Phil Spencer isn't retiring as the chief of Xbox ‘anytime soon'
'Phil is not retiring anytime soon,' says Kari Perez, head of Xbox communications, in a statement to The Verge. The denial comes after Call of Duty leaker GhostOfHope claimed 'Phil Spencer will be retiring from his role as CEO of Microsoft Gaming after the launch of the next generation Xbox' and that Xbox president Sarah Bond would be taking over as CEO of Microsoft Gaming.
While Microsoft's comment doesn't address the rumor fully, it makes it clear Spencer isn't retiring imminently. Separately, Microsoft communications chief, Frank Shaw, took to X to claim that at least part of the rumor was made up.
Spencer originally assumed leadership of the Xbox division in 2014, a promotion from his role as the boss of Microsoft Studios. As the boss of Xbox, he's overseen many big initiatives, including the launch of the Xbox Series X / S, a huge push into Xbox Game Pass, acquisitions of major companies like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax Media, bringing more Xbox games to platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.
While Spencer isn't retiring anytime soon, Microsoft is continuing its big cuts today that have affected Xbox studios and employees. Perfect Dark and Everwild have been cancelled, while Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios will be letting go of more than 70 staffers. Zenimax Online Studios also reportedly canceled a new MMORPG codenamed Blackbird that had been in the works since 2018.
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New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Trump's Plans for A.I. Might Hit a Wall. Thank Europe.
President Trump wants to unleash American A.I. companies on the world. For the United States to win the unfolding A.I. arms race, his logic goes, tech companies should be unfettered by regulations and free to develop artificial intelligence technology as they generally see fit. He is convinced that the benefits of American supremacy in this technology outweigh the risks of ungoverned A.I., which experts warn could include heightened surveillance, disinformation or even an existential threat to humanity. This conviction is at the heart of the administration's recently unveiled A.I. Action Plan, which looks to roll back red tape and onerous regulations that it says paralyze A.I. development. But Mr. Trump can't single-handedly protect American A.I. companies from regulation. Washington may be able to eliminate the rules of the road at home, but it can't do so for the rest of the world. If American companies want to operate in international markets, they must follow the rules of those markets. That means that the European Union, an enormous market that is committed to regulating A.I., could well thwart Mr. Trump's techno-optimist vision of a world dominated by self-regulated, free-market U.S. companies. In the past, the E.U.'s digital regulations have resonated well beyond the continent, with technology companies extending those rules across their global operations in a phenomenon I have termed the Brussels Effect. Companies like Apple and Microsoft now broadly use the E.U.'s General Data Protection Regulation, which gives users more control over their data, as their global privacy standard in part because it is too costly and cumbersome for them to follow different privacy policies in each market. Other governments also often look to E.U. rules when drafting their own laws regulating the tech sector. The same phenomenon could at least partly hold for A.I. technology. Over the past decade, the E.U. has put in place a number of regulations aimed at balancing A.I. innovation, transparency and accountability. Most important is the A.I. Act, the world's first comprehensive and binding artificial intelligence law, which entered into force in August 2024. The act establishes guardrails against the possible risks of artificial intelligence, such as the loss of privacy, discrimination, disinformation and A.I. systems that could endanger human life if left unchecked. This law, for instance, restricts the use of facial recognition technology for surveillance and limits the use of potentially biased artificial intelligence for hiring or credit decisions. American developers looking to get access to the European market will have to comply with these rules and others. Some companies are already pushing back. Meta has accused the E.U. of overreach and even sought the Trump administration's help in opposing Europe's regulatory ambitions. But other companies, such as OpenAI, Google and Microsoft, are signing on to Europe's A.I. code of practice. These tech giants see an opportunity: Playing nice with the European Union could help build trust among users, pre-empt other regulatory challenges and streamline their policies around the world. Individual American states looking to govern A.I., too, could use E.U. rules as a template when writing their own bills, as California did when developing its privacy laws. By holding its ground, Europe can steer global A.I. development toward models that protect fundamental rights, ensure fairness and don't undermine democracy. Standing firm would also boost Europe's tech sector by creating fairer competition between foreign and European A.I. firms, which have to abide by E.U. laws. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Best Laptops We've Tested (August 2025)
I review all types of laptops at CNET, from budget models for everyday tasks to high-performance laptops for PC gaming and content creation -- and everything in between. With decades of experience, I conduct rigorous performance tests and supplement the benchmarks with extensive hands-on use to get a sense of a laptop's design and features in addition to its performance. And I always keep price and value in mind when evaluating a laptop. I have favorite MacBooks and I also have many Windows laptops to recommend for a variety of uses. No matter your budget or whether you need a laptop for home, school or work, I'm confident there's a laptop here that's perfect for you. Let's dive in. What is the best laptop overall? Apple's already fantastic laptop is now faster and cheaper. The MacBook Air recently received a jolt with an update to Apple's latest M4 silicon and its price dropped by $100. The 13-inch MacBook Air M4 starts at $999 and the 15-inch MacBook Air M4 starts at $1,199. Each provides a ton of value for the money. The larger Air is still thin and light while supplying a roomy 15.3-inch display. It's the best laptop for most people. The smaller and lighter Air sacrifices some screen size for increased portability, making it the best student laptop. A Windows rival to the MacBook Air has arrived in the form of Microsoft's first Copilot Plus PC. Based on a Qualcomm Snapdragon X CPU, the Surface Laptop 7 offers strong application and AI performance and outstanding battery life. It was the first Windows laptop I've tested with a longer battery life than that of the MacBook Air. With a design that's on par with the Air's, the Surface Laptop 7 is one of the best laptops. So is the Asus Zenbook A14, which is a lightweight laptop with an even longer battery life than the Surface Laptop 7. Read more: How We Test Computers" target="_self Best VPN for Windows" target="_self Best VPN for Mac" target="_self Best laptops of 2025 Most recent additions The HP EliteBook Ultra G1i is the most recent addition to the list. With its trim design, excellent build quality and high-res OLED display, it's our pick for the best business laptop. The new M4 versions of the MacBook Airs are the next-newest additions. The 15-inch Air acts as the bridge between the 13-inch MacBook Air M4 and MacBook Pro line and offers fans the best of both worlds: a larger display without the MacBook Pro premium. Because Apple has dropped the price by $100 for the M4 MacBook Air models, the price gap between the Air and Pro has grown. Other laptops we've tested HP OmniBook X Flip 16: While it has a handful of appealing features, this midrange 16-inch convertible ends up being a clumsy assemblage of disparate parts. Lenovo ThinkPad X9 14 Aura Edition: It offers a cheap path to an OLED ultraportable, but is a ThinkPad a ThinkPad without the little red nub in the middle of the keyboard? HP OmniBook X Flip 14: This two-in-one laptop offers style, value and configuration options abound, including a 3K OLED display for only an extra $100. Microsoft Surface Laptop (13-inch): It's compact, solidly built and great for travel, but the 13.8-inch version is the better choice as your daily driver. Dell 14 Plus: Skip the two-in-one and opt for the clamshell laptop I tested, when it goes on sale. Acer Swift Go 16 (2025): Built around a beautiful 16-inch OLED screen, the latest Swift Go 16 improves on its predecessors without significant price inflation. Dell 16 Plus 2-in-1: This big-screen, mini-LED convertible laptop certainly has some positives, but there are a few too many negatives to give this Plus a full-throated recommendation. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition: It's a great business laptop, but it can get pricey fast with upgrades. Acer Swift 14 AI: This midrange Copilot Plus PC offers incredible battery life but is missing one key feature. HP EliteBook X G1a: X does not mark the spot for this biz laptop when the Ultra version costs roughly the same and supplies a far better display inside a slimmer, more compact design. Lenovo Yoga Slim 9i 14 Gen 10: It's ultrastylish and ultracompact, but maybe don't hide the camera behind the display next time? Acer Chromebook Plus 516: The 16-inch display provides plenty of room to work but Acer has a similar model that offers more for less. HP Pavilion Plus 14 (2025): Parts of the HP Pavilion Plus 14 are great but there's one poor-quality feature that totally ruins the experience. Acer Swift 16 AI: It's thin. It's light. It's long-running. And it boasts a big, bright 16-inch OLED display. So what's holding this Copilot Plus PC back from being more than just a big-screen productivity machine? How we test laptops The review process for laptops consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features with respect to price. A final review verdict is a combination of both objective and subjective judgments. We test all laptops with a core set of benchmarks, including Primate Labs Geekbench 5 and 6, Cinebench R23, PCMark 10, a variety of 3DMark benchmarks (whichever can run on the laptop), UL Procyon Photo and Video (where supported) and our own battery life test. If a laptop is intended for PC gaming, we'll also run benchmarks from Guardians of the Galaxy, The Rift Breaker (CPU and GPU) and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. For the hands-on, the reviewer uses it for their work during the review period, evaluating how well the design, features (such as the screen, camera and speakers) and manufacturer-supplied software operate as a cohesive whole. We also place importance on how well they work given their cost and where the manufacturer has potentially made upgrades or tradeoffs for its price. The list of benchmarking software and comparison criteria we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. You can find a more detailed description of our test methodology on our How We Test Computers page. Best time to buy a laptop Amazon Prime Day is a great time to find a laptop at a great price, and you might be able to nab some remaining Prime Day deals from last week's big event. Other times of the year when you can find the best laptop deals are during back-to-school sales in late summer or early fall and a bit later in the year during Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. You can find discounts on laptops throughout the year but, if you're looking for the best deal and can afford to wait, these are typically the best times to buy one. Best laptop brands Apple's MacBooks are the most popular laptops and for good reason. They offer excellent build quality and leading performance and battery life ever since Apple introduced its M series processors in 2020. The top two brands on the Windows side are Lenovo and HP. Both offer a wide variety of models, from thin-and-light ultraportables to larger, more powerful models for gaming content creation. Lenovo's ThinkPads have long been a favorite among business laptops and its Yoga models are usually highly rated two-in-one laptops. HP is in the middle of a branding transformation. It's ended its Pavilion, Envy and Spectre laptop brands in favor of OmniBook consumer models and EliteBook business models. Its Omen brand will continue as the home for its gaming laptops. I liked the first OmniBook laptop I reviewed and look forward to testing more. For a budget laptop, Acer and Apple have great options -- each dominates our best budget laptop list. Acer makes great low-cost laptops and budget gaming laptops and Apple's MacBook Air can usually be found for less than $1,000 where it's a great deal. And the older M1 model costs even less. Factors to consider when shopping the best laptops There are a ton of laptops on the market at any given moment and almost all of those models are available in multiple configurations to match your performance and budget needs. If you're feeling overwhelmed with options when looking for a new laptop, it's understandable. To help simplify things for you, here are the main things you should consider when you start looking. Price The search for a new laptop for most people starts with price. If the statistics that chipmaker Intel and PC manufacturers hurl at us are correct, you'll be holding onto your next laptop for at least three years. If you can afford to stretch your budget a little to get better specs, do it. That stands whether you're spending $500 or more than $1,000. In the past, you could get away with spending less upfront with an eye toward upgrading memory and storage in the future. Laptop makers are increasingly moving away from making components easily upgradable, so again, it's best to get as much laptop as you can afford from the start. Generally speaking, the more you spend, the better the laptop. That could mean better components for faster performance, a nicer display, sturdier build quality, a smaller or lighter design from higher-end materials or even a more comfortable keyboard. All of these things add to the cost of a laptop. I'd love to say $500 will get you a powerful gaming laptop, for example, but that's not the case. Right now, the sweet spot for a reliable laptop that can handle average work, home office or school tasks is between $700 and $800 and a reasonable model for creative work or gaming is upward of about $1,000. The key is to look for discounts on models in all price ranges so you can get more laptop capabilities for less. Operating system Choosing an operating system is part personal preference and part budget. For the most part, Microsoft Windows and Apple's MacOS do the same things (except for gaming, where Windows is the winner), but they do them differently. Unless there's an OS-specific application you need, go with the one you feel most comfortable using. If you're not sure which that is, head to an Apple store or a local electronics store and test them out. Or ask friends or family to let you test theirs for a bit. If you have an iPhone or iPad and like it, chances are you'll like MacOS, too. In price and variety (and PC gaming), Windows laptops win. If you want MacOS, you're getting a MacBook. Apple's MacBooks regularly top our best lists, the least expensive one is the M1 MacBook Air for $999. It is regularly discounted to $750 or $800, but if you want a cheaper MacBook, you'll have to consider older refurbished ones. Windows laptops can be found for as little as a couple of hundred dollars and come in all manner of sizes and designs. Granted, we'd be hard-pressed to find a $200 laptop we'd give a full-throated recommendation to but if you need a laptop for online shopping, email and word processing, they exist. If you are on a tight budget, consider a Chromebook. ChromeOS is a different experience than Windows; make sure the applications you need have a Chrome, Android or Linux app before making the leap. If you spend most of your time roaming the web, writing, streaming video or using cloud-gaming services, they're a good fit. Size Remember to consider whether having a lighter, thinner laptop or a touchscreen laptop with a good battery life will be important to you in the future. Size is primarily determined by the screen -- hello, laws of physics -- which in turn factors into battery size, laptop thickness, weight and price. Keep in mind other physics-related characteristics, such as an ultrathin laptop isn't necessarily lighter than a thick one, you can't expect a wide array of connections on a small or ultrathin model and so on. Screen When deciding on a screen, there are a myriad number of considerations: How much you need to display (which is surprisingly more about resolution than screen size), what types of content you'll be looking at and whether you'll be using it for gaming or creative work. You really want to optimize pixel density; that is, the number of pixels per inch the screen can display. Although other factors contribute to sharpness, a higher pixel density usually means a sharper rendering of text and interface elements. (You can easily calculate the pixel density of any screen at DPI Calculator if you don't feel like doing the math, and you can also find out what math you need to do there.) I recommend a dot pitch of at least 100 pixels per inch as a rule of thumb. Because of the way Windows and MacOS scale for the display, you're frequently better off with a higher resolution than you'd think. You can always make things bigger on a high-resolution screen, but you can never make them smaller -- to fit more content in the view -- on a low-resolution screen. This is why a 4K, 14-inch screen may sound like unnecessary overkill but may not be if you need to, say, view a wide spreadsheet. If you need a laptop with relatively accurate color that displays the most colors possible or that supports HDR, you can't simply trust the specs -- not because manufacturers lie, but because they usually fail to provide the necessary context to understand what the specs they quote mean. You can find a ton of detail about considerations for different types of screen uses in our monitor buying guides for general purpose monitors, creators, gamers and HDR viewing. Processor The processor, aka the CPU, is the brains of a laptop. Intel and AMD are the main CPU makers for Windows laptops, with Qualcomm as a new third option with its Arm-based Snapdragon X processors. Both Intel and AMD offer a staggering selection of mobile processors. Making things trickier, both manufacturers have chips designed for different laptop styles, like power-saving chips for ultraportables or faster processors for gaming laptops. Their naming conventions will let you know what type is used. You can head to Intel's or AMD's sites for explanations so you get the performance you want. Generally speaking, the faster the processor speed and the more cores it has, the better the performance will be. Apple makes its own chips for MacBooks, which makes things slightly more straightforward. Like Intel and AMD, you'll still want to pay attention to the naming conventions to know what kind of performance to expect. Apple uses its M-series chipsets in Macs. The entry-level MacBook Air uses an M1 chip with an eight-core CPU and seven-core GPU. The current models have M2-series silicon that starts with an eight-core CPU and 10-core GPU and goes up to the M2 Max with a 12-core CPU and a 38-core GPU. Again, generally speaking, the more cores it has, the better the performance. Battery life has less to do with the number of cores and more to do with CPU architecture, Arm versus x86. Apple's Arm-based MacBooks and the first Arm-based Copilot Plus PCs we've tested offer better battery life than laptops based on x86 processors from Intel and AMD. Graphics The graphics processor handles all the work of driving the screen and generating what gets displayed, as well as speeding up a lot of graphics-related (and increasingly, AI-related) operations. For Windows laptops, there are two types of GPUs: integrated (iGPU) or discrete (dGPU). As the names imply, an iGPU is part of the CPU package, while a dGPU is a separate chip with dedicated memory (VRAM) that it communicates with directly, making it faster than sharing memory with the CPU. Because the iGPU splits space, memory and power with the CPU, it's constrained by the limits of those. It allows for smaller, lighter laptops, but doesn't perform nearly as well as a dGPU. There are some games and creative software that won't run unless they detect a dGPU or sufficient VRAM. Most productivity software, video streaming, web browsing and other nonspecialized apps will run fine on an iGPU. For more power-hungry graphics needs, like video editing, gaming and streaming, design and so on, you'll need a dGPU; there are only two real companies that make them, Nvidia and AMD, with Intel offering some based on the Xe-branded (or the older UHD Graphics branding) iGPU technology in its CPUs. Memory For memory, I highly recommend 16GB of RAM (8GB absolute minimum). RAM is where the operating system stores all the data for currently running applications and it can fill up fast. After that, it starts swapping between RAM and SSD, which is slower. A lot of sub-$500 laptops have 4GB or 8GB, which in conjunction with a slower disk can make for a frustratingly slow Windows laptop experience. Also, many laptops now have the memory soldered onto the motherboard. Most manufacturers disclose this but if the RAM type is LPDDR, assume it's soldered and can't be upgraded. Some PC makers will solder memory on and also leave an empty internal slot for adding a stick of RAM. You may need to contact the laptop manufacturer or find the laptop's full specs online to confirm. Check the web for user experiences because the slot may still be hard to get to, it may require nonstandard or hard-to-get memory or other pitfalls. Storage You'll still find cheaper hard drives in budget laptops and larger hard drives in gaming laptops but faster solid-state drives have all but replaced hard drives in laptops. They can make a big difference in performance. Not all SSDs are equally speedy, and cheaper laptops typically have slower drives; if the laptop only has 4GB or 8GB of RAM, it may end up swapping to that drive and the system may slow down quickly while you're working. Get what you can afford and if you need to go with a smaller drive, you can always add an external drive or two down the road or use cloud storage to bolster a small internal drive. The one exception is gaming laptops: I don't recommend going with less than a 512GB SSD unless you really like uninstalling games every time you want to play a new game.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Still Running Windows 10 and Can't Upgrade? Here Are Your Top Options
Beginning on Oct. 14, Microsoft will no longer widely support Windows 10. This means that if you're still running Windows 10 -- and you're not alone if you are -- you won't have access to free updates, bug fixes or tech support from Microsoft after support ends. Microsoft recommends upgrading your computer to Windows 11 before this deadline, but not all laptops or desktops can run Windows 11. Not sure whether your current device is compatible with Windows 11? There are a few different ways to check. The simplest is to go to Start, then click Settings. Once in the Settings menu, select Update & Security then click Windows Update to see if you're able to update to the latest version on Windows. Microsoft also has a list of Windows 11 system requirements that you can refer to if you're not sure whether or not your computer can upgrade. Requirements include 4GB of RAM, 64GB or more of storage and a 1GHz or faster processor. These hardware requirements are the most common reasons that a PC may not be able to upgrade to Windows 11. If that's the case, you have several different options. Below, you can find the best options to consider if your computer cannot be upgraded to Windows 11. Read more: Best Laptops of 2025 Upgrade your PC You could use this deadline as a good reason to upgrade to a new computer. Microsoft recently released a couple of cheaper, lighter Microsoft Surface laptops that are joining Microsoft's Copilot Plus PC lineup. Going this route also means Windows 11 will already be installed and ready to go. If you need help finding the right upgrade, check out our list of the best Windows laptops of 2025. Of course, upgrading your computer is not the most cost-effective solution. If your laptop is slowing down or you were already eyeing an upgrade, this option is worth considering, but if not, you may want to hang on to your current computer for a bit longer and try one of the other solutions on this list. Pay for extended security updates Microsoft actually isn't fully doing away with Windows 10 updates, but you will have to pay for them going forward. Microsoft previously announced that it will offer extended security updates (ESU). Enrolling in the ESU program will give you access to critical security updates for Windows 10. Though you won't receive updates for new features or bug fixes, and Microsoft will not offer technical support if you run into any challenges on your Windows 10 PC. The ESU program is primarily targeted at businesses and institutions using Windows for commercial use or educational purposes, but this year, Microsoft will be rolling out a consumer version. The consumer plan is a one-year option priced at $30. Microsoft reports that program enrollment will open closer to Oct. 14. This option is certainly cheaper than upgrading your laptop and far less risky than ignoring the end-of-support deadline and using an unsupported OS, so it's worth considering if you'd like to keep your old laptop for a bit longer. Ditch Windows in favor of another operating system Windows 11 isn't the only operating system available for PCs. Linux is a popular option for giving new life to older PCs. The free, open-source operating system has a strong reputation for security. There are many different versions (or distros) of Linux, so you can find one that best fits your needs and design preferences. Some popular options worth exploring include Mint, Ubuntu and Zorin OS. ChromeOS is a Linux-based option, but is not generally considered a traditional Linux distro. Google ChromeOS Flex provides the look and most of the functionality of the Google ChromeOS, the operating system that commonly runs natively on Chromebooks, but is designed for use on Windows, Mac and Linux devices. If you're a current Windows 10 user who predominately uses the Google Chrome browser, ChromeOS Flex will likely feel fairly familiar and intuitive to you. To find out whether Google ChromeOS Flex is an option for your device, look through the certified models list. Use Microsoft 365 or a virtual desktop In a recent blog post, Microsoft advised that you could migrate to the cloud with Windows 365 or Azure Virtual Desktop if you're unable to upgrade your device or buy a new one. This can make Windows 11 available on your unsupported device via the cloud. It was also announced last month that Microsoft 365 apps running on Windows 10 will continue to receive security updates for another three years after the upcoming end of support date. Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based subscription service that provides access to apps such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more. Opt for third-party security software Technically, you can continue to run your device on Windows 10 after the deadline, but you won't receive security updates. Leaving your computer without appropriate security protections isn't wise, so some people are turning to third-party security services in hopes of bridging the gap until they can upgrade. Installing third-party 0patch agent is one way to add a bit more protection for an unsupported Windows PC. 0patch announced that it will continue to provide critical security patches for Windows 10 for at least five more years. The free version includes patches for known 0-day vulnerabilities, providing a cost-effective option for those not looking to splurge on a security subscription or new laptop. Though you'll need to upgrade to the paid plan if you want all available Windows 10 patches. There are also plenty of antivirus software programs on the market that can help you improve your PC's security. That being said, this isn't the most secure route, and could have negative outcomes. If you store sensitive information on your computer or rely on it for work or school, it's best not to take your chances with an unsupported operating system. Bypass the Windows 11 upgrade compatibility checker Even if your device is technically considered incompatible with Windows 11, there are some ways to bypass the Windows 11 upgrade compatibility checker and install it anyway. You can use Rufus to create a bootable version of Windows 11 using the Windows 11 ISO file that will bypass the system requirements for upgrading. This option has been used to upgrade older PCs and bypass Microsoft account requirements. On laptops originally built for Windows 10, you can also make a simple adjustment in the Registry Editor to bypass installation restrictions and upgrade your device to Windows 11. Ed Bott of ZDNET has a step-by-step outline of how to complete this process and upgrade your incompatible Windows PC.
