Home security systems—once the exclusive domain of high-priced professional installers—have never been more affordable, and the hardware and software is simpler, more intuitive, and easier to set up than ever before. We have other roundups that name the best smart home hubs and components—everything from the best smart bulbs to the best smart speakers—but in this roundup, we name the best do-it-yourself home security systems. DIY home security systems come in a variety of types, ranging from standalone intrusion-detection setups to multi-input monitoring systems. They offer a sliding scale of protection levels from push-notifications on your smartphone to 24/7 professional monitoring capable of dispatching first responders in an emergency. Choosing the best option for your home and your budget can be tricky, but our roundup brings you the best of the field to make your selection simple. But let’s face it: Not everyone wants to do the DIY route. If that’s you, we can also recommend our favorite custom-installed home security system. Why you should trust us TechHive’s editors and contributors have been building out their own smart homes for more than 15 years, and we continuously evaluate the latest hardware and software. We’ve experienced the great products, the not-so-great products, and everything in between. You can trust us to guide you to the right system for your needs. The best DIY smart home systems Ring Alarm Pro (8-piece kit) — Best DIY home security system Pros Very easy to set up An integrated Wi-Fi 6 router renders it a fantastic value Good Wi-Fi performance, and its range can be expanded with Eero mesh nodes Expandable battery and broadband backup features Cons Falls a little short of being an all-purpose smart home hub Subscription required for local video processing and storage Zigbee radio is still dormant, and there’s no Thread radio Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $199.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Why we like the Ring Alarm Pro Even though Ring has switched its professional monitoring option to an à la carte plan that will result in a de facto $10-per-month price increase for most users in one year (existing users were grandfathered into a cheaper plan, so there cost won’t go up immediately), you won’t find a more comprehensive collection of products or a better value in DIY home security. Some plans include 24/7 recording for an unlimited number of Ring security cameras (a limited number of wired models). And the Ring Alarm Pro also features an integrated Eero Wi-Fi 6 mesh router. Given that Ring Alarm systems also have Z-Wave and Zigbee radios on board (although the Zigbee radios are currently dormant), they make for the beginnings of a kick-ass smart home hub, with the Works with Ring program adding support for numerous third-party products, including smart locks, garage-door controllers, in-wall light switches, smart thermostats, and other smart home devices. It’s not quite as powerful a smart home hub as a Samsung SmartThings Station, but it will take you most of the way there. Who should buy the Ring Alarm Pro The Ring Alarm Pro is for anyone looking for a smart home security system that offers the option of professional monitoring. Ring also makes best-in-class video doorbells and security cameras, and when you plug an inexpensive endurance-rated microSD card into the Ring Alarm Pro, you get local storage and processing of all the video those cameras capture. The hub also serves as a bridge for Ring’s smart lighting products. If you don’t need to upgrade your home’s Wi-Fi router, and you don’t mind using a discrete bridge for your Ring smart lighting products, take a long look at the Ring Alarm (2nd Generation), which has everything but the router and the bridge. Read our full Ring Alarm Pro (8-piece kit) review Abode Iota — Best DIY home security system, runner up Pros Setup is as streamlined as it gets, and its all-in-one design makes it even more foolproof Pricing is solid, at least for a smaller home Plenty of thoughtful extras, including wireless connectivity and battery backup Apple HomeKit compatible Cons Integrated camera’s 1080p resolution is no longer impressive Integrated siren isn’t as loud as we’d like Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $269.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Why we like the Abode Iota The Abode Iota takes the original Abode home security system we reviewed in 2018 and incorporates a 1080p security camera and motion sensor into a smal enclosure. Like the original Abode system, which remains on the market, the Iota can operate as a capable smart home hub, having Zigbee and Z-Wave radios on board; plus, LTE backup in case your usual broadband connection fails (this requires a subscription). It’s also compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, Google Assistant, and IFTTT. Abode offers its own smart retrofit deadbolt, and its third-party device support is comparable to Ring’s, including control over Philips Hue smart lighting devices, Ecobee smart thermostats, and even Sonos speakers. You can monitor the system yourself, or sign up for professional monitoring at $24.99 per month or $229.99 per year. Who should buy the Abode Iota? The Abode Iota is a strong value because you’re getting a smart home/home security system and a home security camera all in one box. The Abode Iota is broadly compatible with all the important smart home ecosystems, and if you spring for a subscription, you’ll get LTE backup in case your usual broadband connection fails. The hub has a battery-backup feature that keeps it operating in the event of a power failure, too. Read our full Abode Iota All-in-One Security Kit review Arlo Home Security System — Best DIY home security system, 2nd runner-up Pros Sensors perform 6 functions in addition to reporting open/close state Professional monitoring available for as little as $10 per month (albeit with significant caveats) Attractive industrial design Cons Confusing array of subscription plans No third-party device support Arlo’s AI doesn’t add any value–yet Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $149.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Why we like Arlo Home Security Arlo is something of a rarity in DIY home security systems, in that you can opt to pay nothing for the product up front. Instead, you can finance an assembly of components over 3 years at zero percent interest, with the option of adding professional monitoring at a reasonable cost. We really like Arlo’s unique 8-function sensors that can detect if a door or window is opened, whether or not a room is occupied, if water is accumulating where it shouldn’t be, if ambient light levels indicate you forgot to turn a lamp on, and more. That said, Arlo’s array of subscription plans can be confusing, but our in-depth review lays all that out for you. Who should buy an Arlo Home Security System Whether or not cost is a barrier to entry for you, the Arlo Home Security System–especially with an optional professional monitoring plan–offers a comprehensive means of protecting your valuable property. Unlike the products from Ring and Abode, this system can’t also control smart home product, but it’s very easy to use and is very reasonably priced. Read our full Arlo Home Security System review SimpliSafe The Essentials — Best DIY home security system, 3rd runner-up Pros One of the quickest, easiest DIY setups you’ll encounter Attractive industrial design Self and professional monitoring options available Cons No support for smart lighting or any third-party products SimpliSafe can be slow to update key components (but SimpliSafe’s new indoor camera is great) Best professional monitoring plan is expensive at $30 per month Best Prices Today: Retailer Price $159.99 View Deal SimpliSafe $219.96 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Why we like SimpliSafe SimpliSafe is an apt name for this sophisticated yet easy-to-use home security system. The starter kit we reviewed consists of a central hub, three door/window sensors, a motion sensor, a keypad for arming/disarming the system, and a wireless indoor security camera. You can customize your installation with anything else you might need, including indoor and outdoor cameras, a smart lock, glass-break sensors, leak and freeze sensors, a video doorbell, and more–and all these add-ons are very affordable. The hub has both battery and cellular backups, so you’re protected in the event of both power and broadband outages. You can use either the included keypad or a keyfob to arm and disarm the system. With SimpliSafe’s professional monitoring, $30 per month, an agent can use the system’s security cameras to verify and monitor a break-in and can even warn an intruder that they’ve been detected. Who should buy SimpliSafe Anyone looking for an affordable, strictly home security system–in other words, one that cannot also control the broader universe of smart home devices such as lighting, thermostats, and other home components should take a look at what SimpiSafe has to offer. This is one of the easiest to install alarm systems we’ve encountered, and it performs extremely well. But part of what makes it so simple is the fact that you can’t integrate any third-party products with it. Read our full SimpliSafe The Essentials review Minut Smart Home Alarm — Best security system for vacation rentals Pros Monitors noise levels Alerts to the sound of smoke/CO detector alarms Infrared occupancy sensor Temperature and humidity sensor Provides security without relying on cameras Cons Very limited smart home integration Third-party monitoring costs extra Why we like Minut This all-in-one device offers the assurance of home security without relying on privacy-intrusive home security cameras. In place of video, its onboard sensors monitor a room for the presence of crowds and high noise levels that indicate your guests are having a disruptive party with the potential for annoying your neighbors and increasing the likelihood of property damage. You can buy the device for $50, plus $120 per year for the ongoing service; or you can spend $180 for service and get the device at no cost. The higher-priced service includes some extra features that might or might not be worth your while. Who should buy Minut The Minut Home Security System is suited to any home, but it will be particularly attractive to people who own rental and vacation-rental properties. In addition to monitoring noise levels, it can detect temperature, the presence of cigarette smoke, and humidity levels that increase the risk of mold. The device can be integrated with Airbnb and other property-management systems, too. Read our full Minut Smart Home Alarm review Vivint Smart Home Security System — Best professionally installed option Pros Robust home security with an equal helping of smart home convenience Excellent security camera and video doorbell options Customers can add their own Z-Wave devices, especially for smart lighting Cons Expensive security cameras No self-install option (apart from Z-Wave devices) No self-monitoring option Why we like the Vivint Smart Home System Vivint gives you the best of both worlds: An excellent, professionally installed and professionally monitored home security system with first-class components, and the option to install your own Z-Wave devices for the epitome in smart home convenience. Who should buy the Vivint Smart Home System Hey, we hate subscription fees as much as anyone, but we’re willing to pay for professionals to keep an eye on our homes and dispatch first responders when a break-in or fire is detected or when we need an emergency medical response. And we really appreciate having the freedom to install Z-Wave smart home devices without needing to pay a tech to do the work. Read our full Vivint Smart Home Security System review What to look for when shopping for a DIY home security system Wired vs. wireless hub connection Many smart hubs must connect to your wireless router via an ethernet cable, which limits their placement and, of course, requires a free ethernet port on your router or switch. That can be an issue with puck-shaped routers that have just two ethernet ports–you’ll need to buy an ethernet switch to have enough ports. A smaller number of hubs are wireless and can be placed anywhere in range of the router, increasing your flexibility. Sensor range If your home is large or spread out, you’ll need to pay attention to the range that the hub’s sensors support. Hubs may support a wide array of connection protocols, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Z-Wave, and Zigbee, all of which have very different ranges. As with a wireless router, smart hub range can also be impacted by interference and device placement, and smart home devices themselves have different specs, as well. Take the time to look into the detailed specs to be sure sensors and third-party devices will work with your home’s infrastructure. Battery backup If the power goes out, your smart lights won’t be useful anyway; but other smart home features, like security sensors, rely on a hub that’s always powered on. Some smart home smart hubs feature battery backups (thanks to rechargeable or disposable cells). Even a short power outage can cause a significant delay while the hub reconnects, so a battery backup makes sense in many home environments. If you like everything else about a particular hub that lacks a battery backup option, consider investing in an uninterruptible power supply to plug it into. Mobile app usability You’ll probably be interacting with your hub primarily through its mobile app, so you’ll want one that’s intuitive and powerful, with all the key features you use front and center. App-store screen shots and, of course, our reviews can help you get a sense of what you’re dealing with on the app side of things. Overall complexity This is a companion consideration to the mobile app, relating primarily to the audience for whom the smart home system was developed. Is the system geared toward everyday users with limited customization needs? Or is it built with extreme flexibility in mind, to the point where the configuration decisions might overwhelm a novice user? Again, close attention to our reviews can help you gauge how comfortable you’re likely to feel with any system. Sensor support A companion consideration to the device support issue above, if you’re in the market for a DIY home security system, you’ll want one that supports all the sensors you need. Most security hubs only work with the sensors made by the same manufacturer, so you can’t mix and match as you would with a general-use smart home hub. Some security systems offer only a very narrow range of sensor types, while others have a wide variety to choose from. You’ll want motion and door/window sensors at a minimum. For added security, consider buying freeze, water leak, humidity, smoke and/or carbon monoxide sensors, garage-door, and glass-break sensors. Make sure the smart home hub you buy supports all the sensor types you wish to deploy. Cellular radio backup A security system that can be knocked out of commission by simply disabling your broadband connection doesn’t provide much protection. The best systems will include a cellular backup module that kicks in when your usual broadband connection drops. You should also carefully consider the battery backup consideration above, which is essential for dealing with power outages and is a standard feature on most security-focused hubs. Professional monitoring If you don’t want to monitor your own security system 24/7, you’ll at least want the option to engage with a professional security company that can keep tabs on it for you when you’re out on a walkabout. These invariably cost extra, which leads to our final consideration…. Service plan costs Service plan costs vary widely from system to system, and many vendors offer a range of plans to choose from. Some systems will work without a service plan at all, allowing you to self-monitor. Some require a plan to function at all. Also note that lower-tier service plans might provide only cloud storage for your security cameras. Wyze Labs offers one of the least-expensive plans: $9.99 per month with no long-term commitment, or $99.99 for a full year. Price out service plans carefully, taking the overall quality of the system into account, before you pull the trigger. Other notable smart home systems we’ve reviewed We’ve evaluated lots of other DIY smart home systems. If none of our top picks check all the boxes for you, take a look at these other products. Abode Smart Security Kit is virtually the same as the Abode Iota Security Kit, with the key difference being the integrated security camera integrated into the latter product. Both packages use the same accessories and sensors and support the same monitoring plans. Ecobee takes an interesting approach to home security, integrating its smart home hub into the company’s top-shelf smart thermostat. Ecobee also has a great home security camera, and the entire system is HomeKit compatible. Tapo H100 Smart Hub is a budget-priced home security that’s compatible with a very limited number of security products from the same manufacturer, and it doesn’t support security cameras at all. It’s main attraction is its low price tag. Roku Home Monitoring SE is yet another low-priced home security system, but with a twist: Roku sources this system from Wyze Labs and puts the Roku brand on it. Affordable professional monitoring is available. Wyze Home Monitoring is the same system as the Roku Home Monitoring SE, but Wyze manufactures both products. This is a low-cost security system with an extremely affordable professional monitoring subscription. Read...

TechHive Editors Choice At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Robust home security with an equal helping of smart home convenience Excellent security camera and video doorbell options Customers can add their own Z-Wave devices, especially for smart lighting Cons Expensive security cameras No self-install option (apart from Z-Wave devices) No self-monitoring option Our Verdict When it comes to professionally installed and monitored home security systems that also offer all the creature comforts of a smart home, no one does it better than Vivint. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Most home security systems focus on just that: security. Their aim is to deter criminals from breaking in, and if deterrence isn’t enough, to alert you and—if you subscribe to professional monitoring—summon a police response if burglars do get inside your home. The best systems also protect you from the danger of fire and water damage. TechHive focuses mostly on DIY products, but if you’re not comfortable installing your own home security system, Vivint Smart Home deserves your careful consideration. Unlike some other service providers—ADT, for example—Vivint doesn’t give you the option of shipping you the components and letting you set the system up on your own, but you can customize and expand it after that. The Smart Hub’s Z-Wave radio gives you plenty of options for customizing the smart home elements of your Vivint system. Paying a professional technician for this work isn’t cheap, of course, but Vivint gives you the option of paying for everything over time with no interest. The downside of that option is that you must sign a long-term contract—typically three to five years—with the initial monthly fees varying according to the initial hardware installation. If you don’t like that idea, you can pay for everything up front and then proceed with a month-to-month agreement. The system reviewed here would cost about $2,800, plus the cost of professional monitoring that can summon help in police, fire, and medical emergencies. These 2-piece sensors mount to your windows (and doors, if you don’t elect for recessed models). When the window is opened, it breaks a magnetic field and sends an alert to the control panel. Michael Brown/Foundry A basic Vivint smart home system consists of a central hub—aka a control panel—along with a motion sensor and a few door/window sensors (4 of these sensors are bundled with Vivint’s Smart Hub–pictured up top–for $600). Most people will add an indoor or outdoor security camera and/or a video doorbell to that package, but Vivint also offers a wide range of other home security devices on an à la carte basis—ranging from smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to glass-break detectors and water leak detectors. Those interested in folding smart home features into their home security system can opt for Vivint’s own smart thermostat ($199.99) or a Nest Learning Thermostat. Other smart home components range from smart lighting controls to Vivint-certified third-party devices, including Kwikset smart deadbolts and Chamberlain myQ smart garage door openers. And through the Works with Vivint program you can add Amazon Echo or Google Nest smart speakers and displays, or a Nest smart thermostat. Notably, Vivint doesn’t limit you to adding just these products to your system—especially in terms of smart lighting—as I’ll discuss in more detail later. Vivint’s Smart Hub can be mounted to a wall or set up on a table or countertop. Next to Vivint’s app, it’s how you’ll most often interact with the Vivint smart home/home security system.Vivint Smart Home As with most home security companies, the technicians Vivint employs are not licensed electricians, so they can’t install new outlets or in-wall lighting controls. While nearly all the sensors the company uses operate on battery power, its security cameras rely on AC power and its video doorbell depends on low-voltage wiring. If you don’t have outlets near where you want to install the control panel or security cameras—or an existing doorbell power transformer—you might find yourself limited as to where you install cameras. The hub is the heart Vivint systems revolve around its Smart Hub, a central smart home control panel with a 7-inch (diagonal) color touchscreen. The Smart Hub is AC-powered, but it has on onboard battery for backup. It connects to your home network over Wi-Fi—hardwired ethernet is available if you have the infrastructure in place—and it has a cellular radio in the event your usual broadband network goes down. These back-up features protect you from burglars who cut your power, cable or fiber, and/or telephone lines to disarm your security system. The hub has an onboard siren for when the system goes into an alarm state, but in an emergency, you can connect directly to Vivint’s monitoring service to request a dispatch from the police, the fire department, or an ambulance. The panel has both Wi-Fi and Z-Wave radios onboard. Cameras communicate over the panel’s private Wi-Fi network while Vivint’s door/window, motion, smoke/CO detector and most other sensors communicate with the panel using radio spectrum in the 345MHz band. Vivint’s own smart thermostat, and the Kwikset smart deadbolts the company offers, communicate via Z-Wave. And it’s the Smart Hub’s Z-Wave radio that gives you the most options for customizing the smart home elements of your Vivint system. If you have a Kwikset Z-Wave deadbolt installed with your system, you can arm the system from outside your home when you lock the door, and disarm the system when you enter your PIN at the lock.Michael Brown/Foundry Like most home security systems, Vivint’s has three general states: Disarmed: Used when you’re home but you might be going in and out of doors but not leaving home, or you might have windows open for ventilation. In this state, the system’s motion sensor is disabled and its door and window sensors won’t trigger the alarm. But you have the option of having the control panel announce—in a female voice—when monitored doors and windows are opened. Armed Stay: You’ll put the system in this state when you’re home and don’t anticipate people coming and going with any regularity. The motion sensor is disabled, but the door/window sensors are actively monitored. Opening a monitored door will trigger a delayed alarm state, giving you a minute or so to reach the panel and disarm the system before the countdown ends. Opening a window that has a sensor on it, on the other hand, will immediately trigger an alarm state. Armed Away: This is the state you’ll put the system in when the last person leaves the home. This arms all the system’s sensors, including the motion sensor. Opening any window will trigger an immediate alarm state, but opening a door will set off a countdown to give you an opportunity to reach the panel to disarm the system. Some sensors, such as the smoke/heat/freeze detector, are always armed and will trigger the hub’s onboard siren as well as send you a push notification when activated. In the event of a detected break-in or fire, Vivint’s monitoring office will be notified and someone from there will call you or your designated representative to verify the emergency before requesting a first-responder dispatch. Vivint offers smoke, carbon dioxide, water, freeze, and other types of sensorMichael Brown/Foundry They’ll eventually dispatch the police even if they can’t reach you or your designated representative, but their aim is to reduce false alarms that antagonize first responders—and depending on your jurisdiction, result in fines. Vivint’s water-leak sensors, which can also monitor the ambient temperature and alert you to the kind of freezing cold that can lead to a burst water pipe, are likewise always armed, but these are only warning devices—they don’t connect to something like a Flo by Moen smart water shutoff that can turn off your main water supply to prevent burst pipes. Smart Actions The Smart Actions tool in Vivint’s smartphone app makes it easy to create automations based on system events. Smart Actions are very much like IFTTT applets in that they consist of two conditions: A trigger (“When this happens…”) that causes an action (“Then do this…”). Smart Actions triggers can be based on preset times or schedules, including sunrise and sunset; security events, such as an alarm being triggered; when a smart deadbolt has been locked or unlocked or when your garage door opened or closed; after other doors or windows have been opened or closed; when motion is detected or a camera detects a person in its field of view; when a visitor rings your Vivint doorbell; or when a smart light switch or outlet is turned on. Vivint offers a simple but powerful scripting system for home automation routines that can include self-installed Z-Wave smart lighting controls.Michael Brown/Foundry The actions—and there can be multiple actions—that follow trigger events are organized into the same broad categories: the alarm system, smart locks and smart garage door openers, lights, and security cameras. Here are a few examples of Smart Actions that I’ve tried: If the system goes into any alarm state, each of Vivint’s security cameras will record video with the aim of capturing the event(s) that triggered the alarm. At the same time, all of my smart lights inside and outside the house will turn on. Another Smart Action locks all my Vivint-certified smart locks at 11:00 p.m. every day and when the system is armed “away” or “stay.” You can also have a certified smart lock arm the security system when it’s locked from outside, or disarm the security system when the correct code is entered on its keypad. The hub maintains a detailed event history, which you can view in the Vivint app on your smartphone. Every event is tracked on a timeline, including when doors and windows are opened and closed, the system’s cameras detect people in their fields of view, doors with smart deadbolts are locked and locked, motion detector gets triggered, and when the system is armed and disarmed. Smart lighting Vivint doesn’t offer in-wall lighting controls, but customers can install their own Z-wave devices–such as the Leviton Z-Wave 800-series dimmer (left) and switch shown here and integrate them into the smart home system.Michael Brown/Foundry Vivint offers its own smart lighting controls but given the presence of a Z-Wave radio in its hub, you might be surprised to learn that Vivint’s solution is based on Zigbee, not Z-Wave. It consists of one or more Zigbee smart bulbs, coin-cell-battery-powered Zigbee dimmer switches that fit over your existing in-wall switches (once their covers have been removed), and a Zigbee-to-Wi-Fi bridge that must be hardwired to your router. I’ve tried these out and can’t say I’m a fan, mostly for aesthetic reasons: The on-wall controls stick out like sore thumbs. Vivint doesn’t advertise this as a feature, but its customers are free to add Z-Wave devices—particularly lighting controls—to their smart home systems. Those devices will appear in the Vivint app, where they can be controlled and integrated into Vivint’s Smart Actions, but the menu for adding and removing Z-Wave devices is locked behind a set of hidden menus that are normally accessible only to Vivint’s installation techs. But if you call or chat with Vivint’s customer service department online, they’ll unlock that menu—after verifying your identity and giving you the password—so you can access it. While Vivint doesn’t bar its customers from adding any type of Z-Wave device, only Vivint-certified smart locks can do things such as disarm the security system when a resident’s PIN code is entered at the lock. Non-certified locks will otherwise operate as smart locks, but they can’t arm or disarm the security system in the way a certified lock can. Security cameras Vivint’s second-generation outdoor security camera mated with its innovative Smart Spotlight.Michael Brown/Foundry Vivint offers one indoor and one outdoor security camera (the latter is available with or without a smart spotlight attachment); and a video doorbell. Each of the cameras is tightly integrated with the control panel and has enough onboard storage to enable 24/7 recording—a $6.99-per-month option on top of a $5-per-month fee per camera. The cameras can stream live feeds and motion-triggered video recordings to the control panel’s display as well as to your smartphone. The cameras also support two-way audio, with the indoor model having a somewhat unique push-to-talk feature that allows a person at the camera to push a button to initiate a conversation with you via the Vivint app on your phone. Apart from that feature, the Vivint Indoor Camera Pro is relatively basic, providing 1080p resolution with HDR, a 150-degree field of view (horizontal, its vertical field of view is 80 degrees), black-and-white night vision, and the two-way talk I’ve already mentioned. It’s mounted to an articulated stand that can be mounted to a wall, the ceiling, or rested on any other flat surface. It relies on an AC adapter with a 9-foot cord for power. You can push a button on this indoor camera to initiate a push notification and two-way conversation via Vivint’s smartphone app.Michael Brown/Foundry No home security system would be complete without a video doorbell, and Vivint’s entry is particularly good. The Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro has a high-resolution image sensor with a 1:1 aspect ratio (1664 x 1664 pixels) that captures visitors from head to toe with HDR. I’ve previously written an in-depth review of the doorbell, so I won’t do that again here. The Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro (Gen 2) camera features a 4K image sensor with HDR, but its maximum resolution is still limited to 1080p. It has a 140-degree field of view, and its image sensor enables it to offer 3x optical zoom with 10x digital zoom. It carries an IP65 weatherization rating, which according to our IP code decoder, means it’s entirely protected from dust and that it can withstand water jets short of a blast from a power washer. When enabled, a Smart Deter feature triggers the camera to play a loud sound and illuminate an LED light ring around its lens when a person is detected lingering in its field of view. The idea is that the sound will prompt the lurker to present their face to the source of the sound—the camera. But this generation of cameras doesn’t have true AI or even the ability to recognize familiar faces. As a result, I’ve left Smart Deter turned off. Vivint’s video doorbell can connect to the company’s smart lighting controls to turn on your porch light when it detects motion.Michael Brown/Foundry The outdoor camera can be powered by via an ethernet cable, thanks to its support for Power over Ethernet (PoE) support, or the installer can connect it to Vivint’s own Wi-Fi bridge, which will use power line connectivity (PLC). The Wi-Fi bridge needs to be installed indoors, as it is not weatherized. The camera features black-and-white night vision with up to 55 feet of range, but you’ll get color night vision if you pair the camera with Vivint’s Spotlight Pro. The Spotlight Pro works in conjunction with the second-generation Outdoor Camera Pro—the light cannot operate on its own—and it’s excellent. It’s a bar-shaped device with three groups of stacked LEDs on three sides that produce up to 1,800 lumens of brightness with a cool color temperature of 5,000 Kelvin. Mounted underneath the camera, the light can also function as a general-purpose floodlight, which you can turn on and off—and dim—using the Vivint app. Used as a security device, it will turn on in response to motion—but only if the camera associates the motion with a person in its field of view. What’s more, when the camera is in “deter” mode, it will trigger the light’s LEDs to come one at a time to track a person as they move within the camera’s field of view, focusing a spotlight on them until they leave. Should you buy a Vivint Smart Home System? No service provider offers a better professionally monitored home security system than Vivint, and no one offers such a fully integrated and smart home system that customers can expand without incurring additional installation costs. This is a uniquely comprehensive home security system that includes all the smart home features needed for comfort and convenience. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart home systems. Vivint’s smart lighting segment would be its sole weak spot if it didn’t offer its customers the option to self-install Z-Wave controls. As is typical of home security vendors, Vivint’s technicians typically are not licensed electricians who can install in-wall lighting controls. But the company doesn’t bar you from doing that yourself. And if you don’t mind the industrial design of its Zigbee smart lighting products, you don’t even need to worry about that. Vivint’s offering isn’t cheap, but it is in line compared to the competition. Here’s a breakdown of what the system reviewed here costs, up front and for ongoing services: ComponentsPriceVivint Smart Hub bundled with 4 door/window sensors$599.99Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro (Gen 2)$399.99Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro (Gen 2) plus Spotlight Pro$649.98 Vivint Indoor Camera Pro$249.99Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro (Gen 2) $249.99 Kwikset Z-Wave smart deadbolt lock$179.99Vivint Smoke/Heat/Freeze detector$100.00Motion sensor$100.00Water leak sensor$50.00Additional door/window sensors (3 @$50 each)$150.00Total system cost:$2,729.93Professional monitoring (including 4 cameras)$54.99/month Read...

The investigation was launched last year following bets placed on the timing of the 2024 general election. Read...

On February 2nd, 2025, computer scientist and OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy made a flippant tweet that launched a new phrase into the internet’s collective consciousness. He posted that he’d “fully given into the vibes” when programming with AI assistance. https://twitter.com/karpathy/status/1886192184808149383 The tweet of course kicked off a flame war, because that’s how X works, especially under the current management. But for me, the tweet hit home—because it perfectly describes how I use AI to code. My experience with vibe coding I’ve always had an interest in programming, because I’ve always had an interest in computers. I put together websites in HTML as a teenager (which, yes, were hosted on GeoCities) and have been occasionally dabbling in Python since. Yet none of my projects got very far and, apart from my early websites, I never made anything useful. My efforts all followed a familiar pattern: I’d fixate on a particular resource—like an O’Reilly book or an online course—and get started with great enthusiasm, but as I’d realize I was months or years away from creating anything remotely useful, I’d give up. I’ve used Claude AI to quickly generate a simple dice roller web app.Matt Smith / Foundry That changed in late 2024 when my general frustration with WordPress, which I was using for my personal website, got the better of me. In a fit, I threw my website’s content plus a screenshot of it into Claude 3.5 Sonnet and asked the AI to replicate my site with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. To my amazement, Claude 3.5 generated a functional website. It wasn’t perfect, but after a couple hours of working with Claude, I wound up with a website I liked even better than its WordPress predecessor. My approach was exactly what Karpathy described. I didn’t read the code, nor did I really try to understand it (though I did have to think a bit about how the featured articles carousel works). That aside, I just told Claude what to do, copy-and-pasted the results in VSCode, saved the file, and reloaded my browser to see what changed. And it worked. A work-in-progress screenshot of my Pico-8 puzzle game and the vibe-coded source.Matt Smith / Foundry But the most important part? It was fun! Fun enough that I’ve since tried my hand at several other coding projects. I made an online tool to track initiative and roll dice when DMing tabletop roleplaying games, I made another tool to simplify rolling dice in Battletech, and I’m currently making a puzzle game for the Pico-8 virtual game console. I also used AI to guide me through setting up tools that require a bit of fussing, like OpenAI’s Whisper speech-to-text model. Notably, all three projects were in different programming languages—HTML/JavaScript, Python, and Lua—none of which I’m even remotely proficient with. I’ve also dabbled in some C#, as I started to make the puzzle game in Unity before deciding it was overbuilt for my needs and swapping to Pico-8. I also toyed with turning my tabletop RPG tool into a Windows app before deciding that wasn’t helpful. The risks and pitfalls of vibe coding So, yeah, I’m vibing. But is it all good vibes? Or does vibe coding herald the same kind of AI slop-driven era for software as we’re seeing for blogs, forums, artwork, video, and music? That’s the big fear of critics, and it’s easy to understand those fears. Karpathy’s “vibe coding” is fast, fun, and approachable, but it isn’t rigorous, detail-oriented, or careful. The code written by AI will often work, but it can contain flaws that aren’t immediately obvious—and that raises an obvious question: how does a know-nothing programmer spot bugs and security flaws in AI-generated code? The simple answer is… they can’t. Take the case of Leonel Acevedo—better known as just “leo”—who posted about his experience vibe coding a SaaS startup, only to find himself dealing with major issues like unsecured API keys. It led to hundreds of videos and social media posts dunking on Leo’s naïveté: https://twitter.com/leojr94_/status/1901560276488511759 To be clear, I don’t have much sympathy for Leo. He used social media to promote his business with posts clearly built to drive engagement. And, well, that’s how chasing influence on social media works. Sometimes you’re the hero and sometimes you’re the villain. (Predictably, Leo is already making content about “rebuilding my SaaS in 30 days.”) Yet, I question what his problems are supposed to prove. Is vibe coding a SaaS and going straight into production dumb? Sure. But are most people vibe coding a SaaS startup and flinging it into the world like the baby in an Xbox commercial? Of course not. The reality is a lot more practical. Some people, like me, see vibe coding as a fun way to tackle simple projects that were previously out of reach. Others, including many software engineers, will use it as way to build prototypes, demonstrate proofs of concept, and—yes!—learn. It’s the blogging revolution… for code In a strange way, vibe coding reminds me of the circumstances from decades ago that paved the way for me to become a tech journalist. I grew up in a small midwestern town. My high school was so small, we didn’t even have a school newspaper. Then I went to college and got a degree… in English Literature. Not journalism or communications. I never wrote for the college paper, either. I then graduated college with no useful contacts or work experience. But I lucked out. I graduated right when the blogsphere exploded and social media took over the internet. Suddenly, formal credentials and an industry-specific degree, though helpful, weren’t necessary. So, I started writing—and eventually publications started paying me for it. I’ve been doing this now for 17 years. To me, vibe coding looks like it will do something similar for future software engineers and the programming landscape. Forget formal training. With AI assistance, people who are interested in programming don’t even need informal training. Anyone who knows their way around a laptop can ask ChatGPT about the tools they need to get started, how to install them and get them working, and generate the very code they need to get the first version of their project up and running. These people will make mistakes. A lot of the code generated will be bad, or at least inelegant. People will lose projects because they encounter a bug they can’t fix. The AI-generated code in my own projects is enough to make a senior software engineer go blind, I’m sure. But if it opens programming a bit wider to people (like me) who otherwise lack the patience to spend six months reading an O’Reilly tome just to spin up a halfway decent Python program, well, that seems like a win. Further reading: I spent $200/mo on ChatGPT Pro so you don’t have to. Here’s what I found and whether it’s worth it Read...

Artificial General Intelligence is the precursor to sentience perhaps and quantum computing may be the doorway to both. Given the advances being made in these fields, are we ready for the moral and ethical implications associated with reaching these milestones? Read...

If you use Google Chrome on your mobile phone, or if you have a modern Android phone, then you’ve probably stumbled across the Discover feed at some point. The Discover feed is available on Chrome’s mobile New Tab page, in the Google app, and on the home screen (by swiping right). Soon, it’ll also be available on desktop PCs. Google Discover is a personalized recommendation engine that shows you articles from around the web that Google thinks you’d be interested in. The recommendations are based on various factors like your location, your browsing history, your opted-in interests, and more. (If you’ve disabled history tracking in your Google account, the recommendations will be far less personalized and less useful.) Search Engine Roundtable reports that Google showed off the new desktop Discover feed during yesterday’s Search Central Live event in Madrid, Spain. The Discover feed on PCs will be split into two sections, with one section for Google-recommended articles that might interest you and another section where you’ll see more general information, including weather, stock market trends, and more. From what we know, the Discover feed will seemingly be available on the Google home page (google.com), with the Discover feed appearing below the main search bar. It may or may not come to the Chrome browser’s New Tab page, or even elsewhere. We don’t know yet. If you don’t see the Discover feed on Google’s home page, you may have to opt into Google experiments—or wait for the rollout to reach you. Google has been planning to bring the Discover feed to desktops for several years now, and has tested several different versions of the feature with different looks and content in the feed. If you feel like it’s hard to find decently interesting articles to read via Google Search or social media, then you should definitely try Discover once it’s available to you. Read...

Windows Recall has always been Microsoft’s best argument for upgrading to one of those brand-new Copilot+ computers… and it’s also been the most controversial addition to Windows in years. The AI-powered feature periodically “reads” your on-screen activity and saves each moment as a series of searchable screenshots. If you’re interested, the Recall feature is rolling out to the Windows Insider Release Preview channel now. You’ve probably heard a lot about Recall since Microsoft revealed it last year, because, well, there’s a lot to say. Our Windows expert Mark Hachman gave it a thorough test when it hit the Insider Preview Dev channel in December (that’s roughly analogous to an alpha test for Windows 11, versus the Release Preview’s beta test). He found Recall’s performance to be slow and stuttery, though there are a few somewhat comforting nods to the privacy issues, like making you authenticate with Windows Hello whenever you open your own activity history. But the system was inconsistent at best and buggy at worst, and not anywhere near ready to replace, say, a manual screenshot or bookmark you take yourself for referring back to later. Is that worth the privacy risk of having a huge, visual history of your PC activity, even if you take Microsoft at its word on how secure and safe it is? Well, that’s for you to decide. I imagine enterprise users have expressed distaste, because Microsoft has already confirmed that it’ll be disabled by default on the enterprise version of Windows. If you’re not fond of the idea, Recall can be disabled and removed by regular users, too. I don’t have a Copilot+ PC handy to test out the new and improved version of Recall on the Insider Release Preview, but you can try it yourself if you’re so inclined. After a disappointing announcement, Microsoft will probably try to get it out to the general Windows 11 user base—again, with the feature only available to PCs and laptops with newer Copilot+ processors—sometime later in 2025. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Premium price, premium value Integrated high-performance SSD Generally stable Thunderbolt 5 Cons Eye-popping price, period You’ll need a PC with Thunderbolt 5 to get the best value You’ll need displays with USB-C ports or dongles to connect SSD was unformatted, with poor instructions on how to fix it Our Verdict Sonnet’s Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock is one of the best docks I’ve ever reviewed, with a premium SSD hidden inside. If you can afford it, this dock is very much worth the price. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Sonnet’s Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock carves out a new tier in both price and performance, blowing away conventional Thunderbolt 4 docks as a new tier of ultrapremium Thunderbolt 5 docking stations takes hold. I fully expect more Thunderbolt 5 docking stations to be released. Hopefully, their performance meets or even exceeds that of the Sonnet Echo 13, which should place among the best Thunderbolt docks that we recommend that you buy. Sonnet’s dock is the second Thunderbolt 5 docking station I’ve tested, and the first with an integrated SSD. The integrated SSD drives up the cost substantially, but its performance sits well above a conventional external SSD. (Intel’s original reference design included an integrated SSD, my contacts say, so some manufacturers followed suit.) It’s a smart decision, nevertheless, and one that is a killer selling point for this laptop docking station. Sonnet’s dock measures about 8.5 inches long and about 3.75 inches deep, and is slightly thicker than an inch. There is no option to mount it vertically. The dock is made of plastic, with what appears to be venting on the top and sides. This is one of the best Thunderbolt docks I’ve ever tested, even with the Thunderbolt 5 infrastructure still in its infancy. On the front of the dock is a power button, with LEDs signaling power and an active Thunderbolt connection. The power button needs to be held down for a second or two to turn the dock on and off. Sonnet clearly labeled both front ports: a 140W Thunderbolt 5 port that connects via a 31-inch Thunderbolt 5 cable, as well as a second, 60W Thunderbolt 5 port. On the front is a 10Gbps USB-A port, a UHS-II SD and microSD card slot, and a headphone jack. On the rear of the dock are two more Thunderbolt 5 ports, two more 10Gbps USB-A ports (and a 5Gbps USB-A port, too), and an RJ45 connector for up to 2.5Gbit Ethernet. Sonnet’s Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock can pass data at up to 120Gbps.Mark Hachman / Foundry Unfortunately, given the price of the dock, there are no dedicated HDMI or DisplayPort ports, which may require you to purchase additional cables. On the other hand, my 4K, 160Hz test displays support high-speed USB-C inputs, and if you’re in the market for such a dock, yours might as well. Remember, Thunderbolt 4’s base spec supports two 4K displays at 60Hz; Thunderbolt 5 supports three 4K, 144Hz displays. In this case, I simply reused existing 40Gbps Thunderbolt 4 cables. Two of my test displays reliably connected at 4K, 144Hz resolution, but not three. (The dock sent content to all three 4K displays, at 144Hz — but just two at a time.) Given the issues I had with this same laptop and a Kensington dock, I suspected that my test laptop might be the issue. At press time, there were virtually no Thunderbolt 5 laptops to test with; after consultation with Sonnet’s engineers and other sources, I’ve concluded that the laptop’s Thunderbolt 5 controller may be split between the two ports. That won’t allow the laptop to display on three external 4K144 displays, even if the dock allows it. I’ll be updating my test laptop as soon as I can. The front of the Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock, with power and LEDs, plus the Thunderbolt 5 connection to your PC, USB-A, and SD/microSD card slots.Mark Hachman / Foundry Note that while this dock is backwards-compatible with a Thunderbolt 4 laptop, you’ll receive the best value using Thunderbolt 5 hardware. Sonnet notes that the slower Thunderbolt 4 I/O connection will throttle the SSD, which is a key selling point for this dock. Integrating an SSD offers benefits as well as concerns As someone who typically leaves a USB key plugged into the dock to serve as a “sneakernet” of sorts, the idea of having dedicated storage in a dock appeals to me. Sonnet ships this dock with either a 1TB, 2TB, or 4TB SSD inside; my review unit had a 2TB SSD. You’d never know it, though. My review unit came with the drive in an unformatted state, meaning that it didn’t show up in File Explorer and essentially didn’t “exist” as far as my PC was concerned. Sonnet’s original documentation said nothing about this, and even an updated version that the company sent electronically barely mentioned it or what to do. It’s not hard to search for how to solve this problem; using Windows’ own search tool and looking for “create and format hard disk partitions” brings up the Disk Management window under the Windows Control Panel. That tool shows the unformatted drive, which you can right-click on to format and make the drive usable. A Thunderbolt dock, however, is essentially plug-and-play, and formatting an external SSD most decidedly is not. I’d recommend that Sonnet either pre-format the drive or include a dedicated, detailed tutorial on how to do so. There are a pair of lock slots on the end of the Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock.Mark Hachman / Foundry The drive is not encrypted by default, though it is surrounded by the dock itself and is not designed to be user-accessible. Windows does provide drive encryption, known as BitLocker, though that’s a feature that’s exclusive to Windows 10/11 Pro. (A Windows 10/11 Home machine can access a BitLocker-encrypted external SSD via a dedicated password that must be typed in.) If you don’t encrypt the embedded SSD, that means that there’s a drive that anyone can access just by docking their laptop. Could someone malicious plant spyware or malware on it? Possibly. A portable SSD can also be picked up and carried with you, or secured elsewhere. This isn’t an argument for or against Sonnet’s dock! But it is a list of things to think about if you’re considering buying it. Sonnet does claim that the integrated SSD, connected via Thunderbolt 5, will be faster than an SSD connected to your PC via USB. And boy, is it ever. Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock: Performance My earlier experience with the Kensington SD5000T5 EQ Thunderbolt 5 Triple 4K Docking Station, the first TB5 dock I’d tested, was a huge bust. At the time, I didn’t feel confident in trying to assign blame, since I was working with a new laptop, new cables, and a new dock. For this testing, I used the same Maingear laptop (with a 14th-gen Core HX chip and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 GPU) that I did for that previous test. My experience with the Sonnet dock was far better, and what I’d expect from the Thunderbolt 5 experience. The rear of the Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock includes three USB-A ports, 2.5Gb Ethernet, and the two upstream Thunderbolt 5 ports.Mark Hachman / Foundry Stability-wise, the Echo 13 demonstrated a decent amount of what I call “display bounce.” Plugging a laptop into the dock — which was already connected to a pair of 4K, 144Hz displays — produced a situation where the displays flipped off and on and realigned themselves for a few seconds. That’s not particularly unusual. After that, everything settled down, all the displays remained connected, and the performance was smooth and pretty stable, as you’d expect. But there were several times that the dock struggled to light one display after resuming from sleep, and rarely (once every couple of days) one display disconnected for a second, resumed, and continued normally. (Powering the dock on and off solved this.) I suspect that this was the laptop’s fault. The SSD remained accessible at all times. The dock is rated to supply 140W of output power to a laptop. While my test laptop, Maingear’s ML-17, supports Thunderbolt 5, it can’t accept the 140W of power the dock theoretically provides. (Dell’s latest workstation-class laptops do, though I do not have one to test.) So while I can’t confirm how much maximum power the dock can provide over the Thunderbolt cable, it did provide 78W over the main TB5 connection, and 56W (out of a rated 60W) via the other front Thunderbolt connection. That’s just fine to fast-charge a smartphone. (Note that the 85W passed via the Thunderbolt 5 cable will not be sufficient to charge gaming laptops, such as the first few with Thunderbolt 5 connections. You’ll still need to charge those devices via their dedicated chargers.) During my streaming tests, where I stream a 4K, 60Hz video over the internet via the Ethernet cable, everything went perfectly — the dock dropped 6 out of 10,000 frames, which is negligible. I did notice a little judder from simultaneously playing a second video on a second display, which I normally didn’t do. But YouTube didn’t note any dropped frames, so that might have been an issue with the GPU. But the storage performance is revelatory. Sonnet describes the internal SSD’s speed as “ridiculous” and this is one of the few times I’d agree with the marketing copy. Ludicrous speed, even! I check SSD speeds by connecting a standard SSD to the dock’s USB-C port and running PCMark 10’s external benchmark, which reports the transfer data in megabytes per second as well as an abstract score. To date, the very best scores I’ve ever seen are about 135MB/s, with a score of 850 or so. Directly connected to the laptop, my test SSD delivers 160MB/s and a score of 1,042. Sonnet’s Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock delivered data to the laptop at 279.8MB/s for a score of 1,891. That’s a 75 percent increase in pure throughput! Put another way, when testing the drive using CrystalDiskMark 8.0, sequential read performance was 3,977MB/s, almost double the read performance of 2,036MB/s from the Lexar SL600, an external 20Gbps SSD. I also simply copy a folder of raw multimedia files from the SSD to the desktop. All of these tests are pushing this data through the dock’s internal circuitry over the Thunderbolt 5 cable. About the best score I’ve seen is 1 minute, 2 seconds, tacking on an additional 4 more seconds if I’m streaming video during the copy process. Sonnet’s Echo 13 copied the files in 13.9 seconds, or 14.2 seconds while streaming. That’s a 78 percent decrease in the time taken by that test alone! It’s worth noting that I still connected my traditional test SSD to the dock’s USB-C port, and here Sonnet’s dock wasn’t nearly as impressive: 106.2 MB/s, or a score of 682. That’s lower than the competition, if you decided not to use the internal SSD. Throughout all of that, the dock was as cool as the other side of the pillow — quite literally. It didn’t even warm to the touch, probably because it sounds like it has a quiet, active fan cooling the dock. Should you buy the Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock? The integrated SSD is a significant cost adder, and not necessarily worth it if your storage needs are already served. On the other hand, the performance of the dock’s SSD certainly makes up for it. A premium Thunderbolt dock plus the price of a 2TB SSD works out to about $450, which isn’t too much less than what Sonnet is charging. In general, this dock did everything I’ve asked it to do. I’m still struggling with a test bed that can adequately measure the power a Thunderbolt 5 dock provides, and I’m pretty sure that the dock’s inability to output to three 4K/144 displays (as opposed to just two) may be the fault of the laptop, not the dock. We already know that not much Thunderbolt 5 hardware is available. Otherwise, I’m extremely pleased with the Sonnet Echo 13 Thunderbolt 5 SSD Dock and would recommend it even in the current state of the market and at its current price. Sonnet’s Echo 13 offers both amazing performance and reliable stability, and sets the bar for other ultrapremium Thunderbolt 5 docks to trail in its wake. Others will follow, certainly. But right now, Sonnet’s dock is the best I’ve ever tested. Read...

President Javier Milei has made sweeping cuts to public services since he took office 16 months ago. Read...

At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Class-leading 5K2K resolution Strong SDR image quality Solid HDR brightness Incredibly immersive 45-inch ultrawide panel Cons Design isn’t bad, but not up to the price tag Limited USB connectivity Curved display will be too extreme for some Our Verdict The LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B’s high price and extreme curve will turn off some, but it’s hard to argue with its sharpness and HDR performance. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today The LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B is a big deal. Literally. Measuring 45 inches diagonally across a 21:9 aspect ratio, the 45GX950A-B’s total display surface area is about 15 percent greater than a 49-inch super-ultrawide, like the Philips Envia 8000. The 45GX950A-B isn’t quite as wide, but it’s a lot taller. On top of that, the Ultragear 45GX950A-B is the first 45-inch OLED ultrawide to offer a display resolution of 5120×2160. Earlier 45-inch OLED ultrawides, like the Corsair Xeneon Flex, had 3440×1440 resolution. The LG’s MSRP of $1,999.99 means it’s not an impulse buy, but it’s a great choice if image quality and HDR performance are your top priorities.  LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B specs and features The 45GX950A-B’s biggest advantage is its 5K2K (5120×2160) resolution. That’s higher than what’s typically available from ultrawide and super-ultrawide monitors of this size. Here’s an important note: the 45GX950A-B does not flex. LG announced the monitor at CES alongside the 45GX990A, another 45-inch 5K2K ultrawide that will be able to flex between curved and flat panel modes. The 45GX950A-B, reviewed here, doesn’t offer that feature. Display size: 45-inch 21:9 aspect ratio Native resolution: 5120×2160 Panel type: 10-bit WOLED Refresh rate: “Dual Mode” 165Hz at 5K2K, 330Hz at 2560×1080 Adaptive sync: Yes, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible HDR: VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black Certified Ports: 1x USB-C with DisplayPort and 90 watts of Power Delivery, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 2.1, 3.5mm audio jack (4-pole with DTS support) Audio: Built-in speakers Warranty: 2-year warranty Price: $1,999.99 MSRP Size and resolution aside, the 45GX950A-B delivers a ton of features. It offers USB-C with Power Delivery, supports both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, bundles built-in speakers, and includes a “dual mode” feature for refresh rates up to 330Hz. But it’ll cost you. The monitor has a sky-high MSRP of $1,999.99. That’s two to three times higher than a more mundane 34-inch OLED ultrawide. It’s also quite a bit more than a 49-inch super-ultrawide like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G9, which often retails near $1,000. LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B design I’ll be honest: The LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B didn’t make the best impression out of the box. It’s broadly like other LG monitors, with a charcoal look that’s both aggressive and reserved. The design is attractive and inoffensive. Even so, I can’t help but remember competitors like the Samsung Odyssey G9 OLED and Philips Envia 8000. Those 49-inch super-ultrawide monitors look and feel more luxurious. The 45GX950A-B’s $2,000 price tag is a big premium over other monitors, and I think LG could do more to make the monitor look and feel special. Functionally, though, the LG is solid. It ships with a compact stand that, despite its relatively small size and flat base, kept the monitor stable. It also adjusts for height, tilt, and swivel, and offers compatibility with 100x100mm VESA mounts. This is notable. Some monitors in this size category, like the Corsair Xeneon Flex, have stands that are both too large and less functional. Matthew Smith / Foundry Speaking of size, the 45GX950A-B is big. Really big. It measures a tad more than 41 inches wide and almost 18 inches tall. It’s two inches taller than a typical 32-inch widescreen monitor and almost as wide as two 27-inch widescreen monitors placed side-by-side. It’s also a curved display with an aggressive 800R curve, which means the edges of the display sit about 6 inches closer to you than the center. None of this is a problem—on the contrary, it’s kind of the whole point—but it’s important to measure your desk before you buy this monitor. The aggressive curve also points to the monitor’s intention. Nothing will stop you from editing photos or writing a novel on the 45GX950A-B, but that’s not the focus, and the curve can make day-to-day tasks feel a bit…off. That’s especially true if you’re trying to edit video, images, or photos. LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B connectivity LG offers four video inputs on the Ultragear 45GX950A-B. It has two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 2.1, and a USB-C port with DisplayPort and up to 90 watts of Power Delivery. Downstream USB-A is limited to just two ports. That’s okay, since it’s enough to support a wired keyboard and mouse, but it’s not a lot. The monitor also lacks KVM switch functionality and there’s no downstream USB-C. When it comes to audio, the monitor has a 4-pole 3.5mm audio jack with support for DTS:X HP audio. It’s a niche feature but one that gamers with a high-end headset may appreciate. I didn’t have a DTS compatible headset to test it with, however. LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B menus and features The Ultragear 45GX950A-B’s menus and features can be accessed with a joystick centered behind the monitor’s lower bezel. LG’s menu system is easy to navigate and text is crisper than some competitors. The monitor also works with LG’s OnScreen Control, a software utility that lets you adjust monitor settings within Windows. Whichever you use, the Ultragear 45GX950A-B offers a good range of image quality controls. These include gamma and color temperature adjustments, six-axis color calibration, several brightness modes, and brightness control across both SDR and HDR. The gamma and color temperature adjustments target vague labels rather than numerical values, however (i.e. “Warm” instead of “6500K”). LG provides the usual range of gaming features, including an on-screen crosshair, timer and frame rate counters, and a dark equalizer that can elevate brightness of dark areas of the screen (to reveal foes). Matthew Smith / Foundry These are paired with a range of picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture modes. While these modes are common to ultrawide monitors, the 45GX950A-B’s gigantic display means they’re especially useful. If you’re feeling wild, you could use this monitor as an alternative to two 27-inch monitors placed side-by-side. The LG 45GX950A-B includes a decent set of built-in speakers. That they exist at all is noteworthy, as many ultrawides don’t include them. Better still, they provide a decent audio experience at low to medium volumes with some bass and good clarity. They become distorted at higher volumes, though, so most owners will still want headphones or external speakers for immersive audio in games and movies. The 45GX950A-B beats its OLED rivals on both sharpness while retaining all their other perks, which makes it the new top choice for immersive HDR gaming. LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B SDR image quality The LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B has an LG WOLED panel with a resolution of 5120×2160. This panel is a bit special. It’s currently unique to the 45GX950A-B and gives the LG an edge in sharpness that no current 45-inch ultrawide can match. The WOLED panel also scores high marks across the board, though it does lag QD-OLED in color performance.  Matthew Smith / Foundry LG gets off to a good start in brightness, as the 45GX950A-B delivered up to 280 nits. That’s not spectacular when compared to high-end IPS-LCD monitors, which can exceed 400 nits. But sat next to other OLED monitors, the 45GX950A-B ekes out a win. Also, the monitor chooses a semi-gloss rather than glossy finish, which makes the most of the brightness. On the other hand, I found the monitor’s intense curve could amplify light sources directly behind me. Because of that, I don’t recommend using the monitor in a setup where a lamp or window sits behind you. Matthew Smith / Foundry As expected, the 45GX950A-B provides an effectively infinite contrast ratio. That’s thanks to its perfect black level performance, which dips down to zero nits when a scene calls for it. It leads to better detail in dark scenes and a great sense of depth to the image. All modern OLED monitors achieve this, however. The LG’s contrast, while outstanding, isn’t an advantage. Matthew Smith / Foundry Color gamut is a minor and unsurprising weakness for the 45GX950A-B. LG’s WOLED panels are a step behind Samsung’s QD-OLED in this area, so monitors that have QD-OLED (like the Odyssey OLED G8 and Philips Envia 8000) can display more colors overall. This can give QD-OLED competitors a more vibrant and saturated look, though the difference is often hard to notice outside a direct side-by-side comparison. Matthew Smith / Foundry The LG 45GX950A-B produced mediocre results in color accuracy with slightly higher-than-average color error across the board. I would like to see a color error under 2 from this monitor. Despite that, the monitor’s general color performance is good enough to provide an eye-catching, vivid image. I was pleased by the 45GX950A-B’s gamma and color temperature performance. It hit a gamma curve of 2.2, right on target, and a color temperature of 6600K at 50 percent brightness, which is just barely off the target of 6500K. The 45GX950A-B provides multiple gamma and color temperature modes, so you can adjust them if needed. Sharpness is among the LG’s best traits. The 45GX950A-B’s 5120×2160 resolution works out to about 125 pixels per inch (ppi). By comparison, the older 45-inch Corsair Xeneon Flex packed only 78 ppi. That’s a 60 percent improvement, which is extremely noticeable. Fonts look far more crisp and high-resolution games have a tack-sharp look. The 45GX950A-B is also sharper than a 42-inch 4K television, which offers 104 pixels per inch. Overall, the LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B has great SDR image quality. Competitors with a QD-OLED panel, like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 and Philips Envia 8000, can provide a slightly more vivid and saturated image. That might give you pause if you plan to use the 45GX950A-B for content creation, but then again, that’s not really the monitor’s purpose. The 45GX950A-B is really built for movies and games, and delivers superior image quality when used for that purpose. LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B HDR image quality The LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B does well in HDR with a peak HDR brightness of 798 nits in a 10 percent window. As the graph shows, that’s a high result for an OLED monitor and equivalent to many recent OLED alternatives, which were themselves hitting new high watermarks in HDR brightness. Matthew Smith / Foundry The 45GX950A-B’s high HDR brightness has two main benefits. First, HDR highlights (like a lightning strike or explosion) leap from the screen. Second, HDR images show detail in bright areas that might otherwise be shown as a sheer, white image. I was particularly impressed by the monitor’s performance in the “Into the Storm” scene from Mad Max: Fury Road. The intensity of the action was boosted by both the monitor’s good HDR brightness and its sheer size. However, like other OLED monitors, the 45GX950A-B’s maximum brightness falls drastically as larger portions of the screen are lit. So, while an explosion in a dark alley looks brilliant, a snowy landscape on a sunlit day won’t look all that bright. Fortunately for OLED, the first case is more common than the second. As you might notice from my photos, the 45GX950A-B is a bit too large to fit well on my desk. But if I only cared about watching HDR video or playing immersive HDR games, I’d be willing to put up with that. The 45GX950A-B looks fantastic in HDR. LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B motion performance The LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B is a “dual mode” display that can vary its resolution and refresh rate. It provides a refresh rate of up to 165Hz at 5120×2160 resolution, or up to 330Hz at 2560×1080 resolution. Also, like other OLED monitors, the 45GX950A-B quotes a gray-to-gray pixel response time of 0.03 milliseconds, which is extremely low. As a result, the 45GX950A-B can deliver good motion clarity. Fast-moving objects show little motion blur and scrolling text is usually easy to read. Clarity is noticeably improved at 330Hz over 165Hz, but clarity at 165Hz remains excellent. Of course, gamers can buy monitors that provide even better motion clarity. 4K OLED monitors with a refresh rate up to 240Hz are readily available, as are 1440p OLED monitors with a refresh rate up to 360Hz. The very best OLED monitors for motion clarity can reach up to 480Hz. As you might expect, these will look crisper than the 45GX950A-B at 5K2K resolution. Whether that matters depends on the games you play. Highly competitive MOBA and FPS fans may prefer a widescreen OLED with a higher refresh rate. On the other hand, hardcore simulation, MMORPG, and strategy fans will see more benefit from the 45GX950A-B’s size and increased resolution than they would from better motion clarity. Adaptive Sync is supported by the 45GX950A-B, and it officially supports both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. Most modern monitors that support Adaptive Sync work with both AMD and Nvidia cards, but it’s still good to see. Should you buy the LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B? The LG Ultragear 45GX950A-B is a fantastic, though somewhat niche, ultrawide monitor. It delivers all of OLED’s usual benefits alongside 5K2K resolution that provides a sharper image than competitor 45-inch ultrawide and 49-inch super-ultrawide monitors. The 45GX950A-B also scores high marks in HDR. On the other hand, the 45GX950A-B’s extreme curve and high price mean the monitor’s appeal is limited to gamers who plan to use the monitor exclusively for entertainment. If that sounds like you, go for it. The 45GX950A-B beats its OLED rivals on both sharpness while retaining all their other perks, which makes it the new top choice for immersive HDR gaming. Read...