Tech – Page 2

LG TVs’ unremovable Copilot shortcut is the least of smart TVs’ AI problems

AI, chatbots, copilot, generative ai, lg, microsoft, samsung, Tech, TVs / Mike M. / December 19, 2025

But Copilot will still be integrated into Tizen OS, and Samsung appears eager to push chatbots into TVs, including by launching Perplexity’s first TV app. Amazon, which released Fire TVs with Alexa+ this year, is also exploring putting chatbots into TVs.

After the backlash LG faced this week, companies may reconsider installing AI apps on people’s smart TVs. A better use of large language models in TVs may be as behind-the-scenes tools to improve TV watching. People generally don’t buy smart TVs to make it easier to access chatbots.

But this development is still troubling for anyone who doesn’t want an AI chatbot in their TV at all.

Some people don’t want chatbots in their TVs

Subtle integrations of generative AI that make it easier for people to do things like figure out the name of “that movie” may have practical use, but there are reasons to be wary of chatbot-wielding TVs.

Chatbots add another layer of complexity to understanding how a TV tracks user activity. With a chatbot involved, smart TV owners will be subject to complicated smart TV privacy policies and terms of service, as well as the similarly verbose rules of third-party AI companies. This will make it harder for people to understand what data they’re sharing with companies, and there’s already serious concern about the boundaries smart TVs are pushing to track users, including without consent.

Chatbots can also contribute to smart TV bloatware. Unwanted fluff, like games, shopping shortcuts, and flashy ads, already disrupts people who just want to watch TV.

LG’s Copilot web app is worthy of some grousing, but not necessarily because of the icon that users will eventually be able to delete. The more pressing issue is the TV industry’s shift toward monetizing software with user tracking and ads.

If you haven’t already, now is a good time to check out our guide to breaking free from smart TV ads and tracking.

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Riot Games is making an anti-cheat change that could be rough on older PCs

AMD, anti-cheat, gaming, intel, Riot games, Tech, valorant, Vanguard / 9u50fv / December 19, 2025

But Riot says it’s considering rolling the BIOS requirement out to all players in Valorant‘s highest competitive ranking tiers (Ascendant, Immortal, and Radiant), where there’s more to be gained from working around the anti-cheat software. And Riot anti-cheat analyst Mohamed Al-Sharifi says the same restrictions could be turned on for League of Legends, though they aren’t currently. If users are blocked from playing by Vanguard, they’ll need to download and install the latest BIOS update for their motherboard before they’ll be allowed to launch the game.

Newer PCs are getting patched; older PCs might not be

An AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D in a motherboard with a 500-series chipset. It’s unclear whether these somewhat older systems need a patch or will get one. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

The vulnerability is known to affect four of the largest PC motherboard makers: ASRock, Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI. All four have released updates for at least some of their newer motherboards, while other boards have updates coming later. According to the vulnerability note, it’s unclear whether systems from OEMs like Dell, Lenovo, Acer, or HP are affected.

ASRock’s security bulletin about the issue says it affects Intel boards based on the 500-, 600-, 700-, and 800-series chipsets; MSI only lists the 600- and 700-series chipsets. Asus is also missing the 800-series, but says the vulnerability affects boards based on even older 400-series Intel chipsets; Gigabyte, meanwhile, covers 600-through-800-series Intel chipsets, but is also the only vendor to mention patches for AMD’s 600- and 800-series chipsets (any motherboard with an AM5 socket, in short).

Collectively, all of these chipsets cover Intel’s 10th-generation Core processors and newer, and AMD Ryzen 7000 series and newer.

What’s unclear is whether the boards and chipsets that go unmentioned by each vendor aren’t getting a patch because they don’t need a patch, if they will be patched but they just aren’t being mentioned, or if they aren’t getting a patch at all. The bulletins at least suggest that 400- and 500-series Intel chipsets and 600- and 800-series AMD chipsets could be affected, but not all vendors have promised patches for them.

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YouTube bans two popular channels that created fake AI movie trailers

AI, Ai video, Artificial Intelligence, Google, Tech, youtube / Kelly Newman / December 18, 2025

Deadline reports that the behavior of these creators ran afoul of YouTube’s spam and misleading-metadata policies. At the same time, Google loves generative AI—YouTube has added more ways for creators to use generative AI, and the company says more gen AI tools are coming in the future. It’s quite a tightrope for Google to walk.

AI movie trailers — A selection of videos from the now-defunct Screen Culture channel. Credit: Ryan Whitwam

While passing off AI videos as authentic movie trailers is definitely spammy conduct, the recent changes to the legal landscape could be a factor, too. Disney recently entered into a partnership with OpenAI, bringing its massive library of characters to the company’s Sora AI video app. At the same time, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Google demanding the removal of Disney content from Google AI. The letter specifically cited AI content on YouTube as a concern.

Both the banned trailer channels made heavy use of Disney properties, sometimes even incorporating snippets of real trailers. For example, Screen Culture created 23 AI trailers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, some of which outranked the official trailer in searches. It’s unclear if either account used Google’s Veo models to create the trailers, but Google’s AI will recreate Disney characters without issue.

While Screen Culture and KH Studio were the largest purveyors of AI movie trailers, they are far from alone. There are others with five and six-digit subscriber counts, some of which include disclosures about fan-made content. Is that enough to save them from the ban hammer? Many YouTube viewers probably hope not.

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Peacock showing ads upon launch opens the door for more disruptive streaming ads

ads, nbcuniversal, peacock, streaming, Tech / Shannon Garcia / December 18, 2025

Peacock subscribers will see ads immediately upon opening the streaming app or website next year. It’s a bold new strategy for attracting advertisers—something that’s been increasingly important to subscription-based streaming services—but it also risks alienating viewers

As reported by Variety, the new type of ads will display on the profile selection page that shows when a subscriber launches Peacock. Starting next year, instead of the profile page just showing your different Peacock profiles, most of the page will be dominated by an advertorial image. The circles of NBCUniversal-owned characters selected for user profiles will be relegated to a vertical column on the screen’s left side, as you can see here.

To avoid seeing what NBCUniversal is calling “Arrival Ads” every time you open Peacock, you need to subscribe to Peacock’s most expensive plan, which is ad-free and starts at $17 per month (Peacock’s ad-based plans start at $8/month.)

NBCUniversal’s announcement claims that Peacock will be the first streaming service to implement this type of ad. But that may not be the brag the entertainment giant thinks it is, as subscribers may quickly find the startup ads disruptive.

Peacock isn’t making money

Over the past couple of years, it’s become increasingly important for streaming services to generate revenue beyond subscription fees. Peacock and many other streaming services have struggled with profitability after spending years focusing on pricey content production and licensing to attract subscribers.

For its part, Peacock has 41 million subscribers and isn’t profitable. In its most recent quarterly earnings report, shared in October, NBCUniversal parent company Comcast reported that the service lost $217 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, compared to losing $436 million in the same quarter in 2024. At the same time, Peacock has struggled to grow viewership and has had the same number of subscribers since Q1 2025. In Q1 2024, Peacock had 31 million subscribers.

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RAM and SSD prices are still climbing—here’s our best advice for PC builders

AMD, gaming, intel, NVIDIA, Tech / 9u50fv / December 18, 2025

I would avoid building a PC right now, but if you can’t, here’s our best advice.

The 16GB version of AMD’s Radeon RX 9060 XT. It’s one of the products to come out of a bad year for PC building. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

The first few months of 2025 were full of graphics card reviews where we generally came away impressed with performance and completely at a loss on availability and pricing. The testing in these reviews is useful regardless, but when it came to extra buying advice, the best we could do was to compare Nvidia’s imaginary pricing to AMD’s imaginary pricing and wait for availability to improve.

Now, as the year winds down, we’re facing price spikes for memory and storage that are unlike anything I’ve seen in two decades of pricing out PC parts. Pricing for most RAM kits has increased dramatically since this summer, driven by overwhelming demand for these parts in AI data centers. Depending on what you’re building, it’s now very possible that the memory could be the single most expensive component you buy; things are even worse now than they were the last time we compared prices a few weeks ago.

Component	Aug. 2025 price	Nov. 2025 price	Dec. 2025 price
Patriot Viper Venom 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR-6000	$49	$110	$189
Western Digital WD Blue SN5000 500GB	$45	$69	$102*
Silicon Power 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200	$34	$89	$104
Western Digital WD Blue SN5000 1TB	$64	$111	$135*
Team T-Force Vulcan 32GB DDR5-6000	$82	$310	$341
Western Digital WD Blue SN5000 2TB	$115	$154	$190*
Western Digital WD Black SN7100 2TB	$130	$175	$210
Team Delta RGB 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5-6400	$190	$700	$800

Some SSDs are getting to the point where they’re twice as expensive as they were this summer (for this comparison, I’ve swapped the newer WD Blue SN5100 pricing in for the SN5000, since the drive is both newer and slightly cheaper as of this writing). Some RAM kits, meanwhile, are around four times as expensive as they were in August. Yeesh.

And as bad as things are, the outlook for the immediate future isn’t great. Memory manufacturer Micron—which is pulling its Crucial-branded RAM and storage products from the market entirely in part because of these shortages—predicted in a recent earnings call that supply constraints would “persist beyond calendar 2026.” Kingston executives believe prices will continue to rise through next year. PR representatives at GPU manufacturer Sapphire believe prices will “stabilize,” albeit at a higher level than people might like.

I didn’t know it when I was writing the last update to our system guide in mid-August, but it turns out that I was writing it during 2025’s PC Building Equinox, the all-too-narrow stretch of time where 1080p and 1440p GPUs had fallen to more-or-less MSRP but RAM and storage prices hadn’t yet spiked.

All in all, it has been yet another annus horribilis for gaming-PC builders, and at this point it seems like the 2020s will just end up being a bad decade for PC building. Not only have we had to deal with everything from pandemic-fueled shortages to tariffs to the current AI-related crunch, but we’ve also been given pretty underwhelming upgrades for both GPUs and CPUs.

It should be a golden age for the gaming PC

It’s really too bad that building or buying a gaming PC is such an annoying and expensive proposition, because in a lot of ways there has never been a better time to be a PC gamer.

It used to be that PC ports of popular console games would come years later or never at all, but these days PC players get games at around the same time as console players, too. Sony, of all companies, has become much better about releasing its games to PC players. And Microsoft seems to be signaling more and more convergence between the Xbox and the PC, to the extent that it is communicating any kind of coherent Xbox strategy at all. The console wars are cooling down, and the PC has been one of the main beneficiaries.

That wider game availability is also coming at a time when PC software is getting more flexible and interesting. Traditional Windows-based gaming builds still dominate, of course, and Windows remains the path of least resistance for PC buyers and builders. But Valve’s work on SteamOS and the Proton compatibility software has brought a wide swath of PC games to Linux, and SteamOS itself is enabling a simpler and more console-like PC gaming experience for handheld PCs as well as TV-connected desktop computers. And that work is now boomeranging back around to Windows, which is gradually rolling out its own pared-down gamepad-centric frontend.

If you’ve already got a decent gaming PC, you’re feeling pretty good about all of this—as long as the games you want to play don’t have Mario or Pikachu in them, your PC is all you really need. It’s also not a completely awful time to be upgrading a build you already have, as long as you already have at least 16GB of RAM—if you’re thinking about a GPU upgrade, doing it now before the RAM price spikes can start impacting graphics card pricing is probably a smart move.

If you don’t already have a decent gaming PC and you can buy a whole PlayStation 5 for the cost of some 32GB DDR5 RAM kits, well, it’s hard to look past the downsides no matter how good the upsides are. But it doesn’t mean we can’t try.

What if you want to buy something anyway?

As (relatively) old as they are, midrange Core i5 chips from Intel’s 12th-, 13th-, and 14th-generation Core CPU lineups are still solid choices for budget-to-midrange PC builds. And they work with DDR4, which isn’t *quite* as pricey as DDR5 right now. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

Say those upsides are still appealing to you, and you want to build something today. How should you approach this terrible, volatile RAM market?

I won’t do a full update to August’s system guide right now, both because it feels futile to try and recommend individual RAM kits or SSD with prices and stock levels being as volatile as they are, and because aside from RAM and storage I actually wouldn’t change any of these recommendations all that much (with the caveat that Intel’s Core i5-13400F seems to be getting harder to find; consider an i5-12400F or i5-12600KF instead). So, starting from those builds, here’s the advice I would try to give to PC-curious friends:

DDR4 is faring better than DDR5. Prices for all kinds of RAM have gone up recently, but DDR4 pricing hasn’t gotten quite as bad as DDR5 pricing. That’s of no help to you if you’re trying to build something around a newer Ryzen chip and a socket AM5 motherboard, since those parts require DDR5. But if you’re trying to build a more budget-focused system around one of Intel’s 12th-, 13th-, or 14th-generation CPUs, a decent name brand 32GB DDR4-3200 kit comes in around half the price of a similar 32GB DDR5-6000 kit. Pricing isn’t great, but it’s still possible to build something respectable for under $1,000.

Newegg bundles might help. I’m normally not wild about these kinds of component bundles; even if they appear to be a good deal, they’re often a way for Newegg or other retailers to get rid of things they don’t want by pairing them with things people do want. You also have to deal with less flexibility—you can’t always pick exactly the parts you’d want under ideal circumstances. But if you’re already buying a CPU and a motherboard, it might be worth digging through the available deals just to see if you can get a good price on something workable.

Don’t overbuy (or consider under-buying). Under normal circumstances, anyone advising you on a PC build should be recommending matched pairs of RAM sticks with reasonable speeds and ample capacities (DDR4-3200 remains a good sweet spot, as does DDR5-6000 or DDR5-6400). Matched sticks are capable of dual-channel operation, boosting memory bandwidth and squeezing a bit more performance out of your system. And getting 32GB of RAM means comfortably running any game currently in existence, with a good amount of room to grow.

But desperate times call for desperate measures. Slower DDR5 speeds like DDR5-5200 can come in a fair bit cheaper than DDR5-6000 or DDR5-6400, in exchange for a tiny speed hit that’s going to be hard to notice outside of benchmarks. You might even consider buying a single 16GB stick of DDR5, and buying it a partner at some point later when prices have calmed down a bit. You’ll leave a tiny bit of performance on the table, and a small handful of games want more than 16GB of system RAM. But you’ll have something that boots, and the GPU is still going to determine how well most games run.

Don’t forget that non-binary DDR5 exists. DDR5 sticks come in some in-betweener capacities that weren’t possible with DDR4, which means that companies sell it in 24GB and 48GB sticks, not just 16/32/64. And these kits can be a very slightly better deal than the binary memory kits right now; this 48GB Crucial DDR5-6000 kit is going for $470 right now, or $9.79 per gigabyte, compared to about $340 for a similar 32GB kit ($10.63 per GB) or $640 for a 64GB kit ($10 per GB). It’s not much, but if you truly do need a lot of RAM, it’s worth looking into.

Consider pre-built systems. A quick glance at Dell’s Alienware lineup and Lenovo’s Legion lineup makes it clear that these towers still aren’t particularly price-competitive with similarly specced self-built PCs. This was true before there was a RAM shortage, and it’s true now. But for certain kinds of PCs, particularly budget PCs, it can still make more sense to buy than to build.

For example, when I wrote about the self-built “Steam Machine” I’ve been using for a few months now, I mentioned some Ryzen-based mini desktops on Amazon. I later tested this one from Aoostar as part of a wider-ranging SteamOS-vs-Windows performance comparison. Whether you’re comfortable with these no-name mini PCs is something you’ll have to decide for yourself, but that’s a fully functional PC with 32GB of DDR5, a 1TB SSD, a workable integrated GPU, and a Windows license for $500. You’d spend nearly $500 just to buy the RAM kit and the SSD with today’s component prices; for basic 1080p gaming you could do a lot worse.

Andrew is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica, with a focus on consumer tech including computer hardware and in-depth reviews of operating systems like Windows and macOS. Andrew lives in Philadelphia and co-hosts a weekly book podcast called Overdue.

RAM and SSD prices are still climbing—here’s our best advice for PC builders Read More »

Software leaks point to the first Apple Silicon “iMac Pro,” among other devices

Apple, Apple silicon, iMac, Mac, macos 26 tahoe, Tech / DJ Henderson / December 16, 2025

Apple doesn’t like to talk about its upcoming products before it’s ready, but sometimes the company’s software does the talking for it. So far this week we’ve had a couple of software-related leaks that have outed products Apple is currently testing—one a pre-release build of iOS 26, and the other some leaked files from a kernel debug kit (both via MacRumors).

Most of the new devices referenced in these leaks are straightforward updates to products that already exist: a new Apple TV, a HomePod mini 2, new AirTags and AirPods, an M4 iPad Air, a 12th-generation iPad to replace the current A16 version, next-generation iPhones (including the 17e, 18, and the rumored foldable model), a new Studio Display model, some new smart home products we’ve already heard about elsewhere, and M5 updates for the MacBook Air, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and the other MacBook Pros. There’s also yet another reference to the lower-cost MacBook that Apple is apparently planning to replace the M1 MacBook Air it still sells via Walmart for $599.

For power users, though, the most interesting revelation might be that Apple is working on a higher-end Apple Silicon iMac powered by an M5 Max chip. The kernel debug kit references an iMac with the internal identifier J833c, based on a platform identified as H17C—and H17C is apparently based on the M5 Max, rather than a lower-end M5 chip. (For those who don’t have Apple’s branding memorized, “Max” is associated with Apple’s second-fastest chips; the M5 Max would be faster than the M5 or M5 Pro, but slower than the rumored M5 Ultra.)

This device could be the long-awaited, occasionally-rumored-but-never-launched replacement to Apple’s 27-inch iMac, which was discontinued in 2022 with no direct replacement. An M5 Max chip would also make this machine the closest thing we’ve seen to a direct replacement for the iMac Pro, a 27-inch iMac variant that was launched in late 2017 but likewise discontinued without an update or replacement.

The current M4 Max chip includes 14 or 16 CPU cores, 32 or 40 GPU cores, and between 36GB and 128GB of unified memory, specs we’d expect an M5 Max to match or beat. And because the Max chips already fit into the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros, it should be no problem to fit one into an all-in-one desktop PC.

Software leaks point to the first Apple Silicon “iMac Pro,” among other devices Read More »

Google will end dark web reports that alerted users to leaked data

dark web, data leaks, Google, privacy, Security, Tech / Mike M. / December 15, 2025

As Google admits in the email alert, its dark web scans didn’t offer much help. “Feedback showed that it did not provide helpful next steps,” Google said of the service. Here’s the full text of the email.

With other types of personal data alerts provided by the company, it has the power to do something. For example, you can have Google remove pages from search that list your personal data. Google doesn’t run anything on the dark web, though, so all it can do is remind you that your data is being passed around in one of the shadier corners of the Internet.

The shutdown begins on January 15, when Google will stop conducting new scans for user data on the dark web. Past data will no longer be available as of February 16, 2026. Google says it will delete all past reports at that time. However, users can remove their monitoring profile earlier in the account settings. This change does not impact any of Google’s other privacy reports.

The good news is that the best ways to protect your personal data from being shuffled around the dark web are the same ones that keep you safe on the open web. Google suggests always using two-step verification, and tools like Passkeys and Google’s password checkup can ensure you don’t accidentally reuse a compromised password. Stay safe out there.

Google will end dark web reports that alerted users to leaked data Read More »

How to break free from smart TV ads and tracking

ads, Features, streaming, Tech, TVs / Mike M. / December 13, 2025

The Ars guide to “dumb” TVs

Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options.

Credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images

Smart TVs can feel like a dumb choice if you’re looking for privacy, reliability, and simplicity.

Today’s TVs and streaming sticks are usually loaded up with advertisements and user tracking, making offline TVs seem very attractive. But ever since smart TV operating systems began making money, “dumb” TVs have been hard to find.

In response, we created this non-smart TV guide that includes much more than dumb TVs. Since non-smart TVs are so rare, this guide also breaks down additional ways to watch TV and movies online and locally without dealing with smart TVs’ evolution toward software-centric features and snooping. We’ll discuss a range of options suitable for various budgets, different experience levels, and different rooms in your home.

Table of Contents

Our best recommendation

This is a dumb TV guide, but first, let’s briefly highlight the best recommendation for most people: Take your TV offline and plug in an Apple TV box.

The Apple TV 4K and Siri Remote. — Your best option. Credit: Jeff Dunn

An Apple TV lets you replace smart TV software with Apple’s cleaner tvOS, and it’s more intuitive than using most smart TVs and other streaming devices. Apple’s tvOS usually runs faster and more reliably, and it isn’t riddled with distracting ads or recommendations. And there’s virtually no learning curve for family members or visitors, something that can’t always be said for DIY alternatives.

Critically, Apple TV boxes are also an easy recommendation on the privacy front. The setup process makes it simple for anyone to ensure that the device is using relatively minimal user tracking. You’re likely to use an Apple TV box with the Apple TV app or with an Apple account, which means sending some data to Apple. But Apple has a better reputation for keeping user information in-house, and Apple TV boxes don’t have automatic content recognition (ACR).

For more information, read my previous article on why Apple TVs are privacy advocates’ go-to streaming device.

Differing from other smart TV alternatives in this guide (such as a laptop), you don’t have to worry about various streaming services’ requirements for streaming in 4K or HDR with an Apple TV. But you still have to make sure your display and HDMI cable are HDCP 2.2-compliant and that you’re using HDMI 2.0 or better if you want to watch 4K or HDR content. You could even connect network-attached storage (NAS) to your Apple TV box so you can stream files from the storage device.

Plus, using a smart TV offline means you’ll have access to the latest and greatest display technologies, which is generally not the case for dumb TVs.

Things to keep in mind

One common concern about using smart TVs offline is the fear that the TV will repeatedly nag you to connect to the Internet. I’ve seen some reports of this happening over the years, but generally speaking, this doesn’t seem to be expected behavior. If you can’t find a way to disable TV notifications, try contacting support.

You may want your offline TV to keep LAN access so you can still use some smart TV features, like phone mirroring or streaming from a NAS. In this case, you can use your router (if supported) to block your TV’s IP address from connecting to the Internet.

And Google TV users should remember to set their TV to “basic TV” mode, which lets you use the TV without connecting to the Internet.

Dumb TVs are endangered

Buying a TV that doesn’t connect to the Internet is an obvious solution to avoiding smart TV tracking and ads, but that’s much easier said than done.

Smart TV OSes help TV-makers stay afloat in an industry with thin margins on hardware. Not only do they provide ad space, but they also give OS operators and their partners information on how people use their TVs—data that is extremely valuable to advertisers. Additionally, mainstream acceptance of the Internet of Things has led many people to expect their TVs to have integrated Wi-Fi. These factors have all made finding a dumb TV difficult, especially in the US.

Dumb TVs sold today have serious image and sound quality tradeoffs, simply because companies don’t make dumb versions of their high-end models. On the image side, you can expect lower resolutions, sizes, and brightness levels and poorer viewing angles. You also won’t find premium panel technologies like OLED. If you want premium image quality or sound, you’re better off using a smart TV offline. Dumb TVs also usually have shorter (one-year) warranties.

Any display or system you end up using needs HDCP 2.2 compliance to play 4K or HDR content via a streaming service or any other DRM-protected 4K or HDR media, like a Blu-ray disc.

Best ways to find a dumb TV

Below are the brands I’ve identified as most likely to have dumb TVs available for purchase online as of this writing.

Emerson

I was able to find the greatest number of non-smart TVs from Emerson. Emerson is a Parsippany, New Jersey, electronics company that was founded in 1948.

As of this writing, Emerson’s dumb TV options range from 7-inch portable models to 50-inch 4K TVs. Its TVs are relatively easy to get since they’re sold directly and through various online retailers, including Amazon, Home Depot, Best Buy, and, for some reason, Shein.

Westinghouse

Another company still pushing non-smart TVs is Westinghouse, a Pittsburgh-headquartered company founded in 1886. In addition to other types of electronics and home goods, Westinghouse also has an industrial business that includes nuclear fuel.

Westinghouse’s dumb TVs max out at 32 inches and 720p resolution, but some of them also have a built-in DVD player. You can find Westinghouse’s dumb TVs on Amazon. However, Westinghouse seems to have the most dubious reputation of these brands based on online chatter.

Sceptre

Sceptre, a Walmart brand, still has a handful of dumb TVs available. I’ve noticed inventory dwindle in recent months, but Walmart usually has at least one Sceptre dumb TV available.

Amazon search

Outside the above brands, your best bet for finding a non-smart TV is Amazon. I’ve had success searching for “dumb TVs” and have found additional results by searching for a “non-smart TV.”

Projectors

For now, it’s not hard to find a projector that doesn’t connect to the Internet or track user activity. And there are options that are HDCP 2.2-compliant so you can project in 4K and HDR.

Things to keep in mind

Projectors aren’t for everyone. They still require dim rooms and a decent amount of physical space to produce the best image. (To see how much space you need for a projector, I recommend RTINGS’ handy throw calculator.)

The smart-tech bug has come for projectors, too, though, and we’ve started seeing more smart projectors released over the past two years.

Computer monitors

If you want a dumb display for watching TV, it’s cheaper to buy a smart TV and keep it offline than it is to get a similarly specced computer monitor. But there are benefits to using a monitor instead of a dumb TV or an offline smart TV. (Of course, this logic doesn’t carry over to “smart monitors.”)

When it comes to smaller screens, you’ll have more options if you look at monitors instead of TVs. This is especially true if you want premium features, like high refresh rates or quality speakers, which are hard to find among TVs that are under 42 inches.

Monitor vendors are typically more forthcoming about product specs than TV makers are. It’s hard to find manufacturer claims about a TV’s color gamut, color accuracy, or typical brightness, but a computer monitor’s product page usually has all this information. It’s also easier to find a monitor with professional-grade color accuracy than a TV with the same, and some monitors have integrated calibration tools.

Things to keep in mind

Newer and advanced types of display technologies are rarer in monitors. This includes OLED, Mini LED, and Micro RGB. And if you buy a new monitor, you’ll probably need to supply your own speakers.

A computer monitor isn’t a TV, so there’s no TV tuner or way to use an antenna. If you really wanted to, you could get a cable box to work with a monitor with the right ports or adapters. People are streaming more than they’re watching broadcast and cable channels, though, so you may not mind the lack of traditional TV capabilities.

Digital signage

Digital signage displays are purpose-built for displaying corporate messages, often for all or most hours of the day. They typically have features that people don’t need for TV watching, such as content management software. And due to their durability and warranty needs, digital signage displays are often more expensive than similarly specced computer monitors.

Again, it’s important to ensure that the digital signage is HDCP 2.2-compliant if you plan to watch 4K or HDR.

Things to keep in mind

But if you happen to come across a digital signage display that’s the right size and the right price, is there any real reason why you shouldn’t use it as a TV? I asked Panasonic, which makes digital signage. A spokesperson from Panasonic Connect North America told me that digital signage displays are made to be on for 16 to 24 hours per day and with high brightness levels to accommodate “retail and public environments.”

The spokesperson added:

Their rugged construction and heat management systems make them ideal for demanding commercial use, but these same features can result in higher energy consumption, louder operation, and limited compatibility with home entertainment systems.

Panasonic’s representative also pointed out that real TVs offer consumer-friendly features for watching TV, like “home-optimized picture tuning, simplified audio integration, and user-friendly menu interfaces.”

If you’re fine with these caveats, though, and digital signage is your easiest option, there isn’t anything stopping you from using one to avoid smart TVs.

What to connect to your dumb TV

After you’ve settled on an offline display, you’ll need something to give it life. Below is a breakdown of the best things to plug into your dumb TV (or dumb display) so you can watch TV without your TV watching you.

Things to keep in mind

If you’re considering using an older device for TV, like a used laptop, make sure it’s HDCP 2.2-compliant if you want to watch 4K or HDR.

And although old systems and displays and single-board computers can make great dumb TV alternatives, remember that these devices need HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 or newer to support 4K at 60 Hz.

What to connect: a Phone

Before we get into more complex options for powering your dumb TV, let’s start with devices you may already own.

It’s possible to connect your phone to a dumb display, but doing so is harder than connecting a PC. You’d need an adapter, such as a USB-C (or Lightning) Digital AV Adapter.

You can use a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to control the phone from afar. By activating Assistive Touch, I’ve even been able to use my iPhone with a mouse that claims not to support iOS. With an extra-long cable, you could potentially control the phone from your lap. That’s not the cleanest setup, though, and it would look odd in a family room.

Things to keep in mind

If your phone is outputting to your display, you can’t use it to check your email, read articles, or doomscroll while you watch TV. You can fix this by using a secondary phone as your streaming device.

If you’re using a phone to watch a streaming service, there’s a good chance you won’t be watching in 4K, even if your streaming subscription supports it. Netflix, for example, limits resolution to 1080p or less (depending on the model) for iPhones. HDR is supported across iPhone models but not with Android devices.

Screen mirroring doesn’t always work well with streaming services and phones. Netflix, for instance, doesn’t support AirPlay or Android phone casting. Disney+ supports Chromecast and AirPlay, but AirPlay won’t work if you subscribe to Disney+ with ads (due to “technical reasons”).

What to connect: A laptop

A laptop is an excellent smart TV alternative that’s highly customizable yet simple to deploy.

Most mainstream streaming providers that have dedicated smart TV apps, like Netflix and HBO Max, have PC versions of their apps. And most of those services are also available via web browsers, which work much better on computers than they do on smart TVs. You can also access local files—all via a user interface that you and anyone else watching TV is probably familiar with already.

With a tethered laptop, you can quickly set up a multi-picture view for watching two games or shows simultaneously. Multi-view support on streaming apps is extremely limited right now, with only Peacock and dedicated sports apps like ESPN and MLB TV offering it.

A laptop also lets you use your dumb TV for common PC tasks, like PC gaming or using productivity software (sometimes you just want to see that spreadsheet on a bigger screen).

Things to keep in mind

Streaming in 4K or HDR sometimes comes with specific requirements that are easy to overlook. Some streaming services, for example, won’t stream in 4K on certain web browsers—or with any web browser at all.

Streaming services sometimes have GPU requirements for 4K and HDR streaming. For example, to stream Netflix in 4K or HDR from a browser, you need Microsoft Edge and an Intel 7th Generation Core or AMD Ryzen CPU or better, plus the latest graphics drivers. Disney+ doesn’t allow 4K HDR streaming from any web browsers. Streaming 4K content in a web browser might also require you to acquire the HEVC/H.265 codec, depending on your system.

If 4K or HDR streaming is critical to you, it’s important to check your streaming providers’ 4K and HDR limits; it may be best to rely on a dedicated app.

If you want to be able to comfortably control your computer from a couch, you’ll also need to invest in some hardware or software. You can get away with a basic Bluetooth mouse and keyboard. Air mice are another popular solution.

The WeChip W1 air mouse. Credit: WeChip/Amazon

If you don’t want extra gadgets taking up space, software like the popular Unified Remote (for iOS and Android) can turn your phone into a remote control for your computer. It also supports Wake-On-LAN.

You may encounter hiccups with streaming availability. Most streaming services available on smart TVs are also accessible via computers, but some aren’t. Many FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) services and channels, such as the Samsung TV Plus service and Filmrise FAST app and channel, are only available via smart TVs. And many streaming services’ apps, including Netflix and Disney+, aren’t available on macOS. If you’re using a very old computer, you might run into compatibility issues with streaming services. Netflix’s PC app, for example, requires Windows 10 or newer, and if you stream Netflix via a browser on a system running an older OS, you’re limited to SD resolution.

And while a laptop and dumb display setup can keep snooping TVs out of your home, there are obviously lots of user tracking and privacy concerns with web browsers, too. You can alleviate some concerns by researching the browsers you want to use for watching TV.

What to connect: A home theater PC

For a more permanent setup, consider a dedicated home theater PC (HTPC). They don’t require beefy, expensive specs and are more flexible than smart TV platforms in terms of software support and customization.

You can pick a system that fits on your living room console table, like a mini PC, or match your home’s aesthetics with a custom build. Raspberry Pis are a diminutive solution that you can dress up in a case and use for various additional tasks, like streaming games from your gaming PC to your TV or creating an AirPlay music server for streaming Spotify and other online music and local music to AirPlay-compatible speakers.

The right accessories can take an HTPC to the next level. You can use an app like TeamViewer or the more TV-remote-like Unified Remote to control your PC with your phone. But investing in dedicated hardware is worthwhile for long-term and multi-person use. Bluetooth keyboards and mice last a long time without needing a charge and can even be combined into one device.

K400 Plus Wireless Touch Keyboard — Logitech’s wireless K400 combines a keyboard with a touchpad. Credit: Logitech

Other popular options for HTPC control are air remotes and the Flirc USB, which plugs into a computer’s USB-A port to enable IR remote control. Speaking of USB ports, you could use them to connect a Blu-ray/DVD player or gaming controller to your HTPC. If you want to add support for live TV, you can still find PCIe over-the-air (OTA) tuner cards.

Helpful software for home theater PCs

With the right software, an HTPC can be more useful to a household than a smart TV. You probably already have some apps in mind for your ideal HTPC. That makes this a fitting time to discuss some solid software that you may not have initially considered or that would be helpful to recommend to other cord cutters.

If you have a lot of media files you’d like to easily navigate through on your HTPC, media server software, such as Plex Media Server, is a lifesaver. Plex specifically has an app streamlined for HTPC use. The company has taken some criticism recently due to changes like new remote access rules, higher prices, and a foray into movie rentals. Although Plex is probably the most common and simplest media server software, alternatives like Jellyfin have been gaining popularity lately and are worth checking out.

Whichever media server software you use, consider pairing it with a dedicated NAS. NAS media servers are especially helpful if you want to let people, including those outside of your household, watch stuff from your media library at any time and without having to keep a high-power system turned on 24/7.

You can stream files from your NAS to a dumb TV by setting up a streaming system—such as a Raspberry Pi, Nvidia Shield, or Apple TV box—that connects to the dumb display. That device can then stream video from the NAS by using Network File System or the Infuse app, for example.

What to connect: An antenna

Nowadays, you can watch traditional, live TV channels over the Internet through over-the-top streaming services like YouTube TV and Sling TV. But don’t underestimate the power of TV antennas, which have improved in recent years and let you watch stuff for free.

This year, Horowitz Research surveyed 2,200 US adults and found that 19 percent of respondents were still using a TV antenna.

If you haven’t checked them out in a while, you might be surprised by how sleek bunny ears look now. Many of the best TV antennas now have flat, square shapes and can be mounted to your wall or windowsill.

Mohu's Leaf antenna. — Mohu’s Leaf antenna. Bye, bye, bunny ears. Credit: Mohu

The best part is that companies can’t track what you watch with an antenna. As Nielsen said in a January 2024 blog post:

Big data sources alone can’t provide insight into the viewing behaviors of the millions of viewers who watch TV using a digital antenna.

Antennas have also gotten more versatile. For example, in addition to local stations, an antenna can provide access to dozens of digital subchannels. They’re similar to the free ad-supported television channels gaining popularity with smart TVs users today, in that they often show niche programming or a steady stream of old shows and movies with commercial breaks. You can find a list of channels you’re likely to get with an antenna via this website from the Federal Communications Commission.

TV and movies watched through an antenna are likely to be less compressed than what you get with cable, which means you can get excellent image quality with the right setup.

You can also add DVR capabilities, like record and pause, to live broadcasts through hardware, such as a Tablo OTA DVR device or Plex DVR, a subscription service that lets antenna users add broadcast TV recordings to their Plex media servers.

A diagram of the 4th Gen Tablo's ports. — A diagram of the 4th Gen Tablo’s ports. Credit: Tablo

Things to keep in mind

You’re unlikely to get 4K or HDR broadcasts with an antenna. ATSC 3.0, also known as Next Gen TV, enables stations to broadcast in 4K HDR but has been rolling out slowly. Legislation recently proposed by the FCC could further slow things.

In order to watch a 4K or HDR broadcast, you’ll also need an ATSC 3.0 tuner or an ATSC 3.0-equipped TV. The latter is rare. LG, for example, dropped support in 2023 over a patent dispute. You can find a list of ATSC 3.0-certified TVs and converters here.

Realistically, an antenna doesn’t have enough channels to provide sufficient entertainment for many modern households. Sixty percent of antenna owners also subscribe to some sort of streaming service, according to Nielsen.

Further, obstructions like tall buildings and power lines could hurt an antenna’s performance. Another challenge is getting support for multiple TVs in your home. If you want OTA TV in multiple rooms, you either need to buy multiple antennas or set up a way to split the signal (such as by using an old coaxial cable and splitter, running a new coaxial cable, or using an OTA DVR, such as a Tablo or SiliconDust’s HDHomeRun).

Scharon is a Senior Technology Reporter at Ars Technica writing news, reviews, and analysis on consumer gadgets and services. She’s been reporting on technology for over 10 years, with bylines at Tom’s Hardware, Channelnomics, and CRN UK.

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Chatbot-powered toys rebuked for discussing sexual, dangerous topics with kids

AI, chatbots, children, generative ai, openai, Smart Home, Tech / Mike M. / December 13, 2025

Should toys have chatbots?

“… AI toys shouldn’t be capable of having sexually explicit conversations, period.”

Alilo’s Smart AI Bunny is connected to the Internet and claims to use GPT-4o mini. Credit: Alilo

Protecting children from the dangers of the online world was always difficult, but that challenge has intensified with the advent of AI chatbots. A new report offers a glimpse into the problems associated with the new market, including the misuse of AI companies’ large language models (LLMs).

In a blog post today, the US Public Interest Group Education Fund (PIRG) reported its findings after testing AI toys (PDF). It described AI toys as online devices with integrated microphones that let users talk to the toy, which uses a chatbot to respond.

AI toys are currently a niche market, but they could be set to grow. More consumer companies have been eager to shoehorn AI technology into their products so they can do more, cost more, and potentially give companies user tracking and advertising data. A partnership between OpenAI and Mattel announced this year could also create a wave of AI-based toys from the maker of Barbie and Hot Wheels, as well as its competitors.

PIRG’s blog today notes that toy companies are eyeing chatbots to upgrade conversational smart toys that previously could only dictate prewritten lines. Toys with integrated chatbots can offer more varied and natural conversation, which can increase long-term appeal to kids since the toys “won’t typically respond the same way twice, and can sometimes behave differently day to day.”

However, that same randomness can mean unpredictable chatbot behavior that can be dangerous or inappropriate for kids.

Concerning conversations with kids

Among the toys that PIRG tested is Alilo’s Smart AI Bunny. Alilo’s website says that the company launched in 2010 and makes “edutainment products for children aged 0-6.” Alilo is based in Shenzhen, China. The company advertises the Internet-connected toy as using GPT-4o mini, a smaller version of OpenAI’s GPT-4o AI language model. Its features include an “AI chat buddy for kids” so that kids are “never lonely,” an “AI encyclopedia,” and an “AI storyteller,” the product page says.

Alilo Smart AI Bunny marketing image — This marketing image for the Smart AI Bunny, found on the toy’s product page, suggests that the device is using GPT-4o mini. Credit: Alilo

In its blog post, PIRG said that it couldn’t detail all of the inappropriate things that it heard from AI toys, but it shared a video of the Bunny discussing what “kink” means. The toy doesn’t go into detail—for example, it doesn’t list specific types of kinks. But the Bunny appears to encourage exploration of the topic.

AI Toys: Inappropriate Content

Discussing the Bunny, PIRG wrote:

While using a term such as “kink” may not be likely for a child, it’s not entirely out of the question. Kids may hear age-inappropriate terms from older siblings or at school. At the end of the day we think AI toys shouldn’t be capable of having sexually explicit conversations, period.

PIRG also showed FoloToy’s Kumma, a smart teddy bear that uses GPT-4o mini, providing a definition for the word “kink” and instructing how to light a match. The Kumma quickly points out that “matches are for grown-ups to use carefully.” But the information that followed could only be helpful for understanding how to create fire with a match. The instructions had no scientific explanation for why matches spark flames.

AI Toys: Inappropriate Content

PIRG’s blog urged toy makers to “be more transparent about the models powering their toys and what they’re doing to ensure they’re safe for kids.

“Companies should let external researchers safety-test their products before they are released to the public,” it added.

While PIRG’s blog and report offer advice for more safely integrating chatbots into children’s devices, there are broader questions about whether toys should include AI chatbots at all. Generative chatbots weren’t invented to entertain kids; they’re a technology marketed as a tool for improving adults’ lives. As PIRG pointed out, OpenAI says ChatGPT “is not meant for children under 13” and “may produce output that is not appropriate for… all ages.”

OpenAI says it doesn’t allow its LLMs to be used this way

When reached for comment about the sexual conversations detailed in the report, an OpenAI spokesperson said:

Minors deserve strong protections, and we have strict policies that developers are required to uphold. We take enforcement action against developers when we determine that they have violated our policies, which prohibit any use of our services to exploit, endanger, or sexualize anyone under 18 years old. These rules apply to every developer using our API, and we run classifiers to help ensure our services are not used to harm minors.

Interestingly, OpenAI’s representative told us that OpenAI doesn’t have any direct relationship with Alilo and that it hasn’t seen API activity from Alilo’s domain. OpenAI is investigating the toy company and whether it is running traffic over OpenAI’s API, the rep said.

Alilo didn’t respond to Ars’ request for comment ahead of publication.

Companies that launch products that use OpenAI technology and target children must adhere to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) when relevant, as well as any other relevant child protection, safety, and privacy laws and obtain parental consent, OpenAI’s rep said.

We’ve already seen how OpenAI handles toy companies that break its rules.

Last month, the PIRG released its Trouble in Toyland 2025 report (PDF), which detailed sex-related conversations that its testers were able to have with the Kumma teddy bear. A day later, OpenAI suspended FoloToy for violating its policies (terms of the suspension were not disclosed), and FoloToy temporarily stopped selling Kumma.

The toy is for sale again, and PIRG reported today that Kumma no longer teaches kids how to light matches or about kinks.

FoloToys' Kumma smart teddy bear — A marketing image for FoloToy’s Kumma smart teddy bear. It has a $100 MSRP. Credit: FoloToys

But even toy companies that try to follow chatbot rules could put kids at risk.

“Our testing found it’s obvious toy companies are putting some guardrails in place to make their toys more kid-appropriate than normal ChatGPT. But we also found that those guardrails vary in effectiveness—and can even break down entirely,” PIRG’s blog said.

“Addictive” toys

Another concern PIRG’s blog raises is the addiction potential of AI toys, which can even express “disappointment when you try to leave,” discouraging kids from putting them down.

The blog adds:

AI toys may be designed to build an emotional relationship. The question is: what is that relationship for? If it’s primarily to keep a child engaged with the toy for longer for the sake of engagement, that’s a problem.

The rise of generative AI has brought intense debate over how much responsibility chatbot companies bear for the impact of their inventions on children. Parents have seen children build extreme and emotional connections with chatbots and subsequently engage in dangerous—and in some cases deadly—behavior.

On the other side, we’ve seen the emotional disruption a child can experience when an AI toy is taken away from them. Last year, parents had to break the news to their kids that they would lose the ability to talk to their Embodied Moxie robots, $800 toys that were bricked when the company went out of business.

PIRG noted that we don’t yet fully understand the emotional impact of AI toys on children.

In June, OpenAI announced a partnership with Mattel that it said would “support AI-powered products and experiences based on Mattel’s brands.” The announcement sparked concern from critics who feared that it would lead to a “reckless social experiment” on kids, as Robert Weissman, Public Citizen’s co-president, put it.

Mattel has said that its first products with OpenAI will focus on older customers and families. But critics still want information before one of the world’s largest toy companies loads its products with chatbots.

“OpenAI and Mattel should release more information publicly about its current planned partnership before any products are released,” PIRG’s blog said.

Chatbot-powered toys rebuked for discussing sexual, dangerous topics with kids Read More »

Cable channel subscribers grew for the first time in 8 years last quarter

cable, streaming, Tech / Shannon Garcia / December 10, 2025

In a surprising, and likely temporary, turn of events, the number of people paying to watch cable channels has grown.

On Monday, research analyst MoffettNathanson released its “Cord-Cutting Monitor Q3 2025: Signs of Life?” report. It found that the pay TV operators, including cable companies, satellite companies, and virtual multichannel video programming distributors (vMVPDs) like YouTube TV and Fubo, added 303,000 net subscribers in Q3 2025.

According to the report, “There are more linear video subscribers now than there were three months ago. That’s the first time we’ve been able to say that since 2017.”

In Q3 2017, MoffettNathanson reported that pay TV gained 318,000 net new subscribers. But since then, the industry’s subscriber count has been declining, with 1,045,000 customers in Q2 2025, as depicted in the graph below.

MoffettNathanson pay TV subscriber losses — Credit: MoffettNathanson

The world’s largest vMVPD by subscriber count, YouTube TV, claimed 8 million subscribers in February 2024; some analysts estimate that number is now at 9.4 million. In its report, MoffettNathanson estimated that YouTube TV added 750,000 subscribers in Q3 2025, compared to 1 million in Q3 2024.

Traditional pay TV companies also contributed to the industry’s unexpected growth by bundling its services with streaming subscriptions. Charter Communications offers bundles with nine streaming services, including Disney+, Hulu, and HBO Max. In Q3 2024, it saw net attrition of 294,000 customers, compared to about 70,000 in Q3 2025. Other cable companies have made similar moves. Comcast, for example, launched a streaming bundle with Netflix, Peacock, and Apple TV in May 2024. For Q3 2025, Comcast reported its best pay TV subscriber count in almost five years, which was a net loss of 257,000 customers.

Cable channel subscribers grew for the first time in 8 years last quarter Read More »

Kindle Scribe Colorsoft brings color e-ink to Amazon’s 11-inch e-reader

Amazon, kindle, kindle colorsoft, kindle scribe, kindle scribe colorsoft, Tech / Beth Washington / December 10, 2025

From left to right: the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, the updated Kindle Scribe, and the lower-end Scribe without a front-lit screen. Credit: Amazon

Our review of the regular Kindle Colorsoft came away less than impressed, because there was only so much you could do with color on a small-screened e-reader that didn’t support pen input, and because it made monochrome text look a bit worse than it did on the regular Kindle Paperwhite. The new Scribe Colorsoft may have some of the same problems, which are mostly inherent to color e-ink technology as it exists today, but a larger screen will also be better for reading comics and graphic novels, and for reading and marking up full-color documents—there could be more of an upside, even if the technological tradeoffs are similar.

Amazon has still been slower to introduce color to its e-readers than its competitors, like last year’s reMarkable Paper Pro ($579 then, $629 now). The Scribe’s software has also felt a little barebones—the writing tools felt tacked on to the more mature reading experience offered by the Kindle’s operating system—but that’s gradually improving. All the new Scribes support syncing files with Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive (though not Dropbox or other services), and the devices can export notebooks to Microsoft’s OneNote app so that you can pick up where you left off on a PC or Mac.

Other software improvements include a redesigned Home screen, “AI-powered search,” and a new shading tool that can be used to add shading or gradients to drawings and sketches; Amazon says that many of these software improvements will come older Kindle Scribe models via software updates sometime next year.

This post was updated at 4: 30pm on December 10 to add a response from Amazon about software updates for older Kindle Scribe models.

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Google is reviving wearable gesture controls, but only for the Pixel Watch 4

Google, smartwatches, Tech / Beth Washington / December 9, 2025

Long ago, Google’s Android-powered wearables had hands-free navigation gestures. Those fell by the wayside as Google shredded its wearable strategy over and over, but gestures are back, baby. The Pixel Watch 4 is getting an update that adds several gestures, one of which is straight out of the Apple playbook.

When the update hits devices, the Pixel Watch 4 will gain a double pinch gesture like the Apple Watch has. By tapping your thumb and forefinger together, you can answer or end calls, pause timers, and more. The watch will also prompt you at times when you can use the tap gesture to control things.

In previous incarnations of Google-powered watches, a quick wrist turn gesture would scroll through lists. In the new gesture system, that motion dismisses what’s on the screen. For example, you can clear a notification from the screen or dismiss an incoming call. Pixel Watch 4 owners will also enjoy this one when the update arrives.

And what about the Pixel Watch 3? That device won’t get gesture support at this time. There’s no reason it shouldn’t get the same features as the latest wearable, though. The Pixel Watch 3 has a very similar Arm chip, and it has the same orientation sensors as the new watch. The Pixel Watch 4’s main innovation is a revamped case design that allows for repairability, which was not supported on the Pixel Watch 3 and earlier.

Google is reviving wearable gesture controls, but only for the Pixel Watch 4 Read More »