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vendredi 27 février 2026

I’m a Deals Writer, and These Are My Top 10 Tech Deals This Week

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As Lifehacker's tech deals writer, I'm always looking for the best bargains on TVs, speakers, laptops, and other tech. Now that it's Friday, I've gathered together this week's sales highlights, all of which I've vetted using my favorite price-tracking tools to make sure they are actually good deals.

This week, you can find great deals on the new Pixel 10a, the new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, 65-inch OLED TVs, my favorite projector bundle, and more.

The Nothing Ear (Open) is just $99

The Nothing Ear (Open) are Nothing's open-ear earbuds from 2024, and it's currently $99 ($149) for Prime Members, the lowest price they've ever been. They come with multipoint connection, so you can hook them up to your phone and laptop simultaneously. There's also a "Find My Earbud" feature that plays a loud sound on the earbuds if you misplace them. There's also a low-lag mode with 120 milliseconds of latency for gaming, so the audio will be in sync with your actions. If you use a supported Nothing phone, this feature is automatic, and there's also a ChatGPT integration that you can access directly through the earbuds.

A 55-inch Samsung OLED for $1,098

The 55-inch Samsung S90F OLED has always been a great value option, but right now it's going for $1,097.99 ($500 off the list price of $1,597.99), the lowest price this TV has ever reached. This model is the lowest-priced OLED TV from Samsung's 2025 lineup, and a step below the more premium S95F. For around half the price, the S90F cuts out some features that might not be essential for you anyway: It has lower brightness (though it's still pretty good), no anti-reflective coating, and no connection box (that is, an external input/output hub with HDMI, power, and USB for reducing cable clutter).

My favorite projector bundle is $369

You can get a sweet deal on my favorite projector bundle with the XGIMI MoGo 3 Pro, which comes with the PowerBase Stand (which you do honestly need) for $368.99, down from $499, an all-time low price. The projector has two ports—a USB and a micro HDMI—so you can project from a laptop or phone, or you can simply screen mirror from your devices via the Google TV OS. Also, since the projector is "smart," it already comes with the typical apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon, and you can download more from the Google Play Store and control it with a remote. With 450 lumens and 1080p resolution, it's best used in dark rooms, but you can get away with some ambient light (I make good use of it in my backyard).

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 is 41% off

If you have a Samsung, a Samsung Galaxy Watch is the best choice, and the best model for most people is the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 (though it works with any Android phone). Right now, you can get the 44mm LTE Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 for $196 (originally $329.99). The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 came out in 2024, receiving an "excellent" review from PCMag for its accurate heart rate measurement, detailed sleep monitoring data tracking, AI health insights, and overall smooth user experience. It offers a Super AMOLED screen of 44mm or 40mm. This sale covers the LTE version, which means you're not dependent on wifi (or a nearby phone) to receive calls or listen to music.

Pre-order the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and get a $200 Amazon gift card

Right now, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is the largest and most feature-rich model in the S26 lineup, and you can pre-order a deal on an unlocked phone for $1,299 (the standard retail price) and receive a $200 gift card from Amazon to sweeten the deal on the phone, which officially releases on March 11, and is available in four colors. 

Get a 65-inch OLED TV for $900

If you're still reading this on Friday, Feb. 20, you can get a 2025, 65-inch OLED TV from Samsung for $899.99 (originally $1,999.99) from Best Buy—an incredible value for the money and the lowest price it has been. The last time this deal happened was during the Christmas shopping sales, and before that, during Black Friday. So if you're reading this after the sale ended, you'll likely see the deal again at another major future sale.

Pre-order the Google Pixel 10a with a $100 Amazon gift card

Google is releasing its budget a-series version of the Pixel 10 on March 5, and is offering some deals if you get them now. There is not much dividing the 10a from the 9a, but there are a few software updates that can make it worth it for some people. Throw in a $100 Amazon gift card, and it's hard to say no. Google has the pre-orders for the Google 10a out already, going for $499, plus the gift card. Alternatively, you can get the Pixel Buds 2a instead of the $100 gift card for the same $499 price.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra starts at $368

Samsung announced the Galaxy Watch Ultra the summer of 2024, and then refreshed it last August with double the storage and new color options. That 2025 version is $529, $120 off the original $649.99 price tag. If the extra storage and colors aren't a big deal to you, you could be in a great position to get a the 2024 Bespoke Edition 47mm LTE Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, which is selling for $368.39, originally $649.99 at launch. Both are all-time low prices for these models. The Galaxy Watch Ultra emphasizes outdoor and exercise features, and it's much cheaper than other premium fitness watches like the Apple Watch Ultra.

The Nothing Smartwatch with ChatGPT is $45

Last summer, Nothing released its newest smartwatch, the CMF Watch 3 Pro, which incorporates AI features powered by ChatGPT, and you can currently pick it up at a major discount. Originally $99, you can get the CMF Watch 3 Pro for $44.99 at Woot. The catch is that it's only available at that price in the light green color.

The Hisense U6 Series TV is $268 off

If you haven't kept up with TV advances over the years, the Hisense U6 Series is a great example of how much you can now get for a "budget" price. This QLED Mini LED TV isn't quite at the level of an OLED TV, but it makes up for it in affordability. And right now, the 65-inch Hisense Class U6 Series TV is $579.99 (originally $847.99), down to its lowest price ever after a 24% discount.


Deals are selected by our commerce team


How AI Is Making Romance Scams Even More Dangerous

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Most of us believe that we would never, ever fall for a scam. We think we know the "tells," like poorly formulated communication that sounds urgent. Unfortunately, social engineering—tactics that prey on human emotions and instincts to get us to act against our own interests—can work on anyone.

Romance scams are a textbook example of emotional manipulation in which the perpetrator exploits a victim's feelings of loneliness, love, or desire for connection to build trust over the long term. Beyond the emotional toll, the financial consequences are significant: The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported $672 million in romance scam losses in 2024, and this number is almost certainly only a fraction of the real total.

Scammers are increasingly employing AI tools in romance scams, making these campaigns even harder to detect and therefore even more dangerous for targets. Experian predicts that AI-powered romance scams will be among the top fraud threats in 2026.

How a romance scam works

As McAfee describes in a recent report on the state of romance scams, this type of fraud is a long con. A romance scam typically starts with a "hook," like a DM, follow request, "wrong number" text, or match on a dating app. Once a scammer gets a response, they'll move into love bombing in an attempt to quickly build intimacy and trust while encouraging you to keep the relationship a secret. They'll take time to build credibility around their persona, which likely includes a job or lifestyle that prevents them from meeting you.

Next comes a minor request for financial support, which may escalate into opening an account, "investing" in a business venture, or co-signing a loan. Increasingly, these schemes involve fraudulent investments in cryptocurrency. (Another term for this is "pig butchering.") Once they've got what they want, scammers disappear, leaving victims to deal with the consequences.

Romance scams work because they don't start with obvious exploitation. Fraudsters build up trust over weeks and months, so it's more likely to feel like a real relationship than a scam until victims are already in too deep.

AI is making romance scams worse

AI is making romance scams even easier for fraudsters to run. In a review of recent research, Bitdefender notes that in order to build trust, scammers have traditionally had to devote significant time and attention to each individual target. While playing the long game in this way is often worth the effort—as the payoff is often significant—it limits the number of potential victims any one scammer could reach.

AI removes these barriers. Large language models (LLMs) are capable of maintaining natural conversations without the red flags of a scam, such as poor grammar and misspellings. AI can mirror personality, reflect emotion, and match tone, and it's less likely than a human to come off as pressured or rushed. Chatbots can retain and integrate personal details from earlier conversations, and it requires very little effort to sustain for a very large number of victims.

Automated chatbots are especially adept at handling the early stages of a romance scam, and humans are required to step in only at critical moments to offer reassurance or initiate a financial request. Because scammers can maintain many conversations at once, they can also test out different tactics and quickly refine based on what works best to keep victims engaged. As the Global Cyber Alliance puts it, AI adds "speed, scale, and consistency" to the traditional romance scam.

Research suggests that victims may actually find AI more trustworthy than a human. McAfee found that a third of American adults believe it's possible to develop romantic feelings toward an AI bot. Deepfake audio and video make these AI-powered scams even more credible, as victims can no longer rely on a scammer's refusal to actually speak with them as a red flag.

How to catch a romance scam

Even a well-trained chatbot has limitations. According to McAfee, the most common clues that you're interacting with a bot or fake profile include scripted or repetitive responses, instant (and perfectly crafted) replies, and photos that are obviously generated by AI. Other red flags include a contact who avoids voice and video calls as well as unusual requests early in the relationship.

To avoid getting wrapped up in an AI-powered romance scam, slow down. Be wary of perfectly crafted responses, which may indicate automation. Try asking unexpected questions or creating friction, which can throw a chatbot off. Remember that relationships shouldn't rely on secrecy or be contingent on financial support. Social media and dating sites are full of fake profiles, so seeing is not always believing.



This Samsung Dolby Atmos Soundbar Is Nearly 50% Off Right Now

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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

The Samsung HW-Q800F soundbar is down to $547.99 on Woot right now, which is a good chunk less than its $747.99 Amazon price tag, and even lower than the lowest price it’s ever gone for before ($697.99), according to price trackers. This offer is valid for a month or until it sells out, with free shipping for Prime members and a $6 fee for others. It comes with a 90-day Woot limited warranty, but the real appeal here is the performance: It’s a 5.1.2-channel system with Dolby Atmos support, meaning you get immersive audio, even without extra satellite speakers.

When it comes to performance, the Q800F feels most at home with TV and movies. The subwoofer has plenty of rumble for action-heavy scenes, while the dedicated center channel makes dialogue stand out even when everything else gets loud. That’s something a lot of cheaper soundbars miss, and it makes a big difference if you don’t want to ride the volume button during every show. Additionally, it plays nice with just about any device you throw at it—HDMI passthrough for 4K at 60Hz with HDR and Dolby Vision, plus Bluetooth, wifi, AirPlay, and Spotify Connect. If you’ve got a recent Samsung TV, you can even skip the HDMI cable altogether and stream Atmos wirelessly. Voice control is built in through Alexa; however, reportedly, connecting it to Google Assistant requires a little extra effort using Samsung’s app.

There are some trade-offs. The Q800F doesn’t offer HDMI 2.1 support or features like VRR, which limits its appeal if you’re chasing cutting-edge gaming specs. And Atmos performance, while present, doesn’t match that of the more expensive Q990F with dedicated satellites (the surround effect feels wider than a basic stereo bar, but not always fully convincing). Also, the bass can skew a little boomy, and there’s a dip in the mids that can thin out certain dialogue. Still, for a clean setup with powerful sound and strong format support, the Q800F offers a lot of the premium experience at mid-range price.




What to Do When You Can't Feel a Muscle 'Working' While Exercising

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You've probably heard that you should feel a certain muscle working when you do an exercise. Your biceps should burn a little when you're doing bicep curls, your quads when you're doing squats, and so on. But this isn't an ironclad rule. Sometimes you can get a totally effective workout without feeling any specific muscle at all.

So why do so many people tell you to pay attention to feeling the muscle working? Partly because it can be a useful teaching tool to make sure you're doing the exercise right—but that's only true for some exercises. And honestly, another big reason is the influence of bodybuilding lingo and techniques on gym culture in general. Bodybuilders who train for the stage operate with a piece-by-piece mindset: Make sure you're working this muscle and not that one. That's OK if you're trying to fine-tune your physique after years of training, but that approach isn't needed to build muscle in the first place. So here's what you need to know.

You may not always feel a muscle, even if it’s working

Here’s the most important thing to know: you don’t have to feel a muscle for it to be working. Say you’re doing a barbell squat. A squat works your quads, your glutes, and a lot of other muscles besides. You may not feel every one of those because when you’re doing a heavy squat, your brain is processing a lot of information. It’s feeling the weight of the bar on your back. It’s remembering the technique cues that you’re trying to focus on. It’s paying attention to your balance as you descend to make sure you don’t tip over one way or another. It’s counting the number of the rep in your head. Maybe sometimes a muscle manages to pipe up with “hey, I’m your quads and I’m kind of hurting right now.” But your brain does not have time to listen to every muscle’s nonsense, any more than a mom making dinner has time to listen to her toddler’s every whine. Your brain is focused on the task at hand: making sure you complete the rep.

I like to think of some muscles as being “louder” than others. If I’m doing kettlebell swings, I might be more focused on the fact that my forearms are burning (from holding onto the kettlebell) and not feel my glutes working at all. But after 100 swings, hoo boy, you can bet my butt will be feeling like jelly afterward. It just didn’t give me that burning sensation in the moment.

When it matters whether you feel the burn, and when it doesn’t

So what should you do if you don’t feel the muscle working? You look for another way to be sure the muscle is working. In the case of the compound exercises mentioned above, the fact that you completed the exercise is all the information you need. Your pullups used your lats. Your kettlebell swings and your squats used your glutes. There’s simply no way around that.

Does it ever matter whether you’re feeling the muscle? Yes, it can help if you’re doing isolation exercises. In these exercises, like a bicep curl or a leg extension, you’re trying to focus a movement on one muscle or a small muscle group. You're "isolating" that muscle. Your brain is a little more able to focus on the feeling from that one muscle, and isolations are the type of exercise where it may be possible to do a similar movement without working the target muscle.

For example, let’s say you’re doing side-lying leg raises to work your hip adductors, particularly the gluteus medius. If you have your hips tilted or your legs angled slightly forward, you may feel the muscles toward the front of your hips working. But if you do the same exercise with your back to a wall, sliding your heel along the wall as your lift your leg, you’ll feel it a lot more in that glute you’re trying to isolate.

As a general rule, for compound exercises (where many muscles are working at once), it doesn’t matter whether you feel the muscle. But if you are doing an isolation exercise, feeling the muscle is helpful feedback to make sure that you are isolating the right muscle.

Don't reduce the amount of weight just to feel the muscle work

There’s a lot of bad advice out there, and I’d like to call out one thing specifically: the advice to reduce the amount of weight you’re lifting so that you can feel the muscles better. Sometimes people will say it’s important to build a “mind-muscle connection.”

But you don’t have to forgo weight on the bar to build that connection. If you’d like to spend more time feeling the muscle, do some isolation work in your warmups. (These are sometimes called “activation” exercises.) You can also do extra isolation work at the end of your workout just to give those specific muscles a little more volume.

It’s important to remember that different parts of your workout have different purposes. If you’re squatting heavy, you need to put some fucking weight on the bar to keep building your strength and your skill at squatting. Often the lifts that make it hardest to feel a muscle are the lifts where that muscle is working the most! So don’t give up on heavy, effective lifts just because you don’t “feel” them as well as isolations or warmups.



jeudi 26 février 2026

How to Do Fartlek Runs (and Seven Different Kinds to Try)

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Fartleks are a well-known and popular running workout—or at least they’re something runners talk about all the time. But how many of us have gone out and said “I’m doing a fartlek today” and actually followed through with it? Probably a lot less than the number of people who talk about doing them.

The original idea is that a fartlek workout is unstructured (the name means “speed play”) so it’s hard to plan one. Here’s what you need to know about fartleks, and some guidelines to setting yourself up for a fun and productive one.

What counts as a fartlek run? 

“Fartlek” comes from a Swedish term meaning “speed play,” and it’s usually described as something you just go out and do for funsies. You choose a landmark—say, a mailbox up ahead—and decide to run faster until you get to it. Then you slow down again. 

Most runners and coaches would agree on that description, but when you try to nail down a definition of the fartlek run, things start to fall apart. If you run fast for one minute and slow for four, is that a fartlek, or just a time-based interval? Can you run fartleks at a specific pace, or just off vibes? I even saw one post on Reddit that claimed it’s not a real farlek if you know how long you’ll be running each segment—you need a coach to blow a whistle when you least expect it. 

Still, these are some commonalities among the descriptions I’ve read, and we can use them to guide us: 

  • A fartlek run includes short segments of faster and slower running.

  • The slower running is still running, usually around your easy pace. So this isn’t a sprint-and-walk situation, more like jog-and-surge. (If you need to walk those recoveries, keep your pace strong and powerful.) 

  • Precise paces and times are not required.

  • The faster segments should be short, and the easy segments should be longer.

  • Your cues to speed up and slow down may come from your environment, your training partners, your whims, or a loose plan you had when you set out.

  • A fartlek run should feel harder than an easy run.

Why run a fartlek? 

The benefits of fartlek runs will depend on how you do them. Some fartleks are basically a threshold (or tempo) run, some end up being long runs with some marathon-pace work in the middle, and some are just standard speedwork with a different name. These will all have different benefits. If a coach or written program tells you to do a “fartlek run,” make sure to get clarification on what that’s supposed to mean. 

Here are some of the reasons commonly given for including fartlek runs in a program: 

  • If the runner chooses their own intervals, it can be fun and playful, sort of a mental break from structured training. 

  • Since there are no strict pace targets, it can serve as a transition between easy running and introducing more structured speedwork (for example, as you finish your off-season and start training for a race).

  • The variety in the run can make it a little less boring than a standard threshold or long run.

  • You can’t compare your times or paces to what you’ve done previously, since every fartlek is different. This can help if you get anxious about whether you’re “improving” enough. 

Examples of fartlek runs you can try today

So we have some guidelines, and we know when and why we might try a fartlek run. With that, you can pretty much put together your own version—but I’d like to give a few examples to start you off. There are no wrong answers, so feel free to add your own! For any of these, plan to start and end your run with at least five to 10 minutes of easy jogging (or however you like to warm up and cool down). 

The music fartlek

You’ll need a good playlist for this one. (Fortunately, we have a guide on how to craft a great one.) When the song is slow, jog easy. When the chorus picks up the energy a bit, you can too. And if it hits a big, emotional bridge—you know what to do. 

You can also do this same idea song by song. Alternate chill songs with higher energy ones, and match that energy to your running speed. Remember, it’s a fartlek, so you can always skip or repeat a song as you see fit.

The hill fartlek

Do you have a route with some little hills or challenging parts here and there? Jog easy, but when you hit one of those special spots, put on a little extra speed and surge up that hill. Or, if the hills are too steep for that to be realistic, choose flat straightaways or downhills where you can really open it up and get your legs moving. 

The light pole fartlek

This one is good for some distance-based guidelines if you run in a place with light poles, mailboxes, or some similar repetitive structure. Starting at one pole, run fast until you hit the next one, then jog easy until you pass two or three more. 

“Haul ass” triggers

I love this idea, which came from an old Reddit comment. The redditor says: “I learned about fartlek runs in the US Army, and still to this day I have certain spots in my routes that I consider ‘haul ass’ segments. I also have a rule that if certain songs come up in my play list when set to shuffle, that's sprint mode or skip the song.”

This is like a speedwork version of the “run until” challenge. The “haul ass” segments could be a favorite hill or straightaway, as we discussed above, but you could come up with more creative options as well. Here are a few: If you pass a picnic with a boom box blasting, run faster for as long as it’s in earshot. If you see a cute dog or a cool-looking bird, run faster for 30 seconds. And of course, every park runner’s favorite, “pass that person in front of me.” They don’t have to know you think it’s a race. 

The partner fartlek

This one is like the “pick a mailbox” type of fartlek, but the catch is that you and your running buddy get to take turns. This can be playful, vicious, or anything in between, depending on how you and your buddy get along. (He made me run a real long one? OK, I’ll make him sprint up this hill!)

Time-based fartleks

Some will say these aren’t true fartleks, but sorry—plenty of people run time-based intervals with loose pace targets and call them fartleks. Here are a few I’ve seen: 

  • 1 minute fast/4 minutes easy

  • Pyramid up and down: 1 minute fast, 1 minute easy, then 2 of each, 3 of each, then 2, then 1. Jog easy for a bit before starting the next pyramid.

  • Descending only: 5 minutes fast, 5 easy, then 4, 3, 2, and 1.

The treadmill fartlek

I’m now realizing that some of my ways to make the treadmill less boring are, in fact, fartleks. My favorite is the simple rule to “change something every quarter-mile.” That could mean an increase in speed, or a decrease in speed. A little bump to the incline. Maybe I just try to get this last quarter-mile over with as fast as possible. 

Again, make up your own rules. You could do time-based intervals as above, or choose triggers like sprinting for 30 seconds whenever a number 7 comes up on any of the readouts in front of you. 



This Motorola Razr+ Is Over $130 Off Right Now

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Foldable phones still carry a price premium, so a drop like this changes the math. Right now, the 2024 Motorola Razr+ (unlocked, 12GB RAM, 256GB storage) is discounted to $417.09 on Woot for the next five days or until inventory lasts. Amazon lists it at $549.95, and price trackers show its previous low was $499.99, so it’s a sizable drop for a current-generation foldable. That said, this is an open-box unit, meaning it may have been a photo sample or simply had damaged packaging, but it functions like new. Prime members get free standard shipping, while others pay $6. The phone ships unlocked and includes a one-year Motorola limited warranty.

The aluminum frame of the Razr+ 2024 has rounded edges that feel better in hand, and its vegan leather back adds grip and resists fingerprints. Folded, it takes up less space than most slab phones and fits easily into smaller pockets. The hinge feels firm and stable when opening and closing, and the phone carries an IPX8 rating, so it can survive submersion in water rather than just splashes. The crease is visible when the screen is off and can catch light at certain angles, but it reportedly fades during normal use. The main camera performs well in daylight with detailed shots and balanced color, though low-light images fall short of what you get from top-tier Samsung or Google phones.

The four-inch outer OLED display is large enough to run full apps. You can reply to messages, check directions, or scroll social feeds without flipping it open. Inside, the 6.9-inch OLED panel is sharp and responsive, with a high refresh rate that keeps animations smooth. Performance is powered by a Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor with 12GB of RAM. In daily use, apps open quickly, and multitasking feels fluid. The 256GB of storage gives most users plenty of room, but with no microSD slot, storage is fixed and cannot be expanded. Battery life is around 14.5 hours, edging out some competing flip phones, including Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5, notes this PCMag review. Charging tops out at 45W, but you have to supply your own charger.



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