Technologies

This Bluetooth Transmitter Lets You Finally Ditch Airline Headphones

This compact device connects my AirPods to any in-flight screen with zero hassle.

If you fly often, you know the drill. You finally settle into your seat, scroll through the in-flight movie selection, and then it hits you: your AirPods won’t connect to the seatback screen. That leaves you stuck with the airline’s clunky wired headphones that barely work, don’t block any noise and make everything sound muffled.

It’s one of the most frustrating parts of flying, especially on long trips when decent audio can make all the difference. Between the engine noise, crying babies and that one guy snoring in 14C, you need a better option. The good news is there’s a simple device that fixes the problem completely and makes flying feel a lot more like streaming at home. If you travel often, you probably already know the struggle: You’re settled into your seat, ready to dive into the in-flight entertainment, only to realize your AirPods won’t connect to the screen. The airline’s wired headphones? Practically useless. They’re uncomfortable, have no noise cancellation and let in every engine roar and crying baby within a three-row radius. For long flights, it’s a recipe for a frustrating, low-quality listening experience.

That’s exactly why the AirFly Pro has become a must-pack item in my travel bag. It’s a simple Bluetooth dongle that lets you connect your wireless earbuds (like my AirPods Pro) directly to the airplane’s entertainment system, no adapters or wired workarounds required. Since I started using it, I’ve stopped dreading in-flight audio and finally get to enjoy movies the way they were meant to be heard. If you fly often, this little gadget might completely change how you travel.

The AirFly Pro lets me truly enjoy in-flight entertainment

The AirFly Pro from Twelve South is a minimally designed dongle that lets me connect to the 3.5mm headphone jack on my flight to listen to in-flight entertainment on my noise-canceling earbuds. All I have to do is pair the AirFly Pro with whichever Bluetooth headphones I’m using, like my AirPods Pro, plug the AirFly Pro into the display in front of me — and I’m all set. I don’t even need to use my phone to connect the two devices.

There are four versions of the AirFly: the AirFly SE, which costs $35 on Amazon and connects to just one set of headphones; the AirFly Pro ($55); the Pro V2 ($60), the newest version of the Pro; and the Pro Deluxe ($62), which comes with an international headphone adapter and a suede travel case.

I use the AirFly Pro, and it’s been a game-changer for me on flights. I’ve never had to worry about battery life — the AirFly Pro lasts for more than 25 hours and can fully charge in 3 hours. I can also pair two separate pairs of headphones to a single AirFly Pro, in case I’m with someone else on a flight and want to watch the same movie or show.

And if that’s not enough, the AirFly Pro also doubles as an audio transmitter, so I can turn any speaker with a headphone jack, like my old car stereo, into a Bluetooth speaker.

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The AirFly Pro makes a great gift

The AirFly Pro is the perfect present to give to someone who’s planning to travel this year. Besides my Anker MagSafe battery pack, the AirFly Pro really has become my most treasured travel accessory when I fly, which is why I consider it to be one of those can’t-go-wrong gifts.

For more travel gear, here are our favorite tech essentials to travel with and our favorite travel pillows.

Impulse Buys Under $25 That Make Surprisingly Great Gifts

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, June 21

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for June 21.

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 Mini Crossword was a tough one for me! I struggled with 7-Across and 3-Down especially. Need some help? 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 to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Feeling extremely happy
Answer: JOYFUL

7A clue: Wake from sleep
Answer: AROUSE

8A clue: Brand of cinnamon-flavored chewing gum
Answer: BIGRED

9A clue: Talk and talk and talk
Answer: GAB

10A clue: Bengal, colt or dolphin
Answer: ANIMAL

13A clue: TV show ending
Answer: FINALE

14A clue: Rook, to a chess newbie
Answer: CASTLE

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Quick boxing punch
Answer: JAB

2D clue: Beginnings
Answer: ORIGINS

3D clue: Where you might strike a pose?
Answer: YOGAMAT

4D clue: Nickname for a fuzzy cat
Answer: FURBALL

5D clue: One of many for white vinegar
Answer: USE

6D clue: Was winning
Answer: LED

10D clue: The Bengals, Colts and Dolphins play in it: Abbr
Answer: AFC

11D clue: ___ DaCosta, director of 2023’s «The Marvels»
Answer: NIA

12D clue: Harper who wrote «To Kill a Mockingbird»
Answer: LEE

Technologies

China and Developing Nations Trust AI the Most, UN Survey Finds

In the US and Europe, confidence in artificial intelligence is far lower.

Artificial intelligence may be a global technology, but public attitudes toward it are anything but universal. A new United Nations poll shows that trust in AI is highest in China and other developing economies, while richer nations remain deeply skeptical.

The findings come from a massive UN Development Programme survey that interviewed more than 21,000 people across 21 countries between November 2024 and January 2025. Researchers asked participants if they believe AI «serves the best interests of society,» and whether governments can harness the technology to improve daily life.

According to Bloomberg, 83% of participants in China said they trust AI, by far the highest share in the study, Confidence levels were above 60% in Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, nations that do not belong to the UN’s very-high Human Development Index bracket, a yardstick for gauging overall well-being in a country.

The picture is the opposite in high-HDI economies. A minority of adults in the United States, Germany, Australia and Greece expressed faith that AI is being used for the common good. One notable exception is Japan, where 65% trust AI, despite the country’s high income and aging population.

The UN researchers don’t spell out why this gap exists, but other research hints at a pattern. In fast-growing economies, AI is widely promoted as a way to «skip steps» in development, perhaps filling in gaps in health care and classrooms, so the technology is viewed as a practical fix. In wealthier, more developed countries, headlines about disinformation and AI-driven job displacement dominate the conversation, leading to public unease.

Technologies

iPhone 20 Rumors Point to All-Glass ‘Waterfall’ Screen and Anniversary-Inspired Name

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says Apple may skip «iPhone 19» altogether and deliver a 20th-anniversary handset whose display curves over all four edges, erasing traditional bezels.

If Apple really wants to make a splash for the iPhone’s 20th birthday in 2027, it may do more than just redesign the camera bump.

Apple’s engineers are prototyping an iPhone internally nicknamed «Glass Wing,» according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman, speaking on the Geared Up podcast this week, with a display that flows like a waterfall not only down the left and right sides, but also over the top and bottom of the phone.

Gurman called it the «iPhone X design but on steroids,» and said that this is the phone that iOS 26 was designed for.

A foldable is expected to release at the end of 2026.

Gurman also floated the idea that Apple could brand the device the «iPhone 20,» sidestepping an «iPhone 19» to sync the model number with the anniversary year. A quad-curved, bezel-free screen would mark the iPhone’s most dramatic hardware overhaul since the iPhone X killed the Home button in 2017.

Reports out of South Korea’s ETNews say Apple is exploring «four-edge bending» OLED tech to make that borderless look possible, while Gurman’s Power On newsletter describes a «mostly glass, curved iPhone without any cutouts in the display,» hinting that the selfie camera and Face ID sensors could hide under the display.

If Apple really does jump straight to an iPhone 20, the rename would echo this year’s jump from iOS 18 to iOS 26 and 2017’s leap from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone X, signaling just how big a redesign Apple thinks this phone will be.