Despite AI having well and truly arrived, there’s no denying that using a laptop still requires human effort. I still need to manually hook up my Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to connect devices, and to open and direct my apps to achieve anything. But that may not be the case for very much longer, according to HP executives presenting at the HP Amplify Conference in Nashville last week. The team revealed the company’s vision for a future in which AI laptops will seamlessly connect to an ecosystem of devices that will know what you want to do when you want to do it. To illustrate, HP president and CEO Enrique Lores used the example of a worker who walks into a conference room whereby their laptop promptly knows they have a meeting, automatically launches their meeting app, then chooses and configures the right speakers and camera to use. That kind of seamless connectivity will also be available for consumers, said Lores. “These are innovations that are going to start on the commercial side, but they will make their way into homes. In many cases homes are not just living spaces anymore. They have become offices, whether that’s for parents working or kids doing their homework,” he said. Although HP is a little way off achieving its goal, it has made progress. One example of a product that takes all the guess work out of connecting is the new HyperX Cloud III S gaming headset that uses HP Instant Pair technology to automatically connect to your HP Omen PC when you switch it on. Brad Pulford, HP managing director for ANZ, explained how it’ll be much similar to access your applications in such an AI driven ecosystem. “The power of AI, when I’m talking about personal referencing, it’ll be able to determine what applications you use most. Say, you use five applications, it’ll make sure those applications are available to you in the world that you live and go straight to your devices.” “AI will be able to reference how you like to work, or that you like to read the news every morning and make sure those applications are front and center for you. In some cases, it may even open those applications without you having to reference them specifically,” he said. HyperX Cloud III S gaming headset instantly connects to select HP Omen gaming laptops. Dominic Bayley / IDG An early example of AI driven connectivity is HP’s Omen AI on the company’s Omen gaming laptops. It uses millions of data points collected from thousands of user PCs across the web to analyze your specific hardware, OS settings, and game settings to maximize FPS in your games. Alex Cho, HP president of personal systems, summed up the company’s goal as this: “We want to really reinvent connectivity. What we’re talking about is building an industry standard for connectivity… where AI can actively enable the devices to work together, discover their capabilities, that’s how we’re going to enable the future with AI.” Disclosure: PCWorld accepted travel and accommodation to the HP Amplify Conference in order to view and try out HP products that were being released and not physically available in the author’s location. Read...

Spring cleaning isn’t just for your home, but your outdoor area, too. And while you can have your robovac clean the floors, you’ll want the new Dreame Z1 Pro to clean up your pool. First unveiled at CES 2025, the Dreame Z1 Pro was recognized by Frost & Sullivan as the world’s first cordless robotic pool cleaner with a poolside-operatable remote controller and also the world’s first robotic pool cleaner with a triple surround fusion perception system. The Dreame Z1 series of robotic pool cleaners could make your life so much easier, saving countless hours of your time. Let’s take a deeper look. Cordlessly clean your pool One of the best things about the Dreame Z1 Pro is its cordless design, which means you won’t need to worry about it getting tangled up, its movement being restricted, or having to keep it plugged in via long extension cables. The Z1 Pro can go about its job, navigating the pool freely, and reaching all the nooks and crannies that need cleaning. The new pool cleaner features PoolSense technology. This allows it to map out your pool, and then analyze the information and use it to adapt its cleaning routine to your pool’s shape. It will intelligently create cleaning patterns that guarantee maximize coverage. The pool cleaner will smartly navigate your pool, noting its surroundings and splitting the area into specific zones. For floor cleaning, the Z1 Pro will take an S-shaped route, while wall cleaning tasks will adopt an N-shaped route. All these details make this pool-cleaning robot a fantastic helper that will successfully tackle even the most complex pools. View Deal on Dreame Z1 Pro Remotely control the robot Dreame Dreame Z1 Pro comes with a handheld remote that uses LiFi technology to maintain a connection with the pool cleaner even while it’s underwater. This will make assigning tasks that much easier, such as sending the Z1 Pro to specific areas for spot cleaning, and for pausing and resuming tasks, or parking the robot poolside. Even better, you can even use the remote to direct the robot to the areas you want cleaned, steering the cleaner manually. The LiFi control system will work regardless of whether you have a freshwater or saltwater pool. This remote is the main difference between the Dreame Z1 Pro and its cheaper sibling, the Dreame Z1. The Z1 may be more appropriate for smaller pools as it covers a smaller area than the Pro (about 200 square feet less). Tackle pool cleaning from all sides The Dreame Z1 Pro won’t just skim the top of the water and pick up leaves and twigs and whatever else the wind blew into the pool. This model will actually sink down to the bottom, perfectly clean the area, and then handle the walls of the pool as well, delivering a thorough and efficient pool cleaning. The pool cleaning robot uses dual brushless motors that deliver an impressive 8,000 GPH suction power, which means its ability to cling to the pool walls or stay tight to the pool floor until the job is done will not be an issue. Furthermore, the suction power ensures that the Z1 Pro will do a thorough job of collecting dirt, grime, algae, gravel, sand, leaves, hair, and even twigs. Your pool will be spotless once the Z1 Pro completes its job. The horizontal waterline cleaning is impressive, and Dreame’s tests revealed it has 50% improved efficiency compared to other robotic pool cleaners that perform this task. Being this thorough doesn’t mean cleaning takes longer: this cord-free pool cleaner can handle 2,160 square feet in about four hours. The exact cleaning time will be affected by variables including the pool’s size and shape, and how long it’s been since it was last cleaned. The robot’s battery will need recharging after the four hours are up. A full recharge takes around six hours. View Deal on Dreame Z1 Pro Smart navigation Much like home floor cleaning robovacs, pool cleaning robots have to be smart. The Z1 Pro will successfully avoid any obstacles on the floor of your pool. Not only can it detect pool drains, for instance, but it can also navigate around them so it doesn’t get stuck. Another thing that’s super smart about the Dreame Z1 Pro is that if it runs out of battery or the filter basket is filled, the Z1 Pro will automatically dock itself at the edge of the pool to allow for easy collection and disposal. Once it’s recharged or you’ve emptied the basket, the robot returns to its job and picks up where it left off. The Dreame Z1 Pro has a companion app you can use to designate specific docking locations around your pool. When the robot is out of the water and waiting for you, it will even send you a notification so you know you have to attend to it. This will make it so much easier for you because you won’t have to constantly monitor your pool to see if the robot needs attention. That same app will also come in handy for customizing your robot’s cleaning jobs. You can fiddle with the settings, choose between multiple suction power settings for waterline and floor cleaning, and adjust cleaning times. Universal pool cleaner The beauty of the Dreame Z1 Pro is that it will work with just about any type of pool, be it above-ground or in-ground. We already established that it doesn’t matter what shape the pool has, but you should also know that it doesn’t matter if it’s made out of concrete or fiberglass, if it has mosaic tiles, or if it’s covered in vinyl. It will handle everything with the same efficiency. Spring cleaning for your pool This spring, it’s time to do something nice for your pool: buy the Dreame Z1 Pro. The pool cleaning robot costs $1,599, but you can get it for $320 off right now at Dreame. That’s a great price for a device that will handle your pool cleaning day in and day out, with you barely lifting a finger. Limited-time deal: Save $320 on Dreame Z1 Pro View Offer Read...

The arrival of spring is for many an annual reminder to deep clean the house. After a long winter allergens and dust can build up inside, impacting your family’s health and wellbeing. Instead of dreading this chore, imagine a world in which a clean home is effortlessly maintained. Enter the Dreame X50 Ultra, the company’s newest robot vacuum—a smart home companion designed to eliminate the stress of cleaning and promote a healthier living environment. Even if you already have a robot vacuum, the Dreame X50 Ultra is worth your attention: we’ve seen this technology advance in leaps and bounds over the years, and the X50 Ultra is a premium cleaning robot with all the bells and whistles. A climbing robot Dreame For the Dreame X50 Ultra, the “leaps and bounds” part is literal: this robot vacuum can climb steps of up to 6cm—well, 4.2cm if it’s a single step and 6cm if there’s a secondary threshold. Unveiled at CES 2025, the Dreame X50 Ultra is the perfect addition for homes with different levels, easily swinging up and navigating small steps and thresholds. It will also come in handy to “jump” over chair legs and other low furniture, or even clothes racks if you use any. While many robot vacuums can clear some obstacles, the X50 Ultra is the first to use the ProLeap system. Not only can this robot vacuum climb steps, but it can also dodge under furniture. Yes, you read that right: it can lower its LiDAR sensors so it can fit under the couch, needing a minimum of 89mm clearance. Since couches and beds are so difficult to move around, a lot of dirt and dust can collect beneath them. This is something you no longer need to worry about with the Dreame X50 Ultra—it simply turns on the lights and uses its cameras instead of the top sensors for navigation of that space. Dreame While LiDAR navigation will deliver a detailed map of your home and furniture placement and help with obstacle avoidance, there are more sensors than we can count on the X50 Ultra. There are even two sensors on the bottom that will intelligently detect height and obstacle clearance for better navigation. Those same sensors will also help identify up to 200 types of objects. View Deal on Dreame X50 Ultra Killer suction power We’ve already established the Dreame X50 Ultra is highly versatile and can handle cleaning up everywhere, including under furniture, but we also need to consider how it will handle the rest of the house. This particular model delivers jaw-dropping 20,000Pa suction power. That’s more than enough to pick up any type of dirt off hard floors and will easily handle all sorts of carpets, too. Whether you have pets or not, you’ve almost certainly dropped plenty of hairs on the floor, too. The X50 Plus features the HyperStream detangling DuoBrush, an innovative design that will prevent hair tangling in its cleaning mechanism. Its 100% anti-entanglement is certified by TÜV SÜD. These two brushes with rubber strips work in opposite directions, throwing hairs and dust upward instead of allowing it to tangle. It means you won’t need to detangle and remove hair from the roller after every cleaning job. This technology is also responsible for the robot’s proficiency at picking up dust from all surfaces, including from between carpet fibers, without making too much noise. Mopping for truly clean floors Vacuuming is a necessary part of keeping your home clean, but truly clean floors also require a good mopping. Thankfully, Dreame X50 Ultra can do just that. Even better, one of the robot’s circular mops will extend to reach the edges and corners better than other robot vacs with mopping functionality. Your entire floor will be squeaky clean. And we know what you’re thinking: what about my carpets? The X50 Ultra won’t make your carpets soggy. It can lift the mopping pads by up to 10.5mm to avoid most low-pile carpets, and you can also use the app to mark the presence of carpet and tell the robot to avoid the area when mopping. Enjoy hands-free cleaning The Dreame X50 Ultra charging station isn’t there simply to power up your robot, it also takes all the hassle out of maintenance–without you needing to lift a finger. This means you can enjoy completely hands-free cleaning. It has a slew of jobs, starting with automatically emptying the dust box straight into a 3.2l dust bag. This bag will take around 100 days to fill on average, but the exact count will depend on how fast dust bunnies gather on your floors, how much your pets shed, and so on. The X50 Ultra charging station is also responsible for filling up the robovac’s water tank, adding cleaning solution, draining the water once the job is complete, washing the mops with hot water, and then hot air drying the mops. It will then run a self-cleaning cycle, scrubbing any leftover dirt from the base. You can separately purchase a water hookup kit for the Dreame X50 Ultra, which allows you to connect the robot to a faucet and a drainage pipe. In this way, you can skip lugging around heavy water tanks when they need changing for truly set-and-forget functionality. View Deal on Dreame X50 Ultra Pet-friendly cleaning Dreame If you have pets at home, you may already know that they have a tendency to stalk robotvacs while they clean. Dreame X50 Ultra has some smart features to keep them safe. With Dynamic spot-cleaning for people and pets, the robot will keep track of where everyone is, avoid stepping on any toes, and revisit those spots later in the cleaning cycle once the area has been vacated. Pet owners can also decide whether or not the robot should avoid pet bowls and litter boxes altogether using the app. You can use the Dreame X50 Ultra to keep an eye on your pets while you are away from home, too. The companion app lets you view real-time video from the robot while it’s cleaning and even lets you talk to your pets. Plus a button in the app will send the X50 Ultra to find and take a photo of your fur baby for ultimate peace of mind. Spring cleaning, spring sale The Dreame X50 Ultra robot vacuum retails for $1,699.99, but you can get it with a massive discount if you act fast. Starting March 25th and through March 31st, you can buy the Dreame X50 Ultra for just $1,359.99 both on Dreame‘s website or Amazon. That’s a fantastic deal on a product that will not only tackle spring cleaning for your floors, but also make daily management of this task a lot easier. Limited-time deal: Save $340 on Dreame X50 Ultra View Offer Read...

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Philips Hue appears ready to expand its line of home security devices, with clues to the manufacturer’s plans hidden within its own app.  The leak details an unannounced product that would round out Hue’s existing catalog of security cameras, floodlights, and motion and contact sensors: a video doorbell, which would mark a logical next step in terms of brand’s smart security lineup.  As HueBlog.com reports, intel about the purported doorbell was discovered by a reader doing a deep dive into the Philips Hue app. Details about the device remain sketchy, but we can be reasonably sure it’s in the pipeline.  For starters, it appears the doorbell offers both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, with the former designed to aid discovery during setup. Scanning a QR code may also figure in the setup process, Hueblog.com notes.  Another clue about the potential Philips Hue doorbell comes from an LED troubleshooting screen with a caption that reads, “Your doorbell may not be connected to power. Make sure it’s properly wired in,” suggesting that the device will depend on wired power rather than a battery.  The leak doesn’t provide other key details, including the video resolution of the doorbell’s camera, whether it offers motion sensing or AI-powered object recognition, support for motion or privacy zones, or other common video doorbell features.   When might the Philips Hue video doorbell arrive? Good question. In recent years, Hue has saved its biggest product announcements for the fall IFA technology conference in Berlin, so it seems reasonable that the doorbell might make its appearance then.  We’ve reached out to Philips Hue for more details.  Philips Hue first made the leap to home security products back in August 2023, where it unveiled a suite of three security cameras—including a wired camera, a battery-powered cam, and a spotlight—along with a contact sensor.  The Hue cameras all top out at 1080p resolution, and they also offer such features as motion sensing, on-device, AI-powered person, pet, vehicle, and package detection, plus end-to-end encryption.  Controlling the cams is the security center in the Hue app, which lets users view video feeds and recordings, arm or disarm the Hue security system, receive motion alerts, or “take action,” including calling 9-1-1 or triggering “light alarms” intended to spook intruders or alert neighbors to a disturbance.  As with Ring and other home security brands, Philips offers a paid subscription plan for those looking to store recorded videos in the cloud, with the Hue Secure Basic plan giving a single camera 30 days of storage for $3.99 a month or $39.99 a year. The Hue Secure Plus plan will handle all your Hue cameras for $9.99 a month or $99.99/year, while upping the video storage to 60 days. Read...

TL;DR: Use this exclusive code LEARN to get lifetime access to Babbel’s 14 language offerings for only $124.99 (reg. $599) through March 31. Did you start the year off wanting to learn a new language ahead of a vacation or to land a new job? We’re here to check on that. If learning through Duolingo has taught you nothing other than random words and phrases, you may want to switch to this language-learning app.  You don’t need a subscription for Babbel’s gamified, yet functional learning method—score lifetime access for only $124.99 (reg. $599) through March 31 with our code LEARN—that’s the best price online. Nope, these aren’t like the language lessons you had in high school. Babbel’s are designed to be short and engaging, lasting just 10-15 minutes. All you need to do to begin your language-learning journey is select one of its 14 languages. You’ll learn practical language skills so you can ask for restaurant recommendations in Paris or make new friends while surfing in Bali. Plus, you can perfect your accent with Babbel’s speech recognition technology, whether you’re studying French, Danish, Indonesian, or Italian. Use code LEARN at checkout to grab this Babbel lifetime subscription at the unbeatable price of $124.99. The price goes back up on March 31 at 11:59 p.m. PT.   Babbel Language Learning: Lifetime Subscription (All Languages) Only $124.99 at PCWorld StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Buying goodies from a trendy food truck can get expensive. But I’ll bet that even the most desperate TikTok foodie hasn’t dropped more than a grand at once on something they can’t actually eat. But you can if you’re attending Nvidia’s GPU Technology Conference (GTC), where the company is selling its RTX 5080 and 5090 graphics cards from a pop-up “food truck” sales stall. Don’t everybody rush to San Jose at once. The impossible-to-find cards will only be sold to GTC attendees—apparently alongside merch shirts and puffy vests—who are already paying more than a thousand dollars for the cheapest ticket to see the newest industrial hardware from Nvidia and its partners. And no, those passes don’t get you any discounts on the cards, some of which are from AIB partners and not the Founder’s Edition GPUs that are going for nearly mythical retail prices. Even Nvidia only has a couple thousand cards on hand—1,000 each for the RTX 5080 and 5090, according to Tom’s Hardware. They’re being sold in small batches at random times. One Twitter/X post from yesterday says that the store will sell 90 of them for the next 30 minutes. GTC continues today and tomorrow, showing off mostly AI and industrial products, including some new Nvidia-branded desktops and mini PCs. The people who actually buy these cards will be mostly developers or otherwise poised to use them for something other than PC gaming. That said, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if some of the cards sold at the show pop up on eBay or Craigslist right afterward. After all, flipping a hot item might just cover a first-class ticket home. Read...