Technologies
Apple’s Workout Buddy Is Friendly, but What if It Could Adopt Other Personalities?
Commentary: People respond to different types of encouragement when working out — some prefer a drill sergeant, others a caffeinated spin class instructor.
We all have different ways of motivating ourselves to exercise, so when Apple announced Workout Buddy for the Apple Watch at WWDC 2025, it made us think about what sorts of verbal encouragement would spur us to complete our workouts. We couldn’t help but imagine the different types of future Workout Buddies — and how they might help, cajole or even bargain with us to hit our fitness goals.
Workout Buddy in WatchOS 26 will be available at the outset in eight workouts (such as running and cycling) that you can activate when the workout begins. It exists as a voice through the watch and Bluetooth headphones or earbuds and is modeled on actual Apple Fitness Plus trainers. Workout Buddy can deliver progress indicators, stats and vocal encouragement as you push through an exercise routine.
Initially, Workout Buddy comes across as the type of friend who’s there to give you a pat on the back and a helpful rundown of what you just accomplished. But people respond to different types of encouragement. As we wait for WatchOS 26 to arrive (the software is currently available only to developers), here are some different types of workout buddies that could someday — or hopefully not, in some cases — echo in our heads while we’re sweating.
The cheerleader: «That light sheen of sweat makes your skin positively radiant! Good job hitting the half-mile mark! Wow — you have the resting heart rate of a 20-year-old!»
The drill sergeant (said in the sweetest voice possible): «Get off your ass and burn off those donuts! You’ve still got two miles to go before you reach the calories you consumed, champ!»
Your fittest friend who never seems to exercise: «Listen, brah, if you don’t push one more mile outta this run, you’re never gonna refine that six-pack and ever, like, find true love or succeed at anything in your life. Just straight-talkin’ ya, brah.»
Your friend who keeps stats at baseball games: «You’ve completed 1.39 miles of this run with a heart rate of 185 beats per second and burned approximately 140 calories, which is slightly below yesterday’s run, probably because you got only 6.4 hours of sleep last night and ate 50g more pasta for dinner than your usual serving…»
Your chill friend: «Hey, good set. I’m right here with you. Let’s do another one.»
The guilt-tripper: «Way to complete that 30-minute walk! Those donuts are still waiting at home!»
The buddy who knows you so well: «All right, you’re doing it. Look, if you can push through another half a mile, you can justify that bagel and a glass of wine tonight to celebrate.»
The caffeinated spin class instructor: «Let’s go babes, keep on keeping on! Yeah! One and two and… That’s right! You can do this!»
The zen dude: «Hello there. Good morning. Let’s thank our bodies for being here. And let’s be present in this workout. Only 15 gentle miles of uphill running to go. Namaste.»
The nihilist buddy: «Wow — is that really all you could muster? Fine, whatever, it doesn’t really matter anyway.»
Mom: «You got out there and did a workout. You did good, hon.»
Werner Herzog: «You have walked 20 miles. Can you feel the futility? I can tell you haven’t even left your house. Why do you make me a participant in your lies?»
Maybe the most important Workout Buddy: «Hey. Hi. I know it’s early, and you’re warm and comfortable, but you said you were going to wake up early and go for a ride. C’mon — you can do this. Just get out of bed. We’ll do it together. Your favorite coffee shop is right at the end of the route.»
Technologies
The Black Friday Gaming Deals You Want Are Already Here, Including PlayStation, Xbox and Alienware
Technologies
The Black Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Is at a Record $443 Off at Amazon for Black Friday
A Galaxy Z Fold 7 price war between Amazon and Samsung gives us a record-low deal for one color.
If you’re looking for a foldable iPhone, you’re gonna need to wait until 2026, but if you’re looking for the best foldable phone of 2025, there are great deals on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 right now at both Amazon and Samsung, with the former dropping the black version of Samsung’s foldable phone to a record-low $1,557. All other models are $1,600 at both Amazon and Samsung, a $400 discount.
Samsung’s unique foldable phones had an awkward adolescence, but after getting her hands on the new lineup, CNET reviewer Abrar Al-Heet confirms that the latest Z Fold 7 «just feels right.» For one, it’s incredibly sleek at just 8.9mm thick when closed or 4.2mm thick when open, which is so thin you may even forget that it’s foldable.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
Despite weighing just 215 grams, this foldable features some serious hardware. It has a 6.5-inch cover screen and an 8-inch interior display with a fluid 120Hz refresh rate. It’s equipped with a cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and 12GB of RAM to support tons of helpful AI features and functions, and comes with Android 16 and Samsung One UI 8 right out of the box.
The camera system is also pretty impressive, boasting a 200-megapixel rear camera, 12-megapixel ultrawide shooting and a 10-megapixel front camera on both the cover and interior screens. Plus, it’s equipped with a 4,400-mAh battery for all-day use.
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Why this deal matters
With an unbelievably sleek design and cutting-edge hardware, the impressive Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 is our favorite foldable phone on the market. But it also comes with a staggering $2,000 price tag, and if you’re hoping to get your hands on one, this $443 discount is a way to rack up some serious savings and help cushion the blow of its considerable cost. Just be sure to get your order in soon, as we doubt this deal will remain live for long.
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Technologies
I Almost Missed This Deal Within a Deal for Baseus’ Bose-Infused Headphones and Earbuds
Baseus’ new Inspire XH1, XP1 and XC1 models with Sound by Bose are 23% to 33% off for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. But Baseus throws in its BC1 clip-on earbuds or other «free» bonus items to make the deal even sweeter.
I gave CNET Editors’ Choice awards to Baseus’ Bose-infused Baseus Inspire XH1 headphones and Inspire XP1 earbuds because they’re well designed and sound decent for what they cost. I also liked Baseus’ Inspire XC1 clip-on earbuds, which have dual- drivers and earned a spot on CNET’s best clip-on earbuds list.
Last week all three models were selling for around $110 (though they have higher list prices), but they’re now discounted to around $100 for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That’s a deal I’d highlight on its own, but if you click through to any of those models’ Amazon product pages an look closely you’ll see that each is eligible for «one free item» with purchase.
Read more: Best wireless earbuds of 2025
You have to click the «how to claim link» and then add one of the three products to the your cart. Once one of the headphones or earbuds is added to your cart, you can click a button on the left side of screen (above the stars for average ratings) that switches the view from «qualifying items» to «benefit items.» You can then add Baseus’s BC1 clip-on earbuds, which list for $40, to your cart as a free item. Baseus’ step-up Basues MC1 Pro ($48 for Black Friday) and Inspire XC1 clip-on buds sound better, but the BC1 are fine for casual use.
If the BC1 earbuds option doesn’t thrill you, there are other freebies you can opt for. Just go back to the Amazon product page for the Inspire XH1, XP1 and XC1 and you’ll see options for one free item with $100, $90, $51 and $46 purchases. The $90 benefit item is a 30W dual-port fast charger (list price $20), which is decent, and the $51 benefit item is a retractable USB-C cable ($19 list) that’s useful. Don’t bother with the $46 benefit item.
You can read my full reviews of the Inspire XH1 headphones here and the Inspire XP1 earbuds here. And here’s my quick take of the Inspire XC1 earbuds:
Like Baseus’ noise-isolating Inspire XP1 earbuds that I rated highly, the Inspire XC1 feature «Sound by Bose» and a more premium design than earlier Baseus earbuds. The XC1 don’t sound as good as the XP1, but they sound good for open earbuds and are equipped with dual drivers, one of which is a Knowles balanced-armature driver that helps improve treble performance. While they don’t produce as much bass as noise-isolating earbuds like the Inspire XP1, their bass performance is better than I expected. The buds’ sound is pretty full, especially in quieter environments, though they do better with less bass-heavy material (I did notice a bit of distortion at higher volumes with certain tracks with harder driving bass).
While I prefer the design and fit of Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds (as well as the design of their case) and think the Bose buds sound more natural and a tad better overall, the much more affordable Inspire XC1 fit comfortably and offer top-tier sound for clip-on open earbuds (and they play louder than the Bose), as well as decent voice-calling performance with good background noise reduction.
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