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Huge palaces appear on the map in Sid Meier’s Civilization VII. We see beautiful gardens, soldiers patrolling, and the pharaoh Hatshepsut walking up the palace steps guarded by huge statues of Anubis. This is a different Civ feel, one with the charm of Anno 117. A city is not just symbolized here as in Civilization VII with a few houses and landmarks, but we can see and feel it. We can drive to the harbor, where fishing boats are bringing in the next catch, while Egyptian warships patrol the coast. Civilization VII feels very different: It really has the charm of an Age of Empires or Anno 117 with really big cities that we experience much more intensely than in the last Civ. Civilization VII feels very different: It really has the charm of an Age of Empires or Anno 117 with really big cities that we experience much more intensely than in the last Civ. Firaxis Civilization VII feels very different: It really has the charm of an Age of Empires or Anno 117 with really big cities that we experience much more intensely than in the last Civ. Firaxis Firaxis There are entire date plantations whose sweet fruits are transported by camels to the market in the city. Civilization is a fantastic brand, but Civilization VII brings this famous aquarium effect to one of the biggest strategy series in the world for the first time. Waset, our new Egyptian capital, is divided into clusters: There’s the palace district, the date plantation in the west, and grain cultivation in the south. On the other side of the Nile are quarries and mines, whose raw materials are transported to the capital by barges. 14 minutes of 4K gameplay Until now, Civilization has been a rather minimalist experience. Now we can see what expansions to the gameplay such as decrees bring to the table. For example, new technologies such as irrigation, which turns barren desert lands into oasis’. The technology in turn unlocks three different new buildings. Gardens, which not only provide 3+ food but also 1+ food for each terrain on the coast, on the river, and each food building. Sailing as a technology in turn unlocks five achievements such as the fact that land units can also be sailed across the water in feluccas and fishing boats are more efficient because they use larger sails. New map, bigger battles Battles bring significantly more different units onto the field and feel more staged. For example here, when we lead the legions of Rome, which are divided into heavy infantry, archers, cavalry and commanders. Battles bring significantly more different units onto the field and feel more staged. For example here, when we lead the legions of Rome, which are divided into heavy infantry, archers, cavalry and commanders. Firaxis Battles bring significantly more different units onto the field and feel more staged. For example here, when we lead the legions of Rome, which are divided into heavy infantry, archers, cavalry and commanders. Firaxis Firaxis On the one hand, Civilization VII is much more detailed than its predecessors and goes into much more depth per faction. For example, scouts can now roam the desert and build a canoe to cross rivers, allowing us to find waterfalls. There, in those lush landscapes, we can create completely new settlements and resource paths that convey this beautiful Anno feeling. Anno 117 is also set in the Roman Empire, which traded a lot with the Egyptians and had a strong alliance. After all, Marcus Aurelius and Cleopatra were a couple that united Rome and Egypt. Battles also look much more massive. 10 legionaries and three cavalrymen on the battlefield represent roughly one legion of Rome attacking at different points in Egypt when war broke out with Emperor Octavian. We make tactical use of hills, mountain ranges, and the proximity to water and pincer Rome with simultaneous attacks from land and sea. This is still more minimalist than an Age of Empires 4, for example, because one ship symbolizes an entire fleet. But overall it gives a much better insight into the course of battle than the toy figures in Civilization VII. We can now protect each quarter with a wall, which provides defense bonuses and looks more impressive. There are also significantly fewer menus and instead more icons above each district, which affects resource production. We can now protect each quarter with a wall, which provides defense bonuses and looks more impressive. There are also significantly fewer menus and instead more icons above each district, which affects resource production. Firaxis We can now protect each quarter with a wall, which provides defense bonuses and looks more impressive. There are also significantly fewer menus and instead more icons above each district, which affects resource production. Firaxis Firaxis The Egyptians, for example, build several different temples for gods such as Anubis and Hapi in their civilization tree, which can then merge to form the Light of Amun-Ra, which brings five gold per palace for our economy and allows us to recruit unique priest units. We’re seeing all this properly now. We’re experiencing these temples much more than before, where they were just a symbol on a map. In Civilization VI, an entire city was relatively small on the map, more like a city made up of Lego blocks. The districts did exist before, but now the whole thing feels more like a sprawling metropolis that we must totally protect with high walls. A break in tradition, one new nation per age As the ages change, there are always new winners – Spain, for example, with one of the largest trading fleets, is exciting for the Exploration Age, which focuses on the oceans and the battle with cannons and muskets. As the ages change, there are always new winners – Spain, for example, with one of the largest trading fleets, is exciting for the Exploration Age, which focuses on the oceans and the battle with cannons and muskets. Firaxis As the ages change, there are always new winners – Spain, for example, with one of the largest trading fleets, is exciting for the Exploration Age, which focuses on the oceans and the battle with cannons and muskets. Firaxis Firaxis Civilization always had this one problem. Ancient Rome or Egypt were formative for mankind, but after antiquity these nations more or less disappeared from the scene. They were no longer influential, they no longer created anything great. Sure, there were the Medici in Italy, who were very influential, but when it came to technology, other powers took over. Civilization VII now wants to fully reflect this. That’s why we build completely new metropolises on top of our old city and form alliances with those who shaped the era. Graphically, this looks much more spectacular, just look at how detailed these tanks are designed here. The environment continues to play a major role in height differences and tactical aspects. Graphically, this looks much more spectacular, just look at how detailed these tanks are designed here. The environment continues to play a major role in height differences and tactical aspects. Firaxis Graphically, this looks much more spectacular, just look at how detailed these tanks are designed here. The environment continues to play a major role in height differences and tactical aspects. Firaxis Firaxis This is exciting, but risky. Humankind had a similar approach, which, unfortunately, never really became a big success. It has its fanbase and still gets 1,000 players a day on Steam, but it never managed to follow in Civ’s footsteps. So what do Grandmaster Sid Meier and his Firaxis want to do differently? For starters, there are only three ages, so we don’t jump back and forth between nations as much as we did in Humankind. There are four victory point conditions: Science, Culture, Military, and Economy. There’s also a Legacy Path, which we fill in with different cultures. Civilization VII will be released on 11 February 2025, well before Anno 117, and is likely to appeal to precisely this fanbase. Just how beautifully the Roman Empire, its temples, bathhouses and legions are staged here is enough to make you look forward to more. Civilization VII will be released on 11 February 2025, well before Anno 117, and is likely to appeal to precisely this fanbase. Just how beautifully the Roman Empire, its temples, bathhouses and legions are staged here is enough to make you look forward to more. Firaxis Civilization VII will be released on 11 February 2025, well before Anno 117, and is likely to appeal to precisely this fanbase. Just how beautifully the Roman Empire, its temples, bathhouses and legions are staged here is enough to make you look forward to more. Firaxis Firaxis The journey continues from antiquity to outer space as the ultimate final destination. We also take our leader to new nations, which is wild, but fascinating. The Age of Discovery was mainly characterized by Europe, because Spain, Portugal, and England had very strong fleets, which made world trade possible in the first place. At the fall of the Roman Empire, which became Italy, the Italians were much less strong as a nation in international competition. However, they had founded Londinium, which became London and established the English as a naval power. The principle is to bring the technological achievements of other nations into your own sphere of influence. The nation you are playing then uses steam power or railways to a greater extent than was actually the case historically. One of the reasons why Egypt in particular fell so far behind after the ancient world was that they had no merchant fleets or navy that could keep up with the global competition. In Civilization VII, we can rectify such mistakes and allow long-forgotten empires to flourish in the long term. Creative Director Ed Beach on the new ages The ages are inspired by London, which was classically designed by the Romans as Londinium with a forum in the center and temples. And in Civ VII we could merge the industrial power UK with the space power USA and its NASA. The ages are inspired by London, which was classically designed by the Romans as Londinium with a forum in the center and temples. And in Civ VII we could merge the industrial power UK with the space power USA and its NASA. Firaxis The ages are inspired by London, which was classically designed by the Romans as Londinium with a forum in the center and temples. And in Civ VII we could merge the industrial power UK with the space power USA and its NASA. Firaxis Firaxis “Our biggest new feature for Civ VII is Ages. They are inspired by the fact that history has always been written in stages. The first nations laid the foundations of history, others continued to write the story as technology changed. Culture, religion, science. In Civilization VII, these nations are faced with major crises at the end of an age and must develop. This means we can always use the technology from the countries that dominated that age. We combine state leaders with leading figures from science, business or the military to forge completely new alliances.” If you want to see much more gameplay of Civilization VII… This all sounds very exciting because, for example, a nation like the Roman Empire, which dominated the age of sword-fighting, can form an alliance with France’s Bonaparte, who capitalized on the age of musketry and cannons. Or we can go the more historically correct route. We lead Rome together with the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which included large parts of Italy. Then everyone can let off steam. And later we bring in leading figures from England who led the Industrial Revolution with steam engines and coal-fired power stations. Each of these leaders has their very own skill tree, which we can further refine. Because anyone who leads a country has to move with the times or pass with the times. Sid Meier’s Civilization VII will be released on 15 February 2025 for PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

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Sometimes all you need is a reliable laptop for day-to-day use and office work. If you’ve been shopping around for such a laptop, you should consider picking up a Chromebook. Not only are they powerful enough to handle general web browsing and running YouTube videos, but you can also play the latest triple-A games with cloud gaming. They’re also affordable and largely virus free. If you’ve no idea where you should start looking, we’ve actually done the heavy lifting for you by assembling our top picks. If you still prefer Windows laptops, you’ll definitely want to check out PCWorld’s roundup of the best laptops available today. Why you should trust us: PCWorld has been going strong since 1983, back in the days when print magazines were more common. Now that we’ve made the leap to digital, we’ve been reviewing more than 70 laptops every year. Every laptop that passes through our doors goes through an arduous testing process, in which we evaluate everything from processor performance to display quality. We’re committed to reviewing laptops in every price range too. Update September 13, 2024: We added the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 ($699) as the Best High-End Chromebook pick. This Chromebook offers a 2-in-1 form factor, excellent day-to-day performance, and a 1200p touch screen. We’ve also updated our list of recent laptop reviews, so be sure to check those out near the bottom of the page. The best Chromebooks Lenovo Flex 5i – Best overall Chromebook Pros Good build quality Fantastic typing experience Vibrant touchscreen display Cons Average battery life for a Chromebook Stylus not included Price When Reviewed: $499 Best Prices Today: $329 at Best Buy Why we like the Lenovo Flex 5i The Lenovo Flex 5i is the best overall choice because of its 2-in-1 design, the peppy performance, exquisite typing experience, and so much more. The understated aluminum finished exterior helps make it feel like something three or four times as expensive. As for the convertible design, the 360-degree hinge feels incredibly sturdy, which is essential in a 2-in-1 laptop. Plus, the keyboard is a real joy to type on and the 1200p touch display produces crisp and vibrant visuals. The best part is that you’re getting all of these wonderful features for well under $500. Who should buy the Lenovo Flex 5i We feel as though the Lenovo Flex 5i is a good Chromebook for most people. The touchscreen and 2-in-1 design really gives it the edge, as you usually see these features in machines that cost much more. While the nine hour battery life is considered just average for a Chromebook, it’s still a great all-day result. It’s just not the whopping 19 hours we got out of the Asus Chromebook CM34 Flip. That said, the Lenovo Flex 5i’s list of compromises is quite small. Read our full Lenovo Flex 5i Chromebook Plus review Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook – Best budget Chromebook Pros Lightweight design Great battery life Attractive color scheme 1080p display Cons Only 4GB of RAM 720p webcam is disappointing Price When Reviewed: $319 Best Prices Today: $239.99 at Adorama Why we like the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook For under $300, the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook offers decent performance, fantastic battery life, and a lightweight form factor. Inside, you’ll find an MediaTek Kompanio 520 CPU, an ARM Mali-G52 2EE MC2 GPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of eMMC storage. On paper, those specs may not look all that impressive. However, when it comes to real-world use, day-to-day performance is perfectly reliable. The 47 watt-hour battery also lasted 16 hours on a single charge and it weighs just under three pounds, making it a solid travel companion. Not bad for under $300, huh? Who should buy the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook Anyone looking for a cheap, serviceable Chromebook. It’s not the most innovative Chromebook we’ve ever seen, but it doesn’t have to be. It has plenty of power for light use and the battery will keep you going long after your workday or school day ends. The inclusion of a 1080p touch display is a nice touch as well, especially given the low price of the machine. The 720p webcam is disappointing and you’re only getting 4GB of RAM, but if you’re willing to taper your expectations a bit, then this is a machine that’s well worth considering. Alternative option: If you’re willing to spend a little extra on a Chromebook with better performance, we’d recommend checking out the $399 Acer Chromebook Plus 515. Bootup times are lightning fast and browser-based tasks feel appropriately snappy. The typing experience is also lovely and the battery can last up to 13 hours on a single charge. The only trade-offs are the boring aesthetics and the thick bezels on the display. Read our full Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook review Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 – Best high-end Chromebook Pros Great keyboard Solid battery life and performance Beautiful display Cons Tinny speakers Pen sold separately No fingerprint reader More expensive than the average Chromebook Price When Reviewed: $699 Best Prices Today: $699 at Best Buy$869.99 at Walmart Why we like the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 offers a convertible form factor, zippy day-to-day performance, and a keyboard with plenty of travel. The 14-inch IPS touch-enabled display also has a 1920×1200 resolution, a 16:10 aspect ratio, and 340 nits of brightness. It’s a great screen for media streaming, but it’s on the dimmer side and the glossy surface makes it difficult to use on a sunny day. That said, the multi-touch touchscreen works well. Who should buy the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 Anyone looking for a more premium Chromebook! The 2-in-1 form factor allows you to rotate the screen 360 degrees and use it like a tablet, which is great for those who like to take notes or doodle. Plus, many Android apps are optimized for tablet use, so using this Chromebook in tablet mode should be easy. The price tag ($699) may deter some folks, but if your budget knows no bounds, then the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is a fantastic choice. Read our full Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 review Acer Chromebook 516 GE – Best Chromebook for gaming Pros Attractive design Excellent CPU performance Loads of wired and wireless connectivity High resolution 1600p display Cons Mediocre keyboard and touchpad Disappointing speakers and microphone Display falls behind in contrast, color vibrancy Price When Reviewed: $649.99 Best Prices Today: $649 at Best Buy Why we like the Acer Chromebook 516 GE The Acer Chromebook 516 GE is a good machine for gaming and day-to-day tasks. The Intel Core i5-1240P CPU is powerful enough for office work and everyday activities, and the display’s 120Hz refresh rate will produce smooth visuals. You can’t run games locally on this laptop, but you can use a cloud gaming service like Nvidia GeForce Now or Amazon Luna. According to our review, “gameplay felt perfectly smooth” and “Nvidia’s GeForce Now diagnostics panel flagged no problems.” Just make sure you’ve got a stable Internet connection! Fortunately, the Acer Chromebook 516 GE has an Ethernet port, which is about as stable as you can get. Who should buy the Acer Chromebook 516 GE Anyone that wants to game on a dependable Chromebook! The Acer Chromebook 516 GE is a joy to game on and it’s zippy enough for productivity and day-to-day. Additional features include a 1080p webcam, a 65 watt-hour battery, and an attractive design. With an MSRP of $650, it’s a little expensive for a Chromebook, but it punches above the usual Chrome OS machine and is tailor made to deliver a high-quality cloud gaming experience. Alternative option: If you’re looking for a Windows alternative that can run local games, you should check out the Asus TUF Gaming A16 Advantage Edition laptop. It’s currently our best budget gaming pick and for good reason! Our reviewer blitzed through the Rise of the Tomb Raider benchmark at 123 frames-per-second thanks to the Nvidia GeForce RTX RTX 4050 GPU. This laptop also managed an impressive 11 hours of battery life on a single charge, which is unheard of in gaming laptops. Read our full Acer Chromebook 516 GE review Framework Laptop Chromebook – Best Chromebook for tinkerers Pros Upgradeable Hot-swappable ports 1080p webcam Reliable performance Cons Expensive No touchscreen display Price When Reviewed: $999 Best Prices Today: $999 at Framework Why we like the Framework Laptop Chromebook The Framework Laptop Chromebook is one of the more unusual entries on this roundup because it’s a modular laptop, which means you can replace or upgrade any part of it. Our reviewer, who wasn’t confident in her disassembling abilities, was able to crack open the laptop in a few simple steps. The hardware inside is marked with QR codes, which you can scan with your phone and be directed to the right spot on Framework’s website. The 1080p display is also a big draw and the hot-swappable ports allows you to mix and match where the ports slot in the laptop. Who should buy the Framework Laptop Chromebook Anyone who likes to get in there and tinker or extend the life of their laptop. The Framework Laptop Chromebook is designed with the ultimate customization and upgradability in mind. I will say, it’s definitely targeted to a specific niche of people, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Performance is strong due to the Intel Core i5 processor. In fact, our benchmarks show that it handles everyday tasks like surfing the web and watching streams like a real pro. The only caveat is that it’s expensive for a Chromebook. The Acer Chromebook Vero 514, for example, is just as fast as the Framework Laptop Chromebook and is hundreds of dollars cheaper. Read our full Framework Laptop Chromebook review Recent laptop reviews Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714: The Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 714 is a 2-in-1 Chromebook that delivers an excellent all-around ChromeOS experience. Of course, it’s more expensive than the average Chromebook — and it’s not perfect. Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6: You can get faster and flashier systems, but the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 efficiency is on levels we haven’t seen elsewhere. It’s an all-around strong machine for general productivity on the go, and may prove a tough one to beat on that front. MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio: MSI’s Stealth 18 AI Studio A1V has a beautiful display and lots of connectivity, but high pricing paired with mediocre performance (for its size, at least) leaves it behind the pack. Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 Gen 9: The Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 offers a gorgeous OLED display as well as punchy speakers. What more could you ask for? Acer Nitro 14: The Acer Nitro 14 delivers great RTX 4060-powered gaming performance at a low retail price. This machine makes many compromises to keep the price down, but they’re all reasonable. Dell XPS 13: The Intel-powered Dell XPS 13 was already a letdown next to the competition, and this Snapdragon-powered XPS 13 winds up downgrading most of the package without a meaningful reduction in price. It just makes a disappointing experience worse. Asus ProArt P16: The Asus ProArt P16 makes smart trade-offs to deliver a feature-rich laptop at a more reasonable price. Asus Zenbook S 16: The Asus Zenbook S 16 is an attractive laptop, but the Ryzen AI 9 delivers mediocre performance and external temperatures peak at 130 degrees under load. How we test Chromebooks The PCWorld team puts each and every laptop through a series of benchmarks that test GPU and CPU performance, battery life, and so on. The idea is to push the laptop to its limits and then compare it against others we’ve tested. Due to the cloud-based nature of Chromebooks, they go through a series of web-based tests. It wouldn’t be fair or possible to run the same kinds of tests on a Chromebook as we use on laptops because they exclusively run a completely different operating system. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of each test and the reasons why we run them. Chromebooks CrXPRT 2: The CrXPRT 2 benchmark tests a Chromebook’s battery life. Speedometer 2.0: This test determines a Chromebook’s web browser performance. It simulates this by adding, completing, and removing a to-do list. Basemark Web 3.0: This benchmark gauges how well a Chromebook can handle web-based applications. Kraken 1.1: Kraken 1.1 is a JavaScript performance benchmark that measures browser speed. Jetstream 2: Jetstream 2 is a combination of WebAssembly and JavaScript benchmarks. This is a way to gauge how well a Chromebook runs advanced workloads. For a more thorough explanation of our testing procedures, check out how PCWorld tests laptops. What should you look for in a Chromebook? If you’re looking for a Windows or MacBook alternative, you may want to consider a Chromebook. Equipped with low-power processors, they typically have good battery life and are usually silent in operation. They make great productivity machines, as they’re specifically designed for lightweight tasks like browsing the web, watching Netflix, and so on. Plus, they’re largely virus free. That said, most Chromebooks have minimal RAM and storage. If you’re a hardcore gamer or a video editor, you’re going to want something with a lot more power than a Chromebook is capable of providing. Our guide to Chromebooks vs. Windows laptops can help you determine which operating system is best for your needs. For more options, you’ll want to check out our best laptops roundup. Operating system: Although every operating system has its pros and cons, I’d argue that Chrome OS is one of the most user-friendly ones out there. That said, with Chromebooks, you don’t have the option of picking another operating system, as they exclusively run Chrome OS. You’re stuck with it, bud. Processor: Shoot for a mid-range Chromebook if you can. They cost anywhere in the $400 to $600 range and many of them come equipped with Intel Pentium processors. These Chromebooks have better browser performance and are capable of running more intense gaming apps. It’s the best bang for your buck. Upper-end Chromebooks sometimes use Intel Core or AMD Ryzen processors, which pack more of a punch. RAM: Many Chromebooks have 4GB of RAM, which isn’t a lot. Chromebooks are web-based machines, so you need a fair amount of RAM to keep those tabs open and running smoothly. If you can spend a couple of hundred extra, you’ll be able to find a mid-range Chromebook with 8GB of RAM. Storage: I recommend at least 64GB of storage. Since you’ll mostly be storing things in the cloud, you don’t a ton of local storage. Durability: Chromebooks are popular in the education market because they’re pretty darn robust. I’m not saying you should smack one around with a baseball bat or anything, but they’re durable enough to handle the daily abuses of life. FAQ 1. What is the difference between a regular laptop and a Chromebook? When people talk about regular laptops they usually mean a PC or Mac. A Chromebook is still a laptop, but it differentiates itself from either of those two by using a unique operating system called Chrome OS, which was created by Google. Think of it like this: All Chromebooks are laptops, but not all laptops are Chromebooks. Unlike other operating systems such as Windows or macOS, Chrome OS is optimized to run Google apps such as Google Drive, Google Docs, YouTube, and other Google services. Because most Google apps are online, Chromebooks generally require an internet connection to use most of their important features. Finally, Chromebooks have historically been designed with portability, ease of use, and affordability in mind rather than top performance. They typically forego the faster, high-end hardware that PCs or Macs can use for a more minimalist, lightweight approach to computing. 2. Can you use integrated graphics for gaming? No, you can’t game a Chromebook because they can’t run local EXEs aside from Android apps. That said, you can play modern games on a Chromebook that supports cloud gaming, like the Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Gaming. You have to have an Ultimate membership with Nvidia’s GeForce Now to the play the games, though. The Ultimate tier costs $19.99 a month or $99.99 for six months. It’s a pretty seamless experience, and Nvidia also offers an unlimited free tier so you can stream games with restrictions on session times. 3. What is the difference between a budget laptop and a tablet? More and more, the line between what is a laptop and what is a tablet blurs as companies integrate the features of both into their latest devices. But there are still a few key distinctions between the two. Laptops generally are larger, come with more storage, and have better performance and productivity features. Tablets on the other hand are smaller and more portable, have longer battery life, and are usually a bit more affordable. When choosing between a budget laptop and a tablet you should first ask yourself what the primary use of the device will be. Do you need something for productivity with lots of storage? Then a laptop—even a budget model—will probably be the way to go. Or do you need something that is small, travels well, and has a long battery life? Then you might consider a tablet. 4. What are the disadvantages of a Chromebook? Chromebooks are designed for day-to-day tasks, which is fine if all you’re doing is browsing the web and checking e-mail. They can’t handle resource-heavy design work, video editing, and so on. You’ll also need a strong Internet connection because if you’re not online, there are only so many things you can do with a Chromebook. Chromebooks cannot install local programs like Windows PCs can. You also can’t install Microsoft Office and that might be a huge deal-breaker for some folks, especially those who rely on those programs for work. 5. What is a Chromebook good for? Chromebooks are good laptops for those who require the basics. If all you need is a reliable Internet connection to get your work done and nothing else (like no resource-hungry programs), then you’re golden. Personally, I use my own Chromebook for writing and editing as well as checking out social media and watching YouTube. You can even game on them with a cloud gaming service like GeForce Now, if that’s how you like to spend your evenings (no judgements here).

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Elgato has now launched its largest Stream Deck yet, the Elgato Stream Deck Studio. The live streaming tool features a whopping 32 programmable LCD buttons in two rows as well as a pair of rotary dials. This compares to Elgato’s original Stream Deck, which has 15 buttons. The Deck Studio, however, is intended specifically for professional users and traditional studio broadcasters. The Elgato Stream Deck Studio measures almost half a meter in length and connects with a single USB-C input on the front. There are also two more USB-C ports on the back, one of which offers connection to a PC and another can be used to power the device instead of the Stream Deck Studio’s 25W Ethernet connection. It’s also possible to connect several Elgato Stream Deck Studios to each other. It’s currently priced at $899.99 and is available to purchase today.

What’s the most important component in a laptop or desktop? Probably not the storage drive — but that doesn’t mean you should overlook it. In fact, a great drive can elevate your computer with instant bootup times, quicker app loads, faster file transfers, and more. And now that this speedy 1TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD is on sale for just $100 on Amazon, there’s never been a better time to upgrade your computer’s storage drive. Whether you have a sluggish HDD or a decent SSD, this super-performant upgrade is better. Guaranteed. When we reviewed the Samsung 990 Pro, we gave it 4 stars out of 5 and our Editors’ Choice award, praising its everyday performance and the fact that it’s available with or without a heat sink. Our main issue with it was its price — but now that it’s 38 percent off, it’s virtually flawless. “The 990 Pro is your standard 2280 form factor (22mm wide, 80mm long) M.2 NVMe SSD. It’s PCIe 4×4 utilizing 176-layer TLC NAND, with 1GB of primary caching DRAM for every 1TB of NAND. The controller is an in-house Samsung design that, according to the company, offers a 50 percent improvement in power efficiency over the 980 Pro.” This particular SSD delivers sequential read/write speeds of up to 7,450MB/s, making for truly lightning-fast loading times and file transfers, and it even comes with user-friendly software to help you optimize the drive for maximum computer performance. It’s the perfect upgrade for any slow laptop or desktop, whether for work or gaming. You can even install this on a PS5 for faster loading times and better gaming performance if you want. I challenge you to find another 1TB internal SSD with the same form factor and performance at this price — you won’t be able to. Don’t miss this chance to grab the Samsung 990 Pro for $100 on Amazon! The 1TB Samsung 990 Pro is a winner with this discountBuy now on Amazon

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Microsoft Teams is Microsoft’s platform for business-oriented communication via chat, audio calls, and video calls. The service is part of Microsoft 365 and often comes already integrated with work PCs, especially if you’re part of a company that relies on Microsoft apps. You might even find that Teams automatically opens whenever you boot or restart your computer. This could be helpful if you’re always on Teams and use it a lot… but what if you don’t? Maybe it’s slowing down your startup times and you want to disable this behavior. Fortunately, you can. Here’s what you can do if you don’t want Microsoft Teams to automatically launch at startup. Related: Quick tips to speed up Windows startup time Option 1: Via Teams You can disable the automatic launch of Microsoft Teams directly within the application. To do this, click on the three-dot menu next to your profile picture at the top-right corner in Teams, then Settings. In the General tab, you’ll see a checkbox labeled Auto-start Teams. Simply uncheck the box and Teams will no longer start on its own when you boot up Windows. You can also specify whether Teams should open in the background, meaning you won’t see the Teams window when it launches. You’ll still be active in Teams and receive notifications, but the window itself will only show when you open the application manually. Related: Microsoft’s consumer Teams dreams are fading Option 2: Via Windows Startup You can also disable automatic startup within Windows’ system settings, which is a great option if you also want to prevent a bunch of other apps from launching on their own at startup. To do this, open the Start menu and search for Settings, then within Settings navigate to Apps > Startup. (Alternatively, you can simply search for “startup apps” in the Start menu.) Here, you can browse the list and select on an app-by-app basis whether each app should be automatically launched at system startup. Simply toggle the button for Microsoft Teams to Off. (Click the arrow beside it for more app details and settings to tweak.) Further reading: How to get notifications when new apps are added to Startup in Windows 11

The iPhone 16 is here and ready for preorder. Here are the best iPhone 16 cases to protect your device, whether you are buying the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, or 16 Pro Max.