Webcams, headphones, and consoles, oh my!

November 14, 2020 | by Julian L. Mertz | No comments

PLUS: iPads, new games consoles, and early Black Friday deals.

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11.14.20

It's been a big week for gadgets. We got our hands on the newest consoles from Sony and Microsoft, and Apple had an event to boot. Those relevant reviews are linked below. Also, Black Friday is just two weeks away! But if you're already shopping, we found some great early deals. Just remember that you don't need to buy anything—prices might dip a few weeks from now.

When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Much like subscribing to WIRED, these contributions help fund the journalism we produce every day. Read more about how this works.

📆 Nab discounted headphones, blenders, webcams, and more this weekend. We also linked to the Black Friday landing pages from a few retailers if you want a jump-start.

👨‍💻 This webcam is decent and on sale for less than $30. Enter coupon code 94VRFRCJ during checkout to drop the price. The quality won't blow your mind, but this is a good enough option for neverending Zoom meetings.

😭 All good things come to an end, and that includes Google Photos. Everyone's favorite free unlimited photo storage service is undergoing some changes, including capping free space starting next June.

🥈 The new Xbox Series X is good, but potentially only as good as your TV. To get the most out of it, you need a seriously spendy screen.

🥇 The new PlayStation 5 is in a similar boat, though we like it a little better than the Xbox, partially due to its cool-in-a-weird-way design. Both consoles are nearly impossible to get right now. The good news? You probably don't need to upgrade (yet).

📬 What's better than a console you can't buy? Our free weekly Games newsletter! Sign up for tips, reviews, and deep-dives into this massive, crazy industry.

💰 We have great gift ideas for people that hate being stuck inside. From solo stoves to trekking poles, your outdoorsy pals will appreciate these picks.

💰 Apple's tiny iPhone 12 Mini is proof that good things come in small packages. Even with its smaller screen, speakers, and battery life, we still like it—and it's the most affordable in Apple's newest iPhone lineup.

💇‍♀️ Newsletter exclusive: The best Dyson Airwrap deal we've seen yet. We like this gadget a lot, but it's pricey. Best Buy offers $110 off the set if you join its free membership program (which comes with other benefits, like early access to deals). This deal beats the previous best discount we've seen by $60.

14 Early Black Friday Deals on iPads, Home Gear, and More

Post-Thanksgiving sales? Not quite. This year, the pandemic has forced retailers to turn November into a month of discounts.

25 Gift Ideas for People Who Hate Being Inside

If you know someone who wants to break out of their stuffy home this winter, give them these escape tools.

Free, Unlimited Google Photos Storage Will End Next Year

As of June 1, 2021, all uploads to the cloud-based storage service will count against your 15-GB data cap.

The Xbox Series X Delivers Dazzling Visuals—on the Right TV

The latest Xbox will spoil you for older consoles, but to get the most out of it you might need a new TV.

The Best Reason to Get a PS5 Is Its New Controller

Its DualSense controller ushers in some fresh control concepts, though you'll need a new TV to really take advantage of the PS5's horsepower.

Image may contain: Vehicle, Transportation, Bike, Bicycle, Wheel, and Machine

The Best Electric Cargo Bikes for Families

We've spent several years riding and testing extra large ebikes for hauling little ones and getting around town.

Everything Apple Announced, From New Macs to New Chips

The company showed off three new Mac computers Tuesday, all powered by its newly designed M1 chip.

Which iPhone Should You Buy (or Avoid) Right Now?

Picking the right phone has become increasingly difficult. This breakdown of Apple's lineup will help.

The Best iPhone 12 Cases and Accessories

Whichever new iPhone you bought, we've rounded up the cases, chargers, and other accessories you'll want to snag.

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Understanding how 2020 election polls performed

November 14, 2020 | by Julian L. Mertz | No comments

November 14, 2020

Weekly Roundup

The latest findings from Pew Research Center · Subscribe ↗

Understanding how 2020 election polls performed and what it might mean for other kinds of survey work

The 2020 presidential election was much closer than polls suggested in several battleground states, and more decisive for President Donald Trump in others. Many are understandably asking how these outcomes could happen, especially after the fairly aggressive steps the polling community took to understand and address problems that surfaced in 2016. We are asking ourselves the same thing. Here’s a preliminary shot at answering that question.

America is exceptional in the nature of its political divide

The U.S. is hardly the only country wrestling with deepening political fissures. But America's relatively rigid two-party system stands apart from others around the world by collapsing a wide range of social and political debates into a singular battle line that may make our differences appear larger than they are.

2020 election reveals two broad voting coalitions fundamentally at odds

In 2018, government restrictions on religion reach highest level globally in more than a decade

The global median level of government restrictions on religion continued to climb in 2018, reaching an all-time high since the Center began tracking these trends in 2007. The total number of countries with “high” or “very high” levels of government restrictions has been mounting as well. As of 2018, most of the 56 countries with high or very high levels of government restrictions on religion were in the Asia-Pacific region or the Middle East-North Africa region.

Most mail and provisional ballots got counted in past U.S. elections – but many did not

Final, certified vote counts from the 2020 U.S. presidential election won’t be available for at least a few weeks. But we can get some sense of how many mail, provisional and military and overseas ballots will and won’t get counted – and why – by looking at the past two general elections. For example, in 2016, voters submitted nearly 33.5 million mail ballots, but more than 400,000 (1.2% of the total) weren’t counted.

How people around the world see the World Health Organization’s initial coronavirus response

In most of the 14 countries the Center surveyed this past summer, majorities approved of the World Health Organization’s handling of the pandemic. Japan and South Korea – two early hotspots for the virus – were notable outliers. At the same time, people in most countries were more likely to approve of their own nation’s handling of the pandemic than the WHO’s response.

See all COVID-19 research

The pace of Boomer retirements has accelerated in the past year

Many publics around world doubt safety of genetically modified foods

From our research

53%

The share of U.S. adults who said in the summer that the World Health Organization had done a good job dealing with the coronavirus outbreak, up from 46% in the spring.

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In times of uncertainty, good decisions demand good data. Please support Pew Research Center with a contribution on the Center's behalf to our parent organization, The Pew Charitable Trusts.

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Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank. As a neutral source of data and analysis, Pew Research Center does not take policy positions.