There are laptops out there with power adapters heavier than this entire 16-inch laptop. Acer is announcing a new Swift Air 16 at IFA 2025, and it’s an absolute featherweight of a 16-inch laptop. Weighing in at 2.18 pounds / 0.99kg with an IPS display or 2.43 pounds / 1.1kg with its optional OLED, the Swift Air is lighter than even a 13-inch MacBook Air. It also packs more ports than the MacBook, and will start at a lower price of €999 when it launches in November. (North American availability and pricing is still TBD.)It kind of boggles my mind that the Swift Air 16 fits this much screen into such a light package, as it’s even lighter than the LG Gram — a laptop defined by its lightness. But the reality checks start coming in once you notice some of the Swift’s specs, like its thickness of 0.63 inches / 15.9mm (0.65 inches / 16.5mm for the OLED version). By contrast, the 13- and 15-inch MacBook Airs are just 0.44 inches and 0.45 inches, respectively.Also, while the Swift Air’s AMD Ryzen AI 300-series chip options will be more than competent for everyday productivity tasks, I’ve seen firsthand that Apple’s M4 chip outperforms them while maintaining better battery life. The Swift Air’s starting config will come with a Ryzen AI 5 330 chip, and the top-end version uses the Ryzen AI 7 350. I tested the latter chip in the latest Framework Laptop 13 and it’s very capable, even for a touch of light gaming.But the parts of the Swift Air 16 that give me the biggest pause are its HDMI spec and battery size. It’s got a decent port selection with two USB-C, one USB-A 3.2, and a 3.5mm audio jack, but its video-out port is HDMI 1.4. That’s very outdated for 2025, when you expect just about any $1,000-plus laptop to drive an external monitor at 4K / 60Hz or greater. HDMI 1.4 can only do 4K at a sub-par 24 or 30Hz. And while the Swift’s starting IPS display has a respectable 1920 x 1200 resolution at 60Hz and the optional OLED sports a 2880 x 1800 resolution with 120Hz refresh, the laptop’s battery is only 50Wh. That’s a smaller capacity than the 13-inch MacBook Air, and much smaller than the 75Wh battery in the Acer Swift 14 AI I tested earlier this year. That 14-inch Swift cousin has great battery life for a machine sporting AMD’s more power hungry chips, and the large battery was a big reason why. Acer’s own promotional materials rate the Swift 14 AI at “up to 27 hours battery life” in a video playback test. The Swift Air 16’s rated battery life in similar video playback tests? Just 13 hours — less than half. Ouch.Oh, and did you notice the Swift Air’s gapless keyboard?I’ve already poked plenty of holes in the hull of the Swift Air 16 before it’s even taken its maiden voyage. But I’m still interested to see it shove off, and I’m hoping it’ll land on our shores here in the US. Despite my concerns, it’s an intriguing machine. And I’m all for a company taking some chances. But naming your laptop “Air” is going to draw the inevitable comparisons.

When carefully picking out parts for your PC build, you'll notice that your RAM was marketed with AMD EXPO and Intel XMP as one of the significant features. DDR5 will have one or possibly both of these mentioned, while DDR4 will have XMP or say they're compatible with AMD's Ryzen platform, but whatever the naming scheme, they all behave similarly. They're profiles for frequency, timings, and voltage that the RAM kit will use in the BIOS to try and boot with the best performance, but there's a catch.

With IFA 2025 just around the corner, people from around the world are keeping a close eye on Berlin to see the latest and hottest tech on display. However, some companies can't wait to show off their hardware and have given us a sneak peek at what we can expect from the event.

The PartyBox 720 can run on battery power, allowing you to blast music without being tied to an outlet. JBL has expanded its lineup of flashy Bluetooth speakers with three new models that let you blast tunes without being tied to a power source. The launch includes the new $1,099 PartyBox 720, which is JBL’s largest battery-powered speaker to date, weighing 7 pounds (3kg) more than the visually similar PartyBox 710 that was released in 2021.The PartyBox 720 measures 16.4 x 37.1 x 16 inches, compared to 15.7 x 35.6 x 17.2 inches for the smaller 710, and expands the two 8-inch subwoofers to 9 inches. Unlike the 710, the 720 can also run on battery power, so users don’t need to hunt for an outlet. It comes with two of JBL’s rechargeable 600 batteries, which provide up to 15 hours of playtime, according to the company’s press release.Aside from the larger dimensions and battery support, both party speakers have similar features — both provide 800 watts of power, customizable lights, an IPX4 resistance to splashing water, and they include built-in wheels and a carry handle to pull them around despite the additional weight.JBL is also launching the $550 Boombox 4 and the more portable $100 Grip — the latter being a new JBL product line that resembles its colorful Flip series, but with customizable ambient lighting built in. Both the Boombox 4 and Grip speakers feature an IP68 rating, making them “waterproof, dustproof, and drop-proof,” according to JBL.All three speakers are available to preorder now. The PartyBox 720 is expected to be available at in-store retailers on September 21st, with the Grip and Boombox 4 arriving later on September 28th.

I took the Spin 514 for an early spin, and I’m looking forward to testing it further. Acer's new Chromebook Plus Spin 514, announced at IFA 2025 in Berlin, is the company's first laptop to use the Arm-based MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 processor. That chip was used in the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 that launched earlier this summer, and it was key to delivering excellent performance and marathon battery life in that fanless laptop. I dubbed the Lenovo "the new king of Chromebooks," and this $699.99 Acer, launching this month, seems poised to be a solid alternative - especially if you prefer a touchscreen convertible and don't mind hearing a fan on occasion.Acer sent me the new Chromebook Plus Spin 514 for early testing, and a …Read the full story at The Verge.

It looks just like the current Predator Helios 18 laptop, but the new 18P model has a 4K screen and even higher-end graphics. Acer is refreshing some of its gaming laptops for IFA 2025, with a big new Predator Helios 18P AI at the high end and pair of more affordable Nitro V 16 models.The Predator Helios 18P will have up to an RTX 5090 GPU and Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor, though in any configuration it should come with a 18-inch 4K / 120Hz Mini LED display and two Thunderbolt 5 ports (among many other ports). The 18P’s availability and North American price is still TBD, but it’s sure to be up there since it’ll start at 4,999 euros. At the more affordable end, the new Acer Nitro V 16 and 16S are launching in October and November, respectively. The 16 starts at $999.99 / 1,299 euros and the slightly smaller and lighter 16S starts at $1,099.99 / 1,399 euros. Both 16-inchers can go up to an Intel 270H processor and RTX 5070 GPU.

Obsidian is a great tool if you like a local-first approach to note-taking and prefer to write in Markdown. However, there are a variety of Obsidian plugins that can supercharge the software's features, unlocking new capabilities and interesting uses.

PC building has remained fundamentally the same over the last three decades. You pick the same 8 components, assemble them into your dream build, and waste hours optimizing every little aspect of it. What has changed, however, are the underlying trends surrounding the esthetics, and the modifications we make to our rigs. From gigantic cases and custom watercooling loops to delidding and all-RGB builds, some PC building trends aren't "cool" anymore.

The Amadana 27ART0 P1. | Image: Acer Did you know Acer acquired a Japanese design firm called Amadana late last year that makes classy coffee gear, retro calculators, air purifiers, and all manner of minimalist low-fi tech? Neither did I till today — but it goes a long way to explaining why a few of Acer’s new monitors at IFA 2025 are leaping off the page. Unfortunately for stateside readers, Acer has no current plans to ship its Amadana branded products below in the US. The 27-inch 27ART0 P1 desktop monitor — whose display is just 8mm thick — and the 16-inch, 1.4-pound 16APM1QJ portable monitor, are headed to EMEA regions in Q1 for €169 and €119 respectively.They’re not heavy on tech, anyhow: they’re 1080p IPS screens, at just 250 nits of brightness, and only the desktop monitor reaches 144Hz. The portable panel, with USB-C and mini-HDMI input, is limited to 60Hz, though both monitors offer variable refresh rate.But the Acer CE270U Z, below and atop this story, will come to North America for $700 in Q1, and feature a 26.5-inch 1440p OLED panel at 280Hz. It also has AMD’s flavor of variable refresh rate (FreeSync Premium Pro) and peak brightness of 1000 nits in HDR (250 nits typical), with two HDMI 2.1 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4. Here’s a look at some earlier Amadana products, courtesy of Acer. Amadana writes that it’s named after a location in Japan’s Edo period where fine lacquerware was sold.

IFA, the European tech trade show equivalent to CES in the US, is just around the corner. Companies are gearing up to showcase their latest innovations, bringing us the latest product announcements, feature demonstrations, and design concepts that will shape future consumer tech releases.IFA will open its doors between September 5th and 9th, but many of the biggest announcements will start dropping shortly before the show’s public opening. And, as always, The Verge will be covering all the latest news live from the IFA 2025 show floor in Berlin, providing you with our hands-on product experiences and first impressions of upcoming releases.If previous years are any indication, we can expect to see a plethora of new smart home gadgets and AI-laden devices, including laptops, tablets, appliances, and even robots that will do your household chores for you — sometimes equipped with incredibly specialized features.The Verge will be tracking all the biggest announcements on this page, so follow along with our coverage below to avoid missing out. Samsung’s new party speakers are less subtle than ever AI could bring us a smarter home — if we can trust it The PartyBox 720 is JBL’s largest battery-powered party speaker My brief hands-on with Acer’s new convertible Chromebook has me cautiously optimistic Acer’s 16-inch Air weighs even less than a 13-inch MacBook Air Acer’s new Amadana and CE270 monitors are unusually, strikingly stylish It’s easier to count the PC makers that *don’t* sell an Nvidia micro-desktop now. Acer gives its 18-inch Predator Helios gaming laptop a 4K screen and top GPU Acer has a dual-mode 720Hz OLED monitor, too. Ooni’s newest pizza oven adds AI to your slice Dolby Vision 2 goes beyond HDR with more AI and ‘authentic motion’ smoothing AI fish tank. This liquid-cooled projector promises an incredibly bright 6,200 lumen image

The ST50F may have wheels, but can it do a kickflip? Samsung may be partly to blame for unleashing the party speaker upon the world — its Giga line launched over a decade ago — but in recent years its entrants to the field have been strangely restrained, with only small light strips along the sides. Not so with its two new Sound Towers, which add LED lights that would be impossible to miss.The Sound Tower ST50F and ST40F both feature a large LED “racetrack-style” light strip across the front, along with other lights around the tweeters, the edge of the body, the base, and even the underside of the handle. There are six different dynamic lighting patterns, five “mood” presets, and absolutely no accounting for taste.The ST50F has up to 240W output, 18 hours of battery, and integrated wheels for $699.99. The smaller ST40F is 160W, runs for 12 hours, and isn’t rollable, but costs $499.99.

LG’s FURON AI Agent powers the company’s smart home AI ambitions. | Image: LG The holy grail of the smart home is ambient computing - technology that disappears into the background, anticipating your needs without a word or a tap. Lights turn on as you walk in, doors unlock as you approach, coffee brews before you reach the kitchen. This is the proactive home: a space that adapts to its occupants to support their comfort, health, and safety. The tools exist to create this, but today's smart home remains complicated, unreliable, and often invasive - still a long way from truly "ambient."But, just as it's changing every other game in tech, advances in artificial intelligence are a watershed moment for the smart home. …Read the full story at The Verge.