A great mouse mat is a must for gamers, reducing wear on wrists during hours of intensive play. Many modern ones use chemical coatings or specially engineered surfaces to improve sensor accuracy or reduce drag?a boon if you?re doing repetitive motion that requires high accuracy.

(Don't mistake mouse mats for the smaller mouse pads, once an absolute necessity in the era of mechanical mice. Because optical and laser mice can work on so many different kinds of surfaces, the humble mouse pad has largely disappeared.) 

Plenty of mouse mat manufacturers exist, but few provide clarity or consistency in describing their products. For example, most don?t report how much friction you?ll encounter when using their mats with the most popular mice. To help you find the best mouse mat for your needs, we?ve tested several from a few different companies that represent a range of surface types (metal, plastic, or cloth) and usage cases (business or gaming).

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Saint?s Row?s Achilles heel was always combat. It hid this fact by peppering each game with a handful of absurd weapons, from a recliner that fired missiles to the Dubstep gun to the iconic purple dildo bat?still the weapon I most associate with the series.

But even armaments that creative couldn?t hide the fact that combat was often a by-the-book affair. Enemies were brainless, and each encounter involved simply trying to get through it as fast as possible without dying. It?s telling that most of the memorable moments in Saint?s Row had nothing to do with combat, be it the Tron-esque ?Deckers Die? mission, singing Biz Markie in a car with your friends, or an Aerosmith-backed rocket ride into space.

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Choosing a gaming keyboard is a matter of personal taste. One person could be into Cherry Browns and white backlighting. Another might favor Razer Greens and a rippling RGB glow. Gigantic wrist pads, compact shapes, numeric keypads, macro keys, volume controls?a plethora of keyboards exists because everyone wants a different mix of features.

To help you sort through the many options, we?ve sifted through the latest and greatest planks to come up with our top recommendations. All of these are mechanical keyboards, and for good reason?they?re simply more comfortable to use over the long haul. But we?re open-minded, so if we encounter an alternative that works well, you may see it appear on this list. We?ll keep updating it periodically as we test new keyboards.

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How do you effectively transfer the contents of an older iPhone to a new one? It?s not too difficult to do, whether you?re setting up a brand new iPhone fresh out of the box, or your new iPhone is already set up and running, just not with your data.

Here are the steps using iOS 12.4 or later.

Updated 09/20/19: Explained what to do if your new device is running an older version of iOS than your new device, perhaps because of the iOS beta testing program.

Update your devices

It?s typically a good idea to make sure that your old device has the latest version of iOS before you begin. This helps ensure compatibility with the new device and can minimize problems during the data transfer process. What?s more, Apple added a new and very useful iPhone Migration tool to iOS 12.4, so you?ll want to make sure both your original and new iPhone are updated at least that far.

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Whether you have a new iPhone 11 or just upgraded an old device to iOS 13, you might have noticed a change that isn?t for the better?your location-based smart devices might not be working anymore. Rest assured, that?s not a bug, it?s a new security feature and it?s easy to fix.

iOS 13 introduces a host of new tracking features designed to give you a greater awareness of the apps that are using your location. For example, iOS will periodically serve pop-up reminders that let you know which apps are using your location in the background, so you have the option to shut it down.

Also new is the dialogue box that appears the first time you install an app. Instead of the Always, Never, and While Using App options you saw in iOS 12 and earlier, there?s a new Allow Once option that replaces Always. What that means is you?ll allow the app to use your location information while the app is open but shut it down once it?s closed.

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Apple Arcade is here, and you can play some of the subscription service?s many games with select models of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 controllers as well as Mfi (Made for iOS) controllers!

During Apple Arcade?s announcement, though, Apple gave the impression that all Apple Arcade games would work with gamepads (in part because the service will eventually also come to macOS and tvOS), but it turns out that?s not entirely true. Many games have interfaces solely designed for touchscreens. Hopefully that will change by the time the service comes to the Mac and Apple TV. 

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It?s easy to burn through data with an iPhone or iPad, whether you?re using a Wi-Fi network or a cellular one. In iOS 13 and iPadOS 13, Apple has extended a tool that used to be only available as part of Low Power Mode and made it a separate switch: Low Data Mode.

With Low Power Mode, Apple wanted to make sure anything that used up battery life was reduced. So in addition to behind-the-scenes tweaks, it also halted data use by apps in the background, including automatic app downloads and updates, and stopped automatic email retrieval.

Now you can use just this data-saving mode separately with both Wi-Fi and cellular connections to conserve data usage. That can be helpful if you want to restrict use over cellular because you have a limited pool of data available or are reaching the top of your ?unlimited? plan before the carrier throttles you to a lower speed.

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If you?re looking to buy a new Apple Watch you probably have eyes on the Series 5 that just landed. If you buy one, you certainly won?t be disappointed. But what you might not realize is that Apple is also selling its least expensive watch ever alongside its flagship wearable. The price of the 38mm Series 3 Apple Watch was slashed to $199, half the price of the Series 5 and one of the lowest-priced smartwatches you're going to find.

The question is, should you go all in on the top-of-the-line Apple Watch or save a bundle with the Series 3?

Update, 4:30 ET: This article has been updated to say that while watchOS 6 is compatible with Series 3, the new Noise app is not.

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