Sports gear, 30-year-old soft drinks, a rhinoceros and Jaffa candy - what did they all have in common in 2025? Read...

TechHive Editors Choice At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Integrated Wi-Fi adapter Zippy performance Clean (if not wholly inspired) industrial design Still sports a sub-$100 price tag Cons No integrated door-ajar sensor Limited third-party ecosystem support Fingerprint reader missed occasional scans Our Verdict Wyze upgrades its smart deadbolt with Wi-Fi and a new look — but keeps the rock bottom price tag about the same. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Wyze Lock Bolt v2 Retailer Price $79.98 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Three years ago, Wyze did what Wyze does best, introducing a capable smart lock that covered the bases and nothing more, with a no-frills offering that could be had for a song ($70 at launch). Now, Wyze is back with an update to its original Lock Bolt, redesigning and upgrading the device to keep up with the many advances that have hit the smart lock space since 2022. Good news: It’s still incredibly inexpensive, and the entire package remains a huge winner worthy of consideration by budget-minded smart home enthusiasts. Specifications The Wyze Bolt Lock v2 ships with eight AA alkaline batteries.Christopher Null/Foundry To start, the Wyze Bolt Lock v2 is completely redesigned, now featuring an illuminating glass touchscreen instead of physical buttons, and there’s now a mechanical key option where once there was none. (The fingerprint reader remains intact, and Wyze says it’s been upgraded with an “AI self-learning scanner that logs pressure, angle, and even tiny skin shifts” every time it’s operated in order to refine its model.) The Wyze Lock Bolt v2 is only $10 more than the v1 was at launch. I’m doubtful we’ll see a better deal than this in the foreseeable future. The biggest change however is under the hood: While the Wyze Bolt Lock v1 was a Bluetooth-only system, the Bolt Lock v2 adds Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only) to the mix, support for which is de rigueur in the industry today. The unit is powered by eight AA batteries (included, instead of four on the model v1), which Wyze says should last about eight months. An emergency USB-C port is also available on the underside of the exterior escutcheon for emergency use. IP53 weatherproofing is a bit less impressive than what you’ll typically find on the market, but probably good enough for your front door, and its commercial ANSI Level 2 certification suggests that the physical security of the lock is probably good enough for most suburban homes. For more information, read our deep dive on ANSI and BHMA entry lock certifications. The device can store a maximum of 50 PINs and 50 fingerprints, which is handy because the Wyze app includes support for a maximum of 50 users. One-time passcodes that expire on a schedule you decide—up to a week away—are also included. Auto-locking is configurable from instantaneously to 15 minutes, though there is no open/close detection system available, so the auto-lock will engage whether you’ve shut the door or not. The lock can also be set to engage at a particular time each day and on certain days of the week, helpful for automating your end-of-the-day lockdown. Lastly, integration with the Amazon Alexa or Google Home ecosystems is included. Installation and setup You can unlock the Wyze Bolt v2 with a fingerprint, a PIN, a physical key, or the Wyze app. Christopher Null/Foundry There’s little mystery in the setup of the Lock Bolt v2. Like its predecessor, the exterior escutcheon attaches to an interior mounting frame with two bolts. A single cable connects to the interior escutcheon, which mounts to the frame with three smaller bolts. Unfortunately, the holes into which those three bolts are set were too narrow for my standard screwdriver to fit inside without marring the interior escutcheon’s plastic case. I had to fetch a smaller screwdriver from my toolkit to complete the job, though this made things more difficult than necessary because the screwdriver head was undersized compared to the bolts. One item of note should be considered when installing the batteries, as a warning label notes that you must use 1.5-volt batteries (standard alkalines, eight of which are included as noted above) instead of 1.2-volt batteries, namely NiMH rechargeables. While NiMH batteries aren’t terribly common anymore, it’s still worth noting. I spent no more than 10 minutes getting the lock into place, after which it was time to onboard it with the Wyze app. Wyze’s now-overloaded app requires you to select the product you’re adding from a list (or search for it by name), which is becoming an unwieldy way to find your device. As I’ve noted with TP-Link, it’s high time for Wyze to embrace auto-discovery across its product line. Fortunately, Wyze only makes four smart locks at the moment, so finding the v2 isn’t difficult. The Wyze app has all the smart lock features you’d expect to find, including a complete activity log.Christopher Null/Foundry Oddly, initial onboarding failed without explanation, as did my first attempt to calibrate the lock. Persistence paid off on both fronts, however, and after trying again the lock made it through the process. After a few quick parameter settings and a brief firmware update, I was able to get started using it. Using the Wyze Lock Bolt v2 This smart lock’s oversized interior escutcheon won’t be the prettiest thing you’ll mount to your door, but there’s no denying the Wyze Bolt Lock v2’s security value.Christopher Null/Foundry Looking back at my review of the original Wyze Lock Bolt, it’s clear that while the hardware has seen an update, very little has changed within the app in three years. Functionally, the lock works great, which is in keeping with Wyze’s other smart lock products. I found unlocking the door to be speedy and seamless whether I was using the keypad or a thumbprint—or interacting with the lock via the app whether I was nearby or 200 miles away. User management is intuitive and fast, and Wyze makes it easy to choose among permanent, recurring, or temporary users when setting up new visitors. Fingerprints enroll quickly and the scanner was very accurate (though not perfect) in my testing. One-time codes worked flawlessly as well, and logging is robust and detailed for all of this. From a hardware perspective, the lock motor is quiet, though it chimes quite a bit during operation, which ultimately led me to turn its “status and operation” volume off altogether. That’s a personal preference more than anything. Should you buy the Wyze Lock Bolt v2? The Wyze Lock Bolt v2 is only $10 more than the v1 was at launch, which says a lot about how far this industry has come in just three years. Better looking and far more powerful thanks to integrated Wi-Fi, it’s arguably now the best value available on the smart lock market, at least for the moment. (Numerous other locks are available for less than $100, but they either don’t have Wi-Fi or lack a fingerprint reader—or both.) That, of course, is a situation that changes rapidly, but I’m doubtful we’ll see a better deal than this one hit in the foreseeable future. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart locks. Read...

If you want to take your entertainment and gaming to the next level, then you should pick up these awesome Govee kits. The Envisual TV LED Backlight T2 delivers an immersive experience for just $75, which is 46 percent off. View at Amazon The system features dual cameras mounted above your TV (yes, even ultra-thin models) along with LED strips placed on the back of the screen. The cameras capture on-screen colors in real time and project them onto the wall behind your TV, extending the visuals beyond the screen itself. Whether you’re watching movies, sports, music videos, or gaming, it adds a whole new layer of immersion. For expanded customization, the DreamView feature lets the backlight connect with other Govee lights, synchronizing the entire space to the content on screen. You can control the system with the Govee Home App, which allows for brightness adjustments and access to diverse lighting modes. Get yourself a beautiful gift this holiday season and upgrade your entertainment system with the Govee Envisual TV LED Backlight T2 for $75. Buy now at Amazon Read...

US-based Duncan McKenzie-McHarg had been working for Australian streamer Stan when he died aged 41. Read...

The stereotypes are true: Nobody ever asks dad what he wants for Christmas. Now don’t get me wrong! I live a fortunate life. My kids and partner are delightful, I do interesting work surrounded by amazing people, my gaming PC would make teenage Brad drool, and I even find time to hang out with friends and family a few times a month. Is it busy? Yes. Would I trade it for something else? Never. Every Christmas, I get thoughtful, unforgettable gifts from My Amazing People — things I never would have discovered myself. But it is simply a fact that nobody — not my mom, not my kids, not my partner, no one — has asked what I might want for a gift in at least a decade. That’s not a complaint whatsoever. It’s simply a factual statement. So this year, I decided to write my own Christmas list. Feel free to take inspiration from it for the nerd, gamer, and millennial dads in your own life. Or just hit those links if, like me, you get to buy your own toys. They’re (almost) all still available in time for Christmas if you order soon! SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gaming headset My current set of cans is a disaster. The Razer Kraken Pros served me well during thousands of gaming sessions and esports romps, but now their ear padding is clinging on for dear life thanks to a judicial application of duct tape (it fixes everything). I haven’t replaced them yet because, you know, rent and food and kids’ sports ain’t cheap, especially when you’re a single dad. But I’ve been eyeing a replacement headset for when my tax returns or an extra paycheck rolls around, and I know my next set: SteelSeries’ Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gaming headset. These came out in 2022, but they nevertheless check every box I seek. Sterling audio and mic quality are table stakes of course, but as a geek, I’m drawn to the deep software personalizations available. More importantly, this S-tier headset connects not only to PCs, but also all major gaming consoles, with crucial dual wireless functionality that lets you swap between sources with the press of a button. Putting a game down in my office and picking it up in my living room will be a breeze. But the real draw is Active Noise Cancellation. Sometimes I just need some quiet, man — and the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless delivers. Interestingly, a feature we listed as a negative in our review (“Active Noise Cancellation won’t block out all external sound”) is actually a positive for me. I want to hear if my daughter starts yelling or a pipe bursts. See it on amazon The Düngeonmeister Cookbook Jef Aldrich/Jon Taylor In THIS household we stan Dungeons & Dragons. But my daughter is in high school and won’t be part of THIS household much longer. So, I want to level up her life skills while she’s still in tutorial mode. Enter The Düngeonmeister Cookbook, a tome so delightful my colleague Gabriela Vatu highlighted it in her own geeky gifts roundup as well. Want to try your own bardic tavern food? This comes with 75 recipes — delightful dishes like Dwarven Battle Pasta, Adamantine Bars, and Dragon on a Stick Easy-Eat Meat Skewers — and since they dovetail with our D20-rolling interests, I’m sure my kid would love rolling up her sleeves and making meals with me. Personal time with the kid and delicious eats? How can you go wrong? Amazon says this will show up by Christmas if you order with rush shipping today. But if you miss the deadline, there’s also a Kindle version available to download. See it on Amazon Luca Designs Men’s Commander Jacket I’m obsessed with Mass Effect. (Let’s forget Andromeda exists.) How obsessed? I burned through not one, not two, but four original Xbox 360s plagued by Red Rings of Death and disc read errors so I could keep hold of the console’s awkward side-slice hard drive and finish my original Shepard’s trilogy. I sobbed so hard during the run at the end of ME3 that it made my then-wife start crying in sympathy. So yeahhhhhh… I’d kill for this leather N7-themed jacket from Luca Design. Good god, I’d be raring to endorse my favorite store on the Citadel in this beaut. It ain’t cheap at $350, but damn. Speaking of my favorite store on the Citadel, Luca Design’s own website is full of amazing recreations and inspirations from pop culture. Just look at this amazing Samurai jacket recreation from Cyberpunk 2077. I’m drooling. There’s something for every gaming, anime, and comic geek there, man or woman! None of these will arrive before Christmas, including the N7 jacket on Amazon alas… but if you gave me a card saying this would land at my doorstep in a few weeks, I’d downright swoon. See it on amazon Nextmug self-heating coffee mug I start my days getting up before dawn to drag my kid to school, then return home to take a walk, shower, and start my workday — a workday that starts at full speed since PCWorld is a multinational team that operates across the globe. My coffee often goes cold, is what I’m saying. But it wouldn’t with a Nextmug. This ingenious device keeps your coffee at warm (130 degrees Fahrenheit), hot (140) or piping (150) for up to two hours away from its dock, or indefinitely when you’ve plopped it the charging pad, no apps or extra software required. That’s it. And that’s all I want. Is it worth $95 to keep your coffee warm all day long? As a dad whose schedule is packed until about 10pm tonight: Absolutely. See it on amazon More Gift Guides! I’m a GenX tech expert. Here are 15 gifts and gadgets just for the dudes I’m a tech-obsessed millennial. Here are 20 geeky gifts & gadgets I’d buy for myself! An Apple gift card for Apple TV Apple Hi, I’m Brad, and I’m addicted to F1 racing. Fortunately for my family, the season wrapped up just before the holidays (get it, Lando!), but I’m facing a pickle in 2026: F1 used to be on normal television via ESPN, but in 2026, all F1 races are migrating to Apple TV for the next five years. Ugh. It’s not that much of a change, but I already pay for YouTube TV, Netflix, and a couple other streaming services. I’m not thrilled about the idea of paying for another service, but I won’t abandon the sport. Better yet, Apple TV’s version will include the deep, nerdy features previously only found in an F1 TV subscription, including auxiliary feeds showing cockpit views and radio transmissions for every team. It wasn’t worth subscribing to F1 TV when I already had ESPN, but now that it’s on Apple TV? I’m quivering at the idea of watching full races from the perspective of my favorite drivers. So someone gifting me an Apple TV subscription would be warmly welcomed and deeply appreciated, especially since I could spend weeknights catching up on dad-friendly shows like Severance and Ted Lasso. You can’t gift individual Apple TV subscriptions, but a $100 Apple gift card would cover the cost of the service for the year. Just sayin’! See it on Amazon TheraGun Relief body massager Because I still work out and take walks, but I’m getting older and everything hurts. The TheraGun Relief is one of TheraBody’s entry-level massagers, but I’m not willing to drop $250 or more on a more potent TheraGun until I’ve tried this and verify it’s worth the investment. I’m a geeky dad. I min-max buying decisions, what can I say? See it on amazon Alienware AW2725D OLED gaming monitor Matthew Smith / Foundry Okay, back to the expensive stuff. (Maybe this is why nobody ever asks what I want?) I’m a PC and gaming geek, but I’m especially a monitor nerd. I used to have monitors of all shapes and sizes before a devastating house fire in 2023 wiped ‘em out, and it’s time to finally get a decent replacement for all-around gaming. In 2025, that means OLED. Ideally, I’d snag the sublime MSI MPG 272URX QD-OLED ultrawide, which just earned PC accessory of the year in our 2025 Full Nerd Awards. But here in the real world, bills are due and I can’t drop a grand on a display even if it’s worth the cash. Enter the Alienware AW2725D, a “budget” gaming OLED that hangs with monitors costing hundreds more. Currently on sale and arriving before Christmas, the AW2725D is a 27-inch OLED gaming monitor with a 1440p resolution and a blistering-fast 280Hz refresh rate — the current PC gaming “sweet spot,” especially if you have an Nvidia RTX 50-series graphics card that can use DLSS 4 multi-frame generation to keep this beast fed with frames. You can read our comprehensive review for more details, but here’s the upshot: This monitor will melt your eyeballs for a whole lot less than comparable panels. I want one monitor to rule them all until I can rebuild my collection and this one delivers bang-for-buck like no other. See it on Dell Cards Against Humanity Nerd Bundle Nothing’s better than cracking open some cold ones and playing Cards Against Humanity with my homies after a long week. The Nerd Bundle adds geeky flair to your combos, adding an optional Fantasy Pack, Geek Pack, Sci-Fi Pack, World Wide Web Pack, A.I. Pack, and Human Pack. Sounds like it should pair well with “being a motherf***ing sorcerer,” one of my favorite cards in the base game. Er, one of my favorite cards that I won’t be fired for mentioning on this website, at least. See it on amazon An RGB mousepad Some people hate RGB in their gaming rigs and only want a neat, clean, svelte setup. Not me. I don’t want full-on rainbow puke, but I love customizing my desk with tasteful lighting accents. Enter Corsair’s MM700 RGB extended cloth gaming pad. Not only does it include subtle, customizable RGB LEDs around the outer edge, but it’s also a big-ass cloth gaming pad designed to house both your keyboard and mouse, with ample room to mouse around. Competitive gamers need room to mouse around when they’re sniping and wall-dashing… and with the MM700 you’ll look good doing it. Imagine gaming on this while you’re wearing that sweet N7 leather jacket ?? See it on amazon Some sweet-ass Full Nerd merch Once again, my kid has to eat, so let’s end this with blatant shilling, even though I own most of this stuff already. I’m genuinely a huge fan of the shirts, hoodies, and other merch that Adam helped create for our Full Nerd podcast. My favorite’s the Outrage Pony, but from Build It Yourself to the Smooooooth 30 tee poking fun at console gaming, I love letting my PC geek flag fly while I’m cruising around town in these bad boys. If you want to be part of the Cool Kids Club, head over to our Crowdmade store, and be sure to follow our Full Nerd podcast on YouTube while you’re at it. We stream multiple times per week, digging deep into the hottest, geekiest PC topics of the day — because once you go Full Nerd, you never go back. go full nerd Read...

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