Most smartphone owners use the online storage (also known as cloud storage) services of Apple or Google for backing up their photos and accessing them from anywhere. Online services like Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, and Amazon Drive are similarly practical, allowing you to organize, access, and share photos, files, and other data online. Almost all cloud services offer free entry-level plans, which are sufficient for small amounts of data but quickly become expensive as storage requirements increase. Only Amazon Drive provides its Prime customers with unlimited online storage for photos (but not videos). The downside to cloud storage for photos? You have virtually no control over how securely the data is stored or who has access to it. The privacy concerns are real, especially depending on where a particular cloud platform is headquartered and/or where its servers are located. Certain authorities may be able to access your data. If you care about privacy, there are plenty of good reasons not to store your photos on the cloud. The alternative is to create your own private cloud-like storage at home with something called a NAS. NAS: Your own private cloud at home NAS stands for Network Attached Storage. A NAS is basically a device that’s loaded with one or more storage drives and sits on a network (like your home Wi-Fi network), providing a central storage location that’s accessible by other devices on the same network. So, instead of uploading to Google’s or Apple’s servers, you can just upload to your NAS that’s only accessible to your own devices. Foundry Keeping your data to yourself is the only way to make sure that no one else has access to it. What’s more, with your own NAS you always know exactly where your data is physically located. By contrast, a cloud platform with countless server farms distributed around the world could potentially keep your data in multiple locations and countries across multiple physical storage drives. In short, you have to fully trust that your cloud provider has everything locked down, protected, and secure. If you have any doubts at all, you should set up your own NAS as a kind of private cloud storage. Your first NAS: What you need to know If you’re buying a NAS for private storage of data and photos, you should opt for a NAS that has at least two drive bays. Such devices are typically called “2-bay NAS” or “dual-bay NAS” in product listings. Empty or pre-installed with drives Furthermore, a NAS can be purchased with drives already included or as an “empty enclosure.” In the latter case, you’ll need to provide and install your own compatible drives, preferably two identical drives (in terms of capacity and model) from the same maker as your NAS if possible. The Terramaster D2-320 is an affordable entry-level diskless 2-bay NAS.Terramaster Installing drives in a NAS isn’t rocket science, and the procedure is usually well-documented in the NAS’s manual. Still, if you aren’t a tinkerer and don’t want to mess with that, you can just opt for a NAS model with pre-installed storage drives. (For entry-level NAS boxes, conventional 3.5-inch HDDs and SSDs are the storage media of choice.) Photo and video management Since the NAS will be used as a private cloud for photos, look for a NAS with a built-in photo management system that makes it easy to automatically transefr photos and videos from your phone to the NAS. Many NAS manufacturers offer companion apps (both Android and iPhone) for this purpose, and these apps also give you access to all photos and videos currently stored on the NAS. Of course, you can also access your NAS photos from your PC, either via the web interface in a browser or directly via folder sharing in the network area of Windows File Explorer. Remote access Almost all NAS manufacturers now offer convenient and easy-to-set-up remote access for their NAS boxes, allowing you to access your files even while traveling. You’ll have to create a free user account with the NAS manufacturer, with which remote access to the network storage can be realized without fiddling with complicated router settings. The Synology DS223j diskless 2-bay NAS is a great option for remote access.Synology You can also use a NAS as a practical network drive and access or edit the data stored on it directly from your PC on the network. In fact, there are so many awesome ways to use a NAS at home. USB port Make sure the NAS has at least one USB port (ideally either USB 3.2 Gen 1 or Gen 2 for best performance). This USB port will allow you to connect an external USB storage device to the NAS box for making backups of NAS content or transferring data (e.g., photos, videos, documents) from the USB device directly to the NAS box. The Asustor AS1102TL is a diskless 2-bay NAS with a fast USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port in the front and a slower USB-A 2.0 port in the back.Asustor Ethernet port For entry-level NAS boxes, you can expect Gigabit Ethernet speeds, which can transfer at a maximum of 950 Mbps (or 118 MB/s). This transfer rate is sufficient for photo backups, for use as a media server, and for other common home network applications. The Qnap TS-233-US diskless 2-bay NAS has a Gigabit Ethernet port.Qnap Faster NAS boxes with multi-gigabit Ethernet ports—which can transfer at 2.5 Gbps or even 5 Gbps—are generally more expensive and also require faster hardware on the home network with multi-gigabit-capable devices (e.g., routers, switches, PCs, laptops). If you already have such devices, consider spending a little more money and investing in a NAS box with a multi-gigabit LAN port. Pricing expectations An entry-level dual-bay NAS with all the important features starts at around $130 to $200 for an empty enclosure. The entry-level price category includes dual-bay NAS devices from leading manufacturers like Qnap’s TS-233 and Synology’s DS223j as well as other affordable models like Asustor’s AS1102TL and Terramaster’s D2-320. If you want to go a step up, there’s also Ugreen’s DXP2800, which is significantly more expensive at just over $350. However, this NAS also offers significantly better hardware features with a more powerful CPU, plenty of RAM, a fast 2.5 Gbps Ethernet connection, and two additional M.2 slots for fast NVMe SSD storage. The Ugreen DXP2800 is a step up, offering a much better processor, a faster 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port, and a greater storage capacity than cheaper entry-level options.Ugreen Remember, if you go with a diskless (empty) enclosure, you’ll also need to supply drives. Grabbing two hard drives could cost an additional $150 to $300 on top of the NAS box itself. Data mirroring with RAID 1 When setting up the NAS, you’ll set up the NAS’s two drives in a so-called RAID 1 array, also known as “disk mirroring.” This makes it so that all your data stored on the NAS is mirrored on both drives—if one of the two drives ever fails, your data is still available on the other drive. For 4 TB of total storage in a 2-bay NAS with mirrored content via RAID 1, you’ll need 2 x 4 TB hard drives. Note that some NAS manufacturers work with slightly modified or extended RAID 1 features, which have slightly different names. Synology, for example, uses the term “SHR” for “Synology Hybrid RAID” while Terramaster uses “TRAID” for “Terramaster RAID.” We strongly advise you to only buy special NAS hard drives that are labeled as such by manufacturers like Seagate, Western Digital, or Toshiba. These NAS drives are designed for 24/7 continuous operation, have better vibration protection, and utilize advanced error correction, which is especially designed for use in a RAID network. For example, Seagate has NAS-optimized drives called “Ironwolf” while Western Digital has “Red Plus” and Toshiba has “N300.” Meanwhile, Synology recently started offering its own NAS storage drives that are specially designed for its own NAS boxes. Initializing your NAS box The basic setup of a NAS that’s already connected to the router via LAN cable can usually be carried out via the web menu in a browser on any home network-connected PC or the companion phone app. Browser access is usually done via a special URL, such as find.synology.com, or via a special NAS access tool that you can download from the NAS manufacturer’s homepage. As soon as you call up the uninitialized NAS for the first time in the browser, via the NAS app, or via a NAS access tool, you’ll see a setup wizard for establishing basic settings and automatically downloading the most up-to-date NAS operating system. You’ll usually also setup the main user account or administrator account of your NAS. (Take note of the login credentials on a piece of paper or save it in your password manager, as it’ll be the only way to access the web menu of your NAS going forward. You’ll also need it to access shared folders and network drives on your NAS from File Explorer on a Windows PC.) During initialization, you’ll usually be offered the opportunity to register with an account of the NAS manufacturer using an email address. You can then easily access the contents of your NAS, its settings, or the NAS photo management from outside your home network—and all this without having to fiddle with any settings on your router. This convenient access is highly recommended, especially for NAS beginners. Setting up the storage As soon as initialization is complete, you can log into the web menu of your NAS with your new login credentials. With some models, the storage on the NAS is already set up during initialization and may also have at least one shared folder—often labeled “Public”—which is available for remote access. With Synology or Qnap, however, this isn’t the case. With these, you’ll be prompted to create a storage pool first. Fortunately, another wizard is available for this, which works through the necessary steps with you. Setting up the storage with Qnap is a little tricky. With Qnap, you have to set up your storage with so-called “thick” or “thin” volumes if you want to use the snapshot feature later to quickly restore a storage image. This option is well-explained in the manual, and we recommend downloading the QTS operating system manual (PDF) from the manufacturer. When setting up a Qnap NAS, you should register for a “myQnapCloud” account. Remote access is important for being able to use your NAS as a private cloud later on.Foundry Entry-level NASes from other major manufacturers now all support the Btrfs file system, which has the snapshot feature integrated. You just need to make sure that you select the “Btrfs” file system when setting up the storage, which is usually the default option. After creating the storage volume, you can then create shared folders, which are usually already equipped with write access rights for your main or administrator account. Accessing shared folders on your NAS via File Explorer in Windows To be able to access the shared folders of your NAS box from a Windows PC on the home network, first check in the NAS web menu whether the SMB service is activated. To do this, open the system settings and enter the term “SMB” in the search field. Almost all entry-level NAS devices now have such a search mask, which makes it much easier to find certain settings in the sometimes very extensive web menus. Also make sure that the “WS-Discovery” setting is activated (if available). This setting ensures that the NAS system is displayed in File Explorer on your Windows PC without having to use any special tricks. Now, open File Explorer on your Windows PC with the Windows key + E keyboard shortcut and double-click on “Network” in the menu bar on the left. You will now see a list of all devices in your home network that have SMB folder shares, including your NAS. In the area on the right, you will find the same devices under the heading “Computer.” With Synology, the WS-Discovery option can be found in the advanced SMB settings. Network discovery is a prerequisite for identifying the NAS in a Windows environment.Foundry The first time you click on the NAS from your Windows PC to access a shared folder, you’ll be asked for network credentials. This is the login for your NAS user account that you assigned during NAS setup (with which you also use to access the NAS web menu). Enter the login credentials in File Explorer to access the folder on the NAS. Set up your network drive You’ll now also see the shared folders of your network storage in the File Explorer window on the right side. They can be used like all other drives on your PC. You can access the files stored in them, open and edit them, save them again, copy them, and so on. If you wish, you can also connect individual NAS folder shares as a network drive so that this folder share is displayed in your Windows PC as a “local” drive with a drive letter. To do this, right-click on one of the shared folders of your NAS in File Explorer and select the “Connect network drive” option in the context menu. In the following window, assign a drive letter and then confirm by clicking on “Finish”. The folder share of your NAS now appears in File Explorer as a “normal” Windows drive on the left under “This PC.” To make it easier to access a NAS directory, mount it in File Explorer and give it a drive letter. It can then be treated similarly to a local drive.Foundry The advantage is that some apps and programs have problems accessing network drives or storing data to them. However, the assigned drive letter means that the NAS drive is regarded as a local storage location and is therefore accepted. Note, however, that access only works if your Windows PC is running on the home network and your NAS is on. Manage photos on your NAS To set up photo management, first go to the NAS apps section in the web menu of your NAS, which is called the “App Center” for Qnap and Ugreen and the “Package Center” for Synology. There you can install a photo management app with a few clicks (called “Synology Photos” for Synology, “Photos” for Ugreen, and “QuMagie” for Qnap). With Qnap, the “Multimedia Console” NAS app, which is required to run the image management, is also installed automatically. Ugreen’s entry-level DXP2800 is more expensive, but with its multi-gigabit port and powerful hardware features, it’s also significantly faster for NAS tasks.Foundry Once installed, start the photo management app in the NAS web menu. Among other things, you’ll be asked whether a default shared folder has already been created for your image files on the NAS, or you’ll see a message to share an existing folder as a content source for your photos. With a Qnap NAS, you should also install “Qnap AI Core” to be able to use face and object recognition for your managed photos. If you’ve already saved photos on your Windows desktop or backed them up from your previous cloud provider, you can transfer them to the NAS folder provided for this purpose. Note: For photos in HEIC format (usually from iPhones), you should use the “Synology Image Assistant” tool to transfer the photos from your PC. Qnap, on the other hand, requires an additional paid NAS app called “CAYIN” in order to manage and display iPhone photos or videos. Ugreen and Terramaster (starting from operating system TOS 6 and later) have no problems with iPhone formats. The photo management on your NAS first creates thumbnails of new photos and then runs the AI engine over the images so it can later recognize faces and sometimes objects. This process can take a long time if you have a large number of photos. Transfer photos from phone to NAS To back up your photos from your smartphone directly to the NAS, install the NAS manufacturer’s photo app on your phone. Make sure you’re on your home network’s Wi-Fi with your phone before you start the photo app for the first time. Then, log into your NAS via the app and follow the setup wizard. This usually offers you the option of either transferring all photos already stored on your phone to the NAS, or to save only photos you’ll be taking from now on. You can also specify whether the phone photos now saved on the NAS should be deleted from your phone’s storage, allowing you to free up storage space on the phone. You’ll also want to specify whether photos should only transfer to the NAS over Wi-Fi and not mobile data. Note: To be able to access your NAS photos from outside your home network, you must log into the phone app with your NAS remote access account. You’ll see a corresponding message in the app during setup. Furthermore, remote access to your NAS photo management depends not only on the connection of your mobile phone but also on the connection of your home internet service via which the photos are transferred from NAS to smartphone. When performing remote actions, don’t expect your NAS to offer the same speed and performance as you’d get with Google, Amazon, or Microsoft cloud storage. Further reading: The best NAS drives worth getting Read...

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TechHive Editors Choice At a glanceExpert`s Rating Pros Hugely versatile Compact and unobtrusive New, intuitive functions like twist offer analog-like controls Cons Integration setups can be a bear Swipe function is rocky at best Somewhat expensive Our Verdict With more than 20 trigger possibilities, the broadly compatible Flic Duo is a tremendously versatile and useful control-anything smart home controller. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: Flic Duo Retailer Price Check Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Flic’s smart button is a tiny device with a powerful concept, a platform-agnostic gadget that literally gives you a button that can be placed anywhere for easy, tactile control of all types of smart home devices. The all-new Flic Duo, reviewed here, builds considerably on what that original gadget can do, moving from three functions to a whopping 22. It’s a significant expansion of capabilities, although getting everything set up within the Flic ecosystem remains an endeavor that smart home novices might find challenging. Specifications Like the original Flic Button, the Flic Duo is so small it might easily be misplaced—or even consumed by an rambunctious pet. Measuring 2 x 1.25 inches overall–and roughly 1/3 of an inch thick–it’s designed to be used in the hand or mounted to the wall—or both. A magnetic back means you can slap it onto a metal backing plate (sold separately, $10) or affix it to any metal surface for a semi-permanent setup while also allowing you to remove it as needed. The Flic system can control devices across scads of third-party ecosystems, the major ones being Matter, Alexa, IFTTT, and SmartThings. As the name suggests, the Duo has two buttons instead of one, billed simply as “Big Button” and “Small Button” respectively. As with the standard Flic Button, you can assign tasks to each of these buttons with single-push, double-push, or push-and-hold triggers. Unique to this new model are hold-and-swipe and hold-and-twist triggers, both of which I’ll get to in a bit. The Bluetooth-enabled Flic Duo will work with or without a Flic Hub (either the basic, single-band-Wi-Fi Hub Mini, $30; or the dual-band-Wi-Fi Hub LR, which adds infrared blaster and ethernet ports, and Apple Home support. It costs $90.) But the Flic Duo is less capable if you choose instead to pair it directly to your phone. The Flic Duo is about the height of a stack of four quarters, and not much bigger in overall size, either.Christopher Null/Foundry A phone-centric approach isn’t ideal, as it makes the Flic Duo useless if your phone isn’t in Bluetooth range; and some features, including the twist function, don’t work at all without a hub. Either Flic Hub will do the grunt work of pushing the Flic Duo’s commands to the internet or to local smart home devices as needed. I tested the Flic Duo with a Hub Mini. However you choose to pair it, the Flic system can control devices across scads of third-party ecosystems, the major ones being Matter, Alexa, IFTTT, and SmartThings. It can also control Philips Hue, LIFX, Ikea, and Nanoleaf devices directly without an intermediary, and it can work as a remote for Chromecast and Sonos. Integration with Google Home is handled via Matter or IFTTT. A complete list of integrations can be found here. Installation and setup I’d encourage buyers to use the Flic Duo the way I tested it, in concert with either the Flic Hub Mini, shown here, or the more robust Flic Hub LR.Christopher Null/Foundry Setting up the Flic Duo is fairly painless. Presuming you’re using a Hub, the Flic app will automatically discover the Hub once it is plugged in, asking for the password printed on its backside and configuring basic Wi-Fi settings. With the Hub connected, you can now pair it with the Duo, which is a similar, albeit password-free process. It’s a quick and easy process; the much more daunting part of the experience comes next, when it’s time to set up your integrations. Using the Flic Duo Flic hasn’t changed much about the way its integration setup system works, and despite the promise that “new partners are continuously being added,” I didn’t see much of a change from the list available last year, although I’ll admit it’s impossible to keep track of every single option of the dozens available (including the “fart generator,” which is now called “fart sound”). Configuring these integrations hasn’t changed, and the process remains complex at best. For example, to set up an Alexa integration, you must add the Flic skill to Alexa, then return to the Flic app and select the desired trigger you want to set up. Next, it’s back to the Alexa app to create a routine (or use an existing one), where you assign the Flic trigger you just selected to that routine. Alexa does most of the heavy lifting, and Flic just serves as a middleman. Flic’s exhaustive list of integrations can be daunting to sift through.Christopher Null/Foundry Things like controlling lighting directly with LIFX or Philips Hue devices is more straightforward, as the Flic app can discover the lights you have set up in those apps and control them directly. Still, you need to have a strong grasp on smart home fundamentals for this to be intuitive. The real advantage of the Flic Duo comes when you take advantage of the new triggers available, including those swipe and twist functions I mentioned previously. With these, you hold down a button then swipe in one of four directions; this can be helpful for cycling through music tracks or toggling an on/off state (swipe up for on, down for off, for example). The problem is that Flic’s version of a swipe is very tough to pull off successfully. Rather than just pushing the button and moving your thumb in one direction, I found you had to kind of jerk the entire device in that direction while also sliding your thumb across it at the same time. The Flic Duo’s “twist” feature gives new life to analog-like actions such as dimming and volume control.Christopher Null/Foundry So, push the button, slide upwards while simultaneously lifting your wrist, and then let go. Rarely could I perform this successfully on a single try, often leaving me maniacally waving the Duo around to try to get a command to go through. The twist function is even more interesting. Here you press a button, then rotate your wrist left or right. “Twist” is probably a misnomer for this motion, but I found it worked a lot more effectively than the swipe function, without any trial and error at all. Twist can be used to intuitively control volume or the brightness of lights, and I found it great for dynamically cycling through color lighting options on a lamp, too. Unlike the swipe feature, twisting worked seamlessly every time I tried it. Should you buy the Flic Duo? The Flic Duo is the even more powerful big brother to the original Flic Button, and it’s also arguably more useful (albeit also less intuitive to program and use) than the Flic Twist. It’s not a device for smart home novices, who I expect will quickly become lost in the complex machinations required to set up even basic integrations. More advanced users, on the other hand, will likely find it incredibly useful—even if you find you need to build a cheat sheet to keep track of the dozens of integrations you end up creating. It’s not perfect, of course: The swipe function needs a lot of work, stickers to label the Flic buttons still cost extra ($10 pack for the Flic Duo), documentation is basically nonexistent, and certain promised features like a “find my Flic” function in the app are still pending for 2026. It’s also expensive: $59 compared to $35 for a single Flic Button. All that said, if you’re willing to invest a little time, energy, and patience, there’s almost no smart home environment where the Flic Duo won’t be useful. Read...

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Microsoft began testing Windows 11 version 26H1 for the first time with Insider Preview Build 28000. The version is only available in the Canary channel of the Windows Insider Program. Starting with this build, Windows officially displays “Windows 11, version 26H1” for the first time under Settings > System > About and via winver. Microsoft made it clear that this is not a feature update for Windows 11 25H2, but rather a new technical platform version. Here’s what’s new in Windows 11 26H1 and why you should be aware. The purpose of Windows 11 26H1 Windows 11 26H1 is preparation for new hardware platforms. Microsoft is gearing the operating system towards upcoming processors, such as Windows-on-Arm devices. Among others, that includes Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 and X2 Elite plus Nvidia N1 and N1x. These processors differ significantly from traditional x64 CPUs, so Microsoft is making adjustments to key system components for compatibility. These include power management, process planning, driver architecture, and other hardware-dependent parts of the operating system. These changes are hardly noticeable to users in everyday use, but they’re necessary to ensure that new devices will later run stably, efficiently, and at full performance. Thomas Joos For existing x64 PCs, Windows 11 26H1 offers no functional advantages and Windows 11 25H2 remains the main branch for new features. Microsoft is sticking to its familiar update strategy here, with major feature updates released once a year in the second half of the year. What is the enablement package? Windows 11 26H1, similar to 25H2 before it, will be delivered as an “enablement package.” An enablement package is not a complete operating system upgrade—instead, it’s a small activation package that unlocks existing but previously disabled system components. Thomas Joos Microsoft integrates new or modified components into the system in advance via regular cumulative updates. The enablement package then activates the new version identifier and unlocks those existing features. For users, this means shorter installation times, smaller download sizes, and no major changes to interfaces or operation. Canary channel and early development The Canary channel serves as the earliest test environment in the Windows Insider Program. The builds published there aren’t assigned to any specific Windows version and may contain features that will later be changed or discarded. Microsoft expressly says that content from Canary builds won’t necessarily make it into a final Windows version. Another important point concerns channel switching. Leaving the Canary channel is only possible via reinstallation, as switching to channels with lower build numbers is not supported. New features in the Canary channel With the latest Canary builds—for example, starting with Build 28020.1362 (KB5073095) and onwards—Microsoft has integrated numerous features into the Canary branch that were previously available in Dev, Beta, and stable versions of Windows 11 25H2. Microsoft is aligning the feature set, which includes: The Xbox Full Screen Experience (FSE) is now available on more devices, including desktop systems. The interface is based on a console, prioritizes games, and reduces background processes. Click to Do has been redesigned on Copilot+ PCs. The context menu appears automatically for large images or tables and offers direct access to actions such as copying, saving, sharing, and AI-assisted processing. Learn more about why Click to Do is Microsoft’s next big AI move. The Windows Settings agent now allows direct changes from the search field on Copilot+ PCs. Recommended settings can be adjusted via inline action. If a setting can’t be changed further, Windows displays a corresponding explanation. Windows Studio Effects now also support external USB webcams. They can be activated via Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Cameras or via the quick settings in the taskbar. The Drag Tray now supports simultaneous sharing of multiple files, automatically displays matching apps, and allows direct placement in destination folders. The feature can be enabled or disabled via Settings > System > Nearby sharing. Learn more about why Nearby Sharing is one of the best features in Windows. Thomas Joos File Explorer now has a more consistent dark mode. Copy, move, delete, progress, replace, and error dialogues now fully match the dark design. Chart and progress views have also been adjusted. When hovering over files in the Explorer start area, new quick actions such as “Open file location” or “Ask Copilot” appear, depending on the region and account type. There’s a new “Mobile Devices” page in the settings that can be used to manage smartphones. Windows can use mobile devices as cameras or display files directly in File Explorer. Desktop Spotlight adds options such as “Learn more about this background” and “Next desktop background” to the desktop context menu. Thomas Joos Additional settings have been moved from the classic Control Panel to the Windows 11 settings. These include the keyboard character repeat rate and cursor blink rate. Control of keyboard backlighting on supported HID keyboards has also been improved. Thomas Joos Pens with haptic support now provide tactile feedback for certain UI interactions, such as moving or docking windows. Microsoft has also fixed various bugs, including issues in File Explorer, Task Manager, Settings, Windows Update, Display and Graphics, and Sign-in. A known bug where Task Manager continued to run as a background process after being closed has been corrected. Known issues with Windows 11 26H1 Microsoft lists several known limitations in these early Windows 11 26H1 builds, which include unexpected scrolling in the new Start menu and issues with hibernation and shutdown on certain systems. Such bugs are typical for early Canary builds. Windows Home users can already test version 26H1 by registering for the Windows Insider Program free of charge and activating the Canary channel. This will let you try out new platform changes while they’re still in early development. Learn more about why you should or shouldn’t become a Windows Insider. Thomas Joos At the same time, it’s important to note that pre-release versions are not stable. Crashes, performance issues, faulty updates, or incompatibilities are possible. The Canary channel is therefore not recommended for systems that need stability and reliability. Should you use Windows 11 26H1? Windows 11 26H1 forms a technical basis for new hardware generations and paves the way for Windows 11 26H2, which is expected to deliver the actual innovations for all users in fall 2026. If stability is a concern, Windows 11 25H2 remains the better choice right now. However, those who are interested in upcoming hardware, especially Arm-based Windows devices, or who want to keep abreast of technical developments at an early stage, will gain deep insight into the future of Windows with version 26H1. Read...

Rising DRAM prices have pushed the price for the Framework Desktop upwards as well, the company said this week. “We held off on it as long as we could, but with LPDDR5x memory prices from our suppliers continuing to increase rapidly, we’ve had to update the pricing on Framework Desktop systems and Mainboards,” chief executive Nirav Patel said in an updated blog post. “The prices of 128Gbit parts (of which we use eight to get to 128GB) have spiked the most, impacting our very popular 128GB configuration.” When we reviewed the Framework Desktop at launch last year, Framework said that it would charge $1,099 for a system based upon the Ryzen AI Max 385, and $1,999 for one built upon the Max+ 395, which ships with 128GB of RAM soldered to the motherboard. At press time, those prices are now $1,139 and $2,459, respectively. “We were able to hold the 32GB and 64GB configurations closer to our original pricing, making both of these a pretty strong value for PC gaming in the current environment,” Patel said. Framework said that it’s just passing on the price increases to consumers, nothing more. Still, simply disclosing the prices is a positive; announcing PCs without prices was one of the unfortunate trends of CES 2026. “The memory outlook as we enter 2026 continues to get worse. From what we learned in meetings throughout the week at CES with suppliers, distributors, and partners, it’s clear that this is going to be a challenging year and possibly even years for consumers,” Patel said, echoing PCWorld’s own reporting which reached the same conclusions. Read...

Samsung has dabbled in the smart speaker space before, but the company’s all-new Music Studio 5 and Music Studio 7 Wi-Fi speakers pose serious competition for the likes of Amazon, Apple, Bose, and Sonos—at least at the higher-end of the market. Unveiled this week at CES and planned for a March release, both models present a distinctively modern, “dot-faced” industrial design by noted French artist Erwan Bouroullec, along with some equally interesting features destined to set them apart from the pack. (Don’t get too excited about all the colors shown in the photo above, however; they’re just trial balloons. Initial shipments will be in black or white only.) Alexa, are you in there? While it probably won’t be there at launch—and voice assistants in general warrant  just a single mention in Samsung’s press release—I’ve been told the Music Studio 5 (model LS50H) and Music Studio 7 (model LS70H) will support Alexa+, the generative-AI-powered digital assistant that Amazon promises is more capable and more conversational than the original Alexa. Alexa Plus also provides advanced smart home control options and new capabilities, such as automatically ordering food it knows you’ll like from Uber Eats, or standing in a virtual line for concert tickets from TicketMaster while you do something less tedious.   Not an Alexa fan? The new speakers will also answer to voice commands spoken to Google Assistant, as well as Samsung’s own Bixby, which is optimized for interaction with other Samsung products. Spotify Tap and Spotify Connect The Music Studio series also works with Spotify Tap, which leverages Spotify Connect over Wi-Fi, so you can jump-start a favorite playlist with just a touch on the speaker cabinet—no need to pull out your phone. The spiffier Music Studio 7 is adept at delivering the new, lossless rendering of Spotify Premium music content, streaming FLAC files at up to 24-bit/44.1 kHz resolution, as well as other content at resolutions up to 24-bit/96kHz. A CES booth tender also told me that Music Studio buyers who adopt Alexa as their voice assistant will get Amazon Music as their default music-streaming service, while those who choose Google Assistant will get YouTube Music as their default. As for other services—Tidal, Qobuz, and what have you—I’m told they’ll be able to use those services’ respective apps, Apple’s AirPlay, or—ugh—a Bluetooth connection.   For those who don’t mind wires, the Music Studio 5 is equipped with a Toslink digital audio input, while the beefier Music Studio 7 boasts an HDMI port as well. I presume that will be HDMI ARC, but no one at the booth could answer my question for sure. I know for certain that up to five Music Studio speakers can be synchronized with recent Samsung TVs via Bluetooth, thanks to the company’s Q Symphony surround-sound processing. This will mix those speakers’ output with the TV’s built-in speakers. Q Symphony will also let you mix and match some Music Studio speakers with a Samsung soundbar and/or wall-hanging Music Frame speakers. Q Symphony smarts will tonally balance the bunch. Multi-room audio options Another option, for whole-home audio devotees, will be to stream music—the same or different tracks—to as many as 10 Music Studio speakers at once, including grouped speakers. Samsung’s SmartThings app will manage that trick. Unfortunately, it won’t be possible to configure two speakers as a stereo pair, as both the Music Studio 5 and Music Studio 7 output two channels on their own. With its sculpted dome and sloped back, the smaller Studio 5 ($249) offers a more distinctive look than its core competition: the $219 Sonos One, Gen 2 and the $199 Bose Home Speaker 300. The Studio 5 packs two high-performance left/right front tweeters beneath a 4.2- inch woofer (Samsung’s people insisted on calling it a “subwoofer”). An integrated wave guide and dynamic bass control contributed to the bigger and better-than-expected performance I heard in the challenging environment of Samsung’s CES exhibit space, but I’ll reserve final judgement for a full listening session in private. The Music Studio 7 ($499) is an all-in-one,  3.1.1-channel, spatial-audio speaker featuring Samsung’s own signal-steering methodology (not Dolby Atmos). Its tweeters fire separate channel information from the front, left, and right sides, as well as the top the boxy, perforated metal wrapped enclosure, while a 5-inch front-firing, rear-ported) “sub” delivers all the non-directional low-frequency information. Samsung enhances the four-direction throw and clarity of the channels with what it calls Pattern Control Technology and AI Dynamic Bass Control. Samsung is clearly appealing to the same “I only have room for one box” music/smart home buffs who are also considering the rest of the spatial audio-adept, smart-speaker competition: the $479 Sonos Era 300, the $299 Apple HomePod, and the $220 Amazon Echo Studio. I can’t wait to hear what these puppies can do in the real world. This news story is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart speakers. Read...

Lenovo is the world’s largest PC maker with roughly 25 percent of the market, having stolen the title from HP near the end of the last decade. Often, companies that take the top spot mellow out and focus on tried-andtrue products, but not so with Lenovo. As it finds more success, Lenovo seems to lean more and more into the experimental—a trend I’m excited about and fully on board with. At CES 2026, Lenovo brought a number of laptops (and a desktop) with unusual features. The company added new spins on its rollable OLED laptop (still the only such laptop to hit store shelves), introduced a laptop that opens with a knock, and debuted an all-in-one desktop with a display that’s nearly square, among other things. Here are the weirdest designs I saw from Lenovo at this year’s CES and why they have me looking eagerly ahead to the future. Lenovo’s rollable OLED rolls on The Lenovo ThinkBook Rollable was the big surprise at last year’s CES, not just because it has a rollable OLED display that expands at the touch of a button, but also because it quickly became a real product you could buy (though in limited quantities, as it quickly sold out). At CES 2026, Lenovo doubled down on that laptop with not one but two new rollable OLED concepts. Lenovo ThinkPad Rollable XD at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry The ThinkPad Rollable XD is basically Lenovo’s next-gen ThinkBook Rollable, and it has a rad new spin on the concept. The original ThinkBook Rollable tucked the OLED panel into and out of a compartment in the keyboard. But the ThinkPad Rollable XD spins that 180 degrees so the OLED rolls around the top of the display and across the top of the display lid. When retracted, this portion of OLED panel becomes a “world facing display” that can show calendar appointments and notifications—among other things—similar to how external displays work on many folding smartphones. Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry The other rollable Lenovo brought to CES 2026 is a gaming laptop: the Legion Pro Rollable. Here, the display rolls out horizontally in each direction. The display is a 16-inch widescreen when retracted, but can transform into a 24-inch ultrawide display when fully unfurled. A laptop must normally have a chassis at least as large as its display, but the Legion Pro Rollable defies that rule. While the two laptops have very different intents, they both show how Lenovo is experimenting with rollable designs. The ThinkPad Rollable XD concept is made possible by a new rolling mechanism stored in the display lid, not the keyboard. (It’s also visible thanks to a transparent window in the lid, which is clever.) The Legion Pro Rollable, meanwhile, expands in two directions instead of one, effectively doubling the mechanisms needed to handle the rolling action. Both also change how the OLED panel folds. Before, it made a roughly 90-degree turn as it slid beneath the keyboard. Now, the OLED panel folds 180 degrees around the top or sides of the laptop. The ThinkPad Rollable XD even uses this edge as a control surface for extending or retracting the display. While the ThinkPad Rollable XD could be considered a second-gen version of the ThinkBook Rollable, I actually think it’s the stranger of the pair. The “world facing display” and transparent mechanism are both attention grabbing but arguably impractical. (Lenovo has tried putting a display on top of the display lid before, but it never really caught on.) Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist Lenovo’s rollables are unique and weird, but the basic idea isn’t hard to understand. Big screen good. Have more screen. Happy user. But the Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist? This one’s harder to explain. The Auto Twist has a hinge designed to support both tilt and rotation. That’s nothing new, as Lenovo has already sold a variety of Twist laptops, and companies like HP and Fujitsu had such designs nearly two decades ago. But the Auto Twist adds spice with a motor that can tilt and rotate the display for you. Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 7 Auto Twist at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry Lenovo showed off a couple examples. Knock on the lid of the laptop when it’s closed and it will automatically open. Once it’s opened, the lid can automatically follow you while you move around the room. That might be useful if you’re trying to watch a video while doing chores, for example, or it could be used to keep you in frame while you’re recording video with the laptop’s webcam. Lenovo also showed an AI assistant mode complete with cutesy animated eyes that follow you around the room. Unfortunately, the demonstration was glitchy when I tried it, as the AI assistant often failed to respond to commands and mysteriously swapped languages mid-demo. However, this isn’t merely a concept. The Auto Twist is set to release in June 2026 at $1,649. Hopefully, that will give Lenovo enough time to sand down the laptop’s rough edges. Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO Aura Edition The Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO Aura Edition is the answer to a question I’m sure has kept you up at night: “When is someone going to turn the LG DualUp into an all-in-one PC?” No? Just me? Okay. Seriously, though: I adore the LG DualUp display, so an all-in-one with the same type of display sounds great. Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO Aura Edition at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry If you’re unfamiliar, the LG DualUp 28MQ780-B (which was first shown at CES 2022 and released later that year) has an unusual 16:18 aspect ratio, which means it’s taller than it is wide. The Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO takes that display and pairs it with Intel Core Series 3 processors to create the most unique AIO of 2026. The Lenovo ThinkCentre X AIO also has a built-in quad-speaker setup and quad-microphone array, plus a detachable 4K webcam with physical privacy shutter, which should make the AIO great for video calls and conferences. The webcam can be used with Lenovo DeskView software to digitize documents placed in front of the PC, too. Obviously, this isn’t going to be a high-volume seller, but that’s why I like it. The ThinkCentre X AIO targets a very specific niche of home and corporate office users who need lots of vertical display space and solid built-in video conferencing. It provides something that’s one of a kind. Lenovo’s Space Frame is great, but also a missed opportunity Lenovo’s newest ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 14 Aura Edition as well as the X1 2-in-1 came to CES 2026 touting a new Space Frame chassis design. Contrary to how it may sound, it’s not meant to handle a zero-G environment (and, actually, ThinkPads have seen use on the International Space Station for years). Rather, the Space Frame creates more space for internal parts by placing them on both sides of the mainboard and also makes it easier to repair and replace components. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Aura Edition at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry I was excited when Lenovo made the announcement. Most ThinkPad models are already relatively easy to repair, but a more specific focus on a repairable, modular design would be outstanding. The USB ports, speakers, fans, keyboard, and other components can be swapped with relative ease. I imagined the Space Frame could be Lenovo’s answer to Framework’s highly modular, user-serviceable laptops. My enthusiasm was dampened, however, when I spoke with Lenovo reps about the design. It turns out the focus is not on user repairs but rather on field service by qualified technicians. Yes, the USB ports can be swapped out and the keyboard can be replaced, but Lenovo isn’t making those parts (or most others) available for owners to purchase for at-home replacement. The battery is the only piece meant to be user-serviceable. Replacing any other component will void the warranty. That’s a shame. And given the recent wave of interest in user-serviceable and repairable consumer electronics, it’s a missed opportunity. ThinkPad has a loyal community of tinkerers and enthusiasts who I’m sure would love to see more ways to repair and upgrade their machines. So, Lenovo, I challenge you. Sell us replacement USB ports! Lenovo’s Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition has the Force(pad) Last, but not least, is the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition with a Forcepad that’s compatible with a Lenovo stylus that includes Wacom technology. It’s basically a drawing tablet and a touchpad in one. The Yoga Pro 9i isn’t the only laptop at CES 2026 that provides a touchpad with a drawing surface. Acer’s Swift 16 AI also has this feature. However, Acer’s version doesn’t claim Wacom technology and, in my brief time trying both laptops, I felt the Yoga Pro 9i’s touchpad was far more responsive to touch input. The Swift 16 AI has a haptic touchpad with support for stylus input, but it seemed a tad floaty and disconnected compared to the Forcepad. Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition at CES 2026Matt Smith / Foundry I doubt the Forcepad will replace a Wacom tablet for professional artists, but it seems like a great option for people who want a digital drawing surface that’s easy to take on the go, or want to get familiar with the basics before splurging on a “real” drawing tablet.Importantly, adding this unusual feature doesn’t seem to have compromised the touchpad. The Forcepad is large, responsive, and worthy of a high-end Windows laptop like the Yoga Pro 9i. Users who don’t need the optional stylus input aren’t giving anything up. Lenovo’s dual-screen Yoga was absent While Lenovo came to CES 2026 with a number of weirdly excellent PCs, one model was notably absent: the dual-screen Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. The Yoga Book 9i is a dual-screen laptop. Both the top and bottom halves of the clamshell have a display. A detachable keyboard can be placed on the lower half, which converts the device into a laptop. Or the keyboard can be used on a desktop while the displays are supported by a kickstand, effectively turning the device into a small all-in-one. Asus has its own version of this idea—the Zenbook Duo—and it came to CES 2026 with a new design that has several big upgrades: a larger battery, a small gap between the two displays, and a new exterior design with the company’s unique ceraluminum material. Lenovo, however, had nothing new to say about the Yoga Book 9i, which is a shame. The first-generation Yoga Book 9i felt competitive with the Asus Zenbook Duo, but Asus’ newer iterations have swayed me towards recommending it over the Yoga Book 9i now. I’m eager to see how Lenovo plans to improve on the idea. An exciting CES for Lenovo this year I think it’s fair to say that CES 2026 might’ve been Lenovo’s biggest show yet. This wasn’t just because it brought weird laptops to the show flow. It also had a massive event at the Las Vegas Sphere that ended in a Gwen Stefani concert. No, seriously! So, it’s nice to see that even while Lenovo entrenches its lead in the PC market, it’s still willing to experiment. In fact, the company’s success seems to have emboldened its efforts, which become stranger and more aggressive with each year. And I’m okay with that. Further reading: The best of CES 2026 that blew us away Read...

This shouldn’t come as a surprise–AI is omnipresent these days–but Gmail is getting a big old AI upgrade, and this time Google’s taking a hammer to its paywall. During a press briefing led by Ross Reichardi from Gmail PR and Blake Barnes, head of Gmail product, Google announced a wide rollout of AI-powered Gmail features to all U.S. users for free. That includes tools like Help Me Write, AI-generated summaries in email threads, and more advanced Smart Replies, which were previously limited to paying customers. There’s a brand-new Proofread feature that helps you spiffy up your email drafts in real time. It helps with things like fixing incorrect word usage and grammatical errors, and breaking up sentences that go on and on into infinity. You don’t have to use these suggestions if you don’t want to–they’re one-click optional. There’s also an undo button if you’re not feeling it. Google Paying subscribers get some exclusive perks, though. Google One Pro and Ultra users now see AI overviews in Gmail’s search bar. This lets you ask questions like, “How much was my last electric bill?” and get summarized answers based on your email history. You don’t have to endlessly scroll to find whatever it is you’re looking for. Google They also introduced a new feature called AI Inbox, which transforms your inbox into a kind of personal assistant. It uses Google’s Gemini to read entire threads and pull out emails that require immediate attention. Don’t worry, the traditional inbox you know and love is still there, and now you can toggle between the views. AI Inbox is rolling out to testers starting today, January 8.  Privacy was a big talking point throughout the briefing (as it should be!). Google stressed that personal Gmail content used for these AI features is processed in a private, isolated environment and is not used to train Gemini models. You can also turn these features off entirely. So, what did I take away from this meeting? I see it as a clear push to make Gmail feel less overwhelming and more approachable. I’m not entirely closed off to it, as my own inbox contains years of email exchanges. That said, I’m still leery of the idea of AI further worming its way into my personal digital space.  The rollout is live today for consumer accounts and Pro/Ultra subscribers, though the AI Inbox is limited to a select group of testers, with wider availability coming later. Read...