Forget the spendy flagship smartphone. Every year, I test a dozen or more devices to find the best cheap phones that perform where it counts and aren’t annoyingly slow. Wireless carriers in the US go out of their way to make expensive smartphones seem affordable. AT&T will advertise a Samsung …
Read More »CMF Phone 2 Pro Review: The Best Budget Smartphone
The CMF Phone 2 Pro has a triple-camera system, and the third camera isn’t some silly 2-megapixel macro sensor like on most cheap phones. You’re getting a proper, versatile camera array usually found on pricier devices, with a 50-MP main camera, a 50-MP telephoto camera with 2X optical zoom, and …
Read More »I Thought Phone Lanyards Were Ugly—Until I Tried the Bandolier Bodie
I love that the wallet fits up to five cards. I test a lot of MagSafe wallets, which typically only fit up to three cards. This feels like a lot. I can carry my debit card, credit card, driver’s license, and cash without it feeling like a tight squeeze. The …
Read More »11 Best MagSafe Wallets (2025), Tested and Reviewed
Other Good MagSafe Wallets Photograph: ESR I’ve tested several MagSafe wallets, but not every model deserves a top spot. ESR Magnetic Wallet HaloLock With Find My for $38: Like Apple’s MagSafe wallet, this one has Find My support. You can use the flap on the back as a grip and …
Read More »Motorola’s Latest Razr Phones Are All In on AI
Moto AI’s core features are Catch Me Up, Remember This, and Pay Attention. Catch Me Up summarizes notifications, prioritizing urgent messages, if you’re coming back to your Razr after some time and have a pile of notifications to sift through. Remember This lets you ask Moto AI to remember anything, …
Read More »The Best Motorola Phones (2025), Tested and Reviewed
Motorola phones often play third (or fourth) fiddle to Samsung and Google, but the winds are changing. Motorola is now one of the fastest-growing mobile companies in the world, and the company claims its Razr folding smartphones are the number one in the flip category in North America. The company …
Read More »How to Protect Yourself From Phone Searches at the US Border
Privacy and digital rights advocates largely prefer the approach of building a travel device from scratch, but they caution that a phone that is too squeaky clean, too much like a burner phone, can arouse suspicion. “You have to ‘seed’ the device. Use the phone for a day or even …
Read More »