Motorola revealed its latest budget 4G-only Moto G Stylus earlier in May. Now the brand has announced the Moto G Stylus 5G for folks who want the penlike accessory and connectivity to next-gen networks, and the latest version is $100 cheaper than its 5G predecessor from a year ago.
Compared with its current lineup, the Moto G Stylus 5G has better specs than its $200 4G-only sibling, but it comes in at double the price. The G Stylus 5G retails for $400 and will be available at Cricket on June 2 with wider support to follow at AT&T, T-Mobile, Metro by T-Mobile, Google Fi Wireless, UScellular, Consumer Cellular, Optimum Mobile, Spectrum Mobile, Xfinity Mobile, Boost Infinite and Boost Mobile. The phone can be bought unlocked on June 16 at Amazon.com, Best Buy and Motorola.com.
The Moto G Stylus 5G’s improvements over the Moto G Stylus include a Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 processor over a MediaTek Helio G85 chipset and 256GB of storage to start (double the Moto G Stylus’ 128GB of storage), which can be expanded via microSD. Both phones have 4GB of RAM. The new G Stylus 5G has a 6.6-inch 720p display with a higher 120Hz refresh rate than the 90Hz refresh rate of its 4G-only sibling’s 720p screen.
David Lumb/CNET
The G Stylus 5G has a better camera array than its 4G sibling, too. Both have a 50-megapixel main shooter, but the pricier phone has an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera rather than a 2-megapixel macro depth sensor. The pricier G Stylus 5G has a 16-megapixel front-facing camera, which is expected to take sharper photos than the G Stylus’ 8-megapixel selfie camera.
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The stylus functionality is identical between the phones.
In this year’s lineup, the $400 Moto G Stylus 5G is priced higher than its budget siblings, the $200 Moto G Stylus and the $250 Moto G 5G. Motorola has shuffled around its prices and features for 2023 — last year, it was the Moto G 5G that cost $400, and both the Moto G Stylus 5G and the 4G-only Moto G Stylus had cost $100 more. To get those cost savings, the new Moto G Stylus 5G has slightly downgraded features compared with its predecessor, like only 4GB of RAM instead of 8GB.
For a lot of us, our workstation is where we spend the majority of our day, and having a monitor with plenty of customization options can help you stay ready for anything. The 27-inch LG Libero Monitor is a solid option that can stand or hang and uses minimal desk space so you have more room to get things done. It usually lists for $500, but right now Amazon has marked it down to just $297 — that’s a $203 savings. We don’t know how long this offer will last, so we recommend making your purchase sooner rather than later.
This monitor sports a sizable 27-inch QHD IPS display with a 2,560×1,440 resolution, a 16:9 aspect ratio and support for HDR10, giving it a nice picture for work or play. It also has built-in stereo speakers and comes with a detachable HD webcam with an integrated mic and a privacy cover, as well as a two-way mount so that you can use the monitor standing or hanging, depending on your preference. In addition to the DC power input, this monitor has a USB-C port with up to 65-watt power delivery, an HDMI port and a headphone/microphone port.
Apple Pencil deals crop up fairly frequently, which is welcome news for iPad owners. Apple devices generally don’t go on sale all that often, but this useful iPad accessory has seen quite a few price drops, so there’s usually a good chance you can avoid paying full price for one.
Apple’s sleek stylus offers precise pressure sensitivity and is designed to pair seamlessly with Apple’s tablets for a fluid experience. This premium tech doesn’t come cheap, though, with prices starting at $99. That’s why we’ve scoured the web to bring you the very best Apple Pencil deals available so you can get one in your hands for less. We’ve also gathered up some of the best alternatives out there in case you’re looking for an even more affordable option.
Below is a current breakdown of the best Apple Pencil deals available right now, with a quick look at historic low pricing for both models.
Apple Pencil pricing 2023
Model
Apple Store price
Best price right now
Best all-time price
Apple Pencil (1st gen)
$99
$89
$70
Apple Pencil (2nd gen)
$129
$114
$85
Beyond the Apple Pencil, there are a few great Apple Pencil alternatives that are also worth considering, and there are frequent deals on those, which we’ve highlighted farther down the page.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Best Apple Pencil (1st gen) deals
Apple’s first-gen Apple Pencil was originally released in November 2015 and has stuck around since then. At its debut, it worked only with the first iPad Pro model before support was added to subsequent models. It has a Lightning connector built into the end for charging the Apple Pencil right from your iPad and has a removable tip that can be changed out after your current one starts to get worn down.
The first-gen Apple Pencil is compatible with all pre-2018 iPad Pro models, the iPad Air 3, the iPad Mini 2019 and all base-model iPads since 2018. It’s also the one to get to use with the new 2022 10th generation iPad. Awkwardly, there are two versions of the first-gen Apple Pencil for sale at most retailers: one with a Lightning adapter and one with a USB-C adapter. Other than the adapter, the Apple Pencil is exactly the same, so the deciding factor between them is purely how you wish to charge the device back up. The USB-C version hasn’t been on the market as long and tends not to be discounted. Here are the best first-gen Pencil deals you can buy right now.
Amazon, Walmart and B&H all have the first-generation Apple Pencil available for $89 right now, which saves you $10 compared to the Apple Store price. It comes with the USB-C adapter, which is required to pair with the newest iPad model. We have seen it go as low as $70 in the past and deals dropping it under $80 aren’t too infrequent, so if you can hold off you might get a better price within the next few months.
The second-gen Apple Pencil was launched in October 2018 alongside the third-gen iPad Pro, and while it may look similar on the surface, there are quite a few differences between the two models. One big difference is that the Apple Pencil 2 charges magnetically while attached to newer iPads, meaning there’s no Lightning connector. The design is slightly refined as well, with one flat side that’s used to charge and a sensor near the tip that enables double-tap features.
The second-gen Apple Pencil works with all 11- and 12.9-inch iPad Pros (2018 and later models), as well as newer iPad Air (2020 and 2022) models and the iPad Mini 6. Here are the best Apple Pencil 2 deals you can get right now.
A few retailers have the Apple Pencil 2 listed at $114 right now, which is $15 less than Apple charges for it. With regular price drops under $100 in the last six months, and the price falling as low as $85 just weeks ago, it’s hard to recommend nabbing one at this price unless you really need it right away. Chances are, steeper discounts will be coming down the pike.
While the Apple Pencil offers one of the best experiences when paired with the iPad, it may not be the best choice for everyone. There are a number of cheaper Apple Pencil alternatives that you can take a look at. Here are some of the best ones that are on sale right now.
The Logitech Crayon works with just about every iPad out there, unlike the Apple Pencil, where you have to worry about which iPad model you have to ensure you buy the right one. It doesn’t have the fancy instant pairing or magnetic charging, but other than that it works very similarly to the Apple Pencil for a fraction of the price. It’s $10 off at Amazon right now.
This stylus is a great cheap alternative to the Apple Pencil if you want the overall style of the Pencil without the price tag. It has removable tips, can be turned on and off and even recharges via USB-C. It lists for $40, but you can grab select colors for as little as $25 right now at Amazon.
Zagg’s Pro Stylus also offers an Apple Pencil-like experience for less. It features palm rejection and tilt-recognition tech like Apple’s option, offers automatic pairing and even attaches magnetically to the side of your iPad Pro or iPad Air (though you’ll need to charge it via USB-C).
This stylus pen has a nice sleek design and offers a black option that Apple does not currently have for its Pencil models. It offers up to 12 hours of battery per charge, and a 4-minute charge can give you an extra hour of battery life. It uses Micro-USB for charging and can charge and write at the same time. There aren’t any discounts on this stylus at the moment, but it’s still a solid value at less than $50.
Apple Pencil vs. Apple Pencil 2: Which should you buy?
The decision here is simple: You have to buy the one that’s compatible with your iPad. Apple does not let you pick which Apple Pencil you want to use with which iPad. Instead, iPads are only compatible with a specific model of the Apple Pencil.
As outlined above, the original Apple Pencil works with the first- and second-gen 12.9-inch iPad Pro, 10.5-inch iPad Pro, 9.7-inch iPad Pro, iPad Air 3 and fifth-gen iPad Mini, and all of the base-model iPads since the sixth-gen model. If you have a newer iPad Pro, fourth- or fifth-gen iPad Air or the sixth-gen iPad Mini, you’ll need to opt for the Apple Pencil 2.
If you want to avoid this confusion, you can select from one of the non-Apple alternatives listed above, which generally have broader compatibility.
ExpressVPN and Surfshark are two of CNET’s best VPN picks, both earning Editors’ Choice designations. ExpressVPN is CNET’s Editors’ Choice for best overall VPN, and Surfshark is CNET’s Editors’ Choice for best value VPN. Both are excellent options for anyone who wants a VPN that offers first-rate privacy protections, but can also reliably handle geoblocks when streaming content online.
This comparison between ExpressVPN and Surfshark is based on extensive testing and thorough evaluations of each service’s overall value, privacy features and speeds. I conducted hundreds of individual speed tests for each provider to multiple locations and through multiple VPN protocols and platforms, along with leak tests and kill switch tests. I also carefully evaluated each provider’s features, privacy policy, terms of service, transparency efforts and customer support.
Both are first-class VPN providers, but ExpressVPN edges Surfshark in this head-to-head. Read on to find out why.
Savings 49% off with 12-mo plan (+3 free months)Latest tests No leaks detected, 2% speed loss in spring 2022 testsNetwork 3,000-plus servers in 160 locations across 94 countriesJurisdiction British Virgin Islands
ExpressVPN is currently CNET’s top overall VPN pick due to its strong commitment to privacy and transparency, excellent speeds and streaming capabilities. If you have critical online privacy needs, ExpressVPN is the way to go. But if you want to unblock a world of streaming options, ExpressVPN is the one for the job, too. Its interface is minimalist and easy to use across platforms, but has a lot of options for customization from its Preferences menu. ExpressVPN is a well-rounded service that performs admirably for virtually any VPN use case, whether you’re a beginner or advanced VPN user. It leans a tad toward the expensive side, but if you want a top-notch VPN experience it’s worth it — even if you only get five simultaneous connections.
Savings $2.49/mo with 24-mo plan (+2 free months)Latest tests Zero data leaks and 19% internet speed loss in fall 2022 testsNetwork 3,200-plus in 99 countriesJurisdiction Netherlands
If you’re looking for a VPN that provides the most value for your money, Surfshark is the VPN for you. Despite its budget-friendly pricing, Surfshark is loaded with features, provides a few unique privacy protections and unblocks more Netflix libraries than you can count. Surfshark is a relative newcomer to the industry, compared to ExpressVPN, but it has already made a name for itself in the highly competitive VPN market. I’m impressed with how Surfshark continues to innovate and work toward improving its service on multiple fronts — and hoping it can continue to offer its favorable pricing.
Speed winner: ExpressVPN by a wide margin, thanks to Surfshark’s inconsistency and sputtering OpenVPN speeds
Finding the fastest VPN is a priority for most VPN users, so we put VPNs through rigorous speed testing. In my most recent speed tests in the first quarter of 2023, I registered an 18% average speed loss with ExpressVPN and an average 40% speed loss with Surfshark.
ExpressVPN was consistently speedy regardless of which protocol, device or location I tested it through. The only other VPN that performed more consistently during my most recent speed tests was NordVPN. The best speed performance I got out of ExpressVPN was through the OpenVPN protocol from my testing location in Hungary, where I registered a 9% speed loss compared to my base speeds. The best speed performance I got through WireGuard with ExpressVPN was from my other testing location in Ohio, where I registered an 11% speed loss. And with ExpressVPN upgrading its server fleet to 10Gbps servers, I’m hoping to see even faster and more consistent speeds from the provider in the future.
Surfshark’s speeds through the WireGuard VPN protocol from Ohio were excellent, causing my speeds to dip a mere 8% below my base internet speeds — above the top speeds I saw from ExpressVPN. However, Surfshark’s speeds through the OpenVPN protocol on my Windows laptop were abysmal, cutting my base speeds by a whopping 76%. And that’s the core issue, here. While Surfshark sometimes offered good speeds, I never knew what to expect from different protocols or devices.
I have found that VPN speeds through Windows machines tend to be marginally slower across the board than they typically are through a Mac, but other VPNs I tested through Windows didn’t register such a dramatic drop in speeds as Surfshark did. Losing more than three quarters of your base speed can be a real downer if you’re a gamer, torrenter or like to stream content. That said, Surfshark’s OpenVPN speeds through my Mac were fairly respectable (34% speed loss), though not overly impressive. Still, the inconsistent nature of Surfshark’s overall speed performance was a major disappointment.
If you want to optimize your speeds with Surfshark, I recommend connecting through the WireGuard protocol, especially if you’re a Windows user. Surfshark tells me that its development team is working on the issue, so hopefully OpenVPN speeds will improve in the future.
Cost winner: Surfshark, thanks to its impressive suite of features at a significantly lower price
ExpressVPN is, by all measures, a premium VPN service. It’s top of the line when it comes to speed, privacy, features and unblocking capabilities. And, compared to the competition, it’s expensive. ExpressVPN’s most cost-effective subscription plan is its annual plan, which costs $100 per year. You can also opt for either a biannual plan for $60 every six months or a monthly plan for $13 per month.
For that price, you get five simultaneous connections, access to a global network of servers spanning 94 countries, 24/7 live chat customer support, an easy-to-use app for all of your devices and unparalleled streaming capabilities. Additionally, you’ll eventually get access to ExpressVPN’s password manager, Keys, at no additional cost, once it exits beta and is rolled out universally to all users.
Surfshark is far easier on the pocketbook than ExpressVPN. Though Surfshark’s monthly pricing is equal to that of ExpressVPN at $13 per month, its yearly rate is considerably cheaper at $48 for the first year (then $60 per year) — a savings of $40 per year after the promo pricing ends. And while we don’t recommend committing to any VPN provider for more than a year due to the volatile nature of the industry on the whole, you can get your first two years with Surfshark for $60 total (which then renews annually at $60).
If you go with Surfshark’s annual plan, you get a feature set comparable to ExpressVPN, for a fraction of the cost. And unlike ExpressVPN’s meager simultaneous connection limit of five, Surfshark allows for an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. In addition to that, you’ll get access to servers in 100 different countries, 24/7 live chat customer support, an ad and malware blocker, cookie popup blocker and split tunneling. And Surfshark’s streaming capabilities are constantly improving, putting the provider nearly on the same level as ExpressVPN in that regard. With Surfshark, you can unblock an impressive number of international Netflix libraries. And, following our previous Surfshark review, the provider improved significantly in its ability to reliably unblock Disney Plus.
Among CNET’s top VPN picks, ExpressVPN and Surfshark occupy opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to cost — NordVPN, Proton VPN and IPVanish fall somewhere in between. With ExpressVPN you get the quality that you pay for, and with Surfshark, you get tremendous value for the comparatively low price you pay (if you sign up for a longer-term subscription). Sure, ExpressVPN is well worth its premium price tag, but if you’re a casual VPN user who doesn’t necessarily need every bit of what ExpressVPN offers, Surfshark is more than capable of providing everything you need in a VPN at a lower cost.
Privacy and security winner: ExpressVPN, thanks to its TrustedServer technology and unmatched transparency efforts
ExpressVPN and Surfhark both offer excellent privacy for VPN users. Like CNET’s other top VPN picks, ExpressVPN and Surfshark both offer industry-standard (and virtually uncrackable) AES 256-bit encryption to protect users’ traffic. They both also offer standard privacy protections like a kill switch, DNS leak protection, no-logging policy and a RAM-only diskless server infrastructure. Both providers’ kill switch and DNS leak protection worked flawlessly during my testing. It’s a tight race here, but if I had to choose one for critical privacy needs, I would choose ExpressVPN.
ExpressVPN’s TrustedServer technology builds on top of the concept of a RAM-only diskless server infrastructure. ExpressVPN’s servers run on volatile memory, meaning that user data is never stored on a hard disk and is wiped when the server is turned off or rebooted. This makes it difficult for anyone to collect user information. And with TrustedServer, the entire software stack is completely reinstalled whenever an ExpressVPN server starts up. ExpressVPN says that this process helps mitigate risks of introducing vulnerabilities or misconfiguration.
TrustedServer, along with ExpressVPN’s apps, browser extension, router, VPN protocols and no-logs policy have all been independently audited in the past year. The company’s 12 independent audits in 2022 are a testament to its commitment to transparency and go well above and beyond what most of its other peers in the VPN industry offer.
That said, Surfshark’s Nexus network technology is a neat innovation that includes features that help boost user privacy. Through the Nexus network, you can route your VPN connection through multiple servers of your choosing at once on Surfshark’s network, rather than just one server or a preset combination of two servers. This helps add an extra layer of protection. In addition to Surfshark’s Dynamic MultiHop, the Nexus network offers other innovative privacy features like an IP Rotator that periodically changes your IP address without disconnecting from the VPN and an IP Randomizer that changes your IP address each time you visit a new website. ExpressVPN currently doesn’t offer multihop connections or IP rotator/randomizer features.
ExpressVPN and Surfshark compared
ExpressVPN
Surfshark
Price
$13 per month, $60 per 6 months, $100 per year
$13 per month, $48 for the first year (then $60 annually)
Avg. % speed loss
18%
40%
Server network
3,000 servers in 94 countries
3,200-plus servers in 100 countries
Encryption
AES 256-bit
AES 256-bit
VPN protocols
OpenVPN, Lightway, IKEv2
OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2/IPSec
Jurisdiction
British Virgin Islands
Netherlands
Compatibility
Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, iOS, Fire TV, routers
MacOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android, Fire TV, routers
Simultaneous connections
5
Unlimited
Bottom line
ExpressVPN is for you if you need a VPN that can protect your privacy in situations where your online privacy is a critical consideration. The VPN’s TrustedServer technology, privacy-friendly jurisdiction in the British Virgin Islands and comprehensive list of independent security audits help reinforce its commitment to user privacy. Whether you need privacy in the face of online surveillance, or if you’re a doctor, lawyer, journalist, dissident, whistleblower, activist or anyone else who requires heightened online privacy, then ExpressVPN is the way to go.
Or if you’re a casual VPN user simply looking for a fast VPN that’s easy to use and can unblock a world of streaming options while hiding your activity from your ISP, then ExpressVPN is a great option too — as long as you don’t mind paying the premium.
On the other hand, if you’re a casual user on a budget and want a VPN that can get the job done for less, Surfshark could be the VPN for you. Though Surfshark isn’t quite at the level that ExpressVPN is in terms of privacy protections and transparency, Surfshark has a few unique privacy features like MultiHop and IP Rotator/Randomizer that may appeal to certain users who want to add an extra layer of protection to their traffic. However, Windows users who prefer connecting through OpenVPN for privacy may want to opt for ExpressVPN due to Surfshark’s speed issues through OpenVPN on Windows.
And because Surfshark offers unlimited simultaneous connections, it’s also an excellent option for folks with lots of connected devices or anyone with a large family or group of friends they want to share an account with.
FAQs
Which VPN is better, ExpressVPN or Surfshark?
It depends on what you want out of your VPN. If price is your primary concern when choosing a VPN, go with Surfshark. If you have lots of devices you want to connect at once, Surfshark would be the best choice again. If critical privacy is your main concern, go with ExpressVPN. For the best overall speeds and the best geoblock circumvention, go with ExpressVPN too.
Is the price difference worth it?
If your online privacy is of critical importance, then yes, the higher price you pay for ExpressVPN is worth it. Also, if you want the best possible speeds across platforms and protocols, for streaming and torrenting, the price difference is worth it. If you’re a casual user who doesn’t require all of that and doesn’t want to pay a premium for their VPN, Surfshark is a worthy alternative that shouldn’t be considered a downgrade.
Can you try ExpressVPN or Surfshark for free?
Neither ExpressVPN nor Surfshark officially offer a free trial at this time. However, if you download and sign up for either service through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, you can activate a seven-day free trial. Just remember to cancel your trial before the seven days is up if you don’t want to continue with the service, to avoid getting charged. Both Surfshark and ExpressVPN offer 30-day money-back guarantees as well. If you purchase a subscription and decide that you’re not satisfied for whatever reason, you can request a full refund within the first 30 days of purchase.
With summer almost here and the great outdoors beckoning, it’s a great time to consider upgrading your running headphones. Whether you’re hitting the trails or running in a busy metropolitan area, having an awareness of your surroundings is important, which is why bone conduction headphones have risen in popularity in recent years. With an open-ear design, you can still hear the world around you while listening to your music which is ideal for a variety of environments. Shokz, formerly known as AfterShokz, makes a variety of our favorite bone conduction headphone models, and you can save as much as 23% on them for a limited time.
The flagship model, the Shokz OpenRun Pro, are our top pick. They are on the pricey end with a retail price of $180, but you can save $40 on a set right now and nab them for their best price to date. They’re lightweight and feature an impressive 10-hour battery life, plus they’re IP55-rated for protection against sweat and rain. Importantly, they also sound great with improved bass performance compared to other bone-conduction headphones.
If you don’t want to spend $140, the midrange OpenRun model is also on sale. Down to $100 from a $130 list price, this is the best price of the year so far. The OpenRun headphones don’t offer quite the level of sound quality as the Pro version, and the battery life is a little shorter at eight hours, but they do actually have a better water-resistance rating at IP67 making them ideal for intense workouts or activities like kayaking.
And if you just want to give bone conduction headphones a try without committing a ton of cash, the entry-level Shokz OpenMove are the most affordable option in the sale at just $65. Usually $80, these aren’t a premium headphone option but we like them as a budget pick as they have decent sound quality, a comfortable fit, USB-C charging and up to six hours of battery life.
The streaming landscape is constantly changing, which means you can’t guarantee that you’ll always have access to your favorite shows and movies. But with Plex Plass, you can build your own digital media library, so you can take your collection of movies and shows, as well as music and photos, with you anywhere. And right now, you can save 20% on a lifetime pass with the promo code POWERGEEK, which drops the one-time cost down to just $96. This offer is only available for today, so be sure to get signed up soon if you don’t want to miss out on these savings.
With Plex Pass, you essentially get to create your own individual streaming service. Once you upload your shows, movies or other digital media to your Plex server, you’ll be able to access them on any device with the Plex app, including your phone, laptop, tablet and smart TV. You can even download them to your devices for offline viewing wherever and whenever. Plus, it’s easy to stay organized with the ability to create your own custom collections. You also get some other features with a Plex Pass, including access to over 600 live TV channels, as well as a library of free shows and movies.
And if you’re looking for more ways to save on streaming, you can check out our full roundup of all the best streaming service deals for even more bargains.
Even though Meta’s Quest 3 hasn’t been announced yet, it’s already making waves in the mixed reality headset space. That’s according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who got a first look at the headset.
By the looks of it, the Quest 3, the latest headset model, could challenge Apple’s new mixed reality headset that the iPhone maker will unveil in June and carve out its own portion of the AR/VR market, according to Bloomberg.
Meta is expected to unveil the headset in October, months after Apple unveils a headset model of its own. With a price within the same range as the Quest 2 at around $400, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed, the Quest 3 could be a cheaper competitor to Apple’s headset, which, according to industry experts, is likely to cost $3,000.
“With headsets, Apple will immediately own the upscale market — headsets that cost more than $2,000 — but Meta will remain dominant in the cheaper segment,” Gurman said.
Tech companies are investing in VR headsets, with plenty of models that have already arrived, from the PlayStation VR 2 to the Vive XR Elite. CNET’s Scott Stein has written that amid all the VR/XR hype, the star of 2023 could be the Quest 3. Stein also recommended waiting it out to buy a headset, if you’re in the market for one, until Meta releases its Quest 3 in fall.
Gurman highlighted the Quest 3’s improved video pass-through capabilities in comparison with the Quest 2, its faster performance and large content library as a few reasons the product will come out on top of the headset rivalry. The headset doesn’t seem to have eye or face tracking features, as speculated.
But it isn’t just the most expensive, flashiest phones you can get, as AT&T also offers a great lineup of more affordable devices, including the Google Pixel 6A and the Samsung Galaxy A54 5G — both of which are 5G-enabled for taking advantage of those super fast data speeds.
Read on to learn more about the best AT&T phone for meeting your particular smartphone needs, and check out our tips for how to buy a new phone.
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This advertising widget is powered by Navi and contains advertisements that Navi may be paid for in different ways. You will not be charged for engaging with this advertisement. While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, this advertising widget does not include information about every product or service that may be available to you. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information in the featured advertisements is up to date, each advertiser featured in this widget is responsible for the accuracy and availability of its offer details. It is possible that your actual offer terms from an advertiser may be different than the offer terms in this advertising widget and the advertised offers may be subject to additional terms and conditions of the advertiser which will be presented to you prior to making a purchase. All information is presented without any warranty or guarantee to you.
Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max introduce sweeping changes like the Dynamic Island, a new 48-megapixel camera system and Apple’s new A16 Bionic processor. All of these upgrades come together to make for an experience that feels fresh and fast compared to older generations.
Google’s Pixel 7 Pro packs great cameras and slick software into a refreshed design that makes it one of the best phones launched in the last couple of years. We liked it so much we awarded it a CNET Editors’ Choice award for its combination of excellent all-round performance and slightly more affordable price.
The Galaxy S23 is a lot, but in a good way. It’s more than most people need in a phone, but that doesn’t make it any less impressive. Samsung made improvements to the camera’s resolution (200 megapixels compared with 108 megapixels), color tones and dynamic range, while retaining the same edgy design and massive 6.8-inch screen as its predecessor. There’s also a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor that’s been optimized specifically for Samsung’s phones, which brings faster performance compared with the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Starting at $1,200, it may be an understatement to call this phone expensive. But those willing to pay more for a giant screen and a high-quality, versatile camera won’t be disappointed. Read our full review of the Galaxy S23 Ultra.
Google’s Pixel 6A punches above its weight when it comes to camera quality, design and screen size. It’s the best under-$500 Android phone you can get, and though it’s not Google’s flagship, the 6A is all most people need in a phone.
Though it’s one of the cheapest phones you can buy from Samsung, the Galaxy A54 stills packs great features, like 5G connectivity, a decent multiple rear camera setup, solid battery life and power enough for your everyday essentials. It looks pretty, too, and it’s one of the few remaining phones that lets you expand the built-in storage using microSD cards.
It’s a great all-round budget phone, although generally we found that the Pixel 6A offers better camera and processor performance, and it costs less than the Samsung.
With a candy-bar design that folds down on itself to become a smaller square, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 offers a much more compact footprint than the Z Fold 4. It makes it easier to slide into a tight pocket when not in use, but it still folds out to offer a sizable 6.7-inch display when you need it.
Like the Z Fold 4, the Flip line has seen revisions over the years with improvements to its hinge system and reduction in crease marks in its display. It’s got a new camera system too, along with a larger outer display that shows incoming notifications.
It’s pricey, sure, and its battery life could be better but it’s a fun phone and one we’ve enjoyed using.
If you’re looking for a good budget phone that comes with a basic stylus and support for 5G, then the Moto G Stylus 5 is a great pick. The cell phone features a stylus that you can store inside the phone along with a built-in Notes app to help with productivity. This phone also offers a triple-rear camera, 128GB of internal storage and a robust 4,000-mAh battery.
Today’s most glamorous, attention-getting AI tools — OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing, Google’s Bard and Adobe’s Photoshop, for example — run in data centers stuffed with powerful, expensive servers. But Intel on Monday revealed details of its forthcoming Meteor Lake PC processor that could help your laptop play more of a part in the artificial intelligence revolution.
Meteor Lake, scheduled to ship in computers later this year, includes circuitry that accelerates some AI tasks that otherwise might sap your battery. For example, it can improve AI that recognizes you to blur or replace backgrounds better during videoconferences, said John Rayfield, leader of Intel’s client AI work.
AI models use methods inspired by human brains to recognize patterns in complex, real-world data. By running AI on a laptop or phone processor instead of in the cloud, you can get benefits like better privacy and security as well as a snappier response since you don’t have network delays.
What’s unclear is how much AI work will really move from the cloud to PCs. Some software, like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom, use AI extensively for finding people, skies and other subject matter in photos and many other image editing tasks. Apps can recognize your voice and transcribe it into text. Microsoft is building an AI chatbot called Windows Copilot straight into its operating system. But most computing work today exercises more traditional parts of a processor, its central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) cores.
There’s a build-it-and-they-will come possibility. Adding AI acceleration directly into the chip, as has already happened with smartphone processors and Apple M-series Mac processors, could encourage developers to write more software drawing on AI abilities.
GPUs are already pretty good for accelerating AI, though, and developers don’t have to wait for millions of us to upgrade our Windows PCs to take advantage of it. The GPU offers top AI performance on a PC, but the new AI-specific accelerator is good for low power, Rayfield said. Both can be used simultaneously for top performance, too.
Meteor Lake a key chip for Intel
Meteor Lake is important for other reasons, too. It’s designed for lower power operations, arguably the single biggest competitive weakness compared with the Apple M-series processors. It’s got upgraded graphics acceleration, which is critical for gaming and important for some AI tasks, too.
The processor also is key to Intel’s yearslong turnaround effort. It’s the first big chip to be built with Intel 4, a new manufacturing process essential to catching up with chipmaking leaders Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and Samsung. And it employs new advanced manufacturing technology called Foveros that lets Intel stack multiple “chiplets” more flexibly and economically into a single more powerful processor.
These days, a variation called generative AI can create realistic imagery and human-sounding text. Although Meteor Lake can run one such image generator, Stable Diffusion, large AI language models like ChatGPT simply don’t fit on a laptop.
There’s a lot of work to change that, though. Facebook’s LLaMA and Google’s PaLM 2 both are large language models designed to scale down to smaller “client” devices like PCs and even phones with much less memory.
“AI in the cloud … has challenges with latency, privacy, security, and it’s fundamentally expensive,” Rayfield said. “Over time, as we can improve compute efficiency, more of this is migrating to the client.”
