Dell boosts PowerStore with 30TB QLC drives, metro sync replication and new NFSv4.2 features to pack in more data and harden resilience. Read...

TechHive Editors Choice At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Head-to-toe field of view provides very good coverage of visitor and package zones Operates on either battery or hardwired power  2-year battery life on AA lithium batteries Simple DIY installation and flexible mounting (wireless or wired) make it ideal for first-timers Cons Cloud storage and advanced detection features require a subscription Push-to-talk audio (not full duplex) Limited local storage options (included Sync Module Core doesn’t support USB storage) No color night vision Our Verdict The Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) delivers clear video, wide coverage, reliable alerts, and a long battery life at a remarkably low price. If you don’t need advanced features like ultra-sharp resolution, or full-duplex audio, this doorbell is a true bargain. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) Retailer Price $69.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Blink is Amazon’s budget line of smart home products. While Blink gear might not match the industrial design or advanced features of Amazon’s premium Ring products, Blink delivers essential features at a much lower price. Fewer features also mean the Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) is easier to set up and easier to use. Users get clear video, wide coverage, reliable alerts and a long battery life. For many households, especially renters or first-time smart doorbell buyers, that’s exactly the kind of device they need. If you need (or just really want) ultra-sharp resolution, pro-grade audio, or a product that has a broader smart home ecosystem, you’ll need to spend more. Installation You’ll need one or another model of a Blink Sync Module to connect a Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) to your home network. The SKU we reviewed included a Blink Sync Module Core (shown at the far right in this photo).James Barber/Foundry Blink doesn’t include much in the way of instructions in the box. The Quick Start guide suggests downloading the Blink app for iOS or Google. Once you’ve done that and fired it up, you mostly get step-by-step instructions for setting up and installing your doorbell system. Experienced smart home device users will realize that installation should start with the Sync Module, but the app doesn’t suggest that step if you start with the doorbell itself. The Blink app connects the Blink Sync Module Core to your home Wi-Fi, a step that’s usually easy. Blink cameras connect to that, and from there to your home network. The Sync Module Core is included with the doorbell, but if you want local storage, you’ll need to purchase one of the higher-end models. There’s the $50 Blink Sync Module 2, which has a USB-A port you can plug a thumb drive into (max capacity 256GB), or the $70 Blink Sync Module XR, which has a microSD socket (same capacity limit as the other model). The XR also delivers longer range for up to two Blink Outdoor 4 cameras (up to 250 feet in XR mode and up to 400 feet in XR+ mode). Both sync modules support up to 10 Blink cameras. I encountered some trouble with my setup using the Sync Module Core. After several unsuccessful tries, I deleted the Blink app and restarted my iPhone before reinstalling the app. Starting over with the installation didn’t immediately resolve the issue, but I eventually got the Sync Module Core to connect to my network. I’m just not exactly sure if I did anything to make that happen or if the issue fixed itself. Once those issues were resolved, the rest of the installation was easy. The app gave well-illustrated instructions for connecting and mounting the doorbell. I chose to use the included AA batteries instead of hardwiring the doorbell into my existing setup. Once I did that, the steps were tailored to my choice and I didn’t see any of the wired instructions in my Blink app. Blink provides a paper mounting template that makes it easy to drill pilot holes four mounting the Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) in the right locations.James Barber/Foundry I installed the doorbell in a narrow slot between my home’s brick wall and its storm door. The edge of the storm door gasket made it impossible for the mounting plate to sit flush against my door jamb, so I swapped out the included screws for slightly longer ones I had on hand. The included paper drilling template made installation far easier than pushing a pencil through the mounting plate screw holes to draw circles that mark the drill targets. I’ve installed quite a few doorbells and other home security products over the past couple of years, and this is the first one I’ve encountered that came with a template. That may seem like a trivial addition to the installation kit, but I’m now wondering why everyone doesn’t include them. If the Sync Module would have connected on the first try, the entire process would have taken less than ten minutes. Even with a frustrating delay caused by those connection issues, the entire process took less than 30 minutes. The Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) installation should be easy enough for absolute beginners even if the initial steps require a bit more patience. Video quality & coverage The Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) comes with an easy-to-use app and captures video with a 1:1 aspect ratio and 1440 x 1440 pixels.James Barber/Foundry The upgraded square aspect ratio (1:1) and expanded 150-degree field of view let you see a visitor’s face, a package on the ground or anyone standing at the door edge. Resolution is improved over the previous Blink model—1440 x 1440 pixels—but opting for that highest quality will lower the doorbell’s battery life (that’s not an issue if you’re using hardwired power). In practice, image clarity is good for the price, but not stunning. I’ve tested video doorbells with image quality suggesting a 4K movie. You might think of the Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) as DVD quality, a resolution that was once considered a miracle. In low light, you’ll notice the absence of color night vision. If you live in a location with very dim lighting, you might get shadowy footage if you don’t have a front porch light or it’s not always on at night. This is the single missing feature that might tempt users to upgrade to a pricier device, but I think the image quality was more than good enough for most users. Battery vs. hardwired installation Blink says the Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) can operate for as long as two years on three AA lithium batteries. You also have the option of hardwiring it to a transformer.James Barber/Foundry As with Blink’s Outdoor 4 camera, battery endurance is one of the big positives here. Blink claims up to two years of battery life with AA lithium in typical use with Sync Module.  In real-world use, the figure will vary based on Wi-Fi strength, motion frequency, recording length, whether wired or wireless), but even a year of trouble-free battery life would be excellent. If you don’t want to worry about constant recharging or pulling new wiring, this is a big win. The wired option is still present if you have an existing doorbell circuit, giving you the benefit of using your in-home chime. Using the Blink app The Blink app is required to set up your Blink doorbell. It’s also where you can watch any live video or recorded clips or communicate with anyone standing in front of your doorbell. Blink gear is optimized to work with Alexa, and you can connect your Amazon and Alexa accounts in the app. Most of the functionality built into the Blink app is designed for Blink’s extensive line of home security cameras. If you enjoy their doorbell, Amazon hopes you’ll add a half dozen cameras and build a full Blink monitoring system that you’ll control in the app. Subscription plan options You can use the Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) in its basic mode without paying for a subscription, but you will not get its full feature set. Without a subscription, you have access to a live view, alerts on door-press/motion, two-way talk, and limited video capture (if you also purchase a Blink Sync Module 2 or Sync Module XR). If you don’t already have one of Blink’s Sync Modules, you can buy the doorbell bundled with a very basic Sync Module Core, but both the Blink Sync Module 2 and the Sync Module XR offer the option of 256GB of local storage (USB or microSD respectively).James Barber/Foundry A Basic Plan subscription ($3.99/month or $39.99/year) covers one Blink device. You get person and vehicle detection, motion event recording, up to 90 minutes of live view recording (you’re limited to 5 minutes of live viewing without a subscription), and cloud storage for up to 60 days, Blink Moments (which combines related clips across devices into one video), the ability to snooze notifications to temporarily pause alerts for up to 24 hours, and an extra 10 percent off future Blink devices on Amazon. There’s also a Plus Plan that ($11.99/month or $119.99/year) that covers an unlimited number of Blink devices in multiple locations and extends the warranty coverage on all devices for as long as the subscription is active. Unlike some competitors or prior Blink models, local/USB storage is no longer built-in via Sync Module Core. If you need video storage, you should factor the $40/year Basic Plan into your calculations. Value This Blink doorbell is a strong contender in the entry-level bracket ($60 to $80). Many other budget doorbells cost more, offer less battery life (or require hardwired power), or provide an even more limited set of features. Mid-tier models ($100 to150 range) get better analytics, color night vision, local storage, and advanced sensors, but usually require a more expensive subscription in addition to their higher cost. The Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) represents a “good enough” option for most users. Not everyone needs the most advanced features, and it’s hard to beat the Blink’s value when the doorbell on sale (it was going for as little as $30 during the recent holidays). Should you buy a Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen)? Blink nails the basics with this video doorbell. If you just want to see who’s at your door and talk with them via app from the other side of the house, it’s a simple solution at a remarkable price. A $40-per-year subscription adds almost all the recording features you might want; and/or if you want local storage, consider adding one of the higher-end Blink Sync Modules. You won’t get the highest-definition video or the best quality audio, but either of those options will give you an effective record of what’s going on at your front door. Amazon’s Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) lowers the barrier to entry for home security to a place where it’s affordable for almost anyone. You get a quality product with the support of a major company that has years of success in the field and avoid the shoddy quality (and questionable security) of no-name brands available online. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best video doorbells. Read...

Last week at CES 2026, AI-capable Copilot+ PCs were all over the convention show floor, with many PC makers promoting their so-called “AI PCs” with NPUs and other cutting-edge features. AI PCs have been hyped since 2024 as the next evolution of home computing, but it appears consumers aren’t buying into the new technology. That’s according to Dell’s sentiment at CES 2026, where an executive confirmed that the company would shift its focus away from AI PCs and re-center itself on the areas consumers care about: “We’re getting back to our roots with a renewed focus on consumer and gaming.” In other words, very few users seem to be buying new computers solely for the ability to run AI models and features locally. Dell might just be the first of many makers who are catching on to the lack of consumer interest in AI PCs. This goes hand in hand with Dell’s other refocusing efforts after listening to its consumers: the bringing back of its XPS line. Going forward, Dell will continue to sell computers with Copilot+ PC branding to comply with its partnership agreement with Microsoft, but the company’s marketing efforts won’t emphasize AI. It’s unclear how this shift will affect the pricing and availability of Dell PCs, as current market conditions and AI-driven RAM shortages are expected to drive up the costs of PCs by up to 20 percent. Read...

Can you get your tasks done with a regular 16:9 1080p monitor? Sure, you can. But I bet you could get more done faster and with less frustration if you had a 1440p ultrawide. That’s right, these monitors aren’t just for gamers—they’re excellent for productivity and comfort, too. And right now, Samsung’s 34-inch ViewFinity S65UA is down to a new best price: get it for just $300 on Amazon (was $540). View this Amazon deal More than just a solid display, the ViewFinity S65UA for $300 is now at a price that’s well below what we saw back during the Black Friday and Prime Day sales (when it was available for $330). This awesome 34-inch monitor is neither too big nor too small, and the stunning 3440×1440 resolution is uber-crisp—you’ll definitely be able to tell the difference if all you’re used to is 1080p on 21-inch or 24-inch screens. That large ultrawide resolution provides so much more screen real estate than you’re probably used to, and whatever you put on screen (from Netflix to Reddit to Microsoft Excel to Chrome) will look way better to your eyes. The 100Hz refresh rate is unimpressive, so maybe don’t get this if you’re a hardcore gamer who needs frame rates over 100. Otherwise, it’s great for casual and home office tasks. It also has a gentle 1000R curve that subtly wraps around your eyes, boosting immersion and easing eye strain over long periods at your PC. The borderless design is sleek and minimizes distractions. It also features a USB-C port with 90 watts of power delivery, so this is perfect to use with laptops as it’ll keep your laptop charged while connected. Don’t have USB-C video? You can still use it via HDMI or DisplayPort, too. Don’t miss out on this chance to get the fantastic Samsung ViewFinity S65UA for only $300 while this deal’s still live on Amazon. Save 44% on Samsung`s 34-inch 1440p ultrawide! It`s an all-time low priceBuy now at Amazon Read...

Months ago, Microsoft announced that every Windows 11 PC would be an “AI PC”, even the non-Copilot+ ones. Then why is everyone pushing Copilot+ AI PCs at CES 2026? The industry finally caught up to Microsoft’s Copilot+ requirements—with a big NPU push from Intel in particular—but Microsoft isn’t explaining why we should care. I’m seeing a wave of Copilot+ PCs at CES 2026, but it feels like they’re chasing an AI PC strategy that Microsoft has already abandoned. With Microsoft now downplaying NPUs and few applications taking advantage of them, the great NPU push doesn’t feel very important. That’s especially true since the Windows AI Foundry will use GPUs and CPUs for AI applications instead of NPUs, as the initial Copilot Runtime did. NPUs seem less necessary to the future of AI on Windows, even as they’re starting to pop up everywhere. Did Microsoft get distracted just as its PC hardware partners crossed the finish line? At CES 2026, NPUs finally feel fast enough When Microsoft unveiled Copilot+ PCs, the company required NPUs capable of at least 40 trillion operations per second (TOPS). This was a huge blow to Intel. Most Intel-powered machines have been shipping with NPUs capable of 13 TOPS at best, aside from Lunar Lake-powered machine with NPUs capable of 48 TOPS. 2024 was “the year of the AI PC,” but even throughout 2025 most laptops I reviewed couldn’t muster the specs needed for AI features on Windows 11. I spoke to PC manufacturer PR people who showed me the new versions of laptops I reviewed last year. “And it’s a Copilot+ PC,” they say proudly. It seems they’ve finally caught up to the requirements. The NPUs everyone’s talking about at CES Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) hardware is the big advance at this year’s CES, given that Intel was so far behind on NPUs before. Core Ultra Series 3 has a 50 TOPS NPU and also promises big improvements to multithreaded performance, but we’ll have to run our own benchmarks to see just how big an upgrade it is in practice. While Intel’s Lunar Lake hardware was Copilot+ PC-capable, it was severely limited on multithreaded performance, which meant that an Intel laptop had no hope of running Copilot+ PC features unless you were willing to make big performance sacrifices and prioritize low power consumption and long battery life. Foundry / Mark Hachman AMD’s Ryzen AI 400 series hardware includes an NPU capable of 60 TOPS, and it’s coming to both laptops and desktop PCs. While AMD has been delivering capable NPUs for a while—unlike Intel-powered laptops—it’s an increase from the 50 TOPS NPUs in the Ryzen AI 300 series. However, with so few applications taking advantage of the NPU, that bump of 10 TOPS won’t be noticeable to the average laptop buyer, even if it looks like an upgrade on a spec sheet. Qualcomm is extremely proud of its TOPS speeds, highlighting that the Qualcomm Hexagon NPUs on Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon X2 Plus hardware deliver 80 TOPS of performance. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X platform was the big launch partner for Copilot+ PCs, and Qualcomm is once again ahead. But as it was during the flashy Copilot+ PC launch, there still isn’t a great argument for NPUs just yet. All those new processor platforms are now delivering fully capable NPUs that will end up in laptops from all the big PC manufacturers. Going into 2026, Copilot+ PC-capable NPUs are finally becoming much more common. But will it matter? All Windows 11 PCs are now AI PCs Back in October, Microsoft revealed its plan to make every Windows 11 PC an AI PC. Here’s what Yusuf Mehdi told reporters at the time: “We did all of this years of work that let us get to the point of understanding what’s the right way to bring AI in. We’ve learned a lot from that—you know, what features resonate. And one of the big things that I think really came to us is, while Copilot+ PCs really are the tip of the spear and are gaining, you know, fast traction, the big thing was, let’s bring that AI capability to all Windows 11 PCs and make it really simple for anyone to try it. So, that has been the big thing.” As we turn the corner and head into 2026, it doesn’t sound like Microsoft is all that excited about NPUs anymore! And that’s without even mentioning the Windows AI Foundry. Developers can use it to write AI apps that perform inference on GPUs, CPUs, or NPUs. It replaces the Copilot Runtime, which required an NPU on Copilot+ PCs. Copilot+ PC features haven’t taken the world by storm I was in a Lyft earlier this week in Las Vegas. After asking me what I did for a living, the driver mentioned he was still using Windows 11. “There’s probably a newer version by now, right?” No, I explained: Windows 11 is still the latest version. You get some extra AI features if you have a newer PC—but only certain newer PCs. On those Copilot+ PCs, you don’t get extra Copilot features. Instead, you get minor features like Windows Studio Effects webcam effects, image generation in the Photos app, Windows Recall for searching your PC usage, and Click To Do for taking basic actions on text. Chris Hoffman / Foundry Based on Microsoft’s talk about delivering more AI features to all Windows 11 users, I don’t expect NPUs to become the crown jewel of the Windows AI experience in the future. If anything, I expect the opposite: I can picture a Windows 11 update that delivers Copilot+ PC features to a wider variety of machines, letting your PC’s GPU power features like image generation and text summarization. That’s what I hope to see. Microsoft should’ve never required NPUs for Copilot+ PC features. Even my $3,000 gaming PC still can’t run Copilot+ PC AI features, which is astonishing considering the fact that a speedy discrete GPU is still the best way to run more “serious” AI tools like LM Studio. Read...

TL;DR: ChatPlayground AI lets you compare 25+ AI models side by side with unlimited lifetime access for $79—one prompt, better answers every time. AI is moving fast—and if you’re only using one model, you’re missing half the picture. ChatPlayground AI is built for people who want better answers, not just faster ones. It puts today’s top AI models into a single interface so you can compare responses side by side from one prompt. Instead of guessing whether GPT-4o, Claude Sonnet, Gemini, or DeepSeek will give you the best result, ChatPlayground shows you all of them at once. Same prompt. Multiple outputs. Clear winner. That alone can save hours of back-and-forth prompt tweaking. The platform supports 25+ AI models and works for chat, coding, research, prompt engineering, and image generation—all from one dashboard. You can upload PDFs or images to get context-aware answers, save chat histories for ongoing projects, and refine prompts to consistently improve output quality. For heavy users, the Unlimited Plan removes caps entirely. You get unlimited messages, priority support, and early access to new features and models—ideal for prompt engineers, startups, and anyone running constant AI experiments. There’s also a Chrome extension, making it easy to compare AI outputs while you work across the web. This ChatPlayground AI lifetime subscription is available for a one-time payment of $79 (MSRP $619). ChatPlayground AI: Lifetime Subscription (Unlimited Plan)See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...

Have you been holding off on upgrading to the newer, AI-enhanced version of Alexa? If so, heads up: Amazon has been notifying at least some Alexa users that the Alexa+ update is coming their way, like it or not.  “We have exciting news,” the emails from Amazon say. “As a Prime member, you get Alexa+ for free and we will update the devices registered to this account to the new, conversational, and more delightful Alexa experience. The upgrade takes just a few minutes and won’t require any action from you.”  In the email, Amazon points out that you can revert to the old Alexa by saying, “Alexa, exit Alexa+,” although some users complain that, like a pushy customer service rep, Alexa tried to change their minds before switching back to the original version.  We’ve reached out to Amazon for comment.  The pace of early access invites has picked up dramatically since the initial months following the big Alexa+ rollout in New York City last February. As the year wore on, Amazon became more generous with the invites, and by the holiday season practically anyone who wanted to try Alexa+ could easily do so.  But there were also plenty of holdouts happy to stick with the “classic” Alexa, including those who have their smart homes set up just the way they wanted and feared having their automations disrupted.  Reactions to Alexa+ have been decidedly mixed, with some users pleased by Alexa’s new AI-enhanced smarts while others complaining that the revamped voice assistant still has problems with basic smart home commands.  I’ve been testing the new AI-enabled Alexa for months, and to me, it very much feels like a work in progress, with many of Alexa+’s most eye-popping agentic features still in the oven (it’s still a ways from being able to plan and book a night out with a date) while others do work as advertised (like Alexa+ triggering your robot vacuum if you say the carpets in a room “look dirty”).  Amazon has been careful to point out that Alexa+ is still in early access and that it isn’t charging for the revamped assistant yet.  Another key point is that you can, indeed, go back to the old Alexa if you want to. That’s not the case with Google smart speakers, which can’t be rolled back to Google Assistant once you make the switch to Gemini at Home.  This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers. Read...

I’m gonna be honest: I had to pick my jaw off the floor after I spotted this deal. An RTX 5060 laptop for only $700? That’s a cutting-edge GPU with access to Nvidia’s DLSS 4 at a price that’s dipping dangerously close to “budget” tier—the kind of insanity I can get behind! Right now, Walmart is selling this Acer Nitro V 16S for 25% off, slashing its price down from its original $929 to one that’s far more affordable. You love to see it. View this Walmart deal At the heart of this system is an Intel Core i5-13420H processor, which was designed to smoothly run lots of apps, browser tabs, and gaming without slowing to a crawl. This gaming laptop features 16GB of RAM, just enough to handle Windows 11 without choking. (We wish it had more, but good luck with that at this price going forward due to the crazy RAM shortage.) There’s also a fast 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD on board for quick bootups, app launches, and file transfers. The laptop’s 15.6-inch 1080p display is about standard these days, though the above-average 165Hz refresh rate is anything but standard, translating into a responsive gaming experience with minimal ghosting. Then there’s the graphics performance thanks to the RTX 5060 GPU, which is more than capable of running all the games you love to play, plus most games that are coming out in the next few years. You can add a couple of extra displays to your setup via the Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI ports, and you also get three fast USB-A ports, an Ethernet port, and a 3.5mm audio jack alongside those. It’s a solid laptop and one of our favorites when it comes to budget gaming laptops, so take advantage of this Acer Nitro V 16S deal for just $700 via Walmart! This discount won’t be around forever. Save $229 on the Acer Nitro V 16S with RTX 5060 GPUBuy now from Walmart Read...

Samsung has dabbled in the smart speaker space before, but the company’s all-new Music Studio 5 and Music Studio 7 Wi-Fi speakers pose serious competition for the likes of Amazon, Apple, Bose, and Sonos—at least at the higher-end of the market. Unveiled this week at CES and planned for a March release, both models present a distinctively modern, “dot-faced” industrial design by noted French artist Erwan Bouroullec, along with some equally interesting features destined to set them apart from the pack. (Don’t get too excited about all the colors shown in the photo above, however; they’re just trial balloons. Initial shipments will be in black or white only.) Alexa, are you in there? While it probably won’t be there at launch—and voice assistants in general warrant  just a single mention in Samsung’s press release—I’ve been told the Music Studio 5 (model LS50H) and Music Studio 7 (model LS70H) will support Alexa+, the generative-AI-powered digital assistant that Amazon promises is more capable and more conversational than the original Alexa. Alexa Plus also provides advanced smart home control options and new capabilities, such as automatically ordering food it knows you’ll like from Uber Eats, or standing in a virtual line for concert tickets from TicketMaster while you do something less tedious.   Not an Alexa fan? The new speakers will also answer to voice commands spoken to Google Assistant, as well as Samsung’s own Bixby, which is optimized for interaction with other Samsung products. Spotify Tap and Spotify Connect The Music Studio series also works with Spotify Tap, which leverages Spotify Connect over Wi-Fi, so you can jump-start a favorite playlist with just a touch on the speaker cabinet—no need to pull out your phone. The spiffier Music Studio 7 is adept at delivering the new, lossless rendering of Spotify Premium music content, streaming FLAC files at up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz resolution, as well as other content at resolutions up to 24-bit/96kHz. A CES booth tender also told me that Music Studio buyers who adopt Alexa as their voice assistant will get Amazon Music as their default music-streaming service, while those who choose Google Assistant will get YouTube Music as their default. As for other services—Tidal, Qobuz, and what have you—I’m told they’ll be able to use those services’ respective apps, Apple’s AirPlay, or—ugh—a Bluetooth connection.   For those who don’t mind wires, the Music Studio 5 is equipped with a Toslink digital audio input, while the beefier Music Studio 7 boasts an HDMI port as well. I presume that will be HDMI ARC, but no one at the booth could answer my question for sure. I know for certain that up to five Music Studio speakers can be synchronized with recent Samsung TVs via Bluetooth, thanks to the company’s Q Symphony surround-sound processing. This will mix those speakers’ output with the TV’s built-in speakers. Q Symphony will also let you mix and match some Music Studio speakers with a Samsung soundbar and/or wall-hanging Music Frame speakers. Q Symphony smarts will tonally balance the bunch. Multi-room audio options Another option, for whole-home audio devotees, will be to stream music—the same or different tracks—to as many as 10 Music Studio speakers at once, including grouped speakers. Samsung’s SmartThings app will manage that trick. Unfortunately, it won’t be possible to configure two speakers as a stereo pair, as both the Music Studio 5 and Music Studio 7 output two channels on their own. With its sculpted dome and sloped back, the smaller Studio 5 ($249) offers a more distinctive look than its core competition: the $219 Sonos One, Gen 2 and the $199 Bose Home Speaker 300. The Studio 5 packs two high-performance left/right front tweeters beneath a 4.2- inch woofer (Samsung’s people insisted on calling it a “subwoofer”). An integrated wave guide and dynamic bass control contributed to the bigger and better-than-expected performance I heard in the challenging environment of Samsung’s CES exhibit space, but I’ll reserve final judgement for a full listening session in private. The Music Studio 7 ($499) is an all-in-one,  3.1.1-channel, spatial-audio speaker featuring Samsung’s own signal-steering methodology (not Dolby Atmos). Its tweeters fire separate channel information from the front, left, and right sides, as well as the top the boxy, perforated metal wrapped enclosure, while a 5-inch front-firing, rear-ported) “sub” delivers all the non-directional low-frequency information. Samsung enhances the four-direction throw and clarity of the channels with what it calls Pattern Control Technology and AI Dynamic Bass Control. Samsung is clearly appealing to the same “I only have room for one box” music/smart home buffs who are also considering the rest of the spatial audio-adept, smart-speaker competition: the $479 Sonos Era 300, the $299 Apple HomePod, and the $220 Amazon Echo Studio. I can’t wait to hear what these puppies can do in the real world. This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers. Read...

TL;DR: This is the lowest price ever for a lifetime license to SwifDoo PDF Pro — a full-featured, pro-level PDF editor for Windows. Have you ever opened a PDF and immediately felt your soul leave your body? Here’s some good news: you don’t have to wrestle with PDFs anymore. SwifDoo PDF Pro gives you all the editing, converting, signing, splitting, merging, compressing, and OCR tools you could possibly need—and this deal gets you lifetime access for the lowest price it’s ever been, just $24.97 (MSRP $129). Instead of bouncing between free trials, browser extensions, and random tools that “kind of” work, SwifDoo puts everything in one clean interface. Want to tweak text? Highlight and annotate? Merge 40 pages into one perfect file? Convert PDFs into Word docs that actually look like the original? SwifDoo makes it feel easy. Its advanced features are where it really shines: accurate OCR turns scanned documents into fully editable text, and the batch processor lets you convert, compress, split, encrypt, or print multiple PDFs at once. If you spend even a little time dealing with documents, a lifetime license for under this price is the kind of upgrade that pays for itself after your first painless PDF edit. Get lifetime access to SwifDoo PDF Pro for just $24.97 (MSRP $129) with code PRO for a limited time. SwifDoo PDF Pro: Perpetual Lifetime License for WindowsSee Deal StackSocial prices subject to change. Read...