The graphics card is responsible for handling all the rendering tasks that are too intense for the CPU alone — think rendering video or playing games. The best graphics card depends on what you need. Should you have a Full HD monitor and only play some lighter games occasionally, you could get away with buying a cheaper GPU. If you're going all-out with 4K gaming and want the very best, a flagship GPU will likely be a better choice. We've tested a whole host of graphics cards to see which is the best GPU for gaming.

The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro phones will be the first to support the Qi2 open charging standard, but they aren’t Qi2-certified yet. | Image: Apple The iPhone 15 and 15 Pro are the first phones to ship with the new Qi2 magnetic wireless charging standard. Well, sort of: it turns out they aren’t Qi2-certified yet. But neither is anything else. Qi2 is an update to the Qi wireless charging standard that adds a ring of magnets to ensure proper alignment of the charging coils. You know, like MagSafe. Unlike MagSafe, Qi2 is an open standard — Apple even contributed its “magnetic power profile” to it — and Android phone makers are expected to adopt it as well. That’s great. Few things are more frustrating than waking up to a dead phone because you plopped it on the charger a few millimeters off-center, and magnetic alignment fixes that. (So does plugging it in, but bear with me.)Qi2 a... Continue reading…

The newest, fastest standard for M.2 SSDs, PCIe 5.0, has been around for a couple of years, but only this year brought a consumer release for the fastest M.2 SSDs. The first crop of M.2 NVMe SSDs using this standard promise speeds of 10,000MB/s or higher. When the second wave comes, expect speeds of 16,000MB/s, close to the theoretical limits of the PCIe 5.0 specification.

The noble Apple Polishing Cloth. | Image: Apple It’s that time of year again — the time when millions around the world nail their eyeballs to the Apple Store website and wait, unblinking, to find out whether the new iPhones and Apple Watches are compatible with the $19 Polishing Cloth Apple launched in 2021. After all, you bought the cloth as soon as Apple announced it, and you know all about planned obsolescence. Did you waste 19 bucks two years ago?I did some digging, and I am pleased as punch to report that, no, you didn’t. Even the brushed titanium-framed iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are supported. Apple updated its website this afternoon to add no less than six new devices to the cloth’s diverse stable of compatible screen-having Apple products. That brings the grand total to... Continue reading…

Apple has finally announced the iPhone 15 series, which encompasses four new models. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus feature some of the upgrades the company brought to the iPhone 14 Pro series last year, while the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max build on last year's foundation with more changes. Sustainability was at the heart of every phone in the iPhone 15 lineup, so Apple decided to stop making leather products altogether in pursuit of its environmental goals. That means if you want an official Apple case, you'll need to grab either Apple's new FineWoven material or a familiar silicone case.

PowerBoost badge means its a hybrid. | Image: Ford Ford’s F-150 truck is adding more hybrid powertrain options to more trims for the 2024 model year. The automaker is also adding extra tech into the truck, including a head-up-display option so you can check your speed without looking down, and a built-in 5G modem that makes over the air (OTA) software updates and media connectivity faster than ever.Previously, Ford’s cheapest F-150 truck that has a hybrid option, the Lariat, started at $57,480 with a $3,300 add on. Now Ford says the hybrid option, called “PowerBoost,” will “match the starting MSRP on the 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine,” which we’re taking to mean that Ford’s cutting the hybrid add-on from $3,300 to $1,540 instead. (That’s what the 3.5L gasoline engine cost for the 2023 model... Continue reading…

Grid Forecast is a new feature in the Apple Home app that tells you when your power grid has cleaner energy available. | Image: Apple Apple’s iPhone 15 launch event had a big focus on the company’s move toward carbon neutrality, but it also introduced a new smart home feature that can help you leave a lighter footprint on the planet. Arriving with iOS 17, Grid Forecast is a new tool in the Apple Home app that shows you when your electrical grid has relatively clean or less clean energy sources available. This could help you decide when to run your tumble dryer or charge your EV to take advantage of “cleaner” energy when you have higher consumption. Grid Forecast is available in the Home app on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch devices running this fall’s soon-to-be-released updates, with iOS 17 set for a public launch on September 18th. It is also available as an... Continue reading…

Microsoft has released two new Windows 11 Beta channel builds, and the one that's usually all about bringing new features actually removes one. Indeed, Windows Insiders running Windows 11 build 22631.2338 with new features rolling out, should now notice that Microsoft is going one step closer to ditching Teams in Windows 11. In that build, the Chat is now Microsoft Teams – Free. As for Windows 11 Beta Channel build 22621.2338, it's a smaller release with just bug fixes. Both builds are getting a new focus widget.

Apple brings satellite-powered Roadside Assistance to the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14 in a partnership with AAA. | Image: Apple During the iPhone 15 launch event in Cupertino, Apple announced it’s adding satellite-powered Roadside Assistance to the iPhone in a partnership with AAA. Buying and activating a new iPhone 14 or iPhone 15 series device will include two years of Emergency SOS and Roadside Assistance access for free. The services they connect you to are covered under the AAA membership terms or available on a pay-per-use basis for non-AAA members.The Roadside Assistance service — which is US only — is an expansion of the Emergency SOS via satellite feature launched with iPhone 14 last year. If you have car trouble, you can text AAA for assistance for your emergencies, such as being locked out, running out of fuel, or a flat tire (you know, those times... Continue reading…

Women Plus Connect is a new feature in the Lyft app that lets women and nonbinary drivers and riders opt to prefer women and nonbinary drivers and riders. | Image: Lyft On Tuesday, rideshare service Lyft launched Women Plus Connect, an in-app feature that “matches women and nonbinary drivers with more women and nonbinary riders.” The move is an effort to improve safety and encourage more women and nonbinary drivers to work with the company. A report by The Verge found that female rideshare drivers frequently face harassment and sexual assault and feel unsupported by rideshare companies.The feature offers Lyft drivers an option to turn on a preference in the Lyft app to prioritize matches with other nearby women and nonbinary riders. It’s not a guarantee, however, and if no riders that match that description are nearby, drivers will still be matched with men. Image: Lyft The... Continue reading…

Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge SpaceX said Tuesday evening that it fixed an outage with Starlink, the company’s satellite internet service. “The network issue has been fully resolved,” the company wrote at 9:39PM ET. At 8:33PM ET, the company acknowledged the issue and said it was working on a fix. “Starlink is currently in a network outage and we are actively implementing a solution,” SpaceX wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We appreciate your patience, we’ll share an update once this issue is resolved.”The network issue has been fully resolved— Starlink (@Starlink) September 13, 2023Downdetector shows there were around 33,000 user reports of problems. Reports started to spike at about 7:30PM ET.There have been a handful of threads on the Starlink subreddit... Continue reading…

The ringtones might be good enough to keep you from using that Action Button to turn off the ringer. | Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge Apple’s iPhone is finally getting some new ringtones with iOS 17. As reported by 9to5Mac, the iOS 17 release candidate (RC) has a bunch of additional ringtones, and assuming nothing changes between the RC and the update’s official release, you’re going to have a few additional sounds to choose from very soon.iOS 17 includes more than 20 new “ringtone options and sound alerts,” 9to5Mac says. I’ve installed the RC and listened to many of the new sounds, and I’m a big fan. I’m particularly drawn to the new “Journey” ringtone, which sounds like something out of a classic RPG. If you want to hear a few of the new tones, 9to5Mac has a short video you can check out.Some older sounds have been “slightly remastered” as well, according to 9... Continue reading…