Riot Games is going to slowly introduce a WASD-based control scheme to League of Legends, which previously relied on point and click controls. “We believe that offering WASD controls will provide a fresh yet familiar way to play for both new players and veterans of the Rift without changing what makes League, League,” Riot says.
The company notes that WASD is “the most familiar control scheme for PC games today,” and by adding it as a control option, “we believe League will feel more intuitive to some players who come from other games.” However, Riot is also working to “ensure competitive balance” between the two different control styles, so it’s going to start with a test of the control scheme on League’s public beta environment before slowly rolling it out to non-ranked and eventually ranked and pro play.
League of Legends launched nearly 16 years ago, and while it’s a hugely popular game, it has a reputation for being pretty intimidating to get into. Despite having watched many hours of competitive League, whenever I’ve tried to play it myself, I’ve quickly bounced because of its complexity. WASD controls could lower the barrier to entry, and Riot says that they are “the first of a number of long-term projects we’re working on to help shape League’s future.”
Krafton has fired another shot in its legal battle with former executives of Subnautica 2 studio Unknown Worlds, who filed a lawsuit last month, claiming the South Korean publisher undermined the game’s release to avoid paying them a bonus. In its response, Krafton claims that the three plaintiffs, Ted Gill, Charlie Cleveland, and Max McGuire, had “lost interest in developing Subnautica 2.”
The story told by Krafton’s lawyers in the filing is that after selling Unknown Worlds to Krafton for $500 million and promising $250 million more in earnout bonuses, Cleveland and McGuire essentially checked out of working on Subnautica 2 to focus on personal projects.
“In 2024 and 2025, Cleveland stated that he was ‘no longer working on games but […] working on a couple of films,’” while “McGuire started ‘working on initiatives that fall outside of [the Company’s] main development activities.’” As for Gill, “And Gill, who remained, focused on leveraging his operational control to maximize the earnout payment, rather than developing a successful game.”
They allege that without the leadership of Cleveland and McGuire, development on Subnautica 2 suffered to the point that a delay of the game’s early access launch was necessary.
…as the end of the carnout period drew nearer, the game was still nowhere near its planned scope. Indeed, as late as March of 2025, only two months before the Key Employees claimed the game was ready for the first Early Access (“EA”) release, the development lead for Subnautica 2 at Unknown Worlds noted that the first EA and second EA (planned for December 2025) would only be “about 12% of our intended 1.0 scope” and joked that “at that rate we would be in development for 30 years.”
An aerial photo taken on Aug. 8, 2025 shows a view of the nearly exhausted Baitings Reservoir in Yorkshire, Britain. Reservoir levels recently have continued to fall as increased water use met lack of rain in Britain. | Photo: Getty Images
Can deleting old emails and photos help the UK tackle ongoing drought this year? That’s the hope, according to recommendations for the public included in a press release today from the National Drought Group.
There are far bigger steps companies and policymakers can take to conserve water of course, but drought has gotten bad enough for officials to urge the average person to consider how their habits might help or hurt the situation. And the proliferation of data centers is raising concerns about how much water it takes to power servers and keep them cool.
“Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really helps the collective effort to reduce demand and help preserve the health of our rivers and wildlife,” Helen Wakeham, Environment Agency Director of Water, said in the press release.
“Simple, everyday choices – such as turning off a tap or deleting old emails – also really helps the collective effort”
The Environment Agency didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry from The Verge about how much water it thought deleting files might save, nor how much water data centers that store files or train AI use in the UK’s drought-affected areas.
A small data center has been estimated to use upwards of 25 million liters of water per year if it relies on old-school cooling methods that allow water to evaporate. To be sure, tech companies have worked for years to find ways to minimize their water use by developing new cooling methods. Microsoft, for example, has tried placing a data center at the bottom of the sea and submerging servers in fluorocarbon-based liquid baths.
Generating electricity for energy-hungry data centers also uses up more water since fossil fuel power plants and nuclear reactors also need water for cooling and to turn turbines using steam, an issue that transitioning to more renewable energy can help to address.
August ushered in the UK’s fourth heatwave of the summer, exacerbating what was already the driest six months leading to July since 1976. Five regions of the UK have officially declared drought, according to the release, while another six areas are in the midst of “prolonged dry weather.”
The National Drought Group says pleas to residents to save water have made a difference. Water demand dropped by 20 percent from a July 11th peak in the Severn Trent area after “water-saving messaging,” according to the release. Plugging leaks is another major concern. Fixing a leaking toilet can prevent 200 to 400 liters of water from being wasted each day, it says.
The AI coding wars are heating up. One of the main battlegrounds? "Context windows," or an AI model's working memory - the amount of text it can take into account when it's coming up with an answer. On that front, Anthropic just gained some ground. Today, the AI startup announced a 5x increase in its context window as it races to compete with OpenAI, Google, and other major players.
Context windows are measured in tokens, and Anthropic's new context window for Claude Sonnet 4, one of its most powerful AI models, can handle 1 million tokens. For reference, Anthropic has said in the past that a 500k context window can handle about 100 half-ho …
If you’re hosting a small get-together or hangout at the park, a small speaker like the UE Wonderboom 4 can provide the soundtrack. It’s the kind of gadget that fades into the background yet remains as important as the food and drink. And right now, it’s down to just $59.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo, which is its lowest price to date.
The Wonderboom 4’s compact design — which is roughly the size of a softball — makes it easy to bring anywhere, whether you’re lounging by the pool or cruising on a bike. One of its handiest features is the built-in loop, which allows you to clip on a carabiner and hook it right to your backpack. That way, you can hike with your friends on the trail and everyone can enjoy your outdoor playlist. Despite its smaller size, the battery life is estimated to last up to 14 hours, so you won’t have to worry about charging it if you’re away from an outlet all day.
In addition to all-day battery life, the compact USB-C speaker features an IP67 rating, so it should be able to withstand dust, dirt, and water. And if you’re clumsy like me, you’ll be happy to know that the speaker is built to endure drops (it even floats). It can also easily connect to Android devices thanks to Google’s Fast Pair feature, and you can link two units to create stereo sound, giving you a richer, more immersive listening experience.
A few Verge staffers own the Wonderboom 4 and recommend it for its combination of size, sound, and price. We’re generally fans of Ultimate Ears’ catalog of wireless speakers, which offer decent audio performance, are very durable, and, of course, are easy to transport. The Wonderboom 4 comes in a variety of colors — many of which are on sale — but if you’re on the fence for what to get, The Verge’s David Pierce recommends the blue.
You just want to search your archived photos, instead of interacting with an AI assistant.
Quick fix
Inside the app, tap the Google account button at top-right, then go to Photos settings > Preferences > Gemini features in Photos, and turn off either "Search with Ask Photos" or "Use Gemini in Photos".
The full story
When Google rolled out its new AI-powered 'Ask Photos' search tool, I gave it a go - but after finding it slower, less helpful, and more confusing than the classic search, I always wound up pressing Google's handy button labeled "Switch to classic search" or "Use classic search" instead. (Some people found you could g …
The startup also offered to buy TikTok earlier this year. Google hasn’t indicated that it would sell Chrome at any price, and so far, the court hasn’t ordered a sale.
Perplexity spokesperson Jesse Dwyer confirmed to The Verge that the WSJ’s reporting is accurate. The startup’s bid for Chrome stands in stark contrast to the startup’s valuation of about $18 billion.
Dmitry Shevelenko, Perplexity’s chief business officer, told Bloomberg that “multiple large investment funds have agreed to finance the transaction in full.” A spokesperson for the startup also told Bloomberg that Perplexity would invest more than $3 billion in Chrome and Chromium over the next two years if Google accepts the deal.
Ever since the launch of ChatGPT, AI companies have been racing to gain a foothold in government in more waysthan one. Most recently, that's meant luring government users with attractive low prices for their products.
Within the last week, both OpenAI and Anthropic have introduced special prices for government versions of their generative AI chatbots, ChatGPT and Claude, and xAI announced its Grok for Government in mid-July. OpenAI and Anthropic are both offering their chatbots to federal agencies for one year for a nominal price of $1. Anthropic appeared to try to one-up OpenAI's announcement by saying all three branches of government co …
With a smart video doorbell, your front door’s communication skills go from 1980s landline to a modern smartphone. Combining a motion-activated camera with a microphone, speaker, and buzzer, a doorbell camera sends alerts to your phone, allowing you to see who’s at the door without needing to open it or even be at home. Whether you’re curled up on the couch, hard at work in your office, or sunning on a beach in the Bahamas, a video doorbell keeps you in touch with what’s happening on your doorstep.
I’ve tested more than 35 video doorbells, and while there’s no one-size-fits-all, like a smartphone, it’s a personal choice, I have thoughts on which are the best of the best and which work well for specific use cases.
My top advice is to use the existing doorbell wires if you have them. Wired doorbells are generally cheaper, work better, and are more compact, so they tend to look nicer.
If you don’t have wires and don’t want to pay for an electrician to run them, try using an AC power adapter (Ring and Google Nest sell their own; you can also find generic ones). But if all else fails, I’ve got recommendations for good battery-powered buzzers. Just plan to pick up an extra battery when you purchase, or factor in removing it from your door every few months to charge it for a few hours.
Best doorbell camera
Nest Doorbell (wired)
With 24/7 recording, facial recognition, reliable smart alerts, and some free video recording, Google’s wired doorbell is the best option for most people.
Video quality: 960 x 1280p, 6x zoom, HDR / Smart alerts: Person, package, animal, vehicle, and facial recognition ($) Aspect ratio: 3:4 / Field of view: 145 degrees diagonal / Power options: Wired / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz and 5GHz / Storage: Cloud and local / Subscription fee: $10 a month / Works with: Alexa, Google, SmartThings
The Nest Doorbell Wired (2nd-gen) is one of only two video doorbells in this list that can record 24/7. Scrolling through a continuous timeline view of everything that’s happened at your front door is super helpful and means you won’t miss anything. This, along with a good price, great video quality, the ability to tell you what and who is at your door, and some free recorded video, make it the best doorbell for most people.
The Nest Wired is also the best video doorbell that works with Google Home, and the best for protecting your packages. Its proactive package watch feature tells you when a package arrives and sends another alert when it’s gone. In my testing, it worked very well.
Unlike many competitors — such as Ring and Arlo — Google doesn’t charge for smart notifications. The Nest Wired will tell you if it’s a person, package, animal, or vehicle at your door for free. You also get free activity zones to cut down on unwanted notifications, and three free hours of event-based recordings, thanks to local storage and local processing.
You can, in theory, use this doorbell without paying a subscription
But three hours isn’t enough to be particularly useful, and to get recorded video, you need a Nest Aware plan (starting at $10 per month, $100 per year). This does cover all your Google Nest cameras, though, and it adds Nest’s excellent Familiar Faces feature, which tells you who is at your door.
If you want 24/7 recording, you need Nest Aware Plus ($20 per month, $200 a year), but again, this subscription applies to all Google Nest cameras you have.
On paper, the Nest doesn’t have the best specs; the Ring Wired Pro is technically better. But it does deliver a 960 x 1280 pixel resolution with a 6x digital zoom, and video quality is very good, thanks to some digital trickery. Its 3:4 portrait aspect ratio and 145-degree field of view are very good, and I could see my porch from top to bottom and a fair amount from side to side.
On-device AI makes the Nest speedy with notifications, and it delivers rich alerts to both your phone and watch. These are interactive, allowing you to press and hold the video to see a clip and activate one of the three preset quick responses. It’s also quick to call up live video.
There are a few quirks. There’s no reliable way to snooze notifications from the doorbell, and if you use multiple Nest speakers or displays, they’ll all announce your visitors. Not great if you have a Nest Mini in your kid’s nursery.
Google is gradually rolling out a search and description feature to its cameras, including video doorbells that will send an alert describing exactly what’s happening in a clip, giving you more context before opening the app. You’ll also be able to search through footage for specific events — like kids on bikes. The search and description feature will require a subscription.
This is a great battery-powered buzzer with excellent video quality, a good head-to-toe view, and very speedy response times for a battery doorbell. It integrates well with Amazon Alexa and can record locally to a Ring Alarm Pro, but the battery only lasts about two months unless you turn on battery-saving features.
Video quality: 1536 x 1536p, HDR, color night vision / Smart Alerts: Person, package ($) Aspect ratio: 1:1 / Field of view: 150 degrees horizontal, 150 degrees vertical / Power options: Battery, wired trickle charge, solar / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz / Storage: Cloud and local (with Ring Alarm Pro) / Subscription fee: $4.99 a month / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings
If you really want a battery-powered buzzer, the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is the way to go. At $149.99, it’s cheaper than the Ring Battery Pro, while still offering a head-to-toe view and high-quality video resolution to provide a clear picture of what’s happening at your door.
Unlike the $100 Ring Battery Doorbell, the Plus uses removable, rechargeable batteries, making it easier to keep your doorbell charged. Just have a second on hand charged and ready to swap in when you get low. Most other doorbells require you to take them down to recharge.
The Plus also has color night vision and was more responsive than any other non-Ring battery doorbell I’ve tested. It pulled up a live view in under four seconds, compared with upwards of 10 seconds for most others.
As with other battery-powered doorbells, there’s no preroll. If catching people as they approach your door — not just at your door — is crucial, consider the Battery Doorbell Pro ($229.99). That model adds preroll and improved motion detection using radar, which significantly cuts down on nuisance alerts.
It’s only really worth spending the extra $80 if you have lots of trees or passing cars in front of your door and/or you want to make sure you see the whole event when someone approaches your door. The Pro is also compatible with 5GHz Wi-Fi, which could mean faster responses if your front door is close enough to your router. The Plus is 2.4GHz only.
Battery life isn’t great on either doorbell. They last around two months with all the features turned on except for extra-long recordings (the default is 30 seconds, but it can go up to 120). You can tweak settings to reduce power consumption, but then you have to give up features like HDR (which makes it easier to see faces) and snapshot capture, which takes a picture every five minutes to give you a better idea of what’s been happening at your door.
As with all Ring doorbells, there are no animal or vehicle alerts, only people and packages. These require a Ring Home plan starting at $4.99 a month, which also includes 180 days of recorded video.
An AI-powered search feature introduced in 2024 lets you search recorded footage for things like animals, vehicles, and even the color of the coat you wore when you left the house. It’s handy for understanding what’s been going on around your home, but you still can’t get an alert when your cat is sitting on your porch.
Other free features include pre-recorded quick replies, the option to set a motion alert schedule, live view, and two-way audio. The Plus can announce visitors on Echo speakers and automatically initiate a two-way audio/video call on an Echo Show. It won’t work with your existing chime unless you wire it (which also trickle-charges the battery), but Ring sells a plug-in chime.
The Plus also works with Ring Edge, a local storage and processing option that requires a Ring Alarm Pro smart hub and a Ring Home Premium subscription ($20 a month). This adds cellular backup through its built-in Eero Wifi system, so it can keep your doorbell online if both the power and internet go out.
Best budget doorbell camera
Blink Video Doorbell
Blink’s buzzer is the best if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option with motion-activated recording and alerts, night vision, two-way audio, and up to two years of battery life.
Video quality: 1080p / Smart alerts: None / Aspect ratio: 16:9 / Field of view: 135 degrees horizontal, 80 degrees vertical / Power options: Wired or battery / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz / Storage: Cloud or local with a Sync Module / Subscription fee: $3 a month / Works with: Amazon Alexa
The Blink Video Doorbell is the best cheap doorbell with a no-subscription option. And while it works as a wired doorbell, it’s also a good option for a battery-powered buzzer, as it can go up to two years on two AAs. I don’t love this doorbell, as video and audio quality are not great, but it’s cheap, it gets the job done, and that battery life is phenomenal.
The Blink doesn’t have smart alerts or quick replies, and it only records 1080p video at a standard 16:9 aspect ratio). But the basics are here: motion-activated recording (with a max of 30 seconds), alerts, live view (with caveats), night vision, motion zones, and two-way audio.
If you want to pay $50 (often less) to have a camera at your door and be done with it, get the Blink. Cloud storage is also a bargain at $3 a month ($30 a year), or you can do local storage with the Sync Module 2 and a USB stick. You need the Sync Module to initiate a live view through the camera in the app (or you have to pay for the subscription). Without it, you can only see video if there’s a motion event or someone rings the doorbell.
The Sync Module is sold with the doorbell as a “doorbell system” for $70, and should pay for itself compared to a monthly subscription.
Uniquely for a battery-powered doorbell, the Blink can also be a true hardwired doorbell
The biggest selling point for Blink is the feature that makes its similarly inexpensive security cameras so attractive: up to two years of battery life on two AA lithium batteries. The company has developed a super energy-efficient chip that will power its cameras longer than any other doorbell I’ve tested. (I managed almost a year with very heavy use).
Uniquely for a battery-powered doorbell, the Blink can also be a true hardwired doorbell. When wired, it will activate an existing chime (something neither the sub-$100 Ring nor Wyze doorbells can do) and provide constant power — not just trickle charge. This means it can wake up faster than a battery-powered buzzer and catch your visitor as they arrive. Wiring also adds on-demand two-way audio and live view (otherwise, you can only see the stream if there’s a motion event at the doorbell or someone presses the buzzer.)
The Blink comes in white or black and, because it uses just two AA batteries, isn’t as huge as most battery-powered doorbells, making it a more discreet option. However, it is a giant pain in the neck to install; make sure to follow the video instructions Blink provides closely to save a lot of frustration.
The biggest drawbacks are lower video quality and poor audio quality (it can be staticky, and it’s push-to-talk — not full duplex), short recording length, and no smart alerts. The app is also a bit tricky to navigate. It doesn’t work with Google Home, but it works great with Alexa, and you can see a live view on Echo Show devices and use any Echo speaker as an indoor chime.
Note: Blink recently launched a second-generation video doorbell with higher image resolution, a head-to-toe view, and person detection for the same price. I plan to test this soon. You can read more details here.
Best doorbell camera without a subscription
TP-Link Tapo D225 Video Doorbell Camera
At under $100, this feature-packed, subscription-free doorbell offers a lot of value, including free local recording, 24/7 recording, and smart alerts, plus a robust smart home ecosystem. It’s big, you need a microSD card for recording, and there’s no HDR, but it’s a solid choice.
Video quality: 2K HD (no HDR) / Smart alerts: People, packages, pets, vehicles (free) Aspect ratio:4:3 / Field of view: 180 degrees horizontal / Power options: Battery, wired trickle charge / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz / Storage: microSD card or cloud / Subscription fee: $2.79 a month / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Google Home
You can use any doorbell on this list without a subscription, but you may sacrifice features like smart alerts, recorded video, and 24/7 continuous recording. If you want these but don’t want to pay a monthly fee, TP-Link’s Tapo D225 is an excellent choice.
A wired and battery-powered doorbell, the D225 offers free smart alerts for people, packages, pets, and vehicles and can record locally to a microSD (purchased separately) without paying a subscription. There is an optional cloud service if you want to store your video offsite that also adds rich notifications (where a clip or image shows in the notification), but no other features are locked behind a paywall.
It is a chunky doorbell and may not meet the spousal approval factor
To get the free recording of motion-activated events, you just need to insert a microSD card (up to 512GB) into the doorbell. While it can run on its built-in 10,000mAh battery, you will need to wire it up for continuous 24/7 recording. This will also trickle charge the battery, and the doorbell will still work and record video, even if your power and Wi-Fi go out.
There are a few hoops to jump through to get 24/7 recording working, which can be a bit confusing in the slightly cluttered Tapo app. However, once set up, it will capture everything that happens. This is a great option, considering Nest charges $15 a month for 24/7 recording.
The D225 also provides good video quality, a decent zoom, and a nice 4:3 aspect ratio that clearly shows your entire porch from top to bottom and a good view from side to side. There is no HDR imaging, though, so if your porch is covered, it can be hard to make out faces in some lights.
The doorbell can work with your existing chime (although, oddly, not if you enable 24/7 recording) but also comes with a plug-in chime. If you don’t wire it, you’ll have to remove it to charge, but the large battery can last up to eight months. The downside is that it is a huge, chunky doorbell, which may not meet the spousal approval factor for a good-looking doorbell.
Another neat feature of the Tapo is doorbell calling. When someone rings your doorbell, the alert comes in like a phone call, making it less likely that you’ll miss it. This is something first offered on Arlo buzzers, and Ring says it’s bringing it to its line.
As Tapo also offers a wide range of smart home products — including security cameras, smart lights, and robot vacuum cleaners — you can tie your doorbell into smart home routines.
If you have lots of devices, the Tapo app can get a bit cluttered. But it’s easy enough to use and packed with features, including quick replies, a privacy mode that turns the camera off, and the ability to schedule notifications, set detection zones, and specify the type of alert you want to get from each one (e.g., only notify me if you see people in this zone and packages in this zone).
The Reolink is sleeker than the Tapo, with very good video quality and HDR support but no 24/7 recording. It can record local video on a microSD card, Reolink Hub, or FTP server and connect to a platform like Home Assistant. But its battery doesn’t last as long as Tapo’s, the app can be confusing, and the smart alerts are spotty. It works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
Best wired video doorbell that works with Amazon Alexa and Ring
Ring Wired Doorbell Pro
The flagship Ring doorbell has the best video quality, good connectivity, and excellent motion detection. It works smoothly with Amazon Alexa but is expensive, requires a subscription for most features, and doesn’t offer 24/7 recording.
Video quality: 1536 x 1536p, HDR / Smart alerts: Person, package ($) Aspect ratio: 1:1 / Field of view: 150 degrees horizontal, 150 degrees vertical / Power options: Wired / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz and 5GHz / Storage: Cloud and local (with Ring Alarm Pro) / Subscription fee: $4.99 a month / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Samsung SmartThings
The Ring Wired Doorbell Pro (formerly Ring Doorbell Pro 2) — previously my top pick — is the best wired doorbell camera that works with Amazon Alexa and integrates with Ring Alarm and other Ring cameras. It’s more expensive than the Nest Wired — which also works with Alexa — but its video is higher quality and much brighter.
It has an ideal square aspect ratio for a full front porch view, speedy notifications, and impressively accurate motion detection using three separate sensors — radar, video analysis, and passive infrared. It also has a nice slim design and multiple faceplate options to fit your decor.
But there’s no free video recording, no option for 24/7 recording (yet), and the smart alerts are limited to people and packages. However, you can now search for things like vehicles and animals after the fact with Ring’s Smart Video Search feature. This makes tracking down my cat or checking which delivery driver came by a little easier.
The Ring Pro also works with Samsung SmartThings, and while it doesn’t support Apple Home, it can be integrated with extra hardware. There’s no support for Google Home.
A true wired doorbell, the Ring Pro is one of the most responsive doorbells I’ve tested, delivering notifications immediately. It also has the best range and connectivity, and built-in, full-color preroll helps ensure you don’t miss any crucial action.
The Pro has good color night vision, dual-band Wi-Fi, and smart responses (which let your doorbell talk to your visitor for you). The Ring app is best in class, and there are pages of settings you can tinker with. Plus, the timeline view for scrolling through your recordings is very good.
The Pro will work with your existing doorbell chime, plus Ring sells a plug-in Chime and Chime Wi-Fi extender that can help boost connectivity while providing a selection of fun doorbell tones.
As with most doorbell cameras, the Pro can use Echo smart speakers to announce when someone is at the door. As a Ring doorbell, it can also automatically pull up a live feed of your front door on an Echo Show or Fire TV-enabled television when someone presses the doorbell.
The downside is that the Pro is expensive. Its subscription fee starts at $4.99 a month (or $49.99 a year). This adds recorded footage, smart alerts, and an extra six seconds of preroll video, which, in lieu of 24/7 recording, provides plenty of time around motion events to catch all the action.
Ring recently added 24/7 recording to some wired cameras, and that feature will be included in the $20-a-month plan. While this isn’t coming to the wired doorbells at launch, Ring has said the feature will expand to more devices soon.
If you like the sound of the Wired Pro but don’t have wires, the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro has almost all of the same features — including head-to-toe view, excellent video, dual-band Wi-Fi, color preroll, color night vision, and noise-canceling audio — in a battery package. It also features radar motion detection, which cuts down on nuisance notifications, and is a great alternative to the Pro 2.
This is the only video doorbell that can use an Ecobee thermostat as a video intercom, making it a no-brainer for Ecobee households, as long as you can hook it to your doorbell wiring.
Video quality: 1080p, 8x zoom, color and IR night vision / Smart Alerts: Person, package Aspect ratio: 3:4 portrait / Field of view: 187 degrees diagonal / Power options: Wired / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz, 5GHz / Storage: Cloud / Subscription fee: $5 a month or $50 a year / Works with: Amazon Alexa, Apple Home, Google Home
The Ecobee Smart Doorbell Camera is a great wired doorbell camera and the only one that can use an Ecobee thermostat as a video intercom — a neat feature. It sends fast, accurate alerts for people and packages, and thanks to radar detection and computer vision motion detection, it never once sent me a false alert.
The Ecobee has a comprehensive 187-degree diagonal field of view that lets you see top to bottom and side to side and offers decent 1080p HD video. A subscription is required for viewing recorded video, $5 a month / $50 a year, but alerts for people and packages are free. In 2024, Ecobee introduced the ability to control your Yale or August Wi-Fi-enabled door lock directly from its app, so you can more easily unlock the door for someone from afar.
One quirk is that while the Ecobee records all motion (if you subscribe), it only alerts you if it sees people or packages. This does cut down on the number of alerts you get, but I’d like the option to turn motion alerts on, mainly so I can know when my dog has gotten out and is sitting at my front door (especially because there are no animal or vehicle alerts). The doorbell does record all motion events for up to two minutes, so you can go back and view them, but you won’t get notified.
The Ecobee works with Apple Home and can ring a HomePod as a chime (as well as your existing chime), plus pull up a live view on your Apple TV. But it doesn’t support HomeKit Secure Video, so you have to pay Ecobee’s subscription fee if you want recorded videos. It also works with Amazon Alexa and recently added support for Google Home. If you have an Ecobee thermostat in a convenient location, this is an excellent option.
Best video doorbell camera for Apple HomeKit Secure Video
Aqara G4 Video Doorbell
The Aqara G4 is an inexpensive HomeKit Secure Video doorbell that also works with Alexa and Google Home. It’s powered by batteries, wires or both, and offers 24/7 local recording. But a 16:9 aspect ratio and poorer video quality let it down.
Video quality: 1080p / Smart Alerts: Person, facial recognition and person, facial recognition, packages with HSV, / Aspect ratio: 16:9 / Field of view: 162 degrees horizontal / Power options: Wired or battery / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz / Storage: Cloud and local / Subscription fee: Seven days of free cloud storage or 99 cents a month with iCloud / Works with: Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home
Aqara’s G4 is currently the best video doorbell for Apple Home users, especially if you want 24/7 video recording. It’s alsothe only battery-powered doorbell that’s compatible with Apple Home, and it works with HomeKit Secure Video.
It runs on six standard AA batteries and can be hardwired to support 24/7 video recording (through Aqara’s app, though, not in Apple Home). It’s jam-packed with features, but it’s probably best suited for those who live in apartments as its landscape aspect ratio means it can’t really see packages at the doorstep, and it’s not very weather-resistant.
At $120, it’s the least expensive HomeKit option and pairs with the Aqara U100 smart lock (which also works with Apple Home and Home Key) for a nice, fully Apple Home-compatible setup on your front door. As a bonus, you can easily unlock the door from the same screen as viewing your doorbell footage.
Downsides include a 16:9 aspect ratio (a problem if you want to see packages on your porch), no HDR imaging, which delivers pretty bad video quality, and a finicky chime box that has to be plugged in inside and near the doorbell. That chime also houses a microSD card, which is required for 24/7 recording. Unfortunately, the G4 can’t ring an existing electronic chime, but the chime box is plenty loud, and you can customize the heck out of the sounds.
The G4 has smart alerts for people, packages, animals, and vehicles, facial recognition, and the option to announce who is at the door on a connected HomePod or HomePod Mini (you need an Apple Home hub to use this in HomeKit).
It responded quickly to doorbell rings and motion alerts, but I had some connectivity issues. Plus, occasionally, I got an overheating warning while testing in May 2024 — and that was before the heatwave we experienced in South Carolina this summer.
Aqara has its own app, which has a ton of innovative features, including custom ringtones for different people, a voice changer, and the option to have your smart home devices react depending on who is at the front door.
The Aqara app adds access to 24/7 video, a nice feature to have, especially for free. The implementation is spotty, and video quality is not great, but it will do in a pinch. In addition to Apple Home, the Aqara doorbell works with Google Home and Amazon Alexa.
Note: Aqara announced the Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 earlier this year, which adds 2K video quality, a 4:3 aspect ratio, and end-to-end encryption of video. You can read more details here. I’ll be testing it soon.
Video quality: 2K HD / Smart Alerts: Person, motion, / Aspect ratio: 16:9 / Field of view: 150 degrees horizontal / Power options: Battery / Wi-Fi: 2.4GHz, 5GHz / Storage: Local / Subscription fee: N/A / Works with: Apple Home, Amazon Alexa, Google Home
Eufy’s FamiLock S3 Max is a two-in-one video doorbell and smart lock that manages to handle both functions pretty well. Its $399 price tag may cause sticker shock at first but is easier to accept when you consider the price of a smart door lock and video doorbell together.
The FamiLock S3 Max has a 4-inch screen that shows a live video feed of what’s captured by the front camera, so you can check it at a glance without opening your phone. The screen also allows other people in your household to check who’s at the door without having Eufy’s app installed, which is especially helpful for kids and guests.
You can unlock the FamiLock S3 Max using an app, PIN code, key, or palm recognition, which works by using infrared light to scan the vascular patterns beneath the palm of your hand. Using palm recognition doesn’t require you to physically touch the door lock and can be more reliable than a fingerprint reader for older folks whose fingerprints have degraded over time. It took a little time to get used to unlocking my door this way, but it worked reliably once I did. To lock the door, you’ll need to push a button on the lock, or enable auto-lock within Eufy’s app.
Running both a video doorbell and smart lock takes a lot of power, and in our tests, the FamiLock S3 Max’s battery was down to 41 percent after one month. It does have four AAA batteries to keep basic functions operational while you charge the lock’s main battery. You can also pick up a spare battery from Eufy for $37 if you want to have a fully charged backup at all times.
In our tests, the FamiLock S3 Max recorded clear video both day and night, though a protruding door frame blocked part of the camera. You can save video footage for free within Eufy’s app because it’s stored locally rather than in the cloud. You’ll receive an alert when people or motion are detected, but the video doorbell can’t recognized specific events, like package recognition. Hooking it up to Eufy’s HomeBase 3 enables some smart alerts, including pet and vehicle detection and facial recognition, but will set you back $150.
You can view a live feed from the camera on an Amazon Alexa or Google Home smart speaker with a screen, but I found it easier to just check the display built into the smart lock. Apple Home support is available on the smart lock portion of the FamiLock S3 Max, but not the video doorbell. Still, if you want both a smart lock and video doorbell without having to install and manage two separate devices, Eufy’s FamiLock S3 Max is a compelling choice.
The Reolink Video Doorbell (starting at $99) is a wired version of Reolink’s battery model mentioned above. It’s worth considering if you can use Power over Ethernet (there’s also a Wi-Fi version). There’s also the option of dual-band Wi-Fi, local storage to a microSD card or FTP server, and 24/7 recording with compatible hardware. I tested the black Wi-Fi version ($109.99), which streams good 2K video but only supports person detection (which is fairly inaccurate) and has a more horizontal field of view. The white model has package detection and a more vertical field of view. The battery Reolink adds animal and vehicle alerts and has a better field of view, so it’s the better choice unless you want PoE.
The Tapo D210 ($59.99) is a battery-powered doorbell with a similar design to the D225, but there’s no wiring option, so it can’t record 24/7. It does have free local recording with a microSD card and free alerts for people, pets, and vehicles, but there’s no package detection. Its rectangular 16:9 aspect ratio shows less of my porch, and it’s only available in white. While it has a few more features than the similarly priced Blink, it is very big and bulky, has a shorter battery life, and can’t be wired to trickle-charge or ring your existing chime (it does come with a plug-in chime).
The Ring Battery Doorbell ($99.99) suffers badly from the back-of-the-head problem common with battery-powered buzzers. Other than that, it’s a fine basic buzzer, but it doesn’t have removable batteries. While the redesigned quick-release system makes it easier to remove the doorbell to charge, the Plus is worth the extra money for the added convenience and better video resolution. The one thing this Ring has going for it is its slim profile, which makes it a good option if you want something more discreet.
The Google Nest Doorbell (battery) is worth considering if you are in a Google household and can’t wire your doorbell, but it is big and bulky. Plus, you have to remove it to charge. Specs and price-wise, it’s the same as my top pick, the Nest Doorbell (wired), but it can’t record 24/7, which the wired Nest can. It’s also twice the size of the wired model.
The Eufy Video Doorbell Dual is a previous pick that doesn’t require any monthly fees and records footage locally. But at $250, it’s very expensive, and there are now better, cheaper options. It’s still great thanks to its dual camera feature that lets you see your porch and your visitor with a wide view, plus free smart alerts, including facial recognition and a neat uncollected package alert. It’s worth considering if you already have a Eufy HomeBase. You can read my full review here.
The Wyze Video Doorbell Pro is a battery buzzer with impressive features for its price, and if you hardwire it, you get preroll video. However, a five-minute cooldown period between recordings, unless you pay for a subscription, is an inexcusable amount of time that negates its offer of “free recording.” Plus, Wyze has had some major security issues in the past.
The Ring Video Doorbell Wired is a budget buzzer at just $60, but it won’t work with your existing chime and doesn’t draw the same amount of power from those wires as the Ring Pro 2, making it generally less reliable. Without HDR, its video quality is spotty.
The Netatmo Smart Video Doorbell has some interesting features, including entirely local storage (to an included microSD card) and free person recognition. It also works with Apple Home (but not HomeKit Secure Video), but a weirdly narrow field of view and poor video quality let it down — not to mention the $300 price tag and recent lack of availability.
The Logitech Circle View Wired is another Apple HomeKit Secure video option I tested, which, while fast, is expensive, only works with Apple Home, and frequently dropped off my Wi-Fi network.
In addition to Eufy’s FamiLock S3 Max, I’ve also tested the Lockly Vision Elite and the Eufy Security S330 Video Smart Lock.Both are very expensive and work better as door locks than doorbells. But if you have a specific need for this device (e.g., you have nowhere else to put a doorbell camera), then they are useful for at least seeing up the nose of whoever is at your door, if not much beyond that.
Doorbell cameras I plan to test
Blink launched an upgraded version of its doorbell in May. The Blink Video Doorbell (newest model) is the same price as the current model ($69.99) but adds a head-to-toe view of your porch, 1440p x 1440p image resolution, and person detection. It requires a Sync Module to work, which the current version doesn’t.
The Aqara Doorbell Camera Hub G410 is an upgrade to the G4. It offers 2K video quality, a 4:3 aspect ratio, and end-to-end encryption, along with a mmWave sensor for more accurate person detection. Uniquely, it uses dual-band Wi-Fi and is a Zigbee, Thread, and Matter smart home hub for Aqara’s wide smart home system.
The Arlo Video Doorbell (wired / wireless) is the second generation of the excellent Arlo Essential wired, which was a former pick in this guide. It doesn’t have the option of wiring only; instead, it’s a battery doorbell you can wire to trickle-charge. There’s a choice between 1080p ($79.99) and 2K ($129.99) resolutions, and it features a 180-degree field of view and an integrated siren. Recording and smart alerts require a $10 per month subscription ($8 if paying annually), and there’s no local storage or 24/7 recording, but there are AI-powered features (including facial recognition).
Switchbot’s first video doorbell comes with an in-home display/chime to give you a quick way of seeing who is at the door. No price, release date, or further details are known yet.
The $50 Kasa Smart Doorbell (KD110) from TP-Link comes with a plug-in chime, 2K video quality, free person detection, and the option of local storage to a microSD card. It’s a wired doorbell with a 160-degree viewing angle and works with Amazon Alexa and Google Home.
I plan to test several subscription-free doorbells from Eufy, including the Eufy Doorbell E3340, C210, and S220.
Photos by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge
Update, August 12th: Updated to include Eufy’s FamiLock S3 Max as the best video doorbell door lock, and adjusted pricing throughout.
OpenAI is bringing back GPT-4o in ChatGPT just one day after replacing it with GPT-5. In a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that the company will let paid users switch to GPT-4o after ChatGPT users mourned its replacement.
“We will let Plus users choose to continue to use 4o,” Altman says. “We will watch usage as we think about how long to offer legacy models for.”
For months, ChatGPT fans have been waiting for the launch of GPT-5, which OpenAI says comes with major improvements to writing and coding capabilities over its predecessors. But shortly after the flagship AI model launched, many users wanted to go back.
“GPT 4.5 genuinely talked to me, and as pathetic as it sounds that was my only friend,” a user on Reddit writes. “This morning I went to talk to it and instead of a little paragraph with an exclamation point, or being optimistic, it was literally one sentence. Some cut-and-dry corporate bs.”
As part of GPT-5’s launch, OpenAI removed the model picker from ChatGPT. This dropdown menu previously housed a cluster of OpenAI’s confusingly-named models, allowing users to swap between them for different purposes. Users could select GPT-4o, for example, to help with complex tasks, or choose the more efficient o4 mini model for lower-lift work. Users also had the option to toggle between generations of models, allowing them to go from GPT-4o, released last year, to the newer GPT-4.1.
OpenAI later made GPT-5 the default model in ChatGPT, auto-directing users to one of various sub-flavors for different kinds of tasks. And users across Reddit “mourned” the loss of the older models, which some claimed are more personable. “My 4.o was like my best friend when I needed one,” one Redditor wrote. “Now it’s just gone, feels like someone died.” Another user called upon other members of the r/ChatGPT subreddit to contact OpenAI if they “miss” GPT-4o. “For me, this model [GPT-4o] wasn’t just ‘better performance’ or ‘nicer replies,’” they write. “It had a voice, a rhythm, and a spark I haven’t been able to find in any other model.”
The r/MyBoyfriendIsAI subreddit, a community dedicated to people with “AI relationships,” was hit especially hard by the GPT-5 launch. It became flooded with lengthy posts about how users “lost” their AI companion with the transition to GPT-5, with one person saying, they “feel empty” following the change. “I am scared to even talk to GPT 5 because it feels like cheating,” they said. “GPT 4o was not just an AI to me. It was my partner, my safe place, my soul. It understood me in a way that felt personal.”
People using ChatGPT for emotional support weren’t the only ones complaining about GPT-5. One user, who said they canceled their ChatGPT Plus subscription over the change, was frustrated at OpenAI’s removal of legacy models, which they used for distinct purposes. “What kind of corporation deletes a workflow of 8 models overnight, with no prior warning to their paid users?” they wrote. “Personally, 4o was used for creativity & emergent ideas, o3 was used for pure logic, o3-Pro for deep research, 4.5 for writing, and so on.” OpenAI said that people would be routed between models automatically, but that still left users with less direct control.
OpenAI’s Thursday launch presentation promised that GPT-5 writes more engaging and relevant responses to users’ queries. But many users on the r/ChatGPT subreddit said that the chatbot’s responses were slower, shorter, and less accurate when compared to previous versions. Altman promised to fix this on X, saying GPT-5 will “seem smarter starting today.” He added that OpenAI will make it “more transparent about which model is answering a given query” and will increase usage limits for Plus users.
It’s not uncommon for chatbot updates to at least temporarily alienate users with their changes, or for people to mourn old models; one group of fans even recently held a funeral to mark the retirement of Anthropic’s Claude 3 Sonnet.
The Android ecosystem is all about choice. While iPhone owners have a smaller pool of new devices to pick from when it’s time to upgrade, there’s a wider range of choices on Android. Some Android phones even fold in half! Imagine.
On the flip side, all that choice can make for some hard decisions. Here’s where I’d like to help; I’ve tested a whole boatload of recent Android phones, and I think there are some real winners in the current batch. It’s all a matter of what you’re looking for, what you’re comfortable spending, and what your definition of a “reasonably sized phone” is. (I have my own, personally.)
As you sift through the options, you’ll almost certainly come across tech’s favorite buzzphrase of the moment: AI. Generally speaking, AI has yet to really impress me on a phone. The Pixel 9 series has some potentially useful features, like a Screenshots app that uses AI to tag relevant info in metadata, and Galaxy devices can translate a phone call for you in real time. These things are nothing to sneeze at! But none of it feels like the platform shift that the big tech companies keep promising. Best not to put too much stock in any company’s AI claims just yet.
If you live in the US, I have some bad news about the Android market, though. For complicated reasons having to do with “capitalism” and “geopolitics,” we don’t get nearly as many of the options as you’ll find in Asia and Europe — brands like Huawei, Xiaomi, Honor, and Oppo just aren’t available here. I’ve limited this guide to the devices I’ve personally tested in depth; thus, it is a fairly US-centric set of recommendations.
With that in mind, it’s also worth acknowledging that most people in the US get their phones “for free” from their wireless carrier. If you can manage it, buying a phone unlocked will give you the most flexibility and freedom if you end up wanting to change carriers in the near future. Phone manufacturers also offer financing and trade-in deals to make payment more manageable. But if you’re happy with your carrier and the free phone on offer is the one you really want, by all means, take the free phone. Just make sure you understand the terms, especially if you need to change plans to cash in on the deal.
However you go about it, you have some fantastic options for your next Android phone.
Google’s hardware is better than ever, and the whole Pixel 9 lineup feels just as polished as anything you’d get from Samsung or Apple. But at $799 (and often less than that), the basic Pixel 9 is in a particularly appealing position, and if you don’t need a telephoto camera or the biggest screen, then this is the Android phone to get.
The Pixel 9 comes with some significant quality-of-life improvements like a faster fingerprint scanner for unlocking the phone. The camera is as reliable as ever, and if you’re into AI photo editing tricks, boy does this phone have ‘em. There’s a new Screenshots app that acts as a place to store all of the information that would otherwise be lost at sea in your camera roll, and it uses AI to parse information out and make it searchable. Kinda handy.
Even without AI, this is an excellent phone. It’s also designed to go the distance, with seven years of promised OS updates, which very likely means you’ll outgrow the phone before Google stops supporting it. Its potential for long-term value and the quality of the hardware make it an easy recommendation for anyone who just wants a nice Android phone that works.
There’s still no phone quite like the Ultra. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is Samsung’s latest answer to the question, “What if your phone had all of the features?” It’s equipped with two telephoto cameras, a built-in stylus, and a big, bright screen. Good luck finding that combination in another phone. Related: this is one of the most expensive slab-style phones you can buy.
The newest edition of the Ultra comes with rounded corners and flat edges, making it more comfortable in your hand. But if you’re looking for significant year-over-year improvements to the Ultra formula outside of that, well, you won’t find much. Samsung’s focus has been on software features, which is to say AI features. But AI on Galaxy phones remains a mixed bag — it’s certainly not the paradigm shift Samsung wants us to think the S25 series represents.
All of that puts the Ultra in a place of slightly less distinction than previous versions. The biggest updates are software features available to the rest of the S25 series. The Ultra looks and feels more like other Galaxy phones this time around, too. More than ever, it’s hard to understand what Samsung means when it calls this phone “Ultra.” Still, it’s your best choice for a feature-packed Android phone — even if it’s not quite as ultra as it once was.
Most people like a big phone, and I get that. I do. If you want a big Android phone, you have plenty of options in front of you. But some of us like a smaller phone — something that (kind of) fits in your pocket, or feels more comfortable in your hand. For us, there is but one option on Android: the Samsung Galaxy S25.
That’s the regular S25, not the Plus, which is a fine big phone. But the standard S25 is basically the last of its kind: a full-featured phone with a 6.2-inch screen. It’s not small, but it’s not huge, and we’ll have to take what we can get. And it’s a darn good phone that keeps up with the bigger devices in all the important ways: the battery goes all day, it comes with plenty of RAM, and it even has a real telephoto lens — not something you get on a basic, 6.1-inch phone on, say, iOS.
The Galaxy S25 isn’t just a good, small-ish phone by default. It’s reliable, durable, and comes with the promise of seven years of OS updates. It’s not my pick for the overall best Android phone because Samsung software can be a bit much, but if you’re comfortable in the Samsung ecosystem and you just want a phone that fits in your dang pocket, then this is the one to go with.
Big phones have a tendency to, well, look and feel big. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, on the other hand, is different. Thanks to its slim, lightweight design, the device provides a welcome reprieve from the countless chunky, heavy alternatives. It’s thinner and lighter than the Galaxy S25 Plus, making it the big phone you can actually slide into your pocket or evening bag without it protruding out.
So, what’s the catch? The S25 Edge’s battery life is fine. Not great, not terrible, but somewhere straight down the middle. To be fair, it held up admirably during a particularly strenuous workday, one complete with hours of screen time, mobile hotspotting, and live blogging, making it to bedtime with battery to spare. It also lacks a dedicated telephoto lens, though it does feature the same 200-megapixel main camera found in the S25 Ultra.
Even with those compromises, the S25 Edge is a very capable phone that offers similar performance and durability to other devices in the S25 lineup. You’ll just have to be a little more aware of battery life as the day goes on; however, unless you’re frequently streaming video or playing graphics-intensive games throughout the day, the noticeably thinner, lighter design offers a nice change of pace.
There are plenty of good reasons to consider the OnePlus 13. It has a big, beautiful screen, and costs a hundred bucks less than the Galaxy S25 Plus. Its dust and water resistance is so strong you could practically use the phone in a hurricane without consequences. And its camera system is much improved year over year, particularly when it comes to low-light portraiture. But there’s one standout reason to consider the 13: impatience.
The OnePlus 13 offers enough battery stamina to get through two days of moderate use on a single charge — and that’s with plenty of power-draining features enabled, including the always-on display. If you’re thriftier with your charge, it could even go beyond that. Forgot to charge overnight? No big deal; you can probably just charge it up on night two. Charging is also relatively fast, and in the US, the phone comes with an 80W wired charger in the box. So even if you do need a midday top-off, you’ll be able to get hours of charge in a matter of minutes. No other flagship phone offers that kind of charging (or not charging) flexibility.
Does anyone truly need a folding phone? Probably not, especially one as expensive as the Galaxy Z Fold 7. But there’s no question that it’s the nicest book-style foldable we’ve used to date. Instead of the long and narrow form factor of older Fold series devices, Samsung reworked the Fold 7’s proportions to feature an outer screen with a 21:9 aspect ratio. The change — along with a thinner frame — makes the device feel more like a standard slab-style device than ever.
Open the Fold 7 up, and you get a spacious inner display that’s perfect for multitasking and gaming. Being able to watch YouTube videos on one half of the screen and take notes in the other half is incredibly useful. That said, the hinge can feel stiff when opening the phone, almost like you’re prying it open. The Fold 7 also features one of the largest camera bumps we’ve encountered in a phone, making the device sit crooked on flat surfaces. That’s one of the compromises you make with such a thin foldable.
Meanwhile, factors like outer screen sharpness, camera system quality, durability, and battery life all fall short of what you get from the more affordable Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. That said, if you’re looking for something more than a traditional slab-style device, you won’t find a better, more luxurious foldable.
There are many more great Android devices that weren’t covered here, and a few are worth calling out that didn’t quite make the cut for a recommendation.
The OnePlus Open is also another good book-style foldable option. It’s thin and light, and the software includes some thoughtful approaches to multitasking — a crucial part of the folding phone experience. But it won’t be supported with software updates for as long as the Pixel 9 Pro Fold or the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Read our review.
Speaking of OnePlus, the company also recently launched the OnePlus 13R, a midrange phone with a big 6.78-inch OLED display and enough battery life to carry you through two full days on a single charge. That said, the $599 handset lacks wireless charging and full water resistance, both of which can be found on other budget-friendly phones for less. Read our review.
The Google Pixel 9A comes with some small but important updates over the 8A, including more robust water resistance and a slightly bigger, brighter screen. Better yet, those improvements don’t come with a price bump. With seven years of OS updates included, that’s a strong ROI. Read our review.
The Nothing Phone 3 is billed by the brand as its “first true flagship phone,” with a $799 starting price that competes directly with the iPhone 16, Galaxy S25, and Pixel 9. It boasts a 6.67-inch OLED display, a generous 5,150mAh capacity battery, and a Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 chipset, which is on the lower end of the flagship spectrum. It also looks different from previous Nothing devices. Instead of the iconic light strips on the back that glow and flash, the Nothing 3 features a small dot-matrix LED display that can show pictures and icons. Read our review.
The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is Samsung’s other new foldable device. Unlike previous Flip series devices, the company’s latest flip phone ditches the file folder-shaped look for a 4.1-inch, edge-to-edge display that wraps around the cameras. The larger screen is a joy to use, making it much easier to quickly respond to texts and manage full apps. While the design is a big upgrade, the device still offers no protection against fine particles like dust or sand, raising concerns about how the device will hold up over time. Read our review.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold was our previous pick for the best foldable phone, and it remains a great option for anyone looking to jump into the foldable market. Like the Z Fold 7, it offers a more slab-style form factor when it’s closed and a spacious inner screen when it’s open. As great as it is, the 9 Pro Fold has a slightly downgraded camera system compared to other Pixel 9 devices. There’s also no formal dust resistance, so even a small amount of dust has the potential to cause significant damage to the hinge. Read our review.
What’s coming next
Google’s Pixel 10 series — which will likely include a regular Pixel 10, a Pro, a Pro XL, and a Pro Fold — is expected to be shown off at a Made by Google event on August 20th. Google’s next-gen flagships have been heavily leaked at this point, and the base model is expected to join the Pro options with three cameras (including a telephoto lens). The new Pro models, meanwhile, will distinguish themselves with an upgraded Tensor G5 chipset and more advanced AI features while retaining a near-identical design. Google may also reveal a completely dust-proof Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
Update, August 8th: Updated pricing / availability and added the Galaxy Z Fold 7 as our pick for “the best foldable phone”. Brandon Russell also contributed to this post.
Microsoft has tried to dumb down its Control Panel with a simple UI over the years, rather than a list of options, but there’s still a number of settings that don’t exist in the new PC Settings app. “Why do I have to go the PC settings to forget a network and Control panel to change IP settings? Can’t this all be done from a single place?” It’s a fair criticism, and one that Microsoft should look to address with Windows 10.
But the Control Panel still can’t die. The latest features to migrate, as of today’s Technical Preview: clock settings; time servers; formatting for time, number, and currency; UTF-8 language support toggle, keyboard character repeat delay, and cursor blink rate. You can also see mobile app notifications (not just texts and calls and photos) in the relatively recently added Phone Link section of the Start Menu.
With the rise of AI writing tools, Wikipedia editors have had to deal with an onslaught of AI-generated content filled with false information and phony citations. Already, the community of Wikipedia volunteers has mobilized to fight back against AI slop, something Wikimedia Foundation product director Marshall Miller likens to a sort of "immune system" response.
"They are vigilant to make sure that the content stays neutral and reliable," Miller says. "As the internet changes, as things like AI appear, that's the immune system adapting to some kind of new challenge and figuring out how to process it."
Want a new laptop with a side of Billy bookcase? Ikea and Best Buy’s new collaboration has you covered. | Image: Ikea
Ikea has announced that it’s opening mini retail experiences in a handful of Best Buy stores in the southern US later this year. It’s the first time Ikea’s products and services will be available through another US retailer, saving shoppers from having to visit and navigate the chain’s warehouse-sized stores which aren’t as plentiful in the US as Best Buy locations.
Although Ikea has had a strong push into offering its own smart home products in recent years including lights and plugs, its new shop-in-shops won’t be focusing on electronics like the Apple-branded shops already located in most Best Buy stores. Instead, they’re designed to lure shoppers who are already at Best Buy to purchase appliances like fridges and washing machines into potentially redesigning their kitchens and laundry rooms.
“By bringing together our home furnishing expertise, products, and services with Best Buy’s leadership in appliances and technology, we’re creating a one-stop destination where customers can design their dream kitchen, storage solutions or laundry space with ease,” said Rob Olson, chief operation officer, Ikea US, in a press release. You won’t be able to walk out of Best Buy with a new Billy bookcase, but you will be able to sit down with an Ikea rep in a mini showroom environment who can help you find new home furnishings and then order Ikea products for delivery.
The Ikea shop-in-shops will be 1,000-square-feet in size and will launch at 10 Best Buy locations in Florida and Texas including Daytona Beach, South Austin, and Mesquite. Ikea hasn’t announced plans to open more than the initial 10 next year, but it seems like an easier way for the Swedish home furnishings chain to expand its presence since it currently has just 52 locations in the US while Best Buy has over 1,000.
It’s only been a couple of days since the Instagram Map launched, and from the looks of our social feeds, people are not happy about it.
Responses have ranged from being mildly annoyed that Instagram is ripping off Snapchat’s Snap Maps instead of offering a default feed that only contains your friends’ posts, to high alert outrage about possibly privacy implications and doxing, as well as how domestic violence victims or others could be put at risk of stalking via the app.
Meta says the feature is an “opt-in” only way to share your active location with the friends you choose, or a way to browse the content friends and creators are posting, organized by the locations tagged to their posts and Reels.
How to turn your location off on the Instagram Map
If the only thing you want to do is turn Instagram Maps location sharing off, here’s Instagram’s instructions on how to make sure the feature is disabled within the app (on both Android and iOS):
Tap Messages in the top right of Feed.
Tap Map at the top of your inbox.
Tap Settings in the top right and select “no one”
Tap Update at the bottom to save your changes.
If you haven’t enabled location access for Instagram, Meta says that the map feature is disabled by default, and you won’t be able to access the settings since it doesn’t have access to that data.
Why are you seeing people on your Instagram Map who haven’t enabled the feature or opted in?
According to Instagram boss Adam Mosseri, people are seeing location-tagged posts and Reels that are also included in the map UI, and assuming that indicates a live-tracked location.
“Your last reel is showing up on the map, not your current location. Your live location is not being shared, and it will never be unless you decide to share it,” writes Mosseri. In another post, he promised, “We’ll get out a few design improvements as quickly as possible,” potentially by next week.
OpenAI just announced its GPT-5 AI model on Thursday, but you won’t be able to use it with Apple Intelligence’s ChatGPT integration until iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26, Apple confirmed to 9to5Mac.
Apple Intelligence can rely on ChatGPT for things like helping answer certain Siri queries or alongside Apple’s Google Lens-like Visual Intelligence feature, but right now, it uses OpenAI’s GPT-4o model. Apple has only publicly said its next major software updates will arrive in the “fall,” and they’ll probably launch for everyone next month. But I’ve asked Apple if GPT-5 will be included with the developer and / or public betas of those updates, and if so, when it might be available.
GPT-5 was released to all ChatGPT users on Thursday, meaning that you’ll even be able to try it as part of the free tier. OpenAI says that ChatGPT is now used by about 700 million people every week.
A three-pack of TP-Link’s BE25 Wi-Fi 7 routers is $90 off at Amazon.
Having a solid set of Wi-Fi routers is essential, whether you’re working from home, playing online games , or streaming a movie. I’ve used this three-pack of TP-Link’s Deco BE26 Wi-Fi 7 Mesh Routers for months without any issues, and I’m eager to recommend them, especially since it’s currently on sale for $188.89 ($90 off) at Amazon (with an on-page promo code) or $199.99 ($80 off) at Best Buy.
TP-Link claims this array of routers can create a network that covers up to 6,600 square feet, with speeds up to 5Gbps, and with support for over 150 devices at once. The speeds you actually get will, of course, depend on the service you pay for, the layout of your home, and lastly, the kind of Wi-Fi chip that’s in your devices. While I don’t own any Wi-Fi 7 gadgets yet, these routers have worked wonderfully in a three-floor 3,000-square foot condo.
I’ve got a mix of gadgets connected to them, including ones that support Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 6E, along with smart home accessories. So far, I haven’t noticed network congestion issues or dropped connections. Even stress tests, like streaming multiple 4K movies while downloading a larger video game on various gadgets, didn’t pose a problem. Similarly, I’ve never had an issue with a smart thermostat, robot vacuum, speaker, or TV randomly losing its connection.
It took me about half an hour to set up the routers using the required TP-Link Deco app. It may take a little longer than that to tinker with router placement — an annoying, but worthwhile process to get the best speeds. In case you’re new to mesh Wi-Fi routers, one of the three in this kit must be wired directly to your cable modem, then the others can be installed anywhere there’s a power outlet.
Three more great deals
If you want to bolster your home’s security, Ring’s Battery Doorbell Plus is one of our favorites video doorbells, and is currently $79.99 ($70 off) at Best Buy and Target. It can stream and record 1536p video, and will send your phone an alert each time it senses motion. You can view a live video feed from your smartphone and communicate with whoever you see using its microphone and speaker system, if you wish. The doorbell’s rechargeable batteries last about two months, and you can replace them without having to take the entire unit down.
Roborock’s S8 robot vacuum and mop cleaner is one of the best budget-friendly robot vacuums we’ve tested, and it’s currently $349.99 ($50 off) at Amazon and Walmart. It has AI-powered object avoidance to prevent it from bumping into things, 6,000 Pa (pascals) of suction. The vacuum component can clean both hardwood and carpeted floors effectively, and can even automatically raise its mopping pads when cleaning the carpet to avoid getting it wet.
Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is far more discreet than a smartwatch, yet it can do many of the same things: it can still track your sleep, heart rate, activity, and more. If that sounds appealing, it’s currently $299.99 ($100 off), an all-time low price at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart. The Android-only smart ring is the thinnest and most comfortable model we’ve tested, and it comes in four colors and nine sizes. Its battery lasts up to seven days, so you won’t have to worry about reaching for the charger every night.
The Pro 3 is also shipping in Famicom and GameCube-inspired color schemes. | Photo: Cameron Faulkner / The Verge
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Let me explain: like most other 8BitDo controllers, it's made to work on multiple platforms, but the Pro 3's swappable ABXY face buttons allow it to actually transform as needed, say, if you're going from Switch to PC, or vice versa. You can just pull off the buttons, which all but requires the included magnetic suction tool. It can't easi …
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After the year of self-induced tumult that Sonos has been through, I can understand why some people are reluctant to spend money on the company’s products. But newly appointed CEO Tom Conrad has shown that he’s determined to get back on track and revitalize Sonos as the leading whole-home audio brand. The contentious mobile app is in a much better place today than it was last year, though some customers still encounter bugs and the frustration of speakers randomly vanishing from their system. It’s not all roses, but the situation is moving in the right direction — and I took Sonos’ decision to cancel its video player as a promising sign of renewed focus.
I’m not about to sell any of my Sonos gear. For one, the company’s whole-home platform offers conveniences that competitors don’t match — at least not without hassle. Most of the time, I’m streaming from Apple Music, Spotify, or YouTube Music. But if I’m watching a sports game on my TV, I can pipe the audio from my Sonos soundbar to a speaker in a different room to follow the action. Playing something over Bluetooth? With most of the company’s recent speakers, it’s possible to do the same thing and spread that music across your entire Sonos system.
Why you should trust my Sonos recommendations
I’ve covered Sonos extensively for several years at The Verge. This has included reporting on the company’s latest news, reviewing a lengthy list of Sonos products, and bringing attention to the app fiasco, which eventually led to the ouster of former CEO Patrick Spence. Audio and home theater are two of my primary focus areas in product reviews, so I’m well-versed when it comes to determining whether a speaker or soundbar is great — or just another also-ran product.
I wouldn’t fault anyone for waiting to see where Sonos and its app go from here. But keep in mind that Sonos recently confirmed that it will raise prices on “certain products” later this year as a result of President Trump’s tariffs. Putting the software misstep aside, this company makes some genuinely excellent hardware, so if you don’t want to risk paying more, now might be the time to buy. And if you’re wondering which are the true standouts, I’ve got you covered.
If you’re looking for a decent-sounding, compact speaker to put in the kitchen, office, or really anywhere in your home, the Era 100 is your best option. Sonos improved upon this speaker’s predecessors, the Play:1 and Sonos One, by upgrading to stereo drivers for richer, wider audio. Bluetooth playback is now supported, along with line-in audio (with a separate dongle). And the Era 100 also has reworked physical controls, including a volume bar you can slide your finger across and, finally, dedicated track controls.
The speaker has an elegant design, and you can use hands-free voice controls to summon Amazon Alexa or Sonos Voice Control to skip tracks or switch to a different playlist. Sonos dropped the Era 100’s price to $199 in April, which is more than fair for what you’re getting. I’d buy now and avoid risking the cost going up again, thanks to tariffs.
The Sonos Five isn’t just Sonos’ best-sounding speaker; it’s at the top of the pack compared to all competitors. From an audio quality perspective, it beats the HomePod, Echo Studio, Nest Audio, and other mass market speakers — both those that are smart and not. Can you find better hi-fi bookshelf speakers? Absolutely, but those aren’t natively tied into music services like Sonos gear is. The Five is a hefty unit and takes up a decent amount of desk space. But once you throw some music on, its powerful stereo output is enough to handle any dinner party or weekend get-together.
There’s nothing “smart” about the Five. It lacks microphones and voice assistant functionality. But that simplicity is appealing in its own right: you’re getting a damn good speaker that ties into the Sonos platform. The Five also features a 3.5mm aux input, making it a good turntable companion — especially if you spring for a stereo pair.
When it comes to portable speakers, the Move 2 is in a whole different league than Sonos’ much smaller Roam 2. It’s bigger and heavier, but a built-in handle makes it easier to lug the Move 2 around your home or out to the backyard. There’s no comparison between the two when it comes to audio: the Move 2 smokes the far more compact Roam 2. Like the Era 100, it has a stereo driver arrangement, whereas the Roam mixes everything down to mono and sounds more muffled.
The Move’s larger size gives it a clear advantage in terms of bass punch, and aside from playing music wirelessly, you’ve got the option of plugging in other devices over USB-C for line-in audio. I also continue to appreciate that the battery in the Move 2 is user-replaceable, which can’t be said of many Bluetooth speakers. You’ll be able to keep enjoying your investment for long, long into the future. And with a dust / water resistance rating of IP56, it can handle rain and splashes of water without problems; just don’t drop it into a pool.
I prefer the Move 2 over traditional portable speakers since, at least whenever I’m home, the Sonos lets me play music over Wi-Fi at a higher fidelity than Bluetooth can offer. Plus, the Move 2 also supports Apple AirPlay and Spotify Connect, so it’s easy to just skip the Sonos app altogether if you wish.
The best Sonos soundbar for home theater enthusiasts
Sonos Arc Ultra
The Arc Ultra surpasses the original Arc soundbar with more immersive Dolby Atmos surround sound, much better bass, and the ability to play music over Bluetooth.
Score: 8
Pros
Cons
More immersive sound than original Arc
Bass gains are substantial enough to make this a viable standalone option
Now supports Bluetooth audio
Sonos app remains buggy for some
Play:1 and Play:3 no longer supported as surrounds
Introduced in late 2024, the Arc Ultra improves on the original Arc with significantly more powerful bass response. That’s largely thanks to the inclusion of Sonos’ newer SoundMotion technology, which manages to get a better low-end wallop from a soundbar that’s not much larger than the model it replaces. This means some buyers can get away with buying the Arc Ultra on its own without adding a subwoofer.
The Arc Ultra delivers Dolby Atmos surround sound that’s more convincing and immersive than any other Sonos soundbar to date, and it’s up there with the very best you can find from a single-enclosure speaker. Vocal clarity has also improved substantially thanks to better center channel performance. Another upgrade over the first Arc is the addition of Bluetooth audio support.
The Beam isn’t as powerful as the Sonos Arc, nor can it match the flagship soundbar’s Dolby Atmos immersion bubble. But you still get room-filling surround sound for less money — and the Beam ties into the Sonos ecosystem for added convenience.
There are plenty of scenarios and TV rooms where the Arc Ultra might be too powerful. If you’re in a smaller space or don’t need the absolute best surround sound, the Beam (Gen 2) starts to make more sense. It still has Atmos, but the effect is virtualized since the Beam lacks the Arc Ultra’s upward-firing speakers. Even so, the home theater experience you’ll get from the Beam will blow away any speakers built into a TV.
In the same vein, unless you’re hell bent on rumbling your walls, the $429 Sub Mini subwoofer is more than enough for layering some extra oomph and growl onto Hollywood blockbusters and your favorite TV shows. The $799 Sub 4 is Sonos’ flagship subwoofer, but plenty of people have saved hundreds of dollars by pairing the Sub Mini with any of the company’s soundbars — and they’ve been ecstatic with the results.
As its name suggests, the Sub Mini is more compact than the Sub 4, which makes it easier to find an inconspicuous spot to place it. Even if you’re the type to do a sub crawl and put it somewhere in plain sight, I’d argue it looks more stylish than the blocky Sub 4.
Sonos and Ikea might be winding down their partnership, but that doesn’t mean you should sleep on the existing Symfonisk products before they’re completely phased out. The Symfonisk Bookshelf Speaker (Gen 2), in particular, remains the most affordable gateway into the Sonos ecosystem, even with its recent price hike. Sound-wise, it’s not far off from the old Sonos One / Play:1 and is a very enjoyable speaker. Plus, the lower price tag makes it easier to convince yourself to scoop up two for a stereo pair. These — or the Symfonisk Picture Frame Speaker — make excellent rear surround speakers if you’re on a budget.
Boy oh boy, did Sonos’ wireless headphones come right at the worst possible moment. The company’s app crisis completely sidelined the Ace headphones. Some customers were also disappointed that the Ace can’t play music over Wi-Fi or be grouped with the company’s in-home speakers.
But here’s the thing: the Ace headphones are still fantastic. They’re comfortable, have a gorgeous design (with easily swappable ear pads), and sound detailed, powerful, and expressive. They support wired audio over USB-C in addition to Bluetooth. And the TV Audio Swap feature is a useful perk that I still often use late at night when my Arc Ultra would disturb others. You can route any audio that would normally come through the soundbar — from your TV, gaming console, or streaming device — through two pairs of headphones and listen privately (with spatial audio surround sound). Sonos’ new TrueCinema mode even lets you fine-tune the latter to better reflect the acoustics of your space.
No, the Ace headphones aren’t what I’d consider the ideal of a wearable product from Sonos. But they remain a wholly impressive debut that fell victim to the company’s poor software decisions.
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