It's been less than a year since Apple updated the iPad Air, but the company is taking another opportunity to speed things up by adding the M3 chip to the mix. The new iPad Air still comes in 11- and 13-inch sizes and starts at the same price as the prior model — $599 for the 11-inch and $799 for the 13-inch. It also works with a redesigned Magic Keyboard, similar to the one Apple introduced last May with the iPad Pro.
It's definitely a strange update, given that Apple doesn't typically upgrade its iPads on an annual basis at this point. And an M3 versus the M2 that it had before likely won't make a big difference to most users — the iPad Air already worked with Apple Intelligence, and the M-series chip also enables it to use the more advanced Stage Manager multitasking mode. I guess moving to the M3 means Apple can get one step closer to winding down M2 production.
Most other specs appear identical to last year's model. The 11- and 13-inch displays are the same resolution and are still stuck at a 60Hz refresh rate, though they are fully laminated to the glass and have an antireflective coating, unlike the screen on the base iPad (which was also just updated). It still uses Touch ID on the power button rather than Face ID, and storage (which starts at 128GB) remains unchanged. As usual, you can get 5G wireless capabilities for an extra $150.
Surprisingly enough, Apple cut the price of the updated Magic Keyboard — it now starts at $269 for the 11-inch and $319 for the 13-inch, $30 less than before in both cases. It's a lighter and thinner keyboard than the one it replaces, and adds an extremely handy function key row to the top. There are a few differences to the keyboard compared to the iPad Pro model, though. It isn't backlit, and the trackpad doesn't have haptic feedback. Still, it's a definite step up over the older model Apple offered, at a better price as well. That said, it's identical in size to the M2 model, so an older Magic Keyboard should work without issue.
Pre-orders start today at Apple and Amazon, and the new iPad Air will ship on March 12. In case you were curious, it looks like it comes in the same four colors as the last model: space grey, starlight silver, purple and blue.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/apple-updates-the-ipad-air-with-an-m3-chip-and-a-new-magic-keyboard-140525345.html?src=rss
Apple has been steadily updating its product lineup over the last year or so to make sure as many devices work with Apple Intelligence as possible. But shockingly enough, the new base iPad now has an A16 chip rather than the A14 in the previous model. That'll certainly provide better performance, but it's not enough for Apple Intelligence. It's an obvious way to differentiate this iPad from the just-updated iPad Air, which now has an M3 chip. The two most recent Air models also work with Apple Intelligence.
One nice thing here is that Apple doubled the storage and kept prices the same — the 128GB model costs $349, and you can also get it with 256GB or 512GB of storage. It comes in blue, pink, silver and yellow.
Besides the A16, much remains the same here, though. The iPad still has a 10.9-inch screen (that they're just calling 11 inches at this point) that lacks some of the niceties you'll find on the iPad Air display like full lamination to the front glass and an antireflective coating. It has basically the same camera array as other non-Pro iPads at this point, a 12-megapixel shooter on both the front and back. There's no Face ID, unsurprisingly — you'll need to authenticate with Touch ID on the power button.
As with the iPad Air, the new base iPad is open for pre-orders now at Apple and Amazon, and will be available on March 12.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/apple-updates-the-base-ipad-with-an-a16-chip-and-more-storage-141208654.html?src=rss
The only surprise in Amazon’s reveal of Alexa+ this week was the price. With inflation rampant and many more impactful subscription services to choose from, $20 per month is an absolutely bonkers price for an as-yet unproven AI chatbot.
Recall that Alexa has historically not cost anything as long as you've had hardware to run it. The same goes for Google Assistant (and now the basic version of Gemini) as well as Apple’s Siri. They’ve always been tools to enhance hardware, not the product itself.
What's stranger is that $20 per month, which I will reiterate is bonkers, is essentially fake — the equivalent of an inflated MSRP. And the reason I know that is because a whole-ass subscription to Prime costs $5 a month less, and includes Alexa+. You can read this one of two ways. Amazon thinks Alexa+ is worth more on its own than the entirety of Prime. Or, the ridiculous pricing is an artificial speedbump to steer people into Amazon's ecosystem while also encouraging them to buy some Echo hardware while they’re at it. Somehow a company accused in the US and Europe of deceptively separating customers from their money hasn't tried this trick yet.
In a vacuum, $20 for Alexa+ does line up with some other premium AI services — OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plus and the Google One Gemini Advanced plan both cost the same. And Amazon is doing something at least a little different by letting a generative AI voice assistant loose on your smart home, just as it did with the original Alexa. And I do find the option to build a library of uploaded documents within Alexa+'s memory intriguing, much as I'd prefer anyone but Amazon be the one storing that info. But despite some potentially useful features, it’s impossible to recommend spending that kind of money on Alexa+ now, given that Amazon predictably flubbed some demos in its presentation and hardly let any journalists at its event really test it out.
I don’t think Amazon is expecting a ton of sign-ups at that $20 monthly price. Besides prodding more people to sign up for Prime, this wild price for Alexa+ telegraphs a move to jack up the cost of Prime sooner than later. It’s been just over two years since Amazon increased Prime’s price, so we’re certainly due for another gouging.
Of course, the company will point to Prime’s “increased value” over that time, and to be fair you do get a lot your dollar at this point — assuming that you want to continue spending more cash at Amazon. And Alexa+, with its built-in ability to make a grocery list and order it through Amazon Fresh or Whole Foods, slots nicely into that framework. Vanilla Alexa's propensity to order regular, non-perishable goods from Amazon — sometimes without users intending it — will of course carry over.
My recommendation? Given the economy, just back the hell away from this entirely. There are plenty of services that are more entertaining or useful for your money. Google’s Gemini Advanced plan comes with 2TB of Drive storage and a handful of other perks. Or you could sign up for Xbox Game Pass. Or blow your money on a couple video-streaming services and let the #content wash over you as we slide into the abyss. At least those options aren’t a portal to handing Amazon more of your hard-earned cash.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/20-a-month-for-an-ai-chatbot-in-this-economy-150021310.html?src=rss
The demise of Humane is perhaps the most predictable tech story of 2025. The company tried to build some buzz around its AI Pin in late 2023, marketing the device as a tiny replacement for smartphones and playing up the fact that Humane’s co-founders were former Apple employees. The problem was that it wasn’t really clear what the AI Pin would do to justify its $700 asking price (plus a $24/month subscription).
It didn’t take long for things to spiral out of control. The AI Pin was released in April of 2024 to some of the worst reviews I’ve ever seen for a consumer tech product. Just a month after launch, reports surfaced that the company was already trying to be acquired — for the positively ludicrous sum of $750 million to $1 billion dollars. At the same time, it was rumored that Humane sold only 10,000 Pins, a far cry from the 100,000 they had planned for. HP was named as a potential suitor last May, and the company smartly waited until they could pluck Humane for a comparatively paltry $116 million.
As it turned out, waving your hands and shouting about the promise of AI doesn’t make it any easier to build compelling hardware — we slammed its high price, terrible battery life, slow performance, excessive heat and hard-to-use projected display. (And Engadget was far from the only publication toevisceratethisdevice.)
Hayato Huseman for Engadget
For a device whose main interface was conversational, the challenges the AI Pin had answering questions or executing commands made it a non-starter. Even when it did what was asked, it did it in some strange ways, like sending generic texts instead of letting you dictate what exactly you wanted to say. Its camera rarely worked as intended; after taking photos and viewing them on the projector, the Pin would get extremely warm and sometimes just shut down entirely. Speaking of that projection screen, it was nearly impossible to actually see it outdoors, even on a cloudy day. And interacting with it made our reviewer Cherlynn Low want to “rip [her] eyes out.”
The whole debacle is an illustrative example of how most consumer-grade AI isn’t ready for prime time. Google and Apple may be trying to shove Gemini and Apple Intelligence down our throats on nearly every product they make, but those tools are additive, built on top of the strong foundations of each company’s existing platforms. In Humane’s case, there was nothing to fall back on. And the combo of terrible voice responses and recognition paired with a projector display that was not at all ready for prime time (not to mention the other hardware failings) was far too much to overcome.
There was simply no intelligence to be found here, artificial or otherwise.
To be fair to Humane, building hardware is notoriously difficult; first-generation products often have glaring flaws, even when you’re talking about massive companies like Apple. The first iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch may have shown huge promise, but they also had strange omissions and performance issues that made them hard to recommend to everyone.
Some companies manage to figure that out; Pebble is a great example of a hardware startup that survived some early issues to find some success. It beat Apple, Samsung and Google to the smartwatch market, and did it in a way that has yet to be imitated (maybe that’s why the company is being resurrected). The Pebble wasn’t exactly the most elegant piece of hardware, but both the watch and its software worked well enough that it paved the way for the more advanced smartwatches we have today. Of course, that wasn’t enough to keep Pebble alive, as the company eventually filed for insolvency and had its assets picked up by Fitbit (which was later purchased by Google, if you’re keeping track).
Humane’s situation at launch wasn’t entirely different — it was trying to build a new type of hardware altogether, and history tells us that the first products in a new space are going to be far from perfect. But, if there had at least been a glimmer of useful software, Humane might have survived to improve on those hardware problems with a future version. But its assistant was so bad that it killed any potential that the AI Pin had. There was simply no intelligence to be found here, artificial or otherwise.
My takeaway from the Humane disaster is that it’s too soon to spend your hard-earned money on the promise of AI — the marketplace isn't solidified at this point, and trusting a brand-new company like Humane to get this sort of thing right is several bridges too far. (If you're not convinced, look at the similarly flawed Rabbit R1.) Apple Intelligence is still half-baked at best, but at least you can turn it off and ignore it. But the AI Pin, well, relied completely on AI, and it wasn’t just “not ready” — it was one of the worst devices we’ve ever tried in our nearly 21 years as a publication. For some thousands of early adopters, that means their Pin will be a brick in just a few days, with no financial compensation coming their way. But hey, at least it will still be able to tell you its battery level.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/the-humane-ai-pin-debacle-is-a-reminder-that-ai-alone-doesnt-make-a-compelling-product-190119112.html?src=rss
We're in the tail end of winter here, but it's snowing as I write this. Not a lot, but just enough to be a potential frustration to the move I have planned for later this week. Basically, winter weather sucks, and one of the worst things about it is how unpredictable it can be. The Weather Company, owners and developers of the Weather Channel app (but not the TV station) know this, and have just released a feature to try and make planning for storms a little easier.
It's called probabilistic snowfall, and it aims to give you greater insight into just how severe or impactful a storm might be. You'll still see the standard "50 percent chance of snowfall" in your forecasts, but in the 72 hours leading up to snow, you'll also see the percent change for specific snowfall amounts. For example, you'll see that there's an 80 percent chance of snow overall, but you'll also see bars detailing how likely more specific snowfall amounts are. In this screenshot from the app, you can see that five to eight inches is the most likely outcome, followed by eight to 12 inches — enough snow that you might want to change your plans to deal with it.
According to Rachel Chukura, head of product at The Weather Company, that was precisely the vision behind the feature. "The idea is that users can see the different probabilities and know there could be variations, she said. "That's important because of all the decisions we make in terms of what weather we think is coming. What time do you need to leave for your commute, will there be a school delay, and so on." And while the company is starting with snowfall forecasts, they also hope to bring it to more forecasting tools over time.
I've been using the feature for about a week, just in time to see it pop up for the small storm we had in Philadelphia last night. I obviously can't say how accurate it is, as I'm not out there measuring snowfall with a ruler. But the few inches we got overnight were in line with the probabilistic forecast, and it was helpful leading up to the storm to know I likely didn't have to worry about the weather truly being an inconvenience.
The feature is part of the Weather Channel app's premium subscription, which costs $30 per year. Besides probabilistic snowfall, that also removes ads, shows longer-term forecasts on the radar, adds a 30-mile lightning strike map and provides more detailed 15-minute weather breakdowns. While most people out there will stick with the default weather app on their phones, or just use the free version of the Weather Channel or other similar apps, there's definitely something to be said for greater insight into how likely you are to get crushed by a snowstorm.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/the-weather-channel-app-can-show-how-likely-you-are-to-get-specific-snowfall-amounts-165900316.html?src=rss
The long wait is finally over. In a YouTube video with little fanfare, Nintendo officially introduced the long-awaited Switch 2. The first true next-gen follow-up to the original Switch includes backwards-compatibility for owners of existing Switch games. We'll learn more about the console in a Nintendo Direct presentation on April 2, 2025. There's still no firm release date, though.
Nintendo is also planning to host first-look experience events in cities around the globe starting in April, the first of which take place in New York City and Paris from April 4 to April 6. More cities around North America, Europe, Oceania and Asia will follow.
This trailer and accompanying press release are truly light on details. We see how the Switch 2 evolves from the original, with a larger screen and accompanying Joy-Con controllers that do appear to be attachable via magnets and a tiny port on the side of the controller. That's it, though — no price, specs or any details on what games are coming to the Switch 2.
That said, we did see a few shots of a Mario Kart game running on the Switch 2 — so all the rumors surrounding a Mario Kart 9 launching alongside the Switch 2 got another shot in the arm today.
The announcement of the Switch 2 has been a long time coming. Today's news caps off months of speculation about when the company would unveil new hardware. The community interest in a Switch 2 was vocal enough that president Shuntaro Furukawa posted on X ahead of the June 2024 Nintendo Direct not to expect any new console news, although he did confirm that the Switch's successor would be introduced by March 2025.
Nintendo has given players some minor upgrades over the years since the Switch first arrived on the scene in 2017. The Switch Lite offered a more compact handheld ideal for gaming on the go, and the Switch OLED delivered a premium screen. But even within the limitations of a portable gaming device, the Switch has lagged far behind other consoles when it comes to power and performance. Of course, trying to compete with Sony and Microsoft's consoles on pure power hasn't been Nintendo's concern for decades at this point. Once we get our hands on the Switch 2, we'll know whether it delivers enough oomph to feel worth the wait.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-is-official-with-more-details-coming-on-april-2-2025-131325484.html?src=rss
Smart speakers have become the ultimate multitaskers for your home, combining great sound with the convenience of voice assistants like Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri. Whether you’re streaming your favorite playlists, checking the weather, controlling your smart home devices or setting reminders hands free, a good smart speaker can make your day-to-day life a whole lot easier — and more fun, too.
And there’s a smart speaker for everyone. If you’re an audiophile, some models prioritize high-quality sound that can fill a room. If you’re on a budget, there are plenty of affordable options that still pack in tons of features. And if you’re deep into the smart home ecosystem, finding a speaker that seamlessly connects to your devices will be a game-changer. We’ve picked out the best smart speakers for every need, whether you’re after booming bass, a sleek design or advanced voice assistant capabilities.
Picking an assistant
The first thing most people should do is decide what voice assistant they want to use. Google Assistant and Amazon's Alexa are both well-supported options that are continually evolving, with new features added at a steady clip. A few years ago, Alexa worked with more smart home products, but at this point, basically any smart device worth buying works with both.
Google vs. Alexa
It's mostly a matter of personal preference. If you’re already entrenched in the Google ecosystem and own an Android phone, it makes sense to stick with that. And if you have multiple Google-based smart devices in your home, you can use Google Home to easily control and navigate your devices. But while Alexa isn’t quite as good at answering general knowledge questions, it syncs just fine with things like calendars from your Google account. And it works with perhaps the widest variety of smart home products as well. If you’ve never used Alexa or Google Assistant, you can download their apps on your iOS or Android phone and spend some time testing them out before buying a speaker.
There are downsides to having a smart home device that’s always listening for a wake word, as giving more personal information to Amazon, Apple and Google can be a questionable decision. That said, all these companies have made it easier to manage how your data is used — you can opt out of humans reviewing some of your voice queries, and it's also less complicated to manage and erase your history with various digital assistants, too.
Sonos vs. Apple
If you buy a Sonos device with a microphone, you can also use the company's own voice assistant, voiced by Giancarlo Esposito. It's focused purely on music control, so you won't use it to do things like send messages or ask the weather forecast. But as a music assistant, Sonos Voice Control is generally quite fast and reliable.
As for Apple, you won’t be surprised to learn the HomePod and HomePod mini are the only Siri-compatible speakers on the market. It’s rumored that Apple will potentially release a new range of smart displays, like its HomePod with a touchscreen, sometime soon. Apple's Siri has a reputation for not being as smart as Alexa or Google Assistant, but it’s totally capable of handling common voice queries like answering questions, controlling smart home products, sending messages, making calls and streaming music via AirPlay. Technically, Siri and Apple’s HomeKit technology doesn’t work with as many smart home devices as the competition, but it’s not hard to find compatible gear. And Apple has most definitely improved Siri’s functionality over the last couple years, with handy features like and Intercom tool and routines that take advantage of the built-in temperature sensor in the HomePod and HomePod Mini.
Best smart speakers for 2025
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/best-smart-speakers-151515264.html?src=rss
Skate City was an Apple Arcade launch title way back in 2019, developed by Agens and published by Snowman, a company well-known for its mobile-first games like Alto's Adventure, the "sequel" Alto's Odyssey, When Cards Fall and a handful of other intriguing titles. It's been over five years since Skate City first arrived, but the Snowman / Agens team is back with Skate City: New York, which is out on Apple Arcade today.
There have been a number of content updates to the original game over the years, but this is a full-fledged new title that feels quite familiar but also has a number of improvements and updates. I had a chance to try Skate City: New York a few days before its launch, and I also spoke with Snowman's Ryan Cash and Andrew Schimmel about the new game, which they said has been in the works for a good three years now.
As with the first Skate City, you're rolling left-to-right in classic side-scrolling format here. To make things accessible, you can pull off tricks by swiping in one of eight directions on the lower half of the screen; the left side is for ollie-based tricks while the right shifts you to nollie. You don't have to do anything precise to land, just launch the trick and the game will make sure you hit the ground rolling (unless you land on stairs or an obstacle, of course). That's the basic starting point, but you can also do spins, manuals, grinds and more. It's simpler than a game like the classic Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series or the recent OlliOlli World, but there's still a lot of timing and dexterity involved in really nailing your runs.
As you'd expect, the visuals are more dynamic and the backgrounds are much-improved over the original (which was still a lovely game). But what sets this one apart the most, according to Schimmel, is the fact the "Pro Skate" mode, which is the most involved part of the game, uses procedurally-generated levels.
"We didn't want to limit ourselves to the original [game's] loops through the city, but instead make something that was more adaptive and dynamic," Schimmel said. "Procedural generation was the answer and the biggest technical challenge." It's not something that I was able to pick up on immediately, since I've only played the game for a couple hours, but Schimmel's confident it'll make Skate City: New York have even more replay-ability than the original.
Snowman / Agens
Pro Skate reminds me a lot of Snowman's Alto's Adventure, but translated to skating — the goal is to go as far as you can and rack up as many points as possible while completing three objectives to level your progress up. Objectives are things like "land three 180-degree spins" or "grind for 100 meters." But with levels more unpredictable than in the prior game, you'll need to be better at reacting on-the-fly to new obstacles, which can end your run but also give you an opportunity for a good grind or trick.
As with all of Snowman's games, there are no in-app purchases here; instead, you'll get points for completing challenges and leveling up in Pro Skate. You can then use those to customize your character with the much more flexible and expanded Skate Shop. You can tweak your character's body, hair, facial characteristics, clothes, skateboard and so forth. I haven't played around with it a ton yet but it's obviously right off the bat that there's a lot more personalization here.
As with Skate City, Snowman promises that there will be a steady stream of fresh challenges and more parts of the city to explore over the next year and beyond. Schimmel referred to it as a "live services" game even though there's no monetization aspect to it. I also asked how the team decided to release Skate City: New York through Apple Arcade versus having it be a one-time payment or even including paid updates in the game — Cash called it an "easy choice."
"We haven’t done a paid up-front game since Alto's Odyssey in 2018," Cash said. "Apple Arcade and Netflix Games are where we're at right now. And it was an easy choice when talking about Skate City: New York, because the first game was a launch title and found a lot of success there. It just made sense to bring it back to Apple Arcade." The first Skate City eventually came to consoles and PC, as well, and Cash said that was definitely under consideration for the future, but the goal is to make a mobile-first title as good as it can be.
While the game doesn't feel wildly different than its predecessor, Skate City: New York still feels like a premium mobile game at a time when those can be hard to find. And Snowman and Agens have done a great job of balancing the pick-up-and-play aspects of a good mobile game with a deeper experience, at least from what I've seen so far. "We want a seven-year-old who's excited about skateboarding to have fun," Cash said, "as well as people like us who grew up loving skateboarding and really want a challenge."
Skate City: New York is out today exclusively on Apple Arcade.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/skate-city-new-york-is-a-mobile-game-that-manuals-the-line-between-casual-and-deep-play-191526652.html?src=rss
At CES last year, Sony teased an AR/VR headset prototype focused on “spatial content creation.” And at the same time, Siemens announced it was working with Sony to use that same hardware, including the two new controllers it developed, for something it was calling the “industrial metaverse.” That’s a lot of buzzwords, but at CES 2025 both Siemens and Sony showed the headsets and associated software in action which helped clear up a lot of what the companies are trying to do here.
During Sony’s CES press conference, it announced its XYN brand of software and hardware solutions, with the headset being a key part of the equation. The XYN “spatial capture solution” uses mirrorless cameras to scan and make photorealistic 3D objects. Using the XYN headset, you can see those objects in 3D production software for animation, video games and other potential uses.
I got a chance to try the XYN headset on, as well as see some samples of the 3D objects that were scanned and manipulated. The demo itself was a little rocky, as so many VR demos can be, but essentially I was placed inside an animated world that had already been constructed. From there, I was able to import a geode / crystal-like object that had been scanned using the spatial capture tools. I could move it all around the virtual space, scaling it up to massive size or shrinking it down to a tiny pebble.
Sony
The headset itself felt well-constructed and sturdy for a prototype — the display flips up so you can get back into the real world quickly, and the headband was pretty comfortable and secure. As usual, though, it’s hard to evaluate how it’ll feel after an hour or two around your noggin. The controller wand felt a little fiddly to me — its somewhat unusual shape makes it well-suited to pointing, but figuring out how to “grab” down on things took me a bit. I can’t say how steep the learning curve is, but at least everything felt responsive and well-made.
While the demo itself wasn’t ground-breaking, it was a good example of showing the whole XYN pipeline, from capturing a 3D object to manipulating and using it to build out a virtual environment. Sony says the XYN headset and its controllers are still in the prototype phase, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we find out more about public availability sooner than later.
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
That’s because Siemens announced this week that what appears to be the exact same headset and controllers are now on sale, albeit with a very different focus. Siemens coined the “industrial metaverse” phrase last year, and I got a chance to learn more about just what that means. It turns out that Sony originally built the headset for internal use for designers and engineers to build things in 3D space. They were already using Siemens software, so the companies started working together to optimize both sides of the experience — and now Siemens thinks they’re at a point where they can sell the headset and software bundles to enterprise customers.
Siemens highlighted its AR capabilities a bit more, showing off how you could pin its NX Immersive Designer and use the headset as a virtual workspace — but one that lets you enlarge and manipulate the 3D objects you’re designing. You can also jump into VR mode and see the objects at full size and move around them using the headset’s controller. In this demo, I got to fly around massive 3D reproductions of a few airplanes, and while they weren’t the most detailed objects, the utility was clear.
Sony
I also used the second controller Sony developed in the Siemens demo. In addition to the pointer-style device, I had a ring over my index finger on my left hand. I used that to move around the virtual space; holding and turning my hand a specific direction moved me forwards and backwards or up and down. As always, it took a minute to get my bearings, but I was getting right up close to the virtual planes and “flying” up to check out their details before long.
Siemens is definitely further along in the quest to bring this product to end users: the XR HMD is up for pre-order now for $4,750, and the company says it’ll begin shipping next month. So the hardware is definitely beyond the prototype phase — in Sony’s case, it’s probably more a matter of making sure the whole pipeline of XYN software and hardware works together before making it widely available.
Sony and Siemens definitely face a challenge showing people how these tools can be useful — a four-minute demo doesn’t really do the trick, and I’m neither an engineer nor a “content creator” who might use the XYN tools. But what I find most intriguing about this strategy is that Sony is recognizing that its headset isn’t a broad consumer product; instead, they’re finding different places and industries where it might be useful. At this point, that’s probably a smart strategy, given that consumer-grade AR and VR remains very niche outside of the gaming sphere. But assuming Sony’s headset hardware is up to snuff, it wouldn’t surprise me to see other companies adopt it for their specific needs.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/sonys-xyn-xr-headset-is-being-used-in-very-different-ways-at-ces-2025-204020872.html?src=rss
The Detroit-based company Astrohaus has been making its “distraction-free writing tools” under the Freewrite name for about a decade. So far, those have all been standalone, single-purpose devicesmeant simply for drafting text, but Astrohaus is branching out at CES 2025. The company just announced a mechanical keyboard called the Freewrite Wordrunner, a device designed specifically with writers in mind.
This comes more than three years after Astrohaus quietly revealed intentions to build a keyboard, originally known as the Maestro. But the company eventually pulled the plug on its planned 2022 launch, and I hadn’t heard anything about it since then — it seems that they’ve just been working away at it this whole time. CEO Adam Leeb said in a press release that the company had been iterating and developing it for almost four years.
Freewrite
Mechanical keyboards have largely become the domain of gamers; the company wanted to build a device for people who make their living writing instead. Without spending some quality time with it, I can’t say if they’ve hit that mark yet, but there are some fun ideas on display here.
The Wordrunner has a tenkeyless design that looks familiar at first glance, but you’ll quickly notice that the function row has been replaced by a custom set of keys that’ll make zipping around text documents faster. That includes find and replace, undo and redo, paragraph up and down as well as back, forward and reload keys. I’d be upset about losing media controls from the function row, but the Wordrunner has it covered with the bright red joystick / button. It moves in all four cardinal directions, can be turned like a knob and can also be pressed in vertically to skip tracks, change volume or pause your tunes.
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
On the other side, you’ll find three customizable macro keys with the cutesy names “zap,” “pow” and “bam.” They’re programmable for anything you might want, but Astrohaus suggested using them to launch specific writing apps, converting text to title case or inserting the date. I don’t yet know what I’d use them for, but having customizable keys is a table-stakes feature for most enthusiast keyboards so I’m glad to see them here.
Probably the most visually striking thing about the Wordrunner are the two mechanical counters you’ll see up top. One is a timer you can use for writing sprints or just staying focused for a bit. More intriguing is the Wordometer dead-center at the top of the keyboard. It’ll track your words with its whopping eight-digit mechanical counter, and since it saves your word count as long as you want, you could try and max it out someday. Of course, you can also reset it at any time or pause it if you don’t want it to advance while you’re chatting with friends or sending emails.
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
The mechanical keys are backlit and use Kailh switches; the keycaps are replaceable but the switches aren't. It also has some sound dampening built in so you can use it without subjecting everyone around to you overly loud key clacks (this may be a plus or minus depending on how you like your keyboards). As for connectivity, the Wordrunner uses Bluetooth or USB-C, and you can pair the keyboard with three different devices and quickly switch between them with dedicated hotkeys.
I got a chance to play with a prototype of the Wordrunner, and my first impressions was "wow, this is heavy!" It's a thick slab of polished aluminum that matches the finish of the premium Hemingway edition of the Smart Typewriter. Astrohaus founder / CEO Adam Leeb told me that the company was shooting to make this keyboard feel like a premium, limited edition with the finish even if they're planning for it to be part of the permanent portfolio.
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
While I didn't get to try the Wordrunner hooked up to a computer, I still got to see the mechanical Wordometer turn over when I started typing. It's quite satisfying to see it count up as I wrote an imaginary story on it, and there's a small LED that's green when the counter is turned on and red when you turn it off. The keys and travel all felt great, and the joystick was similarly a lovely tactile experience — I'm looking forward to using it like a volume knob for media. Leeb says that this keyboard is still a prototype, but it feels quite polished and nearly final to me.
Finally, there’s the ever-present question of availability. Astrohaus is launching the Wordrunner on Kickstarter, as it has done with most of its other hardware over the last 10 years. The campaign should start in February with early bird pricing, but we don’t know what that price will be yet. Fortunately, there’s a pretty low-commitment way to get the best price if you’re curious. Astrohaus says you can place a $1 reservation for priority access and the best possible pricing, with plans to deliver the first batch of keyboards before the end of the year. That’s a long ways out, but a buck isn’t a bad investment if you’re interested.
Update, January 8 2024, 9:27PM ET: This article has been updated to include some hands-on impressions and photos of the Wordrunner.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/the-latest-freewrite-device-is-a-fancy-mechanical-keyboard-built-with-writers-in-mind-220005961.html?src=rss
As Engadget's chief The Last of Us correspondent, I was pretty pumped to find out during Sony's CES 2025 press conference that season two of the HBO show would come out in April. But Naughty Dog head Neil Druckmann also teased a "location-based experience exhibit" that would transport participants into the tunnels of Seattle filled with Infected. That's an area straight out of The Last of Us Part II, and today I got a chance to try the proof-of-concept experience. It was short, minimal, and a little rough, but it was also another good example of how Sony is trying to take its tentpole franchises from PlayStation and put them in entirely different experiences.
Unfortunately, Sony had a strict "no cameras or videos" policy for this experience, so you'll have to rely on my words and a little video the company showed about the tech behind it.
I entered the experience with three other participants after a quick run-down of the gear we'd use: two of us got shotguns, and two got flashlights (sadly I was stuck with a flashlight). Both have a bunch of small sensors attached to the front so that they could interact with the environment we entered; the flashlight felt like a real flashlight with some sensors on the end, but the guns were crude tubes with a handle and trigger; the trigger felt pretty good from my quick test of it before we got started. There are also sensors on the barrel of the gun that detect a "pump" motion to reload it.
Once we were outfitted, an actor playing a member of an unnamed militia briefed us on the mission: some of our fellow mercenaries disappeared in the Seattle subways — perhaps kidnapped by the WLF, perhaps taken down by Infected. Our job was to find him... what could go wrong?
Our guide directed me and the other flashlight-holder to start lighting up the subway station — which was created by three giant screens surrounding us. The walls of the room were made of LED panels, and the sensors on the flashlights interacted with them to track my moment. I needed to be pretty close to the screens for it to recognize my flashlight, but it was pretty cool to be lighting up a virtual environment in real time.
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
Then, of course, a clicker scream puts the group on high alert — and given that it came from a specific location we all swing our flashlights in that direction to identify the threat. Just as in the game, though, the disgusting infected creature shambled closer to us, let out another scream and came charging forward, at which point the shotgunners blasted away with abandon. That noise brought more Infected charging into the space; I would light them up with the flashlight and my partner shot them down.
Things calmed down, momentarily — then a massive subway car started sliding out of its precarious place, which trigged one of the demo's coolest effects. The floor was rigged for haptic feedback, and while we had felt it rumble at various disturbances, this was by far the biggest impact. The combo of the visuals, audio and haptics all made it feel, well, immersive. I certainly didn't forget I was in a demo, but it was cool nonetheless. Beyond the floor haptics, Sony says that there are even scents pumped into the room to further the atmosphere, but I wasn't able to detect anything myself.
Then we got the obligatory cameo from The Last of Us Part II co-protagonist Ellie and her companion Dina, as they scrambled away from Infected who start chasing them down. One knocked Ellie down and started ripping at her throat until Dina caught up and pulled it off her, at which point they sprinted away. Unfortunately, the disturbance brought a massive swarm of monsters coming at us, which brought on the big battle of the experience. I started illuminating the hordes and my companion blasted them down, but then dozens started overwhelming the screens and the screams got more and more intense until everything cut to black as our crew was overrun. That's that!
I'm not judging the experience too harshly, because Sony was clear both in its press conference and before we tried it that this is a very early proof of concept. The main thing that pulled me out of it was that the space we were in is static — there's no way to run away or move beyond the boundaries of what we were presented with. And then, as I mentioned, you needed to be relatively close to the "walls" for them to recognize the flashlight or gun, which meant that if you backed up to take in the scope of the space you gear might not work.
The other barrier to it being truly scary or more immersive is that I couldn't ignore the fact that the threat was on a screen rather than in the room with me. There's no doubt that having full control in an environment like this would be a wild way to play a game like this, but it was all just a little too on the rails and removed from the space I was in.
I'm trying to track down anyone from Sony who can tell me more about the genesis for this idea as well as where they see it going in the future. But Sony and Naughty Dog have already brought The Last of Us to a variety of other media, and this feels like a more high-tech vision of what Sony did in conjunction with Universal Studios when it brought the franchise to the Halloween Horror Nights that happens at the theme parks. Whether this is a one-off curiosity or something we see down the line in a more complete fashion, though, remains to be seen.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/sonys-immersive-the-last-of-us-experience-at-ces-2025-dropped-me-into-a-subway-filled-with-zombies-140010550.html?src=rss
There's so much AI-powered nonsense at CES that it's kind of refreshing to see a very straightforward, classic gadget like the Swippitt. It's a breadbox-sized hub that contains five battery packs that can fit into a a custom-made iPhone case. When the battery is in the case, it works like similar product, keeping your phone juiced up. The trick is that when the battery is empty, you pop your phone into the top of the box and it automatically removes the battery from the case and drops in a fresh one.
Keeping our phones charged up is definitely a problem, but it's fair to ask whether Swippitt is an over-engineered (or possibly too expensive) solution. For $450 you get the Swippitt hub and five batteries, but you'll also need to purchase a separate $120 case for your iPhone. The team is making cases for the iPhone 14, 15 and 16 series and is also working on ones for Samsung as well. If you're intending this to be a family solution for multiple phones, things could get pricy fast.
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
That said, there's something charming about having a little box that can just drop a fully-charged battery into your phone case in seconds. I wish you could see the inside and actually see the batteries change — maybe we'll get a transparent model in the future. Naturally, there's also an app that'll let you check the status of all five batteries, whether they're in the charger or out being used. Parents can even get alerts for when their kids' phone drops below 15 percent.
Probably the biggest challenge for Swippitt is keeping up with phones as they get slight tweaks and revisions every year that change their dimensions — and, more importantly, their batteries. Phone batteries will surely keep getting larger and require more power to recharge, so Swippitt will have to stay on top of both case design and battery pack design. It feels like a lot to ask for a small start-up, but they've already contended with such changes — Apple's addition of a dedicated camera button to the iPhone 16 series meant they had to quickly redesign the case.
Nathan Ingraham for Engadget
As for availability, Swippitt says it'll start shipping initial orders in April, but it expects it'll take a few months from there to get fully up to speed. And while the $450 price tag is steep, Swippitt is offering 30 percent off initial orders in January, plus you can grab a $100 off early CES discount through January 17, which considerably changes the financial equation. If you're hard on your phone's batteries and want to keep it juiced up without ever really giving it a thought, that convenience might be worth the cost.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/the-swippit-hub-keeps-your-iphone-loaded-up-with-fresh-batteries-041320116.html?src=rss
Sony's CES 2025 press conference was huge on the entertainment front if you're a PlayStation fan. In a series of rapid-fire announcements, the company announced it was making an anime based on Ghost of TsushimaLegends, the cooperative multiplayer mode from the acclaimed game. It then followed that up with news that Columbia Pictures was in the early stages of developing a movie based on the post-apocalyptic PlayStation game Horizon Zero Dawn. Finally, Neil Druckmann from Naughty Dog popped out to announce that season two of The Last of Us would hit HBO in April.
We already know a fair bit about The Last of Us season two — its based on 2020's The Last of Us Part 2, but it won't take us through all of the events of the second game. It'll take at least two seasons to retell the story of that terrific but complex misery simulator. This season, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Catherine O'Hara and Jeffery Wright join season one veterans Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.
The other projects remain a mystery for now. A bit over two years ago, we heard that Horizon Zero Dawn was being adapted as a series for Netflix, but the project eventually fell apart. I'm definitely curious to see how they'll streamline the game's sprawling storyline into a tight narrative for a two-hour movie (or even a three-hour one), but hopefully a strong creative team is behind this one.
As for Ghost of Tsushima, it's another of the most well-regarded and popular PlayStation Studios titles, with a sequel on the way, so this is just another example of Sony using some of its best gaming titles to expand into the broader entertainment space — making these stories more accessible to people who are less likely to play a 20-to-40-hour game. After the event, Sony said that the series will premiere exclusively on Crunchyroll in 2027.
On a personal note, The Last of Us and Horizon Zero Dawn are two of my favorite games of all time, so this 10-minute blast of good news was most welcome in the middle of a very long day at CES!
Update, January 7, 2:40PM ET: This story was updated to add a release window at platform for the Ghost of Tsushima anime.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-last-of-us-season-2-arrives-in-april-and-a-horizon-zero-dawn-film-is-in-the-works-020950940.html?src=rss
Every year at CES, Stern Pinball has a new game to show off. They're one of the oldest and most well-known pinball manufacturers (not to mention one of the few left standing in 2025) so it's always fun for me, a pinball nerd, to check out what they have to show off. This year, it's a new machine meant to celebrate 50 years of Dungeons & Dragons called Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye. And like many pinball games, you can just walk up and play without knowing the intricacies of the game, but there's a lot here to uncover over time.
The thing that caught my eye was the fact that you can pick a character and level them up over time, provided you use Stern's Insider Connected app. That app already lets you create a profile and keep track of achievements, games in your area, your top scores and other features (you "log in" by scanning a QR code from the app). But with Dungeons & Dragons, you can actually improve your character over time and save your progress through the game's many modes. When you first start, you choose a character and location, and those choices will affect the goals you need to achieve. Stern specifically say that its new "PinSave" system will let you save character experience points, inventory items and game campaign progress across multiple games.
That's a subtly wild move for a pinball game — usually you get three balls and that's it. It's a nod to how complex newer games can get these days, and Stern already experimented with something similar on its Venom game from 2023. The same lead designer built both Venom and Dungeons & Dragons, and a representative from Stern said he looked at the saved progress in Venom as a way to experiment and trial for the bigger system in place for the latest game.
I got to take Dungeons & Dragons for a spin (the Stern rep told me I was the first person who wasn't an employee to play the game), and while there's only so much you can glean from a couple plays, it feels much like other modern Stern machines. That's not a bad thing — the playfield is lovely, and the large dragon on the left side presents some interesting challenges. Stern told me that it can try and block shots and also it enables a wild eight-ball multiball mode, with the dragon actively trying to bounce your balls into the drain. I didn't get to try this, but I'm looking forward to seeing it sooner or later. There's also a gelatinous cube that can freeze your ball in place via magnets.
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
Finally, there's an impressive voice cast on this game, including Michael Dorn (Worf from Star Trek) and Kevin Smith, as well as Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray and Laura Bailey from Critical Role. That's just a handful of those participating in the game; you can check out the full list here.
Photo by Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
I've never bothered using Stern's Insider Connected app before, mostly because I'm lazy — but if there's a Dungeons & Dragons machine near me I'll probably give it a shot. While you can easily enjoy the game and play your three balls without making an account, more hardcore players will probably enjoy the process of leveling up over time, and it's a feature that makes perfect sense given D&D's focus on progression over time.
As usual, this machine is not cheap — Stern is only making 740 total, with prices ranging from $6,999 for the Pro edition up to $12,999 for the limited edition. Start saving those quarters, D&D / pinball fans. Or, on a more reasonable note, start keeping an eye out at your local arcades. Stern's app will help you find games near you, too, if you want to go the more modern route.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/sterns-latest-pinball-machine-is-a-loving-tribute-to-dungeons--dragons-131053243.html?src=rss
Samsung's Frame series of TVs are some of the best art TVs available, which are great for those who want a screen that blends more seamlessly into their home decor. Samsung CES 2025 announcements include an expansion of the Frame lineup with new Frame Pro sets, which are more advanced models that include the company’s top-of-the-line Neo QLED panels.
Besides the panel, the Frame Pro also uses Samsung's Wireless One Connect box, which lets you transmit content from consoles or set-top boxes to the TV without needing to plug things in directly. Instead, you plug into the Wireless One Connect and it'll beam things to the TV, which means you can make a much cleaner, cable-free setup that feels particularly useful with a set like the Frame.
It also uses Samsung's NQ4 Gen3 AI processor, an update on the 2nd-generation one that Samsung used on some of its sets last year. As is usually the case, we don't know exactly what this does for the set, but given the amount pixels a modern TV needs to push, an annual update makes sense. The NQ4 also gives a hint that this might be a 4K rather than 8K panel, as Samsung's just-announced Neo QLED 8K QN990F TV uses the NQ8 processor — perhaps the 4 or 8 are a nod to the TV's resolution. Either way, we'll know more soon.
For those who haven't seen the Frame before, it's a TV meant to be mounted to the wall, complete with a frame that's more reminiscent of something you might find in an art gallery rather than a media room. When you turn it off, you can choose to have it display a fine art image from a collection Samsung has curated, and the screen itself is matte with anti-glare coating that goes a long way towards making it feel like just another big TV mounted to a wall.
As is typically the case, Samsung is holding a CES showcase tonight where we'll get to see the Frame Pro as well as other new Samsung TVs in person — if we get more details on the Frame Pro, we'll update this post.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/samsungs-frame-pro-tv-features-the-companys-high-end-neo-qled-panel-030042346.html?src=rss
It’s been nearly five years since Apple Arcade launched, and while the service hasn’t fully delivered on Apple’s promise back in 2019, it can still be worth paying for. Of course, that’s provided you’re willing to hunt through the 200-ish games currently available on the service. I’ve been playing Apple Arcade games since it launched and these are just a few of my favorites that have stood the test of time.
What is Apple Arcade?
Apple originally released Apple Arcade with the promise of high-quality, exclusive games that are playable across basically every device the company makes. That includes the iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV (though you need a controller for the latter). Over time, Apple started allowing games originally launched in the App Store as well, provided that they met certain criteria. All Apple Arcade games are ad-free and have no in-app purchases, something that really helps differentiate its offerings over the flood of low-quality games in the App Store.
While Apple Arcade launched with a pretty excellent lineup, additional games have unfortunately been fewer and farther between in recent years. Apple has also pulled a number of games from the service, including some of the best ones you could get like Sayonara Wild Hearts, Cozy Grove, Assemble with Care, Shinsekai: Into the Depths and numerous others. It’s a reminder that with a subscription service, things can go away at any time.
While we’re not seeing the same cadence of high-quality original games on Apple Arcade as we did a few years ago, I still think the service is worth the $7 per month or $50 per year subscription if you do a lot of gaming on your phone. Some of the best games in the history of the App Store are here (anything with a “plus” symbol denotes a game that was originally sold in the App Store and then brought to Apple Arcade), and there are still a number of excellent originals worth playing. It is worth noting that the “plus” games were not designed with Mac or Apple TV playback in mind and thus only work on an iPhone or iPad. These 16 games are some of the best you can play, and there are a bunch more I want to try for future inclusion on this list. In the meantime, this should be more than enough to get you started.
Sony just revealed the first set of PlayStation Plus games in 2025 available for all subscribers, regardless of what service tier they're signed up for. Up this month are Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit Remastered and The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. I can't say it's the most exciting set of games, but at the very least The Stanley Parable is a classic, albeit an old one — the game was first released way back in 2011 as a mod for Half-Life 2. The game then got a proper full release in 2013, and the Ultra Deluxe version was released for modern consoles in 2022.
Original creators Davey Wreden and William Pugh put together the Ultra Deluxe edition, with an expanded script and a number of other new changers that the developers weren't exactly forthcoming about: "Everything you remember has been recreated, yet it's different somehow. We've been here before, haven't we?" Broadly speaking, though, the game expands on the original with more choices, more dialog and more choices for the player to navigate. If you haven't given the game a shot, you now have no excuse not to check it out.
Need for Speed Hot PursuitRemastered is another oldie — released originally in 2010, but updated for the PS4 in 2020. That's the version available here, with full career modes for either a racer or cop, depending on which side of the law you feel like being on. This version also includes multiplayer modes and all the DLC that was released for the original game.
Finally, the newest game in the batch is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a live service game that went through multiple delays, got largely negative reviews and reportedly cost Warner Bros. some $200 million. Adding insult to injury, developers announced that the current season of content would be its last, though there are no plans to shut the game down yet. Given that it only came out this past February, that's a pretty short lifespan. I'm not sure that I'd want to jump onto the sinking ship at this point, but at least you can give it a shot without shelling out the $70 it still costs.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/the-first-playstation-plus-games-of-2025-include-the-stanley-parable-and-suicide-squad-172531311.html?src=rss
If you're traveling for the holidays today, I hope you're not flying on American Airlines, because it still might be a rough day. Earlier this morning, the airline said on X that all of its flights were currently grounded, but since then the Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the stoppage, which was originally issued at the airline's request. Despite the fact that things are returning to normal, there's a good chance these disruptions will have ripple effects making a busy travel day even tougher.
As The Verge noted, a notice posted by the Federal Aviation Administration confirms that there is a "nationwide groundstop" for all AA flights; it also says that this stoppage is at "company request."
We're currently experiencing a technical issue with all American Airlines flights. Your safety is our utmost priority, once this is rectified, we'll have you safely on your way to your destination.
Aside from the FAA notice and American Airlines' post on X, there wasn't a real reason given for the delay. But since the grounding was lifted, CNN reports that an American Airlines spokesperson said the stoppage was due to a "vendor technology issue" that has now "been resolved and flights have resumed."
Update, 9:15AM ET: This story has been updated to note that the ground stoppage has been resolved.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/all-american-airlines-flights-in-the-us-are-currently-grounded-131522223.html?src=rss
FILE - American Airlines planes wait at gates at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Friday, July 19, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
You might be tempted to get a Chromebook as your next laptop and we wouldn’t blame you. Chrome OS has come a long way: Chromebooks today have a good combination of build quality, battery life and power while also supporting years of software updates that will take you years into the future. If you primarily browse the web, or don’t need a ton of extra software on a regular basis, a Chromebook can be a powerful daily driver.
While Google did make things simpler last fall by introducing the Chromebook Plus initiative (more on that below), there are still multiple things to keep in mind when shopping for a new Chromebook. The market is saturated with machines at different price points and power levels; I’ve been testing and reviewing Chromebooks for years and know what you should be looking for, and what you can expect out of these laptops.
What is Chrome OS, and why would I use it over Windows?
This is probably the number one question about Chromebooks. There are plenty of inexpensive Windows laptops on the market, so why bother with Chrome's operating system? Glad you asked. For me, the simple and clean nature of Chrome OS is a big selling point. Chrome OS is based on Google’s Chrome browser, which means most of the programs you can run are web based. There’s no bloatware or unwanted apps to uninstall like you often get on Windows laptops, it boots up in seconds, and you can completely reset to factory settings almost as quickly.
Of course, simplicity will also be a major drawback for some users. Not being able to install native software can be a dealbreaker if you’re a video editor or software developer. But there are also plenty of people who do the majority of their work in a web browser, using tools like Google Docs and spreadsheets for productivity without needing a full Windows setup.
Google and its software partners are getting better every year at supporting more advanced features. For example, Google added video editing tools to the Google Photos app on Chromebooks – it won’t replace Adobe Premiere, but it should be handy for a lot of people. Similarly, Google and Adobe announced Photoshop on the web last year, something that brings much of the power of Adobe’s desktop apps to Chromebooks.
Chromebooks can also run Android apps, which greatly expands the amount of software available. The quality varies widely, but it means you can do more with a Chromebook beyond just web-based apps. For example, you can install the Netflix app and save videos for offline watching. Other Android apps like Microsoft Office and Adobe Lightroom are surprisingly capable as well. Between Android apps and a general improvement in web apps, Chromebooks are more than just portals to a browser.
What do Chromebooks do well?
Put simply, web browsing and really anything web based. Online shopping, streaming music and video and using various social media sites are among the most common daily tasks people do on Chromebooks. As you might expect, they also work well with Google services like Photos, Docs, Gmail, Drive, Keep and so on. Yes, any computer that can run Chrome can do that too, but the lightweight nature of Google Chrome OS makes it a responsive and stable platform.
As I mentioned before, Chrome OS can run Android apps, so if you’re an Android user you’ll find some nice ties between the platforms. You can get most of the same apps that are on your phone on a Chromebook and keep info in sync between them. You can also use some Android phones as a security key for your Chromebook or instantly tether your 2-in-1 laptop to use mobile data.
Google continues to tout security as a major differentiator for Chromebooks, and it’s definitely a factor worth considering. Auto-updates are the first lines of defense: Chrome OS updates download quickly in the background and a fast reboot is all it takes to install the latest version. Google says that each webpage and app on a Chromebook runs in its own sandbox as well, so any security threats are contained to that individual app. Finally, Chrome OS has a self-check called Verified Boot that runs every time a device starts up. Beyond all this, the simple fact that you generally can’t install traditional apps on a Chromebook means there are fewer ways for bad actors to access the system.
If you’re interested in Google’s Gemini AI tools, a Chromebook is a good option as well. Every Chromebook in our top picks comes with a full year of the Google One AI Premium plan — this combines the usual Google One perks like 2TB of storage and 10 percent back in purchases from the Google Store with a bunch of AI tools. You’ll get access to Gemini in Gmail, Google Docs and other apps, Gemini Advanced (which runs on the 1.5 Pro model) and more. Given that this plan is $20/month, it’s a pretty solid perk. Chromebook Plus models also include tools like the AI-powered “help me write,” the Google Photos Magic Editor and generative AI backgrounds you can create by filling in a few prompts.
As for when to avoid Chromebooks, the answer is simple: If you rely heavily on a specific native application for Windows or a Mac, chances are you won’t find the exact same option on a ChromeOS device. That’s most true in fields like photo and video editing, but it can also be the case in law or finance. Plenty of businesses run on Google’s G suite software, but more still have specific requirements that a Chromebook might not match. If you’re an iPhone user, you’ll also miss out on the way the iPhone easily integrates with an iPad or Mac. For me, the big downside is not being able to access iMessage on a Chromebook.
Finally, gaming Chromebooks are not ubiquitous, although they’re becoming a slightly more reasonable option with the rise of cloud gaming. In late 2022, Google and some hardware partners announced a push to make Chromebooks with cloud gaming in mind. From a hardware perspective, that means laptops with bigger screens that have higher refresh rates as well as optimizing those laptops to work with services like NVIDIA GeForce Now, Xbox Game Pass and Amazon Luna. You’ll obviously need an internet connection to use these services, but the good news is that playing modern games on a Chromebook isn’t impossible. You can also install Android games from the Google Play Store, but that’s not what most people are thinking of when they want to game on a laptop.
What are the most important specs for a Chromebook?
Chrome OS is lightweight and runs well on fairly modest hardware, so the most important thing to look for might not be processor power or storage space. But Google made it easier to get consistent specs and performance late last year when it introduced the Chromebook Plus initiative. Any device with a Chromebook Plus designation meets some minimum requirements, which happen to be very similar to what I’d recommend most people get if they’re looking for the best laptop they can use every day.
Chromebook Plus models have at least a 12th-gen Intel Core i3 processor, or an AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series processor, both of which should be more than enough for most people. These laptops also have a minimum of 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage, which should do the trick unless you’re really pushing your Chromebook. All Chromebook Plus models have to have a 1080p webcam, which is nice in these days of constant video calling, and they also all have to have at least a 1080p FHD IPS screen.
Of course, you can get higher specs or better screens if you desire, but I’ve found that basically everything included in the Chromebook Plus target specs makes for a very good experience.
Google has an Auto Update policy for Chromebooks as well, and while that’s not exactly a spec, it’s worth checking before you buy. Last year, Google announced that Chromebooks would get software updates and support for an impressive 10 years after their release date. This support page lists the Auto Update expiration date for virtually every Chromebook ever, but a good rule of thumb is to buy the newest machine you can to maximize your support.
How much should I spend on a Chromebook?
Chromebooks started out notoriously cheap, with list prices often coming in under $300. But as they’ve gone more mainstream, they’ve transitioned from being essentially modern netbooks to some of the best laptops you’ll want to use all day. As such, prices have increased: At this point, you should expect to spend at least $400 if you want a solid daily driver. There are still many Chromebooks out there available at a low price that may be suitable as secondary devices, but a good Chromebook that can be an all-day, every-day laptop will cost more. But, notably, even the best Chromebooks usually cost less than the best Windows laptops, or even the best “regular” laptops out there.
There are plenty of premium Chromebooks that approach or even exceed $1,000 that claim to offer better performance and more processing power, but I don’t recommend spending that much. Generally, that’ll get you a better design with more premium materials, as well as more powerful internals and extra storage space, like a higher-capacity SSD. Of course, you also sometimes pay for the brand name. But, the specs I outlined earlier are usually enough.
Samsung’s new Galaxy Chromebook Plus is one of the more unique Chromebooks out there. It’s extremely thin and light, at 0.46 inches and 2.6 pounds, but it manages to include a 15.6-inch display in that frame. That screen is a 1080p panel that’s sharp and bright, but its 16:9 aspect ratio made things feel a bit cramped when scrolling vertically. Performance is very good, and the keyboard is solid, though I’m not a fan of the number pad as it shifts everything to the left. At $700 it’s not cheap, but that feels fair considering its size and capabilities. If you’re looking for a big screen laptop that is also super light, this Chromebook merits consideration, even if it’s not the best option for everyone.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/best-chromebooks-160054646.html?src=rss
Making a good digital picture frame should be easy. All you need is a good screen and an uncomplicated way to get your favorite photos onto the device. Combine that with an inoffensive, frame-like design and you're good to go.
Despite that, I can tell you that many digital photo frames are awful. Amazon is positively littered with scads of digital frames and it's basically the 2020s version of what we saw with knock-off iPods back in the 2000s. There are loads of options that draw you in with a low price but deliver a totally subpar experience that will prompt you to shove the thing in a drawer and forget about it.
The good news is that you only need to find one smart photo frame that works. From there, you can have a pretty delightful experience. If you're anything like me, you have thousands of photos on your phone of friends, family photos, pets, vacation spots, perhaps some lattes or plates of pasta and much more. Too often, those photos stay siloed on our phones, not shared with others or enjoyed on a larger scale. And sure, I can look at my photos on my laptop or an iPad, but there's something enjoyable about having a dedicated place for these things. After all, there's a reason photo frames exist in the first place, right? A great frame can help you send photos to loved ones and share cherished memories with friends and family effortlessly. I tested out seven smart photo frames to weed through the junk and find the top picks for the best digital frames worth buying.
What to look for in digital picture frames
While a digital photo frame feels like a simple piece of tech, there are a number of things I considered when trying to find one worth displaying in my home. First and foremost was screen resolution and size. I was surprised to learn that most digital photo frames have a resolution around 1,200 x 800, which feels positively pixelated. (That's for frames with screen sizes in the nine- to ten-inch range, which is primarily what I considered for this guide.)
But after trying a bunch of frames, I realized that screen resolution is not the most important factor; my favorite photos looked best on frames that excelled in reflectivity, brightness, viewing angles and color temperature. A lot of these digital photo frames were lacking in one or more of these factors; they often didn't deal with reflections well or had poor viewing angles.
A lot of frames I tested felt cheap and looked ugly as well, which isn’t something you want in a smart device that sits openly in your home. That includes lousy stands, overly glossy plastic parts and design decisions I can only describe as strange, particularly for items that are meant to just blend into your home. The best digital photo frames don't call attention to themselves and look like an actual “dumb” frame, so much so that those that aren’t so tech-savvy might mistake them for one.
Perhaps the most important thing outside of the display, though, is the software. Let me be blunt: a number of frames I tested had absolutely atrocious companion apps and software experiences that I would not wish on anyone. One that I tried did not have a touchscreen, but did have an IR remote (yes, like the one you controlled your TV with 30 years ago). Trying to use that with a Wi-Fi connection was painful, and when I tried instead to use a QR code, I was linked to a Google search for random numbers instead of an actual app or website. I gave up on that frame, the $140 PixStar, on the spot.
Other things were more forgivable. A lot of the frames out there are basically Android tablets with a bit of custom software slapped on the top, which worked fine but wasn't terribly elegant. And having to interact with the photo frame via touch wasn't great because you end up with fingerprints all over the display. The best frames I tried were smart about what features you could control on the frame itself vs. through an app, the latter of which is my preferred method.
Another important software note: many frames I tried require subscriptions for features that absolutely should be included out of the box. For example, one frame would only let me upload 10 photos at a time without a subscription. Others would let you link a Google Photos account, but you could only sync a single album without paying up. Yet another option didn't let you create albums to organize the photos that were on the frame — it was just a giant scroll of photos with no way to give them order.
While some premium frames offer perks like unlimited photos or cloud storage, they often come at a cost. I can understand why certain things might go under a subscription, like if you're getting a large amount of cloud storage, for example. But these subscriptions feel like ways for companies to make recurring revenue from a product made so cheaply they can't make any money on the frame itself. I'd urge you to make sure your chosen frame doesn't require a subscription (neither of the frames I recommend in this guide need a subscription for any of their features), especially if you plan on giving this device as a gift to loved ones.
How much should you spend on a digital picture frame
For a frame with a nine- or ten-inch display, expect to spend at least $100. Our budget recommendation is $99, and all of the options I tried that were cheaper were not nearly good enough to recommend. Spending $150 to $180 will get you a significantly nicer experience in all facets, from functionality to design to screen quality.
Best digital picture frames for 2025
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/best-digital-frame-120046051.html?src=rss
