I’ve been covering smart home and security products for years, and I’ve written about and reviewed scores of smart devices. Yet I can count on one hand (plus an extra finger or two) the number of smart devices that my family and I actually depend on.  Sure, I have plenty of smart gadgets in my […]

Smart lighting is one of the most useful and enjoyable smart home upgrades you can make. The convenience of turning lights on and off with a voice command or having them come on at precisely the right brightness when you walk into a room, adjusted for the time of day, is a huge quality-of-life upgrade

AI — it’s all but inescapable, whether you follow consumer tech, security, science, finance, transportation, or pretty much any other sector that’s evolving at a breakneck pace. But do you really know where AI is going, and which companies are emerging from the fray? You’ll find your answers at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, Oct 27-29 in

The mechanical keyboard world has undergone a renaissance. Thanks to increased competition and commoditized tech, features that used to be exclusive to limited-run DIY boards in the $300-plus range just a few years ago are now available in prebuilt boards in the $100 to $200 range — sometimes less. The DIY kit builds, limited-run group

If you want to go big on gaming monitors, that means you need to spend big. But even if you have a high budget, it still pays to hunt for deals. For example, you can get an oversized 39-inch ultrawide OLED from LG for just $896.99 from Amazon. That’s over $600 off the retail price.

You know what needs upgrading on your desk right now? Not your laptop and not your monitor. I’m talking about your power strip, which tends to get overlooked. Why settle for a conventional clunker when you can level things up with this 8-in-1 Anker Prime charging station? And it’s 33% off on Amazon right now,

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Very inexpensive Smooth hardware operation Lots of user management options Cons Very rocky physical setup Limited advanced setting options Scanners (especially the fingerprint scanner) aren’t the best Our Verdict Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Price When Reviewed

Long ago, I had an Android phone with an early facial recognition sign-in feature… and someone could unlock my phone just by holding up a photo of me. Yeah, it was bad. Fast forward to 2025 and we have Windows Hello facial recognition sign-ins for PCs. Microsoft talks a big game about how secure it

At a glance Expert’s Rating Pros Connects directly to Wi-Fi, no bridge or smart home hub required Impressive motion sensor catches everything Incredible collection of user options Great 3-way support, including a wireless option Cons Requires a neutral wire Motion sensitivity is nearly blind at lower levels More expensive than the competition Our Verdict Leviton’s

Any monitor can be used for PC gaming, but a display built for productivity will likely leave you underwhelmed. Limited contrast, blurry motion, and slow refresh rates still hold basic productivity monitors back in games. Fortunately, there’s no shortage of excellent gaming monitors available at a wide range of price points—and the best of them