idea appealing as a long-term purchase. And as I look back at a strange year in tech, this game table remains one of my favorite (if imperfect) throwback game experiences.

infinity-game-table-1

Space for coffee, tea and backgammon: the Infinity Game Table.

Scott Stein/CNET

Arcade1Up's Infinity Game Table isn't perfect and it doesn't have all the games I'd want to play on it. And it's way too expensive for most people to consider. But, it still made us smile a lot around my home after a week. Oddly enough, it became a fixture for a while. And then, like many things, we sometimes grew bored and moved on. New games kept us coming back, sometimes. Over a couple of months, it occasionally became more table than a game console.

Arcade1Up has become popular for its arcade cabinet re-creations, which have anywhere from a couple to a dozen retro games per cabinet. They're specialty/novelty devices. I've hesitated on getting an arcade machine for my home, but on a recent vacation, our rental home had a Ms. Pac-Man cocktail table in the living room. The kids were wowed, even though they literally play games everywhere else every single day. It made us sit down and have some fun. It felt weirdly relaxing, too.

The Infinity Game Table does the same for board games, sort of. CNET's Bridget Carey got an exclusive look and playtest with the table when it was unveiled earlier this year and I felt both fascinated and skeptical. The table comes with a large number of games that can be downloaded and none of them are things you couldn't find for a few bucks (or for free) on your iPad. There are a lot of Hasbro games (Monopoly, Sorry!, Trivial Pursuit, Scrabble -- I'll get to those in a second). There are more generic ones like Sudoku, backgammon, chess, checkers and solitaire.

The whole idea of this table isn't new. There used to be giant interactive tablet-tables a decade ago. Those cost a ton. There are iPads now: you could put those on a table. Think of the Infinity Game Table as a dedicated touch-screen board game coffee table, starting at $650. Unnecessary? Sure. Janky at times? Absolutely. And... I sort of love it.

infinity-game-table-2

Everything's touchscreen on the Infinity Game Table and it works pretty well.

Scott Stein/CNET

How is it as a game console?

Arcade1Up collected a whole bunch of board games for the table, which can be downloaded one by one to the onboard storage. There's enough space for all available games so far. But they don't come preloaded: You need Wi-Fi access to set it up and download the games. The 24-inch, 1,920x1,080-pixel LCD screen isn't the best -- colors sometimes don't look that vivid -- but it's good enough to see from all angles. The touch response feels good, at least. And, weirdly, this table has rumble feedback. In some games, a loud buzzing shakes the table. That doesn't come into play too often (the game of Operation uses it when you mess up, or Battleship when you sink a ship) and I could have done without it.

There's a power button and volume on the side of the table, like a tablet. The tabletop can be detached from its legs and put on your own table, if you want, too. I preferred keeping the legs on.

You need to set up a user name and account with the Infinity Game Table and while all the games right now seem to be free, future games can cost extra. Two new premium games, Ticket to Ride and Pandemic, are available for $10 extra each. Many games on the table are available free with purchase, but the future of games on this table may be a la carte add-ons, like a game table app store.

infinity-game-table-3

Some of Monopoly's controls and settings could have been better, but we still play it a ton.

Scott Stein/CNET

The existing batch of Hasbro games and more generic games are a mixed bag. They allow anywhere from two to six players and some are well designed for the tabletop experience: Monopoly places cards and controls all around the table edge and Sorry! is easy to control from any of the four sides. Some games like Candyland and Chutes and Ladders seem a lot less optimized, running only in vertical mode for some reason. Trouble and The Game of Life are natural successes, while games like Clue and Pandemic feel a little complex, and sometimes hard to figure out on the touchscreen.

Most games don't have customized controls and they don't have individual family player profiles or a way to keep track of games played and games won. Graphics and animations are also a lot less modern than anything on an iPad, at times. Dice roll animations and more animated games like Hungry Hungry Hippos hint that the processor on this game table isn't so hot compared to your average computer or phone. 

But they work. And sitting around the table is something truly different than gathering around a game system like the Switch. I love Nintendo's Switch board game collection, Clubhouse Games. But it means sitting around the TV or a tiny Switch screen. With us huddled at a table together, the vibe changes. It does feel communal. And special.

infinity-game-table-4

The table comes with some folding cardboard screens to hide tiles or cards in some games. Arcade1Up may be looking at phones as second screens for the table down the line.

Scott Stein/CNET

Some games are really fun. Others, though, are totally lame-feeling. Operation is turned into a maze game where you drag items with your finger to an exit. Simon is a giant touchscreen pattern-matching game. A weird sumo-wrestling game that just appeared this week feels like a terrible ancient Flash game.

Battleship is addictive. Backgammon is fun. Sorry! is great. Again, though, so few customizations. Backgammon seems to only start with player 2, and I can't swap sides, or layouts, or board designs. There's no doubling cube. I just go with the flow. Again: many games feel like old touchscreen game ideas from 10 years ago. They could use a lot of updates and finesse.

infinity-game-table-5

The Game Table isn't that tall (look at the table behind it). But it's fine with a sofa.

Scott Stein/CNET

How is it as a table?

This table is my first gaming furniture review. So... is it a good table? Strangely enough, yes. Arcade1Up's cabinets take some time to construct. The Infinity Game Table is a lot simpler: just snap in the metal legs and you're basically set. The 24-inch model was manageable enough for me to put together by myself. (There's a larger-screened version but it's also in the table footprint, just with less bezel around the screen).

The glass-topped table feels solid to lean on and the legs feel sturdy too (with rubber feet on the bottom). There are plastic-rubber bumpers around the table edge, which I appreciated, because of kids and hitting things by accident. 

infinity-game-table-6

The table is pretty easy to assemble: the metal legs just snap into the back.

Scott Stein/CNET

But the table is also lower and smaller than I expected. It works best as a coffee table by your sofa. Regular chairs are a bit too high to pull up to it without leaning in too much. It does snuggle next to our sofas pretty well, though.

The display is surrounded by a pretty large bezel of black space on the table. On a regular tablet, it would be ugly. Here, it's a great free space for drinks and snacks. I put some coasters on the table and enjoyed morning coffee and backgammon with my wife. Of course, I'm worried about spills and crumbs too, but the table surface is at least smooth and uninterrupted by holes or buttons, so it should be easy to wipe clean.

infinity-game-table-7

The table has USB ports, SD card storage and room for a battery. But be ready to snake the power cord to an outlet in your living room.

Scott Stein/CNET

Then there's the power cord. The table needs to be plugged in all the time to use, much like Arcade1Up's other cabinets and cocktail tables, which means snaking that multi-foot power cord somewhere where it won't be seen. I couldn't find a way to do that in a living room, so it was left exposed along on the floor (at least it's long enough to reach across to a nearby outlet). There's a slot for a battery to charge up the table for a few hours of gameplay at a time, but the battery wasn't included with the table I tested. (There are also two USB ports, oddly, and an SD card slot for memory storage expansion, although the 16GB of onboard storage held all the available games with room to spare.)

infinity-game-table-8

There's a jigsaw puzzle app, too, which wasn't as good as I hoped... and yet it's also meditative and addictive.

Scott Stein/CNET

It's become a little in-home vacation

I miss this thing not having more serious games, like Catan, or Hive, or any of the other cool indie games I love. Puerto Rico? Carcassonne? Azul? Pyramid Arcade? Mansions of Madness? That's what my massive board game collection is for. Or, my iPad. It's what keeps the Infinity Game Table from feeling infinite. And I wonder if Arcade1Up has bitten off more than it can handle with a game platform this ambitious. At least other arcade cabinets made by the company stick to a well-known list of retro games... Would this have been better as just a Hasbro Game Table? How much would have I wanted to play it then?

And yet, we loved it. It's something different and it's made us play more, even though games literally surround us. Maybe it's having a free table ready to go, clean and clear, and all ready to run. Maybe it's the novelty. And of course, this is as much a novelty item as any Arcade1Up machine.

But it also feels like the sort of thing I'd have found in the corner of a hotel lobby when I used to travel more, or in a rental home, or in the corner of an arcade. Something that would be fun to try for a while and lose myself in. At home, it removes us from our space for a bit, makes it feel like we're doing something special, immersive, arcade-like. I'd love for this table to be more, but it's a clever idea that feels more logical now than I ever expected it to.


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Apple IPad (8th-gen, 2020) Review: The Best IPad Value By Far


Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far


Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far

The eighth-gen iPad feels familiar. It should be familiar: iPads don't change much. But the world certainly has. My whole family is trapped at home, working and going to school; remote connections are our whole lives. And iPads and Chromebooks are everywhere in our house.

My kids connect to their classes through devices: one on a Chromebook, the younger one on an iPad. iPads aren't ideal for school. They're convenient in a pinch, but not all apps work well, and not all input tools do, either.

Like

  • Faster processor handles iPadOS better
  • Supports Pencil and keyboard cases
  • Faster charger included in box

Don't Like

  • 10.2 inch screen feels cramped with two-app multitasking
  • Doesn't support Pencil 2 or newer Magic Keyboard cases
  • Older front-facing camera, still not great for landscape Zooming
  • Entry-level 32GB storage too low to recommend

The basic iPad has been the "good enough" iPad for forever, while the Pro and Air have offered fancier features and better performance. This year, the iPad Air is getting a major revamp with a new processor, big display and USB-C, making it look much like an iPad Pro for less. But that new iPad Air starts at $599 (£579, AU$899). The new eighth-gen iPad I've been using, in the meantime, starts at $329 (£329, AU$499). Most stores will probably drop that to $300, and holiday sales could even bring it down further, if past years are any indication. 

So what about this new 2020 entry-level iPad? It's an iPad, just like the one before. But it's a bit faster now. Whether you get one is basically the same question as before.

There's not a lot to say about this new 10.2-inch iPad. It's the same device as last year with one key improvement: Now it has an A12 processor instead of last year's A10. That's a big difference, and makes this a great time to consider the upgrade if you have an iPad that's several years old. Last year's basic iPad increased screen size and added a smart connector on the side, but it didn't change the processor. Upgrading is a major overhaul.

But you should also know that this basic iPad is a lot like last year's 2019 iPad Air and iPad Mini. So much so that, really, they're variants on the same device. (That 2019 Air is gone from Apple's website, but the Mini remains.) Think of it as last year's Air for less, and it's a good deal. But it's also an older iPad design. It still has a Touch ID home button and a headphone jack. And it still uses Lightning to charge and connect accessories, even though the upcoming iPad Air and current Pros use USB-C.

Here are the key similarities and differences between this new iPad and last year's Air and Mini:

  • The new eighth-gen iPad has the same processor and RAM as those iPads.
  • It also comes with less base storage (32GB).
  • The front-facing camera is worse on the eighth-gen iPad: 1.2 megapixels and 720p, versus 7 megapixels and 1080p on last year's Air and Mini.
  • The eighth-gen iPad works with the first-gen Pencil, just like those older iPads. That means you'll have to stick it in your iPad's Lightning port to charge -- and lose track of the little pop-off Pencil cap on the end in the process.
  • It works with the same Apple Smart Keyboard as the 2019 iPad Air, but that's not true of every Air case. Logitech's Combo Touch, for instance, has the same keyboard base but has two models to fit the Air and iPad's different thicknesses.
  • The included charger is better and faster: It's 20 watts, and the cable is now Lightning-to-USB-C, allowing it to work better with recent MacBooks.
  • The 10.2-inch display is a bit smaller and a hair less vivid than the 2019 Air. But it's still more than good enough.
  • Now that the iPad supports trackpads and mice, it's also more versatile for web apps and tools.
027-apple-ipad-2020

A Lightning charger, still, but a faster 20-watt one.

Scott Stein/CNET

So this all adds up to: The iPad Is Totally Fine. More than fine, I'd say. I'm writing this review on it using the smart keyboard (editing and prepping on CNET's content management system is still best on a laptop).

The iPad still isn't as useful as a Chromebook for a lot of school tools, at least in my house. App support is amazing, and Apple's streaming-friendly ecosystem also helps it double as a fantastic little TV. But multitasking and file saving are still weird and frustrating, even with iPadOS 14 improvements.

iPads in my house tend to be free screens we grab to do things, and this basic iPad fits that role fantastically.

Do you wait for the 2020 iPad Air?

The fancier Air comes out soon, and it looks nice. It's also nearly twice the price. As a result, it's not the same product at all. The Air looks like it would make a lovely gift for someone who needs a more powerful iPad for art or graphics work, and wants to save over the Pro. But for most people I bet this iPad will be fine.

Why is the camera on the side?

Most annoying iPad feature in 2020: The front-facing camera is still on the side in landscape mode, which is the mode most of us do chats and Zooms in. My face ends up off-angle and strangely centered, staring off into space. The iPad's camera is good enough, even in a step-down mode, and better than most laptops. But it's terrible for centering your face. And everything now is Zoom. 

018-apple-ipad-2020

The Apple Pencil still goes in the Lightning port to charge.

Scott Stein/CNET

No great keyboard cases?

The Logitech Combo Touch has a trackpad, but its bulkier case and kickstand design aren't great for lap typing. It's perfectly usable, but at $150 it's an expensive accessory.

There's no Apple Magic Keyboard for this iPad, but you can use Apple's older smart connector Smart Keyboard cover, which is compact but lacks a trackpad. 

Trackpad and mouse support is the best 2020 iPad feature

Just like every other recent iPad, with iPadOS 14 you can connect a mouse or trackpad (or get a trackpad-enabled keyboard case). I find it a huge help with editing and navigating, especially while the iPad is propped up on a desk with a kickstand case.

025-apple-ipad-2020

The smart keyboard case and Apple Pencil work with this iPad, but they cost extra and aren't the most recent versions.

Scott Stein/CNET

Battery life so far: Pretty good, as always

I was able to do a Zoom for an hour without making much of a dent on a full charge. I multitasked, read, watched shows, played games, worked on stories, and the battery held. No surprise, since the iPad's claim of around 10 hours of battery life has been the same for years, though it varies a few hours more or less depending on the model. I haven't done a battery benchmark but it's doing a full day with ease. The included faster charger is welcome.

005-apple-ipad-2020

iPadOS 14 is here now, and you might want to eventually try it on your existing iPad first before upgrading iPads.

Scott Stein/CNET

What I miss most from better iPads

Compared to the higher-end iPads, this one lacks the extra screen real estate on its sides. This larger-bezeled iPad is fine, but in multitasking modes with two apps open it starts to feel cramped. The next iPad Air (or iPad Pros) feel considerably more expansive, even if it's just an inch or so. Most laptops, TVs and other screened devices make a big deal about how narrow their screen bezels are. Still, this only really matters if you need to multitask -- keeping Slack and Gmail on screen at once, for example, or writing while following news feeds. It can be done on this iPad, but it works better with a second screen that's narrower (like an email, Twitter or Slack stream).

I also miss the TrueTone on the 2019 iPad Air and iPad Pro (and iPhone). It auto-adjusts color temperature, and I've really gotten used to it. This iPad's display seems harsher or bluer than I'm used to. It also lacks the fancy 120Hz refresh of the iPad Pro, but you might not notice the difference. The 2,160x1,620-pixel display is otherwise great.

If you're looking for an iPad and have no idea which to get, this is the safe iPad bet and the one you should probably buy. It officially starts at $329, but many stores sell it for $299, which can drop to $250 during sales. And, yeah, I'd recommend going to the $429 128GB model for that extra storage security blanket if you're considering downloading more than a handful of apps. If you're a pro, and need pro-level features, then you're already considering the iPad Pro or the upcoming improved iPad Air. For everyone else -- families, students, anyone looking to pick up a good versatile extra screen -- this is where you're likely to start looking, and also where you're likely to end up. 


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Apple IPad (8th-gen, 2020) Review: The Best IPad Value By Far


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Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far


Apple iPad (8th-gen, 2020) review: The best iPad value by far

The eighth-gen iPad feels familiar. It should be familiar: iPads don't change much. But the world certainly has. My whole family is trapped at home, working and going to school; remote connections are our whole lives. And iPads and Chromebooks are everywhere in our house.

My kids connect to their classes through devices: one on a Chromebook, the younger one on an iPad. iPads aren't ideal for school. They're convenient in a pinch, but not all apps work well, and not all input tools do, either.

Like

  • Faster processor handles iPadOS better
  • Supports Pencil and keyboard cases
  • Faster charger included in box

Don't Like

  • 10.2 inch screen feels cramped with two-app multitasking
  • Doesn't support Pencil 2 or newer Magic Keyboard cases
  • Older front-facing camera, still not great for landscape Zooming
  • Entry-level 32GB storage too low to recommend

The basic iPad has been the "good enough" iPad for forever, while the Pro and Air have offered fancier features and better performance. This year, the iPad Air is getting a major revamp with a new processor, big display and USB-C, making it look much like an iPad Pro for less. But that new iPad Air starts at $599 (£579, AU$899). The new eighth-gen iPad I've been using, in the meantime, starts at $329 (£329, AU$499). Most stores will probably drop that to $300, and holiday sales could even bring it down further, if past years are any indication. 

So what about this new 2020 entry-level iPad? It's an iPad, just like the one before. But it's a bit faster now. Whether you get one is basically the same question as before.

There's not a lot to say about this new 10.2-inch iPad. It's the same device as last year with one key improvement: Now it has an A12 processor instead of last year's A10. That's a big difference, and makes this a great time to consider the upgrade if you have an iPad that's several years old. Last year's basic iPad increased screen size and added a smart connector on the side, but it didn't change the processor. Upgrading is a major overhaul.

But you should also know that this basic iPad is a lot like last year's 2019 iPad Air and iPad Mini. So much so that, really, they're variants on the same device. (That 2019 Air is gone from Apple's website, but the Mini remains.) Think of it as last year's Air for less, and it's a good deal. But it's also an older iPad design. It still has a Touch ID home button and a headphone jack. And it still uses Lightning to charge and connect accessories, even though the upcoming iPad Air and current Pros use USB-C.

Here are the key similarities and differences between this new iPad and last year's Air and Mini:

  • The new eighth-gen iPad has the same processor and RAM as those iPads.
  • It also comes with less base storage (32GB).
  • The front-facing camera is worse on the eighth-gen iPad: 1.2 megapixels and 720p, versus 7 megapixels and 1080p on last year's Air and Mini.
  • The eighth-gen iPad works with the first-gen Pencil, just like those older iPads. That means you'll have to stick it in your iPad's Lightning port to charge -- and lose track of the little pop-off Pencil cap on the end in the process.
  • It works with the same Apple Smart Keyboard as the 2019 iPad Air, but that's not true of every Air case. Logitech's Combo Touch, for instance, has the same keyboard base but has two models to fit the Air and iPad's different thicknesses.
  • The included charger is better and faster: It's 20 watts, and the cable is now Lightning-to-USB-C, allowing it to work better with recent MacBooks.
  • The 10.2-inch display is a bit smaller and a hair less vivid than the 2019 Air. But it's still more than good enough.
  • Now that the iPad supports trackpads and mice, it's also more versatile for web apps and tools.
027-apple-ipad-2020

A Lightning charger, still, but a faster 20-watt one.

Scott Stein/CNET

So this all adds up to: The iPad Is Totally Fine. More than fine, I'd say. I'm writing this review on it using the smart keyboard (editing and prepping on CNET's content management system is still best on a laptop).

The iPad still isn't as useful as a Chromebook for a lot of school tools, at least in my house. App support is amazing, and Apple's streaming-friendly ecosystem also helps it double as a fantastic little TV. But multitasking and file saving are still weird and frustrating, even with iPadOS 14 improvements.

iPads in my house tend to be free screens we grab to do things, and this basic iPad fits that role fantastically.

Do you wait for the 2020 iPad Air?

The fancier Air comes out soon, and it looks nice. It's also nearly twice the price. As a result, it's not the same product at all. The Air looks like it would make a lovely gift for someone who needs a more powerful iPad for art or graphics work, and wants to save over the Pro. But for most people I bet this iPad will be fine.

Why is the camera on the side?

Most annoying iPad feature in 2020: The front-facing camera is still on the side in landscape mode, which is the mode most of us do chats and Zooms in. My face ends up off-angle and strangely centered, staring off into space. The iPad's camera is good enough, even in a step-down mode, and better than most laptops. But it's terrible for centering your face. And everything now is Zoom. 

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The Apple Pencil still goes in the Lightning port to charge.

Scott Stein/CNET

No great keyboard cases?

The Logitech Combo Touch has a trackpad, but its bulkier case and kickstand design aren't great for lap typing. It's perfectly usable, but at $150 it's an expensive accessory.

There's no Apple Magic Keyboard for this iPad, but you can use Apple's older smart connector Smart Keyboard cover, which is compact but lacks a trackpad. 

Trackpad and mouse support is the best 2020 iPad feature

Just like every other recent iPad, with iPadOS 14 you can connect a mouse or trackpad (or get a trackpad-enabled keyboard case). I find it a huge help with editing and navigating, especially while the iPad is propped up on a desk with a kickstand case.

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The smart keyboard case and Apple Pencil work with this iPad, but they cost extra and aren't the most recent versions.

Scott Stein/CNET

Battery life so far: Pretty good, as always

I was able to do a Zoom for an hour without making much of a dent on a full charge. I multitasked, read, watched shows, played games, worked on stories, and the battery held. No surprise, since the iPad's claim of around 10 hours of battery life has been the same for years, though it varies a few hours more or less depending on the model. I haven't done a battery benchmark but it's doing a full day with ease. The included faster charger is welcome.

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iPadOS 14 is here now, and you might want to eventually try it on your existing iPad first before upgrading iPads.

Scott Stein/CNET

What I miss most from better iPads

Compared to the higher-end iPads, this one lacks the extra screen real estate on its sides. This larger-bezeled iPad is fine, but in multitasking modes with two apps open it starts to feel cramped. The next iPad Air (or iPad Pros) feel considerably more expansive, even if it's just an inch or so. Most laptops, TVs and other screened devices make a big deal about how narrow their screen bezels are. Still, this only really matters if you need to multitask -- keeping Slack and Gmail on screen at once, for example, or writing while following news feeds. It can be done on this iPad, but it works better with a second screen that's narrower (like an email, Twitter or Slack stream).

I also miss the TrueTone on the 2019 iPad Air and iPad Pro (and iPhone). It auto-adjusts color temperature, and I've really gotten used to it. This iPad's display seems harsher or bluer than I'm used to. It also lacks the fancy 120Hz refresh of the iPad Pro, but you might not notice the difference. The 2,160x1,620-pixel display is otherwise great.

If you're looking for an iPad and have no idea which to get, this is the safe iPad bet and the one you should probably buy. It officially starts at $329, but many stores sell it for $299, which can drop to $250 during sales. And, yeah, I'd recommend going to the $429 128GB model for that extra storage security blanket if you're considering downloading more than a handful of apps. If you're a pro, and need pro-level features, then you're already considering the iPad Pro or the upcoming improved iPad Air. For everyone else -- families, students, anyone looking to pick up a good versatile extra screen -- this is where you're likely to start looking, and also where you're likely to end up. 


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Samsung's The Terrace Costs $3,500. But Do We Even Need Outdoor TVs?


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Samsung's The Terrace costs $3,500. But do we even need outdoor TVs?


Samsung's The Terrace costs $3,500. But do we even need outdoor TVs?

This summer the easing of coronavirus stay-at-home restrictions means you might get to spend some time at the beach or the park after all. Even so, the resumption of normal life won't happen all at once. Chances are you're still going to be at home more than usual and, yes, watching more TV than ever. And now Samsung has a TV that lets you do it on the veranda. 

Dubbed The Terrace, the new QLED television starts at a hefty $3,500 for the 55-inch size and goes up from there. That's roughly four times the price of an equivalent indoor Samsung TV and 10 times as much as budget models cost, but for the outlay you'll get something designed from the ground up to survive outdoors. 

Samsung Terrace models

The Terrace is water- and dust-resistant, rated to IP 55 -- enough to withstand "contact with harmful dust" and "low-pressure water projected from a nozzle." For reference, the Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra are both rated higher, to IP 68, but to be fair a TV mounted on a patio probably doesn't need as much protection as a phone. Hopefully your TV won't drop in the pool.

Another slick feature is the built-in HDBaseT receiver, which can pair with an optional HDBaseT transmitter to deliver video from source devices inside the house, such as a cable box or game console, via a single Ethernet cable. If you want to keep your gear outside there's a special sealed, protected media bay designed for connected devices (8.3 inches wide by 10.6 inches high by 1 inch deep). Of course the Terrace also has Wi-Fi and a suite of built-in apps, like the company's standard TVs, which makes for even easier setup. 

Read more: Samsung 2020 QLED TVs go on preorder, focus on 8K, cost a bundle

Samsung also touts the TV's high brightness (2,000 nits), antireflective screen technology and adaptive brightness. Those features are typical for a high-end LCD TV but even more welcome outdoors where the image has to compete with sunlight. In my tests Samsung's indoor TVs perform very well in bright environments and I expect the Terrace to look as good as any TV can outside. Other picture quality features include 4K HDR compatibility, full-array local dimming120Hz and Samsung's Quantum Processor 4K with AI

Speaking of looks, Samsung went with a standard matte-black frame with a 10-millimeter bezel and 59mm cabinet depth, which should allow the TV to blend in nicely with your outdoor ironwork.

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The Terrace Soundbar.

Samsung

The matching soundbar ($1,200 price, model HW-LST70T) is also IP55-rated, with sound tailored for the outdoors by the company's audio lab in California. It connects to the TV via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and also accepts Alexa voice commands, like Samsung's standard soundbars, but doesn't include a subwoofer. A special Terrace TV mounting kit is included with the bar.

So is the Terrace worth the price? Samsung rightly points out that most people who want an outdoor TV buy a cheap indoor set instead and put it on the deck. A couple of years ago I advised a family member to buy an indoor TV for his poolside gazebo rather than splurge on an outdoor model, and that set is still going strong. And here's a smart tip: Protect the TV with a waterproof cover and unplug it during storms.

Until now the biggest name in outdoor TVs was SunBrite and its sets are expensive too, starting at $2,000 for a 55-inch model. That TV is designed for "full shade" so I'm sure the Terrace is much brighter and likely performs a lot better. Either way, until these true outdoor TV come down in price it's tough to see most customers taking the plunge. With budget 55-inch models starting at around $300, you're still way ahead if one or two (or five) get fried by the weather.


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