Category: Technology

If you’re looking for an affordable phone plan, consider this deal from T-Mobile Subway: Right now, you can sign up for an unlimited 5G coverage line for just $25 a month when you sign up for autopay and bring your own phone. And this price is guaranteed for five years.

The fine print: The first month is $30, and when you sign up for autopay, it’s $25 per month after that, which includes taxes and fees. There are also no activation fees or contracts – you can change providers at any time with no cancellation fee.

Also: The best phones to buy in 2025

With a Metro by T-Mobile plan, you’ll get unlimited 5G data, unlimited talk and text, and the Scam Shield feature, which blocks scam calls on supported devices. The site notes that if you use a lot of data (more than 35GB per month), you may notice slower speeds when the network is very busy.

You’ll also be able to participate in T-Mobile Tuesdays, with discounts like 10% cash back at participating restaurants and $0.10 off per gallon of gas at Shell every Tuesday.

You can bring your own phone number to Metro by T-Mobile or purchase a new one.

 

To get started, go to Metro via the T-Mobile websiteand click “Start”. You can log in if you already have an account or continue as a guest. First you’ll have to enter your phone’s IMEI number (its unique number that identifies the make and model and whether it’s compatible with the network), which the site tells you how to find in your settings. This will tell you if your phone is compatible. If so, you will choose whether you want to keep your number or get a new one.

Don’t miss this Metro by T-Mobile Phone Plan Offer for unlimited 5G.

Looking for the next best product? Get expert analysis and editors’ favorites with ZDNET recommends.

How I evaluated this offer

This is a solid deal for this tier of phone carrier, and while it’s not a huge monthly discount from the original price, it’s still worth considering.

Publishing a website is still more complicated than it should be, but the best website builders speed up the process. Instead of dealing with multiple files on a server and learning the ins and outs of networking, website builders do exactly what it says on the tin. Piece by piece, using a drag-and-drop interface, you can design your website the way you want with immediate feedback, rather than wasting time buried in code and waiting for it to come out the other end.

There are dozens of website builders, and most of them range from decent to downright bad. Any host with a little ambition has a website builder floating around, even if it’s slow, clunky, and lacking in features. I’ve focused on finding the best tools for building your website that go beyond just an add-on, and these are my favorites. If you’re looking for something simpler than a full-blown website, check out our list of the Best Portfolio Sites.

Best website builder for most

You’ve heard of Squarespace countless times, I’m sure, and that’s no accident. It’s an inviting website builder that has stood out with bold and striking templates. Underneath the veneer of attractive yet deceptively simple websites, you’ll find one of the most capable website builders on the market. This balance between power and usability is what sets Squarespace apart.

It feels like a creative tool. While other website builders take their time and stutter to get a new element onto your page, Squarespace feels fluid. Its dashboard gives you quick access to editing your site, and at every turn, Squarespace feels designed so you never have to look for a tutorial. I started a simple photography website and within an hour I had a custom course page set up, an appointment scheduler with automated confirmation emails, and services (with pricing and the ability to accept payments) set up.

Squarespace isn’t cheap, but it also doesn’t stray into restrictive, low-cost plans. Even on the Basic plan, you have access to ecommerce tools and space for multiple collaborators.

Best cheap website builder

Hostinger is best known as a web hosting provider, but it has a surprisingly robust website builder that you can use on its own or for free as part of a hosting package. You don’t get the same world-class template design and dense feature set as a more expensive builder like Squarespace, but that’s okay. Hostinger’s website builder will only cost you a few dollars per month, and based on my testing, it seems heavily aimed at newcomers.

You sacrifice some power for convenience, but there’s a lot you can accomplish with Hostinger. Integrations with PayPal, Stripe, and Square let you quickly set up ecommerce. WhatsApp add-ons offer live chat features, and Printful support means you can sell printed goods on demand. And, if you get past the website builder, Hostinger lets you export your website content to WordPress.

Where Hostinger wins for me is through its AI tools. Almost every website builder these days has AI integrated in some way, but it’s around every corner at Hostinger. You need to pay more for some of these AI features – the logo generator, for example, requires credits – but they provide a great starting point for simulating the look and tone of your site.

Best for Small Businesses

Wix is ​​without a doubt Squarespace’s biggest competitor, and I had a hard time putting one above the other. Ultimately, Wix ended up on the back burner due to higher prices and a slightly less intuitive interface. This is partly due to how powerful Wix is. Rather than corralling you into an elegant (albeit restrictive) website-building workflow, Wix gives you tons of options.

First, models. You can get a few hundred elsewhere, but Wix offers over 2,000 templates. At the time of writing, there are 223 pages of them on the Wix website. Not all are winners, but I was able to create a quick photography portfolio website in a few minutes by browsing the templates and uploading a few photos.

Index

After a very busy autumn, we finally have the new line of smartwatches from Apple, Samsung and Google. And so, whether you’re on the Apple team or the Android team, you’ve got some great options for your wrist. Now that we’ve tested the top new releases, we’re ready to name the best smartwatches of 2025. We’ve got good news: as long as you stick to the top smartwatches from these three brands, you really can’t go wrong.

The smartwatch market is getting very crowded, and that’s good news

In just the last few months, Samsung, Google, and Apple have launched new flagship smartwatches. Plus, the Venn diagram of the best smartwatches and best fitness trackers is quickly becoming a near-perfect circle. While brands like Garmin and Fitbit are more tailored to athletes than everyday use, the Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra lines are packed with fitness-focused features. And don’t forget, you can also opt for smart rings and sleep trackers for true 24/7 health monitoring.

There is also a huge variation in price. Recently released smartwatches include the relatively affordable Apple Watch SE 3 ($239.99) to the ultra-expensive Garmin Fenix ​​8 Pro ($1,199.99 to $1,999.99). However, you don’t need to spend a lot to get an amazing smartwatch. In fact, even if your budget reaches $100, you still have good options. Case in point: the ChatGPT-connected Nothing CMF Watch 3 Pro, priced at $99 but generally available for $79.

Which wearables deserve a place on your wrist? We’re ready to render a verdict, and let’s just say we have strong feelings and some choices that might surprise you.

Yes, we have chosen not to include the new Apple Watch Ultra 3 (for now). Yes, we think the $99 Nothing Watch is a smarter buy than the new Galaxy Watch 8 (which we also love). No, we really don’t think we can recommend the $1,999.99 Garmin microLED smartwatch, as cool as it is.

The best smartwatch for most people: Apple Watch SE 3

We’re still testing the Apple Watch SE 3, but it’s an Apple Watch – you know what you’re getting. And here’s the truth about the SE series: you get 98% of what you need from an Apple Watch or fitness tracker, and for a much better price. Unfortunately, you harm your battery life. At 18 hours (versus 24 hours on the Series 11), you can’t really call this an all-day smartwatch. And while you also lose blood oxygen monitoring, is this really crucial for the average user? We don’t think like that.

Add to that the fact that the SE 3 is the first Apple Watch SE to include an always-on display, and you might wonder why you would buy the Series 11 in the first place. In addition to its gorgeous OLED screen, it has the same S10 chip inside the Ultra 3, the same water resistance as the Series 11, and all the necessary features you’re looking for in a smartwatch — all for $150 less than the Series 11.

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Apple’s best update: Apple Watch Series 11

OK, so you really want all-day battery life? Then you really need to upgrade to the $399 Apple Watch Series 11. As Mashable’s Stan Schroeder said in his review, it takes everything we loved about the Apple Watch Series 10 and adds a new processor and longer-lasting battery. To be honest, there isn’t much to say beyond that. Apple can once again monitor blood oxygen (after a legal dispute removed the feature) and now also offers hypertension notifications.

Read our full Apple Watch Series 11 review.

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The best Android watch: Google Pixel Watch 4

The Google Pixel Watch 4 looks very similar to the Pixel Watch 3 at first glance, but look closer and you’ll notice a slightly more domed Actua display. It’s a subtle change, but we think it makes the new smartwatch look absolutely wonderful. We don’t hate the Galaxy Watch 8’s “squirrel” design like some people, but after comparing it to the Pixel Watch 4, let’s just say Google does it.

We were also impressed with its feature set. Mashable senior reporter Christianna Silva is currently training for the New York City Marathon (and simultaneously testing more than 10 smartwatches in the process), and they said the Pixel Watch 4 is a true runner’s watch. That means it’s stylish enough to wear to the office, but comfortable and smart enough to track your workouts.

Mashable light speed

With a modern feel and a brighter screen than the Pixel Watch 3, it’s our current top pick as the best Android smartwatch.

Read our full Pixel Watch 4 review.

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The Budget Pick: Nada CMF Watch 3 Pro

Mashable readers have been a little crazy about this smartwatch since it was announced in July. And after testing it for ourselves, we understand. We’ll have an in-depth review of this budget smartwatch soon, but our reviewer had this to say: “I’m shocked at how amazing it is for the price.” If you’re looking for the best smartwatch under $100, nothing comes close.

British brand Nothing is known for its unique designs that somehow feel retro and futuristic at the same time. CMF is the brand’s budget line (soon to be spun off into its own company), but it doesn’t perform like most cheap smartwatches. Firstly, it offers direct integration with ChatGPT, which not even the Apple Watch can do. Samsung and Google are eager for you to use their own AI tools, but if you prefer ChatGPT (and we know you probably do), then you’ll love this watch.

Key specs include long battery life (nothing promises 13 days), blood oxygen monitoring, stress tracking, and accurate heart rate monitoring and location tracking. For a smartwatch that usually retails for $79, that’s frankly hard to believe.

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The Underdog’s Pick: Apple Watch Ultra 2

Wait… the Ultra 2? Yes, the Ultra 2, not the flagship Ultra 3. Hear us out…

First, as long as you update to the new watchOS 26, you’ll be able to enjoy almost all of the new features that come with the more expensive Apple Watch Ultra 3 (priced at $799 or $779.99 at Amazon). Plus, you can now get the previous-generation Ultra 2 on sale for just $649, a big difference from the new version.

Look, if you’re the kind of person who always wants Apple’s newest gadget, spend more on the new model, which has some updates. The screen is a little better, as is the battery life. But honestly? And that. The new Ultra arrived with the most iterative improvements possible. At the time, our resident Apple reviewer called it “a very minor update.” So for our money, we’ll go with the Ultra 2, which has a killer OLED screen, 36 to 72 hours of battery life, and 3,000 nits of brightness.

Read our Apple Watch Ultra 2 review.

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Best budget fitness tracker: Fitbit Charge 6

The Fitbit Charge 6 is… fine. We included this popular Fitbit in our guide to the best fitness trackers of 2025 for a reason. For the average casual athlete, it tracks your steps, heart rate, and activity well.

Once upon a time, Fitbit was synonymous with fitness trackers. But to be honest, the brand is slacking off. The latest Fitbits aren’t as comfortable as you’d expect, especially for long workouts, and they can’t compete with Apple, Garmin, or Pixel watches in the features department. For example, it’s missing features like an altimeter, but on the bright side, we’re big fans of the Fitbit app. So much so that some of our reviewers buy a different smartwatch but still use the Fitbit app to track their workouts.

So our verdict on the Fitbit Charge 6 is simply this: if necessary.

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The best Samsung smartwatch: Galaxy Watch 8

Let’s be clear: the new Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is a fantastic, smart wearable, especially if you use Gemini. It’s a Mashable Choice product for a reason. It has a full feature set that offers everything you need in a smartwatch, fitness tracker, and sleep tracker. And we like the squirrel’s unique design more than most people. It also benefits from Samsung’s precise design and technology.

Although it was narrowly beaten by the Pixel Watch 4, we think you’ll be happy with this watch, especially if you’re already in the Samsung product ecosystem. It has a bright screen, great software, and smart health features, including a new Sleep Coach. It also integrates Gemini in some clever ways. Our reviewer’s only real complaint was the battery life, which is good but not great.

Read our full Galaxy Watch 8 review.

Marc Benioff is San Francisco’s longtime liberal-leaning billionaire, the technology executive who funded services for homeless people, donated to the city’s public schools and organized fundraisers for Hillary Clinton.

But in a new and comprehensive telephone interview with the New York Times on his private plane, Benioff revealed a political transformation that seemed to surprise even his own communications team, despite Salesforce having hundreds of contracts with the federal government.

The Salesforce founder stated that he “fully supports” President Trump and thinks National Guard troops should patrol the streets of San Francisco. He became emotional as he sat across from Trump at a state dinner at Windsor Castle, telling the president “how grateful I am for everything he is doing.” He praised the efficiency efforts of Elon Musk’s administration and said he had not closely followed news about the immigration raids or Trump’s attacks on the media.

The 50-minute conversation reportedly ended after Benioff turned to his public relations executive, apparently noticing her expression. “What about political issues?” he could be heard asking. “Too spicy?”

While Benioff’s move mirrors Trump’s broader accommodation in Silicon Valley, the exchange offered a rare glimpse of how far this repositioning could go. The question now: Will other Bay Area tech CEOs follow Benioff’s example and call in federal troops in their own backyard?

Marineland says it has more than a dozen reasons why none of the remaining 30 belugas should be sent to a proposed whale sanctuary in Nova Scotia.

The shuttered Ontario theme park, which is trying to sell the whales to avoid bankruptcy, made headlines last week when federal Fisheries Minister Joanne Thompson denied Marineland’s request for permission to send Canada’s last captive whales to buyers at an aquarium in China.

Marineland responded by saying it does not have the money to continue feeding the whales and has asked Ottawa for emergency funding, warning that it might otherwise have no choice but to euthanize the snow-white mammals.

Thompson said he “would love to see the whales in a sanctuary,” but Marineland argued that no such sanctuary is currently available for 30 belugas, including the Whale Sanctuary Project’s proposed coastal refuge near Wine Harbor, NS.

The owners of the theme park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, have released a report claiming the site in eastern Nova Scotia is heavily polluted and has not seen any development since plans for its construction were released in 2020.

“Marineland is of the opinion that serious environmental issues that remain unresolved, coupled with a complete lack of demonstrated financial viability, preclude any further consideration of WSP as an appropriate location,” the report says.

“Based on the apparent lack of progress to date, it is not possible to estimate any date by which the WSP facility may be able to receive cetaceans.”

Proponent defends project

Charles Vinick, CEO of the Whale Sanctuary Project, said Tuesday that Marineland raised these same allegations in a detailed study released in 2021.

“We have completed all environmental analyzes of the site – both on land and in water – required by the government,” Vinick said in an interview, adding that a 40-hectare floating net enclosure could eventually hold eight to 10 belugas.

In response to Marineland’s complaint about waste left by gold mining in the area, which ended in the 1930s, Vinick said a mitigation plan aimed at covering the tailings deposits with gravel and concrete has already been approved, and water sampling showed no contamination.

On another front, Marineland claims WSP has not done enough to address toxic arsenic found in the soil at the bottom of the bay where the underwater refuge will be built. Vinick said experts told WSP that arsenic remains trapped in the soil and should not be disturbed.

“There have been some restrictions on fishing certain shellfish,” Vinick said. “[But] lobster and other fishing happens all the time in this area. And every catch has been inspected for years and no problems have been found.”

As for the project’s finances, Vinick said his U.S.-based nonprofit continues to raise funds from private donors, and the group said it will not seek government funding for the $20 million project.

“We don’t have all the funds today,” Vinick said. “[But] we’re seeing a lot of outreach from the public, other organizations and people who want to help these specific animals.”

To be sure, the Whale Sanctuary Project will not offer Marineland any money for the belugas, he said. “We do not believe that the buying and selling of whales is something that should continue and we are not in a position, either philosophically or financially, to consider it.”

Opposition from landowners

Meanwhile, the project remains stalled because it faces opposition from a small group of local landowners whose unanimous consent is needed to allow the sanctuary to proceed. Until that happens, Nova Scotia Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said he will not grant WSP a Crown lease for 81 hectares of land and water.

Emails obtained by the Canadian Press through freedom of information laws indicate that some landowners were concerned that they would lose access to water when the networks were installed. Others complained about increased traffic because WSP planned to build an education center nearby, but Vinick’s team dropped that idea.

And even if the reluctant landowners change their minds, the project will also require approval from Transport Canada under the Canadian Navigable Waters Act, as well as permits from the federal Department of Fisheries to transfer the whales.

In January this year, the French government rejected WSP’s offer to provide refuge to two resident orcas at Marineland Antibes in southern France. Under French law, the country’s last two captive performing orcas – Wikie and Keijo – must be removed from France by the end of this year.

French officials said the Nova Scotia sanctuary would not be ready in time and were concerned about ocean temperatures off the province’s east coast.

According to figures compiled by The Canadian Press, 19 belugas, a killer whale and a dolphin have died at Marineland since the end of 2019, but the company has long defended its treatment of the animals, saying the deaths were part of the natural cycle of life.

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TUCSON, Ariz. – As artificial intelligence becomes more popular, the Pima County Sheriff’s Department is looking at how it can use the emerging technology.

Earlier this year, deputies began a test of Axon’s Draft One, a program that writes incident reports using AI. A body camera records the interactions, and then the program uses the audio and any additional information from the deputy to create a first draft. Deputies then review everything before submitting the final report.

“They’re able to check for completeness and accuracy and everything else,” said Capt. Derek Ogden, “but the initial first draft, they can’t send it out as a case report.”

Demonstrating the program, Deputy Dylan Lane showed how Draft One can write a case report that would take 30 minutes to complete in five minutes.

CHATGPT CAN ALERT THE POLICE ABOUT SUICIDAL TEENS

“Most of the time it’s just quick changes, making sure all the information is still accurate and then adding those little details,” Lane said.

Ogden said Draft One saves crucial time during shifts when deputies deal with multiple incidents in a row. He said the program is one of several ways the department is exploring AI tools.

“We recently saw a detective from our criminal investigation division use AI to identify an unidentified deceased person,” Ogden said. “We are also looking at ways to increase the productivity and efficiency of our patrol officers and some of our correctional officers.”

Law enforcement agencies across the country are evaluating how artificial intelligence could help their departments, especially as they deal with resource shortages.

SCHOOLS TURN TO AI WEAPON DETECTION FOR SECURITY

“Many law enforcement agencies have limited budgets. It’s very attractive to them to have a tool that allows them to do more with less,” said Max Isaacs of The Policing Project, a nonprofit at NYU School of Law that studies public safety and police accountability.

Isaacs said that while AI offers opportunities to save resources, there isn’t much data on how much help these programs actually provide.

“There are lots of examples of crimes being solved or efficiencies being achieved,” Isaacs said, “but in terms of large-scale studies that rigorously show us the amount of benefits, we don’t have them yet.”

TRUMP SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER TO LEVERAGE AI IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILDHOOD CANCER

Isaacs also raised the issue of accuracy.

“AI is not perfect. It can rely on flawed data. The system itself can be flawed. When there are errors in AI systems, it can lead to very serious consequences. It can lead to false arrests. It can lead investigators to a dead end and waste time and resources,” Isaacs said.

Responding to these concerns, Ogden agreed that the information may be flawed. He said this is why human eyes must review every report written with Draft One.

After a successful trial with 20 deputies, Ogden said the next step is to expand Draft One to corrections officers.

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You can build your own PC. It’s not that difficult. The time commitment may be too much for some people, but the end result is usually more appealing since you know what happened and what can inevitably be updated. Custom PC makers like Maingear need to find some compelling reasons to sell a more expensive tower. You can already see from the photo above that there is a big reason why you should choose the Maingear Apex Rush before another PC. Your ultra-expensive tower can look like a work of art as long as you treat it well.

The last Maingear desktop I reviewed, the MG-1, was a carefully built, customizable PC that looked a lot like something I might have built, at least judging by the exterior. Inside, the tower was much better than that, thanks to bolt-on GPU support and cable management that would leave even the most demanding IT pros nodding in approval. The interior was inlaid with a strip of RGB lights that offered a subtle internal glow. It was the kind of sloppy DIY project that anyone building their own PC could easily tackle.

When Maingear first announced its Rush PCs at CES 2025, the company’s CEO Wallace Santos told Gizmodo that they tried to create a desktop that felt truly unique, hence the special “Artist Series” designs that promote a unique case while offering an internal design with everything gamers expect. This design doesn’t come cheap. My review unit, with a high-end AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU, 32GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and all the special cooling gear with RGB lights in and around the case, costs $4,325. That’s $1,000 more than the previous generation MG-1, which featured a top-of-the-line 14th Gen Intel CPU and an Nvidia RTX 4080 Super. The Artist Series GPU costs an extra premium above units without the exclusive artwork.

If I try to build a very similar PC using custom parts, I can build something for around $2,600, and that’s without chasing discounts. You are paying Maingear for the hassle-free experience. At this price, the Apex Rush should be the last PC – gaming or otherwise – you buy for a long, long time. The MSI Pro B850-P motherboard has enough RAM and PCI-E slots to make upgrading easy. But you can find many other much cheaper desktops with similar components for under $3,000, like a specific version of the Cyberpower PC Gamer Supreme. Will the beauty of your case last that long? It depends on whether you’re willing to protect your case from any blunt instruments or cats that would use your PC as a launching pad for the windowsill.

Don’t scratch your cover

Just look at this thing. THE Grand Theft Auto: Vice City the vibrations are almost enough to get me in the gaming mood on their own. The sides of the aquarium on the front and left of the tower are covered in vinyl art and surrounded with RGB LED strips. There are three different artworks to choose from, including a cyberpunk-style “Machina” version and a pan-Asian “Good Fortune” edition, although I found the “Night Drive” version I reviewed much better suited to the internal glow of the RGB fans, RGB RAM sticks, and RGB liquid-cooling CPU unit. The only thing that spoils the look is the neon “gamer” signage on the front. It also features a giant “Maingear” logo that is more distracting than fun.

Maingear is so confident in its build quality that it ships its units without foam inserts inside the case itself. The GPU is firmly secured with a printed bracket screwed into the case. The Apex Rush is a heavy unit, as you might expect from a midrange desktop tower full of high-end PCs. It’s probably a good idea that you don’t drag the unit from room to room, as the painted artwork on the glass could get chewed up if you scratch it during transport. I’ve held onto Apex Rush long enough; I had to move it from table to table and in that time I managed to scratch the paint on the top of the glass and the edge of the top panel of the table. The metal parts of the case fare much better. Still, it’s best to treat the Apex Rush with more care than your regular black aluminum turrets.

Many PC towers place their front ports at the top of the unit. Not only does this look ugly with the tumors of various peripheral dongles sticking out, but it also means you have to plug wired connections into the PC if, for example, you need to plug in a headset or mouse. The Apex Rush sets its front I/O right next to the right foot of the tower. You will only have access to one USB-C, two USB-A and one headphone jack. I would have preferred more USB-C and perhaps placed it on the side closest to the user.

As for the back, there’s a similar lack of USB-C, something I appreciated on Alienware’s massive Area-51 desktop tower. There’s an HDMI port, four USB-A 2.0 ports, plus two USB-C 10G sockets. With the number of peripherals I regularly connect to my desktop, I quickly ran out of USB.

Maingear knows how to build a PC

Inside, the Apex Rush’s motherboard is not covered with any covers to make the components look “clean”. I’m in the camp that prefers a PC to look like a PC. There’s a unique elegance to silicon soldered onto a motherboard surrounded by heatsinks and wires. The Maingear versions look sleeker than other PCs I’ve used, thanks to their expert eye on component selection and cable management. All motherboard, CPU, and GPU wiring exits the stage through several hatches just behind the motherboard. If you remove the back panel of the Apex Rush, you’ll find all the cabling in neat bundles down to the side-mounted power supply or power supply unit. Behind a metal panel mounted on a hinge, you’ll find all the wires tied together with Velcro straps that make it easy to find the right component connected to the power supply. You won’t have to do any finger gymnastics to get to each port.

My test case came with the 850W MSI MAG A850GL, which is enough for the RTX 5080 GPU, but barely enough power if you want to connect an RTX 5090. It’s not a very large unit that will offer more upgrade paths, but there is a 16-PIN PCIe connection for the Nvidia GPU and enough connection options if you want to fall back on an AMD in some apocalyptic future where the RTX 5080 no longer works.

With these specs, of course, Apex Rush performs well

If Alienware’s absolutely gargantuan Area-51 desktop PC was all about girth while still delivering expected performance, the Apex Rush pre-built lineup offers more subtle beauty without the promise of getting the most out of every game possible.

AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D is considered one of the high-end CPUs for a reason. In benchmarks against an Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, AMD’s chip is simply better for gaming purposes. Intel’s Arrow Lake CPUs got a bad rap at launch, performing poorly even compared to 14th generation high-end consumer chips. Intel has released several fixes over the months to bring gaming performance back to expected levels, but it hasn’t been enough to defend Intel’s top-of-the-line chip. AMD’s X3D chips use a special layered cache for extended memory inside the CPU. This primarily benefits gaming scenarios, which is why gamers look to these chips in the first place, while Intel’s Arrow Lake has fallen by the wayside.

Enough time has passed since the launch of the RTX 50 series that Nvidia’s drivers have paved the way to squeeze a few more frames out of most games compared to previous months. I first tested the RTX 5080 Founders Edition on an Origin PC Neuron 3500X version, and after many moons, I can say that the platform is relatively bug-free and stable enough to enjoy your games without the hassle of reinstalling drivers or fiddling with the BIOS. With AMD’s best gaming CPU, I can outpace older systems in the 3DMark Speedway tests by just over 200 points. In 3DMark Steel Nomad, the difference is close to 500 points. Game scenarios may look like I can get about five more average frames in Cyberpunk 2077 benchmarks running with ray tracing enabled and balanced DLSS settings on the Maingear build than I could on the Neuron 3500X’s Core Ultra 9 285K with the same GPU. CPU-heavy games like Total War: Warhammer III benefit even more.

You really can’t expect much from a PC like this, despite the price. If you have any hope of outperforming games without any AI upscaling like Nvidia’s deep learning super sampling (DLSS), you’ll need to opt for an RTX 5090 and spend even more. Even so, you will leave disappointed. I still believe the RTX 5080 is what a demanding gamer needs for 4K gaming. If you want an Apex Rush with a high-end GPU, you could end up spending more than $7,000.

The premium price on top of an already expensive PC is hard to swallow. Again, building a PC yourself can be cheaper and more fun. However, Maingear promises lifetime product support and free repairs. The company doesn’t fill your PC with bloatware that you have to delete. The build quality of the Apex Rush is, as usual, spot on.

In July, Apple filed a lawsuit against Jon Prosser and Michael Ramacciotti for allegedly stealing the company’s trade secrets. The complaint alleged that the pair coordinated the hacking of former Apple software engineer Ethan Lipnik’s development iPhone to access and profit from details about iOS 19, which ended up being called iOS 26.

Prosser leaked several details about what is now known as iOS 26, in videos shared on his YouTube channel Front Page Tech. The videos revealed some details about iOS 26’s new translucent design, which Apple ended up calling Liquid Glass, months before Apple announced the software update at WWDC 2025 in June.

There were some developments in the case this week, according to court documents.

On Tuesday, Ramacciotti’s deadline to respond to Apple’s complaint was extended by Oct. 17, as the lawsuit indicates he only hired an attorney after the initial Aug. 14 deadline to respond had passed.

On Friday, Apple’s lawyers said Prosser had not yet responded to the complaint or appeared in the case. As a result, they presented a request for a default judgment against Prosser, which could result in the assigned judge ruling in Apple’s favor and granting him relief. Apple is seeking monetary damages and an injunction to prevent Prosser and Ramacciotti from further disclosing Apple’s confidential information.

Despite not responding to Apple’s lawsuit, Prosser has continued to upload videos to YouTube, including a review of the iPhone Air earlier this week.

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