TechRadar News

• Apple has released an important new update for macOS Sequoia
• The update prevents a potential bricking issue for users utilizing DFU mode for device recovery
• It may be the last macOS Sequoia update before macOS Tahoe 26's arrival

Apple's macOS Tahoe 26 is now on the horizon, slated for release later this year. However, Apple isn't quite done with macOS Sequoia, and it's just released an important update for Mac users.

As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple has released macOS Sequoia 15.6, a new update with an important bug fix. This resolves an issue with Finder and Apple Configurator's inability to restore devices from DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) mode, which could result in a bricked device if unsuccessful.

Users would need to specifically enter DFU mode (which serves as an alternative to recovery mode for device restoration) for this to occur. While users who aren't planning on using DFU may still be safe on Sequoia 15.5 (and older), it's better to eliminate the chance of bricking a device entirely by updating to Sequoia 15.6.

This could be one of the last updates of Sequoia we see before it eventually bows out to Tahoe 26, which promises a variety of improvements to the macOS experience – it's already available in public beta, and it looks set to be ideal for multitaskers and gamers.

With new tools like MetalFX Frame Interpolation, a Game Overlay, and an upgraded Game Porting Tool kit, macOS Tahoe 26 is another step in the right direction for Apple and its gaming support.

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)Analysis: macOS Tahoe 26's features are making me wish I had an M-series MacBook...

Having only used Intel-powered MacBooks, I've been debating a potential switch from Windows laptops to M-series MacBooks for a while now – and the arrival of macOS Tahoe 26 looks like the perfect time for it.

I'm a big gamer (if that wasn't clear enough already), and I'm not opposed to spending a hefty sum when a laptop can provide exceptional performance in productivity and multitasking, alongside gaming. Yes, gaming laptops exist, but MacBooks using the latest M-series chips look like the ideal answer due to their power efficiency.

I'm growing tired of Windows for gaming, and I'd rather use SteamOS for its console-like UI and better game performance – but using Discord for streaming to friends on SteamOS' game mode, isn't a simple task. Until that's addressed, I'll stick to SteamOS/Bazzite for handhelds exclusively.

As for gaming on a laptop, macOS is becoming a more appealing operating system after each update, especially with a growing game library with titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and Resident Evil 4 remake on Macs. Apple is continuously proving that gaming is on its radar, and it might just convince me to join the party.

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• Xbox Game Pass reached "nearly $5 billion" in revenue over the last year
• Microsoft's FY25 Q4 results reveal that Xbox gaming revenue is up by 10% year-over-year, and Xbox content and services are up by 13%
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella also says that there are 500 million monthly active users across gaming platforms and devices

Microsoft has shared a new milestone for Xbox Game Pass, which attained "nearly $5 billion" in revenue for the first time over the last year.

This achievement was announced as part of the company's FY25 Q4 earnings report detailing the results of the last 12 months (ending June 30, 2025), where CEO Satya Nadella also revealed that Microsoft has 500 million monthly active users across gaming platforms and devices.

“We are now the top publisher on both Xbox and PlayStation this quarter,” said Nadella. "...Game Pass annual revenue was nearly $5 billion for the first time" (via The Verge).

Overall, Xbox gaming revenue was up by 10% year-over-year, and Xbox content and services revenue, which includes Game Pass and first-party titles, is up by 13% this quarter.

This 13% increase could be attributed to Xbox's multi-platform push, which recently saw Xbox-exclusive games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 come to PS5.

Microsoft didn't share the latest subscriber numbers for the service, so there's no way to know if there has been an increase or decrease in members from 34 million players, which the company revealed in February 2024.

Xbox hardware revenue, however, is down 22% this quarter, which could be a consequence of Microsoft increasing the price of its Xbox Series consoles and accessories earlier this year.

Along with hardware price hikes, Microsoft also announced in May that some first-party titles will also be increased to $80 to match the cost of Nintendo Switch 2 games.

However, this plan may be subject to change as the company has since lowered the price of both The Outer Worlds 2 and Borderlands 4.

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• Meta is set to almost double its AI infrastructure spending
• Meta looks to keep pace with major AI rivals
• AI infrastructure comes at a huge environmental cost

As governments and private companies around the world announce huge AI infrastructure plans, Meta has become the latest to announce a major spending spree.

In its most recent quarterly financial results, the company announced an expansion of spending to around $66-$72 billion - more than doubling its spending on data centres and servers.

“We expect that developing leading AI infrastructure will be a core advantage in developing the best AI models and product experiences, so we expect to ramp our investments significantly in 2026 to support that work,” Susan Li, Meta CFO, said during the company’s earnings call.

Costly infrastructure

The move comes shortly after Meta’s shares jumped more than 10%, thanks largely to advertising business success, where AI-driven ad creation tools allow users to generate video ads from images, helping prompt better conversion rates.

Meta says it expects a similar jump in spending onwards in 2026, as the firm looks to “aggressively [pursue] opportunities to bring additional capacity online to meet the needs of [its] artificial intelligence efforts and business operations.”

Meta isn’t alone, as Microsoft has also announced plans to spend billions on AI, announcing over $30 billion capital investment as it expands AI capacity in a bid to keep up with the likes of Amazon - which itself is set to spend up to $111 billion in 2025, with the majority going towards tech and infrastructure.

This infrastructure, primarily referring to data centres and large servers, is costly in more ways than one. It would be disingenuous to talk about data centre spending without mentioning the enormous environmental costs associated with the infrastructure.

Data centres consume massive amounts of energy and water - depleting local water sources and putting huge strain on already labored energy grids.

Local communities are being hit hard by nearby data centre constructions - with data centres in Texas using 463 million gallons of water, as residents are instructed to take shorter showers to offset the usage.

In Georgia, residents living in proximity to Meta’s own data centre, can no longer drink their water, with taps running dry thanks to added sediment in local wells. The cost of municipal water has skyrocketed, and the county water commission may face a shortage.

Via: TechCrunch

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• Epson has announced the LS9000, an entry-level model in its Pro Cinema projector lineup
• The LS9000 has a specified 2,200 lumens of white (ISO rated) and color (IDMS rated) brightness
• The LS9000 features dual HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support for gaming

Epson today announced the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 4K 3LCD Laser Projector. The new lower-cost entry in the company’s Pro Cinema projector lineup is making its debut this week at the Audio Advice Live show, which takes place August 1-3, 2025, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Priced at $3,999 (around £2,995 / AU$6,135), the Epson LS9000 provides a more affordable alternative to the Epson Pro Cinema LS12000 ($5,999), currently the top pick in our best projectors guide. Like that model, the new LS9000 is a 4K 3LCD model with HDR10+, HDR10, and HLG support. It also uses a laser light source rated for 20,000 hours and has a motorized lens with powered zoom, focus, and +/- 96% vertical and up to +/- 24% horizontal lens shift.

With 2,200 lumens of white (ISO rated) and color (IDMS rated) brightness, the LS9000 isn’t as powerful as the LS12000, which is rated for 2,700 lumens of white brightness. But like that model, it features 4K 120Hz support on its dual HDMI 2.1 ports for gaming (eARC and ARC are also supported).

Epson’s ZX Picture Processor performs real-time frame interpolation and picture enhancement on the LS9000, which also features a powered lens cover that slides into place when the projector is powered off. A memory zoom option lets you use the projector with ultra-wide 2.35:1 screens, and it also supports third-party anamorphic lenses for use with the same.

A cheaper Pro Series? We’ll take itImage 1 of 3

The new LS9000 is the entry-level model in Epson's Pro Cinema projector lineup (Image credit: Epson)Image 2 of 3

A powered lens cover slides into place when the LS9000 is powered off (Image credit: Epson)Image 3 of 3

Connections include two HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support (Image credit: Epson)

At CEDIA Expo 2024, Epson debuted the Epson Q-Series, a trio of 4K laser projectors aimed at the high-end residential market. What distinguished these from other Epson projectors was the Q-Series’ high brightness specifications, starting at 3,300 lumens for the QB1000, with up to 10,000 lumens for the flagship Epson QL7000.

Such high light output makes the Q-Series a perfect option for open-format media rooms or living rooms, where some degree of ambient lighting is preferred.

With 2,200 lumens of brightness, the new LS9000 is aimed more at traditional dark-room home theaters, where the projector’s two-speed Dynamic Contrast adjustment will allow it to project crisp 4K movies with powerful contrast (Epson’s contrast ratio specs cite over 2.5 million to one).

The LS9000’s dual HDMI 2.1 ports with 4K 120Hz support also make it a great option for gaming with next-gen consoles or PCs. And at $3,999, Epson’s latest is a more reasonably priced gaming projector than other models in its lineup, and it’s also one that should capably do double duty for movies.

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• AI is improving the mean time to identify and contain data breaches
• IBM finds AI users could be saving £600,000 per breach vs. non-users
• Only one-third of UK orgs have deployed AI in security

New IBM data suggests the cost of data breaches could actually be falling as AI becomes more integrated into cybersecurity practices, with companies employing these technologies typically incurring much lower costs than non-users.

The study estimated pro-AI firms incurred £3.11 million in costs compared with £3.78 million for non-users - but despite the potential £600,000+ in savings, fewer than one in three UK organizations have widely deployed AI and automation in security, meaning that many are still facing the consequences.

That said, while artificial intelligence has been seen improving detection, it's also assisting with code generation, meaning that more cybercriminals can access more sophisticated attacks.

AI is a double-edged sword in cybersecurity

With the widespread adoption of AI, companies are now seeing breaches happen when employees use non-approved AI tools – also known as shadow AI. Yet only 31% of the companies surveyed have AI governance policies to manage shadow AI.

Third-party vendor and supply chain compromises were cited as the top UK breach causes, accounting for 18 - with phishing (16%) and compromised credentials (11%) also widely seen.

Although humans remain a key entry point for attackers into an organization, trends have shifted over the past two decades. In 2005, lost or stolen devices accounted for nearly half (45%) of breaches, with 2015 seeing a spike in misconfigured clouds. Ransomware also picked up in 2020.

"The data speaks for itself as organisations implementing robust AI-driven security automation are significantly reducing breach costs," IBM UK&I Cybersecurity Services Leader Georgie Cohen explained.

With artificial intelligence, organizations are unlocking faster response times, with a mean time to identify (MTTI) of 148 days and a mean time to and contain (MTTC) of 42 days (compared with 168 days and 64 days for non-users).

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Comedian Leanne Morgan’s self-titled sitcom has dropped on Netflix as of July 31, 2025, telling the fictionalized story of when her husband has an affair with a younger woman. It’s the sort of structure we saw on the sitcom Reba about 20 years ago, but this time, divorce is an empowering thing. Finding the humor in life and those around her, Leanne is determined to rebuild her life from the ground up.

Frankly, I’m already sold on the new series Leanne, despite only having this much information to go on. A female lead over the age of 50, real-life drama without the sensationalism and genuinely brilliant jokes is more than enough on its own, but there’s layers to the new Netflix comedy. Morgan has been in the comedy game for over 25 years, but there’s a good chance many subscribers have never even heard of her. She oozes charm and – in her own words – “dazzle” (you might have seen her on the most recent episode of Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast), and her Southern drawl is an absolute wonder… she could say anything in the phone book and you’d be hooked on it.

Clearly Morgan’s time in the global spotlight is long overdue, but I’m just as interested in her series co-creator. That’s none other than Chuck Lorre, part of the brains behind the growing Sheldon-verse that includes The Big Bang Theory (TBBT), Young Sheldon and Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage. He’s also now got Stuart Fails to Save the Universe on the go, but before that gets legs, fans of the franchise need to see Leanne for one very, very good reason.

Netflix’s new comedy Leanne is exactly the type of modern sitcom we didn’t know we needed to stream

Where something like Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage hasn’t quite landed how to adapt the traditional sitcom format for a 2025 audience (think the sound stage, laugh track vibe Young Sheldon left behind in 2017), Leanne has made it into its own. Why have Morgan and Lorre found it so easy? Because you simply can’t help but fall in love with Leanne herself, even if the humor isn’t always doing it for you.

Broadly speaking, the structure of sticking a laugh track over multi-cam filmed comedy scenes just doesn’t work anymore, even if it did for TBBT back in 2007. It’s just not how we connect to what makes us laugh anymore, and there’s a reason why most new hit comedy shows have pivoted to single-cam strategies instead. Leanne takes a risk by keeping it classic, but it naturally lends itself to the Southern charm and sheer amount of bombastic chaos we more regularly saw in pre-2000 comedies. Kristen Johnson’s Carol is a fantastic example of this – her comedic aura is just too big to restrict to a single camera point of view.

If nothing else, Leanne hammers home the message we need to hear right now. Women are all-powerful and important in every possible aspect of life. If needed, they can move mountains to start from scratch while not losing sight of the joy that’s right in front of them. For me, it’s even better that the show isn’t always perfect, because who wants to be that? As someone who misses Young Sheldon et al. more than I miss George Cooper being alive, Leanne has perfectly scratched that sitcom itch.

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• The Rings of Power season 3 is officially in production
• Amazon confirmed filming has begun on the next chapter of its Lord of the Rings TV show
• It's possible that the high fantasy prequel's third entry could arrive in late 2026

It's taken a while, but Amazon MGM Studios has finally confirmed the cameras are rolling on The Rings of Power season 3.

Four months after The Rings of Power was officially renewed for a third season, Amazon revealed filming had begun on the high fantasy show's next installment via a 23-second teaser, which was uploaded to the series' social media channels yesterday (July 30).

Something is stirring on set. Season 3 is underway. pic.twitter.com/YdBSGcGd8jJuly 30, 2025

There's not much to glean from the footage. Indeed, the brief behind the scenes video simply shows an individual carrying Sauron's iconic crown, which he acquired in The Rings of Power season 2 finale, to one of the show's sets. After the crown, which originally belonged to Sauron's master Morgoth in The Lord of the Rings (TLotR) literature, onto another person, the headpiece is set down on a table. The video ends with confirmation that the Prime Video series' third season in now in production.

That revelation notwithstanding, there is something else we can read into the first teaser for The Rings of Power's third season – and, surprise surprise, it's got something to do with the aforementioned crown.

Last season, we learned that Morgoth's headgear was an incredibly powerful, magical artifact that may possess the ability to fatally injure the Maiar. Essentially, they're angelic beings who serve the Valar, aka TLotR's god-like entities, and Sauron was a Maia before he was corrupted by Morgoth, a fallen Valar previously known as Melkor.

Sauron used Morgoth's crown as a weapon in his season 2 showdown with Galadriel (Image credit: Prime Video)

Adar, one of Sauron's lieutenants who had possession of the crown, aimed to use it on Sauron due to the latter's belief that the orcs who make up his armies are nothing more than disposable creatures in his quest to rule Middle-earth. As the orcs' All-Father, Adar disagreed with Sauron's view, hence his desire to kill Sauron and set the orcs free. Long story short: Adar is killed – ironically by some orcs who've fallen under one of Sauron's dark spells – which sees Sauron come into possession of Morgoth's crown.

"But what's this got to do with what you teased three paragraphs ago?", I hear you ask. If Morgoth's crown is as potent as The Rings of Power has led us to believe, I think Sauron will use its magical abilities to help him forge The One Ring. We already know it'll be created next season – Sauron actor Charlie Vickers telling me it's the "next piece of the puzzle" for the Dark Lord's journey through this show, and would explain why Sauron was so keen to get his hands on the headpiece.

Is there a release date for The Rings of Power season 3 on Prime Video?

The look of disappointment when we learn it could be another 18 months before season 3 arrives (Image credit: Prime Video)

Alright, so we know filming is underway on one of the best Prime Video shows' third installment. I'm pretty confident that its first teaser has also given us a big clue about how the One Ring will be created. But, one big question remains: when will season 3 make its bow on Prime Video, aka one of the world's best streaming services?

The short answer is: I don't know. That won't stop me from speculating on a possible launch date, though – and it might be with us sooner than anyone might think, too.

For starters, seasons 1 and 2 respectively took 18 months and eight months to film. Principal photography took longer on the former due to a six-month hiatus amid the pandemic. So, if we remove that period of inactivity from its shooting schedule, the series' first two seasons took between eight and 12 months to film.

With principal photography commencing on season 3 yesterday (July 30), and given what its predecessors' shooting timeframes indicate, it'll be July 2026 before the cameras stop rolling on the forthcoming season. Considering how much post-production work would need to be conducted before it's ready for public consumption, we could be looking at an early 2027 launch – at the very earliest – for the series' next chapter.

There's a chance it could arrive before the end of 2026, though. Speaking to Gold Derby, director/producer Charlotte Brandstrom, whose worked on the show since early 2021, heavily implied that filming actually started in May.

"I’ve actually been shooting all day," she said, "So I’ve been up since 5am. I’m in London right now, so I’m working on it right now and I can’t say much, except that I think it’s going to be a really good season."

The fact that Brandstrom says she's already shot some scenes indicates that, at the time of publication, a few have been in the can for over two months. If that's the case, filming might be further along on The Rings of Power's latest season than we're being led to believe and may wrap earlier than anticipated.

All of that is to say, then, if Amazon surprisingly reveals filming has been completed before the end of 2025, it's possible season 3 will make its debut in late 2026. All eyes will be on the series' official social media accounts, then, for news on when principal photography wraps. Until then, read more of my exclusive coverage on the show below, including what we can expect next time around.

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• Multicloud comes with challenges, like interoperability and inconsistencies
• Geopolitical uncertainty is driving sovereignty requirements
• Survey finds nearly a third of firms are already implementing multicloud strategies, and a similar amount adopting hybrid infrastructure

British firms are increasingly turning their backs on single-cloud infrastructure, with as many as three in five UK orgs looking to open up beyond one single provider, new research has claimed.

The survey from Civo added further down that line, nearly one-third (29%) are already implementing multi-cloud strategies, with a similar number (31%) adopting hybrid cloud models to blend public cloud with their own on-prem infrastructure.

Civo believes this trend could be in response to data governance and sovereignty requirements, but increasing costs could also be playing a role in the decision.

UK orgs are going back to multicloud and hybrid

Only 35% of the survey's respondents reported full visibility into their data storage and governance at the moment, suggesting they could be running suboptimally and at high expense. Hybrid cloud promises a balance of agility and control as companies look for more sustainable long-term solutions.

Although multicloud does share some of these promises, Civo noted that the current environment is dominated by operational complexity, like fragmented support, compliance inconsistency and proprietary tools preventing interoperability.

Two in three (68%) said they'd consider locally governed providers if UK and EU compliance frameworks were stronger, with four in five (78%) agreeing that sovereignty has now become a priority when choosing tech of infrastructure partners.

"I speak to founders and IT leaders all the time who tell me the same thing: they know they need to move away from relying on a single provider, but they feel stuck," Civo CEO Mark Boost explained.

"They want control and the ability to stay resilient in the face of geopolitical uncertainty - that starts with sovereignty... But to fully realise the benefits of hybrid cloud, businesses need platforms that are open by design, interoperable, and built with transparency at their core."

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• EA CEO Andrew Wilson has said there are no plans to increase the cost of Battlefield 6 to $80
• In an investor's call, Wilson said, "We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage"
• EA also confirmed that there will be no $80 games between now and the end of the current fiscal year, which is March 2026

Despite the rising cost of AAA games across the games industry, EA has said that it isn't looking to increase the price of Battlefield 6 to $80.

That's according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who responded to an investor asking the publisher about competitors now releasing $80 games during the company's Q1 earnings call on July 29 (via IGN).

"We're not looking to make any changes on pricing at this stage," Wilson said. "That's in the construct of, we already offer a fairly broad pricing scheme across our various products.

"When you think about everything from free-to-play through to our premium products and deluxe editions, our orientation is always to capture the full spectrum of pricing so that we can serve players in the best way possible and offer them the greatest value. We'll continue to look at opportunities to deliver great value to our players through various pricing schemes over the course of time, but no dramatic changes planned yet."

During the call, EA also confirmed that it had not factored in any price changes to its current fiscal year earnings guidance, suggesting that there will be no $80 games between now and the end of the current fiscal year, which is March 2026.

Nintendo set a new precedent earlier this year when it revealed that its Nintendo Switch 2 launch title, Mario Kart World, would cost $80.

Microsoft followed suit earlier this year by confirming that some first-party games would see a price increase to $79.99 later this year. However, the company recently announced that it had decided to lower the cost of both The Outer Worlds 2 and Borderlands 4.

Elsewhere, fans can look forward to the Battlefield 6 multiplayer reveal later today.

The livestream should also confirm a release date; however, an earlier report from reliable leaker Billbil-kun at Dealabs claims that the shooter will release on October 10, 2025, for PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC.

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• Future Games Show will be back at Gamescom this year
• This year's hosts are actors Maggie Robertson and David Hayter
• Tune in live on August 20 for more than 50 trailers and announcements

Future Games Show at Gamescom is returning this year for another showcase packed with game trailers and world premieres.

This year, the show will be hosted by actors Maggie Robertson (Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village) and David Hayter (Solid Snake, Metal Gear Solid). You'll be able to tune into the show live on August 20 at 1am PDT / 2pm EDT / 7pm BST / 8pm CEST.

Future Games Show will go live at the above times on a variety of social channels, including Twitch, YouTube, X / Twitter, TikTok, as well as with our friends over at GamesRadar.

Viewers can expect announcements and trailers for more than 50 upcoming games, many of which will be world premieres. Developers and publishers featured will include Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, EA, and Nacon. And if there are any games you're looking forward to in particular this year, you just might be in luck, as the show is set to feature some "stealth demo drops."

On returning to the Future Games Show fold, Robertson said: “I’m thrilled to be joining David Hayter to co-host the Future Games Show at Gamescom on August 20! It’s always such a joy to celebrate the creativity and passion behind the games we love and this showcase is packed with exclusive reveals, dev interviews, and all the latest news on gaming. Can’t wait to see you there!”

Hayter added: “Yes! I'll be returning to the Future Games Show at Gamescom on August 20 with Maggie Robertson. I've had a sneak peek and the show is packed with world premieres, new trailers and deep dives into some incredible games. Join us on August 20!”

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Sometimes in software development, things can sit on your to-do list for years – and it’s a technology-based disruption that pushes them to the top of your priorities.

Remember the move to mobile 15 years ago? All of a sudden, people were rushing to address things they should have already thought about in the web app age.

Customer experience, robust testing, programs that are truly fit for purpose and not just functional – the emergence of mobile highlighted many gaps that organizations had to fill. In 2025, AI and low code are the innovations having a profound impact on software development.

And one, perhaps under-acknowledged, consequence is a shift in how organizations approach risk management and regulatory compliance.

The decentralization of development

How enterprises develop and deliver technology – for both internal and external use – is changing. Where once technology development was a process led centrally by IT, today no-code platforms and AI tools are driving a shift to development teams fractalized across the organization.

This is incredibly exciting in many ways, as developers can be more responsive to business needs, collaborating directly with the people most aware of what customers, employees and partners require. But at the same time, it changes the business’ relationship with risk. In the old world, the IT professionals driving development had a holistic perspective of the security concerns, risk profiles and compliance requirements of the organization as a whole.

But now, distributed developers work on smaller pieces of the puzzle, which each present a range of risk management and governance questions. Enterprises are now being faced with managing the risk, as well as embracing the opportunity, of this democratization.

The age of adaptive governance

Risk is a complex question in the time of distributed development. Governance and risk mean different things, depending on where the technology sits in the business. Issues like whether applications are customer-facing, the sensitivity of data and how it’s stored and privacy considerations will each vary from case to case.

Delivering a mobile banking feature could raise all kinds of questions. How and where is customer data stored? Who has access? What will be in the hands of the customers, and what will be in the hands of employees? With so many interconnected issues, it could be easy to miss something crucial from a privacy, security or regulatory perspective.

It’s more important than ever that individual developer teams get to grips with the risk and compliance implications of their activities.

This creates a new role for risk managers and compliance officers. Rather than simply sitting centrally, these specialists need to be embedded in multidisciplinary technology delivery teams across the organization, sometimes referred to as “fusion teams”. There, they act as a front line for risk management, empowering development teams with the right guidance and oversight of their activities.

The smartest organizations are moving to a model of adaptive governance: risk management that’s appropriate for each scenario, and balances innovation with compliance. It’s here that fusion teams will really deliver. With a blend of experts from the business, software developers and UX specialists, teams can better understand the risk and compliance implications of their work – and proactively protect the organization.

The invisible shift

The shift to decentralized technology is nothing new. But low code and AI are catalyzing the parallel shift to a new risk management and compliance model. It may be less visible – but the consequences will be significant.

It’s important that everyone gets to grips with the age of adaptive governance, to ensure that distributed development can deliver on its promise, without compromising the business.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

AI is going through its adolescent phase. It’s strong, ambitious, and capable of remarkable things, but increasingly, it’s hitting some growing pains. Some analysts suggest AI has stalled due to "data scarcity," poor connectivity, or power limitations.

However, the real reason might be simpler: AI, as we know it, lacks the fundamental ability to truly understand us, the user. It can process information at remarkable speeds, create photorealistic images, and draft fluent text, but it struggles with emotional intelligence.

It doesn’t know when a user is frustrated, bored, anxious, or exhausted. It can't sense the moment to pause, clarify, or change course. As AI tools are increasingly deployed in emotionally sensitive domains like education, healthcare, wellness, and media, this emotional blindspot is becoming a significant limitation.

Maybe the next leap in AI won’t come from more data or faster processing, but from teaching AI to notice what humans do when something isn't landing. Emotionally adaptive AI will do more than read prompts; it'll read the room.

By combining facial cues, gaze tracking, behavioral patterns, and physiological signals, the next generation of AI will be able to infer how someone feels and adjust its output accordingly. The result will be an AI that understands when to push and when to back off – when someone is ready to learn, when they’re mentally overloaded, or when they’re just not connecting.

This shift, from reactive logic to emotional awareness, could be what finally takes AI out of adolescence and into maturity.

Faster AI Doesn't Mean Better AI

We’re used to measuring AI in superlatives: bigger models, faster inference, smarter responses. But in the rush to scale up, we’ve overlooked something more fundamental: human context. A model ten times larger won't necessarily give better answers if it can't tell when it has misunderstood the question, or when a user is losing patience and needs an empathetic ear.

Logic-based accuracy doesn’t necessarily equate to usefulness in the moment. When AI is deployed in settings where emotional nuance matters – like classrooms, clinics, and during deep conversations – raw intelligence isn't enough. An algorithm might make fast movie recommendations based on viewing history, but it doesn't know what you're in the mood to watch right now.

These environments don't just rely on information delivery; they rely on timing, tone, and emotional context. In a classroom, the difference between a student thriving and disengaging isn't about how many facts the system can present; it's about knowing when the student is overwhelmed.

In a mental health setting, offering the right coping strategy is fine, but what if the user is too burnt out to hear it? Traditional AI systems weren’t built for this. They optimize for completion, not connection, and that’s where their limitations become apparent.

Humanizing AI

AI's next milestone upgrade won't be faster models or smarter algorithms. It'll be emotional adaptivity and contextual awareness. This means two things for the future of AI. First, AI will be able to read your personal cues in real time, when you choose to allow it.

Much like how Apple Watch users see significant value in heart rate, sleep pattern, or activity levels analysis to provide personalized health insights, human context AI picks up on the silent signals we send all the time: the blink rate that suggests cognitive fatigue, the micro-expression that flashes when confusion sets in, or the subtle eye movement that hints at distraction.

With the right fusion of sensors and models, AI can now combine emotion and mood with biometric signals into a holistic understanding of how you're feeling and why.

Understanding human emotional patterns

Second, and perhaps even more broadly, this understanding of human emotional and behavioral patterns can be anonymously "crowdsourced." This vast dataset will level up large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, making them inherently more human-centric in their responses and decisions.

This means AI can deal more effectively with a wider range of situations, even in environments where real-time personal signals aren't being interpreted. It's about building a foundational emotional intelligence into AI, making all interactions more intuitive and responsive to general human needs and states.

In the same way a great teacher slows down when they detect confusion or injects some fun when they see the room glazing over, emotionally adaptive AI can recalibrate on the fly – repeating a step, simplifying a concept, or just pausing to give the user space. It’s a shift from AI that reacts to what we say to AI that responds to how we feel. This opens the door to use cases that conventional AI simply isn’t equipped for.

In healthcare and wellness, it can surface emotional and physiological patterns that can flag burnout, mood disorders, or stroke risk, without relying on bias-prone self-reporting. In gaming, it can power experiences that respond to how players feel, not just what they do, adjusting game difficulty or narrative flow in real-time. What unites these use cases – and countless others – is a shift from one-size-fits-all delivery to emotionally responsive systems that are in tune with humans.

The real breakthrough won't be in how much AI knows; it'll be in how well AI knows us.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

Music streaming giant Spotify recently suffered a global outage that disrupted access to its app, website, and services for users around the world.

Although downloaded songs remained playable, the interruption caused significant frustration and interfered with daily routines. The incident also raised concerns about Spotify’s infrastructure reliability, as similar outages have occurred before.

With ongoing competition from Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Tidal, this lack of consistent service may push some users to consider alternative streaming platforms.

However, there are several ways to maintain product stability and to prevent app outages, including proactive strategies such as comprehensive testing, resilient architecture, continuous monitoring, and disaster recovery planning.

1. Frequent audits

Undertaking frequent and consistent audits can pre-empt issues and avoid customer frustration. These audits should not be exempt from the likes of code reviews, security audits and UX/design reviews.

How regular these should be is dependent on the size of your userbase and technology.

2. Proactive testing and quality assurance

When it comes to mobile app development, it’s important first to use automated testing and continuous integration to detect bugs early in the development cycle. In addition, it’s important to perform regular code reviews to catch issues and improve code quality before deployment.

Regression testing also helps when it comes to verifying that new updates do not disrupt existing functionality and introduce new errors.

3. Updating legacy technologies

Legacy technology refers to outdated software, hardware, and business processes that are still in use. These systems are less efficient, harder to maintain and often lack up-to-date security features, leaving them exposed to potential threats. Although they may continue to fulfil their initial purposes, they limit scalability and hinder integration with modern systems.

With this in mind, it’s important to have a sufficient plan for growth in place and update legacy technologies. The benefits of doing this range from reduced operational costs, improved security, and enhanced customer experience, and importantly greater reliability.

4. Invest in comprehensive monitoring

Depending on the size of the business and customer base, 24-hour monitoring is common for most applications with minimal response times needed for business-critical products.

Having a technical team on hand to immediately jump on any issues, no matter how small, ensures there is no escalation or impact on products and end users.

5. Implement infrastructure management and monitoring

Ensuring your application infrastructure is optimized to handle expected loads and potential spikes is also key to avoiding potential outages.

This includes monitoring network connectivity and performance to identify and address potential issues, as well as server performance and health.

6. Offer ease of communication to the user

Offering in-app communication will allow users to receive clear and timely messages regarding outages and their potential impact. It is also important to maintain an up-to-date status page that transparently reflects the current state of the application and any ongoing issues.

Leveraging social media platforms to share real-time updates and engage with users during service disruptions would also be beneficial.

7. Social listening

This is another effective way to monitor any trends with user issues, and can be easily overlooked. Social listening encompasses everything from monitoring social media outlets to app store reviews.

When it comes to App Store community management, having a clear pre-planned strategy to deal with major issues or outages is key to managing user sentiment and maintaining all-important App Store Ratings.

8. Learning and improving processes

Finally, in the event that an outage does occur, it's important to conduct a post-incident review, where incidents can be analyzed to determine root causes and corrective actions can be implemented to prevent future recurrence.

Organizations may also benefit from creating and maintaining a solid contingency plan as a result, with the focus being on communication strategies and fallback solutions to minimize impact.

Frustration for customers and business

Disruptions to mobile app services — whether due to technical glitches, third-party vendor failures, high traffic volumes, or the complexities of legacy IT infrastructure — can cause significant frustration for both customers and businesses. The impact is even greater when paying subscribers experience interruptions to services they rely on.

To minimize these risks, developers and brands invest in robust testing protocols, regularly update and maintain IT systems, plan for scalability, and implement advanced monitoring tools to catch issues before they escalate.

From the customer's perspective, it makes no difference whether a problem originates with your organization or a third-party provider — the responsibility, and any damage to brand trust, falls on you. For businesses like Spotify, this underscores the importance of carefully selecting third-party vendors and conducting regular audits to ensure they meet strict reliability and security standards.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

World Productivity Day should be a moment of reflection and renewed ambition for every business leader in the UK. But this year, the reality is sobering: half of UK businesses are still relying on manual, outdated processes.

A recent 2025 UK Digital Maturity Survey revealed a widening gap between digital ambition and execution. While leaders talk about transformation, their teams are often held back by complexity.

With countless options for new or upgraded systems, admittedly, it can feel confusing and overwhelming. Too many companies are layering on new tools without fixing the underlying infrastructure.

Nowhere is this more obvious that cybersecurity.

Cyber insecurity

Shockingly, over half (56%) of businesses admit that awareness of cyber threats is low, and less than half provide regular training to their employees. In an era of escalating and well documented attacks, this isn’t just risky, it’s irresponsible.

In recent months, several high-profile cyberattacks have paralyzed UK businesses, disrupted public services, and exposed critical data vulnerabilities.

From ransomware targeting hospital systems to breaches in supply chains, the threat is no longer hypothetical - it’s here, and it’s escalating. Attackers aren’t just going after data; they’re going after operational continuity. That means productivity itself is now at risk.

Despite our collective awareness that digital transformation drives growth, too many organizations remain stuck with legacy systems, weak integration, and critically, poor cybersecurity. Secure IT infrastructure isn’t a ‘nice-to-have’; it’s a baseline requirement for productivity and growth.

Resilience in today’s economy means being ready for disruption, and digital resilience starts with cyber readiness. Businesses can no longer afford to treat this as an afterthought. Cybersecurity needs to be embedded into strategy, work culture, and day-to-day operations. Anything less can welcome risks.

The power of data

Then there’s data.

The latest research shows that under a third (only 29%) of organizations say they’re using data to drive strategic decisions. Without the ability to harness insights in real time, decision-making becomes slower, less confident, and ultimately, less effective.

For companies trying to adapt to hybrid work, respond to customer expectations, or navigate economic uncertainty, that’s a major handicap.

In an environment where speed and agility often determine success, relying solely on gut feeling or reports is no longer sufficient. The ability to make real-time, data-informed decisions isn’t a luxury. It’s essential for staying ahead.

Yet, many organizations are sitting on a copious amount of unused data, either because it’s siloed, poorly integrated, or not trusted by decision-makers. Turning that data into a usable asset requires the right tools, yes, but also the right mindset and leadership commitment.

Data maturity can’t be separated from productivity. The more confidently and effectively an organization can use its data, the faster it can act, the smarter it can operate, and the more value it can deliver.

So where do we go from here?

A shift in organizational mindset

For me, in today’s economy, productivity is no longer just a function of efficiency; it’s a function of trust. Employees need to trust the tools they use, the systems that support them, and the data that guides their decisions.

The apparent lack of awareness around data-driven decision-making and security threats points to strategic vulnerabilities. Without secure, integrated digital infrastructure, organizations will struggle to adapt, scale, or compete.

The most forward-looking leaders recognize that digital maturity is now a boardroom issue, not just a technology one. It requires an organizational mindset shift to embed security, insights and agility into the way business gets done.

Inaction is no longer a neutral position; it’s a risk to growth, resilience and reputation. And this isn’t only about catching up. It’s about preparing for what’s next.

With AI becoming more integrated into business models, the risks and opportunities tied to digital maturity will only accelerate. Leaders must start future-proofing now. Closing the gap between ambition and execution starts with leadership willing to make digital capability a strategic imperative.

That means taking a clear-eyed view of the current state, identifying where the obstacles are, and investing in the processes and work culture that support transformation - not just the technology itself.

Call to action

World Productivity Day is a call to action for UK businesses to commit to digital maturity and redress the imbalance between ambition and execution.

Technology offers extraordinary potential, but the true differentiator is how seamlessly it’s woven into the fabric of everyday work. The gap between vision and reality isn’t just a matter of tools, it’s about aligning people, process and ultimately workplace experience.

This starts with listening to employees, to consumers, to data. It continues with investing in change management, training, and upskilling. And it culminates in creating a workplace that feels not just more productive, but more purposeful.

Let World Productivity Day be more than a moment. Make it a turning point. A turning point where productivity is refined, not just in output, but in how confidently, securely, and intelligently we work.

Because in today’s world, adopting technology isn’t just a strategy. It’s how we evolve.

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This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

• South Park is taking a short break after its season 27 premiere
• It has been confirmed that episode 2 will air on August 6
• The news comes after the long-running comedy reached a streaming rights deal with Paramount+

South Park continues to make headlines after its ongoing licensing negotiations, as it has now confirmed the second episode will air on August 6, 2025.

However, The Hollywood Reporter has noted that "South Park has been known to skip weeks as a new season rolls out week over week," so it's likely the comedy show is just re-doing a tried and tested formula.

The news was confirmed via a YouTube video titled "South Park continues August 6", which does exactly what it says on the tin really.

Check out that video below.

What should we expect from South Park season 27?

(Image credit: Comedy Central)

South Park has returned to Paramount+ after ongoing discussions, where I'm pleased to report the original series is available to stream again.

Previously, South Park viewers were left frustrated when the series was removed from Paramount+, but now we can rest easy as it's back on one of the best streaming services.

Based on the above video, it seems the series will continue from the first episode. There, we saw the fictional town agreeing to pay millions to Trump in a settlement.

We can expect more biting satire from South Park when it continues, as the promo video sees Cartman engaged in a debate about abortion with another student at South Park Elementary.

The promo also shows Mr. Garrison riding in an ICE vehicle with masked ICE officers, so as ever, the series isn't holding back when it comes to its topical critiques.

Season 27, episode 2 will be available on Paramount+ from August 6 for viewers in the US, UK, and Australia.

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• Robosculptor is debuting its AI-powered massage robot in the U.S.
• The mechanical masseur uses real-time body mapping to provide consistent treatment
• For everyday clients, Robosculptor promises therapeutic massages aimed at those who value privacy and efficiency

Booking a massage might not need the soft music and small talk if you'd prefer lying down in front of a robot with a silicone-tipped arm and AI brain instead. That’s the promise of Robosculptor and its AI-powered massage system.

The mechanical masseur is designed not to mimic a human therapist, but to use AI analysis embedded into the machine to provide personalized treatment that is the same every time you hop on the table.

Robosculptor has just begun rolling out in the U.S., and the company hopes to get people comfortable with the idea of a robot doing their massage. After all, massage is one of the most personal, touch-based services around. Skilled practitioners use training, experience, and feedback from clients to provide care. Robosculptor isn’t trying to pass as human in its muscle manipulation – the whole pitch is the opposite. The idea is that an AI won't be tired, have an off day, or forget something about treating your body.

Robosculptor scans your body with cameras, builds a real-time 3D map, and then the AI guides the arm to execute specified treatments, which have names like “Inner Peace” and “Vital Flow Express.” It’s a massage-as-output-optimized-protocol. And for some people, that might be exactly what they want.

The company is probably right to focus on making people feel okay about the experience. It's a lot more intense than a massage chair's vibrations, and people inherently trust a trained human to pay attention to little cues about your comfort, or discomfort, that a machine lacks the empathy and sentience to spot.

That's partly why Robosculptor is targeting fitness centers and high-end spas, places where consistent performance across many customers is key to the business. You’re less likely to encounter one in a boutique massage studio. For people with social anxiety, or who don't like to be touched by other people, the idea of a massage without a person in the room could be the difference between booking an appointment and not.

It could also be more affordable since the owner can use the Robosculptor far more frequently than a human masseur can complete a session. The company says the machine can do up to 240 sessions per month, triple the average for a human practitioner.

Massage AI

Massage therapists might not be thrilled, understandably. Robosculptor does claim the device is not a replacement for human experts, and that it can handle only the more basic, repeatable kinds of massage. But, it's easy to imagine that, in chasing efficiency and margins, some operators might decide that the robot is “good enough” for most clients and scale back human staff. That would be a loss not just for therapists, but for clients who value their relationship with their massage therapist.

These theoretical issues need to be addressed as Robosculptor isn't alone as a robotic massage provider. Massage Robotics debuted its dual robot arms more than three years ago, and the hardware and AI software have only improved since then. AI will learn from a wider range of body types, protocols, and outcomes. The robot arm you meet today might be a curiosity. The one in five years might be indistinguishable from the best therapist you ever had.

So while your massage next week might not come with a settings menu yet, it could happen sooner than you'd imagine. And you might not hate it. You could walk into a fitness center, book a 25-minute lymphatic flush, and get the exact same experience every week thereafter. You might even relax more, knowing no one’s judging your compression socks or weird tan lines.

Or maybe you’ll still want a person to do it and be willing to pay for it. For many people, though, Robosculptor could be their new favorite spa treatment, as long as that silicone is kept warm.

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• Elon Musk plans AI compute equal to 50 million H100 GPUs within just five years
• xAI’s training target equals 50 ExaFLOPS, but that doesn’t mean 50 million literal GPUs
• Achieving 50 ExaFLOPS with H100s would demand energy equal to 35 nuclear power stations

Elon Musk has shared a bold new milestone for xAI, which is to deploy the equivalent of 50 million H100 class GPUs by 2030.

Framed as a measure of AI training performance, the claim refers to compute capacity, not literal unit count.

Still, even with ongoing advances in AI accelerator hardware, this goal implies extraordinary infrastructure commitments, especially in power and capital.

A massive leap in compute scale, with fewer GPUs than it sounds

In a post on X, Musk stated, "the xAI goal is 50 million in units of H100 equivalent AI compute (but much better power efficiency) online within 5 years."

Each Nvidia H100 AI GPU can deliver around 1,000 TFLOPS in FP16 or BF16, common formats for AI training - and reaching 50 ExaFLOPS using that baseline would theoretically require 50 million H100s.

Although newer architectures such as Blackwell and Rubin dramatically improve performance per chip.

According to performance projections, only about 650,000 GPUs using the future Feynman Ultra architecture may be required to hit the target.

The company has already begun scaling aggressively, and its current Colossus 1 cluster is powered by 200,000 Hopper based H100 and H200 GPUs, plus 30,000 Blackwell based GB200 chips.

A new cluster, Colossus 2, is scheduled to come online soon with over 1 million GPU units, combining 550,000 GB200 and GB300 nodes.

This puts xAI among the most rapid adopters of cutting edge AI writer and model training technologies.

The company probably chose the H100 over the newer H200 because the former remains a well understood reference point in the AI community, widely benchmarked and used in major deployments.

Its consistent FP16 and BF16 throughput makes it a clear unit of measure for longer term planning.

But perhaps the most pressing issue is energy. A 50 ExaFLOPS AI cluster powered by H100 GPUs would require 35GW, enough for 35 nuclear power plants.

Even using the most efficient projected GPUs, such as Feynman Ultra, a 50 ExaFLOPS cluster could require up to 4.685GW of power.

That is more than triple the power usage of xAI’s upcoming Colossus 2. Even with advances in efficiency, scaling energy supply remains a key uncertainty.

In addition, the cost will also be an issue. Based on current pricing, a single Nvidia H100 costs upwards of $25,000.

Using 650,000 next gen GPUs instead could still amount to tens of billions of dollars in hardware alone, not counting interconnect, cooling, facilities, and energy infrastructure.

Ultimately, Musk’s plan for xAI is technically plausible but financially and logistically daunting.

Via TomsHardware

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• At $250, Dell's cheapest laptop is almost half the price of its most affordable PC

• Eizo FlexScan FLT-S uses just 6 watts of power, making it far more efficient than most office monitors
• Certified as the world’s first Class A monitor under Europe’s updated energy standards
• Connects using just one cable through docking stations, keeping desks clear and clutter-free

Eizo has announced the FlexScan FLT-S, a 23.8 inch full HD monitor that brings energy efficiency, portability, and a clean design into a single display.

Though marketed as a business monitor, its combination of low power draw, simplified setup, and flexible use makes it a compelling alternative to many traditional desktop monitors.

This device is currently available in Japan for 59,950 yen (approx. $406), and it is sold as a made to order product, which suggests that it targets professionals.

Some reasons why this device can replace mainstream systems

At just 6 watts during typical use, the FLT-S offers energy savings far beyond what most standard monitors can match.

Eizo says this makes it the world’s first monitor to earn a Class A energy label under the EU’s 2019/2013 regulation, which reflects its power consumption and efficient internal design.

In office environments with multiple displays running for 8 or more hours a day, this reduction in power use could translate into noticeably lower electricity bills.

It is not just good for sustainability, it is a practical financial benefit, especially at scale.

Compared to larger or older screens that often consume three or four times as much power, the FLT-S shifts the baseline for what users should expect in efficiency.

Another major advantage of the FLT-S is its minimal setup with single cable operation via USB-C or similar docks.

In most workspaces, it can be plugged into a docking station, reducing cable clutter and simplifying desk layouts, which supports a cleaner and more manageable working environment.

Unlike the earlier FlexScan FLT model, which came with a clamping arm, the FLT-S includes a small desk stand that can be placed anywhere without installation, making it suitable for open offices, temporary desks, or situations where mounting is impractical.

It supports tidy, low maintenance setups, which is now expected in modern business environments.

Also, with its lightweight build, simple stand, and plug and play nature, it can be moved around more easily, whether it is a quick desk change or being taken home for hybrid work.

Users do not need to unmount or disassemble anything, just pick it up, take it home, and plug it in.

This mobility places it alongside the best portable monitor options, but with better performance and a full desktop size.

It also means businesses do not have to issue separate screens for home and office. One unit does both jobs well.

Via mynavi

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Apple quarterly earnings reports are not usually fodder for consumer interest. It's a lot of sales numbers and explanations about why the falling dollar, rising yen, or China headwinds are impacting sales and earnings results.

Without the benefit of product introductions, it can be a snoozefest, but this time should be different, and mostly because of Apple's not-so-great year.

• To recap, Apple had to delay the fully Apple Intelligence-upgraded Siri and admit that what they had still wasn't up to Apple's standards.
• The company appears to be falling behind in the critical AI race and has yet to offer a solid, competitive answer.
• It had to shuffle executives to try to get Siri and Apple Intelligence back on track.
• While we wait for a folding iPhone, Samsung just released what may be the industry's best flexible phone.
• The Vision Pro remains an expensive niche product that has not inspired vast numbers of consumer customers.
• The spectre of tariffs is putting pressure on Apple and its partners and may soon force it to start charging more for tech gear.
• The company has been pressured by the Trump administration to start building iPhones in the US.

Put simply, Apple has a lot of explaining to do. So while Apple CFO Kevan Parekh and CEO Tim Cook will spend the first half of the earnings call that is set for Thursday, July 31 at 5PM ET (2PM PT / 10PM BST), droning through profits, operating expenses, capital, and even stock splits, it's the open call with analysts that should be most illuminating, important, and, possibly, even entertaining part of the event.

Analysts should be quizzing Cook and company on these juicy topics:

AI and Apple Intelligence

As I noted above, Apple has fallen far behind in the all-important AI race, and promises that the updated Siri will show up "in the coming year" are less than comforting, especially since that might be next year.

Analysts will rightly demand specifics. And while I do not expect Cook to get pinned down, he might offer some assurance that a Siri that can compete with, say, Gemini or ChatGPT, will arrive by the end of this year, as opposed to slipping into 2026.

I would love to see analysts press Cook on Apple's overall AI strategy, one that I believe is flawed for being too cautious. The competition is flying down AI Highway with abandon, and with Superintelligence or General Artificial Intelligence on the horizon, Apple cannot afford to take the slow approach. Any more delays and Apple will lose more than just this AI race.

New Products

During every earnings call, analysts make desperate attempts to get Cook to mention upcoming products. He never does, but Cook will talk vaguely about "the best lineup ever" of upcoming technologies. His enthusiasm can often speak volumes about what to expect and if any of it will move the needle.

(Image credit: Shutterstock ID 1870904317)Vision Pro pump up

Even though Vision Pro fails to dazzle on the sales side, it remains the most powerful and perhaps the best consumer technology Apple has ever produced. I expect Cook to highlight consumer and enterprise interest, as well as recent content successes, such as the Bono Documentary.

It's the analysts' job, though, to press Cook here and see if they can get him to admit that Vision Pro will never be a consumer product, at least not at its current price.

AR embrace (iGlasses, anyone?)

A good segue here would be a return for Cook to mentions of an AR future. Apple's wearable game cannot remain confined to watches and earbuds, not when Meta is making hay with all those Meta Smart Glasses from Ray-Ban and Oakley.

If we only consider AR glasses, Apple still has some time since Google, Samsung, and Meta are all still trying to figure out how to make high-quality lenses that do not need the bulk of larger frames to support them.

Could analysts goad Cook into mentioning future "iGlasses"?

Airy or bendy phone possibilities

Most people expect Apple to deliver its thinnest iPhone ever this September in the form of an iPhone 17 Air. Cook will not name this product, but he could mention "new form factors," which could be referring to the thinner Air and, maybe, a folding iPhone.

In both areas, though, Apple is behind Samsung, which now has the best and thinnest foldable design in the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 and an admirably thin, if uninspiring, Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.

Analysts will want at least a hint that Apple has an answer for all this.

Tariffs and US-based manufacturing

Cook will not want to talk about US-based manufacturing, tariffs, or the guy who calls him a friend, President Trump. But analysts will ask and press for projections on how tariffs might impact iPhone and other Apple gadget pricing.

Here, I expect Cook to offer at least some color, if not concrete projections. He'll talk again about how Apple is prepared for supply chain fluctuations, which include component pricing pressure. He will assure everyone that Apple has a plan for this uncertain future.

Cook might remind people about how Apple has already diversified manufacturing so that it's not all in China and point to the $500 billion investment in the US, which most recently has included manufacturing training programs for upcoming businesspeople and their businesses.

I don't know if that will satisfy everyone, especially not Trump, who has consistently demanded that Apple build the iPhone in the US.

At least Cook will get to tout the sea changes coming to all of Apple's major platforms and the impact of Liquid Glass on, for instance, the iPhone. iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26 are big updates and ones that, whether or not people love them, do promise to change how they use these platforms.

Overall, this could be one very exciting and even contentious earnings report, and I'll have my popcorn ready.

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• Claimed iPhone 17 dummy units tip a punchy orange color for the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max
• The iPhone 17 Air is tipped to have a nice sand-colored option, alongside blue, back, and white options
• The standard iPhone 17 is expected to sport black, white, light blue, and pastel pink color options

Dummy units of the rumored iPhone 17 range have given us a good idea of what colors to expect from Apple's next-generation phones, and if they come to fruition, could see the iPhone Pro lineup get a dose of punchy color.

This comes from Apple-centric tipster Sony Dickson, who posted a selection of iPhone 17 dummy units in a mix of colors, which we're led to believe come from insider information.

While the iPhone 17 features a fetching pink pastel-like hue, and the rumored iPhone 17 Air comes in a pleasant sand-ish color, the standout is an iPhone 17 Pro dummy unit in a bright orange hue.

First look at iPhone 17 color dummies, The new orange really stands out this year — definitely a bold addition. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/M0gB6NSglIJuly 29, 2025

If this information turns out to be accurate it could mark a mild direction change for Apple, in that previously the Pro iPhones have tended to use somewhat muted colors: the Desert Titanium model of the iPhone 16 Pro Max was probably about as bold as the flagship phones go, with the rest of the iPhone 16 Pro lineup leaning on more basic shades such as white, black, and grey.

So the addition of orange could give the iPhone Pro a shot in the arm when it comes to punchy colors. From the dummy units, the orange has a candy-like hue with a form of pastel flatness to it; the latter would be in keeping with the style of recent Pro iPhones.

Complementary colors

With the caveat that these images are far from official and there's no clear indication of where these dummy units have come from, I feel the colors on offer across the proposed iPhone 17 range work nicely.

They have the usual black and white options to appease people who like muted phones, with a dark blue shade potentially making a comeback for the iPhone 17 Pro models.

The light blue and pink options for the iPhone 17 offer a pop of freshness without being too oversaturated. While the light blue and light yellow/sand colors for the iPhone 17 Air look like they could work nicely on a slimmed-down iPhone.

For the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, I reckon the tipped colors work well for the new rectangular rear camera array; sort of emphasising it, yet also helping it blend into the rear of the phone at the same time... if that makes a jot of sense.

Of course, I'm still not entirely convinced this much-rumored camera design change will happen, as I can't see how it would benefit the iPhone 17 Pro's camera performance; Apple tends not to just change its phone designs for pure aesthetics alone.

Unless adopting this rectangular camera array is a means to better package components, and thus leading to a slimmer iPhone Pro. But this is just educated speculation on my side.

With Apple very likely to launch new iPhones in September, when it usually holds a phone-centric Apple event, we really don't have much longer to wait before we hear about new iPhones.

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