Many of Garmin’s wearables are on sale, including the flagship Fenix 8.Just in time to make the most of the warmer weather, REI is slashing prices on a bunch of our favorite outdoor gadgets and goods as a part of its annual anniversary sale. Now through May 26th, the outdoor retailer is taking up to 30 percent off a large number of items, from Garmin watches and water filters to stoves, satellite communicators, and one of the best camping / backpacking chairs around.Below, we’ve rounded up some of the best deals to help you gear up for your summer adventures. In some instances, other retailers like Amazon are matching REI’s pricing, giving you additional ways to save. Also, keep in mind that REI members can save an additional 20 percent on one REI Outlet item or get 20 percent off on one qualifying full-price item when they use coupon ANNIV2025 at checkout.Many of our favorite Garmin smartwatches are also on sale right now, including the Garmin Forerunner 265, which is our top pick for runners. Normally $450, you can buy the smartwatch in either its 42mm or 46mm sizing at REI and Amazon for $349.99 ($100 off), which matches its best price to date. The 265 features a vibrant OLED display, up to 15 days of battery life, and multi-band GPS for more accurate tracking. It also provides insight into a number of running metrics, including stride length and cadence, while supporting Garmin’s PacePro, Training Readiness, and Race Predictor features.Garmin’s Fenix 8, our top pick for endurance athletes, is available in its 43mm configuration from REI, Amazon, and Garmin starting at $799.99 ($200 off). The platform-agnostic Fenix 8 is an excellent training watch with exceptional battery life that easily surpasses rivals like the Apple Watch Ultra 2. Garmin’s rugged, top-of-the-line wearable also includes a sharp OLED display and a built-in speaker / mic, so you can make calls or carry out voice commands using the onboard voice assistant (you can also connect it to your phone’s voice assistant for more complex queries). That being said, the Fenix 8 doesn’t offer built-in LTE, so your phone will need to stay within Bluetooth range for those features to work. Read our review.Garmin’s 41mm Venu 3 is currently available for an all-time low of $349.99, down from its regular price of $449.99, at Amazon and REI. The Venu 3 is our favorite Garmin smartwatch, one that offers a mix of smart features and advanced health tracking at an affordable price. You can make and receive calls when paired with your phone, use your phone’s voice assistant via Bluetooth, and pay with contactless payments. It also includes a broad range of health features, including heart rate monitoring, period tracking, abnormal heart rate alerts, fall detection, and more. Just note: there’s no cellular connectivity, so you’ll need your phone nearby for full functionality. Read our review.The Helinox Chair Zero — a personal favorite of several Verge staffers — is on sale at REI and Amazon for $104.98 ($35 off), which is its best price to date. Weighing just a pound, the collapsible backpacking chair is exceptionally lightweight and easy to pack. It’s also built to support up to 265 pounds and is both comfortable and stable, despite its portable design.If your summer plans involve hiking or backpacking, the Garmin inReach Mini 2 can provide some peace of mind. And right now, it’s available from REI, Amazon, and Garmin for $299.99 ($100 off), which is just $15 shy of its all-time low. The rugged, palm-sized satellite communicator — which requires a monthly subscription — allows you to send texts, share your location, check the weather, and even trigger SOS alerts. It can easily outlast your average smartphone with satellite connectivity, too, so you’re free to enjoy the outdoors without having to worry about running out of power.LifeStraw’s portable water filters make for helpful travel companions, regardless of whether you’re heading into the backcountry or touring cities with questionable tap water. Thankfully, Verge favorites like the LifeStraw Peak Series Straw are on sale at Amazon and REI starting at $17.58, down from $24.95. The standalone straw is perfect for filtering out bacteria, parasites, and microplastics from streams and rivers. The Peak Series model features an improved flow rate and a more durable design than earlier models as well, and thanks to its versatile build, you can drink directly from a water source, attach it to a water bottle, or connect it to a gravity hose systemIf you’re looking for a more convenient, all-in-one solution, the 22-ounce LifeStraw Go Series Water Bottle is also on sale for an all-time low of around $34 ($11 off) at REI and Amazon. The BPA-free bottle features a built-in two-stage filtration system, including a carbon filter that’s designed to reduce odors and improve taste, making it a solid pick for everything from travel to your daily commute.If you’re looking for a reliable and comfortable headlamp, Black Diamond’s Spot 400 is great for everything from camping to hiking to late-night reading sessions. It’s currently available from REI for $37.39 (about $13 off), which remains one of its better prices to date. The 400-lumen headlamp offers adjustable brightness, a red night vision mode, and an IPX8 waterproof rating, so it can handle rainy nights. It’s also dual-fuel compatible, meaning you can use standard AAA batteries or use it in tandem with Black Diamond’s rechargeable BD 1500 Li-ion battery for more flexibility.The pocket-sized Black Diamond Moji Lantern is down to $18.69 (about $6 off) at REI in multiple colors. The rugged Moji lantern offers 200 lumens of warm, dimmable light and adjustable lightness, along with an IPX4 rating for water resistance. It features a double-hook design, too, so you can use it as a table lantern or hang it up. The MSR PocketRocket 2 Stove is on sale for $44.89, down from $55.95, at REI. The single-burner canister stove can boil water in just 3.5 minutes. It’s also lightweight, foldable, and compatible with most isobutane-propane fuel canisters, making it a great pick for backpackers looking to shed weight.The JBL Flip 6 is selling for $99.99 at REI and Amazon, down from $129.95 and about $20 shy of its all-time low. The portable Bluetooth speaker delivers powerful, clear sound and an IP67 waterproof and dustproof rating. The Flip 6 also offers up to 12 hours of playtime and features JBL’s PartyBoost feature, which allows you to pair multiple JBL devices together for a more powerful audio experience.The BioLite SolarHome 620 Plus kit is on sale for $139.93, down from $199.95, at REI. The compact, solar-powered system is designed to bring lights, charging, and audio to off-grid locations. Along with a 6W solar panel, it features an integrated FM radio / MP3 player, three hanging 120-lumen LED lights, and a pair of USB ports for charging various devices.Garmin’s Varia RTL515 Radar Taillight is on sale at REI and Amazon for $149.99 ($50 off), nearly matching its lowest price to date. The headlight combines a bright LED light with a rearview radar that, when paired with a compatible device, warns you of cars approaching from behind from up to 153 yards away.If you want a straightforward stove that gets the job done, Coleman’s Cascade Classic Camp Stove is a good option that starts at $96.99 (about $33 off) when purchased directly from Coleman or at REI. The compact stove is pretty basic, but it offers everything you need for simple, reliable camp cooking. It’s got enough cooking power to handle most meals and two burners, so you can cook multiple things at once. It also features a matchless push-button igniter, along with built-in wind guards for better flame control and adjustable heat knobs for more precise cooking. It’s easy to carry and set up as well, with a durable steel cooktop and a removable chrome-plated grate for easy cleanup.You can buy MSR’s TrailShot Pocket-Sized Water Filter for $48.69, down from $64.95, at REI. The squeeze-and-sip filter removes bacteria, protozoa, and particulates, so you can drink directly from natural water sources or refill bottles. The filter is highly portable at just 5.2 ounces, too, and can easily fit in your pocket.

Cyberpunk 2077.It’s a great time to catch up on some big games you might’ve missed out on recently. Epic Games is holding a Mega Sale that includes big discounts on a ton of PC games, including Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced, which is on sale for $14.99 instead of $29.99, and The Last of Us Part 1, which costs $29.99 instead of $59.99.Here are some other highlights from the sale:Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered: $29.99 (down from $59.99)Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut: $40.19 (down from $59.99)God of War Ragnarök: $47.99 (down from $59.99)Cyberpunk 2077: $23.99 (down from $59.99, and also on sale on other platforms)Dragon Age: The Veilguard: $29.99 (down from $59.99)Alan Wake 2 Deluxe Edition: $27.99 (down from $69.99)Red Dead Redemption: $34.99 (down from $49.99)If you don’t know which games you want to get yet, you have some time to decide. The Mega Sale runs from May 15th to June 12th at 11AM ET. Dead Island 2 and Happy Game are also available for free until May 22nd.

Activision is starting to wind down Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile just over a year after its global launch. The game “has not met our expectations with mobile-first players like it has with PC and console audiences,” according to a post on X. The company will be pulling the game from the App Store and Google Play after Sunday, May 18th.Players who have installed the game before Monday, May 19th will “still have access to the game with continued cross-progression of shared inventories using existing content, and servers with matchmaking for online play,” Activision says.We deeply appreciate your dedication and passion for Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile. Going forward, we will be streamlining the scope of the game. This decision was made after careful consideration of various factors and while we're proud of the accomplishment in bringing Call of… pic.twitter.com/2FU3itRRZ9— Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile (@WarzoneMobile) May 16, 2025However, there will be no new seasonal content or gameplay updates, social features across platforms will not be available, and you won’t be able to buy content with real-world currency, Activision says on a support page. Activision will not be offering refunds for previously purchased content or for unspent COD Points.Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile launched worldwide on March 21st, 2024, and it shared progression with Call of Duty: Warzone on console and PC. But it apparently wasn’t as successful as Activision and Microsoft, which became a huge force in mobile gaming as a result of the acquisition, would have liked.

GameStop will have additional Switch 2 stock available in-store and online when the console launches next month, according to a post on X. In-store launch events will begin at 3PM local time on June 4th, according to the company. Pickups start on June 5th at 12AM EST / June 4th at 9PM PST.Online orders will also begin on June 5th at 12AM EST/ June 4th at 9PM PST, spokesperson Nicolle Robles tells The Verge.Didn't pre-order Switch 2? We got you. pic.twitter.com/6Xa4QUzM3g— GameStop (@gamestop) May 16, 2025GameStop opened up its preorders on April 24th, and like with other retailers, the online preorders started poorly. Within a couple hours, the company confirmed that online preorders sold out, but many people, including The Verge’s Ash Parrish, had luck preordering in-store.Best Buy said this week that “most” stores will have extra Switch 2 consoles available in-store at launch, too. The Verge has contacted Walmart and Target to see if they can share their plans for launch day availability.And if you requested the chance to buy a console through Nintendo’s direct sales, check your email; invitations started going out on May 8th, and I got my own invite on Wednesday.Update, May 16th: GameStop confirmed when online orders will begin.

If you're looking for a laptop that's powerful and efficient, you can't go wrong with ones that are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X chips. We know that some of these laptops can be expensive, but that doesn't mean you can't score one for cheap if you know where to look. Luckily, we've done all the hard work for you, spotting this deal on the HP OmniBook X, which is now $300 off, falling to one of its best prices this year.

I've been building PCs for almost 20 years now. I started with a Core 2 Duo build, and my current rig has a Ryzen 7 5700X and an RTX 3080. I have enjoyed the ride, but it's time to get off. PC building has become unsustainable, not that it was terribly better in the last few years. The writing has been on the wall for some time now, but this generation was the final straw.

I've written a lot about how people should not overspend on the motherboard when building a PC. Motherboard manufacturers love to market features that are nothing more than gimmicks, and most people don't need to spend more than $200 on a DDR5 motherboard today. However, there's a lot more that can be said about exactly how marketing traps you into spending just a "little bit" more on the motherboard — the most important component to future-proof a PC.

Nintendo announced last month that it would be updating a handful of Switch games to run better on the Switch 2, and now some details about the planned improvements are available on its website. The improvements vary per game, but they include things like optimizing visuals for the Switch 2’s larger screen, better frame rates, HDR support, and GameShare support.The full list of games getting free updates is below, and you can see the specific updates on Nintendo’s website. The updates will all be available on June 5th, the same day the Switch 2 launches:ARMSBig Brain Academy: Brain vs. BrainCaptain Toad: Treasure TrackerClubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide ClassicsGame Builder GarageNew Super Mario Bros. U DeluxePokémon ScarletPokémon VioletSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser’s FurySuper Mario OdysseyThe Legend of Zelda: Echoes of WisdomThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s AwakeningThese updates aren’t quite as big as the paid Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrades for games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Party Jamboree. But if you’re looking to revisit some older Switch games on the Switch 2, even the smaller improvements could feel welcome — especially for games like Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and the Link’s Awakening remake that sometimes struggled on the original Switch hardware.

As an old companion in my tinkering journey, my Raspberry Pi 5 had to bear the brunt of my DIY experiments, which have ranged from all-in-one productivity hubs to Docker containers running Windows. However, few projects can beat the synergy between Home Assistant and Raspberry Pi. The former is hands-down the best utility for managing the smart home devices and IoT paraphernalia in my apartment, while the latter’s low-energy consumption makes it an economical option for running services that require 24/7 uptime.

Let’s say you’ve put together a reliable home lab that’s armed to the teeth with your favorite virtual machines and containers. But considering the experimental nature of home servers, it’s rather easy to break your painstakingly-built virtualization suite. Thankfully, you can arm your self-hosting empire with a couple of documentation and backup tools to facilitate quick recovery if (or rather, when) your server goes down after a botched experiment.

When running my PC, I want to achieve the best performance possible. On my production system, I am not worried about the look of the OS; I only want to get things done. What’s annoying is that Microsoft enables several cosmetic features by default, and even if you get a brand-new, shiny system, it might not feel responsive or blazing fast. There are other features that I wish were disabled by default that eat up system resources. So, there are many settings I have to disable, registry tweaks, and customization tools to get it so it is at a point where it is faster.

Being a freelancer, I receive hundreds of emails every day. While Outlook gets the job done, I’m always looking for ways to optimize my email experience. I tried dozens of email apps but kept coming back to Microsoft’s solution for several reasons. However, when Notion launched its new email app, I decided to conduct a week-long experiment. I wanted to see if Notion Mail could deliver on the dream of a truly integrated productivity experience.