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If everything’s computer, it would be nice to know how long computer last.

• The new Philips Roku TV was $1,299; now it's $999
• Any size you want as long as it's 65 inches
• Impressive spec including 4K 120Hz gaming on all HDMIs

As we reported earlier this month, Philips has launched a brand new OLED TV with Roku built-in. It's an impressive specification, but we felt that at $1,299 it was a little overpriced compared to our recommended buy, the LG B4. But it's just been given a huge price cut at Sam's Club, bringing it down to just $999.

A 65-inch, gamer-friendly 4K OLED for under $1,000? Now we're talking.

It's only available in one size, 65 inches, but at just $999 this is an exceptionally low price for a TV of this size and spec. It's gamer-friendly with 4K 120Hz on all four HDMIs, it's got Roku's excellent smart TV interface – we haven't tested it, but this price undercuts the LG B4 a lot.View Deal

Why the Philips Roku OLED is tempting at under $1K

(Image credit: Roku)

Let's start with the Roku bit. We think that Roku has one of the best smart TV interfaces out there, and it's particularly nice on an OLED. That means you get the familiar Roku City backdrop and access to the best streaming services including Disney+, Max, and Netflix, among countless others. and you also get tons of free stuff thanks to Roku's free channels.

Not only that, but you can also control Roku smart home products if you've already invested in the Roku smart home ecosystem.

With the hardware, you're looking at 4K 120Hz across all four HDMI ports – unusual for any of the best gaming TVs at this combination of size and price, let alone an OLED – with AMD FreeSync Premium, Dolby Vision IQ and "room-filling sound" from the built-in and Atmos-supporting 2.1 speaker system. And you get a Roku Voice Remote too.

We suspect that the Philips OLED uses the same panel as the LG B4 (but we don't know this for sure), and this price cut means it's now cheaper than the LG: Sam's Club and similar big names are selling that one for $1,196.

So the Philips Roku OLED TV is a very, very tempting deal indeed. We haven't tested it yet, to be clear – we would guess that the image processing will be weaker than the LG B4, but OLED's perfect black tones should be present and correct, and it's cheaper than any of the best OLED TVs at the same size, and it's hard to argue with that.

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When it comes to Samsung’s March Madness TV bundle, the term 'wall space' loses all meaning. Its crazy ‘Buzzer Beater Bundle’ deal packs eight ‘premium Samsung TVs’ ideal for curating the ultimate sport viewing set up - because one TV simply isn’t enough. Samsung’s bundle deal arrives just in time for the NNCA’s March Madness tournament starting on March 18, so it’s perfect if you take college basketball very seriously and have the budget to splurge, of course.

Samsung’s first-ever March Madness TV bundle is designed with dedicated sports fans in mind, ensuring that you can catch every single match, foul call, and dunk without having to compromise screen size and quality. As far as we know, the bundle is available in the US only for purchase between March 12 and March 22, and Samsung has gone into greater detail about its first-of-its-kind offer in a newsroom post, stating the following;

“Mega sports fans are often caught juggling split-screens or multiple devices to catch every moment of basketball action each March. Now, Samsung Electronics America is here to help with the first-ever Buzzer Beater Bundle. The limited-time TV offer delivers the ultimate home entertainment setup for college basketball fans – featuring eight premium Samsung TVs ranging from 55-to-98 inches of screen sizes in one package.”

(Image credit: Samsung)

For a bundle deal worth over $16,000, Samsung has slashed its price tag by 30% now costing $10,307.42, meaning that you’ll save over $5000 on some of the best Samsung TVs in its range. If you’re a sports enthusiast or are just really into your AV, this may be a tempting offer, and if you decide to go all out with Samsung’s (slightly absurd) bundle deal you’ll be getting eight superior displays including;

One 98″ Class Crystal UHD 4K TV (DU9000)
One 65″ Class Samsung Neo QLED 8K TV (QN900D)
Three 65″ Class Samsung Neo QLED 4K TVs (QN85D)
Three 55″ Class Samsung QLED 4K TVs (Q70D)

It goes to show that sports fans really take their favorite games very seriously, and are actively looking for ways to optimize their viewing experiences. If there’s one person who knows this it’s Lydia Cho, Head of Product, Home Electronics at Samsung who has shared her view as both a company executive and sports fan, “We often see fans creating their own DIY dual-screen setups to stream the tournaments, and take it from me as a huge LA sports fan – two TVs isn’t always enough!”

How much are you prepared to fork over for an at-home courtside experience?

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• UK PM is set to announce new digital reforms to the civil service
• AI could replace some workers in new digital 'mantra'
• New jobs will be created while cutting underperformers

UK Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmer has said that some civil servants could be replaced by AI as the PM is set to announce a new digital mantra.

The mantra states that “No person’s substantive time should be spent on a task where digital or AI can do it better, quicker, and to the same high quality and standard.”

In a speech to be given today, Starmer will announce that over £45 billion could be saved by introducing new digital tools and reforms to Whitehall - before even introducing any AI to the service.

More tech to be introduced

The PM will also announce the creation of 2,000 tech apprenticeship positions, and reductions in regulations and the involvement of some ‘quangos’ - quasi-non-governmental-organizations - which are typically government funded bodies with some devolved power, which Starmer claims have created a “cottage industry of checkers and blockers slowing down delivery for working people.”

Unions have voiced some skepticism about the Prime Minister’s plans, with Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect union, stating, “Civil servants are not hostile to reforms, but these must be undertaken in partnership with staff and unions.”

“I urge everyone in government to avoid the incendiary rhetoric and tactics we are seeing in the United States, and to be clear that reforms are about enhancing not undermining the civil service,” Clancy continued.

Civil servants have faced years of productivity-related accusations. The Prime Minister sent a letter to millions of civil servants earlier this week that said, “Each one of you must be enabled to re-focus on your core purpose, away from the things that hamper your day to day work, delivering excellent, high-performing public services that improve people's lives.”

The letter, pitched as part of the Prime Minister’s plans to improve performance while cutting staff numbers, continued, “We know many of you feel shackled by bureaucracy, frustrated by inefficiency and unable to harness new technology. Your talent has been constrained for too long.”

Via The Guardian

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• Chromecast HD and 4K are getting Android 14
• The update is mostly security patches and bug fixes
• It's probably time to buy the Google TV Streamer

It hasn't been a great week so far for Chromecast and Chromecast Audio users: the 2015 versions of both devices have been suffering from what appears to be a server problem that won't let users Cast audio and video to them. So it's nice to report some good news. Google is now rolling out the Android 14 update for Chromecast with Google TV devices.

As Android Police reports, Google discontinued the Chromecast line-up in 2024 in favor of the new Google TV Streamer. But Google did promise that while the older devices can't match the new Streamer in terms of hardware capability (the Streamer is also a Thread hub for smart homes), it still intended to bring them the Android 14 update.

What does the Android 14 Update bring to Chromecasts?

Don't expect a massively different experience when you install the update: almost all of the changes are under the hood. The main reason to want this upgrade is to plug any security holes that could leave your device vulnerable to villains.

The updates vary in size depending on your device – the download is between 743 and 809MB – and it ups the operating system from Android 12 to Android 14. The update includes the January 2025 security patch and the usual changes for "system stability and improvements". It also adds support for the Google TV Streamer remote control's Find My Remote feature and button customization.

This could be the last update for the 4K version, which is expected to stop getting security updates from September 2025; the HD Chromecast will get another two years of updates until its end of life in 2027.

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The Steam Spring Sale 2025 event is almost here, promising to offer some great discounts for games, ranging from the biggest AAA blockbusters to hidden gems from independent developers. Regardless of what kind of games you like to play, there's likely to be some significant savings for you to pick up, so you'll want to know exactly where the sale goes live in your time zone.

In terms of what to expect from the Steam Spring Sale 2025 event, well, I'm hoping for some discounts for some games I missed out on last year, like Metaphor ReFantazio, and the Silent Hill 2 remake. In fact, I'm expecting to see discounts on at least a few of the titles featured on our best Steam games list, and hopefully some surprises as well.

Here are the Steam Spring Sale 2025 start times for your timezone, info on how long the event lasts, what games have been confirmed so far, and some hopes and predictions for games I'd like to see get a discount. As we draw closer to the event, this page will be updated with any new details. For now, here's what you need to know.

Steam Spring Sale 2025 start time for your timezone

(Image credit: Microsoft / Valve)

The Steam Spring Sale 2025 event begins at 1PM ET / 10AM PT / 5PM GMT on March 13 and runs until March 20 at the same time. This is when the store page will go live, allowing you to browse the sales at your leisure. Until then, the full list of games that'll be discounted is sadly hidden, but you'll find our hopes and predictions below.

Steam Spring Sale 2025 confirmed games

(Image credit: Arrowhead Game Studios)

Thanks to a teaser video for the Steam Spring Sale 2025 event (which you can check out below), we know some of the games that are set to receive discounts. The headline titles include Helldivers 2, Balatro, Nine Sols, and Outer Wilds (purely based on it being my absolute favorite game of all time). Here's the full list of confirmed games so far:

• The Long Dark
• Sifu
• Ballionaire
• Balatro
• Witchfire
• Helldivers 2
• Escape Simulator
• The Isle
• Earth Defense Force 6
• ATLYSS
• Unrailed 2: Back on Track
• Nine Sols
• Outer Wilds
• Airborne Empire
• Animal Well
• Life Is Strange: Double Exposure

Steam Spring Sale 2025 predictions - what games do we think will be cheaper?

(Image credit: ATLUS)

While Valve is yet to reveal the full list of what games will be discounted during the Steam Spring Sale 2025, there are a few titles that I'm hoping to see. Generally, the Steam Spring sale features sales on big games from the previous year. In 2024, I missed out on Metaphor Re:Fantazio, so would love the opportunity to pick it up this time around. Similarly, while I enjoyed Diablo 4 a lot back in 2023, I never found the time for the Vessel of Hatred DLC. Others on the TechRadar Gaming team praised its new Spiritborn class, so I'd certainly love to see it pop up in the upcoming sales.

Over on the indie side, it'd be great to see Neva offered up at a cheaper price, mostly because it's brilliant and I want more people to show it some love. Similarly, Thank Goodness You're Here! is one that'd be a great pick for the Steam Spring Sale. It's the funniest game I've ever played, and more people should play it. For Steam Deck players, it'd be great to see discounts on some of the games on our best Steam Deck games list, such as Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and God of War.

Steam Spring Sale 2025 FAQ When does the Spring Sale 2025 event end?

The Steam Spring Sale 2025 event ends on Thursday, March 20 at 1PM ET / 10AM PT / 5PM GMT.

What time of the year does Steam have the best sales?

Steam sales tend to have the biggest gaming discounts during the Summer sale and Winter sale events. That's not to say that the Spring and Fall events don't also have great sales, but we do tend to see larger price cuts during the Summer and Winter periods.

What games will be on Steam Spring Sale 2025?

So far, we know that The Long Dark, Sifu, Ballionaire, Balatro, Witchfire, Helldivers 2, Escape Simulator, The Isle, Earth Defense Force 6, ATLYSS, Unrailed 2: Back on Track, Nine Sols, Outer Wilds, Airborne Empire, Animal Well, and Life Is Strange: Double Exposure will be on sale.

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• Someone got three classic shooters running on a smartwatch
• Reddit images reveal an Android wearable running Doom, Quake, and Half-Life
• It looks like they used Xash3D, and even the touchscreen controls work

A triumphant Redditor has successfully managed to get Doom, Quake, and Half-Life running on a smartwatch.

Just weeks after we revealed how another Redditor installed a PSP emulator on their smartwatch so they could play GTA and God of War, a post in the Valve Reddit from u/Ramsey_Doo is going viral in recognition of a similar technical achievement.

"Half Life on smart watch. Finally," they commented nonchalantly. A trio of images and one gif reveals Half-Life running on the nondescript smartwatch, replete with working touch controls.

"Does it run Doom though?", one user replied, to which Damsey_Doo confirmed they'd successfully run Doom, Quake, and then Half-Life all on the same device.

Half-Life comes to the smartwatch valve from r/valve/comments/1j92crr/half_life_on_smart_watch_finally

While Damsey_Doo hasn't confirmed exactly how they accomplished this marvel of retro gaming engineering, speculative comments indicate the most likely method was Xash3D, a game engine that provides compatibility with Half-Life Engine while extending its lifespan.

The original Half-Life game dates back to 1998, when the best smartwatch you could buy was the Seiko Ruputer, a Japanese offering dubbed the world's first smartwatch that also went by the name of the OnHandPC.

It had a 102 x 64 pixel monochrome LCD display, a 36MHz (yes, megahertz) processor, and a joystick.

I've not been able to identify the watch used from the images, but the mad scientist responsible confirms that it's not an Apple Watch, which makes sense given the hack used to get this running in the first place.

This feat is just as impressive as the aforementioned PSP emulator, which used Bugjaeger to sideload APKs, successfully enabling 60fps GTA on a Samsung Galaxy Watch 5, as well as God of War and Forza Horizon 4 via Steam Link.

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• Another iPhone 17 Pro Max image leak has appeared
• It shows off the expected redesign of the handset
• The iPhone 17 phones are predicted to arrive in September

It looks increasingly likely that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are going to get a significant redesign, compared to the phones that they're replacing, and a new leak gives us another look at the refreshed chassis of the larger model.

Prolific tipster @MajinBuOfficial has shared an image of what look like metal molds ready to be used to manufacture the upcoming handset – and we also get the caption "iPhone 17 Pro Max is ready" alongside the picture.

We can see the large triple-lens rear camera in the top-left corner of the rear casing, and a cut-out to allow magnetic MagSafe connections for charging. The size of the camera protrusion reflects the larger camera bar that's expected to be on show.

Let's hope that the larger camera bar, and the extra space the cameras are taking up, means better quality photos and videos. Apple usually adds some year-on-year upgrades in terms of the iPhone cameras, and another bump would be welcome.

The rumors so far

iPhone 17 Pro Max is ready pic.twitter.com/jFb9L4b1BHMarch 12, 2025

We don't get much more from this leak besides another look at the rear casing design, and the update that the phone is "ready" – presumably that means for mass production, because the expected launch date of September 2025 is now fast approaching.

There have already been plenty of leaks and rumors swirling around these phones. Aside from the Pro and Pro Max redesign, we should also see faster chipsets inside these handsets, and of course a final version of the yet-to-be-announced iOS 19 on board.

Features such as reverse wireless charging have also been rumored, as well as a bump up to 12GB of RAM for the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max – perhaps to deal with some extra Apple Intelligence smarts coming down the line.

There will apparently be less that's new and exciting when it comes to the standard iPhone 17, though we are expecting a new model in the shape of the iPhone 17 Air – a super-slim model that's being tipped to take over from the iPhone 16 Plus.

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• Apple’s iOS 18.4 beta lets users change their default mapping app
• The new feature is only available to people based in the EU
• iOS 18.4 is in beta but should launch fully by early April

Apple is known for keeping a tight grip on its operating systems, but that resolve has been tested by the European Union (EU) in recent years. Now, Apple is being forced to concede another point and allow its users to change their default mapping app on iOS.

The change is due to arrive in the iOS 18.4 update, which is currently available as a beta. However, there’s a big catch: the new feature will only be available to users in the EU, meaning anyone in the US and around the world will miss out for now.

If you are located in the EU and have the latest iOS 18.4 beta, you can make the adjustment by opening the Settings app and going to Apps > Default Apps > Navigation. There, you will be able to change you default map app from Apple Maps to Google Maps, Waze, or something else.

It’s not all bad for US users, though, as Apple has made a slight allowance here. If you’re based in the US, the iOS 18.4 beta lets you change the default translation app in iOS. This can be found in Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Translation. This feature is also available to users in the EU and worldwide.

Apple vs the EU

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

The past couple of years have seen the EU force Apple to make changes to its operating systems and open them up more to competition. Apple must now allow sideloading and alternative app stores on its systems, for example – something that seemed impossible just a few years ago.

Enabling users to change their default mapping app is just the latest instance of this scrap between Apple and the EU. It comes in response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act and was originally revealed in an Apple document in fall 2024. Now, it’s come into effect.

For now, the only way to change your default map app – aside from being based in the EU – is to have downloaded the iOS 18.4 beta. The full version of iOS 18.4 is expected to launch in April, according to an Apple press release.

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• Inzoi system requirements have been revealed
• The upcoming life simulation game will need quite a beefy PC
• This will be bad news for those who currently play The Sims 4 on older machines

I've got some bad news if you play The Sims 4 on an older laptop or PC and were planning to dive into the world of Inzoi when it launches for PC in early access later this month

Developer Inzoi Studio has outlined the system requirements for the upcoming life simulation game and, in brief, you're going to need a pretty beefy gaming PC to play it.

(Image credit: Krafton)

At a minimum, you need an Intel i5-10400 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU in addition to an Nvidia RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT GPU with 6GB of VRAM. This is on top of 12GB RAM.

In contrast, EA states that The Sims 4 will run on a PC with a substantially more modest CPU on par with the ancient Intel Core I3-3220 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200. You also need a GPU with just 128MB of VRAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0 - which means basically any card or integrated graphics solution released in the last decade should be okay.

You only need 4GB of RAM too, so even those on more budget-oriented laptops are able to play relatively smoothly.

Inzoi Studio considers 'Medium' PC specs to be an Intel Core i7-11700 or AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU, an Nvidia RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600 GPU (both with 8GB of VRAM), and 16GB of RAM. Right now, you can find gaming laptops equivalent to this spec for roughly $800 / £700 on Amazon.

Things become much more expensive if you're targeting the 'Recommended' specs, however. You're going to need an Intel i7-12700K or AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU, an RTX 3070 (8GB) or AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (16GB) GPU, and 16GB of RAM. These are the kind of components that you would generally find in a $1,200+ / £1,000+ gaming desktop.

For 'High' settings, you're going to need an Intel i7-14700K or AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU, Nvidia RTX 3080 (16GB) or AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX (24GB) GPU and a massive 32GB of RAM.

This game seems to be seriously demanding, given its focus on simulation and high fidelity, impressively realistic graphics. Interestingly, the developer has prepared multiple optimal presets targeting every set of specs alongside a video showing how each looks.

There are eight presets to choose from, with options for either better performance or better graphics. Every single one relies on Nvidia DLSS Super Resolution, AMD FSR 3, or XeSS upscaling to some degree, which could indicate that the developer was unable to get things running smoothly at a native resolution.

It's also worth bearing in mind that an internet connection is required to play.

Inzoi enters PC early access on March 28, with a full PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S release coming at a later date.

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