Technologies

Dyson’s Thinnest and Lightest Cordless Vacuum Ever Is Finally Ready to Buy in the US

The Dyson PencilVac doesn’t cost as much as you might expect.

The Dyson PencilVac was one of the most interesting cordless vacuums I saw last year, mainly because it doesn’t really look like any other cordless vacuum I’ve ever seen. I called it the «lightest and thinnest cordless vacuum I’ve ever used.» In 2026, that’s still true, and it’s finally available to buy in the US for $599.

The design is the real innovation here. The PencilVac weighs just 4 pounds and feels more like wielding a mop or broom than a cordless vacuum. I used it at Dyson’s Soho showroom for a while and was impressed by its maneuverability and ease of use. In terms of dimensions, it’s 45.7 inches tall, 8.1 inches long and just 1.5 inches wide. It can flatten down to 3.7 inches to get into tight spaces and under furniture, and comes with green LED lights on both the front and back to help you spot dust.

The dustbin, despite being tiny at 0.02 gallons, uses a unique linear separation system that compresses down the dust as you vacuum, similar to the idea behind the V16 Piston Animal’s compressing lever. The ejection is a little different, with a syringe-like plunger that shoots the dust into the dustbin, and should minimize the dirt getting everywhere or the need to reach in with your fingers to pull stuck bits of debris out.

In terms of other specs, the PencilVac uses two FluffyCone cleaner heads, distinct conical heads designed to prevent hair wrap. In theory, the PencilVac should clean well, thanks to its dual brush rollers (a total of four cones for the brush bar), designed to avoid tangling and clean equally well on a back-and-forth motion. In terms of performance, Dyson says it has a 140krpm Dyson Hyperdymium motor and 55 air watts of suction power, so we don’t expect it to match the 240-air watts V15 Detect Absolute in terms of pickup performance, but we’ll need to put it to the test to know for sure.

We plan on testing the PencilVac in CNET’s Louisville lab to see how it fares, though to do that, we’ll need to modify some of our lab tests for pickup because with a nozzle width of 1.5 inches in diameter, the PencilVac will be the narrowest we’ve ever tested, and our tests are currently designed for a wider nozzle width.

Price and availability

At $599, the PencilVac might sound like it’s on the higher side for a cordless vacuum; we have plenty on our best list that can run you less than $400, and our best overall, the Eureka ReactiSense 440, costs just $180 at full price.

However, with Dyson, you’re really paying for the design, and relative to top-tier vacuums in its lineup, like the $850 Dyson V15 Detect Absolute, it’s not out of range of what we expect. Outside of handheld vacuums, you likely won’t find a cordless vacuum this versatile until Dyson’s competitors start to make them.

Technologies

I Bought the Galaxy Z TriFold for Over $3,000. Follow Along as I Test It (Live Updates)

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Feb. 4, #499

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Feb. 4, No. 499.

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

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. One of the words —«fronton» — might not be known to all the people who attempt the puzzle. There’s also a heavy focus on one specific team, which can be tough if you don’t know that roster well. If today’s puzzle has you stuck but you still want to crack it, keep reading for hints and answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Nice victory!

Green group hint: I’ll give you that guy for this guy.

Blue group hint: Where to play.

Purple group hint: Florida hoops.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: Win smoothly.

Green group: Fantasy sports trade options.

Blue group: Areas of play, in different sports.

Purple group: Members of the Orlando Magic.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is win smoothly. The four answers are breeze, coast, cruise and waltz.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is fantasy sports trade options. The four answers are accept, counter, propose and reject.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is areas of play, in different sports. The four answers are course, court, fronton and rink.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is members of the Orlando Magic. The four answers are Banchero, Bane, Black and Suggs.

Toughest Connections: Sports Edition categories

The Connections: Sports Edition puzzle can be tough, but it really depends on which sports you know the most about. My husband aces anything having to do with Formula 1, my best friend is a hockey buff, and I can answer any question about Minnesota teams.

That said, it’s hard to pick the toughest Connections categories, but here are some I found exceptionally mind-blowing.

#1: Serie A Clubs. Answers: Atalanta, Juventus, Lazio, Roma.

#2: WNBA MVPs. Answers: Catchings, Delle Donne, Fowles and Stewart.

#3: Premier League team nicknames. Answers: Bees, Cherries, Foxes and Hammers.

#4: Homophones of NBA player names. Answers: Barns, Connect, Heart and Hero.

Technologies

Xbox Cloud Gaming Ad-Supported Tier: When Does It Start, How Much Will It Cost and More

Ads could remove the sting of Xbox Game Pass price hikes, but will it be worth it?

Xbox Cloud Gaming is one of the key selling points of Xbox Game Pass, and it generally works well. The service lets gamers stream Xbox titles to a wide range of devices, including phones, tablets, handhelds and select smart TVs from Samsung, LG and Hisense. However, following the Xbox Game Pass price increase from November, streaming alone may not be enough to keep some subscribers on board, which is where an ad-supported tier could come into play.

Microsoft confirmed the existence of an ad-supported tier last year but has not shared details on when it will launch or what it will include. New screenshots shared by players suggest the tier may be arriving soon, though questions remain about how it will work and what limitations it may have.

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

When will the Xbox Cloud Gaming ad-supported tier launch?

Microsoft hasn’t made an official announcement yet, but it’s expected to roll out sometime this year, according to Windows Central. Last month, some gamers saw a different loading screen for Xbox Cloud Gaming with a message saying «1 hour of ad-supported play time per session,» which would point to the ads coming soon.

looks like ad-supported Xbox Cloud Gaming is coming soon 👀 pic.twitter.com/c8hAERrVB9

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) January 17, 2026

How much will the Xbox Cloud Gaming ad-supported tier cost?

In October, Microsoft confirmed it was internally testing the ad-supported tier, and at the time, said it would be free. Going by the load screen message I mentioned earlier, there will likely be a limit on how long people can play on the tier and during internal testing, players would have to watch a 2-minute ad.

What games will be available on the ad-supported tier?

Rumors about the internal testing suggested players would only have access to certain games for free, but the question is, which ones? Microsoft has a significant number of games available to stream, whether it’s purchased digital games or those available with an Xbox Game Pass subscription. Microsoft may allow all the digital games in a player’s library to be streamed and might make a few games available for free on a weekly or monthly basis, similar to the Free Play Days games.