Category: Technologies

Having survived a scare against Nigeria in the previous round, England face another tricky challenge as they come up against Colombia in this Women’s World Cup quarterfinal clash at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses know they need to improve having scraped through to the last eight after being taken to penalties by the Super Falcons in a match that saw England’s star young forward Lauren James sent off for stamping on an opponent’s butt.

Colombia, meanwhile, have been one of the tournament’s brightest sides, having shocked heavyweights Germany in the group stages while edging past Jamaica 1-0 to reach their first ever World Cup quarterfinal.

Below, we’ll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch England vs. Colombia, no matter where you are in the world.

England vs. Colombia: When and where?

This quarterfinal clash takes place at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Saturday, July 22.

Kick-off is set for 8:30 p.m. AEST local time in Australia, which makes it a 6:30 a.m. ET or 3:30 a.m. PT start in the US and Canada, a 10:30 p.m. start in New Zealand and an 11:30 a.m. BST kick-off in the UK.

How to watch the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 online from anywhere using a VPN

If you find yourself unable to view the tournament locally, you may need a different way to watch this match — 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. 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 Australia, 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 England vs. Colombia in the US

Women’s World Cup matches are being broadcast on Fox in the US. If you’re already a subscriber, you can livestream games via the Fox website. if you’re not, you’ll need a live TV streaming service that carries Fox, the least expensive being Sling TV Blue.

Numerous other live TV streaming services carry local Fox stations as well, namely YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, DirecTV Stream and FuboTV. They all cost more than Sling TV, but they also carry more channels. Check out our live TV streaming channel guide for details.

NBC-owned Telemundo, meanwhile, offers all the games in Spanish, which can also be viewed via NBC’s streaming platform Peacock Premium.

One further option in the US for watching matches comes from Tubi TV, which is offering full-length replays of the games in English minutes after they end on the free ad-supported streaming service. You’ll have to sign up for a Tubi account in order to get the games, but you won’t need a credit card or subscription.

Watch England vs. Colombia for free in the UK

Football fans in the UK are among the luckiest in the world, as all matches of the FIFA Women’s World Cup being shown live on free-to-air channels, with the BBC and ITV sharing broadcast duties. This game will be shown live on ITV1, which means viewers in the UK will be able to stream the game for free on ITVX. Coverage begins at 10:45 a.m. BST.

Stream England vs. Colombia for free in Australia

Stream England vs. Colombia in Canada

Comprehensive live coverage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup will be available in Canada via TSN. Cord cutters can watch via the network’s streaming service TSN Plus.

Stream England vs. Colombia for free in New Zealand

Live coverage of 2023 Women’s World Cup for the co-host nation is with free-to-air channel Prime. Kick-off for this match is at 10:30 p.m. NZST.

Quick tips for streaming the 2023 Women’s World Cup using a VPN

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming the Women’s World Cup action live 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.

After seeing last year’s English Premier League title slip from their grasp as injuries took their toll, Arsenal will be hoping to go one better this term as they kick off the season at home to Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Mikel Arteta’s hopes of toppling Manchester City this time out have been boosted by a trio of big-money signings: Declan Rice from West Ham, Kai Havertz from Chelsea and Jurrien Timber from Ajax.

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, may hand a debut to former Gunners goalkeeper Matt Turner, while new striker signing Anthony Elanga could also feature having made the switch from Manchester United.

Forest won only one game away from home all last season, so on paper this should be a comfortable opening fixture for the north Londoners. And headline writers everywhere will be desperate for Timber to score.

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. Nottingham Forest: When and where?

Arsenal host Nottingham Forest at the Emirates Stadium in north London on Saturday, Aug. 12. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. BST (7:30 a.m. ET, 4:30 p.m PT).

How to watch the Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest 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 Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest in the US

Saturday’s Arsenal-Nottingham Forest match 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 Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest 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 Arsenal-Nottingham Forestgame is exclusive to TNT Sports — showing on its TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 1 HD and TNT Sport Ultimate channels.

Livestream the Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest game in Canada

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

Livestream the Arsenal vs. Nottingham Forest 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.

Cleaning out your Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos is an easy way to make some virtual room, and it could save you money, too. Google gives users a combined 15GB of free storage space to use between Google Drive, Gmail and other Google services, and that space can fill up fast. When you’re close to your limit, Google will ask if you want to buy more storage by subscribing to Google One. Or you can follow these tricks to manage your digital space and save yourself some money.

Here’s how to free up Google Drive, Gmail and Google Photos space on desktop and mobile so you don’t have to pay for additional storage. We recommend doing this on your desktop rather than a mobile device, as you’ll have an easier time sorting through and managing files, but we’ll walk you through both processes.

Delete large files first

If you only want to delete a few items from Google Drive and Gmail to free up space, you can sort each service by file size and delete one or two large files instead of a few dozen smaller items.

Here’s how to delete files by size in Google Drive on your desktop

1. Log in to your Google Drive account.

2. Once you’re logged in, click Storage in the menu on the left side of the screen.

3. The Storage page should list your files from largest to smallest, but if not, click Storage used on the right side of the screen. The files should now be ordered from largest to smallest.

4. Click large files you want to delete to select them, then click either the trash bin that appears near the top of the screen once items are selected or drag the large files to Trash on the left side of the screen.

5. Click Trash on the left-hand side menu to go to the Trash menu.

6. Click Empty trash in the top-right corner of your screen.

7. Click Delete forever and your files are gone.

You can do this in the Google Drive app as well. Here’s how:

1. Open your Google Drive app and log in to your account.

2. Tap Files in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

3. Tap Name underneath My Drive near the top of the screen.

4. Tap Storage used. This will arrange your files from largest to smallest.

5. Tap the three dots (…) next to the item you want to delete.

6. Tap Remove.

7. Tap the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the screen next to Search in Drive.

8. Tap Trash.

9. Tap the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of the screen.

10. Tap Empty trash.

You can also arrange and delete files by size in Gmail on the desktop. Here’s how:

1. Log in to your Gmail account.

2. Type has:attachment larger:10MB, for example, into the search bar and hit Search. This will show you all emails that have attachments larger than 10MB, from largest to smallest. You can use this format to filter by other size files, not just 10MB files.

3. Check the boxes to the left of each email you want to delete, then click the Trash icon in the top-right corner of the screen.

4. Click Trash on the left side of the screento go to the Trash menu. If you don’t see Trash, click More and Trash should be in the expanded menu.

5. Once in Trash, click Empty trash now at the top of the screen.

Here’s how to arrange and delete files by size in the Gmail app:

1. Open your Gmail app and log in to your account.

2. Type has:attachment larger:10MB into the search bar and hit Search. This will show you all emails that have attachments larger than 10MB, from largest to smallest. You can use this format to filter by other size files too, not just 10MB files.

3. Tap into the email you want to delete.

4. Tap the trash bin icon in the top-right corner of your screen.

5. Tap < in the top-left corner of your screen.

6. Tap the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the screen next to Search in mail.

7. Tap Trash.

8. Tap Empty trash now.

Note that once a file goes to Trash, it’ll automatically delete after 30 days.

Empty your Gmail spam folder

It’s easy to forget about emptying your spam folder, and it can take up unnecessary data in your Gmail account. Emptying your spam folder (and your social or promotions folders) is another way to make space.

Here’s how to empty your spam folder on your desktop:

1. Log in to your Gmail account.

2. Once you’re logged in, click Spam on the left side of the screen. If you don’t see Spam, click More and Spam should be in the expanded menu.

3. In your Spam folder, click Delete all spam messages now.

Here’s how to empty your spam folder in the mobile app:

1. Open the Gmail app and log in to your account.

2. Tap the hamburger icon in the top-left corner of the screen next to Search in mail.

3. Tap Spam.

4. Tap Delete all spam messages now or Empty spam now.

Clean up your Google Photos

Google also includes Google Photos in the 15GB of free storage it gives its users. Photos and videos can take up more space than text-based files, so it’s a good idea to go through and delete old photos and videos to make room.

However, there’s no option to arrange your photos and videos from largest to smallest like in Google Drive and Gmail, so you’ll have to go through and delete items manually.

Here’s how to delete photos and videos from Google Photos on your desktop:

1. Open and log in to Google Photos.

2. Scroll your mouse over photos and videos you want to delete and click the gray check mark icon in the top-left corner of the photo or video.

3. Click the trash icon in the top-right corner of the screen.

4. Click Move to trash.

5. Click Trash on the left side of the screen.

6. Click Empty trash near the top-right corner of your screen.

7. Click Empty trash again, and you’re set.

Here’s how to delete photos and videos from the Google Photos mobile app:

A heads up for Apple users: If your Gmail is linked to your iCloud account, the two digital storage spaces may be also linked. Meaning, when enabling the Backup & sync feature on Google Photos, all your local photos on your iPhone will be displayed on Google Photos. If you delete a photo on Google Photos, then the local photo on your iPhone will also be removed. And when the local photo is removed, it won’t show up on iCloud. You’ll be able to tell if this is you when you try to delete an image on Google Photos — a pop-up window will let you know you’re about to delete from both places.

1. Open and log in to Google Photos.

2. Tap the photo or video you want to delete.

3. Tap the trash can icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

4. Tap Delete.

5. Tap Library in the bottom-right corner of the screen.

6. Tap Trash.

7. Tap the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of the screen.

8. Tap Empty trash.

9. Tap Delete.

If you don’t click or tap Empty trash on either platform, the photos and videos you’ve deleted will automatically be deleted after 60 days.

When all else fails, download your files

If your storage is still almost full and you can’t part with any more items from your Google Drive, Gmail or Google Photos, you can download your items and store them directly on your computer.

Here’s how to download your Google Drive files, Gmail messages and Google Photos for storage on another hard drive:

1. Open and log in to your Google Drive, Gmail or Google Photos account on your desktop.

2. Select the files, emails or photos you want to download.

3. Click the three stacked dots in the upper-right corner of your screen.

4. Click Download. Note that Gmail will download messages as a .eml file.

5. Once the items are downloaded and moved onto your hard drive, feel free to delete them from your account and empty your trash bins.

For more, check out these 10 Gmail tips and tools, nine Google Drive features you might have missed and five Google Photos features to try now.

Before smartphones turned ubiquitous, flip phones were the consumer-tech status symbol. They had compact and cool designs and user-friendly features. And let’s be honest: It’s tough to beat the thrill of ending a call by snapping a phone shut.

Nowadays, the flip phone is back in vogue, albeit the “smart” kind, as old becomes new again.Just ask Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney, whom Samsung has tapped to drive that point home. In an ad for the company’s latest flip phone, the actress proclaims that her Galaxy Z Flip 5 is the “best accessory” for “how she looks and feels.”

In July, Samsung unveiled its latest wave of foldable phones at its Unpacked event, where the Galaxy Z Flip 5 was arguably the tech star of the show. Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 5, it received major upgrades, including a redesigned hinge and a much larger cover screen. The addition of that larger external display, along with software upgrades, means you can do things like record audio, peruse your calendar or track the stock market without ever unfolding the Z Flip 5. Its predecessor, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 had a comparatively small cover screen that wasn’t nearly as versatile.

“Larger cover screens make these clamshells both more useful and more deliberate — sometimes you just want a piece of information without falling into a rabbit hole of app content, ” Avi Greengart, analyst at Techsponential, told CNET over email.

Back in the spotlight, en route to the mainstream

But it isn’t just Samsung. In general, flip phones are undergoing a drastic transformation in comparison to their book-style counterparts like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Google’s Pixel Fold. And much of that change is happening on the front screen.

Weeks before Unpacked, Motorola launched its Razr Plus, outfitted with a larger cover screen that raised the bar for flip phones everywhere. In late 2022, Oppo, a top Chinese phone maker, shook up the cover design of flip phones first by introducing a vertically oriented cover screen to its first-ever flip phone, the Find N2 Flip.

These new flippable cover screens seem to have hit a sweet spot: larger and more useful than a smartwatch, but smaller and less distracting than a normal phone screen. The previous generation of flip phones felt like a regular phone with a smartwatch on the front — convenient for cursory checks, but not much else.

“It’s the ‘be first or be better’ moment for the smartphone vendors,” said Will Wong, senior research manager at the International Data Corporation, a telecom market intelligence firm. “To win the foldable competition, the smartphone vendors will need to either be the first or create a more significant differentiation.”

Armed with bigger cover screens, flippables are poised to come back into the mainstream provided hurdles like durability are overcome. Either way, this latest wave of redesigns underscores how the flip phone is reclaiming its main-character energy/place in the spotlight more than ever before.

Take this anecdotal example: Oppo chose the Find N2 Flip as the product for its global foldable phone push, even though it had previously launched two book-style foldable phones in China. In fact, the Find N2 Flip is the crown jewel of Oppo’s global marketing blitz for its smartphone division, which involves sponsorships of elite sporting events including Wimbledon and the UEFA Champions League, which together attract a worldwide audience estimated in the hundreds of millions.

Read more: Oppo Is Using Elite Sports Events to Convince People to Buy Phones

It’s very possible that Oppo’s decision hinged on past sales performance of flip phones. Clamshell-style phones have accounted for more than 50% of foldable shipments from 2020 through to the first quarter of 2023, IDC told CNET in an email. This trend is unlikely to change, the research firm said, since the average selling price, or ASP, of a flip phone is generally lower than that of a book-style phone.

“By the first quarter of 2023, clamshell’s ASP was below US$1,000 and was around 60% of the book-style’s ASP,” Wong told CNET in July.

Though foldable phones still make up a small sliver of the broader smartphone market, sales of both book-style and flip phones are expected to balloon. IDC expects worldwide shipments of foldable phones to reach 21.4 million units in 2023. This represents an increase of more than 50% over the 14.2 million units shipped in 2022. By 2027, IDC expects foldable phones to capture 3.5% of overall market share, which translates to more than 48 million shipments.

Refined, not redefined

Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 5, its larger and more expensive foldable phone, alongside the Z Flip 5 at Unpacked. The book-style device is an improved version of last year’s Z Fold 4, with a different hinge. CNET’s Patrick Holland, who reviewed it, described the Z Fold 5 as a refinement rather than a redefinition. However, that essentially sums up the trend across the entire book-style foldable subcategory right now.

Though more players are entering the space, and with a range of designs, the transformation days for book-style foldables seem to be behind us. Sure, new entrants such as Google’s Pixel Fold and Honor’s Magic V2 are exciting and — in the case of the latter — impossibly thin. Book-style foldables may also be seen as being more technologically innovative than flip phones.

But they aren’t dramatically different from their predecessors right now, and that’s OK. In general, most phone makers have settled on the book-style design pioneered by Samsung in 2019 with its Galaxy Z Fold, meaning that device laid the foundation for the book-style foldable category as we know it today. No small feat. A couple of years later, the Galaxy Z Fold 3 debuted with stylus support, which was also another major milestone in foldable phone innovation, but that was two years ago.

“In the short term, a significant transformation for book-style foldables in terms of hardware is not expected.” Wong told CNET in an email. “Nevertheless, we do see favorable use cases like navigation for this form factor. Thus, software optimization will still be one of the good directions for this particular product.”

Flipping into the future

Clamshell-style phones have come a long way since the trendy gadgets first broke onto the scene in the late 1990s. Today large cover screens seem to be a design hallmark for fancy flip phones, with Samsung, Oppo, and Motorola all slapping a bigger display onto the front of their respective flippables. With that change this year, it’s hard to imagine a dramatic evolution of the flip phone design going forward — it seems to have reached a stable point.

“The hardware design and the focus on the larger cover screen is not expected to have a huge change at this stage, as there is a limitation from the hardware aspect, especially when considering that the phone battery’s shape is unlikely to have a significant breakthrough in the short term.” Wong said.

The flip phone has certainly regained its cool factor, but it still has hurdles to clear before becoming mainstream. Device makers will likely focus on bringing improvements to the software and durability of their products, key areas of concern for foldables. Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 5, for instance, has no official IP rating for dust, meaning it can’t withstand dust ingress apart from the hinge dusters brushing particles away. That’s a lot to overlook for a $1,000 phone. Flip phones will also have to compete with established smartphones in terms of performance, price and features (better cameras, for example).

“And that is why we saw Motorola launched both Moto Razr 40 (Motorola Razr 2023 in the US) and Moto Razr 40 Ultra (Motorola Razr Plus), which is a dual-track strategy to attract consumers with lower budget,” Wong added.

Meanwhile, the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and its flippable rivals can enjoy their moment in the spotlight. They may not fully replace regular candy bar-shaped phones anytime soon, but they certainly offer a unique and nostalgic experience for those who appreciate their charm.

Flip phones are back, and it’s their time to shine.

Soundbars and powered speakers are great for regular use. But if you want the best sound possible for your listening experience, you’ll want a pair of passive speakers powered by an AV receiver or amplifier for high quality audio performance. No matter your budget, there’s a set of speakers for you — from the adorable $65 Dayton Audio B652-AIR to the seriously thrilling $999 Bowers & Wilkins 606 S2 Anniversary. You can buy them on their own or use them as a basis for a surround system in the future.

Whether you want to listen to music or even enjoy a movie night these are the best stereo speakers I’ve tested at CNET between $50 and $1,000.

Also consider:

• JBL L82 $2,750: More dynamic than the Q Acoustics 3050i floorstanders and with better vocal articulation than our favorites, the Bowers and Wilkins 606. What they don’t do is razor-sharp imaging — instead these are rock and roll speakers. They’re for kicking back and enjoying your records rather than intensive listening sessions, and for that they’re great. The cheaper JBL L52, at a third of the price, offer a similarly “rock focused” performance and are a much better value.

• Q Acoustics 3050i $1,099: The Q3050i are excellent performers, and relatively slim as far as floorstanding speakers go. While a speaker like the $999 JBL L52 bookshelf may offer more dynamics, these speakers offer great imaging and impressive bass. As a result the Q Acoustics are my current reference speaker in the CNET test labs. At the time of writing they’re listed as out of stock.

The Chromecast Audio was one of the most truly useful gadgets of its time — a dedicated music streamer for under $50 that could also be controlled with your voice. Though you can still purchase the Chromecast Audio, it has been discontinued so long that there are now preschoolers who never saw it in production. I spent all of those years trying to find a suitable replacement, including some kludgy hacks to the Xiaomi Mi Box S, but in the WiiM Pro I finally found what I wanted. While the Pro costs more at $149than the Chromecast ever did, the WiiM Pro can also do more — much more. It’s essentially a Sonos Port — a music streamer that can also distribute an analog source — but with full hi-res support and at one-third of the price.

Though it doesn’t actually replace the Pro, the brand new WiiM Pro Plus picks up where the Pro leaves off, mainly by improving the “simply OK” parts. The WiiM Pro did a lot of things right, but a weak point was its analog input, which had an AM-radio frequency response. The Plus potentially fixes this by adding a TI Burr-Brown Audio PCM1861 ADC to convert an analog signal and squirt it out to other WiiM devices (though not Airplay ones, sadly). While I didn’t have a problem with the sound of the analog output of the WiiM, the Plus adds an even better DAC (AKM 4493SEQ) and upgraded operational amp. It also does DSD, which should please some audiophiles.

Otherwise, the Plus offers everything that the Pro did including Wi-Fi, Ethernet, digital optical and digital coax. The streamer also offers an absolutely comprehensive number of streaming standards. including AirPlay 2, Alexa Casting, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz, Deezer, TuneIn, iHeartRadio and Chromecast built-in. While the Pro is Roon Ready, the company says that certification is coming soon for the updated version.

The WiiM Pro Plus features a comprehensive control app for iOS and Android, but it also ships with a voice-capable remote.

Though most people will be very happy with the performance of the WiiM Pro, the new unit be worth the upgrade for some others. Specifically, If you’re looking to stream a turntable to other rooms, the WiiM Pro Plus looks to be your best option — and it’s still half the price of the Port.

The WiiM Pro plus is available from today for $219.

Lionel Messi is back in action on Friday evening as Inter Miami host Charlotte in a tricky Leagues Cup quarterfinal clash at Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The Leagues Cup is a 47-team knockout tournament that includes every club from both the MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

Having edged past Mexican side Cruz Azul 2-1, thanks to a stunning stoppage-time free-kick from Messi on his Miami debut last month, Inter have since gone on to see off Orlando City and beat FC Dallas via a thrilling penalty shootout to reach this stage of the tournament.

They now come up against a battling Charlotte side, which beat Houston Dynamo with a 2-1 comeback win in the previous round.

Kickoff for Friday’s contest is set for 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT) and will stream on Apple TV’s MLS Season Pass. Here’s everything you need to know on how to watch.

Lionel Messi’s next game: Where and when is Inter Miami CF vs. Charlotte?

This Leagues Cup fixture is set to take place at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday, Aug. 11. Kickoff is at 8:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. PT in the US and Canada. That makes it a 1:30 a.m. BST start in the UK and a 10:30 a.m. AEST kickoff in Australia on Saturday morning.

How can I watch Messi’s MLS and Leagues Cup games?

Apple TV now has a 10-year deal with Major League Soccer and is the exclusive broadcaster of every MLS game in the 2023 season, plus Leagues Cup fixtures in most parts of the world via its MLS Season Pass service.

That means you’ll need an Apple TV Plus or MLS Season Pass subscription to watch this game live.

In the US, MLS Season Pass costs $13 a month or $79 for the season if you’re already a subscriber to the Apple TV Plus streaming service. If you don’t subscribe to Apple TV Plus, the MLS Season Pass costs $15 a month or $99 for the season.

MLS Season Pass subscriptions are also available in more than 100 other countries, including Canada, Mexico, the UK and Australia. For prices outside the US, check here.

Read more: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV: How to Watch Major League Soccer in 2023

You can watch the games on any device that has the Apple TV app, including TVs, phones, tablets and computers. This includes iPhones, iPads, Apple TVs and Macs, as well as smart TVs and streaming devices that run the Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV and Google TV platforms.

If you have a game console, there’s an Apple TV app for Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox Series S and X, and Sony’s PlayStation 4 and PS5. Recent TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony and Vizio also have Apple TV apps. More details on supported devices can be found on Apple’s site.

Though Apple doesn’t have Apple TV apps for Android phones and tablets or Windows computers, it does let you stream its shows and MLS games using a web browser by going to tv.apple.com.

How to watch Inter Miami CF vs. Charlotte online from anywhere using a VPN

While MLS Season Pass is available in most parts of the world, there are some exceptions. If you find yourself in a country where you’re unable to view either service locally, you may need a different way to watch Messi play — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to encrypt your traffic to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day, and it’s 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. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.

Using a VPN to watch or stream live sports events is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Australia, 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.

Quick tips for streaming Inter Miami CF vs. Charlotte using a VPN

• With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming this match live 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 in to 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 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 in to your services. We normally recommend Brave.

Sure, your TV screen may be the first thing people notice about your entertainment hub, but it’s sound quality that completes a proper home theater setup. Whether you want to invest in the best surround sound system you can get in order to transform your entertainment space or you just want something simple that will boast a big impact, there are plenty of great immersive audio options out there. And when it comes to buying a home theater sound system — from AV receivers and multispeaker setups to simpler-yet-still-powerful soundbars — we’ve got you covered.

Soundbars offer a lot of performance in a compact package and cost much less to get up and running than a speaker system. You can even choose one with advanced features like Dolby Atmos and Wi-Fi streaming. Some soundbars offer an upgrade path including optional subwoofers and rear speakers, though if you want to truly mix and match speakers, an AV receiver is for you.

Receivers offer a lot in the box and, unlike soundbars, they have plenty of HDMI inputs to accommodate different sources. You can even start with just a couple of stereo speakers — and I did this for a couple of years without feeling I was missing out. Yet, given you can get a full 5.1.4 Klipsch system for under $500 you don’t really need to wait.

Whatever route you decide to go with — soundbars or AV systems — there should be something here that will improve your home entertainment experience. These are the best home theater systems available right now. We’ll update this list periodically as we review new products.

Chromebooks, or laptops that run on Google’s ChromeOS, have been around for more than a decade and have gone from basic internet appliances to excellent laptops for personal or professional use. Their user-friendly nature makes them a good option for schools, businesses and for people who are less tech-savvy.

But a lot of negative ideas about Chromebooks have circulated over the last 10 years too, including the fallacy that you can’t use them offline and that the devices are underpowered. Some of these critiques may have been true when Chromebooks were first released, but they have since been corrected or improved upon.

Here are eight Chromebook misconceptions to ignore when looking for a new laptop.

1. Chromebooks are underpowered

This is a common misconception that dates back to the Chromebook’s launch, when it was mainly used for accessing the internet via the Chrome browser. As more people started using Chromebooks, including for school and business, Google increased the functionality of the operating system and Chromebook makers improved their performance to take advantage of new features. Now, like other laptops, you get what you pay for with a Chromebook.

ChromeOS, the Chromebook operating system, still has low hardware requirements, though. This means Chromebooks can provide basic functionality for less money. Despite the low hardware requirements, Chromebooks can perform as well as — and in some cases better than — similarly priced Windows laptops.

“New Windows laptops for $200 are few and far between and, frankly, are rarely worth buying,” CNET’s Joshua Goldman writes. “Finding a good $200 Chromebook, on the other hand, is pretty easy to do… Premium Chromebooks typically start between $400 and $500, but can easily run more than $1,000 depending on your needs.”

The Lenovo Duet 3, for example, is $379, and it can stream videos, run almost any Android app and be used for cloud gaming via Nvidia GeForce Now or Xbox Cloud Gaming. Other premium Chromebooks, like the CNET Editor’s Choice award-winning Acer Chromebook Spin 714, are more expensive, but they can have up to 10 hours of battery life. They can also stream videos and handle productivity apps like Slack with ease.

2. You can only use Chrome on Chromebooks

It’s understandable — yet incorrect — to think that Chromebooks, which run on ChromeOS, can only use a Chrome browser. You can run other browsers, like Brave and Firefox, on your Chromebook.

To use these browsers, you need to download the apps from the Google Play Store. While those apps are meant for Android phones, they will work on your Chromebook. Some apps have tablet support so they look cleaner and use the additional space on the screen of your Chromebook. Their windows can also be resized just like traditional desktop software.

3. Chromebooks aren’t safe to use

Chromebooks have multiple layers of protection to keep your data safe. For example, you’ll get automatic updates from Google so your device always has the latest patches. Chromebooks also run individual websites and apps in sandboxes to contain threats.

These security features make Chromebooks more secure than many other laptops. According to CVE Details, a security vulnerability datasource, ChromeOS has had about 50 security vulnerabilities since 2010. In comparison, Windows 10 has had almost 3,000 vulnerabilities since 2013.

4. Chromebooks don’t work offline

While the first models were designed to be used online only, Google changed that long ago so that many Chromebook apps will work with or without an internet connection. You can use your Chromebook to take notes, watch movies and listen to music when offline. You can even check and respond to emails or view, edit or create documents in Google Drive. In these cases, whatever emails you are sending or changes you are making to documents won’t go through until you reconnect to the internet.

5. You can’t game on Chromebooks

Years ago you could only play web-based games on your Chromebook but since 2016, you can play many of the games in the Google Play Store. That includes games like Roblox and Apex Legends Mobile. You can also play games from Steam, Nvidia’s GeForce Now, Amazon Luna and Xbox Cloud Gaming on your Chromebook.

Google is even selling Chromebooks made for cloud gaming. The Acer Chromebook 516 GE, Asus Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip and Lenovo Ideapad Gaming Chromebook are the first three gaming Chromebooks that let anyone play AAA computer games without a high-end gaming PC using cloud services.

6. Chromebooks aren’t good for photo or video editing

For basic editing, the Google Play Store has a number of photo and video editing apps, including Adobe’s Android apps and LumaFusion, which are Chromebook-compatible. Google also unveiled a new video editor and movie maker in Google Photos in July.

If you’re a business professional and need more advanced photo- or video-editing capabilities, like Adobe InDesign or Photoshop, you’ll still want a Windows, Mac or Linux laptop. However, if you are putting together a family photo album or a video for a family reunion, Chromebooks have everything you need.

7. Chromebooks can’t run Microsoft Office

Yes, you can run Microsoft Office on your Chromebook. However, instead of using the software suite made for Windows or MacOS, you’ll use Microsoft’s Office progressive web apps, or PWAs.

PWAs are like the mobile versions of websites, but they give you more features, like offline use and push notifications. There are PWAs for Microsoft Office 365 that work great on Chromebooks. Besides having to download the PWAs, using them is the same as using the web versions of Office 365. Microsoft Office power users might find that Office PWAs aren’t as robust as the desktop software, but the PWAs will likely meet most people’s needs.

8. You can’t use Windows on a Chromebook

This one is half true. While you can’t install Windows onto your Chromebook, you can access the operating system via remote access. You can use remote computer access tools, like Parallels for Chrome or Chrome’s Remote Desktop, to connect your Chromebook to a Windows computer.

Parallels lets you run full-featured Windows applications and is mainly meant for business users. Chrome’s Remote Desktop takes minutes to set up and can be used to access Windows — or Mac — software on your Chromebook. Is this cheating? Maybe, but I won’t tell if you won’t.

For more on Chromebooks, check out these eight Chromebooks for any budget and how to see which Chromebooks are about to expire. You can also check out how to run Windows Office on your Chromebook.

Tablets are ultra convenient thanks to their portability and versatility. If you’re shopping for one of these nifty devices, but need a budget-friendly option, Amazon’s Fire Max 11 tablet is a solid iPad-alternative that offers some great features without breaking the bank. It regularly lists for $230, but Amazon has slashed the price by $40 right now, meaning you can get your hands on one for just $190. We don’t know how long this offer will last, so we recommend making your purchase sooner rather than later.

The Fire Max 11 has an impressive 11-inch display with a 2,000×1,200 screen resolution and it comes equipped with 4GB of memory and 64GB of storage. If that’s too little for your needs, don’t fret. You can expand your storage up to 1TB with a microSD card — though you will have to buy one separately. The tablet has also upgraded to an aluminum body, rather than the plastic design of previous iterations. It’s also compatible with Wi-Fi 6, has Amazon Alexa and has optimal battery life, lasting up to 14 hours per charge. And if you need to use your tablet for video calls, it has an 8-megapixel camera, too. For those of you looking for a workstation, you can grab both a keyboard case and a stylus pen for this model, though they are each sold separately.

It’s worth noting that this is an ad-supported model, which means advertisements will appear when the device is locked. However, you can always opt out later by paying a one-time fee through your Amazon account. Also note that Google Play is not supported on Fire tablets. If you want to see what else is out there, be sure to check out our roundup of the best tablet deals happening now.