I couldn’t tell you what my very first purchase from Amazon was—although I know it was a book and that I purchased it on my 7-pound laptop using a dial-up modem that took several minutes to connect me to Al Gore’s internet. I’m certain I was delighted to receive my purchase about a week later, even though I was paying for shipping. Not only does this memory prove that I have officially reached my “back-in-my-day!” old codger years, but it also shows how quickly consumer expectations can shift. In less than 30 years, online shopping has gone from an occasional novelty that required some consumer effort (waiting on that modem connection was not for the faint of heart) to a rapid process so seamless that even next-day delivery can feel a bit slow. Much of Amazon’s success lies in its promise of fast shipping all across the country (and world). The online marketplace can deliver on that promise because of its massive delivery infrastructure, the logistics of which are truly mind-bending to contemplate. But Amazon would not have become the dominant shopping method if not for one simple thing: free shipping. The expectation of free shipping has helped solidify Jeff Bezos as one of the richest men in the world (with his own marital-aid shaped rocket, which seems to be standard issue for modern oligarchs). Unfortunately, that means free shipping has cost us a lot more than we could have ever imagined. Here’s why I’ve decided to pay for shipping moving forward–and would encourage you to do the same. ‘Free’ scrambles our brains In his 2008 bestselling book Predictably Irrational, behavioral psychologist Dan Ariely breaks down how Amazon’s sales increased when it began offering free shipping for purchases over $30. After instituting this policy in the early 2000s, Amazon customers would willingly spend more money to buy an additional item they didn’t necessarily want or need—just to save themselves $4 in shipping costs. This is not a rational reaction, and yet most (if not every single one) of us has blithely spent more money on two items, one of which we didn’t really want, to avoid paying for shipping. What’s more, when Amazon in France originally rolled out a similar shipping offer for purchases over a certain amount, there was no sales increase. That’s because the French division of Amazon offered shipping for one franc rather than free shipping if you spent more than the purchase minimum. Since one franc was equal to about 20 cents, you’d think that French online shoppers would also jump at the chance to reduce their shipping costs—but pricing the shipping at one franc allowed consumers to recognize the true cost of adding an unwanted item to their shopping carts. Yet once Amazon in France switched to free shipping to match the rest of the company, sales increased dramatically. Prime suspicion Amazon is certainly not the only company to offer free shipping over a certain dollar amount–and there are definitely times when that kind of shipping deal is good for the customer. But the introduction of the Amazon Prime membership in 2005 altered the calculation. For an annual fee of $139, Amazon customers get unlimited, free one-day shipping—with some same-day delivery available. If free shipping over a dollar threshold is a brain-scrambler, Prime membership makes it nigh impossible to recognize how much you’re really paying. Think of it this way: More than 200 million people across the globe pay Amazon $139 annually for the privilege of buying stuff more conveniently from Amazon. That’s $27.8 billion we pay to Bezos’s company—so that we can pay more money to the company when we need books, diapers, clothes, or anything else our little hearts desire. The true cost of free shipping It may seem that I’m just ragging on a successful business vision that truly does save most consumers money. If you’re going to buy things online, you probably would spend more than $139 per year in shipping fees, so why not take advantage of Prime membership? But money is not the only cost worth considering. By making free shipping an expectation, Amazon has also cost us the following: Workers’ rights: One of the ways to cut costs to offer free shipping is to underpay and overwork the workers who make it happen. Fast, free shipping comes with a serious cost to the warehouse workers and delivery drivers tasked with fulfilling that promise. Resourcefulness: When something is cheap and convenient, we tend to ignore other solutions. For example, when I realized my kid had outgrown his swim trunks the day before summer camp, I ordered several new swimsuits from Amazon—even though his older brother probably had something that would fit him. Small businesses: Any small or independent business can’t afford to offer free shipping. Patience: American consumers have been taught to expect immediate gratification in a world where you can order something while sitting on the toilet and receive it within a few hours. Quality: Good things come to those who wait, but mediocre stuff can arrive on your doorstep via next-day delivery. Connection: Commerce used to require interaction with other people. I dislike talking to strangers as much as the next misanthrope, but reducing our need to connect with others can also reduce our ability to do so. The environment: If it’s cheap, easy, and quick to buy something, then it’s also easy to discard it–not to mention the environmental impact of shipping the item to you. The subversive politics of paying for shipping Many Americans have been troubled by the rise of oligarchs (to put it mildly) and have been working on divesting from them. That’s an admirable goal that can be difficult to pull off. But simply committing to paying for shipping will offer many of the same benefits. Specifically, recognizing that shipping is part of the cost of online purchases helps to level the e-tailer playing field. Amazon can afford to give their shipping away for free since the company is raking in your Prime membership dollars and knows that you’ll buy everything from their handy-dandy storefront and app. Small businesses that don’t sell everything under the sun can’t possibly compete. You can support small businesses by including the cost of shipping in your purchase expectations. Paying for shipping also forces you to think about your purchases in a way that one-click overnight free shipping does not. If you’re not willing to pay the $4 required to ship a purchase to your home, do you really want or need that purchase? Additionally, when we look at shipping as a line item that can be cut, the loss of that money will most likely affect the workers responsible for delivering products to you. Deciding that you will pay for shipping helps to protect their jobs and rights and lowers their likelihood of injury. Finally, paying for shipping is a way to reject the culture of constant consumerism on which oligarchs have built their empires. We don’t need to always buy-buy-buy to have a robust economy or a satisfying life–and that is much easier to remember when we’re paying for shipping. Free shipping isn’t free We’re living through the consequences of cheap and convenient online shopping. We can take back our agency with one little change—paying for the cost of shipping.

Ever woken up after a full night’s sleep feeling completely drained? Your typical fitness tracker might show impressive sleep stats, but something doesn’t add up with how you actually feel. This disconnect between data and reality is precisely what the Circular Ring 2 aims to solve, offering unprecedented health insights that truly reflect your body’s condition, not just superficial metrics that tell half the story. Representing a revolutionary leap in wearable health technology, it packs an impressive array of over 13 health features, medical-grade EDC, and a free personalized AI coach into an elegant titanium ring that weighs a mere 4 grams. Unlike bulky smartwatches or other health rings that constantly demand attention, this ultra-light ring silently monitors your vital signs around the clock, delivering comprehensive health data without the extra bulk or subscription fees. The ring has been loved by thousands, raising nearly $2.5 million in a month in funding with around 8,500 supporters, And thanks to its resounding success, it has unlocked stretch goals that include Size 5, Blood Pressure Tracking, and Blood Glucose Monitoring. Designer: Circular Click Here to Buy Now: $239 $550 ($311 off). Hurry, only 4/4936 left! Raised over $2.6 million. What truly sets the Circular Ring 2 apart is its ability to capture your heart’s electrical activity directly from your finger, where signal quality naturally excels. In just 30 seconds, you can access detailed heart rhythm data that most wearables simply can’t provide. Clinical-grade heart monitoring is finally available in a form factor that’s comfortable enough to wear continuously, offering insights that could potentially detect issues before they become serious problems. The ring’s sophisticated AI companion, Kira, transforms raw health data into actionable recommendations tailored specifically to your body. By analyzing over 140 biometric markers, Kira learns your unique patterns and provides personalized guidance to optimize your well-being. Unlike passive health trackers that merely display numbers, Circular Ring 2 actively suggests concrete steps to improve your health based on your individual physiology and lifestyle patterns. Women’s health tracking receives special attention with features that correlate sleep, temperature shifts, emotions, and energy levels with menstrual cycles. The smart Calendar predicts periods and fertile windows while connecting these predictions with actual physiological data, offering deeper insights than typical cycle-tracking apps. This comprehensive approach helps women make informed decisions about training, recovery, and overall well-being based on their body’s natural rhythms. Battery life often determines whether a wearable becomes part of your daily routine or ends up forgotten in a drawer. The Circular Ring 2 excels here too, offering a full week of use between charges. Combined with its premium charging case, you can go nearly a month before needing to plug into a wall outlet—perfect for active lifestyles and frequent travelers who don’t want to worry about daily charging routines. Ring’s security-first approach to data handling is much appreciated in a world where you become the product. Your personal health information remains encrypted and secure, complying with GDPR and HIPAA to meet top global data protection standards and giving you complete control over your sensitive biometric data. Going beyond just physical health, Circular Ring 2 also promotes mental health which comes from knowing that your data is safe and that your privacy is well respected. Fashion-conscious users will appreciate the premium design options available in Obsidian Black, Gold, Silver, and Rose Gold finishes. The sleek titanium construction not only looks sophisticated but also provides exceptional durability while remaining hypoallergenic and waterproof (IP68 rated). This perfect balance of elegance and functionality means you can wear your health tracker with any outfit, from workout gear to formal attire, without compromising your style. No subscriptions, No hidden fees Perhaps most refreshingly, Circular Ring 2 breaks from the industry trend of subscription-based models. All features—including heart rhythm monitoring, sleep analysis, stress tracking, and AI recommendations—come with a one-time purchase. Future capabilities, including blood pressure estimates and glucose trend monitoring, will arrive through free over-the-air updates within a few months after shipping, ensuring your investment continues to deliver value without recurring fees. The Circular Ring 2 is a game-changer that finally delivers on the promise of truly personalized health monitoring. By combining premium titanium craftsmanship, unprecedented heart tracking capabilities, and intelligent AI guidance without monthly fees, this featherlight ring outperforms devices many times its size. Whether you’re tracking fitness goals, monitoring heart health, or gaining deeper insights into your body’s patterns, the Circular Ring 2 works quietly behind the scenes, gathering critical data while you live your life uninterrupted. Click Here to Buy Now: $239 $550 ($311 off). Hurry, only 4/4936 left! Raised over $2.6 million.The post World’s First ECG Smart Ring Raises nearly $2.5 million in funding just within a month first appeared on Yanko Design.

Not many brands could pull this one off

An email sent by the Department of Homeland Security instructs people in the US on a temporary legal status to leave the country. But who the email actually applies to—and who actually received it—is far from clear.

In this tutorial, we demonstrate a complete end-to-end solution to convert text into audio using an open-source text-to-speech (TTS) model available on Hugging Face. Leveraging the capabilities of the Coqui TTS library, the tutorial walks you through initializing a state-of-the-art TTS model (in our case, “tts_models/en/ljspeech/tacotron2-DDC”), processing your input text, and saving the resulting synthesis as a high-quality WAV audio file. In addition, we integrate Python’s audio processing tools, including the wave module and context managers, to analyze key audio file attributes like duration, sample rate, sample width, and channel configuration. This step-by-step guide is designed to cater to beginners and advanced developers who want to understand how to generate speech from text and perform basic diagnostic analysis on the output. !pip install TTS !pip install TTS installs the Coqui TTS library, enabling you to leverage open-source text-to-speech models to convert text into high-quality audio. This ensures that all necessary dependencies are available in your Python environment, allowing you to experiment quickly with various TTS functionalities. from TTS.api import TTS import contextlib import wave We import essential modules: TTS from the TTS API for text-to-speech synthesis using Hugging Face models and the built-in contextlib and wave modules for safely opening and analyzing WAV audio files. def text_to_speech(text: str, output_path: str = "output.wav", use_gpu: bool = False): """ Converts input text to speech and saves the result to an audio file. Parameters: text (str): The text to convert. output_path (str): Output WAV file path. use_gpu (bool): Use GPU for inference if available. """ model_name = "tts_models/en/ljspeech/tacotron2-DDC" tts = TTS(model_name=model_name, progress_bar=True, gpu=use_gpu) tts.tts_to_file(text=text, file_path=output_path) print(f"Audio file generated successfully: {output_path}") The text_to_speech function accepts a string of text, along with an optional output file path and a GPU usage flag, and utilizes the Coqui TTS model (specified as “tts_models/en/ljspeech/tacotron2-DDC”) to synthesize the provided text into a WAV audio file. Upon successful conversion, it prints a confirmation message indicating where the audio file has been saved. def analyze_audio(file_path: str): """ Analyzes the WAV audio file and prints details about it. Parameters: file_path (str): The path to the WAV audio file. """ with contextlib.closing(wave.open(file_path, 'rb')) as wf: frames = wf.getnframes() rate = wf.getframerate() duration = frames / float(rate) sample_width = wf.getsampwidth() channels = wf.getnchannels() print("\nAudio Analysis:") print(f" - Duration : {duration:.2f} seconds") print(f" - Frame Rate : {rate} frames per second") print(f" - Sample Width : {sample_width} bytes") print(f" - Channels : {channels}") The analyze_audio function opens a specified WAV file and extracts key audio parameters, such as duration, frame rate, sample width, and number of channels, using Python’s wave module. It then prints these details in a neatly formatted summary, helping you verify and understand the technical characteristics of the synthesized audio output. if __name__ == "__main__": sample_text = ( "Marktechpost is an AI News Platform providing easy-to-consume, byte size updates in machine learning, deep learning, and data science research. Our vision is to showcase the hottest research trends in AI from around the world using our innovative method of search and discovery" ) output_file = "output.wav" text_to_speech(sample_text, output_path=output_file) analyze_audio(output_file) The if __name__ == “__main__”: block serves as the script’s entry point when executed directly. This segment defines a sample text describing an AI news platform. The text_to_speech function is called to synthesize this text into an audio file named “output.wav”, and finally, the analyze_audio function is invoked to print the audio’s detailed parameters. Main Function Output Download the generated audio from the side pane on Colab In conclusion, the implementation illustrates how to effectively harness open-source TTS tools and libraries to convert text to audio while concurrently performing diagnostic analysis on the resulting audio file. By integrating the Hugging Face models through the Coqui TTS library with Python’s robust audio processing capabilities, you gain a comprehensive workflow that synthesizes speech efficiently and verifies its quality and performance. Whether you aim to build conversational agents, automate voice responses, or simply explore the nuances of speech synthesis, this tutorial lays a solid foundation that you can easily customize and expand as needed. Here is the Colab Notebook. Also, don’t forget to follow us on Twitter and join our Telegram Channel and LinkedIn Group. Don’t Forget to join our 85k+ ML SubReddit. NikhilNikhil is an intern consultant at Marktechpost. He is pursuing an integrated dual degree in Materials at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. Nikhil is an AI/ML enthusiast who is always researching applications in fields like biomaterials and biomedical science. With a strong background in Material Science, he is exploring new advancements and creating opportunities to contribute.Nikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/This AI Paper from Salesforce Introduces VLM2VEC and MMEB: A Contrastive Framework and Benchmark for Universal Multimodal EmbeddingsNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/Complete Guide: Working with CSV/Excel Files and EDA in PythonNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/Google Releases Agent Development Kit (ADK): An Open-Source AI Framework Integrated with Gemini to Build, Manage, Evaluate and Deploy Multi AgentsNikhilhttps://www.marktechpost.com/author/nikhil0980/This AI Paper from ByteDance Introduces MegaScale-Infer: A Disaggregated Expert Parallelism System for Efficient and Scalable MoE-Based LLM Serving

This review contains full spoilers for Doctor Who season 2, episode 1, “The Robot Revolution”“The Robot Revolution” kicks off Doctor Who’s second season (which is also the 15th of the revived era, and 41st of the series overall) with all the subtlety of a glitter cannon. It’s loud, bright, and begging you to have fun. It opens strong, racing through a pulpy rescue mission filled with bellowing red robots who shout “Behold!” like they’re auditioning for a live-action Thundercats reboot, and introduces a charmingly absurd polishing droid that deserves its own Star Wars-esque merch line. There’s visual invention to spare, and campier instincts that are proudly leaned into. But for all its spectacle and self-aware chaos, this premiere rarely pulls itself together into something emotionally or thematically solid. The pace is frantic, but the plot is hollow, and the initial spark fades quickly, leaving a forgettable story where a flagship return should have been.Nowhere is that hollowness more obvious than in the central twist: The reveal that Belinda’s ex, Al (with a lowercase “l,” short for Alan), is actually the AI (with an uppercase “I”) Generator controlling the robot horde doesn’t so much twist as it unravels. It’s another of Russell T. Davies’ increasingly worn-out wordplay gambits, a spiritual cousin to last season’s Sue Tech/Sutekh gag and the ongoing parade of Susan Twist cameos. And like those, it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Al shows up for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it intro, vanishes for 40 minutes, then returns as the “surprise” villain with all the dramatic impact of a Windows error message. The AI Generator itself looks like it stumbled out of a garish Fallout mod, all cartoon menace and flickering CRT pomp, but even that fizzles once the punchline lands. The problem isn’t just the twist itself, but that it mirrors a larger issue: It’s content to coast on style and quirk without giving the story anything to chew on.The Best Doctor Who Monsters of the Modern EraDespite the limp plot and undercooked villainy, “The Robot Revolution” isn’t a total loss. Its best asset, by far, is its character work, which offers a promising glimpse at the season ahead. Belinda Chandra, played with disarming charm and quiet authority by Varada Sethu, isn’t exactly new. She first popped up in “Boom” as Mundy Flynn, a military medic in one of last season’s better standalone episodes. Here, we get a resolution to that setup: Belinda and Mundy are simply related, and separated by thousands of years. It’s not exactly the first time Doctor Who has had to account for an actor cast in multiple roles, and it does add just enough narrative gravity to Belinda’s TARDIS debut. Better still, she arrives fully formed. Belinda’s got opinions, she pushes back, and she doesn’t let the Doctor get away with his usual verbal sleight of hand. That alone already sets her apart. While I appreciated Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday last season – her energy with Ncuti Gatwa was electric – she sometimes felt more like a tag-along rather than a co-lead. So, it’s refreshing to see someone arrive with momentum and bite. With a Doctor who’s spent the last run veering between whimsy and wistfulness, a companion to properly bounce off in the TARDIS could be exactly what Doctor Who needs.It also helps that the TARDIS finally starts acting like a character again. It’s not just a glossy teleportation pod: It’s temperamental, tactile, and responsive, and the Doctor doesn’t just pilot it, he negotiates, pleads, and wrestles with the console. “The Robot Revolution” gives Gatwa ample opportunity to showcase his physical performance skills, and he shines in those moments, injecting a raw drive and frustration into the scenes. The increased TARDIS action is a welcome shift, and its lavish, yet sterile, new design is finally made use of. It’s still missing the kind of lived-in charm it had back when Amy and Rory were knocking around in it, but getting to spend more time with its ravishing glowing panels will have to do for now. Visually speaking “The Robot Revolution” throws everything it’s got at the wall. Time fractures shimmer, transitions snap into gear, and the robots, while one-note, benefit massively from those bulky, theatrical, practical suits. The production’s gunning for cinematic flair: Sometimes it lands, sometimes it looks like the green-screen footage was finalized at the 11th hour. The ambition’s admirable, even if the execution wobbles – which, to be completely fair, isn’t that unusual for Doctor Who sets. A companion to properly bounce off in the TARDIS could be exactly what Doctor Who needs.“For the most part, “The Robot Revolution” feels like mid-season filler dressed up in premiere clothing. There are flashes of fun, such as the episode’s humor, that occasionally manage to cut through its visual and narrative chaos. The throwaway “planet of the incels” line stands out as one of the few sharp moments that sticks. And while the rest of the plot is rather forgettable, there’s some semblance of narrative direction by its resolution. The Doctor and Belinda are being blocked from reaching Earth in 2025, nudging them toward a longer, stranger road home. It’s a modest hook, but enough to give the season a spine. If Doctor Who leans into that structure and continues building on the sharp chemistry between Gatwa and Sethu, there’s still time and space to grow. So no, “The Robot Revolution” isn’t a knockout. But it’s a fast, intermittently funny, and mostly empty slice of sci-fi that may just be laying the groundwork for something more. If season 2 manages to focus on its new TARDIS team, and maybe even dial back some of the universe-ending theatrics, that journey back to Earth might be worth taking.

🌍 Remote Marketing & Sales Strategy LeadFull-Time | Work from Anywhere | $65K Starting | $145K + Profit Share After ProbationWe’re looking for a one-in-a-million powerhouse — a real go-getter and fast learner who can think, adapt, and execute. Someone who can take an idea or product and build a marketing plan that drives real results, not just impressions. If you’re the type who figures it out, doesn’t wait to be told what to do, and thrives on impact, this might be your dream job.💼 What You’ll Be DoingOwn sales and marketing strategy from idea to executionResearch products, competitors, and trends — then build campaigns that actually workOversee marketing across all platforms — digital and traditionalCreate, execute, and optimize content for web, email, social, ads, flyers, printRun paid ad campaigns, improve SEO rankings, and track performance through analyticsWrite clear, compelling, grammatically sound content across all touchpointsBuild and manage WordPress sites and landing pagesHire, manage, and coordinate freelancers and contractors as neededDevelop short- and long-term content strategies to grow traffic and salesCollaborate with sales, tech, and leadership teams to align messaging and goalsLearn fast, adapt quickly, and get results📦 What You’ll Be Marketing and SellingYou’ll be promoting real tech that keeps people safe and connected. This isn’t fluff or lifestyle branding — these are products that matter in real-world, high-stakes situations. But we’re not just focused on government and public safety anymore.We’re expanding our Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) and radio communication platforms into new markets — including transportation, logistics, education, construction, utilities, and any industry currently relying on traditional LMR radios. If a business uses radios, they’re a potential client.Our offerings include:Mission Critical Push-to-Talk (MCPTT) communication systemsRadios and radio service for Public Safety and IndustryBody-worn and In-car camera systemsReal-Time Crime Centers & Remote Monitoring ServicesGunshot Detection & Response TechnologySecurity & Public Safety Contracting and ManagementAnd a growing suite of services under the Echo911 umbrellaYou’ll need to understand the audience — from boots-on-the-ground responders to city managers, logistics managers, and private enterprise leaders. If you can turn complex, mission-critical tech into a message that sells, you’re our kind of person.🧠 What We’re Looking ForProven experience in marketing, content, copywriting, or strategy rolesStrong SEO knowledge and experience driving web trafficWordPress and CMS experience — you should be able to run the siteExcellent writing, editing, and proofreading skillsGreat with social media, digital ads, and content creation toolsComfortable managing freelancers, timelines, and prioritiesAble to do deep-dive research and turn insights into actionSolid organization and communication skillsFluent in English (bonus if you speak other languages too)Driven, resourceful, and able to learn fastWilling to sign an NDA and handle confidential information📝 Bonus Skills (Not Required, But We’ll Be Impressed)Experience with traditional media (flyers, mailers, print ads)Knowledge of public safety industries or related B2B marketsBackground in project or team managementAbility to work across time zones and culturesExperience working remotely with startups or fast-moving teams💰 Compensation & Perks$65,000/year to start (probationary period: 4–6 months)$145,000/year + 10% of company profits upon successful reviewIf based in the U.S. – full healthcare coverage for you (individual), family plans negotiable100% remote – work from wherever you thriveReal autonomy, real impact, zero micromanaging✅ Ready to Apply?We don’t care about the corporate BS. We care if you can get the job done, learn fast, and move the needle. Show us what you've done. Wow us in your email. Be clear, bold, and real.Send us:A quick intro – who you are, where you areA short example or case study of a project you’ve crushedResume if you’ve got one (but not required)Anything else that shows why you’re the one we should hireEmail applications to: [email protected]

Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube807k In case you didn't already know, the Nintendo Switch Online app will carry over to the Switch 2 when it launches this June. If you are wondering what the UI might look like when it eventually shows up on the new hybrid system, Nintendo's official Japanese website has now shared a sneak peek. As you can see, there'll be a huge "welcome" banner with Mario and the gang on bootup and the usual options lined up down the side. Next up is the profile section - featuring plenty of familiar faces like Mario, Link, and Isabelle, along with some game listings. Here's where you can also see details about your Switch Online subscription and much more.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube807kWatch on YouTube Images: Nintendo And last but not least is a graphic featuring all of the Switch Online retro game offerings. On display in this particular shot are a bunch of Famicom games and Nintendo has also featured the GameCube here, which will be added exclusively to the Switch 2 Expansion Pack service at launch. Once again, you'll be accessing this online hub directly from the system's HOME menu, although the online icon is now placed ahead of the 'C' button icon on the menu. Of course, the Switch Online + Expansion Pack requires an active membership to use. Time to chat! What do you think of the design of the Nintendo Switch app? Do you use it much on the Switch? What do you think of the look of it on Switch 2? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. [source nintendo.com] See Also Share:0 0 Liam is a news writer and reviewer for Nintendo Life and Pure Xbox. He's been writing about games for more than 15 years and is a lifelong fan of Mario and Master Chief. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment... Related Articles It's Official, Switch 2 Joy-Con Will Not Feature Hall Effect Sticks Controllers have been designed from the ground up Where To Pre-Order Nintendo Switch 2 Where to buy Switch 2 consoles, accessories & games Round Up: The First Impressions Of Mario Kart World Are In The race begins this June Round Up: The First Impressions Of Donkey Kong Bananza Are In He's finally back... Feature: "We Really Want To Future-Proof" - The Nintendo Switch 2 Interview Nate Bihldorff talks pack-ins, game-key cards, and Korok Forest

Sam Altman might have inadvertently leaked that ChatGPT is at 1 billion users when private remarks were shared at TED 2025. Here's what was said.

HP EliteBook Ultra G1i MSRP $24,320.00 Score Details “The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i is solid, gorgeous, and packed with business features.” Pros Class-leading design Lovely aesthetic Spectacular OLED display Excellent keyboard and touchpad Thin and light Very good battery life Cons Expensive Performance doesn't stand out Table of Contents Table of Contents Specs and configuration Design Keyboard and touchpad Connectivity and webcam Performance Battery life Display and audio An excellent laptop for businesses, but a little expensive for most consumers The best business laptops are very well-made and robust, conservatively attractive, fast, and have great battery life. Those are feature that consumers look for, too, but manufacturers like HP add a ton of features that make business laptops more attractive to enterprises that require great management and security. Recommended Videos That makes them more expensive, which sometimes pushes them out of the range of many consumer buyers. That’s a shame with the HP EliteBook Ultra G1i, because it’s a great 14-inch laptop that all kinds of users would love — if only its price was a bit more palatable. But for businesses users, it’s one of the better choices.  HP EliteBook Ultra G1i Dimensions 12.35 x 8.45 x 0.36-0.48 inches Weight 2.63 pounds Display 14.0-inch 16:10 2.8K (1880 x 1800) OLED, 120Hz CPU Intel Core Ultra 5 226V Intel Core Ultra 7 256V Intel Core Ultra 7 268V vPro GPU Intel Arc 130V Intel Arc 140V Memory 16GB 32GB Storage 256GB SSD 512GB SSD 1TB SSD Ports 3 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1 x 3.5mm headphone jack Camera 9MP with infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetoth 5.4 Battery 64 watt-hour Operating system Windows 11 Price $1,849+ As a business laptop, the EliteBook Ultra G1i is more likely to be purchased on a group contract. So, its prices listed in its web store (which are heavily discounted from list already) aren’t necessarily as indicative of what the target business customer will pay. However, right now, the EliteBook starts at $1,849 for an Intel Core Ultra 5 226V chipset, 16GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD, and a 14.0-inch 2.8K OLED display (the only option). For $2,432, you get a Core Ultra 7 268V, 32GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD. That’s the confirmation I reviewed. There are other configurations available within that range. So, that makes the EliteBook Ultra G1i a very premium business laptop. The similarly configured HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14, which is aimed at consumers, is quite a bit less expensive starting at $1,100 on sale and maxing out at $1,730 (also on sale). The Apple MacBook Air 13 (M4) is also less expensive, starting at $1,000 and maxing out at just over $2,000. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends I recently wrote an editorial about how Apple’s attention to detail has resulted in some of the best hardware around. But Apple isn’t the only company that manages to make a laptop that feels really great in hand. The EliteBook Ultra G1i is another. It’s one of those laptops that gives me an immediate impression of quality the moment I pull it out of the box. First, it’s nicely sized. Its display bezels aren’t the smallest I’ve seen, but they’re small enough that the EliteBook Ultra G1i is quite compact with its 14-inch display. It’s also very thin, coming in at a maximum of 0.48 inches in the rear that’s almost as thin as the insanely thin Apple MacBook Air 13’s 0.45 inches (and the HP is even thinner up front at 0.36 inches). The EliteBook is also almost the same weight as the MacBook, so it has that kind of density that avoids a really light laptop feeling flimsy. And 2.63 pounds is plenty light enough to make it eminently portable. The weight is also very well-balanced, so it’s comfortable to carry around, open or closed. The rounded edges also feel great — better than the MacBook’s edges that border on being a little sharp. The EliteBook’s hinge isn’t quite as smooth, though, and requires two hands to open the lid. Overall, the all-aluminum construction is solid with no bending, flexing, or twisting in the chassis, keyboard deck, or lid. This is a really well-designed and well-built laptop. Aesthetically, the design is quite elegant with the usual contemporary minimalism but enough identity that it’s not mundane. The rounded edges help here, too, and HP has done a great job with the dark blue color way. My only complaint is the lighter blue color assigned to the function keys, and then the power button (with embedded fingerprint reader) that has a rather bright LED and yet another light blue color. That might be good for accessibility, something that HP has paid a lot of attention to in their recent designs. But I do think it takes away from the look a bit. Beyond the EliteBook Ultra G1i’s physical design, it’s also a business laptop with several features that make it a great choice for businesses. Primarily, that centers around various utilities that can plug into enterprise management systems to provide enhanced fleet management capabilities and security. HP’s Wolf Security serves the latter function, offering up a host of capabilities that lock the EliteBook down on both a software and hardware level. I won’t go into the details here, but suffice it to say that if you’re looking for a laptop that’s easy to manage and highly secure, then the EliteBook Ultra G1i provides what you’re looking for. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends HP has been making great keyboards for a while now, starting with their Spectre laptops that were some of my favorites. That’s carried that over to its OmniBook and EliteBook lineups, and HP has maybe even made them a little better given the attention to accessibility I mentioned above. That’s reflected in the bold lettering and careful color scheme that will help the visually impaired. But even more so, the EliteBook Ultra G1i’s keyboard is just about perfect for me, equally as good as Apple’s Magic Keyboard that’s been my overall favorite. The keycaps are large and yet there’s plenty of key spacing with a very comfortable layout. And the switches are exactly as I like them — light and snappy yet with a precise bottoming action. I could type on this keyboard at full speed for hours (as in writing this review) without getting fatigued. Another simple keyboard test for me is whether I can type passwords from muscle-memory on the first try, and the EliteBook’s keyboard passed with flying colors. The touchpad is equally as good. It’s a large haptic version that takes up all the available space on the palm rest, just like with Apple’s MacBooks. And it’s excellent, with responsive and consistent “clicks.” Windows 11 affords a ton of customization with haptic touchpads, and it’s all here. Apple’s Force Touch haptic touchpad has long been the industry standard for excellence, and it benefits from the Force Click feature where pressing a little “harder” kicks off additional functionality. But otherwise, the EliteBook’s touchpad is just as good. You can also opt for a touch-enabled display. A great haptic touchpad makes that less attractive for me, personally, but it’s available if you want it. Connectivity is pretty good, with three USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support and a USB-A port for legacy devices. I say that’s just pretty good because some 14-inch laptops have more connectivity, with an HDMI connection being fairly common. There’s also no SD card support, which I’d like to see. Wireless connectivity is fully up-to-date with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends The webcam is HP’s usual 9MP version, so it provides excellent image quality. It’s backed up by a fast Lunar Lake Neural Processing Unit (NPU) that runs at a very fast 48 tera operations per second (TOPS), easily exceeding the 40 TOPS requirement for Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC AI initiative. That means it will power on-device AI processing more efficiently than relying on the slower CPU or GPU components. HP partnered with Poly Studio to offer the Poly Camera Pro suite of videoconferencing features with enhance background, spotlight, auto-framing, and other functionality, much of it AI-powered using the NPU. There’s probably not another laptop available with quite the same breadth and depth of AI-powered features in addition to what’s provided via Copilot+. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends You can choose from several Intel Lunar Lake (Core Ultra Series 2) options with the EliteBook Ultra G1i, all of them 8-core/8-thread chipsets available running at 17 watts.  Lunar Lake is focuses more on efficiency than pure performance, with speeds falling between the previous-generation 15-watt U-series and 28-watt H-series Meteor Lake chipsets. As a business laptop, Intel vPro is a natural option that enables the EliteBook’s excellent manageability and security. All Lunar Lake versions give similar performance in CPU-intensive tasks, because they only vary by clock speed. And, they’re considerably slower than Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chipsets, the other Windows efficiency option. AMD;s Ryzen AI 9 and Apple’s M4 chipsets are also considerably faster. The Core Ultra 5 226V has a slower Intel Arc 130V integrated graphics, but the faster Intel Arc 140V in the Core Ultra 7 268V isn’t much faster. Overall, the EliteBook Ultra G1i is a fast laptop for demanding productivity users, including business users, but gamers and creators will want to look elsewhere. Cinebench R24 (single/multi) Geekbench 6 (single/multi) Handbrake (seconds) 3DMark Wild Life Extreme HP EliteBook Ultra G1i (Core Ultra 7 268V / Intel Arc 140V) 122 / 551 2780 / 10685 97 7061 HP EliteBook X G1a (Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 / Radeon 890M) 109 / 1095 2769 / 14786 60 7236 Acer Swift 14 AI (Ryzen AI 9 365 / Radeon 880M) 110 / 877 2795 / 14351 56 5669 Acer Swift 14 AI (Core Ultra 7 258V / Intel Arc 140V)121 / 525 2755 / 11138 92 5294 HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 (Core Ultra 7 258V / Intel Arc 140V) 116 / 598 2483 / 10725 99 7573 Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (Core Ultra 7 258V / Intel Arc 140V) 109 / 630 2485 / 10569 88 5217 Asus Zenbook S 14 (Core Ultra 7 258V / Intel Arc 140V)112 / 452 2738 / 10734 113 7514 HP OmniBook X (Snapdragon X Elite / Adreno)101 / 749 2377 / 13490 N/A 6165 MacBook Air (M4 10/10)172 / 853 3770 / 14798 87 9154 Mark Coppock / Digital Trends As I mentioned above, Lunar Lake is aimed more at battery life than pure performance. And generally speaking, that’s been the case in the laptops I’ve tested. Some are impacted by power-hungry high-res OLED displays, while those with more efficient IPS displays compete better with Apple’s highly efficient Apple Silicon chipsets that remain the most efficient overall. The EliteBook Ultra G1i has a relatively small 64 watt-hour battery to go with a 2.8K OLED display. That shouldn’t be a recipe for the best battery life, even with Lunar Lake. But, the EliteBook does pretty well. Its results in our video looping test was very good at over 15 hours, and it was competitive at almost 2.5 hours in the demanding Cinebench R24 test. It didn’t do as well in our web browsing test, but I had to change the tool we use for testing due to our previous tool being deprecated by Google. Using our older tool, the EliteBook would likely have scored closer to the HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 with basically the same chipset, display, and battery capacity and that managed two hours longer. These are very strong results for a laptop with such a gorgeous display. You’ll get a full day’s work, which isn’t quite as good as Apple MacBook Air (M4), but still much better than previous Windows laptops. Web browsing Video Cinebench R24 HP EliteBook Ultra G1i (Core Ultra 7 268V / Intel Arc 140V) 9 hours, 5 minutes 15 hours, 10 minutes 2 hours, 25 minutes Lenovo Thinkpad X9-14 (Core Ultra 226V) 7 hours, 39 minutes 6 hours, 27 minutes 1 hour, 33 minutes HP EliteBook X G1a (Ryzen AI 9 HX 375) N/A 7 hours, 27 minutes 1 hour, 27 minutes Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 (Core Ultra 5 226V) 12 hours, 50 minutes 19 hours, 30 minutes 2 hours, 18 minutes HP OmniBook Ultra Flip 14 (Core Ultra 7 258V) 11 hours, 5 minutes 15 hours, 46 minutes 2 hours, 14 minutes Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (Core Ultra 7 258V) 14 hours, 16 minutes 17 hours, 31 minutes 2 hours, 15 minutes Asus Zenbook S 14 (Core Ultra 7 258V) 16 hours, 47 minutes 18 hours, 35 minutes 3 hours, 33 minutes Microsoft Surface Laptop (Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100) 14 hours, 21 minutes 22 hours, 39 minutes N/A HP Omnibook X (Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100) 13 hours, 37 minutes 22 hours, 4 minutes 1 hour, 52 minutes Apple MacBook Air (Apple M4 10/8)16 hours, 30 minutes 20 hours, 31 minutes 3 hours, 47 minutes Mark Coppock / Digital Trends There’s just one display option for the EliteBook Ultra G1i, and it’s a 14.0-inch 16:10 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED display running at up to 120Hz. Like almost every OLED display, it’s spectacular out of the box, with bright, dynamic colors and inky blacks. As I mentioned above, there’s a penalty in battery life, but the EliteBook still manages very good longevity. My colorimeter liked this display quite a bit. It’s not the absolute brightest at 397 nits (most displays I’ve tested lately are greater than 400 nits), but it’s till a lot brighter than displays were a few years ago. It has perfect blacks with extremely high contrast at 27,780:1. And its colors are very wide at 100% of sRGB, 97% of AdobeRGB, and 100% of DCI-P3, with excellent color accuracy with a DeltaE of 0.58 (less than 1.0 is indistinguishable to the human eye). It’s a great display no matter what you’re using it for. It’s not fast enough for demanding creativity work, but it provides a great media experience to go. Audio is provided by a quad-speaker setup, and it sounds pretty good. There’s good volume and clear mids and highs, while bass is somwhat lacking as is typical with laptops. I’d rate the MacBook Air’s audio to be better, but it’s not a night and day difference. If you’re a business user looking for a well-built laptop that feels great in hand and looks just as good, with decent productivity performance and great battery life, the EliteBook Ultra G1i is a great choice. Toss in a spectacular OLED display for good measure. In fact, those are qualities that many consumers are looking for. However, the EliteBook comes with a host of business features that most consumers don’t need, which pumps up the price. So, if you have money to burn, then it’s a great laptop for consumers — but I suspect most buyers will be businesses. Editors’ Recommendations