Tech

NYT Strands hints and answers for Monday, June 29 (game #848)

Published

3 hours ago

29 June 2026

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Sunday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, June 28 (game #847).

Strands is the NYT’s latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc’s Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

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Telling internet platforms where to stick public service media will serve nobody. Turn it on its head

Published

9 minutes ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

columnists

Show not tell makes a far finer script

OPINION Microsoft is making massive progress in quantum computing, says Microsoft. Oh no they’re not, say researchers. Anthropic’s frontier models are too powerful for general use, says the US government. No, it’s just Anthropic being punished for not doing what the US government tells them, say critics. Humans-in-the-loop are a pain-in-the-neck, says Amazon exec. Go do one, says this human.

Three tech news stories from last week, six interpretations. You can probably decide between Microsoft PR and a peer-reviewed paper in Nature. Likewise, whether vindictiveness or virtue is at work with Anthropic. Amazon or a Reg hack? Harder to call.

In all these cases, as in all cases, prior knowledge is the best context in which to judge media reports. Most citizens don’t know much about most news, an eternal truth that is causing the UK government to fret about the future of public service broadcasting – or as it has become, public service media (PSM). With fewer people, especially that dread tribe, Young People, watching the wholesome fare of highly regulated broadcasters but feeding instead on firehoses of algo-spew, public service media risks suffocating on insignificance.

That’s a reasonable fear, if you feel that public service media deserves to be heard. It is a complicated argument where great forces have clashed since the birth of broadcasting, but if you know that the rhetoric of “fake news” has an antecedent in the German slur “Lügenpresse,” you’ll know the answer is yes, and yes, with a side order of yes. Vivat Reith.

Having identified the problem, the brains of Britgov propose exactly the wrong solution. Get the algorithms that drive content consumption on social media to rank the quality PSM product higher. All those lost eyeballs will be brought back into the fold. This won’t work for reasons both obvious and subtle. Forcing a quota of state-mandated media into the stream, even with the best of intentions, is a hostage to fortune. It’s probably unenforceable, will be deeply unpopular with users and companies alike, and will poison PSM across the board.

It also amplifies two falsehoods about PSM: that it’s about news, and that it’s about numbers. Both are important, but neither is anywhere near enough to argue for PSM’s right to life. One of PSM’s primary roles is to provide content that isn’t commercially viable or is otherwise invisible. That reflects culture, art, science, all the human stuff that enriches life. It’s where new ideas and new people come from, and some of those will become box-office hits.

Putting numbers first, as parts of the BBC are moving toward, kills diversity and gives the commercial sector the killer argument that PSM is just unfair competition. PSM has always had the tension between being popular enough to matter to lots of people and broad enough to do the things that only it can do, but it does need both. That has been very expensive, but arguably worth it. High-quality news is one pillar of that, but only one.

The one thing that keeps PSM alive is the editorial process, the decision-making that understands the purpose, constituent parts, and audiences, and applies that equation to the resources available. Those resources have changed, but they haven’t gone away. What’s needed now isn’t a public service tweak to secret commercial algorithms, but a public service algorithm with humans in the loop, amplifying the good stuff on the platforms by driving traffic through exposure. How to design channels that do that and are compatible with the platforms themselves is an interesting challenge begging to be explored.

However realized, it would be entirely compatible with providing natively sourced news, entertainment, sport, and everything else that keeps a brand current. It adapts seamlessly to multiple platforms, all of which have PSM-worthy content in quantity, if you filter out the toxins. It’s a model that scales up and down, provided only that there are sufficient motivated and trained editorial staff who know who they’re serving and why.

There have to be ethical standards, transparency, training and support, and just the right level of management. That would turn the threat of the new media environment into a huge promise, all the techniques of distributed, diverse digital content from adversary to amplification.

Public service broadcasting, at least in the UK, has been moving in this direction for decades, in the name of efficiency, outsourcing more and more programming to independent production companies – usually staffed by ex-BBC employees. You can’t move very far in TV, radio, film, or digital media in the UK without tripping over ex-BBC bodies. That’s another role of PSM, creating a huge pool of talent that irrigates an entire economic sector. A PSM strategy that encourages content creators to align with production and editorial standards would have invigorating effects in the new landscape.

Public service media deserves to survive and thrive in an attention economy driven by so many forces designed to exploit rather than enlighten the public. Done well, it gives voice to the voiceless, describes a nation to itself, and sets standards that inspire trust and quench cynicism. All of this is there to be had, even today, even in the future. We just need to keep the right humans in the loop. Sorry, Amazon. ®

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General Fusion announces first steps to deploying its clean energy in Italy as tech uncertainty remains

Published

22 minutes ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

General Fusion’s Lawson Machine 26, its fusion demo device. (General Fusion Photo)

British Columbia-based General Fusion announced Wednesday a partnership with energy infrastructure company Renexia to begin planning the deployment of a commercial version of its clean energy technology in Italy.

In January, the company disclosed a $1 billion Special Purpose Acquisition Company, or SPAC, agreement to go public through a merger with Spring Valley Acquisition Corp. III.

General Fusion is operating its Lawson Machine 26, a magnetized target fusion demonstration device that’s about half the size of its planned commercial‑scale machine. Earlier this week, it announced that LM26 had reached a new temperature milestone of approximately 8.4 million degrees Celsius.

The agreement with Renexia establishes a milestone-based framework covering site identification in Italy, development, funding, construction and commissioning of one or more fusion power plants. General Fusion aims to deploy a commercial fusion machine by around 2035.

The Canadian company is among roughly 50 contenders in a global race to commercialize fusion, though none has yet managed to produce more energy from a fusion reaction than it takes to initiate one.

The sector continues to draw significant attention and investment as tech companies and others scramble for carbon-free energy sources. Fusion startups aim to replicate the physics that power the sun and stars, generating energy by fusing light atoms together.

General Fusion launched in 2002 and has raised $400 million from investors, industry partners and government grants. The company has hit some roadblocks in recent years. In 2023, it put plans on hold to build a larger demonstration machine in the United Kingdom, pivoting to construction of the LM26 device. Last year, it laid off employees and its CEO made a public plea for new investment.

The SPAC deal continues to progress, and Spring Valley has a shareholder meeting scheduled for July 6. If shareholders and General Fusion security holders approve the SPAC, the deal could close shortly after.

California-based TAE Technologies has similarly made plans to go public. The fusion startup is pursuing a $6 billion merger with Trump Media & Technology Group, the publicly traded parent of Truth Social. With the merger and new funding, TAE said it aims to select a site and begin building a utility-scale fusion plant this year.

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Syndio bets on agentic AI with first acquisition in Seattle pay equity startup’s history

Published

35 minutes ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

Syndio CEO Maria Colacurcio. (Syndio Photo)

For the first time in its nine-year history, Syndio has made an acquisition.

The Seattle-based pay equity startup announced Tuesday that it acquired Embrace.ai, an agentic AI startup whose founders and technology will help Syndio build out its AI-powered compensation platform.

Austin, Texas-based Embrace.ai was built to deploy AI-driven automation across business workflows, with a focus on governance and explainability in enterprise settings. The full team, led by co-founders Derek Butts and Seth Halpern, will join Syndio’s product and go-to-market organization, according to a news release.

Terms of the deal were not revealed.

Syndio, which works with nearly 400 global enterprises including more than half the Fortune 100, has been pushing beyond pay equity compliance reporting into what it calls “Decision Intelligence for Pay” — helping companies govern compensation decisions in real time, from job offers to merit cycles.

“Pay decisions are among the most important decisions a company makes, and they require AI that understands the domain, data, and governance expectations of the enterprise,” Syndio CEO Maria Colacurcio said in a statement. “That expertise will help us move significantly faster as we build the next generation of pay intelligence.”

In a post on LinkedIn on Tuesday, Colacurcio called the acquisition a “bold bet,” noting that the Embrace.ai team has spent three years deploying agentic AI inside real enterprises.

“You do not hire that one role at a time,” she wrote. “When you find a whole team that already has it, you move.”

She also said that she’s spent the year digging into tools, sitting alongside engineers and understanding what it actually takes to move faster, noting, “It has changed how I show up in every product conversation we have.”

The addition of the Embrace.ai team is expected to accelerate Syndio’s agentic AI roadmap, expand its AI-native technical depth, and strengthen governance and explainability for complex compensation decisions — areas that Syndio says are increasingly in demand from large employers.

Syndio was founded in 2017 by data scientist and law professor Zev Eigen to help companies analyze and address pay equity. Colacurcio, who previously co-founded workplace collaboration company Smartsheet, joined in 2018. The company raised $50 million in a Series C round in 2021, bringing its total funding to $83 million.

Syndio, which employs 140 people now, is ranked No. 48 on the GeekWire 200 index of the Pacific Northwest’s top startups.

Both Embrace.ai founders are veterans of Workday, the enterprise human capital management giant. Butts spent 13 years there in product marketing, corporate strategy and M&A, and will join Syndio as SVP of product strategy. Halpern led global sales operations at Workday and WP Engine, and will join as a strategic advisor.

“Every pay decision carries consequences for the employee and the employer,” Butts said in a statement, “so AI has to be accurate, understand deep context, and support, not replace, human judgment.”

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Transcript: Here’s what Bill Gates told lawmakers in his recent Epstein testimony

Published

48 minutes ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

Bill Gates speaks in Seattle in early 2020. (GeekWire File Photo / Todd Bishop)

The U.S. House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released the transcript of a closed-door interview in which Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates answered lawmakers’ questions about his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Gates sat for the voluntary interview on June 10 in Washington, D.C., as part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into Epstein and his crimes.

In a statement Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for Gates said he appreciated the chance to appear before the House Oversight Committee and, as several committee members acknowledged, answered every question put to him over the nearly six-hour interview.

“With the full, unredacted transcript now publicly available, everyone can review the details for themselves,” the statement continued, reiterating that Gates “supports the full release of the files and hopes the Oversight Committee’s investigation will lead to justice for the victims.”

See the full transcript here and below, and continue reading for a summary of key points.

Bill Gates Transcript – U.S. House Oversight Committee by GeekWire

Meetings with Epstein

Gates described his association with Epstein as “one of the larger mistakes I’ve made,” saying he was foolish to spend time with him and that their interactions, from 2011 to 2014, were a “complete dead end.”

He said Epstein “certainly wasn’t a friend,” and that he declined Epstein’s social invitations — including to Epstein’s island — as Epstein tried to deepen the relationship.

Asked how often he saw Epstein, Gates gave this breakdown: three times in 2011, twice in 2012, and “five or six” times in each of 2013 and 2014, noting some of the 2013 contacts were Skype calls. He described the meetings as generally substantive rather than social.

Gates said that when he first met Epstein, at a January 2011 dinner in New York arranged by his former science adviser Boris Nikolic, he was aware Epstein had been convicted of a sex-related crime but had not looked into the specifics, acknowledging he “probably should have.”

He said it was not until 2018, when the Miami Herald detailed the extent of Epstein’s crimes, that he grasped their scope and learned Epstein had registered as a sex offender.

Gates said the primary reason he met with Epstein was Epstein’s claim that he could raise billions of dollars for global health from wealthy clients — money that never materialized. He acknowledged he also dealt with Epstein over a separate matter, the exit of his adviser Nikolic.

Gates said he was surprised to learn from the released files how extensive Nikolic’s own relationship with Epstein had been, and that reports Nikolic was named in Epstein’s will surprised him “a lot.”

He said he never witnessed Epstein engage in any sexual misconduct, was never offered any young women or girls, and never visited Epstein’s island, ranch, or Florida home.

He did acknowledge he “may have been in the presence of victims,” citing Epstein assistants he was photographed with and two who sat in the front cabin during a private New York-to-Palm Beach flight he took with Epstein — the one time, he said, that he flew with him. Gates said it was not Epstein’s 727, and he didn’t know who owned or chartered it.

Gates said neither he nor his representatives ever asked any victim to sign a nondisclosure agreement, secured any settlement, or held NDA discussions with victims or their lawyers regarding Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime Epstein associate who was convicted in 2021 of helping him sexually abuse underage girls.

Gates testified that Epstein flew to Seattle and visited his Gates Ventures office for a meeting focused on Nikolic’s departure — an encounter the committee dated to Aug. 8, 2013. Gates called it “kind of a worthless meeting.”

The next day, Gates emailed that Epstein had been “quite helpful,” but he told the committee he only “went along with the narrative” to close the deal, insisting Epstein’s involvement actually accomplished nothing.

Gates acknowledged making a $2 million donation to MIT during the period he knew Epstein, and said he told Epstein about it hoping to end Epstein’s requests that Gates give money in his name. He said MIT later investigated and found the gift was not Epstein-related.

He acknowledged three extramarital affairs — with a competitive bridge player, a nuclear scientist, and a doctor — and said Epstein had become aware of two of them, apparently through Nikolic.

However, Gates said, “I was not blackmailed,” characterizing Epstein’s notes as “emails to himself” that mixed true and false information and that he said he did not see until the Justice Department released the files. He allowed that the drafts looked like Epstein’s “brainstorming” heading toward blackmail.

Microsoft connections

Gates said the name Epstein “never came up” in his conversations with former Windows chief Steven Sinofsky, and that he learned of Epstein’s reported dealings with Sinofsky only through the press this year. (Sinofsky has declined to comment on the revelations and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.)

Regarding other Microsoft-connected figures, Gates said he never discussed Epstein with former CTO Nathan Myhrvold, though he had a “vague awareness of some connection” beforehand.

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(Documents released in 2025 included an apparent letter and other materials from Myhrvold in Epstein’s 2003 “birthday book.” A spokesperson has said Myhrvold knew Epstein from TED conferences and as a donor to scientific research, doesn’t remember the letter, and regrets that he ever met him.)

As for LinkedIn co-founder and Microsoft board member Reid Hoffman, Gates said Epstein “may have come up” in conversation, that he’d had some prior awareness of a link through “some MIT connection,” and that both Hoffman and Epstein attended his final meeting with Epstein, a December 2014 breakfast. Hoffman has said he deeply regrets interacting with Epstein after his conviction and has called for full release of the files.

Other items

Rep. Lauren Boebert pressed Gates on Epstein’s interest in eugenics, transhumanism, and genetic engineering, asking whether Epstein ever discussed “genetic ambitions,” “population engineering,” or CRISPR-related DNA research with him, or tried to tie any of it to the Gates Foundation’s work. Gates said none of it ever came up and that Epstein had no influence on those initiatives.

At another point, pressed on whether he would support higher taxes on billionaires, Gates said he has paid “over $14 billion” in taxes and that the U.S. “has to find a way of taxing very rich people at a far higher level,” including himself.

Defending his foundation’s work, Gates said GAVI’s vaccine purchasing is “the primary reason childhood death has gone from 10 million a year down to below 5 million a year.” Separately, Gates said the foundation’s work “will be the focus the rest of my life.”

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Ford learned the hard way that AI can't replace experienced engineers

Published

1 hour ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

It is a shift that comes as Ford returns to the top of J.D. Power’s initial quality rankings among mainstream brands. The improvement reflects changes not only in its processes but also in how the company uses AI – and where it draws the line between automation and human expertise.
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How The Features Work (And What Users Say About The Service)

Published

1 hour ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

For some of us, there was a time — however long ago — when we would actually answer a call without knowing who was on the other end. For those of a certain age, answering the phone when it rang was just what you did, a behavior that stemmed from spending time around a landline — a now “ancient” technology, according to the kids. Thanks to the internet and the stunning transformation of cellphones that would eventually give us the smartphones that sit in our pockets today, the way we communicate has drastically changed.

According to a recent YouGov poll, 42% of people don’t answer calls from numbers they don’t recognize, while only 5% claim to answer calls regardless of the number that’s calling. The reasoning for unanswered phone calls is a bit of a nuanced topic, with different age groups having different preferences on what they consider to be the norm. However, one common thread among them is the growing problem of spam.

Spam communications are no longer just limited to calls, but increasingly moving to text messages, as Consumer Reports found that scam text messages have increased by 50%. The FCC has been battling robocalls and spam texts in a number of ways, and network carriers have also introduced their own tools in an effort to stem the tide of unwanted calls and texts. For T-Mobile customers, the company has Scam Shield with both free and premium benefits, and a report spam feature — here’s what you should know.

T-Mobile customers can forward spam messages to 7726

Piotr Swat/Shutterstock

T-Mobile, as well as most major carriers, allow customers to forward suspected spam messages to 7726 — which spells “spam” on most keypads. According to T-Mobile’s support documentation, “We automatically forward the message to the Security Center for analysis. The Security Center is a global system, run by a vendor on our behalf, that helps protect mobile phone subscribers from spam, fraud, and malware.”

T-Mobile also notes that its Security Center is linked to a global database to track and cross reference potential spam messages, and that those messages may be shared with government agencies in an effort to combat spam and fraud. Carriers also use this information to calibrate spam filters and improve other tools, which could include training machine learning, as carriers are relying more on AI to identify potential scam and fraud activity.

Both Android and iOS have features to report spam in their native messaging apps that achieve the same result, and Apple’s recent iOS 26 update has a new feature to prevent spam calls from ringing through.

T-Mobile Scam Shield is a mixed bag

Scam Shield is T-Mobile’s flagship service for blocking fraudulent calls and robocalls. T-Mobile uses its own network data and machine learning in an attempt to identify and block spam, which includes spoofing, robo-dialers, and anything else that the network deems as “Scam Likely.” T-Mobile’s Scam Shield has been brought in under the company’s T-Life app, and costs $4/line to activate if you want all the benefits. Depending on your service plan, Scam Shield may be included in the price. Many of Scam Shield’s basic features are free to customers, including Scam ID, Scam Block, Caller ID, and Scam Reporting, and Callback Protection. Scam Shield primarily relies on the STIR/SHAKEN caller ID protocol, which has proven to be a major milestone for spam prevention.

The Scam Shield Premium features include the ability to block categories of callers (like telemarketers), a reverse number look up, and a voicemail-to-text service. Customer satisfaction with the service is mixed: some report a reduction in unwanted calls or texts, while others claim little has changed. Many seem to find the app itself unintuitive, with certain features buried in the user interface. Some people have also reported false positives, causing them to miss legitimate calls they needed to take. The overall sentiment seems to suggest that it’s better to stick what whatever plan T-Mobile provides for free rather than upgrading to a paid plan.

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NYT Connections hints and answers for Monday, June 29 (game #1114)

Published

1 hour ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing ‘today’s game’ while others are playing ‘yesterday’s’. If you’re looking for Sunday’s puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, June 28 (game #1113).

Good morning! Let’s play Connections, the NYT’s clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you’ve finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I’ve also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc’s Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

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Save up to $650 on Amazon M5 MacBook Pro Month-end Deals

Published

2 hours ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

Amazon’s month-end MacBook Pro deals deliver up to $650 in discounts on M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max 14-inch and 16-inch configurations.

Amazon’s month-end MacBook Pro sale offers deals from $1,649.99, which after Apple raised prices on June 25, provides up to $650 in savings on M5, M5 Pro, and M5 Max 14-inch and 16-inch models.

Save up to $650 on MacBook Pros

The M5 Max deals are especially enticing at $550 to $650 off, but please note, inventory levels may be constrained as ship dates are starting to slip on select models.

Top 14-inch MacBook Pro discounts

14″ MacBook Pro M5 (10C CPU, 10C GPU, 16GB, 1TB, Standard Display): $1,649.99 ($350 off)

14″ MacBook Pro M5 Pro (15C CPU, 16C GPU, 24GB, 1TB, Standard Display): $2,149.99 ($350 off)

14″ MacBook Pro M5 Pro (15C CPU, 16C GPU, 24GB, 2TB, Standard Display): $2,549.99 ($450 off)

14″ MacBook Pro M5 Max (18C CPU, 32C GPU, 36GB, 2TB, Standard Display): $3,549.99 ($550 off)

Best 16-inch MacBook Pro sales

16″ MacBook Pro M5 Pro (18C CPU, 20C GPU, 24GB, 1TB, Standard Display, Space Black): $2,649.99 ($350 off)

16″ MacBook Pro M5 Max (18C CPU, 32C GPU, 36GB, 2TB, Standard Display): $3,849.99 ($550 off)

16″ MacBook Pro M5 Max (18C CPU, 40C GPU, 48GB, 2TB, Standard Display): $4,349.99 ($650 off)

For even more deals and easy price comparison across retail and CTO models, be sure to check out our MacBook Pro Price Guide.

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Apple’s next Mac Studio could get a new M5 Ultra chip and a cooler upgrade

Published

2 hours ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

Apple’s Mac Studio may not be getting a fresh new look anytime soon, but it could be getting a meaningful upgrade where it matters most. According to Mark Gurman in the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, Apple is preparing an M5 Ultra-powered Mac Studio as early as this year, while an even more powerful M7 Ultra version is already on the company’s roadmap for 2028. Interestingly, the report also claims Apple is redesigning one component most users will never see: the heat sink.

More power is coming, and Apple wants to keep it cool

Gurman reports that the upcoming M5 Ultra Mac Studio won’t receive a major external redesign. Instead, Apple is reportedly focusing on internal improvements, including a redesigned heat sink, to better manage the additional power of its next-generation Ultra chip.

Apple’s Mac Studio plans include an M5 Ultra model as early as this year and an M7 Ultra model in 2028. Apple is also working on a redesigned heat sink to better support the additional power. https://t.co/q7fQ9IjMK9
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) June 28, 2026

That makes plenty of sense. As Apple’s silicon continues to evolve, professional workloads such as 8K video editing, 3D rendering, software development, and on-device AI models are becoming increasingly demanding. Better thermal management could allow the Mac Studio to sustain peak performance for longer without throttling under heavy loads.

The roadmap doesn’t stop there. Gurman also says Apple is already planning an M7 Ultra Mac Studio for 2028, suggesting the company is thinking multiple generations ahead for its flagship desktop workstation.

If it isn’t broken, don’t redesign it

If you were hoping for a radical redesign, though, you may have to wait. According to Gurman, Apple appears happy sticking with the current Mac Studio chassis, choosing to refine what’s inside rather than reinvent the hardware itself.

Honestly, that’s probably the right call. The Mac Studio’s compact aluminum design has held up remarkably well since its debut, and professionals shopping for one are far more interested in sustained performance than cosmetic changes. If Apple can deliver a faster Ultra chip with better cooling while keeping the same footprint, it could end up being exactly the kind of upgrade Mac Studio users have been waiting for.

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Govee’s smart nugget ice maker makes every iced drink feel like a luxury

Published

2 hours ago

29 June 2026

NewsAdmin

For some people, the ice in a beverage is almost as important as the drink itself. That’s the audience Govee had in mind when designing its latest ice maker, the GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro. This $500 premium smart home gadget is aimed at those who crave what’s called “the good ice,” the soft, chewable nugget ice often found in fast food or restaurant drinks.

Govee says that the modern-design gadget delivers nugget ice in as little as six minutes. That’s a claim that proved true in my testing. It can make up to 60 pounds of ice per day, and has a 3.5-pound ice basket that automatically refills as you scoop out ice.

The hefty price tag means it’s not for people who are perfectly happy with refrigerator ice and don’t know what “good ice” even means. Instead, it’s for self-proclaimed ice enthusiasts willing to splurge on a fun, luxury gadget that makes everyday drinks a little more enjoyable.

It’s simple to use, as you just need to fill the tank with water and press start on the screen. You can also control the ice maker with the GoveeHome app, which lets you start ice production from your phone or schedule it so ice is ready when you need it, such as before your morning coffee.

**Image Credits:**TechCrunch/Aisha Malik

The app control is quite convenient. I could start ice production from my phone while working at my desk, and by the time I wanted an iced latte, there was fresh nugget ice ready to go without ever having to walk to the kitchen to turn the machine on. The app also shows ice production in real time and how much is currently in the ice bin, which is useful for wanting to stop production when you just want a certain amount.

The ice maker also supports voice commands with Alexa and Google Assistant, which means a quick ““Hey Google, start the ice maker,” leads to fresh ice.

The ice maker uses what Govee calls AI NoiseGuard technology to keep operating noise low, too. Designed to operate at around 40 dB, the system can automatically trigger defrosting cycles to minimize noise and help ensure a steady supply of ice. The machine does produce a steady hum while making ice, but I didn’t find the noise distracting or overtly loud.

It wouldn’t be a Govee product if it didn’t offer customizable ambient lighting. The smart ice maker has a light that illuminates the ice basket and adds a fun visual element to the appliance. Through the app, you can choose from a variety of presets or create your own custom lighting effects. You can choose how bright you want the lights to be or turn them off altogether.

I mostly kept it on a light pink setting, but occasionally switched to the “cyberpunk” mode, which casts a changing purple and red glow that felt fun and futuristic when I had people over.

Measuring 17.28 inches deep, 13.98 inches wide, and 17.01 inches tall, the ice maker takes up a lot of counter space and weighs a hefty 50 pounds. If you have a small kitchen, it can appear bulky, especially because its sleek design doesn’t exactly resemble an ice maker from afar.

As for setup, it was pretty straightforward, but afterwards I definitely needed my husband’s help to place it in our kitchen, and then again when I needed to move it around when it came to descaling and cleaning the machine.

Overall, the nugget ice elevated my iced drinks, giving them a coffee shop feel at home and making my morning routine more enjoyable. I also observed that the ice melted more slowly than my fridge ice, so my drinks stayed colder for longer without getting watered down as quickly.

Another big plus was its speed. It made ice much faster than my refrigerator, so I always had enough on hand when hosting friends and family. The ice maker itself was something guests noticed when they came over, not just because of its size and beaming lights, but because the nugget ice was a hit with the other self-proclaimed ice connoisseurs in my life (some even threatened to steal it).

Whether or not the GoveeLife Smart Nugget Ice Maker Pro is for you really comes down to how much you care about having nugget ice on demand and how often you’ll actually use it. If you aren’t much into ice, you obviously don’t need a fairly niche appliance.

But if you’re someone who regularly drinks iced beverages and loves “the good ice,” this ice maker could be the gadget you never knew you needed.

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