Infostealer malware keeps popping up in the news these days. Those headlines about millions of compromised passwords, some linked to major services like Gmail? Just a year or so ago, such big info dumps were largely full of less critical data—weak or recycled passwords for sites not central to your digital life. But when an infostealer lurks on a PC, it can capture a lot of sensitive data, including login information for banking, email, and cryptocurrency accounts. Victims often don’t know until their account shows signs of odd or fraudulent activity because infostealers perform their advertised function to avoid detection. So, how do you avoid this kind of malware? Use reliable apps and browser extensions, ones that have good reputations in addition to many downloads. Many are free (or very affordable), and some don’t even require an install. Just point your browser at a website, and off you go. For example, here are a few trustworthy alternatives to popular apps like Photoshop and Acrobat—and a couple of better choices for a popular type of browser extension. Photopea (Adobe Photoshop) — Unless you’re a heavy power user, this web-based image editor is plenty robust in its own right. You can use an ad-based version for free, while ad removal and AI features cost $5 per month. (Read about our hands-on experience with Photopea.) PDF Candy (Adobe Acrobat DC) — This web-based PDF editor offers an advanced feature set and is free for use, though with a heavy limitation of just one task per hour. For unlimited access, you can pay $6 per month or $48 per year as a subscription, or a flat rate of $99 for a lifetime license. (Read our review of PDF Candy.) OnlyOffice (Microsoft Office 365) — This document editing suite is a sleeker, more familiar-feeling alternative to Microsoft Office apps compared to the better-known LibreOffice. Apps are available for PC and on mobile. (Read our overview of OnlyOffice.) uBlock Origin Lite — If you’re looking for a good ad-blocking extension, this long-time extension has weathered both the years and Chrome’s move to Manifest V3. Want another option to consider? My colleague Michael Crider swears by AdGuard. You can find trustworthy alternatives to apps like Adobe Acrobat, without exposing yourself to an infostealer.Michael Ansaldo/Foundry (If you’re most interested in image editing, I recommend trying sites like Canva and Adobe Express as well. Their free versions can handle simple projects, while making them easier to complete—the tools heavily reduce the labor of manual tasks.) Want more good free software suggestions? You can check out a few of PCWorld’s round-ups of free software recommendations, like the best free software for your PC, free Photoshop alternatives that actually work, best free PDF editors, the best free password managers, and Chrome extensions we always install. Besides choosing known, trusted alternative apps and extensions, another smart move is to keep your PC and browser streamlined. Think of it this way: The fewer chunks of code you install on your PC, the less you have to monitor or worry about. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Powerful Intel processor with AI functions Good equipment with many USB ports Good expansion options for SSDs Up to four 4K monitors can be connected Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 Low power Consumption Cons No DisplayPort Revs up abruptly and gets loud No Thunderbolt 4, only USB 4 Our Verdict The Geekom IT15 is a compact, future-proof mini PC with strong computing power, AI support, and capable performance from its Core Ultra 9 285H and Arc 140T GPU. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Geekom IT15 Retailer Price $999 View Deal $1,199 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The compact housing of the Geekom IT15 conceals the 2nd-generation Intel Core Ultra 9 285H. According to the manufacturer, it offers enough power for everyday tasks and it supports the AI functions of Windows 11. With its multitude of connections and the ability to operate up to four monitors simultaneously, the IT15 presents itself as an interesting alternative to classic desktop PCs, which are becoming less and less relevant outside the gaming world. We’re particularly interested to see how the Geekom IT15 with Intel CPU compares to the Geekom A9 Max with AMD hardware, which we’ve tested before. Geekom IT15: Specifications Dimensions: 117 × 112 × 45.5 mm without rubber feet, 117 × 112 × 49.2 mm with rubber feet (each W × D × H) Weight: 1.32 lbs CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285H, maximum operating power 45 watts Graphics processor (GPU): Intel Arc 140T GPU for 9 285H Memory: Dual-channel DDR5-5600 SODIMM, up to 128 GB Internal storage: 1 × M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD, pre-installed Crucial P3 Plus CT2000P3PSSD8 2 TB Expandable: 1 × M.2 2242 SATA III SSD slot, 1 × 2.5? SATA HDD slot (up to 2 TB each) Ports: 1 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1 × USB 2.0 Type-A (rear), 1 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A with S5 power supply, 1 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (front), 2 × USB 4.0, one with PD input (rear), 1 × 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack (front), 2 × HDMI 2.0, SD card reader 4.0 Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.4, Wi-Fi 7, 1 × 2.5G RJ45 Extras: Kensington lock, VESA mount Operating system: Microsoft Windows 11 24H2 (64-bit), pre-installed Warranty: 3 years Overall, the Geekom IT15 is a compact, efficient, and powerful mini PC ideal for productive and professional users. Geekom IT15: Design Geekom packs the hardware in a black case that’s less stylish than the A9 Max’s gray metal case. The IT15’s metal base and lid are built to withstand up to 200 kilograms, providing solid protection for the components inside. Measuring 117×112×45.5 millimeters (A9 Max: 132 × 46.9 mm), the mini PC fits easily on any desk and can also be mounted to the back of a monitor or a wall using a VESA bracket. Christoph Hoffmann As is typical for mini PCs, the ports are located on both the front and back. No matter how the computer is positioned on the desk, the side with the power button is considered the front. Geekom hasn’t been stingy with connectivity: there are six USB ports in total, ranging from USB 2.0 and USB 3.2 Gen 2 to USB 4.0 Type-C. This allows external drives and peripherals to connect at high speeds—up to a theoretical 40 Gbps. Christoph Hoffmann There are two USB 4 ports and two HDMI 2.0 ports for up to four 4K monitors. However, there’s no DisplayPort. Other components include 2.5 Gbps Ethernet, Wi-Fi 7 (Intel BE200), Bluetooth 5.4, and a fully-fledged SD card reader. The mini PC can be secured against theft with a Kensington lock. Geekom IT15: Equipment The centerpiece of the Geekom IT15 is the Intel Core 9 285H. Alternatively, the IT15 is available with an Intel Ultra 5-225H processor and 32 GB of RAM, though that model comes with only a 1 TB SSD. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285H is a modern high-performance processor from Intel’s current “Arrow Lake H” series, which was developed for high-performance laptops. It combines six performance cores, eight efficiency cores, and two additional low-power efficiency cores, resulting in a total of 16 cores and 16 threads. With a maximum boost clock of up to 5.4 GHz and a 24 MB smart cache, the chip provides a strong foundation for demanding applications. Geekom Its typical power consumption is around 45 watts, but can rise to up to 115 watts in turbo mode — good cooling is important. Geekom relies on its own “IceBlast 2.0” cooling system with a large heat sink, two heat pipes, and quiet fans. The Intel Arc 140T is the integrated GPU of the Intel Core Ultra 9 285H and is based on the Xe architecture with eight Xe cores and ray tracing support. It offers strong performance for a CPU graphics and is well suited for everyday use, multimedia, content creation, and light gaming. Its strengths lie in its high efficiency, modern technology, and good integration into the CPU system. For complex games or professional 3D workloads, however, it doesn’t match the power as a dedicated graphics card. The processor has 32 GB of DDR5 RAM (5,600 MT/s) at its disposal, divided into two 16 GB modules. This is fine in functional terms, but makes it difficult to upgrade to 64 GB at a later date, as both modules would have to be replaced. With a single 32 GB module, expansion would be much easier and cheaper. However, you wouldn’t benefit from the faster dual-channel mode with one module. The 2 TB NVMe SSD in our IT15 is a Crucial P3 Plus (model CT2000P3PSSD8). It’s possible that other IT15 units may come with SSDs from different manufacturers. Christoph Hoffmann There are two options for additional internal storage: A slot for an M.2 2242 and a slot for a 2.5-inch SSD–each with a capacity of up to 2 TB. This gives users much more flexibility than the A9 Max with its M.2 2230 slot. Geekom IT15: Windows In our test setup, a 27-inch Dell monitor is connected to the IT15, along with a wired Cherry keyboard and a Microsoft mouse using a dongle. The mini PC connects to the network via Ethernet through a 2.5 Gbps BrosTrend 8X switch. The Geekom IT15 comes with a hardware-bound license for Windows 11 24H2. After booting the mini PC for the first time, the Windows installation begins and is completed within a few minutes. Updates install during setup, but Windows offers more updates later. And then a strange problem appears. Christoph Hoffmann The Windows 11 25H2 update offered by Windows fails with an error message. During the alternative in-place upgrade using an ISO file, the Keep personal files and apps option is grayed out. The issue appears to stem from incorrect language settings in the pre-installed Windows. We therefore selected Keep only personal files, which isn’t a problem on a fresh Windows installation. Another solution is the in-place upgrade with an English setup ISO. The installation then runs in German and the new Windows 25H2 starts with a German-language interface. In addition to Windows’ built-in updates and provided drivers, the dedicated Intel drivers should also be installed. The easiest way to do this is with the free Intel Driver and Support Assistant, which installs the latest drivers for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Arc Graphics, and the NPU. Christoph Hoffmann We won’t go any further into Windows itself, but we can see in many places that the AI features of the operating system are supported and activated. Geekom IT15: Performance We used the PCMark 10 benchmark test to measure desktop performance. This software gives us realistic values by running everyday tasks. With a score of 8,341, the Geekom IT15 with its Intel Core 9 285H ranks in the top third. The Geekom A9 Max we tested with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 scored 7,976 points–that’s only four percent less. Christoph Hoffmann This shows how the Intel Core 9 285H performs in comparison to Qualcomm and AMD CPUs. The gaming graphics performance of the Geekom IT15 was measured by 3DMark Steel Nomad Light, where it scored 3,393 points (Geekom A9 Max: 3,279 points) — a good result that’s slightly above average. The Time Spy benchmark delivered 4,244 points. That’s significantly higher than the A9 Max with its AMD processor, which scored 3,701 points. Christoph Hoffmann With a TimeSpy score of 4,244, the IT15 achieved strong CPU performance for a mini PC as well as decent iGPU performance for light gaming applications. Christoph Hoffmann The M.2 NVMe SSD installed in the IT15 comes from Crucial. The P3 Plus CT2000P3PSSD8 model, with 2 TB capacity, delivers read speeds of 5,029 MB/s and write speeds of 4,658 MB/s in the CrystalDiskMark. These are decent values, though the A9 Max with its Lexar SSD performs even better, reaching 6,242 MB/s read and 5,423 MB/s write. Christoph Hoffmann And what about the AI performance of the system? We ran the Geekbench AI test to find out: Single Precision Score: 4,350 Half Precision Score: 1,790 Quantized score: 8.005 These are typical results for a mid-range system or a system that’s not primarily designed for heavy AI workloads. Compared to the A9 Max (2837/1342/6,496), the IT15 scores with better AI performance and is therefore pretty much on par with an Intel Core Ultra or similar laptop SoCs with an integrated NPU. In combination with its GPU, the processor is suitable for games that benefit from its high single-core performance. At the same time, the large number of cores enables strong multi-core performance. This is perfect for video editing, 3D rendering, photo editing, or music production. Thanks to its efficient hybrid architecture, the Intel processor handles multitasking, office apps, and browsing smoothly. Geekom IT15: Conclusion The Geekom IT15 impresses in the test with strong performance from Intel, modern AI support, and extensive features. The Intel Core Ultra 9 285H offers plenty of power for work, multimedia, and light creative applications, while the integrated Arc 140T GPU delivers solid graphics performance. With Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, USB 4, and support for up to four 4K monitors, the mini PC is versatile and future-proof. Criticisms include the lack of Thunderbolt 4, the loud fan under load, and limited RAM upgrade options. Overall, the IT15 is a compact, efficient, and powerful mini PC ideal for productive and professional users. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Clear, crisp sound Attractive RGB accents Wired and wireless connectivity Cons Comes without a subwoofer Limited app support for Android and iOS Control buttons are tiny Our Verdict The Creative Pebble X is a versatile PC speaker with great sound and connectivity. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Creative Pebble X Retailer Price Creative $89.99 View Deal Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Creative’s Pebble speakers have carved out a reputation for themselves as great sounding speakers. The Creative Pebble X fits into the lineup as an affordable sub-$100 option ($90) and, while it may be a cheaper option, it’s no less capable. It features clear sound that makes it a pleasure to listen to. It also has excellent connectivity options and attractive RGB, which makes it a fantastic accompaniment to any desktop PC or laptop. Creative Pebble X: Design and build The Creative Pebble X consists of two speakers. Just like the other speakers in Creative’s Pebble lineup, each speaker takes a spherical shape with small cutouts for the drivers. The speakers are relatively compact, sitting at 5.3 inches tall so they can easily fit under a monitor or next to a laptop without being obtrusive. They also weigh just 2.6 pounds, so they’re lightweight and portable. The Pebble X has larger 2.75-inch drivers compared to its stablemate, the Creative Pebble Pro which has 2.25-inch drivers. The cutout spherical design angles the speakers at 45 degrees upwards, so the sound is projected at a comfortable angle towards your ears. Along the sides of the satellites you’ll find RGB lighting. It takes the form of small rectangles and creates a mottled effect that’s quite attractive when the power is on. Dominic Bayley / Foundry There are also threaded tripod mounts on the underside of the speakers in case you want to place them on pedestals. The speakers are made of hard plastic. They look extremely well made and robust enough to withstand small drops onto a tabletop. Creative Pebble X: Connectivity and controls The Creative Pebble X provides both wired and wireless connectivity. Wired connectivity is via USB-C or 3.5mm aux-in. Wireless connectivity is via Bluetooth 5.3. The ports are on the back of the right-hand speaker. There are two USB-C ports, the reason being is one handles 30W power whereas the other provides up to 60W peak power for a larger audio output. Dominic Bayley / Foundry To connect, you get a USB-C to USB-C cable and a 3.5mm cable to connect to the aux-in port. There’s also a headphone port and a microphone port on the side of the right speaker. You can connect the speakers to any desktop computer or laptop. The Creative Pebble X is also compatible with gaming consoles like the PS5. The audio controls are found on the front of the right speaker. They’re very minimalist, taking the form of a volume knob and two tiny buttons. One button is for Bluetooth pairing and the other is to change the RGB lighting effects. I would have liked to see larger buttons here as it’s hard to see what they are without being up close. The companion apps for Android and iOS are quite limited and only allow you to upgrade the firmware and change the lighting effects, but the software app for Windows PCs is a lot better. It has a built-in equalizer and allows you to utilize a bunch of different presets. There’s also a Crystal Voice mode that supposedly improves the sound of your voice when you connect to a microphone. Creative Pebble X: Sound To test out the speakers, I played U2’s Beautiful Day, followed by Opportunity by Pete Murray and then All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor. I then played the soundtrack from the Lord of the Rings. First things first, the Pebble X has a strong sound that can really project for such a small device. The sound is also very clear. In Beautiful Day, the instruments sounded very defined. It was possible to pick out the instruments from a cacophony of sound. In Opportunity, the guitar was bright and zingy and the vocals warm and light. While in All About That Bass, the bass part of the track popped noticeably and hit some decent lows. The Creative Pebble X has a strong and clear sound that’s very impressive for a speaker of this size. As good as the bass was in the Pebble X, the bass is better in the Pebble X Plus, which is essentially the Pebble X with a subwoofer. You can’t buy the subwoofer as an add-on to the Pebble X, you have to buy the Pebble X Plus as a single bundle so the Pebble X Plus is worth some consideration for an extra $30 if you really want to increase the bass response. The speakers did a great job bringing to life the tracks from Lord of the Rings. The tracks from the Elves were delivered with an etherealness that was overall very stirring. These are surely speakers that can be used to enjoy a movie too. The Pebble X speakers are connected by a 5.9-inch cord, which means I could have them a fair distance apart on my desk and enjoy sound from different angles. That made listening more enjoyable than if they were bunched up together. Overall, I was extremely impressed by the sound from the speakers, which easily filled my home office. There was a good amount of detail in the soundscape, and the speakers could hit treble and bass notes without any distortion. For the price point these speakers hit the nail on the head, offering great sound and good value for money. Creative Pebble X: Conclusion The Creative Pebble X has a strong and clear sound that’s very impressive for a speaker of this size. It’s compact and can easily be moved from place to place. It also looks great thanks to its attractive RGB accents that really add flair. It features excellent connectivity with both wired and wireless options. Overall, this is a great choice for a desktop PC speaker. Read...

Yesterday, Google announced in a blog post that Chrome can now autofill more types of personal information, including passport numbers, driver’s license numbers, and vehicle information, in addition to existing autofill for addresses, passwords, and payments. Google To use the feature, you must have “enhanced autofill” enabled. Furthermore, when using it, Chrome will always ask for confirmation before filling anything in. The information is only stored if you authorize it, and the information is then protected by encryption. Google also claims to have improved Chrome’s ability to interpret complex forms, which should increase accuracy. These features are being rolled out globally and Google plans to add even more autofill data types in the future. Read...

TechHive Editors Choice At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Gemini is a game-changer Excellent high-res video with 8x digital zoom Camera has a very wide field of view No subscription required for limited video recordings and person, pet, vehicle, and package detection Cons No battery option (not even in a different model) Familiar-face recognition requires at least a $10/mo subscription Gemini doubles the price of a subscription Google has a limited home security ecosystem Our Verdict The Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) is an excellent home security device, and you don’t need to pay for a subscription to get a limited number of event recordings. Gemini, meanwhile, is nothing short of amazing, but you will need an expensive subscription to avail yourself of it. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) Retailer Price $179.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Prior to announcing its third-generation Nest Doorbell—along with its other two new security cameras in early October—Google had us thinking it had lost interest in the smart home. While I wouldn’t say this device marks a roaring comeback, it is a very good product; provided you’re willing to pay at least $10 a month ($100 per year) for a Google Home Premium Standard subscription in addition to paying $180 for the device itself. Like a distressingly large number of smart home and home security devices, the Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd Gen) just isn’t all that useful without a subscription. Yeah, you’ll be notified when someone rings the bell; you’ll get person, pet, vehicle notifications, as well as package notifications when a courier makes a delivery; and you’ll get a live video stream so you can see and have a conversation with whoever’s at the door. Google’s Gemini is a game-changer, and the new Nest Doorbell’s video resolution; person, pet, vehicle, and package recognition; and other features are best-in-class. But Google does Ring and some other competitors one better by providing up to six hours of 10-second event video previews without a subscription (Ring doesn’t give you any recordings without a subscription). That said, if you want all the slick features Google touted in its announcement demos—its Gemini AI, in particular—you’ll need to step up to the $20-per-month ($200 per year) level of Google Home Premium Advanced. I’ll go over those details more in a bit. Specifications Before we get into those more advanced features, let’s discuss what you get for the price of the product itself. Google’s latest doorbell is taller than it is wide, measuring 5.2 x 1.7 x 1.1 inches (HxWxD). It’s available in three colors: Hazel (beige), Linen (off white), and Snow (white). Google sent the last one for our review. The Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) features excellent facial recognition, even when a visitor’s face is in low light or is obscured by their clothing.Michael Brown/Foundry The camera is at the top of the device, and there’s a large round doorbell button at the bottom. A proximity sensor sets an LED light ring around this button to blinking when someone approaches, and pressing it sounds chime on the doorbell itself (and in the house if you’ve connected it to a chime, as I’ll get to later). The camera sensor captures video in 2K resolution with a 1:1 aspect ratio (so, 2048 x 2048 pixels). It captures a head-to-toe view of your visitors, and 6x digital zoom enables you to get a very detailed view of them when you pinch-to-zoom in either real time or with a recording (recordings are captured at 30 frames per second). The Nest Video Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) comes in a complete kit, including a module for your existing chime and a decal to advise visitors they’re subject to video and audio surveillance.Michael Brown/Foundry Two-way audio with noise cancellation lets you converse with visitors, or you can play canned greetings if you’re using the live view feature while you’re away from home or if you just don’t want to interact with them for whatever reason. There are currently only three available phrases: “You can just leave it;” “We’ll be right there,” and “No one can come to the door.”  You can’t record your own canned messages. The camera itself has a wide 166-degree diagonal field of view that results in very slight barrel distortion. A set of six 850nm infrared LEDs provide black-and-white night vision up to 10 feet, but with any supplementary illumination, you’ll get full color at night. HDR support delivers accurate color reproduction. If you live in a very cold-weather climate, you’ll want to be aware of the doorbell’s operating temperature range of -4 degrees Fahrenheit to 104 F (-20 to 40 C). It is otherwise well protected from the elements, with an IP65 rating. As our IP code guide tells us, this means it’s impervious to dust and protected from water jets coming from any direction. So, you could hit it with a spray nozzle attached to a garden hose, but it probably wouldn’t withstand a blast from a pressure washer. Google provides a tiny hex-head screw to secure the doorbell to its mount, but its size and the location of the threaded hole makes using it a challenge.Michael Brown/Foundry Google provides everything you’ll need to install the doorbell, including a base plate, spacers for installing the doorbell on an uneven surface, a wedge that will shift the doorbell’s view 20 degrees left or right, and a hex key and small set screw for securing the doorbell to its mount (I promptly dropped this tiny screw during my installation, where it rolled into oblivion between the planks on my deck). You’ll also find the other screws you’ll need to mount the doorbell, a pigtail wire for connecting the doorbell to a power supply, and a puck-shaped connector for your existing doorbell chime. Being a wired product, you’ll need to connect the Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd Gen) to a 16-24VAC or 10-40VA transformer. If you’re replacing an existing wired doorbell, you should already have an appropriate transformer installed, so you can just swap your old doorbell for this new one. The Nest Doorbell can also use your existing mechanical or electronic chime (provided it meets the same power requirements, of course). Google includes a small puck you’ll attach to the chime box for this purpose, but I didn’t use it because I don’t have a chime. Installation and setup Google is to be commended for its excellent illustrated, step-by-step in-app instructions that guide you through the installation process. They cover everything from turning the power off to your existing doorbell, to disconnecting the existing wires, uninstalling the old doorbell, connecting the wiring to the doorbell (the provided pigtail makes this step particularly easy), and mounting the doorbell to the wall. The Google app has one of the best installation routines I’ve encountered, showing every step in detail and showing you what to expect at every stage.Michael Brown/Foundry Once you have the doorbell’s mount and wedge (if you use it) installed and the doorbell connected to power, the app will have you scan a QR code on the back of the doorbell to add it to your smart home environment. After a few moments, the app will ask where you’ll be using the doorbell (presenting a list of rooms) and then proceed to download and install the latest firmware. When it’s finished, you should see a live view from the camera. After a long pitch for Google Home Premium, and a few other rudimentary steps, the app will ask if you want to turn on the doorbell’s video history. I don’t know why you wouldn’t, unless as the app points out, doing so would run afoul of local laws. If you want—or need—to warn visitors that a camera is recording audio and video, Google provides a decal that you apply to a nearby wall or window. The screw terminals on the back of the doorbell and the provided pigtail wire ensure a secure connection to your doorbell wiring. Michael Brown/Foundry The Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) comes with a 30-day free trial of Google Home Premium (you can choose either the Standard or Advanced version). The Standard tier includes 30 days of event-based video history for all the Nest cameras in your home; alerts for familiar faces, garage door status, and the sound of glass breaking as well as the sound of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors sounding off; and an emergency calling feature that lets you call the local-to-your-home 911 dispatcher for emergency help, even when you’re away from home. Your subscription also includes Gemini for Home, which you can use with your Nest smart speakers and displays. You can also create smart home routines by typing out what you want to accomplish in the Google Home app. I wouldn’t say installation is foolproof, but scanning a QR code to add the doorbell to the Google Home app sure makes things easier.Michael Brown/Foundry The Advanced tier includes all those features, but it doubles the event-based video history to 60 days,  adds 10 days of 24/7 video recording (useful in the  event there  wasn’t enough motion to trigger the camera to record a clip), provides “descriptive” notifications that provide context to the camera’s alerts, the ability to search the event history for relevant recordings, and daily summaries that recap all the activity that occurred in your Nest cameras’ field of view on a given day.   That’s a lot of extra features, but $20 per month is a lot of money, especially when it doesn’t include professional monitoring for a complete home security system, which Google no longer offers. It’s worth noting here that Google invested $450 million in ADT in 2020, and ADT bundles Nest doorbells and security cameras with its ADT Smart Home Security System, which I reviewed in October. Mounting the Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) to its wedge mount. (This is a temporary installation, so the mount is on top of the wire instead of the wire coming out of the wall).Michael Brown/Foundry For the sake of comparison, Ring’s middle subscription tier for its video doorbells and security cameras costs $10 per month, and if you also have a Ring Alarm home security system, you can add professional monitoring that will dispatch first responders (police, fire, or medical) in an emergency for an additional $10 per month ($20 per month in total). To be fair, Ring’s top-tier plan, which includes AI for its cameras, plus professional monitoring costs $30 per month. And Ring charges an additional $5 per month for a similar smoke alarm/carbon monoxide listening feature (you can get that by itself or on top of any Ring service tier). Using the Nest Video Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) The new Nest Video Doorbell’s ability to recognize familiar faces is impressive, within reason. Once I’d trained it with one example of each person who’s at my home with any regularity, it almost never failed to accurately identify those faces when they came within range of camera. When it correctly identified my grandson’s girlfriend while she was wearing a hoodie, I tried it myself in similar attire, and it correctly identified me as well. But when I tried it a second time, after cinching up my hoodie until I looked like Kenny from South Park, the doorbell merely identified me as a person. More importantly, a human looking at the recording would have no trouble picking me out of a lineup. Google’s AI certainly isn’t foolproof, however; it routinely mid-identified my 10-pound Chihuahua walking across my deck as a cat, and it once identified a cat walking in my neighbor’s yard as walking on a fence railing. But if you take a quick glance at the zoomed-in screenshot on this page, you might make the same mistake. Google’s Gemini AI is very impressive, aside from identifying my little dog as a cat and interpreting this cat in my neighbor’s yard as walking along the fence rail.Michael Brown/Foundry Google Gemini can also summarize the activity logged by all its cameras into a daily Home Brief, followed by a time-stamped list thumbnails of the videos that were recorded. If you’re looking for a specific event, you can quiz Gemini by typing questions in the app. You can do the same with voice commands if you have a Nest smart display—I don’t—but that doesn’t seem to the case with a smartphone, or at least not with the iPhone I use. And if you try it with the existing Nest smart speakers, Google Assistant will just reply “Sorry, I don’t know where to play the video. Please tell me the exact name of the screen.” You’ll get motion-detection and doorbell-press notifications almost instantly, but it can take several minutes for events to appear in the app’s log. What’s missing? The most obvious missing element of the Nest Video Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) is right there in its name: There’s no battery. If you don’t have an existing doorbell, you’ll need to install a transformer and pull wire through your walls to the location you want to mount the doorbell. That’s not a difficult task, and if you buy a plug-in transformer, you won’t need to need to deal with high-voltage wiring or hire an electrician. A bigger issue is that if you don’t have an existing doorbell chime, or if the one you have isn’t compatible with the Nest Video Doorbell, you’ll need to rely on your phone to be notified when someone rings the bell. While you could install your own—especially if you’re installing a transformer anyway—Ring and many other Google competitors have remote chimes that work over Wi-Fi. This could be an opening for a third-party vendor, but I couldn’t find any that were compatible with this 3rd-generation device (there are several that are compatible with 1st– and 2nd-generation Nest doorbells. And there are a couple of features that Eufy security cameras have that I’d love to see Google copy. First and foremost is the ability to track a person entering and exiting the fields of view of multiple outdoor cameras, and then have those feeds stitched together into a single continuous video. Eufy’s cameras can also control the behavior of Eufy’s smart outdoor lights, so that the presence of a stranger can trigger its colored lights to switch to a bright white or even start flashing as a warning. It might be possible to achieve that second behavior with Google’s new doorbell thanks to its Matter support, but I didn’t explore that. It’s also worth repeating that Google doesn’t offer its own comprehensive home security system, and while you can use its cameras in ADT’s system, they’ll be managed by ADT, not Google, and you won’t get Gemini. Should you buy the Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen)? If your smart home revolves around Google Home, and you have the required infrastructure or are willing to install it, the Nest Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) is an easy recommendation. Gemini is impressive enough to be a game-changer, and the camera’s video resolution, person, pet, vehicle, and package recognition, and the rest of doorbell’s many other features are excellent. If you’re not already wedded to a home security ecosystem, or if you’re only looking for a video doorbell, the latest Nest doorbell is among the best on the market, and it’s priced accordingly. It’s not worth paying $10 a month—$20 a month for Gemini—if you only have the doorbell, but that calculation changes if you’re deploying other Nest cameras as well. It’s too early to say that Gemini is worth dumping whatever other home security ecosystem you might have in favor of Google Home. The competition in this space is fierce, and lots of companies make great video doorbells: Ring, of course, but also Aqara, Blink, Eufy, Lorex, Reolink, Tapo, and Wyze Labs. But in terms of AI, Google and Ring are leagues ahead of the competition (we haven’t had an opportunity to review Ring’s latest offerings). All that said, my biggest reservation about recommending the latest Nest cameras overall is that Google no longer has a comprehensive system with door/window and motion sensors, alarms, smoke and CO detectors, and professional monitoring. So, don’t buy this product if those things are important to you. But my bottom-line recommendation of the Ring Doorbell (wired, 3rd gen) assumes you just want a great video doorbell and those other considerations aren’t important to you. The fact that don’t need a subscription to get a limited number of event recordings is a big plus; and if you’re willing to pay for it, Gemini is pretty amazing. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best video doorbells. Read...

Ask anyone here at PCWorld about keyboards, especially those of the mechanical variety, and they’ll send you my way. (I may have a problem, but the solution is always another keyboard.) Logitech doesn’t command much of a presence in the mechanical keyboard space—often asking for a lot of dosh and delivering very little compared to other brands—but the new Alto Keys might buck that trend. The coloring is the first thing that caught my eye. The Alto Keys K98M comes in gray for boring people, white-and-gray for Mac people, and a “lilac” option that features muted blue hues that look fetching combined with a bit of transparent plastic on the upper housing. That look shows off the gasket mount that surrounds it. Gasket mounting is a custom innovation that’s making its way into the mainstream, suspending the circuit board and switches in layers of vibration-absorbing material to give the keys an absorbent, slightly bouncy quality. Speaking of keys: the switches. These are custom linear designs that Logitech refers to as a “Marble Switch.” Nice, but I can’t say much about them without getting my hands on the keyboard. They are backlit, and the PBT keycaps (another nice upgrade!) are shine-through. More interesting to me is that the switches are hot-swap capable, a feature I consider essential for any premium keyboard. That means you can swap in any Cherry MX-standard switches you want with minimal fuss and no soldering or special tools required aside from a puller. This is a 96% triple-wireless design, offering a nearly full layout with a bit of squashing around the arrow cluster. It’s got Logitech’s usual multi-device switching between the wireless USB dongle and Bluetooth, though it looks like it may not operate in wired mode, which might draw the ire of some PC gamers. But what I’m really impressed by is the price: $119.99 USD. A big wireless mechanical keyboard with a gasket mount, hot-swap switches, and PBT keycaps at that price is already a good deal, but seeing one from Logitech is practically unprecedented. The Alto Keys K98M is shipping now from Logitech, in its one good color and its two boring ones. Read...

I didn’t think this deal was real at first, but I double-checked… and sure enough, it appears that B&H has truly cut down the price of this bonkers Lenovo Legion Pro 7i gaming laptop with an incredible $1,100 discount. That means instead of paying the full $3,499 for this esteemed machine, you can snag it right now for just $2,399 (that’s 31% off). View this B&H deal Okay, to be fair, that’s still a lot of money. No one is impulse buying a laptop of this caliber just because they spotted a hot deal… but you can’t deny the savings here. That’s one heck of a laptop, and the discount is so good that you might as well jump on this one instead of waiting for an equivalent Black Friday deal that may or may not even happen—assuming you’re in the market for a high-end gaming beast. This Legion Pro 7i is powered by a crazy 24-core Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor with high-level multi-threaded performance and excellent power efficiency, the best of both worlds for a gaming-first laptop. The 32GB of DDR5 RAM is plenty for Windows 11 and all your gaming needs, but also expandable across 2 slots to a maximum of 96GB. Throw in the double 1TB SSDs and you have a full battlestation at your ready. But the cherry on top here is the game-changing Nvidia RTX 5080 GPU that unlocks DLSS 4 features and delivers impressive visuals with ultra-smooth frame rates even in 4K. This GPU will keep this laptop relevant for cutting-edge 3D games for years to come. It also doesn’t hurt that you’ll be enjoying those games on a gorgeous 16-inch OLED screen with a high-def 2560×1600 resolution and 240Hz refresh rate—a combo that’ll make playing all your favorite games an absolute pleasure. Other niceties of the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i include USB4, USB-C video, and HDMI ports for external displays, as well as three USB-A ports for all your peripherals; support for Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4; a 99.9-watt-hour battery for portable longevity. What more can you want? Don’t sleep on this deal. How often can you save over a grand on a high-demand device like this? Grab the Legion Pro 7i for $2,399 now and level up your gaming experience well ahead of Black Friday! If you miss it, though, check out our picks for the best overall gaming laptops and the best budget gaming laptops under $1,000. $1,100 off for a top-notch laptop is insane! Take advantage while you canBuy now from B&H Read...

Aside from its various processor, memory, and device capacity improvements, the new Philips Hue Bridge Pro comes with a killer feature: the ability to turn your existing Hue lights into motion sensors. I’ve been testing this functionality for the past few weeks, and yes, it works. Getting it to work the way I want it to, however, has been a challenge.  First, a little background. Unveiled in September and on sale now, the Philips Hue Bridge Pro packs a faster, quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex A-35 CPU and a gigabyte of DDR4 SDRAM, which allow the hub to handle more than 150 Hue devices, or roughly three times as many as the standard Hue Bridge.  The new Hue Bridge Pro can also connect to your home network via Wi-Fi, meaning it doesn’t need to be tethered to your router by an ethernet cable. (I’ve been testing the Bridge Pro on Wi-Fi mode and haven’t had any connectivity issues). Those processing and networking improvements make for an impressive upgrade on their own, but the Hue Bridge Pro ($98.99) also boasts another cool feature: MotionAware, which monitors motion-induced disruptions to the Zigbee signals Hue lights use for communication, effectively turning your smart lights into motion sensors. Given that an indoor Hue motion sensor costs $50, the Hue Bridge Pro’s ability to make your Hue lights motion-aware practically pays for itself. MotionAware does have limitations. For starters, there must be at least three MotionAware-capable Hue lights in a given motion zone for the feature to work (you can also add a fourth light if you like). Also, not all Hue lights support MotionAware functionality; Hue says 95 percent of its lights will do the MotionAware trick, but my portable Hue Go table lamps didn’t make the cut, nor did my third-party Zigbee bulbs.  Given that a standard Hue motion sensor costs $50, the Hue Bridge Pro’s ability to make your Hue lights motion-aware practically pays for itself. Aside from the technical limitations, there are some MotionAware features that aren’t free. Namely, if you want your MotionAware motion zones to trigger security alerts, you’ll need to sign up for a Secure MotionAware plan for $1 a month, or $10 a year. (A 30-day free trial is available.) If you simply want MotionAware to turn your lights on and off, that functionality is free, and that’s what I’ve been testing. Setting up a MotionAware motion zone is a simple process. Starting from the Hue app’s Settings menu, you tap on Motion areas, then tap the “+” button; you’ll then see which of your rooms and zones in the Hue app have enough Motion Aware-ready lights for a motion zone.   In my case, I could add motion zones in my kitchen, main bedroom, and office; the dining room wouldn’t work because of the four Hue lights in there, two of them are the non-MotionAware compatible Hue Go portable table lamps, while other areas didn’t have enough Hue lights to create a zone. I elected to create a single motion zone in the kitchen, the most highly trafficked area in our apartment.  Next, you choose which lights to add to the zone; Hue recommends picking lights that are between three and 23 feet apart, and at varying heights. You’ll also want to choose lights that border the general area where you want motion to be detected. Once you pick the Hue lights to include in the motion zone, the Hue app will ask you to leave the area so it can calibrate the lights in the zone; the process takes roughly 20 seconds.  You’ll need at least three MotionAware-capable Hue lights in a room to create a motion zone.Ben Patterson/Foundry Finally, you pick which lights your MotionAware-enabled motion zone will control (you can pick lights in the same room as the motion zone, or in a different room), and then you decide what happens when your new motion zone detects motion—or, on the flip side, when it doesn’t detect motion. (Again, I only tested MotionAware’s ability to control lights, not its security features.)  The Hue app gives you various time slots that allow you to customize the behavior of a motion zone. You start with three time slots, set roughly to morning, evening, and nighttime; you can add more slots as needed, as well as adjust when the slots begin and end, but you can’t designate a different set of time slots for individual days of the week or for the weekend.  For each time slot, you then choose what happens when motion is detected, and what happens after a set period (anywhere between a minute to 60 minutes) of no motion being detected.   Picking what happens when motion is detected is fairly straightforward; you can choose any light scene (either a preset Hue scene or one you’ve customized), or choose “Last on state” or “Do nothing.” For what happens after no motion is detected, the choices are far more limited: just “Off,” “Do nothing,” or “Return to previous state.”  Aside from those settings, each time slot offers a “Do not disturb” option that will prevent your motion zone from altering the behavior of lights that are already on. There’s also an overall “Daylight settings” option that will keep your motion zones from triggering your lights during daylight hours.  As for the actual performance of Hue’s MotionAware technology, I found it to work more or less as advertised. My kitchen lights reliably detected motion whenever I or my family members walked into the area, and sensed that activity had ceased once we left the room.  There were several occasions when the lights would turn off after we’d been sitting at the kitchen table for too long (a common foible for motion sensors in general), but upping the MotionAware sensitivity setting cut down on those instances. Boosting the sensitivity up too high will put your motion zone on a hair trigger, of course.  The Hue app lets you create different time slots for your motion zones (left) as well as what happens when motion is detected (center) or not detected (right). Ben Patterson/Foundry But while I was satisfied with the basic MotionAware performance, I was less happy with the design of Hue’s motion zone settings, which I found needlessly complicated and nitpicky.   My main complaint is the inability to have a motion zone trigger a light scene when your MotionAware lights stop detecting motion—namely, I like my under-cabinet Hue light strip to stay on during the day even when my overhead Hue lights are off.   Theoretically, this could be achieved with the “Return to previous state” option, but picking that setting led to unpredictable results, depending on what the “previous state” actually was. Maybe it was just my failure to comprehend the “previous state” concept, but I eventually gave up and settled for the “Off” option.  Then there’s the matter of disabling motion detection for certain time slots—for example, I don’t want my kitchen lights automatically turning off while we’re eating breakfast in the morning. Hue’s MotionAware-enabled motion zones do work. How they work could use some tweaking. Again, selecting the “Do nothing” for both the “When motion is detected” and “After” settings should effectively motion control of your lights for a given time slot, but I still ran into instances where the lights would unexpectedly dim or turn off during the breakfast time slot.   I don’t think there’s anything broken on the Hue app or with my MotionAware-enabled motion zone zone; instead, it’s probably a case of user error (mine). But the fact that I’m having trouble getting my motion-controlled Hue lights to do what I want them to do—and I consider myself to be a reasonably savvy Hue user—indicates that Hue’s motion settings interface needs a rethink.  I have two main suggestions: first, allow users to pick lighting scenes to be triggered when motion is no longer detected, and second, let us deactivate a motion zone time slot with a simple tap, rather than having to dip into a time slot and adjust multiple settings. I’d also like separate time slots for the weekend, but let’s start with the first two changes.  To be clear, I think MotionAware is a terrific new feature for the Hue Bridge Pro, and as I’ve said, it could be a big money saver for those who want multiple Hue motion zones in their homes. And yes, the motion sensing does work. But if you ask me, how it works could use some tweaking. This story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart lights. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Light design feels premium Great display Cool and quiet Cons Unimpressive battery life Low graphics performance for its class A little expensive at MSRP Our Verdict The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a light, cool, and quiet ultraportable. This machine feels great on the go, but the battery life is a problem — it’s behind Intel and Qualcomm-powered competitors. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: HP OmniBook 7 Aero Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a 13.3-inch laptop that weighs just 2.2 pounds or less, depending on the configuration you choose. With a beautiful white design and an all-metal magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis, it feels premium. Plus, it runs cool and quiet. This machine feels made for portability. Unfortunately, HP paired an unusually small battery with an AMD chip that isn’t as power-efficient as the most efficient CPUs Intel and Qualcomm have to offer. The result is an ultraportable that feels like you never want to take it too far from an outlet. With an Intel Lunar Lake CPU or a bigger battery, this laptop would’ve really wowed. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Specs Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP OmniBook 7 Aero packs an eight-core AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 chip with Radeon 860M graphics. AMD’s Ryzen AI hardware delivers a good combination of performance and battery life, complete with an NPU that’s fast enough to run Windows 11’s Copilot+ PC features. Our review model had 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD — that’s more than enough RAM and storage for a lightweight ultraportable like this one. The RAM in particular seems a little overspec’d given the rest of the hardware here. Most people would be better off with 16 GB of RAM and a faster CPU. While this is a beautiful machine, the $1,299 retail price point feels a tad high considering the mid-range AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU, despite the generous amount of RAM. However, while I was wrapping up this review, HP had it on sale for $869. That price feels excellent for this machine. Model number: HP OmniBook 7 Aero 13-bg1077nr CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 Memory: 32 GB LPDDR5x-7500 RAM Graphics/GPU: AMD Radeon 860M NPU: AMD NPU (up to 50 TOPS) Display: 13.3-inch 2560×1600 IPS display with 60Hz refresh rate Storage: 1 TB PCIe Gen4 SSD Webcam: 1440p webcam Connectivity: 2x USB Type-C (10 Gbps), 2x USB Type-A (1x 10 Gbps, 1x 5 Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x combo audio jack Networking: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: IR camera for Windows Hello Battery capacity: 43 Watt-hours Dimensions: 11.70 x 8.31 x 0.69 inches Weight: 2.2 pounds MSRP: $1,299 as tested The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a little marvel of a laptop. At 2.2 pounds with a beautiful white all-metal design, I loved using it, and I loved picking it up and moving it around. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Design and build quality Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is immediately impressive. Our review unit was the Ceramic White variant, and it’s an incredibly clean look in a world of silver laptops. (HP also offers a “Glacier Silver” variant.) Even the keyboard deck is white, although the bezel around the display is black. This 13.3-inch machine is one of the lightest laptops I’ve ever reviewed. HP says it weighs a maximum of 2.2 pounds depending on your chosen hardware configuration. It’s about as light as a laptop can be, and the metal chassis (a magnesium-aluminum alloy) has a slightly rubbery-feeling surface that’s pleasant to hold. The build quality feels premium, and the hinge feels solid without obnoxious wobbles, but the machine is so light that I need to use two hands to open it. The laptop comes with more bloatware than I’d like to see — the Start menu has shortcuts for Adobe Offers, Booking.com, and “Dropbox promotion.” But this is easy to remove if you don’t want it. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Keyboard and trackpad Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP OmniBook 7 Aero has a chiclet keyboard that feels good to type on. It’s got a nice white backlight, too. The typing action feels reasonably snappy and responsive. But there’s something a little off about it: the key travel is a little shallow. That’s not a huge surprise for a 2.2-pound laptop that is 0.67 inches at its thickest point. HP has compensated well for the thinness, but it does feel a little shallow. This machine’s trackpad also feels good. It’s a standard mechanical trackpad that’s a reasonable size and feels responsive to move your finger over, with a nice “clunk” action when you click down. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Display and speakers Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP OmniBook 7 Aero has a 13.3-inch IPS display with a 2560×1600 resolution and a nice anti-glare surface. HP rates it as 400 nits, but it seemed even brighter. It’s a beautiful display, although it only goes up to a 60Hz–a faster refresh rate would’ve been nice. However, the combination of a high-resolution, decent amount of brightness, and anti-glare surface is a real winner. It performs better than glossy displays in challenging lighting conditions like direct sunlight. The display is one of this machine’s best assets, but it’s not a touch screen. I test every laptop’s speakers by playing Steely Dan’s Aja and Daft Punk’s Get Lucky. The HP OmniBook 7 Aero delivers a good amount of top-end volume. Audio quality was okay — the highs could be a little grating in Get Lucky, especially at maximum volume, and the bass was less than usual. I’d plan to use headphones for the best experience with music, movies, and TV shows. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Webcam, microphone, biometrics The HP OmniBook 7 Aero has a 5MP webcam with a 1440p resolution. Despite that impressive resolution number, the image quality was a little grainy, especially in darker lighting conditions. I’ve used laptops with 1080p webcams that do a better job. This laptop does include a physical webcam shutter switch, which is always nice to see. The “dual array digital microphones” did a good job of picking up my voice with clear audio quality. I’d be happy to use this microphone setup for online meetings, although I wish the webcam was a bit nicer. The HP OmniBook 7 Aero includes an IR camera for Windows Hello, so you can sign in with your face, but there’s no fingerprint reader here. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Connectivity Foundry / Chris Hoffman The HP OmniBook Aero has a decent number of ports for a 13-inch laptop that only weighs 2.2 pounds. On the left side, there’s a combo audio jack and a USB Type-A port that supports up to 5 Gbps speeds. On the right side, there’s a second USB Type-A port (this one is up to 10 Gbps) as well as an HDMI 2.1 port and two USB Type-C ports (both 10 Gbps speeds.) This machine charges via USB Type-C, so you’ll be plugging the charging cable into one of the ports on the right side. It’s a reasonable selection of ports, although there’s no Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 here. There’s no microSD card reader or Ethernet jack, either. You’ll need a dongle if those are important to you. This machine supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.4, so it’s a bit dated on the Wi-Fi — there was no Wi-Fi 7 or even Wi-Fi 6E on the model we reviewed. However, you probably haven’t switched to Wi-Fi 7 yet, so that’s not a huge problem. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Performance The HP OmniBook 7 Aero with its AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU delivered reasonable desktop performance in everyday desktop apps: web browsers, communication tools, and productivity apps. It ran cool and quiet, too. Considering this is a 2.2-pound ultraportable laptop, that’s what people will likely use it for! As always, we put this machine through our standard benchmarks to see how it performs. Foundry / Chris Hoffman First, we run PCMark 10 to get an idea of overall system performance. With a PCMark 10 score of 5,969, this machine came behind Intel Lunar Lake-powered PCs like the Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 and AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX-powered machines like the HP OmniBook Ultra 14. This AMD hardware was neck and neck with Intel’s slower Intel Core 5 210H chip in the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3, and the AMD hardware here is a better choice — it’s a more modern chip that has an NPU capable of running Copilot+ PC features, and it runs cooler. Foundry / Chris Hoffman Next, we run Cinebench R20. This is a heavily multithreaded benchmark that focuses on overall CPU performance. It’s a quick benchmark, so cooling under extended workloads isn’t a factor. But, since it’s heavily multithreaded, CPUs with more cores have a huge advantage. With a multithreaded score of 5364, AMD’s “AI PC” hardware showed how much better it is at multithreaded performance than Intel’s “AI PC” hardware. AMD pulled ahead of Intel here. Foundry / Chris Hoffman We also run an encode with Handbrake. This is another heavily multithreaded benchmark, but it runs over an extended period. This demands the laptop’s cooling to kick in, and many laptops will throttle and slow down under load. The HP OmniBook 7 Aero completed the encode process in an average of 1,199 seconds, just about 20 minutes. Once again, it outclassed Intel’s Lunar Lake hardware on performance, but Lunar Lake will win when it comes to battery life, as we’ll see below. Foundry / Chris Hoffman Next, we run a graphical benchmark. This isn’t a gaming laptop, but it’s still good to check how the GPU performs. We run 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. Despite AMD’s reputation for strong graphics hardware, the Radeon 860M graphics here performs like onboard graphics. With an overall 3DMark Time Spy score of 2,726, this machine delivered half the performance of Intel’s Lunar Lake GPUs. Overall, the HP OmniBook 7 Aero delivers solid performance for this class, especially in multithreaded tasks. And it does it while staying cool and quiet. But 3D graphics performance is a particular weakness. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Battery life The HP OmniBook has a 43 Watt-hour battery, and that’s small. Thankfully, the AMD Ryzen AI hardware in this machine is reasonable power-efficient. This machine’s battery life is decent, but it’s below modern standards for a lightweight PC in 2025. That said, a larger battery would make this machine heavier. The smaller battery contributes to the light weight. Foundry / Chris Hoffman To benchmark the battery life, we play a 4K copy of Tears of Steel on repeat on Windows 11 with airplane mode enabled until the laptop suspends itself. We set the screen to 250 nits of brightness for our battery benchmarks. Real-world battery life in day-to-day use is always going to be less than this. The HP OmniBook 7 Aero lasted for an average of 632 minutes before suspending itself — that’s ten and a half hours. It’s a great number for a PC with such a small battery, but it’s well behind laptops with larger batteries. With an Intel Lunar Lake system and a larger battery, you could get more than double this machine’s battery life. Lunar Lake machines may be able to get away with a battery this small, but HP is pushing it by pairing AMD hardware with this battery. Video playback is a best-case scenario and real-world desktop app usage will drain the laptop’s battery faster, so I’m not sure you’ll get a full day of battery life from this machine. You might be able to get close to a full workday’s usage out of this battery if your workload isn’t too demanding and you keep the screen brightness low — maybe. HP OmniBook 7 Aero: Conclusion The HP OmniBook 7 Aero is a little marvel of a laptop. At 2.2 pounds with a beautiful white all-metal design, I loved using it, and I loved picking it up and moving it around. It stayed cool and quiet, too. Unfortunately, HP’s decision to include a small battery—possibly to keep the weight down —feels like a compromise that impairs the usability of this machine. I loved this laptop the first time I touched it, but I winced when I saw the battery spec: 43 Watt-hours is just too low for this AMD chip. This number used to be fine but, in a post-Lunar Lake and post-Qualcomm Snapdragon X world, this is low. If you’ll never be far from an outlet and you want more multithreaded CPU performance than Intel’s Lunar Lake can deliver, this might be the ideal laptop for you. Read...

When we think of gaming headsets, we often imagine sweaty gamers in dark rooms wearing glowing RGB headphones. The truth is, most gaming headsets are highly adaptable to life outside of a gaming den, whether it’s for work or listening to music. Here are a few reasons why you might choose a gaming headset over a standard one, even if you’re not a gamer. 1. They deliver top quality sound Gamers are very picky about their audio, so most gaming headsets produce crisp, clear sound that goes directly into your ears. This delivers a far better audio experience than PC speakers or your computer’s built-in sound system. For example, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless boasts 96KHz / 24-Bit Hi-Res audio that’s very rich and detailed. This headset also works with software that lets you modify the EQ and voice settings, so that you can get the audio sounding exactly how you want it. Similarly, the Audeze Maxwell Wireless is a premium gaming headset with 96KHz / 24-Bit sound. It has 90 mm planar magnetic drivers that deliver an audiophile-grade sound, which is very impressive. 2. They’re very comfortable Gaming headsets have a certain number of commonalities, one of which is that they need to be highly comfortable for the long gaming sessions. Most gamers play for hours at a time. Headsets, therefore, need to be more than tolerable, they need to feel great. That’s why gaming headsets come with plush PU leather or mesh earcups. Most also have adjustable headbands for a precise fit. Meanwhile, extra features like rotating cups provide a degree of horizontal movement, which help prevent players from getting stiff necks. While they may be comfortable, these headsets also have to withstand the rigors of gaming life, so they’re often made from robust materials like metal. 3. They have spatial audio The biggest difference between a standard headset and a gaming one is that the latter has spatial audio. This allows players to hear the sound all around them instead of just left or right, allowing players to become totally engrossed in their games. But it also serves another purpose: it can give players a competitive edge. By knowing where the sounds are coming from, for example, player footsteps, gunfire, or grenades, players have better spatial awareness and can react at a moment’s notice. Spatial audio is just as good for movies, too, so you don’t need to be a gamer to enjoy it. 4. Noise cancelation is good Background noise can be a huge distraction, whether it’s from appliances or conversations in the next room. Most gaming headsets I’ve used have good noise cancelation. They’ve got either passive noise cancelation, where the earcups become the barrier to external sound, or active noise cancelation (ANC), a technology that’s designed to listen for background noise and reduce it. ANC works by using tiny microphones to pick up background noise. These microphones analyze any sound and make a counter signal to cancel it out. In gaming headsets, the noise canceling feature is present in both the speakers and the microphone. Again, this is in pursuit of immersion. Gamers don’t want any other sound interfering with the audio of their games, so blocking external sound is important. Clamp pressure is important for passive noise cancelation, too, as gaming headsets need a certain amount of pressure on the ears. Of course, too much pressure isn’t a good thing. While it’s useful to block out sound, nobody wants to be uncomfortable. Most gaming headsets get this balance right, offering effective noise cancelation while still being comfortable. 5. They’re affordable If you’re deciding between a sound system and a gaming headset, a gaming headset is often the more affordable option. You can find a heap of different options in the market, ranging from cheap headsets up to very expensive premium headsets. For similar sound quality, a sound system usually comes with a higher base price than a quality gaming headset. Overall, gaming headsets tend to offer better value while offering better audio delivery. 6. They have quick connectivity and accessible controls Gaming headsets often have accessible controls on their earcups. Some even include audio mixers, allowing you to combine different audio sources into a single stream. That means you could play music while also listening to your team chat or in-game audio. Most gaming headsets are also wireless, offering quick connection via a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi signal or via Bluetooth, but some also offer an analog connection via a 3.5mm audio jack. There’s even a few that offer simultaneous connectivity, which means you can stream two audio sources at once. One big benefit of gaming headsets with Bluetooth is that they can double as headphones. Most have removable microphones, so you can wear them without anyone knowing they’re gaming headphones. Related content Best wireless gaming headsets 2025: Top picks for audio quality, comfort, and more Is 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound better for gaming? Turtle Beach Stealth Pro review: Punchy audio that’s ideal for FPS games Read...