One of the biggest detractors to living in an apartment over your own home is a lack of freedom when it comes to upgrading your apartment’s technology, specifically when it requires changes that are forbidden by the landlord. We’ve compiled a list of 10 tech upgrades that will make your life easier while still keeping your property manager happy.

Concerned about your safety and belongings in your apartment?

Interested in home security, but you aren’t allowed to run wires through the walls in your apartment? Check out Canary, a wireless home security alarm solution. The device is placed at a central location in your apartment and connects to your home’s Wi-Fi network. Using a learning algorithm, the device learns when you are typically home versus when you are not. If the Canary senses motion at an abnormal time, the owner receives a smartphone notification and recorded HD video of the event.

The owner can also tune in live at any time, sound a siren or contact the authorities if there’s any trouble. On top of that, it keeps records of when people come and go to the home as well as use cloud storage to save video / audio over the last 90 days. As an added bonus, the device also tracks air quality, temperature and humidity in the home for health benefits.

Pricing: The Canary is a relatively new product that hasn’t seen much of a price reduction yet. The retail cost is $249 and the device is available at Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot and Verizon stores. If you purchase it directly from the company, it comes with a 60-day money back guarantee if you decide it’s not the right gadget for you.

Are bulky chargers making your furniture stick out?

Want all the benefits of USB charging without swapping out outlet hardware or setting up a USB charging station? Take a look at the SnapPower USB Charger, a simple outlet covering that adds a single USB charging station with just a turn of a screwdriver. The unique design of the outlet plate draws power from the screws on the side of the existing outlet. It’s also completely flat to the fall, ideal for small apartments that have limited space for furniture.

The SnapPower USB Charger comes in two designs and three colors, based off the type of outlets in your apartment. To install, you basically just remove the existing outlet cover and screw on the new cover. When you are ready to move to a new apartment or home, it’s easy to retrieve the hardware and replace it with the old plates. This will keep your landlord happy and give you USB charging without the bulky charger.

Pricing:  At the moment, you can only purchase the SnapPower outlet cover from the company that’s making it: LINK. Preorder pricing is based on the volume of your order. Purchasing a single cover will cost $20 while purchasing 5 covers brings the cost down to $16 each. The outlet covers are expected to ship during September 2015.

Does your apartment lack outlets?

Obviously, it’s easy to expand the number those outlets you have by purchasing a power strip. However, it’s not easy to hide a large power strip in an apartment or fit multiple, bulky chargers on a single strip. Enter the Pivot Power strip, a flexible strip that can be transformed into a variety of shapes.

For instance, you could wrap the power strip around a leg of an end table, effectively hiding the strip from guests. The strip also offers surge protection as well as four feet of cord to reach your nearest outlet.

Pricing:  The Pivot Power retails for $20, however you should be able to find it on sale consistently between $13 and $15 at Amazon. It comes in a variety of colors as well, ideal for anyone that’s decorated their apartment recently.

Love cooking, but hate your apartment’s unreliable appliances?

Arriving in Fall 2015, the Meld Knob is a high-tech automated cooking solution that replaces an existing burner knob on your stove. The knob automatically turns the burner to lower and raise temperature based off temperature readings being received from the Meld Clip. The clip attaches to existing cookware that you already own and measures temperature within 1 degree of the food’s actual temperature.

Utilizing the included mobile app, the user can browse through existing recipes as well as upload their own recipes. Communicating with the mobile device, the knob knows exactly how long to cook your meal as well as the appropriate time to stop cooking completely.

Pricing: The knob was fully funded on Kickstarter this year at a $99 preorder price and is expected to retail for $149 later this year, likely available on Amazon and other Web retailers.

Looking to add an extra A/C window unit in your apartment?

As summer temps are climbing, the need to reliable air conditioning is a must. Take a look at Quirky’s Aros, a smart window air conditioner that was developed in partnership with GE. Learning from your living habits similar to the Nest thermostat, the Aros uses your smartphone’s GPS to determine the best time to fire up before you arrive home.

It also uses a predictive algorithm to determine the temperatures you will like at different times of day. Using a mobile application, an Aros user can track an estimate of how much you have spent on cooling each day and compare that against the national average.

Pricing: The device currently retails for $249.99 and is found at Amazon and Walmart. While sales will be scarce during the summer months, look for the best price at the end of summer. Last September, the price on the Aros dipped down as low as $180 as summer came to a close and inventory was still high.

Do you have horrible central air / heat in your apartment?

Some apartments are notorious for having terrible air flow in different rooms, either the room is too hot or it’s too cold. Ideal for apartment roommates that can’t agree on the temperature, the Keen Smart Vent is a replacement vent for existing air flow vents in most apartments. Powered by four AA batteries, the vent connects to the home’s Wi-Fi network and automatically opens or closes the vent based off the existing temperature in the room.

Similar to other learning devices, the vent will tech itself the best pattern for the person using the room. It can also be controlled manually from a mobile device, but it’s specifically designed to work autonomously.

Pricing: The vents are expected to start shipping in Summer 2015 and can be preordered for a price of $145 for two vents (MSRP: $180). Similar to the SnapPower outlet cover, the price per vent will fall based on the volume of your order.

Do you have a windowless bedroom in your apartment?

Are you subleasing a “bedroom” (probably a closet) in an expensive city like New York or Los Angeles? Does your bedroom simply lack a window? You need the Philips Wake-up Light, an alarm clock that simulates sunlight pouring into your room at the start of each morning. It can also be used as a bedside lamp at night at a variety of different intensities.

Ideally, you should place the clock a couple feet from your head on a bedside table and allow it to slowly wake you up with light. Of course, the alarm clock also includes a standard alarm, FM radio as well as simulated birds chirping to go along with the light.

Pricing: Philips sells multiple models of this design for prices between $69.99 and $99.99. Look for discounts up to 25 to 30 percent off the original MSRP frequently at retailers like Amazon and Walgreens. The device can also be purchased from Philips directly.

Hate fumbling for your keys at your apartment’s front door?

Assuming you have a landlord that’s willing to let you swap out your front door deadbolt, check out the Kwikset Kevo. While there are multiple types of smart locks that interact with your smartphone, this is one of the only models that provides a physical key for the landlord to carry as well as look similar to existing hardware in an apartment complex.

Using Bluetooth connectivity with your mobile device, all you have to do is tap the lock when you arrive home and it will unlock due to the proximity of your smartphone. You can also provide access to guests by supplying a guest eKey that expires after 24 hours. Basically, you can let someone into your apartment without having to be physically at the location. Of course, if your smartphone dies, you always have a physical key as a backup to unlock the door.

Pricing: Retailing for $219 at stores such as Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy and Newegg, you can often find the Kevo on sale at the $199 price point. Amazon occasionally drops the price to $180, but the lowest recorded price to date was $150 at Sears during April.

Want whole-home audio without running wires through walls?

Easily one of the most popular wireless solutions for whole-home audio, the Sonos Play:1 speakers are a compact audio solution that lets you stream music simultaneously to all Wi-Fi connected Sonos speakers. The music you are listening to in your kitchen can carry over to the living room, bedroom and any other room in your apartment.

There are also more robust speakers in the Sonos line, if you need a more expansive sound across a larger space. Music can be controlled from a Wi-Fi connected mobile device, either playing from a personal collection or all the streaming music services available today.

Pricing: The bad news is that wireless comes at a price. A single Sonos Play:1 speaker runs $199 and the more robust speakers run between $299 and $399. However, you can find deals on a set of two Sonos Play:1 speakers at a $349 price point at retailers such as Amazon, Crutchfield, Best Buy and World Wide Stereo. During Christmas sales, you will also find discounts on a single Sonos Play:1 speaker as low as $160.

Hate setting off your apartment’s obnoxious smoke detectors?

Many apartments have smoke detectors placed near the kitchen with a sensitivity that alerts the entire apartment to some slightly burnt toast. Enter the Nest Protect, a combination smoke and carbon monoxide detector that allows you to simply wave off the alarm rather than seek out your step stool to reach the ceiling.

Connecting to your mobile devices over Wi-Fi, the advanced hardware sends messages when the batteries are running low as well as constantly runs a test nightly to make sure everything is working. It also uses a human voice alert to specifically identify the problem as well as the area of the home that set off the alarm.

Pricing: At a $99 MSRP, you can find the 2nd generation Nest Protect coming soon to retailers such as Best Buy, Home Depot, Amazon and the company site. Sales on the device are extremely infrequent, rarely dropping below $90. However, the device originally debuted at a $129 price point, thus the reduced MSRP could be considered a deal for people that aren’t early adopters.

10 Awesome Tech Upgrades for Apartment Dwellers

If you are hanging onto an older iPhone in order to save some money, you might be running into battery problems at this point in the phone’s lifespan. Ideal for anyone that bought iPhones between late- 2014 and mid-2017, the Battery Health (beta) in iOS 11.3 will tell you if your iPhone battery is on its way out or still kicking.

To access this information, update to iOS 11.3, then go to Settings, tap Battery and then tap Battery Health. The Maximum Capacity field will tell you how your battery compares to a brand new battery (in the same phone). We ran the test on an iPhone 6 Plus and found the battery was at 87% compared to a brand new replacement battery.

Anything below 80% and you should consider bringing your iPhone into an Apple Store to get it swapped out. Apple has lowered the cost of those procedure to $29 (from $79) for anyone with an iPhone 6 or newer as a way to apologize for slowing down phones.

In addition, users have the power to flip off the performance throttling in the same menu. Under “Peak Performance Capability,” users will be able to see if throttling has been flipped on and will be able to disable it as necessary.

Of course, this could increase the possibility of an iPhone crash, assuming the battery is having difficulty keeping up. If your phone is still running at peak performance, you won’t see an option to turn on throttling. It only appears after an iPhone has shutdown unexpectedly as a power management precaution.

Other updates in iOS 11.3 include a few new animoji characters for iPhone X users, a chat function within the Messages app that connects you directly with businesses, new augmented reality capabilities and the ability to view your medical records on your phone (assuming your health system participates).

iPhone battery problems? Latest iOS will tell you to replace or not

So maybe you just got back the credit cards bills you’ve been ignoring since Black Friday and Cyber Monday. And Christmas. And maybe you realized you went way overboard on spending this year. And maybe you’re slowly coming to terms with your out-of-control habits but aren’t willing to accept them quite yet. We got you, fam. These tech accessories are priced at the bottom of the barrel without sacrificing on quality or reputation. No, they aren’t gimmicky. Yes, they are useful. Yes, you’ll want them all. No, we can’t be held liable for your own personal financial crisis.

Grid-It! Organizer

This flexible little wrangler lassos up all your head phone cords, tiny tech devices, and sundry items with ease. The rubber-threaded straps grip onto your valuables with the might of a cowboy keeping them safe from getting lost in your carry-on. These things come in small, medium, large, and extra large. And when coupled with 8 seconds of planning can save you a  horse-load of time.

Check Price on Bed, Bath & Beyond

goStrap Smartphone Holder

Are those pop-out thingamabobs not your jam? Us either. They don’t allow the phone to lay flat, causing it to wobble. But these goStrap Smartphone Holders actually keep your phone safe in hand and on the table. Their stretchy grips make it possible for you to loop your phone around your fingers in a hands-off kind of way, making this version of the smartphone stabilizer the more practical one.

Check Price on B&H PhotoVideo

CJ Tech 3 Outlet Wall Tap

It’s not your fault you have more devices than you do outlets. Your home was probably built before we as humans ceased to function without screens. This CJ Tech version of the power strip not only allows you plug in your tablet and smartphone, but also your eReader, electric blanket and lamp. BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE! It also acts as a nice little cradle for that oh-so-necessary smart phone of yours.

Check Price on Staples

Zeuste Charging Cable for iPhone

If there is one thing a tech-loving person can never have enough of, it’s those pesky smartphone charging cables. No matter which camp you’re in, iPhone vs. Android, there always seems to be one cable too few. This pack of three ought to solve that problem, at least for iPhone fans. Keep one by the bed, in the car, and at your office desk for optimal charging convenience.

Check Price on Amazon

Camyse Apple Watch Band

Typically, these types of off-brand products are questionable at best. But with a five-star rating on Amazon, this Apple watch band stands out from the crowd of counterfeits. The version seen here has three different color options: black, brown, and browner. They aren’t waterproof. They aren’t the real deal. And they aren’t going to break the bank.

Check Price on Amazon

THZY Mini Car Suction Cup

For the budding Youtube vlogger in all of us, this THYZ GoPro suction mount enables you to churn out content even at highway speeds. We don’t outright endorse recording yourself while driving (eyes on the road, people) and would instead encourage you to stick this dude on your mirror for some make-up how to’s, on the side of the fridge for some excellent POV meal prepping, or perhaps even on a nearby smooth surface to live stream those Steam plays.

Check Price on Walmart

Dotz – Reusable Cord Straps

The area behind your TV cabinet is not actually meant to look like an overgrown jungle despite your cat’s attempts to climb those electrical vines. We can’t promise that these reusable cord straps will be the tech gadget that will actually dissuade your cat from doing whatever the hell it wants. But we can promise that it will at least make it more difficult for them to yank your Xbox down off the shelf.

Check Price on Best Buy

Mr. Coffee Mug Warmer

Low tech is still tech when it comes to low cost and inexpensive. So while you’re working overtime to pay off all that you’ve seen here plus those #treatyoself moments of 2017 (who are we kidding, that was the entire year of 2017), keep the motivation juice flowing at piping hot temps to keep your productivity levels somewhere near luke warm.

Check Price on Target

8 Inexpensive Tech Accessories to Enhance your Life

Do you hate having to find your USB charger all the time? Does your significant other hate seeing your fat, ugly chargers permanently sticking out from the wall? Meet the SnapPower Charger, a simple outlet cover that elegantly blends design and function. Replacing an existing outlet cover within your home, the SnapPower Charger very literally snaps into place and offers up a single USB charging slot on the right side of the cover.

How does it get the power to charge you mobile devices? The two prongs on the left and right side of the cover’s interior clamp onto the screw contacts on the outlet hardware. Pulling power from those metal contact points, users can charge their mobile devices without having to locate their USB charger. Of course, you can still plug in USB chargers to the two remaining spots, thus giving you the option of charging three devices at once over USB.

Installation in the Kitchen

Installation is a Breeze

One of the best features of the SnapPower Charger is that you don’t need any electrical skills to install the plate. However, you will need to find the breaker box in your home and flip off the power at the location of the outlet for your future SnapPower Charger cover.

After the power is off, you unscrew the existing plate and push the SnapPower Charger cover into place. I had to wiggle it a little in order to get it on, but it fit very snugly once it was installed. After that, attach the single screw to hold the plate securely on the wall and go flip the power back on. That’s it! It took me less than 5 minutes to install it, zero roadblocks in the process.

Installation in the Bedroom

Performance & Usability

The amp rating is 1 amp, basically identical to the standard chargers that ship with an iPhone. I found no difference in charging speed between the SnapPower Charger and my iPhone 6 Plus wall plug. While 2 amp and 2.4 amp “Qualcomm’s QuickCharge” chargers certainly power up mobile device batteries faster, this is passive by design; likely to make installation so easy. Personally, speed wasn’t a factor as I just plopped my iPhone down with my keys, wallet, etc… and let it charge before I exited again.

This type of product would be ideal for outlets mounted at the kitchen counter level, ideal for charging up your gadgets and keeping the outlet plugs free for small appliances. It’s also a fantastic product for renters. While homeowners can swap out their outlet hardware easily, renters aren’t allowed to dive into electrical work. As long as you keep the old plates, you can simply pop the old plates back on when it’s time to move again.

You can still charge at a kid-proofed outlet.

Should You Buy It?

While $20 is expensive for an outlet cover, you can’t compare this product to outlet covers. It provides relatively the same function as this $20 outlet hardware / plate combo at Amazon, but doesn’t require any electrical knowledge to install. Are you paying a premium for that advantage? Sure. But you also gain more flexibility, ideal for renting at apartments / homes.

SnapPower sells the charger in two different styles, duplex and decor. There’s also three color options available, white, light almond and ivory.  You can also bring the price down to as low as $16 per plate if you purchase these in bulk. You can check out the SnapPower Charger on the official site.

SnapPower Charger Review: Ditch Your Bulky USB Charger

Power is always a necessity in today’s world of smartphones, tablets, laptops and every other mobile device that we carry around. Battery manufacturers have certainly recognized this need, thus the influx of portable battery chargers has somewhat exploded over the past five years. One such battery is the Aukey 10000mAh model, a battery that includes a Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 port for 2.4 amp charging of supported Android devices and 2.0 amp charging for supported Apple devices.

Design

The Aukey 10000mAh Battery is 6.5 inches tall, just under 3 inches in width and less than an inch thick; roughly the size of two decks of cards stacked end to end.. The compact design makes it ideal for travel, perhaps more so than competing models from companies like Jackery. On one end of the portable battery, you will find a 1 amp charging port as well as the Qualcomm Quick Charge 2.0 port. In between the two port, you will find a LED light that can be activated with the power button on the side. On the opposite side from the power button, you will find the micro USB charging port.

The battery is also lightweight, far less than one pound in weight. There are no power meters on the battery to indicate remaining power levels. Instead, Aukey uses indicator lights to provide an estimated range. By pressing the power button once, you can check the power. A white light means there’s 60 to 100 percent of the battery power left. A green light means 20 to 60 percent and a red light means between 0 and 20 percent of battery life left.

Performance

I performed a few timing tests with Aukey’s 10000mAh model, specifically putting it up against other chargers. Charging an iPhone 6 Plus from 50 percent battery life to 100 percent took about 75 minutes using the orange quick charge port; slower than a 2.4 amp wall plug that knocked it out the same in just under 60 minutes. However, I could find no decrease in charging speed between a 2.4 amp wall plug and the Aukey battery when charging up a Samsung Galaxy S6. It was charging at the same rate, ideal for anyone that needs a quick charge during a commute.

On average, you will probably get nearly two full charges for smartphones and one full charge for a tablet. When the Aukey battery is completely dead, it consistently took me just under five hours to completely recharge it using a 2.4 amp wall plug. The secondary 1 amp port performs pretty much identically to any standard iPhone charger from Apple. It’s roughly half the speed of the quick charge port, even less so when using an Android device. However, it’s nice when you have multiple devices to charge, ideal for families perhaps.

I didn’t have any issues with overheating. That can often be an issue with portable batteries, but the Aukey model stayed cool to the touch both when recharging the internal battery and charging up my mobile devices. I also didn’t have any issues with turning the LED light at the top of the battery on and off. The light is fairly bright, but I can’t imagine a scenario at home where I would be able to find the black battery in the dark. However, I can see how it would be useful when carrying it around in a laptop bag, ideal when searching through the bag at night or using the light to illuminate the lock on a car or front door.

Should You Buy It?

If you have one of the Android devices listed at the bottom of the review, then this is definitely a great mobile charger. It would be ideal for anyone that runs out of battery during the day and doesn’t have access to any power outlets. If you have an iPhone, the Aukey battery is fast, just not as fast as a 2.4 amp wall charger. On average, the sale price on this model is usually around $30. That’s roughly the same sale price as the Jackery Giant+, a 12,000 mAh charger. However, the Aukey battery has a much thinner width, basically more portable, and a higher power rating for Android charging.

Check Amazon Price of Aukey 10000mAh Battery

Quick Charge 2.0 Compatible Android models

Aukey Quick Charge 2.0 10000mAh Battery Review

Have you ever wondered why it takes wildly different amounts of time to charge your smartphone through various USB devices? That’s exactly the question that the creators of the Practical Meter want to help you answer.

Launched through Kickstarter, the Practical Meter is plugged into your charging device, like a PC or laptop, and your smartphone is plugged into the Practical Meter. Similar to a Wi-Fi strength meter, the user will find a five-bar charging strength meter on the top of the Practical Meter. Each bar on the meter represents 1 watt of power with a max of 5 watts for smartphone charging.

Basically, the higher the wattage, the less time the smartphone will have to be plugged in. Using the iPhone as an example, five bars means the iPhone can go from a dead battery to fully charged in 90 minutes. Four bars is 2 hours, three bars is 4 hours, two bars is 6 hours and 1 bar is 8 hours. If you have multiple charging options, the Practical Meter will allow you to pick the fastest USB port for charging your smartphone.

Beyond the usefulness at home and work, this could also be ideal for anyone who’s spending time hiking or camping. For instance, a user would be able to immediately see how effective a solar charger is at filling up their smartphone battery.

In addition to the Practical Meter, the creators are selling a three-in-one charger cable that’s been specifically designed to maximize the charging rate for smartphones. That cable includes Micro USB, Mini USB and Apple dock connections.

The power consumption of the Practical Meter itself is less than 0.1 watts at maximum, thus the advantages to using the meter outweigh its need for power. Easily one of the least expensive Kickstarter projects, getting access to a  three-in-one charger cable and the Practical Meter costs a grand total of $19. With three weeks to go, the creators have already raised over $70,000. According to the project details, they plan to deliver the Practical Meter to backers by September 2013.

Check out a video from the creators below:

Shut Up and Take My Money: The Practical Meter For USB Charging