It’s here! It’s begun! Black Friday deals have kicked off at most stores, and we’re digging for discounts left and right, finding the ones that are truly worth your time and attention. Even if you’re over the whole Black Friday madness, we’ve found some budget-friendly picks you might actually like — all for under $50, too! What’s not to love? Charge everything — Anker Prime 6-port charger Anker One of the best ways you can get everything charged while sitting at your computer is to get a charging station. This six-port model from Anker is just what you need, especially since it can deliver a massive 200W output across all ports. Speaking of which, it has four USB-C and two USB-A ports. When using single-port charging, the USB-C ports can reach 100W, which is fantastic for laptops. The charging station also features multiple safety precautions, so you don’t have to worry about high-voltage, short circuits, or overheating. The Anker Prime Charger is available for its very best price right now. The Anker Prime Charger is 38% off for $50Buy now at Amazon Rise and shine — Ecozy Sunrise Alarm Clock Ecozy Like most adults, I don’t get nearly enough sleep. I’ve heard a sunrise alarm clock can help, so I’ve been looking into them. This particular model from Ecozy doesn’t just gently mimic the rising sun, it also doubles as a white noise machine to help you drift off. You can even use it as a Bluetooth speaker! Since it’s 50 percent off right now at Best Buy, you can get it for just $35, a small price to pay for better rest. The Ecozy Sunrise Alarm Clock is 50% off for $35Buy now at Best Buy Recharge your gear — Anker Prime GaN 100W charger Anker If you’d rather have a charger you can take anywhere, including on trips, this 100W model from Anker will do the trick. With one USB-A and two USB-C ports, this tiny device is ready to travel with you thanks to its compact design and foldable prongs. Since it can reach 100W output, it’s even suitable for charging laptops, which is always a plus, although you’ll a cable that supports those speeds. The Anker Prime Charger 100W is 40% off for $42Buy now at Amazon Add monitors to your laptop — Ugreen 7-in-1 docking station Ugreen Laptops these days never seem to have enough ports for all the monitors you might want in your office. The best solution? A docking station. This 7-in-1 model from Ugreen is quite the find, featuring two HDMI ports, two 10Gbps USB-A ports, two 10Gbps USB-C ports, and one PD 100W charging port. Since the type-C ports don’t support video, you’ll get two extra monitors via the dock, which, considering its $25.98 price tag, is a great deal. The Ugreen 7-in-1 docking station is 30% off for $25.89Buy now at Amazon Take control — Logitech G309 Ligthspeed wireless gaming mouse Logitech Sure, you could be spending north of a hundred bucks for a mouse, but… why? Let’s be real: most of us aren’t exactly gaming pros that need something that expensive, so this Logitech G309 Lightspeed wireless mouse is more than enough. It’s lightweight, has a super sensitive 25K sensor, and battery life that keeps you going for over 300 hours. With six programmable buttons, you can dive into customizations if you want. The Logitech G309 Ligthspeed mouse is 44% off for $49.99Buy now at Amazon Ignore the world around you — JBL Tune 245NC earbuds JBL Blocking out the world around you doesn’t have to cost a fortune. The JBL Tune 245NC earbuds are super affordable right now, thanks to a massive $70 discount at Best Buy, bringing their price just under $40. These wireless buds feature JBL’s well-known pure bass sound and deliver Active Noise Canceling with smart ambient mode, letting you minimize audio distractions while commuting or at the office. When Ambient Aware mode is on, you can tune in to your surroundings, while TalkThru lets you chat with people without removing your earbuds. That’s a lot of technology for $40! You’ll also get a total of 48 hours of battery life. Have you clicked “Add to cart” yet? The JBL Tune 245NC earbuds are 64% off for $39.95Buy now at Best buy Keep the kids entertained — Amazon Fire 7 Kids tablet Amazon If you need a bit of help here and there and want to give your kids access to technology, you have to ensure that everything is age-appropriate. The Amazon Fire 7 Kids is a tablet that was built specifically for this, giving parents total control over what their kids can watch. This purchase includes six months of ad-free content and access to Amazon Kids+, opening the door to books, games, videos, and apps. The best part? If your child breaks the tablet within two years, Amazon will replace it for free. The Amazon Fire 7 Kids is 55% off for $45Buy now at Amazon Get some extra storage — Samsung Evo Select microSD Samsung How much storage can $50 get you? When it comes to Samsung microSDs, quite a lot! This 512GB Evo Select is just $33 right now, the best price we’ve seen for this model. Whether you need a card for your smartphone, your old Switch, or your tablet, this tiny card supports speeds up to 160MB/s. That means recording 4K videos is no problem. The Samsung Evo Select 512GB is 30% off for $33Buy now at Amazon Install it and forget it — TP-Link Tapo SolarCam C402 Kit TP-Link I actually have this camera — well, the European version, anyway — and I absolutely love it. Since it comes with its own solar panel, you won’t have to worry about charging it or hardwiring it. It also connects to your home Wi-Fi and sends notifications when it senses motion, which is fantastic. Without any subscriptions, it can tell you whether it has detected a person or a car, which is more than we can say for many other cameras. The C402 works with both Google Home and Alexa, so you can pull live footage on your smart display. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s down to its best price ever. The Tapo SolarCam C402 is 33% off for $40Buy now at Amazon Join your meetings in 4K — Emeet Nova 4K webcam emeet Whether you like it or not, every now and then, you have to join video calls for work. This tiny device comes with a massive 44 percent discount this Black Friday, bringing the price down to just over $39. That’s a fantastic deal for a camera that can deliver 4K video with autofocus and automatic light correction. It even has two noise-canceling mics, so your voice comes through loud and clear. When you’re not using the camera (or just want a break without cutting the video feed), you can simply flip down the privacy cover. The Emeet Nova 4K webcam is 44% off for $39.23Buy now at Amazon Read...

Antivirus is non-negotiable for a PC. And while Windows’s built-in security is good, you can further increase your protection with an independent security suite—like Bitdefender, which is on sale in the PCWorld Software Store for just $22.50 during Black Friday week, or 78 percent off.  This deal is for a Bitdefender Total Security 2026 5-device, 1-year subscription, which normally costs $110 per year through Bitdefender directly. If you need more devices or a longer subscription term, you can instead grab a 10-device, 1-year subscription for $40 (64 percent off) or a 5-device, 2-year subscription for $50 (68 percent off). These licenses are valid for US, UK, and EU residents. Bitdefender Total Security’s strongest asset is its antivirus engine, which is better at catching malware than Windows and many rivals, too (as shown in tests from trusted security organizations like AV-Comparatives). But it also comes with other additional features, like a firewall with a modern, easy-to-navigate interface; a vulnerability scanner; and more robust parental controls. And it’s compatible with Android and macOS too, in addition to Windows. Looking for more features? PCWorld’s software store is also offering a discount on Norton 360 Deluxe right now, with a 5-device, 15-month subscription going for $25 (76 percent off). It is marginally weaker at detecting malware and has less customizable parental controls, but in trade you get more features: a password manager, VPN service, and 50GB of cloud storage for backups. You can check out our review of Bitdefender Total Security for the full rundown on what it’s like to use it. But don’t wait too long to do your research and make a decision—like all Black Friday deals, this is a limited-time deal and won’t last long! Get Bitdefender Total Security 2026 for 78% offView deal Read...

At a glance Top laptop picks from Amazon • Budget: Acer Aspire Premium, lots of RAM and a spacious display for under $400• Midrange: Samsung Galaxy Book4, the best Samsung laptop deal on Amazon this Black Friday Week so far, and perfect for daily workflows with a roomy display• Gaming: Alienware 16 Aurora, delivers strong mid-range gaming performance and a crisp display for just over $1,000• Premium: Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360, lightweight at 3.7 pounds and versatile thanks to the 2-in-1 design Amazon’s Black Friday Week is here, and the deals will be rolling out through Cyber Monday, making this a great time to pick up a new laptop. Heck, you can even do it while you’re chowing down on turkey and stuffing. Whether you’re looking for a gaming laptop that can easily handle the latest shooters or a reliable laptop for day-to-day use, Amazon’s got lots of options. But the best part about shopping on Amazon is the convenience it offers. Free Prime shipping quickly gets your laptop straight to your front door, and easy returns take the stress out of online shopping, which can be a temperamental beast at times. How we pick deals I’ve been overseeing PCWorld’s laptop reviews for years now, assisting a team of reviewers who carefully evaluate hundreds and hundreds of laptops of all shapes and sizes (price points, too!). In addition to this effort, I also maintain our laptop deals roundup on a daily basis and our best laptops roundup on a weekly basis. In other words, I’m well attuned to what’s going on in the laptop world and can parse out good deals from the bad ones. That’s why I’ve assembled this list of the very best laptop deals from Amazon. Not all Black Friday laptop deals are genuine, which is why we rely on our hands-on testing experience and pricing history (Camel Camel Camel is an excellent tool for this) to filter out the low-quality stuff. If you’re curious about our methodology, go ahead and check out our explainer piece on how we test laptops here at PCWorld. To find laptop deals from all retailers, see our roundup of the Best Black Friday laptop deals 2025. Updated November 30, 2025 to include the latest deals and prices. Best Amazon Black Friday budget laptop deals Sometimes all you need is a respectable, baseline-level machine. Personally, I use a low-powered laptop for writing, watching Netflix, checking email, and so on. I just dig the simplicity. So, if you’re not a gamer and just need a lightweight machine for day-to-day tasks, check out the list below. Acer Aspire Go 15, Intel Core 3 Processor N355 processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/128GB UFS, $199.99 ($97.19 off at Amazon) Asus Vivobook Go, AMD Ryzen 3 7320U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/256GB SSD, $262.99 ($117 off at Amazon) Acer Aspire Premium, AMD Ryzen 3 7330U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $379.05 ($20.94 off at Amazon) Asus?Vivobook?16 (F1605VA-ES56), Intel Core i5-13420H/16-inch 1920×1200/16GB RAM/512 GB SSD, $429.99 ($70 off at Amazon) My top pick: The Acer Aspire Premium is the best deal here and here’s why. Nowadays, 16GB of RAM is what you want if you’re aiming for a laptop that’ll last, so the Premium’s got you covered in that area. You also get a spacious 15.6-inch 1080p display, a modern Ryzen 3 7330U processor, and a bigger SSD (512GB, by the way) for under $400. That larger storage keeps multitasking smooth and responsive. Best Amazon Black Friday midrange laptop deals Looking for a little more oomph? A midrange laptop should do you just fine. These laptops typically offer more processing power and storage, and prices tend to fall in the $500 to $800 range. Microsoft Surface Laptop (2025), Snapdragon X Plus processor/13-inch 1920×1280 touchscreen display/16GB RAM/256GB SSD, $549.99 ($350 off at Amazon) Samsung Galaxy Book4, Intel 7 150U processor/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $589 ($110.99 off at Amazon) Asus Vivobook 14, Snapdragon X Plus processor/14-inch 1920×1200 display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $649.99 ($100 off at Amazon) Apple 2025 MacBook Air, M4 chip/13.6-inch 2560×1664 display/16GB RAM/256GB SSD, $749 ($249 off at Amazon) My top pick: The Samsung Galaxy Book4 is the best Samsung laptop deal on Amazon right now. It should keep everyday work flowing without any hiccups or snags thanks to its Intel Core 7 150U processor. The roomy 15.6-inch 1080p display should also give you plenty of room to spread out, whether you’re managing a spreadsheet or juggling documents. Plus, with 16GB on board, you’re getting smoother multitasking performance. Best Amazon Black Friday gaming laptop deals Calling all gamers! There’s no better time to scoop up a blisteringly fast gaming machine. The laptops below are both powerful and reasonably priced, and should be able to blitz through most games. HP Victus, AMD Ryzen 5 7535HS processor/RTX 2050 graphics/15.6-inch 1920×1080 display/8GB RAM/512GB SSD, $569 ($41 off at Amazon) Alienware 16 Aurora, Intel Core 7 240H Series 2 processor/RTX 5060 graphics/16-inch 2560×1600 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,099.98 ($300.01 off at Amazon) Asus ROG Strix G16 (2025), Intel Core i7-14650HX processor/RTX 5060 graphics/16-inch 1920×1080 display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,199.99 ($300 off at Amazon) Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor/RTX 5070 Ti graphics/16-inch 2560×1600 display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,899 ($400.99 off at Amazon) My top pick: The Alienware 16 Aurora strikes the best balance of performance, price, and versatility. It should deliver strong mid-range gaming performance thanks to its combination of a modern Intel Core 7 240H Series 2 CPU and RTX 5060 graphics. It also features Wi-Fi 7 (yay for future-proofing!) and a crisp 16-inch 2560×1600 IPS display, which is perfect for streaming or gaming. Best Amazon Black Friday premium laptop deals If you’re looking for more premium features like an OLED display or a 2-in-1 form factor, you’ve come to the right spot. Below you’ll find ultra-lightweight machines as well as laptops with high-resolution displays. Microsoft Surface Pro 2-in-1, Snapdragon X Elite processor/13-inch 2880×1920 OLED display/16GB RAM/512GB SSD, $999.99 ($500 off at Amazon) Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024), Snapdragon X Elite 12-core processor/13.8-inch 2304×1536 display/16 GB RAM/1 TB SSD, $1,079.99 ($520 off at Amazon) Dell 14 Plus, Intel Core Ultra 9 288V processor/14-inch 2560×1600 display/32GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,090.44 ($309.55 off at Amazon) Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360, Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor/16-inch 2880×1800 AMOLED display/16GB RAM/1TB SSD, $1,299.99 ($400 off at Amazon) My top pick: The Samsung Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is a versatile, powerful “do-it-all” laptop. With an Intel Core Ultra 7 256V processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage, it should easily handle both productivity and creative work. It also somehow remains fairly lightweight at 3.7 pounds, so it’s more portable than you might expect, and the 2-in-1 design lets you to flip the screen around when you want to use it like a tablet. Black Friday: The best PC deals around Check out our roundups for the best PC-related deals in a wide variety of categories! Best Amazon Black Friday tech deals Best Black Friday laptop deals Best Black Friday Chromebook deals Best Black Friday mini PC deals Best Black Friday desktop computer deals Best Black Friday monitor deals Best Black Friday USB flash drive deals Best Black Friday SSD and storage deals Best Black Friday Thunderbolt dock deals Best Black Friday power bank deals Best Black Friday office chair and desk deals Best Black Friday VPN deals FAQ 1. When is Black Friday this year? Black Friday 2025 is on Friday, November 28. Amazon’s Black Week kicked off on November 20th. 2. When is Cyber Monday this year? Cyber Monday 2025 is on Monday, December 1. To take advantage of the best deals, we suggest logging on at midnight. This gives you the best chance to snag a deal on something you want before stock runs out. 3. Which laptops does PCWorld recommend, the deals notwithstanding? Hey, the site is called PCWorld, so we test and review an insane number of laptops. To see our top picks, you can check out our master list of the best laptops of 2025. We also have more granular selections for the best laptops under $500, and the best laptops for students. Come Black Friday, there’s a good chance that many of our picks will be discounted, so if you’re looking for something that’s been tested and approved, check out these articles. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Fast and accurate fingerprint recognition High-capacity removable, rechargeable battery with USB-C charging ANSI Grade 2 certification and IP65 protection from the elements Integrated doorbell Cons Sensitive to misalignment; strike plate and door frame tolerances matter Lock will make repeated auto-lock cycles if calibration is off No external provisioning API for Airbnb-type integrations Our Verdict The Tapo DL110 delivers a reliable and polished daily experience for homeowners. While installation requires more precise alignment than other models we’ve tested, the lock delivers an impressive performance overall. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: TP-Link Tapo DL-110 Fingerprint Smart Lock Retailer Price $114.98 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The extremely affordable Tapo DL100 Wi-Fi smart lock I reviewed in July has become a favorite among budget-conscious homeowners. It’s not flashy, but it’s dependable, with solid Wi-Fi connectivity, decent app integration, and a clean design that’s easy to use. The step-up Tapo DL110 adds sophistication to that design, incorporating a fast fingerprint reader, a more powerful rechargeable battery, stronger build quality, and more robust protection from the elements. The DL110 represents an upgrade over its predecessor, but the right choice for you will depend on the features you need. Design and build TP-Link carries over the matte-black finish and keypad layout from the less-expensive Tapo DL00, but add several thoughtful refinements. The faceplate now includes a subtle doorbell button that flips up to reveal the keyhole, hiding the backup entry without interfering with the faceplate design. Near-instant fingerprint recognition lets you forget about remembering codes or pulling out your phone to launch an app. The overall build feels substantial and durable, with an all-metal housing, firm buttons, and a flush-fitting fingerprint sensor. TP-Link rates the exterior escutcheon at IP65; our IP code decoder tells us that means it’s dustproof and can withstand water jets coming from any direction (short of a pressure washer, that is). The removable 10,000mAh battery is one of the Tapo DL110’s best features.James Barber/Foundry The lock is certified ANSI Grade 2, the commercial version of the BHMA rating scale, which is more than sufficient for most homes (you can read about the differences between ANSI and BHMA certifications at the preceding link). This TP-Link lock feels dependable in daily use. Installation If you’ve swapped out a deadbolt before, installation will be relatively easy. The Tapo DL110 uses a standard footprint that fits doors between 1? and 2 inches thick. TP-Link includes all the usual spacers, screws, and templates. The printed instructions are clear, and the Tapo app walks you through calibration and connectivity once the hardware’s in place. The first step is to charge the 10,000mAh removable battery with a USB-C cable, as I did the evening before installation. Installation was straightforward after I removed my previous smart lock. I used the TP-Link phone app (available for iPhone and Android) to connect the DL110 to home Wi-Fi and followed instructions to set up the fingerprint entry. The entire process took about fifteen minutes, including the brief challenge I had while removing the rear panel from the TCL D2 Pro lock I needed to uninstall first. All of this smart lock’s important components are fabricated from metal.James Barber/Foundry Unfortunately, precision matters to a Tapo DL110 install more than it does with other locks I’ve tested. The fingerprint and auto-lock functions can behave erratically if the strike plate isn’t perfectly aligned. After running into some issues as I started using this lock, I went online to find that other uses were reporting the same issues. The motor tends to cycle repeatedly if the bolt isn’t perfectly set, but I eventually adjusted my strike plate to solve the problem. While that doesn’t sound like a surprising issue or solution, this is the first smart lock I’ve tested that was so finicky. All the others worked flawlessly with my existing strike plate. Day-to-day experience Biometric entry is the Tapo DL110’s biggest new feature. TP-Link says the fingerprint reader unlocks in about 0.42 seconds, and it really does feel that quick. The reader performed consistently across multiple fingers and even recognized damp fingertips reasonably well. I found the sensors far more forgiving than the home button on a basic iPad. The exterior escutcheon has the typical power cable that must be threaded through the door to a connection on the interior escutcheon.James Barber/Foundry That near-instant recognition lets you stop thinking about codes or app taps. Walk up, touch the pad, and its bolt slides back quietly. The motor’s tone is lower than on the DL100, and it feels more refined overall. It’s not quite as impressive as the touchless palm-vein technology on the (far more expensive) TCL D2 Pro, but it’s the best touch sensor I’ve used. In addition to the fingerprint entry, you can use the PIN pad, which lights up when touched and supports decoy digits when you need to hide your code from prying eyes. There’s also control via the app, which works over either Wi-Fi or via a Bluetooth connection if your home network is down. You can also lock the door with voice control via Alexa, Google Assistant, or SmartThings, and there’s a mechanical key as a last-ditch backup if the battery dies while you’re out. Alternatively, you can plug in a USB-C cable connected to a portable power bank. The Tapo DL110 also has a built-in doorbell with a variable volume that can be controlled via the Tapo app. You can also pair the this lock with Tapo Chimes and Tapo Hubs, or with any Amazon Echo or Google Assistant speakers or displays. During day-to-day use, I never needed to pull out my phone to lock or unlock the door. During testing, I discovered that you could configure the app to unlock the door via Bluetooth when your phone is in proximity. This can be convenient if you regularly arrive home with armloads of groceries, but keep security considerations in mind if you choose to use that feature. Battery and power design From left to right: The Tapo DL110’s battery, interior escutcheon, and battery cover.James Barber/Foundry Smart locks live or die by their power management. The DL110’s 10,000mAh rechargeable battery is a big improvement over the DL100’s smaller, internal pack. TP-Link claims up to a year of runtime, depending on Wi-Fi stability and how frequently you use the lock. After a month of roughly 10 to 15 entries a day, the battery remained at 100 percent. That’s encouraging, though long-term results will depend on conditions. Charging is simple. The battery slides out in seconds and connects to any USB-C cable. From a wall adapter or laptop port, TP-Link says a full recharge takes about three to four hours, depending on the output current. A quick 30-minute top-off should easily cover several weeks of typical use. The only real catch might be a dealbreaker for some users since the lock stays offline during recharging unless you’re using that temporary power source. If your main entry door is your only way in, plan to charge when someone’s home or keep a spare pack on standby. For most users, this is a minor trade-off for a battery you can recharge indefinitely instead of replacing every few months. Smart features and app control The Tapo app is well laid out and easy to use.James Barber/Foundry TP-Link’s Tapo app is one of the lock’s strongest features with a clean user interface with minimal steps required for setup. You can set up fingerprints, create or delete PINs, schedule access, and monitor usage logs without needing to dig through layer upon layer of menus. The access management system allows you to create time-limited or recurring codes, assign different users their own profiles, and see who unlocked the door and when. Notifications arrive quickly and reliably over Wi-Fi. You can also integrate the Tapo DL110 into Tapo Smart Actions, TP-Link’s basic automation layer. Users can set up commands that turn on compatible porch lights when the door unlocks, or schedule auto-locks at night. The Tapo DL110 is less useful for commercial landlords, lacking the advanced automation features that would allow it to generate temporary guest codes for vacation rentals and the ability integrate with third-party property-management APIs. But for homeowners, the DL110 covers nearly everything you’d expect, offering reliable Wi-Fi connectivity, straightforward scheduling, and instant notifications if your kids forget to lock up. Performance and reliability You can connect the Tapo DL110’s onboard doorbell (which covers its keyhole) to one of TP-Link’s in-home chimes.James Barber/Foundry The Tapo DL110 proved steady over several weeks of testing. The fingerprint reader rarely failed, and when it did, a second attempt almost always worked. The keypad also responded quickly, even in bright sunlight. Bluetooth fallback kicked in instantly when Wi-Fi dropped. The only hiccup came from the auto-lock calibration mentioned earlier. When the deadbolt meets resistance, the motor sometimes retries rather than timing out gracefully. TP-Link might  be able to smooth that behavior with firmware updates, but it’s the one annoyance that keeps the DL110 shy of perfection. Should you buy the Tapo DL110 smart lock? The Tapo DL110 is ideal for homeowners who want a biometric smart lock without a luxury price tag. It’s intuitive enough for first-time smart-home users, but flexible enough to satisfy enthusiasts already invested in TP-Link’s Tapo ecosystem. It’s lightning-fast, with a practical rechargeable battery, and its overall user experience feels refined. Yes, installation precision matters, and the automation layer could go deeper. If you’re ready to retire your mechanical deadbolt and want something smarter without going full premium, the Tapo DL110 belongs on your shortlist. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart locks. Read...

Anthropic has now launched Claude Opus 4.5, the latest version of the company’s flagship AI. Techcrunch writes that Opus 4.5 should perform superbly in several benchmark tests, such as SWE-Bench (coding), tau2-bench (tool usage) and GPQA Diamond (problem solving). It is the first model to score over 80 per cent on SWE-Bench Verified, an important benchmark of a model’s programming ability. New features include Claude for Excel, a sidebar in the programme now available to Max, Team and Enterprise users. It supports pivot tables, charts and file uploads. At the same time, Claude for Chrome will also be available to all Max users. Another new feature is improved memory management. Users can now talk to Claude without interruption when the memory limit is reached, by the model itself compressing older parts of the conversation in the background. Opus 4.5 is also optimised for so-called agentic use cases, where it can act as the main agent and control smaller Haiku-powered sub-agents. According to Anthropic, Opus 4.5 is also their most secure model yet with better protection against prompt injection attacks. Read...

Historically, you’ve had two options to expand the port capabilities of your laptop: an inexpensive USB-C dongle or a more powerful, pricey Thunderbolt docking station. A third option is quietly emerging, trying to split the difference. A DisplayLink docking station (sometimes called a USB-C dock) uses data compression to offer the capabilities of a Thunderbolt dock over a standard USB-C or Thunderbolt cable. Why buy one? DisplayLink docking stations work great for normal day-to-day productivity, and historically the docks are cheaper and more stable than older Thunderbolt 3 desktop docks. They’re an upgrade over our picks for the best USB-C hubs dongles, and less expensive than the best Thunderbolt docking stations for your laptop. They can even support more displays than a native Thunderbolt dock. They’re just not suited for gaming. If you need a fuller explanation of how DisplayLink works and what it offers, you’ll find that directly under our two recommended DisplayLink docks, below. You’ll also find a FAQ with answers to questions you might have. I base my recommendations on hands-on testing of the DisplayLink docking stations. Why you should trust me: I’ve worked as a technology journalist for about 30 years, and at PCWorld for the last decade. I’ve tested dozens of USB-C hubs, Thunderbolt docks, and DisplayLink docking stations. I use a docking station in my daily work, connected to multiple 4K displays, and I typically review a handful of new products each month. Updated Nov. 24, 2025 with some additional details from Synaptics. Look for the DisplayLink logo to identify it as a DisplayLink dock.Mark Hachman / IDG The best DisplayLink docking stations Though I’ve tested a number of DisplayLink docking stations for laptops, I have two recommended docks. They’re the same picks that appear on PCWorld’s list of the best Thunderbolt desktop docks for your laptop. Ugreen 9-in-1 USB-C (Revodok) Docking Station CM615 – Best USB-C DisplayLink dock Pros Terrific price and value Excellent stability Great display port flexibility Support for two 4K60 displays Cons Have to provide your own power supply Can warm to somewhat alarming temperatures A lack of naming consistency Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $109.98 View Deal eBay $129 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the Ugreen 9-in-1 USB-C (Revodok) Docking Station CM615 Like some of the premium Thunderbolt docks, Ugreen’s DisplayLink dock provides options to use either HDMI or DisplayPort to connect a display, allowing you to use your existing display cables and save some money. Like most DisplayLink docks, this dock was unusually stable, with no flickering between displays — one of the reasons I like DisplayLink docks. Some other Thunderbolt docks offer the same flexibility to shift between monitors, but not many. Ugreen’s dock does so affordably. Ugreen 9-in-1 USB-C (Revodok) Docking Station CM615: other considerations If you’re not worried about hunting down the proper software driver (because Ugreen, bless them, does not make it apparent that it needs one) than I would recommend that you buy this dock. It offers many of the features of more expensive Thunderbolt docks at an affordable price. Read our full Ugreen 9-in-1 USB-C (Revodok) Docking Station CM615 review Plugable USB-C Dual 4K Display Horizontal Docking Station (UD-6950PDH) – Best USB-C DisplayLink dock runner-up Pros Terrific value for office workers Great display flexibility Plenty of USB-A ports SD/microSD card slots, too 100W of charging power Cons No USB-C ports No dedicated charging ports Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $179.95 View Deal B&H $199 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Who should buy the Plugable USB-C Dual 4K Display Horizontal Docking Station If you’re a home office worker who doesn’t want or need to game, this dock will suit you just fine. Plugable’s USB-C Dual 4K Display dock takes Plugable’s traditional approach: provide dedicated display interfaces, and let the user choose between which cables they’ll need to connect to their display. The dock is a pretty simple affair, with a pair of legacy USB-A ports and standard gigabit Ethernet connection. Interestingly, Plugable has recast this dock as a Mac-dedicated device, with a grayish tint to boot. (That’s what you’ll see on the Amazon page.) It’s really not — it will work on Macs and Windows PCs just fine, though you’ll need the Windows driver for it instead. Plugable USB-C Dual 4K Display Horizontal Docking Station: further considerations For whatever reason (maybe the bandwidth that a 10Gbps port consumes?) USB-C ports aren’t common on DisplayLink docks. (The Ugreen dock that we’ve picked as our favorite has one; this dock does not.) This is going to sound redundant, but just keep in mind that these docks are terrific for video playback or office work, but gaming is beyond them. Read our full Plugable USB-C Dual 4K Display Horizontal Docking Station (UD-6950PDH) review Other DisplayLink reviews and features Laptop docking stations may evolve into “AI Docks”: Synaptics believes its high-speed signaling finesse can give it a leg up in future devices. DisplayLink goes ‘Pro’ to highlight even faster speeds: Synaptics’ DL-7000 chip will be rolling out in new DisplayLink docks. Plugable Thunderbolt Docking Station with DisplayLink (TBT-6950PD) review: Add up to four external displays and fast ports with this quality DisplayLink Thunderbolt 4 dock. It’s time to start docking phones again, DisplayLink says: Modern smartphones are powerful enough to try out this technology again, DisplayLink thinks. DisplayLink USB-C docks: How DisplayLink works USB-C hubs, Thunderbolt desktop docks, and now DisplayLink docking stations have emerged because of two factors: the growing ubiquity of do-anything USB-C ports, and the realization by laptop makers that they can use these ports to eliminate all the dedicated HDMI, microUSB, SD card slots, and USB-A ports that can clutter up their notebook PCs. DisplayLink docks provide some of the native functions of a Thunderbolt dock, namely the ability to drive multiple high-resolution displays. Because of the inherent bandwidth limitations, DisplayLink docking stations offer a good choice for office workers, who can use those extra displays for static applications like email, chat, spreadsheets, or office work. A USB-C port typically provides 10Gbps of bandwidth. Thunderbolt 3/4, which runs over the same physical USB-C port, supplies 40Gbps. In the real world, that typically means that a USB-C dongle can connect to a single 4K display (at 30Hz) while Thunderbolt can connect to two 4K displays, at 60Hz. DisplayLink can you give the advantages of a 40Gbps Thunderbolt connection via just a 10Gbps USB-C interface. How? Data compression. A DisplayLink dock can either use a “traditional” 10Gbps USB-C connection, or take advantage of the extra bandwidth provided by an existing Thunderbolt 3 or 4 port. Either way, it uses data compression to squeeze more data throughput over the port. We use data compression every day, in photos and streamed video from YouTube and Netflix, and never notice. It’s the same here; your Windows desktop and applications will look the same. Two similar products with different characteristics: a Lention USB-C hub (left), which has been previously featured among PCWorld’s u003ca href=`https://www.pcworld.com/article/402858/the-best-usb-c-hubs-for-your-laptop-tablet-or-2-in-1.html`u003erecommended USB-C hubsu003c/au003e, and the u003ca href=`` data-product=`699911` data-manufacturer=`10079` class=`product-link`u003eHP Thunderbolt G4 Docku003c/au003e, part of PCWorld’s recommended u003ca href=`https://www.pcworld.com/article/393714/best-thunderbolt-docks-for-a-laptop-pc.html`u003ebest Thunderbolt docksu003c/au003e. DisplayLink is a technology owned by Synaptics, meaning it’s a proprietary standard. Each DisplayLink dock has a special DisplayLink chip built inside of it. (DisplayLink docks rarely, if ever, publish which Synaptics chip they use, so a DisplayLink dock’s capabilities may vary by product.) DisplayLink USB-C docks: Pros and cons DisplayLink’s data compression means there are two negatives to the technology, which we’ll get out of the way. While USB-C and Thunderbolt work out of the box, DisplayLink requires a software driver. Without it, it will function as a generic USB-C dock. I’ve never seen any DisplayLink docks use their own unique drivers (though they may). In any case, you can use Synaptics’ official DisplayLink drivers. Most dock makers publish this information right up front, but not all do. (Be sure to reboot after installing it.) DisplayLink works perfectly well for email, Word, Excel, and anything static, like a web page. But it does have limitations: 10Gbps is a nice chunk of bandwidth. But pushing a ton of data across it will cause images to stutter and hitch. In practice, this means that PC gaming on a DisplayLink dock is iffy: A slow-paced game like Baldur’s Gate 3 should be fine, but a frantic shooter like Battlefield or Helldivers 2 probably won’t give you a good experience at all. Playing 4K video from Netflix or YouTube? It shouldn’t be a problem. Playing 4K video while copying files from a hard drive and downloading a file? Everything will work, albeit slowly. The big advantage for me is that DisplayLink tends to be really stable. Older Thunderbolt 3 hardware can be a little glitchy when connecting to multiple displays. In my experience, DisplayLink docks aren’t. That matters to some people. DisplayLink (often with a DisplayLink 4K logo on it) can also connect to multiple displays, even more than Thunderbolt. I don’t have room to neatly show off a photo of three or even four displays, but trust me — I’ve tried it on multiple occasions, and it works. The hitch is that your laptop has to be capable of rendering on four displays, and you’ll typically need to close your laptop to do so. That may mean adjusting the Windows Control Panel to tell your laptop to leave it up and running. This is only necessary if you are running four 4K displays with a DisplayLink dock. Mark Hachman / IDG Can I get a bit nerdy for a second? When you use a DisplayLink dock to connect to more than two displays, there’s even more magic going on behind the scenes. Take a DisplayLink dock like the Plugable UD-6950PDZ, which supports three 4K displays at 60Hz. It uses Synaptics’ most advanced chip, the DL-6950. But the DL-6950 only supports a pair of displays. To enable a third external display, the dock is using DisplayLink for two displays, and your laptop’s own “normal” DisplayPort connection (called DisplayPort Alt Mode) to drive the third. That brings up the final point that I always have to make: Recent hardware is best. A standard DisplayLink docks works best on, say, a 10th- or 11th-gen Core processor or a complementary AMD Ryzen laptop. With anything more advanced — 12th-, 13th-, and 14th-gen — you should have a pretty ideal experience. To be fair, Synaptics feels that you should be able to use older hardware with DisplayPort, and it should just work. “Regardless of your PC’s specs or age, DisplayLink docks will efficiently allocate bandwidth to handle your network connection and other peripherals, ensuring optimal performance,” a Synaptics representative says. That’s a fair objection. But I’m still more comfortable recommending more modern hardware, perhaps because I’m a little gun-shy after using other USB-C hardware. Unlike other Thunderbolt docks we’ve tested, Plugable’s UD-ULTC4K highlights not only which port is which but which I/O protocol each port is associated with. Note the “Alt Mode” label on the bottom ports.Mark Hachman / IDG How I test DisplayLink docking stations I use the same methodology to test DisplayLink docks as I do to test Thunderbolt docking stations. Here’s a synopsis. First, I take the dock from its packaging and evaluate its construction. I measure the cord length and check the dock’s physical dimensions with a ruler. I’ll then read the manual: Does the dock need any drivers? (Yes it will.) Are there links? What does the manual say about the dock’s capabilities, in terms of power and speed? Next, I take a USB key or two and connect them to the available USB ports to determine if they have enough space to allow several to be connected at the same time. I then examine the display ports, find the appropriate cables, and then connect the dock to the laptop. I use a series of laptops with various generations of AMD and Intel hardware, and check to see if the experience is the same on each one. If it isn’t, I make notes. I then measure the power output of the ports, using a USB multimeter, a smartphone, and a laptop to measure how much power the dock delivers to a laptop. Finally, I check to see how well the dock performs under load. I use a specific test laptop for this purpose for repeatable results. I stream a 4K60 YouTube video using the Ethernet port on the dock (if it has one) and note any dropped frames. I usually check with a pre-recorded 4K60 video running from an SSD. I then run PCMark 10’s SSD storage benchmark off of a test SSD, connected to the dock. I measure the score, then measure the score again while streaming a video. I then copy a large, multigigabyte folder of various files from my laptop across the bus and measure the time it takes to do so. I repeat the test while streaming video. Finally, I check the operation and performance of any SD card slots the dock has and listen to audio through the audio jack, to make sure it works. FAQ 1. Should you buy a DisplayLink USB-C dock? Not all DisplayLink docks are created equal, which is why we test them. But for office workers on Windows, absolutely. For gamers, give it a pass. DisplayLink docking station offers a chance to expand your PC’s I/O capabilities, even with hardware that doesn’t support Thunderbolt. If you aren’t comfortable with this, feel free to return to the relative safety of a either a generic USB-C dongle or a powerful Thunderbolt dock: Both offer simplicity and a known experience. 2. How do I know if my dock is a DisplayLink dock? It should prominently feature a DisplayLink logo, which we include a photo of earlier in the story. Not always, though. Shopping for a DisplayLink dock can be a bit confusing, too, since the term “DisplayLink dock” isn’t really in vogue. Instead, vendors will sometimes use “USB-C dock” instead. Just read the documentation closely and look for the label. 3. How much should a DisplayLink docking station cost? DisplayLink was a much cheaper alternative to Thunderbolt docks during the height of the work-from-home years. Then, a Thunderbolt dock would cost about $300, and a DisplayLink dock about $150 to $200 or so. Prices for both have come down some, with DisplayLink docks starting for as low as $125. 4. How many devices can a DisplayLink dock support? You’ll usually see close to as many ports on a DisplayLink dock as you will on a Thunderbolt dock, and maybe more. In general, DisplayLink is just fine for connecting multiple devices simultaneously. It’s when they’re all in use, transferring data, that the bus may get clogged and transfer rates may slow down. 5. What’s better, a DisplayLink dock or a Thunderbolt dock? For now, there’s a case to be made that a DisplayLink dock is a better value: They’re generally cheaper, more stable, and offer the potential for more displays. But if you’re a gamer, the answer is not the same. Gamers should buy a Thunderbolt dock instead. The game changes, though, when Thunderbolt 5 debuts later in 2024. Then, Thunderbolt 5 bandwidth will shoot up to 80Gbps in both directions, allowing those docks to connect to four 4K displays at 144Hz refresh rates and offer improved charging. Again, Synaptics is competitive; its most recent DL-7000 chip allows four 4K displays to be connected at 120Hz. 6. Can a DisplayLink dock charge your laptop and your smartphone? If the DisplayLink docking station ships with its own external power brick, it should be able to, yes. Most DisplayLink docks supply the same amount of power as a Thunderbolt dock (a maximum of 90 to 95W to your laptop, and hopefully enough power to fast-charge a smartphone.) 7. Is a DisplayLink docking station plug and play? Not really. You’ll need a driver from Synaptics or the dock maker to enable the dock’s full functionality. 8. What’s DSC and HBR3? I’ve heard that those are a competitor to DisplayLink. Display Stream Compression with High Bandwidth Rate 3 (DSC with HBR3) is a more open version of DisplayLink. It doesn’t require a software driver, but you won’t see this technology advertised at all. However, you will find it in products like the Kensington SD5800T, which uses Thunderbolt 4 and DSC to enable four external 4K displays. Basically, the same rules apply. If you own a recent, modern laptop, you may have one with DSC inside: It’s found within laptops with an Nvidia GeForce RTX graphics chip, or as part of Intel’s “Tiger Lake” platform, aka the 11th-gen Core chips. But this is absolutely not a feature that laptop makers advertise, either. 9. Are DisplayLink and DisplayPort the same thing? No, they’re not, though the names are confusingly similar. DisplayPort is a physical display connector as well as a display protocol. Your laptop can route DisplayPort display protocols over Thunderbolt without ever using the connector itself. DisplayPort can also be routed over a USB-C connection encoded with DisplayLink, too. 10. Is a DisplayLink dock good for gaming? Not especially. It’s best for productivity, which uses a number of windows with static applications. Any time you push gobs and gobs of data over the DisplayLink bus, as you would with gaming, you risk the connection being saturated and your game reduced to a stuttery mess. You may be able to “game” with a slow-paced game or one that doesn’t use a lot of fast-paced motion or detailed graphics, but it’s risky. Buy a Thunderbolt dock instead. Read...

If you use multiple monitors on your computer, it can be a bit difficult to access all the controls to change the brightness and contrast of the different screens. But a new tool in Microsoft’s downloadable Powertoys collection of utilities for Windows enthusiasts will soon make it easier. The PowerToys team is ?????????. ??? pic.twitter.com/79y3WBDuOg— Niels Laute (@Niels9001) November 24, 2025 Niels Laute, one of the developers on Microsoft’s Powertoys team, has announced on social media platform X that the new Powertoys tool PowerDisplay will add a context menu to the taskbar to control brightness, contrast, volume and other features across multiple screens. According to Laute, the plan is for PowerDisplay to launch in January, probably in version 0.98 of Powertoys, but that could change. But there’s no reason to delay snagging PowerToys — here are 9 useful Windows PowerToys features you might’ve overlooked. Read...

If your current laptop is struggling to keep up with your daily workflow, Black Friday is the perfect time to get a brand new one. The Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro is $350 off at Samsung.com, which brings the price down to $1,000. This speedy laptop is fantastic for handling your work and personal needs. This Book 5 Pro features an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor and 16GB DDR5 RAM, which is a nice combo that’ll complete tasks lickety-split. The laptop’s got 512GB SSD on board, which is a good amount of headroom for your files and apps. You can also upgrade if need be, as its got two SSD card slots. The Galaxy Book 5 Pro has a really nice 14-inch AMOLED screen with a crisp 2880×1800 resolution. It also has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, ensuring you’ll have a smooth experience throughout. Even better, this is a touchscreen, which means you can use the S pen whenever your heart desires. Snag the Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro for $1,000 at Samsung.com this Black Friday before it’s gone. For even more savings, check out all the best Black Friday laptop deals we’ve gathered. Upgrade your laptop for 26% offBuy now at Samsung.com Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Excellent display Great CPU performance and modest GPU performance Not too heavy Cons Disappointing battery life Unfortunately bulky dimensions Uncomfortable keyboard Unimpressive design Our Verdict The Predator Helios Neo 14 AI aims for compact gaming, but ends up neither small nor powerful enough, stuck awkwardly between lightweight and full-size laptops. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI Retailer Price $1,699.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices The Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI (PHN14-71-939W) is Acer’s latest stab at a compact gaming laptop. It’s a formula that may have started with Razer but has caught on with many laptop makers, seeing some especially impressive models hit the scene like the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.  While this trend is generally centered around excellence in design met with respectable performance that you wouldn’t expect from such a machine, Acer didn’t seem to fully commit to the bit. This results in the Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI being a bit too big and heavy in the name of performance while still lagging behind the typical gaming laptops that don’t worry as much about their weight. There’s still a lot of good about the Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI, but in the end it just doesn’t stand out.  Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Specs and features Model number: PHN14-71-939W CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 processor 285H Memory: 16GB LPDDR5X-7467 Graphics/GPU: Nvidia RTX 5060 115W Display: 14.5-inch 2880×1800 120Hz OLED, Glossy, G-Sync Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD Webcam: 1080p IR Connectivity: 1x Thunderbolt 4 with Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 with Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x microSD card reader, 1x 3.5mm combo audio Networking: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.4 Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition Battery capacity: 76 watt-hours Dimensions: 12.77 x 10.07 x 1.02 inches Weight: 4.14 pounds MSRP: $1,699 as-tested ($1,699 base) We tested the base model, which comes priced at $1,699. For $1,899, you can upgrade to a configuration with an RTX 5070 and get double the system memory — a very sensible upgrade, especially considering you can’t upgrade the memory after purchase.  Against its rivals, the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI consistently proves to be good, but just not good enough.   Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Design and build quality Foundry / Mark Knapp Acer doesn’t appear to have changed too much about the outward appearance of its laptop with this generation. There are a few tweaks here and there such as a different keyboard deck and a larger cutout above the display to house an IR-backed webcam. But the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI appears to follow up on the prior Helios Neo 14 model with largely under-the-hood upgrades.  This leaves you with a reasonably compact and lightweight gaming laptop, though not one that’s pushing the boundaries. The Predator Helios Neo 14 AI is still 4.14 pounds, and though it has a slim profile, its thickest point is a hair over an inch thick (rubber feet included). Acer also made the unfortunate choice of really jutting out at the rear for exhaust, giving the system a 10.07-inch depth that made it hard to fit into a laptop sleeve. The shame of it is that rear exhaust port appears to be largely superfluous. Acer didn’t load it up with a beefy radiator stack — the last half-inch or so of the space is mostly empty. The rest of the laptop’s build is a mix of good and meh. The Predator Helios Neo 14 AI gets an aluminum display lid and base, but the keyboard deck is plastic. The display is also flanked by plastic bezels. Though the laptop feels reasonably sturdy, there’s just a little more flex to the display and light creaking to the base than I like. The hinges hold the display firmly in place and don’t wiggle much after moving the screen. The base of the laptop is also heavy enough to stay in place and make it possible to open the laptop with one hand.  Acer has set the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI to pull in air from the bottom and top of the system, with a large grille above the keyboard hiding what are actually rather small intakes for the job. The exhaust occupies almost the entire rear half of the base, with vents on the sides and rear of the laptop. Acer sits the laptop on four rubber feet that do a good job keeping it in place while also providing some clearance for the bottom vents. Acer has a lot to say about the cooling architecture inside the system, but all that matters at the end of the day is how effective and loud (or quiet, ideally) it is. Fortunately, all the airflow proved sufficient to let the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI run consistently under load, passing 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light Stress Test. The fans are a little noisy when the system is under a heavy load (even more so in the Turbo mode), but generally not a bother. The Predator Helios Neo 14 AI is a decent enough looking laptop, but it’s hard not to view in direct comparison to the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 — not just because I just reviewed that laptop but also because they are aiming for the same niche. And in that matchup, Acer’s laptop comes away looking and feeling like a disappointing also-ran. It’s bulkier, heavier, less elegant, and feels cheaper. To be fair, it is cheaper, but not by much. At least it has a Kensington lock slot.  Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Keyboard, trackpad Foundry / Mark Knapp Like just about every Acer laptop I’ve tested (which is many), the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI has a keyboard that’s hard to love. Rather than having helpful contours to direct my fingers to the center of each keycap, the keycaps bulge slightly, tending to push me to the edges. And without good stability, I can end up rolling off the edges a bit. There’s also inconsistent tactility as the edges and centers of keys depress differently. It’s only thanks to this consistent design on Acer keyboard that I have been able to get so well acquainted with the quirks of these keyboards to be able to reach a typing speed over 110 words per minute in Monkeytype with a decent degree of accuracy, but this speed is never comfortable or confident.  To squeeze in full-size arrow keys, Acer shrunk the right shift key, which can make using it more tedious. Acer has also included a column of extra media control keys at the right edge of the laptop. The result is that the main keyboard is shifted slightly left of the laptop’s centerline, which just may not be an issue for gaming but makes the laptop that little bit more annoying to use for typing.  The Predator Helios Neo 14 AI’s keyboard includes fun, RGB lighting that effectively illuminates the full legends on the keys. It is just three-zone lighting, though, not offering per-key customization. By default, Windows controls this lighting and PredatorSense indicated as much. But this awkwardly made the built-in keyboard shortcuts for adjusting lighting levels not work consistently, and there was no shortcut to the Windows settings for keyboard lighting.  The trackpad on the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI is fine, but not impressive. It’s smooth and responsive. The physical click is a bit stiff and has an unsatisfying thunk. While it’s big enough, it feels almost tiny coming from the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Display, audio Foundry / Mark Knapp The Predator Helios Neo 14 AI offers about as good a display as you’re likely to find in a gaming laptop of this class. That is to say, it offers an excellent one that leaves little more to be desired. It achieves 100 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and manages that with excellent color accuracy, hitting a max dE1976 of just 1.93 and an average of 0.88. It can reach 431 nits for a full white screen in HDR and 10 percent windows can reach 635 nits. Pair that brightness with the infinite contrast of OLED, and you’ve got a screen that really pops. It also zips along at a fast 120Hz for smooth visuals in games and everyday operation while G-Sync helps avoid tearing. If there’s anything to knock, it’s the glossy finish’s reflectivity, which can cause some glare at lower brightness levels. The screen also isn’t perfectly flat, with subtle warping that leads to some funhouse mirror-style reflections. The Predator Helios Neo 14 AI’s speakers put out a good deal of volume, but they lean into the mids and treble too much giving them a harsh quality at high listening levels. While you can rely on them in lieu of headphones from time to time, I’d avoid gaming or listening to music on them, as that harsh quality can be headache inducing after a while.  Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Webcam, microphone, biometrics The webcam and microphone on the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI feel like a bit of an afterthought. It’s nice that the webcam supports Windows Hello facial recognition for quick sign-ins, but it would have been even nicer if the webcam looked good in use. The camera struggles with noise even in well-lit scenarios, and the graininess of the footage can end up looking very offputting and reduce clarity in spite of the 1080p resolution.  The mics don’t help much either, as they capture audio at very low level. They don’t seem to struggle with background noise, but that may just be the result of failing to pick up much sound at all. After making a test recording, it was hard to hear myself clearly in anything but a silent room even with the laptop’s speakers maxed out. Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Connectivity Foundry / Mark Knapp Acer has done a good job with the port selection on the system. It offers USB-A and USB-C ports on both sides, and both USB-C ports support 90W PD power input and DisplayPort Alt Mode for video output. Only the left USB-C port provides Thunderbolt 4 speeds, but the remaining USB ports are all 10Gbps ports. There’s an HDMI 2.1 (48Gbps) port on the right side along with a microSD card slot. Acer rounds out the selection with a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left. The left edge also includes a barrel power adapter for use with the included power brick. Having the option to leave the heavy power brick at home and use a lightweight USB-C charger on the go is always lovely to see on lighter gaming laptops.  The positioning of these ports is less fortunate. Since the rear of the laptop is largely occupied with exhaust vents, all of the ports are pushed forward to the front edge of the front half of the system. This can make using the laptop with peripherals plugged in a little wonky.  The wireless connectivity is solid with fast and stable Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.4, which have worked reliably in my testing.  Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Performance All it takes is a quick look at the specs list to see that the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI is primed to be a solid-performing machine with ample CPU performance and respectable, if not mind-blowing GPU performance. That Predator Helios Neo 14 AI largely hits the mark, though there are some areas where it falls a little short.  PCMark 10 shows off the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI’s strong general performance, with it delivering a highly satisfactory score. Some gaming laptops push higher thanks to even more potent GPUs than the RTX 5060, but anything above 5,000 points is quite good. he Predator Helios Neo 14 AI might have gone even higher if it weren’t held back by its storage. Though the SSD included in the system hit over 7,100MB/s sequential reads and 6,100MB/s writes in CrystalDiskMark 9, its random read and write speeds were on the slow side at around 380MB/s, which even some old SATA SSDs can muster.  The Intel Core Ultra 9 285H proves a strong inclusion for the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI. It carries the system to a solid lead over most of its competitors, with its 16 cores providing excellent multi-core performance that the AMD competition can’t quite match. Its single-core performance is also excellent, though more readily rivaled by the Razer Blade 14 (2025)’s AMD Ryzen AI 9 365. Newer isn’t always better though, as we see the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI consistently lag behind the Intel Core i7-14700HX in the Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 on both single-core and multi-core tests, likely thanks to that earlier chip’s 8P+12E configuration, which skips Low Power Efficient-cores entirely and hits a higher max turbo frequency. Still, it’s a close enough matchup, with the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI even pulling off a win in our Handbrake encoding test. A strong CPU is a great partner for a GPU, though power and cooling can often be the bigger factors in laptops. While the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI shows solid performance in 3DMark’s Port Royal test, edging out the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 GA403UM that wields the same GPU (but with a 100W power limit), Acer still falls behind both of Lenovo’s systems. Even with its Turbo power setting boosting its score to 7,337 points, it lags behind those two and fails to catch up to the Razer Blade 14’s RTX 5070. That Turbo power setting tends to only offer a small uptick in performance while coming with a big noise penalty, seeing the fan noise go from reasonable to annoying.  While Port Royal is very demanding of the GPU, Shadow of the Tomb Raider is a good showcase for how 1080p gaming can benefit from stronger CPU performance. Here we see the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI once again take the lead over Asus and the Lenovo LOQ 15, both of which trailed it in CPU performance. That lead isn’t quite as great as in pure CPU tests, but it’s a lead nonetheless. We also see the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI not only lag behind the Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10, but also close the gap with the Razer Blade 14 thanks to its CPU performance. A demanding game like Metro Exodus shifts the load back over to the GPU, so performance plays out again much like it did in the Port Royal benchmark. Here, the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI again fails to quite keep up with Lenovo’s system, but remains ahead of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14.  Cyberpunk 2077 again shows how GPU power and cooling can be crucial in graphically demanding games. The Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 once again leads the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI. Performance is still respectable, with the system managing well above 60 FPS, but if pure performance is what you’re after, the Lenovo has the edge for a better price. Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Battery life Performance and battery life are a fine balancing act, and though the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI doesn’t do horribly, it also doesn’t impress. It ran our 4K local video playback test for just over five hours before its 76Wh battery was drained. That gives it a much-needed win over the Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10, which dogged it in performance benchmarks. But that leaves it below even the lifespan offered by the small 60Wh battery in the Lenovo LOQ 15 15AHP10, never mind how far it falls behind the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, which managed almost 13 hours on a 72Wh battery. Real-world battery use tends to see the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI fall more in the range of 4-5 hours, and even that can entail some conservative use of the display’s brightness.  Acer Predator Helios Neo 14 AI: Conclusion The Predator Helios Neo 14 AI is a competent machine, but not quite the one I’d recommend. While it tries to join the fray of thinner and lighter gaming laptops, it doesn’t quite hit its mark with a weight of over four pounds and awkward dimensions that can make it hard to fit into laptop sleeves. The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 fulfills that promise much more effectively, has a better design, an equally excellent display, much longer battery life to go alongside the portability, and it offers close enough performance (that even sometimes catches up in its Turbo mode) while costing a similar amount. And where raw performance is more of a concern than portability, the Lenovo Legion 5i 15IRX10 showed that it can beat the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI while costing far less. Against its rivals, the Predator Helios Neo 14 AI consistently proves to be good, but just not good enough. Read...

Debian works itself or in derivatives such as Open Media Vault or Raspberry Pi OS as a stable and lean server system on countless public and private devices. However, anyone looking for a stylish and beginner-friendly desktop will not think of Debian first. This is due to unprocessed software, including the respective user interface, which always comes as an original upstream from the manufacturer (such as Gnome or KDE). In addition, there are Debian peculiarities that irritate Linux beginners, but also those switching from Ubuntu systems. Even the installer wants to know much more from the user than with Ubuntu or Mint. More fundamental, however, is the extremely conservative release model, which does not provide for any kernel updates or functional software updates for two full years. Setup with small but some hurdles Even the search for the Debian installation medium requires a minimum knowledge of Linux terminology. The website debian.org is not difficult to find, but if you simply click on “Download” here, you will receive the Netinstaller without a live system. This is unsuitable for pre-testing with a desired desktop. The subpage debian.org/distrib turns a lot of information into a confusing search game, especially the redirection to the worldwide “Download mirrors”. If newcomers don’t load Debian with the desired desktop here, this is understandable, but can usually still be corrected in the installer. Debian has a number of system peculiarities and delivers desktops unprocessed. The setup therefore requires some adjustments – for Gnome, for example, with the Gnome-shell-extension-manager. Gnome Extension Manager The installer asks significantly more questions than Ubuntu. Most of them are not critical: domain and proxy can simply be skipped; the root account, which is unfamiliar to many, is mandatory here, and with partitioning (with a number of specialties) you can get away with the simple default settings, provided Debian solo is allowed to take over the data carrier. Answering “Yes” to the question “Use network mirror?” can correct any download mishaps, because this then allows another “software selection”. It’s always advisable to select the “Debian desktop environment” option and also a desktop such as Gnome or KDE. Without a desktop, only the substructure is available, but the system is headless. Without the “environment”, the selected desktop is available, but no desktop software (browser, sound, cups, and network manager may also be missing). The release policy Debian prioritizes stability at the expense of up-to-datedness. A new Debian version is released approximately every two years (currently Debian 13) and receives three years of support. During this period, there are only regular security updates—the kernel and software (including the desktop) remain at the same level. Experienced users can circumvent this by including backport sources, but by default Debian software remains fixed for at least two years. This is the opposite of the agile rolling model of Arch Linux, and Ubuntu is also comparatively progressive with its biannual updates (point releases with kernel upgrades). The Debian installer offers this choice in the “Netinst” variant, but also with live installation media, provided the “Network mirror” option is activated. LinuxTechi Release upgrades to the next higher version after two years are technically offered to users, but are not automated. The user must replace the old release name (e.g. “bookworm”) with the new one (e.g. “trixie”) in the “/etc/apt/sources. list” file each time it occurs (at least three times) and then perform an upgrade with sudo apt full-upgrade to request an update. This is not rocket science, but it’s different from the simple click offer in an Ubuntu “update manager”. Debian is in good hands on computers where no new hardware components are expected for years. By “components” we mean critical candidates such as graphics cards or CPUs that may require newer kernels or graphics libraries. Debian desktop users should also be unconcerned about missing out on two years of new features in Gimp, VLC, or Gnome. Debian peculiarities Debian does not recognize “sudo” for simple account changes. For administrative tasks, “su” should be used to switch to root, whose password was defined during installation. If you want Ubuntu conditions, you can install sudo (and visudo) in the root account: apt install sudo The main user can then be added to the sudo group. usermod -aG sudo sepp This leads to the next peculiarity: “usermod” seems to be missing like all typical admin commands. The background to this is a restrictive path specification: directories such as “/sbin” or “/usr/sbin” with the system administration tools are not included in the default path. A command such as “usermod” will therefore only work with the complete path “/sbin/usermod”. In continuous operation, it’ll be easier to add the PATH variable accordingly (“export PATH=[…]:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin”). After a Debian installation, the file “/etc/apt/sources.list” often contains the line “deb cdrom […]” (the installation ISO image) as the package source, which leads to errors with every apt command. The line must therefore be commented out or deleted. Such minor issues are easy to fix, but can initially irritate Ubuntu users considerably. Service configurations are also a little more restrictive under Debian than under Ubuntu distributions. By default, Debian only accepts its own, classic DEB sources as package sources: External PPAs are not permitted, snaps and flatpaks can be optionally retrofitted—as everywhere else—but they are not standard. Desktop, drivers and software As with Arch, the selected desktop comes in the default original version. Debian provides a few of its own background images, but nothing more. Depending on the desktop, you’ll have to make your own improvements here—certainly more with Gnome than with KDE or XFCE, for example. This is not a disadvantage in principle, but assumes that you are familiar with desktop extensions, desktop settings and themes, and are happy to carry out such customizations yourself. Typical for Debian: Firefox ESR, which is only updated (functionally) once a year, is pre-installed as the default browser. Sam Singleton With regard to proprietary drivers and firmware, Debian has relaxed its previously restrictive stance so that “nonfree” sources are now automatically permitted. GPU drivers (such as “nvidia-driver”), graphics libraries (such as “mesa-utils”), or codecs (such as “ffmpeg”) can therefore be installed directly or are already added during installation. Software and kernels are only reasonably up-to-date in brand-new Debian versions and remain at this level. Typical for conservative software is also the use of Firefox ESR as the standard browser, which also receives function updates as an exception, but only once a year. Debian-like alternatives No question: Compared to Ubuntu & co., Debian requires a number of steps to set up the system and desktop. Compared to Arch Linux, however, the effort is limited. If you still want to avoid these steps but want to use the rock-solid Debian, you can switch to derivatives such as MX Linux with XFCE or Q4-OS with KDE. The Debian derivative that guarantees the closest possible proximity to Ubuntu is the Mint variant Linux Mint LMDE. Read...