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Exploring the Best of All Time, In the vast landscape of gaming, some titles stand the test of time, captivating players across generations. These games not only define their eras but also set benchmarks for their genres. They offer immersive experiences, compelling narratives, and innovative mechanics, often being celebrated in discussions about the Best PC Game All Time. As we delve into this remarkable universe, we will explore the games that have become milestones in gaming history, continuing to resonate with both newcomers and veterans alike.

Main Points

  1. Understanding what makes a game timeless.
  2. A look at various genres represented among the best.
  3. Highlighting key elements present in the Best PC Game All Time.
  4. Reviewing both single-player and multiplayer experiences.

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1. The Evolution of PC Gaming: A Historical Overview

The journey of PC gaming is nothing short of fascinating. It began in the late 1970s, where a handful of -based games captivated a niche audience. These early experiences laid the foundation for a massive industry. Over the decades, technical advancements and a growing community transformed the gaming landscape. As graphics improved and the internet emerged, multiplayer experiences flourished in ways many couldn’t have imagined. Today, PC gaming is a bastion of creativity and competition, with titles that fall into the realm of the Best PC Game All Time.

  1. 1970s – Early Beginnings: Simple text-based adventures dominated.
  2. 1980s – The Birth of Graphics: Introduction of iconic titles, pushing visual limits.
  3. 1990s – Online Connectivity: Multiplayer games emerged with the rise of the internet.
  4. 2000s – The Rise of FPS: First-person shooters redefined competitive gaming.
  5. 2010s – Diverse Genres: Expanding into RPGs, indie games, and esports.

This evolution encapsulates why many regard certain titles as the Best PC Game All Time. Thus, the evolution of PC gaming reflects not just technological progression but also our ever-growing desire for immersive experiences. Best PC Game All Time discussions often intersect with personal passion, making them a riveting topic among enthusiasts.

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2. Iconic Franchises That Shaped the PC Gaming Landscape

Throughout the years, several franchises have emerged, profoundly influencing the best PC game all time records. Titles such as StarCraft and The Sims revolutionized gameplay mechanics and storytelling. Each franchise brought unique elements that catered to diverse audiences, creating memorable multiplayer experiences. Additionally, their impact on genre evolution cannot be understated, as they established new benchmarks. It’s intriguing how these games shaped not only player expectations but also industry standards. They are truly the stalwarts of PC gaming.

Franchise Highlights

Franchise Release Year Genre
StarCraft 1998 RTS
The Sims 2000 Simulation

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3. Genre Definers: Best RPGs, FPS, and Strategy Games of All Time

When we dive into the world of video games, three genres particularly stand out: RPGs, FPS, and strategy games. Each of these categories has produced unforgettable experiences that define the gaming landscape. Best PC game all time graphics often enhance immersion, vividly bringing stories to life. RPGs like “” offer rich narratives, while FPS games such as “DOOM” deliver adrenaline-pumping . Nevertheless, strategy games like “Civilization VI” challenge players to think critically, making choices that resonate across generations.

Unforgettable Titles and Their Legacy

In the realm of RPGs, the depth of character development is remarkable. Clearly, players invest not just time but emotion into their journey. FPS games prioritize quick reflexes and skill; however, they also foster intense multiplayer rivalries. Alternatively, strategy games emphasize patience and planning, rewarding foresight over mere speed. Therein lies the magic of gaming: each genre offers a unique lens through which we can explore vast, imaginative worlds.

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4. The Impact of Graphics and Technology on Game Development

The evolution of graphics and technology has profoundly transformed game development, reshaping player experiences in remarkable ways. Artists now wield cutting-edge tools that render vibrant environments and lifelike characters, yet this complexity can paradoxically lead to oversaturation. Developers find themselves balancing visual fidelity with gameplay mechanics, creating a tug-of-war effect. Moreover, the integration of artificial intelligence complicates design choices. As teams navigate these challenges, they must also adapt to emerging trends, ensuring their games resonate with players. This interplay of art and technology fosters a dynamic game development landscape.

Key Factors Influencing Game Development

  1. Realism: Players crave immersive experiences that blur the between reality and the virtual world.
  2. Innovation: Technological advancements inspire new gaming paradigms, resulting in unexpected gameplay mechanics.
  3. Accessibility: Developers prioritize inclusive design, ensuring that elevating graphics don’t alienate less powerful devices.

As we venture into the future, understanding these influences remains crucial for creating engaging and memorable games.

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5. Multiplayer Madness: Celebrating the Best Cooperative and Competitive Titles

In the vibrant realm of gaming, multiplayer experiences offer a unique blend of collaboration and competition. Engaging with friends or strangers fosters a sense of community, turning mere play into lively adventures. Take a deep dive into titles like “” and “Fortnite,” where strategies intertwine with spontaneity. Yet, the confusion often lies in balancing teamwork and individual prowess. Understanding when to unite and when to stand out can be the key. Join the chaos—your next great gaming session awaits!

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6. Hidden Gems: Underrated PC Games Worth Your Time

If you’re tired of mainstream titles, explore the world of underrated PC games that often go unnoticed. These hidden gems challenge conventional gaming norms, offering rich storytelling and unique mechanics. For instance, titles like “Disco Elysium” blend existential with an innovative narrative style. You’ll find immersive experiences that resonate deeply, making players ponder. Additionally, “Owlboy” showcases stunning pixel art, yet it rarely receives the recognition it deserves. Take a chance and dive into these unique worlds.

Why Play the Underrated?

Many players miss out on these treasures, focusing solely on popular releases. However, hidden gems often provide more fulfilling experiences. They invite players to explore unfamiliar territories, encouraging curiosity. As one gamer aptly noted:

“The best stories are often found in the places you least expect.” — An avid gamer

Game Title Description
Disco Elysium A narrative-driven RPG with deep dialogue choices.
Owlboy A pixel art adventure that emphasizes storytelling.

In conclusion, giving these hidden gems a chance can truly enhance your gaming repertoire. They not only provide unique gameplay experiences but also thoughtful conversations among players. So, what are you waiting for? Dive into the world of the forgotten and the obscure!

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7. The Future of PC Gaming: Trends and Innovations to Watch

As we look ahead, the landscape of PC gaming is remarkably evolving. New technologies promise to redefine how we experience games. Several key trends are emerging that could reshape the industry. Here are some noteworthy developments to keep an eye on:

  1. Cloud Gaming: This allows players to access games without the need for high-end hardware, reshaping accessibility.
  2. AI Integration: Advanced algorithms will enhance gameplay, from smarter NPCs to personalized gaming experiences.
  3. Virtual Reality: The continued refinement of VR technology may bring immersive gaming to mainstream audiences.
  4. Cross-Platform Play: Bridging the gap between different gaming communities will enable a more inclusive experience.
  5. Blockchain Technology: This could revolutionize in-game economies and ownership, although its long-term impact remains speculative.

These innovations will likely create both excitement and confusion among players. As we witness these transformations, understanding their implications will be crucial. The future of PC gaming is not just about technology; it’s about creating vibrant communities and unparalleled experiences.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the world of PC gaming is filled with timeless triumphs that resonate deeply with players. From captivating narratives to groundbreaking gameplay mechanics, the best PC games of all time have shaped our experiences and created lasting memories. As we reflect on these remarkable titles, it becomes clear that they transcend mere .

They offer a shared language, a sense of community, and an escape into worlds that feel both familiar and fantastical. While new games continue to emerge, the classics retain their charm, reminding us of the of gaming’s evolution. So let’s celebrate these masterpieces and cherish the joy they bring us, because they truly represent the essence of what makes gaming a beloved pastime for so many.Best-PC-Game-All-Time-501.jpeg

Frequently Asked Questions

What criteria were used to determine the best PC game of all time?

The criteria typically include factors such as game design, innovation, storytelling, graphics, and player reception over time.

Are there any genres that dominate the list of the best PC games?

While various genres are represented, action, role-playing, and strategy games often feature prominently due to their storytelling and gameplay depth.

Can a game still be considered the best if it has aged poorly?

Yes, a game’s impact and legacy can endure despite aging graphics or mechanics. Many players value the experience and influence these games had on the industry.

How do player opinions influence rankings of the best PC games?

Player opinions are crucial as they provide insight into a game’s popularity and enjoyment. Surveys, reviews, and community discussions often shape these rankings.

Is it possible for new games to enter the ‘best of all time’ discussion?

Absolutely! New games can challenge the established titles and gain recognition as classics based on their innovation, gameplay, and lasting impact on the gaming community.

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Best Free City Building Games in 2024, Do you want to play the best city building games for PC? In this comprehensive article, you will learn 8 most popular city building games to play in 2024. Read on to the entire article for complete information.

In the course of playing one of the top city-building games, you will find yourself wasting many hours growing your city, perfecting your infrastructure, and concentrating on your trade. You may construct magnificent cities and give them your own personal touch. Whether you want to construct a modest mountain village, a future center, or an ancient empire, you will find what you are searching for in the list that is provided here. Although city-building games often have a high learning curve and a large amount of material, novice players may enjoy themselves by playing any of the games on our list from the beginning.

Top 8 Best Free City Building Games For PC in 2024

Currently, the following are the best city building games that are available for play on computers:

1. Cities: Skylines

Cities- Skylines

For the complete and utter delight of any person’s inner-city planner, this immediate classic captured the essence of SimCity series and boosted it up to a higher level. Create the most popular seaside clubbing zone in the area by devoting a significant amount of time to refining your highway swaps or by using specialized zoning rules.

Players have godlike influence over every area of life, from budgets to bus timetables, so it is easy to spend hours geeking out in the weeds as your city expands. Players have the ability to regulate every aspect of existence. Cities: Skylines – An absolute need for everyone who is passionate about the genre. There are over ten expansion packs available for Skylines, ranging from Parklife to Mass Transit, allowing players to keep exciting. Overall, it is one of the best city building games that you can play on your PC.

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2. Frostpunk

Frostpunk

There is a possibility that this city building game is the ideal choice for you if you are someone who enjoys dark role-playing narratives. Frostpunk is a of historical fiction that takes place in the late 1800s, after the cataclysmic explosions carried out by two stratovolcanoes, Mount Tambora and Krakatoa, had induced a global volcanic winter.

Constructing a camp for refugees and maintaining civilization is your task as the commander of an institution located in the coal-rich northern region of the country. The repercussions of imposing child labor and 24-hour work shifts while also keeping a restless populace at bay are something that you will have to think about in Frostpunk, in contrast to other top-rated city-building games that may have you focusing on things like commercial and residential taxation.

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3. Anno 1800

Anno 1800

Create a time machine since this cool city building game is perfect for those who are interested in history as well as those who create cities. This seventh entry in the Anno series, titled Anno 1800, takes place during the time period known as the Industrial Revolution, which, for those of you who skipped history class, corresponds to the 19th century.

While you are concentrating on the of your craftsmen and inhabitants, who are obsessed with production and consumption, you will need to manage the delicate supply-demand balance that exists between your Old World city and a parallel New World metropolis and manage it. You will be able to minimize the spread of industrialized industries in your city while enjoying the whimsical architecture of the period. However, the drawback of this great city building game is that the PC users are the only ones who can access it.

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4.

Tropico 6

You will have another opportunity to manage, influence, and construct your very own banana republic this time around since El Presidente has returned to Tropico 6. The Tropico games are city builders, and if you haven’t played one before, you should know that they let you engage in all of the devious and corrupt activities that you are not meant to do when you are constructing a city. As the undisputed monarch of your island, it is your responsibility to deliver brilliant speeches in order to maintain the happiness of your people while simultaneously maximizing the value of the land and the resources available to you.

Tropico 6 is a game that is a lot of fun to play, not only because it is so insane, but also because it is a city builder that is very enjoyable. DLC, on the other hand, makes it even more enjoyable.

Playing Tropico 6 is such a delightful experience that it is difficult to overstate how much fun it is. Give Tropico 6 a try if you find that the icy industry of Anno 1800 and the dismal survival of Frostpunk are simply too much for you to handle. In short, it is one of the best games for city building available on this list.

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5.

SimCity 4

The SimCity series has indeed been around for over twenty years, but no list of good city building games would be complete without including it, even if it were just in an honorary capacity. Despite being the finest game in the series, SimCity 4 was the pinnacle of the genre at the time it was released. It also served as a model for all subsequent games in the series.

This realistic builder, much like its spiritual sequel Cities: Skylines, has a strong emphasis on city planning and challenges players to strike a balance between the many requirements of a developing city and the resources that are available. On the other hand, this best city making game was exceptional for two distinct reasons: Players were able to import their very own Sims into their city, and it was the first game in the genre to allow for 3D rendering.

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6. RimWorld

RimWorld

The next best free city building game that you can play is RimWorld. This is basically a colony simulator; a place where almost anything may take place. You take the helm of a new colony that is being established on a rim world, which is a planet that is situated on the periphery of known space.

RimWorld is one of the greatest simulation games now available on the market, and it is also a game that creates gaming experiences that are both distinctive and unforgettable.

Every single one of your colonists comes with a set of characteristics that are rolled at random and determine how they behave. You can have a genius who is fast to learn but is susceptible to having a mental breakdown, or you might have someone with bloodlust who gets a mood boost from murdering strangers and manufacturing garments out of their flesh. That’s right. All of the characteristics are tongue-in-cheek, regardless of how serious they may get (for instance, nudists receive a mood boost regardless of whether or not they are nude).

The mix of characteristics that are present throughout your colony provides you with an experience that is completely one of a kind each time you open up the game. The character attributes of your colonists will determine how they interact with one another, and this interaction will constitute a significant portion of the foundation for the gameplay. In addition to that, an (AI) narrator will guide you through your adventure, supplying you with random occurrences depending on the level of difficulty you choose and the settings you choose for the game.

RimWorld is a story generator. It’s designed to co-author tragic, twisted, and triumphant stories about imprisoned pirates, desperate colonists, starvation and survival. It works by controlling the “random” events that the world throws at you. Every thunderstorm, pirate raid, and traveling salesman is a card dealt into your story by the AI Storyteller. There are several storytellers to choose from. Randy Random does crazy stuff, Cassandra Classic goes for rising tension, and Phoebe Chillax likes to relax.

Your colonists are not professional settlers – they’re crash-landed survivors from a passenger liner destroyed in orbit. You can end up with a nobleman, an accountant, and a housewife. You’ll acquire more colonists by capturing them in combat and turning them to your side, buying them from slave traders, or taking in refugees. So your colony will always be a motley crew.

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7. Banished

Banished

If you are searching for a straightforward city survival game, Banished is the game for you. It does not include a lot of the backstory, bells, or whistles that you will find in more elaborate games. This great city building game considers its residents less as denizens and more as a means to a goal despite the fact that it is an exercise in working (and presumably succeeding) inside the architecture of a planned economy.

In your role as the leader of a community of exiled people, it is your responsibility to delegate responsibilities to the inhabitants, such as fishing and construction, while maintaining a balance between the expansion of the town and the distribution of its resources. It is possible for populations to increase due to births and arrivals, but it is also possible for populations to decrease due to the aging of the population, which is a great variation of the standard paradigm. In sum, it is one of the best city building games in 2024 that you can consider.

In this city-building strategy game, you control a group of exiled travelers who decide to restart their lives in a new land. They have only the clothes on their backs and a cart filled with supplies from their homeland.

The townspeople of Banished are your primary resource. They are born, grow older, work, have children of their own, and eventually die. Keeping them healthy, happy, and well-fed are essential to making your town grow. Building new homes is not enough—there must be enough people to move in and have families of their own.

Banished has no skill trees. Any structure can be built at any time, provided that your people have collected the resources to do so. There is no money. Instead, your hard-earned resources can be bartered away with the arrival of trade vessels. These merchants are the key to adding livestock and annual crops to the townspeople’s diet; however, their lengthy trade route comes with the risk of bringing illnesses from abroad.

There are twenty different occupations that the people in the city can perform from farming, hunting, and blacksmithing, to mining, teaching, and healing. No single strategy will succeed for every town. Some resources may be more scarce from one map to the next. The player can choose to replant forests, mine for iron, and quarry for rock, but all these choices require setting aside space into which you cannot expand.

The success or failure of a town depends on the appropriate management of risks and resources.

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8. Aven Colony

Aven Colony

The next name on this list of the best free city-building games in 2024 is Aven Colony. This is a game that allows you to set up your very own city right from scratch. The game offers a variety of gameplay options for your ease. From terrestrial to extraterrestrial objects, buildings, vehicles, and more, you will find that this game is quite different than the ones offered before.

Build a new home for humanity with Aven Colony.

Discover Aven Prime – an alien planet of deserts, tundras, and jungles light years from earth. Aven Colony puts you in charge of humanity’s first extrasolar settlement, where you build and expand your small colonies into massive, sprawling cities while dealing with the challenges faced when settling on a new world.

Build your colony’s infrastructure, look after the well-being of your citizens, manage your resources, and guide your colony to prosperity against the backdrop of the harsh and often dangerous realities of the exotic world of Aven Prime.

KEY FEATURES:

COLONIZE AN ALIEN WORLD: Build a new home for humanity on a world with a low-oxygen atmosphere, extreme electrical storms, shard storms, dust devils, deadly toxic gas eruptions from geothermal vents, and days so long they have their own seasons. Explore a variety of biomes, from the lush wetlands environment to the much less habitable desert and arctic.

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Top Rated City Building Games in 2024: Closing Words

So, these were the 7 best city building games in 2024 that you can play on your Windows PC. Hopefully, our detailed list helps you make a better choice. If you have any questions or better recommendations, please feel free to drop us a line in the comments section below.

Additionally, for more tech-related information, you can subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Social Media (Facebook, , , & Instagram) so you never miss out on any tech updates.

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Best Free AI Video Generator from in 2024, Even those with little to no experience can create and edit videos effortlessly, thanks to the AI listed and explained in this article.

Do you know the human brain is 60,000 times faster in processing visuals than text? Well, it is surprising but true. Hence, no doubt, videos connect with the audience at a deeper level. People prefer watching videos instead of reading big chunks of written content to save time and effort. However, creating high-quality and engaging videos is something easier said than done unless there is a free AI video generator to help you.

These free tools leverage the power of generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) to create visually appealing videos with less time and effort to strike the right chord with your audience.

Best Free AI Video Generator from Text in 2024

Hence, you can rely on these programs to analyze your content and produce professional videos even if you have zero experience. The best part is that you do not have to go anywhere in search of such software, as the following section of this article presents a ranked list of free AI text-to-video generators curated after deep research and analysis of all the available options.

Best Free AI Video Generator: Transform Text to Video Online without Watermark

Below are the free AI software programs we recommend to generate stunning videos from text effortlessly.

1. Colossyan

Colossyan

Are you an educator looking for the best free AI video generators to create learning videos from text? If yes, you can try Colossyan. It boasts a plethora of templates to help you create attractive videos, allows you to convert your PDFs and PPTs into videos, and offers the following features to justify its position on our list.

Key features of Colossyan

• You can choose from a wide range of AI avatars or create a custom avatar as a video presenter
• Colossyan boasts one-click video translation into multiple languages
• It allows you to create scenario-based videos with more than one avatar
• There is a huge collection of professional icons
• It supports enterprise functions, such as SCORM export, SAML/SSO security, and more
• This software lets you export videos in formats, such as SRT, PDF, and MP3

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2.

Synthesia

Next, we have Synthesia to help you turn text into video in minutes in over 130 languages. It is among the best AI video generators as it allows you to create your script with Chat GPT-like prompts, use over 160 avatars to engage your viewers/create a custom avatar, automatically generate closed captions, clone your own voice, and apply the following features.

Key features of Synthesia

• You can customize your video’s colors, fonts, and layouts
• There are more than 60 templates for you to choose from
• It allows you to make avatars more interactive with micro gestures, such as nods, winks, etc.
• You can download the video in .mp4, use an embed code, or get a shareable link
• There is a massive media library of royalty-free images, icons, videos, and soundtracks
• It supports real-time team collaboration and many other options to collaborate with others

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3. Lumen5

Lumen5

Let us introduce you to Lumen5. It is yet another free AI video generator to help you grow your brand. This online tool offers many customizable design options and templates, a huge library of media assets, an easy-to-use drag-and-drop editing tool, automatic video generation from RSS feeds and blogs, and these remarkable features.

Key features of Lumen5

• It analyzes your content and generates multiple video scripts for you to select from
• You can effortlessly customize the background, text, and graphics
• It allows you to reformat your video into different aspect ratios to make it compatible with various platforms
• Lumen5 lets you add your watermark to the video
• You can choose from more than 40 AI voices to create impactful videos
• It enables you to add callouts and cutaways to make your videos more attractive

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4. AI Studios

AI Studios

There is no way to skip AI Studios when discussing the best free AI text-to-video generators. This software by is popular across the globe because of its realistic avatars, natural text-to-speech in 80+ languages and 100+ voices, effortless training and storytelling video creation with multi-avatar scenes, and the following impressive features.

Key features of AI Studios

• There are more than 100 templates available to create , , and many other videos
• You can create videos in no time using a simple drag-and-drop editor
• It boasts an AI art generator to create custom, on-brand visuals, and videos by typing your requirements into the tool
• You can personalize your videos with logos, custom fonts, and other assets
• There is a gigantic stock asset library with millions of pictures, music tracks, and video clips
• It offers an AI script assistant to help you generate perfect video ideas and outlines and also has a tool

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5. InVideo

InVideo

You can never go wrong with InVideo if you are searching for a video generator to create the best social media and content marketing videos for free. This software requires no video creation skills to create a video with script, visuals, subtitles, voiceover, and music on any topic, making it perfect for beginners. Moreover, here are the features that make InVideo one of our favorites.

Key features of InVideo

• You can specify the target audience when creating your video to ensure the software picks the design and other elements suitable for the viewers
• It enables you to choose from 6000+ video templates
• InVideo allows you to share links to the video or make it live on social media
• You can customize the intros and outros the way you want

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6. Elai

Elai

If corporate learning videos are what you wish to create, Elai is the one for you. This software takes only a couple of clicks to convert text into avatar-based training videos in 75+ languages and 450+ accents. Moreover, you can choose 80+ high-quality selfie, studio, photo, and animated avatars. Furthermore, here are some more features that contribute to making Elai one of the best free AI video generators from text.

Key features of Elai

• It lets you clone your voice into 28 languages
• You can add 2 avatars to a single slide to create scenario-based training videos
• There is a screen recorder to capture and use screen recordings to create video presentations
• You can generate videos from blog URLs, topics, and HTML
• It boasts a massive AI library of many animation and cartoon options
• There is an AI storyboard allowing you to create a script, make a course outline, and transform it into engaging videos

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7. Wondershare Virbo

Wondershare Virbo

Here comes Virbo by Wondershare. This software is popular among both experienced users and newbies to easily convert text into professional videos in more than 300 voices and languages. Moreover, a seamless cross-platform experience, 180+ customizable templates, and the following features add to this software’s popularity.

Key features of Wondershare Virbo

• There is a wide variety of multi-national AI avatars with varied origins, settings, clothing, and genders
• Wondershare Virbo lip-syncs the audio with AI avatars
• You can effortlessly customize scenes, voices, backgrounds, and other video settings to suit your requirements

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Best Free AI Video Generators: The Conclusion

So, these were some of the best video generators from text to simplify video creation and editing. These AI programs can complete many complex tasks with just a few clicks to deliver stunning video results by analyzing your script (even helping you write one). You can glance through the features of these tools to select the one that fits your needs perfectly. However, if any questions or confusion persists, we are here to help, you can write to us in the comments section.

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What is AI?

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is technology that enables computers and machines to simulate human intelligence and problem-solving capabilities.

On its own or combined with other technologies (e.g., sensors, geolocation, robotics) AI can perform tasks that would otherwise require human intelligence or intervention. Digital assistants, GPS guidance, autonomous vehicles, and generative AI tools (like Open AI’s Chat GPT) are just a few examples of AI in the daily news and our daily lives.

As a field of computer science, artificial intelligence encompasses (and is often mentioned together with) machine learning and deep learning. These disciplines involve the development of AI algorithms, modeled after the decision-making of the human brain, that can ‘learn’ from available data and make increasingly more accurate classifications or predictions over time.

Artificial intelligence has gone through many cycles of hype, but even to skeptics, the release of seems to mark a turning point. The last time generative AI loomed this large, the breakthroughs were in computer vision, but now the leap forward is in natural language processing (NLP). Today, generative AI can learn and synthesize not just human language but other data types including images, video, software code, and even molecular structures.

Applications for AI are growing every day. But as the hype around the use of AI tools in business takes off, conversations around ai ethics and responsible ai become critically important. For more on where IBM stands on these issues, please read Building trust in AI.

Types of artificial intelligence: weak AI vs. strong AI

Weak AI—also known as narrow AI or artificial narrow intelligence (ANI)—is AI trained and focused to perform specific tasks. Weak AI drives most of the AI that surrounds us today. “Narrow” might be a more apt descriptor for this type of AI as it is anything but weak: it enables some very robust applications, such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, IBM watsonx™, and self-driving vehicles.

Strong AI is made up of artificial general intelligence (AGI) and artificial super intelligence (ASI). AGI, or general AI, is a theoretical form of AI where a machine would have an intelligence equal to humans; it would be self-aware with a consciousness that would have the ability to solve problems, learn, and plan for the future.

ASI—also known as superintelligence—would surpass the intelligence and ability of the human brain. While strong AI is still entirely theoretical with no practical examples in use today, that doesn’t mean AI researchers aren’t also exploring its development. In the meantime, the best examples of ASI might be from science fiction, such as HAL, the superhuman and rogue computer assistant in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Deep learning vs. machine learning

Machine learning and deep learning are sub-disciplines of AI, and deep learning is a sub-discipline of machine learning.

Both machine learning and deep learning algorithms use neural networks to ‘learn’ from huge amounts of data. These neural networks are programmatic structures modeled after the decision-making processes of the human brain. They consist of layers of interconnected nodes that extract features from the data and make predictions about what the data represents.

Machine learning and deep learning differ in the types of neural networks they use, and the amount of human intervention involved. Classic machine learning algorithms use neural networks with an input layer, one or two ‘hidden’ layers, and an output layer. Typically, these algorithms are limited to supervised learning: the data needs to be structured or labeled by human experts to enable the algorithm to extract features from the data.

Deep learning algorithms use deep neural networks—networks composed of an input layer, three or more (but usually hundreds) of hidden layers, and an output layout. These multiple layers enable unsupervised learning: they automate extraction of features from large, unlabeled and unstructured data sets. Because it doesn’t require human intervention, deep learning essentially enables machine learning at scale.

The rise of generative models

Generative AI refers to deep-learning models that can take raw data—say, all of Wikipedia or the collected works of Rembrandt—and “learn” to generate statistically probable outputs when prompted. At a high level, generative models encode a simplified representation of their training data and draw from it to create a new work that’s similar, but not identical, to the original data.

Generative models have been used for years in statistics to analyze numerical data. The rise of deep learning, however, made it possible to extend them to images, speech, and other complex data types. Among the first class of AI models to achieve this cross-over feat were variational autoencoders, or VAEs, introduced in 2013. VAEs were the first deep-learning models to be widely used for generating realistic images and speech.

“VAEs opened the floodgates to deep generative modeling by making models easier to scale,” said Akash Srivastava, an expert on generative AI at the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab. “Much of what we think of today as generative AI started here.”

Early examples of models, including GPT-3, BERT, or DALL-E 2, have shown what’s possible. In the future, models will be trained on a broad set of unlabeled data that can be used for different tasks, with minimal fine-tuning. Systems that execute specific tasks in a single domain are giving way to broad AI systems that learn more generally and work across domains and problems. Foundation models, trained on large, unlabeled datasets and fine-tuned for an array of applications, are driving this shift.

As to the future of AI, when it comes to generative AI, it is predicted that foundation models will dramatically accelerate AI adoption in enterprise. Reducing labeling requirements will make it much easier for businesses to dive in, and the highly accurate, efficient AI-driven automation they enable will mean that far more companies will be able to deploy AI in a wider range of mission-critical situations. For IBM, the hope is that the computing power of foundation models can eventually be brought to every enterprise in a frictionless hybrid-cloud environment.

Explore foundation models in watsonx.ai

Artificial intelligence applications

There are numerous, real-world applications for AI systems today. Below are some of the most common use cases:

Speech recognition

Also known as automatic speech recognition (ASR), computer speech recognition, or speech-to-text, speech recognition uses NLP to process human speech into a written format. Many mobile devices incorporate speech recognition into their systems to conduct voice search—Siri, for example—or provide more accessibility around texting in English or many widely-used languages. See how Don Johnston used IBM Watson Text to Speech to improve accessibility in the classroom with our case study.

Customer service

Online  virtual agents and are replacing human agents along the customer journey. They answer frequently asked questions (FAQ) around topics, like shipping, or provide personalized advice, cross-selling products or suggesting sizes for users, changing the way we think about customer engagement across websites and social media platforms. Examples include messaging bots on e-commerce sites with virtual agents , messaging apps, such as Slack and Facebook Messenger, and tasks usually done by virtual assistants and voice assistants. See how Autodesk Inc. used IBM watsonx Assistant to speed up customer response times by 99% with our case study.

Computer vision

This AI technology enables computers and systems to derive meaningful information from digital images, videos and other visual inputs, and based on those inputs, it can take action. This ability to provide recommendations distinguishes it from image recognition tasks. Powered by convolutional neural networks, computer vision has applications within photo tagging in social media, radiology imaging in healthcare, and self-driving cars within the automotive industry. See how ProMare used IBM Maximo to set a new course for ocean research with our case study.

Supply chain

Adaptive robotics act on Internet of Things (IoT) device information, and structured and unstructured data to make autonomous decisions. NLP tools can understand human speech and react to what they are being told. Predictive analytics are applied to demand responsiveness, inventory and network optimization, preventative maintenance and digital manufacturing. Search and pattern recognition algorithms—which are no longer just predictive, but hierarchical—analyze real-time data, helping supply chains to react to machine-generated, augmented intelligence, while providing instant visibility and transparency. See how Hendrickson used IBM Sterling to fuel real-time transactions with our case study.

Weather forecasting

The weather models broadcasters rely on to make accurate forecasts consist of complex algorithms run on supercomputers. Machine-learning techniques enhance these models by making them more applicable and precise. See how Emnotion used IBM Cloud to empower weather-sensitive enterprises to make more proactive, data-driven decisions with our case study.

Anomaly detection

AI models can comb through large amounts of data and discover atypical data points within a dataset. These anomalies can raise awareness around faulty equipment, human error, or breaches in security. See how Netox used IBM QRadar to protect digital businesses from cyberthreats with our case study.

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The best music streaming services of 2024, Music streaming platforms like , Apple Music, Tidal, , Amazon Music, Qobuz, and Deezer have entirely changed how we explore, enjoy, and exchange music. They bring convenience and accessibility to all new levels.

Yet, with so many choices, selecting the right music streaming app might feel like a daunting task. Each platform offers a music collection featuring artists, albums, playlists, and podcasts. Additionally, they each have their interface designs and special features, like song lyrics display, offline downloads, AI-generated playlists, high-quality audio formats, and more.

We’ve compiled a list of the best music streaming services to assist you. We’ve tested them all, and our evaluation criteria include pricing plans, user interface experience, quality of tracks offered, and much more. Let’s get started!

An iPhone with the Search section of the Spotify app on it.

Spotify

The best for most people

Pros

• Excellent UI
• Best-in-class discovery
• More than 100 million songs
• The biggest podcast network
• Fun special features

Cons

• No hi-res option … yet
• Glitchy performance at times
Specs
Plans (monthly): Free / Individual: $11 / Duo: $15 / Student: $6 / Family: $17
Library Size: More than 100 million tracks
Quality: 160kbps to 320kbps

When it comes to music streaming, Spotify is definitely one of the most recognizable brands on the planet. Launched in 2006, the platform is available across the globe, and is home to more than 100 million songs and growing. Spotify is also the world’s biggest podcast platform. Whether you’re rocking an iPhone, a Pixel, a laptop, or you’re in your car, there’s a good chance that Spotify is going to be compatible with your hardware.

Beyond the music archive, Spotify offers several different subscription options, including individual, family, and student plans, as well as a free version with ads. Spotify Premium users also receive unlimited track skips, 320kbps audio quality, and offline downloads for up to 10,000 songs across five devices. The company is also really good at keeping its user interface familiar and reliable from one hardware type to another.

Spotify is also great for sharing. Thanks to integrations with platforms like Facebook and Instagram, your circle of pals will get to see what you’ve been jamming out to lately. You’ll even have the option of sharing songs with others and even creating collaborative playlists you can all add to. Additionally, no one is quite as good as Spotify at always adding and experimenting with new and fun features, like its AI-driven DJ and, most recently, its beta AI Playlist that lets you type Chat GPT-style text prompts to get it to curate playlists for you.

So, where does the service struggle? Track quality, for one. Unlike platforms like Tidal and Qobuz that place a big emphasis on hi-res audio, Spotify’s tracks are capped at 320kbps, which only the most critical of audiophiles will notice. Spotify’s long-awaited Hi-Fi tier may still see the light of day, though, so if it’s not a deal breaker, you could just wait it out. But if you just want a music streamer that offers tons of genres, playlists, and fun social features, Spotify is going to be your best bet.

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Spotify

The best for most people

.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The best music streaming services of 2024

Apple Music

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Perfect for Apple users who want hi-res audio

Pros

• More than 100 million songs
• Excellent hi-res options and Dolby Atmos
• Great interface
• Competitive pricing

Cons

• No free tier
• Can’t keep downloaded songs if you cancel
• No plan for couples
Specs
Plans (monthly): Individual: $11 / Student: $6 / Family: $17
Library Size: More than 100 million tracks
Quality: 256kbps AAC, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/48kHz, 24-bit/192kHz

Some folks will remember Apple’s original foray into digitized music from a little platform called iTunes that launched back in 2000. Paving the way for Apple’s streamlined interface and big music library, iTunes eventually evolved into Apple Music in 2015. A fierce competitor to rivals like Spotify and Tidal, Apple Music is simple to use, boasts a library of more than 100 million tracks, is available across multiple platforms, and even offers hi-res listening options.

Apple Music also lets you test the waters before enrolling in one of its many subscription options. With a one-month free trial, you’ll have plenty of time to get a good lay of the land, at which point you’ll need to shell out for a monthly subscription, which runs $6 for students, $11 for an Individual plan, and $17 for the Family plan.

Every tier gives you access to full playback controls, recommended music based on your listening habits, and some nice visual treats for your phone, tablet, and screens. We’re talking immersive album artwork, line-by-line lyrics, and intuitive search tools that make finding songs and artists a breeze.

As far as track quality is concerned, Apple’s audio far exceeds Spotify’s 320kbps cap, with lossless ALAC tracks that can get as high as 24-bit/192kHz. Apple Music also uses the smaller AAC format with resolution up to 256kbps and offers many tracks and albums in Dolby Atmos, which Apple brands as Spatial Audio. And while you’ll be able to share tracks with friends and family, Apple Music doesn’t offer the same social integrations as Spotify.

If you’re familiar with the design and UI of devices like the iPhone, iPad, MacBook, and Apple TV, you’re going to feel right at home using Apple Music. Both desktop and mobile interfaces are clean, simple, and easy to navigate, with just about everything you could need right at your fingertips. Plus, there are all kinds of (such as Sonos and Apple’s HomePod) and smart displays that offer native Apple Music support.

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Apple Music

Perfect for Apple users who want hi-res audio

.Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends

Tidal

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Audiophile quality with wide device support

Pros

• More than 110 million tracks
• Some of the best hi-res tracks in the game
• Includes offline listening
• Works with many different types of devices
• Awesome playlist curations

Cons

• Weak podcast library
• Music discovery tools are not as good as others
• UI could be improved and more streamlined
Specs
Plans (monthly): Indvidual: $11 / Family: $17 / Student: $6 / DJ Extension add-on: $9
Library Size: More than 110 million tracks
Quality: 320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHz

Regarding top-notch music streaming quality, Tidal is one of the best names in the business, bar none.

Renowned for its focus on excellent sound quality, Tidal gives you access to an immense library of songs in 16-bit/44.1kHz up to 24-bit/192kHz in various formats, including HiRes FLAC, Dolby Atmos, Reality Audio, FLAC, and Master Quality Authenticated (MQA). Not all of Tidal’s artists and albums are in hi-res, but there’s a good chance that several artists you enjoy have at least some hi-res offerings in the archive.

Diehard fans will also enjoy Tidal’s dedication to additional content, including videos and real-time streams, creating a more immersive musical experience. We’re also big fans of its artist-generated playlists.

In terms of cross-platform compatibility, Tidal is also available on a range of popular devices, from iOS and hardware to smart speakers, smart displays, streaming devices, and even native AV support from audio brands like Sonos and Harman Kardon through Tidal Connect. But what sets Tidal apart is its user-friendly interface. From apps to desktop versions, Tidal’s UI is designed to be clean, ultra-navigable, and tethered to your preferences, ensuring a comfortable and personalized experience.

Beginning in April 2024, Tidal removed its expensive HiFi plans, while still keeping its high-quality library. The best part? Its new plans are cheaper and more in line with what Apple Music, Spotify, and others are charging. This means you can enjoy premium music streaming without breaking the bank. You can try Tidal for free for the first 30 days of a new membership. The platform also offers discounts to students, military, and first responders, making it even more affordable.

If you’re looking for supreme audio quality and talented curation, you should give Tidal a try. Plus, you’ll be hard-pressed to find many of these high-resolution tracks elsewhere.

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Tidal

Audiophile quality with wide device support

.Qobuz app’s home screen Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Qobuz

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Audiophile quality for a little less

Pros

• Big hi-res music library
• Inspired editorial content
• Can purchase songs and albums without a subscription
• Free trial for plan

Cons

• Lacks social listening features
• No podcasts
Specs
Plans (monthly): Studio: from $11 / Sublime: from $180 per year
Library Size: More than 100 million tracks
Quality: 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHz

A close competitor to Tidal, Qobuz is another music streaming platform that goes all in on the hi-res catalog. It is home to over 100 million tracks in lossless CD quality, and more than 240,000 albums in hi-res audio. Qobuz streams audio using high-quality FLAC files ranging from 16-bit/44kHz to 24-bit/192kHz, translating to some seriously good sound. Whether you’re listening through a pair of speakers or a pair of headphones, Qobuz tracks are going to sound about as good as they can get.

Qobuz offers two subscription plans, namely Studio and Sublime. Each plan has three levels to choose from. The Studio plan provides offline listening and a visually appealing desktop and mobile interface enriched with additional content such as artist bios, reviews, feature op-eds, and how-to guides. The Solo Studio level costs $13 per month, Duo costs $18 per month, and the Family plan (for up to six accounts) costs $22 per month. You can get discounts on these plans by opting for a yearly payment.

The Sublime subscription offers the same benefits as the Studio plan and up to 60% off many hi-res download purchases. However, you need to purchase a yearly subscription to get these benefits. The Solo Sublime plan costs $180/year, Duo costs $270/year, and the Family plan costs $350/year. Note that the Sublime subscription can only be purchased through a yearly payment, not monthly.

Oh, and we can’t forget this gem: You can pay to download Qobuz hi-res tracks and albums without a monthly subscription.

On the downside, Qobuz does not have Dolby Atmos tracks like Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music, and there are no podcasts or video content.

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Qobuz

Audiophile quality for a little less

.Amazon

Amazon Music

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Excellent value, hi-res audio, great for Prime customers

Pros

• Huge music library
• Lots of hi-res tracks and albums
• 90-day free trial
• Discounted plans for Amazon Prime members
• Discount for owning an Echo device
• Now offers a student plan

Cons

• Complicated subscription options
• Amazon Music only has shuffle mode
Specs
Plans (monthly): With Prime: $10 / w/o Prime: $11 / Family: $17 / Single Device Owner: $6 / Student: $6
Library Size: More than 100 million tracks
Quality: 320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHz, 24-bit/192kHz

Amazon Music is a unique streaming option, especially for those of us who are already paying for Amazon’s $139 annual Prime membership (or $15 per month). Like many platforms we’ve covered up to this point, Amazon Music offers both CD quality and lossless audio formats, Dolby Atmos and 360 Reality Audio tracks, a large music library, and some awesome smart home integrations (especially for -powered devices). The “unique” descriptor is mainly aimed at Amazon Music’s pricing, though, which is complex, to say the least.

Are you an Amazon Prime member? Great! That means you’ll be able to get the ad-free Amazon Music Unlimited (AMU) for $10 per month, as opposed to the non-Prime member subscription tier, which costs $11 per month. If you’re interested in nabbing Amazon Music Unlimited and just so happen to own an Echo speaker, you can sign up for the Single Device Owner plan. It only costs $6 per month, but you’ll only be able to use AMU on that one device. Oh, and there’s also an AMU Family Plan for $17 per month ($169 per year) that covers up to six users.

The pricing isn’t impossible to understand, but figuring out which option makes the most sense for you and yours can be confusing. Plus, Amazon technically has two different music streaming options: Amazon Music Unlimited and Amazon Music Prime. The latter is built into your Amazon Prime membership and gives you access to Amazon’s entire music library, but playback is limited to shuffle mode, and you won’t be able to listen to any hi-res tracks either.

Whether you’re listening with Amazon Music Unlimited or Amazon Music Prime, Amazon Music looks great on mobile and desktop platforms. Unlimited subscribers also benefit from video content, offline downloads, and a fun scrolling lyrics feature.

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Amazon Music

Excellent value, hi-res audio, great for Prime customers

.Deezer

Deezer

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Somewhere in the Goldilocks zone

Pros

• Robust music library
• Offline downloads
• Includes video content and podcasts
• CD-level quality
• Can upload your own MP3s on desktop
• Duo plan is now available

Cons

• No hi-res
• Can’t upload MP3s using mobile devices
Specs
Plans (monthly): Free / Premium: $12 / Family: $20 / Duo: $16 / Student: $6
Library Size: More than 120 million tracks
Quality: 128kbps, 320kbps, 16-bit/44.1kHz

Deezer lives in the Goldilocks zone of music streaming options. It offers a bigger library than competitors like Spotify and Apple Music and has CD-quality music, but it doesn’t touch the top-shelf hi-res content you’ll find on platforms like Tidal and Qobuz. Price-wise, though, it’s weirdly more expensive than everyone except Tidal, but Tidal gives you hi-res. Its individual plan is $12 per month, and for that, you get access to unlimited listening, lyrics, video content, offline listening, and a few other features.

Deezer is also one of the only streaming platforms that lets you upload your own tracks. While the quality is limited to MP3, and you won’t be able to do any uploading with a mobile device, it’s nice to have the ability to spread your own library across multiple gadgets.

Deezer used to have a HiFi plan that was $15 per month, but now its 16-bit/44.1kHz FLAC tracks are built into its Premium and Family plans. As mentioned, this is lower quality than top-tier plans from the likes of Tidal and Qobuz, but it still packs quite a punch. Deezer free tier customers can only access MP3 files up to 128kbps, though. On a positive note, like Spotify, there’s now a duo package available through Deezer for $16/month.

As for Deezer’s UI across desktop and mobile platforms, both versions are geared toward easy navigation through playlists, genre labels, and similar search criteria. There are also several recommended categories and an excellent podcast library to check out.

Deezer does a nice job at checking several of the most important boxes for what makes up a solid music streaming service. Hi-res devotees may want to look elsewhere, but we definitely think Deezer is worth trying out, so make the best of that 30-day free trial!

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Deezer

Somewhere in the Goldilocks zone

.Derek Malcolm / Digital Trends

YouTube Music

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The best of music and YouTube is all here

Pros

• Terrific music library
• Simple pricing model
• Intuitive user interface
• Cool community upload features

Cons

• No hi-res tracks
• No editorial content
Specs
Plans (monthly): Free / Premium Individual: $11 / Family: $17 / Student: $5.50
Library Size: More than 100 million tracks
Quality: 256kbps

Last but not least, we have YouTube Music. A rebranding and consolidation of multiple Google/YouTube paid services that came before it (including Google Play and YouTube Red), YouTube Music is your one-stop-shop for everything … music-related. Subscribers will have access to over 100 million tracks, podcasts, an intuitive lyrics tool, excellent playlists, and much more. Right off the bat, though, we’d like to let our hi-res fans know that YouTube Music caps its track quality at 256kbps.

That doesn’t mean you should look away, though. In fact, we think YouTube Music has a lot going for it when it comes to overall desktop and mobile interfaces. Navigating from one panel to the next is fast and easy, with most of what you’ll want to be listening to housed under the “Home” and “Library” tabs. The former is a hub for recommended content based on your listening habits, while the latter is the storage site for all your personal playlists, favorited songs and albums, and other user-specific features.

It’s also a thrill to watch YouTube Music sync up to your local time of day and weather conditions. These factors affect the type of music that the platform will recommend.

Regarding pricing, there’s only one paid subscription plan: YouTube Music Premium. This paid tier removes ads for desktop and mobile listening, grants you offline downloads, and gives you a sweet feature called Smart Downloads. When enabled, this lets YouTube Music automatically download your favorite songs, artists, and albums for offline listening and even adds in recommended tracks and albums.

And, of course, YouTube Music is packed with video content. When you search for a song or artist, you will get officially licensed media and see video results for YouTubers covering the song, lyric videos, and more.

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YouTube Music

The best of music and YouTube is all here

Views: 532

The 27 best football games of all time, It’s a sad fact that most of us won’t ever be any good at football. But whether on console or PC, the best games can take you into a fantasy world in which you’re a world beater.

Amazingly, that applies whether you’re controlling a stick figure on an 8-bit computer or a fully realised 3D model with ultra-realistic stubble on a PS5. Seriously – we’ve shed real tears at a line of text on a screen describing how the opposition stick figure has just put us out of the cup.

But then that’s football: it has the power to reduce otherwise sensible people to mere shells of their former selves. And game makers soon realised they were on to something good when they created the first footie sims, because in no time they were flying off the shelf.

The 27 best football games of all time

As a result, there have been hundreds of football games over the years – so many, in fact, that narrowing down our selection to a mere 28 titles was near impossible. Arguments raged across the office – FIFA or Pro Evo? Sensi or Kick Off? – and that’s exactly as it should be. After nearly 30 years, EA and FIFA have now officially cut ties so will EA Sports FC be gracing this list in the future?

Whether you agree or disagree with our list, we hope it’ll spark plenty of memories. Let the arguments begin. 

27) Footballer of the Year (1986, ZX Spectrum)

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People weren’t sure what to make of this oddball at the time of release. Part management game, part board game, you aimed to take a kid from the old fourth division to the glory of cup finals and Division One.

Success was mostly down to scoring goals in arcade sequences; chances were bought with ‘goal cards’ purchased in-game, and ‘incident cards’ enabled you to delve further into your young player’s life. If this all sounds a bit familiar, FOTY was a big influence on New Star Soccer creator Simon Read…

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26) Tracksuit Manager (1988, C64)

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We’re not sure how you manage a tracksuit; stupid name aside, this Goliath Games effort was an impressive management game with depth. You arrived just as your team (England by default) had a disastrous World Cup (so, pretty accurate), and had to figure out a road to success.

Highlights were akin to the running commentary you’d today see on a news website, and while that lacked visual impact, it provided plenty of insight into who was providing the goods for your team, and who to send for an early bath.

25) International Soccer (1983, C64)

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This C64 classic was the first truly great soccer game. Inspired by the earlier Intellivision Soccer, it utilised a side-on viewpoint, and had two seven-a-side teams battling it out for a chunky, pixelated cup.

Despite creator Andrew Spencer not being a fan of football, he captured the feel of the sport, and squeezed throw-ins, corners and goal-kicks into the cartridge’s tiny memory. It’s also the one football game where you can sometimes head a ball half the length of the field – a bug Spencer noticed but left in because he thought it was funny.

24) (1987, ZX Spectrum)

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Knowing a good thing when they saw it, Jon Ritman and Ocean teamed up for a sequel to Ritman’s original Spectrum smash hit. This time, the players looked a lot like bodybuilders, and the underlying mechanics had been suitably beefed up: along with a far superior deflection system, there was a league format, volleys, flicks and jumping.

Shot strength was determined by a slightly awkward oscillating ‘kickometer’ and the pace was again slow, but this merely made for more strategic play.

23) Behold the Kickmen (2017, Switch/PC)

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Look, we adore the beautiful game, but sometimes it feels like the sport takes itself a little bit too seriously. Watching a gaggle of shouty adults boot a ball around a field for 90 minutes is hugely entertaining, but it’s also not that important in the grand scheme of things. Behold the Kickmen is here to remind you of that.

This is football as seen through the eyes of someone with absolutely zero interest in the laws and rules of the sport (or physics, for that matter). Kicking, tackling, passing, shooting, and scoring – it’s all here but dialled up to in the most nonsensical way imaginable. In striving to make a complete mockery of football, developer Size Five Games has created one of the most comical and outrageous takes on the sport we’ve ever encountered.

22) Actua Soccer (1995, PS1)

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Its name and tagline may have been a shot across Sega’s bows (“There’s nothing virtual about Actua“), but Gremlin Interactive’s title was noteworthy for more than just a bit of snide trollery: it was the very first console football game to offer fully 3D players. These were motion-capped from Sheffield Wednesday stalwarts Chris Woods, Andy Sinton and Graham Hyde, providing a level of clogger realism never before witnessed on consoles. The original featured only national teams, but a Club Edition featuring all 20 teams from the 96/97 Premier League season was released a year later.

21) Ultimate Soccer Manager (1995, Amiga)

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For all of Championship Manager‘s statistical goodness, nothing immersed you in a mid-’90s football world like the USM series. Transfers and team selection almost became minor distractions, as you reclined in your office next to a fax machine and Teletext.

There were advertising deals to negotiate, a stadium complex to build, and even bungs to offer the opposition. Yes, this was the George Graham era, when managers were unimpeachable emperors, and USM put you right on the throne with a hotline to football’s dark side.

20) 2017 (2016, PS4/Xbox One)

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Having spent years in FIFA’s shadow, Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 finally offered a genuine alternative to EA’s annual juggernaut. PES 2017 was a slower, more considered version of the beautiful game, with less emphasis on beating players for pace and more on patient build-up play, but when everything fell into place and you unlocked a defence the sense of satisfaction was glorious. Its lack of official licenses and a fundamentally flawed online mode still made it very hard to convince most FIFA fans to jump ship, and things seem to have gone backwards since then, but for one short year PES‘s glory days were back.

19) Kick Off (1989, Amiga)

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Dino Dini’s 16-bit classic added an ingredient that hadn’t really been seen before in football games: speed. The little players darted about the pitch like they were dosed-up on something decidedly not allowed under FIFA’s code, and the ball was initially impossible to control, given that it didn’t remain glued to your feet.

But once mastered, Kick Off made every other football game suddenly seem dull and dated by comparison, even if it was at times the football game equivalent of juggling bars of soap while riding a unicycle down a hill.

18) World Cup 98 (1997, PS1)

EA’s FIFA series has ruled the football gaming world like some kind of digital Sepp Blatter (before all the dodgy payments stuff), but it wasn’t always thus. Back in 1998 it was merely one of several games vying for the hearts and minds of floppy fringed teens, and it was far from being the best.

The previous edition, 1997’s Road To World Cup 98, had marked a big improvement though – while FIFA had always had the official licences, it finally had the gameplay to go with them too. World Cup 98 built on that in some style, keeping the free-flowing football of the previous title and adding in-game tactical changes.

It was all wrapped up in a slick World Cup skin that no other game at the time came close to, complete with commentary and unlockable classic games. Shame we had to put up with Chumbawamba’s execrable Tubthumping every time it loaded though.

17) Football Manager (1982, ZX Spectrum)

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Kevin Toms graced the front of Addictive’s Football Manager cover, enticing you to buy the game with his charm and beard. And what a game it was: on your little Spectrum, you could buy and sell players, pick a team, and watch highlights on pitches with comically large goals.

Today, it all looks a bit primitive (the C64 conversion was at least a bit prettier), and yet its simple gameplay remains surprisingly compelling in an era of over-complicated (micro) management sims. If you fancy a go on your smartphone, check out Toms’s remakes for Android and iOS.

16) Tehkan World Cup (1985, arcade)

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Tehkan World Cup wasn’t the first overhead football game (that accolade probably goes to Exciting Soccer), but it was the first to make that viewpoint work. This was a fast game, in part down to the trackball controls, and decent goalies also ensured that matches were often frantic end-to-end battles.

The game very heavily influenced Sensible Software, and more or less came to the C64 in the form of Microprose Soccer, but its legacy was really being the grandfather to the outstanding Sensible Soccer series.

15) New Star Soccer (2012, /Android)

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In answering the question “How do you create an in-depth career-long football game for devices?”, New Star Soccer said “You don’t!”, and instead served up a selection of mini-games draped over a basic framework that wasn’t a million miles from 1986’s Footballer Of The Year.

Although a touch IAP-hungry, it became a mobile classic, having you balance a kind of hyper-real version of a young footballer’s life (Buy a ! And now a TANK!) with pitch-based exploits and the demands of a boss, advertisers and a nagging partner.

Its successor, New Star Manager, is more in-depth, but lacks the addictive simplicity of the original.

14) FIFA 10 (2009, PS3/Xbox 360)

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Like a footballing version of Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed, the FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer games slugged it out relentlessly throughout the ’00s without either landing a final knockout punch. Pro Evo was generally the better game, but FIFA retained a strong following by virtue of its proper team and player names and presentation nous. But with FIFA 10 that winning uppercut finally connected.

Both games introduced 360-degree player control for the first time in their 2010 editions, but FIFA 10 did it better, allowing you to expertly slide a pass through at just the right angle for your striker to run on to it. Or, more commonly, for you to expertly slide a pass straight to an opposition defender. Coupled with a wealth of game modes – from Be A Pro to Ultimate Team and Manager Mode – FIFA 10 was a more complete footballing experience than any previous title in the series and finally edged ahead of its rival too. And it hasn’t been toppled since.

13) Emlyn Hughes International Soccer (1988, C64)

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A spiritual successor to Andrew Spencer’s International SoccerEmlyn Hughes International Soccer was the last great side-on football game of the 1980s. Brimming with options, advanced players could utilise techniques such as ‘5-direction’ passing, sliding tackles and backheels, all from a joystick with only a single fire button.

The result was the first truly fluid football game, where you could string together some genuinely breathtaking moves. The goalies were still rubbish, though, natch.

) Retro Goal (2021, Android/iOS)

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Retro Goal is by the New Star Soccer folks, and has some similarities, in being a fusion of management and . However, rather than veering towards management, much more of this game is played out on the pitch. Instead of full games, you play out highlights, using gestural controls (with the aid of Matrix-style slo-mo) to bury the ball in the back of the net.

We’ve seen grumbles that the game is pay-to-win, but we’ve won everything you can win in the game, without doing a Manchester City. You just need some patience, and to power up couple of strikers so they’ve got enough welly. If you’re not sure, you get ten games for free, whereaand even unlocking the entire game costs a pittance.

Retro Goal is a beautiful throwback to the SEGA days of football games and features such star names as Garrido, Hough and Frezza (not actual players, of course). The convenience of being handheld makes it all the better, too. The first 10 matches of Retro Goal can be played for free. Unlocking the rest costs a quid. Barg.

11) FIFA Street (2005, PS2)

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There’s something beautifully nostalgic about FIFA Street. For those who played the 4-a-side street football game in 2005, the game conjures up memories of committing devastating flicks and tricks in favelas and English football pitches. It also came with a soundtrack that has seldom been beaten since, bringing the local sounds of soca, grime, jungle and more to global players.

FIFA Street’s newest form, VOLTA, hasn’t managed to live up to the heights of FIFA Street (that is a tough task to achieve, though). But even playing today, FIFA Street still impresses. Few things beat the feeling of nutmegging Ronaldinho before firing a screamer into the top bins, after all.

10) Virtua Striker (1994, Arcade)

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Sega’s legendary AM2 team (also responsible for Daytona USA and Virtua Fighter) developed this groundbreaking title – the first football in history to use 3D player models. Being available only in arcades, Virtua Striker was designed for fast and furious action over serious simulation, but for those of us who crammed countless coins into the cabinet, it was the most realistic digital appropriation of the beautiful game we’d ever seen.

9) International Superstar Soccer (1994, SNES)

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In hindsight, this SNES classic is a bridge between classic-era side-on fare and modern football titles. A predecessor to PES, the original ISS offered a stunning array of moves – everything from feints to shoulder charges – when various buttons were combined.

Visually, it was also leagues beyond the likes of Match Day and International Soccer. Yet for all its gloss and cleverness, what made ISS appeal most was its fun and frantic nature, retaining a very arcade sensibility, in that brief period before sports titles became totally obsessed with a kind of TV-style realism.

8) Football Manager 2011 (2010, PC)

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In its divorce with Eidos, Sports Interactive lost the Championship Manager name but carried on creating the only management games still worth playing – and this edition is one of the greatest, adding a full 3D engine that, if you were so inclined, allowed you to watch every single pass, shot, tackle and horrendous goalkeeping error in a match.

Among the other innovations were press conferences – a small detail that served to add colour to an already frighteningly real football universe that featured no fewer than 117 playable leagues.

7) Kick Off 2 (1990, Amiga)

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Kick Off 2 looked an awful lot like its predecessor, and it was really a combination of Kick Off and a couple of expansion disks, all carefully refined. But that attention to detail transformed an enjoyable but occasionally uncontrollable knockabout title into a product that demanded a lot more skill.

Along with tournaments, refs with varying moods and – crucially – fewer bugs, this Amiga sequel dropped the pace and boosted the controls, copious use of ‘aftertouch’ enabling you to fashion the kind of dazzlingly audacious shots of which even Matt Le Tissier would have been proud.

6) Sensible Soccer (1992, Amiga)

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Sensible Software were fans of Kick Off 2 and football, but were irritated by the former’s shortcomings that didn’t – as they saw it – do justice to the latter. Sensible Soccer was their attempt to bring to gaming the feeling of how you imagined playing professional football would be, coupled with the kind of attention to detail only a true football geek possesses (including correct hair and skin colour for each of the players).

The game zoomed the viewpoint out, showing more of the pitch and enabling it to dispense with a Kick Off-style radar; passing and shooting was simplified and streamlined and everything was done on the frame, making the game extremely responsive. Until sequel SWOS arrived, this was the pinnacle of the genre.

5) ISS Pro Evolution (1999, PS1)

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Ah, the Master League: just how many hours have we spent cocooned in your comforting embrace, steadily building up a team of honest pros and turning them into world beaters? Probably several thousand – and that’s no exaggeration. And it was here that it first appeared.

Although at this stage a relatively basic affair, the Pro Evo Master League still bolted a decent career sim on to an already superb football game. You could buy and sell players, but you used points earnt by winning games, rather than money, and there was none of the complicated day-to-day running of the club that you’d have to endure in Championship Manager. Instead, it gave you the chance to shape the team of your dreams, packing it with attacking midfielders if you chose, or instead making sure you had a Mourinho-solid defence.

While the Master League was a great addition to the series, it would have meant nothing if the gameplay hadn’t matched up to it. But in truth ISS Pro Evolution was already creeping ahead of FIFA by this time; it was more realistic yet also more playable – and that’s a winning combination in any game.

4) Championship Manager: Season 97/98 (1997, PC)

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Sports Interactive’s series looms like a Colossus over all management games.

Despite being derided by small-minded dullards as a glorified Excel spreadsheet, Championship Manager‘s masterful tactical engine, reams of accurate data (this was the first instalment allowing you to run more than one league simultaneously) and giant player database wove together a rich, convincing football universe that sat parallel to our own – and it fired the imagination like no other game around.

And it was so, so addictive: the game’s official forums were full of tales of lives all but lost to Champ’s particular brand of “just one more game”-itis, or grown men so proud of taking a lower league team to the FA Cup final that they would don a suit for the occasion.

3) FIFA 21 (2020, PS4/Xbox One)

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Recent FIFA games have been all about tweaking a winning formula rather than any major overhauls, but considering the series has been building from a leading position since FIFA 10, that’s no bad thing.

While FIFA 21 only makes very minor changes to its predecessor and certainly isn’t without its faults – defending is very much a secondary concern to scoring goals, there’s far too much showboating online, and goalkeepers punch so often they must all be wearing buttered gloves – it remains the best virtual approximation of the beautiful game.

2) Pro Evolution Soccer 5 (2005, PS2)

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There are times in popular culture when a thing – band, TV series, game, whatever – reaches such a peak, you think it can’t possibly stay there. But then it does – for year after year after year. The Simpsons did that from about season 3 to season 9, for instance, but it’s pretty rare. Well, Pro Evolution Soccer managed the same feat.

That its standards did eventually drop was inevitable, but it doesn’t make the glory years from 2002-2005 any less special. We could have picked any of the four games from Pro Evo 2 to Pro Evo 5 and made a case for its inclusion. Frankly, we could have had all of them in this list. But that would be silly, so instead we’ve picked the probable highest point in a series of very high ones.

What made it so special? Just… everything. The Master League had by now developed into a proper four-division set-up, with promotion, relegation and a Champions League equivalent and there were even, finally, proper player names. On the gameplay side, it was as fluid and playable as football games get. Not quite as frantically insane as Sensible Soccer, not quite as gloriously detailed as FIFA 18, but instead a wonderful mid-way between the two extremes.

You could score screamers from 40 yards or tap-ins after a goalmouth scramble. You could waltz through five tackles, if you had a skillful enough player, but you couldn’t get away with just running the ball into the net. In short, it was beautifully balanced.

It couldn’t last, of course – but boy was it fun while it did.

1) Sensible World Of Soccer (1994, Amiga)

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Almost 30 years young, SWOS is still top of the league. It took everything that was great about Sensible Soccer and just ran with it. You got the same fantastic arcade-oriented gameplay, but the title comprehensively acknowledged the rest of the world’s existence, with the kind of slavish devotion of a true footballing aficionado.

Management features and player trading were boosted by the inclusion of a whopping 1500 teams and 27,000 players. It should have been the start of something great, but SWOS was somehow allowed to be eclipsed by FIFA and PES. Still, dedicated fans keep the flame alive with leagues, events, and patched versions of the game that incorporate modern data – the wonderful, crazy nutters.

Can it compete with FIFA for realistic gameplay or Football Manager for exhaustive statdom? No, obviously not. And for many people, the classic mid-’00s era Pro Evo beats it as an all-round football game; it’s definitely split this office at any rate.

But for sheer “JUST LOOK AT THAT GOAL! THAT WAS LIQUID FOOTBALL!” joy, it will never be bettered. Go on, then, just one more game.

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The best co-op games on PC in 2024, Playing games with other people is one of the beloved traditions of liking video games at all, and if you’re the friendly type like us at RPS, then you’ll enjoy games where you work with others, rather than against them. That’s why we’ve put together our list of the best co-op games on PC for you to find common ground with your besties. Whether you want to shoot monsters together, shoot robots together, or get a divorcing couple to work together as they run around their own home as tiny doll versions of themselves, then you can find something to enjoy on this list of co-op games.

 

We have broad tastes and definitions sometimes, but key for a co-op game is that you can play with a pal without fighting against each other – even if there might be friendly fire. This means you won’t find any team-based competitive games on this list, such as Dota or Counter-Strike, for example. That’s what our best multiplayer games list is for. We’ve also excluded games that switch between PvP and PvE like Sea Of Thieves of DayZ. They’re all great games, but they belong on a different list.

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The best co-op games on PC

Here’s our full list of the best co-op games on PC. You can have a casual scroll through or click the links below to be directed straight to the game in question.

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25. Monster Hunter Rise

a monster hunter rise character battling a large purple glowing monster with the aid of several buddies

After Monster Hunter World rampaged onto PC, the bar for Capcom’s next entry in the dino-adjacent beast-hunting series was high, but Monster Hunter Rise is every bit its predecessor’s equal and makes for a thrilling co-op adventure. That’s why we’ve booted World off the list and replaced it with Rise. That’s evolution, baby.

If you’re not familiar with Monster Hunter, it’s essentially a giant playpen where you and your friends can go out and, well, hunt monsters. The biggest appeal is a group of you wailing on some titan, but there’s a comradery and teamwork in Monster Hunter Rise that is different from other co-ops. You all have to meet in a tavern, eat a big hearty meal before you set off, make sure you all have everything you need, and then off you go, skipping into the deep dark woods where the scary monsters await. It’s these little rituals that really make it shine as a co-op.

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24. Lethal Company (early access)

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It is a truth universally acknowledged that always has to have at least one co-op ghosty game in early access, over which people are going bananas. Right now that game is Lethal Company, and not without reason. It’s a bit of a horror game, as you form up in teams for some good old PVE. As contractors for the Company, you collect scrap from abandoned haunted moons that used to be industrial centres. Successfully salvaging enough scrap earns you cash, which you can use to jet off to new moons with more rewards. The trade off, of course, is higher risk.

There are mundane risks like traps, which one player can spot from the ship scanner and call out to those on the mission. But there are, of course, monsters to contend with, especially at night. Some you’ll only find indoors, while others stalk you on open ground. It’s a great mix of learning a bestiary and knowing what to do in different situations, with having a concrete goal (get salvage), and there are many and varied ways to die, so you learn quickly. If you got tired of Phasmophobia and are looking for something new in the same vein, this is it.

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23. Escape Academy

a curious door from an escape academy escape room

Escape rooms in real life are a lot of fun but extremely expensive for it. Escape Academy combines the twin benefits of being comparatively cheap and being designed by developers who made escape rooms in real life! It’s a great co-op game, whether you’re playing online or via asymmetrical couch co-op (i.e. one of you playing the game and the other writing things down and shouting).

The titular academy is a school where the entire curriculum is based around room escapes. Even art, which seems like a stretch. Each level is a timed escape, often in somewhat dangerous circumstances that you’d imagine would drive the school’s insurance premiums up, with secret codes, cryptic clues, and much frantic running around a library or a locked office as you collect special books, or put post-it notes in the right order.

It’s the right balance of fun and tense, and gets you all reacting exactly as you would if thrown into the Crystal Maze, fruitlessly telling each other you’ve found a paint tin, is that anything? The big, colourful 3D world is non-violent but successfully thrilling, and there are a bunch of DLCs to get stuck into, too.

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22. V Rising

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V-rising casts you as a freshly awoken vampire on a quest to conquer the human world. It’s an open-world survival game where you and your vampire squad reap havoc on neighbouring towns in search of blood, all while building a lavish castle and exploring the surrounding gothic world.

Crafting and combat are easily accessible – this isn’t a mega difficult survival game – and gaining your vampiric powers (the best part of the game) is quick work, since V Rising’s boss-focused progression is easy enough to follow. You can decide to join PVP or PVE, but if you’d rather have your vampire rule their own little slice of the human world, you can set up your own world and invite your mates to join. V Rising is highly recommended for folks who are looking for a breezy survival sim, but with just enough meat to sink your teeth into.

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21. Overcooked 2

four players attempt to prepare food in a barn themed kitchen in overcooked 2

Overcooked and its sequel Overcooked 2 are both are silly games of simmering and sizzling, the physical manifestation of the phrase “too many cooks spoil the broth”. You’re in a kitchen with up to three other players, and you have to make food to order by preparing and combining certain ingredients. To get this done properly, everyone needs to carry out their appointed tasks pronto. Thing is, it doesn’t always work out that way.

The kitchens of Overcooked are constantly changing. Narrow spaces mean players get in each other’s way. Sometimes the whole level shifts. Benches on a ship will slide down the deck with each large wave, altering the layout entirely, while cooking in two trucks means that one part of the kitchen will occasionally accelerate, suddenly becoming off-limits. How will you get the chow off the hob before it boils into an inedible paste? By shouting at your fellow chefs, of course.

Overcooked 1 and 2 are much the same, but it’s 2 we’d recommend. For one, it’s now got online multiplayer as well as local, letting you play with those geographically distant friends. For two, you can now throw ingredients back and forth between chefs. Your co-chef needs more mushrooms? Maybe he’ll catch the one you just threw to him; maybe it’ll bonk him right in the face.

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20.

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There is a lot of shooting and adventuring on this list, but very few opportunities to hang out in a turnip field. Stardew Valley lets you live out an alternate life as a farmer, away from the hustle and bustle of cities and video games with guns. It’s about escape. Ever since the multiplayer update, you can now escape with friends.

It provides a place to be rather than a challenge to overcome. Each of you gets to dodder around town, either working together and divvying up tasks or ploughing away at individual farms. It’s not that the Valley feels sterile without other humans, but there are only so many blackberries you can hand over to your NPC neighbours before your relationships start feeling one dimensional. With real people in the mix, you get an actual community. Maybe your pal has a spare melon you can give to Penny for her birthday. Maybe they’ll bake you a cake. Or steal your chickens.

People breathe warmth and life into this farming game fantasy that’s already about those things. You’ve got the freedom to pursue whatever charming humdrum activity takes your fancy. Go fishing. Comb the beach. Or, if you want, mercilessly compete to see who can optimise profits. It’s your farm.

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19. Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

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You can play through the whole of Vegas 2’s brilliant but flawed campaign with a friend, rappelling down walls, breaching windows and taking out terrorists in unison. While that will keep you busy a while, it’s Terrorist Hunt – a mode where you team up with three buddies to hunt down a set amount of enemies across large sandbox maps – that will keep you coming back.

Guns are powerful and fast; death comes faster. This makes methodically creeping through the maps as a unit, covering corners and assaulting defended positions, an incredibly tense affair. This only ramps up when your squad inevitably gets picked apart on the harder difficulties, right up until three of you are sat watching the lone survivor, the whole success of the mission pinned on them scraping through. It could even be down to you and you’ll feel the tension ramp up as you suddenly become aware of being judged.

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18.

the player fires on a guard inside a bank in payday 2

If you’ve never played Payday 2 or its predecessor, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was about perfect planning, stealth and crowd control. The reality is a bit different, and it usually goes like this: the four of you excitedly chat about how you’re going to approach a heist, you split up, someone fudges it almost instantly and every police officer in the world turns up to shoot you all in the head.

It’s more wave defense than precision stealth, with each player setting up traps, sharing ammo and trying to keep the police at bay as a timer ticks down. It’s chaotic and messy, but the shooting is weighty enough and the skill trees are satisfying to advance through. It’s possible get through each of the heists without raising an alarm, but it’s bloody hard and you stand very little chance until you’ve unlocked some of the more advanced skills. Still, the possibility hangs there like a 24 carat carrot, nudging you all to have another go until you’ve perfected every scenario.

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17. Keep Talking And Nobody Explodes

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The best example of asymmetry in co-op. It involves at least two players – one of you is defusing a bomb with judicious mouse clicks and cautious wire snips, the other is giving instructions from a bomb-defusing manual. Neither player can look at what the other is doing. It’s one of the most perfect set-ups for the destruction of a healthy relationship and a fantastic example of leaving the screen itself behind.

You don’t have to print out the manual to read from it (you could just read the PDF file from a laptop) but we think it’s the best way to play. You flip hurriedly through pages, trying to decipher the theory of these explosive devices. Then comes the challenge of communicating the quirks and symbols of the page in a way that won’t be misunderstood. As the bomb handler, you’re consistently double-checking and second-guessing your team mate as they stammer out their directions. In the end, you’ve just got to trust them.

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16. Arma 3

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Arma 3 takes place on a pair beautiful fictional Greek islands. It does have a single-player campaign, but it’s that island, the vehicles, guns and mechanics, and the painstaking attention to detail, that makes Arma 3 great. It’s a platform for the community to create their own games upon, and there’s enough community made content that if you get into it, you could be playing Arma 3’s cooperative mode to the exclusion of any other game.

There’s something about Arma’s design philosophy that makes it especially well suited to playing with other people. Partly there’s the realism, which obviously lends itself well to the kinds of genuine squad tactics you can enact when playing with some dedicated friends or a committed community like ShackTac. Partly it’s the way in which the islands are designed in spite of you, not in service to you, making your steady journeys across the landscape with another person feel more satisfying than overcoming a set of contrived obstacles. Hopefully one of you is a good pilot.

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15. Dead by Daylight

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This is one for folks who love playing as the monster. Dead By Daylight is an asymmetrical survival horror sim not for the squeamish. In this 4vs1 co-op, three players take on the role of survivors and one player the killer, in a cat-and-mouse style with simple goals. Survivors must repair five out of seven generators scattered throughout a level to power the exit and escape. The killer, meanwhile, is hunting them, and can strike survivors with a weapon, and then drag them to a hanging hook and impale them on it. Ew.

Skills and abilities are balanced between the survivors and the killer; the killer, for example, is faster than the survivors in general, but is slower at specific tasks, like having to destroy obstacles instead of vaulting over them. With a spookily long list of Killers to play as (including horror film and game favourites like Ghost Face, Pyramid Head, and Michael Myers) there’s plenty of spooky fun to be found with this one.

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14. : Shredder’s Revenge

april donatello and raphael fight foot clan members in front of some caged monkeys in teenage mutant ninja turtles shredders revenge

Here’s a good ol’ fashioned beat-em-up, courtesy of Tribute Games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge is an old-school side-scroller that pays homage to the TMNT games of bygones past. If you’re a fan of the sewer-dwelling reptiles then you’ll love the pixelart renditions of favourite characters from the series, both heroes and villains alike.

This entry is a little different from others on our co-op list, in that its co-op playstyle is much more laid-back than many others of its stress-inducing co-op cohort. What’s great about Shredder’s Revenge that its undemanding basic button-mashing becomes one of its biggest strengths, making it perfect for groups of friends who just want an arcadey jaunt while also having a nice chinwag surrounded by empty pizza boxes.

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13.

hardest vikings list 11 valheim

Valhiem’s Steam page describes it as “brutal” but I actually think this is one of the most relaxing co-op games on this list. There’s something for everyone here. If you’d like to focus on laid-back Viking settlement building and boar hunting in a peaceful environment you can hang out in the sandbox’s first area and do exactly that; if you and your friends are looking for some proper Viking action, you can head off into the world and get your butt beaten by skeletons, grey dwarfs, trolls, and its beastly Norse-themed bosses.

Valheim is still in early access, but there is already loads stuffed into its open world for you to dive into. A beginner’s tip: watch out for falling trees. Seriously, they can straight-up kill you in one splat.

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. Deep Rock Galactic

an armoured dwarf fires a gatling gun underground in deep rock galactic

It’s a simple pitch: a group of dwarven friends with class-based skills walk into an asteroid, mine for materials, and fight back the critters who fancy them for dinner. What complicates matters is the need to leave again: once their pockets are full, the dwarves have got five minutes to down pickaxes and reach an escape pod before it leaves without them.

This is even more complicated than it seems, because the asteroid’s tunnels and caverns are a twisting warren interspersed with enormous drops. Re-trace your path inwards in reverse, in a rush, and it’s easy to get lost – and those drops are now, of course, climbs. If you thought to make your ad hoc constructions two-way when you threw them up on the way in, then no problem. If you were hasty, or if your platforms were destroyed by explosive enemies, then you’re going to need to construct a new route. The adrenaline rush of your extraction is a thrill with friends over voice comms all panicking together.

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11. Diablo 4

a necromancer using a blood drain spell in diablo iv

Like Diablos before it (notably Diablo 3), Diablo 4 is a muddy, grim fantasy world beset by demons, which means it’s sensible to take a friend or two. And, again like previous Diablo games, it’s playable with a squad of four from start fo finish, with drop in multiplayer that tracks progress you made so you can go back to it in single-player if you want. But why would you bother! Exploding skeletons and werewolf monsters is a breeze in Diablo 4, requiring a lot of clicking and spamming your favourite DOT spells, but little else. This means you have a lot of time to bond with your friends.

That’s maybe reductive; one of the best things about Diablo 4 is that it has an admirably freeing levelling system for all the classes, so you can respec on the fly to suit whoever you’re playing with. And if a particular boss is giving you trouble, you can change tactics. Get your Rogue a spell to go invisible so you can more easily res your colleagues, while you can change your Necromancer’s spell path to have more debuffing spells, giving your Barbarian attacks more bite, and you’re on your way to victory.

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borderlands 3 the four playable vault hunters stand together shooting at enemies 686w386h

Borderlands 3 is classic “bigger is better” sequel design: everything you liked in Borderlands 2 (still a great co-op romp in itself) but with more. More gun variables, more character abilities, more locations, more vehicles, more rifles that grow legs and run around as a lead-spewing sidekick. The only thing it has less of is Claptrap, which is a blessing. And so it makes sense that co-op is the way to go in this bombastic FPS game.

At any one time one friend could be ordering a giant battle ant into the fray while another hops into a Titanfall-ish mech suit, a third activates a drone and a holographic double and the fourth performs psychic powerbombs in the middle of it all. The way these character skills can be further differentiated means you never really know which version of each character you’ll be rubbing shoulders with, turning co-operative sessions into a showcase for builds. Of course, the main takeaway is always: I want my own battle ant.

Importantly, it’s a friendlier co-op game than Borderlands 2, too. With instanced loot drops, players don’t have to fight over the same spoils of war, and the difficulty scales to each combatant, so a casual dabbler can comfortably leap into an old pro’s game.

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9. It Takes Two

it takes two review j

Hazelight have a knack for designing clever, co-op-only puzzle games, and It Takes Two is definitely their best yet. You and a mate play as bickering couple May and Cody, who get turned into tiny doll versions of themselves after upsetting their daughter. Despite their relationship being the verge of a big divorce bust-up, they must work together to get back to their normal selves, and maybe learn a few life lessons along the way.

It’s not the happiest of stories, all told (and features some truly horrifying moments involving stuffed toys and broken vacuum cleaners), but its puzzles are absolutely top notch. Players must really work together to conquer It Takes Two’s imaginative obstacle courses, and its range of ideas is a clear step up from Hazelight’s first co-op-only game, A Way Out. Even better, only one person needs to actually buy the game, as every copy comes with a free friend pass for your player two.

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8. Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

a knight readies their shield as they fight an even bigger knight in dark souls prepare to die edition

While many are purists when it comes to From Software’s masterful action RPG, refusing to summon help or forcing themselves to equip just underwear whilst wielding only an overgrown twig, Dark Souls is fantastic in co-op. You can jump in with a friend, with a bit of planning, taking turns to help each other through each section. Even without friends, though, Dark Souls will have you forming bonds with silent strangers.

There’s an unwritten etiquette to the Souls games that sees people treating each other with respect, bowing to each other once summoned and waving each other off or cheering after a defeated boss. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of relief when a summoned co-op partner helps you finally beat Ornstein and Smough – the only thing that comes close is paying it back later, becoming the saviour in someone else’s story. Adam said it best in our review: “It’s superb, populating an already haunted world with phantoms and memories, and providing an eventual gateway by which to become an all-but anonymous hero or villain.”

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7. Spelunky

four players duke it out underground in spelunky 670w377h

Spelunky is a moreish 2D platformer with roguelike elements that kicks your arse until it straightens your spine. Although the geometry might be constantly shifting with each frequent death, the rules that govern the enemy types remain constant. After a while, reflexes handle the enemies of The Mines – it’s like peeking into another dimension, but instead of losing your mind you become Neo. Can you dodge bullets? Yes.

Co-op changes the rules, making it perfect for seasoned players to team up. You might think things would be easier with more and attack power, but stunning, whipping and blowing each other up will be a regular occurrence in the claustrophobic confines of the levels. More players only add more complication and four player co-op is chaos, creating more hilarious ways to fail. Timing, as ever, is key. Now see if you can make it to Hell with friends.

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6. Grand Theft Auto V

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Los Santos is a gorgeous playground, each bend in the road bringing you level with a postcard view – every angle feels scrutinised. Trace a route from the peak of Mt. Chiliad, driving down through the dusty plains of the Grand Senora Desert, snaking by the hilltop mansions of Vinewood Hills, cruising on through the twinkling city itself and finally coming to stop at Vespucci Beach – all this, including the skies above and the sea beyond, is your online playground.

Grand Theft Auto Online is stuffed full of co-op scenarios, but the best experiences are found in the Heists. These multi-part missions ask you and three other players to take part in everything from the setup – casing the joint and grabbing getaway vehicles – all the way to the caper itself. While not all of them are literal heists, each one does an incredible job of making sure all four players are busy.

Everyone has their own job to do, sometimes all together, sometimes in pairs and sometimes alone. This, along with the randomness of the open-world’s systems, gives each one massive replay value. The only real downside is that you really need to play with three friends to get the most out of it. With each heist taking a couple of hours from setup to execution, it can be as difficult to organise as an actual heist.

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5. Minecraft

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Nobody knew how huge Minecraft would be when the alpha released in 2010, but there were hints of it even from the first few hours, when the game’s initial players started building rudimentary shapes and sharing screenshots of what they’d created.

Today, Minecraft is played by people of all ages. Part of its appeal, aside from its openness, is the social aspect. Whether helping your child stave off monsters as you build a fantasy land together or collaborating with a group of adults to make a working hard drive, there’s something for everyone.

You can even play it as an RPG, killing mobs with your co-op partner, levelling up and building equipment to grow stronger, with the eventual goal of taking on the final boss, the Ender Dragon. Minecraft is whatever you want it to be and you can play it all with friends.

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4. Baldur’s Gate 3

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Baldur’s Gate 3 is based on the Dungeons & Dragons world and ruleset, and that’s a party-based tabletop roleplaying game – so why wouldn’t you want to make it a party in its digi-form? BG3 is the tale of a rag-tag bag of heroes saving a lush fantasy world, getting into scrapes, meeting weird NPCs, and engaging in huge turn-based battles against monsters and ghouls. Much of this, like Larian’s Divinity games, is based on using the different skillsets and abilities of your characters effectively, and that’s much easier to do when the different characters are specced and controlled by other people, rather than you juggling it all yourself.

Unlike other co-op games, Baldur’s Gate’s co-op is tied to a single save and campaign. No fairweather dropping in and out! But this makes it feel like more of a collegiate story that you’re telling together, like an adventure you’re having as a group. Like, in fact, a game of Dungeons & Dragons. It’s worth the effort, and the game itself is a beautiful and complex playground for you and some friends to explore.

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3. Left 4 Dead 2

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Panicking with friends can be sublime. That shared fear and desperation, the yells and shrieks of people facing the same horde, each convinced they’re moments from being overwhelmed. In a sense, they already are.

Horror games reach into your lizard brain and convince your amygdala that you’re in trouble. Left 4 Dead 2 is one of the best, because it’s built around saving your friends from that state. When the necrotic tongue of a Smoker comes grasping for your mate, you get to save the day with a well placed shot. When a Hunter pounces on your pal who’s straggling at the back, there you are with a punch and shotgun blast. When a Tank jumps right into the middle of your group… well, you can’t survive every time.

That’s part of what makes triumph taste so sweet. You’re pulling together against an AI director that keeps you on your toes, sending in hordes when it thinks you can take them, but rarely throwing so much at you that it feels unfair. Every level is an appropriately intense ordeal, where cries of frustration can quickly turn into tears of laughter. Ten years on, Valve are still the kings of co-op horror. Especially if you play Versus mode, and know the Hunter tearing into you is your mate Dave.

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2. Portal 2

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What happens when you take a single-player game about traversing intricate puzzle rooms with portals, and then double everything? It becomes twice as complicated and twice as satisfying. Portal 2 already expands on everything introduced in the bite-sized Portal, adding things like Excursion Funnels, Thermal Discouragement Beams, Propulsion Gel and other fancy sounding words, but the addition of another player changes things the most.

Four portals make each room more confusing to explore, especially when you consider both players need to reach the exit. In essence, many rooms require two solutions. Some puzzles require both thought and dexterity, and firing your friend across a chasm by moving a portal while they freefall through another eventually becomes as normal as walking.

There’s a lot of personality in the design of the two robotic protagonists, too – the Laurel and Hardy of shiny metal. When you’re working together, you’ll be high fiving each other’s metal hands and barking possible solutions through your headset.

If you’re not using chat, Valve were kind enough to provide lots of ways to communicate in-game, with players able to place markers and emote. Every puzzle solution is punctuated by a dance. Portal 2’s co-op is an experience you can’t quite replicate, its systems a perfect balance of cooperation and friendly rivalry. Grab a friend and become the most stupid pair of geniuses around.

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1. Helldivers 2

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In like a bullet to the top of this list is the extraordinarily popular Helldivers 2. Robots to the left of you, bugs to the right, here I am stuck in the middle with you, a squad of my pals, merrily immolating all the enemies before us and, quite often, each other.

Helldivers 2 combines a lot of things. Great shooting against horde-style enemies? You betcha. Improbably huge special abilities like actual nukes? Sure thing. Pretending you haven’t set off the bomb in the enemy nest and then exploding your mates for the jape? Absotively.

The titular Helldivers are teams of hard-hitting expendable soldiers sent to clear enemies on planets surrounding Earth, which is at the centre of a global war with giant bugs on one side and advanced robots on the other, so you head down in timed missions do beat them back a bit. The always-on friendly fire is a daring choice, but one players have embraced, along with furious debates over whether the Terminids or Automatons are the worse enemy to come up against.

Buried in amongst this, though, are hints that actually both murderous robots and murderous insects are both the fault of the Super-Earth, though many players enjoy the roleplay aspects of screaming “For democracy!” as they call down an airstrike on a giant monster spitting acid at your mate. Helldivers 2 is simultaneously layered and simple, and it is an instahit you’re sure to love.

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10 best desktop computers of 2024, There are hundreds of desktop you can buy from brands like HP, Dell, Apple, and Lenovo, but only a select few make it to the list of the best desktops. We’ve reviewed dozens of desktop PCs across both and macOS, and these 10 stand above the pack.

The Dell XPS Desktop 8960 remains the best desktop PC you can buy in 2024. However, we have several other options depending on your budget and needs, including desktops for gaming, remote work, and more. We’ll provide a quick overview here, but make sure to read our write-up on how we review desktops for a deeper look at our evaluation process.

Quick overview

 Dell XPS Desktop 8960: A highly flexible desktop that can accommodate almost any budget and purpose, from home office work to high-end gaming.
 Lenovo Legion Tower 7i: A well-built and customizable desktop that shoots ahead in gaming performance.
 Apple iMac 24-inch: Apple’s iMac 24-inch is only better now with the M3 chip at the helm.
 Apple Mac Mini M2: A supercharged version of Apple’s storied Mac Mini that’s as portable as it is powerful.
 Lenovo Yoga AIO 9i: One of the most powerful all-in-one PCs you can buy still, and with a stunning set of features.
 Falcon Northwest Tiki: A boutique desktop PC that’s small and very powerful for gaming.
 Apple Mac Studio: A tiny PC that packs some of the most powerful hardware on the market.
 HP Envy Move: The perfect desktop for a hybrid working style.
 Lenovo ThinkStation P620: A powerful workstation that can handle the most demanding tasks.
 Ayaneo AM01: A quant mini PC that packs a surprising amount of power for a low price.

Why you should trust us

We’ve reviewed hundreds of desktop PCs for years, looking for machines that stand out for gaming, home office use, photo and video editing, and so much more. From miniature PCs that can fit on a bookshelf to behemoth desktops with custom liquid cooling, we’ve seen literally everything, and we know what stands out and what doesn’t.

Key considerations when selecting the best desktop

There are a few key areas we focus on when looking a desktop computer.

Performance

Performance is king when it comes to a desktop computer, but it’s not an equal bar for every PC. Some machines, like the Mac Mini, are offering power in a portable package, while a desktop like the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i goes all-out for gaming prowess. We meet desktops where they’re at, evaluating what they’re trying to accomplish, and at what price.

Build quality

A desktop may look nice, but it’s built of cheap plastics and throwaway components, it won’t last for long. Our review process includes a teardown of every desktop to understand what the internal components look like. In addition, we look at fan placement, ventilation, and cooling to ensure the desktops will stay quiet during operation without overheating.

Support

Things go wrong with PCs, so it’s important to have a robust support system in place. A one-year warranty is standard on most electronics, so we look for companies that go above and beyond what’s required with multi-year warranties and around-the-clock support.

Upgradability

One of the main benefits of a desktop PC is that you can upgrade it in the future, but some brands have missed that memo. We keep an eye out for proprietary components and try to focus on desktops that provide some upgrade paths for users. This isn’t possible for all machines, though, such as Apple’s iMac, where upgrades are tricky for end users due to the form factor.

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Dell XPS 8960

The best desktop computer

The best overall desktop PC is the one that will work for the most people, and that’s the Dell XPS 8960. It’s understated in all the right ways, reasonably priced considering the power you can pack inside, and comes in a variety of configurations to suit work, gaming, or both. Choosing the highest-rated PC isn’t easy, but the Dell XPS 8960 gets rid of that issue.

Regardless of what configuration you choose, you’ll find something that matches your needs. That’s because Dell builds them custom ordered, which is the best feature of the XPS 8960. The options are nearly endless, with prices ranging from $750 to over $3,000 depending on the parts you choose. Some of the desktops come without a discrete graphics card, meaning they’re more suited for work than games. However, you can get one of the more expensive ones that include a discrete graphics card.

Dell is offering this new XPS desktop with Intel Raptor Lake and DDR5 RAM for those who are in search of the best gaming PC. You can add up to an RTX 4090 graphics card as well, which is a serious amount of power considering the size of the machine. Powerful hardware means more heat, but the XPS 8950 gets rid of it well with optional liquid cooling and a case with plenty of room for airflow.

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Lenovo Legion Tower 7i

The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i gets almost everything right. It comes with the latest flagship hardware, packing in an Nvidia RTX 4080 and a 13th-gen Intel Core i9 processor, and it comes in a sleek, attractive design that doesn’t get too loud or hot. Perhaps most importantly, it uses standard-sized components so you can upgrade it in the future.

That’s easily the best thing about the Legion Tower 7i. It comes with the more affordable price of a mainstream gaming PC without any of the hurdles that come from brands like Alienware and Asus. The convenience doesn’t come at the cost of performance, either. Based on our testing, the Legion Tower 7i is just as fast as a custom-built PC with the same hardware.

The only downside is how the machine is configured. It comes with fast DDR5 memory, so this computer is great for playing ricky casino online without lag, but it’s set up to run at a slower speed out of the box. That didn’t make a big difference in overall performance based on our testing, but certain applications will run slightly slower in the Tower 7i’s default configuration. Thankfully, boosting the memory speed just takes a couple of clicks.

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Apple iMac 24-inch

The best desktop for photo editing

Apple’s iMac 24-inch hasn’t seen a lot of love, but that all changed with the introduction of the M3 chip. Sporting the same and beautiful screen we fell in love with a few years ago, the iMac Apple is selling today truly is the same, but better.

That all comes down to the M3 chip. Compared to its M1 predecessor, the new model is at least 20% faster, and often much more. The graphics processor, in particular, is impressive. It even manages to beat some of Apple’s older Pro series chips, going as far as to have playable performance in games like Lies of P.

Apple didn’t change much else about the iMac, but it didn’t need to. The 4.5K Retina display is still stunning with a high pixel density, and the speakers are second to none. The upgraded webcam is exceptional, too, offering up a 1080p resolution for crisp video calls. If you’re looking for an all-in-one that just works in 2024, the iMac M3 is for you.

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Apple Mac mini M2

The best desktop computer for home

We rarely give products a perfect score, but that’s exactly what Apple’s Mac mini M2 earned in our full review. The updated mini PC features the same compact footprint that Apple has used for over a decade, but now with a major update under the hood.

The base M2 model is a big upgrade over 2020’s Mac mini M1, but the updated desktop really shines with the M2 Pro chip. That takes the Mac mini from being a MacBook without a screen to a full-fledged creator machine capable of tackling the most demanding tasks you can throw at a computer today.

The only problem is the base configuration, which comes with a much slower SSD. We wholeheartedly recommend the Mac mini M2, but make sure to read our Mac mini M2 buying guide to pick the right configuration.

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Lenovo Yoga AIO 9i

The best desktop computer for work

It’s really hard recommending an all-in-one over Apple’s iMac, but the Lenovo Yoga AIO 9i is certainly a contender. It’s a 4K desktop that impresses with great performance, a solid price, and one of the best integrated displays we’ve seen, as well as some unique features.

The machine is powered by Intel’s Core i9-13900H, which is one of the most powerful mobile CPUs you can buy. It’s more than enough to handle work applications, and it can even step up for some photo or video editing. More impressive, you can configure the machine with a mobile RTX 4050 graphics card, giving you a little gaming grunt if you need it.

The Yoga AIO 9i makes this list due to its screen and features, however. The 32-inch 4K display is stunning with its glossy finish, and it comes with great color accuracy out of the box. It has some tricks in the base, as well, including a wireless charging pad for your phone.

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Falcon Northwest Tiki

The best mini gaming PC

Falcon Northwest is one of the few true boutique PC builders left, and the Tiki explains why. It’s one of the smallest gaming PCs you can buy, and it still manages to pack in flagship hardware. More importantly, the Tiki does both without sacrificing heat or thermals, which is the biggest pitfall for small form factor machines.

It’s expensive, but Falcon Northwest’s attention to detail still manages to stand out. From premium component selection to a detailed dossier of every aspect of your build, the Tiki goes beyond being just a shell for high-end components.

Falcon Northwest offers the machine with or Intel configurations, paired with up to an RTX 3090 GPU. Unfortunately, the Tiki is too small to fit Nvidia’s monstrous RTX 4090. Although the Tiki is clearly a gaming PC first, Falcon Northwest also offers it with Nvidia’s professional GPUs.

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Apple Mac Studio

The best desktop for video editing

It feels like the Mac Studio has finally found its footing. It straddled a strange previous, not quite reaching the level of the Mac Pro while falling short of the value-focused Mac mini. With the M2 Ultra or M2 Max, the Mac Studio finally feels like premium, Pro-level Mac Apple fans have waited for.

It’s crazy fast, getting close and sometimes even beating top-level PC components like the Core i9-13900K and RTX 4090. That’s all the more impressive considering the size of the Mac Studio, which barely takes up a fraction of your desk space. Even considering the high price, the performance and size of the Mac Studio make it feel like a downright deal.

It has all of the professional trimmings you’d expect, too, including support for massive storage arrays and great external monitor support. The Mac mini is still better for most people, but if you can take advantage of the power of the Mac Studio, it’s tough to beat.

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HP Envy Move

The best desktop computer for home office

The HP Envy Move is one of the most unique desktops we’ve ever seen. It’s a desktop, but it’s also portable, and it’s the perfect fit for the hybrid work style so many of us have fallen into.

It’s a basic all-in-one at its core, but the Envy Move’s trick is that the legs automatically fold in, allowing you to pick it up and carry it with you. There’s a carrying handle on the back, and activating it will automatically tuck in the legs. And with an included battery, you really can pick up your PC and take it anywhere. There’s even a sleeve in the back so you can tuck in the included keyboard/trackpad combo.

HP doesn’t charge a massive premium for this design, either. The Envy Move starts at just $750 for a mobile Intel 13th-gen CPU, which offers acceptable performance for basic home office tasks.

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Lenovo ThinkStation P620

The best desktop workstation computer

The Lenovo ThinkStation P620 is a workstation in every sense of the word. This is a desktop designed to perform the most resource-heavy tasks out there. Created specifically for engineering, data science, machine learning, 3D modeling, video editing, and more, the ThinkStation is the kind of PC that will find uses across many fields, aiding professionals in their daily tasks.

More importantly, it’s the only workstation available now with AMD’s Threadripper 5000 Pro processors. You can pack in up to a Threadripper Pro 5995WX processor, which packs in 64 cores and 128 threads, along with an astounding 256MB of L3 cache. Similarly, you can add up to two Nvidia Quadro GV100 GPUs, which is powerful enough for even the most demanding tasks.

The other specs are just as impressive – eight RAM slots for up to 512GB of memory, as well as six drive slots for up to 24TB of storage. comes default on the machine, but you can also have it pre-configured for Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Ubuntu as well.

The Lenovo P620 isn’t for everyone. It’s an insanely expensive workstation that can cost upwards of $40,000 fully tricked out, but for professionals who demand peak performance, nothing can touch the ThinkStation P620.

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Ayaneo Retro Mini PC AM01

Sometimes just looking cool is enough. The Ayaneo Retro Mini PC AM01 is in that position. It’s styled after an old-school Mac, fit with a plastic, off-white shell and a badge indicative of an early 1990s Apple logo, but the nostalgic mini PC packs a lot of power under the hood.

It features up to an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U CPU, along with up to 64GB of memory,and up to 2TB of SSD storage. Pricing starts at just $200, with a maxed-out configuration costing $421. This PC isn’t going to floor you in performance, but it’s surprisingly component given its size and low price.

Perhaps the best use case, however, is as an emulator. The AM01 makes a perfect retro gaming companion, all while having a full installation of Windows 11 to back up its usefulness.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the best brand of desktop computer?

Dell, HP, Lenovo – how do you know what brand of desktop PC is best for you? Brand loyalty isn’t the best way to approach desktop PCs, but brands have certain specialties. Apple is focused on rock-solid performance and a clean user experience for a slightly higher price, for example, while Dell creates several PCs that have the bandwidth for a home office and a gaming setup.

The best thing to do is look at individual desktop reviews rather than relying on what someone says is the “best brand.” Some brands come out with excellent PCs one generation and poor desktops the next, so it’s important to check in on reviews when you need to upgrade.

What is the best processor for a desktop computer?

The best CPU will depend on how you’re using your desktop. Gamers who want the utmost performance will want an overclockable Intel Core i9-14900K found on most high-end systems, while creatives looking at juggling large media files will want something with more cores. That means AMD, which offers 12- and 16-core chips in the form of the AMD Ryzen 7900X and 7950X.

If you’re working primarily on Office files and use your desktop to browse the , scaling down to an Intel Core i5 or Core i7, or an AMD Ryzen 7 or Ryzen 5 processor, would help make substantial savings without impacting performance much.

Should my desktop have USB-C or Thunderbolt 3?

USB-C is beginning to show up in more desktop builds, but it’s still more common on laptops. It’s not strictly necessary, as there are plenty of USB-A to USB-C cables out there, but if it’s a must for you, keep an eye on the case that your new system comes in. That will or won’t have USB-C as standard.

Thunderbolt 3 uses the USB-C form factor but it offers the most bandwidth of any USB-based wired connection available at this time, giving speeds that scorch standard USB ports. However, it is even less common on desktops than plain old USB-C. If you want it, you’ll need to go with an Intel or Apple system, though if you opt for the former and Thunderbolt 3 is not standard on the chassis or motherboard, you could always get a PCI-Express add-in card that has it.

When is the best time to buy a desktop?

The best time to buy a desktop is when your current computer isn’t able to handle the applications you want to use. Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day usually bring the steepest discounts on desktop computers, but the reality is that you can score a deal on a PC almost any time during the year. Make sure to keep our roundup of the best desktop deals handy for when you want to upgrade.

How do you know if you need a laptop or desktop?

Choosing between a desktop and a laptop comes down to portability and comfort. You can take a laptop nearly anywhere, but they’re not as comfortable to use as desktops with a larger screen. On the other hand, a desktop is more flexible and allows you to use a keyboard/mouse combo you like, but it’s restricted to one area.

Consider what you’ll use your machine for. If you’re gaming, for example, a desktop makes more sense. If you’re answering email and browsing the internet, a laptop is probably better a option.

How to choose a desktop computer

If your existing PC is so slow it can barely run Windows Solitaire, let alone video editing software, don’t fret. There’s some good news for computer users facing the inevitable upgrade: There’s never been a better time to buy a new PC.

Prices are at an all-time low, while at the same time, computers are becoming incredibly powerful and full of convenient features. But choosing the right computer to match your needs and budget can be an overwhelming task — especially for tech-shy folks intimidated by geeky terminology and pushy salespeople.

Here’s how to choose a computer that’s just right for you.

Laptop or desktop

If you require portability, then a laptop (also referred to as a “notebook”) PC is for you. But if you want the flexibility of adding a larger display or upgrading other components (such as adding a bigger hard drive or better video card), then perhaps a desktop PC is the way to go.

If you buy a desktop computer, you will also need a display to plug into it to see anything, unless you buy an all-in-one computer, such as Dell All-in-One or an Apple iMac, which have the display built directly into the unit. If you’ve decided on a laptop, you’ll need to consider portability like weight and size. A larger screen is nice, but do you want to deal with the added size and weight? The bigger the screen (e.g. 17 inches as opposed to 12 inches), the bigger and heavier the laptop will be.

While laptops are becoming more powerful, a desktop is still better suited for graphic-intensive applications such as computer gaming, video editing, or animation rendering. But if portability is a priority, then laptops are the only way to go.

Other things to keep in mind when deciding between a laptop and a desktop computer include upfront costs, noise and cooling, and peripherals. You should expect a laptop to cost a bit more than a desktop of similar specifications, as you’re buying the display and input mechanisms at the same time, as well as paying for a battery — though there are great budget laptops out there.

Laptops are also often very compact, which means they are more likely to be noisier when the fans ramp up to keep the computer cool. While desktops can also get noisy when under heavy loads like gaming or video editing, they tend to still be quieter than laptops under the same load due to the improved airflow in the case — and you can always modify the cooling to improve it. That’s not so easy with laptops.

As for peripherals, desktops tend to have more ports than laptops, meaning if you need to connect a bunch of peripherals (e.g. printers, external storage, speakers, microphone, etc.) then a desktop may be a better choice. The latest port standards include USB-C and Thunderbolt 3, which are excellent connections to look for.

Mac or Windows

Personal preference and experience dictate the operating system of choice more than anything, making it hard to recommend one over the other. The best way to tell which one is ideal for you is to try both out to see which one feels more intuitive for you to work on, and which one will work with your favorite programs. Mac computers are generally more expensive than Windows-based PCs, though they tend to be a little more secure. With fewer macOS PCs out there, hackers are less interested in making viruses for them. The closed-ecosystem approach Apple employs for its products also makes it harder to distribute malware — though not impossible.

Windows PCs have a much more robust gaming ecosystem to enjoy and are definitely better for gamers.

Outside of that niche, the app ecosystem for both macOS and Windows is very good — there are so many apps for both platforms so no matter what you need to do, you’ll likely be able to find an app to accomplish the task. Ultimately, you need to make the call for yourself, but definitely keep in mind that today’s Mac computers can also run the Windows operating system through programs such as Boot Camp, Parallels, or VMWare Fusion.

Power and performance

Performance is arguably the most important metric of any PC, and the CPU is the heart of that. You want at the very least a dual-core CPU with simultaneous multithreading/hyperthreading, but a quad-core will make a big difference to your everyday PC performance. Intel’s Core i3 and AMD’s Ryzen 3 CPUs are fantastic in this respect, though especially the latter.

If you need a bit more power for any kind of photo or video editing or are planning to play the latest games, then ideally you will want to look for a computer that sports a six-core (or better) processor such as an Intel i5 or i7 or an AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7.

For more in-depth CPU buying information, check out our guide on how to choose a CPU.

When it comes to system memory, or RAM, you want to make sure you have enough, and not too much more. A capacity of 8GB to 16GB is the sweet spot for most users, including heavy gamers; 32GB and beyond is only really recommended if you’re doing a lot of heavy video editing, and will very much depend on the particular software you want to use.

A graphics card can be the most expensive part of a PC and is only necessary if you’re looking to play games. If you are, buy a GPU that fits your needs and budget. There’s no point in buying a $1,000 graphics card if all you want to play is Minecraft, but you’ll be disappointed if you try to play the latest AAA games on a budget GPU. Check out the specifications of the games you want to play to help decide which graphics card is right for you or check out our list of the best GPUs you can buy.

Want to game on the go? Check out our list of the best gaming laptops available.

Storage

The size of a hard drive or solid-state drive determines how many programs and files you can fit on it before running out of space. Unless you’re buying something like a Chromebook where cloud storage is a big feature, a computer with at least 500GB of space is a good starting point. If you have a lot of games or movies that you want to store, then you’ll want to consider a secondary drive with a terabyte or two of additional space.

Today, most computers have at least one SSD, or solid-state drive, for storage. SSDs are much faster than older HDDs (hard disk drives with moving, magnetic parts), which means you can open and find files faster. SSDs are your best bet for a boot drive, with traditional hard drives best suited as additional storage space and secondary drives.

If you’re concerned about running out of space on your drive, don’t be. There are so many options to expand your storage for either a laptop or desktop with an inexpensive external hard drive or even cloud storage. External drives (you can find both external hard drives and external SSDs) are great, and these days, depending on which one you buy, can be just as fast as your internal drive thanks to new technologies such as Thunderbolt 4.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth

If you’re shopping for a laptop, chances are it’ll have integrated wireless networking features. This means you can log on to the internet at broadband speeds when in range of a Wi-Fi network, be it at home, work, school, or one of many thousand “hotspots” around the world, including cafés, hotels, airport lounges, and so on. The latest laptops have 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) technology — which offers a 30% to 60% speed boost over the older 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) technology and is a safer bet if you want to prepare for future devices.

Bluetooth is another common wireless feature that most laptops (and some desktops) have, which can make phone syncing easier (read: cable-free) and even add support for headsets and headphones, allowing you to roam freely while on a voice call or listening to . Any desktop you choose should also offer Wi-Fi 5 or 6 wireless networking capability (offered via a built-in or optional attachment), or come with an integrated Ethernet port, which enables connection to the internet via an Ethernet cable.

Going Chromebook

While Windows and Mac are the common choices for operating systems, there is an alternative for new users — a Chromebook. Chromebooks run on Chrome OS, a lightweight operating system designed for ultra-portable laptops.

Chromebooks are a give-and-take proposition: They tend to be very affordable, very easy to use, and ideal choices for more casual users, students, and those who want to save money while still getting a laptop. They also have growing compatibility with Android apps. On the other hand, they typically have limited power, very little storage (depending on cloud storage for many activities), and limited capability to run more demanding software or applications without Chrome OS compatibility.

If you’re interested in a laptop with a light footprint, we suggest you check out our guide to Chromebooks, and our current list of best Chromebooks on the market.

Build your own computer

If you’re feeling a little adventurous and are looking to do something a bit different, there’s always the option to build your own computer. It’s quite a lot of fun too, plus these days it’s easier than ever to find and buy all the parts you will need, and all the advice above still applies.

If you’re interested in building your own computer, the best place to start compiling a parts list is PCPartPicker. At PCPartPicker you can compile a list of parts from various retail websites including Newegg and Amazon. What’s even nicer is if you pick parts that aren’t compatible, PCPartPicker will let you know.

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The in 2024, Finding a bad Android phone is a rare occurrence these days. However, with so many options available, it can be daunting to choose the best one in 2024. In this article, we aim to help you find the Android phone you’re looking for.

When looking to buy a new Android phone, there are many factors to consider. Do you prefer a large screen? How important is camera performance to you? Are you someone who enjoys gaming on your phone? Or do you need long-lasting battery life? To assist you, we have compiled a list of Android phones that cater to everyone’s needs.

If you’re also open to non-Android devices, see our list of the best phones overall. Otherwise, keep reading for our picks of the best Android phones in 2024.

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OnePlus 12

The best Android phone overall

Formerly known as the “flagship killer” for offering killer specs at a lower price, has since shifted its products up the price scale. But it hasn’t lost sight of what made its phones great to begin with, and as a result, the is a flagship smartphone that can take on much more expensive smartphones at their own game.

The OnePlus 12 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, the latest processor from Qualcomm, which is likely to find itself at the heart of most Android flagships in the coming year. It’s a monster of a chip, and it’s happily trounced any test we’ve put it through. Even the most demanding 3D games can barely faze it, and it’s backed up by some other impressive specs too. RAM starts at 12GB, the same that you’ll find in the S24 Ultra, and rises to 16GB. That’s more than a smartphone needs in 2024, and shows just how committed OnePlus is to making sure its phones are some of the most powerful around.

That drive is also evident in the display and design. The OnePlus 12 is a striking phone. It’s similar-looking to OnePlus’ previous phones, but its identity is so distinct from every other phone brand, and it just looks fabulous. The display is a huge 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 1Hz to 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, 1440p resolution, and a crazily bright maximum brightness of 4,500 nits. Again, that peak brightness is way beyond anything you’ll ever need, but it really highlights OnePlus’ philosophy.

The camera setup has similar high numbers, with a 50-megapixel main camera, a 64MP periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 48MP ultrawide camera. There’s also a 32MP selfie lens around the front. The actual performance doesn’t live up to the strong numbers though, and it’s not the camera king of this list for sure. However, it’s still a solid performer that consistently creates good looking images and videos.

The 5,400mAh battery is capable of going for two days on a single charge, and wired charging of 80 watts also means it won’t sit on the charger for long when it finally does run down. There’s also 45W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging, that go far beyond what the competition is offering.

At a price of just $800, there’s no doubt the OnePlus 12 offers an enormous amount of bang for your buck, with performance that’s more than able to duke it out with the $1,300 Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra — and come out on top. It’s the best Android phone you can buy in 2024.

The best Android phones in 2024

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Google Pixel 8 Pro

The best Android phone runner-up

We described the Google Pixel 8 Pro as the best Pixel we’ve ever used, and for good reason. This new smartphone boasts exciting features, such as improved cameras and photo-editing tools, Google’s latest Tensor chip, and more.

Let’s discuss the design of the Pixel 8 Pro. Despite closely resembling the Google Pixel 7 Pro, Google has made significant changes to the device. The rear glass features an impressive, smooth matte finish, and the phone’s rounded corners have also been increased, making it more comfortable to hold. Additionally, the dual camera cutouts found on the Pixel 7 Pro have been replaced with a single cutout that spans the length of the camera bar.

The display on the Pixel 8 Pro has also seen some nice upgrades. The 120Hz refresh rate has been tweaked so that it can scale down to 1Hz, not 10Hz, as needed. This means less energy gets used. The display is also much brighter, rising to 1,600 nits for HDR and 2,400 for peak brightness.

The primary camera on the Pixel 8 Pro has a resolution of 50 megapixels and an aperture of f/1.68, which makes it more light-sensitive. Additionally, it has a 2x optical zoom. The new ultrawide camera has a resolution of 48MP and an f/1.95 aperture, significantly improving its light sensitivity and macro mode. Also, the telephoto camera has a resolution of 48MP, an f/2.8 aperture, and a 5x optical zoom, resulting in improved light sensitivity. Furthermore, the front-facing camera has an f/2.2 aperture and autofocus support.

The Pixel 8 Pro has new camera software tools that are pretty impressive. One is Best Take, which is heavily advertised in Google’s latest television ads. This feature automatically stitches together multiple photographs so everyone in the shot appears smiling. Additionally, a Magic Editor feature allows you to erase and move objects from existing photos, even those not taken with the Pixel 8 Pro.

The Pixel 8 Pro has a new Tensor G3 chip, which has been well received. The previous versions didn’t perform well, so this one had much to prove. The Tensor G3 chip can handle various tasks such as gaming, live streaming over a 5G connection, and capturing photos. The best part is that the Tensor G3 chip doesn’t overheat like its predecessors.

Simply put, the Google Pixel 8 Pro is a standout Android phone that has earned its place as our best runner-up for many reasons. Not only does it boast a stunning design that is sure to impress, but it also features an improved camera system that delivers stunning photos and videos. With its large and vibrant display, lightning-fast processor, and long-lasting battery life, the Pixel 8 Pro is a true workhorse that can keep up with even the most demanding users. Whether you’re a professional photographer or someone who wants a reliable and powerful smartphone, the Pixel 8 Pro is worth considering.

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Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus

The best big Android phone

With a massive display and all the power of its more expensive sibling, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus is a fantastic choice if you want a very capable device with more power than you can shake a stick at, an excellent camera, and two-day battery life.

It’s on this list because of its size, so we’ll start with that. The design is largely unchanged from last year, with the same minimalist back and sleek body — with one exception. The sides are now flat, mimicking similar changes over in iPhoneland. It’s a great change, and it makes this big phone much easier to handle. The display itself is a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X with a 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate and a peak brightness of 2,600 nits. It’s as bold and beautiful as Samsung’s screens always are, and you won’t regret spending time staring at it.

It’s powerful too; The core of this power is our old friend, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and it’s as powerful as it is in other phones. Backing this up is 12GB of RAM, and the combination of the two is enough to make most games quake in fear. The big addition this year is Galaxy AI, and while some features are good, (like the image editor), some of these AI features are a bit feeble, and not something you’re likely to use regularly. Use them a few times and enjoy the rest of an excellent phone.

The camera is great, and though it can struggle with movement, it’s going to produce results you’re happy with most of the time. The battery is a standout though, with two days of performance with moderate use, and it also comes with a very welcome boost to 45W fast charging.

Prices start at $1,000 for the S24 Plus, so it’s not the most reasonably priced of phones, but when you consider how close it is to the $1,300 Galaxy S24 Ultra, it’s a real bargain. With seven years of updates, this phone is sure to last you for a long time, so you can consider the price an investment.

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Samsung Galaxy S24

The best small Android phone

There’s one reason to pick up the Samsung Galaxy S24 — you love everything the S24 Ultra and S24 Plus are doing, but you want it in a much smaller package. Thankfully, you’re not sacrificing anything by picking up a smaller phone, as the Galaxy S24 is a worthy entry in Samsung’s latest range, and a very good phone to boot.

This year’s smallest S-range phone has all the new additions we loved in the Plus-sized model, including the flat edges that make handling the phone much easier and the utterly gorgeous display, now shrunk down to a relatively diminutive 6.2-inches. But the real magic here comes from the fact that the small size doesn’t mean a downgrade in power thanks to the same hyper-powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 nested within.

It’s not perfect, of course. While the camera is strong, lowlight shots aren’t as good those taken by its siblings or the competition, and fast charging is limited to just 25W. Thankfully, the battery is still impressive, which helps to compensate for that slight downside as it commonly gets more than one day on a single charge.

At $800, it’s well-priced, though it does go up against the phenomenal OnePlus 12 at the same price. Thankfully, it has its smaller stature to really press an advantage, meaning this is the phone to buy if you want a smaller smartphone that still packs a strong punch.

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OnePlus 12R

The best value Android phone

We’ve already highlighted how the OnePlus 12 isn’t really a flagship killer anymore since it’s actually a flagship now. But there’s another OnePlus smartphone on the prowl, and it really is a flagship killer. The OnePlus 12R is basically a 2023 flagship smartphone, but priced at $500, and that makes it an unmissable bargain.

The root of this lies, as ever with OnePlus, in the spec sheet. Last year’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 can be found inside the 12R — and it’s the very same processor you’ll find in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5, OnePlus , and other flagship phones from last year. Combine that with a very respectable 8GB or 16GB of RAM, and the OnePlus 12R flies through tasks and games alike. Performance looks even faster thanks to the 1Hz to 120Hz refresh rate on the 6.78-inch AMOLED display, and the resolution is clean and crisp with 450 pixels per inch.

It’s not let down with a bad design either. The 12R evokes the same design spirit as the OnePlus 12 and the OnePlus 11 before it, and it looks great as a result. It even has an alert slider and an IR blaster, which are you’d be hard-pressed to find on any phone these days.

The camera is technically a triple-lens setup, but it’s better that you only think of it as having the single 50MP main lens. The 8MP ultrawide lens is OK, but nothing special, and the 2MP macro lens is so awful it might as well not have been included. Thankfully, the 50MP main lens is good, even if it struggles with movement and sometimes returns slightly off colors.

The 5,500mAh battery is the biggest OnePlus has ever used, and it shows its size with some very strong battery life. Two days is more than possible with this phone, and moderate use may see it stretch to a third. It has the same 80W fast charging as its more expensive cousin, so you can give it a fast 10-minute charge and be sure of having hours of extra juice.

A phone this good shouldn’t cost $500, but it does. Admittedly, OnePlus’s phone don’t come with a lot of extra features, which makes a lot of this possible, but considering how easy it is to live without even the best special features out there, the OnePlus 12R is a real steal.

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Samsung Galaxy A54

The best midrange Android phone

No, we haven’t accidentally listed one of the Galaxy S23’s colorways, that’s actually the Galaxy A54. Samsung’s new midrange phone is a dead ringer for the 2023 flagship, and that’s a very good thing. In fact, the A54’s design differs from its more expensive cousin in just a few ways, and the most important is the range of bold colors. The Violet and Lime variants have a lot of character, and they’re well worth picking over the more standard black or white versions. The chassis is made from plastic instead of aluminum, but it’s covered in Gorilla Glass 5, so it still feels like a premium product.

The Galaxy A54 has a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ certification, and a 1080p resolution, which largely puts it on a level with the A53 5G’s excellent display. The A54’s display is brighter than its predecessor though, giving it an edge under strong lights and outdoors.

It’s powered by the Exynos 1380, a Samsung-made chip that does a good job of keeping everything running. It might start to show its age as this phone ages, though, especially if you’re a mobile gamer. While never slow, sometimes we did experience some slight lag in opening apps, especially the camera. The internal storage options of 128GB and 256GB are good, especially when there’s room for a microSD card as well.

The camera is a solid affair, especially since it’s ditched the A53’s useless depth sensor. There’s a 50MP main lens, combined with a 12MP wide-angle and 5MP macro lens, and it takes good pictures — with one, pretty jarring exception. The stills it produces are almost always enormously oversaturated, to the point where it can seem comically so. Samsung’s phones have long been known for turning up the saturation a little too much, but it’s the first time it’s done so way too far, and it’s a bit of a disappointment here.

Two-day battery life was starting to become the norm for Samsung’s phones, but that’s not the case here. You’ll get only a single day out of this battery, and while that’s acceptable, it’s a little disappointing if you’re used to much longer battery life.

The Samsung Galaxy A54 has some downsides, but ultimately, they’re on the more minor side when compared with what you get: A capable smartphone that looks great, has a day-long battery life, and scores well in pretty much every area. Even if it doesn’t excel, it doesn’t need to, and the $450 price means it’s a great choice for anyone looking for a mid-range phone.

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The best cheap Android phone

There are $200 phones that really feel like $200 phones, but the Samsung Galaxy A14 5G isn’t one of them. Samsung has done an incredible of keeping the A14 from feeling too cheap, and that starts with the design. Admittedly, it has a plastic body, but it has a unique texture that feels nice and offers grip, something often missing from slippery glass phones. There’s no water resistance, but there is a headphone jack, which is a nice bonus.

The 6.6-inch LCD display has a 1080p resolution, but it’s hampered by not getting bright enough. It also has some relatively chunky bezels. But even with that in mind, it’s an impressive display for a $200 phone, thanks largely to the 90Hz refresh rate. While not as smooth as the same refresh rate you’ll find in more powerful phones, this is still impressive in a phone this cheap, and a really strong point in its favor when you consider the iPhone 15 is still using a 60Hz refresh rate.

We did come across small stutters during use, and that’s likely down to the relatively modest specs. Still, the Galaxy A14 5G has excellent performance when compared to other devices at this price point, and the 64GB of storage is also good enough at this price too. You’ll want to clear out running apps to keep it running smoothly, but it also comes with 5G, meaning it should be futureproofed enough for the next few years at least. The battery is a solid two-day affair, thanks to the modest specs and 5,000mAh capacity. Recharging isn’t particularly fast at just 15W, but when it lasts this long, it doesn’t matter too much.

The camera is also surprisingly good. Ignore the two additional lenses, though, as they’re 2MP and don’t do much — instead, focus on the 50MP main lens, which takes some decent shots. Images are clear, bright, and avoid oversaturation. Nighttime shots are also good, though with some visible noise when zoomed in. They’re all generally still good enough for social media, though, which is a big test for camera phones at this price.

The Samsung Galaxy A14 5G is a stellar phone for just $200, and if you’re looking for a serious budget bargain, then you’ve found it.

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OnePlus Nord N30 5G

The best cheap Android phone runner-up

Cheap phones sometimes struggle to excel in some areas without cutbacks in others, and the OnePlus Nord N30 5G is a prime example of this. OnePlus’s latest $300 phone is great in a number of areas, but has some serious setbacks in others that may or may not impact whether you want to buy and use it.

We’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room, and it’s the camera. The Nord N30 has a triple lens rear camera setup, and while impressive on paper, the combination of a 108MP main lens, 2MP macro lens, and 2MP depth sensor don’t deliver the goods. The 108MP lens lacks optical image stabilization so a lot of stills come out blurred. Low-light shots are blurred and noisy, while even images in good lighting tend to be bland and characterless. The 2MP macro lens is acceptable, but it can’t rescue what is a poor overall showing.

Thankfully, other areas of the phone are a lot better. The design is a little boring, but it feels and handles very well. It’s well weighted, meaning one-handed use is possible despite the large size, and it has a headphone jack and microSD card as well. The 6.72-inch LCD display is excellent, and has bright colors and a 1080p resolution. Most impressive though, is the refresh rate. The Nord N30 sports a 120Hz refresh rate, putting it on the level of 2023 flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra and Google Pixel 7 Pro.

It’s no gaming phone, but performance is still good. The Snapdragon 695 can handle most modern games, even if you may need to drop graphical quality if you want to experience the higher refresh rates the display is capable of. Battery life is similarly strong, and you can expect over a day of use most of the time. The Nord N30 also supports up to 50W of super-fast charging too, making it one of the fastest charging phones at this price point.

Yes, the camera is a letdown — but that’s only important if you’re the sort of person who likes taking pictures and videos. If you’re not much of a photographer, then there’s a lot to appeal to you here. The OnePlus Nord N30 5G has an excellent display, good performance, and a great battery life, and is a solid phone for just $300.

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Nothing Phone 2

The best designed Android phone

Aside from folding phones, all smartphones are starting to look the same in terms of design. However, Carl Pei’s Nothing has done something different with the Nothing Phone, and the latest Nothing Phone 2 continues to stand out from the crowd with the clear glass back and Glyph lighting system.

The Nothing Phone 2 is slightly bigger than its predecessor, coming in with a 6.7-inch OLED display, while the first phone had a 6.5-inch display. The 6.7-inch screen has 2412 x 1080 pixel resolution and a dynamic refresh rate up to 120Hz. Colors are bright and vivid on the display, everything looks crisp and sharp, and the speaker system is pretty decent for the price.

Even as a second generation device, the design for the Nothing Phone 2 is still unlike anything you’ve seen before. It’s a glass slab, yes, but it feels very light and manageable, despite the large size. The flat edges are part of the aluminum chassis, the clear back is made of glass, and the front screen is covered with Gorilla Glass. The Glyph lighting on the back is still present, though the LED strips are broke up into more segments this time around. However, the glass back also makes the phone very slippery, so be careful.

The Glyph lighting is also improved over the first generation. As mentioned earlier, it’s broken up into sections, giving it more functionality for various purposes. You can use the lighting as a visual timer, highlight priority notifications by having a persistent light, a fill-light for the camera in low light environments, and certain patterns can be set for incoming calls, accompanied by a sound effect. There’s a lot of customization here with the lighting system, and it is one of the standout features of the Nothing Phone 2.

Camera-wise, there aren’t a lot of change from the Nothing Phone 1. You have a 50MP main camera and a 50MP ultra wide. The selfie camera is 32MP. During the daytime, the Nothing Phone 2 will take some great photos. It struggles a bit in lowlight environments, but it’s a very solid performer across the board.

The Nothing Phone 2 comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, which is a slightly older processor. However, it offers fantastic performance and efficiency, so the Nothing Phone 2 should handle anything you need it to with ease. You get Android 13 with Nothing OS 2.0 layered on top. It’s similar to Android on a Pixel, though with some added customization features — including the ability to personalize folders and give all of your app icons a monochromatic paint job.

Battery life on the Nothing Phone 2 is also very good, as it has a 4,700mAh battery inside. Even with heavy use, you should be able to get through the day just fine without having to charge up mid-day. And when you do need to charge, it supports up to 45W PPS charging, which is a little under an hour for a full charge.

Considering the price, the Nothing Phone 2 is one of the best phones you can buy starting at $599. Not only is it one of the most unique looking smartphones around, but the day-to-day experience of using the phone is also rock solid. There’s very little to seriously complain about.

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Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro

The best gaming Android phone

Asus has been making big changes to the ROG Phone; Horrifically, it’s made a phone that looks normal! But on the plus side, nothing that made the ROG Phone so special has been lost in the process, and it means the new Asus ROG Phone 8 Pro is the best choice for a gaming phone in 2024.

Let’s touch on those design changes first. Basically, the ROG Phone 8 Pro looks a lot more normal than previous versions. Out are the distinctive gamer chic design and the large cooling vents, and in is a much more sleek, black design that’s not too dissimilar to the styles of other flagship phones. There’s a LED array on the back, yes, but it doesn’t show up when it’s not in use, meaning the ROG Phone 8 Pro is downright subtle compared to what came before. Is it a positive change? On the whole, yes. It’s slimmer, lighter, and thinner, meaning it’s easier to use, but it has lost some of that mad charm gaming phones used to have.

What’s that processor? Why, it’s the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 again! You know the drill; it’s fast and extremely capable, and it’s paired with some other impressive specs. You either get 16GB or 24GB of RAM, plus 512GB or 1TB of storage, providing plenty of power and room for even the biggest games. But this phone’s performance only starts at the spec sheet, as it offers a boost to 165Hz for supported games, the Asus X Mode to supercharge gaming performance, and the range’s excellent AirTriggers on either shoulder. Add the optional AeroCooler X accessory to keep it cool, and you have a phone that’s thoroughly at home blasting the most challenging games available.

The beefy 5,500mAh battery offers a long-lasting battery life too. With only small amounts of use, the battery could last three or four days thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3’s energy-sipping — but really take the gaming mode for a spin, and it’ll still last a solid day. It also comes with 65W fast charging to get it charged right back up again.

Even the camera has been improved. It has a 50MP main lens, a 13MP wide-angle lens, and a 32MP telephoto lens, making this one of the more technically impressive Asus camera systems. Shots are pretty decent, and given how bad previous gaming phone cameras have been, this is something of an achievement. Sure, it won’t end up on the best camera phones list, but the camera no longer a reason to avoid the phone.

All of this doesn’t come cheap though, and throwing a “for gamers” sticker on any product has always meant a hike in price. Thankfully, given the specs and performance on offer here, the initial asking price of $1,199 isn’t that bad. It’s more than the equal of other phones in this price range, and plays games better than any of them. And while it can’t match most others for camera performance, the battery life means there’s still a place for this device. If you’re an avid mobile gamer, this should be your next phone.

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Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

The best foldable Android phone

The fifth generation Galaxy Z Fold shows that Samsung knows what it’s doing in the foldable market. The Z Fold 5 has some great improvements over its predecessor, making it one of the best folding phones you can buy, as well as a great smartphone overall.

One of the big flaws of the previous Z Fold 4 was the visible gap when closed. The Z Fold 5 fixes this with the new Flex Hinge design, which means an overall better look and ergonomic feel when you use it closed. It also means less dirt and debris can get in between the inside screens.

Despite the hinge change, the size of the Galaxy Z Fold 5 is the same. You still have a 6.2-inch cover display with 2316 x 904 pixel resolution, and the inner display is 7.6-inches with 2176 x 1812 resolution. Both screens have a 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, so everything looks great. You also get Flex Mode when watching videos, and this time you get the controls on the lower half of the screen for convenience.

The cameras include a 50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP telephoto. Like most Samsung phones, the colors will be very bright and saturated in direct sunlight. However, if you take photos that aren’t in harsh lighting conditions, they actually look more natural and realistic than other Samsung phones, which is very nice. Optical zoom is better too, but it may have some issues with focusing close in on 1x or 3x mode.

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 has Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy for the best performance and efficiency possible. You also have 12GB RAM and your choice of 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB internal storage options. It comes with Android 13 and One UI 5.1.1 out of the box. Some improvements with the software include a better taskbar, which now shows up to four recent apps rather than two. There is also the ability to have three apps at once on the screen, along with a floating window.

The Galaxy Z Fold 5 has enough battery power to get through a day on a single charge. It also supports up to 25W fast charging, so it goes from zero to 100 in about 80 minutes. There is also support for a stylus with the new S Pen Fold Edition, which is improved from the predecessor as well with 4,096 pressure levels, IP68 water and dust resistance.

The $1,800 price will prevent plenty of people from buying, but if you have the cash to spare, it’s hard to find a better foldable experience than the Galaxy Z Fold 5.

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OnePlus Open

The best foldable Android phone runner-up

The OnePlus Open is an extraordinary device that comes as a surprise. As the company’s first-ever foldable device, it is built with meticulous attention to detail, using lightweight materials like titanium to create a truly compact and user-friendly device. It is an excellent choice for those who value innovation, performance, and portability.

Let’s start with the phone’s cover and inner displays. The former is sized much better than something like the Galaxy Z Fold, which offers tall and narrow cover screens. Here, things feel less cramped, making the experience much more positive. The inner display is gorgeous, with colors that are bright and saturated. Meanwhile, text is always sharp, scrolling is smooth, thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate, and the anti-reflective display makes it a joy to use even outside.

The OnePlus Open comes with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, an Adreno 740 GPU, 16GB RAM, and 512GB storage. There’s also OnePlus’ custom OxygenOS 13.2 OS that sits on Android 13. The OnePlus Open will receive four major Android version upgrades plus five years of security updates. These promises don’t match what Google’s offering on its new Pixel 8 lineup, but they aren’t disastrous either.

Performance-wise, the OnePlus Open works very well. We didn’t detect any performance issues during our tests, even when multiple apps were open.

Open Canvas is one of our favorite OxygenOS features. It provides a new way to multitask and was designed from scratch. Its goal is to allow you to increase everyday productivity with multi-window efficiency on a larger display.

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Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

The best flip phone Android phone

Want a foldable but think the Z Fold 5 isn’t compact enough? Then you should consider the Galaxy Z Flip 5 instead, which is also a huge improvement over its predecessor.

With the Z Flip 5, you get a 3.4-inch cover display, which is much better than the Z Flip 4’s 1.9-inch cover display. This larger window lets you see bigger clocks, widgets, and even run full apps on the cover screen. The display is shaped like a folder so it doesn’t interfere with the cameras, and while the 60Hz refresh rate could be better, it looks fine in almost every situation.

The inside display of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is a 6.7-inch Dynamic AMOLED with 2640 x 1080 resolution and it has a 120Hz refresh rate. In other words, you get bright, vivid colors that pop, and sharp text with smooth scrolling animations. However, the crease is definitely visible.

The cameras are similar to the Flip 4, as you have a 12MP main shooter with f/1.8 aperture and OIS, plus a 12MP ultrawide camera with 123-degree field of view. But the Z Flip 5 has better color reproduction than before, and there is a clear lens coating to help prevent lens flare. The selfie camera also has a larger sensor.

Like the Z Fold 5 and S23 series, there is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor in the Z Flip 5, giving you optimal performance and efficiency. It also has 8GB RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage options to choose from. It comes with Android 13 and Samsung’s One UI 5.1.1 out of the box. Battery life is about one full day with a 3,700mAh battery, and you get 25W fast charging, 15W wireless, and 4.5W reverse wireless.

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Motorola Razr (2023)

The best cheap foldable Android phone

The Motorola Razr (2023) has captured the attention of many because of its compact and sleek flip design. Its simple yet reliable design keeps the price low, making it a budget-friendly option for daily use.

The phone boasts three standout features: its camera system, fast battery charging, and dust and water resistance. The main module consists of two cameras: a 64-megapixel main camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and laser autofocus, and a 13MP wide-angle camera with a 120-degree field of view. The wide-angle camera is also capable of taking macro shots.

The Razr’s main camera is surprisingly solid. Our testing revealed photos that are lively and colorful, with just the right amount of saturation and HDR. However, in some scenarios, the photos appear washed-out and artificial. There is also a lack of consistency in exposure between the main and wide-angle cameras. Nevertheless, we appreciated the dramatic tone of the wide-angle camera.

There are a few drawbacks to the Razr (2023) that users should be aware of. The cover screen does not display notifications and time all the time, which may be inconvenient for some. Additionally, the wireless charging feature is not top-of-the-, and the phone’s processor may struggle when handling heavy loads.

Despite these minor issues, the Motorola Razr is still an outstanding purchase for anyone seeking an affordable folding phone or simply wanting to stand out from the crowd. It is one of the most cost-effective methods of experiencing the newest foldable smartphone technology, making it an ideal choice for those who want to stay ahead of the curve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which brands make the best Android phones?

Samsung is a strong player in the Android scene, but it’s far from the only brand around. While Samsung makes some excellent smartphones, there are plenty of other great phones from other brands that you can pick from. The Google Pixel range has matured into a powerful and very capable phone line, with particularly exceptional camera capabilities. OnePlus has been a consistently solid performer for a long time now, and even the newcomer Nothing has a lot to offer if you’re tempted by its phones.

There’s a lot to be said about sticking with brand names you recognize, of course, but don’t just trust that a specific brand will always make great phones. Every phone brand releases a stinker every now and again, so it’s important to read reviews of individual models before you buy, as a even a good phone’s particular strengths may not match what you want.

How do you choose the right Android phone for your needs?

It entirely depends on what you need from your phone. Price point, size, camera abilities, durability, battery life, and processing power are all common factors that play into many people’s choices. If you’re an avid gamer, or have a fast-paced job, then you need a phone with fast and snappy performance. Away from a charger a lot? Make sure your phone has solid battery life of at least over a day. Always snapping pictures? Make sure your phone has an excellent camera.

How do Android phones differ from iPhones?

Android phones use the Android operating system, while iPhones use Apple’s — but that’s only the start of the differences. The two operating systems have grown closer together over the years, but Apple’s iOS is generally praised for having a clean interface, not much bloatware, a strong emphasis on privacy, and the ability to interact closely with other Apple hardware, like iPads and MacBooks. Android, on the other had, has many more customization options, can integrate with and other devices, more innovative design, and have many more affordable options for buyers.

How long should an Android phone last?

The days of two- or three-year smartphones are now behind us, thanks to some of the most prominent Android manufacturers. Samsung now offers seven years of operating system updates and security patches on its new phones, though it was beaten to the punch by Google, who also promises seven years of operating system updates. While there’s no guarantee your phone will last that long, it’s good to know that if you look after it and it does last, it will stay relevant for longer.

Which Android Phone has the best camera?

This is a tough question, as there’s no correct answer. A lot of Android phones have excellent cameras, but many excel in slightly different areas. If you value versatility and a feature-rich snapping environment, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus’s packed camera system will appeal to you. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time fiddling with options, then check out the Google Pixel 8 Pro’s snap-and-forget approach where the phone’s AI handles all the hard work. Maybe budget is important, in which case, the OnePlus 12R is worth looking at.

Which Android phone has the best battery life?

Battery lives have continued to improve, and the standard you should be aiming for with any smartphone is at least a day of solid use, and most of the phones on this list will hit that goal. Some will even stretch to two days — but keep in mind this will rely on your personal use. High-intensity games, constant music or media streaming, videoconferencing, and other activities that work the processor will cause drain the battery faster, and if that’s your life, make sure you pick a long-lasting phone, or invest in a portable charger or charge throughout the day.

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10 Best Football Games for ios 2024, If we raise a question about the game in the world, a big part will go to football. We often call it Soccer, too. Not just in the gallery, the popularity of football games has now crossed the boundary of the virtual world. And so, you don’t have to be a real-time famous football star to play in different leagues.

You can now experience the excitement of football games on your iOS devices. Giants of the football gaming industry have already launched tons of exciting football games for iPhone, and today, we are going to discuss that.

10 Best Football Games for ios 2024

Whenever you search for the best football games, you will definitely find hundreds of games at once. But none of them are compatible enough to get your time. That’s why we prefer to check out the best games and their details before you start playing one. It will help you to install the right one at once.

To help you find all the details of the best soccer games for the iPhone, we are here as usual. We check twice about the football leagues, visual graphics, audio, functions, and gameplay while listing the best. So, spend a little of your time to get the most appropriate football game for you.

1.

Football Strike

Team up with your friends for unlimited action in Football Strike. Start the game by selecting a multiplayer mode to represent your team. World-class teams like Liverpool FC, FC Barcelona, and Borussia Dortmund can lead you to the medals.

Important Features

 A lot of online game modes are available to play with competitors around the globe.
 Shooting Race mode is where you have to play within a time limit and hit the target as fast as you can.
 There is a Free Kick mode that allows the battle between the goalkeeper and a striker.
 Unlimited types of equipment can be personalized in colors and stickers according to your own style.
 Different stadiums in different locations are to be explored in Career mode.

Pros: The best part of this is its environment that lets you feel like playing live with other players. Plus, sound and music play a great role in making it more realistic.

Cons: Some players have complained about the connection drop-up issues here. Also, compared to other games, it’s pretty expensive.

Download

Read Also : The best PS5 games for 2024

2. eFootball PES.

eFootball PES - iPhone Footbal Game

Feel the thrill of a real football stadium at eFootball PES. has brought this game so that your fantasies come true here. If you play well throughout the whole week, you’ll get a place in featured players. It will get you special player cards, extra skills, and added ratings.

You can enjoy the authentic feel of matches from the stadium, too. Still not impressed? Here are more features for you that will surely convince you.

Important Features

 By playing in the Iconic Moments Series, you can recreate the best career moments of present famous soccer players.
 Teams like Manchester United, FC Barcelona, Juventus, and many more are featured to play with.
 Online and local multiplayer matches allow you to play with friends and improve your skills.
 If you want to play with world-famous characters such as D. Maradona, D. Beckham, and S. Gerrard, add them to your team.
 The condition of your player, roasters, and ratings are influenced by the data of live updates from real matches.

Pros: This exciting game lets you join in real-time online football matches. Besides, it supports lots of languages, too.

Cons: This game requires too much space to play simultaneously. Plus, the campaign mode doesn’t seem to be anything special, as it shows.

Download

3. .

Final Kick

If you are a pro football fan, you better not miss the Final Kick. This extensive game is well-known as one of the best football games for the iPhone for its minimal design but high-quality functions. With precise control of your finger over the ball and goalkeeper, you can strike and save goals.

You can play the game for only 2 minutes in a short time. Moreover, there is a free-kick mode for unlimited goals. Intuitive graphics will ensure clear movements.

Important Features

 Do not miss a single detail, as you can replay the best shots from every angle in slow motion.
 In multiplayer mode, you can play with your friends as well as other players online.
 To win prizes, you have to attend the weekly tournament and position among the top 100 players.
 More than 20 local tournaments can be played even without an internet connection.
 Over 100 of the finest teams are there for you to play against.
 You can change any particular features of your team and players and train them.

Pros: This app provides full-time customer care support that will help you solve any confusion. You don’t need to pay a penny to take part in a tournament.

Cons: The touchpad function is not very smooth in this game.

Download

4. FIFA Soccer.

FIFA Soccer‬

Before starting the World Cup season, you can now enjoy the virtual version, FIFA Soccer. This game was launched by Electronic Arts, and it is available in a lot of countries like Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Germany, and many more.

In the season mode, prestigious teams will help you to get top ranks and exclusive rewards. Besides, I am pretty sure that you will love the graphics and audio quality of this game.

Important Features

 The UEFA Champions League and Europa League are waiting for you to participate, and you can earn players after the season ends.
 You can create your own squad with players from La Liga, Bundesliga, and Premier League, and players can be taken from the same nation or team for better bonding.
 If you play in the attack mode, you can play against your friends.
 With 100 legendary players, they can be chosen with their historic careers.
 To get a more skillful team, you can train famous international players and level up.

Pros: It lets you enjoy different types of gaming modes. In multiplayer mode, you can challenge your friends, too.

Cons: Sometimes, the players lose control over the gameplay here.

Download

5. : Football Kick.

Soccer Stars

Of course, a list of football games is incomplete without Soccer Stars Football Kick. Football games for iPhone like this offer you real Football challenges to face. You and your friend can play on the same device in offline mode and multiplayer mode. Also, you can earn money here.

The game is available in different languages like German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, etc. Besides, it offers very smooth control over the screen, and the gameplay is quite exciting.

Important Features

 You can collect various teams to personalize your style.
 Multiplayer mode lets you play with or without an internet connection.
 If you want to battle against players from different countries, you have to participate in online tournaments.
 After logging in with Facebook, you can take part in the game with your friends.
 To win the cup, you need to show the best skills against your opponents.

Pros: You can try both a normal and VIP subscription that comes with exclusive features. You can customize your team in this game, too.

Cons: Some users find an insecure connection problem while running this game. Besides, some got fed up with unwanted bugs.

Download

6. Retro Soccer.

Retro Soccer

Unlike the other football games on the list, we got Retro Soccer. This is an arcade-style football game. After building the team with your favorite legends, start playing in your own style. It will keep you up-to-date with new challenges, features, and players.

You can use the app with six family members. So, the multiplayer mode has become funnier and exciting. Let’s see what more it will offer.

Important Features

 You can make your own all-star team by collecting and upgrading players of your choice.
 There are different types of matches, like full league seasons, challenge matches, and world trophy competitions.
 Lives will be recharged instantly, and it will cost you nothing.
 The best scores you made can be shared with everyone by using ReplyKit live.
 Make a goal against your friend to see who can reach the highest score.

Pros: This game offers a free subscription in over 70 countries. You can also enjoy it on iPhone, , iPad Mini, iPad Air, iPad Air, iPad Pro, and iPod Touch.

Cons: This game doesn’t have a synchronize option, so you can’t use it on your other device with the same account.

Download

7. : Be a Soccer Manager.

Top Eleven Be a Soccer Manager - iPhone Game

Check out a soccer game managing strategy game called Top Eleven Be a soccer manager. You can play it for free on your iPads and iPhones without any issues. This game offers you all the popular players and teams of the world. You will also get regular updates from the developers.

You can build a completely personalized soccer team by selecting different players and other tools of your choice. It allows you to play with your friends and interact with other players online. So, join now in the community of ever-growing soccer management games on the iOS platform.

Important Features

 Offers a huge community of over 200 million players.
 Make the best possible team and use new tactics to win live events and challenges.
 Allows the players to manage your custom team as you wish.
 Try to win as many events and tournaments as you like and gather rewards and daily gifts.
 It features team-building capabilities. You can build your team and improve in your own way.
 Supports multiple languages along with English as default.

Pros: This free football game for iPhone works flawlessly on all kinds of iOS devices. You will be happy to know that this game offers regular training sessions, a guide for using the tactics, and other gameplay tips.

Cons: Some might find this game boring because of its management related to strategy-based gameplay. It requires devices over iOS 10.0 to run it smoothly.

Download

8. .

blocky_soccer - iPhone Footbal Game

Let’s check out Blocky Soccer, one of the most versatile block animation-based soccer games for iOS. It works on both phones and tablet devices due to its outstanding optimization by developers.

Blocky Soccer is free to play and offers easy gameplay. You must gather as many trophies as you can by winning lots of matches and campaigns.

It renders high-quality graphics and adaptive sound effects. The game is also backed up by regular updates and frequent fixes to provide you with the best possible gaming experience.

Important Features

 Offers retro style in-game environment and visual effects.
 Includes highly responsive touch-based controls.
 Features numerous characters that you can choose from.
 Comes with advanced sharing options, and you can also compete with other players.
 Provides a set of different grounds and adaptive weather effects.
 Offers a lot of campaigns and tournaments that players can join.

Pros: This game comes with very clear HD visual graphics and sound quality. Moreover, it is a completely free football game for iPhone.

Cons: Many players of this game have questioned the poor defense strategies of this game.

Download

9. .

Flick Shoot 2

If you want to play a realistic soccer game on your iPhone or iPad, try Flick Shoot 2. It is one of the best soccer games for iPhone you will find on AppStore.

This game is free to play with optional subscription packages at affordable pricing. It comes with an interactive online multiplayer mode.

You will be able to play different matches with friends and other players. It offers endless hours of exciting game sessions. The game also gets regular updates and new content to provide you with a seamless gaming experience.

Important Features

 Offers stunning, realistic 3D graphics and sound effects.
 It offers multiple game modes, such as single-player mode, missions, campaigns, and minigames.
 The game’s controlling system is very smooth and familiar with similar games.
 Comes with multiple language support along with English as default.
 Provides numerous vests, balls, shoes, and players with complete customization options.

Pros: You will love its versatile single-player gameplay, which features 6 different game modes, including Challenge, Time Attack, Arcade, Not Miss, etc. Also, you can try the tournament and multiplayer modes too.

Cons: You might find the game to be slower when playing in multiplayer mode.

Download

10. .

Winning Soccer

Winning Soccer by gamegou is a highly optimized 3D football game for iPhone. It is made for iPads but works flawlessly on iPhones, too. You will love its realistic gameplay and competitive multiplayer modes. It allows playing with your friends or any other players around the world in real time.

Its live-person VS person game sessions are highly demanding. So join the ever-growing community of Winning Soccer now. The following features will make you eager to download it without a doubt.

Important Features

 You can create and manage your custom soccer team.
 Offers smooth and responsive touch controls for easy gameplay.
 Master your controls to win in international live matches and tournaments to gather experience points and rewards.
 It allows you to challenge other players around the world in real-time live matches.
 Comes with total customization options for all kinds of tools, such as balls, vests, stadiums, settings, etc.

Pros: Renders jaw-dropping 3D graphics and stunning visuals with advanced physics works. Plus, people of any age can enjoy this game.

Cons: Some users find their devices to be very slow when having a proper internet connection. Besides, some of them lose control over the screen too.

Download

Our Recommendation.

No game, to be true, can be just perfect for everyone. The cons of the following games are that they are not the experience of all the users. Rather, most of them end up loving these games for their individualities and amazing gameplay.

However, as there are 10 equally compatible games, you might get confused about them. Let me help you one more time. If you prefer playing the best free football games, then you should try either Top Eleven Be a Soccer Manager or Blocky Soccer.

But if you prefer quality over the cost, then Final Kick and Football Strike would be the best options for you. And you should try Retro Soccer if you like an arcade-style football game in any way. All these games are good enough to boost your gaming experience.

Finally, Insights.

So, we have reached the final part of today’s discussion, where you learned about the 10 best football games for the iPhone. Whether it is a real football game or a virtual one, football has always been the name of our love. So, don’t get bored in your leisure time; just boost your gaming experience with these games.

I am sure that whatever game you are going to choose, you’ll end up loving it. However, don’t forget to share your experience playing the game you selected. Also, let us know if you know about any game that is ever more compatible. Thank you in advance for your support.

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Best Desktop Computers of 2024 tested and reviewed, We’ve reviewed dozens of PCs to bring you a list of the best desktop computers in 2024 to help you find what you’re looking for, regardless of if you’re surfing spreadsheets, playing games, or browsing the internet. There are a lot of options to pick from this year, including PCs from Apple, Dell, HP, and , but only a select few are among the best.

For us, the  8960 remains the best desktop PC you can buy in 2024. However, we have several other options depending on your budget and needs, including desktops for gaming, remote work, and more. We’ll provide a quick overview here, but make sure to read our write-up on how we review desktops for a deeper look at our evaluation process.

Quick overview

 Dell XPS Desktop 8960: A highly flexible desktop that can accommodate almost any budget and purpose, from home office work to high-end gaming.
  7i: A well-built and customizable desktop that shoots ahead in gaming performance.
 Apple iMac 24-inch: Apple’s iMac 24-inch is only better now with the M3 chip at the helm.
 Apple Mac Mini M2: A supercharged version of Apple’s storied Mac Mini that’s as portable as it is powerful.
 Lenovo Yoga AIO 9i: One of the most powerful all-in-one PCs you can buy still, and with a stunning set of features.
 Falcon Northwest Tiki: A boutique desktop PC that’s small and very powerful for gaming.
 Apple Mac Studio: A tiny PC that packs some of the most powerful hardware on the market.
 : The perfect desktop for a hybrid working style.
 Lenovo ThinkStation P620: A powerful workstation that can handle the most demanding tasks.
 Ayaneo AM01: A quant mini PC that packs a surprising amount of power for a low price.

Why you should trust us

We’ve reviewed hundreds of desktop PCs for years, looking for machines that stand out for gaming, home office use, photo and video editing, and so much more. From miniature PCs that can fit on a bookshelf to behemoth desktops with custom liquid cooling, we’ve seen literally everything, and we know what stands out and what doesn’t.

Key considerations when selecting the best desktop

There are a few key areas we focus on when looking a desktop computer.

Performance

Performance is king when it comes to a desktop computer, but it’s not an equal bar for every PC. Some machines, like the Mac Mini, are offering power in a portable package, while a desktop like the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i goes all-out for gaming prowess. We meet desktops where they’re at, evaluating what they’re trying to accomplish, and at what price.

Build quality

A desktop may look nice, but it’s built of cheap plastics and throwaway components, it won’t last for long. Our review process includes a teardown of every desktop to understand what the internal components look like. In addition, we look at fan placement, ventilation, and cooling to ensure the desktops will stay quiet during operation without overheating.

Support

Things go wrong with PCs, so it’s important to have a robust support system in place. A one-year warranty is standard on most electronics, so we look for companies that go above and beyond what’s required with multi-year warranties and around-the-clock support.

Upgradability

One of the main benefits of a desktop PC is that you can upgrade it in the future, but some brands have missed that memo. We keep an eye out for proprietary components and try to focus on desktops that provide some upgrade paths for users. This isn’t possible for all machines, though, such as Apple’s iMac, where upgrades are tricky for end users due to the form factor.

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Dell XPS 8960

The best desktop computer

The best overall desktop PC is the one that will work for the most people, and that’s the Dell XPS 8960. It’s understated in all the right ways, reasonably priced considering the power you can pack inside, and comes in a variety of configurations to suit work, gaming, or both. Choosing the highest-rated PC isn’t easy, but the Dell XPS 8960 gets rid of that issue.

Regardless of what configuration you choose, you’ll find something that matches your needs. That’s because Dell builds them custom ordered, which is the best feature of the XPS 8960. The options are nearly endless, with prices ranging from $750 to over $3,000 depending on the parts you choose. Some of the desktops come without a discrete graphics card, meaning they’re more suited for work than games. However, you can get one of the more expensive ones that include a discrete graphics card.

Dell is offering this new XPS desktop with Intel Raptor Lake and DDR5 RAM for those who are in search of the best gaming PC. You can add up to an RTX 4090 graphics card as well, which is a serious amount of power considering the size of the machine. Powerful hardware means more heat, but the XPS 8950 gets rid of it well with optional liquid cooling and a case with plenty of room for airflow.

Best Desktop Computers of 2024 tested and reviewed

Read Also : The 10 best monitors for 2024

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Lenovo Legion Tower 7i

The best desktop PC for gaming

The Lenovo Legion Tower 7i gets almost everything right. It comes with the latest flagship hardware, packing in an Nvidia RTX 4080 and a 13th-gen Intel Core i9 processor, and it comes in a sleek, attractive design that doesn’t get too loud or hot. Perhaps most importantly, it uses standard-sized components so you can upgrade it in the future.

That’s easily the best thing about the Legion Tower 7i. It comes with the more affordable price of a mainstream gaming PC without any of the hurdles that come from brands like Alienware and Asus. The convenience doesn’t come at the cost of performance, either. Based on our testing, the Legion Tower 7i is just as fast as a custom-built PC with the same hardware.

The only downside is how the machine is configured. It comes with fast DDR5 memory, so this computer is great for playing ricky casino online without lag, but it’s set up to run at a slower speed out of the box. That didn’t make a big difference in overall performance based on our testing, but certain applications will run slightly slower in the Tower 7i’s default configuration. Thankfully, boosting the memory speed just takes a couple of clicks.

apple imac m3 review blue

Apple iMac 24-inch

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Apple’s iMac 24-inch hasn’t seen a lot of love, but that all changed with the introduction of the M3 chip. Sporting the same and beautiful screen we fell in love with a few years ago, the iMac Apple is selling today truly is the same, but better.

That all comes down to the M3 chip. Compared to its M1 predecessor, the new model is at least 20% faster, and often much more. The graphics processor, in particular, is impressive. It even manages to beat some of Apple’s older Pro series chips, going as far as to have playable performance in games like Lies of P.

Apple didn’t change much else about the iMac, but it didn’t need to. The 4.5K Retina display is still stunning with a high pixel density, and the speakers are second to none. The upgraded webcam is exceptional, too, offering up a 1080p resolution for crisp video calls. If you’re looking for an all-in-one that just works in 2024, the iMac M3 is for you.

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Apple Mac mini M2

The best desktop computer for home

We rarely give products a perfect score, but that’s exactly what Apple’s Mac mini M2 earned in our full review. The updated mini PC features the same compact footprint that Apple has used for over a decade, but now with a major update under the hood.

The base M2 model is a big upgrade over 2020’s Mac mini M1, but the updated desktop really shines with the M2 Pro chip. That takes the Mac mini from being a MacBook without a screen to a full-fledged creator machine capable of tackling the most demanding tasks you can throw at a computer today.

The only problem is the base configuration, which comes with a much slower SSD. We wholeheartedly recommend the Mac mini M2, but make sure to read our Mac mini M2 buying guide to pick the right configuration.

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Lenovo Yoga AIO 9i

The best desktop computer for work

It’s really hard recommending an all-in-one over Apple’s iMac, but the Lenovo Yoga AIO 9i is certainly a contender. It’s a 4K desktop that impresses with great performance, a solid price, and one of the best integrated displays we’ve seen, as well as some unique features.

The machine is powered by Intel’s Core i9-13900H, which is one of the most powerful mobile CPUs you can buy. It’s more than enough to handle work applications, and it can even step up for some photo or video editing. More impressive, you can configure the machine with a mobile RTX 4050 graphics card, giving you a little gaming grunt if you need it.

The Yoga AIO 9i makes this list due to its screen and features, however. The 32-inch 4K display is stunning with its glossy finish, and it comes with great color accuracy out of the box. It has some tricks in the base, as well, including a wireless charging pad for your phone.

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Falcon Northwest Tiki

The best mini gaming PC

Falcon Northwest is one of the few true boutique PC builders left, and the Tiki explains why. It’s one of the smallest gaming PCs you can buy, and it still manages to pack in flagship hardware. More importantly, the Tiki does both without sacrificing heat or thermals, which is the biggest pitfall for small form factor machines.

It’s expensive, but Falcon Northwest’s attention to detail still manages to stand out. From premium component selection to a detailed dossier of every aspect of your build, the Tiki goes beyond being just a shell for high-end components.

Falcon Northwest offers the machine with AMD or Intel configurations, paired with up to an RTX 3090 GPU. Unfortunately, the Tiki is too small to fit Nvidia’s monstrous RTX 4090. Although the Tiki is clearly a gaming PC first, Falcon Northwest also offers it with Nvidia’s professional GPUs.

apple mac studio review olympus digital camera

Apple Mac Studio

The best desktop for video editing

It feels like the Mac Studio has finally found its footing. It straddled a strange line previous, not quite reaching the level of the Mac Pro while falling short of the value-focused Mac mini. With the M2 Ultra or M2 Max, the Mac Studio finally feels like premium, Pro-level Mac Apple fans have waited for.

It’s crazy fast, getting close and sometimes even beating top-level PC components like the Core i9-13900K and RTX 4090. That’s all the more impressive considering the size of the Mac Studio, which barely takes up a fraction of your desk space. Even considering the high price, the performance and size of the Mac Studio make it feel like a downright deal.

It has all of the professional trimmings you’d expect, too, including support for massive storage arrays and great external monitor support. The Mac mini is still better for most people, but if you can take advantage of the power of the Mac Studio, it’s tough to beat.

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HP Envy Move

The best desktop computer for home office

The HP Envy Move is one of the most unique desktops we’ve ever seen. It’s a desktop, but it’s also portable, and it’s the perfect fit for the hybrid work style so many of us have fallen into.

It’s a basic all-in-one at its core, but the Envy Move’s trick is that the legs automatically fold in, allowing you to pick it up and carry it with you. There’s a carrying handle on the back, and activating it will automatically tuck in the legs. And with an included battery, you really can pick up your PC and take it anywhere. There’s even a sleeve in the back so you can tuck in the included keyboard/trackpad combo.

HP doesn’t charge a massive premium for this design, either. The Envy Move starts at just $750 for a mobile Intel 13th-gen CPU, which offers acceptable performance for basic home office tasks.

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Lenovo ThinkStation P620

The best desktop workstation computer

The Lenovo ThinkStation P620 is a workstation in every sense of the word. This is a desktop designed to perform the most resource-heavy tasks out there. Created specifically for engineering, data science, machine learning, 3D modeling, video editing, and more, the ThinkStation is the kind of PC that will find uses across many fields, aiding professionals in their daily tasks.

More importantly, it’s the only workstation available now with AMD’s Threadripper 5000 Pro processors. You can pack in up to a Threadripper Pro 5995WX processor, which packs in 64 cores and 128 threads, along with an astounding 256MB of L3 cache. Similarly, you can add up to two Nvidia Quadro GV100 GPUs, which is powerful enough for even the most demanding tasks.

The other specs are just as impressive – eight RAM slots for up to 512GB of memory, as well as six drive slots for up to 24TB of storage. 11 comes default on the machine, but you can also have it pre-configured for Red Hat Enterprise Linux or as well.

The Lenovo P620 isn’t for everyone. It’s an insanely expensive workstation that can cost upwards of $40,000 fully tricked out, but for professionals who demand peak performance, nothing can touch the ThinkStation P620.

ayaneo retro mini pc am01 review with box

Ayaneo Retro Mini PC AM01

The coolest desktop PC

Sometimes just looking cool is enough. The Ayaneo Retro Mini PC AM01 is in that position. It’s styled after an old-school Mac, fit with a plastic, off-white shell and a badge indicative of an early 1990s Apple logo, but the nostalgic mini PC packs a lot of power under the hood.

It features up to an 7 5700U CPU, along with up to 64GB of memory,and up to 2TB of SSD storage. Pricing starts at just $200, with a maxed-out configuration costing $421. This PC isn’t going to floor you in performance, but it’s surprisingly component given its size and low price.

Perhaps the best use case, however, is as an emulator. The AM01 makes a perfect retro gaming companion, all while having a full installation of to back up its usefulness.

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