Category: Technology

ExpressVPN is one of the best VPNs on the market, with user-friendly apps, excellent speed test scores and a strong security record. In my ExpressVPN review, I found it to live up to its positive word of mouth, especially when unblocking foreign streaming sites. But no service is perfect, and my cup of VPN tea is not everybody’s. If you’re looking to switch away, follow this guide to cancel ExpressVPN.

How to cancel ExpressVPN on desktop

No matter where you originally signed up for ExpressVPN, you can cancel through your browser on a desktop platform. With any browser (i.e. Chrome, Safari, etc), the steps are as follows. Note that doing this will instantly cancel your ExpressVPN subscription and revoke your access to the service.

Go to expressvpn.com. In the top bar, click on My Account. Enter your username and password to sign in.

You’ll be taken to your account dashboard. In the menu on the left-hand side of the screen, click Subscription.

Scroll down until you find the words “Subscription details.” You should see a box containing the monthly cost of your subscription. At the right of that box, click Cancel Subscription.

From here, follow the on-screen prompts to complete cancellation.

If you’re not ready to lose ExpressVPN service just yet, you can end auto-renewal instead of cancelling altogether. You’ll still be able to use ExpressVPN until your subscription runs out.

To cancel auto-renew, go to the subscription tab of your account dashboard and find the box with your subscription ID (it should be right at the top). In that box, click the link that says Edit subscription settings, then scroll down and click Turn Off Automatic Renewal. If you change your mind before your subscription lapses, you’ll be able to turn it back on later.

How to cancel ExpressVPN on mobile

You can also cancel ExpressVPN on your phone or tablet, but the process is largely the same — some buttons are just in different places. As above, this instantly ends your ExpressVPN subscription. Here’s how to do it.

Go to expressvpn.com in your mobile browser. Tap the three horizontal lines at the top-right, then in the menu that appears, tap My Account.

In the account dashboard, tap the three horizontal lines at the top-right once again. This time, scroll down to the expanded “My Account” menu and tap Subscription.

Scroll down to the “Subscription details” box and tap Cancel Subscription.

Follow the prompts on the screen to complete cancellation.

Like on desktop, you can also turn off auto-renewal so your subscription ends when your current pay period expires. Go to the subscription tab of your account dashboard as described in the steps, find the box with your subscription ID, then follow the steps from the last paragraph of the previous section.

Cancelling ExpressVPN through an app store

The website is almost always the right way to cancel ExpressVPN, but there is one exception: if you originally signed up through the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. This includes both paid subscriptions and the 7-day free trials ExpressVPN offers to app store users.

In this case, you’ll need to cancel through the app store where you originally made the purchase. On Apple, open the app store, then tap Subscriptions and scroll down to find ExpressVPN. On Android, open Google Play and tap Payment & subscriptions, then Subscriptions. In both cases, once you’ve found ExpressVPN, tap it and scroll down to find the button for cancellation.

How to get a refund from ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN offers a full refund to anyone who cancels a subscription within 30 days of purchase. You can also get a refund if your subscription renews without your consent — if that happens, you have 14 days to request your money back.

There’s no dedicated button for asking for a refund. Instead, you’ll need to contact ExpressVPN. To do that, go to expressvpn.com/support, then click on the button in the bottom-right corner that says Need help? Chat with us! This will open a chat with a bot which you can use to ask for your money back. Unfortunately, there’s no public link to email the support team, so live chat is the only option here.

ExpressVPN alternatives

Depending on what made you want to cancel ExpressVPN, there are a few other VPNs you might like better. Proton VPN is my favorite provider at the moment, combining great apps with a unique focus on privacy rights (it’s also cheaper). NordVPN has a lot of useful features ExpressVPN leaves off its no-frills clients. And if you’re all about speed, Surfshark is the current fastest VPN in my tests.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-to-cancel-expressvpn-and-get-a-full-refund-123020142.html?src=rss 

Google has released a new update to its Veo AI video generation model that should make it do a better job of sticking to prompts and converting images into videos. Veo 3.1 is available to try today through Google’s Gemini API and is now also powering the company’s Flow video editor.

Veo 3.1 builds on the new capabilities Google introduced with launch of Veo 3 at Google I/O 2025. The new model offers better “prompt adherence,” according to Google, and should have an easier time creating videos based on the image “ingredients” you upload alongside your written prompt. Veo 3.1 also makes it possible to convert images to video and generate audio at the same time, a capability that wasn’t available with Veo 3. 

In Flow, Veo 3.1 supports at least a new feature that gives you finer control over the videos you generate. With what Google calls “Frame to Video,” Flow lets you upload a first and last frame, and then generates the video in-between. Adobe Firefly, which is powered by Veo 3, offers a similar feature, but Flow will be able to pull it off and create audio at the same time. Those added audio skills will also apply to the video editor’s ability to extend clips and insert objects into existing footage, too.

Based on the samples Google’s shared, videos generated with Veo 3.1 still have an uncanny quality that seems to vary greatly depending on the prompt and subject. Even if it’s missing some of the realism of OpenAI’s Sora 2, though, the company’s decision to try and make Veo more useful to people who actually work with video rather than a source of social media spam is a welcome move.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/googles-veo-31-is-better-at-generating-videos-from-images-220829129.html?src=rss 

Razer is updating its lineup of creator-focused webcams with two new models, the Razer Kiyo V2 and Razer Kiyo V2 X. The webcams offer new AI-powered features and 4K streaming at a more affordable price than the company’s Kiyo Pro webcams.

The $100 Kiyo V2 X is capable of capturing 720p video at either 60 or 30 frames per second, 1080p video at 24, 30 or 60 frames per second and 1440p video at 60 frames per second. Like some of Razer’s other webcams, the Kiyo V2 X has a wide, 83-degree field of view that can be customized with the company’s Synapse software. The webcam doesn’t have the AI-powered features of the V2, but you do get all the basics, like auto-focus, a privacy shutter and a built-in microphone.

For about $50 more, the Kiyo V2 offers higher-quality capture and a few more automated features. The $150 webcam uses an 8.3MP Sony STARVIS image sensor and can capture true 4K HDR footage at 30 frames per second. The V2 also has a slightly wider field of view than the V2 X, at 93 degrees to the V2 X’s 83 degrees. Razer is using that extra wiggle room to offer auto-framing — similar to Apple’s Center Stage feature — through an integration with Reincubate’s Camo Studio software. The Kiyo V2 can keep you in frame, remove your background and offer “adaptive lighting correction,” all with the new software improvements Razer and Reincubate are adding.

While both webcams are pitched as creator tools, the basic features Razer is offering and the prices its offering them at easily make the Kiyo V2 and V2 X worth considering. At $150, the Kiyo V2 is only slightly more expensive than Engadget’s favorite webcam and should, if Razer’s claims are true, offer even better video performance.

Razer says you can purchase the Kiyo V2 X and Kiyo V2 today, for $100 and $150, respectively.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/razers-new-kiyo-v2-webcams-offer-4k-streaming-with-hdr-211411212.html?src=rss 

Heads up, indie game fans: 1000xResist will arrive on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 on November 4. The title, which is already out for PC and Nintendo Switch, will also be available through Xbox Game Pass on the same date. The game is also adding more localization support, bringing Brazilian Portuguese, French and Korean languages, so more players around the world can experience the story. 

And the story is the highlight of 1000xResist. This was an indie hit from 2024 that won a lot of fans for its innovative and branching story of a future timeline where the remaining members of humanity live underground in the aftermath of an alien invasion. The project from developer Sunset Visitor also picked up nominations for both the Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards, as well as winning a Peabody last year. Sometimes you’ll want to take award winners with a grain (or a pound) of salt, but the industry and players alike have lauded the game’s sci-fi storytelling chops.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/indie-darling-1000xresist-heads-to-xbox-and-playstation-on-november-4-212654512.html?src=rss 

Device maker Honor has revealed that one of its upcoming smartphones will offer an unusual design choice. While many manufacturers push to have more numerous and powerful cameras in their products, the Chinese company will put the camera for its new phone on a pop-out mechanical arm. According to CNBC, the design of this so-called “robot phone” is meant to showcase Honor’s AI capabilities as the company makes a $10 billion investment in artificial intelligence over the next five years. Honor hasn’t shared too much about this product, but will likely have more details during next year’s Mobile World Congress.

Honor has experimented with unusual form factors before, including a surreally thin foldable smartphone and a laptop with a detachable webcam, and we’ve even seen a similar concept of a pop-up camera several years back in products like the OnePlus 7 Pro phone. The idea to swing out a camera could offer some interesting options for image and video capture, but it’s also a prime place for mechanical failures and high manufacturing costs.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/honor-is-making-a-smartphone-with-a-fold-out-camera-201555268.html?src=rss 

Like clockwork, Apple has introduced a new M-series chip on updated versions of the iPad Pro, MacBook Pro and for the first time, Apple Vision Pro. The new M5 chip shares plenty of similarities with the M4 chip Apple introduced in 2024, but the biggest seems to be a focus on improving graphics and AI performance.

The M5 chip is made using a new third-generation 3nm process, according to Apple, with an updated 10-core GPU architecture on all versions that offers four times the peak GPU compute performance of the M4, while carrying over support for things like hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The M5 also features a 10-core CPU, just like the M4, with six efficiency and up to four performance cores. 

The M5 chip configurations for the iPad Pro.

That is unless you’re buying an M5 iPad Pro. The 1TB and 2TB models of the Pro feature a 10-core CPU and GPU, but if you opt for a smaller storage size of 256GB or 512GB, you’ll get a nine-core CPU with six efficiency cores and three performance cores. Apple says the 10-core CPU offers “up to 15 percent faster multithreaded performance” over the M4 chip, though it’s not clear if that’s due to the CPU or memory improvements. That’s because the new chip offers an improved memory bandwidth of 153GB/s, up from the starting 120GB/s bandwidth on the M4, though less than what you can get with the M4 Pro or M4 Max. Apple will likely release M5 versions of both chips next year, but it’s worth knowing what you’re missing if you opt for the M5 right now.

The performance gains Apple was able to squeeze out of its new GPU and improved memory bandwidth seem like the biggest changes users will actually notice from the M5. That includes “up to 30 percent faster” graphics performance than the M4 and “up to a 45 percent graphics uplift in apps using ray tracing.” Apple introduced the M4 with a focus on dynamic caching and ray tracing, and it seems like the M5 makes both graphical processes more efficient. The gains are apparently even more noticeable on the M5 Vision Pro, where the headset can achieve a 120Hz refresh rate, up from the 100Hz max Apple guaranteed before, and is now able to render “10 percent more pixels.”

AI performance is also improved, though not necessarily thanks to the M5’s 16-core Neural Engine alone, which seems to be the same Neural Engine used in the M4. Instead, Apple’s taking a new approach to AI processing by including dedicated “Neural Accelerators” in each core of its GPU. This extra help has led to faster performance when devices are using Apple Intelligence skills or AI-powered features like the Vision Pro’s ability to generate a Persona, according to Apple.

In-depth testing and benchmarking of Apple’s new M5 devices will be required to accurately capture how the M5 chip changes things, especially when it comes to general CPU performance. For now, though, Apple’s chips continue to get more graphically powerful, which bodes well for anyone who uses MacBooks and iPads for creative tasks, AI or playing games.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apples-m5-chip-pushes-ai-performance-with-new-neural-accelerators-193745702.html?src=rss 

Tucked away in Apple’s announcement of a second-generation Vision Pro was news on the controller front. First, we already knew that, with visionOS 26, Apple’s headset supports PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers. But now you can get them without Sony’s headset.

The Apple Store will soon begin selling the PS VR2 Sense controllers for $250. (Cue spit take.) The $400 PS VR2 headset bundle was previously the only way to buy them new. Maybe when you can justify spending $3,499 on Apple’s reality machine, $250 for the controllers is reasonable.

The second-generation Vision Pro

Apple says Sony’s controllers open the door to more immersive gameplay on the Vision Pro. They support six degrees of freedom motion tracking (any direction you move or rotate), finger touch detection and rumble support.

Apple’s second-gen Vision Pro is more powerful with the new M5 chip. It also includes a Dual Knit Band, which adds a top strap for increased stability and comfort. You’ll be able to buy the PS VR2 Sense controllers from the Apple Store on November 11.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/apple-will-sell-ps-vr2-sense-controllers-separately-for-250-next-month-203602932.html?src=rss