Proton Mail4.5 ExcellentBottom LineProton Mail is an easy-to-use webmail service that brings zero-access encryption to your local message store and end-to-end encryption for message transmission, along with an impressive posse of related programs.US Street Price$47.88Learn MoreProton Mail ReviewVSPreVeil4.5 ExcellentBottom LineWith PreVeil, you get free end-to-end encrypted secure cloud storage along with secure email that’s tough enough for business but extremely easy to use, all while keeping your existing email address.Learn MorePreVeil Review Table of ContentsPricing and Pricing TiersDo I Need a New Email Address?Authentication and Security OptionsCloud Storage and File SharingEmail Client IntegrationTemporary Email AddressesAdvanced Security FeaturesFeatures Beyond Email Encryption Pricing and Pricing TiersPreVeil’s pricing system is as simple as can be—it’s free. Period.You can use ProtonMail for free, too, but a free Proton Mail account lacks some features and limits others. For example, you can only send 150 messages per day and only manage a single email account. When you pay $47.88 per year for a Proton Mail Plus account, the limit on messages per day vanishes, but there’s still a cap on the number of email addresses you can use.There’s one more option, Proton Mail Ultimate, which costs $119.88 per year and includes the full pantheon of Proton’s products. This one makes sense if you want your email encryption served up along with fully functional instances of Proton Calendar, Proton Drive, Proton VPN, and the Proton Pass password manager. Ultimately, everything’s better when it’s free, so PreVeil wins.Winner: PreVeilDo I Need a New Email Address?I’ve had the same personal email address for more than 20 years, and I’ve grown fond of it. I could sign up for PreVeil and keep that address. But if I wanted to rely on Proton Mail to safeguard my email secrets, I would have to pick a new address and share it with all my contacts.On the flip side, my 20-year-old email address has accumulated quite a collection of spam. It’s been revealed in dozens of data breaches and captured by who knows how many data brokers. If you want to level up your security game by using email encryption, you might prefer switching to a pristine new address, too.Here’s the thing. You can do the same thing with PreVeil. Just set up a new, clean email address before you start using PreVeil. But you simply can’t use Proton Mail with your existing address, except in one rare case. If you own your own domain, and if you host your email on that domain, and if you're up for such domain-management tasks as changing MX records and reconfiguring settings for DNS, DKIM, DMARC, and SPF, then you can use your own email. PreVeil wins on flexibility.Winner: PreVeilAuthentication and Security OptionsIt doesn’t matter how thoroughly your email is encrypted if an evildoer gains access to your encrypted inbox. Proton Mail offers multiple levels of protection, starting with using a strong password and an optional account recovery email. On top of that basic password protection, you can optionally configure it for multi-factor authentication (MFA) using Google Authenticator or a compatible authenticator app. You can advance to expert-tier authentication by configuring Proton Mail to require a hardware security key.(Credit: Proton/PCMag)PreVeil doesn’t use passwords at all, presuming that the security of your email account is sufficient. Yes, an attacker would need access to both your email account and a trusted device, which fits the definition of MFA, barely. But you can only use an authenticator app or hardware key to authenticate your email account, not PreVeil itself. When it comes to actively protecting access to your encrypted email system, Proton Mail takes the prize.Winner: Proton MailCloud Storage and File SharingIf you want to share a file or picture securely with someone, you can add it as an attachment to an encrypted email message. That’s a workable solution, but it’s not always the most convenient. Proton Mail and PreVeil both go beyond simple attachments by allowing you to store files in the cloud and share them securely.Your PreVeil account comes with 5GB of encrypted cloud storage that’s easily accessible from Windows Explorer. You also get the option to securely share folders (but not individual files) and to set each recipient’s permission level, from full Edit & Share permission down to View Only, which merely lets the recipient peek at the file’s content in a browser window.(Credit: PreVeil/PCMag)Proton Mail users at all pricing tiers get access to the separate Proton Drive app for cloud backup. Non-paying customers get a tenth of what PreVeil offers, just 500MB. However, at the commercial Plus level that storage rises to 15GB, and if you go all out with Proton Mail Ultimate, you can store 500GB of files. If you’re keeping score, those storage figures are three times and 100 times what PreVeil gives you.Proton Drive lets you share files directly with other Proton users and control their level of access in much the same way you do with PreVeil. You can also create a public link, optionally setting a password and an expiry date. PreVeil’s similar links only work for someone with whom you’ve already shared the folder.It’s true that PreVeil offers more storage than Proton Mail’s free tier, but there’s no easy path if you want more from PreVeil. And Proton Mail’s full backup app has more flexibility. This one goes to Proton Mail.Recommended by Our EditorsWinner: Proton MailEmail Client IntegrationEven if you’ve grudgingly switched to a new email address, you can at least keep the email client that you’ve used for years, right? Well, not necessarily. To get your Proton Mail messages into Apple Mail, Outlook, or Thunderbird, you must install a separate “bridge” app and go through a configuration routine that can get complicated. It doesn’t work with the latest Outlook because it requires access to IMAP and SMTP. And you don’t get full access to encryption features in your old familiar email app.(Credit: PreVeil/PCMag)With PreVeil, integration can be as simple as installing a plug-in for Gmail or Outlook. The plug-in adds a few handy controls, like an encryption on/off switch for the messages you compose, and clearly separates encrypted messages from those you’ve sent without encryption.Winner: PreVeilTemporary Email AddressesI mentioned earlier that being forced to spin up a new email address can be a blessing in disguise, as doing so frees you from any spam and baggage associated with the old address. But if you use a temporary email address service, you can avoid accumulating those problems in the first place. Using such a service lets you communicate with online merchants and other possibly shady connections without ever revealing your actual email address. You see and respond to the messages in your normal inbox, but they see only an email alias. And if one of your connections sells you out to a spam cartel, you just delete the corresponding alias.Sounds convenient, right? The Proton team agrees. At the Unlimited subscription level, you get full access to SimpleLogin, a four-star temporary email service. Yes, that’s the most expensive level, but PreVeil doesn’t offer email aliases at any level. (Don’t feel too left out if you’re using PreVeil or haven’t opted for the expensive Proton Mail Unlimited. You can supplement your email encryption for free with email aliases from ManyMe or Bulc Club.)Winner: Proton MailAdvanced Security FeaturesAfter going to the trouble of switching to encrypted email, you’d feel pretty dumb if you lost your login and couldn’t get access to your important messages. Proton Mail encourages you to save a recovery key in the form of a lengthy code and a QR code, but that recovery key itself now becomes a weakness. Someone who acquires your code owns your account.PreVeil offers a similar recovery code system, but encourages you to use its Recovery Group system instead. This is a high-tech solution more commonly seen in Enterprise-level security. With PreVeil, your recovery key resides with multiple friends, and the recovery process requires participation by several of them. For example, you might enlist six friends to hold your secret and require any three of them to activate recovery.PreVeil’s wrapped keys encryption system is proprietary, but Proton Mail relies on the venerable and widely used PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) encryption system. Proton Mail users can set up encrypted communication with users of other encryption tools that rely on PGP, such as Private-Mail and StartMail. For those with the tech chops, using PGP opens up immense possibilities.(Credit: Proton/PCMag)Proton Mail also actively protects your privacy against tracking that relies on images. When your email client displays an image, it necessarily requests that image from a server. From that request, the sender can learn your IP address, among other things. Proton Mail wipes out web beacons, which are images that have no purpose beyond penetrating your privacy. And it acts as an intermediary for normal images, so the sender gets the IP address of a Proton Mail server, not your personal address.Both services have clever, high-tech features. And in both cases, most users won’t use or pay attention to these features. I call this a draw.Winner: TieFeatures Beyond Email EncryptionI’ve already mentioned that both services offer encrypted file storage and secure sharing. For PreVeil, that’s about it.Proton Mail, on the other hand, offers several other significant security features. These include the already-mentioned Proton Drive, Proton VPN, Proton Calendar, and the Proton Pass password manager.(Credit: Proton/PCMag)Like Proton Drive, Proton Calendar and Proton Pass are available to free users, but with limitations. Free users of Proton VPN can use it to protect one device at a time and can’t choose which country the VPN connects through. Paying for Proton Mail lifts some of these limitations. And if you choose Proton Unlimited, you get the maximum from all the Proton apps.Winner: Proton Mail

We’re happy to announce that we’ve launched a new technical e-book, Create modular game architecture in Unity with ScriptableObjects, which provides best practices from professional developers for deploying ScriptableObjects in production.Along with the e-book, you can download a demo project from GitHub inspired by classic ball and paddle arcade game mechanics. The demo shows how ScriptableObjects can help you create components that are testable and scalable, while also being designer-friendly. Although a game like this could be built with far fewer lines of code, this demo shows ScriptableObjects in action.This post explains the benefits of ScriptableObjects, but doesn’t cover the basics or general coding in Unity. If you’re new to programming in Unity, head over to Unity Learn, which offers helpful introductory tutorials. The first chapter in the e-book also offers a solid primer.Let’s look at six ways you can benefit from using ScriptableObjects in your projects. Want to know more? All of these examples are explored further in the e-book and demo project.Although many of the techniques shared here can also be achieved using C# classes, one of the main benefits of ScriptableObjects is the accessibility to artists and designers. They can use ScriptableObjects to configure and apply game logic in a project without having to edit the code.The Editor makes it convenient to view and edit ScriptableObjects, enabling designers to set up gameplay data without heavy support from the developer team. This also applies to game logic, such as applying behavior to an NPC by adding a ScriptableObject (explained in the patterns below).Storing data and logic on a single MonoBehaviour can result in time-consuming merge conflicts if two people change different parts of the same Prefab or scene. By breaking up shared data into smaller files and assets with ScriptableObjects, designers can build gameplay in parallel with developers, instead of having to wait for the latter to finish setting up the gameplay in code before testing it.Issues can arise when colleagues with different roles access the game code and assets at the same time. With ScriptableObjects, the programmer can control what part of the project is editable in the Editor. Additionally, using ScriptableObjects to organize your code leads naturally to a codebase that’s more modular and efficient to test.Christo Nobbs, a senior technical game designer who specializes in systems game design and Unity (C#), contributed to The Unity game designer playbook, and is the main author of a blog post series on designing game systems in Unity. His posts, “Systems that create ecosystems: Emergent game design” and “Unpredictably fun: The value of randomization in game design” provide interesting examples of how designers can use ScriptableObjects.Modularity is a general software principle which can be implemented in C# without using ScriptableObjects. But, as mentioned above, ScriptableObjects help promote clean coding practices by separating data from logic, which is a first step toward modular game code. This separation means it’s easier to make changes without causing unintended side effects, and improves testability.ScriptableObjects excel at storing static data, making them handy for configuring static gameplay values like items or NPC stats, character dialogue, and much more. Because ScriptableObjects are saved as an asset, they persist outside of game mode, making it possible to use them for loading in a static configuration that dynamically changes at runtime.While changes to ScriptableObject data do persist in the Editor, it’s important to note that they are not designed for saving game data. In that case, it’s better to use a serialization system, such as JSON, XML, or a binary solution if performance is critical.MonoBehaviours carry extra overhead since they require a GameObject – and by default a Transform – to act as a host. This means you need to create a lot of unused data before storing a single value. A ScriptableObject slims down this memory footprint and drops the GameObject and Transform. It also stores data at the project level, which is helpful if you need to access the same data from multiple scenes.It’s common to have many GameObjects which rely on duplicate data that does not need to change at runtime. Rather than having this duplicate local data on each GameObject, you can funnel it into a ScriptableObject. Each of the objects stores a reference to the shared data asset, rather than copying the data itself. This can provide significant performance improvements in projects with thousands of objects.In software design, this is an optimization known as the flyweight pattern. Restructuring your code in this way using ScriptableObjects avoids copying values and reduces your memory footprint. Check out our e-book, Level up your code with game programming patterns to learn more about using design patterns in Unity.A good example of how ScriptableObjects can simplify your code is to use them as enums for comparison operations. The ScriptableObject can represent a category or item type, such as a special damage effect – cold, heat, electrical, magic, etc.If your application requires an inventory system to equip gameplay items, ScriptableObjects can represent item types or weapon slots. The fields in the Inspector then function as a drag-and-drop interface for setting them up.Using ScriptableObjects as enums becomes more interesting when you want to extend them and add more data. Unlike normal enums, ScriptableObjects can have extra fields and methods. There’s no need to have a separate lookup table or correlate with a new array of data.While traditional enums have a fixed set of values, ScriptableObject enums can be created and modified at runtime, allowing you to add or remove values as needed.If you have a long list of enum values without explicit numbering, inserting or removing an enum can change their order. This reordering can introduce subtle bugs or unintended behavior. ScriptableObject-based enums don’t have these issues. You can delete or add to your project without having to change the code every time.Suppose you want to make an item equippable in an RPG. You could append an extra boolean field to the ScriptableObject to do that. Are certain characters not allowed to hold certain items? Are some items magical or do they have special abilities? ScriptableObject-based enums can do that.Because you can create methods on a ScriptableObject, they are as useful for containing logic or actions as they are for holding data. Moving logic from your MonoBehaviour into a ScriptableObject enables you to use the latter as a delegate object, making the behavior more modular.If you need to perform specific tasks, you can encapsulate their algorithms into their own objects. The original Gang of Four refers to this general design as the strategy pattern. The example below shows how to make the strategy pattern more useful by using an abstract class to implement EnemyAI. The result is several derived ScriptableObjects with different behavior, which then becomes a pluggable behavior since each asset is interchangeable. You just drag and drop the ScriptableObject of choice into the MonoBehaviour.For a detailed example showing how to use ScriptableObjects to drive behavior, watch the video series Pluggable AI with ScriptableObjects. These sessions demonstrate a finite state machine-based AI system that can be configured using ScriptableObjects for states, actions, and transitions between those states.A common challenge in larger projects is when multiple GameObjects need to share data or states by avoiding direct references between these objects. Managing these dependencies at scale can require significant effort and is often a source of bugs. Many developers use singletons – one global instance of a class that survives scene loading. However, singletons introduce global states and make unit testing difficult. If you’re working with a Prefab that references a singleton, you’ll end up importing all of its dependencies just to test an isolated function. This makes your code less modular and efficient to debug.One solution is to use ScriptableObject-based events to help your GameObjects communicate. In this case, you are using ScriptableObjects to implement a form of the observer design pattern, where a subject broadcasts a message to one or more loosely decoupled observers. Each observing object can react independently from the subject but is unaware of the other observers. The subject can also be referred to as the “publisher” or “broadcaster” and the observers as “subscribers” or “listeners.”You can implement the observer pattern with MonoBehaviours or C# objects. While this is already common practice in Unity development, a script-only approach means your designers will rely on the programming team for every event needed during gameplay.At first glance, it appears that you’ve added a layer of overhead to the observer pattern, but this structure offers some advantages. Since ScriptableObjects are assets, they are accessible to all objects in your hierarchy and don’t disappear on scene loading.Easy, persistent access to certain resources is why many developers use singletons. ScriptableObjects can often provide the same benefits without introducing as many unnecessary dependencies.In ScriptableObject-based events, any object can serve as publisher (which broadcasts the event), and any object can serve as a subscriber (which listens for the event). The ScriptableObject sits in the middle and helps relay the signal, acting like a centralized intermediary between the two.One way to think about this is as an “event channel.” Imagine the ScriptableObject as a radio tower that has any number of objects listening for its signals. An interested MonoBehaviour can subscribe to the event channel and respond when something happens.The demo shows how the observer pattern helps you set up game events for UI, sounds, and scoring.At runtime, you’ll often need to track a list of GameObjects or components in your scene. For example, a list of enemies is something you’d need to frequently access, but it’s also a dynamic list that changes as more enemies are spawned or defeated. The singleton offers easy global access, but it has several drawbacks. Instead of using a singleton, consider storing data on a ScriptableObject as a “Runtime Set.” The ScriptableObject instance appears at the project level, which means it can store data that’s available to any object from any scene, offering similar global access. Since the data is located on an asset, its public list of items is accessible at any time.In this use case, you get a specialized data container that maintains a public collection of elements but also provides basic methods to add to and remove from the collection. This can reduce the need for singletons and improve testability and modularity.Reading data directly from a ScriptableObject is also more optimal than searching the Scene Hierarchy with a find operation like Object.FindObjectOfType or GameObject.FindWithTag. Depending on your use case and the size of your hierarchy, these are relatively expensive methods that can be inefficient for per-frame updates.There are several ScriptableObjects frameworks which offer more use cases than these six scenarios. Some teams decide to use ScriptableObjects extensively, while others limit their use to loading in static data and separating logic from data. Ultimately, the needs of your project will determine how you use them.Create modular game architecture in Unity with ScriptableObjects is the third guide in our series for intermediate to advanced Unity programmers. Each guide, authored by experienced programmers, provides best practices for topics that are important to development teams.Create a C# style guide: Write cleaner code that scales assists you with developing a style guide to help unify your approach to creating a more cohesive codebase.Level up your code with game programming patternshighlights best practices for using the SOLID principles and common programming patterns to create scalable game code architecture in your Unity project.We created this series to provide actionable tips and inspiration to our experienced creators, but they aren’t rule books. There are many ways to structure your Unity project and what might seem like a natural fit for one application may not be for another. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each recommendation, tip, and pattern with your colleagues before deploying it.Find more advanced guides and articles on the Unity best practices hub.

Published May 14, 2025 10:00am EDT close ‘CyberGuy’ explains dark side of PayPal, how to stay safe Kurt Knutsson has advice to protect information from cybercriminals who are seeking new ways to gain login credentials and full control of computers and bank accounts. Online scams are becoming more dangerous and convincing every day. Cybercriminals are finding new ways to gain not just your login credentials but full control of your computer and your bank accounts.Take John from King George, Virginia, for example. He recently shared his alarming experience with us. His story is a powerful warning about how quickly things can escalate if you respond to suspicious emails.Here is what happened to John in his own words: "I mistakenly responded to a false PayPal email notifying me of a laptop purchase. The message looked real, and I called the number listed. The person on the phone gave me a strange number to enter into my browser, which installed an app that took control of my PC. A warning popped up saying 'software updating – do not turn off PC,' and I could see my entire file system being scanned. The scammer accessed my bank account and transferred money between accounts. He told me to leave my PC running and go to the bank, keeping him on the phone without telling anyone what was happening. I shut everything down, contacted my bank, and changed my passwords."John’s quick thinking in shutting down his computer and alerting his bank helped minimize the damage. However, not everyone is as lucky. Fake PayPal scam email (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)How this scam worksThis type of scam is known as a remote access scam. It often begins with a fake email that appears to come from a trusted company like PayPal. The message claims there is an issue, such as an unauthorized charge, and urges the victim to call a phone number or click a link. WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?Once the scammer makes contact, they guide the victim to enter a code into their browser or install a program, claiming it will fix the problem. In reality, this grants the scammer full control of the victim’s computer. Once inside, scammers often search for sensitive files, access banking websites, steal login credentials or install malware to maintain long-term access. Even if the immediate scam is stopped, hidden malware can allow scammers to reenter the system later. A hacker at work (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)Key takeaways from John's experienceJohn’s close call highlights several important lessons.Fake emails are harder to spot than ever: Scammers create emails that look almost identical to real ones from trusted companies like PayPal. They copy logos, formatting and even fake customer support numbers. Always double-check the sender’s email address and verify communications by visiting the official website or app directly instead of clicking links inside emails.Remote access scams can escalate fast: Once scammers gain control of your device, they can steal sensitive data, move funds between accounts and install hidden malware that stays behind even after the scammer disconnects. It often takes only minutes for serious damage to be done, making fast recognition critical.Psychological pressure plays a big role: Scammers rely on creating a sense of urgency and fear. By keeping you on the phone and urging secrecy, they isolate you from help and rush you into making bad decisions. Recognizing when you are being pressured is key to breaking the scammer’s control.Fast action can make all the difference: By quickly disconnecting his computer and contacting his bank, John limited the scammer’s access to his accounts. Acting within minutes rather than hours can stop further theft, block fraudulent transactions and protect your sensitive information from being fully compromised.GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE A warning on a laptop home screen (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)How to protect yourself from remote access scamsTaking simple but strong security steps can protect you from falling victim.1. Never call a number listed in a suspicious email: Scammers often set up fake phone numbers that sound professional but are designed to manipulate you into handing over control or information. Always find verified contact information through a company's official website or app, not links/numbers provided in suspicious messages.2. Be skeptical of unusual instructions: No legitimate company will ask you to install software or enter strange codes to protect your account. If anything seems unusual, trust your instincts and stop the communication immediately.3. Install strong antivirus software on all devices: Antivirus programs can detect suspicious downloads, block remote access attempts and help prevent hackers from taking over your system. Having strong antivirus protection installed across all your devices is the best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware and attempt to access your private information. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.4. Use identity theft protection: These services monitor financial accounts, credit reports and online activity for signs of fraud, alerting you to suspicious transactions. See my tips and best picks on how to protect yourself from identity theft.5. React immediately if you suspect a scam: Disconnect your device from the internet, contact your bank or credit card company immediately and change your passwords, especially for banking and email accounts. Monitor your accounts closely for unauthorized activity and report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission as well as the company that was impersonated. Acting quickly can prevent further access and limit the damage scammers can cause.6. Use multifactor authentication (MFA): MFA adds a critical layer of security beyond passwords, blocking unauthorized logins even if credentials are stolen. Enable MFA on all accounts, especially banking, email and payment platforms, to stop scammers from bypassing stolen passwords.7. Update devices and software immediately: Regular updates patch security flaws that scammers exploit to install malware or hijack systems. Turn on automatic updates wherever possible to ensure you’re always protected against newly discovered vulnerabilities.8. Employ a password manager with strong, unique passwords: Avoid password reuse and use complex passphrases to minimize credential-stuffing attacks. A password manager generates and stores uncrackable passwords, eliminating the risk of weak or repeated credentials. Get more details about my best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 here.9. Never share screen access or grant remote control: Scammers exploit screen-sharing tools to steal passwords and manipulate transactions in real time. Legitimate tech support will never demand unsolicited screen access; terminate the call immediately if pressured.10. Invest in personal data removal services: These services automate requests to delete your personal information from data brokers and people-search sites, reducing publicly available details scammers could exploit for phishing or impersonation. While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here.Kurt’s key takeawaysJohn’s story is a reminder that online scams are evolving quickly and becoming more aggressive. Staying skeptical, verifying all suspicious messages and acting quickly if something feels wrong can make the difference between staying safe and losing sensitive information. Protect your devices, trust your instincts and remember it is always better to be cautious than to take a risk with your security.CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPHave you or someone you know been targeted by a scam like this? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.Ask Kurt a question or let us know what stories you'd like us to cover.Follow Kurt on his social channels:Answers to the most-asked CyberGuy questions:New from Kurt:Copyright 2025 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

As Brian Chesky tells it, the reinvention of Airbnb started with the coup at OpenAI. On November 17, 2023, the board of OpenAI fired company CEO Sam Altman. His friend Chesky leapt into action—publicly defending his pal on X, getting on the phone with Microsoft’s CEO, and throwing himself into the thick of Altman’s battle to retake OpenAI. Five days later Altman prevailed, and Chesky—“I was so jacked up,” he says—turned his buzzing mind to his own company, Airbnb.Thanksgiving weekend was beginning. The Chesky extended family had already held their turkey get-together a week earlier, and the Airbnb CEO had no holiday plan. He was completely alone in his sprawling San Francisco apartment except for Sophie, his golden retriever.Still wired out of his mind from the cathartic corporate rescue, Chesky began to write. He wanted to bust the company he’d cofounded out of its pigeonhole of short-term home rentals. Amazon, he was fond of pointing out, was first an online bookstore before it became the everything store. Chesky had long believed that Airbnb should expand in a similar way. But things kept getting in the way—dealing with safety issues, fighting regulation, coping with the existential crisis of a global pandemic. The company was in danger of being tagged with the word that ambitious entrepreneurs dread like the plague: mature.Now Chesky was emboldened to lay out his vision. Home rentals are simply a service, so why stop there? Airbnb could be the platform for booking all sorts of services. While other apps cover specific sectors—food delivery, home maintenance, car rides—Chesky figured that Airbnb’s experience in attractively displaying homes, vetting hosts, and responding to crises could make it more trustworthy than competitors and therefore the go-to option for virtually anything.In a frantic typing spree at the dining room table, on the couch, the bed, and at times in his office, Chesky specced out how he would redesign the Airbnb app. Its users—now at 2 billion—would open up the app not only at vacation time but whenever they needed to find a portrait photographer, a personal trainer, or someone to cook their meals. Chesky reasoned that Airbnb would need to significantly strengthen its identity verification. He even thought he could get people to use the app as a credential, something as respected as a government-issued ID. If he could transform Airbnb into a storefront for real-world services, Chesky thought, he’d catapult his company from a nearly $10-billion-a-year business into one that boasted membership in tech’s pantheon.Over the next few days, Chesky spilled these thoughts into an Evernote document. “I was basically going from room to room just pouring out this stream-of-consciousness manifesto, like Jack Kerouac writing On the Road,” he says, referring to the frenetically produced single roll of teletype paper that catalyzed the beat movement. “I dusted off all my ideas from 2012 to 2016,” Chesky tells me. “I basically said, ‘We’re not just a vacation app—we’re going to be a platform, a community.’” By Friday he had around 10,000 words, “incomprehensible to anyone but me.” He began to refine it, and by the time the weekend was over, Chesky had distilled his document down to 1,500 words.PHOTOGRAPH: GABRIELA HASBUNAfter the holiday, Chesky gathered his leadership team into a conference room. He handed the team copies of his memo à la Jeff Bezos and waited as his direct reports took it in. “Usually when I share ideas, people aren’t bought in,” he says. “But this time, there wasn’t a lot of feedback. People were really excited. And two years later, that document will now be executed with an exacting detail to what I wrote.”This month, Airbnb will launch the first stage of its more than $200 million reinvention: a panoply of more than 10,000 vendors peddling a swath of services in 260 cities in 30 countries. It is also revitalizing an unsuccessful experiment the company began in 2016: offering bespoke local activities, or what it calls “experiences.” The next stage, launch date unspecified, involves making your profile on Airbnb so robust that it’s “almost like a passport,” as Chesky puts it. After that comes a deep immersion into AI: Inspired by his relationship with Altman, Chesky hopes to build the ultimate agent, a super-concierge who starts off handling customer service and eventually knows you well enough to plan your travel and maybe the rest of your life.“Brian’s been badly underrated as a tech CEO,” Altman says of his friend. “He's not usually mentioned in the same breath as Larry Page or Bill Gates, but I think he is on a path to build as big of a company.”That’s a stretch—Airbnb is nowhere near the size of those oligarchic powers. But Chesky was feeling the need for big changes; While impressive, Airbnb’s growth rate doesn’t suggest that the company will soon reach the trillion-dollar heights of Google and Microsoft. “I’m 43 and at a crossroads, where I can either be almost done or just getting started,” he tells me. “There's a scenario where I'm basically done. Airbnb is very profitable. We've kind of, mostly, nailed vacation rentals. But we can do more.”In early April, I visited Chesky at the company’s lavish San Francisco headquarters. The relaunch was five weeks away. The second floor—where signs warn employees not to bring visitors—had become a sprawling eyes-only command center. The walls were covered with dozens of large poster boards, each one featuring a city, that read as if a group of McKinsey consultants had tackled a fourth-grade geography assignment. Austin, Texas, was written up as “a funky come-as-you-are kind of place” with a handful of “first principles,” one of which was “Outlaw of Texas,” with pointers to food trucks and vintage markets. Another so-called principle was “Live and Alive,” referring to music venues and bat watching; a third was “Dam Lakes,” referring to various water sports. Other blindingly obvious notations included barbeque, tacos, and the two-step. The Paris poster painted a “revolutionary” city marked by slow living and enduring culture.Chesky strode up and greeted me enthusiastically. Dressed in a slim T-shirt that exposed his swole physique, he bounced on his heels with a jittery energy that reminded me of the first time I met him, in January 2009. He had just joined Y Combinator’s famous program for startups, and he and his classmates were at a party at the home of YC cofounder Paul Graham. (Graham told me then that he thought Airbnb’s business plan was crazy but was impressed by their determination.) I mentioned to Chesky that I was headed to Washington, DC, for Barack Obama’s inauguration, and he and his cofounders immediately tried to convince me to use their service to sleep on someone’s couch. I declined, but somehow over the next 15 years they managed to sell the idea to 2 billion people, including me, and now the company has a market cap worth more than Marriott.Chesky ushers me into a conference room to get a preview of the new Airbnb app. His engineers and designers have rebuilt the app from scratch, and he waves around a stick of lip balm as a talisman as he talks me through the redesign. Also in the room is his product marketing head, Jud Coplan, while his vice president of design, Teo Connor, Zooms in from London. While customers likely think of Airbnb as a travel company, its leaders view the operation as an achievement in design. Which makes sense; both Chesky and his cofounder Joe Gebbia were students at the Rhode Island School of Design.Airbnb's new user interface featuring experiences and services.COURTESY OF AIRBNBChesky explains that historically, people used Airbnb only once or twice a year, so its design had to be exceptionally simple. Now the company is retooling for more frequent access. Open the app, and you see a trio of icons that act as gateways to the expanded functions. Within minutes Chesky and his lieutenants are applauding the cheery, retro style of the icons—a house for traditional rentals, a hotel bell for services, and a Jules Verne-ish hot-air balloon representing activities. “We really thought deeply about the metaphor—what was the right visual to express an experience?” says Connor. Once they decided on the balloon, they drilled into how much fire should belch from the basket. The icons were drawn by a former Apple designer whose name Chesky would not divulge. “He’s a bit of a secret weapon,” he says.A less-secret weapon is Chesky’s collaboration with the iconic, also ex-Apple, industrial designer Jony Ive. Chesky’s north star, it should be said, is Apple. “Steve Jobs, to me, is like Michelangelo or da Vinci,” he says. Despite never meeting Jobs, “I feel like I know him deeply, professionally, in a way that few people ever did, in a way that you only possibly could by starting a tech company as a creative person and going on a rocket ship,” Chesky says. By hiring Ive’s LoveFrom company and working with Jobs’ key collaborator, Chesky gets a taste of the famous Jobs/Ive dynamic. Ive himself doesn’t make that comparison, but he does praise Chesky’s design chops. “There are certain tactical things where I hope that sometimes I'm of use to Brian, just as as a fellow designer,” Ive says. “But the majority of our work has been around ideas and the way we frame problems and understand opportunities.”Another key part of the app is the profile page. “You need trust,” Chesky says—meaning a verifiable identity. Airbnb has been vetting the new vendors, which it calls “service hosts.” For months, Chesky says, an army of background researchers has been scrutinizing the résumés, licenses, and recommendations of chefs, photographers, manicurists, masseuses, hair stylists, makeup artists, personal trainers, and aestheticians who provide spa treatments such as facials and microdermabrasions. They’re all being professionally photographed.Airbnb's new guest profile interface.COURTESY OF AIRBNBFor the next phase—turning Airbnb’s user profiles into a primary internet ID—Connor and her team have engaged in some far-out experimentation. She rattles off a list of technologies they’ve been exploring, including biometrics, holograms, and the reactive inks used to deter counterfeiting on official ID cards. But it’s far from easy to become a private identity utility (hello, Facebook), and even Chesky notes that getting governments to accept an Airbnb credential to verify identity is “a stretch goal.”Now that a whole slew of people will have new reasons to chat with each other and coordinate plans, Airbnb has also enhanced its messaging functions. Fellow travelers who share experiences can form communities, stay in touch, even share videos and photos. “I don’t know if I want to call it a social network, because of the stigma associated with it,” says Ari Balogh, Airbnb’s CTO. So they employ a fuzzier term. “We think of it as a connection platform,” he says. “You’re going to see us build a lot more stuff on top of it, although we’re not an advertising system, thank goodness.” (My own observation is that any for-profit company that can host advertising will, but whatever.)This brings us to the services—the heart and soul of this reinvention. Those now on offer seem designed to augment an Airbnb stay with all the stuff that drives up your bill at a luxury resort, like a DIY White Lotus. It will be interesting to see how the company handles the inevitable cases of food poisoning or bad haircuts (and skeezy customers), but Airbnb can draw on its 17 years of experience with dirty sheets, all-night discos on the ground floor, or a host who is literally terrorizing you. Eventually, Chesky says, Airbnb will offer “hundreds” of services, perhaps as far-ranging as plumbing, cleaning, car repair, guitar lessons, and tutoring, and then take its 15 percent fee.Crafted cuts by Bryan, Chicago, IllinoisCOURTESY OF AIRBNB; LYNDON FRENCHTrain with Steve Jordan, Trainer to the Stars, Los Angeles, CaliforniaCOURTESY OF AIRBNB; JACKIE BEALEThe other key feature of the company’s reinvention, of course, is Experiences. If the idea sounds familiar, that’s because Airbnb launched a service by that name almost a decade ago, with pretty much the same pitch: special activities for travelers, like architects leading tours of buildings or chefs showing people how to fold dumplings.It flopped, although Airbnb never formally pulled the plug. Chesky’s excuses include tactical errors: After a big initial splash, the company didn’t follow up with more marketing, and it didn’t establish a strong flow of new experiences. But the big reason, he says, was that it was too early. Now the company has five times as many customers and an ecosystem to support the effort. “It was like our Newton,” says Chesky, referring to Apple’s handheld device that predated the iPhone. (Another Apple reference, for those keeping score.)Chesky’s crew has arranged for more than 22,000 experiences in 650 cities, including a smattering of so-called “originals,” with people at the top of their field—star athletes, Michelin chefs, famous celebrities. In the pipeline is Conan O’Brien selling a perch behind a mic in his podcast studio. (Don’t expect it to air.) Taking a lesson from his earlier flop, Chesky has planned a steady cadence of these short-term promotional stunts, which, of course, is what the Conan experience ultimately is. “We’re going to have thousands of originals and maybe one day hundreds of thousands—a regular drumbeat of some of the biggest iconic celebrities,” Chesky says.He shows me how someone could take a trip to, say, Mexico City and book experiences instantly. “Fun fact—I’ve always dreamed of being a professional wrestler in Mexico. I want to be a luchador!” he tells me, then immediately regrets it. Regardless: In an Airbnb experience, he says, you can meet a real luchador, get in the ring with him, and learn some moves. Can you keep the mask?“Probably,” says Chesky. In any case, you’d share the photos with others in your group. (But don’t call it a social network.)Megan Thee Stallion in Los Angeles, CaliforniaCOURTESY OF AIRBNB; ADRIENNE RAQUELHorseback riding through four hidden temples of the Inkas, Cusco, PeruCOURTESY OF AIRBNB; PAZ OLIVARES-DROGUETTAirbnb’s planned transformation tracks with another reinvention: that of its leader.Chesky had originally taken the title of CEO over his two pretty-much equal cofounders because his personality was more forward facing—it wasn’t even formalized until 2010. But then, in 2011, the company had its first real crisis when a host publicly shared a horror story about how an Airbnb guest from deep, deep hell pillaged and trashed her home. What wasn’t stolen—the customer broke into a locked closet to grab a passport, cash, and heirloom jewelry—was ravaged and burned in the fireplace. “The death-like smell from the bathroom was frightening,” wrote the host. The story threatened to destroy the cheerful person-to-person vibe the company had cultivated. It didn’t help that Airbnb’s initial response was clueless and weak.Chesky stepped up to become the face of the company and instituted overdue safety protocols. Over the next few years, Chesky cemented his alpha status. In 2018 his cofounder Joe Gebbia stepped down from daily duties, though he still sits on the board. (Recently Gebbia has been in the news for his very public participation in DOGE’s remaking of the US government. When asked about it at a Q and A session with employees, Chesky said that Gebbia was free to have his own opinions, but they are not the company’s. Chesky did not attend Trump’s inauguration.) The third cofounder, Nathan Blecharczyk, is still with the company, though it’s notable that as I sat in meetings with over a dozen executives, the only time his name came up was when I mentioned it.Chesky was totally in charge during the pandemic, when Airbnb lost 80 percent of its business in eight weeks. He laid off a quarter of the staff. Now that bookings surpass pre-2020 levels, he thinks the company is stronger. And he learned a big lesson: “The pandemic was the turning point of the company,” he says. “My first principle became ‘Don’t apologize for how you want to run your company.’ Most of all you should not apologize for being in the details. The number one thing people want to do is keep you out of the details.”When Chesky shared some of these views at a Y Combinator event in 2024, Paul Graham was inspired to write an essay called “Founder Mode.” Graham used Chesky’s story to argue that only the person who created a company knows what is best, and the worst mistake is to listen to management types who haven’t built their own. The essay struck a nerve; people were stopping Chesky on the street and yelling “Founder mode!” Someone dropped off a baseball hat for him with those words; it now sits on a shelf in his conference room.Chesky, meanwhile, has been deep in the details, especially on this reinvention, itself kind of a classic founder move. “I did review work before the pandemic, but people kind of hated it. There were negative associations to a CEO reviewing everything; it’s considered micromanaging.” Also, his idol Steve Jobs was famous—infamous?—for his unsparing criticism. Chesky contends that once he went all-in on dishing out criticism, with no sheepishness, people seemed happier. But even if they weren’t, he’d do it anyway. Curious to see how this worked, I arranged to attend a Chesky review.Gathered in a conference room, the design and engineering teams presented near-final app tweaks affecting how hosts set up their services. Chesky seemed fairly pleased with what he was seeing—so much so that he apologized to me afterward that I didn’t get to see him go animal with his underlings. Nonetheless, even during this lovefest of a product review, Chesky babbled a constant stream of minor corrections. The cursor is oddly centered … Those visual cues are a little confusing … We need a subtle drop shadow here … The next line doesn’t seem centered vertically … That address input is pretty awkward … That button looks oddly short, is it supposed to be that short? … That shimmer, do we think we need it? Get rid of it … That top module doesn’t make sense … We need to rewrite all the copy on this page … I think we need a better empty state … That title’s not clear …The group shuffles out satisfied and a bit stunned that they got away so easy. But when I meet Chesky a day later to sum things up, he tells me that I’d just missed a spicier product review. Then he gets serious, explaining what the reinvention means to him. “I felt a little bit like the vacation rental guy,” he says. “Like we as a company are a little underestimated.” He brings up Apple again, saying that both companies embody the idea that a business relationship can generate emotion. “My ambition is kind of like the ambition of an artist and designer,” he says.At that point Chesky gets a little woo. “Magic, in hindsight, is not technology,” he says as he reflects on Apple’s wizardry. What he’s realized is that magic lies in forging connections with those who offer you a bed, a microdermabrasion, a sparring match in a lucha libre ring. “The magic that is timeless is, like, the stuff you remember at the end of your life.”He lets that sit for a minute. Then he puts a cap on that insight, sounding less like a CEO than a life coach. “I’ve never had a dream with a device in it,” he says. Leave it to the subconscious to highlight what matters. That said, his day dreams certainly involve a new kind of device. In his off hours he’s helping with a secret project headed by his friends Altman and Ive to create a device that Altman says is the next step beyond computers. (“This is not theoretical memo-swapping,” Altman tells me. “We’re hard at work on it, prototyping.”)But that’s somewhere off in the future. In the realm of products that actually exist in the world, Chesky will have to face competition from dozens of domain leaders including Yelp, Instacart, DoorDash, Ticketmaster, Hotels.com, Tinder, OpenTable, and Craigslist, to name but a few. You can probably add Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, since Chesky wants Airbnb to be a universal credential and what certainly looks like a social network. Even Steve Jobs might have blinked at taking on that crowd all at once.Images styled by Jillian Knox.Featuring: Liv Skinner, Liv Well and Francesca Lopez, Zinnia Wildflower BakehouseLet us know what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor at mail@wired.com or comment below.

In February, as part of my role as a senior software development consultant for Unity Accelerate Solutions, I led a technical webinar about the Addressables Asset System. During the live session, I demonstrated various profiling tools that you can use to optimize a project’s runtime memory and build size. The webinar ended with a Q&A, and our team received more questions than we had time to answer.The following is an extension of that closing Q&A, so we can answer more of your questions.Q: Is the Addressables system needed for light games – like casual, arcade, or puzzle games – if I don’t have memory issues? A: Maybe not, but it’s good to keep in mind that the Addressables system doesn’t only improve memory performance. Having the ability to choose when you load content can improve loading times. Building content in Addressables enables you to have iterative builds that don’t take as long. For example, if you make a small script change, you may not have to rebuild all of your bundles.Q: Are loaded assets released when the scene switches? A: Potentially. Loaded assets from Addressables that are ready to be released because they have a ref count of zero might be unloaded from memory during a scene transition. When transitioning from scenes non-additively, call Resources.UnloadUnusedAssets(). This is expensive on the CPU, but allows you to partially unload AssetBundles.Q: Do object pooling and Addressables work well together? A: Yes. You can load your object once from Addressables and then instantiate multiple copies of it to create your pool. When you are done with the pool, destroy all the objects and release the AsyncOperationHandle that was used to load the asset.Q: Are groups and bundles loaded into memory all at once? A: Addressables groups are an Editor-only concept. At runtime, you only deal with bundles. Bundles are loaded into memory only when they are needed and only the desired content is loaded.Example: You have one bundle with 10 characters in it. You ask Addressables to load three characters. The bundle’s metadata and the three characters will be loaded.Q: If I want to release an asset, do I need to keep the AsyncOperationHandle or the AssetReference? A: We recommend keeping the handle and using it, since you’re responsible for releasing content when you are done using it.As an example, members of our team will often go the handle route in order to avoid calling Instantiate/Release directly on the AssetReference.Q: What are the disadvantages of many small bundles? A: This documentation lists several disadvantages of too many bundles.Q: When an asset in a bundle is needed, what overhead do the other assets in the same bundle have? If it’s a remote bundle it must be downloaded, but is there really no memory overhead from unused assets in the bundle? A: Correct, a remote bundle will be fully downloaded before you can use it.Unloaded assets in a loaded asset bundle have minimal overhead at runtime. Whenever you load assets from a bundle, you need to load the bundle’s metadata. Part of this metadata includes a table of contents that lists all the assets in the bundle. More assets in a bundle equates to larger metadata.You can view this memory overhead by taking a capture with the Unity Memory Profiler. In the “All Of Memory” tab, there’s a list of all the “SerializedFile” objects in memory, one for each bundle. These objects are your bundles’ metadata.Learn more about this metadata in our documentation.Q: When working in an open-world setting, what bundling strategies can I use to unload individual assets without half unloading a bundle and relying on Resources.UnloadUnusedAssets() to clean it up, without the overhead of having every asset in its own bundle? A: The key thing to remember is that content should be bundled together if you expect to unload it at the same time. If your game world has “static” content, like trees and rocks for a certain biome that will not be moved by the player, that content should be bundled together. Any “dynamic” content, like items the player can pick up, should be bundled separately.This blog post and linked GitHub repo covers splitting bundles for an open-world game. It also features a way to deduplicate bundles to reduce the memory overhead of each bundle. Stages 4 and 5 are particularly relevant to open worlds.Q: When should I leave “AssetBundle CRC” enabled? A: The recommended practice is to have this enabled, excluding cached AssetBundles for Remote groups, and disabled for Local groups. The check is only meant to make sure the data wasn’t corrupted on download. There’s almost no reason to do the check for local AssetBundles.Q: When is it not worth it to use Addressables due to CPU performance concerns when loading and unloading assets? A: The Addressables system has a positive impact on CPU loading performance due to not needing to load all content up front.If you don’t use Addressables when loading a scene, you’d have to load all content and references. If you move the content to Addressables, you can choose when to load which content.For example, say you have an Inventory Manager in a scene that has a reference to 1,000 inventory items. If you don’t use Addressables, you’ll have to load every mesh, texture, audio clip, etc., for all these inventory items. If you wait to load this content, loading the scene will be faster.Q: Do all dependencies of an addressable asset also need to be Addressables, or is that only necessary if they are shared? A: Dependencies do not need to be marked addressable. Dependencies will be pulled into Addressables during the build process if necessary.As an example, if you make a player prefab an addressable, you don’t have to manually mark the player’s mesh, textures, or audio as addressable, too. When the bundle is built, all the dependencies that don’t yet exist in Addressables will be automatically included in the player prefab bundle.Q: If I forgot to release an asset and change scenes, what happens to this asset? A: Changing scenes does not inherently interact poorly with handles. But if you load an asset and forget to release its handle, the asset will persist in memory.Addressables has an internal reference-counting system. Handles are how we interact with this system. Loading an asset increments the reference count, and releasing decrements the reference count.Creators are responsible for keeping this reference count up to date. The asset will be in memory as long as the reference count is greater than one.Q: Related to the webinar example, suppose I’m making an open-world game. The boss is present somewhere in the open world. When the player heads to the boss, how do I use Addressables here? Do I send the command to load the sword async, via a trigger, at a certain distance from the enemy, or something else? A: It can be a fine line to choose when to load and unload content. You want to be sure the boss is ready when the player needs to see it, but might not want to load it too early when the player is still able to turn around and avoid the boss.The good thing is that you can iterate on when to load and unload content – you don’t have to get it perfectly optimized on the first try.To get started, we suggest loading all content for a particular “zone” when the player gets near (e.g., the player approaches a dungeon entrance which causes everything inside the dungeon to load). If this causes unnecessary memory pressure, you can add more fine-grained loading and unloading.If the sword is not loading soon enough, consider moving the loading trigger to start earlier, improving the load time of the sword assets by using Unity Profiler’s CPU module to see what is being loaded, or using Addressables synchronously to ensure the load is finished.This documentation includes more details and a code snippet for synchronous Addressables.Q: If I load an addressable when a scene starts, do I need to have a loading screen for it? A: Loading from Addressables is typically done in an asynchronous way, like with Addressables.LoadAssetAsync().There may be some content you don’t want to load before leaving a loading screen. You can collect these AsyncOperationHandles and wait for the necessary ones to complete before leaving.Q: What is the memory footprint of the addressables metadata at runtime (before loading any of its data)? A: During Addressables initialization, the catalog file is loaded so that Addressables knows how to map labels and addresses to assets on disk or in remote locations. A larger catalog equates to a larger memory overhead at runtime.Catalog size can be reduced by stripping unnecessary data, like not including labels or GUIDs in groups that don’t need them, or by reducing the size of existing data. For example, by setting a group’s Internal Asset Naming Mode to GUID instead of filename or full path (which can be longer). You can view the runtime memory size of the catalog in Unity Memory Profiler.Q: What is the Unity Editor doing in the time it spends building Addressables? A: A build report log is output in the /Library folder. This log shows each step of the build process. To add additional details to the log, follow this path to select “Use Detailed Build Log”: Enabling Edit > Preferences > Scriptable Build Pipeline > Use Detailed Build Log.Check out visuals and documentation on how to view the log.Q: Does Resources.Load() also have a duplication problem? A: Yes. It can be useful to think of Addressables content and Resources content as different “worlds.” If you have a texture in /Resources, one copy of that texture is included in the Resources file. If bundles in Addressables depend on that texture, each bundle includes an implicit copy of it. You end up with multiple copies of the texture on disk and potentially multiple copies in memory.To avoid this duplication, move the texture out of /Resources and add it to an Addressables group.Q: Do you get similar size on disk issues that are resolved by removing duplicate bundles when you don’t use Addressables? A: Yes. In the webinar and slides we show how deduplicating the two water racing scenes significantly reduced build size.Q: How can I prevent shader variant duplicates? A: Shaders can be deduplicated in the same process as any other asset – explicitly declare them in a group.If an asset is explicitly declared in an Addressables group that is going into your build, that asset will not be duplicated across multiple bundles.For shaders specifically, it is common practice for projects to use a “Shared shaders” group to contain shaders that you expect to need in memory for the lifespan of your app, and that are shared across many assets.Q: Do two Unity scenes sharing the same prefab duplicate build size? A: This depends on if the prefab the scenes depend on has been explicitly included in Addressables, and if the scenes are in the same or different bundles.See the visual explanation of how duplication occurs in the webinar slides and in this blog post under Stage 4.The key to remember is that all content going into a bundle needs to be able to access all of its dependencies. If you put a scene into a bundle, all of its dependencies need to either be:Explicitly included somewhere in AddressablesImplicitly included in the same bundleQ: Is it possible to compare duplicates in given groups to prevent having all the game assets packed together into an isolated group? A: Yes. You can run the built-in deduplication rule and then sort the assets in the Addressables Groups window into better groupings.Or, a more scalable approach is to write your own Addressables AnalyzeRules, which will appear in the Analyze window. The built-in rules are delivered as C# in the Addressables package and can serve as a baseline.For example, you may want to find every duplicate across all of your groups that start with “Character-”. Any implicit duplicates can be placed in a “Shared-Character” group.Q: Are you going to cover remote builds and local paths? A: We did not cover remote and local paths, which are called “Addressables Profiles” in the webinar. However, we do describe what Addressables Profiles are and how to use them in this documentation.Q: How does Addressables work with Cloud Content Delivery (CCD)? A: CCD integration is discussed in this documentation.Q: Can you please give pointers on best practices to implement low- and high-resolution Addressables variations? A: You can find an example in the Addressables Sample on GitHub.Q: What if bundle content is encrypted? Does the UnityDataTool also decrypt the content? A: No. The data will need to be decrypted before UnityDataTool can analyze the content.Q: Is it a supported use case to build bundles from one Unity project and load the bundles at runtime from an app built from a different project? A: Yes. This is covered by using multiple catalogs at the same time.Q: Are there drawbacks to using InstantiateAsync, or situations where it is better to use LoadAsync + manual Instantiate? A: It is recommended to use Addressables.LoadAssetAsync() and call Object.Instantiate(). Addressables.InstantiateAsync() has a larger performance cost.Q: I have a lot of ScriptableObjects with at least 1–2 sprites referenced as variables. If I want to change the sprites to Addressables, do I have to change the references to Addressables one by one, or is there any trick to do this? A: An Editor script is probably the way to go to convert these references.You can add the AssetReference fields to your ScriptableObject (and temporarily keep the Sprite fields). Then, you can write an Editor script that iterates through your ScriptableObjects, looks up the Sprite asset in Addressables to find the associated AddressableAssetEntry, and stores the address or creates an AssetReference to be stored on the ScriptableObject.Lastly, you can remove the direct Sprite references and swap any related code to use the AssetReference.Q: Can I use addressables for WebGL games? If yes, are there any specific things to look for? A: Yes, and yes. Two things to note: First, WebGL does not support threading, so don’t use Tasks. Second, caching works differently on WebGL – we’ve seen issues with caching remote AssetBundles before.Q: If I use Shader.Find(“ShaderName”), is this coming from the build or Addressables? A: These are coming from the build of the Unity Player, not Addressables. Shader.Find() does not return results from AssetBundles.Q: How can I organize the Addressables Groups window when I have many similarly-named groups? A: For organizing the Addressables Groups UI, you can enable Group Hierarchy with Dashes. This will group similarly-named groups together. For example, “Character-person” and “Character-person2” will appear in the UI under the “Character” grouping.This does not affect how bundles are created. This is only a UI organizational change.Share your feedback with us in the Addressables forum. Be sure to watch for new technical blogs from other Unity developers as part of the ongoing Tech from the Trenches series.

Upgrading your office isn’t just about technology or aesthetics—it’s about creating a workspace that inspires productivity, keeps you organized, and helps you tackle every challenge with confidence. The right desk supplies can transform your daily routine, streamline your workflow, and even spark creativity. Whether you’re working from home, heading into a busy office, or managing a hybrid setup, these five cutting-edge accessories are designed to elevate your workspace to new heights. Have a look at the top desk supplies you need for an instant upgrade in May 2025. Investing in these top desk supplies will boost your productivity and also make your workspace a place you truly enjoy spending time. These upgrades will help you embrace the future of work—efficient, organized, and inspiring. Make May 2025 the month you transform your desk and elevate your daily routine. 1. Thunderboost eGPU Dock Imagine never having to choose between portability and power again. The Thunderboost eGPU Dock is a true game-changer for anyone who wants the flexibility of a laptop but the raw muscle of a high-end desktop. With this compact device, your ultrabook can suddenly handle demanding tasks like 3D rendering, AI model training, 8K video editing, and gaming—all thanks to the NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU packed inside. This isn’t just about raw specs. The ThunderBoost eGPU Dock represents a major leap for professionals and creatives who often find their slim laptops struggling under heavy workloads. Plugging in this eGPU instantly transforms your setup: Blender renders finish in a fraction of the time, AI workflows become local and secure, and gaming or VR experiences are smooth and immersive. It’s a solution that makes your workspace more versatile and future-ready, letting you tackle whatever the workday throws your way, whether you’re at your desk or on the road. What we like Instantly upgrades your laptop’s performance for demanding professional or creative tasks. Lightweight and compact, it fits easily in a bag for power on the go. What we dislike Only compatible with devices that have the latest Thunderbolt port, which may limit use with older laptops. To unlock its full potential, you’ll need to keep it plugged in, which can add cable clutter to your workspace. 2. DockOrb Cables, dongles, and missing adapters can turn even the neatest desk into a frustrating mess. The DockOrb 12-in-1 Dock + Qi2 Wireless Charger is designed to solve all your connectivity and charging woes in one sleek, compact package. This multifunctional hub keeps your devices powered and connected, and brings a sense of order and sophistication to your workspace. The DockOrb offers a magnetic Qi2 wireless charger right up front, making it incredibly easy to power up your smartphone—just drop it on the dock and let the high-speed 15W charging do its thing. No more fumbling for cables or worrying about alignment; the magnetic interface ensures your device is always charging at its fastest. But that’s just the beginning. Flip the DockOrb around, and you’ll find an impressive array of eleven more ports: dual HDMI outputs for multi-monitor setups, fast USB-C and USB-A connections, Ethernet, SD and microSD slots, and more. It’s perfect for those who juggle between laptops, tablets, and other peripherals or who need to quickly set up an expanded workstation. Click Here to Buy Now: $109 $219 (51% off). Hurry, only 81/200 left! What we like Offers twelve essential functions, reducing cable clutter and streamlining your setup. Qi2 magnetic charger delivers quick, reliable power for your devices. What we dislike Not all smartphones support the latest wireless charging standard, so older models may not benefit. The dock’s footprint, while compact, still takes up space that may be a concern for very small or minimalist desks. 3. UnifyDrive UP6 Data management is at the heart of the modern workday, whether you’re editing high-res videos, managing research files, or simply backing up precious photos. The UnifyDrive UP6 Portable NAS reimagines storage solutions by letting you carry your own secure “cloud” wherever you go—no internet connection or remote servers required. What sets the UP6 apart is its blend of portability and robust performance. This device isn’t just a hard drive; it’s a compact NAS (Network Attached Storage) system with a built-in touchscreen, battery, and wireless connectivity. With room for up to six SSDs (for a mind-blowing total of 48TB storage), it lets you access, transfer, and manage your files on the fly. The touchscreen interface means you can browse or even preview files directly, without needing another computer. Bluetooth support adds further flexibility, allowing direct transfer from phones and cameras. What we like Holds up to 48TB and offers quick access via cable or wireless—ideal for large media libraries. Built-in screen lets you manage files directly, even without another device. What we dislike Filling the device with high-capacity drives can be expensive, especially for personal users. The built-in battery is useful, but may require frequent recharging during heavy use on the go. 4. Levitating Pen 2.0: Cosmic Meteorite Edition A desk isn’t just a place to work—it’s a reflection of your personality, creativity, and aspirations. The Levitating Pen 2.0: Cosmic Meteorite Edition stands out as a functional work of art, giving your workspace a futuristic, inspiring focal point. More than just a tool for writing, this pen is a conversation starter, a stress reliever, and a tangible reminder of the wonders that exist beyond our daily routines. What makes this pen extraordinary is its gravity-defying design. Suspended at an elegant 23.5-degree angle, it appears to float in mid-air, inviting you to reach out, give it a spin, and let your mind wander. Its aerospace-grade aluminum body is both durable and luxurious, while the genuine Muonionalusta meteorite embedded in the tip connects you to a piece of cosmic history, older than Earth itself. The pen’s magnetic cap and premium German ink cartridge ensure a smooth, satisfying writing experience every time. Click Here to Buy Now: $399.00 What we like The floating design and meteorite tip make it an eye-catching centerpiece and conversation piece. High-quality materials and ink offer comfort and smooth performance. What we dislike The craftsmanship and materials mean it’s an investment compared to basic pens. Its levitating mechanism requires a steady surface, and the pen should be handled carefully to maintain its effect. 5. Grovemade Matte Studio Pad A cluttered desk is the enemy of productivity, but staying organized shouldn’t mean sacrificing style. The Grovemade Matte Studio Pad redefines what a desk pad can be—combining thoughtful organization, a pleasing tactile experience, and a modern aesthetic that instantly polishes any workspace. This is much more than just a surface to place your laptop. The Studio Pad’s smooth, matte surface feels inviting and resists fingerprints, keeping your space looking crisp and fresh even after hours of use. Underneath, a brushed aluminum chassis anchors the pad firmly, while a natural cork layer protects both the pad and your desk from scratches. A full-length hardwood tray provides a designated spot for pens, styluses, or other essentials, helping you keep everything in its place. The result is a workspace that feels orderly and inspiring every time you sit down. What we like Built-in tray and layered design keep your essentials tidy and accessible. The combination of aluminum, cork, and hardwood adds durability and a sophisticated look. What we dislike May not fit smaller desks, so measure your workspace before purchasing. High-quality materials come at a higher cost than standard desk pads. The post Top 5 Desk Supplies That Will Instantly Upgrade Your Office & Workflow first appeared on Yanko Design.

You’ve updated to Windows 11, changed all the settings to optimize the system, cleaned out the junk, and turned off Microsoft advertising. You’ve gotten used to the new Start menu and other quirks. In short, you’re warmed up to Windows 11. So now what? Time to roll up your sleeves and become a power user with these tricks! PowerToys Jon Martindale / IDG Microsoft has developed a bunch of smart features that the company has deemed a little too advanced or unique to fit directly into Windows. Instead, they are included in something called PowerToys. It’s a program you install from Github, the Microsoft store, or via Winget in Terminal (see below), which then acts as a setup and installation program for the many features included. You can choose which features you want to enable, and can use PowerToys even if you’re only looking for one or two features. Here are three of my favorites: PowerToys: Workspaces and Fancyzones – pin layouts on steroids Jon Martindale / IDG Do you like Windows pinned layouts, but wish they were a bit more flexible and above all more permanent? Then you should look at Workspaces and Fancyzones. Workspaces are a way of creating sets of applications whose windows are pinned to different parts of the screen, which you can reopen at any time, even after restarting. Fancyzones are a more advanced version of the system’s built-in pinned layouts that allows you to create your own layouts. You can then position application windows quickly and easily in any of the preset areas of the screen. This is most useful on large, high-resolution screens — especially ultrawide screens where using applications in full-screen mode is a waste of space. PowerToys: Run An example of the Run commands as found on Microsoft’s web page for the utility.Microsoft A launcher for more efficient keyboard control — press a keyboard shortcut, start typing the name of what you want to open and press return to open. Can also be used as a calculator and for a range of other functions. For example, you can start with a question mark to search for files, an equal sign for calculators, two exclamation marks to see previous commands, and so on. Powertoys: Peek Have a look with Powertoys.Foundry Preview images and other files from Explorer with a keyboard shortcut. Similar to the Overview feature on Mac. You can choose the keyboard shortcut yourself and the preview can fill most of the screen, unlike the usual small previews that Explorer can show on the right. Further reading: Hate Windows 11? These 9 free apps make it feel like Windows 10 again Windows Terminal Windows 11 and later updates of Windows 10 have a new and more modern program for control via text commands. It’s basically a shell for the old Command Prompt and Powershell, and you can open tabs with both to access unique commands that only exist in one or the other. In everyday computer use, there may not be much to do in Terminal, but it can be very handy to know how it works. For example, there are system settings that can only be made from here, and it is often easier to add or change in the Windows registry. However, there is one feature that even a regular user can benefit from in everyday life: the ability to install, update, and uninstall programs. The system has a built-in tool called Winget that is used for everything in the Microsoft store. For other programs and terminal commands, there are several third-party options, such as Chocolatey. For example, here’s how to install Microsoft Powertoys for your user account. Type the command and exit with return: winget install Microsoft.PowerToys -s winget If you type just winget and hit return, you will see a list of available features. If you add –help (should be double hyphen-minus), the help file for a particular feature will be displayed — for example, winget install –help for info on how to use the install feature. If you want to install a program for all users on your computer, you can add –scope machine after install. Terminal and Winget.Foundry You can also update installed applications via Winget instead of having to launch the application and check for updates. Type the following command followed by return to update all installed applications for which Winget finds updates: winget upgrade –all –silent For applications that require admin privileges to install/update, you will need to approve each update, but you can bypass this by running Terminal as administrator. Chocolatey is a package manager similar to ones you may have seen on Linux. It’s a bit more complicated to install, so if you’re curious, I recommend reading the developers’ instructions. Let the keyboard work for you The keyboard is often a faster way to work with your computer than clicking around with a mouse or trackpad. Both Windows itself and most programs are full of keyboard shortcuts that instantly perform a function, open a tool, or change a setting. Sometimes it saves just one click on a toolbar, but often it shortens the work by several steps — and you don’t have to take your hands off the keyboard. You’re probably already familiar with common keyboard shortcuts like Ctrl+C/V for copy and paste, Ctrl+P for print and Ctrl+T for new tab, but there are many, many more. Microsoft has a huge list of shortcuts in the system, but for third-party programs you either have to look in the menus yourself or search online. Below I have collected some really useful examples. 10 handy keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+W – close an open document or tab, normally without closing the program. In Word, for example, closing the last open document takes you to the File menu.Ctrl+Shift+T – opens the last closed tab in a browser. Handy as the undo function rarely works to undo when you have closed a tab by mistake.Ctrl+Alt+V – this one you have to activate first in Powertoys, but is incredibly handy. Pastes text from the clipboard without formatting.Win+Point – displays the emoji and character selector.Win+Shift+S – displays the screenshot tool for screenshots and screen recordings.Ctrl+Shift+Esc – opens the Task Manager.Win+[number key] – opens the nth program from the left in the Taskbar, for example Ctrl+1 for Explorer if it is on the far left of the shortcuts.Win+D – display the desktop.Win+Ctrl+Shift+B – restarts the graphics driver, can sometimes save you from a reboot if the screen has gone black or is behaving strangely.Ctrl+arrow keys – navigate one word (left/right) or paragraph (up/down) at a time. Combine with Shift to highlight. While you’re at it, you can also learn that Ctrl+Backspace deletes backwards one word at a time and Ctrl+Delete forwards one word at a time. Change the way your keyboard works with Autohotkey Autohotkey is a versatile program that can extend the functionality of your keyboard in a variety of ways. In short, it involves writing macros — text files with a kind of code — that add or change the way your keyboard works. You can also download and use macros created by others, or copy the parts of a macro that you find useful. As an example, I use a macro myself that makes the Windows keyboard work like the macOS, where it’s easy to type with diacritics that aren’t built into the keyboard layout. For example, it’s easy to type ü by pressing Alt+U followed by U, or ñ with Alt+N followed by N. Check out the Autohotkey Reddit group for help and inspiration. Use a local account Using a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows has some advantages. For example, it’s easier to activate the system and you’ll be automatically logged into some Microsoft applications. But there are also advantages to using a local account, and some people prefer it for ideological reasons. In fact, the easiest way to use your computer with a local account is to start with a Microsoft account and then create a separate local account that you use normally. If you need to do something with the Microsoft account, such as activate Windows, you can temporarily log in to it. Open Settings > Accounts > Other users and click Add account. In the dialogue box that appears, click on I don’t have this person’s login information and then on Add a user without a Microsoft account. Now another dialog box will open where you fill in the username and password. You can set a pin code or use your face to sign in with Windows Hello even with a local account. Further reading: Speed up your Windows 11 PC: 12 must-do tweaks Control the volume of individual programs Volume mixer for individual programs. Foundry Windows has a built-in sound mixer that makes it easy to change the volume of individual programs. The only trick is that the application must be open to be visible in the settings, but the setting is not reset when you shut down the application. You can access the volume controls in several ways, either in Settings > System > Sound > Volume mixer or by clicking the volume button on the far right of the Taskbar and then the button to the right of the volume slider (scroll down a bit to see each program’s slider). Foundry Right-click on the Start menu to display the X menu, also called the power user menu. It brings together shortcuts to a wide range of advanced settings that you’d normally have to root around in the old Control Panel or find via the search function, like Device Manager and Disk Management. Also the fastest way to launch Terminal as an administrator. Phone Link connects your mobile to your computer Microsoft Windows 11 can have a really close connection to your mobile, thanks to the Phone Link feature. Microsoft has also continued to develop it so that today it is more competent than a few years ago. For iPhone users, you can now make and receive calls, manage notifications, read and send text messages, view contacts and share files. For Android users, everything that’s on the iPhone is included, but you also get access to the photo library. Type Phone Link into Windows search bar to get started. Back up smart Hopefully you’re aware of the importance of backing up important files, so that you don’t lose priceless photos or other important items just because a hard drive fails, a computer is stolen, or if disaster strikes and a fire destroys all your electronics. Windows 11 has a built-in backup feature that can keep certain folders and your computer settings backed up to OneDrive. Microsoft is keen for users to activate it and will nag you if you haven’t done so, but of course it’s not a requirement. There are many other backup solutions that are more competent, and where neither Microsoft nor anyone else can access your files. A common recommendation among security experts that I follow myself is called the 3-2-1 principle. It means that you should always have at least three copies of your files, on at least two different media, with at least one backup physically located in a different place. Having 10 different backups on different hard drives in your home won’t help if your house burns down. Windows’ backup feature can be an easy way to accomplish the latter without, for example, subscribing to a cloud backup service. But since having enough space on OneDrive requires a Microsoft 365 subscription, there’s a better, more privacy-protective way that also allows you to back up everything on your computer if you want to: Get a third-party online backup software that supports OneDrive as a target. Skärmdump I recommend Arq Backup or Duplicati. Both of these encrypt the backups so that no one but you can ever access the files. They use deduplication which means they can save many full backups without taking up huge amounts of space. This way, you can open a months-old backup and restore individual files, or restore the entire disc from the last backup. Further reading: Your PC’s Windows install needs spring cleaning too. Here’s how to do it

Marketing AssistantGameloftMadrid MD es2 hours agoApplyJob DescriptionMain Responsibilities:Serve as link between product development teams and Country Managers, creating content and product presentations aimed at winning RFPs (Request for Proposals).Enhance the visibility of Gameloft Business Solutions as a brand through PR strategies, external and internal communication efforts.Coordinate and organize internal workshops, product presentations, and promote positive relationships among internal teams.Provide support in the creation of presentations, dossiers, and other communication materials required by different stakeholders/teams.Networking opportunities: Connect with other industry leaders and partners who can drive meaningful collaborations and business growth.QualificationsRequirements:Previous experience in marketing, communication, or similar roles.Strong writing and content creation skills.Ability to effectively manage multiple projects with diverse teams.Knowledge of graphic design and presentation tools (Adobe, Canva, Office 365, Looker Studio...)Proficiency in AI tools is a requirement.Fluent in spoken and written English.Additional InformationWhy Join the World of Gameloft?Because you want to be part of an exceptional experience within a company that is constantly growing!Because you want to work with talented people who are industry pioneers!Because you want to be part of an international environment with daily contact with other countries & cultures!Or, just because you’re looking for a great place to work!Benefits:Permanent contract, full-time job with excellent Social Benefits.25 vacation days per yearPrivate medical health insuranceFlexible compensation with Ticket Restaurant CardFree language coursesFree afternoon on your birthday!Merit based salary progression system and a competitive initial salary package.Career-development opportunities.Excellent local working conditions.We can’t wait to find our next great talent!Please note that only selected candidates will be contacted and your CV will be saved in our files for a period of 6 months.Want to know more? Please visit our Website: https://www.gameloft.com/business-solutionsIf the offer interests you, Join the Game!Company DescriptionGameloft the publishing company behind the mobile gaming hits Despicable Me: Minion Rush and Asphalt 9: Legends is looking for a Marketing Assistant to join the team.About Gameloft Business SolutionsGameloft Business Solutions, a part of Vivendi, has been a leading innovator in the digital entertainment industry since 2000. Gameloft Business Solutions partners with global carriers and industry leaders to offer a wide range of services including cloud gaming, video on demand, games stores and custom-branded entertainment solutions. Our extensive gaming catalog features over 1000 games, including exclusive titles and popular licensed IPs such as Disney, Pixar, and Marvel. We are dedicated to driving engagement and revenue for our partners through innovative solutions that help delivering entertaining digital content to users worldwide. All trademarks referenced above are owned by their respective trademark owners.Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply

Table of Contents Table of Contents Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: specs Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: design Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: display Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: performance Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: battery and charging Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: cameras Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: software and updates Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: price and availability Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge vs. iPhone 16 Pro Max: verdict The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is coming out at the end of the month as one of the first slim phones in the world, and we’re excited to see how people will react to holding a phone that’s nearly as thin as a piece of paper. However, it’s competing against its thick Apple rival, the iPhone 16 Pro Max. As we settle into the middle of 2025, it’s survival of the fittest — or should we say, “thinnest”? — and the two phones are competing over who weighs less and how much can deliver more to their users regardless of their size. Here’s what we have to say. Recommended Videos Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge iPhone 16 Pro Max Size 159 x 76 x 5.9 mm (6.26 x 2.99 x 0.23 inches) 163 x 77.6 x 8.25 mm (6.42 x 3.06 x 0.32 inches) Weight 163 grams (5.75 ounces) 227 grams (7.99 ounces) Screen size 6.7-inch HDR10+ AMOLED (120Hz) 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display Screen resolution 1440 x 3120 resolution at 513 pixels per inch 2868 x 1320 resolution at 460 ppi Operating system Android 15 under One UI 7 iOS 18 Storage 256GB, 512GB 256GB, 512GB, 1TB MicroSD card slot No No Tap-to-pay services Google Play Apple Pay Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite A18 Pro RAM 12GB 8GB Cameras Rear: 200-megapixel 12MP ultrawide Front: 12MP Rear: 48MP Fusion (main), f/1.78 48MP ultrawide, f/2.2 12MP telephoto, f/2.8, 5x optical zoom Front: 12MP, f/1.9 Video Rear: 8K at 30fps, 4K up to 120fps, and 1080p up to 240fps Front: 4K up to 60 fps, and 1080p up to 60 fps Rear: 4K up to 120fps, and 1080p up to 240fps Front: 4K up to 60fps, and 1080p up to 120fps Bluetooth 5.3 5.3 Ports USB-C USB-C Biometrics Under-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor Face ID Water resistance IP68 IP68 Battery 3,900mAh 25W wired charging 15W wireless charging Reverse wireless charging 4,685mAh 30W fast charging (50% in 30 minutes) 25W MagSafe wireless 15W Qi2 wireless 4.5W reverse wireless App marketplace Google Play Store App Store Network support 5G 5G Colors Titanium Icy Blue, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Jet Black Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium Price Around $1,300 Starts at $1,199 Available from Unknown  Apple, Amazon, Best Buy Related Andy Boxall / Digital Trends The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge is as thin as its name suggests, if the exact dimensions listed in the spec chart above are anything to go by. Leaked images have shown the S25 Edge to have a thin frame around the handset and two vertically-aligned cameras on top of the slight camera bump — a detail that is noticeably absent from the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup. They have also shown the phone to have a microphone on the top and bottom, and a side button beneath the volume button on the right edge of the frame. Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a bit thicker at 8.25mm, with a titanium frame with a brushed metal finish, flat edges, and a matte glass back that make it easier to grip the phone. It has a triple-lens camera layout similar to that of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, and a Camera Control button dug into the right side of the frame underneath the power button, which sticks out like the other buttons sitting on the left edge. Aside from the thickness (or lack thereof), we’re waiting to see if the S25 Edge comes out looking the way they do in the leaks. For now, the iPhone 16 Pro Max takes the trophy in the design category. Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max Andy Boxall / Digital Trends The Galaxy S25 Edge is rumored to have a 6.7-inch AMOLED display with a peak brightness of 2,600 nits, a variable refresh rate up to 120Hz, and a 3120 x 1440 QHD+ resolution, which will allow users to access their photos, videos, files, social media, games and more at a lightning-fast pace. The quick access will also be helped by the fact that the S25 Edge’s screen will take after the S25 Plus and S25 Ultra and support Dynamic AMOLED 2X and ProScaler, greatly enhancing photo and video quality. The display on the iPhone 16 Pro Max is 0.2 inches bigger than the S25 Edge, given that it sits at the high-end of the iPhone 16 lineup. It has a 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with ProMotion and always-on tech, gives off a 2868 x 1320 resolution and a maximum of 2,000 nits, and has an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz, same as the S25 Edge. Though both phones have the smoothest refresh rate, the iPhone 16 Pro Max may be too big for some people to hold because of how large the screen is compared to the S25 Edge — and the iPhone 16 Plus, for that matter, as its display measures the same. You might find an easier time gripping the S25 Edge because its display is smaller. You’ll have an even better time viewing videos and photos, as well as playing games, with the higher resolution and the quality bump from ProScaler. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge  Andy Boxall / Digital Trends Visual quality and performance go hand-in-hand, and no tech company knows that better than Samsung and Apple. But since the Galaxy S25 Edge comes out in a week, we’ll talk about its performance stats first. This phone runs 12GB of RAM whether you pick the 256GB or the 512GB version, and they house the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite, which relies on multi-core performance and has eight CPU cores and an Adreno GPU, which runs everyday tasks as smooth as silk. If you have a tendency to have intense gaming sessions on your phone, you’ll be happy to know that the Galaxy S25 Edge has a vapor chamber and new thermal interface material (TIM) to prevent the phone from overheating — and burning your hands — while playing anything on Xbox Game Pass. Meanwhile, the iPhone 16 Pro Max operates on the A18 Pro processor, which makes everything run fast and smooth for how little memory it has — 8GB of RAM. You can play resource-heavy games on this phone, but because it has only one CPU core, it will overheat pretty quickly if you play on your phone in a hot environment or use a case that doesn’t allow it to cool down as fast as it heats up. That makes the iPhone 16 Pro Max well suited for those who will only use it for light tasks like web surfing, taking pictures and videos, and texting. But for people who want to do more on their phone without breaking a sweat, gaming included, the Galaxy S25 Edge is the way to go. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge  Andy Boxall / Digital Trends The Galaxy S25 Edge has a 3,900mAh battery, which is slightly smaller than the batteries in the rest of the Galaxy S25 lineup, where the base model has a 4,000mAh battery and the S25 Ultra has a 5,000mAh battery. Samsung claims that the S25 Edge supports 25W wired charging, 15W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. However, Samsung didn’t exactly mention how fast the phone would charge when it’s plugged in. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, has an even bigger battery with 4,685mAh of power capacity. It supports 30W fast charging, reaching 50% charge in 30 minutes or less. It also supports 25W MagSafe wireless charging, 15W Qi2 wireless charging, and 4.5W reverse wireless charging. This shows that a bigger battery doesn’t always mean faster charging, it just means it takes little longer to get to full charge. Although, it is tough to call which phone has the best battery and charging time since they’re close is size and capacity, and the speed in which in the S25 Edge reaches a full charge, let alone a half charge, has not been determined. Winner: Tie Samsung Despite the Galaxy S25 Edge having two rear cameras, its main camera has a 200-megapixel lens sitting atop the 12MP ultrawide camera. The latter camera is quite a significant downgrade from the 48MP ultrawide camera found on the S25 Ultra, but that’s only because there aren’t any other cameras aside from the main one to compensate for it. However, the 200MP camera would provide for high-quality photos and videos, considering how well it captured every detail on the S25 Ultra. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, meanwhile, has a 48MP Fusion camera, a 48MP ultrawide camera, and a 12MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom, balancing out the visual quality of every picture and video it captures. The ultrawide camera provides a 120-degree field-of-view for landscaping and group photos, while the 12MP telephoto helps to capture the tiniest objects up close and personal when zoomed in, like small insects and leaf cells. The 48MP camera ensures every photo and video is crystal clear. We don’t know how well the cameras on the S25 Edge will pan out, so the iPhone 16 Pro Max gets the photo finish — for now. Winner: iPhone 16 Pro Max Andy Boxall / Digital Trends The Galaxy S25 Edge will operate on Android 15 out of the box, with Samsung’s One UI 7 layered on top of it. The combined software guarantees enhanced privacy features, improved multitasking, and AI capabilities like Gemini. Just like the other phones in the Galaxy S25 line, Samsung has promised seven years of OS and security updates for the S25 Edge. As for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, it runs on iOS 18 out of the box, but it can be updated to the latest version. Basically, iOS 18 comes with Apple Intelligence, which will summarize your emails, text messages, social media notifications, and help improve your writing by providing grammar and spelling checks to ensure you get your point across to anyone you’re talking to with poise. There’s also an advanced Siri that lights an iridescent ring around the display when you say its name. Apple didn’t say how many years of OS and security updates the phone would get, as it updates the OS for months at a time. Winner: Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge Andy Boxall / Digital Trends At launch, the Galaxy S25 Edge will be sold at $1,099 for the 256GB variant, and $1,199 for the 512GB version. As for what colors it will be sold in, it will come in Titanium Icyblue, Titanium Silver, and Titanium Jetblack. No, the first and third colors are definitely not typos. The iPhone 16 Pro Max has been on the market since September 2024, and its price depends on how much storage space you need. The 256GB variant costs about $1,199, while the 512GB version costs $1,399, and the 1TB variant costs $1,599. It comes in Black Titanium, White Titanium, Natural Titanium, and Desert Titanium. Winfuture Although our review has yet to be published, the Galaxy S25 Edge appears to be winning this battle. It’s easier for big hands to hold for how slim it is, camera design justifies the overall design of the phone, and the performance it delivers is highly optimal, especially for gamers. Its thinness may make it look fragile, but it has a titanium frame around its circumference and is the first smartphone to have the Gorilla Glass Corning 2 on glass screen, offering the phone double the protection from cracks and scratches if it falls. Plus, the S25 Edge is a little more affordable than the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which could be helpful information for people who need a new phone but don’t want to break the bank for an Apple phone. They say great things come in small packages. In this case, they come in slim packages.

ZDNET's key takeaways The Vivobook S 15, Asus' first Copilot+ PC, normally retails for over $1,000, but it's currently on sale at Walmart for $709.It's sleek and lightweight with a gorgeous OLED, 120Hz display, great battery life, and snappy performance.Users might run into the usual compatability issues seen on Arm-compatible devices. View now at Walmart At Walmart, Asus' Vivobook S 15 is currently marked down to $709, which is roughly $90 off. The configuration on sale features a 3K OLED 120Hz display with an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and 16GB of RAM.Asus' first Copilot+ PC with the Snapdragon X Elite chip last year was the Vivobook S 15, a sleek and lightweight 15-inch laptop with a gorgeous display and ultra-snappy performance. It's the configuration with the Intel Core Ultra 7 chip that's drastically marked down right now.The chassis' minimalist, all-metal design is lightweight and airy, and it feels more premium than last year's Vivobook S 14. It's only 0.58 inches at its thinnest point, and it weighs just 3.13 pounds, making it particularly well-suited for hybrid or remote workers who want a powerful laptop with a nice display that doesn't weigh a ton. Also: This ultraportable Windows laptop raised the bar for the MacBook Air (and everything else)Like all of the new Windows on ARM laptops released last summer, the Vivobook S 15 is fast and responsive with nice battery life. For the average consumer, this is the epitome of a laptop that looks and feels good right out of the box, and it starts with the brilliant 3K OLED display. details View at Walmart With an 89% screen-to-body ratio and ultra-thin bezels, the screen is brilliant and high-contrast, rocking a max 600-nit brightness and 120Hz refresh rate for some silky-smooth and crisp image quality. Also: Why I recommend this budget Lenovo ThinkPad over laptops that cost twice as muchThe display's 16:9 resolution gives it that premium widescreen feel, lending itself well to both watching and editing media, but it might not be for everyone. Most 15-inch laptops come with a 16:10 resolution, which might feel more "natural" for some, but ultimately the distinction is subtle.  Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETWith 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, Asus is able to keep costs close to that $1,000 price point with just the right amount of hardware on this machine. And it feels even better in tandem with the snappy, responsive performance the Snapdragon X Elite processor provides. The Vivobook S 15 features the 12-core, 3.4GHz chip with a 45 TOPS NPU, the same one found in the HP Omnibook X 14, but slightly below the 3.8GHz chip found in the Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge. The benchmarking scores in Cinebench reflect that same hierarchy, with numbers above the Omnibook and just below the Galaxy Book4 Edge. In testing the CPU's performance, I got a single-core score of 106 and a multi-core score of 969. In Geekbench, I got a single-core of 2447 and a multi-core of 14384. Remember that these scores were recorded while the device was plugged into power. While on battery, I got scores about 30% lower -- somewhat more of a difference than I expected. This is in comparison to the HP Omnibook X 14, which had a much narrower gap in scores in my testing, something I noted as I was reviewing it. Also: I replaced my laptop with Microsoft's 12-inch Surface Pro - here's my buying advice a week laterThis paints a picture of a laptop that has somewhat variable battery life, depending on what you're doing and what kind of mode you have the laptop in. There's no escaping the power this display requires, and if you're someone who typically ignores battery setting profiles and keeps your machine blasting at "Best Performance," you may want to adjust the power modes in either the MyAsus software or in Windows (or both) because you'll see a drastic difference. That being said, the Vivobook S 15's 70Wh battery performance is good, but the user must manage it to maximize its efficiency. During the battery test that ZDNET runs on all laptops, I got about 10 and a half hours before it died, but that number fluctuated in subsequent tests with different power mode settings. Also: Are dual-screen Windows laptop a gimmick or pure genius? My buying advice after testing oneOptimization is the theme here, and this also extends to its performance. The Windows on ARM architecture provides fantastic up-front performance in ways that are immediately apparent to most users. But when you start looking closely at more specialized tasks, things have the potential to get tricky. For example, the Vivobook S 15's aforementioned 16:9 resolution OLED screen seems perfect for editing video. While the integrated Qualcomm Adreno GPU is up to the task, its interaction with different apps and their performance in Windows (via Prism) is still a work in progress.  Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETDuring my testing, I ran DaVinci Resolve for Windows on ARM, and it worked mostly fine, but the performance is still not 100% optimized. There was some lag, graphic stuttering, and quirkiness, especially with 4K video. Adobe Photoshop, however, ran smoothly, with local AI-generative tasks popping off seamlessly with help from the NPU on board the Snapdragon. I expect performance to continue improving as Windows improves and developers improve their products for the platform.The other elephant in the room is gaming, which is not entirely up to speed with Windows on ARM. Yes, technically, you can game on this laptop, but many titles still don't run, and the ones that do are not well-optimized. Although the Vivobook S 15 looks like something you might want to game on, I wouldn't recommend it as a dedicated gaming laptop. At least not yet. Also: This Asus laptop is my go-to pick for creative professionals and design teams - here's whyInstead, I see the Vivobook S 15 as a primary driver for remote workers or digital nomads who are already integrating AI into their workflows and appreciate an aesthetic laptop with a brilliant display that handles media well. Supporting that use case, it has a generous selection of ports: two USB-A ports on the right-hand side, two USB-C on the left, an HDMI port, a MicroSD slot, and a headphone jack. It also has a "full" keyboard (the number pad on the right side has slightly smaller keys, as typical for sub-16-inch machines), which is satisfying and responsive to typing on. The keyboard has colorful LED backlighting that can be configured in many different lights and effects. Still, again, this is not something that I would consider high on the priority list when optimizing battery life.  ZDNET's buying adviceThe Asus Vivobook S 15 is a sleek and lightweight laptop with a gorgeous OLED display and solid battery life -- as long as you're mindful of your power usage. I'd recommend it to forward-thinking digital nomads who want a performant, AI-ready laptop with a blazing-fast Snapdragon X Elite processor. It's a solid investment for people who regularly swap between creative work, productivity software, and media. All things considered, the sale price of $713 is very competitive for this laptop, particularly for the display alone. Featured reviews