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Steam Deck Beta Client Update: June 27th

We have just shipped an updated Steam Deck Client to the Preview/Beta channel. General Fixed certain startup movies not playing correctly. Steam Input Fix glyphs for the Legion Go S the Last of Us: Part 2

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‘Pawsome’ news, pet lovers: Utah State’s weeks away from launching state’s 1st 4-year ‘animal doc’ program

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Facebook is starting to feed its AI with private, unpublished photos

Article URL: https://www.theverge.com/meta/694685/meta-ai-camera-roll Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44401406 Points: 40 # Comments: 11

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Mobile Games Suck (Except for These Ones)

Mobile Games Suck (Except for These Ones) “We have a problem. Mobile games suck,” says Brandon Sanderson. From his initial playthrough of the original The Legend of Zelda (the first time he was able to actually save his game: “Before that, Mario fell down the hole, and that was it.”), Brandon has been an avid gamer, having owned nearly every video game console ever created. And, he has thoughts about the state of mobile gaming.  Like most of you, Brandon has a smartphone and would like to play fun games on the go, but sadly, “[Most mobile games] are skinner boxes designed to extract as much money from you as possible.” In an effort to bring light to the mobile games that are actually worth your time, he sat down and gave us a full rundown of his favorites as well as some insight into why most mobile games, well… suck.  The 5 Titans of Mobile Games First, let’s get the giants out of the way. Most mobile gamers have likely played these titles already, but if you’re just getting into the space, you can’t go wrong with any of these.  1. Minecraft Brandon’s first experience with Minecraft was on a PlayStation 2 and followed the creation of the game closely on Reddit back in the day. The legendary title is also available on mobile platforms. “It’s Minecraft, right? One of the best selling games of all time,” says Brandon. What else is there to say? 2. Stardew Valley “Stardew Valley is excellent,” says Brandon. The rest of the gaming world agrees—Stardew Valley is one of the most beloved indie games ever made, and you can play it on your mobile device! Part farming game, part life simulator, part dungeon crawler… it has something for everyone.  Brandon is trying to get Emily, his wife, into this one—and since one of the romance options is “a writer dude” (Brandon’s words), it’s a perfect fit. 😉 3. Terraria “Where is our Terraria 2?!” Brandon played Terraria back during its 1.0 launch, before his kids were even old enough to play with him. It kept him sane on one of his long book tours, back in the day. So, he’s thankful for that, but he wants Terraria 2. Valid.  4. Slay the Spire “If you haven’t played Slay the Spire, play Slay the Spire,” Brandon says. He strongly recommends this classic title for fellow Magic the Gathering lovers. 5. Balatro While Brandon admits he doesn’t need to tell you to play Balatro (you’re probably already playing it), it deserves a spot among these titan titles of mobile gaming. If you enjoy the mechanics of Slay the Spire, you’re gonna have a blast with this one. The hype is real. 5 Hidden Gems in Mobile Gaming So, for Brandon’s list of hidden gems in mobile gaming, he stayed away (mostly) from PC ports. Yes, Minecraft and Balatro are both PC ports, but for the purposes of the following five games, he’s not bringing up Final Fantasy or the like—they’re great games, but these are lesser known games designed around the mobile experience.  Brandon plays mobile games on Android and has play pass, for reference. 1. Luck Be A Landlord Though this is a pretty basic game on the surface, it’s a slot machine rogue-like, which is sort of similar to Balatro, and is a ton of fun. If you’ve played Balatro to death and wish there was something similar, you’ve got to give Luck Be a Landlord a try if it’s available on your mobile gaming platform of choice.  2. Sagrada You might be thinking—wait, isn’t that a board game? And you’d be right! But, Sagrada also has a pretty decent port. (We’re not breaking the rules, it’s not a PC port!) It has a daily challenge, and though you can play against other people, you don’t have to in order to get lots of fun out of the game. This is a dice rolling game themed after the stained glass windows of the famous chapel in Barcelona, so the aesthetic is fantastic.  Brandon enjoyed this one so much he went out and bought the board game afterwards.  3. High Rise Heroes This one evokes nostalgia for Brandon, because back in the day he was a huge fan of PopCap Games (Plants vs. Zombies, Peggle, Bewjewled, and more). High Rise Heroes has a cute little story and is a boggle style word game that’ll keep you entertained for a long time. It has so much to offer and reminds Brandon of Bookworm back in the PopCap games days. High Rise Heroes has a beginning, middle, and end which makes it fairly unique in mobile gaming these days.  4. Isle of Arrows “This is… technically a PC port…” Brandon admits, but it’s just so good on mobile.  Isle of Arrows is a rogue-like tower defense where you build across an island, and it’s very interestingly designed. While there are some parts that are a bit clunky (an update would be more than welcome), it’s worth your time. “It’s a very simple idea executed extremely well... it's brilliant... it's criminally underplayed," Brandon emphasizes.  5. Ticket to Earth Last but certainly not least, as it's Brandon's favorite mobile game, is Ticket to Earth. It's a seriously innovative title that is also "criminally underplayed." Ticket to Earth is a game board matching game that's sort of like a hybrid between Final Fantasy or Fallout tactics and Bejeweled, though that still doesn't quite capture it. Brandon says he's "never played anything that plays so well on mobile," and that "it's a miracle this game was made," because it's a true art piece. It's thoughtfully crafted and masterfully innovative.  Looking Towards the Future of Mobile Gaming While the mobile gaming landscape remains cluttered with predatory monetization schemes and shallow gameplay loops, gems like these prove that quality experiences are still possible on our phones.  Brandon's recommendations span from beloved indies that made the jump to mobile to clever original designs that embrace the platform's unique strengths. The key is knowing where to look, and being willing to pay upfront for games that respect your time and wallet.

Tayan Hatch •

Context engineering

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Continuous AI

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Facebook is starting to feed its AI with private, unpublished photos

For years, Meta's trained its AI programs using the billions of public images uploaded by users onto Facebook and Instagram's servers. But apparently, Meta has decided to try training its AI on the billions of images that users haven't uploaded to those servers. On Friday, TechCrunch reported that Facebook users trying to post something on the Story feature have encountered pop-up messages asking if they'd like to opt into "cloud processing", which would allow Facebook to "select media from your camera roll and upload it to our cloud on a regular basis", to generate "ideas like collages, recaps, AI restyling or themes like birthdays or graduations." By allowing this feature, the message continues, users are agreeing to Meta AI terms, which allows their AI to analyze "media and facial features" of those unpublished photos, as well as the date said photos were taken, and the presence of other people or objects in them. You further grant Meta the right to "retain and use" that personal information. Meta recently acknowledged that it's scraped the data from all the content that's been published on Facebook and Instagram since 2007 to train its generative AI models. Though the comp … Read the full story at The Verge.

Tina Nguyen •

Deseret News archives +: USS Ogden was launched on this day in 1964

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Gas prices on the rise ahead of July 4th holiday. Might be time to fill up

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Best Current Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses & Offers For June, 2025

View all of the best credit card sign up bonuses. We list all of the best bonuses, unlike other sites that only list cards that pay them a commission!

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How vulnerable is critical infrastructure to cyberattack in the US?

Our water, health, and energy systems are increasingly vulnerable to cyberattack. Now, when tensions escalate - like when the US bombed nuclear facilities in Iran this month - the safety of these systems becomes of paramount concern. If conflict erupts, we can expect it to be a "hybrid" battle, Joshua Corman, executive in residence for public safety & resilience at the Institute for Security and Technology (IST), tells The Verge. "With great connectivity comes great responsibility." Battlefields now extend into the digital world, which in turn makes critical infrastructure in the real world a target. I first reached out to IST for their expertise on this issue back in 2021, when a ransomware attack forced the Colonial Pipeline - a major artery transporting nearly half of the east coast's fuel supply - offline for nearly a week. Since then, The Verge has also covered an uptick in cyberattacks against community water systems in the US, and America's attempts to thwart assaults supported by other governments. It's not time to panic, Corman reassures me. But it is important to reevaluate how we safeguard hospitals, water supplies, and other lifelines from cyberattack. There hap … Read the full story at The Verge.

Justine Calma •

Walgreens: Two Free 5×7 Prints With Promo Code FREE-5X7

Walgreens is offering two free 5x7 prints when you use promo code FREETWO

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I assume that Benjamin Franklin, if alive in 2025, would be a major member of the blogosphere. The real question is what stack is his blog? I'm biased for Jekyll 😎

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SLC fire clogs rush-hour traffic

The blaze was disrupting Friday afternoon traffic on Interstate 215.

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you can watch the office tour I uploaded today before I delete it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjEOPsPRD3o

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Project Vend: Can Claude run a small shop? (And why does that matter?)

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Rust in the Linux kernel: part 2

Article URL: https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/1025232/fbb2d90d084368e3/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44400697 Points: 57 # Comments: 1

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Salt Lake City airport ranked among the best in the nation

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Windows Is Dead To Me - WAN Show June 27, 2025

Linus Tech Tips •

Will the IOC’s policy on transgender athlete participation change?

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Tesla recently lost two key execs

Yesterday, reports from Forbes and CNBC said that Musk had fired Omead Afshar, who formerly led operations in North America and Europe and was a close confidant of Musk’s. (Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal also reported that Afshar left the company, but did not say he was fired.) The firing follows a major slump in sales for Tesla’s automotive business – last quarter, revenue for that organization fell 20 percent year-over-year. Afshar first joined Tesla in 2017, where he started as a project manager in the office of the CEO, according to his LinkedIn. In 2022, he was reportedly investigated internally for a glass purchase for a secret project. Tesla also recently lost Milan Kovac, the VP who headed up the Optimus humanoid robotics team. Kovac said that he left because he needed to spend more time with his family abroad. Musk thanked Kovac in a reply. Electrek reported Friday morning that Tesla had hired Henry Kuang, who, in a now-inaccessible LinkedIn profile, listed his title at GM’s Cruise as “Senior Director / Head of Autonomy” and his title at Tesla as “Director, AI / Deep Learning for Autonomous Driving.” However, in an update, Electrek said that “Tesla denied hiring Kuang for the role listed in his LinkedIn profile.” Correction, June 27th: To Electrek, Tesla denied hiring Henry Kuang.

Jay Peters •

Bilt Rent Day (July 2025): Up To 100% Bonus On Giftcard Redemptions

The Offer Bilt rent day for July 2025 is for 25-100% bonus on gift card redemptions. The normal gift card redemption rate is at .7 cents per point. Bilt Blue: 25% bonus Bilt Silver: 50% bonus Bilt Gold: 75% bonus Bilt Platinum: 100% bonus Our Verdict Works out to 1.4 cents toward gift cards if […]

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Normalizing Flows Are Capable Generative Models

Article URL: https://machinelearning.apple.com/research/normalizing-flows Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44400105 Points: 80 # Comments: 6

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Jeff Bezos appears to be wearing the wrong waistcoat for his wedding. This is a dinner suit (aka a tuxedo) and thus requires a dress waistcoat, which is cut lower on the body. He's wearing a business vest, which is designed for business suits. Needs a formal waistcoat like the one on the right.

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Logitech says all its webcams work with Nintendo Switch 2, save one

If you’re looking for a webcam that works with the Nintendo Switch 2’s new GameChat mode that lets you video chat with friends and see their faces within games, it looks like the biggest brand in PC accessories is still your best bet. Logitech is the first webcam maker to confirm to The Verge that the vast majority of its cameras work — all of them, in fact, save for the high-end Logitech Brio 4K. “All of our webcams except Brio 4K work out of the box with Switch 2,” Logitech spokesperson Leila Lewis definitively tells The Verge. When the Nintendo Switch 2 launched three weeks ago, webcam manufacturers had no idea which cameras would be compatible with the new Switch, and some of the best-reviewed cameras simply didn’t work. It was a weird mystery, a wild west, and webcam makers had to figure it out on their own. Many didn’t even have a Switch 2 to test with, my sources tell me, and had to compete with consumers to buy the fastest-selling game console of all time. Nor did Nintendo provide compatibility guidelines, it seems, as manufacturers like Elgato and Ugreen had to reverse-engineer why their seemingly compatible cameras weren’t showing up when they plugged them in. But that mystery now seems to be solved — the answers are not what we expected! — and manufacturers are now seemingly free to update any of their firmware-updatable webcams and make them compatible with the new Switch. Logitech doesn’t seem to be promising an update for the Brio 4K. “Brio 4K is built with the security features of Windows Hello that are not supported on the Switch 2 anyway,” Lewis tells The Verge. But again, all its other webcams reportedly work — which won’t be all that surprising to anyone who’s been following the webcam saga. When Nintendo and webcam makers weren’t originally able to provide lists of working webcams, Redditors crowdsourced their own list, which includes far more working webcams from Logitech than any other manufacturer. A few Redditors say you can even get the Brio 4K working if you want, with a firmware downgrade. Do that at your own risk, though. So far, Elgato and Ugreen have committed to upgrading specific cameras to work with the Nintendo Switch 2. Obsbot has generically confirmed it will do some sort of firmware updates, and Insta360 is still looking into it. Anker is non-committal.

Sean Hollister •

Learn OCaml – Exercises

Article URL: https://ocaml-sf.org/learn-ocaml-public/#activity=exercises Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44400025 Points: 66 # Comments: 18

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The Nothing Phone 3 might have the weirdest camera design out there

The periscope camera on the Nothing Phone 3 — which is apparently in an odd spot. Earlier this month, I wrote about a leaked image of what was rumored to be the Nothing Phone 3. That image showed a design with a translucent back and three center-aligned cameras. But a new set of supposed Nothing Phone 3 images reveal a different design — with one of the wildest camera layouts I’ve ever seen. Renders from Android Headlines show a phone with a translucent back but three cameras in a weirdly separated layout. Instead of a neat triangle like on Pro iPhones or the camera bar on Pixels, these renders show two cameras lined up next to each other and another that’s in the corner of the phone and not really aligned with anything else. It’s kind of like the bold camera layout for the Nothing 3A Pro, but even bolder. Details from teases directly from Nothing indicate that these renders could be representative of the real deal. Yesterday, for example, Nothing posted an image of the Phone 3’s 50MP periscope lens on X, and its placement and design appear to match up with one of the cameras in the renders from Android Headlines. Nothing has also teased something it calls the “Glyph Matrix” on the top-right corner of the phone, and Android Headlines’ renders include an element that looks like it could be the Glyph Matrix in that same spot.  View Link We don’t have long to wait to see if these renders are an early look at the phone’s design. Nothing is set to fully reveal the Phone 3 – and the translucent, over-ear Headphone 1 headphones – on July 1st.

Jay Peters •

A Brief History of Children Sent Through the Mail

Article URL: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brief-history-children-sent-through-mail-180959372/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44399854 Points: 81 # Comments: 67

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Safeway: Get 12x Points On Zift Zillions

Safeway has a J4U offer to get 10x points on $50+ purchases of Zift Zillions gift cards. Over the weekend you'll get an extra 2x on all gift card purchases for a total of 12x. Safeway points are very valuable (up to $1.67 off groceries per 100 points), and some Zift Zillions can even be redeemed for Amazon or Airbnb and other

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Photo gallery: Pacific Islander art exhibit from students’ perspective

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I tested a bunch of gaming laptops and these are the best

Gaming laptops come in various shapes and sizes, though many of the heavy hitters remain thick and beefy machines that maximize cooling to get the most out of their powerful chips. Most are awash in RGB lighting and edgy designs geared towards capital-G Gamers, but there are also thinner, lighter options that are more portable and less showy.  Our go-to recommendation that checks the boxes for most people is, and has been for a while, the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14. It’s a gaming laptop that doesn’t forget the “laptop” part. The G14 is a versatile machine for both play and work, and it travels exceptionally well. Other great, though pricey, recommendations include the big and heavy Asus ROG Strix Scar and Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, or the Razer Blade 16 for lots of graphics power in a thin and sleek design. The most important part of any gaming laptop, just like desktop PCs, is the graphics card. Laptop GPUs can’t stack up to full-size cards that reach much higher wattage in desktops, but that doesn’t stop the likes of Nvidia from making things a little confusing with the naming scheme on its RTX brand of GeForce cards. So keep in mind that, for example, an RTX 5090 laptop card doesn’t come anywhere near the performance of a desktop 5090. Desktops may always win out in raw performance, but gaming laptops are a simpler turnkey solution that can easily go places (yes, even the ones that feel like you’re toting around a cinderblock).  Even more confusing: the same GPU in one laptop may not perform as well in another if it’s throttled by thermal constraints. We try to test a wide range of gaming laptops, as well as regular laptops, and these are the ones we confidently recommend. The best gaming laptop Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2025) ProsCons Balanced performance, battery life, and portability OLED display Programmable LED strip on the lid Great keyboard and smooth trackpad Gets a bit hot and loud under load Soldered RAM Thermally throttles its GPUs Where to Buy: $1799.99 at Asus $1799.99 at Best Buy CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 270, HX 370 / GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060, RTX 5070, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080 / RAM: 16GB, 32GB / Storage: 1TB / Display: 14-inch OLED, 2880 x 1800, 120Hz, 500 nits / Dimensions: 12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63 to 0.64 inches / Battery: 73Whr / Weight: 3.31 pounds Asus’s ROG Zephyrus G14 has been a favorite among Verge staffers for years now, and it remains our go-to pick for its balance of power and portability. It can be your full-time gaming machine as well as your commuter-friendly everyday laptop. Asus redesigned it in 2024 and toned down its more playful aesthetics for a sleeker, refined look, and for 2025 it just got a modest chip bump with RTX 50-series graphics and the ability to charge via USB-C on either side (but you still need to use its proprietary charger for max wattage).  It now starts at $1,799.99 instead of $1,699.99. But you get a little more for your extra money since even the base Zephyrus G14 comes with a lovely, high-res OLED display capable of a 120Hz refresh rate, and it still has a great keyboard and trackpad. Games play well on high settings, though due to the thin chassis, the G14 — and even its 16-inch sibling, the Zephyrus G16 — are known to get a little hot to the touch, and their fans are quite noisy. Zephyrus laptops are never going to offer quite the same performance as much thicker models, like the Asus ROG Strix or other chunkers running equivalent GPUs — they just don’t have as much thermal headroom. But if you want a jack-of-all-trades notebook that puts gaming at the forefront, the G14 (or G16, if you want to go bigger and have the budget) is unlikely to steer you wrong. The most powerful gaming laptop MSI Titan 18 HX AI (2025) Score: 7 ProsCons Top-tier gaming performance in a laptop 4K Mini LED screen is massive, looks great, and gets very bright Mechanical keyboard is loud but feels awesome to type on Astronomically expensive Battery drains very fast, even during regular tasks Fans get loud 120Hz refresh is half the speed of cheaper laptops with 2.5K OLEDs Where to Buy: $4799.99 at MSI (RTX 5080) $5799.99 $5639 at MSI (RTX 5090) $5799.99 $5639 at Amazon (RTX 5090) CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX  / GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 5080, RTX 5090 / RAM: 64GB, 96GB / Storage: 2TB, 6TB / Display: 18-inch Mini LED 4K (3840 x 2400), 120Hz display, 1,000 nits, 100 percent DCI-P3 / Dimensions: 15.9 x 12.08 x 1.26 inches / Battery: 99.9Whr / Weight: 7.93 pounds The MSI Titan is your pick if budget isn’t a concern. It starts at a ridiculous $4,799.99 with Intel’s flagship Core Ultra 9 285HX CPU and Nvidia’s second-highest GPU, the RTX 5080. The RTX 5090 configuration costs $5,799.99 or more with expanded storage and RAM. The Titan pairs these flagship chips with a massive 18-inch 4K / 120Hz Mini LED screen that gets incredibly bright, along with 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. It’s loaded with RGB (including an illuminated haptic trackpad), a mechanical keyboard by SteelSeries, five USB ports (two of which are Thunderbolt 5), and a four-speaker / dual-woofer sound setup. It can tackle most games you throw at it on ultra settings. The screen may not be as fast as other laptops with 2.5K / 240Hz panels, but 4K at 18 inches looks so crisp. You have to pay out the nose for this no-holds-barred experience, but the nearly eight-pound behemoth is about as powerful as laptops get right now. In the past, our choice for this tier of laptop was Asus’s ROG Strix Scar 17 using one of AMD’s X3D chips. That model was especially unique since it was significantly cheaper (under $4,000). Perhaps the 18-inch MSI Raider with the Ryzen 9 9955HX3D and RTX 5090 could sway me away from the Titan, but we’ll have to try it out first. (At $5,099.99, the Raider isn’t exactly a budget pick either.) The best mid-to-high-tier gaming laptops for most people Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 (2025, RTX 5080) Score: 8 ProsCons Great graphics performance in the latest high-end games Lots of ports and easy access to RAM / SSDs Animated lid and wraparound RGB are fun Very good QHD / 240Hz Mini LED screen Typical gaming laptop issues (pricey, hefty, and not great battery life) Competition offers OLED screens Customizing lid animations is a pain Where to Buy: $3299.99 at Asus $3299.99 at Amazon $3299.99 $3199.99 at Walmart CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX / GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 / RAM: 32GB / Storage:  2TB / Display: 16-inch Mini LED 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display / Dimensions: 13.94 x 10.55 x 0.9 to 1.21 inches / Battery: 90Whr  Weight: 6.17 pounds You don’t have to spend Titan money to land somewhere in the ballpark of excellent gaming performance. There are a few great options in the mid-to-high tier of gaming laptops, sporting RTX 5080 graphics (or the RTX 5070 Ti if you need to save a bit more). My top pick is the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16, followed closely by the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i. Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (16-inch, Intel) Score: 8 ProsCons Great performance at 2.5K and even at 4K on an external monitor Beautiful OLED screen One of the best keyboards in this class of gaming laptops No face or fingerprint unlock Numpad makes things slightly cramped, with off-center trackpad Lenovo’s apps are slightly more invasive with notifications than others Where to Buy: $3499 $3099 at B&H Photo Video (RTX 5080, 2TB SSD0 $3499.99 at Lenovo (RTX 5080, 2TB SSD) $2969.99 at Best Buy (RTX 5080, 1TB SSD) The 16-inch ROG Strix Scar is decked out with a wraparound RGB light bar that creates a colorful underglow and a dot-matrix LED lid for adorning fun illuminated animations. The Strix Scar’s game performance is exceptional, with its RTX 5080 nearly matching the 5090 in the much thinner Razer Blade 16 — and for $1,200 less. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is a similarly specced 16-incher, offering the same CPU and GPU in a better, metallic build. It’s got its share of RGB lighting, but it’s done a little more tastefully than the Asus. Meanwhile, the Strix Scar’s 2.5K / 240Hz screen is a Mini LED display that’s bright, colorful, and visually pleasing. It matches the resolution and refresh rate of the OLED on Lenovo’s Legion Pro 7i, but the OLED on the Lenovo is even better, with a punchier look. It’s a bit of a toss-up between these two: the Lenovo has the better screen and build quality, yet it lacks face or fingerprint unlocking. But the Asus is $200 cheaper, and I prefer the trackpad and better key spacing of its numpad-less design. You can’t go wrong here, so picking one based on small nuances like that or just whatever you can get a deal on is fair. (The Lenovo has dipped to as low as $3,099 at retailers like B&H Photo, and a savings of $400 is significant.) The best budget gaming laptop HP Victus 15 (2025, RTX 4050) ProsCons Good pricing AMD or Intel CPU options RTX 4050 is fine for 1080p gaming 16:9 aspect ratio is outdated Not a ton of ports, and only one of them is USB-C Where to Buy: $899.99 at Best Buy (AMD) $1149.99 $849.99 at HP (Intel) CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7445HS, Intel Core i5-13420H / GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 / RAM: 16GB / Storage: 512GB / Display: 15.6-inch IPS, 1920 x 1080, 144Hz, no touch option / Dimensions: 14.09 x 10.04 x 0.93 / Battery: 70Wh  Weight: 5.06 pounds Our previous pick among budget gaming laptops was the HP Victus 15 with an RTX 3050 GPU, which cost around $800 in 2022 when it wasn’t on a steep sale for less. It had a 60Hz screen and just 8GB of RAM, which feels a little paltry for gaming on Windows 11 in 2025. Now, you can get the same chassis with a 1080p / 144Hz screen, a newer RTX 4050 GPU, and either AMD Ryzen 7 7000-series or Intel 13th-Gen CPU for around $850 to $900. Nvidia has recently announced its RTX 5050 laptop GPU, which is set to slowly trickle out into new laptops for about $999. We’ll have to see how that stacks up in future testing. The Victus isn’t going to wow you with the best screen or highest-quality components for a keyboard or trackpad, but it does emphasize a solid graphics card in an affordable package. It’s the kind of laptop that will excel with live service games like Minecraft or Fortnite, as well as indie titles. Just don’t expect high or ultra settings on the latest AAA games. With the right expectations, a more inexpensive gaming laptop like the Victus can treat you well. A sleek 16-inch gaming laptop Razer Blade 16 (2025, RTX 5090) Score: 7 ProsCons Great fit, finish, and build Slim and sleek design for a gaming laptop Excellent OLED screen comes standard Very good performance, especially in DLSS 4 supported games Starts expensive and gets expensive-er Middling battery life Thinness aside, minimal improvements over last year’s model A cheaper 5080 laptop may be money better spent The matte black finish smudges easily, and the Razer lid logo is still a little cringe Where to Buy: $4899.99 at Razer CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 365, Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 / GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 5060, 5070, RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, RTX 5090 / RAM: 16GB, 32GB, 64GB / Storage: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB / Display: 16-inch OLED, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz / Dimensions: 13.98 x 9.86 x 0.59 to 0.69 inches / Battery: 90Wh / Weight: 4.71 pounds The Razer Blade 16 has long been touted as the MacBook Pro for gamers, and after thickening up for a few years, it’s back to an ultra-thin chassis without much compromise to performance. It’s flush with ports, has a great keyboard and massive trackpad, and its AMD chips can be paired with a variety of Nvidia GeForce RTX GPU — ranging from the 5060 for $2,399.99 to the top-tier 5090 for a much steeper $4,499.99. The Blade sports a lovely 16-inch OLED display with 2560 x 1600 resolution and 240Hz refresh, even for the entry-level configuration. The look of its stealthy matte black design and green Razer logo may not be to everyone’s liking, but pair that with its thinness, and you’ve got something that can travel and blend in almost anywhere. I tested the RTX 5090 version in our review, and while it’s impressive, it can be a little hard to justify spending $4,500 without getting the maximum capabilities of that flagship GPU, since the Blade 16’s thinness throttles the 5090. But it’s such a nice overall package if you want your gaming laptop to do it all. The Blade also comes in 14- and 18-inch sizes, but I think the 16 is the sweet spot. Read our Razer Blade 16 (2025) review. The best convertible gaming laptop Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) Score: 8 ProsCons Impressive game performance for an iGPU on a tablet Capable 2.5K performance Laptop-quality keyboard and trackpad Battery can get through a day of work (with no gaming breaks) Play games on your lap without heating up your legs Excellent kickstand Still a pricey, niche device Wish the keyboard cover had Bluetooth like the latest Surface Pro Power / sleep button is too flush No auto-brightness Keyboard case sometimes not detected after waking from sleep Single-zone keyboard RGB looks basic Where to Buy: $2099.99 at Asus $2199.99 at Best Buy CPU: AMD Ryzen AI Max 390, Ryzen AI Max Plus 395 / GPU: Integrated / RAM: 32GB, 64GB, 128GB / Storage: 1TB SSD / Display: 13.4-inch IPS, 2560 x 1600, 180Hz, touchscreen / Dimensions: 11.81 x 8.03 x 0.51 to 0.59 inches / Battery: 70Whr Weight: 2.65 pounds Asus’s ROG Flow Z13 gaming tablet has always been a niche device, but the latest generation with AMD’s new Strix Halo APU is the best version yet. That’s right, Asus switched from a discrete GPU to integrated graphics, but surprisingly, the chunky “Surface Pro for gamers” is actually better for it. It may sound a little reckless to spend $2,100 or more on a gaming tablet, but the Z13 and its new Ryzen AI Max chip offer enough graphical prowess to make most games look great on its 2560 x 1600 / 180Hz IPS display. And it even has the battery chops to squeak through an eight-hour work day, making it an impressive multi-purpose device. A regular clamshell laptop may make more logical sense for most people, but the ROG Flow’s form factor just makes it kinda fun. Being able to remove the keyboard entirely allows you to comfortably plop it on your lap and game away without feeling like you’re going to set your legs on fire. And if you’re a mechanical keyboard nerd like me, you can connect your favorite board without the bottom half of a laptop in your way (this is surprisingly useful for using the Z13 as a second screen below a big monitor. Read our Asus ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review. Monica Chin and Joanna Nelius also contributed to previous versions of this buying guide. Update, June 27th: Overhauled buying guide with new selections and a revised intro as well as updated “What we’re looking for” section.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto •

BJ’s Wholesale Club $10 Membership Renewal

Use the link above to get a renewal on BJ's membership for just $10 + tax. I believe the link will work for anyone who previously had a BJ's membership and the membership has since expired. I don't know if it will work for new membership or for those with an active membership who want to lock in a lower renewal price.

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Here are 13 of our favorite deals from Amazon’s early Prime Day sale

Amazon’s next Prime Day event hasn’t officially kicked off yet, but in classic Amazon fashion, the retailer has already dropped a selection of early deals ahead of its four-day sale. While steeper discounts are not likely to arrive until next month, many of the current offers are already worth considering, especially if you’re a Prime member looking to score a deal on one of Amazon’s own devices or services. From record lows on security gear and power stations to a solid deal on what was already an affordable streaming device, these early discounts offer a great chance to save before the real deluge arrives on July 8th. And while most of these offers are exclusive to Prime members, in some cases, other retailers are price-matching Amazon, meaning non-members can still take advantage of some of the same savings. We’ll be updating this guide over the next week or two as new deals drop, so be sure to check back often if you want to stay on top of the latest deals and discounts. We also suggest bookmarking our main Prime Day hub for additional tips, tricks, and insight into what is likely going to be one of the biggest shopping events of the year. Blink Outdoor 4 (with second-gen Blink Video Doorbell) Where to Buy: $139.98 $69.98 at Amazon $189.98 $94.98 at Amazon (two-pack) $249.98 $124.98 at Amazon (three-pack) Amazon-owned Blink is offering steep discounts on a number of security devices ahead of Prime Day. Right now, for example, you can buy the latest Blink Outdoor security camera for just $39.99 ($39.99 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, or two Blink Outdoor 4 XRs — which is the same camera but with a Sync Module XR — for $89.99 ($90 off) at Best Buy. The outdoor security camera offers person detection and a wider field of view than the third-gen Blink Outdoor, while retaining support for motion detection, night vision, and two-way audio. The Sync Module XR just extends the range by up to 400 feet. The best deals, however, are on bundles. For instance, you can grab a Blink Outdoor 4 alongside Blink’s latest Video Doorbell for just $69.98 ($70 off). Alternatively, you can pick up a Blink Video Doorbell with a Blink Outdoor 4 XR for $89.98 ($109.99 off). Blink’s updated doorbell improves on its solid predecessor with a wider 150-degree field of view, sharper 1440p resolution, and a better 1:1 aspect ratio that allows for a head-to-toe view of your porch. It also offers IP65 waterproofing and support for two-way audio / night vision, not to mention an impressive two years of battery life. It even supports person detection, though only with a $3/month Blink subscription plan. Blink Outdoor 4 with Blink Mini 2 Where to Buy: $139.98 $64.98 at Amazon If you don’t need a doorbell, Amazon is also selling a Blink Outdoor 4 with a Blink Mini 2 starting at $64.98 ($75 off), or with the Blink Outdoor 4 XR for $79.98 ($99.99 off). The Mini 2 is a relatively compact 1080p camera that offers motion alerts, two-way audio, and other core features. It’s also a meaningful upgrade over its predecessor, thanks to improved low-light performance, a wider field of view, and USB-C support. You can even use it outdoors given it carries an IP65 rating, though you will need to purchase Blink’s optional Weather-Resistant Power Adapter ($9.99) to do so. Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K (2023) Where to Buy: $49.99 $24.99 at Amazon $49.99 $24.99 at Best Buy $49.99 $28.99 at B&H Photo Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K is on sale for $24.99 ($24.99 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is its lowest price of the year. The Fire TV Stick 4K is an excellent streaming device that supports Dolby Vision and HDR10 Plus, allowing you to enjoy sharp, vibrant picture quality on compatible 4K TVs. It also offers support for Dolby Atmos, DTS, and other HDR and surround sound formats, so you can experience more immersive audio whether you’re watching movies or gaming. It integrates well with Alexa and comes with an Alexa Voice Remote, too, so you can search for shows or adjust the volume using your voice. Amazon Fire TV Soundbar Plus  Where to Buy: $249.99 $174.99 at Amazon If you’re looking for better sound than your TV’s built-in speaker can provide, Amazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus is down to an all-time low of $174.99 ($75 off) at Amazon. At 37 inches wide, it’s small enough to fit under most TVs, making it a good option for apartments or smaller living rooms. Inside, it features three speakers, three tweeters, and two woofers, along with a dedicated center channel designed to enhance dialogue clarity. It also supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, and DTS True Volume, allowing a more immersive listening experience. It features four different listening modes as well — Movie, Music, Sports, and Night — which adjust the sound profile to match what you’re watching, whether you’re after loud, booming sound or a quieter, late-night vibe. Eero Max 7 with the Eero Outdoor 7 Where to Buy: $999.99 $699.99 at Amazon Whether you’re juggling smart devices inside or working in the backyard, the Eero Max 7 router and new Eero Outdoor 7 deliver reliable, high-speed Wi-Fi wherever you are on your property. And right now, you can buy both at Amazon as a part of a bundle starting at $699.99 ($300 off), which is a new low price. The Eero Max 7 is designed for high-performance streaming, gaming, and future-proofing your smart home setup. It features Wi-Fi 7 support and speeds up to 10Gbps, with coverage suitable for homes up to 2,500 sq. ft. per unit. For those looking to extend their reliable Wi-Fi signal beyond indoor walls, the Eero Outdoor 7 offers the same high-speed performance but is designed specifically for outdoor environments. It carries an IP66 weatherproof rating — ensuring it can withstand rain, dust, and extreme temperatures — while delivering coverage across up to 15,000 square feet. Ring Doorbell Battery with Ring Indoor Cam Where to Buy: $139.99 $69.99 at Amazon If you don’t want to buy a Blink security camera, Ring also sells some great security devices that play well with both Alexa and other Ring gadgets. A few of these are on sale right now — including a notable deal that pairs a Ring Doorbell Battery with a Ring Indoor Cam 2, all for $69.99 ($70 off) at Amazon. The battery-powered Ring Doorbell Battery is a basic 1080 buzzer that borrows a couple of features from the Battery Doorbell Plus, which is one of our favorite video doorbells. While it doesn’t have a removable battery, it improves on the older Ring Video Doorbell 2 with a 1:1 aspect ratio and a 150-degree field of view, giving you a full, top-to-bottom view of who or what is at the door. Like the Plus, it also supports color night vision and uses a PIR sensor for motion-activated recording. The Ring Indoor Cam 2, meanwhile, is a basic 1080p camera that supports motion-activated recording, color night vision, and a built-in siren that can be triggered manually from the Ring app. One of its most notable features is the physical privacy shutter, which allows you to block the camera’s lens and disable the microphone. If you pay for a Ring Home subscription, which starts at $4.99 a month, you’ll also gain access to a host of other features, including an in-app SOS button that allows you to request police, fire, or medical help. Jackery Explorer 1000 v2 Where to Buy: $799 $448.98 at Amazon $799 $449 at Jackery If you’re looking for a portable power station for outdoor adventures or that inevitable power outage, the Jackery Explorer 1000 V2 is available for an all-time low of around $448.99 ($350 off) from Amazon and Jackery. The 23-pound power station is relatively lightweight and portable, with three AC outlets that can output up to 1,500W. It also boasts a pair of USB-C ports, a single USB-A port, and a DC car port, allowing you to charge phones, laptops, cameras, and even small appliances (including your mini fridge). It also charges significantly faster than prior models and boasts a handy LED light, making it a versatile companion for camping, road trips, and emergencies at home. More ways to save You can buy a Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam with a Ring Pet Tag for $44.99 ($44.99 off) at Amazon, which is a new low price. Ring’s Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam rotates 360 degrees on a motorized base, which you can control via the Ring app. The wired 1080p camera also offers a physical privacy cover — just like the second-gen Ring Indoor Cam — along with support for video and color night vision, two-way talk, motion detection, and a built-in siren. The Ring Pet Tag, on the other hand, attaches to your pet’s collar and links to a digital profile anyone can access via a QR code. The Alexa Voice Remote Pro is now available for just $24.99 ($10 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, marking its lowest price to date. The backlit remote features a built-in remote finder, allowing you to quickly locate it using either Amazon’s Fire TV app or a compatible smart speaker. It also features customizable shortcut buttons that you can program to instantly launch your favorite apps, as well as compatibility with most Fire TV streaming devices and smart TVs. Read our review. Amazon is selling the Eero 6 mesh router for $64.99 ($15 off), which is one of its best prices to date. While it lacks Wi-Fi 7 support and isn’t as fast as the newer Eero 7 models, it still delivers up to 900Mbps and covers up to 1,500 sq. ft. It’s a solid, budget-friendly choice for basic streaming, browsing, and smart home use. You can buy an Echo Glow at Amazon for $19.99 ($10 off), which is $3 shy of its lowest price to date. The 100-lumen LED lamp is designed primarily for children, and as such, it can cycle through multiple colors with just a tap, function as a visual timer, and automatically dim when it’s time for bed. It’s also compatible with Alexa, meaning you can control it with your voice when paired with a compatible Echo device. Right now, Amazon is offering a free month of Kindle Unlimited, which normally runs $11.99 a month. The subscription gives you access to more than four million e-books, along with thousands of audiobooks and digital magazines. Just remember to cancel our subscription before the trial period ends if you don’t want to be automatically charged at the end of the limited window. Amazon’s Luna Controller is on sale for $39.99 ($30 off) at Amazon, which matches its best price to date. Although it was built primarily for Amazon’s cloud-gaming service, the gamepad offers support for both Bluetooth and USB-C connectivity, rendering it compatible with Android phones, Apple products, Fire TV devices, and PCs. It also integrates with Alexa, allowing you to issue voice commands directly through the controller when paired with a Fire TV device.

Sheena Vasani •