Technologies
This FaceTime Setting Stops Everyone From Hearing Your Dog Bark
This feature makes sure others can hear you, not the noise around you.

FaceTime calls can be hectic, from ensuring you have a good connection so your video isn’t choppy to making sure the other person doesn’t put their phone up to their ear. But you can cut back on the chaos by enabling your iPhone’s Voice Isolation feature in FaceTime.


Voice isolation for FaceTime calls was introduced with the release of iOS 15 in 2021. The feature muffles background noises, like the sound of kids playing in a nearby room or your dog barking at something outside, so others on the FaceTime call can hear you without interruptions.
However, you won’t find the Voice Isolation feature in Settings, as you might expect. Instead, you have to be on a FaceTime call to enable it. But once you activate the feature, it will stay on the next time you’re on a FaceTime call.
Here’s how to activate Voice Isolation so people can hear you more clearly in FaceTime calls.
How to enable Voice Isolation
1. Start or join a FaceTime call.
2. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your screen to access your Control Center.


Mic Mode appears in your Control Center when you’re in a FaceTime call.
Zach McAuliffe/CNET3. Tap Mic Mode near the top-right corner of your screen.
4. Tap Voice Isolation.
Pro tip: You don’t have to interrupt a FaceTime call with family and friends to turn this feature on. You can call yourself on FaceTime and enable Voice Isolation following the steps above.
How to enable Wide Spectrum
In Mic Mode, there’s another feature alongside Voice Isolation called Wide Spectrum. While Voice Isolation muffles other noises around you in a FaceTime call, Wide Spectrum enhances the noises around you without affecting your voice.
Wide Spectrum is good for conference calls over FaceTime or if you have a large group of people FaceTiming someone else. If you have a little brother or sister who moves away to college and you and your family want to wish them a happy birthday, Wide Spectrum can help you all sing happy birthday to them at once.


Opening Mic Mode shows you Standard, Voice Isolation and Wide Spectrum options.
Zach McAuliffe/CNETTo enable Wide Spectrum, follow the steps above, but tap Wide Spectrum instead of Voice Isolation.
Like Voice Isolation, Wide Spectrum will stay enabled the next time you make a FaceTime call. To disable either Voice Isolation or Wide Spectrum, follow the instructions above and tap Standard. This will return your microphone to its default setting.
For more on your iPhone, check out the how to turn on Voice Isolation for phone calls, 13 iPhone features you might not know about and 22 iPhone settings you should change now.
Technologies
Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, July 4
Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for July 4.

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.
There are a few July 4-related clues in today’s Mini Crossword. Need answers? 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: Uncle ___
Answer: SAM
4A clue: It’s full of stars
Answer: SPACE
6A clue: It’s full of stripes
Answer: ZEBRA
7A clue: Month when the American Revolutionary War began
Answer: APRIL
8A clue: 4th of July sales promotions, e.g.
Answer: ADS
Mini down clues and answers
1D clue: Big brand of hummus
Answer: SABRA
2D clue: Foul-smelling
Answer: ACRID
3D clue: Breakfast, lunch and dinner
Answer: MEALS
4D clue: Singer who performed «All the Stars» at Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show
Answer: SZA
5D clue: Lively energy
Answer: PEP
Technologies
Act Fast to Save 15% on This Powerful CarbonMag Portable Charger
This Sharge charger can keep you powered on the go, and right now you don’t have to pay full price.

There’s nothing worse than your phone dying in the middle of the day, especially when finding an outlet means being stuck in an uncomfortable situation. MagSafe portable wireless chargers are a great fix for that, as they snap onto the back of your phone and charge it while you go about your day. One solid pick that won’t weigh your phone down like a brick is the CarbonMag MagSafe portable charger by Sharge. And right now it can be yours for less with this Prime Day deal.
Thanks to Prime Day, you can currently snag it for 15% off with the code QHUAPIWG at checkout — bringing the price down from $70 to just $59. That’s the same cost as the smaller 5,000mAh model, but this one gives you double the battery capacity for the same price.
This device is made out of carbon fiber, which makes it 40% lighter than your usual power banks and 80% more durable than chargers made with the materials normally used. It gets you a 10,000mAh battery capacity, enough to charge your devices multiple times throughout the day. You’ll enjoy up to 15W wireless charging, which can power an iPhone 15 from 0% to 55% in just 44 minutes.
Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.
The charger also features ultrastrong (but safe) magnets that maintain a stable hold on your smartphone. You can use the built-in USB-C port for pass-through charging or to power another device at the same time. The only catch? We don’t know when the discount code expires, so you might want to hurry.
Why this deal matters
MagSafe wireless chargers can be a game-changer for anyone tired of juggling wires throughout the day. This deal gets you a slim, lightweight, yet powerful option at a $11 discount for a limited time. We recommend acting while you can.
Technologies
Save Up to $35 Off a Baseus Charging Station This July 4th and Stay Powered Up All Weekend
When USB ports aren’t enough, a Baseus charging station is what you need. Power all your gadgets with multiple well-spaced AC outlets and no clutter.

Keeping all your gear charged can be a job unto itself, and it gets more complicated when you have visitors. Whether you’re having guests this Fourth of July weekend or you just need a better charging solution for your family, a charging station could be the answer. But even the best charging stations can only share so many watts between devices, which is why the best charging stations from brands like Anker and Baseus not only feature multiple USB ports but also multiple AC outlets. AC outlets accommodate those few devices that still use proprietary chargers, and it lets you expand beyond the included 2-4 USB ports without sacrificing wattage when you need to top off everyone quickly before heading out.
The Fourth of July deals are bouncing into next week’s Amazon Prime Day to give us some of the best savings of the year a week early. Among the dozens of mobile accessories Baseus has on sale this holiday weekend is a trio of towers that can declutter your desk and keep everything you need ready and recharged. Available in 6-in-1, 7-in-1 for $65, and 10-in-1 varieties, these charging stations all offer two USB-C ports, at least one USB-A port and multiple AC outlets. Just note: You’ll need to clip the on-page coupon to get the lowest possible price.
For the best blend of power and ports, Baseus’ 100W 7-in-1 USB-C charging station can fast charge a laptop at 65W — full speed for all Chromebooks and many Windows laptops — while a phone and tablet each standard charge at 15W and still leave 5W for your smartwatch while your non-USB tech or your desk’s smart speaker can use the AC ports on both sides and the back of the tower. These towers are part power delivery chargers and part surge protectors with surge and lightning protection to keep your digital lifelines from frying should calamity strike.
The Baseus $35 10-in-1 desktop charging station model may sound like it’s the most powerful, but it only offers 35 watts to share between the two USB-C and USB-A ports, leaving the lion’s share of the station’s potential power to the six AC ports. This isn’t to say 35W between four ports is useless, but you’ll want to use those ports for lower-powered devices like recharging your smartwatch or wireless earbuds.
If you’re looking to charge multiple phones and tablets with those ports, you’re probably better off going with the 6-in-1 USB-C Charging Station at $50, which may only have three AC ports but features a retractable USB-C cable in addition to one standard USB-A and one USB-C port. Those three ports share 65W, meaning that you can charge both a phone and tablet at full speed rather than both getting middling speeds.
Why this deal matters
I use a 100W charging station like this at my desk and have another next to my couch for both me and my guests to keep our phones powered and ready. Being able to stick my 65W travel charger into one of the AC ports and fast charge four phones instead of two — well, one phone and my Chromebook — when I have people over and then swap it back to powering my oil diffuser or smart speaker once they’re gone is a godsend, and since the wall outlets are spread out across multiple sides of the tower instead of sandwiched next to each other in a line, I never have to worry about bulky plugs blocking out half my ports.
Because these charging stations double as surge protectors, you can also click their switch to power off and disconnect everything when severe weather comes, unlike standard charging stations you would have to unplug. Living in lightning capital of the U.S. makes this feature more important to me than most, but it can also be handy for parents wanting a one-click shut-off for all the kids’ consoles and computers.
We’re still days away from Prime Day, and deals like these will continue to drop through the next week, but these chargers are all within a few dollars of their lowest prices ever. We’ll watch for further price drops and competing deals throughout the holiday week, including Anker’s plethora of deals on chargers, speakers and smart home appliances.
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