The Horizon Ultra is bright enough to overcome some ambient light. | Image: Xgimi Home projector upstart Xgimi just announced its new Horizon Ultra model, dubbed the “world’s first 4K long-throw projector with Dolby Vision.” While I wouldn’t hold out too much hope for the device to produce an image with jaw-dropping HDR, it’s certainly a very bright all-in-one Android TV 11 projector for well below $2,000.The Horizon Ultra uses a new “Dual Light” laser and LED hybrid light source to produce 2,300 ISO lumens. That’s a 77 percent increase in brightness compared to the reasonably bright (1,760 ISO lumens) Xgimi Horizon Pro projector I reviewed a few years ago. Of course, that brightness is measured at the bulb, and the image brightness falls off considerably the farther away you move the unit in order to grow the... Continue reading…

The graphics card is the most important component of any gaming PC. It's what determines how well all your favorite PC games will run at various resolutions. Nvidia's RTX 40 series of GPUs are incredibly powerful, but the company also bumped up its MSRP for the family of graphics cards, pricing many gamers out of the round. The Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 is the undisputed champion of gaming and the RTX 4080 is priced below it, but how do the two GPUs compare against one another? That's precisely what this guide will showcase!

Belkin’s convertible charger can either stand upright or be used like a traditional pad. | Image: Belkin Belkin is embracing the new magnet-enhanced Qi2 wireless charging standard with a pair of new products being announced at Berlin’s IFA 2023 tech show. There’s the BoostCharge Convertible Qi2 Wireless Pad to Stand (yes, that’s the name), which can either work like a traditional Qi pad or hold a phone upright while it charges — great for the iPhone’s new StandBy feature. There’s also the BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad with Qi2, which is equipped with a pair of wireless charging pads (one 15W and one 5W) plus a USB-C port for charging a third device like an Apple Watch via an optional dongle.Announced at CES earlier this year, Qi2 is a new version of Qi wireless charging that effectively integrates the magnets from Apple’s... Continue reading…

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE was one of the first gaming-specific Chromebooks, announced 2022. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The point of cloud gaming is it doesn’t require a powerful PC; a Chromebook should do just fine. Today, Google and Nvidia are ready to prove it by giving away a free, no-strings-attached GeForce Now subscription to every modern Chromebook owner. You don’t have to buy a new machine, and there’s no recurring subscription. You don’t have to enter any credit card information, Google spokesperson Peter Du confirms to The Verge. As long as you’ve got a Chromebook from 2017 or newer, you can simply head over to Google’s Chromebook Perks page and hit the “Get perk” button to redeem a three-month subscription to the Priority tier of Nvidia’s GeForce Now.If you’ve purchased a gaming Chromebook, the deal’s even sweeter: you get three months of... Continue reading…

Image: The Verge X, the platform previously known as Twitter, is expanding the amount of data it collects on users. The social network has updated its privacy policy to include carveouts for “biometric information” and “employment history,” as spotted by Bloomberg.“Based on your consent, we may collect and use your biometric information for safety, security, and identification purposes,” the privacy policy reads. It doesn’t include any details on what kind of biometric information this includes — or how X plans to collect it — but it typically involves fingerprints, iris patterns, or facial features. X Corp. was named in a proposed class action lawsuit in July over claims that its data collection violates the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.... Continue reading…

If you're always looking for adventure, but don't want to go anywhere without your tech, you need to get your hands on some rugged Oukitel gear. The great news is that both the RT6 tablet and WP28 smartphone are now on sale. On top of the fact that you're saving money when buying them, you'll also save money because you won't have to repair your smart tech upon your return after dropping them down a path.

The ScanWatch 2 will cost $349.95 and features a temperature sensing module. | Image: Withings After nearly three years without a new smartwatch, Withings is kicking off IFA 2023 by announcing not one but two ScanWatch hybrid watches.The $349.95 ScanWatch 2 is Withings’ latest and greatest hybrid smartwatch, with a new temperature tracking module that uses a combination of four sensors: a thermistor; heat flux; PPG (the green LED for measuring heart rate); and accelerometer. Data from the four sensors will then be fed into an algorithm that uses movement, heart rate, and skin temperature to deliver health insights. Withings also introduced a slightly pared-down, fashion-first ScanWatch Light for $249.99. Unlike most smartwatches these days, the ScanWatch 2’s temperature tracking isn’t intended for advanced cycle tracking,... Continue reading…

Samsung's One UI 6 beta was launched earlier this month based on Android 14, and now, the brand has released Beta 2, bringing numerous bug fixes and improvements. The update is rolling out to supported countries and those enrolled in Samsung's beta program.

The Samsung Galaxy A54 5G is one of the best affordable Android phones available right now. The device has a lot going for it with its sleek and modern design, beautiful AMOLED display, great performance, and long battery life. The phone is powered by an Exynos 1380 octa-core processor, 6GB RAM, and offers 128GB of internal storage with expansion up to 1TB via microSD. It's basically a flagship Samsung Galaxy phone with a few compromises.

For years, Apple has prided itself on its privacy and security guidelines. That Apple is the benchmark in this area is not an understatement. No matter which product release or update is announced, Apple will invariably touch on security and privacy on stage, with the Vision Pro being the latest example. For those who value these aspects, Apple is the go-to brand. Sadly, though, apart from the end users, not everyone holds user privacy that high of a regard. According to recent reports, that seems to be the case with the U.K. government.

Taylor Swift performing onstage. | Photo by Hector Vivas/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management While there are undoubtedly still Taylor Swift fans out there who are salty with Ticketmaster for causing them to miss out on seeing the Eras Tour live, AMC’s getting ready to offer them a chance to see their idol in all her glory at movie theaters across the country.Variety reports that AMC is bringing Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour — a filmed recording of Swift’s newest show — to every single one of its US theaters for multiple daily showings on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning this October. Along with showings in regular theaters, AMC also plans for The Eras Tour to play in a number of its premium IMAX and Dolby locations. Here in the US, there are also plans in the works for the show to come to more theater chains,... Continue reading…

Chinese giant Baidu officially launched its chatbot, Ernie Bot, after the government approved its application, alongside that of several other AI companies. Ernie Bot is now available for download from app stores or Baidu’s website. Much like its main rival, ChatGPT, users can ask Ernie Bot questions or prompt it to help write market analysis, give marketing slogan ideas, and summarize documents. The company told The Verge Ernie Bot is available globally, but users need a Chinese number to register and log in. The Baidu app is available on US Android and iOS app stores but is only in Chinese. Baidu also opened a plug-in market for Ernie Bot.Company representatives said the Ernie Bot surpassed 1 million users in the first 19 hours... Continue reading…