The card features of photograph of the royal couple taken in April during their state visit to Italy. Read...

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At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Support for a high number of users TCL’s new smart-home app is a dramatic improvement Lots of features for the price Cons Deadbolt feels a bit wobbly Doesn’t support recurring credentials The doorbell feels superfluous Our Verdict This budget smart lock doesn’t skimp on features, although reservations over the robustness of it hardware keep us from making a strong recommendation for it. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: TCL D2 Plus Fingerprint Smart Lock Retailer Price $109.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices TCL jumped into the smart lock market late in late 2024 with some ambitious—and pricey—locks that were hit and miss, perhaps rushed to market without enough testing. The manufacturer has since taken a step back and is fleshing out its lineup a bit more thoughtfully, including the launch of this budget-priced offering, the TCL D2 Plus Fingerprint Smart Lock Plus. Specifications The TCL D2 Plus looks a lot like its big brother, the TCL D2 Pro, but with a major change under the hood: The Pro is a palm vein scanning lock, where the Plus relies on a more pedestrian fingerprint scanner as its primary authentication system. The biggest advantage is that the change helps get the price way down: An MSRP of $110 compared to $170 for the Pro model. That $60 difference makes it a solid value. TCL now has its own mobile app, TCL Home, and it’s a great improvement over the generic Tuya app it used before. The exterior of the aluminum-clad lock, which is rated IP55 for weatherproofing but with no ANSI/BHMA certification, offers only a few surprises, including the aforementioned fingerprint scanner, a touch-sensitive numeric keypad, and support for NFC cards (the SKU reviewed here doesn’t come with any cards, but you can buy the lock bundled with several fobs at Amazon for just a few dollars more). An exposed physical keyhole—along with two keys—provides another means of entry. The doorbell button embedded in the TCL D2’s PIN pad isn’t backlit, which makes it very difficult to see at night.Christopher Null/Foundry An understated doorbell button is embedded in the lock’s keypad. When a visitor presses the button, you’ll hear a chime and receive a push notification on your smartphone. This product is not a video doorbell, however, and it has no video features at all; nor does TCL offer a secondary chime that can be installed inside the house. A USB-C port on the bottom of the exterior escutcheon can be used for emergency access if the lock’s batteries die while you’re out. Speaking of batteries, you’ll need to bring your own: Eight AA cells, which TCL says will provide about 6 months of running time. The lock connects directly to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, eliminating the need for a bridge or smart home hub. Amazon Alexa and Google Home are both supported if you want to extend your ecosystem beyond the basics of the TCL Home app. Installation and setup The TCL D2 Plus comes with the usual bits and pieces, including two physical keys.Christopher Null/Foundry The process of installing the TCL D2 Plus is the same as it is for entry-level locks, with two bolts connecting the exterior escutcheon to a mounting frame on the inside of the door. The interior escutcheon mounts to that frame with just two more bolts, and a single electrical cable connects the two components, making this a quick install compared to the rest of the industry. Popping the eight batteries into place feels like the more onerous part of the process. More good news: TCL has moved from the awful Tuya app that it initially relied upon for the TCL D1 series, and now has its own mobile app, TCL Home. This is a great improvement, and setting up the lock with this app was simple. The app automatically discovered the lock once it was powered up, and pressing a button under the battery cover completed the onboarding process. Answering a few simple questions added the lock to my Wi-Fi network, and after three(!) firmware updates it was ready for use. Using the TCL D2 Plus Finger Print Smart Lock The TCL D2 Plus is largely intuitive and easy to use, although you’ll need to spend a bit of time in the settings menu to optimize it fully. One option I recommend changing immediately is to turn off “Device Security,” which requires you to enter a PIN in the app every time you use the app, which quickly becomes very tiresome. TCL now has its own smart home app, and it’s a big improvement over what it bundled with its earlier smart locks.Christopher Null/Foundry Other settings cover the basics: Auto locking can be set to between 10 and 120 seconds (though the lock has no door sensor and will lock whether it’s open or closed), and wrong-try protection lets you specify 5 to 10 incorrect permission attempts before it disables the lock for 2 to 5 minutes. Notifications can be individually set for unlocking, locking, doorbell presses, and alarm conditions (such as the activation of wrong-try lockout). Each of these activities is logged in the Events tab on the home screen and is summarized by day and week in the Home Assistant tab. One additional feature on this tab is called Homecoming Reminder, which is a type of alarm/reminder that will push a notification to the administrator if a configured user has not returned home and unlocked the door within a window of time that you set. It’s clearly designed for parents to keep tabs on children, and it worked well in my testing. The TCL D2 Plus Fingerprint Smart Lock requires eight AA batteries, and you’ll need to provide them.Christopher Null/Foundry User management is well designed, with credentials assigned user by user. Each user can have multiple fingerprints, PINs (4 to 8 digits), and NFC cards assigned. The lock supports up to 100 of each type of credential in total. Fingerprints and NFC cards always provide 24/7 access; PINs can be set to permanent or time-limited, although there is no facility for recurring passwords that are valid, say, only from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Duress PINs can be used to send an alert to the administrator if a user is unlocking the door under duress, so the admin can notify authorities. Lastly, one-time, immediate-use passwords can be generated on demand within the app; these expire within 10 minutes, and only one can be active at a time. I encountered no significant issues working with the TCL Home app or the lock’s input systems throughout several days of testing. My only real complaint about using the lock was with some aspects of the hardware itself. The thumbturn requires a lot of pressure to get the bolt to extend all the way, and the motor can’t get the job done either, though the bolt made it most of the way to full extension—just a couple of millimeters shy. The TCL D2 Plus Fingerprint Smart Lock isn’t the most demure lock on the market.Christopher Null/Foundry I wasn’t thrilled with the way the deadbolt jiggles around when it’s extended, either, feeling a bit loose and unsteady. Without formal testing it’s hard to know how secure the lock is physically; but anecdotally, it just doesn’t feel all that secure. Remember, the lock is not ANSI/BHMA certified. The doorbell on the front of the lock, meanwhile, feels like an afterthought. The tiny icon is not illuminated unless the keypad is lit up, and I would never realistically expect a visitor to find the button to tap. It is, however, very easy to accidentally press it when you’re trying to unlock the door. My advice: Set it to mute and forget it’s there. Should you buy the TCL D2 Plus Fingerprint Smart Lock? I’ve seen the street price of the TCL D2 Plus Fingerprint Smart Lock drop as low as $80, making for a very good deal. It’s a bit less of a bargain at its $120 MSRP, but it still feels like a reasonable price for what you get. At the very least, this lock is a dramatic upgrade over the still-available TCL D1 series, putting TCL in a much better position to merit consideration in the smart lock space. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart locks. Read...

Google has unveiled its favorite Chrome browser extensions for 2025. This year’s list is not ranked but is dominated by AI. It is divided into three categories. AI companionsGoogle specifically highlights Monica and Sider, two all-in-one tools that help you summarize web pages, analyze PDFs and write text directly in the browser. HARPA AI, in turn, combines AI with web automation, for example to monitor price changes online. In addition, Quillbot continues to be a popular writing aid with advanced grammar and paraphrasing features. Work and learningIn this category, Google recommends Fireflies.ai and Bluedot, which are extensions that can record, transcribe and summarize digital meetings automatically. QuestionAI then acts as a personalized tutor to explain difficult topics, while eJOY weaves language learning into daily browsing. Creativity and shoppingAdobe has now brought its Photoshop features directly to the web, which Google says makes quick image editing more accessible than ever. Phia, the final winner in Google’s list, helps users compare prices and find the best buy with just one click. PCWorld’s own list of top-notch Chrome extensions doesn’t lean as hard on AI. Check out our roundup of 11 essential Chrome extensions I install on every PC for a more practical lists of add-ons. Read...

From graphics cards to mid-sized cars, you can’t find any new electronics that don’t claim to be “AI-powered” in some way. That includes Logitech’s mice and keyboards, some of which are being loaded specifically with “AI” buttons. But the CEO of Logitech says she sees no value in infamous “AI” gadgets, such as the Rabbit A1 or the Humane pin. “What’s out there is a solution looking for a problem that doesn’t exist,” said Hanneke Faber in an interview with Bloomberg. That seems to be the consensus among reviewers, and many early adopters, who found the Rabbit R1 to be little more than a stripped-down smartphone that was less capable than, well, a phone just running the ChatGPT app. The Humane pin was even more lampooned, with its questionable utility underscored by poor battery life and overheating issues for the projected hand screen. Both devices are now essentially dead. That isn’t to say that Logitech has no ticket to the “AI” hype train. It sells a “Signature AI Edition” of the M750 mouse which has a dedicated assistant button right there on the top of the mouse. Logitech has an “AI” Prompt Builder that integrates with its omnibus Logi Options+ management app as well, allowing triggered actions on most of its mid-range and high-end keyboards and mice. That being said, looking at the company’s latest products, it’s refreshing to see something that doesn’t have abominable intelligence plastered on every page. The MX Master 4 mouse and the Alto Keys 98M keyboard both omit any mention of “AI” on their promotional pages. The latter doesn’t even have a Copilot button, despite being a cross-platform Windows/Mac input device. With so many products and services apparently injecting “AI” into their features list apparently just to tick a box, I appreciate Logitech’s apparent resistance to the trend. Faber also said that Logitech isn’t looking to raise prices again anytime soon, after a notable jump in sticker prices following the initial round of Trump tariffs. “…It had to be done and it was better to rip off the proverbial Band-Aid than kind of drag our feet, which some others did.” Logitech increased prices on some devices by around 25 percent in early 2025. That said, with pricing for chips and memory exploding, thanks largely to the “AI” industry boom, even low-end devices could see more pricing pressure in 2026. Read...

Microsoft has announced that companies and organizations will have to pay more for the Office productivity suite from July 1, 2026. Exactly how much the price increase will be depends on the variant, but according to CNBC, it is an increase of up to 33 percent. “Over the past year, we’ve released more than 1,100 features in Microsoft 365, Security, Copilot, and Sharepoint. The new features have added value to the packages,” writes Microsoft 365 manager Nicole Herskowitz in a blog post on the company’s website. In other words, the increase is justified by the new features, not least Microsoft’s heavily touted AI tool Copilot. The last time Microsoft raised prices for its business-focused Office packages was in 2022. Microsoft substantially hiked the price of Microsoft 365 consumer plans early in 2025, citing the addition of AI features as justification, shortly after Google did the same for its G-Suite plans. Read...

In recent years, Minisforum has developed from an insider tip to a firm name in the mini PC market. The manufacturer has become renowned for its compact systems with high computing power, innovative cooling, and sophisticated designs. With the new AI X1 Pro, Minisforum wants to prove this claim – as a powerful all-round PC with integrated AI acceleration, which is not only intended for professionals and developers, but also for smart home enthusiasts and creatives. The following review shows whether the manufacturer lives up to its own claim. At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Outstanding CPU performance sufficient for the most demanding workstation and multitasking tasks Excellent and future-proof connectivity with dual 2.5G LAN, Wi-Fi 7, two USB4 ports and OCuLink Superior upgradeability thanks to replaceable RAM and three M.2 slots Powerful NPU allows for advanced, local AI applications Sophisticated design with integrated power supply unit and fingerprint reader Sustainable product packaging without plastic Cons Graphics performance is somewhat slowed down by the slower DDR5 RAM compared to models with soldered LPDDR5X memory Our Verdict The Minisforum AI X1 Pro is more than just a mini PC; it’s the perfect machine for technology enthusiasts who don’t want to compromise on performance, expandability, and connectivity. If you’re looking for a compact but extremely powerful and future-proof foundation for complex automation, local AI, and media server tasks, you’ll find that the AI X1 Pro is one of the most powerful mini PCs on the market today. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Minisforum AI X1 Pro Retailer Price $1,087 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Minisforum AI X1 Pro: Specs CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, 12 cores / 24 threads, max. frequency 5.1 GHz AI performance (NPU): up to 80 TOPS Graphics: AMD Radeon 890M Memory: 64 GB, 2 × DDR5-SO-DIMM 5600 MHz Internal storage: 1 × M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD, pre-installed Kingston OM8TAP41024K1 1TB Connectivity: 2 × 2.5 Gbit/s LAN ports (RJ45), Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4 Front connections: 2 × USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 1 × USB 4 (Alt PD Out 15 Watt, data rate up to 40 GB/s, 3.5 mm combo socket, co-pilot button, 2 × digital microphones (DMIC) Rear connections: 1 × USB2.0 Type-A, 1 × OCuLink (PCIe 4.0 ×4), 1 × USB4 (Alt PD-In 65-100 watts & PD Out 15 watts, 1 × DisplayPort 2.0, 1× HDMI 2.1 FRL, Kensington lock OS: Windows 11 Pro Dimensions: 195 × 195 × 47.5 mm (W × D × H), 1.5kg The Minisforum AI X1 Pro delivers an impressive overall package and soundly demonstrates how much performance can be packed into a mini PC today Minisforum AI X1 Pro: Design At first glance, the appearance of the AI X1 Pro with its silver-colored housing and black accents is subtly reminiscent of a Mac Mini, but this impression quickly fades when you look at the details. Minisforum takes a much more functional approach. When comparing the housings of the Minisforum AI X1 Pro and the Geekom IT15, fundamentally different design philosophies in the mini PC segment become clear. Whilst both devices focus on compactness, they pursue different goals, which is reflected in their dimensions and structure. Christoph Hoffmann With its dimensions of 195 × 195 × 47.5 millimetres, the Minisforum AI X1 Pro is a good deal larger than many of its competitors (IT15: 117 × 112 × 49.2 millimetres). Its square footprint is almost twice as large as that of the Geekom IT15. However, this larger volume is a deliberate design decision that brings two decisive advantages: Firstly, it enables the installation of an integrated power supply unit. Finally, the unsightly external brick that causes cable clutter in many mini PCs is no longer necessary. The result is a tidy and professional look. On the other hand, the larger interior offers space for more powerful cooling and superior expandability with three M.2 slots. Weighing in at 1.5kg, the AI X1 Pro is also significantly heavier due to its robust metal chassis and internal components. Despite its immense performance and internal power supply unit, the device remains compact, even if it’s slightly larger than some of its direct competitors. On the front, there are also modern conveniences such as a fingerprint reader for secure and fast login and a dedicated Co-pilot button that emphasizes the focus on AI functions. Christoph Hoffmann With a bracket, the AI X1 Pro can be placed upright or attached to the back of a monitor or even to a wall with the VESA mount. Minisforum AI X1 Pro: Features The true strength of the AI X1 Pro is revealed when you take a look at its inner values and connectivity. Minisforum has created equipment that redefines the term mini PC and makes it a real desktop alternative. The centerpiece is the ability to upgrade—a feature that has become rare in this class. At the heart of the Minisforum AI X1 Pro is the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, one of the first desktop APUs based on the Zen 5 architecture. In addition to 12 CPU cores and the powerful Radeon 890M graphics, the chip comes with a dedicated NPU that delivers up to 50 TOPS of AI performance—perfect for local language models, image analysis or Co-pilot functions without cloud dependency. Instead of relying on soldered memory, the AI X1 Pro offers two SODIMM slots for up to 128GB DDR5-5600 RAM. This gives enthusiasts the freedom to customize the system to their needs—be it for memory-hungry virtual machines running Home Assistant and other services, or for complex data processing. Our test device has 64 GB of RAM, although variants with 32 and 96GB RAM are also available. Another highlight is the mass storage: three M.2 slots for fast NVMe SSDs are available. This makes it possible to realize a huge and fast storage solution, ideal for an extensive media collection. A Kingston OM8TAP41024K1 with 1TB capacity is installed in the test device. The model with 96GB RAM comes with a 2TB NVMe SSD. The variety of connections is simply outstanding and sets the AI X1 Pro apart from the competition. In addition to two USB4 ports, which enable high data rates and the connection of external GPUs, there is also a dedicated OCuLink port. This offers an even faster connection to external graphics cards and turns the mini PC into an expandable gaming or workstation platform. Christoph Hoffmann Two 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports ensure a stable and fast network connection, while Wi-Fi 7 makes wireless communication future-proof. The package is rounded off with HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.0, and an integrated SD card reader The Minisforum AI X1 Pro offers exceptional flexibility when connecting monitors and can operate up to four displays simultaneously. It owes this capability to a combination of modern, dedicated, and multifunctional video outputs: HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 2.0 and two USB4 ports. This makes the AI X1 Pro a powerful centre for demanding multitasking environments, whether in the office, for creative work or as a control centre in the smart home. Minisforum AI X1 Pro: Operating system The Minisforum AI X1 Pro is installed and activated with Windows 11 25H2 during the initial setup and with an active internet connection. The setup runs smoothly and drivers and firmware are automatically up to date. Copilot integration including NPU support is active and works seamlessly. This eliminates the need for the usual retrofitting of updates or AI packages—the mini PC is immediately ready for all new Windows AI features, from local text recognition and image understanding to automated workflows. Christoph Hoffmann We do not go into detail about Windows 11 25H2 itself in the test—however, it’s clear in many places that the Minisforum AI X1 Pro fully supports the system’s new AI functions. Copilot , Recall, and local model acceleration are active and access the NPU of the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 directly. As a result, AI-based tasks such as text recognition, image analysis, or voice assistance run noticeably faster and without cloud dependency—a clear indication that hardware and software are optimally harmonized here. Minisforum AI X1 Pro: Performance The Minisforum AI X1 Pro with the new AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is positioned well above the previous generation of mini PCs in terms of performance and competes directly with powerful ultrabooks and compact workstations in many scenarios. We used the PCMark 10 benchmark test to determine the desktop computing performance. This software gives us realistic values by running everyday tasks one after the other. The PCMark 10 total score of 7,809 points is in a range that only systems with high-end mobile processors such as the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H or the Apple M3 Pro have achieved to date. The “Essentials” (11,353 points) and “Productivity” (10,594 points) categories in particular show that everyday office, communication and multitasking applications are handled with absolute ease. The “Digital Content Creation” category with 10,746 points also demonstrates strong performance in photo and video editing—an indicator of an excellently harmonized CPU and GPU balance. Christoph Hoffmann The CPU profile from 3DMark shows excellent scaling across all thread levels: With 8,292 points at full load and 1,161 points in the single-thread test, the HX 370 is on a par with Intel’s Core Ultra 9 288V and only just behind the AMD Ryzen 9 7940HS, although the chip relies on a more energy-efficient Zen 5 architecture. This means: high multi-core performance with excellent efficiency—a decisive criterion for continuous operation in compact housings. Christoph Hoffmann The system achieved 3,528 points in 3DMark Time Spy, with the integrated Radeon 890M scoring an impressive 3,152 graphics points. This GPU based on RDNA-3 is around 40 percent higher than the Radeon 780M and thus brings usable gaming performance to a mini PC without a dedicated graphics card. The Intel Core U9-285H installed in the Geekom IT15 however delivers a TimeSpy result of 4,244 points. Christoph Hoffmann Games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Fortnite or Forza Horizon 5 run smoothly in 1080p at medium to high settings with the AMD CPU. The more recent synthetic tests such as Steel Nomad Light (3,023 points, 22 FPS) and Solar Bay (14,762 points) also confirm the high efficiency for CPU graphics in DirectX 12 and ray tracing scenarios. Christoph Hoffmann The Geekbench AI Pro score of 7,007 points (quantised) illustrates the strength of the integrated NPU, which is based on the XDNA-2 architecture. This makes the HX 370 one of the few chips that can run AI workloads locally at desktop level—ideal for applications such as image analysis, transcription, or local language modeling. In comparison, the values of the Geekom IT15 with Intel Core U9-285H: 8,005 in the Quantised Score. Christoph Hoffmann Finally, the performance of the SSD is also impressive: The installed 1 TB Kingston NVMe drive achieves 6,132 MB/s read and 5,259 MB/s write in the Crystal Disk Mark, which further accelerates the system response time. Here, the X1 Pro is roughly on a par with the Geekom A9 Max with its Lexar SSD and 6,242 and 5,423 MB/s respectively. Christoph Hoffmann Is the Minisforum AI X1 Pro worth it? Overall, the Minisforum AI X1 Pro delivers an impressive overall package and soundly demonstrates how much performance can be packed into a mini PC today. With the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370, the powerful Radeon 890M and the integrated NPU, it combines desktop power, energy efficiency and AI capability in a compact housing. Three NVMe slots, dual 2.5 GbE, OCuLink and USB4 make it extremely versatile—whether for home office, smart home, or gaming. The workmanship and features are clearly above the class average. Only the price and the lack of 10 GbE spoil the picture slightly. Overall: a powerful, future-proof mini PC for power users. Read...

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