Images Tada/Shutterstock We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. The M1 MacBook Air was a monumental laptop because it marked Apple’s move away from Intel processors to its own system-on-a-chip (SoC), known as Apple Silicon. The M1 was the first Apple Silicon chip, introducing unified memory in which the CPU and GPU share the same memory pool. It offered significantly better performance and efficiency than the Intel chips that preceded it, resulting in exceptional battery life. The M1 MacBook Air launched in November 2020, making it almost…
Author: Amelia Scott
Piksel/Getty Images When you need to charge your phone, it’s easy to think that any USB cable will do. As long as it transmits power from the wall outlet to the phone, even a cable purchased at a gas station, supermarket, or dollar store at an ultra-low price will technically work. But voltage and consistency are important when charging a phone. These are the things that these cheap, no-brand USB charging cables fail the most. You may save a few dollars by purchasing this important accessory on the cheap, but…
Sumitbiswas1/Shutterstock Although limited, there are several free cloud storage options available today. Even though these services offer much less storage than Google Drive’s paid plans, which can offer more than 1TB, they still help many users. Phone or computer storage can run into problems when you least expect it, a common mistake that could cost you all your data, causing important photos and files to disappear without you being able to do anything. Even though you don’t have the same freedom of uploading everything to the cloud with these free…
Danny E. Martindale/Getty Images We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. A player’s choice of headphones plays a big role in immersing them in their 9,999th time playing “Skyrim” (it’s a coping mechanism). It also plays an important role in gaining a competitive audio advantage over their competitors and overall comfort when locked down. Mainstream manufacturers routinely try to grab buyers’ attention with RGB, gimmicky software and low frequencies that can only be described as sonic booms that completely obliterate the footsteps and ambient noise that “Warzone”…
Noderog/Getty Images Something you quickly learn when you first become an audio enthusiast is that this field is full of dense jargon. For example, if you heard someone talk about “squelch” in an audio receiver, what would you think that refers to, other than maybe some kind of unpleasant wet noise? Fortunately, the “squelch” has nothing to do with wet noises; Rather, it is a feature found on most audio receivers that keeps the audio channel closed when nothing is playing. If you’ve ever listened to music through cheap speakers…
Artistegndphotography/Getty Images We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. While you may not have much say in what happens in your office workspace, one of the huge benefits of having a home office is that you can take complete ownership of it. This is true whether you’ve just created a home office or have been using one for years, because almost anything you install in your workspace can be upgraded at any time. That might not seem like it right now, as a global RAM crisis is…
Savusia Konstantin/Getty Images Navigating today’s laptop market can seem overwhelming, especially with the wide variety of operating systems and options to choose from. However, over the past decade, Google’s ChromeOS has carved out a considerable market share by targeting schools, businesses, and budget-conscious consumers. If you want a laptop that you can use to simply browse the web, create documents, respond to emails, and watch your favorite shows, a Chromebook might be the perfect solution. However, if you want a laptop for much more complex and demanding tasks, the Chromebook’s…
Images Tada/Shutterstock We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Due to the rising costs of memory and storage chips driven by the AI boom, Apple recently increased the prices of MacBooks and iPads. Because of this, the entry-level MacBook Neo now starts at $699 (up from $599), while the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air have jumped $200, from $1,099 to $1,299 and $1,299 to $1,499, respectively. This makes the MacBook Air a bit expensive if you want a budget laptop that’s powerful enough for everyday tasks. However,…
Yalcinsonat1/Getty Images We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. iPhones are known for their exceptional longevity, with many users saying they typically keep their devices for three to four years. This is consistent with the fact that the iPhone 13, a device released in 2021, was the most popular iPhone in the United States in 2025. Even when it came to upgrading, users said the decision was not driven by slow performance or a lack of Apple support, but by issues with the charging port and cracked…
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. As graphics cards, or rather the processing chips within them, become more advanced, they consume more power. Higher power consumption also generates more heat, so they need larger fairings and thermal solutions to reduce it. The demand for better cooling is why they seem to grow larger over time and become heavier with each generation. This is concerning for a card that fits into a thin PCIe slot. Although the PC case itself supports the back of the card, nothing else holds it in…