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    The top 10 robot vacuums ZDNET readers are buying in 2025

    As a smart home reviewer, I love robot vacuums. I enjoy unboxing, setting up, and testing them, and I love seeing new technologies emerge each year. Even if robot vacuums look similar, they’re really different, which means that I’m constantly learning new things about these devices. Also: My picks for the best robot vacuums for pet hair of 2025: Roomba, Eufy, Ecovacs, and moreWe test dozens of robot vacuums each year at ZDNET, both in our lab and at home. As a result, I’m always writing reviews for different models and updating our choices for the best units you can buy. Now, our team has collected data on the top-selling robot vacuums across different retailers so far in 2025. The following are listed in order of units sold through the links clicked from ZDNET stories. (A note: Your privacy is protected — we only have access to aggregate data from our user base, and there is no way for us to identify individual people’s purchases.) Here are ZDNET readers’ most-purchased robot vacuums this year so far. Maria Diaz/ZDNETThe 10 most popular robot vacuums among ZDNET readers
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    This robot vacuum and mop was our pick for the best one overall last year, so I’m not surprised to see that it’s the most popular among our readers. It offers standout performance in obstacle avoidance, strong suction power, and effective mopping techniques. It’s so smart that it can even leave its mop pads at the station while vacuuming and then pick them back up when it’s time to mop.Review: Dreame X40 UltraThis Dreame model launched at $1,900 in 2024, but the newest model is now out, so you can buy the Dreame X40 Ultra for only $900 — one of the best values on the market right now.
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    This iOS 26 feature can fix your iPhone battery woes – and it’s flying under the radar

    Adaptive Power on an iPhone 16 Pro running iOS 26 Developer Beta 1. Kerry Wan/ZDNETApple’s WWDC opener happened on Monday, and my brain has been wrapped around one particular feature ever since. It wasn’t announced during the opening keynote, nor did it make it onto the all-encompassing graphics chart of iOS 26 features, but it’s a big one — if it works.Also: Everything you might’ve missed at WWDC 2025: iOS 26, Liquid Glass, MacOS Tahoe, moreThe feature I’m referring to is called “Adaptive Power,” a battery conservation tool that’s baked into the Power Mode settings in iOS 26. You’ll have to dig through a few columns to access it within the Settings app on the developer beta. Once you turn it on, your iPhone will automatically throttle certain background tasks to help you conserve battery whenever it detects high-performance workloads.In Apple’s words, “When your battery usage is higher than usual, iPhone can make small performance adjustments to extend your battery life, including slightly lowering the display brightness or allowing some activities to take a little longer.” Exactly how aggressive this power-saving mode is remains to be tested, but if it works only when you’re truly pushing your iPhone — like recording videos, editing photos, or gaming — then it’s a feature many users may appreciate. More

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    Your Apple Watch is getting a big upgrade. Here are the 8 best features in WatchOS 26

    Apple/ZDNETIt’s Apple Watch obsessives’s favorite time of the year when the tech giant rolls out all of the newest apps and updates coming to its devices over the next few months. Apple announced several new features coming to WatchOS 26 at its annual software conference, WWDC, on Monday in Cupertino. The features touch everything from Fitness to Messages, and include a major design update across Apple’s platforms for a more unified look and naming mechanisms that reflect the year the software debuts. Also: The best Apple Watch of 2025: Expert tested and reviewedThe highly anticipated event had spectators curious about the tech giant’s future in AI after several hiccups and detours in its previously announced products, like Apple Intelligence and AI-infused Siri. In addition to WatchOS updates, Apple also introduced AI feature developments, like Live Translation and on-screen Visual Intelligence, iOS, like Hold Assist for phone calls and Polls for Messages, and more. For those interested in trying out the beta software, WatchOS 26 is supported on the latest Apple Watches. Owners of these devices can download the OS, though it may have some bugs.Here are the features we’re most excited to try out on WatchOS 26.  More

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    Meta prepares to launch research lab aimed at ‘superintelligent’ AI – report

    Chesnot/Getty Images The most powerful tech leaders in Silicon Valley have been racing to build artificial general intelligence (AGI), a theoretical computer that, as some would define it, can outperform humans across every economically valuable task.  Also: Apple’s Goldilocks approach to AI at WWDC is a winner. Here’s why Some leaders have their sights set […] More

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    Beyond the AI trust gap: A leader’s playbook

    Flavio Coelho/Getty Images Executives who want to harness AI for growth to stay ahead of the competition often build AI governance and strategies behind closed doors, only to wonder why adoption stalls and trust erodes.  To have AI run effectively in your company, leaders in each organization need to build trust first and then focus […] More