Innovation keeps racing forward, yet a growing number of people are deliberately stepping back—especially as a constant onslaught of unwanted AI from every angle is being used as a corporate excuse to raise subscription prices for software we can't even own. They're trying to make it so nothing is ours anymore; everything is rented to us, from video games and SaaS to movies and books. Even hardware faces planned obsolescence, forced upgrades, and a long fight for the right to repair.

Apple’s latest iPad Mini is matching its all-time low of $399 for a limited time.Memorial Day weekend isn’t just for barbecues and beach trips — it’s also a chance to score some of the best tech deals you’ll find all season. Multiple retailers dropped a selection of early discounts in the run-up to the holiday, and now that it’s officially here, we’re seeing deals on everything from basic essentials to big-ticket favorites of ours.Below, we’ve rounded up a few highlights, from LG’s C4 OLED TV to Garmin’s Forerunner 265, both of which are down to their best price to date. We’ve also included practical (and affordable) finds like video doorbells and location trackers, along with a selection of miscellaneous gems, from discounted MacBooks and Glocuscent’s wearable book light to other nifty trinkets that’ll make life a little better. Whether you’re shopping for yourself or hunting for a last-minute graduation gift, there’s a little something for everyone, so let’s dive in.Speaker dealsEarbud and headphone dealsTV and streaming device dealsSmart home dealsSmartwatch and wearable dealsTablet dealsOutdoor and travel dealsOther miscellaneous dealsSpeaker dealsThe second-gen Sonos Roam is available for an all-time low of $134 ($45 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and Sonos. Unlike its predecessor, the portable speaker is ready to use right out of the box and features a dedicated button for Bluetooth pairing. It isn’t as powerful as the Move 2 — and it doesn’t offer line-in support — but it still sounds great and integrates well with the rest of the Sonos ecosystem, which makes it relatively easy to switch music between the company’s speakers.Anker’s tiny Soundcore Select 4 Go is on sale starting at $22.49 (about $13 off) at Amazon, nearly matching its lowest price to date. Along with IPX67 waterproofing, the Bluetooth speaker offers up to 20 hours of battery life and can be paired with a second Select 4 Go for stereo sound.The Beats Pill is on sale for around $99.95 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, which is $2 shy of its best price to date. The portable speaker offers noticeably improved sound over the previous model, along with support for lossless audio via USB-C. It also offers twice as much battery life, adds IP67 water and dust resistance, and includes native Find My support on both Android and iOS. Read our review.You can buy the JBL Clip 5 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for around $49.95 ($30 off), which nearly matches its best price to date. The Bluetooth speaker offers a built-in carabiner so you can easily attach it to, say, a backpack, along with IP67 water resistance. The Clip 5 also offers Auracast support, so you can pair it with compatible JBL speakers for a stereo sound.The Sony ULT Field 3 is available at Amazon and Walmart for around $148 ($52 off), which is its best price to date. The portable Bluetooth speaker features a dedicated ULT button to boost bass and volume, and delivers up to 24 hours of playback on a single charge. With a detachable shoulder strap and an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, it’s also a great companion for beach days. Earbud and headphone dealsIf Sony’s new $449 WH-1000XM6 headphones are out of your budget, Sony’s WH-1000XM5 are on sale for around $298 (about $100 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, which is one of their better prices to date. While they don’t fold down for easy storage, they still deliver top-tier noise cancellation, sound quality, and comfort. The new model does offer some improvements, but the upgrades aren’t significant, making the XM5 a good option at this price. Read our review.Right now, you can pick up Bose’s QuietComfort Headphones from Amazon, Best Buy, and Bose for $229 ($120 off), which is one of their best prices to date. They’re foldable and exceptionally comfortable — much like their predecessor, the Bose QC 45 — and they retain lengthy battery life. However, the newer headphones sport adjustable noise cancellation and custom modes, though they lack support for higher-quality Bluetooth codecs and the immersive audio mode found on the QC Ultra Headphones.The Beats Studio Pro are available at Amazon in white starting at $169.99 ($170 off) or for $30 more at Best Buy and Target. The comfortable headphones offer improved noise cancellation and sound over their predecessor, with support for lossless playback over USB-C. They also work well with both iOS and Android devices, providing native support for each platform’s fast pairing and FindMy features. Read our review.TV and streaming device dealsYou can also buy the latest Amazon Fire TV Cube at Amazon, Best Buy, and The Home Depot for $99.99 ($40 off), which is just $10 shy of its all-time low. The third-gen Cube functions as both a traditional Echo speaker and a Fire TV streaming device with support for Wi-Fi 6E, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos, and HDR. The 4K device also integrates well with Amazon Alexa for extensive hands-free voice control.You can buy the standalone Amazon Fire TV Remote for $27.99 ($7 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is $3 shy of its all-time low. The remote offers a pair of programmable buttons and backlighting, along with a useful remote finder feature that lets you quickly find it using your voice or by pressing a button in the app.Smart home dealsThe Blink Mini 2 has returned to its all-time low of $19.99 ($10 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. If you want to use the 1080p wired camera outside, you can also grab it with the weather-resistant power adapter for $29.98 ($20 off) at Amazon. The camera offers improved image and audio over the prior model, along with a wider 143-degree field of view and USB-C. It also retains useful features like two-way audio and motion alerts in an easy-to-mount design.Mill is selling its Mill Food Recycler for $874, down from $999. That’s not quite on par with its all-time low of $799, but it’s still a small way to save on the high-tech trash can, which can transform kitchen scraps into a compost-like material for your garden overnight. It helps keep your kitchen from smelling bad, cuts down on food waste, and reduces the trash you generate. Read our review.The latest Echo Dot is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for $34.99 ($15 off), which is the best price we’ve seen this year. Placing two of the ball-shaped speakers on either side of the bed makes for surprisingly good stereo sound in a bedroom, and because each smart speaker functions as a Matter controller, you can use them to set up and control various smart home devices. Read our review.You can currently buy Coway’s Airmega AP-1512HH Mighty from Amazon and Coway for $169.99, down from $229.99, which is one of the better prices we’ve seen in recent months. The small HEPA air purifier features a four-stage filtration system that’s ideal for smaller rooms, and it automatically powers down after 30 minutes once it detects the air is clean.The weatherproof Blink Outdoor 4 is 50 percent off at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, where you can pick it up for $49.99 for a limited time. The 1080p security camera includes upgrades like person detection, improved image quality, and a wider field of view than prior models, all while retaining support for motion detection, night vision, and two-way audio. It can also last up to two years on a pair of AA batteries.The second-gen Ring Indoor Cam is available at Amazon and Best Buy for $34.99 ($25 off), which is $5 shy of its best price to date. The wired camera features a physical privacy cover that lets you block the camera and microphone, while its redesigned mount lets you easily adjust the camera’s angle. It also retains a number of features from its predecessor, including 1080p resolution, color night vision, and two-way audio.Amazon is selling a single Eero Pro 7, which can cover up to 2,000 square feet, for $549.99 ($150 off); you can also grab a pair for $799.99 ($150 off) or three units for $949.99 ($150 off). The dual-band mesh router supports the latest Wi-Fi 7 standard, offering speeds up to 3.9Gbps. Each unit also includes two 5Gbps ethernet ports and can function as a smart home hub with Matter support, a Zigbee radio, and a Thread border router.Smartwatch and wearable dealsGarmin’s 41mm Venu 3S is on sale at an all-time low of $349.99 ($100 off) at Amazon and REI. The Venu 3S is our favorite Garmin smartwatch, one that combines contactless payments and other smart features with a broad swath of health tools, including period tracking, abnormal heart rate alerts, and fall detection. It features a microphone and speaker for taking calls, too, though you’ll need your phone to take advantage of said feature since the 3S lacks built-in cellular connectivity. Read our review.The 49mm Apple Watch Ultra 2 is on sale for $739 ($60 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is one of the better prices we’ve seen this year. The rugged wearable offers the brightest display of any Apple wearable, along with the longest battery life. It also packs Apple’s S9 SiP and second-gen ultra wideband chips, allowing you to take advantage of Apple’s handy double tap feature. Read our review.Best Buy is selling the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 in the 40mm / Wi-Fi configuration starting at $219.99 ($80 off) with an extra Samsung band. The latest Samsung wearable is faster than its predecessor and can track your location even more accurately courtesy of its new dual-frequency GPS. It also sports a host of new features, like FDA-cleared sleep apnea detection and irregular heart rate notifications. Read our review.Tablet dealsOutdoor and travel dealsThe LifeStraw Peak Series Straw — which can filter bacteria, parasites, and microplastics from water — is on sale at Amazon and REI starting at $18.69 (about $6 off), one of its best prices to date. You can use the handy outdoor gadget to drink directly from streams or rivers, yet the convenient design also allows you to attach it to bottles or connect it to gravity hose systems. The Peak Series model also features a more durable design and faster flow rate than earlier models, which is a boon for anyone in the backcountry.Best Buy is selling the Starlink Mini for $299.99 ($200 off). The DC-powered Mini comes with a built-in Wi-Fi 5 router that’s integrated directly into the portable satellite dish. It delivers speeds over 100Mbps and takes just minutes to set up, offering quick and easy internet access while on the go (with a qualifying internet plan starting at $50 a month). Read our review.You can buy the AeroPress Original for around $31.95 ($8 off) at Amazon, Walmart, and Target right now. The 3-in-1 coffee maker is one of our favorite coffee gadgets, as it easily brews 10 ounces of regular coffee or multiple espresso-style shots in about a minute. It’s also easy to clean and comes with accessories like a scoop, stirrer, and paper macro filters, so brewing up a cup of coffee on the go is even easier.The Thermacell E90 Mosquito Repeller is available for $42.49 (about $7 off) at Amazon. The rechargeable device repels bugs within a 20-foot radius for up to nine hours at a time using its built-in battery. It also comes with a nine-hour cartridge, though 40-hour refills are also available.The Helinox Chair Zero — a personal favorite of several Verge staffers — is on sale at REI and Amazon for around $105 ($35 off), which is its best price to date. The collapsible backpacking chair is exceptionally lightweight and easy to pack, given it weighs just a pound; it’s also built well enough to support up to 265 pounds and is both comfortable and stable, despite its portable design.REI is currently selling the Exped MegaMat Duo Sleeping Pad starting at $277.39, down from its normal retail price of $369.95. The 4-inch, self-inflating mattress is a favorite of ours for camping thanks to its extra-wide design, along with its open-cell polyurethane foam and generous padding, the latter of which is designed to keep you warm and comfortable when temperatures begin to dip. It also makes for a great air mattress for guests, regardless of where you put it.The Half Dome 2 Tent is on sale at REI with a footprint for $209.29 ($90 off), which is one of the best prices we’ve seen on the REI-branded tent. The inexpensive three-season offering is easy to set up and offers plenty of space for two people, with built-in pockets for organizing gear and two large doors that roll up. It’s certainly not the lightest offering you can buy, but at this price, it’s an easy recommendation for first-time backpackers and anyone looking for a solid tent for car camping.Other miscellaneous dealsDell’s 16 Plus Windows laptop that released earlier this year is seeing steep discounts when you buy directly through Dell itself. We’re particularly impressed with the discount on the model that has a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution screen (instead of FHD+ in the base configuration), 16GB of RAM, Intel’s Core Ultra 7 256V processor, and 1TB of NVMe storage for $799.99 (normally $1,149.99).Belkin’s older MagSafe 2-in-1 Wireless Charging Stand is down to $73.99 ($17 off) at Amazon, which is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen. It delivers up to 15W of power to MagSafe-compatible iPhones, with a pad that can also charge a pair of AirPods or a second Qi-enabled device, all while propping up your phone at a convenient viewing angle.You can pick up PowerA’s Enhanced Wireless Controller starting at $35.62 ($25 off) at Amazon, which is $3 shy of its best price to date. A number of designs are on sale, too, ranging from an Animal Crossing-inspired option to Mario-themed ones. Overall, the colorful gamepad is a good budget model for the Nintendo Switch, complete with support for Bluetooth, remappable buttons, and motion controls.If the mere prospect of summer already has you sweating, Jisulife’s adorable handheld fan is on sale at Amazon in an assortment of colors starting at $15.29 (about $3 off), nearly matching its all-time low. Jisulife’s bag-friendly option is a pretty no-frills affair, though it does pack a built-in stand and can charge via USB-C; it also doubles as a 4,800mAh battery pack, as if its base functionality and the adorable bear ears weren’t enough.The Slice Auto-Retractable Box Cutter is on sale for $14.60 (about $5 off) at Amazon, which is its best price so far this year. The ceramic blade automatically retracts, making it a safe tool for opening packages around the house or office.The Goliath Power Saber is on sale at Amazon for $13.50 (about $37 off), its lowest price to date. The so-called “power saber” isn’t an official Star Wars toy, sadly, but it’s a fun light-up blade that can automatically extend and retract; it will also collapse when you actually press it against something, meaning it’s a relatively safe pick for kids.Update, May 26th: Adjusted pricing / availability, removed expired discounts, and added several new deals, including those for the fifth-gen Echo Dot and the AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.

I've got a ton of hard drives, even in 2025, and I don't see that changing much in the years to come. I use mine mostly for archival storage, but I still have the odd one or two inside my desktop PCs for files that don't need SSD speeds. Over time, they need to be re-optimized for peak performance.

As policy makers in the UK weigh how to regulate the AI industry, Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister and former Meta executive, claimed a push for artist consent would “basically kill” the AI industry.Speaking at an event promoting his new book, Clegg said the creative community should have the right to opt out of having their work used to train AI models. But he claimed it wasn’t feasible to ask for consent before ingesting their work first.“I think the creative community wants to go a step further,” Clegg said according to The Times. “Quite a lot of voices say, ‘You can only train on my content, [if you] first ask’. And I have to say that strikes me as somewhat implausible because these systems train on vast amounts of data.”“I just don’t know how you go around, asking everyone first. I just don’t see how that would work,” Clegg said. “And by the way if you did it in Britain and no one else did it, you would basically kill the AI industry in this country overnight.”The comments follow a back-and-forth in Parliament over new legislation that aims to give creative industries more insight into how their work is used by AI companies. An amendment to the Data (Use and Access) Bill would require technology companies to disclose what copyrighted works were used to train AI models. Paul McCartney, Dua Lipa, Elton John, and Andrew Lloyd Webber are among the hundreds of musicians, writers, designers, and journalists who signed an open letter in support of the amendment earlier in May.The amendment — introduced by Beeban Kidron, who is also a film producer and director — has bounced around gaining support. But on Thursday members of parliament rejected the proposal, with technology secretary Peter Kyle saying the “Britain’s economy needs both [AI and creative] sectors to succeed and to prosper.” Kidron and others have said a transparency requirement would allow copyright law to be enforced, and that AI companies would be less likely to “steal” work in the first place if they are required to disclose what content they used to train models.In an op-ed in the Guardian Kidron promised that “the fight isn’t over yet,” as the Data (Use and Access) Bill returns to the House of Lords in early June.

Microsoft keeps encouraging users to install the latest version of Windows, or at least pick the one that is still eligible to get monthly security updates. In addition to new features, one of the reasons behind this is that the latest updates include fixes for newly discovered security threats and vulnerabilities. However, things can be a bit tricky with fresh Windows installs using ISOs.

The Last of Us just wrapped up its second season, and the finale ends in a way that sets up a major change for the show. It's one that reflects a similar shift in perspective that fans of the game it's adapting will remember well: one designed to make viewers see the story in a whole new way.This story contains spoilers for the first two seasons of The Last of Us, as well as both games.After the relative peace and respite of season 2's penultimate episode, which tracked Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie's (Bella Ramsey) shifting relationship over the course of several years, the finale gets back to the dark stuff. Namely, Ellie's quest to find and kill Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), who murdered Joel as revenge for killing her own father.Despite being caught in a literal warzone in Seattle, and having a pregnant girlfriend who just suffered a grievous injury, and listening to a speech from Jesse (Young Mazino) about the importance of thinking about the good of their community as a whole, it seems nothing can stop Ellie in her own quest for revenge. So when she learns Abby might be in a nearby aquarium, she abandons everything to go there, only to accidentally kill two of Abby's friends, …Read the full story at The Verge.

The Witcher 4 is still a long way out, with CD Projekt Red not even offering a release window or a look at gameplay for the highly anticipated sequel. But we do know the general setting, and we know that Geralt is hopefully enjoying retirement, as Ciri takes the leading role. The trailer makes it look like The Witcher 4 takes place a few years after The Witcher 3, one of the best single-player games of all time, with a slightly older Ciri, who is now a full-blown Witcher.

When self-hosting as much as you can to save on cost, headaches, and keeping control of all of your data, you've likely come across network video recorders (NVR) solutions such as Frigate and Zoneminder. I've used the latter extensively for a few years, and only recently have I made the switch to Frigate, largely due to my esteemed colleague Ayush Pande's excellent coverage. These handy packages allow you to connect IP cameras and can track, monitor, and even alert you to various events.

Nintendo is entering a new era. While most everyone associates the company with video games, for the last few years the brand behind Mario has been steadily expanding itself into something much larger."I think people view Nintendo as a gaming company, but we have always thought of ourselves as an entertainment company," Nintendo's senior managing executive officer, Shinya Takahashi, told me in 2023. Design legend Shigeru Miyamoto echoed the same idea at the opening of Nintendo's first museum last year. "What I wanted to express with this museum is that we are first and foremost an entertainment company," he said.To that end, Nintendo has entered into new areas like theme parks and Hollywood films. At the same time, it's now attempting to maintain its foothold in games with the launch of the Switch 2, a follow-up to its most successful home console to date. Each of these moves is a bold bet designed to broaden Nintendo's scope - but each one does that in the safest possible way.As Nintendo gets more ambitious, it's also getting less risky.The Switch 2 is the most obvious example. It's right there in the name. Instead of switching things up with a left field idea like the Wi …Read the full story at The Verge.

Converting paper documents into digital formats means you've got backups of your paperwork should you ever need them. It can also help you clear out a substantial amount of clutter from your home or office - perhaps a whole filing cabinet's worth.It's now easier than ever to scan documents using today's phones - a large flatbed scanner is no longer needed as it was in the past. Receipts, business cards, bills, and any other kind of printed material can be stored digitally.If you've got an iPhone, you can do this straight from the built-in Notes or Files apps. If those don't quite give you the features you need, there are third-party alternatives that will do the job as well.Scan documents with Notes or FilesThe process of scanning a document is similar in both Notes and Files. To get started in Notes, open or create a note, then tap the paperclip icon at the bottom, then Scan Documents. In Files, tap the three dots (top right), then Scan Documents.This gets you into the scanning interface. By default, you'll be in auto mode - frame the document in the camera viewfinder, and when it's lined up, a picture is automatically taken. Line up the next page, and after a momen …Read the full story at The Verge.

Notion is a great tool, one of the best out there, but it’s not the absolute best. I realized this after exploring a bunch of alternatives. I’ve tried a handful of options, including Obsidian, Bear, TheBrain, and even self-hosted, open-source tools like Joplin and Trilium Next. Obsidian had been the most complete solution of all these until recently, when I discovered AFFiNE.

Last month, Donald Trump pushed the boundaries of government and financial ethics by announcing a contest: whoever bought and held the highest amount of the $TRUMP meme coin for an entire month would win an invite to a private dinner with the President. That dinner took place on Thursday at the Trump National Golf Course in Virginia, with attendees reportedly dropping nearly $394 million on $TRUMP in order to win the privilege. According to an analysis by The Guardian of the winners' wallets, over half of them lost money participating in this contest. But that's only if you're analyzing the wallets visible on the contest site's leaderboard. The real money was being made elsewhere."Bet you 10 percent of dinner participants are doing this"I interviewed an enthusiastic crypto trader who figured out how to win the contest without losing any money: buy enough $TRUMP to get onto the leaderboard - and then in a separate wallet on a separate exchange, buy $TRUMP perpetual futures that would be profitable if (or as he saw it, when) the value of $TRUMP dropped. Yes, he did The Big Short, except with Donald Trump's meme coin. "Bet you 10 percent of dinner participants are doing this," …Read the full story at The Verge.