Technologies

Amazon’s New Echo Buds Have 2 Key Features That Other Cheap Earbuds Lack

Amazon’s stick-style AirPods 3 alternative, the Echo Buds 2023, are on sale for $35 in an early Prime Day deal. Here’s what makes them special.

I like to test a lot of inexpensive true-wireless earbuds, hoping to find some hidden gems to pass on to CNET readers as good bargains. With that in mind, I was eager to try Amazon’s new Echo Buds 2023, which carry a list price of $50 but are currently selling for $35 in an early Prime Day deal. That puts them firmly in the «cheap» earbuds category.

Interestingly, they impressed me in a few ways that I wasn’t expecting. For starters, they sound good for inexpensive open earbuds, delivering decent clarity and ample bass. And by «open,» I mean that they don’t have silicone ear tips that you jam into your ears (buds like that are called noise-isolating ear buds). However, they do feature a rubber ring around their 12mm speaker driver, along with a translucent removable silicone rubber cover that fits over the bud itself (you can choose to add it or remove it). Both those design elements help you get a more secure fit, though like all earbuds, the Echo Buds 2023 won’t fit every ear equally well. But they stayed in my ears better than Apple’s AirPods 3 and they’re also lightweight like the AirPods and include a compact charging case.

The Echo Buds 2023 are a good AirPods 3 alternative for less

Read more: Best open wireless earbuds for 2023

The Echo Buds 2023 aren’t so different from 1More’s Comfobuds 2 ($30) for example, which also feature a rubber ring or truncated ear tip around their speaker drivers. But what sets the Echo Buds 2023 apart are a couple of key features that you’ll rarely find in a set of $35 earbuds.

The first is an ear-detection sensor on each bud that automatically pauses your music when you take one or both buds out of your ears. Your music resumes playback when you return the bud(s) to your ears, and you can use a single bud independently of the other if you want. (At around $43 and sometimes less, another set of budget open earbuds that I recommend, the Soundpeats Air 3 Deluxe HS, also have ear-detection sensors, as well as support for the LDAC audio codec for devices that support it.)

The second key feature is hands-free Alexa, which allows you to issue voice commands like «next track» and «lower volume» and control Alexa-enabled smart home products just by saying the Alexa wake word. With most cheap earbuds, you have to press a button to activate your voice-assistant (you can opt to use Siri or Google Assistant with the Echo Buds but there’s no hands-free option for those voice assistants, as Amazon would prefer you to use Alexa).

The Amazon Echo Buds 2023 feature a stick design like the AirPods 3

Beyond those two key features, the buds also feature a voice accelerometer that detects when you’re speaking and that helps people hear your voice more clearly when you’re making calls. (Amazon says the buds have two microphones to pick up your voice.) The buds do a reasonable job reducing background noise but callers said they could hear some traffic and other ambient noise during my calls. But my voice did come through clearly, rising above the ambient sound. Since these are open earbuds, they do let in a fair amount of ambient noise, so it’s harder to hear callers — and any other audio you’re listening to — in noisy environments. But the buds do offer ample volume.

Additionally, you get multipoint Bluetooth pairing (Bluetooth 5.2) so you can pair the buds to two devices simultaneously and automatically switch audio between them. For instance, if you’re using these with a computer and a call comes in on your smartphone, you can answer the call and the buds will switch from your computer’s audio to your smartphone’s. (You have to pair to a second device using the Alexa companion app.)

Other specs are in line with what you get from most other inexpensive earbuds. You get up to 5 hours of listening time from a single charge with an additional three charges in the case (the buds also have a quick-charge feature). They’re IPX4 splashproof and sweat-resistant, so you can use them for working out. That said, after going on a run in hot weather, I did pull off the silicone covers on the buds to wipe everything down because some moisture seemed to be trapped under the covers.

I should also note that I had a little trouble initially setting up the buds using the Alexa app with my iPhone 14 Pro (you can also use these just fine with Android devices). I’ve encountered this issue before — the app seems to hang and fails to recognize the Echo Buds because I have so many Bluetooth devices in my Bluetooth list. It took me a few tries and a phone restart before the buds showed up in the Alexa app. Once they did, everything worked well. You can tweak the sound profile a bit using the app’s equalizer settings and customize the touch controls to your liking. There’s also a locate feature similar to Apple’s Find My feature for its AirPods.

To be clear, the Echo Buds 2023 don’t offer the greatest sound quality — but they’re good for the price. Their sound falls short of that of Apple’s AirPods 3, which deliver fuller bass and overall fuller sound. But the AirPods 3 cost more than four times as much as the Echo Buds 2023 and offer only about 15 to 20% better audio. In short, if you’re looking for open earbuds — or «semi-open» as these types of earbuds are sometimes called — the Echo Buds are good value at their $50 list price and even easier to recommend at $35 on sale.

Technologies

Bishop Takes Rook: You’ll Be Able to Learn Chess on Duolingo Soon

The course is in beta now but will be available to everyone in a few months.

«Hola, ajedrez» means «Hello, chess» in Spanish. You’ve always been able to learn Spanish on Duolingo. And you’ll be able to learn and practice chess on the language learning app soon. Duolingo announced on April 22 that beta testers can practice the centuries-old board game in Duolingo now, and others will be able to learn the game on the app in a few months.

Chess will be the first new Duolingo course since the app began offering math and music lessons in 2023. And Duolingo hopes that to bring the classic board game to more people of all experience levels.

Duolingo chess lessons aim to be friendly to beginners

I spoke with a Duolingo rep about the upcoming lessons. He said the company wants to continue expanding what people can learn through the app, and chess was an early contender.

Chess is «one of those things that … any age group can learn … but then also something that takes the 10,000-hour theory to really master,» Edwin Bodge, a senior product manager with Duolingo, said. «We thought it would fit with the Duolingo medium really well.»

When I asked why people would use Duolingo over other chess learning sites and tools, Bodge said a lot of other chess content is geared toward advanced users, not newcomers. «We really saw a great opportunity to try and cater to more of a beginner, medium (player) and try and increase access to the game,» he said.

The chess lessons are slightly different from others you might find on Duolingo, like Spanish and math, but the progression system is similar. And from what Duolingo showed me, the lessons really do start at square one, or A1 on a chessboard.

Chess lessons feel similar to other Duolingo lessons

When you start, Duolingo asks how much you already know about chess, like in other lessons on the app. Duolingo will then adjust the lessons according to your response. If you say you’re brand-new to chess and have no knowledge of the game, early lessons will focus on how each piece moves before moving on to capturing other pieces and checking the king. Other lessons are similar to mini-puzzles where you might be asked to capture different pieces using a single piece, like your knight or rook, in four moves or fewer.

You can access hints for each lesson, but if you get something wrong, your opponent will react to show you you’ve left a piece open for capture, like in a real match. And if you keep getting something incorrect, Duolingo will show you what to do. «If you get it wrong multiple times, eventually we’ll show you an arrow that shows you exactly where to move,» Sammi Siegel, a software engineer with Duolingo, said.

If you are subscribed to Duolingo Max and make a mistake in a language lesson, the app can explain the mistake — and what the right solution is — with a feature called Explain My Answer. However, that feature won’t be available with the chess lessons for now. It’s not always easy to explain why something is right or wrong in chess because there are so many millions of different moves.

«We want to get better at fuller explanations,» Siegel said. «There is some mix of AI and model training that we’re hoping to use to better explain why a certain move is wrong.» Because there are so many moves in chess, it’s possible to make moves that could be correct but aren’t the best options. In such instances, Duolingo will show a banner that lets you know that a move isn’t wrong but isn’t necessarily the best move.

Duolingo also said each section represents a range on the Elo rating system, the method by which a chess player’s skills are calculated. As you progress, your lessons will be tougher and more challenging. This is similar to the CEFR language proficiency levels attached to the different language sections in the app.

You’ll also have the opportunity to have «mini-matches» or full-on games against Duolingo’s chess coach, Oscar. These matches will scale in difficulty to challenge you as well, so you aren’t facing a grandmaster-level chess player after your first week of playing the game. But that doesn’t mean you can slack off and play sloppily. If you make a mistake, like leaving your queen open to capture, Oscar will take advantage and leave you scrambling to recover.

While playing against Oscar is good practice, you won’t be able to face off against other players when these chess lessons launch. But Duolingo said matches against other people are something they are looking into, so you might be able to play against a friend over the app in the future. «One of the big reasons why we’re doing this is we think we can get a whole generation of people interested in chess,» Bodge said.

Duolingo’s new chess lessons are now available in the beta version now and will start rolling out on iOS in English in May. Duolingo said it is working to bring these lessons to Android devices and more languages in the coming months.

For more on Duolingo, check out how well the free version prepared me for a trip to Italy and our review of the language learning app. You can also check out our best language learning apps.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, April 27

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for April 27.

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

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword isn’t too much of a stumper. A lot of words contain A and E, for some reason. Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

The Mini Crossword is just one of many games in the Times’ games collection. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get at those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Outdoor spot to people-watch, maybe
Answer: STOOP

6A clue: Big name in health insurance
Answer: AETNA

7A clue: Broadway theater helper
Answer: USHER

8A clue: Easy to understand
Answer: CLEAR

9A clue: When many show up to a job interview
Answer: EARLY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: What «salsa» literally means
Answer: SAUCE

2D clue: Electric car maker since 2003
Answer: TESLA

3D clue: «… in one ear and out the ___»
Answer: OTHER

4D clue: Tatum ___, youngest-ever Oscar winner (at age 10, for Best Supporting Actress)
Answer: ONEAL

5D clue: Defensive maneuver in fencing
Answer: PARRY

How to play more Mini Crosswords

The New York Times Games section offers a large number of online games, but only some of them are free for all to play. You can play the current day’s Mini Crossword for free, but you’ll need a subscription to the Times Games section to play older puzzles from the archives.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 27, #216

Hints and answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, No. 216, for April 27.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Connections: Sports Edition might be a breeze, as long as you know your sports-league commissioners. Read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That’s a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn’t show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can continue to play it free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

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

Yellow group hint: Dunk it.

Green group hint: Get it moving.

Blue group hint: They run the leagues.

Purple group hint: Like house, kind of.