Technologies

I Tested a Low-Cost Phone With One of the Biggest Batteries We’ve Seen Yet

The Realme P4 Power introduces a 10,001mAh battery to a mass market product without any noticeable flaws.

Silicon-carbon batteries have been leading phones to eyebrow-raising battery life, and the Realme P4 Power includes one of the biggest batteries we’ve seen in a phone. It’s setting an even higher benchmark with a 10,001mAh battery. By comparison, this is double the capacity we see in more mainstream phones like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which includes a 5,000mAh battery.

The Realme phone surpasses what we’ve seen in other phones with this type of battery, including the OnePlus 15‘s 7,300mAh battery and the RedMagic 11 Pro‘s 7,500mAh battery. Phones with batteries of this scale provide up to two days of use and often have faster charging speeds to go with it.

The Realme P4 Power is currently available in India — it’s unlikely to ever come to the US — but despite its chart-topping battery capacity, it’s relatively inexpensive at INR 25,999, or approximately $285. It’s just a little bigger than the 10,000mAh battery in the Honor Win, which I got to try out last year but didn’t get extended time in order to really test it out.

That’s why I was excited to put my SIM into the Realme P4 Power, during which I was able to test this phone through all of CNET’s battery tests, use it as my primary device and even as a power bank for my iPhone along the way.

All that battery without any major drawbacks

The best part about the Realme P4 Power is that it doesn’t sacrifice comfort for additional battery capacity. It isn’t a slim and light phone but at 9.1mm thick and 219g weight, it is lighter than some big flagship phones, including the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Google Pixel 10 Pro XL.

Realme’s TransView Design has a translucent look around the camera module, which accentuates its «Power» branding. I like this distinct design and in-hand feel. It has curved corners as well as slight curves on the back that make it easy to hold. (Please take note, Samsung.)

The Realme P4 Power has a plastic back and frame, while the front is protected by Gorilla Glass 7i. It is also rated for durability with IP66, IP68 and IP69 dust- and water-resistance ratings. This means, it can survive freshwater submersion and high-pressure water jets and is also protected against small dust particles.

On the front, you get a 6.8-inch AMOLED display with a 2,800×1,280-pixel resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 1,800 nits brightness and 6,500 nits peak brightness for HDR-supported content. Like many phones, you have to manually set it to a higher resolution and refresh rate to take advantage of these features.

I had no issues with the screen, and using a curved panel after a long time was a refreshing experience. It was easily legible outdoors, and I enjoyed watching videos. However, I don’t like the absence of stereo speakers. The device has just one speaker at the bottom; while it is loud, you’ll need to connect your earbuds for a better movie experience.

I used the Realme P4 Power in day-to-day life, which included doomscrolling on social media apps like Instagram and X, answering emails and messages on Gmail, WhatsApp and Slack navigating on Maps and snapping a few photos. It comfortably lasted me up to two days of regular use and one and a half days on heavy use. And when you do need to charge it, you can use the bundled charger to top up the battery at 80 watts.

To better judge the new Realme phone, I put it through CNET’s 3-hour video streaming test and 45-minute battery endurance test.

Realme P4 Power battery benchmarks

	YouTube streaming drain test starting at 100%	45 min battery endurance
Realme P4 Power	1 hr: 97%; 2 hr: 95%; 3 hr: 91% (144Hz)	100% to 99%
Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max	1 hr: 100%; 2 hr: 96%; 3 hr: 91% (1-120Hz)	100% to 99%
OnePlus 15	1 hr: 98%; 2 hr: 94%; 3 hr: 90% (1-120Hz)	100% to 97%
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra	1 hr: 97%; 2 hr: 92%; 3hr: 87% (1-120Hz)	100% to 95%

In the video streaming test, where I streamed a video over Wi-Fi with the screen at full brightness and the battery starting at 100%, it lost 3% battery per hour and ended at 91%. This puts it on top of CNET’s charts alongside the iPhone 17 Pro Max, followed by the OnePlus 15 (90%) and iPhone 17 (89%).

It performed similarly well during CNET’s 45-minute endurance test, during which we play games, stream videos, scroll social media and take a video call with the battery starting at 100%. The Realme P4 Power ended up losing just 1% battery, sharing the top spot with the iPhone 17 Pro Max at 99%.

How about everything else?

The Realme P4 Power has a MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Ultra chipset, paired with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. (The base model has 8GB RAM and 128GB storage.) This is more of a midrange chip that’s in a similar class as the Motorola Razr‘s Dimensity 7400X. It handles day-to-day tasks smoothly, and it has no major flaws. As for minor issues, I did notice apps taking longer than usual to load sometimes and the camera app taking a few seconds to process, but these issues are not a deal-breaker.

Realme’s user interface is smooth, snappy and highly customizable. It is similar to OnePlus and Oppo. However, you get multiple preloaded apps. (I uninstalled them as soon as I set up the phone.) Overall, this Realme UI 7.0 (based on Android 16) is fast and responsive. You’ll get three years of Android OS upgrades and four years of security upgrades.

The Realme P4 Power has two rear cameras and a 16-megapixel selfie shooter on the front. You get a 50-megapixel main camera and an 8-megapixel ultrawide-angle sensor on the back. Plenty of AI-powered tools are available to help you enhance or edit a shot.

It delivers a satisfactory camera experience. In daylight, the P4 Power can snap some good-looking photos. The colors are mostly accurate, contrast is balanced and the dynamic range is decent. It processes 2x portraits digitally, which works fine for the most part, but at times, certain areas can have a cutout-feel to them — like you’ve been pasted on a background.

Overall, the Realme P4 Power is a great phone for its excellent battery life. I was expecting it to perform well with its 10,001mAh battery, but I didn’t expect it to blow out every other Android phone in our tests. I love it more because this battery innovation is accessible to the masses, thanks to its lower price and not being gatekept on more expensive models.

Technologies

Can’t File Your Income Taxes by Today? You Need to File a Free Extension Now

The best tax software will let you file a federal income tax extension to give yourself six more months to finish your taxes.

Time’s up, US taxpayers. The deadline for filing your income taxes is today. You have until midnight tonight to submit your 2025 tax return electronically or have it postmarked.

If you’re not able to finish your 2025 tax return today, or if you’re still missing important tax documents, don’t fret. You can file a free tax extension with the IRS, which will give you another six months to complete and submit your tax return.

There’s no cost or penalty for filing a tax extension, and most tax software will help you complete the process in a few minutes. However, there are some critical details to be aware of before you make the decision to postpone your taxes for another six months.

Read on to find all of the details for filing a tax extension in 2026 and how it will affect your tax refund or the money that you owe.

What’s the deadline to file an income tax extension?

Along with the tax return submission deadline, there’s a deadline to file for a tax extension. You’ll need to submit it by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, in your time zone. That’s also the tax filing deadline.

How to file an income tax extension in 2026

If you’re planning to file a tax extension this year, you’ll need to submit Form 4868 (PDF) to the IRS either by paper or electronically using e-file before the April 15 deadline. As long as your electronic extension is transmitted by midnight on April 15, or your letter is postmarked by that date, your extension should be good.

However, if you think that you owe taxes, you’ll need to pay your estimated income tax due using Direct Pay, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System or using a debit or credit card. If you don’t pay your estimated taxes with your extension and owe money, you’ll have to pay interest on that money and a potential penalty when you file.

Some taxpayers are automatically granted more time to file. This includes military personnel serving in combat zones or people in federally declared disaster areas. US citizens who live outside the country have until June 17 to file.

Does an extension give you more time to pay your tax bill?

No. Extending your filing deadline doesn’t delay when you have to pay taxes that you may owe. According to the IRS, you need to estimate and pay at least 90% of your tax liability by the deadline to avoid late fees. Otherwise, you will have accrued interest on what you owe, which you’ll eventually have to pay — plus possible penalties — on top of your income taxes.

The late-payment penalty is usually 0.5% per month of the outstanding tax not paid by the filing deadline, maxing out at 25%. The IRS can also issue a late-filing penalty of 5% of the amount due for every month or partial month your tax return is late. If your return is filed more than 60 days after the due date, the minimum late-filing penalty is either $450 or 100% of the unpaid tax (whichever is less).

For individual taxpayers, penalties and interest will stop accruing only when your balance is paid in full. For more on penalties or to work out a payment plan with the IRS, check out its web page.

How is child tax credit money related to tax returns?

The child tax credit provides benefits for parents of children, allowing them to lower the amount they owe in taxes each year based on how many dependents they claim. If you had a new baby or gained a dependent, you can both decrease the amount of taxes you owe and increase the amount you may get back in a tax refund.

The Child Tax Credit allows families to receive up to $2,200 per eligible child under the age of 17, as long as certain income requirements are met. By not filing your taxes by the deadline, you could be missing out on up to $2,200 per child.

Will you receive your tax refund later if you file an extension?

Yes. The timeline for getting your income tax refund depends on when you file. But even though you have until Oct. 15 to submit your return if you file an extension, it doesn’t mean you have to wait that long to file.

Some tax refunds, especially for more complicated returns or those that need corrections, could take months to arrive. The IRS encourages taxpayers to file electronically and carefully review their details before submitting to avoid any errors that could potentially delay refunds. The agency also asks that you sign up for direct deposit to get your money even faster.

All of the ways you can file your 2025 tax return

The IRS says that taxpayers can file and schedule their federal tax payments online, by phone or with the mobile IRS2Go app.

If you need to find a tax software service to use, and you made $89,000 or less in 2025, you can find an IRS-approved free filing service easily. You’ll need to gather the following information: income statements (W2s or 1099s), any adjustments to your income, your filing status (single, married, filing jointly), and dependent information. If you made more than $89,000 last year, you still can use the IRS’ Free File Fillable Forms.

If you haven’t already made a tax payment, the IRS prefers that payments be made electronically and offers a variety of ways to do so, including IRS Direct Pay, which is directly linked to a checking or savings account. Another option is by credit card using the mobile IRS2Go app, or through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System.

How to review your IRS tax account online

An easy way to review all your tax-related details, including your address and payment plan details, is to access your IRS account online. Taxpayers can use information from their accounts if they need to access their adjusted gross income, find their stimulus payment and child tax credit amounts, or review their estimated tax payments or credits. Accessing your tax transcript will give you all the records necessary if you have a tax problem or a missing payment.

If you have additional questions, you can visit the IRS Interactive Tax Assistant to get help.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for April 16, #1040

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for April 16, No. 1,040.

Looking for the most recent 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, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is tricky. I did love the blue category, which references a favorite Batman character. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

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

Yellow group hint: Make fun of.

Green group hint: Brr, so cold in here!

Blue group hint: Batman’s rival.

Purple group hint: Connected with learning.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Tease.

Green group: Thermostat settings.

Blue group: Features of a Catwoman costume.

Purple group: Training ____.

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

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is tease. The four answers are needle, rib, ride and roast.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is thermostat settings. The four answers are auto, cool, fan and heat.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is features of a Catwoman costume. The four answers are bodysuit, claws, mask and whip.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is training ____. The four answers are bra, camp, day and wheels.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for April 16 #774

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for April 16, No. 774.

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

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle could be tough. I understood the theme right away, but some of the answers are really difficult to unscramble. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: This is not working.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Leisure time.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

STEM, STEMS, STEAM, STEAMS, MAPS, TEES, RIFF, FEAR, FEAT, RATIO, REST

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

HOBBY, PASTIME, INTEREST, SIDELINE, RECREATION

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is JUSTFORFUN. To find it, start with the J that is the farthest-left letter on the top row, and wind down and then back up.