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Gamers, it's hard times out there. AI is causing massive inflation of all sorts of gaming technology, PlayStation has confirmed it's moving to digital-only distribution on its platforms from 2028 onwards, and even controllers are costing $200 or more for... some reason. I can't offer you a reprieve from the ridiculous economy of being a gamer right now, but I can offer you a glimmer of hope when it comes to the future of gaming monitors .

For years, myself and my hardware editor partner in crime, Phil Hayton, have been shouting from the rooftops about the annoyances of gaming monitor control systems. TVs, since almost the dawn of time, have let you control things remotely with a clicker you hold in your hand. But for some reason, the norm for gaming monitors is still a pesky wee nubbin on the back corner of your display that tries to be a button, D-pad, power switch, settings menu, and output picker all in one.

(Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson) Finally, finally that might be changing, because when I was at Computex a few weeks ago, Acer showed off a new "Smart Dial" at its booth. It glared at me, unmanned by anyone trying to sell it to me or explain it. It's as though Acer knew they wouldn't need to sell something so simple, yet so daring and understated all at once.

The Acer Smart Dial will be compatible with the brand's upcoming Predator X32X5 and Predator XB273KV5 monitors, but I hope to god it becomes a standard thing on all of the company's desk displays just so other manufacturers suffer its supreme quality-of-life wroth. We're all staring down a future where games cost $100, they're only digital, and no one can afford to own hardware, so clearly we've stumbled on the bad timeline. At least let us control our monitors without fumbling around their backs?

(Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson) Acer's product bio reads: "Whether during gaming sessions or everyday use, the Acer Smart Dial provides a more comfortable and efficient way to manage the monitor, significantly improving the overall user experience."

In terms of its physical make-up, the remote has a small joystick above a set of four face buttons and a smaller shiny button between them. For something that's got such a simple, specific purpose, it's surprisingly well-fitted to the human hand. It feels like a perfectly ergonomic one-handed gaming controller, and does actually look a lot like the Xbox Adaptive Controller's one-handed add-on.

Onward compatibility is a bit of a question mark at the moment. From what Acer has told me, it'll only be available with those upcoming monitors mentioned above. I'm not sure how Acer would go about trying to make it available for other monitors, made by them or otherwise, so don't expect compatibility with your display just yet. Perhaps in the future, a device like this could find ways of working across brands and, retrospectively, if we all make enough of a fuss about it?

Future / Duncan Robertson Future / Duncan Robertson Playing around with it at the booth, I was able to adjust a monitor's setting, resolution, source output, and generally do all the things you'd expect of a monitor remote. It's really that simple, so I hope other monitor makers at the show caught wind of it and decided it was time to match Acer's challenge.

Even putting my laziness and reluctance to physically reach around the back of a monitor for a second, I do think there's value for money with a remote in a monitor box. Call me lazy or call this stupid, but if a product is harder to use, people won't want to use it.

(Image credit: Future / Duncan Robertson) Make it easier to use, or allow them easy, controllable access to settings, and they'll be more inclined to make the most of all the settings menus within. I don't know about you, but I despise using monitor nubbin joysticks so much that I actively do everything in my power to avoid using them. Am I leaving visual settings on the table? Maybe, but to be honest, until AOC gives me an easier way to find out, I won't be heading into those settings menus again after setting it up for the first time.

It may be a trivial thing to be excited for, but Acer's Smart Dial legitimately could be a quality-of-life update for so many gaming setups, and we could use those in dire times like these.

Also check out the best TV for PS5 and Xbox Series X, best OLED TV , and best 120Hz 4K TV.

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Here are this week’s Independent Press Top 40 Bestsellers for fiction, based on sales in hundreds of independent bookstores nationwide, generously provided by the American Booksellers Association. Compiled, designed, and distributed by The Independent Publishers Caucus .

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1. The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (Spiegel & Grau)

2. I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman (Transit Books)

3. John of John by Douglas Stuart (Grove Press)

4. The Odyssey by Homer, Emily Wilson (Transl.) (Norton)

5. Heart the Lover by Lily King (Grove Press)

6. Six of Crows: A Darker Shore: Letters from Ketterdam by Leigh Bardugo (Insight Editions)

7. Taiwan Travelogue: A Novel by Shuang-zi Yang (Graywolf Press)

8. On the Calculation of Volume (Book I) by Solvej Balle, Barbara J. Haveland (Transl.) (New Directions)

9. I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney (Zibby Publishing)

10. Harvest Season (The Seasons of Carnage Trilogy #2) by Brynne Weaver (Slowburn)

11. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Grove Press)

12. Stoner by John Williams (NYRB Classics)

13. Lights Out (Into Darkness Series #1) by Navessa Allen (Slowburn)

14. The Very Definition of Love (The Bancroft Sisters) by Sophia Benoit (Slowburn)

15. Culpability by Bruce Holsinger (Spiegel & Grau)

16. The Iliad by Homer, Emily Wilson (Transl.) (W. W. Norton)

17. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 1 by Beth Brower (Rhysdon Press)

18. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2 by Beth Brower (Rhysdon Press)

19. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 3 by Beth Brower (Rhysdon Press)

20. Writers & Lovers by Lily King (Grove Press)

21. The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 4 by Beth Brower (Rhysdon Press)

22. Foster by Claire Keegan (Grove Press)

23. House of Rayne: Deluxe Limited Edition by Harley Laroux (Kensington)

24. Victorian Psycho: A Novel by Virginia Feito (Liveright)

25. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante (Europa Editions)

26. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler (Beacon Press)

27. Orbital by Samantha Harvey (Grove Press)

28. At the Edge of the Woods: A Novel by Kathryn Bromwich (Two Dollar Radio)

29. On the Calculation of Volume (Book II) by Solvej Balle (New Directions)

30. Witch Hat Atelier 1 by Kamome Shirahama (Kodansha Comics)

31. The Employees by Olga Ravn (New Directions)

32. Gray After Dark: Deluxe Stenciled Edges by Noelle West Ihli (Kensington)

33. Game On by Navessa Allen (Slowburn)

34. The King in Yellow, Deluxe Edition by Robert W. Chambers (Pushkin Press)

35. Butcher & Blackbird: The Ruinous Love Trilogy by Brynne Weaver (Slowburn)

36. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Catapult)

37. Tourist Season (The Seasons of Carnage Trilogy #1) by Brynne Weaver (Slowburn)

38. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson (NYRB)

39. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese (Grove)

40. Tata by Valérie Perrin (Europa Editions)

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McLaren has turned the 750S into a high-downforce, limited edition 788HS.

Body gets new aerodynamic package and 4.0-liter V8 is boosted to 777 hp.

200 cars will be built, split evenly between 788HS coupes and roofless Spiders.

Every great performance car deserves a proper farewell, and McLaren clearly wasn’t about to let the 720S bloodline quietly slip into retirement. Enter the new 788HS, the final and most extreme evolution of a family that began almost a decade ago and eventually spawned the 765LT and today’s 750S .

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The recipe won’t surprise anyone, but the numbers certainly impress. McLaren has tuned the 750S’s 740 hp (750 PS) twin turbocharged 4.0 litre V8 to produce 778 hp (788 PS), while keeping dry weight to just 1,265 kg (2,790 lbs). That translates into a punchy 615 hp (623 PS) per tonne – or 1.6 lbs per hp – the highest figure achieved by any member of this supercar generation.

Related: McLaren Just Recreated The Lost Supercar That Came Before The Legendary F1

Straight line performance is predictably savage, if not exactly night and day better than what you get from a regular 750S. McLaren quotes the same 2.8 seconds to 100 kmh, but the 7.0 seconds to 124 mph (200 kmh) time is 0.2 seconds faster. More importantly, engineers say the revised engine mounts, titanium quad-exit exhaust, and induction tuning create an even stronger sense of power and response.

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When it comes to top speed, the 788HS is fractionally slower, its 205 mph (330 kmh) VMAX dropping 1.3 mph (2 kmh) from the 750S’s. But that’s due to some trick new aero parts that generate 10 percent more downforce than even the old hardcore 765LT could create.

Center-lock Wheels And Roof Snorkel

A completely new carbon fiber aerodynamic package adds a multi section front splitter, an S-duct hood that eats the frunk space, taller active rear wing, and a Formula One inspired diffuser. Plus, go for the coupe version and you get a low-rise roof snorkel intake.

The chassis gets plenty of attention, too. Ride height drops by 5 mm (0.2 inches) at the front, the linked hydraulic suspension receives a bespoke tune, Senna derived carbon ceramic brakes are fitted, and, for the first time on this platform, buyers get center-lock wheels. Inside, the cabin remains driver focused with lightweight carbon trim and exclusive HS detailing.

Just 200 examples will be built, evenly divided between Coupe and Spider models, with every car individually commissioned through McLaren Special Operations ( MSO ) and sure to cost well over $400,000.

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McLaren