Logitech just launched the MX Master 4 mouse, which is a big deal if you spend most of your days glued to a computer screen. This is the first MX mouse with customizable haptics, which means you’ll feel vibrations when you scroll and select things. If you’re a designer or video editor, you definitely shouldn’t sleep on this, as it could make your life a heck of a lot easier. One of the coolest features is the Actions Ring. Essentially, it’s a digital overlay that appears on your screen containing all of your much loved shortcuts. This overlay lets you assign commands for Photoshop, Excel, or whatever else you’re working with that day. Logitech claims it can cut down repetitive mouse movements by 63 percent.  Connectivity gets a nice boost, too. With this model, you’re getting a high-performance chip as well as better antenna placement, which means, according to Logitech, you’re getting twice the connection strength compared to previous iterations. You can also easily pair it with laptops or desktops via USB-C. Durability’s a big deal here as well. The MX Master 4 has a stain-resistant finish and a sturdy construction. Logitech even used some recycled materials for the mouse and made the packaging easy to toss into the recycling bin. We love to see efforts being made in the sustainability space here! Other neat bits? The scroll wheel can whiz through 1,000 lines per second, and its 8,000 DPI sensor makes tracking very precise on most surfaces like glass or wood. And Logitech says clicks are 90 percent quieter, which is ideal for shared workspaces. The MX Master 4 costs $119.99 and it comes with a one-month Adobe Creative Cloud trial. Colorways include Black, Graphite, and Pale Grey for the folks in North America. There’s also an MX Master 4 for Mac ($119.99) and it’s available in White Silver or Space Black. Read...

Microsoft just announced that it’s launching two new AI features in Microsoft 365 Copilot for Office apps, known as Agent Mode and Office Agent. Presented as tools for “vibe working,” the idea is to allow more independence for AI to do what it needs to do to handle complex tasks without you fulling giving up control over the process. For example, Agent Mode in Excel allows Copilot to manage the spreadsheet at an expert level. It builds advanced models, checks the results, and adjusts until everything is right. In this way, Microsoft says anyone can create financial reports, loan calculators, or household budgets without being an Excel wizard. Similarly, in Word, Copilot’s agentic AI capabilities turn document creation and management into something more dialogue-based. For example, you can ask Copilot to update a report, clean up the style according to company guidelines, or summarize customer feedback. Copilot suggests changes and asks questions to fine-tune the text. In addition, Office Agent is being launched in Copilot chat, enabling the creation of complete PowerPoint presentations and Word documents directly from chat. Both features—Agent Mode and Office Agent—are available now to Microsoft 365 Copilot licensed customers and Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers through the Frontier program, which allows users to test Copilot features that are not yet finalized. Read...

Yesterday, Microsoft released optional update KB5065789 for Windows 11 24H2 as well as optional update KB5065790 for Windows 11 23H2. These updates, which are previews of the upcoming mandatory October 2025 update, are being rolled out in stages over the next few weeks and will slowly introduce some new features to Windows 11: AI actions in File Explorer Along with some other improvements, File Explorer in Windows 11 will be getting some new AI-powered features: Right-clicking on image files will now present some AI actions, including Visual Search (search the web using an image), Blur Background (performed via Photos app), Erase Objects (also via Photos app), and Remove Background (via Paint). As of now, these actions are only available for JPG, JPEG, and PNG files. You can now generate summaries of documents stored in OneDrive/SharePoint using Copilot without having to open each one individually. (Requires an active Microsoft 365 subscription as well as a Copilot license.) The Click To Do context menu now features the latest and most widely used AI-powered actions, as well as more concise summaries via the Summarize action. Improvements in Windows Settings Here are some of the improvements coming to the Settings app: A direct navigation link to the Agents page in Settings is now available from agent search results. (Only for Copilot+ PCs.) The redesigned Advanced Settings page (located at Settings > System > Advanced) now replaces the For Developers page, making it easier to find various options. Several time, language, and keyboard settings have been relocated from the Control Panel to the Settings app. These include adding additional clocks, customizing date/time formatting, and keyboard repeat rate and cursor blink rate settings. New keyboard shortcuts have been added for quickly inserting an en-dash character (Windows key + Minus) and em-dash character (Windows key + Shift + Minus). Accessibility and accessories Here are a few highlights for external devices and accessibility features that are built directly into Windows 11: Xbox controller support has been improved. Short pressing the Xbox button now opens Game Bar, long pressing it now opens Task View, and holding it turns off the controller altogether. Windows Narrator now features Braille Viewer, which shows text on screen along with its Braille equivalent on a refreshable Braille display. It’s accessible by using the Windows key + Ctrl + Enter shortcut, then the Narrator key + Alt + B shortcut. Windows Voice Access now supports natural language commands, allowing you to use filler words and synonyms instead of strict, rigid, predefined command structures. This is currently only available for Intel and AMD-powered Copilot+ PCs. Windows 11 now has a seamless plugin passkey manager, which is accessible via Settings > Accounts > Passkeys. Other Windows 11 bug fixes In addition to new features, here are some noteworthy bug fixes: In File Explorer, accented backgrounds are removed in the “Open with” list, overlapping icons and text is fixed when using increased text scaling, and cloud files launch faster now. An issue when starting Hyper-V virtual machines with TPM on Arm64 devices has been fixed. An issue where some characters didn’t display correctly when Chinese IME was being used. An issue where you couldn’t connect to shared files and folders when using the SMB v1 protocol over NetBT was fixed. There is still an issue where DRM content can fail to play in Blu-ray/DVD apps (but not in streaming apps like Netflix). Read...

When it comes to keeping an eye on your pets and kids or the inside of your home while you’re away, your best option is an indoor security camera—but there’s no reason to spend a fortune on one. Right now, you can get the Blink Mini 2 for just $19.99 (was $39.99) on Amazon with this crazy 50 percent discount! And this is the newest model, too. The Blink Mini 2 is a compact little camera that can be placed anywhere in your home, as long as you’re within cable length of an outlet. It records videos in 1080p during both day and night thanks to its integrated LED spotlight that helps it “see” better in low-light conditions. With its wide field of view, you can keep an eye on an entire room—and it has two-way audio, so you can check in and speak with someone from your phone. Want to use the Blink Mini 2 outdoors? You can! You’ll need the Blink Weather Resistant Power Adapter (sold separately), but the Mini 2 itself is waterproof and weather-resistant so it’ll hold up. You can place it on a shelf using the stand, or mount it above a door with the included kit. It features motion detection with real-time alerts whenever it detects, and it integrates seamlessly with Alexa and Echo devices. Grab the Blink Mini 2 while it’s just $19.99, the lowest price it’s ever been. Maybe grab a few! This is just a foretaste of the great deals we expect to see in the upcoming Prime Big Deal Days. This smart 1080p home security camera is 50% off right nowBuy now at Amazon Read...

Perplexity’s Comet is the most advanced AI browser right now, and it’s actually pretty cool. You can watch the browser’s built-in AI perform actions in real time, like clicking buttons on web pages and navigating between links. Yet while Comet might be a foretaste of the future of web browsing, it’s not quite what it’s hyped up to be. I’ve been playing around with Comet on Windows for a few weeks now… and it leaves me wanting. You can use Comet right now with a Perplexity Pro subscription for $20/month, but read this before you spend cash on it. Comet’s AI can browse the web for you Comet’s hallmark feature is unique among AI browsers right now. Yes, it does have “standard AI browser” features like an AI sidebar that summarizes content, a voice mode that lets you speak with Perplexity’s LLMs, and a Perplexity chat box on the New Tab page. But the core feature here is that you can open Comet’s chat experience and then say something like: “Hey, control my web browser and do something.” Research flights, plan travel, find products to buy—nearly anything is possible, and Comet will actually do it for you. Chris Hoffman / Foundry There’s something weirdly magical about opening Google Maps, telling Comet to research and plan a route for you, and watching in real time as it reasons through the process of clicking buttons, typing text, and interacting with the web page. You can see it all happen right before your eyes—and when the AI is controlling a page, you’ll see a blue border around it to let you know. You’ll see how the AI reasoning model talks to itself as it walks through the task, and you can interrupt it at any time. I may have gripes with Comet, but none of them take away from how cool it is to see this agentic AI browser in action the first time. This is a glimpse of the future. Nearly every web browser—apart from Vivaldi—will be following in Comet’s footsteps, whether we like it or not. Comet’s AI browsing can be pretty slow Once you get over how magical the technology seems, the limitations quickly become apparent. This is true for large language models in general, but it’s especially true with Comet. As I watch every task completed by the agentic AI, I realize how much faster it would be to just do all the clicking and navigating myself. Watching the AI use Google Maps is fun, but it quickly loses its luster when you’re one minute into a task and get outputs like: “Oops, I entered the address, but I didn’t hit backspace first to clear the box. I’ll need to erase the text in the box, and then type the address again.” It can be surprisingly slow. You’d save time by doing the browsing yourself, or even just using a more traditional AI chatbot that isn’t built into your web browser. Prompting ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, or even Perplexity itself for information can be faster—it’s just smoother to let the AI focus on compiling and synthesizing data instead of commandeering the browser and navigating user interfaces. In a nutshell, agentic AI is cool but not quite as useful as it sounds. The typical AI chatbot experience still comes out ahead. The AI can access your websites… as you Many websites block access to AI tools, so the conventional AI chatbot search experience can’t always get the job done. But when the AI model has access to your browser, it can use those websites on your behalf. Even if a website requires you to sign in, Comet can use it—as long as you’re sign in to the site before Comet starts navigating it. That’s a huge advantage over the classic AI chatbot search experience. An AI browser can do a lot more with the web, and you can see exactly what it’s doing and take over whenever you like. But it also means that any exploit could directly affect your browser and your data. Comet is vulnerable to LLM exploits Large language models are vulnerable to something called “prompt injections,” which can happen whenever the LLM is made to process and interpret text. The problem is that when text is fed into an LLM, it isn’t always clear whether that text is from you or elsewhere. For example, an LLM might process and analyze the source code of a web page to perform some kind of task. But the source code of a web page could potentially include hidden prompt instructions designed to hijack an AI that’s analyzing the source code. The LLM can’t distinguish the hidden prompt in the source code from the source code itself. In other words, that hidden prompt was injected into the source code, and the AI will be none the wiser. Hence, prompt injection attack. Chris Hoffman / Foundry Security researchers at Guardio found that Comet was vulnerable to attacks like this, and that it could be tricked into falling for phishing scams while online shopping. Security researchers from Brave also found that Comet was vulnerable to indirect prompt injection attacks. Here’s the wildest part from Brave’s blog post: “The vulnerability we’re discussing in this post lies in how Comet processes webpage content: when users ask it to ‘Summarize this webpage,’ Comet feeds a part of the webpage directly to its LLM without distinguishing between the user’s instructions and untrusted content from the webpage. This allows attackers to embed indirect prompt injection payloads that the AI will execute as commands.” Did you catch that? It’s not that Comet’s protections against prompt injection were bypassed, but rather that Comet (in its initial release) didn’t even have prompt injection protections that tried to distinguish between trusted user instructions and untrusted web page data sent to the AI model (at least with the summarization function). This sort of thing is a known problem with large language models. While Comet now has better protections against this, it’s unclear how good those safeguards are. Comet hasn’t been properly battle-tested. Other agentic AI browsing solutions—like ChatGPT’s agent mode—interact with websites by loading those websites in their own browser in the cloud apart from your data. Even when those LLMs are exploited by prompt injection attacks, at least the damage is somewhat limited. But when the AI has access to everything in your browser—as is the case with Perplexity’s Comet—the risk goes up by quite a bit. From what I can tell, it seems like Perplexity is “moving fast and breaking things” while competitors are at least paying attention to security before launching. Comet is minimal and uncluttered… Comet is focused on AI browsing—and that’s it. You’re getting a clean, uncluttered Chromium browser. It has AI integration, yes, but aside from that it’s stripped down and doesn’t get in your way. Chris Hoffman / Foundry It’s not like using Microsoft Edge, for example. Microsoft’s Edge browser is built on the same Chromium codebase that powers Google Chrome and Comet, but Edge packs in a lot of its own bloat: a New Tab page cluttered with viral junk, a sidebar with links to MSN web games, various shopping tools, and so many other features that I personally can’t stand it. I greatly enjoy the lightweight, stripped-down Chromium experience presented by Comet. Apart from the AI, it’s pretty sleek. …but maybe too minimal? Right off the bat, you’ll notice that Comet doesn’t come in mobile app form. Want to use the same browser on your PC and your phone? With Comet, you can’t—at least not yet. But the problem goes further than that. Even with Comet installed on multiple PCs, it doesn’t yet offer the ability to sync data between multiple PCs. For someone like myself, who regularly switches between desktop PC and laptop while also reviewing many laptops for PCWorld, this is a huge shortcoming and obstacle for daily use. It’s 2025. I need my web browsers (and AI tools) to sync my data between devices, and I can’t be bothered to manually copy or migrate data. I don’t want to be asking myself “Wait, which PC did I have that conversation on?” if I need to dig up an AI chat log. Is that too much to ask for? I mean, I don’t think so… Even if I thought Comet was perfect aside from this—and I don’t—the lack of cross-device sync means Comet just isn’t an option as a day-to-day driver for me yet. Perplexity is working on it, but if sync is important to you, save your $20 until they eventually get it rolled out. Here’s my current verdict on Comet Comet doesn’t feel designed to be your day-to-day browser—as it is right now, it’s more of a flashy demo. Whether it’s the animated video intro or the way Comet was vulnerable to known LLM exploits at launch, it feels like it was primarily made to position Perplexity for acquisition by an even bigger company (like Apple, maybe?). Even the $5-per-month Comet Plus subscription that gives revenue back to publishers who are affected by AI feels more like a PR move to warm up feelings around Perplexity’s brand than a serious long-term solution. (That might sound overly cynical, but I stand by the statement.) Comet is incredibly cool, don’t get me wrong. It’s the first time you can experience agentic AI browsing in action on your PC. But it just isn’t ready to replace the web browser you already trust with everything you do online. It’s a gimmick and it wears off quickly. If you’re interested in Comet, you should give it a try—as no more than a secondary browser. It may be the future, but it isn’t there yet. Subscribe to Chris Hoffman’s newsletter, The Windows Readme, for more Windows PC tips, tricks, and experiments. Read...

Featuring rugged design features and 190mm ground clearance for off-road capability, the EX30 Cross Country can achieve 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Integrated solar panel Local microSD storage up to 512GB Quick, wire-free setup Cons Limited to two activity zones No advanced AI features (e.g., vehicle/pet/face recognition) Local-only storage means no offsite backup if the camera is stolen or damaged Our Verdict If you want a straightforward, subscription-free solar cam for home monitoring, the Baseus S1 Lite nails the basics and battery life, but power users will want more. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Baseus S1 Lite Retailer Price $49.99 View Deal $79.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Baseus has been steadily pushing beyond its roots in phone chargers and accessories, and its latest move is to expand it’s smart security lineup with two solar-powered outdoor cameras: the Baseus S1 Lite (reviewed here) and the Baseus S2 (which we’ll cover at a later date). The company pitches the Basues S1 Lite as a budget-friendly option designed for people who want affordable security without being tied to monthly fees for cloud storage. The question is whether the camera feels like a genuine bargain or just a bunch of trade-offs. Design and features Unlike the conventional bullet- and dome-style cameras you see on most houses, the S1 Lite has a flat, rectangular shape. The design allows its solar panel to be integrated into the camera body rather than bolted on as a separate unit. That small detail gives the S1 Lite a sleeker, more modern look than many other solar-powered cameras. The solar panel is paired with a 5,200mAh battery. A couple of hours of sunlight a day is enough to keep it topped off, according to Baseus, with a single charge lasting up to 150 days. It’s weatherized to handle the outdoors, with an IP67 rating for dust and water resistance, and is built to operate in temperatures from –4 degrees Fahrenheit to 122 F. (Allow us to explain what you need to know about IP codes.) The Basus S1 Lite has an integrated solar panel on top that keeps the design clean, not clunky.Michael Ansaldo/Foundry The camera records in 2K resolution and has a 135-degree field of view, that’s wide enough to cover a good chunk of a yard or driveway. An 8x digital zoom lets you get a closer look at people or objects within about 26 feet. At night, a built-in spotlight kicks on to deliver color video when motion is detected, effective out to about 20 feet. The S1 Lite isn’t overloaded with AI features, but it covers the basics: It can distinguish between human movement and general motion, and you can draw up to two custom activity zones while masking out two privacy zones. Two-way audio lets you hear what’s happening outside and speak with visitors and delivery people. For storage, you can slot in a microSD card with a capacity up to 512GB (our guide to microSD cards will help you pick one). This means your recordings are stored locally, with AES and RSA encryption, and free from subscription fees. For smart-home users, the S1 Lite ties into the Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant ecosystems and is managed through the Baseus app for Android or iOS. Setup and performance Setting up the S1 Lite starts with downloading the Baseus Security app, which you’ll need to connect the camera to your Wi-Fi network. Once the camera is powered on, the app automatically detects it and walks you through the connection process step by step. From there, you can mount the camera with the included screw mount, a job that takes only a few minutes thanks to its wireless design. Connectivity is limited to 2.4GHz Wi-Fi networks, which is common at this price but worth noting if your network is already overcrowded. The camera’s microSD card slot and charging port are protected from weather by a rubber cover. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry Video performance is solid for a budget camera. The 2K resolution captures good detail during the day, and the wide-angle view means you can cover a yard or driveway with a single unit. At night, black-and-white infrared night vision keeps watch until motion triggers the spotlight, enabling the camera to deliver color video that can capture details like the color of clothing or car paint. The Baseus Security app functions well as a control hub for the camera. The home screen shows a live feed with quick access to functions like recording, snapshots, spotlight, and two-way talk. Dive into settings and you can adjust video and audio quality, manage battery performance, or fine-tune motion detection. Sensitivity is controlled with a simple slider, and you can choose between detecting all motion or just human activity. It’s a straightforward, no-nonsense layout that makes it easy to get the camera working the way you want without feeling buried in menus. Smart alerts were generally responsive in my testing. Setting the detection to “human” cut down on the number of notifications from trees swaying and other incidental motion, effectively keeping notifications manageable. The Baseus Security app keeps the camera controls clean and intuitive. Michael Ansaldo/Foundry I’ve always been a fan of local storage, as it keeps my data in my hands and eliminates ongoing fees for cloud storage. But it’s worth noting that Baseus doesn’t provide any means for backing up the camera’s video recordings offsite. So, if the camera is damaged or stolen in the commission of a crime, you’ll have no forensic evidence. That trade-off will matter more to some than others, but at this price point it feels like a fair compromise. Should you buy the Baseus Security S1 Lite Outdoor Camera 2K? The Baseus S1 Lite makes a strong case as an entry-level outdoor camera. At $80–and selling for much less online–it’s cheaper than many 2K solar-powered competitors, and the absence of a subscription fee to store its video recordings in the cloud lowers its total cost of ownership even more. You will need to make some small compromises, however. Support for only 2.4GHz Wi-Fi will limit its performance on crowded networks. The two-activity-zone/two-privacy-zone limit might prove restrictive if you’re monitoring a larger space. And advanced AI smarts like vehicle or pet detection will be missed if you want to watch out for unfamiliar cars or wandering critters. If those things matter, either keep shopping. For budget-conscious homeowners, though, the Baseus S1 Lite hits the right notes. You’ll give up some bells and whistles, but you’ll still get a capable solar-powered camera that delivers on its core promise: affordable outdoor security. Read...

Google is expanding the features of YouTube Premium, bringing the benefits of the paid subscription service to more devices, according to a recent community thread post. YouTube Premium subscribers will see the following improvements: High-quality audio: Enjoy a more immersive listening experience with improved audio quality (256 Kbps). This feature, previously available in the YouTube Music app and only as an opt-in experiment on YouTube, is now fully available in the YouTube apps for Android and iOS. (But only for official/premium music videos and Art Tracks.) Faster playback speeds: You can now speed up playback on multiple devices in 0.05x increments up to a maximum of 4x. Previously only available on Android and iOS, this YouTube Premium feature is now fully available on Android, iOS, and the web. Skip forward: Jump to the most interesting parts of videos faster by seamlessly skipping to the most important moments via AI and your user data. This feature is already available on Android, iOS, and the web and is now also available for YouTube on smart TVs and gaming consoles. Shorts Smart Downloads: Automatically download your favorite Shorts based on your previous viewing history so you always have something new to watch—without you having to do a thing. Previously available on Android and as an opt-in experiment on iOS, this feature is now fully available on iOS. Shorts Picture-in-Picture (PiP): Have your Shorts play in a small window while you scroll through other content on your device. Previously available on Android and as an opt-in experiment on iOS, this feature is now fully available on iOS. How much is YouTube Premium? For individuals, YouTube Premium costs $13.99/month or $139.99/year. Families can get YouTube Premium Family for $22.99/month while students can get YouTube Premium Student for $7.99/month. If you only care about an ad-free viewing experience and none of the other benefits that come with YouTube Premium, you might want to look into the new YouTube Premium Lite option. However, even Premium Lite still has some ads in some areas of YouTube. Read...

If you’re looking for a much-larger laptop with a much-longer battery life, you might want to look into the Energizer-branded EnergyBook Pro Ultra. This is a brand-new flagship laptop by Avenir Telecom, who also unveiled two other models next to this one—the EnergyBook Pro 15 and the EnergyBook Pro XL 18—reports The Verge. The EnergyBook Pro Ultra is equipped with a super-battery with a capacity of 192 watt-hours (13,000mAh), which is said to be the largest battery that’s ever been used in a laptop. Although Energizer boasts a 7-day standby mode, the actual battery life is 28 hours for browsing and 11 hours for demanding tasks like gaming. Note that FAA regulations require approval for lithium-ion batteries larger than 100 watt-hours, with a strict cap of 160 watt-hours. That means this massive battery won’t be allowed on planes. Other features include an 18-inch 1920×1200 screen, AMD Ryzen 5 processor, 16GB of DDR4 memory, and a 512GB SSD. As for cost, we’re looking at €449 ($523) as a starting price for one of the smaller models. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Extremely thin and easy to pack High brightness with anti-glare panel make for comfortable viewing 180Hz refresh rate with Adaptive Sync Cons Uses Mini-HDMI input instead of full-sized HDMI Mediocre contrast ratio and color performance Currently a bit expensive compared to the competition Our Verdict The Arzopa Z3FC serves up a high-refresh 2560×1440 IPS-LCD in a slim, light package, though it’s a tad more expensive than it should be. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Arzopa Z3FC Retailer Price Arzopa $199.99 View Deal Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Most portable monitors are meant for basic productivity, but that’s not always true. The Arzopa Z3FC is a large IPS LCD portable monitor with an 180Hz refresh rate that aims to be of use both for office productivity and gaming. It’s successful, but its launch price is an obstacle. Read on to learn more, then see our roundup of the best portable monitors for comparison. Arzopa Z3FC specs and features The Arzopa Z3FC is a step up from the budget portable monitors that retail around $100 or less, and it provides some upgrades. The Z3FC has 2560×1440 resolution which, of course, is superior to the 1920×1080 resolution that most budget alternatives provide. The Z3FC also has a speedy 180Hz refresh rate, which is high for a portable monitor. Display size: 16.1-inch 16:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 2560×1440 Panel type: IPS-LED Refresh rate: 180Hz Adaptive sync: Yes, AMD FreeSync HDR: None Ports: 2x USB Type-C with Power Delivery and DisplayPort, 1x Mini-HDMI 2.0 Audio: 2x 1-watt speakers Additional features: Built-in kickstand Dimensions: 13 x 8 x 0.39 inches Weight: 1.72 pounds Price: $229.99 MSRP, $199.99 typical retail The Arzopa Z3FC has an MSRP of $229.99, but I don’t think it was ever sold at MSRP (which is not unusual for an Amazon product listing). It’s more typically available at $199.99. Even that is towards the high end of where I expect this product to land as it ages. Its predecessor, the Arzopa Z1FC, was introduced at $259.99 but has sold as low as $96.98. I’d expect the Z3FC will gradually limbo closer to that figure. Arzopa Z3FC design The Arzopa Z3FC combines an aluminum frame and rear panel with plastic bezels to produce an attractive, durable feel. Despite its extremely thin profile—it measures less than 4/10-inch thick—the Z3FC feels solid when handled and doesn’t easily show flex. Don’t get me wrong: You could absolutely snap this thing over your knee if you wanted. But the same could be said of the iPad Pro. Big, thin devices are never bomb-proof, but the Z3FC feels nice. Matthew Smith / Foundry Its thin profile means the portable monitor is, well, portable. It weighs in at roughly 1.7 pounds, which is a tad lighter than average for a 16-inch portable monitor. Arzopa avoids using a bump-out to accommodate the ports and the kickstand retracts fully into the monitor’s case, both of which make the display easy to carry. Yet despite its small size, the kickstand supports use in both portrait and landscape orientation. A sleeve is included, as well. It looks okay but includes a flap that is secured with velcro. While the carrying case largely does its job, it doesn’t offer much padding, so I wouldn’t trust it alone to protect the monitor when packing it in checked luggage. The same can be said for most sleeves included with portable monitors, though. Arzopa Z3FC connectivity Connectivity is a mix bag with the Arzopa Z3FC. It includes two USB-C ports, each with DisplayPort and Power Delivery, and a HDMI port. So far, so good. The HDMI port is mini-HDMI, though, which is a bummer. While the Arzopa Z3FC does include a HDMI to mini-HDMI cable, mini-HDMI is much less common overall. You may have difficulty finding a cable around an office, or for sale in a store, if you leave the included cable at home. Matthew Smith / Foundry Of course, you could just rely on USB-C, which might be easier. The USB-C ports support Power Delivery to power the monitor when connected to a USB-C port that provides enough wattage. The specs don’t state what’s required, but an 18-watt power source was adequate. The USB-C ports support power pass-through. That means you can connect a USB-C source with power to one USB-C port, then use the portable monitor to charge a USB-C device connected to the other USB-C port. A USB-C power brick is not included, but will be required if you plan to deliver video to the Z3FC over HDMI, or if you use a USB-C video input that lacks power. The lack of a power brick is a minor disappointment, but most competitive portable monitors also ship without a power brick. Arzopa Z3FC menus, audio The Arzopa Z3FC’s menu system offers a wider range of options than most. It includes not only the typical brightness and contrast but also several color gamut modes, RGB calibration, and a 4:3 aspect ratio mode. As simple as these might seem, they aren’t guaranteed on a portable monitor. Some alternatives only provide brightness, contrast, and sharpness adjustment. Matthew Smith / Foundry Adjustments are easy, too, as the monitor includes two buttons and a volume rocker. The buttons are used to enter or exit menus and the rocker is used to select or adjust options. Overall, the Arzopa Z3FC’s menu can’t quite match that typically provided by Viewsonic, but beats budget portable monitors like the MSI Pro MP165 E6. A pair of 1-watt speakers can be found on each flank of the Z3FC. They’re weak, providing barely adequate volume even at maximum. The speakers are okay for a podcast but otherwise of limited use. The Arzopa Z3FC’s menu system offers a wider range of options than most. Arzopa Z3FC SDR image quality The Arzopa Z3FC isn’t expensive, but I wouldn’t say it’s a budget portable monitor—at least, not at its current typical retail price of $199.99. That means the monitor’s image quality matters. It scores well in several areas, though in others it feels pressure from OLED competition. Matthew Smith / Foundry Brightness is a positive for the Arzopa Z3FC. It comes close to 400 nits of SDR brightness, which is great for a portable monitor. This level of brightness is excessive for most situations, but portable monitors are likely to be used in areas where you have no control over the lighting, like a conference room or airport lounge. The Z3FC’s high brightness will make the monitor more comfortable to use in bright rooms and near large, sunlit windows. Matthew Smith / Foundry Contrast, on the other hand, is a miss for the Z3FC. Most portable monitors with an IPS-LCD panel struggle with contrast, and the Z3FC comes in towards the bottom of the pack. That means the image can look flat and dull. It’s not a problem in Microsoft Office, but disappointing when playing a game. Portable monitors with an OLED panel, like the Innocn 15K1F, are a much better choice for entertainment. They provide a deep, immersive image that easily stands out. Keep in mind, however, that price-comparable OLED portable monitors will have a 60Hz refresh rate. That’s a trade-off you’ll need to weigh. Matthew Smith / Foundry The Arzopa Z3FC’s color gamut is good, or mediocre, depending on your perspective. It covers 99 percent of sRGB as well as 78 percent of DCI-P3 and AdobeRGB. As the graph shows, that’s average to above-average for a portable monitor with an IPS-LCD display. The Z3FC’s color gamut is enough to provide good color volume and a vibrant image. However, the Z3FC’s color gamut is far behind the Innocn 15K1F’s OLED panel, and will significantly lag OLED alternatives in general. OLED provides an incredibly rich, hyper-saturated look that many will prefer. Matthew Smith / Foundry The Arzopa Z3FC achieved modest results in color accuracy. Its average color error isn’t bad, but the average includes noticeable errors in colors such as blue and cyan. The overall impression is that the monitor can look a bit too red or orange. That’s also represented in the monitor’s color temperature of 6300K, which is a bit warmer than the target of 6500K. Gamma, on the other hand, was solid with an on-target gamma curve of 2.2. Content generally looks as bright as it should, and while the monitor’s overall contrast isn’t great, it does a fine job of preserving detail in dark areas of a scene. Sharpness is a highlight. The 16.1-inch panel has a resolution of 2560×1440. That works out to about 182 pixels per inch. That’s a higher pixel density than a 27-inch 4K monitor (at about 163 ppi) and much better than a 27-inch 1440p monitor (at roughly 110 ppi). High-resolution video looks great and text looks sharp. So what’s the verdict? I think the Z3FC’s image quality is fine, even good. It benefits from a decent color gamut and high brightness, two traits that help it deliver an attractive image when used in a bright room. It’s less impressive in darker rooms, as the limited contrast ratio becomes more noticeable. The main decision you’ll need to make is whether you’d prefer an IPS-LCD display with high brightness and a fast refresh rate, like the Z3FC, or an OLED competitor with superior contrast and color gamut, like the Innocn 15K1F. Arzopa Z3FC HDR image quality and motion The Arzopa Z3FC includes HDR, but it’s nothing to write home about—or, if you did, you might use language your pen pal wouldn’t appreciate. While HDR is supported, the monitor’s limited contrast ratio and brightness means there’s not much, if any, benefit to using it. The image looks a bit different, but not better. I recommend sticking to SDR. This is not a problem exclusive to the Z3FC, however. All portable monitors suffer bad HDR to varying degrees. It’s a direct result of their portability and low pricing. The Viewsonic VX1655-4K-OLED is the only portable monitor I’ve tested to deliver passable HDR—but it retails at $519.99. The Z3FC’s motion clarity benefits from the IPS-LCD panel’s 180Hz refresh rate, which is high for a portable monitor with 2560×1440 resolution. A higher refresh rate translates to reduced blur in fast-moving and rapidly changing images, and the improvement is obvious, particularly when compared to a 60Hz alternative. Arzopa lists a pixel response time of 9 milliseconds on the monitor’s Amazon page. That’s not great—a desktop LCD-IPS gaming monitor will typically quote a response time of 0.5 milliseconds to 5 milliseconds. Overall motion clarity is solid for single-player titles and cooperative games, though esports fans with a critical eye and fast reactions should keep expectations in check. While the Z3FC’s motion clarity isn’t perfect, its portability and price should be kept in mind. Most portable monitors have a much lower refresh rate and, as a result, have much more noticeable motion blur. OLED alternatives will beat the Z3FC, but those with a 120Hz refresh rate start around $250 ($50 more than the Z3FC) and go up from there. The Z3FC is a price-to-value middle ground for people who want acceptable motion clarity in games but still need to be mindful of their budget. Should you buy the Arzopa Z3FC? The Arzopa Z3FC is another solid portable monitor in the company’s line-up. It provides good image quality and a fast 180Hz refresh rate for $199.99. It also benefits from slim, attractive design and an easy-to-use menu system. With that said, pricing doesn’t currently work to its favor. Arzopa’s older Z1FC, which is similar but has a slightly slower 144Hz refresh rate, can be had for $109.99—a much better deal overall. I expect the Z3FC’s price will gradually be reduced, but at the moment it’s too expensive for what it offers. Still, the Z3FC provides high brightness, decent color performance, slim design, and good motion clarity. These traits make it an appealing general-purpose portable monitor and also useful for gaming on the go. Read...