The newest wireless earbuds from Apple, Sony, Bose and other big-name brands may get the most attention, but these days you don’t have to spend triple digits to find a decent alternative. If you’re looking to upgrade without spending more than $100, we’ve spent hours researching the bargain bin and testing top contenders over the past couple of years. Here are the best cheap wireless earbuds we’ve tested.

Table of contents

• Best budget wireless earbuds for 2025

• Other budget wireless earbuds we tested

• Best cheap wireless earbuds: FAQs

• Recent updates

Best budget wireless earbuds for 2025

Other budget wireless earbuds we tested

Jeff Dunn for Engadget

Note: This is a selection of noteworthy earbuds we’ve put through their paces, not a comprehensive list of everything we’ve ever tried.

Skullcandy Method 360 ANC

The Skullcandy Method 360 ANC is often available for $100, and at that price it’s worth considering over our picks above. These earphones have an extremely V-shaped sound signature with thunderous bass and noticeably clearer highs than the Soundcore Space A40, along with decent ANC and a bulky yet comfortable design that takes after Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds. They technically have a list price of $130, however, which puts them over the $100 limit we have for picks in this guide. Their enormous case and lack of wireless charging don’t help either. You can read our review for a full breakdown.

Beats Solo Buds

The $80 Beats Solo Buds are comfortable and long-lasting, with an impressive 18 hours of battery life. But they sound a bit flat and are severely lacking in features. There’s no ANC, wear detection or official water-resistance rating, and the included case can’t wirelessly charge the earbuds on its own. You can read our full review for more details.

JLab Go Pop ANC

The $30 JLab Go Pop ANC is worth a look if you just want a competent pair of wireless earphones for as little money as possible. It’s the cheapest set we’ve tested with active noise cancellation and transparency mode, though neither feature is all that effective. Like the Go Sport+, it also relies on a short USB-C cable tethered to its case to charge. But it actually sounds OK for the price: not particularly wide or detailed, but not harsh either, with decent energy and bass punch. The tiny earpieces fit snugly and isolate a good chunk of background noise passively. They’re also IP55-rated, while the case is similarly compact. There’s no auto-pausing, but you can connect to two devices at once, the touch controls work well and JLab’s app makes it easy to adjust settings. Battery life is alright at six to seven hours, too, though this is another one that’ll get wrecked by the wind if you take a call outside.

The JLab Go Pop+ is another option here. It gives up the ANC, IP55 rating and multipoint connectivity, but it costs $5 less and has longer battery life.

EarFun Air Pro 4

We liked what we heard from the EarFun Air Pro 4 for about a day or so — then one earbud broke, apparently deciding that it would only play at an extremely low volume from that point on. We’ve seen a few users report the same issue, while others have noted problems with crackling sounds coming out of single earpieces. This pair has received heaps of praise from other outlets, and we generally liked its predecessor, so it may well work for you. But we can’t recommend something that died before we could finish testing it.

Photo by Billy Steele / Engadget

EarFun Free Pro 3

The EarFun Free Pro 3 are totally solid, but the Space A40 gets you superior ANC, longer battery life and a more comfortable design for a lower price these days.

EarFun Air 2

Along those lines, the EarFun Air 2 are a good alternative to EarFun’s Free 2S if you’re partial an AirPods-style stem design, but they cost $10 more and aren’t significantly better.

Baseus Bowie MA10

The Baseus Bowie MA10 are saddled with a ginormous charging case, a sloppy app and bulky earpieces that we found uncomfortable to wear over time.

Baseus Eli Sport 1

The Baseus Eli Sport 1 have a fully open design that wraps around the ear and rests outside of your ear canal entirely. That’s nice for staying alert to the outside world, but it’s less so for getting the most detail out of your music. This is another pair with an oversized case, too.

OnePlus Buds 3

The OnePlus Buds 3 have an excited sound and a stylish design in the same vein as the Soundcore Liberty 4 NC, and their mic is a bit clearer for phone calls. They fall short of Anker’s pair when it comes to noise cancellation and battery life, however.

Skullcandy Dime 3

The Skullcandy Dime 3 deliver a surprisingly neutral sound profile for their dirt-cheap price, so they’re worth considering over the JLab Go Pop ANC if you see them in the $25 range. Like that pair, they can also connect to two devices simultaneously. But their overall battery life is a bit shorter, their call quality is poor and their physical controls are both unintuitive and uncomfortable, since they lead you to push the buds deeper into your ear canals.

Skullcandy Smokin' Buds

The Skullcandy Smokin’ Buds are another ultra-budget option with a sick name, bro, but they sound harsher in the treble than the JLab Go Pop ANC and offer worse battery life through their charging case. This pair does use tap-based controls, but they can be finicky, and they still aren’t the most straightforward things to operate.

Best cheap wireless earbuds: FAQs

Jeff Dunn for Engadget

What are the biggest differences between cheaper earbuds and more premium models?

A higher price does not guarantee higher quality. We'd take a pair like the Anker Soundcore Space A40 over many alternatives priced well over $100. Broadly speaking, though, the pricier components used by the best wireless earbuds let them put out a more detailed and versatile sound, more powerful active noise cancellation and a more complete list of features like multipoint connectivity, faster pairing, wear detection or wireless charging. They generally feel less flimsy in the hand, and their companion software tends to be less buggy. Battery life may be longer as well. But you have to look at these things on a case-by-case basis: Some earbuds justify their cost, others very much do not. 

Can you improve the sound of cheap wireless earbuds?

Evaluating audio quality is always subjective to some extent — what I find "bloated," you may consider "fun" or "lively." In general, if a set of earbuds is tuned poorly or built with cheap materials, you can't magically fix that. However, most new pairs allow you to adjust their EQ curve through software, so you can sculpt the frequency ranges in a way that better suits your tastes, at least somewhat. Also, remember that fit is king: If your in-ear headphones aren't sealed tight enough, they'll inevitably sound less detailed, with weaker bass response and worse isolation from outside noise. Consider trying different ear tips in that case.

Can cheap earbuds sound as good as AirPods?

A few can, sure! I'd take the top-end AirPods Pro 2 over any of the top picks in this guide, but they are far from unassailable. Meanwhile, the AirPods 4's unsealed design prevents them from pumping out truly deep bass, and I find them to sound a bit veiled in the treble. (They're still a level above the open-back Amazon Echo Buds, though.) The big appeal with AirPods is how tightly they integrate with other Apple devices: You open them with an iPhone and they just work. No other earbuds can replicate that, cheap or otherwise, because Apple uses proprietary tech that prevents competitors from offering the same features. Again, price and advertising budget has little to do with how good a set of earbuds is. (This is a silly question, but we know some casual buyers will inevitably ask it.)

Recent updates

June 2025: We’ve ensured our picks are still accurate and added testing notes on Skullcandy’s Method 360 ANC.

April 2025: The JLab Go Sport+ replaces the older JLab Go Air Sport as our “best for workouts” pick. We’ve also added testing notes on the EarFun Air Pro 4 and JLab Go Pop ANC, removing our blurbs for their predecessors along the way.

December 2024: We’ve lightly edited this guide for clarity and moved the aging JLab Go Air Pop and EarFun Air Pro 3 from honorable mentions to our “others we tested” section.

September 2024: We’ve added notes on a handful of other budget wireless earbuds that we’ve tested but fall short of our top picks, which remain unchanged. 

June 2024: We’ve checked this guide to ensure that all of our picks are still in stock. Accordingly, we’ve removed the Nothing Ear Stick as an honorable mention, as it no longer appears to be available — though it remains a decent option if you do see it and want an unsealed alternative to the Amazon Echo Buds. We’re also still in the process of testing several other sub-$100 Bluetooth earbuds for a future update.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/best-budget-wireless-earbuds-130028735.html?src=rss

At least five employees at Halo Studios have been fired as part of company-wide layoffs at Microsoft on Wednesday, according to a developer with knowledge of the situation. An estimated 200 to 300 people remain at the studio.

Employees across Microsoft's Xbox division received an email from Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer Wednesday morning addressing "organizational shifts" hitting the team over the coming days. Halo Studios employees who were laid off received an additional invite to a meeting with organization leaders, and two (very long) hours later, the Teams call began. Amid discussions of severance packages, the reasons provided for the firings aligned with Spencer's memo — to "increase agility and effectiveness."

"I'm personally super pissed that Phil's email to us bragged about how this was the most profitable year ever for Xbox in the same breath as pulling the lever" on the layoffs, the developer told Engadget. "I wasn't sure what part of that I was supposed to be proud about."

Halo Studios is currently working on multiple games, including the next mainline Halo installment, and it's the steward of Halo: Infinite, which is quietly spinning down its content cadence. The mood at the studio is tense, especially when it comes to one project that was recently in crisis, according to the developer.

"I don't think anybody is really happy about the quality of the product right now," they said. "There's been a lot of tension and pep talks trying to rally folks to ship." The studio recently teased that it would reveal what it's been working on at this year's Halo World Championship in October.

Halo Studios was rocked by layoffs in 2023, back when it was still called 343 Industries, and that culling mostly affected people on the campaign and narrative teams, including Halo veteran Joe Staten. (This is also the reason Halo: Infinite hasn't had a continuing storyline since that time period). Today, Halo Studios employs a blend of full-time employees and contractors, with junior producers and quality assurance roles generally contracted out. 

343 Industries came under fire from fans for the launch state of Halo: Infinite, and over the years several ex-employees have spoken out about the studio's reliance on contractors, who typically work with the company for a maximum of 18 months. 

The employee I spoke with said that, since 2023, there's been a general shift toward working with contracted studios — rather than individual contractors — in the United States and Europe to speed up Halo production. This mirrors the way other major FPS franchises like Call of Duty and Battlefield are developed. 

"Xbox in general feels years behind the curve in game development, and it leads to a lot of wasted time and effort," the employee said. At the same time, multiple departing team members have spoken warmly about their time at Halo Studios and the people they worked with.

The layoffs at Microsoft on July 2 affected 9,000 employees globally, including 830 in Washington, where Halo Studios is based. The Xbox division endured significant firings, game cancellations and studio closures. A Microsoft spokesperson said the Xbox team did not absorb the majority of the layoffs, but given its relatively small size in the organization, that framing may not accurately reflect the impact. 

Under the Xbox banner, Rare's Everwild and The Initiative's Perfect Dark reboot were cancelled, and The Initiative was fully shut down. Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios reportedly lost a "vast majority" of its employees, and Rare, ZeniMax Online Studios, King, Raven, Sledgehammer Games and Halo Studios have all reportedly been affected. ZeniMax president Matt Firor is out after 18 years leading the studio, and it's being reported that veteran Rare designer Gregg Mayles is also gone after decades with his team. And to top it all off, Blizzard is sunsetting Warcraft Rumble.

Microsoft has increasingly focused on AI, a shift that's propelled its stock price to new highs. At Meta's Llamacon in April, CEO Satya Nadella said that as much as 30 percent of the company's code is now written by AI. Activision in February admitted to using AI in Black Ops 6. It's unclear how much AI has to do with this latest round of layoffs, but use of Copilot is "no longer optional" within Microsoft. 

The developer I spoke with said, "They're trying their damndest to replace as many jobs as they can with AI agents."

News about specific Xbox teams popped up throughout the day as employees shared their experiences on social media and spoke with various publications. Microsoft laid off 1,900 Xbox employees in January 2024 and 650 more in September, and last year it closed Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games and Tango Gameworks (the latter of which was acquired by Krafton). Microsoft reported a net revenue of $25.8 billion in the first three months of 2025, with an eight percent yearly increase in revenue from Xbox content and services.

Microsoft told Engadget that the layoffs will affect less than four percent of the company's global workforce. A statement from a Microsoft spokesperson reads as follows: "We continue to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/even-before-the-xbox-layoffs-there-was-tension-at-halo-studios-002031995.html?src=rss

Last week, it was rumored that Microsoft was getting ready for a major round of layoffs within the Xbox team. Bloomberg is now reporting that employees in the company’s gaming division were informed of job cuts Wednesday morning. The PC giant has been on a cost-cutting mission lately, announcing it would let go of 3 percent of its global workforce earlier this summer, and announcing a further 9,000 job cuts on Wednesday.

According to Bloomberg, Microsoft’s Stockholm-based King division, famous for Candy Crush, is laying off 10 percent of its staff, representing roughly 200 jobs. While some other European gaming offices are also cutting, US units are reportedly being informed later Wednesday.

Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, sent an email to all Microsoft Gaming employees regarding the layoffs, which was obtained by Windows Central and confirmed as authentic by Microsoft. In it, Spencer said, "I recognize that these changes come at a time when we have more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before. Our platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger. The success we're seeing currently is based on tough decisions we've made previously. We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities."

Here's Phil Spencer's full note to staff:

As part of today's layoffs, several games, including Rare's Everwild, have been cancelled and The Initiative, the Xbox studio which was producing the Perfect Dark reboot, has been shut down. The news was broken to the team by Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, who said Microsoft "did not make these choices lightly, as each project and team represent years of effort, imagination, and commitment."

Here's Matt Booty's full note to staff:

Last year, Microsoft slashed almost 2,000 jobs from its gaming division, affecting employees across Xbox and Activision Blizzard. In the same year, it also shuttered a trio of ZeniMax game development teams after having acquired the video game holding company in 2021. This will be the fourth round of cuts at Xbox in the last 18 months. These layoffs come against the backdrop of Microsoft’s $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October 2023.

The gaming industry has had a rocky couple of years, with an estimated 11 percent of game developers losing their jobs in 2024. Microsoft’s profits have been on a steady upward trajectory, with the company reporting over $25 billion in net income in its last quarterly report. When asked for comment, a Microsoft spokesperson told Engadget that the company "[continues] to implement organizational and workforce changes that are necessary to position the company and teams for success in a dynamic marketplace.”

Update, July 2, 6:45PM ET: This story has been updated multiple times since publishing to include confirmation of the particulars of the layoffs, the cancellation of several games, the shuttering of The Initiative, and an infuriatingly vague comment from a Microsoft spokesperson.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-gaming-division-suffers-further-layoffs-142430386.html?src=rss

It's nearly the end of the road for Warcraft Rumble. Blizzard has announced that it will no longer be developing new content for the free-to-play mobile strategy game, and instead focus on "regular, systemic in-game events and bug fixes." The change comes as the rest of Microsoft's business is in upheaval: The company is laying off as many as 9,000 employees across its global workforce. 

Blizzard's statement doesn't get into the details of what motivated the decision, but is clear that Warcraft Rumble hasn't been living up to expectations. The game "struggled to find its footing" relative to Blizzard's ambitions, prompting the studio to explore different options to improve it over the last few years. "Some of that work showed signs of progress, but ultimately wasn’t enough to put the game on a path to sustainability," Blizzard writes.

Warcraft Rumble was announced in 2019 as Warcraft Arclight Rumble. Much like Hearthstone, the game was a high-profile attempt to translate a popular Blizzard franchise into something that works on smartphones and tablets. Warcraft Rumble plays like a more flexible version of Clash Royale, where miniaturized armies face off in PVP or singe-player challenges, and the biggest strategic choices are when and where characters are placed. 

Aftermath reports that winding down Warcraft Rumble is a direct result of the wider Microsoft layoffs effecting Blizzard. While some of the team who created new content for Rumble will be given new roles at the studio, others will be let go, according to a staff email sent by Blizzard president Johanna Fairies that Aftermath viewed. Blizzard's public statement doesn't acknowledge these layoffs beyond a mention that the studio is "focused on supporting [its] teammates," which is telling in context.

While Warcraft Rumble will live on for now in a diminished state, some future Xbox games have been outright cancelled as a result of Microsoft's restructuring, including Everwild and Perfect Dark. The bigger damage is the loss of talent. Greg Mayles, the lead designer on Donkey Kong Country and creative director of Sea of Thieves, is leaving Rare, according to Video Game Chronicle. ZeniMax Online Studios shared on X that director Matt Firor is also making an exit following the cancellation of the studio's next MMO.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/blizzard-is-giving-up-on-its-warcraft-mobile-game-amid-layoffs-215021940.html?src=rss

President Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" has squeaked through the Senate in time for this weekend's pyrotechnic celebrations. The bill festively shoots down a long list of environmental protection measures of all shapes and sizes, with the red glare of those rockets looking set to burn all current federal EV rebates in particular.

While the exact timing is still in flux, as things stand the $7,500 federal rebate for electric vehicles would expire not in 2032 as originally specified, but as soon as the end of September. It's an abrupt, ignominious end to a series of incentives that, in some form or another, dates back to the George W. Bush administration.

This change doesn't just cover new consumer vehicles, like the Kia EV9 or Volkswagen ID.Buzz. It also eliminates the $4,000 federal credit on used EVs, and even stands to kill rebates for commercial vehicles of the sort that inspired a whole new and weird generation of electric vans like those from Rivian and Arrival (RIP).

All those initiatives were meant to drive down the environmental impact of a transport industry that, combined, makes up 29 percent of total US greenhouse gas emissions. While that unfortunate environmental impact might not be immediately felt, for anyone considering buying an EV, some pain in the wallet is coming much sooner.

But it could have been worse.

A proposed annual EV tax

Earlier versions of the bill imposed a $250 annual fee for EV owners, and a still-spiteful $100 for hybrid owners. That fee would go into effect regardless of when you bought your wheels, so even if you were doing the electric thing before it was cool, you'd have been stuck with a substantial annual premium.

That fee was to be directed to the Highway Trust Fund, ostensibly ensuring that EV owners are paying their fair share for federal transportation infrastructure maintenance. The bulk of that funding comes from an 18.4 cents per-gallon tax on gasoline, which imprecisely ensures that drivers are paying roughly their fair share for highway use.

This supposed attempt at EV equivalence, however, was structured in a wildly disproportionate way. The average American drives 11,318 miles per year, according to the Department of Energy, which works out to just under $100 annually in taxes on gasoline. That's less than half the proposed annual fee for EVs. Yes, electric cars and their heavy batteries do indeed wear out roads more quickly, but not to that degree.

That felt more than a little unfair, but lawmakers faced an even bigger roadblock: They literally couldn't make such a fee structure work. "There is no mechanism today for the federal government to collect an annual fee," Ohio Republican Senator Bernie Moreno told Politico.

Regardless of the reasoning, for now at least, this fee is no longer part of the bill.

The industry impact

American EV sales haven't exactly been following the hockey stick growth that most industry experts had formerly been projecting. Still, it has been steadily trending upward. American EV sales in the first quarter of this year were up 10 percent, according to Cox Automotive, and that's despite Tesla's precipitous slide of late.

Considering the average cost of a new car in the US is $48,799, and the average cost of a new EV is $57,734, that $7,500 federal EV tax credit clearly makes a substantial difference in bridging that gap. Assuming the Big Bill passes, that bridge will be demolished in just a few months time.

While it's impossible to say how much the American EV market's growth has been driven by those incentives, we can look at the impact such cuts have had in other markets. Germany's Climate and Transformation Fund paid out €10 billion between 2016 and 2023, chipping in towards the purchase of 2.1 million EVs.

EV sales declined in Germany by 16.4 percent through the first half of 2024 after that program ended. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Europe, EV sales continued to grow by nearly 10 percent. It's looking like it was only a temporary setback, though. In the first five months of this year, German EV registrations are up more than 40 percent. That, again, is despite Tesla's particularly steep decline there.

Brands and chargers

As to which manufacturers will be most impacted, it stands to reason that buyers looking for with lower-priced EV offerings — cars from brands like Hyundai, Kia and Nissan — will take this change the hardest; buyers of premium brands — like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche — will be a little less dissuaded. Regardless, it should come as no surprise that not a single vehicle manufacturer is found in the list of endorsements for the "Big Beautiful Bill."

You will, however, find a who's who of players in the petrochemical world, like the American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Coterra.

The bill won't just kill incentives for EV buyers or leasers. America's charging infrastructure is also set to take a hit thanks to the repeal of the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit. This covered up to 30 percent of the cost of EV charger installation, encouraging more businesses to put more chargers in more places.

Deleting that credit certainly won't help the stubbornly slow buildout of America's charging infrastructure.

Silver lining

Critics of the American federal credit program have long said that it was too frequently used by wealthy buyers to chip a little off the cost of their next luxury EV. That, at least, is being addressed in one of the bill's other transportation-related changes, something that could actually be a positive for many Americans.

The bill includes a new tax deduction that could help modern shoppers saddled with debt after a car purchase. If passed, the bill would allow buyers with car or motorcycle loans to claim up to $10,000 in interest per year on their taxes.

This applies to vehicles regardless of propulsion type, meaning EVs and hybrids qualify, but there are plenty of other criteria, including that the vehicle must be for personal use, cannot have a salvage title, and must have undergone final assembly in the United States. Beyond that, to claim the full deduction, individuals must have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of less than $150,000 if filing as an individual, or $250,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

What now?

If you're a shopper who's been on the fence about buying an EV, it's safe to say that now would be a very good time to pull the trigger. And I do mean now. The federal rebate may carry through September, but extra dealer incentives will be drying up quicker than crocodile tears.

If, on the other hand, you're a manufacturer of EVs, chances are there's not a lot you can do right now. The auto industry was not designed to react to the whims of our current presidential administration and the gasoline-loving special interests that fuel it. Hopefully, the success of your business wasn't tied to the continued existence of federal incentives — or, indeed, a lack of import tariffs.

Going forward, American EV offerings will need to be one of two things: Priced on par with the internal combustion competition, or so fundamentally compelling that they're worth the extra cost. If your vehicles don't meet that criteria, come October you might have a problem.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/trumps-big-beautiful-bill-is-bad-for-american-evs-but-it-could-have-been-worse-210155196.html?src=rss

You can add Perplexity to the growing list of AI companies offering $200+ per month subscription plans to users who want unlimited access to their most advanced products and tools. As of today, Perplexity Max is available on iOS and the web. 

The subscription comes with unlimited monthly usage of Labs, the agentic creation tool Perplexity released this past May. People can use Labs to generate spreadsheets, presentations, web applications and more. Perplexity is also promising early access to new features, including Comet, a new web browser the company claims will be a "powerful thought partner for everything you do on the web." The company adds Max subscribers will receive priority customer support, as well as access to top frontier models from partners like Anthropic and OpenAI.     

Perplexity will continue to offer its existing Pro plan, which remains $20 per month. Admittedly, the company is courting a small demographic with the new subscription, noting it's primarily designed for content designers, business strategists and academic research.  

OpenAI was the first to open the floodgates of very expensive AI subscriptions when it began offering its ChatGPT Pro plan at the end of last year. Since then, Anthropic, Google have followed suit. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/perplexity-joins-anthropic-and-openai-in-offering-a-200-per-month-subscription-191715149.html?src=rss

To find the best power bank out there, I tested around 50 portable chargers and batteries from big brands — Anker, Belkin, UGreen, Mophie — as well as some smaller players like Lion Energy, Nimble and Satechi. I used them to recharge a number of devices including iPhones, Galaxy phones, an iPad, a MacBook and even my ereaders and PlayStation controller. If you just want a brick that can charge anything, go for Anker’s 25kmAh Laptop Power bank. It has two built-in USB-C cables, a massive capacity and super fast charging speeds. But if that’s not quite what you’re looking for, you can check out ten more of the best power banks below.

Editor’s note: Anker recently issued two recalls, one for its PowerCore 10000 power bank (model A1263) and another for multiple power banks (model numbers A1647, A1652, A1257, A1681 and A1689). All recalls are due to a potential fire risk in the lithium-ion cells. If you have one of these batteries, visit Anker’s recall page for the next steps. None of the batteries we currently recommend are part of the recall, and we haven’t recommended these specific models in previous iterations of this guide.

Table of contents

• Best power banks for 2025

• How we test best power banks

• What to look for in a portable battery pack

• Other power banks we tested

• Power bank FAQs

Best power banks for 2025

What to look for in a portable battery pack

Battery type

Nearly every rechargeable power bank you can buy (and most portable devices) contain a lithium-ion battery. These beat other current battery types in terms of size-to-charge capacity, and have even increased in energy density by eight fold in the past 14 years. They also don’t suffer from a memory effect (where a battery's lifespan deteriorates due to partial charges).

Flying with portable batteries

You may have heard about lithium ion batteries overheating and catching fire — a recent Hong Kong flight was grounded after just such a thing happened in an overhead bin. Current restrictions implemented by the TSA still allow external batteries rated at 100Wh or less (which all of our recommendations are) to fly with you, but only in your carry-on luggage — they can’t be checked.

Recently, Southwest Airlines was the first in the industry to take that rule one step further. Now, flyers on that airline must keep power banks in clear view when using them to recharge a device. If the portable charger isn’t actively in use, however, it can stay in your carry-on bag in the overhead bin.

Capacity

Power bank manufacturers almost always list a battery’s capacity in milliamp hours, or mAh. Smaller batteries with a 5,000mAh capacity make good phone chargers and can fill a smartphone to between 50 and 75 percent. Larger batteries that can recharge laptops and tablets, or give phones multiple charges, can exceed 25,000mAh and we have a separate guide that covers that entire category. 

Unsurprisingly, the prices on most batteries goes up as mAh capacity increases, and since batteries are physical storage units, size and weight go up with capacity as well. If you want more power, be prepared to spend more and carry around a heavier brick.

You might think that a 10,000mAh power bank could charge a 5,000mAh phone to 100 percent twice, but that’s not the case. In addition to simple energy loss through heat dissipation, factors like voltage conversion also bring down the amount of juice that makes it into your phone. Most manufacturers list how many charges a battery can give a certain smartphone. In our tests, 10,000mAh of battery pack capacity translated to roughly 5,800mAh of device charge. 20,000mAh chargers delivered around 11,250mAh to a device, and 25,000mAh banks translated to about 16,200mAh of charge. That’s an average efficiency rate of around 60 percent.

Wireless

More manufacturers are making power banks with wireless charging. Not hassling with cables is nice, but it’s important to note that wireless charging is less efficient than plugging in your phone. Outside of MagSafe options, wireless portable chargers historically didn’t make the cut for our top picks for this guide for that reason. The Qi2 wireless charging standard arrived in 2023 and improves performance for wireless charging, including for portable banks. Currently, iPhones are the only handsets that support the new tech, but as it’s an open standard, expect Google, Samsung and others to adopt it for future phones. In my testing, I’ve noticed an uptick in the performance of non-Qi2-enabled batteries as well, so you'll now see wireless options on this list.

Ports

Since Apple ditched the Lightning cable and adopted USB-C, we’re getting closer to a standard for charging connections — and all of our picks have at least one such port. But plenty of other devices use older interfaces, like USB-A and microUSB ports, plus Lightning for older iPhones. You can find cables with just about any combination of those connections, so when you’re picking out a battery, just check that one end of your preferred cord will fit.

Most battery packs have more than one charging port, which gives you different charging options. You’ll typically see at least one port labeled “in/out,” which means you can use it to both charge the bank and charge your gadget. While USB-A output ports can power up cell phones and other small devices, they can’t charge larger devices. Plus, they aren’t as fast as USB-C ports overall. That’s something to keep in mind when you’re deciding which ports and charging cables to use to connect your phone to the pack.

There’s even more variation among USB-C ports themselves, with different ports on the same device supporting different power transfer rates. What that means in practical terms is an iPhone will charge just fine plugged into a power bank’s 18W port. But to properly charge, say, a MacBook or similar laptop, it’ll need the extra juice supplied by a 100W port (which larger power banks can offer). Power banks with more than one port can also charge multiple devices at the same time, but speeds and the overall charge delivered will be lower.

You’ll also want to consider your charging cable. For anything larger than a smartphone (and to access fast-charging capabilities) you’ll want to use USB-C ports and cables. But not all cables are created equal, even when they have the same USB-C plugs on the end. If you want power delivery from a 100W USB-C power bank port, you’ll need a 100W-rated USB-C cable. Luckily, power banks capable of delivering 100W tend to include a compatible cable. For any devices that don’t, we’ve tried and liked Anker’s 100W USB-C cable. For smaller devices, we used this 60W cable from Nimble and we don’t recommend bothering with cables under 60W. For around $20, higher-capacity charging cables will make sure you’re not wasting time with connections that limit your potential power transfer.

Design

For the most part, these rechargeable batteries have a squared-off, brick-like design, though many nod towards aesthetics with attractive finishes and detailing. While that doesn’t affect how they perform, it’s a consideration for something you’ll interact with regularly. Some portable power stations include extra features like MagSafe compatibility, a built-in wall plug or even a kickstand. Nearly all have some sort of indicator to let you know how much available charge your power bank has left, usually expressed with lighted pips near the power button. Some of the newer banks take that a step further with an LED display indicating remaining battery percentage.

How we test best power banks

Before I even put my hands on a battery pack, I did extensive research. I considered brands Engadget reviewers and staff have tried over the years and checked out customer ratings on retail sites like Amazon and Best Buy. Then, I acquire the most promising candidates and test them in my home office.

Amy Skorheim for Engadget

Here’s the full list of power banks we've tested, which range from small wireless banks to large, multi-device batteries:

MagSafe-compatible

• Apple MagSafe Battery Pack (5,000 mAh)

• Spigen ArcHybrid Mag (5,000mAh)

• Anker 521 Magnetic Battery (5,000 mAh)

• Mophie snap+ PowerstationMmini (5,000mAh)

• Baseus Magnetic (10,000mAh)

• Anker MagGo Power Bank (6.6K) (6,600 mAh)

• Anker 633 Magnetic Battery (10,000mAh)

• Anker MagGo Power Bank (10K) (10,000 mAh)

• UGREEN 10,000mAh Magnetic (10,000mAh)

• EcoFlow Rapid Magnetic (5,000mAh) 

Low capacity (≤10,000mAh)

• Mophie Juice Pack (2,400mAh)

• Anker 511 Power Bank (5,000 mAh)

• Anker 313 Power Bank (10,000mAh)

• Nimble Champ (10,000mAh)

• Biolite Charge 40 PD (10,000mAh)

• Anker Nano (5,000mAh)

• Nimble Champ (10,000mAh)

• Satechi Quatro Wireless bank (10,000mAh)

• Anker 10K Fusion power bank (10,000mAh)

Mid capacity (10,001 - 20,000mAh)

• Baseus Blade 2 (12,000 mAh)

• Otterbox Fast Charge (15,000mAh)

• Mophie Powerstation Pro (20,000mAh)

• Anker Prime (20,000mAh)

• Nestout Portable Charger (15,000mAh)

• Nimble Champ Pro (20,000mAh)

• InfinaCore P3 Pro (10,500mAh)

High capacity (20,001mAh+)

• Mophie Powerstation Pro XL (25,000mAh)

• UGREEN Power Bank 25,000mAh 145W (25,000mAh)

• Anker 737 Power Bank (25,600 mAh)

• Zendure Supertank Pro (26,800mAh)

• Mophie Powerstation Pro AC (27,000mAh)

• Lion Energy Eclipse Mag (27,000mAh)

• Lion Energy Trek (27,000mAh)

• HyperJuice 245W (27,000mAh)

• Anker Prime 27,650mAh Power Bank (27,650mAh)

• Anker laptop power bank with built-in cable (25,000mAh)

• Belkin Boost Charge 20K with built-in cable (20,000mAh)

We're continuously updating this guide as companies release new products and we test them. We remove some products as we find picks that are more worthy of the best portable charger designation. We also add updated specs and prices where necessary. 

For testing, I used each battery with some combination of an iPhone 15, an iPhone 14 Plus, an iPhone 11, a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, a Galaxy S23 Ultra, a 5th-gen iPad Air and an M1 Pro 16-inch MacBook Pro. I charged one phone battery at a time, even though some packs are capable of multiple-device charging. I charged the phones and tablets from between zero and five percent until they were 100 percent full (or until the power bank was dead), and didn’t use the phones or tablets while they charged other than to power them on and enter the unlock code. In the case of the MacBook, I used it while it was charging (it’s my work computer).

I used the charging cable included with each power bank to charge the Galaxy S22 Ultra, MacBook Pro and the iPad Air. For the iPhones, I used the USB-C to Lighting cable that Apple provides. In the case of the lower-capacity power banks that didn’t include a cord or included one with USB-C to USB-A connectors, I used this 60W-rated USB-C to USB-C cable.

For reference, here are the battery capacities of each device we used for testing:

• iPhone 11: 3,110 mAh

• iPhone 14 Plus: 4,325 mAh

• iPhone 15: 3,349 mAh

• Galaxy S22 Ultra: 4,855mAh

• iPad Air: 7,729mAh

• 16-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro: 27,027mAh

I noted the times for each charge and the number of charges each bank provided. I also paid attention to things like ease of use and overall design.

Other power banks we tested

Anker Prime 20,000 mAh power bank

Anker’s Prime bank was our previous pick for the best premium power bank, but I thought it worked best with the expensive (yet very convenient) base. Considering it also doesn’t have any built-in cables, we decided to bump the Prime battery from its position and replace it with the Anker Retractable Cable Laptop Bank. There’s still plenty to like about the Prime battery: it’s solid, attractive and tells you just how much charge it has left with its onboard display. When you add the optional base, you not only get a convenient drop-and-go way to recharge, it also acts as a charging hub with three additional USB ports.

EcoFlow Rapid magnetic power bank

I was curious to try out the first power bank from EcoFlow, a company that primarily makes larger power stations and whole-home backup batteries. The first offering in the brand’s Rapid series is a Qi2-enabled magnetic charger with a 5,000mAh capacity. It looks quite nice with shiny silver accents and soft-touch grey plastic on the MagSafe-compatible front. There’s a little pull-out leg that sturdily displays your phone as it charges and the attached USB-C cable lets you refill devices directly, then tucks out of the way when it’s not in use. But it didn’t outperform our top pick in the MagSafe category, in terms of both charging speeds and the amount of charge delivered.

Baseus Blade 2

The Blade 2 from Baseus has a unique, flat shape that’s just a little wider than an ereader — which may make it easier to slip into a low profile laptop bag. It charged a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra considerably faster than any other battery bank we tried, getting it from four percent to full in just over an hour. It then filled the phone back to 62 percent from dead on a second charge in about a half an hour. But $100 is a lot for a standard power bank that holds fewer than two full charges. But if you can find the Blade 2 on sale, snap it up.

Anker MagGo (6.6K)

Anker’s 6.6k MagGo is pretty similar to our top pick for a MagSafe-compatible battery pack. It supports the Qi2 charging standard and props up your iPhone so you can use it or enable StandBy mode while powering up. This one even lets you set the viewing angle from 30 to 65 degrees. It was speedy in getting an iPhone 15 up to 50 percent in about 40 minutes. But for the added bulk, it doesn’t have as much capacity as the 10K MagGo, holding just enough juice for a single full charge plus about 5 percent. But it is $20 cheaper, which may be key for some.

Mophie Snap+ Powerstation Mini

The Mophie snap+ Powerstation Mini is terribly well-built. It feels premium with a rubberized contact point for the MagSafe charging pad and a stand that runs the entire width of the bank itself, making it extra sturdy. It’s compact, too, but only carries a 5,000mAh capacity, which gets you a partial charge on most newer or larger phones. Our current MagSafe/iPhone pick has double the capacity, a stand and a digital display — for just $20 more than the Powerstation Mini.

Power bank FAQs

What's the difference between a portable power bank and a portable charger?

A slew of terms are used to describe power banks, including portable batteries, portable chargers, external battery packs and even, somewhat confusingly, USB chargers, which is what wall chargers are often called. They all mean the same thing: a lithium ion battery that stores a charge so you can refill a smartphone, tablet, earbuds, console controller, ereader, laptop, or just about any other device with its own built-in, rechargeable battery. 

There’s little difference between the terms, so the specs you’ll want to pay attention to are capacity (expressed in mAh), size and weight so you can find the right balance between recharging what you need and portability.

Power stations, on the other hand, are distinct. These are bigger units (often around the size of a car battery) that can be used to charge multiple devices multiple times, but notably, they can’t be taken on airplanes.

Does fast charging actually ruin your battery?

Not exactly. The real enemy of a battery’s longevity is heat. The faster you charge a battery, the more heat is generated. Modern phones have features that keep the battery cool while charging, like physical heat shields and heat sinks, as well as software features that slow down processes that generate too much heat. Phone manufacturers are keen to promote a phone’s fast-charging abilities, so they had to figure out ways to make faster charging work.

While there aren’t long-term studies on what fast charging does to a phone, a study on EV batteries (which use the same general concept of charged lithium ions flowing from one side of the battery to the other, absorbing or releasing a usable charge) showed a very slight decrease in capacity over time with only fast charging — though what actually made a larger difference was how hot the battery itself was, due to ambient temperatures, when it was charged.

In short, fast charging could be slightly harder on your battery than normal charging. But the safeguards most smartphones have make that difference fairly negligible. To really ensure you’re taking the best care of your battery, limiting heat exposure overall is one of the best things you can do.

Can you use a power bank for all your devices?

That depends on the size of the bank and the size of your device’s battery. A small 5,000mAh battery isn’t strong enough to charge laptops, but a portable charger with a 20,000mAh capacity will give your computer a partial refill. You also have to consider port compatibility. If your device has a USB port, you’ll be able to easily find a cable to connect it to a battery. If your device has a more unique port, such as a DC port, you won’t be able to use a battery. Devices with an AC cable and plug can be charged, and sometimes powered (such as in the case of a printer or speaker), by larger laptop batteries with AC ports.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-power-bank-143048526.html?src=rss

French video game giant Ubisoft has been embroiled in a multiyear saga regarding a toxic company culture, multiple sexual harassment investigations and harassment suits filed by former employees. In 2023, five former Ubisoft executives were arrested on various charges related to these investigations. On Wednesday, a French court sentenced three of them to suspended sentences for enabling a culture rife with sexual and psychological harassment.

Former editorial vice president Thomas Francois was convicted on additional charges of attempted sexual assault and received a suspended three-year term. Francois was alleged to have perpetrated a bevy of sexual assaults at the workplace and held a pattern of egregious sexual harassment.

Various other executives, including former chief creative officer Serge Hascoet and former games director Guillaume Patrux, were sentenced to shorter suspended sentences. They also faced fines of up to $35,000. These convictions come years after anonymous reports of a toxic work culture at Ubisoft began spreading online, and the company launched an internal investigation.

Maude Beckers, an attorney for the plaintiffs, celebrated the convictions as a victory against workplace harassment, saying, "This is a very good decision today and for the future." She added, "For all companies, it means that when there is toxic management, managers must be held accountable and employers can no longer let it slide."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/former-ubisoft-executives-convicted-in-france-184919411.html?src=rss

In a mad, mad world, speedruns for charity can be a calm oasis. Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ) has your fix with the 2025 edition of the marathon. You can tune in starting on Sunday, July 6. As usual, the lineup includes loads of fun games and bonkers challenges.

It's fitting that this year's lineup includes a Switch 2 game. On the event's last day, the speedrunner Peas will take on Mario Kart World on the new console.

Nintendo

Perhaps to commemorate the new console's launch, Nintendo is everywhere at this event. There are three Zelda games on tap: Majora's Mask, Phantom Hourglass and Link's Awakening. The company's plumber mascot is peppered all over the place, too. You'll find Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Paint and the Super Mario World hack, Sayonara Mario World 2. (Not done yet!) There's also Super Mario Maker 2, Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario 64.

There's plenty of non-Nintendo stuff, too. The week kicks off with an "All Emeralds Glitched" run of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. One of Engadget's all-time favorites, Balatro, has a run scheduled on July 11. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle makes an appearance. And two speedrunning legends will try to beat Cuphead during an allotted 35 minutes. (Say what??!) Anyone who can finish that bloodbath in less than that should be named the leader of the free world.

Andy "j0kerr" Sturm / Games Done Quick

The event will raise funds for Doctors Without Borders. The humanitarian nonprofit has a legion of nearly 63,000 medical personnel. It offers clinical and humanitarian care in over 70 countries. Last summer's event raised $2.5 million. To date, Games Done Quick events have raised over $50 million for charity.

SGDQ 2025 runs from July 6 to 13. If you're in or near Minneapolis, you can register to attend in person. Otherwise, you can stream the festivities on the SGDQ Twitch channel, which is also embedded below.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/how-to-watch-summer-games-done-quick-2025-184618273.html?src=rss

Neil Druckmann, head of the PlayStation studio Naughty Dog and co-creator of The Last of Us, is stepping away from the HBO show based on the 2013 game and its 2020 sequel to focus his work on Naughty Dog's next game. On Instagram, the studio published the following statement from Druckmann:

"I've made the difficult decision to step away from my involvement in The Last of Us on HBO. With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative."

He went on to thanks showrunner Craig Mazin (on the left in the above photo) as well as the cast and crew he worked with on the first two seasons and called working on the show a "career highlight" Druckmann was credited as executive producer and co-creator of the show and he directed one episode in each of the show's two seasons as well as contributing writing to several others. The bulk of the show itself was written by Mazin.

The Ankler first published Druckmann's statement shortly before it was officially released by Naughty Dog.

Shortly after Druckmann's statement was released, The Last of Us Part II co-writer Halley Gross (who had also co-written multiple episodes in season two of the show) announced she also would not be moving forward with the HBO adaptation.

"With great care and consideration, I’ve decided to take a step back from my day-to-day work on HBO’s The Last of Us to make space for what comes next. I’m so appreciative of how special this experience has been. Working alongside Neil, Craig, HBO, and this remarkable cast and crew has been life changing. The stories we told — about love, loss, and what it means to be human in a terrifying world — are exactly why I love this franchise. I have some truly rad projects ahead that I can’t wait to share, but for now, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who brought Ellie and Joel’s world to life with such care.”

Finally, Mazin himself shared a statement, as published in Variety:

"It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO. I couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner. As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil’s work in video games, I’m beyond excited to play his next game. While he focuses on that, I’ll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come to expect. We are so grateful to Neil and Halley Gross for entrusting the incredible story of The Last of Us Part II to us, and we’re just as grateful to the millions of people around the world who tune in."

This comes after a fairly rocky reception for The Last of Us season two. The challenge of adapting the story of the second video game led to some decisions that didn't sit well with both fans of the games as well as those who were new to the world via the show. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, there was also an inordinate amount of online vitriol directed towards Druckmann and Mazin for some of the changes they made to adapt the game into a TV series.

For my part, I thought season two was well-done, with continued excellent acting but issues with pace due in part to it only being seven episodes long. But I can also agree there are a number of fair criticisms to make about how the show was plotted — it probably stuck too closely to the timeline of the game, and the finale left things up in the air to what must be a frustrating degree for people who don't know the storyline from playing the games. 

That said, Druckmann co-wrote and directed one of the best episodes of the entire series (season two's "The Price") and did solid behind-the-camera work in season one's "Infected" as well. Not to mention the fact that he knows these characters better than basically anyone alive — it's plausible to wonder just how things will change without his influence going forward. On the other hand, this change might re-focus the show's creative team and help correct parts of season two where things just didn't land as fans had hoped. It's far too early to tell, but it'll be worth seeing if Mazin brings on anyone else to back him up — and if he does, if that person has experience with the game or is focused solely on the TV world. Someone with some distance from how the story was told in the games might be the right choice to help the show stand on its own.

Regardless of what happens, it'll be a while before we find out how this all shakes out — as Druckmann said, there's no "meaningful work" done on season 3 yet, so we will probably have to wait until 2027 to see how these changes impact the show.

Update, July 2, 2025, 2:45PM ET: Added statements from Halley Gross and Craig Mazin.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-last-of-us-co-creator-neil-druckmann-is-stepping-away-from-the-show-to-focus-on-future-games-182136370.html?src=rss

The Initiative, the Xbox studio developing a modern reimagining of Perfect Dark, is being shut down, and development of the game is ending. As first reported by Windows Central, the studio's closure is part of major cuts Microsoft is making across its business, affecting around four percent of the company's global workforce.

Based on a memo from Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty obtained by Windows Central, which Microsoft has confirmed is genuine, the decision to close The Initiative was born out of the cancellation of Perfect Dark, rather than the other way around. "We have made the decision to stop development of Perfect Dark and Everwild as well as wind down several unannounced projects across our portfolio," Booty wrote. "As part of this, we are closing one of our studios, The Initiative."

Rare's Everwild was previously reported to be one of the projects impacted by Microsoft's layoffs. The game was announced in 2019 but has had a troubled development, even starting from scratch in 2021. Perfect Dark, based on the older Rare game of the same name, was supposed to be The Initiative's first project. The game was being co-developed in partnership with Crystal Dynamics. The first gameplay footage of the Perfect Dark reboot was shown in 2024.

While cancelled games are the most visible impact of Microsoft's layoffs, it increasingly sounds like countless studios will end up being affected in one way or another. Bloomberg's Jason Schreier writes that Call of Duty studio Raven is also facing cuts, and Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 could end up losing around 50 percent of its staff.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/microsoft-is-closing-the-studio-developing-the-perfect-dark-reboot-and-cancelling-the-game-182257902.html?src=rss

Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick aren't the only speedrunning marathons in town. There are others dotted throughout the year, such as Frost Fatales and Flame Fatales. Those all-women and femmes events are also operated by the Games Done Quick organization. The schedule for this year's Flame Fatales has just dropped, and there are lots of fascinating runs on deck.

For one thing, you'll be able to watch an Any% run (i.e. beating the game with any percentage) of Hollow Knight. What's more, SawaYoshi will do this one-handed. The runner is expected to pull this off in around 45 minutes — it typically takes around 27 hours to beat that game.

Some newer titles are in the mix as well, such as Blue Prince. It might seem odd that a puzzle game with a heavy randomization element is on the schedule. ProfessorBurtch will be undertaking what's known as a "B Quest Bingo" run. The idea here is to get to the Antechamber while using a bingo board. Here's an example of such a run (it contains spoilers, of course): 

Elsewhere, we have Any% runs of the wonderful Neva, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and New Super Mario Bros. in the mix, along with speedrunning staples like Celeste and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. The bonus runs include the first act of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and all regions of Hades II. I'm very intrigued by the Stardew Valley finale, which is a "Marriage% Co-Op Haley/Penny (Lesbian%)" run.

In all, there will be more than 50 speedruns during this edition of Flame Fatales, which runs from September 7 - 14. This year's edition is being held in support of Malala Fund, which is a non-profit that helps girls around the world to have safe, secure and quality education. The event will be livestreamed on the GDQ Twitch channel.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-flame-fatales-2025-speedrunning-event-includes-blue-prince-hades-2-and-clair-obscur-runs-171451081.html?src=rss

Amazon’s July Prime Day sale hasn't started just yet, but the sale is one of the best times to stock up on accessories and smaller electronics. So we thought we'd see if any deals were hitting early — and we found more than a few. Right now some of our recommended chargers, smart speakers, streaming sticks, Bluetooth trackers and more are seeing discounts. Of course, we expect to see many more deals closer to Tuesday, July 8 when Prime Day officially kicks off. So check back as we'll be updating this guide daily with new deals. Everything here comes from the products and brands we recommend based on Engadget’s own testing and reviews. Read on for the best Prime Day deals we could find on tech that costs less than $50.

Best Prime Day tech deals under $25

Apple AirTag for $23 ($6 off): Here’s our pick for a Bluetooth tracker for iPhone users. These little discs have the most accurate finding ability of any fob we tested, thanks to Apple’s vast Find My network that taps into all nearby iPhones to track down your missing stuff. They could be louder and hole would be nice, but nothing beats its accuracy.

Samsung Fit Plus 56GB flash drive for $23 ($12 off): We named this the best thumbstick drive in our guide to the best SSDs. It has a sleek design, five-year warranty and has a USB 3.1 connection. There’s even a small attachment point for a keychain so you can take your extra storage drive with you when you go.

Thermacell E55 Rechargeable Repeller for $25 ($10 off): The mosquitos aren’t going anywhere. Even places that didn’t used to have these evil bloodsuckers are now overrun. If you would like some reprieve from the bites, this is the repeller we recommend in our guide to outdoor tech.

TP-Link AC1200 WiFi extender for $20 ($10 off): If you’ve got some dead spots in your home’s internet coverage and aren’t quite ready for a mesh setup, a Wi-Fi extender can help. This is our favorite budget option in our guide to these plug-in devices thanks to its easy setup and user-friendly app.

Amazon Echo Pop for $22 ($18 off with Prime): The smallest (and cheapest) Echo speaker is ideal for small apartments or rooms. The half-sphere design comes in purple and teal in addition to the standard black and white colorways.

Kasa TP-Link Smart Wi-FI outdoor plug for $20 ($5 off): We tested this one for our buying guide to smart plugs and named it the best outdoor pick for HomeKit users — but it’ll work with Alexa and the Google Assistant too. The range was decent and setup was easy, like most TP-Link plugs. Grab this now and have automatic control of your holiday lights.

Anker Nano USB-C charger block for $16 ($4 off): Remember when tiny bricks like this all maxed out at a dinky five-watts? This tiny but mighty cube is the best cheap fast charger in our guide to fast chargers and it outputs a generous 30 watts, plus the prongs fold down to make it even more teensy.

Best Prime Day tech deals under $35

TP-Link Kasa Smart Plug Mini EP25 (4-pack) for $35 ($9 off): This is our favorite smart plug overall because it works with all four major smart home assistants (Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and Samsung’s Bixby). In our tests, it connected easily and reliably controlled our lamps and other simple appliances.

Amazon Echo Dot for $32 ($18 off with Prime): Amazon seems to wait for Prime Day sales to give its smart speakers hefty discounts. We see minor sales throughout the year, but not quite this steep (though it's gone as low as $23 in past sales). So if you want to bring Alexa’s peppy helpfulness into your home, this is a good time to do so. The Dot is our favorite smart speaker under $50.

Amazon Echo Dot Kids with Alexa for $32 ($28 off with Prime): The kids version of Amazon's smart speaker is the same hardware but with a kid-themed cover (owl or dragon) and it comes with a free year-long subscription to Amazon Kids+ with audiobooks, games and educational Alexa skills.  

Best Prime Day tech deals under $50

Blink Outdoor 4 for $45 ($55 off): We named this outdoor camera the best for Alexa homes in our security cameras guide. It can go just about anywhere you want as the wireless design runs on AA batteries and can last for two years before needing to be replaced. The motion alerts are accurate, but keep in mind you’ll need a subscription to enable person detection and cloud storage.

HyperX Cloud Stinger 2 gaming headset for $36 ($14 off): In our guide to gaming headsets, we ultimately recommend getting an external mic along with a good pair of wired headphones for chatting. But if you really want a two-in-one, the Cloud Stinger 2 is our pick for a budget gaming headset.

Razer Basilisk V3 gaming mouse for $40 ($30 off): Some prefer a wired connection when playing games. Razer’s Basilisk V3 is our top budget pick for a wired mouse in our gaming mouse guide. It’s comfortable, well-built, accurate and a good value — particularly with a Prime Day discount.

Amazon Echo Spot for $45 ($35 off with Prime): The Spot speaker was resurrected last year with a slightly different design than it first had. Now the display is a half-circle on the round face of the clock and it can show you the weather, time and song title. The speaker itself brings you all Alexa can do, like setting timers, adding stuff to your grocery lists and answering questions about the weather.

Amazon Echo Buds with Active Noise Cancellation for $45 ($95 off with Prime): These buds are a bit old at this point, as they came out in 2021, but the 68 percent discount could be compelling. In our review, we said the buds were much improved over the last generation. They're more comfortable and have a better sound quality. Plus the Alexa integration makes them a decent pick for those who've gone all-in on Amazon's ecosystem. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-prime-day-2025-deals-under-50-save-on-gear-from-blink-anker-tp-link-and-others-160028343.html?src=rss

In today's gaming world, a decade of development can sometimes amount to nothing. Parent company Microsoft has reportedly cancelled Rare's long-in-development project Everwild. The news comes amid broader layoffs across Microsoft's Xbox division.

Rare employees will likely be part of the Xbox layoffs, according to Video Games Chronicle. VGC and Bloomberg's Jason Schreier were the first to report the game's cancellation. (Schreier added that an MMORPG project from Zenimax, codenamed "Blackbird," was also scrapped.)

Rare officially announced Everwild in 2019. But the game had been in development since around 2014. Its trailer finally arrived five years ago, hinting at a lush and magical atmosphere. However, the footage offered no hints about gameplay. That may have been intentional. Its development reportedly suffered from a lack of clear direction.

Rare / Xbox

It was even said to have survived a "restart from scratch" in 2021 when Gregg Mayles took over direction. (He's known for titles like Donkey Kong Country, Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Piñata and Sea of Thieves.) Xbox explained the lack of official updates by saying it was waiting until it had "something cool to show."

As recently as February, the game seemed to be on track. Microsoft's Phil Spencer said, "It's nice to see the team with Everwild and the progress that they're making." Words, words, words…

That brings us to today, with the coda of an all-too-familiar story. Developers lose jobs. Gamers miss out on the chance to play something that had countless resources poured into it. And the gaming industry tightens its belt even further. How much tighter can it get?

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/everwild-has-reportedly-been-cancelled-amid-xbox-layoffs-162200526.html?src=rss

The software used by EU border security forces to prevent undocumented immigrants and suspected criminals from travelling in the region is allegedly riddled with holes and vulnerable to cyber attacks. The Second Generation Schengen Information System (SIS II) is an IT system and database shared between most EU states for law enforcement and public security purposes. And according to a new collaborative report between Bloomberg and investigative non-profit Lighthouse Reports, SIS II — which has been used since 2013 — is plagued with "thousands" of cybersecurity issues, to the extent that an EU auditor flagged them to be of "high" severity in a report filed last year.

The report notes that there is no evidence of any data theft, but the "excessive number" of accounts that unnecessarily have access to the database means it could be fairly easily exploited. During its initial rollout, SIS II’s major additions included fingerprint technology and photographs in alerts, and in 2023 the software was updated with upgraded data and enhancements to its existing functionality, including the ability to signal when someone has been deported from a country. Bloomberg reporters spoke to Romain Lanneau, a legal researcher at an EU watchdog called Statewatch, who warned that an attack would be "catastrophic, potentially affecting millions of people."

Right now SIS II operates within an isolated network, but will soon be rolled into the EU’s Entry/Exit system (EES), which will make registering biometric details a requirement for individuals travelling to Schengen-associated areas when it comes into effect, likely later this year. As the EES will be connected to the internet, a hack on the SIS II database will become significantly easier.

Bloomberg and Lighthouse note that while most of the SIS II system’s estimated 93 million records pertain to objects such as stolen vehicles, there are around 1.7 million linked to people. It adds that people usually aren’t aware that their details are logged in the database until law enforcement gets involved, so if the information was leaked, wanted individuals may find it easier to evade the authorities.

SIS II’s development and maintenance is managed by a Paris-based contractor called Sopra Steria. According to the report, as vulnerabilities were reported, they took between eight months and upward of half a decade to resolve. This is despite it being contractually obligated to fix issues deemed to be of critical importance within two months of releasing a patch.

A spokesperson for Sopra Steria did not respond to Bloomberg regarding the detailed list of allegations concerning SIS II’s security holes, but said in a statement printed in the report that EU protocols had been adhered to. "As a key component of the EU’s security infrastructure, SIS II is governed by strict legal, regulatory, and contractual frameworks," it said. "Sopra Steria’s role was carried out in accordance with these frameworks."

EU-Lisa, the EU agency that oversees large-scale IT systems like SIS II, regularly farms out duties to external consulting firms as opposed to building its own in-house tech, according to the investigation. The audit accused the agency of not informing its management about security risks that had been flagged, to which it responded by saying that all systems under its management "undergo continuous risk assessments, regular vulnerability scans, and security testing."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/the-eus-border-security-software-is-reportedly-full-of-holes-162033816.html?src=rss

A US judge has ruled that Huawei must stand trial following a 16-count indictment from 2019 accusing the Chinese telecommunications company of trying to steal trade secrets from its US rivals and selling surveillance equipment to Iran despite trade sanctions, according to a report by Reuters. A trial is currently set for May 4, 2026.

US District Judge Ann Donnelly found sufficient evidence in the indictment to refute the company's bid for dismissal. In a 52-page decision, the Brooklyn judge ruled that its arguments for dismissal were premature. The indictment alleges that Huawei engaged in racketeering, stole trade secrets from six companies and committed bank fraud by misleading the financial organizations about its work in Iran.

The Iran accusations stem from Huawei's alleged control over a Hong Kong-based company called Skycom, which did business in that country. Donnelly said that prosecutors successfully alleged that Skycom "operated as Huawei's Iranian subsidiary and ultimately stood to benefit" from over $100 million in money transfers through the US financial system.

Huawei has pleaded not guilty and sought to dismiss 13 of the 16 counts, referring to itself as "a prosecutorial target in search of a crime." The case goes all the way back to 2019 during President Trump's first term and coincided with the Department of Justice launching an investigation into China's alleged theft of intellectual property.

Chinese officials have accused the US government of "economic bullying" and of using national security concerns as a pretext for "oppressing Chinese companies." The company's CFO Meng Wanzhou, whose father founded the company, was arrested and detained in Canada for three years on allegations that Huawei violated sanctions with Iran. Wanzhou was eventually released and the charges were dismissed.

The US government began restricting Huawei's access to American technology in 2019, citing security concerns. The company struggled to maintain its market share with these restrictions in place, but has since ramped up its own development of chips and related technologies. The company also shifted its focus to the Chinese market.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/us-judge-rules-huawei-must-answer-criminal-charges-about-alleged-iran-deal-161552940.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day typically brings great discounts on all sorts of electronics, but it’s a good idea to go for the expensive gear first. We consider robot vacuums to be in that category because, while there are solid affordable models available today, you’ll likely still spend at least $200 to get a robovac worth its salt.

These are some of the more expensive smart home gadgets you can get, but snagging them on discount during Prime Day can mean saving hundreds off the sticker price. Prime Day deals right now include some of our top picks for the best robot vacuums, slashing prices (in some cases) down to record lows. There are also some decent deals on cordless vacuums as well, if you prefer to invest in a vacuum with a bit more human control. These are the best Prime Day vacuum deals we could find that you can snag today.

Best Prime Day robot vacuum deals

Eufy 11S Max robot vacuum for $150 (46 percent off): A favorite budget robot vacuum of ours, the 11S Max has a slim profile that allows it to easily get other some furniture that other robovacs can't reach. It does a good job of sucking up dirt and debris, and even though it doesn't have Wi-Fi connectivity, it comes with a remote control that gives you most of the functions an app would have.

iRobot Roomba 104 Combo robot vacuum and mop for $250 (44 percent off): This combo machine will vacuum and mop on its own, plus it comes with an auto-empty base as well. That means it will automatically empty the dry debris it collects into the base after every cleaning job.

Shark AV2501S AI Ultra robot vacuum for $280 (49 percent off): A version of our favorite robot vacuum, this Shark machine has strong suction power and won't choke at the first sight of pet hair or big dust bunnies. Its self-emptying base is bagless as well, which means you won't have to buy propriety bags to refill it with over time. This auto-empty base has a 30-day capacity, but you can spend a bit more if you want a model with a 60-day capacity.

Roborock Q7 M5+ for $280 (35 percent off): This robovac has 10,000Pa suction power, LiDAR navigation, an anti-tangle brush design and Wi-Fi connectivity. It also comes with a self-cleaning base that can hold up to seven weeks of debris before it needs to be emptied.

Eufy E20 3-in-1 robot vacuum for $380 (42 percent off): One of Eufy's latest machines and a top pick of ours for the best robot vacuums, the E20 can putter around your home automatically, sucking up dirt and debris in its path. But then it can quickly transform into a cordless or handheld vacuum, allowing you to clean hard-to-reach spots manually.

iRobot Roomba Plus 405 for $400 (50 percent off): This newer Roomba model comes with a dock that both empties and refills its mopping reservoir and cleans its mop pad in between uses. In addition to mopping, this machine vacuums and supports smart mapping so you can better target where it should clean on a per-job basis.

Shark PowerDetect NeverTouch Pro robot vacuum and mop for $800 (33 percent off): This Shark machine is one of our favorites in part because it truly lives up to its name. Thanks to its self-emptying dock that handles vacuumed debris along with clean and dirty mopping water, you really don't have to touch the thing for at least 30 days in between cleanings. We found it to be a solid autonomous dirt sucker, and its mopping capabilities are quite good to match.

Best Prime Day vacuum deals

Levoit LVAC-300 cordless vacuum for $250 ($100 off): One of Levoit's newest cordless stick vacuums, the LVAC-300 has HEPA filtration, strong suction and an easily maneuverable design. Its single-button start makes it super easy to use, and you can choose from three power modes: Eco, Mid and Turbo. You'll get a maximum of 60 minutes of battery life, and it comes with a few attachments for cleaning furniture, car interiors and more.

Tineco Pure One Station Furfree cordless vacuum for $299 (63 percent off): This cordless vacuum has its own self-emptying base, and it comes with attachments to groom your pets. It has solid suction power and the built-in iLoop smart sensor automatically adjust suction power depending on the messes in its path.

Dyson V8 Plus cordless vacuum for $350 (26 percent off): This Dyson stick vacuum has 40 minutes of runtime, a lightweight design and two power modes to choose from. It comes with four attachments, including the Motorbar cleaner head that works on all floor types, and it can easily convert to a more compact handheld vacuum to take out to your car when it needs a cleaning.

Shark PowerDetect Clean & Empty cordless vacuum for $430 (28 percent off): Shark's cordless vacuums are just as good as their robot vacuums, and you can usually find them on sale for less than other major brands. This one has great suction power and a relatively lightweight design, but the fact that it comes with a self-emptying base makes it an ultra-convenient choice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-prime-day-robot-vacuum-deals-for-2025-140049036.html?src=rss

One of the trickiest parts of any new computer build or upgrade is finding the right video card. In a gaming PC, the GPU is easily the most important component, and you can hamstring your experience by buying the wrong model. The buying process can be frustrating, with many manufacturers selling their models above their suggested retail price. In this guide, we'll help you navigate the market and find the right GPU for your needs.

It's all about the games

The first question to ask yourself is what kind of games do you want to play. Competitive shooters like Valorant, Overwatch and Marvel Rivals were designed to run on older hardware. As such, even entry-level GPUs like the GeForce RTX 5060 can push those games at 120 frames per second and above at 1080p (more on why that's important in a moment).

By contrast, if you want to play modern, single-player games with ray tracing and other graphical extras, you'll need a more powerful GPU. Just how much more powerful will depend on the resolution of your monitor.

A 1440p monitor has 78 percent more pixels than a 1080p screen, and a 4K display has more than twice as many pixels as a QHD panel. In short, running a game at 4K, especially at anything above 60 frames per second, is demanding, and most GPUs will need to use upscaling techniques like NVIDIA's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) to push new games at high refresh rates.

While we're on the subject of resolution, it doesn't make sense to spend a lot of money on a 4K monitor only to pair it with an inexpensive GPU. That's a recipe for a bad experience. As you're shopping for a new video card, you should think about the resolution and frame rate you want to play your games. If you're in the market for both a GPU and display, be sure to check out our guide to the best gaming monitors.

If your budget allows, a good bet is to buy a midrange card that can comfortably render all but the most demanding games at 1440p and at least 144 frames per second. Put another way, you want a GPU that can saturate a monitor at its native resolution and refresh rate in as many games as possible. That will give you the smoothest possible experience in terms of motion clarity, and allow you to dabble in both competitive shooters and the latest single-player games as the mood strikes you.

NVIDIA vs AMD and Intel

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

One of the confusing aspects of the GPU industry are all the players involved. What you need to know is that there are three main players: AMD, Intel and NVIDIA. They design the cards you can buy, but delegate the manufacturing of them to so-called add-in board (AIB) partners like ASUS, XFX, Gigabyte and others.

As you can probably imagine, this creates some headaches. The most annoying of which is that AMD, Intel and NVIDIA will often set recommended prices for their graphic cards, only for their partners to sell their versions of those GPUs above the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP). For example, NVIDIA's website lists the RTX 5070 with a starting price of $549. On Newegg, there are no 5070s listed at that price. The only models anywhere close to $549 are open box specials. If you want one that comes sealed, that will cost you at least $600.

As for what company you should buy your new GPU from, before 2025, NVIDIA was the undisputed king of the market. Specific GeForce cards may have not offered the best rasterization performance in their price range, but between their performance in games with ray tracing and the fact NVIDIA was ahead on features like DLSS, an RTX GPU was a safe bet.

However, with this year's RTX 50 series release, other than models like the RTX 5080 and 5090 where there's no competition, it's safe to say NVIDIA missed the mark this generation. If you're in the market for an entry- or mid-level GPU, AMD and Intel offer better value, with cards that come with enough VRAM for now and into the future. That said, there are still a few reasons you might consider an NVIDIA GPU, starting with ray tracing.

Ray tracing

For decades, developers have used rasterization techniques to approximate how light behaves in the real world, and the results have been commendable. But if you know what to look for, it's easy to see where the illusion falls apart. For that reason, real-time ray tracing has been a goal of industry for years, and in 2018 it became a reality with NVIDIA's first RTX cards.

In some games, effects like ray-traced reflections and global illumination are transformational. Unfortunately, those features are expensive to run, often coming at a significant frame-rate drop without upscaling. Since ray tracing was optional in many games before 2025, you could save money by buying an AMD GPU. For example, even if the RX 7800 XT was worse at ray tracing than the RTX 4070, the former was often cheaper to buy, had more onboard VRAM and was as good or better rasterization performance in many games.

However, you can't ignore ray tracing performance anymore. We're starting to see releases like Doom: The Dark Ages where the tech is an integral part of a game's rendering pipeline, and more are likely to follow in the future. Thankfully, AMD's newest cards are much better in that regard, though you'll still get an edge running an NVIDIA model. For that reason, if ray tracing is important to you, NVIDIA cards are still the way to go.

Refresh rates and frame rates

If you're new to the world of PC gaming, it can be tricky to wrap your head around refresh rates. In short, the higher the refresh rate of a monitor, the more times it can update the image it displays on screen every second, thereby producing a smoother moving picture.

For example, moving elements on a monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate will look better than on one with a 120Hz refresh rate. However, that's all contingent on your GPU being able to consistently render a game at the appropriate frame rates. In the case of a 120Hz monitor, you want a GPU with enough headroom to drive most games at 120 fps. Realistically, most video cards won't be able to achieve that in every game, but it's a good baseline to aim for when shopping for a new GPU.

Upscaling and latency

I've mentioned DLSS a few times already. Alongside FSR and Intel XeSS, DLSS is an example of what's known as an image reconstruction technology. More and more, native rendering is going out of fashion in game design. With ray tracing and other modern effects enabled, even the most powerful GPUs can struggle to render a game at 1440p or 4K and a playable framerate. That’s why many developers will turn to DLSS, FSR or XeSS to eke out additional performance by upscaling a lower resolution image to QHD or UHD.

Upscaling in games is nothing new. For example, the PS4 Pro used a checkerboard technique to output games in 4K. What is different now is how modern GPUs go about it. With DLSS, NVIDIA pioneered an approach that uses machine learning to recreate an image at a higher resolution, and in the process, addressed some of the pitfalls of past upscaling methods. If you're sensitive to these sorts of things, there's still blur and shimmer with DLSS, FSR and XeSS, but it's much less pronounced and can lead to significant performance gains.

To DLSS, NVIDIA later added single and multi-frame generation. DLSS is only available on NVIDIA cards, and following the recent release of DLSS 4, widely considered to offer the best image quality. That's another reason why you might choose an NVIDIA card over one of its competitors. However, if you decide to go with an AMD GPU, don't feel like you're missing out. The company recently released FSR 4. While it's not quite on par with DLSS 4 in terms of support and image quality, it's a major leap over FSR 3 and FSR 2.

While on the subject of DLSS, I'll also mention NVIDIA Reflex. It's a latency-reducing technology NVIDIA introduced in 2020. AMD has its own version called Radeon Anti-Lag, but here again Team Green has a slight edge thanks to the recent release of Reflex 2. If you're serious about competitive games, Reflex 2 can significantly reduce input lag, which will make it easier to nail your shots in Counter-Strike 2, Valorant and other shooters.

Driver support

Previously, one of the reasons to pick an NVIDIA GPU over the competition was the company's solid track record of driver support. With one of the company's video cards, you were less likely to run into stability issues and games failing to launch. In 2025, NVIDIA's drivers have been abysmal, with people reporting frequent issues and bugs. So if you care about stability, AMD has a slight edge right now.

VRAM

As you're comparing different GPUs, especially those in the same tier, pay close attention to the amount of VRAM they offer. Modern games will eat up as much VRAM as a GPU can offer, and if your card has a low amount, such as 8GB, you're likely to run into a performance bottleneck.

If your budget allows for it, always go for the model with more VRAM. Consider, for instance, the difference between the $299 RTX 5060 and $429 RTX 5060 Ti. I know spending an extra $130 — close to 50 percent more — on the 5060 Ti is going to be a lot for some people, but it's the difference between a card that is barely adequate for any recent release and one that will last you for a few years, and it all comes down to the amount of VRAM offered in each. Simply put, more is better.

A slight caveat to this is when comparing models that have different memory bandwidths. A GPU that can access more of its memory faster can outperform one with more memory, even if it has less of it outright. Here, you'll want to read reviews of the models you're comparing to see how they perform in different games.

Size and power draw

Modern GPUs are big. Most new cards will take up at least two PCI slots on the back of your motherboard. They can also vary dramatically in length, depending on the number of fans the AIB has added to cool the PCB. To be safe, be sure to check the length of the card you want to buy against the maximum clearance listed by your case manufacturer. If you have a radiator at the front of your case, you will also need to factor the size of that in your measurements. The last thing you want is to buy a card that doesn't fit in your case.

Lastly, be sure to check the recommended power supply for the card you want. As a rule of thumb, unless you know what you're doing, it's best to just stick with the manufacturer's recommendation. For instance, NVIDIA suggests pairing the RTX 5070 with a 750 watt PSU. So if you're currently running a 650 watt unit, you'll need to factor in the price of a PSU upgrade with your new GPU.

Should you buy a used GPU?

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

It depends. If you can find a deal on an old RTX 40 series GPU, then yes. NVIDIA's RTX 50 series don't offer greatly improved performance over their predecessors, and with most models selling for more than their suggested retail price, it's not a great time to buy a new NVIDIA card.

That said, I suspect finding a good deal on a used GPU will be difficult. Most people will know the value of what they have, and considering the current market, will probably try to get as much as they can for their old card.

You may find better deals on older AMD and Intel GPUs, but I think you're better off spending more now on a new model from one of those companies since the generational gains offered by their latest cards are much more impressive. Simply put, the 9070 XT and B580 are two of the best cards you can buy right now.

Anything older than a card from NVIDIA's 40 series or AMD's RX 6000 family is not worth considering. Unless your budget is extremely tight or you mostly play older games, you're much better off spending more to buy a new card that will last you longer.

When is a good time to buy a new GPU?

If you've read up to this point, you're probably wondering if it's even worth buying a GPU right now. The answer is (unsurprisingly) complicated. There are a handful of great cards like the Intel B580 and Radeon 9070 XT that are absolutely worth buying. The problem is finding any GPU at prices approaching those set by AMD, Intel or NVIDIA is really tough. To make things worse, uncertainty around President Trump's tariff policies is likely to push prices even higher. If you own a relatively recent GPU, you're probably best off trying to hold onto your current card until things settle down.

However, if your GPU isn't cutting it anymore, you face a difficult decision: overpay now, or wait and potentially pay even more later. As much as I'm reluctant to recommend a prebuilt PC, if you're already planning to build a new computer, it's worth exploring your options there since you might end up saving money on a video card when it's bundled together with all the other components you need.

The best GPUs for 2025: Engadget recommendations

Entry-level (1080p) GPUs

As we mentioned above, if you're only aiming to play basic competitive shooters like Valorant and Overwatch 2 in 1080p, an entry-level GPU may be all you need. While 1080p isn't an ideal resolution when it comes to sharpness, many gamers prefer it since it's easier to reach higher framerates. And it also helps that 1080p gaming monitors, like the AOC 24G15N 24-inch we recommend, tend to offer speedy refresh rates for between $100 and $200. When you're zipping through matches, you likely won't have time to take a breath and appreciate the detail from higher resolutions.

Here are our recommendations for entry-level video cards.

Midrange (1440p) GPUs

While entry-level cards can dabble with 1440p gaming, it's worth stepping up to something a bit more powerful if you actually want to achieve higher refresh rates. For most gamers, 1440p is the best balance between sharpness and high framerates. It looks noticeably better than 1080p, and doesn't require the horsepower overhead of 4K. (And there's a good chance you won't really see a visual difference with the jump to 4K.)

Here are our recommendations for midrange GPUs.

High-end (4K) GPUs

If you want the most of what modern PC games have to offer, including 4K and all of the benefits of ray tracing, then be ready to spend big bucks on a high-end GPU. If you're going this route, though, be sure you're also gaming on a high-end monitor that befits these powerful GPUs.

Here are our recommendations for premium GPUs.

Super high-end/Money isn't real GPUs

Listen, there's only one choice here and it's NVIDIA's enormously powerful and fantastically expensive RTX 5090. It's an absolute beast, with 32GB of VRAM and the most hardware NVIDIA has ever stuffed into a consumer GeForce GPU. The RTX 5090 doesn't make sense for 99 percent of gamers — especially since it's now going for $3,000, up from its $2,000 launch price — but if you have the cash to spare, it'll certainly earn you bragging rights. (Check out our NVIDIA RTX 5090 review.)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/how-to-buy-a-gpu-160100017.html?src=rss

So you need a new laptop — you’ve waited for the right time. Amazon Prime Day 2025, as has been in years past, offers a ton of laptop deals to consider, even now in the lead-up to the event. All kinds of devices are on sale this year, from refreshed MacBooks to high-end Windows machines to already affordable notebooks. But sussing out a good deal from a just-ok deal (or even worse, a bad deal all together), can be a challenge. Laptop prices on Amazon are all over the place even when it’s not Prime Day depending on the configuration of the notebook, the brand, the seller and a bunch of other factors.

This is where Engadget can help. We’ve poured over the Prime Day laptop deals available this year to pick out the best ones you can get across all kinds of computers. As always, if you’re super particular about the display panel you want in your next laptop, or you know you want to get as much RAM as possible, we recommend going straight to manufacturers to customize your next PC. But if you’re willing to work with premade models, Prime Day deals could help you save some cash on your next laptop.

Prime Day laptop deals: MacBooks

Apple’s latest laptops are the MacBook Air M4 and the MacBook Pro M4, but the M3-powered machines are still available and great values when you can get them at steep discounts. But for the most future-proof options, we recommend going with the M4 MacBooks. Amazon actually has decent MacBook deals throughout the year, most of the time on the base configurations of any given model. In a welcomed update, Apple recently made all base models of the MacBook Air M4 have 16GB of RAM by default (which is the same as you’ll find on the base-level Pros).

• MacBook Air (15-inch, M4, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) for $1,049 ($150 off)

• MacBook Air (15-inch, M3, 24GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for $1,249 (26 percent off)

• MacBook Pro (14-inch, M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for $1,429 (11 percent off)

Prime Day laptop deals: Chromebooks

Most Chromebooks start off pretty affordable, so that just means you can get them for even less during an event like Prime Day. If you’re a Chrome OS lover, it’s also a decent time to check out sales on premium Chromebooks, which can usually cost $500 or more. In general, we recommend looking for at least 4 to 8GB of RAM and at least 128GB of SDD storage in a Chromebook that you plan on using as your daily driver.

• Google Pixelbook Go (13-inch, Intel Core M3) for $315 (51 percent off)

• HP Chromebook Plus x360 (14-inch, Intel Core i3, 8GB RAM, 128GB UFS) for $329 (45 percent off)

• Acer Chromebook Plus 514 (14-inch, Intel Core i3, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) for $323 (19 percent off)

Prime day laptop deals: Windows laptops

You’ve got a lot of variety to choose from when it comes to Windows laptops, and that can be a blessing or a curse. We recommend looking for a laptop from a reputable brand (i.e. Microsoft, Dell, Acer, Lenovo and others like them), and one that can handle daily work or play pressures. That means at least 8GB of RAM and 245GB of SSD storage, plus the latest Intel or AMD CPUs. If you’re looking for a new gaming laptop, you’ll need a bit more power and a dedicated graphics card to boot.

• Samsung Galaxy Book5 360 (15.6-inch, Intel Core Ultra 7, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for $1,100 ($250 off)

• Microsoft Surface Laptop (13.8-inch, Snapdragon X Plus) for $880 (27 percent off)

• Microsoft Surface Pro 2-in-1 (13-inch, Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD) for $900 (25 percent off)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-prime-day-laptop-deals-on-macbooks-chromebooks-windows-machines-and-more-130057037.html?src=rss

The so-called “Big, Beautiful Bill” will, if passed, make sweeping changes to the US’ clean energy market. While some of the worst provisions affecting the industry were stripped out during Senate proceedings earlier this week, it’s still pretty bad. In fact, the current language of the bill might as well be a middle figure to the domestic solar manufacturing industry.

As it stands, the bill guts many of the clean energy programs of Joe Biden's signature 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. That includes killing off incentives for domestic and utility-scale solar power as well as the Clean Electricity Production Credit. Even worse, the bill axes the Domestic Content bonus that incentivized the use of US-made gear.

There were a number of provisions that did not survive its journey through the Senate, like the excise tax on renewable energy. As CBS News reported, the levy would have imposed an additional charge on projects that used materials from foreign countries. As CNN explained, this would have cut renewable energy projects in favor of extending the life of coal and gas turbine plants.

Rob Gardner is Vice President of Congressional and Regulatory Affairs for SEMA, the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America coalition. He walked me through the bill, explaining the effects of the changes for the US solar industry. “A positive is that it maintains production tax credits for manufacturers of clean energy components,” he said.

One tweak from an earlier version of the bill was the speed at which the existing tax credits would be withdrawn. As it stands, projects that are already approved will qualify for the present regime, as will any project beginning construction before June 2026. “Basically, a year after enactment [companies have] to begin construction on utility-scale solar projects to receive the full amount of the credit,” said Gardner. And, according to § 70512 (4)(a) those plants will need to be “placed in service” no later than December 31, 2027.

The bigger issue, however, is that the bill creates “uncertainty for long-term demand for US products,” according to Gardner. Put simply, American-made solar panels are more expensive than their Chinese counterparts due to higher manufacturing costs. By removing the incentives, including the Domestic Content bonus, the US is opening the door for Chinese-made alternatives. Gardner added “after the tax credits that incentivize domestic production and consumption expire, you will see a flood of Chinese product [in the market.]”

The US's Environmental Information Administration projects that the US’ total domestic energy consumption will grow by almost two percent in the next year. A slowdown in new energy additions is the last thing the US needs, especially as renewables made up almost 90 percent of all new power generation capacity in 2024. But it’s likely that even with all of the changes in the bill, solar will remain the biggest technology used to implement new power generation capacity.

Abigail Ross Hopper, CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association pulls no punches in her statement. She said the bill “undermines the very foundation of America’s manufacturing comeback.” Hopper added that “families will face higher electric bills, factories will shut down, Americans will lose their jobs and our electric grid will grow weaker.”

Jason Grumet, CEO of the American Clean Power Association described the bill as a “step backward” for American energy policy and an “intentional effort” to undermine “one of the fastest-growing sources of electric power.”

Environmental groups also believe the bill’s passing marks a dark day in the world’s fight against climate change. Greenpeace USA Deputy Climate Program Director John Noël, said in a statement that “this is a vote that will live in infamy” for its role in “doling out fossil fuel industry handouts.”

Environmental Defense Fund’s Vice President for Political and Government Affairs Joanna Slaney agreed. She said that the bill is “effectively cutting off supply of cheap energy right when the US needs it most.” In contrast, the bill offers a “10-year reprieve from paying a fee on wasteful methane pollution,” a gas significantly more harmful than carbon dioxide to the environment.

Research by clean energy company Cleanview suggests the bill may jeopardize up to 600GW of new renewable energy capacity. This is because of the tight deadlines the bill imposes to qualify for the existing credits, which again, need to begin construction before June 2026. That 600GW figure includes solar farms and battery storage projects in California and Texas that would need to be rushed to get working.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/trumps-big-beautiful-bill-is-a-middle-finger-to-us-solar-energy-152042835.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day has been a summer mainstay for years at this point and this year is no exception. Prime Day will return on July 8 to July 11 this year, marking the first time the shopping event has been more than 48-hours long. That just means you’ll have more time to shop the deals, but really, you don't even have to wait until the official start date to save. Amazon typically always has early Prime Day deals in the lead-up to the event, and this year we’re already seeing some solid discounts on gadgets we like. Here, we’ve gathered all of the best Prime Day deals you can get right now, and we’ll keep updating this post as we get close to Prime Day proper.

Prime Day deals under $50

Audible Premium Plus (three months) for $3 ($42 off): New subscribers can get three months of Audible for only $3, which represents a $42 discount. The Premium Plus tier gives you one book credit per month to use on any audiobook the service has, and you can stream any of the included titles for free on top of that. Audible also has members-only sales and discounts that you'll be able to take advantage of, too. The deal runs through July 31.

Samsung SmartTag 2 for $18.50 (38 percent off): Samsung users looking to keep track of their stuff need look no further than the SmartTag 2. One of our top picks for the best Bluetooth trackers, this accessory easily attaches to keys, bags and other items and uses Samsung's large finding network to show you their last known location.

Jisulife Life7 handheld fan for $25 (15 percent off): Jisulife makes handheld fans we've recommended in past gift guides and this is one of its newer models. It can be held, folded so it sits flat on a table or worn around your neck for a cool breeze wherever you're going. It has an easy-to-read display in its center that will show you the fan speed level or current battery life, and its 5,000 mAh battery can last up to 19.5 hours on a single charge when you're running the fan on its lowest setting.

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K for $25 (50 percent off): This is the cheapest Fire TV Stick you can get to stream 4K content, plus it has support for Wi-Fi 6 and Dolby Vision and Atmos. With its live picture-in-picture feature, you can view security camera feeds right on your TV while you’re watching your favorite show or movie.

Amazon Echo Spot for $45 (44 percent off): Amazon revived the Spot smart alarm clock last year, which features a half-circle shaped display that shows the time, weather and other information like song titles when you're using the speaker to play music. It has a compact design that will make it easy to fit on a desk or a nightstand, and as with any Alexa smart speaker, you can use it to control IoT devices like smart lights, locks and more.

Blink Outdoor 4 (one camera system) for $45 (55 percent off): These security cameras are some of our favorites, and you can start building a system for your home with this pack that includes one Outdoor 4 camera and one Sync Module 2. These Blink cameras record 1080p video, support two-way talk and deliver speedy and accurate motion alerts to your phone. You don't need a subscription to save footage either; just use a thumb drive with the Sync Module 2 to save clips locally.

Prime Day Apple deals

AirPods Max (USB-C) for $480 ($70 off): If you’re looking for over-ear headphones with all of the conveniences of in-ear AirPods, the AirPods Max are one of your only options (with the others being Beats devices). The latest models have the same design as the originals, but now charge up via USB-C instead of Lightning.

AirPods Pro 2 for $199 (20 percent off): The AirPods Pro 2 remain Apple’s best set of wireless earbuds, as they offer the full set of Apple-focused features, strong ANC, onboard volume controls, a comfy in-ear design and a warm sound profile that most should find agreeable. They can even work as a hearing aid. Their six-hour battery life still isn’t the best, though, and you should only get them if you’re all-in on Apple hardware. But if that’s the case, we consider them the best wireless earbuds for iPhone owners.

Apple Watch Series 10 for $299 ($100 off): We consider Apple’s flagship wearable to be the best smartwatch you can buy, period. It's a mostly iterative update, with faster charging, a slightly slimmer design and a marginally larger display than the prior Series 9. That said, it's still a comprehensive fitness tracker, and no other smartwatch can integrate as neatly with iPhones and other Apple devices.

Apple MacBook Air (13-inch, M4) for $849 (15 percent off): Apple continues to iterate on its most affordable laptop, and the M4 is the best Air yet. We consider this to be the best laptop for most people, thanks to its excellent performance, thing-and-light design, comfortable keyboard and trackpad and excellent battery life.

Apple AirTags (4-pack) for $75 ($24 off): AirTags are famous for their ability to keep track of anything you attach them to. We named them the best Bluetooth trackers for iPhone users in our guide thanks to the AirTags’ almost spooky ability to locate items in the world at large. If you just need a single tag, that’s on sale too.

Prime Day laptop deals

Microsoft Surface Laptop (13.8-inch, Snapdragon X Plus) for $880 (27 percent off): In addition to running on a Snapdragon X Plus processor, this 2024 Surface Laptop has 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD. It's a Copilot+ PC that also has a 13.8-inch touchscreen, and it should last up to 20 hours on a single charge.

Google Pixelbook Go (13-inch, Intel Core M3) for $315 (51 percent off): The Pixelbook Go is a bit old at this point, but if you're a Chrome OS lover and want a Google-made laptop, this is a solid option. It includes an Intel Core M3 processor, 8GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and a 12-hour battery life.

Prime Day smartphone deals

Samsung Galaxy S25+ for $800 ($200 off): One of Samsung's latest flagships, the S25+ has a triple rear camera system, a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, a 4900 mAh battery and a bunch of AI features.

Moto G Play (2024) for $130 (13 percent off): This budget-friendly smartphone packs a lot of value into its 6.5-inch frame. Its LCD screen is surprisingly sharp with a 90Hz refresh rate, its design is IP52-rated for water- and dust-resistance and it comes with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage (the latter of which you can expand with a microSD card if you wish).

Prime Day tech deals

Instant Pot Duo Plus 9-in-1 multicooker for $70 (50 percent off): This six-quart pressure cooker and multicooker is a versatile kitchen tool for anyone who (somehow) didn't buy into the Instant Pot craze a few years back. It can do a lot with its nine cooking modes, including pressure cook, slow cook, steam, rice cook, saute and more, and the six-quart size is great for families and meal-preppers.

Ninja Dual-Zone air fryer (10 quart) for $180 ($50 off): This model is one of our favorite air fryers thanks to its dual-zone cooking system, which allows you to prepare two separate foods at different temperatures and settings. There's even a Match Cook feature that ensures both foods will be done at the same time, regardless of their cooking settings.

Levoit Core 400S air purifier for $183 ($37 off): Our top pick for the best air purifier, Levoit's Core 400S reliably improved air quality in our testing, plus it has easy to use onboard controls and replaceable filters that are not too expensive. We also found it to not be offensively loud, even on its highest setting.

TP-Link Deco XE75 Wi-Fi 6E mesh system for $250 (29 percent off): Our top pick for the best mesh Wi-Fi system, this Deco XE75 three-pack is easy to set up and provides excellent performance with no-frills. The Deco mobile app lets you check speeds for each node, and you can see all of the devices on your network at any time.

iRobot Roomba Vacuum and Mop Combo for $140 (49 percent off): A version of one of our top favorite robot vacuums, this budget-friendly machine comes with a water reservoir that allows it to mop hard floors. It connects via Wi-Fi to the iRobot app as well, which lets you set cleaning schedules and further control the machine.

Eufy 11S Max robot vacuum for $150 (46 percent off): A favorite budget robot vacuum of ours, the 11S Max has a slim profile that allows it to easily get other some furniture that other robovacs can't reach. It does a good job of sucking up dirt and debris, and even though it doesn't have Wi-Fi connectivity, it comes with a remote control that gives you most of the functions an app would have.

Eufy E20 3-in-1 robot vacuum for $380 (42 percent off): One of Eufy's latest machines and a top pick of ours for the best robot vacuums, the E20 can putter around your home automatically, sucking up dirt and debris in its path. But then it can quickly transform into a cordless or handheld vacuum, allowing you to clean hard-to-reach spots manually.

Ring Doorbell Battery + Indoor Cam 2 for $70 (50 percent off): If you're looking to build out a security system in your home, this bundle is a good place to start, giving you a video doorbell and an indoor security camera. You'll be able to see both live feeds in the Ring app, and they can send you motion alerts and let you speak to people on the other end of the camera when you're not at home.

Amazon Fire TV soundbar for $85 (29 percent off, Prime exclusive): Amazon's soundbar supports Dolby Audio and DTS Virtual:X, and it measures just 24-inches long so it should be able to fit into even the most cramped TV setups. It also supports Bluetooth audio, so you can play music from it when you're not using it with your TV.

Amazon Fire TV Cube for $90 ($50 off): Amazon's most powerful streaming device, the Fire TV Cube can play 4K video with Dolby Vision and HDR10+, plus it supports Wi-Fi 6E and has a built-in Ethernet port for those who want a hardwired connection.

Blink Outdoor 4 security cameras (five-camera system) for $160 (60 percent off): Get enough security cameras to outfit most of your home with this bundle. The Outdoor 4 cams are some of our favorites; you can use them indoors or outdoors, they supports 1080p video, motion alerts, local video storage when you employ a thumb drive with the Sync Module 2 that comes with the pack and they're totally wireless, running on two AA batteries each.

Amazon 55-inch Omni mini-LED Fire smart TV for $700 ($120 off): A top-of-the-line model in the Fire TV family, this set has a 4K QLED mini-LED display with 1,400 nits of peak brightness and "intelligence picture" technology that adapts the screen to your room's lighting conditions. It also has a 144Hz refresh rate and support for AMD FreeSync.

What is Prime Day?

Prime Day is Amazon's members-only shopping event, which means you’ll have to be a Prime subscriber on Prime Day to take advantage of most of the savings. Amazon still offers a 30-day free trial to new Prime subscribers, so you can start your free trial closer to July and participate in the event.

When is Prime Day 2025?

Amazon Prime Day 2025 will be back this year on July 8 through July 11.

How often is Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day typically comes around annually in July. In the last few years, Amazon has also had its "Big Deal Days" in October, which is effectively a second Prime Day and the unofficial kickoff to the holiday shopping season.

How does Prime Day work?

Prime subscribers can go to Amazon's site on Prime Day to see all of the exclusive deals they have access to. Prime subscribers do not have to do anything additional to get Prime Day sales: the discounts you see on product pages will show up in your cart automatically. If you're not a Prime subscriber and you go to Amazon to shop on Prime Day, you'll likely see tons of items on sale but only "with Prime;" those discounts will not be available to those who are not active Prime subscribers.

Is Prime Day only for Prime members?

Technically yes, but even if you do not pay for a Prime membership, you should still check out Amazon on Prime Day. While most Prime Day deals will be exclusively available to subscribers, there are always a handful of sales available to all shoppers. Amazon distinguishes between them very clearly: you'll see "Prime exclusive" on product pages near the deal pricing on the discounts that are only available to paying members.

Separately, it’s very likely that other retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy will have their own competing Prime Day sales during that time frame, too. So if you're not keen on shopping at Amazon at all, it's worth checking out other retailers during the week of Prime Day to see if they are matching Prime Day deal prices.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-prime-day-2025-the-best-early-deals-already-live-dates-and-everything-else-you-need-to-know-120028472.html?src=rss

At the start of last year, Crunchyroll President Rahul Purini told The Verge the company was "very focused on testing" generative AI tools for subtitling and captioning speech to text. The comment came just months after the streamer temporarily took down the debut episode of one of its newest shows, The Yuzuki Family's Four Sons, after people complained about poor subtitles. 

Much of the translation was nonsensical, with missing punctuation in many sentences. At the time, some fans speculated the company had used AI to translate the episode. Now there appears to be definitive proof Crunchyroll is using ChatGPT to translate new anime episodes, and the results are about as bad as you would expect.

Igor Bonifacic for Engadget

On July 1, Bluesky user Pixel spotted an issue with the German subtitles for Necronomico and the Cosmic Horror Show, one of the new series Crunchyroll is streaming this anime season. Beyond a general sloppiness, one line began with the words "ChatGPT said..." during a pivotal scene in the show's debut episode. Engadget was able to independently verify the episode contains the AI-generated translation. If you're curious, the English subtitles aren't much better, as seen in the screenshots above and below.

Crunchyroll did not immediately respond to Engadget's comment request. 

People are understandably upset about the subtitles. Crunchyroll subscriptions start at $8 per month, and since its acquisition by Sony, the service is the dominant player outside of Japan. "This is not acceptable. How can we be expected to pay for a service that clearly doesn't care about the quality of its products?" wrote Pixel in their original post. As of the writing of this article, their post has been quoted more than 300 times and reposted by thousands of other people. Many fans say they're turning to torrented fansubs, calling the official AI-generated translations "unwatchable." People on Reddit have expressed similar frustrations.

Crunchyroll

Ironically, when Purini revealed Crunchyroll was testing generative AI tools for subtitles, he said part of the motivation was to prevent piracy. He reasoned the tech would allow the company to start streaming new, translated anime episodes as close to their original Japanese release as possible, adding the lag between official releases was sometimes what pushed fans to torrent shows.       

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/crunchyrolls-lazy-ai-subtitles-have-anime-fans-furious-145621722.html?src=rss

You won’t typically find discounts on Apple’s own website — but that doesn’t mean you have to pay full price for a new iPad or pair of AirPods. Especially since Amazon’s July sale is almost here. While it doesn't officially start until next Tuesday, we've already found a few compelling Prime Day Apple deals. Some of the Apple devices we recommend, like the new iPad, the Apple Watch Series 10 and the latest MacBook Air are already on sale with savings from $50 to a couple hundred dollars. Of course, prices may dip lower when the sale officially kicks off on July 8, but for now, these are the best Prime Day deals on Apple gear. And to help you out, we linked out to our reviews of each product so you can read up before you buy.

Best Prime Day iPad deals

Apple iPad Pro (11-inch, M4) for $899 ($100 off): We named the iPad Pro the best tablet money can buy. The screen is one of the best we’ve seen and Apple somehow managed to make the Pro model lighter than Air models. If you plan on handling heavy productivity — video rendering and editing, machine learning apps and the like, this is the way to go.

Apple iPad Pro (13-inch, M4) for $1,099 ($200 off): The larger iPad pro is the ultimate laptop replacer. The M4 chip is faster than many computers out there but the thin and light design makes it super portable. The battery life will last through a whole day of work and more (we clocked over 10 hours of use in our review) and the screen is brilliant. Our only real complaint is the price, and this Prime Day helps at least a little.

Apple iPad Mini (A17 Pro) for $399 ($100 off): Apple’s smallest iPad earned an 83 review score from us when it came out late last year. Despite its compact size, it’s still a fully-featured iPad, with support for accessories and a laminated, anti-reflective screen. It’s not a laptop-replacer, but rather the perfect couch companion, handling games, video, web browsing and email triage.

Best Prime Day AirPod deals

AirPods Max (USB-C) for $480 ($69 off): Apple’s only over-ear headphones are due for an update. The company outfitted the AirPods Max with a USB-C port late last year, but the internals haven’t had an overhaul since 2020. Still, we named them the best (and only) over-earn AirPods. They are comfortable and relatively lightweight, have a balanced sound and the noise cancellation is solid.

Best Prime Day Apple Watch deals

Apple Watch Series 10 for $299 ($100 off): Apple only announced one new smartwatch last September and this is it. It’s a little wider than the Series 9, but thanks to a slimmer design, it doesn’t feel clunky. The health and fitness tracking is still better than most smartwatches out there and the integration with an iPhone is seamless. There’s a reason it’s our favorite smartwatch overall.

Best Prime Day MacBook deals

MacBook Air (M4, 15-inch) for $1,049 ($150 off): If you want a little more screen real estate, go for the 15-inch Air. Devindra found the screen more immersive than the smaller model, and only slightly less portable. The slightly larger battery gave it a few more minutes of life. Whichever size you go for, the MacBook Air will be able to handle all but the most demanding rendering tasks without breaking a sweat.

MacBook Air (15-inch, M3, 24GB RAM) for $1,249 ($450 off): This higher-specced version of the M3 MacBook Air from last year has a 15-inch screen and a little extra internal memory. We gave the 15-inch model a score of 90 in our review when it came out in early 2024. Outside of its older M3 chip (which is still plenty fast for everyday use), marginally improved camera and inability to power two external displays with the lid open, this MacBook is virtually identical to the M4 version.

Best Prime Day deals on Apple accessories

Apple Pencil Pro for $99 ($30 off): Apple announced the Pro version of its pencil at the same time as the iPad Pro with the M4 chip. It adds haptic feedback, squeeze gestures and roll capabilities to the usual stylus tricks. It works with the newest iPad Pro, Air and Mini models.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-prime-day-apple-deals-on-ipads-airpods-apple-watches-and-more-150005194.html?src=rss

Tesla says it delivered 384,122 electric vehicles in the April-June timeframe, which is a 14 percent drop compared with the same period in 2024. It's also the second quarter in a row that sales have fallen year-over-year (YoY).

The company produced 410,244 vehicles in Q2, which is very close to the 410,831 it made during the equivalent period last year. However, the company delivered more vehicles (443,956) than it produced in Q2 2024. That's not the case this time. The number of vehicle deliveries in Q2 2025 plummeted by nearly 60,000 YoY.

The line has been trending downwards for a while now. The company saw a dip in annual deliveries for the first time in 2024. For the first quarter of 2025, Tesla reported 336,681 deliveries, which is a drop of 13 percent from the same three-month period in 2024.

Multiple reports over the last several months suggested that Tesla sales had been falling in several markets. CEO Elon Musk reportedly fired Tesla's head of manufacturing and operations, Omead Afshar, last week as the numbers continued to sink.

Various factors have played a hand in Tesla's declining sales numbers. For one thing, the company (which is focusing more on autonomous driving efforts such as the Robotaxi) is facing tougher competition, particularly from Chinese manufacturers that are making less-expensive models.

And then there's the Musk factor. So much of Tesla's success has been pegged to the public persona of its chief executive. But there's been a significant backlash against Musk in recent years, particularly after he became a major financial backer and advisor to President Donald Trump during the 2024 election campaign. After Trump's inauguration, Musk became the head of the administration's Department of Government Efficiency program, adopting a similar slash-and-burn approach to cost-cutting within the government to the one he undertook at X. Musk formally left his government role in May.

In recent weeks, Musk has become an ardent critic of the Trump administration's major tax and spending bill. The proposed legislation — which is no longer officially called The One Big Beautiful Bill Act — passed the Senate on Tuesday and is set for another House vote. The bill includes provisions that could harm Musk's businesses, such as removing incentives for consumers to buy EVs. Trump has threatened to end contracts that Musk's companies have with the government amid a spat between the two men.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/tesla-deliveries-drop-14-percent-amid-musk-backlash-141638753.html?src=rss

Prime Day 2025 will be here in a few days, but the sales are already starting to trickle in. Some of our favorite tech, including the TP-Link Deco AXE5400 WI-Fi mesh router system and the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max have already dropped in price. Now, a bunch more Amazon devices have been discounted, too.

One of the best deals is on the Echo Spot smart alarm clock, which you can pick up for only $45. That's 44 percent off its usual price and a new record-low for the gadget. The deal is available on each of the color options: Black, Glacier White and Ocean Blue, and is currently only available for Prime members.

Amazon launched the new Echo Spot in 2024, five years after it canned an initial iteration. It's not too different than its predecessor, though its front is split between a screen and a speaker. Amazon also got rid of its camera, which made some people uncomfortable for a bedside table device. Of course, it offers Alexa integration so you can use the voice assistant for everything from getting the time to playing music. That includes controlling smart home devices as well, and you can even pick up the Echo Spot bundled with an Amazon Basics smart light bulb for an extra $5.

Elsewhere in the Amazon devices ecosystem, more smart speakers have received discounts. The Echo Dot is 36 percent off and down to $32, while the Echo Pop is 45 percent off and down to $22 for Prime members only. Neither of those are record-low prices, but they are the best discounts we've seen in 2025 so far.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-amazon-echo-spot-drops-to-a-record-low-price-for-prime-day-133212751.html?src=rss

Amazon Prime Day is around the corner, but there are plenty of great deals to be found before the July 8 to 11 event. Right now you can pick up the Apple Watch 10 for $100 off its normal price. That’s the lowest we’ve ever seen it, and trust us, 25 percent off on current-generation Apple products is not easy to come by.

It’s hard to believe that the Apple Watch is already ten years old. It seems like only yesterday that we got our hands on the first generation, and now the Apple Watch Series 10 is counting the days until the next generation is announced. Whether you’re looking to upgrade from an older Apple Watch or this is your first time buying an Apple smartwatch (though keep in mind an iPhone is required to use an Apple Watch), this sale is a great opportunity to pick one up at a fantastic value.

The tenth generation of the Apple Watch represents a powerhouse of computing on your wrist. In our hands-on review, we loved the comprehensive health and fitness tracking capabilities on the watch, which has been a strong niche for Apple. We were sad to see the blood oxygen app removed following a patent dispute, but features like fall detection and sleep apnea tracking are still intact. It’s also the thinnest Apple Watch yet, feeling more like a slim accessory than a bulky gadget. We gave the Apple Watch 10 a score of 90 out of 100, and it remains our top pick for best smartwatch.

If you're looking to send less, consider the Apple Watch SE. You can grab one for only $169 right now, or 32 percent off its usual price. It doesn't have all the bells, whistles and extra sensors that the Series 10 does, but you'll still get the core Apple Watch experience with excellent activity tracking, heart rate monitoring, smart alerts and more.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/prime-day-deals-include-the-apple-watch-series-10-for-100-off-152348155.html?src=rss

MethaneSAT, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) methane-tracking satellite backed by the Bezos Earth Fund, is lost in space. Its ground team lost contact with the spacecraft on June 20 but tried to reestablish a connection until it learned in the morning of July 1 that MethaneSAT had lost power altogether. The team believes that the satellite is likely not recoverable. MethaneSAT collected data on methane emissions that have previously been untrackable in an effort to combat climate change. Methane is the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide, with agriculture, fossil fuels and waste decomposition being the largest sources. 

In its announcement, the MethaneSAT team said that the spacecraft's observations have given us critical insight about the distribution and volume of methane being released from oil and gas production regions. Thanks to the satellite, scientists have also developed the capability to "interpret the measurements from space and translate them into volumes of methane released." That knowledge can be used in future missions. 

EDF developed the mission, which launched in March 2024, to hold the countries who previously pledged to slash their methane emissions accountable. It created Google Cloud-powered algorithms to calculate and monitor methane emitted in certain regions with held from Harvard and Smithsonian scientists. While the satellite itself is gone, the MethaneSAT team vowed to work with other scientists to leverage the algorithms and software developed for the project. The team will also continue processing the data the satellite had sent back. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/bezos-funded-satellite-tracking-methane-emissions-loses-power-in-space-130034666.html?src=rss

It's that time of year again when Amazon is hosting deals on everything from wireless earbuds to air fryers. Starting July 8, Prime Day will run for four days with deep price cuts on smart home gadgets, including the Roomba Robot Vacuum and Mop Combo from iRobot that drops down to an all-time low of $140 from its original $275 price tag. While this Roomba was marked down to $149 earlier this year, the Prime Day deal is the first time we're seeing a 49 percent discount. Just note that this deal is only for Prime members at the moment.

We ranked iRobot's Roomba Robot Vacuum as our overall favorite budget option, but this Prime Day deal features a version that can both vacuum and mop. With the Prime Day price drop, the vacuum and mop combo is cheaper than the vacuum-only model, but it does double the work. The combo Roomba can even be set to only vacuum if you prefer to mop yourself, but you'd be missing out on the four-stage cleaning system that vacuums and mops in the same pass.

Since it's a Roomba, it's a straightforward setup process that takes a few minutes before you can set it and forget it. The robot vacuum can navigate through your house or apartment, avoiding furniture and stairs, thanks to onboard sensors. Once it drains through its battery, which can last up to 120 hours, the Roomba knows to return to its charging dock to recharge itself. You can even customize this combo Roomba with three levels of both suction power for vacuuming and water levels for mopping. For more control, you can program it to spot clean a single spot in your home or schedule cleaning times through the companion iRobot Home app.

A number of other iRobot machines are on sale for Prime Day as well. That includes the Roomba 104 with auto-empty dock for 44 percent off, down to $250, and the premium Roomba j9+ for 36 percent off, down to $579.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-roomba-combo-robot-vacuum-and-mop-is-nearly-half-off-for-prime-day-141013068.html?src=rss

Paramount has agreed to pay $16 million to settle its lawsuit with Donald Trump filed during the 2020 presidential campaign, according toThe Washington Post. The deal is controversial as legal experts said Paramount had a strong chance of prevailing in court and may have settled to smooth the path for its $2.4 billion Skydance merger. 

Paramount said the $16 million would be allocated to Trump's future presidential library and not paid to him "directly or indirectly." In addition, it "does not include a statement of apology or regret," according to the media company. 

Trump filed the lawsuit over a CBS interview with Kamala Harris that aired in October, initially demanding $10 billion and an apology. The network said it edited one of her answers for time (about Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanhau), but Trump's attorney alleged that CBS intended to "confuse, deceive and mislead the public" by leaving out her full comments. Several legal experts called the lawsuit "frivolous and dangerous," as CBS didn't report any factual inaccuracies and the First Amendment gives media companies wide leeway in presenting information. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reviewing the Skydance merger has said that its approval wasn't linked to Trump's lawsuit. However, some Paramount executives saw the complaint as an obstacle to completing the deal, according to The New York Times, and the settlement was championed by Paramount's board chair, Shari Redstone. Inside CBS's newsroom, it was seen by some employees as a low point for a network with a storied history in news and investigative reporting. 

Paramount has struggled financially after investing billions into its streaming service, Paramount+, which has yet to turn a profit. Under Skydance owner and new CEO David Ellison, the company plans to rebuild its streaming technology while reducing costs and improving efficiency. That won't happen until the merger is final, though, and the delay is reportedly also holding back the development of key franchises like Star Trek.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/paramount-pays-trump-16-million-to-settle-harris-lawsuit-124505902.html?src=rss

We now know that the 2025 edition of Amazon's blockbuster Prime Day sales event will start on July 8, and it's set to be bigger than ever as it will run for four days. But you don't need to wait until then for tasty deals. There will be plenty in the lead up to the event, including this one for the Levoit Core 400S air purifier. At $183, the device is $37 off. It's not quite the lowest price we've seen for this model. However, it's not too far off that mark of $176.

The Levoit Core 400S is our current pick for the best air purifier overall. Sure, it might not have the prettiest design of all the options we have tested and the companion app might have a little too much going on. But the Core 400S does its job and does it well.

This smart air purifier is slated to clean the atmosphere in spaces of up to 1,733 square feet in as little as one hour. The Core 400S has a cylindrical shape with vents at the top and a touch display that shows air quality readings. You'll be able to get a sense of the current air quality in your space at a glance with a color-changing ring that will light up in blue, green, orange or red. The 360-degree filtration system is said to be capable of capturing over 99.9 percent of pollutants as small as 0.3 microns, such as dust, pet dander and pollen.

There is an auto mode that should suffice for maintaining air quality, but the Core 400S is compatible with Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls too. The fan isn't too loud, even when it's operating at maximum speed — the volume topped out at 62dB in our testing.

Meanwhile, at $50 each, the air filter replacements aren't too expensive compared with those from many of Levoit's competitors. You can also find other Levoit Prime Day deals on Amazon right now that include more air purifiers, cordless vacuums and more.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/our-favorite-air-purifier-is-37-off-for-prime-day-143224984.html?src=rss

SoftBank's $6.5 billion acquisition of AI-chip designer Ampere is facing an in-depth US government probe that may delay the deal, according to Bloomberg. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has opened a so-called second request for information, a relatively rare investigation that can go on for more than a year or even lead to a lawsuit blocking it, according to people familiar with the matter. Neither SoftBank nor Ampere have commented on the matter.

Japan's SoftBank, headed by Masayoshi Son, already owns chip designer Arm following a $32 billion acquisition in 2016. Ampere, founded in 2018 with a focus on cloud-native computing, recently moved strongly into AI chip design — so SoftBank is betting that the company will bolster's Arm's research and development in that area. Under the deal, Santa Clara-based Ampere would would keep its name and run as a wholly-owned subsidiary. 

If the deal goes through, SoftBank will own Arm, UK chip designer Graphcore Ltd. and Ampere, all key players in the AI space. The FTC may therefore be probing the deal as a potential antitrust issue. SoftBank's attempt to sell Arm to NVIDIA was eventually abandoned for similar reasons. The AI space has also become politicized with projects like Stargate, which heavily involves SoftBank as well. 

SoftBank has battled some headwinds of late. Stargate has been facing delays due to US tariffs and its Arm division is battling Qualcomm over chip licenses and antitrust complains in Europe, the US and South Korea. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/softbanks-acquisition-of-ai-chip-designer-ampere-may-be-facing-an-ftc-probe-120006145.html?src=rss

Choosing the best laptop can be a bit of a challenge — there are so many models, sizes and specs out there that it’s easy to feel lost in the shuffle. But the good news is that modern laptops are better than ever. Whether you're looking for a powerful AI PC, a travel-ready ultrabook or an affordable machine that can handle everyday tasks, there's something out there for everyone. Today’s systems combine improved performance, longer battery life and smarter features in sleek, lightweight designs that are built to keep up with work, play and everything in between.

Out of all of the notebooks we've tested and reviewed recently, we consider Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air M4 to be the best laptop for most people, and this is still the case for our top picks to start off the new year. It's powerful enough to handle most tasks (even light video editing); it has a great screen and built-in speakers; and its battery could last over 18hours (depending on what you're doing, of course). The MacBook Air M4 is also one of the lightest and thinnest systems we've reviewed, and it's dead silent, thanks to a fanless design.

Of course, not everyone wants a MacBook, and there are excellent Windows laptops and Chromebooks out there, too. Windows systems offer a range of configurations, from budget to high-end UHD screens with stunning IPS panels that boast high nits for vivid brightness. Chromebooks, on the other hand, tend to be more affordable and are great for users who mostly work online. Whether you need a powerhouse for creative work, a compact system for note-taking, or a laptop that can handle family movie night, there’s something for everyone in today’s laptop market.

Table of contents

• Best laptops of 2025

• How we test and pick laptops

• Factors to consider when choosing a laptop

• Best laptops specs comparison chart

• Other laptops we’ve tested

• Laptop FAQs

• Recent updates

Best laptops of 2025

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How we test laptops

Engadget has been reviewing laptops for two decades, and while the definition of what a portable PC is has changed considerably since, our obsession with testing their limits and serving up informative buying advice remains the same. Be it a hybrid tablet like Microsoft's Surface machines, a rotating 2-in-1 convertible like HP's Spectre x360s or a plain old clamshell notebook, our review process follows similar beats. How does it look and feel? How fast is it? Whether it’s a Windows device powered by an Intel Core i5 or higher, a MacBook or a Chromebook, we aim to answer the most important question: Is it actually worth your hard-earned cash? We also pay close attention to portability, webcam quality and display features, including IPS panels and nits of brightness, as they can make a big difference in daily use.

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Factors to consider when choosing a laptop

Price

You can expect to spend between $1,000 and $1,800 for a new laptop these days, depending on the configuration. If you're looking for more of a workhorse, that could cost you well over $2,000 for additional RAM, storage, as well as a beefier graphics card and CPU. But you can also find some good laptops under $1,000 if you're willing to overlook build quality (or buy a refurbished or previous generation machine, which we highly recommend). Systems with AMD chips tend to come in cheaper than their Intel counterparts, but the bulk of their cost will come down to other components like RAM and storage.

I’ve included our favorite affordable model in this best laptop buying guide, but we have a list of the best budget laptops that you can check out as well.

Operating system: Apple, Windows or Chrome OS

There's a good chance you've already committed to an operating system, but my advice is to be as flexible as possible. These days, most major software is compatible with both Macs and PCs. (Of course, it's another story if you've become dependent on an Apple-only app like Final Cut Pro.) Web-based apps, naturally, will work on any platform with an internet browser.

If you're an Apple-loyalist, there aren't many reasons to consider Windows laptops (unless you want a secondary gaming machine). But for Windows users, macOS is becoming more tempting every year. Apple's MacBooks, powered by its M-series Silicon chips, are among the fastest and most efficient laptops we've ever seen. They're incredibly well-built and have outstanding battery life to boot. MacOS itself is also an easy platform to learn, especially if you're used to iOS and iPadOS.

That brings up another point: iPhone users may want to consider Macs because of the seamless integration with Apple's other platforms. You can't respond to iMessage conversations easily or hop into FaceTime chats on Windows PCs, but doing so is simple on Macs. (Microsoft's Phone Link app lets you send iOS users individual texts, but not media or group chats.) Android users, meanwhile, may be better off with Windows, as Phone Link can make calls, synchronize all your texts and also access your phone's photos.

If cloud gaming is your priority, Windows laptops with NVIDIA’s GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming compatibility may offer more flexibility and decent performance, especially when paired with fast internet speeds. Chromebooks also make a compelling case here as an affordable, lightweight solution for casual cloud gaming sessions.

As for whether you’ll want a PC with a dedicated Copilot AI button on the keyboard, that depends on how often you see yourself using Microsoft’s generative tools. Given we’re only just seeing the first slate of AI PCs, it would be wiser to wait out the hype and see what improvements might come over time.

And what about ChromeOS? Chromebooks are a smart and (typically) inexpensive way to do things like web browsing and hopping on a few video chats, but for most, they're not the best choice as a primary computer. There aren't many apps or games that work offline, and they also don't work with powerful software suites like Adobe's (you can use the stripped-down Adobe Express and Photoshop online tools, though).

Chromebooks are great secondary machines to use alongside a more powerful Mac or PC, and they're popular in schools because they're cheap and easy for IT workers to manage. And if all you need is web browsing access, or a notebook for a kid, a Chromebook might be enough.

If, for some reason, you’re looking for a powerful ChromeOS system, there are also Chromebook Plus models to consider. These machines sport faster processors and more RAM than typical Google notebooks, and they can also tap into a few of the company’s online AI features, like AI image generation and photo processing.

Ports and connectivity

These days, most laptops ship with a few USB-C ports, which can handle both charging and speedy data transfers. Apple's MacBooks also include a separate connection for MagSafe power, and you'll find custom power connections on some PCs like Microsoft's Surface. Older USB Type-A connections are less common now, but they still pop up in systems like HP's Spectre x360 14, as well as many models from ASUS.

For gamers or creators who rely on discrete graphics, ensuring your laptop has the right ports for external monitors or GPUs is crucial. DisplayPort or HDMI connections can also ensure you’re ready for dual- or multi-screen setups for more immersive experiences. Similarly, if you want to save high-resolution files or install multiple games, you might need to consider additional hard drive space; external hard drives are pretty affordable, as long as you have a proper port to connect them.

If you're a fan of wired headphones, it's worth keeping a close eye on headphone jack availability. Many lightweight laptops, like Dell's XPS 13, don’t have the 3.5mm socket entirely. They usually include a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter, but that's a clunky solution, and it also takes up a USB port. Sure, most people use wireless earbuds and cans today, but it's still helpful to have a wired one around for when those devices run out of juice.

Most laptops today offer Wi-Fi 6 or 6E and Bluetooth 5.0 or later, which should mean faster and more stable connections if you have compatible routers and devices. While Wi-Fi 7 routers have started appearing, that spec hasn't made its way into laptops yet. As for cellular coverage, there are notebooks like the Surface Pro 9 and Samsung Galaxy Book models that offer integrated 5G. But from our testing, that feature may not be worth the cost of a separate data plan. Instead, you could tether to your smartphone or invest in a wireless hotspot that can keep multiple devices online.

Laptop size and weight

So how portable do you want your laptop to be? That's the ultimate question you need to ask when choosing between various screen sizes. 13-inch machines have become a solid starting point for most shoppers — it's enough real estate for the majority of tasks like emailing and writing, and it also helps keep machines relatively light (typically between two to three pounds). Thanks to manufacturing advancements, these dainty machines sometimes even come with larger screens (the smaller MacBook Air actually has a 13.6-inch display).

If you have trouble seeing fine text, we’d recommend going for a display larger than 13 inches. ASUS’s Zephyrus G14 is a solid 14-inch option for gamers, and we’re also seeing more productivity-focused machines aim for that size, like the XPS 14 and MacBook Pro. While 14-inch notebooks are a bit heavier than 13-inch models, coming in between three to four pounds, their screens are noticeably roomier.

For artists, or anyone else who needs a large canvas, a 15-inch laptop may make the most sense. They typically weigh between 3.5 and 4.5 pounds, but that extra heft may be worth it to fit wider video editing timelines or Photoshop windows. And, as you'd expect, you'll also pay a bit more for a 15-inch notebook compared to smaller ones (the 15-inch MacBook Air starts at $1,199, while the smaller model goes for $999). PC makers are also replacing 15-inch systems with 16-inch versions, which will give you even more space to work.

If you're in the market for a business laptop, size and portability might be key considerations. A lightweight yet powerful system with a long battery life can make a world of difference if you travel frequently for work.

You can still find laptops with 17-inch or 18-inch screens, but those are typically gaming systems or souped-up workstations. They're not meant for mere computing mortals.

Battery life

A laptop's battery life depends on several factors: The power draw from the screen and other hardware, the optimizations used to avoid unnecessary power drain, and, of course, the size of the actual battery. One of our favorite systems, the Dell XPS 13, lasted 13 hours and 15 minutes in the PCMark 10 battery benchmark. In real-world testing, I was able to use it for a day and a half without needing a recharge. The MacBook Air 13-inch, meanwhile, more than 18 hours in our benchmark and kept running for more than two work days of my typical workflow. In general, you should expect a modern laptop to last at least eight hours.

If battery life is your absolute priority, I'd strongly suggest looking at Macs over Windows PCs. Apple's M-series chips are essentially mobile hardware, with all of the power efficiency you'd expect from something originally designed for phones. Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon chips could help Windows PCs compete with Apple’s astonishing battery life, but we’ve yet to see those in action. Chromebooks also typically get decent battery life (as long as you don’t overstuff them with power-draining tabs).

Refresh rate

A laptop's refresh rate refers to the amount of times its screen is cycled every second. Modern displays like IPS LCDs and OLEDs support 60Hz refresh rates at a minimum, but we're seeing more devices offering 120Hz, 240Hz and beyond. The higher the number, the faster the screen is refreshed, which ultimately leads to a smoother experience while mousing around or scrolling through web pages. (If you want to get a sense of what a slow refresh rate looks like, just grab an e-reader like the Kindle and try to flip between book pages.)

While high refresh rates used to be reserved for gaming laptops, nowadays we're seeing more mainstream machines like the XPS 13 offer 120Hz (or variable rates that move between 60Hz and 120Hz). If there's one knock against the MacBook Air, it's that it's still stuck at 60Hz.

CPU

If you’re buying a new laptop, you’ll want to make sure it’s powered by the latest CPUs. For Windows PCs, that includes Intel’s Core Ultra chips for thin-and-light machines or the 14th-gen HX chips for beefier systems. The Core Ultra series have NPUs for handling AI tasks, while the HX hardware does not – they’re based on Intel’s previous chip architecture, and they’re more focused on delivering raw horsepower. Intel's older 13th-gen and 12th-gen laptop chips also don't have NPUs, so keep that in mind if you're looking at used systems.

You'll also see AMD's Ryzen 8000 and 9000 chips in plenty of new systems like the ASUS Zephyrus G14 and Razer Blade 14. Those CPUs mainly target gaming laptops and high performance systems, while you'll still find AMD’s older Ryzen 7000 chips in ultraportables. AMD's main advantage is that its chips also include Radeon graphics, which are far more capable than Intel's Arc hardware (though those are getting better).

Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus are also an option in Copilot+ PCs (more on those below). Since they’re based on mobile chip designs, they’re likely also more power efficient than AMD and Intel’s hardware. In the past, we’ve avoided recommending Snapdragon chips because they led to a slow and frustrating Windows experience. But Microsoft claims it’s rebuilt Windows 11 around Snapdragon’s Arm-based architecture, which should lead to far faster performance and better app compatibility.

As for Apple's laptops, you'll be choosing between the M4, M4 Pro and M4 Max, each of which is progressively more powerful.

GPU

A GPU, or graphics processing unit, is the component that communicates directly with a laptop's display. Laptop CPUs all have some form of integrated GPU: Intel has either its standard graphics or beefier Arc hardware, while AMD's chips include fast Radeon mobile graphics. If you want to play demanding games at high speeds (measured in frames per second, or fps), or if you need some extra power for rendering video or 3D models, you can configure a laptop with a dedicated GPU like NVIDIA's RTX 40-series hardware or AMD's Radeon RX 7000. Just be sure to leave room in your budget if you want a powerful GPU, as they typically add $300 or more to the cost of a laptop.

Apple's M-series chips, meanwhile, have GPU cores that can perform as well as NVIDIA’s and AMD's lower-end dedicated GPUs. That's quite the accomplishment for systems like this (especially the MacBook Air and 14-inch MacBook Pro), and it's another reason we highly recommend Apple's notebooks.

AI PCs, NPUs and Copilot+

Simply put, an AI PC is a computer equipped with a neural processing unit (NPU), which is designed to handle AI-related tasks. Much like how GPUs tackle heavy-duty gaming and rendering workloads, NPUs are designed to handle the complex math necessary for AI workloads. They’re also far more power efficient than CPUs or GPUs, which could lead to better battery performance in laptops. While many factors go into NPU performance, for the most part we measure their potential speed by TOPS (tera operations per second).

We were primed for AI PCs based on the chips Intel and AMD announced in 2023. Intel unveiled its "Core Ultra" CPUs in December, its first to include an NPU for AI work. AMD also announced its Ryzen 8040 AI mobile chips that month (and it couldn't help but say they were faster than Intel's new hardware). But in May, Microsoft announced its Copilot+ initiative, which is pushing major PC makers to deliver premium AI PCs with specifications including 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSDs and NPUs with at least 40 TOPS of AI performance.

Copilot+ is more than just a marketing term: Microsoft is also launching AI-powered features in Windows 11 that take advantage of powerful NPUs. That includes Recall, which can help you locate anything you’ve done on your PC (whenever it finally launches), as well as Cocreator in Paint, which can generate AI images based on text prompts and doodles.

If you buy an AI PC that isn’t Copilot+ certified, you’ll still be able to use some features like Windows Studio Effects, which can blur your background in video calls or keep you in frame. Developers like Adobe and Audacity are also building features into their apps that can take advantage of NPUs.

At the time of this post, Chromebook Plus notebooks can also access a few of Google’s online AI features, like image generation and photo processing.

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Other laptops we tested that didn't make the cut

ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED

Aside from its lovely OLED screen, the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED doesn't stand out from the crowded laptop field in any way. It just looks dull and boring, especially compared to the strikingly beautiful ASUS Zephyrus G14, which also came out this year. While you can probably find the Zenbook 14 for a decent price, I'd recommend holding out for something with a bit more personality (and with a less wobbly screen hinge).

Razer Blade 14

The Razer Blade has almost everything you'd want in a 14-inch gaming notebook, but it's far pricier than the Zephyrus G14 on this list, and it doesn’t even have an SD card reader. It would be a solid competitor once its price falls a bit, and it's certainly a great option if you just have to have a jet-black laptop.

Framework Laptop 16

Framework gave its modularity magic to the Laptop 16, delivering a gaming notebook where almost every single component is user replaceable. But you'll have to pay a pretty penny to snag it with upgraded hardware, and its optional Radeon 7700S GPU was surprisingly slow.

Alienware m16 R2

The Alienware m16 r2 has been revamped with a slimmer case, but it’s otherwise a fairly typical gaming laptop. It’s a solid option for Alienware fans, but you’ll find better hardware and deals elsewhere.

ASUS Zenbook Duo (2024)

The Zenbook Duo is a fascinating dual-screened notebook, and according to my colleague Sam Rutherford it’s the first of its kind that’s worth buying. But its unique hardware isn’t really meant for mainstream consumers, and Windows 11 still doesn’t support multi-screen setups well enough to make full use of the Zenbook Duo’s ample canvas.

Dell XPS 16

Dell’s XPS 16 is big and beautiful, but it’s far too expensive compared to the competition. Plus, it uses a capacitive row of function keys that you basically can’t see under bright light and has too few ports for a machine of this size.

See Also:

• Best Gaming Laptops for 2025

• Best Cheap Windows Laptops

• Best 2-in-1 Laptops for 2025

• Best Chromebooks

• Best Laptops for College Students

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Laptop FAQs

What is the average battery life of a laptop per charge?

It’s hard to come up with an average battery life for laptops, since that will ultimately depend on what you’re doing with them. An ultraportable like the MacBook Air that sips power can last around 20 hours in our battery benchmark, and around two full work days of real-world usage. But a gaming laptop may last only a few hours if you’re actively playing something while on battery. At this point, Macs are delivering far better battery life than PCs, thanks to Apple’s Silicon chips, but Microsoft claims Copilot+ systems with Qualcomm chips will also get over 20 hours of batter life.

How much RAM do I really need?

The more RAM you have, the more things your computer can do simultaneously. For that reason, we recommend buying PCs and Macs with at least 16GB of RAM. That gives you enough memory to have several applications open at once, as well as web browsers filled with RAM-hogging tabs. Many PC games also require at least 16GB of RAM. While you could use a system with 8GB of RAM for basic tasks, you’ll quickly run into slowdowns and error messages as your apps stack up. Many laptops, especially ultraportables, don’t let you upgrade RAM, too – so you’ll have to buy an entirely new computer if you didn’t equip enough memory at the start.

If you’re a hardcore gamer, programmer or planning to render videos or 3D models, then you may want to go for 32GB of RAM or more. And if you just need a secondary laptop for lighter work – perhaps a no-frills system for writing – then you can probably get by with 8GB. Just be sure to keep those browser tabs in check.

What is the best storage capacity for a laptop?

There is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to laptop storage. You’ll typically find configurations between 256GB and 1TB SSDs (solid state drives) on most laptops, and I’d recommend most people get at least 512GB. That’ll be enough space for large apps, music and video files without stressing your system too much. If you’re a media hoarder, or want to play a ton of games, then it’s definitely worth getting a 1TB SSD.

If you’ll mainly be streaming your shows and music, and would rather invest in RAM or other hardware, then 256GB of storage would be serviceable. I’d recommend staying away from any machine with 128GB of storage though. Most of that will be taken up by the operating system, and you’ll likely run into issues cramming in large apps after a few months.

We recommend springing for extra built-in storage or investing in a portable SSD for backing up your most important files. It's also worth noting that Chromebooks tend to come with less built-in storage — 32GB, 64GB or 128GB — since ChromeOS encourages users to save their files in the cloud rather than on the device. In that case, 128GB is plenty.

What's a good price range for a decent laptop in 2025?

You can expect to spend between $1,000 and $1,800 for a typical 13-inch laptop today. As I explained above, you'll pay more if you want to stuff in more RAM or better GPU hardware. But you can also find deals below $1,000 if you look for refurbished or older-generation models.

What’s the difference between macOS and Windows? Which is better?

Simply put, macOS is the operating system in all of Apple's notebooks and desktops, while Windows powers the vast majority of PCs. You'll also find Chromebooks running Google's ChromeOS, but those are basically just web browsers running on top of Linux.

Debating the differences between Windows and Macs is something PC nerds have been doing since the '80s, so we won't be declaring a winner here. There are some small, negligible distinctions, like using a Command versus a Control key, how file explorers work and concerns about viruses and security. For the most part, those are minor issues or have become moot thanks to better built-in security.

But if you care more about playing the newest games, you'll want to have a Windows system. If you're more focused on creative apps, like Photoshop, Premiere and Final Cut Pro, then macOS may be a better fit (especially if you're running an iPhone).

What are the best laptop brands?

There is no single "best" laptop brand, but judging from this guide alone, we're generally impressed by notebooks from Apple, Dell and ASUS. They all offer fast, reliable and sturdy machines. HP also makes some eye-catching devices if you want an option that’s the most aesthetic. Those four brands, along with Lenovo and Acer, dominate laptop sales worldwide. We'd avoid systems from any retail store brands, or companies that don't have a major presence in the US.

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Best laptops specs comparison chart

Product	Tested configuration	Tested battery life	Rated battery life
Apple MacBook Air M4 (13-inch)	Apple M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD	18.25 hours	Up to 18 hours
Dell XPS 13	Intel Core Ultra 7 155H CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD	13 hours	Up to 18 hours
ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14	AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070	7.5 hours	10 hours
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5	13th-gen Intel Core i3, 8GB RAM, 128GB storage	6 hours	10 hours
HP Pavilion Aero	AMD Ryzen 5800U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD	Up to 9.75 hours	Up to 10.5 hours
Apple MacBook Pro M4 (14-inch)	Apple M4, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD	34 hours	24 hours
HP Spectre x360 14	Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, 32GB RAM, 2TB SSD	5 hours	Up to 13 hours
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 1	Intel Core Ultra 7 165U, 32GB RAM, 512GB SSD	Up to 13 hours	"All day battery life"

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Recent updates

May 2025: Updated to ensure top picks and details are still accurate.

March 2025: Updated to include the M4-powered MacBook Air.

November 2024: Updated to include the M4-powered MacBook Pros.

August 2024: Updated to include the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/best-laptops-120008636.html?src=rss

Whether you're jamming out at the beach, setting up a backyard movie night or just want some tunes while you work, a great portable Bluetooth speaker is a must-have. The best options today go beyond just playing music — they deliver punchy bass, crisp vocals and even customizable sound modes to match whatever you're listening to. Some models even pack extras like a built-in LED light for a cool light show, making them perfect for parties or late-night hangs.

The best portable Bluetooth speaker isn’t just about sound — it’s about convenience, too. Some speakers come in a tiny size that slips easily into a bag, while others have rugged, waterproof designs built for adventure. If you’re looking for a mini Bluetooth option for travel or a bigger speaker that fills a room with sound, there’s something out there for everyone.

With so many choices, finding the best Bluetooth speaker for your needs can feel overwhelming. We’ve rounded up the top picks that balance great audio, portability and extra features to keep the music going wherever you are.

Table of contents

• Best portable Bluetooth speakers: $50 to $200

• Best portable Bluetooth speakers: $200 to $450

• Best portable Bluetooth speakers: $450 and higher

• Factors to consider in a portable Bluetooth speaker

• Other portable Bluetooth speakers we tested

• Bluetooth speaker FAQs

Best portable Bluetooth speakers: $50 to $200

Best portable Bluetooth speakers: $200 to $450

Best portable Bluetooth speakers: $450 and higher

Factors to consider in a portable Bluetooth speaker

Weather-proofing

IP ratings (Ingress Protection) are the alphanumeric indicators you often see in a product’s spec sheet that define water and dust resistance. It’s usually a combo of two numbers with the first indicating solid object ingress and the second being water. The former goes from 0 (no protection) to 6 (dustproof). The water-resistance rating goes from 0 (no protection) to 9 (protected against immersion and high pressure jets). When an X is used instead of a number, that means the product wasn’t tested for resistance. If it’s a waterproof speaker, it may have some innate resistance to solids, but there’s no guarantee.

IP67 is a common rating these days indicating highly resistant and potentially rugged speakers often featured in audio products like outdoor speakers. These are safe for quick dunks in the pool or tub and should be more than OK in the rain or in the shower. They’re also good options for the beach, playground and other rough environs.

Additionally, speakers with ports and a high rating will often include a tight-fitting cover over the charging or auxiliary ports. If you plan on using the ports, that may limit the product's rated ability to fend off the elements.

When looking for the best portable Bluetooth speaker, consider the IP rating and also how you plan to use your Bluetooth speaker when making your decision. It may be worth splurging on a better sounding model with a lower IP rating if you’ll mostly be using it indoors, for instance.

Battery life

The focus of this guide is on the best. portable Bluetooth speakers, and while “portable” can be a relative term, these devices are generally for people who are likely to find themselves far from a power outlet. These days, around 12 hours of playtime seems to be the baseline but obviously, the more battery life you can get out of a speaker, the better, especially if you plan to listen to podcasts or music on the go.

That said, be careful when looking at battery specs, as they frequently list a maximum runtime (“up to” x amount of hours). This usually means they tested at a low to mid volume. If you like your tunes loud with punchy bass, it can often end up cutting the expected usage time in half or more. Luckily, some manufacturers also list the expected hours of battery life when used at full volume and that transparency is appreciated. Bear in mind, however, that not all of the best Bluetooth speakers use the same charging port. Some support USB-C charging, while others use micro-USB, and some may even come with an adapter for added convenience.

Additionally, if your audio system or mini Bluetooth speaker also happens to have Wi-Fi connectivity, they're usually designed for always-on functionality. Unlike normal Bluetooth speakers that go to sleep after a short period without use, these will usually stay awake (to listen for your commands) and slowly run down the battery. If you're out and about, you'll want to remember to turn these speakers off manually when not in use to maximize battery life.

Range

Bluetooth 5 offers better range and more reliable connectivity than its predecessors, making it a great feature to look for in the best Bluetooth speaker. That said, Bluetooth range can still be tricky. Some companies list their product’s longest possible range, usually outdoors and in an unobstructed line-of-sight test environment. Other companies stick with a 30-foot range on the spec sheet and leave it at that, even though they may be running Bluetooth 4.x or 5.x. That’s likely underselling the speaker's potential, but unpredictable environments can affect range and there’s little point in promising the moon only to get complaints.

I’ve seen signal drop issues when crouching down, with my phone in the front pocket of my jeans, and barely 30 feet away from a speaker inside my apartment. I ran into this issue across several devices regardless of their listed Bluetooth connectivity range.

If you’re hosting a patio party and duck inside, it’s wise to keep any wireless Bluetooth speakers relatively close by just in case. It’s hard to gauge what aspects of any environment may interfere with a Bluetooth signal. In general, take range specs around 100 feet or more as a perfect-world scenario.

Latency

This is a minor mention for those out there who use a speaker for their computer output, or as a mini Bluetooth soundbar solution for setups like a monitor and streaming box. It’s annoying to find that your speaker’s latency isn’t low enough to avoid lip sync issues. Luckily, it seems that most speakers these days don’t often have these problems. Only a handful of the few dozen speakers I tried had persistent, noticeable lip-sync issues. Aside from occasional blips, all of our picks worked well in this regard.

If you plan to frequently use a speaker for video playback, look for devices with the most recent Bluetooth 5 technology and lower latency codecs like aptX. Also make sure the speaker is close to the source device as distance can be a factor. To avoid the issue altogether, though, consider getting one with a wired auxiliary input.

Extra features

Some speakers don’t just play music — they bring the party to life with built-in LED light effects and a full-on light show that syncs to your music. If you love a bit of visual flair with your tunes, it’s worth checking out models that offer LED light customization options.

Sound quality also plays a huge role in picking the right speaker. The best Bluetooth speaker should deliver a balanced mix of punchy bass, clear highs and strong vocals. Many models also include customizable sound modes that let you tweak the EQ to better suit different genres — whether you’re blasting EDM, listening to a podcast, or just want a more immersive experience.

If aesthetics matter, many models come in a tiny size that makes them extra portable, with plenty of color options to match your personal style. Whether you want a sleek black speaker or a vibrant eye-catching design, there are plenty of choices to fit your vibe.

Other portable Bluetooth speakers we tested

Sonos Roam

While there's a lot to like about the Sonos Roam, there are plenty of other Bluetooth speakers with more features and better battery life. In our review, we gave the Roam a score of 87, praising it for its good sound quality, durable waterproof design and ability to work well within an existing Sonos speaker ecosystem. But the price is just fine at $180, and we found Bluetooth speakers that offer more at lower price points. Plus, the Roam taps out at 10 hours of battery life, and all of our top picks can run for longer than that on a single charge.

Monoprice Soundstage3

The Monoprice Soundstage3 offers relatively big sound at a midrange $250 price, with a variety of inputs rarely found on a portable Bluetooth speaker. The boxy, minimalist design is no nonsense, even if it's more of a less-rugged, bookshelf-styled homebody. While the speaker puts out crisp highs alongside booming lows, we found the bass can overpower the rest of the output, so it's not for everyone. And after using the speaker for many months, we also found the low-slung, poorly labeled button panel along the top can be a bit annoying to use. If you want a speaker for road trips, favor mids and highs, and plan on using physical buttons for volume control and input selections, there are better options out there.

JBL Boombox 3

Fans of JBL’s bluetooth speaker sound profile who want to crank up the volume, but also want a rugged and portable option, may enjoy the JBL Boombox 3. It’s a decent grab-and-go speaker with a very loud output, although it's not as good as some of the loud-speaker styled options for long-throw sound and big outdoor areas. However, the price for this speaker line remains prohibitively expensive compared to other options with big sound that cover a bit more ground. If the JBL brand is your thing and you like the rugged, portable form factor, we recommend looking for discounts, or shopping around and exploring the available options including the (less portable) JBL PartyBox series.

Soundcore Motion X500

Soundcore speakers have generally been good and often reasonably priced. The Motion X500 loosely falls into that category. It has a tall, metallic lunchbox vibe with a fixed handle and pumps out a respectable 40 watts of crisp, clear sound for its size. It can get pretty loud and serves up a good dose of bass, although its primarily a front-facing speaker.

There’s LDAC hi-res audio support for Android users, but the main selling point on this is spatial audio. This is done through an EQ change and the activation of a small, up-firing driver. There’s a slight benefit from this if you’re up close and directly in front of it, but it’s not a total game changer for your listening experience. The original pre-order price of $130 made it a decent option in terms of bang for your buck. But it went up to $170 at launch, making it less appealing even if it’s still a good middle-of-the-road option if you want small-ish, clear and loud. If you can find one on sale for the lower price, it’s definitely worth considering. There’s also the larger and louder X600 ($200) if the overall concept is working for you.

Portable Bluetooth speaker FAQs

How does a Bluetooth speaker work?

Bluetooth technology lets devices connect and exchange data over short distances using ultra high frequency (UHF) radio waves. It’s the frequency range that’s carved out for industrial, scientific and medical purposes, called the 2.4GHz ISM spectrum band. This range is available worldwide, making it easy for companies to use with devices for global markets.

Bluetooth speakers include this tech, which lets them communicate with source devices like smartphones, tablets or computers in order to exchange data. The two devices pair by sharing a unique code and will work within the proscribed range for the device and Bluetooth version. 

Ever since Bluetooth 4.0 was released over a decade ago, new iterations usually improve on range, use less power and offer expanded connectivity with features like multipoint (allowing more than one device to be connected at the same time, for instance).

Who should buy a Portable Bluetooth speaker?

If you want to play music while you’re out-and-about on something other than headphones, a portable Bluetooth speaker is probably what you want. There’s a broad range of devices for all types of circumstances. Many adventurous people will want a relatively lightweight portable that’s rugged enough to handle the elements while also packing enough charge to play for hours on end. Others may simply need a speaker they can move around the house or use in the backyard. In this case, you can choose larger less rugged models that may offer better sound. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/best-portable-bluetooth-speakers-133004551.html?src=rss

If you’ve been shocked by how much you spend on streaming services lately, you’re not alone. Companies like Netflix, Disney, Max and others have been consistently raising prices to the point where you may question if streaming is even worth it anymore. We at Engadget still think it is, but we also think you should be smart with your money — and that’s where streaming deals come in.

Yes, it is possible to get discounts on services like Peacock and Paramount+, even if those deals aren’t as common as a sale on AirPods. If you’re looking to save money and still stream all of the content you want, Engadget can help by laying out the best streaming deals you can get right now, how you can save with bundles and everything you should know before paying for yet another streaming service.

Best streaming deals

True streaming deals can be hard to come by. Most often, they’ll pop up during the Black Friday shopping period. On occasion, we’ll see them sparingly throughout the year and they usually take the form of a discounted monthly or annual rate for a limited period of time. Also, true streaming deals are typically on the ad-supported versions of a service, but once in a while you’ll find a unicorn of a deal on a tier that has ad-free viewing.

If you’re able to wait for a deal before subscribing to a streaming service, we recommend doing so. You’ll save money upfront and in the long run, and you also have the option to cancel your subscription before the price goes back up to the normal rate. Maybe you find you like the service so much that you’re fine paying full price for it — that’s the ideal situation. But if you’re not compelled to keep that app on rotation in your smart TV, most streaming services make it easy for you to cancel at any time. With that said, these are the best streaming deals you can snag right now.

Spotify Premium Individual (one month) for $0 ($12 off): This is our favorite music streaming service for podcasts and social features. Right now, users who have not signed up for Spotify's Premium service before are eligible to get one month for free. The Premium Individual plan lets you listen ad-free and skip songs at will. You can also organize your listening queue and download content for offline listening. Just be aware, your subscription will auto-renew at the end of the trial period. So if you don't want to be on the hook for the $12 monthly fee, set a reminder to cancel and go back to the free version.

Sling Orange for $23/month for the first month (50 percent off): New customers can get Sling Orange or Sling Blue for half off the usual price for the first month, bringing the final prices to $23/month and $25.50/month, respectively. Orange is likely best for sports fans, with eight exclusive sports and family channels, while Blue includes 19 exclusive news and entertainment channels. You can get both Orange and Blue access also for half off for one month, or $33 total.

YouTube TV (two months) for $120 ($46 off): You can get two months of our favorite live TV streaming service for $60 per month which works out to $46 less than paying the full $83 each month. And right now, the service is free for the first 21 days. That should give you a decent chunk of time to see if the service is right for you. The discount and trial are only open to new subscribers to YouTube TV’s base plan, which includes access to over 100 channels, unlimited DVR space and six household accounts with the ability to stream on three devices at once. The deal ends July 31.

Fubo Pro for $65/month for the first month ($20 off): Fubo has introductory discounts on most of its packages, and the Pro package is the least expensive plan currently listed. It offers access to 224 channels, unlimited cloud DVR and up to 10 simultaneous streams. It even includes regional sports content from the NHL, MLB and NBA.

Sling TV + MLB.TV for $30 off: New subscribers can get $30 off their first month of Sling TV when they sign up and add MLB.TV to their package. The offer applies to Sling Orange, Sling Blue and Sling Orange & Blue, and MLB.TV gives you access to MLB Network along with access to all out-of-market games during the regular season. This offer runs through May 31.

Max student discount — subscribe for $5/month (50 percent off): Max offers their ad-supported tier to students for half off the usual rate. You’ll just have to verify that you’re a student through Unidays, and make note that this offer is only good for up to 12 months of service.

Hulu student discount — subscribe for $2/month (75 percent off): Those with a valid student ID can get Hulu’s ad-supported tier for 75 percent off the typical rate. They’ll keep the same sale price for as long as they’re a student as well.

Spotify student discount — Premium + Hulu with ads for $6/month (72 percent off): Spotify’s student offer continues to be one of the best around, giving you access to the Premium tier of the music streamer and Hulu’s ad-supported plan for only $6 monthly. Purchased separately, you’d pay $22 per month for both of the services. Plus, the first month is free when you sign up.

NBA League Pass student discount — one year for $120 (40 percent off): Students can get one year of League Pass for only $10 per month, which includes access to NBA TV and the ability to watch classic and archive games on-demand. On the NBA League Pass website, look for the student discount banner at the top and follow the instructions to verify your student status.

Peacock first responders discount — one year for $48 (50 percent off): Medical professionals and first responders can save 50 percent each year of Peacock. The deal requires annual verification and is open to those who work for either private or public institutions. Peacock has some great stuff to watch, including Poker Face and Killing It and more.

Streaming bundle discounts

There’s more consolidation happening now than ever before in the streaming space, and that means there are more streaming bundle options. These bundles offer you access to more content with one subscription price, but those prices are typically higher than paying for a single service by itself (obviously). It may be tempting to just get the bundle, but if only one of those services in the bundle speaks to you, you’ll spend less overall by just paying for the single service.

Speaking of a deep love for a single streaming service: if all of your favorite shows are on Peacock or the latest releases on Max consistently bring you joy, consider paying for one year upfront. Subscribing with an annual plan usually saves you money in the long term over paying on a monthly basis. Unfortunately, not all streaming services (looking at you, Netflix) have an annual subscription option. Here are some of the best streaming bundles you can get right now.

Disney+, Hulu, Max bundle with ads for $17/month: Ad-supported Max is included here, along with full, ad-supported access to Disney+ and Hulu. You’ll save 43 percent with this bundle, as opposed to paying for all three services individually.

Disney+ and Hulu Bundle Premium for $20/month: Disney and Hulu offer a few different bundles, which you can view in the drop-down lists under Choose Your Plan. This bundle removes the ads from both Disney+ and Hulu (with the exception of select live and linear content) and allows you to download content for offline viewing. You’ll save 42 percent with this bundle, as opposed to paying for both ad-free tiers individually.

Paramount+ with Showtime for $13/month or $120/year: This includes everything in Paramount+’s Essential plan, except the ads, and also provides access to Showtime content, live CBS streams and download features.

Sling TV + Max starting at $53/month: Sling TV and Max have partnered on a discount that gives new subscribers 50 percent off their first month of Sling TV, plus $5 off monthly when you subscribe to the Sling TV + Max bundle. The standard price for the Sling Blue + Max duo is roughly $58/month, so you'll get a monthly discount of $5 off that. In addition, for the first month only, you'll get half off the price of the bundle. The promotion also applies to the Sling Orange & Blue + Max package, which has a standard price of $73/month.

Hulu + Live TV with Disney+ and ESPN+ for $96/month: This streaming bundle amalgamation is a bit confusing but it does offer a lot: you get live TV streaming via Hulu’s service plus access to the following VOD services: Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+. Out of those three, only ESPN+ will have ads.

Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Basic for $17/month: You get full access to Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ content with this package, albeit with ads across the board. This bundle price is 46 percent off the total price of all three separate subscriptions.

Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+ Bundle Premium for $27/month: Similarly to the Duo bundles, the Premium version of the Trio removes ads from most content in Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, and you can download content for offline viewing. This price represents a 43-percent savings when compared to paying for all three ad-free tiers separately.

Read more streaming coverage

• The best live TV streaming services to cut cable

• The best streaming services: Netflix, Hulu, Max and more

• The best streaming devices

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/best-streaming-service-deals-133028980.html?src=rss

US government officials have condemned ICEBlock and CNN's recent coverage of it, leading to more people hearing about its existence and downloading it from the App Store. Now the application, which allows users to add a pin on a map to show where ICE agents have recently been spotted, has climbed to the to the top of Apple's App Store charts. It's currently the number one free social networking app in the US and the third most downloaded free app overall. 

Engadget

CNN's piece talked about how the app's developer, Joshua Aaron, launched it in early April after seeing the Trump administration crack down on immigration. When the piece went live, Aaron said the app had 20,000 users, many of whom live in Los Angeles, where ICE has been raiding neighborhoods. In addition to letting users pin ICE agent locations on a map, the app also gives them a way to add notes, such as what the agents are wearing or what car they're driving. Any user within a five mile radius of the sighting will get an alert. 

But White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt suggested that the CNN piece was "an incitement of further violence against... ICE officers" when asked to respond to the report on the podium. She said that there's been a 500 percent increase against ICE agents who are just "trying to do their jobs and remove public safety threats from... communities." ICE acting Director Todd M. Lyons also issued a statement, saying that the app paints a target on federal law enforcement officers' backs. "CNN is willfully endangering the lives of officers who put their lives on the line every day and enabling dangerous criminal aliens to evade US law," he continued. "Is this simply reckless 'journalism' or overt activism?"

Meanwhile, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and US Attorney General Pam Bondi both said the government is going after Aaron. "He's giving a message to criminals where our federal officers are," Bondi said. "...we are looking at it, we are looking at him, and he better watch out, because that's not a protected speech. That is threatening the lives of our law enforcement officers throughout this country."'

Aaron told CNN that ICEBlock doesn't collect personal data, such as device IDs and IP addresses, which TechCrunch has confirmed in a test. The app is only available on iOS, because it would have to collect information on Android that could put people at risk.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/iceblock-climbs-to-the-top-of-the-app-store-charts-after-officials-slam-it-004319963.html?src=rss

In what was probably an inevitable conclusion, X has announced that it will allow AI to author Community Notes. With a pilot program beginning today, the social network is releasing developer tools to create AI Note Writers. These tools will be limited to penning replies in a test mode and will need approval before their notes can be released into the wild. The first AI Note Writers will be accepted later this month, which is when the AI-composed notes will start appearing to users.

"Not only does this have the potential to accelerate the speed and scale of Community Notes, rating feedback from the community can help develop AI agents that deliver increasingly accurate, less biased, and broadly helpful information — a powerful feedback loop," the post announcing this feature said.

Sounds great. Assuming it works.

The AI Note Writers will be assessed by "an open-source, automated note evaluator" that assesses whether the composition is on-topic and whether it would be seen as harassment or abuse. The evaluator's decisions are based "on historical input from Community Notes contributors." Despite the announcement's insistence of "humans still in charge," it seems the only human editorial eye comes from the ratings on notes.

Once the AI-written notes are active, they will be labeled as such as a transparency measure. AI will only be allowed to offer notes on posts that have requested a Community Note at the start, but the company is positioning AI Note Writers as having a larger future role in this fact-checking system.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/x-will-let-ai-write-community-notes-220130039.html?src=rss

Shopping for the best cordless vacuum cleaners means finding that sweet spot between power, portability and convenience. Whether you're cleaning up after pets, tackling hardwood floors or reaching those tricky spots under the couch, cordless vacuums offer freedom and versatility that traditional canister vacuums just can’t match.

Today’s top models come packed with smart features to make cleaning less of a hassle — from built-in LED lights that illuminate hidden dust bunnies to HEPA filters that trap allergens and fine particles. Many also come in combo kits with swappable heads or attachments for stairs, furniture and even car interiors. Some even pay attention to the little things, like the placement of the on/off button or how well they manage noise levels during use.

Whether you want a lightweight vacuum for quick touch-ups or a high-powered model that can handle your entire home, we've rounded up the best cordless options to help make your cleaning routine faster and easier.

Table of contents

• Best cordless vacuums for 2025

• Factors to consider before buying a cordless vacuum

• How we test cordless vacuums

• Other cordless stick vacuums we tested

• Cordless stick vacuums FAQs

Best cordless vacuums for 2025

Factors to consider before buying a cordless vacuum

Design and bin capacity

Most of the cordless models you’ll find today have stick designs, with a handle at the top attached to a debris bin, which has a space to connect different attachments at one end. These designs are more versatile than old-school, upright vacuums of yesteryear because, while you may use the long stick attachment most of the time to clean your floors, many cordless vacuums come with other attachments as well. Some allow you to clean hard to reach spaces like the interior of your car, while others make it easier to vacuum furniture and clean inside crevices.

Some modern cordless vacuums also include practical features like an on/off button placed near your thumb for quick access, or an integrated LED light to help you see dust and debris under furniture or in darker corners.

Bin volume is worth keeping in mind when you’re choosing a cordless vacuum. The larger the bin, the more debris it can hold, but it might also mean a heavier machine. All of the cordless vacuums we tested had a bin size between 0.1 and 0.8 gallons and all were able to handle cleaning an entire one-pet home (roughly 2,000 square feet) in a single run without needing to be emptied. Anything smaller and you may have to deal with more frequent emptying during each cleaning session.

Some cordless models also have removable, replaceable battery packs, which is super handy. That means you can buy a replacement battery and install it easily, without needing to seek out professional assistance. Also, these extra batteries cost around $150-$200 a pop — expensive, yes, but nowhere near as costly as buying a whole new cordless vacuum.

Suction and power modes

Cordless vacuum suction power is typically measured in air wattage (AW), but you’ll see some that list the power of the motor in wattage (W) instead. Typically the higher the air or motor wattage the stronger the suction power, offering improved cleaning performance. And often strength is proportional to price — more expensive cordless vacuums tend to have stronger suction power. A general rule of thumb is that those with precocious pets or mess-making children would benefit from a cordless vacuum cleaner with stronger-than-average suction power.

Most cordless stick vacuums will have two different power modes: a “normal” or default power mode that balances suction power with battery life, as well as a “max” or stronger mode that kicks suction strength up a notch. Some vacuums, like those from Dyson, also have an “eco” mode, or one that prioritizes run time over strength.

Separate from power modes you can select yourself, some cordless vacuums will automatically adjust motor strength depending on the detected floor type or the amount of mess in its wake. This not only improves ease of use but ensures the vacuum is working as efficiently as possible.

If allergens are a concern in your home, look for models equipped with HEPA filters, which are designed to trap fine dust, pollen and other particles that can irritate sensitive noses and lungs.

Floor type

The best cordless vacuums will be able to clean any standard floor type — hardwood, tile, carpet and everything in between. As mentioned previously, some can even detect floor type and adjust suction power accordingly. That said, it's still worth thinking about the types of flooring you have in your home. If you primarily have carpet, you may want to consider a cordless vacuum with the most powerful suction you can afford, since there are more nooks and crannies for debris to get suck in with carpet.

Battery life

Obviously, battery life is important since you’ll probably want to clean more than one room in a shot. All of the cordless vacuums we tested had a battery life of at least 40 minutes in standard cleaning mode. I tested each by cleaning all three floors of my home (upstairs, downstairs and basement) on a single charge with the machine running in its standard (“auto”) mode and none of them ran out of juice before I could finish the third floor. That said, extra battery life can come in handy if you’re switching between power modes since “max” or high-power programs use more energy.

Base style

Most cordless stick vacuums come with some sort of base or mount where the machine lives when you’re not using it. Wall mounts are the most common, but some have free-standing bases where you dock and charge the vacuum. Consider the space in your home where you want the cordless vacuum to live, since it will have to have an outlet or another power source nearby.

Some high-end cordless vacuums come with self-emptying bases that act much like those included with expensive robot vacuums. After cleaning and returning the vacuum to the base, it will automatically empty the dustbin into a larger dustbin that you can then detach from the base when you need to empty it. This is great for anyone concerned about allergens, as you’ll only need to empty the larger dustbin every month or two, reducing your contact with dust and debris.

“Smart” features

Yes, some cordless vacuums have “smart” features like Wi-Fi and app connectivity. But before we get into those, let’s talk about the extra perks scattered among these devices. Some models, like the latest from Dyson, include particle sensors that show you how many different sized pieces of debris it’s sucking up in real time. Dyson’s, for example, is a piezo acoustic sensor that detects particle size and frequency and displays that information on the vac’s LCD screen. Tineco’s iLoop sensor is similar, controlling its vacuums’ automatic suction power adjustment and changing a circle on the display from red to blue as you fully clean an area.

Higher-end cordless vacuums may also have companion apps that show things like battery level, filter status and cleaning logs. It’s an added level of convenience, but by no means necessary. Unlike the best robot vacuums, or even the best budget robot vacuums, which rely on their apps to set cleaning schedules, manually control the machines and more, cordless vacuums that you operate yourself really don’t need Wi-Fi or an app connectivity.

Price

Cordless stick vacuums range in price from $150 all the way up to over $1,000. The best ones for most people lie in the middle, in the $400 to $700 range. You’ll notice most of our picks land in the higher end of that range, but for good reason: More expensive machines tend to have more sucking power, which means less time wasted going over the same spots over and over. But does that mean everyone needs the most premium cordless vacuum? Definitely not. We’ve come up with top picks at various price points that should work well for people with different budgets, lifestyles, home sizes and more.

How we test cordless vacuums

Engadget doesn’t have a dedicated lab in which we can test cordless vacuums, but I used each model in my home for weeks. I ran them over hardwood and tile flooring, as well as low-pile carpet. And my first runthrough consisted of cleaning all three floors of my home on a single battery charge. I performed the same cleaning job as many times as possible, but also intermittently cleaned a single floor as needed, or sucked up isolated messes like crumbs, cat litter spills and tufts of pet fur. Over the course of many cleanings with each model, I made note of how loud the machine was, how easy it was to maneuver around my home, how easily it sucked up pieces of large debris (or if it pushed it around my floor instead) and if they got warm or hot.

Other cordless stick vacuums we tested

Dyson Gen 5 Detect

The Dyson Gen 5 Detect has a single-button start and stronger suction power than our top pick, but it’s otherwise quite similar. However, since the Gen 5 Detect is more expensive at $950 (although it does receive discounts at Dyson online), the V15 Detect still provides greater value for your money. The Gen 5 Detect is arguably best for those who want the latest Dyson, or care about getting a more future-proof machine, since it came out just last year.

Shark Detect Pro

The Shark Detect Pro provides a lot of value for the money, but it was ultimately beat by the Tineco Pure One Station 5 for our runner-up slot thanks to the Tineco’s stronger suction power. The kicker for the Detect Pro is that it includes a self-emptying base in its $450 price, which is super handy. It’ll automatically dump the contents of the vacuum into the larger bin in the base after every cleaning, and you only need to empty the base’s container every month or so. The Detect Pro did a good job cleaning up messes across different types of flooring, and it’ll auto-adjust suction power depending on the amount of debris and whether you’re cleaning hard or carpeted floors. However, it’s not as smooth to use as any of our top picks and its main cleaner head is a bit tall, making it difficult to use to clean under low furniture.

Cordless stick vacuums FAQs

How long does the battery last on a cordless vacuum?

Most cordless vacuums will run for at least 30-40 minutes on a single charge, but you can find cordless vacuums with battery lives of up to 60 or 70 minutes. Manufacturers will outline an estimated battery life for each model, and they’re usually based on using the vacuum’s standard power mode for the entire runtime; if you switch between modes or prefer to use a higher-powered program for improved suction, you’ll drain the battery faster.

Can cordless vacuums be as powerful as corded ones?

Cordless vacuums do sacrifice a bit in overall power when compared to corded models, but that doesn’t mean they can’t handle everyday messes just as well. If suction power is your biggest concern, we recommend springing for a high-powered, high-end cordless vacuum since, typically, the more expensive a cordless vacuum is, the stronger the suction. Also, cordless vacuums have the edge over corded models when it comes to weight and convenience: cordless vacuums are much lighter than their corded counterparts, and you’ll never have to worry about placement or picking a fight with a cord while cleaning your living room.

Are cordless vacuums effective on pet hair?

Yes, cordless vacuums can handle pet hair well, but we recommend getting a model with strong suction power to get the best results. It’s also wise to get one with a larger bin, since pet hair can quickly fill up smaller bins, which may force you to stop cleaning to empty the vacuum before finishing.

What are the best methods for maintaining a cordless vacuum cleaner?

Maintaining a cordless vacuum is super easy and helps to keep it running like new. First, make sure to empty the dustbin regularly — don’t let it overfill, as this can impact suction. Many models have washable filters, so rinse them out every few weeks (check your manual for specifics) and let them dry completely before putting them back.

Next, take a look at the brush roll — hair and debris can get tangled up in there over time. Most vacuums make it simple to remove the brush roll, so you can snip away any tangles with scissors. If your vacuum has a replaceable battery, try not to let it fully drain too often, as this can reduce its lifespan. A quick wipe-down of the vacuum’s exterior and attachments will also keep everything looking fresh.

Lastly, keep an eye on the sensors and charging contacts, as dust can build up there too. A gentle wipe with a dry cloth every now and then will do the trick.

Can cordless vacuums also be used to clean curtains and upholstery?

Cordless vacuums are surprisingly versatile, and many come with attachments specifically designed for surfaces like curtains, upholstery and even mattresses. A handheld vacuum mode, which is common in cordless models, makes it easy to tackle these areas. Look for a soft brush or an upholstery tool in the attachments for the vacuum you’re considering — it’ll help remove dust and pet hair without damaging fabrics. For curtains, it’s a good idea to use a lower suction setting if your vacuum has adjustable modes. This prevents the fabric from getting pulled into the nozzle.

Check out more from our spring cleaning guide.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/best-cordless-vacuum-130007125.html?src=rss

With the third generation of its smartphone series, Nothing made the unusual move to launch the cheaper ‘a’ line first, unveiling the Phone 3a and 3a Pro in March. Now, it’s time for its latest flagship. The Nothing Phone 3, starting at $799 (with a $899 option with 16GB of RAM) goes up against giants like the Google Pixel 9 and Samsung Galaxy S25 — a competitive slice of the smartphone world. Once again, though, there’s nothing in the market that quite resembles a Nothing, as the company attempts to balance distinctive design with flagship (and some not-quite-flagship) components.

The big change this time around is that Nothing is swapping the flashing lights of its Glyph Interface for a tiny dot-matrix display on the rear of the device and is calling it the Glyph Matrix.

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

It’s the shiny design lynchpin of Nothing’s Phone 3. The matrix is made of 489 LEDs, and offers more utility than a light show. Nothing says it's an evolution of the flashing lights of the Glyph Interface into something more practical. With that aim, there’s a Glyph button that sits under the glass back. Another benefit of this shift, according to Nothing’s head of design Adam Bates, is that removing the Glyph lights freed up more space within the phone.

Instead of having the lights on the back flash in patterns to indicate when certain contacts are calling, the Phone 3’s new tiny screen can display monochromatic images instead. At first, these will be preset shapes, but eventually, you’ll be able to customize your own animation (or static dot-matrix image — it’s unclear) for each of your contacts. Ahead of launch, Nothing shared a web portal that lets people take photos and turn them into Glyph patterns, but it’s like a very, very small Gameboy camera (but worse). The one I took kinda looks like my head? I guess? At least there’s a contrast, and gives a glimpse of what users might be able to show on the matrix screen

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

Alongside Glyph-style notifications, the matrix will be able to display simple widgets, such as weather and battery levels. It can be a stopwatch, and even a low-res mirror (more on that later). It can also be used as a visual countdown when using a timer with the camera, too. And there will even be games, like rock-paper-scissors and er, spin the bottle. Thankfully, Nothing didn’t make the assembled media test this at its big global launch. You’ll be able to make your own Glyphs through an SDK being released by Nothing. It’ll be interesting to see how difficult it is to program your own glyphs. You know what I want, already? A tamagotchi.

My first impression is that it’s a little more restrained than the light show of the Glyph Interface on previous phones. Additionally, a dot-matrix design really aligns with the era of design inspirations that Nothing is drawing from. You can lightly interact with the matrix through the Glyph button, which is intriguingly built under the rear cover of the Nothing Phone 3. It’s a single button, so learning the quirks of a long-press and a short-press, especially when there’s no tactile response, takes a bit of time.

Flanked by other eager photographers, YouTubers and media, I took a little too much time making the Glyph mirror work. Weirdly, you can’t use it as a selfie guide with the primary cameras, or at least I didn’t figure out how to during my hands-on.

Elsewhere, the design is inspired by the lines and shapes of the New York City subway map, while the see-through back of the Phone 3 has a three-column design that divides the component curves, camera modules and glyph matrix.

The Phone 3 is Nothing’s thinnest phone yet and is 18 percent thinner than the Phone 2. The new Nothing flagship also lacks the chonky camera unit that’s on the Phone 3a Pro. This is because, this time, Nothing has the budget to do so: the Phone 3 costs $350 more, so it can use smaller (even custom-made) components to shrink the footprint.

Instead, the three-camera layout reminds me a lot of the latest Galaxy S24 Ultra, with only slightly protruding camera lenses. It’s not flush, but perhaps I’m asking for too much — the only contemporary smartphone with an entirely flat camera unit is the Pixel 9a.

Despite its slimmer profile, the device still features a periscope zoom on a 50-megapixel sensor. It goes up to 3x optical zoom, 6x digital zoom and a 60x AI Super Res Zoom. (Yes, we all blame Google and Samsung for this nonsense.) This will also serve as a macro camera, allowing for clearer close-up shots.

The main camera is also 50MP, with an f/1.68 aperture (Nothing says it’s 70 percent faster at capture than the Phone 2) and even includes a lossless 1.5x zoom. There’s also an ultrawide camera with a 114-degree field of view and, you might have guessed, a 50MP sensor. Even the front-facing camera is 50MP. Expect the usual Android array of shooting features across the camera system, including Auto Tone, Portrait Optimizer, Night Mode Macro Mode and Action Mode. There are also several shooting presets to browse for your favorite shooting aesthetic, which I enjoyed playing with on a demo unit.

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

I’m hopeful that the Phone 3 will be a capable enough smartphone camera. Taking some early shots, during a hectic hands-on session at the launch event, the camera app seemed faster than past Nothing devices and low-light processing seemed pretty close to the likes of Google’s Pixel.

Imaging has typically been the weakest part of Nothing’s phone strategy, but each iteration it gets better. It’s something I’m looking forward to putting to the test. Nothing has added an LED light that flashes red to indicate video recording. This can still be disabled in settings, but it’s a nice touch that taps into the red splashes you’ll see throughout Nothing’s hardware and software.

The Phone 3 also packs the company’s brightest display yet, reaching up to 1600 nits at its maximum brightness settings, peaking at 4,500 nits with compatible HDR content, The 6.67-inch screen has a higher 1.5K resolution than the Phone 2. There’s also IP68-rated protection against dust and water.

Rounding out the spec sheet, the phone has a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor, marking the biggest compromise this year. Nothing told me that the Phone 3 wasn’t chasing specs like phones that cost several hundred dollars more. However, the Galaxy S25 has the more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite, and it’s also $800.

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

The good news is that the Phone 3 shouldn’t be perceptibly slow or laggy — the company says it’s five times faster than the Phone 3a. Nothing added there should be a 60 percent improvement on AI performance compared to the Phone 2. I’m intrigued to see how battery life fares, but not too worried. The OnePlus 13 Pro had the same processor and performed very well in our battery rundown test.

The 5,150mAh silicon-carbon battery can be charged to 50 percent in 20 minutes with a compatible 65W charger, and up to 100 percent in under an hour. It’s one of the first phones to arrive in the West with a silicon-carbon cell, adding further intrigue to how well the battery life will perform. There’s also 15W wireless charging, which Nothing seems to be keeping exclusive to its most premium phones.

The Phone 3 runs Android 15 out of the box, but with Nothing’s spin on things, featuring custom icons and native apps. That includes Essential Space, which works with a hardware button launcher first introduced on the 3a. While there were rumors that Nothing might fold the feature into a subscription, it’ll be free for the foreseeable future. However, Smart Collections, which was meant to collate screenshots and other files is still being worked on and won’t be available at launch.

The focus, software-wise, may be the new Glyph Matrix, but you can expect some of the typical AI-assisted features like natural language search that Nothing calls Essential search. It will be able to tap into everything on the Nothing Phone 3. Nothing’s cheaper 3a devices leaned into software too, but with the Phone 3 there’s more importance on the specs. The question is: Is this flagship enough?

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

The Phone 3 is priced at $799 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. An $899 model will also launch with 16GB of RAM and 512GB storage. Both black and white versions will be available to pre-order on July 4, with sales starting July 15 on its own store at nothing.tech. The company plans to launch its own drops in select physical locations on July 10.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothing-phone-3-hands-on-dot-matrix-glyph-flagship-phone-173019742.html?src=rss

After numerous waves of similar (and not-so-similar) wireless buds, Nothing is debuting its first pair of over-ear headphones. The Headphone 1 combines the company's recognizable see-through aesthetic with an intriguing array of controls and up to 35 hours of listening with active noise cancellation (ANC). Handily, for its most premium audio launch yet, the $299 headphones accompany the launch of Nothing’s new flagship smartphone: the Phone 3.

First impressions are everything, and these look like Nothing headphones. Once again, the company has incorporated a transparent design element. There’s also an oval shape that showcases a portion of the hardware inside, layered atop an aluminum rectangle with curved corners. The two metal dots on each oval are part of the acoustic chambers, not button inputs as you might think. While the white option looks more “Nothing,” I think I prefer the black, which makes the company’s design choices slightly more subtle.

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

Nothing eschews touch sensors for buttons, paddles and a roller. The roller is a nice touch, offering a more sensitive way to adjust the volume, rather than abrupt level jumps. It can also be pressed to play and pause tracks. Long presses here switch the headphone between active noise cancellation and transparency mode. One unusual aspect is that the roller moves side to side, even when the volume fluctuates up and down. It feels a little weird.

Just below that, the paddle control acts as a track skipper, but also includes the ability to scrub both forward and backward, similar to an old-school rewind. The latter feature depends on support from third-party apps to work.

On the same headphone cup, there’s also a traditional button that acts as a shortcut to voice assistants and my favorite bit of Nothing software, Essential Space. Nothing has added a further boon when paired with Nothing phones, allowing it to seamlessly switch between recent audio apps without requiring you to touch your phone. (Naturally, you’re hostage to whatever was playing last or is cued up.) This feature will first be compatible with the Phone 3 before being rolled out to older Nothing devices. There's already support from the likes of Audible, Soundcloud and Patreon in addition to the usual music streaming suspects.

There’s also an almost secret Bluetooth pairing button on the inner side of the same ear cup. It’s nice that this is a dedicated button as you’re unlikely to unpair from using the primary buttons and controls.

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

Nothing has put work into comfort and fit, and as a mostly wireless earbud listener, I was pleasantly surprised at how the sub-12-ounce (329 grams) headphones felt. They’re almost two ounces lighter than the AirPods Max, which seems to be the product that Nothing is aiming to compete with. However, there are lighter over-ear headphones, including several Bose models and the Sony WH-1000XM6, which weigh under nine ounces.

There’s ample PU leather padding around the ear cushions and the headband, and the company says it should resist oils and makeup. In my testing so far, any sweaty residue was easy to wipe off. (I do wish the ear cushions were replaceable, however.) The adjustable arms also held onto the length I preferred while I was wearing them. I haven’t tested them yet while working out at the gym — they were under embargo after all — but over-ear headphones are an acquired taste for those who sweat it out while listening to music.

Sound-wise, Nothing has built custom 40mm dynamic drivers, with support for Hi-Res Audio, spatial audio with head tracking and ANC with four feedback mics. The cans also support dual device connection, allowing you to hop between your new Nothing Phone (3) and your laptop.

KEF assisted with the acoustic engineering and proprietary tuning tools, apparently aiming to create a sound profile that reproduces music as the artist intended. According to Nothing, the team worked to achieve this across normal playback, ANC and Spatial Audio modes.

The Headphone (1) sounds a little bass-forward, but the soundscape is much richer than Nothing’s collection of wireless buds. Compared to the most premium headphones, though, vocals sometimes sound a little muddy. (In Nothing’s defense, these are pre-release units and software. If things improve, I’ll update this story.)

The updated version of the Nothing X app adds an 8-band EQ and the ability to remap the "Button" (an additional control, separate to the paddle and roller) to channel hopping, AI voice assistants, Noise control, Spatial audio and even switching to your favorite EQ preset.

Nothing says the Headphone (1) will offer up to 80 hours of audio playback, and up to 35 hours with ANC enabled. With ANC on — the mode I use the most for quiet middle-of-the-office listening — I got around that amount of time. You’ll be able to get over two and a half hours of listening from a five-minute quick charge.

Image by Mat Smith for Engadget

The Headphone 1 has a divisive look. Ahead of the launch, I showed them to other editors at Engadget and some were baffled by the mixed use of square aluminum and circular elements. But, it’s different, and that’s Nothing’s MO. Its new headphones will be available for pre-order starting July 4, with sales kicking off July 15. They arrive in black and white color options, priced at $299 (£299/€299).

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/nothing-headphone-1-over-ear-headphones-price-release-date-173018845.html?src=rss

The wait is over. Nothing has officially announced the Phone 3, its first flagship smartphone since entering the market in 2022. Nothing CEO Carl Pei said the company would go "all-in" on the Phone 3 with "premium materials, major performance upgrades and software that really levels things up," and the device Nothing showed off at its launch event in London certainly seems like it will be competitive with the best from Samsung and other Android OEMs.   

In a departure from the company's previous handsets, the Phone 3 has a new "Glyph Matrix" instead of the usual Glyph Interface. The Glyph Matrix trades the bright LEDs of its predecessors for a small, micro-LED screen that occupies the top right corner of the phone. Nothing says it designed the feature to reduce user screen time. The idea here is that you'll be able to see app alerts, contact notifications and real-time progress indicators from the back of your phone, without the need to wake the Phone 3's primary display. 

The Glyph Matrix also comes with a software feature Nothing is calling Glyph Toys. These essentially act like widgets. For instance, the micro-LED can act as as a digital clock, stopwatch or battery indicator. It's also possible to play simple games like Spin the Bottle on the display with the help of a dedicated button on the back of the handset. Nothing is releasing a public SDK to allow people to create their own widgets and games for the Glyph Matrix. In the near future, the company also plans to release a caller ID feature that will allow people to long-press on Glyph Button to show the name of a contact or a phone number during calls.  

Nothing

As for the primary display, it's a 6.67-inch AMOLED with a 1.5K resolution and 4,500 nits of peak brightness on tap. It also offers a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Those specs make it the brightest and sharpest screen Nothing has shipped on one of its phones.   

For photos and video, the Phone 3 comes with a triple rear camera setup and a single selfie camera. All four cameras come with 50-megapixel sensors, and there's optical image stabilization on the main and periscope cameras too. For video nerds, it's possible to shoot footage at 4K and 60FPS across all of the Phone 3's lenses. 

Internally, the phone comes with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 system-on-a-chip that includes a eight-core CPU capable of running at 3.21GHz. The processor is 36 percent faster than the one found inside the Phone 2's Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. GPU performance is also improved, with Nothing promising a 88 percent uplift over the Phone 2's graphics processor. 

For memory, Nothing plans to offer two configurations of the Phone 3, with the base model offering 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. For those who want more storage, the 512GB model also comes with 16GB of RAM. Powering everything is a 5,150mAh battery that supports 65W wired and 15W wireless charging. Nothing claims people will be able to get up to 80 hours of uptime out of the battery, and with the right power adapter, it's possible to charge the phone to full in under an hour. 

Like the Phone 3a and 3a Pro, the Phone 3 comes with a button Nothing calls the Essential Key, which you can use to launch the company's Essential Space app. Think of it as a notes app that comes with a few nifty AI features. With the Phone 3, Nothing is adding a few new features to the software, including a shortcut called "Flip to Record." When you long press the Essential Key and turn your phone over, it will start recording and later transcribe what was said so you have a summary for later use. Out of the box, the Phone 3 comes with Android 15. Nothing plans to support the phone with five years of platform updates and seven years of security patches.    

Pre-orders for the Nothing Phone 3 open on July 4, with global availability to follow on July 15. In the US, the 12GB model will cost $799, while the 16GB variant will set you back $899. That puts the Phone 3 in same price range as a the Galaxy S25. This time around, Nothing plans to sell its new handset through Amazon, in addition to its own website.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/the-799-nothing-phone-3-has-four-50mp-cameras-and-a-secondary-micro-led-display-173014537.html?src=rss

Amazon announced a fresh batch of games that it's giving away for free or nearly free in July. The company's cloud gaming platform, Amazon Luna, has a few notable standouts on its lineup of free titles this month for Prime members in regions where the service is available. However, you'll want to play quick. Resident Evil 2 is available on Amazon Luna now through 11:59PM PT on July 12. Need for Speed Unbound is only free for July 5-6, while EA Sports FC 25 is getting two free weekends on July 19-20 and July 26-27. The director's cut of Death Stranding and the excellent metroidvania Hollow Knight are also on the July roster for Luna, alongside mainstay titles such as Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege and a few Fallout games.

Amazon also gives away game codes outside of Luna to Prime members each month. The big standout in the July batch is Venba, a lovely bite-sized game about cooking, family and the immigrant experience. Here's the full rundown of free games available through Amazon this month:

• Boxes: Lost Fragments (Epic Games Store)

• Paquerette Down the Bunburrows (Epic Games Store)

• ENDLESS Space 2 Definitive Edition (Amazon Games App)

• Besiege: The Splintered Sea DLC (Amazon Games App)

• Venba (GOG)

• I Love Finding Wild Friends Collector's Edition (Legacy Games)

• Heroes of Loot (GOG)

July is shaping up to be a busy month for gaming at Amazon, with the retailer's Prime Day 2025 kicking off in about a week. Amazon has already made a handful of extra game codes available for free ahead of the big deals spree, and if it continues the trend from last year, expect to see a couple more freebies given out once Prime Day begins.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/amazon-unveils-its-prime-gaming-freebies-for-july-2025-170050197.html?src=rss

Chalk one up for prison telecoms — and against inmates' family members — courtesy of Trump's FCC. On Monday, the agency said (via The Verge) it would delay enforcement of a 2024 action aimed at capping prison phone call fees. The rules are now scheduled to take effect in April 2027.

FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez criticized the agency's move in a statement. "Today, the FCC made the indefensible decision to ignore both the law and the will of Congress," she wrote.

Prison phone call fees vary dramatically by state. Last year, the FCC said rates for large jails could reach as high as $11.35 for a 15-minute audio call. Meanwhile, family members calling smaller jails could pay as much as $12.10 for the same period. The rates in other states are much lower, and some have passed laws capping fees.

The fees collected from the families and friends of inmates often include kickbacks to jails and local governments. In 2021, Business Insider reported (via The Verge) that the prison phone call industry raked in $1.4 billion annually. And it's a system that disproportionately affects women and people of color.

Brandon Bell via Getty Images

The FCC's history of regulating those rates is… all over the place. In 2013, the agency capped state-to-state fees. It later tried to limit within-state rates, but a federal court blocked the move. Former FCC Chair Ajit Pai, Trump's first-term appointee, chose not to appeal that decision.

Then, a new administration brought about another shift. Under Jessica Rosenworcel's leadership, the FCC again moved toward capping the fees. In 2023, former President Biden signed legislation clarifying that the FCC indeed has the authority to regulate them. Last year, the FCC adopted the order establishing the details of those rate caps. It seemed as though the book was about to be closed.

And then, Donald Trump returned to office. That brings us back to today, with current FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issuing the two-year delay. He cited "negative, unintended consequences" from the 2024 order. He claimed that the rate caps were too low to cover the cost of safety measures. Carr said the delay would allow local and state governments to explore alternative funding sources.

FCC Commissioner Gomez painted her colleagues' decision as a flagrant attempt to evade the law. "Rather than enforce the law, the Commission is now stalling, shielding a broken system that inflates costs and rewards kickbacks to correctional facilities at the expense of incarcerated individuals and their loved ones," she wrote. "Instead of taking targeted action to address specific concerns, the FCC issued a blanket two-year waiver that undercuts the law's intent and postpones meaningful relief for millions of families. This is a blatant attempt to sidestep the law, and it will not go unchallenged in court."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/the-fcc-delays-enforcement-of-prison-call-rate-caps-165452257.html?src=rss

Marshall has launched its latest compact Bluetooth speaker, the Middleton II. A direct replacement for the first-generation Middleton from 2023, the new speaker promises room-filling 360-degree sound from a device that sits comfortably in the palm of your hand and won’t demand too much space in your backpack for trips.

The original Middleton offered bright clear sound that belied its diminutive proportions, and with its successor Marshall says it has engineered deeper bass and "more refined performance at maximum volume." Powering the beefed up sound are two 30-watt woofers and a pair 10-watt tweeters, with the drivers positioned so that you hear music clearly from wherever you’re standing.

Battery life is rated at more than 30 hours, which is an improvement on the 20 hours offered by its predecessor. A 20-minute charge will be enough to resurrect a fading Middleton II and avoid the wrath of your guests, and like the speaker it’s replacing, it doubles as a power bank if it’s your phone that requires life support.

A multi-directional control knob handles play/pause and song selection, as well as answering calls and volume control. There’s also a built-in microphone for taking calls hands-free. And as you’d hope from a Bluetooth speaker designed to be a road warrior, the Middleton II has an IP67 rating for dust and water exposure, so no need to be precious with it around the pool this summer.

The Marshall Middleton II is available to buy now for $330.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/marshalls-new-middleton-ii-bluetooth-speaker-lasts-30-hours-between-charges-164354372.html?src=rss

Meta announced just a couple weeks ago that it would finally start testing a dedicated inbox for direct messages on Threads. Now, it's making the feature official and rolling out DMs to everyone. As with the earlier test, the update will add a messaging tab to the Threads app where users can access the inbox and exchange DMs with mutuals. 

Meta says that initially people will only be able to send messages to users who already follow them or mutual followers from Instagram, though it plans to roll out more customizable inbox controls in a later update. Messaging will also only be available to Threads users over the age of 18. The app also won't support group messaging for now, though it's apparently in the works. Those limitations could be a bit frustrating as it makes Threads DMs more limited than what's available on Instagram, but it's still a lot more convenient than Meta's previous insistence on relying on the Instagram inbox for Threads.

The company's executives were initially very much opposed to bringing DMs to Threads. Instagram head Adam Mosseri explained his thinking in 2023, noting that "two redundant message threads with each of your friends with the same handles in two different apps" seemed like a less than ideal solution. But that position has made less and less sense as Threads has grown to more than 350 million users. "More than a third of daily Threads users with connections follow mostly different accounts on Threads than on Instagram, showing that Threads is establishing its own unique user base," Meta notes in a blog post.

Two years in, the company is also more explicitly positioning Threads as an alternative to X rather than another offshoot of Instagram. While Mosseri once said that the goal of Threads "isn't to replace Twitter," Meta has since walked back its prohibition on recommending political content and experimented with features to help users find familiar creators from X. The company has also leaned more heavily into real-time conversations and news by making trending topics more prominent in the app and surfacing more links in recommendations. Today's update also adds a "highlighter" feature that will make trends even more visible in users' feeds.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/two-years-later-meta-is-making-dms-on-threads-official-160056258.html?src=rss

Nintendo has confirmed that the top-notch development team behind Super Mario Odyssey, one of the best games for the Switch, has also developed Donkey Kong Bananza for the Switch 2, according to reporting by Eurogamer. The highly anticipated platformer starring Nintendo's iconic ape will be the first 3D Donkey Kong game since 1999's Donkey Kong 64.

We got a chance to go hands-on with Donkey Kong Bananza earlier this year, and we loved the fresh look on the timeless character. DK and his supporting cast were sporting an almost cel-shaded look, reminiscent of the art style seen in recent Zelda games.

Donkey Kong also gained some new skills since we last saw him, including the ability to punch, dig and butt-stomp his way below, into and through much of the terrain around him. It seems that tunneling and shaping the world to your needs will be key to navigating and adventuring in Bananza.

After spending time with the game, we noted, "thanks to all of its new traversal mechanics, in a lot of ways, Bananza reminds me more of Mario Galaxy than Odyssey. It just swapped out the gravity-bending physics for bombastic spelunking."

Donkey Kong Bananza arrives on July 17 for the Nintendo Switch 2.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/donkey-kong-bananza-was-made-by-team-behind-super-mario-odyssey-155453024.html?src=rss

You may be spending more time outside during the summer, especially if you have a grill, but the gadgets in your kitchen will come in handy this season, too. Prime Day deals have already discounted one of our favorite air fryers, so you can grab it on sale and make things like crispy fried chicken with ease. The Ninja Foodi Dual-Zone 10-quart air fryer is $50 off and down to $180 right now. While not an all-time-low price, it's a good sale for this time of year so far from the Black Friday shopping period.

The DZ401 is one of our favorite air fryers. In fact, it's our pick for the best dual-zone air fryer. It heats up quickly and runs quietly, but the real selling point here is the dual-basket setup. If you cook a lot or make meals for several people on a regular basis, the Ninja Foodi DZ401 could be a game changer.

It's possible to use the two baskets to prepare entirely different foods at the same time with distinct cooking modes — you can't do that on a grill. You can also prepare food in both baskets in the same way with the Match Cook feature. 

A very useful feature called Smart Finish can adjust cooking times automatically so that the food in both baskets (perhaps you have a protein in one and vegetables in the other) will be ready at the same time. That should help you avoid waiting for one basket to be down while the other gets cold.

On the downside, this is a machine that will take up a considerable proportion of counter space, so it won't be ideal for small kitchens. If you can make room for it, though, the Ninja Foodi DZ401 could be a valuable addition to your setup.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/pick-up-one-of-our-favorite-ninja-air-fryers-for-50-off-this-prime-day-131214503.html?src=rss

Edgar Wright is remaking The Running Man, and there's a trailer to prove it. Arnold Schwarzenegger's 1987 classic imagined a dystopian 2025 in which an authoritarian government forced cruelty on incarcerated people for entertainment. Now it's actually 2025 and, well, that doesn't sound that far off.

Wright's version injects a bit of humor into the proceedings, while widening the stakes. The 1980s film, which was based on a novel by Stephen King, chronicled a game show in which prisoners had to survive in an abandoned section of Los Angeles while being chased by lethal assassins.

This new movie keeps the basic premise, but expands the location. The participants have to survive 30 days in the outside world while "the entire nation" hunts them down. It looks like they can go anywhere in the country, but there are cameras, prying eyes and, of course, trained killers everywhere.

The cast is pretty stacked. Glen Powell (Top Gun: Maverick) replaces Schwarzenegger and Colman Domingo stands in for the iconic Richard Dawson as the nefarious game show host. This is a big year for Domingo. He starred in the hit Netflix show The Four Seasons and is currently filming an upcoming Steven Spielberg film. The rest of the cast includes Josh Brolin, Michael Cera, William H. Macy, Jayme Lawson and Lee Pace.

As for Edgar Wright, this is the guy behind classics like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. If anyone could put their own spin on a 1980s movie, it'd be Wright. The Running Man opens on November 7 in theaters.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-running-man-trailer-edgar-wright-adds-comedy-to-stephen-kings-sci-fi-dystopia-151559833.html?src=rss

Apple is suing one of its former design engineers for allegedly stealing a trove of trade secrets that he then provided to his new employer, Snap. As reported by SiliconValley.com, Di Liu left his role as senior product-design engineer after a seven-year stint with Apple, citing personal and family reasons in his resignation to the company.

Before leaving Apple, Liu had worked on the Vision Pro headset, where according to the lawsuit seen by SiliconValley.com he was given "access to various Apple technologies that are embodied in Apple Vision Pro or not yet released." The lawsuit also claims that Liu did not disclose to Apple that two weeks prior to resigning he’d been offered a job by Snap — where the designer has been working since January 2025 according to his Linkedin profile — that was "substantially similar" to his role at the company he departed. As well as owning Snapchat, Snap also makes AR glasses called Spectacles, which are currently in their fifth generation.

According to the report, Liu’s decision not to inform Apple that he’d soon be working on a similar product to the Vision Pro at another company meant he was allowed to work his standard two-week departure period. The lawsuit alleges that three days before leaving the company, Liu used his company credentials to download "thousands" of Apple’s corporate documents, which he uploaded into personal cloud storage. It claims he likely intended to deliberately use Apple’s proprietary information at Snap, given the obvious similarities between the products, and added that he deleted files from his company laptop that could have implicated him.

Apple is reportedly seeking unspecified damages, as well as the return of the allegedly stolen trade secrets, and for its former employee’s devices and cloud accounts to be handed over for inspection. SiliconValley.com unsuccessfully approached Liu for comment, but Snap said it has read the claims in Apple’s lawsuit and had "no reason to believe they are related to this individual's employment or conduct at Snap."

This isn’t the first time Apple has sued an ex-employee. In 2019, the company accused Gerard Williams III, who worked on mobile chips for 10 years before joining NuVia Inc, of breaching his contract. Williams disputed the lawsuit and claimed Apple had been spying on his text messages. In 2022, Apple accused the then startup Rivos of poaching employees from its chip design division, with two former employees allegedly taking with them gigabytes of confidential data.

Earlier this year, an ex-Apple engineer issued an apology after confessing to leaking information about upcoming products to journalists during his eight years at the company. A lawsuit alleging that Andrew Aude leaked information about the then unreleased Vision Pro to reporters at The Wall Street Journal and The Information was dismissed.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-claims-former-engineer-shared-vision-pro-secrets-in-new-lawsuit-144914706.html?src=rss

Update, July 1, 10:44AM ET: As first reported on the Wario64 X feed, Best Buy is offering a stock refresh of the Switch 2 today. A company representative confirmed that the Switch 2 will be available, and that you can check availability at nearby stores on the Best Buy site. 

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The Nintendo Switch 2 has been available in the US for more than three weeks — and we finally saw a second wave of availability at retail as June was coming to an end. While it's too early to declare the Switch 2 to be easy to obtain, the fact that Best Buy and Walmart had units to sell online on June 23 and June 25, respectively, is a good sign that attentive shoppers may be able to take advantage of a Switch 2 restock this summer without paying a ridiculous markup. 

That said, if you're looking to join one of the millions of people who have already snagged the $450 console since it officially went up for sale on June 5, you may need to include in-store pickup or joining a rewards program as an option. The former (with online reservations) seems to be the methodology that Best Buy and Target currently prefer, while Walmart's latest Switch 2 drop offered early access to those with Walmart+ (its membership program). 

In the meantime, one place not worth checking for the Switch 2 is Amazon. A report today confirmed that its absence from Amazon's online store was the result of an ongoing dispute between the retailer and Nintendo — though there have been signs of a thaw on games and accessories. All that said, if you're still on the hunt, we’ve rounded up all of the latest information we could find on how to buy the Nintendo Switch 2 and where you can pick one up.

Where to buy the Nintendo Switch 2

Walmart most recently offered the Switch 2 online on June 25, with Walmart+ members getting an hour's head start. Currently, both the Mario Kart World bundle and the standalone console are "available" via third-party retailers, but listed for much higher than their standard $500 and $450 price tags — with limited quantities available. We wouldn't recommend buying these; instead, wait for the console to be listed at its regular MSRP. Naturally, the world's largest retailer is also selling the console at its brick-and-mortar locations, though the company has noted that quantities are limited and inventory will vary by location.

Best Buy made additional consoles available on June 11 around 12PM ET, and again on June 23 after selling out quickly on launch day (June 5). Those restocks lasted for the better part of an hour and required in-store pickup, but the device is now sold out again.

Target had the Switch 2 in stores on June 5 and restocked its online inventory for at least a couple of hours starting around 3:30AM ET on June 6. It then had another restock on June 12 around 2:30PM ET, but that appears to have died out in less than an hour. We also noted it showing up in stock in at least one Philadelphia location on June 24. 

GameStop has advertised in-store availability, though exactly how much stock your local store may have will vary by location. Online, the device has been unavailable for the past week, with the listings for the base console and Mario Kart bundle now pointing to a "Find a Store" page. We saw a $625 bundle that includes Mario Kart World, a microSD Express card and a few other accessories pop up a bit more frequently than the standard SKUs, but it's no longer listed (and it was kind of a raw deal anyway). 

You may still have some luck at certain membership-based retailers. A Mario Kart World bundle at Costco that includes a 12-month Switch Online subscription has gone in and out of stock since launch day. Sam's Club has had a bundle without the Switch Online sub as well, though it's out of stock now. We also saw the console at BJ's early on June 5, but it's no longer live there.

Verizon briefly had the Switch 2 available on launch day, but that's dried up. Only those with Verizon service were able to order, and the process was apparently somewhat rocky. 

Amazon hasn't had any form of Switch 2 listing on its website, nor has it listed Mario Kart World. A June 30 Bloomberg report confirmed what had been widely rumored for weeks: Nintendo was apparently punishing Amazon for continuing to surface third-party retailers selling trans-shipped games. However, some Switch 2 games have started popping up, so it's possible the console may appear at some point, too. 

Newegg has listed the Switch 2 on its site for several weeks, but it's given no indication as to when it'll begin sales. While some listings are available via a third-party seller, they're at massively inflated prices.

With all of these stores, we've seen the Mario Kart World bundle available in greater quantities online than the base console, which costs $50 less. But given that Mario Kart is the Switch 2's biggest launch game and retails for $80 on its own, that may not be the worst thing.

Nintendo, meanwhile, is only offering the Switch 2 via an invite system. This requires you to have been a Switch Online member for at least 12 months and logged at least 50 hours of Switch 1 playtime as of April 2. It can't hurt to sign up if you meet the criteria, but don't expect it to bear fruit immediately — it's taken weeks for many people who registered in April to receive their invite.

You can find a list of every Switch 2 retail listing we could find below. Just be aware that this is meant to be a reference, not a rundown of everywhere the device is available right this second.

Where to buy Switch 2 + Mario Kart World bundle:

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

• Costco (membership required)

• Sam's Club (membership required)

• Verizon (service required)

Where to buy Switch 2:

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

• BJ's (membership required)

• Verizon (service required)

Where to buy Nintendo Switch 2 games and accessories

Nintendo is selling a number of Switch 2 accessories alongside the console, from its (pricey) Pro Controller to cases to cameras for the new GameChat feature. Most of these became available on June 5. The same goes for games like Mario Kart World and the Switch 2 version of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Another big Switch 2 release, Donkey Kong Bananza, won't be available until mid-July but is still up for pre-order now.

As of this publication, just about all Switch 2 games are broadly available. Stock for the accessories remains a little spottier, but most devices are still available at multiple retailers. Nintendo's official Switch 2 carrying cases have been the main exceptions, so you may need to look to third-party alternatives if you want some protection for your console right away.

Mario Kart World ($80)

• Nintendo

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

Donkey Kong Bananza ($70)

• Nintendo

• Amazon

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

• Costco (membership required)

Additional Switch 2 games

• Nintendo

• Amazon

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

Samsung microSD Express Card (256GB) for Nintendo Switch 2 ($60)

• Nintendo

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

• Amazon

Joy-Con 2 bundle ($95)

• Nintendo

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

Switch 2 Pro Controller ($85)

• Nintendo (invite required)

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

• Costco ($75, membership required)

Switch 2 Camera ($55)

• Nintendo

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

Hori Nintendo Switch 2 Piranha Plant Camera ($60)

• Best Buy

• Target

• Amazon

Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip ($40)

• Nintendo

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

Joy-Con 2 Wheels (set of 2) ($25)

• Nintendo

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

Switch 2 All-in-One Carrying Case ($85)

• Nintendo

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

Switch 2 Carrying Case and Screen Protector ($40)

• Nintendo (invite required)

• Walmart

• GameStop

• Best Buy

• Target

Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set ($120)

• Nintendo

Nintendo GameCube Controller for Switch 2 ($65)

• Nintendo (Switch Online required)

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/how-to-buy-the-switch-2-nintendos-restock-updates-from-walmart-best-buy-and-more-120039947.html?src=rss

If you've put off buying an MLS Season Pass this year then you're in luck. Today, Apple TV is cutting the price in half, dropping to $49 from $99, for the rest of the 2025 season. If you have an Apple TV+ subscription then you can get a seasonal subscription to the pass for just $39.

To be fair, the season runs from February to October so the savings more than makes sense — though it wouldn't be suprising for a streamer to charge full price no matter the number of matches left. Apple announced the same deal on July 1 last year so, if you regret paying $99, it's a good thing to keep in mind for next year. 

You can watch matches and the matchday whip-around show in English and Spanish, which has interviews, highlights, replays and more. The seasonal subscription also gives you access to a "featured game of the week" broadcast during Sunday Night Soccer. Plus, watch live MLS Next Pro and MLS Next matches. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/apple-tvs-mls-season-pass-is-half-off-for-the-rest-of-the-season-144305030.html?src=rss