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
As far as I'm concerned, 8BitDo's Pro 3 is the ultimate controller. You may already know that it makes a model literally called the Ultimate controller, but it plays second fiddle to the new Pro 3 in some key ways. It's highly customizable, allowing you to change the face buttons, joystick caps, and more.
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 …
Zach Cregger's first major film Barbarian was tense and frightening, but it was also infused with a healthy dose of absurdity. The movie's twisted sense of humor made it easier to stomach its grotesque violence and a bit more difficult to anticipate how its unhinged story would unfold. But Barbarian also worked surprisingly well as a commentary on who really benefits from the redevelopment of decaying cities.
Barbarian's unpredictable tonal shifts and impressive production value made it feel like Cregger had captured lightning in a bottle - the kind that is often difficult to replicate. But with his new thriller, Weapons, Cregger proves tha …
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.
OpenAI officially launched its new GPT-5 models today, and Microsoft is now bringing GPT-5 to Copilot, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Azure AI Foundry, GitHub Copilot, and more. It’s part of a big simultaneous release of GPT-5 that will show up in Copilot as the new smart mode that I detailed in Notepadlast month.
The new smart mode in Copilot allows the AI assistant to switch models for you to use deeper reasoning or quickly respond based on the task. Much like how OpenAI is making GPT-5 available to free users of ChatGPT, Copilot will also have free access to GPT-5.
Microsoft 365 Copilot users will also get access to GPT-5 today. “With GPT-5, Microsoft 365 Copilot is better at reasoning through complex questions, staying on track in longer conversations and understanding the user’s context,” explains Microsoft in a blog post. Copilot Studio will also get access to GPT-5 as part of today’s releases.
GitHub is also bringing GPT-5 to all paid GitHub Copilot plans today, allowing developers to try out the code writing improvements to OpenAI’s latest model. OpenAI’s new GPT-5 model comes in four different versions, and has big improvements in reasoning and code quality. GPT-5 is designed for logic and multi-step tasks, while GPT-5-chat is tuned for enterprise applications with multimodal context-aware conversations.
Finally, Microsoft is also making GPT-5 available through Azure AI Foundry, so developers can utilize it in AI-powered apps. Developers will be able to use the model router in Azure AI Foundry “to ensure the right model is used” for the task or query.
Elon Musk has long bragged that the Tesla Cybertruck is a uniquely impervious vehicle thanks to its stainless steel body and "bulletproof" windows, calling it "an armored personnel carrier from the future." Now that claim will be put to the test by none other than the US Air Force, which aims to use the Cybertruck for some target practice.
In documents uncovered by a publication called The War Zone (great name, btw), the Air Force says it wants to buy two Cybertrucks for "target vehicle training flight test events." The reason given is that America's adversaries could seek to use the Cybertruck for military purposes at some point in the fut …
OpenAI is releasing GPT-5, its new flagship model, to all of its ChatGPT users and developers.
CEO Sam Altman says GPT-5 is a dramatic leap from OpenAI's previous models. He compares it to "something that I just don't wanna ever have to go back from," like the first iPhone with a Retina display.
OpenAI says that GPT-5 is smarter, faster, and less likely to give inaccurate responses. "GPT-3 sort of felt like talking to a high school student," Altman said during a recent press briefing I attended. "You could ask it a question. Maybe you'd get a right answer, maybe you'd get something crazy. GPT-4 felt like you're talking to a college stude …
Lawmakers have introduced a new bill aimed at countering “foreign piracy sites,” as reported earlier by TorrentFreak. The bill, called the Block Bad Electronic Art and Recording Distributors (Block BEARD) Act, would allow copyright holders to ask a federal court to block piracy websites.
The bipartisan legislation, led by Sens. Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Adam Schiff (D-CA), marks yet another effort to block digital piracy in the US. Earlier this year, Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) introduced the Foreign Anti-Digital Piracy Act (FADPA) in January, which would similarly compel ISPs to block foreign piracy websites.
Under the Block BEARD Act, a copyright holder who finds infringing materials on a foreign website can ask a court to designate the online location a “foreign piracy site.” The court will then consider whether the copyright holder is harmed by the infringing material, as well as whether the site is “primarily designed” for infringing the material in question.
If a court gives the website a “foreign piracy site” designation, copyright holders can petition the court to issue an order forcing ISPs to prevent users in the US from accessing it. It would also give site owners the opportunity to contest the order and “piracy site” designation.
Over a decade ago, efforts to block piracy sites in the US were met with internet-wide blackouts that occurred in protest of proposed laws. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said earlier this year that site-blocking laws are “dangerous, unnecessary, and ineffective,” as restricting access to one site can potentially harm thousands of others using the same cloud infrastructure host or IP address. The EFF also points out that site-blocking is “trivially easy to evade,” as “determined evaders can create the same content on a new domain within hours,” while users can use a virtual private network (VPN) to regain access.
Despite this, Schiff says the Block BEARD Act will “protect creators and consumers alike from foreign criminal enterprises seeking to steal our intellectual property and exploit Americans.”
Earlier this year, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella moved with haste to get engineers to test and deploy DeepSeek's R1 model on Azure AI Foundry. It was an unusually quick turnaround for a new model on Azure that also set a new bar for success.
A few months later, Nadella then pushed to onboard xAI's Grok 3 models, in a deal that saw them arrive on Azure AI Foundry just in time for the first day of Microsoft's Build developer conference in May. Elon Musk even appeared during Nadella's Build keynote, in a somewhat jovial conversation about his early days as a Microsoft intern - despite Musk making Microsoft a defendant in his lawsuit against Open …
Last year, Google surprised online video publishers with some stunning news: the company, which now generates over a quarter trillion dollars with advertising every year, effectively admitted that it isn't very good at selling ads for its own smart TV platform, Google TV.
The issue at heart: Google has long required publishers to share a percentage of their ad inventory to be on Google TV. It's a common industry practice. Companies like Roku or Vizio routinely sell a subset of the ad spots you see when you watch videos from third-party publishers on their smart TVs, and they pocket the money as compensation for operating their smart TV plat …
Peloton exceeded investor expectations this quarter, but CEO Peter Stern says expenses are still too high.
Peloton has pivoted many times over the past few years in its quest to return to profitability. The latest, as announced in its Q4 2025 earnings call, is leaning into health and wellness instead of “just” cardio fitness.
“With each passing year, we are coming to understand better the importance of strength, stress management, sleep, and nutrition to living our best lives,” CEO Peter Stern said during the call. “This creates the opportunity, no more than that, the mandate, for Peloton to evolve from being a cardio fitness partner to becoming the world’s most trusted wellness partner across the full array of behaviors that maximize health demand.”
He went on the explain that the company will focus on “health span”, or the period of life a person lives in good health. “Advances in medical science contributed to the prolonging of life here in the US by a remarkable 40 years from 1900 to 2020,” Stern says. “However, as life span has increased, health span, the quality as opposed to quantity, of those years has failed to keep up. People are living longer but they’re also living sicker in the U.S.”
Health span isn’t a new concept. Whoop also just released a Health Span feature with its latest tracker earlier this summer. Peloton’s take on improving wellness will reportedly involve investing more in its personalized training programs, the standalone Strength Plus app, as well as meditation and sleep features. Stern also said that Peloton would test and iterate on bringing nutritional content to its platform. In a shareholder letter, Stern highlighted using AI and integrating with health tracking devices as a means to provide “increasingly personal insights, plans, and recommendations” to its members.
On the business side, Peloton exceeded investor expectations in all metrics. It posted $607 million in revenue, roughly $21 million above the top end of its expected guidance range. Connected paid fitness subscriptions and paid app subscriptions also exceeded targets, posting 2.8 million and 552,000, respectively. Peloton shares rose roughly 11 percent on the news, but Stern noted that the company’s operating expenses were still too high.
As a result, Stern says the company will undergo another cost restructuring plan that includes laying off about six percent of its workforce. “This is not a decision we came to lightly, as it impacts many talented team members, but we believe it is necessary for the long-term health of our business,” Stern writes in the shareholder letter. This marks the company’s sixth round of layoffs, coming a little over a year after the company laid off 15 percent of its workforce and former CEO Barry McCarthy stepped down.
Peloton also plans to adjust pricing. That includes a new assembly fee for its hardware, which was previously free with purchase. (There will still be a free option for self-assembly.) The company also plans to introduce a new Special Pricing program to make its products more affordable for teachers, military personnel, first responders, and medical professionals.
Framework has built a name for itself by taking the locked down world of laptops and making them modular, upgradable, and repairable. So it's surprising - and maybe even controversial - the way that Framework has approached its first desktop: it's made a PC that's actually less modular than most.
Don't worry; this isn't a Mac Mini situation, where mere mortals are not meant to touch the innards of such a brilliant little computer. But it's not a traditional small form factor PC, either.
The Framework Desktop is impressively small for what it offers. It's around the size of a couple hardcover novels standing on your desk. Its black-and-silv …
Conrad didn’t go into detail on the price changes and said that Sonos is working with its partners to share the extra costs, as nearly all of its products for the US are made in Vietnam and Malaysia, which are both facing higher tariff rates soon.
Conrad:
With respect to our operations, like many companies, the most significant near-term challenge has been the uncertain tariff environment. As a reminder short of a few accessories, and our passive speaker partnership with Sonance (I think this is what he said?) we do all of our us-bound manufacturing in Vietnam and Malaysia.
We talked last quarter about the contingency planning we underwent to minimize the effects of terrorists on our business, while also doing what we can to limit the downstream impact to our customers. Last week’s news, the tariff rates we were subject to going forward, appeared to be 20 percent for Vietnam and 19 percent for Malaysia.
We continue to work closely with our contract manufacturers and our Channel Partners to share tariff costs, though it has become clear that we’ll need to raise prices on certain products later this year. As these pricing changes land, we’ll monitor consumer behavior closely as well as competitive Trends across our categories and will make adjustments in collaboration with our Channel Partners, when and if necessary, to ensure we’re exploring every opportunity to optimize our respective top and bottom lines.
In response to one of the analyst’s questions, Conrad said, “I think the best way to think about what we’re trying to do here strategically is to craft a pricing plan that supports our goal of optimizing growth profit dollars.” As a result, the executive said that the price changes could vary across different products, depending on the market and with an eye towards what competitors are doing. He pointed to some software updates Sonos has released lately, like multiuser TV audio swap and TrueCinema audio adjustments for its Ace headphones, and a recent AI speech enhancement for the Arc Ultra.
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