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Few tool brands have managed to build up the same reputation as Milwaukee. Offering a selection of tools for every role on the jobsite, Milwaukee stands out from the pack for a few key reasons, with reliability and overall usability often being strong points. At the moment, power tools are what gets Milwaukee most of the attention, and rightly so. Just about every element is refined in these tools, but there’s one downside: they’re pretty expensive.
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Luckily, Milwaukee’s current line of tools spans from end to end, allowing users to enjoy high-quality gear on a budget. Selling primarily at Home Depot, Milwaukee offers a lot of deals, and some of its tools even come in at well below $50. Still, despite being much cheaper than the brand’s power tools, these simple handheld items come with some unique features, making them a better option than some alternatives by rival brands. Here’s a closer look at 12 Milwaukee products under $50 that are worth adding to your tool collection, all of which are targeted at tackling different jobs.
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FastBack 6-in-1 Folding Utility Knife
It’s often the case that the most useful tools are the smallest ones in the box, even more so when you can use them in just about every job, which is what makes this first Milwaukee product so valuable. For overall practicality, the FastBack Six-in-One Folding Knife offers incredible value for how little it costs.
From official retailers such as Home Depot, the knife is priced at about $22 at the time of writing. Amazon also sells the product for $22.99, but as the retailer isn’t an official seller of Milwaukee’s products, you’ll struggle to make use of the manufacturer lifetime warranty if you buy it from here. This goes for all Milwaukee products, which is crucial to know before choosing where to buy from.
Alongside the three-inch blade, this tool also includes a screwdriver with Phillips #2 and slotted 1/4-inch bits, a bottle opener, a wire stripper, and a blade holder, to make scoring more accurate. A few more helpful additions include a wire belt clip and a lanyard hole for a little extra portability.
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27-in-1 Security Precision Multi-Bit Screwdriver
Many of Milwaukee’s hand tools feature a multi-use design, but one of the brand’s products brings it to the next level. The Milwaukee’s 27-in-1 Precision Multi-bit Screwdriver is, ultimately, just a screwdriver, but that doesn’t make that “27” any less practical overall. Whether you’re a full-time tradesperson or take on DIY and repair projects on the side, a high-quality screwdriver is a must-have for a home-focused toolkit.
As is the case with the majority of Milwaukee’s tools, the 27-in-1 security precision screwdriver can be purchased at Home Depot, one of the brand’s official retailers. The bits include a variety of Phillips, slotted, hex, and torx bits, as well as a 3.5mm nut driver to cover larger hex screws. Reviews are generally great for this screwdriver, sitting at an average of 4.3 out of five stars from 162 reviews. Owners frequently praise the versatility offered, specifically for tackling tiny screws in smaller tech gadgets.
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Long Needle Nose Pliers
This next product can go hand-in-hand with the precision tools on a variety of projects. If you often find yourself needing a tool for electrical work to grab wires and cables that are impossible to reach by hand, purchasing Milwaukee’s Long Needle Nose Pliers can streamline so many different types of builds and fixes for not much money at all. Out of the needle-nose pliers Milwaukee sells, the eight-inch pair offers great value-for-money, as it’s currently priced at around $23 from Home Depot.
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These are, essentially, standard needle-nose pliers, but they also come with a wire cutter and a fish tape puller above the grip. This specific model has a textured grip, which allows for a better grasp. It also has reaming heads on the edge of the cutters for extra versatility, which removes the need for a dedicated conduit reamer. This is one of the simplest handheld tools featured on the list, but it can prove to be one of the most important, if electronics are your focus.
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Magnetic I-Beam Level
Ensuring things are level can be one of the most irksome aspects of any task. Eyeballing it can’t give you a guarantee, even if you’re confident you’ve nailed it on the first try. A magnetic level isn’t a tool that’ll help you directly with fixing, fitting, and everything in between, but knowing the components are exactly where they’re supposed to be will give you much-needed peace of mind for any project.
Different projects require levels varying in size, and in particular, full-length levels can be too big for smaller jobs. Luckily, Milwaukee has a wide range of magnetic I-Beam levels available, many of which are priced under the $50 mark. Some of the largest ones, like the 78-inch, cross the line, as does the higher-quality RedStick line of levels. However, Home Depot has 24-inch and 48-inch I-Beams for $33 and $43, respectively. Milwaukee says that these levels can provide an accuracy of 0.0005 inches and are built specifically for site work, thanks to their aluminum frame. It’s safe to say it’ll get the job done at home as well.
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Smooth Face Hammer
The hammer is another tool that goes into the must-have category for any household, but not all hammers can be used for the same tasks. With dozens of types available, it’s crucial to use the correct hammer, both to remove the risk of damage to certain materials and to ensure you’re actually getting the job done. Milwaukee’s Smooth Face Hammer is one of the most well-reviewed on Home Depot, with over 1,000 reviews averaging out at 4.7 out of five stars for the different sizes.
One of the main uses of smooth-faced hammer is in woodworking, since other types of hammer can ruin delicate woods. Unsurprisingly, many of the reviews for the smooth-faced version of the hammer praise its delicacy when driving nails, preventing damage. Weights for this hammer range from 16 ounces to 22 ounces, then a jump to 28 ounces as the heaviest option. All of them come with neat features like the magnetic nail holder for even more accuracy, as well as the anti-ring claw on the back of the head. Pricing comes in at $28 for the lightest hammer.
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4-1/2 Inch Metal Trim Square
Another tool that can streamline the woodworking process is Milwaukee’s metal square trim. While it can be used to gather simple measurements throughout the home, its main strengths are in making precise markings for woodworking projects, making it yet another Milwaukee tool to fast-track your work without sacrificing quality.
We especially like the smaller 4.5-inch trim square. Milwaukee markets this tool as an everyday carry item, since it’s an ideal size to have on a tool belt for on-the-go measurements. If you don’t often require a belt, though, Milwaukee says it should fit in your pocket pretty easily. Despite being smaller than other squares in Milwaukee, you still get laser-etched markings, precision scribe notches, and a dual reference heel to make sure you can still use it on projects of varying dimensions. Home Depot sells the tool for approximately $15, and 92 percent of the 1,400 reviewers would recommend it, often citing versatility as their favorite feature.
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Compact Hack Saw
A common theme you may have noticed with these Milwaukee products is that many are smaller versions of already-popular tools that can be used throughout the home. The next of these on this list is the compact hack saw. Despite the tool being so simple, it comes with a few key features that separate it from others in the segment. It’s also another budget product from Milwaukee that’s as useful for home improvement as it is affordable.
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Retailer Home Depot has this tool available for around $18 for the smaller 10-inch saw. The blade itself is constructed with bi-metal, making it effective at cutting different plastics and woods, both of which you’ll find just about everywhere in home interiors. The highlight feature for this specific saw, however, is Milwaukee’s claim that you can change blades ten times faster than a standard hacksaw, being able to use any standard 10-inch blade. If you need a slightly bigger one, Home Depot also sells a 12-inch blade that follows a more traditional design style, but loses out on the fast-changing blade ability.
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Torque Lock Locking C-Clamp
This next tool was already massively popular before getting some much-welcomed features courtesy of Milwaukee, to make it even more effective in its role. This time, we turn to the brand’s very well-reviewed 11-inch Torque Lock Locking C-Clamp, which comes with Milwaukee’s torque lock thumb screw design, allowing for a much stronger overall grip from the alloy steel jaws. To ensure it’s secure, you can use a secondary tool, such as a screwdriver, to rotate the thumb screw with more strength.
Priced at $27 when buying through Home Depot, this locking C-clamp is more than enough useful to earn its price tag if you spend a lot of time working with wood or metal. Milwaukee made sure to allow the jaws to grip over surfaces 4 inches wide. The regular jaws will be the best option for flat pieces of material, but if you’ll be working with angles, Milwaukee also offers its locking C-clamp with swivel jaws, which also have a slightly wider width of four inches. They’re a little more expensive, at about $30, but well worth it for a solid hold on tapered materials.
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Compact 25-Foot SAE Tape Measure
Back to Milwaukee’s measuring tools, it’s no surprise to see the brand offer one of the most well-equipped, sturdy tape measures on the market. The Compact 25-feet Tape Measure version should allow you to get most measurements with pinpoint accuracy without spending much money at all. Home Depot sells two versions of this tape, a 16-foot one and a larger 25-foot model. When it’s in stock, the smaller tape measure usually sits at around $10, whereas the larger version is priced at around $17.
As is often the case with its tools, Milwaukee reinforced this tape measure to make it a good choice for jobsites, all without taking up too much space in the bag. The steel belt clip also helps a ton with that. Both models have a reach (not to be confused with full size) of 12 feet, which is ideal for gathering accurate measurements for hard-to-reach places. The blade uses fractional SAE measurements and is finished with a lacquer coating to protect it from the elements. For as little as $10, Milwaukee does its best to ensure you get your money’s worth here.
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Electrician’s SAE Folding Hex Key Set
Diving further into a specific trade for this next product, Milwaukee’s folding hex key set is a must-have tool for electricians. So many different gadgets and appliances require a hex key to unscrew and re-tighten the socket head caps and perform similar jobs, making hex keys essential. Milwaukee solves the problem of misplacing or losing the single hex key sizes in your kit by offering sets with 8, 9, 11, 16, 17, and 25 different keys available.
The Electrician’s SAE Folding Hex Key Set is designed for quick access, and the keys are extra long, for added ease of use. You’ll also be able to rotate them by up to 270 degrees. The handle of the tool is not overlooked, being designed to be as comfortable as possible when using force, while keeping the keys secure. More subtle features that are equally helpful include the chamfered key ends for smoother insertion, helping the tool to earn its exceptional rating of 4.8 stars. Going for the larger options means getting your keys in more than one holder, but even the 25-piece, three-kit set comes in at around $45 at Home Depot.
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Adjustable wrench
While there’s a strong chance that you already have and adjustable wrench lying around, Milwaukee yet again adds a few key features to separate its version from the rest of the market. Home Depot has five different sizes available for this tool, with the smallest coming in at six inches and the largest at 15 inches. The latter may be found for at or just below $50, depending on your location.
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The main selling point for Milwaukee’s adjustable wrench is no doubt the proprietary adjustment screw, meant to ensure that the jaws remain firmly gripped. You can also use the laser-etched ruler to find the best position for the jaws. The handle is specifically designed for comfort, meaning extended use of the wrench shouldn’t cause lots of strain. Customer reviews answer whether it’s worth it, with 97% being the lowest recommendation average for the five options.
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Drive Ratchet
To finish off this list, we’ve chosen another widely used tool that can make a huge difference when adding to your collection. Screwdrivers and nut drivers can often get the job done with easy-to-reach fasteners, but a fair few jobs require you to get into incredibly tight spaces that standard tools simply can’t reach. This is where a tool like Milwaukee’s Drive Ratchet comes in. For a mechanic’s tool kit, having a solid connection to hidden bolts and retaining a strong grasp at all times is paramount. Milwaukee doesn’t break the mold with this tool as much as others, but that doesn’t make it any less effective.
Milwaukee’s drive ratchet has a few different variations available, with 1/4-inch, 3/8-inch, and 1/2-inch drive sizes available. There’s also a selection of handle lengths to pair them with, but combining larger sizes can push the price well above $50. To stay under that limit, the 3/8-inch drive with the 8.5-inch handle will be the largest you can go. No matter which one you go for, you’ll get the 90-tooth design with a four-degree arc swing, with a slim build for maximum usability.
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Methodology
To select the tools on this list, we looked at various outlets such as Home Depot to ensure you can actually buy these tools for under $50. Then, we made sure that the chosen tools had plenty of great user reviews, with each reaching at least a four stars average. Each tool featured here had at least 100 reviews overall on Home Depot.
5G covers under 40% of landmass. This Whitepaper details how 3GPP Release 17 addresses six satellite challenges: delay, Doppler, path loss, polarization, spectrum, and architecture.
What Attendees will Learn
Why non-terrestrial networks are now integral to the 5G roadmap — Understand how the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 17 incorporates satellite-based connectivity into the 5G system, targeting ubiquitous coverage across maritime, remote, and polar regions where terrestrial networks reach less than 40% of the world’s landmass. Learn the distinction between New Radio non-terrestrial networks for mobile broadband and Internet of Things non-terrestrial networks for low-power machine-type communications.
How satellite constellation design shapes coverage, capacity, and latency — Examine how orbit altitude (low earth orbit, medium earth orbit, geostationary earth orbit), beam footprint geometry, elevation angle, and inclination determine coverage area, round-trip time, and differential delay across user equipment within a single beam. Explore the trade-offs between transparent bent-pipe and regenerative onboard-processing payload architectures.
What radio frequency challenges distinguish satellite links from terrestrial propagation — Explore the six major technical challenges: high free-space path loss, time-variant Doppler, differential delay across large beam footprints, Faraday rotation of polarization through the ionosphere, and spectrum coexistence between terrestrial and non-terrestrial bands in the S-band and L-band.
How 5G protocols must adapt to support non-terrestrial connectivity — Learn the specific amendments to hybrid automatic repeat request operation, timing advance control (split into common and user-equipment-specific components), random access procedure timing extensions, discontinuous reception power saving adaptations, earth-fixed tracking area management, conditional handover mechanisms, and feeder link switching for service continuity in a unique propagation environment.
Gateway Capital Partners, the venture firm founded by Dana Guthrie, announced the first close for its $25 million target Fund II earlier this week, the Milwaukee-based firm told TechCrunch. Gateway Capital declined to share the exact amount of the first close.
The first close means Fund II can begin its investment operations.
Guthrie said the firm began raising its Fund II in the middle of last year. Fund II’s average check size will be between $500,000 and $600,000.
It will be industry-agnostic, she said, though it will have “a bias toward Midwest industries that are ripe for disruption,” such as supply chain and logistics, and manufacturing AI. Guthrie said she hopes to back at least 20 companies from this fund.
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Gateway Capital, launched in 2020, last raised a $13 million Fund I in 2020.
Cayin has officially taken the wraps off the N8iii, its next generation flagship digital audio player (DAP), and this time there is enough real information to move past speculation. The timing matters. Astell&Kern continues to dominate the premium tier with refined hardware and software, FiiO has become far more aggressive at the top end, and iBasso keeps pushing output and modular flexibility. Cayin is no longer competing in a niche it helped create. It is now part of a very crowded field where execution matters more than ambition.
Cayin is positioning the N8iii as a limited release with just 500 units worldwide and a suggested retail price of $3,999, placing it squarely in the upper tier of the DAP market and making it clear this is not intended for a broad audience.
A Flagship That Sticks With Tubes
Cayin is continuing with its hybrid tube and solid state approach. The N8iii introduces a Triple Timbre system with Tube Classic, Tube Modern, and Solid State modes. This is less about novelty and more about giving users different tonal options depending on the headphone and music. Cayin has been consistent here. It is one of the few brands willing to deal with the complexity of tube integration in a portable device, even if that comes with tradeoffs in size, heat, and battery life.
Power Output and Amplifier Design
The N8iii offers up to 900 milliwatts single ended and 1285 milliwatts balanced output, which translates to roughly 0.9 watts and 1.285 watts respectively. That is enough power for a wide range of headphones, including many planar magnetics and most dynamic designs in the portable category. It should not have any issue with efficient or moderately demanding full size headphones.
Where things get less certain is with high impedance dynamic headphones. Models in the 300 to 600 ohm range often require voltage swing as much as current, and Cayin has not provided enough detail yet to determine how the N8iii handles that. It is likely usable, but whether it offers full control and headroom is still an open question.
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It is also worth stating the obvious. This is not designed for electrostatic headphones. That requires a completely different amplification approach, and Cayin is not trying to solve that problem here.
Cayin includes triple amplifier modes and dual output modes, which gives users some flexibility in how the player behaves, but it also adds complexity that will need to be justified in real world use.
DAC & Platform
Cayin is moving forward with a new flagship AKM DAC architecture, although full details have not been confirmed. That will appeal to listeners who prefer the AKM presentation, especially after several years where ESS dominated the category.
The N8iii runs on a Snapdragon 665 platform with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. That is not cutting edge by smartphone standards, but it is in line with what most high end DAPs are using and should be sufficient for streaming and local playback without performance issues.
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Software & Battery
The player uses a customized Android audio system with DTA, allowing SRC bypass for bit perfect playback across supported apps. This is expected at this level and Cayin is in line with the rest of the market here.
Battery capacity is listed at 13,500mAh with PD2.0 fast charging. That is a large battery, which makes sense given the use of tubes and relatively high output power. Actual runtime will depend on how those features are used, and Cayin has not provided estimates yet.
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The Competition
At this price and level, Cayin is up against established competition. Astell&Kern offers more polished industrial design and a mature user experience. FiiO is delivering strong performance with competitive pricing. iBasso continues to push output power and modular flexibility. These are complete products that balance sound quality with usability.
Cayin’s approach remains more specialized. The N8iii focuses on offering a different listening experience rather than trying to be the most practical option.
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Cayin N8ii vs N8iii: What’s Actually Changed
Looking at the available data, the jump from the N8ii to the N8iii is not about reinventing the concept. Cayin is refining it, adding flexibility, and pushing output a bit further while trying to clean up some of the practical limitations that came with the earlier design.
The N8ii already established the blueprint. Snapdragon 660 platform, 6GB of RAM, 128GB storage, Android 9, ROHM DACs, and dual Nutube implementation. It was powerful for its time, but it also felt like a device that prioritized experimentation over usability. Battery life hovered around 8 to 11 hours depending on mode, the chassis was thick and heavy at around 442 grams, and while the output was respectable, it was not class leading.
On the output side, the N8ii delivered up to 420mW at 16 ohms from the single ended output in standard mode, and up to 720mW in its higher power setting. Balanced output pushed that further to 760mW standard and up to 1200mW in its higher power mode. That translates to roughly 0.76W to 1.2W balanced depending on how hard you push it. In practical terms, it could handle most headphones reasonably well, but it was not the last word in authority, especially with higher impedance dynamics where voltage swing matters more than raw wattage.
The N8iii moves that forward, but not dramatically. Cayin is now quoting up to 900 milliwatts single ended and 1285 milliwatts balanced output, which translates to roughly 0.9 watts and 1.285 watts respectively. That is enough power for a wide range of headphones, including many planar magnetics and most dynamic designs in the portable category. It should not have any issue with efficient or moderately demanding full size headphones.
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Where things remain uncertain is with high impedance dynamic headphones. The increase in output is incremental, not transformative, and Cayin has not provided detailed voltage specs yet. That means headphones in the 300 to 600 ohm range may still be usable, but not necessarily driven to their full potential. And just to be clear, neither the N8ii nor the N8iii is designed for electrostatic headphones, so that remains outside the scope entirely.
The more meaningful change is in flexibility. The N8ii gave you tube or solid state. The N8iii expands that into Triple Timbre with Tube Classic, Tube Modern, and Solid State. That suggests Cayin is focusing more on user tuning and adaptability rather than just raw performance gains. It is a shift toward giving listeners more control over presentation depending on the headphone pairing.
Internally, there is also a shift in direction. The N8ii relied on dual ROHM BD34301 DACs, which offered a certain tonal character that some preferred over ESS implementations. The N8iii is moving to a new flagship AKM architecture, which likely signals a different tuning approach. That is not inherently better or worse, but it does indicate Cayin is responding to market preferences and the return of AKM supply.
Platform and usability are also getting a modest update. The N8iii moves to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, along with a Snapdragon 665. That is not cutting edge, but it is an improvement and should make the device feel less constrained with modern streaming apps. The inclusion of a customized Android audio system with SRC bypass brings it in line with what competitors have already been doing, rather than pushing ahead.
Battery is another area where Cayin appears to be compensating for its design choices. The N8ii used a 10,000mAh battery rated at 38Wh and delivered between roughly 8 to 11 hours depending on mode. The N8iii increases that to 13,500mAh and adds PD fast charging. That suggests Cayin is trying to offset the power demands of tubes and higher output rather than fundamentally improving efficiency.
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The rest of the design philosophy remains consistent. Both devices are heavy, complex, and not particularly concerned with being pocket friendly. Both are built around the idea that a portable device can approximate a desktop listening experience if you are willing to accept the tradeoffs.
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The Bottom Line
The Cayin N8iii builds on what the company has been doing with its flagship line. It keeps the tube hybrid concept, adds more flexibility in tuning, and delivers enough power for most headphones people are likely to use with a portable device. It is not intended to cover every use case. High impedance dynamics may still require more careful matching, and electrostatic headphones are not part of the equation.
At nearly $4,000 USD and with only 500 units available, this is a focused product for a specific audience. The competition is strong and more well rounded than it used to be. Cayin is relying on differentiation and sound tuning to justify its place at the top. Whether that is enough will depend on how it performs outside of the spec sheet.
What the charts from the previous model make clear is how much detail still has not been confirmed for the N8iii. The N8ii offered a very complete set of physical connections including both 3.5mm single ended and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs, along with matching line outputs on both connections. It also included digital outputs over USB and I2S via a mini HDMI connection, plus coaxial S PDIF. That made it more than just a portable player. It could function as a transport or DAC in a larger system. With the N8iii, Cayin has not yet clarified whether all of those outputs carry over unchanged, or if anything has been added or removed. Given how important that flexibility is to this category, that is not a small omission.
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Bluetooth is another area where details matter. The N8ii supported a wide range of codecs including LDAC, UAT, AAC, and SBC, with both transmit and receive capability. That placed it ahead of many competitors at the time, especially with UAT support for higher bandwidth wireless audio. So far, Cayin has not confirmed the codec support for the N8iii. If it remains unchanged, it is still competitive. If it has been updated, that could be a meaningful improvement. If it has been simplified, that would be a step backward. Right now, we simply do not know.
The digital section is where the lack of detail becomes harder to ignore. The N8ii supported PCM up to 32-bit/768kHz and DSD512 over USB and I2S, along with DoP support over coaxial. It could function as a USB DAC across multiple platforms and offered asynchronous USB audio with broad compatibility. Those are not niche features. They are part of what makes a flagship DAP viable as a hub in a desktop or transport based system. Cayin has confirmed a new DAC architecture for the N8iii, but has not yet outlined the full range of supported formats, digital input and output capabilities, or whether its USB DAC functionality has been expanded or refined.
MSRP: $3,999 (launch date not confirmed at en.cayin.cn).
Raspberry Pi 5 price increases. (Credit: Jeff Geerling)
Although easily dismissed by some as another cruel April Fools joke, Raspberry Pi’s announcement of a new 3 GB model of the Raspberry Pi 4 along with (more) price increases for other models was no joke. Courtesy of the ongoing RAMpocalypse, supplies of LPDDR4 and LPDDR5 are massively affected, leading to this new RPi 4 model with two 1.5 GB LPDDR4 chips, as these are apparently cheaper to source.
Affected in this latest price increase across RP’s product range are RPi 4 and 5 models with 4 or more GB of RAM, with price bumps ranging from $25 on the low end to $150 for the Raspberry Pi 500+. If you wanted a Raspberry Pi 5 with 16 GB of RAM, you’re now paying $300 for the privilege.
Obviously, this news has got people like [Jeff Geerling] rather down in the dumps, essentially stating that using SBCs like the RPi is now beyond the means of many hobbyists. While you can still use SBCs that use e.g. LPDDR2 RAM, such as the older RPi Zero, 2 and 3 models, [Jeff] himself is now moving more towards wrangling with snakes on MCUs, as these boards are so far not significantly affected in terms of price.
With current projections in the RAM market being that this year will still see more price increases, it remains hard to tell exactly how ‘temporary’ this situation will be. That said, using readily available, powerful and cheap MCUs like the ESP32 variants for projects isn’t a bad idea if you really don’t need to be running more than perhaps FreeRTOS.
Google has confirmed that its Pixelsnap Charger receives firmware updates automatically and silently while charging a Pixel phone, with the latest release sitting at version 1.51.0.
Pixel owners can verify their charger’s firmware status by navigating to Settings, then Connected devices, and selecting the charger from the list of paired accessories, giving users a straightforward way to confirm whether their unit is running the most current software.
The updates maintain Qi compatibility and keep the charger performing at its intended standard, with Google framing the silent background update process as a hands-off approach that requires no input from the user during normal charging use.
The automatic update mechanism sets the Pixelsnap Charger apart from the vast majority of wireless chargers on the market, where firmware is either fixed at the factory or requires proprietary software and a PC connection to update, a process that most consumers never attempt.
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For users without a Pixel device, Google has launched a dedicated web portal at pixel.google.com/pixelsnap that enables manual firmware updates through a different method, plugging the USB-C end of the charger into any Android 16 or newer phone and visiting the page through mobile Chrome rather than a desktop browser.
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How to update manually
The manual update process involves selecting the Pixelsnap Charger from a list of compatible devices within the web portal, granting Chrome access to the connected accessory, and following the on-screen instructions to check and install any available firmware releases.
Google updated its Pixelsnap support documentation with these details over the past three months, suggesting the manual update pathway has been available quietly for some time before receiving wider attention from users and third-party publications.
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The $39.99 Pixelsnap Charger sits within Google’s broader Pixel accessory ecosystem, and the introduction of a firmware update infrastructure reflects a growing expectation that charging hardware should receive software support in the same way smartphones and smartwatches do.
Users can check whether their charger requires an update at any time through either the Settings menu on a paired Pixel phone or by visiting the dedicated support portal on a compatible Android device.
Everyone’s four favorite anthropomorphic turtles are returning to the world of video games. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Empire City will be released on April 30 for the Meta Quest, Steam VR and Pico. It is made by VR game company Cortopia Studios and will retail for $25. Empire City is a first-person action game that you’ll be able to play solo or co-op with up to four people. And yes, that means all four of the turtles are playable.
We’ve seen a lot of the quartet flexing their fighting form in games over the years, but this is their first time appearing in a standalone VR title. In addition to the shelled heroes, the first part of the new game’s trailer highlights other familiar figures from the series, such as Karai of the Foot Clan and ripped rhino Rocksteady. And of course April is there providing pizza and intel.
schwit1 shares a report from the Kathmandu Post: In Nepal, helicopter rescue on high altitude is, by any measure, a genuine lifesaving operation. At high altitude, where oxygen thins and weather changes without warning, the ability to airlift a stricken trekker to Kathmandu within hours has saved countless lives. But threaded through that legitimate system, exploiting its urgency, its opacity, and its distance from oversight, is one of the most sophisticated insurance fraud networks in the world. Nepal’s fake rescue scam is not new. The Kathmandu Post first exposed it in 2018. Months later, the government convened a fact-finding committee, produced a 700-page report, and announced reforms. In February 2019, The Kathmandu Post published a long investigative report. Last year, Nepal Police’s Central Investigation Bureau reopened the file, and what they found is that the fraud did not stop — instead it was growing.
The mechanics of the fake rescue racket are straightforward: stage a medical emergency, call in a helicopter, check a tourist into a hospital, and file an insurance claim that bears little resemblance to what actually happened. But the sophistication lies in how each link in the chain is compensated, and how difficult it is for a foreign insurer — operating from Australia and the United Kingdom — to verify events that occurred at 3,000 metres in a remote Himalayan valley. The CIB investigation identifies two primary methods for manufacturing an “emergency.” The first involves tourists who simply don’t want to walk back. After completing a demanding trek — an Everest Base Camp trek, for instance, can take up to two weeks on foot — guides offer an alternative: pretend to be sick, and a helicopter will come. The guide handles the rest. The second method is more troubling. At altitudes above 3,000 meters, mild symptoms of altitude sickness are common. Blood oxygen saturation can drop, hands and feet tingle, headaches develop. In most cases, rest, hydration or a gradual descent is all that is needed. But guides and hotel staff, according to the CIB investigation, have been trained to terrify trekkers at precisely this moment. They tell them they are at risk of dying, that only immediate evacuation will save them. In some cases, investigators found that Diamox (Acetazolamide) tablets, used to prevent altitude sickness, were administered alongside excessive water intake to induce the very symptoms that would justify a rescue call.
In at least one case cited in the investigation, baking powder was mixed into food to make tourists physically unwell. Once a “rescue” is called, the financial choreography begins. A single helicopter carries multiple passengers. But separate, full-price invoices are submitted to each passenger’s insurance company, as if each had their own dedicated flight. A $4,000 charter becomes a $12,000 claim. Fake flight manifests and load sheets are fabricated. At the hospital, medical officers prepare discharge summaries using the digital signatures of senior doctors who were never involved in the case. In some cases, these are done without those doctors’ knowledge. Fake admission records are created for tourists who were, in some documented instances, drinking beer in the hospital cafeteria at the time they were supposedly receiving treatment. In one case, an office assistant at Shreedhi Hospital admitted that he had provided his own X-ray report taken about a year ago at a different hospital, to be used as a case for treatment of foreign trekkers to claim insurance. The commission structure that holds the network together was described in detail during police interrogations. Hospitals pay 20 to 25 percent of the insurance payment to trekking companies and a further 20 to 25 percent to helicopter rescue operators in exchange for patient referrals. Trekking guides and their companies benefit from inflated invoices. In some cases, tourists themselves are offered cash incentives to participate.
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.
Today’s NYT Strands puzzle relies on you having a good knowledge of a certain category of food. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.
If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Not vegetables.
Clue words to unlock in-game hints
Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:
These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:
ACAI, GUAVA, MANGO, PINEAPPLE, LYCHEE, PAPAYA
Today’s Strands spangram
The completed NYT Strands puzzle for April 3, 2026.
NYT/Screenshot by CNET
Today’s Strands spangram is TROPICALFRUIT. To find it, look for the T that’s five letters down on the far-left vertical row, and wind across, down, over and up.
Sony Interactive Entertainment, owner of the PlayStation brand, has acquired Cinemersive Labs, a UK startup developing tools to convert 2D photos and videos into 3D volumes. The startup team will join Sony’s Visual Computing Group, a research engineering team focused on graphical technology, including game rendering, video coding and generative AI models.
Cinemersive’s most recent product is a virtual reality app called Parallax that works as a viewer for parallax photos — three-dimensional images that you can peer around with natural head movements — captured using traditional smartphones and professional cameras with stereo lenses. The startup developed custom AI tools to convert 2D images into 3D volumes to make Parallax possible, and Sony apparently wants to apply that expertise to its own projects.
“Following the acquisition, the Cinemersive Labs team will join SIE’s Visual Computing Group (VCG) and contribute to our broader efforts in advancing state of the art visual computing within games,” Sony says. “This includes applying machine learning to enhance gameplay visuals, improve rendering techniques, and unlock new levels of visual fidelity for players.”
Machine learning has been a major focus of Sony’s efforts to improve graphical performance on the PlayStation 5 and future hardware. The PlayStation 5 Pro was designed around a new GPU, faster storage and PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), custom AI upscaling tech that let the console run games at a lower resolution and then upscale them to 4K. The company recently squeezed even more performance out of the Pro with an updated version of PSSR it released in March. And with AMD, Sony is working on Project Amethyst, a multi-pronged collaboration to improve ray tracing and upscaling on the future consoles.
Over the years there have been many designs for pan-and-tilt camera mounts suitable for single board computer cameras. Often they mount small servos for the movement, but those in turn present problems when the device finds its way outdoors. [GOAT Industries] is here with a novel solution to this problem, instead of trying to cover up the servos on the mount itself, the whole thing is remotely controlled by linear actuators through Bowden cables.
Testing was performed using Mole-Grips instead of actuators, and revealed a few design quirks. There are hefty springs to provide tension, and since they work against 3D printed assemblies those in turn have to be reinforced. The layout of the Bowden cable run is also important, as it has a bearing on the amount of springinesss in the system. But it provides a versatile pan-and-tilt mount for a Pi camera mounted in an IP-rated box, which is the object of the exercise.
For anyone wishing to build one the files can be found in a GitHub repository, and there’s a video below showing the device in action. Meanwhile it’s by no means the first pan-and-tilt head we’ve seen here at Hackaday, however many others are by necessity much more substantial affairs.
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