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As soon as May 20, thousands of Afghans living in the U.S. will lose a protection that shielded them from deportation and allowed them to work.

(Image credit: Joseph Prezioso)

Black Mirror season 7 is here, and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's thoughts on one of the best Netflix shows now that they've got six more episodes to explore. It may come as no surprise that it's a real mixed bag.

With anthologies, disliking certain installments more than others is par for the course, but after watching all of season 7 I really am worried it's ran out of ideas. Out of the six episodes, one is a sequel, another is set in the same universe as Bandersnatch, and another has similar narrative beats to San Junipero.

So only having three episodes with truly unique ideas is a bit concerning considering Black Mirror was known for having distinctly different stories, especially in its original Channel 4 era.

Yes, we often see Easter eggs hidden, which connect them like references to past episodes or the same news channel, but they've never felt completely repetitive until now.

In my Black Mirror season 7 episode ranking, I placed USS Callister: Into Infinity at the bottom because I'm frustrated it even exists. The original episode from season 4 was so wonderfully unique and had a bittersweet ending, and I would've been happy for it to just end there. Making a sequel just because the first episode is popular is frustrating, and they could've come up with something new.

But, as I said, it's a mixed bag and that means there were episodes I enjoyed very much. My top two Black Mirror season 7 episodes are Common People and Hotel Reverie, because, in my opinion, they really go back to basics and look at what the show is most loved for: criticizing the misuse of tech and how it can really mess with people's emotions, not to mention their physical and mental health.

Both of these episodes are also very relevant. Through Common People, Charlie Brooker explores what would happen if you could magically restore your sick partner through a revolutionary healthcare plan.

Don't worry; it's only a small monthly cost, and it's one that Chris O’Dowd's character decides to sign up for to save his beloved wife, played by Rashida Jones.

That's all well and good until they start running intrusive ads through your partner and you can't get rid of these until you give the company more money, in a cut-throat examination on our over reliance of subscription services and their multiple tiers and add-ons.

Yeah, this one really hurts, guys. That's why it's brilliant; it packs that emotional punch that reminds me of earlier episodes like Be Right Back in season 2.

(Image credit: Netflix)

Hotel Reverie is also timely as it focuses on our growing interest in AI, through a company that can revamp old Hollywood movies by uploading a modern day actor to spice things up for the streaming age. A controversial choice, of course, but an essential one for a struggling studio who can no longer profit of their struggling classic cinema library.

As well as opening up discussions around cinema, it taps into this idea that an AI character could become self aware. Issa Rae and Emma Corrin shine as two actresses from very different generations who meet inside this movie, forming a bond that goes beyond the pages of a pre-written script. I adored this one and I'll no doubt revisit it soon.

When Black Mirror keeps things fresh and original, it's a very thought-provoking watch. Even though I enjoyed the divisive Plaything episode more than some others, I can see people's arguments that it felt rushed and the ending wasn't as satisfying, and I think many of us did expect more from a Bandersnatch spin-off, especially with someone as big as Peter Capaldi at the helm.

My three-star rating does reflect how on the fence I feel about the series right now. I did like this season aside from USS Callister: Into Infinity's long, drawn out runtime, especially how emotionally driven it was, but I really don't know where they're going to go from here.

With Charlie Brooker telling The Hollywood Reporter he's "in it for the long haul", I'm concerned about what that's going to look like. Sometimes, it's good to quit while you're ahead.

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Alienware AW3425DWM 34-inch: Two-minute review

The Alienware AW3425DWM 34-inch isn’t the first 2K 34-inch ultrawide monitor on the market, nor is it the cheapest, but in my opinion, it's one of the most mastered. Sporting a discreet design and a slew of features I’d consider essential, the AW3425DWM offers great darkness and coloring at a respectable price.

Stripping out RGB and only offering two USB-A ports for accessory connectivity (but lacking USB-C), and not including price-bouncing OLED panel tech, I’ve never been more impressed with an ultrawide monitor than with the AW3425DWM. I've experienced the more expensive AW3423DWF, Alienware's nearly ultrawide OLED monitor (second to the AW3423DW), and I fell in love with it for its picture quality and clarity, but the AW3425DWM is a much more impressive beast for its value prospect.

Its specs are ahead of many of its close competitors, particularly ones from LG and Samsung, which explains its slightly higher cost in this segment. This includes a greater maximum brightness and color gamut, along with the inclusion of the aforementioned accessory ports.

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

The monitor doubles as both a handy gaming display and a useful productivity tool. I’ve enjoyed playing games with support for the ultrawide layout, in particular the graphically intense Assassin’s Creed Shadows and Forza Motorsport, but its handling of darkness has also been very satisfying in these games and other titles without ultrawide support, such as viral sensation R.E.P.O.

The wide screen also gives ample room for having multiple windows open. During my testing, I regularly had a YouTube video playing on the left half of the screen and a game on the right, and I personally preferred this to having a dual-monitor setup.

All of this said, be ready for the odd application that lacks ultrawide support. I encountered plenty of games and programs that didn't take full advantage of this layout (usually black bars will fill the space, while the program takes on a 16:9 aspect ratio). This may not be a huge issue to all users, but it's best to be aware of this extra hurdle when owning an ultrawide.

Picture quality is also heavily dependent on your viewing position, so be confident that a curved ultrawide is what you really want before making a purchase. Although I loved the immersive nature of a curved monitor this big, I wish it was more forgiving when viewing from an angle, as I'd often put a show on while doing something else away from my desk in the room.

Finally – and this will likely be a non-issue for many users – but the display doesn’t come with in-built speakers. I like having in-built speakers for when I don’t want to wear my headphones (and I don’t want to buy separate speakers), but I understand other users will have their own preferences when it comes to audio and external sound systems.

In my opinion, the quality of display you get for the price you pay is considerable, and even though it may not be as feature-rich as more expensive models, the AW3425DWM stands out from the pack as a mid-range curved and ultrawide gaming monitor.

Alienware AW3425DWM 34-inch review: pricing and availability

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

• How much does it cost? $369.99 / £369 / AU$749
• When is it available? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Dell and retailers in the US, UK and Australia

The Alienware AW2425DWM is an upper mid-range gaming monitor, which will set you back $369.99 / £369 / AU$749, and sports the niche curved and ultrawide layout. Offering a 2K resolution and a brightness of up to 400 nits, it’s slightly more premium than its main competitors.

Alienware has stripped out excessive USB ports and RGB lighting to bring costs down, but the beast remains closely in line with its higher-end curved and ultrawide siblings. It offers a flat base and an easy-to-navigate user interface, along with an IPS-VA panel. More expensive models tend to come with an OLED panel and 4K resolution, along with greater brightness and contrast.

When we’re looking at competitors, the closest is likely to be the Samsung Odyssey 34-inch ultrawide gaming monitor, available for $399 / £329 / AU$599 (though often found much cheaper today).

• Value score: 4.5/5

Alienware AW3425DWM 34-inch: specs Alienware AW3425DWM 34-inch review: design

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

• Understated design
• Discreet stand with small footprint
• 178º viewing angle

The Alienware AW3425DWM is fairly understated. Its stand and bezels are completely unassuming, without any RGB or detailing to speak of. The back of the display is pretty standard, apart from the classic extraterrestrial logo, and the only bit of styling on the front is the spelled out Alienware name.

There’s not a lot for me to criticize here – it’s not a monitor built to win design competitions, but in my opinion it's a fairly nice looking display. It has a handy passthrough hole in its stand for neatly organizing your cables, which I found particularly useful for my additional mouse and keyboard cables, and the ports are well laid out across the back of the monitor, with USB-A ports along the underside for easy access. It does, however, lack USB-C ports which, in 2025, I consider disappointing as more peripherals have adopted it as standard.

The design aspect that impressed me the most was its satisfyingly small footprint. Although it's quite a large display, it stands firmly on a single flat foot without much wobble if you bump the desk.

The display has full tilt, swivel and height adjustment with its stand, and the screen is VESA-mount compatible. As it's an ultrawide, you can't rotate the display fully vertical, and if you want to pull this off, you'll need to mount it seperate from the stand. The curvature of the screen has a 178º viewing angle, enveloping your vision well if you’re seated directly in front of it.

That means it'll be difficult to watch content on the monitor when viewing it from outside the optimal viewing space. I would often get up from my desk and do something away from it while looking over at a show or livestream on the display, and would find it difficult to view because of the curvature. This isn't a complaint, but an observation and a known limitation of curved screens.

For interacting with the onboard user interface, there’s a joystick nub directly under the middle of the display, handy for quick adjustments when switching from, say, gaming to productivity as I’d often do.

• Design score: 5/5

Alienware AW3425DWM 34-inch review: features

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

• Ultrawide 2K resolution
• AMD FreeSync Premium and VESA AdaptiveSync certification
• Two USB-A passthrough ports

I love the Alienware AW3425DWM because it’s so stripped back and accessible. It lacks the features of its more pricey OLED-toting sibling, the AW3423DWF, or the range-topping AW3423DW, but a more budget-minded gamer would likely prefer the display for how cheap it is.

Although I'm an OLED panel lover, I don't mind the IPS VA panel fitted to this monitor. It handles darkness well and although an OLED would offer improved contrast, I found games where shadows are particularly important (such as Assassin’s Creed Shadows) maintained enough detail to still be able to see what was going on. Aiding the darkness is a 95% color gamut and a 3000:1 contrast ratio, resulting in a nice-looking picture that I found adequate.

I found the 2K resolution scaled for the wide panel (3440 x 1440, 21:9) sufficiently satisfying for making my games look big and expansive, and when I switched to competitive games like Marvel Rivals, I didn't feel like I needed a faster response time than the 1ms rate offered by the monitor. The same goes for the 180Hz refresh rate – I rarely played games that offered framerates up to this number, but it remains a good figure for a wide variety of users.

The monitor's quick settings allow you to switch up the display to your preference, such as scaling picture or HDR settings, which I often did when changing tasks. Additionally, running a USB-B to USB-A cord between the monitor and your PC will allow you to use the fitted USB-A ports for passthrough, a feature I really like for cutting down on cable clutter (though, again, no USB-C ports).

Being an ultrawide, there’s an additional utility in being able to treat it as if it’s two monitors without feeling claustrophobic. Any monitor can be used to display multiple windows, but an ultrawide has the benefit of being able to do so without making you feel too cramped, in my opinion. This was particularly useful when having two windows open (such as a browser or word processor on the left and a YouTube video on the right), but I found it also performed well when having four windows open at once.

• Features score: 4.5/5

Alienware AW3425DWM review: performance

(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)

• Great darkness and color clarity
• Maximum refresh rate of up to 180Hz
• Brightness of up to 400 nits

The Alienware AW3425DWM is a well-performing gaming monitor that displays objects and coloring without fault. More impressive ultrawide monitors are widely available, but in my opinion, you’re unlikely to get better specs than what is on offer here in the 2K 34-inch ultrawide segment.

Only operating at up to 2K and offering fairly mid-range brightness and contrast have made the monitor cheaper, but consequently sparse on the performance front. That being said, I found this to be a perfectly fine monitor for casual and competitive gamers alike, and it's is in line for the mid-range segment.

The 180Hz maximum refresh rate isn’t the highest (higher-end Alienware panels can go up to 240Hz), nor the 1ms response rate the fastest (in an age where it’s as low as 0.1ms on some panels), but I think the savings on offer make it worth considering for many PC users.

That said, a maximum brightness of only 400 nits, though above many competitors in this segment, may be too low for some users. All of the games I tested looked great and text appeared fine without any haziness, but in use you may crave a brighter display.

Streaming content also looks great despite mid-range brightness, with the vibrancy of movies like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse presented well. Additionally, there’s an anti-glare coating across the glass, perfect for blocking out annoying light sources.

If you want your gaming monitor to serve up higher brightness and greater contrast, likely facilitated by an OLED panel, I highly recommend reading our hands-on with the Alienware AW3423DWF. I've personally tried that monitor myself and found it to be massively impressive, but the AW3425DWM is generally a better deal, especially if you don't really care about having a 4K resolution.

The only issue I had was when I took it out of the box: the monitor automatically kept adjusting brightness (dimming in my case) based on how the image appeared, but this was quickly resolved by tweaking picture settings to my liking.

• Performance: 4/5

Should I buy the Alienware AW3425DWM? Buy it if...

You want a curved ultrawide monitor

This is one of the more impressive curved and ultrawide monitors in the mid-range segment, and would be a satisfying buy if greater width is something you desire.

You want a big screen without spending too much

34-inch displays are getting cheaper and cheaper, and while you can get an identically sized monitor from a competitor, Alienware’s option beats out its rivals on brightness and features.

Don't buy it if...

You crave the best of the best

This monitor doesn’t display the brightest image, nor does it offer 4K or an OLED panel.

You want a small panel

Ultrawide monitors are never small and this display will take up valuable space on your desk.

Also consider

Alienware AW3423DWF

More expensive and feature-packed, the AW3423DWF is the monitor to buy if you want a noticeable performance bump above what the AW3425DWM can offer. While we haven't fully tested it ourselves, our colleagues at GamesRadar+ give it a full five stars.

AOC CU34G2XP

This is the newest version of our favourite budget ultrawide display, the CU354G2X, it packs similar specs to the Alienware AW3425DWM at a much lower price and could be worth considering. We haven't had the opportunity to try it out for ourselves here at TechRadar, so I can't comment on its performance, but the price might just tip the scales for some users.

Samsung 34-inch Odyssey G55T G5 ultrawide

The Samsung Odyssey G55T can often be found much cheaper these days, making it a worthwhile second choice to the AW3425DWM. Again, I can't speak for its performance as we've not had the opportunity to review it on TechRadar, but savings are always tempting.

How I tested the Alienware AW3425DWM

• Tested for three weeks
• Primarily used for gaming
• Also used for productivity as a single monitor

I tested the Alienware AW3425DWM over the course of two weeks, most of which was spent gaming, playing Assassin’s Creed Shadows primarily, but also R.E.P.O, Forza Motorsport, Nubby’s Number Factory, Marvel Rivals and Balatro.

I also spent a fair amount of time using the display for productivity purposes, such as typing out word documents and browsing the web, along with watching things on streaming services, primarily YouTube and Twitch. I constantly switched up the settings and used a DisplayPort connection.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed April 2025

Evidence is mounting that the newest version of GPT will be released soon.

I’ve watched enough robot videos online to know that slapping an AI model into a hunk of hardware doesn’t automatically make it useful. I remember one clip in particular where someone had wired ChatGPT into a robot dog, and the results were mixed.

Sure, the robot could suddenly answer your questions with confidence. But asking it to open a door or pick something up was still the same clumsy creature as before. The intelligence was in the voice, not the motion.

So, when Samsung announced that its long-awaited Ballie robot would come preloaded with Google’s Gemini AI, my first thought was to wonder what exactly Gemini brings to the table that Ballie hadn’t already promised.

Gemini is capable of understanding language and images and performing complex reasoning. Ballie is supposed to be a rolling companion packed with cameras, projectors, sensors, and the ability to navigate your home. I can see why some might be eager to see what a combination of the two could do.

Samsung and Google have suggested that Ballie plus Gemini would enable the robot to suggest activities to raise your energy or give you outfit tips using its onboard camera and a Gemini-powered sense of style. But looking at it more, I'm not really sure anything the companies describe is either already something Ballie would be able to do or something Gemini can already do without needing to be connected to Ballie.

Ballie can adjust smart home devices and project videos or ambient lighting onto your walls, but does it need Gemini to do so? Gemini can answer questions, analyze photos and fashion, and organize your whole day, but does being embedded in a ball-shaped robot enhance those features much?

You may as well open Gemini on a tablet and tape it to a skateboard. Gemini gives Ballie better language understanding and smarter suggestions, but those don’t require a robot body that can roll across your living room.

Robot AI necessity

(Image credit: Samsung)

Ballie is an impressive piece of hardware. It has dual projectors, depth sensors, LiDAR, multiple microphones, and a high-end camera setup. It can follow you, return to its charger, and even record or stream footage. But all of those things were innate to the hardware.

Gemini doesn’t make Ballie project in higher resolution or roll faster. It doesn’t give Ballie arms or the ability to interact physically with objects. It just gives it better words – and while words matter, they don’t necessarily translate into a robot that’s more useful.

AI can make a chatbot smarter and mimic your tone or finish your sentences in an email. But when it comes to hardware, intelligence without capability hits a wall. If Ballie can’t do more things because it has Gemini, then it's just a more articulate version of itself. If Gemini brings a lot of useful features to Ballie that it wouldn't have had before but that Gemini couldn't do on its own, then that's a different question.

It's not that Gemini brings nothing to the table. Talking to Ballie about your schedule and getting a visual summary projected on the wall is a pleasing idea. And Gemini’s ability to integrate multi-modal inputs could make those interactions smarter. But again, the robot’s physical role in that process is still fuzzy.

There’s a reason people still get excited by videos of robots folding laundry or climbing stairs. It’s because movement and manipulating the environment are still rare and impressive feats. No matter how smart the AI becomes, if the hardware can’t meet it halfway, the result will always feel like a demo missing its payoff.

Making more conversational, more responsive, and more human in its communication is a leap for Samsung. But that leap is only meaningful if the robot itself can deliver something you couldn’t already get from a screen.

Otherwise, you may as well open Gemini in a browser tab on a tablet, duct-tape it to a Roomba, and call it a day.

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OpenAI just rolled out a major memory upgrade for ChatGPT. Though subtle in a way, I think it could mark a significant shift in how people engage with AI, certainly in the long term.

Before now, ChatGPT's memory was limited to the current session unless ChatGPT decided some bit of it should be added to long-term memory or if you manually did so. Otherwise, every new conversation was a clean slate.

Now, ChatGPT can pull from your entire chat history across every session to respond to your latest query. It knows your vibe and can track your projects. It will remember things from your discussions even if you might have forgotten.

It still has the user-saved memory that you deliberately ask it to store, but now, every little comment and question will also be part of how ChatGPT processes conversations with you, like a polite robot intern who’s secretly keeping a journal. If you want to find out what ChatGPT's image of you is, you can just ask it to "Describe me based on all our chats."

You might not think this is such a big change, but as someone who's become a regular user of ChatGPT, I can easily imagine how it will benefit me. When I ask for a recipe idea, ChatGPT will now pull up previous recipes it's provided and ask if I liked the result, coming up with new meal ideas based on my opinion of the earlier one.

The same goes for brainstorming bedtime story ideas. I almost never want to write one entirely, but I do get some inspiration from the premises ChatGPT suggests, and now it will be better at riffing on suggestions I've said before.

While new features and improvements to AI chatbots can sometimes feel like a lot of noise for something that isn't that big a deal, persistent memory feels like real progress just by being a feature built for the long term. Maintaining context across interactions makes it easier for the overall 'relationship' to feel more meaningful.

It also opens the door to new use cases. Imagine tutoring that adapts to your learning style across weeks. Or therapy journaling with an AI that remembers what you said three sessions ago. Or productivity planning that doesn’t need to be re-explained every Monday morning. You don’t need the AI to be sentient as long as it's consistent.

Memorable moves

ChatGPT's memory improvement isn't without complications, though. Having an AI remember you across time inevitably raises questions about privacy, autonomy, and, frankly, how much information you want your AI companion to have.

Yes, it’s helpful that it remembers you’re kosher and like a bit of spice in your dishes, but you don't want it to assume too much.

This is pretty specific to just me, but I do a lot of tests of ChatGPT and its features, and not every test is built around my real life. I'm not traveling to Japan next week; I just wanted to see how ChatGPT would do at devising an itinerary. I then have to either delete that session or explain to the AI that it shouldn't use that question when formulating answers to other questions.

There’s also a philosophical element. The more AI mimics memory, the easier it becomes to anthropomorphize. If it remembers your favorite sports team, your pet’s name, or your dislike of semicolons, it starts to feel like a person, and it's vital to not ascribe self-awareness to an algorithm that is far from attaining it. It’s easy to trust a tool that remembers you. Maybe too easy in this case.

Nonetheless, for good or ill, I maintain that ChatGPT's comprehensive memory is one of the most consequential AI upgrades this year so far and will likely still be so when 2025 is over.

Memory is a potent trick, even if it doesn't let you make a Ghibli Studio version of yourself. Memory is the thing that turns an inert tool into a long-term assistant. Even if your assistant is just a digital emulation of a brain floating in a cloud, it's nice that it will remember the little things.

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For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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