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Gaming Gear

Rumors, prices, new features and what else you need to know

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In less than 48 hours, Apple will finally begin its big September “Awe dropping” iPhone event, and we’ll get our official look at the long-anticipated iPhone 17 lineup. The hardware announcement will take place on September 9 at 1PM ET, and the Engadget team will be liveblogging it from Cupertino in real-time. (You can watch the iPhone 17 event on YouTube, too.) The newest phones will come equipped with the latest iOS 26 features preinstalled, along with any new features Apple reveals that day. So what can we expect to see? While Apple keeps all the details under lock and key, we actually have a very strong idea as to what we’ll be seeing, thanks to leaks from Asian supply chains, case manufacturers and some credible media reports. Oh, and there are plenty of more fanciful rumors, too. Here’s our best bet as to what will be coming out of Cupertino next in just a few days.

What are the latest iPhone 17 rumors?

Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman is the industry’s best-known Apple whisperer, and his event preview offers a tidy overview of what to expect on Tuesday. That includes four new iPhone 17 models, with an all-new superthin model, dubbed the iPhone Air, leading the pack. We’ll also likely see the baseline iPhone 17, as well as the usual Pro and big-screen Pro Max models, which will offer the line’s best cameras and extras.

Additionally, expect up to three new Apple Watch models, with the satellite-connected Apple Watch Ultra 3 and a possible new entry-level Apple Watch SE flanking the Apple Watch Series 11. Rounding out the new products should be the AirPods Pro 3 earbuds, which are said to add heart-rate monitoring and a live translation feature.

While all of those reports largely jibe with earlier rumors, Gurman’s report includes screen sizes and handset sizes down to the millimeter. In fact, he had previously outlined most of the same expectations in a recent appearance on the Engadget Podcast.

But he’s not the only one with exact measurements: Plenty of case makers, including Dbrand, have unveiled their cases for the complete iPhone 17 line, further solidifying expectations on dimensions and screen sizes for the new models. That said, we’re still treating everything as unconfirmed until Apple’s official announcements hit on Tuesday.

While we don’t expect any big leaps forward on the Apple Intelligence front at Tuesday’s event, Gurman’s subsequent report notes that Apple is continuing to experiment with AI models from Google, Anthropic and OpenAI, and may license technology from one or more of them ahead of a major Siri upgrade that could arrive as soon as March 2026.

How much will the iPhone 17 cost?

Apple’s announced plan to expand US-based manufacturing partners seems to give it at least some shielding from the steepest Trump administration tariffs that have already triggered price increases on everything from PlayStations to Switch consoles to high-end cameras to Sonos speakers. But given that President Trump’s trade policies can change from week to week, and Apple’s continuing reliance on Asia-based supply chains, price shocks remain an ongoing possibility. The bigger question is: Will Apple absorb any higher costs, or pass them on to consumers?

If prices do creep up, Apple may choose to pair it with an “upgrade.” Consider this recent rumor posted by MacRumors from a leaker known as “Instant Digital,” suggesting that the default storage of the iPhone 17 line may start at 256GB, doubling the current 128GB baseline. While that could be accompanied by a price increase of $50, Apple could at least pitch it as a “better value.” That said, the company doubled the default RAM of its Mac computers from 8GB to 16GB at no extra cost in 2024 — but that was before the current Trump tariff cycle started.

Now, on the eve of the iPhone announcement, a report from JPMorgan mixes and matches the rumors above. As recounted in 9to5Mac, the iPhone line’s starting prices will still stretch from $799 to $1,199 — just as they do now — with the Air possibly getting a $50 increase versus the iPhone Plus model it’s replacing, and the 17 Pro costing an additional $100, but including more storage.

Again, these prices are only projections and haven’t been confirmed by Apple.

When will the iPhone 17 series be announced?

As noted above, the date has been confirmed for Tuesday, September 9. That lines up with Apple’s traditional schedule, and the earlier report from iphone-ticker.de (via MacRumors).

This generation of Apple smartphones may be the last to be fully released in September, however. There have been hints that the introduction of the iPhone 18 collection in 2026 will be split into a pro-tier announcement in the fall and a standard model announcement the following spring.

What will the new iPhone 17 lineup include?

Design leaks suggest that Apple is building an ultra-thin smartphone, likely to be named the iPhone 17 Air to match Apple’s ultralight laptop designation. Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman reported in January (and reaffirmed in his September event preview) that the iPhone 17 Air will be equipped with a basic A19 chip and will only have a single camera lens. It will also supposedly use Apple’s new in-house modem, which was introduced in February on the iPhone 16e.

As a guest on the latest Engadget Podcast, Gurman told Engadget’s Devindra Hardawar and Igor Bonifacic the rumored iPhone Air will be rough around the edges at first. He believes the 17 Air will “lag in both” when it comes to camera and battery performance. “The battery life is going to be subpar compared to a base-level 17 or Pro model,” he says. The ultimate goal, he notes, is to get all the functionality of the Pro models into the Air models.

An investor note from Apple analyst Jeff Pu indicated that the Air will have a titanium frame. If his reports are accurate, the lightweight smartphone will be the only entry in the iPhone 17 lineup to use that metal; the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max are expected to be made of aluminum, which is lighter. Other speculation had suggested that the Air would use a blend of aluminum and titanium, so the exact materials may not be known until the official announcement.

Additionally, an August 4 MacRumors report said the internal battery pack of the iPhone Air is just 2.49mm thick — half the thickness of the iPhone 17 Pro battery. The leak was posted on the Korean-language Naver blog, where they show the alleged batteries of the iPhone 17 Air and 17 Pro side by side. The same account claimed the 17 Air’s battery capacity was a mere 2,800 mAh, MacRumors noted. (That’s below the battery capacity of current iPhone 16 models.)

At the very least, it sounds like the iPhone 17 Air won’t take away the charging port and rely only on wireless connectivity. Bloomberg said that while Apple had investigated making the iPhone 17 Air without a single port, the company (fortunately) changed plans. He also says that the rumored phone will have a 6.6-inch screen and include the Dynamic Island and Camera Control button.

On a similar topic, an iPhone 17 Pro production leak appears to have revealed an all-aluminum chassis, according to MacRumors. Originally posted by leaker Majin Bu, the image shows a shell that has a large round hole on the back (where the Apple logo typically is) to allow for MagSafe charging. MacRumors says this could just be a molding but notes that the aluminum frame (versus the current titanium in Pro iPhone models) would yield a significantly lower weight.

That same leaker (Majin Bu), whom MacRumors classifies as a “hit-or-miss leaker,” suggests the iPhone 17 Pro will have better wireless signal strength thanks to an updated antenna design. The individual posted a render on X that shows a new antenna system that wraps around the iPhone 17 Pro’s supposedly wider rear camera bump. Again, this is a render, not a real-world photo. That said, we can’t knock the goal of better wireless reception, so we’re hoping this one has a degree of truth to it.

Leaker Majin Bu also claims “TechWoven” cases could be introduced, per a MacRumors report. The cases match the rumored design on the iPhone 17 models, with the wide camera bump. The leaker noted there are two lanyard holes for “convenient and secure carrying,” so it could be worn around your neck. The colors would come in grey/black, blue, green, purple and orange. Additionally, he said there will be new Liquid Silicone cases in eight colors, including Deep Orange, Pale Orange, Grass Green, Celadon, Fog Purple, Grey Blue, Dark Blue and Midnight Black. He also recently showed a clear iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max case with the large rear camera bump cutout. The case isn’t fully transparent and instead has a white rectangular piece that covers the MagSafe area.

The new Pro iPhones are said to have a full-width “camera island” on the rear, which would mark the first time an Apple model opted for that design. This feature can be seen in the purported iPhone 17 “spotted in the wild.” The pics, highlighted on MacRumors, show a black cased iPhone (17 Pro?) with the distinct back panel. Is it the real deal? The dual angles lend a degree of credibility in a social media landscape increasingly polluted with AI-enhanced fakes, but your guess is as good as ours.

Additionally, the iPhone 17 Pro‌ models could have the brightest display yet, according to leaker “Instant Digital,” MacRumors reports. The goal is to make it “more suitable for use in direct sunlight for prolonged periods.” The article points out that existing 16 Pro models can double their maximum brightness while in direct sunlight, making it easier to see what’s on the screen.

We’ve also gotten what seems to be a reliable look at what the color lineup will be for the new smartphones. Macworld reported that the iPhone 17 will be available in black, white, steel gray, green, purple and light blue. The iPhone 17 Air will reportedly have four color options: black, white, light blue and light gold. While the Air colors will be less saturated, the visuals for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max will go bold. The options for the Pro models are expected to be black, white, gray, dark blue and orange.

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman believes there actually will be a new orange color offered for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, as well as a light blue color for the iPhone 17 Air, he confirmed in his August 24 Power On newsletter.

On July 30, Tom’s Guide highlighted an X post from Sonny Dickson — a longtime and generally reliable leaker of unreleased iPhone information — showing “dummy” iPhone 17 models in the new colors that were the source of the aforementioned Macworld story. While these are literally just mock-ups — not real, leaked iPhones — it’s interesting to see how the design and color rumors translate into a real-world look and feel.

To add the the rumors, a Weibo leaker known as Digital Chat Station suggests the iPhone 17e will come equipped with a new design that includes the Dynamic Island, MacRumors reports. According to the post, the new phone will have the A19 chip and could have a 6.1-inch OLED display with a front-facing 12-megapixel camera and a rear-facing 48-megapixel camera. However, it’s important to note this report refers to the 17e model that would be expected to launch no earlier than February 2026, if it followed the same release pattern as the iPhone 16e.

What will iOS 26 be like?

Apple upended its numbering conventions with WWDC 2025, and will match the name of each new operating system to the year it’s released. So when the next wave of iPhones hits, they’ll be running on iOS 26.

On the design side, the smartphone OS introduced during the big developer showcase took a contentious approach dubbed Liquid Glass. Apple has been scaling down the amount of transparency effects in the subsequent beta tests of iOS 26, but it will still have a glass-like visual.

The feature list includes big and small updates. On the more impactful side, the Phone and Photos apps have been redesigned. There will be several features leveraging artificial intelligence, such as live translation capabilities coming to Phone, FaceTime and Messages. Apple is also currently testing a sensitive content warning for child accounts that will freeze FaceTime video if nudity is detected by on-device machine learning tools. And the company is also launching Visual Intelligence, which will use AI to search for elements in an image.

iOS 26 also has a litany of minor, quality of life improvements. Group texts are getting support for polls. And for the slow risers out there, iOS 26 will finally let you escape the tyranny of the nine minute snooze alarm.

The next iOS is now available as a public beta. Here are our initial impressions of the Liquid Glass design and other new features. iOS 26 is compatible with all models back through iPhone 11.

What other products are expected to be released alongside the iPhone 17?

If Apple follows its usual pattern, the iPhone 17 will be announced alongside new Apple Watch products. That would be the Apple Watch Series 11 (if Apple sticks to the same naming scheme), and maybe an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and/or an updated Apple Watch SE. (They’ll all run watchOS 26, of course.) As noted above, a new version of the Apple AirPods Pro (which received its last big update in 2022) is expected, and there’s a possibility we’ll see new AirTags trackers (first released in 2021), though those could be announced later.

The Apple rumor mill got a big shot in the arm in mid-August thanks to the reported inclusion of product ID numbers in recent beta software builds. Per MacRumors, it’s a laundry list of new hardware, including long-rumored product updates like the Apple TV, HomePod mini, new Apple Studio Display monitor and two fresh iPads.

Of course, even if that list is totally accurate, we may not see those products until 2026 — if ever. So don’t expect all of products to share the stage with the iPhone 17, especially since Apple likes to keep its star performer at the center of attention.

That said, keep in mind that Apple has recently been having Mac-centric announcements in late October (as it did last year to debut new M4 Macs), so there’s always the chance of another shoe dropping a few weeks down the road.

Update, September 7, 2025, 12:32PM ET: Added Mark Gurman’s latest reporting on Apple’s possible AI partnerships.

Update, September 6, 2025, 8:45AM ET: Added Mark Gurman’s latest full predictions on what’s expected at the Tuesday Apple event.

Update, September 4, 2025, 3:23PM ET: Added new rumors about the iPhone 17 Air battery/eSIM, and camera details for the latest lineup.

Update, September 3, 2025, 3:24PM ET: Added new rumor about the increased brightness of the iPhone 17 pro models.

Update, September 2, 2025, 3:56PM ET: Added new details about the potential iPhone 17 lineup prices, and a new Clear Case rumor.

Update, August 30, 2025, 8:45AM ET: Added commentary from Mark Gurman’s guest appearance on the Engadget Podcast about the rumored iPhone 17 Air.

Update, August 27, 2025, 5:44PM ET: Added official Apple iPhone 17 event date, and a rumor about its event logo.

Update, August 25, 2025, 5:15PM ET: Added new reports about the iPhone 17 Pro’s orange color as well as new rumored Liquid Silicone cases.

Update, August 22, 2025, 11:52AM ET: Added new details about the colors of the rumored TechWoven case.

Update, August 20, 2025, 7:12PM ET: Added new rumor about potential TechWoven case for iPhone 17 series.

Update, August 18, 2025, 6:23PM ET: Added new rumor about the iPhone 17e potentially having the Dynamic Island.

Update, August 15, 2025, 2:05PM ET: Added new rumor about the all-aluminum chassis on the iPhone 17.

Update, August 13, 2025, 10:02PM ET: Added a list of the products that are expected to be released alongside the iPhone 17s.

Update, August 11, 2025, 7:27PM ET: Added a render of a rumored new antenna design for the iPhone 17 Pro.

Update, August 8, 2025, 4:43PM ET: Added new speculation and reports about iPhone 17 pricing.

Update, August 6, 2025, 4:05PM ET: Added latest details about the potential iPhone 17 event date.

Update, August 4, 2025, 5:23PM ET: Added latest battery leaks about the iPhone 17 models.

Update, August 1, 2025, 8:15AM ET: Added new photos showing potential iPhone 17 colors.

Update, July 30, 2025, 11:08AM ET: Added latest leaks and rumors about the iPhone 17, and updated information on the iOS 26 public beta.

Update, July 17, 2025, 4:40PM ET: Added latest information about iOS 26, possible materials for the Air, and the color options for the different models.

Update, March 17, 2025, 2PM ET: Added details about the rumored price and features of the iPhone 17 Air.

Update, April 11, 2025, 3:45PM ET: Added details from Front Page Tech’s new video that claims to reveal details from a leaked iOS 19 build.



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GM slows EV production as tax credit nears expiration
Gaming Gear

GM slows EV production as tax credit nears expiration

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General Motors is going to be scaling back production of the Cadillac Lyriq and Vistiq, as well as the Chevy Bolt EV as it expects sales of electric vehicles to slow dramatically. The $7,500 consumer tax credit for purchasing a new EV is set to expire at the end of the month. That credit has been crucial to driving demand for EVs, which are still more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts.

The company is pausing production on the Lyriq and Vistiq at its Spring Hill, Tennessee plant in December. It’s also planning to halt manufacturing for a week in November and October, as well as slow production during the first five months of 2026 by temporarily laying off one of its shifts of workers. Similarly, it’s indefinitely delaying the start of a second shift at a plant near Kansas City, which is supposed to begin producing the Chevy Bolt EV later this year.

While EV sales have struggled to meet expectations, they have improved over time. GM even announced that August was its best month on record for EV sales. But in the same press release it was quick to note that it was unsure what the future would hold. “We will almost certainly see a smaller EV market for a while, and we won’t overproduce,” the company’s Senior Vice President and President, North America, Duncan Aldred, wrote.

Back in May, transportation editor Andrew J. Hawkins said, “the US was already woefully behind China and other developed nations in terms of clean energy investments. And now it’s likely to fall even further behind, perhaps permanently so.” When the largest American automaker is aggressively slashing EV production, even as sales surge, it’s hard to see how the US can catch up.



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Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE in light blue with S Pen on purple background with TechRadar lowest price sign
Gaming Gear

The budget-friendly Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE hits a record-low price on Amazon

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Some deals are still lingering after the Labor Day weekend and one’s caught my eye if you’re shopping for a budget Android tablet. Right now, you can get the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE at Amazon for $429.99 (was $499.99).

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE is the base model of Samsung’s budget tablet series, a cheaper alternative to the more powerful and much more expensive Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra. This is the 10.9-inch screen model with 128GB of storage, which should be enough for casual users.

It’s a reliable tablet for work and school with its lengthy battery life, included S Pen stylus for note-taking, and DeX mode for managing tabs like a desktop. It doesn’t have the horsepower of a full-fledged Galaxy Tab S10 Ultra, but it’s more than enough for a mid-range productivity machine.

Today’s best budget Samsung Galaxy Tab deal

We didn’t review the Galaxy Tab S10 FE, but we did review its larger sibling, the Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus. In our Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus review, we praised the bright display, which held up even in direct sunlight, and the tablet’s unusually sturdy exterior with an IP68 dust and water resistance rating. Even though it didn’t stand out compared to its competitors, it still offered plenty of strengths that are worth this discounted price.

If you need something more heavy-duty, I’d recommend looking at the more premium options in our best tablets or best Android tablets. On the opposite end of the spectrum, you can check out our best cheap tablets for tablets less than $350.

Today’s best Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE deals



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The envoy from Avowed takes a dreamlike rest amongst a glimmering city.
Gaming Gear

You’ve all been playing too much Silksong this weekend, have some sleepy videogame soundtracks so you can finally get a little shuteye

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I’ll tell you something, I’ve been tired this week. Summer is winding down in the northern hemisphere, the days are getting shorter, and I feel like my body is already preparing to go deep into a winter hibernation. Hot chocolates, caning an entire sleeve of biscuits and then feeling mildly gross afterwards, scorching my skin under an electric blanket. All that good stuff.

Soundtrack Sunday

Welcome to Soundtrack Sunday, where a member of the PC Gamer team takes a look at a soundtrack from one of their favourite games—or a broader look at videogame music as a whole—offering a little backstory and recommendations for tracks you should be adding to your playlist.

As the temperature starts to shift, I find the music I listen to does with it. I crave mellow beats and twinkly chimes as it gets colder—like a MIDI fluffy blanket. Videogame music is literally perfect for this. If there’s a mood I’m in, there is almost definitely a videogame soundtrack out there that fits my desired vibe perfectly: cleaning, working out, writing, and of course, falling asleep.

I think part of that is just down to how we engage with music in videogames compared to any other medium. A film score might only need to orchestrate a short battle, or a fleeting moment, and an artist’s album is often more a reflection of themselves than of a world built around their music.


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But videogame music can end up playing for hours on end, as big a storytelling device as the narrative or the characters, leading to this delicate balance of the genre where its looping melodies can’t be too invasive but neither can they be too forgettable. It’s that balance that makes it so perfect—the music finds the perfect nook in the back of my brain to snuggle up in.

Nostalgia almost certainly plays a part in crafting cosy videogame playlists, too. While I’ll happily listen to chilled-out tunes from games I’ve never touched, I always get the biggest fuzzies from the ones I have a huge emotional attachment to.

I would argue that Nintendo easily has the cosy videogame music market cornered—Animal Crossing hourly music is a mainstay in my relaxing playlists, and The Legend of Zelda has some some straight bangers—but that doesn’t mean PC gaming is bereft of snug tunes that wouldn’t sound amiss amongst a crackling fireplace.

If you’re also feeling the changing seasons waning on you, maybe drop a few of these tracks before bed or while curling up with a good book. Assemble a videogame playlist so snug as a bug in a rug that you accidentally hole up in a Stardew Valley-induced winter coma for the next three months.

C418 – Sweden

Minecraft Volume Alpha – 18 – Sweden – YouTube

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For a game that can give vibes so deeply unsettling—I once got into a proper tizzy as a child when I became lost in a giant cave while zombies groaned and spiders screeched—Minecraft somehow manages to envelop all of that in one of the most beautifully comforting soundtracks.

While the survival crafting game continues to put out very good music, Volume Alpha, the original soundtrack composed by Daniel ‘C418’ Rosenfeld, is where some of its best tracks lie. His approach to creating a simplistic, ambient soundscape is where so much of Minecraft’s charm lies, but those songs still hold much of the same power outside those blocky walls.

There are so many good tracks to choose from here, but nothing gives me the fuzzies more than Sweden. There’s a reason it’s the most popular one—the gentle piano that gradually increases in velocity as strings enter into the party.

It’s incredibly simple—as much of the early Minecraft music is—but it’s what makes Sweden work so dang well. The same melody looping, occasionally with different instruments, giving a sense of familiarity that lends itself so well to being cosy as hell. A crazy good gem of videogame music.

ConcernedApe – Dance of the Moonlight Jellies

Dance of the Moonlight Jellies – YouTube

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Bar Minecraft, Stardew Valley may well be the de facto cosy PC game. For the current vibes, nothing felt more fitting than chucking Dance of the Moonlight Jellies on this list. It’s a song that plays during the festival of the same name in late summer—hey, that’s where we’re at right now—in an incredibly serene moment of jellyfish lighting up the nighttime sea.

It’s got all that twinkly goodness I was yapping about earlier, and is a song I could easily listen to on loop over and over again. The fact that Eric Barone was able to compose such a cracking soundtrack while also, you know, making the entire game, is a ridiculous feat and I will forever be envious of that man’s talent.

FoldEcho — Stellar Fishing Ground

Stellar Fishing Ground – YouTube

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Infinity Nikki has a song for just about every damn thing in that game, but the one that always has me sticking around to listen is the song that plays at the Stellar Fishing Ground. It genuinely bums me out that it’s barely a minute long on Spotify, because it perfectly captures that simplistic ambience I love so much about other entries on this list.

The melody is minimalistic, almost reminiscent of late-night Animal Crossing hourly music, and I’ve fallen asleep to a looping playlist of just this song more times than I can count. Maybe it’s the Nintendo-ness of it that makes me feel weirdly nostalgic for it, despite not even being a year old.

Masayoshi Soken – Serenity

Speaking of nostalgia, this is a song I have heaps of it for. I’ll always have a soft spot for early Final Fantasy 14 tracks as someone who’s been playing for over 10 years now, and I’m especially biased towards the music of Gridania. It’s where I started as a hopeless catgirl archer all the way back in 2014, and while most of my days are spent in Limsa now (as is the way), I’ll forever love the Shroud for all its foresty warmth.

That’s exactly why I had to pick Serenity—though Endwalker’s One Small Step is an incredibly close second choice. It’s the field theme for the lands beyond the city of Gridania, and always throws me back to memories of spamming levequests and tackling FATEs I most certainly was not equipped to handle. It’s got all the things I love in a relaxation/sleep playlist—piano, soft strings, delicate melodies. It’s almost Tolkeinesque in its sound, something I wouldn’t feel amiss hearing in a Lord of the Rings film.

The “Piano Collections” version of Serenity is equally excellent, with resident pianist Keiko somehow making the entire track even more tranquil than its original.

Toby Fox – Shop

I played Undertale many moons ago and honestly cannot remember much about it (I know, I’m sorry) but the OST has always stuck with me. This is another case of one person being able to do it all, with creator Toby Fox also penning the soundtrack.

I’d argue that Megalovania isn’t exactly prime dreamland material, but Shop certainly is. It toes the line of being just mildly unsettling in the way almost all of Undertale is, but strangely homely at the same time.

It’s another track on the shorter side, but still packs a real peaceful punch. It’s a little less ambient than some of the other tracks on this list, but that’s kinda what I dig about it, with a wonderful blend of retro chiptune style and piano taking turns throughout the 50-second track.



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Creality Hi Combo
Gaming Gear

Creality Hi Combo Review: Catching up with Color

by admin



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Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Creality finally put the Ender 3 name to rest with the launch of a new, multicolor bedslinger it’s calling the Hi. It has a 260 x 260 x 300 mm print volume, which is slightly bigger than an Ender and more in line with Bambu Lab’s roomy 256mm³. The machine is reminiscent of Creality’s Ender 3 V3 KE, but with the style of the Ender 3 V3. If you found that confusing, then be thankful that we’ve moved on to this new naming convention.

The Creality Hi Combo is the color machine I was expecting from Creality a long time ago, but we got the K2 Plus multicolor 3D printer first. I’m not sure why it took so long to get around to updating their bread and butter: the affordable bed slinger. The Creality Hi Combo retails at $599, which is a bargain compared to the K2 Plus, but still about $50 more expensive than its direct competition, the Bambu Lab A1.

The Hi has all the things I love about the Ender 3’s final form: it’s a well-built, quality machine, with Klipper-inspired firmware and a native slicer that performs well. Creality has not made the Hi Open Source yet, but the company has a track record of eventually releasing the source code on their machines. This may not mean much to the average user, but it’s everything to the hardcore Creality fans.

My one fault with this machine is its inexplicable inability to print TPU, even when I bypassed the CFS unit. There also wasn’t a profile in Creality’s slicer, which makes me think the engineering team also couldn’t make it work.

Honestly, I’m a little confused as to why this printer exists, and why Creality didn’t leave bedslingers in the history books and move forward with an affordable, “regular-sized” color K2. Though the K2 and K2 Pro haven’t been released yet, I did see prototypes at Rapid TCT in April. There was no price listed, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

  • Creality Hi Combo at Amazon for $499

Specifications: Creality Hi Combo

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Build Volume

260 x 260 x 300 mm (10.23 x 10.23 x 11.81 in)

Material

PLA/PETG (up to 300 degrees)

Extruder Type

Direct Drive

Nozzle

.4 high flow hardened steel “unicorn”

Build Platform

Two-sided epoxy resin flexible build plate

Bed Leveling

Automatic + Z

Filament Runout Sensor

Yes

Connectivity

USB, LAN, Cloud, App

Interface

Color Touch Screen

Machine Footprint

409 × 392 × 477 mm (16.1 x 15.43 x 18.77 in)

Machine Weight

11.58 KG (25.52 lbs)

Today’s best Creality Hi Combo deals

Creality Hi Combo: Included in the Box

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Creality Hi combo comes nicely packaged in two boxes. The first contains the gantry, base, a single spool holder and filament guide, assembly screws, PTFE tubing, z-axis motor covers, a standard power cord, and a paper copy of the manual. The included toolkit has hex keys, side cutters, a nozzle cleaner, a socket head wrench, and grease.

The second box containing the CFS comes with the cables needed to connect to the printer, the filament buffer, and double-sided tape needed to attach the buffer to the frame. Also included is a mostly useless paper manual directing you to Creality.com for any questions.

Creality also sent black, red, white, and blue Hyper PLA filament to load up the CFS, which I used in the review.

Design of the Creality Hi Combo

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Creality Hi is, in a word, beautiful. The matte silver base is cast in one piece, and the gantry encases the Z screws. Once the gantry is attached and the assembly screws are covered, there is very little exposed wiring and very few exposed screws to spoil the overall aesthetic. The CFS feels solid and has PTFE extensions that make it easy to load filament from any angle.

The machine has dual stepper motors on the Z axis, with the X and Y axis run by step-servo motors. This interesting because servo motors provide feedback on their actual position. Stepper motors are designed to move a set amount on command and if something interferes with that the actual position can change, leading to layer shifts in your print.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Creality’s Hi Combo has the same high-flow nozzle as the K2 Plus. It has an extremely long melt zone, with a titanium alloy heat break and a hardened steel insert at the tip. The nozzle screws into the heater block and can easily be removed without taking apart the entire hotend.

(Image credit: Creality)

The extruder also appears similar to the K2 Plus, but unlike the older machine, it can not print TPU even when you bypass the CFS. The Hi’s clogged immediately when fed several different brands of TPU, and required disassembling the rather complex extruder to clear out the mess.

Like the Ender 3 V3, bed leveling is fully automatic, with no manual adjustments.

There is an RFID detector plainly marked on the side for when you use the machine as a single-color unit. It only works with Creality filament with an RFID tag: simply place the spool’s Creality sticker against the reader, and it will tell the printer what type and color filament you are giving it. Then load the filament as normal on the stand-alone spool holder. If you are using the Hi Combo, a second reader is in the CFS and will pick up the filament’s tags on its own.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The tool head has two 5015 parts cooling fans, with one on either side of the nozzle. These are extremely effective and only audible when running in ultrafast mode

The Creality Hi is reasonably quiet in standard mode, with the fan noise increasing in ultra-fast mode. Though the fans are pretty quiet, the metal wiper makes quite the racket when it purges waste. It’s loud enough that I can hear it in the next room, and depending on how often your printer switches colors, it can be a constant annoyance.

Assembling the Creality Hi Combo

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Assembling the Creality Hi is pretty simple, with only six screws needed to complete assembly. One more is required if you want to mount the single spool holder, which I did not. The legs of the one-piece gantry fit into holes in the base. Other than needing to keep the motor and sensor wiring clear of the mounting brackets, this is an extremely simple build.

Plastic covers hide the exposed wiring and screws, and the CFS hub is taped to the right gantry leg. The printed manual didn’t show how to do this, which wasn’t very helpful. I recommend going to Creality’s website and looking for their unboxing and setup videos, which are much better.

All the cables and tubes between the printer and the CFS run behind, which lets you keep the mess in the back.

Leveling the Creality Hi Combo

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Hi Combo levels and calibrates itself the first time you turn the machine on. It can also recheck the level before each print to ensure accuracy. Like other modern printers, the Hi has stopped using manual adjustment knobs. I didn’t have any issue with getting it leveled, and the auto Z height worked very well.

Loading Filament on the Creality Hi Combo

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The CFS makes loading filament a snap, just drop in the spool and feed the plastic into the tube. The machine does all the rest. If you’re using Creality filament, it will detect the RFID tag and automatically send the type of filament and color back to your computer and Creality Slicer. If you use a 3rd party filament, you will need to select the type and color of the filament at the printer screen.

Preparing Files / Software for Creality Hi Combo

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Hi comes with a copy of Creality Print, a slicer built on the foundation of Orca Slicer and Cura. It does not have a profile for regular OrcaSlicer or PrusaSlicer, though the community may add on later.

I did all of my test prints in Creality Print and continue to use it for any of the Creality machines in my workshop. It allows you to easily send files remotely using either Creality Cloud or your home LAN. If you don’t want to use the Cloud, you don’t have to. Files can be transferred via LAN or by USB stick.

Printing on the Creality Hi Combo

The Creality Hi printed great right out of the box, but it only comes with a small sample of PLA unless you specifically order a four pack with your CFS. You’ll definitely want to check out our list of the best filaments for 3D printing to load it up.

As stated earlier, this machine was completely unable to use TPU without jamming the extruder, so there are no test prints. I was able to do well with PLA and PETG, and ran off an assortment of prints.

The Creality Hi Combo is a bit wasteful when it comes to multicolor prints, but this is a problem with many multicolor units that send all its colors through one nozzle. The problem is that once filament is melted in the hotend it can only be pushed out, resulting in printer “poop”. Creality slicer does a decent job of letting you tune the filament waste, but you’ll often end up wasting as much filament as you printed if you do not take precautions, like using purge objects or printing several objects at once.

I ran a “normal” Benchy with standard speed boat settings (2 walls, 3 top and bottom layers, 10% infill, a .25 layer height and .5 layer width). This gave me a very nice Benchy in 32 minutes and 33 seconds. The layers are smooth along the hull, with just a tiny bit of slop at the top of the overhangs, but there’s no ringing or layer shifts. This was printed in ordinary gray PolyLite PLA.

3D Benchy (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

I ran several models to test the printer’s color ability, like this two color fidget “hexcell” fidget, which requires good bed adhesion. It printed clean and crisp, with all the pieces freely moving. The only flaw here was using Creality’s Hyper PLA, which is very translucent, which lets the white appear pink here. This took 9h 20 minutes to print using a .2 layer height and default settings. The print speed was slowed to 140mm/s.

This print used 78.99 grams of filament and only wasted .64 gram because there was only one color swap.

Image 1 of 2

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Creality Hi Combo did PETG just as easily. This fairy door printed very clean with no bleeding between colors. Since it’s printed from PETG, I can safely hide it outside in the garden. I used a standard .2 mm layer height and default settings, and placed the door on its back to speed things up, only taking 2 hours and 48 minutes. This was printed using Prusament Jungle Green, Prusa Orange and Signal White with a bit of Printerior Deep Blue Recycled.

This print used 32.32 grams of filament and wasted 23.25 grams in poop.

Fairy Door by Jukka Seppanen. (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Bottom Line

Creality’s Hi Combo shows that the company is moving beyond the Ender 3 line. Its 3D printers are no longer a cheap-looking science project to be hidden in the garage. However, the machine retails about $50 more than the competition without offering a noticeable advantage. If you can catch it on sale, then it might be worth it. Still, this makes me feel the Hi is primarily a machine for those who are comfortable in the Creality ecosystem and want to stay there.

It is extremely well-built and looks very nice. It takes up more room than a Core XY machine would, since there’s no stacking the AMS system. The inability to print TPU is puzzling, though perhaps the engineering team didn’t think it was a problem since most users of this machine would be using the CFS to hold filament.

If you’re looking for a more affordable 3D printer that can produce color prints, check out the Bambu Lab A1 Combo on sale for $499. If you need a printer that can handle high-temperature filament like ASA and nylon, then the Creality K1C for $459 is a great alternative and just as fast. I’m still waiting for the “normal” sized K2, but until then, I highly recommend the $1,299 K2 Plus if you’re a fan of Creality and want a full color, fully enclosed experience.

Creality Hi Combo: Price Comparison



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Tech Tanks in Latest Jobs Report As Most States Struggle to Keep Them

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Last week’s disappointing jobs report showed U.S. job growth stalled significantly in August, with just 22,000 new jobs added, and an unemployment rate that has risen to 4.3%.

It was the worst August report since the pandemic and the market treated it accordingly, welcoming it for the potential rate cuts it may herald but wary of the slower growth it may portend.

“The labor market is showing signs of cracking,” Heather Long, Navy Federal Credit Union senior economist, wrote in a note to investors on Thursday. “It’s not a red siren alarm yet, but the signs keep growing that businesses are starting to cut workers.”

Tech was not spared

Recent employment data confirms an increasingly uneven landscape within the technology sector, reflecting a shift away from the rapid job growth that characterized the early post-pandemic years.

According to a recent analysis by research think tank CompTIA, the sector has experienced a net decline of approximately 2,700 jobs over the past year, a 0.1% decrease.

This contrasts sharply with the period from late 2020 through 2022, when tech companies collectively added over 628,400 jobs across 29 months.

However, the last two years have seen almost 100,000 of those positions cut, indicating a recalibration amid the broader economic and geopolitical shifts.

“Unevenness in the data means acknowledging the employers and job seekers struggling with a multitude of challenges but also recognizing it is not all doom and gloom,” Tim Herbert, chief research officer, CompTIA, said. “Hiring intent data continues to show employers pursuing tech talent across a range of disciplines, from AI and data science to tech support and cloud engineering.”

The hottest spot for hiring was unsurprisingly in the AI skills job listings, which leapt 94% year-over-year according to CompTIA’s AI Hiring Intent Index.

For job postings themselves, 16% were for workers with eight or more years of experience; 21% for workers in the zero to three year range; and almost a third were for workers with four to seven years of experience.

Tech is booming in some surprising areas

Who is hiring and where is also an interesting standout.

Large tech companies showed signs of large hiring sprees: Software publishers like Microsoft and Oracle have collectively added 16,100 jobs in the past year, signaling ongoing strength in areas linked to cloud computing and enterprise software.

But other marquee-name companies like computer-systems designers such as IBM and Booz Allen Hamilton have shed 28,800 roles, reflecting a tilt toward automation and project-specific staffing.

“Only three states, Maine, Delaware and Idaho, saw tech job postings increase in August. In each instance, the increase was less than 100 new postings,” the report found.

“The story was similar at the metro level, with just four markets recording growth. San Jose saw an increase of 127 job postings, from 5,808 in July to 5,935 in August. Little Rock had the biggest percentage increase (+ 10%) in job postings, from 987 in July to 1,090 in August.”

Nancy Tengler, CEO of Laffer Tengler Investments, attributes this trend to increased corporate investment in technology infrastructure and automation rather than direct employment.

“Companies are investing in technology instead of human capital,” she notes in the report.

While some segments remain resilient, the disparate nature of job growth is clear.

The CompTIA analysis underscores the broader narrative of an industry undergoing structural transformation, shifting gears from hiring sprees to strategic investments in technology.

As firms prioritize capital over traditional labor, questions about the future of tech employment and how the workforce can adapt to these changes remain central for policymakers and industry leaders alike. For more details, consult the full report at Morningstar here.



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How to Watch the 2025 MTV VMAs Live Without Cable

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The MTV Video Music Awards are back, giving fans a chance to vote for their favorite nominees across 19 categories, including best collaboration, best new artist, best choreography and the coveted video of the year. In recent years, the addition of social-driven categories has opened the door for viral artists and internet favorites to take home a trophy, making the competition broader than ever.

This year’s ceremony will be hosted by L.L. Cool J and feature a star-studded lineup of presenters and performers. Names on the roster include Brittany Snow, Ciara, Busta Rhymes, Sabrina Carpenter, Ricky Martin and KPop Demon Hunters stars Audrey Nuna, EJAE and Rei Ami. Fans of the group will also be excited to know their hit single Golden is nominated for Song of the Summer.

The biggest award of the night, Artist of the Year, includes some of music’s most powerful names: Beyoncé, Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. Video of the Year features seven nominees, with heavy hitters like Lamar, Ariana Grande, Bruno Mars and Billie Eilish all in the running. Meanwhile, Mariah Carey will take the stage as this year’s Video Vanguard Award honoree, performing a career-spanning set of hits. Carey also has new music on the way — her upcoming album drops later this month, and her single Type Dangerous is nominated for best R&B.

Fans could make their voices heard by casting votes at vote.mtv.com, but votes are now closed. Artists like Alex Warren, Doechii, Leon Thomas, Blake Shelton, Brent Faiyaz and KATSEYE are also up for honors across several different categories.

Here’s everything you need to know to stream the 2025 MTV VMAs live if you don’t have cable or a satellite provider.

How to watch the 2025 MTV VMAs

You can stream the awards broadcast on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on Paramount Plus Premium and CBS. Right now, the streaming service is offering a deal that cuts the annual price in half.

Cord-cutters who prefer a live TV streaming experience can watch CBS or the MTV channel’s simulcast on platforms such as YouTube TV, DirecTV (check out the $30 entertainment package), Hulu with Live TV or Fubo (its new $56-per-month plan carries CBS). 

James Martin/CNET

The VMAs will be available to stream on Paramount Plus Premium only, and not the Paramount Plus Essential plan. Premium costs $13 per month, or $120 a year (without any discounts applied). Each subscription plan comes with a seven-day free trial. 



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The New Math of Quantum Cryptography
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The New Math of Quantum Cryptography

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The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine.

Hard problems are usually not a welcome sight. But cryptographers love them. That’s because certain hard math problems underpin the security of modern encryption. Any clever trick for solving them will doom most forms of cryptography.

Several years ago, researchers found a radically new approach to encryption that lacks this potential weak spot. The approach exploits the peculiar features of quantum physics. But unlike earlier quantum encryption schemes, which only work for a few special tasks, the new approach can accomplish a much wider range of tasks. And it could work even if all the problems at the heart of ordinary “classical” cryptography turn out to be easily solvable.

But this striking discovery relied on unrealistic assumptions. The result was “more of a proof of concept,” said Fermi Ma, a cryptography researcher at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing in Berkeley, California. “It is not a statement about the real world.”

Now, a new paper by two cryptographers has laid out a path to quantum cryptography without those outlandish assumptions. “This paper is saying that if certain other conjectures are true, then quantum cryptography must exist,” Ma said.

Castle in the Sky

You can think of modern cryptography as a tower with three essential parts. The first part is the bedrock deep beneath the tower, which is made of hard mathematical problems. The tower itself is the second part—there you can find specific cryptographic protocols that let you send private messages, sign digital documents, cast secret ballots, and more.

In between, securing those day-to-day applications to mathematical bedrock, is a foundation made of building blocks called one-way functions. They’re responsible for the asymmetry inherent in any encryption scheme. “It’s one-way because you can encrypt messages, but you can’t decrypt them,” said Mark Zhandry, a cryptographer at NTT Research.

In the 1980s, researchers proved that cryptography built atop one-way functions would ensure security for many different tasks. But decades later, they still aren’t certain that the bedrock is strong enough to support it. The trouble is that the bedrock is made of special hard problems—technically known as NP problems—whose defining feature is that it’s easy to check whether any candidate solution is correct. (For example, breaking a number into its prime factors is an NP problem: hard to do for large numbers, but easy to check.)

Many of these problems seem intrinsically difficult, but computer scientists haven’t been able to prove it. If someone discovers an ingenious algorithm for rapidly solving the hardest NP problems, the bedrock will crumble, and the whole tower will collapse.

Unfortunately, you can’t simply move your tower elsewhere. The tower’s foundation—one-way functions—can only sit on a bedrock of NP problems.

To build a tower on harder problems, cryptographers would need a new foundation that isn’t made of one-way functions. That seemed impossible until just a few years ago, when researchers realized that quantum physics could help.



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Apple faces lawsuit over alleged use of pirated books for AI training

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Two authors have filed a lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of infringing on their copyright by using their books to train its artificial intelligence model without their consent. The plaintiffs, Grady Hendrix and Jennifer Roberson, claimed that Apple used a dataset of pirated copyrighted books that include their works for AI training. They said in their complaint that Applebot, the company’s scraper, can “reach ‘shadow libraries'” made up of unlicensed copyrighted books, including (on information) their own. The lawsuit is currently seeking class action status, due to the sheer number of books and authors found in shadow libraries.

The main plaintiffs for the lawsuit are Grady Hendrix and Jennifer Roberson, both of whom have multiple books under their names. They said that Apple, one of the biggest companies in the world, did not attempt to pay them for “their contributions to [the] potentially lucrative venture.” Apple has “copied the copyrighted works” of the plaintiffs “to train AI models whose outputs compete with and dilute the market for those very works — works without which Apple Intelligence would have far less commercial value,” they wrote in their filing. “This conduct has deprived Plaintiffs and the Class of control over their work, undermined the economic value of their labor, and positioned Apple to achieve massive commercial success through unlawful means.”

This is but one of the many lawsuits filed against companies developing generative AI technologies. OpenAI is facing a few, including lawsuits from The New York Times and the oldest nonprofit newsroom in the US. Notably, Anthropic, the AI company behind the Claude chatbot, recently agreed to pay $1.5 billion to settle a class action piracy complaint also brought by authors. Similar to this case, the writers also accused the company of taking pirated books from online libraries to train its AI technology. The 500,000 authors involved in the case will reportedly get $3,000 per work.



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Best laptop deals for September 2025: Apple, Asus, and more
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Best laptop deals for September 2025: Apple, Asus, and more

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If you want a great laptop, you’re going to have to fork over a ton of money, right? Not necessarily. There are dozens of good laptops on the market at various price points. However, it can feel overwhelming to find the right one for your needs (some are better suited for, say, college students, whereas others are ideal for gamers).

That’s why we’ve come up with this list of some of the best laptop deals available right now. In addition to the latest discounts, we’ll share each discounted model’s best features (and downsides) to give you more clarity during your shopping journey. And if you need to do more research, you can also check out our guides to the best laptops on the market and the top gaming laptops.

$599

The 2020 MacBook Air has been discontinued but remains a great value. It comes outfitted with the company’s original M1 chip in one of three different colors (silver, space gray, and gold).

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Apple itself no longer sells the 13-inch MacBook Air with M1 — and hasn’t for years — but you can still get this solid laptop for $599.99 ($50 off) at Walmart. The 2020 model is available in one configuration, with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, but it’s still capable at handling basic tasks like a champ, including streaming video, browsing, and dealing with documents. You can also use the M1 MacBook Air for creative work in Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, Logic, and Pixelmator, though you may experience slowdown due to its low 8GB of memory.

The laptop’s battery lasted between eight and ten hours when we originally reviewed it, and those figures should be mostly accurate, barring some differences likely caused by operating system updates. In addition to offering great performance for its price, the laptop also comes with other nice-to-have features, including a comfortable keyboard and an excellent trackpad. Just note its 720p webcam isn’t particularly good, so if a high-resolution webcam matters a lot to you, you may want to buy one separately. Also, be aware that, due to the limitations of the M1 chip, you can only use one external display at a time and port selection is also more limited than newer models.

$699

The 2022 MacBook Air is a thin, lightweight device powered by Apple’s M2 chip. The M2 model touts an improved 1080p webcam and a better display than its predecessor while retaining features like long battery life and MagSafe charging.

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Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip is a significant leap above the M1 model it succeeded, both in terms of design and performance. The old wedge-shaped look was replaced for a more squared-off design that’s still used by the current-generation MacBook Air. It has a 1080p webcam, which was a welcome improvement given the disappointing camera on the 2020 M1 model. It’s also much lighter and thus more portable as well, yet it retains features like MagSafe charging and Touch ID, as well as a nice display.

Despite its age, the M2 processor inside of this machine is still powerful enough to handle many tasks, from common ones such as browsing to more complex and creative projects. Compared to newer, pricier models, this one unsurprisingly struggles with gaming. That being said, it’s capable of running Cyberpunk 2077. The entry-level 13-inch MacBook Air with M2 launched with 8GB of RAM, but that configuration became unavailable last year when Apple made 16GB the new standard.

While a well-rounded laptop overall, there is one key area where Apple’s M1 model is better: storage. The base M2 MacBook Air with 256GB of storage is actually slower than its predecessor because it’s stored in a single NAND chip. This was corrected in subsequent MacBook Air models, so the slowdown is unique to M2 machines with 256GB of storage. Also, be aware as well that port selection isn’t great, and the included display notch — which is also found on both the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros — can make using the menu bar more challenging until you get used to it. If that doesn’t bother you, however, you can get a configuration with 16GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, an 8-core CPU and GPU for $699 ($100 off) at Best Buy.

$898

The M4 MacBook Air has a speedy processor, and double the RAM of previous models. It has a thin and light design, all day battery life, and still starts with 256GB of storage. Read our review.

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The 13-inch MacBook Air with M4 is Apple’s latest thin and lightweight laptop, and it’s our top pick in The Verge’s guide to the best laptops right now. It’s not a MacBook Pro, but Apple’s M4 processor in the Air is still mighty capable. In our tests, it only throttled under heavy load from creative applications, which is understandable given its fanless design. The machine comes with 16GB of RAM as standard rather than an optional upgrade, but the base configuration still comes with just 256GB of storage, so be mindful of that limitation if you work with a lot of larger files.

Apple hasn’t increased the number of ports on a MacBook Air since reintroducing MagSafe to the M2 model in 2022, but this generation has Thunderbolt 4 ports rather than Thunderbolt 3 for faster file transfer speeds. Another notable addition is the 1080p Center Stage camera from the MacBook Pro, so you’ll stay in frame if you move around on a video call. Battery life should last all day, though your experience will vary depending on how hard you push this machine.

You can currently get a configuration of the 13-inch with M4 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and a 10-core CPU and GPU for around $897.50 ($102 off) at Amazon, and $899.99 at B&H Photo. If you need a larger screen, you can get the 15-inch MacBook Air with the same specs for $999 ($200 off) at Amazon and B&H Photo.

M4 and M4 Pro MacBook Pro

$1426

The entry-level MacBook Pro with M4 starts with 16GB of RAM — double that of its predecessor — and a 512GB SSD for the same starting price of $1,599. It also gets a third USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 port and comes in a space black option.

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$1699

The 14-inch MacBook Pro with a 12-core / 16-core M4 Pro chip starts with 24GB of RAM — a 6GB increase over the prior generation. It also has a 512GB SSD, three Thunderbolt 5 USB-C ports, an optional nano-texture display, and a 12-megapixel webcam.

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$2227

The 16-inch MacBook Pro with M4 Pro starts with 24GB of RAM and offers more computing cores (14 for the CPU and 20 for the GPU) compared to the 14-inch model. It also picks up Thunderbolt 5 ports and a 12-megapixel Center Stage camera.

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The M4 generation MacBook Pros are Apple’s fastest laptops yet. The 14-inch MacBook Pro with M4 starts with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, and comes equipped with three Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and a MagSafe charging port. It can send video to two external displays simultaneously (the previous generation could only handle one) and has an improved 12-megapixel Center Stage camera with better video quality.

The M4 MacBook Pro and M4 MacBook Air run on the same chip, but the Pro’s cooling system is better, so it handles resource-intensive tasks (including games) without throttling as easily. The laptop’s 14.2-inch screen is bright (up to 1,600 nits when viewing HDR content), and supports the P3 color gamut, both of which are important to professionals who rely on color accuracy when editing photos and video. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate, so scrolling through webpages or moving windows around should appear smoother than 60Hz screens. In our stress test, which included editing 33-megapixel RAW images and working with a large photo library in Adobe Lightroom, the laptop ran for 12 hours without kicking up the fans or feeling hot to the touch.

If you want even more power, you can jump up to the 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Pro processor. It comes with 24GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, a 12-core CPU, and a 16-core GPU. The M4 Pro MacBook Pro has over twice the memory bandwidth of the base M4 MacBook Pro, so it should perform better across the board. That said, it might be tough to notice the benefits of its extra memory and processing power during casual use, but it will come in handy when you’re pushing the laptop to the limits while video editing or playing games. It has three Thunderbolt 5 ports, and you can use that extra bandwidth with an external SSD with fast transfer speeds, to name an example. You can also get the MacBook Pro with M4 Pro with a 16-inch screen if you’d like to work on a larger display.

Right now, the 14-inch M4 model with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU is $1,426 ($173 off) at Amazon. You can get a 14-inch M4 Pro model with 24GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, 12-core CPU, and 16-core GPU for around $1,699 at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo. The 16-inch M4 Pro MacBook Pro with 24GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, 14-core CPU, and 20-core GPU is currently on sale for $2,227 ($272 off) at Amazon.

Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition

$889

The 13.8-inch Surface Laptop is Microsoft’s closest rival to the MacBook Air, using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X chipsets for exceptional battery life.

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We chose Microsoft’s 7th Edition Surface Laptop as one of the best laptops you can get because it’s the top Snapdragon Copilot Plus PC we’ve tried yet. The laptop runs on a power-efficient ARM processor that doesn’t skimp on performance. Its 13.8-inch 2,304 x 1,536 120Hz screen supports Dolby Vision HDR (High Dynamic Range) and looks very nice. It has a large, precision haptic trackpad that gives you plenty of room to tap and swipe, an offers satisfying feedback no matter where you press it.

The laptop has a pair of USB 4 ports, one USB-A 3.1 Gen 1 port, plus a headphone jack. One of the concerns of using an ARM-based Windows PC has been software compatibility, but this model proves that’s no longer something to be as worried about. It runs Photoshop, and apps compiled for X86 processors work thanks to Microsoft’s Prism emulator. Be sure to check the compatibility of the specific Windows app you rely, though, as there’s still a chance they won’t work as intended.

Even after our toughest tests, the battery lasted seven hours. That’s with 100 percent screen brightness, after downloading multiple Steam games, attending video calls, and running through multiple projects in Photoshop. Using the laptop with less power-hungry apps, including Slack, WhatsApp, Discord, and Chrome, the laptop used just 30 percent of its battery in seven hours. For the best battery life, you’ll want to stick to using native ARM apps when possible. If you want to make the switch to an ARM-based laptop to get some of the benefits MacBook users have had for years, the 7th Generation Surface Laptop is worth checking out.

You can get a 13.8-inch Microsoft Surface Laptop (7th Edition) with a Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD for around $888.86 ($211 off) at B&H Photo and Amazon. A model with the Snapdragon X Elite processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD is on sale for $949.99 ($450 off) at Amazon.

$1200

The Asus Zenbook S 16 features AMD’s Ryzen AI mobile processors. It’s one of the thinnest and lightest 16-inch laptops available and doesn’t cut corners on performance. It’s a mighty machine that can handle all sorts of heavy workloads with ease and grace.

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We chose Asus’ Zenbook S 16 as another one of our top recommendations for students, but it’s a solid laptop for anyone who wants a large-screened Windows laptop. In our tests, the 16-inch 120Hz 3K (2,880 x 1,800) OLED display emits vivid colors and excellent contrast. The laptop was more than capable of handling common tasks, including video chats using its 1080p webcam, music streaming, but its graphics and gaming performance is what really sets it apart from laptops in its size and price classes.

This machine runs Cyberpunk 2077 at around 77 frames per second with the resolution set to 1080p with AMD’s FSR 2.1 upscaling software turned on. The laptop isn’t designed for gaming, but it’s good to know it’s up to the task if you’re willing to turn down some graphical settings. The Zenbook S 16’s battery lasted 11 hours during our testing. However, the percentage indicator in the Windows taskbar would often fluctuate, making it difficult to pin down exactly how much juice was left.

You can get a configuration of the laptop with 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor for $1,199.99 ($600 off) from Asus. To get the deal, which lasts through September 7th, you’ll need to sign up for a free Asus membership.

Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025, RTX 5080)

$2899

Asus’ ROG Strix Scar 16 is a powerful gaming laptop configured with a 16-inch 2.5K 240Hz screen, Nvidia 5080 graphics card, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, 32GB of RAM, and 2TB of storage.

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If you want to take a powerful gaming PC with you on the go, Asus’ ROG Strix Scar 16 is one of the best we recommend. It has a 16-inch 240Hz Mini LED display with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,600. The screen can’t quite match an OLED when it comes to rich contrast, but you get Dolby Vision HDR here, and its color accuracy impressed us in our tests. The laptop has larger keys instead of a number pad, which makes sense for a gaming-focused laptop. If you need a number pad, you can bring up a touch-sensitive one by clicking and holding the top part of the laptop’s large trackpad.

Under the hood, Asus fitted the ROG Strix Scar 16 with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, 32GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 graphics card with 16GB of dedicated video memory. The laptop’s display supports Nvidia’s G-Sync technology, so you shouldn’t see screen tearing or other graphical anomalies when playing games. The laptop has three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, an ethernet port, and two Thunderbolt 5 ports. You can use either the HDMI 2.1 port or Thunderbolt 5 ports to carry a 4K 120Hz video signal to a compatible TV or gaming monitor.

In case aesthetics matter to you, the ROG Strix Scar 16 has RGB lighting on its underside as well as a dot-matrix LED array that can display animations on its lid. These features aren’t new, but each can add some flair to your setup. Right now, you can get the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 in its base configuration for around $2,899.99 ($400 off) at Walmart and Best Buy.

The best Lenovo laptop deals

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i (2024)

$1500

The Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is a dual-screen laptop that can fold and flip into several different modes. A Bluetooth keyboard, mouse, and stylus come with it, along with a keyboard folio that can transform into a laptop stand. It’s the Swiss Army knife of laptops. Read our head-to-head review.

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A dual-screen laptop is admittedly pretty niche, but we chose Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i is the best of the bunch in our best laptops guide. It runs on Intel’s Core Ultra 7 155U processor, and comes with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and integrated Intel UHD graphics chip. Its key feature is the pair of 13.3-inch 60Hz OLED touchscreen displays, which each have a 2880 x 1800 resolution. The screens have a clamshell design and are attached by a hinge, so the Yoga Book 9i looks like a typical laptop when opened.

You can use the laptop in a few configurations. In clamshell mode, the bottom screen displays a full-sized virtual keyboard with trackpad to give you a traditional laptop experience. Our experience in this mode was mixed because it’s too easy to accidentally minimize apps, or make typos if you’re used to the tactile feel of a physical keyboard.

You can attach the Yoga Book 9i to the included keyboard folio, which props it up and allows you to use both screens independently like a laptop attached to an external monitor (except, in the Yoga Book 9i’s case, they’re built-in). One screen can be folded completely over the other display to use the laptop like a large-screen tablet, or folded partially to prop one screen up if you want to watch a movie at a more comfortable angle.

During our testing, the Yoga Book 9i was difficult to use on a lap with the included Bluetooth keyboard because it would shift around while being used. However, moving apps from one display to another using touch gestures was intuitive thanks to tutorials in the User Center app, which immediately launch upon the first boot. The software also lets you enable and disable gestures, if you find some confusing or unnecessary. Switching from a traditional laptop to a dual-screen model will likely take an adjustment period, so it’s very helpful that Lenovo designed software to help ease you through the transition.

Despite having two screens, the Yoga Book 9i only weighs 2.95 pounds, which was light enough to carry in a backpack without weighing us down. The keyboard folio adds some bulk, but comes with an attached elastic band to keep the laptop and accessory from getting detached while you travel. If you’re dedicated to the dual-screen lifestyle, or you want to give it a try, the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i is on sale for $1499.99 ($500 off) at Best Buy.

Update, September 5th: Updated pricing and availability, and added a deal for Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i (2024), as well as one for the Asus Zenbook S 16 that expires on September 7th.

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