Author: Admin

After the thrills and spills of their dramatic derby defeat against Chelsea, Spurs will be hoping for a far more straightforward encounter on Saturday as they travel to Wolves.

Monday’s clash against their London rivals saw Spurs reduced to nine men as they crashed to a 1-4 loss – a stinging result which saw them lose ground to league leaders Man City, with James Madisson suffering an ankle injury which will keep him out until the new year to further compound boss Ange Postecoglou’s misery.

They come upon against a Wolves side that are unbeaten in their last three at home, but will be still nursing their wounds after a last-gasp away defeat to Sheffield United last weekend

Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch the game live wherever you are in the world.

Wolves vs. Spurs: When and where?

Wolverhampton Wanderers host Tottenham Hotspur at Molineux on Saturday, Nov. 11. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. GMT (7:30 a.m. ET, 4:30 a.m. PT in the US and Canada, and 11:30 p.m. AEDT in Australia).

How to watch the Wolves vs. Spurs game online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the game locally, you may need a different way to watch the game — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

Livestream Wolves vs. Spurs in the US

Saturday’s Wolves-Spursmatch is on USA Network, which you can access as part of your cable package or at the NBC Sports website with a valid login, and can be streamed via Sling TV and other more expensive streaming TV services.

Livestream the Wolves vs. Spurs game in the UK

Premier League rights in the UK are split between Sky Sports, Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports (previously known as BT Sport). The Wolves-Spurs game is exclusive to TNT Sports — showing on its TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 1 HD and TNT Sport Ultimate channels.

Livestream the Wolves vs. Spurs game in Canada

If you want to stream Wolves vs. Spurs live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to Fubo. The service has exclusive rights for this Premier League season.

Livestream the Wolves vs. Spurs game in Australia

Football fans Down Under can watch this EPL fixture on streaming service Optus Sport, which is showing every single Premier League game live in Australia this season.

Quick tips for streaming the Premier League using a VPN

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming EPL matches may vary.
• If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
• If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
• All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
• And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.

Apple has had a very busy fall. The company has introduced a slew of new features and products, covering everything from a flurry of Apple hardware and software upgrades to brand-new Apple Watches, iPhones and Apple Pencils. Most recently, the tech giant unveiled its brand-new M3 chip, the new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros and a refreshed version of the iMac at its “Scary Fast” event held at the end of October.

MacOS Sonoma’s smaller updates didn’t get the pomp and circumstance they deserved earlier this year, but the several brand-new Macs hitting the scene this fall will shake things up. If you’re planning to upgrade to a new Mac and a new iPhone simultaneously, you’ll want to make sure they work in harmony.

Luckily for those who plan on upgrading both their computer and their phone, MacOS Sonoma’s update brings features that iPhone users have enjoyed for several years and some brand-new ones that iPhone users first saw in iOS 17.

Check out these new Mac features that I think make my phone and computer work better together. For more, check out how to fix the most annoying iOS 17 features and the Mac keyboard shortcuts you need to know.

Widgets come to your desktop

While widgets aren’t an earth-shattering productivity feature, or even new to Apple fans, having them on your desktop is pretty helpful. For instance, some of my co-workers work on the West Coast while I work on the East Coast, so I have a clock widget that displays the current time in Pacific Standard Time, which makes coordinating with my coworkers a bit simpler.

The widgets are also super simple to use; all you have to do is right-click with your mouse or double-click your trackpad on your desktop and a menu will pop out. You can select Edit Widgets and a widget menu will appear where you can choose from small, medium or large widgets for a variety of applications. If you want to remove a widget, you can either right-click or use two fingers to click your trackpad and select Remove Widget, or you can click the small red button that appears after selecting Edit Widget to remove your widget.

You can also drag and drop widgets from your Notification Center to your desktop. If you want to add widgets to your notification center, all you need to do is scroll to the bottom of your notification center and click Edit Widgets. You remove widgets from your notification center in the same way you would from your desktop.

You can also add your iPhone widgets to your Mac’s desktop, even if you don’t have the widget’s corresponding app downloaded to your computer. To enable this, you will need to go to System Settings, then scroll down to Desktop and Dock and from there scroll to the Widgets section. Once in the widgets section, simply toggle the Use iPhone Widgets option on. Your iPhone widgets will be available from the widget browser that appears when selecting Edit Widget on your desktop or notification center.

Auto-sorting grocery lists

I’m a pretty organized person, but to be honest, I’ve never turned to Apple’s Reminders app for help with this. The app didn’t make much sense to me and I traditionally have opted for third-party organization apps. While these new reminder features aren’t enough to sway me away from my preferred organization apps, some additions help me make better use of the app.

The changes to reminders are pretty easy to take advantage of. The most major update is the auto-sorting grocery list feature. To make use of this feature, click the Add List button at the bottom of the reminders page. Give your list a name (and change the color of the list and the icon if you’d like). Then, under the List Type drop-down menu, select Groceries.

Once in the list, create the categories you want for your list. For example, my list had three categories: meats, produce and miscellaneous. After you create your categories, you should be able to start putting your list together, and the items you add should be automatically sorted. Be warned — this feature seems to be a bit buggy. My best advice is to keep trying the feature, and you can always drag and drop your items to their correct category if nothing else works.

Messages that mirror your phone

One of my favorite things about having an Apple family of products is that I can text from my computer. This sounds small, but this has proven super-helpful in my day-to-day life. When I’m working on my computer, I can put my phone completely away so I can focus, but it’s nice to still be able to be reached.

One thing that has always frustrated me about iMessage on my computer is that it feels years behind my phone. For the longest time, I couldn’t use tap-back reactions or even reply to messages like I could when I would text on my phone. Sonoma has changed this for the better — there is finally parity between phones and computers when it comes to the iMessage experience.

The biggest feature that I had been missing was the reply function. Essentially, this function allows you to swipe across a message and reply directly to that specific message. I’ve found this feature particularly helpful when making complicated plans or in noisy group chats.

All you have to do to use the reply function is swipe two fingers to the right until you can reply to the message. If you don’t want to swipe, you can click the message you wish to reply to with two fingers and select Reply from the drop-down menu.

For more, here’s the best MacBook of 2023.

After last weekend’s bitter defeat to Newcastle in controversial circumstances, Arsenal will be hoping for a straightforward win as they host Burnley at home on Saturday.

Last Sunday’s 1-0 away loss at St. James’ Park ended the Gunners’ unbeaten start to their English Premier League campaign and saw them miss out on a chance to move level on points with leaders Man City.

Burnley come into this daunting fixture having lost nine of their opening 11 league fixtures this season, equalling a club record set in the second division all the way back in 1904.

Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch all of the action live wherever you are in the world.

Arsenal vs. Burnley: When and where?

Arsenal host Burnley at the Emirates Stadium in north London on Saturday, Nov. 11. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. GMT (10 a.m. ET, 7 a.m PT, 2 a.m. AEDT).

How to watch the Arsenal vs. Burnley game online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the game locally, you may need a different way to watch — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.

With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. So if your internet provider or mobile carrier has stuck you with an IP address that incorrectly shows your location in a blackout zone, a VPN can correct that problem by giving you an IP address in your correct, non-blackout area. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.

Looking for other options? Be sure to check out some of the other great VPN deals taking place right now.

Livestream Arsenal vs. Burnley in the US

Saturday’s Arsenal vs. Burnley match is streaming on Peacock. You’ll need a Peacock Premium or Premium Plus account to catch the game live.

Can I livestream the Arsenal vs. Burnley game in the UK?

No broadcaster has the rights to show this game live in the UK, due to the traditional Saturday 3 p.m. kick-off blackout, which prohibits matches being shown in the region at that time in order to protect attendances throughout the English football pyramid.

That also means that if you’re in the UK traveling for pleasure or for work, you’re unlikely to be able to watch the game like you normally would at home thanks to geo-blocking.

There is one option to get around this, however. By using a VPN, as explained above, you can set your location to a country where the match is being broadcast and go from there.

Livestream the Arsenal vs. Burnley game in Canada

If you want to stream Arsenal vs. Burnley live in Canada, you’ll need to subscribe to Fubo Canada. The service has exclusive rights for this Premier League season.

Livestream the Arsenal vs. Burnley game in Australia

Football fans Down Under can watch this EPL fixture on streaming service Optus Sport, which is showing every single Premier League game live in Australia this season.

Quick tips for streaming the Premier League using a VPN

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming EPL matches may vary.
• If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
• If you’re having trouble getting the game after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
• All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
• And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.

If you want access to top streaming services, Roku remains our favorite platform. Whether you have an old-school TV you want to upgrade with streaming access or you have a smart TV with built-in apps but want a dedicated streaming device to improve your user experience, there’s a wide array to choose from out there. Some devices can get pretty pricey, but with Black Friday on the way, plenty of early deals have already hit shelves. In fact, Walmart has the Roku Premiere available for just $19 right now. That’s less than the average cost of takeout. This Roku model is currently exclusive to Walmart, and includes support for 4K HDR video output, which the otherwise similar but currently slightly more expensive Roku Express model lacks.

This deal is part of Walmart’s Black Friday sale, which kicked off Wednesday. The retailer has slashed prices on hundreds of items, making it easy to find plenty of major deals on toys, tech and more ahead of the holiday rush. We’re not sure how long this deal will last, so we recommend making your purchase sooner rather than later if you want to snag one at this price.

The Roku Premiere delivers HD, 4K and HDR support, so long as you have a compatible TV to take advantage of those features. It comes with a remote control with shortcut buttons for easy navigation, and the Roku app works with iOS and Android devices if you want to search with your voice, connect wireless headphones for private listening or have a second remote option. Plus, this device works with Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant and supports AirPlay, which allows you to cast content from your Apple devices to your TV. The box also includes a premium high-speed HDMI cable, so all you have to do is plug the device into your TV, connect to your home’s Wi-Fi and sign into your streaming accounts.

While there are more powerful streaming devices out there, this is a solid option for most people. And at this price, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better deal on an option that supports 4K. The Roku Premiere is a great gift idea as well if you want to get a jump start on your holiday shopping list.

In 2016 Samsung said it wanted to be known as the next Bowers and Wilkins, but a few months later the company fast-tracked these ambitions when it bought Harmon. And while Samsung now owns JBL and a boatload of other respected brands, its own audio products have nevertheless continued to stand up well against the competition. Products such as the Q990C.

The HW-Q990C is Samsung’s flagship soundbar and it includes most of the things people are looking for in a $1,000-plus speaker system. Those extras include Dolby Atmos and wireless streaming — and even both at the same time.

I’ve always believed that if a soundbar costs over a grand, you’re better off with an AV receiver and speakers. (The $359 Klipsch Reference Cinema and the $589 Onkyo TX-NR6100 are two good picks.) Yet, I also recognize that there are plenty of people who prefer the space-saving and convenience aspects of soundbars.

In my tests the Samsung definitely sounded better than my favorite Atmos soundbar system overall, the Vizio Elevate, but how much are you willing to pay for that improvement? The Vizio is currently selling for $800 and the Samsung is at least $500 more than that right now. Yet, the Samsung 990C is the best dedicated surround soundbar kit I’ve heard in years, and will reward anyone willing to pay extra for the privilege.

Design and features

My usual recommendation is to limit your soundbar budget to $300, but there are definitely benefits to spending more. Pricier models like the Samsung 990C, for instance, can offer a better array of features including Wi-Fi streaming and voice assistance. And this particular model promises better sound, too.

Design-wise the Samsung 990C is of the same chunky style the company has employed for years, which carries some of the drawbacks I’ve seen with previous designs. For example, the display is hidden behind a mesh screen and it can be difficult to read.

The Q990C is a 11.1.4 soundbar but you should take its claim of 11 discrete channels with a good pinch of salt. Instead think of it as your standard 5.1.4 surround configuration (left, right, center, two rears, subwoofer and four height channels) with a few more wide and side-firing drivers for wide effects.

The set includes four separate speaker boxes, and they’re all quite large. The main soundbar measures 48.5 by 2.7 by 5.4 inches. The next-largest is the wireless subwoofer at 8.7 by 16 by 16 inches. The surrounds are about the same size as computer speakers at 5.1 by 7.9 by 5.5 inches.

If you were considering this soundbar you may have been attracted by its wireless Dolby Atmos capability. I’m talking about its ability to connect wirelessly with select 2023 Samsung TVs and stream Dolby Atmos wirelessly. Right now, however, the only TVs in that “select” group are the relatively inexpensive CU7000 and CU8000 models.

My question is: Are people with a $600 TV really going to buy this soundbar, especially just to forsake a $10 cable? Maybe that’s you. And I’m not the boss of you, you can do what you please! But really, by using a cable you’re going to get better reliability and performance too.

The Q990C will decode all of the relevant formats including Dolby Atmos and DTS:X while also including compatibility with audio standards Spotify Connect and Apple AirPlay 2. The soundbar also tucks in Q Symphony, which pairs the speaker with the onboard speakers of your Samsung TV, but given that every speaker on this kit is better than the ones that go into TVs, I don’t think you should use it. Other audio gubbins include the SpaceFit Sound Pro Calibration routine and the voice-optimizing Active Voice Amplifier.

Connections include two HDMI 2.0 inputs (so, sadly, no gaming-friendly 4K/120Hz) with an HDMI eARC output, digital optical, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It would have been good to see seen a few more connections including an analog input for people to connect a record player, for instance.

The remote control is compact and feels premium, with a faux-metallic finish. It misses out on the solar power charger of the TV remotes, but if you own a Samsung TV you can use its remote to control the soundbar too.

How does it sound?

I compared the Samsung Q990C against an array of different soundbars in CNET’s audio lab, including the Vizio Elevate, the LG S9C and the Bose 600 Smart Soundbar and subwoofer combo. With its four height speakers and large sub, the Samsung definitely had an advantage against the others when it came to cinematic immersion. As you’d expect with a brand hoping to become a household name in audio, the music replay of the Q990C was also excellent.

I began my tests with Dennis Villenueve’s Dune and compared the Samsung against a Bose Smart Soundbar 600 and Bass Module 500 subwoofer combo, plus the LG S9C. When watching the scene where the ornithopters land in an attempt to rescue spice miners from a sandworm (1 hour, 1 minute into the movie), clarity was one word that came to my mind. The whispered dialog, the sound of the spice filtering through Paul Atreides’ airways and the deep thump of the sandworms were exceedingly clear and impactful. Compared to the Samsung, the Bose offered less presence and slam, and the Samsung’s immersion was helped greatly by the its discrete rears speakers (you can add them to the Bose system aftermarket, however). The LG S9C was the weakest of the three and I was unable to get much volume out of it. The LG got a little lost trying to convey the majesty of the scene.

Next I swapped out two of the soundbars and substituted them for the Vizio Elevate — a great speaker in its own right. However, the Samsung pulled ahead in Dune as it did for the remainder of the tests. While the Vizio had more low-end punch, the Samsung was able to delve deeper into the low frequencies and sounded better overall.

Next I fired up Mad Max: Fury Road and found that both the Samsung and the Vizio were excellent at surround steering and creating an all-enveloping sonic world. The Samsung sounded more accomplished however, especially in its ability to place a girl’s voice directly overhead when she inquires, “Max?”

Finally I listened to a selection of music on the Samsung 9900C including the excellent remix of The Replacements’ album Tim. Paul Westerberg’s newly uncovered voice sounded fuller on the Samsung during the fist-pumping Bastards of Young and the instruments were more cohesive in the soundstage. Though fans of the band might argue that “together” is something that the ‘Mats never were.

Should you buy it?

At the end of the discussion, it becomes a matter of how much money you want to spend. The Samsung sounds noticeably better than the Vizio Elevate, and it’s better built too, but it’s also a lot more expensive. The Samsung’s price is currently reduced for Black Friday, at $1,400, and for that kind of money I think it’s fair, and certainly I wouldn’t want to pay the full $1,800. Plus, while I’m on a nitpicking jaunt, that integrated display on the unit itself is a little annoying.

Nevertheless, designing a soundbar that performs this well with both music and movies is quite a feat, and Samsung has achieved it with the Q990C. While most people won’t use most of the features, it’s the performance that should draw people in.

At CES 2023 in January, Qualcomm revealed a new project, Snapdragon Satellite, that would let phones packing Snapdragon chips use satellites to link up in areas without a cell signal. But now the deal is off between Qualcomm and satellite network company Iridium, leaving Snapdragon Satellite’s future uncertain.

Apple was the first to deploy large-scale phone-to-satellite communications with Emergency SOS, which debuted on the iPhone 14 series in October 2022. Qualcomm unveiled Snapdragon Satellite months later as a hardwired way for Android phones to use Iridium’s satellites for calls and texting beyond cell signal range as a paid service. Qualcomm said that phones could start coming out with the functionality in the second half of 2023, though manufacturers would have had to implement it in their handsets.

Despite a successful demonstration of Snapdragon Satellite at CES, to date no phones have launched with it, which is why Qualcomm has ended its deal with Iridium, according to the latter’s press release on Thursday.

“While I’m disappointed that this partnership didn’t bear immediate fruit, we believe the direction of the industry is clear toward increased satellite connectivity in consumer devices,” Iridium CEO Matt Desch said in the press release. “Our global coverage and regulatory certainty make us well suited to be a key player in this emerging market. User experience will be critical to their success, and we’ve proven that we can provide a reliable, global capability to mobile users.”

Iridium noted that it will continue to pursue partnerships with phone manufacturers and mobile industry players for “existing and future service plans” of satellite connectivity.

Qualcomm provided a statement that cited smartphone manufacturers’ preference for standards-based connectivity options, rather than the chip-based Snapdragon Satellite proprietary solution. The company didn’t say if Snapdragon Satellite was ending or if it would continue with another partner, only that it will keep working on satellite connectivity in devices.

“We expect to continue to collaborate with Iridium on standards-based solutions while discontinuing efforts on the proprietary solution that was introduced earlier this year,” a Qualcomm spokesperson said in a statement. The company continues to support non-terrestrial network (aka satellite) solutions using the industrial-focused mobile modems it launched in July that link up to the Skylo network of satellites.

Last month, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii focused on new chips bringing on-device generative AI to phones and PCs, but the company was more muted about Snapdragon Satellite, acknowledging that the ball was in device manufacturers’ court.

“Snapdragon Satellite is just a bigger commitment” than on-device AI, Chris Patrick, Qualcomm senior vice president of engineering, told CNET. “The barrier you need to cross as an end user, as an [original equipment manufacturer], as an infrastructure-providing ecosystem player, like Google for example, is just bigger.”

Patrick declined to specifically comment on what’s in store for Snapdragon Satellite in 2024, only noting that there has been “a lot of energy, a lot of discussion, a lot of good things happening. We’ll see what happens.”

Still waiting for the year of satellite connectivity

This is the latest setback in what seemed like a year where satellite connectivity was set to expand phone use beyond mobile networks. All three major carriers in the US announced their own satellite phone solutions, but have not moved beyond tech demonstrations. T-Mobile partnered with SpaceX’s Starlink for satellite service, but AT&T has tried to block that deployment for fear of the service encroaching on its own spectrum.

For its part, AT&T linked up with AST SpaceMobile to expand its coverage, but hasn’t announced anything more in nearly a year. Likewise, Verizon revealed way back in October 2021 that it would use Amazon’s Project Kuiper satellites for connectivity but hasn’t provided an update since. (Amazon launched the first satellites in Project Kuiper’s network last month.)

Today, Apple’s iPhones are the only handsets released in the US that have satellite connectivity. The last year has been punctuated with stories of iPhone 14 owners who have used Emergency SOS to get help after tumbling into canyons and to even escape the deadly Maui wildfires.

Virtual private networks offer a variety of benefits that can enhance your online activity. In addition to using VPNs for general privacy purposes, many people use them to stream geographically restricted content from around the world. When you connect to a VPN, your internet traffic is encrypted and your IP address changes to the IP address of the VPN server you connect to. This means that your visible location changes to that of the server you’re using, making it appear as though you’re somewhere else — allowing you to access content otherwise unavailable in your location.

At CNET, we’ve spent years rigorously testing nearly a dozen of the best VPNs available to determine which ones are the best for various platforms or use cases, including for streaming. Not all VPNs are created equal when it comes to streaming capabilities, which is why we put VPNs through their paces to develop this list of the best streaming VPNs. You can use the VPNs listed here to access your home Netflix library while traveling or unblock content on all kinds of other streaming services like Max, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus and Hulu. You can even use a VPN to bypass sports broadcast blackouts and watch your favorite teams without any restrictions. Just make sure to check your streaming service’s Terms of Service to see if it says anything about prohibiting VPN use because you don’t want to be mistakenly in violation of the service’s Terms.

What is the best VPN for streaming right now?

ExpressVPN is the best streaming VPN on the market. It successfully unblocks Netflix, Disney Plus and Amazon Prime Video in the US and UK. The ExpressVPN app boasts great customization features but remains user-friendly for VPN beginners. NordVPN is a solid choice with minimal speed loss, superb reliability and broad device compatibility. Surfshark offers the best price-to-performance ratio, with decent speeds and streaming service support. For VPN newcomers, we recommend IPVanish, which, despite its uneven speeds, keeps its app uncomplicated and easy to navigate.

Best VPN for streaming in 2023

Other VPNs we tested

Proton VPN

If you want a VPN that’s free and still able to stream the US Netflix library, then Proton VPN is the ideal choice. Proton VPN is currently the only free VPN the CNET recommends, because it’s secure, safe to use and doesn’t put any limits on speed or usage. Technically, Proton VPN’s free servers aren’t optimized for streaming, but we still achieved sufficient speeds and were able to smoothly stream Netflix content through the VPN’s free US servers. With Proton VPN’s premium service, which includes servers in 69 countries (as opposed to three with the free plan), we were able to access content from several Netflix regional libraries as well as content on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video and Disney Plus. The only hiccup we ran into was that we were unable to stream Disney Plus on MacOS through Proton’s US servers, although it worked fine on other platforms.

Private Internet Access

The wallet-friendly Private Internet Access, or PIA, is an open-source VPN provider focused on security. Although PIA worked well enough for Netflix and Amazon Prime Video US and UK libraries, we couldn’t get it to work for UK Disney Plus streaming. Despite its affordability compared with many VPN rivals, it’s tough to recommend for streaming. Additionally, PIA doesn’t have a Firestick app in the Amazon Appstore or available to sideload — instead, you’ll need to use its Smart DNS option. While Private Internet Access’s Smart DNS isn’t difficult to install, it’s not as intuitive as apps from ExpressVPN, Surfshark or NordVPN. Ultimately, PIA is a fantastic VPN with strong privacy features, but its streaming shortcomings make it suitable only for casual entertainment needs.

How we test VPNs for streaming

We know choosing a VPN for streaming can be a tall task, so we thoroughly tested different providers using different streaming services on several platforms. For each VPN, we evaluated each provider’s streaming performance on mobile, desktop and dedicated streaming devices like Amazon’s Fire TV Stick. We connected to dozens of server locations with each VPN to determine if the service was able to unblock geo-restricted content from different regions around the world on streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video. We noted whenever a VPN was blocked from accessing certain geo-restricted content, and we checked to make sure the streaming experience was smooth and free of buffering when a VPN was able to successfully stream content. Each VPN we’ve listed here is a capable VPN for streaming, but one may work better for you than another, based on your particular needs or budget. Each VPN here also offers a money-back guarantee, so you can try them out to confirm a provider works for your needs before you fully commit to one.

Factors to consider in a VPN for streaming

Based on our years of experience using and testing VPNs, we’ve established the following list of factors you should consider when choosing a VPN for streaming.

Streaming capabilities

Your VPN’s capacity to access streaming content is, of course, the top factor to consider in a VPN for streaming. If your VPN can’t access streaming content, then it isn’t fit for this purpose. And it’s not just access to streaming content in general that’s important to consider; it’s also important to make sure that the VPN you choose works well for the streaming service you want to access. This is where free trials and money-back guarantees really come in handy, because not all VPNs work well for all streaming services.

Speed

Your VPN’s speed performance plays a major role in the overall quality of your streaming experience. You’ll need a VPN that’s fast, especially if you’re streaming in 4K or if you’re accessing geo-blocked content from a region that’s a considerable enough distance from your physical location. If your VPN is slowing your connection too much, you may end up experiencing a lot of buffering or a lower-quality video playback.

Privacy

Regardless of what you’re using your VPN for, privacy is a key consideration for any VPN service. Your VPN should have privacy measures in place like DNS leak protection, a kill switch and a no-logs policy (bonus points for one that’s been audited or tested in the wild). A VPN that provides the necessary privacy protections will ensure that your internet traffic is never leaked unencrypted, including what sites you’re visiting and what content you’re streaming.

Network

A good VPN for streaming should have a network of servers in locations across the globe. If you’re looking to fully optimize your streaming and get access to the largest selection of streaming content, then you’ll probably want to choose a VPN with servers located in the largest number of countries. But if you’re looking to access content from a specific region, you should check to ensure the VPN you want to use has servers in the region(s) you need. You can check the VPN’s server page on its website to see what countries it has servers in prior to purchasing a subscription.

Device compatibility

You’ll also want to make sure that the VPN you choose is compatible with the device on which you want to stream content, whether that’s a mobile device, laptop, smart TV or streaming device. Most VPNs are compatible with a wide range of devices, but it’s always a good idea to confirm that the service you’re considering will work with the device you want to use.

Though Black Friday is still a couple of weeks away, that doesn’t mean you have to wait till it arrives to start shopping. Like Amazon with its Black Friday deals, Best Buy is launching many early offers you can take advantage of right now.

Whether you’re looking to upgrade some appliances before company over the holidays or you are hoping to find great deals on holiday gifts for someone you love, Best Buy is offering some great deals on items in all of its big categories, from tech to home. Look for savings on Keurigs, Roomba, Apple products and more.

We’ve rounded up the best Black Friday deals at Best Buy to make things easy for you, and we’ll keep updating this post as we get closer to the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping events.

Best Buy Black Friday tech deals

• MacBook Air 13.6-inch laptop: $949 (Save $150)
• MacBook Air M2 15-inch laptop: $1,449 (save $250)
• iPad 9th Gen: Save $80 on all models
• Samsung Galaxy Book3 360: $1,000 (save $550)

• LG 55-inch UQ70 Series 4K smart TV: $300 (save $200)

• Insignia 50-inch F30 series 4K smart Fire TV: $200 (save $100)
• Epson EX3280 projector with built-in speaker: $350 (save $150)

• Epson Home Cinema 3200 projector: $1,200 (save $300)

Best Buy Black Friday home deals

• Ninja 4-quart air fryer: $90 (save $30)
• Instant Pot Crisp 6-quart pressure cooker air fryer: $130 (save $20)

• GE stand mixer: $149 (save $150)
• KitchenAid classic tilt-head stand mixer: $270 (save $60)
• Dyson V15 Detect Extra cordless vacuum: $600 (save $200)

• Shark Air Purifier Max: $200 (save $250)

• Save up to 45% on select major appliances

Best Buy Black Friday health and fitness deals

• Flexir Recovery Lite muscle massager: $40 (save $40)
• Bowflex Treadmill 10: $1,999 (save $301)

• NordicTrack RW900 Rower: $1,800 (save $200)
• Philips Sonicare DiamondClean 9700 smart rechargeable toothbrush: $280 (save $60)

• Philips Norelco OneBlade 360 electrci trimmer: $30 (save $8)

• Dyson Supersonic hair dryer: $300 (save $100)
• Save up to $60 on select Fitbit fitness trackers

Are Best Buy Black Friday deals available in-store?

Yes. You can purchase your Best Buy deals online and have them shipped to your door or set them for in-store pickup. You can also walk on into your nearest Best Buy location to score the deals, though supplies may be limited.

Do My Best Buy members get better Black Friday deals?

For select products and promotions, paying My Best Buy members can score extra savings. That is, My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total members. Those programs start at $50 per year, so it might be worth signing up if you spot a deal with significant additional savings or plan on doing the bulk of your holiday shopping at Best Buy.

I’m looking at a plate of sushi hovering in front of me in 3D. The chef finishes off toppings on yellowtail rolls and tuna, talking to me as she works. It looks vivid. It looks real. The amazing part is that I just shot this video myself, moments earlier, on an iPhone 15 Pro. And now it’s a VR experience I’m watching in beautiful 3D on Apple’s Vision Pro headset.

I swipe with my fingers and watch other ghostly videos Apple provided. Families in a home, walking through grass. Cuddling together. All in lifelike 3D. I feel like I’m peeking in on their lives, which is weird and intimate. But the vividness is undeniable.

I’m experiencing Apple’s new Spatial Video iPhone camera feature, now available in Apple’s new iOS 17.2 public beta, with the final version rolling out in 17.2 later this year. It allows you to record 3D videos, but to use it you’ll need Apple’s best phone, the $1,000 iPhone 15 Pro. And to watch the videos in 3D you’ll need the $3,500 Vision Pro headset, which launches early next year.

The videos look great and the 3D is compellingly realistic. They’re also easy to record, and can save as videos that will play back in 2D in a normal video format. But ultimately this feature is made for a 2024 product that, at $3,500, it’s safe to say most people won’t buy anytime soon. Still, the experience is impressive.

Vision Pro impressed me once again

I first used the Vision Pro at Apple’s WWDC conference in June, and once again I’m reminded of its extraordinary display capabilities. Photos and video look fantastic on Apple’s headset. I’d even venture to say the Vision Pro beats any display I have anywhere in my home right now. Yes, I’d want to look at videos and photos — 3D and otherwise — if I had a Vision Pro.

My second dive into the Vision Pro, complete with fitted prescription lenses that matched my needs, reminds me how much smaller the headset was than I remembered. And also, how effortless the interface is.

Setting up eye tracking was a rapid process; I looked at dots around a circle and tapped them. I also tried a new set of zoom gestures, pinching my fingers and stretching them to expand photos. The gesture works with eye tracking, so wherever I looked, the image expanded. It felt like telepathy. I got to look through a few test photos in the Photos app, and play back photos in Memories. After having used a Quest 3 recently, Apple’s passthrough cameras and display resolution are on another planet.

Panoramic photos were a surprise. They opened up and wrapped around me, felt like windows into other places — almost 3D, in fact. And spatial videos look nice, too. Their 3D, almost ghostly playback quality feels like it’s aiming for an immersive memory more than a straight-up video playback. But I found some limits even in my brief demo of the experience.

Unfortunately, there aren’t any captures of what I saw or recorded here: the photos are all ones Apple provided, so you’ll have to just follow along and read about my experience.

Spatial videos on iPhone 15 Pro: How they work

Spatial videos need to be recorded by holding the phone horizontally. The iPhone 15 Pro uses its main and ultrawide cameras side-by-side in landscape mode to create the 3D video. It records two 1080p, 30fps videos at once, resolving the lens and distance differences with computational photography. The file is saved in HEVC format, similar to other Apple video files, with a storage size of about 130MB a minute. That’s not too bad, likely because the files are limited to that relatively low 1080p and 30fps resolution and framerate.

Spatial video clips can be shared via Messages or AirDrop, but there could be cases where files are compressed down in other apps, losing the 3D data. Still, the video clips should be usable anywhere as an everyday video file, which is great news for anyone who wondered (myself included) whether you’d have to choose a “special” 3D video format.

You do have to toggle Spatial Video mode on, either inside Apple’s Camera app settings or with a Vision Pro-mask-shaped toggle in the Camera app itself. That limits your video resolution and frame rate, and also means you have to shoot in landscape. Sorry, no 3D vertical videos.

The camera app makes recommendations on turning the camera sideways, and staying a certain distance from a subject. I was told to stay within 3 to 8 feet of what I was shooting for a good spatial video, but when I shot my test recording of someone making sushi at a table I got up closer and it looked perfectly fine. I also recorded in a well-lit room, but apparently the spatial video recording mode prevents adjustments on brightness and contrast, which means low-light recording may end up grainier than normal videos.

How will spatial video evolve or be edited?

There’s no API for Apple’s 3D HEVC video format, which means the files are not designed so that third-party apps can recognize them yet. But it’s possible app developers will figure out some sort of a solution. Also, it’s disappointing that there’s no other way to view the videos in 3D than on a Vision Pro.

The stereo 3D recording theoretically sounds like a process that could be adapted for other VR headsets like the $500 Meta Quest 3. It’s straightforward stereo video, and doesn’t use lidar or depth sensing for any sort of full-movement spatial capture. Unfortunately that’s not currently in Apple’s plans.

There’s no recording limit on the videos, so you could theoretically make a spatial video 3D feature-length film. But the clips will only be able to be trimmed, either in the iPhone or Vision Pro. Final Cut Pro, Apple’s video editing software, will get Spatial Video editing support, but not until sometime next year. Meanwhile if you do end up trying to edit these video files in a Mac or iOS video editor, they’ll end up being converted over into 2D-only files.

It’s also a tiny bit disappointing that the videos can’t be recorded in 4K resolution. Apple’s Vision Pro headset has astounding quality and resolution, which became clear once again as I looked at iPhone photos in the headset and zoomed in on them, or viewed panoramic photos in a wraparound mode that made it feel like I was in a vivid immersive recreation of a location, similar to a 360-degree photo. The spatial videos look really nice, but I felt the desire to see them in more fluid 60fps, 4K or both. Maybe someday.

Memories for a 3D future

Apple often seems like it’s trying to become not just a lifestyle, but a memory company. Automated photo collections are already called “Memories.” And that’s how 3D spatial videos feel on Vision Pro: hazily bordered, like digital recollections in some Minority Report or Bladerunner future. It reminded me, too, of some of the immersive 3D realism I had using Google’s real-time 3D light field conversations in Project Starline, but in this case I was just watching videos.

Apple’s choice to frame the spatial videos in a fuzzy sort of frame makes it look more like the videos are almost holographically being cast into the room, and the edges sort of dissolve a bit. But I’d love to see a way for the videos to have a standard frame around them, too.

Apple’s spatial video format shows up in a new category of its own on the Photos app, and won’t show up in Memories yet. Maybe this new spatial video tab in Photos becomes the go-to repository for new 3D experiences. Right now, Apple isn’t allowing 3D spatial photos on the iPhone 15 Pro, just videos, although the Vision Pro can capture photos itself. But Apple’s clearly aiming for everyone to hopefully start recording in the format before the headset arrives, building a library of capable videos.

That means you’ll have to remember to toggle spatial video on, and care to use it. Future Vision Pro owners will have that feature toggled on by default on the iPhone 15 Pro, but that’s a tiny portion of iPhone owners. I’ll be turning it on, because I want to see what my videos will look like next year on a Vision Pro. But unless you’re planning on buying a Vision Pro yourself, there’s little reason to record spatial video now, even though it’s possible, someday way down the road, you might regret not shooting that birthday party footage in 3D. I’m already thinking about I shot video footage at my niece’s bat mitzvah last week, and what it would have been like if I could see it in 3D, too. That new spatial video camera toggle is already playing on my future FOMO.

The Logitech G305 might be one of the most colorful input devices around, and it’s also one of the most popular. Logitech makes some of the best wireless mouse and keyboard accessories you’re likely to find, and the G305 is no slouch. It’s normally well priced at around $50, too, but with Black Friday drawing near, Amazon has slashed that price to just $30.

That lowered price is a massive 40% discount and one you won’t have to work for. There are no discount codes or on-screen coupons here. And that means the only thing you need to do is choose which color you’re going to order. We’re big fans of the blue you see above, but there are much more muted options for people who have to look respectable in an office.

The Amazon Black Friday extravaganza hasn’t really kicked into gear yet, but this is one discount worth highlighting right now. The mouse features a 12,000dpi sensor and no fewer than six different programmable buttons. That means you’ll be able to set up all kinds of weird and wonderful shortcuts with this thing, making it quicker and easier to get your work done. Or equip your favorite weapon in that new must-play game — whichever.

Notable specs include a superfast, 1ms report rate for what Logitech says is competition-level performance, thanks to the Lightspeed wireless tech. And all of that in a frame that weighs just 99 grams and, frankly, looks amazing.

So, what are you waiting for?