Technologies

I Loved Using This Keyboard, but There Was One Thing I Just Couldn’t Get Used To

The Turtle Beach Vulcan II Mini Air is a great gaming keyboard, but it won’t replace my current one.

Gaming keyboards are everywhere these days, and with a plethora of options available it’s not hard to find a good one. They can also be expensive, so it can be difficult to know if the investment is worth the money. It’s with that in mind I got in the new the new Vulcan II Mini Air from Turtle Beach. I have some thoughts.

Turtle Beach bought the company behind these keyboards, Roccat, several years ago, but it only started phasing out that branding in May of 2024. So you might still find the Roccat branding on Vulcan II Mini Air (you can see it on my review sample here) if you buy one in the near future.

What I like about the Turtle Beach Vulcan II Mini Air

First things first, the size. The 65%-sized layout is my perfect setup because it still includes the arrow keys. True FPS gamers may prefer a 60% design, but I tend to mix my genres, and I’m also a writer in my work life, so I prefer having arrow keys (and Home/End keys — don’t you dare take those away from me). I don’t miss the dedicated media keys or functions keys too much, but this is certainly subjective.

The Vulcan II Mini opts for optical switches over the more traditional mechanical switches. At the risk of generalizing, optical and mechanical switches primarily differ in how they register the actuation of each key. Mechanical switches use physical contact between two metal plates while optical switches use beams of light to detect the actuation.

I hadn’t used optical switches much before testing the Vulcan II Mini but I can see their appeal for hardcore gamers. The idea is that the light-activated sensors allow for a much shorter actuation point for key presses, meaning there’s less time between when your finger moves to press the key and that key press being registered by your computer.

Turtle Beach says the actuation point of their Red Linear switches is 1.4mm, a decent improvement over the 2mm of most mechanical switches. That said, you’ll likely only notice the shorter actuation point if you’re a hardcore gamer who needs to prioritize every millisecond. Personally, I couldn’t tell a difference compared to my main keyboard with Cherry mechanical switches.

Another big advantage of optical is similar to the advantage Hall Effect switches have in keyboards like the Vulcan II TKL Pro. Since the sensors are activated by light and not physical contact between two plates, there’s less friction with each keypress. So the switches should last quite a bit longer. Most traditional mechanical switches are rated for about 100 million presses. These are rated for 200 million. That’s a pretty significant advantage if you don’t tend to upgrade your keyboard very often.

To be honest, it took me a little time to get used to the feel of the optical switches. They’re aren’t mushy by any means, but they are noticeably softer than the traditional switches I’m used to. Thankfully, they’re more tactile than Hall Effect switches. After a few hours, though, I couldn’t notice much of a difference anymore between the feel of the Vulcan II Mini and my regular keyboard.

The Vulcan II Mini’s build quality is top notch. The aluminum top plate gives it a nice solid feel with no creakiness or give that I could detect anywhere. At 578 grams, it’s also not very heavy either. The included braided cable also feels well-designed. It’s nice that it’s available in white, although I do wonder how clean it will stay long-term. The two-position kickstands allow for some nice ergonomic options.

Customization is one area where Turtle Beach levels things up a bit. Via the Swarm app, you have access to many of the typical customizations for gaming keyboards. But Turtle Beach also adds a secondary function to 29 keys, so you can quickly trigger another action. These Smart Keys are also equipped with dual LEDs that will indicate when the secondary function is active. On top of that, you can store up to five different profiles, so you can set up the perfect configuration for your favorite games.

No self-respecting gaming keyboard would stop you from customizing the RGB lighting to your heart’s content. So of course you can choose from a variety of lighting effects. That includes the AIMO effect, which synchronizes all your Turtle Beach accessories together so the lighting effects are coordinated.

Battery life

Being a wireless keyboard, battery life is important. Turtle Beach says the Vulcan II Mini can clock 240 hours of continuous use without the RBG lighting active, which is a bold claim. I haven’t used the keyboard exclusively for the approximately four weeks I’ve had it, but even with heavy usage, I still haven’t managed to kill it, and that’s with the RGB lights still on. Suffice to say, battery life has been awesome for me.

One trick Turtle Beach uses to accomplish this is a proximity sensor in the keyboard that automatically detects your presence to turn the lights on and off. Logitech does something similar in some of its keyboards, so it’s not revolutionary, but Turtle Beach lets you adjust the effect somewhat by changing the sensitivity of the sensor. At least, that’s the theory. I couldn’t get the Swarm app to save the settings for this when I changed it, so I can’t speak to how effective it is.

As the «Air» name might suggest, this version of the Vulcan II Mini is wireless (there’s a wired option for $119). It can connect to four devices: Three via Bluetooth plus one via an included 2.4Ghz wireless dongle. The only downside I found when connected via Bluetooth was that I could never get it to show up in Turtle Beach’s Swarm app. It showed up fine when using the dongle, but not on Bluetooth.

What I didn’t like about the Turtle Beach Vulcan II Mini Air

As cool as the optical switches are, the typing experience wasn’t great. I’m a writer by day, so I always prioritize a great typing experience first and a good gaming experience second. Even after using the Mini exclusively for more than three weeks, I just couldn’t the same level of comfort typing on it as with my Keychron Q81 Pro. I’m willing to acknowledge that much of that could be attributed to the II Mini’s low profile design, which I’ve never found to be as comfortable as a full-size profile.

The wake time for the Vulcan II Mini Air is also significantly slower than many other keyboards I’ve used. I’m not sure if this is because of the proximity sensor or something else, but it sometimes takes up to 10 seconds for my computer to begin registering key presses.

Should you buy the Turtle Beach Vulcan II Mini Air?

Overall, it’s a nice keyboard with plenty of excellent features for someone looking for a serious gaming keyboard. The small size means it doesn’t take up much space on the desk, the optical switches provide fast response times and greater durability, and the customization options are nearly endless. For me, though, I struggled to use it as a daily keyboard as it just didn’t offer me the tactility and feel that I prefer, but if you’re looking to upgrade your gaming keyboard, or just dive into the world of gaming keyboards for the first time, the Vulcan II Mini Air is a great choice.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Friday, Sept. 19

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Sept. 19.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

I didn’t get off to a great start with today’s Mini Crossword, completely blanking on 1-Across. Thankfully, the other clues were easy, and that answer filled itself in. Need some help? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Cancel on plans at the last moment
Answer: FLAKE

6A clue: Shade of light purple
Answer: LILAC

7A clue: ___ acid (protein builder)
Answer: AMINO

8A clue: Sarcastic «Yeah, sure»
Answer: IBET

9A clue: Sardonic boss on «Parks and Recreation»
Answer: RON

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Stylish panache
Answer: FLAIR

2D clue: Party game that tests how low you can go
Answer: LIMBO

3D clue: Visitor from outer space
Answer: ALIEN

4D clue: Philosopher who posed the question «What can I know?»
Answer: KANT

5D clue: Environmentally friendly prefix
Answer: ECO

Technologies

Your Old Android Isn’t Dead. These Tweaks Can Bring It Back to Life

Clear space, optimize your battery and update the basics. These quick changes can make an old Android phone feel snappier.

You don’t need the latest Android flagship to get good performance.

Thanks to longer software support from brands like Google and Samsung, older models can still run smoothly, as long as you give them a little attention. Clearing out unused apps, updating your software and tweaking a few settings can breathe new life into a device that feels sluggish. These quick fixes can help your phone last longer and save you from spending on an early upgrade.

Before you start shopping for a replacement, try a few simple adjustments. You might be surprised by how much faster your phone feels once you free up space, optimize battery use and turn off background drains.

Whether you use a Samsung Galaxy, Motorola or OnePlus phone, chances are you can still improve battery life and overall speed without buying something new. Just remember that Android settings vary slightly from brand to brand, so the menus may look a little different depending on your phone.

Don’t miss any of CNET’s unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add us as a preferred Google source on Chrome.

Settings to improve your battery life

Living with a phone that has poor battery life can be infuriating, but there are some steps you can take to maximize each charge right from the very beginning:

1. Turn off auto screen brightness or adaptive brightness and set the brightness level slider to under 50%

The brighter your screen, the more battery power it uses.

To get to the setting, pull down the shortcut menu from the top of the screen and adjust the slider, if it’s there. Some phones may have a toggle for auto brightness in the shortcut panel; otherwise, you need to open the settings app and search for «brightness» to find the setting and turn it off.

2. Use Adaptive Battery and Battery Optimization

These features focus on learning how you use your phone, including which apps you use and when, and then optimizing the apps and the amount of battery they use.

Some Android phones have a dedicated Battery section in the Settings app, while other phones (looking at you, Samsung) bury these settings. It’s a little different for each phone. I recommend opening your settings and searching for «battery» to find the right screen. Your phone may also have an adaptive charging setting that can monitor how quickly your phone battery charges overnight to preserve its health.

Why you should use dark mode more often

Another way to improve battery life while also helping save your eyes is to use Android’s dedicated dark mode. Any Android phone running Android 10 or newer will have a dedicated dark mode option.

According to Google, dark mode not only reduces the strain that smartphone displays cause on our eyes but also improves battery life because it takes less power to display dark backgrounds on OLED displays (used in most flagship phones) than a white background.

Depending on which version of Android your phone is running, and what company made your phone, you may have to dig around the settings app to find a dark mode. If your phone runs Android 10 or newer, you’ll be able to turn on system-wide dark mode. If it runs Android 9, don’t despair. Plenty of apps have their own dark mode option in the settings that you can use, whether or not you have Android 10.

To turn it on dark mode, open the Settings app and search for Dark Mode, Dark Theme or even Night Mode (as Samsung likes to call it). I suggest using dark mode all the time, but if you’re not sure, you can always set dark mode to automatically turn on based on a schedule, say from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. every day, or allow it to automatically switch based on your location at sunset and sunrise.

Keep your home screen free of clutter

Planning to hit up the Google Play Store for a bunch of new Android apps? Be prepared for a lot of icon clutter on your home screen, which is where shortcuts land every time you install something.

If you don’t want that, there’s a simple way out of this: Long-press on an empty area of your home screen and tap Settings. Find the option labeled something along the lines of Add icon to Home Screen or Add new apps to Home Screen and turn it off.

Presto! No more icons on the home screen when you install new apps. You can still add shortcuts by dragging an app’s icon out of the app drawer, but they won’t appear on your home screen unless you want them to.

Read more: Best Android Phones You Can Buy in 2024

Set up Do Not Disturb so that you can better focus

If your phone routinely spends the night on your nightstand, you probably don’t want it beeping or buzzing every time there’s a call, message or Facebook alert — especially when you’re trying to sleep. Android offers a Do Not Disturb mode that will keep the phone more or less silent during designated hours. On some phones, this is referred to as the Downtime setting or even Quiet Time.

Head to Settings > Sounds (or Notifications), then look for Do Not Disturb or a similar name. If you can’t find it, search for it using the built-in search feature in your settings.

Using the feature, you can set up a range of hours when you want to turn off the digital noise. Don’t worry, any notifications you get while Do Not Disturb is turned on will still be waiting for you when you wake up. Also, you can typically make an exception that allows repeat callers and favorite contacts’ calls to go through. Turn that on. If someone is calling you in an emergency, odds are they are going to keep trying.

Always be prepared in case you lose your phone or it’s stolen

Is there anything worse than a lost or stolen phone? Only the knowledge that you could have tracked it down if you had turned on Google’s Find My Device feature.

To prepare for a successful recovery, here’s what you need to do: Open the Settings app and then search for Find My Device. It’s usually in the Security section of the Settings app.

If you have a Samsung device, you can use Samsung’s Find My Mobile service, which is found in Settings > Biometrics and security > Find My Mobile.

Once that’s enabled, you can head to android.com/find from any PC or mobile device and sign in to your account. Samsung users can visit findmymobile.samsung.com to find a lost phone.

If you have trouble setting any of this up, be sure to read our complete guide to finding a lost Android phone.

Assuming your phone is on and online, you should be able to see its location on a map. From there, you can make it ring, lock it, set a lock screen note to tell whoever has it how to get it back to you, or, worst-case scenario, remotely wipe the whole thing.

And always keep your phone up to date

As obvious as it may seem, a simple software update could fix bugs and other issues slowing down your Android device.

Before you download and install the latest software update, make sure your device is connected to Wi-Fi, or else this won’t work.

Now, open the Settings application and type in Update. You’ll then either see Software update or System update — choose either one. Then just download the software, wait for a few minutes and install it when it’s ready. Your Android device will reboot and install the latest software update available.

There’s a lot more to learn about a new phone. Here are the best ways to boost your cell signal, and here’s a flagship phone head-to-head comparison. Plus, check out CNET’s list of the best cases for your Samsung phone. More of an Apple fan? We have tips for boosting your iPhone’s performance, too.

Technologies

Your Pixel 10 Might Have Issues With Older Wireless Chargers

You might want to try taking the case off your phone in order to successfully charge it.

When Google introduced the Pixel 10 lineup in August, it became one of the first major Android phones to receive the Qi 2 wireless charging standard, which Google calls Pixelsnap. However, users noticed issues with wireless charging on the Pixel 10 almost immediately after its release.

Some people are having trouble charging their phone with the new Pixelsnap charger, and others are having issues with older wireless chargers, including Google’s own Pixel Stands. The bulk of the problems happen when a case is on the phone — whether it has the magnet array or not.

I own both the first and second generation Pixel Stands and both will charge my Pixel 10 Pro XL without an issue if there’s no case on it. However, when I add a case to my phone, the problems begin.

I have three cases for my phone, the Mous Super Thin Clear Case, the Magnetic Slim Case Fit by Grecazo, and a no-name soft TPU case. If my phone has any of those cases on and I attempt to charge it while it’s vertical, it starts to charge and then stops after a second or two, and keeps doing that.

I can fix this for the first-generation Pixel Stand by turning the phone horizontal, but it will still charge very slowly. I can’t seem to fix it at all for the Pixel Stand 2 — vertical, horizontal, it doesn’t charge.

Not everyone has this issue

The problem doesn’t seem to be universal. CNET editor Patrick Holland said he had no issues charging the Pixel 10 Pro during his time with it.

A Google spokesperson told me the Pixel 10 lineup is not optimized for older Qi wireless charging standards, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the phones won’t work with older wireless chargers.

Qi 2 is backwards-compatible with older standards, but the phone’s height and charging coil placement on both the phone and the charger are still factors. If you’re having problems, you might see if removing the case helps.

The prospect of potentially needing to replace your older wireless chargers with newer ones isn’t ideal, especially if you shelled out $80 for one or both of Google’s own Pixel Stands. Still, if you want the best wireless charging speed for your brand new Pixel 10 phone, it won’t be with wireless chargers that only support older Qi standards.