Latest news with #JulianChokkattu
WIRED
7 hours ago
- Business
- WIRED
This Staples Standing Desk Isn't Flashy but It's Reliable for the Money
The desk height ranges from 25.5 to 51.1 inches, and the dual motors glide effortlessly up and down, and they're not too loud. You'll want to be careful when lowering it—there's collision detection, and it successfully stopped the desk from crushing a stool after I put it underneath, but it seems to depend on where the object under the desk is. I rolled my seat in so that the arms of my chair were directly under the desktop, and when I pressed the lower height preset, the desk kept going and would have probably broken my chair arms (or toppled forward) had I not forced it to stop. Maybe had I not stopped it, the sensor would have paused the operation automatically, but it was a little too close to my liking. I haven't noticed much wobbling when the desk goes up and down, though if you put pressure on the front of the desk (maybe you're leaning forward with your elbows on the surface), there's a slight forward shift. This didn't cause any problems. Staples offers a seven-year warranty for the motor and legs, along with a few other parts, but the control box, cables, control panel, and desktop are only covered for five years. That's about the same as what you'll find on a Flexispot, though short of desks like the Branch Duo that don't cost that much more. The nice thing about buying from Staples is that returns are always free, and you can drop it off at a nearby retail store (though you'll still have to disassemble it). Photograph: Julian Chokkattu Photograph: Julian Chokkattu The middle button on the control panel turns on Micro Movement mode, and at first, I thought it didn't work, but that was because I didn't realize how micro the movements are. Once turned on, the desk will move up 2.36 inches within five minutes, stop for two minutes, then move down the same amount in another five-minute increment. This will repeat after 48 minutes and cycle four times throughout four hours. Staples says this will help reduce fatigue and encourage movement—subtle shifts in posture and muscle engagement—but the only reason I started noticing it was because my arms felt pinched. I set the desk up perfectly to my height and seat—my elbows sat level with the desktop without touching the surface. But for a few minutes with this feature turned on, my elbows suddenly were resting on the edge of the table, and it wasn't pleasant. It works a little better when you're standing, though you'll still feel your arms resting on the table as the desk creeps upward. I didn't find the Micro Movements feature helpful. I didn't feel like it encouraged movement, and I'm still fatigued from, well, everything. The best part of a standing desk is that it enables you to stand up, which will hopefully then induce some actual movement throughout your workday. The Micro Movements feel akin to the active seating hype, which has never felt particularly effective. Thankfully, it's an optional feature, and you can ignore it. And you probably should if budget is on your mind, because Staples has other dual-motor 55-inch desks without this feature, but they're not cheaper. You can size down to the 48-inch standing desk, but it only has a single motor. This Union & Scale is a solid desk for the money, with easy assembly, simple configuration, and a dual-motor system that operates smoothly. That said, Flexispot's desks have more desktop customization options, sizes, colors, and accessories you can add on, and they cost roughly the same, if not less. I've had more trouble with Flexispot's assembly process in the past, though, if that's worth something.
WIRED
a day ago
- Health
- WIRED
The Best Sweatpants for Comfort and Style
When I hop into sweatpants, I want to feel like I'm on cloud nine, and both of these sweatpants from Canada-based Roots deliver exactly that sensation (mind you, the pants are made in Cambodia). The reason for that is the brushed fleece on the inside, which is super soft against the skin. The Roots Athletics Sweatpant (64 percent organic cotton, 36 percent recycled polyester fleece) is the more traditional design, with a classic fit that extends down close to my ankles on my 6'4" frame. But I like the Cloud Straight Leg even more. No skin-tight pants here! These are airy, whimsical, and tremendously soft. Made from 80 percent organic cotton and 20 percent recycled polyester fleece, the pants are smooth but plush. They do get a bit warm for the shoulder seasons and summer, but out of the many sweatpants I've tested, I'm happiest with these. — Julian Chokkattu Available Sizes XS to XXL Available Colors Athletics Sweatpant: 2. Cloud Straight Leg: 3 Fabric Details Athletics Sweatpant: 64% organic cotton, 36% recycled polyester fleece. Cloud Straight Leg: 80% organic cotton, 20% recycled polyester fleece Photograph: Louryn Strampe Photograph: Louryn Strampe If millennials are known for skinny jeans, Gen Z is known for the exact opposite of that. Think big, interesting silhouettes, varying waist heights, and different colors and washes. These trendy Lululemon cargos were a bit out of my early-thirties comfort zone. But they're awesome. They've got a mid-rise fit that shows off just the right amount of tummy if you pair them with a crop top, and they're roomy throughout the hips and thighs. The two-way stretch fabric is water-repellent and slightly ribbed, with a lightweight feel that's perfect for summer (or sweating in a dance studio, presumably.) There are pockets galore, including hand pockets with a hidden card sleeve, back pockets, and cargo pockets. All of these pockets are useful, and my phone has yet to fall out of any of them. The waist has a drawstring, and the hems are cinchable to let you adjust how tight they are—a feature I appreciate as a shortie, since I can cinch them up if I don't want them to drag on the ground. These pants run just a little big, and my only complaint is that the hand pockets tend to stick out a bit. (My younger sisters assure me that they look all right, but it still bugs me just a little.) Ultimately, though, I feel super cool when I wear these pants, both temperature- and style-wise. — Louryn Strampe Available Sizes XXXS to XL Available Colors 7 Fabric Details Waistband: 88% nylon, 12% Lycra elastane. Pocket: 86% recycled polyester, 14% elastane. Body: 94% nylon, 6% elastane
WIRED
6 days ago
- WIRED
Turns Out There's Nothing All That Great About a Razor-Thin Phone
That last part is the problem with the Edge: It has a paltry 3,900-mAh battery capacity. That's the smallest of the Galaxy S25 series, 100 mAh smaller than the compact Galaxy S25. Samsung has made some smart optimizations to maximize the battery life of this small cell, but there's only so much it can do. The Galaxy S25 Edge's battery life is not good enough for a $1,100 phone. Over the last week, I've been traveling with the Edge to cover Google I/O, and I've had to remember to charge it in the afternoon on most days. When I was away from a charger, I consciously decided to avoid using the phone so as not to drain the battery. I've often only had 4 hours of screen-on time by the end of the day before the device hits 15 percent. Mind you, with light to average use, this handset can last just about a day. Then again, if your needs are light, you hardly need to spend $1,100 to get a great phone. In my 10 years of reviewing phones, I've frequently heard grumbles from the people around me when companies introduce thinner phones with smaller batteries. I have also heard complaints that phones are getting too big. The S25 Edge is still big—folks with smaller paws than me will still find it hard to reach the top of the screen—but the bigger size doesn't bring the benefit of a bigger battery. It begs the question, who is this for? Photograph: Julian Chokkattu If you've bemoaned the same things, the clear winner for you is a folding flip phone. Devices like the Motorola Razr Ultra and the Galaxy Z Flip6 will match, if not offer slightly better battery life than the Edge, but you can fold them up and stow them in a pocket or purse even more nicely. No need to sacrifice screen size. Or just get the nice and compact Galaxy S25, which will last a smidge longer than the Edge. Fringe Price Samsung is positioning the Galaxy S25 Edge as a phone for power users who want many of the capabilities of the Galaxy S25 Ultra without the massive screen and weight. But the Edge has more compromises than just having the worst battery life: it charges more slowly, there's no S Pen stylus, and there's no telephoto zoom camera. It does have a few perks over the cheaper S25 and S25+, though, such as the ability to capture 4K video at 120 frames per second. The results from the 200-MP primary camera and 12-MP ultrawide cameras are sharp and colorful. You won't find too much to complain about. However, I kept trying to zoom in on a lot of shots, and while the 2x digital zoom has decent quality, things deteriorate quite quickly at further zoom options. It's rare to find a $1,000+ smartphone today without a 3x or 5x optical zoom camera, and it's sorely missed here.
WIRED
15-05-2025
- WIRED
Motorola's Razr Ultra and Razr Are Gorgeous Folding Phones With a Few Imperfections
The Moto X from 2013 was one of my favorite smartphones of all time. Motorola, owned by Google back then, debuted a build-a-phone workshop that let you customize the handset's design, from changing the color on the front and back to adding different accents for the buttons. You could even throw in a signature for an extra dose of personalization. Photograph: Julian Chokkattu That kind of playful nature remains elusive in the smartphone world, but there are glimpses thanks to companies like Nothing and Motorola. Case in point: the new Razr 2025 family, consisting of the Razr Ultra, Razr+, and Razr. Motorola could have taken the Samsung approach and kept the ordinary glass-slab design we're used to for its folding phones, but no. The Razr Ultra lets you choose between Alcantara, wood, leather-inspired, and satin-inspired designs. The base Razr comes in bright, punchy colors, with acetate, nylon, or leather-inspired finishes. I have the Pantone Spring Bud Razr, a leather-inspired mint green color—my wife's eyes lit up when she saw it (and asked if she could take a bite, naturally). Even my hard-to-impress dad stoically said, 'It's a nice color.' I love the FSC-certified Pantone Mountain Trail on the Razr Ultra even more, which is a real wood back that exudes class. Guess what? The original Moto X had a wood back, too. They might not be customizable like the Moto X, but these Razrs look great, feel great, and there's nothing that looks like 'em. Refined Edges Photograph: Julian Chokkattu The Razr 2025 lineup is not wholly different from last year's models. Quite literally, the Razr+ 2025 ($1,000) is almost the same as the Razr+ 2024, now with the titanium-reinforced hinge plate for better durability. Its specs are identical, which is likely why Motorola didn't bother sending a review unit. Instead, I've been testing the Razr 2025 ($700) and the Razr Ultra ($1,300).
WIRED
05-05-2025
- Business
- WIRED
Sightful's Spacetop Is a Better, More Practical Spatial Computing Experience
I've been eagerly awaiting the advent of spatial computing. My home office desk setup, with multiple screens and browser windows, helps me be very productive. But on the go, I'm relegated to a laptop's 13-inch screen (or packing a portable monitor), and I'm not as efficient. Spatial computing—usually driven by a mixed reality headset or smart glasses—lets you craft a multi-monitor virtual workspace, where you can place apps and browser windows around your periphery, to replicate the experience you have set up at home or the office. Or you can take it a step further because you're only limited by your imagination. Over the years, I've tested various versions of the technology, from the Nimo Planet smart glasses I used at CES to Apple's Vision Pro on a flight to Barcelona, as companies compete to sit at the forefront of the next era in computing. No one has been able to offer a reasonable experience—until now. I first saw Sightful's Spacetop spatial computing software in a hotel suite at CES 2023, before the company came out of stealth mode. The initial experience worked with a pair of smart glasses connected to the bottom half of a laptop, just the keyboard and trackpad with no display, which also housed the computer's guts. In 2024, the company debuted the G1, a polished version ready for market, but Sightful CEO Tamir Berliner says the sudden advent of 'AI PCs," which now offered enough power to drive a spatial computing experience, forced it to revisit its hardware. That leads us to today's Spacetop for Windows. Instead of a custom laptop hardware sans display and software powered by Chromium, Sightful's new approach is to provide the smart glasses and let you download its Spacetop software onto a compatible Windows laptop. It costs $899 for the glasses and the software, and after the first year, you'll be charged $200 annually for access to the Spacetop software. Despite working at a few coffee shops this past week, I've been just as efficient virtually as in my work-from-home setup. I already don't want to be without it. Work Space Photograph: Julian Chokkattu Spacetop for Windows is a piece of downloadable software, and it's designed to work with Xreal's Air 2 Ultra augmented reality glasses, which are included in your purchase. You can get prescription lens inserts for the glasses, as I did, meaning I could remove my eyeglasses to use the Xreal. If you have smart glasses from another company with similar features (namely, six degrees of freedom), you can reach out to Sightful to see if there's a solution to get Spacetop running on them. The company hopes to support a wider range of smart glasses over time.
