At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Very comfortable to wear Good, detailed stereo sound with strong localization Simultaneous 2.4GHz and Bluetooth connection Wide compatibility (PC, PS5, Xbox, Switch, mobile) Long battery life with quick-charging function Intuitive operation Extensive software Cons Microphone sounds tinny and not very natural Wide USB dongle blocks neighboring connections Slight high-frequency sharpness in the standard sound (can be corrected via EQ) Our Verdict The Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 delivers a headset that’s comfortable, sounds precise, runs forever, and switches effortlessly between PC, Console, and mobile phone. The dual wireless function is not only practical, but a truly unique selling point in this price range. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 Retailer Price $179.99 View Deal Steeleseries $199.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 presents itself as a versatile mid-range gaming headset that wants to shine on the PC as well as on consoles and mobile devices. This is the second generation of the popular Arctis Nova 7, with Steelseries building on proven strengths and making targeted improvements. Even on paper, the technical specifications are impressive: 40-millimetre neodymium drivers, dual wireless (2.4GHz dongle and Bluetooth 5.3) with simultaneous function, over 50 hours of battery life, broad platform support, and a comfort-oriented design. This review clarifies whether the Nova 7 Gen 2 can earn these praises in the practical test, and where its weaknesses lie. Design and wearing comfort On the outside, Steelseries remains true to its line: The Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 relies on the classic Steelseries design with matte-black plastic and a sleek look. The metal frame in the headband provides stability, while an elasticated spring band (in the style of ski goggles) distributes the contact pressure. This combination — Steelseries calls it the “ComfortMax” system — ensures a first-class fit without pressure points. In the test, the wearing comfort actually proves to be outstanding: Several hours of continuous use are no problem, the headset remains comfortable and secure on the head. Weighing around 11.4 ounces (325 grams), it is not ultra-light, but thanks to the good weight distribution it does not feel too heavy. Friedrich Stiemer The ear pads are made from a hybrid of breathable fabric and artificial leather. This gives them a soft fit and allows some air to reach the ears, while the artificial leather on the inside minimizes sound leaks. In practice, external noise is passively dampened, although not completely shielded, as the partially open design is noticeable here. After very long sessions, however, the ear areas can get a little warm. But overall, the positive impression of a well thought-out, comfortable headset prevails. Friedrich Stiemer The build quality is also of a high standard: Nothing wobbles or creaks, the adjustment mechanism (extendable ear cup holders and three adjustment points for the spring band) appears durable and designed for a wide range of head sizes. Overall, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 feels robust and high-quality — ideal for daily gaming use. However, there is one small design criticism: The USB-C dongle supplied is unusually wide at 2.11 inches (approx. 53.8 millimeters) and can block neighboring USB ports. Although Steelseries supplies a short USB extension cable, a slimmer, longer dongle would have been more practical. Apart from this detail, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 impresses across the board with its simplicity, excellent ergonomics, and well thought-out design. Features and connectivity In terms of functions and connectivity options, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 packs a punch. The headset can be paired wirelessly via a 2.4GHz wireless dongle and in parallel via Bluetooth, even simultaneously to mix two audio sources. The USB-C dongle ensures a latency-free connection to PC, Mac, Playstation 5, and Nintendo Switch (both in the dock and mobile via USB-C). A slide switch on the dongle enables the special Xbox mode for the Xbox Series X/S, as Microsoft’s consoles require a proprietary wireless protocol. Important: Steelseries offers the Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 in different versions: Nova 7P (PlayStation/PC) and Nova 7X (Xbox all others). The hardware is identical, but only the X version is fully compatible with the Xbox. So if you choose the Arctis Nova 7X version, you can in fact cover all platforms. In tests, the wireless connection proved to be very stable and long enough range to take a break in the next room without losing contact. In addition to Bluetooth, mobile devices also have the option of using the USB-C dongle on smartphones or tablets, for example via an adapter. Here, however, we have observed that a dongle connection plugged directly into the mobile phone can sometimes have a brief loss of connection when moving. In such cases, Bluetooth pairing is the more convenient choice when travelling. Speaking of Bluetooth: This wireless method only uses the SBC codec, which is okay for listening to music, but can lead to noticeable delays when gaming or watching videos. The 2.4GHz mode is therefore clearly recommended for gaming, as it has virtually no latency. Friedrich Stiemer In addition to wireless, wired operation is also possible: the headset has a 3.5 millimeter jack socket to connect it to a PC, controller, or handheld in the classic analog way. This even extends compatibility to older devices (e.g. for the Nintendo Switch Lite or some gaming handhelds) and serves as an emergency solution in the event of battery failure. The controls on the headset are arranged in a user-friendly way: The power button, a dedicated Bluetooth button and a wheel for the chat-game audio balance (chat mix) are located on the right ear cup: A blessing in multiplayer to be able to finely balance voice chat and game sound at all times. On the left is the volume control knob and a clearly perceptible microphone mute button. The buttons and wheels provide clear haptic feedback so that they can be operated intuitively even in the middle of a game. The Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 does not have active noise cancellation (ANC), but this is not unusual in this price range of less than $200 — most gaming headsets at this price do not offer ANC anyway. The passive isolation provided by the padding is average: Everyday noises such as keyboard clacking or quiet background chatter are noticeably muffled, but still penetrate somewhat at higher volumes. Overall, however, the features of the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 are impressively comprehensive: Multi-platform support, simultaneous connections, and analog fallback option make the gaming headset an extremely flexible companion. In fact, the Arctis model works with practically everything, from PCs to consoles and smartphones, making it a true all-rounder. Friedrich Stiemer The dual wireless function is particularly noteworthy: In the test, simultaneous playback from PC/console and mobile phone worked smoothly and without dropouts. For example, you can be in a Discord chat on your mobile phone via Bluetooth while gaming on the PlayStation, or take a call while gaming on the PC. Incoming calls are handled cleverly: If a call comes in via the mobile phone, the headset microphone is automatically muted for the game chat so that you can make the call undisturbed. When you hang up, it switches back to the game chat. This seamless integration of both audio channels is extremely practical in everyday life. Sound quality The sound quality of the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 is geared towards the needs of demanding gamers without compromising on all-round qualities. The 40-millimeter speaker drivers deliver precise, detailed sound across the entire frequency spectrum. Steelseries clearly emphasizes clarity in the mids and highs, which allows fine details such as footsteps or directional noises to stand out clearly. In fact, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 shines in the test when it comes to spatial localization: In shooters and action games, it was possible to make out exactly from which direction opponents were approaching — a tactical advantage that not every headset in this class offers. This is supported by the virtual surround function (Steelseries Sonar Spatial Audio on the PC and Tempest 3D Audio on the PS5), which makes the sound image even wider and more immersive if desired. In single-player games, the surround mode significantly enhances the atmosphere. In competitive games, on the other hand, we mostly used the stereo mode, as the localization is precise and without artificial effects — the Arctis Nova 7 already delivers excellent positioning information in stereo. As delivered, the sound tuning is slightly fun-orientated: The bass has plenty of body and pressure, while the upper treble sounds slightly over-sharpened. This leads to a powerful rumble during explosions, for example, but can sometimes be perceived as a little too sharp with very high tones. Voices and important game sounds in the mid-range come through clearly and dominate the action, giving the headset its “tactical” sound. Friedrich Stiemer Our music tests showed that the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 is also suitable for everyday multimedia: Songs sound dynamic and balanced, albeit not at hi-fi level, as the deepest bass and fine detail in the highest registers reach the limits of gaming tuning. Sound enthusiasts may note that the fine-tuning ex works is not completely neutral: For example, certain treble ranges are slightly overemphasized and could be a little tiring for sensitive ears in the long term. However, this is where the great strength of the Steelseries software comes into its own: The parametric equalizer in the Sonar app allows the sound image to be corrected and optimized as desired. We were able to tame the slightly sharp treble and fine-tune the bass with just a few movements of the EQ controls. The Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 then sounded very balanced. Steelseries also provides over 200 predefined EQ profiles, customized for various games, from Call of Duty to Counter-Strike 2, which can be loaded with a click. In the test, some of these presets actually brought audible improvements for specific scenarios, such as clearer footsteps in shooters or more powerful effects in action adventures. In short, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 delivers a strong audio performance out of the box, especially for gaming. If you want to further refine the sound, you have all the options with the software tools. In this price range, the Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 is right at the top. More expensive models such as the Steelseries Arctis Nova Pro or the Elite offer even finer hi-res sound, but also cost many times more. For a $200 headset, the sound quality of the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 is absolutely convincing and left hardly anything to be desired in everyday gaming. Microphone and voice chat Steelseries equips the Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 with the tried-and-tested “ClearCast Gen2” boom arm microphone. This can be retracted into the left ear cup and fits seamlessly into the design when retracted — ideal if you want to use the headset as normal headphones when travelling. The microphone can be flexibly bent into position and is simply pulled out for use. However, it is not detachable; it always remains attached to the headset. The LED indicators are practical: A small red LED on the tip of the microphone signals that the microphone is muted, and a status LED also indicates the connection mode. Friedrich Stiemer In voice chat practice, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 delivers solid intelligibility. Voices are transmitted clearly and background noise is effectively suppressed. According to Steelseries, this should be up to 25 decibels thanks to AI noise cancelling. In our Discord rounds, our fellow players confirmed that our voice came through clearly and without loud background noise. Nevertheless, we have to say: In terms of sound, the microphone is only mid-range. Our criticism is that the voice transmission is somewhat unnatural and nasal, as if the voice is filtered slightly mechanically or tinny. This is a typical phenomenon with many gaming headsets that cut frequencies in favor of clarity. As a result, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 never sounds as full or natural as an external microphone. However, the result is absolutely fine for normal voice chat. However, anyone who values particularly warm or authentic voice transmission (e.g. for streaming) will see the average microphone as a weak point. In a direct comparison with some competitor headsets in this class, the ClearCast microphone performs slightly worse — the microphone on the HyperX Cloud III S Wireless or the Razer Blackshark V3 Pro, for example, sound a little fuller. On a positive note, however, the microphone of the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 is not overly sensitive: Loud ambient noises or keyboard clatter are rarely transmitted. The headset also has microphone monitoring — you can hear yourself slightly on your ear — which protects you from unconsciously speaking loudly. Tip: The microphone should actually be used extended for optimum results. Although it is technically possible to speak when the headset is inserted (it is then not automatically muted), the quality suffers significantly: The voice is barely captured and sounds muffled. You therefore have to pull out the headband to remain intelligible. This is not a problem in everyday use, as the flexible arm can be positioned easily. In particularly quiet situations, we also notice a slight background noise or white noise from the microphone and hope for firmware optimizations here. On our test device, a slight background noise was only audible when no other sounds were playing; in gaming mode, it was drowned out by the sound. Overall, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 delivers a functional microphone that is absolutely sufficient for game chat, VoIP telephony and most applications, but is not a highlight. If you’re looking for absolute top microphone quality, you’ll either have to resort to significantly more expensive headsets or consider a separate microphone. For everyone else, the level offered is acceptable. Battery life and charging functions A big plus of the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 is the significantly longer battery life. Steelseries has increased the capacity by around 40 percent compared to its predecessor and now promises an impressive usage time of up to 54 hours in 2.4GHz mode. In Bluetooth-only mode, the battery is expected to last around 42 hours, and even when using wireless and Bluetooth at the same time, the battery still lasts around 38 hours. In practice, over 50 hours of battery life means that the headset only needs to be charged once or twice a month with moderate daily use, making it a real long runner. Our test period extended over several days of intensive gaming (six to eight hours per day) and we didn’t actually have to charge the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 in between within a week. The battery status is displayed via the software and an LED display on the device, and the headset emits warning tones when the battery is low. However, we found the series of warning tones a little intrusive when the battery is low: three loud warning tones sound every two minutes or so, which can be annoying in the long run. Nevertheless, an empty battery is unlikely to come as a complete surprise, as the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 is really long-lasting. And even if you forget about it, help is at hand: Thanks to the quick-charging function, 15 minutes on the cable is enough to give you around six hours of playing time. The battery charges fully in around one and a half hours. Friedrich Stiemer Another practical feature is that you can continue to use the headset while it is charging. Simply connect the USB-C cable and it will charge in the background without interrupting the game. This means that spontaneous gaming sessions are never jeopardized. Overall, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 ranks at the top of the wireless headset range in terms of battery life. Only a few models (such as the HyperX Cloud III S Wireless with over 100 hours) run even longer, but over 50 hours is already more than enough for long gaming nights. Software and extras The GG software, including Sonar, is a real asset for Steelseries. This software suite integrates hardware and software in an exemplary manner and offers a wide range of customization options. On the PC, you can use Steelseries GG to install firmware updates for the headset, but above all you can configure the sound extensively: A parametric 10-band equalizer, various predefined sound profiles for different game genres, sliders for game/chat mix, volume, microphone level, and sidetone (monitoring) — all of this is clearly available. The user interface is designed to be beginner-friendly; if you don’t want to familiarize yourself in depth, simply select one of the many presets and get a suitable sound without any effort. Advanced users will be delighted with the ability to fine-tune every sound detail from treble filter to bass boost. Thanks to the integrated sonar technology, we were actually able to tease a lot out of the headset during the test. Steelseries Sonar is regarded by connoisseurs as one of the best headset apps on the market, and our experience confirms this: The EQ function and the continuously updated gaming presets (over 260 profiles according to the manufacturer) are unique and very useful. Remarkable: Since the second generation, the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 now also supports the Arctis smartphone app. This allows console gamers or mobile gamers to make some settings conveniently on their mobile phones. For example, the app can be used to select EQ presets, adjust the sound mix, or control lighting (if available). The parametric fine-tuning is reserved for the PC software, but basic profiles can also be changed on the move. In the test, the app pairing worked straight away; it is also pleasing that no compulsory registration is required to use the app or PC software. Friedrich Stiemer Overall, Steelseries emphasises its premium claim with the software: The possibilities go far beyond what standard drivers offer. Only those who absolutely don’t like additional software on the PC may be overwhelmed: The Sonar app can seem complex at first, but it’s worth spending 15 to 30 minutes familiarizing yourself with it. For most gamers, the software integration is a great added value that sets the Steelseries Arctis Nova 7 Gen 2 apart from more simply equipped competitor models. Related content 6 practical reasons to buy a PC gaming headset (even if you don’t game) I won’t buy a wireless PC headset if it lacks this humble feature Are premium gaming headsets any better than cheap ones? Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Very comfortable to wear Up to 100 hours battery life Stable wireless connection with long range Clear localization in the game Simple operation, plug & play Cons Microphone sounds thin No surround sound and no software No jack connection, no Xbox support Bass a little weak Our Verdict The Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless is a no-frills, comfortable gaming headset with excellent battery life and precise sound localization, ideal for PC and PlayStation gamers focused on competitive play. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless Retailer Price $69.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Cherry Xtrfy is entering the wireless headset market for the first time with the H3 wireless. The focus is clearly on comfort, durability and esports-ready sound. But is this enough to complete with established players like HyperX, Logitech, or SteelSeries? We tested the headset in everyday use and during gaming sessions. Here’s what we found. Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless: Design and ergonomics Visually, the Cherry Xtrfy remains true to its simple design philosophy. No RGB, no frills–just a functional design with a robust aluminum headband and large, oval ear cups. The headset weighs around 325 grams and sits comfortably on the head thanks to its memory foam padding. For the typical PC gamer or PlayStation user looking for an uncomplicated, reliable headset, the Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless is an excellent choice. A particular highlight is the even pressure distribution, which remains comfortable even during long sessions. Glasses wearers can also play for hours without discomfort. Friedrich Stiemer The pads are covered with artificial leather on the outside and breathable mesh on the inside, helping to keep the headset at a pleasant temperature even during prolonged use. In practice, the Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless proved to be one of the most comfortable models in its price class during multi-hour gaming sessions. Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless: Technology and features Inside the Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless are 53-millimetre drivers with an impedance of 16 ohms. The result is a clear, treble-emphasized sound with precise localization, making it perfect for shooters such as Counter-Strike 2 or Valorant. Enemy footsteps and reloading noises can be localized exactly, which offers a real advantage in competitive play. The H3 Wireless is less convincing when it comes to music and films. The mids sound a little flat and the bass lacks punch. Explosions sound clean, but not powerful. This won’t be an issue for gamers who value detailed localization. However, anyone hoping for a richer sound will be disappointed. Three preset equalizer profiles (Game, Music, Movie) are supposed to provide a remedy, but only change the sound minimally. Friedrich Stiemer Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless: Microphone The detachable boom microphone with noise cancelation delivers mixed results. On the positive side, background noises such as keyboard clatter are filtered out well. The negative? Voices sound thin and slightly tinny. The quality is perfectly adequate for Discord, in-game chat, or meetings, but it falls short for streamers or professional voice recordings. The microphone can be removed and replaced via a standard socket, adding some degree of flexibility. Friedrich Stiemer Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless: Connectivity and operation The Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless offers two wireless modes: a latency-free 2.4 GHz connection via the supplied USB dongle and Bluetooth 5.1. Switching between the two is done at the touch of a button. In practice, this works smoothly and takes just a few seconds when switching from PC to smartphone. However, the headset does not support multipoint, meaning both connections can be used simultaneously. One clear plus is the wireless range: the connection remains stable even two rooms away. Xbox gamers, however, are left out in the cold, as the headset isn’t compatible with Microsoft consoles due to the lack of a 3.5 mm jack. Friedrich Stiemer The headset is operated directly on the ear cups. Volume, equalizer, and mute can be accessed via dedicated physical buttons. The volume control could be more finely graduated, but overall the handling is pleasantly intuitive. There is no software. Instead, the motto is “plug and play.” This reduces complexity, but also prevents customized sound adjustments. Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless: Battery life This is where the Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless scores highly. It gets up to 100 hours of playtime per charge, which is plain bananas. In everyday testing, the battery lasted almost two weeks with several hours of daily use. It charges via USB-C, and the headset can be used while charging. Cherry Xtrfy outperforms many more expensive competitor models. Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless: Practical impression In everyday gaming, it’s clear that the Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless is focused on the essentials. No superfluous bells and whistles here–just high comfort, long battery life, and stable wireless performance. The clear acoustics are particularly impressive in competitive games. In voice chat, the microphone’s weak quality is noticeable, and music lovers may be disappointed due to the neutral tuning. Friedrich Stiemer For the typical PC gamer or PlayStation user looking for an uncomplicated, reliable headset, the Cherry Xtrfy H3 Wireless is an excellent choice. On the other hand, those who value audio fine-tuning or surround sound should look elsewhere. Read...

If you want to follow Santa’s journey around the world in real time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, there are two services to choose from. One is the Google Santa Tracker, a service that not only tells us where Santa is, but also how many presents Jolly Ol’ St. Nick has delivered to children across the globe. The other is Norad tracks Santa, where we are treated to really nice 3D animations of Santa’s journey. It also has a present counter for the stat nerds out there. Note that the two services have different information on the exact location of Santa — so it could be that there are actually several Santas and not just one. Or maybe our mere mortal technology isn’t able to track Christmas magic as smoothly as it does airplanes? Read...

Apple’s MacBooks are icons of the creative arts, and are beloved by creatives for their performance and streamlined design. But as capable as they are, they don’t offer the same kind of power and versatility as the latest RTX AI PCs equipped with NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards. If you’re considering a laptop upgrade this year, GeForce RTX 50 Series laptops, backed by the latest Blackwell architecture, are specifically designed to handle the most demanding creative projects, outperforming the competition in both speed and visual precision. Not to mention the latest AI features and some well deserved off-hours gaming. Explore NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Powered Windows gaming laptopsLearn more Accelerated creativity, elevated fun If you’re editing video, native 4:2:2 support delivers professional color grading tools to the masses  with twice the color information of standard 4:2:0 formats for high-fidelity editing while maintaining manageable file sizes. Equipped with the 9th-gen NVENC, the RTX 5070 is 2x faster than the Apple MacBook Pro with M4 Pro when encoding in popular applications like CapCut and DaVinci Resolve with HEVC. The latest encoders deliver 5% better quality in AV1 and HEVC. An additional AV1 Ultra High Quality mode further boosts quality by another 5%. The 6th-gen NVDEC enables 2x faster H.264 decoding. It also introduces hardware-accelerated mJPEG decode support. Plus AI effects in DaVinci Resolve run up to 2.1x faster on an RTX 5070 than on a MacBook Pro with M4 Pro and perform 15% faster than the previous generation of RTX cards. Aspiring livestreamers can tap into 9th-gen NVENC hardware encoding for superior streaming quality without impacting your gaming or app performance, allowing for high frame rates while simultaneously encoding a high-quality stream. Native AV1 encoding enables higher quality streams at lower bitrates, providing up to 40% better compression efficiency than traditional H.264. Then there’s the exclusive NVIDIA Broadcast app, ideal for podcasters and streamers who require high production value without a room full of gear. This AI-powered tool enables background noise removal and virtual backgrounds to keep your focus on the content. With features like Studio Voice, which uses AI to enhance microphone quality to professional studio standards, and Virtual Key Light, which intelligently brightens your face in poorly lit environments. For 3D artists, the RTX 5070 transforms the creative process from a series of “wait-and-see” moments into a real-time interactive experience. DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation technology dramatically improves real-time viewport speeds during modeling and animation so you can iterate on complex scenes without the painful wait for your PC to catch up. NVIDIA OptiX Denoising uses AI to remove “noise” from preview renders with the RTX 5070 clocking in 3x faster than the Apple MacBook Pro with M4 in Chaos V-Ray. And hey, if you want to do a little gaming when you’re finished for the day, RTX 5070 supports DLSS 4 and Multi Frame Generation for the highest frame rates possible in modern gaming. For an even more chill but equally impressive entertainment experience, check out RTX Video that automatically enhances videos in Chrome, Firefox, Edge browsers and VLC to crystal-clear 4K HDR. Future proof AI The RTX 5070 is built to be the fastest platform for creators who use generative AI to speed up their workflows. Gen AI models and tools run natively on RTX 5070 GPUs through CUDA meaning everything works on Day 0. TensorRT-optimized models, available only on RTX GPUs, run up to 2x faster than native PyTorch models, providing the fastest performance for those who need it. In Stability AI’s latest image generation model, Stable Diffusion 3.5, the RTX 5070 laptop runs 12x faster than a MacBook Pro with M4 Pro. Out-of-the-box performance in ComfyUI, the visual platform for generative AI that enables easy branching, remixing, and customization of workflows, has been accelerated even further on RTX GPUs by up to 40%. RTX 5070 hardware also enables FP4 support, which is essential for fitting larger, more complex models on your device while ensuring they run as fast as possible. While Apple doesn’t disclose the raw capabilities of its neural processors, onboard NPUs tend to operate in the 10s of TOPS (Trillions of operations per second) range. That’s impressive, but RTX 5070s with dedicated 5th-gen Tensor Cores (AI chips) can offer hundreds of TOPS. Onboard NPUs are great for completing simple upscaling or webcam beautifying tasks, but for running large language models, or developing your own chatbots, having a dedicated RTX 5070 GPU with its own VRAM makes a big difference. Explore Windows and RTX If you’re been a MacBook user for a while, we get it: The idea of switching to Windows feels alien. And it probably will feel odd for a while, but it’s not like you’ll miss out on much in the way of applications. Many of the native macOS apps, like Apple Music, iCloud, Safari, run just fine on Windows, and there are equivalents of all the most popular apps that don’t. If you’re thinking about upgrading, or are curious about what a new laptop might help you do, then it’s well worth considering a switch to a new Windows laptop with a RTX 5070 Series GPU. They’re fast for all kinds of creative tasks, support the most capable of applications, and offer impressive battery life in their own right. Windows laptops with GeForce RTX graphics aren’t MacBooks, and that’s their real strength. Explore NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Powered Windows gaming laptopsLearn more Read...

Dr Amandine Sabadel said tracking technology has helped find the first clues as to how and where eels spawn but there is still more to do. Read...

Dr Amandine Sabadel said tracking technology has helped find the first clues as to how and where eels spawn but there is still more to do. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Extremely bright, with excellent color presentation Remote control is good for quick adjustments, and saves you from the app Ample customizability if you invest the time Cons App is a bit of a mess Preloaded themes are too similar Quite expensive Our Verdict If you really need the extra brightness, Lumary’s Permanent Outdoor Lights Max live up to their name, but the app that comes with them isn’t nearly as robust as that of the competition. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Lumary Permanent Outdoor Lights Max Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Lumary is a newish smart home company focused heavily on lighting products, and its latest offering is a high-end (or at least high-priced) permanent outdoor strip lighting solution. The company makes three permanent lighting products, with the Lumary Max, reviewed here, being its most expensive solution Price, however, is hardly always the best signal of quality. Specifications The Lumary Permanent Outdoor Lights Max product features a familiar set of LEDs daisy chained along a sturdy wire, all clad in white and ready to attach to your eaves. The system comes in three length options: 40 LEDs/53 feet, 80 LEDs/105 feet, or 120 LEDs/158 feet. Prices are $300, $450, and $650 respectively. I received the 120-LED version for review. From the moment the Lumary Permanent Outdoor Lights Max are powered on, it’s evident they are much brighter than the competition. Lumary bills its LED technology as RGBAICW, with 16 million colors supported in each LED and programmable white temperatures ranging from 2200 Kelvin to 6500K. The lights are very bright, maxing out at 60 lumens each, a significant upgrade over most other permanent lights I’ve tested. Maximum power draw is specified at 96 watts. The lighting modules and wiring are rated IP67 for weatherproofing, while the inline control box is IP65. Read TechHive’s IP code guide for a better understanding of how products are protected from the elements. We reviewed Lumary’s longest offering: 158 feet with 120 LEDs. Its Permanent Outdoor Lights Max are also available in a 53-foot length with 40 LEDs and a 105-foot length with 80 LEDs.Christopher Null/Foundry Lumary says that product lifespan varies based on production batch, with early batches specified at 15,000 hours and the latest jumping to 50,000 hours. (It’s not clear if there’s any way to tell which batch you’re purchasing.) LEDs are separated by a distance of 16.5 inches and come with 20 LEDs in each segment, which are connected to one another with waterproof seals. Extension cables of both 4- and 12 feet are included that you can use at any point in the chain of lights. Only about 3 feet of extra cabling appears at the A/C adapter side of the lights along with the control box; you’ll probably need to use one of the in-line extension cables or a standard electrical extension cable to reach an electrical outlet. Lights can be mounted with either preaffixed adhesive or screw hardware; both options are included, as are additional clips to help keep wiring in place, a handy bonus. All necessary hardware is included, as is a remote control powered by two AAA batteries (not included). Lumary’s lights connect to its mobile app via 2.4GHz Wi-Fi. Third-party support for Alexa and Google Home infrastructures is also included. Installation and setup Each light puck can glow in your choice of 16 millions colors or produce various temperatures of white light (from a warm 2200 Kelvin to an ice-cold 6500K).Christopher Null/Foundry Setup of the Lumary Permanent Outdoor Lights Max is a familiar process, and as with most permanent lights, you’ll spend the bulk of your time planning exactly where they should go and where to use the included extension cords before breaking out a ladder and painstakingly attaching the lights to your eaves. After installing the Lumary app, the system is designed to auto-discover new Lumary hardware via Bluetooth. I had to turn the lights on and off a few times via the single button on the control box to complete the task, but otherwise the process was quick, after which I tapped in my Wi-Fi credentials and started a firmware update to complete the onboarding. Using the Lumary Permanent Outdoor Lights Max From the moment they’re powered on, it becomes evident that the Lumary Max lights are much brighter than typical string lights or permanent lights. The 60-lumen LEDs sear the retinas at close range and full brightness, even though the beam is fairly wide and diffuse. The Lumary app, however, is a real oddity that is far from intuitive and is clearly a work in progress. The apparent problem is that is a clone of the Smart Life app, a multivendor application that ranks as one of the worst user experiences on the market. Lumary’s app takes Smart Life and seemingly makes it even more scattered. Lumary provides a handy remote control that saves you from needing to pull out your smartphone when you want to make changes.Christopher Null/Foundry Like Smart Life, the Lumary app first drops you into a view of all your Lumary gear. Tap the Permanent Lights Max icon to drill down and access detailed management features. The first page of device management is a bulb-by-bulb editor that lets you paint your chosen color directly to each LED. This mode however only supports static colors and white bulb—no visual effects—and bizarrely, these scenes can’t be permanently saved after you’ve painstakingly created them. One tab over you’ll find Lumary’s pre-created scenes, divided into “Scenery” (like “Lotus Reflecting the Sun”), “Life” (“Holiday,” “Working”), “Festival” (“Christmas,” “Forest Day”), and “Mood” (“Love and Fantasy,” “Spring Fishing”). There are some 55 scene modes available, and they’re all a lot alike, with few seemingly seasonally appropriate. I’m not sure why, but the Christmas theme features a variety of flashing colors instead of red and green hues, and they come off like cheap party lights. The colors and animations in the app also don’t match up well to what the lighting looks like in real life. You won’t get any kind of sense of what these themes look like unless you try them out one by one. Fortunately, the themes are adjustable—within reason—and these adjustments can be saved for future use. But again, so much trial and error is needed to make your theme look good that it really doesn’t matter which one you use as a starting point. Lastly, various music modes (which can work with either a microphone on the control box or your phone’s mic) are included. Lumary’s app leaves much to be desired.Christopher Null/Foundry The app has a basic countdown timer and scheduling system that can turn the lights on or off and set a theme from your collection, but this all needs to be done when you’re drilled down into the lights’ detail screen. You can make quick adjustments to brightness, color temperature, and the countdown clock from the Lumary home screen, but the countdown clock here is only displayed in seconds, which is awfully unintuitive for a multi-hour timer. The included remote control is fortunately a thoughtful touch, letting you cycle through scenes and adjust scene speed and brightness, in addition to cycling power. Five additional preset buttons let you turn the lights to all red, green, or blue or set them to warm white or cool white. Should you buy the Lumary Permanent Outdoor Lights Max? Lumary’s lights are very bright, the colors are vivid, and its remote is useful, but I really dreaded having to deal with the app. The $546 street price for the longest kit, 158 feet in length, is another potential stumbling block. For my money, Govee’s Permanent Outdoor Lights 2 is a more well-rounded offering that’s easier to use, even if it’s not as bright. If you truly need something that will make your house the brightest in the neighborhood, on the other hand, Lumary’s kit might be worth a look. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart lighting. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Attractive and unique design Good SDR brightness for OLED, great contrast Very wide color gamut Great HDR performance Sets a new high mark for motion performance Cons Only 1440p resolution No USB-C or speakers Stand is a bit large for 27-inch display Our Verdict The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W pulls out all the stops to deliver best-in-class motion performance and a long list of bonus features. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Asus ROG Swift Oled PG27AQWP-W Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The refresh rate wars have accelerated in 2025, resulting in new records and high marks every few months. Asus’ ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W continues this trend with a tandem OLED design that delivers both excellent image quality and ultra-high refresh rates—up to 540Hz at 1440p or 720Hz at 720p. Read on to learn more, then see roundup of the best gaming monitors for comparison. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W specs and features At its core the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W is yet another 26.5-inch OLED monitor with 1440p resolution. However, this particular OLED monitor has a trick up its sleeve: a tandem OLED display. Much like Apple’s iPad Pro, it offers not one, but two OLED layers. Asus claims this provides superior brightness and color saturation, a claim I’ll test later in this review. Display size: 26.5-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 2560×1440 Panel type: Tandem OLED Refresh rate: 540Hz at 1440p / 720Hz at 720p Adaptive sync: Yes, Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, G-Sync Compatible HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black Ports: 1x DisplayPort 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.1, 3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1, 1x 3.5mm earphone jack Audio: None Extra features: Ergonomic stand, tripod screw mount, RGB-LED lighting with Asus Aura Sync Price: $1099.99 retail And that’s not all. The PG27AQWP-W is also a dual refresh monitor that can achieve up to 540Hz at 1440p resolution or 720Hz at 720p resolution. Yes, that’s 720p, as in 1280×720 resolution. The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W is set to release at $1,099.99. That’s a lot for a 1440p monitor but, given the extra tech stuffed inside, it’s not a surprise. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W design Asus monitors typically look and feel great, but the ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W goes the extra mile to deliver a unique, stand-out design. It’s mostly clad in silver but includes a transparent section on the rear of the monitor for extra flair. The internals of a monitor are actually rather dull, so you’ll mostly spy internal cladding with Asus branding. Still, I think it looks great. Matthew Smith / Foundry The monitor has a tripod-style stand with three legs, two of which are broad. I’m not usually a fan of these stands, as they take up extra room on a desk. That problem is still present here, but I can understand why Asus went for the tripod stand in this case. It helps complete the monitor’s design and becomes the centerpiece of your desktop gaming setup. You’ll find that the stand offers a decent range of ergonomic adjustment. This includes 110mm of height adjustment, 60 degrees of swivel, 25 degrees of tilt, and 90 degrees of pivot for use in portrait orientation. I would like to see 130mm or even 150mm of height, but the range of adjustment available here is solid. A 100x100mm VESA mount is included for use with third-party monitor arms. Asus packs several extra features in the PG27AQWP-W. It has an attractive RGB-LED logo that can be customized and synced with other Asus devices using Asus Aura Sync. There’s also a tripod mount on the stand, which can be used to attach a camera, ring light, or anything else compatible with a 1/4-inch tripod screw mount. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W connectivity A total of three video inputs are found on the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W: two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 2.1 (with up to 80Gbps of bandwidth). All three ports can handle the monitor’s maximum refresh rate (720Hz at 720p and 540Hz at 1440p). USB connectivity includes three USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, which are driven by a USB-B upstream port. A USB-C port is not available, unfortunately. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W menus The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W has a great menu system that’s controlled by a joystick tucked behind the center lower bezel. It opens an excellent menu system with easy-to-understand labels and many image quality options. The font size could perhaps be larger, but there’s decent contrast between the font and background. This includes precise color temperature and gamma settings (i.e. a color temperature of 6500K instead of “neutral” or “standard”) and six-axis color calibration. This is an advantage over competitors such as the Alienware AW2725D and Samsung Odyssey G90F, which don’t offer as much fine-grain image quality adjustment. Matthew Smith / Foundry There are also a ton of gaming features stuffed into the menu system. This includes not only the usual crosshair, FPS count, and timer modes, but also features like dynamic shadow boost, which can automatically enhance the brightness of dim areas in a scene to make foes easier to see. This is superior to the more typical static shadow boost mode, which enhances brightness across the entire image, including dark areas. I also like the aspect-ratio reduction modes, which include a 24.5-inch monitor equivalent, a 4:3 mode, and a square mode. The first is useful for some esports games, while the latter two are good options for retro games. Most monitor options can be adjusted using the Asus DisplayWidget software, which is available for both Windows and MacOS. DisplayWidget is among the best monitor management software currently available. Some competitors, like Samsung, don’t even have a monitor management software with the same set of features. The monitor management software is generally more convenient to use than the on-screen menus controlled by the joystick. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W audio The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W does not include speakers. That’s only a minor disappointment, as many gaming monitors omit this feature. A 3.5mm audio jack is available for passing audio to a headset, at least. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W SDR image quality The star of the show here is undoubtedly the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W’s tandem OLED display. Specifically, it has two LG WOLED layers which work together to boost brightness and color volume. Contrary to what you might expect, adding a second layer doesn’t immediately double brightness or color performance, but it does provide noticeable improvements. Matthew Smith / Foundry First up is SDR brightness, where the PG27AQWP-W provides a maximum sustained SDR brightness of 316 nits. That is an excellent level of SDR brightness for an OLED monitor and generally bright enough for use in most rooms. Just keep in mind that the monitor is glossy, so reflections will be an issue if you have windows or bright lights near the display. Samsung’s Odyssey OLED G60SF, which has a matte display finish and a slightly higher maximum SDR brightness, is a better OLED for use in a bright room. Matthew Smith / Foundry One area that tandem OLED can’t much improve is contrast, as modern OLED displays typically provide an effectively infinite contrast ratio. This occurs because they achieve a perfect minimum luminance of zero nits which, because contrast ratio is a ratio, sends the ratio into infinity. However, perceived contrast is also worth mention. Asus takes pride in the TrueBlack Glossy finish which provides a “zero-haze surface” for maximum perceived contrast. This is a nuanced but important point. While the OLED panel provides a minimum luminance of zero nits, ambient light that scatters across the display can reduce the perceived contrast. As a result, a matte display like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G60SF will not look as dark and contrast-rich as the PG27AQWP-W. Personally, I prefer a matte display because I find glare distracting and I do have windows in my room that, during the day, allow enough light to cause serious reflections. However, many OLED fans prefer glossy for its superior perceived contrast—and the PG27AQWP-W is as glossy as they come. Matthew Smith / Foundry The PG27AQWP-W’s color gamut is important, as improved color saturation is advertised as an advantage for tandem OLED. So, does that prove true? Yes, though perhaps not quite so much as you’d expect. The PG27AQWP-W displayed 100 percent of sRGB, 99 percent of DCI-P3, and 93 percent of AdobeRGB in my testing. By comparison, the Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDPG, which has a modern Samsung QD-OLED panel, can display 100 percent of sRGB, 98 percent of DCI-P3, and 94 percent of AdobeRGB. Remember, however, that the PG27AQWP-W uses tandem LG WOLED panels, which in the past have not performed as well in color gamut tests as QD-OLED. When compared to a standard LG WOLED monitor, such as the LG Ultragear 27GX790A-B, tandem WOLED is a definite upgrade (see the graph above). While the PG27AQWP-W’s color gamut isn’t a record setter, it’s certainly excellent and up to whatever task you might throw at it. The PG27AQWP-W is as glossy as they come. Matthew Smith / Foundry The same can be said of the monitor’s color accuracy. As the graph shows, the PG27AQWP-W is not the most color accurate OLED monitor we’ve recently tested. But with that said, all the OLED monitors shown in the graph above are so accurate that it’s quite hard to tell the difference. Certainly, all of them—including the PG27AQWP-W—provide a realistic and lifelike image. Color temperature and gamma performance are good on the PG27AQWP-W. It provided a color temperature of 6400K, just off the target of 6500K, and a gamma curve of 2.3, just off the target of 2.2. Both variations are minor and typical for an OLED monitor. The PG27AQWP-W offers a wide range of color temperature and gamma adjustments, so it’s likely you can tune the monitor to your preference in each area. Sharpness is decent. The monitor’s maximum resolution of 2560×1440 works out to about 110 pixels per inch. That’s not an amazing pixel density for 2025—a 27-inch 4K monitor will hit over 160 pixels per inch—but it’s enough to look sharp in PC games. It’s also a good fit for an extreme high-refresh monitor. You can only appreciate the full refresh rate when a game outputs a frame rate up to the maximum refresh rate of a monitor. Sticking to 1440p makes that far more viable than at 4K due to the reduced demand on your video card (though you’re still going to need a beefy GPU). The PG27AQWP-W’s sharpness is also improved by Asus’ Clear Pixel Edge, a feature which can slightly reduce the rough look that 1440p OLED monitors can suffer when they display small, high-contrast text. It’s not a night-and-day improvement, but it helps. The PG27AQWP-W’s overall SDR image quality is excellent. The tandem WOLED display provides strong SDR brightness, stellar contrast, and a broad color gamut. The latest QD-OLED monitors can offer performance in the same ballpark as tandem WOLED, but the tandem WOLED panel has a small edge in DCI-P3 color gamut and SDR brightness. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W HDR image quality Tandem OLED technology is also meant to help with brightness in HDR. The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W is VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certified and claims a maximum brightness of up to 1500 nits. Matthew Smith / Foundry I wasn’t able to reach that height despite my best efforts, as I engaged the monitor’s adjustable brightness option and turned it up to the maximum. Still, the PG27AQWP-W’s HDR performance is great overall. It measured a maximum brightness of 950 nits in the 3 percent window, which isn’t the best result I’ve seen to date. Shift your focus to the 50 percent and 100 percent windows, though—meaning, situations where a much larger portion of the display is lit—and the PG27AQWP-W creeps ahead of QD-OLED and standard WOLED alternatives. Subjectively, I liked the PG27AQWP-W’s HDR performance. The monitor was very bright in bright scenes but also delivered good luminance detail around bright objects and excellent shadow detail in dark scenes. The color presentation is also great: vivid when it should be but not over-saturated when it shouldn’t be. Also, as mentioned, the monitor provides a HDR brightness adjustment feature, which is not standard but very nice to have. Those less familiar with HDR might be surprised to learn that HDR content is typically given control over display brightness, which means you can’t normally adjust the brightness of your monitor when HDR is engaged. That is quite annoying on a monitor—but Asus lets you override that behavior. Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W motion performance While the tandem OLED panel is awesome, I’d argue that motion performance is at least as important. The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W has a refresh rate of up to 540Hz at 2560×1440 resolution and up to 720Hz at 1280×720 resolution. Let’s cover the 540Hz/1440p mode first. This is the way most people will use the monitor most of the time, and it looks spectacular. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews of 480Hz and 500Hz OLED monitors, a refresh rate this high on an OLED panel looks very close to perfect and is obviously better than 240Hz or 360Hz. Nearly everything is readable as it zooms across the display, including small low-contrast text and small ticks in enemy HP bars. Is the 540Hz noticeably better than 480Hz or 500Hz? I don’t think so. However, some 500Hz OLED monitors are priced rather close to the PG27AQWP-W. I’d buy a 480Hz or 500Hz alternative if I could save $200, but if the gap is only $100, I might lean towards the PG27AQWP-W and its 540Hz refresh rate. What about the 720Hz/720p mode? Honestly, I’m not sure that I see the point, as I wasn’t able to notice a major motion clarity improvement in this mode. Was it very slightly better? Yes. But it  comes with a big reduction in overall image sharpness. The main argument in favor of 720Hz is latency, because a higher refresh rate means you’ll see the screen update more quickly. A 540Hz display delivers a screen update every 1.85 milliseconds, which 720Hz reduces to 1.39 milliseconds. That’s certainly less, but it’s not something I can appreciate. The PG27AQWP-W also supports Asus’ Extreme Low Motion Blur (ELMB), and while this feature is less headline-worthy than the 720Hz/720p mode, I’d argue it’s more important. ELMB inserts black frames between standard frames which, due to how human vision works, effectively reduces motion blur. And it’s extremely effective. The ELMB feature provides motion clarity similar to 540Hz at a refresh rate of 270Hz, which is useful, because it means you can appreciate better motion clarity in games that can’t achieve an incredibly high frame rate. Asus’ ELMB is also much better than competitive techniques from other monitor makers, with none of the “double image” effect that black frame insertion (BFI) can sometimes cause. It does have a couple downsides, though. ELMB effectively halves the brightness of the display, since some frames will be black. Fortunately, the PG27AQWP-W is bright enough that it maintains a usable level of brightness when ELMB is turned on. ELMB also can’t be used at the same time as Adaptive Sync. Competitive BFI techniques have the same trade-offs. Speaking of Adaptive Sync, the PG27AQWP-W supports the full range of VESA Adaptive Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, and Nvidia G-Sync. It also has an OLED anti-flicker feature to reduce the flicker that can rarely occur when using adaptive sync technologies alongside OLED monitors, or when viewing particular grayscale scenes. The full range of the PG27AQWP-W’s motion performance can be a lot to take in, because the monitor is absolutely packed with features. What it all boils down to is simple, however: it provides the best motion clarity available from any monitor to date. Should you buy the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W? Asus’ ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W is a stunning entry into the competitive OLED monitor market. It stands out from the competition with a long list of features that are either unique to the PG27AQWP-W or work better than on competitive monitors. These features include: a tandem OLED display, 540Hz/1440p and 720Hz/720p modes, Aura Sync RGB-LED lighting, a tripod mount, and an ultra-glossy TrueBlack panel finish, among other things. It might seem hard to justify paying $1,100 for a 1440p monitor, and to be clear, most people will be just as happy with a 4K/240Hz QD-OLED purchased at a lower price. However, the PG27AQWP-W’s tandem OLED display offers class-leading performance in several areas and a level of motion clarity that you won’t find elsewhere—not only in the 720Hz/720p mode but also at lower refresh rates. Read...

One of the drawbacks to most AI implementations is that much of the processing is performed in the cloud, which usually means uploading your personal information to servers you have no control over. That raises a host of privacy concerns for many, including yours truly. Is it worse than using the typical online search engine? No, but then again…. Displace TV intends to minimize your exposure to the online powers-that-be by endowing the company’s new Displace Pro TV 2 with local AI. It’s said to often keep your personal information on the TV rather than broadcasting it to mega-corporation that might–but probably won’t–have the proper ethics or your best interests in mind. Onboard processing The “Pro TV 2 features dedicated native Neural Processing Units (NPUs) and Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) that allow for secure, on-device AI processing,” the company says. Quoting the company further, “Displace’s commitment to privacy sets it apart in an industry where many products depend on cloud-based data storage. The Pro TV 2 has a browser-based OS 2.0 that ensures sensitive information remains secure on the device, delivering a personalized experience without compromising user trust. The local processing capabilities provide peace of mind, characteristic of Displace’s effort to stay at the forefront of consumer technology.” Four Displace TVs plus two soundbars. Some of the features that use local AI are pause-to-shop, where products from a scene are presented for you to purchase; a personalized video news agent; live conversational search (for better voice control); and gesture control, where you can wave and make gestures at your TV to control it instead of grabbing a remote. From all that you’d think that Displace aims to be the Duck Duck Go of the TV industry. Sounds good, but there’s still info to track going in and out, even if it doesn’t identify you personally. Your IP address might still be exposed. The Displace Hub promises to make any TV totally wireless Displace TV will also show its new Displace Hub at CES in January. This device promises to bring the whiz-bang features of its Displace TVs–battery power, suction-powered wall mounting that doesn’t require drilling holes in the wall, and more–to almost any TV. Well, any TV with a screen size between 55- and 100 inches and weighing up to 150 pounds. The magic? An Intel N-150 quad-core CPU, 16GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage, and of course, a 15,000 mAh battery system that should power most TVs without an AC cord for five to 10 hours, according the company. Who is Displace TV? Displace TV is famous (in TV circles at least) for its wireless HDMI connectivity, battery power, and suction-based wall-mounting. You can read more about these fascinating departures from the norm here and here. If Displace TV truly does keep your personal info local, then we like it. We wish more vendors would hop on board the true privacy train. Sadly, it’s left the station–and most of them–behind. Read...

Asus announced that next year it will release a new laptop in collaboration with GoPro, which is mainly known for its action cameras. Judging by a teaser video, the Asus ProArt GoPro edition looks to be designed with an extra focus on rugged portability. The computer will also have a dedicated GoPro button. Exactly what it does is unknown. The ProArt @GoPro edition creator laptop is about to break cover. Join the ASUS CES 2026 Livestream and witness the ultimate creator laptop: ?? https://t.co/xJbeu2uDdC#ASUS #CES2026 #AlwaysIncredible pic.twitter.com/4QrD6Rufd9— ASUS (@ASUS) December 21, 2025 Earlier in October, Asus ProArt and GoPro also announced a collaboration to streamline creative workflows using AI. The Asus ProArt GoPro edition will be unveiled in detail during the CES technology show in Las Vegas, the first week of January 2026. Read...