A poll of the 18 club captains has revealed some surprising results, as Max Gawn is crowned the owner of the best haircut in the league and Justin Bieber gets a vote for pre-grand final entertainment. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Excellent color gamut and contrast High HDR peak brightness Great motion clarity Offers USB-C with 90 watts of Power Delivery Cons SDR image quality doesn’t stand out from QD-OLED peers Adaptive Sync support only officially lists G-Sync Similar to competitive monitors Our Verdict The MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED is yet another excellent 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor.   Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED Retailer Price $981.78 View Deal $982.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED is yet another 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor that delivers excellent sharpness, vibrant color, and outstanding motion clarity. While it provides a few less common features, like a USB-C port with 90 watts of Power Delivery, it struggles to stand out from the competition. Even so, it remains a solid pick if you want a 32-inch 4K OLED monitor.  Read on to learn more, and then see our roundup of the best USB-C monitors for comparison. MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED specs and features The MSI MPG 321URXW has a 31.5-inch Samsung QD-OLED panel with a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz. It’s not a new panel (many models were released through 2024), but it often scores well in our testing. Display size: 31.5-inch 16:9 widescreen Native resolution: 3840×2160 Panel type: QD-OLED Refresh rate: 240Hz Adaptive sync: Yes, Nvidia G-Sync Compatible HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 Certified Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort and 90 watts of Power Delivery, 1x USB-B 2.0 upstream, 2x USB-A 2.0 downstream, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack VESA mount: 100x100mm Audio: None OLED Panel warranty: 3-year warranty including panel burn-in Price: $999.99 MSRP There are a few features that make the MSI stand out, however. First, it provides a USB-C port with DisplayPort and up to 90 watts of Power Delivery. Although it’s becoming more common, USB-C is still not found on some competing 32-inch OLEDs. MSI also provides a strong 3-year warranty, which is better than the 2-year warranty provided by some brands, such as LG. MSI lists the monitor with an MSRP of $999.99, and it’s currently selling at that price online. The price is mid-pack for a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor. Slightly older designs, like the Alienware AW3225QF, are available for $899.99. But some new models, like the HP Omen Transcend 32, are several hundred dollars more than the MSI. MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED design You’ll immediately notice the MSI MPG 321URXW’s most distinctive trait: It uses bright white plastics alongside silver metal accents for a distinctive, yet still professional, look. It’s an attractive monitor, though I prefer the look of Samsung’s Odyssey OLED monitors, which have a more cohesive and luxurious all-silver finish. Matthew Smith / Foundry The rear of the panel is etched with MSI’s distinctive dragon logo and provides RGB-LED accent lighting for a touch of flair. MSI also sells the MPG 32URX, which is identical to the MPG 321URXW but has a stealthy ultra-black look. MSI ships the monitor with an ergonomic stand that adjusts for height, tilt, and swivel. Pivot is limited to 10 degrees either way, meaning it’s not possible to put the monitor in portrait mode with the included stand. A 100x100mm VESA mount is available for use with third-party monitor stands and arms. MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED connectivity The MSI MPG 321URXW has two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4a, and one USB-C port with DisplayPort, for a total of four video inputs, all of which support the monitor’s maximum resolution and refresh rate. That’s a good range of video input, though common for a high-end monitor. Less common is the USB-C port which, in addition to DisplayPort, can also handle up to 90 watts of USB Power Delivery. That’s enough to power and charge most mid-range Windows laptops and 2-in-1s. The availability of USB-C is an advantage for the MPG 321URXW  as many 32-inch 4K OLEDs, like the Alienware AW3225QF and Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 (2024), don’t provide it. However, the more expensive HP Omen Transcend 32 has USB-C with 140 watts of power delivery, and its higher wattage pairs better with high-end laptops.     The Alienware AW3225QF, meanwhile, offers eARC, a feature more commonly found on HDTVs that makes it easier to use with some home theater equipment. I’d take USB-C over eARC any day of the week, so I prefer MSI’s approach, but eARC might be preferable if you want to use a monitor as part of a compact gaming and home theater setup. The MSI also has an internal power board. That’s notable, as many monitors with USB-C power delivery use an external power brick that takes up extra space under your desk. MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED features Owners can access the MSI MPG 321URXW’s features with a joystick centered behind the monitor’s bottom-right bezel. It provides quick, easy access to most monitor features. MSI’s menus tend to be well organized and readable, as well. I did notice one thing I must nitpick: Some options, like brightness, changed rather slowly. It’s a minor point, but one MSI should consider fixing in a firmware update. The menus provide a typical range of options for a high-end monitor. There are multiple image quality presets, but the range of precise image quality adjustment is limited. The monitor doesn’t have multiple gamma presets, which is odd for this price tier, and color temperature settings offer vague presets (like “Warm”) instead of presets that target specific color temperature values. KVM switch functionality is included, as well. Matthew Smith / Foundry MSI also supports the usual range of gamer-centric features like an on-screen cross hair, a black equalizer (which boosts dark areas of the screen to reveal more detail), and aspect ratio modes that simulate a 24.5-inch or 27-inch monitor (which can be useful for competitive gamers). Monitor features can also be accessed with the MSI Gaming Intelligence app. It’s not the most attractive app I’ve seen, but it does the job and is even designed to look similar to the monitor’s on-screen menu, which is a nice touch. Speakers aren’t included. That’s always a bit disappointing, but it’s not uncommon for high-end gaming monitors. Most decide to ditch audio and assume owners will use a headset. The MPG 321URXW includes an easy-to-access headphone jack for audio pass-through, at least. MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED SDR image quality As mentioned, the MSI MPG 321URXW has a 31.5-inch Samsung QD-OLED panel with a maximum resolution of 3840×2160. This panel has appeared in several previous monitors and has always scored top marks. The MPG 321URXW is no exception. Matthew Smith / Foundry Brightness is usually a weakness for OLED monitors, and the same is true of the MSI MPG 321URXW. Still, its maximum sustained SDR brightness of 254 nits is typically for a QD-OLED monitor and, more importantly, is bright enough for use in most rooms. The monitor’s gloss finish can be an issue if you have a light positioned opposite the monitor, however, and the monitor will seem dim if used in a bright, sunlit room with no shades or other light control. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast is always a strength for OLED monitors. The MSI MPG 321URXW, like its peers, can hit a minimum brightness of zero nits in dark scenes. As a result, it has an effectively infinite contrast ratio and provides outstanding depth and immersion. The benefit really stands out when watching HDR films or a game with a cinematic look, like Cyberpunk 2077. The only problem? All of MSI’s competitors offer the same perk. This is a strength, but not an advantage over the competition. Matthew Smith / Foundry It’s a similar story with the monitor’s color gamut. QD-OLED monitors offer an incredible, highly saturated color gamut that rank among the best available in any consumer display. The MSI MPG 321URXW’s color gamut spans 97 percent of DCI-P3 and 94 percent of AdobeRGB, which makes it great for both entertainment and professional content creation. But, again, competitors with QD-OLED panels have similar strengths. The MSI MPG 321URXW can deliver punchy, vivid, and detailed HDR highlights, like explosions. Matthew Smith / Foundry The MPG 321URXW’s color accuracy is rather good. Although it doesn’t match the best performers in its category, the level of color accuracy it provides is far more than adequate to deliver a realistic, lifelike image. With that said, the MPG 321URXW has two minor downsides typical of QD-OLED panels. The default gamma curve came in at 2.3 instead of the target of 2.2, which means content tends to look a bit darker than intended. It also has a color temperature of 6200K, which is noticeably warmer than the target of 6500K. While the variance is noticeable, it’s not a problem for games and entertainment. However, you’ll need to calibrate the monitor if you’re trying to home in on a gamma curve of 2.2 and color temperature of 6500K, which are typical expectations for a computer monitor. The monitor’s lack of fine-grain gamma and color temperature adjustment doesn’t help matters. Sharpness is a big advantage, as you might expect. The 32-inch 4K looks incredible when fed high-quality 4K content like AAA games or lightly compressed 4K video. Small fonts and high-contrast edges show minimal pixelation or aliasing. Overall, the MSI MPG 321URXW provides outstanding, yet not exceptional SDR image quality. Like many QD-OLED monitors, it sits in an odd spot. On the one hand, it’s objectively among the very best SDR computer monitors ever made. But, on the other hand, its direct competitors all provide great SDR image quality. The MSI MPG 321URXW’s SDR image is certain to impress you, but it’s not a reason to buy it over another 4K QD-OLED display. MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED HDR image quality The monitor’s HDR image, on the other hand, just might get you off the fence. Matthew Smith / Foundry Although the MSI MPG 321URXW is only VESA DisplayHDR True Black certified, it also has a “peak brightness 1000” mode which, in fact, did deliver a maximum HDR brightness of 1,025 nits in a 10 percent window (meaning just 10 percent of the display was lit). HDR brightness was more typical for an OLED monitor when large portions of the panel were lit. Still, these results show the MSI MPG 321URXW can deliver punchy, vivid, and detailed HDR highlights, like explosions. Watching my personal favorite HDR test clip, the “Into the Storm” scene from Mad Max: Fury Road, confirmed the measurements. The scene’s lightning strikes and explosions feel appropriately cinematic. That’s not to say it’s perfect. As the graph shows, HDR brightness is still very low when large portions of the display are lit. So, if you’re viewing a very bright scene—like a snowy level in an HDR game—the monitor can look less impactful. Still, the MPG 321URXW’s overall HDR performance is great for a PC monitor and better than average for QD-OLED. MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED motion performance Though it offers a tack-sharp 4K image, the MPG 321URXW can also hit a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz. That’s not unusual for a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED, but it’s still fantastic. Fast-moving objects are clearly defined, scrolling text is usually legible, and quick camera pans in 3D games preserve good detail. All of this is good news for gamers, of course, but also makes the monitor look crisp when scrolling through web pages or documents. The MPG 321URXW also supports adaptive sync, but it only lists official support for Nvidia G-Sync. That doesn’t mean it won’t work with other adaptive sync solutions, as I had no problems using AMD FreeSync with the monitor connected to an AMD Radeon 7800 XT video card. I always prefer to see monitor makers list broad support for all flavors of adaptive sync, as it’s less confusing for shoppers.  Should you buy the MSI MPG 321URXW QD-OLED? The MSI MPG 321URXW is yet another excellent 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor. Its SDR image quality and motion performance, though excellent, are similar to competing monitors. The MPG 321URXW scores small wins in maximum HDR brightness and connectivity, as it provides a USB-C port with 90 watts of Power Delivery, but its design isn’t quite as attractive as competitors like the Samsung Odyssey G8 OLED. Read...

If you’ve had it up to here with dumb responses from Alexa, get ready for a big change.  At a glitzy event in New York City on Wednesday, Amazon unveiled–again–its AI-enhanced and “completely re-architectured” Alexa, and we’ll all soon have a chance to kick the tires ourselves. Starting next month, Amazon will kick off a public preview for the new Alexa, which it’s calling Alexa+. The public preview will begin gradually, with more users gradually being added to the group. This news is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers. The revamped Alexa will indeed cost extra: think $19.99 a month, in line with paid “plus” memberships for ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Anthropic’s Claude. That said, Alexa+ will be free for Amazon Prime members. Amazon has previously promised that “classic” Alexa would remain available for free, but there was no mention of that during today’s presentation. Ben Patterson/Foundry The new AI-enhanced Alexa (which will offer new phone and web apps) will have a variety of tricks up its sleeve, including “agentic” abilities (autonomous AI is the new hotness in artificial intelligence). For example, Amazon says Alexa+ will be able to go shopping, book travel tickets, text contacts, suggest recipes, and fine-tune your smart home routines, weaving all those tasks within a single interaction. Most importantly, the revamped Alexa will be able to “reason and take action,” such as following up on conversations to set reminders. During a demo, Amazon devices head Panos Panay chatted with Alexa+, carrying on an animated conversation reminiscent of ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode. The new Alexa also showed off its multimodal capabilities by “looking” at a live video feed of the assembled audience at the presentation, and then describing the scene, the size of the crowd, and the “wowed” reaction. Panay said Alexa+ will be able to create routines based on natural language prompts. He also showed how the new Alexa could pluck the music track “Shallow,” from the A Star is Born soundtrack, off Amazon Music in response to a vaguely worded query, and then asked Alexa to “jump to that scene” in the movie streamed on Amazon Prime Video. (It worked.) Showing off a new Alexa Ring integration, Panay asked Alexa+ “what’s happening at my house,” and Alexa promptly put up a live feed of a Ring security camera on the screen, accurately describing it what was happening. Other notable smart home and home entertainment integrations include Wyze, iRobot, Govee, Shark, Sonos, and Vizio. With Alexa+, “there’s no more Alexa speak,” Panay promised. We also got a peek at the Alexa+ user interface, including a new “expressive” blue animation that will replace the classic Alexa blue line) that changes shape as you talk. Other features including the ability to share lengthy documents with Alexa+, which the AI can remember, analyze, and summarize. (Experienced LLM users will be familiar with such “RAG” functionality.) The new Alexa can also do things like add calendar events based on information in the files shared with it. Amazon also promised new Alexa+ features for children, showing a video of the new assistant telling on-the-fly stories and otherwise engaging with the tykes. We also saw Alexa+ answering questions about sports and other current events. Ben Patterson/Foundry Daniel Rausch, vice president of Amazon’s Alexa and Echo divisions, explained how Alexa+ is powered using a mixture of models from Amazon and Anthropic. Alexa+ can also switch models in the background depending on the task at hand, Rausch said. We’ll still getting the scoop on Alexa’s new AI-infused abilities, so stand by for more details on that score; plus, my hands-on impressions.  Amazon first showed off the new Alexa during its September 2023 hardware event, and at the time it promised a public preview “early” in 2024.  Instead, the year came and went without a public beta for the revamped Alexa. What we did get were insider accounts of a hallucination-prone Alexa that gave lengthy and frequently inaccurate answers, while also having trouble with basic smart home capabilities.  Of course, those AI-related troubles aren’t unique to Amazon. Google has taken a careful approach when it comes to allowing Gemini to interact with smart devices, while Apple has yet to open its Home app to Apple Intelligence. Read...

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At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Solid antivirus protection Comprehensive protection against online threats Cons Notable performance impact on some PCs User interface is a little scattered Many of the tools and services feel a bit underbaked Password manager is difficult to use Our Verdict McAfee+ Ultimate offers strong antivirus protection and a vast array of online protections, but its apps, services, and tools could use more polish. Its scans also can tangibly decrease performance on mid-range and budget PCs. As attractive as this comprehensive all-in-one package is, it’s currently a hard sell. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Among the top-tier antivirus software plans, McAfee’s version is an especially loaded offering—and less common in how it bundles together an extraordinary number of online protections. Many rivals have a premium antivirus suite, then offer services like a VPN, password manager, and identity protection and recovery as separate subscriptions. McAfee instead stuffs everything into one package. This simplifies how much you have to think about, of course, but there’s just one problem—this security suite lacks the polish you’d expect of such a premium product. Further reading: See our roundup of the best antivirus software for Windows PCs to learn about competing products. What does McAfee+ Ultimate include? The full list of features in McAfee’s flagship subscription is exhaustive. Antivirus, link screening, and firewall protection are just the start. You get other major online protections as well—password manager, VPN, web link screening, identity monitoring on the dark web, tracker removal, and if you’re signed up for a family plan, parental controls. McAfee next throws in its Social Privacy Manager, which offers privacy settings suggestions for social media services; Scam Protection, an AI-powered tool to help screen for risky links in text messages; Online Account Cleanup, which helps you find and delete unused accounts; Personal Data Cleanup, which scans data broker sites and helps you remove yourself from them; and live assistance in setting up your plan’s privacy and identity protections. McAfee+ Ultimate’s list of online protections is exhaustive. Finally, on top of all that are financial protections. McAfee+ Ultimate will keep tabs on your bank and credit card transactions, investment and loan account activity, potential bank takeovers, possible payday loans taken in your name, and your credit reports and score. It also offers a centralized interface for locking your credit and placing security freezes on credit, banking, and utilities. And the company provides direct assistance with identity theft restoration, as well as up to $25,000 of coverage for losses related to ransomware and up to $2 million related to identity theft losses and restoration efforts. McAfee even helps with replacing identification, credit, and debit cards for a lost wallet. Family plans allow you to share these benefits among a maximum of six people—two adult accounts and four child accounts. Each adult account gets its own loss coverage, for a total of $50K ransomware and $4 million for identity theft.) And only adult accounts have access to the data broker and financial protections. How much does McAfee+ Ultimate cost? When you buy McAfee+ Ultimate through the McAfee website, an individual subscription is $200 for the first year, then goes up to a full price of $280 afterward. A family plan costs $250 for the first year, and then reverts to $425 per year thereafter. Plans come with a 30-day money back guarantee. Be aware that McAfee enrolls users into auto-renewal by default—and charges for the next year a whole 30 days before your current subscription ends. McAfee+ Ultimate (Unlimited devices) $200 for the first year (Individual plan) $280 per year thereafter (Individual plan) $250 for the first year (Family plan) $425 per year thereafter (Family plan) All McAfee+ Ultimate plans let you protect an unlimited number of devices, with software support for Windows, Windows for Arm, macOS, ChromeOS, iOS, and Android. (Not all features are multiplatform, however.) Family subscriptions offer up to six seats, split between two adult and four child accounts. Unfortunately, you can’t bring down the cost of a McAfee+ Ultimate plan further by purchasing it from an online retailer. You can only get it through McAfee. Key features of McAfee+ Ultimate Installation and user interface The McAfee app has a clean and modern look, but it feels oddly disorganized despite its simple aesthetic. On the home screen, you get just four shortcuts to main features—antivirus, VPN, Tracker Remover, and Personal Data Cleanup. A fifth helps you add McAfee to more devices, and the sixth leads off to McAfee’s protection score, which rates how completely you’ve set up your plan’s protections. The main menu for accessing most of McAfee+ Ultimate’s features. To access all of McAfee’s major features, you must use the left navigation bar. Clicking on the icon with four squares opens a slide-out menu with scanning and web protection options; access to the VPN; firewall info; shortcuts to tools; and links to identity and privacy monitoring, as well as the password manager. The bottom-most icon in the left navigation bar leads to subscription info, general settings, app updates, help, and privacy and legal terms. These are very simple, and there’s not much you can configure. Frustratingly, the most premium parts of the McAfee+ Ultimate subscription are nowhere to be found within the app. Instead, you must to head to the McAfee Protection Center portal site (protection.mcafee.com). There you’ll find the links to financial transaction and credit monitoring, parental controls (if you have a family plan), and the Social Privacy Manager browser extension. The McAfee Protection Center website. Until you’ve poked around thoroughly, remembering if a feature is located in the McAfee app, a separate app, one of three McAfee websites, or a web browser extension can take a while. The apps and the websites don’t always behave quite as expected, either. When I set up Identity Monitoring, adding a second email address triggered new findings (alas), but those results wouldn’t show until I’d refreshed the website. Nothing was wrong, per se, but the experience lacked the kind of polish I expected from an expensive, top-tier security suite. Unfortunately, this vibe extends through much of McAfee+ Ultimate’s features—not just the methods that you access them through. Virus, malware, and threat protection Real-time protection As you use your computer, McAfee+ Ultimate continually evaluates the files you open and also monitors apps for unusual behavior. While the program does a good job on this front (it earns high marks in independent testing—more info on that below), you’re largely removed from the process, as you never get to see behind the curtain. Unlike with major rivals, you can’t do things like specifically select folders to protect from ransomware, change settings related to email attachment and script scanning, choose which apps have access to your webcam, or see how external drives are handled. The interface is so simplified that you only have the choice of leaving real-time scanning on, or turning it off. (Presumably only for troubleshooting purposes—otherwise, you lose much of the software’s point.) For protection while surfing the web, you must install the McAfee WebAdvisor browser extension, which scans for dangerous links and content as you browse online. It gives search engine results safety ratings, warns you about clicking on a possible bad site, and blocks malicious content on compromised but legitimate sites. It works well enough, but oddly, Bing is not on the list of supported search engines. (Sorry, Bing fans.) The McAfee WebAdvisor extension in action—those green checkmarks are its safety ratings. Scheduled and manual scans By default, McAfee+ Ultimate scans your system once a month, during the wee hours of the morning. You can change the day to another of the three presets, or create your own custom schedule that runs weekly, every other week, or the first week of the month. If you want to run a manual scan, you get just two options: Quick and Full. Quick focuses just on PC locations typically targeted by threats, while Full examines all the drives and folders on the PC (except for network drives). You can also scan individual files and folders by right-clicking on them and choosing Scan in the context menu that appears. Firewall Rather than replace Windows’ built-in firewall, the Advanced Firewall feature works alongside it. It lets Windows screen incoming connections, while McAfee evaluates outgoing connections. If an app tries to connect to what McAfee believes is a bad site, it’ll put it on the block list—at which point you can leave it there, or choose to allow the connection. Scam Protection McAfee recently launched a new AI-based tool to help screen text messages for fraudulent links. For it to work, you have to install the McAfee Security & Wi-Fi Privacy app (iOS) or the McAfee Security: VPN Antivirus app (Android). Afterward, it runs in the background, screening messages. To see any that are flagged as dangerous, you’ll have to go to your filtered messages for iOS. On Android, you can see reports about questionable text messages within McAfee’s app. Scam Text Protection in the Android app. VPN On PC, you can access McAfee’s VPN in two ways—through the McAfee app, or by separately downloading and installing McAfee Safe Connect. The main difference between them is their interfaces. In the McAfee app, the controls are consolidated onto one screen. You can turn the VPN on or off, select or change your location, choose auto-connect settings, and turn on the safe reconnect feature (aka kill switch—it automatically shuts off the internet if your VPN connection is disrupted). If you instead use the McAfee Safe Connect app, it separates VPN use from the settings, putting them on different screens. You can view usage stats and help files related to Safe Connect as well. The Safe Connect VPN works on PC, Chromebooks, and smartphones, with a limit of five devices connected simultaneously. When using the Safe Connect app, I ran into some bugs. After I installed it and connected to a server for the first time, I couldn’t disconnect afterward—it was only fixed after a reboot. Safe Connect also behaved erratically if I tried starting it before my Wi-Fi finished connecting. A pop-up notification appeared saying I had to upgrade, and then wouldn’t clear. I had to force-quit the program and restart to resolve the issue. The VPN interface within the McAfee app is cleaner and more modern. This VPN offers servers in 47 countries, which span Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, and the United States. Password Manager McAfee’s password manager, True Key, covers the basics and not much more. Presumably, the company kept things simple on purpose, but it’s at the expense of better security. For example, your two-factor authentication methods are limited—there’s no way to use OTP software codes, much less a hardware key. More damningly, True Key’s login protections are flawed. New devices require verification through an emailed link before you can log in. However, McAfee doesn’t always send that email before the login request expires, which happens after about a minute. Sometimes the email wouldn’t hit my inbox until ten minutes after the login attempt. I almost gave up at one point, and then the system worked for a brief moment and I managed to successfully complete the process. This isn’t a new issue, either—look at McAfee’s forums and you’ll see complaints about this dating back years. McAfee True Key is a simple, basic password manager, but its weaknesses make it feel unreliable.PCWorld You’re also only able to use True Key through a web browser extension or a mobile app (iOS and Android). If you’re ever in a position where you can only log into a website for access, you’re out of luck. Plus, when you first setup the service, you have to manually enter an activation code—and if you can’t find the email with that information, you’ll have to dig into McAfee’s account portal (head to Downloads & devices) or McAfee’s Protection Center (My protection) to find it. All this to say, True Key doesn’t feel like a reliable feature. You’re better off using a standalone service—even a good free password manager outperforms McAfee’s offering by a lot. Parental controls  Parental controls are managed through a separate piece of software called Safe Family. You install it on the device(s) used by the child, but also on a device managed by the guardian—no web interface exists for monitoring your kid’s usage. Each child gets their own profile, so you can tailor your restrictions based on age and needs. Safe Family automatically applies default rules based on the stated age of the kid—for example, the app automatically blocked my (imaginary) 13-year old from viewing dating, gambling, and sexually explicit sites, but let them use search engines and view streaming, entertainment, and shopping sites. You can further refine (or overhaul) the default settings, though. McAfee’s parental controls may look a bit outdated, but they’re easy enough to navigate. App rules can be created as well, which let you allow or block specific apps on Windows, Android, and iOS. (These are the only devices compatible with Safe Family.) Screen time limits can also be put in place, though you only get two different rules. One’s meant for the weekdays and the other for the weekends, but you can adjust as you see fit. You can track device location for phones as well, including visits to known places (as set in the app), though I had trouble getting it to work consistently on Android. Identity and financial protections McAfee+ Ultimate’s premium features—that is, the reason you pay so much more for this plan compared to the others below it—lie in its identity and financial protections, and they cover quite a bit of ground. Identity Monitoring scans data from breaches and leaks for your personal information. You have to provide your details to McAfee, which allows you to add credit cards, bank accounts, email addresses, usernames, and phone numbers (up to 10 each); tax IDs, passports, driver’s licenses, and health IDs (up to two each); and your social security number (SSN) and date of birth. The results aren’t always as helpful as they could be; for one email address, several of the listed breaches didn’t give the name of the breach or circumstances, making it harder to know what specific follow-up steps to take. McAfee only gives general advice on how to protect yourself, which is helpful for security newbies but less so for more seasoned internet users. Personal Data Cleanup helps you find which data brokers have you in their system, and assists with removing you from those sites. Data brokers comb public records and other databases to collect info like your name, current and past addresses, birthdate, phone number, and the names of your relatives. In order for the scan to work, you’ll have to provide your name, birthdate, and full physical address. (You can also optionally add an email address and up to three phone numbers.) McAfee will send removal requests on your behalf, too, but the results can take anywhere from 30 to 45 days. However, for some data brokers, you may have to still follow up on your own. McAfee’s identity monitoring helps keep track of your leaked personal data on the web. Investment, 401(K), bank, and credit card transaction tracking is done through Envestnet Yodlee, which handles this monitoring for McAfee. It centralizes the types of alerts you may already be receiving (provided you set them up) from your financial institutions. You must log into your accounts via McAfee’s Protection Center portal to link them to Yodlee. Credit monitoring keeps track of changes to your credit reports at the three major bureaus (TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax). McAfee also gives you access to your daily credit score, lets you lock and unlock your credit, and helps set up security freezes for credit, banking, and utilities as desired. Identity theft coverage includes the previously mentioned $2 million to cover losses and restoration expenses, as well as $25,000 for losses related to ransomware. (Again, the family plan offers this coverage to each adult account, for a total of $4 million identity theft coverage and $50,000 ransomware coverage.) Identity theft assistance includes access to “identity restoration experts,” or agents who help clean up the aftermath of identity theft. (Note: You must grant a limited power of attorney to McAfee in order for agents to act on your behalf and handle the bulk of the work.) McAfee also offers lost wallet protection, where the company helps cancel and replace identification, credit, and debit cards that are lost or stolen with your wallet. Additional features Browser extensions McAfee+ Ultimate isn’t complete if you don’t install its affiliated browser extensions—though arguably, only one of them is vital. As mentioned above, McAfee WebAdvisor scans for risky links and content while you browse online, though it won’t evaluate Bing search results. You won’t see a safety rating for any of the links, the way you would for a search through Google. (Yahoo and AOL are still supported, though.) You also won’t immediately see them for the Chrome extension—I had to go into the extension’s settings, scroll down to Secure Search, and choose Tell me if a search result is safe in any search engine. In Chrome, I had to manually change the extension settings to show the safety ratings for search engine results. Meanwhile, McAfee True Key—the password manager in the security suite—won’t work on PC unless you install the extension. You can’t log via a website, as you might another service. That said, True Key isn’t my pick for a good password manager, as explained above. I recommend going with a different password manager and installing its browser extension instead. (It makes using a password manager less cumbersome.) For strengthening your online privacy, you can also install McAfee’s Social Privacy Manager extension. It screens the privacy settings for Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google accounts, then suggests improvements. McAfee’s findings are pretty decent—but asking the extension to apply the changes doesn’t always work. File shredder To prevent someone from recovering a deleted file, McAfee offers a built-in tool called File Shredder, which overwrites the data using the Department of Defense (DoD) standard. You can use the tool to blanket-erase whole batches of files at once (Recycling Bin contents, temporary internet files, or a custom folder of your choosing), or individual files. However, this tool comes with one big caveat—you should only use it for files and folders stored on a hard-disk drive. This method of secure erasing doesn’t work as well on solid-state drives (SSDs), which are found in most modern laptops and desktops. It can also shorten their lifespans. You’re better off using other methods for securely wiping an SSD. Online Account Cleanup Unused online accounts can hold data you might not want to leave on file—like your credit card details or home address. Data breaches are just too common these days, and when they happen, you could end up losing sensitive data. It can be hard to keep track of the riskiest sites to leave unattended, though. McAfee tries to speed up the process of cleaning up dormant accounts with its Online Account Cleanup tool, which you’ll use through the McAfee Protection Center portal. It scans one email address from Microsoft, Google, or Yahoo for associated online accounts, then flags the ones it thinks are vulnerable. If you no longer need the account, you can have McAfee delete it for you—or at least, try to. I found that, like McAfee’s other privacy tools, Online Account Cleanup is helpful for pointing you in the right direction, but doesn’t always eliminate as much work as it’s supposed to. Social Privacy Manager The Social Privacy Manager actually suggests useful changes to privacy settings. If you need help locking down your social media accounts—that is, keeping your private life out of the hands of advertisers and random snoops—McAfee offers a browser extension that scans five different services (Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google), then suggests privacy changes. The proposed changes are generally good, but the issue I ran into was having the extension automatically make them. I also had some problems manually finding the settings in order to do the updates myself. Customer support If you need help with McAfee+ Ultimate, you can find it on McAfee’s support website (either through the knowledge database or the virtual assistant), community forums, social media (Facebook, X/Twitter, and YouTube), or by contacting the company though chat or phone. You can reach out to McAfee at any time of day, though the support pages are generally an easy place to start. However, one problem with McAfee’s support is that their help files can be out of date—some don’t accurately reflect how the interface looks and behaves now, making it harder to figure out what’s a currently available feature (and how to access it). Updates and maintenance  By default, updates run automatically in the background. For best protection, it’s best to leave this setting as-is. However, if for some reason you’re on a limited internet connection, you can also choose to tweak the settings so that updates are downloaded automatically but not installed automatically, or only be notified when updates are available. You can also perform a manual check for updates by heading to Help and then Update App.  Performance For online protection, McAfee performs well in tests performed by leading security research institutes. In AV-Test’s zero-day attack and malware tests for November and December 2024 (the most current results released by the organization), McAfee’s engine caught 99.5 percent of the 389 zero-day malware samples. For widespread and prevalent malware, it caught 100 percent of the 12,159 samples. In AV-Comparatives’ real-world protection test for July through October 2024, McAfee detected 99.8 percent of the 471 test cases, with 10 false positives. (A false positive is when the antivirus software blocks a legitimate website or download.) The samples cover exploits like drive-by downloads, malicious web addresses, and URLs linking directly to malware. The software performs similarly in AV-Comparatives’ September 2024 malware protection test, which tests the ability to detect and block malware locally on a PC. When connected to the internet, McAfee does a good job of on both fronts, with a 97.1 percent online detection and 99.94 percent online protection rate of the 10,078 samples. AV-Comparatives’ real-world test results for July through October 2024. AV-Comparatives However, McAfee’s weakness is its offline detection rate in the same malware protection test—it caught threats only 68.4 percent of the time. Put another way, McAfee won’t protect your system well without an active internet connection, and it has a slightly higher chance of mistakenly detecting a threat. For comparison, Microsoft’s Windows Defender (which is free) has an offline detection rate of 68.8 percent, while the top performers clock in at 94 percent and above. In AV-Comparatives’ October 2024 Advanced Threat Protection Test, McAfee scored an 8 of 15—meaning that it’s currently weaker than rivals like ESET and Bitdefender against targeted threats like fileless attacks and malicious scripts. While none of the antivirus software evaluated in this test hit perfect marks, you’ll have to still tread a bit more cautiously online and not trust McAfee to save you from everything. (Which, in fairness, is a smarter attitude to take in general.) AV-Comparatives’ malware test results for September 2024. AV-Comparatives When running heavy scans, McAfee can notably affect performance on mid-range and budget PCs. Running a continuous full scan during PCMark 10’s benchmark, which simulates web browsing, video chatting, gaming, and editing in open-souce programs like GIMP and LibreOffice for images and documents, dropped the test scores by about 21 percent. More dramatically, our UL Procyon scores dropped by 41 percent. This particular benchmark simulates using Microsoft Office apps—constantly working in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, with a fair amount of editing and updating multiple documents. Meanwhile, in Handbrake, the time it took to encode a large video into a smaller 1080p30 file increased by almost 29 percent. That’s not the whole picture, though. McAfee isn’t a complete killer of performance. When the app was quietly hanging out in the background, watching for threats, benchmark scores in PCMark, Procyon, and Handbrake were virtually the same as before McAfee was installed. And these numbers don’t show how McAfee usually handles full scans. After an initial thorough examination of all files on a PC and any attached external drives, subsequent ones look for new or altered files, which speeds up the scan time considerably. (That then reduces the impact on system resources.) All this to say, if you don’t transfer or update a ton of files on your system often, you won’t see as much of an effect. But if you do, and you’re running mid-range to budget hardware, then you could feel the impact of a scan while working. McAfee does schedule its full scans for off-hours by default, though. This error window popped up randomly and frequently enough to be irritating. Instead, I’d say McAfee’s biggest performance issue is a bit different right now—and relates to how it behaves in Windows. After completing my hardware benchmarks, a Windows error notification began to pop up periodically (“mc-wns-client.exe – This application could not be started”) while I evaluated the software features. The steps suggested by McAfee’s help forums—updating the Windows App SDK, uninstalling and reinstalling McAfee+ Ultimate, and manually downloading and installing the latest Windows App Runtime package—did not solve the problem, either. When I spoke to the company about the issue, McAfee said it was still working with Microsoft, and that a resolution was expected in “early 2024.” That’s a long time to wait for a pretty annoying issue to go away. How private is my data when using McAfee? With the amount of sensitive details McAfee asks for—social security number, addresses, birthdate, etc—you might wonder how safe it is to hand over the whole set to one entity. McAfee outlines how it handles your info in its privacy and legal terms, but I also asked the company who specifically sees the data and the protocols used to safeguard it. McAfee says that it partners with Transunion (one of the three major US credit bureaus) for matters related to identity theft and power of attorney, and Yodlee for transaction monitoring. As for the data itself, McAfee says AES-256 encryption is used, and the engine that monitors for threats keeps only a hash of the values. (That is, it stores the result of encrypting your social security number or full name, etc, rather than the details themselves.) It’s only decrypted when a user views reports related to these sensitive pieces of information. McAfee says those unencrypted, plaintext versions of the data is only ever kept on the backend server, and “never exposed to the front end.” While this methodology is reasonable enough, you’ll have to decide for yourself how comfortable you are with it—as well as the general principle of having your most sensitive info so centralized. Conclusion With more polish, McAfee+ Ultimate would be an ideal security suite for someone who wants an easy-to-understand yet still comprehensive set of online protections. Its interface has a look and feel that’s friendly toward people less familiar with online security; the antivirus protection is solid; and its features span everything you’d want to safeguard. But until its tools and services can nail their promises, and the performance glitches are resolved, McAfee+ Ultimate is a hard sell right now—especially at full price. Editor’s note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, this review is subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the service. Any changes to text or our final review verdict will be noted at the top of this article. Read...

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Snapdragon X Series processors redefine what modern portable computing can be by delivering both extensive battery life and unparalleled performance on a single processor. With up to 12 Oryon CPU cores, up to 4.6 TFLOPS of power from the onboard GPU, and 45 TOPS for AI calculations, the new Snapdragon processors can deliver incredible results in professional workloads and entertainment alike. What sets these chips apart is the incredible combination of power and efficiency – even amongst stiff competition from the latest generation of MacBooks and x86 Windows devices. Workers with high-powered laptops are used to having to plug them in regularly to maintain battery life and enjoy strong performance, but the latest generation Snapdragon laptops do things differently. With Windows on Snapdragon, you get incredible battery life with sustained performance even when unplugged, for a truly untethered, high-performance computing experience. These are the kind of laptop devices which let your workers stay productive for longer, wherever they are, without constraint. Most laptop owners are used to staying near a charger for maximum performance and expect far less than 10 hours of battery life between charges. With the new Snapdragon X Series laptops, however, you can upend their preconceptions with a new tier of performance and longevity. Snapdragon X Series laptops can offer up to 22 hours of battery life. That’s enough for multiple workdays, whether it’s back-to-back meetings, long-haul travel, or home-office marathons (with a quick streamed movie in their downtime). With its mobile heritage, Snapdragon power management is second-to-none in the PC industry. It’s the Snapdragon processors at the heart of these laptops that deliver such stellar battery life. The new Oryon cores offer comparable performance to the competition, but at a much lower power draw. When combined with an equally efficient, but powerful onboard Adreno GPU, you end up with devices that can compete on performance with the best the competition has to offer, whilst maintaining extensive battery life and portability. That means fewer interruptions and lower energy costs – the kind of benefits that can scale across a whole team. These processors are fantastic at single-threaded and multi-threaded workloads, too, making them excellent for multi-tasking, or focusing in on a demanding application. Video editing is a breeze, 3D design work is fast and responsive, and everyday apps like Chrome and Edge run faster on Snapdragon. Combined with excellent connectivity from the latest wireless connection standards, like Wi-Fi 7 and Dual Bluetooth, you can expect exceptionally fast and clean connections, with no drops, stutters, or buffering to be concerned with. To top off this potent combination, all Snapdragon X Series laptops come equipped with a powerful AI neural processing unit (NPU). This Hexagon processor delivers as much as 45 TOPS, making it one of the fastest and efficient dedicated AI accelerators in modern computing. It’s this tri-fecta of potent hardware choices that make the latest Snapdragon processors so impressive, and why Snapdragon hardware is at the heart of the new-generation of AI PC. Snapdragon processors have long set the standard for smartphones and smaller mobile devices, but now they’re bringing that blend of capability and longevity to the full Windows experience. The result is a seamless, uncompromising experience that keeps up with the demands of modern day professionals. With a Snapdragon X Series powered laptop, you get everything you need to do anything you want, for as long you want, wherever you want. View Snapdragon laptops for small businesses Read...

An external streaming device is the best way to access online video services without replacing your entire TV. By plugging one of these devices into your TV’s HDMI port, you’ll be able to use apps like Netflix and Hulu, possibly with a faster and smoother experience than your TV’s built-in software. But between Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, and Apple TV, picking a streaming device can be overwhelming. We’ve reviewed them all and have come up with a list of recommendations for every need and budget. Why you should trust us As TechHive’s resident cord-cutting expert, I’ve reviewed practically every streaming device that’s come out over the past decade, and I’ve been a cord-cutter myself since 2008. Beyond just product reviews, I write a weekly column about streaming and over-the-air TV for TechHive, along with a weekly cord cutting newsletter for more than 30,000 subscribers. Few other writers are as familiar with how these streaming devices and their underlying operation systems perform. Best media streamers for every budget Roku Streaming Stick 4K — Best media streamer for most people Pros Fast, fluid performance with dependable Wi-Fi connectivity Easy-to-operate interface with powerful voice control features Full of nice touches that other cheap streamers lack, such as AirPlay and a Replay button Cons Discovering and tracking shows could be easier No Dolby Atmos support or IR control for external sound systems Only supports wireless connections Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $39 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $39 at Amazon Why we like the Roku Streaming Stick 4K Roku still offers the simplest platform for streaming, and it’s loaded with thoughtful touches (like the “Replay” button that jumps back 10 seconds and temporarily turns on closed captions). At $50 (and often on sale for less), the Streaming Stick 4K hits the sweet spot in Roku’s device lineup, with a better remote than the budget Express model and the same Dolby Vision support as the $100 Roku Ultra. It narrowly beats out the $40 Roku Express 4K+, which lacks Dolby Vision HDR support and has a less-portable design. Who should buy the Roku Streaming Stick 4K While other streaming platforms are more aggressive about recommending movies and shows directly from the home screen, Roku’s main menu is still a traditional grid of app icons, akin to what you’d see on a smartphone. It’s indicative of how Roku values simplicity above all else. If you feel the same way, the Roku Streaming Stick 4K is for you. Read our full Roku Streaming Stick 4K review Walmart Onn Google TV 4K Pro — Best media streamer for most people, runner-up Pros Excellent performance for the price Remote is loaded with useful features Google TV is great for finding things to watch Cons Hands-free voice control is a bust Home screen needs better streaming service tie-ins Can’t control volume from your phone while casting Why we like the Walmart Onn Google TV 4K Pro Walmart’s Onn Google TV 4K Pro resets expectations for what a $50 streaming device can deliver. The small box features a chipset that includes a Quad-core Cortex-A55 CPU and Mali-G31 MP3 GPU; 32GB of storage; a Wi-Fi 6 adapter, plus a 100Mbps ethernet port; and a USB-A port for connecting external storage drives, wired game controllers, and other accessories. It comes with a great remote control with backlit buttons–some of which are re-assignable–and the box itself has a remote-finder feature. All that horsepower makes for an extremely responsive user experience, and great voice search features make it easy for you to find what you want to watch. Walmart would like you to think its box is a great smart speaker, too; regrettably, that is its weakest link. Who should buy the Walmart Onn Google TV 4K Pro Like Walmart’s budget-priced media streamer, the Onn Google TV Pro is particularly well suited to TV watchers who are invested in Google’s entertainment ecosystem. This streamer’s remote has dedicated buttons for Google TV’s free streaming channels and YouTube (the latter of which can be remapped to YouTube TV or YouTube Music), as well as preset buttons for Netflix, Disney+, and Paramount+. Home theater buffs, meanwhile, will appreciate the support for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos object-based surround sound. Read our full Walmart Onn Google TV 4K Pro review Walmart Onn 4K Google TV Streaming Box (2023 model) — Best budget-priced streamer Pros Feature-rich remote Google TV software makes sense of streaming Super cheap even without sale prices Cons Performance can drag on occasion No Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos support Google TV guide still has some blind spots Why we like the Walmart Onn 4K Streaming Box At a regular price of $20, Walmart’s 4K streaming puck is an unbeatable value, and its button-packed remote has handy shortcuts to the settings menu, live TV guide, and even an input switcher. It runs Google TV, whose home screen does an excellent job recommending movies and shows to watch. It also plays nicely with various Google services, so you can use Google Photos albums as screensavers, control Google Home devices with the voice remote, and play music across your TV and other Chromecast devices at the same time. Who should buy the Walmart Onn 4K Streaming Box Those who are deeply invested in Google’s ecosystem will appreciate this budget streaming option, and it may also appeal to tech enthusiasts who want to sideload Android apps or remap the remote control’s buttons. Unless you need Dolby Vision and Atmos support, this is a better buy than Google’s own 4K Chromecast dongle. Read our full Walmart Onn 4K Google TV Streaming Box (2023 model) review Apple TV 4K (2022) (64GB) — Best high-end media streamer Pros Uncluttered, ad-free interface Performance is speedier than ever AirPlay, AirPods, and iCloud integration are nice to have Cons No remote-finder function Dual home screens can be confusing Remote gesture controls, while useful, might confound some users Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $123.49 View Deal $124.50 View Deal $129 View Deal $136.50 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $123.49 at Best Buy$124.50 at Adorama$129 at Apple$136.50 at Amazon View more prices from Amazon Close × Best Prices Today: Apple TV 4K (2022) (64GB) — Best high-end media streamer Retailer Price $123.49 View Deal $124.50 View Deal $129 View Deal $136.50 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Why we like the Apple TV 4K No other streaming device can touch the Apple TV 4K’s speed, fluidity, and overall feeling of classiness. The aluminum remote is slick, the home screen is free of obnoxious banner ads, and the tvOS software is brimming with useful features. (One underrated example: Inputting passwords by dictating each letter into the voice remote.) Apple’s TV app is a highlight as well, as it helps you save shows for later and jump directly back into what you’ve been watching in most apps. At $129, the third-gen model has a lower price than its predecessors, and it’s no longer out-of-whack with other high-end streamers despite being better in almost every way. Who should buy the Apple TV 4K The Apple TV 4K is nearly thrice the price of capable streaming dongles from other companies, so it’s not going to be for everyone, but it’s a worthwhile splurge for your main TV. Additional benefits also accrue to folks who are deeply invested in Apple’s ecosystem, with features like iCloud Photos screensavers and simple pairing with AirPods for private listening. This model provides Wi-Fi connectivity only. If you want it hardwired to your network, you’ll need to step up to the $149 128GB model. Read our full Apple TV 4K (3rd-generation, 2022) (64GB, model A2737) review Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen) — best media streamer with voice control Pros Unparalleled voice control features Powerful remote; the “Recents” button is a revelation Super-fast app load times Cons The home screen is a disaster Upscaling isn’t a major improvement Costs more than most other high-end streaming boxes Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $109.99 View Deal $109.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket $109.99 at Amazon$109.99 at Best Buy Why we like the Fire TV Cube (3rd gen) Amazon’s high-end streaming box is a niche pick, but it’s the only streaming device that you can control entirely by voice. With its built-in far-field microphones, you can use “Alexa” voice commands to launch programs, scroll through menus, select highlighted items, and jump back to the home screen. It’s also Amazon’s speediest streamer by a wide margin. Who should buy the Fire TV Cube (3rd gen) For anyone who’s unable to use a traditional TV remote, the Fire TV Cube is without peer. Voice control is also just a handy way to avoid Amazon’s chaotic, ad-ridden home screen. For smart home owners in the Alexa ecosystem, this box will eliminate the need to have an Alexa speaker in their home theater. Read our full Amazon Fire TV Cube (3rd Gen) review Other notable streaming devices we’ve reviewed Amazon’s Fire TV Stick, Fire TV Stick 4K, and Fire TV Stick 4K Max are all strong values, especially when they’re on sale, but their menu systems are difficult to navigate and bogged down by advertising. (You may even see ads instead of your selected screensaver.) They’re only worth considering if you’re deeply into the Amazon ecosystem. The Fire TV Stick Lite, meanwhile, should be avoided by pretty much everyone. If you want a Fire TV device, get the non-Lite version so you can control TV volume and power without a separate remote. The Roku Express 4K+ is a solid budget streamer for $30, but the Streaming Stick 4K is only $10 more for Dolby Vision and a more portable design that plugs directly into the TV without an HDMI cable. Avoid the basic Roku Express and the Walmart-exclusive Roku SE, neither of which have voice, volume, or TV power controls on their remote. Saving a handful of dollars isn’t worth suffering through those omissions. The Roku Ultra may appeal to Roku fans who want ethernet connectivity, USB media playback, and Bluetooth. But if you just want Roku’s best remote, you can buy the Voice Remote Pro separately to use with any Roku player. The Nvidia Shield TV and Shield TV Pro have devoted fanbases for good reason: They’re speedy streaming devices with impressive 4K upscaling and all the flexibility that Android TV allows. But for most folks, we hesitate to recommend a device that is now five years old and hasn’t received a software update since 2022. The Chromecast with Google TV 4K is worth considering over Walmart’s Onn 4K Streaming Box if Dolby Vision and Atmos support are must-haves and you want the same Google TV software, but it’s a lot pricier at $50. There’s not much reason to consider the HD version instead. The TiVo Stream 4K is now four years old and no longer worth considering as TiVo focuses more on smart TV software. Frequently asked questions about media streamers 1. Are streaming boxes better than streaming sticks? Set-top boxes tend to be faster, but streaming sticks have come a long way on performance while still costing a lot less. 2. Do I need HDR, HDR10+, or Dolby Vision support? And what about Dolby Atmos? If your TV supports these formats, buying a compatible streaming device will ensure that you get the richest color detail possible while watching supported content. Same goes on the immersive audio front if you have an Atmos speaker system. Just be aware that not all streaming services support these formats, and those that do will probably charge extra for it. 3. Can I control my soundbar or A/V receiver with a streaming remote? Most streaming devices can control external soundbars and receivers over HDMI-CEC. But if your sound system requires infrared control, be sure to choose a streaming device that supports this. (Roku players, notably, do not.) Otherwise you’ll need to juggle separate remotes. 4. Can I cast or mirror my smartphone screen to a streaming device? Apple TV and Roku devices support AirPlay, which allows you to stream audio and video from iPhones, iPads, and Macs. Google TV devices support Chromecast, which lets you play content from supported iOS and Android apps, but only allows for full-screen mirroring from Android devices and the Chrome browser. 5. What can I connect to a streaming device? Some streaming devices offer ethernet ports or ethernet adapters, which can be more reliable than Wi-Fi if your home is set up for wired ethernet. Streaming devices with USB ports can also be useful for playing media from external drives or using wired game controllers. 6. Can I use headphones with my streaming device? Most streaming devices support Bluetooth headphones and earbuds, with the exception of Roku’s Streaming Sticks and Express players. That said, you can use Roku’s mobile app to listen privately through headphones instead. 7. Which streaming device has the best app selection? These days, it’s rare to see any major gaps in app support on the major streaming platforms. That said, some live TV streaming services work better with specific streaming devices on features like launching channels by voice and finding content from the home screen. 8. Can I use a streaming device while traveling? Yes. Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV streaming devices even have captive portal support, so you can log into guest Wi-Fi networks that have a web-based confirmation page. That doesn’t necessarily mean you can use every streaming service while traveling. Hulu + Live TV, for example, doesn’t allow you to use the service away from your primary residence. 9. How much storage do I need on my streaming device? All major streaming platforms now have the ability to automatically offload apps that you haven’t used in a while, making storage less of a concern than it once was. That said, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max and Fire TV Cube have 16GB of storage, which should be more than enough for streaming apps, and the Apple TV 4K has 64GB of storage in its base model. You’d only need more than that for gaming. How we test streaming devices Our testing involves using the streaming devices to play a variety of programs, switching between apps to measure load times, and comparing the availability of various features. We pay special attention to remote control functionality—as this is the primary way people interact with their televisions—along with the orderliness and efficiency of each device’s menu system. Preference in streaming platforms is inherently subjective, but we make sure to flag things that users are sure to dislike, such as overly aggressive advertising or promotional content that gets in the way of watching your desired shows. Read...