 Hey guys, this is Sean with The Verge, and this is the Wilson X Connected Basketball. The Wilson X Connected Basketball is a smart basketball that knows whether or not you've made or missed your shot without needing to add anything to the rim or to the net. It connects via Bluetooth to an app on your phone that can track a whole practice worth of shots and there are even a couple games that you can play to help make yourself a little bit better in the clutch. We wanted to test this out for ourselves so we came over to Brooklyn to play some basketball. I'm not very good at basketball, I haven't played in a long time, so I brought my colleague Frank B. out with me because he actually can make a few shots. The bottom line is this thing is a lot of fun to play with, but there are some limitations. First, you have to have a net on your hoop. Second, you have to shoot from outside seven feet. This thing is not going to track layups or dunks, even if that's not a problem for you. The app also gives you constant feedback whether you've made or missed the shot, but you need a Bluetooth speaker or some Bluetooth headphones to be able to listen to that while you're playing. Setting your phone on the side of the court just isn't going to cut it, you're never going to hear that feedback. It's really simple to use. To pair it, all you have to do is flip the ball ten feet in the air and let it rotate. It connects to the phone really fast. There's no buttons, no USB dongles, no charging. In fact, Wilson says you could shoot this thing 300 times a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year before it would start to die. The biggest problem with this thing might be the accuracy. Wilson says it's 97% accurate, but it definitely didn't feel that way while we were out here on the court. Missed shots didn't register as missed, made shots didn't register as made, and the biggest problem is the lag. Even when it is working, it takes a while for the Bluetooth to register all the way back to your phone and tell you that you've made or missed a shot. That's fine in free throw modes, but in the game modes, it can be really annoying. All that brings us around to the price. This thing is not cheap for a basketball. It's $199. If you're going to be out on the court shooting hundreds of times a day, every day, to make sure that you make the team, maybe that's worth the investment. But for that much money, we'd expect a little bit more accuracy. This basketball was one of the first of its kind, and it's only going to get better. It's already better than some of the other ones that are out on the market. Wilson's also going to be bringing this tech to some of the other sports like tennis, volleyball, and baseball that it's involved with. But it's the kind of thing that could fundamentally change how we play sports and how we get better at them. If your goal is to get better at basketball, this can definitely help. But it's not going to do all the work for you.
 Hey guys, this is Sean with The Verge, and this is the Wilson X Connected Basketball.
 The Wilson X Connected Basketball is a smart basketball that knows whether or not you've
 made or missed your shot without needing to add anything to the rim or to the net.
 It connects via Bluetooth to an app on your phone that can track a whole practice worth
 of shots and there are even a couple games that you can play to help make yourself a
 little bit better in the clutch.
 We wanted to test this out for ourselves so we came over to Brooklyn to play some basketball.
 I'm not very good at basketball, I haven't played in a long time, so I brought my colleague
 Frank B. out with me because he actually can make a few shots.
 The bottom line is this thing is a lot of fun to play with, but there are some limitations.
 First, you have to have a net on your hoop.
 Second, you have to shoot from outside seven feet.
 This thing is not going to track layups or dunks, even if that's not a problem for you.
 The app also gives you constant feedback whether you've made or missed the shot, but you need
 a Bluetooth speaker or some Bluetooth headphones to be able to listen to that while you're
 playing.
 Setting your phone on the side of the court just isn't going to cut it, you're never going
 to hear that feedback.
 It's really simple to use.
 To pair it, all you have to do is flip the ball ten feet in the air and let it rotate.
 It connects to the phone really fast.
 There's no buttons, no USB dongles, no charging.
 In fact, Wilson says you could shoot this thing 300 times a day, seven days a week,
 52 weeks a year before it would start to die.
 The biggest problem with this thing might be the accuracy.
 Wilson says it's 97% accurate, but it definitely didn't feel that way while we were out here
 on the court.
 Missed shots didn't register as missed, made shots didn't register as made, and the biggest
 problem is the lag.
 Even when it is working, it takes a while for the Bluetooth to register all the way
 back to your phone and tell you that you've made or missed a shot.
 That's fine in free throw modes, but in the game modes, it can be really annoying.
 All that brings us around to the price.
 This thing is not cheap for a basketball.
 It's $199.
 If you're going to be out on the court shooting hundreds of times a day, every day, to make
 sure that you make the team, maybe that's worth the investment.
 But for that much money, we'd expect a little bit more accuracy.
 This basketball was one of the first of its kind, and it's only going to get better.
 It's already better than some of the other ones that are out on the market.
 Wilson's also going to be bringing this tech to some of the other sports like tennis, volleyball,
 and baseball that it's involved with.
 But it's the kind of thing that could fundamentally change how we play sports and how we get better
 at them.
 If your goal is to get better at basketball, this can definitely help.
 But it's not going to do all the work for you.