There’s nothing new about Philips Hue lights working with Matter, the budding standard that aims to unify the big smart home ecosystems. But a recent leak suggests that Hue bulbs may soon have a new way to connect to Matter.  As discovered by HueBlog.com, recently filed FCC documents reveal Matter logos on the labels of a pair of unreleased Hue White A19 bulbs, suggesting that the bulbs themselves will work directly with the Matter standard.  Now, all current Hue bulbs can already connect with Matter, but only thanks to the Hue Bridge, which was Matter-certified back in 2022. (A software update that enabled Matter connectivity didn’t arrive until roughly a year later.) As it stands, Hue lights connect to the bridge via Zigbee, and then the bridge makes the Matter connection over Wi-Fi.  Hue lights getting direct Matter connectivity might seem like a natural progression, but there’s a wrinkle. As HueBlog.com points out, the Hue White bulbs described in the FCC documents only have—per usual—Bluetooth and Zigbee radios, neither of which are part of the Matter standard. Matter does work with Wi-Fi or, ideally, Thread, the low-power, high-resiliency wireless protocol that forms a pillar of the Matter standard.  So, does that mean the new Hue blubs have Thread radios? Not according to the FCC documents, which note that the lights “only” support Bluetooth and Zigbee.   But wait, there’s more. The regulatory documents go on to say that “other functions, bands and modes [were] disabled” by the manufacturer, and the “end user has no capability to activate [them].” Could these “other functions, bands and modes” include Thread?   We’ve reached out to Philips Hue for more details.  Smart products that work directly with Matter via Thread offer a number of advantages, including the ability to form self-healing mesh networks with other nearby Matter devices. While Zigbee devices also form self-healing mesh networks, non-Zigbee devices can’t join them. Direct Matter connectivity could also make Hue lights less reliant on the Hue Bridge for advanced functionality. Current Hue bulbs can be controlled without the Hue Bridge via Bluetooth, but doing so means sacrificing several key features, including out-of-home control, the ability to manage more than 10 bulbs, grouping, and custom automations.   It’s unlikely a Thread-enabled Hue bulb could match all the functionality offered by the Hue Bridge, but perhaps it could offer some middle ground.  And if a new Thread-equipped Hue bulb is on the way, might that also mean a Thread-enabled Hue Bridge is on the horizon? We’re getting ahead of ourselves here, but still, food for thought. Read...

I don’t have a lot of RAM — just 32GB — so I need to keep it as free as possible. When apps or other system processes are using that up, I see the telltale signs: slower than normal frame rates, longer load times, and in the worst cases — stuttering. But here’s how I free up my RAM just for my games and keep them running smoothly. Clear the browser cache and close tabs As I browse the web my browser will store images, fonts, CSS, HTML, and JavaScript code to save bandwidth. That’s generally a good thing, since pages will load faster. But the downside of that is it can also use up RAM. To counteract that, I clear my browser cache before I play. Additionally, I will generally never play with browser tabs open in Windows. Why? Because tests show that having just 20 Google Chrome browser tabs open can chew up as much as 1.8GB RAM. End programs in Task Manager Windows Task Manager is an excellent tool for keeping a tab on your RAM usage. I am always surprised how many programs I have running idly in Windows that sap my RAM without me knowing. In my case they are usually apps for my gaming peripherals and communications programs, all of which load into Windows by default whether I need them or not. So now I close or disable the ones that I don’t need. To close them, you just click Ctrl + Shift + Esc to bring up the Windows Task Manager, then right-click and select End task on the programs or apps you want to close. To disable them loading into Windows on startup, select Startup apps from the left menu, then right-click on the app and choose Disable in Task Manager. Closing apps using up RAM in Windows Task Manager.  Dominic Bayley / Foundry Use an optimization tool There are a lot of apps that will act as RAM cleaners to free up memory, but personally I like to use ones made especially for gamers since they offer more gamer-specific optimizations. The Razer Cortex app is one. The app’s Game Booster kicks in to stop unnecessary apps and processes and free up RAM as soon as I launch a game. It also optimizes the CPU, so I get a nice boost to my FPS. Razer Cortex also allows me to manually monitor my performance and make tweaks beyond the app’s automatic optimizations, so I have control over settings when I want it. Update drivers and BIOS firmware When your PC’s device drivers and your PC’s BIOS firmware is outdated, it can result in more of your RAM being utilized than is needed. As a result, your PC can perform sluggishly or be prone to instability issues or crashes in games. Keeping these important things updated regularly will help avoid these issues. It takes just a few minutes, but you’ll be rewarded with higher FPS and less headaches trying to figure out what’s wrong when games stutter or crash. Use a gaming browser I use tip #1 when I’m playing lightweight indie games on my laptop, but for my desktop gaming PC where I do most of my high-end gaming, I use dedicated gaming browsers. Browsers like Opera GX and Vivaldi run very lightly on the OS and utilize a lot less RAM than Google Chrome does, so you can expect better performance in your games as a result. They also come with extra features especially for gamers, which you can read more about here. Read...

Sound quality is obviously super important for a PC gaming headset, as are long-term comfort, ambient noise isolation, and a microphone with clear noise cancellation. Ideally, it should also have replaceable ear pads for extended lifespan and a frame that doesn’t creak. All of those things are well-known givens. But when I’m shopping for a PC gaming headset these days, there’s one other feature that has become non-negotiable for me: hot-swappable batteries. I never even knew I’d love these so much until I got my SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless five years ago. It was an on-sale extravagance—a treat to myself during the pandemic—that has opened my eyes to the wonders of hot-swappable batteries. All these years later, it has become one of my favorite PC gaming accessories. Here’s why. Who cares about battery life? I love wireless gadgets. I have a wireless gaming keyboard and a ridiculously unnecessary wireless gaming mouse with a wireless charging mouse pad system. And while I don’t ever need to worry about charging my mouse, my keyboard still occasionally has me reaching for a USB cable. Phones, tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, and others things with batteries occasionally catch me out, too. What I’m saying is, it’s a pain when you want to use a device but its battery is drained… so you can’t use it when you need it. My SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless is old faithful. A bit worn but still wonderful to use.Jon Martindale / Foundry But with my SteelSeries Arctis Pro Wireless, that’s just not something I need to think about thanks to its hot-swappable battery. When the battery runs low, it beeps. I can then pop out the battery—like we used to do with cell phones back in the day—and pop it on the charger, then stick my backup battery in its place. It takes about five seconds and I have a fully charged headset again. I can do it while mid-game, and it’s so fast I don’t even have to warn my allies on Discord. I can even do it with one hand, if I feel so inclined. Just like the Logitech PowerPlay mouse pad that ensures my wireless mouse stays charged while I’m using it—a big reason why that’s also one of my all-time favorite accessories—the hot-swappable battery in my Arctis Pro Wireless is the pinnacle of wireless battery convenience. Expensive, but not a “halo” feature The PC space has a number of great examples of so-called “halo” products. The kinds of gadgets and components that would be amazing to have… if they weren’t priced beyond reach. Halo products are supposed to be aspirational and make you think the rest of the brand’s more affordable products are equally impressive. Think along the lines of Herman Miller’s “gaming” chairs or Nvidia’s Titan-esque RTX 5090 graphics card. These are products that simply aren’t designed with everyday people in mind. The SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless also has hot-swappable batteries, but it’s more swish and offers a greater charge capacity per battery.SteelSeries Hot-swappable batteries aren’t like that. Yes, they’re only available on some of the more expensive wireless gaming headsets, but they aren’t thousands of dollars. The newer version of my own headset—the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless—is only around $310 as of this writing. That’s not cheap, but it isn’t prohibitive either. The Turtle Beach Stealth Pro Wireless has a similar hot-swappable battery design, and that one retails for around $330. But I’ve seen it on sale for closer to $200 at times, making it a viably cheaper alternative to the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless option. And if you’re more interested in headphones than a headset (i.e., you don’t need a built-in mic), the Fairphone Fairbuds XL are about $250. It’s a feature worth fighting for While I might be tempted to describe hot-swappable batteries as a “nice-to-have” feature, it’s actually reached the point of a “must-have” for me when it comes to buying future PC headsets. But that sort of puts me in a pickle. I’m honestly surprised that hot-swappable batteries in headsets haven’t caught on as widely as I’d hoped, even so many years on from my original SteelSeries purchase. There just aren’t that many options to choose from. I’ve found some headsets like mine that can do what I want, but not as many as there should be. There are amazing gaming headsets out there with fantastic sound quality, great comfort, and long battery life, but once you go beyond a certain point, all that’s almost redundant. The cheapest hot-swappable battery headphones I could find? The Fairphone Fairbuds XL.Fairphone A 30-hour battery life is useful, sure, but in reality, if I’m not charging it once a day, it only takes one slip-up and I’ll find myself wanting to use it one day but it won’t be charged enough. That means plugging it in and using it wired or waiting for it to charge, which defeats the point of a wireless headset in the first place. Wireless headsets—and wireless devices in general—are about freedom. You aren’t supposed to worry about the tether, but a low battery warning always drags you back to reality: you are tethered and always have to worry about keeping it adequately charged. Not so with hot-swappable batteries. It’s easy to keep a backup battery fully charged and ready to go, and I can stop worrying about how much battery is left in the actual headset. And when it runs out, it’s easy enough to swap out. It’s the best of all worlds. Hot-swappable batteries are priceless I know I said before that headsets with hot-swappable batteries aren’t halo products, but I’m not so delusional to think that $300 headsets are mainstream. It’s beyond what most people would consider “reasonable” for a headset. But if you are paying that much for a headset, then it should come with premium features that respect that premium price tag. For me, hot-swappable batteries are the créme de la créme of gaming headset features. They make wireless work how it should. They’re so practical and useful that I won’t even consider a headset in that price range anymore if it doesn’t have them. Indeed, I don’t know if I’d buy any wireless headset without them ever again. Read...

Even just a few years ago, one of the most annoying things about a home security system was having to wire it up for power and internet. Wireless cameras were expensive and solar-powered ones were a distant dream. But not anymore. You can get one now—and it’s affordable. The Eufy SoloCam S220 is both wireless and solar-powered, and it’s on sale for just $65 at Amazon. That’s 50% off its usual $130 price! Built to be as easy to install as possible, you simply screw in the base wherever you want it, then mount the camera to it. Connecting it to the mobile app and your local wireless network only takes a few taps, too. This outdoor security camera records 2K video and captures high-quality images even at night. What’s nice is that it has a built-in solar panel on top, which conveniently keeps it charged. (It only needs 3 hours of sunlight every day.) And with its IP67 rating, it’s protected against water and dust, so it’ll withstand inclement weather no problem. The smart AI features allow the camera to shoot off notifications whenever humans are detected, for instance, while ignoring other types of motion so your phone doesn’t blow up with alerts every time there’s a light breeze. Other impressive features include two-way audio, support for both Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, and custom security zones so movement is only reported when detected in those spaces. Overall, the SoloCam S220 is a dream camera that buys peace of mind whether you’re at work or on vacation, but especially at night when you hear strange noises outside. For just $65, this Eufy outdoor security camera with built-in solar panel is a no-brainer. Save 50% on this wireless solar-powered security camBuy now at Amazon Read...

The Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i is powerful, fast, and has a gorgeous 16-inch OLED touchscreen that’ll knock your socks off—and right now, it’s only $1,149 at B&H. That’s a massive $550 discount! There are so many great features to enjoy with this Lenovo laptop that make it a powerhouse device for work, leisure, and gaming. The IdeaPad Pro 5i features a 16-core Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and a massive 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM. Those are fantastic specs for anyone who needs a laptop for tasks that require a lot of power, including video editing, 3D rendering, and data analysis, to name a few. This IdeaPad Pro 5i also comes with an RTX 4050 graphics card, making it possible to game on decently high settings. This isn’t the newest or the best graphics card currently available, but it’s well-priced for the performance you get, especially in tandem with all the other stuff packed into this laptop. The large 16-inch OLED touch display is vivid and deep, perfect for both productivity and entertainment. Between the fast CPU, lots of memory, discrete GPU, and gorgeous OLED screen, you’re getting quite the deal at this price. And it’s all rounded out by a sizable 1TB M.2 SSD. That’s large enough to hold all your apps, games, and files, not to mention the speedy load times. Don’t delay! Laptops are about to get way more expensive due to Trump’s trade war, so snag the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5i for $1,149 at B&H and take advantage of this $550 discount while you can. Save $550 on Lenovo`s powerhouse OLED laptop todayBuy now from B&H Read...

It’s never easy to decide what to pack for a trip. Whether you’re packing light for some quick business or heading out on the next big family vacation, it’s important to bring the right tech. Here at PCWorld we’re continually testing the latest gadgets to sort the good from the bad. This means we’ve had the opportunity to find the best tech gear and accessories built for travel. From voltage converters to noise-cancelling headphones, we’ve curated a list of the very best tech gear to optimize your next travel experience. The items below are worthy of any packing list and will help you prepare for anything you may encounter on the road—or in the sky. Manage electrical needs with a voltage converter BESTEK Universal Travel Adapter 220V to 110V Bestek, Mapambo When you’re traveling from the U.S. to Europe, for instance, you don’t just need a different type of plug for your chargers and gadgets, but also a voltage converter because Europe runs on different settings. The Bestek Universal Travel Adapter will convert 220V outlets to U.S.-standard 110V, thus ensuring that your devices don’t burn out. It’s not only affordable, but it has three AC outlets and four USB ports. Plus, the product comes with a couple of extra plug adapters. If a more compact version is all you need, then the Mapambo converter will work just fine with one AC plug, two type-C, and two type-A ports. Buy the BESTEK Universal Travel Adapter at Amazon Buy the Mapambo 220V to 110V Voltage Converter at Amazon Take control of tangled cords Rolling Square inCharge 6 Portable Keychain Charger Cable Rolling Square If you’re like most travelers, you bring multiple electronics to make the most of your experience—we’re talking camera, phone, laptop, headphones, etc. But along with all of these items, you’ll need to carry all of their charging cables. That can take up space and lead to a tangled web of cords in your bag if you’re not careful. With the Rolling Square inCharge 6 Portable Charger Cable on Amazon, you have the option of USB-C or USB-A inputs and Micro USB or USB-C outputs all in a cable that is small enough for your keychain. Buy the Rolling Square Portable Charger Cable at Amazon Keep your devices charged with a portable power bank Anker GaN Prime Power Bank 2-in-1 10,000mAh portable power bank with wall charger Anker Traveling is always fun, but ending up with a depleted phone battery in an unknown place can be terrifying. This Anker Prime power bank takes up two roles in one. On one hand, it can plug into a wall outlet and give you the recharge you need while you’re at your hotel, for instance, but it can also act as a power bank when you’re out and about exploring. 10,000mAh is enough to charge your phone twice over (or close to that). There are three ports on this Anker hybrid charger, two of which are type-C that can reach 65W charging. It’s available for $110, but you can often find it closer to $70 when on sale. Buy the Anker GaN Prime Power Bank 2-in-1 Charger at Amazon Never lose your valuables again Apple AirTag, Tile Pro, Samsung SmartThings, Tile Slim Apple, Tile, Samsung We’ve all been there. You arrive at your destination and you’re waiting for your checked bag to show up on the carousel, but it never does. Baggage handling is at it again. With a Bluetooth tracker you can easily keep tabs on where your bag is and maybe even help TSA locate it, should it be lost. There are quite a few Bluetooth trackers on the market that you can get. Apple users should look into the AirTag, while Android users can choose Samsung’s SmartTag2. Anyone can go for the Tile Pro. If you’re more worried about your wallet, Tile’s Slim tracker will neatly fit in there. These are all around $30 a piece, but you can quite often get them for less or in bundles, thus lowering the price even more. Buy the Apple AirTag at Amazon Buy the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 at Amazon Buy the Tile Pro at Amazon Buy the TIle Slim at Amazon Enjoy an in-flight movie without annoying headphone cables Twelve South AirFly Pro or Ugreen Airplane Bluetooth Transmitter Receiver Ugreen, Twelve South Twelve South’s AirFly Pro Bluetooth wireless audio transmitter for $54.99 on Amazon (although it’s frequently on sale) allows you to turn any audio jack into a wireless Bluetooth transmitter. Simply plug in the device to the headphone jack on the back of the airplane seat and connect your wireless headphones. Then sit back and relax while you enjoy the in-flight entertainment on your sweet noise-canceling headphones. Alternatively, you can also go for the more affordable Ugreen Airplane Bluetooth Transmitter Receiver, which is $36.99 but often drops below $30. Either will allow you to connect up to two earbuds or headphones. Buy the Twelve South AirFly Pro at Amazon Buy the Ugreen Airplane Bluetooth Transmitter Receiver at Amazon Drown out noise with noise-canceling earbuds AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) or Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 Apple, Bose Flying on an airplane is loud. Engines roar, babies cry, passengers snore. That’s why you need noise-canceling headphones, which have become essential tools in making your flight as easy as possible. And because you’re traveling and bag space is a premium, your headphones need to be small. Not just for iPhone users, but for anyone who needs good headphones, the AirPods Pro 2 for $225.00 on Amazon continue to be the best choice due to their convenient size and noise-canceling capability. If you’re an Android user, you may want to look into the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2, which deliver something our buddies at TechAdvisor have called “astonishing noise cancellation” on top of superb sound quality and a secure fit. Get the AirPods Pro (2nd Generation) at Amazon Buy the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 at Amazon Or get some noise-canceling headphones Sony WH-1000XM5 or Apple AirPods Max Apple, Sony If earbuds aren’t for you, then perhaps a pair of proper headphones will do the trick. The Sony WH-1000XM5 are easily some of the best noise-canceling headphones out there (as our friends at TechAdvisor attested with a 5-star review), delivering phenomenal audio and a comfortable build. Apple fans may want to look into the AirPods Max that are also known for what our friends at MacWorld call “industry leading active noise cancelling”. Buy the Sony WH-1000XM5 at Amazon Buy the Apple AirPods Max at Amazon Capture and print your favorite memories Fuji Instax Mini 12 instant camera Fujifilm Sure, you could bring a giant SLR camera with multiple lenses and an extra special carry-on bag to store everything. Or for those who aren’t professionals, you can opt for a small, retro instant camera such as the Fuji Instax Mini 12 for $143.95 on Amazon. Just like an old-school Polaroid, you can take a picture and instantly print it out to capture the moment. Just be aware that you’ll need to purchase and carry the film separately. Buy the Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 at Amazon Keep your wires from getting crossed Bellroy Tech Kit Bellroy Bellroy is known for making great tech cases and kits, and the Bellroy Tech Kit for $59.00 on Amazon is our favorite. This well designed, travel-friendly bag allows you to keep all of your cables and small peripherals stored and organized with ease. The folio style means that you can open the entire kit out flat for easy access to everything stored inside. Plus, the fabric is waterproof so you shouldn’t have to worry about a little liquid spilling on your precious gear. Buy the Bellroy Tech Kit at Amazon Game in-route to your destination Steam Deck, Switch OLED, or Backbone One Backbone, Nintendo, Valve The Steam Deck for $399 on the Steam store is a great handheld gaming system that allows you to play your favorite PC games on the go. It wasn’t so long ago that the Steam Deck was sold out everywhere and people were clamoring to get one. Thankfully, Valve has increased its supply and it’s easier than ever to get your hands on this excellent gaming portable. Play games from your Steam library on the go or load up on new titles for your next vacation. Gaming makes those long-haul flights a breeze. If you’d rather go for a different platform, the Switch OLED is an absolutely fantastic gaming console. And yes, we know the Switch 2 is en route, but good luck getting your hands on one of those anytime soon. If you’d really just play on your phone, but have an upgraded experience, the Backbone One will mold to your phone, whether that’s an Android or iPhone model, and will help you play anything you want, including titles in your Xbox, PlayStation, or Steam libraries. Buy the Steam Deck at Steam Store Buy the Nintedo Switch OLED at Amazon Buy the Backbone One at Amazon Keep your hands and wrists happy while typing Logitech MX Keys Mini Logitech Laptop keyboards are cramped and can lead to some serious wrist pain if you type on them for long enough. Save yourself the carpal tunnel and grab a wireless keyboard like the Logitech MX Keys Mini. This compact keyboard is not only easy to travel with, but offers convenient features such as a semi-customizable layout, multi-device switching, and more. And the most important part is that it offers a great typing experience with comfortable and quiet keys that won’t bother your fellow travelers. The MX Keys Mini is currently $99.99 on Amazon. Buy the Logitech MX Keys Mini at Amazon Carry a library everywhere you go Kindle Paperwhite Amazon Books are a great thing to have around on vacation, but they’re heavy and they take up precious space in your luggage. Instead opt for an e-reader like the Kindle Paperwhite for $159.99 on Amazon and bring an entire library worth of books in this lightweight tablet. Plus the Paperwhite version comes with an anti-glare screen and adjustable brightness settings making it perfect for a bright beach or dark airplane. Not sure which Kindle to buy? Check out our handy Kindle buying guide to help you make the right choice. Buy the Kindle Paperwhite at Amazon Grab a mobile hotspot to stay in range of Wi-Fi range Solis Lite 4G LTE WiFi Mobile Hotspot Solis Those who travel a lot know that Wi-Fi is essential. From being able to work online while on the road or just looking up restaurant recommendations in another country, it’s an invaluable tool to get the most out of your travel experience. There are quite a few services nowadays offering pocket Wi-Fi for travelers, but Solis is one of the best with reliable global coverage across 135 countries. Plus, it has flexible plans depending upon your needs. You’ll need to purchase the Solis Lite Mobile Hotspot for $159.99 on Amazon before registering for a Wi-Fi plan, but it’s only a one-time fee and you can then use it on all of your future trips. Buy the Solis Lite Mobile Hotspot at Amazon Never worry about safe tap water again Philips Water GoZero self-cleaning water bottle Philips No matter if you’re traveling to a new city or going camping, making sure that you have access to clean and potable water is a necessity. The Philips Water GoZero bottles bring in some smart technology to ensure the water is safe to drink. Available for $73.89 at Amazon (or lower when on sale), the bottle uses UV technology to eliminate up to 99.999 percent of bacteria and 99.9 percent of viruses in just a few minutes. Even when empty, the cap can disinfect your bottle and remove odors. Made out of stainless steel and double-walled, the bottle won’t just purify your water, it will also keep your drinks hot for up to 12 hours or cold for 24 hours. Buy the Philips Water GoZero water bottle at Amazon Mount your smartphone on anything Universal in-flight airplane phone holder mount Perilogics This Universal in-flight airplane phone holder mount for $13.97 on Amazon allows you to easily clip your phone onto an airplane seat for hands-free convenience. Maybe you loaded up that latest season of your favorite show or have a game to occupy that long-haul flight. Either way, holding your phone with a craned neck for hours and hours is bound to give you a strain. Just hook this bad boy up to the back of the seat in front of you on the airplane then sit back, relax, and enjoy. Buy the Universal in flight phone holder at Amazon Travel with an ultraportable laptop Asus ZenBook S 14 Thomas Rau If you’re going to get a super-light laptop, the Zenbook S 14 is a fantastic pick because it weighs just 2.65 pounds, which make sit lighter than the 13-inch MacBook Air. We gave this one a 4.5-star rating and our Editors’ Choice award, appreciating the fantastic battery life and lovely large OLED screen. Plus, the laptop has an Ultra 7 processor, 32GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD. You can also check out our other best ultraportables or our best laptop roundup for even more options. Buy the Asus ZenBook S 14 at Best Buy Or opt for a 2-in-1 for even more versatility HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 IDG / Josh Hendrickson If you want a more versatile laptop, then a 2-in-1 model will do like our very favorite HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14. The 360-degree hinge will make it easy for you to turn this laptop into a tablet and into a Netflix-watching tent in a blink. The 14-inch 2880×1800 OLED touch display is absolutely gorgeous and the 500 nits make it perfect to use everywhere you go. Buy the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 at Amazon Increase your screen real-estate with a travel monitor Azorpa A1 Gamut Matt Smith Sometimes you just need a second monitor, even when you’re traveling. The extra screen really helps productivity for business travelers and it makes for a great way to play your portable games on a larger screen while on the road. We really like the Azorpa A1 Gamut which delivers good image quality for an extremely budget friendly price—the A1 Gamut is usually about $70 on Amazon. It also comes with useful connectivity options and a solid build quality that will stand up the rigors of travel.  Buy the Arzopa A1 at Amazon Grab some extra storage Crucial X9 Pro IDG If you plan on taking about a million pictures and videos and you want to have a safe way to back them up without relying on random hotel Wi-Fi, then you can also grab a portable SSD. The Crucial X9 Pro is the best external SSD for most folks because it’s not only affordable but also super fast. We gave the X9 Pro a near-perfect score and our Editors’ Choice award, utterly impressed with the 10Gbps performance and the small form factor. Buy the Crucial X9 Pro at Amazon Stream content in your hotel room Amazon Fire TV Stick HD Amazon If you’re going to travel, you may as well keep up with your shows. The Amazon Fire TV Stick HD makes it super easy to bring all your favorite shows with you anywhere you go. You’ll just need to pop this thing in the TV, connect it to the hotel’s Wi-Fi (or the hotspot you set up), and just have fun. It’s also super affordable, available for $35 (although it’s frequently on sale for $20 or less). Buy now at Amazon Read...

A former hospital, student accommodation and luxury doggy daycare have hit the property market, with unique features and intriguing backstories. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Convenient wireless charging dock Very effective at capturing fine particular matter Multiple cleaning modes, including a waterline scrubber Cons Subpar performance picking up larger debris Cleaning the filter basket is a huge headache Very pricey for the level of performance Our Verdict The Aiper Scuba X1 looks—and is priced—like a high-end robotic pool cleaner, but it’s a weak performer and it’s a bear to clean after a session in the pool. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Aiper Scuba X1 Retailer Price $1,099.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Aiper makes some excellent robotic pool cleanrs—such as its stellar workhorse, the Seagull Pro—but it also has a few duds in its arsenal, including the Seagull Plus and the Scuba S1. With its latest robot, the Scuba X1, Aiper looks to bring some higher-end features (including smart connectivity) to the lineup. With a street price of $1,200, it’s one of Aiper’s most expensive models–and it’s got the gold trim to prove it. Specifications The Aiper Scuba X1 doesn’t change the basic design that most of Aiper’s full-size robots have followed for years: Compare its design to the aforementioned Seagull Pro, Seagull Plus, and Scuba S1. The 24-pound Scuba X1 runs on two treads that sandwich two front-mounted cylindrical brushes that do the heavy lifting; rather, the heavy scrubbing. All black with the aforementioned gold accents, the design is sleek and orca-like. If nothing else it certainly looks the part of a $1,000-plus pool robot. The MicroMesh system in the Aiper Scuba X1’s debris basket is effective at capturing fine-grained grime. The unit includes a 7800mAh battery that Aiper says should provide a running time of three hours and supports a maximum pool size of 2,150 square feet. A single onboard button lets you power up the robot and choose an operating mode: “smart mode” (floors and walls), floor only, walls only, or waterline only (where the robot moves vertically along the pool wall to scrub the tile). Aiper’s MicroMesh filter is a piece of fabric that wraps around an interior filter box.Christopher Null/Foundry An additional mode, “scheduled,” is only available in the Aiper app and commands the robot to run for 50 minutes, cleaning the floor only, once every 48 hours, until its battery dies. A large LED bar on the top of the robot indicates when it is charging (pulsing red, blue, or green, depending on charge level), ready to run (solid green), or finished operating (solid red), along with usage for various error modes. The unit is charged via a convenient docking station that connects to wall power and eliminates the need to manually plug the robot in after each run. The dock is simple to snap together out of the box, without any tools required. The filter basket requires special attention because of its three-piece design. A traditional outer basket collects larger debris, while a “MicroMesh ultra-fine filter” picks up smaller morsels of dirt and sand. The MicroMesh filter is a piece of fabric that wraps around an interior filter box, which doesn’t do anything except hold the MicroMesh in place. All three pieces are sandwiched together when installed; I’ll talk about the effectiveness of this setup in a bit. Performance Aiper’s MicroMesh filter is effective at trapping particulate matter, but it’s a major pain to clean.Christopher Null/Foundry As with nearly all robotic pool cleaners, the Scuba X1 is activated by placing it on flat ground, powering it up, selecting an operating mode, and dropping it into the pool. In the standard smart mode, it first cleans the walls, then moves to the floor, moving relatively methodically and slowly as it sweeps back and forth. The unit does spend a long while idling on the pool floor whenever it needs to make a turn, apparently trying to figure out its next move, before it gets going again. In my pool, I never got more than 2.5 hours of running time out of the robot, compared to the 3 hours Aiper specifies. The bigger issue, however, is that the robot missed quite a bit of material during its runs in my pool. On average, it collected only about 90 percent of test debris, whether organic or synthetic, leaving behind leaves on the bottom of the pool. That’s quite a poor showing for a robot in this price range, and arguably the unit’s biggest shortcoming. The Aiper Scuba X1’s charging dock plugs into an outdoor outlet, so you don’t need to drag any cords to the robotic pool cleaner itself.Christopher Null/Foundry A close second, however, is cleanup. While the MicroMesh system is effective at capturing fine-grained grime, it is a massive pain to clean. First, the mesh filter must be detached from the interior filter box, which is a challenge when it’s dry and a huge hassle when it’s wet and dirty. Disconnecting the various clips and tabs that hold the filter in place is a chore even before you set about cleaning it. A hose doesn’t do the trick; I regularly needed to use a scrub brush to get the filter mostly free from debris, all of which meant a considerable amount of effort and making quite a mess to boot. I’ve never spent so much time emptying a filter basket, which is not what I expect from device in this price range. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best robotic pool cleaners. Retrieving the bot after its cleaning mission is also a chore: While the robot can climb walls, it can’t pull itself out of the pool when quitting time comes, unlike some competitors at this price level. The Scuba X1 was at least successful at docking itself near the wall when complete, but you’ll need to use the included hook and a pole to lift it from the water. Aiper’s mobile app doesn’t do much of anything that you can’t accomplish just as easily by pushing buttons on the Scuba X1 itself. Christopher Null/Foundry Aiper’s app is for the most part superfluous. After a quick and easy Bluetooth-based setup, you’ll find that the app can’t really do anything except choose the operating mode, which (except for the scheduled mode) you can do via the single button on the unit. The sole additional feature is a basic log of operational activity and running time, which is only of minimal use. As with most robots, the app won’t connect to the device while the unit is in the water due to interference issues. Should you buy an Aiper Scuba X1? If it had a price of $500, the Aiper Scuba X1 might be an acceptable lower-cost pool robot solution, but it just doesn’t do a good enough job cleaning to merit buying it at its full price of $1,200. The hassle involved with cleaning the filter basket only makes things more frustrating, and the value proposition even less compelling. Read...

Launched way back in April 2004, Gmail has now been around for over 20 years — and it boasts lots of great features that many users, for whatever reason, still aren’t taking advantage of. While Gmail is fundamentally built for the sending and receiving of email, its various features can make that entire process work better for you. If you aren’t using the following Gmail features, consider starting today. You might be surprised by how helpful they can be. Smart compose Smart Compose is designed to help you write emails faster by writing your emails for you, saving you the hassle of wasting time or brainpower. The feature uses machine learning to predict what you intend to type, with Gmail offering real-time suggestions as you compose an email. Dave Parrack / IDG Smart Compose is turned on by default unless you’ve opted out of smart features and personalization. However, it’s easy to toggle Smart Compose by navigating to Settings > See all settings, then scrolling down the General tab until you see Smart Compose. The standard Smart Compose feature offers predictive writing suggestions as you type, but you can also enable Smart Compose Personalization to have these real-time suggestions personalized to your own writing style based on all the emails in your Gmail account. Schedule send Are you the type to write your emails ahead of time? If so, you probably draft them up then let them sit in Drafts until you’re ready to send. But this can be risky because you might forget about it… and is there anything more frustrating than thinking you sent someone that email only to hear back that you never did? Ugh! Dave Parrack / IDG That’s why you need to be using Gmail’s Schedule Send feature. When your email is typed up and ready to go, you don’t have to send it right away — you can instead set a date and time for the send. To do this, instead of clicking Send like usual, click the drop-down arrow next to Send and then click Schedule Send. By default, you can opt for “tomorrow morning,” “tomorrow afternoon,” or “Monday morning” (which is great if you’re typing up a work-related email on the weekend). But you can also Pick date & time to select any specific date and time for sending it out. Never forget again! Undo send Gmail’s Undo Send feature is pretty self-explanatory. It gives you a grace period after sending an email to change your mind, allowing you to cancel the send so you can make further changes, or postpone sending to a later time, or just withhold sending altogether. Undo Send is really useful when you accidentally send in the middle of composing the email, or if you forgot to attach those files, or if you spot a typo after the fact, or you mistakenly CC’d instead of BCC’d, etc. Dave Parrack / IDG Undo Send is enabled by default, but you can change the duration of the grace period for undoing the sending of an email. Navigate to Settings > See all settings, then scroll down the General tab until you find Undo Send. You can then set the timer to anywhere from 5 seconds to 30 seconds. I recommend setting it to 30 seconds because there’s really zero downside to having that extra time. To undo an email after sending it, look for the Message Sent notification in the bottom-left of your screen and click Undo. If you’re quick enough, the email will revert back to Draft status without ever actually having been sent to the recipient’s inbox. Search operators While the basic search function in Gmail is as easy as typing what you’re looking for into the search box, the results aren’t always that great. If you’re tired of irrelevant or excessive results when searching through your entire Gmail archive, start using Gmail’s search operators to better filter the results. This is especially useful if you have tons of emails filling up your inbox and it feels like searching for a needle in a haystack any time you have to rummage through for a particular email. Dave Parrack / IDG There are too many Gmail search operators to list them all here, but some of my most used ones include from: (used to filter emails to only those that were send from a specific person) and subject: (used to filter the search by email subject lines and ignore body content). I recommend checking out our article on essential Gmail search operators worth knowing. To go even further, you can see a full list of all Gmail search operators on this Gmail support page. Snooze emails Snoozing an email is a bit like snoozing your alarm clock in the morning — Gmail temporarily removes the snoozed email from your inbox for however long you decide to snooze it. By default, you can snooze an email until “tomorrow,” “this weekend,” or “next week.” But you can also pick and choose whatever date and time you want, allowing you to procrastinate to your heart’s content. When the snooze expires, the email pops right back into your inbox. Dave Parrack / IDG To snooze an email in Gmail, hover over the email in question and click the Snooze icon on the right-hand side of the options. You’ll see a bunch of default time periods you can snooze the email for, but if none quite work for you, click Pick date & time to set your own. You can also snooze multiple emails at once by selecting them all and doing the same. After snoozing emails, you can then view all of your snoozed emails under Snoozed in the left panel, and you can unsnooze any emails early if you want to deal with them ahead of schedule. Email templates If you find yourself sending the same email over and over — or at least similar emails that contain very similar structure and content — then you should absolute utilize Gmail’s Email Templates feature. As the name suggests, Email Templates allow you to create and save different templates, which you can then use in the future to instantly start with a baseline email that you can edit, instead of having to draft your emails from scratch every single time. Dave Parrack / IDG To use templates, navigate to Settings > See all settings, then scroll across to the Advanced tab and find Templates. Click Enable, then Save Changes. Once Gmail has reloaded, you can create a template. To create a template in Gmail, compose an email as normal, but instead of sending it, click the three-dot menu > Templates > Save draft as template. Then, the next time you want to send a similar email, just click the three-dot menu > Templates > Insert template. Spelling and grammar suggestions Correct spelling and grammar in emails is important at all times, but it’s especially important when you’re emailing someone in a professional capacity. Whether to your boss or a client, you want them to have the best impression of you with every email you send. Thankfully, Gmail offers autocorrect for both, as well as real-time spelling and grammar suggestions that come in handy when autocorrect seems too much and you want to remain in control of your writing. Dave Parrack / IDG To have Gmail check your spelling and grammar as you write, navigate to Settings > See all settings. Scroll down the General tab until you see the option to toggle grammar suggestions, spelling suggestions, and autocorrect. Experiment and find what combination works for you. Inbox categories, labels, and filters If you send and receive a lot of emails, Gmail’s basic organization isn’t enough to keep you sorted and tidy — at least not without a lot of manual effort on your part. Fortunately, Gmail has advanced organization features that can help automate a lot of that and keep you straight. For starters, Gmail’s inbox categories exist to automatically sort your email by intent. These inbox categories include Social, Promotions, and Spam, and Gmail automatically processes incoming emails and sorts them into these categories for your convenience. Beyond those categories, you also have labels. A label is like a custom tag that lets you manually categorize emails however you want. Each label is like a folder, except you can mark an email with as many different labels as you want. Labels are navigable in the left-side panel, and labeling makes it easy to browse and find emails by type. For example, you might have labels for receipts, bills, work projects, different hobbies, etc. Dave Parrack / IDG One step further, you have filters. A filter is a custom rule you can create, which automatically does things to emails as they enter your inbox. To create a filter, click Show search options to the right of the search box, enter your search criteria, and then click Create filter. For example, you might create a filter that automatically applies a certain label to all emails with a certain word in the subject line, or you can automatically forward emails to a different inbox if they come from a specific domain address. Confidential mode Did you know Gmail has a confidential mode? It’s one of the best ways to make Gmail more secure, designed to protect your sensitive information by limiting what recipients can do with your email. When an email is sent via confidential mode, you can set it to have an expiration date and whether it should require an SMS passcode to open. Confidential emails can’t be forwarded, copied, printed, or downloaded by recipients. You can also revoke access to the email later. Dave Parrack / IDG To send a confidential email, when composing a message, click the Lock icon to toggle confidential mode. You’ll then be able to set the above mentioned features for that email. Safe! Keyboard shortcuts While Gmail is, by default, extremely user-friendly, you can end up wasting a lot of time if you only navigate using your mouse cursor. The more time you spend reading, writing, and organizing your email, the more you can benefit from the use of keyboard shortcuts. You have to enable keyboard shortcuts in Gmail, but once you’ve done so — and after you’ve learned the useful ones enough that they become second nature — Gmail will become so much easier to use and you’ll end up saving a lot more time than you thought possible. Dave Parrack / IDG To enable keyboard shortcuts in Gmail, navigate to Settings > See all settings, then scroll down the General tab until you see the option to toggle Keyboard Shortcuts. Gmail offers a large number of keyboard shortcuts out of the box, and it may take some time to wrap your head around all of them. Once keyboard shortcuts are enabled, you can always see a full list of them by typing ? while Gmail is open. If you aren’t happy with the keyboard shortcuts as is, you can customize them however you want. Navigate to Settings > See all settings, then scroll down the Advanced tab and enable Custom Keyboard Shortcuts. After that, you should see a Keyboard Shortcuts tab where you can customize Gmail’s keyboard shortcuts to your heart’s content. Further reading: The Gmail settings I always use (and a few I don’t) Read...

Windows 10 is nearly a thing of the past with Microsoft pulling the plug on it later this year, so Windows 11 is now the way to go. But why settle for the limitations of Windows 11 Home when you can unlock the full power of the OS with Windows 11 Pro for cheap? If you’re on a Windows 11 Home PC right now, take advantage of this limited-time deal to upgrade to Windows 11 Pro on the cheap. Microsoft’s standard upgrade price is $99, but you can snag it on the PCWorld Software Store for just $48. That’s a whopping 52% discount! Taking the upgrade path is cheaper than buying the full Pro license, and this discount just makes it that much more affordable. There are several reasons to upgrade from Windows 11 Home to Pro, including being able to access your PC from anywhere via Remote Desktop, full file and device encryption via BitLocker, virtual machines via Hyper-V, and better app security via Windows Sandbox. Our own Alaina Yee explains all this and more in our explainer on why you should upgrade from Windows 11 Home to Pro. When you buy this upgrade, you get a key by email that updates your system’s Windows product key. You then install a quick update, reboot your PC, and bam! You’re on Windows 11 Pro with full access to all the extra features and benefits that come with it. For the next week and change, the PCWorld Software Store can help you get the best supported Windows version for less. Grab the Windows 11 Pro upgrade for just $48 and save big while you still can! Save 52% and upgrade your Win 11 Home to Pro right nowBuy from PCWorld Read...