There are quite a few 5K monitors out there. Many of them are designed to appeal to Mac users who are looking for cheaper Studio Display alternatives without giving up the pixel-dense 218ppi screen. However, if you’re interested in hearing about one with gaming chops, Samsung’s 27-inch Odyssey G80HF seems like one of the best monitors out there to satisfy your niche, but respectable desires. Currently, you can grab this model for $599.99 at Amazon and B&H Photo, which beats its best price by $100.

The G80HF supports two display modes with its Fast IPS panel: 5K at up to 180Hz refresh rate, or 1440p with up to a 360Hz refresh rate. Samsung touts Nvidia G-Sync compatibility as well as AMD FreeSync Premium to ensure the monitor’s refresh rate remains in lockstep with your GPU’s frame rate output. The monitor features a DisplayPort 2.1 port (just one, and Samsung doesn’t advertise its bandwidth), two HDMI 2.1 ports, and a USB hub for charging or connecting two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 accessories.

As a gamer, one of my favorite features here is the one-millisecond response time. That’s a very common spec among gaming monitors — even in ones that cost hundreds less — but it’s a bit of a rare spec in a 5K monitor at this price. I tested KTC’s sub-$500 model last year, and gaming on it was a pretty atrocious experience despite having what it claimed to be gaming-ready capabilities.

For $200 more ($799.99), LG’s 27-inch UltraGear evo 5K Mini LED monitor delivers slightly better specs. It has more dimming zones for a more accurate picture, it can get brighter, and it supports USB-C video input with 90W power delivery output to charge your device as you use it. Its dual mode refresh rates aren’t as high as Samsung’s (165Hz / 330Hz), but I don’t really see that as much of a downside.

---

Other great deals happening now

• For those who haven’t yet placed a preorder for Grand Theft Auto VI, which comes out in less than a month, you can do so while saving $10 on a gaming gift card at Best Buy. The retailer is letting customers build a bundle of select games and gift cards. You can, for example, add GTA VI and a gift card will be $10 off its advertised price at checkout. It’s a small, but welcome way to save a little cash. The bundle includes other current and upcoming blockbusters, like Gears of War: E-Day, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4, and more.
• The excellent remake of Demon’s Souls by the shuttered PlayStation studio, Bluepoint Games, is down to just $13.49 in digital format on the PlayStation Store. What’s more, it’s for the digital deluxe edition (originally $89.99), which includes in-game cosmetics, a consumable that grants you a bunch of souls for in-game upgrades, and the soundtrack. The sale lasts through November 4th on the West Coast, or until 2:59AM ET on November 5th on the East Coast. The remake doesn’t mess with the formula of FromSoftware’s PS3 cult classic (it has stages instead of being an open-world like its spiritual successor, Dark Souls), but gives it some brilliant visuals and fast loading times. It’s definitely worth a try if you’re into other Soulslike games that reward (and test) your patience. Read our review of the game.
• If you need a multi-port wall charger to quickly charge a bunch of USB-C devices, Ugreen’s Nexode Pro is down to $59.99 at Amazon and Ugreen, a $30 discount off the usual cost. The price was $10 lower during June’s Prime Day, but this is still a nice value. Despite the charger advertising 160W charging passthrough, its USB-C ports labeled C1 and C2 each top out at 140W when just one device is plugged into the charger. The power of each port (four USB-C, one USB-A) varies depending on how many gadgets are plugged in, up to 160W total. The charger has folding prongs and a display that can rotate depending on how it’s plugged in.

I'm The Verge's senior smartphone reviewer and I've been using the iPhone Duo for the past week. I've unfolded it, flipped it, and folded it more times than I could count as I've been working on the review alongside our editor-in-chief Nilay Patel, and I'm ready to answer your questions about it. The Duo represents the first time the iPhone has gone through a major form factor shift, and in true Apple fashion, it has some very specific ideas about how you should use it. We covered a lot of how the Duo works in our review, but there's a ton more to talk about and I am here for it.

Verge subscribers can submit questions starting right now in …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The iPhone Duo has all the messiness of a first-gen product. And while I'm not sure I love all of the decisions Apple made around its design, it got one thing right: the matte finish on the inner screen. I've been using it for the past week to watch movies on a plane, peruse my photo gallery, and catch up on a little reading, and I'm convinced. The matte screen is the best thing about the Duo, and I hope every other foldable maker copies it.

When we first got our hands on the Duo, the nano-texture finish on the 7.6-inch inner screen was genuinely a surprise. I've used a dozen or so book-style foldables over the past five years, and every on …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Oura is introducing two new cardiovascular-focused health tracking features to its smart rings designed to help users better understand the effect regular workouts and exercise are having on their long-term health, and whether they need to ramp it up or dial things down. Cardio Effort and automatic VO2 Max (previously known as Cardio Capacity) are available for the Oura Ring Gen 3 and later models, but only to users with an active Oura membership.

Instead of measuring how fast or far a user went during a run or bike ride, or metrics like calories burned, Cardio Effort measures how hard their cardiovascular system was working during exercise …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Looking for a way to try the haptics-equipped G Pro X2 Superstrike wireless gaming mouse without spending full price? You probably aren’t alone. Logitech’s now-last-gen right-handed mouse is a great PC gaming companion that mimics the feel of mechanical switches with nothing but haptics. You can grab it refurbished through Logitech’s official eBay store for $131.74 (usually $179.99), and for even less with the code PROXPRODUCTS15 applied at checkout. It drops the price to just under $117.

The G Pro X2 Superstrike came out earlier this year, and I went hands-on with it. Logitech’s companion software lets you customize the intensity of the haptics, from an extra punchy click to one that’s barely there. (You can also turn the click feel off completely, but that felt a bit strange.) The mouse also supports rapid trigger, and when used together with haptics, it lowers the click latency compared with other mice that have mechanical switches.

The company followed up recently with the X3 Superstrike, though its differences may not matter much to those who aren’t competitive gamers. The X3 features a more responsive sensor, better battery life, and improved weight distribution. There are some other somewhat small changes to the specs. That said, none of these improvements makes the X2 feel obsolete, and Logitech is continuing to support and sell the mouse. So, if you want to give it a try, now’s your chance to save quite a bit of money on the purchase.

Read our hands-on of the X2 Superstrike.

Tuesday Labs, a New York City-based robotics lab and design studio, has opened reservations for Voxel, its new bi-pedal robot designed to learn and take over routine tasks throughout your home. Similar to other robots like Weave Robotics' Issac 1 that are designed for household chores beyond mopping or vacuuming floors, Voxel features a pair of highly-articulated arms and an advanced vision system. If you're interested in bringing home what Tuesday Labs describes as a "droid butler" you can reserve one now for $200 while full pricing is expected to be around $20,000 when Voxel ships sometime in 2028.

The model available for preorder is know …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Arturia is adding to its Freak line of proudly weird digital synths with the MiniFreak 49. Under the hood, it's almost identical to the current MiniFreak, but it adds a number of more professional features and some interface improvements.

The most noticeable change is that, rather than the MiniFreak's 37 minikeys or the MicroFreak's 25 "key" touchplate, the MiniFreak 49 has (as you may have guessed) 49 full-sized, semi-weighted keys. Though it's somewhat disappointing that they feature only mono aftertouch instead of polyphonic aftertouch. It also trades the touchstrips of the other Freak instruments for proper aluminum pitch and mod wheel …

Read the full story at The Verge.

While Oura has largely dominated the smart ring market for years, rivals like RingConn and Ultrahuman are emerging to dethrone it, putting pressure on the company to keep innovating. By launching more advanced workout metrics, Oura is looking to differentiate itself from competitors as the smart ring market gets more crowded.

When I was in Nagasaki earlier this month, I visited the Atomic Bomb Museum there. One of the displays, which showed the damage caused by the bomb that the U.S. dropped on the city, had long audio narration in Japanese only. — Read the rest

The post I wore Timekettle's translating earbuds around Kyushu, where few people speak English appeared first on Boing Boing.

Baseus announced a new addition to its lineup of AI-assisted security cameras that's more proactive about discouraging unwanted visitors instead of just recording and alerting you to their presence. The Baseus Security PrimeSentinel U2 Pro Outdoor 3K Dual Camera introduces a motorized spotlight that shines directly on a moving target, even as they're running across your property, so they know they've been detected. The targeted light also improves the quality of video captured in the dark to increase the chances of a subject being identified, and it can assist your family with after-hours activities like taking the dog out.

The Baseus U2 Pr …

Read the full story at The Verge.

I'm on the constant lookout for the tiniest umbrella available.

On my recent trip to Japan, I found the smallest one yet at the fantastic Hands store in Fukuoka.

It weighs just 65 grams and measures 8 inches long and about 1.5 inches in diameter when collapsed. — Read the rest

The post This 65-gram umbrella from Japan fits in my front pocket appeared first on Boing Boing.

For a very limited time, Sony’s latest high-end noise-canceling earbuds are actually cheaper than their last-gen counterpart, the WF-1000XM5. B&H Photo is selling Sony’s latest WF-1000XM6 in black for an all-time low of $238 ($92 off) at checkout. Other retailers aren’t currently offering a discount on the XM6.

The XM6 are a solid upgrade over their predecessor and easily amongst the best noise-canceling wireless earbuds on the market. In his review, John Higgins noted that they do a better job of tuning out other people’s conversations than any other earbuds he’s tested. Sony has also improved the bone-conduction sensor and added AI-powered microphones that help keep your voice clear during calls, even in noisy environments.

The XM6 earbuds also deliver clean, balanced sound with impressive bass, raising the bar of what we expect with Sony’s WF-1000XM series. If you prefer to customize your listening experience, Sony’s Sound Connect app offers plenty of customization options, including the ability to adjust how much surrounding noise you hear without removing the earbuds. You can also personalize the touch controls.

The XM6 earbuds support Sony’s LDAC codec, which delivers higher-quality audio from compatible Android devices, too. New in the latest set is a listening mode that makes music sound more like background audio playing in a cafe, allowing you to listen to your favorite music without getting too distracted from whatever you’re doing.

Read our Sony WF-1000XM6 review.

Best Buy has a great deal for the rest of the day on the M4 Mac Mini base model that has 16GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. Normally, it doesn’t make a ton of sense to buy the M4 model for its usual $799 price given that the newer, faster M6 version has been available from Amazon for $779.99 (originally $899) for the past couple of weeks. However, at $649 it’s a much more tempting price.

The M4 Mac Mini launched at $599 in 2024, and was an incredible value. Given that this sale price makes it just $50 more than the original price instead of $200, it’s a good time to buy if you want to spend as little as possible on a modern Mac desktop.

Aside from some impressive generational leaps in processing power, you aren’t missing out on a ton by skipping the M6 model and opting for the M4. Their design and ports are nearly identical, and with either model you’ll need to supply your own keyboard, mouse, display, webcam, etc. If you’re on the fence and can’t decide between the M4 and M6 models, I suggest checking out my colleague Antonio’s review of the M6 Mac Mini. The newer model might be well worth the extra $130 cost.

Read our review of the M4 Mac Mini and the M6 Mac Mini

More Verge-approved deals

• Today brought a big discount to LG’s C6 OLEDs lineup, particularly its bigger models. The 55-inch model is $999.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Costco (previously $1,399.99), costing a little less than the 42- and 48-inch configurations. The price hasn’t gone below $1,299.99 before, so it’s a good time to consider an upgrade. The 65-inch model is cheaper than before, too. Previously $1,699.99, but normally selling for $1,500 or so, you can grab the larger version for $1,399.99 at Amazon, Best Buy, and Costco. If you have a big room and budget, the 77-inch LG C6H that, like the 48-inch version, has a tandem OLED panel that offers more brightness and better colors, is $1,999.99, down from $2,499.99.
• For $499.99, you can grab a 14-inch HP OmniBook 3 during Best Buy’s deal of the day that has a 2K OLED screen, a capable Snapdragon X ARM processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 256GB SSD. This seems like a fantastic option for anyone on a budget. Its Snapdragon processor can run most x86 Windows 11 apps without much issue, and it’s just a rarity to get these kinds of specs — from the OLED screen to the RAM amount — at $500. My colleague Antonio reviewed the 16-inch version that cuts some corners in the screen department compared to this 14-inch model.
• It’s time to get spooky if you haven’t already planned your run of games for Halloween. The spectacular Silent Hill 2 remake is down to $21.34 on Steam for PC via Fanatical, a third-party site I’ve shopped from numerous times. If you’re alright with spending more, Resident Evil Requiem is one of Capcom’s several great 2026 games, and it’s $20 off at Amazon on all platforms, costing $49.99.

If you're on the hunt for lightweight wireless headphones but wearing earbuds or clip-ons never feels comfortable or secure, a relatively obscure Japanese headphone maker could have the solution. Final's new Porta headphones feature an on-ear design supported by a headband but with a structure made from a single piece of wire so they weigh just 40 grams. For comparison, Marshall's recently-launched Milton A.N.C. are also designed to be smaller on-ear headphones but weigh 200 grams.

The Final Porta are available for preorder now through the company's online store for 12,800 yen (around $80) with black or orange ear pads and shipping expected …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Wyze announced a new version of its Ultra BodyScan smart scale that debuted nearly a year ago with additional electrodes on a retractable handle, allowing it to provide a breakdown of various health metrics across your arms, legs, and torso. With the new Ultra BodyScan Plus, Wyze is introducing a redesign that moves the scale's 4.3-inch customizable color screen to the retractable handle so all the measurements are now displayed closer to eye level.

The Wyze Scale Ultra BodyScan Plus is available starting today for $149 through Wyze's online store in black or white color options. That makes it about $30 more expensive than the $119.98 Ultra …

Read the full story at The Verge.

If you spend any time on r/synthesizers or watch a lot of synth videos on YouTube, you've probably noticed the explosion of custom firmware for hardware synthesizers, samplers, and grooveboxes. What unites almost all of them is that they were made possible by increasingly sophisticated vibe-coding tools.

These sorts of custom firmware were exceedingly rare in the pre-LLM days and required both deep expertise and an incredible investment of time. It could take weeks or months to add a simple feature like velocity sensitivity to a Korg Volca. Now, hobbyist hackers are able to turn Temu synths into full-fledged grooveboxes in a matter of days.

…

Read the full story at The Verge.

The Legion Go S with SteamOS is a pretty solid alternative to the $789 Steam Deck OLED. It runs identical software, but ships in a design with two-stage triggers, a bigger eight-inch IPS screen (1080p and up to 120Hz versus 800p and 90Hz in the Deck OLED), and it’s got double the RAM and storage (32GB and 1TB, respectively), not to mention a slightly faster processor in the Ryzen Z1 Extreme.

At $999.99, its current discounted price at Best Buy, it’s worth considering if you’re deciding on a handheld. The Legion Go S is not as powerful as the $1,299.99 Asus ROG Xbox Ally X20 that just launched, which has the Z2 Extreme and a OLED screen, but it’s no slouch, either.

This model launched with Windows 11 and the Ryzen Z2 Go. Despite being a newer chip, it’s less powerful than the Z1 Extreme in the discounted model. SteamOS and the faster internals within this configuration will provide a better experience. Check out my colleague Sean Hollister’s review of multiple configs of the Go S, and see how it stacks up in his benchmarks.

Back in February, I went to Los Angeles to take in some art and stayed in Koreatown. Down the street from my hotel, there was this little coffee shop - Stagger - that is, I think, best known for its matcha, which is good. But the drink I unexpectedly found myself obsessed with was their cream top, an iced Americano with, yep, vanilla cream on top. When I got back to Oakland, I kept thinking about how badly I wanted one.

For more than 20 years, I've been drinking my coffee - iced or otherwise - black. Originally this was because I knew I could put black coffee that had cooled off in the microwave to reheat it without worrying that the milk i …

Read the full story at The Verge.

It used to be so easy to get away with things in school. The teacher, after all, was always turned around writing at the chalkboard! But then came a bit of technology, previously mostly used for military purposes, called the overhead projector. It would change far more than just the disciplinary record of students everywhere.

In this episode of Version History, we tell the story of the overhead projector. David Pierce is joined by The Verge's Jake Kastrenakes and Stanford professor Antero Garcia to discuss how overhead projectors were developed, how they made their way into classrooms, and how they changed so much about the way kids learn. …

Read the full story at The Verge.

If you’re wondering what video game to play this weekend, my colleague Sheena Vasani spotted a discounted Nintendo Switch title with instant digital delivery. Walmart has the digital version of Pikmin 4 for Switch discounted to $39.88, just over $20 lower than its usual price. This version of the game follows the same puzzle formula as previous titles in the series, but adds in a dog companion for an extra layer of complexity and action, and dives deeper into the dark undertones previous games hinted at.

Nintendo recently announced a Switch 2 version of Pikmin 4 will launch on November 12th, 2026. That version features polished visuals, adds in voice commands for your dog companion, plus a new mode called Dandori Academy that adds extra challenges over time. You’ll be able to upgrade to that version for just $10, saving you $20 total over buying the $69.99 Switch 2 Edition outright.

Read our Pikmin 4 review.