Microsoft's Bing Chat is no longer exclusive to the Edge browser, as it's now rolling out to Chrome and Safari, The Verge reported. "We are flighting access to Bing Chat in Safari and Chrome to select users as part of our testing on other browsers," a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge. "We are excited to expand access to even more users once our standard testing procedures are complete."

It seems to be more than a small test, as a number of users (including myself on Chrome but not Safari) have gained access. There are a few limitations, though. You have to be logged into your Microsoft account, and prompts are limited to 2,000 characters compared to 4,000 on Edge. Conversations reset after five queries rather than 30, and it constantly prompts you to download Edge (never change, Microsoft). 

Bing Chat is powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT-4, giving users access to the latter's features without the need to pay. There are some differences, though, as Bing Chat has access to Bing Search while ChatGPT-4 by itself doesn't, so can provide more up-to-date information and sources for responses. However, OpenAI's chat generally provides more detailed responses. Recently, a paper came out claiming that ChatGPT-4's capabilities have declined, but some experts have downplayed the conclusions. 

On top of releasing it for other browsers, Microsoft also introduced a dark mode for Bing Chat. To use it, click on the hamburger menu at the top right and select "Appearance/Dark." That function may not yet be available for all users. 

If Apple is going to make the Vision Pro a success, it's going to need compelling apps — and that means giving developers hardware ahead of time. Accordingly, the company is now making Vision Pro developer kits available. If you qualify, you'll get a loaned mixed reality headset as well as help with setup, expert "check-ins" and extra support requests beyond what developers normally get.

The operative term, as you might guess, is "if." You're submitting an application, not buying a product like the old Apple Silicon Developer Transition Kit. In addition to being part of the Apple Developer Program, you'll need to detail your existing apps and overall team talent. The company will favor creators whose app "takes advantage" of the Vision Pro's features. You can't just assume you'll get a headset, then, and you're less likely to get one if you're a newcomer or simply porting an iPad app. You'll have to be content with the visionOS beta software if you don't make the cut.

You also can't use the wearable for bragging rights. Apple requires that developers keep the Vision Pro in a secure workspace that only authorized team members can access. The company can also request a unit return at any time. Don't expect many leaked details, in other words.

The current kit may only end up in the hands of larger developers as a result. However, the launch shows how Apple intends to court app creators, and what titles you're likely to see when Vision Pro arrives early next year. The focus is on polished experiences that help sell the concept, rather than a huge catalog. That's not surprising when the Vision Pro is a $3,499 device aimed at professionals and enthusiasts, but you may have to wait a while before small studios release apps based on real-world testing.

Twitter’s rebrand to X is officially underway, and CEO Linda Yaccarino has offered some new clues about what it may mean for the company. In a memo reported byCNBC, Yaccarino suggested that payments and banking features could feature prominently in Elon Musk’s new vision.

“Our usage is at an all time high and we’ll continue to delight our entire community with new experiences in audio, video, messaging, payments, banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities,” she wrote.

It’s long been rumored that Musk is keen to bring banking features to Twitter. In January, the Financial Timesreported that he wanted “to offer fintech services such as peer-to-peer transactions, savings accounts and debit cards” to users, as well as additional tipping and shopping features. The paper reported the company had applied for regulatory paperwork necessary to offer such features in the US, but the executive reportedly overseeing the project departed in February.

Yaccarino’s memo suggests those plans have been revived, though it’s light on specifics. Musk has previously talked about his desire to turn Twitter into an “everything app” akin to WeChat in China, where the messaging app is central to users’ daily activities.

Overall, Yaccarino’s memo is notably vague. She said that X would “go even further to transform the global town square” and cited recent updates the company has made around creator monetization and longform content. “Many companies say they want to move fast — but we enjoy moving at the speed of light, and when we do, that’s X,” she wrote. “With X, we serve our entire community of users and customers by working tirelessly to preserve free expression and choice, create limitless interactivity, and create a marketplace that enables the economic success of all its participants.”

Amazon has Apple’s iPhone Leather Wallet with MagSafe on sale for close to its all-time lowest price — and its cheapest price (so far) in 2023. The magnetic wallet, usually $59, is currently available for $48. It’s handy for bringing a few identification and credit cards out into the world without having to lug along a standalone wallet. Although the sale only applies to the Midnight (black) colorway, the neutral hue shouldn’t clash with any phone model or case.

If you have a MagSafe-friendly Apple handset (iPhone 12 or later), you can snap the leather wallet onto the back of your phone (or a MagSafe-compatible case) for safekeeping. The magnets are plenty strong, so you can avoid worrying about losing your IDs or credit cards on the go. And, although it only has room for three cards, it can serve as minimalist card storage for trips out where you don’t need a thick stack of payment or store discount cards.

The iPhone Leather Wallet with MagSafe now supports Find My. This feature allows you to link the accessory with your Apple ID and view its last known location on a map if you ever lose it. To set it up, your iPhone will ask you if you want to connect it to Find My when you first attach it to your phone. Or, you can add it later in the Find My app by selecting the plus symbol and then “Add MagSafe Accessory.”

In addition to a deal on the latest AirPods Pro, Amazon’s Apple accessories sale also includes the Apple MagSafe Battery Pack: Instead of its usual $99, you can get the charging add-on for $84. Also designed for the iPhone 12 and later, it snaps onto your handset to supply extra battery power to help your device make it through longer days. It also has some advantages over third-party magnetic battery packs: higher voltage (making it more potent than its mere 1,460 mAh capacity may suggest) and greater charging efficiency. Finally, it integrates tightly with iOS, letting the software manage charging for you and allowing you to view its remaining level in a battery widget on your home screen.

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TikTok absolutely dominates the short-form video space, but now it’s looking into short-form text posts. The social media giant just announced a new text-composition feature to allow users to “share their stories, poems, lyrics and other written content, giving them another way to express themselves.”

The toolset seems simple enough. Just head to the app’s Camera page and select “text.” You’ll be able to type out whatever you want, add sounds, tag locations, enable comments and even integrate with Duets. The company says these text posts will be as interactive and dynamic as video and photo posts. To that end, you can also add background colors, hashtags and, of course, affix plenty of stickers.

Just like video and photo posts, you can save any text post as a draft for further edits or discard it entirely if you aren’t sure the whole Internet needs to see your poem about pizza.

If this sounds a bit like using Instagram Stories to create a text-only post, you’re certainly onto something. This wouldn’t be the first time that TikTok looked to Instagram for inspiration (or vice versa!) Just last year it added static images to its toolset, accompanying short-form videos. TikTok’s photo mode was met with near-universal scrutiny, but has gone on to become quite popular, and the company's certainly hoping this text mode will follow the same trajectory.

With its lineup of 1000X devices, Sony continually sets itself apart from the competition in both earbuds and headphones. Just when it seems like others may be gaining ground, the company adds new features or improves audio quality to keep the top spot on many best lists. Today, Sony is debuting its latest flagship true wireless earbuds: the WF-1000XM5 ($300).

While some of the company’s trademark features return, these earbuds have been completely redesigned, from the overall look to the drivers and even the chips that power much of the functionality. Sony still manages to pack in more tools than anyone else, all while making significant improvements to sound quality. But all of the advancements come at a cost: these are Sony’s most expensive set of wireless earbuds in the 1000X lineup yet.

Design

For the WF-1000XM4, Sony made big changes to the design of its flagship earbuds. Even with all of the excellent things the WF-1000XM3 offered, those buds were huge and they looked more like Bluetooth headsets. The 2021 model had a different shape and were smaller, but they were still quite big and their weight on the outside of your ear could lead to an awkward fit. Thankfully, the company continued to slim things down with the WF-1000XM5, trimming another 25 percent off the previous model in terms of overall size and losing 20 percent of the weight. For this reason, the new model fits in my ears the best of any 1000X earbuds thus far and they never feel like they’re in danger of falling out.

Sony also slightly updated the ear tips for the M5. Once again, the company opted for squishy foam like it did for the previous model. That switch on the WF-1000XM4 didn’t offer the best fit for me. However, the company says the ear tips are more flexible this time around and it included an extra small size to cater to more ear shapes. The combination of the smaller earbuds and the revamped tips give the the WF-1000XM5 a much more comfortable, more secure-feeling fit than the M4.

Smaller earbuds also means a smaller charging case, but not drastically so. The WF-1000XM4’s was already compact, but Sony slimmed the new version down while giving it a rounder shape. The LED status and pairing indicator on the previous model was a thin strip on the front. That has been replaced by a single dot and the company added a pairing button around back beside the USB-C port. On the M4, you had to put the buds in both ears and then hold your fingers on the touch controls for 5 seconds to put them in pairing mode.

Software and features

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

Like most Sony earbuds, the company’s Headphones Connect app is where you customize and activate features or dial in the sound profile. Once inside, tools range from the basics – things like managing Bluetooth multipoint connections, media playback and changing the on-board controls – to more complex items like Adaptive Sound Control.

This is the feature Sony has offered for a while now that automatically changes your noise control preferences based on your activity or location. As always, the latter requires you to give the app access to your location data so it knows when you’re at home versus when you arrive at the office. Adaptive Sound Control is quite handy even if you just use the activity side of the function. You can set it to activate ambient sound (transparency mode) when you start a run. With Adaptive Sound Control enabled, you won’t have to reach for your phone or tap the WF-1000XM5 to get to your preferred settings each time you go from sitting to walking or vice versa.

Under the Sound tab, the app gives you access to noise control (noise canceling, ambient sound or off) right up top. And with ambient sound, you can adjust the level (1-20) and opt to have voices filtered in, with other noise suppressed, via a dedicated passthrough setting. Speak-to-Chat is also here, Sony’s handy tool that pauses the audio when it detects your voice. It’s a nice feature, but it’s still just as susceptible to being triggered by a cough as ever.

The Sound tab is where you’ll also find the EQ, with both manual adjustments and presets available. Sony has added a Find Your Equalizer sound test too, and the beta feature lets you select which sample settings sound best before building your ideal mode. Lastly, 360 Reality Audio setup/ear analysis, Bluetooth connection priority and DSEE Extreme upscaling (on/off) are under this section.

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

The System tab is next, which is where you’ll find most of the WF-1000XM5’s controls. You can disable multipoint connectivity, select which voice assistant you want to use and change the on-board controls, including which noise settings you want to cycle through. The M5 supports hands-free access to Google Assistant and Alexa, so you can play music, send messages, get notifications, set reminders and more without touching the earbuds or your phone. Google Assistant can also control certain features of the WF-1000XM5, including enabling ANC or ambient sound, with a spoken cue.

What’s more, Sony has added a quadruple tap action for volume control, so you no longer have to sacrifice something else to get that function on your earbuds. Four taps on the left lowers the volume while four on the right raises it. All of the playback controls are now on the right side by default and Sony gives you two “quick access” slots for connected services by double and triple tapping on the left earbud. Options for this are currently limited to Spotify and Endel, though. You can also opt to hear some of your voice during calls and to use head gestures for incoming calls or to activate Auto Play. There’s an earbud fit test and automatic options for both pausing when the earbuds are removed and turning them off when they’re not in your ears.

Auto Play, a tool that’s still in beta, can detect your activity and deliver a mix of music and notifications you’ve selected for it. Activities can range from putting the earbuds in your ears to starting a walk or ending your work day. You can also silence notifications or let important messages through. Right now, Auto Play can only be linked and customized with Spotify and Endel, but it’s yet another way Sony is trying to automate your relationship with your earbuds so you don’t have to reach for your phone as often.

Sound quality

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

Sound quality has never been an issue 1000X earbuds, but Sony made significant changes on the M5 in a bid to make the audio even better. First, the company opted for dual processors, an approach it has taken on the 1000X family of over-ear headphones. Here, the QN2e chip handles noise canceling alongside the main V2 processor. These two components combine for 24-bit audio and a more powerful integrated digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

Sony has also installed redesigned drivers that it's calling Dynamic Driver X. These are 2.4mm larger than the speakers on the M4 earbuds and have a separated dome-edge structure diaphragm. The company says the new components offer “rich and more detailed vocals” along with “low distortion and a clear sound quality.” There is a noticeable improvement to overall clarity on the WF-1000XM5, especially when it comes to vocals. Lynn Gunn’s lyricism on PVRIS’ Evergreen cuts through more clearly on the M5 when compared directly with the M4, allowing her hooks to rise above the onslaught of chunky, distorted guitars and driving bass lines.

There are also big gains on the low end of the EQ curve. Bass is bigger and boomier on the WF-1000XM5, something I noticed immediately after getting reacquainted with the M4. There’s more driving thump to the low-end throughout that PVRIS album and a pleasant, clicky pop to the kick drum on Chris Stapelton’s “White Horse.” Over a range of genres, the sound profile on the M5 sounds bigger and fuller with a natural dimensionality that doesn’t require 360 Reality Audio to immerse you in an album.

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

I did most of my testing with Sony’s DSEE Extreme upscaling active as that’s where the company’s headphones really shine. Like other of the company’s premium earbuds, the WF-1000XM5 supports Hi-Res Audio along with its own 360 Reality Audio (360RA) tech. In addition to being able to calibrate 360RA to your ears, Sony has now added head tracking to its take on spatial audio. While it does offer a slight improvement to the immersive nature of the audio standard, you’ll need an Android device and compatible apps (Netflix, YouTube, et cetera) to use it.

The decision to split audio and ANC processing on the WF-1000XM5 also has implications for the overall effectiveness of the noise-canceling setup. Sony says the QN2e chip can now control the six-microphone array (three on each earbud) more precisely. The V2 chip assists with real-time signal processing. The company also says those dual-feedback mics can now monitor low-frequency noise better, battling things like airplane and vehicle clamor more efficiently than the M4. I found this to hold true, although I would’ve liked to see some improvement with how the ANC handles human voices as there’s not much change to the effectiveness at higher frequencies.

Call quality

Overall call quality was noticeably better than much of the competition on the WF-1000XM4. That’s mostly due to the inclusion of bone-conduction sensors alongside the usual beamforming microphones. That dual-tech approach is back on the M5, but Sony has added a dash of AI to help you sound better on calls too. The company says its new noise-reduction algorithm is built on deep neural network processing and trained on 500 million voice samples. The result, as Sony explains it, is the WF-1000XM5’s ability to more accurately extract your voice from ambient noise. Microphones were also rebuilt and wrapped in mesh to minimize wind noise.

In practice, Sony once again does a great job of blocking background noise. A nearby white noise machine didn’t come across on my calls at all, nor did a raucous preseason soccer exhibition on my television. Voice clarity is far from perfect, but it’s better than a lot of the competition. You don’t sound muffled, though your speech does lack the natural warmth you get from a standalone microphone or by holding your iPhone or Google Pixel up to your face.

Battery life

Photo by Billy Steele/Engadget

One area Sony didn’t improve things was battery life. Just like the previous model, the company says you can expect up to eight hours with ANC turned on. The 24-hour total listening time with the case (2 additional charges) is also the same. If you disable active noise cancellation, Sony promises up to 12 hours of use with 36 hours total including the case, which is also unchanged. The company did slightly upgrade its quick charge feature which now gives you an hour of use in three minutes – versus five minutes on the M4. And just like before, the case supports both wireless charging and topping off via USB-C.

During my tests using both ANC and transparency mode at various times, doing a mix of music and calls, I managed just under seven hours. The numbers really started to tumble after about six hours at around 20 percent left. Seven hours is a full hour below Sony’s estimate, but I did have DSEE Extreme upscaling turned on the whole time which likely impacted battery performance. The WF-1000XM4 didn’t make it to the stated number during my review of those either, so hopefully the company either remedies this or clarifies how much its audio upscaling tech impacts these figures.

The competition

Sony sits atop our best wireless earbuds list thanks to the volume of features it offers on the WF-1000XM4. Sure, the sound quality is great and the ANC does a stellar job, but there are alternatives that do better in each of those areas. Sennheiser’s Momentum True Wireless 3 is my top pick when it comes to pure audio performance, though Sony closed the gap significantly with the M5. Sennheiser’s earbuds have always had great sound, and it too continues to improve with each successive model. Sennheiser has also made upgrades to ANC and other features along the way. Plus, you can currently get them on sale for around $163 – over $100 less than the full price of $279.95.

If you’re looking to silence the world with your wireless earbuds, Bose’s QuietComfort Earbuds II should be your consideration alongside the WF-1000XM5. Besides blocking out your typical distractions, the company improved its earbuds’ ability to cancel human voices. Overall sound quality is improved over the first QuietComfort Earbuds, but it’s still not on the level of Sony or Sennheiser. The QCE II are currently on sale for $50 less than full price at $249.

Lastly, let’s have a word about the AirPods Pro. It’s true they’re only worth considering if you’re invested in Apple’s ecosystem, but features arriving later this year with iOS 17 make them a better alternative to Sony’s 1000X line than before. Apple will introduce Adaptive Audio this fall, which automatically tunes noise cancellation and transparency model levels for your environment. Personalized Volume will adjust levels based on both your surroundings and listening preferences. And perhaps most importantly, Apple will add Conversation Awareness that automatically lowers volume or pauses audio when the AirPods Pro detect your voice. That’s very similar to Sony’s Speak-to-Chat, a feature I’ve enjoyed using despite its flaws. You’ll need the second-gen AirPods Pro for these upcoming updates, which can be currently found for $199.

Wrap-up

With the WF-1000XM5, Sony improves its already formidable mix of great sound, effective ANC and handy features. These earbuds are undoubtedly the company’s best and most comfortable design in its premium model so far, which was one of the few remaining riddles Sony needed to solve. For all of the company’s ability to add so many features, many of them still need fine-tuning, but that doesn’t make them any less useful in their current state. The WF-1000XM5 are more expensive too, which means the competition has one key area it can beat Sony. As is typically the case, there aren’t many flaws with the company’s latest model and its rivals still have their work cut out for them.

The WF-1000XM5 are available for pre-order now in black and silver color options for $300.

This is a good moment to get wireless earbuds for beach listening. Amazon is once again selling Apple's second-generation AirPods Pro for a record low price of $199, or $50 off. That's as good a discount as on Prime Day, and makes these buds an easy pick if you're invested in Apple's ecosystem.

Other Apple earphones are also on sale. The third-generation AirPods have dipped to $159, while the second-gen model is down to $99. And if you're looking for high-end wireless headphones, the AirPods Max are available for $470 in Space Gray (normally $549).

The AirPods Pro are our pick for the best iOS earbuds for two simple reasons: they sound great, and they integrate tightly with Apple devices. They're clearer, richer and more consistently high-quality than their predecessors, and the transparency mode is excellent if you need to keep an ear open for a colleague or a gym friend. These are certainly your go-to buds if you routinely switch between Apple devices — you can listen to music on your Mac knowing you can seamlessly take a call from your iPhone.

The caveats are familiar. You're better off with Beats or a third-party brand if you use Android, and the battery life is merely average. On sale, though, it's hard to top the AirPods Pro for value. They're poised to get better, too. When iOS 17 arrives, Adaptive Audio will automatically blend noise cancellation and transparency modes based on your environment, while Personalized Volume and Conversation Awareness will make sure your can hear both your music and other people.

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PC gaming can be a lot of fun, but it can also be pretty expensive. And we don’t mean the games themselves – any gamer worth their salt knows you can just wait for a Steam sale, or grab a slew of great titles on Humble Bundle. Building a dedicated desktop can be pricey, and gaming laptops can take a real bite out of your wallet. One aspect that doesn’t have to bankrupt you are gaming accessories. It’s possible to kit out your rig with some of the best headsets, keyboards and mice on a budget, and we’ve got a few recommendations to get you started.

Gaming headsets

Turtle Beach Recon Spark

The Recon Spark has been one of my favorite headsets for years; in fact, it was my daily driver in the Engadget office. There are some good reasons for that: it offers solid audio both in its cups and mic, plus it’s comfortable, sturdy and cute. It might not be wireless, but you can just plug it into almost any desktop or laptop and not have to worry about driver compatibility or installing software or anything like that. It’s also a great option for kids.

Logitech G733

While the Recon Spark might be my preferred work headset, the one I use at home is the wireless Logitech G733. It sounds great, has a phenomenal battery life and just the right amount of bling, with bright colored LED strips in the front and a customizable fabric headband. I use it for playing Dungeons & Dragons with my friends on Discord, as well as recording the occasional podcast. It’s been around for a few years, but that just means that you can get this headset for under $100 at some retailers. If it’s still too rich for your blood, check out the similar G435.

SteelSeries Arctis Nova 1

If you’re looking for crisp audio, SteelSeries has always offered excellent clarity and volume, and the Arctis line does so at a reasonable price point. The Nova 1 is a wired headset where everything feels premium, thanks to its sturdy build (I’ve dropped it twice already), its smooth, matte finish and soft, comfortable ear cups. They can block out lower sounds, but not things like a TV or crying baby, making this headset ideal for new parents. The adjustable mic is built-in, so you don’t have to worry about losing it either.

Logitech Zone Vibe 100

Since video conferencing from home exploded during the pandemic, I’ve been extolling the virtues of using a headset for all of your business meetings. They block out unwanted noise, make your voice come through loud and clear, and they’re a good sign to others that you are on a call. The only problem is that gaming headsets don’t exactly look all that professional — but the Zone Vibe is a breath of fresh air. It offers all of Logitech’s expertise to deliver solid gaming audio in a stylish wireless package you won’t be embarrassed to wear in front of the boss.

Gaming keyboards

Corsair K60 RGB Pro Low Profile

When it comes to buying a keyboard, my first recommendation is always going to be “buy a Corsair.” Corsair keyboards offer an excellent typing experience and they’re super durable. Unfortunately, they’re also rather expensive, with the cheapest ones usually going for $120. Luckily Corsair introduced the K60 RGB Pro a few years back and I’d recommend the Low Profile version for those used to typing on laptop keyboards. No, it’s not the same as a membrane keyboard – it’s lightyears better, with mechanical keys and a durable build that will last you years (and hundreds, if not thousands, of game matches).

HyperX Alloy Origins 60

One of the new hot things in gaming seems to be 60 percent keyboards, which chop off the number pad to make more room on your desk for a mouse or other accessories. Being smaller also means they tend to be cheaper too, so budget-minded gamers should take a look at decks like the Alloy Origins 60. Besides being small and affordable, it’s also solid as a rock. The placement of the arrow keys in the lower right corner should be less confusing for those making the switch from a full-sized deck, too.

SteelSeries Apex TKL

Mechanical keyboards are great, but even the quietest among them might be too noisy for some environments. The Apex TKL is great at being unobtrusive: it’s a 60 percent deck so it’s compact, and its keys offer great typing response while being whisper quiet. The Apex TKL is a little bigger than many other keyboards that eschew the number pad, but that’s for a good reason – you’ll appreciate the dedicated arrow keys and volume scroller, the latter of which is a must-have for anyone who consumes a lot of media on their device.

Gaming mice

Logitech G305

Going budget doesn’t mean you have to skimp on quality or looks, and the G305 is both a high-performance and stylish mouse. What’s also nice is how it keeps things simple, with six programmable buttons and a sleek profile. The battery life is rated for 250 hours, though I swear based on my personal use it’s much longer, and it only needs a single AAA battery so you can swap it out in seconds and get back to gaming. If you have a headset like the G435 you can get the G305 in lilac to match, or just stick with a basic black model. If you want to save even more money and don’t mind having a wired mouse, also check out the G203 Lightspeed, which we recommended in our overall gaming mice buying guide.

SteelSeries Aerox 3

Every gamer knows the pain of spilling something on their desk once or twice, whether it’s water, coffee or soda. The Aerox 3 might look like it’s headed for disaster thanks to all the holes in it. But it’s actually rated IP54, which means it can take a good splash and just keep on working (though maybe a bit sticky if you don’t wipe it down). The holes do more than just look cool, too – they make the mouse much lighter to handle (if that’s your thing), and they keep heat from building up in your palm.

SteelSeries Rival 3 Wireless

If you’re looking for something a bit more traditional but still affordable and wireless, the Rival 3 might just be up your alley. It’s a basic black mouse with a sleek contour and five programmable buttons. It comes with a wireless receiver to ensure a strong connection, but also works over Bluetooth so you can easily switch it to a laptop or mobile device. This makes it great for the office as well as gaming, the ultimate money-saver.

ExpressVPN has become a household name – or at least as close to one as a VPN is likely to get – taking over mainstream advertisements on sites like YouTube. On our roundup of the nine top providers in June, it came out tops for streaming services, frequent travel and gaming. But, notably, it wasn’t the overall best, falling short on areas like security and user friendliness.

There are three main VPN use cases on top of general security: geoblocking, streaming and gaming. That means my tests looked like watching Shrek on the clock, by using a VPN to access Canadian Netflix from my US-based home office, where the ogre movie isn’t currently available.

ExpressVPN was easy to sign up for, download and use, but compared to the other services, it didn't wow me. Competitors like ProtonVPN, for example, had easier ways to sign in across platforms. But an ExpressVPN subscription does come with a password manager to store and autofill credentials across websites. That’s a plus in a world where complex passwords are crucial to keeping your accounts secure.

The best VPNs stay out of your way and you'll barely even notice they’re running. But one oddity was that ExpressVPN internet speeds outperformed our baseline internet speed measures. The service is likely circumventing traffic shaping by the internet service provider or a similar anomaly because every other VPN will hurt internet speed in some way. But it did successfully mask the IP address, and pass the DNS and WebRTC leak tests as privacy measures.

ExpressVPN

It was also easy to access geo-blocked content using ExpressVPN, with little-to-no buffering. There were some loading delays that only lasted a few seconds when I tried to stream the news on YouTube using ExpressVPN, but no lag came up after that. Finally, ExpressVPN passed the gaming test by avoiding lag and maintaining a normal loading time. Although, it was a pretty basic test where I logged into online game Slither.io from a UK-based VPN to play the worm-eating competition with international users. Surfing the web with ExpressVPN was just as easy as being online without it. With ExpressVPN, a ping test measured how long data takes to travel from the computer to the server and back at 100 milliseconds, versus 16 milliseconds with no VPN turned on.

ExpressVPN’s biggest perk is that it supports up to five devices at once. That means I could conduct all tests simultaneously and still had no slowdown. That’s great for sharing it with a family, or folks that like to game, watch TV and scroll on their phone at the same time. It’s the main reason ExpressVPN landed as our top choice for streaming and gaming. The connectivity was solid, it had a wide range of servers in 94 countries and provided clear instructions on configuration for any device.

But security-wise, I found myself wanting more. ExpressVPN is based in the British Virgin Islands, which the company touts because the territory lacks any foreign intelligence operations and does not participate in 14 Eyes intelligence-sharing agreements. But it is owned by Kape Technologies, which also owns competitor CyberGhost, and Kape has a problematic history that includes spreading malware. Not only that, in 2021, the Department of Justice charged ExpressVPN CIO Daniel Gericke for cyberspying activities on behalf of the UAE. ExpressVPN stood by the CIO in a blog post.

But it’s not all bad. ExpressVPN publicly shared security audits of its mobile apps, protocol and desktop apps last year. That’s a win for security transparency. Still, a 2021 Consumer Reports study found that ExpressVPN didn’t support multifactor authentication, did not meet brute force mitigation checks and retained some data even after an account was terminated. ExpressVPN did, however, exceed industry standards in protections against unauthorized access, implement a vulnerability disclosure program and said it would not pursue legal action against security researchers. That means when it comes to security standards and practices, ExpressVPN as a company has a few too many misses and not enough hits.

I recommended ExpressVPN as our top choice for gamers, frequent travelers and heavy users of streaming services because it lets users access a wide range of locations from a variety of devices with high speed connections and no lag. With options to configure directly to routers and gaming consoles, it’s a solid choice for people that put a lot of strain on their ISPs. Still, there are better VPNs for the security-minded or those who want something more affordable.

When OpenAI released a ChatGPT app for the iPhone in May, it promised that Android users will get theirs soon. Now, the company has announced that ChatGPT for Android is rolling out to users sometime next week. Moreover, its Google Play listing is already up, and users can pre-register to get it as soon as it becomes available. 

It's unclear if the app will initially only be available in the US like the iPhone app, but I was able to pre-order it from Asia. OpenAI expanded the iOS app's reach to more regions just a few days after it was released, so the Android app will most likely be accessible in other countries soon even if it does launch only in the US. 

People can already access ChatGPT on Android through a browser, but the interface, while not exactly difficult to navigate, isn't ideal for mobile devices. A dedicated app means an interface optimized for mobile, as well as features tailored for users on the platform. iOS users, for instance, got support for Siri and Shortcuts in June. They can create a ChatGPT prompt in Shortcuts and save it as a link to send to friends, and they can ask Siri to fire up the app or create those Shortcuts, among other things. 

OpenAI has recently started testing a new opt-in feature for ChatGPT Plus subscribers that gives the AI chatbot a continuous memory. With the feature switched on, the chatbot remembers who the user is across conversations, which the company says can streamline queries. The feature was designed to work across the platform, meaning paying Android users who opt in will likely see continuous memory in their app when it comes out.