If you have been on TikTok recently you might have seen the Vestaboard. It’s essentially a large messaging board that works, and sounds, like an old-fashioned railway station message board. You know the type: It has a roller full of letters that spin until they reach the one you need. What makes the Vestaboard special though is the ability to connect it to your smartphone with all the smart options that entails, from receiving messages to creating custom boards on the fly. The Vestaboard is normally $3,295 but with our exclusive code CNET300 you can knock that price down to $2,995 instead.
While the Vestaboard is not cheap it has a lot of great uses in an office, small business, or even in a large family setting. Because it can be easily adjusted on your phone, you could, for example, use it as a menu board for your coffee shop, or in an office to give out the day’s tasks to your team. It can also give you information about the weather, local news and your calendar events for the day. This makes it great as a central hub for your family home.
While some might say that it’s noisy, that’s really part of the charm. The analog motion and clacking noise harken back to a less digital age, while the smart features — some of which require a subscription — keep it feeling current. The Vestaboard is a unique messaging system that can transform a space, and with our exclusive code CNET300 you can get one for yourself for $2,995.
If the Vestaboard is out of your price range, you can always check out some of the best smart displays here at CNET.
It might seem like the Samsungs and Googles of this world are the only options if you want to go foldable the next time you buy a new phone, but you’d be very wrong. The OnePlus Open has earned its spot on our list of the best foldable phones we’ve tested, and right now you can pick it up for a bit of a bargain. This Amazon discount drops the phone to starting price down to $1,500, but the sale is only slated to run through April 21. Best Buy is offering the same $200 discount if you prefer to shop there or have a phone to trade in for further savings.
The OnePlus Open comes equipped with the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor as the flagship OnePlus 11, but also boasts a huge 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. It’s powered by Android 13.0, and has 5G support for fast and reliable cell performance. The 7.8-inch, 2K, AMOLED internal display has a 120Hz refresh rate, and is larger than both the Google Pixel Fold and the Samsung Z Fold 5 — but the Open is still thinner overall. It also has a large 4,800-mAh battery, and supports 67-watt fast charging, which can get you to 100% in less than an hour.
Read more: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 Rumored to Be Thinner and Lighter
Prefer to buy your phones direct? OnePlus is also offering the Open at the same $1,500 price with trade-in offers meaning you could get up to $700 off, too. And if you’re looking for even more bargains, you can check out our full roundup of all the best phone deals for savings on Apple, Samsung and Google models.
We think the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is one of the best foldable phones money can buy, and while the Galaxy Z Fold 6 might be on the way within the next few months, it definitely won’t be cheap. The same can be said of the current model as well, but that’s before you take advantage of this limited-time Amazon discount that saves you $400 and brings the 256GB model all the way down to just $1,400. What’s more, you get to choose from three stunning colors including the luxurious cream — or off-white, depending on who you talk to.
The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 comes with everything you’d expect from a big flagship foldable. That starts with the giant 7.6-inch foldable display on the inside and continues with the almost-as-large 6.2-inch cover display. Both look great and are brilliant for using your apps and getting the day-to-day stuff done. But you’re going to want to open the Fold 5 up to get the most out of your games and media streaming.
That huge display is also perfect for multitasking for those times when you just need to get more done, while photographers will enjoy the triple-camera array of lenses. On the inside, you’ll find 256GB of storage and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. This model is factory unlocked so you can have your pick of carriers, too.
Looking for something a little smaller? The clamshell Galaxy Z Flip 5 is currently being offered with a deep discount, bringing the 512GB model down to just $900. You can also check out our list of the best Galaxy Z Fold 5 deals if you’re looking to take out a new plan as well.
The total solar eclipse is in just three days, and time is running out on finding both eye protection and camera lens protection. But there’s a device-app combo that could solve that problem in one fell swoop.
Solar Snap is designed to help you both protect your eyes when viewing a solar eclipse, as well as take photos of the eclipse while it’s happening. The bundle comes with a Solar Snap camera filter that attaches to the back of an iPhone or Android phone, along with solar eclipse glasses for protecting your eyesight during the event.
After you attach the filter to your phone, you can use the free Solar Snap Eclipse app to zoom in on the eclipse, adjust exposure and other camera settings, and ultimately capture photos of an eclipse.
Solar Snap was founded by Douglas Duncan, a former Hubble Space Telescope astronomer, who wanted to take better pictures of a solar eclipse using only a phone’s camera. However, when Duncan, who currently serves as an emeritus faculty member at the University of Colorado and was the former director of the university’s Fiske Planetarium, sought a solution, he couldn’t find one.
“At recent eclipses, I saw lots of people trying to take souvenir photos with their phones, but failing,” Duncan told me. “Something needed to be done! I spent the pandemic inventing and testing Solar Snap.”
Here’s what you need to know about the app, as well as some general tips for photographing the eclipse.
Read more: Are Your Solar Eclipse Glasses Safe to Use or Fake? Here’s How to Find Out
Solar Snap app
Since Solar Snap has a very specific purpose, it isn’t necessarily useful day to day. However, it should be especially useful on April 8, when the moon passes between Earth and the sun and causes a total solar eclipse over North America. The Great American Eclipse, as it’s become known, will reach the Mexican Pacific coast at 2:07 p.m. ET on April 8 and then traverse from Texas to Maine until it moves off the Eastern coast of North America at 3:35 p.m. ET.
As exciting (and rare — the next total solar eclipse over North America won’t occur until 2044) as that may be, solar eclipses carry their fair share of risks. During the eclipse, and especially just before and after totality, or when the moon completely shrouds the sun, looking at the eclipse without protective eye gear can cause severe eye damage. You can similarly suffer significant eye damage if you look at the eclipse through binoculars, telescopes or, yes, the lens on a camera or smartphone without a filter.
Solar Snap aims at solving that problem by providing filters for both the camera and eyes, making it possible to look at the eclipse and take photos of it without worrying about eye safety. And with its app settings designed to optimize image quality, it promises to deliver nice-looking views of the eclipse for you to enjoy long after it’s over.
“I built automation into Solar Snap,” Duncan said. “If you put your phone on a tripod, at the start of totality, you can take the filter off (don’t bump the phone!), push the ‘totality’ button, and it will take photos all during totality, while you watch the eclipse.”
The $19 Solar Snap kit is available now — and today’s your last chance to buy it in time for it to arrive before the eclipse. The kit comes with two pairs each of the phone filter and protective eyewear, along with two Velcro sets for attaching the filter to a phone. Solar Snap’s app is available in both Apple’s App Store and in Android app marketplaces like Google Play.
More eclipse-photography tips
Space.com reports that over 44 million people will experience totality during the April 8 eclipse, and it’s likely that most of them will try to capture a photo or two. Here are a few tips.
Whether you’re digging out the fancy camera gear or keeping it simple, practice your setup before eclipse day. If anything goes wrong, or you forget an accessory you needed, you don’t want to learn that once the eclipse has already begun. Depending where you’re watching from, it’s only 3 to 5 minutes long. NASA suggests practicing by photographing the moon.
You likely want to get yourself a certified solar filter to attach to your camera. It’ll protect your eyes and let you take photos while viewing the eclipse through your lens.
The best photos will be taken with DSLR cameras, or what we old-timers used to just call “cameras.” But let’s be real: Many of us are just going to do the best we can with our phone cameras. NASA suggests you don’t count on your phone’s autofocus — you’ll have to do it manually, by tapping the screen, holding your finger on the moon to lock the focus, and then dragging your finger up and down to adjust the exposure.
You also may want to buy an inexpensive zoom lens that clips on directly to your smart phone camera. “Digital zoom will not work to create a magnified, clear image,” NASA warns.
Remember, however, that you don’t want to get too busy taking eclipse photos that you forget to enjoy the experience itself. After all, there won’t be another chance until 2044.
Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission.Reviews ethics statement
Matt ElliottSenior Editor
Matt Elliott is a senior editor at CNET with a focus on laptops and streaming services. Matt has more than 20 years of experience testing and reviewing laptops. He has worked for CNET in New York and San Francisco and now lives in New Hampshire. When he’s not writing about laptops, Matt likes to play and watch sports. He loves to play tennis and hates the number of streaming services he has to subscribe to in order to watch the various sports he wants to watch.
Rich colors and stellar contrast from OLED display
Quad speakers produce good sound
Generous 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD
Cons
Display resolution merely adequate
So-so touchpad
No Windows Studio Effects for webcam
The Lenovo Slim 7i is a sturdy and compact laptop that splits the difference between mainstream and premium. Its chief attraction is the 14-inch OLED touch display that boasts vivid colors and stellar contrast. Unlike the 2.8K OLED panels on similarly sized laptops such as the HP Spectre x360 14 or Lenovo ThinkPad Z13 Gen 2, however, the Slim 7i’s display offers a pedestrian 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution. It suffices for the size, but text isn’t quite as sharp as it is on a 2.8K OLED display. Inside, the laptop features an Intel Core Ultra CPU, an ample 32GB of RAM and integrated Intel Arc graphics.
The Slim 7i’s aluminum enclosure is of premium quality and passed MIL-STD 810H tests for ruggedness. It feels rock solid and yet is thin and light. It’s not quite the head-turner as the Spectre x360 14 and lacks its awesome haptic touchpad, but it also costs less than the HP. On the flip side, its build quality and display are superior to those of the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7440 and Acer Swift Go 14, each of which is slightly cheaper at $1,000. The Sim 7i is a good choice if you are looking for a 14-inch OLED laptop but can’t stretch to afford the HP Spectre x360 14 and don’t need its two-in-one convertibility.
The Lenovo Slim 7i (model 14IMH9) starts at $1,041 for a configuration that features an Intel Core Ultra 5 125H CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Our test system features a pair of upgrades to the Core Ultra 7 155H chip and 32GB of RAM and costs $1,240. The lone display option is a 14-inch OLED panel with a 1,920×1,200-pixel resolution and touch support.
According to Lenovo, our test configuration will be available later in April at Costco for $999. At that price, the Slim 7i becomes a great deal. Seldom do you find an OLED display along with that much memory and solid-state storage wrapped in a durable, all-metal chassis at that price. We will update this review with a potential bump to the overall rating when it hits shelves at Costco.
The system is labeled as the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Gen 9 in the UK and Australia, despite lacking a 360-degree hinge that would give it flexible two-in-one capabilities that the Yoga name would suggest. It starts at 1,150 in the UK and AU$1,639 in Australia.
In labs testing, the Slim 7i’s benchmark results were in range of the Acer Swift Go 14, Dell Inspiron 14 Plus and HP Spectre x360 14, each of which features the same Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor as the Slim 7i, but it never managed to lead the pack on any test. Its graphics performance trailed the other Core Ultra laptops only on the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited test; on Time Spy and Fire Strike Ultra it was roughly on par with the other laptops using Intel’s integrated Arc GPU. The AMD-based Slim Pro 7 led the way on the graphics tests because it was the only laptop among the comparison systems to feature a discrete RTX 3050 GPU. That model can frequently be found at Best Buy for less than $1,000 and is a better pick for creatives who will use the laptop for graphics work.
OLED laptops rarely excel in the area of battery life, and the Slim 7i is no exception. It lasted 9 hours and 40 minutes on our online streaming battery drain test, which should be ample time for most work or school days but still shorter than the runtime of competing laptops.
Compact and rugged
The Slim 7i’s overall look is rather corporate, with a lot of dull gray, but also thin and compact like modern corporate systems: less than 0.6-inch thick and weighing a trim 3.2 pounds, average for its size.
When you pick it up you notice its premium build. The all-aluminum chassis is rigid, with hardly any flex that plagues lesser aluminum and plastic shells. It lacks the Spectre x360 14’s gorgeous, matte-black aesthetic, but the Slim 7i does share some nice design elements with HP’s pricier two-in-one, including smooth, gently rounded edges and corners. They give the laptop a sleek look, and the lack of sharp corners makes it comfortable to carry the laptop and also to rest your palms on its front edge when typing and mousing.
And like the HP, the Slim 7i has a great display hinge that keeps the display firmly in place without any wobble yet still glides smoothly when you adjust the display or close the laptop. The overall build quality is on par with the pricier HP and a notch or two above what you get with the slightly cheaper Acer Swift Go 14 or Dell Inspiron 14 Plus.
The Slim 7i looks nearly identical to the 14.5-inch, AMD-based Lenovo Slim Pro 7 I reviewed last year. And like the earlier unit, the Slim 7i offers MIL-STD 810H ruggedness for an ability to withstand drops, vibration, shock, dust and extreme temperatures. It makes the system a good choice for students who want a laptop that will withstand the scrapes and dings it’ll almost assuredly receive over four years of regular use. And it accommodates student budgets at the expected $999 Costco price tag.
The best feature of the Slim 7i is its 14-inch OLED display; OLED delivers excellent contrast thanks to effectively zero-nit blacks and vivid colors. Testing with a SpyderX Elite colorimeter, the display covered 100% of the sRGB and P3 color spaces and 94% of Adobe RGB. I also measured a peak brightness of 382 nits, which is just shy of its 400-nit rating but should be bright enough for most environments outside of direct sunlight outside.
As great as images look on the OLED panel, text appears slightly fuzzy and gray, lacking the sharpness you get with a higher-resolution display like the Spectre x360 14’s 2.8K OLED panel or even the 2.2K IPS LCD on the Inspiron 14 Plus. It’s not a deal-breaker, but if your job or schoolwork involves a lot of reading, you’ll appreciate even a bump to a 2.2K display for staring at text for long stretches.
With quad speakers, the Slim 7i is more than just a work laptop. The four two-watt speakers produce well-rounded audio. Dialogue sounds clear and effects sound realistic when watching shows and movies, and I even found myself enjoying music playback, although I wish it offered more bass.
The keyboard has widely spaced keys and delivers a comfortable and quiet typing experience. It includes the dedicated Microsoft Copilot key, which opens a panel for Microsoft’s AI assistant, replacing the right-Ctrl key on the bottom row. Expect this to become common on Windows laptops.
The good news is the touchpad has a glass surface that’s smoother than a plastic touchpad. The bad news, depending on your preferences, is that it’s mechanical and not haptic. I find the click response has too much travel and sounds “clacky.” The rest of the laptop feels so sturdy and rigid, making the touchpad’s subpar click response seem all the more disappointing.
The 1080p webcam delivers a sharp, fairly grain-free image but lacks support for Windows Studio Effects — AI-based automatic framing, background blurring and noise reduction plus AI-aided noise cancellation for the microphone — found on other Core Ultra laptops I’ve reviewed. While the Lenovo Vantage app has noise cancellation features for the microphone, I found them to be less effective at removing or reducing background noise than the Spectre x360 14 or Acer Swift Go 14.
The Lenovo Slim 7i has the misfortune of arriving on the heels of the HP Spectre x360 14, one of my favorite laptops from the past year. And while it’s true the HP can cost hundreds more, HP’s discounts at the time of this writing drop the price to $1,360 for the same configuration as our Slim 7i test system. That’s only $120 more than the cost of the Slim 7i and well worth the added cost just for the HP’s higher-resolution OLED display and huge, haptic touchpad. And the appeal of the Spectre x360 14 only grows when you consider its superior design, two-in-one versatility and better webcam, which has a high-res 9-megapixel sensor and offers Windows Studio Effects.
When the Slim 7i hits Costco for $999, however, we will need to revisit these two 14-inch OLED laptops and reassess their relative value.
The review process for laptops, desktops, tablets and other computerlike devices consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our expert reviewers. This includes evaluating a device’s aesthetics, ergonomics and features. A final review verdict is a combination of both objective and subjective judgments.
A more detailed description of each benchmark and how we use it can be found on our How We Test Computers page.
Photo Gallery1/1
Geekbench 6 (multicore)
HP Spectre x360 1412,897Acer Swift Go 1412,459Lenovo Slim 7i (14IMH9)12,128MacBook Air 13 (M3)12,063Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 744011,996Lenovo Slim Pro 7 (14ARP8)8,880HP Pavilion 15 (15t-eg300)7,965
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance
PCMark 10 Pro Edition
Acer Swift Go 147,020HP Spectre x360 146,893Lenovo Slim 7i (14IMH9)6,764Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 74406,551Lenovo Slim Pro 7 (14ARP8)6,446HP Pavilion 15 (15t-eg300)5,234
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance
Cinebench R23 (multicore)
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 744013,243Acer Swift Go 1412,989Lenovo Slim Pro 7 (14ARP8)11,520Lenovo Slim 7i (14IMH9)11,401MacBook Air 13 (M3)9,848HP Spectre x360 148,656HP Pavilion 15 (15t-eg300)7,071
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance
3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited
Lenovo Slim Pro 7 (14ARP8)8,511MacBook Air 13 (M3)8,252HP Spectre x360 146,026Acer Swift Go 145,972Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 74405,813Lenovo Slim 7i (14IMH9)4,851HP Pavilion 15 (15t-eg300)3,166
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance
Online streaming battery drain test
MacBook Air 13 (M3)1,097Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7440811Acer Swift Go 14760Lenovo Slim Pro 7 (14ARP8)727HP Spectre x360 14595Lenovo Slim 7i (14IMH9)580HP Pavilion 15 (15t-eg300)356
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance
System configurations
Lenovo Slim 7i (14IMH9)
Microsoft Windows 11 Home; Intel Core Ultra 7 155H; 32GB DDR5 RAM; Intel Arc Graphics; 1TB SSD
Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7440
Microsoft Windows 11 Home; Intel Core Ultra 7 155H; 16GB DDR5 RAM; Intel Arc Graphics; 1TB SSD
HP Spectre x360 14
Microsoft Windows 11 Pro; Intel Core Ultra 7 155H; 32GB DDR5 RAM; Intel Arc Graphics; 2TB SSD
Acer Swift Go 14
Microsoft Windows 11 Home; Intel Core Ultra 7 155H; 16GB DDR5 RAM; Intel Arc Graphics; 1TB SSD
Lenovo Slim Pro 7 (14ARP8)
Microsoft Windows 11 Home; 3.2GHz AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS with Radeon Graphics; 16GB DDR5 6,400MHz RAM; 6GB Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050; 512GB SSD
HP Pavilion 15 (15t-eg300)
Microsoft Windows 11 Home, Intel Core i7-1355U, 16GB DDR4 RAM, Intel Iris Xe Graphics; 256GB SSD
MacBook Air 13 (M3)
Apple MacOS Sonoma 14.4; Apple M3 (8-core CPU, 10-core GPU); 16GB unified memory; 512GB SSD
Buying a new pair of wireless earbuds can be expensive, especially if you want to get a pair with advanced features like active noise cancelation technology. We’re big fans of the Google Pixel Buds Pro and they’re normally competitively priced considering the features you get. But right now that price has been cut by $61, making them an even better deal. Order your new earbuds at Amazon now and you’ll pay just $139.
Note that this deal is also available on multiple colors so be sure to pick the one that speaks to you most before adding your new earbuds to your cart. This is a limited-time deal that is also running at Best Buy, Walmart and B&H so you have a few choices for where to buy. Best Buy and B&H are listing April 7 as the end date for this deal, so you only have a couple of days left to get in on the savings.
In terms of features, the Pixel Buds Pro have plenty to write home about. The spec list includes active noise cancellation, designed to ensure you don’t hear the outside world when you don’t want to. You’ll get up to 11 hours of battery life from a single charge as well, increasing to 31 hours when you take the included charging case into account.
In his full review last year, CNET’s headphone expert David Carnoy praised the Buds Pro’s “very good sound and impressive noise canceling,” as well as their battery life and voice call quality.
It’s important to note that Amazon hasn’t yet said when this deal is going to end, which means that it might disappear without notice — make sure to get your order in now if you plan on taking advantage of that hefty saving. And if the Pixel Buds Pro don’t tick the right boxes for you, we have a ton of great earbud deals ready for your delectation.
We now have a clearer idea of when the Disney Plus password-sharing crackdown will begin. Speaking with CNBC, CEO Bob Iger said Disney will be “launching our first real foray into password sharing” in June, first bringing the clampdown to “just a few countries and a few markets, but then it will grow significantly with a full rollout in September.”
During Disney’s first-quarter earnings call in February, the company announced plans to enforce new account-sharing policies by implementing a fee for Disney Plus streaming customers later this year. The move continues a trend kicked off by Netflix and came after the media giant updated its subscriber agreements for Disney Plus, Hulu and ESPN Plus.
“Beginning this summer, Disney Plus accounts suspected of improper sharing will be presented with new capabilities to allow their borrowers to start their own subscriptions,” CFO Hugh Johnston said during the earnings call. “Later this calendar year, account holders who want to allow access to individuals from outside their household will be able to add them to their accounts for an additional fee.”
Subscribers received emails that detailed changes to user agreements for each platform. Subscribers may not share their accounts with anyone outside their primary household residence, unless it’s permitted for their tier, according to Disney’s terms. The agreement says the company may check for compliance by reviewing your usage habits and choosing to “limit or terminate access.” The policy went into effect on Jan. 25 for new users and March 14 for existing customers.
Read more: Sorry, April Streaming Is Kinda Heavy. You Should Keep All These Services
Iger first shared plans to address account sharing in August, saying it would be a priority in 2024 for its global subscriber base. He added that the move would support the company’s efforts to increase monetization in the new year. Disney began its crackdown in Canada first and unveiled new rules in November.
By comparison, Netflix charges $8 for each “extra member” subaccount, with limits on how many people can be added to a Premium or Standard subscription. Though the streamer experienced early backlash about the change, it helped drive its subscriber numbers up. Some former password borrowers signed up for their own accounts — such as its $7 ad-based plan.
Disney is evolving its streaming business in other ways. The company fully launched its Hulu on Disney Plus single-app option last week and in February announced a joint venture with Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox to create a new sports streaming service.
Yesterday’s Wordle was a pretty common word, and today’s is similar. It’s a word you’ll certainly know, even if it takes you a few guesses to put all the letters in the right spots.
If you do as I do and use a starter word that contains some of the most commonly used letters in the alphabet, you’ll probably be in good shape after one or two guesses.
Every day, we’ll post hints and then the answer for the current day’s Wordle, just in case you need it.
Today’s Wordle hints
Warning: If you keep reading, you’ll see the Wordle answer for Friday, April 5, puzzle #1021 (preceded by hints that might give it away). That could be a devastating spoiler for some players. But if you just need the answer — maybe you’re on your last guess and simply don’t want to see an 800-game streak go poof — keep reading.
Wordle hint #1: Starts with two consonants
Just like the last two words, today’s answer begins with two consonants.
Wordle hint #2: One vowel
But there’s only one vowel, so if you’ve nailed which one it is, you just need to work on the placement.
Wordle hint #3: Starting letter
The answer begins with W.
Wordle hint #4: Definition
The answer is a body part.
Wordle hint #5: Joint effort
The answer is the joint where your hand joins your arm.
TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER
Here comes the spoiler: Today’s Wordle answer is: WRIST. As in, “My wrist gets tired typing in all these Wordle guesses.”
Yesterday’s Wordle answer
Yesterday’s answer was CLIMB, as in, “I hope I can climb the ranks of Wordle solvers.” I found that puzzle kind of easy, since it involved frequently used letters. Your climbing mileage may vary.
Past Wordle answers
April 1, #1017, FROND.
April 2, #1018, SERUM.
April 3, #1019, PLAIT.
April 4, #1020, CLIMB.
Everyday Wordle tips
I’ve written a lot about Wordle — from covering its 1,000th word to my list of the best starter words to a helpful two-step strategy to news about controversial word changes. I’ve even rounded up what I learned playing the hit online word puzzle for a full year. So if you’re rethinking your need for the actual answer, you might try tips from one of those stories.
Still need a starter word? One person told me they just look around and choose a five-letter object that they’ve spotted to use as their starter word — such as COUCH or CHAIR. I tend to stick to starter words that have the most popular letters used in English words. I like TRAIN as a starter, though I have a friend who uses TRAIL. I’ve read that people use the financial term ROATE, but I like to use words I actually know.
What is Wordle?
If you read this far, you know how to play. You have six chances to guess a five-letter word, and the game gives you feedback as to whether the letters you’ve guessed are in the puzzle or not, and if they’re in the same spot where you guessed they are. The New York Times bought the game from creator Josh Wardle for seven figures in 2022. Wardle famously created the game for his partner, and let her narrow down the 12,000 five-letter words in the English language to just 2,500, creating the database of answers. It was convenient, too, that he has a name that plays off “word.”
A Times spokesperson told me it lists the very first Wordle as appearing on June 19, 2021, and the paper celebrated the game’s 1000th word on March 15. Spoiler: That 1000th word was ERUPT. As in, “Dad will erupt if the Wordle is so tough he loses his streak.”
There are other fun games in the Times Games stable. My latest addiction is Connections, which I think is trickier than Wordle. This is the game where you look at a grid of 16 words and try to put them into four groups of related words. Sometimes the relationships between the words are pretty out there — like the time when it was four words that all began with rock bands, such as “Rushmore” and “journeyman.” (Connections got a little sassy on April Fools’ Day with an all-emoji puzzle. Some gamers did NOT find that funny.)
Spelling Bee is a popular Times game too. And there’s a new game that’s still in beta, Strands, which I’m trying to master.
The next-generation iPhones, likely to be called the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro, are expected to launch in less than six months, and rumors about design changes are already swirling. The base-model iPhone 16 is expected to have redesigned cameras and the well-received action button from the iPhone 15 Pro. Now a new report suggests some iPhone 16 models will use a new screen technology that allows for thinner bezel borders, which might give users of the Pro model phones a slightly larger screen area.
The report, which comes from Korean publication The Elec and was translated by MacRumors, says display manufacturers have developed a new type of border reduction structure technology. This new manufacturing technique reportedly allows companies to create screens with more compact control circuitry, effectively allowing for a slimmer bezel. The bezel is the border that separates the phone’s screen from the actual edge of the device.
Read more: Best iPhone to buy in 2024
It’s unclear whether the new display technology would be added to the entry-level iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus or the more expensive iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, as MacRumors notes. Typically, however, Apple tends to introduce display improvements in its pro line of products, such as with the pro-motion display in 2021’s iPhone 13 Pro, before sometimes offering them in lower-cost models later on. Earlier leaks have also suggested the Pro model screens will grow somewhat, perhaps because of the now-rumored smaller bezels.
Apple representatives didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The new screen details help to round out the hardware features the iPhone 16 lineup will likely offer when it launches this fall. Though Apple doesn’t publicly acknowledge new iPhones until they’re released around September, the rumor mill tends to uncover their headline features beforehand. Last year, Apple’s headline features for the $999 iPhone 15 Pro were a new titanium frame, the action button and USB-C charging, each of which were rumored ahead of time.
Read more: iPhone 16: All the Major Rumors on Apple’s Next iPhone
Apple’s steady drumbeat of annual upgrades have become a hallmark of the iPhone, which is still the company’s best-selling product line. CNET’s Patrick Holland wrote that the iPhones “are defined by their refinements” in part because the improvements to cameras, screens and battery life add up for people who buy a new device every few years.
Aside from hardware improvements, Apple is also expected to announce upgrades to its iOS software powering the iPhones during its Worldwide Developers Conference starting June 10. Though Apple’s been tight-lipped about its iOS plans, rumors suggest the company will announce new AI features in response to the current craze powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
I Took 600+ Photos With the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max. Look at My Favorites
Apple is reportedly moving on from cars to… robots? After nixing its electric vehicle project in February, the iPhone maker is now eyeing personal robots that could follow you around your home, according to a report from Bloomberg.
The project is reportedly in its early stages, and it’s not clear if the products will ever become a reality. But now that Apple has called off its decade-long effort to build an electric car, home robots could be the company’s “next big thing,” people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
See also: The iPhone May Get a Big Dose of AI This Year. Here’s What to Expect
Apple didn’t respond to CNET’s request for comment.
In recent years, the tech giant has been exploring new ways to bring in revenue, especially as people hold onto their phones longer. It’s branched out into subscription-based services like Apple TV Plus and Apple Music, and released entirely new products like the Apple Vision Pro — which, with a $3,500 price tag and not much to offer out of the gate, will likely take years to achieve widescale adoption.
But home robotics could offer the company a new way to leverage artificial intelligence and have a foothold in people’s homes, Bloomberg notes. Along with a mobile robot, Apple has reportedly developed “an advanced table-top home device that uses robotics to move a display around,” the publication notes. That smart display is reportedly further along than the mobile robot, and “has been added and removed from the company’s product road map over the years,” according to the report, as executives have disagreed on whether to even pursue that product.
While Apple has been taking things slow when it comes deploying AI in its products and services, it could leverage any advancements in that area to boost its rumored robotics offerings. If the company did ultimately launch a home bot, it would join the ranks of Amazon’s $1,600 Astro robot, which can deliver snacks, patrol your home and follow you around while you’re on a video call.
Apple has similarly envisioned having its robot work as a videoconferencing tool that can navigate on its own, according to Bloomberg, and has even pitched the idea of having it do chores like washing dishes. Whether or not these more ambitious functions — or even the robots themselves — see the light of day is unclear. But if they do, it’ll likely be several years before you have an Apple robot roaming your home.
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