Back in the late ’90s and early 2000s, I played guitar in a couple of screamo bands (apparently, that genre’s called Skramz now). We played high-energy shows all over New England—sometimes a few times a week—and with all the chaos on stage, breaking cables and jacks was just part of the deal. I picked up a soldering iron out of necessity, patching up the endless stream of broken guitar jacks and instrument cables. For nearly a decade, that’s where my soldering skills stalled.

The Galaxy A56 comes in a range of colors.Samsung is bringing even more AI to its line of budget-friendly phones. The new Galaxy A56, A36, and A26 now come with what the company calls “awesome intelligence,” enabling an array of new AI-powered image editing features already available with Samsung’s pricier S25 lineup.One of these features is Best Face, an AI tool that lets you swap the facial expressions of up to five people in a motion photo in case someone blinks or looks away from the camera. It’s similar to Google Pixel’s Best Take and launched with the Galaxy S25 in January.There’s an “improved” object removal tool and photo filters, along with Google’s Circle to Search feature that allows you to search for text and images just by circling it on your screen. (Samsung added Circle to Search to select A-series devices last August.) The phones will also support up to six years of Android OS and security upgrades, which is longer than what Samsung previously offered for the previous generation.Besides new AI features, Samsung made some small design tweaks to each phone, as well. In addition to an oval-shaped rear camera housing, all three devices now have the same 6.7-inch full HD Plus display with an up to 120Hz refresh rate, as opposed to the smaller 6.6-inch screen on the A55 and A35, and 6.5 inches on the A25. The A56 comes with the same 12MP ultrawide sensor, 50MP main camera, and 5MP macro camera. It also has a 12MP selfie shooter (which is lower than the A55’s 32MP front-facing sensor).Though the A56 comes with an upgraded Exynos 1580 chip, the A36 has a last-gen Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chip. All three A-series devices have a 5,000 mAh battery, but only the A56 and A36 support 45W charging and come with a “larger vapor chamber” to improve performance. Samsung has also extended IP67 dust and water resistance to the A26 for the first time. The phones will ship with Android 15 and come in a range of colors that vary by device.At $499, the Galaxy A56 is the most expensive of the bunch and will launch in the US “later this year.” The A36 will be available on March 26th exclusively at Best Buy starting at $399, while the A26 will cost $299 when it launches on March 28th. The Galaxy A56, A36, and A26 will also be available for purchase in the UK on March 19th for £499, £399, and £299, respectively.

Building a Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device is an easy process since it can involve using an old desktop PC. A NAS is essentially a PC with numerous storage drives, and using an old PC case can make for the perfect storage server. This is largely due to the ability to install countless drives, recycling old hardware to save money, and using standard parts that make servicing much easier than pre-built turnkey NAS devices.

The default file manager on Windows -- Windows Explorer -- lacks a few useful features, which is why a lot of power users end up resorting to alternate file managers. But, if you still decide to stick to Windows Explorer, there are several mods and add-ons that you can use to make the experience better. For instance, there's QuickLook, which allows you to preview files before opening them -- just like macOS. Then, there's Explorer Tab Utility -- which introduces a tabbed layout to Windows Explorer similar to web browsers. Another such add-on I recently discovered is TeraCopy.

While I’m not particularly worried about hackers targeting my recipe collection, I do believe that digital privacy should extend to all areas of life — including the kitchen. Many popular recipe apps require account creation and access to personal data, which can be unsettling if you value privacy. On top of that, these services often come with subscription fees or lack the flexibility to cater to individual culinary needs. Wanting control, customization, and security, I turned to an open-source, self-hosted solution – Mealie.

RAID or Redundant Array of Independent Disks combines multiple disks into a single storage pool that the operating system views as a single drive. While enterprise systems use hardware RAID with a dedicated RAID controller for better performance and more reliability, the average consumer can make use of software RAID on Windows to boost performance and introduce some data redundancy. This is what I did when I found out about Storage Spaces on Windows.

Not every video game genre sticks around forever. Some fade as gaming trends shift, others as technology advances, and a few never take off due to hardware limitations. But as any retro gamer knows, no genre ever truly dies.

PLA filament is the go-to material for beginners to 3D printing, and for good reason. It's easy to print, requires minimal fine-tuning, and works well with most consumer-grade printers. However, as users become more experienced and demand more from their prints, PLA's limitations start to show. It lacks durability, struggles in high temperatures, and offers limited post-processing options compared to other filaments.

You might have heard about an upcoming game currently due out sometime this year, called Grand Theft Auto VI. About a month ago, you also might have heard the claim made, that there are some people in the video games industry that would like to see a standard copy of GTA VI costing $100.

Are you tired of repetitive tasks eating into your valuable time on Mac? Your Mac is a powerhouse, and with a few clever tweaks, you can unlock its hidden ability to automate those tedious chores. From simple settings tweaks and shortcuts to powerful workflows, the tips below will make your digital life smoother and more efficient. First, I will start with the usual System Settings tweaks for your basic tasks and move to third-party apps to fly through complex workflows.

Sony was an unstoppable force in the early 2000s. The release of the PS2 went swimmingly, and gamers worldwide were enjoying the technological advancements made by the console. Despite going on to become one of the best-selling consoles of all time, Sony wasn't fully satisfied with how things were going later in the PS2's lifespan. Much like its predecessor, the PS2 had a serious security problem. Once the copy protection was broken, it became the wild west, so much so, that if you buy a used PS1 or PS2 in 2025, there's a good chance it has some kind of modchip inside. Things had to change for the PS3, and Sony had a plan.

The Verge is heading to Barcelona, Spain, for Mobile World Congress 2025. We’re fresh off CES, where we saw plenty of new gadgets, from TVs to gaming handhelds and smart glasses. But, as it says right in the name, MWC 2025 is more focused on… mobile stuff. And it’s for a global audience, which means not everything will make its way to the US.Expect announcements from companies like Xiaomi and Nothing, the latter of which will unveil the Nothing Phone 3A, and other global phone makers. Larger firms like Samsung and Google will be there, though it’s still unclear if they’ll have news. But we’re still waiting for more details on Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, so maybe that’ll pop up at the show.We’ll also look for more obscure and fun stuff that’s only available here on the floor. In 2024, we saw Humane’s ill-fated AI Pin (RIP), a laptop with a transparent screen, and more.Keep this page bookmarked for all the news, commentary, and first looks from the show floor. Samsung reveals Galaxy A56 with more AI and a modest spec bump What to expect at MWC 2025