Technology

The hardest part of retail AI may soon be the part nobody puts in the demo.

A model can recommend a markdown, predict a stockout, adjust a picking route or identify a pattern in store traffic in milliseconds. But a retailer only gets value when that decision becomes an accurate action in the physical store. Whether it’s a price change or a sensor reading, it has to arrive promptly for it to be useful.

There is already a striking gap between AI ambition and execution. Deloitte's 2026 survey of 200 retail and consumer products executives found that 75% consider AI a top strategic priority, yet only 16.5% can quantify the return they are getting from it. Clearly, retailers believe in AI. The harder problem is turning isolated capabilities into something that works consistently across the business.

For physical retailers, the challenge does not end with models, data or software. AI-driven decisions have to pass through stores containing thousands of devices, existing networks and years of installed technology. In complex environments, the building itself can affect connectivity. As the number of connected endpoints grows, so does the importance of the wireless foundation carrying information across the store.

For CIOs and CTOs, that means the next constraint on AI may be something that has been underappreciated: whether the store estate underneath it can execute reliably at scale.

A store is not a cloud workload

Physical retail introduces conditions that software teams cannot abstract away. Stores have walls, metal shelving, refrigeration, back rooms, loading areas and legacy systems installed. They also have trading hours. Infrastructure changes that look simple on an architecture diagram can become expensive or disruptive when repeated across hundreds of sites.

Take inventory, for example. A forecasting model can improve a replenishment decision, but store-level execution may depend on shelf sensors, handheld devices, picking tools and accurate product information all exchanging data.

Computer vision, digital displays and environmental monitoring add further endpoints and a wider mix of data, from routine device updates and sensor readings to visual content and real-time operational data. These workloads place very different demands on the network.

Some require high bandwidth or low latency. Others involve large populations of battery-powered devices sending regular updates across difficult environments. Individually, none is necessarily a network problem. Collectively, they can become one.

If a pricing decision cannot reach every store quickly, a replenishment signal arrives too late or each new application requires another costly infrastructure layer, the retailer loses part of the value the technology was supposed to create.

One response is to add another gateway, controller or application layer for the next project. That can work for a pilot. Repeated often enough, though, every new device gains a separate integration path, security owner, management console and failure mode.

In difficult store environments, adding project-specific infrastructure to overcome coverage gaps can also change deployment economics. The technology works, but operating it becomes progressively harder.

The scaling problem appears after the pilot works

Retail technology teams are used to asking whether a new application meets its business case. AI adds another question: what happens to the infrastructure if the application succeeds?

A pilot may involve one store and a limited number of endpoints. Scale changes the economics. Coverage has to work throughout the building, updates must remain reliable during normal trading and security teams need a consistent way to onboard and manage devices. Operations teams also need clear ownership when something fails.

Connectivity should therefore be treated as an architectural choice, not a specification buried inside each procurement. The objective is not to replace every existing network or create one for every application, but to match workloads to the wireless layer best suited to their requirements while keeping the estate manageable.

Current designs may be adequate in some stores. In large or difficult formats, or where suitable retail IoT endpoints are growing quickly, an additional purpose-built wireless layer may be justified. The decision should be deliberate rather than inherited one project at a time.

Different workloads need different wireless foundations

The future-ready store is unlikely to depend on one network doing everything. It will more likely use a combination of connectivity layers, each supporting the workloads it suits best. Now, retailers should consider whether enterprise Wi-Fi should remain the de facto transport layer for every new category of connected device.

As electronic shelf label estates expand and retailers introduce more sensors and retail IoT applications, suitable workloads may be better served by a purpose-built wireless layer alongside the enterprise network.

This should not mean an isolated network for each use case, but a scalable, reusable connectivity layer able to support large device populations over time. Security belongs in the same conversation. Every endpoint needs consistent management, from trusted onboarding and credentials through to decommissioning.

Open standards remain important because they provide a more consistent foundation for future devices, applications and platforms. But openness alone is not the architecture. The decision is which workloads belong on which connectivity layer; standards help those layers remain manageable and adaptable.

The most successful retail AI programs will be judged by more than the quality of their predictions. As connected estates grow the test will be whether organizations can turn those predictions into dependable action across real stores.

Before approving the next AI pilot, retailers should ask what will their estate need if it succeeds, which workloads will grow, and should they all continue to be carried in the same way?

If success means more devices, richer data, more frequent updates or deployment across a much larger estate, the wireless architecture supporting those workloads has to be a central part of the AI strategy.

Retailers are not investing in AI tools or connectivity for their own sake. They want to protect margin, improve availability and make stores easier to operate. AI capability and AI scalability are different problems.

The objective should be an architecture in which new workloads can use the wireless layer best suited to them without forcing the estate to be rebuilt each time. The retailers that design for both will be in a much stronger position to turn ambition into reliable, repeatable execution.

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Phone manufacturers are certainly feeling the pinch of the RAM and storage shortages. Apple recently increased prices across most of its products, the new Google Pixels received their own price hikes and now Samsung has joined in with price bumps across its Galaxy S26 lineup that launched earlier this year.

Thankfully, most Australian retailers have so far held off introducing most of the latter, and there are even some respectable deals on offer — Amazon has the 256GB base S26 discounted to just AU$1,127, for example, representing a 32% reduction from Samsung’s new pricing. If you’ve been considering upgrading your phone to a new flagship model, this is a prime opportunity to bag one for less.

Galaxy S26 (256GB): was $1649 now $1127
Costing less than Samsung’s new Galaxy S26 FE mid-ranger and Apple’s budget iPhone 17e, this deal gives you a true flagship Android handset, with triple-camera setup, 12GB of RAM and the full Galaxy AI suite. I did see this model dip below AU$1,000 in August, but given the price-increase we've seen since then, we think this discount is worth jumping on. Amazon has the Black, Cobalt Violet, Sky Blue and White colours available for this price, and you can also trade in your old phone for more savings.View Deal

Our Samsung Galaxy S26 review praised the bright AMOLED display, reliable cameras and long battery life. Storage options now also start at 256GB — up from the predecessor’s 128GB — and the screen size also increased from 6.2 inches to 6.3 inches, while retaining the same dimensions.

Those changes, plus the other improvements over the S25, meant the S26 came with a price increase from AU$1,399 to AU$1,549 at launch, and that has since gone up by another AU$100 to AU$1,649 earlier this month. That makes the 32% saving at Amazon all the more tempting.

One caveat that we should note about the base Galaxy S26 is that Aussies miss out on the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset found in the US model — locally, this model uses Samsung's own Exynos 2600 processor. Our colleagues over at Tom’s Guide, however, argue that the difference is marginal in their tests, so you likely won’t be able to tell the difference in most scenarios.

Our reviewer also noted the relatively slow 25W charging speed and the lack of full Qi2 wireless charging support, commenting that this phone is only worth buying when it’s on sale.

With this deal dropping the price by 32% vs the revised RRP, that latter sentiment has come true — and overall, the Galaxy S26 is still an easy recommendation despite those caveats, and is a solid entry-level flagship with the specs to back it up.

Samsung Galaxy price hikes

Having launched in March this year, Samsung’s 2026 S-series flagships have been out for a bit over 6 months and have even seen some generous discounts in major Australian sale events like EOFY and Prime Day. The brand has since increased the prices across the three Galaxy S26 handsets, ranging from AU$100 to AU$250, depending on the configuration as follows:

• Galaxy S26 256GB: was AU$1,549, now AU$1,649
• Galaxy S26 512GB: was AU$1,849, now AU$1,949
• Galaxy S26 Plus 256GB: was AU$1,849, now AU$1,949
• Galaxy S26 Plus 512GB: was AU$2,149, now AU$2,249
• Galaxy S26 Ultra 256GB: was AU$2,199, now AU$2,299
• Galaxy S26 Ultra 512GB: was AU$2,499, now AU$2,599
• Galaxy S26 Ultra 1TB: was AU$2,949, now $3,199

Samsung's recently released 2026 foldables and the Galaxy S26 FE so far haven’t seen price hikes (as of October 14), though most of them came with increases over their respective predecessors.

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 is a powerful and expandable A4 office printer able to serve teams of up to ten coworkers. It ships with a reasonable amount of TerraJet toner and HP’s strongest ever security.

The specification sheet is strong too, with more memory and processor speed than your average print-only device and a top speed of 35ppm (pages per minute). It printed well, even on pretty thick card.

However, there’s no touchscreen on this US$730 (£590) device and I found the user interface frustrating, so read this in-depth review before you buy.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Design and build

(Image credit: Future)Specs

Type: color laser printer

Functions: Print only

Connectivity: USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet

Data storage slots: USB Host  

Max print speed: 35ppm

Max paper size: Letter/A4

Print quality: 600x600dpi; 1200x1200dpi (enhanced)

Memory: 2GB

Apple AirPrint: yes

Consumables included: 4 cartridges (2,300 black or 2,000 color pages)

Dimensions/Weight: 421 x 427 x 297 mm (WxDxH)/36lb/16.3kg

HP’s Color LaserJet Enterprise 4000/X400 Series printers and multifunction devices replace the outgoing 400 Series and with their blue livery and crisp design, it’s certainly an aesthetic improvement.

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701dw is the base model in this Letter/A4-size range and it’s also the most compact. It’s reassuringly heavy at 36 pounds, yet small enough to share the desk in my home office without crowding me out. The dw at the end of the model name indicates that the printer I tested can auto-duplex and has Wi-Fi built in, but in other respects, variants on this model are the same, so I’ll dispense with the suffix going forward.

It looks much like the cheaper HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201 and I found the print quality to be comparable. But what the enterprise-level 4701 brings is a higher spec with a faster processor, more memory and security tough enough for big business. It’s more upgradeable because you can add not just one, like the Pro, but two optional paper trays. It also replaces the awkward rotary dial interface with a regular keypad.

The main paper drawer has a standard capacity of 250 sheets, but you can expand this by adding up to two high-capacity 550-sheet paper cassettes which cost around US$370 each. It's the kind of useful future-proofing that you don’t get with cheaper alternatives like the Brother HL-L3230CDW. There’s also a 50-sheet front-loading multi-media tray for envelopes or specialist paper.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Features & specifications

(Image credit: Future)

Being an Enterprise model means the HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 has a higher spec than the Pro and a feature set geared toward heavier use. As such, this compact printer has a faster dual-core 1.4GHz processor and four times the RAM at 2GB. That doesn’t make it print any faster as both print engines achieve a rate of 35ppm, but it does enable a higher recommended duty cycle of up to 4,200 pages per month.

It also has stronger Wolf Pro Enterprise security. HP’s new post-quantum cryptography (PQC) protection should shield your printer from attack by quantum computers. It’s also more manageable as part of a fleet. There’s even a USB Host port, which I always find useful for printing without need of a device.

I’m happy to see the quirky rotary dial control of the Pro giving way to a normal push-button keypad for this Enterprise model, although I wouldn’t accuse either interface of being user-friendly.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Setup and operation

(Image credit: Future)

In my experience, HP printers are often the easiest to set up thanks to the inclusion of Bluetooth to connect your printer to your smartphone straight out of the box, but that’s not the case here. It took me rather longer to follow the on-printer prompts using the fiddly control panel.

And because of the added security, there is no default administrator password printed discretely on the printer. During setup, users have the option to create an admin password that meets HP‘s security requirements (minimum eight characters, including uppercase, lowercase, number, and special character).

If you skip this step during setup you’ll need to configure the password later through the printer's Embedded Web Server (EWS). It’s the kind of extra legwork you get with an enterprise printer instead of the much simpler home office model.

In daily operation, the HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 is easier to use, thanks to its prompt first page out time and strong software support. The printer’s display is rather small, however, and given the premium price, it’s frustrating that there’s no touchscreen interface, like the one found on the significantly cheaper Xerox C320.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Performance

(Image credit: Future)

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 prints quickly and consistently, turning out color and mono pages promptly and without any misprints or paper jams during the test. The FPOT (first page out time) is only 5.7 seconds, thanks to the extra onboard processing power and RAM, and the maximum print speed of 35ppm (or 33ppm if using A4 instead of Letter paper) in simplex mode is accurate.

It’s no faster on paper than competitors such as the Xerox C320, but it turns the paper quickly in duplex mode, making it slightly quicker with two-sided documents.

Black and white prints appear crisp and hard to fault. This is what laser printers do best and the HP delivers very professional-looking text on plain paper. Characters printed at the smallest point size remain crisp and legible under a magnifying glass.

When printing in color, I noticed a drop in contrast that can make photos look less detailed than the original. It’s a subtle complaint and the toner is bright enough to achieve vibrant results that look sharp enough when printing at ‘best’ image quality. The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 can print on a wide range of media, including quite heavy card up to a recommended 200 gm².

I got good results with card of 240gm². Often when you go to select your media type on a laser printer, you’re given four or five choices, but this one offers 33, proving its versatility.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Consumables

(Image credit: Future)

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 prints with the company’s still quite new TerraJet toner formulation. This has the advantage of a lower melting point that reduces the energy needed to print by around 27%. The disadvantage is that it’s a tad more expensive than your average toner, but it’s also brighter so I think the energy saving and vibrant results are worth it.

It ships with a reasonable amount of toner in the four setup cartridges (enough for 2,300 black or 2,000 color pages) and high-capacity carts are available that will give you up to 9,000 black pages and 6,900 color. With HP’s black high-yield carts costing around US$252 (£239) the CPP (cost per page) is around 2.8 cents (2.1p) for mono, which is competitive.

Meanwhile, color pages cost around 5.6 cents (4.2p) per page, which is more expensive than rivals such as the Xerox C320. So, if you print at highest volume in color, this may not be the best solution for you.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Maintenance

Routine maintenance is minimal, with the printer monitoring its own long-life components and alerting the user when consumables or worn parts need replacing. And with the imaging drums incorporated into the disposable toner cartridges, you don’t need to clean or replace them. If you do notice deterioration in print quality, you can go to the printer’s Cleaning Page in the support tools menu and run a calibration or cleaning cycle.

HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701: Final verdictFutureFutureFutureFuture

The HP Color LaserJet Enterprise 4701 is a neat solution for a small workgroup in a shared office where security and print quality are key considerations, but I wouldn’t recommended it for home office use.

I had some teething problems setting up my unit and the lack of a touchscreen combined with the increased security makes it somewhat user-unfriendly. However, once networked into your office, it will print quickly, securely and cost effectively, in black and white. HP’s more expensive color TerraJet cartridges mean less competitive color printing.

With it’s quantum-resistant security software, powerful processing and optional upgrade accessories, this enterprise printer is well-aimed at the expanding business, especially one that prints predominantly in black and white.

For more top-performing units, I've tested out the best home printers and the best laser printers.

If you’ve either recently upgraded, or are considering upgrading to, one of the fastest NBN plans, then you’ll understandably want to make the most of the improved speeds. That’s where the best mesh Wi-Fi systems come in, as they’re designed to deal with dead zones and slow internet, to ensure you get top performance throughout your home.

If this sounds like you, then I should also point out that while you’re looking for a mesh system, future-proofing your network with Wi-Fi 7 can ensure your investment will be even more worthwhile, especially if you’re on an NBN 1000 — or even an ultra fast NBN 2000 — plan.

Fortunately you don’t need to look far, as our pick for the best Wi-Fi 7 mesh system, the TP-Link Deco BE65, is currently discounted for a limited time, with the 3-pack available for AU$798.50.

Deco BE65 (3-Pack): was $1149 now $798.5
Scoring a perfect 5 stars in our review for its strong Wi-Fi 7 performance, connectivity options, inclusions and competitive price, TP-Link’s Deco BE65 has rightly earned the spot as our best Wi-Fi 7 mesh system you can buy in Australia. We’ve seen the 3-pack cheaper in December 2025, but this 31% discount is nothing to scoff at. The 2-pack is also discounted to AU$689, and a single unit is available for AU$399.View Deal

AU$800 for some Wi-Fi routers may sound like a serious investment, but there's plenty here to justify the price tag. You're able to connect devices — think network attached storage (NAS) or desktop PCs, for example — directly to each of the units via four 2.5GbE wired ports to keep latency to a minimum.

The TP-Link Deco BE65 system also offers up to 11Gbps of total throughput, which is plenty enough bandwidth to handle multiple devices like computers, gaming consoles, TVs playing 4K video.

Also included in the BE65 are VPN support, parental controls and TP-Link’s HomeShield security and network management service.

There are more advanced features available via a subscription service (AU$4.99 per month or AU$29.99 per year) including advanced parental controls, although our reviewer found the free tier is already good enough for most households.

Why do I need a mesh Wi-Fi system?

A mesh Wi-Fi system helps cover a larger space compared to a standard router, using one or more satellite nodes (also known as extenders or points) to broaden your Wi-Fi coverage and get rid of weak spots. The idea is that you place them around your home, so that you get uninterrupted coverage as you move around.

Wi-Fi 7 meanwhile gives you more frequency bands — the common 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz, and a third 6Ghz — extra capacity for more connected devices, lower latency and more to ensure you maximise your NBN plan. The goal isn’t necessarily to improve speeds (although that is a certainly a benefit), but to ensure solid reliability and stability.

You will need Wi-Fi 7-compatible devices to take full advantage, however, and they are still few and far between as of 2026, but it’s a good bet for future-proofing. On the other hand, brands have started releasing Wi-Fi 8 networking gear, so you can expect to see Wi-Fi 7 equipment come down in price soon and make future-proofing slightly more affordable moving forward.

• Siri AI is coming to Apple TV 4K 2nd and 3rd Gen
• Free software update arriving later this year
• Update will be available in select countries and territories

While much of the attention on the new Apple TV 4K — now in its fourth generation — may focus on the sticker shock of the $299 / £299 / AU$449 price, it also brings some notable features. Siri AI offers a more robust personal assistant experience via the Siri Remote or the box's far-field microphones. It also has a faster processor to speed things up and supports four HomePod 2 or HomePod mini 2 speakers in a surround setup.

But if you were really hoping to use Siri AI on Apple’s streaming box, maybe to pull up recommendations friends might have suggested or to figure out whether a character is based on a real person, and you don’t want to spend the extra cash on an upgrade, I've got good news.

Alongside announcing the Apple TV 4K (4th generation), Apple has confirmed that Siri AI will arrive on older Apple TV models via a forthcoming software update. The release note reads, “Siri AI is available as a beta on Apple TV 4K (2nd generation or later), and is available at launch in the U.S., Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa, and the UK in English.”

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

That means the AI-powered, more personalized Siri will arrive on the Apple TV 4K 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen, and the new 4th generation, which begins shipping on November 13, 2026. And since the newest model will launch with Siri AI, that might hint at when Apple will roll out the tvOS 27.2 software update to the other two models. As a reminder, the 2nd Gen shipped in 2021, and the 3rd Gen launched in 2022.

That’s excellent news, because the new Siri AI isn’t just better at basic tasks; it also brings broader knowledge and personal context. So whether it’s pulling up an album your best friend recommended weeks ago that you can’t quite remember, or trying to recount a specific episode you and a family member were up to, the assistant can tap into that info to answer the query.

I saw a few demos of that on the new Apple TV 4K, and even though these older models have less power under the hood, Apple hasn’t said that Siri AI’s features will be limited. So while they could be a hair or two slower, it should still be a strong experience.

If nothing else, it’s a free upgrade that gives you another way to interact with Apple TV and find content. Beyond the added personal queries, you can also get richer recommendations and suggestions when you ask Siri for content.

(Image credit: Apple TV 4K (2026))

Further, if, beyond Siri AI’s arrival with the Apple TV 4K 4th Gen, you were also enticed by the new Siri Remote, which adds a speaker to make a chirping sound when you’re trying to track it down, or the ability to use Precision Finding for exact directions on how to find the remote when it’s deep in couch cushions with a compatible iPhone, you can purchase the upgraded remote with UWB (ultra-wideband) and the speaker from Apple, and it works with previous-gen Apple TVs. Apple's already taking orders for the updated Siri Remote for $59 here, and it's on Amazon.com for the same price here.

So, with a free, forthcoming update for Apple TV 4K 2nd and 3rd Gen that’ll bring Siri AI to select areas, and the fact that you can get the Siri Remote for a price, these two additions will bring some new features and could very well make the Apple TV 4K feel fresh again.

We'll report back once Apple announces when this update will arrive, but for now all we know is that tvOS 27.2 is coming.

• Control Resonant composer Petri Alanko shares what game he would like to work on next
• He says he would "love to do a proper sci-fi score one day" and enjoys "emotional psycho-thrillers a lot"
• Alanko says he would pass on any "cute cartoon-like games" like My Little Pony

Petri Alanko, the composer for Remedy Entertainment's Control, Control Resonant, and Alan Wake 2, has revealed which genre of game he would love to work on next, but insisted that "cute games" are a hard pass.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, Alanko said that with "synth" being part of his musical arsenal, he would "love to do a proper sci-fi score one day," and shared his enthusiasm for thrillers.

"Just gimme a project and free hands, thank you," Alanko said. "I enjoy emotional psycho-thrillers a lot; they offer so much writing ground, but combining that with some other, say, sci-fi flavours, now that would be something I’d love."

As for what he's working on right now, the composer said he's moved on to another game soundtrack, which he couldn't reveal, and also the movie Häyhä, which is about a WW2 Finnish sharpshooter, Simo Häyhä (aka The White Death).

He explained that "scoring movies is relatively easy, really," as "you have the linear media unchanged in front of you," and compared to the average game, " you need only a handful of music for it."

"I certainly don’t want to look down on any film composer," Alanko added. "I know several of them, and they are very dear to me, but in some ways, I feel like that posse has it pretty easy in their line of work."

Alanko went on to share which genre of game he would absolutely avoid if offered the chance to compose music for, including cozy games, because they don't align with his personal tastes.

"One thing is sure: I’m not much good for a My Little Pony game," he said. "Or cute cartoon-like games. Or rally games. Nothing against them, but I don’t have that in me. I’m from a Northern faraway country, and I live with a forest behind my house, and Nordic Noir is more or less a code of conduct in my whereabouts (laughs), so that pretty much stamps my life with [a] 'psycho-thrillers ahoy' badge."

Elsewhere, Alanko suggested studios should value music more if they care about their games and avoid AI at all costs, saying, "Love your game, love your handiwork. Respect the client: the gamers, the fans, dammit."

• Ukrainian developers complete combat trials of airless wheels for ground robots
• New 3D-printed wheels eliminate inflation requirements for battlefield robotic vehicles
• Ukrainian wheel sets weigh between 32 and 56 kg

Ukrainian engineers have developed inflation-free wheels for unmanned ground vehicles, aiming to keep robotic platforms moving despite damage encountered during frontline operations.

The project brings together Print&Live UA, iSCALE 3D, and participating specialists, who have completed field evaluations and combat trials of the new wheel designs.

The airless wheel is produced using large-scale 3D printing technology, and it has a rounded tread, a closed profile, and a two-piece disc.

Lightweight construction addresses battlefield mobility risks

Its design increases the cross-country ability, energy efficiency, and maintainability of robotic equipment on the front line.

Conventional tyres can become unusable after encountering fragments, blast effects, rubble, barbed wire, or frozen terrain, immobilizing remotely operated vehicles.

Such failures can leave equipment exposed, while recovery operations may require personnel to approach locations where hostile fire remains a concern.

The Ukrainian design eliminates dependence on internal air pressure, allowing the wheel to retain its supporting function without inflation or routine pressure maintenance.

Its internal structure uses a digitally adaptable lattice made from durable elastomers and composite polymers.

Unlike designs with exposed cellular structures or flat running surfaces, the wheels feature enclosed construction and curved tread geometry.

The tyre is designed to limit the amount of dirt, stones and ice accumulating around the wheels during operation over difficult ground.

Their relatively low mass and rounded profile are also intended to limit ground contact and rolling resistance, potentially reducing the energy required for movement.

Print&Live estimates that the design could extend the operating distance of ground robotic vehicles by as much as 30% compared with foreign alternatives.

The complete wheel set weighs between 32 and 56 kg, compared with 88 to 144 kg for the cited foreign airless alternatives.

However, conventional pneumatic sets weigh about 30 to 72 kg, meaning the Ukrainian design does not necessarily outperform every traditional tyre on weight alone.

Reducing unsprung and rotating mass could nevertheless ease mechanical demands on the gearboxes and electric drive systems used by robotic platforms.

Digital customization and field repairs

The manufacturing approach allows engineers to adjust wheel stiffness, shock absorption and geometry digitally according to a robot's weight and operating requirements.

These adjustments can change product characteristics without requiring manufacturers to reorganize their production lines, potentially simplifying the development of specialized variants.

Field servicing is another consideration, with the patented two-piece rim allowing damaged tyres to be installed or replaced without conventional tyre-changing machinery.

The developers say this arrangement removes the need for specialized presses, potentially making repairs easier where workshop facilities and equipment are unavailable.

A complete set reportedly costs approximately €680, although the available information does not specify the precise configuration or replacement costs included in that price.

The project has passed its research and development phase, and production is already taking place in limited quantities for subsequent delivery to combat units.

Independent operational evidence will be needed to establish how the wheels perform under sustained use, repeated impacts and varying battlefield conditions.

Via Militarnyi (originally in Ukrainian)

ChatGPT has become remarkably good at making itself useful as a researcher, organizer, and assistant for many a tedious digital task. OpenAI has begun pushing ChatGPT further recently with its agents, which are able to navigate websites and apps on our behalf.

You can delegate ChatGPT agents for everything from comparison shopping to filling out forms and lining up travel itineraries. What's changing is how deeply those abilities are becoming integrated into ChatGPT, with greater access to personal information and more opportunities to complete complicated tasks with less direct supervision. OpenAI's new Dots is a good example.

The appeal is obvious, but the more ChatGPT can accomplish independently, the more important it becomes to consider what happens when it misunderstands its instructions. For instance, a few months ago, OpenAI's experimental AI agents managed to escape their restricted environments and compromise systems belonging to AI platform Hugging Face. According to OpenAI's own investigation, the agents were supposed to be completing cybersecurity tests, but instead discovered ways to access the internet and exploit security vulnerabilities, coordinating their efforts through an unauthorized message board. An independent investigation by METR found that roughly 1,200 agents exchanged more than 70,000 messages and files, with around 700 eventually participating in the attack on Hugging Face.

The AI agents bypassed restrictions and pursued objectives in ways their creators never intended. Some even appeared to recognize that their actions were unauthorized but continued because they believed doing so would help accomplish their goals. OpenAI has since acknowledged other troubling incidents, including 53 cases in which agents uploaded user-provided images to third-party image-hosting websites as unlisted links during research and evaluation activities. Agents may be pursuing legitimate objectives and just seeking ways around obstacles. But algorithms don't have ethics, so they might cross boundaries their developers expected them to respect. It's especially worrying given how much OpenAI wants ChatGPT to be part of our lives now.

When helpful becomes a hazard

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Imagine asking ChatGPT to review your finances and suggest ways to save money. With access to the necessary accounts, it can examine transactions, identify subscriptions, and recommend changes to your budget. But give an autonomous agent enough authority, and it could theoretically decide that transferring money, canceling a service, or modifying a payment arrangement is the most efficient way to accomplish the assignment.

The same problem applies to something as mundane as arranging a meeting. ChatGPT might prepare an invitation, only to include personal information you never intended to share. From the agent's perspective, the disclosure could seem like a perfectly reasonable way to provide useful context.

These are hypothetical examples, and ChatGPT has safeguards designed to prevent sensitive actions without appropriate authorization. Nevertheless, OpenAI has acknowledged the possibility and introduced protective measures like automated monitoring and restrictions on certain actions to ensure users approve of any major action by the model.

There is also the problem of prompt injection, where malicious instructions are hidden in benign text to manipulate an AI into doing something its user never requested. OpenAI has described how attackers can exploit the information agents encounter during legitimate tasks. An instruction buried in a seemingly ordinary webpage could attempt to persuade ChatGPT to disclose private information or take an unauthorized action.

The problem can arise anywhere. In Australia, an experimental OpenAI agent accessed government systems in unauthorized ways during internal training. It exploited a vulnerability in a government health statistics service to continue its work when initially stymied. OpenAI subsequently acknowledged the incident and apologized for both the unauthorized access and its handling of the notification.

The company's official account of the Australian incident makes clear that the activity occurred during testing rather than through an ordinary consumer ChatGPT session. Nevertheless, it shows how AI pursuing an apparently harmless research objective can end up crossing a security boundary.

Handing over the keys

ChatGPT's growing autonomy is part of a much larger industry obsession with personal AI agents. Meta is pursuing an even more ambitious vision with Muse. Mark Zuckerberg clearly believes people will welcome an AI assistant capable of handling large portions of their daily lives.

There is something slightly absurd about that ambition when ordinary consumers are struggling with grocery bills, housing costs, and the price of gas at the pump. An AI that can independently shop for you sounds considerably less revolutionary when your main concern is whether you can afford whatever it wants to buy on your behalf.

There are undoubtedly useful applications for this technology, especially when it comes to administrative work. But the industry's assumption that consumers want increasingly independent assistants deserves more scrutiny. Every additional permission increases the consequences of an error, and every automated action potentially removes another opportunity for someone to intervene.

Perhaps the most important capability an AI agent can develop is knowing when to stop. A genuinely useful assistant should recognize that being asked to organize someone's finances doesn't authorize moving their money, and arranging a meeting doesn't justify revealing confidential information. Sometimes the best response to an obstacle is to ask the user what to do next, even if that means completing the task takes a little longer. Without that friction, by the time something goes wrong, the assistant may already have done things in your name that you would never have allowed.

• Minisforum's MS-S1 MAX-P495 is on pre-order at $7,399 with 192GB of unified memory and a 2TB SSD
• CPU and NPU specs are similar to previous iterations: 16 cores, 32 threads with a boost in clock speeds of 100 MHz, in addition to increased NPU performance by 10% to 55 TOPS
• The real upgrade is memory: 192GB total, 160GB for the GPU, and about 7% more bandwidth, enough to fit a 284B-parameter MoE model on one box

Minisforum has opened orders for the MS-S1 MAX-P495, a 3.5-liter workstation built around AMD's Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495, and its launch announcement leads with the processor: 16 Zen 5 cores and 32 threads, clocks of up to 5.2 GHz, and an NPU rated at up to 55 TOPS within a platform total of 131 TOPS.

The single configuration pairs 192GB of unified memory with a 2TB SSD, sells for $7,399 on pre-order, and is expected to begin shipping in mid-October 2026.

Those processor figures match AMD's own specification page; however, they are also the least consequential change in the machine: what actually separates the P495 from the MS-S1 MAX that Minisforum launched a year ago is the memory.

Similar cores, much larger memory pool

AMD introduced the Ryzen AI Max PRO 400 series in May 2026 as a refresh of the Strix Halo silicon in the 300 series, and the CPU side barely improves in performance. The PRO 495 keeps the 16-core, 32-thread Zen 5 layout of the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 that powered the original MS-S1 MAX. Its boost clock rises by 100 MHz, from the 5.1 GHz listed on Minisforum's spec sheet for the earlier model to 5.2 GHz.

The Radeon 8065S graphics keep 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units and gain 100 MHz to reach 3.0 GHz, and the NPU goes from 50 to 55 TOPS, a 10% uplift that nudges the platform rating from 126 TOPS to 131 TOPS.

All of these upgrades are mild compared to where AMD does the real work: the memory controller. The 400 series supports up to 192GB of LPDDR5X across a 256-bit interface, with up to 160GB assignable to the GPU, against 128GB and 96GB on the last-generation chip it replaces. Rated memory speed also rises from 8,000 to 8,533 MT/s, a roughly 7% increase that will probably matter more here than the clock-speed bumps on display.

Minisforum's own test results show where the extra capacity pays off: the company says a single unit ran DeepSeek V4 Flash, a 284-billion-parameter model, at Q4 quantization at about 12 tokens per second. Two units linked together ran Qwen3.5-397B at roughly 16 tokens per second, and a four-system cluster loaded the 380GB Q4_0 build of DeepSeek-R1 671B, though it gives no speed for that last result.

These parameter counts are larger, however, than the actual work involved. Both models use a mixture-of-experts (MoE) design, which lets them load only specific "experts" into memory when needed. DeepSeek V4 Flash activates about 13 billion of its 284 billion parameters for each token, per Nvidia's catalog entry, and Qwen3.5-397B activates about 17 billion, per its model card.

Memory capacity decides whether a model fits at all, while active parameters and bandwidth decide how fast it runs, which is how a box with roughly 273 GB/s of bandwidth manages double-digit speeds on models this large. That is also why the 192GB of RAM in play matters far more than the modest performance upgrade the MS-S1 MAX-P495's APU offers.

The $7,399 price it currently goes for is presented as 20% off a list price of $9,249 that nobody has paid yet, with the unit going on sale even in the preorder stage. This makes the standard MS-S1 MAX with 128GB arguably a better value for all but the most ardent of local AI users who can justify twice the cost for a 50% increase in memory.

The rest of the machine (sans the APU and memory) is identical to the original MS-S1 MAX, including the 320W internal power supply, the six-heat-pipe, dual-blower cooler, dual 10GbE, two 80Gbps USB4 v2 ports, and 2U rack support.

What changes here is that a single compact box can now hold models that previously needed two, and for developers and small teams that need 200-to-300-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts models kept on premises for privacy or latency, that is a meaningful shift. For anyone drawn in by the 16 cores and 55 TOPS that Minisforum chooses to headline with, the cheaper MS-S1 MAX delivers nearly the same power for about half the price.

• Counterpoint Research reports a 20% decline in smartphone shipments compared to this time last year
• That puts this period at the lowest level in 14 years
• The RAM crisis is largely to blame, but consumers may also be holding on to their phones for other reasons

This year seemingly hasn’t been a vintage one for phone companies. According to Counterpoint Research, global shipments are 20% lower this quarter than in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, making this the lowest Q3 in 14 years.

You can probably guess the main reason for that, as the ongoing RAM crisis is both pushing up prices and leading to component shortages. That means disrupted shipments for phone manufacturers — causing some models to be in shorter supply — and higher prices for consumers, which can make the prospect of an upgrade less appealing or affordable.

Still, this 14-year low might not be purely down to the RAM crisis, as Counterpoint additionally claims that consumers are “holding on to their devices longer than expected.”

Now obviously, high prices could cause people to hold off on upgrading, but presumably the RAM crisis was factored into consumer behavior, so if people are holding onto their devices for longer than expected even with that factored in, then there might be something else at play too.

What could that be? The report doesn’t take a guess, but it might be that phones are simply less interesting or flawed than they once were. These days, even quite low-end phones are often highly capable, and run well for years — which wasn’t always the case.

At the high end, it’s increasingly hard for manufacturers to offer meaningful upgrades and differentiation when the best phones already have more power than most people need, along with superb screens and cameras.

Apple and Samsung are picking up market share

(Image credit: Counterpoint Research)

In any case, according to this report, Apple and Samsung seem the most resilient to these challenging times, with Samsung actually increasing its market share to 23%, despite a 3% decline in shipments compared to this period last year. That’s in large part apparently due to the success of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8.

Apple also grew its market share, rising to 22% despite also selling fewer phones than this time last year. It’s likely that the brand would have done even better had it shipped a base iPhone 18, rather than waiting until next year for that.

Other brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo meanwhile saw sharp declines in shipments and a drop in market share alongside that, allowing Apple and Samsung to increase their own market shares in turn.

But across the whole industry it seems fewer phones are being sold — and while things might improve once the RAM crisis is over, they might not completely return to ‘normal’ if there are other reasons for this change in customer behavior, too.

• Russia has updated the concept of barrage balloons to defend oil refineries
• Barrage balloons were first deployed over 100 years ago to defend against air raids
• It is not clear what the measures are defending against, as they only appear suitable for disabling smaller drones

Russia has deployed barrage balloons around its oil refineries to defend against Ukraine drone attacks – but the demonstration using a small drone has raised questions about the effectiveness of the measure.

Protecting oil refineries from drone strikes is key to Russia’s economic strength and supports its efforts in the invasion and occupation of Ukraine. But while the barrage balloons employ intriguing radar-based altitude-adjusting motors to ensure drones are slowed or caught, the deployment seems unsuited to the drones Ukraine would actually send for such a strike.

Sharing the information via Telegram, the Vesti news organization has reported on the deployment of the modern barrage balloons. But the report has a sense of propaganda, rather than portraying a competent military defense strategy.

Oil refinery targets

(Image credit: Telegram)

Russia’s defense of its oil refineries from Ukrainian drone strikes has so far relied on balloon-attached nets, which are designed to create a barrier. The problem with that solution is that drones can just fly over the net.

So, its latest solution is a series of cables, elevated by barrage balloons, and a system of motors that adjusts the height of the balloons and the cables. This is controlled by a system that uses radar information to detect the height of the incoming drone strike. So far so good – it seems like a sound deployment

But is it successful? To date, the strategy hasn’t been tested. Demonstrations, such as the one shared on Telegram, indicate that smaller unmanned aerial vehicles might run into trouble. However, the demo uses a smaller craft, and it isn’t unreasonable to foresee Ukraine mounting its drones’ wings with blades to cut through the cables...

V1s and UAVs

The original deployment of barrage balloons occurred towards the end of the First World War, when Britain and Germany both employed the countermeasure. Their targets were early aircraft engaging in bombing raids, and the use of balloons was successful enough to be repeated by Britain again in the 1940s to defend against V1 rockets.

Launched from Nazi Germany’s territory, the V1s were essentially single-use drones, rockets deployed with enough fuel to reach the target. But in the 1940s, the use of barrage balloons took out around 200 V1s as they descended onto their targets, but were ineffective against high altitude bombers.

The deployment of barrage balloons by Russia in an attempt to defend its oil refineries appears almost ingenious. But a few moments of analysis indicate the unsuitability of the countermeasure for drones and UAVs, leaving us to suspect that this could merely be some elaborate propaganda.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Tuesday, October 13 (game #1723).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1724) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1724) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 3.

Quordle today (game #1724) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1724) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1724) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• T

• G

• G

• E

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

Quordle today (game #1724) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1724, are…

• TIMID
• GROUP
• GRILL
• EVERY

With just two correct letters from my starter words I was fearing the worst, but a deeper look helped me move forward.

Knowing that the letters O and U like hanging out together, as do 'I' and D, was the major factor in helping me complete today’s game.

Daily Sequence today (game #1724) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1724, are…

• BOOZY
• PENCE
• PHASE
• SAFER

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1723, Tuesday, 13 October: FLUFF, DEBUT, TEETH, STEIN
• Quordle #1722, Monday, 12 October: HELLO, BELOW, RIGHT, SLANT
• Quordle #1721, Sunday, 11 October: LILAC, INLET, TRIAD, SHAPE
• Quordle #1720, Saturday, 10 October: SWEAT, THIRD, RURAL, CLASP
• Quordle #1719, Friday, 9 October: OLDEN, DUNCE, SWATH, HILLY
• Quordle #1718, Thursday, 8 October: MINTY, ROWER, BROOD, RESET
• Quordle #1717, Wednesday, 7 October: PALER, FROTH, DOZEN, ERASE
• Quordle #1716, Tuesday, 6 October: FRESH, SKULK, BATCH, ENSUE
• Quordle #1715, Monday, 5 October: SIXTH, SPEAK, SEDAN, HEIST
• Quordle #1714, Sunday, 4 October: INFER, RAINY, THING, ARENA
• Quordle #1713, Saturday, 3 October: CHORE, FLYER, STICK, PURSE
• Quordle #1712, Friday, 2 October: IVORY, SADLY, ANGEL, LLAMA
• Quordle #1711, Thursday, 1 October: NAVEL, SHEER, BIRTH, TACKY
• Quordle #1710, Wednesday, 30 September: CHOKE, BATCH, MOSSY, EAGER
• Quordle #1709, Tuesday, 29 September: BILGE, MEDAL, LODGE, PORCH
• Quordle #1708, Monday, 28 September: BRUNT, TORSO, STONE, HEATH
• Quordle #1707, Sunday, 27 September: VALET, CHEST, VIGIL, PUREE
• Quordle #1706, Saturday, 26 September: SNORT, BIBLE, LAPSE, CRANE
• Quordle #1705, Friday, 25 September: SWEAR, FLOOD, GUPPY, GROAN
• Quordle #1704, Thursday, 24 September: TOPIC, METRO, SCALP, FREED

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Tuesday, October 13 (game #1220).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1221) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• FEED
• THING
• SERVE
• SUGGESTION
• FIERY
• FLICKER
• FLASH
• FOMENT
• SMASH
• HULK
• TRACE
• FUMBLE
• SLICE
• WHIFF
• VOLLEY

NYT Connections today (game #1221) - hint #1 - group hints

What are some clues for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: A small reveal
• GREEN: As seen at Wimbledon
• BLUE: Comic book champion
• PURPLE: A giant’s saying at the start

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1221) - hint #2 - group answers

What are the answers for today's NYT Connections groups?

• YELLOW: HINT
• GREEN: TENNIS SHOTS
• BLUE: SUPERHEROES, WITH "THE"
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH "FEE, FI, FO, FUM"

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Connections today (game #1221) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1221, are…

• YELLOW: HINT: FLICKER, SUGGESTION, TRACE, WHIFF
• GREEN: TENNIS SHOTS: SERVE, SLICE, SMASH, VOLLEY
• BLUE: SUPERHEROES, WITH "THE": FLASH, HULK, PUNISHER, THING
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH "FEE, FI, FO, FUM": FEED, FIERY, FOMENT, FUMBLE

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

There is often a link between Strands and Connections and today I can’t help thinking that the purple group STARTING WITH "FEE, FI, FO, FUM" has some NYT thread with today’s folk and fairy tale theme in Strands.

For me, the expression, along with the next line “I smell the blood of an Englishman”, is a strong reminder of being a small child, when all adults seemed like giants, as it is what my uncle would bellow at the start of a hide-and-seek game.

Anyway, I digress as I completely missed it in favour of TENNIS SHOTS (I wanted to add PUNISHER in there as I’m sure there are some players who call their best shot that) and SUPERHEROES, WITH “THE”.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Tuesday, October 13, 2026, game #1220)

• YELLOW: DISCERNMENT: EYE, FLAIR, SENSE, TASTE
• GREEN: FASTEN: HITCH, LASH, TETHER, TIE
• BLUE: SPORTS CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZES: BELT, CUP, JACKET, RING
• PURPLE: LOOSE_____: CANNON, CHANGE, ENDS, LIPS

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Tuesday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Tuesday, October 13 (game #954).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #955) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Folk and fairy tale twosomes

NYT Strands today (game #955) - hint #2 - clue words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hints system.

• CANE
• TINT
• METER
• SHARE
• TROT
• STEM
• TROOP

NYT Strands today (game #955) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 13 letters

NYT Strands today (game #955) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 7th row

• Last side: bottom, 2nd column

Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands today (game #955) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #955, are…

• BEAUTY
• BEAST
• FROG
• PRINCESS
• TORTOISE
• HARE
• SPANGRAM: ONCEUPONATIME

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

Imagination was not required in order to understand today’s theme and I was able to make the leap and spot ONCEUPONATIME dividing the folk and fairytale twosomes.

My approach was to complete the game in pairs, but that was really just to make it a little bit more interesting.

As a slow-moving person, constantly being followed by busy people “tutting” at my heels, The Tortoise and the Hare is my favourite fairytale. I usually align myself with the TORTOISE, but this game made me feel like a speedy impatient HARE.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Tuesday, October 13, game #954)

• EMBARRASS
• APPALL
• NONPLUS
• CHAGRIN
• MORTIFY
• SPANGRAM: CRINGEWORTHY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

• Dell Pro Max 18 Plus leads current local AI rankings, yet Nvidia's launch could unsettle results
• RTX Spark offers 128 GB shared memory for larger locally run models
• Spark's 300 GB/s bandwidth trails Dell's graphics memory at 896 GB/s

The Dell Pro Max 18 Plus still holds the title of fastest AI laptop, topping local AI rankings ahead of every other machine tested.

Its RTX PRO 5000 chip reached 185.1 tokens/s on the Phi model, 140.5 tokens/s on Mistral, and 119.7 tokens/s on Llama 3.

However this lead faces a test on October 16 2026, when Nvidia's RTX Spark laptops go on sale from several manufacturers, with preorders already open.

RTX Spark arrival

Microsoft is expected to field the Surface Laptop Ultra from $2,599, while Dell is bringing the XPS 16 Creator Edition from $3,799.99.

Asus, HP, Lenovo and MSI are also launch partners, while Acer and Gigabyte are expected to add models later.

Nvidia rates RTX Spark at up to 1 petaflop of FP4 AI performance, with 6,144 CUDA cores and up to 128 GB of shared memory.

The 1 petaflop figure covers only FP4 calculations that exploit sparsity, an upper limit that everyday workloads may not reach.

The company also claims the chip can run large language models of about 120 billion parameters locally, with a context window of one million tokens.

That is slightly above the 109 billion parameters that the Dell Pro Max 18 Plus can reportedly handle locally.

This does not automatically mean that RTX Spark will outperform Dell's workstation in AI workloads, as model capacity alone does not determine inference speed.

The price Dell buyers paid for the lead

The Pro Max 18 Plus offers Core Ultra 5, 7, or 9 processors and RTX PRO 1000 to 5000 graphics, with prices starting at $3,488.

Dell's top configuration, equipped with an RTX PRO 5000, 128 GB of memory and two 1 TB drives, cost $9,245.52 when the laptop launched.

A similar configuration later appeared at roughly $14,000, while the laptop now sells for almost $18,600, double its launch price after 14 months.

The top model is built around the Intel Core Ultra 9 285HX processor with 24 cores, a 5.5 GHz boost clock and a 55 W rating.

Its RTX PRO 5000 graphics chip has 24 GB of GDDR7, a 175 W power ceiling and a graphics clock of 1,807 MHz.

Memory comes from a single 128 GB CAMM2 module running at 6,400 MT/s, while storage consists of two 1 TB Gen5 SSDs configured in RAID 0.

The 18-inch QHD+ display runs at 2560 × 1600 and 120 Hz, covers 100% of the DCI-P3 colour space and contributes to a minimum chassis weight of 7.17 lb.

Nvidia's case for displacing Dell rests partly on RTX Spark's shared memory, which can accommodate AI models exceeding Dell's 24 GB graphics capacity.

However, Spark's shared memory delivers about 300 GB/s of bandwidth, compared with 896 GB/s for Dell's RTX PRO 5000. Spark also has 6,144 CUDA cores, fewer than Dell's 10,496

To overtake Dell, an RTX Spark laptop must beat its token-generation rates for Phi, Mistral and Llama 3 under the same UL Procyon tests.

Matching those results while consuming 45 W to 80 W of chip power could also improve battery endurance beyond Dell's recorded three hours and 39 minutes.

Via StorageReview

The AI-made apps highlight people’s frustration with AI-bloated programs and increasingly expensive subscriptions.

• Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 winners announced
• Federico Veronesi takes top prize with elephant carrying a dead calf photo
• Winning photographs showcased at the Natural History Museum, London, from 16 October 2026

The winners of the 62nd Wildlife Photographer of the Year have been announced, and once again the selection gives us a fascinating insight into our planet's animal behaviour and evolving habitats.

A total of 19 young and adult category winners covered specific species and habitats, and the overall top prize has gone to the Behaviour: Mammals category winner Federic Veronesi, with his "heartbreakingly poignant" photo of an elephant carrying a dead calf, witnessed in Namibia, Africa, through a Nikon Z8 and 400mm f/2.8 lens.

Having personally witnessed a recently deceased elephant calf years back in Kenya's Masai Mara National Park, I can resonate with what Chair of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Jury, Kathy Moran, said about the photo:

“Emotionally it’s a gut punch, heartbreakingly poignant. Intellectually it’s proof that animals have cognition. This photograph says it all!”

The contest further unpacks the image: "Behaviours centring on death have been observed in both Asian and African elephants, including vocalisations, guarding the dead, inspecting and handling bones, and carrying the deceased. Some researchers suggest these behaviours could indicate an elephant’s journey to understanding death, while others interpret these actions as possible displays of grief."

Witnessing such a moment in the flesh is something I'll never forget — the grief clearly weighed heavy on the motionless elephant herd, guarding the deceased, trunks drooped on the ground, and Federico's image of a female elephant emerging with a calf, its leg wedged between her tusk and trunk, brings that moment back for me.

The Aftermath by Federico Veronesi, Italy. Category Winner — Behaviour: Mammals. Location: Huab River Valley, Damaraland, Namibia. Technical details: Nikon Z8 + 400mm f2.8 lens; 1/1000 at f2.8; ISO 72 (Image credit: Federico Veronesi (Italy) / Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

I've included a selection of some of the winning images below, which will be on display along with the other winners in an exhibition at the Natural History Museum, London, from 16 October 2026 until July 11 2027. Tickets can be purchased on the Natural History Museum site with prices starting at £8.50 (child) / £13.60 (concession) / £17 (adult).

I particularly appreciate the Natural Artistry category winner, for which photographer Michał Michalski intentionally used a slow shutter speed to capture goldfinches and bramblings taking to the sky, creating the illusion of trees still swathed in autumn foliage — really clever, and visually striking.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year is developed and produced by the Natural History Museum, London. This year's 'Wildlife Photographer of the Year Portfolio 36' book will be published on October 14 and costs £28.

WPOTY 2026 category winnersWarning Sign by Francisco Negroni, ChileWinner, Photojournalism. Location: Route 40, Santa Cruz Province, ArgentinaTechnical details: Canon EOS R5 + 70–200mm f2.8 lens; 1/640 at f3.2; ISO 100Francisco Negroni (Chile) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearShedding Light by Agorastos Papatsanis, GreeceWinner, Plants and Fungi. Location: Litochoro, Pieria, Greece. Technical details: Nikon D810 + Laowa 15mm f4 lens; 8.0 sec at f20; ISO 400; UV light; focus stack of 6 imagesAgorastos Papatsanis (Greece) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearEscape Artistry by Michał Michalski, PolandWinner, Natural Artistry. Location: Miłochowice, Lower Silesian Township, PolandTechnical details: Nikon D500 + 500mm f5.6 lens; 1/30 at f8; ISO 250Michał Michalski (Poland) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearShifting Sand by Sitaram Raul, IndiaWinner, Behaviour: Invertebrates. Location: Thar Desert, Rajasthan, IndiaTechnical details: Nikon D750 + 105mm macro lens; 1/250 at f14; ISO 125; Godox flashSitaram Raul (India) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearA Watchful Eye by Aaron Sanders, UKWinner, Animal Portraits. Location: Porthkerris Beach, Cornwall, England, UK. Technical details: Nikon Z8 + 24–50mm f4–6.3 lens + Nauticam WWL-C wet lens; 1/40 at f7.1; ISO 125; Inon Z-240 and Z-330 underwater strobesAaron Sanders (UK) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearWily Coyotes of San Francisco by Loren Elliott, USAWinner, Photojournalist Story Award. Technical details: Sony α9 II + 20mm f1.8 lens; 1/800 at f5.6; ISO 250; 2x Pocket Wizard Plus IIIe radio triggersLoren Elliott (USA) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearThe Great Divide by Alex Visbal, ColombiaWinner, Wetlands: The Bigger Picture. Location: Stansbury Bay, Great Salt Lake, Utah, USATechnical details: Canon EOS R5 Mark II + 70–200mm f2.8 lens; 1/640 at f3.2 (-0.67 e/v); ISO 1250Alex Visbal (Colombia) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearBirdsong Painted in Light by Konrad Gräeter, Germany. Winner, 15-17 Years. Location: Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Technical details: Fujifilm X-H2S + 150–600mm f5.6–8 lens; 1/800 at f8; ISO 400Konrad Gräeter (Germany) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearThe Meeting Place by James Lewin, UKWinner, Animals in their Environment. Location: ol Donyo Lodge, Chyulu Hills National Park, Makueni County, Kenya. Technical details: Nikon Z 7II + 28–75mm f2.8 lens; 1/800 at f7.1 (+1 e/v); ISO 800; camera converted to infraredJames Lewin (UK) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearNight-Time Catch by Alex Lindbloom, USAWinner, Oceans: The Bigger Picture. Location: Off Cenderawasih Bay, Papua, IndonesiaTechnical details: DJI Air 3 + 24mm f1.7 lens; 1/60 at f1.7; ISO 3200Alex Lindbloom (USA) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearLabour of Love by Oscar Whitfield, Zimbabwe/UK. Winner, 11-14 Years. Location: Zambezi National Park, Hwange District, Zimbabwe. Technical details: Canon EOS R6 Mark II + Sigma 150–600mm f5–6.3 lens; 1/1250 at f6.3; ISO 3200Oscar Whitfield (Zimbabwe/UK) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearProtective Pose by Anton Sorokin, USAWinner, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles. Location: Contra Costa County, California, USATechnical details: Nikon D850 + 8–15mm fisheye lens; 1/100 at f18; ISO 400; Nauticam housing; Seacam 60D strobesAnton Sorokin (USA) / Wildlife Photographer of the YearHidden Depths by Alexis Tinker-Tsavalas, GermanyWinner, Rising Star Award. Technical details: Fujifilm X-H2 + Laowa 65mm f2.8 macro lens; 1/200 at f5.6; ISO 200; Godox V860III flash + Cygnustech diffuser; focus stack of 24 imagesAlexis Tinker-Tsavalas (Germany) / Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Sifu, Vampire Crawler and Dome Keeper also hit the App Store.

• VisionQuest's creator briefly floated the idea of a Tony Stark cameo in the Marvel TV show
• The series has numerous ties to Robert Downey Jr's iconic MCU character
• Terry Matalas knew it was a non-starter, so it never moved forward

VisionQuest's showrunner has admitted he'd have liked to have included a Tony Stark cameo — but was well aware that he was "not going to get" Robert Downey Jr to appear in the Marvel TV show.

Chatting to me at the Disney+ series' UK junket, Terry Matalas name-dropped Stark as a character he would have included if time and money were no object. But, as Matalas also noted, though it would've been "wonderful" to surprise audiences with a shock appearance from Downey Jr, the chances of him actually agreeing to pop up in the Wanda/Vision TV trilogy capper were effectively zero.

Asked whether Marvel placed any limitations on the story he wanted to tell and/or established characters he wanted to utilize, Matalas replied: "No. I mean, it usually comes down to budget. If we had more time and money, you could include anything, maybe even a flashback to Tony Stark dealing with the source code [that he uses to make his artificial intelligence (AI) programs]."

Surprisingly, Tony Stark and Vision only share a few scenes in the MCU (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

It's not an outlandish suggestion for Matalas to make. After all, Stark helped to create Vision and Ultron, aka the deuteragonists of VisionQuest, way back in 2014's Avengers: Age of Ultron. Furthermore, he made myriad AIs to help him with various tasks in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) before — spoiler — his heroic sacrifice in Avengers: Endgame.

With Vision, Ultron, and the other artificial beings built by Stark appearing in VisionQuest, it's not unreasonable to assume that a Downey Jr cameo was bandied about in the writers room. Add in the story that the Marvel Phase 6 project tells (don't worry, I won't spoil anything here), and a Stark appearance makes even more sense from a narrative standpoint.

Nonetheless, Matalas knew it would be nigh-on impossible to involve Downey Jr in any capacity, so that idea was consigned to the scrap heap as quickly as it took form.

Responding to my follow-up about whether he broached the subject of a Downey Jr cameo with Marvel executives, Matalas said: "We're not going to get Downey Jr into a Marvel show.

"It would've been wonderful," he added. "But, we're just a TV series, so you can't really have all of the... I mean, there are limitations, right? You have grand ideas but, throughout the development process, you have to say 'well, we can't do that, so how do we distill down that idea into something that could work?'. Hopefully, we got there, but we'll see [how viewers react to our story]."

For more ahead of its launch, read my VisionQuest review to see what I made of all eight episodes (again, no major spoilers housed within!). Then, find out when each chapter will air by checking out my VisionQuest release schedule guide.

The console release is still slated for next month, and a PC port might be coming sooner than anyone previously thought.