Push your PC to the max with the best graphics cards for gaming

If you want to build an awesome desktop for gaming, the first step is to hunt down the best processors you can currently buy on the market (along with their compatible motherboards). For now, these include Intel’s eighth-generation Core processors and its massive X-Series chips. On the AMD side, the company now offers its Ryzen 7/5/3 and Ryzen Threadripper CPUs.

Once you have a processor and motherboard in place, the next step is to choose the best graphics card for gaming you can buy. Nvidia and AMD are the sole players in this market, and rely on third parties such as Asus, EVGA, MSI, Sapphire, and Zotac to produce add-in graphics cards. These manufacturers tend to saturate the market and make the choice a bit overwhelming.

Thus, the best attack vector is to focus on the foundation. On the Nvidia front, the company provides its GeForce GTX 10 Series cards, and actually manufactures “Founders Edition” models so you’re not investing in additional fluff third-party makers like to layer onto Nvidia’s design. AMD doesn’t do this, but instead solely creates a reference design for its partners to use and modify at will.

Everything listed in our guide below is based on Nvidia’s Founders Edition models, and AMD’s reference designs. The strategy here is to decide what best fits your needs and budget, and then investigate the third-party products based on those decision. These companies typically speed up the graphics chip, improve on the cooling design, and even rip out the fans for water-based solutions. That means you’ll see additional power requirements for third-party cards.

The Titan versus the Vega

If you want to see a heavyweight boxing match between Nvidia and AMD, this is the fight of the year. Nvidia got a head start when it released the Titan Xp earlier this year, but AMD’s Radeon RX Vega 64 came out swinging in August to regain control of the graphics card market. AMD clearly comes out on top in the performance-per-dollar battle, but at the cost of a higher power requirement. The Vega 64 also falls behind in memory bandwidth, texture fill rates, and pixel fill rates.

But note that the RX Vega 64 offers improved performance when system builders use a liquid-based cooling setup versus air-based cooling. This card also relies on “stacked” skyscraper-style on-board memory versus the city block-style GDDR5X-based memory used in Nvidia’s design. Yet despite HBM2 memory saving physical space, AMD’s card is still bigger than the Titan Xp — and that’s just based on the reference designs.

Nvidia
Titan Xp
AMD
Radeon RX
Vega 64
Architecture
Pascal
GCN 5
GPU:
GP102-450
Vega 10 XT
Cores:
3,840
4,096
Base speed:
1,480MHz
1,247MHz
Boost speed:
1,582MHz
1,546MHz
Memory:
12GB GDDR5X
8GB HBM2
Memory speed:
11GBps
1.9Gbps
Memory interface:
384-bit
2,048-bit
Memory bandwidth:
547GB/sec
484GB/sec
Ports:
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
Dimensions:
4.376 x 10.5 inches
2-slot height
5.11 x 11.02 inches
2-slot height
Power connectors:
1x 8-pin
1x 6-pin
2x 8-pin
Power usage:
250 watts
295 watts
Interface:
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x16
Performance (FP32):
12.1 TFLOPS
12.6 TFLOPS
Starting price:
$1,199
$499

$500 to $700: Ultra 4K gaming and beyond

Right now, Nvidia fills this price bracket with its two GTX 1080 cards. The GTX 1080 – along with the GTX 1070 – was the first card to hit the market based on Nvidia’s “Pascal” graphics chip design. Both arrived in May 2016, and were followed by the beefier GTX 1080 Ti graphics card in February 2017.

That said, the two GTX 1080-branded models are the best Nvidia-designed cards currently on the market falling under the Titan Xp’s $1,199 price point. Both can be purchased straight from Nvidia as Founders Edition models, but if you want increased speeds, different cooling options, and more, there are plenty of third-party solutions on the market.

For example, EVGA alone produces 18 cards based on the GTX 1080 TI, and 13 based on the vanilla GTX 1080 design. Zotac only sells seven GTX 1080 Ti cards, and seven GTX 1080 cards.

Nvidia
GTX 1080 Ti
Nvidia
GTX 1080
Architecture:
Pascal
Pascal
GPU:
GP102-350
GP104-400
Cores:
3,584
2,560
Base speed:
1,480MHz
1,607MHz
Boost speed:
1,583MHz
1,733MHz
Memory:
11GB GDDR5X
8GB GDDR5X
Memory speed:
11Gbps
10Gbps
Memory interface:
352-bit
256-bit
Memory bandwidth:
484GB/sec
320GB/sec
Ports:
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
Dimensions:
4.376 x 10.5 inches
2-slot height
4.376 x 10.5 inches
2-slot height
Power connectors:
1x 8-pin
1x 6-pin
1x 8-pin
Power usage:
250 watts
180 watts
Interface:
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x16
Performance (FP32):
11.3 TFLOPS
8.9 TFLOPS
Starting price:
$699
$549

$400 to $500: QHD to Ultra 4K gaming

To be honest, you can purchase the latest gaming console for the cost of one of the graphics cards listed in this price bracket (well, almost). In this batch, we have Nvidia’s two GTX 1070 cards, one of which just launched at the beginning of November (the 1070 Ti). Their biggest opponent is AMD’s recently-released Radeon RX Vega 56 graphics card, which targets the GTX 1070 Ti more than it does the vanilla GTX 1070.

For this group, AMD’s card provides a wider memory bandwidth, but requires more power. And despite the Vega 64 having 3,584 cores, they’re only speeding along at a maximum 1,471MHz versus the lower core count with higher speeds in the two GTX 1070 cards. All three should do fairly well pumping out high framerates at an Ultra HD resolution although the vanilla GTX 1070 may feel less stressed when rendering your games at a QHD setting.

Nvidia
GTX 1070 Ti
Nvidia
GTX 1070
AMD
Radeon RX
Vega 56
Architecture
Pascal
Pascal
GCN 5
GPU:
GP104-300
GP104-200
Vega 10 XL
Cores:
2,432
1,920
3,584
Base speed:
1,607MHz
1,506MHz
1,156MHz
Boost speed:
1,683MHz
1,683MHz
1,471MHz
Memory:
8GB GDDR5
8GB GDDR5
8GB HBM2
Memory speed:
8Gbps
8Gbps
1.6Gbps
Memory interface:
256-bit
256-bit
2,048-bit
Memory bandwidth:
256GB/sec
256GB/sec
409GB/sec
Ports:
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
Dimensions:
4.376 x 10.5 inches
2-slot height
4.376 x 10.5 inches
2-slot height
5.11 x 11.02 inches
2-slot height
Power connectors:
1x 8-pin
1x 8-pin
1x 8-pin
1x 6-pin
Power usage:
180 watts
150 watts
210 watts
Interface:
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x16
Performance:
7.8 TFLOPS
6.5 TFLOPS
10.5 TFLOPS
Starting price:
$449
$399
$399

$150 to $400: FHD to QHD gaming

This bracket is a bit more crowded due to Nvidia’s two GTX 1060 designs. One provides 6GB of on-board memory and 1,280 cores whereas the other only has 3GB of memory and a lower core count. Meanwhile, the upper end of AMD’s Radeon RX 500 series introduced earlier this year targets both GTX 1060 models and includes two variants of the company’s RX 580 design (8GB and 4GB).

In the case of AMD, the RX 500 Series is based on the company’s older GCN 4 “Polaris” design first introduced in 2016. AMD originally released its Radeon RX 400 series last year using this design, but then tweaked Polaris and issued the 500 Series earlier this year. The target: affordable graphics for the mainstream desktop market supporting high-resolution games, and high-quality virtual reality.

Nvidia
GTX 1060 6GB
Nvidia
GTX 1060 3GB
AMD
Radeon RX 580
AMD
Radeon RX 570
Architecture:
Pascal
Pascal
GCN 4
GCN 4
GPU:
GP106-400
GP104-140
Polaris 20 XT
Polaris 20 XL
Cores:
1,280
1,152
2,304
2,048
Base speed:
1,506MHz
1,506MHz
1,256MHz
1,168MHz
Boost speed:
1,708MHz
1,708MHz
1,340MHz
1,244MHz
Memory:
6GB GDDR5
3GB GDDR5
4GB / 8GB GDDR5
4GB GDDR5
Memory speed:
8Gbps
8Gbps
8Gbps
7Gbps
Memory interface:
192-bit
192-bit
256-bit
256-bit
Memory bandwidth:
192GB/sec
192GB/sec
256GB/s
224GB/sec
Ports:
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
3x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
Dimensions:
4.378 x 9.823 inches
2-slot height
4.378 x 9.823 inches
2-slot height
2-slot height
2-slot height
Power connectors:
1x 6-pin
1x 6-pin
1x 8-pin
1x 8-pin
Power usage:
120 watts
120 watts
185 watts
150 watts
Interface:
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x16
Performance:
4.4 TFLOPS
4.0 TFLOPS
6.2 TFLOPS
5.1 TFLOPS
Starting price:
$299
$249
$199 / $229
$169

$80 to $150: eSports gaming

Finally, we enter budget territory. As the specifications reveal in the chart below, the processor core counts are low, thus these cards mostly don’t require an additional connection to your desktop’s power supply. But note that you still may see solutions from third-party makers requiring an additional 6-pin or 8-pin connection to handle overclocked speeds, and/or additional cooling features.

Both Nvidia and AMD are targeting the mainstream market wanting decent graphics in their PC games. More specifically, these cards are ideal for eSports players who require high frame rates, but don’t want to sacrifice graphical quality. These cards are a huge bump up from integrated graphics, but don’t expect the level of quality produced by solutions listed in the higher price brackets.

Nvidia
GTX 1050 Ti
Nvidia
GTX 1050
AMD
Radeon RX 560
AMD
Radeon RX 550
Architecture:
Pascal
Pascal
GCN 4
GCN 4
GPU:
GP107-400
GP107-300
Polaris 21 XT
Lexa Pro
Cores:
768
640
1,024
512
Base speed:
1,290MHz
1,354MHz
1,175MHz
1,100MHz
Boost speed:
1,392MHz
1,455MHz
1,275MHz
1,183MHz
Memory:
4GB GDDR5
2GB GDDR5
2GB GDDR5
2GB GDDR5
Memory speed:
7Gbps
7Gbps
7Gbps
7Gbps
Memory interface:
128-bit
128-bit
128-bit
128-bit
Memory bandwidth:
112GB/sec
112GB/sec
112GB/sec
112GB/sec
Ports:
1x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
1x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
1x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
1x DisplayPort 1.4
1x HDMI 2.0b
1x DL-DVI
Dimensions:
4.38 x 5.7 inches
2-slot height
4.38 x 5.7 inches
2-slot height
2-slot height
2-slot height
Power connectors:
N/A
N/A
1x 6-pin
1x 6-pin
Power usage:
75 watts
75 watts
80 watts
50 watts
Interface:
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x16
PCI Express 3.0 x8
PCI Express 3.0 x8
Performance:
2.1 TFLOPS
1.8 TFLOPS
2.6 TFLOPS
1.2 TFLOPS
Starting price:
$139
$109
$99
$79

How to change the color profile on the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

Switching the color profile on your Pixel 2 only takes a few taps!

Google’s Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL both have OLED displays, but they show colors very differently. If you want to adjust the way colors look on your screen, you have a few options from within the Settings. We’ve got the details on how to do it here!

How to switch your color profile with Google’s Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL

When the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL launched, there were two options in the Settings for display colors: Balanced, and Vibrant. Both kept the colors pretty muted, and they looked fine on the Pixel 2 but due to the Pixel 2 XL’s colder display, neither made the colors pop. With the November update, both phones got new color options: Boosted, Natural, or Saturated colors. Here’s how to change them.

Open the Settings on your phone.

Scroll down and tap Display.

Tap Advanced to open more options for Display.

Tap the toggle to switch between color profiles.

The Saturated option is arguably more important for the Pixel 2 XL, but if you’re used to the vibrant colors of a Galaxy phone, it’s a great change for both the larger and smaller Pixels.

Questions?

Do you have any questions about changing the color profile on your Pixel 2, or Pixel 2 XL? Have you switched from the default color profile? Let us know about it in the comments below!

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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What are your thoughts on the Huawei Mate 10 Pro?

Huawei’s Mate 10 Pro isn’t perfect, but it sure is one heck of a phone that should absolutely be on your shortlist.

2017 has been a phenomenal year for smartphones. The Pixel 2, Galaxy S8, LG V30, and HTC U11 are all prime examples of this, but one phone that’s recently proven itself to be the best around for tremendous battery life is the Mate 10 Pro.

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro is the successor to last year’s awesome Mate 9, and along with its wild stamina, the Mate 10 Pro also manages to offer a rock solid camera package, gorgeous design, and snappy performance. It isn’t a perfect phone, but it’s one that’s definitely worth considering if you’re in the market for a new, big handset.

Here’s what some of our forum users have had to say about it so far.

Hanlon10
11-20-2017 11:17 AM

“

Here’s a few thoughts from my first 2 days of usage:

– The fingerprint scanner is lightening fast and it hasn’t failed to authenticate once yet.

– Battery life appears to be above average but not amazing like everyone was expecting from a 4000mAh battery, though it does charge exceptionally quickly.

– As expected from EMUI, there’s a tonne of bloatware.

– Annoyingly, there’s no…

Reply

worldspy99
11-22-2017 01:28 AM

“

Huawei does need to sort out notifications.
Battery life is usually superb on most Huawei devices and I think Mate 10 Pro is going to be no exception.
Otherwise their devices are solid minus timely software/security updates.

Reply

FutureMech
11-22-2017 03:49 AM

“

biggest problem is lack of updates and update policy, but tbh the stock rom works so good, i have no need for root, tweaking or anything else, but would be nice to get updates.

Reply

Aljean Thein
11-23-2017 04:10 PM

“

Great to hear about a great battery life. Not sure why you’re having issues with swiping down the notifications. But if the fps helps them great!

Reply

Whether you’ve had hands-on time with the phone or are currently rocking a Mate 9, we’d like to know – What are your thoughts on the Huawei Mate 10 Pro?

Join the conversation in the forums!

Huawei Mate 10

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Google Home now offers better control for more of your smart home gadgets

Talking to your vacuum, washer, dryer, and dishwasher is about to become a lot less awkward.

Of all Google Home’s many functions, one of the most useful is being able to control smart home devices with it. Google Home has offered direct control over light bulbs, thermostats, switches, and most recently security cameras, but according to a Google Support page that Android Police discovered, this direct control is expanding to even more smart appliances.

With this update, you’ll now be able to control connected vacuums, washers, dryers, and dishwashers by talking solely to Google Home and not to a third-party app that’s associated with whatever appliance you have. Samsung Smart Home is one of the first services to jump on board with this new functionality, and it allows you to use simple commands such as “Start the robot vacuum” and “How much time is left on my dryer?” to control all of your various devices.

You’ve previously been able to control these appliances with Google Home, but doing so required you to use very specific voice commands. For example, if you wanted to control your smart washing machine, you’d first need to say, “Ok, Google, talk to LG Smart” and then whatever control you’d like to perform.

This new functionality should be rolling out to Google Home devices now, and while it isn’t the most drastic change in the world, it is one that should make interacting with your various appliances a lot less cumbersome.

Google Home

• Google Home review
• These services work with Google Home
• Google Home vs. Amazon Echo
• Join our Google Home forums!

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Android TV vs. Roku: Which smart TV platform is right for you?

Android TV and Roku are two of the best smart TV platforms on the market, and this is a guide to help determine which is best for you.

Although a lot of our time is spent talking about phones, smartwatches, and tablets, the market for smart TVs is one that deserves plenty of attention as well. Smart televisions and streaming boxes will likely be at the top of your holiday shopping list, and choosing the product with the software that works best either for you or the person you’re shopping for is critical to getting the best gift possible.

I’ve recently spent some time using both Android TV and Roku over the past couple weeks, and this is what I learned while doing so.

Hardware availability

Before we dive too far into the nooks and crannies of each platform, let’s first talk about the kind of hardware that’s available for each.

Streaming boxes

The NVIDIA Shield TV is one of the best ways to get Android TV in late 2017.

Streaming boxes are the best way to get access to everything Android TV and Roku have to offer without spending hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on a new television set, and this is one area where Roku pulls an easy win. Roku currently offers a variety of streaming boxes and sticks that range in price from just $29 up to $99, each with their own set of features and limitations.

As for Android TV, your only real option is the NVIDIA Shield TV. The Shield TV is a phenomenal streaming box with support for 4K HDR content and a large collection of games, but the higher retail price of $199 (or $179 without the game controller) can be tough to swallow. There are some sales right now that lower the Shield TV to as little as $150, but even so, Roku still can’t be beaten with its larger catalog and much lower prices.

Smart TVs

Moving over to televisions, the story is mostly the same. There’s a decent selection of Sony options to pick from that feature Android TV built-in, but they all err on the expensive side. One of the cheapest options is a 43-inch LED set with 4K HDR support that’s currently on sale for $599, but once again, Roku’s platform manages to stretch your dollar a lot further.

Roku has the upper-hand with streaming boxes and smart TVs.

Companies like TCL, Insignia, Sharp, HiSense, and others have adopted the Roku platform, and this has allowed for a variety of televisions with Roku for just about every buyer. The TCL 55S405 offers a 55-inch LED panel with 4K support for as little as $379, and spending that same $599 for the smaller Sony set will get you the TCL 55P605. This is the television I’ve been using for the past week, and even at its current price without any sales, it’s an absolute steal. The 55-inch screen size is plenty large, 4K HDR and Dolby Vision create for a picture that looks downright phenomenal for this price range, and the built-in speakers are also surprisingly nice.

Winner: Roku

User interface

Roku and Android TV both take very different approaches when it comes to their respective user interfaces, and considering that this is something you’ll interact with every single time you interact with your TV, it’s important you use one that works best for you.

When it comes to Roku, the big focus is on simplicity. Your main home screen shows a list of all the channels/apps you have installed, and you can navigate through other pages with the menu on the left.

• My Feed – Updates on any movies or TV shows you’re interested in, such as when they’re available for purchase or when they go on sale
• Movie/TV Store – Quick access for buying or renting movies and TV shows through Fandango
• News – News organized by various cateogires, powered by AOL Video
• Search – Universal search to find a certain title across all of your installed apps
• Streaming Channels – Library of paid and free apps you can download to your Roku
• Settings – Change your Roku’s theme, adjust the time, control accessibility options, etc.

Roku’s interface is extremely simple to navigate and understand, but it’s looking a bit dated these days.

In its current form, Android TV showcases videos at the very top of your screen based on your interests, what’s popular, and any recent purchases or rentals you’ve made. Below this is where you’ll find all of your installed apps, down even further showcases your games, and going down one more step will give you access to your settings.

The UI follows Google’s material desgin quite well, and it offers an aesthetic that looks and feels a lot more modern. Roku’s interface never feels slow, but the animations and layout for Android TV make it a more enjoyable experience when navigating through all your content.

Better yet, the update to Android 8.0 Oreo will make Android TV even better. It’s only hit the recently-discontinued Nexus Player so far, but the new interface and What’s Next section for helping you easily continue any shows you’re watching all look like solid updates. The only question that remains is when it’ll start arriving on Sony’s TVs and the Shield.

Winner: Android TV

Content

Some apps on Android TV, like Hulu, have outdated designs/features.

Having a pretty UI to navigate sure is nice, but if there’s nothing to watch, it’s kind of pointless.

Both Roku and Android TV have all of the big names you’d expect (in the U.S.), such as Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV, Vudu, HBO NOW, Spotify, etc.

If you’re heavily invested in Google’s ecosystem, Android TV is unsurprisingly the better choice. The Google Play Movies app is much nicer-looking and more feature-rich on Android TV, and this is the only place you’ll find a Play Music app. Unfortunately, outside of these and the big streaming services, Android TV has a few annoying quirks that can make using it something of a pain.

For one example, while you can download and watch Hulu, the app is using an outdated design and doesn’t let you access Hulu’s live television service. Hulu hasn’t announced any plans for bringing this update to its Android TV app, and we wouldn’t hold our breath for it coming anytime soon.

Also, If you’re an Xfinity subscriber and want to use HBO GO, you’re out of luck. For whatever reason, Comcast doesn’t allow you to use your login credentials on Android TV for HBO GO, HGTV, Food Network, and a variety of other TV Everywhere apps. There’s a decent selection of content to be found on Android TV, but there are still issues here and there that can make it unusable depending on what you like to watch.

Roku supports just about every streaming serivce you can image – both big and small.

On the flip side, Roku has everything and the kitchen sink. I’ve never not been able to find something I wanted to watch on Roku (save for YouTube TV), and this is also the platform you’ll want to choose if you want to try out new services like Philo before anyone else. You can’t listen to tunes on Google Play Music, but I’d much rather put up with this than the myraid of content roadblocks I’ve often found myself hitting with Android TV.

Winner: Roku

Voice control

Roku added voice controls back in 2015, but not every box/TV comes with a remote that supports this out of the box. Most premium options do, but Roku also sells its Enhanced Remote that supports voice search so you can upgrade your current system after the fact as well.

For the most part, Roku’s voice feature works just fine. You can use it to find specific titles you’re looking for, browse content from a certain actor or director, launch apps and search genres within them, and more. Plus, if you have a Roku TV, you can use your voice to change inputs, go through different broadcast channels, and launch Roku’s Smart Guide.

Roku’s voice controls work well, but Google Assistant on Android TV blows them out of the water.

However, as useful as these controls can be, they don’t hold a candle to what you can do with Android TV.

Voice controls are available with every Android TV device, and with the expanding launch of Google Assistant, they’re made even better. Along with the standard array of media playback controls, you can use the Assistant to check the weather, see live scores from your favorite game, browse through your pictures on Google Photos, and much, much more. Roku’s voice controls aren’t bad, but Google Assistant just blows them out of the water.

Winner: Android TV

Final verdict

With all that said, here’s how Android TV and Roku stack up to each other based on the categories we’ve covered:

• Hardware availability – Roku
• User interface – Android TV
• Content – Roku
• Voice control – Android TV

As you can see, both platforms are pretty much split down the board when it comes to their respective pros and cons. Roku has a broader selection of hardware and is the content king, but Android TV is the clear leader when it comes to its user interface and voice control features.

Because of this, the ultimate decision of which platform is best comes down to your personal preferences and use cases. If you want to have access to as many channels/apps as possible, like having a wide choice of compatible hardware, and prefer an interface that’s simple to use at the expense of looking flashy, Roku is a fantastic pick.

See Roku at Amazon

On the other hand, Android TV is still a great platform – especially if you’re invested in Google’s services and only rely on the most popular streaming apps.

See NVIDIA Shield at Amazon

No matter which one you choose, you can rest assured that you’ll end up with one of the best ways to smarten up your living room.

NVIDIA Shield Android TV

• Read our Shield Android TV review
• The latest Shield Android TV news
• Shield vs. Shield Pro: Which should I buy?
• Join the forum discussion
• Complete Shield Android TV specs

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Google Pixel and Pixel 2 now offer more personalized battery estimates

Battery stats on Pixel and Pixel 2 are now more closely based on exactly how you choose to use your phone.

There are a lot of things that make Google’s Pixel phones great, but at the end of the day, a lot of their greatness boils down to the software experience that they offer. Little touches like swiping down on the fingerprint sensor to bring down your notifications and squeezing your phone to prompt the Google Assistant are awesome, and the latest update to both the Pixel and Pixel 2 now allows you to get much more personalized battery stats.

On Android phones by default, your estimated remaining battery life is based on pretty simple use habits. For example, if you were actively using your phone for 10% of the time each our over the last few hours, your phone would assume that you’d keep on using your device for 10% each hour and use that as the basis for the estimate of your remaining battery life for the rest of the day.

It’s a process that works fairly well, but now with Pixel phones, your estimated remaining battery stats will be based on how you use your phone on similar days and times. So, if you have a habit of watching a lot of YouTube videos during the weekend and frequently use your email or Slack during the weekdays, a new on-device model will learn these habits and adjust your estimated remaining battery life based on them.

You can view these reworked estimates under the Battery option in Settings on your Pixel or Pixel 2 like usual, and tapping on the battery icon from the Battery page will now show an even more accurate preview of your battery life as the day goes on.

Lastly, with these newly personalized estimations in place, Google says that it’s “interested in exploring new ways of proactively helping you manage your battery to make it through the day.”

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Audio-Technica headphones and mics are discounted today at Amazon

Studio quality headphones at a consumer price.

Audio-Technica products are currently on sale at Amazon!

You can pick up the premium ATH-M40x headphones for $79 at a $10 discount off the average price. The upgraded ATH-M50x headphones are on sale for $129, which is a $15 discount off the average price.

Audio-Technica also has a couple of microphones and in-ear headphones on sale while supplies last too.

See at Amazon

The best smartwatches and fitness trackers to give as gifts

If a plain-Jane fitness tracker seems like too uninspired of a gift, we have some other ideas. You could buy any number of smartwatches that fared well in our tests. Engadget’s resident runners also say Garmin Forerunner watches are a good bet for athletes (the Forerunner 935 is the top-of-the-line model, though the 235 is just fine, too). We also recommend Under Armour’s standalone heart rate monitor and Adidas’s slick-looking shoes made from 3D-printed ocean plastic. And while you don’t need to be a fitness nut to enjoy Bragi’s Dash Pro wireless earbuds, their built-in fitness tracking and music storage make them ideal for workouts. Find all that and other gift ideas right here in our 2017 holiday guide.

Source: Engadget Holiday Gift Guide 2017