Compact power banks have gotten a lot faster in the past year — and it’s not just their USB-C charging speeds that have received a boost. The newest Qi2.2-certified models can wirelessly charge an iPhone 16 or later at up to 25W. Combine that with their ability to magnetically snap on via MagSafe, and you’ve got yourself an essential add-on that’s easy to take on the go.

Qi2 is a magnetic wireless charging standard that’s based on Apple’s MagSafe tech, so almost all modern iPhones support it. While the latest iPhones offer the fastest charging rates, older models (dating back to the iPhone 12) support 15W Qi2 charging speeds, which is still suitably quick. (The iPhone 17E also maxes out at 15W, and the 16E doesn’t have wireless charging at all.)

On the other hand, Android phones are a mixed bag, with very few models supporting Qi2, let alone Qi2.2. Google’s Pixel 10, 10 Pro, and 10 Pro Fold support Qi2 charging at up to 15W; the 10 Pro XL supports Qi 2.2 at up to 25W. Samsung’s Galaxy 26 lineup is “Qi2 Ready,” which means they can use Qi2 chargers at up to 15W if they have a magnet case. And that’s pretty much it.

We know you want the best, whichever phone you have. Some of you may be willing to pay a lot for it, while others may simply want the best possible model for the least amount of money. Of the seven we tested — which vary in features, design, and charging speed — we landed on two picks that should satisfy most people’s needs. 

The Qi2.2 battery with the fastest wireless charging speeds

Dimensions: 2.6 x 4 x 0.6 inches, 196 grams / Wireless charging speed: Qi2.2 25W, Qi2 15W / Wired charging speed: Advertised as 45W, but a bit slower / Passthrough charging: Yes / Ports: One USB-C port / Built-in cable: Yes, non-removable / Advertised battery capacity: 10,000mAh, 36Wh

The Baseus PicoGo AM52 is about as no-frills as power banks come, both in design and features. The all-black battery pack has a sleek aluminum case, with soft-touch silicone on the magnetic side to prevent it from scratching your phone while charging. It can charge devices via Qi2.2 and USB-C simultaneously, but using both requires you to press the power button (and there’s a steep speed penalty as it splits the power).

The AM52 consistently offered the fastest wireless charging speeds of any power bank I tested, and it’s often the most affordable of the bunch. It wirelessly charged an iPhone 17 Pro Max to 65 percent in one hour and the Pixel 10 Pro XL to 50 percent, which is on par with the slightly pricier Sharge Icemag 3. The Iniu SnapGo Air slightly outperformed the AM52 in some wireless tests, but lagged behind in others. Baseus’s model lacks a built-in display — meaning you can’t see the remaining charge — but two of the four LED indicators were still full after an hour of wireless charging, indicating it still had some juice left.

I tested the version with a built-in USB-C cable, which usually retails for $64 at Amazon if you’re a Prime member ($4 more than the cordless version). Sometimes, it drops to $40 or so with a coupon, and in terms of wired charging speeds, it was also among the fastest of the seven batteries I tested. It charged both the iPhone and Pixel to about 90 percent capacity within an hour, though it’s not necessarily hard to find a battery that supports fast wired charging.

	iPhone 17 Pro Max	iPhone 17 Pro Max	Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
	After one hour of wireless charging	After one hour of wired USB-C charging	After one hour of wireless charging	After one hour of wired USB-C charging
Baseus PicoGo AM52	65 percent	89 percent	50 percent	90 percent
Sharge Icemag 3	64 percent	85 percent	49 percent	70 percent
Iniu SnapGo Air	60 percent	89 percent	34 percent	88 percent

The Baseus AM52 advertises a top speed of 45W via USB-C, though it didn’t reach those speeds with any of the devices I tested. It topped out at about 38W while connected to the iPhone 17 Pro Max and 33W while attached to the Pixel 10 Pro XL, both of which advertise higher wired speeds (the Iniu SnapGo Air topped out at 39W). The Baseus also topped out at 39.1W while plugged into my M2 MacBook Air, which isn’t far from its advertised rating, while the Iniu reached 43W. In other words, get the Iniu if you value fast wired speeds and the Baseus if you want fast wireless charging.

The other Qi2.2 batteries I tested

• Sharge’s Icemag 3 (39.1Wh) is the coolest battery of the seven that I tested, and it delivers great wireless and wired charging speeds (25W and 30W, respectively). No issues here, but it usually costs a fair amount more than the Baseus or Iniu model.
• Iniu’s SnapGo Air (39.2Wh) came close to being our top pick thanks to its fast wired charging, relatively low price, and LED display that shows remaining charge. But its wireless charging performance was inconsistent.

The Qi2 battery with the most power for the least money

Dimensions: 2.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches, 215 grams / Wireless charging speed: Qi2 15W / Wired charging speed: 30W / Passthrough charging support: Yes / Ports: One USB-C port / Built-in cable: Yes, removable / Advertised battery capacity: 10,000mAh, 38.5Wh

I wasn’t expecting one of the best-performing batteries to be the least expensive model I called in. The iWalk PowerHybrid is a 15W Qi2 charger that’s bulkier than our top pick, and honestly, pretty cheap-looking. But I can’t argue with its charging speeds, or the fact that it’s commonly available for about $35 — half the typical cost of the Baseus AM52. The PowerHybrid also includes a USB-C cable fashioned into a lanyard; however, this one is fully detachable, unlike Baseus’s.

The iWalk charged the iPhone 17 Pro Max to 55 percent in an hour via Qi2 wireless charging. It performed similarly to our Qi2.2 pick while charging the Pixel 10 Pro XL, too, delivering 46 percent of the phone’s total charge in an hour (with 59 percent of the power bank’s battery remaining). Yes, that’s slower than the AM52, but ask yourself: Is a 10 percent speed boost worth nearly twice the price? No judgment if your answer is yes, but those shaking their heads are my kind of people.

	iPhone 17 Pro Max	iPhone 17 Pro Max	Google Pixel 10 Pro XL	Google Pixel 10 Pro XL
	After one hour of wireless charging	After one hour of wired USB-C charging	After one hour of wireless charging	After one hour of wired USB-C charging
iWalk Power Hybrid battery ($50)	55 percent	90 percent	46 percent	85 percent
Anker MagGo Power Bank ($90)	57 percent	86 percent	46 percent	72 percent
Aulumu M10 battery ($90)	58 percent	90 percent	12 percent	84 percent
Statik SmartCharge Gen 2 ($70)	25 percent	32 percent	18 percent	36 percent

The PowerHybrid’s wired charging speeds were in line with other models I tested, allowing me to take the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the Pixel 10 Pro XL to 90 percent and 85 percent in an hour, respectively. It also didn’t have any issues reaching its peak 30W charging speeds across multiple devices, which, again, was the case with the AM52.

The iWalk battery has a pretty big quirk, however: It doesn’t automatically turn on when you place a device on its magnetic surface. For Qi2 charging to work, its display (which shows the remaining charge) must be illuminated, which requires you to either press the power button or charge something via its USB-C port. It’s not a big deal, but it might be annoying to some.

The other Qi2 batteries I tested

• The Anker MagGo Power Bank (38.5Wh) is hefty and deluxe, with a durable kickstand and a slick display that shows remaining charge and time to charge. But it’s slow considering its high $90 price, managing 15W Qi2 and 27W USB-C charging.
• No other battery I tested looks as quirky and futuristic as Aulumu’s M10 (36Wh). It supports Apple Watch charging, plus USB-C charging and Qi2 15W speeds, but it’s costly at $90 and delivers inconsistent wireless charging speeds.
• Statik’s SmartCharge Gen 2 (38.5Wh) delivers what a lot of people are likely looking for: a power bank that can plug directly into an outlet, with two built-in USB-C cables, a few ports, not to mention Apple Watch charging. It’s cool and not terribly expensive at $70, but it’s very slow to charge devices.

Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge

Just days after TP-Link, Asus has announced its own Wi-Fi 8 router.

A new study from Taiwan combines consumer behavior research and life cycle assessment to design reusable cup systems that people are more willing to use. The findings show that convenience and incentives strongly shape participation, while well-designed reusable cup systems can still reduce environmental impacts compared to single-use cups.

Microsoft wants you to wear an AI badge and the rest of the field doesn't seem to be faring much better.

A few months ago, Meta effectively handed Supernatural, a popular VR fitness game on the Meta Quest, a death sentence. As part of overarching VR layoffs, the company announced the game would no longer get any new content, enraging its tightly knit, devoted community. Now it looks like Supernatural is getting a second chance. Today, Meta announced in a community post that the game is being spun off into an independent company later this year.

The new entity will be called Supernatural Health, and will launch as a separate app on the Meta Horizon Store. While Meta did not comment on who would be the CEO of Supernatural Health, Meta spokespers …

Read the full story at The Verge.

The Dreame L20 Ultra isn’t the company’s newest model, but it’s still a great robovac / mop hybrid that offers strong performance while requiring very little day-to-day maintenance thanks to its included trash bin and AI obstacle avoidance. Verge readers can get for its best-ever price right now. Originally $1,400 when it launched in 2023, it’s down to $279 from Wellbots with code L20VERGE.

What makes the L20 Ultra so great at this price is that it can do a lot on its own — so much more than other robovacs at this price point. The included base station automatically empties the vacuum’s dustbin, washes and dries the mop pads, and refills the robot’s water tank between cleaning sessions. The L20 Ultra also offers reliable AI-powered obstacle avoidance and can quickly map your home’s layout, meaning you don’t need to babysit it as it cleans. Thanks to its large dust bin, you can ignore it for up to 75 days without having to empty it yourself. 

The robovac does a good job of cleaning up carpets and hardwood floors alike, thanks to its 7,000Pa of suction power. What’s more, its dual oscillating mop pads extend when needed to clean along baseboards and in corners. It can lift the mop pads over carpets, or return to its base station to have them removed.

Of course, being a three-year-old robot vacuum, it lacks some of the upgrades found on newer models. For example, the $1,349.99 ($150 off) Dreame X60 — currently one of our favorite robovacs — offers a whopping 35,000Pa of suction, two rubber brushes, and a motorized swing arm that can climb over taller thresholds between rooms. Even without them, the L20 Ultra still offers a lot of premium features that aren’t typically offered at this price.

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Three more ways to save

• Through July 16th at 2:59AM ET, Prime members who are new to Audible can get three months of Audible Standard for free, a savings of roughly $27 compared to paying the regular $8.99 monthly price. The plan gives you one credit to purchase a new audiobook each month from Audible’s vast library, which includes bestsellers and classics, and they’re yours to keep forever, even if you end the subscription. You’ll be renewed at the regular $8.99 per month price unless you cancel at the end of the promotional period.
• Woot is selling the last-gen Bose Soundlink Flex portable Bluetooth speaker in refurbished condition for $69.99 with a one-year Bose warranty. That’s $80 less than its original retail price. The portable Bluetooth speaker isn’t all that different from the newer model, and can deliver surprisingly expansive sound quality for its size. It also boasts a rugged IP67-rated design for dust and water resistance, and it lasts up to 12 hours on a single charge. Its controls aren’t the most intuitive we’ve used, and it lacks support for higher-res AAC and aptX codecs, but we think those flaws are easy to overlook at this price.
• You can buy two Ring Cam Indoor cameras for $49.98 (normally $99.98), making the second camera free, at Amazon. The wired 1080p cameras sport physical privacy covers that turn off audio and video recording. They also include an adjustable mount, a built-in siren, color night vision, and two-way talk. If you subscribe to a Ring Protect Plan, which starts at $4.99 a month per device, you’ll get notifications for people, packages, and vehicles, as well as access to recorded video history.

Besides showing the weather, it can also sync with your calendar and control smart home devices—if you have a SwitchBot Matter hub, that is.

Microsoft has two new Surface devices arriving later this year, both powered by Nvidia's RTX Spark chips. I got a chance to take a closer look at both the Surface Laptop Ultra and Surface RTX Spark Dev Box at Microsoft's Build conference this week, and while both have the same chip inside, they're utilizing Nvidia's RTX Spark in different ways.

The Surface Laptop Ultra looks and feels very much like a 16-inch MacBook Pro. There are no transforming hinges, detachable displays, or any other tricks - this is a clamshell laptop built with performance in mind. Microsoft has opted for a 15-inch mini LED panel, which operates at up to 2,000 nits o …

Read the full story at The Verge.

Over the last few months, these DIY hardware communities have exploded in popularity as people on social media show off their solar-powered game emulators, pocket-sized ereaders, and clamshell purse computers.

Researchers at the University of Maryland are trying to get to the bottom of our farts.

From laptops designed for the artificial intelligence era to advances in robotics and sky-high tech shares, here are five hot topics at Taipei's huge Computex trade show:

Microsoft pulled the wraps off a new quantum computing chip on Tuesday, one it redrew with help from

A solid shell and a low price can go a long way. A shady trackpad, not so much.

Jensen Huang thinks that humans just 'rent' PC cores and that agents deserve that processing more than you.

A new kind of wireless jamming attack could use curved radio beams to disguise where interference is coming

Emulation is emulation, but Nvidia shows us that we can have a very strong gaming PC without a shitty battery life.

When a person loses a limb, a prosthesis often can help restore a significant degree of mobility. But

Find relief from back pain and muscle tension with picks our contributors love, like slip-on shoes and thick cushions

• Seven essential gadgets to live with when you have back pain, from grabbers to lap desks

• Sign up for the Filter US newsletter, your weekly guide to buying fewer, better things

In another world, pressing play on a “heal overnight manifestation” video or taking a nice hot bath would be enough to relieve our tech necks and tense muscles. Instead, we usually need real, everyday support.

At the Filter, we’ve tested a lot of gadgets to soothe our own achy bodies: eight seat cushions, 18 massage guns and countless products for sleep aid. Below we’ve selected six practical items from our coverage that may help ease your aches and pains.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon

© Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon

© Photograph: Courtesy of Amazon

Move over, AI pendants; it's badge time.

I like the UE Wonderboom 4 Bluetooth speaker so much that I bought two of them, though I wish I could have paid less for them. Fortunately, you can stock up on the cheap, so long as you like the color blue. The Wonderboom 4 is available in blue at Amazon for $51.49, and at Walmart and Best Buy for $51.99 ($28 off its regular price). That’s the lowest price we’ve seen yet for the waterproof speaker, with most of the other color options selling at a slightly higher (but still discounted) $69.99.

Despite the Wonderboom 4’s compact size, the speaker sounds great, and is IP67-rated, meaning it can survive being submerged in water for a while. Although, its floatable design means that it’ll quickly return to the surface so you can put it back on dry land (it’s not meant to be listened to while in the water). If you have two of them, like me, they can be wirelessly paired together for stereo sound. With up to 14 hours of battery life per charge, the speaker will likely outlast your long summer outings. 

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Other deals to consider

• Hollow Knight: Silksong, the long-awaited sequel to Team Cherry’s 2017 metroidvania,  is discounted for the first time on the Nintendo eShop, bringing the price for the Switch and Switch 2 digital versions down to just $15.99 ($4 off). The difficult sequel pits players against relentless bosses and demanding platforming sections, and is great for anyone who loves a challenging side-scroller. Read our review.
• This MAG 272QP 27-inch 1440p QD-OLED gaming monitor from MSI is marked down to $339.99 ($60 off) for Costco members, its lowest price yet. It’s selling for around $400 at other retailers, so this is a good deal even if you have to get a Costco membership to snag. The monitor features a fast 240Hz refresh rate, plus FreeSync Premium and G-Sync support to keep the image looking smooth even if the frame rate fluctuates. In terms of ports, it offers two HDMI 2.1 inputs and one DisplayPort 1.4 port, plus a USB-C connection for DP Alt Mode, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The monitor includes a three-year warranty that also covers OLED burn-in.
• Fractal Design may be best known for PC components, but the case maker’s Scape wireless gaming headset surprised us with excellent sound and a sleek, refined aesthetic. They’re marked down to $169.99 ($30 off) at Amazon for Prime members, available in both silver or black finishes, with an included inductive charging dock. In addition to working with PC, we also got it working on a PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 with its included USB audio transmitter. Read our review.