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17 Best WordPress AI Plugins

By admin March 3, 2024

17 Best WordPress AI Plugins, Almost every device we use to automate complex tasks uses artificial intelligence. However, we often argue that such devices are not “intelligent” but simply calculating tools after we learn how they work and use them in our everyday lives.

Today, implementing artificial intelligence in software development is a sign of progress and a way to design new, more innovative features. This article will present the best WordPress AI plugins for creating better websites.

How Is Artificial Intelligence Used in WordPress?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a simulation of human intelligence demonstrated by machines. AI refers to different processes in computer systems that mimic human behavior, such as using logic and rules for decision-making and learning from analyzing data to improve performance (machine learning – ML).

Regarding WordPress, artificial intelligence improves different management processes, automates complex jobs, and tailors website content according to visitors’ expectations and search engines’ requirements. AI-powered plugins are becoming popular solutions to make sites faster, smarter, and more accessible.

Among the main tasks that AI plugins accomplish are:

• Boost website SEO. AI-powered plugins allow optimizing posts, pages, and other structures while they’re being created. Such plugins analyze website content, compare it to competitor data, and suggest changes that must be done to increase page views and attract an audience that relates to your content.

• Make websites more accessible. By designing accessible websites, you establish a better reputation for your brand and get through to more people. Many WordPress sites now use text-to-speech technologies provided by AI-based tools.

• Introduce smart assistants. Chatbots that use artificial intelligence can improve customer service because they are available 24/7. They can make human workers more efficient by completing low-end repetitive tasks.

Certainly, there are many more ways AI technologies can make better and help manage WordPress sites. But, sometimes, website owners must limit the usage of content-generating tools if they want their content to be visible on search engines. According to Google Search Advocate John Mueller, Google Search Console considers automatically generated content as spam. It seems Google doesn’t have the ability to detect auto-generated content, but I’m sure it’s on the way.

Special Mention: Crocoblock AI Integrations

Before we start looking at dedicated AI plugins, let me tell you exciting news: JetPlugins now also work together with AI to give users more power. One way to make websites better is by joining OpenAI with a strong form builder, which is what the JetFormBuilder plugin can do. By connecting this plugin to your OpenAI account using different integration tools, you can unlock new properties.

Employing form fields to fetch prompts for the AI generator provides some impressive features. They include refining grammar in posts and listings, transforming text into concise summaries, crafting SEO-friendly meta descriptions, and more. This fusion of JetFormBuilder and OpenAI not only streamlines content creation but also improves the overall website experience.

Another plugin that has started adding integrations with AI is JetEngine, and the first feature is SQL query generation for Query Builder.

Using SQL Query Type, you can insert a custom query code and display whatever you want directly from your WordPress database on the front end. And the SQL query AI generator can give you such a code if you ask it with clear and simple human words! Read about this unique JetEngine feature in detail if that’s something you need for your site.

💡 JetEngine and JetFormBuilder plugins are free for those who already have a Crocoblock All-Inclusive subscription. The functionality it offers includes 20 plugins and beyond.

Top 17 Best WordPress AI Plugins

Many WordPress plugins use artificial intelligence to facilitate website management and improve content. Here’s a list of the best plugins that implement AI for different tasks.

WordLift (Premium)

🏆 Best for adding structured data to WordPress sites.

WordLift automates website SEO by analyzing all content, adding structured data or schema markup to it, and making it more understandable to Google. This plugin uses artificial intelligence to identify distinct words on the site and turn them into metadata. During the process, users can manually choose which keywords are preferable, thus controlling how the website’s knowledge graphs look.

WordLift core features:

• organizing references to external sources and internal pages;

• suggesting related content to visitors leading them to archived pages and increasing user engagement this way;

• enriching text with rich snippets;

• integration with Google Data Studio tool for comprehensive analytics and reports;

• timeline, navigation, geolocation, and search widgets.

Pricing: the Starter plan costs $588 per year for one site and includes ten schema markups. The Professional and Business plans sell for $948 and $2399 per year, respectively, and they have more schema types and advanced features and can be installed on more sites.

Pros:

• attracts an audience that is more related to the site’s content;

• enhances UX with content recommendations;

• free trial for 14 days.

Cons:

• it still takes some time to learn how to use WordLift at its full capacity;

• no free version.

SEOPress (Free/Premium)

🏆Best for optimizing large websites for search engines.

SEOPress is a powerful but lightweight WordPress plugin that allows search engine optimization of all web pages and CPTs through its interface. Unlike most other SEO plugins, SEOPress integrates with OpenAI. This feature utilizes artificial intelligence to generate SEO metadata (meta titles and descriptions) based on post content. It is especially useful for optimizing websites with hundreds of pages because it is available in bulk actions.

The plugin developers have plans to expand AI usage, so hopefully, we’ll see some new examples of how AI can improve SEO in future versions of SEOPress.

SEOPress core features:

• employs Davinci GPT-3 engine by default, but users can switch to other engines as well;

• allows optimizing multiple web pages at a time;

• highly trained models for nine languages.

Pricing: SEOPress is free, but AI integration comes with a Pro plan for $49 per year.

Pros:

• multifunctional SEO plugin that employs AI;

• affordable Pro plan.

Cons:

• AI integration is not included in the free version.

Divi AI (Premium)

🏆 Best for generating text and images for a Divi-built website.

Divi AI brings the power of AI to your fingertips right inside Divi’s visual builder. You can use it to write content and generate amazing images out of thin air. In addition, the functionality helps you refine the existing website content using a set of handy, quick actions. It’s like always having a content creator, copy editor, visual artist, and photographer at your side!

Divi AI core features:

• integrated into Divi and WordPress, allowing it to generate more intuitive results automatically;

• creates high-quality content and images on demand;

• refines and improves your existing website content with the help of AI.

Pricing: You can try Divi AI for free to generate 50 items. To unlock unlimited text and image generation, you can purchase Divi AI for $24 monthly ($18/month if paid yearly).

Pros:

• generates both spectacular content and images using AI;

• unlimited text and image generation;

• dozens of image and text refinement options;

• 30-day money-back guarantee.

Cons:

• Divi AI only works with Divi, which isn’t suitable for those using other page builders.

Formidable Forms (Free/Premium)

🏆 Best for creating AI-powered forms.

Formidable Forms helps you create any form you need, from contact forms to quizzes. Plus, you can easily add an AI field in WordPress to any form that connects to ChatGPT to ensure a better experience for your website visitors. It can help answer questions, recommend products, or offer services to make things simple.

Formidable Forms core features:

• creates any type of form for your website;

• connects with other services (PayPal, CMS, email, etc.);

• allows full-form customization;

• creates calculators, quizzes, and other lead generators;

• adds more features like PDF, AI, and user tracking.

Pricing: the free version is available with limited options. The paid plans with AI start at $199.50 per year with up to seven domains.

Pros:

• offers an easy way to create different form types;

• gives you a powerful AI field to enhance your website.

Cons:

• the free version is limited;

• the plugin has a small learning curve.

Akismet Spam Protection (Free/Premium)

🏆 Best automation tool to detect spam comments on WordPress websites.

Akismet was designed by a reputable WordPress development company Automattic to detect and block spam comments even before they are marked as pending. This tool proved to be especially effective against spam bots, and there are over five million active installations of it.

After installation on a WordPress site, Akismet is constantly improving its work thanks to machine learning algorithms. Website admins can review comments caught by Akismet and point out the spam comments that broke through the protection system, enabling it to learn from its failures.

Akismet core features:

• automatic detection of spam comments;

• integrates with WordPress plugins through Akismet API;

• provides spam detection history.

Pricing: free for non-commercial sites. Spam protection for commercial or business sites starts at $10 per month.

Pros:

• solid protection against spam by bots;

• improving SEO ranking when deleting comments with spam links;

• free for personal use.

Cons:

• most of the time not effective against human-made spam comments.

AI Engine (Free/Premium)

🏆Best for adding a GPT-like chatbot to a WordPress site.

AI Engine is a fairly new plugin developed by Jordi Meaw that is rapidly gaining popularity. After 2000+ active installations on wordpress.org, it has only 5-star ratings, with users praising its novelty and smooth integration of AI with WordPress.

To enjoy the features of AI Engine, you’ll have to create an OpenAI key and insert it in the plugin’s settings. This allows you to add a sophisticated chatbot and content generator that rely on innovative OpenAI technologies to your website.

AI Engine core features:

• simple interface for customizing a chatbot and even giving it personality characteristics;

• ability to assign context awareness to a chatbot;

• built-in statistics to monitor OpenAI usage;

• AI Playground for translation, correction, discussions, etc.;

• internal API to link AI Engine with other plugins.

Pricing: currently, most of the AI Engine features are included in the free version. The Pro version starts at $29 per year for one site and has a statistics module and content-aware chatbots.

Pros:

• best free chatbot for WordPress;

• customization options for creating unique AI models;

• excellent support from the plugin developer.

Cons:

• some features are still in beta mode.

Quttera Web Malware Scanner (Free/Premium)

🏆 Best for detecting malware, viruses, and malicious codes using cloud technologies and artificial intelligence.

This plugin scans WordPress sites for malware, backdoors, worms, trojans, exploits, malicious iframes, malicious code injections, redirects, as well as other threats. The data is investigated on Quttera remote servers without changing any files. It also checks whether Google or other search engines blacklist your website.

Quttera Web Malware Scanner core features:

• scans for web threats in different forms;

• provides detailed investigation reports;

• learns to improve scan results by detecting false positives;

• provides blacklist status;

• detailed classification of threats in reports;

• tracks DNS attacks by monitoring DNS/IP.

Pricing: the free version is available with limited scanning options. The paid plans with a server-side malware scanner start at $120 per year for one domain.

Pros:

• offers a complex scanner for web malware that uses cloud technologies;

• feeds from the intelligence database to improve malware detection.

Cons:

• free version has limited options;

• doesn’t protect from threats, only detects them.

Bertha AI (Free/Premium)

🏆Best for creating AI-generated product descriptions for eCommerce sites.

Using the GPT-3 language model by OpenAI, Bertha AI is among the best AI assistants built specifically for WordPress users. After the installation and activation of the plugin, you’ll see a new animated character in every text window of your website, including the backend WordPress builder. Bertha AI can provide you with multiple ideas for every task, from section titles to full-on text blocks, and saves every produced output for later reuse.

One of the strong points of Bertha AI is the automated creation of product descriptions suggesting long-tail keywords and SEO description tags, and all it needs for it is a product name.

Bertha AI core features:

• creating images based on your description;

• a content rephrasing tool;

• SEO keywords suggestions;

• 30+ pre-built content models.

Pricing: the free version lacks most of the core features. The premium version starts at $450 per year. You can also go with one-time payment options: $25 for 10,000 generated words and $15 for 100 images.

Pros:

• smooth integration with WordPress, all the major page builders, and SEO plugins;

• an abundance of AI tools for blogging;

• pay-as-you-go pricing options.

Cons:

• expensive yearly plan;

• doesn’t offer a chatbot like some other content AI WordPress plugins do.

Elementor AI (Paid)

🏆 Best for integrating AI tools in Elementor editor.

The Elementor team is rushing to get some of the hype and create a deep inbuilt integration of AI in our favorite WordPress editor. Although it does have some AI-powered features, like the adaptation of the layout of a web page to different screen sizes, the Elementor plugin hasn’t been an AI-focused tool by now.

The Elementor AI is not available to the public yet, as it’s still in the alpha stage, being tested internally. Most of the information about its current features comes from YouTube videos by content creators specializing in WordPress who got early access to the Elementor AI.

With Elementor AI, you’ll see a new Write with AI sign when you create blocks with text. If you click it, you’ll get to a new pop-up window where you’ll be able to use a few prompt suggestions or come up with your prompt and generate a text. Upon generating a text, you can modify it using additional buttons: translate the text, make it shorter/longer, simplify language, change tone, and fix spelling & grammar.

When you open a window for inputting CSS snippets (in Elementor Pro, it’s in Advanced > Custom CSS), you’ll see a new Code with AI icon. After clicking it, you’ll be offered to generate a CSS by writing a prompt. It seems the software recognizes loosely defined prompts and comes up with detailed specifications for the generated output.

The third main feature announced by the Elementor team is AI image generation, but there are no details on how this integration will work.

Elementor AI core features:

• inbuilt text generator;

• translation into 29 languages;

• generating CSS and HTML codes.

Pricing: $2.99 per month.

Pros:

• creates great basic texts;

• provides an advantage to someone who lacks CSS knowledge.

Cons:

• the text generator seems to be unaware of the contexts and only creates content based on the latest prompt and the following modification options.

ContentBot AI Writer (Free/Premium)

🏆Best for writing long-form articles with an easy-to-use AI assistant.

ContentBot is another content generator using OpenAI GPT-3 natural language processing system. After installing the plugin, you can start producing new content directly within the WordPress interface. It is a great solution for bloggers to speed up content creation. You can write a few sentences, ask the plugin to continue, and delete parts you don’t like, and ContentBot will come up with a new, more relevant version. The built-in plagiarism tool will ensure you can use everything the AI created.

ContentBot core features:

• powerful paraphrasing tool;

• summarizer tool;

• instructions chatbot;

• 45 writing templates (blog intro, full blog posts, tweets, sales emails, etc.);

• rewrite tool to change the content’s tone or make content appealing to specific audiences.

Pricing: a free version with just a few features is available. Premium plans start at $29 per month. You’d have to pay $59 monthly to enjoy all premium features.

Pros:

• easy-to-use drag-n-drop post builder;

• ability to create long-form texts quickly.

Cons:

• doesn’t have an image generator;

• free and basic pro versions don’t include essential tools like plagiarism checkers.

CodeWP (Free/Premium)

🏆Best for generating shortcodes and building complex queries in WordPress.

CodeWP is one of the best AI coding assistants for programmers and “non-technical” WordPress developers, with support for PHP and JS. With its help, users can create code snippets and complex queries that would otherwise take hours to complete.

The plugin features dozens of AI modes corresponding to specific plugins, uses, or products. The modes have different AI trained on different code bases to get accurate, high-quality snippets every time.

CodeWP core features:

• support for major plugins and page builders like WooCommerce and Elementor;

• dozens of professionally made tutorials;

• an excessive library of example snippets;

• general functions for all types and an increasing number of AI modes for specific tasks.

Pricing: the free plan allows for ten generations with a basic AI generator per month, and the Pro plan costs $96 per year.

Pros:

• new features and modes are added weekly;

• made specifically for WordPress users;

• low price for a plugin that helps solve complex problems.

Cons:

• no support for custom modes yet.

On October 18th, CodeWP v.2.0 was introduced, featuring a bundle of new features. The CodeWP team, led by James LePage, focused on implementing a novel conversational approach. Users can now chat with an AI bot trained on WordPress data to assist in code creation and troubleshooting. By using natural language prompts, CodeWP can even generate entire plugins.

Translate WordPress – Google Language Translator (Free/Premium)

🏆 Best for adding Google AI machine translation to WordPress sites.

While the free version of this translator offers mediocre statistical machine translations, the paid version provides very accurate human-like translations into and from the English language. It stores the translated versions of your website on remote servers creating a separate domain for each language. This way, every translation is indexed, and users can find your content using their native languages.

Google Language Translator core features:

• hosting website translations;

• human-level translation quality;

• ability to manually modify translations;

• Google Analytics integration.

Pricing: the free version of this plugin is available. The paid version with all advanced features costs $400 per year.

Pros:

• improves SEO by indexing translated pages;

• high-quality neural machine translation;

• free version can be helpful.

Cons:

• to enjoy all advanced features, like translation hosting, you must buy an Enterprise plan, which is quite expensive.

Tidio – Live Chat, Chatbots & Email Integration (Free/Premium)

🏆 Best for managing emails, live chat, chatbots, and messages from one dashboard.

This plugin is an all-in-one communication solution. Its purpose is to upgrade the website’s customer service by offering various communication channels and boosting sales by providing automatic chatbots with many functional templates. It is easy to modify or even create chatbot templates from scratch using a drag-and-drop editor.

Tidio has one of the highest rankings on wordpress.org among live chat plugins, with over 100,000 active installations.

Tidio core features:

• managing all communication channels from one panel;

• chatbot templates for different situations to increase user engagement (cart saver, returning customers, etc.);

• drag-and-drug visual editor for working with chatbots;

• natural language processing (NLP) technologies to identify frequently used words and answer simple questions by the customers;

• seven-day trials on paid plans.

Pricing: most advanced features are available in the free plan, but they offer no chatbot templates and limit chatbot conversations to 100 visitors per month. The paid plans start at $190 per year.

Pros:

• advanced chatbot builder for automation sales and customer support;

• intuitive interface and management;

• free version for small businesses.

Cons:

• lacks integration with some major messengers (WhatsApp, Twitter).

YARPP – Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (Free)

🏆 Best for finding related website content and presenting it to visitors.

YARPP lets website visitors see posts, pages, and custom post types related to their original entries and finds them from across the site using advanced algorithms. It is estimated that related posts can increase page views by ten percent.

YARPP core features:

• inbuilt catching for subsequent inquiries;

• many options for placing related posts (shortcuts, blocks, widgets, REST API, and more);

• pre-built list or thumbnail templates to showcase related posts;

• compatible with all languages.

Pricing: free.

Pros:

• the most popular related posts WordPress plugin;

• fully customizable;

• free.

Cons:

• requires more server resources than similar plugins, which can be noticeable on larger sites.

GetGenie (Free/Premium)

🏆 Best for researching, writing, and optimizing content for SEO engines.

GetGenie is an AI assistant designed to accelerate the writing of high-quality original blog posts. This writing tool offers many templates to cover various frameworks, such as AIDA, BAB, and PAS. It also shows on-page SEO scores to optimize content instantly and provides valuable suggestions on creating SEO-friendly slugs.

With its “Genie Mode”, content can be generated through prompts easily, and users can get a detailed response in return. Besides, GetGenie recently rolled out its chatting platform “GenieChat,” which can yield quick answers too.

GetGenie core features:

• 30+ templates for content writing;

• provides analysis of competitor data;

• idea generation tool for blogs;

• enables one-click blog generation;

• generates content in multiple languages;

• enables human-like chatting with 22 personalities on “GenieChat”;

• presenting on-page SEO score.

Pricing: the free version is available with some limitations. The paid version starts from $19 per month.

Pros:

• saves time for copywriters;

• starts checking content on SEO-friendliness during the writing process;

• free version available with satisfactory word and analysis limit;

• has a free version and a 14-day trial on paid plans.

Cons:

• offers fewer writing templates than some other content-generation tools.

Link Whisper (Free/Premium)

🏆 Best for building internal links on WordPress sites.

Link Whisper provides the easiest way to create internal links. Making intracontent connections with related posts on the website is often underused, but it may be necessary both for user engagement and improving SEO ranking. The plugin’s AI-powered engine analyses website content and suggests related posts and links in a newly created box under the written text.

Additionally, Link Whisper provides detailed reports of broken links and 404 errors.

Link Whisper core features:

• automatic link suggestions;

• in-depth link reporting;

• ability to fine-tune recommendations by deciding which keywords are relevant.

Pricing: free version is available. Paid plans add many advanced features, such as automatic and cross-site linking, costing $77 per year for one site.

Pros:

• easy-to-use;

• the free version has many useful functions.

Cons:

• no free trial on paid plans.

RankMath (Free/Premium)

🏆 Best for users who want to learn effective SEO practices.

RankMath AI-powered SEO plugin has over one million users. With its help, you can control which content is indexed and how it appears on search engines.

Multiple built-in suggestions make it easy to optimize website content and allow users to learn about the best SEO practices. Despite a large number of advanced features, its well-thought-out design and set-up wizard make RankMath easy to use, even for inexperienced users.

RankMath core features:

• 20+ pre-defined schema types;

• 30 in-depth SEO tests;

• smartlink suggestions;

• SEO-optimized breadcrumbs;

• detailed website analysis to identify SEO-related issues.

Pricing: the free version of RankMath includes many functions, and the paid version costs $59 per year and can be used on unlimited personal sites.

Pros:

• feature-rich AI-powered plugin;

• numerous suggestions and a wizard make RankMath beginner-friendly;

• reasonable price on the paid version.

Cons:

• some users report conflicts with other plugins.

What’s Next?

In November 2022, AI research company, OpenAI, launched ChatGPT – a sophisticated chatbot based on GPT-3, the company’s language model released in 2020. Two months after its launch, ChatGPT has over 30 million users sending OpenAI skyrocketing to the level of tech giants. In our article, we have already seen brand new plugins that use GPT-3 and are wildly popular (AI Engine, CodeWP), as well as renowned tools that rush to welcome this revolutionary technology aboard (SEOPress).

On February 6th, Google announced its rival AI chatbot, ‘Bard.’ So, it’s safe to say the AI arms race has begun, and it will make a major impact on content production, web development, and the online environment in general.

FAQ

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a simulation of human behavior during the decision-making process by machines.

What is machine learning?

Machine learning (ML) is a part of artificial intelligence that defines the capability of machines to analyze inquired data to improve their performance.

What is the purpose of WordPress AI plugins?

We often use AI plugins to create virtual assistants, text-to-speech readers, spam protection and automate website SEO.

Summary

Artificial intelligence techniques find use in various spheres of our lives. AI-powered WordPress plugins offer advanced features to accomplish different purposes.

1.WordLift is an excellent solution for the automation of website SEO, and it gives the best results when combined with human-made instructions.

2.AI Engine, one of the most popular applications of artificial intelligence, creates virtual assistants which communicate with site visitors via chatbots and live chats.

3.SEOPress utilizes OpenAI technologies to improve website rankings in SEO.

4.The Google Language Translator plugin is the best tool for adding AI machine translators to WordPress sites.

5.Quttera Web Malware Scanner is an AI-powered plugin that can find most web threats on WordPress sites.

6.CodeWP is the best solution for generating shortcodes in WordPress using artificial intelligence.

7.For anyone who needs to check content for SEO-friendliness, GetGenie is the best choice.

Keep Reading

Android

12 Best Custom ROMs for Android 2024

By admin March 1, 2024

12 Best Custom ROMs for Android 2024, The Android developer community is huge, with their biggest feat being the ability to develop custom ROMs or custom Android builds. A custom ROM is an aftermarket firmware production based on the Android source code provided by Google. So if you are someone who wants to install a custom ROM on your device but are confused about which one to go with, here are our picks for the 12 best custom ROMs for Android in 2024.

In Short

• Pixel Experience, Project Elixir, and EvoX are some of the best AOSP ROMs.

• LineageOS and Paranoid Android offer great stability.

• GrapheneOS and CalyxOS are for those who want to move away from Google services, partially.

1. Pixel Experience

Pixel Experience is the best custom ROM for Android right now and there are three reasons for the same. Support for lots of devices, Pixel features to non-pixel devices, built-in GCam support, and more features, and the overall stability, which is top-notch among all the ROMs that we’ve tried so far.

Third, it has amazing stability among all the ROMs that I have tested for years. The main developer, Henrique Pereira, is not in a tearing hurry to port new Android versions to all the devices.

Instead, the developer picks a popular and developer-centric device and creates a base. After that, he publishes all the changes to GitHub for other maintainers to work on. Not to mention, Pixel Experience has maintainers around the world who work round the clock to quell bugs on time.

So to put it straight, if you want stability and new features right from Pixel devices then Pixel Experience is the best custom ROM on Android, bar none. Keep in mind, that you won’t get the latest Android build immediately, but you will have a stable and hassle-free experience for sure.

Download Pixel ROM

12 Best Custom ROMs for Android 2024

2. LineageOS

When people hear the word “custom ROM,” LineageOS is probably the first thing that comes to mind. LineageOS is CyanogenMod and for those unaware, back in the fall of 2016, Cyanogen announced that it was discontinuing development and shut the infrastructure behind the project. Since then, the developer community has kept the project alive, but under the name of LineageOS.

Built on top of Google’s AOSP code with lots of additions on top, LineageOS works as a standalone ROM as well as a base for many other custom ROMs out there. It has the most extensive developer team under its name and officially supports over 190 devices. The ROM includes basic but useful features that include but are not limited to customizing the status bar, changing the overall theme, editing the navbar, and much more.

LineageOS is quite basic but it’s also very stable. Most use it as a canvas on which people then apply all sorts of themes and feature mods. LineageOS is also great if you want top-notch privacy and security on a custom ROM. Not to mention, the development team has worked fast on bringing Android 14 this time and it’s available for several devices.

Download LineageOS

3. Paranoid Android

Not too long ago, one of people’s favorite Paranoid Android was resurrected from the dead. If you’re unaware, Paranoid Android is the OG and is one of the most acclaimed custom ROMs of all time. The development team has started to churn out the first batch of Android 14 Beta builds, and the ROM primarily focuses on bringing a polished and refined experience. Paranoid keeps it simple, which may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it does promise a smooth user experience.

For starters, it has a revamped quick settings menu, support for gestures, and a few nifty options for power users. One of the biggest flexes of Paranoid Android was when Google took its then-known ambient mode “Peek” and added it to AOSP, which was a huge achievement for the team. So, the next time you use Ambient Display, remember Paranoid.

Paranoid Android has a long list of devices but versions for most of them haven’t been updated since July 2023. Although development for a lot of Xiaomi phones is still active, only relatively modern phones are getting new ROMs. The latest Paranoid Android version is called Uvite, which is based on Android 14 and is available for a few Android devices as of now.

Download Paranoid Android

4. GrapheneOS

GrapheneOS and CalyxOS have similar agendas but the difference lies in how they try to run Google apps to prevent Google from tracking your location and data. Unlike CalyxOS, GrapheneOS uses Sandboxing, which, in layman’s terms, is like emulation and running apps in an isolated environment rather than on the device.

Like CalyxOS, GrapheneOS too is only available on Pixel devices. It’s close to AOSP and doesn’t offer many customization features. It’s primarily for those who want to stay away from Google’s clutches.

Download GrapheneOS

5. Evolution X

Evolution X is the Resurrection Remix from yesteryear. This is because of the plethora of customization features it offers, and it does while being relatively stable. Evolution X merges various code snippets into one main project to bring a long list of features for many devices. While this does mean that updates come a little slower, they are still able to deliver regular updates.

Unlike Paranoid Android which has just started sending Android 14 builds, Evolution X has Android 14 available for lots of old and new devices. Expanding on the customization part, Evolution X offers some of the best customization options where users can customize every minute detail from the status bar to the home screen and a lot more, making it one of the most customizable AOSP ROMs of all time.

Download Evolution X

6. Project Elixir

If you are looking for the best Android 14 custom ROM, go ahead and check out Project Elixir. It’s a beautiful AOSP ROM that is very close to stock Android with Pixel features and customization options. It features Essense which is based on the Substratum theme and delivers an elegant lock screen experience that you won’t find on any other ROM.

The best part is that it also offers timely updates and bugs are fixed routinely. As for device support, from Xiaomi to OnePlus, Nokia, and Nothing, almost all the OEMs are supported. Project Elixir is one of the best Android 14 custom ROMs in town right now and you should not miss it.

Download Project Elixir

7. PixelOS

PixelOS is another take on stock Android that brings, you guessed it, a Pixel-like user interface with added enhancements, improvements, and stability. It does not go overboard with features like other AOSP ROMs and prioritizes essential utilities that can help users. The ROM is based on AOSP so you know it’s stable; The developers of PixelOS have started pushing Android 14 updates.

The ROM is available for Realme, Samsung, Motorola, OnePlus, Samsung, Asus, and more devices. The team is also quite up-to-date and regularly pushes new builds with features and security patches. Overall, PixelOS is quite impressive in terms of design and those who are looking to flash Android 14, must give it a try. It’s pretty similar to PixelPlusUI and PixysOS which are pretty similar and have their own feature sets.

Download PixelOS

8. crDroid

Imagine being on your device’s stock ROM, but with slight tweaks here and there that allow you to customize your device without losing out on the Stock stability. Well, that’s crDroid for you. crDroid has been around for some time and it has gained huge popularity among stock Android enthusiasts. Similar to AOSP Extended, crDroid has an active development team and supports lots of old devices.

It offers the same AOSP experience that’s exclusive to Google’s lineup, along with truly tested features. Since crDroid is based on LineageOS at its base, the performance and battery life are phenomenal. To put it into words, think of LineageOS, but with added features and tweaks. The list of supported devices is also huge and contains both new and old devices.

Download crDroid

9. Havoc OS

Defining Havoc-OS would take up more than a couple of words. In your first run of this ROM, you’d find it similar to just about any other custom ROM out there. Use it for a couple of days, and you start experiencing the true beauty of Havoc-OS. One of the first ROMs to successfully implement a truckload of features. It will remind you of Resurrection Remix and Paranoid Android from the past.

The added functionalities of Havoc-OS include tons of mods for the Status bar, buttons, lights, gestures, and other various configurations. While at times, it lacks stability, I can surely say that it has the maximum customizability features. So if you want something like Resurrection Remix but with the latest Android version then Havoc-OS will take you right home.

Download Havoc OS

10. Bliss ROM

Bliss ROM is a new custom ROM in the Android ecosystem but it has huge potential. It not only develops ROMs for smartphones but also for tablets and Windows devices like Surface Pro. And the overall experience is quite nice as it comes with a customized launcher and desktop mode.

While many users might not like this new way of system navigation, one cannot deny the fact that we need different kinds of skins to reshape the boundary of user interface design in custom ROMs.

Apart from including certain tweaks to the customizability and functionality, Bliss ROM vastly enhances the overall visual look of your device. It has a separate settings panel called Blissify from where you can change almost everything. Right from themes to animation and lock screen interface. I would say if you want to try something different, do give it a shot.

Download Bliss ROM

11. OmniROM

OmniROM is one of the oldest custom ROMs on this list. The project was started way back in 2013 when CyanogenMod was all hype, and it continues to push new builds even today. It does nothing radical but brings a clean, AOSP-based ROM with rock-solid stability and a long list of device support.

The team has also worked on Android 14 and released updates for ROG Phone, Google Pixel, Redmi Note series, and more. In terms of updates, it’s not the fastest, but for still good when it comes to performance and day-to-day tasks.

Download OmniROM

12. Xiaomi.eu

We know how bloated MIUI can be and why and how you should debloat MIUI and other Android devices. Thanks to the Xiaomi.eu project, you can install a custom ROM that is based on pure MIUI and comes with zero bloatware, ads, or resource-hogging processes running in the background.

For those who love MIUI and don’t want to go the AOSP route, this is one of the best ROMs you can install on your Xiaomi phone. It releases builds every week for testers and general users can try the stable releases. It even brought support for the latest Xiaomi HyperOS which is based on Android 14. So if you have a Xiaomi device, you can’t afford to miss out on the Xiaomi.eu ROM.

Download Xiaomi.eu

Why Install a Custom ROM?

The main reason why people prefer custom ROMs is that almost every manufacturer drops software support for a phone 2-3 years after its launch. It could be frustrating to see other devices get new features while you struggle to use the phone due to the lack of features. A custom ROM can help keep your device alive and updated with the latest version of Android.

Another reason why people prefer custom ROMs is due to the possibilities of modding them. There’s no bloatware in them and are packed with all sorts of customization features by default. The possibilities are endless. While there are many custom ROMs out there, not all of them are stable enough to be used as your daily driver.

Installing a custom ROM requires you to unlock the bootloader first, and have a custom recovery like TWRP installed. Before you get started, it’s always a good idea to create a backup of your Android device. Also, not all ROMs come with Google Apps installed; hence, you may need to flash a GApps package such as OpenGapps (website) or NikGApps (website). Beebom’s Android team has tested almost all ROMs listed below on a variety of devices and presented ou unbiased list of the best custom ROMs you can try in 2024.

Custom ROMs bring out a new experience to your old or new mobile devices. While no ROM out there will ever be as stable as the stock ROM, having a custom ROM does give you the liberty to sacrifice a few points of stability to gain tons of features. We have been testing custom ROMs for many years, and people never settle on one and keep hopping, hoping to find the best out there. What’s your favorite custom ROM? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Featured

12 Best Linux Distros You Should Use

By admin February 28, 2024

12 Best Linux Distros You Should Use, Out of all the operating systems in existence, Linux (also known as GNU/Linux) is the most frowned upon, and there are a few reasons for the same. While overall adaptability, software support, and user experience remain the most common issues with Linux, OS saturation is also a huge issue.

That said, most people involved in Linux treat the overwhelming number of choices as a plus point, as it gives them the ability and flexibility to try out different desktop environments and flavors and, ultimately, settle for what they like the best. However, if you haven’t tried Linux yet and want to start using it for whatever reason, here are some of the best Linux distros you should use and get started with.

1. Linux Mint

Linux Mint has established itself as one of the best distros for beginner Linux users, thanks to Cinnamon‘s simplicity (Linux Mint’s desktop environment) and ease of use. It’s an Ubuntu-based operating system that’s good for day-to-day usage and gaming. The Windows-like feel of Mint makes users switching from Windows feel at home and is one of the main selling points of the distro.

Linux Mint also caters to users who hold system stability of utmost importance. A new version of Mint is released every six months, and it’s usually very stable with occasional bugs. And for those who don’t like Cinnamon, MATE, and Xfce are two other officially supported flavors of Linux Mint.

Cinnamon is popular because it uses far fewer system resources than GNOME, meaning it’s easier to run Linux Mint on old hardware with ease – like other lightweight Linux distros we recommend. Unlike Ubuntu, Linux Mint drops support for Snaps and embraces Flatpaks with open arms, and lately, the OS is doing its best to discern itself from Ubuntu. And well, it has been successful in doing the same. Overall, it’s a great Linux distro for beginners because everything just works out of the box.

Pros	Cons
Light on system resources	New features take time to appear
A great starting point for beginners	Could be a little too basic for advanced users
Great stability	Not very customizable

System Requirements:

• 2GB RAM (4GB Recommended)

• 20GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• 1024×728 pixels resolution display

• A dual-core CPU

Flavors: Cinnamon, MATE, Xfce
Download Linux Mint

12 Best Linux Distros You Should Use

2. Pop!_OS

Pop!_OS is developed by a company named System76, which also sells PC hardware and laptops powered by the OS. The OS was originally made with STEM professionals in mind and comes with NVIDIA drivers preinstalled. Soon, the distro became a hit among gamers, largely because installing NVIDIA drivers on Linux wasn’t the most user-friendly work in the world.

Pop!_OS is based on Ubuntu and uses the COSMIC desktop environment, which is Pop!_OS’ homemade desktop environment based on GNOME. However, unlike GNOME, it’s a lot cleaner and has got a few neat tricks up its sleeve, like the keyboard shortcuts, which makes Pop!_OS one of the cleanest Linux systems. Overall, Pop!_OS is a great option for budding creators as well as folks who want to game on Linux out of the box.

Speaking of COSMIC, System76 has recently decided to distance itself from GNOME and recode the entire desktop environment in Rust programming language. Rust-based COSMIC was announced a few years ago and is currently about to transition from the Alpha to Beta stages. The revamped COSMIC will supposedly be faster, smoother, and less clunky than GNOME-based COSMIC.

Pros	Cons
An excellent choice for gamers and content creators	Not a cutting-edge distro
A great starting point for beginners	Requires a decently specced PC
Stable, customizable, and feature-rich	.

System Requirements:

• 4GB (8GB Recommended)

• 40GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• A dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: None
Download Pop!_OS

3. Fedora

Fedora is the Ubuntu of the new world. It’s a cutting-edge Linux distro that’s an upstream version of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux. It uses the same RPM package manager and embraces Flatpaks and App Images, but more importantly (and the selling point of the distro) comes with a near-stock version of GNOME. Fedora is often one of the first Linux distros to embrace the latest versions of GNOME in its beta builds, which comes out every six months.

And since Fedora is open-source, it also has a few community versions called Spins. Some of the popular spins are Plasma, Xfce, LXQT, MATE, and Cinnamon. Overall, Fedora might not be the best option for absolute beginners, but it’s great for those who know their way around Linux. Besides, Fedora’s got one of the most active distro communities on Reddit. Hence, if something goes wrong, the group of enthusiasts will always be there for the rescue.

One of the areas where the OS doesn’t excel is with regard to system requirements. GNOME is a heavy desktop environment compared to others. As a result, it needs at least 8GB RAM and a decently powerful CPU/GPU to perform well.

Pros	Cons
Cutting-edge	Learning curve for a beginner
Great for stock GNOME lovers	Requires a decently specced PC
Great for gamers and content creators	.
Excellent community	.

System Requirements:

• 2GB (8GB Recommended)

• 15GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• A 2GHz dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce, LXQT, MATE, Cinnamon, LXDE, SOAS, and i3 Tiling Window Manager
Download Fedora

4. Manjaro

If your friend says, “I installed an Arch-based Linux OS in just a few hours,” they are probably referring to Manjaro. Arch has always been an inconvenience for new Linux folks, but Manjaro makes it easy to taste Arch. It’s one of the best Arch-based Linux distros that comes in three official flavors/variants — KDE Plasma, Xfce, and GNOME.

Like Fedora Spins, Manjaro has lots of community versions like Budgie, Cinnamon, and MATE too. Hence, you are not devoid of choices in this case. That said, Manjaro isn’t a pure Arch-based system because it isn’t as cutting-edge as the next option on our list. Manjaro has its own repository where all updates from Arch are merged and pushed later. Stability is of great importance for Manjaro, hence, the new packages from Arch are thoroughly tested before they are merged into the OS.

If you’re confused about which flavor to choose, GNOME, KDE Plasma, and Budgie are great if you have a decent PC. However, if you are running ancient hardware, we recommend Xfce or MATE as they use far lesser system resources.

Pros	Cons
Makes installing and trying out Arch easy	Slower update releases than Arch or EndeavourOS
Comes in a variety of flavors	Known to break sometimes
Great hardware support	.

System Requirements:

• 2GB RAM (8GB Recommended)

• 30GB Disk space (80GB Recommended)

• A 2GHz Dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: GNOME, KDE Plasma, Xfce, Budgie, MATE, Cinnamon, Sway, and i3 Tiling Window Manager
Download Manjaro

5. EndeavourOS

If Manjaro’s “Endeavours” don’t align with your philosophies, EndeavourOS gets a lot of things right for an Arch-based distro. It offers you the flexibility to choose whichever Desktop Environment you like, has the Arch DNA in its veins, and offers quick package upgrades.

For starters, it comes with a customized Calamares installer, which makes installation easy. EndeavourOS does not have “flavors,” instead it prompts and asks you to select the desktop environment of your choice in Calamares during the installation. Besides, EndeavourOS has a great community and is a stellar alternative to Manjaro, or even Arch, for that matter. If all you need is a great rolling distribution, you cannot go wrong with EndeavourOS.

Unlike Manjaro, in which new packages from Arch take at least three weeks to make it to the system, updates to EndeavourOS arrive at the same time as pure Arch Linux. Also, the overall bloatware on EndeavourOS is less compared to Manjaro, which makes it one of the cleanest Arch-based distros out there.

Pros	Cons
The closest cutting-edge OS to Arch	Learning curve for a beginner
Lots of desktop environment options	Frequent Arch updates might break the system or introduce bugs
Great community	.
Calamares installer makes it easy to install	.

System Requirements:

• 4GB RAM (8GB Recommended)

• 10GB Disk space (50GB Recommended)

• A dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: Xfce, Plasma, GNOME, MATE, Cinnamon, Budgie, LxQt, LxDe, and i3-wm
Download EndeavourOS

6. Elementary OS

Yet another Ubuntu-based distribution, Elementary OS is known for its rather striking resemblance to macOS, which makes it a great starting point for folks who want to switch to Linux from macOS.

Elementary OS has a few great homemade apps that look great and work well. In fact, distros such as Pop!_OS use Elementary’s store, and that’s a testament to the effort the Elementary team puts into developing one of these best Linux distros. Overall, Elementary OS is a user-friendly and good-looking distribution that gets most things right.

For starters, Epiphany is a decent browser available on Elementary OS, and apps such as Photos, Music, AppCenter, and more all feel like they actually belong to the OS because they’re consistent. The wallpapers are some of the best you can find in any distro, and the dock and animations make the distro a visual treat.

Pros	Cons
Consistent design language	For absolute beginners; Mediocre to advanced users may not enjoy
Great set of preloaded apps	Not cutting-edge
Easy to install	The AppStore is mostly empty

System Requirements:

• 4GB RAM (8GB Recommended)

• 40GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• A 2GHz dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: None
Download Elementary OS

7. Zorin OS

Windows users make up a huge chunk of the crowd that switches to Linux. Hence, one of the top priorities of a few Linux distros is to make them feel at home. That’s exactly what Zorin OS does with its impeccable UI experience. Its clean, polished UI does give out the feeling of a completely revamped experience while still retaining the bits of Windows UI to comfort ex-Windows users.

Zorin is Ubuntu-based but looks/feels quite unlike Ubuntu both in terms of looks and functionality. There’s also a Lite version that can run on weaker hardware. All in all, Zorin has great documentation and posts for beginners to get started, and more importantly, it is completely free and open-source.

Besides, Zorin OS also has a Pro version that costs $40, and for that price, you get more desktop layout customizations, preloaded apps such as GIMP and Blender, and the ability to share your mouse and keyboard across computers. Now, we wouldn’t recommend going all out on the Pro version, since most of the paid features can be added by using extensions. However, for what it is, Zorin OS is definitely one of the cleanest and best Linux distros out there.

Pros	Cons
Made with Windows users in mind	Limited customization options in the free version
Clean and consistent user interface	Updates are slow to arrive due to the Ubuntu base
Easy to install	.
Great for browsing and creating content	.
Has a Lite version for old hardware	.

System Requirements:

• 2GB RAM (4GB Recommended)

• 40GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• 1024 x 768 resolution display

• A 1GHz dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: None
Download Zorin OS

8. Garuda Linux

Garuda does things slightly differently than other best Linux distros on this list. For starters, contrary to the regular Linux kernel, it uses something called Linux-zen kernel, which claims to significantly improve the overall system and gaming performance.

The centerpiece of Garuda Linux is its UI. It gets lots of modern elements with gradient coloring splashed across the OS. Garuda Linux is based on Arch and follows the same rolling release pattern. It’s offered in multiple flavors; some of the most popular ones are GNOME, Cinnamon, Xfce, and MATE.

The flagship Garuda variant comes with a heavily customized KDE Plasma and is offered in two editions — Dragonized and Dragonized Gaming. The latter includes all the apps you’d need to get started with gaming on Linux such as Steam, Lutris, Heroic Games Launcher, & more, which makes it one of the best Linux distros for gaming.

Pros	Cons
Cutting-edge, thanks to its Arch base	Could be a bit too overwhelming for new users
Highly customizable KDE Plasma interface	Higher system requirements
Gradient theming and icons look fantastic out of the box	Performance and stability issues due to Arch updates
Dragonized Gaming edition brings all gaming tools for you	.
More optimized Linux-zen kernel for better performance	.

System Requirements:

• 4GB RAM (8GB Recommended)

• 40GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• A 2GHz dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: KDE Plasma, GNOME, Cinnamon, Xfce, MATE, LxQT, Wayfire, Sway, i3 WM, Qtile, and KDE Lite
Download Garuda Linux

9. Solus

Solus is a rather underrated Linux distro. The OS focuses keenly on developers, gamers, and content creators by including the tools required to get started with development, gaming, and content creation. The flagship flavor of Solus OS uses their in-house Budgie desktop, which is one of the cleanest desktop environments you can try.

What makes Solus different is that it doesn’t follow in the same footsteps as other Linux distros. It’s an independently developed distro with a completely different user experience compared to others on this list. Although, if you do not end up liking Budgie, you can switch to other desktop environments, including GNOME, Plasma, and MATE.

Because Solus is an independent distro, it uses its own package manager called Eopkg. It’s quite similar to Apt in Ubuntu but may have a learning curve since the commands are a bit different from the regular Apt commands. However, if you don’t end up liking Eopkg, you could always use Flatpaks and Snaps on Solus. All things considered, it’s one of the best Linux distros out there.

Pros	Cons
Independent OS; Doesn’t depend on any other OS	Eopkg has a shallow learning curve
Highly customizable interface	Slow development pace
The Flagship Budgie desktop looks great out of the box	Lack of software in repos
Comes preinstalled with a few tools for developers	.

System Requirements“

• 8GB RAM (Recommended)

• GeForce 760 and above graphics card with at least 2GB of video memory.

• 40GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• A 2GHz dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: KDE Plasma, GNOME, MATE, Budgie
Download Solus

10. Ubuntu

In the end, we have something that you would have found in the first two entries had you read this list a couple of years ago. Ubuntu started off with the goal of making Linux more accessible and easily installable than Debian, which was then’s Arch Linux. And, for the most part, it succeeded in achieving that goal, only to succumb to a corporate illness a decade after.

Don’t get us wrong, Ubuntu is still a great operating system, but it has lost the bling it used to have a few years ago, and a few weird and poor decisions are to be blamed. Without getting into the details, Ubuntu uses GNOME by default, which is a tad bit customized.

Ubuntu uses Snaps for package management, and the latter is the reason the Linux community has started repelling it. They completely dropped out-of-the-box support for Flatpaks, as we mentioned in our Ubuntu 23.04 features list. Although it’s a good starting point for a complete beginner, we would argue there are better Linux distros to try than Ubuntu.

Ubuntu also raised a few privacy concerns when it started preinstalling Amazon and sharing data with the same a few years ago. Most of the users accused Canonical (Ubuntu’s parent company) of tracking user activity by installing spyware, and it made people lose trust in Ubuntu.

Pros	Cons
Beginner-friendly	Snaps are too slow; No Flatpak support
Customizable	Requires a decent PC to run smoothly
.	Privacy concerns

System Requirements:

• 4GB RAM (8GB Recommended)

• 25GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• A 2GHz dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: KDE Plasma, GNOME, Cinnamon, Budgie, Kylin, Studio, Unity, Xfce, MATE, LxQT
Download Ubuntu

11. KDE Neon

KDE Neon is known to provide a flagship KDE experience, and it delivers! It’s a culmination of the latest from KDE Plasma while maintaining the stability thanks to the Ubuntu LTS base. The latest software from KDE always makes its way to Neon first and is a great way of trying out the latest features that the Desktop Environment has to offer while avoiding butchering the stable feel of the operating system.

Since Neon is based on Ubuntu LTS, each major release comes with five years of support and a stable tried and tested LTS Kernel. Neon also has some of the best collections of software thanks to KDE Plasma interface, meaning if you’re a creative individual, you could use some of the many tools the OS has on offer to boost your productivity, creativity, and be more efficient in your art.

Although most may like the interface and apps, like any other software, some may find the collection of apps a bit overwhelming. Hence, Neon may not be the distro for you if you prefer minimalism. Overall, Neon is easily one of the best Linux distributions you can try.

Pros	Cons
Runs Vanilla KDE	Could be overwhelming for beginners
Comprehensive suite of apps	Not the best distro for minimalists
Customizable
Stable Ubuntu Base	.

System Requirements:

• 4GB RAM (8GB Recommended)

• 25GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• A 2GHz dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Download KDE Neon

12. Nobara

Nobara is not a mainstream Linux distributions and isn’t known by many except those who closely follow the Proton Compatibility Layer, Wine for Linux gaming, and Fedora. Nobara was created by Glorious Eggroll, the creator of Proton-GE. Nobara market’s itself as a Linux distro for gamers and creators because it adds and solves a lot of things that a Linux gamer may find annoying and needed.

For example, if you’re deeply immersed in Proton and Proton-GE, you may want to install new Proton versions to test for improvements and hence Nobara comes with Proton-QT preinstalled. Similarly, it’s always updated with the latest version of MangoHUD, Kernel patches, has automatic driver installation for NVIDIA GPUs, and comes with things such as OnlyOffice, Steam, Lutris, Flatpak preinstalled.

Pros	Cons
Lots of important preinstalled bits	Is a distro for Gaming and Creative work; May not be ideal for daily usage
Fedora-based, stable	.
NVIDIA Drivers are automatically installed	.

System Requirements:

• 4GB RAM (8GB Recommended)

• 25GB Disk space (100GB Recommended)

• A 2GHz dual-core, 64-bit CPU

Flavors: Nobara Official, GNOME, KDE
Download Nobara

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Games

The best PS5 games for 2024

By admin February 27, 2024

The best PS5 games for 2024, The PlayStation 5 is looking to dominate the console landscape with its incredible library of games. Like the rest of the industry, Sony saw several major game delays in 2022 (and more this year), but has since dropped several new hit games like God of War Ragnarok, the Resident Evil 4 remake, and Alan Wake 2, among others. There are plenty of games out on PS5 for every kind of gamer.

And there are plenty more great titles on the way — don’t forget to check out our list of the best upcoming PS5 games that will come out later this year.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, the highly anticipated sequel from Insomniac Games, raises the bar in every aspect. It shines on the PS5, delivering stunning visuals, and the gameplay matches that excellence with numerous enhancements. From improved combat to web-swinging through the city, sid-quests, and more, everything is better than ever.

This grand sequel seamlessly juggles a plethora of ideas, creating an overwhelming, yet sleek adventure. Even with a 100% completion goal, it’s a manageable 35-hour journey. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 not only lives up to its predecessor, but surpasses it, crafting an emotional and inclusive superhero experience that’s unique to the world of video games.

Alan Wake 2

In the spine-tingling world of Alan Wake 2, Saga Anderson delves into the eerie investigation of ritualistic murders in a quaint town, while Alan Wake himself weaves a sinister tale that shapes reality. These two enigmatic heroes find themselves intertwined by fate and compelled to embrace their latent powers.

Remedy Entertainment’s long-anticipated Alan Wake 2 delivers a genuinely frightening survival horror experience. The game masterfully blends mind-bending narratives with engrossing survival horror gameplay inspired by Resident Evil remakes. Despite some initial technical hiccups, it stands as Remedy Interactive’s most confident and fully realized creative vision. It explores the depths of horror, both in our everyday nightmares and the chilling stories we craft to confront them. For those who relish compelling and hair-raising narratives, Alan Wake 2 is a must-play where the less you know, the more spookier it becomes.

Diablo IV

Diablo IV brings the series back to its roots with a darker tone and aesthetic while also keeping the combat and looting grind as enthralling as ever. Diablo‘s Sanctuary is rich with grisly lore, and this has never been more apparent than in Diablo 4. The big villains are ambiguous in their motives but decidedly evil in their methods, and they’re played brilliantly throughout the campaign. Moreover, the graphical fidelity, music, and sound design are all top-tier, which is surprising given its frustrating always-online nature.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a massive turn-based fantasy RPG that captures the experience of playing Dungeons & Dragons better than any other video game. Character creation is top-notch and combat impresses, boiling down the complexities of D&D battles to an easy-to-understand, but deep system. We’re still early on in our adventure, but Baldur’s Gate 3 appears to be a major hit and a midyear contender for Game of the Year.

God of War Ragnarök

It’s always impressive when a sequel to a highly-acclaimed game can actually live up to its predecessor. That’s the case with God of War Ragnarok, which successfully rode the hype train all the way to launch, landing to rave reviews. The action-adventure sequel pulls it off by largely sticking to the formula established in God of War (2018), but it makes some key changes to help make it stand out. The biggest of those comes from its refined combat, which makes chopping up enemies with the Leviathan Ax and Blades of Chaos even more satisfying. Your mileage may vary when it comes to story, but God of War Ragnarok is undoubtedly a triumphant return for Kratos.

The best PS5 games for 2024

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a sequel to 2019’s excellent Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and expands on it in almost every way. The story feels more ambitious and personal at the same time, as all of the worlds players can explore as Cal are more densely packed with content than before, and combat has been refined to be even more fun thanks to new stances and perks players can use.

It’s an entirely single-player Star Wars adventure and a meaty one at that. This game can easily keep you entertained for 20 hours or more and tells the most engaging Star Wars narrative since Andor. This is one of the best Star Wars games ever made, so fans of the franchise shouldn’t miss out on it.

Street Fighter 6

Street Fighter 6 feels like the most significant revelation for the fighting game genre since Street Fighter 2. No matter the skill level, all types of players will find something to enjoy here. The core fighting gameplay felt as amazing to play as ever, bolstered by a flashy new Drive Gauge system. Those who enjoy the series for its hardcore, competitive elements will like that, as well as its multiplayer Battle Hub mode. T

hat said, Street Fighter 6 is also the friendliest fighting game ever for newcomers to the genre. New modern controls, as well as a meaty RPG World Tour mode that teaches the ins and outs of many of the game’s characters and mechanics, means there’s a ton of enjoyment to be had no matter one’s skill level.

Lies of P

Lies of P, the quirky Pinocchio-inspired Soulslike game with a Timothée Chalamet look-alike, is a surprisingly competent addition to the genre. Drawing inspiration from FromSoftware’s Bloodborne, it immerses players in a fascinating world with a unique twist on Soulslike gameplay. While some boss fights can be frustrating, they add to the game’s charm and overall appeal. Lies of P has a captivating setting and distinctive gameplay systems, and it has a place among the genre’s top contenders like Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, Code Vein, and Nioh. Despite its unusual premise, the game’s confident execution earns it respect and a strong recommendation for fans of FromSoftware-style titles.

Resident Evil 4

Before you jump in for your hit of nostalgia, you should know that this isn’t 2005’s Resident Evil 4. Instead of putting out a shot-for-shot remake — a truly transformative remake that isn’t afraid to throw out what didn’t work and put its own creative spin on everything from story to level design to its wildly improved combat. Capcom delivers everything you want in more in this stellar revisit to one of the most iconic titles in the Resident Evil series.

Remnant II

Step into a realm of relentless survival and unyielding battles in Remnant II, the eagerly awaited follow-up to the acclaimed Remnant: From the Ashes. Humanity’s remnants confront an onslaught of otherworldly beasts and omnipotent adversaries across harrowing dimensions. Rally solo or join forces with a pair of companions to plumb the enigmas that guard against reality’s annihilation. Skill and camaraderie prove paramount as you forge an unbreakable front against the brink of extinction.

Beneath its seemingly typical third-person shooter experience, Remnant II boasts captivating mechanics — the game weaves combat akin to Souls titles with firearms, entwining them within a roguelike framework of ever-changing quests. Gunfire Games’ sequel resonates with the essence of its predecessor, making it a treasure trove for Remnant devotees and newcomers alike.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

While this year’s Call of Duty installment is a bit of a mixed bag of gorgeous visuals and classic multiplayer despite pacing issues and some ugly UI choices. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II gives COD fans what they want — another COD game. If fast-paced warfare and detailed weapon customization are your jam, this is the first-person shooter for you (at least until Warzone 2.0 drops.

Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2, the not-so-new and definitely improved free-to-play Overwatch “sequel,” has given the series new life for hardcore fans and newcomers alike. New heroes Junker Queen and Sojurn have joined the fight, old heroes have learned new skills, and there are already new character releases on the horizon. Overwatch 2‘s specific brand of objective-based shooter isn’t for everyone, but if it’s up your alley you’ll be playing this title well into the new year.

Like a Dragon: Ishin!

A remake of 2014’s Ryuu ga Gotoku Ishin! (released only in Japan) Like a Dragon: Ishin! takes place in 1867, during Japan’s regime-changing Bakumatsu era, and stars Sakamoto Ryoma, a character resembling former Like a Dragon series protagonist Kazuma Kiryu. This new-to-the-West Like a Dragon installment will be a romp for longtime fans and newcomers alike.

The Last of Us Part I

While the original The Last of Us for PS3 still holds up, technology has advanced tremendously since the game first launched in 2013. That’s why Naughty Dog and Sony decided to remake this game, exclusively for PS5 (and PC at a later date). What you get is a revamped version of what was already one of the best games ever made. Of course, visuals have been overhauled, with its characters mirroring their counterparts from The Last of Us Part II. Beyond that, a slew of gameplay improvements, such as smarter AI, have been implemented, making the game feel more immersive. It also utilizes the PS5’s best features, including haptic feedback. Full stop, this is the definitive version of The Last of Us.

Stray

Stray is one of the most unique games to have launched in a while, offering an emotional story and a cute, cuddly feline protagonist. This cat game has taken the industry by storm, but it’s not just a meme. Stray really is fantastic and deserves all the praise it has received. It includes light platforming, puzzles, and some stealth segments that are approachable, yet satisfying, allowing players of all skill levels to enjoy. Beyond its easy-going gameplay are its stunning visuals that are gorgeous, yet stylized, making it hard to look away. There’s a lot going for Stray, and it’s one that all players should check out, even if you aren’t a cat-lover.

The Callisto Protocol

The Callisto Protocol is a survival-horror game set in a maximum-security prison on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto. Players take on the role of a character trying to escape the prison while facing off against a variety of terrifying enemies. The game features intense, atmospheric gameplay and high-quality graphics that create a truly immersive experience. It also has an intense story and the survival horror element ensures the players will be on the edge of their seat. With the AAA development team at Striking Distance Studios behind it, it’s a thrilling adventure for horror and sci-fi fans.

Cocoon

Cocoon, crafted by the designer behind Limbo and Inside, invites players into a mesmerizing realm of insect-like creatures navigating worlds within worlds. This puzzle game, deceptively simple ,yet profoundly unique, showcases Director Jeppe Carlsen’s talent for intricately designed challenges. It offers an experience both grand and intimate, teleporting players into the minds of these enigmatic insects. Cocoon is a striking journey, celebrating the remarkable efficiency of Earth’s tiny creatures. While occasionally routine, it beckons players to fathom the instinctive intelligence of bugs.

Horizon Forbidden West

Horizon Forbidden West is the culmination of all the things Guerrilla Games has learned over the years. It’s an open-world action RPG with a stellar story, well-written characters, and incredibly satisfying gameplay, making it hard to put down. It’s a game that looks expensive, featuring some of the most beautiful visuals we’ve ever seen. The gameplay mechanics have been refined from its predecessor, making it much easier to traverse the world, defeat enemies, and progress through the story.

For instance, the implementation of a glider is a huge improvement, as it means the main character, Aloy, can get around with ease. And of course, there aren’t many games like Horizon, giving it an edge over the competition. Taking down massive mechanical dinosaurs is just as cool as it sounds, as is exploring the sprawling open world this game has to offer. Guerrilla Games is at the top of its class and we can’t wait to see what the team does next.

Elden Ring

Somehow, Elden Ring exceeded expectations, building upon its predecessors and featuring an incredible journey full of mystery and unease. That’s one of this game’s greatest strengths: It encourages you to explore by littering items and awe-inspiring boss battles all around the world while keeping you on the edge of your seat. This isn’t just Dark Souls in an open world. Every inch of this game feels meticulously crafted, with plenty of secrets to uncover.

Of course, the game’s exploration is a selling point, but so is its combat, which feels like an impressive evolution from the Souls games. It’s not perfect, but developer FromSoftware absolutely knows what it’s doing when it comes to making an action RPG and we hope the studio continues creating open worlds like this one. Elden Ring is an absolute gem, throwing surprises at you every time you play.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Early on in a console’s lifespan, each exclusive is heavily dissected. We’re always looking for how games push hardware in ways that truly make “next-gen” come to life. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will be remembered as the first game that showed us the true potential of the PS5. While games like Returnal showed off what the DualSense controller is capable of, Drift Apart is more of a graphical powerhouse that uses the console’s solid-state drive to nearly eliminate load times altogether and fuel a gorgeous superhero spectacle. While we could wax poetic all day about how beautiful the game is, that doesn’t overshadow the fact that the game is just plain fun.

Like other entries in the series, it’s an action-packed platformer filled with creative weapons. Notable new additions in Ratchet’s arsenal include a Topiary Sprinkler that turns enemies to shrubs and the new and improved RYNO-8, which pulls references from other Sony games into Ratchet’s dimension. It’s a colorful, exciting game that contains all the thrills of a summer blockbuster.

Returnal

When the PS5 launched in November, it seemed like Sony was firing on all cylinders. While Microsoft had no real exclusives to pair with the Xbox Series X, Sony came out the gate with Demon’s Souls, Astro’s Playroom, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and more. That momentum ground to a halt over the next few months … that is until Returnal. The third-person shooter is a haunting action game that feels like the first real next-gen game. Part of what makes it feel so far beyond what we’ve seen so far is its Dualsense support. It takes full advantage of Sony’s unique controller to deliver a more immersive experience.

The haptic feedback simulates everything from rain to the icky sensation of an alien parasite attaching to the main character’s body. The adaptive triggers are used to control different firing modes depending on how far they’re pressed down, doubling the functions of a single button. The built-in speaker drops helpful sound cues that let players know when their alt-fire has recharged, cutting through an otherwise busy sound mix. For those who really want to see what this generation is capable of, Returnal is the starting point.

DEATHLOOP

Enjoy your time with Deathloop on PS5 while you can; this is one of the last times you’ll ever play a Bethesda game on a Sony console. The publisher’s games will be Xbox console exclusives from now on since Microsoft owns Bethesda. Due to a deal that existed pre-acquisition, Sony was able to lock down Arkane Studios’ latest game as a timed console exclusive for PS5, which is a bit of good foresight in retrospect. It’s the last hurrah for a long history between Bethesda and Sony. And what a send-off it is. Deathloop is one of the PS5’s most critically acclaimed titles.

The first-person shooter is a clever stealth action game that combines the assassinations of Hitman with the supernatural powers of Dishonored. That’s all tied up in a roguelite gameplay hook where players relive the same day over and over. Each run is about collecting intel as Colt tries to figure out how to take down eight “visionaries” in one day and break the time loop. The game also features a creative (though polarizing) multiplayer mode where players can invade one another’s games and cause chaos. That’s all topped off with tight shooting and Arkane’s signature level-design strengths, making this a must-own PS5 game.

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Best Desktop Computers of 2024 tested and reviewed

By admin February 25, 2024

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 Lenovo, but only a select few are among the best.

For us, 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.

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

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 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 stunning design 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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. Windows 11 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.

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 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.

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The 10 best monitors for 2024

By admin February 25, 2024

The 10 best monitors for 2024, For those seeking a superior computer setup, a cutting-edge monitor is non-negotiable. Whether you’re entrenched in graphic design, a dedicated gamer, or a remote professional, the right display has the power to transform your computing experience. With a myriad of options available, ranging from various resolutions and panel types to refresh rates and specialized features, navigating the world of monitors can be overwhelming.

While the Dell UltraSharp 32 4K is an excellent pick offering an extensive array of features and an expansive 4K display, it may not suit everyone’s needs. Read on to see which other monitors we recommend for gaming, home use, esports, and more.

Dell UltraSharp 32 4K

The best monitor you can buy

Dell’s UItraSharp 32 4K isn’t the cheapest monitor out there, but it’s the best. It offers a balance of beautiful image quality and features that few monitors can nail, and does so at a reasonable price.

We specifically reviewed the 32-inch model, which is more expensive than the 27-inch version (the U2723QE). Most people are fine with the 27-inch version, though the 4K resolution looks its best on a 32-inch panel. Regardless of the size, both monitors use an IPS Black panel, which provides wide color coverage and excellent color accuracy. It’s also significantly brighter than a standard IPS panel, offering up about twice the contrast you’d normally find.

Outside of image quality, Dell’s UltraSharp 4K displays feature an integrated USB-C hub that’s surprisingly useful. It sports up to 90 watts of power delivery, and it gives you a one-cable solution for connecting a laptop to the display. With the single USB-C cord, you can daisy-chain a second monitor, connect to the Ethernet port, and access both DisplayPort and HDMI connections. The monitor even comes with a KVM switch, allowing you to quickly swap your peripherals between devices.

Alienware 32 QD-OLED

The best monitor for gaming

The Alienware 34 QD-OLED has finally met its match, and it’s the new Alienware 32 QD-OLED featuring the latest 4K panel from Samsung. The monitor offers a stellar HDR gaming experience, exceptional out-of-the-box color accuracy, and excellent suitability for console gaming. Its 4K resolution and rapid 240Hz refresh rate provide a cutting-edge gaming experience, making it a top choice for both PC and console enthusiasts. The three-year warranty adds value, ensuring peace of mind for users.

The design of the Alienware 32 QD-OLED mirrors that of its 34-inch predecessor, maintaining the two-tone black-and-white exterior. The new OLED panel enhances image quality, addressing color accuracy concerns seen in the Alienware 34 QD-OLED. Notably, the Alienware 32 QD-OLED is the first gaming monitor to support Dolby Vision, which should please console gamers. However, the lack of built-in speakers and the thicker design might be minor drawbacks for some users. The image quality, especially HDR performance, remains exceptional, showcasing deep blacks and vibrant colors. While not the brightest in SDR, the Alienware 32 excels in darker environments. With a fast refresh rate, 4K sharpness, and OLED technology, it delivers an unparalleled gaming experience.

In terms of connectivity, the Alienware 32 QD-OLED offers two HDMI 2.1 ports with VRR (variable refresh rate), as well as eARC. This last feature allows you to hook up your Dolby Atmos sound system or soundbar. You also get DisplayPort to get the full 120Hz 4K, as well as a variety of USB ports, including an upstream type B port, three USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and one USB-C for power delivery.

The 10 best monitors for 2024

MSI Modern MD271UL

The best cheap 4K monitor

In years past, 4K monitors were pricey luxuries, but that’s quickly changed. A perfect showcase of that is MSI’s Modern MD271UL, which is a 27-inch 4K display that you can find for around $250. There isn’t special here, but that’s what makes the Modern MD271UL so special. It’s a workhorse 4K monitor that comes in at a bargain bin price.

The 4K IPS panel is set with thin bezels, which is set against a stark silver frame. For connectivity, you get two HDMI 2.0b ports, a single DisplayPort 1.2a connection, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The MD271UL also includes a USB-C input with 65 watts of power delivery, which is a nice bonus on a monitor at this price.

But the MD271UL really earns its stripes in image quality. Based on our testing, the monitor is well-calibrated from the factory, arriving with excellent color accuracy and coverage. It also managed to exceed our typical brightness and contrast thresholds for IPS panels. On cheaper monitors, we typically expect brightness or color to suffer, but the MD271UL manages to miraculously do both.

Alienware 27 QD-OLED

Best OLED monitor

The Alienware 27 QD-OLED stands out as a remarkable monitor, challenging the likes of LG’s UltraGear OLED 27 as one of the best 27-inch OLED options on the market. Priced at $900, it brings several improvements, including third-gen QD-OLED technology that significantly enhances color accuracy and brightness. With a 360Hz refresh rate, the monitor excels in providing an exceptionally smooth gaming experience, making it suitable for both competitive and cinematic titles. The minimalistic design, along with a hexagonal stand and efficient cable management, contribute to an overall premium aesthetic.

The monitor’s color accuracy, particularly in the standard picture profile, is exceptional, showcasing a Delta-E of 0.46. It even excels in HDR performance, with a peak brightness of 928 nits, perfect black levels, and infinite contrast, all of which enhance the overall image quality. Despite some concerns about bezel thickness and Smart HDR settings requiring tweaking, the Alienware 27 QD-OLED impresses with its striking design, robust port selection, and improved QD-OLED technology.

The monitor comes with a three-year warranty covering burn-in, setting it apart from competitors and solidifying its position as a market leader in the gaming monitor category. If you are looking for a traditional OLED monitor, the LG UltraGear OLED 27 is also highly recommended, especially at its reduced price of $750.

Dell UltraSharp U4021QW

The best 5K monitor

The Dell UltraSharp U4021QW remains one of the most unique monitors on the market, even two years after launching. It’s a 5K2K monitor, according to Dell, which equals out to a resolution of 5,120 x 2,160. If you’re quick at math, you can spot that resolution comes out to a 21:9 aspect ratio.

At 40 inches with the 21:9 aspect ratio, the UltraSharp U4021QW doesn’t have many direct rivals. It’s a large screen, but it’s perfectly balanced by the resolution, offering a pixel density of 140 pixels per inch. In addition to being sharp, the display comes with excellent color coverage and accuracy.

It’s packed with a slew of features, too. Similar to the UltraSharp monitor we recommended above, the integrated USB-C hub delivers 90 watts of power, as well as opens up a host of addition connections like Ethernet, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Thunderbolt 3 port.

Samsung Odyssey Neo G9

Best ultrawide monitor

The Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 is our pick for the best ultrawide monitor. Featuring a massive 49 inch screen, the monitor features mini-LED backlighting which translates to excellent brightness along with impressive local dimming which helps it display deep blacks. The Odyssey Neo G9 is suitable for most use cases. The sheer size and high-resolution of the screen ensures that you can multitask with ease. It is also great for content creation and media consumption as the panel is capable of reproducing vivid colors with high contrast and deep blacks.

It is primarily a gaming monitor, which means you get all the latest tech including a 240Hz refresh rate and native support for FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) technology and G-SYNC compatibility to effectively minimize screen tearing. You also get two HDMI 2.1 inputs to fully capitalize on the latest gaming consoles or graphics cards.

Samsung M8 Smart Monitor

Best smart monitor

The Samsung M8 Smart Monitor, attempts to bridge the gap between TVs and monitors, offering a versatile solution. Boasting an attractive design with vibrant color options, the M8 resembles the M1 iMac in terms of aesthetics. Its height-adjustable stand and thin bezels contribute to a sleek look. The monitor supports Samsung’s TV operating system, Tizen, providing access to apps like Netflix, YouTube, and Apple TV+. While it offers features like Samsung Gaming Hub and Samsung Workspace, the transition between monitor and TV modes is not seamless, making users choose one mode over the other.

With its 32-inch 4K VA panel, the M8 delivers good SDR image quality, but its HDR performance is limited. The monitor lacks VESA mounting options and offers minimal stand adjustments, which may limit flexibility. The bundled magnetic webcam offers good quality and offers features like face tracking and auto-framing. Gaming on the M8 is constrained by its 60Hz refresh rate and a limited port selection, with options like mini HDMI and USB-C. Overall, the Samsung M8 is suitable for those who need its unique combination of TV and monitor functionalities, but alternative options may better cater to specific preferences or use cases.

Apple Studio Display

The best monitor for Mac

Apple’s Studio Display was a controversial monitor when it first launched, but there’s no denying that it’s a perfect pairing with any Mac. The 5K Retina display is stunning, offering up 218 pixels per inch on the 27-inch monitor. It also comes with wide color coverage and boasts up to 600 nits of peak brightness.

The display itself is stunning, but the integration with Macs is why the Studio Display topped our list of the best monitors for the Mac mini. The built-in camera and microphone array are tuned for FaceTime calls, and the display even supports Siri commands. The camera also supports Apple’s Center Stage to automatically frame you.

For connectivity, you get a Thunderbolt 3 input that provides up to 96 watts of power delivery, along with three downstream USB-C ports. The monitor is built for Macs, but due to the Thunderbolt 3 connection, you can also connect an iPad Pro or iPad Air.

Asus

Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1A

Best 1080p monitor

We could recommend a boring office monitor if you need the bare minimum. But the Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q1A is available at an equally competitive price, and on top of that, it offers certain features that can be useful for gamers. It’s a decent budget monitor featuring a 24-inch IPS panel with a 1080p resolution and up to a 165Hz refresh rate, plus support for both FreeSync support and G-Sync compatibility.

It isn’t the brightest monitor, nor does it offer superior color accuracy due to its limited sRGB coverage, but that’s a compromise you need to face with a budget monitor. The monitor comes with relatively good viewing angles and overall it is great for basic productivity and casual gaming.

Asus

Asus ProArt PA32UCG-K

Best monitor for creative work

The Asus ProArt PA32UCG is a top-tier professional monitor that comes with a hefty $5,000 price tag, but its exceptional performance and comprehensive features justify the investment for professionals. With a 4K resolution (3840 x 2160) and 120Hz refresh rate, this 32-inch monitor is rated to support 100% of sRGB, 99.5% of AdobeRGB, and 98% of DCI-P3 color gamut.

Apart from offering great image quality, the monitor delivers excellent accuracy across various color modes and supports every gamut, grayscale, and gamma standard. Thanks to the inclusion of Dolby Vision support, it further enhances its versatility for professional use. The monitor also comes with essential accessories such as a light hood and color meter, enhancing its appeal for users who demand precise color representation.

With full-array mini-LED backlighting, there are 1152 dimming zones, and the monitor can achieve a peak HDR output of 1600 nits. Its extensive OSD controls allow for fine-tuning of gamma, color temperature, and gamut, ensuring optimal performance tailored to individual preferences. The PA32UCG’s exceptional capabilities make it worthwhile for professionals seeking uncompromising accuracy and even gamers craving immersive visual experiences.

Frequently Asked Questions

What brand monitor is the best?

No one monitor brand makes all the best monitors in the world — that’s why this list is populated by a number of different manufacturers. That said, there are some that you can rely on more than most to produce great screens. Dell is a longstanding favorite of ours with years of fantastic displays under its belt. It also tends to cater well to the professional crowd just as much as gamers, so you know there will be something you like in its lineup.

Other noteworthy brands worth considering include Acer, which tends to produce some of the world’s best gaming screens; Samsung, which offers some of the best ultrawide screens and large-size monitors we’ve ever seen; and LG, which has a good all-around catalog of displays.

What size computer monitor is the best?

This very much depends on the resolution you’re targeting and how much desk space you have. While bigger does tend to look better, giving you more screen space for work and larger images for games and movies, they can stretch entry-level resolutions like 1080p to the limits of their clarity. Big screens also require more room on your desk, so we’d caution buying a massive ultrawide like the Samsung Odyssey series if you’re working or playing on a small desk.

As a quick rule of thumb, 1080p looks great up to about 24 inches, while 1440p looks good up to and beyond 30 inches. We wouldn’t recommend a 4K screen any smaller than 27 inches as you aren’t going to see the real benefit of those extra pixels in what is a relatively small space by that resolution.

Are 4K monitors good for gaming?

They can be. 4K offers the pinnacle of gaming detail and, in atmospheric games, can give you a whole new level of immersion, especially on larger displays that can fully display that mass of those pixels in all their glory. These high-res displays really excel in games where frame rates are not as important as visual clarity. That said, we feel that high refresh rate monitors can deliver a better experience (especially in fast-paced games like shooters), and unless you have the deep pockets to splash out on a powerful graphics card or two as well, you aren’t going to get those frame rates at 4K. A 27-inch, 1440p display is still the sweet spot.

Also, keep in mind monitor performance is now often linked to framerate management technologies like FreeSync and G-Sync, so watch for these technologies and compatible graphics cards when making gaming monitor decisions. FreeSync is for AMD graphics cards, while G-Sync only works with Nvidia’s GPUs.

Which is better: LCD or LED?

The short answer is they’re both the same. The longer answer is that this is a failure of company marketing in properly conveying what its products are. Today most monitors that use LCD technology are backlit with LEDs, so typically if you’re buying a monitor it’s both an LCD and LED display. For more of an explanation on LCD and LED technologies, we have a whole guide dedicated to it.

That said, there are OLED displays to consider, although these panels haven’t made an impact on the desktop market yet. OLED screens combine color and light into a single panel, famed for their vibrant colors and contrast ratio. While that technology has been making waves in televisions for a few years now, they’re only just starting to make a tentative step into the world of desktop monitors, from Samsung’s QD-OLED tech to LG’s extra-bright G2 monitors.

What kind of monitor is best for your eyes?

If you suffer from eye strain, look for monitors that have built-in light filter software, especially filters that are specifically designed for easing eye problems. These filters are designed to block more blue light, which is the part of the spectrum that affects our eyes the most and is responsible for most eye strain problems. However, you can also download eye filter software apps for any type of monitor you get.

Why is refresh rate important on a monitor?

Refresh rate shows how many times per second the display can update an image with new visual information — the higher the refresh rate, the smoother transitions will look and the more information will be displayed. Refresh rates start at 60Hz but many monitors go higher, with refresh rates of 240Hz, 360Hz, and some even as high as 500Hz! This specification helps games and movies look better, and lowers input lag, making a high refresh rate popular for gaming machines and similar setups.

What makes a monitor ultrawide?

Ultrawide monitors use a 21:9 aspect ratio and have elongated displays to accommodate it. This not only allows users to play compatible games and movies in a larger aspect ratio, but the extra space also makes it easier to multitask or work with more complex software.

Do monitors have built-in speakers?

Many do, but not all. If you want internal speakers, always check to see if a monitor comes with them. Higher-wattage speakers will generally produce louder, clearer sound. Or you could pair a monitor with a set of external speakers.

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Android

The best Android phones in 2024

By admin February 25, 2024

The best Android phones 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.

OnePlus 12

The best Android phone overall

Formerly known as the “flagship killer” for offering killer specs at a lower price, OnePlus 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 OnePlus 12 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.

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 video 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.

The best Android phones in 2024

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.

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.

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 11, 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 things 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.

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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Software

Best IPTV Players for Windows PC in 2024

By admin February 24, 2024

In this blog, we will discuss some of the best IPTV players for Windows 10, 11 which can bring any television channel of the world to your doorsteps.

Till now, the primary source of watching television shows was broadcast channels supported by antennas, satellite dishes, and fiber optic cables.

However, with the rapid growth of the Internet and the smart devices market, watching TV channels directly from a desktop PC has become a new trend.

All thanks to the Internet Protocol television services, a.k.a IPTV. You can use an IPTV player to watch entertaining TV shows, video on demand, live TV channels, and lots more. Through the IPTV Players, you can boost up the ways of your entertainment. No matter where you are and from where you belong to, with the help of IPTV Player you can stream any sort of TV shows and movies quite effortlessly. What you need to do is just sign-up and login at once. Thereafter, watch your preferred movie or TV shows without any sort of hindrance.

Before we move on to the list, let’s first understand what an IPTV player is, how it works, and why it’s important to get the best one for your desktop. Later on, you’ll get to know about the best Windows IPTV Player!

What is IPTV Player?

Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is a service that provides support for multimedia streaming through Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Users can buy an IPTV subscription and watch all TV channels, live media and video on demand (VOD) services anytime over their desktop PCs, laptops as well as Android and iOS devices using an IPTV player.

How Does IPTV Work?

IPTV provides access to television channels and other digital content via IP based networks. It relies on a packet-switched network that covers both unicast (video on demand) and multicast (live TV) streams.

Why Do You Need An IPTV Player For Windows?

In today’s world of digital binge-watching, the traditional television formats, including broadcast/cable networks are on the verge of extinction.

Nowadays, watching movies online and streaming live TV and sports directly from PCs, laptops and tablets has become a new normal. In light of this, a dedicated IPTV player comes extremely handy in playing various streaming protocols on Windows devices.

22 Best IPTV Players For Windows 10, 8, 7 In 2024

Turn your Windows PC into a live TV with best IPTV players. Choose the best-suited one from the complete list discussed below!

1. VLC Media Player

This widely acclaimed IPTV player does not need an introduction. It is an open-source multimedia player that can effortlessly manage all your local media and stream IPTV content, without compromising your security and privacy. It uses m3u files to stream IPTV and other multimedia content.

How to Use VLC Media Player?

All you need is the latest version of VLC and follow a few simple steps to stream IPTV into your VLC player.

• Launch VLC Player.

• Open Network Streams from the Media section.

• Enter the URL of the IPTV network and press Enter.

• All your IPTV channels should now be visible in the left panel of VLC.

Key Features of VLC Media Player:

• It offers support for a number of streaming protocols, multimedia files and DVDs and CDs.

• Built-in codecs – MKV, MP3, MPEG-2, WebM, etc.

• Completely free from computer viruses, spyware and harmful ads

• Highly compatible with Windows, Mac, Linux and mobile platforms.

VLC Media Player comes with a simple interface and is undoubtedly one of the most user-friendly IPTV players.

Read Also : Best Free Phone Spying Apps 2024

2. My lPTV Player

My IPTV is another powerful media player that comes with an electronic program guide (EPG) to help you watch the best IPTV channels on your Windows PC or laptop.

If you have an active IPTV subscription, you can use My IPTV app for listening to online radio channels and watching digital TV and video on demand (VOD).

How to Use My lPTV Player?

Follow the simple steps below to setup My IPTV app on your Windows:

• Lunch My IPTV on your Windows computer or laptop.

• Navigate to the ‘Settings’ menu.

• Load your m3u playlist, select your preferred IPTV channel, and then click ‘OK’.

Key Features of MY IPTV:

• The software supports multiple channels easily

• By default, all channels are grouped based on their genre

• You can easily protect your data with a PIN

• The player has a simple process to follow for adding new channels

It comes with an easy to use interface and can seamlessly stream your m3u playlist from either local storage or any other remote location. If you want to give it a try, you can download the My IPTV app from Microsoft Store for free.

3. Kodi

Kodi is another stunning application that not only lets you watch your local media content but also serves as a great alternative to IPTV player for Windows PC. You can use its media player to play your favorite digital channels directly from your desktop PC.

You can also install various third-party add-ons to stream live TV and watch videos on demand (VOD).

How to Use Kodi?

If you wish to use Kodi as an IPTV player for Windows 10, 11 follow the simple steps below:

• Launch the Kodi application and select the ‘Settings’ option.

• Install the PVR IPTV Simple Client add-on on your Kodi application.

• Add the M3U playlist to the add-on for streaming IPTV.

• Wait for the PVR IPTV Simple Client add-on to finish the process of importing channels.

• Once done, select the channel you wish to watch and click the ‘Play’ or ‘OK’ button.

Key Features of Kodi:

• The player has a simple and user-friendly interface

• To watch any programs you can simply paste the URL in the software and it will show you all the results

• It offers the best cross-compatibility features

• The player is fully customized, you can change any part of the player easily

For a free software, Kodi media player definitely offers more than it should, taking into account its simple interface and excellent streaming capabilities.

4. Free TV Player

Free TV player offers easy access to all of your favorite TV shows, movies, channels, and Internet Radio, making it one of the best IPTV players for Windows.

To enjoy live TV shows on your desktop or laptop, simply upload your M3U playlist and you are good to go.

How to Use Free TV Player?

Below are a few simple steps to set up Free TV Player and stream IPTV on desktop PC:

• Launch the Free TV player app on your device

• Enter the URL of M3U playlist provided by the IPTV service provider

• Select your favorite channel and click on the play button

Key Features of Free TV Player:

• It offers both free as well as paid plan

• You get more than 40 channels on the free plan

• Other than the default channels you can easily paste links and stream in no time

• The player has a built-in list of shows to stream

This lightweight free IPTV player definitely deserves a try, if you want to watch a lot of exiting digital content and live TV programs in a hassle-free manner.

5. Simple TV

Simple TV is one of the best and most used IPTV players for PC. It offers a convenient and free mechanism for viewing TV shows and other multimedia content right from your laptop or computer.

You can use this portable application to watch IPTV and listen to radio channels. It comes with an organized interface that supports easy browsing of IPTV channels.

How to Use Simple TV?

You can use Simple TV as a free IPTV player for PC by following some easy instructions provided below.

• Launch SimpleTV player on your Windows device.

• Right-click ‘Playlist’ on the navigation bar and select the ‘load playlist’ option.

• Next, choose the ‘load from m3u file’ option.

• Once the M3U playlist is ready, you can play the IPTV channels of your choice by simply clicking on them.

Key Features of Simple TV:

• Snapshot capabilities and crop features

• Contrast, brightness, and volume adjustment functionality

• It can download playlists created by other users

• It can support LUA script and many more

6. ProgTV/ ProgDVB

ProgTV is another well-known IPTV app for Windows used for streaming live TV channels and listening to radio on PCs.

It works on two independent interfaces and is known for its easy access to digital content and comfortable user experience.

It can remotely control your Home Theatre PC and can also function well with a mouse. ProgTV supports IPTV channels, Internet TV and radio, Rodina TV, Sovok TV, DVB-S, DVB-S2, DVB-T2, and many other data sources.

How to Use ProgTV/ProgDVB?

Follow the steps given below to set up ProgDVB and ProgTV app as a IPTV player for Windows:

• Choose the ‘TV Sources’ option from the main menu of the ProgTV application.

• Select the ‘IPTV Client’ option and then input your M3U URL in the playlist box.

• Next, choose the channel you wish to watch from the ‘Channel list’ in the main menu.

Key Features of ProgTV/ProgDVB:

• Radio and TV channel recording

• Network Broadcasting and Teletext

• HD TV support

• 10 Bands equalizer and a fast preview of Mosaic channels

7. IPTV

This is currently ranks among the best IPTV players for Windows PCs and laptops as it allows you to watch your favorite TV shows and digital channels via numerous live media sources for free.

However, the IPTV app doesn’t broadcast any of these media sources for streaming digital multimedia, it just offers you a platform where you can watch IPTV content.

How to Use IPTV?

Follow the simple steps below to stream IPTV on PC:

• Launch the IPTV app on your Windows computer or laptop

• Go to the Settings option

• Enter the URL (Provided by the IPTV service provider) to load your M3U playlist

• Click on OK to stream your preferred channel

Key Features of IPTV:

• It offers an easy user interface which is ideal for every user

• To stream, you can easily add a playlist or EPG source

• It has a feature to simply paste URL for searching

• Huge list of channels to satisfy any user

Moreover, it comes with an elegant interface that aims to provide modern TV experience. Users can download this IPTV player for free from Microsoft Store.

8. GSE SMART IPTV

This is one of the most popular IPTV solutions to watch digital channels and TV shows on your device. GSE SMART IPTV is primarily designed for mobile platforms such as iOS and Android devices, but if you wish to use it on your Windows 7/8/8.1/10 PC, you can do it by using an emulator.

For this IPTV application to work on your Windows device, you should install BlueStacks first. BlueStacks is a popular emulator that helps Android OS based applications to run on Windows and macOS devices.

How to Use GSE SMART IPTV?

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to use Smart IPTV player on Windows PC:

• Launch BlueStacks and then sign in with your Google credentials.

• Download GSE SMART IPTV app from either Google Play Store or using the below link.

• Install the application and open it.

• Enter the URL and upload your M3U playlist.

• Click on ‘OK’ and then watch any live IPTV channel as per your liking.

Key Features of GSE SMART IPTV:

• GSE SMART IPTV player for Windows comes in multiple beautiful themes.

• It provides effective parental control options for managing kids’ activity and screen time.

• It lets you add external subtitles for streaming IPTV content.

9. OttPlayer

Don’t have enough money to pay the monthly subscription of your television channels? We got you secured, here we present OttPlayer which is one of the best IPTV players for Windows 10, 11 PC. IPTV stands for Internet Protocol Television. By using OttPlayer you can watch your favorite TV channels and shows for free by using your pc and internet. OttPlayer allows its users to watch IPTV from your internet service provider or any other source on your phones, tablets, and set-top box or TV, and all this facility in a centralized control via the website. Enjoy IPTV Enjoy life.

How to Use OttPlayer?

Follow the steps below to setup OttPlayer and stream your favorite IPTV channels:

1.First of all, you have to arrange a list of channels, which you can take from any of your convenient sources.

2.You need to get an account from https://ottplayer.es

3.Put registration info i.e. login and password

4.Download the playlist to the website i.e. you downloaded previously, https://ottplayer.es

5.Put the playlist on any compatible device

6.Enjoy IPTV watching.

Key Features of OttPlayer:

• OttPlayer supports various protocols like HLS, RTSP, TS by UDP RTMP

• It also provides playlist support M3U8.

• Provides easy management of channels through icons of respective channels.

• Service to the users is absolutely free and with no ads.

Among all the best IPTV apps, this application is quite interesting and worthwhile. OttPlayer’s easy-to-use interface makes it is an ideal choice for millions of users across the world.

10. Plex

Plex is the most stunning IPTV Players that you should definitely try to enjoy smart video streaming. Plex is highly capable of transcoding almost any sort of media file. Moreover, the user interface is quite easy and simple to use. Plex lets you stream your personal content as well including videos, music, movies, and so on.

How to Use Plex?

Here is how to access Plex as an IPTV player for PC.

• Firstly, signup for a Plex account and then, install the Plex media server by running the setup file.

• After this, launch Cigaras IPTV channel and then select Channels under the online content head category.

• Thereafter, navigate to the IPTV addon and click on it, then click on Settings.

• Now, paste the URL of your IPTV .m3u file, then click on the Save button.

• Next, search for the channels available and add them to your Playlist and enjoy.

Key Feature of Plex:

• The player is compatible with multiple platforms

• It offers great quality video output for every screen

• You get more than 200 free movies and shows

• Free version also has 100+ channels

11. MYIPTV

Looking for the best IPTV players for Windows? Then, MyIPTV is the one that fits perfectly. You can use all of its supreme-quality features for absolutely free. With this, you can play live TV programs, and videos through m3u playlists quite effortlessly. Its user interface is extremely easy to understand.

How to Use MYIPTV?

Here are the steps that you need to follow to access it!

• Head to the Settings.

• Now, you need to add an all-new playlist and EPG source.

• Now, add any URL or local list of channels.

• Switch back to Settings.

• After this, choose the channel playlist and click on the refresh option.

Key Features of MYIPTV:

• The player lets you easily stream live TV programs and videos

• It offers a very easy to operate interface which can be adopted by anyone

• You can easily add a new playlist and EPG source from the settings tab

• The player lets you easily record program for later access

12. Perfect Player Windows

Perfect Player Windows is a free IPTV player that you can try. This player offers amazing digital content right to your PC without charging any money, which is why it is one of the best IPTV players for Windows 10, 11 and previous versions. This is an advanced program that comes with a semi-transparent OSD and a full-screen display option.

How to Use Perfect Player Windows?

Here are the instructions you need to perform to use Perfect Player as IPTV/Media player.

• Launch the Perfect Player application on your Windows system.

• Click on the ‘Add Playlist’ button, paste M3U URL, and then choose ‘OK’.

• As soon as your playlist gets loaded, you can click on the channel name followed by ‘Play’ to begin streaming IPTV content.

Key Features of Perfect Player Windows:

• You can easily set up the player and use it as per needs, it is a flexible player.

• You can even enjoy a full-screen display for your favorite content without paying any charges.

• The player supports multiple languages, which means every human from all around the globe can use this amazing player and stream their favorite content. The supported languages include English, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Portuguese, and many others.

• The formats which are supported in the player are m3u, and XSPF for playlist and EPG along with the other two.

13. IPTV Smarters for PC

Earlier this player was not available for Windows users but now even Windows users can enjoy their favorite content with IPTV Smarter for PC players. This is one of the best IPTV apps for Windows 10, 11 and older versions. You can easily stream and enjoy live TV, movies, series, and videos on demand.

How to Use IPTV Smarters for PC?

Below are detailed instructions on how to set up IPTV Smarters for PC.

• Launch the IPTV Smarters Player application.

• Select the ‘Load Your Playlist or File/URL’ option, fill out the details (e.g., playlist name, playlist type, and file/URL), and then click on the ‘Add User’ button.

• Once the M3U content loading is complete, you can click on the ‘Live TV’ button to see the IPTV channel categories.

Key Features of IPTV Smarters for PC:

• This program works on Xtream codes but still, it can be used in Windows versions including 32 and 64 bit.

• Other than that you can easily use this program on mobile devices, and Smart TVs.

• You can record the live programs and enjoy them whenever you want.

• The best part about this IPTV player is that it supports all major video formats, so you won’t miss any of your favorite content.

14. TiviMate IPTV Player

Next up in the list of Windows IPTV players is TiviMate. The software is basically designed for Android devices. If you wish to use this software then you have to get an Android Emulator. You can use this software on Windows 7, 8, and 10 easily. This was just a short brief about the software.

How to Use TiviMate IPTV Player?

Check below to know more about the process to use the software.

• Open the Playstore and download the software.

• Click on the icon when the installation completes.

• Now click on the icon and search for the name which you wish to watch

Key Features of TiviMate

• The software offers a clean and simple interface that can be easily adapted

• The user can add multiple playlists in the software to view

• It can also schedule a TV guide

• The user can add favorite channels to the home screen and access them

15. IP-TV Player

IP-TV Player is another great pick as it offers high-quality video output at very little data consumption. It is very rare to witness this among the other IPTV players in Windows. It truly is a versatile player which can easily support all types of media files.

How to Use IP-TV Player?

IP-TV Player is a very smooth and easy-to-use software, to demonstrate that we have listed the steps below.

• Install the software from the official website

• Open the software and tune to the list of M3U format list

• You can view the channels list in the side panel

• Tap on the channel to view

Key Features of IP-TV Player

• The software has a simple and easy interface

• All major file formats are compatible with this software

• The user can easily record and take screenshots while viewing

• The software even offers a feature using which user can control from a smartphone

16. PowerDVD

Next, 2024’s best IPTV players for Windows with PowerDVD. It is a great IPTV if you wish to access a huge content library. You can use PowerDVD to access local media files, play music, and perform many other tasks. Moreover, its compatibility with Dolby professional audio and rapid play technology sets it apart from similar software.

How to Use PowerDVD?

You can follow the three-step process shared below to use this software.

• Firstly, install the PowerDVD Windows application.

• After installing the app, select Media Library from the top left corner.

• Now you can select the IPTV channels, movies, and shows to watch.

Key Features of PowerDVD

• 4K and 8K resolution support

• Supports HDR 10

• Lets you watch 360-degree videos

• Supports conversion of video files to MP4

• In-built support for video casting on media streaming devices

• Digitalization of media files

• In-built video editing tools

• Availability of 100GB of cloud storage

17. Flix IPTV

Next, 2024’s best IPTV players for Windows with Flix IPTV. You can use Flix IPTV on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Android TV, and FireStick. Parental controls, M3U link support, a user-friendly interface, and the ability to change themes make this IPTV player a perfect choice for streaming IPTV content. It offers a 1-week free trial, thereafter you can buy the pro version at a one-time fee of about $7.99.

How to Use Flix IPTV?

Listed below are the following methods to download and use Flix IPTV on Windows PC:

• Download the Flix IPTV APK on your PC.

• Install the software and open it.

• Enter the URL and upload your playlist.

• Now, you can stream IPTV content.

Key Features of Flix IPTV:

• Easy to use and versatile IPTV player.

• Supports all screen resolutions of smartphones, sticks, PCs, and tablets.

• Allows you to add channels and series/movies to Favorites.

• Get to access features like a sleep timer, subtitles, video details, backward/forward video, and a lot more.

18. MaxPlayer

Next on this list of best IPTV players for Windows PC is MaxPlayer. It gives each member of the household the ability to customize their own preferences for their favorite programs, channels, movies, language settings, and viewing time for video on demand (VOD), with support for up to 5 sub-users and 5 devices.

In addition, if your TV service provider records show for you, you will have the ability to instantly rewind those shows. If your Internet service provider provides video-on-demand (VOD) material, MaxPlayer can customize it to work with your device. They provide versions that are compatible with LG and Samsung TV, in addition to MacOS and Windows. You get a whole week to test out MaxPlayer without spending a dime.

How to Use MaxPlayer?

• Visit the official website of MaxPlayer.

• Create your account on MaxPlayer.

• Once registered, you get a 7-day free trial.

• After that, you can continue using the service with one of the provided plans.

Key Features of MaxPlayers:

• All your information and data are secured and protected.

• Supports multiple languages.

• One account can be accessed on multiple devices and platforms.

• Several customization options are available.

19. PotPlayer

Lacking the funds necessary to pay the monthly fee for your membership to the various television channels? We’ve got you covered, and now we’re going to show you PotPlayer, which is one of the top IPTV players for Windows 10, 11, and other PC operating systems.

PotPlayer gives its customers the ability to watch Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) on their mobile devices, tablets, set-top boxes, and televisions, with all of this functionality being controlled centrally via the website. IPTV may come through your internet service provider or any other source. Enjoy some IPTV. Have fun with life.

The abbreviation “IPTV” refers to “Internet Protocol Television.” If you have PotPlayer installed on your computer, you can use it to watch all of your favorite TV stations and programs for free by simply connecting it to the internet.

How to Use PotPlayer?

• Visit the official website of PotPlayer.

• Download the PotPlayer.

• Use the tool as you want with ease.

Key Features of PotPlayers:

• The playback of the video is fluid and unbroken

• When you have two sound cards available, choose which one to use.

• You are able to mark your favorite scene or chapter for later viewing.

• Take a look at the scene in advance with these photographs.

20. MyIPTV Player

The next name on this list of the best IPTV players for Windows 11/10 devices is MyIPTV Player. MyIPTV Player is a free to use tool that has been downloaded and used by over thousands of users. The tool offers a variety of genres and content to watch. From movies, TV shows to so much beyond, you will find everything at MyIPTV Player.

How to Use MyIPTV Player?

• Visit the product page of MyIPTV Player on Microsoft Store.

• Download the MyIPTV Player.

• Use the tool as you want with ease.

Key Features of PotPlayers:

• There are a variety of channels to select from.

• You can PIN protect the tool for additional security.

• The tool comes with an integrated support for EPG.

• You can even download and save content for later.

21. IPTV Extreme

You are welcome to test out IPTV Extreme, one of the best free IPTV player tools for Windows. This player’s earlier versions since it delivers incredible digital material directly to your own computer without costing you any money. This is a sophisticated software that comes with an option to show the whole screen as well as opaque operating system display.

How to Use IPTV Extreme?

When you want to utilize IPTV Extreme as an IPTV/Media player, the procedures that you need to follow are as follows.

• Make sure that the IPTV Extreme program is running on your Windows computer.

• First, choose the “Add Playlist” button, then paste the M3U URL, and last, select the “OK” button.

• After your playlist has finished loading, you can start streaming IPTV material by clicking on the channel name and then pressing the ‘Play’ button after that.

Key Features of IPTV Extreme Windows:

• Russian, Greek, English, Spanish, Portuguese, & a great number of languages are among those that come with support.

• The player is able to support the m3u & XSPF formats for playlists & EPGs respectively.

• Additionally, you are not required to pay any fees in order to take use of a full-screen display for your preferred material.

• Due to the fact that the player supports different languages, it is possible for every single human being from every single part of the world to utilize this incredible player and stream their preferred material.

• You may simply configure the player and utilize it in accordance with your requirements; it is a versatile player.

22. MegaCubo IPTV Player

Here’s another one of the best IPTV players for Windows 10 and other operating systems. This is a free alternative that you can try and watch on IPTV. Using this tool, you can easily use your smartphone on the TV.

How to Use MegaCubo?

• You should first download the tool from the official website.

• Install it and launch it on the system.

• Connect the app to your device and use it as required.

Key Features of MegaCubo:

• Supports a plethora of operating systems

• You can PIN protect the tool for additional security.

• Allows you to save any title and record.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about IPTV Players

Q1. Are IPTV Players Legal?

Yes, ITPV Players are 100% legal. They don’t offer any streaming services or host content of their own. ITPV Players just provides a platform to play multimedia files and streaming protocols.

Q2. Type of IPTV Services

• Video on demand (VoD)

• Live TV

• Start Over TV

• Catch-Up TV

• Live Media Streaming

Q3. How to Access IPTV from PC?

To access IPTV from a PC, you need to download and install one of the above-listed IPTV Players on your PC. You can download the above-listed IPTV Players from their official support website. Once you installed your most liked IPTV Players, thereafter, allow all the permissions they asked, to proceed further. Then, follow the wizard instructions and don’t change anything except the installation destination. Now run the installer, then start up the program and add the list of channels in your playlist. That’s how you can easily access IPTV from your PC and stream your most liked TV shows and movies.

Q4. What are the Main Services Offered by IPTV?

IPTV or Internet Protocol Television is the platform using which users can enjoy television broadcasting on various devices including mobile and computers. It delivers using the traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television format.

Q5. Is There Any Alternative to IPTV?

Yes, there are many IPTV alternatives present in the market, some of them are:

• 1332 Kodi

• Splash

• Super Internet TV

• CoolStreaming

• FreeTuxTV

Q6. Is an IPTV player available for free?

Yes, there are multiple Internet Protocol Television services that are available for free. We have mentioned some of the best ones in the article. Undoubtedly the best option for an IPTV player is VLC Media Player.

Q7. How to use IPTV Player?

Although the working of each IPTV player varies the general steps to be applied are as follows

• Download and install any one of the above-mentioned IPTV player alternatives.

• Launch it on your device and select the network streams option available under media.

• Paste the URL of the network of your IPTV and press the enter key to run.

• Now all the channels of IPTV will be visible on the screen of your IPTV player.

Q8. Is IPTV better with VPN?

IPTV can work without a VPN. But if you want to protect your data online from snoopers or ISP, or get access to restricted content in your geographical location, VPN will help you. Moreover, if you use a VPN with your IPTV it offers a reliable experience. As VPN improves the speed of your internet connection, it is followed by a better experience of IPTV.

Which is the Best IPTV Player for Windows PC & Laptops?

So, this concludes our rundown of some of the best IPTV players for Windows 10, 8, 7 in 2024. There are several other options available as well, but the ones mentioned above are the best in terms of features and usability.

And if you are looking for our opinion, then we would like to recommend OttPlayer. It is one of the best IPTV players that you can access to stream your preferred TV shows and movies. You can use OttPlayer for live shows and on-demand shows as well. That’s what we think about the best IPTV player, however, the final decision is completely yours.

So, what are you waiting for? Download any of these free IPTV players now and turn your PC into an amazing entertainment gadget. Lastly, if there is something you think that we might have missed out to mention, then don’t feel hesitate in sharing your suggestions with us. We’ll feel amazed by hearing your suggestions and improve our list of best IPTV Players for Windows PC & Laptops.

That’s all for the present moment, we’ll back again with yet another crispy tech story, till then, stay connected with us! Primarily, don’t forget to subscribe to our Newsletter to rule the tech world.

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Android

Best Free Phone Spying Apps 2024

By admin February 24, 2024

If you are looking for some phone spying apps for Android, this article lists the best ones that can easily meet all of your requirements.

You may want to check the activities of an Android smartphone. This could be because you are worried about the individual in some way and want to get the details of calls, messages, and/or other details. You can easily know about all of these activities on any Android device with a single source.

One of the best phone spying apps is all you need.

So, that’s what you will get with the help of this simple guide. Proceed to have a look at the phone spy app for Android and track the activities of a device with ease.

List of the Best Phone Spying Apps in 2024

Below are some of the top free phone spying apps for Android voted the best in 2024. We recommend that you go through the list of apps thoroughly and then download and use the one(s) you like the most amongst these. So, without any further ado, let’s proceed to the list of the best-hidden spy apps for Android right below.

1. uMobix

uMobix is one of the best free phone spying apps of all time. The app is available for both Android and iOS devices. With the help of this app, you can easily monitor and keep track of the keystrokes or taps performed on the app. And that’s not all. You can even track the location visited or traveled with the help of this app. Below are some other features of this best spy app for Android free that provide better information.

Features of uMobix:

• The app allows you to monitor the calls made to and from the smartphone.

• The app supports a cross-platform base and is compatible with a lot of operating system versions as well.

• If you want to get details of a particular app, then uMobix is the best solution that supports individual platform information.

• You can also access the list of apps on any device with uMobix.

Download uMobix

2. mSpy

The next product on this list of the best free phone spying apps is mSpy. This is one of the most trusted and popular spying apps of all time. With the help of the software, you can easily track the usage and location of your smartphone. Additionally, the app provides a plethora of other features as well. Below you will find the most prominent features of mSpy as one of the best spy apps for free.

Features of mSpy:

• The app allows you to monitor the calls and messages on your device.

• If the user has installed any third-party messaging or social media apps, then you can also monitor the same with mSpy.

• The app provides both real-time updates of the location as well as location history.

• With a single solution, you can control all the apps and programs installed on the Android device.

• The app is available for both Android and iOS devices.

Download mSpy

3. eyeZy

eyeZy is one of the best hidden spy apps for Android that allows you to gather information on any device with ease. The app is not limited to Android but is also supported by iOS and iPadOS devices. The app even allows you to access the internal and external storage of the device with ease. Below are some of the top features of this proud member of the free spy apps for iPhone and Android. Have a glance at the same for further information.

Features of eyeZy:

• With the help of the app, you can know all the saved files on your device quite easily.

• eyeZy allows you to keep track of all the websites visited by the user and the viewed content.

• You can also modify the usage period of different apps and websites with eyeZy.

• One of the best features of the tool is that it allows you to set different boundaries, geographical and metaphorical. You will get updates whenever this boundary is crossed

Download eyeZy

4. SpyBubble

Another name that graces this list of the best free phone spying apps is SpyBubble. The app works to provide all the required information about top messaging social media platforms like Whatsapp, Facebook, Snapchat, and many more. Apart from this, the app also provides information about incoming and outgoing messages and calls. Check out the other features of this phone spy app for Android.

Features of SpyBubble:

• SpyBubble is supported on all Android and iOS (some may require Jailbreak) devices of all versions.

• You need to root the Android device to use the SpyBubble app for the best results.

• The app allows you to track real-time locations and even geofence an area as per your requirements.

• With the paid version of the tool, you also get 24/7 customer support.

• You can check the activity of any smartphone with the help of a computer browser.

Download SpyBubble

5. HoverWatch

HoverWatch is another one of the best hidden spy apps for Android. The working of the app is quite simple yet effective. This single solution allows you to get details related to the platforms like messaging apps and social media platforms. Additionally, you can also monitor the call history of the device very easily. Below are some of the best and additional features of this best spy app for Android for free.

Features of HoverWatch:

• The app provides thorough and in detail information about the internet activity on your device.

• You can download and use the app on both Android and iOS devices as required.

• The platform also provides a free demo of the app to understand its working and proceed if required.

• You can easily monitor the location of the device with the help of the HoverWatch GPS.

• HoverWatch is one of the Best hidden spy apps for Android. The smartphone user does not even know if the HoverWatch app is installed on the device.

Download HoverWatch

6. Cocospy

Next, comes Cocospy as one of the best phone spying apps. Cocospy is a great solution for you if you are looking for an easy-to-use yet effective way to track the activities of a device. The app works quite well as a parental control app however, others can also use the app perfectly. Have a look at the features of this one of the free spy apps for iPhone and get all the information required.

Features of Cocospy:

• The app works perfectly when you are remote without even informing the device user in any way.

• With the help of Cocospy, you can get all the messages and call history on your device.

• The tool works perfectly on Android and iOS devices, offering the best results.

• If you want to know the browser history of a device, then you should try Cocospy.

• The procedure to set up Cocospy is very simple and effective.

Download Cocospy

7. XNSpy

XNSpy is an amazing tool that works perfectly as one of the best free phone spying apps for Android. The app works with a Stealth Mode that allows you to check the activity of any device without informing or intimating the user. The app can be set up very easily within a couple of minutes and used with ease afterward. Go through the top features of this one of the best free spy apps for iPhone for more information.

Features of XNSpy:

• With the help of XNSpy, you can monitor the incoming calls and call history of the device.

• The app shows real-time updates about the happenings of the device.

• Even if you are distant from the device, you can have a look at the activities of the device remotely.

• The app provides quite detailed reports about the usage of every platform on the device.

• You can get XNSpy for iPhones or Android devices as required.

Download XNSpy

8. Clevguard

The next item on this list of the best phone spying apps for free on Android devices is Clevguard. With the help of this tool, you can easily get the activity history of iOS or Android devices. The app is even available for monitors or desktops. One of the best features of the tool is the iCloud monitoring features provided to all. Know more about the tool from the features of the best hidden spy apps for Android.

Features of Clevguard:

• The app allows you to export the activity data of any device as per your requirements.

• The app also provides you access to the browser history at all times.

• Call logs, messaging data, and other related information are some of the features that are quite easily available.

• With the help of Clevguard, you can geofence to a certain diameter and get updates when the same is breached or crossed.

• With the app, you get free updates for the platform for life.

Download Clevguard

9. FlexiSPY

We are approaching the end of this list of the best phone spying apps however, the apps here are still going strong. FlexiSPY is the next anime on this list. The creators of the platform allow you to select from a variety of versions for the same as per your requirements. Have a look at the features of this viable member of the best hidden spy apps for Android right below for a better understanding.

Features of FlexiSPY:

• The app provides some of the outstanding and never-seen-anywhere features to the users like social media apps call recording, access to messages from different platforms, etc.

• The app can also work as a keylogger, which means that you can know precisely how and what was done to the device.

• Although the app requires root to work, it also hides that the device is rooted to protect the identity or presence of the app.

• You can run the app in hidden mode, away from the reach of the device user and protected.

Download FlexiSPY

10. Mobile Tracker

The last name on this list of free phone spying apps is the Mobile Tracker app. With the help of this amazing app, you can do as much as any other product on this list. Additionally, you also get some quality features with the tool like calls history management and more. You will find all the features of this popular article from the free spy apps for iPhone list.

Features of Mobile Tracker:

• The app provides the precise location of the device at all times along with location history logs.

• With the help of Mobile Tracker, you can also keep track of the call logs and history.

• Social Media Platform management and tracking are possible with the app quite easily.

• Mobile Tracker makes it possible for users to monitor the device even from a remote location.

• Additionally, there is open access to the gallery of the device with Mobile Tracker.

Download Mobile Tracker

11. Qustodio

The Qustodio app is another robust surveillance application that provides a free plan that is available indefinitely. Over six million parents across the globe have put their faith in it. In addition to the typical gadgets, such as mobile phones and computers, Qustodio is also compatible with Kindle, which is an online reading device and software developed by Amazon.

Although reading is a wonderful habit to instill in your children, it is essential to monitor the types of material they are reading.

An alert will be sent to you if your children continue to attempt to access a website or application that has previously been restricted. In this manner, you will be aware of the topics that they are interested in, and you will be able to discuss those topics with them at home.

Another key draw is the panic button, which users may press. If your children are in danger and you are unable to reach them by phone or text message, it enables them to transmit quick notifications to you with the push of a button.

Features Of Qustodio:

• The Safe Search option to protect your children from exposure to unsuitable stuff.

• The panic button gives your children the ability to communicate with you in times of crisis.

• Personalized monitoring of screen time.

• Create individualized notifications for your children when they browse restricted websites.

Download Qustodio

Best Free Phone Spying Apps in 2024: Listed

So, this section concludes the list of the best hidden spy apps for Android and iPhone devices. We hope that these solutions were the precise apps that you were seeking. You may find others and a plethora of apps on the internet claiming to offer similar features to you. However, not all of these are up to the mark. Hence, we took the liberty to present the actual best ones to you; for your help.

However, if you have any doubts related to the best phone spying apps, then you may ask the same below. The comments section is here for you. We will help you in every way possible. You may also present your suggestions.

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Games

The Best Sports Games for 2024

By admin February 24, 2024

The Best Sports Games for 2024, Competitive games—the real-world type, not the esports type—have been a part of our culture since the dawn of humanity. They’ve served as entertainment, much-need distraction from the daily grind, and a spark for social change. As technology’s advanced, sports have expanded from playgrounds and stadiums to television and video games.

The PC may not be your first choice when you’re in the mood to play a sports game. After all, the platform lacks the popular MLB The Show titles and NHL games of any sort (it does have the FIFA, Madden NFL, and NBA 2K games, though). Still, there are many, highly entertaining sports-based PC games, particularly if you don’t care about realism or league licenses.

Ready to play some sports games? Let’s go!

Baseball Stars 2

Decades after its Neo Geo arcade debut, SNK’s classic baseball title remains one of the best arcade-style sports games ever made—even without a Major League Baseball license.

Baseball Stars 2 captures the sports’ essence via two leagues, 18 larger-than-life fictional teams, simple controls, oodles of charming animations, and incredible cut scenes that highlight tense moments, such as a play at the plate or a batter punching a pitcher in the face after being on the receiving end of a beanball.

The Best Sports Games for 2024

Fire Pro Wrestling World

Fire Pro Wrestling World began life as a promising Steam Early Access title. Upon its official release, Spike Chunsoft’s “sports” game morphed into one of the most addictive wrasslin’ games to grace any platform.

An excellent return to form after the disappointing, avatar-based, Xbox 360-exclusive Fire Pro Wrestling, World has all of the elements that comprise a great Fire Pro game: robust creation tools, a ridiculously deep move set, MMA rules, cage fighting, gimmick matches, and tight controls and match pacing. Online play, Steam Workshop integration for uploading and downloading content, and optional New Japan Pro Wrestling DLC makes Fire Pro Wrestling World the best in its series.

Please note that this review score reflects Fire Pro Wrestling World as it appeared in Steam Early Access. An updated review is coming soon.

The greatest grappling game returns to take on the world!
Customize every aspect of the match, from your wrestler to the ring itself, in your fight for the championship belt.

PLAY ONLINE
Organize exhibition matches, tournaments, leagues, championship bouts and battle royals with players from around the world.

MIX UP THE RULES
Modes include Deathmatch (steel cage, barbed wire or landmines), no-holds barred Gruesome Fighting, and SWA homebrew rules that mix pro wrestling and MMA.

UNLIMITED CUSTOMIZATION
Create your dream wrestler from over a thousand devastating moves and even more body parts to battle for custom championship belts. Personalize the ring, mat logos and even the referee!

REALISTIC SIMULATION
Give your creations personalities with a robust CPU logic system that defines their every action. Does your wrestler play to the crowd, or play dirty? You provide actors for the ringside drama.

Football Manager 2024

SEGA’s Football Manager series is an enigma to many outside observers, but its seemingly niche appeal has grown into a borderline obsession for a large, passionate fan base. This soccer simulation is an insanely detailed, text-heavy simulation of the world’s most popular sport. Take on the role of club manager overseeing player transfers, on-field tactics, staff instructions, and everything in between in a bid to lead your club to glory.

Football Manager 2024 builds upon the previous version by including graphics improvements, new backroom activities, an an updated match engine. If you want to participate in the beautiful game, but lack Ronaldo-like skills, Football Manager is the next best thing to playing for your favorite squad.

Step into the shoes of a real boss and write your own football story in Football Manager 2024, the most complete edition in the series yet.

Whether you’re a manager who likes to build from the bottom or prefers to chase immediate glory, the perfect challenge awaits. The arrival of the new Meiji Yasuda Insurance Ltd J. League licence unlocks J1 League, J2 League, J3 League for the first time ever, giving you the opportunity to explore new horizons in Japan.

Wherever you manage, it’s up to you to build a team capable of competing with the world’s elite.

Game Description

· Continue your relentless journey to the top of the footballing world by using the new ability to import your existing career from Football Manager 2023.

· Craft a winning tactical approach, incorporating modern football’s most popular systems and cutting-edge positional innovations to deliver victories on the pitch.

· Master the transfer market, using new ways to shape your side to cultivate a squad capable of achieving your goals.

· Level up your players on the training field, developing the mentality and teamwork needed to transform contenders into champions.

· See your tactical vision come to life on Matchdays, with every game elevated by improvements to ball and player movements.

Mutant Football League

Football is a bad sport. Yes, it’s beloved by millions, but the concussions that result from giants hurling themselves at each other are an undeniable problem. The sport is much more enjoyable in video game form, especially arcade-style football, which lets you perform superhuman feats without hideous injuries or annoying flags.

Digital Dream Entertainment’s Mutant Football League literally plays by that rule set by pitting skeletons, robots, orcs, aliens, and mutated humans against each other in not-so-friendly gridiron contests featuring landmines and cheat plays. Mutant Football League is definitely worth playing, and not because it’s the rare American football PC game that isn’t Madden NFL; it’s legitimately good, despite some annoying dirty trick plays.

Mutants and monsters unleash maniacal carnage on the gridiron in THIS action packed, arcade-style football game. Mutant Football League delivers intense online multiplayer action, deep strategy and deadly humor.

Fantastical arenas full of ruthless fans and deadly traps set the stage for mayhem in every contest that allows players to win by highest score or by killing and eradicating their opponents – a feat made easier as teams use their unique “Dirty Tricks” such as “Bribe the Ref” to overturn a call or having a player become “Ginormous” to grow in size and pummel the puny combatants in their path. Whenever a game begins you’ll quickly discover the only predictable element is broken bones.

Mutant Football League is the bloody-fun, next-gen, successor to arcade-style American football games, taking inspiration from over-the-top sports games such as NFL Blitz and the Sega Genesis classic, Mutant League Football. Digital Dreams’ MFL game delivers deep strategic 7-on-7 gameplay, with bone-crunching, tooth-shattering, head splitting hits, and a roster of comical ghouls delivering tongue-through-cheek humor. Oh, and blood. Lots of blood.

RetroMania Wrestling

Steel chairs. Finishing moves. Cage matches. Few things define pro wrestling as well as those three elements, and RetroSoft Studios’ RetroMania Wrestling has them—and more.

Sure, RetroMania Wrestling isn’t as deep as the excellent Fire Pro Wrestling World, but it caters to people who prefer their wrasslin’ games more arcade-like than sim-like. It’s a throwback title that recalls WrestleFest and other classic arcade wrestling games, thanks to simple controls that let anyone jump into the action and theatrics.

Rocket League

The Psyonix-developed Rocket League is a prime example of a video game that wants you do to one thing and one thing only: have pure, uncut fun. This oddball sports title blends RC racing’s charms with soccer’s heated, team-based competition, and adds plenty of over-the-top spectacle (big goals, wild saves) to keep every match interesting.

Rocket League is just as fun during your first hour as it is during your twentieth; there are very few multiplayer games that utilize addictive simplicity as effectively. It even supports cross-platform play with console players, so you can always find a match.

Super Mega Baseball 2

Long gone are the days when the likes of Midway’s NFL Blitz and Nintendo‘s Ken Griffey Jr. games ruled the market with their pick-up-and-play sensibility, flashy graphics, and outrageous gameplay. Hardcore simulations like FIFA or NBA 2K are great, but arcade sports fans have lamented the decline of the less realistic stuff. If you’re in that camp, pick up Super Mega Baseball 2.

The game offers accessible mechanics, a cartoony art style, and an overall sense of fun that’s rare in today’s sports games. However, it has enough depth to keep even the most die-hard baseball fans addicted. Super Mega Baseball 2 has a couple of graphics-related flaws, but it’s one of the best current-gen sports games available for PC.

Super Mega Baseball 3

Super Mega Baseball 3, with its focus on near-superhuman athletes and their copious stats, is, in essence, an interactive baseball card. Metalhead Software’s latest title is a snapshot of what makes the sport an internationally beloved game, as it inserts you into a world where dingers go deep, showboats flex their super-sized biceps, and pitcher-batter matchups are tense games of cat and mouse.

This third entry brings with it new on-field improvements, player traits, front office happenings, and gameplay modes for both default and custom ball clubs that push the series deeper into simulation territory. The new Pennant Race mode delivers cross-platform play with console ballplayers, too.

Despite light frame rate issues and other minor complaints, Super Mega Baseball 3 is the best title in the series to date and an outstanding PC game.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 & 2

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2—a bundle that remasters two, iconic late-1990s and early-2000s skateboarding games—is a joyous return to form for a series that has fallen on hard times in recent years. Its thrilling, combo-based action and pulsating energy will satisfy older folks longing for the game type that publishers have ignored for years, as well as younger people who are looking for a ridiculously entertaining diversion that features a blood-pumping, head-nodding punk and hip-hop soundtrack.

19 tracks, new and returning professional skaters (Tony Hawk, Kareem Campbell, and Nyjah Huston, among others), and a wonderful graphical overhaul round out this excellent package.

Turbo Golf Racing

If you find standard golf games far too tame, check out the Hugecalf Studios-developed Turbo Golf Racing. The sports game takes traditional golf and melds with elements from other, popular arcade-style sports games.

In fact, It’s hard to ignore the similarities between Turbo Golf Racing and Rocket League. Both titles feature cartoony karts that push balls into a goal, and the vehicles are aided by boosts, missiles, and other power-ups. Hugecalf Studios does a good job of implementing the “golf with cars” gimmick, despite the game’s few annoying elements. Still, it’s a good time on the digital links.

Windjammers 2

Like the original title, Windjammers 2 is a sports game focused on the fictional Flying Power League, a competitive circuit featuring neon-drenched athletes tossing Frisbees—er, flying discs. Your goal is to be the first person to reach 15 points in best-2-out-of-3 sets (or accumulate the most points before the clock expires).

However, the game is so much more than that basic description.

In essence, Windjammers 2 is a sports game with a fighting game’s heart; it even has parries and special moves! DotEmu’s sequel to the cult classic Neo Geo game delivers the same thrilling action as its predecessor, but adds new offensive and defensive moves, as well as rollback netcode and cross-platform play between PC and Xbox.

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