Summary Scammers are using AI to deliver more sophisticated, highly targeted attacks. Norton is fighting AI with AI, combining its formidable antivirus, and a firewall, with AI-powered Genie Scam Protection. The Genie Scam Assistant provides instant reassurance with on-demand answers to all your security questions. It feels like overnight AI has ended up just about everywhere. From deepfakes and ChatGPT homework, to em-dashes and political misinformation, keeping on top of the latest AI trends is almost impossible. Unfortunately, that also means it’s hard to stay protected from the latest AI scams and phishing attacks. They’re constantly evolving and that can make them more dangerous than ever. If you’re keen to find a way to protect yourself from fake calls from ‘relatives’, or the latest AI-enhanced phishing text messages, Norton 360 might be the tool for you. Alongside classic defensive measures like real-time antivirus and a smart firewall, it now comes equipped with Genie Scam Protection. This anti-scam tool uses AI to fight AI, and can detect scams before you’ve even had a chance to read through one. How can you tell if a text message is a scam? Got a suspicious SMS message? Genie’s AI engine can detect a scam and warn you before you even open it. Encountered an image you think might be a deepfake, or an offer in an email that seems to good to be true? Genie is just a click away with useful advice and the ability to scan for scams, so you’re never caught out by nefarious actors ever again. Now standard in all Norton packages from its base AntiVirus Plus, right up to the Deluxe and Select Plus options, Genie is there to help protect against the ever evolving threat landscape, including the latest in AI scams. That helps prevent you becoming the victim of some of the more personal attacks that malware makers are using these days, leveraging the power of AI to quickly change and personalize their scams to make them more effective than ever. Norton 360 with Genie Scam Protection With at least 50% off on all standard Norton 360 packages at the time of writing, you can pick up the base Norton AntiVirus Plus package for the equivalent of just $2.50 per month for the first year. That gives you antivirus protection, a robust password manager for saving all your most important login data, and Genie scam protection. It does only cover one device, though, so if you want to make sure you’re protected against AI scams across your phone as well as your laptop, tablet, and any other devices (not to mention those of your wider family), then there are other options available. You can add additional features with more advanced packages, too, such as secure cloud backups, a VPN for anonymous web browsing, dark web monitoring, enhanced parental controls, and real-time monitoring of your credit rating and finances. They come at a steeper cost, but even the top Select Plus package which covers 10 devices at a time is less than $10 a month equivalent for the first year. Regardless of which package works for you, though, each comes complete with Genie anti-scam protection to make sure you and your loved ones don’t have to fear the rising issue of AI attacks. Protect your family from sophisticated AI scamsVisit Norton Read...

Summary Stream from anywhere: Norton VPN masks your location so you can watch your favorite shows from home on the go. Foolproof solution: With double VPN, IP rotation, and more than 100 global servers, your true location is more difficult to detect. Affordable packages: Three Norton VPN plans start from $3.33/month, with extra features including antivirus, scam detection, password management, encrypted cloud storage, and parental controls. Using a virtual private network (VPN) is most commonly associated with protecting your privacy and staying safe on public Wi-Fi. But VPNs also provide an excellent solution for improving accessibility to the streaming services you already subscribe to, and Norton’s latest version is an effective, affordable way to augment your online streaming. There is a range of extras you can bundle in for just a few dollars more, too.  Unfortunately, the streaming experience isn’t consistent around the world. Different territories have access to different streaming services and different content on those services. That makes mainlining episodes of your favorite show every night a bit tricky when you’re travelling for work or vacation. Did you know you can use a VPN to keep watching your favorites, no matter where you are? Be where you want to be One of the neatest aspects of using a VPN is that you can decide where you appear to be. So if you’re holidaying in Europe, you can use a VPN like Norton’s to make it seem as if you’re in the US. So you can still get on to your favorite streaming platform and watch your favorite shows like normal. The same goes for new film releases you were excited for. No need to miss out if you’re out of the country. Just set your location back to home and whatever you could watch there, you can watch it wherever you are.  The IP masking effectively hides where you are, which is what makes VPNs so good for protecting your privacy, too. As far as whatever streaming service you’re watching is concerned, you’re located wherever the VPN says you are. You could be working on a remote research station in the Antarctic, dodging penguins and snow drifts, and still have access to all the latest releases from back home.  Additional security protection With the Norton VPN Standard package, you can get the full VPN functionality for the equivalent of just $3.33 a month for the first year thanks to a 50% off discount. That gets you protection and easier streaming on up to five different devices. Find a streaming service has clocked you’re using a VPN? There’s a built-in double VPN service with IP rotation to make your real location more difficult to detect.  For a handful of useful extras, the Norton VPN Plus package is at 54% off right now, with the equivalent of $4.17 a month for the first year. Along with the standard VPN features, you also get Norton’s effective Antivirus software, AI-powered scam-detection with its new Genie service, a secure password manager, and 10GB of encrypted cloud-backup service.  If you’re part of a larger family you want to protect, or you have a number of devices on which you want to use the VPN, the Norton VPN Ultimate package is equivalent to $5 per month for the first year, and gives you support for up to 10 simultaneous devices. It also has a selection of robust parental controls you can take advantage of, and with a handy device finder for all the kids’ smart gadgets and devices.  Whichever package is right for you, Norton the VPN is effective and easy to use. If you’re finding yourself frustrated by streaming roadblocks, particularly when travelling, a VPN like Norton’s might be the way to go. Take your favorite shows away with youView Norton VPN Read...

I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: I’m a PC, not a Mac. I’ll take Windows over macOS any day and I’ve been this way for years. But after reviewing a lot of Arm laptops with Snapdragon X chips this past year, I’ve noticed a big problem: if you want an Arm laptop, MacBooks are much more compelling. While Apple lowers prices on its high-end laptops, PC makers are pricing down by cutting corners. In other words, the PC industry is failing to compete properly in the Arm laptop market, with Microsoft’s Surface laptop lineup as the perfect example of it all—and we deserve better than this. Arm PCs vs. Arm MacBooks: Let’s compare I love Windows and I love PCs. But when it comes to Arm laptops, you lose a lot of the PC’s advantages—like upgradeable hardware, near-perfect backwards compatibility, a huge library of PC games, etc. Arm laptops fail to deliver on those fronts, and if those are your highest priorities, then you’re better off with an Intel or AMD laptop. Moreover, Arm-based Windows laptops with Qualcomm Snapdragon chips are failing to deliver the price points I’d hoped for at launch. (More on that in a moment.) Meanwhile, Arm-based MacBooks are becoming shockingly more affordable. Apple MacBook Air M1 (2020)IDG Right now, in mid-August 2025 as we head into back-to-school season, you can get an M1 MacBook Air for $599 from Walmart, down from $650 retail. Sure, it only has 8GB of RAM, and sure, it was originally released in 2020. But it’s still a high-quality machine—not cheap, not plasticky, and not a lower-end screen just to reach that price point. It was top-of-the-line when it released in 2020. Similarly, you can grab a current-gen M4 MacBook Air for $799 from Best Buy, down from $999 retail. Asus Vivobook S 15 (2024)IDG / Matthew Smith For comparison, how much is a high-end Snapdragon X Elite laptop? The Asus Vivobook S 15 retails for $1,299 and still costs about a grand on sale. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x retails for $1,199 and sometimes discounts down to $900. The base model of Microsoft’s 13-inch Surface Laptop 7 retailed for $999 and went as low as $750 on sale. Personally, I would rather have a Windows laptop on the go. But I’d also have a hard time convincing anyone who’s neutral into buying a Qualcomm Snapdragon X-powered laptop over a MacBook, especially once we started comparing prices. The Surface Laptop shows what’s wrong Snapdragon X laptops are meant for people who prefer Windows over macOS while on the go, and I’m one of those people. I’m actually typing up this article on a Windows Arm laptop right now! But you can’t buy my favorite machine anymore. It’s been discontinued. When Microsoft released its initial line of Copilot+ PCs running Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips in 2024, I knew I had to buy one—I’m a professional PC reviewer, after all. At release, Microsoft offered a 13.8-inch Surface Laptop 7 with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $999, meeting the M4 MacBook Air’s retail price. In the months following release, I saw Surface Laptop 7s on sale for around $800, with further drops later on. So far, so good. Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (2024)Mark Hachman / IDG But now, more than a year later, Microsoft has discontinued the $999 Surface Laptop. That particular line now starts at $1,199—that’s $200 more expensive than the M4 MacBook Air at its retail price. To compensate, Microsoft released a cheaper line of 13-inch Surface Laptops… but these are lower-end PCs with worse screens, lower-resolution webcams, no facial recognition hardware, and other corner-cutting decisions. And they still start at $899. That’s the problem: while Apple’s strategy involves shipping older premium products, Microsoft’s strategy involves releasing worse products with corners cut. Why would someone who doesn’t love Windows choose to buy a lower-end Surface Laptop or spend up on a higher-end Surface Laptop when the MacBook Air exists? And at $599 or $799, it’s a flat-out better value if you don’t depend on Windows. Microsoft Surface Laptop 13 (2025)Mattias Inghe / Foundry It pains me to say that because I love my Surface Laptop 7. It’s a great machine for productivity and browsing with long battery life. But you can’t buy the one I have anymore—you’ll be buying something worse, or paying hundreds more to get something similar. Microsoft gave up on competing in the critical $999 laptop market. New Arm laptops struggle to compete At CES 2025, Qualcomm said its new Snapdragon X chips would pave the way for $600 laptops. But those lower-end Snapdragon chips perform surprisingly close to Apple’s 2020-era M1 hardware—the one that powers those $599 MacBooks—in many benchmarks. And when Lenovo released the comparatively inexpensive Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x with that chip, launching at a $749 price point with a dim display and tinny speakers, I was disappointed. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x (2025)IDG / Chris Hoffman Let me reiterate: a “budget MacBook” is an older premium model that now has a lower price, while a “budget Windows Arm laptop” is a new machine with corners cut. It’s a huge difference in philosophy, and it makes PC laptops feel lower end. When MacBooks are beating you on price and performance, you know something has gone wrong. Of course, these Arm laptops running Windows do go on sale from time to time. As I write this, you can get that Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3x for $449 at Best Buy, which is a serious value. But, at release, comparing the $749 PC to the $649 MacBook, the winner for people who aren’t committed to Windows is clear: it’s the MacBook. Windows Arm laptops are in a weird spot There are so many good reasons to buy a PC instead of a Mac! But most of those reasons will push you towards Intel or AMD laptops, not these Snapdragon-powered Arm laptops. If I were buying a laptop today and prioritizing battery life, I’d probably go for an Intel Lunar Lake-powered machine. You get full compatibility with Windows apps—including games, many of which run pretty well on the integrated GPU with no compatibility hiccups—along with excellent battery life. And if I wanted a gaming laptop or more CPU performance in general, I’d have so many other good options. Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 (2025)Chris Hoffman / IDG Windows Arm laptops, on the other hand, just aren’t compelling right now. You’d have to find one at a rock-bottom sale price to make it worthwhile. (And with those sales becoming more common, it’s a sign that they aren’t selling as well as PC makers hoped they would.) All of this could change in the coming years. Windows PCs with Arm processors may have a long and bright future ahead of them, especially when other manufacturers—like Nvidia, perhaps—start making Arm chips for them. But in a world where Apple keeps getting the MacBook’s price lower without compromising on specs or experience, PC manufacturers will have to do better to stand out. One thing’s for sure: Microsoft’s push to brand these as “Copilot+ PCs” and sell the platform based on a handful of nebulous AI features has failed. Instead of AI, Microsoft should have championed battery life—especially now that you don’t even need Arm for AI features. Are tariffs to blame? I’ve been making a lot of price comparisons, which might seem unfair given the elephant in the room: US tariffs. Manufacturers generally avoid commenting (at least on the record) on how tariffs are affecting their pricing strategies, so I generally don’t ask. But when Microsoft axes its $999 laptop and replaces it with a worse version with lower-end hardware, it’s easy to suspect that something is going on behind the scenes. And when we hear about $600 Windows Arm laptops in January but they never materialize after tariffs come into play, I have to assume tariffs are a factor. And yet, Apple’s MacBook can be had for $599 to $649 at Walmart, complete with a premium build quality and good display. When I review a new Arm PC laptop that delivers similar performance with a worse build quality at a higher price point, I really don’t know what to say. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Matte display is bright and easy to see Build feels great Good everyday battery life and performance Cons Expensive for what you get Thermal throttles Lags behind competition Our Verdict I had high hopes for the Intel ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, but its performance is held back by poor cooling and significantly reduced battery life. It might have been worth recommending if it weren’t nearly twice the price of the Snapdragon model. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Qualcomm really shook things up in 2024 when it introduced its Snapdragon X Elite chips alongside Windows for ARM. The promise was performance and efficiency. While that performance was occasionally hard to see because of compatibility issues, the efficiency made itself apparent when I tested the Snapdragon-powered Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 and saw it run for almost 24 hours in our battery test. When I saw that Lenovo was introducing an Intel version, the potential was exciting: more consistent performance and compatibility alongside that amazing battery life. Unfortunately, potential is hard to realize, and the Intel-powered ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 struggled. It may be faster, but it ran as long, and somehow it earned an almost doubled price tag. When competitors like the HP EliteBook X G1a and Asus Vivobook S 14 offer more for less, the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 ends up feeling like it has very little merit. Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Specs CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 258V Memory: 32GB LPDDR5x Graphics/GPU: Intel Arc 140V Display: 14-inch 1200p IPS, Anti-glare Storage: 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD Webcam: 5MP + IR Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 / USB4, 2x USB-A 5Gbps, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x Kensington Nano  Networking: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Windows Hello fingerprint, facial recognition Battery capacity: 58 watt-hours Dimensions: 12.3 x 8.6 x 0.66 inches Weight: 2.79 pounds MSRP: $3,079 as-tested ($3,079 base) At the time of writing, Lenovo only lists a pair of different configurations for the Intel-powered ThinkPad T14s Gen 6. Our test configuration actually isn’t among them, as it features just 512GB of storage while the available models both include 1TB PCIe Gen 5 SSDs. If it were configured with 1TB of storage, the unit tested here would cost $3,079 and otherwise have all the above specifications. Lenovo also offers a $3,429 model with a largely similar configuration except it bumps up to an Intel Core Ultra 7 268V chip while swapping out the display for a touchscreen model with a far lower color gamut and lower brightness. While these are the configurations available now, Lenovo appears to have more planned. A product specification reference sheet mentions 10 different CPU options, memory ranging from 16GB to 64GB, additional IPS displays and a sharper OLED display, and even an alternate gray color.  Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Design and build quality IDG / Mark Knapp Familiarity is the name of the game for this version of the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6. It bears the same name as the model I tested late last year for a reason — almost nothing has changed externally (or internally for that matter), save a crucial CPU switch. This model comes in the same blacked out, coated aluminum chassis that’s become such a staple of the ThinkPad line. Like its Snapdragon-powered counterpart, this model weighs little at just 2.79 pounds. It’s not as thin as can be, but it’s still compact and feels fairly sturdy, exhibiting a good deal less flex in the display than some thin-and-light laptops. It stands with two small rubber feet at the front and a wide rubber foot at the back. These should provide more than adequate clearance for air to reach the single intake fan on the underside of the laptop, which is tucked away underneath a small section of grille. The rest of the base is otherwise flat, solid, and unadorned.  The top surface of the keyboard deck is a little busier. It features the ThinkPad logo engraved into one corner. Speaker grilles flank either side of the keyboard, with the right grille a little smaller than the left as the power button cuts into its space. That power button also doubles as a fingerprint scanner.  The display has a wide hinge that holds the display firmly in place. There’s an extra lip built onto the display lid for opening the laptop up, but the hinge is just firm enough and the base of the laptop just light enough that one-handed doesn’t work out. The little lip at the top of the display has the webcam and IR system for Windows Hello facial recognition built into it, and there’s a hardware camera shutter as well. When slid into place, this covers the camera with a bit of plastic that has a red dot on it, so it’s easy to see when the camera is covered and disabled. The lid of the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 also features little adornment, but it includes a ThinkPad logo in one corner with a red, illuminated dot in the “i” of “ThinkPad,” and a silver Lenovo badge along one edge. Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Keyboard, trackpad IDG / Mark Knapp Like its Snapdragon-counterpart, the keyboard on this laptop is good but not excellent. The keys aren’t firmly stabilized, so they can wiggle at the edges, leading to a mushier feel that stands in the way of consistency. They still benefit from a slight contour and good spacing, making it all the easier to feel them out and remain centered for quick touch-typing, but I struggled to go much beyond 100 words per minute without seeing my typing accuracy sink as I dealt with missed taps.  Beyond typing, there are positive aspects to the keyboard. Its white backlights effectively illuminate both the primary and secondary legends on the keys. The function row has distinctly grouped clusters, so you can readily feel out the keys you want instead of having to peek down at the keyboard. And because these function keys are compact, Lenovo was able to squeeze in Home, End, Insert, and Delete into an additional cluster at the top-right corner of the keyboard. The arrow keys are also compact and offset. While their size can make them feel a little cramped, the offset makes it easier to access them and helps avoid mistaken presses, as they don’t take up space that would otherwise have belonged to the right Shift key.  The trackpad is wonderfully smooth and respectably wide. The physical buttons for use with the TrackPoint nib cut into the touchpad’s vertical space, but they provide a useful role if you prefer the nib for navigation. Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Display, audio IDG / Mark Knapp You don’t get the most gorgeous, vivid display in the world from the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, but you get an almost ideal screen for productivity. I measured it reaching exactly the 500-nit brightness level advertised. Combine that brightness with the incredible anti-glare finish, and you’ve got a display that’s easy to see even in some pretty heinous conditions.  The screen isn’t crazy sharp, but 1920×1200 on a 14-inch screen still provides clarity even for tiny text. The strong contrast, which I measured at 1,900:1 also helps with clarity. Though color may not be as precious for productivity, this display achieved 100 percent coverage of the sRGB color space and has a reasonable degree of accuracy, so you shouldn’t run into issues of web content not appearing as intended.  The speakers put out a good bit of volume, more than enough to listen to speech in videos in a quiet room. But the audio sounds a little resonant in the chassis at full volume. The speakers sound a bit cleaner at 50 percent volume, and the audio is still loud enough at this level.  This ultimately isn’t a great entertainment package, but the combination of serviceable speakers and a high-visibility display offer excellent utility. The screen isn’t crazy sharp, but 1920×1200 on a 14-inch screen still provides clarity even for tiny text. Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Webcam, microphone, biometrics IDG / Mark Knapp As tested, the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 comes with a 5MP webcam that also supports Windows Hello facial recognition. This is a quick and convenient way of logging in. The camera can also play some extra security roles, serving to dim the display if you look away or lock the system if you walk away through Windows settings. The camera itself is good, offering a sharp picture with natural exposure even in slightly dimmer environments.  The microphones come together nicely with the camera, offering clear vocals when recording. They don’t pick up too much echo and they do a decent job eliminating background noise.  Beyond the camera, the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 includes a fingerprint scanner built into the power button. This works with Windows Hello, but Synaptics’s software also allows you to set whether it will provide authentication “through all security levels.” Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Connectivity IDG / Mark Knapp Like the Snapdragon model, this Intel-powered system has respectable connectivity. It’s essentially the same with two USB-C ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm combo jack on the left of the laptop and two USB-A ports and a lock slot on the right. The only difference is that the USB-C ports here support Thunderbolt 4 while the other model supported USB4 (though both protocols offer 40Gbps speeds) The laptop offers Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, and both have proven quick-to-connect and stable in my testing.  Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Performance This version of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 has a lot of promise for general users worried about the limitations of the ARM-based model. The Intel-powered version supports x86-coded software natively, and that can mean better performance than the other system when it relies on translation. That said, neither version of the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 is alone in the market. The HP EliteBook X G1a offers a similarly professional-oriented system and has a competitive price at $2,749 as tested. And there’s no ignoring the consumer-focused models out there that don’t come with the same kind of prosumer premiums. This lets models that can compete on performance come in at considerably lower prices, like the $1,199 Asus VivoBook S 14 and $1,499 MSI Summit 13 AI + Evo.  IDG / Mark Knapp Overall performance is solid. The ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 lines up nicely against its competition here, with about the performance I’d expect out of a high-end, thin-and-light laptop. Hitting 5,000 points in PCMark 10 is generally a good sign for everyday performance, and higher scores only suggest faster, snappier experiences and a bit more muscle for workloads like photo and video editing and design work. Much higher scores in 8000s and 9000s tend to be the exclusive domain of powerful workstations and gaming laptops, not models running efficient processors like these.  While overall performance was good, it’s not too surprising to see the ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 lagging behind in brute force. Our HandBrake encoding test works the system hard, and the longer the test goes, the more heat builds up, and the slower the system gets. Very few thin-and-lights can zip through this test, but with strong thermal management and a decent processor, they can do a decent job. The ThinkPad has neither here. Its processor is neither extremely fast nor is its modest cooling system very robust. As a result, we see the ThinkPad get the worst result here, and the cooling seems the culprit. The ThinkPad uses a low-power processor that didn’t have much chance keeping pace with the HP EliteBook’s high-power processor (the tides turn in battery life, though). But The Asus VivoBook and MSI Summit both use the same processor as the ThinkPad. Their leads here show the benefit of better thermals. IDG / Mark Knapp The performance gap is further borne out in Cinebench. Earlier versions of Cinebench ran quick CPU tasks, and that let the ThinkPad actually come close to the VivoBook in single- and multi-core performance, and it even saw the ThinkPad consistently beating the Summit in those tests. But Cinebench R23 pushed it harder and hotter, and its ability to keep pace sank it back behind the Vivobook. With Cinebench R24 running the test for a minimum of 10-minute, heat is guaranteed, and the ThinkPad’s weaker cooling continues to drag it behind. Interestingly, it’s in Cinebench that we also see the difference between native x86 and ARM translation, as the Intel-based ThinkPad outperforms the Qualcomm-based in Cinebench R15, R20, and R23. But the tides turn in Cinebench R24, which can run on ARM natively. There, the Qualcomm-powered ThinkPad took the lead in multi-core performance, even if the Intel model still had superior single-core speeds.  That single-core performance is also Intel’s strength. All three Intel machines led with 122-123 points in single-core performance in Cinebench R24. So even though the HP EliteBook’s powerful AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 sped away in multi-core performance, it may not promise better responsiveness in everyday tasks.  IDG / Mark Knapp The graphics performance of all of these systems is middling. While you can do some light 3D work or gaming on the integrated graphics these come with, the performance is still night and day between all of these systems and a laptop running even a low-tier discrete GPU like the RTX 4050. At least the ThinkPad regains some ground on the EliteBook thanks to its more capable Intel Arc 140V graphics and on the MSI Summit, presumably because it’s managing power to the CPU and iGPU better. Still, the VivoBook’s performance lead (yet again) can’t be ignored.  Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Battery life When I tested the Qualcomm-powered ThinkPad T14s Gen 6, I was amazed to see it offer the best battery life I’d ever seen from a laptop. It ran for almost 24 hours. That was almost enough to make up for its performance deficits. So the prospect of having almost the same machine but running on an Intel chip with broader compatibility sounded great. Alas, the Snapdragon chipset was key to the efficiency. IDG / Mark Knapp In our video playback test, the Intel-powered ThinkPad doesn’t even come close to the Snapdragon model. It’s still a very worthy machine, reaching over 19 hours of runtime in our test. And in day-to-day use, it also proved capable of lasting through the workday. It also proved more efficient than the HP EliteBook, which fell just short of 11 hours. Unfortunately, the Asus VivoBook and MSI Summit that have posed so much trouble for the ThinkPad in performance also pose a threat in longevity, as both lasted just over 21 hours. It’s not that they’re more efficient, though. The Vivobook has a larger 75Wh battery and the Summit has a 70-watt hour battery.   Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: Conclusion The ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 ends up in an awkward position where 1. If you care about the quality of the hardware, you’re better off elsewhere. 2. You care about the performance, you’re better off elsewhere. 3. You care about the battery life, you’re better off elsewhere. Or 4. If you care about all of those things, you’re better off elsewhere. Plenty of machines beat it in more than one respect there. The Asus VivoBook S 14 may not be as well built, for instance, but it has the lead in performance and battery life (plus an OLED display for what it’s worth). Meanwhile, the HP EliteBook XG1a may lag behind in battery life, but it has a nice build, great display, and largely superior performance.  And all of the laptops I’ve compared here have the advantage of being much cheaper — including the EliteBook. At over $3,000 for this configuration, this ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 has an undeniably premium tacked on. Some of that may be chalked up to enterprise features, but if you’re not in desperate need of those, it’s hard to see the worth, especially next to these rivals. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this ThinkPad get some massive discounts (the Snapdragon model has, as have plenty of other Lenovo laptops), but unless and until it does, it’s going to be hard to recommend for much more than its useful matte display. Read...

Oracle integrates OpenAI`s GPT-5 across its cloud apps, boosting AI-driven automation, coding, and data analysis for businesses worldwide. Read...

NordVPN has decided to call it quits on its secure file-sharing Meshnet feature. It is set to stop working on December 1, 2025 at which time all associated functionality will be removed. All other NordVPN features and services outside of Meshnet will be unaffected. First introduced in 2022, Meshnet offered a unique and functional way to securely connect multiple devices similar to a LAN connection. Despite the end of Meshnet, NordVPN remains our favorite VPN overall thanks to its blazing-fast speeds, ability to access all streaming sites, and excellent security features. Why is NordVPN canceling Meshnet? NordVPN In a blog post on its website, NordVPN said, “When we built Meshnet, our goal was to give users more control over their connections and networks… we hoped it would become a valuable part of your online experience. But sometimes even good ideas don’t reach a wide enough audience.  As time went on, it became clear that while a small group of dedicated users valued Meshnet, it never really caught on the way we’d hoped.” According to NordVPN, Meshnet “required significant ongoing resources.” The company now hopes to redirect these same resources into more popular services that the majority of its users rely on every day. Meshnet alternatives Meshnet was unique in that it not only allowed users to store and send files securely with end-to-end encryption, but it also allowed for fun applications such as multiplayer LAN gaming sessions. Unfortunately, no other service on the market is offering quite the same thing as Meshnet. However, there are a few alternatives that can fill the gaps once the service shuts down. NordVPN recommends that if you were using Meshnet for secure file sharing and storage, to switch to its other service NordLocker—although a separate subscription is required. A 3GB free plan is available, otherwise a 500GB plan will run you $2.99 per month, and a 2TB plan is offered for $6.99 per month. Alternatively, ProtonVPN also offers a similar option in Proton Drive, which comes with a few tier options including a 5GB free starter plan. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Optional solar panel is effective at keeping the battery topped up Pre-recording option ensures you don’t miss the start of any motion events Responsive and quick to load videos, thanks in part to its 5GHz Wi-Fi 6 support Cons No infrared night vision Only 2K resolution (although the images look good) Confusing and poorly organized app Our Verdict Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Reolink Altas Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices To clarify from the start: The Reolink Altas is an entirely new security camera, even though there is already another Altas-branded product in existence; namely, the Altas PT Ultra (and it is “Altas,” by the way. We haven’t misspelled “Atlas.”) Anyway, while that other Altas is a chunky pan/tilt/zoom camera, this Altas is a bullet-style camera with a fixed lens. Thanks to its 20,000mAh battery and the 6-watt solar panel bundled with this SKU, Reolink says one hour of direct sunlight daily can power 24/7 continuous recording without the battery ever draining completely. You can also buy the camera without the panel for about $50 less ($149.99 vs. $199.99). In many ways, the Altas is the svelte, simpler younger sibling of the Altas PT Ultra we reviewed in Septenber 2024, ditching the pan/tilt motor and some of its other luxe features to make for a simpler and more affordable product. Credit to Reolink for taking a hard look at their industrial design with this camera, as the company is not known for always having the most forward-looking hardware. This one, measuring about 5 x 3 x 2.5 inches in size, is only slightly bigger than the palm of my hand, leaving only the oversized antenna to draw attention to itself. Battery life one of the Reolink Altas’ major selling points. The 20,000 mAh cell can be charged via a standard USB-C cable or the rugged 6-watt solar panel. Most people will use the provided ball-and-socket mount to attach the camera to a wall or ceiling, but the pole/tree-strap system included with the PT Ultra is also present here; and again, it’s too short to be useful for strapping the camera to anything more than a few inches in diameter. Specifications Reolink sent its 6-watt Solan Panel 2 with the Altas for this review. It costs $39.99 if purchased separately.Christopher Null/Foundry The Altas is rated IP66 (better than the IP65 rating on the PT Ultra) for weatherproofing, which our guide to IP codes tells us means it can withstand exposure to powerful jets of water. And like its sibling, it’s impervious to the ingress of particulate matter. It has a dual-band Wi-Fi 6 adapter onboard, along with a mic and speaker for two-way audio, an integrated siren, and both black-and-white and color night vision, thanks to Reolink’s ColorX technology. The camera is a 2K model with resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and a 110-degree diagonal viewing angle. Images looked surprisingly good in my testing, and I was able to pick out relatively far-off details, even though its actual resolution is a big step down from the PT Ultra’s 4K resolution. As with the PT Ultra, battery life is a major selling point. The 20,000 mAh cell can be charged via a standard USB-C cable or the rugged solar panel. The system is so power-conscious that Reolink says it can record continuously for 336 hours (that’s 14 days) without a recharge, or record 5 minutes per day for 540 days. The Reolink Altas captures video in 2K resolution, which is a step back from the 4K Altas PT Ultra, but the image quality was more than adequate for my purposes, especially at this price.Christopher Null/Foundry Those claims didn’t exactly pan out in my testing: I got only about 5 days of uninterrupted recording (without the solar panel, that is) before the battery petered out. Again, Reolink says that even modest sunlight hitting the solar panel will keep it running indefinitely, and that indeed was accurate. With the panel connected I rarely saw the battery at anything below 99 percent. The Reolink Alta can record to an internal microSD card—capacities up to 512GB are supported—although none is included (Amazon was bundling a 128GB card and a solar panel with the camera at the time of this review). Your other alternative for local storage is to buy a Reolink Home Hub, a $100 mass storage device that you connect to your home network. It supports up to eight Reolink cameras, and it comes with a 64GB microSD card, with slots for two more cards with capacities up to 512GB each. You can read our positive review at the preceding link. The terms of the optional Reolink Cloud service have not changed, except for support for more cameras and increased storage at the topmost tier. Pricing for the cloud service is $7/month (30 days, 5 cameras, 30GB storage), $11/month (30 days, 10 cameras, 80GB storage), or $16/month (60 days, 30 cameras, 250GB storage). As with the PT Ultra, onboard storage will be perfectly fine for most users, unless you absolutely need the only significant bonus feature the service includes: thumbnail photos delivered with push notifications when motion is detected. Installation and setup Reolink has paid less attention to set-up and app-based management. Initial configuration requires scanning a QR code and lots of waiting while loud verbal instructions in multiple languages erupt from the camera’s speaker. The process failed twice when I first tried to set it up, which is frustrating. Certain features in the Reolink app remain obtuse or, at best, horribly translated. Again, “Clear” is the app’s term high-resolution video. “Fluent” is the option for low-res recording. The Reolink could use a rethink in terms of its layout. All the features you’ll need are there, they can just a bit difficult to find.Christopher Null/Foundry As before, continuously recorded video is saved in 5-minute chunks, one right after another, on Reolink’s playback timeline. This is easy to scrub through, and if you’re only recording based on motion detection, the job is even easier thanks to the chronological thumbnails. The Altas also includes a new prerecording option that lets you capture 2 to 10 seconds of video before motion triggers a clip, though this is captured at a user-specified framerate of 1, 3 or 5 frames per second. It’s essentially a low-speed continuous recording system, though Reolink notes that using it will impact the battery considerably if you don’t have a steady sun source (up to 2 extra hours per day). The prerecording system worked perfectly in my testing, capturing the time just before a person entered the frame, exactly as specified. You won’t notice the lower frame rate for the prerecording because nothing is moving. The spotlights ringing the front of the camera are brighter than I expected, though their luminosity is not specified. I was able to light up the area for at least 30 feet at full brightness with the spotlights on, and to record in full color. That’s a good thing, because you’ll probably need the lights: Like the PT Ultra, there is no infrared night vision mode on the Altas, and in conditions of true darkness, the image was garbled and unusable, based on my testing with the spotlights turned off. Reolink’s pre-recording feature captures subjects that trigger the camera’s motion sensor before the camera actually starts to record.Christopher Null/Foundry The only way to get any workable image at night is with the spotlights turned on. Fortunately, their brightness is adjustable (and they can adjust automatically), so you don’t blast out the neighborhood. In my testing, clips lasted as long as motion occurred, with no cooldown between clips. Five minutes appears to be the maximum clip length. Clip thumbnails are also accurately tagged with a type of motion detected in them: person, animal, vehicle, or “others.” All told, the camera works really well, with the lack of infrared night vision the only major downside. Should you buy the Reolink Altas? If you don’t need pan/tilt features, the Reolink Altas is an excellent alternative to the Altas PT Ultra, which is bulky and awkward. This camera keeps most of the other features of the PT Ultra and trims about $80 off its suggested retail price. You’ll find cheaper outdoor cameras on the market—including ones bundled with solar panels—but the overall performance of the Reolink Altas might sway you to shell out a few extra bucks for it. If you are shopping for even less expensive, we’ll tell you which key security camera features you shouldn’t give up in the name of price. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Editing is faster with AI and automation Easy-to-use wizards Cons Limited control in some AI-generated graphics Our Verdict The new AI in CyberLink Photo Director 365 helps achieve results faster, with tools and wizards supporting design drafts. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Cyberlink PhotoDirector 365 Retailer Price PhotoDirector 365 Free Trial Free View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices CyberLink‘s photo editing software has already impressed users in the past with its ease of use and strong results. The manufacturer offers many wizards, straightforward functions, and the option to edit images manually in an editor. Various special functions and templates support the user in their work. The development team has now added extensive artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to the feature list. To access these, you must choose the subscription version of the program, as several functions are not available in the free version. One advantage of the subscription is that new features are added on a fairly regular basis. CyberLink Photo Director 365: Faster, easier editing with AI Various AI functions make it easier to customize and enhance images. Expanding image content, removing people or objects, and optimizing photos are much easier with the current Photo Director 365. Image analysis and built-in suggestions for improvement assist with editing and speed up workflow. This is where users clearly benefit from the new technology. AI also supports editing of all types of portrait shots. The software uses a portrait as its base and can automatically add office attire to the subject. This means you can easily prepare your own photos for job applications or online profiles. The Business Outfit function works in a similar way, generating professional-looking photos of people in suits or elegant dresses. The CyberLink program offers numerous tools for editing portraits and creating professional business photos.Cyberlink Photo Director 365 can also add a suitable background or setting, making the images ideal for company websites or brochures, for example. For print products, the photos can be scaled up with AI to maintain the best possible quality, with the user guided through every step of the process. The built-in image tips are also very useful: the program shows examples of ideal results, along with motifs or elements that should be avoided. These innovations further extend the capabilities of classic image editing. CyberLink Photo Director 365: Creative designs that produce great results The GenAI Studio offers many options for creating a wide variety of documents and designs. Many ideas can be brought to life quickly by using its features. These include style transfer of all kinds–for example, creatively converting an image into manga-style graphics or generating templates with the help of AI prompts. The layout function, which lets you define the result with just a few clicks, is another strong point. The AI feature helps with complex designs, ensuring that objects, people, and animals appear correctly in their designated areas. The mood of a landscape shot can be changed in just a few steps with Remodel Scenes, which offers options such as sunrise or winter. The AI in Photo Director 365 enables creative landscape editing with style presets.Cyberlink CyberLink Photo Director 365: Where it falls short The results are often surprisingly good, but sometimes the software overshoots the mark, leaving images looking overly manipulated. There’s no option to adjust the balance between the original and the edited version. This also applies to the templates for creating videos with stylized collectible figures. All control is handed over to the AI, allowing users to choose captions, colors, and themes would help produce better clips. The templates for special occasions or holidays are impressive, making it easy to create digital greetings cards right on the screen. Read...

Great monitors don’t have to break the bank, and this Acer model is proof of that. It’s only $220 right now on Amazon, a sizeable drop from its original $300 price and a solid deal for the specs. This Acer XV272U is a 27-inch display that features an IPS panel with a crisp 1440p resolution—the “sweet spot” for many PC gamers—that delivers crystal-clear images, vibrant contrast, and impressive color accuracy. Whether you’re working, studying, streaming Netflix, or gaming, you’ll love the visuals here. The cherry on top is the 240Hz refresh rate, which is hard to come by at this price. If you have a PC that’s capable of pushing that many frames per second, you’ll have an amazing time with this affordable monitor. Even during fast-paced action scenes and boss fights, you’ll enjoy ultra-smooth visuals. And with its 1ms response time, ghosting is kept to a minimum. The monitor also offers solid connectivity, including DisplayPort 1.4, double HDMI 2.0, and 3.5mm audio. You can set this monitor up exactly how you need it, allowing you to adjust its position by tilting, swiveling, pivoting, and adjusting its height. Alternatively, the VESA mount makes it easy to set this up on a monitor arm. Don’t miss this chance to grab this 27-inch 1440p 240Hz gaming monitor for just $220 on Amazon, the best price we’ve seen this year. Save 27% on Acer`s budget 27-inch 1440p 240Hz gaming monitorBuy now at Amazon Read...

Finding the best gaming laptop at the cheapest price can be difficult, especially nowadays with economic uncertainty hitting every corner of the globe. But if you’ve been looking to score a high-end laptop at a mid-range price, here’s a deal for you: this Gigabyte Aero X16 is $1,200 at B&H right now, $250 off its original price. This is a rock-solid gaming laptop that can handle all your non-gaming tasks, too. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor makes this a Copilot+ PC, meaning it’s capable of all the fancy AI features in Windows 11. And between the 16GB of DDR5 memory and 1TB of SSD storage, it’s fast and spacious enough for all your apps, browser tabs, and games. But the pièce de résistance here is the cutting-edge Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card, just released earlier this year. It unlocks Nvidia’s latest gaming features, including DLSS 4 and ray tracing, so your games will look and feel their best—especially on this laptop’s 16-inch IPS display with gorgeous 2560×1600 resoluton and 165Hz refresh rate. Take it further and connect an up-to-4K external monitor via HDMI 2.1 or USB4 video with power delivery. Other connections include two high-speed USB-A and one slower USB-A for peripherals, plus Gigabit LAN and a 3.5mm audio jack. Wireless includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2. The Gigabyte Aero X16 is a phenomenal laptop for $1,200 so snag it while this deal’s active if you’re interested. If you need something even more powerful, check out the best overall gaming laptops—or if you want to go cheaper, see the best budget gaming laptops. Save $250 on this RTX 5060 gaming laptop with Copilot+ AI featuresBuy now from B&H Read...