Eliana Willis

Jaque Silva/NurPhoto /Getty If you use Google Sheets for work, Gemini is about to make your life a lot easier.  Also: Google’s new free AI agent brings Gemini right to your command line – here’s how to try it Sheets already has the capability for Gemini to assist with creating tables and formulas, generating graphs […] More

One of the great things about this job is that I get to write about all sorts of gadgets. Many times, the stuff that really catches my eye isn’t the hot-ticket item like a new iPhone, but the smaller, more obscure stuff. Things you might never have known existed, but they enter your life and change it for the better.And looking at the list of top-selling gadgets by number of units sold through our story links that ZDNET readers have been buying in 2025 so far, it seems that readers share my taste for smaller, more obscure gadgets that turn out to be super useful in their own way. (A note: Your privacy is protected — we only have access to aggregate data from our user base, and there is no way for us to identify individual people’s purchases.) So let’s take a quick look at what our readers have been buying. Also: I biohacked my sleep with these 5 gadgets (and it worked)Who knows, maybe there’s something here that will catch your eye or that you missed.The 10 most popular gadgets among ZDNET readers in 2025 While are the perfect choice for iPhone users, Bluetooth tracker options for Android users have been somewhat limited over the years. But a few companies have stepped up to the plate to fill that void, and one of those is Chipolo. The Chipolo One Point key fob is very much like an AirTag, powered by a battery that lasts about a year. It’s also water-resistant to IPX5 standard (which means it’s splashproof). It’s a great tag, and goes a long way to end the frustration (and arguments) that come from things like lost keys!Also: Finally, Bluetooth trackers for Android users that work better than AirTags (and are cheaper)
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J Studios/Getty Images A Gallup poll published Wednesday found that 30% of teachers are using AI weekly — and that it’s saving them “six weeks a year.”   According to data from the 2024 to 2025 school year, 60% of K-12 teachers reported using some kind of AI tool in their work, most commonly to […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Mudita Kompakt is available now for $439. The E Ink display is easy on the eyes, the battery lasts for days, and it satisfies the minimalist intention with far fewer distractions. The camera is unnecessary, there is no voice-to-text, and the display is too small to be an effective eBook […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The Klein Tools 80016 Circuit Breaker Finder effectively maps circuits throughout your home. It’s a useful tool with clear discovery indicators and improved safety features. It’s somewhat pricey at $65, with minimal directions for beginners. –> Do you ever wonder what wall socket corresponds to which circuit breaker or circuit in […] More

<!–> ZDNET’s key takeaways The InfiRay P2 Pro currently sells for around $250, but it’s well worth it if you require a thermal vision camera. Use a thermal camera on functioning items to learn how they should look, which will make it easier to spot faults later. The InfiRay P2 Pro thermal camera is the […] More

Lance Whitney/ZDNETMany popular AIs offer a voice mode that enables you to carry on live conversations with a chatbot. Often, chatting by voice is more convenient, more natural, and more fun than trying to converse through text prompts. Plus, you can typically review a transcript of the conversation after you’re done, so you still have access to the actual text.But which AIs are the best conversationalists? I tried chatting by voice with ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, Meta AI, and Grok using their respective mobile apps. I started with the same topic to see how each one would react and where the conversation would go.Also: ElevenLabs’ new AI voice assistant can automate your favorite tasks – and you can try it for freeSpecifically, I told each one that our cat, Mr. Giggles, was acting very nervous and anxious lately and that I was worried and didn’t know what to do. This is partly true. Our cat always feels a bit traumatized after he returns home from a vet checkup. That effect goes away after a day or two, but I thought it would be a good topic of conversation.I judged the AIs’ conversational abilities not just on knowledge but on tone and personality, two factors that are important when you’re speaking with a person or a bot. Here’s how the conversations went and which AI I liked best. More