Here's Why Bill Gates (Still) Prefers Android to iPhone

When it comes to the great iOS-versus-Android debate, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates knows which side he’s on.

How to Spot and Avoid Credit Card Skimmers and Shimmers

The moment I realized how woefully insecure credit and debit cards are is still vividly clear.

Disinfect Your Phone and Electronics

Once again, though, these aren’t normal times—so if you want to de-germify, grab the same solution you made for your phone, spray it on one of those disposable microfiber cloths, and wipe down the entire surface. The same goes for over-the-ear headphones.

Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91: Budget PC Editors' Choice

The Acer Aspire TC-895-UA91 is, in many ways, just what most budget desktop shoppers are looking for.

10 Ways to Boost Your Wi-Fi Signal

Browsing slowed to a crawl, the inability to stream, dropped Wi-Fi signals, wireless dead zones—each of these problems is maddening in a world where getting online has become, for some, as necessary as breathing (well, maybe not that critical—but still important). When the only way you can get decent reception is by standing next to your wireless router, our tips can help.

How to Make Your Android Phone Less Annoying

It’s hard to unplug these days. PCs, tablets, smartphones—even a large selection of home appliances—can wirelessly connect to the internet at the push of a button. Devices buzz with emails, notifications, and status updates at all hours of the day, making it hard to concentrate. Your Android phone is no exception—but there are ways to make it less annoying.

Lenovo Yoga 9i (15-Inch): A Competent Convertible

We recently reviewed the 14-inch Lenovo Yoga 9i, a compact convertible laptop with plenty of upside, but maybe you’re in the market for something a little larger. Its big brother, the 15.6-inch Lenovo Yoga 9i, brings the same high-quality hybrid form factor to a roomier display. Of course, the increased size makes the larger Yoga a little unwieldy as a tablet, but it also delivers more power. (The hybrid’s snappy Intel Core i7 H-Series CPU and Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti graphics will impress.) Long battery life and an included stylus sweeten the pot for what is a good if not standout convertible. The premium HP Spectre x360 15 remains our favorite big-screen 2-in-1 machine.

What Is C-Band, and What Does It Mean for the Future of 5G?

What's New Now / 5G

TechX Awards: The Most Innovative Products and Technologies of CES 2021

CES 2021 gave PCMag editors their first chance to vet candidates for our new Technical Excellence Awards, aka TechX.

How to Transfer Your Facebook Photos and Videos to Another Service

TIPS & HOW TOS / APPS

TunnelBear VPN: It's Just Right

REVIEWS / SOFTWARE

Half of America Is Ready to Switch to Starlink Satellite Internet

WHAT'S NEW NOW / THE WHY AXIS

Tips to Help You Get Your Work Mojo Back

Do you ever wake up on a workday and say, “I don’t want to do it”? Is there a task you just can’t find the wherewithal to finish? Are you tempted to transition from working at home to taking a nap at home?

Tips to Boost Your Android Phone's Battery Life

A number of factors contribute to poor battery life on your Android phone. Thinner bodies, brighter screens, faster processors, more background software, and speedier internet connections all take their toll on phone batteries, though manufacturers are incorporating more powerful batteries to compensate. The Motorola Moto G Power has a 5,000mAh battery that can last for over 18 hours. Samsung’s Galaxy S phones, the most popular Android devices, can now last anywhere between 11 and 13 hours, depending on the model. Still, there are ways to get more out of any phone.

Heading Back to the Office: An Employee's Guide

Many businesses are preparing to transition employees back to offices, either to alleviate the stress of isolation or simply to stay afloat financially. Whatever the reason, keeping employees safe means employers must overcome a variety of hurdles, including adhering to new health and safety regulations that will likely include all-new considerations such as contact tracing and keeping employees properly distanced using space management tools.

Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat ST75: Versatile and Affordable

Smart thermostats make it easy to control your home’s heating and cooling system from just about anywhere, and the Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat ST75 is no different. But in addition to phone and voice control, it offers a responsive color touch-screen control panel. Easy on the eyes and simple to install, the ST75 is a bit more expensive than our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable thermostats, the Nest Thermostat ($129.99). That said, the Sensi model adds support for Apple’s HomeKit and Samsung’s SmartThings home automation platforms, as well as native Siri voice control, making it an excellent alternative to the Nest Thermostat for those who use any of those systems.

Microsoft Xbox Series X: An Impressive Console

The newest Xboxes are here, packing plenty of power into boxier frames than ever. Microsoft’s entries into the latest console generation are the Xbox Series X, reviewed here, and the Xbox Series S ($299).

Virtual Movie Night: How to Watch Netflix With Friends Using Teleparty

Many of us are facing a long winter indoors, thanks to the ongoing pandemic. And though we have video streaming to distract us, watching shows and movies is more fun with friends. You could get everyone on Zoom and press play at the same time, but there’s an easier way: Teleparty (formerly known as Netflix Party).

Apple Mac mini (M1, Late 2020): Most Polished, Potent Tiny Desktop

The Mac mini doesn’t get upgraded often, but when it does, it makes an impact well out of proportion to its trim dimensions. The 2018 Mac mini was a PCMag Editors’ Choice pick for its pep, connectivity, build quality, and limited upgradability. A slight variation on the same sheet music, played with little fanfare earlier this year, pumped up the two base models’ SSD capacity. The real update of this iconic little desktop is this one, and it’s a big-band extravaganza. Apple’s own highly integrated system-on-a-chip (SoC), the M1 brings the Mac mini to new performance highs, and while a few fundamentals have changed, the peppy performance, the reasonable mix of connectivity, and a new lower $699 starting price combine to make it one of the best values in compact computers, period. It easily earns our Editors’ Choice nod.

Optoma HD39HDR: Bright, Low-Lag Projector

Designed for gaming and for watching movies and TV, the Optoma HD39HDR is one of a growing number of 1080p home projectors that can accept a 4K UHD (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) HDR signal and downconvert the resolution to 1080p. Some projectors in this category accept the input without really offering any of the benefits that high dynamic range promises for a wider color gamut or range of brightness levels. Others, including the Optoma, make good use of HDR. In my tests, the HD39HDR delivered more-vibrant color and far better shadow detail when I played the 4K HDR versions of movies on my Blu-ray player than when playing the 1080p SDR versions of the same titles.

Samsung Galaxy S20 FE 5G Review: Perfect Balance of Power and Price

The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is everything you need and nothing else. Samsung pared down its flagship S20 series to a more palatable price, and the result is a value-minded standard-bearer to properly face up against the forthcoming iPhone 12 line. With fast performance, solid cameras, and often substantial discounts at major wireless providers, the S20 FE 5G becomes our default Android phone recommendation for 2020 as well as our Editors’ Choice.

Lenovo ThinkPad X13 (AMD): A Solid Contender

The celebrated ThinkPad X1 Carbon isn’t the only compelling ultraportable in Lenovo’s business lineup. If that 14-inch premium laptop is a bit too rich for your blood, consider the ThinkPad X13, a 13.3-inch model available with either Intel or AMD CPU silicon under the hood. The AMD Ryzen-based system we tested starts at just $683 and is $1,004 in our specific test configuration—much more affordable than the Carbon, which is compensation for the X13 weighing more (2.8 versus 2.4 pounds) despite its slightly smaller screen. The X13’s six-core Ryzen 5 Pro 4650U processor gives it impressive performance, though we could wish for a couple more hours of battery life. And the X13’s keyboard and construction quality are up to ThinkPad standards—faultless. If your budget doesn’t stretch to the Carbon or a Dell XPS 13, this is a first-class option.

IS QUANTUM COMPUTING A BUBBLE READY TO BURST?

Not only can quantum physics speed up computing, but it could also redefine how computers communicate and ensure that no one could ever hack them. That’s partly why the pace of quantum innovations has achieved a new urgency. But many experts can’t see the finish line, let alone know when we’ll get there.

All About the New Apple iPhones

Apple refreshed its iPhone line in October with four new models: the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini ($699); the 6.1-inch iPhone 12 ($799) and 6.1-inch iPhone 12 Pro ($999); and the gigantic 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Max ($1,099). All four models have OLED displays and 5G networking, making them the first iPhones to support 5G.

Kaspersky Secure Connection VPN: Limited but Very Affordable

A virtual private network (or VPN) is an easy way to improve your privacy online. Kaspersky Secure Connection carries one of the most recognizable names in the industry and offers customers a simple, affordable VPN. It is a bare-bones offering with few server locations, but Kaspersky users and anyone looking for a cheap VPN will likely be pleased.