Computers have been getting smaller and smaller for years now, but they've truly reached an impressive point in 2024. We now have mini PCs and PC gaming handhelds that pack the power of a laptop or full-size PC in an incredibly tiny form factor. That opens up a lot of new possibilities for computing. You can play full AAA gaming titles on a device that can be taken just about anywhere, whether it be a gaming handheld or a mini PC. Theoretically, there's no reason why a great mini PC can't replace every other computer in your life. So, I did the unthinkable: I took an Ayaneo Retro Mini PC AM02 with me on the go and found out if it could replace my laptop.

The Verge Microsoft announced yesterday that four Xbox-exclusive games are coming to PS5 and Nintendo Switch soon, opening up a new strategy for Xbox to be on more screens. Just two hours before Microsoft’s big announcement, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer explained the company’s new Xbox vision in an internal memo to employees.It’s the first time Spencer has fully outlined a new strategy “where every screen is an Xbox” to employees, after an internal town hall meeting earlier this month didn’t address multi-platform games directly.Microsoft didn’t directly mention “Xbox everywhere” or “every screen is an Xbox” during its official Xbox podcast yesterday, but it’s not too dissimilar to what the company has been saying for years about its push... Continue reading…

Not today. It appears that Apple Pay is down, particularly for Chase customers — Verge staffers have had their cards declined while trying to pay with Chase cards using Apple Pay, while using the same physical card works just fine. Several people on Threads confirmed the same issue when I asked — although people with non-Chase banks like Citi appear to be using Apple Pay just fine. Apple’s system status page says that Apple Pay and Wallet have a maintenance in progress which started at 12PM — which is a pretty weird time to start a maintenance that disrupts payments. The page also says that “Some Maryland Users may have issues,” but we’ve had reports in both New York and LA, so it appears we’re all into crab cakes and football today. ... Continue reading…

If there was one thing that stood out to me about CES 2024, it was the impressive array of high-end monitors that seemingly every major brand had a hand in offering. My colleague Karthik Ayer wrote an excellent article highlighting all the best monitors at CES 2024, and he seemed particularly impressed by the advances in features that benefit PC gamers. Monitor tech is booming right now, and it seems like there's more of a rush than ever to offer over-the-top features to trump other brands.

Image: Wyze Five months ago, we wrote about how your Wyze webcam might have let strangers peek into your house. It appears to have happened again. After an extended outage that Wyze linked to problems with AWS, ten different Redditors are reporting that their Wyze app showed them images from a security camera that wasn’t their own — giving them glimpses of a stranger’s porch or living room. Some of the videos were from entirely different timezones. “One of my cameras notified me of an event from inside someone else home with them in it walking around,” begins one post. “I just got a motion detection notification with a picture for someone else’s house that isn’t mine!” reads another. “Why did I get someone else’s notification which showed... Continue reading…

Apple Watches are some of the best smartwatches on the market. Powered by watchOS 10, these wearables pack various sensors and technologies. Not only do they help you track your fitness and health-related data, but they also tie into Apple's tight ecosystem, allowing you to unlock your Mac, authenticate purchases, and do much more. They also offer some lesser-known features that many people aren't aware of, such as Apple's Walkie-Talkie.

Buying a new monitor for your work or gaming setup is a pretty big purchase. Not only are they crucial for the setup and something you'll likely be starring at for the better of your day, but they're also quite expensive, which means you can't replace them very frequently. Choosing the right monitor for your setup is extremely important, and it all starts with the size of the panel, its type, and lastly, its resolution. Assuming you have already decided on a size and the type of panel, it's time to consider the resolution. You have plenty of options when it comes to the size of the monitor, but you'll mostly be picking between 1080p, 1440p, or 4K.

Illustration: William Joel / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 26, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome. So psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been playing with the redesigned You.com for AI research, trying out the Phanpy Mastodon client, getting back into Zombies, Run after reading Vee Song’s great story about Fantasy Hike, and reading the new “lost chapter” of The Martian before probably just rereading The Martian again.I also have for you some non-earbud earbuds, a nerdy video about nerdy stuff, a new to-do list app, a new thing in ChatGPT, and much more. Let’s do it.(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What... Continue reading…

Benchmarking is one of the best things you can do to ensure your PC is performing normally and to also gauge its capabilities by pushing the limits. It's not particularly difficult to run a benchmark on your PC, as it mostly involves downloading the software and running it on your system. It is, however, important to pick the right benchmarking programs as not all of them are the same, and they test your components in varying ways. Below are some good CPU benchmarks to consider if you want to test the new PC you just built or the CPU you just installed.

Family reunion! Usually my younger siblings wait until I’m done with work — they’re in earlier time zones than I am, so they’re being polite — then the group chat lights up: “Splat.” “Splat.” “Splat.” This is our shorthand for “It’s time to play Splatoon 3.”I am not what you would call a gamer, but I did buy a Nintendo Switch in 2020. That’s kind of when this all started. I am the oldest of five, and most of my younger siblings love video games. In the interest of bonding, I started hanging out with them on FaceTime while we played Animal Crossing together. In 2022, one of my brothers got Splatoon 3. Eventually, most of the rest of us did, too. Now four of us (and one of my brothers’ significant others) play Splatoon together.I am writing this, in... Continue reading…

Lenovo is undoubtedly making some of the best laptops you can buy right now, and its area of dominance encompasses consumer, business, and gaming PCs. The Yoga brand is arguably in its best shape ever with a smart range of budget, mid-range, and high-end hardware, ThinkPad maintains its legendary legacy in the professional world, and Legion gaming laptops are easy to recommend thanks to intelligent cooling, modern design, and robust performance.

Cloud storage is pretty expensive these days, especially if you're looking to save as much money as possible. While Google Drive comes with 15GB of storage for free, what if I told you there was a way to have technically infinite storage? I undertook a pretty fun project which involved turning Discord into my own personal Google Drive service, complete with a bypass for storage limits on the service.