Category: 4. Technology

At HPE Discover 2025, I was walking through the Intel booth and stopped cold when I saw a few products. One series shown was its newest 10GbE and 2.5GbE NICs based on the latest Intel E610 chipset. This is a new lower-end networking solution that will bring lower power to some key markets.

Intel E610 NICs Shown for Low Power 10Gbase-T and 2.5GbE

The first adapter did not look like anything too exciting, until I realized what it was. This is a PCIe Gen4 x4 adapter for dual 10Gbase-T connectivity. It is based on the new Intel E610 chipset.

The dual ports support 10GbE, 5GbE, 2.5GbE, and 1GbE. At full dual 10Gbase-T speeds, this card is rated at only 5.1W! That is awesome.

Also at the show, we saw the Intel E610-IT4 in an OCP NIC 3.0 form factor (SFF with pull tab in this case.)

This card has quad 2.5GbE ports. Interestingly, this can use up to 8.6W with 7.2W typical power. For an OCP NIC 3.0 SFF slot, this is not much to cool, but it is also just a neat solution.

A lot of folks who might have used the Intel i350 4-port 1GbE NICs are probably looking for a 2.5GbE solution these days, and Intel now has one. That is pretty neat.

Final Words

The somewhat crazy part about this is that these cards were launched by Intel with very little fanfare. I spoke to an Intel product rep at the booth who is a STH reader (hello if you are reading this.) I simply said it is a bit strange that Intel would release new chips and cards in this segment and I did not hear about it. There is a lot of change at Intel these days. At the same time, I know a lot of folks would be interested in these cards. I certainly am. Hopefully we can get some to show-off soon.

Prime Day is just five days away, but the Galaxy S25 Edge is already enjoying a super-sweet $220 discount. Yep, you can grab Samsung’s latest ultra-slim flagship phone for 18% off in its 512GB variant. The promo only applies to select colorways, so keep that in mind.

The Galaxy S25 Edge is $220 off

$220 off (18%)

Looking for a super-slim flagship with a high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and a 200MP main camera? The Galaxy S25 Edge might be the right fit! The device is currently $220 off at Amazon in select 512GB models, making it a real bargain ahead of Prime Day.

Buy at Amazon

With Prime Day just around the corner, some of you might be tempted to wait. But let’s face it—there’s no telling whether the Galaxy AI handset will drop any lower next week. So, if you don’t feel like waiting, this $220 discount is already a solid choice.While it doesn’t have the biggest battery or the longest battery life, the Galaxy S25 Edge is still quite attractive. Packing a large 6.7-inch OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an impressive 200MP main camera in an ultra-slim titanium body, this bad boy is meant to turn heads.

The display gets incredibly bright, eliminating any issues with outdoor visibility. In fact, our tests showed it’s a bit brighter than the Galaxy S25+, and it’s also a bit more color-accurate. Discover more about display quality in our Galaxy S25 Edge review.

In case you’re wondering, this Samsung phone is also quite capable on the camera front. Aside from its 200MP main camera, it features a 12MP ultra-wide on the rear and takes pretty good-looking photos with superb detail and vibrant colors. That said, since it lacks a dedicated telephoto sensor, you won’t get the best results when zooming beyond 4x.

But that’s not all! The S25 Edge packs none other than the Snapdragon 8 Elite inside its 5.8mm-thin body. The flagship SoC ensures solid performance across the board, but it doesn’t outperform the Galaxy S25+ or the S25 Ultra in terms of raw horsepower.

So, if you’ve been planning to get the Galaxy S25 Edge this summer but don’t feel like waiting for Prime Day to kick off, now might be a great time to grab the ~$1,220 variant for just under $1,000.

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This year’s Fourth of July deals aren’t just about saving on big-ticket items. Though the official holiday is over, there are still plenty of discounts on some everyday tech, too. And they don’t get more everyday than this four-port USB-C charger that’s yours today for just $26, thanks to a limited-time 40% discount. This Baseus charger would normally sell for around $43, so this is a deal well worth taking advantage of.

This handy little charger offers three USB-C ports and a single USB-A port for charging all of your legacy devices. You can power phones, tablets and laptops thanks to a total 65-watt output. And you can charge your laptop at the full 65 watts when you use one of the two USB-C ports on the left-hand side.

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Other features worth calling out include a diminutive design thanks to the use of GaN technology as well as a collection of features designed to keep the charger cool when in use.

Frequent travellers will enjoy the ability to fold the charger’s pins so it won’t scratch anything in your bag — or dig into your back, for that matter.

Why this deal matters

You can never have too many USB-C chargers, and this one uses just one AC outlet to power four individual devices. That alone makes this a great option for travellers who want to be able to charge their stuff in a hotel room. At just $26, why not treat yourself to a handy dollop of convenience the next time you travel?

I don’t often get asked about the phones I’m testing when I’m out and about, unless it’s a folding phone. Then I usually hear some version of the same thing: “Oh, I thought about getting one of those! But then I just got a [insert slab-style phone name here].” My anecdotal data matches the actual sales figures; there are many more people curious about folding phones than there are buyers of folding phones. Samsung would very much like that to not be the case, and, by all indications, it’s about to pull out all the stops at at its Unpacked event on July 9th. But is putting the Ultra name on a folding phone enough?

The weak sales are not for lack of trying — Samsung has been trying to sell us on foldables for a good chunk of the last decade, and Google also got in the game a couple of years ago. Motorola has had substantial success selling clamshell-style flip phones; Counterpoint Research found that the brand’s foldable market share grew 253 percent year-over-year in 2024. But that’s a bigger piece of a very small pie. TrendForce estimated that foldables made up just 1.5 percent of the overall smartphone market in 2024. In the US, Samsung was the earliest and loudest folding phone maker, but a half dozen iterations of folding phones hasn’t managed to make a significant dent.

The company has all but confirmed that we’ll get an Ultra-branded Fold for the first time, with a thinner profile to rival the recent efforts from Honor and Oppo. The Z Flip 7 is likely to get a bigger, Razr-style screen that covers most of the front panel, and we might see a cheaper FE version with the old cover screen design. That all seems to address a couple of common complaints about foldables: they’re too pricey and come with too many tradeoffs compared to a slab-style phone.

I’m not quite sure it’ll be enough, though. Foldables remain more susceptible to damage from dust than a standard flagship phone — and repairs can be pricier. Despite saying years ago that it’s pursuing full dustproofing, Samsung doesn’t seem to have cracked the code on a fully IP68-rated foldable just yet. Taking a chance on an expensive phone that’s less durable than your typical $1,000 flagship? That’s kind of a big ask, especially with prices on everything else we buy going up, too.

It’s not all doom and gloom for foldables, however. Analysts are putting a lot of stock in rumors of a folding phone from Apple coming in 2026. An iFold or whatever it might be called could help expand the market, at least in the US, and maybe that rising tide would float Samsung’s boat, too. Maybe a couple of new models hitting different price segments is enough to get Samsung’s marketshare growing again — a strategy that has worked well for the company in the past. Maybe an Ultra foldable with ultra specs will convince some people who were on the fence about folding phones. And if anyone was holding out for an extra hinge, well, Samsung might just have that covered, too.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge

Running out of juice when you’re on the move is a solved problem thanks to the many different portable power banks on the market. But you’re still going to need a cable to plug things in, and that can get messy. Cables get tangled at the best of times, but this Baseus retractable USB-C cable has the answer. It shrinks down to hide the cable when not in use, avoiding all those traditional wire problems we’re all so familiar with. And even better, Amazon’s Fourth of July sale has slashed the price of one of these cables to just $7. 

The Baseus retractable USB-C cable is an excellent option to stock up on and keep in your bags and luggage because it’s so small that it takes up virtually no space. The best part is that it comes in four fun colors: black, white, blue and purple. This way, you can get a cable to match your phone color or pick your favorites.

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The Baseus Retractable Mini USB-C Cable comes in two lengths: 3.3 feet or 6.6 feet. However, for this lingering Fourth of July offer, only the 3.3-foot version has the most significant savings. This also makes it the perfect cable for use in the car, with a portable power bank, with a computer, plugged into a nearby outlet, or wherever and whatever else that doesn’t need more than three feet in length. And with its super compact size, this is the perfect cable to simply throw and stash away in your purse, backpack, luggage or car. Anywhere you may need a charging cable, this is the perfect one to stash away as a “just in case” option.

With Baseus, this little cable packs quite a punch. It supports 100-watt fast charging, so you can even use it for your USB-C laptop, like a MacBook Pro or even tablets. Though you might use it the most for your smartphone, it’s more versatile than that. According to Baseus, it can fully charge a 16-inch MacBook Pro in just 2 hours, an 11-inch iPad Pro in 2.4 hours, a Nintendo Switch in 2.5 hours, and a Samsung S22 Ultra in 58 minutes.

Since it is retractable, you need only pull it out as much as you need, which helps reduce cable messes on your desk. When you’re not using it, just retract both ends. Since it’s just 15mm thin and weighs only 50 grams, it can even slide into your pocket.

And again, with four colors to pick from, you can get one of each and stash them all over the place. They’re small enough to do so, after all.

Why this deal matters

No one likes to be caught off guard with no charging cable. This one is super compact and retractable, simplifying the mess and excess. You can use it with your power adapters and power banks, and it works with all of your USB-C devices from your iPhone to your MacBook Pro. Although Amazon lists this currently at $13 not on sale, the original retail price is actually $17. So at just $7 a pop, there’s really no reason to not pick this up.

Samsung emerges as the top buyer of Snapdragon 8 Elite chips

If you’ve updated to Android 16 and noticed that your Google Pixel device is slower to wake up or get past the lockscreen, you’re not alone.

The initial Android 16 release for Google Pixel devices doesn’t really feel any different from Android 15, but there are some changes under the hood in preparation for the future. The update is, overall, pretty stable, but some Google Pixel owners have found an issue.

On the stable Android 16 release, some are reporting that their Google Pixel’s display is slow to wake up and get to the lockscreen following this latest update. The issue, reported across multiple threads on Google’s forums and Reddit, leaves the device either slow to wake up when the screen is tapped, when the power button is pressed, or both. When the screen does finally come to life, the lockscreen lags a bit when going through to the rest of Android.

For obvious reasons, that’s a bit frustrating.

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Notably, my own Pixel 9 Pro Fold experiences this on the Android 16 QPR1 beta release, but users are reporting this on the stable Android 16 update.

Some users say that a reboot temporarily fixes the problem, but it seems to be persistent. Google, as far as we’ve seen, hasn’t acknowledged the problem or promised a fix, but there are just enough reports of this behavior that it’s almost certainly we’ll see a fix in the not-too-distant future.

If you’re seeing lockscreen issues on Android 16 on your Pixel, let us know in the comments below.

More on Android 16:

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The streak of record-breaking updates continues as the Grow a Garden devs drop yet another weekly event. The Prehistoric Update lives up to its name, with dinosaurs rawring across your plots and Jurassic plants towering over your garden. Oh, and yes, Candy Blossom finally has some real competition. So buckle up, because we’re diving into the Grow a Garden Prehistoric Update patch notes and taking a wild ride back to the old ages.

Prehistoric Event

• A brand-new limited-time event brings dinosaurs and ancient plants to life.
• Complete daily Prehistoric quests to earn prehistoric rewards, including seeds, pets, cosmetics, and more.
• Exchange regular Grow a Garden pets for a chance to get Dino pets or Dino Eggs.
• Finish the full questline to unlock Bone Blossom: a new plant that rivals Candy Blossom.

New Plants

• The Old Seed Shop returns with fresh prehistoric-themed seeds.
• Bone Blossom: Multi-harvest crop with high sell value.
• Burning Bud
• Fossilight
• Firefly Fern
• Boneboo
• Horned Dinoshroom: First multi-harvest mushroom in the game.
• Paradise Petal
• Stonebite

New Pets

• T-Rex
• Brontosaurus
• 3+ additional prehistoric pets are available in Dino Eggs.

Travelling Merchants

• Summer Merchant returns with seasonal goodies.
• Honey Merchant joins with sweet new offerings.

New Items

Weather and Admin Events

• Sandstorm: A lobby event that brings windy chaos and a chance for the Sandy Grow a Garden mutation.
• Sandy Mutation: Offers a 3x multiplier on affected crops.
• Amber Mutation: The first multi-stage mutation, perfect for stacking with other bonuses.
• Plus, several secret weather events are now active if you can find them.

Cosmetics

• Over 6 new summer-themed cosmetics to customize your avatar and garden style.

Fixes, Changes & QoL

• You can now expand your max pet inventory.
• Sprinklers are now shovelable if you want to clear up space.
• Fixed issues with daily quests not tracking properly.
• General performance improvements and bug fixes across the board.

That wraps up the Grow a Garden Prehistoric Update patch notes. Are you also trying out the new update? See you in the garden!

Ishan Adhikary

A gaming nerd who covers all things video games. Spending time playing games and writing about them was always a dream. Thanks to Beebom, I live it. Once I am done gaming, I write. Once I am done writing, I game. You feel me.

SAVE $150: The Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) is on sale at Amazon in all colorways for $849, down from the list price of $999. That’s a 15% discount that matches the lowest we’ve ever seen.

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While we enjoy leftover potato salad and watermelon post 4th of July, it’s time to consider what’ll be on your Prime Day shopping list. If you’re one to shop early, there are hundreds of deals already included in the Amazon Prime Day sale, and there’s a particular Apple discount we can’t stop recommending.

As of July 5, the Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) is on sale for $849 in all colorways at Amazon, marked down from the standard price of $999. That puts you in line for a savings of $150 from a 15% discount. It also matches the record-low price for this Apple laptop that just debuted in March.

Buying a new laptop can be a scary decision. It’s possible you’ll use the machine everyday and for important tasks like your dissertation or a major project at work. That spells high stakes for choosing the right model. Pair that with laptop jargon and you might be dreading the purchase. But Prime Day is here to save the day because there’s a great deal on a great MacBook.

The M4 MacBook Air impresses in performance. Mashable Senior Editor Stan Schroeder wrote in his review, “The new MacBook Air is great. It’s powerful, silent, and comes with a couple of much-needed upgrades. It’s also cheaper than before, making it the best-buy Apple laptop, period.”

Some of the much-needed upgrades Schroeder is referring to include the zippy M4 chip and the significantly improved 16GB RAM. Plus, the new Sky Blue colorway is included in today’s deal. Schroeder also commends the laptop’s silent operation and the ability to use support two external monitors.

Mashable Deals

If the 13-inch display doesn’t seem like enough for your liking, the 15-inch version is also on sale for $150 off. This early Prime Day sale brings the 15-inch M4 MacBook Air down to $1,049 instead of the usual price of $1,199.

While the Prime Day sale doesn’t start until Tuesday, if you snag these deals over the weekend, the items could very well be on your doorstep by Tuesday. That includes this record-low price on the Apple MacBook Air, 13-inch (M4, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD) which is down to $849. Snag this model today and leave Tuesday open for browsing the rest of sale.