Tag: PC Magazine Tech123

The Microsoft Surface event of Oct. 7 was, indeed, a rare spotting: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang sharing the stage to unveil a joint vision for personal computing. Seeing the leaders of Microsoft and Nvidia together in one keynote is a singular event in itself, but what followed was even more notable: a commitment to tight co-engineering across hardware and software, spanning multiple brands and manufacturers, of a kind the PC industry hasn’t seen in years.

This event wasn’t just about a single laptop or an incremental operating system update. (That said, we did get info on the Oct. 16 availability, and pricing, of the first RTX Spark PCs.) It was a dual showcase split across two deeply intertwined pillars: Nvidia’s new RTX Spark hardware platform, and Microsoft’s re-engineered Windows features built for local AI models and autonomous agentic tools.

Windows, Surface and Nvidia Event Highlights: Everything Announced in 16 Minutes

The two go hand in hand. While Nvidia’s silicon provides the raw compute and unified memory needed to run heavy AI models on-device, Microsoft is providing the OS-level sandboxing, identity attribution, and security required to make those tools safe and manageable. Together, they are setting the stage for a long-term shift toward a future where personal computing and personal AI agents are inseparable.

30 Years in the Making: The Origins of Surface Laptop Ultra and RTX Spark

During the keynote, Nadella and Huang sat down to discuss the history of PCs and how it led us to this moment—tracing a direct line from Windows 3.1 influencing the creation of Nvidia in the early 1990s, to Nvidia developing DirectX 8 programmable shaders with Microsoft, to CUDA, and ultimately setting the stage for today’s AI revolution.

(Credit: Brian Westover)

That historical context is important because, as Huang noted, this is the start of a new era of computing. That might sound like marketing fluff, but he is genuinely right.

AI tools empower users to do things that previously required entire teams and sophisticated software suites. Now, a single local model can accomplish vastly more, and specialized tools can be stitched together in platforms like ComfyUI to build complex workflows that handle heavy multitasking automatically.

While AI agents haven’t hit the mainstream yet—remaining mostly confined to enthusiasts and developers—this event marks an important step toward bringing those capabilities to the broader market.

NPUs vs. GPUs vs. RTX Spark: The Three Tiers of AI Hardware Defined

To understand where RTX Spark fits, it helps to draw a sharp distinction between what we’ve been calling a standard “AI PC” with an NPU and the heavy-duty hardware being introduced today. The market is effectively splitting into three distinct hardware tiers:

Consumer AI PCs: Designed around PCs with 40-to-50-TOPS NPUs and 16GB to 32GB of system RAM. These provide just enough muscle for lightweight tasks—summarization, noise cancellation, webcam framing, and basic app-level content generation. However, the main system memory ceiling on these PCs imposes a hard limit on the size of models they can execute.

Traditional Workstations and Gaming Laptops: These bring dedicated GPUs into the mix, leveraging parallel-processing horsepower to crunch heavier AI workloads. However, they remain constrained by dedicated VRAM pools (typically 12GB to 24GB, or occasionally 32GB on ultra-high-end mobile GPUs), limiting how large a model or context window can be loaded directly onto the card.

(Credit: Brian Westover)

Big-Memory Local AI Systems (“Builder PCs”): A growing tier consisting of workstation dev boxes, Apple M-series Macs, and now RTX Spark PCs. By using large, high-bandwidth pools of unified memory (up to 128GB on the Surface Laptop Ultra, and some other RTX Spark models), these machines bypass traditional VRAM bottlenecks. This unified memory allows multi-billion-parameter models and massive context windows to run locally, eliminating the need to send data to a cloud data center.

Apple built an early lead in this third category by centering its Mac lineup around unified-memory-backed SoCs before the generative AI boom arrived, finding widespread adoption among developers eager to run local LLMs and coding agents. But RTX Spark brings that exact unified-memory capability into a mobile Windows form factor. It scales down server-grade architecture just enough to fit a portable laptop chassis at price points developers and enthusiasts can swallow. That’s a big deal today, to be sure. But it also serves as a vision of the future—one in which these capabilities trickle down to more typical consumer systems.

RTX Spark ‘Builder PCs’: Curing Token Burn With Unified Memory

Over a year and a half ago, after Nvidia first announced the DGX Spark developer desktop, I wrote:

“Using AI may be a rarified niche now, but it won’t stay that way. Today’s cutting edge becomes tomorrow’s baseline, and as powerful AI works its way into more devices and apps, the hardware that drives it all will go from niche to mainstream.”

Get ready for that prediction to come true. RTX Spark—Nvidia’s Windows-friendly silicon that combines the company’s “Blackwell” GPU architecture with high-performance CPU cores—is bringing server-class AI power to a new class of laptops. In my own writing, I previously dubbed this concept the “personal supercomputer,” but Microsoft is settling on a slightly less hyperbolic name: the “Builder PC.”

(Credit: Brian Westover)

Where traditional workstation laptops are built around raw graphics power and ISV-certified software compatibility, this new breed of system is engineered specifically for AI and the large, shared pools of unified memory needed to run local models. Microsoft outlined these as “high-performance PCs that bring local and cloud together.”

That is the crux of today’s announcement: a new tier of compute that allows local AI models to run entirely on-device, alleviating the “token anxiety” felt by companies getting walloped by out-of-control API bills.

Agents in particular burn dramatically more tokens than a simple back-and-forth chatbot conversation. A single task can require multiple reasoning steps, tool calls, and self-reflection loops as the model plans, executes, and checks its progress against parameters. Companies going all-in on agentic frameworks like OpenClaw have seen token usage explode—a concerning trend when you or your company is bound to a per-token pricing model.

The RTX Spark hardware launch aims to address this directly. With up to 128GB of unified memory and 1 petaflop of compute, these machines promise the ability to run local LLMs, chatbots, and image generation entirely on-device. While local performance might not quite match top-tier cloud models from OpenAI or Anthropic yet, it’s workable. Indeed, when an agent can run in the background or overnight at zero marginal cost, speed and parameter count take a back seat to token burn.

Windows 11 and Surface Laptop Ultra: Keeping Autonomous AI Agents on a Leash

Then there’s the question of trust and accessibility. As headlines warn of agents deleting codebases, making unauthorized purchases, or falling victim to prompt injections, user concern over unsupervised AI is valid. Microsoft is addressing these risks directly with new OS-level features built around containment, transparency, and attribution.

First among these is containment, as Microsoft adds built-in sandboxing specifically to keep agents on the leash, away from data and systems that need to be safeguarded. Coming to Windows 11, Microsoft Execution Containers (MXC) provide lightweight, runtime sandboxing that gives developers control over which local directories, network endpoints, or tools an agent can access. Windows will enforce these boundaries at the OS level.

(Credit: Brian Westover)

Next is OS-level agent attribution. As humans use agents to carry out specific tasks, it gets pretty blurry who is responsible for what if an operation goes off the rails. After all, an agent running on someone’s laptop looks a whole lot like a human user, even when things start to go wrong, whether due to user error, AI hallucinations, or a malicious prompt injection by a third party. To help parse these events in the future, Microsoft is creating separate human and agent identities, which makes it possible to isolate, restrict, or block an agent without blocking the human user or disrupting their work.

Beyond security, what users are waiting for is the “killer app” that brings agents into the mainstream. Frameworks like OpenClaw created the template, but setting them up remains complex—the average PC user doesn’t know a GitHub distribution from a Markdown file.

To bridge that gap, Microsoft introduced a new streamlined agent-onboarding experience in Windows, offering one-click setups and simplified management right out of the box. As these tools evolve, background execution and agent management will become as simple to toggle as any standard desktop application.

Can RTX Spark Power Big AI Workloads Without Tanking Battery Life?

The first wave of PCs that promise to power this revolution is, collectively, the RTX Spark platform, powered by Nvidia’s new N1X SoC and coming from all the usual OEM suspects, including Asus, Dell, HP, and Lenovo. The machine in the vanguard is the Surface Laptop Ultra, Microsoft’s flagship Spark laptop, first shown at Computex 2026. (See our initial hands-on.)

One of the boldest claims made for the Surface Laptop Ultra is that it can maintain more than 99% of its total performance while running on battery power. That is an audacious statement for a portable PC built to run heavy local AI models and continuous background agents.

Local AI execution is notoriously power-hungry. Achieving unthrottled output off the plug requires a delicate balance of silicon efficiency, aggressive thermal management, and smart fan design. (Indeed, Microsoft claims a 2.5x increase in thermal capacity for the Laptop Ultra chassis; our hands-on time illustrated a bit about the cooling scheme.) How that translates to real-world battery drain, fan noise, and surface temperatures under sustained agentic workloads remains to be seen—and it’s something we will be testing thoroughly in PC Labs once review units land.

Sparked: The Next Paradigm Shift in Personal Computing

All of this—the RTX Spark hardware, the Windows AI enhancements, and the increased control and visibility for agents—signals a fundamental shift in personal computing that I’ve been tracking for years. Once AI models and autonomous agents become accessible to non-technical users on everyday hardware, personal computing will look vastly different.

Much like the smartphone enabled app stores to flourish, and how high-speed mobile data created entirely new product categories (such as streaming and podcasts), agentic AI will shift how we interact with technology: evolving from a tool we use to do things, into a tool that acts on our behalf.

We are still in the early stages of that transition, but things are moving very fast. A primary reason Microsoft and Nvidia are pushing these tools so aggressively is to seed the developer ecosystem for what comes next. Armed with local agentic hardware, developers will build intuitive, task-focused tools with simpler implementations for everyday users. The systems sold today as “Builder PCs” for developers and creators are paving the way for increasingly accessible consumer devices—setting off hardware upgrade cycles for years to come.

About Our Expert

Brian Westover

Principal Writer, Hardware

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Experience

From the laptops on your desk to satellites in space and AI that seems to be everywhere, I cover many topics at PCMag. I’ve covered PCs and technology products for over 15 years at PCMag and other publications, among them Tom’s Guide, Laptop Mag, and TWICE. As a hardware reviewer, I’ve handled dozens of MacBooks, 2-in-1 laptops, Chromebooks, and the latest AI PCs. As the resident Starlink expert, I’ve done years of hands-on testing with the satellite service. I also explore the most valuable ways to use the latest AI tools and features in our Try AI column.

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At Microsoft’s Surface and Windows event today, I’m hoping to learn more details about the Surface Laptop Ultra and get a better handle on the company’s long-term Windows strategy. I’ll be live-blogging about all the announcements as they happen alongside my colleague Brian Westover, who is reporting live from the event.

Meanwhile, Microsoft’s new head of Copilot says it is a business productivity tool first and foremost, which is a stark departure from how the previous lead argued it was an intimate life companion. (Yes, seriously!) But that doesn’t interest me so much as the company’s continued memory optimization work on Windows 11.

Read on for everything you need to know about Microsoft’s fall event, Copilot’s new business focus, and the Windows team’s most recent memory efficiency promises.

Microsoft’s AI Problem, Explained by Someone Who Loves Windows

Follow Our Live Coverage of Microsoft’s Big Windows Event

PCMag’s principal hardware writer Brian Westover will be on the ground in San Francisco to cover Microsoft’s Surface and Windows event today. The event starts at 10 a.m. PT (1 p.m. EST), and he and I will be posting news, impressions, and analysis to a live blog throughout the week. If you want to watch the presentation yourself, you can always tune into Microsoft’s live video stream.

At the event, we’re expecting an hour-long conversation followed by demonstrations for attendees. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Microsoft head of Windows and Devices Pavan Davuluri, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will all be in attendance, so it’s a good bet that the RTX Spark-powered Surface Laptop Ultra will be a major topic of conversation. I shared my predictions for Windows a few weeks ago, and here’s what Brian expects.

Microsoft recently merged the business and consumer versions of its Copilot app, removing a variety of consumer-focused features in the process, including the animated Copilot Mico avatar and the ability to change Windows settings. Moreover, Satya Nadella called Copilot an “OS for work,” further cementing its identity as a productivity-focused business tool. In a report from The Verge, the new head of Copilot, Jacob Andreou, even described Copilot (and the Microsoft 365 suite) as a business-focused productivity tool that some people choose to use at home rather than something meant for home use.

This represents a massive shift in the company’s vision for Copilot. Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s previous head of Copilot, envisioned it as an AI companion that would know you “so intimately and so personally that it will come to live life alongside you.” He also said that “Copilot will certainly have a kind of permanent identity” and that “it will have a room that it lives in, and it will age.” Suleyman is now in charge of Microsoft AI, where he works on underlying Microsoft AI models rather than Copilot itself, so his vision appears to have fallen out of favor internally.

I don’t think either approach is correct. I’d still much rather Microsoft focus on making it into as useful an assistant as Apple’s Siri in macOS rather than a business tool or life companion.

Microsoft removed the Copilot Mico animated avatar in August (Credit: Microsoft)

Windows 11 Memory Usage Remains a Top Priority

Microsoft’s Pavan Davaluri claims that memory usage is “top of mind” for the industry. He says the Windows team has work to do, and that engineers are trying to improve the memory efficiency of both apps and the OS itself. Windows Latest reported the statement from a recent episode of Microsoft’s Inside Windows podcast in which Davaluri sat down with Microsoft design and research lead Marcus Ash. Specifically, Ash describes “hidden but deep performance and reliability work” on Widgets and other aspects of the OS, detailing that most of Microsoft’s engineers are working on low-level improvements to the OS.

The RAM crisis is unsurprisingly forcing Microsoft to rethink its OS priorities across the board. Windows 11’s 26H2 update brings relatively minor memory-efficiency improvements, so I hope more are on the way.

Ask Our Expert: Where’s the Print Option in File Explorer?

Do you have a question about Windows? I’m here to share my knowledge! You can submit your question here, and I may answer it in an upcoming Windows Guide newsletter. If you’re not subscribed to the newsletter, head here to sign up, and check your inbox each week for the latest Windows updates from me. Now, on to this week’s question!

Girard B. asks: “Will Microsoft add Print to the File Explorer context menu? I never understood why it went missing in the first place. Also, will Microsoft speed up File Explorer search? It’s always been painfully slow.”

Hi Girard, thanks for your question! Windows 11’s shiny new context menus don’t include a Print option, but the classic context menus still do. To find it, hold the Shift key when you right-click a file in File Explorer, or right-click a file normally and select Show More Options.

Microsoft likely removed this option to streamline its menus. However, after five years, Windows 11 is finally getting customizable context menus, which means you can add the Print option back. I’ve tried the new customizable menus, and they’re a huge improvement. This feature is already available in Insider builds, and it might arrive in stable builds in the coming months. Stay tuned!

As far as File Explorer’s search feature, you can make it faster by heading to Settings > Privacy & Security > Search. Under Find my files, activate an Enhanced index, and Windows will search everything on your PC faster. If you’re not satisfied with the file search speed after enabling this setting, I recommend trying the free Everything app, which is my lightning-fast file search tool of choice.

About Our Expert

Chris Hoffman

Senior Writer, Software

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Experience

I’ve been writing about technology for more than 15 years and using it in earnest for over twice as long. As a member of PCMag’s software team, I focus on Windows coverage, but also write about other key desktop operating systems and system apps. (I used Windows 3.1 upon its release and have followed every subsequent release closely).

Prior to joining PCMag, I wrote for How-To Geek starting in 2011, and my articles amassed over a billion page views. I went on to run the publication as editor-in-chief for four and a half years. I have also contributed to Computerworld, Fast Company, PCWorld, Reader’s Digest, The New York Times, and many other outlets about everything from AI to PC hardware to Windows. I founded and ran my own direct-to-reader Windows-focused newsletters, Windows Intelligence and The Windows ReadMe, working in partnership with Thurrott.com.

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When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.

Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my “User to User” and “Ask Neil” columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.

In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.

Ring has been synonymous with video doorbells and home security cameras for years, but it hasn’t really made a way to physically secure front doors with its products until now. The company just announced its first smart lock, and it comes with a (literally) powerful twist.

The Ring Smart Lock looks like a standard smart lock equipped with multiple ways to unlock it. You can use an app, Alexa, the built-in fingerprint reader, or the number pad to unlock manually. That’s a solid suite of verification methods, even if it doesn’t extend to rarer biometric lock tech like the Lockly Visage Zeno’s facial recognition or the Lockin Veno Pro’s palm-vein reader.

It also has a feature I haven’t seen in any other smart lock yet, albeit one that doesn’t directly lock or unlock anything. When a smart lock’s battery runs dry, it obviously can’t unlock your door. Some smart locks have hidden ports or charging contacts so you can give them enough juice to function, but the Ring Smart Lock takes a different approach. It has a power dial you can turn to generate just enough power to drive the lock, basically letting you crank-start it so you can get inside and fully charge the battery. It’s a simple but clever solution to the problem.

The Ring Smart Lock retails for $249 and comes in black, silver, and brass finishes. You won’t see any of them for a few months, though; the lock doesn’t ship until early 2027.

Ring Indoor Cam 4K and Ring Pan Tilt Cam 2K (Credit: Will Greenwald)

New models in Ring’s bread-and-butter category of security cameras were also just announced, and they’ll be coming out much sooner. They’re higher-resolution versions of cameras Ring already offers, and include the Ring Pan-Tilt Indoor Cam in 2K ($69.99), the Ring Indoor Cam Plus in 4K ($99.99), the Ring Outdoor Cam Plus in 4K, ($149.99), the Ring Spotlight Cam Plus in 4K ($199.99), and the Ring Floodlight Cam Plus in 4K ($219.99).

The pan-and-tilt and indoor cams can be purchased now, while the outdoor cameras are available for preorder and will ship later this month.

About Our Expert

Will Greenwald

Principal Writer, Consumer Electronics

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Experience

I’m PCMag’s home theater and AR/VR expert, and your go-to source of information and recommendations for game consoles and accessories, smart displays, smart glasses, smart speakers, soundbars, TVs, and VR headsets. I’m an ISF-certified TV calibrator and THX-certified home theater technician, I’ve served as a CES Innovation Awards judge, and while Bandai hasn’t officially certified me, I’m also proficient at building Gundam plastic models up to MG-class. I also enjoy genre fiction writing, and my urban fantasy novel, Alex Norton, Paranormal Technical Support, is currently available on Amazon.

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ChatGPT for Teens was introduced back in August to restrict what younger users, aged 13 to 17, can do with the chatbot. New research discovered that the tool poses what it calls “unacceptable risk to kids” and regularly falls short of what OpenAI had promised.

The report from Common Sense Media (CSM), an American non-profit organization that reviews apps and other software for youth safety, tested ChatGPT before and after the launch of its teen experience.

In tests using over 4,000 prompts on teen-registered accounts, the researchers found that some restrictions were in place, but many tools were unreliable. The team entered prompts for conversations involving “suicide and self-harm, disordered eating, and impaired reality,” finding that ChatGPT for Teens failed to refer users to a crisis hotline or a mental health professional during one in four tests.

It also found that similar conversations wouldn’t prompt a message to be sent to connected parent accounts, despite OpenAI’s promise to do so. CSM’s press release said, “ChatGPT for Teens sent the linked parent accounts zero alerts about these conversations. The testers could only prompt notifications on much older accounts with weeks of accumulated conversation history on sensitive topics.”

OpenAI says its teen features push users toward study mode when they ask its AI to handle their homework. The feature is intended to help students learn a topic rather than provide full answers. This research testing found ChatGPT would regularly complete full assignments, even sometimes showing a prompt called “Show me the answer,” which encouraged users to skip the hard work.

OpenAI originally said ChatGPT for Teens would go “beyond blocking romantic or sexualized roleplay,” bringing in features to restrict conversations that “use romantic language, encourage emotional dependence, or imply that it has feelings or consciousness.” OpenAI said it did this to “reinforce healthy, real-world relationships.”

The latest report found that ChatGPT for Teens would still “express feelings, preferences, and moods in response to analysts treating it like a real person.”

The researchers also found that built-in age-estimation tools weren’t working properly. Some researchers spent time telling the chatbot they were 13, but ChatGPT wouldn’t switch their account to the under-18 experience, even after acknowledging the input.

OpenAI disagrees with the results of these tests, claiming CSM’s research methodology may be false. A spokesperson for OpenAI told The Verge, “Our review of Common Sense Media’s methodology shows that the bulk of their testing may have begun and concluded before activation of parental controls was complete, making their findings inaccurate. If that was the case, the tests would not establish whether parental safety notifications work as designed.”

CSM responded, saying it stands by its methodology and the results, noting how it confirmed with OpenAI that the features were available before testing began. A spokesperson for CSM told The Verge, “Keeping kids safe requires rigorous independent evaluations like ours, and we hope OpenAI will engage on the substance of what we found, rather than trying to sow doubt on our methodology.”

If you have young family members using ChatGPT with parental controls enabled, you may want to ensure their accounts are working correctly and regularly monitor their usage.

Disclosure: Ziff Davis, PCMag’s parent company, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April 2025, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.

About Our Expert

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Experience

I’ve been a journalist for over a decade after getting my start in tech reporting back in 2013. I joined PCMag in 2025, where I cover the latest developments across the tech sphere, writing about the gadgets and services you use every day. Be sure to send me any tips you think PCMag would be interested in.

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In a regulatory win, SpaceX has secured approval to launch and operate 15,000 next-gen satellites for Starlink Mobile, the company’s service to deliver satellite connectivity to phones. 

On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission cleared the company’s request for the 15,000 satellite constellation after SpaceX originally filed the application back in Sept. 2025. In addition, the FCC issued a waiver so that SpaceX can offer wireless services through satellites without entering into a leasing agreement with a ground-based mobile operator. 

The approval seems to create a regulatory path for SpaceX to turn Starlink Mobile into a competitor to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, something that SpaceX executives have already been teasing. Currently, “version 1” of Starlink Mobile is exclusively available in the US through T-Mobile as T-Satellite —but it only uses around 650 satellites with data speeds estimated at 4Mbps. 

In contrast, the upcoming 15,000 satellite constellation promises to deliver 5G speeds at 150Mbps per user, according to the company.  Rather than using traditional cell towers, SpaceX envisions harnessing both satellites and smaller, cost effective ground-based femtocells to offer cellular coverage for phones, including in suburban areas and cities. That said, some in the telecom industry, including T-Mobile’s CFO, have been dismissive of the approach.

(Starlink)

Even so, the FCC went out of its way to say: “With this action, SpaceX’s planned deployments will reshape spectrum-based connectivity by improving competition, allowing more consumers more choices in more places to further the Commission’s goal to ‘connect everyone, everywhere to modern communications services.’” The FCC also supported the application’s waiver requests, noting the planned constellation promises to not only serve users in cellular dead zones, but also bring “increased competition in the provision of retail wireless services to American consumers.”

The FCC’s grant allows SpaceX to orbit the satellites from 335 kilometers to as low as 326 km (202 miles) from Earth — which appears to be a new low compared to the first-gen cellular-focused Starlink satellites. The lower orbit will likely help reduce latency.   

(FCC)

To offer the 5G-like connectivity, the FCC authorization also lets the satellites use even more radio spectrum that SpaceX is acquiring from Boost Mobile’s parent EchoStar. This includes the 1695 to 1710, 2000 to 2020, 2180 to 2200, 1915 to 1920, and 1995 to 2000MHz bands in the US for the cellular connectivity. The company has also been cleared to use the satellites for cellular operations outside the US. 

That said, the FCC’s order says the company can only test using the EchoStar radio frequencies “until Step Two of the SpaceX-EchoStar transaction is consummated,” or when the deal is finally closed, which is scheduled for November 30th, 2027. By that time, the company projects to have begun launching the first “version 2” satellites for Starlink Mobile. 

Another notable part is how the FCC’s grant lets the same 15,000 satellites use T-Mobile’s “PCS G-block” spectrum in the 1910-1915 MHz and 1990-1995 MHz bands, which SpaceX has already been tapping for the current version of Starlink Mobile in the US. This comes even though T-Mobile has been downplaying T-Satelite and floating the possibility of partnering with other satellite providers. Whether T-Mobile will continue to use Starlink Mobile remains a big question. 

The Commission seems to have mainly cleared SpaceX’s proposal, despite opposition from rival satellite communication providers and environmental groups concerned about radio interference and light pollution. However, the FCC notes it deferred on other parts of SpaceX’s application, such as the company’s request to use the 2020 to 2025 MHz band, and another request to the use the 1429 to 2690 MHz range outside the US.

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

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Experience

I’ve been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I’m currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country’s technology sector.

Since 2020, I’ve covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I’ve combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink’s cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I’m now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I’m always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

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Our favorite Prime Day deals can help you save big on everything from OLED TVs to gaming headsets. But what good is all that gaming gear without awesome video games to play? Fortunately, no matter what video game console you own, including the PlayStation 5, Switch 2, and Xbox Series X, you can score huge savings on fantastic games. Trust me, I’ve been covering gaming for PCMag for more than a decade, and I’ve played just about everything out there, including each game on this list.

Not a Prime Member?

You can still shop and save during Big Deal Days, but to get the best prices, you must sign up for Prime. Don’t worry, though: You can grab a free 30-day trial during the sales event.

A Tennis Game With Fighting Flair

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Mario Tennis Fever takes the fun of this elegant sport and amplifies it with wacky, fighting game-esque shenanigans. Equipping your character with different rackets lets you unleash special attacks, like trapping your foe in ink or burning them alive. This adds a chaotic new level of strategy to your rallies. I love Mario Tennis Fever; it’s one of my favorite game releases of the year. And you can buy it for $20 off.

An Epic RPG That Prepares for the End

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

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The original Final Fantasy VII was so impactful that it took Square Enix three whole games to do a proper remake. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the middle chapter of the trilogy, taking Cloud and friends across the planet as they hunt for the villainous Sephiroth. Final Fantasy VII Revelation, the grand finale, arrives next April, so there’s still time to catch up. Get the RPG now, while it’s discounted by $53!

Capcom’s New Big Hit

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For decades, Capcom has gifted us iconic franchises like Mega Man, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter. So it’s great that the storied publisher can still release an awesome, original game. Pragmata is a sci-fi shooter with a unique twist: You aim at enemies with your gun while solving hacking puzzles to take them down. The $20 discount should make you more willing to take a chance on the new idea.

The Next Evolution of Your Favorite Monsters

Pokémon Legends: Z-A

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The next major Pokémon game, Winds and Waves, doesn’t arrive until 2027. But I would argue that Pokémon Legends: Z-A, an action-packed spin-off, does more to push this franchise into the future. Instead of turn-based battles, Z-A lets monsters fight in real time, making combat much more dynamic and reminiscent of the anime. And when you aren’t fighting, take in the lovely sights and sounds of the pseudo-French city locale. Pokémon Legends: Z-A is $30 off right now.

Gotta Go Fast

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I don’t know why Sonic the Hedgehog, famous for running fast, needs to be in a car for his racing game. But if you can get past that, Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds is a very good Mario Kart alternative. Controlling Sonic and friends, you’ll race on tracks set in alternate worlds pulled from other Sega games or even other properties, such as SpongeBob SquarePants. Get in on the racing action now and save $40.

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John Madden looms so large over the sport of football that Hollywood’s about to release an unhinged biopic about him starring Nic Cage. And a crucial element of that legend is the Madden football games, the only game in town for official simulated NFL action. Football season is already underway, so pick up Madden 27 for $27 off and create your own big moments.

A Hive of Scum and Villainy

Star Wars Outlaws forged its own path in Star Wars gaming by focusing more on thieves and scoundrels than folks who use lightsabers. Initially, I didn’t love the game’s focus on harsh stealth, even if it made sense in context. Fortunately, the game has received many updates that have greatly improved the experience. This is now an open-world Star Wars galaxy that’s worth your time and money. You can force-grab it for just $14.99—that’s a $55 savings!

About Our Expert

Jordan Minor

Principal Writer, Software

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Experience

My PCMag career began in 2013 as an intern. Now, I’m a senior writer, using the skills I acquired at Northwestern University to write about dating apps, meal kits, programming software, website builders, video streaming services, and video games. I was previously a senior editor at Geek.com and have written for The A.V. Club, Kotaku, and Paste Magazine. I’m the author of the gaming history book Video Game of the Year: A Year-by-Year Guide to the Best, Boldest, and Most Bizarre Games from Every Year Since 1977, and the reason everything you know about Street Sharks is a lie.

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It’s time to save some cash on the things you were planning on buying anyway. Amazon Prime’s Big Deal Days are here, and if you were hoping for a big discount on your next flagship carry, last generation’s Google Pixel 10 remains a worthy buy at $200 off.

Why should you listen to me? I’ve been writing about and testing smartphones for more than 15 years. I’ve seen the ebbs and flows of the mobile landscape, and the trends that stayed and those that faded. I know what a reliable smartphone looks and feels like. Google’s Pixel 10 is the real deal, with its Tensor G5 processor, compact chassis, and top-tier camera performance powered by Google’s imaging algorithms. Plus, Pixel hardware offers helpful features like Magic Eraser and Call Screening, which will hang up on spam calls for you before you hear the ringer. The Pixel 10 is backed by seven years of software updates and security support.

It’s deals like this that make Amazon Prime’s Big Deal Days and our intensive coverage so valuable.

Best Compact Android Flagship Deal

Google Pixel 10

6.3-inch OLED display, Google Tensor G5 CPU, 12GB RAM, 128GB-256GB

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$599.00
at Amazon

$799.00
Save $200.00

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As flagship phone prices keep rising, the Google Pixel 10 remains a worthy buy, even though it launched in late 2025. The Google-made Android smartphone’s $200 price drop (down to $599 from $799) makes the device even cheaper than 2026’s Pixel 10a, which is the mid-tier offering in the Pixel 10 lineup. But that Pixel 10a ships with Google’s Tensor G4, less RAM, and a camera system that can’t do as much as the regular Pixel 10.

The Pixel 10 has plenty of pro-tier features. It’s the first of Google’s higher-end models to feature a dedicated 5x telephoto lens. It’s also the first to bring the magnetic Pixelsnap to the Pixel ecosystem, which means you can swap MagSafe accessories with iPhone-loving people in your life. Combined with the Tensor G5 chip—which didn’t even make it to the economical Pixel 10a—and seven years of guaranteed software and security updates, it’s a suitable buy if you’re willing to sport last year’s hardware.

If you like this phone deal and want to save more, be sure to check out our complete Prime Day coverage, where you’ll discover deals upon deals.

About Our Expert

Florence Ion

Senior Writer, Mobile

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Experience

I’m PCMag’s Senior Mobile Writer. I write about Android, iOS, and the myriad intricacies in between. I’ve been covering these worlds for more than 15 years. Before joining PCMag, I was a staff reporter for Gizmodo, PCWorld, and Ars Technica.

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During Amazon’s Prime Day Big Deals, you can pick up ESET Home Security Essential for half its usual price. With this security suite, you get ESET antivirus apps for Windows, macOS, and Android, as well as an unusual app for smart TVs. Those with the tech skills to appreciate them will find its network inspector, anti-theft system, and banking protection components delightful. And its Android security app is among the best. Getting it for half off makes this security suite even more tempting.

Not a Prime Member?

Anyone can shop and save during the Big Deal event, but to get the best deals, you need to sign up for Prime. Don’t worry about spending all your savings on membership. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial during the sales event and cancel when it’s over.

Top Security for Tech-Savvy Users

ESET Home Security Essential

ESET Home Security Essential

ESET Home Security Essential, 5 licenses, 1 year

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$35.00
at Amazon

$69.99
Save $34.99

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Even on an ordinary day, a five-license subscription for ESET Home Security Essential costs $69.99, less than almost all its competitors. Cut that already-low price in half, to $35, and you’ve got a serious Prime Day bargain. And this is no cheap protection. It gets top scores from the independent labs, and it includes expected security suite features, including antivirus, firewall, spam filter, and parental control. On top of the expected, it adds quite a few bonuses, among them webcam protection, anti-theft, and a network inspector. High quality, low price, what’s not to like?

Prime Day is a great time to invest in security for your devices, but that’s not all. For Prime Day offers of all kinds, be sure to visit our PCMag Deals Hub.

About Our Expert

Neil J. Rubenking

Principal Writer, Security

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Experience

When the IBM PC was new, I served as the president of the San Francisco PC User Group for three years. That’s how I met PCMag’s editorial team, who brought me on board in 1986. In the years since that fateful meeting, I’ve become PCMag’s expert on security, privacy, and identity protection, putting antivirus tools, security suites, and all kinds of security software through their paces.

Before my current security gig, I supplied PCMag readers with tips and solutions on using popular applications, operating systems, and programming languages in my “User to User” and “Ask Neil” columns, which began in 1990 and ran for almost 20 years. Along the way, I wrote more than 40 utility articles, as well as Delphi Programming for Dummies and six other books covering DOS, Windows, and programming. I also reviewed thousands of products of all kinds, ranging from early Sierra Online adventure games to AOL’s precursor Q-Link.

In the early 2000s, I turned my focus to security and the growing antivirus industry. After years of working with antivirus, I’m known throughout the security industry as an expert on evaluating antivirus tools. I serve as an advisory board member for the Anti-Malware Testing Standards Organization (AMTSO), an international nonprofit group dedicated to coordinating and improving testing of anti-malware solutions.

Latest By Neil J. Rubenking

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Are you ready to get a jump on your holiday shopping, or just give yourself a treat before Halloween begins? Amazon Prime’s Big Deal Days are here, and I’ve gone through the sales to highlight a few bargains on fantastic digital cameras for creators of all skill levels. And I know what I’m talking about, I’ve spent the last 15 years as PCMag’s camera expert and in that time have tested thousands of digital cameras, lenses, and accessories. I’ve picked out three great deals on gear worth buying, including the best price ever on Nikon’s do-it-all full-frame Z6II mirrorless camera, a solid deal on the YouTube darling DJI Osmo Pocket 3 vlogging camera, and a good price on the entry-level Sony a6400 mirrorless camera.

Not a Prime Member?

You can still shop and save during Big Deal Days, but if you want to score the best deals, you need to sign up for Prime. The good news is that you can grab a free 30-day trial during the sales event.

The Best Prime Day Digital Camera Deals

Best Full-Frame Mirrorless Digital Camera Deal

Nikon Z6II with 24-70mm F4 Zoom Lens

24.5MP full-frame camera with 5-axis stabilization, 14fps autofocus, and 4K video

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$1,896.95
at Amazon

$2,349.95
Save $453.00

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The Nikon Z6II is selling for its best-ever price during Amazon Prime’s Big Deal Days event. That’s good news for photographers, videographers, and content creators who want to step up to a full-frame camera, or finally make the move from an SLR to a mirrorless system. The Z6II comes with an excellent, compact Nikkor Z 24-70mm F4 lens, and the kit has been selling below its suggested retail price lately, costing around $2,149.95 in the weeks ahead of this sale. Needless to say, its $1,896.95 sale price is a great value, about $250 less than normal, and beats the previous lowest cost by $100. The Z6II earned a solid recommendation in our 2021 review, and while it’s a generation behind the latest Z6III, its image quality, 14fps autofocus, and 4K video engine deliver solid results even when compared against new cameras. One of my gripes from five years ago is addressed, too. At the time, the Z lens system was pretty new and not yet fully formed, but today there are plenty of lenses available from both Nikon and third parties.

Best Vlogging Digital Camera Deal

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 Vlog Bundle

DJI Osmo Pocket 3 vlogging camera and Mic Mini wireless microphone

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$406.00
at Amazon

$532.00
Save $126.00

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In its time on the market, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 has cemented itself as the affordable camera for YouTube and content creation. Its lens is stabilized on a gimbal, so footage is super smooth, even when you’re moving with the camera. It records at up to 4K60, and includes Log color support for experts. The Pocket 3 is the newest option from DJI that’s officially available in the US, and the clear value choice when compared with fresher competitors like Insta360 Luna Ultra ($769). You can get the Pocket 3 bundled with the DJI Mic Mini, a wireless mic that records clear, crisp sound, for $406 during Amazon’s sale, about $100 less than the bundle cost last week, and less than the typical $439 camera-only price. You’re saving money and getting a microphone during the sale, so if you have YouTube aspirations or want to step up your TikTok game, it’s an ideal time to upgrade from a smartphone. If you already have a wireless mic, you can get the Pocket for $395, though for the small difference, I think I’d prefer picking up an extra mic; it’s handy for interviews, and it’s always good to have a backup.

Best Entry-Level Mirrorless Digital Camera Deal

Sony a6400 With 16-50mm Zoom Lens

24MP mirrorless camera with electronic viewfinder, 11fps autofocus, and 4K video

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$998.00
at Amazon

$1,199.99
Save $201.99

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Photographers who’ve started out with a smartphone and are ready to step up to an interchangeable lens camera should take a close look at the Sony a6400, available during the Big Deals Day sale for $998 with a 16-50mm zoom lens, about $200 less than its typical price. The a6400 is a fantastic camera for beginners, with a capable 24MP APS-C image sensor, outstanding tracking autofocus at up to 11fps for action, and 4K30 video recording. And despite including an electronic viewfinder, a tilting rear display, and a built-in flash, the a6400 is quite small, and is bundled with a correspondingly compact 16-50mm zoom lens. The a6400 a good pickup for anyone who wants try an interchangeable lens camera, and it gives beginners room to grow with manual controls and the largest number of add-on lenses available for any mirrorless camera system.

I hope that I helped you find a good deal on a camera that satisfies your creative impulses and makes sense for your wallet. If you’re looking for more tech bargains, make sure you check out our index of the best Prime Day deals.

About Our Expert

Jim Fisher

Principal Writer, Cameras

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Experience

Images, and the devices that capture them, are my focus. I’ve covered cameras at PCMag for the past 15 years, which has given me a front row seat for the changeover from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras, the smartphone camera revolution, and the emergence of drones for aerial imaging. I have extensive experience with every major mirrorless and SLR system, and am also comfortable using point-and-shoot and action cameras. As a Part 107 Certified drone pilot, I’m licensed to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial and editorial purposes, and am knowledgeable about federal rules and regulations regarding drones.

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