TechRadar News

• ViewX's 27-inch display shows 3D images without requiring any glasses at all
• An onboard AI chip converts ordinary 2D footage into spatial 3D content
• Eye tracking runs at 180fps to follow the viewer's head position

ViewX has introduced a 27-inch monitor designed to produce spatial 3D images without requiring users to wear specialized glasses during viewing.

The display belongs to a new range that also includes a 15.6-inch model, with both versions combining conventional and spatial viewing capabilities.

ViewX says its Liber displays use onboard processing and eye tracking to handle several three-dimensional functions directly within the hardware itself.

3D processing without specialized eyewear

The displays support native 4K resolution for conventional content, while maintaining lossless 2D output alongside native 3D refresh capabilities.

An integrated AI system-on-chip can process certain 3D tasks, including converting ordinary 2D content into spatial imagery without relying on another computer.

The company also provides software for computers, allowing compatible games and streaming content to undergo real-time conversion.

ViewX says its eye-tracking system operates at 180fps, allowing the 4K display to monitor viewer position while generating appropriate spatial imagery during use.

Native 3D content can reach the monitor through HDMI, while compatible content can also undergo processing directly through the display's internal hardware.

The system is designed to connect with computers, laptops, consoles, handheld gaming devices, tablets, and smartphones across several operating systems.

It supports Windows, macOS, Android, as well as additional device categories for broader usage.

For users relying upon computer-based processing, ViewX recommends Nvidia RTX 2060-class graphics hardware or equivalent Intel and AMD processing platforms.

The company claims its approach can reduce dependence on host-computer processing for certain applications, particularly when compatible 3D tasks run locally.

The software includes Spatial Gateway, 3D Playground LITE, Depth Transformer, and ViewX Control Tray for managing supported spatial functions and content.

ViewX says its software ecosystem already supports more than 100 games, with examples including God of War and Cyberpunk 2077 among supported titles.

It also lists compatibility with applications such as ReShade, Portval VR, Oku3D, and Geo-11 for additional 3D content and rendering functions.

Tencent partnership and pricing

ViewX developed the display architecture alongside software technologies supplied through a partnership with Tencent, particularly for AI-based 3D processing and content adaptation.

Tencent's technology has also been used with the Abxylute 3D-One gaming device for spatial gaming and conversion functions.

ViewX intends the displays for gaming, entertainment, creative work, healthcare, automotive applications, education, and spatial-computing uses across different environments.

The 15.6-inch model is scheduled to begin shipping in October 2026, while deliveries of the larger 27-inch version are planned for Q1 2027.

The Kickstarter campaign lists the 27-inch display at under $1,200, although specific backing tiers and final retail pricing can vary during development.

A comparable glasses-free 2D/3D display from Lenovo, the ThinkVision 27 3D, is listed at over $2,200 — though Lenovo is an established brand, while ViewX remains an unproven crowdfunding campaign.

As of the time of writing, the project had secured $50,657 against a $2,550 goal from 40 backers, with 31 days remaining.

Disclaimer: We do not recommend or endorse any crowdfunding project. All crowdfunding campaigns carry inherent risks, including the possibility of delays, changes, or non-delivery of products. Potential backers should carefully evaluate the details and proceed at their own discretion.

• Sony reveals 3 new party speakers: ULT Tower 5, ULT Tower 7, and ULT Tower Max
• ULT Tower 5, $449.99 / £349 / AU$549; ULT Tower 7, $649.99/ £499 / AU$799; ULT Max $1,499.99 / £1,299 / AU$1,999
• New circular woofers, multiple sound modes, 360-degree party sound

Sony has revealed three new party speakers and — hurrah! — I’ve had the chance to hear them for myself. The Sony ULT Tower 5, ULT Tower 7, and ULT Tower Max look to offer almighty audio output for parties, DJ sets, or even karaoke sessions, with various ways to play and connect.

These bass-conscious new speakers are built around newly developed large, circular woofers (a departure from Sony's almost rectangular X-Balanced woofer unit, typically seen across the ULT range), and according to Sony, the Max model specifically delivers the most powerful bass in the ULT Power series to date. Their bold designs — which also deviate a fair bit from previous ULT speakers — as well as their massive power outputs and broad connectivity options could make them a major rival for the likes of JBL’s PartyBox models, if the sound is right.

Just how good do Sony’s new ULT speakers sound? I attended an impressive demo and I’ll reveal what I thought shortly. First, let’s run through everything I learned about Sony’s Towers, from technical specifications to nifty new features.

Taking a closer look

(Image credit: Sony)

Let’s look closer at each of the three new ULT Tower speakers, and go through the key technical details.

The ULT Tower 5 is the smallest in the new line-up, but it still packs quite the punch. It contains a 230mm woofer and two tweeters with a 300W maximum power output. Meanwhile, the ULT Tower 7 boasts a larger 280mm woofer, alongside two mid-range units, and four tweeters — two front-facing, and two rear-facing. The rear tweeters are also angled for a wider soundstage. The ULT Tower 7 has a 420W maximum power output.

Finally, the ULT Tower Max is a true beast of a speaker. It has three woofers, two front-facing, one rear-facing. But it also comes with two-midrange units, and four tweeters, two of which are rear-facing. Its high-power amplifier delivers 2,150W of output, making it one of the most powerful party speakers I’ve ever encountered.

I want to focus in on the woofers for a moment, because Sony were really keen to stress the changes made for the new ULT Tower models. Unlike some previous models, the new Towers have circular driver units for the woofers, rather than the ‘X-Balanced’ alternative.

Sony Product Manager Mike Somerset told me: “X-Balanced is fantastic for a smaller, compact system and maximizing the surface area inside — let’s say, for a rectangular speaker unit, you know. And it also delivers a really great, impressive ‘attack’ bass. But with these, we really wanted to emphasize deep bass — and to be able to do that we’ve moved to this circular driver unit”.

The speakers also have large capacity cabinets and ULT Duct tech, which is intended to help each model produce “deeper, more powerful bass with greater authority”.

Do it your way

(Image credit: Sony)

As well as talking up the outrageous power of the ULT Towers, Sony was keen to share the impressive customizability of the speakers. That’s because there are a number of sound modes, all of which are designed for specific situations and genres.

There are two ULT modes. The first, Sony says, is intended to enhance deep bass for “a rich, low frequency sound that makes your heart tremble,” with the second made to ramp things up even further for “even greater power, delivering body-shaking bass and strong sound pressure”.

What’s perhaps more interesting, though, are the ‘Flat’ and ‘Live’ options. As you’d expect, Flat is designed to make a track sound as it was intended to at the mixing desk, with a more neutral, balanced approach. Live, however, is focused on delivering a more spacious sound, with a strong emphasis on vocal clarity.

The speakers were tuned with the help of a number of "Hip-Hop sound creators," including producer, songwriter, and DJ, Dready, who spoke with me about the EQ adjustment process. On the Flat tuning, he said, “That’s how I would have it on a DJ set, because obviously on the controller you have the lows, mids, and highs, and we just gave it a nice blend… so, you know, when people take it, they can express themselves how they want”.

Of course, if you want to personalize things even further, you can connect to the speaker with the Sony Sound Connect app and make use of the multi-band custom equalizer instead.

So…how good do they sound?

(Image credit: Sony)

Do the ULT Tower speakers sound any good? Allow me to go through them one by one.

The ULT Tower 5 arguably impressed me the most, relative to its size and cost. Sure, it leaves out the 360-degree Party Sound feature that the larger models adopt (presumably due to its lack of rear-facing drivers), but its raw power and regimented sound were hard to ignore. When listening to Luther by Kendrick Lamar and SZA, the speaker showed its considerable versatility. The vocal sample in the intro sounded textured and resonant, but then the drive and power of deep bass hit with surprising impact. Bass, though the clear star of the show, sounded controlled yet powerful, and never shrouded vocals in the mids or drums up high.

We cycled between the various sound modes, and the switch between an ‘attack’ bass and deep bass mode was pretty striking. It was incredibly seamless to sift through the different modes using the ULT logo — which also happens to be a button. It’s too early to say if it’s a sure-fire hit, but for £349 (around $470 / AU$660, but these are guesstimates based on the UK pricing right now, since Sony hasn't disclosed official pricing for these regions at the time of writing), the ULT Tower 5 sounded far more impressive than some rivals I’ve tested in its price and size class.

Things got even louder when we switched to the ULT Tower 7. We tried listening to Don’t Start Now by Dua Lipa, and low-frequency sounds were full-bodied, agile, and striking. Treble sounded pretty forward to me, with higher-pitched percussion seeming highly prominent, while vocals sounded clear and well-weighted in the mix.

We also tried out Money by Pink Floyd, which is a great testing track for any speaker. The 360-degree sound seemed pretty effective here, and when pairing two ULT Tower 7s together in stereo mode, the spaciousness of the track was brilliantly recreated. Vocals and guitars sounded tonally accurate and well-separated, but that low-end still came through with immense drive.

Finally, we hopped over to try out the behemoth that is the Sony ULT Tower Max. I’m no stranger to a rave, and the Max made me feel like I was listening to a set at my local venue. I was able to pick a track of my choosing, so I threw on Breather by Chris Stassy. And this perfectly showed off the huge sound of the ULT Tower Max.

The pumping, deep bass was genuinely earth-shaking, and I could almost feel it vibrating through my soul. But spacey sounds in the mid-range still came through cleanly, and were provided plenty of room to express themselves. If you want truly mesmerizing power at a relatively moderate cost (all things considered), then the ULT Tower Max could be one to keep an eye on.

We also tried pairing ten of the ULT models together, and… as you can probably imagine, the results were palpable. Auracast technology allows multiple models to chain together, and even the LED lighting syncs up across each speaker, making for an especially immersive listening experience.

Final thoughts: enticing new designs and competitive pricing

(Image credit: Sony)

The new ULT Towers feel like Sony’s attempt to genuinely take on JBL in the party speaker arena, with the latter being particularly dominant in this field. The party speaker segment has increased in popularity as of late, and we’ve even seen new entrants like Marshall releasing its Bromley 450 and Bromley 750 speakers.

But could the ULT Towers rival the likes of JBL’s Partybox models? Well, at a glance, I think they could. They offer incredible power, more than a lot of mainstream competitors, they have a new design with attractive lighting, refined sound with rounded woofers, and plenty of ways to make them sound right for you. And that’s not to mention the wide connectivity options, including Bluetooth, RCA, XLR, and USB-C.

For the power and features on offer, they’re also priced relatively modestly, with the Tower 5 coming in at $449.99 / £349 AU$549, the Tower 7 at $649.99 / £499 / AU$799, and the ULT Max at $1,499.99 / £1,299 / AU$1,999.

I was also impressed to see the battery life of the speakers, with 30 hours on the ULT Tower 7 and 20 hours on the Tower 5 — that’s quite a lot of playtime given the power demands. And although features such as 360-degree audio and sound modes are exciting, Sound Field Optimization (which analyzes speaker placement and surround noise levels to offer the best sound possible) are even better. That’s something that could really set this model apart.

We’ll have to test the ULT Tower models out for a bit longer to determine whether they can compete with the best, but so far, it’s fair to say that they’ve impressed me.

If you're looking for a good opportunity to upgrade your home office without paying over the odds, I've picked out 12 terrific deals in Amazon's Labor Day sale that will tick most boxes. I've focused primarily on products that combine useful features with decent discounts rather than simply choosing the cheapest options available.

My choices cover everything from keyboards, mice and monitors, to power banks, headphones, Bluetooth speakers, photo printers, and other office accessories. Whether you want to boost your productivity, add some useful new tech, or finally replace something that's been annoying you for ages, there's plenty here to choose from.

TP-Link Deco 7 Pro Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 BE10000 Whole Home Mesh System

Anker Zolo 20,000mAh Power Bank

Dell 27" 240Hz Monitor

Nothing Ear (3a) Noise Cancelling Earbuds

Logitech Ergo K860 Wireless Ergonomic Split Keyboard With Wrist Rest

Aurzen Roku TV D1R Smart Portable Projector

KYY Triple Screen Laptop Monitor Extender

Terramaster D4 SSD NVMe Enclosure

Liene M100 4x6'' Photo Printer

Bose Quietcomfort Bluetooth Headphones

Anker Soundcore Portable Bluetooth Speaker

Anker 65W Wall Charger

• Shop all of Amazon's Labor Day Sale
• Show Best Buy's Labor Day sale

If you're currently on the hunt for your next gaming laptop, then you'll definitely want to check out this week's early Labor Day sales. Even though we're less than a week away from the big day, major retailers like Best Buy, Walmart, HP, and others have already started their annual events.

I've been scanning through all the big sales today, and I've found some excellent price cuts. While the Labor Day sales are traditionally known for grills or the sort, there are a couple of highlights today that really stand out as good value picks.

You can check out the full list below, but I'd particularly recommend these Gigabyte A16 laptops for $1,159 (was $1,299) and $1,499 (was $1,849) at Best Buy and Walmart, respectively. If you're looking for outright bang for the buck, these are both listings that really buck the trend we've been seeing recently of inflated prices.

Another great, albeit high-end option, is this Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S for $1,899 (was $2,199) at Best Buy. While a little pricey, this is one of the better sub-$2,000 listings I've seen recently with its RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, Intel Ultra 9 chipset, and 240Hz OLED display. If I were on the lookout for a machine that can play all the latest games smoothly, this is the one I'd go for this week at this budget.

Labor Day gaming laptops - quick links

• Best Buy: gaming laptops starting at $699
• B&H Photo: up to $1,000 off Lenovo, Acer, Asus
• Dell: up to $600 off premium Alienware laptops
• HP: 34% off HP and HyperX Omen laptops
• Lenovo: 10% extra off with code GAMERDAYS10
• Walmart: up to $600 off MSI, Gigabyte, Acer

This week's best Labor Day gaming laptop deals

Cyborg 15.6: was $1299 now $899
Graphics card: RTX 5050
Processor:  Intel Core i5-13420H
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 512GB

It's tough to find a good cheap gaming laptop these days, really tough, in fact. This MSI Cyborg at Walmart is a rare example of a sub-$1,000 machine that doesn't suck, however. With a Core i5 and RTX 5050, it's good enough to tackle a wide range of games, granted you're modest with your expectations. The RTX 5050 is capable of playing the latest games, but you'll likely have to tweak your graphical settings down a little on the most intensive titles.View Deal

Graphics card: RTX 5060
Processor: Intel Core i7-13620H
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB

This Gigabyte Gaming A16 is one of the cheapest machines I've seen in recent months to feature 32GB of RAM - something that used to be commonplace on most mid-range gaming laptops. That's a massive boon for smooth frame rates, and the RTX 5060 graphics card and Core i7 chipset should pair nicely, even if the processor is a little older now. View Deal

Gaming A16: was $1849.99 now $1499.98
Graphics card: RTX 5070
Processor: Intel Core i7-13620H
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB

Here's another great value listing on a Gigabyte A16, this time over at Walmart. This machine is essentially the same as the Best Buy deal above, but you swap out the RTX 5060 graphics card for the slightly higher-end RTX 5070. That should get you a nice little bump in performance, although this machine does still have an older chipset, so it's not as capable as the higher-end machines with RTX 5070 graphics cards. View Deal

Predator Helios Neo 16S: was $2199.99 now $1899.99
Graphics card: RTX 5070 Ti
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9-275HX
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB

For a no-compromise option, I'd recommend this Acer Predator Helios, which is currently on sale at Best Buy. The savings aren't huge, but I think the price is right here considering you get an RTX 5070 Ti, Ultra 9, 32GB of RAM, and a high-end OLED display. You'll have no issues with all the latest titles with this machine - and everything will look fantastic thanks to the OLED display.View Deal

Graphics card: RTX 5080
Processor: Intel Core Ultra 9-290HX
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 1TB

Looking for the ultimate gaming laptop? Dell's currently got a price cut on its high-end Alienware 16 Area-51 model, a machine that we claimed as 'one of the best gaming laptops ever made' in our review. As you can see, this is a very, very pricey laptop, but you do get excellent performance courtesy of an RTX 5080 and Intel Core Ultra 9 chipset, as well as an OLED display and mechanical keyboard.View Deal

If you just need extra storage without paying for features you won't use, this is worth a look. The WD 6TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive has dropped to $260 (was $320) at Amazon.

WD Elements strips out the backup software and encryption tools you get on WD's My Passport line, which keeps the price down and the setup dead simple: plug it in, and it works.

6TB WD Elements: was $319.99 now $258.37
6TB of storage in a compact 4.35 x 3.23 x 0.83in enclosure weighing about half a pound. Connects via USB 3.2 Gen 1 (USB-A) at speeds up to 5Gbps, is backwards compatible with USB 2.0, and is bus-powered, so there's no separate power adapter to carry around. Comes formatted for Windows out of the box and can be reformatted for Mac.View Deal

Why we recommend it

WD Elements drives have been a reliable, bloat-free choice for external storage for years, and this 6TB model continues that.

The USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection is plenty fast for backups and media transfers, and the compact, half-pound enclosure makes it easy to toss in a bag or leave connected to a desktop as an always-on backup target.

Because it skips the bundled software and encryption of WD's My Passport series, this is squarely a budget-focused pick: you're paying for capacity and reliability, not extras.

For anyone who already has a backup workflow in mind, whether that's Time Machine, File History, or a NAS-adjacent setup, that's a sensible trade-off.

Price Context & Historical Value

A $60 drop from $319.99 to $259.99 works out to about 19 percent off, a solid but not blowout discount. It's in line with what we've seen on other capacities in WD's Elements Portable line during recent sales, and puts this 6TB drive at a competitive cost per terabyte for anyone who needs bulk storage.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the WD 6TB Elements Portable if... you need a lot of extra storage for backups, media libraries, or overflow files; you want something that works out of the box with no software to install; or you're after the lowest cost per terabyte in WD's portable lineup.

❌ Skip the WD 6TB Elements Portable if... you want built-in backup software or hardware encryption, you need SSD speeds rather than a traditional hard drive, or you're carrying it around daily and want something more rugged.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

This is a traditional hard drive, not an SSD, so transfer speeds and durability won't match solid-state storage, and it's more sensitive to drops and knocks if you're moving it around often. It also doesn't include bundled backup software or hardware encryption, so you'll need your own backup plan and, if data security matters to you, your own encryption solution.

• See all hard drive deals at Amazon.

• The FarseerTech RocXZoom is raising funds on Kickstarter
• You get a 50x hybrid zoom and 20x optical zoom from the camera
• Dual-stabilization technologies mean everything stays still

The FarseerTech RocXZoom stands out for a number of reasons: it's been developed by ex-DJI engineers, it solves some of the most persistent pain points for taking photos at high zoom levels, and it can recognize more than 300 bird species thanks to on-board AI.

It's also soared past its original goal on Kickstarter (via PetaPixel), raising more than 25x its target at the time of writing thanks to 350 willing backers. The campaign will continue to be open for contributions until Saturday, September 28.

In the words of the creators, the RocXZoom is "a compact long-range optical assistant integrating recognition, tracking and zoom" with "robotic precision to break the limitations of traditional long-lens tripods" to give you extremely smooth recordings at extremely high zoom levels (which are usually notoriously difficult to stabilize).

You get a 50x hybrid zoom, 20x optical zoom, and 40mm-2000mm equivalent reach with the camera, plus the bird recognition we mentioned, plus human and object detection too. Dual stabilization is provided by an integrated gimbal and electronic image stabilization, and the demo shots and hands-on tests all look suitably impressive.

Extreme zoom solved

The RocXZoom can be attached to a more conventional camera too (Image credit: FarseerTech)

"At extreme zoom, every heartbeat creates motion blur, yet RocXZoom turns challenging long-distance shots into controlled, trackable handheld captures — ideal for birding, wildlife, outdoor observation and distant action moments where lengthy setup time would make you miss the shot," reads the sales pitch.

While there does seem to be some trade-off in terms of image quality (a small 1/2.5-inch type sensor and a lens ranging from f/1.8 to f/3.9), the promise is that anything you're looking at long-distance through the RocXZoom will remain stable and in the frame, even if it's moving or you're moving (or both).

As always with crowdfunded projects, there's no guarantee that putting your money down will ultimately get you a product. The specs of the camera, its shipping schedule, and its final price could all change as the campaign continues.

The camera has already been shown off at CES 2026, however, which gives it more credibility. If you've decided you want in, the cheapest early bird level sits at $499 (that's about £370 / AU$700 with a straight currency conversion).

• Pentagon adopts two new AI models for use by DoD as part of plans to adopt AI technologies
• ChatGPT Mil fills the role of a day to day AI assistant, while Grok for Government provides military users with "immediate productivity gains"
• Both systems will be offered through the Pentagon's GenAI.mil platform

In order to carry out the Department of Defense’s mission of securing the United States, the Pentagon has rolled out two AI models for its staff that are specifically adapted to “warfighter needs.”

The models are custom variants of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and xAI’s Grok. The platforms are now available for use by the DoD’s 3 million civilian and military staff.

The AI models, called ChatGPT Mil and Grok for Government, are an extension of the Pentagon’s mission to improve productivity and efficiency without having the data input into AI systems analyzed by the same systems as their consumer counterparts.

Pentagon continues mission to procure secure AI

The Pentagon is already operating a ‘secured’ version of Google Gemini as part of the GenAI.mil platform. Of the 3 million staff, 1.7 million are actively using GenAI.mil, with that number likely to increase as more AI models are added.

The Pentagon’s press release states that ChatGPT Mil will be used in much the same way as anyone else would use the consumer version. To that end, it will offer support for routine work and document-heavy tasks, alongside other uses and integrations with chats and files.

As for the secured Grok variant, the press release states, “Starshield AI’s Grok for Government will provide the warfighter with immediate productivity gains, stronger knowledge continuity and more secure and efficient collaboration.”

This allows staff “to execute missions faster and with greater precision across numerous operational contexts, ranging from market research analysis for acquisition professionals to supply-chain management for logisticians.”

The Pentagon’s adoption of AI technology hasn’t been without issues however. Anthropic was designated a supply chain risk for refusing to allow the Pentagon to use Claude for autonomous weapon systems and mass domestic surveillance. That designation was recently overturned.

Other AI providers that work with the Pentagon have taken heed of the example made of Anthropic, with both Google and OpenAI allowing the Pentagon to use their models for “any lawful government purpose”.

There aren't many internal SSDs that score the full five stars in our reviews, but this one did it - and smashed all our expectations in tests. Right now, the Samsung 2TB 990 Pro SSD is at $390 (was $640) at Amazon.

That's a near record-low price for a drive that's been the default answer to “which NVMe should I buy” for the better part of two years. And it undercuts most 1TB competitors on a per-terabyte basis. Speaking of, both the 1TB and 4TB models are also on sale, but for my money, of the three the 2TB drive offers the best value for money.

For more demanding professional workloads, I recommend upgrading to the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD for $400 at Amazon.

SSD 990 PRO 2TB: was $639.99 now $389.99
PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 NVMe SSD with sequential read speeds up to 7,450MB/s and write speeds up to 6,900MB/s, plus 2GB of LPDDR4 cache for sustained performance on large file transfers. Compatible with PC, laptop, and PS5 builds that support PCIe 4.0, and backed by a five-year warranty.View Deal

Why we recommend it

The 990 PRO is still one of the fastest PCIe 4.0 drives you can buy, and TechRadar's own testing backs that up. We called it an absolutely stellar M.2 SSD for both professional users and gamers, and praised how quickly it handled large file saves in our benchmarks. That combination of proven real-world performance and Samsung's five-year warranty is hard to match at this price.

Samsung builds its own NAND flash, DRAM cache, and controller in-house, which is part of why the 990 PRO has held its position at the top of the PCIe Gen 4 hierarchy for so long in a market where flagship drives usually get leapfrogged within 18 months. With over 12,000 reviews and a 4.8-star average on Amazon, it's a well-proven choice for gaming rigs, content creation machines, and general-purpose PC builds alike.

Also consider

9100 Pro SSD (2TB): $399.99
If you're a professional, I recommend spending the extra $10 and grabbing the 9100 Pro. This SSD delivers up to 14,700MB/s read speeds, features hardware encryption, advanced thermal control, Magician Software support, and excellent performance for creative workloads, AI applications, and demanding mult-itasking.View Deal

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Samsung 990 PRO 2TB if... you want a proven, high-performance PCIe 4.0 SSD for gaming, video editing, or general PC builds, you're upgrading a PS5 and want a heatsink-compatible drive, or you want 2TB of fast storage without paying flagship Gen5 pricing.

❌ Skip the Samsung 990 PRO 2TB if... your motherboard supports PCIe 5.0 and you want to make full use of it, you don't need anywhere close to 2TB of storage, or you're on a tighter budget and could make do with a 1TB drive instead.

Price Context & Historical Value

The $639.99 list price shown on this listing is an inflated reference that doesn't reflect what this drive has typically sold for. Street pricing on the 990 PRO 2TB has more realistically run $420 to $480 even during major sale events, so treat the $639.99 figure as a nominal anchor rather than a genuine recent price. Even against that more realistic street price, $389.99 is a meaningful cut and lands close to this drive's lowest price in months.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

This is a PCIe 4.0 drive, not PCIe 5.0, so if your motherboard supports the newer standard, you won't get the full speed a Gen5 drive like Samsung's own 9100 PRO can offer. It also doesn't include a heatsink in this configuration, so if you're installing it in a system that runs hot or you want PS5 compatibility out of the box, budget for one separately. For most desktop and laptop builds without dedicated M.2 cooling requirements, that's a minor caveat rather than a dealbreaker.

Poco has officially launched the Poco F9 Ultra and F9 Pro, two performance-focused phones that deliver “all-round upgrades in display, imaging, and battery life.”

Notably, the Xiaomi sub-brand doesn’t actually name-drop ‘performance’ in that list of F9 Series improvements, no doubt because the F9 Ultra, specifically, arrives with the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset as its predecessor, the Poco F8 Ultra.

Poco flagships have historically launched with the latest Snapdragon chipsets, so this year’s F Series marks something of a strategy shift for the Chinese company — and Poco hasn’t been shy about disclosing the reasons for this change.

In short, Poco has decided against equipping the F9 Ultra with Qualcomm’s new (and as-yet-unannounced) flagship chipset because 1) rising RAM prices have increased the cost of doing so, and 2) it believes the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 remains powerful enough to deliver the level of performance Poco users expect. And I wholeheartedly agree with this take.

Here’s Poco’s full comment on why the F9 Ultra has an unchanged chipset, which was given in a press conference for the F9 Series by the company’s Senior Product Manager, Kang Lou, and Global PR lead, Olivia Jiang:

KL: I’d like to explain this. The overall situation is that rising memory costs are putting a lot of pressure on all of us [in] the smartphone industry. Poco is not escaping [these costs]. From our end, we believe performance is not always about chasing the latest chipset — of course, that’s important – but operationally speaking, having the latest chipset will cost [us] a lot more on the latest phone. We believe performance is a combination of everything: a powerful chipset, a powerful cooling system; the gaming experience is important too — gaming is a proving ground for us, to prove that overall performance is great.

OJ: For Poco, it’s not just about any single factor or any chipset roadmaps. Our product timing isn’t something we see as fixed; we continually evolve our launch plans based on what’s best for our users. We don’t make launch decisions based on the next generation of hardware, and we deliver [products] when we believe they are ready to deliver the performance our users expect. The Poco F9 Ultra remains highly competitive, and the price is competitive, too. So we’re confident that this generation will deliver the flagship experience that users need.

Despite shipping with an unchanged chipset, the Poco F9 Ultra does cost more than its predecessor — it starts at $799 / £899, where the F8 Ultra launched for $729 / £749 — but Poco evidently believes this price remains “competitive” given the other upgrades on offer.

The Poco F9 Ultra (left) and Poco F9 Pro (right) on a yellow background feature Bose-tuned audio (Image credit: Poco / Future)

The F9 Ultra ships with the brand’s new display-focused VisionBoost D8 chip, which facilitates a max display refresh rate of 185Hz for gaming — at the time of writing, more than 20 titles can make use of this enhanced frame rate, including Call of Duty: Mobile and PUBG Mobile. Elsewhere, the phone gets a hefty 8,050mAh battery (vs 6,500mAh in the F8 Ultra) and a predecessor-beating 200MP wide camera.

It’s worth remembering, too, that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is the same chipset that powers the flagship Xiaomi 17 Ultra, OnePlus 15, and many more of the best Android phones in 2026. We also described the Poco F8 Ultra’s performance as “immense” in our review; you’d have to be running NASA-level simulations on your phone to be left wanting for more power than the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 already provides.

From our end, we believe performance is not always about chasing the latest chipset

Kang Lou, Poco Global

As Poco acknowledges, equipping phones with the latest chipset is “important” when performance is compromised by using a weaker chipset, but that’s just not the case with the F9 Ultra. We’re very much in ‘diminishing returns’ territory when it comes to mobile chipsets, and if Poco had decided to equip the the F9 Ultra with Qualcomm’s next chipset and charged even more for the phone as a result, it may as well have been called the Xiaomi 18 Ultra, which is expected to use this chipset, and cost significantly more than the F9 Ultra.

Of course, it remains to be seen whether those aforementioned display, battery, and camera upgrades justify the F9 Ultra’s $70 / £150 price hike — we’re currently reviewing the phone, and will give our verdict on its value for money proposition soon. In any case, at least where the chipset is concerned, I’m certain that Poco has made the right call.

Although Amazon recently raised prices on its own tech gadgets because of the global RAM and storage crisis, the retailer is giving customers a break by discounting them in its Labor Day sale.

• Shop Amazon's full Labor Day sale

The retailer launched its Labor Day sale last week and is slashing prices on its best-selling devices, including up to 64% off Fire TV Sticks, Blink security cameras, Ring Doorbells, Echo speakers and more.

Amazon has some favorite gadgets on sale, including the Fire TV Stick 4K Select for a record-low $17.99 (was $49.99), the Blink Doorbell 2K for $41.99 (was $69.99), and the Echo Spot alarm clock for $69.99 (was $109.99).

Keep in mind that Amazon has raised its device prices by up to 60%, which makes today's Labor Day discounts very welcome. These limited-time offers end on Labor Day proper (September 7).

Amazon Fire TV Sticks

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Select

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Plus

Amazon Echo speakers

Amazon Echo Dot

Amazon Echo Spot

Amazon Echo Dot Max

Amazon Echo smart displays

Amazon Echo Show 5

Amazon Echo Show 11

Amazon Echo Show 15

Amazon Blink security cameras

Blink Mini 2K+ Security Camera

Blink Battery Doorbell 2K+

Blink Outdoor 4 Security Camera

Amazon Ring Doorbells

Ring Wired Doorbell 2K

Ring Battery Doorbell 2K

Ring Ring Battery Doorbell 2K Plus

• Proofpoint observed PackClient RAT sold on Telegram, used by group TA4922
• Attack spoofed tax authority emails in China and India, delivering PackClient installer
• RAT offers advanced features; researchers warn broader adoption likely beyond Asia

For almost three months, Chinese hackers have been distributing an advanced Remote Access Trojan (RAT) called PackClient, against organizations in mainland China and India.

According to security researchers Proofpoint, PackClient is being actively sold on Telegram channels. It is a rather advanced RAT, capable of file theft and management, remote shell execution, screen capture and remote desktop management, webcam access, keylogging, privilege escalation, system administration, and a myriad of other things.

Even though it’s actively sold on Telegram, so far just one hacking group was spotted using it - TA4922. This is not a state-sponsored group but rather a financially motivated one.

Picking up the malware

Since late May 2026, this group has been mailing organization, first in China, and later in India, as well. In the emails, they spoofed local tax authorities, claiming that the recipients were needed to conduct “self-inspection”, a process which included downloading and filling out paperwork shared in the attachment.

The “paperwork”, however, was nothing more than the PackClient installer.

In its report, Proofpoint did not say how many organizations fell victim to the attack, nor did it discuss in which industries most victims operated.

However, in earlier reports, the researchers said TA4922 typically targets small and medium-sized organizations located primarily in Japan. Other notable mentions include Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and India, while in newer times, they also started targeting European organizations, as well as those in the UK.

Proofpoint also stressed that the advanced capabilities of PackClient might see it getting picked up by many more threat actors, and see it getting deployed against more organizations, particularly in the western part of the world.

“Given that PackClient is marketed through Telegram making it broadly available, it is likely other threat actors are currently using, or will use, this malware in future campaigns,” they said. The researchers also shared a full list of Indicators of Compromise (IoC), in case you’re suspicious of an infection.

If you're after a compact four-bay desktop NAS with modern networking for work and media backups, the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro NAS system has dropped to $680 (was $800) at Amazon

We've tested this exact configuration, and found it's a genuine upgrade over its predecessor with dual 5GbE and a third M.2 slot. But it's not for everyone.

F4-425 Pro NAS: was $799.99 now $679.99
4-bay NAS powered by an 8-core Intel N350 processor and 16GB of DDR5 RAM (expandable to 32GB), with three M.2 NVMe slots for caching alongside the four SATA bays. Dual 5GbE LAN ports deliver up to 1,010MB/s with link aggregation, and TOS 7 introduces the OpenClaw AI assistant for natural-language system administration. Sold diskless; drives are purchased separately.View Deal

Why we recommend it

In our review, we awarded this NAS device 4 stars, praising the move to dual 5GbE over the previous generation's 2.5GbE as a real, tangible upgrade for large file transfers and multi-user environments. The third M.2 slot gives more flexibility for caching than most four-bay NAS units in this price range offer. The new N350 processor also runs cooler and more efficiently than its predecessor, which matters for a device meant to run 24/7.

TOS 7 is the most polished version of TerraMaster's operating system yet, with solid Docker and VM support, a comprehensive backup suite, and the TRAID hybrid array mode that lets you mix drive sizes more efficiently than standard RAID.

Our review was direct about where it falls short compared to competitors, calling it a NAS hamstrung by PCIe lanes, since both the M.2 slots and networking share a limited nine-lane PCIe budget. If you don't need to push past those limits, it's still a capable, efficient NAS for the price.

Price Context & Historical Value

This deal cuts the 16GB configuration's $799.99 list price by $120, about 15 percent off. That's a modest but genuine discount rather than an inflated anchor price, and it narrows the gap with TerraMaster's own store, which has periodically discounted this same configuration to around $640 to $670 during promotions.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro if... you want a flexible four-bay NAS with modern 5GbE networking and don't need 10GbE speeds, you value low power consumption and quiet, cool running over raw compute power, or you like the idea of experimenting with AI-assisted NAS administration.

❌ Skip the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro if... you want a 10GbE port or Thunderbolt/USB4 connectivity, you plan to fill all three M.2 slots with fast NVMe drives for local storage, or you want to run demanding local AI workloads on the NAS itself.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The three M.2 slots are limited to PCIe Gen 3 x1 bandwidth, capping NVMe performance at roughly 1GB/s regardless of the drives you install, so there's little benefit to using expensive high-end SSDs here. There's no 10GbE port, not even as an upgrade option, and no Thunderbolt or USB4 for fast external expansion. The single RAM slot also means upgrading beyond the included 16GB requires removing it entirely rather than adding a second module. On top of that, the drive trays still lack physical locks or number labels - a longstanding TerraMaster quirk our reviewer has flagged across multiple generations.

• Google Messages now lets you customize your chats
• You can change bubble colors and wallpapers for each chat individually
• RCS must be enabled to do this

Despite having been around for a long time, Google Messages hasn’t let you properly customize chats in the past. But now this feature has finally rolled out.

As announced in a Google blog post, you can now change both bubble accent colors and the wallpaper. For the latter, you’ll be able to choose from curated options in categories like ‘animals’ and ‘space’, or you can choose an image from your gallery.

And while you can manually change the message bubble colors, you can also have them automatically adjust to match your wallpaper changes.

(Image credit: Google)How to customize your chats

Making these changes is simple. Just open Google Messages, and then select the chat you want to customize. Then either tap the name of the person or group in the top bar, or tap the three dots in the top right corner.

From that screen, tap ‘Chat theme’, where you’ll find a color palette to select a shade for the chat, and a wallpaper option, where you can either browse through Google’s selection or tap ‘Choose a photo’ to upload one from your gallery.

Once you’ve chosen a wallpaper, tap ‘Next’ to preview it and then tap ‘Apply’. Then just do the same for any other chats you want to customize.

Note, though, that RCS must be enabled to access these customization options, and that the changes you make will only be visible to you — not the people you’re chatting with.

It's goodbye to Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, and hello to Thomas Holland, James Engelsman and Frances Bourgeois. The three viral content creators are the new faces of The Grand Tour — and they've been given the Clarkson seal of approval.

While the format of the Prime Video series is largely remaining the same, our three new faces are bringing something different to what we already know. I can only speak for myself when I say I'm hoping to learn just as much about trains as I am about cars.

But making TikToks and YouTube videos isn't the same as making a TV show for an international streaming service. All eyes are on the boys, so when does The Grand Tour season 7 arrive on Prime Video?

What time can I watch The Grand Tour season 7 on Prime Video?

We're expecting The Grand Tour season 7 to be available on September 4 at 12am PT / 3am ET in the US.

Internationally, look out for the below times:

• US – 12am PT / 3am ET
• Canada – 12am PT / 3am ET
• UK – 8am BST
• India – 12:30pm IST
• Singapore – 3pm SGT
• Australia – 5pm AEST
• New Zealand – 7pm NZST

When do new episodes of The Grand Tour season 7 come out?

(Image credit: Prime Video)

All six episodes of this season will be released at the same time. This is a huge change from the usual Prime Video reality TV format (such as Clarkson's Farm), which would air weekly.

As for the series' future, there's currently no public word on whether another season has been greenlit. Hopefully, we won't be made to wait much longer to find out.

PC memory prices remain seriously high, making even a straightforward 32GB DDR5 upgrade far more expensive than it would have been just a year ago.

Sadly, I don't have a time machine, so there's nothing I can do about that, but there are still decent discounts to be had. I've found one on a 32GB (2 x 16GB) kit of Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 RAM for $490 (was $605) at Newegg when you use code LDSF234.

It's already got a small discount, but the code knocks even more off the list price.

32GB Vengeance DDR5-6000 RAM: was $605 now $490
This 32GB dual-channel kit combines two 16GB DDR5-6000 modules with CL30 latency, 30-36-36-76 timings, 1.40V operation, Intel XMP 3.0 support, onboard voltage regulation, and low-profile aluminum heat spreaders for broad compatibility.

For the full discount, use code LDSF234View Deal

Why we recommend it

It combines DDR5-6000 speeds with 30-36-36-76 timings and a CAS latency of 30. The two 16GB modules give you 32GB in dual-channel mode, which is a good capacity for everyday work, creative tasks, and more demanding applications.

Intel XMP 3.0 support also makes getting the advertised performance relatively straightforward on a compatible motherboard. Corsair uses a low-profile aluminum heat spreader, so the modules should also play nicely with larger CPU coolers.

There’s no RGB lighting, which could actually be a plus if you prefer a clean build without turning your PC into a miniature nightclub.

Price context & historical value

The regular Newegg price of $605 is very high, but with a discount and the promo code, $490 is a much more affordable option and works out at $15.31 per GB. This obviously is nowhere near an all-time low. The same kit was available for $229.99 in November 2025 and dropped as low as $99.99 in July 2023, showing just how dramatically memory prices have risen.

For more savings, we've picked out this week's best RAM deals.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM if...

You need 32GB of fast DDR5 memory now and have been waiting for a decent discount. DDR5-6000 and CL30 make it worthwhile and the low-profile design and XMP 3.0 support add to its appeal.

❌ Skip the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM if...

You already have 32GB of reasonably quick DDR5 memory. Unless your existing RAM is particularly slow, replacing it with this kit probably won’t produce enough of a noticeable everyday performance improvement to justify the upgrade.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

This is a decent deal for someone building or upgrading now, but if you're not in any rush, it's worth waiting for memory prices to come back down. You should also check your motherboard and CPU compatibility before ordering. This particular kit supports Intel XMP 3.0 rather than being marketed as an AMD EXPO kit.

• See all desktop memory at Newegg

• Roku announces two affordable OLED TVs: the Roku Pro Series OLED TV and the Roku Pro Series LX OLED TV
• The Pro OLED starts from $999, and has 4K 120Hz and VRR support
• The LX starts from $1,299 and has 4K 144Hz VRR support
• Only 55-inch and 65-inch sizes are mentioned, though

Roku has launched its first ever OLED TV, the Roku Pro Series, with a second, more premium model coming in October 2026.

As we've come to expect from Roku, the TVs offer a good specification with a very competitive price tag: the cheapest model is $999 for the 55-inch size. That could make them among the best OLED TVs for buyers who don't want to spend too much: the LG B6, for example, is listed at $1,299 for the 55-inch model officially (though we've seen it fall below that already).

The Roku Pro Series OLED TV will be available in two sizes initially, 55 and 65 inches, and it is extremely thin. The display sits on an adjustable, tool-free stand designed to fit soundbars and set-top boxes, and the stand has built-in cable straps to keep everything nice and neat.

Both models come with an enhanced voice remote, push-to-talk control and a handy remote control finder that's operated by a button built into the TV.

Roku Pro Series / Pro Series LX OLED TVs: key features

The standard Roku Pro Series OLED TV has a 120Hz panel with wide viewing angles, and Dolby Vision support.

There are four HDMI 2.1 ports, and an automatic Game Mode; the TVs support FreeSync Premium and HDMI-spec variable refresh rates.

(Image credit: Roku)

The second model, the Roku Pro Series LX OLED TV, delivers up to 144Hz VRR, has higher brightness and has an advanced polarizer to reduce room reflections. It has a more fancy version of the voice remote featuring backlit buttons and customizable shortcuts, and the remote charges via USB-C.

The Roku Pro Series OLED TV is available now on Amazon US in a choice of 55 or 65 inches, with prices starting at $999. That'll make it a hot competitor against the aforementioned LG B6, or the Samsung S85H, which is Samsung's budget model, and is officially priced around $1,199.

(Image credit: Roku)

The Roku Pro Series LX OLED TV will launch in October with a starting price of $1,299 — that's very close to the current sale price of the LG C6, and we can't wait to see if it performs in the same ballpark too.

Thinking of buying a new TV?

Try our TV size and model finder! You tell it how far you sit from your TV, we'll tell you what size to buy based on viewing angle advice from image quality experts, and we'll recommend our three top TVs at that size for different prices.

ChatGPT Work’s new event-triggered scheduled tasks offer an intriguing alternative to the compulsive email checking that fills my days. The feature essentially acts as an AI-powered secretary, screening your Gmail inbox, Slack channels, and other communication channels, then alerting you or responding as you request in a prompt.

I decided to use the feature as an aggressively selective email assistant. ChatGPT could watch everything arriving in my inbox, but it was only allowed to interrupt me when a message created an actual obligation, and it should suggest how to respond and have a draft ready to go.

Event-triggered tasks are available on eligible plans in ChatGPT on the web and mobile. I used ChatGPT on the web and connected my Gmail account when prompted. You can see the prompt I used below.

The current event triggers support new Gmail messages, which can optionally be narrowed by sender or subject. I wanted ChatGPT to judge every incoming message by its contents, so I left the trigger broad and made the instructions selective.

That distinction matters. The trigger decides when ChatGPT wakes up, while the prompt decides what it does once awake. In my case, every new email could prompt a run, but only messages meeting my criteria were supposed to produce an alert.

I closed my inbox and waited to see how the afternoon went.

Here's how to do it

(Image credit: Future)

My original prompt was fairly basic. I told ChatGPT, "When I receive an email that requires me to do something, or comes from a family member, tell me what I need to do and draft a potential reply."

It still left plenty of room for interpretation, and I was wary of spam getting listed as something I needed to do something about, but it came down to being a good test for ChatGPT.

After a bit, I did clarify to ChatGPT that it should alert me about any email with a single sentence explaining who was writing and what they might need from me. I also made sure to add that the AI shouldn't reply without my input.

I also opened ChatGPT’s notification settings and made sure task alerts could reach me outside the inbox. Depending on the account and notification category, ChatGPT can offer push, email, or text message delivery. I avoided email for obvious reasons, since an email announcing that ChatGPT had found an email would have possibly confused the AI.

With the task running, I shut Gmail and returned to everything else I had planned for the afternoon. For the first several minutes, I still felt the pull to check, but eventually, I stopped thinking about it.

The absence of constant email checks made the afternoon feel longer in a good way. I could finish a task without repeatedly glancing at another tab to make sure the internet had not developed an emergency specifically for me.

Only 3 interruptions

The first ChatGPT alert concerned a message from my bank about two hours after setting up the alert. ChatGPT identified the sender, explained why the email appeared to require attention, and told me what I needed to review. I opened that message directly, made sure it didn't actually require a response, and closed down the inbox.

The second alert came from a family member. This was a more interesting test because family messages rarely contain the tidy language that makes conventional email rules useful. They can require a decision or a quick response without the more business-style setup and keywords in professional messages.

Still, ChatGPT recognized that the message expected something from me and brought it to my attention and wrote a brief reply draft for me to approve. I added a little, but ChatGPT nailed the main points I needed to make, and it wasn't the kind of email that needed a lot of personal detail, so a few minutes after the alert arrived, the response was out the door.

The last alert concerned tickets I had recently purchased and a change to the itinerary for an upcoming event. In this case, the alert was very necessary as it changed some of the other plans for that day, and I had to let others know of the shift. That wasn't in ChatGPT's suggested response, of course, but just getting the heads up was useful.

Those were the only three times I looked at Gmail all afternoon. Other messages arrived, but ChatGPT did not summon me to look at them. When I went to my inbox afterward, I clocked only two emails that I might have wanted to deal with earlier, and neither had to be handled immediately. Nothing terrible happened because I didn't see a promotional email at the moment of delivery.

Anyone trying this should begin with a short test period and review the first few runs in ChatGPT’s Scheduled section. If ordinary receipts keep slipping through, add a clearer exclusion. If requests from real people are being missed, explain what counts as an expected response and allow ChatGPT to flag uncertain cases.

I would also keep the first version informational. Ask ChatGPT to summarize the obligation and point you toward the email, then make the decision yourself. It's a feature worth trialing. Many AI tools try to prove their value by producing more text, more summaries, and more notifications. This one worked because it knew when to leave me alone.

Skynet has missed another appointment. Depending on which Terminator timeline you prefer, the murderous artificial intelligence should have become self-aware in 1997, 2004, 2011, 2017, or perhaps last Tuesday. Each date has passed without a nuclear exchange. The machines have mostly occupied themselves by flattering users, mangling fingers in photos, and confidently inventing facts for gullible people to believe.

That has not stopped Silicon Valley from treating artificial general intelligence as both an imminent miracle and an approaching monster. AGI supposedly marks the moment a machine can match human intelligence across a broad range of tasks, though nobody can agree on which tasks, which humans, or what counts as intelligence.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang thinks it already happened and nobody noticed. “For many tasks, we could say that we’ve already achieved AGI,” he said during Nvidia’s latest earnings call. He added that such milestones are “kind of senseless at this point.” So much for Skynet.

But he is right that AGI has become close to useless as a measure of progress. Companies can redefine it according to whatever their newest model happens to do well. It's a promotion, not a scientific standard.

Apocalyptic decoy

But AI isn't harmless even if it's not inclined to play with nuclear bombs. There are less theatrical dangers from AI fueled by old-fashioned human greed and malevolence.

Today’s AI can produce endless fodder for scams. It can clone voices and faces well enough to trick loved ones out of money, use phishing messages to hack secure servers, and flood social networks with synthetic accounts that never tire of arguing. None of this qualifies as AGI under any serious definition, but the distinction offers little comfort to the person hearing a fake recording of a relative begging for money.

The fixation on AGI may actually make life harder for regulators.

Profit isn't a good yardstick

Huang argued that the concept of AGI should be replaced. We should consider if it is “doing productive and useful work” and “generating profitable tokens.” That makes sense for Nvidia, but to ordinary people worried about AI, profitability is not much of a safety test.

Scams are profitable. That's why there are so many. Firing human employees for an AI model that is 30% as good at 10% the price is profitable (in the short term). Neither result is something to brag about when describing the result of your product.

Retiring AGI as the organizing obsession and fear of the industry makes sense, but that doesn't mean AI companies can relax. Intelligence is too complex to serve as the sole trigger for concern. Power might be a better lens. We can measure who uses AI, and how, as well as who is expected to clean up when they fail. Then we'll know how explosive an impact it's had on our lives.

Conversations about liability, identity verification, ownership, and other legal details don't have the visual excitement of mushroom clouds, but regulators should make AI companies discuss them instead. We need to keep an eye on the human hands on the keyboard, not the perpetually delayed Skynet.

• Sony is launching a new free ad-supported service on PS5 consoles
• Its 100 live channels cover a wide range of titles across film, TV, news, sports, and more
• Live TV on PS5 is available to US users now, with availability for Canada and other regions to follow

Sony is dipping its toes back into free streaming channels with its new Live TV on PS5 platform — following platforms such as Tubi, Google TV Freeplay, and The Roku Channel.

The gaming and entertainment giant announced Live TV on PS5 yesterday (August 31), revealing that PS5 owners in the US can now access the service’s 100 ad-supported live channels and on-demand titles. Sony also has plans to expand Live TV on PS5 to Canada and additional regions, and will roll out the free service to Bravia TVs later this year.

For a new free streaming platform, Sony is already going big with its entertainment offerings. As far as its movie channels go, Live TV on PS5 has a slew of titles spanning action, horror, sci-fi, and more, all while housing popular anime titles from Crunchyroll.

The service also has a rich catalog of TV titles, including shows such as Community, The Shield, Hell’s Kitchen, The Walking Dead, Forensic Files, Unsolved Mysteries, Deal or No Deal USA, and Fear Factor.

Movies and shows aside, current affairs and news viewing is also available for free, offering programming from NBC News Now, Fox Weather, and LiveNOW from FOX. Additionally, you can also access channels including FOX Sports, NASCAR, NBC Sports Now, and UFC, so sports fans aren’t being left out of the experience.

Just like other platforms in our roster of best streaming services, Sony will keep Live TV on PS5 refreshed with new programming, titles, and channels to expose you to new content and keep you on your toes. Hopefully its library won’t remain stagnant and outdated, but it’s not as if Sony doesn’t know what it’s doing — it’s dipped its toes into the FAST channels waters before.

PlayStation Vue was a live TV service that allowed you to watch titles without the need for a cable box, before Sony axed it in 2020. It’s safe to say that PlayStation Vue was a widely admired service, and countless PS owners have been reminiscing about its nostalgia on Reddit following the announcement of Live TV on PS5 — however, whether the new platform will be a welcomed addition is debatable.

Comment from r/gaming

Sony’s decision to kill off physical games and shift to digital ownership is still under intense scrutiny, not to mention the uproar that came when Sony deleted 500 movies users paid for following a licensing conflict. So there’s still the burning question regarding ownership: if everything is digital, do users really own it? There’s also the question of how different Sony’s FAST streaming service is to existing platforms.

In the Reddit discussion mentioned earlier, some users flagged that a lot of the FAST channels available on Live TV on PS5 are strikingly similar to the ones already available on services such as Tubi and Pluto TV, as one user said it ‘sounds like the same channels as [my] Roku TV’. Similarly, another commenter wrote that Sony’s streaming platform looks ‘like a copy of Roku TV, where they only show reruns and older shows, or lesser known shows’.

The common denominator with the best free streaming services are the providers, as another user highlights in the thread, so running into the same types of programming across these platforms isn’t out of the ordinary. For users who use their PS5 consoles as their main media hub, it’s a solid free upgrade and it’s there if you want to use it. At the same time, you can already download Tubi and Pluto TV on PS5, so the competition is tough.

• Most specs of the upcoming Enough Phone have been revealed
• Highlights include a tiny 5.3-inch screen and a 3,500-4,000mAh removable battery
• The Enough Phone will be coming to Kickstarter soon

Compact smartphones are almost impossible to come by these days. Apple hasn’t made one since the iPhone 13 mini in 2021, and most Android phones have screens of over 6 inches. But while the industry is trending larger, there is still a market for small phones, and the Enough Phone aims to serve it.

This handset was first announced in late June, but back then, little was known about it. Now, the company behind it has revealed many of the specs and shared photos of a dummy unit.

The Enough Phone is intended to have a 5.3-inch 720 x 1520 LCD screen, making its display marginally smaller than the iPhone 13 mini’s 5.4-inch one. Its overall dimensions are 132.8 x 63.8 x 12mm, making it similar in length and width but far thicker than the 131.5 x 64.2 x 7.7mm Apple device.

(Image credit: Enough Phone)A relatively large battery but basic specs

That chunky design might be disappointing, but it allows for a far higher-capacity battery, with the manufacturer aiming for one of 3,500-4,000mAh. Plus, this will be a user-replaceable battery.

Not all the specs have been confirmed yet, but other ones listed here include a mid-range MediaTek Dimensity 7500 chipset, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a single-lens 50MP rear camera, a 32MP front-facing one, Android 17 with an OdysseyOS overlay, a fingerprint sensor, 5G, NFC, a microSD card slot, eSIM support, and a polycarbonate back.

So, in all, the Enough Phone sounds fairly basic, but between its compact screen, removable battery, and microSD card slot, it could stand out — if the price is right.

Sadly, the price is still to be confirmed, and in fact there’s no guarantee that it will launch at all, as the company hopes to fund it via Kickstarter, with a campaign said to be starting soon. So, if you’re interested, keep an eye out for that — or sign up to the company’s mailing list.