The smartphone is an essential part of our everyday lives.

But as with all technology, things change. So the question becomes: What will be the next smartphone?

Will it be the connected car? Or the smart speaker? What about the smartwatch?

Find out which device, if any, will take over the smartphone's role with this brand new slide deck from Business Insider Intelligence called The Next Smartphone.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

• Smartphones are the fastest adopted tech in the U.S.
• Whichever device becomes the next smartphone needs to go everywhere
• Consumer expectations around the smartphone are changing
• And much more

To get your copy of this FREE slide deck, simply click here.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Richard Anthony Jones is receiving a $1.1 million settlement over a wrongful conviction in which he spent 17 years in jail. 
• Jones was convicted of a 1999 robbery, despite there being no physical evidence that put him at the scene and him having a solid alibi. 
• Jones was released last year with the help from the Project for Innocence at the University of Kansas, who found his doppelgänger, Ricky Amos. 
• A judge ordered Jones be released after witnesses of the robbery could not tell Amos and Jones apart in their booking photos.

A Kansas man is receiving a $1.1 million settlement from the state after spending 17 years in prison for a robbery he says was committed by someone who looks just like him.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said on Tuesday that a settlement had been made with Richard Anthony Jones, who was imprisoned in 2000 for an aggravated robbery, according to ABC News.

He was convicted of robbing a woman in a Walmart parking lot in 1999 despite having a solid alibi and there being no physical evidence linking him to the scene.

Jones was released from prison last year after a team from the Project for Innocence at the University of Kansas found his doppelgänger, Ricky Amos, who they suspected of committing the crime, though a statute of limitations bars him from being prosecuted.

Amos has denied any involvement in the robbery and was recently released from prison for other crimes.

In the initial court case, witness testimony placed Jones at the scene of the Walmart parking lot robbery in Roeland Park, Kansas.

During the robbery, a man attempted to steal a woman’s purse, but the woman fought back and the man only made off with her cellphone. The woman fell and scraped her knees in the ordeal, which turned the phone theft into an aggravated robbery.

Jones always maintained his innocence and said at the time of the robbery he was at a birthday party where he was seen by several people.

Read more:A bakery worker helped cops nab her co-worker as a cold case murder suspect by stealing his discarded Coke can for DNA evidence

Eyewitnesses in the parking lot identified the robber as a "light-skinned Hispanic or African-American man" named Rick who had "long hair pulled back,"according to CNN.

Amos and Jones are close in age, have similar skin tones, facial hair, and cornrows.

A judge ordered Jones be released after witnesses of the robbery, including the victim, could not tell Amos and Jones apart in their booking photos.

Earlier this year, Jones filed a petition asking the state to pay him $1.1 million and proclaim his innocence.

Jones' lawsuit is the first under a new state law in Kansas that provides compensation to people who have been wrongly imprisoned.

Schmidt released a statement saying his office is "faithfully administering the new mistaken-conviction statute the legislature enacted."

"In this case, it was possible on the existing record to resolve all issues quickly, satisfy all of the statute"s requirements, and agree to this outcome so Mr. Jones can receive the benefits to which he is entitled by law because he was mistakenly convicted," he said.

• Read more about crime:
• 'Fake News,' 'MAGA' sign found pointing at Holocaust Memorial Museum in San Antonio
• The killing of 2 Scandinavian backpackers in Morocco has been declared an 'act of terror' as officials investigate an ISIS-style beheading video
• A 17-year-old German boy went to Malta on vacation. His body came back without its organs, and his father embarked on a 2-year journey to find out how his son died.
• Women are accusing Sandals Resorts of covering up sexual assaults on its properties in Jamaica with free stays and refunds

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The reason some men can't grow full beards, according to a dermatologist

• WhatsApp has become a platform for users to "openly" share pictures and videos of child pornography, the Financial Times reports.
• A group of Israeli researchers found dozens of active WhatsApp groups where people frequently sent messages with media depicting sexual abuse of children.
• While WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption keeps the company and governments from being able to see the contents of messages sent and received on the app, the researchers point out that many of the groups made their intentions clear with publicly visible references to child porn or explicit profile photos.

Child pornography is "openly shared" in dozens of groups on WhatsApp, even after researchers brought the problem to the company's attention, the Financial Times reports.

Israeli researchers shared with FT that they discovered "extensive child abuse material" in dozen of WhatsApp groups earlier this year. The group reported their findings in September to Facebook, who owns WhatsApp, but FT was able to find "several" of these groups this week that were still extremely active.

"It is a disaster: this sort of material was once mostly found on the darknet, but now it's on WhatsApp," one of the researchers told FT.

The illegal content — "videos and pictures of children being subjected to sexual abuse"— was discovered in WhatsApp groups "easy to find and join" by researchers, who work at Israeli charities trying to improve online safety. 

WhatsApp told FT it has "techniques" to scan users and groups for illegal content, and that thousands of accounts are banned a day. However, Israeli researches say that some of the groups they monitored made their purpose clear, with names like "cp," an abbreviation for child porn, and explicit profile pictures.

WhatsApp has had end-to-end encryption since 2016. The feature provides users with an extra layer of privacy from any potential cybersecurity threats or government surveillance. However, that same protection also means that WhatsApp and law enforcement are unable to see the contents of messages suspected to contain illegal or abusive activity. In other words, the same detection tools that Facebook uses to monitor its site and Instagram can't be used for WhatsApp.

Police and government officials have long criticized hardware and apps that utilize strong encryption as a hindrance to their investigations, while privacy activists tout the technology as one of the only ways to truly communicate privately in an era of widespread government surveillance.

A moderation problem

While Facebook employs thousands of content moderators, WhatsApp only has 300 employees to monitor its 1.5 billion users globally, FT reports.

WhatsApp has come under fire this year for allowing the major spread of hoaxes and viral fake news that has had severe real-world implications. In India, the killings of 31 people this year are attributed to viral false rumors and fake videos that spread on WhatsApp and incensed lynch mobs to take violent action. In Brazil, WhatsApp was used to spread disinformation and misleading information amidst the country's contentious election.

But WhatsApp hasn't been the only social platform that's come under fire for its inability to keep child porn off its network. Tumblr was removed from Apple's App Store for a month because child porn was slipping past the platform's filters.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: I'm a diehard iPhone user who switched to Android for a week — here's what I loved and hated about the Google Pixel 3 XL

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

We commonly associate the word "gift" with a neatly wrapped box holding a tangible product inside, but the best gifts can sometimes be more than a piece of jewelry, a phone accessory, or a home tech gadget. 

Don't forget about services and memberships as viable gift options. They're just as thoughtful and useful, sometimes even more so, because they tend to be more customizable and centered around convenience. 

With the following gifts, you can purchase a gift card with an amount of your choice, or gift the membership directly to your recipient. We found services and memberships you probably didn't think of, like a grocery delivery service and a city-wide studio fitness pass. 

If you need a thoughtful last-minute gift that doesn't reveal you procrastinated (again) this year, a membership gift is the way to go. Since it isn't a physical present that arrives at their door, there's usually an option to inform your recipient of their gift when you place your order.

Looking for more gift ideas? Check out all of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides for 2018 here.

SEE ALSO: All of Insider Picks' holiday gift guides, in one place

SEE ALSO: 55 creative and unexpected gifts for her that are all under $50

A designer clothing rental membership

Rent the Runway Unlimited Membership, $159

This disruptive company has made a name for itself by changing the way women dress and approach clothing ownership. Instead of wasting money and letting seldom-worn clothes pile up in their closet, they can rotate through designer clothing for a set price each month. Use it for work, weddings, or just everyday life. 

An Amazon Prime membership

Amazon Prime Gift Membership, from $39

If you're tired of your sibling or roommate mooching off your Prime account, give the gift of their very own Prime membership this year. You'll find all the benefits of a membership here, but a few highlights are of course, free two-day shipping, movie and TV streaming through Prime Video, and access to Amazon Fresh.

You can gift a three-month membership for $39, or an annual membership for $119. 

The best way to help your parent friends find a good babysitter

UrbanSitter Gift Card, $25-$200

Parents who desperately need a night to themselves but have trouble finding a sitter will surely benefit from using nationwide service UrbanSitter, which is home to over 150,000 trusted babysitters.

A $34.95 one-month access pass (or $99.95 annual membership) allows parents to browse, interview, and book a sitter that meets their needs. The site also gathers mutual connections and recommendations from their community of fellow parents. 

• The reveal in "Tully" deepened the meaning of the film.
• Jon Hamm's character's early death in "Bad Times at El Royale" was unexpected by most.
• Queen Anne's blunt line at the end of "The Favourite" shocked viewers.

A century of watching filmmaker's twists and turns has made it difficult for some to be surprised when watching movies, but this year a lot of movies had majorly surprising moments.

From shocking twists that left viewers reeling to sudden character deaths that left fans questioning everything, a lot of movies this year had some major tricks up their sleeves. 

Here are the most shocking movie moments and twists from 2018. 

Warning: Major spoilers ahead!

The snap in "Avengers: Infinity War" stunned Marvel fans worldwide.

Over the past decade, fans and critics alike have criticized the Marvel franchise over the fact that they don't feature villains with "real bite." After countless villain showdowns and meaningless superhero resurrections, fans finally got their ill-begotten wish when Thanos snapped his fingers and reduced half the heroes and half the world's population to ashes.

What's even more frustrating is that film-goers won't receive closure until the April 2019 premiere of "Avengers: Endgame." Hopefully it reveals the fate of everyone from Nick Fury to Groot.

The reveal in "Tully" deepened the meaning of the film.

In Jason Reitman's independent drama "Tully,"Charlize Theron played Marlo, an overworked and exhausted mother of three. Things start to look up when her brother hires her an exuberant night nanny named Tully to relieve Marlo's stress.

The quiet but powerful film achieved a harrowing layer of depth when a car crash reveals that Tully was never a real person, but rather a manifestation of Marlo's mind brought on by severe dissociation and postpartum depression. The twist brought attention to a serious issue many new mothers face.

The decapitation in "Hereditary" left viewers speechless.

Before it even premiered, "Hereditary" was already setting itself up to be a disturbing entry in film horror. But it was the unexpected car accident half an hour into the movie that left viewers, and protagonist Peter (Alex Wolff), stunned to silence. The decapitation of Charlie tore the family apart and set the ball rolling for the film's gruesome, devil-raising climax.

• The Trump administration is reportedly considering withdrawing as many as 3,000 troops from the 14,000 currently deployed to Afghanistan, according to the Wall Street Journal.
• News of a possible drawdown comes just one day after the president unexpectedly announced the complete withdrawal of US troops from Syria.

The Trump administration is reportedly considering withdrawing thousands of troops from Afghanistan, according to media reports.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the administration is looking at plans to withdraw as many as 3,000 of the 14,000 US troops serving in Afghanistan. The drawdown could begin in a matter of weeks, as early as January, according to the plans.

Administration officials told CNN that they are "bracing" for the president to order troops to begin pulling out of Afghanistan, where the US has been waging war for nearly two decades. The officials cautioned that a final decision has not yet been made, but one is certainly anticipated.

News of a possible drawdown in Afghanistan comes just one day after the president announced that US troops are leaving Syria, claiming that ISIS has been defeated.

"We have won against ISIS," Trump said in a video message Wednesday, that sparked controversy by invoking the approval of fallen American soldiers. "We've beaten them, and we've beaten them badly. We've taken back the land. And, now it's time for our troops to come back home."

The president has previously expressed frustration with the situation in Afghanistan, reportedly complaining this past summer that the US isn't winning.

Recently, Trump told the Washington Post that the only reason the US is there is because experts tell him the US should be. "We're there because virtually every expert that I have and speak to say if we don't go there, they're going to be fighting over here," he explained.

Senior defense officials have repeatedly characterized the conflict in Afghanistan as a "stalemate," one that continues to claim the lives of US and coalition troops with no clear end in sight.

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The true story behind the name 'Black Friday' is much darker than you may have thought

The '90s sitcom "Friends" remains a touchstone in television history. Whether you've recently discovered it on Netflix or you've been quoting it your entire life, here are 20 facts about the filming of "Friends" that will probably surprise you.

Ross and Rachel were always endgame.

Ross (David Schwimmer) and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) may have become the quintessential "will they won't they" couple in pop culture, but there was never any doubt in David Crane and Marta Kaufmann's minds that they wouldn't end up together.

Even when looking at alternative endings, it seemed impossible for them to end the show with Ross and Rachel completely over. "We did talk about, with Ross and Rachel, a gray area of where they aren't together, but we hint there's a sense that they might be down the road," explained Crane to Entertainment Weekly. "But we thought, 'No, if we're going to do it, let's do it.' It's the nature of our show. It's not a show about grays. Let's deliver not just what the audience wants, but what we want, which was to see them finally together."

Monica and Joey were originally meant to end up together.

"Friends" co-creator and executive producer Marta Kauffman explained to the Hollywood Reporter that a lot of aspects of the show changed as natural chemistry developed between cast members. "You set out to do things, and then actors come in and they breathe life into it, and it's not quite what you imagined it was going to be," said Kauffman.

For instance, Monica (Courtney Cox) and Chandler (Matthew Perry) were only supposed to get together briefly before she was slated to end up with Joey (Matthew LeBlanc). But when Monica and Chandler did get together on screen, viewers had such an enthusiastic response to the pairing that the Joey and Monica plotline was discarded.

"We were stunned," said Kauffman. "So that's when we sort of went, 'Huh, guess this is going in a different direction.'"

Jennifer Aniston was the last of the main six to officially join the cast.

Now one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood, Jennifer Aniston was still new to acting when they filmed the pilot of "Friends." Aniston revealed to Us Weekly that she was the last of the six main cast members to be added onto the series.

Unsure of her longevity on the show, she was asked to sit out of the main cast photos for the majority of the shoot because producers did not know if she would stay on as Rachel.

Aniston proved herself to be integral to the cast and would go on to win an Emmy for her performance as Rachel Green.

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• The BioLite FirePit is a fan-powered, app-controlled marvel of the great outdoors in the 21st century.
• A rechargeable, motorized, Bluetooth-ready fan pumps air through two parallel tubes that create a vortex.
• Use charcoal or wood, and cook just about anything on the hibachi grate that comes included.
• Adjust the flame with the swipe of your finger to control your heat output or cooking temperature.

Something about plastics and electronics sitting at the edge of a fire may alarm you — it did me.

But, by Jove, BioLite's FirePit is a masterfully-engineered contraption built to foster, contain, and withstand the hottest little blaze you can muster, which, thanks to the fan, you can tend all night from the same seat without a single faceful of smoke. If that isn't at least a small miracle, I don't know what is.

The Bluetooth-connected, USB-charged fan, by the way, is what sets the FirePit apart. It hooks up to the side of the wire mesh cage (enabling a 360° view of your glorious flame within) and blows air through two hole-riddled tubes to create a vortex for optimal fuel burning and almost no smoke.

On the subject of fuel, the FirePit burns both charcoal and wood, each with astounding efficiency. The only adjustments you'll want to make when switching between the two is lowering the fuel rack for wood and raising it for charcoal (and maybe for cooking), and tossing on the grill grate when you want to cook.

Out of the box, it's recommended by BioLite that your first fire be a wood fire. This builds a layer of ash in the basin, which, they say, makes the perfect base for charcoal fires. I can confirm they're not wrong.

We started out with nothing but a bit of paper, a few precious drops of lighter fluid, some very wet wood, and not a whole lot of hope. We'd get a corner of a besotted piece of wood lit just barely before it would flicker out. After a few tries and no lasting luck, we affixed the electronic fan and got it rolling, from which point on we didn't even need to touch the thing.

Once you get your fire rolling reasonably well, all you have to do is connect your phone to the BioLite app and watch, perhaps in awe, as the size of your flame corresponds almost instantaneously to the swipe of your finger (or thumb) upon your screen.

The FirePit can hold about eight pieces of cordwood, which might not sound like much, but burning as optimally as it does, is plenty.

Once you're done with your fire, turn the fan off and take it inside. While it may survive rain or snow if the electronic ports are properly capped, you may want to charge it anyhow. As for the FirePit itself, make sure the fire and embers are out before attaching the cover and calling it a night or carrying on with further endeavors.

Perhaps as heartwarming as their wildly futuristic fire basin is BioLite Energy's humanitarian endeavor to bring heat and light to off-grid households around the world. To date, they've either illuminated, heated, or otherwise equipped, by their estimates, some 300,000 people around the world to date. They also have offices in Uganda, Kenya, India, in addition to their Brooklyn, New York headquarters, which is fun, but respectably modest, I ought to add.

You could do a lot worse — though hardly any better, I'm convinced — for a small outdoor fire pit or grill than the BioLite FirePit, especially in an urban or suburban setting where outdoor space is limited and large plums of smoke from traditional fire pits are cause for alarm, if not a visit from some faction of your local authorities.

Thanks in large part to how easy it was to control the flame, cooking was a breeze:

Cooking with the BioLite FirePit was a delightful breeze. I found it a relaxing relegation of duty to sit several yards from my production, effortlessly (and somehow familiarly) swiping left or right to tamp or fan my flame.

I was able to sit back and entertain while still keeping an eye on everything. I might not be the most technologically inclined millennial on this planet, but there is a lot to be said for a remote-controlled campfire and stove (in effect). Between tossing things on and pulling them off, I never once had to come within arm's length of the FirePit, and certain dishes that I felt would be better off contained in a skillet cooked wonderfully — especially the marinated tuna belly, which I was afraid might fall apart if placed directly on the grate.

In short, the BioLite FirePit fan gets things roaring in a flash whether you're using charcoal or wood, though BioLite does advise (and I agree) that having a good base of wood-fire coals makes this little thing shine.

It's going to live in my backyard for the winter, and on my boat this summer for island hopping and fish frying, when I'll probably put it through hell and report back with more.

Buy the BioLite FirePit from BioLite for $199.95 on BioLite's website. Also find it at Amazon and REI. 

SEE ALSO: The best camping gear you can buy

Join the conversation about this story »

• 2018 has been a stellar year in tech mergers and acquisitions thanks to mega software deals such as IBM's $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat.
• While a market downturn has caused some insecurity in tech deals, M&A bankers and lawyers have told Business Insider that they expect deals to continue in 2019.
• The only caveat is that those deals may happen at lower valuations than if they'd occurred in 2018.
• Insiders also highlighted two trends: Many of the unicorns poised for an initial public offering are also entertaining offers from corporate buyers, and a growing number of buyers are coming from outside the technology space.

Public companies head into 2019 with major blows to their market caps as the result of the end-of-year market correction. But that's not necessarily a bad thing for tech mergers and acquisitions.

While the soaring stock prices of the past few years have given CEOs the confidence to make large strategic deals, such as IBM's $34 billion acquisition of Red Hat, it also meant the companies they wanted to buy were priced at intimidatingly high multiples.

With a stock market correction in full swing, tech M&A bankers and lawyers say they expect to see some buyers leap at the opportunity to acquire companies at a relative discount.

"History has shown that a stock market correction along the lines of what we're now seeing does not inevitably lead to an immediate decline in M&A activity," said Richard Climan, a partner and M&A lawyer at Hogan Lovells.

In fact, Climan said, lower prices may lead additional buyers to "jump into the fray."

"These additional buyers may have been staying on the sidelines because they thought deal valuations were just too high," he said. "So, interestingly enough, overall dealmaking activity may end up being even more robust after a stock market correction than before the correction, albeit at lower price points."

Historically, private-equity firms are more active in downturns since their business models typically prefer lower-priced assets than are widely available in a boom.

To be sure, dealmakers agree that a full-on recession and declining CEO confidence would lead to a slowdown in deals. But unless that happens, it's likely that tech bankers will remain very busy.

Software was king in 2018

In 2018, there have been 2,236 M&A deals in the US with a total of $360 billion in deal value, according to Dealogic. While the number of deals is the smallest of any year since 2013, the value of those deals topped the past two years'.

Software deals were the stars of 2018. Just look at SAP's $8 billion acquisition of Qualtrics, Salesforce's $6.5 billion MuleSoft deal, and Microsoft's $7 .5 billion GitHub acquisition.

"The activity that you have seen this year has been all software and internet and more growth companies — more expansionary M&A as opposed to consolidating M&A," said Colin Ryan, the cohead of M&A for the Americas and global cohead of technology M&A at Goldman Sachs.

One reason for the decline in consolidation, Ryan said, is the slowdown in semiconductor M&A, which has been paralyzed by trade issues between the US and China. But strategic investors have also increased their willingness to make big bets on game-changing acquisitions.

"Customers are all going through digital transformations, and the demand for software is infinitely greater than it has been over time," Ryan said. "It's made it a very attractive business for people to own, whether that's as a strategic or a private-equity firm."

Sam Britton, the head of technology, media, and telecom M&A at Goldman Sachs, said that while many people expected a lot of acquisition activity from large tech companies such as Facebook and Google in 2018 thanks to cash repatriation, those companies were relatively quiet on the deal front. Instead, he said, many of the deals were driven by "that next tier down of software acquirers."

"We expect that to continue into the new year, with that second-tier cohort being very active and private equity being incredibly active," Britton said.

Dual tracks are all the rage

If you want to know who will get acquired in 2019, look no further than the robust lineup of IPO-ready unicorns. Word on the street is that most of the large companies prepping for a 2019 initial public offering are also entertaining offers from strategic investors.

Since valuations tend to soar once a company goes public, it only makes sense for acquirers like Google or Microsoft to make an offer in a company they are interested in before it hits the public market.

"We believe we will see a large number of dual processes, relative to historic norms, given the number of companies that aspire to go public in 2019," said Paul Haigney, the cohead of Global Technology, Telecom, and Media Group at Lazard.

"It's likely that some substantial number of them will choose a strategic outcome over an IPO outcome, both because of difficulties in achieving the IPO outcome and the certainty of a strategic investment for investors," he said.

Among those difficulties: a competitive investment landscape at a time when public markets are volatile, in which institutional investors may decide to bet on one company but not its direct competitor (think Uber versus Lyft).

Not all of these so-called dual-track processes are formal. In many cases, bankers said, it's the confidential filing that signals to strategic investors that it's time to take a look, rather than a formal process in which bankers actively seek offers.

And while insiders said the increase in dual-trackers was notable entering 2019, it is not without precedent.

Cisco famously announced its acquisition of AppDynamics for $3.7 billion in January 2017 just hours before it was supposed to go public. And just last month, SAP announced an $8 billion deal with Qualtrics, which was days away from its public offering.

But SAP's acquisition of Qualtric highlights another trend heading into 2019: big premiums over the IPO price.

Qualtrics would have been valued at $4.8 billion if its IPO had priced at the midpoint of the range it set in the first week of November, which means it got acquired at 60% premium. And while the relative value of these IPO-ready companies will most likely decline if the markets continue to fall, M&A may still prove to be a quick way to get a higher price.

Expect more buyers outside tech

It's not just IPOs that are driving up the price of startups. Large tech companies also face growing competition from strategic acquirers outside tech.

"Non-tech buyers are becoming an increasing force in the marketplace for tech M&A deals," said Climan, citing research from Citigroup finding that non-tech buyers participated in 33% of North American tech M&A from 2016 to 2018. That's up from just 15% from 2001 to 2003.

Climan expects to see more e-commerce deals like Walmart's $16 billion acquisition of Flipkart, a deal he worked on, which the retailer announced in May, as well as deals in automotive like General Motors' 2016 acquisition of the self-driving-software startup Cruise.

Others told Business Insider they had seen growing interest by industrial companies, such as the German conglomerate Siemens — which acquired the software companies Comfy and Mendix in 2018 — as well as United Technologies and Honeywell.

"Software assets are attractive to strategics looking to remake themselves into higher-margin businesses," said Paul Crisci, the global head of technology investment banking at UBS. "We particularly see this trend in old-line industrial businesses that are able to achieve margin expansion by adding software capabilities to their business and product lines."

SEE ALSO: Uber, Lyft, China, and more — top tech investment bankers share their biggest hopes and fears for IPOs in 2019

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: USB-C was supposed to be a universal connector — but it still has a lot of problems

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all plunged Friday, capping off a volatile week for US stocks.
• The Dow posted its worst week since 2008, and the S&P 500 posted its worst week since August of 2011.
• Follow the US market action here.

Stocks tumbled Friday, with the major averages all closing firmly in negative territory. The Dow fell 414 points, or 2%, bringing its weekly decline to 6.87%.

The S&P 500 also shed 2% on Friday, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 3% — entering a bear market, or down 20% from its highs — as some big tech names posted steep declines. Apple fell nearly 4% while Amazon plunged almost 6%. Google parent Alphabet tumbled 3%.

The losses accelerated in the final hour of trading, and stocks closed just barely off session lows.

"So much for the the stock market acting well in the days surrounding Fed meetings!" Matt Maley, an equity strategist at Miller Tabak, wrote in a note to clients earlier in the day.

Indeed, the Federal Reserve's fourth rate hike this year, announced on Wednesday, pummeled stocks as equity investors feared rising interest rates would eat into corporate profits.

Other market watchers said recent weakness within the equity market was borne from fears surrounding the special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation.

"We continue to believe this decline is due to the Mueller investigation and the aforementioned 'selling into a vacuum.' When it ends is unknowable, but selling stampedes tend to last 17-25 sessions, and today is session 13 in the skein," Jeffrey Saut, the chief investment strategist at Raymond James, wrote in a note to clients early Friday.

Now read:

• 'The stock market bears are coming out of hibernation': There's been a sharp shift in the market, RBC says
• Goldman Sachs says stock-market volatility is going to spike 50% in 2019 — and it's formulated the perfect strategy to take advantage of the chaos

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: The equity chief at $6.3 trillion BlackRock weighs in on the trade war, a possible recession, and offers her best investing advice for a tricky 2019 landscape

Warning: There are some spoilers ahead if you have not seen "Aquaman."

"Aquaman" is finally in theaters and is heading for a big opening weekend at the box office.

While Jason Momoa is the perfect Aquaman, did you know he originally tried out to play another hero in the DC superhero universe? The actor wound up playing Aquaman instead and had to keep the secret of playing the King of the Seven Seas for years.

INSIDER went through "The Art and Making of 'Aquaman,'" which features interviews with the cast, director, and production team behind the movie along with gorgeous artwork and behind-the-scenes photos and concept art that went into making the film. 

The book, from Insight Editions will be out January 1, 2019. Until then, keep reading to see a few things you may not know about "Aquaman."

Jason Momoa kept the secret about playing Aquaman for years.

"When I first got the role, I couldn't tell my friends or even family members," Momoa says in the book. "[I] had to straight up lie to everyone who asked me about it directly. I was hired years before the movie started production, even before James Wan came on as director. Hell, I was in the role before there was even a script. I was the first person officially involved with the film."

"I hated doing interviews," he added. "Everyone would be like, 'You're playing Aquaman!' And I would have to lie and say, 'Nope, not happening. I don't know what you're talking about.' I had to lie nonstop."

Momoa told Jimmy Kimmel he kept the secret for four or five years.

Momoa originally auditioned to play Batman before he was cast as Aquaman.

"Man of Steel" director, Zack Snyder, had Momoa come in to test to play Batman. 

"I think when I did the audition for 'Batman,' I didn't play it like I was supposed to," said Momoa. "I just played it completely different and I think that's what Zack liked."

Instead, Snyder offered Momoa the opportunity to play Aquaman as long as he kept it a secret.

Nicole Kidman's likeness was used in concept art before she even agreed to be in the movie.

According to the art book, the filmmakers were so into the idea of casting Kidman as Aquaman's mom that the actress' likeness was used in concept art and wardrobe drawings for the character of Atlanna.

• Two robo-advisers were the first to face enforcement actions from the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. 
• The SEC settled with Wealthfront and Hedgeable, fining the groups more than $300,000 in total.
• Wealthfront manages $11 billion in client money, while Hedgeable discontinued its investment management platform this summer. 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has taken its first actions against robo-advisers, settling Friday with two of these companies over misleading customers.

The SEC settled for $250,000 with Wealthfront, the second-largest robo-adviser behind Betterment, and for $80,000 with Hedgeable, a now-defunct robo adviser. Both companies, which provide automated investing services to clients, were charged with violating rules on antifraud, advertising, and compliance.

As robo-advisers become increasingly popular, regulators are now keeping a closer eye on these companies to protect investors from fraud.Assets under management on these platforms will rise from $330 billion last year to $4.1 trillion in 2022, predicted Juniper Research in a January study.

Last year, the SEC issued robo-adviser-related guidance for investors, highlighting the need for effective compliance programs, among other concerns.

“Technology is rapidly changing the way investment advisers are able to advertise and deliver their services to clients,” said C. Dabney O’Riordan, the head of the SEC's asset management enforcement division, in a statement on Friday. “Regardless of their format, however, all advisers must take seriously their obligations to comply with the securities laws, which were put in place to protect investors.” 

Read more:Wall Street regulators are stepping up enforcement actions against cryptocurrency investments — and it could add legitimacy to the nascent market in the long-run

Redwood City, California-based Wealthfront, whose investors include Tiger Global Management, Spark Capital, and Index Ventures, was accused of improper advertising, failing to maintain an adequate compliance program, and misleading clients about a strategy to re-invest tax losses. 

From October 2012 to mid-May 2016, Wealthfront told clients it would monitor their accounts to avoid any deals that would trigger a "wash sale," in which an investor sells a security at a loss and within a month, buys the same security. The wash sale prevents the tax benefit of selling the security to realize a loss.

The SEC said that until mid-May 2016, Wealthfront didn't monitor accounts to avoid the wash sale. In that 2012-2016 time period, about 31% of accounts experienced some wash sales. If those sales had not occurred, clients would have been able to offset more of their losses.  

The SEC also said that Wealthfront re-tweeted testimonials that were not published with required disclosures, and that the company paid bloggers for client referrals without required disclosure and documentation.

"We take our regulatory duties seriously at Wealthfront and are happy to have reached a settlement with the SEC," Wealthfront said in a statement.

The firm noted that between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2016, wash sales comprised about 2.3% of harvested tax losses, leading the average client to receive 5.67% of the total annual harvesting yield versus 5.8%.  

Wealthfront agreed to communicate the settlement to its clients and certify compliance with the SEC, along with paying $250,000 to the SEC. 

'Not an apples-to-apples comparison'

Meanwhile, Hedgeable – which removed its SEC registration in August as founders Michael and Matthew Kane turned their attention to a separate blockchain company – settled with the SEC over misleading statements about its investment performance. Both founders declined to comment. 

Before the company wound down its advisory business, it had about $80 million in assets from 1,698 clients, according to a filing with the SEC. 

According to the settlement, from 2016 to April 2017, Hedgeable posted comparisons of its performance and those of two competitors that were not "apples-to-apples comparisons," according to the SEC.

Hedgeable also failed to maintain required documentation and a compliance program that would prevent securities laws violations, the SEC said. 

The firm settled for an $80,000 penalty. 

Read more:

Betterment and Wealthfront websites crash during market bloodbath

Wealthfront lands $75 million in new funding to build out its product suite

Betterment, the investing startup with $11 billion in assets, is rolling out a new service to make charitable giving easier
 

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Bernie Madoff was arrested 10 years ago today — here's what his life is like in prison

• TV is not without its controversies — and definitely not without its casting controversies.
• Some of the biggest casting controversies in recent entertainment history include Ruby Rose as Batwoman and Joseph Fiennes as Michael Jackson.
• Cartoons have gotten into trouble, too, including "The Simpsons" with its portrayal of Indian character Apu, played by Hank Azaria.

We're living in an era of peak television. There have never been so many high-quality shows to choose from.

With this high volume of programs, however, there's even more potential for controversial creative choices on the part of TV makers.

We've picked 10 recent casting decisions that created headlines. Keep scrolling to see our picks.

When Matt Smith was cast as the 11th Doctor in "Doctor Who," many fans were left unsure if the young actor could do the role justice.

The story of Doctor Who, an alien who can travel anywhere in space and time with the help of his trusty sidekicks, has been around in some fashion since the '60s. The show was revived in 2005 after a decade-long hiatus starring Christopher Eccleston as the titular doctor. He lasted a season, and the role was taken over by David Tennant for three seasons.

Enter Matt Smith, the then-unknown actor who prompted many headlines with some variation on the phrase "Doctor Who?" Plus, he was only 26, making him the youngest Doctor ever, and that despite the character being hundreds of years old. Fans were wary of someone that age being able to accurately capture the decades-long struggles that the Doctor has had to go through.

According to The Scotsman, the message boards were on fire when the news was announced back in 2009. "Who can take this guy seriously in an Earth-shattering crisis? I couldn't — it would be a joke," wrote one angry fan. 

But the backlash to Smith was only the beginning of fan reactions to the show's castings ... 

When Jodie Whittaker was cast as the first female Doctor Who, fans threatened to boycott the show altogether.

For years, fans have been asking when the torch would be passed to a female Doctor. They got their wish when Whittaker was announced as the 13th Doctor in July 2017, succeeding Peter Capaldi.

While there was a lot of positivity around the show's choice of Whittaker, many were outraged that this immortal, time-traveling alien could switch genders. Reactions ranged from "The doctor is a time LORD. Not a time LADY," in a since-deleted tweet, to "No disrespect to the actress chosen but the producers have brought my Dr Who history and memories to an abrupt end"on Facebook.

The controversy seems to have helped the show — Whittaker's first season generated the show's best ratings since Matt Smith's first season in 2010.

One of the contestants on Rachel Lindsay's season of "The Bachelorette" allegedly tweeted racist and sexist remarks in the past — and went on to compete for the first black Bachelorette's heart.

When Rachel Lindsay was announced as the first black Bachelorette, people were thrilled that the franchise was taking a step toward diversity. Its shows are notoriously white. But while the season was airing, contestant Lee Garrett's problematic tweets were uncovered.

Garrett allegedly made both racist and sexist tweets on topics like the Pulse nightclub shooting and the Black Lives Matter movement.

The story led to questions about how the show screens potential contestants, and even if producers choose problematic participants on purpose. These questions were further strengthened by the casting of later contestants Garrett Yrigoyen, accused of offensive social media behavior, and Lincoln Adim, convicted of assault.

• Outdoor apparel company Patagonia's new mission is "We're in business to save the planet."
• Its founder Yvon Chouinard has dedicated the company to environmental causes from the beginning, and they have attracted both customers and employees.
• The new mission bolsters existing initiatives overseen by CEO Rose Marcario, who has quadrupled revenues over her 10-year tenure.
• This article is part of Business Insider's ongoing series on Better Capitalism.

When Yvon Chouinard founded his outdoor apparel company Patagonia in 1973, he wanted to build a business that attracted people who shared his interest in exploring and protecting nature.

In 1986, he committed either 1% of sales or 10% of profits, whichever was greater, to environmental activism, and in 1996, he had Patagonia switch to only organic cotton.

Patagonia was always ahead of corporate social responsibility trends. Now, we live in a time where consumers and employees both demand more from the companies they support and work for, and are savvier about seeing through advertising. So, to stay true to form, Chouinard, as chairman, decided to take his company's commitment further, and in December declared that its new mission would read: "We're in business to save the planet."

While it is public now, Patagonia has spent the past year moving toward this mission, to ensure it's more than just a slogan managers can repeat at meetings.

CEO Rose Marcario is fully aligned with Chouinard's vision. This fall, she dedicated Patagonia's $10 million in tax cuts to environmental charities in protest of Trump's tax bill and supported two US senate candidates on account of their conservation stances.

Earlier this year, Chouinard decided that, "Whenever we have a job opening, all things being equal, hire the person who's committed to saving the planet no matter what the job is,"he told Fast Company.

The mission realignment is also streamlining its focus on which foundations it supports, homing in on those that are taking a big picture outlook on, as stated in its new mission statement, addressing "the causes, and not just the symptoms, of global warming."

This would all seem more primed for a nonprofit than a business, if it were not for the fact that taking these public positions has boosted sales.

Over Marcario's 10-year tenure, Patagonia's revenues have quadrupled, according to Fast Company, and during this time she has taken Chouinard's vision to new levels through sustainability and activism programs. The nonprofit B Lab grants B Corp certification (the B stands for "benefit") to companies that have aligned their missions to the benefit of employees, customers, communities, and the environment, and in the last seven years, its rating has increased by 41%, making it by far one of the highest rated B Corps of the 2,600 around the world.

Patagonia has proven that it can draw in new customers by taking stances millions of consumers are passionate about, and these stances in turn attract talent that further ingrain this approach.

As a company that caters to lovers of the outdoors, Patagonia is, of course, in an unusually beneficial position to link its business goals with environmental ones.

"Staying true to our core values during forty-plus years in business has helped us create a company we're proud to run and work for," its new mission statement reads. To stay in business for at least forty more, we must defend the place we all call home."

SEE ALSO: More than 2,600 companies, like Danone and Patagonia, are on board with an entrepreneur who says the way we do business runs counter to human nature and there's only one way forward

Join the conversation about this story »

Digital disruption is affecting every aspect of the fintech industry.

Over the past five years, fintech has established itself as a fundamental part of the global financial services ecosystem.

Fintech startups have raised, and continue to raise, billions of dollars annually, pushing incumbent financial institutions to get in on the action. Legacy players have begun using fintech to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving financial services landscape.

So what's next?

Business Insider Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, explores recent innovations in the fintech space as well as what might be coming in the future in our brand new exclusive slide deck, The Future of Fintech: How Fintech Is Taking Over The World and What Comes Next.

To get your copy of this free slide deck, click here.

Join the conversation about this story »

• Several celebrities showed off their no-makeup looks this year.
• Stars like Christina Aguilera and Demi Lovato made headlines for their makeup-free appearances.
• Other celebrities like Tyra Banks and Mindy Kaling shared their makeup-free look on social media.

While we're typically used to seeing celebrities made up in full hair and makeup, the rise of social media has allowed those stars to offer fans a more casual and candid look at their life — including their no-makeup days.

Whether they're stripping back their look for a magazine cover like Christina Aguilera, or simply sharing a candid selfie like Kylie Jenner, plenty of stars went seemingly makeup-free in 2018. 

Here are 25 celebrities who ditched makeup this year.

Lea Michele kicked off the year with a makeup-free selfie.

"No makeup, no filter, just me, ready for this year!!!!" she wrote in the caption of the Instagram post from January.

Gabrielle Union let her freckles shine in a selfie from January.

"Fresh from my facial with @skinbytatum No makeup. No filter. Just freckles and a taste for chocolate," the actress captioned the Instagram post.

Kylie Jenner shared a candid moment with baby Stormi on her Instagram story in April.

Jenner shared a few videos of the sweet moment in her Instagram story, where she called her hair "a mess."

Read more:Kylie Jenner shared makeup-free videos with baby Stormi, and she makes being a mom look natural

• Original Disney movies are iconic, but a lot of their sequels are forgettable.
• The first direct-to-video sequel was "Cinderella II: Dreams Come True."
• "Pocahontas II: Journey To A New World" finds Pocahontas paying a visit to London, England in hopes to save John Smith.
• Some Disney "sequels" are actually prequels, or mid-quels and show their main character's at a young age.

Disney produces so many feature films that it's almost impossible to keep up with them all. Sequels especially tend to get lost in the shuffle, so in order to jog your memory, here are a few Disney movies with sequels you probably forgot about.

"Cinderella II: Dreams Come True" shows Cinderella's happily ever after life.

"Cinderella II: Dreams Come True" is a peek at what happens after the princess supposedly lives happily ever after. You might've overlooked this title, since the sequel to Disney's 1950's classic "Cinderella" was the first direct-to-video sequel in Walt's franchise.

"Pocahontas II: Journey To A New World" brings Pocahontas to London, England.

"Pocahontas II: Journey To A New World" finds Pocahontas paying a visit to London, England in hopes to save John Smith, who's been captured by soldiers under the command of the original movie's villain, Governor Ratcliffe.

There's a semi-romantic connection between Pocahontas and her Englishmen guide, John Rolfe, and it's basically just a really similar storyline to the original film.

"Return to Never Land" features Wendy's daughter.

Peter Pan has his work cut out for him in this 2002 animated adventure when Captain Hook brings Wendy's daughter, Jane, to Neverland. Unlike her starstruck mother, Jane doesn't believe in magic, and the only way she can return home is if she can fly.

With a little trust and pixie dust, Peter, Tink, and the lost boys must make a believer out of her. 

• Moroccan officials said the four men suspected of killing Louisa Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, pledged their allegiance to ISIS before the killings. 
• Abdellah Rami, a Moroccan expert on Islamist movements, told The New York Times, it is "easier for organizations like ISIS to start operating" in popular tourist areas. 
• ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the backpackers' deaths through its usual channels.

After two Scandinavian women were murdered while hiking in Morocco, an expert on Islamist movements has said it's hard to protect tourist-heavy regions from ISIS.

The four men suspected of killing Louisa Jespersen, 24, from Denmark, and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway, in Morocco's High Atlas mountains pledged their allegiance to ISIS earlier in a recorded video, the country's general prosecutor said on Thursday.

Abdellah Rami, a Moroccan expert on Islamist movements, told The New York Times that if the video is verified, and killers' motives are linked to terror, the attack "targets very sensitive matters like tourism, which is an essential component of the Moroccan economy."

He added: "It is hard for the authorities to protect these areas and easier for organizations like ISIS to start operating in these places."

The video, which was shared on Twitter, shows the men sitting in front of an ISIS flag, with one telling ISIS leader Al-Baghdadi that the "number of your soldiers in Morocco is known only to Allah and that they are marching forth to support Allah's religion and defend Muslim families."

BBC Monitoring reported on Thursday that one man in the video, speaking Arabic, said: "This is in revenge for our brothers in Hajin." Hajin is a town in Syria which ISIS recently lost control of.

ISIS has not claimed responsibility for the backpackers' deaths through its usual channels.

Read more: The men suspected of killing 2 Scandinavian tourists in Morocco had pledged allegiance to ISIS, prosecutors say

"The ideological identity is clear, but the organization they're affiliated to isn’t," Rami told The Times about the suspects. "So the question is, did they commit this independently or was it a sleeper cell?"

Nicholas Heras, a Middle East security fellow at the Center for a New American Security think tank, told INSIDER that Morocco has been aggressively trying to identify and arrest ISIS members and ISIS sympathizers, but there is "still a significant reservoir for support for ISIS in Morocco."

"No counter intelligence policy can completely remove the threat of ISIS-inspired attacks by fans of the organization, especially if the potential attackers were radicalized through ISIS propaganda that is easily accessed online," he said.

Heras also suggested that tourist destinations are targets for ISIS.

"Westerners, especially European tourists, are an easy target for jihadists looking to strike a blow against the West in the name of Islam," he said.

The bodies of Jespersen and Ueland were discovered 6 miles outside the village of Imlil in the High Atlas Mountains on December 18.

The women's bodies had "evidence of violence to their necks," the Moroccan Interior Ministry said in a statement.

In general Morocco is considered a safe country to explore and is under a Level 1 travel advisory — which suggests exercising "normal precautions"— by the US Department of State.

According to a report from the Counter Extremism Project, Moroccan security forces have disrupted a number of ISIS-linked cells since as early as 2014.

The country has faced fewer terror attacks in the last 15 years than its North African neighbors Algeria, Chad, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Tunisia, the Counter Extremism Project said.

INSIDER’s Bill Bostock contributed to this report

• Read more:
• The killing of 2 Scandinavian backpackers in Morocco has been declared an 'act of terror' as officials investigate an ISIS-style beheading video
• 3 men have been arrested after 2 Scandinavian backpackers were found dead at a popular hiking spot in Morocco
• 'Fox & Friends' host blasts Trump for pulling troops out of Syria: 'He said, 'President Obama is the founder of ISIS.' He just refounded ISIS.'

SEE ALSO: Trump walks back claim that ISIS is 'defeated' a day after his announcement

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Anthony Scaramucci claims Trump isn't a nationalist: 'He likes saying that because it irks these intellectual elitists'

• Facebook plans to launch a new standalone VR headset called Oculus Quest in early 2019.
• A new FCC filing suggests that the launch is on track. 
• Oculus Quest has "inside-out tracking," which means it can determine where the user is in a room without the need for separate sensors. 

It looks like Facebook will soon release the Oculus Quest headset, a virtual reality headset that can track where it is in a room using advanced built-in sensors, a feature called inside-out tracking.

A new FCC filing published on Friday is sparse on details, but it describes a VR headset with the model number "MH-B," which is similar to the Oculus Go, which is currently on sale.

Earlier this fall, Facebook announced the Oculus Quest, which had been developed under the code name "Santa Cruz." Facebook said at the time that it would go on sale in spring 2019 for $399.

There aren't a lot of details in the filing, but the limited pictures included do resemble the Oculus Quest. The VR headset has Wifi and Bluetooth radios, according to the filing.

From Facebook's announcement:

"Offering six degrees of freedom and Touch controllers for true hand presence, Oculus Quest will launch in Spring 2019 for $399 USD. In past years, we’ve shown you the Santa Cruz prototype, a milestone on the path to Oculus Quest today, and we’re excited to help usher in a new era of VR gaming."

FCC filings like this typically surface shortly before a company releases a new device that has wireless capabilities. An Oculus spokesperson didn't immediately return an email. 

SEE ALSO: A Chinese company said it created a photo with such a high resolution that you can zoom from thousands of meters away to see people's facial expressions

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: I'm a diehard iPhone user who switched to Android for a week — here's what I loved and hated about the Google Pixel 3 XL

The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

• Ecovacs is back at it with its latest robotic vacuum, the $350 Deebot 711.
• This may just be my favorite robot vacuum yet, with its Smart Navi Mapping Technology, 110-minute battery life, and ability to double the suction power on command.
• If you're looking for a way to spend more time doing things other than vacuuming, this is one product that you need in your life.

To convince members of your household to fight over the privilege of vacuuming your home, you'll need a very special vacuum indeed.

That special vacuum may just come in the form of the newest robotic offering from Ecovacs. Because let's face it — the only way to inject excitement into cleaning the house is to eject any and all effort associated with the task. As it turns out, the new Deebot 711 is capable of doing just that.

The Ecovacs family of vacuums has long been a customer (and Business Insider) favorite. They're some of the best-selling robots on Amazon, and back in June, we just couldn't get enough of the Ecovacs Deebot 900, a $400 smart vacuum that cut cleaning time in half. But now, the team has come out with yet another iteration of its popular cleaning assistant, and this one is $50 cheaper and just as effective.

The Deebot 711 is a sleek little vacuum that adopts the same circular shape that you've likely come to expect from the robotic cleaners. Its black finish gives it a slightly more modern and sophisticated edge, but the aesthetics of the 711 are far less important than its other attributes. What I've been most impressed by in my few weeks with the new Deebot is its ability to map my home and quickly learn which areas are most in need of cleaning. That's thanks to the robot's Smart Navi Mapping Technology, which not only helps it adapt to any environment with ease, but also helps it to avoid bumping into furniture or avoid falling down stairs.

While other robot vacuums I've used have taken some time to determine where in the world (or room) they really are before getting to work, the Deebot 711 is surprisingly efficient at scanning its surroundings and beginning to move. Plus, rather than learning to avoid furniture by first hitting it, the Deebot does a great job circumventing obstacles.

The Smart Navi Mapping Technology is capable of creating an optimized and systematic cleaning path that covers up to 1300 square feet, which makes it more than enough for at least one floor of your home (if not your whole home). Many other robot vacuums I've tried seem to clean by trial and error, randomly moving around a room with hopes that they'll ultimately reach every corner. The Deebot 711, on the other hand, seems much more regimented — or dare I say, more human — in its cleaning.

Thanks to the Deebot's compatibility with both Alexa and Google Assistant, you can begin cleaning simply by telling the robot to do so. Either use a voice command or download the companion smartphone app to start the cleaning process, and you'll be able to spend your time doing more important things. Of course, if you'd like to exercise a bit more control over the cleaning process, you can use the app to direct the robot, or schedule a cleaning. You can also ask for status updates while you're away so that you know exactly what the Deebot has and hasn't done.

One of my favorite features of the Deebot 711 is the maximum power suction mode, which doubles the suction power of the machine and helps it take care of tough stains like dirt and grime on either hardwood or carpeted floors. Plus, the Deebot features two specialized cleaning modes — edge and spot mode — which allow you (by proxy, that is) to tackle hard to reach and often-missed areas of the room.

With 110 minutes of battery life, it's likely that you'll tire of cleaning long before the robot does. And when the Deebot does run out of juice, it sends itself home to recharge, which means that it's always ready for more (should you need it).

The Deebot 711 comes with a one-year warranty, a charging dock, four side brushes, two high-efficiency air filters, a remote control with battery, and Ecovacs' famous customer support. So if your New Year's Resolution is to spend more time on the more important things in life, then you may just want to let the Deebot 711 take care of your vacuuming.

Buy the Ecovacs DEEBOT 711 Robot Vacuum Cleaner for $349.99 from Amazon

Join the conversation about this story »