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24 Jul 2025

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Score Alienware’s fast dual-res 4K gaming monitor for 22% off right now
If you no longer love your monitor, today might be the day to upgrade. Step it up a notch (or several notches) with this excellent 27-inch 4K Alienware display that’s now 22% off on Amazon, cutting its price down from $590 to a much more enticing $460. This is a gorgeous IPS monitor with a native 3840×2160 (4K) resolution and a speedy 180Hz refresh rate, but can also be swapped into 1920×1080 mode to unlock a jaw-dropping 360Hz refresh rate. It’s your choice between gorgeous visuals and ample screen real estate or blazing-fast speeds for ultra-smooth gaming—and you can switch on demand. The AW2725QF’s IPS panel paints its images with vivid colors and great contrast as well as wider viewing angles, complete with Dolby Vision and VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification. It’s also compatible with Nvidia G-Sync and VESA AdaptiveSync certified for tear-free gaming graphics. Port-wise, it comes with both HDMI and DisplayPort. It’s a pretty barebones monitor beyond screen performance, but that just means you aren’t paying for extra features you don’t need. Get it on sale for $460 while you still can! But if you don’t think it’s the right monitor for you, check out PCWorld’s guide to the best monitors. Save 22% on this awesome dual-res 4K gaming monitorBuy now at Amazon

10 nifty USB-C gadgets you didn’t know you needed
I don’t know how your tech drawers look, but mine are filled with wires I’ll likely never use again because technology has advanced quite a bit. Thankfully, USB-C seems to be here to stay since there is no wrong way to plug these things in. It’s not just smartphones, tablets, and laptops that use these, however, but also a long list of gadgets. We’ve scoured the market for hidden gems: Ten gadgets that will make you think “Wow, I didn’t know I needed that, but it will make my life so much easier!” So, let’s dive in and see what cool devices you’ll be able to use your type-C cables and ports with. Wowstick 1F+ mini electric screwdriver Wowstick If you often have to fiddle around with your computer or other gadgets, this Wowstick mini electric screwdriver may be just what you need. This pen-shaped screwdriver features three LED lights so it’s easier to see what you’re working on and rotates 200 times per minute so you can finish the job faster. The screwdriver has a stylish base so you can hold it on your desk, and a whole collection of 56 aluminum alloy bits. The screwdriver can be charged via USB-C and it can last for hours. This super fun electric screwdriver usually goes for $41. Anker Nano Power Bank Anker One thing you need to have in you bag/pocket/backpack is a power bank because you never really know when your phone will fail you and cry for a recharge. Well, the Anker Nano power bank is tiny enough to fit just about anywhere. It comes with a foldable USB-C connector and a port on the side so you can charge two devices at once if you need to. The 5,000mAh capacity is just about enough for a full phone recharge, so it will be great in a pinch. It’s also only $30, but we’ve seen it as low as $16. Endoscope camera with light Ennovor Although it’s not something you’ll use every day, this Ennover endoscope camera can definitely come in handy. You just plug it in your phone, install and app, and see everything your camera does. Our team swears by it, using it for finding whatever they dropped behind the desk, while working on the car, or looking for pipe leaks. Since it has an IP67 rating, you can even plop it in your aquarium. The camera comes with a 16.4ft semi-rigid cable and several accessories, including a hook, magnet, and a mirror. You can get this one for $23 right now. Blukar flashlight Blukar I don’t care who you are—you need a flashlight. The smaller, the better, because you get to shove it into any pocket. This model from Blukar comes with a built-in 1800mAh battery that you’ll recharge with one of those many type-C cables you have in that tech drawer we were talking about. It can work for up to 16 hours on a single charge, which is pretty decent. There are four different lightning modes to cycle through, including one that will help you signal for help. Plus, one of these is only $10, so no excuse to pass on this one. Heat It insect bite healer Anyone plagued by mosquitoes in the summer will be particularly pleased with this ingenious gadget. This tiny device, which can be easily connected to your smartphone via USB-C, can significantly reduce the itching of bites and stings with targeted heat. You simply charge the small Heat It bite healer via the app and then hold it on the bite. The heat then does the rest, breaking down the proteins in the mosquito bite that cause the area to swell, itch, and hurt. A true must-have for summer, and it costs only $20. A tiny air pump Also perfect for summer is this small air pump from Cycplus, which fits in any bag while on the go. Not only can it inflate a bicycle tire in two minutes at the touch of a button, but it’s also USB-charged. According to the manufacturer, it’s suitable for mountain bikes, road bikes, motorcycles, and even cars! In addition to being an air pump, this practical gadget can also be used as a flashlight or power bank for on-the-go use — all things that come in very handy on a bike ride. And at just $57, it’s highly recommended if you need quick help with a flat tire. USB-C mini fan These little fans are also pretty ingenious; you can easily carry them in your pocket in the summer and quickly use them whenever you need them. Anyone who’s ever sat on a crowded subway train in 30-degree heat and wished for at least a little fresh air will love this gadget. The mini fan, which costs just $20, has a USB-C port and can be easily powered by power banks, computers, laptops, or USB chargers. There are even smaller and cheaper fans available that can be connected directly to your phone, costing under $10 each. But these also provide less powerful airflow, so we recommend the standalone version. Reading light with a book clamp Anyone who enjoys reading a lot, sometimes late into the night, will appreciate this little gadget: a reading lamp that you can simply clip onto your book. It may not be groundbreaking, but with a total of three color temperatures and five different light modes, you can individually adjust how much light you need for reading. The Gritin reading lamp costs just $15 on Amazon and features a 1200 mAh battery that lasts up to 80 hours depending on usage. Afterward, you can easily recharge it via USB. You can swivel the neck of the lamp back and forth as desired, and there’s even a small charging indicator. What more could you want? Samsung flash drive Samsung The vast majority of flash drives have a USB-A connector, but this one from Samsung has a Type-C connector. With transfer speeds of up to 400MB/s, you’ll move files around in no time. The beauty of this thumb drive is that you can even pop it in your smartphone to record 4K vids directly on it. The Samsung Type-C flash drive comes in multiple storage options, starting at 64GB and up to 512GB and they start at $14. The 256GB version, for instance, is $27 at the time of writing. Type-C microSD card reader Ugreen Most laptops nowadays don’t come with a card reader anymore (I know mine doesn’t), so finding other ways to get data off those little buggers is a must. Whether you need to pull data off your dashcam’s card or if it’s from your camera, this tiny Ugreen USB-C microSD reader will work just fine. This reader is tiny enough that you should probably put it on a keychain of some kind. If you’d rather a slightly more versatile version, Ugreen has a model that also works with SD cards and features both USB-C and USB-A connectors. Any of these will cost you less than $10, so they’re worthwhile investments. Editor’s note: This article was originally published on May 16, but was updated to include additional devices.

Microsoft is bringing powerful new AI tools to Windows 11
Microsoft typically releases updates in the fall, but a July refresh of Windows will add new AI experiences, the company said on Tuesday. Most of these new features should be familiar, though only from testing; they’ve made their way through the Windows Insider beta program and now on your PC. Some require the NPU power of a Copilot+ PC. Microsoft began teasing new Windows 11 features in April, with new Settings cards and tweaks to Voice Access. Now, you’ll start seeing the first vestiges of semantic and agentic search within the Settings menu, plus updates to Click-to-Do, and more. Microsoft has flirted with semantic search before, though the company has doubled up with testing semantic search at both the file level as well as within Settings. (Semantic search just means that a user can describe what they’re looking for using natural language, as opposed to specifying a certain keyword.) For July, Microsoft is just saying that semantic search will apply to the Windows 11 Settings menu. This update goes a bit further, however. Microsoft is saying that there’s an agent built into the Settings menu now, too. In other words, you’ll be able to ask Settings to perform a task, such as changing a display resolution. If Windows can, it will perform the task for you (using an agent). If it can’t, Microsoft is promising that it will point you in the right direction and let you do it instead. Microsoft demonstrates its new agentic and semantic features within the Settings screen of Windows 11. The new Settings search feature requires a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor; the capability will arrive on Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 or AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 processors soon. This update also releases new features that were in testing as recently as two weeks ago: Click-to-Do, which now adds integrations with Copilot as well as an app called Reading Coach. Click-to-Do allows you to right-click a location or block of text and provides context-aware actions. In this case, Windows could offer to take a block of text and read it aloud via an immersive reader, practice with it in Reading Coach, or work with it in Copilot to generate a draft. Microsoft is adding updates to Click to Do. Paint is offering two new upgrades: one rather useless, and the other decidedly not. While you’ll be able to create new AI-generated “stickers” within Paint for use on a Paint image or elsewhere, you’ll also be able to edit a Paint image using a new object select tool. Though I haven’t tried Object Select, my bet is that it’s repurposed code from Paint3D and Magic Select. Magic Select was one of the better utilities inside Paint 3D, allowing you to quickly remove an object from a scene, much like some of the new smartphone photo editors do as well. Object Select within Paint. Photos, meanwhile, is officially adding Relight, a tool to add new lighting effects to your photos. That’s just for Snapdragon X PCs, too. Finally, Microsoft is adding a “perfect screenshot” tool to the Snipping Tool application. Normally, you have the option of dragging and dropping a window around your selected content. You can still do that, but Snipping Tool will use AI to adjust it precisely. The new change also implements Microsoft’s new Black Screen of Death as well as a fast machine-recovery feature. Microsoft says that compared with Windows 11 22H2, unexpected crashes/restarts have dropped by 22 percent.