• Amazon's AWS cloud services billing system went wild on Friday
• Customers saw bills in the trillions
• AWS apologized and is working on a fix

AWS, the cloud platform that serves millions who use Amazon's servers to run websites and businesses you use every day, just freaked out many of its customers with usage bills that literally went into the trillions.

"I just saw $1.5 trillion on my AWS bill and my soul left my body," wrote Bharath_uwu on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, and he wasn't alone.

The Guardian originally spotted the Tweet and multiple social posts relating to the seemingly widespread glitch.

AWS doesn't mail out invoices. Instead, customers logging into the Billing and Cost Management console spotted the billion- and trillion-dollar bills and expressed emotions ranging from concern to panic.

As Dan Harvey, who heads marketing at Learning Through Landscapes, told the Guardian, "I almost had a heart attack when I received an email alert from Amazon Web Services with the billing for our charity’s school grounds audit app."

Some tried to take the billing error in stride. Chinmay on X encouraged others to post their highest AWS bills. As of 10 hours ago, he was at $333B.

Others called out AWS for the error with something less than good humor. "I bet someone must have had a real heart attack. This shouldn't be legal...," wrote Mr Doob on X.

Amazon, to its credit, has been delivering multiple updates starting at around 1:30AM PDT on Friday, July 17, when they first spotted the error: "We are investigating issues with Cost Explorer reflecting inaccurate estimated billing data."

A few hours later, AWS reported it had found the culprit: "We have identified the root cause as an issue with unit pricing within the estimated billing computation subsystem, and we are working on a mitigation," they wrote on the AWS Status page.

However, hours later, AWS admitted, "Our efforts to backfill corrected estimated cost and usage data are still underway. We are progressing slower than anticipated."

The good news is that AWS is not asking anyone to pay these incorrect fees and that, while this has been a big frustration for services that run their websites and businesses on AWS, the cloud system has been working flawlessly, and there have been no reports of outages or performance issues on Friday (if you don't count the years shaved off freaked-out customers' lives).

AWS has even tried to make light of the mistake, posting this on X:

"Typo alert: Some customers saw quadrillion-dollar AWS billing estimates today. Slight miscalculation on our end (very slight ). We're fixing it now. No action needed on your end. Sorry for the confusion. Real question: what will you do with those trillions instead?"

Yes, everyone can all laugh now, though I'm not certain customers like Harvey, Bharath, and others are chuckling along with them.

Was your business affected? How big was your AWS Billing mistake? Let us know the "damage" in the comments below.

• JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warns controls may be needed for Claude Mythos
• The AI model from Anthropic is highly advanced, and has been proven to detect zero-day vulnerabilities and even develop working exploits
• The US government has previously instructed Anthropic to block access to foreign nationals, citing security concerns

Artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly powerful, a fact highlighted with the US government’s recent instruction to limit access to Anthropic’s Claude Mythos model.

Now, the CEO of JPMorgan has described the risks the technology poses as a “real issue,” and likened wide access to the AI as “giving ballistic ⁠missiles to individuals.”

Speaking at the Pennsylvania Defense ​and Innovation Summit, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon underscored the risks posed by the AI, which has already been shown to both identify and exploit cybersecurity challenges.

Mythos isn’t Skynet

Currently, Claude Mythos is limited to a small selection of organizations, companies, and federal and military departments. Public access to the AI has been blocked, and worldwide access has been blocked due to the potential security issues of this powerful AI.

Claude Mythos is not the type of threat that can become self-aware and take over military appliances like the fictional Skynet of the Terminator movie series. However, it does have the capacity to cause immense damage in the wrong hands.

The AI is capable of detecting cybersecurity vulnerabilities and reporting on them; it is also able to generate automatic exploits. So, for white hat cybersecurity analysts, it is a powerful defensive tool, but in the wrong hands, it is a destructive power. In addition, its automated capabilities make it easy for black hats to scale their cybercrime operation and make ransomware, phishing, and other data-based scams more profitable.

It isn’t just cybersecurity where Anthropic’s Claude Mythos AI has demonstrated such incredible capacities. Scientific research, specifically biology, can be targeted by attackers using AI to turn complex concepts into terms, potentially to misuse the information.

There is also the challenge of a strategic imbalance between single nations or bodies having exclusive access to the technology.

Will the public ever access Anthropic’s Claude Mythos?

Given the security considerations, it seems unlikely that Claude Mythos will be publicy available anytime soon. However, Anthropic has already stated that it intends Mythos-level features and capabilities to become more widely available.

For this to happen, however, it needs to develop and apply various safeguards.

The most likely scenario is that public access to Mythos is eventually unblocked, with restrictions to specific features that relate to cybersecurity and biological/medical tasks and research.

Project Glasswing is already in operation with a handful of key partners (including Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Apple, Broadcom, Cisco, CrowdStrike, and others), and will probably be expanded until the safeguards are demonstrated to be fit for purpose, and public use.

Via Reuters

If you're looking for reliable backup power for home use, travel, or emergencies, I've found a great deal on the Jackery HomePower 3000 for $1189 (was $1299) at Wellbots with code NEW10.

The portable power station (which is the same hardware sold elsewhere as the Explorer 3000 V2), is a practical investment for home backup, camping, RV travel, and job sites.

The HomePower 3000 packs a huge 3072Wh battery and delivers 3600W of continuous AC output with a 7200W peak surge. That's enough to run everything from refrigerators and microwaves to power tools, air conditioners, and other demanding appliances.

Today's top Jackery portable power station deal

Despite its large capacity, the unit can recharge from a standard AC outlet in around 2.4 hours, while solar charging is also supported through Jackery's SolarSaga panels.

Pairing it with compatible solar panels gives you a renewable way to keep the battery topped up when you're away from a mains electricity supply.

There's no shortage of connectivity either. You get five AC outlets, including a NEMA TT-30 outlet for RVs, alongside two 100W USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, two DC5521 outputs, and a 12V car socket.

The power station can supply up to 10 devices simultaneously, making it useful for families, remote workers, photographers, and tradespeople.

Jackery has also focused on usability and durability. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity allow you to monitor battery levels, charging status, and power usage through the companion smartphone app, while a quiet charging mode operates at under 30dB, making it suitable for indoor use.

Advanced battery management, UL certification, and a battery rated for 4,000 charge cycles help ensure long-term reliability.

Weighing 27kg, the HomePower 3000 is still portable enough to transport between locations while offering enough energy storage to handle extended outages or demanding workloads.

In his review of the Explorer 3000 V2 (same as the HomePower 3000), our expert Jack said, "High output and high storage mean that this is superb for most home uses in an emergency or using off peak charging to use during the day."

If you've been considering a high-capacity portable power station that combines fast charging, strong output, and broad connectivity, I can wholeheartedly recommend this model.

For more choices, check out the best portable power stations we've tested and reviewed.

Also consider: More portable power station deals

• Shop all the portable power stations at Wellbots

• Nvidia's RTX 5000 Super models are being readied, and board makers have the chips, a new rumor reckons
• However, these graphics cards are 'on hold' due to the high price of VRAM
• The Super refreshes pack a lot of VRAM, and so that cost could have an unfortunate impact on MSRPs – and none of this sounds particularly comforting for would-be buyers

Nvidia's RTX 5000 Super refreshes are apparently being readied, but they're on hold for now – and the reason why makes me even more nervous about the pricing of these GPUs when (well, if) they finally emerge.

Of course, these RTX Super models are still rumors – albeit so persistent at this point, there must be at least some validity to them – and the latest assertion comes from VideoCardz.

The tech site has apparently spoken to a source at one of Nvidia's board-making partners who claims that their company has already received 'graphics cards', which presumably refers to GPU chips (which is what Nvidia supplies, along with VRAM, to partners that make the boards).

At any rate, while this board maker supposedly has at least some of the necessary chips, it has been told by Nvidia that the RTX 5000 Super refreshes are now 'on hold'.

Why? Apparently, the delay is down to the price of the video RAM, specifically the new 3GB GDDR7 modules that are required (as per previous rumors) for the refreshed graphics cards.

Compared to the 2GB GDDR7 modules currently in use with Nvidia RTX 5000 models, the 3GB memory chips are around three times more expensive right now. Ouch.

Analysis: Super stumble?

This presents an obvious stumbling block because, due to these Super variants being packed with VRAM, the total cost of materials gets expensive quite quickly.

Remember that the grapevine believes that the RTX 5080 Super and RTX 5070 Ti Super will bristle with 24GB of VRAM, and even the RTX 5070 Super will have a weighty 18GB on board. Gamers are going to love the latter as an upgrade to the lean 12GB of the vanilla version – but not if it pushes the price of the GPU through the roof.

Going by what VideoCardz tells us about pricing in US dollars as the market currently stands, in the case of the RTX 5070 Super, the greater quantity of RAM, and more expensive modules, would mean 18GB costs in the order of $360 (maybe a bit more), versus $120 for the current RTX 5070's 12GB loadout, whacking an extra $240 on the price (or the regional equivalent elsewhere).

These graphics cards were already expected to be pricey, but that kind of additional premium lumped on top, this could make them real wallet-worriers.

The good news for those hoping for new GPUs from Nvidia is that at least these RTX 5000 Super models do seem to be happening. It's just that we may have to wait some time for them yet – although another recent rumor did suggest they were due this year. The latter speculation also theorized that an RTX 5060 Super 12GB model was incoming, but that didn't make a lot of sense, and I note that it isn't mentioned in this latest rumor. As ever, don't go lightly with the seasoning on all this.

• DataDome analysis claims agentic traffic has surged by 45% in Q2 2026
• Meta AI bots have grown over 163% on the previous quarter
• The analysis was conducted by bot management and agent control platform DataDome

If you run a website, every crawl costs bandwidth, resources, logging, and creates CDN transactions, and while search engine crawlers offered the promise of sending visitors, AI bots do not.

Analysis in a report from cybersecurity firm DataDome has shown that while bots from Meta AI have increased activity, they’re not delivering any significant returns to websites.

Conversely, ChatGPT crawlers have reduced in traffic, but are sending more referrals.

AI agent traffic is growing

While Meta AI is usually considered to be the “chatbot within Facebook” it seems that it is becoming something more – and the emergence of the Meta-WebIndexer bot (which grew 163% on Q1) suggests that Meta may be indexing a library of websites, in much the same way Google has done for the past few decades.

The growth of Meta AI as an active crawler is only part of the story, as is ChatGPT’s comparative efficiency. The OpenAI tool seems to know enough about websites, so can provide the answers it already “knows.” Conversely, Meta AI’s activity indexing the web seems to explain its heavy impact in Q2 2026.

But also emerging is the Model Context Protocol (MCP) signal, which connects AI agents with external tools, and differs from standard crawler traffic.

“Q2 showed us that the ground is shifting faster than most organizations realize. Meta now dominates AI traffic on our network, MCP traffic has emerged as a real signal, and ChatGPT is driving more referral value with fewer crawls," noted Jérôme Segura, VP of Threat Research at DataDome.

The differences in the way the AI agents are interacting with websites – some behaving like users, others scraping content – means that organizations need to act accordingly.

“What the data makes clear is that not all agents are created equal. The organizations building policy around these distinctions are the ones gaining an edge, and that's exactly why agent trust adoption is accelerating."

Unfortunately, MCP’s existence and growth into a significant, measurable quantity, means that it should also be treated as part of an organization’s attack surface.

Allocating resources

Given the origins of the report, there is naturally a cybersecurity aspect to this. While ransomware, malware, and phishing are not going anywhere, autonomous software on the web needs addressing in a different way.

Those “organizations building policy” that Segura mentions might, for example, give full crawl access to Google, allow ChatGPT to retrieve results, but rate-limit Meta AI based on its poor return.

Meanwhile, unknown agents – perhaps cybersecurity threats – would require additional verification or be blocked entirely.

Samsung S99H review: Two minute review

Sitting at the top of Samsung’s 2026 TV lineup, the Samsung S99H is a flagship OLED TV that delivers excellent performance, particularly when it comes to picture, and a full set of features both for smart TV and for gaming. This could easily be one of 2026’s best TVs.

The S99H has a full list of features. Its NQ4 AI Gen 3 Processor comes with a stack of AI tools for picture, such as AI Motion Enhancer Pro and AI 4K Upscaling Pro, AI tools for sound such as Adaptive Sound Pro, and other AI tools for content recommendation. All of these fall under the Samsung Vision AI banner.

Picture quality on the S99H is superb. It delivers the highest brightness to date from a flagship OLED TV, along with vibrant, accurate colors, crisp textures and powerful contrast. Its anti-reflection screen is effective at eliminating reflections and while its Filmmaker Mode is a little dim in bright conditions, its Movie mode is a great brighter alternative.

Motion handling is mostly smooth and natural for both movies and sport, and while there are some hints of black crush in certain movies I tested, the S99H’s picture is still up there with the best OLED TVs.

The Samsung S99H delivers solid overall built-in sound. Its accuracy and precision are its strengths, with an excellent connection between the action on screen and the sound. The bass is punchy, there’s some nice impact and the soundstage can be wide. Still, this level of picture quality deserves a fuller sound, so I’d recommend one of the best soundbars or speakers.

Design is arguably the S99H’s most controversial topic this year. A new silver frame around the TV, called the FloatLayer Design, has been added and I personally found the frame to be distracting. While meant for wall-mounting, the extra width may cause space issues for some people and the handsome central pedestal stand of its predecessor has been replaced by two plastic feet. The One Connect Box has been removed, with ports returning to the TV itself — but you can connect Samsung Wireless One Connect Box to add more HDMI ports.

The S99H is a phenomenal gaming TV. Carrying four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 165Hz, full VRR, HDR10+ gaming and ALLM, and boasting an ultra-low 9.5ms input lag at 60Hz, performance is smooth and the picture always looks great. Easily one of 2026’s best gaming TVs.

One UI Tizen is the S99H’s smart TV platform. It supports all major streaming apps, delivers pretty smooth performance and is easy to navigate. While there are some quirks that I found frustrating (namely auto-playing Samsung TV Plus), it’s still a good smart TV platform. Its Vision AI companion can be useful for those who enjoy AI, and while it doesn’t quite measure up to LG’s webOS, it’s still solid.

The 65-inch S99H I tested costs £3,199, which is a premium price for most people. It does justify its price with the level of performance and features that it offers and while the rival LG G6 is currently cheaper (up to £500 cheaper depending on sales), I expect the S99H’s prices will start to drop soon enough. In the meantime, last year’s Samsung S95F is available at a fraction of the cost, and is a great-value buy while it lasts.

Samsung S99H review: Prices & release dates

• Release date: June 2026
• 55-inch price: £2,399
• 65-inch price: £3,199
• 77-inch price: £4,299
• 83-inch price: £5,899

The Samsung S99H is the flagship OLED in Samsung’s 2026 TV lineup. It sits above the mid-range Samsung S90H and budget Samsung S85H. The 65-inch model I tested launched in June 2026 at £3,199

In the few weeks since its release, prices have remained the same. The S99H’s launch prices are cheaper than both its predecessor, the S95F, and the rival G6. However, the G6 has been out for longer, so its prices have dropped.

Samsung S99H review: Specs

Samsung S99H review: Benchmark results

Previous

1 / 4

Next

Brightness measurements

Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator. Click the test name for measurements and select the chosen test from the dropdown menu.

HDR Filmmaker ModeHDR Standard ModeSDR Filmmaker ModeSDR Standard Mode

Samsung S99H

HDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

2739

HDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

449

LG G6

HDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

3004

HDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

451

Samsung S95F

HDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

2132

HDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

390

01,0002,0003,0004,000

10% window

HDR Filmmaker Mode Data

Product	HDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window) (10% window)	HDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen) (10% window)
Samsung S99H	2739	449
LG G6	3004	451
Samsung S95F	2132	390

Samsung S99H

HDR Standard Mode (10% window)

2831

HDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

463

LG G6

HDR Standard Mode (10% window)

2469

HDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

385

Samsung S95F

HDR Standard Mode (10% window)

2135

HDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

380

07501,5002,2503,000

10% window

HDR Standard Mode Data

Product	HDR Standard Mode (10% window) (10% window)	HDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen) (10% window)
Samsung S99H	2831	463
LG G6	2469	385
Samsung S95F	2135	380

Samsung S99H

SDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

220

SDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

219

LG G6

SDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

559

SDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

390

Samsung S95F

SDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

256

SDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

137

0150300450600

10% window

SDR Filmmaker Mode Data

Product	SDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window) (10% window)	SDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen) (10% window)
Samsung S99H	220	219
LG G6	559	390
Samsung S95F	256	137

Samsung S99H

SDR Standard Mode (10% window)

229

SDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

229

LG G6

SDR Standard Mode (10% window)

648

SDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

559

Samsung S95F

SDR Standard Mode (10% window)

372

SDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

199

0200400600800

10% window

SDR Standard Mode Data

Product	SDR Standard Mode (10% window) (10% window)	SDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen) (10% window)
Samsung S99H	229	229
LG G6	648	559
Samsung S95F	372	199

HDR color gamut

Closer to 100% is better. Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator.

Samsung S99H

UHDA-P3

99.97

BT.2020

89.2

LG G6

UHDA-P3

99.3

BT.2020

83

Samsung S95F

UHDA-P3

100

BT.2020

89.3

0255075100

HDR Filmmaker Mode Data

Product	UHDA-P3 ()	BT.2020 ()
Samsung S99H	99.97	89.2
LG G6	99.3	83
Samsung S95F	100	89.3

Picture accuracy

A lower score is better. Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator.

SDR Delta-E

Samsung S99H

1.6

LG G6

1.4

Samsung S95F

2.61

0123

SDR Delta-E Data

Product	Value
Samsung S99H	1.6
LG G6	1.4
Samsung S95F	2.61

Input lag

Lower is better. Taken using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Video Signal Lag Tester.

Samsung S99H

4K 60Hz

9.5

1080p 120Hz

5

LG G6

4K 60Hz

8.9

1080p 120Hz

4.6

Samsung S95F

4K 60Hz

9.5

1080p 120Hz

0

012345678910

ms

HDR Filmmaker Mode Data

Product	4K 60Hz (ms)	1080p 120Hz (ms)
Samsung S99H	9.5	5
LG G6	8.9	4.6
Samsung S95F	9.5	N/A

The Samsung S95F does not have a 1080p 120Hz results as its results were registered before we started taking the 1080p 120Hz measurement

Samsung S99H review: Features

• NQ4 AI Gen 3 processor
• OLED Glare Free screen
• AI enhancements including AI Football Pro mode

The flagship Samsung OLED has typically used a QD-OLED panel in its 55-77-inch sizes in the past. Based on my testing measurements, I am certain that the 65-inch model I tested does use a QD-OLED panel, though Samsung doesn't confirm this either way. The 83-inch model will use an LG W-OLED panel, because QD-OLED panels don't come in that size.

The S99H features an anti-reflection, matte screen, called OLED Glare Free by Samsung, that is designed to reduce mirror-like reflections, and keep reflections from a light to minimum.

The S95H uses Samsung’s own NQ4 AI Gen 3 processor, which provides visual AI-based enhancements such as AI Motion Enhancer Pro, 4K AI Upscaling Pro and Auto HDR Remastering Pro, as well as the introduction of AI Soccer Mode Pro, designed to provide the best picture and sound for Soccer. AI audio enhancements include AI Sound and AI Sound Controller Pro.

For HDR support, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG are once again supported, but there is still no support for Dolby Vision. For enhanced audio formats, Dolby Atmos is supported, but not DTS.

The big design change with the S99H, compared to last year’s S95F, is the addition of a wider, silver frame, which Samsung calls a FloatLayer Design, which adds a couple of extra inches all around the TV. As a result, the One Connect Box is gone and ports have returned to the rear panel of the TV itself.

It’s worth noting that, as well as the four HDMI 2.1 ports on the rear panel, Samsung says that its Wireless One Connect Box can be added in addition to the other ports, giving you a total of eight HDMI 2.1 ports (four built-in, four on the optional box).

For sound, the S95H features a built-in 4.2.2-channel, 70W speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos: the same core specs as last year’s S95F. Sound features include Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+), Adaptive Sound Pro and Active Voice Amplifier Pro.

Gaming is well covered, with four HDMI 2.1 ports built-in that support 4K at up to 165Hz, full variable refresh rate options including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync, HGiG, HDR10+ gaming and auto low latency mode. There’s also a Game Hub where cloud-based applications such as Xbox and Luna can be accessed.

Samsung uses its own Tizen smart TV platform on the S99H, which features the aforementioned picture and audio AI tools as well as Generative Wallpaper and Art Mode, the latter of which is the same found on the brand’s The Frame art TVs.

Tizen supports a vast array of apps including Netflix and Prime Video, as well as UK based apps including BBC iPlayer and ITVX. For antenna/satellite based programming, Samsung uses its own Samsung TV Plus platform, rather than Freely or Freeview.

• Features score: 5 / 5

Samsung S99H review: Picture quality

• Spectacular colour display
• Effective anti-glare matte screen
• Strong contrast and inky black tones

The S99H boasts some strong brightness results, clocking in at 2,739 nits in Filmmaker Mode and 2,831 nits in Standard for peak HDR brightness. I used Movie mode for some of my testing, and this registered at 2,751 nits peak HDR. This is a big jump over 2,132 nits and 2,135 nits the S99H’s predecessor, the S95F, registered in the same HDR Filmmaker and Standard modes respectively.

Even fullscreen HDR brightness has had a nice boost, registering 449 nits in Filmmaker, 460 nits in Standard and 450 nits in Movie. This is a jump over the 380 nits and 390 nits the S95F achieved in Filmmaker and Standard mode.

The S99H’s has an anti-reflection, matte screen. If you’re viewing in a bright room, with unavoidable light, the S99H should be near the top of your shopping list. While I preferred the LG G6 over the S99H for actual content in bright rooms, the S95H is still the better TV for eliminating reflections outright.

The S99H demonstrates effective upscaling of SDR sources. Watching a mix of reality shows and Wimbledon via Samsung TV Plus, the S99H did a good job sharpening textures and giving colours a richer look. With HD sources, detail upscaling looked realistic and definitely had a 4K-like level of detail.

I tried out the Auto HDR Remastering Pro tool, and while it did boost brightness and sharpen textures, it all looked too artificial for my liking.

Moving to HDR sources, I first tested the S99H’s colour reproduction. Watching Speed Racer, a recent addition to my 4K Blu-ray testing rotation, the S99H delivered bright, bold colours that accurately captured the cartoon-style colours of the movie. Close-up shots of Speed Racer show vibrant reds in the interior of his cockpit and his ‘M’ logo, while later scenes show gorgeous, bright blues of clear skies and neon-like greens of a field in a schoolyard.

Comparing the S99H to the G6, I did find that the S99H made some reds a little pale and orange in appearance at times, but viewed in isolation, the S99H’s colors still looked superb. Moving to La La Land, Mia’s yellow dress was punchy, but accurate on the S99H and the gradient of pinks and purples in the sunsets looked realistic, but still lively.

It’s no real surprise that colors looked bold on the S99H, as I measured its HDR colour gamut coverage at 89.2% of the BT.2020 colour space and 99.97% of the DCI-P3 colour space: both outstanding results.

For darker movies, it was important to get the right picture mode for the situation. I found The Batman was too dim to watch in the default Filmmaker Mode with the lights on in our testing lab, but Movie mode worked fine. In a darker room however, Filmmaker Mode worked.

Throughout The Batman, the S99H’s strong contrast shone through, aided by its punchy highlights from its newfound brightness and rich black tones. Whether Batman stood in a dark subway or the camera cut to a ceiling-high, wide-angle shot of the Batcave, there was an excellent balance between light and dark tones.

I found during my testing that in Filmmaker Mode, the S99H was prone to black crush during the darker parts of the movie, resulting in detail loss. Batman’s armour in the aforementioned subway scene is obscured, as the S99H prioritises deeper blacks. This wasn’t as true in a ‘brighter’ dark movie, such as Alien: Romulus, where detail is more preserved, but there were still hints of black crush.

The S99H’s textures are crisp and 3D-like, no matter the content. Skin, clothing and objects all look lifelike, especially in HDR. I actually found I preferred the look of the S99H’s skin tones better than the G6 in my comparison of the two.

Finally, motion. The S99H demonstrated good motion throughout my testing, but I found it was best to set motion to 3 blur and 3 judder. Any higher, and motion looked artificial and unnatural. Going back to Speed Racer, the S99H did a good job handling the fast racing sequences as cars swerved from side-to-side. I did find there was some judder as commentators panned across the screen, but I found this on every TV I’ve tested with the disc so far.

I tried out the S99H’s AI Football Mode Pro and it was somewhat effective. The commentary was clearer and louder, the picture was more detailed and motion was smoother. If you don’t want to use any AI tools, then Standard picture mode with judder and blur set to 3 worked well.

• Picture quality score: 5 / 5

Samsung S99H review: Sound quality

• 4.2.2 channel, Dolby Atmos
• Great accuracy and clarity
• No DTS support

The S99H features a 4.2.2 channel, 70W speaker array and supports Dolby Atmos. There is however no DTS support. Along with its two sound modes, Standard and Amplify, there are AI Sound tools such as Adaptive Sound Pro and Active Voice Amplifier that can be used to adjust sound.

Watching Speed Racer with the S99H set to the Amplify sound mode, the S95H demonstrates solid bass and power, accurately delivering the rumble and revving of engines. Collisions as cars battle during races also have good impact, along with clear speech, even during the most hectic of races.

The S99H’s Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+) is superb for delivering precise sound placement. When Speed Racer grinds a rail in the opening race, the sound was clean and audible, despite other loud effects.

Trying out the S99H’s AI Sound mode, it adds some width to the soundstage, giving more volume to more subtle effects. However, I personally found that the AI Sound was a little more compressed and some power was compromised, so I preferred the default Amplify setting.

While overall the S99H’s built-in speakers did a good job, I still felt the sound was contained to the screen's width, and while there was some good delivery of Atmos effects, they again were lost in the mix. For a TV with this picture quality, I’d still recommend a soundbar at least for the full cinematic experience.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Samsung S99H review: Design

• Extended silver frame will be divisive
• Stand replaced with feet
• No One Connect Box included

Arguably the biggest talking point for the S99H this year is the physical design changes compared to last year’s S95F. The most notable is the FloatLayer Design, a silver frame that surrounds the TV, giving it a floating, 3D look. This is going to be a controversial addition and for some, it will mean a re-think on where to put the TV, since it adds width and height.

Personally, I’m not a fan, as I find the silver to be a bit distracting and when viewed off-centre, the frame looks odd.

The black, metal, pedestal stand from the S95F has been replaced by two plastic grey feet. While these feet are sturdy and easy to install, I still feel it’s a downgrade for a premium TV. The TV’s bezel is still sleek and ultra-thin, however, and gives it a high-quality feel (but is slightly spoiled by the frame behind it).

The other big change is the removal of the One Connect Box, an external box that housed the TV’s connections and processing. Now, the ports have returned to the rear panel on the TV itself.

For some, this will be welcome news. The S99H is compatible with the Wireless One Connect Box too, so if you liked the external connections, this is still an option you can add on — and not only that, the box can work in tandem with the TV’s built-in connections, meaning a potential eight HDMI 2.1 ports. Who needs an AVR?

The SolarCell remote returns once again, and while there’s been no real changes or additions to it, it’s still a light, sleek, USB-C and solar rechargeable remote that’s probably one of the better remotes on the market.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Samsung S99H review: Smart TV & menus

• One UI Tizen smart TV platform
• Vision AI features
• Home, Gaming, Art Hubs

The S99H uses Samsung’s own One UI Tizen smart TV platform, with the headline this year being the Samsung Vision AI Companion, which can be used to find related content to what you're watching, and answer general questions you may ask AI. Microsoft Copilot is supported.

Along with supporting major streaming apps such as Netflix and Prime Video, it also supports major UK streaming apps such as BBC iPlayer and ITVX. Samsung does not include Freely or Freeview, instead opting to use its own Samsung TV+ system for live streaming channels.

Tizen uses a number of different hubs as a way to organise relevant apps and content. Home houses streaming apps and content recommendations based on your viewing. Game houses all things gaming, including cloud based apps from the likes of Xbox. Daily hosts apps for office and health use, while Art hosts the Art Store, where artworks can be downloaded to be used as screensavers.

Art mode is a new addition, and basically means you can turn this into an artwork display, just like Samsung's The Frame TV. This may explain the new frame-like design. The Art mode costs a monthly subscription for access to all artworks.

Tizen is intuitive enough and easy to use. There is a space at the top of the home screen for banner ads, but this is common on most smart TV platforms nowadays. One thing I did find frustrating was that whenever I lingered on the home screen, Samsung TV+ would autoplay and overwrite whatever I was doing. There seemed to be no way to turn this off, short of deleting the app.

There are a good number of picture settings present, as well as AI-based tools for picture and sound settings.

• Smart TV & menus score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung S99H review: Gaming

• Four HDMI 2.1 ports
• FreeSync and G-Sync supported
• 9.5ms input lag time

The S99H is an excellent TV for gaming. Across its four HDMI 2.1 ports, it supports 4K 165Hz, full VRR including AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, HDR10+ gaming and ALLM. It also features a Game Hub, where gaming related content and cloud based gaming apps such as Xbox and Luna are supported.

The S95H’s gaming performance is smooth and responsive, thanks to its ultra-low, measured 9.5ms input lag time. As I dashed around a desert battlefield in Battlefield V playing at 4K 120Hz, snapping between targets and diving for cover, there was never any sign of judder from the S99H, which expertly handled the chaos.

With its strong colours, high brightness and powerful contrast, the S99H looks great while gaming too. During the same desert mission in Battlefield V, it did a superb job capturing the relentless heat of the African sun. Detail in weapons and textures of environments were crisp and refined throughout gaming as well.

• Gaming score: 5 / 5

Samsung S99H review: Value

• Premium OLED price
• Rivals are currently notably cheaper
• Great features and performance for the money

As a flagship OLED TV, the S99H carries a premium price tag. The 65-inch model I tested costs £3,199. This is £200 less than the launch price of last year’s S95F, which is some welcome news. However, the S99H’s main rival, the LG G6, costs £2,999 at the time of writing and has dropped to £2,699 at times. For £500 cheaper, the G6 is better value, but it does have the advantage of an earlier release date (April 2026). I am sure the S99H’s prices will drop in a similar fashion over time.

While the S99H is a premium price, it delivers the features and performance to justify it. It’s worth noting there is a slightly cheaper Samsung S95H model available (£3,299 for 65 inches) which looks similar to last year’s S95F. Do not confuse this model with the Samsung S95H model available in the US and Australia — that's actually the same TV as this S99H model.

Samsung told me the major differences between the UK S95H and the S99H models are no frame, lower brightness from the panel, and Wi-Fi 5 on the S95F vs the S99H’s Wi-Fi 6. However, those definitely aren't the only differences, because the S95H uses the One Connect Box too. We have asked Samsung if there are differences in the type of OLED panel used, and it refused to say. In any case, while the frame will be controversial, the higher brightness and better Wi-Fi are the extra £100, in my opinion.

At the time of writing, if you want a flagship Samsung OLED, a 65-inch S95F is still available for roughly £1,899, and while the S99H is an upgrade, the S95F is easily the best value option right now. Once the S95F goes out of stock, the S99H’s prices should lower and it’ll be a more-than-worthy successor.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung S99H?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also Consider

How I tested the Samsung S99H

• Reviewed in our TV testing room in varying lighting conditions
• Tested using both SDR and HDR sources
• Measurements taken using Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software

The first step in testing the S99H was to determine its best picture modes. I settled on three: Filmmaker Mode for dark-room movie viewing; Movie for bright-room movie viewing and Standard for sports and daytime TV.

After this, I began by testing the S99H's picture quality using both SDR (broadcast TV) and HDR (4K Blu-ray and streaming), focusing on colour, contrast, detail, upscaling and motion.

I also tested the S99H's sound quality using reference scenes from Speed Racer among other movies, and I tested its gaming performance using Battlefield V on Xbox Series X.

Once subjective testing was completed, I moved onto taking objective measurements. I did this using a Klein K-10A colorimeter (profile with a Jeti Spectral 15VA Spectroradiometer), a Murideo Six G 8K Metal test pattern generator and recorded measurements using Portrait Displays' Calman colour calibration software.

I started with brightness measurements, using white window patterns in sizes 1-100% in both SDR and HDR. The two primary results I focus on are peak (10%) and fullscreen (100%) brightness.

Next, I measured the S99H's colour and greyscale accuracy in SDR, and then measured its HDR colour gamut coverage, using the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 colour spaces, hoping for a result of over 95% in the DCI-P3 space.

We recently introduced two new tests into our measurements. The first is the HDR EOTF, which shows the accuracy a TV in both light and dark areas, suing 1,000, 4,000 and 10,000 nits targets. Then, there is the Spectral Power Distribution test, which measures how a TV handles colour recreation.

My final test was to measure the S99H's input lag using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Input Lag Tester. I measured both 4K 60Hz and 1080p 120Hz results in milliseconds (ms).

• First reviewed: July 2026
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

Samsung S95H review: Two minute review

Sitting at the top of Samsung’s 2026 TV lineup, the Samsung S95H is a flagship OLED TV that delivers excellent performance, particularly when it comes to picture, and a full set of features both for smart TV and for gaming. This could easily be one of 2026’s best TVs.

The S95H has a full list of features. Its NQ4 AI Gen 3 Processor comes with a stack of AI tools for picture, such as AI Motion Enhancer Pro and AI 4K Upscaling Pro, AI tools for sound such as Adaptive Sound Pro, and other AI tools for content recommendation. All of these fall under the Samsung Vision AI banner.

Picture quality on the S95H is superb. It delivers the highest brightness to date from a flagship OLED TV, along with vibrant, accurate colors, crisp textures and powerful contrast. Its anti-reflection screen is effective at eliminating reflections and while its Filmmaker Mode is a little dim in bright conditions, its Movie mode is a great brighter alternative.

Motion handling is mostly smooth and natural for both movies and sport, and while there are some hints of black crush in certain movies I tested, the S95H’s picture is still up there with the best OLED TVs.

The Samsung S95H delivers solid overall built-in sound. Its accuracy and precision are its strengths, with an excellent connection between the action on screen and the sound. The bass is punchy, there’s some nice impact and the soundstage can be wide. Still, this level of picture quality deserves a fuller sound, so I’d recommend one of the best soundbars or speakers.

Design is arguably the S95H’s most controversial topic this year. A new silver frame around the TV, called the FloatLayer Design, has been added and I personally found the frame to be distracting. While meant for wall-mounting, the extra width may cause space issues for some people and the handsome central pedestal stand of its predecessor has been replaced by two plastic feet. The One Connect Box has been removed, with ports returning to the TV itself — but you can connect Samsung Wireless One Connect Box to add more HDMI ports.

The S95H is a phenomenal gaming TV. Carrying four HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 165Hz, full VRR, HDR10+ gaming and ALLM, and boasting an ultra-low 9.5ms input lag at 60Hz, performance is smooth and the picture always looks great. Easily one of 2026’s best gaming TVs.

One UI Tizen is the S95H’s smart TV platform. It supports all major streaming apps, delivers pretty smooth performance and is easy to navigate. While there are some quirks that I found frustrating (namely auto-playing Samsung TV Plus), it’s still a good smart TV platform. Its Vision AI companion can be useful for those who enjoy AI, and while it doesn’t quite measure up to LG’s webOS, it’s still solid.

The 65-inch S95H I tested costs $3,399 / AU$5,299, putting it at the premium end of the TV market. While this is a high price, the S95H delivers features and performance to justify the price and it’s competitively priced with rivals, with the LG G6 65-inch costing $3,299 / AU$4,999. I expect prices for the S95H will drop shortly, with some deals already active in Australia at the time of writing.

Samsung S95H review: Prices & release dates

• Release date: June 2026
• 55-inch price: $2,299 / AU$3,999
• 65-inch price: $3,299 / AU$5,299
• 77-inch price: $4,299 / AU$7,999
• 83-inch price: $6,299 / AU$9,999

The Samsung S95H is the flagship OLED in Samsung’s 2026 TV lineup. It sits above the mid-range Samsung S90H and budget Samsung S85H. The 65-inch model I tested launched in June 2026 at $3,299 / AU$5,299.

In the few weeks since its release, prices have remained the same, though we have seen some price reductions in Australia, particularly in larger-sized models, with up to AU$1,500 off the 83-inch model. The S95H’s launch prices are cheaper than both its predecessor, the S95F, and the rival G6. However, the G6 has been out for longer, so its prices have dropped over time.

Samsung S95H review: Specs

Samsung S95H review: Benchmark results

Previous

1 / 4

Next

Brightness measurements

Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator. Click the test name to see more measurements and choose a test from the dropdown menu

HDR Filmmaker ModeHDR Standard ModeSDR Filmmaker ModeSDR Standard Mode

Samsung S95H

HDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

2739

HDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

449

LG G6

HDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

3004

HDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

451

Samsung S95F

HDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

2132

HDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

390

01,0002,0003,0004,000

nits

HDR Filmmaker Mode Data

Product	HDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window) (nits)	HDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen) (nits)
Samsung S95H	2739	449
LG G6	3004	451
Samsung S95F	2132	390

Samsung S95H

HDR Standard Mode (10% window)

2831

HDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

463

LG G6

HDR Standard Mode (10% window)

2469

HDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

385

Samsung S95F

HDR Standard Mode (10% window)

2135

HDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

380

07501,5002,2503,000

nits

HDR Standard Mode Data

Product	HDR Standard Mode (10% window) (nits)	HDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen) (nits)
Samsung S95H	2831	463
LG G6	2469	385
Samsung S95F	2135	380

Samsung S95H

SDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

220

SDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

219

LG G6

SDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

559

SDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

390

Samsung S95F

SDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window)

256

SDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen)

137

0150300450600

nits

SDR Filmmaker Mode Data

Product	SDR Filmmaker Mode (10% window) (nits)	SDR Filmmaker Mode (Fullscreen) (nits)
Samsung S95H	220	219
LG G6	559	390
Samsung S95F	256	137

Samsung S95H

SDR Standard Mode (10% window)

229

SDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

229

LG G6

SDR Standard Mode (10% window)

648

SDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

559

Samsung S95F

SDR Standard Mode (10% window)

372

SDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen)

199

0200400600800

nits

SDR Standard Mode Data

Product	SDR Standard Mode (10% window) (nits)	SDR Standard Mode (Fullscreen) (nits)
Samsung S95H	229	229
LG G6	648	559
Samsung S95F	372	199

HDR color gamut

Closer to 100% is better. Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator.

Samsung S95H

UHDA-P3

99.97

BT.2020

89.2

LG G6

UHDA-P3

99.3

BT.2020

83

Samsung S95F

UHDA-P3

100

BT.2020

89.3

0255075100

HDR Filmmaker Mode Data

Product	UHDA-P3 ()	BT.2020 ()
Samsung S95H	99.97	89.2
LG G6	99.3	83
Samsung S95F	100	89.3

Picture accuracy

A lower score is better. Taken using a colorimeter and test pattern generator.

SDR Delta-E

Samsung S95H

1.6

LG G6

1.4

Samsung S95F

2.61

0123

SDR Delta-E Data

Product	Value
Samsung S95H	1.6
LG G6	1.4
Samsung S95F	2.61

Input lag

Lower is better. Taken using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Video Signal Lag Tester.

Samsung S95H

4K 60Hz

9.5

1080p 120Hz

5

LG G6

4K 60Hz

8.9

1080p 120Hz

4.6

Samsung S95F

4K 60Hz

9.5

1080p 120Hz

0

012345678910

ms

HDR Filmmaker Mode Data

Product	4K 60Hz (ms)	1080p 120Hz (ms)
Samsung S95H	9.5	5
LG G6	8.9	4.6
Samsung S95F	9.5	N/A

The Samsung S95F does not have a recorded 1080p 120Hz results as its measurements was taken before we started doing this test

Samsung S95H review: Features

• NQ4 AI Gen 3 processor
• OLED Glare Free screen
• AI enhancements including AI Football Pro mode

The flagship Samsung OLED has typically used a QD-OLED panel in its 55-77-inch sizes in the past. Based on my testing measurements, I am certain that the 65-inch model I tested does use a QD-OLED panel, though Samsung doesn't confirm this either way. The 83-inch model will use an LG W-OLED panel, because QD-OLED panels don't come in that size.

The S95H features an anti-reflection, matte screen, called OLED Glare Free by Samsung, that is designed to reduce mirror-like reflections, and keep reflections from a light to minimum.

The S95H uses Samsung’s own NQ4 AI Gen 3 processor, which provides visual AI-based enhancements such as AI Motion Enhancer Pro, 4K AI Upscaling Pro and Auto HDR Remastering Pro, as well as the introduction of AI Soccer Mode Pro, designed to provide the best picture and sound for Soccer. AI audio enhancements include AI Sound and AI Sound Controller Pro.

For HDR support, HDR10+, HDR10 and HLG are once again supported, but there is still no support for Dolby Vision. For enhanced audio formats, Dolby Atmos is supported, but not DTS.

The big design change with the S95H, compared to last year’s S95F, is the addition of a wider, silver frame, which Samsung calls a FloatLayer Design, which adds a couple of extra inches all around the TV. As a result, the One Connect Box is gone and ports have returned to the rear panel of the TV itself.

It’s worth noting that, as well as the four HDMI 2.1 ports on the rear panel, Samsung says that its Wireless One Connect Box can be added in addition to the other ports, giving you a total of eight HDMI 2.1 ports (four built-in, four on the optional box).

For sound, the S95H features a built-in 4.2.2-channel, 70W speaker system that supports Dolby Atmos: the same core specs as last year’s S95F. Sound features include Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+), Adaptive Sound Pro and Active Voice Amplifier Pro.

Gaming is well covered, with four HDMI 2.1 ports built-in that support 4K at up to 165Hz, full variable refresh rate options including AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync, HGiG, HDR10+ gaming and auto low latency mode. There’s also a Game Hub where cloud-based applications such as Xbox and Luna can be accessed.

Samsung uses its own Tizen smart TV platform on the S95H, which features the aforementioned picture and audio AI tools as well as Generative Wallpaper and Art Mode, the latter of which is the same found on the brand’s The Frame art TVs.

Tizen supports a vast array of apps including Netflix and Prime Video and uses Samsung TV Plus for broadcast TV. It does however only have a built-in ATSC 1.0 tuner, rather than the latest ATSC 3.0.

• Features score: 5 / 5

Samsung S95H review: Picture quality

• Spectacular color display
• Effective anti-glare matte screen
• Strong contrast and inky black tones

The S95H boasts some strong brightness results, clocking in at 2,739 nits in Filmmaker Mode and 2,831 nits in Standard for peak HDR brightness. I used Movie mode for some of my testing, and this registered at 2,751 nits peak HDR. This is a big jump over 2,132 nits and 2,135 nits the S95H’s predecessor, the S95F, registered in the same HDR Filmmaker and Standard modes respectively.

Even fullscreen HDR brightness has had a nice boost, registering 449 nits in Filmmaker, 460 nits in Standard and 450 nits in Movie. This is a jump over the 380 nits and 390 nits the S95F achieved in Filmmaker and Standard mode.

The S95H’s has an anti-reflection, matte screen. If you’re viewing in a bright room, with unavoidable light, the S95H should be near the top of your shopping list. While I preferred the LG G6 over the S95H for actual content in bright rooms, the S95H is still the better TV for eliminating reflections outright.

The S95H demonstrates effective upscaling of SDR sources. Watching a mix of reality shows and Wimbledon via Samsung TV Plus, the S95H did a good job sharpening textures and giving colors a richer look. With HD sources, detail upscaling looked realistic and definitely had a 4K-like level of detail.

I tried out the Auto HDR Remastering Pro tool, and while it did boost brightness and sharpen textures, it all looked too artificial for my liking.

Moving to HDR sources, I first tested the S95H’s colour reproduction. Watching Speed Racer, a recent addition to my 4K Blu-ray testing rotation, the S95H delivered bright, bold colors that accurately captured the cartoon-style colours of the movie. Close-up shots of Speed Racer show vibrant reds in the interior of his cockpit and his ‘M’ logo, while later scenes show gorgeous, bright blues of clear skies and neon-like greens of a field in a schoolyard.

Comparing the S95H to the G6, I did find that the S95H made some reds a little pale and orange in appearance at times, but viewed in isolation, the S95H’s colors still looked superb. Moving to La La Land, Mia’s yellow dress was punchy, but accurate on the S95H and the gradient of pinks and purples in the sunsets looked realistic, but still lively.

It’s no real surprise that colors looked bold on the S95H, as I measured its HDR color gamut coverage at 89.2% of the BT.2020 colour space and 99.97% of the DCI-P3 color space: both outstanding results.

For darker movies, it was important to get the right picture mode for the situation. I found The Batman was too dim to watch in the default Filmmaker Mode with the lights on in our testing lab, but Movie mode worked fine. In a darker room however, Filmmaker Mode worked.

Throughout The Batman, the S95H’s strong contrast shone through, aided by its punchy highlights from its newfound brightness and rich black tones. Whether Batman stood in a dark subway or the camera cut to a ceiling-high, wide-angle shot of the Batcave, there was an excellent balance between light and dark tones.

I found during my testing that in Filmmaker Mode, the S95H was prone to black crush during the darker parts of the movie, resulting in detail loss. Batman’s armor in the aforementioned subway scene is obscured, as the S95H prioritizes deeper blacks. This wasn’t as true in a ‘brighter’ dark movie, such as Alien: Romulus, where detail is more preserved, but there were still hints of black crush.

The S95H’s textures are crisp and 3D-like, no matter the content. Skin, clothing and objects all look lifelike, especially in HDR. I actually found I preferred the look of the S95H’s skin tones better than the G6 in my comparison of the two.

Finally, motion. The S95H demonstrated good motion throughout my testing, but I found it was best to set motion to 3 blur and 3 judder. Any higher, and motion looked artificial and unnatural. Going back to Speed Racer, the S95H did a good job handling the fast racing sequences as cars swerved from side-to-side. I did find there was some judder as commentators panned across the screen, but I found this on every TV I’ve tested with the disc so far.

I tried out the S95H’s AI Soccer Mode Pro and it was somewhat effective. The commentary was clearer and louder, the picture was more detailed and motion was smoother. If you don’t want to use any AI tools, then Standard picture mode with judder and blur set to 3 worked well for sports.

• Picture quality score: 5 / 5

Samsung S95H review: Sound quality

• 4.2.2-channel speaker system with Dolby Atmos
• Great accuracy and clarity
• No DTS support

The S95H features a 4.2.2 channel, 70W speaker array and supports Dolby Atmos. There is however no DTS support. Along with its two sound modes, Standard and Amplify, there are AI Sound tools such as Adaptive Sound Pro and Active Voice Amplifier that can be used to adjust sound.

Watching Speed Racer with the S95H set to the Amplify sound mode, the S95H demonstrates solid bass and power, accurately delivering the rumble and revving of engines. Collisions as cars battle during races also have good impact, along with clear speech, even during the most hectic of races.

The S95H’s Object Tracking Sound+ (OTS+) is superb for delivering precise sound placement. When Speed Racer grinds a rail in the opening race, the sound was clean and audible, despite other loud effects.

Trying out the S95H’s AI Sound mode, it adds some width to the soundstage, giving more volume to more subtle effects. However, I personally found that the AI Sound was a little more compressed and some power was compromised, so I preferred the default Amplify setting.

While overall the S95H’s built-in speakers did a good job, I still felt the sound was contained to the screen's width, and while there was some good delivery of Atmos effects, they again were lost in the mix. For a TV with this picture quality, I’d still recommend a soundbar at least for the full cinematic experience.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Samsung S95H review: Design

• Extended silver frame will be divisive
• Stand replaced with feet
• No One Connect Box included

Arguably the biggest talking point for the S95H this year is the physical design changes compared to last year’s S95F. The most notable is the FloatLayer Design, a silver frame that surrounds the TV, giving it a floating, 3D look. This is going to be a controversial addition and for some, it will mean a re-think on where to put the TV, since it adds width and height.

Personally, I’m not a fan, as I find the silver to be a bit distracting and when viewed off-centre, the frame looks odd.

The black, metal, pedestal stand from the S95F has been replaced by two plastic gray feet. While these feet are sturdy and easy to install, I still feel it’s a downgrade for a premium TV. The TV’s bezel is still sleek and ultra-thin, however, and gives it a high-quality feel (but is slightly spoiled by the frame behind it).

The other big change is the removal of the One Connect Box, an external box that housed the TV’s connections and processing. Now, the ports have returned to the rear panel on the TV itself.

For some, this will be welcome news. The S95H is compatible with the Wireless One Connect Box too, so if you liked the external connections, this is still an option you can add on — and not only that, the box can work in tandem with the TV’s built-in connections, meaning a potential eight HDMI 2.1 ports. Who needs an AVR?

The SolarCell remote returns once again, and while there’s been no real changes or additions to it, it’s still a light, sleek, USB-C and solar rechargeable remote that’s probably one of the better remotes on the market.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Samsung S95H review: Smart TV & menus

• One UI Tizen smart TV platform
• Vision AI features
• Home, Gaming, Art Hubs

The S95H uses Samsung’s own One UI Tizen smart TV platform, with the headline addition this year being the Samsung Vision AI Companion, which can be used to find related content to what you're watching, and can answer general questions you may ask AI. Microsoft Copilot is supported.

Tizen supports major streaming apps such as Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV+ and more.

Tizen uses a number of different hubs as a way to organize relevant apps and content. Home houses streaming apps and content recommendations based on your viewing. Game houses all things gaming, including cloud based apps from the likes of Xbox. Daily hosts apps for office and health use, while Art hosts the Art Store, where artworks can be downloaded to be used as screensavers.

Art mode is a new addition, and basically means you can turn this into an artwork display, just like Samsung's The Frame TV. This may explain the new frame-like design. The Art mode costs a monthly subscription for access to all artworks.

Tizen is intuitive enough and easy to use. There is a space at the top of the home screen for banner ads, but this is common on most smart TV platforms nowadays. One thing I did find frustrating was that whenever I lingered on the home screen, Samsung TV+ would autoplay and overwrite whatever I was doing. There seemed to be no way to turn this off, short of deleting the app.

There are a good number of picture settings present, as well as AI-based tools for picture and sound settings.

• Smart TV & menus score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung S95H review: Gaming

• Four HDMI 2.1 ports
• FreeSync and G-Sync supported
• 9.5ms input lag time

The S95H is an excellent TV for gaming. Across its four HDMI 2.1 ports, it supports 4K 165Hz, full VRR including AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync, HDR10+ gaming and ALLM. It also features a Game Hub, where gaming related content and cloud based gaming apps such as Xbox and Luna are supported.

The S95H’s gaming performance is smooth and responsive, thanks to its ultra-low, measured 9.5ms input lag time. As I dashed around a desert battlefield in Battlefield V playing at 4K 120Hz, snapping between targets and diving for cover, there was never any sign of judder from the S95H, which expertly handled the chaos.

With its strong colors, high brightness and powerful contrast, the S95H looks great while gaming too. During the same desert mission in Battlefield V, it did a superb job capturing the relentless heat of the African sun. Detail in weapons and textures of environments were crisp and refined throughout gaming as well.

• Gaming score: 5 / 5

Samsung S95H review: Value

• Premium OLED price
• Competitive with other elite OLEDs
• Great features and performance for the money

As a flagship OLED TV, the S95H carries a premium price tag. The 65-inch model I tested costs $3,299 / AU$5,299, although I’ve seen offers in Australia dropping the same model to $AU4,799.

This puts its pricing right in line with its rival, the LG G6, which costs $3,299 / AU$4,999 for the 65-inch size. Really, it comes down to preference between the two and how important the differences such as total reflection reduction versus maintain black tones are.

Right now, if you want a flagship Samsung OLED, a 65-inch S95F is still available for roughly $2,499 (stock looks depleted in Australia) and while the S95H is an upgrade, the S95F is easily the best value option right now. Once the S95F goes out of stock, which looks to be sooner rather than later, the S95H’s prices will continue to fall, and it’ll be a more-than-worthy successor.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Samsung S95H?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also Consider

How I tested the Samsung S95H

• Reviewed in our TV testing room in varying lighting conditions
• Tested using both SDR and HDR sources
• Measurements taken using Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software

The first step in testing the S95H was to determine its best picture modes. I settled on three: Filmmaker Mode for dark-room movie viewing; Movie for bright-room movie viewing and Standard for sports and daytime TV.

After this, I began by testing the S95H's picture quality using both SDR (broadcast TV) and HDR (4K Blu-ray and streaming), focusing on color, contrast, detail, upscaling and motion.

I also tested the S95H's sound quality using reference scenes from Speed Racer among other movies, and I tested its gaming performance using Battlefield V on Xbox Series X.

Once subjective testing was completed, I moved onto taking objective measurements. I did this using a Klein K-10A colorimeter (profile with a Jeti Spectral 15VA Spectroradiometer), a Murideo Six G 8K Metal test pattern generator and recorded measurements using Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software.

I started with brightness measurements, using white window patterns in sizes 1-100% in both SDR and HDR. The two primary results I focus on are peak (10%) and fullscreen (100%) brightness.

Next, I measured the S95H's color and grayscale accuracy in SDR, and then measured its HDR color gamut coverage, using the DCI-P3 and BT.2020 color spaces, hoping for a result of over 95% in the DCI-P3 space.

We recently introduced two new tests into our measurements. The first is the HDR EOTF, which shows the accuracy of a TV's brightness across its range, using 1,000, 4,000 and 10,000 nits targets. Then, there is the Spectral Power Distribution test, which measures how a TV recreates colors.

My final test was to measure the S95H's input lag using a Leo Bodnar 4K HDMI Input Lag Tester. I measured both 4K 60Hz and 1080p 120Hz results in milliseconds (ms).

• First reviewed: July 2026
• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee

• An internal DHS readout shows analysts twice dismissed intrusion alerts on the HSIN information-sharing network as false positives
• This effectively gave hackers roughly three weeks of undetected access before a breach was declared on June 4 2026
• The as-yet anonymous attackers altered server files, ran malicious code through a legitimate web-server program, deleted logs, installed backdoors, and stole credential files

Hackers managed to find their way into the US Department of Homeland Security's primary information sharing platform, gaining unfettered access to the HSIN network that hosts unclassified information that multiple US agencies and international rely on.

The hack allowed the attackers to modify server files, run malicious code and steal credential files while installing backdoors and deleting logs to remove their digital footprint.

Their movements were flagged twice by automated systems and analysts in May 2026, before being dismissed as a false positive each time before an active breach was declared a month later.

Bad timing meets bad security practices?

The timing and specifics of this intrusion are, in particular, details which could prove to be embarrassing for the US government.

Not only does the HSIN network serve as a key intelligence-sharing tool for both domestic and international partners during the FIFA World Cup, but it also hosts information on other major events, such as America250.

The fact that the hack was picked up not once, but twice by flags before being dismissed as a false positive raises competency concerns for an instance that has already sparked interest, with the House Homeland Security Committee staff having already requested a briefing on the intrusion.

The DHS, for its part, is downplaying the incident, with a spokesperson confirming it but characterizing it narrowly: the department is "aware of a recent cyber incident involving a specific, unclassified legacy information sharing environment" and states there is no indication that classified networks were affected.

This viewpoint is countered by Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, who argued the platform's sensitivity outstrips its classification level, saying that the information in HSIN, "while not classified, is highly sensitive, and its exposure risks national security."

Investigators have yet to identify or assign blame to a particular hacking group or organization, adding to the chaos in determining motive. The hackers have deleted logs on servers, which only adds to the confusion here.

Major implications

The important question, perhaps, is not how the breach happened, but why confusion and mischaracterization of the security lapse allowed it to become a much bigger issue than it would have been if it had been contained from the start. Despite security flags and analysts highlighting the breach as early as the 15th of May, the hackers essentially had free rein to operate until at least the 3rd of June thanks to initial reports being dismissed as false positives.

HSIN as a platform handles event security planning, interagency coordination, threat information, and details on persons of interest. Whether any of that material was actually copied remains unknown. Investigators have not determined what, if anything, was exfiltrated, though the theft of credential files is itself telling: attackers who steal credentials are, almost by definition, trying to reach systems and accounts beyond their initial foothold.

This is not the first time HSIN has been compromised, with two documented previous incidents, including a compromised account in 2009 and misconfigured access in 2023, that have resulted in intentional and unintentional breaches of the network.

The issue is only exacerbated by the fact that the DHS, along with its cybersecurity agency, CISA, has absorbed significant workforce cuts over the past year, potentially weakening its defenses against sophisticated hacks that require manual human intervention or oversight to detect, even when the correct flags (which triggered as intended) are already in place.

Such manpower shortages have also been politically polarizing in the US Congress and may be highlighted when the department provides more detailed information about the hack in the coming days, even as the Pentagon deals with its own OPSEC issues that are also being aired in the same forum.

Via DefenseOne

If you want a projector for presentations, business, and streaming movies without paying 4K prices, this is the deal I recommend grabbing right now.

Super-bright compared to similarly priced models, the Xgimi Horizon is now $529 (was $899) at Wellbots — a $370 saving on a 1080p Android TV projector with built-in Harman Kardon sound.

Brightness is where this model earns its keep: 2200 ANSI lumens is well above what budget projectors in this range typically offer. That ANSI-lumen brightness (a more rigorous measurement than the inflated "LED lumens" figures some cheaper projectors use) is important. That gives it good use for business and presentations, since the picture holds up reasonably well even with some ambient light in the room, not just in a fully dark home theater setup.

Today's top Xgimi projector deal

One thing worth clearing up first: despite some marketing copy floating around describing this as a 4K projector, the Horizon's native resolution is 1920 x 1080 — this is Xgimi's entry-level Horizon, not the 4K "Horizon Pro" that sits above it in the line-up. If you specifically need native 4K, this isn't that projector. But for presenting or streaming Full HD content, 1080p from a bright, well-built projector at this price is a genuinely great deal.

The built-in Harman Kardon speaker setup is a real convenience feature — two 8W drivers with Dolby Audio and DTS-HD support mean you don't need a soundbar or external speakers just to get a watchable experience out of the box.

The setup features are also worth calling out: auto focus, auto keystone correction, and intelligent screen alignment handle the fiddly parts of projector setup automatically, and obstacle avoidance helps the image adjust around furniture in the frame rather than requiring a perfectly clear wall.

One honest caveat beyond the resolution: Our own testing of the pricier Horizon Pro found that if you're mostly watching Full HD content rather than 4K, the standard non-Pro Horizon is actually the smarter buy — which lines up well with what this deal is offering. Just don't expect the sharper 4K detail of Xgimi's higher-end models at this price.

For a bright, well-connected 1080p smart projector with genuinely good built-in sound, the Xgimi Horizon at $529 is a smart buy. And for other top-performing picks, see our guide to the best portable projectors.

• See all tech deals at Wellbots.

When I wrote my Ninja Creami Swirl review, I decided that the main reason that anyone should consider buying a Ninja Creami machine is so that they could make frozen treats that match their health goals. Whether you are trying to avoid processed foods, cut calories, reduce sugar, avoid dairy, or cater to any other specific dietary needs, any Ninja Creami model can make you a healthier version of ice cream or sorbet. I've tried tons of recipes, and here I'm sharing the ones I like best, specifically without artificial sweeteners. You can alter any recipe to best suit your own preferences.

Just fruit

Canned fruit makes the easiest possible sorbet. Just open a can of your favorite fruit, pour it in, freeze for 24 hours, and spin it on the Sorbet cycle. Canned fruit is so soft that there's no need to blend before freezing. I used a can of mangoes in 100% juice here. If you want more protein, you could add some yogurt or milk of your choice; I suggest a 2:1 fruit to dairy ratio.

I had a ton of watermelon left over from a recent party, so I threw some into the Ninja Creami container. Again, watermelon is a soft fruit so I didn't blend it first, but I did squash it down a bit to release some of the liquid so it would freeze as a solid block. The resulting sorbet had a lovely texture, but it really wasn't sweet enough for my palate so I'd recommend adding some honey before freezing. You could also add milk for some protein, or coconut water for extra electrolytes.

Banana date nut (or chocolate) ice cream

Here is the recipe I used, but there are many alterations you could make here. If you don't want nuts at all, you could use cacao powder instead of nut butter for a chocolate flavor. Or use both for a chocolate-nut option.

1/2 cup plain Greek (or vanilla) yogurt

2/3 cup water (or use milk for more protein)

2 tbsp nut butter (I use PB2 powder but any works)

1/2 large banana (or 2/3 small)

4-6 dates to taste (can skip if using flavored yogurt)

(optional) 1 tbsp hemp seeds

(optional) 1 scoop unflavored collagen powder

After blending and freezing for 24 hours, process this on the Frozen Yogurt setting. I used the hemp seeds and collagen for their health benefits, and they don't have an effect on the taste. You could skip those entirely if you like.

Pistachio ice cream

I think this is tasty, though a friend of mine remarked that while it had the texture and mouthfeel of ice cream, it "tastes healthy". Do with that what you will.

1/2 cup cottage cheese (I used 2%)

1/4 cup yogurt (I used plain nonfat Greek)

1/2 cup pistachios (I used salted but rinsed them off)

1/2 cup milk (I used almond)

4-8 dates (I used 8 small)

1/4 tsp almond extract

Honey/maple syrup/agave syrup to taste if needed (I used about 1/2 tbsp agave)

If you use unsalted nuts you’ll want to add a pinch of salt. You do need to blend this well before freezing. Taste it before you freeze it to see if you need to add honey or syrup. You want it to be slightly sweeter than you think you need, because frozen food tastes less sweet.

Process this on the Frozen Yogurt cycle. If you like, add more nuts and/or chocolate chips in the Mix-In cycle.

Açai bowl

One serving frozen açaí cubes or packet

1/2 banana

Handful berries

Juice or milk to fill line (if milk you’ll want to add a little honey for sweetness)

Blend, then freeze for 24 hours and spin on the Sorbet setting. Top with berries, seeds, nuts, granola, coconut, nut butter, cacao nibs, or whatever you like. I enjoyed mine with chia pudding, pumpkin seeds, and granola.

Real ice cream

If by healthy you mean wholesome, with no fake anything, just real ingredients, then this is the way. Credit goes to the New York Times. It's a plain base, but by adding vanilla (or any flavor) extract, cacao powder, fruit, or just about anything, including Mix-Ins, you can make any flavor you can imagine. While it's obviously not low in calories, fat, or sugar, it doesn't have any unpronounceable junk in it. It's absolutely delicious and rivals anything you can buy, anywhere.

Here is the basic recipe:

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1/8 tsp fine sea salt

6 large egg yolks

In a small pot, simmer the cream, milk, sugar, and salt until the sugar dissolves, about five minutes. Remove from heat.

In a separate bowl, whisk the yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks.

Whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees.) Strain through a fine-mesh sieve.

Pour mixture into the Creami containers no higher than the fill line; this will be enough for two containers. Freeze for 24 hours and process on the regular Ice Cream setting.

Don't be afraid to experiment

It's worth noting that the Ninja Creami is sort of magic in the sense that it creates a lovely texture, almost regardless of what you put into it. However, it doesn't magically change the flavor, as people often hope. If you don't particularly like what you're putting in (a protein shake, for example) hoping that it will taste better after the Ninja Creami treatment, well, you'll be disappointed. You get out what you put in.

The Ninja Creami lends itself to experimentation. Even following someone else's tried and true recipe doesn't guarantee you'll like the results. But keep trying, you'll find the recipes that suit your tastes and health preferences.

• Users says they've observed LG gaming monitors automatically installing unwanted software on PCs
• LG's terms of service warn that conversations may be "captured and processed" on TV with the latest version of webOS
• The terms say you must now warn guests they may be recorded "in compliance with applicable wiretapping… laws"

How smart should a smart TV be? According to LG's latest TV terms and conditions, the answer is "not quite smart enough to comply with wiretapping laws", because that's now your responsibility if LG captures the voice of a guest in your house through its AI voice services. Though the situation with LG monitors appears to be even more dramatic.

As Gamers Nexus reports, some LG monitors appear to be installing adware on Windows PCs without asking for permission: in addition to the LG Monitor App Installer, they also install McAfee Scam Detector.

LG's own app requires full access to all system resources, which potentially includes all your online activity, logins, hardware, location and more — while McAfee has a long history of being installed on devices as 'bloatware', and people are not reacting positively to suddenly finding it on their PC.

Comment from r/LGOLED

There may be a perfectly innocent explanation for all of this, but when big tech firms keep getting caught doing bad things because they thought they could get away with it, it's no wonder people are assuming the worst.

Comment from r/hardware

The bit that's causing consternation regarding smart TVs is part 6(d) of the new LG Electronics terms of service, headed Voice Recognition and Privacy Compliance.

As Notebookcheck's Hannes Brecher notes, the section states that it's your responsibility "to obtain all necessary consents from any third parties whose voices may be captured by the Product and to notify household members and guests that their voices may be captured and processed, in compliance with applicable wiretapping, eavesdropping, and privacy laws."

There are three ways around that. One, you can turn off all microphone-based features. Some people won't mind that, but they can be useful — especially asking it for settings you don't know how to find.

Two, you can avoid installing the latest software — but that means you won't get any security updates, which are important (to protect your privacy, ironically, among other things).

Or you can disable your TV's connection to the internet so it can't send information back, but that obviously makes it less useful, and will also disable the voice controls anyway.

I think the terms and conditions are an attempt at corporate ass-covering rather than something sinister: the preceding paragraph talks specifically about when "a product with voice recognition functionality is used" and it's possible that "family members, guests, children, and bystanders" might be overheard; if you're choosing to activate AI-based voice features then of course voices are going to be captured and processed in order for those features to work.

At the same time, it does seem broad enough to let LG use people's voices as AI inputs, rather than just accidental capture. And in the context of what LG's doing with PC monitors (not to mention AI training's very, ahem, casual relationship with consent and copyright), that's a worry — and people online increasingly have no tolerance for anything like this, as the responses on Reddit and Gamers Nexus' original YouTube video have shown.

We've approached LG for comment on these claims, and will update the story when we hear back.

Comment from r/hardware

• Reto Project has released a new Kodak-branded film camera, the Kodak EC35
• It’s a total point-and-shoot, with focus and all settings fixed
• However, it features a stylish sliding lens cover, in the style of the Olympus Mju from the early 1990s

A new Kodak film point-and-shoot camera has just been announced. And the reason for the tortured use of the passive voice in the previous sentence is that it isn’t actually made by Kodak.

The Kodak EC35 is a 35mm film camera made by Reto Project, a company that licenses the Kodak name to produce a range of both analog and digital cameras. While my personal favorite is the Kodak Snapic A1, a sleek little 35mm film, its most popular release by a considerable margin has been the little digital keychain camera, the Kodak Charmera.

Reto generally produces simple point-and-shoots, and the Kodak EC35 is exactly that. It takes 35mm film, and all its settings are fixed, with a 1/100sec shutter speed and f/10 aperture. The lens is fixed-focus — there isn’t even the option to switch from near to far focus like there was on the Snapic A1 — and is a 25mm optic. The camera also has a built-in flash.

What really caught my attention about this camera, however, is its design. Specifically, the fact that it has a gorgeously curved sliding lens cover that protects the optic when it’s not in use. It’s a chip off the Olympus film camera block — the iconic Olympus Mju immediately comes to mind.

All style, some substance

While I tend to associate sliding lens covers with the Olympus XA2 that’s sitting on my desk as I write this, with the curved design of its plastic body, the Kodak EC35 is pretty clearly meant to evoke the look and feel of the Mju.

And I also like the idea of having a lens cover in a practical sense — not just aesthetic! A lot of these cheap film compacts, like the Snapic A1, the Ektar H35N, etc, don’t have a lens cap or lens protection of any kind, meaning it’s easy for the lens to get dirty, dusty or bashed around. The cover also doubles as a shutter lock, meaning that the camera won't end up accidentally firing off shots while it's in your bag.

The EC35 is being released in an attractive range of colorways: Midnight Black, Vanilla White, Butter Yellow, Lavender, Powder Blue, Blush Pink and Avocado Green. I’m normally ‘give me black or give me death’ when it comes to cameras, but I’ll admit, that yellow version is pretty striking.

The EC35 is powered by a single AA battery (which is only needed for the flash), and weighs a pleasingly slender 102g. It’s available on its own for $34.99 / £35.99 (about AU$50) or in a bundle with a 24-shot roll of bright and colorful Kodak Ultramax 400 for $44.99 / £45.99 (about AU$65).

• Moonshot has launched a new AI model, Kimi K3
• It's surprisingly powerful, with the Chinese AI firm claiming it outguns most US rivals, save for a couple of exceptions
• Kimi K3 is open weight by nature, which poses a further threat to the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic

Moonshot, one of the emerging Chinese AI giants, has just revealed a new AI model which is seemingly up there with the likes of ChatGPT and Claude.

Bloomberg reports that Moonshot's new Kimi K3 model can equal the best that the US has to offer, at least based on the company's own benchmarking. Seemingly it outguns all rival AIs save for Claude Fable 5 (from Anthropic) and GPT-5.6 (from OpenAI).

Kimi K3 is a model with 2.8 trillion parameters, Bloomberg tells us, and Artificial Analysis ranked it ahead of Anthropic's Opus 4.8 on some benchmarks.

Moonshot also claims it beats Chinese rival Z.AI for coding tasks, and overall, the performance of the new model has caught the market by surprise.

Moonshot notes in a blog post that Kimi K3 is the "world's first open 3T-class model, designed for frontier intelligence across long-horizon coding, knowledge work, and reasoning."

Kimi K3 is available to use now. Bloomberg quotes Leonid Mironov, a portfolio manager at Gavekal Capital, as saying: "In my use, it's clearly the best Chinese model ever," noting that it's "brilliant" no less.

Analysis: a weighty threat

This is a threat to the big US players in the AI market for several reasons.

The key difference with Kimi K3 is that it's what's known as an "open weight" model, meaning anyone can grab the model to run it for themselves – from July 27, when the weights are released – without paying anything. It's not the same as open source, though, as while you can get the model, what you don't get to do is peek behind the scenes at how the model was trained (and on what data).

The other caveat is that running Kimi K3 takes some extremely powerful hardware; but nonetheless, for firms with the substantial wherewithal to do that, the pre-trained model is there for the taking at no cost. So, you can imagine how this open weight approach is threatening to the AI behemoths in the US (and this is presumably the point of going this way for the Chinese rival).

What will also be a concern to the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic is that Moonshot is attacking one of the most lucrative aspects of AI, with Kimi K3 being pushed for its coding skills. However, Moonshot is charging a lot more than Chinese rivals for those who want to use it, and in fact, it's priced around Claude Sonnet levels, so on a par with the current cutting-edge (frontier) AI models.

That in itself is a signal of the quality on offer here, and why Kimi K3 has raised quite a few eyebrows. As the competition around AI heats up, there are also concerns about whether that means safeguards will be increasingly overlooked in favor of faster development and progress (which has been a consistent source of worry for many as it is).

Adding to all the controversy are accusations of AI theft leveled by the US State Department at Chinese firms earlier this year, Moonshot included.

• A new Marvel's Wolverine trailer has been swarmed by angry PlayStation fans
• Users are sharing their disdain for Sony's decision to end physical disc production
• Many are sharing how glad they are that Wolverine will be available on disc

PlayStation fans angry with Sony's decision to end physical disc production have descended on the latest Marvel's Wolverine to make their thoughts known.

Insomniac Games just released a new cinematic trailer for the upcoming Marvel superhero game titled 'Ain't No Hero' ahead of the game's launch on September 15.

It looks awesome, but if you think fans are having a healthy discussion about how cool the game looks in the comment section, you'd be dead wrong.

As of writing, the video has over 8,000 comments, and the vast majority are from fans who aren't backing down from their efforts to make PlayStation reverse its decision to retire physical discs in 2028.

"You know who isn’t the hero? The killer of physical," reads the top comment, which has over 12,000 likes.

"Wolverine was really getting PHYSICAL in this trailer, he has such a DISCtinct presence," one user said, with another writing, "Wolverine's treasured photograph demonstrates the importance of physical media."

Thankfully, Marvel's Wolverine will be getting a physical copy at launch, so fans won't have to worry about that. The only games that will be affected are titles launching from January 2028 onwards, and fans are letting PlayStation know how they feel about it.

"Can't wait for my DISC copy to come in," one comment reads, followed by numerous more of the same variety, like, "Can't wait for my PHYSICAL COPY," and "Looking forward to getting a PHYSICAL edition."

Since sharing the announcement earlier this month, Sony has been notably quiet in the face of the backlash. To urge the company to reverse its decision, fans have also created a petition, which now has over 326,000 signatures.

According to analysts, despite pushback from fans, the PlayStation maker won't reverse its decision because "digital is just too lucrative."

• Group‑IB uncovers ClickLock, a new macOS‑focused infostealer using aggressive social engineering by spamming password prompts and terminating key apps every 210ms until victims comply
• Once credentials are obtained, it exfiltrates browser data, crypto wallets, password manager entries, FTP configs, and device info via Telegram Bot API
• Active since May 2026, spotted in 33 countries (mostly Europe), distributed via ClickFix campaigns, and initially undetected by security vendors until recently

Security researchers from Group-IB have uncovered a new infostealer targeting primarily macOS users in Europe.

Dubbed ClickLock, it is more of an annoying social engineering mechanism rather than a full-blown malware variant, constantly popping up a login prompt on the victim’s device, until they finally comply and share the credentials.

Every 210 milliseconds it terminates key apps on the device (Finder, Dock, TErminal, etc.), essentially making it useless. At the same time, it keeps prompting a password dialog on the screen, making sure the victim can do nothing but provide the credentials.

Targeting Europeans

The loop is set to continue for more than three straight days, or until the victim folds.

After getting the keys to the kingdom, the malware gets to work and starts exfiltrating valuable information.

This includes data from key browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and others), saved logins, cookies, autofill data, and other browser information, data linked to cryptocurrency wallets and extensions, encrypted wallet vault material that can be cracked off-site, data from password managers, cached cryptocurrency addresses across EVM, Bitcoin, Solana, TRON, TON, and Stacks, shell histories, FileZilla FTP configuration and recent-server data, and basic device information.Everything is then packaged into a .ZIP archive and exfiltrated via a Telegram Bot API.

Group-IB says the campaign has been active since at least May 2026, so it’s been active for a few months now. A researcher submitted a variant to VirusTotal in early June, but it remained undetected by all security vendors until recently, Group-IB says.

So far, it has been spotted in 33 countries, more than half of which are in Europe, it was also added. The malware is most likely being distributed via a ClickFix social engineering campaign, and has not been tied to any particular threat actor.

RugOne Xlink 7: 30-second review

The RugOne Xlink 7 wants to solve an old problem in a new way. Traditional walkie-talkies are brilliant until you walk out of range. Hills block them. Buildings block them. Distance blocks them. The Xlink 7 sidesteps all of that by using 4G instead of short-range radio, so two or three people can stay in touch across a city, a country, or, in theory, the whole planet, as long as there's signal.

That idea alone makes it worth a look. Add a genuinely tough build, IP68 and IP69K rated, plus MIL STD 810H certification, and you have a device that will survive rain, dust, a drop, or a dunking, all while weighing just 84g. It comes loaded with sensible extras too. A wireless PTT (push-to-talk) remote means you never have to fumble for the unit itself while riding or climbing. An emergency SOS mode, backed by GPS, GLONASS and Beidou positioning, can sound an alarm and share your live location with five quick presses. There's even a basic AI assistant for weather checks and settings, and a noise cancellation system tuned for wind and speed.

None of that comes without trade-offs, though. The biggest one is that this is a cellular device, not a true radio, so it lives and dies by 4G coverage. Head somewhere genuinely remote, deep countryside, mountains, open water, and it becomes a very expensive paperweight. A proper VHF or UHF handset, or a satellite communicator, will keep working exactly where the Xlink 7 cannot. There's no screen either, so every bit of feedback comes through LED colours and beeps, which takes some getting used to. Group calls are capped at three people and thirty minutes, which will frustrate anyone hoping to coordinate a larger crew.

So who is this for? Cyclists, hikers, skiers and runners who mostly stay within reach of a network but want a proper safety net and a simple way to stay in touch with a partner or small group. It might also work for parents keeping tabs on older kids, but surely they’d have phones. It could be an easy panic button for lone workers, as long as they’re not underground.

It's less convincing for anyone heading truly off-grid, where a satellite device or traditional radio still makes more sense, as some of the best rugged phones I've tested already have. Think of the Xlink 7 as a rugged companion for populated wilderness rather than true remoteness, and it starts to make more sense.

RugOne Xlink 7: price and availability

• How much does it cost? $159
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from RugOne or via an online retailer

The RugOne Xlink 7 is available direct from RugOne's global store, on Amazon.com for $159.99, and on Amazon.co.uk for $139.99.

Unless I’m mistaken, the RugOne Xlink 7 launched its Kickstarter campaign in June 2026, with a Super Early Bird duo pack priced from $159.99 against a stated standard retail of $299.98 for the same pack, a 47 per cent discount.

Coverage on a popular news site said it has cleared the Engineering Verification and Design Verification stages and was, at the time of writing, running final Production Validation Test builds ahead of mass shipping from August 2026. But that plan evidently wasn’t correct or got changed, because it's already available to buy now.

To be crystal clear, I’m not a fan of companies that don’t need the money running Kickstarter campaigns as marketing exercises, and the way that this one was able to move from announcement to product and retail in a matter of weeks gives the true picture away. That reality being the Xlink 7 was probably finished and in production even before the Kickstarter ever began.

In the bundle that most purchasers will choose, they get a SIM card that works in 41 countries, and that will work for a year. No price has yet been revealed for extending the SIM contract at this time, but you can just buy a data-only SIM for your country and use that instead.

In most countries, this would be a no-brainer based on cost, but if you live in a region where mobile providers must approve each device that connects, it might be an issue.

Depending on how you intend to use this hardware, the price might be seen as competitive or excessive.

Compared to a proper satellite-based communicator, like the Garmin inReach Mini 2 ($509.99), it might seem a bargain. But the Garmin will work in practically any geographic location, and doesn’t need cell service.

Not needing a cell service or a SIM card, Motorola makes an extensive range of walkie-talkies, like the Motorola Solutions Talkabout T475 Extreme. A two-pack of those is only $94.99, and they use FRS radio frequencies, can receive NOAA weather alerts and will work for up to 12 hours on a charge.

There are dozens of brands selling walkie-talkie designs, some using Mesh technology that generally undercut the RugOne Xlink 7, typically offering two handsets for less than the price of one Xlink 7.

But there is an even cheaper choice, and that’s to use Zello on your existing smartphone, which costs precisely nothing. As they say, competing with zero isn’t easy.

Overall, there are some cute features on the RugOne Xlink 7 that might attract some customers, but since they don’t have a fallback technology when there is no 4G service, they seem overpriced.

• Value score: 3/5

RugOne Xlink 7: Specs

RugOne Xlink 7: Design

• Tough and tiny
• Lots of buttons
• A box full of accessories

The Xlink 7 is a small, octagonal puck that RugOne compares to a chunky earbud case. At 84g and just under 64mm tall, it disappears onto a backpack strap or handlebar far more easily than a traditional VHF or UHF radio ever could. The body mixes plastic with rubber seals and metal buttons, and the whole thing carries an IP68 rating for a 1.5 metre dunking and an IP69K rating against pressure washing, on top of MIL STD 810H certification. That is a serious durability claim for a device this size, and on paper, that puts the Xlink 7 ahead of most consumer electronics in this price bracket.

There is no screen. Every status update, battery level, signal state, Bluetooth pairing, comes through a bank of seven LEDs and a set of audio tones. That keeps the design simple and the waterproofing easier to guarantee, but it also means a genuine learning curve before all those beeps and colours become second nature.

The one that most owners might easily recall is the built-in AI, as even at the lowest volume settings, it shouts information at you like a drill sergeant. Maybe on a windswept hillside or next to a roaring rapids, this might be good, but in less noisy spaces, it seems excessive and bludgeoning.

Since there is no screen, all the modes and features of the RugOne Xlink 7 are activated using a series of buttons, and there are some simple back-lit icons to provide basic feedback. These tell you if a voice call is active, Bluetooth is being used, battery status, the device is on, volume and mute, and mobile signal strength. But most of these are superfluous, since if you change the volume, for example, the unit will shout at you the current volume setting.

Buttons are provided for powering on, AI, Group functionality and initiating or answering calls.

A single button activates an on-device AI assistant for simple Q&A, weather checks, and device settings, and RugOne pairs a dedicated audio chip with an AI noise-reduction algorithm rated at a peak of 55dB, tuned for conditions up to 40km/h on skis or 30km/h on a bike, according to RugOne. But this technology appears to be deactivated when you’re not on skis or a bike, when you get put on full audio blast anyway.

Rubber plugs cover both the SIM card slot and the USB port, which made me wonder why they weren’t together under a single plug. And, the other feature worth mentioning is that there is a TorchX flashlight, which might become useful if you’ve not reached your basecamp before nightfall.

For those wondering how you configure some of the more complicated aspects, that’s all done through a smartphone app. So, if you want to change those, you’ll need to bring a smartphone, which somewhat undermines the function of the RugOne Xlink 7.

One impressive detail about this device is all the supporting hardware that comes in the box, which includes long and short Velcro straps, a sports armband, a magnetic belt clip, a lanyard and a Bluetooth-connected talk button.

Design score: 3.5/5

RugOne Xlink 7: Hardware

• Multi-person communication
• ASR1609S SoC
• 1,050mAh cell battery

Available in ‘Sports Black’ or ‘Sand Dune’, the RugOne Xlink 7 has some interesting twists on the normal 4G communication model.

These include the ability to have group conversations between three Xlink 7, with each call limited to 10 minutes, or with three connected up to 30 minutes.

Where I’m slightly confused is that in some literature, three users are mentioned, and in others, up to five people can talk. But since I only received two of these to test, I can ascertain which number is correct.

That said, the idea of five people on the same line just sounds like a recipe to step on other people's speaking, so if it only supports three people, it might be more practical.

The platform that this was built on is the ASR1609S, a cost-effective, high-performance 4G LTE IoT baseband processor manufactured by ASR Microelectronics.

This SoC is a single ARM Cortex-R5 core running at 614 MHz, integrating a modem, Bluetooth 5.2, GNSS, power management, 8GB PSRAM, and 8GB Flash in a single assembly.

Positioning comes from a combination of GPS, GLONASS and Beidou, and an emergency SOS mode is triggered by five rapid presses of the action button. That sounds like a loud siren to alert others nearby, automatically calls pre-set emergency contacts and shares a live location through the companion app.

For hikers, cyclists and lone workers, this is arguably a bigger selling point than the group calling itself. But this again assumes that everyone wearing one of these devices is also conveniently carrying their phone.

RugOne quotes up to 87 hours of standby, 24 hours of typical use, or 10 hours of continuous talk time from the 1,050mAh cell. Those are manufacturer figures rather than independently measured ones, and if you are on the edge of cell service, you might find the battery wears out faster than expected.

I can’t be overly critical of the hardware, since it was made to both fit inside the limited confines of the RugOne Xlink 7 but also to do a specific job that isn’t as general as you might expect from a Smartphone SoC.

But, this SoC didn’t include the technology for PTT-type communications without 4G, which is unfortunate, since most mobile phones can do that trick, and would last longer on battery than the Xlink 7 can.

• Hardware score: 3/5

RugOne Xlink 7: Final verdict

The RugOne Xlink 7 is a difficult call, since I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with the hardware or the design, except possibly how shouty the AI is.

That said, I strongly suspect that this design was originally intended to support conventional or mesh wireless technology alongside 4G functionality, until someone realised that might affect future income from SIM sales.

What we ended up with is a walkie-talkie that’s useless when you’re away from cell service, which is problematic. Given that lots of cheaper devices will work anywhere without 4G, it brings into question whether the RugOne Xlink 7 is the right product for you.

While I accept that most walkie-talkies can’t link two people on different continents, most can connect those people 100M apart on a mountain or in a jungle, and that’s not a guarantee with this hardware.

RugOne need to put Zello-compatible wireless in the Xlink 8, and make the price significantly more competitive.

Should I buy a RugOne Xlink 7?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more ruggedized devices, we've reviewed the best rugged tablets, the best rugged laptops, and the best rugged hard drives

• Bethesda Game Studio has shared a major update
• The announcement confirms two Fallout remasters in addition to further Starfield support
• The developer is also teaming up with Obsidian Entertainment for a new Fallout title

Bethesda Game Studios has just shared a major update, confirming that it will continue supporting Starfield, and is currently working on remasters of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.

"We love making these worlds as much as you love playing in them. Today, we want to share what's next," begins the latest post on the Bethesda website.

It adds that the company is "investing more deeply in the worlds players love" — but what exactly does that mean?

First, the developer says its latest release, 2023's Starfield, will continue to receive updates and support throughout the coming year with gameplay improvements, new story content, and "additional updates" planned.

The popular Fallout series is also receiving plenty of love. Fallout 5 is currently in development, though it's still a "long-range destination" in the early phase of production that will likely take many years to complete. In the meantime, however, players will be able revisit the worlds of both Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas in the just-announced remasters.

There's no word on when those will release either, but I imagine they're not too far away — particularly that Fallout 3 remaster, which has been rumored to be in the works for years.

The post goes on to confirm that Bethesda is partnering with New Vegas developer Obsidian Entertainment on a "new Fallout project". This is presumably the New Vegas sequel teased in reports earlier this month that suggested the two teams were collaborating on a new title.

Of course, upcoming RPG The Elder Scrolls 6 is also mentioned, and described as the studio's "primary development focus today." As expected, however, a release date is not mentioned, and the title is still likely half a decade away.

All of this comes just over a week after Microsoft announced that Xbox, Bethesda's parent company, would be undergoing the "most significant restructure" in its history with a total of 3,200 jobs lost over the coming months.

In an email sent to Xbox employees, CEO Asha Sharma said that while the move would be "painful" it would allow the brand to to focus on "higher priority projects" with its Activision, Bethesda, King, Mojang, and Xbox Game Studios teams — a strategy already evident in the high-profile releases announced today.

I've spotted a top deal on a business-grade desktop replacement with genuine multi-core power and an upgrade path built in, with the the HP Elite Mini 800 G9 Business Desktop Computer PC is down to $1100(was $1799) at Amazon.

Now, I will say, this isn't the right mini PC if you're looking for a comfortable home office pick that'll power through Word, Excel, and a bunch of Chrome tabs.

As part of HP's line, this is a desktop-class mini computer that's going to better suited for businesses, IT management, running multiple virtual machines, or more demanding office workloads.

Today's top mini desktop PC deal

The i7-14700 is the real headline here. Unlike the mobile or low-power "T-series" chips that populate most mini PCs, this is a full 65W desktop-class processor with 20 cores and 28 threads — a genuinely different tier of multi-core performance without the usual mini PC compromises.

That desktop-class CPU inside such a small chassis (HP quotes roughly 7 x 7 x 1.3 inches) does mean cooling has to work harder than in a full-size tower, so expect the fans to spin up audibly under sustained heavy load — a reasonable trade-off for the processing power packed into this footprint, but worth knowing if you need near-silent operation at your desk.

Both the RAM and storage are genuinely upgradeable here, which isn't a given at this size: two SO-DIMM slots support up to 64GB of DDR5, and dual M.2 slots mean you can add a second drive rather than being stuck with what shipped in the box. That upgrade path is a meaningful point in this machine's favor over sealed or single-slot mini PC competitors.

Being an HP Elite-series business machine also brings enterprise features that consumer mini PCs typically skip: HP Wolf Security, BitLocker and Windows Defender support baked into Windows 11 Pro, remote management tooling, and vPro-adjacent manageability features that make this a sensible pick for IT departments doing fleet deployments, not just individual buyers.

One note: Intel UHD 770 integrated graphics are fine for office work, multiple displays, and light creative tasks, but this isn't a machine for gaming or GPU-accelerated workloads — HP does offer higher-end Elite Mini configurations with discrete graphics if that's a requirement, but this configuration isn't one of them.

For a business-grade desktop replacement with genuine multi-core power and an upgrade path built in, the Elite Mini 800 G9 at $1,099.99 is a strong buy.

More mini PC deals

• See all computers & accessories at Amazon

• Kaspersky uncovers GoSerpent, a long‑running campaign on Southeast Asian government systems using a backdoor, RAT (Stowaway), and exfiltration tool (TmcLoader)
• Attackers showed extreme patience, waiting weeks before deploying secondary tools to evade detection and outlast log retention policies
• Attribution remains uncertain, but overlaps with past TetrisPhantom operations; defenders are urged to review shared IoCs to detect compromise

Security researchers Kaspersky discovered a five-year-old piece of malware that’s been hiding on government computers in the Southeast Asian region, harvesting secrets and other actionable intelligence.

The company analyzed a campaign called GoSerpent, which comprises of a backdoor of the same name, a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) called Stowaway, and a two-stage data exfiltration tool called TmcLoader.

The backdoor was first used in 2021, it was said, meaning it was successfully hiding for half a decade. This was achieved, among other things, with plenty of patience and careful planning.

TetrisPhantom

“What stands out about GoSerpent is the deliberate dwell time,” Noushin Shabab, Lead Security Researcher in Kaspersky GReAT, explained.

“Usually, attackers want to move quickly once they get a foothold, but this group drops the initial backdoor and waits. They let the dust settle for weeks before deploying their secondary exfiltration tools like TmcLoader. That kind of patience is a calculated move designed to outlast standard log retention policies and automated security sweeps, making it incredibly difficult for defenders to connect the initial infection to the eventual data theft."

The researchers could not conclusively attribute this campaign to any particular threat actor but did say that it has a lot in common with older campaigns conducted by the TetrisPhantom actor, including victimology, technical capabilities, and operational methods.

Kaspersky analyzed TetrisPhantom back in 2023, when it saw the group compromising secure USB drives used to provide encryption for safe data storage. This campaign also targeted government entities in the Asia-Pacific region (APAC) but, at the time, it was a newly discovered threat actor with no overlap with other known groups.

• The US Treasury sanctioned First VPN Service for aiding ransomware gangs
• Complying with the sanctions, the .ME registry wrongly suspended Telegram's entire t.me domain
• The domain was restored roughly 19 hours later after Telegram CEO Pavel Durov flagged the issue online

If you clicked a Telegram link on Monday and stared at a blank screen, you weren't alone. Every shortlink starting with 't.me' suddenly vanished from the global internet, breaking group invites, profile shares, and channel links for roughly a billion users worldwide.

But the outage wasn't caused by a technical glitch or a targeted cyberattack. Instead, it was the unintended collateral damage of a US government crackdown on a cybercriminal proxy network.

On July 13, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the administrators of a rogue proxy network called First VPN Service (1VPNS), aiming to cut off infrastructure used by ransomware operators.

While anyone shopping for the best VPN expects privacy, First VPN actively courted cybercriminals with promises of total anonymity, leading European law enforcement to pull the plug on the service earlier in May.

As part of the new sanctions, the US Treasury published a list of web addresses associated with the VPN. Buried in that list was a link to First VPN's public Telegram support channel: t.me/FirstVPNService.

A sledgehammer to crack a nut

Because top-level domains operate under strict international compliance rules, domain registrars must act quickly when sanctioned entities use their infrastructure.

Identity Digital, the company managing the technical backend for the .me domain, confirmed that the t.me domain had been blocked at the request of OFAC.

However, because a domain registry cannot selectively disable a specific webpage or channel path — like a single Telegram group — the Montenegro-based registry Domain.Me applied a "serverHold" status to Telegram's entire t.me domain.

This sweeping action effectively erased the domain from the global Domain Name System (DNS). The core Telegram app continued to function, and the older telegram.me domain remained active, but the shortlinks the messaging platform is built upon went entirely dark.

The swift resolution

The sudden shutdown prompted immediate action from Telegram's leadership.

Unaware of the backend domain hold, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov took to X to publicly ask the registrar for an explanation: "Hey @domainME, t.me links stopped working. Can you look into it?"

Once the sanctions issue was identified, Telegram scrubbed the offending channels from its platform. The registry operator subsequently verified the compliance and brought the domain back online.

"On 13 July, 1VPNS was included as a sanctioned entity by the US Department of the Treasury. A Telegram channel using the t.me domain was among 1VPNS identified infrastructure. Accordingly, the t.me domain was suspended," domain.Me confirmed in a statement following the outage.

The registrar clarified that normal service resumed roughly a day later, after Telegram provided confirmation that it had removed its links and affiliations with 1VPNS. "We appreciate Telegram's prompt cooperation in resolving this matter," domain.Me added.

While the outage is now resolved, the incident highlights a glaring vulnerability in the modern web, where a single URL swept up in a government sanctions list can inadvertently silence an essential communication channel for millions.

• Tiny drone uses sonar and AI to hunt mosquitoes autonomously
• Former MBDA engineer develops insect-killing drone with missile-inspired technology
• Tornyol drone detects small objects using extremely low transmission power

Alex Toussaint, a former engineer at the missile manufacturer MBDA, has built a 40g autonomous drone that hunts and kills mosquitoes using AMD ultrasonic sonar.

The system pairs phased-array microphones with onboard AI to detect insects mid-flight, then intercepts them before they enter a designated zone.

His startup, Tornyol, backed by Y Combinator, prices the current prototype at $1,100, though mass production could eventually lower that cost.

Early test results

In an early trial, the company reported that the drone detected a 2 mm-wide plastic ball from 30 centimeters using only 1/1300th of planned transmitting power.

Toussaint said the result validated the signal-to-noise budget and moved the project closer to its stated three-meter mosquito tracking goal.

The team also announced its first air-to-air kill, when the autonomous drone intercepted a flying moth during an outdoor test flight.

Toussaint called it "a big step towards completely eradicating mosquitoes," describing the milestone as central to his company's stated long-term mission.

To use the drone, a user first defines the protection area on the base-station map before starting the mission, requiring no installation or wiring.

A single Tornyol unit is designed to protect outdoor or indoor areas covering up to 5 acres in size.

Battery life on the current prototype runs to three minutes of flight time on a single charge before recharging.

Once the battery runs low, the drone automatically returns to its charging station and begins recharging.

The recharge process takes about 30 minutes, after which the unit resumes its patrol schedule automatically.

For continuous protection throughout the day, the system intelligently manages and adjusts patrol schedules over time.

Hardware, deployment, and design choices

The drone uses TDK InvenSense T3902 MEMS microphones for its sonar array and consumes less than 5W of power, within USB 3.0 limits.

The microphone array relies on an FPGA to process incoming acoustic data from dozens of sensors in real time.

Current estimates imply that the prototype could be mass produced for a few hundred dollars, though a scaled-down version might cost less.

Toussaint’s background at MBDA, a European missile maker, suggests the underlying sonar and interception system could extend into military applications.

Small, autonomous drones capable of acoustic detection and aerial interception could intercept enemy drones just as they intercept mosquitoes.

Neither Toussaint nor Tornyol has publicly addressed any defense, surveillance, or dual-use potential linked to the underlying sonar technology so far.

On Tornyol‘s website, the drone is marketed as a silent, chemical-free alternative to pesticides, with a refundable $100 deposit reserving a spot.

Buyers can choose a subscription plan, which can be cancelled at any time, or a one-time purchase that grants outright ownership with no recurring fees.

Owned units come with a one-year warranty covering accidental damage, while subscription units are replaced for free if a drone breaks.

Across Europe, “tech sovereignty” is rising up the agenda. For business leaders, however, the implications are practical rather than political. At its core, sovereignty is about control, resilience and trust in the systems that underpin modern operations.

The European Commission’s recently announced technology sovereignty package reflects this shift. With proposals including the Chips Act 2.0, the Cloud and AI Development Act, an EU Open-Source Strategy and a Strategic Roadmap for Digitalisation and AI in Energy, it is intended to strengthen Europe’s digital independence and resilience.

That matters because IT infrastructure is now vital infrastructure. Cloud platforms, connectivity, AI systems and cyber security capabilities are becoming as essential to economic growth and national stability as energy and transport networks.

For years, digital transformation was driven by globalization, scale and efficiency, with organizations prioritizing rapid innovation, cost optimization and access to global technology ecosystems.

But cyber-attacks, regulatory divergence and geopolitical uncertainty have exposed a fundamental reality: efficiency without resilience creates fragility.

From efficiency to resilience

Today, organizations are focused not only on whether systems can withstand cyber-attacks, but whether they can keep operating if a provider, jurisdiction or supply chain becomes unavailable.

Protection and prevention remain essential. But resilience also depends on where systems are hosted, who controls critical infrastructure, how data moves across jurisdictions and whether essential services can be restored quickly during disruption.

Sovereignty is best understood as the ability to continue functioning with confidence when external conditions change. This is particularly relevant for organizations delivering critical services.

Why this matters for the UK

The UK faces many of the same pressures as Europe: rising cyber threats, tighter regulation and rapid AI adoption. But it also has real strengths, including a mature cyber security sector, world-leading professional services expertise, and a strong reputation for governance and innovation.

Those strengths give the UK a significant opportunity to position itself as a trusted partner for secure, resilient digital infrastructure. Realizing it, however, will require continued investment in infrastructure, skills and technology ecosystems.

The UK already has strong foundations. Within Vodafone Business, for example, security services for government and defense customers date back to 1989, underlining the long-term importance of trusted communications and secure operations.

Sovereignty must include AI

The sovereignty conversation is no longer limited to networks, cloud computing infrastructure or cyber security; it now extends to AI itself.

The UK government’s recent £400 million commitment to next-generation AI chips reinforces that ambition and signals a more deliberate push to build sovereign capability in the technologies that will underpin future competitiveness and resilience.

Government investment in sovereign computing capability and broader AI infrastructure also signals recognition that access to advanced computing resources is becoming a strategic national asset.

This matters because AI is rapidly becoming foundational infrastructure. Organizations are embedding it into business operations, cyber security programs, customer engagement and decision-making.

For businesses, sovereignty is not about limiting innovation. It is about ensuring critical capabilities can be developed, governed and accessed in ways that support long-term economic resilience and trust.

Connectivity as critical infrastructure

One of the most important and often overlooked aspects of sovereignty is connectivity. As organizations rely more on AI services, IoT devices and real-time data exchange, networks become the foundation of operational resilience.

If connectivity fails, everything built on it is affected, from customer services and supply chains to communications and core business operations.

That is why investment in secure, resilient, high-capacity networks is central to the sovereignty debate. Without trusted connectivity, digital sovereignty remains theoretical rather than practical.

The formation of VodafoneThree is a significant step in strengthening the UK’s digital backbone. With a commitment to invest £11 billion in next-generation connectivity and an ambition to deliver 99.96% population coverage by 2034, the UK is building infrastructure to support future growth and resilience.

As AI workloads, edge computing, hybrid working and data-intensive applications expand, resilient connectivity becomes a strategic national asset.

This is particularly important for organizations delivering essential services. Today, 77% of UK Blue Light services already run on Vodafone Business networks, underlining the growing importance of trusted connectivity in critical operations.

A strategic moment for the UK

Europe’s emerging sovereignty agenda should not be mistaken for digital isolation. Rather, it reflects a growing recognition that interdependence must be understood, managed and secured.

For security leaders, that means broadening the conversation beyond traditional threat protection to include critical dependencies, digital supply chain resilience and operational continuity. Cyber security is increasingly part of a wider discipline of digital resilience, where security, connectivity, infrastructure and governance converge.

By combining cyber security expertise, growing sovereign AI capabilities, regulatory strengths and continued investment in connectivity, the UK has an opportunity to establish itself as Europe’s trusted security ally.

In the next phase of digital transformation, success will not belong only to those with the most advanced technology, but to those with the most trusted, resilient and transparent foundations.

The sovereignty economy is already taking shape. The question is whether the UK chooses simply to participate in it, or to help define it.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

We've seen some strange corporate crossovers in our time, but a 3D printer teaming up with the emoji people is a new one, even for us. Somewhere in a boardroom, someone pitched "what if the printer itself was 😀" and everyone said yes. Weird? A little.

But the Elegoo x emoji Centauri Carbon 2 Combo for $429 (was $489) with code 717EMOJIDAY at checkout to celebrate World Emoji Day.

Don't let the glow-up fool you. This is a genuinely excellent multicolor 3D printer that smashed our workshop tests, only now it's wearing a silver-and-clear costume covered in grinning faces. In the UK, the emoji-themed Centauri Carbon 2 is now £378 (was £415), too.

Today's top Elegoo 3D printer deal

Strip away the emoji branding and this is mechanically the same machine as the standard black Centauri Carbon 2 Combo, which we reviewed and rated 4.5 out of 5. We called it "one of the cheapest and most reliable multifilament printers on the market", praising the Canvass system's four-filament setup as genuinely easy to use.

In our testing, dimensional accuracy stood out as a particular strength, with tight tolerances across a range of test targets and clean color separation on multicolor prints — an area where cheaper multifilament machines often struggle with bleed between colors. The fully enclosed chamber and 350°C nozzle also mean this isn't limited to basic PLA; it handles engineering filaments like ABS, ASA, PC, and nylon, which is unusual at this price point.

The emoji edition itself is purely cosmetic on top of that foundation: the silver-and-clear look, emoji decals across the chassis and build plate, and the bundled 17-color emoji PLA set are the only differences from the standard Combo. If the novelty aesthetic doesn't appeal, the regular black version is typically the cheaper option — but if you've got kids (or a desk that could use some personality), the tie-in isn't just a gimmick slapped on top of a bad product.

A couple of honest caveats carried over from the standard model: filament reels sit exposed on the outside of the machine rather than in a dry box, so humidity and temperature swings in a garage or workshop can affect print quality more than on pricier enclosed systems. Multicolor prints also still produce some purge waste as the Canvas system swaps filaments between colors, which is standard for this class of printer but worth planning for if you're printing frequently.

Whether you're in it for the genuinely capable multicolor 3D printer underneath or the sheer novelty of a printer plastered in 😂 faces, $429 / £378 with code 717EMOJIDAY is a good price for either.

• US: See all 3D printers at Elegoo
• UK: See all Elegoo 3D printers

• Surfshark adds thousands of servers to its FastTrack optimisation feature
• The technology now spans over 2.000 servers
• The VPN is gathering user feedback for further expansion

It was August 2025 when Surfshark told TechRadar that it would expand its custom-built FastTrack technology — its feature designed to optimise VPN traffic routing — and we’re pleased to confirm that it has kept its word.

In a recent post shared on X, Surfshark announced that it has upgraded its infrastructure, making the technology available on more than half of its servers across all continents.

In practical terms, this means that FastTrack, which promises speeds 70% faster than even the best VPNs, is now available on around 50% of its current network of 4.500 servers. If you’re a user, chances are it’s already available in your city too; just check for the FastTrack icon in the server list to find out.

A wide network upgrade

FastTrack is an optimization feature that Surfshark uses on part of its server network.

Rather than simply routing the user via a single virtual private network (VPN) path to connect to a server, FastTrack's algorithm calculates the actual latency values detected within its network to identify the fastest route to that specific VPN server.

Specifically, globally distributed probes run speed tests, measure latency, and save the results to determine the best-performing route for a user located in a specific country who needs to access a specific VPN location.

The system differs from traditional systems, where a server establishes a direct connection with the VPN server, and traffic follows the available route. With FastTrack, all network nodes are constantly monitored. Something that allows the system to continuously select the optimal connection.

Karolis Kaciulis, Leading System Engineer at Surfshark, claims these calculations optimise routes regardless of their geographical location. "For example, if a longer path can actually enhance performance due to better conditions, as it uses more advanced routers or higher-capacity cables, FastTrack will select it."

While the feature was initially limited to just three servers (Sydney, Seattle, and Vancouver), Surfshark has now converted more than 2.000 of its exit nodes to FastTrack, allowing users to connect to a much wider range of new servers that can benefit from the same speed boost.

The expansion seems almost a natural progression and follows the VPN provider’s announcement in October 2025 regarding a massive expansion — both in quantity and quality — of its global server network.

Last year, Surfshark indeed released another innovative self-healing VPN tool, Everlink. The feature aims to ensure connection stability even in the event of serious malfunctions or service interruptions.

More than speed

Of course, speed is obviously the main advantage of FastTrack, but using FastTrack also brings additional benefits, Surfshark claims.

For example, it ensures a significant reduction in routing errors, as one of the key features of Nexus — Surfshark’s routing infrastructure — is precisely its redundancy.

Indeed, as Nexus offers multiple routes within the network, if one route encounters a problem, traffic can be automatically redirected via another available route, thereby helping to prevent interruptions or slowdowns.

Surfshark also claims that FastTrack improves the VPN service overall, as it operates on a different data center network from traditional ISPs, naturally reducing the likelihood of throttling or various network limitations.

So, are there any drawbacks to this unique technology? Probably the most pressing issue currently is that it is only available on Surfshark’s VPN app for Mac and iOS platforms. These limitations have already prompted some users online to call for an Android version as well.

"We are connecting user feedback to help determine where to expand next," a Surfshark spokesperson told TechRadar, fuelling hopes that new updates are already on the way.

• 1Password unveils Claude partnership, letting Anthropic’s AI authenticate on users’ behalf via zero‑exposure architecture
• Users approve each login with biometrics
• New Agentic Mode in the browser extension locks down the interface when AI agents take over

Top password manager company 1Password has launched a new tool that allows artificial intelligence assistant Claude to authenticate on behalf of their user, and thus complete assignments that were previously impossible without major security tradeoffs.

1Password for Claude is built on “zero-exposure architecture” - so in practice, it means Claude can essentially ask 1Password to complete the sign-in process, but it will never see the credentials, and they will never be loaded into its memory.

In turn, 1Password will notify the user, and will request biometric approval before proceeding. Once granted, it will autofill the credentials and check to see if they were exposed on the page or not. If submission fails, it will clear the filled values and report back.

Agentic Mode

"We need a new security model that is purpose-built for agents, not just humans,” said Nancy Wang, CTO of 1Password. “The answer isn't handing agents your secrets. It is to let a user give an agent permission to use a credential without letting the agent see it. Claude knows it used your login; it does not need the password or one-time code in its context. That distinction is where trust in agents starts and the foundation we're building with Anthropic."

To further strengthen its security posture, 1Password also announced Agentic Mode, a new feature in the browser extension that gives users visibility and control over browser-based AI agents. When a compatible AI agent takes over, the 1Password extension automatically locks down and hides the interface. The agent can only use the logins and OTPs explicitly approved for the current task.

Even if the integration is not set up, and even if 1Password is not required for the current agentic task, Agentic Mode works, the company stressed. Other agents, besides Claude, are supported, as well.

Currently a major debate is ongoing, about how much permissions AI agents should receive, and under what rules. We’ve already seen horror stories of AI agents deleting people’s entire email inboxes, or otherwise ruining days of hard work. Whether or not this picks up or most people remain skeptical about giving AI access to certain services, remains to be seen.

• Streaming giant Netflix has revealed that 300 movies and shows used generative AI in 2026
• The news was shared in a shareholder letter, obtained by the website Kotaku
• Generative AI was used to “enhance crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots.”

Netflix has recently admitted to using AI tools in a huge number of its movies and shows, with the shocking announcement delivered in its shareholder letter on July 16.

According to Kotaku, which obtained the shareholder letter, Netflix says that AI is now fully integrated into many different projects and is used from the concept stage through pre-visualization, filming, and post-production.

They also revealed that generative AI was mostly used in post-production across the 300 shows and movies using it in 2026.

“We are increasingly leveraging these tools to deliver higher quality output more quickly and at a lower cost than traditional methods,” Netflix said in the shareholder letter. “In some cases, productions would have had to leave out key shots and sequences in the absence of GenAI technology.”

Using The American Experiment as an example, Netflix added that using generative AI tools “enhanced crowds, historical battle sequences, and worldbuilding establishing shots.”

It's not just the best streaming service's shows that are affected either, as AI is also working its way into the app itself, with Netflix explaining that it will use LLMs and AI to “improve title discovery” and “better understand member preferences.”

First they cancel all my favorite shows, now they're using AI

Netflix has made a lot of poor decisions in recent months. Recently, my colleague Rowan Davies criticized the streamer for chasing YouTube content, saying he was worried they don't actually care about the future of their shows and movies.

I'm inclined to agree, too, as the streaming service has a track record of cancelling its shows. Just recently, The Boroughs was canceled after one season, and it's not the first time they've abandoned shows early on.

They have also used an AI-generated voice of the late actor Gene Wilder in a new reality show, which our editor at large, Lance Ulanoff, said was "too far".

This, teamed with the most recent AI announcement, has filled me with despair, and I'm worried a lot of my favorite Netflix shows aren't getting the love they deserve.

This decision will no doubt divide fans, but this is the kind of thing that's going to make me turn away from Netflix and prioritize other streaming services instead. It feels like Netflix is falling out of love with its shows, and I'm starting to do the same.

It's officially summer holiday season in the northern hemisphere (sorry, readers in Australia and New Zealand), and that means it's time to put the TV on for the kids before you go on family vacation.

You won't want to stick any of the following new movies or TV shows on for them, though. None of them are family friendly, so I'd advise you to load up something else on one of the world's best streaming services instead.

However, once they're tucked up in bed, I implore you to throw on one or more of these seven great-looking films and TV series. That said, maybe don't start this week's number one choice before you head off for a good night's rest yourself, because it is terrifying in the best way possible. — Tom Power, senior entertainment reporter

Obsession (Peacock)

I'm not joking when I say Obsession, the breakout movie hit of 2026 so far that's finally landed on Peacock, is frighteningly fun. I spent weeks thinking about this supernatural horror after seeing it, and I'll readily admit that I felt uncomfortable for the first few nights post-watch, too.

For those who don't know: Obsession follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a lovesick loser who has a crushe on one of his besties Nikki (Inde Navarrette). When Bear stumbles upon an item called the One Wish Willow, he buys one and uses it to make Nikki fall in love with him. It's a spur-of-the-moment action that ends up having horrifying and deadly consequences, and will have you constantly repeating Nikki's "No, no, no, no, don't do thaaaaat!" line in your head as the plot progresses.

Before you stream it, check out our review of Obsession to see why everyone's, well, become obsessed with a film that, on a reported budget of just $750,000, has made $400m globally, broken horror film box office records, and turned Navarrette into a serial awards contender. And hey, if Peacock isn't available in your region yet, see where you can rent or but the Curry Barker-directed phenomenon instead. — TP

• Watch Obsession on Peacock

Heartstopper Forever (Netflix)

Guys... the end we've been dreading is here. Nick and Charlie's wholesome relationship has been an IP central to Netflix original content, but now it all ends with Heartstopper Forever.

If you're bummed out because we're not getting a full fourth season, don't be. As Nick, Charlie, and the gang all brace before going their separate ways to university, a feature film actually reflects their growing maturity and crises of confidence much more fittingly.

Heartstopper Forever really is forever... at least, it is in my house, where I'll be replaying it so much that Netflix might issue a warning. Its spirit and generation-defining impact will live on, and that might be the most special achievement the streamer has ever been responsible for. — Jasmine Valentine, entertainment reporter

• Watch Heartstopper Forever on Netflix

Ride or Die (Prime Video)

Whoever thought to cast Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham together in an Amazon action comedy show needs a raise immediately. Ride or Die gives us the entertainment duo that we didn't know that we needed and plenty of laughs along the way.

The pair play best friends Debbie Claybourne and Judith Burton, who thought they knew everything about each other. But, when Judith (Waddingham) turns out to be an international assassin when a mysterious figure emerges, their worlds are turned upside down.

Tackling everything from menopause to, well, the complexities of life, this Prime Video Original is an incredible amount of fun. And, surely that's the most important thing in life, right? — JV

• Watch Ride or Die on Prime Video

Lucky (Apple TV)

Is there anything Anya Taylor-Joy can't do? Ever since she made her debut in Robert Eggers' The Witch, I've been impressed by just how varied each of her roles are.

In Apple TV's Lucky, she plays a con artist forced to go on the run after a heist goes wrong. Across seven episodes, we follow Luciana 'Lucky' Armstrong as she tries to evade the FBI and a ruthless crime boss, hoping that she'll live up to her nickname and make it out alive. It seems that breaking the law runs in her family, too, as Timothy Olyphant stars as her father who's in prison when the story begins.

The first two episodes are out now, and something tells me this will be another Apple Original for me to get hooked on. — Lucy Buglass, senior entertainment writer

• Watch Lucky on Apple TV

The Hawk (Netflix)

If you ask me, Will Ferrell and golf feels like a natural TV marriage. The Hawk on Netflix is proving me right, with Ferrell playing Lonnie Hawkins, a top golfer in 2004. Two decades on and he's trying to recapture his magic late in his career. However, he refuses to believe he's anything other than one stroke away from golf's greatest comeback.

If you've ever watched Happy Gilmore or The Phantom of the Open, this is for you... even if you're pretending that you actually know the first thing about the sport, which is easily done. — JV

• Watch The Hawk on Netflix

Descendants: Wicked Wonderland (Disney+)

The Descendants franchise continues over on Disney+ with Wicked Wonderland, which marks the fifth installment in the series (even I didn't think that there had been so many).

Picking up shortly after Descendants: The Rise of Red, Red and Chloe return from their time-travelling adventures to find that the Queen of Hearts is trapped. The once notorious villain now has a nice streak, but that gives way to a new evil: Maddox Hatter.

Personally, I still can't believe that a UK 2010s popstar is playing one of the most iconic fictional queens of all time. If you're British, it has to be seen for that reason alone. — JV

• Watch Descendants: Wicked Wonderland on Disney+

Murder 101 (Prime Video)

Prime Video's new three-part docuseries is a fascinating one. Murder 101 is about a high school sociology class based in rural Tennessee who help revive a decades-old case into a shocking present-day hunt for a killer.

It's the sort of thing you'd expect to find in a work of fiction, Netflix's How to Get Away with Murder springs to mind, but this is 100% real. You can also check out the podcast of the same name if you'd like to dive in deeper.

Ultimately, this program showcases the power of a local community as we follow a group of students turned amateur sleuths. I'm already locked in. — LB

• Watch Murder 101 on Prime Video

"We decided not to limit VPNs." These six words from Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan ended months of tension on Wednesday, confirming the government's U-turn on age-gating privacy tools.

VPN services are popular software that millions of people in the UK use every day to encrypt their online activities for better privacy and security. Yet, their ability to grant access to geo-blocked content has also been making enemies among democratic countries lately, as age verification laws spread across the world.

This friction has led some British lawmakers to dub VPNs a "loophole that needed to be closed," prompting a national consultation to investigate how kids use this technology.

The announcement of an upcoming UK teen social media ban has made this process even more crucial. Since then, many have speculated that it would have helped to tip the scales towards new VPN restrictions. And yet, that didn't happen.

"This is the right call, and a welcome recognition that VPNs play a crucial role in everyday cybersecurity," Justas Pukys, Senior Product Manager at Surfshark, told TechRadar, adding that protecting children online and preserving strong cybersecurity tools "can, and should, go hand in hand."

But why did the UK government choose to leave VPNs alone after all? And can this bold decision pave the way for a similar response in the rest of Europe?

Why the UK government will not age-gate VPNs

As the UK Science, Innovation and Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, explains in a parliamentary statement, VPNs have legitimate privacy and security uses. The reason why, she explains, "we will therefore not age-gate or ban them."

Independent research conducted by Kendall's department has indeed found that privacy is the top reason UK children use a VPN. Only a small minority of them — between 7% and 10% — do so to bypass mandatory age checks.

The latest Ofcom report on the use of age assurance — which was also published on Wednesday — paints a similar picture. While confirming that VPN usage doubled in the UK following the enforcement of mandatory age verification, only "a relatively small minority of children" use these tools to access restricted content or features.

These findings mirror separate YouGov research commissioned by the VPN Trust Initiative, which revealed that a mere 1.4% of surveyed minors use a VPN specifically to access platforms meant for older demographics. Before that, a May 2026 study conducted by Internet Matters also found that only 7% used a VPN to circumvent age restrictions.

This evidence doesn't necessarily mean that children aren't trying to evade controls. Yet, they show how most young people do so simply by entering a fake birthdate or using a parent's login.

So, the onus to prevent kids from evading controls is now back on the platforms. But the government also shared the intention to "engage with VPN providers on voluntary action and strengthen guidance and support for parents."

NordVPN's Privacy Advocate, Laura Tyrylyte, welcomes the prospect of working with lawmakers to find a balanced solution, praising Kendall's decision.

"The Government is right to recognise the important role that VPNs play and to adopt an evidence-led approach," Tyrylyte told TechRadar.

And while arguing that "it should have been obvious from the start," Windscribe's CEO, Yegor Sak, explains that this move reassures VPN users in the UK that they can continue using VPNs. "Without worrying that a legal privacy tool is about to be treated as suspicious by default," he added.

Will other countries follow the UK?

UK wasn't alone in toying with the idea of age-restricting VPN apps.

The EU is also considering something similar following the release of its age verification app. On a national level, France is also evaluating VPN use as it gets ready to enforce its under-15 social media ban.

That's why Mozilla Product Policy Manager, Svea Windwehr, urges European governments to follow the UK's lead.

"We urge policymakers everywhere to address the root causes of online harms, and follow the UK's evidence-based approach in keeping VPNs accessible for everyone," Windwehr told TechRadar.

And while the wider industry is now hopeful that VPN restrictions will ultimately disappear from politicians' agendas, the tensions between children's safety and people's privacy have not been defused yet.

"If an online safety regime only works when everyone's location and identity are easy to verify, the problem is the regime. Not the tool that prevents constant identification," Sak from Windiscribe told TechRadar.

NymVPN's CEO, Harry Halpin, agrees with Sak on this, warning that UK lawmakers' action could still impact VPN users in the country.

"The problem is that the UK government is still pursuing its idea of connecting your passport to your internet usage," Halpin told TechRadar, arguing that this still "hinders free access to the internet even if VPNs are usable."

The road to ensuring age verification systems don't hurt our digital freedoms may still be long. But protecting the integrity of the VPN is certainly a step in the right direction that we hope more politicians will replicate.

The question of where data lives has become considerably more fraught over the past few years.

A mix of regulatory scrutiny, geopolitical tensions across the Atlantic, and the related unease about the concentration of infrastructure power among the hyperscalers have all combined to push data sovereignty up the executive agenda.

The result? A strategic posture that’s increasingly shaped by political anxiety rather than operational logic.

And while both need to be considered by the boardroom, leaning too much on the former leads to very different decisions.

To be clear, there’s no debate that compliance with data residency requirements remains a genuine obligation for organizations in regulated industries, and nobody is suggesting otherwise.

The concern is with what comes next: many organizations are at the "we must manage our data carefully" stage, and are considering a leap to "we should consider exiting hyperscaler infrastructure entirely." While the logic could be understandable, the reality is that full disengagement is neither effective nor necessary for the bulk of organizations.

The hyperscalers earned their position because they offered capabilities that were genuinely difficult to replicate at scale, and the organizations that depend on them most deeply are not in a position to unwind that dependency in any near-term timeframe. A multi-year transformation program with substantial execution risk is rarely the right answer to a political concern that may itself shift within that same period.

Conflating data residency and operational resilience

The focus on sovereignty has meant that ideas about data residency, infrastructure control, and operational resilience are being treated as interchangeable concepts. While connected, these are distinct ideas with distinct impacts on a business’s ability to function effectively and comply with regulation.

Let’s consider the incidents that really bring organizations down, and what makes data recovery harder than it needs to be. It’s system failures, slow incident response, and exploited security vulnerabilities that take customer-facing services offline, erode trust and incur regulatory fines. A platform that fails during peak demand causes the same commercial and reputational damage regardless of where its data is stored.

Similarly, a security breach does not become more or less severe based on whether it occurred on domestic or international infrastructure. The metrics that determine whether an organization functions under pressure are uptime, security posture and the quality of incident response capability. Sovereignty is one input to that picture, not the frame through which the whole picture should be viewed.

Simply put, an organization is not resilient simply because its data sits in the right jurisdiction. Resilience is an architectural and operational property that has to be built deliberately.

Where real control lives

If sovereignty decisions are best understood as one component of broader operational resilience, then the more productive question is where in the stack is control most effectively exercised. The answer, particularly as AI applications proliferate, is primarily at the data layer.

The database has moved beyond its traditional role as a storage mechanism. In modern architectures, it is often the most reliable point of deterministic control in the entire stack: the place where governance is enforced in practice rather than documented in policy.

Data location, encryption, access controls, cross-region movement – all of these are data infrastructure questions at heart. Getting them right is what makes meaningful sovereignty achievable, not as a political statement, but as an operational capability.

So in turn, when an organization has genuine control over governance at the data layer, suddenly the choice between a hyperscaler and a fully domestic alternative becomes less relevant. The question shifts from which provider to use to whether the infrastructure is flexible enough to enforce the appropriate rules for each workload. That reframing tends to produce considerably better outcomes.

In practice, this means building in tiers: cloud-native performance where the business requires speed, scalability and flexibility, on-premise or segmented deployments for regulated workloads, and the architectural flexibility to move between configurations as circumstances change. After all, regulations will continue to evolve.

The geopolitical environment that is currently driving sovereignty conversations will look different in three years. That means infrastructure decisions made under today's conditions need to remain workable under tomorrow's.

Building for change, not for certainty

The practical implication for technology leaders is straightforward: meet your regulatory obligations, exercise genuine control at the data layer, and build the architectural flexibility to adjust as requirements shift.

But after that, it’s important to give equal attention and consideration to the failure modes that are statistically far more likely to cause very tangible and costly problems: outages at peak load, delayed incident responses and vulnerabilities that could be exploited.

At the end of the day, those are far likelier to be discussed in post-mortems – not sovereignty. And while sovereignty deserves its place in the technology strategy conversation, it should sit within a resilience framework, not above it.

We've featured the best cloud databases.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

If a 32GB DDR5-6000 kit is on your build list, I've just found two good options that are now even cheaper.

First up, you can get V-Color's Manta XSky CL30 kit for $419.99 (usually $449) at Newegg.

Then there's the Corsair Vengeance CL36 kit for $429.37 (usually $476.99) at Amazon — both discounted, with the tighter timings on one and the brand-name safety net on the other.

Today's top DDR5 RAM deals

Both of these kits run at the same 6000MHz headline speed, but the timings tell a different story. The V-Color kit's CL30 rating is meaningfully tighter than the Corsair kit's CL36, and in real terms that means lower memory latency — the kind of difference that shows up in CPU-bound games and latency-sensitive workloads, even if the two kits post similar raw bandwidth numbers on paper.

Corsair's Vengeance line, on the other hand, is one of the most established names in desktop memory, with dual AMD EXPO and Intel XMP 3.0 profiles baked in — useful if you're not committed to a platform yet, or if you're building a system for someone else and want the broadest possible compatibility without needing to hunt down a platform-specific SKU.

Aesthetically, the two kits split down the middle too. The V-COLOR Manta XSky ships with RGB lighting in a taller black heatspreader, which matters if this is going in a windowed case you actually look at. The Corsair Vengeance kit skips the RGB entirely for a lower-profile grey heatspreader, which can be the safer pick if you're running a large air cooler and need to double-check RAM clearance.

A couple of honest notes: neither kit's rated 6000MHz speed and timings are guaranteed on every motherboard — actually hitting CL30 or CL36 at 6000MHz depends on your board's memory controller and BIOS support for AMD EXPO or Intel XMP, so it's worth checking your motherboard's supported memory list (QVL) before buying either.

And while V-COLOR is a well-regarded enthusiast memory brand, it doesn't carry the same broad name recognition or retail support network as Corsair, which is worth weighing if brand support history matters to your purchase.

If tighter timings and RGB matter more to you, go with the V-Color Manta XSky at $419.99. If you'd rather stick with an established name and broader platform support, the Corsair Vengeance kit at $429.37 is the safer call.

• See all memory deals at Newegg and Amazon.

Last week, as European lawmakers packed their bags for the summer recess, a controversial surveillance law was quietly brought back to life. It's the latest plot twist in the struggle to find a balance between digital privacy and children's safety.

Through an unusual procedural loophole, the European Parliament revived what’s been dubbed "Chat Control 1.0." It's a temporary rule that allows tech giants like Meta, Google, and Microsoft to voluntarily scan citizens' unencrypted private messages in search of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

While the law — which is expected to officially pass once MEPs return from summer recess — excludes end-to-end encrypted apps like Signal and WhatsApp, its resurrection has sent shockwaves through the digital rights community.

Critics have not only slammed the revival procedure as "undemocratic," but also warned that it could mean mass scanning becomes permanent.

Central to the debate is whether Big Tech should use mass scanning (where everybody's data is checked) or targeted scanning (where only people identified as potential suspects are affected).

And while the European Parliament decided to reject mass scanning in March in favor of a "proportional and targeted" approach, last week’s vote represents a major U-turn that brings it back to the table.

But how did a law voted down over three months ago end up on the fast track to be enforced? And what will be the lasting impact on our privacy?

How Chat Control 1.0 was revived

Due to the "rarely used" legal procedure adopted last week, an absolute majority was required to reject the proposal.

This meant at least 361 MEPs were required to vote against it — something critics say was difficult to achieve as many of them were already on holiday.

So, despite the majority of MEPs rejecting it (314 against, 276 in favor), the motion was sent to the Council for final approval, which is expected in September.

Initially intended as a stopgap while lawmakers debated the permanent Child Sexual Abuse Regulation (CSAR) bill — aka Chat Control 2.0 — the interim framework was in place from 2021 until it terminated in April of this year.

Since then, child safety groups and some MEPs have argued that the legal vacuum this caused required urgent action — a gap addressed by last week's vote.

However, Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Snapchat issued a joint statement in April pledging to "continue to take voluntary action" to execute CSAM scans — regardless of whether the interim scanning law was enacted.

The privacy backlash

Many critics didn’t like how the Chat Control gambit unfolded, calling EP President Roberta Metsola's actions a political stunt. They allege she used a legal loophole strategically to schedule a vote during the final meeting of the legislative season to maximize its chances of passing.

A long-standing critic of the CSAM scanning law, former MEP for the German Pirate Party and digital rights jurist Patrick Breyer didn’t mince words, slamming Metsola's move as a "farce" that "damages democracy."

Robin Wilton, the Internet Society's Senior Director for Internet Trust, also told TechRadar that the "extraordinary bending of parliamentary procedure" required to pass the bill should concern everyone.

In a written statement to TechRadar, Roberta Metsola’s press office said, "it was not the President who brought this up or pushed for it" but that the issue was raised by other political groups during a meeting in June.

The lasting impact of Chat Control 1.0

While the temporary legal framework is expected to be reinstated soon, the more significant battle over CSAM scanning and digital privacy continues in the background.

Lawmakers are still discussing the terms of the permanent CSAR law, with negotiations reportedly stalling over the issue of targeted or mass scanning.

Critics are now concerned that last week's vote could steer the direction of the debates regarding the permanent law. And not in ways that would protect people's digital privacy.

Rand Hammoud, Director of the Security, Surveillance and Human Rights Programme and Regional Encryption Lead at the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), fears that passing the temporary law risks legitimizing mass scanning and says that opposition may become "more difficult" to sustain.

Put simply, because the temporary law allows for mass scanning, the permanent legislation may be more likely to include the same provision.

Digital rights advocates have long argued that mass scanning is a privacy "disaster waiting to happen," calling for more targeted solutions. They believe that even when the scanning is "voluntary" — meaning when tech companies can choose whether to perform the scanning or not — it remains problematic.

For child safety groups, however, voluntary scanning is non-negotiable. According to Hannah Swirsky, the Internet Watch Foundation's (IWF) Head of Policy and Public Affairs, it would be a mistake to limit detection only to individual suspects.

"The scale of the issue with CSAM requires technology to be used widely across platform systems," Swirsky told TechRadar.

Either way, Hammoud from CDT Europe says finding the right balance between privacy and children's safety "demands careful, evidence-based lawmaking" — a standard she argues was lacking in the fast-tracked procedure last week.

What’s next for the privacy of chats?

Despite the temporary law expected to officially pass in autumn, some opponents of Chat Control are still hopeful.

Crucially, the vote showed that most MEPs remain unconvinced about the current legal framework being developed. And while there is deep disagreement on how to do so effectively, it is worth noting that people on all sides want to find solutions that keep children safe online.

As the EU institutions pull down the shutters for the summer, we can only hope that politicians are able to reach a compromise that upholds democratic principles while keeping children safe and defending citizens' digital privacy.

• Coca‑Cola confirmed a ransomware attack on its dairy subsidiary Fairlife, forcing suspension of US production operations while Canada sites remain unaffected
• Incident response protocols were activated, with third‑party experts and authorities engaged; product quality and safety were not impacted
• Analysts warn the financial impact could be significant given Fairlife’s importance, with losses compounding the longer production remains offline

Coca Cola was forced to shut down parts of its operations to tackle an ongoing ransomware infection.

In an 8-K form recently filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company said the attackers struck Fairlife, its dairy company.

“On July 16, 2026, The Coca-Cola Company announced that fairlife, a dairy company owned by the company, identified unauthorized access by a third party to a portion of its systems, including its production-related systems, in connection with a ransomware event,” the filing reads.

Compounding impact

Coca Cola then explained that it kicked off its incident response and business continuity protocols, bringing in third-party cybersecurity experts to help investigate the attack and assess the damages. It also notified relevant authorities.

However, the production in the US has been affected, since parts of the operation had to be suspended: “Product quality and safety have not been impacted. However, as a result of the incident, production operations at fairlife in the United States are temporarily suspended. fairlife’s Canada production operations are not currently impacted,” Coca Cola explained.

It said it was now working to bring the systems back up, and that it has “not yet determined whether the incident is reasonably likely to materially affect the company.”

In a statement shared with TechRadar Pro, Cybersecurity Researcher and Advanced Services Lead at Arcova, Joseph Perry, stressed that the material impact is likely to be great. How great - depends on how fast Coca Cola moves.

“Fairlife is not a minor business buried inside Coca-Cola’s portfolio. Coca-Cola generated nearly $48 billion in net revenue last year and made a $6.1 billion contingent payment tied to its acquisition of fairlife, which provides important context for the value of the operation now sitting idle,” Perry explains.

“With production suspended across fairlife’s US facilities, every hour can compound the financial impact through lost output, delayed shipments, recovery costs, inventory exposure and potential disruption for retailers. Coca-Cola has not yet quantified the loss, but the longer production remains offline, the more quickly a cyber incident becomes a material business event.”

Via BleepingComputer

House of the Dragon season 3 will officially enter its back half later this week. Indeed, with four episodes down and just as many left to be released before this season's final end-credits sequence rolls, the high-fantasy show's latest multi-part installment will be over before we know it.

Regardless, plenty of melodrama, fiery action, and shock moments await us over the next few episodes. So when will House of the Dragon's next entry present itself to the world? You know the drill by now: read on to find out more!

What is the launch time for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5?

House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5 will premiere at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Sunday, July 19 in the US and Canada. Fans who live elsewhere will have to wait until Monday, July 20 to check it out.

As for the time that the Game of Thrones prequel's next installment will internationally, the below list will tell you:

• US — Sunday, July 12 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• Canada — Sunday, July 12 at 6pm PT / 9pm ET
• UK — Monday, July13 at 2am BST
• India — Monday, July 13 at 6:30am IST
• Singapore — Monday, July 13 at 9am SGT
• Australia — Monday, July 13 at 11am AEST
• New Zealand — Monday, July 13 at 1pm NZST

How do I watch House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5?

By loading up one of the best streaming services in your region of the world, of course.

For the vast majority of you, HBO Max is the platform you'll need to head to — as long as you have an active account, anyway — to catch the HBO TV Original's next entry. However, if you haven't signed up to the Warner Bros-owned streamer, or if it hasn't launched where you live, don't fret. Scroll on to see which other TV networks and streamers it'll be available on in your neck of the woods:

• US — HBO and HBO Max
• Canada — Crave
• UK — HBO Max, Sky Atlantic, and Now TV
• India — JioHotstar
• Singapore — HBO Max
• Australia — HBO Max
• New Zealand — HBO Max

When will House of the Dragon's next episode come out?

If it wasn't obvious by now, new chapters will drop every Sunday in North and South America, and every Monday on other continents.

For the third and final time in this article, read the list below to see when the remaining three episodes will be released near you:

• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3 — out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 4— out now
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5 — July 19/20
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6 — July 26/27
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 7 — August 2/3
• House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 — August 9/10

We’re in what’s being dubbed the ‘year of AI ROI’. Four years on from the AI boom - ignited by the launch of ChatGPT - many businesses now believe that they’re AI-ready, using successful early-stage chatbot and copilot rollouts as evidence.

Yet there is a significant difference between experimenting with AI and embedding it across complex business processes and operations.

The real barrier to this transformation sits beneath the models themselves. While most AI outcomes-related conversations focus on model performance, GPUs, and compute capacity, organisations are increasingly realising that it’s their data infrastructure holding AI projects back.

Up until now, businesses have got away with operating successfully despite their disconnected file environments, inconsistent data governance, and information spread across multiple repositories.

This is because historically, data has been accessed sporadically, mostly by human employees who could compensate for shortcomings when data lacked context or wasn’t where it should be.

Simply put, data infrastructure didn’t need to be perfect, so it wasn’t. However, these fragmented file environments are now impossible to ignore as AI demands 24/7 consistent access to information, strong governance, and trusted data.

This puts enterprises in an uncomfortable situation: under pressure to deploy AI, but missing the foundations needed to be truly successful with AI projects at scale.

AI makes the data puzzle more complicated

Traditional file environments were built for a world where information lived in separate locations, individual teams managed access, and gaps in governance or data availability could be worked around.

This means that enterprises are now operating with fragmented information spread across multiple locations, with inconsistent governance and varying levels of accessibility. When data is accessed primarily by human employees, these inefficiencies are a source of frustration rather than a barrier.

This is where AI changes things. Models depend on fast, reliable access to information. If data is difficult to find, lacks context or cannot be accessed consistently, its value diminishes rapidly. In this instance, enterprises have data, but it’s completely unusable.

Overconfidence is coming at the expense of real success

Most organizations realize that their data infrastructure is far from perfect. Yet, the pressure to demonstrate progress on AI is intense. If businesses aren’t investing in and experimenting with AI, they’re seen as behind the curve. This is creating a strong incentive to deploy new tools as quickly as possible.

The problem is that organizations' early-stage AI learnings, if not outright success, are creating an overconfidence in their wider AI readiness and ability to scale up. Chatbots and copilots, which provide a lower barrier to entry to AI, are enabling organizations to demonstrate early, tangible AI outcomes.

When these projects deliver value, enterprises start to think that perhaps their infrastructure is future-proofed after all, despite a lack of sustained attempts to address and resolve deeper structural issues around their data accessibility, governance and infrastructure. These same businesses are also struggling with data recovery after cyber incidents - the warning signs are there, but current overconfidence is blurring reality.

As a result, businesses are moving rapidly onto major agentic projects, only to face delays, questions over ROI, and often, an implementation that fails. The irony is that an urgency to deploy AI is actually slowing long-term progress.

Organizations hellbent on deploying AI are risking overlooking the deeper risk management and data management work required to support it, while those that invest in strong data foundations are more likely to achieve sustainable success as their AI ambitions grow.

Shifting data from a cost to an asset

Most businesses don’t suffer from a lack of data; if anything, they have the opposite problem. Unfortunately, this is still viewed as an operational cycle driven by capacity planning, refresh cycles and expansion requirements, rather than a strategic asset. Industry research consistently shows IT teams still struggle to get a grip on their unstructured data - where most of their data assets reside - despite most of them believing their file data setup is robust.

The difference now is that AI systems operate continuously, drawing on information created today, yesterday, and sometimes decades ago. To deliver meaningful outcomes, they require consistent access to trusted data, rich context, and clear governance.

This means that organizations need to rethink their approach to enterprise information. When data is treated purely as a storage refresh challenge, AI quickly exposes the limitations of that approach. However, when it’s treated as a strategic asset, organizations can create environments where information is accessible, governed and ready to behave in the way that AI expects.

C-Suites’ goal should be to move from steady-state storage capacity to data utility, creating centralized environments with fewer systems, where data can be used no matter where it is located. This shift reduces fragmentation, simplifies data management and creates a unified view of the enterprise’s information, and with it the path to competitive edge.

The fewer barriers that exist between AI and the data it needs, the easier it becomes to move from isolated AI successes to meaningful deployment at scale for productivity and efficiency benefits.

Fix the foundations before scaling AI

The success of chatbot or copilot rollouts does not indicate AI readiness. It is instead measured by data utility: whether the data underpinning AI tools is accessible, secure, and fit for purpose at scale.

The organizations that succeed with AI in the coming years will not be those deploying the most advanced models or the biggest number of agents, but those who can provide AI with consistent access to trusted, well-governed data.

Those boards that keep investing in sophisticated AI tools without upgrading their data layer and governance will find their operations shackled for years to come by the same underlying data access and governance limitations.

It’s time to stop viewing data as an operational burden and start treating it as a strategic asset, helping unleash organizations' true IP and powering their ability to innovate. Building strong data foundations today will set organizations on the path to realizing long-term AI value, instead of discovering down the line that AI ambitions outpace their ability to support them.

We've featured the best data removal service.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced director Richard Knight says staff have "DLC ideas"
• He explains that the main game is the team's focus right now and doesn't know whether the Freedom Cry DLC will get a remake
• Knight also revealed that New Game Plus is in development

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced game director Richard Knight has revealed that staff on the development team have downloadable content (DLC) ideas, but is uncertain whether the Freedom Cry expansion will get a remake.

In an interview with YouTuber JorRaptor, Knight was asked if the team is actively exploring additional post-launch content, such as a remake of the DLC Freedom Cry, which is set 15 years after the main game and stars Edward Kenway's friend and quartermaster, Adéwalé.

While Knight acknowledged that the 13-year-old DLC is beloved not just by fans but by the team, plans for the game's future are uncertain. He explained that it's focused on updating the base game for now, but revealed that team members do have "DLC ideas."

"The reception has been amazing, but it's still so early right now," Knight said. "I know some folks on the team have DLC ideas. We need to balance those out with our future and then updating the core game."

"But beyond that, I just want to say our focus with Black Flag remake has always been Edward," he added. "He's the kind of heart soul of the original game, and so you know maybe there could be more to tell there too."

The director couldn't comment further on plans or on a potential DLC, only that the team has its hands full right now.

In the same interview, Knight also confirmed New Game Plus is in the works, but couldn't offer a release date.

"This is the one thing I can say: Yes, we're working on that right now," Knight told JorRaptor. "For sure. It's one of the first things. Partly because Shadows has already built their version, so it's considered a low-risk feature for us. We're still doing the work, so I can't promise exactly a day or anything, but we're definitely working on this one. It's just such a natural thing."

When asked if the Shadows' New Game Plus made it easier for the Black Flag Resynced team to add the feature to the game, he joked that Simon Lemay-Comtois, associate game director of Shadows, "did the hard work" of introducing it in the first place, and it gives the Black Flag Resynced team "something to look at."

"We have different challenges in terms of how that works," he said. "We can't skip to the hideout, necessarily. But we're looking into it."

On the possibility of the game having extra rewards for New Game Plus, like in Shadows, Knight suggested the game is still in early development, but, "If it's up to me, yes."

"There's still production discussions about what we can do and how much time it takes," he said. "Every item we make needs a model. Sometimes it needs cloth sim. All sorts of things."

In terms of a release date for the mode, he added, "I really can't promise anything – just to say it's at the top of the list of things. There's a lot of things. Some are harder than others, but it's something we definitely want to get done."

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

GoPro Mission 1 Pro: One-Minute Review

The Mission 1 Pro is as rugged as you’d expect any GoPro action camera to be, with a highly water-resistant design — even without an additional casing — and a shock-resistant body that can survive tumble after tumble, but with 8K recording quality it enables you to capture footage with a real cinematic feel.

Thanks to impressive subject tracking and GoPro’s HyperSmooth stabilization tech, the Mission 1 Pro can capture the action smoothly whether you’re wearing it yourself, or following your subject along a trail or down a piste.

Plus, thanks to the new larger 1-inch sensor, low-light video quality is better than ever for a GoPro — letting you take advantage of the roughly two hours of 4K 60p recording time available to you on a single charge even as the sun starts to set.

Meanwhile, HLG HDR format and GP-Log2 support, control over ISO, EV, white balance and shutter speed, and the freedom to record in 8K/30p open gate — the full height and width of the versatile 4:3 aspect ratio sensor — will give you more artistic and post-processing options that make this action camera feel more like a professional piece of kit.

The downside of all this is that the Mission 1 Pro doesn’t come cheap. It’ll set you back $699 / £599.99 / AU$1,099.95 if you aren’t already a GoPro member, while members can take advantage of a healthy discount, with prices starting at $599 / £509.99 / AU$949.95. This sure is pricey even for one of the best action cameras when DJI rivals cost substantially less, but if you’re going to take full advantage of its cinematic capabilities, it’s certainly one to consider.

The only real disappointment is that its photography capabilities left me wanting. With its optional point-and-shoot camera-style grip I had hoped that the GoPro Mission 1 Pro might perform well as a stills snapper, but it did struggle at times. Hopefully, the ILS model with its Micro Four Thirds lens mount will deliver a more all-round performance when it debuts later this year.

The grip does at least help make the Mission 1 Pro much easier to handle when shooting video, and it feels like a useful upgrade for anyone who plans to use this GoPro as their new vacation camera, and take advantage of its improved video and audio quality, and durable design.

GoPro Mission 1 Pro: Price and release date

• $699 / £599.99 / AU$1,099.95 (non-member price)
• $599 / £509.99 / AU$949.95 (member price)
• Other models in the series are the Mission 1 and Mission 1 Pro ILS

The GoPro Mission 1 Pro is available to buy now for $699 / £599.99 / AU$1,099.95 (non-member price, or $599 / £509.99 / AU$949.95 for members), while the more basic Mission 1 will cost you $599 / £529 /AU$949.95 (non-member price, or $499 / £439.99 / AU$799.95). The Mission 1 Pro ILS costs the same as the Pro, but it won’t launch until later in 2026.

Other bundles include one with a point-and-shoot camera-style grip, which I had for my review. This bundle feels quite pricey at $779.99 / £679.99 / AU$1,229.95, seemingly with no member discount at the time of writing.

The Mission 1 Pro and Mission 1 share a lot of the same features and hardware, but the Pro version unlocks 8K 60fps footage and 8K Open Gate 4:3 filming for greater editing flexibility. You’ll also unlock slow-mo 4K video at 240fps, and 1080p up to 960fps for more extreme slow-mo shots.

Meanwhile the ILS model is interesting as it takes away some features — such as built-in autofocus and the ultra-wide lens of the regular Pro — to give you more control, with manual focus control and a Micro Four Thirds (MFT) mount, enabling you to attach a wide variety of lenses for different cinematic effects. If you’re more of a cinematographer than a casual user, the ILS model could be what you’re after.

That said, even the base-model Mission 1 is a fair bit pricier than the GoPro Hero 13 Black — our current pick for the best overall action camera. If you care about low-light shots the Mission 1 could be worth the price premium, but for a lot of people who are just looking to capture fun clips of their action sports escapades even the basic model may be overkill.

• Value score: 3/5

GoPro Mission 1 Pro: Specs

GoPro Mission 1 Pro: Design

The ideal action camera is one that can handle just about anything you throw at it, and the GoPro Mission 1 Pro GoPro is a camera that’s designed to be pushed to its limits.

If you’re a fan of underwater video, the Mission 1 Pro boasts a design that’s waterproof to 66ft / 20m without the need for a housing — plus the hydrophobic lens cover should help keep water splashes and droplets from obstructing your view massively when you’re using the camera above the waves.

It’s also rated to work in temperatures between -20C and 45C, with its power and shoot buttons designed to make them easier to press while wearing the kind of thick gloves that are necessary in frigid climates.

The Mission 1 Pro’s shock-resistant body can also survive tumbles and drops, giving it an almost indestructible feel. While I never pushed the Mission 1 Pro too far, I never felt like I needed to be careful with it.

Moving on from the action-focused aspects, the 2.59-inch OLED rear touchscreen display offers enough real estate for you to easily manage and track your settings while also leaving plenty of room to clearly see your compositions.

Meanwhile, the 1.4-inch front LCD is a good size for vloggers to track what is/isn’t in frame as they talk to camera, with a convenient and concise readout of your shot settings letting you know that you haven’t, for example, accidentally swiped to a different mode while turning the camera 180 degrees.

Included in the box are a lens hood to help reduce glare — just note that it can fall off easily, so keep an eye on it, or be prepared to pick up replacements — a 2150mAh Enduro 2 battery, an adhesive mount, mounting buckle and a thumb screw.

You’ll need to provide your own microSD card, as there’s no internal storage. The Mission 1 Pro relies on V30 and Class A2-rated microSDs for the best performance; A1 cards will work, but will encode more slowly.

You can pick up a series of attachments for this camera, including ND filters; however, the bigger sensor size of this camera means the Hero 13 Black’s suite of lens attachments can’t be used here, and sadly there aren’t, as yet, equivalent accessories for the Mission Pro 1.

Other GoPro attachments, such as harnesses or helmet/bike mounts, should be compatible, as the Mission 1 Pro relies on the same bracket as models that came before.

Lastly I’ll mention the point-and-shoot camera-style grip attachment, which was supplied to me for testing alongside the Mission 1 Pro and can be purchased separately ($99.99 / £89.99 / AU$154.95) or as part of a bundle. The grip is incredibly simple, yet effective at transforming the Mission 1 into something that feels more like a regular point-and-shoot compact.

When it comes to capturing quick videos, such as clips at the beach or at a festival, the grip makes it easy to hold the camera without the risk that your hand will get in the way of the lens, although as mentioned, the Mission 1 Pro doesn’t perform as well as a stills camera — more on that below.

• Design score: 5/5

GoPro Mission 1 Pro: Performance

To make video capture easier than ever the Mission 1 Pro features a slew of preset capture modes that adjust settings based on your needs, with modes for Vlogging, SportPOV, TimeLapse, Open Gate, SlowMo, Low Light, Dive and plenty more.

You can tweak the settings for each mode to fine-tune your image quality needs, and also manage modes by hiding ones you never use, or adding custom settings that are your go-tos.

For most scenarios, I found the 4K open gate option to be the most versatile. The image quality is solid, and you have the option to reframe the footage to 16:9 or 9:16 later based on your needs — plus it’s less of a drain on the battery than shooting in 8K.

Vlog-style recording is made easy thanks to the front screen, and automatic subject tracking that centers you in the frame — ideal for casual vloggers who constantly find they steadily drift out of shot unless they pay close attention to the camera they’re holding.

The audio quality is decent too, picking up voices and essential sounds, but cutting out wind noise.

Slow mo is also a lot of fun, though as you’ll see in my example video above, raw untuned footage at resolutions lower than 4K can start to look grainier than is ideal — upscaling and/or sharpening the image with editing software is essential to get things to look better.

The larger sensor also helps in low-light conditions, especially with the new Low Light shooting mode. Unsurprisingly, in proper darkness the camera still struggles, but with some illumination remaining the camera performs well in this mode.

Where I’m less convinced of the Mission 1 Pro’s abilities is when it comes to stills photography, which is a massive shame considering you have the option to add the point-and-shoot grip.

Whenever I tried to take photos I found myself fighting against its lack of autofocus — or even manual focus — and the less-than-ideal zoom quality. The camera has a fixed focus with a minimum focus distance around 60cm — which counts out close-up photography — and an optimal focal distance of about 1.5m. This also means it isn’t focused to infinity, so landscapes will appear a little soft in your shots, especially since the larger sensor has a shallower depth of field than previous GoPros.

In addition, as soon as you zoom in you’ll find the image quality drops a fair amount, although this is to be expected from the digital zoom this camera uses.

The overall quality isn’t terrible, though, and the point-and-shoot grip does offer some useful versatility for video recording beyond the more traditional action camera use-cases.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Testing Scorecard

Should I buy the GoPro Mission 1 Pro?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested the GoPro Mission 1 Pro

I spent just over a month with the Mission 1 Pro, taking it out on excursions to snap photos and videos to test its capabilities not just as an action camera, but as a point-and-shoot video capture tool — with that latter case aided by the point-and-shoot grip.

If you’re planning to use the GoPro Mission 1 Pro as your vacation camera — aided by its durable design and waterproofness — the grip is super helpful at helping to keep you hands out of frame, and as a pure action camera the GoPro fits the same mounts and accessories as previous models like the Hero 13 Black (save for the lens attachments).

Inspired by shows like Hunted and Jet Lag The Game, a lot of my testing focused on running and vlogging with the action camera to capture my fitness progress and to record personal cuts of games of hide-and-seek across London — passing the camera between my friends so they could record their stints too. They found the GoPro super easy to use, with the smoothing tech and subject tracking ensuring thaty vlogs and action shots look great without requiring constant focus on what the camera is doing — you just press go and it’ll come with you.

First reviewed: July 2026

If you're a small business looking to boost your storage, I've uncovered a top deal on the Ugreen NASync DXP4800 Plus for $657 (was $730) at Amazon. This four-bay NAS system

For a 4-bay NAS that can handle Docker, VMs, 10GbE, and serious creative workflows without approaching Synology or QNAP pricing, the Ugreen NASync DXP4800 Plus makes a compelling case.

In our hands-on tests, we found the hardware was "exceptionally well-considered and powerful." In the UK, Ugreen's NAS system is also discounted to £527 (was £620) at Amazon.

Today's top NAS deal

The Intel Pentium Gold 8505 is the spec that separates the DXP4800 Plus from ARM-based NAS alternatives like the DH2300. It’s an x86 processor, which means it runs Docker containers properly — Jellyfin, Home Assistant, qBittorrent, Nextcloud, and hundreds of other containerized apps all work without compatibility caveats. It also supports virtual machines, letting you run a full Windows or Linux instance inside the NAS if your workflow requires it.

For the broad category of buyers who want a NAS that can also serve as a self-hosted server for home automation, media, or development workloads, x86 matters in a way that ARM simply can’t match.

The 10GbE network port is the other hardware differentiator. Most NAS at this price max out at 2.5GbE; the DXP4800 Plus provides a 10GbE port alongside the 2.5GbE, giving you a genuine multi-gigabit network connection for fast file transfers and 4K network video editing. Camera Jabber’s review found transfer speeds “impressive and stable” even on a 5GbE network, calling it “a superb option for any photographer or videographer looking for a small office or studio NAS system.” For the right setup, 10GbE effectively removes the network as a bottleneck for large file workflows.

The dual M.2 NVMe slots for SSD caching are worth understanding before buying. They don’t add to your storage total — they serve as a fast cache layer that accelerates frequently accessed files, making the mechanical HDD array feel significantly more responsive for mixed read/write workloads. If you’re serving files to a busy household or small office with multiple simultaneous users, adding even modest NVMe SSDs to the cache slots makes a noticeable difference.

UGOS, Ugreen's operating system, has matured considerably since the DXP series launched in 2024. Early criticism centered on missing features and instability; that criticism is now largely outdated. The App Center has grown substantially, Docker is well-integrated, and the web interface is clean and intuitive. The honest caveat is that UGOS is still newer and has a smaller ecosystem of native apps than Synology DSM or QNAP QTS — buyers who rely on specific Synology or QNAP apps that have no UGOS equivalent should verify compatibility before switching. For the most common use cases — file serving, media streaming, cloud sync, backups, Docker containers — UGOS covers everything needed.

For more high-capacity storage solutions, we've tested the best NAS devices and the best NAS hard drives.

Also consider: More Ugreen NASync deals

• Forrester analysts warn around four in five leaders and ITDMs envision having larger budgets in 2027
• Consumption-based AI pricing is making it harder to predict outlay
• Targeted investment to improve data quality is key

Forrester is predicting software budgets could be set to rise, with more than four in five leaders expecting to increase overall budgets over the next 12 months and 82% of tech decision-makers expecting larger budgets.

While some of the extra cash could come as a result of increased confidence and readiness to spend on tech, the company's analysts warn that a shift in pricing structures could also be forcing companies to fork out more.

This comes as software vendors shift from traditional per-seat licences to token or credit pricing, which introduces so many more variables including model selection, context size, output length and agent operating time, leading to far more unpredictable outgoings.

The real reason businesses are preparing to spend more on software

"Business leaders are no longer planning for a return to stability – they’re planning for a future where volatility is a constant,” Chief Research Officer Sharyn Leaver noted.

Recent shifts from major AI providers all point toward this emerging pricing model becoming the norm, with GitHub moving its Copilot plants to usage-based billing in June and OpenAI adding pay-as-you-go Codex seats in April. Anthropic also recently removed Fable 5 from its standard subscriptions and seat-based models over difficult-to-predict demand, but set out plans to reintroduce it where capacity permits.

Acknowledging these major shifts, Forrester's report reveals two areas where companies can increase their budgets for 2027 – building machine-readable context and enterprise knowledge, and increasing brand visibility in answer engines.

The report also hints at the major role AI can play in marketing and customer-facing experiences, and the potential use that synthetic data can provide subject to testing. All in all, it's more about targeting investments rather than throwing cash at the problem, as Leaver concludes:

"The organizations that outperform in 2027 won’t be those that spend the most on AI. They’ll be the ones that invest in the foundations that make AI effective."

• The first full trailer for Lioness season 3 has been released
• Taylor Sheridan's series is set to return to Paramount+ on August 2
•  Zoe Saldaña, Michael Kelly, Morgan Freeman, and Nicole Kidman will all return

We've only spent a few weeks without a new episode of a Taylor Sheridan show to stream, but the first full trailer for Lioness season 3 has been released (which you can catch up with below).

Premiering on Paramount+ on August 2, the core cast, including Zoe Saldaña, Michael Kelly, Morgan Freeman, and Nicole Kidman, is all set to return.

As the official synopsis explains, "Joe (Saldaña) walks the line between duty and home as unseen forces circle her world. Patterns appear where they shouldn’t, names vanish, and paths rearrange.

"Guided by Kaitlyn (Kidman) and Westfield (Kelly), Joe confronts enemies operating in the shadows, leaving her to reckon with a war that now reaches into every part of her life."

While the first teaser trailer already gave us a 60-second insight into what's to come, it's neither Joe's new dilemmas nor the upcoming action that's actually the most impressive part of what's to come.

Opinion: Lioness season 3 retaining its A-List supporting cast speaks volumes about Taylor Sheridan

After the success of Avatar, Lioness is likely Saldaña's most well-known and established project. But for Freeman and Kidman, it's a drop in a much wider ocean.

There's a long-standing joke that Kidman must be the busiest woman working in the industry, as she doesn't seem to go more than a few months without having a new project to promote.

Just this year, that includes Scarpetta, Margo's Got Money Troubles, Lioness season 3, and Practical Magic 2. On top of this, she's just finished filming Scarpetta season 2, and Big Little Lies season 3 is being teased like there's no tomorrow.

Retaining Kidman's involvement at all, let alone how much we're expecting to see her in new episodes, is nothing short of a miracle. The same can be said for Freeman but for different reasons — the man surely doesn't need to work, so project selection becomes picky. He is Morgan Freeman, after all.

Honestly, I'm incredibly impressed that both are returning for Lioness season 3 with seemingly healthy screentime, and that speaks volumes about Taylor Sheridan as a creator. Names like these two will only keep showing up if everything across the board is of the highest quality, from script to on-set experience.

Sheridan is nailing his A-List castings, from Demi Moore in Landman to Michelle Pfeiffer in The Madison. Clearly, there's a good reason why.

• Anthropic has a new 'hard questions' ad for Claude and AI
• Reactions to the short clip have been mixed
• OpenAI boss Sam Altman says the ad feels like satire

Anthropic has a new ad out for its Claude AI chatbot, and it ties into its Hard Questions project — an attempt to bring attention to some of the main concerns and hopes that people have about the future of AI. Will it take my job? Can it lead to new scientific discoveries? Why is there a new data center in my neighborhood?

You can see the short film below, which features voices "from real people" that Anthropic has spoken to. Alongside shots of burning buildings, lab researchers, and racks and racks of hard drives, we have ruminations over whether AI can be trusted and how it might affect communities, education, and what it means to be human.

Anthropic has boldly left the comments enabled on the video, and it's fair to say there's a mix of opinion: various posters have branded the clip as "dystopian marketing slop", a sign of "dark times", and "pretty horrifying". One commenter points out that the final "keep thinking" tagline is a strange choice for a technology that generally makes us think less.

There are plenty of positive opinions too, with some calling the ad "profoundly beautiful", "great", and "thought-provoking", and even "the greatest commercial I've ever seen" in one case. Quite a few YouTuber users in the comments are simply asking for more access to the latest Claude Fable AI model.

Questions and answers

The ad has even caught the attention of Sam Altman, CEO of Anthropic rival OpenAI. His response to the clip was to say that he "thought this was satire", though it's worth remembering that he's not the most neutral of observers. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei was previously vice president of research at OpenAI.

What we can say for sure about the ad is that it's addressing many of the issues that are in the public conversation right now when it comes to AI technology. Anthropic has also launched a Hard Questions web portal where you can listen to some of the conversations the company has had with people across the US.

The topics covered include the use of AI in medical diagnosis, safeguards around the misuse of AI, the resources needed to run data centers, how the technology might impact our critical thinking skills and creativity, which jobs might ultimately be replaced by AI, and what it's going to be like for kids to grow up with AI.

Clearly this debate is going to go on and on across the years to come, but it does feel like the tension has never been greater between the hype and the backlash around AI. Big AI companies like Anthropic are going to have to work hard to keep users and governments on side as the technology becomes even more powerful and pervasive.

Viaim OpenNote: 30-second review

I’ve looked at a fair few of these AI note takers in recent months, and they’re getting progressively more impressive. The Viaim OpenNote takes a slightly different approach to some, like the superb Plaud Note, as in the hardware is designed as a pair of open-ear earphones, essentially the type that hook over your ear with the small speaker unit resting just outside the ear canal, and like so many other earphones of this design, they enable music playback and enable you to make calls.

However, music and calls are only part of the story; they also offer internal recording, making them an ideal option for work and meetings. When you enter the office, simply squeeze the speaker section, and it starts capturing whatever's being said. Once the meeting has finished, the audio can then be sent to the app, where it’s then transcribed and summarised. Unlike some rivals, the recording is activated and stored in the earphones, so no need to use your phone to capture.

In meetings, wearing a set of earphones may well look a bit rude, until you explain, and here’s where the open design really comes into play. As the earphones don’t go into your ear, you can hear everything around you as if the earphones weren’t in. So, throughout the test, I was able to attend meetings, record the session, and afterwards download the transcription for use as key points and action points, and even visualise it using a mind map. In meetings, I found that through the app the “Live Recording” option meant that I could actually take them out of my ear and just leave them on the desk to the same effect.

Where they really came in use was through phone calls, again enabling them to record calls through the App and then deliver the prepared summaries of what had been said and what was needed.

For work, these earphones are exceptional, and I liked that I could work, listen to music and podcasts, talk to people without needing to remove them, and record conversations with a quick squeeze. It all became very second nature with the summaries becoming invaluable. If you love your music, the lack of insulation and isolation in the design will be a bit of a let-down, but for their core use as work-focused, AI-enhanced earphones, they’re impressive.

Viaim OpenNote: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $169
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Viam and online retailers

The Viaim OpenNote is priced at $169.99 in the US and is available in black or white directly from the Viaim store.

It's also listed for $221 on Amazon.com, as well as sites like Newegg and Target. A confirmed UK price is still to be announced at the time of writing.

Advanced AI models are available from $9.99 a month / $79.99 a year

• Value: 4 / 5

Viaim OpenNote: Specs

Type: Open-ear wireless earphones
Connectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, dual-device connection
Codecs: SBC, AAC, device-dependent LHDC
Drivers: high-polymer racetrack-shaped dynamic drivers
Microphones: four, with call noise reduction
Battery: 115mAh per earbud / 750mAh case; 19 hours (earphones) / 53 hours (total with case)
Fast charge: 3 hours from a 10-minute charge
Weight: 10.5g per earbud / 55.5g charging case
Frame: 0.8mm titanium memory wire, silicone contact surfaces
Water resistance: IP55
Software: iOS and Android app, plus web platform
In the box: earphones, charging case, USB-C cable, quick-start guide
Warranty: 12 months
Price: $169.99 (UK price TBC)

Viaim OpenNote: Design

A first look at the OpenNote package, and it would be easy to mistake these for a standard set of over-the-ear open earphones, rather than an advanced set of AI-enhanced note-taking earphones. The design differs from other over-the-ear earphones in that the small speaker unit rests just by the opening of your ear canal rather than sitting in it, which means there’s no airtight seal, so no boost in base or isolation from the world beyond the audio that you’re listening to.

The OpenNote, on the other hand, will play music and podcasts perfectly well, though if you are an audiophile, the depth of tone will disappoint. However, these are for work, not play. Listen to music and podcasts by all means, but the OpenNote design means that if someone talks to you, you’ll hear it instantly. Just turn the volume down, if needed, and chat. They essentially give you a personal version of listening to traditional radio while still allowing you to carry on conversations.

However, the design, available in black or white, simply hooks over your ear, and a 0.8mm flexible titanium wire lets you wrap each in place securely. The slender design and flexibility meant that, even though I wear glasses, the earphones sat neatly alongside the arms of the glasses.

The earphones are also compact, each weighing 10.5g, which is light, and, thanks to the design, even when hooked over the ear, they didn’t put any noticeable pressure on my ear and were surprisingly comfortable to wear all day.

Inside is a small battery that lasts a reported 19 hours between charges, and the charging case, which weighs 55g, can give the buds a boost, enabling 3 hours of use from a 10-minute charge and up to 53 hours in total.

Checking over the earphones and case, it all seems solid enough, with the case featuring a single USB-C port for charging, and the earphones sitting inside to store and charge.

The buds also offer IP55 protection, which should stop dust, sweat and light rain, so they’ll survive most conditions, just don’t go swimming in them.

Beyond being used as wireless headphones, the recording and playback features are all activated by a pinch, while the transcription features require the app to work.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Viaim OpenNote: Features

As with all of these devices, Viam has come up with its own feature names for many of the earphones' functions, with the main one being FlashRecord. This is essentially the feature the earphones are designed around, and it enables you to record directly onto the earphones without needing to control them with your mobile phone. This means you can be fast and responsive when you need to take notes, without fumbling around for a phone, dictaphone or notepad, depending on how you work.

Once the recording has been captured, you can connect to the App, download it, and transcribe it. What’s impressive here is that if you’re on a call, you can get real-time transcription in 78 languages and, apparently, 145 regional accents. Once the text transcription is complete, you can get it delivered as a key, an action point, notes, or mind maps, among several templates. This in itself is nothing new, but nonetheless, it is incredibly useful, and if you need to, you can share that transcript live with a colleague.

What I like about the companion app's feature set is that once you’ve finished recording, you can automatically have it transcribed in real time. A difference between this and many other AI Note hardware options is that 600 minutes of transcription are included per month for free, which is far more than most other options.

In addition to transcribing the audio you’ve recorded, the app can also transcribe existing recordings and, again, apply templates to the way that information was supplied.

When it comes to connectivity technology, the earphones utilise Bluetooth 5.3 with dual-device pairing and support for SBC, AAC, and device-dependent LHDC codecs. To ensure excellent audio pickup, there are four microphones with electronic call-noise reduction for voice calls, although it’s worth pointing out that this is very different to the sealed-ear active noise cancellation you’ll be used to with standard in-ear options.

One of the big issues with many AI transcription hardware is that there is always a subscription model attached, and that’s true here as well, with a free allowance of 600 transcription minutes a month; anything beyond that goes onto the paid models and again if you want to upgrade the AI model.

• Features: 4 / 5

Viaim OpenNote: Performance

After a quick charge to 100%, I downloaded the APP, which, in the literature, is referred to as OpenNote; however, searching for that in the Apple Store just returned a variety of unrelated apps, and eventually typing in Viaim brought up the correct option. Once downloaded and connected via Bluetooth, the home screen appears. To connect, click the add device button at the top. After a quick scan, it’s set and ready to go.

The home screen shows a variety of sample recordings to give you a flavour of what's possible, then you can make your own through the app interface or transcribe existing recordings. To make a recording through the App, you hit the red record button at the bottom-centre of the screen. On the first push, it pops up asking for a few more details about you, what job type and position, this is to fine-tune the experience, but it feels a little invasive.

After that, each time you hit record, you can access different recording types: Call Recording for phone calls; Audio and video recording for real-time transcription; Live recording for meetings; and Live Translation and Recording if you need translation. I opted for English-to-French in this test.

I’ll run through these options first, as they offer more advanced transcription options. In all cases, the quality and accuracy of the transcription from the recordings were good; however, not quite 100%. With some words, such as card constantly being captured as Cart and earbud as Earbi, aside from small word errors, the action reliability overall was good. What I liked about the system was the ease of switching between recording types, all done through the app, with the earbud mics picking up the audio.

Having tested Ai earphone options in the past, the accuracy here with the dedicated hardware is a step up, though still not quite 100%. The live recording, where you can essentially pop the earphones down on the table during a meeting rather than wearing them, worked incredibly well, and the transcription started as the conversation began. What I liked here is that it can identify the speakers although not in realtime. It does this after the meeting: as you look at the transcription, click the “Speaker diarization” button, select the number of speakers, and the App identifies and labels accordingly. Again, this worked well, and best of all, this is included in the free plan.

Through this test the AI model that the App used was GPT 5.4 Nano, although there are other options including Gemini 3 Flash, Claude Haiku 4.5 which are all free options and then GPT 5.4, Gemini 3.1 Pro and Claude Sonnet 4.5 all incur a charge of £9.99 a month or £79.99, however, those slight miss transcriptions of the free models do take a sudden uplift on the paid for versions.

The live translation is also handy, although not quite as smooth as dedicated AI translation options. You choose the main language, in my case English, and as I speak, it translates into French. However, when someone answers in French, you then need to switch the main language to French and the translation language to English. It all works well, but it isn’t an easy switch, and it would have been good, at least, to have a speaker 1 main language and speaker 2 main language so you could quickly flip between the two.

At present, this is all about the app and not the hardware, although the small mics play their part throughout.

Popping the earphones in, they fit extremely well, with the speaker units resting at the openings of my ear canals. The first step before checking out the recording functions was to listen to some music, and in this user scenario, they work much like any other headphone connecting to whatever app you use and playing the music.

It’s instantly apparent that listening to music or podcasts isn’t the intended primary use, more through the open design than audio quality. As the speaker unit rests in front of your ear canal rather than in it, there’s no seal, so the audio lacks the depth I’ve come to associate with in-ear. However, in the office, listening to a bit of music, you can hear the content perfectly well, and everything else that’s going on around you. And if someone wants to talk to you or shout to you across the office, the earphones don’t muffle the sound; it’s a far more sociable solution for the office environment than standard headphones. In fact, it's more like listening to a traditional radio in that respect; you can have the audio in the background.

To record a conversation, simply squeeze the main section of the bud for 3 seconds. You'll hear a confirmation sound, and then you know the earphones are recording. When the conversation stops, another squeeze ends the recording.

In the App options, there is the FlashRecord option. If this is selected, the track is automatically downloaded to the phone once the recording ends, ready for transcription. At this point, you need to go to the app, click Transcribe, and then you’ll get the summary, transcription, and mind map. There are additional options here as well, with the transcription process taking around a minute for most short conversations and longer as the length of those conversations increases. That process takes around a minute to download a 15-minute recording from the earphones to the iPhone 15 Pro and a further 42 seconds to transcribe and generate the summaries.

While most of the options are straightforward, the workflow sometimes requires an additional step, and you can’t help but feel that an auto-switch would be a good idea. When taking calls, for instance, you need to select the call option from the App when recording. While a quick pinch will answer a call, it doesn’t automatically start recording; you need to select that from the app.

However, there’s no getting around how useful the summaries are and the ability to share the transcripts afterwards. Through the test, I used the headphones for a couple of weeks, with them being active through-out the day, playing music or recording from 7:30am through to 7pm in the evening and then being put on to charge overnight.

Through that time, I recorded several conversations and phone calls. While the recording process wasn’t at first that natural, it felt like something that would come with time, and ultimately, aside from letting people know that you were about to record, it fitted in well with day-to-day working life, and there was absolutely no doubt that the transcriptions and summaries were extremely useful.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Viaim OpenNote: Final verdict

These earphones work on several levels, from listening to music and podcasts, to recording and transcribing meetings, conversations and calls, to being the perfect option for busy working environments where traditional earphones can be unsociable due to the isolation.

On the first point, listening to music, think of it as a background radio, you can get good volume if you need it, but at the same time keep the volume low, and you can hear everything around you , even have conversations without removing them. To the last point, this means that if someone needs to get your attention from the other side of the office, they can. You may not get the audio depth of in-ear or cans, but in a working environment, these are probably a better option.

Then there's the app functionality, which gives you access to the advanced features and different language models. During the test, I used GPT 5.4 nano, which worked well but occasionally omitted a few words or replaced them with close-but-not-quite-right alternatives. However, the summaries and the usefulness of what it could do, all on the free tier, were exceptional. If you take the step up to one of the newer, more advanced models, the price starts to climb, but the quality of the transcription improves.

Away from the app and the simple squeeze to record gesture makes them easy to operate, and if you’re around the office, then this works incredibly well, and I even could in meetings with the earphones on the desk, even without switching to the Live mode in the app, the earphones were still able to pick up what was said with ease.

At the end of the test, the usefulness for work is readily apparent: you can document your day through snippets of transcribed audio, which are then turned into useful formats that enable summaries and action points. I do wish there were a little more automation and that call recording could be activated from the headphones, but still, there’s a lot on offer here.

Should I buy a Viaim OpenNote?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more note-taking tools, we reviewed the best speech-to-text apps around.

• Richard Knight, director of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, has explained why hidden blade combat was removed from the remake
• He says the team "prioritized core combat"
• Knight adds that the team is also monitoring player feedback but "can't make any promises"

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced director Richard Knight has explained why the newly released remake of the 2013 game doesn't feature the original's hidden blade combat.

Black Flag Resynced is built from the ground up and features very little of the original code, but offers a faithful recreation that honors the original story, characters, and world. Many aspects have been changed to modernize the decade-plus-old game, including a revamp of the fight system, which notably does without Edward Kenway's hidden blade combat, which allowed the assassin to take down multiple enemies in a swift chain-kill.

In an interview with YouTuber JorRaptor (via IGN), Knight revealed why the team chose to scrap the feature, explaining that it wasn't a priority.

"During development, if you looked at Edward — he's so powerful right now and has so many tools, and so we prioritized core combat because we needed to nail that," he said.

"Something like throwing weapons, while it's cool, it's just like, 'He already has ten ways to kill somebody.' So, given the cost to reinvent the feature and rebuild it from the ground up with today's characters, rigs, and animations, there's a lot more that goes into it. It was just lower-priority for us."

Edward's hidden blade combat was a pretty cool feature of the original game, so understandably, a lot of fans were a bit miffed to discover the remaster ditched it.

However, additional comments from the director suggest that the development team could make some changes in the future.

"We can't make any promises, [but] we're listening to the community," Knight said. "We're interested in what people want the most.”

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

TechRadar Gaming's Managing Editor Rob Dwiar rated the game four stars in his review, calling it "a great remake of a classic game and does a great job of walking the tightrope between respecting the original source material and introducing new content and modernizing aged features."

• Apple has ended a popular loophole used when buying an iPhone
• It previously let you get an unlocked iPhone on carrier finance
• The workaround still works when purchasing an iPad

For many years, there’s been something of an open secret among Apple fans who want to get a new, fully unlocked iPhone deal with affordable carrier financing. Now, though, Apple has ended this workaround, much to the dismay of the Apple userbase — but there’s better news if you’re thinking of getting an iPad on finance.

The iPhone loophole worked like this. While buying an iPhone on finance from a carrier usually meant it was locked to that provider, buying the same device straight from Apple’s website — even when using carrier financing — got you an unlocked phone.

This applied to both T-Mobile and Verizon contracts, although AT&T users were still locked to their carrier. It meant that you could get the benefit of a generous financing offer or trade-in deal without having to stick with one carrier until your device was paid off.

Now, Apple has changed its terms. In the Frequently Asked Questions section on any iPhone purchase page, Apple has inserted some new language: “If you choose to finance an iPhone through the AT&T Installment Plan, T-Mobile Equipment Installment Plan, or Verizon Device Payment Program, your iPhone will be locked to the carrier until paid in full.”

The change hasn’t gone down well with Apple users, who have been lamenting the more restrictive practices that are now in force. On Reddit, comments have ranged from “no idea why carrier locking is still legal,” while another posted commented that the situation is “sad, I was buying phones this way since 2022.”

This situation is not present in every country. Since December 2021 in the UK, regulators have prohibited mobile networks from selling new handsets that are locked to their network. Go to Apple’s UK online store and you won’t see the wording about an iPhone being locked or unlocked.

Better news for iPad buyers

If you’re still interested in getting an Apple device on finance, there’s another option, as Apple has just introduced a 36-month option when buying any of the best iPads equipped with Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity direct from Apple. This offer appears at checkout on Apple’s website and is available for the iPad, iPad mini, iPad Air and iPad Pro.

While Apple offers interest-free financing using Apple Card, that spreads the cost over 12 months. The 36-month option means your monthly repayments will be lower, although you also have to factor in the additional cost of cellular service and any extras like an activation fee.

Your current options are AT&T or Verizon. Interestingly, though, you won’t be locked to the carrier while the repayment period is ongoing, as Apple says “You can switch carriers when you purchase an iPad directly from Apple and choose carrier financing as your payment option.” That makes this iPad deal very similar to the recently shuttered iPhone workaround, and it’s unknown if or when Apple will end this loophole.

Aside from Apple, you can also buy an iPad with a 36-month financing plan from carriers. And as noted by AppleInsider, this sometimes involves bill credit or other offers that lower the cost of the iPad, meaning you could get a better deal by not going through Apple itself — although doing so likely means you’ll be locked into using that carrier, rather than being free to switch when buying from Apple. As ever with this sort of thing, shop around to see if you can get a bargain.

• GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen says Sony's decision to end physical game production is 'totally irrelevant' to the company
• The statement is supported by both physical and digital games, which only contribute 18% to overall revenue
• Cohen's comments likely won't help gamers in their push to retain physical game discs

The backlash against Sony continues after its controversial choice to stop new physical disc production of PlayStation games from January 2028 and it looks like the US' biggest dedicated video game retailer isn't taking a stand.

In an interview with Bloomberg, GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen dismissed the idea that the company will be impacted by Sony's decision to end physical game copies, stating "it doesn't matter at all," despite ongoing uproar from consumers.

"It mattered in the past; software makes up less than 12% of the business," Cohen said. "Collectibles makes up over half of the business, so it's totally irrelevant."

Frankly, it's a harsh and cold stance, but it isn't exactly incorrect, as Bloomberg highlights that both physical and digital copies of games are only 18% of GameStop's total revenue. The store has mostly transitioned to a focus on collectibles like Pokémon cards, and that's evident the moment you visit its website.

It's no secret that Sony's decision to end disc production in 2028 hasn't gone down well with most consumers, as many feel as though it's a direct threat to game ownership. A digital-only console means games (or other media) can be taken away from gamers at any time, and Sony has done that recently with over 500 purchased movies removed from user libraries.

Essentially, GameStop's reasoning for the end of game discs being irrelevant is similar to Sony's, as Sony highlighted the fact that most gamers are purchasing copies digitally in its announcement.

Despite that, the consensus among consumers is that the elimination of discs is quite unnecessary, only cutting off another option of purchase. It's also worth noting that prices for games on the PlayStation Store won't be as low as they would usually be via second-hand or video game retailers.

Sony has yet to address the matter since the announcement, even with the sheer amount of backlash it's receiving online, and gamers will likely be hoping that statements from CEOs like Cohen won't harm the fight to retain physical game copies.

Business presentations no longer require a heavy projector permanently mounted in a meeting room. Portable models have become a practical alternative for small businesses and even hybrid and home workers.

And right now, the Anker Nebula P1i projector is just $299 (was $369) at Amazon, making it a more affordable way to equip offices, client meetings, and shared workspaces. In the UK, Anker's portable projector is also discounted to £299 (was £370) at Amazon.

Now, at 380 ANSI lumens, it's not bright enough for watching the World Cup final unless you're watching in a dark room (or once the sunsets). But it ticks all the core boxes for a budget portable projector for presentations and screenings.

Today's top portable projector deal

The Nebula P1i produces a native 1080p Full HD image with 4K content support and 380 ANSI lumens of TÜV-certified brightness. The sharp resolution makes presentations, spreadsheets, documents, and video content easy to view in smaller meeting rooms and collaborative spaces, and it's equally suited to home entertainment purposes.

Anker's IEA 3.0 technology automatically handles autofocus, keystone correction, screen fitting, and obstacle avoidance, allowing you to place the projector almost anywhere.

You can get started within seconds, rather than spending valuable time faffing around with settings before every meeting.

Connectivity is flexible thanks to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, HDMI, and AUX, making it simple to connect laptops, wireless speakers, or other presentation equipment.

Built-in Google TV also gives you direct access to streaming services, which can be useful for training videos, demonstrations, and promotional content.

The hardware includes an all-glass lens, and a fully sealed optical engine helps to reduce dust build-up and support image quality.

Dual 10W Dolby Audio speakers rotate independently, so you can direct sound toward your audience, whether they're in a boardroom, classroom, or temporary workspace.

Although the P1i doesn't include an internal battery, its 7.3lb design remains portable enough to move between offices or take to client sites, and it can also be powered by a compatible portable power station for those locations lacking convenient mains access.

For the price, he Nebula P1i offers an attractive mix of Full HD resolution, automatic setup, durable optics, and flexible connectivity.

For small businesses, educators, and professionals who need a projector that's easy to transport and quick to setup, this is a terrific deal.

For more top picks, these are the best portable projectors we've tested and reviewed.

• See all projectors at Amazon

OpenAI has officially launched its first piece of hardware, and it's called the Codex Micro. It might sound like a retro computer in a Dan Brown book, but the Codex Micro is actually a very compact keyboard for coders.

How does that work? In this article we're going to dive into exactly what the Codex Micro is, and the point of the device, as well as how it aims to make life easier for programmers – and then we'll come on to the reaction of those coders (hold onto your hats, folks).

What is the Codex Micro?

As already mentioned, it's a keyboard, but a keyboard with a very specific purpose. OpenAI produced this peripheral in conjunction with Work Louder, and it's actually a tiny keyboard – more of a keypad, if you will, or a 'macropad', in the same vein as pads that Work Louder has produced before, like the Creator Micro 2 – made for coders who are using Codex.

What's Codex? It's OpenAI's coding agent which can assist humans in writing programs, tackling debugging tasks, or indeed writing code from scratch prompted by simple natural language instructions (vibe coding, as it's known).

What does the Codex Micro do exactly?

The idea with the Codex Micro is that you have a compact keyboard that easily allows you to switch between coding tasks (agents) with dedicated keys that have RGB lights to indicate their status at a glance. If there's an unread chat, you see a green light, or an orange one if user approval is needed, and so on.

There are other keys for voice dictation (hold and talk to give instructions – there isn't a built-in mic, by the way, this is triggering your laptop's microphone), a dial to adjust the reasoning level or how deeply the AI agent is thinking (though it can be changed to modify other options), and a joystick that you can map to what you need. The entire keyboard is fully customizable, it should be noted.

All of this is designed so that coders can quickly give instructions, see what's happening with agents and tasks at a glance, and swiftly switch between them, making changes in an easy and convenient way.

Who will buy the Codex Micro?

Obviously enough, coders who use Codex are the target audience. Think of it this way: if Codex is a faster way of coding, OpenAI wants the Codex Micro to be a further hardware-based speed boost to this whole process.

It costs $230 in the US (around £170, AU$330), although it isn't yet in stock, and clearly this isn't a consumer-oriented device.

However, OpenAI does have plans for consumer hardware. If the rumor mill is to be believed, it could have a wearable in the works – or indeed a smart speaker, going by more recent speculation. According to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, this will be a smart speaker that uses mechanical elements to create a "sense that it is alive" and it'll tap your emails and other personal data to better "understand" you. Sounds frightening, right? Truly scary. It is, however, just a rumor.

What's the general reaction to the Codex Micro from programmers?

That smart speaker I just mentioned has already prompted a good deal of antagonistic reaction, and looking at the posts about the Codex Micro, it isn't faring much better than that rumored creation.

Notably there are a number of Redditors who are questioning whether this is April 1, and some kind of joke. There's quite a lot of shoulder-shrugging going on, or observations that you can easily buy a cheap macropad and DIY your own solution along these lines for a tenth of the price OpenAI is charging. Or indeed that there could just be a simple phone app version of this product (with on-screen buttons and sliders).

As one Redditor puts it: "Yeah it's like every big tech product now. Instead of a full keyboard, it's just 12 keys, and it's $230. It honestly feels like a prank and not a real product."

Others feel this is something that serious coders won't touch with a ten-foot pole. And I can't count the number of 'it looks like they asked ChatGPT to design a great product and ran with it' comments which are on Reddit.

Thus far, then, the reaction has been roundly negative from the target market. There are hardly any posts saying, 'I'm going to buy this', and there is a lot of disbelief being expressed at the price tag attached (even among the thin ranks of the interested parties).

The broader idea might be for OpenAI to test the hardware waters with a kind of initial practice launch here, ahead of the bigger consumer product that's coming, whether it's a smart speaker or wearable (maybe both). Although if so, quite why the price of the Codex Micro is pitched so high is a bit of a headscratcher – or maybe that's a test of sorts, and a sign of things to come, as well?

Medion Signium 27 S1: One-minute review

I'm a big fan of all-in-one (AIO) PCs, so I was pretty eager to get my hands on the Medion Signium 27 S1. I've long been a big proponent of the idea that we need more budget options in the PC hardware market, and with the current pricing crisis surrounding PC components like RAM and GPUs, reasonably priced systems are more important than ever.

Unfortunately, my excitement to review the Signium 27 S1 may have been somewhat misplaced. This certainly isn't a bad AIO desktop, offering decent (if unspectacular) performance in a clean, compact design. But there are a few too many small flaws here that make it difficult for me to recommend it wholeheartedly; if you're looking for one of the best all-in-one computers, this probably isn't it, though I do still think it can fill a certain niche in the market.

For the uninitiated, Medion is a German electronics company that cut its teeth producing budget PCs and notebooks in the 2010s and was recently purchased by Lenovo (whose leadership appears content to let Medion keep doing what it was already doing). I've tested some of Medion's gaming laptops in the past, and while they rarely wow, they're typically pretty good in terms of value for money.

And to be fair, the Signium 27 S1 is indeed good value for money. Its design language (particularly of the bundled keyboard and mouse) is clearly meant to evoke the Apple iMac 24-inch M4, and if you're only looking to do basic everyday tasks on your PC, it can offer a similar experience to Apple's excellent AIO for a far lower price. But if you crave the high-end build quality of Apple hardware or want a PC that can handle more demanding workloads, this won't be the right one for you.

Medion Signium 27 S1: Price & availability

• How much does it cost? Starting at $875 / £649 (around AU$1,250)
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

With a starting price of $875 / £649 (around AU$1,250), the Medion Signium 27 S1 is aggressively positioned in the all-in-one PC market, undercutting similar offerings from the likes of Lenovo and MSI.

There are a few different configurations available, which seem to vary greatly from region to region. My review unit uses an Intel Core 7 240H, while the cheapest configuration available uses the Core 5 210H. 1TB of storage comes as standard, which is very nice for the price, with 16GB of RAM in the lowest configuration and 32GB in my review model.

The closest comparison is the HP OmniStudio X, which costs $830 for the 27-inch 1080p configuration with an Intel Core Ultra 5 CPU. The HP AIO offers superior build quality and very marginally better performance, which makes it a more attractive option for US shoppers – but Medion wins in Europe and Australia, since that super-budget configuration of the OmniStudio X is only available in the US.

The only real problem with the Signium 27 S1 from a purchasing standpoint is availability. It's available exclusively through Aldi (yes, that Aldi) in the US and Australia, which means the prices above are pretty much just guidelines since Aldi retains the power to adjust the price on a per-store basis – though of course, you may well find one for cheaper. Fortunately for UK consumers, you can get it through Amazon or directly from Medion's website.

• Value: 4 / 5

Medion Signium 27 S1: Specs

Medion Signium 27 S1: design

• Sleek design with easy assembly
• Limited range of screen movement
• Solid port selection

Gone are the days when AIO PCs were chunky, ugly devices. Now even a budget all-in-one can look good – and the Medion Signium 27 S1 certainly does look good.

Things do begin to fall apart a little once you actually touch it, though. The three buttons on the underside of the display are unsatisfyingly spongey, and although the base is solid metal and feels fairly durable, the rest of the device (including the keyboard and mouse) is made of cheap-feeling plastic. The mount is also very limited, only allowing for a small range of tilt with no height or rotation adjustment.

Still, there are several redeeming features here. The whole thing is very easy to assemble and start using, and the port selection is good for a PC in this price range, with a USB-C and USB-A on the side of the unit for easy access plus another USB-C, three more USB-As, Ethernet, and HDMI inputs and outputs – meaning you can either connect a second display for productivity, or use the whole device as a dumb monitor for a different system.

The webcam is merely passable, providing 1080p recording with pretty washed-out colors. It'll work for Zoom meetings, but don't expect to look good. On the bright side, there's both a physical camera shutter and a kill switch (which is a little redundant) for privacy purposes.

The display is decent enough, more than capable of handling everyday office tasks, and built with nice slim bezels. With a resolution of 1080p, a 60Hz refresh rate, and decidedly average color reproduction, it's not great for gaming or watching movies. The maximum brightness is fine, but again, it could definitely be better. Unsurprisingly, this monitor doesn't support HDR.

The IPS panel used here has a good-quality anti-glare coating, which helps offset the lackluster brightness; I had no problems using it in a brightly-lit room in the middle of the day. Strangely, the display can actually be raised to a 73.5Hz refresh rate, but doing so immediately knocks the resolution down to a blurry 720p, so 60Hz is the effective maximum (as listed on the spec page for the Signium 27 S1).

Surprisingly, the Signium is upgradable, with the option to remove the back panel and swap out the RAM and SSD for higher-spec components should you so desire. My review unit wouldn't really benefit from this kind of bump in performance terms, but being able to add more storage is definitely a plus.

Lastly, the Signium 27 S1 comes bundled with a keyboard and mouse, both of which are clearly meant to evoke the aesthetic of Apple's Magic peripherals. They're absolutely nowhere close to Apple's hardware in terms of quality, immediately feeling cheap and tacky under the fingers.

They work, but they're undeniably very far from any of the best keyboards and best mice, especially the keyboard, so you'll most likely want to consider upgrading unless you have a high tolerance for poor-quality technology.

• Design: 3.5 / 5

Medion Signium 27 S1: Performance

• Good performance for basic workloads
• Ill-suited for gaming and creative tasks
• Sound quality is poor

Without beating around the bush, the performance on offer here is merely alright. If you want a svelte all-in-one desktop for basic office tasks like web browsing, word processing, and video calls, then it can get the job done very competently. It comes with Windows 11 as standard and the usual free trial of Microsoft 365.

I found that for my straightforward work, the Signium 27 S1 was very responsive and effective, giving me no noticeable slowdown or issues with productivity. Once I swapped out the mouse and keyboard for something more amenable to my tastes, I actually quite liked working on it.

But for more demanding tasks, like gaming or creative workloads, the Intel Core 7 240H falls short. You can squeeze a bit of casual gaming out of it by tweaking down the graphical settings and using resolution upscaling tools like AMD FSR or Intel XeSS, but don't expect to be playing Cyberpunk 2077 on this PC.

Creative tasks offer similarly lackluster performance. While the Signium is arguably capable of low- to mid-level 3D rendering, digital art, and video processing, it's really not ideal for that sort of work. While not part of our standard benchmarking suite for AIO PCs, I fired up Canva and Photoshop during my testing period and found that it really started to struggle once numerous layers were involved.

Finally, you'll want to get your hands on a decent headset or a set of the best computer speakers if you have any intention of playing audio via this PC. The integrated speakers are weak and tinny with poor noise cancelling, more or less hopeless for anything beyond very basic video playback.

• Performance: 3 / 5

Should you buy the Medion Signium 27 S1?

Buy the Medion Signium 27 S1 if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

If my Medion Signium 27 S1 review has you considering other options, here are two other AIO PCs to consider...

How I tested the Medion Signium 27 S1

• Tested for one work week
• Used it for productivity and gaming
• Ran it through our standard benchmarking suite, plus some extra tests

I used the Medion Signium 27 S1 as my regular work system for one week, swapping it out for my everyday desktop at home and using it for the usual range of work I do for TechRadar: online research, video calls, and writing reviews like this one.

I also ran our usual selection of benchmark tests (which you can see in the Performance section of this review) as well as firing up some extra programs to do further testing, including Canva, Photoshop, and Cyberpunk 2077 (which ran very poorly, no surprise there).

I've been reviewing PC hardware for more than eight years, testing all kinds of products from desktop computers to individual peripherals. I put every bit of my industry experience into my review process, so you can trust that it's both accurate and impartial.

• First reviewed July 2026

• Two UK men sentenced to 5 years and 6 months for the 2024 cyberattack on Transport for London, linked to the Scattered Spider group
• Police seized devices showing evidence of the TfL breach; Flowers was also mid‑attack on US healthcare firms SSM Health and Sutter Health at the time of arrest
• TfL reported $39M in damages; the NCA says the sentencing effectively dismantled Scattered Spider, with Microsoft confirming the arrests degraded the group’s operations

Two young men, one aged 20 and the other 18, have been sentenced to five years and six months in prison for their involvement in the cyberattack on Transport for London (TfL) in 2024.

Thalha Jubair, from East London, and Owen Flowers, from Walsall, West Midlands were arrested in 2025 under the suspicion that they were the leading members of Scattered Spider - an infamous hacking collective known for breaching dozens of companies. Initial reports from different cybersecurity organizations claimed the group consisted mostly of teenagers whose native language was English.

During the arrest, the police seized different types of electronic equipment from the suspects, including laptops, PCs, smartphones, hard drives, removable storage, and more. On one of the computers, law enforcement found screenshots and videos showing the intrusion into TfL’s systems.

Millions in damages

To make matters even worse, Flowers was in the middle of breaking into US healthcare companies SSM Health Care Corporation and Sutter Health when he was arrested: According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), these two were already “infiltrated and damaged”.

The attack on TfL was one of the more disruptive incidents that year, and one which caused a lot of financial damage, too. According to a report TfL shared with the City of London Police (CoLP), it suffered around $39 million in loss and recovery costs.

Both Jubair and Flowers initially pleaded not guilty and changed their pleas to guilty on the day they were due to stand trial, it was said. Now, they are both sentenced to more than five years in jail. The NCA says these arrests and sentencing effectively dismantled the notorious hacking collective.

“Although other cybercriminals may continue to use the damaged Scattered Spider brand, the NCA’s action against Jubair and Flowers effectively halted the group’s criminal activity,” the NCA said in its report.

“Independent assessment supports this, with Microsoft confirming that the arrests materially degraded the group's ability to continue conducting cybercriminal operations.”

I've uncovered a pretty cool way to save almost $400 off a ThinkPad by combining two separate promo codes.

Right now, you can get the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 AMD for $1,324.39 (was $1719) at Lenovo. The laptop is already discounted down to $1,471.55. But then, enter coupon code THINKWEEKEND, which saves you $77.45, and code LENOVO10DEAL to save an extra $147.16. That's almost $400 off one of our top-rated business laptops.

I don't know how long this loophole will last though, so use them while you can. Better still, you can run this coupon combo across a range of other laptops and desktops, too.

Today's top Lenovo ThinkPad deal

Business laptops can sometimes blur together, but Lenovo's ThinkPad range has always stood out for me, earning its reputation by focusing on reliability, security, and practical features that make everyday work easier.

Powered by AMD's Ryzen 5 PRO 230 processor, the ThinkPad T14 has more than enough performance for office work, web browsing, video meetings, spreadsheets, and multitasking.

You get 16GB of DDR5 memory and a 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD, as well as a fingerprint reader for fast sign-ins, a 5MP RGB and IR webcam, a physical privacy shutter, and Windows 11 Pro, making it well suited to business tasks.

The 14-inch WUXGA IPS display has a 1920 x 1200 resolution with an anti-glare finish and 400 nits of brightness, making it easier to work in bright offices or while traveling on a train or plane.

A backlit keyboard, integrated Radeon 760M graphics, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4 round out modern specifications that mean the laptop should continue to be perfectly fine for many years.

Although Lenovo markets the ThinkPad T14 primarily toward professionals and small businesses, it also makes plenty of sense for students and anyone wanting a durable, lightweight laptop that puts productivity ahead of flashy, but entirely unnecessary, extras.

If you need a dependable laptop that can handle almost anything you throw at it, these combined discounts make the ThinkPad T14 Gen 7 AMD an easy recommendation.

For more top-performers, see our guide to the best business laptop. And for more savings, see our round-up of the best business laptop deals around right now.

Also consider: More ThinkPad deals

• Shop all ThinkPads at Lenovo

Over the last year, one topic has dominated conversations across the cybersecurity industry: artificial intelligence.

Every week seems to bring another announcement, another capability, or another prediction about how AI will transform security. In offensive security, the discussion has become particularly intense. We are seeing AI-assisted vulnerability discovery, AI-generated attack simulations, AI-powered analysis tools, and increasingly bold claims about autonomous security testing.

The question I am asked most often is surprisingly simple:

“Will AI replace penetration testers?”

My answer is equally simple: No.

What AI will do is change how penetration testers work.

And in many ways, it will make experienced penetration testers even more valuable.

AI is already changing security testing:

Let’s start with the obvious.

AI is genuinely impressive.

Modern AI models can process vast amounts of information, identify patterns, summarize findings, correlate data sources, and surface potential issues far faster than any individual analyst could achieve manually.

Within offensive security, AI is already helping teams:

• Identify vulnerabilities more quickly
• Analyze large datasets
• Correlate findings across environments
• Surface potential attack paths
• Generate documentation and reporting
• Reduce repetitive manual tasks

These are meaningful improvements.

Many of the activities that traditionally consumed valuable consultant time can now be accelerated significantly.

As a result, organizations are gaining greater visibility into their environments than ever before.

But visibility alone has never been the ultimate goal.

Finding vulnerabilities has never been the hard part:

One of the biggest misconceptions in cybersecurity is that finding vulnerabilities is the primary challenge.

It isn’t.

Understanding risk is.

Most organizations already have access to large amounts of security data. They run vulnerability scanners. They receive penetration testing reports. They consume threat intelligence. They deploy attack surface management tools. They monitor logs and alerts.

The problem is rarely a complete lack of information. The problem is understanding what matters.

• Which vulnerabilities are genuinely exploitable?
• Which attack paths represent realistic threats?
• Which issues require immediate remediation?
• Which findings can safely wait?

These questions are considerably harder to answer than simply identifying a vulnerability. And they are questions that require context.

Context is where human expertise matters

A vulnerability rarely exists in isolation.

The real-world risk associated with any finding depends on a range of factors, including asset criticality, business impact, compensating controls, user privileges, environmental configuration, attacker motivation, and the relationships between multiple weaknesses.

This is where experienced penetration testers provide value that AI alone cannot replicate.

When performing an assessment, we are not simply identifying vulnerabilities. We are thinking like attackers.

We are asking questions such as:

• How would I gain initial access?
• What would I target next?
• How could I chain these weaknesses together?
• What data could be accessed?
• How difficult would exploitation actually be?
• What is the likely business impact?

These decisions are rarely straightforward. They require judgement, creativity, and experience.

Two organizations may have the same vulnerability present within their environments, yet the associated risk could be dramatically different depending on the surrounding context.

Understanding that difference is where human expertise becomes critical.

The future isn’t autonomous testing:

There is currently a great deal of excitement around autonomous security testing. The idea is appealing. Feed an environment into an AI model and receive a complete understanding of risk in return.

The reality is significantly more complex.

Attackers do not operate according to predefined workflows.

• They adapt.
• They improvise.
• They exploit unexpected opportunities.
• They combine seemingly insignificant weaknesses into meaningful attack chains.

Successful offensive security assessments require the same flexibility.

While AI can assist with analysis and discovery, security testing remains fundamentally an exercise in understanding human behavior, business context, and attacker decision-making. These are areas where human expertise continues to outperform automation.

For the foreseeable future, I believe the most effective approach will be human-led, AI-assisted testing. Not human versus AI. Human plus AI.

AI should make penetration testers better:

The conversation should not be about replacing penetration testers. It should be about enabling them. When repetitive activities are automated, consultants can spend more time focusing on the areas where they create the greatest value.

Instead of manually processing information, they can spend more time:

• Investigating attack paths
• Validating exploitability
• Understanding business impact
• Identifying complex attack chains
• Advising clients on remediation priorities
• Delivering meaningful security outcomes

In many respects, AI allows skilled security professionals to operate at a higher level. It augments expertise rather than replacing it. The result is not fewer penetration testers.

It is more effective penetration testers.

The real challenge is prioritization:

As AI continues to improve vulnerability discovery and analysis, organizations will inevitably uncover more security findings.

That sounds positive, but it introduces a new challenge. More findings do not automatically reduce risk. In fact, without effective prioritization, they can create additional noise.

The organizations that succeed over the next decade will not necessarily be the ones finding the most vulnerabilities. They will be the ones that can most effectively distinguish genuine risk from background noise, understand how attackers are likely to exploit weaknesses in practice, and make informed decisions about where to focus finite resources.

As AI continues to improve vulnerability discovery and analysis, security teams will inevitably gain access to more data, more findings, and greater visibility than ever before. While that represents a significant advancement for the industry, visibility alone does not reduce risk. The real value lies in understanding what matters, what is exploitable, and what action should be taken next.

That is why I believe the future of security testing is not autonomous. It is human-led and AI-assisted. AI tools will continue to accelerate analysis, improve visibility, and help uncover opportunities that may previously have been missed. However, understanding business context, assessing real-world risk, and making sound security decisions will remain fundamentally human responsibilities.

The cybersecurity industry has spent years trying to solve the visibility problem. AI is helping us make enormous progress. The next challenge is prioritization, and that is where experienced security professionals will continue to play their most important role.

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