A trend in gaming that has mostly gone away is the special peripherals, usually in the form of novelty controllers, that sometimes come out alongside new games. The most popular of these, and the one responsible for their decline, are the Guitar Hero guitar controllers, which are almost life-size and shaped like a guitar. There are two major components that contribute to the cult classic status of some of these, which are usability and novelty. The best controllers were often one or the other, but the cream of the crop managed both. These days, the closest we have are the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons, or some of the classic controllers available for the Switch, like the GameCube controller. For this list, I went with ones that managed to do both, at least for some games.

The forthcoming Galaxy Z Fold 7 is Samsung’s thinnest foldable yet. Our own Allison Johnson just published her full review ahead of the phone’s launch on July 25th, and while there’s certainly no denying it’s a spendy device, know that various carriers and retailers are offering a host of preorder incentives, many of which will expire at launch.Although the Z Fold 7 isn’t miles ahead of last-gen Z Fold 6 in terms of performance, it measures just 8.9mm thick when folded, making it look and feel like something of a next-gen foldable. The outer screen has also increased in size from 6.3 inches to 6.5 inches, which, when taken into account alongside its thickness, makes the Z Fold 7 feel more akin to a normal phone when folded. Alas, if only it had a “normal phone” price tag instead of an exuberant starting price of $1,999.That being said, it’s still possible to save on a preorder purchase, or at the very least receive some credit you can then spend on accessories like the Galaxy Watch 8. Whether you plan to shop directly through Samsung, your carrier, or a traditional retailer, here are the biggest promotions along with the key details you’ll want to keep in mind.You can get up to $1,100 in trade-in creditThe current trade-in savings are big enough to chop the Z Fold 7’s $1,999.99 price tag in half. Ahead of its release on July 25th, Samsung is offering up to $1,000 in credit for the last-gen Z Fold 6 and S25 Ultra — or less, if you’re trading in an older phone. Samsung will give you an instant discount based on the estimated value of your trade-in, which lowers the out-of-pocket cost to $999.99. That’s great, and thankfully, you can get instant trade-in credit even if you’re activating the phone on Verizon or AT&T through Samsung’s site. But that’s not how trade-in credit works if you’re buying directly through carriers.Carriers across the board are currently offering a $1,100 trade-in credit toward the Z Fold 7, which will be paid back in the form of monthly installments. AT&T will provide $1,100 in credits over 36 months to customers on postpaid unlimited plans who purchase the new phone with an installment plan. As for the phones that AT&T is currently accepting, they include any Galaxy S, Note, and S-series phone, regardless of its age or condition.Verizon is also offering up to $1,100 in monthly credits over 36 months with an eligible trade-in in “any condition,” although the carrier doesn’t list or even mention any eligible phones. You must also be on an Unlimited Ultimate plan to get that much credit.T-Mobile is offering up to $1,100 in monthly credits for those auto-paying for a plan that costs $85 or more per month — no trade-in required.Samsung is offering a lot of bonus credit, with a small catchIf you’re preordering directly through Samsung, you will receive a $50 Samsung credit to use on accessories as an extra perk. Those who aren’t trading in a device will get an extra $300 to spend, totaling $350. However, the credit is “use it or lose it,” so to speak; you’ll forfeit it all if you don’t use it at checkout. So, if you do go this route, you’ll want to pick up a pair of earbuds, a case, a Galaxy Watch 8, etc etc.Keep in mind that the aforementioned credit is exclusive to Samsung’s online storefront and isn’t available when purchasing the Galaxy Z Fold 7 through a carrier, Best Buy, Amazon, or any other retailer.Not all carriers are offering a free storage upgrade right nowSome retailers, but not all, are offering the 512GB Z Fold 7 for no extra charge through July 24th. This includes Samsung, T-Mobile, Best Buy, and Amazon, the latter of which is also throwing in a $300 Amazon gift card with each purchase. However, AT&T and Verizon aren’t, at least through their respective sites. They each are offering the 256GB model at the same $1,999 price that you can get the 512GB model for elsewhere. That said, activating the Z Fold 7 via Best Buy will allow you to purchase the 512GB variant for $1,899.99 as a one-time payment (or as a $55.55-a-month payment for 36 months).

When you crack open your mailbox, it's almost as if your letters just appear. Long before the days of speedy, overnight mail deliveries, postal service workers meticulously sorted through letters by hand and transported mail on horseback. For more than 250 years, the US Postal Service has worked behind the scenes to build a faster delivery network, and this mission has quietly pushed it to the forefront of technology."Most people treat the Postal Service like a black box," USPS spokesperson Jim McKean tells The Verge. "You take your letter, you put it in a mailbox, and then it shows up somewhere in a couple of days. The truth is that that …Read the full story at The Verge.

It's almost human nature to want to make the most out of our devices at this point, and no matter what, we're always looking at how we can optimize our computers (or even phones). One way we tend to do that is by reducing memory usage, but it's not always obvious how you can do that.

I sure hope you like asymmetry. Nothing says that the Phone 3 is its "first true flagship phone," and it has put its money where its mouth is. The phone is getting a full US launch, and at $799, it costs exactly the same as a Pixel 9, Galaxy S25, or iPhone 16.That makes reviewing the Phone 3 refreshingly simple, because there are only two real questions that matter: is this as good as those three? And will it be as good as what we're expecting from the new Pixel and iPhone models that are right around the corner? The answer is going to come down to how much you like its unique look. The bad news for Nothing is that the Phone 3's design is more divisive than any out the …Read the full story at The Verge.

Quiet luxury. I've been using the Galaxy Z Fold 7 for a week, and I've run out of ways to say "It's so nice." It's not essential, or life-changing; it's nice.It's an understatement, though. Samsung joins the likes of Honor and Oppo in making a folding phone that's almost as thin as a regular phone, and it's a trend with real benefits. Compared to the previous six generations of Samsung folding phones, the Z Fold 7's inner screen feels like a bonus - one that doesn't require the sacrifice of carrying a bigger, bulkier device to get. It is thin. It is luxurious. Also: it is two thousand dollars.It's so nice. It's two thousand dollars. Somewhere in betwe …Read the full story at The Verge.

Loop Biotech’s “Living Cocoon” is a casket made from mycelium, the root structure of mushrooms. "I'm probably the only architect who created a final home," Bob Hendrikx tells The Verge. Tombs and catacombs aside, Hendrikx might be the only one to make a final home using mushrooms.Hendrikx is the founder and CEO of Loop Biotech, a company that makes caskets out of mycelium, the fibrous root structure of mushrooms. This June, the first burial in North America to use one of Loop Biotech's caskets took place in Maine. "He always said he wanted to be buried naked in the woods."The mushroom casket gives people one more option to leave the living with a gentler impact, part of a growing array of what are supposed to be more sustainable …Read the full story at The Verge.

The Switch 2 technically launched with an F-Zero game, as F-Zero GX was available on Nintendo Switch Online's premium tier as part of the GameCube lineup. But if you're looking for a new F-Zero or Wipeout, the console has a spiritual successor that costs just $14.99: Shin'en's Fast Fusion.Fast Fusion pits you in futuristic sci-fi hovercraft races where you fly forward at hundreds of miles per hour. Races are all about managing boosts by collecting coins to build your boost meter and driving over boost zones on the tracks themselves. (You can boost into opponents to make them spin out to earn some extra coins, which never gets old.)The ga …Read the full story at The Verge.

After 40 years and six generations, 2025 marks the beginning of a new generation of the BMW M5: the G90 chassis. Featuring a ground-up redesign and a new plug-in hybrid powertrain, the specs are impressive. It's not just its horsepower and torque numbers but its curb weight of 5,390 pounds, too. That's no small figure, but the German brand's never held back in this department, and it has never greatly impeded the badge.Well, until now. There's a lot to like about the newest M5, especially in its corner-carving competence and how it acts around town solely propelled by electrons. But in other areas, this $123,275 super sedan lacks some nece …Read the full story at The Verge.

An aerial view of flash flood damage along the banks of the Guadalupe River on July 11th in Kerrville, Texas. | Photo: Getty Images Flash floods have wrought more havoc in the US this week, from the Northeast to the Midwest, just weeks after swollen rivers took more than 130 lives across central Texas earlier this month. Frustrations have grown in the aftermath of that catastrophe over why more wasn't done to warn people in advance.Local officials face mounting questions over whether they sent too many or sent too few mobile phone alerts to people. Some Texans have accused the state of sending out too many alerts for injured police officers in the months leading up to the floods, which may have led to residents opting out of receiving warnings. And hard-hit Kerr County …Read the full story at The Verge.

If you ask any Windows user, they will tell you how PuTTY is a must-have tool for your home lab, and a go-to SSH client since the beginning of time. It's certainly one of the most reliable ways of connecting to remote servers, and its open-source nature means that it has become popular among developers and enthusiasts. That said, PuTTY isn't perfect. It has a dated interface that needs a massive overhaul. There's only a single window which is poor for workflow management, and the customization options are extremely limited. Owing to this, you may have felt like looking for a better alternative to PuTTY, but you were probably too reluctant considering how you were so used to the app.

I recently built an all-new overpowered server for my home labbing adventures, packing an Intel Core i7-14700K, an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX, and 64 GB of RAM. The goal was to replace my bare-metal TrueNAS system with a Proxmox-focused beast, but there was one problem: how was I going to move all of my data over? As it turns out, it was really easy and took less than half an hour to get everything migrated.