We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.The Apple Watch Series 9 may have been overtaken by the Apple Watch Series 10 last year, but it's still a great product that anyone shopping for a smart watch should keep in mind. Right now, the Series 9 is on sale for its lowest price ever, according to price tracking tools, making it especially worthy of a second look. You can get the 45mm GPS sport loop Series 9 for $279 (originally $329). Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS) 45mm Phone OS Compatibility: iOS, Watch OS: watchOS, Processor: Apple S9 $279.00 at Walmart $329.00 Save $50.00 Get Deal Get Deal $279.00 at Walmart $329.00 Save $50.00 Like most tech products, the Apple Watch comes in a basic model (the SE), a mid-tier model (like the Series 9 or 10), and a high-end version (the Ultra 2). But the Series 9 offers arguably the best bang for your buck, with many premium features and a price that's closer to the SE than the Series 10 or Ultra 2. The Series 9 is has fewer features for outdoor enthusiasts than the Ultra 2, but if you want to save yourself a few hundred dollars and don't need a brighter screen or a more rugged design, the Series 9 is a great choice. PCMag gave the Series 9 an "outstanding" review for its powerful processor, the in-demand double-tap gesture for hands-free operation, access to Siri, and its bright display.The GPS version only allows you to access your phone if you're connected to the same wifi network or are close enough for a Bluetooth connection. In other words, you won't be able to go on a run without your iPhone and expect to play music on your AirPods or take calls unless you want to get a used GPS + Cellular version for $263.09.The aluminum case is cheaper than the stainless steel model, and the 45mm screen is for those who prefer a bigger screen compared to the 41mm one.

As the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Switch is over seven years old, so its due for a refresh. Nintendo Switch 2 rumors have been swirling for years, but now they are really heating up. A sequel to Nintendo's most successful home console ever is coming and its likely coming sooner rather than later.Will it be a straight up sequel to the Switch with updated specs while retaining the same hybrid functionality or will Nintendo get weird with it? Will it even be called the Switch 2, or will the company go with something like the Super Switch or even the New Nintendo Switch? You can never tell with Nintendo. Heck, maybe itll call the thing the Switch U.In any event, recent weeks have brought feverish speculation regarding all aspects of the forthcoming gaming console. Its important to note, however, that very little information has been confirmed by Nintendo. The company operates on its own timetable. With that said, here are all of the rumors that are most likely to come true, given industry analysis.When will the Nintendo Switch 2 be announced?As previously mentioned, Nintendo marches to the beat of its own drum. We dont exactly know when itll hold an event to reveal the console, but rumors have been swirling regarding an announcement this week. A post from Walmart seemed to suggest that a reveal would be coming on Thursday, January 16. The Verge's Tom Warren has also reported we'll get an announcement this week.Even Nintendo has trouble keeping the lid on a major console release, which is likely why there have been so many announcement rumors. There are parts that have to be sourced and shipments that have to be made. A senior analyst at MST Financial noted a spike in production equipment spending by Nintendo assembler Hosiden.When will the Nintendo Switch 2 come out?Once again, this is more or less a mystery. We arent totally in the dark, but its mostly rumor and speculation. One thing we know for sure is that Nintendo will announce the Nintendo Switch 2 (or whatever it chooses to call it) by March 2025, as the company confirmed back in May. Some are saying there will be a March release date, which makes sense given the OG Switch came out on March 17, 2017. However, other reports put the consoles release window later in 2025.Accessory manufacturer Genki, which has been a major source of leaks in recent months, claims the console will be released in April.Will it even be a proper Switch sequel?Nintendo has a weird track record here. The baffling Wii U followed the massive success of the Wii. The Wii itself followed the more traditional GameCube. In other words, its possible itll be something out of left field and not exactly a true sequel to the Switch. However, this is unlikely this time around. As much as I would love to see wacky VR glasses or a completely bonkers console concept, all points indicate a more traditional approach.Nintendo Patent Points to (Another) VR Headset https://t.co/pofTjclgOt #LaboVR #Nintendo pic.twitter.com/A5WEZUG3kL The Escapist (@EscapistMag) September 10, 2019 Developers have already seen the hardware, though in a much earlier form, and it seems to be a regular old console. While Nintendo hasn't confirmed hybrid functionality, itd be a weird omission given the absolute financial firestorm of the Switch. Weve also heard rumors of a Mini-LED display, which would track for a hybrid console. Its highly likely this will be a straight-up Switch 2, or something like it, calling to mind the Super Nintendo.A summary of today's alleged Switch 2 images 'leak'. (1/3) pic.twitter.com/Z4rfSGz4WQ Andy Robinson (@Andy_VGC) September 18, 2024 To that end, recent rumors suggest a design that recalls the original Switch. According to reporting by VGC, photos of the console have appeared online and they show an 8-inch screen and magnetic Joy-Con controllers. There looks to be SL/SR buttons and front-facing player LEDs on these controllers.Will there be a bit of Nintendo weirdness?Everything leaked or rumored so far on this console has been fairly, well, traditional. It looks like the original Switch, but better. That's awesome, but will there be any of that unpredictable Nintendo magic? Maybe! Recent reports indicate two puzzling additions that folks can't make hide nor hair of.Genki, the accessories manufacturer, just published a landing page for their Nintendo Switch 2 accessories. This landing page features a video that includes a very detailed look at a Switch 2 mockup. pic.twitter.com/Db7RSk4YlQ Bob Wulff (@BobWulff) January 8, 2025 An accessory maker called Genki accidentally leaked an alleged mockup at CES 2025 of the entire console. If the Switch 2 is coming sooner rather than later, it makes sense that accessory makers would have these kinds of mockups. There looks to be a mysterious "C" button on the bottom-right side and nobody knows what it does. Could it initiate voice chat during gameplay? Could it calibrate the controllers? Could it create a room-sized hologram of Bowser in your living room? We'll have to wait and see, and there's always a chance that the button won't even exist.Now onto the updated Joy-Cons, those same leaks seem to indicate a new sensor on the connecting side of each controller. It looks a whole lot like an optical sensor, which is what a computer mouse uses. This has led to speculation that players will be able to flip the Joy-Con over and use it like a mouse.Genki reveal isnt a mockup, its straight up just the Switch 2, optical sensor is literally flashing in this shot @Stealth40k #Switch2 pic.twitter.com/COeLsonqMd Ash (@Ashinarii) January 8, 2025 But why would anyone even want this? I can think of three words. New Mario Paint. In any event, take all of that Genki stuff with a big grain of salt, as Nintendo came out and said that the images and video were "not official." The accessory manufacturer has also stated that its mockup wasn't based on an actual console, but rather leaked information thats circulating in the industry.Is the Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatible?If its a sequel to the Switch, the next question has to be about backwards compatibility. The Switchs library is absolutely massive, and continues to grow, so gamers would be rightfully peeved if they couldnt play Tears of the Kingdom on their new next-gen console. Theres good news on this front.The company has officially announced in a recent earnings report that the console will be fully backwards compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all of those old retro titles.What about specs?The rumors regarding specs are all over the place, so its tough to pin down. We know one thing for sure: Itll be more powerful than the ancient Switch hardware, which was already antiquated back in 2017. One analyst allegedly got a hold of a spec sheet from the Korean United Daily News that said the Switch 2 would boast an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal eMMC storage. This tracks for me, as these specs are about as underpowered in 2024 as the original Switch was in 2017. However, some reports do indicate that the console would include 12GB of RAM.Another source suggests that the eight-core CPU will be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the current Switch runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes a lot of sense. The CPU will be more powerful, but it's the Switch 2's new GPU that will be a major differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Switch 2 will support DLSS, NVIDIA's "deep learning supersampling" upscaling tech, which would allow the console to render games at a low resolution internally while outputting a high-resolution image. (Fun fact: We actually wrote about how perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 when the technology was announced alongside the RTX 20 series back in 2018.)There are still questions about the Switch 2 and DLSS: Will the system support newer DLSS features like frame generation? Will existing games be automatically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Regardless of the exact implementation, DLSS upscaling will be a huge leap over the rudimentary techniques available to Nintendo Switch developers.As for the display, there are many conflicting rumors. Early reports from solid sources suggested the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch display LCD display, but there have also been rumors about an 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Some analysts have suggested this would be an OLED screen, while others have said it would be a Mini-LED display. A Mini-LED display is basically an LCD display that has a backlight made of (surprise!) mini-LEDs rather than edge lighting. This allows for local dimming, making the blacks more black. Im hedging my bets here. I think itll be a standard LCD, to cut costs, with an OLED or Mini-LED model coming later down the line. However, Mini-LED screens are slightly cheaper than OLED displays, so thats certainly a possibility at launch.As for resolution, recent reporting suggests that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. That's much better than the OG Switch.How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?We don't have too much information regarding price but we do have plenty of history to work with. The original Nintendo Switch launched at $300, which is pretty much the "magic number" when it comes to Nintendo console releases in recent years. The Wii U also came in at $300.However, there are plenty of rumors circulating that Nintendo could be upping the asking price for the Switch 2. Numerous outlets have reported it'll be $400, or potentially even more expensive. However, the same analysts who say the console will be $400 were also fairly certain it would be out by the end of 2024 and, well, it looks like that ain't happening.Dipping back into history, there is some precedence for a price uptick. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Switch increased to $300 and, well, numbers like to go up. A $400 price tag would make it nearly as expensive as a PS5 and Xbox Series X. That would also put it at the same price as the 256GB LCD Steam Deck.Do we know about any launch games?Nope! But its certainly been a long time since weve gotten a proper 3D Mario adventure, right? That would be one heck of a system seller. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. Past as prologue, we can expect something from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Switch.If theres a gimmick or hook involved with the console, well also get a game that takes advantage of that. A dual release of Metroid Prime 4, just like Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess before that, is also a possibility. Finally, there have been rumblings that the big launch title could be none other than Mario Kart 9.That's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 today. We'll update this article with rumors we trust and with information we gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publishing will be listed below.Update, January 15, 2025, 12:10 PM ET: This story has been updated to include rumors about a potential console announcement for this week.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/will-the-nintendo-switch-2-get-revealed-this-week-heres-everything-we-know-110023623.html?src=rss

Discover how generative AI streamlines data governance, enhancing trust, security, and business-driven data adoption.

The prestigious EE BAFTA Film Awards have announced their nominations for 2025, celebrating the most outstanding contributions to cinema over the past year. This years nominations highlight a wide variety of incredible talent, from captivating performances to groundbreaking technical achievements. Heres the full list of nominees across all categories:Adapted ScreenplayA Complete Unknown James Mangold, Jay CocksConclave Peter StraughanEmilia Prez Jacques AudiardNickel Boys Ramin Bahrani, Inez TanSing Sing Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Divine Eye Machlan, John Diving G WhitfieldAnimated FilmFlowInside Out 2Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most FowlThe Wild RobotBest British Short Animation Nominees:AdisMogs ChristmasWander To WonderBest British Short Film Nominees:MarionThe Flowers Stand Silently WitnessingMilkRock Paper ScissorsStomach BugCastingAnora Sean Baker, Samantha QuanA Complete Unknown yesi RamirezConclave Nina Gold, Martin WareThe Apprentice Stephanie Gorin, Carmen CubaKneecap Carla StrongeChildrens and Family FilmFlowKensukes KingdomWallace and Gromit: VengeanceThe Wild RobotBest CinematographyConclaveDune: Part TwoEmilia PrezNosferatuThe BrutalistBest Costume DesignA Complete UnknownBlitzConclaveNosferatuWickedBest DirectorAnora Sean BakerThe Brutalist Brady CorbetConclave Edward BergerDune: Part Two Denis VilleneuveEmilia Prez Jacques AudiardThe Substance Coralie FargeatDocumentaryBlack Box DiariesDaughtersNo Other LandSuper/Man: The Christopher Reeve StoryWill & HarperEditingAnoraConclaveDune:Part twoEmilia perezKneecapEE Rising Star AwardMarisa AbelaJharrel JeromeDavid JonssonMikey MadisonNabhaan RizwanBest Film Not in the English LanguageAll We Imagine As Light (Malayalam-Hindi)Emilia Prez (French)Im Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui) (Portuguese)Kneecap (Irish)The Seed of the Sacred Fig (German)Leading ActorAdrien Brody for The BrutalistTimothe Chalamet for A Complete UnknownColman Domingo for Sing SingRalph Fiennes for ConclaveHugh Grant for HereticSebastian stan The ApperenticeLeading ActressCynthia Erivo for WickedKarla Sofa Gascn for Emilia PrezMarianne Jean-Baptiste for Hard TruthsMikey Madison for AnoraDemi Moore for The SubstanceSaoirse Ronan for The OutrunMakeup and HairDune: part twoEmilia PerezNosferatuThe substanceWickedOriginal ScoreNosferatuThe BrutalistConclaveEmilia PrezThe Wild RobotOriginal ScreenplayAnora by Sean BakerThe Brutalist by Brady Corbet and Mona FastvoldKneecap by Rich Peppiatt, Naoise OCaireallain, Liam OG O Hannadiah, JJ O DochartaighA Real Pain by Jesse EisenbergThe Substance by Coralie FargeatOutstanding British FilmBirdBlitzConclaveGladiator IIHard TruthsKneecapLeeLove Lies BleedingThe OutrunWallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most FowlOutstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or ProducerHoard by Luna Carmoon (Director, Writer)Kneecap by Rich Peppiatt (Director, Writer)Monkey Man by Dev Patel (Director)Santosh by Sandhya Suri (Director, Writer), James Bowsher (Producer), Balthazar De Ganay (Producer)Sister Midnight by Karan Kandhari (Director, Writer)Production DesignNosferatuThe BrutalistConclaveDune: Part TwoWickedSoundBlitzDune:Part TwoGladiator IIWickedThe SubstanceSpecial Visual EffectsBetter ManDune: Part TwoGladiator IIKingdom of the Planet of the ApesWickedSupporting ActorEdward Norton A complete UnknownKieran Culkin A Real PainYura Borisov AnoraClarence Maclin Sing SingJeremy Strong The ApprenticeGuy Pearce The BrutalistSupporting ActressAriana Grande for WickedSelena Gomez for Emilia PrezZoe Saldaa for Emilia PrezIsabella Rossellini for ConclaveFelicity Jones The BrutalistJamie Lee Curtis The Last ShowgirlThe post List of 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards Nominations appeared first on Vfxexpress.

The wildfires raging across Los Angeles are setting the scene for a real estate nightmare.Thousands of homes and other structures are destroyed and hundreds of thousands of residents have been evacuated at various times. Many will not return for months, if ever. Homeless in an instant, they are now flooding the housing market, desperately seeking shelter.The Los Angeles housing market is poorly equipped for this crisis. It is already one of the nations most expensive markets to buy or rent a place to live, largely due to a significant and growing shortage of affordable housing. That shortage will become only more dire with the destruction of so many fire-ravaged buildings.For the past two years, I have been studying the effects of natural disasters like this one on rental housing markets. As a professor of real estate, I have analyzed the question from a distance, sifting through data.This time, however, as a resident of Pasadena, I have seen the carnage up close. I watched the Eaton Fire spread across the mountains from my back porch. I helped friends evacuate before their neighborhood was consumed in flames. Now theyre sitting at my dining table as they process what theyve lost and search for a new place to live.Unfortunately, from my research, I have no doubts about what comes next.Why disasters drive up rentsScarcity is the enemy of affordability. This is one of the central tenets of economics. When too many people chase too few goods, prices rise.So, you might expect that a natural disaster, which destroys housing and inundates the remaining units with new renters, would drive up rents, at least in the short run.That is exactly what my research has foundbut its not just the short run.Two years ago, I worked with a team of researchers to prepare a report for the Brookings Institution, where we compiled a database of natural disasters across a variety of major markets throughout the country from 2000 to 2020. We measured the change in rents in places such as Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, and San Francisco that landlords were asking for apartments in disaster-impacted neighborhoods. We then compared those cities with similar neighborhoods that werent impacted by the disasters.We found that natural disasters increased rents during those two decades by 4% to 6%. That means rents were at least 4% higher than they would have been in the absence of the disaster.These rent hikes were especially clear and pernicious after wildfires in California.These werent just short-term effects. It took 18 months for the full effects to be felt in the market, and they never fully went away. Even four years after the disaster, renters were still paying 2% to 3% more than they would have been without the disaster.In short, we found that disasters permanently change rental housing markets. They eliminate older, affordable housing, allowing developers to build newer, higher-end and even luxury housing in its place. Those changes drive up insurance costs, and the disasters motivate cities to adopt stricter building codes that in turn add to construction costs for the sake of weathering future disasters better.How much rents increase, however, depends on how communities and the authorities respond to the disaster.Federal aid can slow the growth of rentsWe found that rents did not grow as fast when the government stepped in to help.Specifically, we investigated markets where Congress had used the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program, providing grants through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This federal funding typically comes with strings attached and rental requirements often mandating that a significant portion of the money be used to build affordable housing.At least one of these disaster relief grants was issued every year from 2003 to 2020. In some years, Congress allocated as many as 27 different grants across the country to different disaster-impacted areas.In these markets, we found that rents still rose after disastersbut at a significantly slower pace than in the markets where Congress didnt send these disaster relief funds.We dug deeper into several case studies in 2024 to understand why the CDBG-DR program is associated with lower rent hikes over the long run. In this new study, we found that housing markets that benefited from these disaster relief grants were able to build more rental units, easing the housing shortage. They improved affordability by tackling the scarcity problem directly.Rental units were the key to solving the rent crisis. These cities, where affordability was better post-disaster, didnt build more single-family homes than the other cities. They built more apartment units.In these markets, these disaster relief grants saved the average renter between $780 and $1,080 in annual housing costs in 2023.We believe that this finding shows why it is important not only to rebuild the houses destroyed in disasters like the Los Angeles fires but also to create new rental opportunities in all kinds of housing.Hope in the aftermathHere in Los Angeles, the clock is already ticking.News reports are mounting of landlords raising rents to eye-popping levels.Fortunately, there are government policies and programs that can help Angelenos find shelter today and that may help the Los Angeles housing market not get even less affordable tomorrow.Anthony W. Orlando is an assistant professor of finance, real estate and law at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Industrial designer Marun Attia has created Cocoon Freelancer, a wooden cabin informed by Alpine houses and Japanese temples that can fit on flatbed vehicles and be used as a mobile living space.Attia used a type of timber called moon wood to construct the mobile home, which is harvested to align with the lunar cycles during the coldest months of the year.The designer says the wood, which is free from glue, plastics and chemical treatments, has many advantages over regular timber.The home is designed to fit on truck flatbeds"Moon wood, harvested during a specific lunar phase, is more durable, resistant to pests, and less prone to warping," Attia told Dezeen."Over time, it develops a beautiful grey patina resembling tree bark, providing natural and long-lasting protection, inspired by the enduring Alpine houses and Japanese temples that have stood for 500 to 1,500 years."Attia also avoided using screws on exterior surfaces, so that the wood wouldn't be susceptible to water absorption.It can also be placed on the groundThe cabin measures 185 centimetres by 320 centimetres internally, has a height of 200 centimetres and is designed to fit on vehicle flatbeds.It can either be used as a mobile home that remains on the truck, giving the user a more elevated cabin, or placed on the ground.Cocoon Freelancer is made from moon wood. Video by Attia Design"Cocoon is weight-optimized to fit standard 3.5-ton flatbed vehicles, such as Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, VW Crafter, MAN TGE, avoiding special driving licenses tolls and road limitations," Attia said."It can also be transported via trailer or placed on adjustable pillars, which are coming soon, or directly on the ground, offering flexibility for various terrains and use cases."The cabin is heated by a wood stoveThe cabin is made from thick wood and heated by a Tiny Wood Stove a compact wood-burning stove."We intentionally avoided additional insulation because our high-tech vacuum glass and approximately eight-centimetre thick solid wood walls exclusive construction feature special stabilising and breathing chambers," Attia explained.Read: IAAC creates mobile Moca dwelling with openable fabric facadesHe said this lets the wood naturally dry the facade."Traditional insulation materials could trap moisture, increasing the risk of mould and compromising durability and air quality without significantly improving insulation performance," Attia added.It has a desk that can be changed into a bedCocoon Freelancer has floor-to-ceiling windows on the side facing outwards, making it easy for users to enjoy the landscape from inside the mobile home. The glass used for this was chosen for its insulating properties."The light safety vacuum glass achieves an exceptional insulation value of 0.7 watts-per-meter-square-kelvin, matching the performance of standard 44-millimetre triple-layer glass, while being six times thinner and lighter at just 7.7 millimetres," Attia said."In practice, this design has performed exceptionally well. Even at outdoor temperatures of seven degrees Celsius, Cocoon can be heated to a comfortable 20 degrees Celsius within 30 minutes using the Tiny Wood Stove."A cooking station sits by the windowThe Cocoon Freelancer features a roof made of solar panels, which Attia said are "capable of generating over 900 watts, 37.5 volts, and 24 amps."Inside the cabin, the designer has created a compact interior with space-saving built-in features, including a desk that can be folded down and turned into part of the bed."We conducted standard research on existing cabins, but Cocoon's interior is a fully self-developed design based on practical usability needs," Attia said."A key feature is the bed-to-desk transformation, which took 18 months design iterations to perfect, ensuring maximum comfort, space efficiency, easy, light and harmonic integration."Cocoon Freelancer can be unloaded by just one personThe interior was secured with hand-tightened nuts, so that it could be disassembled without tools, and is designed for unloading by a single person.Other innovative mobile homes on Dezeen include a 1990s van with plywood furniture and a dwelling with openable fabric facades.The photography is courtesy of Attia Design.The post Marun Attia creates cabin-like mobile home from moon wood appeared first on Dezeen.

The Unity-made game uses digital graphics and hand-crafted materials.

WIREDs advice columnist cracks open the publications archive to consider past promises about AI agents, and to get some advice on how we can use automation while retaining our humanity.

The company said its Columbus plant could eventually produce tens of thousands of autonomous systems and weapons each year.

MacworldRecently, I found that one of our home security cameras that supports Apples HomeKit framework and HomeKit Secure Video for iCloud clip storage had started to flip on and off the local network. I would often see dozens of [name] is offline and [name] is online messages scroll across notifications every day. Sometimes it would remain offline for hours at a time, even though it is within line of sight to a router in the same room and had functioned for months at a time without a problem. Because the camera is inexpensive and a few years old, I purchased a replacement to test whether the original was dyingthe new camera immediately exhibited the same connection issues in the same location.Was the hardware failing? Turns out it was a Wi-Fi connection issue.FoundryThere was a solution. A few months ago, our HomeKit-enabled smart thermostat refused to reconnect to Wi-Fi after a local power outage. I figured out the solution there by configuring a different option on my router. I tested out this solution on both the old and replacement cameras, and it worked. I created a distinct Wi-Fi network to which I connect all smart devices that can be configured to join a specific Wi-Fi network. To explain why and how that works, lets start with a refresher on Wi-Fi.Wi-Fi hits the wallWi-Fi was launched in the late 1990s on the unlicensed 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) band, a range of frequencies divided into narrow, overlapping channels that anyone can use but which isnt guaranteed to be free of other users (unlike cellular frequencies, which are licensed and exclusive to each carrier).This worked well enough for the initial low maximum speed of 11Mbps. As Wi-Fi improved, it expanded into a much larger area of unlicensed spectrum at 5GHz and, more recently, 6GHz. These higher-frequency bands have shorter wavelengths (a function of the number of cycles per second they vibrate at) and have wider channels, which together allow vastly higher data throughput. Modern Wi-Fi in the 5GHz and 6GHz bands can exceed 1Gbps.Those shorter wavelengths, however, have greater trouble passing through walls, ceilings, furniture, and other objects. The longer 2.4GHz wavelengths do a better job of getting through without as much absorption, meaning more signalthus more datareaches a greater distance across rooms and floors. The 2.4GHz band maxes out at about half of 5GHz and 6GHzs top rates, and typically delivers only in the high tens and low hundreds of megabytes per second of data. However, thats enough for smart devices, which often pass very little information. Even a 4K security camera has a datastream that fits comfortably inside 2.4GHzs window.You likely never noticed the performance difference between frequency bands because all modern routers are dual-band 2.4GHz/5GHz or tri-band 2.4GHz/5GHz/6GHz and your devices always strive to pick the fastest data rate, regardless of band. Router makers kept 2.4GHz in their Wi-Fi base stations originally for backward compatibility because possibly hundreds of millions of computers, phones, and other devices had been sold with just 2.4GHz built in (some percentage of those remain in use). But it also helps with range when a router is placed in an area in which 5GHz or 6GHz signals are absorbed a room or more away.HomeKit and other smart devices often include only a low-power Wi-Fi radio, particularly if theyre battery-powered. Many are stuck in the past by only supporting 2.4GHz, too, as that reduces the cost and power consumption.How can you leverage your router and 2.4GHz to improve smart device connections? Set up a separate guest 2.4GHz on a router (or routers) near your smart equipment.Separate networks improve consistencyWhen you set up a Wi-Fi network in your house, you may have a single router or several, or have opted for a mesh network (like that created by where you add nodes that self-configure with other nodes.In most cases, the default configuration has all bands and all routers using the same network name and Wi-Fi password. This allows seamless roaming across your home. However, each of your devices picks which router and band it connects to based on logic built into the device. If your iPhone or security camera selects a weak, distant routers 5GHz broadcast, you cant force it to switch.The way to pick a band and router is to name networks distinctly. Nearly all routers sold in the last decade provide a couple of options for this:You can set a separate name and password for your 2.4GHz and 5GHz (or 5GHz/6GHz) networks.You can enable a guest network in one or more bands with its own name and password, though with some extra configuration needed to work with HomeKit.The first is less useful, as it can affect roaming. Using a guest network makes more sense, as it leaves your main network untouched but gives you the advantage of selection. If you have routers around your house, you may even be able to set up each routers guest networks 2.4GHz radio with a unique name (the password can be identical).For instance, on the router closest to my smart home devices, a NetGear Nighthawk, I have enabled the guest network, set its SSID or network name to broadcast (making it selectable from a menu), and checked Allow guests to see each other and access my local network. That last item is very important: without guests seeing your local network, your smart home devices will be unable to reach your HomeKit hub. The language will vary by router manufacturer and sometimes even among models made by the same company, but there should always be a switch you can set to turn off guest isolation or turn on see devices on the local network.This configuration on a NetGear router locks connected devices to a strong, nearby signal while also letting them interact with the primary network.FoundryOnce I had that network set up, I used the app for cameras, both Eufy models. While they are HomeKit compatible, Eufy also more details configuration and other options within its own app, including updating firmware. Its there that I was able to select the guest 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network and the offline/online toggling immediately stopped.Months earlier, I had used the physical interface on my smart thermostat and a corresponding app to connect to that guest 2.4GHz network. That was more involved: I had to put the thermostat into a special connection mode from its panel, connect to its short-range private Wi-Fi configuration network, and use the thermostats app to select the new 2.4GHz network.Your mileage will varyNot all HomeKit devices can have their Wi-Fi networks changed: some are locked to the network on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac when you add them as an accessory. But those with apps or interfaces may let you pick a Wi-Fi network without disrupting their association with your HomeKit hub and defined home in the Home app.Ask Mac 911Weve compiled a list of the questions we get asked most frequently, along with answers and links to columns: read our super FAQ to see if your question is covered. If not, were always looking for new problems to solve! Email yours to mac911@macworld.com, including screen captures as appropriate and whether you want your full name used. Not every question will be answered; we dont reply to emails, and we cannot provide direct troubleshooting advice.