I don't know if you can believe it, but we're fast approaching the end of January. And I want to kick off the first review recap of 2025 by acknowledging how busy it's already been. CES 2025, which to me seemed to go on for a year, now feels like it happened months ago. We've witnessed TikTok disappear and return, a new president get sworn in and Samsung launch new phones. Even with all that's been happening, our reviewers have been hard at work, with Devindra testing the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 and Billy on a number of headphones and grills. So much for easing into 2025. Before I give you the full recap, I also wanted to shout out some reviews we published in the later half of December, as well as others we recently updated. This article typically goes out every two weeks, but with the holidays, CES and Samsung's Galaxy Unpacked, we had to skip a few editions. In that time, I didn't get the chance to tell you all about our re-reviews of gaming consoles that were launched years ago, like the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5. We wanted to revisit our evaluations of these systems and their respective game libraries, to see how well they stack up today. The team also published and updated reviews of colorful Kindles, an Intel processor, a Samsung Chromebook and more. Here's a quick list, but you can always go to our Reviews page to scroll on your own time, if you prefer: Kindle Colorsoft review: The missing link in Amazons ereader lineup by Valentina Palladino Kindle Scribe 2 review in progress: Is slightly useful AI worth the extra cash? by Cherlynn Low Samsung Galaxy Chromebook Plus review: Quirky in ways both good and bad by Nathan Ingraham Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 review: An impressive headphone debut by Billy Steele Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: Great movie, good game by Jessica Conditt Bose Smart Soundbar review: Using earbuds as surround sound speakers by Billy Steele Formovie Cinema Edge review: A midrange UST projector that lags behind its rivals by Steve Dent Intel Arc B580 review: The new king of $250 GPUs (for now) by Devindra Hardawar Echo: The Oracles Scroll is a must-play combatless metroidvania for Playdate by Cheyenne MacDonald CRKD's Nitro Deck+ keeps its best features and adds typical stick layout by Mat Smith ICYMI: The 12 best gadgets we reviewed in 2024 In case you missed it, in lieu of a typical review recap, we published a list of the 12 highest-rated products we reviewed last year. Spoiler alert: there were a lot of flagship phones, cameras and drones on the list. I also included the two worst gadgets we ever tested, and you'll just have to guess what they are. Or read the article, I guess. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 review by Devindra Hardawar If you're the sort of person that's in the market for a $2,000 GPU, then the GeForce RTX 5090 is something you might consider. It's fast, powerful and NVIDIA's frame generation was very impressive, according to Devindra. But for the rest of us with actual, reasonably sized budgets, the company's highest-end offering is probably out of reach. We're most likely setting our sights on the $550 RTX 5070, and I await our review to see how different a product that costs about $1,500 less will be. Traeger Woodridge and ThermoWorks RFX reviews by Billy Steele Grills and cooking accessories continue to get more and more high-tech. And Billy continues to expand his expertise in the space, all while delighting his editors with tantalizing descriptions of smoked and barbecued foods. Believe me, I always have to feed myself before starting an edit, and I remain slightly jealous that I don't have the space for a dedicated grill like the Traeger Woodridge. But as I read Billy's pieces, I am quietly making notes on what I'd like to get for myself one day. Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 review by Billy Steele Billy's been busy, that's for sure. As our resident audio guru, he pretty much spends most of his days with the latest set of headphones in his ears, seeing how they fare not just in daily use but also against the competition. Bowers & Wilkin's Pi8 may deliver excellent audio, but according to Billy they don't offer enough special features for the money. In fact, as he says, "$399 should get you a lot more than superb audio." On the horizon: Upcoming reviews Our reviewers already have units of the latest Samsung Galaxy S25 phones and are testing them in the real world as I write this. Devices that were announced at CES 2025, like some headphones, laptops, smart glasses and even LED masks are also making their way to our team members, so stay tuned for our evaluations. We're also planning on some longer-term reviews of popular products, and welcome your feedback on things you'd like to see us take on! Moving forward, Billy Steele will be taking over this roundup, so I leave you with this extremely appropriate and relevant image to remember me by. Engadget This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/engadget-review-recap-all-eyes-on-nvidia-and-samsung-150022570.html?src=rss

TP-Link routers, among Amazon best sellers and according to some estimates up to 65% of the U.S. market, are on the radar of the U.S. government.

Watching TV no longer just means watching TV. After the rise of tablets and smartphones in the late aughts, a second-screen experience became the new standard for home viewing. Live-blogging the latest season of Netflixs Stranger Things, or buying a new T-shirt during it, is now just reflexive for millions of people. According to a 2023 YouGov study, 91% of Americans at least sometimes look at their phones while watching TV. For generations weaned on TikTok, that sometimes might be a little closer to always. As Saturday Night Lives Michael Longfellow recently joked about the apps brief ban: What do I even watch during a movie now?Although viewing habits have long been headed in this direction, whats changed more recently is that Netflix now appears to have adapted to those habits by optimizing for second-screen viewing.A December deep dive into Netflixs approach, from literary culture magazine n+1, describes how the streaming service has subtly changed the way some of its movies and shows get made. As Will Tavlin writes, Several screenwriters whove worked for the streamer told me a common note from company executives is have this character announce what theyre doing so that viewers who have this program on in the background can follow along. (Netflix did not respond to Fast Companys request for comment.)Tavlin goes on to include a dialogue exchange from last years Lindsay Lohan-comeback vehicle, Irish Wish, that sounds like an audio commentary track describing what has previously happened. (I admit it was a beautiful day filled with dramatic vistas and romantic rain, Lohans character says at one point, but that doesnt give you the right to question my life choices. Tomorrow, Im marrying Paul Kennedy.)Overly expository dialogue is nothing new. Its usually just a sign of lazy writing. If its no longer just a trope but rather part of a studio-wide effort to relieve viewers of having to come up for air from their phones once in a while, well, that feels like a different story.The n+1 report isnt the only suggestion that streaming services like Netflix are now making content with an eye toward background viewing. Actor and director Justine Bateman made headlines in 2023 when she told The Hollywood Reporter, Ive heard from showrunners who are given notes from the streamers that this isnt second screen enough. More recently, U.K. outlet The Telegraph singled out a conversation on BBCs Miss Me podcast, between Stranger Things actor David Harbour and host Miquita Oliver, about the process of second-screen pitching. During it, Oliver mentioned that studios are asking for ideas that people will kind of ignore, so they can be on their phone.Netflix seems especially receptive to such ideas. In 2020, New Yorker writer Kyle Chayka coined the term ambient TV to describe Netflix programming like the breezy sitcom Emily in Paris and the reality series Dream Home Makeovershows that are pleasant enough but require zero engagement from viewers. [A]s prestige passes its peak, Chayka wrote, were moving into the ambient era, which succumbs to, rather than competes with, your phone.At the time, the growing abundance of this kind of content could have been written off as a coincidence. If a streaming service is meant to be all things to all people, of course some areas of its programming would have a similarly smooth-brain feel. These recent reports all but confirm, however, that the company is actively making its content more palatable for background viewing.There is nothing inherently wrong with providing ambient TV for those who just want to zone out while thumbing through TikTok (while we still have it . . . ). Considering how many prestige shows still aspire to be taken seriously as high art, its refreshing to see shows with the courage to be trashy fun to have on in the background while doing house chores or decompressing after a long day. Netflix was making the latter kind of show for years before The New Yorker gave it a genre name. It certainly hasnt hurt Netflixs bottom line, eitherthe company just posted a Q4 revenue increase of 16% from a year earlier, helped along by another 19 million subscribers for the quarter.Clearly, Netflix seems to be delivering what people want from it.The question remains, though, whether the company is only contorting some of its original content to be better background viewing, or if that aesthetic is becoming its feature attraction.

The vibrant illustration is packed with symbolism.

A series from photographer Sefan Falke captures iconic views of New York City's boroughs both coming and going.

The long-rumored Apple Glass may eventually become Apple's wearable future, with development of the smart glasses hitting hurdles that even Apple's rivals are having to deal with.Renders of what Apple Glass could look likeThe Apple Vision Pro is Apple's first attempt at a head-mounted display, as a project that sucked a considerable amount of resources to produce. That device is far from the end goal for Apple, with the ultimate aim being the introduction of smart glasses.It's been a long road so far, but there's still a lot more distance for Apple to travel in order to get to that goal. Rumor Score: Possible Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Apple's board of directors is set for some significant changes over the course of the next year, with two members reaching or exceeding the recommended retirement age of 75.Apple board member Arthur Levinson. Image credit: AppleApple's Board of Directors chair, Art Levinson, is turning 75 in March of 2025, and this would normally signal a move towards retirement sometime this year. His eventual departure from Apple's board could be announced as early as February, when Apple usually holds its annual shareholder meeting.Levinson may opt to retire later this year or in early 2026, and would be the second board member set for retirement in the near future, reports Bloomberg. He is the former CEO and chairman of Genentech, and currently is also the CEO of Alphabet's Calico Life Sciences. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Among the titles showcased at the Xbox Developer_Direct, Ninja Gaiden 4 arguably stood out the most. The story focuses on newcomer Yakumo, who ventures to a ruined Tokyo to take out the Dark Dragon. Series regular Ryu Hayabusa also appears, though his intentions are unclear.Arriving more than 13 years after Ninja Gaiden 3, such a sudden comeback almost feels surreal. However, after Team Ninja and PlatinumGames confirmed working secretly for years on the project, Microsoft Gaming CEO revealed that conversations started much before.Speaking to Gamertag Radio, Spencer revealed that the newest title began after Xbox knocked on some doors and said What if? six or seven years ago.He added, I feel great about our relationships with the publishers in Japan, though he admitted its taken a lot of flights, FaceTime, and listening. While Spencer loves to see the progress made, he believes more work needs to be done. Nevertheless, Its what the Xbox community deserves, and I want to stay focused on that.Ninja Gaiden 4 launches this Fall, and despite Xbox Game Studios publishing, it will be available for PS5 alongside Xbox Series X/S and PC. Its also out on day one for Game Pass. Head here for more details on the combat, including Yakumos Bloodraven Form.

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 68, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If youre new here, welcome, hope youre staying warm and sane, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, Ive been reading about Kieran Culkin and insomnia and the eBay for fancy startup stuff, finally watching The Wild Robot, thinking a lot about my shopping habits while watching The Mega-Brands That Built America, adding a bunch of Baseus retractable cables to my travel kit, playing an amazing browser-based rendition of the Atari game Pitfall!, testing out the new Spark calendar for Android, and trying to copy Babishs delicious-looking breakfast sandwich.I also have for you the biggest new phone in the Android world, the GPU every gamers going to want, an impossible test for AI tools, a clever Google alternative, and much more. Its been a somewhat quiet week for new stuff, honestly, since its both post-CES doldrums and utter political chaos. But weve still got great stuff to talk about! Lets do it.(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you watching / reading / cooking / downloading / building with Legos / strapping to your wrists this week? What should everyone else be into as much as you are? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, tell them to subscribe here.)The DropThe Samsung Galaxy S25. The S25 Edge is definitely Samsungs most interesting phone this year, and the Ultra is probably the best one, but honestly the whole lineup is a little boring this time? Still, I really do appreciate that Samsungs shipping a high-end, reasonably sized, full-featured flagship smartphone for $800. This is the Android phone I suspect most people will end up with this year.Star Trek: Section 31. The reviews for this new Paramount Plus movie are, uh, all over the place. People still have strong feelings about Star Trek, who knew?! But I love Michelle Yeoh, and I am frankly excited to have an excuse to dive back into that universe for the first time in a while. Also: more two-hour movies and fewer ten-hour limited series, please.Humanitys Last Exam. An incredibly fun and thought-provoking and also mind-bendingly hard test that a bunch of researchers think represents something like the final frontier for AI. (All the models currently fail spectacularly.) Ive learned a ton just poking around the questions.Perplexity Assistant. Frankly, Ive never found Perplexitys actual search results all that good, but this company is really good at building products that are fun to use. This new Android app is a step toward more task-doing AI a bit like OpenAIs new Operator feature but without the $200 monthly price.Android 16 public beta. Not much in the way of ground-breaking new stuff this year, but the Live Activities-style lockscreen notifications are cool. And if you have a foldable phone, youll like the forced app resizing. Curious about the night mode camera upgrades, too.The Night Agent season 2. I dug the first season of this show, which (like a lot of Netflix shows) was probably an episode or two too long but still really fun. Sounds like the second season is just as fun and fast-moving.The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. $2,000 is a steep price for a GPU, but Nvidias latest beast seems to be clearly the best thing in 4K gaming. (Its not technically shipping until next week, but if you want one of these I have a feeling youll need to get in early.)Why streaming will destroy the typical sports fan. This is both an economic study of sports rights and a cultural history of how sports came to matter so much on television in the first place. The Jenga tower cable bundle metaphor is so good Im furious I never thought of it.Brave Rerank. Brave is one of the better non-Google search engines, and this is such a no-brainer good idea of a feature: you get to up- and down-rank which domains you want to see in your results. A little tweaking goes a long way, too.Screen shareEvery once in a while, Mike McCue and I jump on Google Meet and rant at each other about the future. Mike is the CEO of Flipboard, a tech executive all the way back to the Netscape days, and both a realist and a total bleeding-heart optimist about what technology can be. Recently, what weve mostly talked about is Surf, Flipboards new feed-reader app.I think Surf, or something like it, is the future. (Theres also the new Reeder andProject Tapestry, which have similar ideas but Surf is the most ambitious one Ive seen yet.) Its social, but its not controlled by any single company; its personalized, but only in ways that you choose. All this stuff is still super early, but every time X changes or TikTok goes away, it becomes clear that we need something very different.Oh, and I have fun news: if you sign up for Surf with the code Installer, you can skip the waitlist line and try the app out. Right now you need a Mastodon account to get in (which is easy enough to sign up for), but Mike says Bluesky support is coming soon, too.Anyway! I asked Mike to share his homescreen, plus give us a glimpse into some of the feeds hes enjoying most right now. Here is his homescreen, plus some info on the apps he uses and why:The phone: iPhone 16 Pro Max.The wallpaper: I alternate between Apples Earth and photos of my family. Its easy and fun to change wallpapers on iOS. The Earth wallpaper is dynamic throughout the day. I like how it reminds me that Im just a tiny speck in space and time.The apps: Apple Maps, Gaia GPS, Windy, Sky Guide, Spotify, Google Calendar, Safari, Leica Fotos, Apple Photos, Pixelfed, Flipboard, Threads, Ivory (a Mastodon client), Bluesky, Surf Beta.If theres one takeaway here, its that Im a social web nerd, and Im hopelessly addicted to news and social media.My saving grace is that I do manage to get outside a fair bit. I recently switched to Apple Maps (I love the presentation when driving), and I use Gaia for trails when Im hiking or mountain biking. Windy is the best weather app out there (I bought a premium subscription for sailing). That said, I think MyRadar is best at answering the question, Is it about to rain? And for how long? I use Sky Guide a surprising amount. Its especially fun to spot and track the planets and the space station with my kids.The lower right quadrant has my most used apps because I can easily reach them one-handed. Of these, Apple Notes is where I spend by far the most time. Its where I do all of my thinking, planning, and writing for work and life. I know there are more powerful alternatives out there, but Notes is so simple and just works.For social media, I use a mix of Mastodon (via Ivory), Bluesky, and Threads, three of the main apps on the social web. I also love the new Pixelfed app. Not only is it built on ActivityPub, its like what Instagram used to be. I stopped posting on Instagram years ago because it got so noisy. Its nice to start sharing photos again.I also asked Mike to share a few things hes into right now on Surf. Heres what he sent back:NBAThreads by David Rushing: Real-time commentary from fans on Threads and Bluesky during games. Lots of great videos and podcasts between games.FilmFeed by David Imel: Beautiful photos from a curated list of film photographers. Like Instagram for film fans.Guardians of the Fediverse by Tim Chambers: My go-to feed for connecting with people who are building on the social web.SkyTok: Trending videos on Bluesky and videos tagged with #SkyTok. Also available directly on Bluesky as a custom feed.Heres what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what youre into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message me on Signal @davidpierce.11 with your recommendations for anything and everything, and well feature some of our favorites here every week. For even more great recommendations, check out the replies to this post on Threads and this post on Bluesky.Nothing published a very interesting video about how the design of iOS & Android can have a different impact on your mental state and how different cultures approach design in general. Super interesting stuff. TeoUFO 50! Truly incredible compilation of 50 new retro-style indie games, built around a fictional game company in the 80s. Its all Ive been playing and Ive only played about 15 games so far. JellyWatching Unrivaled, the new 3 on 3 womens basketball league, on TNT / TruTV / Max! So much fun to watch the best basketball players play with more space and a different format from traditional basketball. RenataI got a Miyoo A30 this week, installed Spruce (a custom firmware) on it, and now Im playing Pokmon Yellow Legacy because I needed some nostalgic comfort food to deal with everything going on right now. BeeksJust finished up Kevin Can F**k Himself on Netflix. I think its a few years old, but man it was so good. I love the storytelling device they employ where any time Kevin is around, its filmed as an All In the Family-style sitcom, and the rest of the time its filmed like a dark comedy. JKBeen spending a bunch of time on Graze building feeds for BlueSky! Theyre really doing some great work for the community, and have made setting up custom feeds super quick, fun and available to pretty much anyone, techie or not. KerhaI Love Hue Too. Its been out a while, but its beautiful, addictive and a wonderful way to distract from the crumbling world around me. BradLast weeks Silo season finale was incredible and Ive also started Wool (the first in the book series) and it is a really fun read. Crazy how much faster the book is paced its only like 40 percent through the story that [REDACTED] happens!! AndyIve been playing a whole lot of Dragonsweeper, which is like Minesweeper crossed with a dungeon crawler. Its tricky at first, but its sick. SophieThis playlist of old school Weather Channel songs my brother sent me has been my soundtrack for the last few days. Just sit back and let the nostalgia of trying to get a forecast over basic cable wash over you. MikeSigning offAt CES a few weeks ago, I was chatting with a new friend on the show floor when he casually referenced that thing Douglas Adams wrote about the internet. I stared stupidly back at him. You know, the Hitchhikers Guide guy? Yeah, no, got that. What internet thing?Turns out, in 1999, Adams wrote an essay titled How to Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Internet, and wow does it hold up 26 years later as a way to think about the world we live in now. Heres just one quote:Another problem with the net is that its still technology, and technology, as the computer scientist Bran Ferren memorably defined it, is stuff that doesnt work yet. We no longer think of chairs as technology, we just think of them as chairs. But there was a time when we hadnt worked out how many legs chairs should have, how tall they should be, and they would often crash when we tried to use them. Before long, computers will be as trivial and plentiful as chairs (and a couple of decades or so after that, as sheets of paper or grains of sand) and we will cease to be aware of the things.I think about this essay damn near every day now. The more things change, the more they stay the same. And maybe we should be comforted by that.

Apple introduced iCloud back in June 2011, and since then, the free tier of iCloud has remained at 5GB. However, Im not here to talk about that today. While 5GB of free iCloud is definitely too little for our needs nearly a decade and a half later, I think Apple has a bigger issue to address with iCloud: its paid tiers.iCloud storage historyFor a decent while, Apple has offered 50GB of iCloud for $0.99/month, 200GB for $2.99/month, and 2TB for $9.99/month. This pricing was introduced in 2017, and has remained that way since.Between 2015 and 2017 though, $9.99/month got you just 1TB, and 2TB would be $19.99/month. Its certainly neat that Apple brought 2TB down in price since 2015, but eliminating 1TB certainly left a gap in the storage lineup and thats where my gripe is. Ill get to that later, though.Apple has done a few other things with iCloud since they set this pricing in 2017. iCloud now includes Private Relay, Custom Email Domains, Hide My Email, and HomeKit Secure Video (for users with 2TB or higher). Apple also rebranded its paid iCloud tiers in 2021, now referring to them as iCloud+.In 2023, Apple decided that a lot of people actually want more iCloud+ storage. After all, after the launch of Apple One in 2020, users discovered that you could purchase Apple One Premier for $34.95/month (which includes 2TB of iCloud), and also stack a separate 2TB iCloud subscription for $9.99/month, unlocking 4TB total.Im not sure how many people actually purchased Apple One Premier for the sake of unlocking 2TB of iCloud storage, but Im sure it wasnt zero. Regardless, Apple introduced new 6TB and 12TB iCloud+ tiers in 2023, after the launch of iPhone 15 Pro. These tiers came in at $29.99/month and $59.99/month, respectively.And, that was it. Apple made no changes to any other tier of iCloud+ when they made that upgrade. The tiers originally introduced in 2017 stuck around, just with some new higher-end tiers for heavy users.Apple likely benefits a ton from the three tier setup (excluding the extreme tiers) that it offers today. Ive long requested that Apple make a simple 1TB plan in between 2TB and 2TB, but theres probably some well-thought-through business reason for not wanting to do that. So, instead, I have an easier proposal.My proposalInstead of introducing a new fourth lower end tier, why not just adjust how much storage everyone gets? After nearly ten years of the lower end 50GB and 200GB plans remaining at the prices they are today, I think its about time to change things up. After all, file sizes are only getting larger. 50GB is probably barely enough for most peoples iPhone backup at this point.This is what I suggest:Free: 5GB (I know, this sucks, but this isnt the focus here)$1.99/month: 100GB$3.99/month: 400GB$9.99/month: 2TBI took inspiration for the 100GB plan from Google, who currently offers 100GB for $1.99/month. Seeing as Google and Apple share the same $9.99/month price tag for 2TB, I think its a fair reference point for pricing.Above that, theres the 400GB plan for $3.99/month. I think thats a nice balance between offering more storage for an okay price and not completely cannibalizing the customer base for the 2TB tier.Many would likely argue that Apple intentionally keeps a large gap between 200GB and 2TB to push people to pay for storage they dont need, but I dont necessarily agree. I think in most cases, once running into the 200GB iCloud limit, customers just end up using iCloud storage less, whether that be by storing photos/videos locally, or straight up finding things to delete.Wrap upIn a lot of peoples minds, itll be a long time before they can utilize 2TB, so why pay for it now? My proposed pricing tier bridges that gap a fair bit, and provides an ample amount of storage for todays world. Im one of those who uses the 200GB tier and has regularly for several years now deleted files (mostly photos & videos) to keep it under 200GB. I usually start culling when it hits the 198GB mark. Id love something above the 200GB tier but cheaper than the 2TB tier. View all commentsWhen Apple introduced the storage tiers it offers today, iPhones were just transitioning from 32GB to 64GB of base storage. Nowadays we have 128GB and 256GB depending on which iPhone you buy, so I think its fair for the iCloud tiers to reflect that.Do you agree with these proposed tiers, or would you like to see something else? Im sure many people would suggest more than 5GB for free, which would also be a welcome change. Share your thoughts in the comments.My favorite iPhone accessories on Amazon:Follow Michael:X/Twitter,Bluesky,InstagramAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel