Technologies

Airports With the Best Free Wi-Fi in the US, According to Ookla

Airport Wi-Fi is often a drag, but a few locations stand above the rest.

Free airport Wi-Fi can be frustrating when you’re trying to download episodes of Netflix’s Old Enough before a six-hour flight. Luckily, the folks over at Ookla, who run the internet speed testing website Speedtest.net, have a new report detailing the best free airport Wi-Fi in the US.

The fastest free airport Wi-Fi in the US isn’t at San Francisco’s SFO, a major hub for tech giants such as Salesforce and Uber. Nor is it at New York’s JFK, the sixth busiest airport in the US. The fastest free Wi-Fi, according to Ookla’s speed tests across airports in the US, comes from San Jose International, which has a median download speed of 203 Mbps. San Jose International’s top placement makes sense as there aremany leading tech companies situated nearby, such as Google, Apple, Meta and Adobe.

Ookla gathered this data from people who use either the Speedtest app or its website to test download speeds.

The second-fastest free airport Wi-Fi is at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, with a median download speed of 177.16 Mbps. In third place is SFO, at 162.38 Mbps, with Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu in fourth with a speed of 158.05 Mbps. Oakland International Airport rounds out the top five with a speed of 154.62 Mbps.

With the popularity of YouTube, TikTok, Netflix and Disney Plus, demand for streaming video content is the highest it’s ever been. This demand has forced Netflix to reduce streaming quality in parts of the world as internet service providers don’t have the systems in place to serve the needs of all customers. Airports, too, have been upgrading systems to help meet consumer bandwidth consumption. To illustrate how quickly things have changed, back in 2014, Bush Intercontinental in Houston ranked as having some of the fastest airport Wi-Fi in the world. Now it ranks near the bottom in the US.

The slowest-performing free Wi-Fi is at Pittsburgh International, Ookla said, with a median download speed of 5.23 Mbps. Houston’s major airports, George Bush Intercontinental and William P. Hobby, have speeds of 8.79 and 8.90 Mbps, respectively. Southwest Florida is the fourth slowest free airport Wi-Fi, but sees a significant jump over Houston, at 18.51 Mbps. And Logan International in Boston isn’t significantly faster, at 18.87 Mbps.

Ookla did find that some airport lounges have faster speeds than the general airport area. But gaining access usually requires some special form of membership. Using paid options at airports from companies such as Boingo, Passpoint and Skyfi also showed faster speeds, but varied between airports.

Technologies

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 Might Come in 5G and 4G Cellular Models

If the rumor proves true, the 5G Galaxy Watch Ultra would rival the 5G-enabled $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 that debuted last fall.

Samsung’s next high-end Galaxy Watch could support faster 5G speeds, but if this leak is true, it will depend on where you live. The rumored Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 might come in 5G and 4G cellular models, with availability for each smartwatch depending on the country.

According to the Dutch website Galaxy Club (and spotted by SamMobile), Samsung’s servers may have revealed a series of model numbers that point to 5G, 4G and Wi-Fi-enabled editions of the next Galaxy Watch Ultra, which would succeed the original model that debuted in 2024.

A representative for Samsung did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Galaxy Club website speculates that the 5G edition would be sold in the US and Korean markets, while the 4G edition would sell in the rest of the world. In the US, a 5G version of the Galaxy Watch Ultra would rival the 5G-enabled $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3, which debuted last fall. The 4G edition would have broader compatibility worldwide, since the earlier network is far more established.

It will likely be a few months until we hear anything official about the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2. Samsung typically unveils its new watches in the summer alongside its Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip foldable phones. Last year, Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Watch 8 and the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic, but otherwise left the prior 2024 Ultra in the lineup for those looking for a larger 47mm smartwatch.

Technologies

2 Cases Show Supreme Court Isn’t Holding ISPs Responsible for Piracy

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 8, #1032

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 8, No. 1032.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. The purple category is a fun one, once you see the connection. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: In the group.

Green group hint: Appearance details.

Blue group hint: Often found in gyms.

Purple group hint: They help you see.