Every New Notes App Feature in iOS 18

Notes is quietly one of the most useful apps in the Apple ecosystem. It’s one of the best note-taking apps for iPhone, can bring in multiple collaborators, and has plenty of additional features such as a built-in document scanner. With iOS 18, Apple is making Notes even better. Here are the best new Apple Notes features to try out for once you’ve installed the new OS.

Take Voice notes in iOS

A voice note being recorded in Apple Notes in iOS 18.

Credit: Pranay Parab

Apple Notes now supports voice recordings in iOS 18. The app allows you to take quick voice notes and embeds them inline into your text. Plus, once a voice note is recorded, you can also share the audio file with others. This means that you don’t have to share your entire note just to pass along an audio recording. You can choose any individual voice note and share it with anyone.

To record a voice note, create a new note and tap the paperclip icon, then select Record Audio. Next, hit the red record button when you’re ready and start speaking. Tap the pause button to pause a recording or tap Done to finish.

Your iPhone will even transcribe your voice notes

With iOS 18, Notes can also transcribe your voice note for you, saving you the hassle of manually typing out everything you just recorded. This feature is available on iPhone 12 or newer and currently only supports one language—English. That said, it will work with the following regional differences:

English (Australia)
English (Canada)
English (Ireland)
English (New Zealand)
English (South Africa)
English (UK)
English (U.S.).

Oddly, iPhones also support two additional variations of English, namely English (India) and English (Singapore), but live audio transcription isn’t yet available for these.

To transcribe audio in notes, tap on any audio recording in Notes, then the quotation mark at the bottom left of your screen.

Solve math problems

A screenshot of the Notes app, showing a math problem being solved.

Credit: Pranay Parab

Apple Notes appears to be taking a leaf out of Soulver’s book and adding a feature that lets you solve math problems. You can quickly set up a bunch of variables and define their values within notes, such as x=10, y=20, and z=30, and Notes will be able to tell you what x+y+z is. You can also assign full names to your variables and Notes will still perform your calculations just fine. Support includes common math calculations including addition, multiplication, division, and subtraction. Math in notes uses the same tech powering the new Math Notes section of the Calculator app.

Navigate large notes with ease

Notes has allowed you to break your notes down into sections for some time, but adding too many sections used to make your notes hard to skim through. In iOS 18, you can collapse the sections you want to skip, which significantly reduces the amount of scrolling needed to reach the end. Don’t worry—collapsing a section of notes won’t delete it. To use this feature, apply the Heading style to any section of notes, then tap the heading to collapse it.

Add some color to your notes

Some people like to use different colors when they’re typing. Maybe you want to make important parts of your note pop or separate out topics by color. In Notes for iOS 18, you can easily try out different colors by tapping the Aa button from the Notes toolbar above the keyboard, then selecting the circle in the second row. You can choose one of the following options: purple, pink, orange, mint, and blue.

Apple Might Make It Easier to Replace the Battery in Your Next iPhone

All batteries age, and the lithium ion battery in your iPhone is no exception. Overtime, the battery degrades, and, as such, can no longer hold as much of a charge as it could when new. After a few years of using the phone, you may notice you only get 70% or 80% of the time you used to after taking your iPhone off the charger.

When the inevitable happens to you, you don’t need to buy a new iPhone. Instead, you can simply replace the battery at a relatively inexpensive cost. Depending on your iPhone, you may not only notice an increase in time away from the charger, but also a boost in performance, since iOS slows down the processing power of your iPhone when its battery is too degraded.

But though replacing your battery is possible, it could certainly be easier. Apple currently secures the battery to the inside of your iPhone with strong adhesive. To remove it, you need to pull on a few tabs that are easy to break, making the removal process more precarious than it should be. The battery itself is also fragile, and you’ll need to remove and reattach some very delicate cables. Despite all of this, it’s possible to replace your battery yourself, but it’s simpler to opt to take it to a repair shop. (Apple would prefer you use one of its own.)

But if reports are correct, the process could be notably easier with the iPhone 16.

The iPhone 16 may have an easy-to-remove battery

According to a report from The Information, Apple is planning on a new battery strategy for the iPhone 16. With this new line of smartphones, Apple may wrap the battery in a metal casing, rather than a foil one, allowing for a new removal process: Rather than having to pull on tabs to release the adhesive from the battery, you would send a low voltage burst of electricity through the battery casing to release it from the iPhone. If it pans out, the process sounds much safer and easier than the current system.

Apple wouldn’t be doing this out of its concern for customers. Instead, it’s likely in response to a new E.U. law that requires smartphones to have “replaceable batteries” by 2025. Europe has had quite an influence over Apple’s decisions over the past year, requiring the company to open up many of its closed platforms, including allowing independent app stores and browsers on iOS.

Despite that pressure, only the battery will be easier to replace. There are no rumors suggesting Apple is making the rest of the iPhone repair process any simpler, so the iPhone 16 will likely still come with the usual strong adhesives on its casing that will need to be heated and broken in order to open the device.

Apple’s battery changes may also improve battery capacity

This changes may mean more than just easier battery replacements. According to noted Apple leaker Ming-Chi Kuo, Apple will also increase the battery density on the iPhone 16 line by 5 to 10%. That extra boost could result in longer battery life, but seeing as Apple is rolling out presumably power-hungry Apple Intelligence features to these new iPhones, those battery gains may quickly disappear.

The Best Items for Displaying and Preserving Your Sentimental Stuff

In so many decluttering tutorials, we go over how to figure out what you can and should part with—and what earns the right to stay. Saying goodbye to sentimental items is really hard, and even if you’re hellbent on decluttering and organizing, there may be a few things you opt to keep.

While I’m a major proponent of untethering yourself from nostalgic items in favor of pushing forward into a brighter, tidier future, I totally get it; there are some things you just need to hold onto. If they’re that special, they should be displayed in a way that keeps them safe and out of the way. Here are some ideas for displaying those meaningful things you just can’t get rid of.

Try a high shelf

I’m not a particularly emotional person, so I don’t have too many mushy, sentimental, or nostalgic things lying around. The ones I do have, however, are far out of reach to prevent any accidental damage. If you have photos, tchotchkes, or, in my case, a pet’s ashes and a rare bobblehead, consider a corner shelf they can rest on.

I am five feet tall, so I stood on a step stool to affix my corner shelf about six feet up, so I’ll never, ever bump it or disturb it in any way, but I also took the precaution of putting it in a corner that is inaccessible and removed from daily activities. It’s simple, like this:

evron Corner Mounting Shelf,Easy to Install Wall Corner Shelf

In my opinion, anything delicate or important should be separated from other decorations, not on a larger shelf or mingling with other things. Show your sentimental pieces the respect they deserve by setting them apart.

Safe storage and display for sentimental items

If you have some photos you can’t part with, I do recommend digitizing them as the safest way to keep them forever. Still, displaying physical ones in your home can be a meaningful way to connect with fond memories, so obviously, you need picture frames. Instead of the delicate glass kind, opt for a sturdier acrylic frame with UV protection. This will prevent shards of glass from damaging the photo if it falls, and the UV protection will help prevent the image from fading or yellowing.

SimbaLux Magnetic Acrylic Picture Photo Frame with UV Protection

$25.95
at Amazon

Acrylic picture frame with UV protection

$25.95
at Amazon

For anything paper, like a child’s old artwork, a certificate, or something similar, you want something that’s easy to use, so you don’t damage the paper while you’re putting it in. A secure frame that opens on hinges and doesn’t rely on you to thread the paper through an unforgiving slit is the move.

Kids Art Frames, 8.5×11 Front Opening Kids Artwork Frames Changeable

I recommend a shadow box only if you plan to store it somewhere it won’t get touched, as they can be pretty delicate. Still, they’re good for mementos from travels, medals, and smaller trinkets, plus they look really sharp. If you have space, though, the better alternative is a protective hutch. Yes, it’s big, so there’s a risk of bumping it, but it’s so big that you’ll hopefully be aware of it and move around it carefully. For collections, expensive items, or anything delicate, this is the way to go.

Ryoko Glass Display Cabinet with Adjustable 3-Shelf Shelves, Glass Cabinet with Lock and Door, LED Light

$259.99
at Amazon

In the event you still want to display some of your meaningful or delicate possessions among your regular decor, at least consider sealing them off from everything else. Display domes come in glass or plastic, so whether you want something that looks classy or can withstand a bumping, you have options. There are even lighted versions, like this one, to keep the item safe and illuminated:

DuvinDD Glass Dome Cloche with LED Light

$19.99
at Amazon

General rules for sentimental items

Always store your things in a place that is dry and has no extreme temperature fluctuations or direct sunlight, even if they’re on display inside of some kind of vessel. Slip a silica gel packet inside the enclosure to absorb excess moisture, just to be safe. Laminate special papers, too; it won’t be that visible inside whatever frame you choose for them, but they’ll be a lot safer that way.

When I’m cleaning and it’s time to dust and wash the shelf holding my special items, I remove them and put them in a box with a t-shirt or two, so they’re on something soft and out of the way. It might seem like overkill, but I would be heartbroken if I accidentally damaged them.

CDC Reports Fourth Human Case of H5 Bird Flu Tied to Dairy Cow Outbreak

A human case of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) A(H5) (“H5 bird flu”) virus infection in the United States has been identified in the state of Colorado.

Proton Just Launched a More Private Version of Google Docs

Google Docs has been one of the go-to options for online collaboration for years. It’s integrated into Google Drive, it’s feature-rich, and it makes it dead easy to collaborate with others. But, Proton is—once again—pushing its way in on Google’s turf with a new privacy-focused alternative thanks to today’s launch of Docs in Proton Drive.

According to the launch announcement, Docs in Proton Drive will allow users to take full advantage of many of the same collaborative features that make Google Docs so enticing, all while offering better privacy features, including end-to-end encryption on all your documents. This should make Docs in Proton Drive a welcome option for those who are working with more sensitive information, both at work and home.

The main features available with Docs in Proton Drive include rich text editing, with the ability to create and edit documents using a variety of formatting options, as well as file compatibility for multiple formats, including Microsoft’s .docx. In other words, it should seamlessly integrate with any work you might already have in other programs. Proton also says that you’ll be able to add comments, reply to them, and even mark them as resolved to help create a collaborative environment.

Credit: Proton

Docs in Proton Drive will also support the option to embed images and invite various collaborators, though they will need at least a free Proton account so the company can ensure the secure environment remains intact. Further, you’ll be able to see who is viewing the document, as well as where they are working, using similar collaborative cursors to what’s in Google Docs.

The launch of Docs in Proton Drive builds off Proton’s recent acquisition of Standard Notes, an encrypted notes app. The company considers it a major milestone in the ongoing development of the Proton ecosystem, and it says that Docs will offer full support for markdown, code blocks, checklists, and more at launch.

These are all features already present in Google Docs, which is what makes it such an enticing option for collaborators. By offering such a high level of parity at launch, Proton is ensuring a strong start for Docs in Proton Drive, ensuring users who wish to leave Google Docs behind won’t lose out on any of the necessary features they already relying on.

Today’s Wordle Hints (and Answer) for Wednesday, July 3, 2024

If you’re looking for the Wordle answer for July 3, 2024 read on. We’ll share some clues, tips, and strategies, and finally the solution. Today’s puzzle is easier; I got it in three. Beware, there are spoilers below for July 3, Wordle #1,110! Keep scrolling if you want some hints (and then the answer) to today’s Wordle game.

How to play Wordle

Wordle lives here on the New York Times website. A new puzzle goes live every day at midnight, your local time.

Start by guessing a five-letter word. The letters of the word will turn green if they’re correct, yellow if you have the right letter in the wrong place, or gray if the letter isn’t in the day’s secret word at all. For more, check out our guide to playing Wordle here, and my strategy guide here for more advanced tips. (We also have more information at the bottom of this post, after the hints and answers.)

Ready for the hints? Let’s go!

Does today’s Wordle have any unusual letters?

We’ll define common letters as those that appear in the old typesetters’ phrase ETAOIN SHRDLU. (Memorize this! Pronounce it “Edwin Shirdloo,” like a name, and pretend he’s a friend of yours.)

Four of today’s letters are from our mnemonic. The other is fairly common.

Can you give me a hint for today’s Wordle?

This is a lower body part, colloquially.

Does today’s Wordle have any double or repeated letters?

There is one repeated letter today.

How many vowels are in today’s Wordle?

There is one vowel.

What letter does today’s Wordle start with?

Today’s word starts with T.

What letter does today’s Wordle end with?

Today’s word ends with H.

What is the solution to today’s Wordle?

Ready? Today’s word is THIGH.

How I solved today’s Wordle

I started with RAISE and TOUCH, which left only two possible solutions—and I guessed THIGH first as the more common word.

Wordle 1,110 3/6

⬛⬛🟩⬛⬛
🟩⬛⬛⬛🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle was harder. The hint was “can be made of ivory or gold and embedded” and the answer contained four common letters and one uncommon letter.

The answer to yesterday’s Wordle was INLAY.

A primer on Wordle basics

The idea of Wordle is to guess the day’s secret word. When you first open the Wordle game, you’ll see an empty grid of letters. It’s up to you to make the first move: type in any five-letter word.

Now, you can use the colors that are revealed to get clues about the word: Green means you correctly guessed a letter, and it’s in the correct position. (For example, if you guess PARTY, and the word is actually PURSE, the P and R will be green.)

Yellow means the letter is somewhere in the word, but not in the position you guessed it. (For example, if you guessed PARTY, but the word is actually ROAST, the R, A and T will all be yellow.)
Gray means the letter is not in the solution word at all. (If you guessed PARTY and everything is gray, then the solution cannot be PURSE or ROAST.)

With all that in mind, guess another word, and then another, trying to land on the correct word before you run out of chances. You get six guesses, and then it’s game over.

The best starter words for Wordle

What should you play for that first guess? The best starters tend to contain common letters, to increase the chances of getting yellow and green squares to guide your guessing. (And if you get all grays when guessing common letters, that’s still excellent information to help you rule out possibilities.) There isn’t a single “best” starting word, but the New York Times’s Wordle analysis bot has suggested starting with one of these:

CRANE
TRACE
SLANT
CRATE
CARTE

Meanwhile, an MIT analysis found that you’ll eliminate the most possibilities in the first round by starting with one of these:

SALET
REAST
TRACE
CRATE
SLATE

Other good picks might be ARISE or ROUND. Words like ADIEU and AUDIO get more vowels in play, but you could argue that it’s better to start with an emphasis on consonants, using a starter like RENTS or CLAMP. Choose your strategy, and see how it plays out.

How to win at Wordle

We have a few guides to Wordle strategy, which you might like to read over if you’re a serious student of the game. This one covers how to use consonants to your advantage, while this one focuses on a strategy that uses the most common letters. In this advanced guide, we detail a three-pronged approach for fishing for hints while maximizing your chances of winning quickly.

The biggest thing that separates Wordle winners from Wordle losers is that winners use their guesses to gather information about what letters are in the word. If you know that the word must end in -OUND, don’t waste four guesses on MOUND, ROUND, SOUND, and HOUND; combine those consonants and guess MARSH. If the H lights up in yellow, you know the solution.

One more note on strategy: the original Wordle used a list of about 2,300 solution words, but after the game was bought by the NYT, the game now has an editor who hand-picks the solutions. Sometimes they are slightly tricky words that wouldn’t have made the original list, and sometimes they are topical. For example, FEAST was the solution one Thanksgiving. So keep in mind that there may be a theme.

Wordle alternatives

If you can’t get enough of five-letter guessing games and their kin, the best Wordle alternatives, ranked by difficulty, include:

Wheeldle, which lets you play one puzzle after another
Dordle and Quordle, which ask you to play two (Dordle) or four (Quordle) puzzles at the same time, with the same guesses. There is also Octordle, with eight puzzles, and Sedecordle, with 16.
Waffle, which shows you several five-letter words, scrambled in a grid; you play by swapping the letters around until you solve.
Absurdle, which changes the solution after each guess, but needs to stay consistent with its previous feedback. You have to strategically back it into a corner until there is only one possible word left; then you guess it, and win.
Squabble, in which you play Wordle against other people with a timer running. You take damage if you spend too much time between guesses; winner is the last one standing.
Antiwordle, in which you are trying not to guess the day’s solution. You’re required to reuse any letters that you (oops) guessed correctly, so the longer it takes you, the better you are at the game.

The Best Items to Help Organize Your Disaster of a Desk

We all want to pretend like the kitchen is the heart of the home, but for a lot of us, it’s our desk. It’s also supposed to be a haven of productivity, and it probably is, but it could always be better. Try a few of these updates to improve the organization of your desk—whether at home or the office—while also making it an all-around more pleasant place to work.

Raise your computer

Look at the way you’re interacting with your laptop. Are you kind of hunched up over it while it takes up a bunch of space? No good. Getting a laptop stand has a bunch of benefits, like making you sit a little straighter, helping you relax your arms, preventing your computer from overheated, and protecting it from accidental spills. Plus, it frees up space on the desk that you can use for other things, like the organizational tools below.

You really only need something simple, so try something like this:

Nulaxy Laptop Stand, Detachable Ergonomic Laptop Mount

$15.99
at Amazon

Your desk also needs (a lot of) storage

Next, it’s time to overhaul your storage situation. There’s been a lot of research into how clutter impacts your wellbeing and productivity (and vice versa), but it doesn’t take a scientist to know that when your space is disorganized, you’re just not going to be as productive as you could be. It’s distracting and draining to see a mess all day and it makes it harder to access the tools you need to get your work done.

Organizing that desk can help you be more productive, so use a decluttering method to get rid of anything you don’t need. Then, follow the rules of the Organizational Triangle, specifically the ones that dictate that everything you own must have a designated storage space and must be stored with similar objects.

A major component of doing all that is having the right kind of storage boxes and solutions at hand. For a desk, you need small containers that will hold various office supplies. Try something like these:

A wire mesh organizer with slots for pens and pencils, a small shelf for standing objects, smaller holders for tape and other littler items, and a sliding drawer for tools like binder clips. ($11.99)
A larger wire mesh organizer with slots for paper goods and books, a larger shelf for flat items, a sectioned drawer for small objects, and a side holder for taller utensils. ($23.26)
An under-desk drawer system, also made of wire mesh, with two layers and divided drawers to store and separate tools of all sizes while still saving desktop space. ($33.99)
16 stackable acrylic drawers to organize smaller items while still keeping them in view. ($34.94)

Improve your lighting situation

There’s also been significant research conducted on how lighting affects productivity, but once again, you don’t need to read about it in a peer-reviewed journal to know you do better work when you can see what you’re doing. I know I feel lazy when I work in darker environments, which is why I am such a big proponent of having little lamps all over.

Since our goal here is to organize your space and make it more productive, try this lamp, which has storage compartments in its base that are perfect for holding sticky notes, pens, and other small objects. It also has an outlet and a USB port so you can charge your devices.

lianheng Desk Lamp Cute for Small Space, Lamp Desk with USB Port and Outlet

$20.99
at Amazon

Your desk’s tech needs organization, too

Your desk is covered in tech. There’s your computer, maybe a separate keyboard and mouse, your tablet, your phone, and then everything else you have plugged in, like clocks, lamps, or smart home devices. It all needs some help to prevent the formation of a rat’s nest of cords.

I swear by the Smartish magnetic cord holder. It looks kind of like a rock, but it’s actually a big magnet. You can just toss your charging cords over it and they’ll stay in place. Plus, it comes in muted, varied colors, so it is pleasing to the eye.

Smartish Magnetic Cord Holder – Bigger Cable Wrangler

$39.98
at Amazon

For the bigger cords that dangle off the desk, I recommend individual, adhesive-backed holders. The individual ones are better than the long, multi-slot ones because you can arrange them in a way that makes sense based on your personal desk setup. They can stick to the top or side of the desk, snap open easily so a cord can get threaded through, and prevent it from sliding all over or getting jumbled up with other cords.

PZOZ 6 Pack Cord Organizer, Adhesive Charger Cable Clips

Other desk organization tips

To truly embrace the system of making sure everything has a designated place and storing similar items together, you’ll need to use all of those little compartments and drawers. But you also need to know what’s in them. It doesn’t hurt to pick up a little label maker ($15.99) to keep everything identified.

Finally, it might seem obvious, but my messy desk changed for the better when I finally got a little garbage can for underneath it instead of relying on myself to carry all my trash to my main garbage every few hours. Sometimes, you’re just working for too long and you don’t feel like doing that. A mini can will get the trash off your desk right away, keeping it clean so you can focus on work. I like this set of two metal mesh ones for $16.49.

What It Means When Your Apple Products Become ‘Vintage’ or ‘Obsolete’

Every tech product you own has a post-release “lifespan.” For example, Apple’s policies guarantee five years of support, starting from a device’s release date (as opposed to whenever you bought it). Once those five years are up, Apple can deem that device “vintage.”

In fact, Apple recently classified three of its products as vintage: the iPhone X (2017), first-generation AirPods (2016), and the first-generation HomePod (2017). That might come as news to you, if you’re still using one or more of these products yourself.

With that in mind, what exactly does it mean for an Apple product to go “vintage,” and what happens when a vintage product goes “obsolete?”

Vintage Apple products

“Vintage” in Apple land doesn’t actually mean a product is “old,” or that you should stop using it—nor does it imply you’ll be able to sell it to collectors for a profit. When an Apple device becomes “vintage,” that product is no longer guaranteed by Apple to be repairable at an Apple Store or authorized service provider. In many cases, Apple will also stop issuing the device routine software updates.

Despite the reduction in support, vintage Apple devices will still work (this isn’t some sort of internal kill switch) and some devices may even receive occasional system updates if they support the latest operating systems or if a major security flaw needs to be patched. It’s even possible you could get one repaired, if the parts are available. Just don’t be surprised if an Apple Genius or an Apple-authorized vendor turns you away.

Apple doesn’t automatically deem a product as vintage five years after the original sale date. Take a look at the newest products on the list: The iPhone X could have been made vintage in 2022, but Apple waited an extra year and a half. Apple’s official definition of “vintage” is a product that is more than five years old, but fewer than seven. AirPods are seven years old exactly, so they’re coming in right at the cutoff. (A list of all vintage and obsolete devices can be found on Apple’s support site.)

However, once a product is more than seven years old, it graduates to a different category: “Obsolete.”

Apple’s “obsolete” list

Like vintage products, devices listed as “obsolete” will operate as normal as long as the hardware is in working condition. However, obsolete products lose virtually all hardware support. The only exception is MacBooks, which may allow for a battery replacement up to 10 years after the product was last available for sale.

An obsolete device, however, may still receive some software support. Don’t expect iOS 18 on an obsolete iPhone, mind you. But Apple did release a security update for iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus back in March, both of which are obsolete.

These shifts in service priority can be frustrating if you’re still rocking older tech and don’t feel like upgrading, but the policy makes sense given the current market realities: At the rate that both hardware and software iterate, diverting resources to keep outdated devices afloat is difficult and costly. However, even if an Apple Store turns your iPhone X away for repair, independent repair shops may still help you out for some time to come—even when the X eventually becomes “obsolete.”

Just don’t expect much repair help with your AirPods: They’re largely unrepairable.

This App Alerts You As Soon As Your Mac Loses Internet

Anyone who regularly uses the public wifi at an airport, hotel, or cafe knows that being connected to a network and having internet access are not the same thing. Unfortunately, your Mac isn’t great about telling you whether you’re actually online or not, which can lead to some frustrating troubleshooting.

A free application Online Check solves this problem. It is a menu bar icon that turns red when you’re offline. You can also ask it to send you notifications when your online status status changes. It’s a simple program, but life saving if you’re somewhere with an unstable connection. You can install Online Check from the Mac App Store or the developer’s website.

The same screenshot as aboveonly this time the system is offline.

Credit: Justin Pot

How Online Check works

I used to work in IT, which meant spending a lot of time troubleshooting network connection issues. Usually the quickest way to test whether the internet connection is working on a Mac is to open the Terminal and type “ping apple.com,” which will launch an attempt to connect to Apple.com; this will let you know whether your internet connection actually works. Online Check is just a menu bar app that does this for you on a regular basis.

Online Check’s menu bar icon gives you quick access to the Mac’s wifi settings, which is helpful while troubleshooting, and you can click a button to see a log of when your computer connected to and disconnected from the internet.

There’s not a lot on offer in the way of settings. You can decide whether or not the application launches at login, and opt to only show the menu bar icon when your computer is offline (handy if you’re trying to free up space on your menu bar). Basically, you can install the application and not think about it until you need it, which is honestly how most tools should work.

The 10 Must-Buy Games From Steam’s Summer Sale

Playing video games is better than going outside. You know it. I know it. Steam knows it. The ubiquitous PC gaming platform is embracing the indoor life in July with a Summer Sale on nearly every kind of video game, from artsy indie titles to overblown AAA releases.

I’ve picked through the virtual bargain bins like a backpacker at a record shop and compiled this list of the ten best games to download during Steam’s Summer Sale.

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is the perfect pick-it-up-on-sale game. It received mixed reviews on its release, so you might have been hesitant to pick it up, but at $11.99, it’s worth the risk. For what it’s worth, I love Valhalla. You get to be a damn Viking, which is all I’ve ever wanted from a video game and from life.

Elden Ring

While it isn’t as steep discount as you’ll find, $42 is still a solid deal, especially since Elden Ring is among the best video games that have ever existed. Plus, if you like it, you can pick up Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring‘s newly released DLC.

American Truck Simulator

Why would anyone choose to inhabit the skin of a long haul truck driver instead of a space marine, wizard, or Viking? Because it’s awesome. I can’t describe exactly why hauling a load of ball bearings to Albuquerque is a more fun gaming experience than blasting orcs with fireballs, but the game’s “overwhelming positive” user reviews on Steam are proof that it is, and American Truck Simulator is on sale for two measly bucks, so even paupers can afford to give ‘er a spin.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition

It’s been out for nine years, so it’s hard to believe anyone interested in RPGs hasn’t already play The Witcher 3, but if you’re out there, now’s a great chance to see why this game is included on every internet list of “The Best Games Ever.” If you didn’t play the Witcher 3 DLC, the Wild Hunt edition has it all for only $12.49.

Tekken 8

Sometimes you just want to beat someone’s ass, but do it in Tekken 8 so you’ll only be punched back in your virtual face. The regular edition of this fighting game is on sale for $39.99: 43% off. The Ultimate edition is down to $76.99 from $109.99.

Half-Life: Alyx

While many virtual reality games are still basically tech demos, Half-Life: Alyx is a fully realized, amazingly impressive game that remains among the best VR titles available even four years after its launch. Plus, it’s 66% off the list price of $59.99.

Far Cry 5

This open-world mayhem simulator Far Cry 5 puts you in the middle of a county in Montana that’s been taken over by religious extremists and says, “blast ’em all!” It’s only $6, which is 90% off the list price.

Civilization VI

I almost feel bad for recommending Civilization VI. The conquer-the-world, turn-based strategy game is so addictive, it’s like I’m saying, “just take this pill; narcotics are fun!” Unlike narcotics, Civ 6 is dirt cheap: only $2.99, a 95% markdown.

Forza Horizon 5

Even if you aren’t a car enthusiast, you’ll like Forza Horizon 5. The open-world racing game features all kinds of cars, from Ford Fiestas to Bugatti Divos, and the driving physics are spot-on perfect. All the different editions of Forza 5 are half price.

Celeste

I have a confession: I never played Celeste. Everyone—critics and gamers alike—loves the indie platformer about anxiety, depression, and climbing a mountain, but it felt like an assignment to me. Now that it’s only $1.99, the cost of an iPhone game, I’m like “Fine; you win. I’ll play Celeste.”