• A Dallas-based data center developer secured $2 billion for a data center project.
• The AI boom is shifting toward facilities closer to users, not just remote mega campuses.
• Demand for AI compute is surging, but the project had to navigate cautious lenders.

Texas has become a hot spot for jumbo-sized data centers in far-flung locations that provide the heavy computing for artificial intelligence training.

The next phase of the AI boom is taking shape closer to where people live.

DataBank, a Dallas-based data center developer and operator, is capitalizing on growing demand for facilities built closer to population hubs, where they can deliver AI models to users more quickly.

The company said it has secured $2 billion in construction financing from a group of banks led by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group to construct three data center buildings in Red Oak, a suburb 20 miles outside Dallas. DataBank did not disclose the other banks involved in extending the loan.

MUFG is also leading a separate, ongoing effort to raise roughly another $600 million loan for a fourth building that will be part of the Red Oak campus. That debt will be sourced from the private placement market, tapping capital from Wall Street investors, according to the company.

The four-building cluster, which together will total 240 megawatts of computing capacity, has been leased by a hyperscaler, according to Raul Martynek, the CEO of DataBank, who declined to name the tenant, saying only that it was one of the major hyperscalers, listing Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, or Meta.

Major technology companies have focused on building immense facilities with the computing power to develop advanced AI models. Martynek said the success of DataBank's Red Oak project reflects the increasing demand for so-called inference facilities that offer the physical proximity and networking speeds to allow customers to use and interact with AI seamlessly.

"Why do data center users want to be close to metro markets? Because that's where most of the fiber is and that's where people are," Martynek said. "Who consumes these products? People."

Inference computing, which handles the work of processing a prompt when it is entered into an AI model, is a fast-growing segment of the data center market. In 2025, 9% of data center workloads were for inference computing versus 14% for training, according to global data from JLL. The remaining 77% was used for traditional data center cloud computing. By 2030, JLL predicts that 37% of the data center industry's workloads will be for inference computing and 13% will be for training.

"It's on the forefront of a lot of minds," Carl Beardsley, head of data centers for JLL Capital Markets, said. "The next phase is once your models have learned, and they've trained up, to convert that over to inference and be closer to the population center."

Lenders are wary despite surging AI demand

Despite surging demand for AI computing, lenders have also grown wary in recent months about accruing enormous debts tied to a handful of major AI and data center players. In January, Business Insider reported that JPMorgan Chase and MUFG encountered headwinds as they sought to sell off pieces of $38 billion in debt tied to two large data center campuses that will be occupied by Oracle. The two banks had extended loans to the projects with a group of other lenders in a process known as syndication, which allows lenders to share risks and the immense costs of large-scale financing packages by pooling together.

Martynek acknowledged that the syndication market had slowed as DataBank sought financing for its Red Oak project. Martynek said that was why the loan for the fourth data center building was ultimately broken off from the syndication effort and will be sourced through a private placement instead.

"It took us longer than we originally anticipated because obviously we're part of the market," Martynek said. "If a major money center bank says, 'Hey, you know what? We're going to slow down the amount of credit that we're going to provide to this sector just because there's so much of it,' we're going to be impacted by that."

The four buildings comprise half of the 8-building, 480-megawatt data center campus that DataBank plans to eventually erect in Red Oak.

Martynek said that DataBank expects to deliver the first of the four initial buildings in the third quarter of 2026 and the last by the end of 2027.

• Market breadth, which measures how many stocks are participating in a move, is at a multi-year low.
• The recent surge to record highs has been driven by a small group of companies.
• Whether that's good or bad for investors depends on the factors detailed below.

Anyone who's done a group project in school knows the usual dynamic: A couple of overachievers drive the bus, while other, more passive team members hitch a ride. Everyone gets the same grade. The division of labor is unspoken and largely accepted.

A similar dynamic has played out in the stock market in recent years. In this analogy, the Magnificent 7 are the overachievers. And while stock returns were starting to broaden to other sectors before the Iran war, the market's recent V-shaped jag has restored the market to default settings.

The chart below shows this breadth reduction in action. Since the start of the Iran war, the S&P 500 has outperformed its equal-weighted counterpart, and the Mag 7 has blown away both of them.

But don't just take my word for it. New data from Goldman Sachs finds that S&P 500 breadth is at its lowest level since mid-2023. Some additional stats that show how narrow the stock market's rally off lows has been:

• The information technology and communication services sectors in the S&P 500 have accounted for 70% of the index's gains off the March 30 low
• 85% of the S&P 500's upward earnings revisions — which have contributed to much of that bullishness — have been concentrated in just 4 chipmaker and energy stocks: Micron, Exxon Mobil, Chevron, and Broadcom

This information can be sliced in two different ways, depending on your personal sentiment:

1. If you're more bullish, you can make the argument that a lack of breadth leaves upside for other areas of the market to catch up. One area to watch is energy, which is revising earnings higher, but — because of recent volatility — is still in the red for the war.
2. If you're more bearishly inclined, you might point out that concentration risk leaves a top-heavy market vulnerable to sudden pullbacks. The harder something goes up, the harder it falls, etc.

JPMorgan strategists are taking a decidedly glass-half-full view of the current environment, citing rising profit projections as a main driver of their equity outlook. The firm expects especially strong performance this earnings season from semiconductor, mining, and industrial stocks.

But as fun as earnings are to forecast, we're about to get a large batch of results and forward outlooks from the companies themselves. In terms of the Mag 7, Tesla is on Wednesday, while Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, and Apple report over a two-day period next week.

For this class project, they are the valedictorians. And the way they go is where the market will go.

• Tim Cook is wrapping up a 15-year term as Apple CEO.
• As a leader, he's is known for asking hard questions and staying focused on the company's strengths.
• When he became CEO in 2011, Cook had to navigate the challenge of succeeding Apple's founder.

Tim Cook took on a daunting job when he became Apple CEO in 2011 — and turned it into a 15-year run.

He'll be leaving his CEO role behind and becoming Apple's executive chairman September 1. Cook will be succeeded as CEO by hardware boss John Ternus.

Though Cook will stay in Apple's chief role for several months to help with the transition, observers are already reflecting on his legacy.

Cook has been widely regarded as a steady leader who brought stability and scale to Apple in the post-Steve Jobs era. He's spent over a decade building a reputation around his measured management style and strong focus on supply chains and long-term growth.

His longevity at the company is also notable. In the first half of 2025, the average tenure for outgoing CEOs was 6.8 years, according to Russell Reynolds data. Cook's time at Apple doubled that average.

Here are five leadership lessons from Cook's time as Apple chief:

1. Ask the hard questions

Cook may not be the loudest person in the room, but he has a reputation for putting his staff in the hot seat.

In Cult of Mac editor Leander Kahney's 2019 book, "Tim Cook: The Genius Who Took Apple to the Next Level," the former CEO is said to be known for grilling employees to ensure they're on top of their responsibilities — and to make sure that Apple's supply chain was ready to meet intense demand.

When Cook was chief operating officer, a position he held until being named CEO, Kahney wrote that the Apple CEO could "wear people down through an endless barrage of questions."

Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, told Kahney that Cook is a "quiet leader" and "not a yeller," according to the book. However, he added that the CEO will "slice you up with questions. You better know your stuff."

2. Create your own version of success

Cook had big shoes to fill when he took over from Jobs. While many CEOs have struggled to live up to iconic founders, Cook stands out as one of the few who managed to shine by leaning into what worked as COO.

During his tenure, Apple has sold roughly 3 billion iPhones, and its market value has leaped from $300 billion to $4 trillion.

Part of that success came from maintaining consistency in his own leadership style and strategy. He built on the momentum Jobs had established, scaling what was already working and largely entrusting product development to the company's famous hardware team. He also oversaw Apple's increased vertical integration.

"Tim Cook's greatest accomplishments are the financial evolution of the company, the integration of Apple silicon, and maintaining the iPhone's dominant walled garden ecosystem," Morningstar analyst William Kerwin previously told Business Insider.

Cook established his own distinct leadership style, rather than replicate Jobs' larger-than-life tech-genius persona.

3. Know your strengths

Cook took advantage of Apple's expansive scale, launching wildly popular accessories and services, like its Apple Watch and AirPods, both of which helped the company keep customers within the Apple ecosystem.

That ecosystem helped drive the steady growth of its services business, revamping the struggling MobileMe subscription into the popular iCloud storage service.

Apple has lagged in the AI race, drawing concerns about whether it can keep up with competitors. However, its more measured spending could yet prove to be a prudent strategy, as its competitors shell out an eye-watering amount on AI investment.

4. Pick up the phone

Tim Cook isn't expressly political, but he is diplomatic.

In 2019, President Donald Trump said that Cook was the only tech leader to call him personally. Cook has continued to build his relationship with Trump over the past year, including announcing Apple's $600 billion investment in US manufacturing over the next four years.

In reference to past conversations with Musk and President Trump, Cook said in a 2023 interview with GQ, "I feel very strongly about engaging with people regardless of whether they agree with you or not."

"I actually think it's even more important to engage when there's disagreement," Cook told GQ.

That strategy has paid off. Cook's discussions with Trump have managed to get some of Apple's products exempted from various tariffs.

5. Realize the value of your own experience

Cook is notoriously private, but he has been vocal in certain instances. He was the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to come out as gay in 2014 in a personal essay in Bloomberg Businessweek. He said he made the decision to come out because he thought it would make a difference to kids struggling to come to terms with their own sexuality.

"Being gay has given me a deeper understanding of what it means to be in the minority and provided a window into the challenges that people in other minority groups deal with every day," wrote Cook.

Cook has also criticized his home state, Alabama, for its failure to advance LGBTQ+ rights, and in a 2013 Wall Street Journal op-ed, he called on the US government to protect LGBTQ+ employees from discrimination.

• The stock market's relief rally might have already hit the upper limit, Jefferies said.
• The bank pointed to technical indicators that suggest last week's jump won't extend.
• Markets have whipsawed as traders digest the latest developments in the Iran war.

The relief rally markets have enjoyed in the last week might already be out of steam, according to Jefferies' Michael Toomey.

The managing director of equities trading at Jefferies said he believed the market's recent rebound has likely hit its upper limit. In a note to clients, he pointed to various technical signals that suggested the market is about to "stall" following last week's big rally that took major indexes to all-time highs.

"I think we have captured the rally (and then some) that you would expect to see after the stress signals from the past month. So tactically, I think we will consolidate in the near-term," he said.

Markets have whipsawed as traders continue to digest developments between the US and Iran. Traders embarked on a jubilant rally after Iran announced the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial traffic on Friday. The update pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to records.

Days later, the situation is again volatile. The two-week ceasefire is nearly over without a deal between the US and Iran. Over the weekend, Iran said the Strait was again closed, firing on some ships attempting to pass through the waterway.

Here are five of the most prominent signs Toomey is watching that show the latest rally is capped:

1. Call volumes are at a five-year high

Call volumes over the last three trading sessions in the US are hovering around their highest level in five years, according to Jefferies' analysis, reflecting heightened investor bullishness, which could be a contrarian sell signal.

Call options are increasing for the Magnificent Seven in particular, Toomey added, with volumes for the group of tech giants recently rising to the highest level in a year, he said.

2. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq see a sharp move in the RSI

The Relative Strength Index, a momentum gauge that indicates how overbought or oversold an asset is, has increased sharply for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100.

The RSI reading for the S&P 500 rose 46 points over the last 13 days, the largest increase over that time frame in over thirty years, Toomey said. The RSI reading for the Nasdaq has seen a similar increase over that time frame.

"Most violent RSI move ever," Toomey wrote.

3. Nearly a quarter of tech stocks are overbought

Around 23% of companies in the technology, media, and telecom sectors look overbought, with an RSI reading of over 70, according to Jefferies' analysis.

4. The S&P 500 is on a rare winning streak

The S&P 500 gained more than 3% for three straight weeks as of last Friday. Over the last 75 years, that's only happened twice, Toomey said, pointing to when the market recovered from its decline in the early 80s and during the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite on Friday notched its own rare milestone, hitting its longest win streak since 1992.

5. The S&P 500 has outperformed its historical average in April

As of last Friday, the S&P 500 was up 9% since the start of the month. That's above five times the index's historical average, with the index gaining an average 1.7 percentage points for the month over the last 30 years, Toomey said.

• Maneesha Panja, 30, joined Month Offline, a program that syncs smartphone data to a flip phone.
• She spent a month using her flip phone and meeting with other members of the group.
• She said she made new friends and had more time to read. In the end, she decided to keep her dumb phone.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Maneesha Panja, a 30-year-old product leader at a small startup living in Brooklyn, New York. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in the '90s and early 2000s. Many of my early memories of technology are associated with discovery and delight. I remember getting my first iPod — that was such a big deal for me.

As I got older, my relationship with technology grew more complex. At first, social media was great because I could keep up with my high school friends while in college.

Then, it got overwhelming. Social media went from something I used primarily to stay connected to friends to something I reached for even when I didn't want it — or when I wanted to ignore an unpleasant emotion.

Having unlimited access to everything at any moment was getting in the way of other things I wanted to do, like reading or creative writing.

Still, it was hard to give up my smartphone. It was so helpful for checking my email, texting friends, and looking up directions. I also work as a product leader at a small startup, and couldn't completely separate myself from technology. App blockers and Bricking my phone didn't work for me; they felt like they went against the device's design.

I heard about Month Offline, a roughly $75 program, when they hosted a phone-free event after a concert my husband and I went to. The program would help transfer my contacts to a flip phone, which I would use for a month alongside a cohort of people I'd meet in person.

My husband and I both decided to sign up in January, even though we were nervous. He and I both had different things we wanted to get out of the program, but it all came down to the same reason: We wanted to cut back on our screen time.

I was worried about inviting friction into my life

The week before we started the program, I remember telling my husband I didn't feel ready. What if we postponed it for another month?

I wondered how I would do my job or navigate the city without my smartphone. I wondered if I needed to invite those elements of friction into my life right now. Despite my reservations, I decided to at least commit to the first session.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the dumb phone we got through the program — a TCL FLIP Go — still had some of the same perks as smartphones. I could still text my friends and family, even if they had iPhones. I could access basic navigation tools like Google Maps. Even the camera was surprisingly good for a flip phone. For work, I could use it for two-factor authentication via SMS-based codes for certain applications, such as Google.

There were still some inconveniences, which I eventually learned to look at as benefits. For instance, I had to get used to buying and loading an OMNY card to use the subway, instead of just tapping my smartphone. I missed the train a few times as a result.

One of those times, I sat down, frustrated and bored. The next train that came wasn't the one I needed. I looked up at the train conductor, who just smiled and waved at me, and I waved back. That human connection just gave me so much joy.

It's not like I wasn't having those experiences before, but having this flip phone gave me space to appreciate these moments.

I made new friends and spent more quality time with my husband

Month Offline provided us with suggestions to help us adjust to life without smartphones. One suggestion was to create an "internet room," just like the one I grew up with when I had a family computer. I even bought a printer and started printing out drafts of my writing to hand-edit them, instead of spending more time at the computer.

The best part of the program was the built-in community. My husband and I were assigned two buddies called flipmates, who we'd meet with at least once a week, with the option to keep hanging out.

I ended up becoming good friends with my flipmates. We hung out together, including one time when we all got up early on a Saturday morning and went to the Transit Museum in Brooklyn, since none of us had ever been. As soon as we left the museum, a snowstorm started, and we all took photos with a disposable camera. I just couldn't imagine having that experience without this phone.

Another nice memory was when my husband and I went to East Williamsburg in Brooklyn, which we're not as familiar with. We got lost trying to find the train and ended up at a bar we'd been to once. We decided to stop in and hang out for a bit. We realized we never do that. Normally, we'd plan an evening ahead of time. Not using smartphones brought so much spontaneity and more quality time to our relationship.

The program also invited us to work on art projects to present at the end, things we wanted to accomplish without the distraction of smartphones.

At the end of the month, we had a party with a huge turnout. Someone read the play that they had worked on. Someone made a film, another person wrote a story. I made a painting. It was a visual artifact of the time we spent together, off our phones.

The flip phone makes me less anxious and more present

Now that I'm done with the program, I decided to keep using the flip phone. While I still have my smartphone, I pay a $24 monthly subscription to the dumb phone that gives me access to the hardware and phone line. Since the program, TCL now also offers limited Uber capabilities, making it even easier for me to use.

Sometimes, I still need to use my smartphone for work; two-factor authentication can be more seamless for certain apps than on my flip phone. Still, I deleted all my apps other than the ones I strictly need for my job.

Since using my flip phone, I feel more connected to my friends and family than ever, which is so ironic, since so much of the phone reduces your ability to be available all the time. I call my friends more. I set aside time to hang out with them in person. I wasn't doing that when I had a smartphone.

One of the biggest changes was a drop in my anxiety. Before, using my phone numbed inconvenient feelings like frustration. Now, I've gotten better at processing my emotions, and I can better handle what life throws at me.

I also learned to associate getting lost or feeling bored positively because they can lead to more creativity and surprise. One day, I was in the Upper East Side and had time to kill. I called one of my flipmates who lives in the area to ask for recommendations on what to do. He met me at a coffee shop an hour later, and we just talked. The last time I just randomly met up with someone like that was in college.

• Apple is known for splashy product launches, and CEO Tim Cook has carried on that legacy.
• Under Cook, Apple expanded its product and service ecosystem beyond the iPhone.
• His Apple tenure included some major hits and misses, from the Apple Watch to the Vision Pro.

Tim Cook may not have Steve Jobs' reputation as a product visionary, but he has overseen the launch of some of Apple's most defining devices.

Cook's tenure as Apple's CEO is set to end in September, when senior vice president of hardware engineering John Ternus takes over. Cook will remain as executive chairman.

Under Cook, Apple has built a tightly integrated ecosystem of products and services that shapes how consumers engage with the brand. While the iPhone — launched under Jobs — remains its main revenue driver, an expanded services lineup that Cook shepherded, along with devices like the Apple Watch, has helped sustain its relevance.

Cook became CEO in 2011, succeeding Apple's late cofounder and inheriting one of the world's largest companies, known for iconic product launches and flashy presentations.

Though Jobs is mostly closely associated with the iPhone, Cook has overseen both wildly successful hits and notable misses.

Take a look at pivotal products from Cook's time as CEO.

iPad Mini

The first iteration of the iPad Mini came out in 2012. It was a smaller, lighter version of Apple's original iPad and sold for $329 at the time. It allowed Apple to compete with lower-cost tablets while appealing to users who prioritized convenience, reading, and one-handed use.

iPad Pro

The iPad Pro launched in 2015. It marked a turning point for Apple's tablet strategy, shifting the iPad from a device primarily used for browsing and media consumption into a more powerful tool for productivity and professional use.

With features like the Apple Pencil, Smart Keyboard, and a larger, more capable design, Apple positioned the iPad as a potential laptop alternative.

Apple Watch

When it debuted in 2015, the Apple Watch marked the company's first entirely new hardware launch since the Jobs era. It. More than 10 years later, the smartwatch is a consistent top performer for Apple in terms of revenue.

The Apple Watch found its footing in fitness and health tracking, with features such as heart rate monitoring and, later, electrocardiogram capabilities.

AirPods

Launched in 2016, Apple's Bluetooth earbuds — AirPods — quickly became a hit, widely adopted by iPhone users. The device has since spawned iterations such as the AirPods Pro and AirPods Max headphones.

iPhone X

The iPhone X, which debuted in 2017, marked a major hardware shift in the iPhone. It got rid of the home button that Apple's handheld devices were known for.

At the time of its launch, Apple fans lined up for days in anticipation. It marked the 10th anniversary of the iPhone and came with Face ID, a feature Apple still uses.

HomePod

The HomePod launch in 2018 marked Apple's entry into the smart speaker market, but with a focus on premium audio quality over mass-market adoption. Unlike competitors, Apple positioned HomePod as a high-end music device integrated with its streaming service Apple Music and its ecosystem.

Vision Pro

In June 2023, Apple unveiled its mixed-reality headset, calling it the "most advanced personal electronics device ever." Priced at $3,499, the device features 12 cameras and a technology called Eyesight, which lets others see the wearer's face as they approach.

The Vision Pro received a mixed response from consumers due to its price point and lack of a killer app that differentiated it from other headsets.

iPhone Air

Apple released the iPhone Air alongside the iPhone 17 family in September 2025. At 5.6 millimeters, the iPhone Air is Apple's thinnest phone yet. Apple said the new phone combines "strength, lightness, and durability."

MacBook Neo

In March 2026, Apple unveiled the MacBook Neo. At $599, it's Apple's most affordable laptop yet. It features a 13-inch display and is powered by the A18 Pro chip — a chip usually found in iPhones. It comes in the colors indigo, blush, citrus, and silver.

"We're so excited to bring the magic of Mac to even more people around the world," CEO Tim Cook said in an X post when the product launched.

Tech reviewer Marques Brownlee called the MacBook Neo "potentially Apple's most disruptive product in the last 10-plus years," and an exec at one PC maker said it was a "shock to the entire market."

Apple Services

Although it's not a hardware product, Cook's efforts to expand Apple's Services division are a cornerstone of his legacy at the company. With offerings such as Apple TV, Apple Music, and Fitness+, the tech giant has shattered revenue records in its Services business.

• Bernard Hampton, head of The Academy at Bank of America, reflects on a time he didn't get a promotion.
• He said it taught him to better share his accomplishments and be more intentional in one-on-ones.
• Hampton said the experience also taught him to take ownership of his role in the process.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Bernard Hampton, managing director and head of Bank of America's learning and skill development organization, The Academy. He's based in Fort Lauderdale. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

We learn from disappointment in life.

There was once a time, around 2010, when I didn't get a role. A key quality for the role was leaders who were helping peers elevate their performance, beyond leading high-performing teams. Ultimately, I didn't get it because I made assumptions.

I assumed my leader knew that I stood up a weekly routine, bringing my colleagues together as a peer group. They were also unaware of the colleagues I mentored in each division across the country each month.

These activities weren't something I shared in one-on-ones. My leader typically talked about performance and business planning, so that's what I talked about, and I missed an opportunity to expand the view of my value to the company.

While disappointing, it allowed me to reorient. It also gave me an opportunity to be clearer and build better relationships — not just with my leader, but with other leaders at their level, and even the leader above.

Fortunately, I was able to take the role a year later. But without that disappointment, there could have been a real miss for a long time. Here's what the experience taught me:

Routines matter

Feedback shouldn't feel like it's coming out of left field. Ideally, you get formalized one-on-one coaching through regular check-ins or performance assessments. So I learned to better use my one-on-ones.

Reputations are formed through consistency, and these kinds of conversations, depending on level, should take place consistently two to four times a year.

When it's time for a six-month or 90-day review, I make note of the really important milestones in my work. That includes things that underscore the value I bring to the organization, as well as the ways I showed up throughout the period.

That's the time to paint the full picture, and that composite view can be really powerful when summarized in the right way of what it's meant for your skill development, what it's meant in contribution to the organization, and how it impacts the organization or line of business that you support.

Don't make snap judgments

Disappointments, mistakes, and challenges are part of life and careers. When they happen professionally, it's important to recognize that I joined the right company, with a culture and values that I believe in.

Too often, people make snap judgments. If you think favorably of those parts of the company, then, in moments of disappointment, the key question is: "Where did this go wrong? What was my share of it? Am I just blaming the company?

I find that much more can be understood about one's reaction to adversity over the much easier circumstance of when every day is roses. Our best efforts come down to asking for feedback, and being very open to feedback and questioning if we have done our best work.

Have confidence and humility

In moments of feedback, it's easy to lack confidence. I'm a high-functioning introvert, and it's easy to feel like I can't ask the important question. Even in disappointing situations, you need to be able to ask what made the difference and where you could have been stronger. The people who continually ask for feedback and take action on it are the ones who build credibility and career confidence.

My mom used to say to my two siblings and me, "You are no better than anyone else, but no one else is better than you." It was burned into my brain because it combines humility and confidence in one sentence. Humility keeps you learning and open to feedback.

Confidence helps you take on stretch work and speak up. It keeps you going, even when you may be more junior. You need to engage with that feedback, and even more so in an era where the world is changing fast.

Feedback can be humbling, but it's not a weakness — it's the game. So being humble enough to learn, and confident enough to try, couldn't be more important.

• Manish Kabra of Société Générale urges focus on physical assets amid global reshoring trends.
• Kabra highlights rising defense spending and strategic metal reserves as key investment drivers.
• He suggests investing in utilities, materials, and industrials for exposure to the theme.

Tech stocks have regained favor among investors over the last month, after a sell-off brought the sector's valuations down to historically cheap levels, but Manish Kabra is sticking with physical assets.

Société Générale's chief US equity strategist likes the picks, shovels, and hard materials of the world. In an interview with Business Insider last week, Kabra argued that the best investment opportunities right now are in commodities like metals and in stocks tied to demand for hard assets.

He said the view stems from a few trends.

The first is the global trend of reshoring and reindustrialization, especially in the US and Europe, as countries move to secure their supply chains amid volatile trade policy and rising geopolitical tensions. Tied in with this is the ongoing AI buildout, as data-center demand continues to rise globally, he said.

Second is the rise in defense spending around the world, and the need for materials and metals.

"Currently 8% of corporate demand is coming from defense spending," Kabra said. "Within the Department of War, the two biggest commodities they buy are aluminum and copper."

And third, countries are increasingly building up strategic metal reserves, he said.

"Like how every country was focused and is focused on strategic reserves for oil, I think it's the strategic reserves for metals that's starting now," he said.

He pointed to the US adding copper and silver to its critical metals list, as well as to the European Union's announcement of its Critical Raw Materials Act.

Kabra's outlook echoes the proponents of the so-called HALO trade — short for "heavy assets, low obsolescence" — which has caught traction in recent months after asset-light companies in industries like software saw their shares rocked by threats of AI disruption. The thinking is that hard assets and firms that operate them will perform better, as companies need materials to develop AI, and these materials are not vulnerable to AI disruption in the same way as some tech firms.

How to invest

Kabra shared a few ways investors can gain exposure to physical assets.

One is directly through market sectors like utilities, materials, and industrials, as they're all tied to the growing need for resources like metals and power.

But others ways to gain heightened exposure to these assets is through certain broad stock indexes, he said. Two that Kabra named are the S&P 500 equal-weighted index and the UK's FTSE 100. The former has a 32% weighting to these sectors combined — much higher than the S&P 500 cap-weighted index — and the FTSE 100 has a 40% weighting.

Certain currencies also give indirect exposure, Kabra said, due to the resources in their respective countries. For example, the Australian dollar offers exposure to metals demand; the Canadian dollar and Norwegian Krona give exposure to energy; and the New Zealand dollar provides exposure to food.

Finally, Kabra said he likes metals themselves, like gold and copper. Societe Generale's ideal portfolio structure is 50% stocks, 15% commodities, 25% bonds, and 10% cash.

Examples of funds that offer stock-market exposure to the ideas above include the Invesco S&P 500® Equal Weight ETF (RSP), Vanguard Materials ETF (VAW), Fidelity MSCI Industrials Index ETF (FIDU), iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (IDU), SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), and United States Copper Index Fund (CPER).

• Ahmed Ahres moved from London to San Francisco on an O-1 Visa in 2025.
• Though living in San Francisco has boosted his ambition, he has felt pressure to always be thriving.
• Ahres says it's difficult to escape talks about tech, but relationships are his key to boundaries.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ahmed Ahres, a 27-year-old Product & GTM at a tech startup based in San Francisco. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I hold the belief that if you want to become the best in the world at something, you've got to surround yourself with the best in the world. For technology, the place to do that is San Francisco.

When I moved here from London a year ago, I came on an O-1 visa, a pathway for foreigners with exceptional abilities to live and work in the US. I came here willing to sacrifice things like closeness to my family in Tunisia because my priority is my tech career.

"What are you building?" is the first question someone might ask me if I stumble into a conversation at a bar or coffee shop here in San Francisco; not my name, or my job. Your career seems to matter more than who you are here.

The sheer amount of ambition and innovation in San Francisco is motivating, but this isn't an easy place to live in when your career is not thriving. Still, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in the world.

I'm so much more ambitious in San Francisco

I was granted an O-1 visa last year after raising funding from a US investor for my AI startup. My visa lasts three years, and I can work in any job related to AI. Since moving, my cofounder has taken over the majority of the company, and I now work in product for a company building the future of video AI.

I've always been an ambitious person, but my level of ambition has increased massively since being surrounded by people who are basically telling me, whatever you're dreaming, you can dream of a vision that's one thousand times bigger.

I feel like I can do things here. I had an idea to start a podcast in January, and a week later, I recorded my first episode. Our environment defines us, and seeing everyone here put things into action has inspired me to embody that same level of ambition.

San Francisco feels like a place where anything is possible

I see San Francisco as an environment that not only defines who I am today, but who I want to become: this ambitious person who can do anything he sets his mind to.

Since being here, people have told me, "Ahmed, you've become a bit crazy." And I'm like, "Yeah, I love it." Being here makes me believe everything is possible.

I don't want to be in a job where I'm thinking about how to increase revenue little by little. No, I want to do something that completely changes the world.

That's just the nature of being surrounded by people who think like that.

There's pressure to act like everything is OK all the time

I had a transition period in late 2025 when I knew I wanted to step back a little from the company I had built; I felt completely lost. In that time, I stopped going to events or even meeting up with people because I knew I'd get asked about what I was building.

There's this expectation in San Francisco to be starting a company or doing something big at all times, so it was very hard to be open about my uncertainty. I think a lot of people are pretending to be doing well out here when they're not. I did too.

At certain dinners and events, despite the fact that I was realizing I didn't want to continue down my path as a founder, I'd often answer "the company is doing super well," and "I'm excited about the future" when I wasn't.

It was hard being in a low place when it felt like I was the only one. Thankfully, I have a great support system around me. They were extremely supportive and encouraged me to pursue my passion and work on something that I absolutely love and believe in.

It's hard to escape conversations about technology

I'm very passionate about technology, so I love talking about it, but there are times when I'm out doing something for fun, and I have to plainly say I don't want to talk about work. Back in London, people work hard, protect their personal time, and rarely talk about work outside of office hours. At 5 p.m., pubs and bars are full. The mentality is more "work to live" than "live to work."

It's hard to escape talks about tech, but I'm lucky to have friends I already knew before moving and my brother here. I can have deep conversations with them about anything.

When I first moved, I struggled to meet people outside of those few, but I've gotten into hobbies like tennis, where I've met some good friends who have nothing to do with work, and that has helped me settle in.

Building genuine relationships is the key to boundaries

In the San Francisco tech scene, your status isn't defined by what car or home you own; it's defined by who you know, what you're building, and how much money you've raised. People really care about that, and it can be hard to make genuine relationships.

I've realized that it's OK to go to events and try to get customers and grow your company. At the same time, it's very important that I create, build, and nurture relationships that are bigger than just work for my long-term happiness.

Making sure I'm having deep conversations with friends about things outside of our jobs is really important to me and helps me find balance in my life here.

Do you have a story to share about what it's like living in San Francisco? If so, please reach out to the reporter at tmartinelli@businessinsider.com.

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• Eve Halimi cofounded Alinea, an investment platform geared toward young and first-time users.
• Halimi said their storytelling marketing resonated with young investors.
• "Institutional players are moving too slow, and I think that's the advantage we have," she said.

Gen Z founders have launched into the business world with a bang, and legacy brands have been trying to keep up ever since. Just ask Eve Halimi.

Halimi and Anam Lakhani created Alinea, an investment platform designed for the next generation of wealth-builders, in 2021. The pair began building Alinea after interning on Wall Street, where one thing became crystal clear: the rich were getting richer.

"The richer were getting richer through the stock market, and people who didn't have the means weren't learning about it elsewhere," Halimi, 29, told Business Insider. "We saw this really big gap."

For the uninitiated, learning to invest in the stock market can feel like a perplexing blur of hyper-specific jargon, oscillating graphs, and chasing after trends that may never pan out. Financially savvy folks have often relied on legacy institutions to manage their investments and assets, but not everyone has the know-how or access. That's where Alinea comes in.

"The institutional players are moving too slow," she said. "That's the advantage we have as a startup. We're able to move and innovate much faster."

While traditional, long-standing companies like JPMorgan had to adopt digital technology into their services, Alinea is part of the fintech wave built on it from the beginning. Alinea occupies the fintech space alongside companies like Robinhood and Coinbase, both of which went public in 2021 after shaking up the finance industry.

Although a relatively new company, Alinea has made serious strides. The company raised over $10 million in a funding round last year and received $22.5 million in user-acquisition funding from PvX Partners in February.

Halimi said that Alinea, compared to its Big Tech and fintech peers, has an edge in engaging new investors. The secret isn't glossy magazine ad campaigns and Super Bowl slots, though.

'Hey, girls'

In true Gen Z fashion, Halimi and Lakhani struck gold on social media, growing their brand through TikTok videos. Halimi said they weave storytelling into their content, offering users glimpses of themselves and their journey.

"People really resonated with us as founders, and talking about our own pain points," Halimi said. "That's been our secret to topping the finance charts and getting all of these users with so little capital compared to all of these other companies."

She added: "When you look at the marketing landscape for consumer fintechs, you're never going to see the CEO of Vanguard get on TikTok and be like, 'Hey, girls.'"

That personable approach helped Alinea gain over 2.5 million users. Initially, Halimi said their platform was geared toward Gen Z women, but that's changed over the last year.

"We actually realized this market is way bigger than we expected. Last year our user base was 92% female, and now we're 60% female," Halimi said. "That's because we're now getting men and all types of people who need this product."

It helps that Alinea is accessible at a time when investing has become popular with young people. A March 2025 World Economic Forum Survey reported that Gen Z begins investing earlier than previous generations. By the time Gen Z enters the workforce, over 80% will have learned about personal investing, compared with 47% of Baby Boomers, according to the survey.

"Everyone knows that they need to do it. Everyone is getting set up earlier. Everyone is investing more money in the stock market," Halimi said. "With the rise of social media, FinTok is popping."

Digital natives

Gen Z has earned the title of digital natives, or a generation that grew up with advanced technology at their fingertips. As such, it's not a surprise that Alinea embraces tech like AI.

Allie, an AI-powered copilot, helps users navigate their first investments. Allie can provide market recaps and help users make informed investment decisions.

"She's going to ask you a few questions about yourself, like your risk tolerance, income, and what job you're doing. Based on that, she's going to give you a portfolio to invest in and recommend an amount you should invest," Halimi said.

Alinea also aims to connect with its users through features like Investment Playlists. The playlists are curated collections of stocks and ETFs tailored to a user's specific goal or theme.

Alinea's wealth management service costs $120 a year, or $10 a month. The platform gives users access to stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.

"We think about the day one, day 18, day 30, day 60 experience," Halimi said. "We're leveling them up on this journey and helping them gain that confidence, so even though they're beginners when they're getting started, they're pros by year one."

• Angie Smith felt trapped in her corporate tech job. Her stress levels and overall health suffered.
• In January 2023, she decided to leave her well-paid position in Texas and move to Italy that fall.
• The 52-year-old enjoys a quieter life, runs retreats for women, and has gone down two dress sizes.

This interview is based on a conversation with Angie Smith, 52, a real estate advisor and founder of a women's retreat in Tuscany. It has been edited for length and clarity.

Most of the time when I worked in tech sales in Fort Worth, Dallas, I was on the road, traveling across the Southern states. I'd stay in hotels, drink Margaritas, order food on DoorDash, and avoid exercising.

I was constantly sick with everything from digestive issues to migraine headaches. I eventually ended up in the hospital and went on anxiety medication.

I also put on weight and, at 5ft 7in tall, weighed 218 pounds at one point.

Although I was good at my job, which paid six figures annually, I'd get the "Sunday Scaries" when the thought of yet another focus meeting the following morning filled me with dread.

I'd always loved Italy

Things were so bad that my sister took me aside on several occasions and said, "Angie, if you don't change something, you're going to die." We lost our brother suddenly in 2021 at 68. For years, he'd told me, "Work isn't everything."

In January 2023, I finally took notice. I was 49, and woke up one day thinking, "I'm heading into the second half of my life. Do I really want to keep on doing this?"

I'd loved Italy ever since spending two weeks there with my daughter, Taylor, when she graduated high school in 2013. We went to Milan, Rome, and Venice.

On the flight home, I cried because I felt such a connection to the place and the people. After that, I visited on vacation as often as I could.

I'd had ideas about settling there before, which had come to nothing. But this time, after much thought, I was determined to make it happen.

I put in my notice in March 2023 and left my job the following month. Then I put my home in Fort Worth on the market for $465,000. Meanwhile, Taylor, now 31, who lives and works in London, caught budget flights to Italy to scout houses for me in Tuscany.

It was risky, but I bought a two-bedroom house, located in a hamlet 30 miles from Florence, pretty much "sight unseen," that June. Taylor had shown it to me on FaceTime, and I trusted her judgment.

I paid 120,000 euros (around $130,000 USD in 2023) in cash, and saw it for the first time just before closing in August. It was a beautiful, 19th-century stone house with two bedrooms and two acres of terraced olive groves.

I'm far from fluent in Italian

Two months later, I packed my belongings, boarded a plane, and moved into the small two-bedroom property. It was the best decision I ever made.

Most of the residents in my hamlet belong to one multi-generational family — from babies up to great grandparents — and they've welcomed me with open arms.

They taught me how to take care of my olive trees and even helped me with my first harvest in 2024. I speak a combination of English and Italian to them, but I'm far from fluent.

My life is much quieter now — and so much healthier. I don't have the migraines anymore.

I'm an outdoorsy person, and because I live in the mountains, where it's cooler, I hike a lot. Physical activity and good eating have helped me to lose a total of 42 pounds in two-and-a-half years. I'm down from an extra large to a medium.

The food tastes so much better than American food, mostly because it's mostly free of preservatives. So many things I ate in the US inflamed me.

When I visited my family in the US, my face got puffy, and my stomach got upset, just like before.

Women can dream bigger than they think

In fact, I gained 8 pounds in Texas between Christmas and the end of January, which I'm healthfully losing now.

I got my digital nomad visa in September 2025 after proving I met the requirement of earning more than 32,000 euros (about $38,000 USD) per year. My small businesses are a real estate advisory service for people thinking of moving to Italy and hosting women's retreats.

I want women — especially singletons, divorcees, and empty nesters — to realize they can dream bigger in their next step.

My story has inspired many others to change their location and lifestyle. I'm spreading the word that new adventures await after 50.

Have you moved abroad from the US in middle age? Please email Jane Ridley at jridley@insider.com

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Robert Rosenkranz, the 83-year-old chairman of Delphi Capital Management, about his daily routine. It's been edited for length and clarity.

I started my career as an economist and tax lawyer before founding my private equity firm, Delphi Capital Management. From 1987 to 2018, I was the CEO, managing over $40 billion in assets.

At 83, I find it hard to retire successfully. Part of what made me successful in my career is that I enjoyed the process. And if you enjoy the process, why stop?

When I stepped back from day-to-day management at Delphi in 2018 at 75, I knew staying engaged with different projects would be more satisfying than hanging out on a beach or playing golf. I'm still the company's chairman and provide counsel to the senior management team.

I know a lot of people who retire and, over time, become less interesting and less healthy. A good friend of mine, Byron Wien, used to say, "If you work forever, you'll live forever." It didn't work out for him, but I'm going with it.

Here's what a typical day looks like.

I wake up at 7:30 a.m. every day

I usually skip breakfast and start my day with a cup of coffee. I practice intermittent fasting and consume all my calories between 1 p.m. and 9 p.m.

I've been working with top longevity scientists as part of my philanthropic work in life extension research. Their studies show that caloric restriction and regular exercise can reverse biological aging. I've been at this for about four years, and I'm biologically six years younger than when I started.

I've also experienced dramatic improvements in my long-term memory. I realized I can recall books I've read or conversations I've had from over 40 years ago. Fasting matters, but so do exercise, sleep, and the mindset. It's the whole routine working together.

Exercise is a part of my non-negotiable morning routine

I exercise two or three times a week. I do weight training and cardio, or play tennis with a professional.

I watch a TV series while I train. I'm hooked on the show Slow Horses.

I spend my mornings with newspapers and AI

I read the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times newspapers daily with my coffee. These have been my primary sources of information throughout my career.

I'm a techno-optimist. My instinct is to be an early adopter of technological advances so they can serve me well in my activities. I'm a heavy user of Claude and ChatGPT. It's almost like having a couple of PhDs at my disposal 24 hours a day.

My workspace reflects both philosophy and profit

My office tells the story of my career. On the wall opposite my desk is a magnificent image of the Chicago Board of Trade by Andreas Gursky. It reminds me of some of the silver trades I made early in my career that helped me build my reputation.

I also have a 1930s Paul Strand image of people walking past a building on Wall Street. It shows people looking completely overwhelmed by the architecture of the buildings they're passing. That symbolized Strand's thinking about the overwhelming nature of capitalism and finance in those days.

There's also an early image of the Buddha from Gandhara, along with several other images from Buddhist iconography.

I schedule every hour, including social calls

My typical day includes three to four hours of scheduled calls or meetings. Even my social calls are scheduled.

I'm very conscious about my social relationships. I think about which social relationships serve a purpose, which ones I want to nurture, and which need repair. Some of my most important friendships go back decades, including those with Mike Milken, Paul Singer, and Kiril Sokoloff. Relationships like those require the same intentionality I bring to everything else.

I don't take unnecessary meetings, and I'm quick to say no to demands on my time that don't align with my priorities. One of my guiding principles is to do less, but with greater intensity. By doing less, I mean eliminating non-essentials from your life.

My Delphi work is now just 2-3 hours a week

I work in a non-executive capacity at Delphi. I provide my input at weekly investment committee meetings and have regular calls with senior management.

COVID-19 taught me I don't need to be physically tied to any particular location. I own homes in Aspen and London, and I spend time in East Hampton and New York as well. I can function just as well from any of them.

I break my fast at 1 p.m. with a salad

I break my fast with a salad and some protein. When I have business meetings, I prefer lunch in the office, and we usually order takeout from a nearby restaurant.

If there's a special occasion, I might have my cook prepare a nice meal.

Stoicism helped me build my firm

Since the early days of my career, I've relied on Stoic principles to guide my decision-making. The principles of Stoicism have helped me rein in toxic emotions like anger and fear, so I can respond to events calmly and rationally.

There have been instances when people have behaved in ways that made me very angry. Stoic philosophy taught me that by taking a time-out, not reacting emotionally, and thinking more rationally about the situation, I can achieve better outcomes.

These days, my primary job is reading and absorbing information about what's happening in the world. I can't separate investment time from everything else. Almost everything I do has investment implications.

If I read headlines about fiscal policy or new legislation, my mind immediately jumps to inflation, interest rates, and market positioning implications. If your mind is active, everything you do will start to interconnect with each other.

I also spend a lot of time working on various philanthropic projects. I'm actively involved in many activities in the public policy, arts, and medical science fields.

I have dinner at 8 p.m. and read afterward

I eat dinner at 8 p.m. My wife, Alexandra, and I have a personal chef in New York and in Aspen, so we usually have very nice dinners.

After dinner, I sit down and read a book. My reading is eclectic and driven by my interests in art, science, and public policy.

I go to bed around midnight

I get about seven and a half hours of sleep every night. Sleep becomes even more critical for health and longevity as you get older.

Weekends are for family and physical activity

I usually won't schedule business activities on weekends. Instead, I play tennis, bike, and socialize with friends.

One of the hardest things to schedule is time with my children and grandkids. My grandkids are in different schools around the country, my kids have busy schedules, while I spend most of my time in Aspen.

We usually get together in the Hamptons and hang out as a family. Family time requires the most planning, but it's worth it.

• Younger hedge funds with ties to the Tiger Cub network had tough starts to the year.
• A volatile March brought on by the US-Iran conflict stung equity hedge funds.
• Ning Jin's Avantyr Capital Partners outperformed his former employer, Viking Global.

The Tiger Cub network — made up of hedge funds connected to the late billionaire Julian Robertson's legendary Tiger Management — has added notable new launches in recent years. Neither the old guard nor the new was able to escape March's pain, however.

Funds run by former executives and investors of hedge funds Viking Global and Lone Pine lost money last month, according to investor updates and people close to the managers.

Ning Jin's Avantyr Capital Partners, for example, was down 0.5% for the first quarter of 2026 after a 2% loss in March, a person close to the new manager told Business Insider.

However, Jin, the former chief investment officer of Viking Global, outperformed his old firm, which was down 4.1% in March and 4.6% for the quarter. Long-running, billionaire-helmed funds Coatue and Tiger Global fell 3.5% and 10.5%, respectively, in the first three months of 2026.

Viking, Coatue, and Tiger are known for being founded by former analysts or portfolio managers who worked with Robertson, and typically invest in growth stocks, with a strong tilt toward technology companies. The next generation of the Tiger network often comes from these firms, as well as managers like Lone Pine, Maverick, and Discovery.

Mala Gaonkar's SurgoCap Partners, which now manages more than $6 billion, was down 4.4% in the first quarter after a 6.5% loss in March, a person close to the equity investor said. Gaonkar was one of the three portfolio managers at Lone Pine, founded by billionaire founder Stephen Mandel Jr., until she left the firm in 2022.

A pair of former young Viking Global stars had tougher starts to the year.

At Divya Nettimi's Avala Global, the fund's share class that invests in both public companies and private startups was down 10.2% in March, dragging its 2026 returns to a 7.6% loss. The firm's share class without privates lost 14.6% in March and is down 12.1% for the quarter, according to an investor update seen by Business Insider.

Grant Wonders' Voyager Global lost 3.1% in March, according to an investor update seen by Business Insider. It also struggled in January and February: The fund was down nearly 17% in the first quarter.

There were very few funds that emerged from March unscathed. The average hedge fund was down 3.5% in the month, according to data from fund administrator Citco, and stock-picking funds lost 2.8% on average. The market volatility brought on by the US-Iran conflict stung macro managers and even led to losses at the typically even-keeled multistrategy funds.

Stocks were hit hard across the board in March, but a rally began before the month's close. While the S&P 500 was down 5% on the month in March, the last trading day of the first quarter erased a chunk of the losses, and the index has surged to record highs in April.

Managers either declined to comment or did not immediately return requests for comment.

• Amazon has reshaped its workforce, policies, and strategy in recent years.
• Employees say layoffs, AI, and return-to-office policies are changing their work and lives.
• These changes have created new opportunities for some — and new challenges for others.

Amazon's hardcore culture transformation is becoming a case study in the employee-employer relationship in the AI era.

Companies from AT&T to Walmart are following Amazon's lead, cracking down on efficiency and accountability. With more than double the combined headcount of Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta, changes at Amazon carry far-reaching implications for America's workers.

While some of the effects of stricter performance reviews, return-to-office policies, and massive rounds of layoffs impact workers right away, other changes take time to trickle down to employees' day-to-day work and personal lives. Twelve Amazon workers told Business Insider what life has been like as they settle into a new normal.

Layoffs are raising the stakes for those who remain

Few changes have been more impactful than layoffs.

When Joanelle Cobos was laid off from her design manager role at Amazon last October, she decided to take a few months to reset. After ramping up her search in January, she struggled to land interviews. She estimated she has less than a year before her funds run dry.

"My job search feels like a ticking time bomb," she said.

After doubling its workforce between 2019 and 2021, Amazon has laid off more than 57,000 corporate employees, with more than half the cuts coming in October and January. The layoffs included managers, as part of an effort to reduce management layers and increase worker-to-manager ratios by 15%.

Laid-off workers have been forced to navigate a labor market where hiring has slowed. While some have managed to find new roles, others are still looking.

The effects of layoffs extend beyond those who lost their jobs. The fear of more cuts has pushed some employees, already facing stricter performance reviews, to step up their work to protect their jobs and avoid being placed on a performance improvement plan.

An employee based in Berlin said recent layoff rounds contributed to a culture of "put your elbows out and try to stay afloat."

"It's very tense," he said soon after the January layoffs. "Everyone's anxious."

Andrew Z. Chen, a software engineer based in New York City, said he's not personally too concerned about his job security — no one on his team was affected — but the January layoffs were still felt. He had scheduled a company book club on the day of the layoffs, and one employee who had RSVP'd was laid off.

"Most of the book discussion turned into a discussion about the layoffs," he said.

For many, navigating the company's recent changes has meant accepting a degree of uncertainty.

"I think many employees have adopted a more pragmatic mindset," said Sarthak Gupta, a data scientist in Seattle, "focusing on delivering impact and doing their best work, while accepting that some factors are outside individual control."

Return to office policies are playing out unevenly

Amazon moved to a three-day office policy in 2023, followed by a five-day policy in January 2025. In December, the company rolled out a dashboard to help managers track office attendance.

An Amazon employee in his 20s who works out of the company's Seattle headquarters said that between his hour-long commute and being asked to stay late at the office more frequently, he has had less time and energy for activities outside of work.

"Man, am I more burned out than I've ever been in my life," he said.

The employee said he is now actively looking for more flexible roles outside Amazon — though he knows those opportunities, at least within Big Tech, are limited in a tough job market.

A product manager based in Los Angeles who was laid off from Amazon last October said that while some employees had flexibility to work from home in certain circumstances, his manager strictly enforced the company's five-day office policy.

For Gupta, the shift back to the office has worked in his favor — he lives about a seven-minute walk from the office. He pays around $2,700 a month, including parking, for his one-bedroom apartment, and said that while there were cheaper options farther away, being close was worth it.

"The short commute has allowed me to focus on building my career instead of feeling drained from getting to and from work," Gupta said.

AI is reshaping how employees do their jobs

Chen said he has been encouraged to use AI tools but hasn't been required to do so. For him, AI has become the most efficient way to get work done — even if it can feel "soul-sucking" at times.

"I spend most of my time talking to AI agents," said Chen. "I can't really imagine going through a day at Amazon without using AI at this point."

Under CEO Andy Jassy, Amazon has made multibillion-dollar investments in Anthropic and OpenAI, and plans to spend up to $200 billion on its AI buildout this year. Last year, Jassy said he expected efficiency gains from AI to eventually "reduce" the size of the company's corporate workforce. Some employees are now evaluated, in part, by how frequently they use AI tools.

The LA-based former product manager said he saw significant productivity gains for software engineers, but more of a "mixed bag" for other roles, like his own. While AI helped with tasks like writing, he said outputs were not always sufficiently reviewed, resulting in occasional errors across documents, emails, and Slack messages.

He said AI became a frequent topic of conversation at work, and that many colleagues shared concerns about facing scrutiny or falling behind professionally if they didn't use the tools — a dynamic that shaped how they approached AI.

"It was fear of irrelevance that was causing most adoption, rather than excitement for technological progress," he said.

Jane Zhang contributed to reporting.

• Some Google DeepMind employees use Anthropic's Claude for coding internally.
• Most Google employees are only permitted to use the company's internal Gemini AI tools.
• The divide is causing tensions as Google pressures more employees to adopt AI.

A new divide has emerged within Google: those allowed to use Anthropic's Claude and those not.

Some Google DeepMind employees in recent months have been given access to the Claude AI tool for coding purposes, according to three people familiar with the matter.

Googlers are generally prohibited from using tools that aren't either made by Google or tailored specifically for internal use. Meanwhile, Claude has become one of the most popular AI coding tools across the tech industry.

The decision to let Google DeepMind employees use Claude has irked engineers in other parts of the company, who are only allowed to use Google's internal Gemini AI models for coding.

Some employees feel that Google's internal models aren't as good as Claude for coding, two of the people said. Giving some staff access to Claude has created tensions, as Google is telling more employees they are expected to use AI.

Some engineers have been given specific AI goals that will be factored into performance reviews this year. In some cases, these employees are being told they're not only expected to use AI to generate code, but to build tools that make their processes more efficient.

A Google spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Google keeps its engineers on internal tools for various reasons. Much of its internal infrastructure is custom-built. It also believes dogfooding — where employees test and use products they launch to customers — can help them improve faster.

Other tech companies allow their employees to use external AI models. For example, Meta employees can use Claude internally, Business Insider previously reported.

The Google DeepMind CEO snaps back

Last week, Steve Yegge, a computer programmer and blogger, posted on X about Google's AI adoption. He said he spoke to a Google director, who told him the company's internal AI adoption was lagging.

"The TL;DR is that Google engineering appears to have the same AI adoption footprint as John Deere, the tractor company," he wrote on X.

The post sparked plenty of discussion and solicited a blunt response from Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis: "Maybe tell your buddy to do some actual work and to stop spreading absolute nonsense. This post is completely false and just pure clickbait."

Yegge posted again on Monday, saying he'd heard from some Google employees who corroborated his claims. Yegge also said that some DeepMind engineers use Claude, while engineers across the rest of the company aren't allowed.

"When the question of equalizing access came up internally, the proposed response was to remove Claude for everyone — which DeepMind objected to so strongly that several engineers reportedly threatened to leave," he wrote.

Have something to share? Contact this reporter via email at hlangley@businessinsider.com or Signal at 628-228-1836. Use a personal email address and a non-work device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• Tech titans Elon Musk and Sam Altman will face off in court starting April 27.
• Musk has accused Altman of deceiving him into donating $38 million to OpenAI, which he helped cofound.
• There's a lot at stake for the defendants, including Altman, OpenAI, and even its major investor, Microsoft.

Was OpenAI built on a lie — and could a jury sympathetic to that claim force it to undergo yet another dramatic transformation?

Later this month, Elon Musk will ask an Oakland federal jury to decide whether his fellow OpenAI cofounders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, deceived him into donating $38 million to the AI company by promising it would remain a nonprofit for the benefit of humanity.

In allowing the case to go to trial, the judge cited, among other evidence, an exhibit containing Brockman's private musings over the direction of the nonprofit before Musk resigned from its board in 2018.

"can't see us turning this into a for-profit without a very nasty fight," Brockman wrote, adding, "and his story will correctly be that we weren't honest with him in the end about still wanting to do the for profit just without him."

The same exhibit also shows Brockman saying it would be "morally bankrupt" to "steal" the company from Musk.

The battle of the titans is set to kick off with jury selection on April 27, marking the culmination of a feud that has long spilled outside the courtroom. Earlier this month, OpenAI asked the attorneys general of California and Delaware to probe "anti-competitive behavior" by Musk, who runs rival AI company xAI.

In the latest twist, Musk has asked the Oakland federal judge overseeing the case to consider removing Altman as an officer of the for-profit if the jury finds him liable, among other potential remedies. The judge will review potential remedies after the jury decides on the liability claims.

So what's at stake for the key players in this legal battle? We compiled a list of potential consequences for OpenAI, Altman, Musk, and more as the trial nears.

OpenAI

At the heart of the case is OpenAI's 2025 transition to a for-profit entity. If he wins, Musk wants OpenAI, now valued at over $800 billion, to be returned to a nonprofit entity. He's also asking for billions in disgorgement to be returned to the nonprofit.

If forced to revert to a nonprofit, OpenAI could face fundraising headaches as it lays the groundwork for a possible IPO, which could happen as soon as this year. The AI company has been on a seemingly never-ending quest to raise the capital necessary to train and launch more advanced LLMs, and previously faced investor pressure to restructure into a more traditional for-profit entity.

Sam Altman

Musk is seeking to have Altman removed as a director of the nonprofit and as an officer of the for-profit. He also wants to strip Altman of his equity in the company, which could limit Altman's ability to profit if OpenAI goes public.

Whether the judge would agree with Musk's request to remove Altman is another question. On Friday, the judge questioned whether some of Musk's remedy requests were within her powers. She said she will consider Musk's demands after the jury decides on the liability issue.

The trial could also reignite questions about Altman's leadership, which were thrust into the limelight when he was briefly fired by the board in 2023. Musk's lawyers are expected to call to the witness stand former board members who voted for Altman to be fired, saying he fostered a "toxic culture of lying," including potentially Tasha McCauley.

Regardless of the legal outcome, testimony about Altman could prove bruising, especially as it comes hot on the heels of Ronan Farrow's New Yorker investigation questioning if the CEO could be trusted.

Greg Brockman

Musk is also seeking to have Brockman removed as an officer of OpenAI and stripped of his equity in the company. Brockman is currently president of OpenAI.

Like Altman, Brockman can also expect to be confronted with potentially uncomfortable evidence at trial, including more of his diary entries.

Microsoft

Musk claims Microsoft, which invested $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019, aided and abetted OpenAI's breach of his charitable donations.

His effort to force OpenAI to revert to a nonprofit could dismantle the current commercial structure between OpenAI and Microsoft, which was renegotiated in 2025. Musk is also seeking financial disgorgement in the billions, as well as disgorgement of intellectual property rights.

Elon Musk

In a hearing on Friday, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers said she still needs to decide whether to grant Musk his requests for structural remedies, like the unwinding of the for-profit.

OpenAI, meanwhile, is waging a legal and highly public counter- offensive that frames Musk as a disgruntled rival simply looking to take down a competitor. In a counterclaim green-lighted to proceed last year, OpenAI has argued that Musk's lawsuit is intended to disrupt its business.

Musk established his own AI startup, xAI, in 2023, which competes with OpenAI directly for talent, funding, and customers. Recently unsealed documents show Musk asking Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in 2025 to join a bid to buy OpenAI's assets.

"His lawsuit remains nothing more than a harassment campaign that's driven by ego, jealousy and a desire to slow down a competitor," the company posted in social media site X on April 7.

Musk is also preparing a public offering for SpaceX, his rocket company that acquired xAI in February. Proving successful in court against OpenAI would notch him a win that would undoubtedly throw a monkey wrench into the operations of his chief rival at a time when the Tesla CEO is looking to gain investor momentum for xAI.

A loss in court could validate claims that he is merely looking to disrupt a rival and open him to damages to OpenAI for business interference.

• Peter Steinberger, OpenClaw's creator, said he noticed how powerful his AI agent was during a trip.
• Instead of making blocks of text, he said his bot completed a rigorous set of computer tasks in 9 seconds.
• OpenClaw has become a huge deal in Silicon Valley, with tech bosses quickly deploying more agents.

"Chatbots give up. Agents improvise."

That's how Peter Steinberger, the creator of OpenClaw, describes when he realized AI was about to change how people use technology.

At that moment, most AI tools were language models that ingested information and returned text. Steinberger saw something different: bots that could automate computer tasks traditionally done by humans.

He described the realization during a TED Talk recorded on Thursday.

He said it happened in early 2025, on a trip to Marrakesh, Morocco. He was staring at his phone.

Before the trip, he said he had built a text-based AI bot to help navigate the city, find restaurants, and translate conversations. He hadn't built it to handle voice messages.

It did anyway, he said.

Steinberger said he sent the bot a voice note — and it took just nine seconds to ingest the message, inspect the file, recognize it was audio, access a voice-to-text translation feature via an OpenAI key, convert it to an easier-to-read format, send the information to the server, and then respond.

"I had what I can only describe as a 'holy shit' moment," Steinberger told the TED talk audience. "I very vividly remember the situation when I was standing there, and I was like 'How did you do that?' and the agent replied, and I'm not kidding you: 'The Mad Lad figured it out on its own.'"

He said he described the agent — then called Clawdbot — on X, but got little traction.

Then, he did "something stupid," he said.

"Remember, this agent, by default, can do anything you can do on your computer," he said. "So obviously, I put it in a public Discord and invited random people."

The experiment spiraled quickly, he said. Users around the world started deploying it, hackers tried to break it, and journalists began blowing up his phone.

Steinberger worried the bot might have exposed his personal data. It hadn't.

Instead, the bot became a viral sensation, and Steinberger joined OpenAI in February for an undisclosed sum. The product's popularity has become increasingly important in Silicon Valley, too, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang calling it "the new computer" in March.

Steinberger joked that its growth doesn't follow the usual up-and-to-the-right business maturation curve. Instead, the charts show OpenClaw's use has skyrocketed, with a near-straight-line trajectory.

"By far, my favorite quote is from a friend, who looked at this," he told the TED audience while pointing to the chart. "He said, 'Peter, this is not hockey stick growth. This is stripper pole.'"

A few years ago, Song Ma, a professor of finance and entrepreneurship at Yale, found himself torn between two competing ideas about the state of the workplace.

The first was that the #MeToo movement had generated a powerful wave of reforms to protect victims of abuse. Starting in 2018, states including California, New York, and Washington had passed laws to weaken non-disclosure agreements, which had long been used to silence victims of harassment at work. In 2022, Congress passed the Speak Out Act, which prevents employers from being able to demand workers to sign NDAs preemptively, before an incident or dispute occurs.

"These were reforms nearly everyone cheered for," says Ma. "And for good reason."

His other idea was that these laws may have backfired, and made it worse for women.

"As economists, we've learned that well-intentioned labor regulations don't always produce the outcomes we hope for," he says. After the Americans with Disabilities Act came into effect in 1990, he notes, employment among disabled workers declined as some employers avoided hiring them to sidestep compliance costs. Similarly, so-called Ban the Box laws, designed to help people with criminal records get hired, ended up hurting young Black men, because employers fell back on what Ma calls "cruder demographic proxies." Because of harmful racial and gender stereotypes, Ma explains, hiring managers drew the conclusion that a Black man applying for a job was more likely to have a criminal conviction than a different applicant.

So to test whether a similar dynamic was playing out with NDA bans, Ma decided to look at startups. For one, "They're crucial for innovation and job creation, yet often lack formal HR infrastructure," he says. He also knew that harassment had been well-documented in the startup world.

Earlier this year, Ma and his collaborators published a paper with his findings: NDA bans weren't always living up to their advocates' expectations. Startups based in states that had implemented NDA-weakening laws hired about 8% fewer women per year than startups in states that hadn't passed those laws.

"That's meaningful when you consider the average startup in our sample hires just over one woman per year," he says. "And the effect appeared immediately, persisted for years, and concentrated exactly where you'd expect if firms were minimizing perceived legal risk: among junior women and in small, male-dominated startups with weaker internal safeguards."

Put bluntly, companies were once again sidestepping potential repercussions of regulation by simply not hiring people who were most likely to benefit from the new protections.

NDA bans also aren't the only recent employment laws designed to create more equitable workplaces that have fallen short and — in the worst cases — even backfired. Another is mandating employers to post salary ranges.

In 2021, The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act went into effect in Colorado. New York and California both passed related laws the following year. States including Maryland, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Nevada, and Rhode Island have adopted similar measures aimed at making pay negotiations less opaque.

These were hailed as promising steps toward a more equitable workplace, largely because, as research shows, a lack of pay transparency has long underpinned pay gaps in both gender and race. In many workplaces, employees have historically been discouraged from discussing salaries, allowing unequal pay for similar roles to go unnoticed for years, or even decades. Women who work full-time in the US earn around 83% of what men do, a figure that's hardly changed in recent decades. For Black and Latina women, the gap is considerably wider at about 66% and 58% respectively.

Yet here too, transparency alone has proven to be an imperfect solution to a complex and entrenched problem.

One issue is that salary range laws currently offer little guidance on how wide or narrow the ranges should be. And that detail, research suggests, can significantly shape how candidates respond to job postings.

Alice Lee, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Cornell, is part of a team that analyzed almost 10 million US job postings. They found that the average salary range posted spanned about $38,000. But variation was enormous: some listings covered $20,000, while others stretched well past $100,000.

This discovery got Lee thinking about whether the width of a posted range might affect who decides to apply and how they subsequently negotiate, especially "given that women, on average, tend to be more averse to financial uncertainty," she says. When Lee and her colleagues subsequently studied this, her suspicions were corroborated: Women indeed show a stronger preference than men for jobs with narrower salary ranges.

"Wider posted ranges were associated with lower representation of women in the workforce, even after accounting for firm size and other factors," she explains. "That suggested this isn't just a pattern that shows up in controlled settings but one that may be shaping real labor market outcomes." So yes, she concluded, the current approach to transparency may be perpetuating the very pay gaps the laws were designed to close.

When I interviewed half a dozen women in the white-collar workforce — all of whom requested anonymity for fear it might disadvantage them in future salary negotiations — all of them said they weren't surprised by these results, either.

"If a company posts a huge salary range, it makes me feel like they're ticking a box rather than actually complying with a law," said one 39-year old woman who works in healthcare in New York City. "It makes me wonder what other rules and laws that company is trying to bypass."

Research does show that pay range transparency can help close wage gaps — if the range is not too big, for example, and if pay offers fall within the advertised range. But the complications don't stop at hiring. Even in fully transparent environments, unintended consequences can emerge. Research published last year by the University of California, Riverside, for example, found that when workers learn how their pay compares to their peers, their sense of entitlement can shift sharply depending on where they rank. Those near the top reported increased confidence, while lower-ranked employees often felt demoralized — and were less likely to ask for raises. This dynamic can also affect performance. Lower-ranked workers, the research shows, may feel less motivated to improve or collaborate after learning they earn less than their peers.

Studies have also found that greater pay transparency can reduce workers' bargaining power and, in some cases, push down average wages.

If employment laws designed to bolster equity are at times exacerbating inequality, what is to be done?

Workplace and leadership consultant Ruchika T. Malhotra says that one big problem is that managers are still failing to understand that making organizations fair and equitable benefits everyone.

Despite a growing body of research demonstrating that more inclusive workplaces translate into happier employees, better staff retention, and a healthier bottom line, "many organizations still operate with a zero-sum mindset — this idea that if one group benefits, another loses out," says Malhotra. "There's this incorrect belief, for example, that increasing equity somehow disadvantages men, even though there's so much data showing otherwise." In 2024, for example, the World Bank predicted that closing global gender gaps in work and pay could increase global GDP by more than a fifth.

Because of how deep-rooted this belief is, it's unlikely that legislation alone will lead to a mindset shift, she says. Instead managers need to experience firsthand the benefits of fairer workplaces and understand that the laws are not designed to punish them but to help them. "We need a real, internal commitment to want to fix issues of unfairness and inequality," says Malhotra.

Song Ma of Yale says that regulation has to be paired with "institutional" support in order to be effective. His research shows that after NDA bans were passed, female hiring particularly decreased in startups that didn't have a fleshed-out HR department. In larger firms in which those resources are more established, though, there was no reduction in female hiring.

"The lesson isn't 'don't ban NDAs,'" says Ma. "It's that legal reforms work best when firms have the infrastructure to absorb them."

In fact, his research also revealed some encouraging effects from new NDA legislation. Although it led to fewer women getting hired, it also led to an increase in the number of women reaching managerial positions. "Following NDA reforms, startups experience higher male-manager turnover," Ma and his colleagues wrote in the paper. This was perhaps, the researchers speculated, due to firms filling vacancies left by male managers, who — because of the NDA laws — were more likely to leave.

As for pay transparency laws, Alice Lee of Cornell says that salary ranges alone aren't enough. If she had a "magic wand," she says, she would "require employers to supplement posted salary ranges with clear contextual information about compensation." In her research she tested this approach by providing job applicants with their desired role's typical starting salary and how that particular employer tends to determine what to offer. In cases in which that information was provided, she explains, "the gender gap in application preferences effectively disappeared."

What would also help, Lee says, would be stricter rules on the ranges. In 2025 New Jersey proposed a law, for example, that caps the width of posted ranges at 60% of the minimum salary.

Employers, she adds, should also consider whether one single wide range genuinely reflects one role at one level, or whether that range is really bundling together different positions that would be better served by separate, more precise postings.

Lee is cautiously optimistic. "These laws represent genuine progress," she says. "But the evidence suggests that the next generation of these policies should focus not just on whether employers disclose a range, but on whether that disclosure is actually useful to the people it's intended to serve."

In other words, while many laws represent a step towards a fairer workplace, ticking a box is never going to lead to lasting change. External regulation will almost always fall short without internal intention.

Josie Cox is a journalist who has worked for publications like Reuters, The Independent, and The Wall Street Journal. She is the author of the book, "Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality."

• Tim Cook left his mark on the tech world, but one of the most important parts of his legacy lies in China.
• Cook turned China into the backbone of Apple's global business.
• Here's how Cook made China central to Apple's growth, turning risks into rewards.

One of Tim Cook's defining legacies is clear: He made China the backbone of Apple's global business.

Apple announced on Monday that John Ternus, its senior vice president of hardware engineering and long seen as Cook's likely successor, will take over as chief executive. Cook will remain as executive chairman.

Cook's bet on China as the engine of Apple's rise helped shape one of the world's most valuable companies. It also bound Apple's fortunes to a market that is as much a source of risk as it is of growth.

Here's how Cook made China core to Apple.

Cook scaled China into Apple's factory floor

When Cook joined Apple in 1998, the company was clawing its way back from the brink. In 1997, cofounder Steve Jobs said Apple was about 90 days from bankruptcy.

Cook was brought in to fix operations, and he made a radical call: shifting production to China. A network of manufacturers in that country was not only cheaper, but faster and easier to scale.

A key moment of this shift came when Cook met Terry Gou around 2000. Gou's company, Foxconn, would go on to become Apple's key manufacturing partner — assembling early iPods after their 2001 debut and later playing a crucial role in producing the iPhone when it launched in 2007.

At that time, China was also pushing to move up the value chain, encouraging factories to produce more advanced electronics instead of low-cost goods like toys and garments.

The decision to manufacture in China proved to be a payoff. By the time the iPhone era took off, Apple could launch products globally at a scale and speed competitors struggled to match.

He expanded Apple's business inside China

Cook has been credited with making China an important consumer market for Apple.

In 2001, Apple officially entered China with a Shanghai-based trading company. By the early 2010s, it was rapidly expanding its retail footprint, opening stores in major cities.

One of the biggest breakthroughs came in 2013, when Apple struck a deal with China Mobile, then the world's largest carrier by subscribers. The partnership gave the iPhone access to hundreds of millions of potential customers and marked a turning point for Apple's presence in the country.

"We see this as bringing the world's best smartphone to the very largest and now the fastest network in China," Cook said in an interview with CNBC in 2014.

Cook also broadened Apple's reach beyond major cities through carrier partnerships and reseller networks, helping it tap a wider customer base as local rivals gained ground.

The company's China business has also grown over the past decade, from about $59 billion, or about 25% of revenue in 2015, to about $64 billion in 2025, cementing it as one of the company's biggest markets.

Apple topped China's smartphone market last year, holding about 22% share.

Cook managed a delicate balance between the US and China

For Apple to succeed in China, Cook had to walk a political tightrope between Washington and Beijing.

In the US, Cook lobbied officials to emphasize the potential harm tariffs would cause to American consumers and businesses, framing Apple's success as integral to US economic interests.

In 2019, he engaged President Donald Trump on the impact of tariffs on Chinese imports and competition from the South Korean company Samsung Electronics. Trump later said Cook had made a "good case" that tariffs would put Apple at a disadvantage against competitors.

US trade regulators then approved 10 out of 15 tariff exemption requests, easing pressure on Apple's China-based supply chain. In 2025, Apple's smartphones and other electronics were also spared from tariffs.

At the same time, Cook worked to maintain strong ties in China, even as US-China tensions escalated during the 2018 trade war.

He regularly met Chinese regulators and senior officials, and attended high-level forums such as the China Development Forum to reinforce Apple's position in the country.

He invested heavily in China's ecosystem

Cook didn't just rely on China to build Apple's products — he invested in the ecosystem to make that possible.

In 2016, Apple invested $1 billion in Didi Chuxing, then the country's dominant ride-hailing platform.

Cook said the deal would help the company better understand China, its second-biggest market. The firm said Apple's investment was the largest ever investment in its history.

"We'll learn a lot about the business and the Chinese market beyond what we currently know," Cook said in 2016.

Over the years, Apple has poured significant resources into China. In 2021, Tim Cook signed an agreement with Chinese officials worth about $275 billion, aimed at easing regulatory pressure on the company's operations.

The deal included commitments to invest in retail expansion, research and development centers, and renewable energy projects, according to a report by The Information.

In 2025, Cook told China's industry minister that Apple would keep investing in the country. Cook also unveiled plans for a $101 million new energy fund during a visit to China in March 2025.

• A California judge accused Amazon of price-fixing and contributing to the affordability crisis in the US.
• Attorney General Rob Bonta said Amazon asked vendors like Levi's to pressure Walmart into raising prices.
• The case will go into trial in January 2027.

A California prosecutor is accusing Amazon of illegally raising prices for Americans.

In a press release on Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that Amazon is price fixing and colluding with vendors and retailers to raise costs for Americans beyond what the market requires.

"Amid a crisis of affordability, Amazon is illegally working to rake in profits by making sure consumers have nowhere else to turn to for lower prices," Bonta said. "We'll see them in court."

In the press release, he said he had publicly released evidence of Amazon's price-fixing, linking to a 19-page memo. Among many other examples in the memo, Bonta wrote that Amazon asked the apparel brand Levi's to pressure Walmart into raising the price of a pair of its khaki pants from about $25 to $29 to match Amazon's listing price.

Other companies mentioned in the filing include Home Depot, Target, Best Buy, clothing brand Hanes, and pet product brand Chewy.

Bonta asked the court to take action against Amazon for price fixing while the case proceeds and to require Amazon to stop "coercing its vendors to serve as the go-between with its competitors." The case will go to trial in January 2027.

In response to a request for comment, an Amazon spokesperson told Business Insider that the motion is a "transparent attempt to distract from the weakness of its case."

The spokesperson added that Bonta filed the motion more than three years after filing his original complaint. In 2022, Bonta said in the lawsuit that Amazon coerced sellers into signing agreements stating they would not sell their goods at a lower price to other retailers.

"Amazon is consistently identified as America's lowest-priced online retailer, and we're proud of the low prices customers find when shopping in our store," the Amazon spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, spokespersons for Levi's and Walmart declined to comment, both saying they were not parties to the litigation.

Amazon's stock price is up about 43% in the past year.

• Anne Hathaway says turning 40 made her less hard on herself.
• She said that when she was younger, "every high was so high, every low was so low."
• These days, Hathaway says she no longer gets "so swept up in things anymore."

Anne Hathaway says turning 40 helped her loosen up and enjoy herself more.

"When I started out, I thought I'd be a better artist if I was really hard on myself," Hathaway, 43, told People in an interview published on Monday. "And then turning 40, I just kind of found a different gear, and I was no longer interested in living an awkward life. I was just interested in getting to the fun part."

Hitting that milestone has also made her think more carefully about the choices she makes.

"You have to be more serious about how you take care of yourself. I just think that when you're in your 40s, you've had the opportunity to see how certain decisions bore fruit over time. And so you can assess if you want to continue making those decisions or if you want to make new ones," she said.

Hathaway said one of the things she appreciates most about being in her 40s is that she no longer gets "so swept up in things anymore."

"I used to really not understand that phrase, 'Take it with a grain of salt.' There's no salt. Every high was so high, every low was so low. And now I really value the chill," she said.

These days, Hathaway is embracing the uncertainty that comes with getting older.

"I've never been this age. So let's just like, you know, figure it out. You still never know what's coming around the corner," she said.

But there's already plenty ahead for her to look forward to. The actor has five films scheduled for release this year, including "The Devil Wears Prada 2."

Hathaway is not alone. Many celebrities have said turning 40 shifted how they see and approach their lives.

In December, "Big Bang Theory" star Kaley Cuoco says turning 40 made her more empathetic and less judgmental.

It's very cheesy and corny, but it's true — you don't know until you've lived it. You see things differently, and you understand people in a way you can't when you're 20 or 30," Cuoco said.

In March, Chelsea Handler said she moved away from conventional dating expectations in her 40s, choosing to date younger men after years of dating older partners.

"Like, I've got to flip it and reverse it, you know? So, now I'm heading in the opposite direction because I'm too hot to be dating a 65-year-old. Let's be honest," Handler said.

Turning 40 is a milestone that can prompt reflection and anxiety. It ushers in midlife — a period during which research suggests life satisfaction dips.

Hannes Schwandt, an associate professor of human development and social policy at Northwestern University, told Business Insider in 2024 that this midlife dip is often tied to unmet expectations that feel especially disappointing at the time, although they tend to matter less later in life.

Still, not everyone views this period as a low point.

Several women who switched careers in their 40s told Business Insider that they saw it as a chance to rebrand. Executive coach Monique Shields said it's because many people reach a stage where "achievement is no longer the goal."

"You've done all the striving," she said, "and now, the questions become more about well-being and legacy."

• John Ternus as Apple's new CEO marks a shift back to a hardware focus.
• Apple has not entered the race to build the best AI model and has outsourced it instead.
• Analysts say investors may have mixed views on the CEO change.

Apple is going back to what it does best with its new CEO pick.

On Monday, the iPhone maker announced that Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO on September 1. John Ternus, Apple's senior vice president of hardware engineering, will take the helm.

Ternus joined the company in 2001 and most recently oversaw Apple's new product lines, including the iPad and AirPods, as well as new models of the iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch. He also oversaw hardware engineering work on products across all categories.

Analysts say giving the top job to a hardware VP rather than the software head is part of Apple's strategy to dominate the devices space in the AI era.

"That means that a lot of the path ahead has to do with hardware innovation. So glasses, pins, folding phones. At some point, a less expensive virtual reality device than Vision Pro," Gil Luria, a tech analyst at D.A. Davidson, said in an interview with CNBC on Monday. "We haven't had a lot of innovation around hardware up until now, but that is Apple's lane."

Hardware made up about 80% of Apple's $143.8 billion in revenue in the quarter ending December 31. The other 20% came from advertising, the App Store, and cloud sales — a major focus and growth area during Cook's tenure.

Luria said he sees the move as "good news" for the company and that this strategy should be a "relief" to investors.

"They spend a lot on R&D and CapEx by their standards, but it's obviously a rounding error compared to what Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Meta are spending chasing the top model," Luria said, referring to research and development and capital expenditure on AI models.

Instead of investing in its own model, Apple has partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its devices for "Apple Intelligence" features.

The D.A. Davidson analyst added, "Eventually, there'll only be two or three leading models, and they'll all have to work through Apple devices because most consumers, especially ones willing to spend on subscriptions, are using an Apple device."

But Dan Ives, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, is not so sure if investors will see this succession as all positive.

The perennial tech bull wrote in a note on Monday: "Cook leaves a lasting legacy in Cupertino, and there will be a lot of pressure on Ternus to produce success out of the gates, especially on the AI front."

Patrick Moorhead, the CEO of tech research firm Moor Insights & Strategy, told CNBC that Ternus is not a "risk-taking visionary."

"What I'm expecting and what the streets should expect is tight operational execution, margin management, and incremental product iteration," Moorhead said.

Across China, a new kind of digital worker is clocking in.

They're called "lobsters," shorthand for OpenClaw-powered agents that can browse, click, reply, trade, post, and sometimes spiral out of control.

What began as a niche tool for engineers went mainstream earlier this year. OpenClaw is drawing crowds to installation events, spawning side hustles, and turning everyday users into accidental CEOs of AI employees.

People charge as much as 299 yuan, or about $44, to help others set up a "lobster." Others are putting their agents to work in the stock market, hoping to strike it rich.

Around it, a full ecosystem is forming. "Lobster" communities, meet-ups, and install events are popping up across the country. Local governments are leaning in too: Districts in Shenzhen and Wuxi have rolled out incentives including free housing, rent-free offices, and subsidies of up to $720,000 to attract developers building on OpenClaw.

But the boom comes with risks. Security researchers warn that poorly configured agents can expose sensitive data. Users share stories of runaway lobsters taking actions they didn't expect. Chinese companies are also racing to make deployment easier while keeping control in check.

What's unfolding in China is a glimpse of what happens when powerful AI tools escape the lab and land in the hands of millions — fast, messy, and full of possibility.

Read our coverage of OpenClaw in China

• Tim Cook has been Apple's CEO since 2011.
• Apple's stock increased by over 2,000% under Cook, making it the first trillion-dollar company.
• Here's what smart people are saying about Cook's legacy at Apple.

As Apple prepares to lose its CEO, people in the business and tech world are thinking about what Tim Cook is leaving behind.

Apple announced Monday that Cook would step down in September and that John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, would take his place.

Cook became CEO os Apple in 2011, sparking plenty of questions and genuine doubts about whether the supply chain and operations specialist could fill the very big shoes left behind by founder Steve Jobs.

In Cook's nearly 15 years as CEO, Apple grew into the world's first trillion-dollar company and saw its stock price rise by over 2,000%.

Here's what smart people are saying about Cook's legacy at Apple.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, wrote his farewell to Cook in a Monday post on X.

"Tim Cook is a legend," Altman said. "I am very thankful for everything he has done and I am very thankful for Apple."

Ben Bajarin, CEO at Creative Strategies

Ben Bajarin, CEO at consumer tech research firm Creative Strategies, said Cook will get a lot of credit for helping Apple scale, but that "an equally important part of his legacy is cultural."

"His job was not only to grow Apple after Steve Jobs," he wrote on X. "It was to preserve as much of Apple's core identity, values, and operating culture as possible while leading it through a vastly different era."

Patrick Moorhead, CEO of Moor Insights & Strategy

Patrick Moorhead, the CEO of Texas-based analytics firm Moor Insights & Strategy, said in an interview with CNBC that Ternus is a "continuity candidate" and not a "risk-taking visionary."

"What I'm expecting and what the streets should expect is tight operational execution, margin management, and incremental product iteration," Moorhead said.

He added, "I think that's what the institutional side of the house really wants, as opposed to swinging around the room AI features, which up to this point, the company hasn't needed at all."

Andrés Avila Páez, cofounder of Arturito AI

Andrés Avila Páez, cofounder of Arturito AI, said in a post on X, translated from Spanish, that Cook's legacy was one of "pure operational engineering."

"Steve Jobs had the idea and created the iPhone. Tim Cook imagined and designed something even more difficult: the machine that manufactures it 200 million times a year without failing," he said.

Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor

Robert Reich, professor at UC Berkeley and former US Secretary of Labor, took a more critical view of the resignation, urging people to remember Cook's $1 million contribution to Trump's inauguration.

"He fawned over Trump and gifted him a 24-karat gold plaque (as Apple lobbied for tariff exemptions)," Reich wrote on X of Cook.

Joseph Carlson, founder of Qualtrim

Joseph Carlson, founder of Qualtrim and host of The Joseph Carlson Show on YouTube, defended Cook against critics who proclaim "Tim Cook didn't innovate!"

In a post on X, he listed products created at Apple while Cook was CEO, including the Apple Watch, AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Pay, Face ID, and more.

"Don't come at me with this idiotic take that Tim Cook's Apple didn't innovate," he wrote.

Anthony Pompliano, CEO of Professional Capital Management

Tech entrepreneur Anthony Pompliano spotlighted how Apple's stock has grown during Cook's 15-year tenure.

In an X post on Monday, the founder and CEO of Professional Capital Management said, "He oversaw more than 2,000% increase in the stock while he was in charge."

Michael Antonelli, market strategist at Baird

Michael Antonelli, a market strategist at Baird, praised Cook for the value of Apple's stock surging 2,300% under his tenure.

"That's INSANE. Incredible stewardship," he wrote on X, adding, "Tim Cook probably turned more normal people into millionaires than 99% of CEOs."

Sawyer Merritt, Tech content creator

Sawyer Merritt, a tech and EV enthusiast on X, said that he hoped Apple would take more risks under Ternus' tenure as CEO.

"No-one can deny that Tim was an incredible operations guy," Merritt said in a Monday X post. "Apple stock went up ~2,000% during his 15 years as CEO, but John being an actual engineer I think is what Apple needs at this stage."

He said Apple has a lot of "catching up to do on the AI front," and he hoped Ternus would bring that to the company.

• Jona Dunning moved from the US to Thailand with his family after experiencing burnout from his corporate job.
• He had long been working toward early retirement but realized he didn't enjoy being out of the workforce.
• He snagged a remote job, which helped him to balance work with the family life he wanted.

Jona Dunning spent years climbing the corporate ladder and saving aggressively to retire early.

He worked in finance in Seattle, living with his wife and two kids. The job was demanding but well-paid, and he saw it as a path to financial independence.

"I realized that the paychecks aren't making me happier, but they are a vehicle that can help me to really accelerate things for my family and for me," Dunning, now 40, told Business Insider.

In 2018, Jona got the promotion he had been gunning for and quickly found it came with intense pressure. His wife, Mary, noticed he had become more distracted, and the two began talking about making a change.

The couple had long wanted to live abroad. Jona was ready for a break, Mary was a stay-at-home mom, and their children, then 1 and 3, were still young enough to adjust to a new environment.

Jona, who is half Thai and grew up regularly visiting Thailand, said he had always been drawn to Chiang Mai, a city up north, about an hour's flight from Bangkok. That's where the couple decided to go.

To make the move work, Mary, who had taught at an elementary school before having kids, had to find a job at an international school so the family could secure visas.

"Since we knew what city we wanted to live in, I researched the international schools in the area and applied to the ones that seemed like they could be a good fit," Mary said, adding that it was her first time working outside the US.

Once she secured a role, the move quickly became a reality.

At work, Jona framed the move as a sabbatical. In June 2019, the family moved to Chiang Mai.

A break that didn't feel quite right

In Chiang Mai, Jona took regular Thai lessons. The warmer weather meant more time outdoors, and he said the culture felt more accommodating for young children.

"Here in Thailand, you bring your kids to a restaurant, and everybody gushes over them, and they don't mind if they run around," he said.

Mary found she liked working at the school. With smaller class sizes and teaching assistants to help, she said the work felt less demanding than when she taught in the US.

"You are able to have a better work-life balance because of it," she said.

Within six months, the couple realized how much they liked living in Chiang Mai. But Jona found it difficult to adjust to being out of the workforce.

"I had a lot of anxiety that I wasn't working. I thought I would really enjoy being just a stay-at-home dad, studying Thai, and I really didn't," Jona said. "That was a huge realization for me, and then for anybody that's looking at FIRE really young in their life."

He came to see just how much of his identity and sense of purpose had been tied to having a successful career.

About 11 months after the move, he briefly opened a burrito shop with friends in Chiang Mai, which gave him a sense of purpose. But after about six months, he stepped back from the business when he landed a remote role at a Hong Kong-based consumer electronics company.

"When I got that job, I'd say that's when we really locked in," he said. "And I don't remember ever looking at going back to America after that."

Committing to Chiang Mai

The family now lives in a home they built.

They bought a plot of land near the international school their kids attend and spent about 12.1 million baht, or $377,000, building the property.

The two-story property is split into two sides. One side is the family's home. The other is divided into two identical Airbnb units, each with its own entrance, three bedrooms, and an open-plan living area.

"To have a pool and an outdoor bathroom and this kind of yard space, we would never have that if it was just our house," Jona said. "The only way we can justify having it is that it's income-producing."

Each Airbnb unit rents for 4,000 to 5,000 Thai baht a night, and guests typically stay for an average of five days, he said. He spends a few hours each week managing guest communications, while two housekeepers handle turnovers.

How they built their life in Chiang Mai

The Chiang Mai home is part of a broader financial strategy he's been building for years to generate additional income, often considered the key to the FIRE — financial independence, retire early — movement.

Before moving to Thailand, the couple had already been investing in real estate in the US.

They own three properties in the Seattle area, including a townhouse they bought for $430,000 in 2011, a duplex they purchased for $387,500 in 2017 as an investment property, and a $510,000 single-family home where they lived while renting out an accessory dwelling unit on the same lot.

They rent out all three. Now that he has a job, Jona said he largely leaves the rental income untouched.

Living in Chiang Mai has also lowered the family's cost of living while helping them enjoy a higher quality of life.

Jona says their family of four spends about 160,000 Thai baht each month, including the mortgage on their Chiang Mai home and expenses related to running the Airbnb units. Their children's school fees are covered through his wife's job, which helps keep expenses lower.

Living in Chiang Mai means they can enjoy small luxuries more regularly, Mary said: "Pampering yourself with massages, nails, and whatnot is way more affordable here."

Jona, who works from home, starts most days with an hour-long run. Mary now has time to train for a couple of hours after work and competes in powerlifting.

"We can fill that time with things that are more satisfying for us. Our kids are really fit and really into sports and really good at all that too, because we have time to do that with them," Jona said.

Being part of the international school community has also made it easier to build a social circle. In Seattle, they lived far from a lot of their friends. Here, everyone lives within 20 minutes of each other.

Mary said they often host dinner parties, pool parties, and playdates, and go out for drinks and meals around town.

"Not only do we have a community, but we have more time to hang out with them and connect with them than we ever did in America," Jona added.

• Male K-pop stars with Korean citizenship must fulfill mandatory military service.
• For most idols, that translates to around two years of hiatus-style career obsolescence.
• Not so for Seventeen's Hoshi.

Welcome to the Hoshiverse, where one 29-year-old man can't stop, won't stop working.

Hoshi is one of the 13 members of the K-pop supergroup Seventeen. Since his teen years, he's been better known by his stage name and the tiger paw symbol he throws up whenever he spots fans.

Now he's known as Kwon Soonyoung, a soldier in the Korean army.

Kwon is undergoing a mandated hiatus as part of his years-long military service, which often results in a long work lull for most male idols.

Kwon enlisted in September for full-time military service.

Through some sheer force of will or extreme hustle, Kwon prepared multiple releases to roll out during his time away. That was on top of Seventeen's regular activities — touring, producing their 10th anniversary album, and filming their variety show, "Going Seventeen."

Here's what's been on his slate:

• One video every Monday morning, shot TikTok-style, in which he greets fans as they start their workweeks.
• "Hoshi TamTam" vlogs, filmed months in advance and rolling out now.
• Dance challenges and photo carousels are uploaded to his personal Instagram account about once every two weeks.
• Regular social media posts on Weverse, the platform that idols like Seventeen and BTS use to communicate with fans.
• A comic art-inspired photo book, "Hoshiverse," has sold out its preorders.
• Three singles since he enlisted: "Take A Shot," "Fallen Superstar," and "Baby Honey."

What he's released in the eight months he's been away could be what an active K-pop star releases in two to three years of work. He's able to do this because he's not technically working as an idol now — he just has a seemingly never-ending backlog of content for when he's in the military.

On top of his assigned military duties, Kwon also somehow found his way into performing live, this time as part of the ROK Army Taekwondo Demonstration Team.

On April 16, he went to Norfolk, Virginia, with a South Korean contingent for a taekwondo performance at the Virginia International Tattoo.

He's been a star member of multiple public taekwondo demonstrations since he enlisted — and a mascot-like figure on the troupe's Instagram.

Other members of Seventeen have released projects during their military tenure, albeit at a less intense cadence. The band's eldest member, Yoon Jeonghan, who's wrapping up his military service in June, released a photobook, "Wanderlust," and a Japanese single, "Better Half."

Jeon Wonwoo, who enlisted last April, released "Gogae," a Korean ballad, on his birthday in 2025. Both members also filmed vlogs to be released in their absence: "I-GOYA," for Yoon, and "Every Wonwoo," for Jeon.

Back when Kwon was actively promoting with Seventeen, he led the group's dance team and was known for his flashy, fluid dance moves. In his absence, the band has wrapped its last big tour for the foreseeable future, "NEW_" — a 31-show, 14-city run that took the group's nine active members through Asia and four US cities.

And while Kwon wasn't there for that tour, which saw the group performing to close to a million people online and offline, he's not going anywhere.

Seventeen remains one of the mega company Hybe's top-selling groups. Its album, "FML," holds the record it set in 2023 for first-day sales for a K-pop album, notching more than 6.4 million copies sold overall.

• Project Prometheus is a secretive AI startup cofounded by Jeff Bezos.
• It is raising around $10 billion in fresh funding at a valuation of around $38 billion.
• A company spokeswoman declined to comment.

Project Prometheus, the secretive AI startup cofounded by Jeff Bezos, is raising around $10 billion in fresh funding at a post-money valuation of around $38 billion, according to multiple sources.

The round is still in progress, and details could change. If completed, it would be the company's first funding since the $6.2 billion it raised at launch last year.

A spokeswoman for the startup declined to comment.

Bezos cofounded Project Prometheus in November. Little is known about the startup other than that it is focused on physical AI designed to interact with real-world industrial processes, such as manufacturing, aerospace engineering, and semiconductor production, rather than purely digital tasks like chatbots.

The other cofounder is co-CEO Vik Bajaj, who previously held senior roles at Google X, Alphabet's moonshot lab, and is an adjunct professor at Stanford University's School of Medicine.

The Financial Times earlier reported details of the fundraise.

Project Prometheus has been snapping up office space in San Francisco. and luring away top talent from OpenAI. Other hires have from xAI, Google Deepmind, according to LinkedIn, which says the company has between 50-200 employees.

Bezos has also been in early discussions with investors in the Middle East and Southeast Asia to raise as much as $100 billion for an investment fund to acquire or invest in companies that would benefit from the technology developed by Project Prometheus, the New York Times reported last month.

Project Prometheus is stepping into a crowded field dominated by giants like OpenAI, Google DeepMind, xAI, and Anthropic, all of which have a head start in developing AI models and hiring deep talent benches.

It also faces pressure from other well-founded startups targeting physical AI, such as Periodic Labs, founded by William Fedus, a prominent AI researcher best known for his work at OpenAI, where he served as VP of research and helped lead the post-training efforts behind ChatGPT.

Of course, what Project Prometheus does have is Bezos and his $224 billion bank account.

• A North Carolina woman sued Uber after she alleged a driver assaulted her in 2019.
• The rideshare company faces thousands of similar lawsuits across the country.
• In February, Uber was ordered to pay $8.5 million to a woman who said she was raped.

A federal jury in North Carolina has ordered the rideshare company Uber to pay $5,000 in damages to a woman who testified that a driver assaulted her, touching her inner thigh during a 2019 ride.

Monday's civil verdict comes less than two months after a jury in Arizona found Uber liable and ordered it to pay $8.5 million to another woman, who said a driver raped her.

Uber said in a statement that it plans to appeal.

"The jury's award here should further bring these cases back to reality, as it represents a tiny fraction of previous demands," it said, referring to the award amount.

"That said, we believe the jury was once again incorrectly instructed on the question of liability and have strong grounds for appeal on that important point."

Both the North Carolina and Arizona cases were bellwether trials — test runs for more than 3,000 lawsuits across various jurisdictions that feature similar allegations.

The results give both sides in the untried suits a sense of how juries might view their cases, which can inform the decision to proceed to trial or try to settle out of court.

According to the Charlotte Observer, during the weeklong trial, Uber's attorneys zeroed in on plaintiff Brianna Mensing's history of drug abuse and suggested she had an unreliable memory.

Her lawyer, William Smith, told the paper the verdict was a "great result."

"Uber comes into court and tries to trash victims, but nine people sitting on the jury believed her," he said.

• Apple CEO Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO in September.
• He won't be going far. He'll remain as executive chairman of the Apple board of directors.
• Cook has put on a masterclass in managing Apple's relationship with President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump's next "Tim Apple" isn't falling far from the tree.

On Monday, Apple announced long-expected but still seismic succession plans: CEO Tim Cook is stepping down, and in his place, John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, will lead the tech giant starting on September 1.

Cook, the man Trump unintentionally called "Tim Apple" in 2019, will become executive chairman of Apple's board of directors — a role that includes "engaging with policymakers around the world," the tech company said.

He's had plenty of experience with that, particularly in an increasingly mercurial Washington, where a tech company can go from a vital partner to a national security threat in a matter of weeks (just ask Anthropic).

Under Cook's leadership, Apple has lavished Trump with gifts, including a special inscribed piece of glass with 24-karat gold base and a custom-made $5,999 Mac Pro. Cook personally donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, and Apple donated an unknown amount toward the construction of the White House ballroom, which will replace the now-demolished East Wing.

When needed, Cook has also handed Trump major announcements, including an additional $100 billion investment in US manufacturing.

"Today's announcement is one of the largest commitments in what has become among the greatest investment booms in our nation's history," Trump said in August 2025 when Cook presented him with the plaque and the news of the additional investment.

In the meantime, Apple has continued to manufacture iPhones overseas — despite occasional Trump threats to curtail the practice — and has secured major tariff exemptions.

It doesn't mean there haven't been dust-ups. In May 2025, Trump said he told Cook he didn't want Apple building products in India.

"I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday," Trump said at the time. "I said to him, 'My friend, I treated you very good. You're coming here with $500 billion, but now I hear you're building all over India."

Ternus doesn't appear to have the same type of political background. According to federal campaign finance records, Ternus' largest donation appears to be the $5,800 he gave to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's campaign in 2021.

Cook has also maintained a presence around the White House, from Trump's second inauguration to the recent premiere of the Melania documentary. Cook has faced some backlash for his relationship with Trump, but he says he's neutral.

"What I do is I interact on policy, not politics," Cook said in March. "I focus on policy, so I'm very pleased that the president and the administration is accessible to talk about policy."

Steve Jobs believed that everything needed to flow from the customer experience. Apple can continue to rely on Cook's knowledge of a very important customer.

• After Apple cofounder Steve Jobs died, many questioned whether Tim Cook would succeed.
• Cook took Apple to new heights, adding more than $3 trillion in market value — way more than Jobs.
• Cook has absolutely destroyed Silicon Valley's founder myth.

Tim Cook is the ultimate non-founder success story. As he steps down as Apple CEO after 15 years, that's the biggest takeaway for me.

Silicon Valley lauds founders as the only leaders capable of creating huge, disruptive, and lasting value. Cook blew this "founder mode" theory out of the water in spectacular fashion.

I was there at the start. When Steve Jobs died in 2011, I went to Apple headquarters to report on the scene. Underneath the grief, questions lurked. Would the company be OK without its legendary cofounder? Cook, a supply chain and operations specialist, was taking over. Would he be able to innovate as Jobs did?

Laughing at my pants

That concern hung over Apple for years. In late 2013, I rated Cook a "loser" in a USA Today roundup of the tech sector, after he spent most of that year struggling to show how the tech giant could still create blockbuster new gadgets that change the way people live.

About six months later, I went to Apple headquarters to interview Cook, Eddy Cue, Dr. Dre, and Jimmy Iovine about Apple's acquisition of Beats.

The CEO still hadn't forgiven me for calling him a loser, I think. So when I showed up in a pair of bright green pants, Cook asked if I'd just come from the golf course. I stammered while Cook and his entourage laughed. Yes, Dr. Dre laughed at my pants. I'll never forget it.

Life after Steve

The other thing I'll never forget is how Cook answered one of my questions. The Beats deal was Apple's biggest acquisition by far at that time. "Would Steve Jobs have done an acquisition like this?" I asked.

Cook said he tried not to constantly ask himself "what would Steve do?" — while still running Apple with the same ethos of obsessive product excellence.

At the time, I was a little disappointed by the answer. But over time, I've come to appreciate the nuanced, balanced, and practical approach. Jobs wasn't coming back. Cook wasn't Jobs and never could be. So the new CEO was charting his own path, while keeping the broad goals and ideals of his famous former boss alive.

A $1 trillion milestone

By 2018, Apple's market cap topped $1 trillion, making it the first US public company to reach that milestone. Instead of being a non-founder loser, Cook had added about $650 billion in value, almost twice what Jobs had.

I was an editor at Bloomberg at the time, and I reached out to iPod designer Tony Fadell to get his thoughts.

"Tim and team have done a masterful job of continuing to develop Steve's vision while bringing operational and environmental excellence to every part of Apple's business to achieve their unheard-of scale while continuing to grow unprecedented margins in the consumer electronics business," Fadell told me.

$3 trillion more

Since then, Apple has added another $3 trillion in market value. The iPhone has gone from a cool gadget to the main way most people in America run their lives.

Macs have gone from strength to strength, thanks to Apple's in-house chips — a strategy Cook oversaw and executed on with typical precision. My MacBook is still blazing fast, after more than five years of constant use. Incredible.

Apple's services business got started in earnest through that Beats deal, which gave the company a music streaming service to rival Spotify. Now, services generate well over $100 billion in (very profitable) revenue for Apple.

"Tim Cook scaled Apple into the company it is today. The world-changing scale is very much because of his leadership and focus," said Matt Rogers, a former iPhone designer and cofounder of Nest, told me on Monday.

Was Cook as innovative as Apple's cofounder? Maybe not. The company scrapped a self-driving car project after years of struggles. The Vision Pro was a pricy flop, and there's a big question about whether Apple is behind in AI.

However, there are still new wearable gadgets in the works, and Apple has so far avoided the massive capex that other Big Tech companies are throwing at AI. That could turn out to be Cook's final victory.

But the market doesn't lie, especially over many years: Apple is the second, or third, most valuable public company in the world — and Tim Cook made that happen.

Interestingly, Apple is roughly tied with Google right now, based on market cap. You know who's been running Google for over a decade? A non-founder called Sundar Pichai.

Sign up for BI's Tech Memo newsletter here. Reach out to me via email at abarr@businessinsider.com.

• The Onion has a new plan to take over Alex Jones' Infowars.
• CEO Ben Collins said they want to use the site to mock everything from Jones to AI guys.
• Collins said he wants justice for Sandy Hook families and to pay them some of what they're owed.

The Onion has a new plan to take over Infowars — and the CEO of the satirical news site it goes well beyond owning Alex Jones.

"We have grand designs," Ben Collins, CEO of the Onion, told Business Insider. He said they want to turn the conspiracy theory-fueled site created by Jones into a satire engine that goes after "the grievance culture that has completely subsumed our American way of life and our politics."

The Onion said Monday that it struck a deal to license the Infowars name and website from Greg Mulligan, the court-appointed receiver who was tapped to help sell Infowars' assets. Collins said he is confident a judge will approve the proposal, which is for six months with an option to renew for another six months. The long-term goal is to buy the site outright.

Collins, who worked for NBC News before The Onion, said taking over the site is largely about getting justice for Sandy Hook families who experienced "the double whammy of American life" : They lost their kids in a school shooting and then had people say it never happened or that their kids never existed.

Jones, one of the leading voices in the conspiracy theories about Sandy Hook, was found liable for defamation, ordered to pay the families over $1 billion, and subsequently filed for bankruptcy. The Sandy Hook families have not been paid, and Collins said he's looking forward to getting them some of the money they are owed.

"When InfoWars finally goes dark, the machinery of lies that Jones built will become a force for social good, thanks to the families' courage and The Onion's vision, persistence and stewardship," Chris Mattei, the lawyer who represented the families, said in a statement.

Representatives for Jones and Infowars did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Jones said in a video posted to X that his audience would hear about a new website soon and that the "REAL Infowars is set to close May 1st."

The Onion first emerged as a buyer of Infowars in 2024 after an auction was held to sell its assets and pay the judgments against Jones; a judge thwarted the sale, citing process and transparency concerns.

Collins said in the 17 months since the sale was stopped, he remained motivated to find a way to get it. That only increased during Jones' coverage of the death of Renee Good, the 37-year-old mother in Minneapolis who was killed by an ICE agent, in January. Collins said seeing false claims about her shared on Infowars was "enough."

"It wasn't the original reason we did it, but it's the reason I kept going at a time when it may not have been smart for me to do it," he said.

The Onion has started producing content for its version of Infowars, including an eight-episode Tucker Carlson-style parody show, Collins said. A glimpse of what the new site would look like can be seen in a promo on The Onion's website that blares "TURN YOUR PISS INTO GOLD."

The Onion has brought on comedian Tim Heidecker as creative director. Heidecker, who is half of the Tim & Eric comedy duo, shared a video announcing the news in a voice that imitated Jones' distinctive, gruff voice.

Collins said the new InfoWars won't only poke fun at the far right. He sees it as an opportunity to go after all the "stupid" stuff on the internet and beyond — like influencers pushing beef tallow, van lifers who "shove 80 kids into the back of an RV and call it a house," and AI guys who "have the very mind virus that they think everyone else has."

"We want Infowars to be a place where you strive to be instead of a psychopathic website where they sell supplements for your broken penis," Collins said.

In his view, there was only one good thing Jones did with Infowars: "It's a great logo. It's a great name for what's going on, unfortunately."

The Philadelphia 76ers will get another shot at the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs following the Celtics' Game 1 victory. We've compiled everything you need to know about where to watch 76ers vs. Celtics live streams.

If you don't feel like reading any further, the cheapest way to live stream tomorrow night's game in the US is through Peacock. Below, we've outlined how to tune in if you're outside the US. For even more postseason streaming, check out our where to watch NBA Playoffs guide.

Where to watch 76ers vs. Celtics in the US

The 76ers vs. Celtics game will air on the NBC Sports Network in the US. You can live stream the game on Peacock. Sports-friendly plans start at $11 a month for Peacock Premium, which comes with ad-supported on-demand access and select live sports. If you want to unlock ad-free on-demand content and a 24/7 live stream of NBC, you'll need to opt for the $17 a month Peacock Premium Plus plan.

How to watch 76ers vs. Celtics from anywhere

Basketball fans don't need to worry about missing out on one second of the action just because they're traveling abroad. They can keep up with their usual streaming options with the aid of a VPN. Short for virtual private networks, VPNs are easy-to-use tech tools that let people alter the virtual locations on their electronic devices. They're also strong ways to improve cybersecurity. The services we've highlighted require country-specific methods of payment, so this option will work best for those who are simply traveling away from home.

If you're not sure where to start when it comes to VPNs, NordVPN is our top recommendation right now. It's fast, user-friendly, and has a hassle-free 30-day money-back guarantee. You can learn more in our guide to the best VPN services.

Note: The use of VPNs is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content might constitute a breach of the terms of use for certain services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

• Former Googler and software veteran Steve Yegge made a striking claim about the search giant's internal AI adoption.
• Yegge said there is a big gap in AI usage between the Google DeepMind team and the rest of the company.
• Google DeepMind's CEO called the claim "absolute nonsense." Other Googlers publicly pushed back too. Yegge doubled down.

A former Google engineer has gotten the company's goat.

And after receiving rare pushback in public from the tech giant's AI CEO, the computer programming veteran is now doubling down.

Steve Yegge, a software engineering veteran who used to work at the company, has faced a public onslaught after claiming last week that a "buddy at Google who's been a tech director there for about 20 years" essentially said that their AI adoption internally was severely lagging.

Google's internal AI adoption curve, Yegge wrote last week, is the same "as John Deere, the tractor company."

"Most of the industry has the same internal adoption curve: 20% agentic power users, 20% outright refusers, 60% still using Cursor or equivalent chat tool," Yegge wrote on X on April 13. "It turns out Google has this curve too."

Business Insider has not independently verified Yegge's claims, which he presented as secondhand. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Externally, Google was viewed as entering 2026 on a winning streak, arguably catching up to OpenAI in the generative AI race and erasing a once-embarrassing gap for the company whose research helped lay the foundation for large language models.

Yegge's post sparked a firestorm of public backlash from the company's workers, stretching from some of Google's top rungs down to lower-level engineers.

Most notable was Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, who didn't seem to hold much back in attempting to set the record straight.

"Maybe tell your buddy to do some actual work and to stop spreading absolute nonsense," the Google AI boss wrote in a reply to Yegge's original post. "This post is completely false and just pure clickbait."

In response to Hassabis, Yegge wrote that he would apologize for his initial post, "If Google can convince me that half their engineers are burning 4M tokens a day."

A week after his initial post on the topic, Yegge doubled down on Monday, writing that he had heard from "Googlers from multiple orgs" who outlined what he described as "a two-tier system," in which Hassabis' team uses Anthropic's Claude frequently, and the rest of Google largely does not.

"DeepMind engineers use Claude as a daily tool. Most of the rest of Google does not," Yegge wrote, adding that non-DeepMind engineers "get pushed onto internal Gemini variants."

"This is not a picture of an engineering org that is fine," Yegge wrote on X on Monday.

Anthropic's Claude Code is widely considered the industry standard for agentic AI coding tools. OpenAI and Google have rushed to catch up, but for now, many software engineers say they prefer Anthropic. Last week, Anthropic rolled out Opus 4.7, which it said was "a notable improvement" and that "users report being able to hand off their hardest coding work—the kind that previously needed close supervision—to Opus 4.7 with confidence."

Yegge argues Google is cherry-picking rosy data

AI adoption within companies is a major focal point in Silicon Valley. Hyperscalers like Meta have made headlines over employee leaderboards that track AI token use.

Addy Osmani, director of Google Cloud, said Yegge's original claims didn't "match the state of agentic coding at our company."

Osmani wrote that over 40,000 Google software engineers use agentic coding weekly.

"With so many friends working at other frontier labs and start-ups to give ourselves a baseline, Google is anything but average," Osmani wrote.

On Monday, Yegge said Osmani's statistic didn't tell the full story.

"Weekly use of a thin tool is precisely the box-checking I described in the original post. Volume of opens isn't adoption — and 'weekly' is a low bar that includes a lot of people who tried it once and went back to writing code by hand," Yegge wrote.

Overall, Yegge seemed to characterize the Googler backlash to his original post as spin.

"You can choose to believe Google's AI PR team and their core AI researchers, or you can believe your friends who actually work there," he wrote. "I've made my choice."

• Samsung just announced a new Bluetooth tracker called Galaxy SmartTags alongside its new Galaxy S21 lineup.
• The tracker can be placed on items like key rings and wallets so that you can monitor their location in Samsung's SmartThings app.
• This product is quite similar to the current household name in Bluetooth trackers: Tile and its many variations.
• Apple is also rumored to be working on a similar product called AirTags that would integrate with the company's Find My app.

Apple is rumored to have been developing a Tile-like Bluetooth tracker called AirTags for months, but it looks like Samsung has gotten there first.

Samsung quietly announced the Galaxy SmartTag Bluetooth tracker alongside its lineup of Galaxy S21 smartphones this week, a small Bluetooth-enabled tracker that can help you find lost items using a smartphone app.

The launch also comes after multiple leaks had suggested that Samsung was working on a tracking accessory to accompany its newest smartphone lineup. 

Samsung Galaxy SmartTags price and release date

The SmartTag tracker will launch on January 29 for $29.99, the same date as Samsung's new smartphones. That makes them about the same price as the $24.99 Tile Mate and slightly cheaper than the $34.99 Tile Pro, which is more durable and has a longer range than the cheaper model.

Samsung is also throwing in a free SmartTag with preorders of the Galaxy S21, S21 Plus, and S21 Ultra. The Galaxy SmartTag will be available in one or two pack options, but Samsung's preorder website is only showing the $29.99 single option at the time of writing. 

Samsung Galaxy SmartTags features

The tracker is designed to work with Samsung's SmartThings Find platform, which the company launched in October and enables users to locate their Galaxy devices through the SmartThings app. It's essentially Samsung's answer to Apple's Find My service.

Samsung describes the gadget as a tag that can be used to pinpoint the location of devices that aren't connected to the Internet, like wallets, TV remotes, and keys using your phone. If a tagged item is nearby and you can't find it, you'll be able to tap a button on your phone to make it ring, much like Tile. The trackers have a range of 120m, according to Samsung's product page, and users will also be able to browse through the history of where a tag has been in Samsung's app. 

Samsung's tracker uses Bluetooth low energy to communicate with your phone, not ultra wideband technology, or UWB. That's a separate wireless communication protocol that's more precise than Bluetooth and has been showing up in new smartphones over the past year. 

Samsung is positioning its smart tag as being useful for more than locating lost items; the company also says it can be used to control smart home devices.

The competition

If the Galaxy SmartTag sounds familiar, it's because accessory maker Tile sells a very similar product of the same name that comes in various versions and styles.

There's the $24.99 Tile Mate, which has a 200-foot Bluetooth range, the $34.99 Tile Pro, which has a 400-foot Bluetooth range, and the $29.99 Tile Slim, a sleek card-sized tracker designed to stick onto flat surfaces. The company also sells smaller sticker-sized trackers.

Tile CEO CJ Prober said in a statement to Insider Reviews that Samsung's announcement "further validates this category."

"We welcome fair competition, and look forward to continuing to deliver best-in-class products to new and existing customers," the statement said. 

Apple, meanwhile, is rumored to be working on a tracker of its own called AirTags, which were expected to launch in 2020 but are now rumored to be coming in 2021.

The tags would integrate with Apple's Find My app so that you can see the location of misplaced items through Apple's app, much like Samsung's Galaxy SmartTags. Reports from 9to5Mac and MacRumors have suggested that AirTags might come with a "Lost mode" that notifies you if the product is found. 

It's too soon to tell whether the Galaxy SmartTags excel over rivals like Tile. But the introduction of Samsung's new Galaxy SmartTags, as well as continuing rumors about AirTags, suggest that two of the world's largest smartphone makers are increasingly relying on building a strong ecosystem of accessories to make their devices stand out.

• Apple finally revealed its AirTags tracking accessory during a virtual press event on April 20.
• AirTags can attach to your stuff, like your keys, enabling you to track them if they get lost.
• Apple's AirTags are now available to preorder at $29 and they launch on April 30.

After years of rumors, Apple's AirTags are now available to preorder from Apple's online store. The AirTags start at $29 and are set to launch on April 30.

The tracking accessory, which helps users find whatever the AirTag is attached to, made its debut during the company's Spring Loaded virtual event on April 20.

The small device is designed to stick to other products and everyday items, like keys or wallets. Once attached, you can use the AirTags and your iPhone to find your item if it gets lost. 

The tiny accessory takes the form of a circular tag with the signature Apple logo. The AirTags integrate with Apple's "Find My" app, and the app uses augmented reality to show visual markers leading you toward your lost item.

In a video demonstrating how it works, a man wanders around his apartment led by his iPhone on the search for his lost keys.

AirTags price and release date

AirTags are functionally similar to Tiles' lineup of Bluetooth-enabled trackers, and cost a similarly low price: A single AirTag starts at $29, and a four pack costs $99. 

You can preorder Apple's AirTags right now from Apple's online store. The device is expected to start shipping on April 30. Buyers can choose to engrave their AirTags with emojis, text, or numbers for free.

At Insider Reviews, we spend the year testing, reviewing, and writing about hundreds of new products, many of which our readers have come to love. Across our verticals of tech, streaming, home, kitchen, health, style, and beauty, there were several notable products you decided to bring into your homes this year. And when there was a great deal on them, you made sure to snap up the savings. 

We've rounded up our readers' 18 most popular items in 2023, with the most common themes being self-care, personal entertainment, and comfort. These included everything from big-screen TVs and video game consoles to comfy pillows, plush bathrobes, and memory foam mattresses.

Before we ring in the new year, let's look back at our most-loved products of the year.

HOPOPRO Shower Head

It doesn't take much to transform a bathroom into a spa-worthy experience, and installing this showerhead from HOPOPRO was one of our readers' favorite ways of doing so in 2023. It's easy to operate, has a variety of spray settings, and delivers consistently strong water pressure — which is the main reason why it was our pick as the best high-pressure shower head. It also costs less than $30.

Paramount Plus

There's no shortage of streaming services to sign up for, but Paramount Plus became the most popular with our readers in 2023. Members get access to a big selection of shows from channels like CBS and new originals from the "Yellowstone" and "Star Trek" franchises that you can't watch anywhere else. The top-tier plan even includes Showtime, which adds even more options for movies and shows.

Samsung 65-inch S95B/S90C OLED 4K TV

Our pick for the best TV of 2023 was also a favorite with our readers. In the first half of the year, readers snatched up Samsung's S95B, and now they're bringing home its equally impressive successor, the S90C. With an OLED panel and quantum dot color technology, the S90C delivers unmatched picture quality for its price. Check out our full Samsung S90C 4K OLED TV review for more details.

Sony Playstation 5

After two years of stock shortages, Sony finally sorted out its PS5 inventory issues in 2023, and our readers jumped at the chance to buy the highly sought-after console. An ongoing holiday deal that bundles the new slim version of the PS5 with a copy of Spider-Man 2 also helped solidify its popularity. Thanks to its unique controller and blockbuster library of exclusive games, the PS5 is our pick for the best gaming console you can buy.  

Olive & June Press-on Artificial Nails

This time of year is all about relaxing, and what better way to do that than with a little self-care via an at-home manicure? This Olive & June Press-on Artificial Nails set was a readers' favorite in 2023, and was also our pick as the best press-on nails overall. It comes with 42 total nails allowing you to give your nails several refreshers before needing a reup. The nails last up to two weeks, too, so this pack should get you through at least the first few months of the new year.

OdoBan Original Eucalyptus Scent Disinfectant Fabric & Air Freshener

This eucalyptus-scented cleaner from OdoBan is an essential buy and something our readers took a liking to throughout the year. It has a calming eucalyptus scent that eliminates odors while freshening the air, and it claims it can kill 99.9% of germs. It's also one of the preferred cleaners recommended to us via a professional Airbnb cleaner.

Apple AirPods (2nd Gen)

Apple's entry-level AirPods continued to be popular in 2023. They're already a solid value at full price, but a fantastic Black Friday deal at Walmart made them a steal. Though they lack the active noise cancellation and waterproof design you'd get with the AirPods Pro, the regular AirPods are our pick for the best AirPods you can snag on a budget.

Bombas

Socks aren't always the most exciting purchase, but Bombas aren't ordinary socks. Featuring unique design styles, quality construction, and a proprietary support system, Bombas socks are what you would hope to get as a gift. Our testers love them for everything from lounging to running a 5K. 

Allswell Hybrid Mattress

The best mattresses-in-a-box don't sacrifice comfort or quality for the sake of convenience, i.e., doorstep delivery. Our readers agreed, and this year the Allswell Hybrid Mattress, which claimed the top spot as the best cheap mattress, was a top seller. This gel memory foam mattress features medium firmness, edge support for added comfort, and a reasonable price tag. 

Coop Sleep Goods Pillow

The Coop Sleep Goods Pillow is a favorite among our reviewers and readers. This pillow has consistently been the top pick in our guide to the best pillows and the best pillow for side sleepers. It's also a great option for back sleepers, stomach sleepers, those suffering from neck and back pain, and so on. It allows you to customize the exact amount of stuffing, tailoring the feel to your liking.

Parachute Bath Robe

A quality bathrobe is a must-have for anyone wanting to add a little comfort to their pre- or post-shower routine, and this option from Parachute, our pick as the best bathrobe overall, was the top selection. It's made from 100% Turkish cotton, and it has two front pockets and a plush shawl collar.

Sonic Alert Bomb Dual Alarm Clock

An alarm clock with "Sonic Alert Bomb" in its name may not seem like the best thing to wake up to but trust us (and our readers), it can help you get better sleep and wake up feeling rested. Sure, it has a bed shaker feature, can reach volumes up to 113 dbs, and even has strobe lights, but the Sonic Alert Bomb Dual Alarm Clock is a great bedside companion — and our pick as the best alarm clock for heavy sleepers.

Lasko Ceramic Heater

The Ceramic Heater from Lasko, our pick as the best space heater overall, is compact enough to fit into small living spaces, has an adjustable thermostat for you to dial in the perfect temperature, and has a built-in handle for easy transport. It costs less than $45 and is often on sale, making it a worthwhile purchase for anyone looking to add some warmth to their living space.

Beautiful 6 Quart Air Fryer

Air fryers remain popular, and our pick for the best value air fryer was a big hit among our readers. Available in seven different color options, it has a touch-activated display and can air fry, roast, or reheat all kinds of food. It's compact enough to fit nicely on a kitchen counter, too, so you don't have to worry about it taking up too much space.

Beckham Hotel Collection Bed Pillows

The Beckham Hotel Collection Bed Pillow is our pick as the best budget pillow you can buy, and it's a product that resonated with our readers as well. Not only is this a high-quality pillow that's budget-friendly, but it has features similar to pillow models priced much higher. This includes a 250-thread count cover, high breathability to help cool hot sleepers and a bounce-back design that helps it avoid going flat on you in the middle of the night.

BACtrack Trace Breathalyzer

The Trace Breathalyzer from BACtrack is a quality safeguard against buzzed or drunk driving and is our pick as the best breathalyzer overall — and our responsible readers were drawn to it as well. This breathalyzer offers accurate readings, boots up quickly, and delivers a reading in under 10 seconds.

Philips SmartSleep Wake-Up Alarm Clock

Sunrise alarm clocks provide a smooth, easy way for folks to wake up in the morning, and this option from Philips is a reader favorite — it's also our pick as the best budget sunrise alarm clock. It comes standard with a built-in FM radio, a low learning curve for beginners, and a great selection of calming sounds to choose from. It also creates the best sunrise simulation of the alarm clocks we've tested. For a better wake-up in the morning, this is what you need.

Concept2 Model D Indoor Rower

Rowing machines are all the rage these days, and for good reason. Not only do they deliver a quality, effective full-body workout but many prefer the cardio of a rowing workout over running on a treadmill — consider us and our readers part of that group, too. Our favorite and most popular rowing machine is the Concept2 Model D, which is also our pick as the best rowing machine overall. It offers smooth, quiet gliding, a comfortable, ergonomic design, and premium build quality.

Knowledge is power, the saying goes, so you may be tempted to use wearables to track your health data in the hopes of preventing or managing an illness or hitting certain fitness goals.

You'd be joining the millions of others seduced by the idea that more data will mean better health, as the global fitness tracking industry is estimated to be worth over $74 billion in 2024, up from $46 billion in 2020, according to Statista.

Personalized data — collected using devices such as the best smartwatches or rings — can help people understand how their body reacts to different factors from drinking alcohol or a new diet to smoking, Livvy Probert, a personal trainer, sports scientist, and head of science at personal health assessment company Hawq Score, told Business Insider.

But it can be hard to know which of the seemingly endless array of devices is worth spending money on.

Plus, it's important to take the data, which might not be entirely accurate, with a pinch of salt, Probert said. That doesn't mean the best fitness trackers aren't helpful, it just means you shouldn't take their data as gospel.

The root of the problem lies in the fact it's hard to track individuals with the same tech when we are all different.

And while many brands conduct their own studies, Probert said there's a lack of large-scale, independent research on the accuracy of wearable fitness trackers, further complicated by the fact that the technology is developing all the time.

One small 2017 study of 60 people by Stanford University suggested that most fitness trackers are inaccurate, overestimating calorie burn by up to 93%, while a 2018 meta-analysis of 60 studies found they struggle in particular with less intense forms of movement. Fitness trackers can't know our metabolic rates and how much muscle we have compared to body fat, which affects our energy expenditure.

With that in mind, Probert said to think about what's most important to you (step count, GPS tracking, or sleep metrics, for example) and to choose a wearable that can best help you measure that data and spot trends over time, without comparing yourself to others.

"It is more about looking at the trends than the individual data points," she said. And, Probert cautioned, it's important not to stop listening to your body and checking in with how you feel when using such devices. Don't blindly follow the guidance of your wearable, and make sure checking your data doesn't become an unhealthy obsession, she said.

Fitbit

One of the first and most popular fitness trackers on the market, Fitbit has come a long way from its start in 2009 when it sold a glorified pedometer.

Fitbit has various wrist-worn devices (with and without screens) that measure steps, stress, workouts, calories burned, and sleep, and some also function as smartwatches and GPS trackers. Other metrics that can be tracked via the companion Fitbit app (by manually logging data) include blood glucose, menstrual health, weight, and meals and water.

Fitbit Premium provides advanced insights into sleep and stress, workouts, and a daily readiness score, which means how energized and rested you are and thus whether you should push yourself or prioritize recovery. It costs $9.99 monthly, whereas the basic Fitbit app is free.

Fitbits themselves range from $79.95 to $399.95.

Who is a Fitbit good for?

Probert said Fitbits are good entry-level devices that are easy to use and provide basic activity tracking.

"They're easy to understand, easy to use, and fairly non-invasive," Probert said. "If you're someone that just wants to keep an eye on your activity levels, your steps, how much you're moving, they're a really good way to keep you active."

What are the cons of a Fitbit?

If you're more serious about your health and fitness — "a massive fitness geek," as Probert put it — you might want something a bit more in-depth, she said.

Oura

What is an Oura Ring?

The Oura Ring stands out in a world of wrist-based trackers because it's a ring.

The rings come in two styles and multiple colors such as gold, rose gold, silver, matte black, brushed titanium, and black.

Prices range from $299 to $549 for the ring, and there's a $5.99 monthly membership fee too.

All data is shown in the app, including resting heart rate, heart rate variability, sleep stages, workout heart rates, blood oxygen levels, menstrual cycle insights and period prediction, calories burned, steps, and more.

Every day, the app gives you a sleep score and then an activity goal based on how well-rested your body is, which is referred to as your "readiness" score.

Who is the Oura Ring good for?

If you don't like the look or feel of wrist-based trackers, already have a watch you love, or want something that won't look out of place with a formal outfit, an Oura Ring could appeal to you.

"They're very sleek, they're very minimalistic, they're so noninvasive," Probert said. "Most people don't realize you are wearing a wearable, there's no screen, nothing to distract you, you don't get notifications coming through."

Oura prides itself on having as accurate information as possible. For example, research found that the Oura Ring measures resting heart rate at 99.9% reliability compared to a medical-grade electrocardiogram. It's worth noting that Oura supported the study by providing equipment and software, and some of the authors were employed by Oura. However, the company was not involved in the study's design or collection and analysis of the results.

If you're already active and want to learn more about when to push yourself and when to ease up, Oura's recovery data could help understand how to limit over-training, Probert said.

What are the cons of Oura?

If you want a tracker with a display screen on the device, the Oura Ring isn't for you. Equally, if you're looking to go from sedentary to some movement, the Oura Ring is probably more detailed than you need.

For some forms of exercise, such as lifting weights and rowing, wearing a ring can feel uncomfortable. So, if you want detailed workout information and plan to use your hands, bear that in mind.

And with the monthly fee, it can get expensive if used long-term.

Whoop

What is Whoop?

The Whoop strap rose to popularity among the CrossFit community in the late 2010s but now they are regularly seen on the wrists of all kinds of fitness fans.

There's no screen on the fabric strap, all data is shown in the app.

Whoop is designed around balancing three pillars: sleep, recovery, and strain (or movement and stress on your body), and gives users scores for each pillar each day, thus helping them know whether to push themselves in the gym, take it easy, or get an early night. Designed for athletes and highly active people, it was one of the first trackers to focus as much on recovery as movement.

In 2023, Whoop launched an AI coach, designed to offer personalized health and fitness coaching. For example, if it thinks you're overexerting yourself in a workout, it will tell you.

When joining Whoop, the strap is free, but you pay $239 for a 12-month membership.

Who is Whoop for?

If you're interested in balancing your activity and recovery, Whoop is a quality choice. It will also appeal to people who love data, Probert said.

The strap is moveable and doesn't get in the way of most forms of exercise, however, it can be difficult when playing contact sports such as rugby. (To combat this, Whoop created sports bras to hold the tracker.)

Like the Oura Ring, if you don't want a screen or notifications popping up on your device, Whoop is a good choice.

"The level of coaching involved in the Whoop is excellent," Probert said. "There's so much you can learn about yourself but also health in general."

What are the cons of Whoop?

If you want to know your daily step count, Whoop is not for you. The company says it doesn't offer that data because steps aren't the be-all and end-all, and it believes overall movement is what matters most concerning your health. Athletes may, for instance, be less worried about their steps and more about their overall training load, Probert said.

However, she said step count can be a really useful metric, especially for those just getting into fitness. Doing a few gym workouts a week is great, but making sure you're not too sedentary the rest of the time is valuable too, Probert said.

Like the Oura Ring, Whoop gives more detail and data than beginners likely need, she said.

The look of the Whoop might not suit everyone's style outside the gym, and the fabric strap can feel uncomfortably soggy when wet. And if you want to use it long-term, the membership fee can mean it gets expensive.

Apple Watch

What is the Apple Watch?

The Apple Watch is more than just a smartwatch and now offers many advanced health- and fitness-tracking features. They measure steps, active calorie burn, blood oxygen levels, the menstrual cycle, sleep patterns, and workouts, including heart rate zones, power, and elevation.

In addition to functions you'd expect from a smartphone but on your wrist, including texting, making calls, and listening to music, the Apple Watch offers a mindfulness app as well that encourages users to relax and breathe mindfully throughout the day.

These wearables can also detect if a user has been in a serious car crash or had a bad fall, connect them with emergency services, share their location, and notify their emergency contacts.

You don't need to pay a monthly fee to use any Apple Watch model, which starts at $399. However, there is the option to buy an Apple Fitness+ subscription, which offers streaming workout classes and custom fitness and health plans for $9.99 a month.

The Apple Watch is available in three different models including the budget-friendly and entry-level Apple Watch SE, the standard Apple Watch Series 9, and the advanced, ruggedly designed Apple Watch Ultra 2.

Who is the Apple Watch good for?

If you want something on your wrist that does everything — watch, phone, and activity tracker — and your primary smartphone is an iPhone, then the Apple Watch is a good way to go. And while upfront costs may be steep, the lack of a monthly subscription could be attractive.

"They are very good all-rounders if you want the smartwatch with notifications, phone calls, using some of your apps, but you are also very health conscious. They're probably one of the best at bringing all of it together," Probert said.

What are the cons of an Apple Watch?

With so much information in one place, the Apple Watch could become a distraction for some people, Probert said.

She also thinks it's possibly not as useful for serious fitness fans as some of the more athlete-focused wearables from a brand like Garmin. 

Additionally, folks who use an Android smartphone should look elsewhere as the Apple Watch isn't compatible with phones using the Android operating system. They can instead opt for any of the best Android smartwatches. 

Continuous glucose monitors

What are continuous glucose monitors?

A different kind of wearable, CGMs, such as those used in the Zoe personalized nutrition program, are round discs that stick to the upper arm and monitor your blood sugar levels.

Unlike finger prick tests, the best glucometers take continual readings to provide near-real-time data on how blood sugar levels respond to different foods, drinks, and activities.

Originally designed for diabetics and pre-diabetics, CGMs are increasingly being marketed to the general population as a tool for improving health and athletic performance, despite little evidence supporting the idea that healthy people need to be concerned about their blood sugar levels.

There are various brands of CGMs, such as Levels and Lingo. Levels, for example, cost $398 initially, which includes one month's worth of CGMs and the annual membership fee of $199.

Who are CGMs good for?

If you're diabetic or pre-diabetic, a CGM can be exceptionally helpful, Dr. Nicola Guess, a clinical dietitian and researcher specializing in diabetes at the University of Oxford, previously told BI.

"In diabetes, your blood sugar potentially very regularly could be reaching really high concentrations to a degree that can be doing you harm," Guess said. "It can also suddenly go really low, which could cause you to faint, to fall into a coma, and can potentially even cause death. So a tool that enables you in real-time to know exactly what your blood glucose is, is a great tool in diabetes, even if it's just empowering and even if it's just knowledge."

What are the cons of CGMs?

Non-diabetics don't need to worry about their blood sugar at all, Guess said. Fluctuations are normal, and there's no evidence that spikes and drops increase hunger.

"For many folks who don't have diabetes, it's not particularly interpretable information for them, and it could be causing them to be more alarmed than they need to be," Charles Brenner, a biochemist who chairs the Department of Diabetes and Cancer Metabolism at City of Hope in Los Angeles, previously told BI.

For some people, trying to avoid blood sugar rises unnecessarily could lead to unwarranted carb avoidance, which could lead to nutritional deficiencies. Equally, exercise raises blood sugar levels, but of course, is very good for us to do.

• Amazon's Echo Frames prove that smart glasses can be more than a gimmick by providing useful, hands-free notifications and music playback.
• You can do many of the same things on the Echo Frames as you can with other Alexa gadgets, such as listen to music, set timers, ask questions, and receive alerts. 
• But many of the things that Echo Frames are designed for, like playing music and delivering phone notifications, are still better executed by other wearables like wireless headphones and smartwatches.
• Amazon has expanded its privacy offerings in recent years, but it can still be difficult for others to know when Alexa is activated on the glasses.

From light bulbs to door locks, TVs, thermostats, security cameras, and even toothbrushes, Amazon's Alexa assistant has been cropping up in just about everything over the past several years. 

But in 2019, Amazon found yet another new home for Alexa: prescription eyeglasses. Amazon unveiled the Alexa-enabled Echo Frames during its annual product event that year alongside the Echo Buds and a slew of other gadgets.

The Echo Frames, like Amazon's now-canceled Alexa ring, was part of the company's Day 1 Editions program, but the company finally decided to move forward with it as a real product in December. Day 1 Editions is a sort of purgatory for new Amazon gadgets; products in the program aren't quite ready to be launched on a massive scale, but they're also more advanced than prototypes.

I was skeptical of the $249.99 Echo Frames to say the least. As popular as Amazon's virtual assistant has become, I'm probably not alone in saying I'm feeling some Alexa fatigue. The last thing anyone really needs, I thought to myself, was yet another gadget with Alexa in it.

It wasn't until I spent a few days using the Echo Frames that I really began to understand why Amazon made them in the first place. The Echo Frames feel like what smart glasses should have been all along: unobtrusive, connected glasses that add convenience without getting in the way. 

It's sort of a mashup between Google Glass and AirPods, minus the camera, tiny screen, and painfully short battery life that came with Google's eyewear. Instead, imagine wearing AirPods continuously all day so that you can listen to music, hear incoming notifications, and ask questions to a virtual assistant — but without actually wearing AirPods.

The Echo Frames are enough to convince me that smart glasses can be more than just a gimmick. But there are still plenty of reasons why a pair of Amazon smart glasses should give you some pause to say the least.  

Although the Echo Frames may make the strongest case for smart glasses yet, it's still unclear precisely who this gadget is for. Many of the tasks the Echo Frames are designed to do, like listening to music and receiving notifications, can still be done much better through other wearables like smartwatches and wireless earbuds. 

While Amazon has rolled out more privacy-oriented  features in recent years, it's difficult for others around you to tell when you're using Alexa through the glasses, which could raise some privacy concerns. 

All told, the Echo Frames show a lot of promise, but with some pretty big caveats. Here's a deeper dive at what it's been like to use Amazon's first pair of smart glasses. 

Amazon Echo Frames specifications

• Speakers: 4 microspeakers
• Microphones: 2 beamforming microphones
• Durability: IPX: 4 for water and sweat resistance
• Weight: 31g
• Sensors: Capacitive touch sensor, ambient light sensor, and accelerometer
• Compatibility: Android 9.0 and iOS 13.6 and higher
• Battery: Estimated 14 hours
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth 5.0
• In the box: Echo Frames with non-corrective lenses, carrying case, cleaning cloth, power adapter, and charging cable

Design and setup

The Amazon Echo Frames look almost exactly like a pair of regular eyeglasses. The only giveaways are the buttons along the bottom of the glasses' right arm and the charging connector. 

One of those buttons is referred to as the action button, and it can be used to turn the glasses on or off and mute the microphone as well as phone notifications, while the other button is for adjusting the volume. There's also a touchpad along the right temple of the glasses that can be used for accepting or rejecting calls and notifications, accessing your phone's virtual assistant if you don't want to use Alexa, and controlling media playback. 

The Echo Frames also feel just as lightweight as a regular pair of glasses, making them easy to wear all day long. My main complaint about their design is that they only come in one style, and I don't particularly love how that one style fits my face. The glasses come in three colors: black, tortoise, and blue, but all in the same shape. The build quality of the glasses also feels a bit flimsy for the price compared to standard eyeglasses. 

The glasses come with non-corrective lenses by default, but you can take them to eyewear professionals like LensCrafters to get them fitted with your prescription. Amazon also says they should be eligible for out-of-network insurance reimbursement with providers such as VSP Vision Care, Eye Med, and Cigna. 

Setting up the Echo Frames is just as simple as any other Alexa accessory. Just plug them into their charger, launch the Alexa app, and tap the "Add a device" button. From there, select "Amazon Echo," and then "Echo Frames" to connect the glasses to your phone. 

Music

The Echo Frames can do just about anything other Echo devices can, such as set timers, answer questions, play music, control smart home devices, and answer phone calls. 

If you're concerned about others hearing your notifications or music in public, don't be. The Echo Frames come with open-ear audio, which as its name implies directs sound to your ears so that only you can hear it.

The technology worked surprisingly well in my experience. Even though I was listening to holiday tunes at what seemed like a reasonably high volume during a walk in the snow recently, my husband standing right beside me couldn't hear a thing. 

Amazon isn't the only company using this type of technology. Bose's Frames sunglasses also direct audio toward your ear so that it's difficult for others to hear unless they're standing right next to you.  

Music coming through the Echo Frames sounded louder and crisper than I thought it would, but it still pales in comparison to dedicated headphones. Music playing through the Echo Frames lacks depth and isn't as punchy or full-bodied as what you'd get when listening through a pair of wireless earbuds like the AirPods. It's more like listening to music playing from your phone's speaker than headphones.

Still, audio is loud enough to enjoy casually but not the point where it becomes difficult to understand what's happening around you. I could imagine that being useful for city dwellers like myself that do a lot of walking under normal circumstances. 

After all, listening to Spotify on your walk to the store without having to remove an earbud to talk to the cashier would certainly be convenient. But that seems like a very specific audience; most people are probably fine with using dedicated headphones when they're on-the-go or playing music from a speaker while at home.

I haven't tested the Bose Frames sunglasses myself. But reviewers at The Guardian and CNET seemed satisfied with its audio quality, so they may be a better choice of listening to music is your top priority. But they're sunglasses instead of everyday prescription glasses like the Echo Frames, so you likely won't be wearing them all day unless you're spending the day outdoors.

Notifications and battery life

Alexa can also deliver notifications from your phone, essentially filling the same purpose as a smartwatch in this regard. If you have phone notifications turned on, Alexa will chime in to tell you which app you're receiving a notification from. From there, you can choose to hear the full alert by swiping your finger alongside the right arm of the glasses. 

During my time with the Echo Frames, I found Alexa most useful for receiving texts and Slack messages when I wasn't near my phone or computer. You can also choose to cut down on the number of notifications you receive by turning on the VIP Filter, which as its name implies lets you choose which apps and contacts you want to hear from. 

The ability to deliver phone notifications to a wearable device so that you don't have to constantly grab your phone isn't new. Smartwatches have been doing this for years, and it's exactly what makes them so useful besides their health tracking capabilities. 

But receiving notifications through your glasses is an entirely different experience that's better in some ways and worse in others. For example, having Alexa read my text messages to me while I was cooking dinner felt more convenient than receiving the same notification through my Apple Watch. 

Even though smartwatches make it easier to see more information at a glance compared to your phone, you still must pause to look at your watch and actually read the message. Having Alexa built into your glasses almost feels like having a true virtual assistant since it can read my incoming message hands-free as I'm chopping vegetables at the counter, typing away at work, or taking a walk without any interruption to the task at hand.

But while I generally enjoyed having Alexa tell me every time I received a new message, I could easily see how it could feel overwhelming or annoying to some, even if you decide to turn on the VIP filter. Smartwatch notifications, on the other hand, are much more subtle and easier to ignore since they're not audio-based and usually just result in a light buzz on the wrist. They're also better suited for longer messages that are better read than heard and might not translate as well to Alexa.

The Echo Frames should last long enough on a single charge to get through a whole day depending on how you use them. After about seven hours of usage which included listening to music for roughly 30 minutes, taking a short phone call, and otherwise receiving notifications, I still had 50% of a charge left. If you use these spectacles for lengthy phone calls and listen to a lot of music, you'll probably burn through its battery much faster. 

For a device like the Echo Frames that isn't meant to be worn overnight, a day's worth of battery life is fine for most people. I also had my glasses set to shut down automatically whenever I took them off, which helps preserve battery. 

Privacy 

The idea of having a a device that's constantly listening for a wake word  has become relatively normal given the popularity of Amazon's Echo smart speakers. 

Like other Echo devices they only start recording after hearing the wake word, and Amazon says all recordings are encrypted when being sent to its servers. The Echo Frames in particular are designed to only respond to the wearer's voice. 

But there are some privacy considerations to keep in mind that make the Echo Frames different from a smart speaker, according to three privacy experts who spoke with Insider Reviews. 

Unlike an Echo speaker, which has a unique and recognizable look and is situated in a more private setting like the home, the Echo Frames look just like any other pair of glasses and are meant to be worn in public. And while the wearer might be fully aware when Alexa is listening, public bystanders might not.

When Alexa is activated on the Echo Frames, a subtle blue light is visible just above the right eye. But you can't really see this light unless you're the person wearing them.

"There really wouldn't necessarily be [a] notice to a bystander, someone in public, that these are smart glasses that are capable of recording," Jeremy Greenberg, policy counsel for the Future of Privacy Forum, said to Insider Reviews. 

Amazon's privacy and data collection policies, like those of other large tech firms such as Apple and Google, has also come under scrutiny in the last couple of years. In 2019, Bloomberg reported that contractors had unintentionally listened to private conversations resulting from accidental Alexa activations.

Amazon has since launched new privacy features, such as the ability to delete Alexa history with your voice, have voice data automatically deleted after three or 18 months, and ask Alexa about how to review privacy settings. 

And just like any other Echo product, users can view and delete their data anytime, and there's also a physical button on the Echo Frames for muting the microphone. But unlike Apple and Google, Amazon saves your voice recordings by default, an option that must be changed in the Alexa app. 

"Although it sounds like Amazon has tried to design these in a way that's thoughtful about privacy, it can be hard to predict the ways in which privacy might unexpectedly fail or if they could be misused," David O'Brien, senior researcher in privacy and security at Harvard University's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, said to Insider Reviews via email. 

Should you buy it?

Amazon makes a fairly strong case for smart glasses with the Echo Frames, combining the convenience of wireless headphones and smartwatch-like instant notifications in an accessory many people wear every day. 

But unless you really love Alexa, most people would probably be better off using a pair of wireless headphones like Apple's AirPods, Samsung Galaxy Buds, or Amazon Echo Buds for listening to music, and a smartwatch for notifications. 

The fact that they cost about $155 more than the standard glasses available at Warby Parker but only come in one shape and three colors can also make the Echo Frames a tough pick for everyday glasses wearers like myself.

That's not to say there isn't a place for them. Those who work with their hands often and aren't able to check their phone often — perhaps medical workers and restaurant staff — could certainly benefit from the ability to ask questions, play music, or take phone calls hands-free without having to wear earbuds. But they feel like a niche product for now.

What are your alternatives?

If you don't need prescription glasses but are still interested in the concept of listening to music and accepting calls through your glasses, the Bose Frames audio sunglasses have been well-received among reviewers. 

The Bose Frames are available in a few different styles and models with the cheapest version costing $179.95. The glasses have miniaturized Bose speakers positioned next to each ear, and you can also summon Siri or the Google Assistant with the push of a button in addition to playing music and taking calls.

Otherwise, many of the benefits the Echo Frames have to offer — such as delivering notifications and listening to music on the go hands-free — are already available in existing devices like smartwatches, wireless earbuds, and smart home speakers. 

Many of those gadgets also offer a superior experience depending on what you're looking for. Wireless earbuds, for example, offer much better audio quality than what you'd get from the Echo Frames. And smartwatches offer additional features that make use of the fact they're being worn all day, like health and fitness tracking. 

The bottom line

The Echo Frames are an ambitious attempt on Amazon's part to integrate tech into everyday eyewear, a goal that many tech giants have seemingly been chasing for years. But it faces tough competition from devices like smartwatches that offer similar benefits in a design that's more universal and generally has more to offer in terms of functionality. And the Frames can also raise potential privacy concerns since it's difficult for others around you to tell when Alexa is recording. 

Pros: Useful hands-free notifications; Easy setup; Can listen to music while remaining aware of surroundings
Cons: Others can't really tell when Alexa is listening; Most tasks can be done better on earbuds, smart speakers, or a smartwatch; Limited style options

Smart lights are easily the best place to start when you're looking to up the IQ of your home. When paired with your phone or a smart home setup, the best smart light bulbs offer the ability to create schedules, change colors, and adjust settings for different moods. Top models also last longer than traditional bulbs, help conserve energy, and integrate with digital assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant. And, you can turn them on and off from anywhere.

After testing a wide selection of smart lights and bulbs, we've rounded up our six favorite options. Our top pick is the Lifx Color A19 1100 Lumen Bulb; not only is it extremely bright, but it also offers great color accuracy. If your main priority is keeping costs low, then the Wyze Color Bulb is another excellent buy. For less than $30, you can get two bulbs that don't skimp on functionality.

Our top picks for the best smart light bulbs

Best overall: Lifx Color A19 1100 Lumen Bulb - See at Amazon
The Lifx Color 1100-lumen Bulb is the brightest bulb we've ever tested and beams the most accurate and vibrant colors.

Best white-only: Wyze White Bulb - See at Amazon
Impressively bright, the Wyze White Bulb is easy to install and use and offers a tunable white light at an affordable price.

Best budget: Wyze Color Bulb - See at Amazon
With vibrant colors accompanied by an intuitive app, the Wyze Color Bulb has exceptional functionality at an affordable price point.

Best ecosystem: Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Bulb - See at Amazon
For a bulb that has wide compatibility and is easy to expand on, it's hard to beat the Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance.

Best outdoor: GE Cync Direct Connect Outdoor Smart Light - See at Amazon
The GE Cync Direct Connect Outdoor Bulb is an easy-to-install floodlight that can illuminate outdoor areas and fill them with color.

Best LED light strip: Lifx Lightstrip with Color Zones - See at Amazon
The Lifx Lightstrip with Color Zones lets you customize how you want to display its bright, vibrant colors.

Best overall: Lifx Color A19 1100 Lumen Bulb

Some smart light bulbs require dedicated hubs that plug into your router, which can get needlessly complicated. If you're only looking to install a few smart lights, we recommend the hubless, WiFi-only Lifx Color Bulb. It's beautiful, bright, and compatible with Alexa, Google Assistant, and HomeKit. Plus, installation is easy.

We're partial to Lifx's Color Bulb that gives you 1100 lumens, but it also offers a cheaper bulb that supports 800 lumens. We say this because the 1100-lumen variant is admittedly expensive at around $50 a bulb. But in terms of brightness, color accuracy, ease of use, and smart-home compatibility, the Lifx Color Bulb is the best out there. 

The Lifx Color bulb sports a flat-top design instead of being a traditional orb, but it still managed to be by far the brightest bulb we tested, even against other bulbs with the same lumens. Due to this design, the 1100-lumen bulb is slightly wider than other bulbs, so it's a good idea to double-check your fixtures. For example, there's a 0.2-inch difference between the Lifx and Philips Hue bulbs. 

If you're looking at the lineup and wondering why we're not readily recommending Lifx's plain old white bulb, it's because we don't want you to miss out on our pick's vivid color accuracy. Whether the bulb is warm or cool white, red, pink, blue, or violet, the colors are properly balanced, bright, and pleasing to the eye. 

Lifx smart lights support several options for preset color themes, like "mellow" and "spacey," which are useful for setting just the right mood. If you have multiple bulbs in a group, the app applies the theme to all, so if you spring for the "romance" theme, you might get bulbs that are pinkish white and others that are a bright red.

Lifx's mobile app is relatively straightforward to use. You'll be able to control every light in your home with a few taps, and you can schedule the bulb to come on at specific times each day. There are also existing, editable routines, like O.K. to wake and circadian rhythm. We came across a few quirks when trying to set up custom scenes but no major deal breakers.  

Despite its higher price tag, the Lifx Color Bulb is the best pick if you want the brightest bulb with vibrant colors and fun lighting effects. Lifx also makes smart switches and our favorite light strip. If you plan on going all-in on smart bulbs, remember that Lifx smart lights are connected via WiFI, which could cause some reliability issues. For entire home setups, we recommend a hub-based bulb, like the Philips Hue lights, which is our pick for the best smart lighting ecosystem. 

Best white-only: Wyze White Bulb

If you're not interested in color or paying a great deal for smart lights, the Wyze White Bulb is the most affordable tunable white light bulb we tested — a two-pack will only set you back around $25. In terms of brightness, the 800-lumen Wyze White Bulb even beats out the 1100-lumen Philips Hue White Bulb.

You'll be able to control the bulbs with your voice via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant or through the Wyze app, which is straightforward to use. A clickable wheel ranging from blue to yellow shows you the temperature in Kelvins as you tap. There are four preset options: night light, cozy, bright, and energized. The night light setting is warm and impressively dim. You can also create your own presets with your desired temperature and brightness settings. 

If you prefer not to pull out your phone all the time, the app offers the ability to set schedules and custom scenes. The sun-match setting will turn your lights bluer in the morning and warmer yellow in the evenings. Wake-up and sleep routines will also turn the bulbs into a rudimentary sunrise alarm clock, gradually brightening and dimming when it's time to get up or go to sleep.  

Our main concern with recommending Wyze bulbs is the company's reputation for handling privacy and security. Wyze's security cameras had a flaw that made them vulnerable to hackers but didn't report the issue to customers for three years. While light bulbs present a lower risk of privacy invasion than cameras, it's still something to keep in mind when purchasing Wyze products. 

Best budget: Wyze Color Bulb

While you can buy white-only bulbs, we generally recommend going for white and color bulbs, meaning bulbs that can beam colors but also different temperatures of white. Our budget pick, the Wyze Color Bulb, can do just that. Plus, it's affordable enough to put in a few fixtures in your home without breaking the bank. They're only a few bucks more than Wyze's white bulbs.

Though no match for the Lifx Color Bulb, the Wyze Color Bulb is still very bright for its white light settings. It's actually brighter from the side than the Lifx, so it might be a better choice if you're using it in a lamp instead of overhead. 

When it comes to colors, the Wyze isn't as bright or vibrant as the Lifx. Oranges are always a bit washed out, even with the "pumpkin" preset color. The red colors look either orange or pink. Preset themes will turn several bulbs different colors, but it's not as customizable as we'd like. 

For smart features like gradient or strobe effects, you'll need to pair the Wyze Color Bulb with the Wyze Light Strip to unlock them, which is worth it if that's what you're looking for. There are nine patterns like "sea wave" and "flicker" that cause the bulbs and strips to flash different colors. Though you can set the speed of the color transitions, even the slowest setting is pretty fast. You can select up to four colors to apply to the effects. 

Like the Wyze white bulbs, the color bulbs have schedules, vacation mode, sun match, and wake and sleep routines. And as with the Wyze white bulbs, you'll want to take the company's reputation for privacy and security into account before purchasing.

Best ecosystem: Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance Bulb

Philips Hue bulbs are among the most well-known smart bulbs on the market, and for good reason. They're very reliable; integrate with many smart-home devices, platforms, and assistants; and come in a wide range of options, from bulbs to lamps and smart switches and outdoor lights.

Hue bulbs once required the Hue bridge, which made them a little harder to recommend because of the added investment. While you still need the Hue Bridge for some features, you can now use Bluetooth to connect and control them, which should please anyone who wants to test a few bulbs (up to 10) before investing in the entire ecosystem. You can always purchase the Hue Bridge later, which supports up to 50 bulbs. 

The White and Color Ambiance Bulbs are bright from the top and side, and in terms of color, they emit millions of hues, which are excellent. Oranges and yellows are particularly balanced, though the blues don't get very deep. For comparison sake, none of the colors are as bright as those that shine from our best overall pick, the Lifx Color Bulb. 

Where Hue's bulbs stand out is the scenes gallery. There are over 50 presets with floral motifs, city-inspired lights, sunset scenes, and more. You can set a static scene with each bulb in a group taking on a different color, and you can cycle through until each bulb is set with your preferred hue. The scenes are also dynamic, so the bulbs will simultaneously transition into each color. You can change the speed and brightness and edit the bulbs' colors.

Other automations include wake-up and sleep lights, coming and leaving home, timers, vacation mode, and custom schedules. The bulbs also stay reliably connected and respond quickly to commands from Alexa and Google Assistant. 

Philips Hue works with a lot of other smart-home products. The lights also have a sync mode that lets you pair them with your Spotify account, a Philips Hue Play box for your TV, or with your PC or Mac. Many of the advanced features require a Hue bridge.

Even without a hub, a pair of Hue White and Color Ambiance bulbs cost $100, making them the most expensive options we tested. But you're buying into the Philips product line, which includes a ton of bulb types, letting you expand your setup indoors and out. Even in areas with spotty WiFi, the Hue bridge delivers a seamless, reliable experience that's well worth the price.

Best outdoor: GE Cync Direct Connect Outdoor Smart Light

If you're looking to build a robust smart light system, either Lifx's outdoor bulb or Philips Hue's flood light might be a better fit for your setup. But if you're more interested in smart lighting for the outdoors instead of inside, the affordable GE Cync PAR38 bulb may have everything you're looking for.

The 1300-lumen GE Cync Direct Connect Outdoor Bulb was the brightest option we tested. It's a weather-resistant floodlight that's suitable for outdoor fixtures and can light up the night in a range of shades. At $25 per bulb, it was by far the lowest-priced outdoor bulb we tried. 

A few caveats: Though all the colors are bright, they weren't all the most balanced. It was difficult to select a red that didn't look a tad orange, for example. There are 11 preset scenes that cycle through colors with themes like Aurora, Vegas, and Halloween. You can add your own scenes, with choices for different types of transitions, speeds, fade times, and colors. 

While the light is very powerful from the top, its floodlight shape means it's pretty dim from the sides. If you're looking for something that gives a bit more light from the side, the Lifx Nightvision Bulb was dimmer overall but doesn't have the same floodlight shape as the GE Cync. It's also a better choice if you want an outdoor bulb that can get very dim. The GE Cync was still brighter than some 800-lumen bulbs on its lowest setting. 

GE Cync bulbs work with Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, but they don't work with Apple's HomeKit, Samsung SmartThings, or IFTTT. The app can also be a bit confusing. It takes a couple of clicks to get to the different screens that control the individual bulbs, and you can't delete scenes if your bulbs are offline. You can create your own schedules, but there aren't premade ones that you can edit, like a circadian rhythm routine. 

For the brightest outdoor bulb and the lowest price, the GE Cync Direct Connect is your best bet. 

Best LED strip light: Lifx Lightstrip with Color Zones

The Lifx Lightstrip with Color Zones offers the best mix of brightness and functionality of all the options we tested. Its white settings were dimmer than a few others, like the Nanoleaf Essentials Smart Lightstrip, our pick for the best task lighting in our strip light guide. However, no other strip came close to matching the brightness of its red, green, blue, and violet settings. 

If you're planning on using a strip light for task lighting, you may prefer the brighter whites of the Nanoleaf. But if you're mostly interested in rich colors and fun effects, the Lifx delivers. There are nine options for lighting effects, including strobe, pastels, and twinkle. You can adjust the speed for all of them, and some of them allow you to opt for different themes. 

In addition to schedules, preset routines, like O.K. to wake and circadian rhythm, are editable to fit when you want to get up and go to sleep. 

However, the biggest frustration with the Lifx strip is that you can't save effects. There's no way to always display a certain color scheme on twinkle, for example. It's something most other strip lights offer, so it's a fairly large omission. But you can customize static colors with the paint function. It lets you add a few colors along the length of the strip. 

One starter kit comes in a 40-inch length, but to cover almost any space, you'll likely want to opt for the 80- or 120-inch options. If you're looking for a more budget-friendly or brighter white option, check out this guide to the best LED strip lights.

What to look for in smart light bulbs

When choosing a smart bulb, you'll want to consider brightness, dimming and color-tuning capabilities, smart-home compatibility, features, and price. 

Smart lighting comes in all shapes and sizes, but all of them have their brightness listed in lumens. There's some variation between manufacturers, meaning not all 800-lumen bulbs are equally bright. In general, choosing a higher-lumen bulb will give you a brighter light. 

Before you buy smart light bulbs, you should take into account where you want to put them, noting how many rooms, fixtures, and spaces you want to illuminate. You'll also want to consider if you want white-only bulbs or color bulbs. For white-only bulbs, double-check you're getting a bulb that can span warm white to cool, typically from 2500 to 6000 Kelvin. 

Pre-planning on the type and number bulbs will help inform whether you need a hub. For those wanting to add smart bulbs to every fixture in the house, a hub makes sense because it creates a mesh network that will extend their range and keep the individual bulbs from overburdening your WiFi connection.  

In terms of features, it's all about flexibility and control. If you like the idea of having bulbs that mimic the way the sun's light changes, several bulbs in our list can automatically tune themselves to do so. Vacation mode, timers, and an easy-to-access night light are other settings that appeal to many smart-bulb users. 

Every bulb we tested works with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant. Apple HomeKit works with fewer bulbs, so you'll want to ensure a bulb is compatible if that's your main smart-home ecosystem. With the new Matter standard now up and running, you should eventually be able to control the majority of brands from any ecosystem, but it requires a Matter controller (like an Apple HomePod or second-generation Nest Hub) to work. 

LED bulbs cost less than they did a few years ago. While they're more expensive than traditional bulbs, they last far longer, and you'll have to replace them less often. White bulbs cost less than color-changing ones, and some pricier bulbs have more features in terms of customizability and smart-home compatibility.

How we test smart light bulbs

To test smart light bulbs, we use benchmark tests and use them in our homes to see how they perform in everyday circumstances. Using a light meter, we test every bulb's brightness from the top and side on both its brightest cool white and warm white settings. 

We then dim the bulb by 50%, 10%, and 1% to see how accurate and useful the dimming settings are. Color bulbs are set to red, green, blue, and violet to test each hue's brightness. 

For each bulb, we time how long it takes to install the app and set up the light, including assigning rooms and waiting through firmware updates. We note any snags in the pairing process. After the bulb has been offline for several days, we check and see if we need to go through the setup process again. When using the app, we consider how easy it is to navigate, the features and scheduling options available, and the privacy settings and permissions. 

We also test each bulb with an Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant device to see how well it responds to verbal commands. We also add it to Apple HomeKit, if the bulb is compatible. If the bulb works with IFTTT, we look at the number and type of available automations.

Smart light bulb FAQs

How do smart bulbs work?

Smart bulbs work by communicating with a smart device, like a hub or smartphone, via Wi-Fi so they can be controlled through an app or smart assistant, like Google Nest or Amazon Alexa. After screwing the bulb into its socket and connecting it to Wi-Fi, you can then control features like brightness, hue, and schedules using the app or your voice. 

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How long do smart bulbs last?

All of the bulbs we recommend last 25,000 hours, according to their manufacturers. That works out to about 8.5 years if you run the bulb for eight hours every day. In contrast, traditional incandescent light bulbs last only a year or two, and fluorescents are closer to five. 

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Are smart light bulbs energy efficient?

Yes. The bulbs on this list use between 8 and 15 watts of electricity, far less than 60-, 75-, and 100-watt incandescent bulbs. Plus, you can schedule them to only come on at certain times or have them automatically turn off when you leave to save more energy. 

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Are smart light bulbs worth it? 

Smart bulbs can be very useful for anyone with difficult-to-reach lamps, who likes to add some drama with colorful lighting, or who accidentally leaves the lights on when they leave home. While a bit pricier than non-connected bulbs, they offer a lot of benefits and last years.

When it comes to the best Nintendo Switch controllers, the Joy-Cons that come with each console are wonderfully unique, but don't stack up to the competition. If you want the best features of the Joy-Cons in a more traditional package, check out the official Nintendo Switch Pro Controller.

With its more comfortable design, better D-pad, and bigger joysticks, the Pro Controller easily bests the Joy-Cons. And though it's more expensive than a lot of other Switch controllers, it includes features that many third-party gamepads lack, like HD rumble and motion control. It's one of the best ways to play nearly every Nintendo Switch game.

The Pro Controller is comfortable, precise, and long-lasting

I'm a bigger fan of the Switch's Joy-Con controllers than most, but even I have to admit that they're not great for longer play sessions. They've got small buttons, the thin corners dig into your palms, and there's no real D-pad. Even with the Joy-Con grip attached, they're not ideal.

If you're playing the Switch mostly in TV mode (or even tabletop mode), then you should invest in a better wireless gamepad. That's where the Pro Controller shines.

The Pro Controller is a dream to play with. It's got textured handles that fit easily into your palms, and a button layout that won't cramp your hands. The Pro Controller feels so natural to use that you'll forget it's there, which is the mark of a great gamepad. 

The face buttons (A, B, X, Y) are about twice the size of the Joy-Con buttons, making misinputs far less common. They also depress farther and make satisfying clacking noises, which adds up to a better tactile experience. It's also got a proper D-pad, with a connected crosspad instead of separated buttons.

The bigger and grippier joysticks make it easy to perform precise movements or camera adjustments. They're also built with a different internal design than the Joy-Cons, meaning they're far less prone to "Joy-Con drift."

While the Pro Controller works well with pretty much any game, it's best for titles that require quick and precise inputs. That's why it's become one of the most popular controllers for high-level Super Smash Bros. Ultimate players. I've also really enjoyed using it in shooters like Splatoon, and button-mashers like NEO: The World Ends With You.

And although the Pro Controller isn't as simple to charge as the Joy-Cons — you'll need to use a separate USB-C cable, rather than just attaching it to the Switch — it's got great battery life. Thanks to its huge internal battery, every full charge should get you around 40 hours of playtime, which is about double the playtime you'd get with the Joy-Cons.

Unlike many third-party gamepads, the Pro Controller includes motion controls, HD Rumble, and more

There are dozens of alternative Switch controllers on the market. But most of them — even some of the expensive ones — leave out three important features: Motion controls, HD Rumble support, and Amiibo scanning.

The Pro Controller doesn't skimp on any of these features. It's got an internal gyroscope for precise motion controls, and uses the same HD Rumble motors as the Joy-Cons. And although the Amiibo sensor is in a different spot — at the top of the controller instead of the side — it works just as well.

On top of all that, the Pro Controller also offers an extra feature that some third-party gamepads lack: You can use it to play games on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Android.

Once you press the tiny Pair button on the top of the Pro Controller, you can connect it to any of the listed devices via Bluetooth. PCs and Macs support a wired USB-C connection too. And once connected, it should work with any game that has controller support. This is especially true if you're playing games through Steam.

If you're using a PC or Mac, some games even support the Pro Controller's gyroscope. Just imagine my shock when I opened up Left 4 Dead 2 and found myself aiming my gun entirely with motion controls.

Not all Switch games support the Pro Controller

With all this said, there are a few Switch games that don't let you use a Pro Controller. Most of these are games that rely on the Joy-Cons' specific design for core mechanics, like 1-2-Switch, Just Dance, and Ring Fit Adventure. Others, like Clubhouse Games, only have specific sections of the game locked off.

Nintendo doesn't keep an official list of games that lack Pro Controller support, but these are the titles we've found that have compatibility issues:

• 1-2-Switch
• Astral Chain (multiplayer mode)
• Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (motion-based games like bowling)
• Fitness Boxing series
• Jump Rope Challenge
• Just Dance series
• Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
• Resident Evil: Revelations series (motion aiming)
• Ring Fit Adventure
• SEGA AGES Virtua Racing (multiplayer mode)
• Super Mario Party
• The Stretchers
• The World Ends With You: Final Remix

You also can't use a Pro Controller with any Nintendo Labo toys.

Should you buy the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller?

With a more comfortable grip, better buttons, and no missing features, the Pro Controller is one of the premier ways to play Switch games. Little else compares, especially if you spend most of your playtime connected to a TV. If you can afford it, the Pro Controller is one of the best Switch accessories you can buy.

But there's the kicker: The Pro Controller retails at $70, almost a quarter of the price of an entire Switch console. That's a steep price, even for a gamepad as good as this one. If you're tight on money and aren't having any issues with the regular Joy-Cons, you might want to stick with what you've got. At the very least, consider holding off until the Pro Controller goes on sale. It's common to see it drop to $60 during deal events.

The price is one of the biggest reasons why I consider the 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth Controller, also $70, a better gamepad than the Pro Controller. It doesn't support Amiibo scanning, but it has remappable buttons, a better grip, and an included charging dock, which all adds up to a much better value.

If that's still too pricey, trusted brands like PowerA and Hori sell great full-sized Switch controllers for less money. And although they don't always include motion controls or rumble support, they're still comfortable and capable gamepads.

• Nintendo Switch OLED launched on October 8 for $350 — that's $50 more than the original Switch.
• The new model has a better screen, twice the storage, a wider kickstand, and a LAN port in the dock.
• Switch OLED and the original Switch still share the same games and overall performance.

Nintendo launched a new version of its popular Switch console on October 8, the Switch OLED. The console was first announced in July amid speculation that Nintendo was developing a Switch that was capable of playing games at 4K resolution. Instead, Switch OLED sticks to the original Switch specifications of 1080p docked gameplay with a 720p portable display.

The biggest change is the addition of an OLED screen for improved contrast and overall picture quality, but Nintendo has also made several smaller enhancements like adding a better kickstand and twice the built-in storage space. With that said, the Switch OLED's processor and graphics performance are unchanged compared to the standard model.

Nintendo will continue selling the standard Switch and Switch Lite alongside the new version, and all current Joy-Con controllers and docks are compatible with the new model. The new dock that comes with the Switch OLED also works with old Switch consoles.

Nintendo Switch OLED pricing and availability

• The new Nintendo Switch OLED launched on October 8 for $350.
• The new console is available in white and black color options through Nintendo's website and other retailers.
• The black model will come with red and blue Joy-Cons, while the white version includes white Joy-Cons.

Where can you buy the Nintendo Switch OLED?

Nintendo made Switch OLED model preorders available on July 15, and officially released the console on October 8.

It's currently difficult to find the Switch OLED in stock, but retailers like Best Buy and GameStop refresh online product listings on a regular basis.

You can check the retailer links below to see if the console is currently in stock. We'll update this page with more purchase options and inventory updates as they're announced.

What's different about the new Switch?

The biggest difference between the new Switch OLED and the standard version is its screen. The new model comes with a larger 7-inch OLED display, whereas the older model has a 6.2-inch LCD screen. 

OLED screens generally offer better contrast and viewing angles than LCD displays since they are self-illuminating, which means each pixel emits its own light. This enables OLED screens to achieve true levels of black, resulting in significantly improved contrast compared to LCD screens. OLED displays also generally offer better viewing angles, which could be particularly useful when using the Switch in tabletop mode. The 720p screen resolution, however, is unchanged.

The new screen is the biggest upgrade, but Nintendo has made some other improvements as well. The new dock has a built-in LAN port, and Nintendo has doubled the onboard storage capacity from 32GB to 64GB.

The kickstand has also been updated and now features a wider design that allows for adjustable viewing angles, more closely resembling the built-in stand on Microsoft's Surface tablets.

Nintendo also says the audio quality has been improved, and the Switch firmware was recently updated to allow connections to Bluetooth headphones.

Should you buy the new Nintendo Switch OLED?

We'll have to wait until we've tried the new Switch OLED to provide a recommendation. But the larger OLED screen and more flexible kickstand make it look like an especially promising option for those who primarily use their Switch in handheld and tabletop mode.

It seems like Nintendo is positioning the new Switch as an alternative to the original model rather than a next-generation upgrade. Based on the information available on Nintendo's website, it looks like the OLED Switch offers the same graphics performance and battery life as the original, and there's also no support for 4K output. But these changes seem fitting for a new model that's only $50 more than its predecessor.

For more Nintendo Switch and gaming coverage check out our features, buying guides, and deal roundups below:

• Switch OLED vs. standard Switch vs. Switch Lite
• Who should buy the Switch OLED?
• The best gaming consoles
• The best Nintendo Switch accessories
• The best Nintendo Switch games
• The best Nintendo Switch controllers
• The best Nintendo Switch deals

Following a short reveal trailer in January, Nintendo has finally announced more information about its latest video game console, the Switch 2. Like its predecessor, the Nintendo Switch, the Switch 2 can be used as a portable handheld system or connected to a TV at home.

The Nintendo Switch 2 will be released on June 5 for $450. A bundle with a brand-new Mario Kart game will also be available that day for $500. Though preorders were originally set to start on April 9, they were delayed until April 24. Throughout April, a series of hands-on events will also be held in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, where fans can try the system for the first time.

The console looks a lot like the original model but has a few new design flourishes and several key hardware upgrades, including a larger, higher-resolution screen, 4K support when docked, and the ability to use the Joy-Con controllers like a computer mouse.

Here's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 so far, including specifications, features, and major games set for release.

See also: Nintendo Switch 2 review | Where to buy Nintendo Switch 2 | Switch 2 vs. Switch 1

The Nintendo Switch 2 has a larger screen, upgraded controllers, and support for 4K

Like the original Nintendo Switch, the Switch 2 features a display sandwiched between two removable Joy-Con controllers. The display can also be slotted into a dock that plugs into your TV. The dock now has a built-in fan to keep the system cool when in use.

The new Joy-Cons have a similar button layout as their predecessors, but rather than slide into place on the side of the display, they snap into the console with magnets. The right Joy-Con has an added C button that initiates new GameChat functions that let you communicate with friends online. Both Joy-Cons can also be used like a computer mouse, enabling new styles of play with select games.

The Switch 2 has a 7.9-inch LCD screen with a 1080p resolution, support for up to 120 frames-per-second (FPS), and high-dynamic-range (HDR) capabilities. The original Switch had a smaller 6.2-inch screen that was limited to 720p, 60FPS, and standard dynamic range (SDR), so this new display should offer a big step up in visual quality. When used in docked mode and connected to a TV, the Switch 2 can even support up to 4K resolution with HDR, which puts it more in line with the video output capabilities of competing PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

Nintendo also mentioned support for 3D audio when using headphones, but it did not specify a sound format, so it's unclear if the system will support Dolby Atmos. However, the console's built-in speakers have been improved, and the system now has an integrated microphone with noise cancellation for voice chat.

The console has two USB-C ports, one on the top and one on the bottom. The additional port can be used to attach peripherals, like a new Nintendo Switch Camera accessory. Internal storage has been upgraded to 256GB compared to the 32GB used on the original Switch. Users can also expand storage with a microSD Express card. However, regular microSD cards used on the original Switch are not compatible with the new console.

New Mario Kart, Donkey Kong, and third-party games are on the way

Nintendo revealed a ton of new Switch 2 games set for release in 2025 and beyond. They also announced that the system will support backward compatibility with select Switch games. Some original Switch games are also getting new "Switch 2 Editions" that will unlock enhanced visuals and additional features. Upgrading to a Switch 2 Edition of a game you already own will require purchasing an upgrade pack, which will cost $10 to $20, depending on the game.

Exclusive Switch 2 games announced so far from Nintendo's development teams include:

• Mario Kart World
• Donkey Kong Bananza
• Kirby Air Riders
• Drag X Drive
• Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Editions of standard Switch titles with enhanced graphics and features include:

• Super Mario Party Jamboree
• The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
• The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
• Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land
• Pokémon Legends: Z-A

In addition, Nintendo highlighted dozens of upcoming third-party games from various developers like From Software, EA, Capcom, Square Enix, and CD Projekt RED. Here's a roundup of some key titles announced so far:

• Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment
• The Duskbloods
• Madden NFL
• EA Sports FC
• NBA 2K
• WWE 2K
• Split Fiction
• Hades II
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Civilization VII
• Street Fighter 6
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
• Borderlands 4
• Elden Ring
• Project 007

The Switch 2 hits stores on June 5

The Nintendo Switch 2 will be available in North America on June 5. The console will cost $450, and you can buy a bundle with Mario Kart World for $500. Preorders were originally set to start on April 9, but Nintendo delayed them to April 24 to assess the impact of tariffs. The console's price in the US has not changed.

In the UK, the console will cost £396, and the bundle will cost £430. European pricing will be €470 for the system or €510 for the bundle. The console is priced at $700 AUD in Australia, and the bundle is listed for $770 AUD.

Shoppers in North America with a Nintendo account can also register to receive an invitation to buy a Switch 2. Invitations will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis, with priority going to members who purchased a Nintendo Switch Online membership with a minimum of 12 months paid and 50 gameplay hours logged as of April 2. Invitations will start going out on May 8. Check the Nintendo website for more details.

On April 2, Nintendo announced US pricing for several Switch 2 accessories in addition to the console. However, the company has since stated that "accessories will experience price adjustments from those announced on April 2 due to changes in market conditions." As a result, some accessories are now $5 more than they were originally listed for. Here's a rundown of current pricing:

• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro controller: $85
• Joy-Con 2 controllers: $95
• Joy-Con 2 charging grip: $40
• Nintendo Switch 2 camera: $55

• MagSafe is a wireless charging technology in recent iPhone models, starting with the iPhone 12.
• It uses magnets to ensure the charger and phone properly align for a top charging speed of 15 watts.
• It only connects to MagSafe-certified accessories so other devices won't snap to your iPhone.

Apple introduced MagSafe in October 2020, promising fast and convenient wireless charging as a better alternative to ubiquitous Qi charging systems. 

Here is everything you need to know about MagSafe.

What is MagSafe?

MagSafe is a wireless charging technology that Apple debuted with the iPhone 12, and it's directly compatible with the iPhone 12 series and subsequent iPhone models. It's a form of induction charging that can deliver fast 15-watt charging, about twice that of phones with traditional Qi wireless charging. 

Like Qi, MagSafe uses inductive charging — coils on both the charger and phone line up and transfer electrical energy wirelessly over very short distances. But MagSafe uses a series of magnets to precisely align the coils, allowing them to perfectly match every time and charge at a higher wattage (up to 15 watts, depending on the phone and charger) than other wireless charging tech. 

See our guide to the best MagSafe chargers for a variety of top options. 

The magnets also have other applications. You can easily affix MagSafe accessories to any of the best iPhones, such as wallets, car mounts, and stands, which stay firmly attached to the phone via the MagSafe magnets. 

See our guides to the best MagSafe car mounts, best MagSafe wallets, and best iPhone stands with MagSafe charging. 

How does a MagSafe charger work?

Thanks to the series of magnets around the charging coil in the back of your iPhone, MagSafe accessories like chargers automatically snap into perfect alignment, so the system works automatically. Apple designed the MagSafe charger standard so that only certified MagSafe chargers and accessories will magnetically attach to the MagSafe surface on the back of an iPhone so that other magnetic devices won't get attracted to or stuck to your phone. 

While a MagSafe charger can charge recent iPhones, starting with the iPhone 8, it is only optimized for models that feature the magnetic charging coil on the back of the phone, which include the iPhone 12 and later models. 

For best results, you should always plug your MagSafe charger into its power source before connecting it to the iPhone. This allows the two devices to "negotiate" their connection and set the charging wattage properly. If you ever connect the iPhone to a MagSafe charger that's unplugged, separate the devices, plug in the charger, and then rejoin them. This way, your phone is guaranteed to charge at top speed. 

What's the difference between wireless charging and MagSafe?

Wireless charging using the Qi standard built into iPhones, Android, and other devices has existed for years. Although convenient, it's highly inefficient. There's no way to know how well you've aligned the phone and charger, but you only get the maximum charging speed when they are perfectly aligned — even slightly off, and you'll charge at a fraction of the top speed. 

MagSafe solves that problem by ensuring the phone and charger perfectly align with the magnets surrounding the charging coil. MagSafe iPhones can still be charged with ordinary Qi chargers, though they perform better with a MagSafe charger. 

• Apple's Ceramic Shield glass is amazingly scratch resistant, but my wife's iPhone 13 Mini still got a scratch. 
• My iPhone 13 Pro Max only has a tiny scratch after seven months of daily use. 
• However, you still can't go wrong with a screen protector and case for the best protection.

Starting with the iPhone 12 series in 2020, Apple introduced a new type of display glass called "Ceramic Shield" that the company claims is "tougher than any smartphone glass."

I don't have a spare iPhone 12 or iPhone 13 I can intentionally break for official drop tests. However, I can attest that Apple's Ceramic Shield glass is strong and particularly resistant to scratches, based on my personal experience over the past seven months since its release. 

In those months, I've been using the iPhone 13 Pro Max with Apple's Clear Case with MagSafe, without a screen protector, and there's only the smallest, slightest scratch around the front speaker. Otherwise, it looks as good as it did when I first unboxed it. 

I'm surprised the iPhone 13 Pro Max's screen hasn't scratched more, considering what it's been through.

I'm fairly careful with the phones. I don't put them in the same pocket as keys, for example. Nor do I stuff them in a bag with objects that could scratch the screen, like a charging cable with metal connectors.

Still, over the last seven months, the iPhone has experienced several waist-high (about three-feet) drops onto concrete, gravel, wood, and tile. It has also fallen out of my pocket in my car and slid down the sides of the driver's seat on numerous occasions, knocking and scraping against the seat, metal seat frame, plastic air vents, and plastic interior trim. 

The iPhone 13 Pro Max also endures my one-year-old who loves to gnaw on the phone when she's teething. She's dropped the phone herself a few times from the sofa and bed, where it often lands among a pile of plastic baby toys.

No doubt, the case I'm using has surely saved the screen from certain scratching events, thanks to the lip around the edges that helps protect the display. But still, that's impressive durability with no screen protector.

However, the iPhone's Ceramic Shield glass isn't invincible.

If there's one person who treats their electronics worse than I do, or my one-year-old, it's my wife. And yes, her iPhone 13 Mini's screen has a deeper, more noticeable scratch. And that's despite the fact that she's using an Apple Silicone case.

Indeed, I've observed that she doesn't try as hard to be careful with her phones as I do. And despite Apple's strong Ceramic Shield iPhone displays, I'll be gifting her a screen protector soon.

Apple's Ceramic Shield certainly seems stronger than previous iPhones, but it still hasn't eliminated the need for a screen protector if you're particularly concerned about scratching your screen.

Android phones also have strong glass, but Android phone makers aren't comfortable making Apple's bold claim.

The latest phones from Samsung, Google, and OnePlus all sport Corning's Gorilla Glass Victus. 

Samsung only claims that Gorilla Glass Victus on the Galaxy S22 series "can better survive drops and offer tough scratch resistance."

Google says its Gorilla Glass Victus displays have "up to 2x better scratch resistance than previous Pixel phones" for the Pixel 6 series. 

And OnePlus says the OnePlus 10 Pro has the "strongest cover glass ever on a OnePlus device, thanks to Corning Gorilla Glass Victus that provides greater protection against scratches and drops." With that said, OnePlus ships the OnePlus 10 Pro with a screen protector already, so you should be covered.

But none of these companies are comfortable enough to claim that it's the "toughest glass on any smartphone," like Apple does.

Even Corning itself, which worked with Apple to make Ceramic Shield glass for iPhones, can only claim that "Gorilla Glass Victus is the tough device glass you've been asking for," which isn't as specific as Apple's statement.

The bottom line

Apple's Ceramic Shield has proven in my experience to be particularly effective at fending off scratches during everyday use — that is, if you're careful. If you're a particularly careful phone user who doesn't want to use a screen protector, this is another reason to consider an iPhone.

In the event that you're not careful, or just need complete peace of mind, you should still buy a screen protector for the extra layer of protection.

The Spigen EZ FIT Screen Protector is included in our best screen protectors buying guide, and there's a new version for the iPhone 13 series.

• I love reading ebooks because I can download them in a matter of minutes, they're more portable than physical books, and I don't have to go to the store to buy them or wait for them to be delivered.
• Ebooks are also often available on sale for as little as $1 to $4, and I can even access many of them for free through my local library and other avenues.
• I didn't always love ebooks — I used to think that they were terrible, in fact, but when I started reviewing e-readers as a tech reporter about six years ago, I discovered that I actually love ebooks.
• Now, I almost exclusively read ebooks on the Amazon Kindle Oasis (8GB) and all the other e-readers I review and test.
• If you're curious to learn more about all the e-readers I've tested, check out our guide to the best e-readers, my guide on how to use a Kindle, and my review of the Kindle Paperwhite.

I have always been a book worm. When I was eight, I even won an award for "being an avid, spontaneous reader" (my reward was a book — a beautifully illustrated version of "The Secret Garden" by Frances Hodgson Burnett).

Growing up, my room was full of shelves upon shelves of paperbacks and hardcovers. I kept a journal to remember all the books I had read. I scorned people who bent the corners of pages instead of using a bookmark, I couldn't imagine marking up a book with a pen or highlighter, I hated when book spines cracked or covers bent.

When ebooks came on the scene, I thought they were ridiculous. Why would I want to read on a digital device when I could hold a lovely physical book, when I could smell the pages and have the satisfaction of turning real pages? I was, in short, a book fanatic.

I tell you all this because I'm never not surprised that I am now an ebook evangelist.

It all started when I (accidentally) became a tech reporter and I started to review e-readers. At first, I disliked having to test them and eagerly awaited going back to my paperbacks, but then I started traveling a lot for work and something clicked: Ebooks are good!

Ebooks vs. books: Why are ebooks better?

1. They are much more portable than physical books, so you can carry dozens if not hundreds or thousands of them around with you on a device that weighs less than half a pound.
2. You can download them in a matter of minutes so you don't have to wait for them to be delivered if you ordered them online.
3. You don't have to go to the store to buy them.
4. They are never out of stock because they are digital files.
5. You can get many ebooks for free from Project Gutenberg, Amazon, and your local library.
6. Ebooks often go on sale, so you can get bestsellers for $1 to $5. You can follow BookBub for deal alerts.
7. They come with fun features like sharing highlighted quotations on social media, looking up words in the dictionary as you read, digital bookmarks, and much more.

Convinced yet? You should be! Now that I've got you, here's some more information on where to buy ebooks, where to get free ebooks, and which e-readers are the best ones.

Where to buy ebooks

You can read ebooks with or without an e-reader — all you need is a smartphone or tablet. Here is a list of places where you can buy ebooks:

• Amazon is the obvious choice. The Kindle Store has millions of ebooks, including bestsellers, exclusives, and classics. 
• Kobo is the other main alternative to Amazon's Kindle Store. It also has millions of ebooks, including all the best sellers you could want.
• Barnes & Noble's Nook Store has a large selection of ebooks, too. You can read them in the Nook app for iOS or Android.
• Apple's Books Store is another great option for anyone who wants to read on their iPad or iPhone and doesn't think they'll ever get an e-reader.
• The Google Play Book Store is great for Android users who aren't interested in buying an e-reader, either.

You can also check out ebook subscription apps like Scribd and Kindle Unlimited, both of which I've tried personally and love. Essentially, for a flat rate of about $12 a month, you can read as many ebooks as you want. Scribd also offers magazines and audiobooks.

Where to download free ebooks

It's easy to find free ebooks from a variety of sources. My favorite avenue is the Libby app from Overdrive, which gives me access to all the ebooks I can borrow from my local library. Although I sometimes have to wait for a title to be available, it's a wonderful resource.

When it comes to classics, you can get many of them free from Amazon or Project Gutenberg. I've used both often.

• Amazon offers thousands of classic ebooks (like "Pride and Prejudice") for free.
• For Prime subscribers, Amazon's Prime Reading Library is another great resource for free ebooks.
• You can also borrow ebooks from the Kindle Lending Library if you own a Kindle e-reader.
• Project Gutenberg has around 57,000 free ebooks, including classics like "Pride and Prejudice," "The Odyssey," "Moby Dick," and more.
• Overdrive and its app Libby (iOS and Android) give you access to free ebooks that you can borrow from your local library.

What is the best e-reader?

I have strong opinions about e-readers. I personally think the Amazon Kindle Oasis (8GB) is worth its high cost of $280. However, I fully acknowledge that's not a reasonable price for most people (I just read too much and can't live without page-turning buttons). Most people will be more than happy with the mid-range Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2018) or the basic Amazon Kindle.

If you prefer to have an e-reader from a company that's not Amazon, Kobo's e-readers are excellent. I like the budget-friendly Kobo Clara HD, the waterproof Kobo Libra H2O, and the large-screened Kobo Forma.

Now go forth and read ebooks!

It’s official: Amazon is revamping its entire Kindle lineup with four new devices, and now, color is in the mix. It's been several years since Amazon’s last e-reader update, so this long-awaited announcement is full of exciting new features that readers will love.

The Kindle Colorsoft is the brand’s most exciting new addition, finally bringing a color-display option to the Kindle collection. Amazon also announced a Kindle Scribe redesign, plus new generation models of the Kindle Paperwhite and base Kindle. The latter two are available now, while the Colorsoft and Scribe are up for preorder.

I’ve broken down full details on each new Kindle below, plus how they improve upon their predecessors.

Kindle Colorsoft

Amazon’s first foray into color e-readers is called the Kindle Colorsoft, a model boasting the same performance readers love from Kindles, plus a paper-like color screen. It’s not the first of its kind — Kobo offers two of its own devices in Colour variants — but it is unique in its display-enhancing features.

Amazon says that the Kindle Colorsoft’s LED lighting system and custom algorithms can emphasize color and brightness without washing out details. This has been a major downfall of competing color e-readers, so I’m curious to see if this system offers a noticeable improvement. It also promises smooth zoom functionality without pixelating images and even color style customization so that readers can opt between standard and vibrant.

One of the new device’s most exciting features for longtime Kindle users like me is its wireless charging. It still boasts the Kindle’s usual weeks of battery life, but now it can be juiced up without needing a pesky plug. It’s also waterproof.

The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is available for preorder starting at $280. Amazon hasn’t announced any other versions of the Colorsoft, but the “Signature Edition” branding suggests a standard model may be available in the future, perhaps for less. The Kindle Colorsoft officially launches on October 30.

Kindle Scribe with redesigned display

The new Kindle Scribe seeks to add even more smart features to the brand’s writable e-reader. Its display has been redesigned with white borders to give a wider page feel but maintains the same 300 ppi resolution and 10.2-inch size.

New capabilities include Active Canvas, which allows readers to write notes directly onto the page (a feature the first Kindle Scribe model sorely lacked) while the text adapts to flow around it.

The redesigned Kindle Scribe also comes with a built-in AI-powered notebook, which can turn large quantities of notes into quick bulleted lists that are easy to share. Handwritten notes can also be converted into typed script font.

The Kindle Scribe with redesigned display is now available to preorder. The 16GB version starts at $400 and includes a premium pen. It’s also available in two colors: tungsten and metallic jade. It will start shipping on December 4.

Kindle Paperwhite (12th Generation)

Amazon’s fastest and most popular Kindle is about to get even faster with the 2024 Kindle Paperwhite. It promises even snappier performance with 25% faster page turns — a strong statement for what was already one of the smoothest performing e-readers on the market.

In addition, the new Paperwhite offers the highest contrast ratio of any Kindle, so images and text should be even easier to see on the page. Its screen is also slightly larger, now seven inches rather than 6.8, while the e-reader itself is also thinner. Opting for the pricier Signature Edition will also get you wireless charging capabilities.

The previous-generation Kindle Paperwhite has long been my pick for the best Kindle overall, so I’m excited to see how this new model performs in hand. The 12th-generation Kindle Paperwhite is now available in three colors: black, jade, and raspberry, and it starts at $160.

Kindle (11th Generation)

The base Kindle is a great way to enter the Kindle ecosystem on a budget. The new 11th-generation version maintains the same overall design and display size as the 2022 model but boasts faster page turns, a higher contrast ratio, and a 25% brighter front light. However, just like the previous generation, the new Kindle is not waterproof, and it lacks the adjustable warm light that other Kindles have.

The new 11th-generation Kindle is available now, starting at $110. It is available in black and matcha.

Kindle 2024 lineup specs

• Amazon's Kindle ebook readers are among the best you can buy because they are so easy to use.
• To get the most out of your Kindle, it helps to know a few tips and tricks.
• We've broken down the basics of using your Kindle, how to download ebooks, how to get free ebooks on your Kindle, and much more in this guide.
• You can also check out our full buying guide to the best e-readers for buying advice if you haven't made the plunge yet.

Amazon makes the best ebook readers you can buy hands down. Depending on your needs and budget, you might choose the entry-level Kindle, the mid-range Paperwhite, or the high-end Kindle Oasis. No matter your choice, every one of these ebook readers is excellent.

Note that all Kindles come in two versions: with special offers and without. If you choose the ones with special offers, you will see ads on the lock screen and potentially elsewhere, but you will save money.

If you haven't bought a Kindle yet, you can read our full guide to the best ebook readers to help you choose. Or, you can see our favorites — and why we love them — listed below:

• Kindle Oasis (8GB): Page-turning buttons, waterproofing, a slim design, and a sharp screen make it the best Kindle you can buy, though it is expensive.
• Kindle: Its low price makes the original Kindle a bargain even though it lacks a backlight and it's not waterproof.
• Kindle Paperwhite (2018): The new waterproof design makes the Paperwhite an excellent buy, as does its reasonable price tag, sharp screen, and backlight.
• Kindle for Kids: If you have kids, you'll want the kids edition because it comes with a case and a two-year warranty in case of any damage.

Once you've got your Kindle, all that remains is to set it up and get some ebooks on it. The Kindle is fairly simple to use, but it does take some learning to unlock all its secrets.

We've put together a few handy tips and expert tricks to help you make the most of your new Kindle.

Click on a link to jump to a topic:

• How to get started with your Kindle
• How to buy ebooks on your Kindle
• How to get free ebooks on your Kindle
• How to share ebooks with friends and family
• How to get articles and PDFs on your Kindle
• How to save and share quotations from ebooks
• The best Kindle cases and chargers

How to get started with your Kindle

Once you've bought your Kindle, all that remains is to set it up. Charge your Kindle fully with the Micro-USB cord included in the box and an outlet adapter (not included — we recommend AUKEY's Wall Charger).

If for whatever reason your Kindle isn't charging, there's usually an easy fix.

Then, you'll be prompted to sign into your Wi-Fi network so you can complete the setup process. You'll be asked to sign in or create your Amazon account, add a credit card for purchases, and more. 

After you've entered your info, you can start downloading books and so on. If you have already bought ebooks from Amazon with this account, you can download those right away.

It's all fairly simple, but Amazon has a breakdown of all the features and settings here.

If you already had a Kindle, but you're not sure what kind or generation it is, check out our guide on how to find your Kindle version here.

How to preserve your Kindle's battery life:

• Turn on Airplane Mode when you don't need to be connected to the internet. This will save battery. Just tap the Gear icon, and then tap the Airplane icon to turn it on and off.
• You can adjust the brightness to save your battery and your eyes by tapping the Gear icon and then sliding the light bar back and forth. You can also see your battery percentage here.

How to adjust the font size on your Kindle:

• When you're reading, tap on the upper part of your screen, and you'll see menus pop up. Tap the Aa symbol and choose the font style and size you want.

How to navigate your Kindle:

• Tap on the Home (house-shaped icon) to go back to the main page at any point. You can also tap the arrow button to go back at any point.
• Tap on the Gear icon to access All Settings. There, you'll find My Account, Household & Family Library, Wireless, Device Options, Reading Options, Language & Dictionaries, Parental Controls, and Legal. We go into many of these options later in this guide.
• To see all your library books, tap My Library on the homepage.
• When you're reading, tap on the upper part of your screen, and you'll see menus pop up. Tap Go To and you'll see the table of contents of the book. You can jump from chapter to chapter. You can also tap Notes to see your highlighted passages.
• When you're reading, tap on the upper part of your screen, and you'll see menus pop up. Tap the Share icon (it looks like three dots connected by lines), and you can share the page to Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook.

How to highlight quotations on your Kindle:

• To highlight quotations as you're reading, simply press down on a word, maintain slight pressure, and slide your finger along until you reach the end of the passage you wish to highlight. You'll see options, but highlighting is the default.
• You can look back on all the parts you've highlighted at any time or even share them on Goodreads, a social media app for bookworms.
• When you highlight a word, you'll also get definitions from the Kindle's dictionary.

How to restart your Kindle:

• You can restart your Kindle at any time by pressing and holding the power button for 40 seconds. If a pop-up box appears on the screen when you do this, asking if you want to restart the device, press "Restart."

How to reset your Kindle:

• If you have a Kindle Paperwhite, you'll need to go through the device's Settings menu.
• If you have a Kindle Fire, you can go through your Settings, but you can also reset it with a series of button presses.
• Whenever you deregister a Kindle device, it'll be reset as well.

How to get ebooks on your Kindle

Buy ebooks from Amazon's Kindle store

Amazon has millions of ebooks on its store, so odds are, you'll find what you're looking for. To get started, make sure you're connected to the internet and click on the little store shopping cart icon at the top of your Kindle. There, you can browse through all the categories, genres, deals, recommendations, and more.

When you find a title you want, click on it to see the price. If you're okay with the price tag, just click the Buy for $X.XX button. Your ebook will download, and you'll be set to read it.

You can also click Try a Sample, so you can read the first chapter or so before you decide to buy it.

If you're not ready to buy, but want to remember the title, you can click Add to List and it'll pop the ebook on your Kindle Wish List. You can see your Kindle Wish List by clicking the three menu dots in the upper left corner of your Kindle and selecting My Reading Lists. There you'll see any samples you've downloaded and your wish list.

If you want to get ebooks on your Kindle that you previously downloaded on your computer or phone, make sure you're connected to the internet by turning off Airplane Mode, tap the Gear icon, and then tap Sync My Kindle. Your new titles should start downloading. 

The Kindle store also has a Deals section where you can see all the discounted ebook deals that are currently on offer. You'd be surprised how many great titles go on sale. To get notified about ebook sales, you should sign up for BookBub, which we explain further down on this page.

If you find yourself spending more than $10 a month on ebooks, you'll want to look into a Kindle Unlimited subscription (which we describe below) to get access to as many of the one-million-plus titles as you can read in a month.

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Join Kindle Unlimited for $9.99 a month

Kindle Unlimited lets you read as many of the one-million-plus titles as you want for $9.99 a month. The selection includes audiobooks and the latest issues of popular magazines. You can have up to 10 Kindle Unlimited titles in your library at a time before you need to delete any. The 30-day free trial lets you try it before you buy it.

Kindle Unlimited ebooks are easy to spot in the store, because they have the words, Kindle Unlimited next to the listing. If you have Kindle Unlimited, when you click on the ebook, it gives you the option to Read for free with Kindle Unlimited. If you don't have it yet, you see the purchase price in one box and the option to get Kindle Unlimited in the other.

You can sign up for Kindle Unlimited in the store by clicking on Kindle Unlimited and starting your 30-day free trial.

And if you're not satisfied with your Kindle Unlimited subscription, you can cancel it at any time.

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Subscribe to BookBub emails to hear about ebook discounts

BookBub is a free service that sends you a daily email with ebook deals and discounts. You simply enter your email address, confirm it's you, select the types of ebook deals you want to know about, select Amazon Kindle as the ebook store you use, and follow some of your favorite authors.

From there, you'll get special deal alerts on ebooks you'll love. Often, you can get ebooks for free or for as little as $1.99 or $2.99. In the email, just click on the link and you'll be directed to Amazon's store on your phone, tablet, or computer. Click on the buy button, and your ebook should be sent directly to your Kindle when it's connected to Wi-Fi. You can read our full review of BookBub for more details.

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How to get free ebooks on your Kindle

There are several ways to find free ebooks for your Kindle.

Borrow ebooks from the Kindle Lending Library

If you own a Kindle and you're a Prime Member, you have access to the Kindle Lending Library, which houses more than 800,000 titles that you can borrow for free.

To find the free ebooks, go on your Kindle to the store, click on All Categories or the three menu dots, click on Kindle Owner's Lending Library, and look through the ebooks below to see all the ones that are available to you. When you find the ebook you want, click on it and select Borrow for Free.

You can only borrow one ebook at a time. When you finish the book, go to My Library, click on the three dots in the lower left corner of the ebook and select Remove From Device. Then you'll be able to borrow a new ebook.

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Read ebooks for free with Prime Reading

Amazon's Prime Reading is a perk for Prime members, which gives you free access to more than a thousand of the most popular books and magazines. You can download up to 10 titles at a time to your Kindle.

It also includes Amazon First Reads, which gives you early access to one free Kindle book a month, chosen from a collection of editors' picks. 

To access these free ebooks, go to the store and click on the words Prime Reading to see the titles you have access to. When you click on one of these ebooks, you'll see the option to Read for Free with Prime Reading. Click on that and download your ebook.

When you finish the book, go to My Library, click on the three dots in the lower left corner of the ebook and select Remove From Device. Then you'll be able to borrow a new ebook.

This is only for Prime Members, so if you don't have Prime yet, get a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime here.

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Read classics and select genre ebooks for free

Amazon has tons of free and cheap ebooks and many of them are classic novels like "Jane Eyre," "Hamlet," and "Alice in Wonderland." You can get them on your Kindle with the click of a button. Browse all the free Kindle ebooks on Amazon here.

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Use your library card and Overdrive to borrow free ebooks

If you have a public library card (which you should because it's free and easy to sign up for!), OverDrive is invaluable. Find your local library, sign in with your library card number, then browse all the ebook and audiobooks your library has to offer by subject, language, and keywords.

You can also place holds on titles and add books to a wish list. After you click "Borrow," you'll be directed to your Amazon account to download the title to your Kindle device. Once the loan period expires, the book will automatically be deleted from your account.

OverDrive's latest mobile app is called Libby, and you can download it on iOS here or on Android here.

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Download free ebooks from Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg has more than 57,000 free ebooks. Most of them are classics that are in the public domain, so you can catch up on all those well-known books you've always meant to read like "Pride and Prejudice," "The Odyssey," "Moby Dick," and more.

You just find the book you want, make sure that it's in a Kindle-friendly format (MOBI is fine), and download it. From there, you can email it to your Kindle email address so it automatically goes to your device.

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If you ever download a book onto your device that you later decide you don't want, you're not stuck with it. Kindle devices let you delete any ebook you have in several ways.

And if you decide you don't want an ebook within a week of buying it, you can request a full refund from Amazon.

How to share ebooks with friends and family

Even if you have more than one Kindle owner in your household, you don't ever need to buy an ebook more than once. Amazon gives you plenty of simple ways to share your ebooks.

Share with another adult Amazon user

If you want to share the ebooks you've bought with friends and family members, you can add another adult Amazon user to your account and enable sharing access.

To do so, go to Menu > Settings > Registration > Household > Family Library > Add a New Person > Add Adult on your Kindle.

You'll be prompted to add the Amazon account ID and password of the person you want to add. Once your friend or family member has entered their info, Amazon will ask them to confirm that they wish to gain access to your library. As a final confirmation, Amazon will ask you to enable sharing, too. After you've completed all those steps, you can choose which books you want to share.

Be forewarned that you must trust the person you're adding because they will have access to the credit cards associated with the two Amazon accounts.

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Share with your kids

Sharing ebooks with your kids is also easy. Go to Home screen > Menu > Settings > Registration > Household > Family Library > Add a New Person > Add Child.

After that, you'll enter your parental controls password and your child's name, birthday and gender then tap Next. You'll then pick the books you want to share with your child and then tap Next and Done.

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Lend an ebook without linking accounts

Amazon lets you lend one book from your Kindle account for 14 days without any account linking. Go to Amazon.com/mycd, select the title of the book you plan to share, click on the three dots, and select Loan this title. Then, choose who you want to share the book with. Note that some books do not allow this kind of sharing, so if you don't see the option, it is unavailable.

 

How to get articles and PDFs on your Kindle

Get PDFs and documents on your Kindle and convert them

If you want to get a PDF or another document on your Kindle for easy reading, you can use Amazon's special Send to Kindle email address.

To check or change your Send to Kindle email address, go to Amazon's website, select Manage Your Content and Devices, scroll down in Settings to Personal Document Settings. Under your Send-to-Kindle Email Settings, you'll see your Send to Kindle email address. It should be something like this: johnsmith@kindle.com.

If you want to change the email address, click Edit next to your device, enter a new email address, and then click Save to save your changes.

Now that you know your Send to Kindle email address, you can use it to send yourself PDFs, documents, and ebooks that you download on sites like Project Gutenberg. Simply go to your email, enter your Send to Kindle email address, and attach the file you want to read on your Kindle. It will send to your Kindle as soon as you sync your device over Wi-Fi.

If the file you want on your Kindle isn't a supported file type, you can write Convert in the email subject line, and the file will be converted into a Kindle-Friendly file.

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Get web pages and online articles on your Kindle

If you like to read articles online but you wish you could get them on your Kindle, you're in luck. There are plenty of apps that help you do that, though Amazon's methods are the simplest.

• On Chrome: If you use the Chrome web browser, you should download the Send to Kindle Chrome extension. Once you've downloaded it, the extension will appear on your Chrome web browser. It'll prompt you to sign into your Amazon account and decide which device you want to send web pages to. Choose your Kindle, and you should be set. From then on, you can just click the Send to Kindle extension in Chrome to save the web page to your Kindle. When you sync your Kindle over Wi-Fi, you'll have the file. 
• With Firefox, Mac, or Windows: Those of you who use Mozilla's Firefox browser will be happy to know there's a version for you, too. There's also a Mac and Windows Send to Kindle app you can download, but we think the Chrome extension is easiest to use.
• With an iPhone: If you download the Kindle app on your iPhone, you can save any webpage to your Kindle easily. On iOS, go to Safari, open the web page you want to send, click the Share button (it looks like a rectangle with an arrow pointing up inside), scroll through the options until you see More, tap on More, scroll through the list of apps that can share until you find Send to Kindle, toggle it on so you see green, and hit Done. Then, when you tap the Share button again, scroll through until you see the Send to Kindle option, and then do it. Your web page will be sent to your Kindle as soon as it's synced over Wi-Fi.
• With an Android phone: On Android, the process is similar. Download the Kindle app, use the share function on your phone, and select Send to Kindle.

You can also use Instapaper and Pocket, two third-party apps, but we find Amazon's methods the easiest.

How to save and share quotations from ebooks

Highlight quotations

To highlight quotations as you're reading, simply press down on a word, maintain slight pressure, and slide your finger along until you reach the end of the passage you wish to highlight. You'll see options, but highlighting is the default.

You can look back on all the parts you've highlighted at any time or even share them on Goodreads, as we explain below.

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Share what you're reading on Goodreads

If you read a lot, your friends read a lot, and you all like to share, review, and talk about what you're reading, you'll love Goodreads. It's an app and website for book lovers to review and share their thoughts on what they're reading.

Goodreads is built right into the Kindle, so it's easy to use. Just create an account with an email address, log in, create your profile, and get started. You can share your reading progress, reviews of books, quotations you've highlighted in your Kindle, and more. Your friends' reading may inspire you to read new things and inspire you to read more.

The best Kindle accessories you can buy

Buy Amazon's Kindle cases for $24.99 to $69.99

It's a good idea to grab a case for your Kindle to prevent scratches on the screen and damage from drops. Amazon's Kindle case selection is wide — you can choose from fabric or genuine leather cases that fit every model of the Kindle. 

We've used both the leather and fabric Kindle cases from Amazon over the years and we love them. They're sturdy and they protect the Kindle's screen and back cover. There's also a nice magnetic closure to ensure that the screen stays covered and your case doesn't pop open in your bag.

The cases may be a bit expensive, but they will truly protect your Kindle from daily wear and tear so that your ereader lasts for years. You can see all the Kindle cases here, ranging from $24.99 to $69.99. You can also choose to buy Amazon's Kindle bundles, which net you the case and the Kindle for a good price.

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Buy Anker's Micro-USB Charging Cable for $5.99 and AUKEY's Wall Charger for $8.99

If you don't already have a wall charger and a Micro-USB cable, you'll want to buy a set for your Kindle. Kindles don't come with the wall charger — you only get the Micro-USB cable in the box.

We like Anker's Micro-USB cable if you want an extra and AUKEY's Wall Charger is the perfect outlet adapter to plug your Micro-USB cable into so you can charge your Kindle.

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Check out more Kindle how-to articles on Business Insider

• How to read Kindle books on PC
• How to buy and read Kindle books on your iPhone
• How to buy and read Kindle ebooks on a Mac computer
• How to send PDF to Kindle
• What generation of Kindle do I have?
• How to restart Kindle
• How to reset Kindle Fire
• How to delete books from Kindle
• How to update Kindle Fire
• How to return a Kindle book
• How to screenshot on Kindle Fire
• How to buy books on Kindle
• How to reset Kindle Paperwhite
• How to change font size on Kindle
• How to connect Kindle Paperwhite to WiFi
• How to sign out of Kindle app

Apple's highly anticipated Vision Pro headset is available to preorder now from Apple's physical stores and website in the US. 

The Apple Vision Pro is a mixed-reality headset that combines virtual and augmented reality, but Apple would rather you call it a "spatial computing" device.

Here's what to know about the Apple Vision Pro ahead of its February 2 release date, including what you'll need to prepare when ordering the device.

Apple Vision Pro: Price and release date

Preorders for the Apple Vision Pro are available now through Apple's website and physical stores in the US. 

The Vision Pro will be released and available to buy on February 2 from US Apple stores online and in-person.

The Vision Pro starts at $3,499 with 256GB of storage. It comes with a battery pack, a face seal, a seal cushion, a cover for the front, an optional, adjustable upper headband, a 30W USB-C adapter and USB-C charging cable, and a polishing cloth. 

Apple Vision Pro: How to order

The purchasing process for the Apple Vision Pro is more involved than the company's other products. Whether ordering the Vision Pro from an Apple Store or the Apple website, you'll need to scan your face for headband and face seal measurements. 

If you're ordering online from home, you'll need to take the measurements with an iPhone or iPad with Face ID. The face scan takes place in the Apple Store app, which you'll need to update to the latest version of the app if you haven't already.

For those with a prescription for glasses or contacts, you'll need to have your prescription details handy to order custom optical inserts. After checkout, Apple will ask you to upload a valid and unexpired prescription from an eye-care professional.

Apple Vision Pro: Features

Combining virtual and augmented reality, the Apple Vision Pro can display immersive virtual "environments" or add a digital layer of hovering customizable displays to your physical surroundings, where you can interact with apps and games and watch video content. 

The Vision Pro runs on Apple's new visionOS operating system and its M2 computer processor, and it can act as a dynamic, augmented-reality version of a Mac computer with a multi-monitor setup. The headset works through voice commands and hand and wrist gestures, but you can also use it with wireless keyboards, trackpads, or mice, like Apple's Magic Keyboard or Magic Trackpad. 

The Vision Pro can deliver an immersive entertainment experience with a single large display for watching movies and TV shows, or your own videos recorded with Apple's 3D-style Spatial video format. You can also use the headset to take FaceTime calls and play games, among other functions. 

• Apple's new iMac offers fast performance, an eye-catching design, and an excellent webcam.
• But this all-in-one computer is missing features that could have made it even more useful, and it doesn't have many ports.
• Check out our guides to the best iPhones and iPads for more Apple product buying advice.

When Apple launched the original iMac more than 20 years ago, it popularized the idea that computers didn't have to look like utilitarian beige boxes. Now, Apple is reviving that approach in 2021.

The new 24-inch iMac, which starts at $1,300 and launches on May 21, comes in a range of vibrant pastel colors and a stunning new slim design. More importantly, it's also more powerful than its predecessor, thanks to the inclusion of Apple's M1 chip. Apple has given the speakers and webcam a much-appreciated upgrade for the work-from-home era, too.

The iMac is far from being the most affordable all-in-one computer you can buy. But the benefits it brings are worth the price for Mac fans in need of a sleek yet powerful desktop with a high-resolution screen.

My only complaints about the new iMac are the same ones that I tend to have about every Apple product. The port selection is fairly limited, and there isn't much flexibility in terms of pricing and customization compared to Windows machines. I also wish Apple would have brought some of the innovative features found on its other devices —like the iPad Pro's Center Stage — to the iMac.

Apple iMac (2021) Specifications

Design and display

The iMac is nothing short of striking. It's only 11.5 millimeters thin, which makes it easy to fit on the dining room table that's doubled as my work desk during the pandemic.

It's not just the new iMac's thin profile that makes it stand out. Apple has also significantly slimmed down the borders surrounding its screen, allowing for a more modern and streamlined look I've been dying to see on the Macbook Air and Pro. 

But of course, it's the iMac's dazzling range of color options that really steal the show when it comes to looks. The $1,300 model comes in blue, green, pink, and silver, while the pricier configuration is available in these colors plus yellow, orange, and purple. That makes the iMac fit in nicely with the colorful iPhone 12 and iPad Air lineup.

Each iMac also comes with a matching Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse, and the power cord also comes in a new woven texture of the same color that feels more durable. There's also a USB-C to Lightning cable with the same woven build in the box as well.

The iMac's 24-inch 4.5K resolution display is also part of what sets it apart from the competition. It's hard to find an all-in-one desktop computer of this size with such a high resolution screen. HP's 4K all-in-one computers, for example, only come in larger sizes like 31.5 inches, while Dell's Inspiron all-in-ones have 1080p screens. 

Those who are primarily interested in getting an all-in-one computer for video editing or watching movies certainly won't be disappointed. The iMac displays rich and vibrant colors with plenty of brightness and detail, which is noticeable when watching "The Great British Baking Show" and "Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle" on Netflix. The viewing angles are also excellent, which should make the iMac ideal if you're using it to watch a movie with a friend or collaborate on a project with a coworker.

Performance

The iMac comes with Apple's M1 chip, which blew me away with its faster performance and long battery life when I first tested the latest MacBook Air in 2020. 

In the iMac, the M1 chip brings performance that's faster than a high-end laptop with the latest Intel processor, but not quite as speedy as desktop computers with dedicated high-end graphics. That's exactly what's expected of a computer like the iMac, which is intended to be a general-use productivity machine rather than a pro-level desktop.

For example, the iMac can encode a 10-minute 4K video clip to 1080p about 10 minutes faster than a Dell XPS 13 laptop with an 11th-generation Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB of RAM. But the M1's integrated graphics processing unit is still no match for the desktop computer in my basement that my husband built several years ago, which includes an MSI RTX 2070 graphics card with 8GB of video RAM.

The iMac is also faster than Dell's laptop when processing photo edits in Adobe Lightroom. Both computers are capable of exporting a 4.7 megabyte image quickly, but the iMac does the job in just 1.4 seconds versus Dell's 5 seconds.

Otherwise the iMac handles my daily workflow with ease, which consists of opening more than a dozen tabs in Safari and using apps like Slack and Cisco Webex. 

But similarly-priced all-in-ones, like the $1,185.79 Dell Inspiron 24 5000 and $1,000 HP Pavilion 24,offer more memory at the base level and many more ports compared to the iMac. 

Webcam and audio

More than a year after many of us started working from home, it's become painfully obvious how poor the webcams and speakers are on many laptops. That's one area Apple has really paid attention to on the new iMac, which comes with a 1080p webcam that uses Apple's image signal processor, a six-speaker sound system, and a three-microphone array.

Not only is the webcam quality better than laptops I've tried, but it also surpasses the dedicated 1080p Logitech webcam I've been comparing it with. Take a look at the images below, and you'll notice that the one taken on the iMac is brighter and more detailed. 

Apple iMac

Logitech Webcam

However, I do think there's an opportunity for Apple to make the webcam even more useful. The Mac still doesn't have Face ID despite the fact that Windows Hello is becoming standard on many Windows computers. Touch ID comes built into the iMac's keyboard, but you have to opt for one of the pricier configurations, or pay $50 extra to add it to the $1,300 model.

Given that Apple is positioning the iMac as being a multipurpose computer for the kitchen, den, bedroom, and home office, I wish the webcam had a privacy shutter. A visible green light turns on to let you know when the camera is active, but a shutter would provide even more peace of mind. 

It also strikes me as odd that Apple didn't include a smart home hub in the new iMac as it has in the HomePod, Apple TV, and iPad. Again, considering the iMac is meant to be a central part of the home, it seems like a natural fit.

And finally, it would have been nice to see the iMac get "Center Stage" like the new iPad Pro, a feature that automatically adjusts the camera to keep you in frame during video calls.

The iMac may not be loud and enveloping enough to replace a dedicated speaker, but it does a heck of a good job for a computer. Music sounds loud, clear, and crisp, especially when  sitting right in front of it as intended. It doesn't have as much bass as a standalone speaker like the fourth-generation Amazon Echo, and it also doesn't fill a room with sound as well. But the audio quality is still sure to please anyone looking to use their computer for video calls, watching movies, and casual music listening.

Should you buy it?

Yes, the iMac's fast performance, attractive design, and excellent webcam make it a great choice for Apple fans in search of an all-in-one desktop. 

However, you can definitely find more flexibility in terms of pricing, input options, and configurations if you look elsewhere. 

What are your alternatives?

If you aren't partial to Apple, HP's Pavilion 24 has a similarly-sized screen (although it has a lower 1080p resolution) and is less expensive than the iMac. The $1,000 model comes with 16GB of RAM instead of the iMac's 8GB of memory, several USB ports (both Type-A and Type-C), HDMI input and output, and a card reader. The $1,300 iMac configuration, by comparison, only includes two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports.

Although the M1 chip packs plenty of performance, those looking for more power, screen space, memory, and storage should opt for the 27-inch iMac. You'll get the option to configure up to 128GB of memory and 8TB of storage, while the 24-inch version maxes out at 16GB of memory and 2TB of storage. This larger model also runs on Intel's chips versus Apple's, but it's configurable up to the top-of-the-line Core i9 variant. 

The bottom line

The new iMac is an excellent all-in-one computer for anyone looking to upgrade their home office setup. Its excellent webcam and speakers make me wish I had this throughout the whole lockdown of 2020, when I spent every weekend socializing over Zoom. 

Pros: Attractive design, great performance, excellent webcam and speakers

Cons: Only two ports on base model, lacks the iPad's "Center Stage" feature for video calls, Touch ID costs extra

A keyboard is among the most important purchases you can make for your computer, ranking alongside your monitor and mouse. You will use it every day and it will likely never become obsolete. That's why it's important to buy a keyboard you like. 

Logitech's MX Keys Wireless Illuminated Keyboard is the best keyboard you can buy. It's versatile enough to work for most people, but we also found choices for a variety of budgets and uses. The picks in this guide are ideal for day-to-day use and productivity. Gamers should check out our favorite gaming keyboards, and keyboard enthusiasts should browse our favorite mechanical keyboards. 

We dove into a pile of the best keyboards, testing dozens of options from well-known brands like Logitech and Apple as well as brands you may not have heard of, like Das Keyboard and HyperX. While we tested dozens for this guide, our final picks are supplemented by over a decade of experience testing hundreds of keyboards.

Learn more about how Insider Reviews tests and researches tech products. And if you're looking to replace your laptop soon, be sure to take a look at our laptop deals guide.

Here are our picks for the best keyboards:

Best overall: Logitech MX Keys - See on Amazon
The Logitech MX Keys is a luxurious, slim keyboard with great typing feel and versatile wireless connectivity.

Best for Mac: Apple Magic Keyboard - See on Amazon
Apple's Magic Keyboard is easy to use, feels great in day-to-day use, and can match the look and feel of your Mac.

Best ergonomic: Microsoft Sculpt - See on Amazon
Microsoft's Sculpt keyboard helps keep your hands properly aligned at an affordable price.

Best cheap: Logitech MK120 - See on Amazon
Simple and reliable, Logitech's MK120 gets the job done for less than a night out at Applebee's.

Best compact: Logitech MX Keys Mini - See on Amazon
The Logitech MX Keys Mini hits our top pick with a shrink ray, stuffing familiar perks into a more compact footprint.

Best mechanical: Logitech G915 TKL - See on Amazon
The ten-keyless Logitech G915 TKL has several features that most full-size mechanical keyboards don't, plus it's ideal for either office use or gaming.

Best gaming: Corsair K100 RGB - See on Amazon
A top-end gaming keyboard, the Corsair K100 RGB brings reliable speed and accuracy to a super-premium build and feature set.

Best overall: Logitech MX Keys

Pros: Slim, attractive design; comfortable typing experience; connects with up to three devices; supports both Bluetooth and Logitech receivers; available with PC and Mac layouts

Cons: Keyboard backlighting is only available in white

Logitech's MX Keys is an outstanding keyboard with high marks in comfort and versatility. This is the company's flagship mainstream keyboard, and it shows. The MX Keys has a luxurious look and feels durable. It's also slim which, aside from good looks, makes the keyboard comfortable to use without a wrist pad. 

The slim profile is possible thanks to shallow scissor switches beneath each key. They activate with a light, taut feel that offers good tactile feedback with minimal noise. The MX Keys is a huge leap up from less expensive keyboards yet familiar enough to be immediately comfortable. 

A white backlight illuminates the keyboard for easy use in dim rooms. It does the job but, given the price, we'd like to see a customizable RGB backlight. It's not just gamers who want a pulsating, rainbow-colored keyboard. 

Versatility is a highlight. The MX Keys supports both Bluetooth and Logitech's proprietary Unifying Adapter, which comes in the box. It can connect to three devices, with keyboard shortcuts letting you switch between them. You can buy a Mac version with properly labeled keys, though the PC model also works with a Mac.

Logitech's MX Keys isn't what we'd call affordable, but it's not expensive for a premium keyboard. The MX Keys is good value and the perfect pick for anyone who wants a simple, comfortable, durable wireless keyboard.

Best for Mac: Apple's Magic Keyboard

Pros: Slim, attractive, ergonomic design; solid typing feel; available with or without numpad; very simple to use

Cons: No backlight; uses lightning to charge 

The joy of buying peripherals is the excitement of finding a cool, unusual extra to take your setup to the next level. Apple fans won't get to experience this, however, because the company's own $129 Magic Keyboard is your best bet.

Apple's Magic Keyboard stands out for simplicity. Just take it out of the box and turn it on. Your Mac will detect it and prompt you to set up the keyboard, which requires mere seconds. The keyboard is built for the Mac's unique keyboard layout so there's no need to remap keys.  

The keyboard lacks backlighting, which makes the Magic Keyboard difficult to use in a dark room. It also charges with Apple's Lightning instead of USB. However, a USB to Lightning cord is included in the box. 

The Magic Keyboard has a comfortable scissor key switch design similar to the Logitech MX Keys. Logitech's key feel is lighter, while Apple's is more crisp. Typing remains enjoyable after hours of use. The keyboard's slim profile reduces strain on your wrists.

While we recommend the standard Magic Keyboard, Apple offers a compact model. You can purchase both the compact and full-sized model with added Touch ID (for $50 more at $179). All models share the same basic design and typing feel, so purchase the model with the features and layout you prefer.

Best ergonomic: Microsoft Sculpt

Pros: Great ergonomics; good build quality for the price; cushy palm rest; sleek, modern design

Cons: No function toggle key, no Mac layout, uses disposable batteries

The Microsoft Sculpt keyboard pairs the typical split-keyboard ergonomic design with an exaggerated dome shape that encourages your wrists to rotate slightly without forcing a bend. This is meant to reduce pressure on the ulnar nerves, a common source of discomfort. The degree of benefit depends on many factors, but it should provide excellent long-term comfort. You're also sure to appreciate the large, cushy wrist rest. 

Typing with the Sculpt takes getting used to but no more so than other ergonomic keyboards. The key feel is tight and will please most people. The Logitech Ergo K860 is a bit more precise, but that keyboard's far higher price is hard to justify given its slight improvement in typing quality. 

The Sculpt ditches the numeric keypad, but Microsoft sells a wireless numpad accessory that is often bundled with the keyboard. This is excellent for ergonomics because you can place the numpad where you find most comfortable or set it aside when it's unnecessary. This often overlooked advantage is not available on most competing ergonomic keyboards.

The keyboard uses disposable batteries, which becomes expensive over the life of the keyboard, and uses a proprietary USB wireless receiver. The keyboard can't be used over Bluetooth or a wired connection, so don't lose it.  

Ergonomic design changes from person to person, so the Sculpt isn't guaranteed to feel comfortable. However, it fixes common issues at a price far more tolerable than most competitors. That makes it the go-to pick for those hoping to reduce strain while typing.

Best cheap: Logitech MK120

Pros: Simple design; basic but comfortable layout; comfortable typing feel; durable and spill resistant 

Cons: Cheap plastic design can feel unpleasant; no backlighting; wired  

Need a basic, reliable keyboard at a very low price? Logitech's MK120 is for you. It looks like something out of a '90s computer magazine, but it's hard to beat its value. 

The MK120 delivers solid fundamentals. It has a standard layout with a numpad and old-school beveled keys. It's a wired keyboard that connects over USB and requires no setup; just plug it in and start typing. The rubber membrane key switch design isn't crisp but provides a light typing feel. A pair of flip-out stands on the rear of the keyboard let you choose between a flat or elevated typing angle. 

You can feel the keyboard's price. Logitech relies on inexpensive plastics that have a hollow, light feel, and the keyboard may creak or groan when you move it. This doesn't mean the keyboard is flimsy, however. The keyboard's simple design makes it resilient when dropped. It's also spill resistant, so tipping over a coffee is less likely to cause permanent damage. Logitech includes a three-year limited warranty. 

The Logitech MK120 comes bundled with a basic optical mouse that adds to the MK120's value and, like the keyboard, will work well enough for most people. It would be nice if Logitech sold the keyboard at a lower price without the mouse, but the MK120 bundle remains among the least expensive keyboards available. 

Best compact: Logitech MX Keys Mini

Pros: Attractive design with slim profile; comfortable for long typing sessions; can connect wirelessly with up to three devices; wireless support for Bluetooth and Logitech Unifying Receiver; PC and Mac layouts available 

Cons: No discount for smaller model; short battery life with backlight on

The Logitech MX Keys Mini brings the benefits of our favorite keyboard, the Logitech MX Keys, to a compact design. The MX Keys Mini functions exactly like the MX Keys. It only lacks a numpad. 

The MX Keys Mini has a thin design that relies on a scissor key switch design to reduce thickness. The switches have a light but taut feel high on tactile feedback and low on noise. The MX Keys Mini lacks the long key travel of a mechanical keyboard, but the slim profile provides good ergonomics. 

White backlighting illuminates the keyboard for easy use in a dark room. Using the backlight shaves battery life to around 10 days (and even less with heavy use). However, the keyboard can last months on a charge with the backlight off.

This is a versatile keyboard. Wireless connectivity includes Bluetooth and Logitech's included Unifying Receiver. You can connect up to three devices and switch between them with keyboard shortcuts. A Mac-specific model with corresponding key labels is available, but the standard model also works fine on Mac. 

Logitech charges the same price for the MX Keys Mini as the larger MX Keys. That's a minor disappointment, but the MX Keys Mini isn't unusually expensive given the features it offers. On the plus side, the MX Keys Mini is available in three new colors not available with the standard MX Keys: pale grey, rose, and black.

Best mechanical: Logitech G915 TKL

Pros: Wireless connectivity, long battery life, low profile keys, fantastic build quality, fast response

Cons: Pricey, some typists may prefer taller keys, no included wrist rest

Mechanical keyboards demand a lot of power, which makes wireless mechanical models hard to find. The Logitech G915 TKL Lightspeed wireless mechanical keyboard, however, has enough battery to withstand a full work week of typing. While that makes it the best wireless mechanical keyboard that we've tested, but the low profile keys and a durable build make it our favorite overall mechanical keyboard overall. 

The low-profile keys on the G915 are like a cross between the chiclet-keyed MacBook and the clickiness of a mechanical keyboard. The keys aren't the usual large and blocky kind, sitting at about half the normal height. In spite of the size, there are noticeable clicks and feeback, which is good. Rather than large mechincal keys, we like the smooth, yet tactile feeling of typing on this keyboard. We also like the tenkeyless design more than others, which keeps fingers more centered, rather than huddled to one end of the keys.

There are two ways to connect the G915 TKL. Logitech claims that it's Lightspeed Wireless technology drives a 1 millisecond response time. We don't notice any slowdown while typing, and while some players may still want the speed of a physical connection, this is quick enough for the keyboard be effective in PC gaming. The Lightspeed wireless feature needs a USB dongle, but Bluetooth is also supported (just not at 1ms response time) so you can use the keyboard without gobbling up any USB ports or supported mobile devices.

The G915 TKL is well-produced. The top plate is a gorgeous brushed metal, while the bottom has two distinct kickstands of varied heights The keyboard also features a welcome metal scroll wheel for volume, media keys, and buttons to switch between Bluetooth and wireless USB connection. The backlighting, which can be adjusted with an app, can be turned off with a quick key at the top. Lights at the top tell you when the battery needs to be recharged and when caps lock is on. 

While the Logitech G915 TKL is a wonderful keyboard, it's one of the more expensive options. Read our mechanical keyboard buying guide for more options at lower price points. 

Best gaming: Corsair K100 RGB

Pros: Solid build, excellent performance, a bevy of welcome features

Cons: More expensive than most, takes up space, bulkier than others

Competitive players desire the best, and the Corsair K100 RGB is the cream of the crop. But, even if you're mostly concerned with value, this model is also a good option. 

We've played with the keyboard on games like Marvel Avengers, Death Stranding, and Cyberpunk 2077 – and it truly lives up to its claimed performance. Carrying Corsair's quality OPX switches and Axon Hyper-Processing technology, the keyboard features a 4,000 polling rate, 1 millimeter (mm) actuation point, and the N-key rollover with anti-ghosting. That means that this keyboard is as quick as it is reflexive, which is a big deal in games that require speed and accuracy. 

The Corsair K100 RGB is also one of the most solid and quality-feeling gaming keyboards we've tested to date. It's clear that this keyboard could endure years of key-mashing and smashing, not to mention everyday typing, without issue while maintaining its elegant look and feel. 

What makes the Corsair K100 RGB even more of a deal, however, is its long list of excellent features, using the keyboard's size to its advantage. There are extra media keys and six distinct macro keys on top of its already fully-programmable setup. There's also a quite easily useable control dial that cycles through five distinct functions and toggle their settings.

Passthrough charging through its USB port lets you to attach another device to your PC. And, its RGB lights are arranged into 44 areas, so you can get as wild as you'd like without getting lost in the settings.

For extra profiles, Corsair also put 8MB onboard memory into the keyboard, so you can design up to 200 key remap, macro and RGB lighting profiles for portable storage.

What else we considered

We tested numerous keyboards that didn't make the cut. This is unsurprising: there's literally thousands to choose from. The list of keyboards we considered is too long to include here, but we've highlighted the keyboards that stood out. 

• Arteck 2.4G Wireless ($27.99): The Arteck 2.4G Wireless is an acceptable keyboard at an acceptable price. Its key feel is adequate, and the keyboard has a slim profile that will prove more comfortable for some owners. It's a good choice for shoppers on a tight budget.
• Das Keyboard Model 4 Professional ($169.00): The Das Keyboard Model 4 Professional is a go-to mechanical keyboard for typing purists and one of our top mechanical keyboards. It's expensive, however, and lacks common features, like a keyboard backlight. 
• HyperX Alloy Origins ($109.99): The HyperX Alloy Origins is a fantastic mechanical keyboard. While its gaming-centric design isn't for everyone, the keyboard is versatile enough to use for both productivity and entertainment. 
• Logitech K350 ($36.99): The Logitech K350 is a semi-ergonomic keyboard that brings a big wrist rest and wireless connectivity to a mid-range price. It's comfortable for daily use, but its massive footprint can overwhelm small desks. 
• Logitech Ergo K860 ($96.99): The Logitech Ergo K860 is a comfortable keyboard that looks and feels more premium than Microsoft's Sculpt. It's also twice the price.
• Logitech K830 Illuminated Keyboard ($79.99, currently unavailable): This niche keyboard includes a touchpad, like that found on a laptop, and is designed for use on a couch. It's the perfect keyboard for a home-theater PC connected to a television.
• Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboard ($59.99): Microsoft's Ergonomic Keyboard is a comfortable budget alternative to the Microsoft Sculpt. Its design is less attractive and it uses a rubber membrane key switch design. Wireless connectivity isn't available. 
• Razer Huntsman V2 Analog ($199.99): The Huntsman V2 Analog has uncommon optical-mechanical switches that can detect digital or analog input. It's also highly customizable, allowing users to create extensive and complex macros. This is useful for gamers, programmers, and power users. 

How we test keyboards

The keyboards recommended in this guide are the result of months of testing dozens of keyboards from over a dozen brands. They were not tested in a lab but with real, everyday use. All the recommended keyboards were tested for at least a week.

Common keyboard FAQs

Buying a keyboard is a personal decision, as preferences vary significantly. Gamers, photo editors, and work-from-home managers have different needs. Here are some points to ponder if you're unsure which keyboard is for you.

Key switches explained: Membrane vs. scissor vs. Mechanical

A key switch is the physical and electronic mechanism that supports the keys and registers the keystroke. Keyboard fans argue endlessly about which switch design is best. Most people don't need to dig into the nitty-gritty, but a basic understanding is useful if you're serious about buying an excellent keyboard.

The membrane switch is the least expensive. Each key sits on a rubber membrane, typically shaped like a dome, which provides resistance and keeps keys elevated. The dome collapses when you press a key, forcing the bottom into contact with the circuit board beneath. Membrane switches have a mushy feel that some find annoying. They respond slowly to rapid, repetitive input, which is bad news for gamers. Membrane switches are reliable and hold up well to drops, spills, and general abuse.

Scissor switches are found in many premium keyboards and laptops. The switch is shaped like a pair of scissors with the blades open. The blades separate further when you press the key, creating tension and resistance in the switch. Scissor switches have a shallow, crisp action that many people find pleasant to use but lack the chunky feel mechanical switches provide. The shallow design of a scissor switch allows for a thinner keyboard, which some people find more comfortable. You'll prefer a scissor switch if you want an attractive keyboard that's enjoyable to use all day.

Mechanical switches are their own sub-genre. They all use a mechanical element (typically a spring) for resistance, and this makes them thicker than the alternatives. Mechanical switches have a reputation for a loud, chunky, tactile feel, but this is only true of keyboards that label themselves as "clicky." You'll also find keyboards advertised as "tactile." These have an actuation point you can feel while pressing the key but aren't designed to make noise. 

We don't currently include any mechanical switch keyboards among our best keyboard recommendations, but our guide to the best mechanical keyboards offers options for mechanical keyboard fans.

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What size keyboard should you buy?

Today's keyboards offer many options, but they tend to fall into two basic categories: full-size and compact.

A full-size keyboard is likely the size you know best. They have 104 keys, including a numpad on the right side. Anyone who spends a lot of time with numbers is likely to prefer the speed and ease of a numpad. Full-size keyboards can be uncomfortable for some, however, because they're wide. This pushes the mouse far to the side, increasing the movement needed to use the mouse. 

Compact keyboards, also known as tenkeyless keyboards, ditch the numpad but retain the arrows keys and function keys above them. This cuts down keyboard size significantly without changing the day-to-day experience for those who don't often use a numpad. TKL keyboards free up desk space and keep your mouse close at hand, which some find more comfortable. 

The ideal size is a personal preference. Smaller keyboards free up space and can be more ergonomic, but not everyone who uses a full-size keyboard finds them uncomfortable and some people prefer the functions found in additional keys.

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Wired or wireless keyboards?

Wireless keyboards are the standard for most people. It's not hard to understand why. Wires are annoying, and the keyboard's wire is one of the few (along with the mouse) you can't hide. 

Wireless is so popular that it's no longer a premium feature. Most affordable and mid-range keyboards are wireless, but most high-end keyboards are either wired or offer a choice between wired or wireless models. 

Reliability is the key reason. Modern wireless connections work very well, but they're not perfect. Enthusiasts buying high-end keyboards expect the keyboard to register every keystroke every time. 

Wired keyboards also provide lower latency than wireless connections. Competitive gamers, who see every millisecond of latency as the difference between winning or losing thousands of dollars at a tournament, universally lean towards the near-perfect latency of a wired keyboard. 

Wireless keyboards use batteries. Budget models often use AA or AAA batteries, which tend to last for months but can be annoying to replace. Premium wireless keyboards have built-in batteries that can be recharged. This is convenient but will shorten the keyboard's lifespan. The battery will wear out long before the rest of the keyboard.

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Do I need a Mac-specific keyboard?

Apple's macOS has a slightly different key layout than Windows. The Windows Start key is gone, replaced by an Option key, while Command keys replace the Alt keys.

These differences are minor enough that virtually all Windows keyboards will work with macOS. Apple's operating system has a Keyboard Setup Assistant that will identify your keyboard and let you remap the keys to a more familiar layout. It's a simple process that takes just a few seconds.

However, most modern keyboards use software to control their most complex features. This software isn't always available for macOS. Mac owners should check software compatibility before buying a keyboard.

Glossary of Terms

Backlight: A keyboard backlight places at least one LED light beneath each key on the keyboard. In most cases, the key caps include semi-transparent letters that let light shine through. This makes the keyboard usable in a dark room.

Bluetooth: This is the most common standard for connecting wireless devices including wireless keyboards. It's supported by virtually all modern desktops, laptops, smartphones, and tablets. Check our guide to Bluetooth for more information.

Logitech Unifying Receiver: The Unifying Receiver is a USB dongle included with supported Logitech devices. It uses Wi-Fi to connect Logitech devices wirelessly to your PC or Mac.

Mechanical switch: A mechanical key switch uses mechanical elements, such as a spring, to provide resistance and tune a key's tactile and audible feedback. This key switch design is common to high-end gaming keyboards.

Numpad: Also known as a tenkey or number pad, the numpad is the grid of numbers found on the right side of all full-size keyboards. Compact keyboards don't include a numpad. 

Rubber membrane: A rubber membrane key switch uses a rubber dome to provide resistance and tune key feel. This is the least expensive key switch design in use today. 

Scissor switch: A scissor switch uses a scissor-like mechanical element to provide resistant and tune key feel. It's the thinnest key switch design. It's found in premium keyboards and most laptops. 

USB: The most common wired connection standard, USB is the default method of connecting most wired keyboards. 

USB-C: A more modern variant of USB, USB-C is smaller and easier to plug in to a device when compared to standard USB (or USB-A). It's a common method of connecting premium wired keyboards and recharging wireless keyboards. Our USB-C guide can provide more details.