Technology

Meta may dominate the smart glasses zeitgeist, but it's far from the only player — my favorite brand in the space is actually Xreal, with its range of impressive but pricey wearable-display specs. And with the launch of its new xbx brand, Xreal's lineup now includes more budget-friendly options too.

If money were no object, Xreal’s One Pro glasses are easily the crème de la crème of smart specs. Their Bose-tuned audio is impressive for such a small package, their electrochromic dimming tech is perfect for swapping between clear vision and shaded for optimal viewing conditions, and their unique optic engine displays their image more vividly than the competition, with fewer visible distortions.

The only issue is their price — $649 / £579 (they aren't available directly in Australia), absent any discounts, although they can be found on sale occasionally.

If you’re on a budget, my preferred pick has instead been RayNeo. Its Air 4 Pro specs debuted earlier this year, and not only are they affordable at just $299 / £289, they still come with solid specs, including HDR10 support.

With its new xbx a01+, however, Xreal might have just claimed the budget crown for itself.

The RayNeo Air 4 Pro glasses (Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Budget brilliance

Now the elephant in the room is that Xreal's specs cost a bit more. At their current $299 / £269 discounted price at Xreal.com they're on par with or cheaper than RayNeo's glasses; however their official price is $359 / £349, and while they aren’t discounted at the moment, we’ve regularly seen the RayNeo Air 4 Pros selling for $249 / £249 (RayNeo also doesn't seem to sell directly to Australia) or cheaper.

At the same time, the Xreal xbx a01+ glasses boast a handful of improvements which warrant a slightly higher price.

For a start, their brightness tops out at 1,600 nits, while the RayNeo Air 4 Pro can only hit 1,200 nits. This extra brightness should allow you to get more out of the HDR10 support, offering more room for the light vs dark contrast and vivid colors to breathe across the video format’s visual range. Highs can look more high, helping lows look lower by comparison.

(Image credit: Future / Hamish Hector)

Aiding the image quality are the swappable lens covers.

While advertised as giving you the ability to choose which color of sunglasses cover you most want to complement your style, the xbx's box also includes a completely opaque black cover you can use with your specs. Because the specs are essentially virtual projectors, a darker environment ensures the highest-quality viewing conditions, though I found the regular sunglasses were fine even in bright sunlight.

The xbx glasses are lighter too, weighing just 62g compared to the RayNeo Air 4 Pro's 76g. Admittedly I haven't found them majorly more comfortable, but as I kicked back with them in a sun lounger while on vacation for hours on end I was relaxed enough to doze off on several occasions.

The only tradeoff is, I'd say, the audio, which doesn't seem to involve Bose tuning this time, and isn't quite as impactful as the Air 4 Pro's. That said, I'll almost always use earbuds or headphones with my display glasses, because they’re better in terms of quality and minimize sound leakage, so this downgrade didn't bother me.

(Image credit: Future / Hamish Hector)Who wins? You decide

You'll also have to contend with Xreal's standard optic engine too. This is the prism that reflects the micro-OLED display into your eyes, and the standard design is susceptible to external reflections — most commonly light bouncing off the top of the specs and into your view. Pictures will also be a little smaller thanks to a reduced field of view, and can be a little blurrier at the frame edges.

Only Xreal's One Pros boast the improved design, but having experienced it, it's tough to go back to the standard optic engine.

To be fair, though, that’s mostly a me problem, and if you’re new to the display glasses world the Xreal xbx a01+ and RayNeo Air 4 Pros should be perfectly adequate performance-wise.

(Image credit: Future)

As for which of the budget specs you should go for — whichever is cheaper would be my suggestion.

The technical improvements of the xbx specs are solid, but if you can save $40/£40 or more on the RayNeos, their few deficiencies can be overlooked.

That said, if stylish, colorful designs are a must, alongside a marginally better image quality, then you'll be very pleased with the new Xreal xbx a01+ glasses.

I love reading — or at least that’s what I tell myself. In reality, I’ve always had a very on-and-off relationship with it, going from devouring books in days to barely opening one for weeks or months on end.

But one constant I’ve realized is that I don’t tend to prioritize reading — if there’s a show I’m binging, a new game I can’t stop thinking about, or simply lots of social engagements to attend, books will generally get put aside until I have more time on my hands.

But then something occurred to me — while I don’t always have long stretches of time that I’m happy to devote to reading, my days are full of short periods that aren’t being filled, like while I’m waiting in line or at a train station, or simply waiting for the kettle to boil. And then there are times when I’m on a train or in a cafe and might want to read, but don’t have a book with me as I travel light.

With all that in mind, back in late January, I bought the ViWoods AiPaper Reader — a pocket-sized Android ereader that’s small enough to carry with me everywhere alongside my phone — in the hopes that it would get me reading during periods that might otherwise be dedicated to podcasts or simply spent sitting or standing in slightly bored silence.

At the same time, I also had some hope that, since this ereader has full access to the Google Play Store, it might help cure my smartphone addiction — as doomscrolling was likely to be less desirable on an E Ink screen.

A tiny device that was a big reading success

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Before buying the ViWoods AiPaper Reader, I hadn’t read much in a while — I had dozens of unread books on my Kindle Colorsoft and big stacks of physical books silently judging me. I might start one, but it wouldn’t stick — life would get in the way, or it wouldn’t immediately grab me enough to reach for it again.

But the ViWoods AiPaper Reader changed that. I loaded up the Kindle app on it and got in the habit of keeping it in my pocket, alongside my phone. Then, almost any time I would previously have switched on a podcast — such as when on a train or in small empty moments of my day — I’d reach for this instead.

It didn’t matter whether I had two minutes or two hours; I’d aim to read something, and because the AiPaper Reader was always in my pocket, there was no excuse not to. I didn’t even have to go to my shelves to grab a book.

It allowed me to build a consistent reading habit and make progress with books even on days when I didn’t have much time, or wasn’t massively in the mood to read. After all, reading a couple of pages while boiling the kettle is still better than nothing, and it all adds up. And best of all, because this device got me back into reading, I’m now more inclined to read my paperbacks than I have been for some time.

Was it all smooth sailing? No, there have been some days and even a few weeks where I would stop carrying the ViWoods AiPaper Reader with me. But so far, I’ve always found it easier to go back to than a larger ereader or a physical book.

An imperfect light and unnecessary AI

(Image credit: TechRadar)

This isn’t the perfect pocket-sized ereader. It has a front light but not a warm light, which can make reading at night a bit less comfortable than on some of the best ereaders — especially as the brightness is adjustable, the minimum level is still quite bright.

There’s also the AI-shaped elephant in the room, which even if you know nothing about this device, you’ve probably been wondering about from its name.

Like so much recent tech, the ViWoods AiPaper Reader is trying to cash in on the AI craze; there's a dedicated AI button that you can press to speak to an AI chatbot, with models from OpenAI, Google, DeepSeek, and Qwen all built in.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

These platforms can be used either as general-purpose AI chatbots or in combination with ViWoods' own apps to, for example, look up definitions of words in the books you’re reading. But personally, I’m tending to just use the Kindle app for reading, which can’t directly communicate with the AI.

Plus, using the ViWoods' AI functionality requires a Wi-Fi connection, which drains the battery faster than I want from an ereader, and it’s slower to interact with than just pulling up Gemini on my phone.

Beyond AI, some of the other software available on the ViWoods isn’t perfect, either, as while it runs a fairly recent version of Android in Android 16, there’s no promise of any version updates, and ViWoods’ own interface leaves a little to be desired. For example, there's little explanation of how some features work, and many important settings are hidden away in an ‘advanced settings’ submenu. There’s also an 11-step process to actually authorize and activate the Google Play Store on this device, despite it running Android.

Those gripes aside, I’ve generally been impressed by the ViWoods AiPaper Reader. Its 6.13-inch Carta 1300 screen is big and crisp enough to comfortably read on, its battery lasts me anywhere from a few days to a few weeks depending on how much I’m using it, and it looks like a genuinely premium device, with a slim, sleek design that’s almost up to the standards you’d expect from a premium brand like Apple.

This didn’t cure my addiction

(Image credit: TechRadar)

While the ViWoods AiPaper Reader got me reading again, it was less successful at breaking my doomscrolling habit — though not a complete failure.

I figured that, since it runs Android apps, I could keep my phone in another room when I’m at home, and use the ereader for most things, with its monochrome E Ink screen sure to leave me reaching for it less.

And it somewhat worked for that — when I was disciplined about actually keeping my phone out of reach. But after a while, I got out of the habit, and even when I did keep my phone elsewhere, I’d sometimes encounter things I genuinely wanted it for, like penning a long message. So this wasn’t the perfect solution for me.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

I’d perhaps have more luck if I fully replaced my phone with a device like this — and the ViWoods AiPaper Reader does have a SIM card slot, so it can fulfil most smartphone functions. But it lacks speakers and cameras, so you’d be making some unfortunate sacrifices.

Were I serious about that idea, I might invest in something like the Mudita Kompakt instead, as that’s designed specifically as a minimalist E Ink phone. So, if you’re looking primarily for something to break your smartphone habit, I’d suggest a device like that instead (or, perhaps, the similarly distraction-free Balance Phone).

Still, as a secondary function on a device I’m mostly using for books, the ViWoods AiPaper Reader has not been a total failure.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some reading to do.

• Cyberattack hits operational technology at more than 30 Minnesota community water systems, briefly taking treatment plant offline and forcing several towns onto manual operations
• A leaked WaterISAC memo obtained by WIRED relays a state fusion center assessment tying the intrusions to Iranian-affiliated hackers, but no US agency has formally attributed the attack yet
• The CISA had warned four days earlier that Iranian-affiliated actors were compromising internet-facing PLCs, repeating guidance that has mostly fallen on deaf ears

More than 30 community water systems across Minnesota were hit by a coordinated cyberattack, targeting the operational technology running pumps, wells, water towers, and wastewater lift stations rather than the office networks behind them.

Minnesota IT Services disclosed the attack on July 28 2026 and activated a statewide incident response, stating that it wasn't aware of any Minnesota city asking residents to change their drinking water use just yet.

A memo obtained by Wired, circulated by the water sector information-sharing group WaterISAC and carrying a restricted TLP: AMBER handling marking, relays a Minnesota state fusion center assessment that ties the intrusions to Iranian-affiliated hackers.

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A warning that was more or less ignored

Four days before the attacks, CISA updated an advisory, AA26-097A, warning that Iranian-affiliated actors were compromising internet-facing programmable logic controllers made by Rockwell Automation, Schneider Electric, Siemens, and possibly others across the US water, energy, and government sectors. It documented confirmed disruptions and financial losses.

This drew no immediate response from state functionaries, and it is easy to see why: the US has tens of thousands of community water systems that serve small populations and lack budgets for dedicated cybersecurity staff.

This is despite there being a precedent: Iranian-linked actors hit the Municipal Water Authority of Aliquippa in Pennsylvania in November 2023, defacing a Unitronics controller with an anti-Israel message. CISA said at the time those devices were exposed to the internet with default passwords still in place. The advice issued then is the same advice being issued this week, which is telling about how little has changed since.

The WaterISAC memo, dated the day the attacks concluded, passes on a state fusion center report linking the activity to Iranian-affiliated actors. That memo was not meant to be public, but it has been corroborated by The New York Times and The Washington Post, which reported that they spoke to federal officials and US intelligence agencies, respectively, lending credence to the claims.

CISA later warned that attackers are changing PLC passwords to lock operators out of their own equipment, and repeated the advice that has been unchanged for years: get PLCs off the public internet and put remote access behind a VPN or gateway.

Who was affected?

The worst of the cyberattack hit Braham, a town of roughly 1,700 people, where the city said attackers shut down the operating controls, taking the water treatment plant and the well offline. Crews restored it manually within a couple of hours, and residents were told to minimize water use in the meantime.

Plymouth, a Minneapolis suburb of about 80,000, found the problem confined to equipment connected over cellular links at two water towers and several wastewater lift stations. Its IT division disconnected the affected kit from the network entirely to stop the attack and prevent retargeting during reconfiguration.

Maple Plain declared a local state of emergency to manage its response, and South St. Paul reported that some automated controls were compromised. In most cases, contingency procedures held and water and wastewater operations continued.

None of this is happening in a vacuum, however. The June memorandum that paused fighting between the US and Iran has broken down, and both are trading strikes, including recent US attacks near the Strait of Hormuz that destroyed a water facility and cut supply to more than 20,000 people. Whoever carried out the Minnesota attacks, the symbolism of targeting municipal water is unlikely to be accidental.

The damage that these intrusions caused was limited; they produced brief outages that trained staff fixed by hand. That is an outcome with a silver lining, and it depended on utilities having people who knew how to run a treatment plant without its automation, even if its digital defenses collapsed outright.

Fun fact: whenever I have days that I work remotely, I'll always have an episode of Bob's Burgers on in the background. In fact, I watch all 16 seasons of the hit Hulu and Disney+ animated comedy so often, that I could tell you exactly what episode was on without directly looking at it.

I felt incredibly prepared for the handful of Bob's Burgers quizzes already on the internet claiming to be the hardest, but nobody has yet been able to truly test the reams of random knowledge I've acquired from watching the series so often.

Should I be able to tell recite the lyrics to the song that plays over Tina and Tammy's first time collectively ditching class in season 2? Probably not.

So, behold — the genuinely most difficult Bob's Burgers quiz that I have played to date (because I made it). If you get more than 80%, I'll assume that you're actually a Wharf resident who's somehow found their way into the real world.

I have left out anything that happens in The Bob's Burgers Movie, but you'll need to have seen seasons 1-16 in order to answer all of the questions.

Check back when Bob's Burgers season 17 (hopefully) airs in early 2027... you know that the above will be updated accordingly.

Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine: two-minute review

The Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine is a compact version of the Ninja Luxe Café. It doesn't require an enormous amount of counter space, especially considering that this single machine grinds your whole beans directly into your filter, weighs your grinds, brews your espresso or drip coffee, and froths your milk. You won't need any other coffee accoutrements on your counter.

While I did brew some absolutely delicious coffee with the Ninja Luxe Café Mini, there is definitely a learning curve. In fact, I wouldn't say I have mastered the espresso settings yet, even after brewing many cups. Even with the identical espresso settings, sometimes I get just an ounce or so and sometimes I get a lot more. Drip coffee comes out consistently well; no issues there. I also had some trouble frothing the milk; with just a minimum amount of milk in the jug it overflowed onto the counter.

Note that even though this is a semi-auto machine, you do need to have some manual strength and dexterity to get the portafilter properly into place. Be ready for some trial and error. If you're prepared to take on a project, I think you'll be well-rewarded for your efforts.

(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine: price and availability

• Widely available both in store and online
• Retails for $449.99 USD (£338.50 GBP, $643.73 AUD)
• Only sold in the black and chrome colorway

You can find the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine at many brick and mortar stores and websites, including Amazon, Best Buy, Kohl's, Target, and Ninja's own site. It retails for $449.99 USD (£338.50 GBP, $643.73 AUD) and comes in just the one color, black and chrome.

(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine: specs

Name

Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine

Type

Semi-automatic

Dimensions (L x W x H)

10.24 in L x 12.17 in W x 13.43 in H / 26.01 cm L x 30.91 cm W x 34.11 cm H

Weight

18.96 lbs / 8.6 kg

Brew styles

Espresso (double), Triple (espresso), Classic (coffee), Rich (coffee), and Over Ice (coffee)

Milk frother

Yes

Connected device

No

Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine: design

• Efficient design gives it a smaller footprint
• Aesthetically pleasing, goes with any decor
• Five brew styles

The Ninja Luxe Café Mini is efficiently designed to house everything you need to make just about any sort of coffee drink in a relatively small package. When you first unpack it, you will need to determine your water hardness with the enclosed test strip and set your machine accordingly. Run a flush cycle and then you're ready to start brewing.

The machine has a conical burr grinder, a brewing system that makes both espresso and coffee, and a steam wand. It comes with two filter baskets:, a smaller 'double' and a larger 'luxe' basket (unlike most espresso machines, there's no basket for pouring a single shot).

Place the basket into the portafilter, the funnel on top of that, and then slide it into the grinding cradle. Choose your brew style. The machine evaluates your beans and determines a recommended grind size. Turn the grind dial to meet the recommended number and hit the grind button.

(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

Once your ground coffee is the basket, remove the portafilter and tamp down the grinds with the assisted tamper. It has a spring inside so you'll apply just the right amount of pressure.

(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

Then you can remove the funnel, place the portafilter under the Ninja Luxe Café Mini's group head and turn it until it locks into place. This takes some manual strength and dexterity, and the machine's relatively light weight means you have to brace it in place so it doesn't slide around, though it does get easier with repeated use.

You can manually select your level of strength (represented by one, two, or three beans) and temperature or just use the default. When you're done brewing, dispose of the puck of used coffee grounds, and clean the dirty components.

(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

There is also a milk jug and steam wand. To use it, turn the manual valve on the side from brewing mode to frothing mode. The owner's manual includes detailed instructions of how to get the most froth from your milk of choice.

(Image credit: Karen Freeman / Future)

You'll need to clean the tamper, funnel, basket, portafilter, steam wand and jug after each use. You'll also need to empty and clean out the drip tray every few brews, and every time you froth milk. Additionally, you'll need to descale the machine periodically. However, there is no obvious way to get in and clean the grinder. That part never gets wet, but coffee oils will build up there over time.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine: performance

• There is definitely a learning curve
• You need manual strength and dexterity
• Brew amounts are not consistent

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(Image credit: Future)

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Overall, I think you'll find that the Ninja Luxe Café Mini will make you some great coffee and espresso drinks. There's definitely a learning curve, but if you have the patience you'll figure it out. Of bigger concern was that sometimes the brewing seemed to just stop short of a full yield, and I'm not sure why. The same beans brewed at the same setting just didn't always yield the same size espresso. This only happened to me while brewing espresso; all three of the drip coffee settings yielded perfect results every time.

There are five different brew settings: Espresso (which is actually a double espresso), Triple (espresso), Classic (drip coffee), Rich (a richer drip coffee), and Over Ice (drip coffee brewed at a lower temperature). I tested all five of them multiple times.

Espresso

The smallest drink you can make is a double espresso, there is no single espresso setting on this machine. The owner's manual says to throw away the first espresso you brew each time you put new beans into the hopper because it takes a couple of brews for the machine to dial in correctly. I tasted it anyway and yes, you should toss it. After that first one, the espresso tasted good though sometimes it would randomly give me a shorter brew. I did notice that I consistently got a beautiful crema.

Karen Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureTriple espresso

The experience of brewing the triple espresso is just like brewing the regular (double) one, only you use the Luxe basket instead of the smaller one. Again, the machine would sometimes give me a tiny brew. Pictured below is one of the smaller triples; other times it was much larger. Otherwise, the espresso was good and always had a lovely crema.

Karen Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureClassic

The Classic drip coffee setting yielded consistently good results. In addition to adjusting the grind size, brew temperature, and strength if you like, you can also choose to brew 6, 8, 10, or 12 ounces of coffee. The user experience of brewing the drip coffee is the same as brewing espresso, except that you skip the tamping step. The machine does something totally different on the inside. You get no crema. And when you go to throw the puck away, it's very wet, as opposed to the drier, crumbly puck you get with espresso.

Karen Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureRich

The rich drip coffee setting works just like the classic, only it yields a richer brew. I find I prefer the classic, as I found it a bit smoother and less bitter, but your tastes may differ.

Karen Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureOver ice

The drip coffee over ice setting might have been my favorite. I found it very smooth and it didn't taste too diluted from the ice.

Karen Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureSteam wand

I found that it took some practice to get the milk frothing just right. I tried just leaving the jug in place and frothing it from there, and it works ok but doesn't produce much foam. I tried following the instructions about angle and movement in the owner's manual, and got too much foam.

The wand will purge itself right after frothing, and you'll want to wipe off the milk from the outside of the wand right away. Otherwise it sticks on there pretty good, requiring a bit of scrubbing to get it off.

Karen Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / FutureKaren Freeman / Future

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Should you buy the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine?Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine score card

Attribute

Notes

Score

Value

While not cheap, it does replace five machines: conical burr grinder, coffee scale, espresso machine, coffee machine, and milk frother.

4/5

Design

It looks great on the counter and has a relatively small footprint for all it does.

4.5/5

Performance

There's definitely a learning curve and my results were not consistent, but the coffee drinks especially were quite tasty and the espresso crema was perfect every time.

3.5/5

Buy it if

You want to be the barista

You'll need to put the effort in, but you can be the barista at home with this machine. You control the settings and the results, with help from the machine's sensors.

You want all the coffee accoutrements in one smallish machine

Forget having a separate grinder, scale, brewer, and frother spread out over your countertop. Just one little machine does it all.

You can't decide between espresso and drip coffee

Now you don't even need two different machines for espresso and drip coffee. The Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine does both, plus iced coffee and milk drinks too.

Don't buy it if

It's not in your budget

While you'll likely make fewer trips to the coffee shop, and you don't have to buy five separate machines, it's still not cheap.

You don't have great manual dexterity and/or strength

It takes some coordination and muscle to get the portafilter correctly installed in the group head for brewing.

You expect perfectly consistent results with the touch of a button

This machine isn't a fully automatic touch-of-a-button machine. It's not always consistent and there is a learning curve.View Deal

Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine: also consider

De'Longhi La Specialista Touch

This one is a little bit more automated and beginner-friendly than the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine while still being pretty small and lightweight. It's also a bit more expensive.

Read our De'Longhi La Specialista Touch review

Ninja AutoBarista Pro Fully Automatic Espresso Machine

While almost double the price of the Ninja Luxe Café Mini, it's worthwhile if you want a one-touch, super easy-to-use machine. It makes about a dozen different beverages including coffee, espresso, iced drinks, and milk drinks.

Read my Ninja AutoBarista Pro Fully Automatic Espresso Machine reviewView Deal

Terra Kaffe TK-02

This fully automatic coffee and espresso machine does it all with a touch of a button or even a voice command to Alexa. Custom design your own beverages. It's the priciest of the bunch, but an amazing machine.

Check out my Terra Kaffe TK-02 review.View Deal

How I tested the Ninja Luxe Café Mini Espresso Machine

I brewed and drank every drink on the menu: (double) Espresso, Triple (espresso), Classic (coffee), Rich (coffee), and (coffee) Over Ice more than once. I used two different kinds of beans for each beverage, first going all the way through the menu with a dark french roast and then again with a medium-dark roast. I frothed two different kinds of milk (almond and skim dairy) several times and added the milk to espresso shots. I cleaned all of the parts that touch the coffee after each use.

First reviewed July 2026

Torn ear tips. Snapped charging case. Dented drivers. Like every other kind of gadget imaginable, the best headphones aren't built to last, and I'd wager that everyone reading this article has some skeletons (of old, ailing gadgets) in their (metaphorical) closet.

In fact, according to a European Union report, in 2024, 51% people kept their old smartphones even though they were no longer using them, and 34% were still holding onto their outdated laptops and tablets. We just don't know what to do with our old kit.

So, do you throw away your broken over-ear headphones and buy a new pair? Do you hunt down your nearest electronics recycling bank, or donate them to an organization which could use the parts? In recent years, the second-hand tech industry has boomed, with refurbishing and reselling sites such as Back Market and Refurbed ensuring that used gadgets get a second lease of life.

But too often, that first lease of life is all-too-easily abandoned. The tech you might be recycling — or consigning straight to landfill — might actually be easily repairable.

Per the BBC, a survey suggested that 7,000,000 wireless headphones (yes, seven-million) were thrown away in 2022, in the UK alone. And as we'll explore later, the majority of those may not have needed throwing away.

There's a simple truth. Gadget sellers are often loathe to admit it, worrying that repairing your own gadgets may affect their bottom line. And as we'll also soon learn, many companies seem to make repairs really quite difficult.

The thing is, your faulty gadget may be only a quick fix from working like new. From complicated pieces of kit such as AV machines and computers, to white-label toasters and kettles, electronics can often be repaired at home, for a fraction of the cost of buying new... within reason.

The long road to repairable tech

(Image credit: Pixabay)

Tech repairability isn't a new concept, but it's a rather new debate. Or, at least, it's one that's only recently been at the forefront of the news cycle, under the somewhat beige name 'right to repair'.

For two years now, repairability has been of growing importance to politicians as well as makers. In July 2024, the EU entered into force its 'Directive on repair of goods', and since Europe is a major market for tech companies, changes made for the region have been reflected in tech sold globally.

Designed to go hand-in-hand with several other EU policies on eco-friendly design, the repair directive is designed to make your gadgets easier to fix.

For example, electronics makers are now obliged to repair faulty kit, or make spare parts accessible for a reasonable price, so that third parties can do the repairs for you.

There are several knock-on effects to this and follow-up motions, the most reported being that phone makers will have to fit readily-removable batteries, and manufacturers will have to provide tools so you can make repairs yourself. These rules are changing how companies make their products.

However, there are several exceptions: gadgets designed for wet use, including wearables and headphones won't need to change. And, more importantly, any gadget sold before the European Union's legislation went into effect will of course miss out on these repairability boons.

Some companies may look for loopholes — but not Fairphone

(Image credit: Future)

Before repairability was codified in legislation, it was still a focus for certain brands. One of those was Fairphone, a Dutch brand which began life as a campaign about conflict minerals in tech, and now makes phones and headphones. Miquel Ballester, its Head of Product, explained to us why it made the jump into physical devices:

"You can put the most ethically sourced materials in the world into a device, but if it dies in a year and a half because a battery's glued in, you've undone most of the good you just did".

He continued: "In the case of smartphones, earbuds, and headphones, repairability was what made the rest of the mission focus on bringing action into the industry. We've been fighting this fight for over a decade, long before 'right to repair' was something people brought up at dinner."

Fairphone devices are modular, meaning you can easily remove and replace the screen, camera, batteries, or other parts, all without having to extricate them from a tightly-packed device. The brand sells replacement parts online, so you can repair faulty components at home.

According to Ballester, Fairphone found that making its phones repairable didn't mean it had to change the performance and style of its products, but there was an impact on the price: "Designing for modularity means you're working with connectors, seams, and screws instead of glue and epoxy, and that adds a bit of cost compared to a phone that's built to be sealed shut forever".

We've been fighting this fight for over a decade, long before 'right to repair' was something people brought up at dinner

Miquel Ballester, head of product at Fairphone

Don't chase a high IP-rating (when you probably don't need it)

I also asked Ballester if any components or specs struggle in repairable gadgets. "Waterproofing is the one I'd point to first," he explained, railing against the trend of tech companies chasing an IP68 rating.

"Realistically, unless you're taking your phone free diving, IP55 gets you everything you actually need. It holds up against rain, spilled coffee, sweat at the gym, all the situations people actually put their phones through."

So, not IP68, which guarantees you protection for 30 minutes in a meter of water? "Chasing that rating basically forces you into permanent seals and factory-glued seams, because that's still the easiest way to guarantee a device survives being submerged.

"We'd rather give you a device that can be opened and repaired for the next seven years than one that survives a swimming pool once and then can't have its battery replaced. It's a genuinely difficult engineering line to walk, and I won't pretend IP68 wouldn't look nice on a spec sheet, but chasing it would mean compromising the thing we actually care about."

As mentioned, the EU's right to repair changes mean that companies may have to sell tools to repair their gadgets. But for Fairphone, that isn't a problem; they've been designed not to require proprietary tools. A Phillips screwdriver is all you need.

But how repairable is tech really?

(Image credit: Future)

Just because a company doesn't make gadget repairability a selling point, doesn't mean that you can't easily fix it. To learn more about the repair process, I visited a local community repair shop called Fixing Factory, which operates several locations in London, UK.

Fixing Factory lets residents bring in broken items to get them repaired, but it also operates as a way to train volunteers in fixing household items.

When I visited the Fixing Factory's Camden location, the streets around the shop were abuzz — England was just hours away from its ultimately-unsuccessful World Cup match against Argentina. But inside the repair shop, a different kind of squad was assembled: a troop of junior repairers (volunteers learning how to repair tech) were being briefed on safety procedures.

As I waited, I got to admire the huge collection of gadgets in various stages of repair (or lack thereof, in the cases of some training toasters). Laptops, vacuum cleaners, radios, even some throwback iPod nanos. Waiting alongside me was an older lady, who'd somehow managed to transport several startlingly-sized antique lamps in a series of backpacks and strollers, all ready to be repaired by the volunteers.

Not all of the Fixing Factory attendees were in training, and I was lucky enough to speak to several of the expert volunteers. They explained to me how to tell if a gadget can be repaired, what to do if you want to fix your tech, and when you should rely on an expert to bring your tech up to spec.

Identifying gadgets as repairable

(Image credit: Future)

One repair volunteer, describing themselves as a 'generalist' who liked to fix everything, told me how they'd helped create the teaching material for the trainees in the next room and explained how they work out if a gadget can be fixed in the first place.

"The first thing we do is we will safety check the device. If we've got a plug, we'll make sure we do PAT testing [a standardized way of checking the safety of portable appliances], and then everything goes into an RCD [Residual Current Device, which can instantly turn off power if something goes wrong] before we plug it in, and then we'll do a functional test.

"From there, we'll then diagnose what's going wrong and sit down with a member of the public, and work with them and go: 'okay, tell me the story, what happened, what's not working.'"

From what I was told, about half of the people with broken tech know why it's broken, either because of their own research or because the fault is obvious. And the other half "just have no clue".

We had far in excess of 70% repairability on e-waste

A Fixing Factory volunteer

The volunteer told me about a recent trial the group conducted, in which they went to a local recycling facility for several months, to log the kind of items thrown away and how much was actually repairable.

"We had far in excess of 70% repairability on e-waste. And so I like to think that's probably reflective of what comes into Fixing Factory locations."

I was staggered by that number; by the sounds of it, well over half of the gadgets we throw away could actually be fixed!

Stats from a similar study carried out by The Restart Project also found that only 12.4% of electrical devices thrown away were truly at the end of their life span. A further 7.2% needed repairs that were deemed too costly to be worthwhile; 9.5% were economical to repair; 36.2% were working just fine, and for the remaining 34.7% it wasn't possible to determine what state of life they were in.

Looking back at that 7,000,000 headphone figure I mentioned before, that'd suggest about 2.5 million of them could get back to a state of working just fine. Truly, the trash is not the first destination for faulty gadgets.

Do (or don't) try this at home

(Image credit: Future)

Repair shops such as Fixing Factory are one option for handling your broken tech, but how easy are they to fix at home? (Unless you have a Fairphone product, of course). I spoke to another Fixing Factory volunteer to find out.

Kevin, a student at a local university, told me: "You can literally fix anything if you watch enough YouTube... but it's pretty complicated".

He was one of many volunteers who flagged YouTube and the iFixit channel (and website) specifically, as an invaluable source of information for prospective home repairers. The site publishes teardowns, repair guides, and has an active forum to help you understand just how feasible a home repair is.

Sometimes, even this isn't necessary: "A lot of things are just dirty and need to be cleaned deeply."

You can literally fix anything if you watch enough YouTube

A Fixing Factory volunteer

This is something I understand all too well; a deep-clean of my home-built PC recently made me realize that I didn't need to buy new parts. It was just dusty.

Kevin gave some sage advice: "Take good notes or good photos to make sure you put [the gadget] back together correctly".

Another volunteer pointed out, though, that online guides and a little clean both play second fiddle to another, more important type of learning: "Sitting down with someone and sharing the experience, I think is something that's very valuable."

Not all tech is worth repairing

Most of the advice so far has pertained to smaller electricals and 'safer' items, but often you want to fix something more complicated. When I asked one volunteer whether home tech repairs were feasible, I was told: "Is it feasible? Yes. Is it safe? Questionable."

There are several dangers involved with lithium-ion batteries, the kind of which you find in most portable gadgets, and their predilection for catching fire is chief amongst them. You don't even have to be repairing them for disaster to strike.

The North London Waste Authority has identified several types of lithium-ion battery-toting gadgets — including smartphones and electric toothbrushes — as major fire risks. According to the organization, which handles waste disposal for seven London boroughs, "electrical items can easily catch fire if they are thrown into general waste and become damaged in waste vehicles".

A spokesperson told me that, across 2025, they saw at least 20 fires which could be linked to battery combustion. They even shared a video of one such incident, which you can see above. Stats from the National Fire Chiefs Council point to there being over 1,200 battery fires across the UK in bin lorries and waste sites that same year.

One false move and you can suddenly have a nasty fire.

Fixing Factory volunteer

And it's even worse if you're intentionally trying to fiddle around with them.

"One false move and you can suddenly have a nasty fire," one volunteer told me, adding, "Equally, when you're dealing with mains voltage, you can suffer some serious burns, let alone cardiac arrest. I would encourage anybody to find a friendly electrician, or someone with some qualifications, or a place like Fixing Factory."

(Image credit: Labutin.Art / Shutterstock)

Unrepairable tech isn't a manufacturing accident, as the Senior Workshop Manager and Operational Specialist of the Fixing Factory location I visited, Petra Backovska, explained to me. "Sometimes, you find that tech isn't built to be repaired, or repaired easily. And if there's something that wasn't made to be repaired, they make it really hard for you to do it — you can actually break it very, very easily".

Backovska identified cheap electronics manufacturers as a prime culprit for unrepairable tech, where important considerations are forgotten in favor of low costs and mass production. But more complex electronics were just as bad: "There could be things that need to have a CE mark on every item [as opposed to one for the entire gadget]".

If there's something that wasn't made to be repaired, they make it really hard for you

Petra Backovska, Senior Workshop manager at Fixing Factory

This is a mark affixed to most tech products sold in the European Economic Area to show that they're compliant with European health, safety and environmental standards. It'll be familiar to anyone who lives in the area; inspect any gadget within arm's reach, you'll likely find the mark hidden somewhere.

"So if the item doesn't have a CE mark, it's not safe, and we're not going to touch it anyways. So that could increase the number of things that we turn down, because we just don't know if it was manufactured safely."

I was also told that such a mark doesn't necessarily mean tech is safe: "Sometimes the mark is actually fake, and someone just slapped it on and didn't actually do all of the standardized testing in the process, which allowed them to produce something in large quantities very quickly, to sell it very cheap. But that also means that the item is not safe."

So how do you know if something should be repaired at home, or by an expert? Every volunteer advised that, if in doubt, consult an expert or take it to a repair shop: "It's that classic thing: asking is always the safest way."

There's a hard way to learn, and an easy way

(Image credit: Future)

Given the risks mentioned, I asked whether repairing tech from home could actually be dangerous, but was told by Backovska, "It doesn't have to be, but you need to have some training and follow the safety steps."

"If you jump into something just guessing things, then you're learning the hard way — and the hard way might be that you give yourself an electric shock. If you don't have experience with repairing, bring it to your local repair group."

I was told that Fixing Factory works with regulators, safety experts and product designers in order to create health and safety processes. These are taught to trainee volunteers, many of whom pass them onto customers whose goods are broken.

One of the volunteers I spoke to helped develop the training courses I got to witness, and told me that gadget-specific skills were often passed along, between volunteers and gadget owners.

The money and the waste

(Image credit: Photo by Tom Fisk via Pexels)

At the heart of the matter, two key reasons define why tech repairs are important. The first is economical: it will often be much cheaper to fix a device than to buy a new one. Second is the environmental impact: e-waste is a massive (and growing) problem, and keeping a hold of old gadgets (by repairing them) reduces the amount of clutter in landfill.

I love to quote a United Nations stat looking at e-waste from 2022: apparently, it'd fill roughly "enough trucks to form a bumper-to-bumper line encircling the equator". Our planet has a gastric band of junk, and hopefully, it'll push us to stop throwing away electronics. It's one of the core drives behind the aforementioned EU legislation.

The Restart Project is a UK-based charity which focuses on the right to repair electronics; it lobbies for legislation, helps organize repair groups (like the Fixing Factory I visited) and educates on the state of electronics. I spoke to Fiona Dear, co-Director at The Restart Project, to learn where repairable tech is going in the future.

There's nothing much on the horizon for other product categories

Fiona Dear, Co-Director at The Restart Project

"We have seen a bit of change [from companies] in recent years, and that's generally as a response to legislation. Even if the legislation isn't enacted, [manufacturers' changes are] in anticipation of legislation."

At the moment though (and in Europe, at least), this is limited: "There's only really legislation for two kinds of products. The first is white goods like dishwashers, and there's been legislation in place for a few years now. And it's just expanded to smartphones and tablets in Europe — that's why we're seeing a difference.

"Unfortunately, there's nothing much on the horizon for other product categories". That's why it's such a shame that, as mentioned earlier, wireless earbuds have seen a repairability exemption.

A problem of parts pairing

(Image credit: Future)

When I asked how technological changes are affecting repairability, one massive problem reared its head, which Dear called out specifically: "Parts pairing".

Parts pairing is a software limitation some brands apply to their devices. The gadgets will recognize when non-native parts are added, and throw up an error message when you try to use them.

For example, a phone might not let you use a new screen, a pair of headphones might reject their drivers, or a laptop might not play with a battery you install. In fact, software seems to be public enemy number one for tech repairability at the moment.

"A dishwasher or even a toaster, might have some kind of smart element in it," Dear explained, "which means it's dependent on software, and software isn't designed to last for as long as the mechanics of the product".

As iFixit points out in its guide to parts pairing, this is done by brands to encourage you to use its own repair services, instead of third-party ones (or repairing your own tech at home, using replacement parts). Often, the brand in question has unique access to make these error messages disappear. Dear flagged refurbished smartphones as being especially susceptible to this practice.

Parts pairing is one of the more cynical practices in this industry

Miquel Ballester, head of product at Fairphone

"Parts pairing is, in my personal opinion, one of the more cynical practices in this industry", Fairphone's Miquel Ballester explained. "Every component we ship, whether it's a battery in a Fairphone or bud and case battery in Fairbuds, is built to be freely interchangeable".

But software limitations remain an issue for tech longevity. "The repair experts who point out that software is the real bottleneck are right. It's exactly why we also treat long-term software support as inseparable from the repairability story".

The brand's latest mobile, the Fairphone 6, has a guaranteed 8 major Android updates, one of the longest life spans pledged by an Android maker. For many years, any more than two years' updates were a rarity, but nowadays companies are offering more and more updates. The Samsung Galaxy S26 and Google Pixel 10 series, for example, both have 7 years in the can.

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(Image credit: Future)

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It takes a change of attitude

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Rattanapon Ninlapoom)

When I told peers that I was working on a tech repair piece, I received some intriguing reactions. Some view it as a great way to keep your gadgets ticking along (as it should be), but stories of cowboy repairers abound.

Recently, we covered a story about a Best Buy repairer who downloaded private photos from a broken iPhone, and some people I spoke to seemed to harbor suspicion towards the rows of mobile phone repair shops which line some British high streets.

But the high proliferation of gadget repair stores is indicative of something different: a strong demand for our gadgets to keep working longer. Tech shops aren't fronts for dodgy dealings; they fix the devices we use every day, which is probably a more lucrative market than narcotics or single-use vapes.

Over the last few years, the rise of AI has driven up memory prices, causing gadgets to cost a lot more money, and new purchases to be more and more of a treat. You've surely noticed that electronics purchases nowadays cost a lot more (and bundle in some useless AI tools as a consolation prize, but that's a gripe for another day).

With no sign of that slowing down, gadget repairs are only going to be more and more important. And so a change is needed: a change in attitude to tech fixing, a change in our own skill sets so we're able to do so at home, and a change in legislation so that companies have to make it easier for us to mend our ailing electronics.

We're now well past the point where it's very difficult, and in some cases impossible, to tell AI-generated photos and videos from the real thing. That means it's now important to treat everything you see online from untrusted sources with a big dose of skepticism.

A newly rolled out Google Earth feature has apparently made AI-generated misinformation even more of a problem — and it highlights the scary potential of the technology, as well as the need for stronger guardrails to block the efforts of those who will instantly try and find the most subversive and harmful ways to use a new product.

The feature is AI image generation in Google Earth, powered by the Nano Banana 2 model, and after a wave of inappropriate images were created and posted online, it's now been pulled while Google works on some more robust protections against misinformation.

Google Earth's new feature

Reimagining Pompeii was one way the feature could be used (Image credit: Google)

It all started with the usual level of hype that Google builds around any new AI feature: the Nano Banana 2 image generation model that has already wowed us in the Gemini app would be available inside Google Earth on the web.

"Generate custom images to help you visualize history, create real estate plans, and more," Google said. "For the first time, you can generate custom images using Google Earth's satellite, aerial, and 3D imagery alongside Nano Banana, which creates concepts grounded in the real world."

Google had examples of how it could be used too: create an infographic about the Statue of Liberty, visualize your dream home by the lake, see what your neighborhood might look like a hundred years from now, or imagine Pompeii just before it got buried by ash and rock from an erupting Mount Vesuvius.

All it took was a text prompt, and Google Earth would combine existing satellite and 3D data to create the AI image you were asking for. While the AI model wasn't new, adding it to the accurate and authentic imagery already in Google Earth was.

What went wrong

Infographics could be created with real-world information (Image credit: Google)

Perhaps we should've seen this coming — and indeed some people did — but combining AI with the 3D data and satellite imagery of Google Earth didn't work out quite as well as Google hoped. The new upgrade was quickly used to create all manner of deceptive images that were then widely shared online.

I'm reluctant to point you to them directly and give these fakes any more attention, but they're not hard to find on social media. Think natural disasters, terrorism attacks, giant sinkholes, alien activity, and refugee populations all in places where they never actually were, thanks to AI.

Some of the images are clearly jokes, but many were produced deliberately to spread misinformation and confusion. That they were based on actual images sourced from Google Earth added extra credibility they wouldn't otherwise have had. And that was enough for Google to remove the feature.

Google says a flood of images "that appear to violate our policies" mean that "we're rolling back this feature in Google Earth while we work on implementing stronger guardrails". The company added:."It's important to note that generated images didn't appear in the main Google Earth experience for others to see and were watermarked as AI generated."

Our AI-filled future

Google Earth-based visions of the future will have to wait (Image credit: Google)

You don't have to look for long online to find rather strong anti-AI sentiment building up among users, especially when it comes to image and video content. The general sentiment on Reddit is that there's "zero use" to a feature like this, and that users are fed up with AI being "shoved down our throats".

There are various obvious lessons to be learned here: firstly not everything needs to have an AI prompt box or an AI element to it, and if some tools are largely AI-free, that's fine. Microsoft recently rolled back some of the AI it added to Notepad — an app where a big part of the appeal is its simplicity — after user complaints.

Secondly, before companies release any new AI features, they need to consider the worst-case scenarios in terms of how they're going to be used. The internet as a collective is going to immediately try and stress test them in the most deceptive and unwholesome ways, and there need to be safety measures put in place around that.

Lastly, it's never been more important to stick to sources of information that you know you can trust: not random social media accounts, but established publications that have policies around AI and its use. That's one effective way you can tell the difference between what's trustworthy and what isn't.

One of my favorite hobbies is Dungeons & Dragons. I love nothing more than sitting around a table with friends and playing out a fantastical adventure, in which the dice are the difference between success and failure.

It's a fun game, and all the more fun because real-life people make dumb, suboptimal decisions and the dice cause the game to change in unpredictable ways. But I really love it because the concept of people sitting around a table or hearth and telling stories is as old as the campfire, and it's a fun modern-day way to keep that experience alive.

You might think such a robust framework for an analog hobby (friends, a table, dice, pen and paper) might be tech-proof, but even in the Dungeons & Dragons world, AI is coming for my job as a Dungeon Master — the person who runs and guides the game world. Deep in the corpus of most popular generative AI models designed for general use are the rules to D&D 5e (and likely every other edition before it) and plenty of people report playing with their chatbots online.

Many of these players can't, or simply don't want to, get round a table with real people. For them, having a chatbot write them a story while the user prompts the continuation of the story with their character's actions, must seem like the perfect solution — even if it's more like a solo choose-your-own-adventure than a 'proper' group D&D game.

Gemini and ChatGPT both have a strong grasp of the rules for D&D's popular 5th Edition; they are certainly strong enough to make them an accessible choice for a player without a group. Maybe one day, the fire will die, and instead of sitting around a table with friends, we'll all be sitting at separate desks playing our own separate D&D adventures with our AI companions.

I wanted to test whether this dark future would be an adequate replacement for my usual game night, and which chatbot will be the best one to choose if so. I fired up Gemini 3.6 Flash and ChatGPT 5.5, and asked them for the same game.

The parameters

(Image credit: Wizards of the Coast)

I gave both chatbots the same prompt: "Can you be my D&D 5e DM?" and following up with another message:

"Let's do a classic high fantasy dungeon crawl. Please use a strict RNG for all rolls to ensure fairness - you can roll dice for me. My character is a 10th-level conjuration wizard. See all information about him below:"

I then copy-pasted a character sheet of a 10th-level wizard — a powerful spellcaster with a variety of magical abilities at his disposal. It's easy to DM a game for a level 1 thief — I wanted to see how the AIs could handle a character who could do fantastical things, such as teleport and summon creatures to fight for him.

Interestingly, both Gemini and ChatGPT created a similar adventure, at least at first: an abandoned dwarven stronghold bristling with magical traps, ready to be explored. However, that's where the similarities ended.

Gemini 3.6 Flash

(Image credit: Getty Images / SOPA Images)

Gemini's adventure was what any D&D player could expect from the "classic high-fantasy dungeon crawl." I avoided a pressure-plate trap that would have shot darts at me, and in one memorable sequence, defeated a bunch of skeletons by casting a Grease spell on a stone staircase and freezing them in place with my Ray of Frost cantrip while they slipped and stumbled at the bottom of the steps.

Gemini was offering me suggested actions, and I did find myself choosing a few of those suggestions — but as time wore on, this began to feel lazy, like my brain wasn't firing in the same way it did when I played with my friends. I was skim-reading the AI's descriptions of the scene and responding with a single click. I asked it to remove suggested options and as a result, I had to think more carefully about each move, typing out requests and thinking about my actions rather than clicking on a predetermined response.

The memorable finale occurred when I unlocked a secret passage and defeated a Naga, a giant snake monster, by teleporting away and blasting it with a powerful Cone of Cold. The snake ended up frozen solid, and I checked the monster's HP against the official book, and it was accurate. When asked to generate a picture of our adventure, Gemini came up with this moment:

(Image credit: Future, edited by Gemini)

I asked Gemini a few questions at the end, such as whether it nudged the dice in my favor, as all my rolls were successful. This happened in my previous experiment with ChatGPT. Gemini said it used a 'pseudorandom number generator', not a true RNG, but the model doesn't 'fudge dice, pad rolls, or tweak numbers behind the scenes to keep players happy or prolong the game'.

Gemini's language was natural and even evocative in places, although it's still not a patch on a good creative human. Overall, a decent enough effort at simulating a D&D game.

ChatGPT 5.5

(Image credit: NurPhoto / Getty Images)

Despite the similar setting, ChatGPT's adventure with the same character was very different. There was little to no combat throughout the entirety of the game, and ChatGPT didn't tell me when it was rolling 'behind the scenes', preferring to keep me in the moment.

When I asked it about the lack of rolling, the grovelling chatbot began its apologetic essay with "That is a fair critique. The short answer is: I leaned too heavily into narrative pacing and not enough into D&D mechanics. The adventure became closer to a collaborative fantasy novel than a 5e dungeon crawl", while suggesting fixes if I wanted to continue. I hadn't even said anything negative — but it certainly picked up on my tone, and the choose-your-own adventure I got was a far cry from a classic dungeon crawl.

Instead of combat, ChatGPT came up with a rambling mystery about a dimensional prison beneath the mountain, a sphere suspended in a cavern. Its guardians spoke ominous (and to be honest, quite confusing) portents such as "The archive does not open for authority. It opens for judgement."

Mysteries work best when they're developed with skill by a writer who can work backwards to seed clues throughout the game or text. ChatGPT does not do this: instead, it's arranging tokens on the fly to generate a facsimile of a mystery, and although it got the trappings of the genre right, the execution fell very flat. I (or at least, my character) underwent trials to seek obsidian objects such as keys and seals to reveal more about the prison, themselves accompanied by more foreboding, sometimes nonsensical portents.

Very little 'action' was taken by my character in a classical sense: it was all about investigating the origins of the being contained in this prison, and by the time I had spent 40 minutes on this, I had seen enough. It didn't help that ChatGPT also spoke in the peculiar sentence structure pattern that AI users are likely very familiar with now: "This isn't just X. It's Y." Examples include:

"Unlike the rest of Khaz Varek, this room has remained untouched.

No dust. No decay."

Or the following, when I met one of the prison's guardians:

"Ser Kaelen immediately looks toward the sphere. 'You hear it too.'

Not a question. A confirmation."

Any user of ChatGPT (or those who look at AI-generated posts on LinkedIn or Reddit) will immediately recognise this sort of language, and know what I'm talking about. By the end, it was quite painful to have every other sentence be treated as a grand revelation. Not a statement. An omen.

When asked to generate a picture of our adventure, ChatGPT came up with this moment:

(Image credit: Future, edited by Gemini)The winner

Out of these two? Gemini 3.6 Flash, by a mile. It was at least a mildly enjoyable experience conveyed in natural language, and something I'd consider revisiting.

ChatGPT's efforts, on the other hand, were unenjoyable, and I wouldn't return to it. In fact, it's gotten worse since the last time I tried it.

Both, however, were a far cry from an in-person session. While they have a good grasp of the rules, and you can create your perfect world and character, the chatbots are ultimately missing the 'human and hearth' element that keep me returning to the game. For people who can't get round a table with friends, I'd pick Gemini over ChatGPT.

For those who can? While AI is busy taking as many creative jobs as it can, I feel safe in the knowledge that the role of Dungeon Master is AI-proof for a long time yet.

• Over two-thirds (69%) of people believe AI generated material can be presented as their own work if they provided the prompt and approved the final version
• Meanwhile, 54% believe AI-based work should be clearly marked
• 7,200 adults were surveyed, located across the US, the European Union, the UK, and Latin America

A growing disparity in how AI generated content, tasks, and tools are assigned ownership and expectations on accurately marking their origins is emerging, according to a new survey by Use.AI.

Furthermore, the findings indicate an emerging dichotomy between human-claimed authorship of an AI work and clear labeling of the work as AI.

Different attitudes based on settings for the AI work have also been identified, such as private emails and school or professional reports.

The chicken or the prompt?

The developing adoption of AI appears to be introducing new attitudes to acceptable creativity, with the emerging model of what is described as “authorship by direction,” where the AI is trusted to create a first draft, which is then revised and claimed by a human.

The statistics shared by Use.AI – a tool that aggregates AI models into a single interface – highlight how AI is being used more extensively, with a human-originating prompt leading to drafts and versions from the machine, followed by editing from the human.

While the AI has contributed, only a human name appears on the finished product, which raises questions of ownership and authorship.

“AI is separating the production of work from the ownership of it. People are increasingly prepared to direct the process, approve the result and take the credit, but there is still no shared standard for when AI’s role should be visible to everyone else,” says Use.AI’s Managing Director, Ihor Herasymov.

With 69% of those surveyed considering AI-generated work their own if they produced the prompt, 46% claiming they would keep AI involvement with their work under wraps, and 54% feeling AI use should be disclosed, we’re some way from agreement on AI use across creative tasks.

Authorship vs. editorship

Herasymov’s observations point to a constantly evolving set of standards around the creation and use of AI-generated materials. Interestingly, this is happening against a backdrop of growing unease over the use of AI in creative tasks.

The implications of claiming ownership of automated work generated upon instructions to an LLM trained on as much human writing, art, music, and cinema as possible are considerable, and go way beyond questions of ethics. Copyright is just one element, and the most obvious, but we’re also moving into a landscape where inputting a prompt on employer-owned hardware takes authorship away from the person at the keyboard.

Ultimately, the task of prompting and revising means anyone using AI in this way stops being the author, and becomes the editor – and that is before the true ownership of the output is determined.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 owners tend to know the headline features by now: satellite messaging, the brighter always-on display, hypertension alerts.

What most people haven't noticed is a much quieter feature that only shows up if you also own a pair of the well-received AirPods Pro 3 — the same earbuds you're probably already using on all those Zoom calls at work every day.

For anyone else trying to squeeze a workout into a packed workday (or if you're trying to travel light on a business trip), I can tell you it's become the one I actually rely on most.

No more packing the chest-strap

AirPods Pro 3 have their own in-ear heart rate sensors, enabled by default, which is easy to miss since Apple doesn't make a big deal about it.

On their own, they're a genuinely solid heart rate source, useful for anyone who wants to track a run or a lift without a watch at all. But when you wear both an Apple Watch and AirPods Pro 3 during the same workout, the two devices don't just duplicate the same job.

They combine into multiple simultaneous streams of heart rate data, and the system automatically leans on whichever source has the highest confidence at any given moment.

(Image credit: Future)

That matters more than it sounds like. Wrist-based optical sensors, including the Ultra 3's, can struggle during movements that shift the watch on your wrist: heavy grip work, rowing, anything involving a lot of wrist flexion.

In-ear sensors don't have that problem, but they can be thrown off by their fit or by their own motion. Fusing both sources means the watch is quietly falling back on whichever sensor is actually reading you correctly, workout to workout and rep to rep, instead of you having to guess which device to trust.

Honestly, it's replaced the chest strap by now. I used to strap one on for anything where zone accuracy actually mattered, interval sessions, heavy lifting days, anything where the watch slides around enough on my wrist to throw the optical sensor off.

Is it clinically equivalent to a chest strap? Probably not. But after a few months of comparing the two side by side, it's close enough that I just don't bother anymore.

As a professional, that feels like a win to me. It's one less piece of gear I have to cart around with me on a business trip or to a conference with the rest of my work gear.

(Image credit: Future)

Setting it up takes no extra effort. Heart rate monitoring is enabled by default on AirPods Pro 3, so if you already own both devices, this will likely happen in the background the next time you start a workout with both in use.

You can check or turn it off entirely from the Settings app on iPhone, under your AirPods' name, if you'd rather it not run.

It's a small thing, and Apple has barely marketed it. But it's the kind of feature that only reveals itself once you own the specific pair of devices it's built for.

In my experience, it's an ideal setup for busy professionals who still want accurate health data without adding extra setups and gear.

If you've already got an Ultra 3 and a pair of AirPods Pro 3, there's nothing to set up and nothing to buy. You're most likely already using it without realizing it.

If you love coffee, you’ll be very aware of the impact of factors like grind size, water temperature, and infusion time, but there’s something else that’s often overlooked. A double espresso is at least 90% water, and the minerals and other substances it contains can have a huge impact on the overall taste.

I’m a big coffee-drinker (which is just as well, since I test over a dozen coffee makers every year for TechRadar), and I’m planning to buy a water filter to take my brewing to the next level — but what should I look for — and what should you consider if you’re thinking of taking the plunge into filtered water too?

To find out, I spoke to Andy McPhilbin, Head of Aquaphor Professional for UK and Ireland, and Genevieve Upton, beverage industry expert and Head of Water Filtration at Our Taap.

Why does water matter?

“Water quality can have a considerable impact on how coffee tastes, with chlorine, mineral composition, alkalinity and pH all influencing the final flavour profile,” says Upton.

“Most tap water supplied to UK homes is disinfected using chlorine-based compounds. Residual chlorine can react with components in coffee and tea, contributing bitter, medicinal or chemical notes that may overwhelm the more delicate characteristics of the coffee. Boiling water can reduce the levels of chlorine, though it can also create other unwanted flavours, such as by reacting to a plastic kettle.”

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She explains that the mineral composition and pH of the water also play an important role when it comes to how your coffee tastes.

“Slight differences in acidity, together with the concentrations of minerals and buffering compounds, influence extraction efficiency and the balance of flavors in the final cup. As water companies vary their supply sources throughout the year, you might notice that the same beans, brewed in exactly the same way, taste different from season to season.”

In fact, using unfiltered water doesn’t just mean your coffee tastes sub-optimal - it could cause your expensive coffee machine to break down — and it won’t be covered by the manufacturer's warranty..

“The warranty only covers manufacturing defects, and unfortunately, hard water is not a manufacturing defect,” explains McPhilbin. “So you can turn something that is a very efficient espresso machine into something very inefficient within a matter of weeks. You get a millimeter of scale forming within a matter of six weeks.

“Now, is that important? It is, because you want the life of the machine to be good, but also you've got little injectors which put the right amount of water into that espresso. If they're blocked, you're not going to get the right amount of water. You're going to have the wrong taste. It's got to be precise.”

What types of filtration are there?

Our Taap specializes in home water filtration Its latest system is the Our Taap Home Water System II — a countertop unit that connects to your mains water supply, and uses a triple filtration system with UV purification to remove contaminants while retaining minerals.

Aquaphor makes water filters for commercial and home use, including under-sink systems, pitchers, and even water bottles. Its most advanced systems for home users are the RO-101, RO-102, and RO-202, all of which use reverse osmosis (RO).

This involves forcing water through a semi-permeable membrane that removes chlorine, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, and microplastics. Standard RO filters also strip out minerals, but Aquaphor’s systems can optimize the concentration of calcium and magnesium so they’re just right for coffee — something McPhilbin says “really is a science”.

Under-counter reverse osmosis systems can be a good choice if you need a large volume of filtered water (Image credit: Getty Images, onurdongel)

“The mineral content is measured in TDS [total dissolvable solids], and we want that TDS to be somewhere in the realms of between 80 and 120 [parts per million],” he explains. “We have a couple of ways in which we do it, but generally we can either feed more minerals in it by making it tuneable, or we can take them out as well by turning it the other way. But if you have too little, you can cause corrosion, and if we have too much, we're going to get limescale. So we try to hit that sweet spot, which is 100 parts per million in the middle there.”

Our Taap’s filters use granular activated carbon filtration, which Upton says “is particularly good at removing chlorine and some of its by-products, which can mask the more delicate flavour notes in coffee.”

the water has a cleaner, more neutral taste, allowing the natural characteristic of the coffee beans to come through

Genevieve Upton, Our Taap

“By reducing these compounds, the water has a cleaner, more neutral taste, allowing the natural characteristic of the coffee beans to come through. Whether you’re brewing with a cafetière, pour-over or espresso machine, using filtered water can help create a smoother, more balanced cup with greater flavour clarity.

"It's worth remembering, however, that activated carbon filters are designed primarily to remove chlorine and certain organic compounds rather than minerals,” she adds. “As a result, they have little effect on the calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate levels that influence water hardness, alkalinity and extraction.”

Under-sink or countertop?

So which type of filter is right for you? Do you need an under-sink reverse-osmosis system, or would a countertop filter be better? McPhilbin says the decision will mostly depend on how much filtered water you need.

“I think it's down to capacity more than anything,” he says. “Our jug filters have twice the capacity of the competition because we use a unique media called Aqualen, which is a patented media based on ionic exchange and carbon, so you're getting a dual-purpose piece of filtering equipment there. Reverse osmosis has a massive capacity, and [the filter] is not something [you’re] changing all the time.”

Even if you have soft tap water, your coffee can still benefit from a water filter (Image credit: Getty Images, Henadzi Pechan)

Upton says your choice of filter will also depend on the problem you want to solve.

“If your tap water has a noticeable chlorine taste or smell, a filter with activated carbon is usually the best place to start,” she says. “This technology is available in everything from filter jugs to more advanced under-sink or countertop systems, with plumbed-in options offering great convenience for households that use filtered water regularly.

“If you’re dealing with limescale build-up in kettles or coffee machines, it’s important to choose a filter that specifically reduces water hardness, as not all filtration systems are designed to do this.”

You can turn something that is a very efficient espresso machine into something very inefficient within a matter of weeks

Andy McPhilbin, Aquaphor

I know I live in a hard water area (the limescale in my kettle is proof) but even if your tap water is soft, McPhilbin says a water filter is still a good investment.

“Most of the water in the UK is chlorinated, and that can affect the taste quite a lot,” he says. “And it might be that you've not got enough minerals in it to get the best taste.”

If you’re not sure about the type of water you’re working with, there are online tools that can help you understand its composition.

“The Our Taap Water Confidence Index is a great way to look up your postcode and understand what’s in your local water and how this impacts taste, scent and quality, so you can find the best filter for your needs,” says Upton.

According to the Confidence Index, I’m lucky - my tap water is better than 93% of UK postcodes. However, it is moderately hard (as I expected), with a normal level of chlorine and an elevated level of overall minerals. I’m still deciding exactly which type of filter to choose, but considering these results and my penchant for espresso, I’m leaning towards under-counter reserve osmosis with mineral balancing. What about you?

Anyone with a keen interest in the European car market will know that Cupra parted ways with its sister company Seat way back in 2018 to become the high-performance, funky standalone brand to attract the attention of a more youthful buyer.

The gamble paid off, as Cupra now outsells Seat in most regions, thanks to its heady line-up of handsomely styled SUVs and sporty hatchbacks, all with a fine selection of electrified powertrains.

This latest edition to the family, the relatively diminutive Raval, is the first of its kind to sit on parent company VW’s MEB+ platform, which will also underpin the upcoming and equally spicy ID Polo (including the GTI), the ID Cross and Skoda’s more crossover focused Epiq.

(Image credit: Cupra)

But Cupra being Cupra has seen fit to endow the Raval with almost comically sporty proportions, a fabulously appointed interior and the sort of electric powertrain that is designed to have true driving fans won over.

Having driven the top spec VZ models out on the beautifully flowing roads of northeastern Spain, it’s clear that there is still room for the compact, agile hot hatch in the often soulless world of modern EVs.

Seriously styled

(Image credit: Cupra)

You only have to take a look at one of the many recent Cupra events to realize that the company approaches new product launches a little differently.

These shindigs are typically held in warehouses and other industrial settings, often involve world-class DJs and incorporate faces from fashion, sports and culture.

The overemphasized creases on the bonnet, super aggressive front lamps and chunky rear diffuser on this VZ model signal its racy intentions.

The Raval is all of this stuff distilled into a diminutive hatchback, with copper accents and contrast flourishes on the outside, myriad on-trend materials throughout the cockpit and the latest technology taking care of infotainment duties.

On the outside, the Raval rides low to the ground (well, as low as any modern EV can) and wears its squat proportions with pride.

The over-emphasized creases on the bonnet, super aggressive front lamps and chunky rear diffuser on this VZ model signal its racy intentions.

It also rides on 19-inch ‘Rebel’ rims and crams vegan leather bucket seats into the cockpit, as well as a 12.9-inch Android Automotive central display and a separate 10.25-inch digital cockpit that takes care of speed and whatnot.

(Image credit: Cupra)

Considering the Raval VZ starts at £34,9995 in the UK (that’s around $47,000 / AU$65,000), it feels like a generous dose of premium car for the money.

But for those happy with the smaller wheels and smaller battery pack (more on that later), the range actually starts from £23,785 (around $32,000 / AU$45,000) for the 115hp, 37kWh models.

Nice and spicy

(Image credit: Cupra)

Clearly, the VZ version driven here is a little ‘spicier’ when it comes its performance credentials, as it features the larger 52kWh battery pack and a powertrain that delivers 222bhp and 214lb ft to the front wheels in proper hot hatch fashion.

Prod the accelerator and the little Raval wants to move, whisking drivers and passengers from rest to 62mph in a respectable 6.8 seconds.

It even has a quasi launch control mode that sends little shudders and vibrations through the seat to make the process of accelerating feel more exciting.

Prod the accelerator and the little Raval wants to move, whisking drivers and passengers from rest to 62mph in a respectable 6.8 seconds.

Granted, it feels a little gimmicky but Cupra has done an excellent job of making the Raval feel as sprightly as its exterior lines would suggest.

Flick it into Cupra mode via a dedicated button on the steering wheel and, alongside a growling synthesized soundtrack, you’re treated to massive levels of grip.

This results in the ability to round corners with all the thrills of a go-kart, while the dynamic chassis control fitted to this VZ model keeps things flat and firm when the mood takes. Thankfully, it is adjustable through 15 stages, so you can easily get a set up that suits.

But when settling back down into Eco of Comfort modes, the Cupra does its best impression of a sensible, grown-up VW Group product, proving almost perfectly quiet and comfortable when cruising along the highway. The ride quality really is excellent.

Fuel for thought

(Image credit: Cupra)

Having driven almost too many EVs to remember, I have got into the habit of always checking battery efficiency after an event like this.

It’s a great indication of real-world driving, often taking in faster, flowing sections of road (where the regen will help top-up batteries), slower city driving and battery-sapping highway miles.

The Cupra Raval revealed that we averaged around 4.5 miles per kWh after a day of driving, which means we could have happily racked up over 200-miles from a single charge of the relatively small 52kWh NMC battery packs.

Cupra’s official WLTP rating has this pegged at 239-miles, which feels honest and achievable if driving sensibly… which I wasn’t during this particular test.

(Image credit: Cupra)

Raval’s recharging game is strong too, with a 10-80% session taking just 24-minutes from a 105kW DC public charger. It’s slightly longer than close rivals, such as the recent Renault 5 and Kia EV2, but neither of those cars can really be described as feisty.

But perhaps the most striking thing to note from the small, sporty hatchback is that there’s a decent amount of room inside. Two adults can very comfortably sit up front and there’s just enough room in the back for a few friends.

Admittedly, leg room in the rear isn’t exactly generous, but it’s very good in this segment, while the rear trunk is positively cavernous. Mounting the motor at the front results in an impressive amount of space to store bulkier items.

(Image credit: Cupra)

There’s even a clever folding floor that can be set at various levels, making it easier to throw in shopping when space isn’t required or free up a deeper hole for those weekend trips away.

The Cupra Raval offers a beguiling mix of sensible, grown up elements — such as the responsive Android Automotive-based infotainment system, practical interior space and premium-feeling fabrics — and laces it with a hefty dose of fun.

Granted, this isn’t the all-out hot hatch that we might be used to from the ICE era, but it gets very close.

Plus, with VW set to unleash an ID Polo GTI later this year with eerily similar performance figures, it makes you wonder if it’s worth holding out for that revered badge when the Raval VZ is this good.

Here are the answers for The New York Times Connections: Sports Edition puzzle No. 678 for Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026.

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 2, 2026.

• Startup replaces Nvidia GPUs with custom Arm-powered AI processing hardware
• Prometheus packs up to 128TB of unified LPDDR6 memory onboard
• New server promises 1,000× more memory available per processor

Majestic Labs, a startup founded in 2023 by former Google and Meta engineers, has unveiled a server built to rival Nvidia's GPU and HBM combination.

The Tel Aviv-based company argues that pairing costly graphics processors with high-bandwidth memory has become a fundamentally memory-bound and dead-end approach for AI inference.

Its answer is the Prometheus server, which swaps GPUs for Ignite AI Processing Units combining Arm cores with RISC-V vector and tensor engines.

A different way to scale memory

Each Prometheus server can house up to 12 AIUs, sharing between 8 TB and 128 TB of LPDDR6 memory across one contiguous, coherent pool.

That memory pool is accessed through custom memory aggregation chiplets linked by copper cables up to one metre long instead of memory attached directly to GPU packages.

A standard 40U rack can hold four such servers, drawing 120 kW total and cooled through cold-plate liquid systems rather than air.

By comparison, an Nvidia DGX B300 system with eight Blackwell GPUs offers 2.3 TB of HBM3e plus up to 4 TB of DDR5 system memory.

Majestic claims its architecture therefore delivers over 50 times more fast memory than that rival configuration, alongside 1.7 times its interconnect bandwidth.

“One Majestic rack holds the fast memory capacity of 25 Nvidia NVL72 Vera Rubin racks at a fraction of the power,” Majestic Lab said.

“Organizations that could never justify hyperscaler infrastructure can now run any workload. In fact, there can be up to “1000× more memory per processor.”

Performance claims await broader testing

Majestic Labs says the Prometheus server could cost between 10 and 50 times less than a GPU system of equivalent performance once it ships next year, while consuming less electricity per rack.

The server is designed to be OCP-compliant and will support PyTorch, vLLM and OpenAI's Triton frameworks, letting existing AI models run without modification.

Founded by CEO Ofer Shacham, President Sha Rabii and COO Masumi Reynders, the company employs around 40 people across Tel Aviv and Los Angeles and raised $100 million in an A-round late in 2025.

It claims to have already received significant orders from large enterprises, neoclouds and hyperscalers.

Yet several details remain unclear, including how many memory aggregation chiplets a single server actually requires.

If a 128 TB configuration relies on widely available 2 GB LPDDR6 dies, it would need roughly 64,000 of them, implying well over a hundred aggregation chiplets per server.

The numbers Majestic Labs presents are striking, but they remain the startup's own projections ahead of any independent benchmarking or shipped hardware.

Enterprise buyers considering a shift away from established GPU vendors may have to wait for independent validation to verify Majestic's claims.

Via Blocks and Files

I’ve tested more than 50 Bluetooth speakers, and whenever I review a new model, there are a number of factors to consider. Do its features rival the competition? Can its design merge beauty with practicality? Is it actually worth the asking price? But one question is more important than any other: does it genuinely sound good?

This raised a deep curiosity within me. What if a Bluetooth speaker was judged on sound alone, with elements such as pricing, brand reputation, and looks holding no influence on people’s perception of quality? Well, I decided to find out for myself, and blindfolded four of my colleagues for a blind speaker test.

I played a 30-second snippet of a track, asked listeners to make notes, and when each speaker had been tested, I got my participants to rank each speaker from 1 to 5 (with 1 being the best, and 5 the worst). We repeated this process across five different tracks, each spanning a range of genres, in order to determine which sounded the best.

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A few things to run through before we get into the results, though. The volume of the speakers were all equalized, but I ensured not to push them above 80% volume, in order to limit distortion and compression. Each speaker was also set to its default EQ, and tracks were streamed from a single source device over Spotify. Also, my listeners had no prior knowledge of the speakers involved in the test, so as to cancel out any prejudices or prior experiences they may potentially hold.

I decided to use five speakers in a very similar size category: the JBL Go 5, the IKEA Kallsup, the Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2, the Edifier ES20, and the Ultimate Ears Miniroll. Some have a higher power output than others and some are considerably cheaper (or pricier) than others. And some sit in our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers, while others have fallen short. But interestingly, rankings varied quite a fair bit depending on the track and listener involved.

Curious to find out who came out on top? Here’s how our listeners ranked each speaker across each track, as well as the final scores.

Track 1: Fascinator by Max Dean

I started with a house track, Fascinator by Max Dean. I asked participants to listen to a short lead up to some sub-bass, and while I emphasized that the small models wouldn’t produce roaring power, I asked them to assess how well the speakers manage it. When the drop came in, I also asked them to judge how controlled and precise drums sounded in the treble range.

The results were pretty interesting here. Our cheapest option, the $10 / £5 IKEA Kallsup was the clear loser, with one listener, Caspar, noting ‘tinny’ highs and underwhelming bass — a sentiment generally shared across the board. It was quite close between JBL and Edifier here, with some listeners noting a slight lack in low-end impact, but improved mid-range performance and tighter treble.

However, the clear winner was Bose, which ranked 1st with all of our participants — and spoiler alert, this was the only instance of a unanimous verdict across the entire experiment. One listener, Ashley, noted how the track sounded ‘balanced with no distortion’ with others including Josh and Erin highlighting meatier bass and a pleasingly warm tone.

Track 1: rank (by listener)

Josh

Caspar

Ashley

Erin

JBL Go 5

4

5

4

2

IKEA Kallsup

5

4

5

5

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

1

1

1

1

Edifier ES20

2

3

3

4

UE Miniroll

3

2

2

3

Track 1: overall rank

Speaker

Rank

JBL Go 5

4th (15pts)

IKEA Kallsup

5th (19pts)

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

1st (4pts)

Edifier ES20

3rd (12pts)

UE Miniroll

2nd (10pts)

Track 2: Orphans by Cero

I changed up the vibe for Track 2, and played a snippet from the jazz-infused indie pop track Orphans by Japanese band Cero. Vocals are meant to be slightly forward, so I asked listeners to determine how well the speakers captured this, while also prompting them to judge how well-balanced percussion and guitars were in the mix.

The Kallsup unfortunately finished in last place once more, with Josh highlighting ‘rolled off’ vocals and unclear guitars in the mid-range. However, the JBL Go 5 wasn’t far in front, with Erin noting ‘lifeless guitars’.

The Edifier ES20 and UE Miniroll performed well, though, with participants highlighting better balance across the frequency range, warmer and more prominent vocals, and cleaner bass. The SoundLink Micro Gen 2 took the win once more, though, with an emphasis on clearer, more tonally accurate guitars, well-defined vocals, and more articulate percussion.

Track 2: rank (by listener)

Josh

Caspar

Ashley

Erin

JBL Go 5

3

5

5

4

IKEA Kallsup

5

4

4

5

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

2

1

2

1

Edifier ES20

1

2

3

3

UE Miniroll

4

3

1

2

Track 2: overall rank

Speaker

Rank

JBL Go 5

4th (17pts)

IKEA Kallsup

5th (18pts)

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

1st (6pts)

Edifier ES20

2nd (9pts)

UE Miniroll

3rd (10pts)

Track 3: The Girl From Ipanema by Stan Getz

I wanted to try out something softer next, so I went for the legendary Bossa Nova track, The Girl From Ipanema by Stan Getz. I requested my blindfolded colleagues to tune into the separation between guitars and vocals, the subtlety and texture of vocals and percussion, and control of the double bass. And this is where things got really interesting.

Surprisingly, Bose, which had been bossing it so far, finished in a lowly 4th place here, with listeners generally expressing disappointment with the speaker’s overemphasized bass and slightly unrefined treble response.

However, one thing remained the same, as the IKEA Kallsup came in 5th place. In fact, this was the only occasion in which every listener decided the Kallsup was the worst performer, with Erin writing: ‘No. What? What is this? It sounds like there’s a horde of bees trying to escape.’ Ouch.

Our champion this time out was the Edifier ES20, a speaker which I’ve often championed for its supreme mid-range clarity. Listeners appreciated this model’s beautifully balanced presentation, textured and controlled double bass, and detailed vocals. The UE Miniroll and JBL Go 5 finished 2nd and 3rd respectively, with our participants widely noting their relatively expansive interpretation of the track, and talking up their crisp, textured handling of vocals.

Track 3: rank (by listener)

Josh

Caspar

Ashley

Erin

JBL Go 5

2

4

4

1

IKEA Kallsup

5

5

5

5

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

4

1

3

4

Edifier ES20

1

2

2

2

UE Miniroll

3

3

1

3

Track 3: overall rank

Speaker

Rank

JBL Go 5

3rd (11pts)

IKEA Kallsup

5th (20pts)

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

4th (12pts)

Edifier ES20

1st (7pts)

UE Miniroll

2nd (10pts)

Track 4: Come On, Come Over by Jaco Pastorius

But how did the speaker manage a busier, more chaotic mix? I threw on Come On, Come Over by Jaco Pastorius, a funky, high-octane track that has it all. Participants were told to listen for the aggressiveness and clarity of horns, the quality of the track’s mid-bass punch, and how the speakers manage the swathe of instruments and vocals.

And it seemed that in this test, order was restored to how it had been up until Track 3. Bose came out on top, with Ashley praising the speaker’s balanced approach and Caspar highlighting the SoundLink Micro Gen 2’s impactful low end and enhanced vocal clarity. However, the Edifier ES20 and UE Miniroll did run Bose very close indeed. Participants enjoyed the tonality of the vocals, the decently open soundstage, and solid separation on offer.

IKEA’s Kallsup fell to last place, however, largely due to its unregimented bass and tinny mids. Meanwhile, listeners also felt that the JBL Go 5 struggled with the business of the tune, though some did highlight solid clarity in the treble range.

Track 4: rank (by listener)

Josh

Caspar

Ashley

Erin

JBL Go 5

5

4

4

4

IKEA Kallsup

4

5

5

5

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

3

1

2

1

Edifier ES20

1

2

3

2

UE Miniroll

2

3

1

3

Track 4: overall rank

Speaker

Rank

JBL Go 5

4th (17pts)

IKEA Kallsup

5th (19pts)

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

1st (7pts)

Edifier ES20

2nd (8pts)

UE Miniroll

3rd (9pts)

Track 5: Black Eye by Allie X

With Track 5, I wanted to assess the portable speakers’ handling of dynamics, so I went with an electronic song from TechRadar’s reference playlist, Black Eye by Allie X. Colleagues were asked to hone in on the attack of strings in the beginning of the snippet, and assess the control and dynamism of the bass and its impact, as well as the breathiness and detailing in the vocals.

And this was an incredibly close battle between Bose, Edifier, and Ultimate Ears. Bose just about managed to top the podium, with Erin delighted with the ‘dramatic strings’ and ‘expansive vocals,’ and Caspar highlighting dynamic bass and ‘nice balance between vocals and instruments’.

Josh’s favorite was the ES20, stating that vocals were ‘wonderfully conveyed’ and that bass was ‘punchy yet controlled’. Ashley, however, liked the UE Miniroll the most, arguing that it offered the cleanest low-end and most articulate vocals of the bunch.

But the poor Kallsup finished in 5th once more. Muted synths, a lack of texture and kick in the low-end, and recessed vocals left our listeners wanting more.

Track 5: rank (by listener)

Josh

Caspar

Ashley

Erin

JBL Go 5

4

5

4

4

IKEA Kallsup

5

4

5

5

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

2

1

3

1

Edifier ES20

1

2

2

3

UE Miniroll

3

3

1

2

Track 5: overall rank

Speaker

Rank

JBL Go 5

4th (17pts)

IKEA Kallsup

5th (19pts)

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

1st (7pts)

Edifier ES20

2nd (8pts)

UE Miniroll

3rd (9pts)

Final results: and the winner is…

(Image credit: Future)

So, the experiment drew to a close. Our listeners handed over their final scores, and I totaled them up to discover which speaker was king on sound alone. And the winner was… the Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2!

Was I surprised by the result? Well, not entirely. I personally think this is a great-sounding small speaker, and its ability to produce meatier bass than much of the competition, alongside more precision in the treble range and clearer separation was all it needed to scoop up top spot.

What’s important to recognize, though, is that Bose’s small speaker is far pricier than all of the competition. It has a list price of $129 / £119.95, and while it certainly produces the goods in terms of sound, that’s an awfully high price tag given that you can nab larger, meatier, and more feature-rich models at that cost — the JBL Flip 7 is probably the first that comes to mind.

I was surprised, however, that the Edifier ES20 did so well. Josh selected the ES20 as his overall favorite, and it continually competed closely with Bose throughout, even topping the table in Track 3. In the UK, it’s less than half the price of the Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2, but you really wouldn’t think so. Its composure and clarity in the mid-range is exceptional, and it has enough warm bass and controlled treble to keep more energetic tracks sounding as they should. If you want value for money, I think this model is absolutely worth checking out.

Another standout was the UE Miniroll, which Ashley picked out as her personal favorite. It continued to plate up clear mids and bass throughout, and I think it earns its relatively modest price.

Some may be surprised to see the JBL Go 5 a bit off the pace in 4th, but I still think it produced a solid performance across the experiment considering its limitations. It has a weaker power output than the top 3 speakers, which limits its ability to provide the drive and low-end might that others can. And although it could’ve offered slightly better separation, it's still a great small speaker given its low asking price of $54.95 / £39.99.

I felt very sorry for the IKEA Kallsup, which was regularly placed last by each of our participants. However, in the IKEA speaker's defense, not only does it have the lowest power output of the bunch (at just 3W), but it’s just $9.99 / £5. Yes, it's extremely cheap, and so the fact that it occasionally squeaked 4th place here and there is impressive in itself.

Check out the final table below, where you can see the final scores and rankings for each speaker, as well as their typical asking price. Were the results as you expected? Let me know in the comments!

Final ranking

Speaker

Overall rank

List price

JBL Go 5

4th (77pts)

$54.95 / £39.99

IKEA Kallsup

5th (95pts)

$9.99 / £5

Bose SoundLink Micro Gen 2

1st (36pts)

$129 / £119.95

Edifier ES20

2nd (42pts)

$89.99 / £49.99

UE Miniroll

3rd (48pts)

$79 / £69

• China unveils rugged AS2-W robotic platform with advanced onboard artificial intelligence
• Robot wolf climbs steep slopes while carrying heavy operational payloads
• AS2-W combines wheeled mobility with advanced terrain handling capabilities

Chinese robotics company Unitree has unveiled its new AS2-W, an uncrewed ground vehicle on its official website.

The four-wheeled vehicle weighs 25 kg and can carry a stationary payload of up to 150 kg while sitting still.

It travels roughly 30 km on a single charge without cargo, or about 25 km carrying up to 16 kg.

Sensors and mobility built for rough terrain

According to Unitree, the AS2-W can climb obstacles reaching 80 cm high while traversing slopes of up to 45° without manual intervention.

The robot reaches speeds exceeding 6 m/s using industrial-grade joint modules delivering approximately 95 N·m of peak joint torque.

Unitree also says the platform uses a 648 Wh, 15,000 mAh battery capable of providing more than three hours of unloaded operation.

Its equipment includes industrial-grade 64- to 128-line LiDAR, an HD camera, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, 4G connectivity, microphones, speakers, and front lighting.

The AS2-W supports an IP54 dust and water resistance rating and is designed to operate in temperatures ranging from -20°C to 55°C.

Unitree also provides developer software tools, application programming interfaces, and support for artificial intelligence models enabling autonomous interaction and decision-making.

A demonstration video released by the company shows the robot navigating rocky slopes without losing its footing throughout the test.

The same footage shows the machine maintaining full mobility even after falling from elevated platforms during separate testing runs later.

Unitree describes the AS2-W as running a high-performance AI module capable of 150 TOPS, or trillion operations per second, onboard.

The company has not specified whether that processor is actually manufactured by Nvidia, despite widespread reports describing it that way.

Its ISS 3.0 autonomous navigation system is designed to provide centimetre-level positioning accuracy during movement through complex operating environments.

Military interest follows the armed version sighting

The People's Liberation Army has already shown interest in the AS2-W following its appearance during the Chinese-Mongolian Steppe Partner 2026 joint military exercise.

Chinese military reports indicated similar robotic platforms performed reconnaissance and fire support tasks during the exercise alongside conventional military units.

The public unveiling followed those exercises, although Unitree's commercial announcement focused primarily on the platform's technical characteristics rather than operational deployment.

The vehicle's onboard artificial intelligence enables object processing directly on the platform, potentially reducing delays associated with transmitting information to remote operators.

Its combination of autonomous navigation, onboard computing, and off-road mobility reflects broader interest in unmanned ground vehicles across several defence programmes worldwide.

However, the company has not disclosed the full operational limitations, endurance under sustained military use, or performance while carrying heavier payloads.

Unitree's YouTube video of this robot comes with the disclaimer, "Please, everyone be sure to use the robot in a friendly and safe manner."

"It takes close to eight months to produce the topiaries," explained Debbie Mola Mickler, area manager at Disney's Horticulture — for installations that were on display for just a few weeks.

On that clock, Disney's horticulture team is likely already deep into next year's lineup — even though this year's International Flower & Garden Festival at EPCOT only wrapped June 1. Mola Mickler oversees production of the living character sculptures that define the festival at Walt Disney World in Orlando. What look like decorative topiaries from a distance reveal themselves up close as something far more complex.

Underneath, engineered steel frames, a moss growth medium, and tightly integrated irrigation work together so that whether it's Mickey, Buzz, Lightning McQueen, or any other character, the topiary presents itself exactly as it should. They're closer to architecture than landscaping, and the timeline to build one reflects that.

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

That timeline starts long before any planting begins. Disney's horticulture team works directly with Walt Disney Imagineering to decide which characters can even be translated into living structures — a process that blends creative direction with real-world constraints like weight, scale, and maintenance. Once a character is selected, Mola Mickler goes straight to the source and thinks about scale — how big the topiaries need to be, and what plant material can tell that story.

From design, Disney's digital team produces a maquette — a small 3D-printed physical model of each topiary — that serves as the reference guide for everything that follows, from fabrication through final trimming.

That translation from screen to structure is where Disney's topiaries stop being just landscaping and become systems design problems. "Our Imagineers are so creative, they've pushed us towards getting these topiaries with more movement," she explained. The dresses have folds; legs may be bent like a character is mid-dance. That push toward motion and expression has forced a redesign of how internal structures are built — especially as characters become more dynamic and less symmetrical.

Once a design is approved, Disney builds a full production pipeline that starts with digital modeling and ends with custom steel fabrication. "You can't just go to the yellow pages and find a welder to make the frame," Debbie said.

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

Each topiary begins as a custom-engineered stainless steel structure designed to support weight, shape, and long-term outdoor exposure. Built into each frame are engineered pick points — load-bearing anchors that allow heavy equipment like cranes and forklifts to position the finished topiaries into their beds in the park. Some characters arrive in multiple pieces and are assembled on-site.

Once the steel frame is in place, it's filled with sphagnum moss, which acts as the primary growth medium. For larger characters, Disney builds a secondary cage of chicken wire inside the frame first — since plants only need about two to three inches of growing area, the inner cage reduces the amount of moss required while maintaining the structure's shape.

The moss retains moisture, supports plant plugs, and forms the core structure that everything else grows into. Built into each frame is a segmented irrigation system that allows Disney to control water distribution at a surprisingly granular level.

"We can do arms, we can do the head, we can do the feet," Debbie said. "And then we'll turn it off as needed." That segmentation isn't just for efficiency — it's environmental control. Florida's climate can shift rapidly, and different parts of a topiary may require different hydration levels depending on sun exposure and airflow.

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

As the plants grow in, the maquette becomes the trimming guide — helping maintain pose accuracy and character shape across months of active growth before the festival opens.

Behind the scenes, Disney operates continuous environmental monitoring across 12 greenhouse facilities, each subdivided into controlled environments that simulate different growing conditions depending on plant type and stage. Debbie described automated alerts that notify her directly if temperatures fall outside safe ranges — a system her team relies on enough that they refer to themselves as "weather watchers."

The foundational methods, though, have deep roots. "Many years ago when I first started in Disney horticulture, we did not have sphagnum topiary," Debbie said. "We only had woody topiaries with single shrubs being trained in a frame, and it can take seven to 10 years to grow one."

Those traditional systems, still used at Disneyland, rely on shrubs trained over lightweight frames and take several years to mature. At EPCOT, the sphagnum system enables faster production cycles and far more expressive designs — but still requires nearly a year of preparation per installation.

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

Some heritage pieces remain in rotation, including a more than 50-year-old elephant topiary originally built for Magic Kingdom that now makes a special appearance just for Flower & Garden in EPCOT's United Kingdom Pavilion.

Modern festival builds, meanwhile, sit at the intersection of horticulture and fabrication engineering. Materials like palm fiber replicate textures such as Woody's hat and boots; coconut coir matting handles facial detailing. Props like belt buckles and sheriff badges are 3D printed and integrated directly into the structures.

Even animation principles feed into final assembly. "We want to make sure the eyes are always looking at the guest when they take a picture," Debbie said.

It's that kind of detail — designed not just to be seen, but to be experienced — that makes the topiaries something more than seasonal decoration. They're living installations built to hold up across an entire festival, in Florida heat, one carefully engineered character at a time.

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 Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Saturday, August 1 (game #1147).

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 #1148) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• LIKE
• AIRPLANE
• VIA
• FLAX
• À LA
• SO
• BY
• DARK
• PER
• LORD
• WELL
• ASEA
• THROUGH
• BEAST
• OLGA
• ACTUALLY

NYT Connections today (game #1148) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Meaningless meaning
• GREEN: How to get threre
• BLUE: A type of thing different to the main thing
• PURPLE: Abbreviations for baggage handlers

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 #1148) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: FILLER WORDS
• GREEN: BY MEANS OF
• BLUE: MODE
• PURPLE: U.S. AIRPORT CODES PLUS STARTING LETTER

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

NYT Connections today (game #1148) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1148, are…

• YELLOW: FILLER WORDS: ACTUALLY, LIKE, SO, WELL
• GREEN: BY MEANS OF: BY, PER, THROUGH, VIA
• BLUE: MODE: AIRPLANE, BEAST, DARK, À LA
• PURPLE: U.S. AIRPORT CODES PLUS STARTING LETTER: ASEA, FLAX, LORD, OLGA

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I love getting Connections badges and today was rewarded with a Reverse Rainbow. Incredibly, after playing the game for several years this is only the second time I’ve achieved this.

Key to my Purple First success was spotting LAX hidden in FLAX and GLA in OLGA, having travelled to both airports plenty of times. LAX feels particularly iconic thanks to its inclusion in several lyrics — “I hopped off the plane at LAX with a dream and a cardigan” from Miley Cyrus’s Party in the USA being a favorite.

Next, I got MODE in part because I am fairly certain we have had this category before, while I simply got lucky connecting BY MEANS ahead of the yellow group of FILLER WORDS.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Saturday, August 1, 2026, game #1147)

• YELLOW: BEDDING: COMFORTER, SHAM, SHEET, THROW
• GREEN: OSCAR-WINNING ACTORS SINCE 2010: BALE, JORDAN, PHOENIX, WALTZ
• BLUE: PERFORM SOME HOLE MACHINING OPERATION: S BORE, COUNTERSINK, DRILL, REAM
• PURPLE: STARTING WITH BREAD SHAPES: BOULEVARD, BUNDLE, LOAFER, ROLLS-ROYCE

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 Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Saturday, August 1 (game #881).

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

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Eyes on the prize

NYT Strands today (game #882) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• BURP
• HABIT
• NATION
• CLAP
• ALONG
• APPEAL

NYT Strands today (game #882) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 7 letters

NYT Strands today (game #882) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: right, 8th row

• Last side: left, 2nd row

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

NYT Strands today (game #882) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #882, are…

• AMBITION
• GOAL
• PLAN
• PURPOSE
• OBJECTIVE
• INTENTION
• SPANGRAM: AIMHIGH

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I’d collected six non-game words before I found AMBITION and managed to resist the temptation of speeding things up with a couple of hints.

After I’d got going, GOAL, PLAN and PURPOSE came easily, but even though I saw OBJECTIVE I still managed to mess up the order connecting the letters.

All in all, a quite straightforward game with the most unusual feature being a rare right-to-left diagonal spangram.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Saturday, August 1, game #881)

• SILLY
• ABSURD
• PREPOSTEROUS
• LUDICROUS
• LAUGHABLE
• SPANGRAM: GETREAL

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.