I don’t know how your tech drawers look, but mine are filled with wires I’ll likely never use again because technology has advanced quite a bit. Thankfully, USB-C seems to be here to stay since there is no wrong way to plug these things in. It’s not just smartphones, tablets, and laptops that use these, however, but also a long list of gadgets. We’ve scoured the market for hidden gems: 12 gadgets that will make you think “Wow, I didn’t know I needed that, but it will make my life so much easier!” Let’s dive in and see what cool devices you’ll be able to use your type-C cables and ports with. Wowstick 1F+ mini electric screwdriver Wowstick If you often have to fiddle around with your computer or other gadgets, this Wowstick mini electric screwdriver may be just what you need. This pen-shaped screwdriver features three LED lights so it’s easier to see what you’re working on and rotates 200 times per minute so you can finish the job faster. The screwdriver has a stylish base so you can hold it on your desk, and a whole collection of 56 aluminum alloy bits. The screwdriver can be charged via USB-C and it can last for hours. This super fun electric screwdriver usually goes for $41. Anker Nano Power Bank Anker One thing you need to have in you bag/pocket/backpack is a power bank because you never really know when your phone will fail you and cry for a recharge. Well, the Anker Nano power bank is tiny enough to fit just about anywhere. It comes with a foldable USB-C connector and a port on the side so you can charge two devices at once if you need to. The 5,000mAh capacity is just about enough for a full phone recharge, so it will be great in a pinch. It’s also only $30, but we’ve seen it as low as $16. Endoscope camera with light Ennovor Although it’s not something you’ll use every day, this Ennover endoscope camera can definitely come in handy. You just plug it in your phone, install and app, and see everything your camera does. Our team swears by it, using it for finding whatever they dropped behind the desk, while working on the car, or looking for pipe leaks. Since it has an IP67 rating, you can even plop it in your aquarium. The camera comes with a 16.4ft semi-rigid cable and several accessories, including a hook, magnet, and a mirror. You can get this one for $23 right now. Blukar flashlight Blukar I don’t care who you are—you need a flashlight. The smaller, the better, because you get to shove it into any pocket. This model from Blukar comes with a built-in 1800mAh battery that you’ll recharge with one of those many type-C cables you have in that tech drawer we were talking about. It can work for up to 16 hours on a single charge, which is pretty decent. There are four different lightning modes to cycle through, including one that will help you signal for help. Plus, one of these is only $10, so no excuse to pass on this one. Heat It insect bite healer Anyone plagued by mosquitoes in the summer will be particularly pleased with this ingenious gadget. This tiny device, which can be easily connected to your smartphone via USB-C, can significantly reduce the itching of bites and stings with targeted heat. You simply charge the small Heat It bite healer via the app and then hold it on the bite. The heat then does the rest, breaking down the proteins in the mosquito bite that cause the area to swell, itch, and hurt. A true must-have for summer, and it costs only $20. A tiny air pump Also perfect for summer is this small air pump from Cycplus, which fits in any bag while on the go. Not only can it inflate a bicycle tire in two minutes at the touch of a button, but it’s also USB-charged. According to the manufacturer, it’s suitable for mountain bikes, road bikes, motorcycles, and even cars! In addition to being an air pump, this practical gadget can also be used as a flashlight or power bank for on-the-go use — all things that come in very handy on a bike ride. And at just $57, it’s highly recommended if you need quick help with a flat tire. USB-C mini fan These little fans are also pretty ingenious; you can easily carry them in your pocket in the summer and quickly use them whenever you need them. Anyone who’s ever sat on a crowded subway train in 30-degree heat and wished for at least a little fresh air will love this gadget. The mini fan, which costs just $20, has a USB-C port and can be easily powered by power banks, computers, laptops, or USB chargers. There are even smaller and cheaper fans available that can be connected directly to your phone, costing under $10 each. But these also provide less powerful airflow, so we recommend the standalone version. Reading light with a book clamp Anyone who enjoys reading a lot, sometimes late into the night, will appreciate this little gadget: a reading lamp that you can simply clip onto your book. It may not be groundbreaking, but with a total of three color temperatures and five different light modes, you can individually adjust how much light you need for reading. The Gritin reading lamp costs just $15 on Amazon and features a 1200 mAh battery that lasts up to 80 hours depending on usage. Afterward, you can easily recharge it via USB. You can swivel the neck of the lamp back and forth as desired, and there’s even a small charging indicator. What more could you want? External DVD Drive Amicool If your laptop is like mine and lacks a DVD drive, then this little gadget will come in handy for you. This Amicool external DVD drive uses a USB-C (or USB-A) to connect to your laptop and give yout he optical drive you sometimes need. It can read and burn DVDs and CDs with ease, allowing you to install software, copy files, back up data, play games, and so on. You won’t even need to install drives as this thing is plug and play. While this thing’s usually $29, you can often get it for around $20, which is an absolute bargain. Samsung flash drive Samsung The vast majority of flash drives have a USB-A connector, but this one from Samsung has a Type-C connector. With transfer speeds of up to 400MB/s, you’ll move files around in no time. The beauty of this thumb drive is that you can even pop it in your smartphone to record 4K vids directly on it. The Samsung Type-C flash drive comes in multiple storage options, starting at 64GB and up to 512GB and they start at $14. The 256GB version, for instance, is $27 at the time of writing. Type-C microSD card reader Ugreen Most laptops nowadays don’t come with a card reader anymore (I know mine doesn’t), so finding other ways to get data off those little buggers is a must. Whether you need to pull data off your dashcam’s card or if it’s from your camera, this tiny Ugreen USB-C microSD reader will work just fine. This reader is tiny enough that you should probably put it on a keychain of some kind. If you’d rather a slightly more versatile version, Ugreen has a model that also works with SD cards and features both USB-C and USB-A connectors. Any of these will cost you less than $10, so they’re worthwhile investments. USB-C to HDMI adapter Anker If your laptop has a USB-C port but you haven’t updated your monitor in ages, your display won’t feature a Type-C port. This Anker adapter fixes this problem for you, enabling you to connect the regular HDMI cable you plug in your monitor with this gadget. The adapter supports resolutions of up to 4K at 60Hz, which is pretty awesome. This is also a nifty way to connect your phone or tablet to your monitor or TV. This thing’s $20, but we’ve seen it as low as $12. Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 16, but was updated to include additional devices. Read...

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With any luck, Arm’s new Lumex CPU platform may give us a hint at what to expect for upcoming Windows on Arm PCs: four tiers of CPU power, plus an improved ray-tracing engine and graphics upscaling. Arm says that its new Lumex C1-series chips will deliver 25 percent more performance than the Cortex X925 series of processors it launched in May 2024. Like the X925, the latest Lumex C1 cores are being optimized with 3nm process technologies in mind, with physical implementations and foundry collaborations to speed customers to market. (While Arm has hinted at building its own physical cores for years, however, company representatives would say only that it includes “near production-ready physical implementations for partners” and is “not a chip.”) The Lumex platform is Arm’s brand for smartphones. PC-specific Arm chips will be branded as “Niva” under Arm’s new naming scheme, though they will share some common features with the Lumex cores. Qualcomm, which actually makes the Arm processors, uses the “Snapdragon” brand, which will almost certainly continue. Arm chips power the vast majority of the world’s smartphones, as Arm licenses its designs to customers who can choose to bring the Arm cores to market or take an architectural license and design compatible but otherwise brand new designs of their own making. That’s the approach Apple and Qualcomm have taken — who, in addition to designing smartphones, have brought Arm into the Mac OS space as well as Windows on Arm PCs. Though Qualcomm and Arm have had their legal differences over licensing Arm’s cores — which have since been settled — an Arm representative declined to comment when asked if any ongoing legal issues would prevent Qualcomm from taking a license. Arm’s new Lumex CPU cores continue delivering doble-digit performance gains, the company said.Arm And you will, apparently, see the Lumex in more than just PCs. “So the Lumex platform is going to power flagship smartphones through to PCs and tablets,” said James McNiven, the vice president of product management for Arm, in a press briefing. Smartphones, though, have their own demands: low power, which Arm’s RISC architecture was designed for; and maximizing local AI. The Cortex C1 series includes what Arm calls Scalable Matrix Extension 2 (SME2), using the Arm v9.3 instruction set. Arm doesn’t use a dedicated NPU. Instead, it uses a technology called KleidiAI that essentially uses software libraries to address AI-specific functions inside the CPU, no matter which version of the Arm architecture is present. In the C1 CPU cluster, Arm says, you’ll see a 5X uplift in AI performance. Arm says that will increase performance on apps that always have some form of AI technology running, such as audio generation, camera inferencing, or computer vision. Specifically, Arm is claiming over 4.7 times improvement in latency, speech recognition, and classical large language model tasks, and about 2.8 times faster audio generation. The other thing Arm has been known for is that it basically pioneered the concept of performance and efficiency cores, a strategy known as “Big-Little.” But with the Lumex, that’s been taken to a new level with the addition of a new “premium” core. Now, there are four different tiers of CPU cores: the C1-Ultra, the C1-Premium, the C1-Pro, and the C1-Nano. Arm now has four CPU cores, not just two.Arm Nothing’s really changed all that much: The Ultra and Premium cores are simply two tiers of “performance” cores, while the Pro and Nano deliver different levels of efficiency. Arm executives said that the Premium core could stand in for the Ultra cores on non-flagship, cheaper devices, as it offers similar performance to the Ultra, but in a 35 percent smaller area. The C1 Pro “improves” upon the Cortex A75 in terms of performance and efficiency, McNiven said, while the Nano has the “smallest footprint” and will play a role in both flagship and entry-level devices, he said. Overall, Arm executives said that the on-device AI is three times more power efficient than the previous implementations, and the Pro is 12 percent more power efficient at the same frequency. Arm is also introducing a new GPU, the Mali G1-Ultra, which will promise 20 percent better graphics performance, twice the ray-tracing performance, and 20 percent faster inferencing for AI processing than the earlier Immortalis-G925. The Mali G1-Ultra will also consume less power, as the block is on its own power island with less leakage when idle. Specifically, Arm is claiming that frame rates on ray-traced games will be 40 percent higher than its predecessor, part of moving to a “single-ray” model for improved efficiency and more realistic lighting,” McNiven said. The new Mali core also includes upscaling — quickly rendering at a lower resolution for improved frame rate, then upscaling it for better visual quality — but it does not use the AI-generated frames of some desktop GPUs. Arm’s new Mali core should be the foundation of GPUs on smartphones and Windows on Arm PCs alike.Arm “One of the examples that we have been seeing recently was some of the new ray tracing benchmarks like [UL’s 3DMark] Solar Bay Extreme, and I think that we see there up to a doubling in performance, because it is so ray tracing heavy. So it really does depend on just the amount of ray-tracing content,” McNiven said. One idea behind the Lumex platform, executives said, was to move certain cloud-based AI functions on to the device. Specifically, a large language model in the world of Krafton’s Inzoi (a spiritual successor to The Sims) was run on-device at the GDC conference, they said, as well as a “coach” that watched you play in Tencent’s Honor of Kings and offered advice. A major online payment provider is also working to put agentic AI on device to handle payment processing during peak times, instead of committing to expensive, back-end cloud servers, said Chris Bergey, the senior vice president of the client line of business at Arm. “If your device is capable of running a large language model, you have an extra means of interacting with the game that augments your experience,” McNiven said. “But if you don’t have it, the game is still playable.” Read...

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Jim Johnson has been named head of Intel’s Client Computing Group, headlining a list of changes Intel made Monday to its leadership team. As part of the moves, Intel announced the departure of Michelle Johnston Holthaus, the former co-chief executive and head of Intel Products. Johnson had served as the interim head of Intel’s CCG as Holthaus took on senior roles. Now, his official title will be senior vice president and general manager, responsible for the PC and edge ecosystems, Intel said. Johnson has worked at Intel for 40 years, including in the Technology and Manufacturing Group and the Networking and Communications Group. Intel also has named a new head of its Data Center Group: Kevork Kechichian who joins as executive vice president and general manager of the Data Center Group (DCG). Kechichian formerly was the executive vice president of engineering at Arm. Intel also said that Naga Chandrasekaran, executive vice president and chief technology and operations officer of Intel Foundry, will expand his role to include Foundry Services. The promotions and new hires come at the tail end of management shakeups dating back to last year, when Intel chief executive Pat Gelsinger was forced out of his role as chief executive and replaced with Lip-Bu Tan, a prominent leader in the EDA industry. After Gelsinger left, Michelle Johnston Holthaus and chief financial officer David Zinsner were named co-CEOs. Former Intel exec Michelle Johnston Holthaus.Mark Hachman / IDG After Tan joined, Holthaus — formerly the executive vice president and general manager of Intel CCG — was then asked to lead Intel’s products team, which also included the Client Computing Group. Holthaus served more than 30 years at Intel, and will remain a strategic adviser to the company over the coming months, Intel said. Johnson will oversee the fall launch of Panther Lake, the company’s next CPU architecture, as well as the Intel 18A manufacturing process that will form its foundation. Tan, meanwhile, is looking for customers for both Intel’s 18A and the subsquent 14A manufacturing process, which may decide whether Intel remains in silicon manufacturing or not. Read...

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Pardon the pun, but oh my, has the landscape shifted in terms of robot lawn mowers. Five years ago, when I first started covering this smart home category, there were just two brands to choose from: Husqvarna and Worx. Today, there are dozen or so manufacturers vying for the mantle of best robot mower, albeit with varying success. Prices have come down dramatically, too. In the early days, you’d need to spend at least several thousand dollars for the most basic machine. These days, you can find models for smaller yards that cost $1,000 or less. And like robot vacuums, robot lawn mowers have become more sophisticated, with features such as onboard positioning to know where they are in your yard, cameras to spot obstacles, and even AI to remember the tricky parts of your yard and how to navigate them. Our top picks in robot lawn mowers Segway Navimow i110N – Best budget-priced mower for very small lawns Pros Best navigation technology in its price class No line-of-sight requirement from the mower to the GPS antenna Outstanding cutting performance Handles common yard types and terrain without issues Cons Front-wheel drive has trouble with steep slopes Inadequate cliff detection Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $1,299 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the Segway Navimow i110? First, let us explain what we mean by “very small lawns.” In this case, we’re talking a quarter-acre or less. If you have a postage stamp-sized lawn, you probably don’t need a robot lawn mower. In any event, the $1,300 Navimow i110n is the best option in its price class. That said, this is a rear-wheel drive model that doesn’t pack enough power to handle steep slopes, so keep that in mind if your yard has steep grades. Segway Navimow i110: Further considerations While the lack of all-wheel drive held the Navimow i110n back in our tests, we were very impressed with how the Navimow navigated our yard and alternated its cutting patterns with each mowing session. It also does it quickly; we could mow nearly all of our quarter-acre lot in about 30 minutes. While we had problems keeping the Navimow from falling off our parking-strip curb, this is more of a detection issue with the vision and AI versus a fatal flaw. Since our initial review, several firmware updates have been released, including a new firmware update (version 2.2) that the company says is a fairly significant release. So those problems might be getting addressed. Read our full Segway Navimow i110N review Eufy Lawnbot E18 – Best robot mower for smaller lawns Pros Straightforward setup and mapping Delivered an even, thorough cut from the first mow Obstacle detection is promising (although it still needs work) Cons Somewhat underpowered for its size Rear-wheel drive only Underwhelming performance on slopes Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the Eufy Lawnbot E18? This is a great, moderately priced robot lawn mower for smaller, flatter yards up to 0.3 acres, with slopes of no more than 18 degrees. If you have a smaller yard, consider its stablemate, the Eufy Lawnbot E15, which can handle up to up to 0.2 acres of lawn (battery size is the only difference between the two models). Both machines are smallish, rear-wheel drive mowers, but don’t let their size fool you: They’re packed with smarts. The Lawnbot E18 uses computer vision to map your yard after you direct it to the areas of your yard you want it to go, which is a much simpler task than deploying a GPS antenna. I have a complex yard, and this mower completed its initial mapping quickly, even in areas with obstructed views and other obstacles. Once that was done, it delivered an even, thorough cut from the very first mow. Eufy Lawnbot E18: Further considerations The Eufy Lawnbot E15 and E18 are both rebranded TerraMow models that have been available in Europe since mid-2024, so they’ve been thoroughly tested by consumers on the other side of the Atlantic. Both Lawnbot E-series mowers might seem small compared to much of the competition—suburban and rural American yards tend to be very large—but you don’t need to own an acre or more of turf to appreciate a quality robot lawn mower. The Lawnbot E18 and E15 are both rear-wheel drive mowers, however, which explains their modest climbing performance. Read our full Eufy Lawnbot E18 review Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD – Best robot mower for mid-sized lawns Pros Best nighttime mowing experience of any mower we’ve tested Quality, even cut Handles narrow passages with ease Cons Frustrating mapping and app experience Too low profile for sharp slope transitions Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $2,299.99 View Deal Sunseeker $2399.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD? If you are taken aback by the high price of all-wheel drive robot mowers (typically several thousand of dollars), the Orion X7 comes in at the lower end of that range: $2,400. But the cut quality and capability of this mower is as good as other mowers that we’ve tested that are double the price. It’s AI works great. Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD: Further considerations While the mapping setup of the Orion X7 was suboptimal, we were really surprised by its vision and AI capabilities once the mower was running; they worked as advertised—even at night. The Orion X7’s obstacle-avoidance performance was the best of any robot mower we’ve tested to date. Better yet, it seemed to remember where these obstacles were during a session, unlike other mowers we’ve tested that would return to the same spot and make the same mistakes. The dual floating cutting plates give you a smooth level yard even if it’s not perfectly flat. If Sunseeker can fix the usability issues in its app, we’ll rank the Orion X7 higher. Read our full Sunseeker Orion X7 AWD review Segway Navimow X350 – Best robot mower for larger lawns Pros Excellent navigation and obstacle avoidance, day or night Automatically alternates its cutting direction Capable of handling very large yards Cons Exhibits a tendency for unpredictable behavior on slopes No onboard rain sensor Best Prices Today: Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the Segway Navimow X350? The Segway Navimow X350’s speed, combined with its 10-inch cutting radius, will make quick work of lawns up to 1.5 acres, and it will optimize the map it makes of your property so that it becomes more efficient over time. It’s also one of the quietest mowers I’ve tested, which could allow it to operate at night if you so choose. I will mention two drawbacks I encountered in my review: First, the mower doesn’t have an onboard rain sensor, so you’ll need to keep an eye on the weather. Second, this is a large mower and it sometimes had difficulty navigating tight spots in my yard. Segway Navimow X350: Further considerations The Segway Navimow X350 boasts a 10-inch wheelbase and a proprietary traction control system and onboard AI that helps it climb up to 27-degree slopes, even though it uses rear-wheel drive. It navigates using GPS tracking, which can also help you recover the mower should it ever be stolen. This mower will leave your lawn looking professionally groomed, thanks to its ability to automatically alternate its cutting direction. Read our full Segway Navimow X350 review Mowrator S1 AWD – Best non-autonomous robot lawn mower Pros 21-inch cutting radius Highly maneuverable Outstanding remote control Riding-mower build and cut quality Cons Very heavy (120 pounds) Disappointing autonomous obstacle avoidance Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $3,599.10 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the Mowrator S1? We see the Mowrator as perfect for those who enjoy mowing their grass, but don’t care for the physical exertion—especially in the summer heat. We tested the Mowrator during a record-breaking heat wave here in the eastern U.S. and appreciated the fact we didn’t have to sweat it out to get our yard done. We couldn’t say the same about our neighbors. Mowrator S1: Further considerations The Mowrator S1 robot mower is in a class of its own, as it’s not entirely autonomous. Instead, you control it with a remote—much like one you’d use with an aerial drone or an RC car. The extent of its automation is cruise control, which only allows the mower to move in a straight line, and rudimentary obstacle avoidance. We included it on this list because everything else about this mower is top-notch. A 21-inch cutting radius is a half-foot larger than most robot mowers, and a traditional mower blade versus the razor blades on most other models provides a riding mower quality cut that has so far not been matched by any other mower we tested. And the maneuverability and all-wheel drive combined with an excellent remote control make mowing the grass fun. Read our full Mowrator S1 AWD review Other notable robot lawn mowers we’ve tested The Husqvarna Automower 435X ($1,799 street) is one of the few robot lawn mowers we’ve tested that depends on a boundary wire to keep from moving off your lawn and into your flowerbeds, the driveway, or other places you don’t want it to go. On the upside, it’s a beefy machine with all-wheel drive that can handle lawns up to 0.9 acres. The Mammotion Yuka 1500 robot mower had plenty of innovative features when we reviewed it, but that innovation came with some rough edges that dampened our enthusiasm for the machine. Likewise with the Dreame Roboticmower A1, which exhibited poor obstacle avoidance in our real-world testing. How we test robot lawn mowers We test robot mowers in as close to real-world situations as possible: this includes operating them during the day and at night and in varying weather conditions. We’ll typically cut a lawn an inch or two higher than normal before a test to help judge the cut quality and the mower’s ability to operate in taller-than-average grass. We’ll also put temporary obstacles in the yard to judge the mower’s collision-avoidance capabilities. If the mower has AI onboard, we’ll observe whether it remembers permanent obstacles. Why you should trust TechHive for robot lawn mower reviews and buying advice TechHive is part of PCWorld, a trusted authority on modern technology since 1983. TechHive itself has been covering technology for the home since 2012, and it’s a topic we’re truly passionate about. Each of the robot lawn mowers recommended here have been thoroughly tested in real-world conditions in our own yards. Who curated this article? Hi, I’m Michael Brown, TechHive’s Executive Editor, and I oversee all robot lawn mower coverage on PCWorld. I earned a BA in Multimedia Journalism in 1994, but I worked as a freelance tech reporter and author starting in the mid-1980s. I’ve specialized in smart home technology since 2012. To date, I’ve assigned all of TechHive’s robot lawn mower to veteran journalist and TechHive contributor Ed Oswald, who runs the Robomower Revolution YouTube channel. Ed has been testing and writing about robot lawn mowers since 2020. What to look for when shopping for a robot lawn mower While there are many features to look for in a robot mower, some of which will be based on your personal preference, these five factors are the most important to consider to ensure trouble- and frustration-free operations. Run time and maximum yard size This one seems obvious, but many will look to the cheapest mower that can handle the size of their yard. That’s not the right approach. What you should do instead is opt for a model with a maximum yard size of at least 1.5 to 2 times the acreage of your yard. Our reasons for this are twofold: First, the maximum yard size is the amount your robot mower can handle in a single day, including time for charging. If you select a model with a maximum yard size close to the size of your yard, the mower will need to run 24/7 to keep up. Secondly, buying a larger-capacity mower prevents buyer’s remorse later, should you move to a larger home. There is no such thing as a robot mower that’s too big for a property, but you can end up with a robot mower that’s too small for your yard. Another benefit is total run time, as a larger mower won’t need to return to its base station and charger as frequently. Cut quality Cut quality has much to do with how the cutting plate is set up, and the methods used for cutting. Some models use a blade that’s shaped bread tag. We’ve found this style typically doesn’t cut well—or last very long. Rectangular blades are better, since the entire side cuts your grass no matter which way it’s oriented on the plate. This style of blade also lasts longer, which means you’ll need to change it out less during each mowing season. The cutting method is also important. We prefer robot mowers that follow straight lines and paths and alternate cutting directions during each mowing session. Some cheaper boundary-wire mowers mow in a random pattern within the boundary, which early in the season can leave your yard looking like you’ve forgotten how to mow. App functionality Most robot mowers have a lot of extra functionality to help you customize how your lawn is maintained. This means you’ll spend a lot of time in their apps. While some robot mower apps attempt to squeeze every possible feature into the app, we have found in most cases it is unnecessary and cluttering. The best mower apps have clean interfaces, along with clear instructions (and sometimes videos) to get you up to speed on important functionality. Collision and obstacle avoidance Early robot mowers used bumper sensors to detect obstacles. That’s no longer the case, and the best robot mowers use technologies like cameras, LiDAR, and onboard AI to detect obstacles. Opt for one of these models and you’ll spend a lot less time getting your mower out of places it shouldn’t have gone into. Artificial intelligence (AI) Artificial intelligence is a recent addition to robot mowers, and it makes boundary wire-free models much more reliable. With AI, your mower “learns” the quirks of your particular yard over time, optimizing its mowing session accordingly. One word of caution, however: not all robot mower AI is created equal. Some mowers seemed to not remember obstacles or places where they’ve frequently gotten stuck. AI is a relatively new addition to robot mowing, and some manufacturers’ claims don’t match reality. Fortunately, this is an upgradeable element—it resides in firmware—so this class of mower will improve with time. FAQ Frequently asked questions about robot lawn mowers 1. How do robot mowers work? Robot mowers come in one of two flavors, some a boundary wire to keep the mower in check, while others rely on GPS satellites and onboard vision capabilities leveraging AI to help the mower make both a visual and location-based map of your yard. If you would like to read more about this topic, read our in-depth guide. 2. Which type of robot mower should I get? Boundary wire robot mowers are far less expensive, as the mower needs fewer sensors and less brain power to ensure proper operation. But if you go that route, we strongly recommend hiring a professional to bury the boundary wire, so you’re not constantly tripping over it. That will increase the final price of your mower—by as much as several hundred dollars if it’s not already factored into the mower’s price—but it’s worth it. You should also be aware that boundary wires have finite lengths, maxing out at 1,000 to 2,500 feet, depending on the model and the quality of the wire. This won’t be an issue for most suburban and urban properties, but you might need more than one mower for a large property. For this and other reasons, we typically recommend boundary wire-free mowers, as they’re much easier to set up and don’t require a professional; it’s why all our best top picks—save one—are boundary wire-free models. 3. Why are robot lawn mowers so expensive? It depends on how you look at it. If you compare a robot mower to a traditional push mower, even a self-propelled one, robot mowers are considerably more expensive. Many robot mowers, however, are competitively priced in comparison to riding mowers, which offer much less in the way of labor savings. 4. Is the cut quality of a robot mower as good that of a traditional mower? You use a robot mower the way it’s designed to be used and its cut quality will be every bit as good as a conventional mower’s. Unlike a push or riding mower, a robot mower is designed to run multiple times a week, cutting a small portion of your grass each time. Some even alternate the direction of cut with each successive mowing session, which will prevent it from leaving lines in your grass from the mower’s wheels from passing over the same patch of grass each time. 5. What maintenance is required of a robot mower? Maintaining your robot mower is not difficult, and it’s not all that different from traditional mowers—except you won’t need to monitor and periodically engine oil; robot mowers use electric motors. You’ll want to regularly clean accumulated grass clippings and other debris from the underside of the mower. You’ll also want to keep it out of the elements as much as possible when it’s not in use. The plastic bodies of these mowers will slowly fade over time as the sun’s ultraviolet rays cause plastic to degrade and discolor. The most important difference has to do with cutting blades. Where conventional motors have thick blades that need sharpening at least once a season, most robot mowers use what look like razor blades to cut your grass. As you might expect, you’ll probably need to replace them at least twice every mowing season. Fortunately, the blades aren’t expensive, and you might find that third-party blades are even cheaper, although they might not last as long the OEM versions. Read...

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