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TCL has been a solid competitor in the midrange TV market for years, going head-to-head with Hisense. Not only are TVs from both manufacturers competitive on features, they even use similar nomenclature to categorize their TV lines - the TCL QM8 and Hisense U8, QM7 and U7, and QM6 and U6. But with TCL's new flagship QM9K, its sights are set higher, toward Sony and its flagship Bravia 9. This year, TCL launched its Ultimate Series, which includes the QM8K (dubbed "The Ultimate Choice") and the QM9K ("The Ultimate Performance"), billed as the best TCL TV ever released. The QM9K is available in four different sizes: 65 inches ($2,999.99), 75 i … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/843074/tcl-qm9k-mini-led-tv-review

Smart home products are all about making everyday life a little easier, which is why they're some of the best and most thoughtful gifts you can give. Some people go all out building a multi-gadget IoT kingdom (like our resident smart home expert, Jen Pattison Tuohy), but a smart home is whatever your recipient wants it to be. It can be as simple as wanting a cheap switch-flipping bot to brew you a pot of coffee before you exit the shower in the morning. Having tested many smart home gadgets over the years, we pooled our knowledge to assemble our favorite recommendations for this gift guide. There are practical (and sometimes pricey) picks l … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/800449/best-practical-smart-home-gift-ideas-2025

Double pinch lets you dismiss notifications or control your music playback. | Image: Google Google has started to roll out the first update for the Pixel Watch 4 since the wearable launched last August . WearOS 6.1 is available for the Pixel Watch 2, 3, and 4 models, but only the Pixel Watch 4 will be getting a pair of new one-handed gestures , while improvements made to smart replies are limited to the Pixel Watch 3 and 4. Double pinch works similar to existing gestures on Apple and Samsung smartwatches. You can scroll through alerts, snooze an alarm, send the first suggested smart reply to a message, control music playback, and take a photo by tapping your index finger and thumb together twice. Google says it will also "soon be ad … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/news/841514/pixel-watch-4-gestures-pinch-control-wrist-turn-dismiss-enhaced-smart-replies

A Microsoft data center under construction in Aldie, Virginia, US, on Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. | Photo: Getty Images More than 230 groups including Food & Water Watch, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and Greenpeace are demanding a pause on the construction of any new data centers in the US until stronger regulations are in place to prevent soaring electricity rates, water use, and pollution. "The rapid, largely unregulated rise of data centers to fuel the AI and crypto frenzy is disrupting communities across the country and threatening Americans' economic, environmental, climate and water security," the groups say in a letter sent to Congress on Monday. More communities are finding success in their efforts to block data center construction, with an … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/news/840883/data-center-moratorium-letter-congress

When Ikea announced its collection of 21 new Matter-over-Thread devices last month , it wasn't expecting the new hardware to be available in the US until January 2026. Over the past month the devices have started showing up across Europe, but a handful of them are now available through Ikea's US website and some of its physical stores across the country. Four of the five smart sensors announced in November can now be integrated into your smart home setup. However, if you were planning to overall your home's lighting you'll still have to wait, as Ikea's new simplified Kajplats smart bulb collection hasn't launched here yet. We also now know … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/news/840727/ikea-smart-home-matter-thread-sensors-now-available

Skate Story is two very different things simultaneously. On the one hand, it's a visceral take on skateboarding, providing a tight, fast, ground-level view as you brute-force your way through tricks and combos. But it's also a surrealist trip through the underworld where you control a skateboarding demon who faces off against the devil. Think of it like Dante's Inferno meets Thrasher magazine, and you're most of the way there. The premise is actually quite a bit stranger than just skating through hell. You play as a demon made of glass, who is both hungry and tired, and so decides to… eat the moon. This pisses off the devil, and your respon … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/games/840004/skate-story-review-switch-steam-ps5