Technology

Way back in January, we wrote about how retro cameras were making an unexpected resurgence. Now we're nearing the end of the year, and that trend is showing no signs of slowing — and I've rounded up some of our favorite old-school styled cameras of 2026.

'Retro' is a broad term, and these cameras span a wide spectrum too. Leica and Ricoh's dedicated black-and-white cameras are serious snappers optimized for monochrome photography, while the OM System PEN and Fujifilm X-T30 III have retro designs that'll beginner photographers will love.

At the more frivolous end of the market we have Camp Snap's basic, screen-free point-and-shoot, and a fuss-free film camera from Kodak that managed to produce some charming, characterful shots in our tests. And no retro camera roundup would be complete without the viral Kodak Charmera — a dinky keychain snapper that our Cameras Editor hates to love.

Scroll down to learn more about all of these retro wonders, and hit the View Details button for more info and links to our reviews.

Retro snappers

Kodak Snapic A1

Read more: I tested Kodak's cheap and pocketable film camera, and it's packed with retro-futuristic charm

View on the Kodak website

Pros

• Clean, compact and stylish design
• Delivers characterful shots in good lighting
• Useful OLED panel on top

Cons

• No exposure controls
• Weak flash limits indoor capabilities
• Extra cost of film development and prints

Fujifilm X-T30 III

Read more: I tested the retro Fujifilm X-T30 III and tiny new zoom lens, and the kit is a great pick for beginner photographers

View on the Fujifilm website

Pros

• Sharp stills and video
• Tidy retro design
• Can be stowed in jacket pocket

Cons

• Modest upgrade of the X-T30 II
• A bit pricey
• Loss of shooting mode dial

Kodak Charmera

Read more: The viral Kodak Charmera is the worst camera I’ve ever used – but it’s so bad and so retro, that I actually love it

View on Kodak website

Pros

• Thumb-sized
• Retro design, collector colorways
• It's a fully working camera!
• A genuinely great gift idea

Cons

• Probably the worst image quality I've seen
• Tiny battery
• There's a risk it'll quickly become an unused gadget

Leica Q3 Monochrom

Read more: I tested the Leica Q3 Monochrom – it's a top digital camera for black-and-white photography purists

View on the Leica website

Pros

• Same superb design and lens quality as the Q3
• The purest experience from a digital camera for black and white photography fans
• High-resolution full-frame sensor

Cons

• As niche a digital camera as they come
• Limited customization for its standard color profiles
• Pricier than the Q3
• As with the Q3, stabilization is only okay, battery life is average, tilt screen is awkward

Ricoh GR IV Monochrome

Read more: I was ready to buy Ricoh’s incredibly niche black-and-white compact camera — but then I saw the price and it’s an absolute dealbreaker

View on the Ricoh website

Fujifilm Instax Evo Cinema

Read more: I tested the retro Instax Mini Evo Cinema for two weeks — it’s awesome and terrible, but it still wins my heart

View on the Instax website

Pros

• Multi-media skills
• Unique design and well-made
• Fun color mode dial

Cons

• Sluggish operation
• Poor image quality
• Video clip length limitations
• Pricey

Camp Snap CS-PRO

Read more: Camp Snap’s upgraded screen-free retro compact camera hits the right notes, and I love how affordable it is

View on the Camp Snap website

Pros

• Super-easy point-and-shoot operation
• Filter dial adds a few creative options
• Very lightweight, with stylish looks
• Affordable price tag

Cons

• Flash unit overexposes images
• Can't handle high-contrast lighting
• All-plastic body doesn't feel robust

OM System PEN

Read more: I replaced my phone camera with the OM System PEN for a month — and discovered the beginner camera of the year

View on the OM System website

Pros

• Excellent value
• In-body image stabilization and neat computational photography modes
• Classy design
• Splash-proof, as is the new kit lens

Cons

• Basic video features
• Some controls are fiddly
• Design less suitable for long lenses
• Lower rated weather resistance than the OM-5 II

• A critical Microsoft Authenticator flaw let rogue Android apps steal Microsoft session tokens without user interaction
• Attackers could impersonate trusted Microsoft apps and access emails, Teams data, calendars, and files
• Microsoft patched the bug and urges Android users to update Authenticator immediately

A critical vulnerability in the Microsoft Authenticator app for Android allowed malicious apps to obtain session tokens for pretty much any Microsoft app and hand them over to the attackers.

Unlike other Android malware, this one did not require extensive permissions, the victims did not need to approve the login process, and the attackers did not need to know their victim’s login credentials.

Found by researchers at Enclave, the vulnerability, now tracked as CVE_2026-80097, is fixed and Microsoft is urging all users to update their Authenticator app as soon as possible.

What is Authenticator and how was it abused?

Authenticator is Microsoft’s two-factor authentication (2FA) app. Besides users, it also allows other apps to authenticate, giving them session tokens that grant them access to the users’ Microsoft work account and associated data. In practice, it means that a legitimate app such as Microsoft Teams can log into a user’s work account through Authenticator.

Enclave's security researchers set out to test how secure this process was. In an experiment, which they detailed on this link, they used an Android device that was logged into a Microsoft service and had the Authenticator app installed. Nothing less - nothing more.

Then, they installed a third app that was not malicious by any usual Android standards - it did not ask for extensive permissions, it did not contact a shady third-party server, and it did not try to exfiltrate any data.

What it did do, however, was pretend to be a legitimate Microsoft Teams app. As such, it asked Authenticator to, well, authenticate it, and grant it access to the data.

To do that, it provided the necessary data: proper package name, client ID, and redirect URI. Authenticator confirmed the data was real and granted the app the token. Voila - the researchers were given access to emails, Teams chat messages, calendars, and were also allowed to modify and send messages, alter files, calendar entries, send chat messages, and even manage certain authentication methods (create or delete passkeys).

A controlled experiment

How, you might ask? Apparently, Authenticator was just checking if the data the app provided was real - not the nature of the app providing the data itself. In other words, any app could have said “Hey, I’m Teams, give me a session token”, and would receive it.

The worst part is that this was all being done in the background. The researchers did not have to confirm the app’s login attempt, nor were they notified of it to begin with.

“We found that an unprivileged Android app with zero permissions could impersonate any installed Microsoft first-party app and have the Microsoft Authenticator broker hand it that app's tokens,” they said. This is a big deal, since asking for extensive permissions is the number one way to spot malicious Android apps.

Luckily for everyone involved, Enclave did not spot this attack in the wild and instead created it in a controlled environment. There is no evidence anyone tried anything similar in the wild, but now that the news is out, chances are they'll try. Therefore, it is vital all Authenticator users update their apps as soon as possible.

The silver lining in this report is that the malicious app still needs to land on the target Android device somehow. These apps likely won’t make it into the Google Play Store, and as long as users refrain from downloading shady .APK files from unvetted app stores, they should be fine.

Enclave reported the vulnerability to the Microsoft Security Response Center, which confirmed the issue and released a fix. It said that Microsoft Authenticator for Android versions earlier than 6.2606.4246 are affected and stressed that users should update to version 6.2606.4246 or later through the Google Play Store.

• XMG warns that 'substantial price increases for upcoming GPU shipments' mean it's hiking RTX 5090 laptop prices
• One model is already pricier and bigger hikes for XMG's other notebooks could be coming soon
• At the same time, we're hearing more about the struggles of Nvidia's partners for supply of components for the desktop RTX 5090

The position of Nvidia's RTX 5090 is looking shakier by the day, as even more chatter is emerging suggesting that this GPU is effectively sidelined at this point, even if it hasn't actually been discontinued.

You may have read up on those recent rumors claiming that Nvidia has discontinued the RTX 5090 — which is speculation that Team Green has firmly denied, I should make clear.

The fresh negative news from the grapevine comes firstly from laptop maker XMG on Reddit, which is sharing more bad news on the RAM crisis affecting its prices, specifically with the RTX 5090.

XMG says: "We expect laptops with the RTX 5090 to become significantly more expensive again over the coming weeks." (We already saw price hikes from XMG last month, if you recall).

The company explains why: "Procurement conditions for the RTX 5090 Laptop GPU have deteriorated considerably within a short period. We have received new information indicating substantial price increases for upcoming GPU shipments.

"At the same time, availability is becoming increasingly constrained. Replenishment orders that have already been planned or, in some cases, even confirmed are being significantly reduced in quantity."

XMG notes that beyond these existing orders, it is "currently difficult to make reliable predictions about future supply volumes and delivery dates."

The laptop maker also tells us that "other laptop GPUs are also facing supply constraints", but that the "combination of massive price increases and extremely limited supply" is "particularly pronounced" with the RTX 5090.

That doesn't sound very comforting, does it? The immediate result is that the Schenker Key 18 Pro laptop (Schenker is XMG's parent company) with the RTX 5090 has increased in price by €250 (around $280 / £210 / AU$400) as of today, and the XMG NEO laptops with the RTX 5090 will see at least a similar price increase — although we're warned that the "increase could be even higher" for those notebooks depending on how the situation develops. Nasty.

The second shot of negativity here is from overclocker Der8auer in Germany, who as Wccftech reports, has heard from one of Nvidia's board making partners.

Add seasoning as appropriate here, but the unnamed graphics-card maker claims that while it hasn't been informed that the RTX 5090 is discontinued — Nvidia Germany also told Der8auer this (backing up other statements to this effect from Team Green) — it cannot currently purchase the GB203 chip plus VRAM package (32GB of GDDR7 video RAM) to make the RTX 5090 laptop card.

The more worrying part is that the board maker says that this kind of component shortage has happened before, but it has always been able to place a backorder to be fulfilled later. However, right now it's not even possible to obtain a backorder from Nvidia.

A maker of coolers for the RTX 5090 further observes that it has witnessed reduced orders from board makers, and it doesn't have any orders at all for heatsinks for Nvidia's flagship GPU for Q2 2027 at this point. That obviously suggests that the production quantities for the RTX 5090 are looking even shakier for the future.

Analysis: bleak times

(Image credit: Future)

At some point, the accumulation of rumors begins to reach a kind of critical mass where it seems very unlikely that they're all off base, and that in all likelihood, something really is going on.

We appear to be arriving at this point with the RTX 5090 rumors, in my opinion. There are too many of them, and the indications at the retail level — vanishing stock, and ever-increasing RTX 5090 prices, which have become truly ridiculous — also back up the grapevine here.

What's worrying is the further gloom from the likes of a cooler manufacturer, and the fact that the RTX 5090 laptop GPU is also involved. Remember that this doesn't use the GB202 chip seen in the desktop RTX 5090, but Nvidia's GB203 silicon; however, the supply problem lies in getting the video RAM (3GB GDDR7 modules, which are now thinner on the ground and far pricier than the 2GB modules used in the RTX 5080 laptop graphics card).

So, while the RTX 5090 may not be discontinued, it would appear that supplies are getting so low for this GPU — on both desktop and laptop fronts — that while technically it's still in production, the quantities are dipping to such an extent that the flagship is effectively being pushed aside.

All in all, it feels like an especially bleak time for higher-end Nvidia graphics cards, and the fear is that the situation may worsen from here.

Certainly when we look at the predictions for the RAM crisis next year, they're universally pessimistic, and there's a greater level of belief these days that memory supply woes could last for the rest of this decade. Of course, VRAM is bound up in that, as well as AI demand for GPU chips, and all this could affect the launch timeframe of Nvidia's next-gen GeForce graphics cards, too.

• Apple has revealed M6 upgrades for the iMac and MacBook Pro
• The iMac's pricing starts at $1,499, the same as its predecessor
• Pricing for the MacBook Pro M6 also starts at the same level as its M5 predecessor, which is $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,199

Apple has given its iMac and entry-level MacBook Pro models a minor refresh with new M6 versions for both.

The M6 is Apple's first 2nm chip, although it has already debuted in the Mac mini from earlier this year. As ever, Apple promises it'll be a beefy upgrade for the new Macs, with what should be a notable boost for local AI processing in particular thanks to the M6's dual 16-core Neural Engine (for a total of 32-cores).

The iMac M6 has the same colorful designs as its M4 predecessor, with that chip upgrade being the main change. With the M6 inside, Apple claims the new iMac is up to 5x faster for on-device AI tasks than the previous-gen all-in-one with the M4 chip, which is a big speed boost.

(Image credit: Apple)

The GPU can be specced with up to 12-cores, and has Neural Accelerators in each core. Apple says it's up to 2x faster for graphics performance in tasks like photo editing.

On top of that, we're told that the storage on board the iMac M6 is up to 2x faster compared to its predecessor, and you get Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6 support.

You can pre-order the new iMac from tomorrow (October 28), with configuration options starting from a 10-core CPU and a 10-core GPU. The base pricing is also the same as before, starting at $1,499 / £1,499 / AU$2,399.

MacBook Pro with M6 goodness

(Image credit: Apple)

It's a similar story with the refreshed entry-level MacBook Pro 14-inch with M6. The main change is that chip upgrade, and again Apple provides some illustrative performance boosts across various workloads.

Apple claims that the 12-core GPU in the M6 offers 30% faster graphics performance compared to the M5 in the previous base MacBook Pro. It also ushers in a 25% performance boost for on-device AI processing versus the M5.

On top of that, the dual 16-core Neural Engine offers up to 1.9x swifter performance than the M5, working with the GPU to pep up AI tasks like creating images or upscaling for boosting game frame rates.

(Image credit: Apple)

Apple talks up the power-efficiency of the M6 chip, and mentions that it has "industry-leading performance per watt", offering up to 24 hours of battery life for the new MacBook Pro.

As with the new iMac, you get Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, and again, you'll be pleased to hear that Apple hasn't hiked the pricing here.

You can pre-order the MacBook Pro 14-inch with M6 from tomorrow (October 28) with shipping expected to start on November 6, and pricing starts at $1,999 / £1,999 / AU$3,199 for the model with 16GB RAM.

• University of Copenhagen discloses breach exposing personal data on more than 525,000 individuals
• Stolen information included names, national ID numbers, contact details, and some campus access PINs
• University contained the incident, reported it to regulators, and warned users about phishing risks

The University of Copenhagen in Denmark has confirmed suffering a cyberattack and losing sensitive data on more than half a million people.

In a notification published on the organization’s website, it was said that unnamed attackers gained access to one of its test environments, and from there, they pulled full names, national identity numbers (CPR), phone numbers, and email addresses on some 525,000 people.

A subsequent update to the announcement added another 20,000 staff and students, whose PIN codes were apparently exposed.

Phishing risks

The university responded by restricting physical access to critical locations on campus, and then redistributing new access codes. After that, the locations were gradually reopened. In the meantime, the university’s IT team contained the attack and prevented further incursions and said there was no evidence of any other compromise or disruptions to other systems.

The incident was then reported to the Danish Data Protection Agency, and since it falls under the jurisdiction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the university was now investigating its next steps.

Universities and other educational institutions hold the kind of information cybercriminals find rather valuable. Contact information, paired with private information not many people know, is the kind of data threat actors can use to create tailored and personalized phishing emails.

These emails can then trick the victims into downloading infostealer malware, or granting access to systems where a ransomware deployment could be devastating.

For example, cybercriminals were seen mailing students saying their email address was due for decommission because it wasn’t used in a little while. The students were given a short timeframe (usually 24 hours or less) to “confirm their identity” or risk losing their email address, all emails stored there, as well as their entire contacts list. Obviously, that risk was never real. Victims who wanted to “confirm” their identity were redirected to a fake Microsoft 365 login page which, if they tried to log in, just relayed the credentials to the attackers.

A long list of victims

The list of universities being targeted for their data is long and ever-growing. In early November 2025, the University of Pennsylvania confirmed hackers broke in and stole files from its system.

They tricked an employee into sharing a PennKey SSO account, which gave them access to the university’s VPN, Salesforce data, Qlik analytics platform, SAP business intelligence system, and SharePoint files. Using that access, they stole data on approximately 1.2 million students, alumni, and donors, including names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, estimated net worth, donation history, and demographic details.

Just two weeks later, Princeton University suffered the same fate. In a data breach notification letter sent to an undisclosed number of people, the University said threat actors accessed an Advancement database belonging to the Ivy League institution, where they were able to access information about alumni, donors, some faculty, students, parents, and other members of the organization.

The compromised database contained personally identifiable information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, and home and business addresses. The database also contained information about fundraising activities and donations made to the university.

Earlier still, in mid-2025, infamous threat actors ShinyHunters broke into Canvas (a learning management system) and through it stole data from the world’s top universities, including Harvard, Oxford, and MIT. Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Cambridge, Cornell, Berkeley, and Georgetown were all said to have been compromised at the same time. The attackers then said they struck more than 8,800 educational institutions in 10 different countries, including the US, Australia, the UK, and Sweden.

The University of Copenhagen is now urging its students, staff, and partners, to be wary of incoming emails.

Via BleepingComputer

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: two-minute review

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus looks like an almost mid-range vacuum. And it largely is. It has an all plastic build, doesn’t come with a bunch of attachments, and really does one thing. But, it does that one thing really well and that is be a wet-dry vac. In fact, when using it to simultaneously vacuum and mop, it picks up anything and everything smaller than a Cheerio. Crumbs of all sorts. Dog hair. Spilled parmesan. Coffee grounds. You get the idea.

Plus, if you compare it to the best wet-dry vacuums, you’ll see that it’s quite affordable, even if it is among the more expensive Bissell models. I do have a few quibbles, such as the fact that there’s an upper limit on the size of the debris it can suck up or the fact that all the debris goes into the same dirty water tank making emptying it a bit of a mess.

Still, for the price, it might be the best vacuum with wet-dry capabilities out there. Just be aware that the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is the same as the Bissell CrossWave Reach, but comes with a charging base.

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus mops evenly and dries quickly. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: price & availability

• List price: $329.99 (about £250 / AU$470)
• Launched: September 2026
• Available in the US

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus comes in at decidedly Bissell level prices. You don’t have to plop down the cash you would for something like the Dyson V15s Detect Submarine and its list price of $949.99 / £599.99 / AU$949. It’s even cheaper than some Chinese models like the Tineco Floor One S7 Pro with its list price of $799.99 / £599.99 / AU$999). Of course, that model does come with a larger capacity and a more impressive display.

Basically, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus goes for $329.99 (about £250 / AU$470). This price includes the vacuum, the charging tray, two different sample sized bottles of cleaning solution, and a measuring cup for the solution.

It’s a price that I would consider mid-range for a vacuum, though it’s relatively cheap for a wet-dry vacuum. It’s also an expected price point for a higher-end Bissell product (Shark hits similar price points in my opinion). You can get the non-Plus version for $279.99. The only difference is that it comes without the charging tray.

• Value for money score: 4.5 out of 5

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum specs

Weight (total):

8.8 lb / 3.99 kg

Weight (body only)

8.8 lb / 3.99 kg

Bin size

450ml (clean tank) / 600ml (dirty tank)

Runtime in Min mode

23 mins

Runtime in Max mode

39 mins

Charge time

4 hrs 35 min

Size (H x W x L)

10.7 x 8.6 x 43.6 inches / 27.2 x 21.8 x 110.7 cm (L x W x H)

Max suction

7AW

Modes

Eco, Hi, Turbo

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: design

• Dirty water tank contains solid debris too, for better or worse
• Has a self-cleaning feature
• Can lie flat to get under furniture

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus may be an all-plastic build, but it looks durable and cuts a somewhat dashing figure. Not quite a stick vacuum, it’s ever so slightly modular insofar as the handles comes separated from the body. It's also slim at around 4.5 inches across the body.

The power and mode buttons (eco, high, turbo) are on the handles, and are within thumb’s reach during use. The battery indicator, which shows battery life using three LEDs, as well as the indicators showing which mode the vacuum, are all on the body facing you while you clean. There’s also a button here to run the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus’s Clean-Out Cycle — a nice feature for self-cleaning the brushroll after use.

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus' LED indicators conveniently face the user to show battery life and current mode. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

The 600ml dirty water tank clipped into the back of the body is easy to remove for emptying. When removed, the filter on top pulls right out exposing whatever debris is inside. The one downside here is that, unlike the best robot vacuums that vacuum and mop, everything goes into the same tank. Vacuumed up a bunch of rice and sucked up a spill? You’ll have to empty everything out into the same place.

The dirty water tank on the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is simple to remove. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

The clean water tank is clipped onto the top of the floorhead. Its 450ml capacity is decent, though will require somewhat regular refilling (of water and a cup of one of the included solutions). I do like the exposed look of it, though.

The clean water tank on the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus sit atop the floorhead. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

As far as the rest of the floorhead, it can swivel and has a hinge for the vacuum to lay up to 180 degrees back — essentially flat — to get under furniture. And it has one large tangle-free brushroll that’s removable for cleaning or replacing and can handle just about any hard surface one would mop. Also worth noting is that it’s rated as having a 10.6 inch cleaning path, though when I measured it, I would say it’s actually 9.6 inches. You lose an inch to the plastic bezels on either side.

Lastly, the charging tray that comes with this vacuum is essentially a molded piece of plastic with charging contacts so that if you put it back in the tray after use, it will start charging automatically.

• Design score: 4.5 out of 5

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: performance

• Great vacuuming except for larger debris
• Flawless mopping
• Can get pretty close to edges

When I first started using the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus, I found myself struggling to find something to dislike about it. After spending some time with it, that’s still mostly the case.

This is a wet-dry vacuum and mop, and it does both duties concurrently; there's no vacuum only mode, and no opportunity to only get the floor wet. Despite that, I’m going to try and separate these two functions just to give you a better idea of what to expect.

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus before vacuuming up a bunch of tea leaves. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

I performed a few tests when vacuuming. I threw a bunch of tea leaves on the floor as well as a bunch of rice. For both sizes of debris, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus sucked them right up in the first go.

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus in process of cleaning up tea leaves. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Because of the way the floorhead is arranged — there’s just the mop brushroll at the front end with a forward-angled silicon liner behind — it isn’t quite as successful on picking rice and similar sized debris when pulling the vacuum back as it can get caught by that liner. However, when pushing the vacuum forward, everything gets sucked up immediately.

The one caveat to that and a valid reason to still keep a regular vacuum around is the fact since the only moving part helping pick up debris is that brushroll, larger pieces of debris like cereal or popcorn will just get pushed around the front of it like a curling puck.

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus made quick work of cleaning up ketchup. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

I found basically nothing to complain about its mopping capabilities, however. It lays down an even layer of water and detergent solution that is enough to fully mop whatever area’s been covered. And I found the floor to be dry within minutes after mopping.

I also tested the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus’s mopping by throwing a bunch of ketchup, mustard, and coffee (separately) on the floor. In each instance, whatever was on the floor was removed in one swipe. However, it takes a few passes to remove odors (and they can still persist for a short while).

Thanks to a 180-degree hinge, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus can easily get under furniture. (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Getting to the edges and corners with a vacuum is a concern, especially one without additional accessories for tight spaces. But that’s not too much of a concern here. I found that going up to edges with this vacuum allowed me to get as close as a quarter inch when moving with the right side towards the wall. With the left side of the vacuum facing the wall or edge, the three quarters of an inch closest to the wall is left untouched, while the front of the vacuum won’t touch that last inch closest to the wall. So, I was able to get pretty close to the wall but the vacuum orientation matters.

Generally, maneuvering the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is easy. It does want to pull forward so pushing the vacuum in the direction I want to go feels effortless. When pulling back in a typical vacuuming fashion, I do feel some resistance since it wants to go in that direction. Turning is just as effortless thanks to the swivelling floorhead, and the fact that it can lie almost flat means it’s a cinch to get under furniture.

Lastly, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is not a quiet vacuum, but is in line with other cordless vacuums such as the Bissell PowerClean FurFinder. On eco mode, it reaches around 64dB. In turbo mode, it gets up to 67dB. And it hits about 65dB during its Clean-Out Cycle.

• Performance score: 4.5 out of 5

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: battery life

• Four and a half hour recharge time
• Up to 40 minutes of use on a single charge

Let’s get the bad out of the way. When fully drained, the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is going to take over four and a half hours to recharge. If you are an infrequent charger, then, first, shame on you, and, second, you’ll have to suffer through what amounts to almost half a day of waiting if you have to charge from empty. That said, that’s actually a normal amount of time for a cordless vacuum to recharge, though I wish the battery was removable.

The good news is that the twenty minutes it lasts on turbo, specifically 23 minutes and 21 seconds, or almost forty on eco mode, 39 minutes and 49 seconds, is more than enough battery life for a regular home. These numbers are about in line with some of Bissell’s other offerings, though not quite up to what we see with the best cordless vacuums.

Because of how well it picks up debris (with the earlier size-related caveats), I was able to clean a 800 square foot area in about ten minutes. I ended up wandering in circles with the vacuum in tow waiting for the battery to die. That’s on turbo. The almost forty minutes on eco mode is more than enough for anyone not cleaning an office building.

• Battery life score: 4 out of 5

Should you buy the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum?Bissell Crosswave Reach Plus scre card

Attribute

Notes

Rating

Value

It’s priced lower than a lot of the competition, even if you’re paying extra for the charging tray.

4.5 / 5

Design

Intuitively laid out with some interesting design features including being able to lie flat.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Good vacuuming and mopping, though it can’t quite handle larger pieces of debris.

4.5 / 5

Battery

The battery life is more than enough for use, even if it’s not an impressive length.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You care about value

At just over three hundred bucks, this wet-dry vacuum punches above its weight. It might not have the capacity or battery life of the competition, but it does a good job at a lower price.

You need to get under furniture

Getting under furniture is always tough with a vacuum. Well, almost always. Thanks to that 180-degree hinge, it’s easy for the Reach Plus since it can lie straight back to get under that couch that’s too heavy to move.

You’re OK with simultaneous vacuuming and mopping

This Bissell is a wonder on all sorts of hard flooring, but its simultaneous vacuuming and mopping is a package deal. You can’t do one without the other.

Don't buy it if...

You need something capable of deep cleaning

The Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus is quite good at what it does, but it’s still a smaller vacuum that can’t vacuum up anything.

You have a whole building to mop

For a typical home — big or small — its 20-40 minute battery life is more than plenty to cover every square foot.

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum: alternatives to consider

Model

Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine

Tineco Floor One S7 Pro

Weight (total)

8.8 lb / 3.99 kg

8.4lbs / 3.8 kg

21.5 lbs / 9.75kg

Weight (body only)

8.8 lb / 3.99 kg

8.4lbs / 3.8 kg

21.5 lbs / 9.75kg

Bin size

0.600L

0.77L

0.72L

Runtime in Min mode

39 min

60 min

40 min

Runtime in Max mode

23 min

8 min

N/A

Charge time

4 hrs 35 min

4hrs 30

4hrs

Size (H x W x L)

43.6 x 8.6 x 10.7 inches / 110.7 x 21.8 x 27.2 cm

49.1 x 10.6 x 2.1" / 124.6 x 26.8 x 25.3cm

11.89 x 3.82 x 7.68 inches / 30.2 x 9.7 x 19.5 cm

Max suction

7AW

240AW

N/A

Modes

Eco, Hi, Turbo

Eco, Med, Auto, Boost

Auto, Max, Ultra, Suction

Dyson V15s Detect Submarine

The Dyson V15s Detect Submarine comes with quite the hefty price tag, but it’s also, being a stick vacuum, capable of being both a wet-dry vacuum as well as just a regular vacuum. It is, however, better for smaller clean-ups.

Read our full Dyson V15s Detect Submarine review

Tineco Floor One S7 Pro

At double the price, Tineco Floor One S7 Pro might not seem like that great of a deal. However, it comes with almost double the capacity (both clean and dirty tanks) and has multiple modes including deodorize and disinfect.

Read our full Tineco Floor One S7 Pro review

How I tested the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus Cordless Wet-Dry Vacuum

To test the Bissell CrossWave Reach Plus, I used it for a couple weeks, testing it on hardwood floors, tile, and marble. I ran it through its various modes as well as using the self cleaning function. For running benchmarks, I ran it from full to empty on both eco mode and turbo mode. And I vacuumed / mopped up tea leaves, rice, coffee, mustard, and ketchup.

Read more about how we test vacuum cleaners

• First reviewed September 2026

One of AI’s biggest attractions is its ability to take time and effort out of everyday work. Tasks that would once have demanded hours of attention, such as turning meetings into notes or producing a first draft of a piece of content, can now be completed in minutes. These practical benefits help explain why AI has moved so quickly from experimentation into everyday business use.

Yet, as AI becomes more established in the workplace, a more complicated picture is emerging. AI is changing where thinking happens. When a system can produce an answer almost instantly, the challenge shifts from creating the output to deciding what to do with it.

Employees are no longer spending as much time getting to a first answer, but they are spending more time checking whether the output is accurate, and critically, good enough to inform a decision. This creates a different kind of cognitive burden, moving from production to verification.

AI-generated outputs can appear remarkably polished and persuasive, even when they are based on incomplete information. An answer can sound convincing while overlooking a crucial piece of context or relying on incomplete information. And as AI becomes increasingly better at sounding confident, mistakes may look plausible enough to escape scrutiny and feed into business decisions without being challenged.

When confidence outpaces accuracy

This is why discernment is becoming one of the most important skills in the AI-enabled workplace. The future workforce needs the ability to apply context, experience and judgment to an output that appears authoritative. Someone who understands a market or process deeply may immediately notice that something does not add up, while another person may accept the same answer because it is presented clearly and confidently.

However, the problem is that individual discernment does not scale well, and it is unrealistic to expect every employee to catch every questionable output, especially as AI begins to support more decisions across a business. Human review is indeed essential, but relying on individual vigilance is not a robust or sustainable operating model.

The challenge clearly magnifies with the growth of agentic AI. When AI moves from suggesting to doing, the consequences of a wrong answer become more serious because the error can travel quickly into a real business process. That makes robust governance increasingly important as agentic AI becomes more embedded in how businesses operate.

Better inputs lead to better decisions

Many businesses are investing heavily in making data available to AI, but availability is not the same as readiness. This is where many AI projects begin to struggle. Organizations too often focus on the model because it is the most visible part of the technology, while overlooking the quality of the information beneath it.

The reality is that most organizations will soon have access to similarly capable models. Consequently, what will increasingly differentiate them is not the AI itself, but the quality of the data, governance and operational discipline that sit behind it.

Making data work for AI means ensuring that information is current, trusted and structured in a way that allows AI to generate outputs that reflect how the business actually operates. Without those foundations, organizations spend more time validating AI than benefiting from it.

Poor data pushes additional work back onto employees, who need to spend more time checking outputs and resolving inconsistencies - weakening any productivity case. And the data backs this up. Whilst 74% of frontline employees are now regular AI users, 41% of those report increased cognitive load alongside productivity gains.

Making governance part of everyday operations

This is also why AI governance needs to move beyond policies and principles. If organizations want AI to deliver business value, they need to answer a series of practical questions, such as: Who owns an AI-assisted decision? And where should human judgment remain in the loop?

As AI adoption grows, those questions will increasingly bring the CFO into the conversation. Finance leaders will be asked not only to control spending but also to demonstrate that AI investment is producing profitable value. That will ultimately require greater visibility into where AI is being used, how decisions are being made and whether the costs of validation, oversight and correction are being properly accounted for.

It will also mean recognizing that governance is becoming a lever for cost efficiency. When AI systems are grounded in well-structured, trusted enterprise data, they can find the right information more efficiently, potentially reducing token consumption while improving the quality and consistency of outputs. In other words, strong governance can help lower the cost of running AI tools at scale and improve the return on AI investment.

The competitive edge is still human judgement

As AI becomes a standard part of how businesses operate, simply having access to the technology will no longer be enough to stand out. Instead, the greater advantage will come from how organizations are able to bring together reliable data, strong governance and human judgment to make better decisions.

AI can accelerate the route to an answer, but it cannot decide how much weight that answer should carry. That responsibility still belongs to people, supported by the right data, governance and decision frameworks.

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Logitech Yeti 2 two-minute review

It’s been 17 years since Blue launched the original Yeti, and it didn’t take long for it to become fan a favorite in the world of consumer desktop mics. There have been tweaks and touch-ups here and there, but few major changes, even after Logitech bought Blue in 2018. Until now, that is.

I’ve been using the first Yeti for years, so I was intrigued to know how the new model compared. The good news is that while there’s plenty to love about the original Yeti — it became a household name for a reason, after all — the Yeti 2 is even more impressive. It’s one of the best microphones for streaming available right now.

Put the two microphones on a desk together and you’ll see that the Yeti 2 is very slightly more compact, yet it still retains the distinctive Yeti aesthetic. More noticeable when you pick them up is the weight — at 995g (2.19lbs), the Yeti 2 is almost 50% lighter than the 1.4kg (3.09lbs) Yeti.

FutureFutureFuture

Another thing that immediately catches your eye is the Yeti 2’s built-in LED display, which sits above a singular dial that can be pushed in like a button. This display is a new addition and, in combination with the dial, essentially replaces the volume, mute, gain and polar pattern controls on the old Yeti.

This lets you change the mic’s settings and monitor its audio levels on the display, all without needing Logitech’s G Hub app. It’s a handy feature if you want to make quick adjustments on the fly, although we found the push-in dial to be a little finicky at times, where pressing it would occasionally not do anything. Still, it’s useful for quick changes if you don’t fancy diving into the G Hub app.

If you do want to do that, though, there are plenty of audio presets to choose from, including those for interviews, singing, speech to text, different instruments, and more. You can make manual adjustments to equalizer levels, enable the gate, compressor and more, and work through input gain settings, then save your settings to the app or one of five on-board profiles. Those profiles can be set to automatically activate when specific games launch, too.

FutureFuture

That said, G Hub is probably not the most in-depth experience you’re likely to find. For beginners, though, switching polar patterns and adjusting the built-in noise cancelation is about all you’ll need.

The most important part of any microphone, of course, is its audio quality. And here, the Yeti 2 really delivers. Compared to my long-serving Yeti, the Yeti 2 sounded much crisper and clearer. The Yeti was by no means bad, but the latest model shows strong signs of improvement, no doubt helped by the improvement from 16-bit to 24-bit audio and the addition of software noise cancelation.

Part of that is thanks to the new Auto Tracking polar pattern that detects where your sound is coming from and automatically adjusts the pickup area accordingly, ensuring the input is optimized, wherever you’re sat. You can still set a manual polar pattern if you like, but Auto Tracking is effective enough that it will be the best option for most people.

FutureFuture

Another useful aspect of this voice proximity sensor is its impact on gain. Now, the Yeti 2 can automatically decrease or increase the gain as you move closer to or further away from the mic, ensuring your input volume remains level throughout. This feature isn’t perfect — I noticed my voice picked up more echo the as I moved away — but it’s much better than what you got with the first Yeti, where you’d just get quieter as you moved away.

As you’d expect from Blue/Logitech, the Yeti 2’s build quality is top notch. The main body is made of metal and feels rock solid. The included metal stand has a soft padded base to keep it from slipping, while the lugs that hold the mic screwed into the base are rubberized to minimize bumps and shakes while you’re recording. This thing looks beautiful and feels like it’s made to last.

FutureFutureFutureFuture

There’s a thread on the bottom for attaching the Yeti 2 to a boom arm, in case you’d rather use it that way instead of upright in its stand. The display can also be flipped 180 degrees, which makes reading it an awful lot easier when it’s mounted this way.

There’s not a lot to dislike about the Yeti 2. The single push-in dial didn’t seem to be the most reliable feature and merging several buttons into one means it takes a little longer to scroll through the settings than dedicated dials would. We’re also disappointed to see the price has increased versus the original Yeti. But that’s all blown away compared to thing you care about most with a microphone — namely, its audio quality — which is as good as it gets in a consumer mic.

Logitech Yeti 2 review: Price & release date

• Available to buy now
• Priced at $159.99 / £139.99 / $249.95 AUD

The Logitech Yeti 2 is available now from Logitech’s website or from third-party retailers. It’s priced at $159.99 / £139.99 / $249.95 AUD.

It’s more expensive than the original Yeti, which was most recently sold for $139.99 (and is currently on sale for $109.99 on Logitech’s website), but the Yeti 2 is not unreasonably expensive. It also offers an awful lot for the price.

Logitech Yeti 2 review: Specs

Polar patterns

Auto Tracking, stereo, cardioid, figure8, omni, hypercardioid, supercardioid, custom

Frequency range

20Hz – 20kHz

Connectivity

USB-C

Audio bit rate

24-bit

Sample rate

48kHz

Should I buy the Logitech Yeti 2?Logitech Yeti 2 scorecard

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

The clever new LED display makes adjusting settings quick and easy

5/5

Performance

Pitch-perfect audio makes this the consumer mic to beat

5/5

Design

The Yeti 2 looks sleek and understated while being built to last

5/5

Value

The slight cost increase is disappointing, but it’s still fairly priced

4/5

Buy it if…

You want a plug-and-play mic
The auto-gain and automatic polar pattern tracking features make managing your voice easier than ever.View Deal

You want something that’s built to last
This is no cheap plastic affair — the Yeti 2 is almost all-metal, and it feels like it could take a beating and keep on trucking.View Deal

You don’t want to break the bank
Sure, the price has gone up, but the Yeti 2 remains in the consumer price bracket without venturing into pro territory.View Deal

Don’t buy it if…

You want a professional mic
There’s no XLR connectivity and other options have more studio-appropriate features.View Deal

You want dedicated controls
Everything is combined into a single dial, which might mean it takes a little longer to adjust your settings.View Deal

You’re on a tight budget
With the price creeping upwards, this isn’t the cheapest microphone on the market.View Deal

Also consider

Elgato Wave:3
A serious contender for the title of best streaming mic around, the Elgato Wave:3 sounds just as good as it looks. It only has one polar pattern, but with audio quality as impressive as this, that might not matter.

Read our full Elgato Wave:3 reviewView Deal

Razer Seiren V3 Pro
Razer’s Seiren V3 Pro is aiming high with its inclusion of 32-bit float and XLR connectivity. It’s fairly pricey, but offers a lot of bang for your buck.

Read our full Razer Seiren V3 Pro reviewView Deal

How I tested the Logitech Yeti 2

• I tested the mic’s performance during games and on calls with friends. I also made test recordings and compared it to the original Yeti
• I also spent time putting the microphone’s software features through their paces in the Razer G Hub app

I spent a week testing the microphone on my PC. I called friends to test its performance during gaming sessions and made audio recordings where I directly compared its audio quality with that of the original Yeti mic.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: October 2026

• iOS 27.2 is rolling out now
• The update includes a new Apple Music icon, new languages and features for Siri, and adds suggestions to the Messages app
• It also brings Dual Capture to group FaceTime calls, plus various other changes

iOS 27.2 is now rolling out, and while this update isn’t as big as iOS 27 itself was, there’s quite a lot here to get stuck into, so — even putting aside the inevitable bug fixes — it’s well worth downloading.

Highlights include various improvements to Siri, such as the ability for Siri to draw on more personal context sources, including voicemails, photos attached to messages, and calendar event attendees. This update also brings more languages to Siri AI, including French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Some other AI features have also been improved, with, for example, SynthID labeling now being added to Image Playground creations and substantially edited photos, such as those that have had the Reframe or Extend tools used on them. This means that it will be harder for people to pass off AI images as real ones.

Updates to Apple Music, Messages, and more

The new Apple Music icon (Image credit: Apple)

Away from AI, iOS 27.2 also brings a new icon to Apple Music, with this one being black and white rather than red — bringing it more in line with the company’s other recent iconography.

There are also now suggestions in the Messages app, which are tappable shortcuts that appear based on context. So, for example, if someone invites you to an event, it might prompt you to add it to your calendar.

Plus, Dual Capture is now available in group FaceTime calls, allowing you to show content on both your front and rear cameras simultaneously, and the iPhone Duo has received a couple of updates, adding support for the USB-C Apple Pencil and an Edge Light to brighten your face in video calls.

Those are arguably the seven biggest updates in iOS 27.2, but there are numerous smaller changes too, such as tweaks to the layout of the Podcasts app and an anniversary reminder on phone calls. So there’s a lot here.

Your iPhone should prompt you to download iOS 27.2 sooner or later, but if you don’t want to wait, you can head to Settings > General > Software Update.

Polymath Michael Polanyi famously noted, “We can know more than we can tell,” a paradox that’s now showing up and being solved on the warehouse and retail floor.

Frontline workers possess deep, tacit knowledge of how operations run, mastering practical workarounds, managing exceptions and localized efficiencies, and situational problem-solving. This knowledge never makes it into an official manual, yet real-life experience and multiple academic studies say that up to 85% of company knowledge is tacit.

Because this knowledge relies on muscle memory, experience, ad hoc conversations during lunch and notes, traditional top-down standard operating procedures (SOPs) inherently fail to capture it. Tacit knowledge enables employee competence, autonomy and job satisfaction, but can be unevenly distributed or lead to gatekeeping to the detriment of others. And when experienced or long-serving employees retire or move to a new company, that tacit knowledge is lost.

For years, businesses assumed their SOPs were rock-solid, but the rollout of frontline AI tools, such as AI knowledge agents trained on SOPs and other workforce onboarding and training materials, is bringing long-overlooked knowledge gaps and outdated guidelines to the surface.

Agents are ushering in a quiet evolution in how enterprises capture institutional knowledge and build connected frontline onboarding and training programs. It comes as workplace culture, learning and development take on new urgency with organizations increasingly understanding their importance for workforce AI transformation.

The new knowledge economy

Instead of relying on centralized teams to write SOPs, the new connected frontline knowledge economy is going bottom-up by leveraging AI tools to crowdsource the “corporate brain,” with SOPs acting as the “nervous system” where knowledge is a two-way street.

By empowering the people stacking shelves, processing orders, talking to customers, and running the warehouses to flag inconsistencies, gaps and workarounds, companies are initiating a proactive audit and refresh of their workforce operations data quality.

Workers can actively signal knowledge gaps through their interactions with AI assistants, and those tools are routing the signals into dynamic, intelligently automated updates for training programs and SOPs. Workforce and operations leaders are finally able to turn undocumented, implicit frontline expertise into structured, actionable micro-learning, better procedures, and shift from one-off onboarding to ongoing everboarding.

When frontline contributions are recognized and shared, the workforce becomes better equipped to serve today’s highly informed customers, whether they are stepping into a shop or making an online purchase.

As David Autor, an MIT economist and author of a widely cited paper on the Polanyi paradox and employment said, “The tasks that have proved most vexing to automate are those demanding flexibility, judgment, and common sense—skills that we understand only tacitly...tasks that cannot be substituted by computerization are generally complemented by it.”

AI with all the senses

Organizations can and should move beyond text heavy documents and process guidance. Broadly speaking, learning and development departments already adopt a mix of text, images, videos, and group discussion. This approach reflects how we learn and should be the preferred method when it comes to employee onboarding, everboarding, and capturing implicit knowledge.

Modern AI agents are multimodal, meaning they can receive and output intelligence via audio, text, image, and video. A frontline worker should be able to verbally highlight a gap, suggest an update or snap a photo of a shelf with the AI agent comparing it to the visual merchandising planogram and provide step-by-step corrective instructions.

And with smaller models, on-device inference is possible, meaning no data leaves the device or company network. Latency is eliminated, an additional layer of security is added, and workers and customers get the intelligence they need in the moment.

Moving from knowing to doing

The development, implementation, and ongoing guidance agents require cannot be done alone, in the same way that text heavy, top-down SOPs are no longer sufficient. The top-down methods that brought organizations to this point will not sustain them for tomorrow.

According to a report by MIT, businesses that partner with AI providers have an AI success rate of 66% compared to those who prefer internal development alone (33%). The best way to succeed is to move forward with partners who have industry expertise, AI models, agents, and developer building blocks. They can support the design, configuration, onboarding, and management of AI systems in retail, warehouse, and logistics settings.

And AI transformation cannot be done with an “IT alone” mindset. Stanford’s Digital Lab finds that a top factor (43%) for AI success is executive sponsorship that enables a culture of experimentation and permission to fail. AI’s value comes from the algorithms, the technology required to implement, but mostly it comes from rethinking the people and culture component.

Polanyi’s “knowing versus telling” gap has been brought to light and is finally being closed on the frontline. By crowdsourcing the corporate brain, businesses are capturing tacit knowledge and transforming it into customer and worker advantages that make work better every day.

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• Windows 11's internet speed test currently redirects to a Bing search to facilitate the test
• This is clunky to say the least — and an annoying piece of Bing promotion — but now Microsoft is changing things
• In a new preview build the speed test is fully integrated into Windows 11 — as it should have been in the first place

Microsoft has thought better of one of the methods it was using to push Bing in Windows 11 — via an internet speed test — and we can but hope that maybe it's seeing sense from a broader perspective about such promotional trickery.

Windows Central reports that, in a recent preview release for Windows 11 (build 26340.9767), Microsoft has applied some changes to the Quick Settings panel (accessed via the taskbar).

In the release notes, Microsoft says: "We're making it faster and easier to check the performance of your internet connection in Windows. Windows Insiders can now run an internet speed test and see the results directly in Quick Settings, without being redirected to a browser."

As it stands, when using this feature it simply opens an online speed test in your default browser — but it's in the Bing search page (giving Microsoft some web traffic, of course). With this change it's actually a native speed test that works in Windows 11, as it should always have been in the first place.

You can start the new speed test from Quick Settings, or access it by right-clicking on the network icon in the system tray on the right of the taskbar.

Note that this is just in testing for now, and it's still at an early stage (the Experimental channel), but it should eventually come to all Windows 11 users.

Analysis: fixing Windows 11 includes getting rid of this kind of nonsense

(Image credit: Unsplash / Windows)

It's useful to have a built-in speed test right in the OS for those occasions when you're curious to learn what kind of online speeds you're getting — maybe you're streaming a video and it's buffering or glitching, and you're wondering if that's the fault of the service, or whether your internet connection has hit a rocky patch.

However, it's hardly convenient to be redirected to a web browser to have that test conducted.

Microsoft says of this change: "This updated experience builds on the internet speed test we previously introduced for Windows Insiders, bringing the test and its results directly into Windows."

Which makes it sound like the current implementation was always just a stopgap or a temporary stepping stone, but let's be honest about this: we all know it was another way that Microsoft was trying to push traffic to Bing.

It's far from the only time that Microsoft has tried this kind of trick, and most recently, we've witnessed the Bing Wallpaper app once again crowbarring in Bing searches for people who merely click on a blank part of their desktop (see the further explanation of that incident here).

No, the Bing Wallpaper client isn't part of Windows 11 by default, but it's nonetheless a piece of Microsoft software, and it demonstrates that the company's attitude is still leaning towards exploring annoying ways of promoting its own services — this is another great example — at the cost of the user.

As one Redditor observed of the current Bing-laden internet speed test in Windows 11: "This is the kind of stuff that pushed me to Linux. Overall it wasn't too bad, but Linux (Fedora in my case) feels like a breath of fresh air."

All of these kinds of practices need to end, and at least this fresh move in testing is a hopeful sign that Microsoft is finally realizing this, given that it's battling to fix Windows 11 and change public sentiment around its desktop operating system this year — needless Bing promotion certainly won't help that cause.

• Microsoft wants to trim its headcount with a voluntary redundancy buyout scheme
• The voluntary redundancy has been offered to 60,000 employees with a Microsoft experience score of less than 70
• At the same time, Microsoft is spending billions on new AI infrastructure

Microsoft is looking to slim down its workforce and is hoping that a voluntary redundancy buyout will convince some workers to leave of their own accord.

The redundancy buyout has been offered to 60,000 Microsoft employees across the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and India and represents about a quarter of the company’s global headcount.

While no official reason has been given for the cutting down on headcount, the company was expected to funnel around $50 billion into spending between July and September - with AI infrastructure such as data centers and computing taking up a significant chunk.

Microsoft trims headcount

Those offered the voluntary redundancy package are all considered to have an experience score of 70 or less according to Microsoft’s scale. The terms offered to employees are more generous than standard redundancy packages, with some employees with a score between 65 to 67 receiving two weeks of pay for every six months at the company.

Those below 65 on the experience scale will receive just one week for every six months spent working for Microsoft. Extra support has also been offered to workers who accept voluntary redundancy including continued healthcare coverage, outplacement support, and extended stock vesting.

Employees considering the voluntary redundancy package have until December to make a decision. Some sectors of the business, such as marketing, sales, and engineering teams have reportedly decided to refuse to participate.

"The Voluntary Exit Offer is new for us. We’ll learn from it,” Microsoft Chief People Officer Amy Coleman wrote in a memo to employees. “At the same time, we’ll keep helping people focus on the work that matters most, build new skills and, where it makes sense, find new opportunities across Microsoft.”

Microsoft bets big on AI

The company has reported strong growth this year with revenue increasing 18% year-over-year to just over $90 billion.

Microsoft, alongside other top AI firms, have spent hundreds of billions on AI data centers, new computing chips, and the associated infrastructure in the expectation that AI will deliver the productivity and efficiency increases promised by developers.

The tech giant has opened 31 new data centers in the last quarter, and cut the ribbon on its $7.3 billion Fairwater 1 facility in April 2026 - much to the annoyance of local residents.

Microsoft has also taken steps to reduce the hardware costs of its data centers. The company’s most powerful chip yet - Maia 300 - was unveiled in October, with the company already using the chip for inference with Copilot. The design delivers 1.7 times more tokens per watt than leading GPU infrastructure, Microsoft said.

Microsoft said the chip will become the company’s main inference capability thanks to the reduced token costs and increased efficiency.

As AI use expands globally, questions are emerging about where training data originates, who owns it, and how organizations keep sensitive information secure. This is the domain of sovereign AI: the protection of data, its uses, and its results, which is becoming increasingly important as AI moves from proof-of-concept to production deployments spanning entire countries and continents.

Beyond where data is stored, sovereign AI is really a question of who controls an organization's or region's AI capabilities. In practice, this requires control over the entire infrastructure stack, both software and hardware, along with policies governing who can view data, manage infrastructure, and install software.

Because data protection laws and practices vary widely across geographies – even within Europe – the governance of data flows and processing pipelines must be understood and followed.

While sovereign AI is often discussed on a country-by-country basis, the same rules and procedures apply to enterprises. For them, questions of data location, ownership, and transmission are even more complex.

Location is only part of the story

Much attention has focused on where a data center is physically located, but a closer look at what a data center actually comprises is needed when assessing sovereign infrastructure.

Physical location is usually easy to determine, but many providers run multi-cloud infrastructures in which data centers are linked by high-speed networks, and a cloud provider may shift workloads between its own facilities when capacity is tight. Organizations need assurance that their applications and data stay where originally intended.

If the proprietary data behind AI workloads sits with a cloud provider, the end-user may not know the exact location of the storage devices. Additionally, putting location aside, control is the critical concern: if one jurisdiction owns data stored in another, who decides what it can be used for and whether it can cross borders? The question grows more complex when a company has offices in multiple countries or regions.

Traditional workloads like ERP, inventory and HR systems typically keep data in a corporate database accessed remotely. AI is different: users are widely dispersed, while inference increasingly takes place on edge devices such as smartphones, connected vehicles and industrial systems. These devices often need access to the underlying data and trained model outputs, rather than receiving a stream of rendered content.

As models and proprietary data move between central infrastructure, regional data centers and edge environments, they may cross multiple networks and storage systems. Who owns that data in transit, especially when it crosses borders, is a question every organization scaling AI inference needs to answer.

Evaluating sovereignty layer-by-layer

AI today demands substantial compute, high-performance data input/output, and high-speed networking – components that must work together under a common set of laws, processes and procedures. An organization's AI infrastructure might combine powerful servers in one location, edge devices in another, and cross-border communication between them.

And then there's the data itself: where does it live, is it centralized, and in what format?

Ownership matters just as much as location. Data ownership might sit with an enterprise business unit, a compliance function, or the C-suite. Looking beyond the data, considerations include: who decides which data center runs a given training job, especially when a centralized scheduler manages many facilities for utilization and performance?

Can that automation be overridden? Should certain data be restricted to certain training uses, and does making specific data available to certain providers create enterprise value?

Because training data is drawn from sources around the world, enterprises need a clear governance framework for deciding which sources are trusted, who approves their use, and how regional regulatory or political requirements shape those decisions. That framework should establish accountability at both an organizational and individual level, with transparent records of where data originated, how it was used and whether the necessary permissions or licenses were secured.

The same principles should extend across the infrastructure stack. Organizations need defined ownership of the training environment, model weights and deployment decisions, alongside controls that determine who can administer these systems and from which jurisdiction. AI users may not need visibility into every technical detail, but they should understand the provenance, governance and location of the systems handling sensitive data and intellectual property.

Sovereign AI depends not only on where infrastructure is hosted, but on maintaining auditable control over the data, models, platforms, and people involved throughout the AI lifecycle.

There is also the challenge of demonstrating that an AI system’s outputs are grounded in legitimate training data, while ensuring that the data remains protected and accessible only to authorized parties across the infrastructure stack. Verda, a European AI cloud provider, offers one example of how this can be addressed in practice. Its infrastructure is hosted in Nordic data centers and allows customers to configure hardware and software around their operational and regulatory requirements.

The platform supports organizations across the private and public sectors, with controls designed to help address requirements including GDPR, the EU AI Act and sector-specific rules. These include confidential virtual machines, hardware-enforced trusted execution environments, and encryption for CPU and GPU memory, as well as data in transit and at rest.

The broader lesson that we can take from Verda’s success is that sovereign AI depends on embedding governance, security, and regulatory control throughout the system lifecycle, rather than treating data location as the only measure of sovereignty.

Operational sovereignty means more than compliance

AI is now critical infrastructure for enterprises worldwide, and compliance with local laws must be an architectural concern from the start, rather than being addressed after a data center goes live. From design through implementation and ongoing workloads, a sovereign data center must continually meet its operational sovereignty commitments.

Once online, sovereignty may help data centers remain operational through commercial disruption like recessions, geopolitical shifts or conflicts, and technical changes – new chips, models and architectures.

The concept of sovereignty is about resilience rather than eliminating every external dependency, with extreme events like war threatening to destroy infrastructure. It is about understanding where dependencies exist, deciding which ones are acceptable and avoiding unnecessary concentration of risk.

Technical decisions in design and operation can help avoid vendor lock-in, allowing a data center to keep running even if a business relationship ends. Relying on a single supplier for critical technology carries risk, since shifting geopolitics can bring tariffs or restrictions that block business with suppliers from certain countries.

Every data center operator depends on an ecosystem with a limited number of server, storage and power suppliers. Supply chains are global even when a facility sits in one geography, which optimizes cost but means not everything is controllable – so, understanding where risk concentrates matters. With many thousands of components from hundreds of suppliers, a smooth operation may still lean on a small set of vendors.

Open standards and formal standardization reduce this risk by making interoperability less dependent on any single supplier, and by allowing workloads to move between technologies and environments. In turn, this builds confidence in sovereign data centers as resilient infrastructure.

Building trust through control, not assumptions

Trust in sovereign AI depends on organizations knowing who can access their data, infrastructure and production environments, under what circumstances and with what oversight. Privileged access should be tightly controlled, clearly assigned and documented, with responsibility sitting at an appropriate level such as the CIO or Chief Compliance Officer.

This is particularly important when AI workloads involve proprietary data, prompts, model outputs or fine-tuning datasets that could reveal commercially sensitive information about an organization's products, customers and internal processes.

Policies and employee training remain important, but they should be reinforced through technical and operational controls. Organizations need clear assurances that their data will not be retained, reused or incorporated into provider model training without explicit permission.

Access controls, encryption, logging, workload isolation and data-retention settings can help enforce these expectations, while documented processes should show who controls each part of the AI environment, where supply-chain risks exist and which regional laws govern the data.

With this in mind, governance is becoming as important to AI infrastructure evaluation as performance, scalability and cost. Sovereign AI providers must be able to demonstrate, rather than simply claim, how they protect data and manage workloads across the full hardware and software stack.

For organizations increasingly reliant on AI as critical infrastructure, transparent ownership, auditable controls and consistent processes will be central to building confidence and supporting broader adoption.

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Ali G: Who I Iz? is about to set to a major — and likely unwanted — new record on Prime Video.

The comedy flick, which sees Sacha Baron Cohen reprise his role as the infamous character, will make its debut on Amazon's streaming platform on Wednesday, October 28.

Why is that such a big deal? Because Who I Iz? was only released in cinemas on Friday, October 23. As such, it'll be the first film in history to make its streaming debut less than a week after its initial theatrical launch when it drops on one of the world's best streaming services.

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Amazon hasn't explained why Who I Iz? will make its premium video on demand (PVOD) so soon after landing in theaters. In fact, the only individual who's commented on the imminent Prime Video arrival of one of 2026's many new movies is Cohen himself, with the comedian taking to Ali G's various social channels to announce the news.

I've reached out to Amazon for an official comment on this unprecedented release date decision, but nobody had responded by the time of publication. If I receive a reply, I'll update this article.

Ali G: Who I Iz? marks the first time in almost 20 years that Cohen has portrayed the titular character, with Cohen having retired his most famous creation in 2007.

Defending the decision to bring back the controversial character in a Time magazine essay, Cohen wrote: "Why does my new movie bring back that phony and unfunny guy, which some have criticized as 'microwaving a relic from a generation ago'?

"The fact that Ali G is outdated and problematic is the very reason I resurrected him. The world he’s returned to is, in many ways, worse than the one he left 20 years ago. All the prejudices my characters are designed to expose haven’t just lingered — they’ve metastasized... Twenty years ago, Ali G would sit next to world experts spouting absurdities. Today — fed a steady diet of disinformation and conspiracy theories by social media influencers and TikTok news — we have created an entire world where ignorance reigns and truth is inverted.

"I made this latest film for the same reason I’ve always done this work," he added. "Not only to make people laugh, but also to bring them face-to-face with the danger of fanaticism and conspiracy theories."

What do you make of this release strategy? And will you check out Ali G: Who I Iz? on Prime Video? Let me know in the comments.

Imagine a NASCAR team where leadership decides the winner is the car that burns the most fuel. The crew chief tunes every engine to run rich and wasteful. Drivers ride the gas and the brake at once. The telemetry shows record fuel consumption. The car finishes dead last.

For a stretch this year, wasteful consumption metrics drove AI measurement programs. Companies stood up internal leaderboards ranking employees by how many tokens they burned. A Meta employee built one, crowned the top "token legends," then quietly took it after the numbers leaked externally. By spring the trend had a name: tokenmaxxing.

By the start of summer the inevitable backlash arrived, with companies like Uber acknowledging they’d already spent their entire AI budget for the year in a matter of months.

More recently, the inevitable swing toward using the minimal number of AI tokens (tokenminning) leads to the same problem. If leadership defines winning as using the least amount of fuel, the winning car would never leave the starting line.

Burning or saving tokens should never be the end goal. The objective is shipping more products, at higher quality, with the same or fewer people. The job of a leader is to define the most strategic path toward the finish line, and based on that definition, build metrics that support it.

Why leaderboards miss the mark

A vanity metric is any number that looks great on a slide, leaderboard or dashboard but doesn't change how you run your business. In the AI space, even highly technical and complex metrics can become vanity metrics.

Here’s a couple I’ve seen lately, each a different way to look busy GPU utilization rates that brag about how much raw compute you’ve hoarded, regardless of whether it's solving real problems. AI features shipped per quarter, where leadership slaps a sparkle-emoji text summarizer on every legacy product to pad the release notes.

Metrics like these can feel rigorous, but they're detached from the end work itself. When leaders don’t relate metrics to end goals, engineers may race toward the nearest countable item.

The missing race map

Work completed only matters if it’s the right work. When leadership celebrates "95% adoption" of GitHub Copilot because the licenses are deployed, they can mistake superficial access for deep engagement. They assume productivity is skyrocketing. They're measuring who adopted the tool, not who is effectively using it to improve outcomes.

Developers might be generating more code faster, but if the tool isn't deeply integrated into a refined process, PR sizes inflate and the bottleneck simply shifts to human code review. Cycle time stays stagnant, or worse, bug rates go up because humans are rubber-stamping AI hallucinations.

Close the disconnect: tie depth of use directly to outcomes and business goals. If you have 95% "adoption" but your cycle time hasn't dropped by 30% or your rework hasn't decreased, you don't have high use. You just have an expensive new software distribution.

How to set the finish line

A single number rarely tells a story. If I can produce twice as much code but it takes twice as long to ship, I haven't gained efficiency. I've created more work. The right question isn't how much AI you're using — it's whether the work is actually getting better.

For engineering teams with more established workflows, start with the outcome you want to move, then use a framework like DORA or SPACE to check whether you got there. The framework is the instrument, not the goal. DORA tracks the health of your delivery pipeline — how often you deploy, how long changes take, how quickly you recover from failures, how often changes cause incidents.

SPACE tracks the full picture of developer productivity across five dimensions, including outcomes and satisfaction. Neither was designed for AI, which is exactly why they're useful: they’ll help you measure whether AI made the work better, not whether AI got used.

Pair one of those frameworks against your AI tool usage and your business outcomes like cycle time, rework rate, cost per change. A 25% increase in AI adoption that correlates with a drop in delivery stability isn't a win. The 2025 DORA report found that's exactly what many teams got when they deployed AI into underprepared systems. The tools amplified what was already there. Good engineering foundations got better, fragile ones got more fragile.

For roles outside engineering — marketing, finance, operations — build from first principles. Start with one outcome you're already trying to move: response time, pipeline conversion, forecast accuracy. Establish the finish line before AI enters the workflow. Measure toward that same outcome after. If it moved, figure out whether AI caused it and whether you can repeat it. If it didn't, you've learned something too. Picture a support team that wants to cut first-response time.

They baseline it at nine hours, then let agents draft replies with an AI assistant. Two months later response time is down to three hours, and reopen rates haven’t budged — so the speed isn’t costing them quality. That’s an outcome they can name, measure and repeat. It never needed a leaderboard.

Keeping the finish line in sight

The goal of a metric is to manage toward an outcome. If you're doing more work on the metric than on the outcome, you're upside down. You're looking at the gas tank, not the finish line. So before you stand up your next AI metric, ask one question: what outcome would move if this number did? If you can’t name it, you’re not measuring progress — you’re watching the fuel gauge. Define the finish line first; everything else is just telemetry.

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Riko is the first wet cat food feeder to mix meals to order from a supply of freeze-dried food. Here’s how my cat and I liked it.

• 25,000 Dutch government jobs will be cut by 2035, new plans say
• The Netherlands is looking to save €3.5 billion by 2035
• Selling off buildings, simplifying rules, and smaller desks will also contribute to the savings

The Dutch government has announced plans to phase out 25,000 jobs by 2035 in an effort to increase efficiency with the end goal of saving €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion), amounting to about 16% of the government’s total workforce.

According to plans laid out by Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Effective Government Eric van der Burg, the cuts will save €900 million ($1 billion) by 2027 while AI will deliver increased productivity to take up the additional workload.

"We cannot keep doing what we did," Van der Burg said. "That is why we are going to make sharp choices for a central government that really works: simpler, smarter and smaller."

Smaller desks and AI part of savings plans

The plans hope to deliver a 20% productivity boost by using AI to increase efficiency, while simultaneously reducing the total government workload by simplifying rules. To that end, the Dutch government also has a plan in place to scrap or simplify at least 500 rules a year.

But AI isn’t the only way the government is looking to reduce costs. New rules will see pairs of employees sharing a single desk, surplus buildings sold off, and IT systems standardized.

While police and defense jobs are not being affected by the cuts, permanent advisory councils and advisory committees are not. The government will release new targets for the number of advisory bodies later this year, with current numbers sitting at 28 and 150 respectively.

According to Bloomberg several motions - albeit voluntary motions - to increase productivity using AI have already been passed. These motions are a catalyst for the resulting job and spending cuts, according to Van der Burg.

The Dutch government has seen a record number of central government officials, peaking at 160,000 by the end of 2025 - a rise of 41% since 2018 according to Bloomberg.

Individual cybersecurity could previously be glossed over, but the situation has changed. Cyber threats have become more sophisticated, as malicious actors increasingly deploy artificial intelligence (AI) tools. From AI-generated phishing emails to deepfakes and automated vulnerability scanning, individuals need protection against the widening net of cyberattacks.

The good thing is that AI also aids in fighting cyberattacks. Cybersecurity tools have become much more sophisticated at countering sneaky methods. To make online protection more accessible, platforms offer all-in-one cybersecurity suites with many features.

IDX is one example, and I’m reviewing it to see how it stacks up alongside the best data removal services and identity theft protection tools we've tested. Read on to learn about the features you’ll get with an IDX Complete subscription, its pros & cons, and how it fares against competitors.

IDX Complete: Plans and pricing

You can see the full list of services from IDX by clicking here.

IDX offers various pricing plans, but in this review I’m focusing on the Complete bundle. For $33 monthly, this bundle offers a data removal service, password manager, VPN, dark web monitoring, identity theft insurance, and many other features.

It's a steal compared to paying for each feature separately. Think of having to pay separately for a VPN, password manager, and data removal platform– it can run into $100 a month, compared to a $33-per-month IDX Complete plan.

(Image credit: IDX )

Users who pay annually get a 10% discount compared to paying month-to-month. I’m unimpressed with this discount, as 30% to 50% is the norm for most cybersecurity bundles I’ve reviewed. If I decide to pay for 12 months upfront, I think I deserve more than 10% off, but some platforms disagree.

IDX also offers a family version of the Complete plan. For $65 per month, the same features on the individual plan are expanded to 2 adults and 5 dependents under 18. It’s built for a conventional family of two parents and several children.

I’ve reviewed many family cybersecurity bundles and hardly encountered age specifications for users. It’s usually just a limit (e.g., 5 or 10 members) regardless of age, but IDX Complete is the exception.

IDX doesn’t offer a standard free trial or money-back guarantee. This is another complaint I have about its pricing system.

IDX Complete: Setup

Setting up IDX follows a straightforward pattern. It starts by entering your name and email, then choosing a password. However, there’s an obstacle here. I mentioned that IDX doesn’t offer a free trial—users have to choose a plan and enter payment details before gaining access. It’s a strictly paywalled service, unlike several platforms I’ve tested that offered free trials at the get-go, then requested a payment later.

After subscribing to the IDX Complete bundle and gaining access, it’s time to start using its security features. IDX offers many features under this bundle, so much that I’ll struggle to cover every one in this review. Instead, I’ll focus on the core features that keep users safe online.

The first is the ForgetMe data removal service. With this feature, you can scan data broker sites for your personal information. If your information is found on any site, IDX sends automated deletion requests. An IDX scan covers 100+ data broker sites, which isn’t as extensive as designated data removal platforms (many rivals cover 500+ sites), but it’s sufficient to remove your information from the most popular data broker sites.

The second is the password manager. This tool lets you store passwords securely and, if needed, share them with others. When it’s time to log into any site with a saved password, you’ll simply autofill the details. This tool also checks if your password got compromised in data breach incidents and alerts you immediately– the corrective action is to change the password for every site where you’ve used it.

The third is the virtual private network (VPN) feature. A VPN encrypts your online traffic by routing it through remote servers—think of surfing the web in the U.K., but using an IP address from faraway Australia. Your identity gets disguised to third parties that want to show you personalized ads or maybe stage malicious attacks.

A VPN is particularly important when you use public WiFi networks, which are often insecure. When using the IDX VPN, I could choose from roughly 20 server locations. This figure pales compared to dedicated VPN apps, some of which offer 200+ locations from countries down to cities. IDX’s server coverage is nowhere near as widespread, but the VPN worked reliably.

For U.S.-based users, IDX Complete includes identity theft recovery and insurance. That is, if a user experiences identity theft, IDX experts walk them through the corrective actions (e.g., freezing credit files and closing certain accounts). Users can get reimbursed for damages if they pay for an insurance plan.

Admittedly, I didn’t get to test the identity theft recovery feature (and hopefully won’t need it soon), but it’s a valuable service when needed.

From my perspective, IDX Complete doesn’t offer the best of each feature, relative to competitors, but the bundle is unbeatable. It’s not the best VPN compared to standalone VPN apps, nor the best data removal platform compared to rivals. However, offering many cybersecurity features in one cost-effective package is the selling point.

IDX Complete: Ease of use

IDX offers a modern interface that I liked using. It’s best described as minimal and simple. It’s not too interactive like I’ve found on some apps, yet not too bland. I’ll say it prioritized function over form, with features neatly arranged in places users can easily find them.

You can access IDX from a web browser or download the mobile app (iOS and Android). I’ve tested various cybersecurity tools that didn’t have mobile apps, so I’ll note that having both iOS and Android apps is a benefit.

(Image credit: IDX )IDX Complete: Security and privacy

Given its numerous features, IDX Complete is a highly effective privacy protection tool. With it, you get to kill multiple cybersecurity-related birds with one stone. Better still, you get the numerous features at a lower cost in one bundle compared to paying for each one separately.

IDX Complete: Support

IDX users get decent support resources, starting with a Knowledge Center offering detailed user guides, how-tos, and articles discussing emerging cyber threats to watch out for. There’s also an FAQs section that provides solutions to frequently encountered issues. For direct support, users can contact IDX’s staff by filling out an online ticket, and a response is delivered via email.

IDX Complete: Competition

Competition is the name of the game in the cybersecurity niche, with countless platforms offering all-in-one bundles similar to IDX Complete. The PrivacyHawk bundle is the most notable rival I’ll mention. It offers similar personal protection features at an affordable price: $30 per month for the most advanced plan, which includes identity theft protection, dark web monitoring, data removal, and spam filtering.

Personally, I prefer PrivacyHawk because it offers some free scans to help users test its features, unlike IDX, which requires payment before granting access. PrivacyHawk also has a 30-day money-back guarantee, which IDX doesn’t offer.

IDX Complete: Final verdict

IDX Complete provides much value for money. For a monthly subscription, you’ll unlock various tools to protect your online privacy, getting a good deal compared to paying for each tool independently. However, I think IDX should offer a standard free trial to attract users. Being hard-paywalled puts it at a competitive disadvantage.

De'Longhi Magnifica Start: Two-minute review

The De'Longhi Magnifica Start is one of the Italian manufacturer's more affordable automatic bean-to-cup coffee machines, designed to take much of the effort out of preparing fresh coffee at home. It doesn't offer the extensive drinks menu or customization options of more expensive models, but it benefits from the company's LatteCrema automatic milk frothing system, making it a potentially appealing choice for anyone who enjoys milk-based coffee.

The particular model I have on test here, the ECAM220.61.W, offers just four one-touch functions — namely espresso, coffee, latte macchiato and hot water — meaning only three are actually coffee drinks. Other versions of the Magnifica Start offer different selections, so it's worth double-checking exactly which model you're buying.

Despite its relatively basic specification, this Magnifica Start is a good-looking machine, with a smart white finish and a minimalist control panel. It certainly looks like it should be straightforward to operate but, as I discovered, it takes a little time to master.

The controls aren't quite as intuitive as those on some other machines I've tested, such as the KitchenAid KF2, which offers similar functionality but has clearly labelled buttons that make preparing coffee incredibly straightforward. The Magnifica Start's steeper learning curve isn't necessarily a deal breaker, but it's something to be aware of.

There are plenty of positives, though. Espresso shots are consistently well extracted with an appealing layer of crema, and I was impressed by how quickly the machine could prepare them, taking just 30 seconds from pressing the button to the finished drink. I did, however, find that adjusting the grinder to a slightly coarser setting produced a noticeably more satisfying flavor.

The LatteCrema system also impressed me, producing a generous amount of foam with a pleasing texture using oat milk. While I still prefer the finer control offered by a traditional steam wand, it's still a capable alternative for anyone who wants the convenience of automatic milk frothing. The clearly marked milk carafe also takes thesome guesswork out of preparing drinks, while dishwasher-safe components help make cleaning easier.

Honestly, for just a one- or two-person household, it’s easy to recommend the De'Longhi Magnifica Start, especially since its compact design makes it a good option for smaller kitchens, too. It may require a little patience initially, as the brewing adjustments aren’t as intuitive as I would have liked, but the results are worth spending that little extra time at the start to familiarize yourself with the instructions.

De'Longhi Magnifica Start review: Price and availability

• Different variants of the Magnifica Start are available in different markets
• Model on test available in the UK and Australia; US version comes with an additional preset
• List price: $749.95 / £399.99 / AU$799

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

The Magnifica Start is the entry-level machine within De’Longhi’s wider selection of automatic coffee makers. Within it, however, there are multiple variants that may look virtually identical, yet offer different features, so it's important to pay attention to the model number.

For example, the exact model number of my review unit is ECAM220.61.W, which is only available in Australia for AU$799, exclusively through De'Longhi's online store. A black variant, with model number ECAM220.63.B, is available at a wider selection of third-party retailers, although it replaces the ‘latte macchiato’ preset on my review model with ‘cappuccino mix’. There’s yet another model that replaces the LatteCrema system with a manual steam wand.

While this particular white model is specific to Australia, similar versions are available internationally. In the US, for example, the comparable ECAM22080B retails for $749.95, but benefits from an additional cappuccino preset, bringing its total number of one-touch functions to five.

In the UK meanwhile, the ECAM220.61.GB is a closely related model finished in dark grey. It offers the same four one-touch functions as the model reviewed and carries a £399.99 recommended retail price.

Given its limited selection of drinks, the Magnifica Start can be compared with the KitchenAid KF2 released earlier in 2026. It, too, has a relatively small selection of presets, although it uses a Pannarello steam wand for milk frothing as opposed to the automatic LatteCrema system on the De'Longhi. The KF2 also adds iced coffee to the mix, although I found the results to be something of a mixed bag.

On price alone, the Magnifica Start is the clear winner of the two. However, I have to mention the Ninja Luxe Café as a viable alternative. It retails for $599.99 / £579.99 / AU$849 (or less as it’s often discounted), and while it might be a more hands-on machine, it offers considerably greater versatility than the De’Longhi, including the ability to prepare cold brew and filter coffee.

There's also the option of moving up, both in price and size, to the De'Longhi Magnifica Evo Next, which retails for $1,099.95 / £649.96 / AU$1,149. It uses a similar brewing system to the Magnifica Start, but offers a more comprehensive selection of drink presets and a colour display for easier navigation.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

• Value score: 4 / 5

De’Longhi Magnifica Start review: specs

Category

Specification

Type

Fully automatic bean-to-cup espresso machine

Dimensions (HWD)

13.78 x 9.45 x 17.32 inches / 350 x 240 x 440mm

Weight

20.3 lbs / 9.2 kg

Water tank capacity

1.9 quarts / 1.8 liters

Steam wand

No (Includes automatic LatteCrema Hot carafe / Hot water spout)

Max pressure

15 bar

Model number

ECAM22061W

De'Longhi Magnifica Start review: Design

• Attractive, compact design with a minimalist control panel
• Only three coffee presets on model reviewed, with no dedicated cappuccino or hot-milk function
• Clearly marked milk carafe and dishwasher-safe components

No matter which model of the De'Longhi Magnifica Start is available in your location, they’re all identical. The only real differences are whether it uses the LatteCrema system or a steam wand, the color of the machine and the number of drink recipes it offers.

It’s an attractive coffee machine, particularly in the glossy white finish of the model sent for this review. The Magnifica Start has a relatively minimalist appearance, with a predominantly plastic construction and a black control panel providing some contrast. I’d argue it doesn't have quite the same premium appeal as the KitchenAid KF2 and KitchenAid KF3 I've reviewed previously, but I think it looks smart enough for most kitchens.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

It measures 24 x 44 x 35cm (W x D x H), making it a relatively compact appliance for a fully automatic coffee machine. That said, its 24cm width might be a small footprint, but its 44cm depth is worth considering if you have a particularly narrow countertop.

The machine's compact dimensions should also make it a reasonable option for kitchens with low-hanging cabinets. You will, of course, need some clearance above it to remove the lid and refill the hopper, but I didn't find accessing it to be particularly troublesome.

The bean hopper, located on top of the machine towards the rear, can accommodate up to 250g of beans and is covered by a lid that unfortunately doesn't form a completely airtight seal, meaning the beans will lose freshness if left in the hopper for more than a couple of days.

The Magnifica Start also accepts pre-ground coffee via a separate chute on top of the machine, and a measuring scoop is included in the box. While I'd generally recommend using freshly ground beans wherever possible, it's a useful addition if you occasionally fancy a decaf but don't want to empty the hopper of your regular beans.

Another design feature I appreciate is the positioning of the water reservoir, which slides out from the front-right side of the machine. I praised this same arrangement in my De’Longhi Magnifica Evo Next review, and I'm pleased to see it make an appearance on a more entry-level model. It makes refilling the tank incredibly easy, particularly compared with machines that have their reservoirs located at the rear — like those from KitchenAid — and might require you to move the entire machine to gain access.

Future / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max Langridge

The reservoir also looks deceptively small, but holds a generous 1.8L of water, matching the capacity of the more expensive Magnifica Evo Next. The drip tray covers the entire depth of the machine and slides out from the front, along with the internal container that collects used coffee grounds. The latter can hold up to 14 coffee pucks before needing to be emptied — far more generous than the KitchenAid KF4 that I use at home, which can only hold six or seven used pucks before it needs emptying.

On the front, you'll find the removable LatteCrema milk carafe, which attaches alongside the height-adjustable coffee dispensing spouts. It slots into place easily and takes care of milk frothing automatically, removing the need for a separate steam wand. The carafe can be swapped out for a water spout if you wish to pour hot water for a tea instead.

The particular model under test here features De'Longhi's LatteCrema Hot system, although more expensive models, such as the Eletta Explore, can also come with a separate LatteCrema Cool carafe for preparing cold milk foam. Its absence here isn't especially surprising given the Magnifica Start's more affordable positioning.

One feature I particularly appreciate here is the measurement markings on the carafe to indicate how much milk you should add for your chosen drink. This helps minimize waste, especially if you're only making coffee for one person. Interestingly, there are markings for ‘cappuccino’ and ‘cappuccino mix’ coffees, neither of which is available as a preset on this particular Magnifica Start, but is a present for the model sold in the US. The carafe also has an automatic cleaning function, while several removable components, including the drip tray and milk carafe, are dishwasher-safe.

The control panel is similarly minimalist, with four prominent drink icons and separate buttons for adjusting coffee strength and accessing other settings and functions, such as cleaning modes. On the surface, it looks incredibly straightforward, which is exactly what I'd expect from a machine offering such a limited selection of drinks.

However, I didn't find it quite as intuitive as I'd hoped. The layout initially led me to believe I should select my desired drink before adjusting its strength, whereas the machine actually requires you to select the strength first. It's something that becomes easier with familiarity, but I do think the controls could have been better explained.

The Magnifica Start lacks dedicated user profiles, something that I’ve come to appreciate on other automatic espresso machines I’ve reviewed. While you can customize individual drink quantities and adjust coffee strength, there’s only one saved volume setting per recipe.

This means that if two people prefer different-sized coffees, they’ll have to keep adjusting the programmed volumes to suit their tastes. Combined with its limited selection of drinks, I think this makes the Magnifica Start best suited to a single person or couple, particularly if both enjoy similar coffees. Larger households with different preferences would likely benefit from a machine with user profiles and a more extensive drink menu.

• Design score: 4 / 5

De'Longhi Magnifica Start review: Performance

• Consistent espresso extraction with a good layer of crema
• LatteCrema produces impressive milk texture, although a manual steam wand offers greater control
• Quick coffee preparation, but some functions take time to master

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

As with any bean-to-cup coffee machine, the most important consideration is how well the De'Longhi Magnifica Start actually makes the drink. Ease of use is a close second, especially for a machine designed to simplify the process of preparing your favourite drinks at home.

My first experience with the Magnifica Start was something of a mixed bag.

Setting it up was relatively straightforward, but I soon discovered that getting it to produce the exact drink I wanted would require some experimentation. My first latte macchiato, for example, dispensed considerably more liquid than I had anticipated, almost causing my cup to overflow.

Part of the problem is that there's no clear indication of precisely how much coffee or milk each preset will dispense, at least not without referring to the full user manual on De'Longhi's website.

While coffee strength can be adjusted before preparing each drink, there's only one saved volume setting per recipe. To adjust the volume of any drink, press and hold its dedicated button for a few seconds until the light blinks rapidly. The built-in grinder will have already kicked into action, which is normal. Once the coffee (or milk if you’re customizing the latte macchiato) reaches your desired level, press the same drink button again and the settings will be saved.

Once I'd figured out the process, I was able to customize the volume of my latte macchiato successfully, and the Magnifica Start remembered my settings for subsequent drinks. However, restoring the original quantity isn't quite as convenient. While it's possible to reset drink volumes to their factory defaults, doing so also resets all other settings and customized recipes. This seems unnecessarily cumbersome if you simply want to undo a change to one drink.

While I appreciate that all automatic coffee machines require some familiarization, I found myself returning to the user manual more often than I'd expected from a machine with such a limited selection of drinks.

There's also an amusing inconsistency in the setup guidance, which recommends preparing several cappuccinos before expecting the machine to deliver its best results. That's perfectly reasonable advice for a machine with a cappuccino preset, but this particular version of the Magnifica Start doesn't have one. It's a minor detail, admittedly, but it adds to the impression that the instructions aren't tailored as carefully as they could be to the individual machine.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

Fortunately, when it comes to actually making coffee, the Magnifica Start has proved to be a reliable performer. After preparing several espressos, I found extraction quality to be consistently good, with each shot producing an appealing layer of golden-caramel crema. The results were remarkably similar from one coffee to the next, suggesting the machine has little trouble delivering a repeatable extraction.

I wasn't initially sold on the flavor, however, particularly as I've used the same beans in other machines, including KitchenAid's semi-automatic and fully automatic models, with more satisfying results. Fortunately, adjusting the grinder to produce a slightly coarser grind had a noticeably positive effect, resulting in a more enjoyable espresso. It goes to show that while the Magnifica Start is capable of producing good coffee, some experimentation may be required to get the best results.

The De’Longhi Magnifica Start doesn’t feature any kind of intelligent grind adjustment — De’Longhi does have its own BeanAdapt technology to do just that, but it’s reserved for its higher-end models — so you’ll need to adjust the grind yourself if you’re not totally satisfied with the results.

By default, the grinder is set to position four of seven, which De’Longhi claims “has been factory set to ensure that coffee is prepared correctly”. If coffee is being dispensed particularly slowly, the grind may be too fine, in which case De'Longhi recommends adjusting the dial towards a higher number. You’ll need to turn the grind dial, found inside the bean hopper, towards a higher number. Conversely, if you want a fuller bodied or creamier coffee, then you’ll need to turn the dial towards position one. In either case, the grind dial should only be adjusted when the grinder is in motion, and it takes at least two poured coffees for results to take effect.

I was pleased with the temperature of the finished coffee, which I found to be comfortably hot without being unpleasant to drink. If you prefer your coffee a little hotter or cooler, the brewing temperature can be adjusted through the machine's settings.

What surprised me most, however, was just how quickly the Magnifica Start could prepare an espresso. I timed it at just 30 seconds from pressing the espresso button to the finished drink, which is impressively brisk for a machine that grinds fresh beans for each cup.

It's also relatively quiet in operation. I recorded an average noise level of approximately 69dB using decibelX app in my iPhone in a quiet room and standing right in front of the machine, rising to around 74dB during grinding before dropping to 65dB while brewing. While the grinder is clearly audible, I never found the noise particularly intrusive, especially given how quickly the machine completes the process.

(Image credit: Future / Max Langridge)

Milk-based drinks take a little longer to brew, as the LatteCrema system needs time to heat up before it can start dispensing milk. Even so, the overall process remains convenient, particularly as there's no need to manually froth milk or transfer it between containers.

Speaking of which, I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the LatteCrema milk frothing system. I've used it on other De'Longhi coffee machines in the past and haven't always been completely convinced by its ability to produce the milk texture I prefer, particularly when using plant-based alternatives.

This time, however, the results have been noticeably better. Using oat milk, the Magnifica Start produced a generous amount of foam with a satisfyingly smooth texture, making for a more convincing latte macchiato than I had anticipated. I achieved similar results with dairy milk too.

That being said, it's worth mentioning that the type of milk used can have a significant impact on frothing performance. If you’re using non-dairy varieties, it’s always recommended to use barista-style versions, as these are generally formulated to produce a more stable foam.

I still prefer the results I can achieve with a traditional steam wand and, while I haven't had the chance to use it myself, a version of the De’Longhi Magnifica Start is available with one. A manual wand gives me far greater control over how much air I introduce into the milk, allowing me to create the finer, silkier microfoam I typically prefer for a flat white.

But manual frothing also requires more skill and effort, and that's where the LatteCrema system makes a strong case for itself. For anyone who values convenience over having complete control of their milk texture, it's a capable set-and-forget solution that produces pleasing results with minimal input.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the De'Longhi Magnifica Start?De'Longhi Magnifica Start scorecard

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

One of the more affordable automatic coffee machines I’ve tested, although it’s possible to find alternatives that offer features for not much extra cash.

4 / 5

Design

A smart-looking, compact machine that will fit in most kitchens, but its controls will take some time to learn.

4 / 5

Performance

Consistently good espresso after some grind adjustment, quick preparation and impressive automatic milk frothing, although customization could be more intuitive.

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a straightforward selection of coffee drinks

If you primarily drink espresso, black coffee or latte macchiato, the Magnifica Start offers those essentials without overwhelming you with dozens of options.

You want automatic milk frothing

The LatteCrema system takes care of frothing milk for you, and its removable carafe has measurements to help minimize waste.

You want a coffee machine that's easy to clean

An automatic milk-system cleaning function and dishwasher-safe components should make routine maintenance easier.

Don't buy it if...

You enjoy a wide variety of coffee drinks

With no dedicated cappuccino, flat white or standalone hot-milk function, this particular Magnifica Start is one of the more limited automatic machines I've tested.

You expect completely intuitive controls

The buttons look simple enough, but understanding how to adjust drink strength and serving sizes requires a little patience.

You want plenty of drink customization

While you can adjust coffee strength and drink length, you don't get the extensive personalization available on more expensive automatic coffee machines.

De'Longhi Magnifica Start review: Also consider

KitchenAid KF2
The KF2 is just as compact as the De'Longhi, and also has a limited selection of drinks, but I found it easier to use. The steam wand is more reliable for producing thick, velvety foam too.

Read my full KitchenAid KF2 review

Ninja Luxe Café
This 3-in-1 machine from Ninja can do espresso, cold brew and drip coffee, all for a similar price as the De'Longhi. It does require more manual input than the fully automatic Magnifica Start, but it's near-foolproof control system will have you experimenting with your morning brew in no time.

Read our full Ninja Luxe Café review

How I tested the De'Longhi Magnifica Start

I tested the De'Longhi Magnifica Start in the TechRadar Australia office kitchen, using it to prepare coffee with Campos Superior beans, a medium-dark blend that’s roasted locally in Sydney, Australia, where I’m based.

I prepared multiple espresso and milk-based drinks to assess extraction consistency, flavour and milk texture, using both dairy milk and barista-style oat milk. I also experimented with the grinder settings to determine their effect on espresso flavour.

I evaluated how straightforward the machine was to set up and use, paying particular attention to its control panel and customization options. I used a measuring cup to check that customized drink volumes were remembered correctly, and recorded the time taken to prepare an espresso, along with noise levels during grinding and brewing.

Read more about how we test

First tested October 2026

• Russia appears to be using civilian vessels to spy on critical undersea cables between the US and Europe
• The UK relies on the cables for around economic activity that amounts to £65 billion a year
• Maritime law severely limits engagement with civilian vessels in international waters

Russian civilian vessels are being used to map undersea cables linking the UK and Europe with the United States, according to an investigation by The Telegraph, which adds that fishing trawlers are performing espionage in the waters around Britain.

Analysis by the publication has found evidence of over 500 incidents carried out by what are described as “commercial proxies”, the use of which appears to sit within a 2022 maritime doctrine approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin aimed at mobilizing fishing and other civilian vessels.

If the information was used aggressively, undersea cables could be targeted and disrupt banking, transport, and even trans-continental mobile phone data.

Commercial proxies

In response to the investigation, the British government has announced a security crackdown, with sentencing and fines for anyone proven to have sabotaged undersea cables.

Fishing vessels conducting undercover undersea operations may seem like something straight out of a Tom Clancy book or a James Bond movie, but with over 500 recorded incidents, it appears to be happening.

The Telegraph’s analysis found several repeated actions in the movement of civilian vessels around undersea cables, and while their general path is publicly available, is is believed that the surveillance sought to establish specific routes. With this information, the undersea cables could be more accurately targeted by saboteurs.

“We’ve been pretty clear, and the head of MI5 has been pretty clear, that Russia is starting to use commercial proxies in order to do some of their work for them in that space", noted Britain’s telecoms minister Ian Murray, adding the publication of the investigation may “deter some of those commercial proxies that might be doing the work for hostile state actors.”

Active monitoring

Some 17 vessels were identified by the investigation, with one spending 113 hours apparently surveying nine cables, and another repeatedly crossing over cables. Photography of the vessels concerned raised eyebrows, with a senior naval officer observing of one: “The hold could be easily used for other activities to store an uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).”

Tethered ROVs could potentially map the precise location of undersea cables, according to naval experts. Additionally, vessels travelling at slow sped could use sonar to map the seabed. One civilian craft spent 42 minutes around the trans-Atlantic Hibernia Express cable, moving at under two knots.

The British government has introduced proposals that will replace its outdated Submarine Telegraph Act 1885, with intentional damage of undersea cables carrying a maximum 14 prison sentence. Unlimited fines are also planned.

The Royal Navy has sought to reassure the British public, with a source telling The Telegraph that “We’re clearly watching Russia, watching what they’re doing for the security of the nation. We are actively monitoring them at sea.”