There's a big Anker sale on Amazon that covers several well-regarded power banks and charging accessories. This includes the 737 portable laptop charger, which is just $88. That's the best deal of the bunch, as the price represents a 41 percent disco

Finding the right gift for any parent can be a struggle, especially a dad who may not give you any indication of what they’d like as a gift. But if you know your dad is a tinkerer, DIY master, tech lover or general hobbyist, we can help. We pulled together a list of gadgets and gear we’ve tested that would make a great gift for nearly any dad out there, from cameras to keyboards, pizza ovens to VR headsets, smartwatches to multitools and much more. Best of all, these recommendations will fit any gift giver’s budget. Best gifts for dads in 2025 Check out the rest of our gift ideas here. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-gifts-for-dads-170014057.html?src=rss

Macworld Every year, as Apple’s WWDC approaches, speculation about what new products may arrive alongside all the big software announcements. While sources claim that Apple has been working on a new interface for iOS, macOS, and other operating systems, we haven’t heard much about new hardware coming at WWDC. There are rumors about products in the works—most notably new Macs and the “HomePad” smart home hub—but the reality is, if you’re expecting to see new hardware at WWDC 2025, you’re likely to be disappointed. WWDC is a software event Historically, WWDC is an event focused almost entirely on software. After all, it’s a conference for developers. Every year, Apple not only reveals its plans for the future of its operating systems at the event, but also gives developers early access to new APIs and frameworks. This enables them to start optimizing their apps for the new platforms months ahead of public releases. While there have been occasional hardware announcements, such as the original HomePod, the transition to Apple silicon in 2020, and the first look at the Apple Vision Pro in 2023, those moments were tightly linked to developer needs. This year, rumors suggest that Apple has been working on new hardware products that could be a good fit for WWDC, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be ready in time for this year’s event. Here’s why. HomePad: Delayed In an effort to take HomeKit to the next level, Apple has been working on a smart home hub with a built-in screen for several years. The idea is to let users easily control their HomeKit accessories, such as lamps, heaters, and robot vacuum cleaners, even when their phone isn’t around. While the actual name of the device is unclear, reports claim it will combine aspects of the HomePod and iPad in a single product focused on the smart home, so it’s been dubbed HomePad. Apple is reportedly making a new smart home hub that combines an iPad with a HomePod, but it’s likely not shipping for a while.Foundry Along with the smart home capabilities, HomePad will reportedly also function as an Apple TV-like entertainment device so users can stream video and music, or make FaceTime calls from its built-in camera. Essentially, it will be a home companion device that is either mounted to a wall or sits in a dock. While the HomePad was once expected to launch in the spring, recent reports claim the project is delayed, possibly until 2026. The main reason is due to a deep integration with Apple Intelligence and the new Siri experience, which have been beset with issues. It’s possible that Apple gives a sneak peek of HomePad at WWDC, as it did with HomePod and Vision Pro, but most reports say Apple is focused on fixing Siri first. M5 Macs and iPads: Not yet WWDC has been a hot spot for new Macs in recent years, with Apple Silicon, the redesigned M2 MacBook Air, and the M2 Ultra chip all making their debuts at WWDC. As such, there has been speculation about whether Apple will announce any new Mac hardware at WWDC. With the exception of the Mac Pro, which hasn’t seen any updates since 2022, Apple has already completed the transition of the entire Mac lineup to the M4 chip, introduced last year with the iPad Pro. In theory, this could mean that Apple will move onto the next generation of chips at WWDC, but don’t count on it. Apple typically unveils the first new Macs with the next generation of chips in the fall, around October and November. And according to multiple sources in the industry, this will be the case once again this year. A new iPad Pro with the M5 chip and M5 MacBook Pro are said to be on track for the second half of 2025. It’s possible that Apple unveils a new high-end chip for the aging Mac Pro, but most reports claim that Apple will keep the current model around until the M5 Ultra arrives. Could the M5 debut at WWDC? It’s not likely.Foundry iPhone 17: Coming in September Although in the past Apple has introduced new iPhone models at WWDC, it’s been more than a decade since an iPhone model debuted at the event. Besides, the iPhone 16e only just arrived in March, and the iPhone 17 lineup will arrive in September. One of the main reasons is that the new iPhone always ships with the new version of iOS announced at WWDC, so Apple needs time to test and refine the new software before launching the new phone. So if you’re planning to buy an iPhone 17, you’ll have to wait until September at least. Apple Vision Pro 2: Maybe next year The first Apple Vision Pro is decidedly a developer device. It was announced at WWDC 2023 but didn’t ship until 2024, mainly so developers had time to build new apps for the headset. And with a $3,499 price tag, it’s still basically a developer kit.  The current Vision Pro is powered by the M2 chip, which some consumers may consider outdated for a product that costs $3,500. Although Apple is rumored to be working on an updated Vision Pro with an M5 chip inside, this model is unlikely to arrive before next year. According to a report from The Information, Apple has reportedly set aside the Vision Pro 2 project to work on a more affordable version of its mixed reality headset, but that model isn’t expected to ship for a while either. So while we’ll get a look at the new visionOS software, the same hardware is likely sticking around for at least another year. WWDC will likely be very software-centric this year.Foundry What to expect instead at WWDC 2025? Once again, this WWDC will be all about software and services, so expect major updates across all Apple platforms. From iOS 19 to macOS 16 (or possibly iOS 26 and macOS 26), Apple’s operating systems will be updated with a new, more modern interface. Sources believe that the new design language will be similar to what Apple introduced with visionOS, which has more depth and shadows rather than a completely flat interface. Apple is also rumored to be working on new features to make iPadOS more similar to macOS, as well as further improving Apple Intelligence and the Siri experience. So there will be plenty to get excited about at WWDC 2025, but it almost certainly won’t involve any new devices. WWDC 2025 kicks off on June 9 with an opening keynote. Be sure to follow Macworld’s full coverage of the event.

Here's an adjective, used to describe materials, that you may not have heard of: "Rate-sensitive." It refers to when a material responds to the speed of a force applied to it. As an example, concrete is not rate-sensitive: If you walk into a concrete barrier or drive into it at 80 miles an hour, it remains the same hardness. In contrast, water is rate-sensitive. You can gently push your hand down through the surface of a lake. But if you slap downwards with all your might, the water turns hard and resists.This magical property has been engineered into a proprietary material by Delta Three Oscar, a British manufacturer of ballistic protection gear. The material, D3O, contains a secret sauce of polymers suspended in a lubricating medium. Wrapped in foam that has been specially engineered for comfort on the human head, D30 is what the company's Halo 3 Ballistic Helmet Liner is made out of. The resultant product exceeds the U.S. Army's AR/PD 10-02 blunt impact requirements by 33%, and its shape is designed to accommodate a variety of communications headsets. At just 80g (2.8 oz), the company bills it as "the world's lightest, most comfortable ballistic helmet liner." It features 12 integrated airflow channels for ventilation, and the material contacting the head is anti-microbial and moisture-wicking. It's also been designed to be easy for soldiers to install these in the field. The head-contacting side features type on it, which both labels the three different parts and allows the soldier to determine the pieces are oriented correctly (i.e. the type should be read so that none of it appears upside-down). These notches help the soldier align the pieces correctly from side-to-side. The helmet-facing side is lined with hook-and-loop fabric that adheres it to the helmet interior. Embossed letters indicate which of the three pieces you're holding. Two corners on the front and rear pieces are recessed so that they don't interfere with the helmet's harness bolts. (Absent this feature, the liner would try to push away from the helmet at these points.) The Halo liners have been integrated into the U.S. Army's new Integrated Head Protection System (IHPS) helmets, which are replacing the two-decades-old Advanced Combat Helmet (ACH) and Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) over the next three years.Fun fact: The cost of the Riddell SpeedFlex helmets worn by many players in the NFL, where the average salary is $3.2 million, costs roughly the same as an IHPS helmet worn by a PFC in the 82nd Airborne, average salary $27,119. About $450 a pop.

$45For some people, note-taking is serious, serious business. That’s why your dad’s great ideas, errant thoughts, to-do lists, and appointments deserve a worthy notebook. Traveler’s leather-bound travel journals are great for jotting down all of the above, especially since they come in a slew of sizes.$45 at Traveler’s Company (various sizes)$69Whether your dad is a fan of the Indiana Jones flicks or he digs MachineGames’ excellent Wolfenstein titles, there’s plenty to like in The Great Circle. The first-person exploration game lets you crack the whip, punch Nazis, and traverse the globe to retrieve precious relics. It’s good fun.Anker Laptop Power Bank$110$13519% off$110There are plenty of portable batteries out there, but few are as versatile and powerful as Anker’s 25,000mAh Laptop Power Bank. The handy pack features two built-in, retractable USB-C cables — one of which serves as a lanyard — allowing you to quickly charge most devices on the go.Backbone Pro$170$170The best mobile controller is the Backbone Pro. It retains the same overall design and feel as the company’s cheaper model, only with some comfort-boosting improvements. It also features a built-in battery and Bluetooth support, so your dad can use it for gaming on his TV, computer, VR headset, or handheld PC.$170 at Best Buy$170 at BackboneAncel AD410 OBD2 Scanner Professional Diagnostic Scanner$40$5020% off$40The more ways you know how to diagnose a possible issue with your car, the less time you’ll spend at the mechanic (sorry, mechanics). Ancel’s diagnostic scanner plugs into the OBD2 port found in most US cars dating back to ’96, letting you see exactly why certain lights on your dash keep popping up.$40 at Amazon (with Prime)$50 at AncelSony WH-1000XM6$448$4500% off$448The latest iteration of Sony’s best-in-class noise-canceling headphones has finally arrived. The newfangled XM6 make subtle improvements to every facet, from sound quality to comfort to ANC, while wisely bringing back the foldable design last seen on the last-gen XM4.Hoto SnapBloq System$216$30028% off$216Hoto’s modus operandi is to make svelte, handsome tools, with the SnapBloq being its sleekest yet. Buying all three sets — which, as the name implies, snap together to form a block — nets you a precision screwdriver, drill pen, and rotary tool, all of which are rechargeable. Dad may already own enough tools, but we bet they don’t look nearly as good as these do.$216 at Amazon$240 at HotoSatechi Vegan-Leather Magnetic Wallet Stand$28$4030% off$28Satechi’s MagSafe-ready wallet addresses two specific needs that may make it a must-have for some dads: it’s crafted from vegan leather, and it doubles as a kickstand. That means the durable wallet provides a hands-free way to watch videos or hop on a call, whether you place it in portrait or landscape mode. AirPods 4$119$1298% off$119Most of Apple’s high-end earbud tech can be found in the AirPods 4, which cost significantly less than the latest Pro model. They’re relatively small, offer great sound, and even support USB-C charging, making them a great pick if you can do without active noise cancellation.James$18$2836% off$18Percival Everett’s first work of fiction earned him the Pulitzer this year — and it’s no surprise. The bold 2024 tale serves as a reworking of Huck Finn as told by the enslaved man who travels with him down the Mississippi, and although it’s dead serious at times due to the subject matter, it’s also inventive, poetic, and surprisingly funny.Xiaomi Sound Pocket$27$3010% off$27Xiaomi doesn’t have as much of a presence in the US as it does globally, but thankfully, the classy Sound Pocket is readily available. The compact Bluetooth speaker supports hands-free calling with its built-in microphone, and its IP67 rating means it can even handle some water — so long as you don’t submerge it for too long.$27 at Amazon (with on-page coupon)$30 at Walmart (with on-page coupon)$35While writing Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut needed to pay the bills, so he tried his hand at making board games. His creation, a tactical war-themed tabletop game called GHQ (General Headquarters), never saw the light of day — that is, until recently. Needless to say, the two-player game is a great title for Vonnegut fans and scholars alike.$35 at Barnes & Noble$35 at Kurt Vonnegut’s GHQ Museum and Library$550The Forerunner 570 has no business looking as good as it does for a running watch. Garmin’s new wearable features a bright OLED display, a slick translucent band, and several new features, including skin temperature sensors and a built-in speaker / mic. The only real question is what size to get for dear ol’ dad: 42mm or 47mm?$70Magic: The Gathering isn’t as difficult to get into as you might think, and the Final Fantasy-themed expansion might be the perfect place to start. The upcoming collection has sent the internet into a proverbial spiral, with many products selling out as a result of a very dedicated fan base. Lucky for dad, the entry-level starter kit is still readily available.Nitecore BB21 electric blower$65$707% off$65All of dad’s precious tech is prone to dust and other debris, which can impact usability if left unchecked. Fortunately, with Nitecore’s rechargeable air blower as a companion, he can easily rid his mechanical keyboards and other tough-to-reach crannies of unwanted grime, ensuring all of his gadgets are in tip-top shape.$31Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has come a long way from the fabled Wisconsin cabin where he supposedly holed up to record his debut. Sable, Fable, his latest LP, is a welcome kaleidoscope of sounds and feelings, from familiar strummers and beat-heavy ballads to the kind of sultry, R&B-flecked tracks that would make Prince swoon.$450Telepathic Instruments’ retrofuturist keyboard is a vibes machine, one designed for people who want to easily produce cool sounds. It only houses a few piano keys, but it has dedicated major, minor, and other inputs that let you get creative without necessarily having to know how to play.$450 at Telepathic InstrumentsChef’n S’mores Roaster$50$7432% off$50You can effortlessly replicate the magic of making s’mores while camping with Chef’n’s small, safe machine. The contained flame on the tidy indoor / outdoor roaster is built to toast marshmallows, while its ceramic dome can melt chocolate onto graham crackers. All you’ll need to supply is a fuel can, plus all the s’mores ingredients you can muster.Panasonic 4K Blu-ray player (DP-UB420-K)$245$2502% off$245Like all of us, your dad deserves to watch movies at the best possible resolution, which is where a 4K Blu-ray player comes in. Panasonic makes some of the best models you can buy, and when paired with the right TV, 4K Blu-rays look and sound better than even the most high-res streaming apps. Plus, it’s still fun to collect discs.$125If your dad’s shaving gadget repertoire is outdated, try treating him to a fantastic — and customizable — beard trimmer. Panasonic’s washable, wide-tipped model comes with 19 adjustable settings and can cut hair, too, just in case dad wants to keep a short ’do or touch up his sideburns.$125 at Amazon$125 at PanasonicOntel Battery Daddy storage system$15$2025% off$15Most modern gadgets are rechargeable via USB-C, but many households still rely on traditional batteries for all sorts of things. Your dad is sure to be impressed with your moxie when you gift him this deluxe battery organizer, which has dedicated compartments for coin cell batteries, large D-cell batteries, and all of the smaller sizes in between.Baseus Free2Pull Retractable USB-C Cable 100W$10$2255% off$10Most people don’t want to wrangle cables… and who can blame them? Not us, which is why several folks at The Verge own Baseus’ handy, retractable USB-C option. The Free2Pull comes in two sizes, each of which conveniently pulls the excess cable into a small puck that’s far tidier and easier to manage than a loose cord.$200Most Lego creations occupy some desk or table space, which can be annoying if you’re trying to tidy up. However, every item from Lego’s Vincent van Gogh collection, which consists of several brick-ified paintings from the artist’s late-1800s heyday, can be assembled and then mounted to your wall.$220A massage gun is a gift that keeps on giving. When muscles and tendons are tight or sore, the Theragun Mini serves as a quick and easy remedy, allowing dad to get on with his day with less discomfort. The third-gen model is just a little smaller, making what was already an ultra-portable device even more compact.Birdfy Feeder 1$120$22045% off$120Looking at birds is cool, and we’re all better off spending more time doing it. And while birdwatching typically requires patience and a decent pair of binoculars, you could summon birds with Birdfy’s entry-level smart feeder, which features a 1080p camera and an app that lets you view birds up close as they munch on seeds.Xreal One smart glasses$499$499The Xreal One aren’t the most affordable augmented-reality glasses available, but they are some of the best for displaying movies and games on the go. You can connect them via USB-C to your smartphone, tablet, or handheld gaming PC, making the 84-gram spectacles the ultimate upgrade for both plane flights and your commute.$499 at Amazon$499 at XrealTime Timer MOD (Home Edition)$20$2520% off$20A basic timer may seem like a thoughtless gift, but there are many tasks we procrastinate on every day that could be more easily managed if we dedicated a little bit of time to them. A visual Pomodoro timer, such as the colorful MOD (Home Edition), is key to helping break tasks into manageable chunks or take them on all at once.Nintendo Switch 2$449$449The Switch 2 could make for a stellar gift for any dad — that is, if you can manage to preorder one ahead of the console’s arrival on June 5th. Nintendo’s latest hybrid console packs a larger 7.9-inch 1080p display, magnetic Joy-Con controllers, and a host of other minor but welcome improvements that build upon what was already a winning formula.

Augmented World Expo 2025 will draw more than 6,000 attendees, 400 speakers and 300 global exhibitors to its event June 10 to June 12 in Long Beach, California. The speaker lineup includes Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, Atari cofounder Nolan Bushnell and Oculus/Anduril founder Palmer Luckey. If the show is any indication, the XR industry isn’t doing so bad. A variety of market researchers are forecasting fast growth for the industry through 2030. Ori Inbar, CEO of AWE, believes that the XR revolution is “ready to conquer the mainstream.” But to get there, he believes the industry still needs to create “head-turning content that must be experienced.” Of course, the red hot days of the “metaverse,” inspired by Neal Stephenson’s Snow Crash sci-fi novel in 1992, is no longer driving the industry forward. With less focus on sci-fi, the industry is focused on practical uses for mixed reality technology in the enterprise and consumer markets like gaming. But will XR and the metaverse be overrun by AI, or will it carry them to the mass market destination? Much is riding on how committed Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta will be even as it reprioritizes some resources away from XR to AI. Meta, which acquired Luckey’s Oculus back in 2014, has invested billions every quarter in the technology, with no profits so far. But, in a very unexpected turnaround, Zuckerberg and Luckey buried the hatchet on the past differences and set up an alliance between Meta and Anduril — the latter being Luckey’s AI/drone defense company. Zuckerberg has new competition from his own nemesis, Apple, which launched the Apple Vision Pro in February 2024. However, Apple has slowed down its development of the next-generation XR headset, while Zuckerberg has put more emphasis on AR/AI glasses. Spiegel, the CEO of Snap, has focused on augmented reality glasses. His Spectacles are now in their fifth generation, powered by the Snap OS and authoring tool Lens Studio. Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese, will deliver a one-of-a-kind talk on the main stage with five of his children, who are continuing his pioneering vision in gaming through XR. Brent Bushnell, Nolan’s eldest son, recently debuted DreamPark, a new XR startup that turns any park or playground into a mixed reality theme parks. Others speakers include Vicki Dobbs Beck – VP, Immersive Content Innovation, Lucasfilm & ILM Immersive; Ziad Asghar – SVP & GM XR, Qualcomm; Brian McClendon – Chief Technology Officer, Niantic Spatial, Inc.; Jason Rubin – VP, Metaverse Experiences, Meta; Hugo Swart, Senior Director of XR Ecosystem Strategy and Technology, Google; Jacqui Bransky – VP Web3 & Innovation, Warner Records; Chi Xu – CEO and Founder, XREAL; Helen Papagiannis – AR Pioneer and XR Hall of Famer; and Tom Furness – Grandfather of VR and Founder, Virtual World Society. AWE Builders Nexus will be a new program focused on startups this year. Startup founders, developers, designers, product managers, and business leaders alike will get the resources they need to build something extraordinary, get advice and funding, scale through partnerships, and win customers, Inbar said. The event will also feature the AWE Gaming Hub. I also interviewed some companies that are showcasing technology at the show. Here’s some snippets from what they are going to show. Pico VR Pico started out in Beijing, China, in 2015 and is now hitting its 10th anniversary. It is making the standalone Pico XR headsets, and it was acquired by ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, in 2021. In September 2024, the company launched the Pico 4 Ultra Enterprise headset, filling out the high end of its product line in addition to its G3 and Neo 3 legacy headsets. Pico also has its set of full-body motion trackers to its product offerings to allow for full-body and object tracking. That’s helping it with its focus on location-based entertainment in markets such as China. It’s focused on WiFi7, hand tracking and motion tracking. Leland Hedges, head of enterprise business at Pico, said that the LBE market in China has grown by 1,000% in the last six to nine months Pico has an app for PC streaming and another app for managing devices over a LAN. Pico can track play spaces with columns or cordoned-off areas. Hedges said the company will share 15 different user stories at AWE in public places such as zoos, museums, aquariums and planetariums. Convai Purnendu Mukherjee, CEO of Convai, showed me a bunch of demos at the Game Developers Conference where it has been able to create avatar-based demos of generative AI solutions with 3D animated people. These can be used to show off brands and greet people on web sites or as avatars in games. At AWE, Convai will also off learning and training scenarios for education and enterprises through a variety of simulations. Convai can render high fidelity avatars that are effectively coming from the cloud. At GDC, Convai scanned me and captured my voice so that it can create a lifelike avatar of me. These avatars can be created quickly and answer a variety of questions from website visitors. The idea is to enable non-technical people to create simulations without the need to code anything. In a demo, Convai’s avatar of me said, “I’ve been covering the games industry for many years now at games beat I’ve seen it evolve from the arcades to the massive global phenomenon it is today. I love digging into the business side of gaming, the technology, the culture, the whole shebang.” Convai will announce pricing for its self-serve platform as well as an enterprise subscription fee. Doublepoint Ohto Pentikäinen, CEO of Doublepoint, has a technology that detects the gesture you can make with your hand. It captures that movement via a smartwatch and allows you to control things on a TV interface or an XR device. With Android XR, Doublepoint is showing off demos where gesture control can unlock a more intuitive and comfortable augmented reality experience for those wearing AR glasses. Xreal is one of the glasses makers that is using the technology for controlling an AR user interface with gestures. “Our technology is able to fully control a XR system. A stat that we can update you on is that there’s 150,000 people who have downloaded the technology so far, and we have a developer community of over 2,000 people since January 2024,” Pentikäinen said. Now the company is starting its own Doublepoing developer program, and this adds layers on top of the enterprise client. So now the company can provide technology for indie developers or startups that are building augmented reality or AI hardware experiences. “We’re empowering developers in AR robotics and AI hardware, and we’re providing everything that we’re providing the enterprise clients, but for a much reduced price,” Pentikäinen said.

Pros Excellent cooling performanceBrilliantly designed front fan bracketsBeautiful lighting effects in tested Ambience Pro RGB versionElaborate, web-accessible software controls for lighting, fans Cons Only minimal dust filtrationHigh price for our Ambience Pro test model Fractal Design Meshify 3 Specs 120mm or 140mm Fan Positions 6 120mm to 200mm Fans Included 3 Dimensions (HWD) 20.1 by 9.1 by 17.2 inches Fan Controller Included? Front Panel Ports HD Audio Front Panel Ports USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (2) Front Panel Ports USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C Included Fan Lighting Color Addressable RGB Internal 2.5-Inch Bays 6 Internal 3.5-Inch Bays 2 Internal Chassis Lighting Color None Maximum CPU Cooler Height 173 Maximum GPU Length 349 Motherboard Form Factors Supported ATX Motherboard Form Factors Supported MicroATX Motherboard Form Factors Supported Mini-ITX PCI Expansion Slot Positions 7 Power Supply Form Factor Supported ATX Power Supply Maximum Length 180 Power Supply Mounting Location Bottom Side Window(s)? Yes (Tempered Glass) Weight 20.2 All Specs Fractal Design boosts its latest Meshify PC case with a trio of 140mm ARGB fans behind its now-iconic “crumpled mesh” front face. Starting at a mid-market $139.99 for its base model, the Meshify 3 also comes in upgraded versions with nifty extras that creep up the price. These include items like ARGB fan trim, ARGB side panel lighting, an ARGB strip surrounding the face panel, and even an ARGB controller that connects to the web. Taken together, all that can bump the price as high as the $219.99 MSRP for the deluxe, spectacular Ambience Pro RGB version of the case we tested. Whatever the feature mix you opt for, the case’s robust cooling performance shines. At the high end of the range, though, factor in the case’s biggest shortfall—its lack of inlet-air dust filtration—given what competitors deliver in $200-plus cases. Our current ATX tower favorite, the NZXT H7 Flow, isn't much better equipped with filters and isn't as striking as the Ambience Pro case in all its lit glory, but it costs much less.Design: A Crumpled ClassicPC-case feature trends have changed a bit in the eight years that Fractal Design has been putting its signature crumpled-mesh faces on classic mid-tower cases. (The aesthetic crumpling is easier to see in photos of the shinier black finish, such as the Meshify 2 we reviewed in 2021.) This latest version adds an air deflector at the front of the power supply shroud to force a bit more airflow past your hot graphics card. This Ambience Pro RGB variant’s feature set, as noted, has a USB-based ARGB controller, as well as lighting around the front face, along the bottom of the left side panel’s window, and on the three fans. Buyers willing to forgo most of the lit-up bling can get the basic “RGB” version with just the fan lighting for $159.99, and those willing to give up even that helping of ARGB can get the base “TG” version for $139.99. Our sample was in white; all three models are also available in black, and buyers who yearn for further simplification will find an additional “Solid” variant sold exclusively in black, with a painted steel panel on the left side in place of the window.Fractal Design has merged the headphone and microphone jacks of previous versions into a single four-pole connector on the Meshify 3. This connector functions as a normal headphone jack when one is plugged in; the extra pole serves the monaural microphone of a combined headset plug. Fractal also ditched the reset button of previous cases, but kept the twin USB 3 Type-A and a single Type-C port. And, this time around, the lighted power-on indicator ring that surrounds the power button is ARGB.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)Though the mesh that covers the face and top panel could potentially filter out some inbound dust, the only part of the Meshify 3 that’s explicitly designed as a dust trap is under the power supply’s air inlet. Sliding out from the case’s side, it’s partially disguised as a portion of the rear case foot.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)The Meshify 3’s back panel features a pattern of vent slots spaced to allow a fan to be screwed directly into the slots. Also back here are surface-mounted PCI Express expansion-card slots with replaceable covers, a plastic screw-tab cover with a built-in push tab at the bottom to ease its removal, and a removable power supply bracket that’s secured with two large knurled screws. Power supply insertion is through the case’s rear panel; the design lacks the space to slide in the power supply from the side.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)Both side panels are secured at the top with snaps, and Fractal Design added a pair of tabs to make that task a little easier. Those tabs also have screw holes, enabling you to further secure your side panels against accidental removal.A nylon pull tab at the center of the top panel’s back edge serves a similar function. To release that panel and lift it off, you must first slide it back a quarter inch or so.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)The front ARGB fans have 140mm frames, but there’s too little space behind them to mount a 420mm-format radiator vertically. That’s because radiator end caps tend to extend the total size by around 40mm (give or take 6mm).(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)On the other hand, those really motivated to place a radiator behind the front panel’s fans will find that a 360mm-format unit will work, but only by removing the 140mm fans and flipping the fan-mount brackets over. (They are visible in the image below.) Fractal Design’s brilliance shines through with these very basic sheet-metal brackets that flip to support either 120mm or 140mm fans without hindering airflow.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)The top panel is fully removable to ease radiator installation and removal, but it does not benefit from the front panel’s design wizardry. While its straight-edged brackets will cover a portion of the fan’s blades when fans are mounted directly on them, its 330mm-plus of length is sufficient to support every 280mm-format radiator we can think of.Also, notice the removable cable shroud running up and down the case near the front. It is adjustable to fit motherboards up to 10.9 inches deep. That is less than the 13-inch max depth of Extended ATX, but it’s still sufficient to fit the slightly oversized enthusiast-class motherboard models that sometimes still get called EATX.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)The lower front fan’s air deflector is removable and sits far enough above the case’s floor to be used in conjunction with a pair of 2.5-inch drive bays hidden beneath it. (We don’t even want to think about how we’d manage the cables in that configuration, however.)We removed the cable shroud for a clearer shot of this area. Keen observers might note the mounting slot for its lower edge at the top of the photo.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)Two drive trays, three push-in cable clips, and the ARGB controller are all found behind the motherboard tray. The card bracket’s removable covers and the removable power supply bracket are shown in the image below detached and in front of the case, and the photo also shows the gap beneath the removable front fan duct into which some builders may want to install a pair of 2.5-inch drives.Recommended by Our Editors(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)More drive storage is visible here on the back of the motherboard tray. Configured from the factory to hold two 3.5-inch drives, these brackets on the back of the motherboard tray can be repositioned to hold four 2.5-inch drives instead.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)Held in place by a hook-and-loop Velcro-style strap, the included ARGB controller has USB and PWM input on the top, proprietary combination connectors on the side, and an old-fashioned SATA power connector on its bottom to power it up.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)Note that Fractal designed special outer shells on the proprietary ARGB/PWM combo connectors. This design is to prevent them from being mistakenly connected to anything USB Type-C, from which they appear to borrow their form. As with several others, this photo again shows the 10mm gap between the bottom panel’s 2.5-inch drive mounts and the underside of the front fan’s air guide.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)As for the controller box itself, here’s a shot of the connectors that we couldn’t see in the ARGB controller’s previous photos, including the SATA power inlet.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)Of the two output cables we did see, one is for the case's chain of fans, and the other is for this version of the case’s “Ambience Pro” lighting. Four telescoping contact pins allow the front panel’s portion to separate easily from the rest of that latter cable without an awkward tether.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)Building With the Fractal Design Meshify 3: Perfect Parts PacksFractal's accessory kits are hard to top in terms of neatness and clear labeling. Start with the screws: The Meshify 3 includes 24 M3 mounting screws, nine #6-32 screws to attach the motherboard to case standoffs, four #6-32 screws with hex/Phillips combo heads for power supply installation, and eight #6-32 shoulder screws for mounting 3.5-inch drives on damping grommets. (Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)You also get eight damping grommets, four cable ties, and an extra motherboard standoff. (But no extra screw for it! Such is life.) Our case being the Ambience Pro RGB version, it also includes a breakout cable that goes from the case’s proprietary ARGB/PWM connector to a standard ARGB strip and a standard PWM fan, along with an extension cable for the proprietary connector.Connecting the case to our motherboard are a power-button lead, an HD Audio header cable for the headset combo jack, a 19-pin USB 3.x for the Type-A ports, and a Gen 2x2 Type-E internal cable for the single Type-C external port. The case’s RGB controller also connects to one our motherboard’s USB 2.0 breakout headers and one of its PWM fan headers.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)The white version of the Meshify 3 includes chrome hardware, but since our standard Asus ATX test motherboard is black, I flexed my design chops and used black screws to attach it. I can also divulge that I initially forgot to reinstall the cable shroud, which required me later in the build to remove the graphics card, install the shroud, and reinstall the card. Oops!(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)The RGB controller uses a web interface to select its various lighting and fan modes, rather than forcing users to install software, and it stores those settings on the controller rather than leaving components in the OS. You can dictate a "startup" lighting effect separately from the regular run of lighting that the case cycles through. Using it allowed us to switch from the case’s soft blue default to something a little more, shall we say, festive.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)The light controller’s “Sunset” mode looked like a softer variation of our CPU cooler’s Rainbow mode in this test. Nice.(Credit: Thomas Soderstrom)Testing the Fractal Design Meshify 3: Cool It, ManToday’s build leverages the ATX hardware from our most recent case evaluation platform, including its full-sized Cooler Master GX III Gold 850W power supply and mid-size Corsair iCue H100i RGB Pro XT CPU cooler.Apparently, that little scoop that pushes air upward from the lower of the three front fans does have some positive effect on overall case temperature. Our CPU, motherboard (voltage-regulator), and GPU numbers all show slightly lower temperatures than its five most closely-matched recently reviewed rivals. (These include the Corsair Frame 4000D, the SilverStone Fara 514X, and the MSI Velox 300R.)And just in case you thought that Fractal Design might have gotten its high score by overspeeding its fans a bit…it didn’t. Fan noise is tied for second place in this test group, behind the Super Flower Zillion Direct.The biggest nit we can pick is that some of the Meshify 3’s airflow enhancement might be due to its lack of flow-restricting dust filters.

I've wanted to rewatch the sci-fi thriller Strange Days for a long time, but I kept forgetting because, honestly, I couldn't remember the title. I finally came across it on Hulu and checked it out, and I can't stop thinking about it.Though Strange Days was released back in 1995, it looks and feels like it could've come out yesterday. It's one of those rare old movies that imagined the technology of virtual reality, or VR, without turning it into a gimmick. Strange Days takes place in 1999 Los Angeles during the last 48 hours of the millennium. Lenny Nero, played by Ralph Fiennes, is a former cop who now peddles an illegal virtual reality experience called Playback. Nero's friend and bodyguard, Mace (Angela Basset), tries to keep him rooted in reality and away from trouble. Together, they work to track down a brutal rapist and murderer -- a man who uses VR Playback discs to record his crimes from his own point of view.The movie wasted no time dropping me into its jarring setting: The opening scene is an armed robbery filmed in first-person perspective, with the robber running from cops and jumping from one rooftop to another. A couple of scenes later, I saw tanks on the streets of LA and heard radio callers declaring that the world would end at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1, 2000. Strange Days reminds me of the best Black Mirror episodes -- both deeply disturbing and uncomfortably close to home. Director Kathryn Bigelow was influenced by the 1992 LA riots and incorporated those elements of racial tension and police violence into her work. The result is a movie that's sometimes difficult to watch but impossible to look away from. At the same time, Strange Days is grounded by emotion. Nero (Fiennes) spends a good portion of the movie reliving memories of his failed relationship with the singer Faith (played by actress-turned-rocker Juliette Lewis). Lying in bed while he plays back footage of happier days, he can trick himself into believing he's roller skating with Faith again -- until the disc stops spinning and he opens his eyes, back in the lonely present day."This is not 'like TV only better,'" says Nero, as he introduces the VR Playback tech to one of his clients. "This is life."But Bassett's character, Mace, believes otherwise, at one point confronting Nero over his attachment to his "used emotions." "This is your life!" says Mace. "Right here! Right now! It's real time, you hear me? Real time, time to get real, not Playback!" As I watched Strange Days in 2025, I couldn't help thinking of the virtual reality devices that exist today. VR headsets like the Meta Quest 3 and Google's upcoming AR glasses are bringing us closer than ever to the Playback tech in the film. And the immersive spatial videos for the Apple Vision Pro can make you feel like you're really reliving a three-dimensional recorded memory. As I considered the similarities between our current tech and Strange Days' Playback discs, I wondered if the future wants to be haunted by the past.Despite being 30 years old, Strange Days' special effects hold up incredibly well. Where other 1995 sci-fi flicks like Hackers and Johnny Mnemonic experimented with early computer-generated imagery, Strange Days went for a more practical approach: Characters shift in and out of the Playback footage with a simple analog distortion effect, just like you'd find while watching home videos on VHS tapes. The point-of-view shots were carefully choreographed, and the resulting footage looks like you're viewing it through the recorder's eyes.Strange Days also features standout musical acts. Juliette Lewis, in character as Faith, belts out two PJ Harvey tracks in on-screen performances that recall the best of '90s grunge. Rapper Jeriko One (played by Glenn Plummer) delivers biting social commentary in his music video. And contemporary artists Aphex Twin, Deee-Lite and Skunk Anansie perform during the movie's bombastic final act, a New Year's Eve rave in downtown LA. (It was a real-life concert with 10,000 attendees.)Strange Days is both a thrilling action movie and a mind-bending exploration of technology and memory. I'm surprised it was a box-office flop in 1995, and I wish it had received the recognition it deserved then. Still, I'm glad this sci-fi masterpiece is available to stream today. Though Strange Days isn't the easiest title to remember, the movie itself is unforgettable.