At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Attractive design with compact stand Good range of video, USB-C, USB-A connectivity High SDR and HDR brightness Outstanding motion clarity at 1080p/330Hz Cons USB-C only supports 15 watts of power delivery Extremely glossy display finish Only 165Hz refresh rate at 4K Our Verdict The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG provides great motion clarity with solid brightness for an OLED panel, and the price is right. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Want a monitor with great motion clarity, OLED image quality, and a contrast-rich finish that can also double as a mirror when the monitor is turned off? The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG might be for you. It goes all-in on gaming with a dual-mode display that can refresh at up to 330Hz and a TrueBlack Glossy finish that enhances immersion. Those benefits come with downsides but, for many, the pros and cons will net out to be positive. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best gaming monitors for comparison. Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG specs and features At its core, the Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG is another 32-inch 4K monitor, but there are a few interesting details on the spec sheet. It uses LG’s WOLED panel, which is a bit less common than Samsung’s QD-OLED. On top of that, it’s a dual-mode display, meaning it offers both 4K and 1080p native resolution modes. In 4K, the refresh rate goes up to 165Hz, but in 1080p it can reach 330Hz. The monitor also has what Asus calls a TrueBlack Glossy display coat, which allegedly improves perceived contrast. More on that later in the review. Display size: 31.5-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 3840×2160 / 1920×1080 Panel type: WOLED Refresh rate: 165Hz / 330Hz (in 1080p mode) Adaptive sync: Yes, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro & G-Sync Compatible HDR: Yes, HDR10, VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black Ports: 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x USB-C upstream with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 15 watts of power delivery, 1x 3.5mm headphone jack, 1x USB-B 3.2 Gen 1 upstream, 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 downstream Audio: None Additional features: Proximity sensor, dual-mode display Price: $999 MSRP / $899 initial retail The monitor also provides a fair bit of connectivity, including USB-C with DisplayPort and three downstream USB-A ports. That means it works well as a USB hub. There’s also a proximity sensor—a new feature starting to appear in some OLED monitors—meant to reduce image retention by automatically turning off the display when you move away. Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG design The design of the Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG is quite reserved from the front, with slim black bezels on all sides. The only notable distinction is the glowing red ROG logo on the bottom bezel, which also houses the proximity sensor. Flip it around and the monitor looks a bit more distinctive, with a large RGB-lit Asus ROG logo and the visually interesting two-tone black look common to many ROG monitors. It’s clearly a gaming monitor, but it leans toward the more subtle end of typical gaming monitor design. Matthew Smith / Foundry Looks aside, the design is practical. The monitor ships with an ergonomic stand that has an extremely small base. Asus highlights this as a feature, and for good reason, as the small base makes it easier to position the monitor on your desk and minimize its footprint. The stand supports tilt, swivel, and height adjustment, though its range is a bit limited in some areas. For example, it adjusts only 80mm for height, while some competitors offer 110mm or, in the best case, 130mm. Still, 80mm is fine for most setups. The stand doesn’t support pivoting into portrait orientation and instead can pivot just a few degrees for minor adjustments, though that’s not too unusual for a 32-inch OLED monitor. Of course, the monitor also provides a 100x100mm VESA mount, so you can attach it to third-party monitor arms or stands to increase its range of adjustment. Like most OLED monitors, the XG32UCWG uses an external power brick, so you’ll need to place that under your desk. It’s a small brick as these things go, though, and rated at 240 watts.  Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG connectivity Past Asus ROG monitors haven’t always stood out for connectivity, but the ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG offers a good range of options. The video inputs include two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, for a total of four inputs. That’s a bit more than the typical three video inputs. The USB-C port isn’t a complete win, as it only provides power delivery up to 15 watts, which won’t be enough to handle a connected laptop (unless it’s a MacBook Air, maybe, if you’re not running at full load). However, the USB-C port does provide upstream access to three downstream USB-A ports, which is useful. Those USB-A ports can also be accessed through an upstream USB-B connection if you’re using a desktop, in which case you likely won’t be using USB-C. A few competitors provide better overall connectivity, such as the HP Omen Transcend 32. On the other hand, some rivals like Alienware have recently offered fewer ports, and the Asus is less expensive than the HP. The XG32UCWG’s connectivity is a middle ground for people who want decent connectivity without paying too much for it. Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG menus, features, and audio The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG’s menu system is controlled by a joystick hidden behind the ROG logo on the bottom bezel. The menu is easy to navigate thanks to clearly labeled options and decently sized text. Alternatively, you can use Asus’ DisplayWidget Center to control monitor settings directly in Windows or macOS. It’s a great option for making quick adjustments and mostly makes the joystick unnecessary—unless you simply prefer to use it. Asus also provides a few interesting features that might sway some shoppers. The monitor offers significant aspect ratio controls, letting the 32-inch panel behave like a 24.5-inch or 27-inch display. Most people will stick with the default settings—a 32-inch display area, 4K resolution, and 165Hz refresh rate—but you could also run it as a 24-inch, 330Hz display for certain esports titles. There’s an OLED anti-flicker mode that can reduce flickering, which OLEDs sometimes exhibit, especially when displaying certain grayscale tones. Matthew Smith / Foundry Of course, you also get the usual gaming extras like FPS counters and crosshairs. Asus has added some AI branding here, calling it an AI assistant, which means certain features are dynamic. For example, Dynamic Shadow Boost can automatically brighten dark areas of a scene to make enemies easier to spot, without affecting brighter areas. Personally, I rarely use these features, but I can see how they might be helpful if you often rely on crosshairs or shadow boosting for a competitive edge. Asus is also all-in on screen protection features to prevent OLED burn-in. The monitor has a proximity sensor to automatically turn off the screen when you move away from the monitor, then turn it back on when you return. There’s also a wide range of features that automatically detect scenarios that might cause burn-in, like a bright logo on a dark image (or vice versa), and attempt to compensate. I can’t comment on how effective these features will be long-term, since I only had the monitor for a couple of weeks, but I expect the proximity sensor, at the least, will be helpful. On top of all this, the monitor provides a good range of image quality adjustment. It includes gamma and color temperature modes that target precise values, not vague presets, plus color calibration. Though not sold as a monitor for creative professionals, it could work in a creative capacity for many people. Speakers, on the other hand, are absent. That’s a tad disappointing, but it’s common among OLED gaming monitors, as monitor makers typically assume gamers will want to use a headset. Asus is also all-in on screen protection features to prevent OLED burn-in. Asus’ ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG SDR image quality The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG has an LG WOLED panel. This contrasts to the more common Samsung QD-OLED panel. WOLED panels tend to have slightly inferior color performance to QD-OLED, and the XG32UCWG is no exception. However, its overall SDR performance is extremely good, and WOLED’s color gamut coverage is getting closer to QD-OLED. Matthew Smith / Foundry First up is brightness. The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG does well here with a maximum sustained SDR brightness of 286 nits. That’s the second-best result from an OLED, behind only the much more expensive Asus ProArt PA32UCDM. You may need that brightness, however, due to the True Glossy Black panel finish. This finish is meant to enhance perceived contrast, but it’s already extremely reflective. Indeed, it’s virtually a mirror, as highly distinct full-color reflections are easy to make out even in moderately lit rooms. Because of that, I can only recommend the XG32UCWG in a room with very good light control. Matthew Smith / Foundry The True Glossy Black finish enhances perceived contrast but not necessarily measured contrast. That’s because OLED panels all hit an effectively infinite contrast ratio anyway due to their success providing a perfect black level of zero nits. So, what does better perceived contrast mean in practice? It means that dark areas of the image have an incredibly inky, deep look. This is not because the pixels themselves are dimmer but, rather, because of how light scatters across the display. I happened to review the Samsung Smart Monitor M9, an OLED panel with a matte finish, just before the XG32UCWG. The difference is stark. The XG32UCWG looks dramatically more contrast-rich and vivid, particularly when viewing high-contrast content. A dark alley in Cyberpunk 2077 is a good example. However, as just mentioned, the XG32UCWG is highly reflective. The Smart Monitor M9 is not. Personally, I would rather have the Smart Monitor M9’s matte coat than the XG32UCWG’s glossy coat. This, however, is a matter of personal preference. Glossy OLED fans will love the XG32UCWG. Matthew Smith / Foundry The XG32UCWG’s color gamut results are interesting. It covered 100 percent of sRGB, 96 percent of DCI-P3, and 88 percent of AdobeRGB. As the graph shows, this puts the XG32UCWG slightly behind the curve for an OLED monitor—as all of the recent 32-inch displays PCWorld has tested were QD-OLED panels. On the other hand, this color gamut is objectively solid, defeating most monitors that lack quantum dots. I think the XG32UCWG’s color gamut is more than adequate for most situations, but if you really want the best color gamut possible, QD-OLED still has the edge. Matthew Smith / Foundry It’s a similar story in color accuracy. The measured average color error of 0.97 is technically towards the bottom of this heap of OLED monitors. However, a color error this low is excellent by any standard, and certainly more than good enough for gaming. It’s also worth mention, again, that the XG32UCWG has an unusually wide range of image quality adjustments for a gaming monitor, which means you can do more to calibrate and tune the monitor to your needs than with some competitors. The monitor’s color temperature and gamma performance was average. I measured a default color temperature of 6600K which, though slightly above the target of 6500K, isn’t going to be noticeable in most cases. The gamma curve was a bit high too, at 2.3 when set to 2.2 (other gamma presets were also high). That means the image looks a bit darker than it should. I do find this to be slightly noticeable compared to a spot-on IPS-LCD display, but most OLED monitors have the same quirk. Sharpness is a perk, of course, as the monitor’s maximum resolution of 3840×2160 works out to about 140 pixels per inch across the 31.5-inch display. That is identical to other OLED monitors, so there’s no major advantage here. The high resolution, along with improvements to OLED panel technology, largely banish the sharpness issues of earlier panels. It looks tack-sharp though, of course, no more so than the competition. The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG’s overall SDR image quality is solid, though not exceptional for an OLED monitor. It scores better than most in brightness, though also gives up some ground in color gamut. Contrast is exceptional and perceived contrast is enhanced by the highly glossy display coat, though at the cost of annoying reflections in even moderately lit rooms. Gamers who can get over the highly glossy finish, or prefer it, will find the monitor’s SDR image quality is top-notch. Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG HDR image quality Asus backs up the ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG’s healthy SDR performance with HDR performance that, while not class-leading, is certainly strong and among the better reasons to buy the monitor. Matthew Smith / Foundry As the graph shows, the XG32UCWG delivered great HDR brightness across the board. Its HDR brightness maximum was about 807 nits in a 3 percent window, meaning 3 percent of the screen was displaying a bright white HDR image. That’s a solid result. Subjectively, HDR content looked excellent. The monitor has the brightness, contrast, and color performance required to deliver superb results. Highlights, like explosions in games, were remarkably bright and vivid. Asus also benefits from providing a good range of HDR adjustments. You can adjust the brightness or turn on the dynamic brightness mode to boost maximum brightness (this mode was used for testing). While these will technically reduce the accuracy of the image, I find they’re almost essential for PC monitors. Most HDR content is mastered on the assumption it will be viewed on a large display with the viewer many feet away, which is not the typical use case for a monitor. Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG motion performance The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG is a dual-mode monitor. That means it’s designed to display 4K resolution at up to 165Hz, or 1080p at up to 330Hz. Whether that matters will depend on your priorities. Personally, I would not play at 1080p to enjoy 330Hz, even though I can notice the improved motion clarity at 330Hz. The reduced sharpness of 1080p on a 32-inch display is just too much. However, highly competitive gamers will likely appreciate the added smoothness and motion clarity of the 1080p/330Hz mode. The real key is the versatility this can provide. Traditionally, competitive gamers had to opt for lower resolutions to gain high refresh rates. That’s fine in Counter-Strike 2 but less so if a competitive gamer wants to boot up Cyberpunk 2077 in their down-time. The XG32UCWG offers the best of both worlds. It’s not without sacrifice, however. At this price, you could buy a 4K/240Hz monitor instead. So, you must decide: 4K at 240Hz all the time, or the option to flip between 4K/165Hz and 1080p/330Hz? I would always opt for the first option, but I can see why some would prefer the latter. Whichever you’d prefer, the XG32UCWG’s motion clarity is excellent. OLED monitors have low pixel response times, which reduces blur and makes the most of their high refresh rates. The XG32UCWG also provides official support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync for smooth frame pacing alongside AMD and Nvidia video cards. The XG32UCWG also supports Extreme Low Motion Blur. This is Asus’ name for a backlight strobing feature that inserts black frames between standard frames. Due to quirks of human persistence of vision, this has the effect of reducing perceived motion blur. ELMB reduces brightness, is only in certain image modes (including a refresh rate up to 165Hz), and can cause a “double image” effect. But, on the plus side, it’s successful in noticeably increasing motion clarity. The XG32UCWG also mitigates some ELMB downsides. It has a bright panel for an OLED, so reduced brightness with ELMB on is less of a concern, and ELMB’s double image effect is less apparent than some other backlight strobing schemes I’ve witnessed. Overall, the XG32UCWG represents the leading edge of motion clarity and responsiveness in a 32-inch gaming display. The 1080p/330Hz mode is extremely crisp, and the 4K/165Hz isn’t bad, either. I think that, for many, the buying decision will come down to motion clarity. If 1080p/330Hz and ELMB sound rad, the XG32UCWG is a solid choice. If not, a 4K/240Hz QD-OLED is probably the way to go. Should you buy the Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG? The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG is a strong contender in the highly competitive battle between 32-inch 4K OLED monitors. Its perks include solid connectivity, a contrast-rich panel, good SDR and HDR performance, and support for dual-mode functionality at 4K/165Hz or 1080p/330Hz. On the downside, the panel’s extremely glossy surface will prove divisive, its color performance doesn’t quite match QD-OLED, and the monitor is priced to compete with monitors that can provide 4K/240Hz. That last point stings most, in my opinion. If it were my money, I’d opt for the MSI MPG 32URXW. Or, at least, I would if it was in stock at MSRP (it’s currently not). Speaking of MSRP, it’s worth mention that the XG32UCWG is not too expensive. It carries an MSRP of $999, but Asus says it will be $899 for an “initial period” at launch. That’s very competitive, and the monitor is worth a spot on any 32-inch 4K OLED short list for as long as it stays at or near that price. The Asus ROG Strix OLED XG32UCWG will appeal most to hardcore gamers who really care about motion clarity, as they’ll see the benefit of the 1080p/330Hz mode. At the same time, competitive gamers can still choose 4K resolution when playing more graphically demanding and immersive titles. Read...

Clear visuals can make complicated ideas easier to understand, and Microsoft Visio Professional 2024 is designed to help you create them. Right now, you can get a lifetime license for Windows for $79.97 (MSRP $579.99). Visio 2024 offers updated shapes, templates, and styles that make building diagrams more efficient. Whether you’re an IT professional mapping a network, an engineer planning a design, or a business user creating organizational charts, this software can handle a variety of projects. Key features of Microsoft Visio Professional 2024 ?? Extensive diagram types including flowcharts, floor plans, process maps, network diagrams, and org charts ?? Over 250,000 professional shapes and templates for quick customization ?? Data-linked diagrams that update automatically when connected to Excel, SQL Server, and other data sources ?? Advanced formatting tools and enhanced visual styles for polished, professional results ?? Real-time collaboration so multiple users can edit diagrams simultaneously ?? Integration with Microsoft 365: embed PowerPoint, Word, or Teams and storage in OneDrive or SharePoint ?? Enterprise-grade security to keep your information protected The software is compatible with Windows 10 and 11 and integrates seamlessly with the Microsoft ecosystem, making it a versatile choice for professionals across industries. If you need to present information clearly or collaborate on complex projects, this deal offers a cost-effective upgrade to your toolkit. Get Microsoft Visio Professional 2024 for Windows for $79.97 (reg. $579.99, 86% off). Microsoft Visio Professional 2024: Lifetime License for WindowsSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros $300 MSRP seems reasonable Thunderbolt 5 Three-display capability, or two displays plus an SSD Thunderbolt Share is included Stable Cons You’ll probablly need to buy display adapter cables No active cooling, but it didn’t seem to need it Our Verdict Plugable’s 11-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 (TBT-UDT3) docking station is a solid all-around TB5 dock with a great mix of features and ports. Pair it with a TB5 SSD and you’ve got impressive storage performance. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Plugable 11-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 Docking Station Retailer Price $299.95 View Deal Plugable $299.95 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Plugable’s 11-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 (TBT-UDT3) docking station is a moderately priced Thunderbolt 5 dock that can future-proof your PC for years to come. While it might not offer the dedicated display ports of older docks, its integrated Thunderbolt Share delivers file sharing and a KVM-like experience, for free. What Plugable doesn’t offer is integrated storage or active cooling, saving your wallet some additional cash. Just keep in mind that you may have to make up for that by buying some additional display cables. If you’re interested in future-proofing your PC, the combination of the high-speed display options Thunderbolt 5 offers, plus Thunderbolt Share, and the additional performance a high-speed external TB5 SSD offers makes this dock really intriguing. Plugable TBT-UDT3: Design and build Plugable calls this dock the Plugable Thunderbolt 5 Dock with 3x Thunderbolt 5 ports, 140W Laptop Charging, or TBT-UDT3. It’s a rather compact Thunderbolt 5 docking station, measuring 6.9 x 1.6 x 3.1 inches. I’ve always been somewhat partial to docks which utilize vertical space, such as the HP Thunderbolt G4 Dock, simply because my desk doesn’t have that much space on it. Plugable’s dock can fit into a vertical stand included in the package. This maximizes your available desk space even more. The TBT-UDT3 is made of aluminum and ABS plastic. These two materials weave their way in and out of the chassis. You’ll find metal coating the top and bottom (if mounted flat, not vertically) which feels necessary. The dock was fairly warm inside my air-conditioned office, using two 4K displays connected via the dock’s included Thunderbolt 5 cable. (That cable measures 39 inches, or 1 meter long.) Some TB5 docks include active cooling, with an external fan; the TBT-UDT3 does not. That’s possibly a corner Plugable cut, but it doesn’t seem to have affected its stability at all. The rear of Plugable’s 11-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 (TBT-UDT3) docking station, with two downstream Thunderbolt 5 ports, and upstream TB5 port to your computer, plus 2.5Gbps Ethernet, USB-A, and locking slots.Mark Hachman / Foundry I usually refer to docking stations without dedicated display ports as hubs, not docks. In this case, Plugable’s TBT-UDT3 includes two Thunderbolt 5 ports on the rear of the dock, and one in front. All three can be used for display connections. Make sure you choose the proper cable for the job. A Thunderbolt 4 dock at 60Hz can use a USB-C to HDMI adapter that supports 4K60 output. That works fine with this Thunderbolt 5 dock, too. But a TB5 dock (like this one) should output a 4K display at 144Hz per port–you’ll need a slightly more expensive cable (about $25 apiece). Specifically, Plugable’s dock puts its power button on front, lit by a bright white LED which, accidentally or not, leaks into the internal ports, giving them a faint glow and making them easier to insert connections inside a dim room. The front of the dock also includes both a microSD and SD card slot at 312MB/S UHS-II speeds, a 10Gbps USB-A port, a Thunderbolt 5 port, plus a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the rear are two more Thunderbolt 5 ports, both a 5Gbps and 10Gbps USB-A port, the downstream TB5 connection to the PC, a 2.5Gbps Ethernet jack, and two lock ports. The front of Plugable’s 11-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 (TBT-UDT3) docking station is simpler, with just an external TB5 port, plus SD/MicroSD and a headphone jack.Mark Hachman / Foundry Plugable’s dock doesn’t really offer charging capabilities — one rear USB-A port supplies 7.5W — but you can certainly plug in a phone to an unused USB-C/Thunderbolt 5 port, which is rated for 15W of power for a phone or an external device of some sort. It actually provided 13.9W under load. That used to be enough to fast-charge a smartphone like a Samsung Galaxy S19, but can’t really keep up with the high-speed charging power used by recent iPhones or Android phones, which fast-charge at 45W or higher. Keep in mind that the full charging capabilities of Thunderbolt 5 go up to 240W. This dock taps out at 140W. On the other hand, Thunderbolt 5 is (for now) confined to gaming laptops, and those laptops generally pull close to 400W or more while gaming under load. Put another way, even 240W isn’t going to cut it for gaming, right now. That power supply might be suitable for tomorrow’s content-creation/light gaming notebook, but not now. Plugable’s 11-in-1 Thunderbolt 5 (TBT-UDT3) docking station, deep into testing. Your desk will hopefully be more organized than this is. Note how the vertical orientation saves space, however.Mark Hachman / Foundry Plugable’s dock also includes an unexpected bonus: Thunderbolt Share, a technology that came and went without a lot of fanfare from the mobile community. Using Thunderbolt Share, two PCs can share files over a Thunderbolt connection, or two PCs can share a single screen. However, Thunderbolt Share requires that the PCs download the Thunderbolt Share app. One of the devices must also have a Thunderbolt Share license — or, in this case, the dock. Only then is Thunderbolt Share allowed to work. (You can see our video demonstration of Thunderbolt Share, here.) Plugable TBT-UDT3: Performance For these tests, I used Razer’s Blade 18, which includes a Thunderbolt 5 port as well as a separate Thunderbolt 4 connection. On that laptop, Plugable’s dock seemed almost perfectly stable. It connected to a pair of 4K160 displays at the dock’s rated speed of 144Hz, my test bed’s default configuration. It also connected perfectly to a third 4K160 display at 144Hz, too, as it should. In this scenario, however, my test laptop’s display wouldn’t light up until I rebooted. After it did so, all three external displays lit up at 144Hz, plus the laptop’s display. The laptop/dock combination couldn’t handle streaming 4K60 video to all displays, but static Web pages loaded with no issue. I also connected it to my daily laptop, with a Thunderbolt 4 port, and I had no issues using Plugable’s same dock with the same 4K displays at 60 Hz. When I accidentally powered off the dock when trying to insert it into its vertical stand, there was a bit of “panic,” where the displays cycled through and flipped on and off for a few seconds. That was user error, however, and the dock and the connected displays worked quite well thereafter. While the dock had some issues bringing up the displays when connected to an older TB4 laptop that was resuming from sleep, that problem did not manifest on the Blade 18 and its TB5 port. I’ve been testing Thunderbolt docks for several years using a standardized methodology. Thunderbolt 5, however, requires an update to my test procedures. I stream 4K video at 60Hz across two displays, then three — Plugable’s dock handled it like a champ without dropping more than a handful of frames. Streaming data from an attached SSD, though, is a bit more challenging with a higher-bandwidth Thunderbolt 5 dock. OWC kindly provided us with an Envoy Ultra SSD, rated at Thunderbolt 5 speeds. That puts more pressure on the dock itself to keep up. To date, there just haven’t been that many Thunderbolt 5 docks available. Most of my reviews cover Thunderbolt 3 and 4, so this dock, along with the Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 Dock, represent a small cadre of the fastest docks available. As it happens, the performance of the two is roughly comparable. I ran PCMark’s storage test against the Envoy Ultra, both directly connected and also connected to a Thunderbolt 5 port on the dock. Directly connected, the Envoy Ultra returned a bandwidth score of 469MB/s or a score of 3,202. Connected to the dock’s TB5 port, performance dropped to 437MB/s or a score of 2,920. That’s a 7 percent drop, and basically identical to the 436MB/s bandwidth score that the Sonnet Echo 13 yielded when the Envoy Ultra was connected to its Thunderbolt 5 port. While streaming the two 4K videos across the integrated Ethernet port, performance dropped to 402.77 MB/s, since some of the bandwidth was taken up by the Ethernet port. Only my folder copy test, which measures how long it takes to copy a bundle of files from an SSD through the dock to the desktop, showed any real difference from the Sonnet: 13.9 seconds for the Sonnet, and 16.9 seconds for the Plugable dock, or 14.2 seconds vs 18.96 seconds while streaming. I tested Thunderbolt Share, which crashed the first time I tried it. (I didn’t notice that OneDrive was syncing in the background.) Using one laptop to control another worked fine. I was able to transfer my folder of files in about 54 seconds, slightly faster than my Thunderbolt 4 dock tests. That’s reasonable, given that both a Thunderbolt 4 laptop and a Thunderbolt 5 laptop were connected to the TBT-UDT3. Mark Hachman / Foundry It might be worth noting that that the rival Sonnet Echo 13 includes a 2TB integrated SSD and costs $439 at press time; Plugable’s dock does not include an SSD, and OWC’s Envoy Ultra (2TB) costs about $300 alone at press time. On the other hand, the internal bandwidth of the Sonnet’s internal SSD was 279.84MB/s, substantially less than the Plugable + OWC SSD combination. The bandwidth of Sonnet’s internal SSD is similar to what you might expect of external gaming SSDs. On the other hand, the read and write speeds of the OWC Envoy Ultra plus the Thunderbolt 5 connection push upwards into the speeds of a good internal PCIe4 SSD, and that’s worth something, too. The one thing I didn’t test is how well this dock accommodates an external GPU. That’s a capability that’s built in (again) to Thunderbolt 5, but I don’t think an eGPU makes a compelling argument yet if TB5 ports are only found within gaming PCs already equipped with discrete GPUs. Plugable TBT-UDT3: Conclusion I would, yes. Generally I hope for premium Thunderbolt docks to be in the $250 range or a little lower, and $299 seems pretty reasonable for a premium dock — though you may have to add display adapter cables to that price. A two-year warranty is included. Though this dock does offer access to three displays, you might find that connecting two displays plus a high-speed SSD works best for you. Interestingly, all of the Thunderbolt 5 docks I’ve seen do not add dedicated display ports, as their TB4 and TB3 offerings did. Don’t forget about Thunderbolt Share, either. It’s not a technology you might use often; after all, you can always connect a hard drive to the dock, copy a file to the drive, replace the laptop with another, and download the file. Still, it’s an interesting twist that most docks don’t offer. If you’re interested in future-proofing your PC, though, the combination of the high-speed display options Thunderbolt 5 offers, plus Thunderbolt Share, and the additional performance a high-speed external TB5 SSD offers makes this dock really intriguing. I really liked the flexibility the SSD inside the Sonnet Echo 13 offered, but Plugable offers an alternative with a different but very viable perspective. Read...

Adjustable actuation is what lets you choose a custom “trigger” point for each key, and it’s the buzziest feature in gaming keyboards. Logitech is hopping on the train now, even if it had to do a lot of jogging to catch up. The newest version of the G515 keyboard, now with magnetic switches, is christened the Rapid TKL—and it’s shipping now for $170. Ouch. The G515 Rapid TKL looks a whole lot like the existing G515 designs, with a distinctive low-profile tenkeyless layout that’s just 22mm tall. Each one of those “analog” switches can be adjusted at 0.1mm increments in the travel (down to 2.5mm total), including “rapid trigger” capabilities, a feature that many competitive gamers want. (Razer calls it “snap tap,” if you’ve heard that one.) Two different functions can be bound to each key at different actuation points. Logitech Other features include keycaps made out of premium PBT keycaps (“Nice,” says my inner keyboard nut), a steel top plate, and a complete lack of wireless. That might feel like a step backwards for a top-of-the-line design, but adjustable actuation switches can drink down a lot of battery power. Even so, it’s an omission that hurts with a keyboard this expensive. Logitech Logitech also announced new gaming mice. The Pro X2 Superstrike features a “haptic inductive trigger system,” which Logitech says is a combination of adjustable actuation in the mouse switch and rapid trigger capabilities. That’s a lot of buzzwords, but the technology underneath uses copper coils to generate an electromagnetic field with a 0.6mm switch that can be user-adjusted at 10 different points, including rapid trigger reset. Logitech What does that mean for PC gamers? In addition to adjustable actuation points on a mouse—which seems like something that’s almost impossible to feel to me, but I haven’t gotten this thing in hand—Logitech says that the mouse can reduce click latency by “9 to 30ms.” Other highlights for the wireless, shooter-style mouse include Logitech’s 44,000 DPI Hero 2 sensor, 90 hours of battery life, and 8,000Hz polling. The mouse is 60 grams, impressively light for all that tech. Be prepared to pay for it. The Pro X2 Superstrike mouse will cost a hefty $180 when it launches in the first quarter of 2026. Read...

Mark Zuckerberg recently unveiled the Meta Ray-Ban Display and Neural Band, which are smart glasses with a color high-resolution display and wristband controls. It sounds like science fiction, but it’s more of an inconspicuous integration of tech into everyday life. Ray-Ban Display and Neural Band The glasses look like classic Ray-Bans, but they have a discreet display on the side of the right lens. It supposedly doesn’t get in the way when looking through the glasses and only appears when needed to display messages, photos, translations, or AI responses. Meta / Ray-Ban The smart display’s resolution is 600×600 pixels with a 20-degree field of view and 42 pixels per degree—sharp enough for everyday use by everyday people. The display’s brightness adjusts from 30 to 5,000 nits and the refresh rate goes up to 90Hz, according to Meta. A new feature here is control via the supplied Meta Neural Band. This wrist-worn device recognizes muscle movements on the wrist and converts them into commands—a swipe of the thumb is enough. Meta / Ray-Ban Based on four years of research with 200,000 participants, the AI glasses should be intuitive to control. The glasses themselves have a battery life of up to 6 hours, and up to 30 hours with a charging case. The Vectran material is as strong as steel but flexible, and Meta also claims that the AI-powered glasses are waterproof with an IPX7 rating. Other features include WhatsApp and Messenger integration, video calls, navigation, live subtitles, and music control. The 12MP camera films in 1440p at 30 FPS, while the internal 32GB storage can store up to 500 photos or 100 30-second videos. Two open-ear speakers and five microphones ensure good audio and recordings. The AI glasses are compatible with iOS 15.2 and Android 10, and corrective lenses from -4 to 4 diopters are also possible. Meta offers the Ray-Ban Display in black and sand colors and with transition lenses, in two sizes: Standard and Large (144mm to 150mm width). Pricing and availability The price of the Meta Ray-Ban Display at launch will be $799 including the Neural Band, and the AI glasses will initially only be available to buy in the US starting September 30th, 2025. Europe is to follow in early 2026. Meta sees these smart glasses as an intermediate step between camera glasses and holographic AR models—technology that you wear inconspicuously in day-to-day life instead of constantly staring at your smartphone. It remains to be seen whether Meta’s AI glasses will catch on, but neuro-control is an exciting development. Read...

On Monday night, I watched TV in a way was previously impossible. Using Channels DVR, I was able to play the Yankees game via MLB.TV on half the screen, with the other half playing Monday Night Football via a local over-the-air broadcast. This was thanks to Channels’ new Multiview feature, which lets you watch up to four live channels simultaneously on Apple TV 4K streaming boxes. I fully intend to watch local Bengals broadcasts side-by-side with NFL Redzone in the future. While some individual streaming services have their own multiview features, Channels is the first solution I’m aware of for TV antenna users (I should note that the Channels Multiview feature is an experiment at this time). And because Channels can bring in other sources of content—like my MLB.TV subscription—it’s the only way to use multiview across cable channels, streaming sources, and over-the-air broadcasts. How Channels DVR works I’ve previously praised Channels as the best over-the-air DVR solution for folks who don’t mind getting their hands dirty. It’s not a device you can buy, but rather a software application you can run on a desktop Windows PC, Mac, Linux machine, or NAS box. It requires its own subscription, which costs $8 per month or $80 per year. Personally, I run the Channels DVR server on an M1 Mac Mini desktop, but a sub-$200 mini PC like this one would also work. You might also find an inexpensive mini desktop tower on eBay, a local second-hand store, or something like Facebook Marketplace, provided it meets Channels’ hardware requirements. The author’s crude illustration of how DIY DVR servers such as Channels work.Jared Newman / Foundry Once you’ve installed Channels, you must supply it with sources of content. For over-the-air TV, this requires an HDHomeRun tuner, which connects to your Wi-Fi router with an ethernet cable. You can connect any over-the-air antenna to the HDHomeRun box to capture local broadcasts. Channels can also capture the TV Everywhere streams that cable and live TV streaming providers make available to customers. If you subscribe to YouTube TV or DirecTV’s streaming packages, for instance, you can feed many of their channels into the DVR as well. Lastly, if you’re willing to mess around with Docker containers, you can feed additional streaming sources into Channels, including MLB.TV, Paramount+, and NFL+. (More on this shortly.) With Channels’ DVR server running on a desktop PC, you can then watch and record live TV through Channels’ streaming apps, which are available on Apple TV, Fire TV, Android TV/Google TV, iOS, and Android mobile devices. (The new Multiview feature only works on Apple TV 4K boxes and iPads; developer Jon Maddox tells me there are no plans to support it on Fire TV, Google TV, or Android streamers.) All told, you’re looking at about $300 in up-front hardware costs—or more if you don’t have a streaming device already—plus the $8-per-month or $80-per-year subscription. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a worthy investment if you want more control over your TV setup. Channels offers extensive recording options with automatic ad-skipping, out-of-home access to live and recorded TV, and customizable menus. You can even create your own groups of favorite channels and turn recordings into round-the-clock “virtual channels.” Multiview just makes Channels even stronger. Channels’ new Multiview feature FancyBits Multiview for Channels DVR is currently in beta on Apple 4K TV devices only. To use it, you’ll need perform a handful of specific steps: Install Apple’s Testflight app on an iPhone or iPad. On the same iPhone or iPad, head to the Channels DVR Testflight page and join the beta program. On your Apple TV 4K, search in the App Store for Testflight and install it. Open Testflight on the Apple TV, then install the Channels DVR beta from there. Now you should see the Channels DVR beta app on your Apple TV home screen. If you already have the regular Channels app installed, you’ll need to use the beta app instead to access Multiview. To use start a Multiview session, hold down the remote’s select button on any channel in the live TV guide. Click “Watch,” then select “Multiview.” Multiview also works on iPads, as shown here.Jared Newman / Foundry Now you can select up to three additional channels to watch in split-screen. Highlight any individual channel to hear its audio, and click on it to enlarge the window. Use the back button to shrink the window down again. Hold the select button on any channel to remove or replace it. One last suggestion: In Channels, head to Settings > Playback > Multiview, then disable “Roomy Spacing.” This will stretch the video windows to the edges of your screen instead of leaving empty space around them. Adding more channels to Channels What it looks like to set up a Docker container.Jared Newman / Foundry Even with just over-the-air TV, the new Multiview feature is a breakthrough, especially for football fans. If your local CBS and Fox stations both air games on Sundays, for instance, you’ll be able to watch them side-by-side. But the real power with Channels comes from bringing in streaming sources such as MLB.TV, NFL Redzone, NBA League Pass, and ESPN+. This is possible thanks to community-made add-ons and Channels’ support for custom video feeds. Fair warning: None of these add-ons are authorized by the streaming services themselves. They’re not exactly piracy, since you must be a subscriber to each service to use them, but they could run afoul of the services’ terms of use. Disclaimers aside, you’ll need to be comfortable creating and managing Docker containers on your desktop computer. The process looks like this: Head to the Docker website, select “Install Docker Desktop,” then complete the installation process. (Personal use is free and does not require a paid plan.) Open a Terminal on MacOS or Linux, or PowerShell on Windows. Paste the extension’s Docker code into the terminal and hit Enter. The Docker app will show that the extension is running in the “Containers” tab. in your Channels DVR settings, add the provided .M3U playlist and .XML guide data links as Custom Channels. Adding a custom video source to Channels DVR.Jared Newman / Foundry The main add-on to consider is EPlus.TV, which brings a variety of sports streaming sources into Channels including NFL+, ESPN+, Paramount+, and various regional streaming services. After setting up the EPlus.TV Docker container, you can access a web portal to sign into each service. There’s also a separate add-on for MLB.TV’s out-of-market plans. This will create additional channels for each team that you’re eligible to watch. In some cases, you might need to tweak the Docker code to work with your system. If you run into trouble, I’ve found that AI tools such as ChatGPT can help with debugging. Multiview on your own terms Ideally, smart TVs and streaming devices would offer their own multiview features, allowing you to play video from multiple apps side by side. Apple TV has sort-of attempted this with picture-in-picture mode, but it’s poorly supported by streaming services and can be insufferably buggy. It also doesn’t support true split-screen viewing and only works with two videos at a time. By bringing over-the-air and streaming sources into Channels, you can perform an end-run around such restrictions. While the setup takes a bit of work, it’s at least easier than bringing four TVs into your living room. Sign up for Jared’s Cord Cutter Weekly newsletter for more streaming TV advice. Read...

I’m a stickler for sound when it comes to streaming movies on my Apple TV 4K. Whenever possible, I prefer piping the Apple TV’s audio to my 5.1.2-channel speaker setup—if speakers aren’t an option, I’d crack open my Sony MDR-V6 studio monitors or (begrudgingly) my AirPods Max. But earbuds? Until recently, that was a hard “no” for me.   That changed after I tested Apple’s soon-to-arrive AirPods Pro 3, the successor to my frequently used AirPods Pro 2. Don’t get me wrong—I still prefer the Sony cans for late-night Apple TV streaming sessions. (I’ll discuss my issues with the AirPods Max in a moment.) But if I’m hankering for a midnight movie and I don’t want to deal with the MDR-V6’s cumbersome coiled cord, the surprisingly powerful AirPods Pro 3 are making me rethink my “no earbuds” policy when it comes to streaming.  Slated to go on sale Friday for $249 and packed with features like heart rate sensors, better water resistance (IP57, versus IP54 for the AirPods Pro 2), Live Translation (a feature that also works on other AirPods models), and up to eight hours of battery life on a single charge with Active Noise Cancellation enabled, the AirPods Pro 3 arrive with a revamped multiport acoustic architecture that promises pumped-up bass and a wider, more immersive soundstage. Other audio improvements include ear tips rotated inward for a better fit, as well as foam-infused microspheres that dial up the ANC.  Boiling it all down, the AirPods Pro 3 sound both bigger and deeper than their predecessors, and it’s the “bigger” aspect that makes all the difference.  While the AirPods Pro 2 have long been essential companions for on-the-go listening or streaming movies on my iPhone, pairing them with my Apple TV 4K has generally been an underwhelming experience. The AirPods Pro 2 certainly deliver impressive bass response, but they’ve always sounded a distractingly small when streaming, say, Dune on the 55-inch LG C9 OLED that’s connected to my Apple TV. For private listening, the Pro 2’s just couldn’t match the over-ear ambiance of the Sony MDR-V6 (which are, strictly speaking, on-ear headphones) or the AirPods Max.  The AirPods Pro 3 arrive with a revamped multiport acoustic architecture that promises pumped-up bass and a wider, more immersive soundstage.Ben Patterson/Foundry The AirPods Pro 3, on the other hand, sounded bigger and more immersive. While streaming big-screen movies like Dune, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Superman (2025) over extended periods, I found myself settling back and genuinely enjoying the experience, forgetting that I was listening over tiny little earbuds. That was quite surprising to me.  The new AirPods Pro also deliver slightly better low-frequency performance than the Pro 2, which already pack plenty of punch when it comes to bass. With the AirPods Pro 3, it feels like there’s a tad more headroom (or maybe “sub”-room would be a better term) when it comes to low frequencies, which adds up to bigger, bolder listening for cinematic streaming.  Deep bass is an area in which—for me, at least—the AirPods Max has had issues. While the AirPods Max give you the genuine over-ear experience that the AirPods Pro 2 and 3 lack, the drivers in my Max cans tend to buckle when the bass gets too deep. For the big, bassy opening of Blade Runner 2049, the AirPods Max will pop and crack when the volume is turned too high—and no, I don’t have them cranked all the way up.   The AirPods Pro 3, however, breezed through the Blade Runner 2049 credit sequence without issue; same with the opening sequence of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, where the AirPods Max struggled with the deep booms of the Russian submarine imploding.  The improved ANC with the AirPods Pro 3 has been a revelation, too. I have a trio of fans that keep the air flowing in our downstairs viewing area, and the roar of those fans can be quite distracting during quiet scenes. That’s a problem for my Sony MDR-V6 headphones, which don’t offer active noise cancellation, and even the ANC abilities of the AirPods Pro 2 can’t quite mask the din. (The AirPods Max are top-notch in terms of their ANC.) The AirPods Pro 3 cuts the whoosh of the fans to a barely detectable whir. Before I get too carried away, I should note that I still love my MDR-V6’s for movies; they are crisp, detailed, and perfectly bassy for my taste. Even with the lack of ANC, they are my top choice for watching 4K Blu-ray, with the lossless audio from those discs piped through my Denon AVR-1600H receiver.  But if I’m planning to stream a movie on my Apple TV 4K and I don’t want to drag out the Sony cans, the diminutive AirPods Pro 3 are fast becoming my go-to option, beating out the AirPods Pro 2 and even—gasp—the vaunted AirPods Max. Some rules were destined to be broken, I guess.  This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best media streaming devices. For a thorough assessment of the AirPods Pro 3’s other features, stand by for Macworld’s full review. Read...

If you’ve been looking for a mid-range gaming laptop with one of Nvidia’s latest GPUs, things are starting to look up. Prices are coming down and deals are more common, but it’s unclear whether these drops are temporary—and if so, how soon before they skyrocket again. That’s why if you’re in the market for one, you might want to grab one ASAP in case the industry spirals out of control sooner than expected. Right now, you can get this RTX-powered Lenovo LOQ 15IRX10 for just $1,074.99 at Best Buy, which is a hefty $225 discount for a pretty decent portable gaming machine. That 15.6-inch display sports a gorgeous IPS panel at a 1920×1080 resolution and with 144Hz of refresh, so it’ll look great whether you’re stuck reading a massive document or plowing through the latest games in your Steam library. Performance-wise, this laptop is well-equipped to handle your daily workload and creative hobbies. It runs on a 13th-gen Intel Core i7-13650HX processor and 16GB of DDR5 RAM, which is enough to gracefully handle Windows 11 without tripping. Want more RAM? No problem. This laptop is user-upgradeable, so you can stick in another module and boost it up to 32GB. The 512GB SSD is a letdown, but shouldn’t be an issue if you can supplement with a large external drive. But the kicker here is the RTX 5060 graphics card that unlocks access to Nvidia’s latest gaming features, including DLSS 4. It’ll run your games at high enough frame rates to take advantage of that 144Hz screen, and it’ll serve you well for years to come. You can attach an external display via HDMI or USB-C video, and you also get three USB-A ports, an Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. What are you waiting for? Don’t miss this chance to get the Lenovo LOQ 15IRX10 for $1,074.99 at Best Buy before supplies run out! This RTX 5060 laptop with 16GB RAM is $225 off right nowBuy now from Best Buy Read...

“Click To Do” is Microsoft’s latest AI feature and selling point for Copilot+ PCs. Now that Windows Recall has taken a backseat after so much privacy criticism, Microsoft is turning the page—and this time it’s all about a special shortcut for accessing contextual AI actions. To use Click To Do, you just hold down the Windows key on your keyboard and click once with the left mouse button. You can also press Windows key + Q if you’d rather use a keyboard shortcut. (If nothing happens, that means you aren’t on a Copilot+ PC.) When Click To Do is activated, an outline will appear around your screen and Windows will highlight all text and images on your screen, making them selectable and allowing you to perform actions with them. Not only that, but Microsoft keeps adding more actions to this menu! Click To Do started with Windows Recall Funnily enough, Click To Do began its life as a feature built into Windows Recall. It let you take actions on text that appeared in the snapshots that Recall automatically took of your screen. However, after Microsoft pivoted from Recall, Click To Do became its own standalone feature. As far as privacy goes, Click To Do feels like the anti-Recall: it doesn’t do anything in the background, and you must choose to use it. Chris Hoffman / Foundry When you activate Click To Do, it takes a screenshot and lets you interact with it. When you select actions like “Summarize Text,” all of it happens right on your PC with your PC’s neural processing unit. But while most actions happen right on your PC, there are some actions—like “Search the web,” “Visual search with Bing,” and “Ask Copilot”—that will send data to Microsoft’s servers for processing. Fortunately, nothing leaves your PC unless you intentionally use such actions. Click To Do lets you feed text to AI models Click To Do uses optical character recognition (OCR) technology to scan your current screen and make text selectable. Basically, it’s taking a screenshot and letting you interact with elements within it. For example, if you select an email address, the Click To Do menu presents “Send email” to compose an email. If you select a website URL, you can choose “Open website” to launch it in your default web browser. (Thankfully, this doesn’t always use Microsoft Edge!) If you select over 10 words of text, things get more interesting. You’ll get a variety of actions that use the Phi Silica language model that runs on your Copilot+ PC’s NPU to perform actions like summarizing text, creating a bulleted list, or rewriting the text in different tones. Chris Hoffman / Foundry This is one of Microsoft’s first attempts at integrating NPU-powered text actions on a Copilot+ PC. Because it’s based on a screenshot, you can only send so much text to the language model at once. That should improve the experience, because let’s be honest: those local language models that run on your Windows PC are nowhere near as powerful as a cloud-based large language models like ChatGPT. (If you’re using a chatbot app in your browser, you’ll wonder why you’re bothering to use a worse app that runs entirely on your PC. That’s a core problem with so many Copilot+ PC local AI features.) Chris Hoffman / Foundry There’s also an “Ask Copilot” action that will send your selected text to Microsoft’s Copilot AI chatbot, and a “Draft with Copilot in Word” action to start working on a Word document with Microsoft’s AI. You can send information to a chatbot in the cloud here, too—but only if you’re using Microsoft’s Copilot (for home users) or Microsoft 365 Copilot (for businesses). Yeah, I know, it can be confusing. Click To Do exposes AI image tools, too Click To Do isn’t just for doing things with text—it also takes actions with images. This is where Microsoft’s other goals for Click To Do start to become clear. When you click on an image, you can select actions like “Blur background with Photos,” “Erase objects with Photos,” or “Remove background with Paint.” Chris Hoffman / Foundry These are all AI-powered image actions that would normally be scattered throughout Windows across different applications, but Microsoft is exposing them here through the Click To Do interface. And there’s also an “Ask Copilot” action here, so you can send an image to Microsoft’s Copilot AI and start a conversation about it there. There’s still no shortcut for the impressive Super Resolution feature, though. That would be really useful! You can disable Click To Do if you want If you don’t want Click To Do for whatever reason—and let’s be honest, that “hold the Windows key and click” shortcut could easily get in the way when playing some PC games—you can turn it off. Chris Hoffman / Foundry To do so, head to Settings > Privacy & security > Click to Do. Flip the switch here to turn it off. (While Click To Do is activated by default, it’s only available on Copilot+ PCs, so you won’t see it on your average Windows 11 PC.) What’s coming in the future? Microsoft has been spending a lot of time adding feature after feature to Click To Do. For example, Click To Do will soon have an integrated Copilot prompt box where you can select text/images, type a prompt, and then click “Ask Copilot” to send the selected content to Copilot along with the prompt you typed. You will also be able to select a mix of text and images, describe an image with an on-device large language model, and send text to the Microsoft Reaching Coach app. Click To Do will also soon be able to detect tables on your screen so you can send them right to Microsoft Excel. This mix of features shows what Microsoft wants Click To Do to become: the “one click to access AI anywhere in Windows” action. Microsoft hasn’t added file integration to Click To Do yet, but lots of actions for right-clicking files and sending them to Copilot and other AI tools are popping up in File Explorer’s context menu. As for me? I’d rather copy and paste After using so many half-baked Copilot+ PC features, it’s nice to see something with long-term potential. However, even though I use a Surface Laptop when I’m away from my powerful desktop PC, I must confess: I never actually use Click To Do, just like I never use Recall. Click To Do is an interesting idea, but I still find myself copy-and-pasting text and images instead. I can copy-paste text and images into any app, with or without AI tools. And Windows 11’s built-in Snipping Tool is already great for extracting text from screenshots and capturing images for me to send to other apps or whatever else. Maybe this will change in the future. Maybe not. But one thing’s for sure: Microsoft’s move away from Recall towards Click To Do is a smart one, and if it ends up paying off, it will pay off big. Further reading: Should you buy a Copilot+ PC? What to know Read...

TL;DR: Grab a lifetime license to Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and more, for just $49.97 (MSRP $219.99). Microsoft recently raised the price of its 365 subscription to $9.99/month or $99.99/year, marking a 45% increase for everyday users. If you’d rather avoid another monthly bill, this deal gives you full access to Office 2021 for a one-time payment. Why 2021 is the Office for efficiency Full access to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher, and Access Works offline without relying on cloud services Streamlined interface without extra AI features you may not need Lifetime license tied to your PC—no recurring charges If you need the classic Microsoft tools without ongoing fees, this lifetime license is a practical alternative to endless subscriptions. Get Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows for just $49.97 (reg. $219.99). Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime LicenseSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...