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Honor 400 Lite: Two-minute review

Squint, and you could mistake the Honor 400 Lite for an iPhone 16 Pro Max. Honor is clearly enamored with Apple's whole approach to smartphones, or more likely the enduring popularity of the very best iPhones, and it's evidently not afraid to wear that admiration on its sleeve.

The prospect of a £250 phone with a Dynamic Island (or 'Magic Capsule') and Camera Control (or 'AI Camera Button') is an undeniably enticing one. Honor has executed those two elements well, delivering a budget Android phone that feels slightly different from its rivals. That's hard to achieve in a staid smartphone market.

However, in the process of seeking to offer an iPhone-style experience on the cheap, Honor appears to have taken its eye off the ball in some fundamental areas. The Honor 400 Lite doesn't perform as well as many of its peers, while its camera system feels undercooked.

Meanwhile, Honor's MagicOS feels as cluttered and unappealing as ever, emulating the basic look of iOS without achieving the same level of refinement. It's good to see a six-year update promise, though, which is among the very best in its class.

(Image credit: Future)

Solid battery life and a good 6.7-inch OLED display also help the Honor 400 Lite's cause, though its 35W charging speeds are nothing to write home about, and that sizeable notch probably won't appeal to those who watch a lot of movies and TV shows on the go.

Ultimately, the Honor 400 Lite is a budget phone designed to appeal to those who equate 'iPhone' with 'smartphone', but who lack either the resources or inclination to spend upwards of £600 on their next handset.

It'll serve such people reasonably well, but those same people should know that they won't be getting the most from their money. There are faster, more robust, and just plain better phones in the sub-£300 bracket.

Honor 400 Lite review: price and availability

(Image credit: Future)

• Released on April 22, 2024
• On sale in the UK and Europe for £249.99 / €269
• Only one variant (8GB RAM / 256GB storage)
• No US or Australia availability

The Honor 400 Lite was announced in April 2025 and is due to go on sale in the UK and Europe on May 22. Honor smartphones aren't sold in the US, while an Australian launch for the Honor 400 Lite is also off the cards at the time of writing.

It'll be available in just one variant in these territories: 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. This sole model will cost £249.99 / €269 (about $330 / AU$520).

At this price, the Honor 400 Lite is competing with a whole host of affordable phones, including the Samsung Galaxy A26, the Poco X7, and the Motorola Moto G75 5G. All of these rivals have superior water resistance, while the Moto G75 5G also has MIL-STD-810H durability.

Samsung's phone has wider availability and that familiar One UI software, while the Poco X7 has a clear performance edge.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Honor 400 Lite review: specs Honor 400 Lite review: design Image 1 of 3

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• Clearly iPhone-influenced design
• Magic Capsule notch supplies widgets and selfie light
• Skinny, lightweight all-plastic build
• Dedicated camera shutter button

Honor wouldn't be the first company to take a page out of Apple design playbook, but the Honor 400 Lite takes it to the next level. It looks more like an iPhone (specifically the iPhone 16 Pro Max) than pretty much any other phone I've seen.

Yes, you have the flat-edged look with the curved corners, just like the Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy S25. But the similarity runs to the smaller details, too. The camera module looks extremely similar to that of the iPhone 16 Pro, with only a triangular motif marking it out.

Flip the Honor 400 Lite onto its front, and there's an extended floating notch that looks a lot like Apple's Dynamic Island. Honor calls it the 'Magic Capsule', but it serves a similar function.

Honor's psychedelic-sounding notch facilitates tiny heads-up widgets when doing things like playing music or running a timer. Tap one of those widgets, and it'll expand slightly to a larger, width-spanning version.

(Image credit: Future)

One thing the Honor 400 Lite's Magic Capsule doesn't copy from Apple is a truly secure Face ID system, with no 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor to capture the required depth information. That's doubtless a cost issue, as the flagship Honor Magic 7 Pro does include such a feature.

Instead, the Honor 400 Lite's extended notch gives you a dedicated selfie light, though it has fairly limited utility. It'll technically allow you to record videos and take video calls in very low lighting, provided you really want to convey that mid-noughties webcam vibe.

A more consequential addition is the AI Camera Button, situated a little way below the volume and power buttons on the right-hand edge. It's another direct lift from Apple, with a similar look and somewhat unsatisfactory positioning to the iPhone 16's Camera Control.

It too serves as a dedicated camera shutter button, complete with two-stage operation for locking focus and a swipe-to-zoom facility that might actually be better than Apple's. It also serves as a two-tap camera shortcut, while a long press will bring up Google Lens, much as it brings up Visual Intelligence on an iPhone.

Hold the Honor 400 Lite in your hand, and all the iPhone comparisons flake away. This is an all-plastic affair, despite the metal-effect frame. It's well-built, with no creaks and a subtle pearlescent finish to the rear.

It's also very light, given its large 161 x 74.6mm footprint, at just 171g, while it's only 7.3mm thick.

You'll also notice the uneven bezel, which gets thicker at the corners and across the chin. That's a sure sign that we're shopping in the £250 category here, though a 93.7% screen-to-body ratio is still pretty decent for a budget phone.

• Design score: 3.5 / 5

Honor 400 Lite review: display Image 1 of 2

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• Solid 6.7-inch FHD+ OLED
• Gets nice and bright
• Only a mono speaker

Honor has equipped the 400 Lite with an accomplished 6.7-inch OLED display, with an FHD+ (1080 x 2412) resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.

These are all specifications that we've come to expect in the £250 category, and they see the Honor 400 Lite matching the likes of the Poco X7 and the Samsung Galaxy A26.

Not many budget phones can boast a 3500-nit peak brightness, however. PWM dimming of 3840Hz, meanwhile, cuts perceptible flickering and potential eye strain.

In general use, I found this to be a really pleasant display to use, at least once I'd switched away from the ramped-up 'Vivid' color mode to the more muted and natural 'Normal'. It's big, sharp, color-accurate, and responsive, while its brightness scales evenly from very dark (great for low-light viewing) to quite bright.

It's a shame the Always On Display function doesn't meet the description, however, requiring a screen tap to activate.

Also a shame is Honor's enduring insistence on packing its affordable phone with a single downward-firing speaker. It doesn't feel like too much to ask for a solid set of stereo speakers, even at this price.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Honor 400 Lite review: cameras

(Image credit: Future)

• 108MP main camera struggles with HDR and night shots
• Poor 5MP ultra-wide
• Only 1080p/30fps video

Honor has simplified the camera setup from last year's Honor 200 Lite, with the pointless 2MP macro camera dropping out altogether.

This leaves you with what appears to be the same pair of cameras, specifically a 108MP 1/1.67" f/1.8 main sensor and a 5MP f/2.2 ultra-wide.

The main camera is a competent shooter under ideal conditions, capturing plenty of detail. It's even good enough to produce fairly convincing 2x and 3x crops in the absence of a dedicated telephoto.

There are issues with this main camera, however. It seems to struggle with HDR scenarios, either failing to lift very dark shady areas or otherwise blowing out background highlights.

I also noticed some odd processing effects, including a strange halo effect around distant birds in front of a blue sky.

(Image credit: Future)

Night shots, too, aren't very good, with poor detail and bags of noise. The lack of OIS here is quite evident.

The ultra-wide, meanwhile, is of a pretty substandard quality, lacking in detail and failing to match the tone of the main sensor.

The selfie camera has also changed since the Honor 200 Lite, dropping from a 50MP f/2.1 unit to a 16MP f/2.5. It captures adequate shots with reasonably rich colors, but again struggles with blown-out highlights.

The provision of an LED light is an interesting one. It definitely improved the clarity of my low-light selfie shots and videos when I activated it manually, but is it strictly necessary when most phones simply use a white screen for the job? I'm not so sure.

Talking of video, the main camera maxes out at a weedy 1080p at 30fps. That's a pretty poor effort when rivals such as the Galaxy A26, Moto G75 5G, and Poco X7 can all record at 4K.

• Camera score: 3 / 5

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(Image credit: Future) Honor 400 Lite review: performance

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• MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra is merely adequate
• Solid 8GB of RAM
• 256GB of storage

The Honor 400 Lite is equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra chipset, which isn't a very strong performer even within the budget phone category.

I've used a phone with this chip before in the Redmi Note 14 5G (which didn't ship in the UK), and I was left pretty unimpressed. Suffice it to say, the Honor 400 Lite did nothing to change my mind on this component.

Across CPU and GPU benchmark tests, it's outgunned by the Moto G75 5G, the Samsung Galaxy A26, and the Poco X7.

I'd like to say that this doesn't matter in practical terms, but that's not the case. There's a generally wallowy feel to everything from unlocking the phone to app startup and even basic animations.

It would be unfair to call this performance halting or stuttery, but everything seems to take a beat longer than it should. I'd be tempted to let it off the hook given the price, but the Poco X7 (to use one example) feels nice and snappy by comparison.

Indeed, while the Poco X7 is capable of running Genshin Impact quite well on Medium settings, the Honor 400 Lite needs to run it at Low or even Lowest if you're to maintain a decent frame rate.

The solitary model available in the UK gives you a solid 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is most welcome.

• Performance score: 3 / 5

Honor 400 Lite review: software

(Image credit: Future)

• Android 15 with MagicOS 9
• Six years of OS updates and security patches

With the Honor 400 Lite, you're getting Android 15 fresh out of the box, coated in Honor's latest MagicOS 9 UI. It's not my favorite Android skin by any stretch of the imagination.

Honor evidently doesn't think much of the flowing, vibrant UI design that Google baked into the latest version of Android, preferring instead the square icons and split notification menu of Apple's iOS.

The two UIs really look uncannily alike in places, right down to the look of the Settings menu and the lock screen. The aforementioned Magic Capsule drives this familiar sensation home with its Dynamic Island-style mini-widgets.

Sadly, such an admiration for Apple's work doesn't extend to the company's no-nonsense approach to bloatware. You'll find Facebook, Booking.com, TikTok, Amazon Shopping, ReelShort, LinkedIn, and the Temu shopping app all sitting on the second home screen straight from first boot-up.

There's also a Top Apps folder with four more third-party apps. It's a little excessive, if far from unusual, on Android.

Elsewhere, there's a whopping great themed 'Essentials' folder on the main home screen containing nine of the company's own apps, and another large folder filled with AI-suggested apps that I never found remotely useful.

(Image credit: Future)

Honor also provides its own App Market, which feels completely pointless with the Google Play Store present and accounted for (Honor is no longer part of Huawei, so it isn't hampered by the same sanctions).

There's a smattering of AI features here, including some Google-affiliated ones such as Smart Vision (essentially Google Lens), Google Gemini, and Circle to Search.

Honor has implemented a feature called Magic Portal that somewhat overlaps the latter Google provision, permitting you to draw around text and images before opening up a shortcut menu for sharing the resulting snippets to other apps. It's nowhere near as smart as Circle to Search, but it can actually be quite useful in this more localized on-device application. Or it would be, if the knuckle-based input system wasn't so flaky.

Favourite Space is a folder to quickly stash these hastily scrawled-out snippets. However, given the large number of superfluous preinstalled apps, I'm not sure why there isn't a standard Favourite Space app. I encountered numerous references to it and saved several snippets before it offered to create a shortcut (in the shape of an app icon) on the home screen.

When it comes to image editing, Honor offers a reasonably effective AI Eraser for deleting unwanted objects and people. AI Outpainting is a bizarre but technically impressive feature that essentially turns your regular shots into ultra-wides, using AI to infer what might be just out of frame. It kind of works in terms of creating convincing (though not accurate) images, but I'm not sure why you'd ever want to make use of such fakery beyond a tech demo.

Perhaps the most positive aspect of Honor's software provision on the 400 Lite is the promise of six years of OS and security updates. That's right up there with the Samsung Galaxy A26 in this budget class.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Honor 400 Lite review: battery life

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• 5,230mAh battery
• 35W wired charging
• No charger in the box

Honor has supplied a larger-than-average 5,230mAh battery with the 400 Lite, which is significantly larger than the 4,500mAh battery of the Honor 200 Lite.

It results in predictably strong stamina. I found that I was able to go through a day of moderate to heavy usage, with 4 hours 40 minutes of screen on time, and be left with 58%.

You could conceivably go through a full two days here, though more intensive applications and mixed network use will, of course, drain that battery much faster.

In an increasingly common move, there's no charger supplied in the box. Honor claims that if you buy the dedicated 35W Honor Wired SuperCharge charger, the phone can power up to 100% in 75 minutes.

In my experience, you don't necessarily need to go out of your way to secure the official brick. While a Xiaomi 120W Hypercharge brick trickled along at a glacial pace, a Samsung 65W Super Fast charger got the job done in just 72 minutes.

As charging rates go, that's not especially quick. The Poco X7, with its 45W charging support, can get its similarly sized battery up to 100% in 50 minutes. The Moto G75 5G only supports 30W charging, but that budget rival also includes wireless charging, which the Honor 400 Lite does not.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Honor 400 Lite? Buy it if...

You'd really like a super cheap iPhone
Honor's design and software decisions reflect an admiration for Apple's iPhone and iOS, but the package on offer here is a fraction of the price.

You want manual camera control
The Honor 400 Lite's AI Camera Button offers a handy two-stage camera shutter button, as well as a camera shortcut.

You want a big phone, but not a heavy one
The Honor 400 Lite gives you a big 6.7-inch display, but the phone itself only weighs 171g.

Don't buy it if...

You want to play lots of games
The Honor 400 Lite runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra processor, which is far from the fastest in this class.

You want a crisp UI
Honor's MagicOS is pretty cluttered and charmless, and a world away from stock Android.

You take a lot of night shots
In the absence of OIS, the Honor 400 Lite is far from the best low-light shooter.

Honor 400 Lite review: also consider

The Honor 400 Lite isn't the only classy affordable phone on the market. Here are some of the better alternatives to consider.

Motorola Moto G75 5G
Motorola's tough little phone is unusually robust, performs better, and has wireless charging, though its LCD screen is inferior.

Read our full Motorola Moto G75 5G review

Poco X7
The Poco X7 leaves the Honor 400 Lite in the dust on performance, has a better camera setup, and gives you stereo sound. We haven't yet reviewed it fully, mind.

How I tested the Honor 400 Lite

• Review test period = 1 week
• Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, gaming, streaming video, music playback
• Tools used = Geekbench 6, GFXBench, 3DMark, native Android stats, Samsung 65W power adapter

First reviewed: April 2025

• Google's report reveals worrying adoption gaps among UK workers
• The Government should "guarantee AI training" for these workers
• Enabling the workforce to adopt AI effectively would account for half of the economic growth

A new report from Google has claimed the UK could potentially double its adoption of artificial intelligence, resulting in boosted productivity and an estimated £400 billion in economic growth.

The company's latest AI Works report plays into the role of human workers in the successful deployment of AI – effective workforce adoption could account for £200 billion, or half, of the gains.

However, as it currently stands, two in three UK workers have never used generative AI at work – a trend that's most prominent among "older women from lower socio-economic backgrounds."

Effective AI adoption

Google's report centers around the accessibility concerns surrounding artificial intelligence. Women over 55 are said to be four times less likely to use AI than men under 35, the report reveals.

It doesn't all need to be lost hope, though, with the tech giant spelling out a handful of key considerations businesses can explore to boost adoption across all workers.

The primary advisory is that workers need "permission to prompt" – giving workers explicit permission to use AI and setting out clear AI policies will help them to understand that AI's advantages are legitimate, fair and comparable to other internet-based tools.

Google also noted that AI habits are easy to form, revealing that just a few hours of training can double daily AI usage, which remains high several months after that initial lesson. Consequentially, this habit formation leads to further exploration and encourages ongoing learning.

Naturally, the report also explores how AI can save workers time – an average of 122 hours per year across all sectors, according to the figures, which exceeds the previously modelled 100-hour estimate.

Finally, Google says that supporting workers with upskilling efforts can help to narrow adoption gaps.

"We want these pilots to encourage more leaders to act now and seize this opportunity to equip everyone with the skills needed to unlock economic growth and change ways of working for the better," noted Google's EMEA President, Debbie Weinstein.

Google has also urged the UK Government to "guarantee AI training for all public sector workers."

Peter Kyle, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, committed to supporting the UK workforce: "We will support workers to develop the skills they need for jobs in and with AI, so that all parts of society can benefit from this technology."

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• We've listed the best AI tools and best AI writers
• Support your workers by giving them access to the best online learning platforms
• British businesses are getting used to AI at work - but there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome

Hoo boy, it's almost time to deal with the fallout from last week's episode of The Last of Us season 2.

Indeed, with viewers proclaiming that episode 2's shocking moment "ruined my entire week, month, and year", this season's third chapter is sure to be a solemn and anger-filled affair.

So, when will The Last of Us TV show's next episode be available to watch? And where will it be streamable in the US, UK, and Australia? You'll get the answers you seek in this article, as well as a complete rundown of season 2's full release schedule for the weeks ahead. Wipe away the last of those tears, dear reader, and proceed when you're ready.

What is the release date and time for The Last of Us season 2 episode 3 in the US?

Tommy is going to be hurting for many, many reasons in this season's third entry (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

The next installment of The Last of Us' sophomore season will air at 6pm PT / 9pm ET on Sunday, April 27.

Just like this installment's first two episodes, you can watch it on Max if you're subscribed to one of the world's best streaming services. Alternatively, those who aren't can catch it on Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) linear TV channel – that being HBO.

Where can I watch The Last of Us season 2 episode 3 in the UK?

Ellie is going to need Dina more than ever after what happened to Joel in season 2's last episode (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

UK fans can tune into Sky Atlantic and Now TV to watch episode 3 of The Last of Us' second season. It'll be a late night or very early morning for those of you who want to watch it as soon as it drops, too, with the show set to return on Monday, April 28 at 2am BST.

When does the next episode of The Last of Us season 2 air in Australia?

Jesse is as unimpressed as the rest of us over the week-long wait for episode 3 (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

One of the best Max shows will return for its latest chapter Down Under on Monday, April 28 at 11am AEST.

With WBD's main streaming platform launching in Australia last month, Max is now the primary home for The Last of Us TV series. However, anyone who's signed up to Foxtel can also stream HBO's live-action adaptation of Naught Dog's multi-award-winning video game series on this service, too.

When do new episodes of The Last of Us season 2 come out?

So long, Joel (Image credit: Liane Hentscher/HBO)

There'll be four more episodes of The Last of Us season 2 to enjoy (if that's the right word to use) before the critically-acclaimed and hugely popular TV program leaves our screens once more. Here's when you can watch that quartet:

• Episode 1 – out now
• Episode 2 – out now
• Episode 3 – April 27 (US); April 28 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 4 – May 4 (US); May 5 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 5 – May 11 (US); May 12 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 6 – May 18 (US); May 19 (UK and Australia)
• Episode 7 – May 25 (US); May 26 (UK and Australia)

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• The Last of Us season 2 cast and character guide: who's playing who in the popular HBO TV show's next chapter?
• The Last of Us season 2 won't be the hugely successful Max TV show's final entry as HBO officially announces its third season
• First trailer for Predator: Badlands drops two huge clues that it could be a new Alien Vs Predator movie in all but name

This review first appeared in issue 343 of PC Pro.

Businesses that don’t want to commit to long-term contracts for cloud collaboration services should check out HiDrive from web-hosting company Ionos. You can choose between four plans, and all are available on affordable monthly contracts so you can cancel them with minimum notice.

Ionos doesn’t offer free trials but you can try it out for next to nothing, with a one-year HiDrive Business contract currently costing a piffling 50p per month for five users and 1TB of cloud storage. We wanted to see everything HiDrive has to offer so we tried out the Pro plan, which costs £20 per month, starts with 2TB of cloud storage for ten users, enables support for the SMB/CIFS, FTP/SFTP, Rsync, SCP and Git protocols, and rounds it off with data backup services for users’ personal devices.

The HiDrive admin portal is simple to use, and you create new users by sending email invitations. For greater security, you can globally enable two-factor authentication (2FA) and assign admin rights to selected users, although roles aren’t supported so they will have full access to all settings.

Automatic backups can be run regularly and Ionos provides a handy app (Image credit: Future)

After creating their account, users can download the Windows or macOS desktop syncing app. This worked fine on our Windows 11 clients, and the latest version sees a redesigned interface with easier access to all features.

Users choose the cloud folders they want synchronized to their local mapped drive and how to respond when external storage devices are inserted. Along with encryption of data in flight and at rest in the HiDrive cloud servers, the Pro plan enables end-to-end encryption, although this is left in the hands of each user who can choose to apply this from the desktop app and manage their own keys.

Device backups are also controlled entirely by users. They can enable this for selected folders, schedule it to run regularly and recover data from the app or their own portal. A concern is that total cloud storage is not per user but shared among them all and, as admins have no control over device backups, they’ll need to monitor usage closely.

HiDrive doesn’t do file versioning, but all plans provide automatic backup of cloud data. Admins can run this as often as every four hours, retain data for up to a year, and users can access the backups from their portal and restore selected items to a cloud folder or download them as ZIP files.

There’s a simple web portal, and the desktop app offers user-managed backup services (Image credit: Future)

Each user has a personal repository in their portal for creating folders and uploading files to them. They can choose to share selected items in this area with anyone, including external collaborators, by emailing a web link with optional password protection, read/write privileges and expiry dates.

Sharing files between team members is handled by a “Common” area in the web portal. Only account administrators are allowed to create new folders within this and determine which users have read or read/write access, after which they become accessible in their own portal.

No Outlook or Gmail plugins are provided so all sharing and file upload requests must be sent from the user portal, with the latter limiting maximum file sizes to 2GB. HiDrive doesn’t integrate with any third-party apps, but users can load popular files such as Word documents or Excel spreadsheets from their portal and edit them in a browser without needing the relevant app installed.

Small businesses that want simple cloud file-sharing services will find Ionos HiDrive Pro ticks a lot of boxes. App integrations and collaboration tools are minimal, but it’s easy to use and, although cloud storage is shared, it’s still comparatively good value.

We also ranked the best website builders for small businesses.

This review first appeared in issue 343 of PC Pro.

Epson’s WorkForce Pro WF-C5890DWF will appeal to small workgroups with big print demands who need to keep a close eye on running costs. This versatile multifunction A4 inkjet printer can churn out mono and color pages for only 1.4p and 6.3p respectively, while a monthly duty cycle of 5,000 pages means it can take a lot of print punishment.

The WF-C5890DWF offers plenty of features, combining print, copy, scan and fax functions with USB, gigabit wired or 802.11n wireless, Wi-Fi Direct and AirPrint connectivity. The color flatbed scanner provides a 50-page automatic document feeder (ADF), there’s an 80-page multipurpose feeder at the back and the standard 250-sheet tray can be augmented with up to three 500-sheet cassettes.

Slotting into a drawer under the paper tray, Epson’s ink packs offer plenty of choices with K available in 3,000 (L), 5,000 (XL) and 10,000 (XXL) page capacities while C, Y and M come in L and XL page volumes. There’s very little difference between them for overall running costs, but note that the “Initial” packs supplied with the printer are only good for around 300 pages.

Installation is swift – Epson’s utility discovered the printer on our network, downloaded the latest software, installed a desktop status monitor, ran an automatic firmware upgrade and offered to load a wealth of free utilities. The Scan 2 desktop software includes a TWAIN driver with plenty of network scan controls, Document Capture Pro manages personal scan jobs and saves them for fast one-click access, while Epson’s iOS and Android mobile apps provide remote print and scan tools.

You can keep an eye on consumables from the printer’s web console and register it with Epson’s Connect remote print service. This assigns a customizable email address to the printer so remote users can print documents by sending them as mail attachments.

Epson provides great cloud support as well as mobile apps (Image credit: Future)

Scanning and faxing to the cloud couldn’t be easier. After adding personal Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive and OneDrive accounts at the Connect portal, they’ll appear in the printer’s touchscreen menu. The panel presents more icons for copying documents and scanning them directly to computers, network folders, FTP and email servers, a local USB stick and Windows PCs using Web Services on Devices (WSD).

Performance depends on the selected resolution. A 25-page Word document printed at standard mode in precisely one minute but dropped to only 6.4ppm with the driver’s high mode selected. We also saw this with our 24-page color DTP document, which averaged 23ppm and 6.1ppm for each mode. The good news is that the standard setting is fine for text: print quality is sharp enough for general office use, with only fonts smaller than 12pt showing hints of dusting. Color quality is another winner, with graphics and photos looking sharp and detailed without any signs of banding in large single-color areas.

Using Document Capture Pro to scan a 20-page sheaf of bank statements to a PC as a searchable PDF returned speeds of 22ppm. Duplex scans take much longer, though, as the ADF has to flip each page to scan both sides, with a double-sided scan of the same test document averaging only 4.3ppm.

You won’t need a high resolution for document archiving as output quality at 200dpi is fine for these tasks, with Epson’s OCR services correctly converting every word on the statements down to 6pt fonts. The software provides plenty of scan management tools along with a good range of output formats, and each PC that has it installed appears in the printer’s touchscreen menu for quick scan selection.

Epson’s WorkForce Pro WF-C5890DWF ticks all the right boxes for busy workgroups with high print and scan demands. The starter ink packs are a bit stingy but ongoing running costs are low, it offers great output quality and packs in an impressive range of user-friendly scan services.

We've also ranked the best cloud storage for photos.

From DeepSeek to Anthropic’s Computer Use and ChatGPT’s ‘Operator,’ AI tools have taken the world by storm, and this may be just the beginning. Yet, as AI agents debut with remarkable capabilities, a fundamental question remains: how do we verify their outputs?

The AI race has unlocked groundbreaking innovations, but as development surges ahead, key questions around verifiability remain unresolved. Without built-in trust mechanisms, AI’s long-term scalability — and the investments fueling it — face growing risks.

The Asymmetry of AI Development vs. AI Accountability

Today, AI development is incentivized for speed and capability, while accountability mechanisms lag behind. This dynamic creates a fundamental imbalance: verifiability lacks the attention, funding and resources needed to keep pace with AI progress, leaving outputs unproven and susceptible to manipulation. The result is a flood of AI solutions deployed at scale, often without the safety controls needed to mitigate risks like misinformation, privacy breaches and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

This gap will become more evident as AI continues to integrate into critical industries. Companies developing AI models are making remarkable strides — but without parallel advancements in verification, trust in AI risks being eroded. Organizations that embed accountability from the outset won’t just mitigate future risks; they’ll gain a competitive advantage in a landscape where trust will define long-term adoption.

AI’s rapid adoption is an incredible force for innovation, but with that momentum comes the challenge of ensuring robust verification without slowing progress. Rather than leaving critical concerns for later, we provide a seamless path to integrate verifiability from the start — so developers and industry leaders can move full speed ahead with confidence. The current AI gold rush has unlocked massive opportunities, and by closing the gap between capability and accountability, we ensure that this momentum not only continues but strengthens for the long term.

Verifiability as a Catalyst for AI’s Future

Recently, many were surprised when one of the largest tech companies in the world pulled the plug on its AI features. But as AI capabilities expand, should we really be caught off guard when verification challenges surface? As AI continues to scale, the ability to prove its trustworthiness will determine whether public confidence grows or diminishes.

Recent surveys indicate that skepticism is rising, with a significant portion of users expressing concern over AI’s reliability. The next evolution of AI requires accountability to grow in tandem with development, ensuring trust scales with innovation.

The future of AI needs to be reframed: The question is no longer just ‘Can AI do this or that?’ but rather ‘Can we trust AI’s outputs?’ By embedding trust and verification into AI’s foundations, the industry can ensure AI adoption continues to expand with confidence.

But to return to the fundamental question at hand: how? More precisely, how do you know if the information generated from AI is accurate? How can the privacy and confidentiality of that information be verified? Anyone using ChatGPT, Copilot, Perplexity or Claude, among countless others, has faced these questions. Addressing them requires leveraging the latest advancements in cryptographic verification.

Enter zkML: A Framework for AI Trust

AI’s ability to generate complex outputs is growing exponentially, but verifying the accuracy, security and trustworthiness of these outputs remains an open challenge. This is where zero-knowledge machine learning (zkML) presents a breakthrough solution.

Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs), originally developed for cryptographic security, provide a way to prove the validity of an AI-generated output without revealing the underlying data or model details. By applying these techniques to machine learning, zkML ensures that AI-generated outputs are produced as expected while preserving privacy and integrity.

Inference generated using zkML confirms that AI models operate as intended, while verifiable AI training ensures that the training data remains untampered. Additionally, private input protection allows AI to be leveraged securely without exposing sensitive information, and compliant, confidential AI helps meet regulatory requirements while preserving data confidentiality. This means AI systems can prove their outputs — without disclosing the full details of their processes, including model weights.

Unlike traditional verification methods that rely on centralized oversight or controlled environments, zkML enables decentralized, trustless verification. This allows AI developers to demonstrate the authenticity of their models without requiring external trust assumptions, paving the way for scalable and transparent AI verification.

The Future of AI Trust Hinges on Verifiability

AI’s credibility hinges on its ability to prove its outputs are trustworthy. The industry has an opportunity to integrate verifiability now — before trust erodes.

A future where AI operates without trust mechanisms will struggle to scale sustainably. By integrating cryptographic verification techniques like ZKPs, we can create an AI ecosystem where transparency and accountability are built in, not an afterthought.

Verifiable AI is more than a theoretical solution; it’s the next frontier of AI innovation. The shift toward verifiable AI is not only necessary — it’s the next step in ensuring AI’s long-term success. The time to act is now.

We've listed the best encryption software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we 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/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

The new financial year is the time for businesses to consider any unnecessary expenditure to ensure financial efficiency. However, as budgets reset, it also presents an opportunity to reassess and streamline supply chain operations.

Conscious buying is on the agenda for many businesses as consumers look to make more thoughtful purchasing decisions. In fact, research has shown that according to consumers, sustainable procurement results in as much as a 15 to 30% increase in brand value.

This is only putting more pressure on businesses to ensure that their suppliers are sustainable and are aligned with their values and own sustainability ambitions.

When it comes to meeting socially responsible commitments, for example, procurement can make or break a business’ sustainability trajectory, with up to 90% of a company's carbon footprint linked to its supply chain. With so much pressure on businesses to be more socially responsible, procurement needs to take the lead on not only ensuring that expectations are met, but that purchasing processes also support the long-term growth of the company against established targets.

The case for more sustainable procurement is strong, but how can businesses reflect this priority in their supply chain? Following recent research from Amazon Business, which reveals that 49% of procurement professionals see the complexity of their supply chain as a major obstacle at work , here are some ways to spring clean your supply chain and align with sustainable growth ambitions for the new financial year.

1. What businesses don't know will hurt them as AI raises the bar for reporting

The complexity of supply chains often leaves valuable purchasing data lying dormant across different tools and platforms. With so much data to manage, it is no wonder that businesses can struggle to keep tabs on inventory, spend, shipping routes and supply chain disruptions.

It is essential that procurement teams have visibility of where exactly their vulnerabilities lie and the impact they might have on the wider business. Put frankly, measurable progress towards sustainable procurement goals is not achievable without the right data, and the tools to make it seen.

AI can provide a major competitive advantage here with the ability to use large language models (LLMs) and cognitive analytics to recognize and predict patterns in purchasing data. Natural language processing (NLP) then allows procurement teams to interact with this data, ask it questions, and pull-out actionable insights.

For example, procurement leaders can use AI tools to estimate the carbon footprint of a product, helping to map its environmental impact and assess its performance against internal criteria for sustainable purchasing – unlocking a new level of data-driven decision making.

It is clear that there is appetite for AI innovation as 96% of procurement professionals have plans to invest in AI tools. By embracing advancements in real-time data analytics, businesses can have access to the data they need to stay one step ahead of changes in their supply chain.

2. A diverse supply chain is a strong supply chain

With pressure on businesses to be more sustainable in their purchasing, an overhauled supply chain should focus on diversifying supplier relationships and investing in partnerships with local and small businesses. In fact, achieving a broad supplier base is cited as a top priority for the majority of UK procurement leaders as a way to ensure resilience in supply and distribution.

By making sure the business is not reliant on a limited pool of suppliers, procurement teams can be more assured of the continued growth and performance of their department, in turn contributing to more reliable results for the business. A diverse supply chain also allows for greater flexibility in the long term, making it easier for businesses to adjust and refine their supplier base as goals and ambitions change.

With this in mind, variety can be an effective solution for managing a volatile global landscape. By encouraging businesses to prioritize more local suppliers and minimize transportation costs, a diverse supplier base also indirectly helps businesses to play a part in the circular economy and cut down on emissions.

3. Stay on track with universal standards and purchasing policies

Whilst a diverse supplier base can increase supply chain resiliency, managing a dispersed network might sound like an overwhelming logistical challenge, adding even more admin to procurement teams’ day-to-day system maintenance. This is where digital tools and platforms such as Amazon’s Business ‘Guided Buying’ feature are transforming the future of procurement, establishing a ‘one-stop shop’ for business purchasing that frees up time and capacity for time-stretched procurement teams.

By setting up simple policies across the organization, ‘Guided Buying’ helps employees identify which sellers are preferred by their organization, as well as sellers that might be restricted or blocked. Visual signposts make this a natural part of the decision-making process and takes the guessing game out of compliance.

Creating clear guidelines for business purchasing can also prove to be a significant time-saver for businesses as reporting requirements become tighter under new and developing regulations such as The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (5). As social value weighting becomes a necessary part of managing bids and tenders, early adopters of purchasing policies will benefit from a more consistent and reliable track record of purchasing that aligns with social value ambitions.

The new financial year will no doubt present procurement teams with a fresh set of challenges and opportunities. By focusing on cleaning up their supply chain, improving supplier diversity and organizing internal processes, businesses can put themselves in the best position to proactively respond to these changes. Making an investment now in a transparent, resilient and data-forward procurement strategy, will pay off for businesses in the long term, unlocking savings in cost, sustainability, and efficiency.

We've listed the best Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we 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/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

The U.S. has increased its attacks on the Houthis, launching daily strikes since March 15, when President Donald Trump ordered a new, expanded campaign.

(Image credit: Osamah Abdulrahman)

An ICE official said in court documents that people are subject to deportation if they don't say they want to challenge their removal within 12 hours after being notified about their rights.

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• Perplexity AI has brought a new voice assistant to iOS
• The assistant can open apps like OpenTable or YouTube and prefill tasks like reservations or video searches
• Perplexity offers a streamlined alternative to Siri that may beat the native voice assistant in most ways

AI conversational search engine Perplexity is coming for Siri in the form of a new iOS voice assistant. Previously limited to Android, Perplexity's voice assistant wants users to turn to it before the native option. Further, there are a few good reasons why iPhone owners might be inclined to do so.

Basically, it's more proactive and able to go a few extra steps beyond Siri's abilities. Ask it to find a dinner reservation, and it will dive into the OpenTable app to fill in your reservation requests, including guests, date, and time, without you having to say another word, just leaving the final tap on the Book button.

The same goes for hunting for moments in YouTube videos. You can describe the climactic win from a niche sports documentary, see it queued up on YouTube right away.

Of course, some of what Perplexity can do are things that Siri already handles, like writing emails and setting up calendar events. But, even with Apple Intelligence helping out, Perplexity is better at understanding more casual language. And that's before considering the more proactive approach.

Ask Siri about signing up for an event this weekend, and you'll hear the familiar “Here's what I found on the web.” Do the same with Perplexity's voice assistant, and (depending on the circumstances) the AI might say, “I already filled out the form. Just click send.”

Of course, it’s not all-powerful. You need to open the app and tap the microphone icon to start talking to the AI. However, the responses often let you refine your request without having to start over from scratch.

Additionally, the iOS version of Perplexity’s assistant has a few notable limitations. It can’t set alarms or control core iPhone functions, including muting notifications or taking photos. It also can’t access your camera to “see what you see,” which other AI assistants like ChatGPT’s voice mode can.

Introducing Perplexity iOS Voice AssistantVoice Assistant uses web browsing and multi-app actions to book reservations, send emails and calendar invites, play media, and more—all from the Perplexity iOS app.Update your app in the App Store and start asking today. pic.twitter.com/OKdlTaG9COApril 23, 2025

Perplexity popularity

Perplexity is definitely angling to take the place of Siri by not just telling you things, but doing them too. This “agentic AI” approach is gaining popularity across various AI services, such as ChatGPT and Gemini, which are both experimenting with similar ideas.

The aim is to cross the bridge from traditional voice AI to fully independent digital agents. Right now, it won’t book the reservation unless you make your final click. But that might change in a year or two.

Apple isn't ignoring this concept, but has been slow off the mark in some ways. Although Siri's intelligence has been upgraded in recent months, we are still awaiting the full generative AI overhaul that was originally promised to launch this year within a future version of iOS 18. Apple has since delayed the AI-infused Siri and said it will arrive at some point in the future, more specifically, "in the coming year."

Still, by opening its voice assistant to iOS users and layering in real-world tools like OpenTable and YouTube, Perplexity is carving out a space as a nimble alternative to native AI assistants.

And if you just want to say, “Find me tacos and make the reservation,” and have the bot say, “Done," Perplexity's voice assistant might be your new favorite iPhone aide.

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The unexpected elimination of funding for the decades-long research project focused on women's health shocked scientists. They were heartened by the quick restoration of support.

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When you think of a successful protest movement, most Americans probably think of the American Civil Rights movement, and the March on Washington in 1963.

Martin Luther King, Jr. standing behind a podium on the steps of the Lincoln memorial delivered his most famous speech and a line that would come to define the goals of the Civil Rights Movement.

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act just nine months after the March. A year after that Johnson signed the National Voting Rights Act of 1965.

The quest for equality continues. In the decades since that bright summer day in August 1963, many other Americans have tried to use the model of protest to achieve their political goals.

But do protests work?

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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Two new mice for productivity still look like they were made for gamers and that's okay.

• LG Smart Monitor Swing is inspired by StanbyME, but built for everything
• Charge your laptop with 65W USB-C — no extra charger needed
• Touchscreen and webOS make it usable without a computer

LG has announced the Smart Monitor Swing, a 31.5-inch 4K UHD touchscreen monitor designed to rethink how and where users interact with their screen.

The monitor features an IPS panel with a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 and supports multitouch for direct interaction with apps and files.

The Smart Monitor Swing includes three USB-C ports and two HDMI inputs for connectivity. One of the USB-C ports supports 65W Power Delivery, allowing it to charge most business laptops on the market. On the rear, a concealed adapter helps reduce cable clutter, a feature not commonly found on even the best business monitors.

(Image credit: LG) More than just mobility

A key selling point is its all-in-one wheeled stand, adapted from the portable StanbyME smart TV design. The stand offers more than just mobility: it supports height adjustment, up-and-down tilt, left-right swivel, and a pivot for switching between landscape and portrait modes.

LG’s proprietary webOS smart platform is also built in, giving users access to apps like Microsoft Office, YouTube, and others directly from the monitor. Like LG’s MyView Smart Monitor, it can run cloud PC services without needing a separate computer.

While the Smart Monitor Swing borrows some standout features from the StanbyME, it omits the built-in battery and remote control in favor of a cleaner, productivity-focused design.

Combining smart functionality with a portable frame, the LG Smart Monitor Swing is positioned to compete with the best portable monitor options available.

While LG has not yet confirmed global pricing or availability, the monitor will launch in Korea on April 24 at 1,049,000 won (approximately $735).

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• Western Digital plans to launch 40TB HDD next year using HAMR technology

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