GTA VI has received a new delay, this time being pushed back toward the end of 2026. When the game was announced a few years ago, it was initially planned for a late 2025 launch date. The game was then delayed until the Spring of 2026, giving developers at Rockstar just a little more time to get things ready for the game’s grand debut. This was a good thing, at least for Rockstar’s development staff and for gamers. Developers would now be getting a more comfortable development window to work within, and the majority of gamers would rather wait longer for a game if it meant a more polished and finished product with fewer potential bugs.
Of course, this delay wasn’t necessarily going to benefit everyone. Any studio that had planned to launch their games in the Spring of 2026 would now be contending with GTA VI. A game that is undoubtedly going to be so massive it’s going to shoot Rockstar’s profits into the stratosphere. Now that the game has been delayed again, things are shifting for some games, while new developers are potentially starting to panic.
The GTA VI delay to November 2026 could shift other Fall game launches
According to Rockstar’s post on X, the game is now being delayed until November 19, 2026. This is more than likely going to shift the plans of any developers who were going to launch games that same month, or even within a few weeks of GTA VI’s new launch date.
One good example is Call of Duty. It tends to launch toward the end of October or the middle of November every single year. This year, the latest Call of Duty game, Black Ops 7, is launching on November 14. If Microsoft and Activision were planning to launch next year’s entry around the same time, they may want to come up with a different date. Call of Duty is a massive franchise in its own right, but GTA VI promises to be one of the most successful games of all time. Massive franchise or not, going up against it in sales isn’t exactly a smart move.
Of course, just because it would make sense for developers to be scrambling to come up with new launch dates, it doesn’t mean they will. Pushing things up means crunch for the staff and forcing longer hours, and that’s not good either. It also means more potential issues, as there would be less time for QA to fix anything that comes up. At the end of the day, the launch of GTA VI was always going to get other games caught in the crossfire. Now, that will just be happening later than expected.
No matter how sure you are, changes are always possible
Another interesting detail about this delay is that it’s happening at all. It’s surely happening for good reasons. And it’s better that Rockstar takes all the time it needs to ensure the product meets its standards, and the standards of every prospective gamer who wants to buy it.
That being said, it is in contrast to the most recent statement from Take-Two’s CEO Strauss Zelnick. Back in August, Zelnick said he had “very, very high conviction” that GTA VI was sticking with its May 2026 launch date. That is obviously not happening, and Zelnick obviously answered a question about possible delays to the best of his ability. It just goes to show that delays in the industry are inevitable these days.
Nintendo has launched a new app for Android and iOS devices called the Nintendo Store, and as the name of the app suggests, it’s a digital storefront where you can browse through a wide variety of Nintendo-related products. Whether you’re looking for that next game, an accessory for your brand-new Nintendo Switch 2, or you’re just curious what kind of merchandise Nintendo has available, the Nintendo Store app will likely have it listed.
The launch of the Nintendo Store app feels like a long time coming. It’s something that Sony has made available since the PlayStation app that launched alongside the PS5 several years ago. A major difference here is that the Nintendo Store is mostly just the Nintendo Store. Although there are a few things in the app that aren’t purchasable products.
The Nintendo Store app launch blends a product storefront with a news hub
What’s neat about the Nintendo Store app is that it isn’t just a storefront for selling Switch and Switch 2 games and Nintendo products and merchandise. It offers a few extra features that tie into the Nintendo experience as a whole. For example, there’s a news tab you can jump to if you feel like reading up on the latest Nintendo news. News categories can even be broken down into All News, Game News, Events, and Promotions, just in case you’re looking for something specific.
Additionally, there’s a profile tab you can click on that has links to your purchase history, your funds and payment methods, and you can even see play activity. In fact, clicking on play activity shows you recent activity, which is just the last few games you played and how long you played them for, as well as when you played them. You can even tap on “view more” to see a more detailed breakdown of your play activity, including days you didn’t play any games.
There’s a tab for your wish list as well, just in case you’re browsing the store and add something to the wish list, and want to check on it later. This can be handy if you see a game you might want to buy in the future, as it could help prevent you from forgetting it. The Nintendo Store app is available from Google Play on Android devices or the App Store on iOS devices.
Choosing a smartwatch or a fitness tracker can be a fun experience, just like choosing any other product, but it can also be daunting to figure out which smartwatches or fitness trackers are the best, or more importantly, the best options for you personally. There are actually quite a few choices out there, and to help you avoid having to waste time sifting through an endless sea of options, we’ve put together a guide of the best smartwatches and fitness trackers you can buy in 2025, and with Black Friday coming up, we couldn’t think of a better way to assist. With this guide, you can narrow down the options and get straight to the ones that meet your criteria. Whether the device is for you or for someone else, this will help you save time, and that’s increasingly important now with the holiday shopping season beginning.
Smartwatches and fitness trackers come in all shapes and sizes, from round to square and big to small. You’ll also find that many of them can do similar things, but also offer a variety of unique features. With all of that said, these are the best smartwatches and fitness trackers you can buy in 2025.
Best Smartwatch
The best smartwatch isn’t necessarily going to be the best for everyone; however, there is a smartwatch that we consider the best overall from a feature and technical standpoint. For our recommendation, we’re going to be choosing the Apple Watch Ultra 3, because, quite frankly, it has the best features and the best hardware, and it just offers so much value for what you pay for it. Now, it might not be the best option for Android users, but it is the best option overall when you look at features and specs.
Apple Watch Ultra 3
Rating
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$799.99
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is the latest top-end smartwatch from Apple, featuring the same well-loved design made from Titanium, new features, and a new version of WatchOS. Many of what users loved about the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is present in the Apple Watch Ultra 3, but there are some notable differences as well. It has a bigger display (even if only slightly), and that’s certainly going to make it easier to see everything at a glance.
The biggest reasons to go with this newer model though, would be the longer-lasting battery and the faster charging. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 can have about 6 more hours of battery life on a single charge, and that’s no small accomplishment. The longer the watch lasts between charges, the better. Even when it does need a charge, it’ll charge back up 25% faster than the previous model. Letting you get back to what you were doing with the watch before it more power. These two upgrades alone make it worth it.
Pros
Large, extremely bright display
5G Cellular connectivity
Durable titanium case
Improved battery life
Two-way satellite communications
Very rugged design with water resistance up to 100 meters
Cons
Expensive
Only viable for iPhone users
The watch may not look different from its predecessor on the outside, but it functions in a more efficient way and operates for longer periods of time. Not to mention you can get it back up and running sooner as well. The Apple Watch Ultra 3 can last for up to 42 hours compared to 36 hours on the previous model, and it now charges to 80% in 45 minutes as opposed to 1 hour. Those are significant improvements that any user should appreciate.
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 is also a more powerful watch. Thanks to the S10 chip, users can do more with things feeling even smoother as you flick around the UI. If you’ve never had to deal with sluggish interactions on a smartwatch before, then you can continue that trend by going with the Apple Watch Ultra 3, because it’s anything but sluggish. This is also an excellent pick for divers as it comes with a water resistance of up to 100 meters. Of course, even if you don’t dive and simply want something that will be fine with a quick dip, this should have no issues handling that kind of submersion.
Display: 1.98-inch Retina LTPO3 OLED
Brightness: 3,000 nits (peak)
Protection: Sapphire Crystal Glass
Processor: S10 Chip
RAM and Storage: 64GB of storage
Battery: 599mAh
Charging: 0%-85% in 45 minutes (wireless)
Colors: Natural, Black
WatchOS Version: WatchOS 26
Software Support: Major OS updates expected for about 5 years, with security updates beyond that
Health and Fitness Features: Blood pressure monitoring, Heart health notifications, ECG monitoring, Sleep tracking, Menstrual cycle tracking, Activity tracking, Custom workouts, Training load, Daily Health Status tracking.
Battery Life: Up to 42 hours/Up to 72 hours in low-power mode
Charging Time: 0%-85% in 45 minutes
Announcement
The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has "the largest display ever in an Apple Watch"
Apple has officially announced the Apple Watch Ultra 3 today at its “Awe Dropping” event alongside a slew of other…
by Justin Diaz
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Best Android Smartwatch
While the Apple Watch Ultra 3 might be the best overall smartwatch from a technical standpoint, it doesn’t do much good for Android users, since most of the features are reliant on having an iPhone to pair with it. You could technically use it without an iPhone, but you would be losing out on a lot of stuff. So, for the Android user, we’re recommending the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8. Samsung’s smartwatches have long been some of the best available, especially for Android users, and many of the best features don’t require you to use a Galaxy device. Pair that with the fact that it’s likely to cost less than Google’s Pixel Watch 4 (another top option) and that it runs on the latest version of Wear OS, and you have a really solid choice on your hands (or wrist, if we’re being technical).
Samsung Galaxy Watch 8
Rating
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$349.99
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8 is a testament to Samsung’s commitment to deliver a strong wearable experience to its users time and time again. Samsung has finally changed up the outer design, but the watch still provides users with a top-notch smartwatch experience through innovative features, a comfortable fit, and battery life that you can proud of.
It’s also reasonably priced, making it a viable option for more consumers who don’t want to spend an exorbitant amount, but also don’t necessarily need to look at budget options. It’s jampacked with smart functions that are made even smarter with the integration of Galaxy AI and Google Gemini. This allows you to get more done on your wrist-worn device without skipping a beat. It comes in a few nice colors, too, and there are plenty of customizable band options out there if you want something a little more jazzy or stylish.
Pros
Most comfortable smartwatch ever
One UI 8 Watch feels incredibly snappy
Gemini is a game changer on your wrist
Cons
Notifications are easy to miss
Oval tiles on a round display on a squircle body is a weird design choice
Antioxidant Index is a good idea, but way to easy to fool
The biggest thing that makes this watch so special is that it just works incredibly well no matter what kind of Android phone you have. Sure, it is a Galaxy smartwatch and you’d think it would work the best with a Galaxy smartphone. But you aren’t required to have one, and you won’t really lose out on anything if you don’t. That, paired with Samsung’s commitment to producing a high-quality smartwatch experience makes this very versatile and you can’t really put a price on that.
You’ll also get access to all of your favorite Android apps and some really awesome fitness features to use with the watch. Slep tracking and the auto-workout tracking are the best you’ll find. Even if you have never really used sleep tracking features in the past, it’s worth trying with the Galaxy Watch 8 because Samsung made it thinner and more comfortable to wear, even while sleeping. So, you’re more inclined to wear it to bed because it won’t be as uncomfortable as other watches, even some of Samsung’s own past models. You also really have to love the exceptionally bright display making it incredibly easy to see things even in direct sunlight. All-around, this is just the best smartwatch available for the majority of Android users.
Display: 1.47-inch Super AMOLED
Brightness: 3,000 nits (peak)
Protection: Sapphire Crystal
Processor: Exynos W1000
RAM and Storage: 2GB RAM, 32GB storage
Battery: 435mAh
Charging: 10W wireless
Colors: Graphite, Silver
WearOS Version: Wear OS 6 with One UI 8 Watch
Software Support: 4 years of software updates (through 2029)
Health and Fitness Features: Automatic workout tracking, Sleep tracking, Sleep Coaching powered by Galaxy AI, Energy Score with Galaxy AI, All-day heart rate tracking, Vascular Load, ECG, Antioxidant Index
Battery Life: About 46 hours with AOD off, or 30 hours with AOD on
Charging Time: 0% to 100% in about an hour and 20 minutes
Review
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Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 Review: The Best Just Got Better (and Comfier)
What do you do when you already have the best smartwatch on the planet? Well, you make it more comfortable,…
by Alexander Maxham
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Best smartwatch for Pixel owners
This likely comes as no shock to anyone, but if you own a Pixel smartphone as your main device, then the Google Pixel Watch 4 is your best option. There are other good options, of course. The Galaxy Watch 8 would work just fine if you have a Pixel phone. However, the Pixel Watch 4 will work just that much better thanks to some of its companion features. Just as the best watch for a Galaxy user would be a Galaxy watch, Pixel users definitely want to keep things within the same device family. You could also go for a Pixel Watch 3 if you want to save a little money, but if you want the best, Google’s latest is the way to go.
Google Pixel Watch 4
Rating
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$349.99
Google’s Pixel Watch 4 exceeds expectations when it comes to the Pixel Watch experience, and yet it does so with little fanfare, kind of like Google is under-promising and over-delivering, even if only by a little bit. While the Pixel Watch series has been getting better every year, the experience finally feels like it should, and some of that has to do with Google’s version of Wear OS 6. Like its Pixel devices, the software is as barebones as it gets, and that software experience makes all the difference.
Once again, Google also made the Pixel Watch 4 available in both the 41mm and 45mm size options. Allowing consumers to have more variety and choose the size that fits them best. While it doesn’t have wireless charging, one of the traits that really stands out is Google’s use of side-placed charging pins. This design makes it possible to keep the watch on your nightstand and use it as an alarm clock while charging. Trust us, it’s a pretty neat design choice.
Pros
Charging is considerably faster
The Actua 360 domed display is really nice
Material 3 Expressive makes the UI more enjoyable
Incredibly bright display
The best battery life yet
Gemini with Raise to Talk is super intuitive and convenient
Improved haptics with richer, clearer sound from the speaker
Cons
No wireless charging
Smart replies requires a Pixel 8 Pro or later
Starting price could be lower
There are a lot of things that are special about this watch, but chief among them has to be the Smart Replies feature. You’ll need at least a Pixel 8 Pro for this feature to work, but once it does, it makes responding to messages on the watch so, so much easier and much quicker, too. You’ll probably use your smartwatch for a lot of things, and responding to messages is no doubt going to be one of them. So, why not make that process as simple as it can be?
Of course, this is but one feature in a handful of useful little perks. The Pixel Watch 4 also offers users Gemini on the wrist. One of the coolest features this watch offers is the Raise To Talk function for Gemini. You can use it for anything you’d ask Gemini on your phone for, such as what the weather will be like, or you can use it for handily asking Gemini when a store closes. I used this plenty while driving to figure out if I’d make it to the store on time, and you might be surprised at how useful this became.
Another thing that makes this is a really special smartwatch is that it’s serviceable. By that, we mean you can replace a few of the inner components yourself if you know how, or have it taken to a repair place and they’ll do it for you. There’s not really any other smartwatch on the market designed like this, so this is a great option for people who like to fix things if they ever break down.
Software Support: At least 3 years of software updates (through 2028)
Health and Fitness Features: Automatic workout tracking, Sleep tracking, Sleep Coach powered by Gemini, Fitness Coach powered by Gemini, All-day heart rate tracking, ECG, AI-powered training, personalized running coach
Battery Life: Up to 30 hours with AOD (41mm) / Up to 40 hours with AOD (45mm)
Charging Time: About 45 minutes to 100% (41mm) / About 60 minutes to 100% (45mm)
Review
Google Pixel Watch 4 Review: As Good As It Gets
Google has been in this game long enough now that it’s almost expected of the company to create something that…
by Justin Diaz
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Best Budget Smartwatch
There are lots of smartwatches out there, and plenty that are in the range of $300 or more, but you can easily get by without spending that much money and get something that’s perfectly suitable for your needs. If cost is a factor for you when deciding on what smartwatch to get, then the Active 2 from Amazfit is the smartwatch you should go for. At $99.99, it’s very affordable, and it offers a ton of features. You will find it hard to get something better for this price. Even if you’re looking at older models, chances are you will end up spending at least this much, but that would also mean going with older tech that has fewer features and likely won’t be getting any more updates. For the best bang for your buck, Amazfit has you covered.
Amazfit Active 2
Rating
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$99.99
Amazfit has always prided itself on being one of the most affordable options out there for smartwatches and the Active 2 hasn’t changed that stance. With a price tag of just $99.99, the Amazfit Active 2 is easily one of the most affordable smartwatches you can buy and likely the most affordable smartwatch that’s at this level of quality. While it won’t have as many features or apps as the other watches on this list, its more simplistic feature set affords it the benefit of having better battery life, and that’s a valuable thing to have if you don’t like charging all of your deices every day or two. Plus, with a smartwatch that sticks to a smaller set of functions, you can focus on really just the important ones that you will always use. As opposed to being overloaded with stuff.
Pros
Very affordable
Excellent health tracking
High-quality build
Tons of watch face options
Cons
No NFC on the less expensive model
Only two years of software updates
What really makes this watch special is the combination of its affordability with the really awesome fitness tracking. Amazfit has long been praised for its fitness tracking quality, especially for the price of its products, and that stands true here with the Active 2. So, the fact that you can get something of this quality for around $100 is what makes this watch special. Of course, other standout details like the long battery life (which, again, is almost two weeks) help to really make the Amazfit Active 2 shine. So if you just want a watch that has a battery that lasts a while, along with fitness tracking that works well and offers more basic functions you’ll actually use, all without breaking the bank, then this is the watch for you.
Battery Life: Up to 10 days (or up to 21 hours with GPS)
Charging Time: About 2 hours to go from 0% to 100%
Announcement
Amazfit Active 2 smartwatch offers 160+ sports modes, 10-day battery life
The Amazfit Active 2 is now official, the company’s new smartwatch. This smartwatch is made for fitness and healthy living,…
by Kristijan Lucic
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Best Rugged Smartwatch
Not all smartwatches are created equal, and when it comes to a smartwatch that’s rugged and can withstand the rigors of everyday life, as well as your extreme adventures, you want something that you can feel confident is going to stand up to the occasional bump and scrape, as well as potential drops and other forms of physical beating that many other smartwatches might not be able to handle. That’s why we’re recommending the Garmin Fenix 8 Solar. It isn’t by any means affordable. In fact, it’s the most expensive device on this list, but it is the best rugged smartwatch.
Garmin Fenix 8 Solar (51mm)
Rating
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$1,199.99
Garmin is well-known for its GPS capabilities and you’ll certainly get some really good GPS functionality out of this watch. Garmin’s multi-sport smartwatches are also incredibly rugged and built to be your companion on all of your outdoor excursions. Going hiking in the mountains? You’ll want this watch with you. It’s an especially great option for anyone who goes out for longer periods of time. For example, anyone who might go camping for a week or two. This watch could easily last the entire time without needing to be recharged. Even if it needed recharging, the solar recharging feature could take care of it for you. Yes, the watch is expensive, but it has all the bells and whistles.
Pros
Solar-powered charging
Long-lasting battery life of up to 48 days
Superior GPS accuracy
LED flashlight
Rugged titanium design
Cons
Very expensive
Might be too big for some
What makes this watch special is that it’s extremely rugged and it has a battery life that lasts for weeks on end. A battery that can last for up to 48 days in smartwatch mode is absolutely incredible. Plus, the fact that this watch could recharge with the power of the sun makes it much more useful, especially if you live in a region that gets a lot of sun year-round. The Garmin Fenix 8 Solar also has tons, and tons of features that can be worked into your everyday life. For instance, the Garmin Messenger app lets you stay connected to your phone’s messaging so you can keep in contact with friends and family. The built-in speaker and microphone allows you to connect with them through voice calls, or use the voice functions for speaking what you want typed in messages. There’s also the Garmin Coach for training, and an Endurance Score so you know if you can sustain with your workouts with the amount of effort you’re currently putting into them.
All of that is all well and good, but to reiterate, what really makes this watch special is its rugged build and its long-lasting battery life with the ability to recharge using solar power. If you spend a lot of time outdoors and have a need for features like this, then this is the top-tier option.
Charging: Garmin proprietary plug charger + solar charging
Colors: Titanium with Amp Yellow band, Titanium with Black band
OS Version: Garmin OS 13
Software Support: Two years of software updates
Health and Fitness Features: Resting heart rate, Body Battery, Garmin Coach, All-day stress tracking, Health Snapshot, Automatic rep counting, Sleep tracking, Activity tracking, Training load focus
Battery Life: Up to 48 days in Smartwatch Mode
Charging Time: About 2 hours to go from 0% to 100%
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Best Fitness Tracker
Fitness trackers feel like a sort of dying breed when it comes to wearables these days, as smartwatches have taken over much of what fitness trackers were initially used for. That being said, there are still some fitness trackers out there that are just fitness trackers and not smartwatches, so we felt it was prudent to make sure we listed what the best fitness tracker options are so you can make a more informed decision. With that said, if you’re looking for the best fitness tracker out there, you’re probably better off going for a smart ring to track your various, more basic fitness metrics, and for that, we’re recommending the RingConn Gen 2 Air. Its combination of an affordable price and good performance makes it the best option for the majority of consumers out there who just want a really good quality fitness tracker and nothing more. If you’re the type who doesn’t need their fitness tracker to have a display, then this is the tracker for you.
RingConn Gen 2 Air
Rating
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$199.99
The RingConn Gen 2 Air gives you almost everything that is awesome about the RingConn Gen 2, but in a less pricey package that you can feel better about spending money on. While it does have a couple of drawbacks compared to the RingConn Gen 2, like not having sleep apnea monitoring and not including the charging case, the savings are worth it because you can still charge the RingConn Gen 2 Air using the included cable, so the case isn’t really necessary. And if you aren’t worried about sleep apnea, then this is another thing that isn’t necessary to have. What you’ll get is the ability to save $100 and still track all the features you’d expect, such as heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, and more. And the biggest benefit to a fitness tracker like this, is that it’s almost out of the way in terms of wearability. It’s a lot more comfortable to wear a ring all day (and to sleep) then it is to wear a smartwatch for the same amount of time.
Pros
8-10 days of battery life, plus quick recharging
Essential health tracking (steps, stress, sleep, etc)
Extremely lightweight, slightly lighter than Gen 2
No subscription fee!
Syncs with Apple Health and Google Fit (Health Connect)
It’s $100 less than RingConn Gen 2
IP68/ATM 10 for swimming, showers, etc
Cons
Only available in silver and gold colors
Charging case is not included in the box
No Sleep Apnea monitoring (limited to Gen 2 only)
Aside from its capability to track useful health metrics like sleep stages, skin temperature, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and more, the RingConn Gen 2 Air only costs $199. It’s more affordable than other competing smart rings while being just as comfortable, doing the same things, and lasting just as long on a single charge. All that value for a lower price is definitely special. Plus, the RingConn Gen 2 Air also features health insights that are powered by AI. So, you end up with a more tailored result to the metrics that really hone in on you, the user. It also syncs with both Apple Health and Google Fit, so, no matter which platform you use, this will be able to mesh with both of them pretty well. It comes in a variety of sizes, too, which means that just about anyone should be able to use this ring and have it fit properly.
Display: No display
Brightness: N/A
Protection: N/A
Processor: Advanced MCU chip
RAM and Storage: 2MB
Battery: 22mAh
Charging: Charging Dock
Colors: Dune Gold, Galaxy Silver
OS Version: Doesn’t run on an internal OS – connects to RingConn app
Software Support: Has not been confirmed
Health and Fitness Features: Sleep stage monitoring, heart activity monitoring, skin temperature monitoring, cycle tracking, step tracking, calories burned, stress tracking
Battery Life: Up to 10 days
Charging Time: About 90 minutes to get a full charge
Review
RingConn Gen 2 Air Ultimate Review: The Smart Ring That Might Finally Replace Your Smartwatch
Over the past year or so, I’ve really gotten very interested in smart rings. Because they give me a way…
Saving money is always a good thing when you’re getting something this high quality and this useful, which is why this deal on the 45W Anker Nano Charger is such a good deal. A 45W charger like this one can be an invaluable accessory with today’s devices. Many of them will support charging speeds around 45W or more, so you’ll want a charger and a cable that can deliver up to those speeds. This charger does just that. Normally, it retails for $34.99, but for a limited time, Amazon has it on sale for only $18.99. That’s a discount of 46%.
On top of that, this charger is rather compact, and it has folding prongs. Both of these design traits make it an ideal choice for a travel charger. It’s certainly a good choice for your charging needs, even if you’re not traveling, but it’s nice to have on hand if you frequent airports, because it’ll fit into those smaller pockets in your bags with less of an issue.
It also comes with its own USB-C cable, so you don’t need to buy an extra one. More importantly, you don’t have to take the one that you use with your home charger, running into an even bigger issue if you accidentally lose it or leave it behind. The included cable is 6 feet long, too, so you should have no trouble finding a place to plug in. It’s incredibly compact, but also incredibly powerful, and is capable of charging laptops, gaming handhelds, and phones.
If you’ve ever been in a situation where your laptop or other mobile devices were about to run out of battery, then you definitely have a need for this laptop power bank from Baseus, which is now on sale with this deal over at Amazon. Normally, this laptop power bank would cost you $89.99, but Amazon has it on sale for $69.99. On top of that, Amazon is shaving off another $14 with the currently available coupon, which brings the final price down to $52.48.
That’s a really, really good value for everything that this power bank is capable of. For starters, with this power bank you can charge up to four devices at the same time. With two USB-A ports and two USB-C ports, you can ensure that your laptop and your phone are both being topped off with power when necessary. And you can use the other two ports for a friend’s devices or your other small items like earbuds. This power bank also has a total output of 145W. This is more than enough to handle simultaneously charging four devices.
You also get one USB-C cable with this power bank, but you’ll need three others if you want to use all the ports at once. With the large 20,800mAh capacity, you’ll also be able to charge certain devices multiple times. For example, you could charge an iPhone 16 Pro nearly three and a half times before you would need to recharge the power bank.
Car chargers aren’t exactly a necessity when it comes to accessories, at least not for everyone, but they sure are nice to have, and this deal on the Belkin 37W car charger is most certainly nice to have access to. Not only does it save you money, but it can also help you charge multiple devices simultaneously. Normally, this car charger from Belkin would cost you $24.99. However, now it can be yours for just $9.99, which is a discount of 60%.
There are two main reasons why this car charger would be a good addition to your vehicle. First, it lets you charge two devices at the same time. It has one USB-C port and one USB-A port. Additionally, it has 37W of total output. The USB-C port is capable of charging at 25W, while the USB-A port can charge at 12W. This doesn’t have cables included, so you’ll need to have some or pick some up. But that’s easier to do with the savings on this charger.
Belkin also says it’s optimized for most devices, including newer ones like the Nintendo Switch 2, as well as most mobile devices from brands like Samsung and Apple. In other words, this should be able to charge whatever devices you have without issue. The fact that it’s from Belkin is also some peace of mind, as Belkin has been around forever and is pretty reputable. Of course, the fact that it charges two devices at the same time is the key thing to remember.
Cloud gaming on the PlayStation Portal has gotten a lot better this week, as the handheld now lets you stream PS5 games from your library. These are games that you own on the PS5, and not games that Sony deems fit to be in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog. There are lots of little nuances to this update and new feature, but the key takeaway is that you can stream your own games over the cloud.
Sony technically launched this feature as part of a beta update for beta participants earlier this year. I’ve had the capability on my own PlayStation Portal for a while, but admittedly never used it. That is, until today, with the new update that added the feature for all PlayStation Portal owners. Long story short, it works great. Games are much smoother than they are with Remote Play. The Remote Play aspect of the Portal can work well, too, but you need a pretty unshakeable internet connection, and it works best if your PS5 is hardwired. If it’s connected via Wi-Fi, the experience is of varied quality. Now, PlayStation Portal owners with this connection and latency problems can probably kiss those problems goodbye.
The PlayStation Portal PS5 cloud game support includes over 2,800 titles
While the idea of the Portal was always kind of a cool concept, requiring the Remote Play aspect has turned some people off. That should change with this update, now that the streaming happens entirely in the cloud without the need to be tethered to a PS5 console. To make things even better, there are over 2,800 supported titles that you can stream from your library. In total, there are 2,853 games.
That being said, Sony does say that games available to stream from your library will vary over time, by region, and country. So, the list of games for this feature might not be the same for everyone everywhere around the globe.
Progress carries over, so you can pick up where you left off
One really nice feature of the ability to stream your library of games is that it carries over your progress if you started playing a game on the PS5. I wasn’t sure if this would be the case, but after testing with Ghost of Yotei, it’s confirmed that if you start playing a game on the PS5, you’ll pick back up from your stopping point if you decide to stream that game over the cloud. This allows for seamless pick-up and play opportunities, and is surely going to be a delight for owners of the handheld. You do need to have the PlayStation Plus Premium subscription to access this feature. So, that could be a downside for some. If you already subscribe to that tier, however, and you own a Portal, you should check this feature out.
Right now, Amazon has an amazing deal on this 45W Baseus charger 2-pack that you definitely don’t want to miss. Normally, this bundle of 45W chargers would cost you $30. However, Amazon has the price knocked down to just $23.99, and if you enter the code RIM4CH48 at checkout, you can knock that price down further to just $17.99. That is an incredible price for two chargers, let alone two 45W chargers. To top it all off, each charging brick comes with its own detachable USB-C cable. This is becoming less and less common these days, as companies begin to sell the power bricks without the cable that you need to plug into your device.
So, that already makes this more of a better value. Not only do you get two chargers with a fast power output for under $20, but you get the cables as well. If you tried to buy this all separately, there are many cases where you’d end up spending well over $60 for all of the stuff.
The other important detail about these chargers to point out is that they have an output of 45W. That is enough power output to charge more than just small devices like phones and smartwatches, and earbuds. You could use these to charge laptops that support USB-C charging. It’s also enough to charge your Nintendo Switch and most, if not all, gaming handhelds. Not during use, mind you, but it can juice them back up quickly. These are also really compact, so they fit better into tight spaces. They don’t have folding prongs, but they’re still great for travel because of their small size.
AYANEO is one of the few companies in the gaming hardware industry that makes a wide variety of handhelds, and its latest is the Pocket Vert, which the company has teased this week in an official teaser video to tantalize the senses of those who have a soft spot for retro gaming. The company also recently teased a product that happens to be in a category it’s never explored before, a gaming phone. This is on top of announcing and launching a modular handheld back at CES 2025.
If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, then you probably had a Game Boy from Nintendo. It was certainly cool, but looking back at it now, it wasn’t exactly the coolest-looking. AYANEO’s new Pocket Vert is the futuristic Game Boy that you may have always wanted, thanks to its sleek aesthetics. Although there is something to be said for the charm that the aesthetics of retro consoles and handhelds like the Game Boy offer. All of that aside, the Pocket Vert is AYANEO’s latest vision for a retro handheld that was designed for the modern age, and this includes the function as much as it does the design.
AYANEO Pocket Vert teaser showcases a CNC-milled unibody and diamond-cut shoulder buttons
When it comes to design, AYANEO seems to know what it’s doing. The Pocket Vert is comprised of a “precision CNC-milled unibody” and diamond-cut shoulder buttons. The whole thing looks very angular, which gives it that much more futuristic look. More impressive is the CNC-milled unibody. Because that means the chassis of the handheld is made from one single piece. Razer does this with the chassis of its Blade laptops, and the result has always been slick.
As for the shoulder buttons, the look of them, at least at a glance, makes them appear uncomfortable, but they look nice. On the front, you’ll notice that the Pocket Vert has a d-pad, four action buttons, what we can only assume are start and select buttons, and a third button that’s longer and almost looks like it could be a front speaker. There appears to be a volume rocker on the side as well, and a dial on the other side.
As for the display, which looks huge, it’s actually 3.5 inches, so not small but not massive. Definitely larger for a retro handheld. It’s also got a 1,600 x 1,440 resolution with a 615 ppi. So all of your retro games should look great on this thing. AYANEO hasn’t mentioned a release date yet, nor has it confirmed a price tag. That information is “coming soon,” AYANEO says.
Almost every new tech product these days that has audio output supports Bluetooth, but there are plenty of devices that don’t support Bluetooth and instead opt for wired AUX connections, and that’s where this deal on the Twelve South AirFly SE comes in. This tiny little device normally costs $39.99, but you can currently pick it up on Amazon for $34.99.
If you travel a lot, spend a lot of time at the gym, and those treadmills or bikes only have AUX connections, or you spend a lot of time anywhere else with devices that use AUX connections, then you want this device. It’s a tiny Bluetooth transmitter that you plug into an AUX port, and the device with that AUX port now accepts Bluetooth audio connections. This is great for airplane travel if you use watch in-flight movies that generally only have a wired headphone connection. Now, you can plug this transmitter in and stream that audio to your own personal Bluetooth headphones or earbuds.
Now, this does have a rechargeable battery in it, so you will need to charge it up from time to time. That being said, the battery lasts for up to 20 hours or more, and that’s plenty of time to enjoy whatever you’re watching or listening to. You can also use the AirFly SE while you charge it via the USB-C port, which is probably ideal for long flights or other types of trips. This device also comes in white and black, and both colors are on sale.
As Samsung and Google promise unprecedented 7-year software support for their flagship devices, the challenge isn’t just about coding updates—it’s about orchestrating an increasingly complex product lifecycle management strategy. Companies like Dassault Systèmes have long provided such comprehensive PLM solutions for industries, but smartphone manufacturers now face similar complexities in managing devices that must evolve while maintaining compatibility with aging hardware.
In the technology space, it’s certainly ideal for consumers to keep their hardware for as long as possible. However, this means that companies need to provide software support for that hardware for longer. Without this, aging hardware gets left behind while new hardware ends up providing newer features and better security. Companies face challenges in supporting hardware for increasingly longer periods of time. This is likely why it took so long for brands like Google and Samsung to support smartphone updates for 7 years. This poses another challenge, though, as these longer software support periods for updates make it more complex for companies to manage product lifecycles. Hence, a need for Product Lifecycle Management software solutions.
Phone lifecycles and the divide between hardware and software
For most brands, phone lifecycles are usually just a few years. Why don’t they just make them longer? Probably because it’s not a simple fix. It might seem as easy as the company deciding to keep hardware updated for longer, but there’s more complexity to the situation than that. The hardware and software divide encompasses more than a few factors.
The cost of keeping hardware updated, ensuring the hardware will be compatible with new software further into the future, making sure that devices have enough memory and storage to run new software – these are all major factors that smartphone companies likely have to consider in these instances. There are also the logistics hurdles in communicating with all the vendors that play a role in creating a device like a smartphone. Chipset vendors, display vendors, memory and storage vendors. All these components need to work in a very specific way, and smartphone manufacturers have to coordinate with all those companies that manufacture the components to ensure that extended software support works properly with those components.
Google’s strategy revolves partially around controlling as much of the manufacturing process as possible
This is similar to how Apple does things. While Apple doesn’t actually assemble its chipsets in-house, it did design them, and it carefully picked a company to manufacture the chipsets for its iPhones. Google now does the same thing with its Tensor chips, which are highly specialized for its Pixel phones. Although the Tensor chips aren’t the complete reason for Google’s ability to provide 7-year updates to Pixel devices, they certainly are a big part of why it’s possible.
Samsung’s process is not too different, though it now works closely with Qualcomm for the chipsets in most of its devices as opposed to using a highly customized in-house chip on all of them. Samsung also has its own divisions that make panels, memory, and storage. So it’s able to control a significant portion of the component manufacturing to help ensure hardware and software compatibility over extended periods of time.
The reality of hardware constraints and working toward a sustainable future
In addition to the many different factors that smartphone companies must consider for extended software update periods, there’s also the major factor of whether or not hardware has the capability to support this. The reality is that some hardware just won’t be able to.
There’s also the factor of sustainability. Ideally, hardware that has extended software support for longer periods could lead to less e-waste and thereby a more sustainable future with smartphones and similar types of hardware products. This is yet another area where PLM software helps companies. From start to finish, PLM software helps smartphone manufacturers get to market more quickly, while also opening the door for more market opportunities and reducing the amount of waste that comes out of hardware development.
As the market demands longer phone lifecycles, manufacturers will have more of a need for PLM software solutions to help navigate the complexities of everything from driver updates to technology advancements to recycling.
Inexpensive smartphones don’t have to be terrible, and there’s not much better proof of that than the Moto G Play, especially when a deal like this one exists. Normally, this phone would cost you $149.99. That’s already a pretty good value for a phone with a large screen and a 50MP camera, both of which are pretty standard on smartphones these days. That being said, it’s a lot better value at the sale price of $125.99. We’d even venture to say that this is a steal, and it’s something that no budget-minded consumer should pass up if they’re in the market for a smartphone.
The 2024 Moto G Play is packing a 50MP camera on the back for photos, which is great if you like to use your phone for all of your pictures. At this price, you won’t be getting the best phone camera on the market, but the photos will still be pretty good. And when you remember the phone was $125.99, you’ll likely be pleasantly surprised with the results.
In addition to the 50MP camera, the 2024 Moto G Play comes with a large 6.5-inch 90Hz screen, and it has 64GB of built-in storage. 64GB isn’t a lot, but you can supplement that with the addition of a microSD card, and this phone supports cards up to 1TB.
And of course, whatever you choose to do with the phone, know that it’ll get you through a day and then some with its large 5,000mAh battery.
Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 8 does a great many things for a smartwatch, and while all those things are great, they’re even better when you can score a little bit of a deal on the watch to bring that price down. At its regular price of $349.99, the Galaxy Watch 8 is an awesome piece of hardware. However, at a sale price of $319.99, the Galaxy Watch 8 becomes much more of a value, and that’s the price you’ll pay for it right now. It is worth noting that the Silver color is the only one on sale for this price. The Graphite model is also on sale, but the price is slightly higher at $329.99.
Now, for functionality, the Galaxy Watch 8 is capable of serving all your smartwatch needs. It has new and improved sleep tracking capabilities for the most advanced sleep tracking Samsung has ever delivered. It also automatically tracks your exercises, and it can be your personal running coach to help get you through those particularly grueling runs. You know, those runs where you know if you could just push through a little further, you’d hit a new personal best. It can also just help you get better results.
Naturally, as a smartwatch, it can also get your incoming notifications from your smartphone. And what’s so great about this on the Galaxy Watch 8 is the ability to issue smart replies with the help of Galaxy AI. This makes it much more convenient to send a message back to someone during those moments when you either don’t have a lot of time for a reply or your hands are full. The watch also has Gemini, so there’s a lot you can do with that as well.
Games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 tend to come with rather hefty requirements for PC specs. At least, that’s what you would think. This week, Activision officially released the launch trailer for Black Ops 7 and, along with it, a list of the requirements for minimum and recommended PC specs to play the game. Given the way the game looks in trailers, you would expect the PC spec requirements to be quite high, but they’re surprisingly low. Meaning, it should be relatively easy for many PC gamers to enjoy the latest title in the franchise. Provided, of course, there are no other glaring issues that will need to be addressed.
Both Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III remakes on PC (the Steam version) dealt with crashing issues as part of the launch. Game crashes are most certainly not enjoyable. So, if Activision can avoid that pitfall, then Black Ops 7 should be off to a good start, as it won’t cost a lot to own a machine that’s capable of running it.
The required PC specs for Black Ops 7 include an 11-year-old GPU
If you’ve played Borderlands 4, there’s a good chance you encountered issues with the game’s performance due to poor optimization, which, of course, was blamed on gamers simply needing to upgrade their hardware. Borderlands 4 is certainly a graphically demanding game, but not so demanding that even with top-tier components, you’d struggle to get a stable 60 frames per second.
Enter Black Ops 7, which, astoundingly, will support PC’s that are running only an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 with 3GB of Video RAM and 8GB of system RAM. This is an 11-year-old GPU. Obviously, PCs with those specs won’t be jumping into the game with graphics maxed out. However, compare that to the minimum requirements of other games, which either look only as good or worse.
For example, Borderlands 4’s minimum PC specs are an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 GPU with 16GB of system RAM. Granted, it also has a fairly large map that’s semi-open-world, and Black Ops 7 will have much smaller maps for its missions. Still, the minimum requirements listed are a great example of what good optimization will allow. Heck, Activision even made optimizations for Windows handhelds, as noted in the publisher’s block post.
4K graphics will require a little more oomph
All of that said, if you want to run the game at its highest settings and still have smooth gameplay, you’ll want more powerful components, but even those aren’t as demanding as you’d imagine. 4K Ultra is listed as requiring an Intel Core i7-10700K CPU or equivalent, only 16GB of RAM, and either an RTX 4080/5070 or an AMD Radeon RX 9070XT. It’s worth keeping in mind that this doesn’t mention anything about display size. Obviously, the larger the display you have, you might need to make some adjustments to keep running the game at 4K while also getting a high frame rate. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 will be released on November 14 for PC via Steam and Battlenet, Xbox, and PlayStation. It’ll also be available as a Day-One game on Xbox Game Pass. You’ll need to subscribe to that $30 plan to get access, though.
Epic and Google have agreed to a settlement in court that could very well change the pace of things for app and game developers far into the future. If you have somehow forgotten about Epic and Google’s legal battle over the Play Store, the most recent development in the case is that the two have agreed to settle on a proposed set of terms that works out for more than just developers in the US and for a much longer period of time than Epic was initially demanding.
After Epic’s win in court, Google was ordered to open up the Play Store to third-party app store developers and allow them to offer alternative payment processing methods to Google Play. Thereby allowing them to avoid Google’s hefty fee. This was supposed to be allowed for three years. After Google took things to the Supreme Court, it has now reached a settlement with Epic Games that potentially works out better for all involved.
The Epic and Google settlement includes lower fees and an extended timeframe for the changes
The key factor in the settlement is that the injunction ordered by Judge James Donato now applies to Google’s markets outside the US. Initially, Donato’s injunction was only for the US market. This is a big win for all developers as it now encompasses more of them. That means more competition and more choice for users.
Google has also agreed to lower Play Store fees for certain kinds of payments. Google says it will depend on what the payment is for and when an app or game was first installed. However, when applicable, fees could be as low as 20% or 9%, depending on those factors.
Google and Epic will still need Judge James Donato to approve the settlement terms. So, as of right now, nothing is set in stone. That being said, the settlement appears to work in everyone’s favor. Google is happy with it (as shown by Sameer Samat’s post on X), and Epic is happy with it. Even developers will likely be happy with it. All that remains is to see if Donato is happy with it.
The Beats Studio Buds+ are probably of the best earbuds you can get for under $200, and right now, you can score them for even cheaper as they’re on sale at Amazon for $149.95 right now, which is a pretty good deal considering the features that these earbuds offer. These normally cost $169.95, so you’re saving about $20. This is quite likely going to be the price for these around Black Friday, or close to it, as well.
Although there are lots of great features on these earbuds, the best feature is that these offer up to 9 hours of playback time with the actice noise cancellation disabled. Speaking of, these offer active noise cancellation. While you’ll get more battery life if you don’t use it, sometimes it can be necessary if you don’t want to hear outside noise when you’re listening to your music. Plus, the charging case that comes with it boosts battery life up to 36 hours in total. Additionally, the Fast Fuel feature ensures that a quick 5-minute charge will give you about 1 hour of playback time.
To enhance the audio experience, these earbuds have spatial audio, which can make your music sound as if it’s playing all around you. It’s pretty incredible, especially if you’re listening to recordings of music that were played at live shows. The Beats Studio Buds+ are pretty comfortable out of the box, but if they don’t fit quite right in your ears, there are a few different sizes of ear tips included so you can find the ones that work best.
Apple fans have no shortage of accessories for their devices, and this charging station from ESR is one that should be on your radar if you use Apple products, especially with this current deal on it that Amazon is offering. Normally, this charging station would cost you $46.99. However, Amazon has it on sale right now for $35.98, which is probably going to be the best price available even as we head into Black Friday in the coming weeks. That’s not a bad price at all when you consider that this charging station will power three devices at the same time.
Specifically, it can charge your iPhone, your Apple Watch, and AirPods or AirPods Pro simultaneously. That is reason enough to consider this accessory because it consolidates your charging needs into one device. Saving you precious AC outlet space. It’s also Qi2-certified. This means it’ll be able to charge your new iPhone at 15W. It’s still slower than charging your phone with a wired connection, but it’ll be faster than regular Qi wireless chargers. Ultimately, this means less downtime, and you can get back to using your devices.
Now for the coolest part about this charging station. The part where you charge your Apple Watch disconnects from the main unit, and it can be used as a portable wireless charger for the Apple Watch. Now that is pretty cool. It’s also incredibly convenient and can ensure you always have a little top-up for your watch if needed. It comes in multiple finishes, too, but only the white and black ones are on sale.
It’s never been a better time for the budget-conscious shopper to find a good smartphone, and with a deal like this one on the 2025 model of the Motorola Moto G, it’s hard not to see this as a really good option if you don’t want to spend a ton of money. Normally, the 2025 Motorola Moto G would cost you $199.99. However, Amazon currently has it on sale for $174.99. It might be a small discount, but it’s a $200 phone to begin with, so it’s already pretty affordable. And at this price, any discount, minor or not, is pretty good.
Also worth noting is that Amazon is offering trade-in discounts for this phone, so if you have an older device, you could potentially get money for it by trading it in and end up making this phone cost less than it already does.
In terms of features, the Motorola Moto G 2025 is a pretty packed phone for a device that costs $200. It has a 50MP camera on the back for the main camera, and it also has a 2MP macro lens. Then there’s a 16MP camera on the front for all those selfies or video calls.
What’s really nice is that you get 128GB of storage for all those photos. The phone also has a pretty large display at 6.7 inches. And even though it isn’t a phone designed for gaming, you should be able to play less demanding games on it without much of an issue. Even high-end games should be fine with lowered graphics, and the display is 120Hz, so the games should look smooth.
The REDMAGIC 11 Pro has gone through the dreaded durability test and has come out in rather decent condition compared to what you might think would happen. Usually, with phone durability tests, the device doesn’t end up in a very good state by the end. Whether the display gets scratched up beyond usability or the phone bends in half, the end result is a device that is more often than not, unusable going forward.
That isn’t the case with the REDMAGIC 11 Pro by the looks of things. YouTube Channel JerryRigEverything has put the latest gaming phone from REDMAGIC through this durability gauntlet to see how things stack up, and the test resulted in a pleasant surprise. The phone still works completely fine by the end of it all. In other words, REDMAGIC seems to have intentionally made a very durable phone. At least in terms of bends and scratches. If you’re unfamiliar with the REDMAGIC 11 Pro, it was launched in China recently, and a global launch was announced this week. It uses a combination of liquid cooling and cooling fans to keep phone temperatures down. Unlike the REDMAGIC Astra, which has a cooling fan but no liquid cooling system.
The REDMAGIC 11 Pro survives a bend test thanks to its durability
Among the many things JerryRigEverything puts phones through in these tests, the bend test is the part that tends to be the most intriguing. For some, it’s the most dreaded part, because you have to watch a finely crafted piece of hardware meet its end by snapping in half.
That will not be the REDMAGIC 11 Pro’s fate. As you can see in the video below, an attempt was made to bend the phone, but that attempt failed. This device is incredibly sturdy, and no matter how mad you might get when using it, you probably won’t be able to bend it with your bare hands. Of course, that doesn’t mean it’s safe from all kinds of damage. However, it’s probably reassuring to know that in a fit of rage after losing a competitive match in your favorite game, bending the phone can be the least of your worries.
The REDMAGIC 11 Pro launched globally this week, and early bird purchases begin for it on November 13. This should also be available on Amazon eventually, but as of right now, direct from REDMAGIC will be the only way to get it.
Nintendo is very optimistic about unit sales for the Switch 2 in its current fiscal year, thanks to the increasing popularity of the new handheld console. The Nintendo Switch 2 was released in June 2025 and immediately gained traction as fans had been waiting quite a long time for the Switch follow-up. The hype was real, and anticipation only grew as time went on, with month after month of no official word from Nintendo on the Switch 2’s release date and pricing. When all of that information finally came, all there was left to do for consumers was wait until they could buy one. All that was left for Nintendo to do was wait for the money to roll in. And it has been, it seems.
As CNBC reports, Nintendo is confident that Switch 2 unit sales are going to continue increasing, so the company has increased its forecast for the number of hardware units it’ll be able to get into people’s homes by the end of the fiscal year.
Nintendo Switch 2 unit sales are forecasted to reach 19 million units by the end of next March
Nintendo’s initial forecast was that it would sell about 15 million units by the end of fiscal year 2026. This period ends at the end of March next year. What’s worth noting is that the Switch 2 is brushing past the original Nintendo Switch in terms of hardware sales. Specifically, in its first four months on the market. The original Nintendo Switch launched in early March 2017. So, it had more time in a single fiscal year to rack up unit sales numbers. However, the Switch 2 has outpaced the original in a short amount of time.
For some perspective, the original Switch sold about 4.7 million units in its first four months. The Switch 2 is now reportedly up beyond 10 million in that same amount of time. Nintendo also sold about 6 million in just two months. This surge in popularity has caused Nintendo to raise its forecast from 15 million to 19 million. This seems like a reasonable forecast now with the numbers where they are. Not to mention, it’s now right in the middle of the busiest shopping season of the year.
In addition to strong hardware sales, Nintendo has also announced strong software sales for the Nintendo Switch 2. Since the console’s launch in the Summer, Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bonanza have become two of Nintendo’s most popular games for it. In short, the Nintendo Switch 2 has had a very strong start and it doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon.
A good pair of bassy wireless headphones can be the perfect little gift with the holidays coming up soon, and right now, that gift is even cheaper than it would be normally, thanks to Amazon’s current deal on the Beats Solo 4 headphones. These wireless headphones would usually cost you $199.95, but you can now pick them up for $129.95 instead. If you like saving as much money as you can, whenever possible, then consider taking advantage of these savings.
The Beats Solo 4 are the perfect on-ear headphones for anyone who really enjoys a lot of bass in their music. Not necessarily the most bass any wireless headphone would produce, but a fair amount of bass, and decent quality sound with lots of enhanced features.
For starters, the Beats Solo 4 have a battery life that lasts up to 50 hours. That’s a pretty long time to listen to your headphones in between charges. These also feature personalized spatial audio with dynamic head tracking. These two things alone can really make your music come alive and sound as if you’re listening to it live with the speakers all around you. It’s quite surreal. Additionally, the Beats Solo 4 have a quick charge function called Fast Fuel, and this will give you 5 hours of listening time with just 10 minutes on the charger.
If that weren’t enough, these work for both iOS and Android devices, they fold up for packing and travel, and they have pretty decent call quality. You can even use these wired if you want to conserve battery life.
It isn’t often that you end up with some really good discounts on a phone that’s only a couple of months old, let alone wind up with a deal like this one on the Google Pixel 10. Normally, the 128GB version of the Google Pixel 10 would cost you $799 if you wanted to pick it up. Seeing as it only launched at the end of August, any discounts would be relatively non-existent. The good news is, Amazon is now selling the Pixel 10 for $599. That saves you $200, which is a discount of 25%, and it’s the all-time low price for this variant of the phone. Definitely worth it if you’re a few generations behind and want to finally upgrade.
Google’s Pixel 10 looks a lot like last year’s Pixel 9, but it comes with some significant improvements and some new colors to capture your attention. One of the big upgrades this year is the camera. The regular Pixel model finally comes with 20x Super Res Zoom. This was limited to the Pro models last time around.
The Pixel 10 also has pretty decent battery life, lasting for up to 24 hours or more on a single charge with average to slightly more than average use. Perhaps longer if you don’t touch the phone much.
Gemini integration is a big thing as well. Gemini makes using your device more convenient and more intuitive. You can do things like take pictures of ingredients and ask Gemini to find your recipes, or ask Gemini about what the camera is currently seeing if you’re out exploring. Plus, it can do a whole lot more.
If you’re a laptop owner or the owner of any sort of handheld devices or just several pieces of smaller mobile tech, then this deal on the Laptop Power Bank from Baseus is for you. Normally, this power bank would set you back $89.99. However, Amazon now has it on sale for $69.99, and on top of that, it’s throwing in a coupon that brings the price down to a total of $55.99. This coupon can be claimed right on the product page by checking the coupon box that sits right below the price.
While batteries inside our rechargeable devices have gotten pretty good in many cases, they don’t always last too long, depending on the activity, and need to be recharged more often than we might like. That’s where a power bank like this comes in handy. You can plug in your devices and keep them topped up without much of an issue.
This power bank has a capacity of 20,800mAh, and that means you can charge up several small devices one or two times. You could also use it to keep feeding extra power to your laptop or gaming handheld. You can even charge multiple devices at the same time. This has four ports in total. Two USB-A, and two USB-C. It also has a power output of 145W, which is more than enough for charging your bigger devices, like a laptop. As a nice little bonus feature, there’s a display on this power bank that gives you power status monitoring, so you can see which ports are using the most power.
The Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition console was initially announced earlier this year, back towards the end of July, but at the time, it was only available for pre-order. Pre-orders went live on July 23, one day after the console’s announcement. Now, a few months later, the hardware is finally available to purchase, and any pre-orders would have been shipped by this point. You can now snag this retro machine directly from Amazon, but it does come at a price.
It’s $169.99, which isn’t exactly cheap for this kind of console, one would assume. However, it does come with some nice features, and it’s backward-compatible with classic cartridges, so this price probably isn’t all that bad to begin with. At least when you consider these upgrades. For instance, it does feature a wireless controller now, so that’s quite convenient. The controllers even come in several colors, with each one matching one of the colors of each ghost in the Pac-Man games. Although the controller you get with the console in the box will be yellow to match the console.
The Atari 2600+ Pac-Man Edition can be picked up at Amazon or directly from Atari
In the US, there seem to be exactly two places you can buy one of these if you feel like taking a trip down memory lane. You can either buy it directly from Atari and have it shipped from Atari, or you can pick it up through Amazon. Amazon might be faster if you’re in a rush to play games on it. However, Amazon isn’t your only option.
You might expect to find these available through retailers like Best Buy or even GameStop, whose whole business is centered around games and game consoles. That isn’t the case, however. The console package comes with the console itself as well as a matching controller and a Pac-Man double feature cartridge inside. For the price of $170, this isn’t too bad. Especially if you consider the cost of a regular Atari 2600 on many aftermarket listings these days.
Stress management features, like stress alerts on the Galaxy Watch series of smartwatches, are a boon to anyone who wears one because stress can be a hugely impactful thing on our lives. The thing is, you want those stress management features to work properly, and the stress alerts on Samsung‘s watches seem to be doing the opposite of that. At least, that’s how it could be perceived.
Recent reports from users indicate that warnings of high stress are showing up on their watches when they don’t feel particularly stressed, or stressed at all. This is leading some to wonder what’s going on and if things are working as intended. Naturally, you might wonder the same thing too if you were walking down the street or sitting on the couch and enjoying a TV show, only to suddenly get an alert that says you’re stressed and you might want to try and relax your body and mind. One could also argue that receiving one of these alerts when you feel fine might actually end up causing you some stress.
Galaxy Watch stress alerts being sent out erronously seem to be tied to One UI 8 Watch
While it hasn’t been confirmed if the alerts are being sent out by mistake, it seems that the act of them going out is happening to users whose watches are running on One UI 8 Watch. This is the latest version of the software that was pushed out to devices by Samsung recently. It’s also worth noting that reports of these alerts going out when users feel fine started happening after this update.
According to Android Authority, users on the Galaxy Watch 7 with One UI 8 Watch have been getting multiple high-stress alerts in a day. Android Authority notes that it also experienced this happening on the Galaxy Watch 8. There’s no mention of the Galaxy Watch 8 Classic or Galaxy Watch Ultra. However, both of those should have One UI 8 Watch, so it’s possible that this could happen to users of those models.
As of right now, it doesn’t look like there’s an explanation from Samsung as to what’s causing these alerts to go out so frequently. For now, though, you might want to just dismiss these alerts if they come in, so long as you feel fine. Or you could engage with the recommendations to lower your stress and see if that changes things.
Kingston Fury is the latest brand to announce and release a large-capacity SSD geared for high-performance gaming and storage solutions, with the Kingston Fury Renegade G5 8TB SSD. Kingston Fury is following in the footsteps of other top-tier brands that have launched their own 8TB Gen5 SSDs of late, including Western Digital with its WD_Black SN8100, and Samsung’s 9100 Pro, the latter of which was released just a couple of months ago.
Although Kingston Fury and its Kingston Fury Renegade line of memory and storage technology products are geared towards gamers and high-end gaming PCs, you can still use them in any PC setup you want. Even if you don’t play games and you simply need a high-performance SSD. This can serve that purpose and give you lots of storage capacity on top of that.
The Kingston Fury Renegade G5 8TB SSD isn’t yet available at most online retailers
Kingston says the drive is available, but looking at Amazon, Kingston’s own website, Walmart, Newegg, and others, the 8TB model isn’t available or even listed as an option. Amazon has the 8TB capacity listed, but it says currently unavailable. You can, however, get the 4TB models pretty much anywhere, including on Amazon. And with Amazon being the only place where we could find the 8TB model listed, this might be the place to buy it if you’re in the market for an SSD with this much storage space.
As for cost, Kingston Fury doesn’t mention a price, but most 8TB models of any Gen5 SSD from competing brands have been available for around $999.99. So, expect the Fury Renegade G5 8TB to be about the same price. With a heatsink, if there will be one offered, it might cost a tiny bit more than that.
Outside of a large 8TB capacity, if speed and performance are something you seek, the Kingston Fury Renegade G5 can certainly provide both. With read speeds of up to 14,800 MB/s and write speeds of up to 14,000 MB/s, you’ll be able to blaze through file installations and transfers like there’s no tomorrow. Load times for games will be a breeze as well. It’s worth noting that you’ll want to make sure your system can support Gen5 SSD speeds before going with something like this. You can use the Kingston Fury Renegade G5 in a system that isn’t Gen5, but you won’t get the maximum speeds.
Decent Bluetooth headphones don’t have to be costly, and that’s what you’ll find with the JBL Tune 510BT, which Amazon currently has a deal on. These would normally set you back $49.95, but you can currently pick them up for $29.95 on sale, which is easily going to cost you less than a night out at the movies with a second person. That’s also less than three months of Spotify Premium. For a pair of Bluetooth headphones that are comfortable and sound pretty good, that’s not a bad price at all.
The JBL Tune 510BT will come with up to 40 hours of battery life, meaning you could easily listen to them all week without having to charge them. If you tend to use Bluetooth headphones for several hours a day, they’ll last you at least three days before you need to plug them in, and that’s pretty convenient. These also charge via USB-C with JBL’s Speed Charge technology, allowing you to fully recharge the battery in under 2 hours. If you only need a little extra listening time, you can plug them in for 5 minutes and get 2 hours of use.
These headphones also produce a decent amount of bass, so if you like your music with lots of bass, then you’ll love these. On-ear controls make it super convenient to adjust the volume, as well as pause and play your tracks or answer incoming calls. Additionally, these support Google Assistant and Siri. While these come in a few different colors, only the White, Pink, and Black colors are on sale for this price.
These days, many smartphones are capable of using MagSafe-compatible accessories, and that makes a deal like this one on the Baseus PicoGo power bank one you don’t want to miss. Phones have gotten much better battery life in the past few years, but you may still need a little extra juice from time to time. If that ends up being the case, then you want something like the Baseus PicoGo to give your phone a boost when needed. Normally, this power bank would cost you $26.99, but you can currently pick it up on Amazon on sale for $22.99.
While these are designed with intent for iPhone users, since iPhones come with MagSafe compatibility built in, they also work with Android devices that have MagSafe-compatible cases. This should also work with the Pixel 10 series phones as well. When it comes to capacity, this power bank is 5,000mAh. It’s just enough to give your phone one full charge, depending on how big your phone’s battery is. In some cases, you might not get a full charge, but you might get most of the battery replenished.
The other nice thing about this power bank is that it has a really, really slim profile. This will allow you to snap the power bank onto the back of your phone and still keep the phone in your pocket without having it feel bulky. And that’s going to be important if you want to use this throughout the day.
Garmin smartwatches are among the most expensive you’ll find, but thanks to this deal from Amazon, the Garmin epix Pro (the most recent model) doesn’t have to be one of those watches. Normally, this variant of the Garmin epix Pro would cost you $999.99. That is most certainly a lot of money to spend on a smartwatch. However, Amazon currently has it on sale for $499.99. That’s a 50% discount, which saves you a whopping $500. That’s a deal we reckon is one for the history books, because it isn’t too often you see smartwatches with such a high price tag get such a big discount.
When it comes to picking a smartwatch, you generally want to think about what kinds of features you’re looking for. Garmin watches are the smartwatches you pick when you want something with excellent GPS features, and loads of functionality that revolves around a very active lifestyle. It offers advanced training metrics and insight on your training so you can make the most of your time with exercise. It also has a battery life that can last for up to 16 days.
This watch also features Skiview Maps, Hiking Maps, Outdoor Maps+, and of course, smartphone notifications so you can stay connected to your friends, family, and loved ones. There’s even a bright LED flashlight so you can see better in the dark if you end up out late while hiking or running, which might come in more useful than you think.
Halloween is a special time of year for many in the US, as it allows them a reason to acquire and scarf down copious amounts of sweets or hand them out to others to do the same, and it’s a reason to dress up in costume and hang spooky decorations, much like Google has recently done with its Android statues around the company campus.
Yes, Google is going all in on spooky season with the Android statues, placing decorations around parts of the campus, and draping ghostly or web-like decorations across statues. One statue now has a sheet over it to disguise the statue as a simple ghost. Meanwhile, another is wrapped in fake spider webs with a few rather sizeable fake spiders crawling all over it. Google has even thrown fake webbing over Stan the dinosaur while placing a few “trick or treat” signs in the ground around it.
Will Android statues get decorations for holidays other than Halloween?
Halloween is the perfect time to spread around some decorations, especially if it’s one of your favorite holidays. Seeing Google decorate its Android statues for Halloween begs the question of whether or not it would do the same for others. We couldn’t find any evidence of this being done before, but there’s no reason to suggest that it wouldn’t be done in the future. Seeing as how other holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are celebrated widely around the country, it would make sense for Google to decorate the Android statues during those times as well.
The images showing the Halloween decorations originated from a user named rafal_wziatek on Instagram, and were spotted by Search Engine Roundtable’s Barry Schwartz. While there are just these few images that were taken, it’s probably a safe bet that other statue decorations could be found elsewhere.
And if more decorations were abound, then there’s a good chance Google plans on being festive with the statues and around campus during other big holidays. This is just speculation, of course. But it’s fun to think about during these times, imagining statues of the Android mascot being dressed up to match the theme of the holiday.
For many US citizens at this particular moment in time, smartphones have become a valuable tool in the pushback against ICE, in hopes that surveillance of their actions will result in ICE agents reducing their use of force during raids to detain people. In some cases, video recording and what could almost be viewed as verbally shaming these agents in public has resulted in them leaving the scene of attempt to detain someone. Almost like they know they weren’t supposed to be doing it in the first place.
These sorts of recordings, as well as images related to the same subject taken with smartphones we carry with us every day, are being spread all across social media. Making them more of an important thing to have around these days. The sharing on social media shouldn’t be surprising. It’s become a main form of spreading news on current events. Situations that might otherwise get little media attention from big outlets and networks.
Outside of social media, apps like ICEBlock and similar offerings have made their way onto app platforms this year. These apps have served as a way for citizens to share active locations of ICE agents. All in hopes people could avoid those areas. Like users of Waze do when they crowdsource information on speed traps. But smartphones and social media, however much they’ve been useful to the average user, are double-edged sword admist these problems with ICE.
ICE and the Trump administration are also able to use smartphones and social media for surveillance
As much as both smartphones and social media have been useful for citizens to share what’s happening, they’ve also been a method for ICE and the Trump administration to use surveillance against the populace. This unfortunate two-way street has and never likely will be a closed-off or one-sided beneficial piece of technology. That is to say, now more than ever, people should be careful about what they say or post online.
Whether or not thoughts of political dissent is something that enters your mind on a daily basis or crops up in conversations with friends, it’s one thing to think about that stuff and discuss with people close to you in person or in personal chats. It’s another thing to outwardly share those thoughts with the world at large onine.
Be careful about what you share online
This isn’t to say you shouldn’t talk about or share these things. Just that sharing these current moments require more contemplation. The launch of a new app that shares real-time locations of ICE activity to alert others, an opinion about ICE and what they’re doing, a video of excessive force during a detention. All of these should all be done with forethought and tact. As ICE also have their own tools.
As noted by Kyle Chayka in The New Yorker, ICE has been seen using digital tools created by Palantir to gather information on people it’s detained. These tools scan social media accounts, government records, and bio-metric data of detainees. At the same time, the Trump administration has put pressure on app stores like Google Play and the Apple App Store to remove apps that work against ICE and its goals. ICEBlock and similar offerings have all been pulled down. Other apps, such as Eyes Up, went live on September 1 of this year to archive recordings of excessive abuse and abductions by ICE, only to be pulled down in early October.
So far there haven’t been any widespread (let alone any that are known) instances of people being targeted for what they post about the current situation with ICE raids and the Trump administration’s use of them online. That doesn’t mean that these things won’t happen, however. The further it gets into Trump’s second term, the more that things happen that people probably wouldn’t have believed just a few years ago.
Really good Android tablets aren’t exactly available in abundance from a lot of different brands, but one that is available and is most certainly a really good tablet is the Galaxy Tab S10 FE, and this deal saves you a little money on it. Normally, the 256GB model of this tablet would cost you $569.99, but Amazon has it on sale, so right now it’s down to $469.99. With this $100 discount, this is the all-time low price for this tablet. The only caveat is that this price is only available for the Blue and Silver colors. The Gray version is on sale, but it’s only down to $499.99. If you don’t care about the color, then you can save an extra $30.
Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S10 FE comes with a decently large 10.9-inch display that is easy to enjoy all of your content on. From movies to games, e-books to browsing, the display’s larger size makes it easy to see everything on screen. Of course, this does make it a little more hefty to hold, but it’s worth it for the improvement to the entertainment.
It also has a battery life of up to 20 hours, which is pretty good considering you probably aren’t going to spend 20 hours straight on this thing. More than likely, the battery will last for days if you use the tablet on a more casual basis. It has an IP68 rating for dust resistance and water resistance, too, so you shouldn’t have to be afraid if you accidentally splash a little bit of water on it. Though we wouldn’t make a habit of that.
If you’re looking for a great pair of wireless headphones, then you definitely want to check out the Sennheiser Momentum 4 headphones, because this Amazon deal has slashed the price, and you’re saving quite a lot of money. It is worth noting that this price may not stick around for long, and it’s also the lowest price in the last 30 days. It’s not quite the all-time low price, but it’s only a couple of dollars off from that. Normally, these headphones would cost you $449.95, but Amazon currently has them on sale for just $199.95, saving you a whopping $250. Having said that, this price is only available for the White and the Graphite colors.
What makes Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 headphones so good is the comfort and the sound quality. Putting these on your ears feels like you’re wearing a pair of pillowy clouds that are hugging your head just right. And of course, they’re Sennheiser, so the sound is quite amazing, as well as rich and immersive. Then, there’s the battery life. These will last for up to 60 hours, which is an absolutely astounding amount of time compared to most options out there.
Another really great feature they offer is the active noise cancellation. Sometimes you just want to shut the world out and enjoy whatever you have playing in your ears. That has never been easier with the ANC on these headphones, which can block out nearly all noise you’re probably accustomed to hearing on a regular basis. When you need to hear something, these have a pretty good transparency mode, so you don’t even have to take the headphones off.
These days, just about everyone has a need for a power strip for one reason or another, and over at Amazon, there’s an excellent deal on one from Anker that you don’t want to miss, specifically the Anker Prime 8-in-1 power strip. This power strip, as the name suggests, will charge up to 8 different devices at the same time. Normally, this power strip would cost you $149.99. However, Amazon’s limited-time sale brings that price down to just $89.99. Saving you a grand total of $60.
The one thing to keep in mind is that this is a limited-time deal, which means that this price won’t stick around for too long. On top of that, Amazon only has so much stock of this item at this price, and at the time of writing, 34% of that stock has already been claimed.
In terms of features, this power strip has an output of 240W to distribute across all those devices. There are four USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and two AC outlets. So, there’s a variety of device types you could charge up using this thing. Or keep powered if they don’t have internal batteries to recharge. The power strip itself is fairly flat and it doesn’t actually take up a whole lot of space, making it easy to fit into various spots around your desk or side tables.
It also has a 5-foot extension cord. That’s a pretty long cord and should be long enough to give you some slack with regard to where you want to plug it in.
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