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Get $100 bonus when you pre-order the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2

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Samsung is opening pre-orders for the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 with a bonus most retailers won’t match once the watch actually ships.

Order the Titanium Silver Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 bundled with a $100 Amazon gift card and you’ll pay $699.99. Considering the RRP is $699, you’re getting a free gift card to spend on whatever.

Galaxy Watch ultra with gift cards on a blue and pink backgroundGalaxy Watch ultra with gift cards on a blue and pink background

Get $100 gift card when you pre-order the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2

This Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 pre-order is just $699.99, down from $799.99, and comes with a free $100 Amazon gift card.

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Our review found the standout here is the screen, a 1.52-inch AMOLED panel that hits 5,000 nits of peak brightness, which our reviewer described as bright enough to remain legible in dazzling midday sunshine that left other wearables struggling to keep up.

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That kind of visibility earns its keep once you’re actually outdoors, and our testing found the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2‘s dual-GPS setup held a straight, accurate line through Canary Wharf, an area of tall skyscrapers and rivers that regularly throws GPS tracking off course entirely.

That accuracy now extends into a new trail running mode built for this generation, letting you load custom GPX routes with turn-by-turn directions, elevation tracking and personalised hydration alerts as you push further off the beaten path.

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Durability hasn’t been sacrificed for any of this either, since the watch retains its shockproof titanium body and now carries an IP69K rating alongside 10ATM water resistance, protecting it through dust, hot water jets and deep submersion.

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Built-in LTE connectivity means you can make calls, send texts and get updates straight from your wrist even when your phone stays behind, which our reviewer noted makes it one of the more genuinely useful cellular smartwatches around right now.

Our review did flag that battery life still tops out around two days of real-world use and that several health features remain locked to Samsung phones, so this pre-order bonus suits committed outdoor athletes more than casual browsers.

At $699.99 instead of $799.99, with a $100 Amazon gift card thrown in on top, this is the cheapest way to lock in the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 before it ships on the 7th of August.

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Salesforce cutting 59 jobs across Seattle and Bellevue offices

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Salesforce offices in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

Salesforce is cutting 59 jobs in Washington state, impacting a wide variety of tech roles at offices in Seattle and Bellevue, according to a new state filing.

The layoffs at the San Francisco-based enterprise software giant, as well as data visualization company Tableau, are effective Oct. 5 according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification from the state’s Employment Security Department.

Affected positions include software engineers, product management directors, incident commanders, technical support engineers, and leadership roles across marketing and sustainability.

GeekWire reached out to Salesforce for comment on the reason behind the layoffs and for updated workforce numbers in the Seattle area. We’ll update this story when we hear back.

Last September, 93 employees in Washington state were laid off by Salesforce. At the same time, CEO Marc Benioff was touting efficiency gains at the company achieved through the use of AI tools.

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The latest reductions come amid a broader restructuring at Salesforce, marking its third round of job cuts this year. The San Francisco Business Times reported that 74 employees are being laid off at the company’s headquarters, accompanied by a reshuffle in the C-suite that promoted Miguel Milano to COO.

Amid the restructuring, the company continues to pull in top regional leadership. Longtime Microsoft cybersecurity executive Krishna Kumar Parthasarathy announced last week that he’s joining Salesforce as executive vice president of engineering.

Salesforce acquired Seattle-based Tableau in 2019 for $15.7 billion. Despite the recurring job reductions, the company recently renewed its lease for roughly 114,000 square feet at the Data 1 office building in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, signaling an ongoing commitment to its long-term home in the city.

In other tech industry layoffs this week, Google announced it was eliminating 52 jobs in Washington and Zillow is cutting 91 jobs.

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Rubidium Frequency Standard Explained | Hackaday

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You’ve probably heard of rubidium frequency standards, which are used where you need an extremely accurate time or frequency reference. [IMSAI] guy has a good explainer video about what’s actually going on inside one of these standards. Much of the basic idea also applies to cesium standards.

The explainer starts with the periodic table. Rubidium and cesium are both alkali metals, with a single electron in their outermost electron shell. Rubidium has 37 electrons, with the outermost one relatively loosely bound. Naturally occurring rubidium consists mainly of two isotopes, rubidium-85 and rubidium-87, which have the same number of protons and electrons but different numbers of neutrons.

A rubidium standard typically has three gas cells that have a bit of rubidium in them. An RF-excited rubidium-87 discharge lamp produces light at very specific wavelengths. The RF energy excites rubidium atoms into higher electronic states, and when their electrons fall back to lower-energy states, the atoms emit photons.

That light passes through a filter cell containing rubidium-85. The filter preferentially absorbs part of the lamp’s spectrum, leaving light that optically pumps the rubidium-87 atoms in the second resonance cell into one of two closely spaced hyperfine states of the atom’s ground state.

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Those two states differ because of the interaction between the magnetic moment of the outer electron and that of the rubidium-87 nucleus. Their energy separation corresponds to a microwave frequency of about 6.835 GHz.

The resonance cell is illuminated by the filtered light while also being exposed to microwave energy from a local oscillator. When the microwave frequency is exactly equal to the rubidium-87 hyperfine transition frequency, it transfers atoms between the two ground-state hyperfine levels. That changes how strongly the cell absorbs the optical pumping light, producing a detectable dip in the light reaching a photodetector.

Electronics then servo the microwave oscillator onto the center of that absorption dip, using a feedback technique somewhat analogous to a phase-locked loop. Once locked, the oscillator is effectively referenced to an atomic transition rather than to the dimensions or mechanical properties of a crystal, giving you an extremely stable frequency standard.

We’ve peeked into these before. Cesium clocks are more accurate, and optical clocks are even better than that.

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REDMI Note 17 5G Launched in India With Massive 8,000mAh Battery

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Big batteries are quickly becoming the norm on mid-range Android phones, but Xiaomi is taking things a step further with the new REDMI Note 17 5G. The company has launched the smartphone in India with a massive 8,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, the biggest ever fitted inside a REDMI smartphone. What’s perhaps more impressive is that Xiaomi has managed to squeeze that battery inside an 8.4mm-thick body.

The REDMI Note 17 5G starts at an introductory price of ₹24,999 and also features a 120Hz AMOLED display, the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4 chipset, a 50MP main camera, and Android 16 out of the box. Xiaomi is also promising four years of OS updates and six years of security patches.

REDMI Note 17 5G Features and Specifications

front screen design

Of course, the headline feature of the REDMI Note 17 is its massive 8,000mAh silicon-carbon battery. Xiaomi claims the phone can last for up to three days of typical usage on a single charge, although real-world endurance will naturally depend on how you use it. The phone supports 45W wired fast charging, and thankfully, Xiaomi still includes the charger in the box. Interestingly, the Note 17 can also double as a power bank in a pinch, thanks to 22.5W reverse wired charging. Xiaomi says the battery is TÜV-certified to retain at least 80% of its original capacity after 1,600 charging cycles, which should help with long-term battery health.

Moving to the front, the REDMI Note 17 features a 6.9-inch TrueColour AMOLED display with a 120Hz AdaptiveSync refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and up to 1,800 nits of peak brightness. The phone also gets Xiaomi’s HydroTouch 2.0 technology, which is designed to keep the touchscreen responsive when your fingers are wet or oily. You also get stereo speakers capable of reaching 200% volume. Under the hood, the REDMI Note 17 is powered by the Snapdragon 4 Gen 4, built on a 4nm process. The chipset is paired with up to 8GB of RAM, while Xiaomi’s memory extension feature can virtually add another 8GB using the phone’s internal storage. There’s also support for expandable storage of up to 2TB and a 10,416mm² graphite cooling system to keep temperatures under control.

Xiaomi claims the phone has been engineered to deliver up to 48 months of lag-free usage. As always, that’s a manufacturer claim, and we’ll have to see how the phone actually holds up after years of software updates and everyday use.

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Cameras, Software, and Durability

closeup of the camera

For photography, the REDMI Note 17 features a 50MP AI dual-camera setup on the back. Xiaomi hasn’t detailed the secondary sensor in its announcement, but the main camera supports features such as Night Mode, AI HDR, Dynamic Shots, 2x in-sensor zoom, and the company’s AI Editor. There’s also an 8MP camera on the front for selfies and video calls. Durability hasn’t been ignored either. The phone gets Corning Gorilla Glass 7i protection on the front, an IP65 rating against dust and water, and a reinforced chassis. The REDMI Note 17 is available in three colors: Arctic Blue, Starlight Purple, and Dark Night.

On the software side, the phone ships with HyperOS 3 based on Android 16. Xiaomi is promising four years of major OS updates and six years of security patches. The software also includes HyperIsland, Xiaomi’s AI features, and Google Gemini integration.

The REDMI Note 17 5G starts at an introductory price of ₹24,999 for the 6GB + 128GB variant, down from its ₹27,999 MRP. The higher-end 8GB + 128GB model costs ₹27,999 as part of the introductory offer, compared with its ₹30,999 MRP.

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Startup Spotlight: HitchPiggy wants to turn empty car seats into a new rideshare marketplace

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HItchPiggy founder Skylar Windham, left, on a trip to Florida with his friend and former graduate school professor Alexis Cancemi.

Planning a trip to a college campus, concert or Northwest landmark? Portland startup HitchPiggy is betting the ride you need may already be headed out on the road.

The company’s new marketplace allows drivers to post trips they’re already planning and connect with passengers heading the same way. Unlike on-demand services such as Uber or Lyft, HitchPiggy is focusing on regional travel, allowing drivers to choose who rides with them and what passengers contribute toward the trip.

Founder Skylar Windham says the idea has been percolating in his head for years, sparked from experiences traveling through Europe. Only recently, AI-powered coding tools allowed him to build the platform he always imagined.

The bootstrapped startup is small, with a little more than 100 registered users signing up for Pacific Northwest trips since its launch on June 1. No rides have been completed through the platform just yet, but Windham is looking to grow college ridership this fall through a partnership with the Portland State Business Accelerator.

Arsh Haque, director of the Portland State Business Accelerator, said he loves startup ideas like HitchPiggy that are hatched from international experiences.

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“I got to firsthand experience a solution like HitchPiggy abroad, have always wanted it in the U.S., and think Skylar has the raw talent to bring it here,” said Haque.

Windham — a therapist and sailboat instructor by training — believes the service is on the right course as it tackles the complex challenge of matching drivers and riders. In fact, Windham’s background as a certified counselor and sailor is proving to be a useful in getting HitchPiggy on the road.

Counseling has honed listening skills, while sailing has taught adaptability.

“When you’re trying to reach a destination and the conditions change, you have to stay calm and adjust your course without losing sight of where you’re going,” Windham tells GeekWire. “That applies to building a startup too.” Let’s meet our latest Startup Spotlight company: HitchPiggy.

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In 50 words or less, give us your elevator pitch.

Skylar Windham using the ridesharing service BlaBlaCar in France in 2015, which later inspired him to start HitchPiggy.

HitchPiggy is like Airbnb for the empty seats in your car. It helps drivers already traveling between cities connect with passengers heading the same way, making travel more affordable and putting existing empty seats to better use.

What problem are you obsessed with solving?

There are already thousands of empty seats traveling between cities every day. I want to help drivers and passengers fill them instead of letting them go to waste.

What surprised you after talking to customers?

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I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how encouraging and helpful people have been. Even when there’s been a hiccup, users have been patient and supportive. I think HitchPiggy naturally attracts community-minded people who genuinely want to help each other.

How has AI changed the way you build your company?

I first tried building this idea in 2016 by hiring engineers overseas, but getting the product right was difficult. Eventually, I put the project on the back burner. Today’s AI tools gave me the ability to finally build the platform I had envisioned, despite having no coding background.

What’s one thing people misunderstand about your startup?

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Many people assume HitchPiggy is like Uber or Lyft. It isn’t. It’s a community-based rideshare platform for intercity travel, not local, on-demand rides.

Another common misconception is that the idea itself is unusually risky. In reality, people have been sharing rides for years through Craigslist, Facebook groups, and word of mouth. HitchPiggy makes that process more transparent and easier to use. It won’t be for everyone, and that’s okay. But for people who already like the idea of sharing rides, I think it’s a much better option than what has existed before.

What about safety?

Like any platform that connects people online, there is some inherent risk, and HitchPiggy can’t eliminate that entirely. What the platform can do is help people feel more informed and comfortable before deciding to ride together. Users can see details about who they may be traveling with, the vehicle, pickup location, route, timing, cost, and other important trip information. They can also message each other beforehand and ask any questions they need.

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What’s the toughest decision you’ve made in the past year?

The toughest decision I’ve made was deciding not to pursue investors, at least not yet. There’s a lot of pressure in the startup world to raise money and grow as quickly as possible, but I wanted to build HitchPiggy differently. I’d rather grow steadily and learn from real users before trying to scale. It hasn’t been the fastest path, but it has felt like the right one.

What’s the one piece of advice you give to other entrepreneurs?

Have thick skin. Most feedback will be positive, but there will always be people who are quick to tell you why your idea won’t work. Anything worth building comes with challenges. Focus on what’s possible instead of everything that could go wrong. If entrepreneurs listened too closely to every critic, very little would ever get built.

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We’ll know our company has made it when…

It’s a household name and people naturally check HitchPiggy before looking for a bus or train ticket whenever they’re traveling between cities.

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OpenAI’s first gadget sounds like a tiny expressive AI companion

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For months, reports have suggested that OpenAI’s first hardware product would be a screen-free smart speaker designed to act more like an AI companion. We already knew it could understand its surroundings, be carried around the home, and proactively help users. A new Bloomberg report now gives us a clearer picture of what the device may actually look like.

As per the report, OpenAI’s first gadget will be shaped like a doughnut and measure about the same size as a hockey puck. You will be able to carry it between rooms or leave it nearby on whatever surface is convenient. The device is expected to be on the expensive side, as the company has pondered pricing it around $300 to $400. A release is currently planned for 2027.

A smart speaker you are meant to carry around

Previous reports suggested that the device could control smart-home appliances, play media, answer questions, respond to messages, and use ChatGPT to help throughout the day. Voice will serve as the main interface, but the device will also have a camera and environmental sensors. Those additions could let the AI understand what is happening around it instead of relying entirely on spoken instructions. Apple is exploring a similar concept for future AirPods, which could use built-in cameras to understand the wearer’s surroundings.

OpenAI also expects it to become more familiar with its owner over time. Conversations could change according to a person’s routines, preferences, and past interactions, allowing the assistant to offer help before someone reaches for a phone or types a prompt. Of course, the device will have access to advanced models for human-like conversations. OpenAI has already made considerable progress in this area through the recent introduction of ChatGPT Live.

Its body could become part of the interface

Microphones and speakers will handle conversations, while lights will show when the AI is listening or responding. Parts of the device will also move during interactions, giving it the presence of a small robot rather than a speaker sitting passively in the room. The comparison that comes to mind is WALL-E or R2-D2. Their movements and reactions make them feel alive, aware, and emotionally present. OpenAI seems to be pursuing a similar effect by giving ChatGPT a physical form and an expressive personality.

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I still have questions about how all of this will work in practice. A moving, doughnut-shaped AI companion could easily feel gimmicky if the design or motion is even slightly off. OpenAI is collaborating with legendary former Apple design chief Jony Ive and his LoveFrom studio on the device, which gives me some confidence that the final execution will feel polished rather than toy-like.

OpenAI president Greg Brockman has already confirmed that the company is building a family of devices, and this small companion could be the first to give ChatGPT a physical presence in users’ homes.

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Your Next Flight Just Got a Whole Lot More Fun with the Lenovo Legion Go S Handheld Gaming PC

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Lenovo Legion Go S Handheld Gaming PC Z2
Waiting at the gate stretches on forever when all you have is a phone screen and whatever free Wi-Fi the airport offers. Once the plane doors close, that same stretch of hours can feel even longer. A proper PC game library sitting in your hands changes the entire equation, and the Lenovo Legion Go S, priced at $667 (was $850), is built exactly for that kind of mobility.



The new 2025 portable weighs just 1.63 pounds and is 11.77 inches wide, 5.02 inches tall, and less than an inch thick, making it as easy to transport in a backpack as a big paperback or a slim tablet case. You can put it in a side pocket or under the seat in front of you, and it will just disappear until you need it again. The entire design is really sturdy; there are no loose controllers to lose or rattle about in your backpack to worry about.

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The grips are nicely contoured and fit easily in both hands. The hall-effect joysticks are exceptionally precise, with little drift to interfere with long gaming sessions, and the buttons and triggers deliver sharp, unambiguous feedback. Even after an hour or two of play during a delay or in-flight, your hands are still comfortable and not cramping. The front-facing speakers generate good sound in quieter locations, and there is a 3.5 mm socket for plugging in headphones when cabin noise becomes too loud.

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Lenovo Legion Go S Handheld Gaming PC Z2
The 8-inch PureSight IPS panel has a respectable 1920 by 1200 resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate, and variable refresh capability. The colors remain brilliant, and the 500-nit brightness is more than adequate to cut through airport fluorescents or the strange mixed illumination inside a plane. The variable refresh makes motion ultra smooth even when frame rates drop on difficult titles, so the image never becomes choppy on you. If you ever need to rapidly scroll through a menu, touch input works great; no need to grab for that little trackpad.

Lenovo Legion Go S Handheld Gaming PC Z2
Under the hood, there’s an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go processor with integrated Radeon graphics, 16 GB of memory, and a 512 GB SSD. It runs Windows 11 and supports PC games from Steam, Epic, and Xbox Game Pass (three free months included). Older and mid-range games run at solid frame rates with acceptable settings. Newer releases may require you to lower the resolution and detail slightly, but they are still totally playable. That’s the beauty of this thing on the road: you may pick and select the game that best suits your current mood and the remaining battery life.

Lenovo Legion Go S Handheld Gaming PC Z2
The 55.5 watt-hour battery provides a couple of hours of hard gameplay or much longer sessions with lighter or well-optimized titles. Lower brightness and power limitations can help you squeeze out every last bit of power. Then there’s rapid charging; after half an hour hooked into the supplied 65-watt USB-C adaptor, your battery is as good as new. That’s useful on a brief layover or at the gate when you need a fast refill before flight. Dual USB4 connections are located along the top edge, allowing you to charge and play while also connecting a portable display if you ever want to blow things up on a larger screen at a hotel desk.

Lenovo Legion Go S Handheld Gaming PC Z2
The cooling system works well, keeping the device cool against your palms even during extended gaming sessions, and if you ever need more storage, the microSD expansion slot allows you to load up with a selection of games tailored to a specific trip, eliminating the need to cram the internal drive to the gills. Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth are also available to keep downloads and controllers operational when airport networks cooperate.

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Sony Inzone M10S 2 review: takes the best esports monitor and makes it even better

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Sony Inzone M10S 2: Two-minute review

The Sony Inzone M10S was one of the best gaming monitors of 2024, offering uncompromising performance and a suite of practical tournament-ready features that made it the perfect choice for both professional and aspiring esports players.

Now Sony is back with the Inzone M10S 2, a successor that delivers a number of small but nevertheless impactful upgrades while maintaining everything that made the original so good. It’s the same 2560 x 1440 resolution, but feels even snappier thanks to an increased 540Hz refresh rate and a lower 0.02ms response time. There’s even a dual mode, letting you bump the resolution down to 720p for a staggering 720Hz picture — invaluable for Counter-Strike 2 or Rocket League.

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5 Of The Best Undercounter Beverage Refrigerators You Can Buy In 2026

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It might seem excessive to have an extra refrigerator just for your beverages. For wine lovers, though, investing in beverage refrigerators is important because it can help keep their vintages at the optimal storage temperatures. And while there are luxury refrigerators made just for wine that cost thousands of dollars, a regular beverage refrigerator can be good enough for a casual collector.

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These days, there are also reasonably-priced beverage refrigerators that can serve meaningful purposes even in any home. Whether it’s your office, game room, garage, or bedroom, a beverage refrigerator is a great way to have another spot in your home for drinks. It’s also a good way to keep the temperature in your main fridge constant, since you won’t be opening the door as much. It even lets you take back some fridge real estate for meal prep or leftovers.

They don’t even need to be used on beverages at all. You can use them for medication, extending the shelf life of cosmetics, or even storing breastmilk. So, if you’re looking for a beverage refrigerator that you can easily tuck under a cabinet, table, or spare corner, here are some of the best ones you can buy today.

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EUHOMY Mini Fridge

EUHOMY has produced several highly-rated cooling appliances, such as ice nugget makers and electric coolers. It makes some of the best under-counter beverage refrigerators too. The EUHOMY Mini Fridge is available in eight different sizes that range from 18L to 4.5 cu-ft. Sold in two colors (black and silver), the prices range from $99.99 to $299.99. For its largest size option, 4.5 cu-ft, it has seven slots you can use to adjust one of the four shelves. Measuring 20.3 inches by 31.5 inches by 21.7 inches, it can fit up to 145 cans. Whether you want to cool beer, fruit juice, soda, or wine, you can set the temperature between 32 and 61 degrees Fahrenheit. It has a double-panel door with UV protection, which can be set to open towards the left or right. Not to mention, it claims to generate less than 40 dB of noise, which is as quiet as a library. This makes it ideal for places like nurseries or bedrooms.

Collectively, they have been rated 4.3 stars by over 4,400 users on Amazon with some sizes, such as the 1.7 cu-ft, 3.0 cu-ft, 3.1 cu-ft, and 4.5 cu-ft, being listed as Amazon’s Choice products. Previously, we’ve mentioned how its $100 18L model can be a useful appliance for your garage.

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Electactic Mini Fridge

All together, Electactic Mini Fridge‘s seven sizes have been rated a 4.3-star average rating from 1,500 Amazon users. Apart from the 2.6 cu-ft model, all options are listed as Amazon’s Choice products. They’re priced between $125.98 to $329.69. Its largest option, 4.5 cu-ft, comes in two colors: black ($299.98) or silver ($329.69).

The 4.5 cu-ft model measures 20.28 inches by 21.85 inches by 31.5 inches, plus leveling feet that can come in handy when put in uneven locations. In more practical terms, it can fit either 37 standard wine bottles or 145 cans that are a little under 5 inches in height. You can adjust it to your preferred layout with four shelves and a reversible door. It comes with an interior LED light that you can switch on and off, a temperature display, and a button that lets you set it between 32 and 61 degrees Fahrenheit. With a special compressor, it’s one of the quietest options on this list with a less than 36 dB noise rating.

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That said, the ideal temperature between beverages and wine can be quite different. If you want to be able to enjoy both without ruining your bottles, Electactic also offers the 4.4 cu-ft Dual Zone Wine Cooler, where you can store 21 wine bottles and 88 cans separately. Despite being double the price at $679.50, more than 140 people have given it a positive 4.3-star average rating. It’s also listed as an Amazon’s Choice product.

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hOmeLabs Beverage Refrigerator and Cooler

When it comes to household gadgets, hOmeLabs has been known to roll out highly-rated options across different categories. In the past, we’ve highlighted how its 2.4 Gallon SwiftLid Trash Can makes for a great under $100 bathroom upgrade. They make highly-rated beverage refrigerators as well.

Similar to other brands, the hOmeLabs Beverage Refrigerator and Cooler has reversible doors and three adjustable shelves that you can use to optimize the layout. It measures 33.3 inches by 17.3 inches by 18.9 inches, plus adjustable feet. With a 3.2 cu-ft capacity, it’s the smallest option in this list, but it can still hold up to 120 slim cans. There’s a temperature display, LED light, and buttons to both increase and reduce temperature. It does have a smaller temperature range of 34 to 50 degrees Fahrenheit compared to the other options on this list. However, it’s more than enough for people who want to avoid accidentally freezing their drinks. For example, Soda Sense mentions that the ideal temperature for carbonated water shouldn’t go below 34 degrees Fahrenheit.

The hOmeLabs Beverage Refrigerator and Cooler is only available in one size and sells for $309.99 on Amazon. An Amazon’s Choice product, more than 6,800 people have rated it around 4.5 stars. Due to its small footprint and user-friendly design, it also joins our list of essential man cave tech.

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Antarctic Star Beverage Refrigerator Cooler

The different Antarctic Star Beverage Refrigerator Cooler models have an average rating of 4.3 stars from more than 4,700 Amazon customers. With 10 sizes available, you have a wide array of options. For the largest size, which measures 20.28 inches by 21.26 inches by 31.5 inches, the prices range between $299.99 to $309.99. It has room for up to 145 cans but can hold up to 36 standard-sized wine bottles with its five movable shelves instead. Although it has the most limited temperature range capacity on this list at 40 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit, it’s also still within the ideal wine storage temperature, which Wine Folly notes is 55 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit. While it has all the expected features, like a soft LED light, temperature display and control, and adjustable feet, it does have an added security lock control.

If you plan to dedicate just a small space to your drinks, Antarctic also sells a 10L model for $104.99. Since it operates as quietly as a whisper at 38 dB, it won’t be disruptive if you have to be around microphones in your gaming room or when you’re reading in your library. Measuring 16.14 inches by 12.6 inches by 9.25 inches, it can hold either six wine bottles plus two cans or 12 cans alone.

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Icyglee 4.5 Cu.ft Beverage Refrigerator Cooler

On Amazon, Icyglee lists six beverage refrigerator models with capacities that range between 1.7 cu-ft or 4.5 cu-ft. Depending on their color, the prices range between $149.99 to $289.99. All together, they share the same 4.5-star average rating from 1,100 customers. Apart from the 3.2 cu-ft models, the other four designs are also listed as Amazon’s Choice products.

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For its 4.5 cu-ft model, it measures 21.7 inches by 20.3 inches by 31.5 inches. One important note is that while it shares the same 145 can capacity as many other under-counter beverage refrigerators, its dimensions are unique in that it can fit up to 37 standard wine bottles (the most out of this list). With a 3 sq. ft. footprint, the four shelves can be moved across six slots. It has one of the widest temperature ranges at 32 to 61 degrees Fahrenheit, so it can handle everything from breast milk to champagne. Although it’s not the quietest with a 40 dB operation, it’s still within the same range of sounding like a whisper.

If you’re okay with a smaller capacity, the 1.7 cu-ft model with its two shelves and 1.9 sq. ft. footprint can hold up to 68 12 oz. cans or 16 wine bottles. It shares the same temperature range, UV-blocking glass, reversible hinges, adjustable feet, and LED light.

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Methodology

Since under the counter beverage refrigerators tend to come in multiple sizes, we compared the largest models in their line-up, as well as their smallest ones. We also note the size of the unit, so you can better estimate whether it will fit into your space. We included price ranges, so you can better estimate what to expect to spend at different dimensions, and we made sure to only include beverage refrigerators that have been rated at least 4 stars by over a thousand reviewers. Although it didn’t affect their placement on the list, we took note of which models have been highlighted as Amazon’s Choice products or top-selling items under their category.

Since people use their beverage refrigerators in various ways, we mention three key features: temperature range, storage capacity for both cans and standard bottles, and noise ratings. When possible, we also mentioned unique features that set them apart from similar models, such as locking mechanisms. Although it didn’t affect their placement, we also took note of shelving flexibility and if their doors are reversible. To give you a more holistic view of the brands, we’ve also highlighted other categories where their products have also received praise.

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The billion-dollar religious economy of Singapore

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Singapore’s religious organisations brought in over S$1 billion in donations in 2024

There are few sectors in Singapore that receive more than S$1 billion a year without selling a single product.

Religion is one of them.

On any given weekend, tens of thousands of Singaporeans walk into churches, temples, mosques and gurdwaras carrying cash, making PayNow transfers or setting up recurring GIRO donations.

Those individual acts of giving add up quickly, but that money doesn’t simply keep the lights on or fund weekly services. It powers a vast ecosystem spanning schools, childcare centres, nursing homes, healthcare providers, social service agencies, overseas missions and some of Singapore’s most valuable religious properties.

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So just how much money flows through Singapore’s religious organisations—and where does it all go?

Taking the largest slice

Leong San See Temple (left) and St Andrew’s Cathedral./ Image Credit: St Andrew’s Cathedral/ Adobe Stock

It’s not really a secret, so much as a scattered one.

Registered charities and Institutions of a Public Character (IPCs), including religious institutions, are required to file annual returns with the Commissioner of Charities, and that data sits in plain view on the Charity Portal (charities.gov.sg) and in the Commissioner’s own annual report.

In FY2024, Singapore’s roughly 2,400 registered charities collected a combined S$29.18 billion in total receipts (donations, government grants and other income), of which S$3.68 billion came from donations alone—up 3.7% on the year before.

Of that S$3.68 billion, religious charities took the single largest slice at S$1.4 billion, accounting for nearly 40% of all charitable donations received that year.

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Image Credit: Commissioner of Charities

Donations are only part of the picture.

In FY2024, religious charities also reported S$597.5 million in “other income”—a category that includes programme fees and services rendered, investment income, membership fees and merchandise sales, among other sources—as well as S$17.4 million in government grants. Altogether, the sector recorded S$2.02 billion in total receipts for the year.

For some of the larger religious organisations, these additional income streams sit alongside extensive property holdings and affiliated entities, meaning their financial footprint extends well beyond the donations they receive.

Singapore’s biggest religious fundraisers

Christian megachurches are disproportionately visible in these figures, particularly because they are large, urban, well-organised, and required to disclose more than smaller neighbourhood temples or mosque committees.

Image Credit: New Creation Church

New Creation Church is the clearest example of scale.

According to its FY2025 filing on the Charity Portal, the church recorded total receipts of S$205,387,076, of which S$154,745,232—about 75%—came directly from tithes and offerings. That puts New Creation’s annual donation income roughly in line with, or ahead of, the totals reported by many local universities and hospitals.

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Total expenditure for the year came to S$149,769,323, leaving a surplus on top of already substantial reserves. In its financial reports (income statement and balance sheet), the church has disclosed accumulated funds and reserves of over S$1 billion, held under a stated reserve policy of maintaining at least three months of operating expenses.

The Star development, home to The Star Vista and The Star Performing Arts Centre./ Image Credit: The Star

Much of the group’s commercial activity is conducted through its wholly owned subsidiary, Rock Productions, which owns and operates The Star Performing Arts Centre and The Star Vista Mall, along with a bookshop and gifts arm, and a travel agency running tour packages, most notably to Israel.

New Creation Church isn’t an outlier within its own tier. Other large congregations—City Harvest Church, Cornerstone Community Church, and Faith Community Baptist Church among them—file similarly substantial numbers.

It isn’t only the churches

The scale isn’t unique to Christianity. It’s simply best documented there, because large independent churches tend to be structured as single, centralised charities with straightforward annual filings.

Singapore’s Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim institutions move comparably large sums.

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Major Buddhist institutions such as the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum and large charitable temples like Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple are among the country’s most prolific individual fundraisers, running annual charity drives that rival megachurch tithing totals.

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum (left) and the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple./ Image Credit: Chinatown Singapore/ SilverKris

The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum recorded S$24,853,980 in total receipts for FY2025, with an estimated half derived from donations and ceremony-related income. It spent S$18,791,738 during the year and ended the financial period with S$74,533,049 in total funds and reserves.

Meanwhile, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple reported S$35,955,465 in total receipts, of which S$28,787,487 (around 80%) came directly from donations. The temple recorded expenditure of S$19,706,028 and held S$238,290,111 in total funds and reserves.

The Sultan Mosque (left) and the Abdul Gafoor Mosque (right)./ Image Credit: Visit Singapore/ Tripadvisor

On the Muslim side, key forms of religious giving are more centralised than in most other faith communities.

Under the Administration of Muslim Law Act (AMLA), all mosques in Singapore are vested in MUIS (the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore), which oversees their governance, requires them to use a common financial accounting system, and subjects them to annual external audits. As a result, financial information about individual mosques is generally disseminated through MUIS’ governance framework rather than through standalone charity filings, making mosque-level donation data less readily available on the Charity Portal.

MUIS administers zakat (compulsory wealth tax) collections and other Islamic religious funds. It also oversees the Mosque Building and Mendaki Fund (MBMF), which is collected through employers using the CPF Board’s contribution system.

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MBMF contributions are mandatory for working Muslims by default, although contributors can opt out or vary their contribution levels by applying to MUIS. The fund supports mosque construction and upgrading, religious education, and Yayasan Mendaki’s educational and social programmes.

Every working Muslim in Singapore (including PRs and foreign workers) contributes S$3 to S$26 per month—and the scale of these contributions has grown significantly over the decades. According to MUIS, annual gross MBMF contributions collected through the CPF system increased from S$421,203 in 1975 to S$48.9 million in 2024, while the fund’s accumulated reserves reached S$230.6 million as at end-2024.

Separately, MUIS collected S$73 million in zakat in 2024, highlighting the substantial scale of centrally administered Islamic giving in Singapore.

Not all Muslim charitable giving, however, is channelled through MUIS. Voluntary sadaqah (charitable donations) may be given directly to mosques, charities, individuals or through MUIS, and is not centrally administered.

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While there is no official nationwide figure for such donations, Islamic Finance Singapore estimates—based on a sample of audited mosque financial statements—that Singapore’s roughly 70 mosques receive around S$105 million in sadaqah annually.

The Sri Mariamman Temple./ Image Credit: ICCS

Hindu institutions have a partially centralised governance structure through the Hindu Endowments Board (HEB), a statutory body that administers the endowments of Sri Mariamman Temple, Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, Sri Sivan Temple and Sri Vairavimada Kaliamman Temple.

It also has supervisory powers over the accounts of all Hindu endowments in Singapore, including those it does not directly administer.

HEB reported S$19.6 million in total income for FY2025, including S$4.6 million in donations and contributions as well as S$5.5 million in temple service income. It also managed S$92.2 million in total funds, reflecting the accumulated endowments and trust funds. (Do note that these figures represent only the temples under HEB’s administration rather than the Hindu community as a whole.)

Many independent Hindu temples also receive substantial donations and other income. For example, Arulmigu Velmurugan Gnana Muneeswarar Temple reported S$4.16 million in total income for FY2023, while total expenditure amounted to S$1.18 million. Meanwhile, Murugan Hill Temple recorded S$1.73 million in total receipts for FY2025, with S$954,259 in total expenditure.

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The other source of wealth

Beyond cash donations and investment portfolios, many religious institutions have accumulated substantial property holdings over decades.

The Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery./ Image Credit: Bodhi Travel

Many historic religious sites established in the 19th and early 20th centuries, such as the Lian Shan Shuang Lin Monastery, Sri Mariamman Temple and Church of St. Joseph, sit on freehold or very long-tenure land. By contrast, new Government Land Sales sites released for Places of Worship in newer housing estates are generally offered on 30-year leasehold terms.

Some newer religious organisations have also acquired substantial commercial property assets directly. Rock Productions, the wholly owned subsidiary of New Creation Church, invested close to S$500 million to acquire The Star Performing Arts Centre and The Star Vista Mall.

The property is not merely a venue but also a revenue-generating asset. Rental income made up 17.2% of New Creation Church’s FY2025 total income (amounting to about S$35 million), second only to its largest income stream, which is its tithes and offerings.

Large property portfolios and sizeable donation income naturally raise another question:

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How are religious institutions taxed?

Religious organisations in Singapore benefit from two distinct layers of tax relief.

  1. Income tax exemption
    Registered charities, including most established religious organisations, are generally exempt from income tax on income applied towards their charitable purposes, including the advancement of religion. But if a charity operates a commercial business through a separate legal entity—as New Creation Church does through Rock Productions—that subsidiary is generally subject to corporate income tax like any other company.
  2. Property tax exemption
    Under Section 6(6) of the Property Tax Act, the Comptroller may exempt a building, or part of one, that is used exclusively as a place of public religious worship, for charitable purposes, or for purposes conducive to social development. Buildings used only partly for such purposes may instead receive a partial exemption.

On top of this, charities with Institution of a Public Character (IPC) status (many church, temple and mosque-linked charities qualify) can issue tax-deductible receipts, meaning individual and corporate donors get a tax deduction for what they give, encouraging philanthropic giving.

None of this is automatic or permanent. IPC status, tax exemption and charity registration all come with ongoing compliance obligations and can be revoked.

The safeguards

Singapore’s regulatory scrutiny of religious finances tightened after the City Harvest Church scandal—still the country’s most consequential case of religious-charity misconduct.

City Harvest Church founder Kong Hee (right) with his pop-singer wife Ho Yeow Sun in 2013./ Image Credit: Getty Images

The Commissioner of Charities opened a statutory inquiry into City Harvest Church in 2010 following complaints about the management of its Building Fund. The inquiry ultimately uncovered a scheme involving about S$50 million, including S$23 million channelled into sham bond investments used to finance the music career of Sun Ho—wife of founder Kong Hee—as part of the church’s “Crossover Project,” and a further S$26.6 million in transactions intended to conceal the earlier misuse.

The criminal proceedings that followed became one of Singapore’s longest-running trials, running well over a hundred trial days. Kong Hee and five other church leaders were convicted of criminal breach of trust and/or falsifying accounts in 2017. Separately, exercising its powers under the Charities Act, the Commissioner of Charities permanently disqualified the six individuals from holding governance or management positions in charities.

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While Singapore’s core charity laws were already in place before the City Harvest scandal, the case reinforced the importance of strong governance and more active regulatory oversight.

Annual financial disclosures and statutory enforcement powers under the Charities Act had long existed, but the years that followed saw governance expectations progressively strengthened through successive revisions to the Code of Governance for Charities and IPCs in 2011, 2017 and 2023. These updates placed greater emphasis on board independence, conflict-of-interest management, internal controls, risk management and financial accountability.

A billion-dollar ecosystem

Singapore’s religious sector moves hundreds of millions of dollars each year, supported by sizeable donation streams, investment portfolios, valuable property holdings and, in many cases, favourable tax treatment. Yet, reducing these organisations to their balance sheets would miss the broader picture.

While worship remains their core mission, a significant share of these resources is channelled into wider public and community purposes.

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New Creation Church hosted over 300 migrant workers at a special appreciation banquet held at The Star earlier in May./ Image Credit: New Creation Church

New Creation Church, for example, reported providing S$265,600 in financial assistance to members in financial distress in FY2025, alongside education bursaries for students from lower-income families, appreciation events for migrant workers, and outings and activities for senior citizens.

Similarly, Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple has channelled part of its donations towards broader social causes. According to its FY2025 annual report, the temple pledged S$1 million each to Nanyang Technological University and Singapore Management University towards bursaries for financially disadvantaged students, and contributed S$50,000 to support caregivers of needy beneficiaries through a local charity.

These examples are far from exhaustive. Across Singapore, religious organisations collectively support a wide range of initiatives.

In the end, the question is not whether religious organisations are wealthy—they often are. The more meaningful question is how that wealth is governed, where it comes from, and how it is used.

  • Read other articles we’ve written on Singaporean businesses here.

Featured Image Credit: Chinatown Singapore/ Visit Singapore/ St Andrews Cathedral/ ICCS

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Fare Is Fair: Zoox Launching Robotaxi Service in Las Vegas

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Autonomous ride-hailing company Zoox will start charging for rides in Las Vegas next week, ending its free pilot program. Starting Aug. 10, the Amazon-owned startup will begin offering a paid service for its pod-shaped, purpose-built robotaxis — a bummer for free riders, but the next logical step for the company in its growth from a flashy startup to a viable business model.

Zoox’s road from pilot program to paid rides has been more of an expressway. CNET Senior Writer Abrar Al-Heeti was one of the first to test ride Zoox’s purpose-built robotaxi in 2024. The pilot program opened to the public in 2025 with free rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco, later expanding to Austin and Miami. The pod-shaped autonomous vehicles were among the highlights of CES 2026, roaming the Vegas strip. Since launch, Zoox claims it has carried nearly 1 million riders across its pilot cities, covering over 3 million miles on public roads.

Last week, Zoox announced that it had received the Part 555 commercial exemption from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, giving the company federal regulatory approval to charge for rides in its purpose-built robotaxi. According to a Zoox representative, the next step was completing “the necessary notifications in Nevada to begin charging for rides.”

Starting Aug. 10, Zoox will flip the switch and start charging for rides in Las Vegas.

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Three Zoox robotaxis wait in traffic among other cabs and private vehicles.

Optimized pricing

According to Zoox, fares will initially be calculated based on a base fare, distance traveled, time traveled from pickup to drop-off and applicable taxes. Destination fees — for trips to or from the airport or to high-traffic events at the Sphere or T-Mobile Arena, for example — may also apply, following a structure similar to that of other ride-hailing and traditional taxi services. To start, Zoox says it’s aiming to be competitive with ride-hail “comfort” tier pricing (think Uber Comfort or Lyft Extra Comfort), which averages around 20% to 30% more expensive than standard UberX or Lyft Standard.

This initial fare calculation, visible at the time of booking, is the price, not an estimate. Unlike other services that may update the final price based on actual distance and time traveled, Zoox says its optimal-route price is fixed and will not change, even if the robotaxi takes a longer route (for example, to avoid traffic or accidents) or the trip takes longer than expected.

CNET reached out to Zoox regarding the specifics of next week’s transition from free to paid service, changes to the Zoox app and what customers should expect. We will update this space when we hear back.

A Zoox robotaxi on the road in Las Vegas, with palm trees and an American flag in the background
Zoox’s robotaxi is purpose-built for passengers — no pedals and no steering wheel required.Zoox

No more free rides

Las Vegas is the first stop for paid Zoox rides, but it won’t be the last. Eventually, payments will launch in other cities, such as San Francisco, but Zoox says it doesn’t have any additional details to share yet. For now, service for riders in the San Francisco Zoox Explorers program remains free.

Earlier this year, Zoox and Uber announced a multiyear strategic partnership to feature Zoox robotaxis on the Uber app, marking Zoox’s first third-party platform integration. Zoox will continue operating its own separate app in these launch markets alongside the Uber integration.

For tourists and Vegas locals, the end of free rides in Sin City is sure to be a disappointment (who doesn’t love free stuff?), but Zoox frames this as an important step toward becoming a self-sustaining business, rather than just another startup running on venture capital. That positive cash flow will help fuel the company’s continued testing, mapping and research and development work that extends well beyond the pilot cities.

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Zoox is also conducting manual mapping and autonomous testing with safety drivers in Seattle, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, DC, Dallas and Phoenix using a fleet of retrofitted Toyota Highlanders.

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