Meta’s Muse agent was born to shop, while Gemini’s Spark can help you book airline tickets or plan your weekly meals. But while Muse and Spark act like personal assistants, OpenAI’s new AI agents are designed to be, well, another “you” in the office.

Dots, which OpenAI boss Sam Altman just unveiled at the company’s annual developers conference, are always-on AI assistants that — as with Muse — you can name, assign cute little avatars to, and chat with in the ChatGPT interface, via text, or even on the phone.

But OpenAI is also positioning its Dots as your “delegates” and “extensions” in the office, where they can take on work duties you’ve assigned to them, as well as collaborate with colleagues (and their Dots) on Slack, Microsoft Teams, or in the new ChatGPT Spaces environment.

Ben Patterson/Foundry

Powered by GPT-6 Astra (OpenAI’s “most aligned model,” Altman promised), Dots require a $100-a-month ChatGPT Pro plan or better, and can take on complex work and coding tasks, performing them locally or in the cloud before eventually coming back to report the results. Each eligible ChatGPT account comes with one Dot included, and users will eventually be able to take charge of multiple Dots.

During the presentation, Altman was careful to emphasize that Dots let you “stay in control” thanks to Astra’s “built-in protections and safeguards,” while users are free to set custom instructions and boundaries for the assistants.

“So this allows you to trust your Dot with as much responsibility as you’re comfortable with,” Altman said.

Of course, OpenAI’s Dots debut comes amid mounting anxiety over the rapid growth of AI, with the biggest AI players calling for government regulation and “pacing” of frontier model development, while more and more AI whistleblowers are warning that AI could, quite literally, kill us all with the next decade.

Just yesterday, OpenAI released a statement apologizing for an incident where its models hacked into Australian government websites, while another statement detailed new guidelines to bolster AI safety.

But OpenAI’s peppy, Apple-style keynote belied the gravity of the moment, with Altman trotting out one agentic AI announcement after another, including GPT-6.1 Sol, a new GPT model designed to deliver Astra-level performance at a fraction of the cost.

Also new is a ChatGPT Pro 500 plan, which at $500 a month becomes the priciest of OpenAI’s consumer ChatGPT individual plans. Aside from expanded usage limits, the Pro 500 plan also includes an Ultrafast mode, which boasts eight times the speed of standard mode at a whopping six times the price.

Another subscription change involves the $200-a-month Pro plan, which has been re-opened to new subscribers while having its usage allowance cut roughly in half “to reflect our increasingly efficient models,” according to OpenAI. Pro 200 users (who will get to keep their current usage rates “for a bit”) are, quite naturally, already howling in protest.

Then there’s Codex Security Cloud, a cloud-based that’s continuously scanning for vulnerabilities while spinning up security fixes, and OpenAI Private Intelligence, which sounds like OpenAI’s version of Apple’s Private Cloud Compute.

I plan on testing OpenAI’s Dots once I scrounge up the cash for upgrading my Dot-less ChatGPT Plus account, so stay tuned.

Updated to add details about changes to OpenAI’s Pro 200 subscription plan.

By now, the importance of backing up your Windows PC or laptop goes without saying. It only takes a moment to consider how much of your data is at potential risk of a drive failure, natural disaster, or a bad actor, if you don’t have a solid backup plan in place. The best Windows backup software includes file backup, sure, but also disk imaging and full image restore, as well as disaster recovery.

Our picks for best Windows backup software are selected with all the must-haves of data backup and recovery in mind, so in the tragic event that your primary local data repository is compromised, you’re fully covered.

What backup utilities come with Windows?

Sadly, while other operating systems make backup easy, Microsoft saddles users with a patchwork system of utilities and holdover imaging tools from Windows 7.

Some of these work well (Restore Points, File History), others don’t (System Repair Disc, Recovery Drive). None are suitable for quick and easy disaster recovery — even the online backup that is available when you use Windows with a Microsoft cloud account.

Thankfully, there are a number of highly capable and far more reliable third-party backup options for Windows that cover the panoply of backup, restore, migration, and disaster recovery.

Why you should trust PCWorld for backup software reviews and buying advice: It’s in our name — PCWorld. Our reviewers have been testing PC hardware, software, and services for decades. Our backup evaluations are thorough and rigorous, testing the promises and limitations of every product — from performance to the practicalities of regular use.

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EaseUS Todo Backup 2026 (Home) – Best overall Windows backup for most PC users

Pros

• Imaging, backup, sync, and disaster recovery
• Comprehensive and option rich
• Great interface

Cons

• Occasional non-fatal oddities during file backup and sync
• No third-party online storage support

Price When Reviewed: Yearly: $39.95 I Perpetual: $59.99 I Lifetime Upgrades: $79.99

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Who should buy EaseUS Todo Backup 2026?

EaseUS Todo Backup 2026 (home) has matured into an outstandingly versatile and comprehensive backup solution. With a still-affordable perpetual license, it also costs less than some of the now subscription-only competition such as Acronis True Image and Macrium Reflect X.

The paid tier of EaseUS is the best all-round home-PC choice for anyone who wants comprehensive backup and recovery with a straightforward “buy once, use forever” license

EaseUS Todo Backup 2026: Further considerations

Imaging, disaster recovery, plain or compressed file/folder backup, sync, real-time (actually continuous) backup, and nearly every bell and whistle in the backup space are accounted for by Todo Backup.

In addition to its comprehensive and reliable set of features, Todo Backup greets you with a pleasingly-rendered, animated interface and a supremely logical layout.

The fact that it doesn’t force you into a subscription model is also a big plus in its favor. That said, if you want to use EaseUS’s cloud storage (third-party isn’t supported directly), you do need to opt for a yearly plan. Fortunately, it’s decently affordable: software plus 1TB of cloud storage for $60/yr.

Read our full Easeus ToDo Backup 2026 review

Acronis True Image – Best comprehensive backup and malware protection

Pros

• Imaging, backup, and disaster recovery
• Actively protects against viruses and ransomware
• Integrated cloud storage available

Cons

• Heavy installation footprint
• Subscription only
• Lots of telemetry

Price When Reviewed: $49.99 to $124.99 per year

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Who should buy Acronis True Image?

True Image is a great option for anyone who wants seasoned and reliable file and image backup as well as full-fledged protection from malware (including ransomware).

True Image is for users who are amenable to a subscription-only plan, the benefits of which are the iterative and ongoing update potential as well as the inclusion of cloud storage.

Acronis True Image: Further considerations

Acronis established itself as a trustworthy stalwart in backup software years ago. In meantime the program’s moniker morphed for a while to Cyber Protect Home Office (which is actually more descriptive), but is now back again to the more recognizable True Image.

Throughout the changes, the program remained super-reliable, and gradually evolved into a versatile, flexible, backup and malware protection solution. While True Image doesn’t offer support for third-party cloud storage, only its own, the program does allow you to back up to and from network locations.

As I noted in my review, “If you’re looking for a comprehensive, set-it-and-forget-it data-safety solution, I know of nothing better — or comparable for that matter.” This does however, result in a rather heavy system footprint with multiple background processes running.

Alas, for better (the comany’s) or worse (yours), True Image is now subscription-only. I recommend bumping up from the Essentials plan to the Advanced plan, which includes 250GB of storage (with the purchase link in this article, it’s only $24.99 per year, down from $72.99).

Read our full Acronis True Image review

Easeus Todo Backup Free – Best free backup and disaster recovery for Windows

Pros

• Imaging, file backup, and sync
• Super-friendly, attractive interface
• Disaster recovery with boot media

Cons

• No cloud storage support (a trial is offered)
• A couple of minor non-fatal file function errors

Price When Reviewed: Free

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Who should use Easeus Todo Backup Free?

Anyone who wants friendly, easy to use backup and reliable disaster recovery in one package should take a look at Easeus Todo Backup Free. The only cost to a startlingly capable suite is a couple of ads and nags.

To clarify the distinction between our paid and free picks, the free version of Easeus Todo Backup includes imaging, file/folder backup, scheduling, and boot media. Cloud storage and deeper advanced features require you to step up to the paid tier.

Easeus Todo Backup 2025: Further considerations

Easeus Todo Backup Free covers all the backup basics: File/folder backup (compressed and plain), one-way sync, system/drive/partition imaging, and all with scheduling. But there are extras you might not expect from a freebie such as backup from network locations, and what EaseUS calls real-time backup (it’s actually continuous — close enough). That’s unique for a freebie.

Todo Backup 2025 also sports the easiest, most attractive (in our estimation) interface on the market. That alone should recommend it to most users. But the fact that it just works (there are a couple of odd, non-fatal peccadilloes in the file sync), and comes with reliable disaster recovery and boot media seals the deal.

There’s a professional version that adds numerous advanced features, as well as EaseUS’s own cloud storage. See the entry above.

Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX – Best Windows backup for SMBs

Pros

• Fast and reliable continuous data protection
• Super easy restores to real or virtual hard drives
• Handy timeline overview
• Excellent disaster recovery

Cons

• Somewhat daunting login dialog
• Image-based backup only
• Pricey for end users

Price When Reviewed: $99.95

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Who should buy Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX?

Home, small, and other businesses who are looking for backup software more powerful than the norm, that also scales nicely in networked ecosystems will do well with this solid, feature-laden, and very fast backup program.

Besides Arcserve’s support for SMB / mixed Windows-Linux environment, it’s heavy on features that are overkill for most home users, but great for the more robust needs of business users.

Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX: Further considerations

Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX is loaded with pro- and enterprise-level features including support for third-party virtual hard drives (VHDs, etc.). It is also an excellent choice for Linux users or those in mixed Windows/Linux environments as it’s available for both operating systems.

ShadowProtect SPX is a bit pricey, but it’s extremely reliable backup software with foolproof continuous data protection. Note that the company no longer targets the average user, but I found that it works exceptionally well even on a single computer.

Read our full Arcserve ShadowProtect SPX Desktop review

Other notable Windows backup software

• Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition: A free program that offers robust file backup that should meet the needs of most users.
• Perfect Backup:  Fast and competent, this free backup program is more versatile than Windows File History.
• Aomei Backupper Pro: A complete backup solution capable of preserving your important data both locally and remotely.
• Aomei Backupper Standard: A respectable free backup program if you can tolerate the occasional ad.
• Retrospect 19 Solo: Includes support for both proprietary and third-party cloud storage, but sadly it lacks disaster recovery.
• Retrospect 19 Desktop: The pro version of the above covers all the bases, but has a steep learning curve and high price.
• Backup and Restore (Windows 7): Conveniently installed with Windows, and good for imaging but bad for disaster recover.
• MSP360 Managed Backup: Uses a handy web-based console to provide imaging and file backup services for multiple devices at a reasonable price.
• MSP360 Backup: The free incarnation is a worthwhile upgrade to Windows File History.
• Iperius Backup: Has power aplenty, but the learning curve and interface might occasionally flummox less-experienced users.
• Handy Backup 8.5 Professional: Top-notch features that might’ve garnered an Editors’ Choice award had it been entirely glitch-free and a bit easier to learn.
• MiniTool ShadowMaker Pro 4.6: There’s a lot to like, particularly its unique ability to interface with all computers on a network.
• Macrium Reflect Home: Would likely qualify as our favorite backup software if it wasn’t relatively pricey. It’s an exceptional program that offers everything we want from backup software — full drive/folder backup, ease of use, reliability, etc.
• DriveImage XML: A viable free backup solution, albeit only for MBR disks.
• Ashampoo Backup Pro 26: Overarching support for myriad backup chores with easy-to-understand wizards, but no backup from the recovery disc or option for “differential” backups.

Note that in this article we focus on local-software based solutions, although many also include a cloud component. For cloud-first backup, see our roundup of the best online backup services. Admittedly, the distinction between the two categories is blurring as they each expand their feature sets.

How to choose backup software

If you recently purchased an external HDD or SSD from a major vendor such as Seagate or WD, check to see if there are backup utilities or a backup software license included. Whatever backup software you use, keep in mind the following key aspects of the best solutions: file backup for documents/photos, image backup for whole-PC rollback, boot media for dead-drive recovery, versioning for accidental overwrite protection, and know which are critical to your backup plan.

File backup

If you want to back up your essential data (operating systems and programs can be reinstalled, though it’s mildly time- and effort-consuming), a program that backs up only your important files is essential. Some programs even automatically select the appropriate files or folders. File backup can include operating system files if you wish but is still not suitable for disaster recovery.

Image backup/imaging

Images are byte-for-byte snapshots of your entire hard drive (normally not including empty sectors) or partitions, and can be used to restore the operating system, drivers, programs in one swift, fell swoop. Imaging also ensures that you don’t omit anything important as can happen with file backup.

Recovery boot media 

Should your system crash completely, you need alternate means to boot your system and restore data using your backup software. Any backup program worth its salt should be able to create a bootable optical disc or USB thumb drive. Some will also create a restore partition on your hard drive, which can be used if the issue isn’t a failed drive.

Note that we’ve run into multiple issues with Microsoft’s own Recovery Drive and System repair disc — don’t rely on those.

Scheduling

If you’re going to back up effectively, you need to do so on a regular basis. Any backup program you purchase should let you schedule backups and run them in the background. Some even will backup files as they change (real time) or at very short intervals (continuous)

Versioning

Versioning is simply retaining older version of files (or backups) rather than overwriting them during the backup/sync process. You can generally define how many versions to keep, but if you choose to cull older files, this is till not true backup which again, is an immutable copy of your data, drives, or system.

Optical discs

Every backup program supports hard drives, but as obsolete as they may seem, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are great archive media. If you’re worried about optical media’s reliability, M-Disc claims its discs are reliable for a thousand years, backed up by Department of Defense testing.

Online storage (cloud) support

An offsite copy of your data is a hedge against physical disasters such as theft, flood, fire, and power surges. Online storage services are a great way to meet that need. Some backup software will let you back up to Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Amazon S3 and compatible, etc. however Cloud Managers can serve as a workaround with backup programs that don’t. The downside to cloud storage is relatively slow performance. Keep a local backup for faster restores.

Network access

Backing up to other computers or NAS boxes on your network or in remote locations (say your parent’s or children’s house) is another way of safeguarding your data via a physically remote copy. If you use network storage, it can also be handy to back them up to you local system.

FTP/SFTP can be used for offsite, while SMB (Windows and most OS’s) and AFP (Apple) are good for other PCs or NAS on your local network. Network support is not universal, and some backup programs allow you to back up to, but not from network shares. Just be careful in the way you expose your computers on the Internet.

Real-time backup

Real-time backup means that files are backed up whenever they change, usually upon creation or save. It’s handy for keeping an immediately available backup of rapidly changing data sets. For less volatile data sets, scheduled backups will do just fine.

Continuous backup

Continuous simply means backing up on a tight schedule, generally every few minutes, rather than in real time, daily, weekly, or monthly. Use continuous backup for rapidly changing data sets where transfer rates are too slow, or computing power too precious for real-time backup.

Performance concerns

Most backups proceed in the background or during dead time, so performance isn’t a huge issue in the consumer space. However, if you’re backing up multiple machines, backing up to multiple destinations, or dealing with very large data sets, speed will be a consideration. That said, backup speed is highly dependent upon the hardware and transport technology in use.

Further reading: Check out PCWorld’s roundup of best external drives for recommendations on reliable storage options — an important component in a comprehensive backup strategy.

The latest version of Claude Sonnet—Anthropic’s workhorse AI model—has just landed, and with it comes a prompt that could help keep any AI agent from leaping into action before making a plan first.

Available now on the web, the Claude desktop app, and other Claude platforms, Claude Sonnet 5.5 is Anthropic’s middle-of-the-road model, It’s a step below Opus 5.5 but apparently just as capable as Fable 5.1 (Anthropic’s pricey frontier flagship) and a step above Haiku 5 (a fast but basic Claude model that’s due for a 5.5 upgrade).

In Anthropic’s benchmarks, Sonnet 5.5 achieves scores rivaling Opus 5.5 in areas such as agentic coding and computer use, although the latest Opus model is still on top in terms of “complex, open-ended work requiring sustained judgement,” Anthropic notes. Still, Sonnet 5.5 appears surprisingly powerful and affordable compared to Claude Opus, and it also has the distinction of being the default Claude model for free users.

In any event, with a new Claude model comes a new prompting guide, and the guide for the latest Sonnet contains a gem that could come in handy for other AI models, particularly those capable of building things.

The prompt concerns “open-ended” requests, including those that don’t strictly define boundaries for what the AI should and shouldn’t do. An example provided by Anthropic is “show me what you can do with this,” with “this” being anything from an Excel spreadsheet to a code snippet.

Like ChatGPT and Gemini, Claude can spontaneously start building charts, reports, videos, and other “artifacts” on the fly depending on your request, and an open-ended request could spawn an artifact you didn’t explicitly ask for. Needless to say, those artifacts will eat into your Claude usage limits—not great when you didn’t want them to begin with.

In my tests, Sonnet 5.5 was pretty good about keeping its replies text-only when I handed it an Excel spreadsheet of made-up operating costs and asked “show me what you can do with this,” but in at least one instance it did spin up a chart on its own.

I’ve previously written about prompts designed to keep AI models from jumping the gun, including one that directs an AI to stay in “pencil-and-paper” mode. But in Claude Sonnet 5.5’s prompting guide, Anthropic shares a new prompt for dialing down preemptive building:

When the user asks for ideas, options, or a plan, give them that and stop. Don’t start building or changing anything until they say to go ahead.

You can use that prompt (or something similar) at the beginning of any AI chat, but it’ll be most effective as part of the AI’s custom instructions, or in the case of Claude Code as part of your CLAUDE.md file.

Even if you don’t use this particular Anthropic prompt, it’s a good reminder to be specific when asking an AI assistant or coding agent to do something—or not to do something, as it were.

A viral social media post claims Windows 11 stores a preview of every photo ever deleted. The controversy centers around a well-known Windows feature called the thumbnail cache, which can still contain image thumbnails long after their original files have been deleted.

The discussion was sparked by user @Ayzacoder, which has been viewed millions of times over the last few days. However, the claim is only partially correct—while Windows 11 can store thumbnails of deleted images, not every image will automatically end up in this cache.

What is the thumbnail cache?

Windows 11 creates thumbnails for photos, videos, and some document types so that they can be displayed more quickly in File Explorer. Instead of recreating the preview every time it’s needed, the operating system stores it temporarily in a local database.

This data is stored in the user profile at %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer. There you’ll find files with names such as thumbcache_32.db, thumbcache_96.db, thumbcache_256.db, or thumbcache_1024.db. These are individual thumbnail databases containing preview images in different sizes.

This thumbnail cache system has been in place since Windows Vista. Previously, Microsoft used the familiar Thumbs.db files convention, which were stored in individual folders.

Not every deleted photo is saved

The claim that’s circulating social media right now gives the impression that Windows 11 automatically archives a preview of all deleted images. However, there’s no evidence to support this.

For example, a test conducted by Windows Latest showed that several images that were downloaded and later deleted didn’t appear in the thumbnail cache. The database files weren’t altered at all.

The reason? A thumbnail preview is normally only saved when File Explorer (or another application) generates a thumbnail as part of the file preview process. If an image is never actually displayed as a preview anywhere, it won’t have made a thumbnail to end up in the cache.

Why do thumbnails remain after deletion?

The thumbnail cache is stored separately from the original image files. That means when an original photo is deleted, Windows 11 doesn’t automatically remove the corresponding thumbnail.

As a result, small image previews may still be present even though the original file itself has long since been deleted from the PC.

Investigators make use of the data

The thumbnail cache has been of interest to IT forensic experts for years. Using specialized tools, stored thumbnails can be extracted from these databases even after the original files have already been deleted.

This doesn’t automatically pose a security risk for home users. However, it does show that “file deleted” doesn’t necessarily mean that all associated information is completely wiped from the system.

Should you worry? That depends. Since these are thumbnails, they aren’t complete copies of the original images but rather reduced-size previews. A lot of the original detail will be lost, and whether the thumbnail remains recognizable will depend on the size and subject of the image.

How to clear the thumbnail cache

If you want to remove existing thumbnails from your Windows 11 PC, you can do so using the built-in thumbnail cleaner:

1. Press the Windows key + R keyboard shortcut.
2. Type “cleanmgr” and press Enter.
3. Select the Windows drive.
4. Tick the “Thumbnails” box.
5. Click “Delete files.”

Windows 11 will then remove the stored thumbnails. The cache will be rebuilt as required whenever you browse folders later.

In Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education, you can also permanently disable thumbnail caching. To do this, open the Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and navigate to User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → File Explorer. There you will find the policy called “Disable thumbnail caching.” Microsoft recommends enabling this setting on public computers, shared computers, or any computer where security is a key concern.

Users of Windows 11 Home can instead enable the option “Always show icons instead of thumbnails” in File Explorer. This means that image previews will no longer be displayed and, consequently, no new thumbnail previews will be created.

Microsoft is expected to release the next major fall update for Windows 11 in a few days. But when exactly? We have a guess.

Windows Latest analyzed when Microsoft released the last few fall updates for Windows 11 over the last few years and found that next Tuesday—October 6th, 2026—is the most likely date.

According to the analysis, Windows 11 versions 21H2, 22H2, 23H2, 24H2, and 25H2 were all released on a Tuesday. In three cases, that Tuesday fell in October; in two cases, it fell in September. Only one of those October days fell at the end of the month; all other Tuesdays in October came early in the month. Going by the odds, it seems most likely then that Windows 11 26H2 will arrive on the first Tuesday of October 2026.

Okay, that’s all good and well. But what’s so special about Windows 11 26H2? Who’s going to get it? And how do you get it? We’ve answered all the major questions in our rundown of what to expect when Windows 11 26H2 lands. In short, don’t get too excited; let it come when it comes and install it whenever it’s most convenient for you.

Back in February, Discord first attempted to launch its age verification process—only to run straight into massive user outcry. In response, the company went back to the drawing board. Now, half a year later, the branding of teen and adult accounts has finally rolled out.

As a regular Discord user, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the process. So, while waiting my turn, I read up on what I needed to know.

You can’t opt out

Discord first framed age verification on the platform as a move to protect teens. Problem was, it expected users to submit to a facial scan or upload a government ID. That sparked protest—and rightfully so, given today’s greater privacy and security concerns.

Now Discord has easier methods to prove adulthood, if you somehow get flagged as a teen. But you can’t escape the classification process. Multiple countries have begun requiring companies to confirm the ages of users, in order to protect children from harmful content and exposure to unsafe adults.

The only true way to opt out is to leave the platform all together.

Verification is now less invasive

If you stick around, Discord automatically assigns you an age group based on what it calls “signals.” Using machine learning, the platform guesses your age based on details like how old your account is, who you speak with the most, the servers you belong to, and if you’ve ever subscribed to Nitro. Discord says it does not read your messages (either those sent on servers or over direct message) as part of its evaluation.

According to Discord, this method will accurately assign an age category to over 90 percent of users. If it doesn’t, adults can prove their age through credit card info, the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, Google Wallet, or AgeKey. (AgeKey is a service owned by Singaporean age verification company k-ID.)

Discord says its third-party vendors for age confirmation must abide by its data retention policies. Namely, any age verification related data can only be kept for the time needed to confirm age, then must be deleted after. If facial age estimation comes into play, it can only be performed on your device.

You can choose not to verify

Still don’t want Discord to have any further information about you in order to escape classification as a teen? You can still keep using the platform, but your access will be more locked down.

Teen accounts are restricted from age-gated servers, content, and settings. Messages with sensitive content may be blurred or all together blocked, depending on the source. Direct messages from non-friends will automatically be sent to a message request inbox, allowing you to screen them before they appear in your normal DM list. (For the full details on Teen protections, you can read Discord’s full rundown.)

Perhaps a small benefit: Discord is now enabling “spoiler channels,” which will let server owners sequester juicy info without having to age-lock them. (AKA the long-standing workaround.)

Where to check your status

PCWorld

Head to Settings > Account. Under Account Status, you’ll see “Age Group.” Your status will be listed as either Teen or Adult.

Anecdotally, users on PCWorld’s The Full Nerd Discord server have reported getting Adult status—and just before I filed this story, I received the same designation, too. So Discord may end up being right about its high estimates for accurately pinpointing “mature” behavior.

(We’re all still emotionally unsure it was correct, though.)

Tired of missing connectivity on your laptop? Wish you had extra USB-A and HDMI slots but don’t want to buy a bunch of different adapters to juggle? There’s a small accessory you can get that’ll solve your woes: the Ugreen 5-in-1 USB-C hub, normally $16 but on sale for $12 right now.

This hub turns your laptop’s USB-C port into five ports without making you give up the USB-C port’s charging capabilities. The hub includes a 100W USB-C Power Delivery port so you can keep your laptop charged while using its other ports: a 4K HDMI, a 5Gbps USB-A data port, and two USB-A ports for peripherals. All laptops should come with these ports by default, but if yours is lacking, this is a great way to add them back in.

Need examples of what exactly this hub can do for you? That HDMI port lets you connect a high-res external monitor as a second screen for boosted productivity. The 5Gbps USB-A port is for flash drives and external SSDs, allowing you to fast-transfer data to and from your laptop. And those slower USB-A ports can be used to connect a keyboard, a mouse, a gaming controller, a headset, or maybe a printer. And the best part? Just unplug the hub from your laptop and everything disconnects with it, then plug it back in to instantly reattach it all.

It’s a budget option, but one worth having even just as a backup. If you want a more powerful hub (sometimes called a docking station), check out PCWorld’s picks for the best USB-C hubs and Thunderbolt docks.

Thanks to AI data centers, consumer SSDs, flash drives, and SD/microSD cards have doubled or even tripled in price. That really sucks if you haven’t stocked up on local storage options, and it really sucks if you’re relying on SD/microSD cards for DSLRs, dashcams, security cameras, and more.

2026 is not the best year for dying memory cards. They’re impractical or even impossible to repair at home, and they’ve gotten notoriously expensive to replace. If you want your SD and microSD cards to survive as long as possible, here are the most common causes you need to know about and what you can do to avoid premature wear-and-tear.

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Note: I’ll only refer to SD cards going forward, but these reasons also apply to microSD cards, which are just miniature versions of the same tech.

Flash memory wear

Virtually all SD cards use NAND flash memory. While NAND is great because it’s fast, non-volatile, and able to pack a lot of data into a tiny physical space, it has its downsides. The biggest one is that NAND cells physically wear out with every write/erase cycle—too many of those and cells will start to fail, causing errors.

That means any real-world use case that involves constant writing and rewriting of data will inevitably cause an SD card to wear out. Dashcams and security cameras with continuous recording can’t exactly avoid this, but a photographer who regularly fills up a card with burst shots and deletes most of them is causing undue wear-and-tear.

Mahdi Gharib / Unsplash

QLC (quad-level cell) cards are cheaper than TLC (triple-level) cards but have lower per-cell endurance and therefore wear out fast. Likewise, TLC is cheaper than MLC (multi-level) but also dies faster, and the same for MLC versus SLC (single-level). The cheaper the design, the more often you’ll have to replace it.

The good news is, SD cards have built-in wear-leveling algorithms that smartly distribute writes so all cells wear out at similar rates. The bad news is, too much static storage can prevent the algorithm from doing its thing. Avoid filling up a card to over 90 percent capacity, and try to reformat the card regularly to give wear-leveling a clean slate to work with.

Physical damage

SD cards aren’t delicate, but they’re more fragile than you might expect. Even if you aren’t snapping it in half, the internal parts are susceptible to factors like temperature, humidity, and static electricity.

Extreme heat is a big killer. That microSD card in your dashcam? It bakes in 135°F temperatures for hours, days, weeks throughout the summer, slowly breaking down under the stress. Rain and other forms of moisture exposure can corrode the contacts. Accidental static discharge can instantly fry the entire card, destroying it.

Avoid leaving your SD cards in extreme temperatures for long periods of time. Don’t get them wet, and dry them off quickly if they do. Be careful when coming in from the cold, which can cause the inside warm air to condense on the card. And carry your SD cards in a case!

Manufacturing defects

All SD cards can fail “for no reason”—yes, even ones from reputable brands with good quality assurance. Truth is, everything that’s made and assembled in factories has a margin for error, and the bits inside your SD card all have variable failure rates.

The most common failure point is the controller, which renders the card inoperable when it dies, but other failure points include bad solder joints and bad flash cells that should’ve been rejected. This means you can buy a high-quality card that unexpectedly dies after a week of light use.

H2testw

While you can’t avoid manufacturing defects, you can reduce the likelihood by only buying from reputable brands like SanDisk, Samsung, and Lexar. You can also use free tools like H2testw to verify there aren’t any errors on the card. (H2TestW writes data to the entire card and reads it back to ensure all sectors are working properly.)

Improper ejection or power loss

Every SD has two layers: the physical layer where the data is actually written to flash cells, and the software layer (called the file system) that “knows” where to find the data across those cells.

Think of the file system as an index or table of contents. When data is written or erased on the card, the file system also needs to be updated. If the card is ejected in the middle of an operation—or if the power goes out—then there will be a mismatch and the file system will have an incorrect view of data on the card.

Always wait for the SD card to finish all operations before ejecting, and always make sure to use “safe eject” measures to insure against improper ejects. Also, replace SD card reader accessories once their connection points are worn out and no longer stable, and make sure your laptop/camera batteries don’t die while writing to cards.

File system corruption

The file system of an SD card can get corrupted in other ways beyond improper ejection and power loss. Did you know there isn’t just one file system? A card can be formatted in FAT16, FAT32, exFAT, and others. Sometimes a device might expect or assume your card to be formatted a certain way and write proprietary metadata that corrupts.

For example, formatting an SD card within a drone or camera then inserting that card into a PC or Mac can sometimes lead to issues with the index. Or when a card is reformatted improperly, it may have leftover data or structure that causes issues until it’s properly blanked out.

Wyze Labs

Always format an SD card using the primary device it’ll be used with. If you’ll be using it with multiple devices—like your camera and your laptop—choose a file system that’s supported by all of them. Also consider doing regular health checks to catch a degrading file system before it craps out and causes catastrophic data loss.

Protect your SD and microSD cards

2026 was not a good year for electronics, and memory cards have gotten expensive. Don’t expect prices to come back down until 2027 at the earliest, but even then it’ll be unlikely. Don’t want to shell out unreasonable amounts for a replacement card? Take care of what you’ve got.

By understanding what kills memory cards and the habits you can employ to avoid premature death, you’ll be able to add extra years to the lifespans of your SD and microSD cards. That said, if they happen to die anyway, here’s what you should do with it before tossing it.

I have a medium-intensity interest in virtual reality gaming. I’m excited to try Valve’s new Steam Frame, and an older VR headset design helped me lose a ton of weight. VR, more than any other technology, has the potential to change how video games are experienced. 

So it’s a little concerning to me that Meta, the multi-trillion-dollar company that rebranded itself around a virtual reality future…doesn’t seem to care about VR gaming. 

There’s a lot of information to unpack here, a big complicated mess of stuff to use a highly technical term. But the core issue is that I think Meta, one of the only corporate forces actually driving VR gaming forward, isn’t. 

How Facebook got to the party 

The discussion requires a bit of context. Oculus, the company that started the most recent push into VR, was founded in 2012. It released the Oculus Rift in 2013, a PC-based VR setup combining a headset, tracker, and controllers. The company was bought by Facebook in 2014, which eventually completely absorbed the former into sub-units. Various other headsets have been released, notably the Oculus Quest, based on Arm hardware and running a modified version of Android, in 2019. 

Facebook rebranded as Meta in 2021, essentially betting the farm on the “Metaverse,” a vision of the future of gaming, work, and the internet at large where everyone was operating in virtual reality and mixed reality. To make a complex situation pithily simple, it seems like Mark Zuckerberg watched Ready Player One, saw baby’s first cyberpunk corporate dystopia, and said “Yeah, I wanna be the bad guy from that movie.”

The Quest series of headsets continued as a cheap-ish way for people to get into VR. At the same time in the middle of the pandemic, Meta-nee-Facebook tried desperately to convince everyone that wearing two pounds of tech on your face for eight hours a day, while paying the company for every interaction on the web, was a good idea. It, um, didn’t go well. 

Valve

Running in parallel to Zuckerberg trying to turn the internet into his own digital fiefdom (in his defense, he’s has some success before!), VR gaming had a mini-renaissance. In addition to Oculus/Meta investing billions into VR gaming mostly focused on the standalone/mobile side of the equation, Valve was partnering with various companies to push VR gaming on the PC side. Notable releases include the HTC Vive in 2016 and Valve’s own-branded Index in 2019, both of which require a gaming PC. 

Valve picks up the torch 

The Steam Frame is the evolution of these products, operating as both a stand-alone Arm-powered headset, a la the Meta Quest, and a PC-connected headset like the Index that can play more powerful games. It’s very exciting for a lot of reasons. Valve recognizes the work that Meta has put into VR gaming, and it’s even trying to woo developers of the Android-based games that work on Meta Quest headsets onto Steam, developing games that play on the standalone Frame. 

Valve

All good, right? Well, maybe not. We’re a little over a decade into what was supposed to be a revitalization of VR gaming. And while there are dedicated developers and players, including tons of fascinating niche hardware…the Steam Frame comes bundled with Half-Life: Alyx. A blockbuster, genre-defining VR game, which came out more than six years ago. The fact that Valve can’t be bothered to put together a showpiece title for its new gadget is less than promising, and not a great endorsement for a headset that costs $1300. 

Valve’s lukewarm debut for the new system isn’t shocking, all things considered. For all that it’s an absolute legend of PC gaming, Valve isn’t all that interested in making its own games anymore — it wants to sell the platform. That’s what SteamOS, the Steam Deck handheld, and the Steam Machine mini PC are all about. 

And with the PC hardware market essentially frozen thanks to “AI,” now is unfortunately the worst time to try to get people to spend money on a new platform and niche hardware. If anything, the Arm guts of the Steam Frame are more exciting than its VR aspect, because it means you might be able to play Steam games on much cheaper non-VR devices very soon. 

But if Valve seems like it’s gotten over a seven-year itch for VR gaming, then Meta seems like it’s ready to file divorce papers. 

Earlier this year the company cut over a thousand jobs in Reality Labs, the corporate descendant of Oculus. It’s cut funding to studios that were making VR games for the Quest series of headsets, which included Meta exclusives like Rock Band VR, Vader Immortal, and Resident Evil 4 VR. 

Meta

Perhaps more concerning for anyone who went all-in on the “metaverse,” the company has kinda-sorta abandoned its Horizon Worlds product. This was supposed to be the anchor point of Zuckerberg’s virtual reality empire, the thing that he was trying to force his own employees to work on. At its height in 2023, the platform had less than half a million regular users — not exactly earth-shattering. 

Facebook-Meta is estimated to have lost the better part of a hundred billion dollars on VR and the metaverse push. When it announced the above cuts, its stock price rose. It’s now chasing AI, just like everyone else. 

Meta seems to think the future is now in a panopticon of pervert glasses, purposely created political misinformation, and simulated child abuse that fits within its terms of service, despite the platform apparently being afraid of the big, bad Virginia Woolf. And it’s not like the company is losing money — $186 billion in profit for the 2025 fiscal year — so maybe it’s right.

The new headset 

That being said, it might seem strange that Meta debuted a new VR headset last week. The Meta VR Glasses are interesting from a hardware perspective, sort of a halfway point between Apple’s Vision Pro designs and more basic “VR” heads-up displays, like Xreal and Rayneo. They’re small and light, requiring no rear headband. They include eye tracking, like the previous Quest Pro. 

Meta

And they don’t actually look like regular eyeglasses, despite being called “Meta VR Glasses.” So you’re more likely to be mistaken for an X-Men cosplayer than someone who’s memorized the laws of recording consent in your state or country. A real bonus! 

Perhaps most compelling in terms of actual use case, Meta has highlighted these glasses’ utility as an entertainment machine with high-quality pancake lenses and OLED screens, and their ability to actually do work, thanks to a built-in quasi-desktop environment. Combined with a shockingly low weight thanks to its puck design — the headset is seven times lighter than the Vision Pro! — it looks like a genuine leap forward in comfort and design, if not in total utility. 

Meta

Hey look at that, I’m three paragraphs into talking about the Meta VR Glasses. It feels like I forgot to talk about something. 

Oh, that’s right. GAMES. 

Despite making the best-selling VR headset of the modern era, and arguably being the driving force behind VR gaming for over a decade, Meta’s trailer for the VR Glasses doesn’t mention games at all. Hardly shocking, since this is also the first VR headset the company has produced without the Quest name attached. In the portion of the Meta Connect presentation announcing the new system, you get a demo of Beat Saber. That’s it. The seven-year-old casual game was shown off with no controllers, because Meta is focusing on hand tracking only for this headset. Despite a $1300 price tag, there’s no indication of controllers included in the purchase. 

“VR gaming is alive and well on Meta VR Glasses,” said Meta’s CTO, after playing a 2019 title for less than 30 seconds. It comes with the same level of reassurance that an octogenarian senator is in “excellent health.” The presentation also leaned on Xbox Cloud streaming, in the same way Google mentioned GeForce Now for its Googlebooks, before proceeding on to talk about movies. 

Meta

Soooo yeah. Meta VR Glasses are impressive on a technical level. But if Meta is actually excited about VR gaming, specifically new VR games, it isn’t demonstrating that excitement to me at all. Considering how much it’s been dialing back its commitment to virtual reality everywhere, instead leaning into wearables and “AI,” I’m shocked this headset even came out. 

Rolling silicon stones

I’ve been thinking a lot about corporate inertia lately. The Steam Machine and Steam Frame, Nvidia’s new RTX-powered laptop chips, Google’s Googlebook laptops. All of these products are launching at an objectively terrible time for consumers. Price tags are higher than ever, while other factors like wars, stagnant wages, and inflation are leaving consumers with less and less disposable income, even in wealthy nations. 

Alaina Yee / Foundry

And yet these products launch anyway, even when practical wisdom might suggest they should stave it off for a year or two. The reason why — at least one of the reasons, and the one I’m most interested in — is corporate inertia. These products take years to develop, sometimes the better part of a decade. Billions of dollars invested, millions of hours of work from international teams. Once you get past a certain point of development, even companies as huge as Nvidia, Google, and Meta have to launch, if only to avoid throwing all that money and effort away. 

I think the Meta VR Glasses might be another victim of that, not that I’m particularly broken-hearted for any scheduling chaos on Meta’s part. While it’s incorporating innovations developed from years of VR headsets, particularly the Quest Pro, it’s also obviously taking a lot of inspiration from the Apple Vision Pro. And its most highlighted feature, the low weight, is a particular selling point against the Apple design. The fact that it’s less than half the price probably doesn’t hurt either. 

Apple

I’m sure there’s a group of people who can both stomach giving money to a historically horrible company, and are also excited for the entertainment and utility in the VR Glasses. But I’m also sure that’s a pretty small sliver of the consumer electronics market. Meta doesn’t seem to be interested in courting gamers at all anymore, either at the low end for the Quest headsets, or in the $1300 range that the Steam Frame is targeting. 

That’s a big problem if you’re excited about VR gaming. Even if you never intend to give a cent to Meta, the company’s platform and push for the Metaverse absolutely elevated VR far beyond where it would have been otherwise. However excited Valve is about VR, it simply doesn’t have the money or the muscle to push virtual reality gaming into the public eye like Meta can. Once again, let me point out that the Steam Frame is launching with a VR Valve game that’s six years old.  

If Meta can’t or won’t be that driving force, we might see this entire section of the market shrivel and die, put on the shelf for another decade or two. And that would be a real shame at a time when gamers are craving novelty and innovation like never before.

Cool stuff from around the web

• PS5 games can be emulated on PC now: You’re going to need an absolute monster of a PC gaming desktop just to hit 30FPS, and only a few games work. but you can kinda-sorta-techically play all those PlayStation exclusives if you want.
• Somebody made a mini PC out of gold: It weighs almost 30 pounds and costs almost two million dollars. And because gold is a decent thermal conductor, it doesn’t need fans. But surely there was a better way to do this…like, you know, aluminum or copper.

FanlessTech

• The Steam Deck makes a pretty good Mars rover controller: Not exactly shocking, since you can control a submarine with an old Logitech USB controller. Though hopefully this one doesn’t meet the same end.
• DLSS 5 mod working on AMD graphics cards: If you want the yass filter but you don’t have a four-figure graphics card from Team Green, now you have options.
• Microsoft drops Copilot+ branding program: Since Microsoft has helped make PCs unaffordable, it can’t scrape together enough RAM for some of its own consumer PCs to qualify for the label anymore. So goodbye, Copilot+ — too bad the keyboard button is sticking around.

Game pick of the week: Art of Rally

Funselektor Labs

Racing games tend to get the latest and greatest in terms of tech, especially on the “sim” side of things. But you can enjoy racing without all the bells and whistles, even without any real element of stress. That’s what Art of Rally is all about: It’s a chill love letter to decades of rally racing history.

With a sort-of-top-down viewpoint and a low-poly visual style, it almost looks like a mobile game. (I love the way the crowds of spectators can get onto the track, like in old rally racing videos, and I love even more that they’re little Game of Life peg people.) But there’s a deceptive amount of skill required to optimize these time trials, and you can get into a flow state easily.

With the gorgeous, simple vehicles based on dozens of real-world classics, and tons of flavor text, the game loves to teach you about rally racing. Any you’ll love zooming through the countryside. Art of Rally is $25 on Steam, but can frequently be had for far less — it’s just $10 on Indiegala at the time of writing.

That’s all for this week. To get my editorials, news picks, and game recommendations delivered straight to your inbox, you can sign up for Boost Mode on the PCWorld Newsletter hub. Also check out The Full Nerd for more enthusiast-focused goodies, Prompt Mode for AI tips, Safe Mode to keep your PC and gadgets secure, and Smart Mode to boost your productivity.

Some people spend most of their digital lives on social media and save almost nothing with the intention of preserving it for the future. They might share photos and videos on Instagram or send them via a messaging app, but it’s all ephemeral. If they ever want to keep something, they might order prints or a photo book.

Most people, however, have a great deal in their digital collections – both on their computers and on their smartphones – that they hope will remain, if not forever, then at least indefinitely. Family photos, holiday videos, scanned documents, old newspapers, and letters are among the files that I want to remain even after I’ve kicked the bucket.

But unlike books and physical photo albums, it’s by no means a given that digital files will still be there or accessible in 25, 50, or 100 years’ time, just as you can’t leave a photo album out on the balcony and expect it to be intact many years later. The moral of the story is this: You need to look after your digital assets. But how to do that in a way that’s sustainable in the long term isn’t always obvious.

How do the experts who work on preserving all kinds of information for the future go about it, and do they have any advice for us mere mortals?

Privat

Ina-Maria Jansson is a researcher and archivist at Uppsala University Library and works on the preservation of personal digital archives. She says there is one important thing to bear in mind for anyone who wants to ensure that their loved ones will be able to enjoy their digital collections, apart from the choice of storage media, file formats, and how backups should be handled:

Document everything! What seems obvious to you may be a jungle for your next of kin. Write down exactly what’s in your digital archive and create an index to describe the contents of your folders and files. Label hard drives and other storage media with their contents. Let those who will be your next of kin know that the documentation and files exist, and make it easy for them to find the documentation.

She notes that a common mistake many private individuals make is failing to consider that their next of kin may not share the same keen interest in those files.

Digital material requires active stewardship that is difficult to avoid, regardless of the measures taken. Will children and grandchildren have the time and energy to take on digital stewardship when they are busy living their own lives? To make things easier, it’s important to explain the content as clearly as possible – what it is and why it’s important. If possible, it’s best to go through the content with your children and grandchildren well in advance, so that they know it exists.

Pavel Danilyuk

Put it in writing

Ina-Maria Jansson wants to make a case for physical or analogue archiving of the most important photos and documents.

We humans are often more primitive than we might like to admit. If something isn’t visible, it doesn’t exist! Because digital photos and videos don’t take up the same physical space and aren’t as easy to look at as a box of photo albums, they’re easily forgotten during a move or when clearing out an estate.

Creating physical copies of photos and other items you really cherish makes them both more durable – as long as you look after them properly! – and easier for your loved ones to preserve and appreciate.

For those who want peace of mind, I’d advise against storing things digitally unless you’re certain that a surviving relative will want to continue managing the digital collection. Instead, select paper copies of your best photographs and place them in acid-free paper sleeves along with details.

Sami Türk

Ina-Maria Jansson acknowledges that video is trickier than photographs. But if you have some truly cherished films that you think your descendants might actually enjoy, there is a way to preserve them in analogue format, too.

You can turn to a company that can transfer the digital films to analogue 16-millimeter film. Many of us may have spent a great deal of money digitizing older films, so it might seem strange that I’m suggesting the opposite, but you’ll understand the point better if you think in terms of a working copy and an archive copy.

In that case, the digital file can serve as a working copy, while the analogue film takes on the role of an archive copy. Under optimal conditions – kept cool, preferably frozen in a metal container – analogue film has a lifespan of up to 500 years! Compare that to a hard drive, which might last for 10 years.

Of course, many people have far too many photos to be able to print them all out. Even if you weed out all the dull ones, you can still benefit from a certain degree of analogue archiving.

Even if the files themselves are stored on your computer, you can create a folder, a keepsake box, or a notebook where you can collect prints and information about your digital legacy.

Jamies X Co

An ongoing task

When I ask Ina-Maria Jansson whether there is any technology that makes it possible to copy important files once and then leave them untouched for many years without risking their loss, the short answer is: no.

Sooner or later, some sort of action will need to be taken. You can choose storage media with the longest possible lifespan, but sooner or later they’ll need to be reviewed. Files on a standard home computer with a hard drive may last a few years, but they’re also exposed to both physical threats such as a house fire and digital threats such as viruses and bit rot. They’re also susceptible to other issues such as the file format becoming unreadable.

Technologies are currently under development that make it possible to store data for thousands or even millions of years, in extreme environments. A couple of years ago, researchers at the University of Southampton demonstrated five-dimensional memory crystals in which data is stored using extremely fast laser beams inside quartz crystals. The largest prototype can store 360 TB with an estimated lifespan of several billion years, and the researchers have, among other things, stored a human’s complete DNA code in a mountain cavern in Austria called Memory of Mankind.

Zulfugar Karimov

For consumers, media can last for several decades if stored correctly. The problem is that it’s impossible to know when they’ll start deteriorating. That’s why it’s important to go through and check everything that’s still working and can be read, so that any incipient faults can be detected while the files are still in a position to be recovered.

For most private individuals, Ina-Maria Jansson says that cloud storage is the best option.

You don’t need to worry about having lots of backups stored in different places, as long as you make sure that your accounts and login details are properly documented. It’s also a good idea to make sure any fees for the cloud service continue to be paid even if the account holder passes away suddenly. Inform your next of kin that the account exists and make it easy for them to find your login details and documentation.

Bit rot and other threats

As Ina-Maria Jansson mentions, files stored on physical storage media in your home can be lost in many ways. Hard drives, SSDs, and Blu-Ray discs can be lost in a fire or flood. If the files are stored on a hard drive or SSD connected to a computer, they may be lost due to malware (like ransomware) or accidentally overwritten. The files may also become corrupted over time, a phenomenon known as bit rot.

If you’ve worked with old data, then you’ve probably experienced this phenomenon. Files that are a few years old can suddenly become corrupted or impossible to open, even though everything appears to be working correctly. Sometimes, it’s possible to repair them, but not always. This could be due to natural wear and tear on the storage medium itself or digital circuits losing their power. Sometimes, it’s caused by read and write errors in the software. It’s also a risk that arises when files are copied or moved and the entire file isn’t transferred.

William Warby

She says there’s software that actively combats bit rot by periodically scanning all files and using checksums to verify that no files have been altered. It only takes a single 1 or 0 to be changed for the checksums to fail to match, at which point the system can repair the file in question. This is called scrubbing and is a feature of, among others, the ZFS file system, which you can use on NAS devices, for example.

Other threats to be aware of include software updates required to open the files and ensuring you have digital playback equipment compatible with your storage medium. A lot can happen in a decade, and your files are meant to last considerably longer than that, aren’t they?

Choose open file formats

When it comes to long-term storage, Ina-Maria Jansson says that researchers usually distinguish between archive formats and everyday formats. The latter are formats that are practical to use in day-to-day life and to share with family and friends. Archive formats, on the other hand, are chosen because they are most likely to remain usable many years from now. They are open formats such as PDF, TIFF, and PNG.

Jan Novaczek

When it comes to video, things are once again a little more complicated. The National Archives recommends Matroska files (.mkv) with video in FFV1 format and audio in LPCM format for long-term preservation. However, uncompressed high-definition video takes up an incredible amount of space, so the vast majority of people have to make do with a compressed format.

The most common compressed format today is H.264, but it’s not entirely open. A modern alternative is AV1, which is both open and free from royalties and other restrictions, so it’s highly likely that software capable of playing such files will be available in the future.

But, as I said, as long as we haven’t sorted out a long-term digital preservation solution that can be passed to future generations, the file format doesn’t really matter that much.

TL;DR: Instead of grinding through video tutorials, flowkey listens while you play and provides live feedback, and a 5-year subscription is only $80 right now.

Learning piano on your own is tough and usually involves hours of staring at tutorials with little progress to show for it. If you want a smarter option, flowkey is an AI piano teacher that listens while you play and provides real-time feedback. A lifetime subscription is also on sale for just $79.99 (reg. $899).

As you play, the app listens through a microphone or MIDI connection and flags a wrong note the moment it happens. Wait Mode holds the lesson until you hit the correct notes, so a beginner moves at a comfortable pace. If you run into a tricky section, you can watch videos of expert pianists next to synced sheet music with slow motion playbacks to help you along. There’s also a loop function that repeats especially difficult sections until you really get it down. You can even select isolated hands you want to practice with.

The Classic Plan includes more than 1,000 classical and public-domain songs, with pieces from Bach, Chopin, Beethoven, and Mozart arranged for Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Pro levels, so you can keep improving with your favorite song.

Get a five-year flowkey subscription while they’re on sale for $79.99.

flowkey Piano Learning App: Classic Plan (5-Year Subscription)See Deal

StackSocial prices subject to change.