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Of the expected $2.5 trillion that corporates are due to spend on AI this year, over $1 trillion is set to be allocated to IT services and dedicated software. That is a huge chunk of change for a technology that many are still grappling with and trying to understand how it fits with their business, team, and procedures.

A few years since the ChatGPT-enabled revolution started, we’re beginning to see the different approaches and challenges businesses are facing when implementing AI.

Ford's recent decision to bring back experienced engineers after AI systems failed to catch manufacturing issues offers an important lesson for every business investing in AI. At the same time, new research from Ramp and Revelio Labs, covering almost 22,000 US companies, found that organizations investing most heavily in AI are actually hiring more people, not fewer.

Together, these stories tell us something important. Everyone assumed AI would reduce reliance on people, but instead we’re seeing companies discover how dependent AI is on experienced people. AI may be changing how work gets done, but this alone isn't enough for growth and success.

AI is accelerating work, but experience still matters

Earlier this year, Ford re-hired 350 veteran engineers after AI and automated systems failed to deliver quality work, demonstrating that employees are critical to a successful AI rollout.

It’s also interesting to see this reflected in Ramp and Revelio Labs’ research that organizations investing in AI are hiring more people. Instead of neglecting hiring and skills development, companies increasingly need the right team members to help refine and improve sophisticated AI so that it performs better in the areas they need.

Success with AI still depends on understanding the skills people need to perform, at an individual, team and organizational level, then investing in development that reflects the realities of their work. But before organizations can build those skills, they need to know where expertise already exists. Too many businesses are sitting on critical knowledge without any clear view of who has it or where the gaps are.

One way to achieve this is building a skills ontology, a living record of the skills that exist across the organization.

Rather than relying on assumptions, businesses can identify where they overindex or underindex on capabilities, understand which teams have specialist knowledge and spot gaps before they become business problems. It also creates the foundation for workforce planning, internal mobility and more effective AI deployment.

The most valuable skills inside your organization

Now you have an effective skills ontology, you have an overview of what is going on in your organization. This helps you identify the subject matter experts (SMEs) that exist across a business, but whose knowledge has often never been formally captured - such as that mythical AI ‘power user’. Take Ford, which has said it is using its rehired employees specifically to train younger staff and reprogram AI tools.

Once you’ve identified where expertise exists, AI can help maintain that picture and keep it up to date as roles evolve. But understanding where the expertise exists is only the beginning.

Organizations need to validate that expertise, connecting people to targeted development opportunities and making it easier for SMEs to share what they know with others. Importantly, this learning should be embedded in work as much as possible rather than separated from it, so it improves performance where it matters most.

AI makes knowledge easier to organize and distribute, but it doesn’t create the judgement that comes from experience. It can surface patterns and recommend learning pathways, but it can’t explain why a process works, when to challenge it, or how to adapt it to the realities of your organization.

That’s why experienced team members remain essential. They contribute the context that enables AI, and everyone else, to use that knowledge effectively.

Turn expertise into a competitive advantage

At a time when many in areas like HR and Learning and Development (L&D) felt that AI would diminish their role, it's clear that this expertise is only becoming more valuable.

L&D teams have the opportunity to operate more strategically by owning the upskilling and reskilling agenda, turning their and team members’ expertise across the business into a competitive advantage, and putting the processes in place to create agile workforces that collaborate effectively with AI.

AI has put organizational expertise firmly in the spotlight, whilst also highlighting that too many businesses are sitting on a wealth of knowledge that exists only in the heads of experienced employees. Not only do they know and understand more about a business and its processes, but they can also provide judgement - a scarce resource that AI cannot replicate.

Getting this information out and deploying it across the business will create a workforce that becomes smarter every time someone learns, rather than losing knowledge when someone leaves, leading to fewer repeated mistakes, better quality and stronger internal mobility.

To get the greatest return from their employees and from AI, the top organizations need to ensure they are investing in identifying, sharing and scaling the expertise they already have instead of simply buying more software.

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Artificial intelligence may dominate today's headlines, but the most productive conversations I'm having across the technology ecosystem rarely begin or end with AI.

More often than not, they start with a business challenge.

Business challenges are driving the AI conversation

How do we modernize our infrastructure without increasing complexity? How do we strengthen our security posture while enabling innovation? How do we prepare our organization for AI without rebuilding everything from the ground up?

Those questions quickly lead to a realization: today's technology decisions are interconnected.

An AI initiative depends on cloud readiness. Cloud strategy influences cybersecurity. Identity, governance and data management underpin all of it. On paper, they look like separate line items. In practice, they're one system. If you pull on cloud, security moves with it; if you pull on AI, data and governance move too.

That's a significant shift, not only for organizations investing in technology, but for the partners helping them navigate it. Organizations are moving beyond asking whether AI matters. They're focused on how to implement it successfully.

That shift is happening across the industry.

Our fourth annual Direction of Technology Report, which surveyed more than 1,400 IT solution providers across 40 countries, found that nearly 75% of partners say AI is essential to their future. Yet the same research shows the conversation has become much broader than AI itself. Partners increasingly see services, specialization, cybersecurity and automation as the capabilities that will differentiate them in the years ahead.

To me, that's one of the most important signals in today's market, because the conversation isn't simply about adopting the next technology. It's about building an environment where technologies work together to solve real business challenges.

From experimentation to implementation

AI adoption is accelerating, but organizations quickly realize that successful AI initiatives depend on much more than selecting the right model or platform. They depend on secure infrastructure, trusted data, governance, integration and the expertise to bring those pieces together.

The market data tells a similar story.

Global AI spending is projected to exceed $2 trillion in 2026. Global Public Cloud spending is expected to surpass $1 trillion, while cybersecurity spending is projected to continue its rapid growth. These markets aren't growing in isolation but expanding together because organizations recognize that one investment reinforces the others.

That's why I believe the conversation is maturing.

The question is no longer, "Where do we start with AI?"

It's, "How do we build the right foundation to make AI successful?"

That requires a different approach from everyone in the technology ecosystem.

Customers aren't asking for another AI demonstration, but they’re asking questions like:

• How does AI fit into the technology investments we've already made?
• How will it integrate with our existing cloud environment?
• What does it mean for our security posture and governance?
• How can it improve productivity without creating unnecessary complexity?

Those are implementation questions, and I believe they'll define the next phase of AI adoption.

Technology will keep evolving, and AI will evolve fastest of all. What gives me confidence is not the pace of that innovation but the way the industry is organizing itself around the harder work of implementation.

No single vendor, provider or advisor holds every answer. Environments have become too interconnected for that, and the organizations making genuine progress are the ones drawing on combined expertise, weighing infrastructure, security, data and services together rather than in sequence.

The definition of success is changing with it. What matters is no longer how many technologies an organization can reach, but how well those technologies operate as one system in service of a business outcome. That, far more than any single breakthrough, will determine who ultimately gets value from AI tools.

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• Logitech Spot has spent the past 18 months measuring office environment comfort
• Now, it can work with 10 new partners to actively suggest changes
• Its API works with other data, like office floor plans

In 2025, Logitech announced a series of smart sensors designed to monitor the office environment in order to optimize worker productivity and comfort - and now, it has unveiled plans to expand its Spot sensors even further.

Spot has 10 new software and platform integrations, with partners spanning Robin and Zoom.

Ultimately, it means that Spot goes from beyond just displaying metrics in a dashboard, and will now act as a central brain that feeds data into existing workplace management platforms.

Logitech Spot is getting smarter with new integrations

Presence and occupancy, temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, VOCs, PM and barometric pressure are all metrics that Spot analyzes, with Logitech noting the aim is to provide a detailed look at how rooms are being used and what their environmental conditions are like.

With the company's CollabOS and Sync Cloud APIs, third parties can now integrate the smart data directly into the own platforms to adjust how rooms are allocated, check for unused meeting rooms, automatically check guests in, forecast demand and reveal environmental/comfort issues automatically.

Spot's data can also be used in conjunction with third-party software vendors' own data, like office floor plans and historical usage patterns, turning Spot into an accessory that offices should be able to just forget about, without having to interpret the data manually.

"Facilities and IT teams no longer have to guess where to cut costs or invest," Team Workspace Solutions GM Henry Levak said. "By connecting with the tools our customers already use daily, building healthier, automated, and far more efficient workplaces is easier than ever.”

Spot itself is available for $499, but it's also built into some other hardware and requires an active subscription to unlock its full connectivity powers.

• Nvidia is reportedly preparing to acquire Hugging Face for $12.9bn
• A 2023 investment round valued the company at $4.5bn
• Nvidia is on a roll of investing heavily in other companies

Nvidia has reportedly spent the past couple of weeks actively engaging with Hugging Face to explore an acquisition deal worth an estimated $12.9 billion, according to Business Insider reporting, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

To date, the companies are yet to reach an agreement, but with the current valuation speculations, it would make a Hugging Face acquisition one of Nvidia's largest acquisitions to date.

Importantly, this wouldn't be the chipmaker's first run-in with Hugging Face – it took part in a $235 million funding round in 2023. At that time, Hugging Face's valuation was around $4.5 billion - making today's valuation nearly three times higher.

Nvidia and Hugging Face

While this may be one of Nvidia's biggest acquisitions to date, it's just one of a growing number, as the company recently admitted it had $18 billion committed to equity investments for the rest of the financial year, and it already holds $47.9 billion in private company stock.

However, there's still a shadow over the potential Nvidia acquisition, with Hugging Face previously turning down a $500 million Nvidia investment over concerns that a single shareholder could have such a big influence.

The high valuation also makes the prospective acquisition a costly one – at around 86x Hugging Face's annualized revenue ($150 million), Nvidia would be paying a premium for the platform's strategic position and existing relationships, against a backdrop of ongoing investments in models and development tools.

Regulator scrutiny might also question whether competing chipmakers and cloud service providers could be put at a disadvantage, particularly if Nvidia imposes hardware and software restrictions on the platform after a takeover.

Neither Nvidia nor Hugging Face responded to requests for comment.

• Salesforce and Anthropic reveal Claudeforce
• Greater expansion of Claude into Salesforce's services, including a new plugin offering 37 pre-built sales skills
• Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff says "Saaspocalypse" is "such nonsense"

Salesforce has extended its partnership with Anthropic to build Claude directly into the former's services.

Claudeforce will give Claude direct access into customer data and other information stored in Salesforce, allowing the AI to carry out everyday tasks and access information much easier than before.

This includes the launch of Salesforce in Claude, a new plugin offering 37 pre-built sales skills giving sellers and agents the ability to reason over live revenue context, automate pipeline updates, and take governed action right from Claude.

Claudeforce

In a blog post announcing the news, the company claimed that Claudeforce, "brings together the best of both worlds — Claude brings intelligence and judgment, reasoning, adapting, and deciding in real time. Salesforce provides the data, rules, and trusted workflows that turn that judgment into enterprise-ready action."

Along with the new plugin, Claude will also now be available in Agentforce, acting as a reasoning model for the Atlas Reasoning Engine, as well as powering Agentforce Vibes and Agentforce Coworker by default, and available in Agent Builder.

Claude will also become the "default model" for Slack, Salesforce noted, serving as "the intelligent backbone across every layer of the Slack experience".

“We believe frontier intelligence should be safe, trusted, and deeply capable, which is why the world’s leading businesses turn to Claude for their most important work," noted Dario Amodei, CEO & Co-Founder, Anthropic.

"Salesforce in Claude brings this same frontier intelligence into the systems where much of the world’s commercial activity happens. Through this partnership, companies can point Claude at the customer information and business context that they’ve been building in Salesforce for decades, and use it to actually run and grow their businesses.”

(Image credit: Salesforce)

The launch comes as Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has once again pushed back against fears of a so-called “SaaSpocalypse” brought on by increased AI innovation.

“This SaaSpocalypse narrative has been such nonsense,” Benioff told CNBC. “Frontier models depend on CRM. They don’t replace it.”

Benioff noted that the company's latest financial results suggest AI is having a significant effect on its customer base, with nine of the 10 leading artificial intelligence companies using Salesforce and Slack, and spending on the platforms surging 435% from a year ago.

The CEO pointed to Claudeforce as a clear signal of Salesforce being a strong foundation for AI agents, noting models such as Claude rely on the customer data, business context and workflows housed on Salesforce’s platform.

“Salesforce is first and foremost in the data business,” the CEO said. “These AI models need this level of intelligence, security and controls for users.”

When was the last time you reviewed your cyber security standards? Let’s be clear: keeping a company secure is a constant task.

Cyber breaches are on the rise; according to the latest UK Government Cyber Security Breaches Survey, 4 in 10 businesses were compromised in the last 12 months. It’s important to remember businesses of all types and sizes are at risk – where there are gaps in security, attackers will take advantage.

Against this backdrop, plus high-profile cyber-attacks on companies including M&S and JLR, the government has reviewed its Cyber Essentials framework.

Its latest overhaul is raising the bar for organizations of all sizes.

Designed to provide the basic controls to protect businesses and their staff, if taken seriously, Cyber Essentials can make all the difference. Yet many businesses are still struggling to meet even baseline security standards.

Common issues such as a lack of budget, limited resources and a focus on other priorities are all factors holding organizations back – and they all make a major IT breach more likely.

Historically treated as a once-a-year compliance exercise, the latest ‘Denzel’ Cyber Essentials framework signals a clear and overdue shift towards implementing continuous cyber resilience. This means tougher standards which could catch businesses out.

Here are the key changes and how to approach them, to reduce the risk of a breach.

Implement a robust patching regime

Under the new framework, expectations have been tightened around patch management – the process of fixing a security risk or software error by installing updates – and vulnerability management.

Previously businesses could demonstrate compliance with patching requirements though documented processes and periodic updates.

In reality, teams find it hard to build in regular patching routines which work without affecting live services, due to downtime and continual testing. And that’s without taking into consideration all the third-party patches that need to be applied, as well as the critical operating system ones.

There is evidence that not addressing application issues and vulnerabilities is leading to more breaches. The 2026 Verzion Data Breach Investigations Report shows system compromise is now up to 61%, the highest it’s been over the last three years.

Timelines for applying critical patches have been made stricter, with a 14-day window to comply. Critical patches must be deployed consistently within this period, and businesses must be able to evidence their patching regime is working.

Companies will be afforded two chances to prove patches have been successfully deployed using a process called “double sampling”. If the first round of evidence has critical issues identified, a second chance will be given to fix it and prove it has worked – if it hasn’t, businesses will fail their certification.

IT teams should review systems now to determine if everything is being patched within the 14-day window. If not, they will need to work closely with operational teams to build up to the requirements in time for the next assessment.

Deploy Multi Factor Authentication (MFA) across the board

MFA remains one of the most effective controls against account compromise. The issue for many organizations is not a lack of MFA capability, but inconsistent deployment.

Businesses are likely to have MFA enabled for remote access such as Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and Microsoft 365 services – but admin interfaces, cloud platforms and third-party services often do not follow the same practice, leaving companies exposed. Threat actors know this and use these weaknesses to try to gain access.

Under the new framework, if you have a cloud system which supports MFA then it must be enabled for all users, irrespective of whether it’s a free, included or paid-for option. Without MFA enabled, it’s an automatic certification failure.

This begs the question: do you know if MFA is enabled on all your cloud services? If not, how long will it take to turn this around?

Cloud services must be accounted for

Under previous versions of the framework, cloud services could be excluded from the assessment as it was argued they sat outside of the scope. This argument is no longer viable. Organizations need to provide a clear, well-defined document with evidence to support proper segregation of all IT Systems, otherwise they will automatically be viewed as within scope.

This means businesses must account for all services, regardless of where they are hosted. Given the flexibility of cloud solutions, this can quickly become a complex issue to gain appropriate visibility of all systems. If you are processing or storing data in a cloud service, this will be included. Typically, these are CRM platforms, HR software and financial systems, project management solutions, plus many more.

As it can take time to discover what’s in use and in scope, this is another area where organizations need to leave plenty of time to ensure all cloud services are covered.

Replace legacy hardware and update operating systems

A major change, and possibly the greatest headache, is the requirement to replace ageing hardware and software.

Recent retirement of the Windows 10 operating system is one area where businesses are under pressure to replace all their hardware to remain compliant. It doesn’t stop there – ageing IT infrastructure, along with major vendor services and solutions, all need to be replaced at some point. If organizations don’t plan ahead, they could be left with a mounting problem and not enough time to deal with it.

Once a vendor stops supporting a platform, the risk of a breach increases until this is addressed. Security patches will no longer be made available and given the time these systems have been out in the wild, it’s only a matter of time before another vulnerability is discovered and exploited.

In the short term, businesses should ensure they have a clear view of their assets in scope of Cyber Essentials and check vendor support dates (and when these run out) to avoid any hidden surprises at the last minute. In the long-term, a robust strategy for replacing all hardware as it is approaching end of life will save difficulty further down the line.

Don’t delay on a gap analysis

Core areas in the Cyber Essentials framework have been updated to reflect the fast-changing security landscape. It’s not all bad news, as businesses have time to turn things around. Organisations should read carefully through the new standards and consider how they apply to their own company.

Do not treat Cyber Essentials as a tick-box exercise and wait until a month before your next assessment. Do a gap analysis now and deal with the findings.

At the end of the day, it is absolutely worth the effort.

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• Whoop launches Meridian, its jewelry-inspired fitness tracker
• It's essentially a Whoop 5.0 with Milanese metal mesh and premium metallic finishes
• It 'keeps the same sensor array and tracking accuracy as the standard band'

If there's one thing Whoop hates, it's people taking their fitness trackers off. After all, you're losing valuable data.

That's why the Whoop MG comes with a charging puck that clips directly onto the wearable as you wear it, and it's why you get push notifications from the Whoop app whenever you remove the tracker, telling you it's 'off body'. But there are occasions when a fabric Whoop band would be inappropriate to wear — a wedding, perhaps, or a fancy dinner.

Enter Whoop Meridian: a sleek metallic fitness tracker with a Milanese mesh band and tapered silhouette, designed to look more like jewelry than gym.

According to Whoop, 'Meridian is designed to solve one of the biggest gaps in health wearables: the fact that most people take theirs off exactly when continuous tracking matters (sleep quality outside routine, recovery on off days, stress during social events).'

(Image credit: Whoop)

It offers the same sensors and tracking accuracy as a standard Whoop 5.0, and can be purchased as an additional accessory rather than a complete Whoop, if you so choose. In theory, Whoop members can swap their standard tracker for their Meridian band when needed and continue seamlessly tracking from day to night.

It's available in four colors: Gold, Rose Gold, Alloy (a generic metallic finish), and Black. It's priced at $149 / £119 / AU$219, and is available from today (Thursday 27 August).

Wearables have tried to capture the jewelry aesthetic before, to varying degrees of success: notably the Fitbit Luxe and Apple with the Hermes editions of its best Apple Watches.

However, I quite like the look of these Whoop bands: some shades like Rose Gold and Gold simply look like bracelets, while the darker, more robust colors almost feel like watch straps. If you can't stand to lose hours of valuable data, this could be a stylish solution.

I’ve been reviewing ereaders and epaper writing tablets for nearly a decade now and, in that time, I don’t think I’ve been more excited about an E Ink device as much as Amazon’s Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

When it was announced in October 2025, I was keen to see how well Amazon had implemented the E Ink Kaleido 3 screen technology on the 11-inch note taker, especially since I found the 7-inch Kindle Colorsoft ereader to be one of the better-optimized displays in this category of tablets.

I had to wait over six months after it was initially available to buy in the US — living in Australia meant I could finally lay my hands on it in June this year — but I happened to try the 3rd-generation Kindle Scribe with frontlight first. Following that up with the Colorsoft version was probably a bad idea because I think the 2025 Kindle Scribe is arguably the best Kindle Amazon has made to date: it’s fast, the implementation of the monochrome E Ink Carta 1300 screen is fantastic and the battery life remains just as impressive as on any other Kindle.

The Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, in comparison, lacks luster. For the most part, it’s not really Amazon’s fault that its monochrome sibling outshines it — it’s the limitations of color E Ink display tech after all — but the one thing that really stands out to me is very much under Amazon's control.

Why so blue, Amazon?

I love the new wallpaper artwork on the 2025 release of the Scribes. They're beautiful, different and, after seeing them first on the 3rd-generation Kindle Scribe in black and white, I was keen to appreciate them in color.

All the lockscreen artwork looks blue on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft (Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)

Strangely, the dominant color you see on the lockscreen artwork on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft is blue. From the start screen, showing the silhouette of the boy reading under the tree, to the red-and-white balloon hovering over a lake and forest, every default artwork just looks… blue.

Now, I know some of this is due to the screen itself — the color filter array (CFA) layered over the screen tends to shift hues towards a grey-blue. But if Boox can ensure the other colors pop in the default wallpapers on its large-screen color devices, so can Amazon.

The wallpaper on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft (left) looks duller compared to the Boox Note Air5 C (right) (Image credit: TechRadar / Sharmishta Sarkar)

I thought I’d get used to it but, two months on, and I’m left feeling… well, blue every time I wake up the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft. I don’t typically like displaying book covers on the lockscreen, but that’s what I’ve reverted to recently just to avoid the dominance of that one color.

It’s there in black and white

OK, I’ll admit that I sound like I’m nitpicking with the wallpapers, but it highlights one big issue with color E Ink displays — they’re darker than the monochrome E Ink Carta screens and, unless you bump up frontlight brightness, the colors don’t really pop. You can see that with not just the wallpapers, but with book covers and comics too on the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft.

This is because of the RGB layer integrated into the display and it affects every single color ereader and digital notebook, not just the Colorsofts. That means the ‘white’ background isn’t as white as it would be on a similar device using the E Ink Carta 1300 screen (like the 2nd and 3rd generation Kindle Scribes) which, in turn, makes colors look dull.

With excellent contrast and fast performance, the 3rd generation Kindle Scribe is the better Amazon digital notebook (Image credit: Sharmishta Sarkar / TechRadar)

But increasing frontlight brightness to enjoy those colors means you’re draining battery life quicker. In the two months I’ve been using the Kindle Scribe Colorsoft, I’ve had to charge it every 2 to 3 days with an average use of 5 hours a day — mostly reading, but some writing too, and browsing the Kindle Store — with auto-brightness settings and Wi-Fi on. In comparison, the 2025 Kindle Scribe lasted me about 5 days on a single charge with the same settings and similar use case.

Annoyingly, the Colorsoft edition takes much longer than the standard Scribe to recharge as well.

Color isn’t always necessary

If color reading really is important to you, you’re better off with an iPad or a Samsung tablet to be honest — color E Ink just isn’t there yet. Moreover, most of us who use an ereader don’t necessarily even need color; we tend to mostly read text-heavy books and note-taking also, similarly, is mostly black ink.

On the Kindle Colorsoft Scribe, the color ink isn’t even as dark as I’ve seen on the Boox Note Air 5C, so it really doesn’t offer as much value for your hard-earned cash compared to some of its competition.

In comparison, its monochrome sibling is the overall better performer — as I’ve said in my Kindle Scribe (2025) review, it’s arguably the best digital notebook Amazon has made to date and, if it wasn’t so expensive, it would have scored full marks.

You'll be better served opting for a monochrome digital writing tablet, or even the Boox Note Air 5C if you want color (Image credit: TechRadar)

If you want a note-taking Kindle, I would still recommend the 2024 release of the Kindle Scribe — you might as well pick it up as long as it's still available. I suspect Amazon will discontinue it soon, but it’s a heck of a lot cheaper even at full price, is often discounted even outside of major sales and, according to Good Ereader, it will get the new software features that released with the current Scribe models, including Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive connectivity, AI search and the refreshed homescreen layout.

If you’re willing to explore other E Ink writing tablets, I’d suggest looking into the reMarkable Paper Pure or even the Boox Go 10.3 series if you prefer an Android device that will also double as an ereader. A word of caution on the Boox devices, though: you'll need to deal with some ghosting.

• United’s new Airbus A321XLR begins service soon, and it’s packed with tech
• It’ll mostly serve international, transatlantic routes with free Starlink-powered Wi-Fi
• The big surprise? Two Economy Plus rows with no middle seats

Just a few months back, I got to go inside United’s next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliner, complete with a high-tech new interior, spacious seats, and some notable upgrades for Economy.

The 787 is a wide-body aircraft built for United’s biggest and longest routes, and now, the airline is bringing that same design philosophy to a much smaller plane and experimenting with something I’ve never seen on a United aircraft before: an Economy Plus row with no middle seat.

I’ve been inside United’s brand-new Airbus A321XLR, a single-aisle aircraft that’s designed to bridge the gap between narrowbody efficiency and widebody distance capabilities, and it’s a pretty fascinating look at where the airline’s cabins are headed.

There’s a new Polaris business-class seat with closing doors, a spacious Premium Plus cabin, 4K OLED screens at every seat, Starlink Wi-Fi from day one, and, yes, those two-seat Economy Plus rows, designed to give you a little more space without the dreaded middle seat.

And after spending time in all four cabins, I think United might be onto something.

Let’s start with the new Polaris business-class product. The A321XLR is a single-body aircraft with 20 Polaris seats, complete with closing doors on either the left or right side of the aircraft. They are pretty spacious, though a bit smaller than the Polaris seats on the 787 Dreamliner. Still, you get an ample seat with an electronic touchscreen control to let it lay flat, kick out the leg rest, or adjust many facets of the experience.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

There are plenty of power ports, including two USB-C ports that top out at 60 watts, a standard wall plug, and a wireless charger. At the center of the experience is a 19-inch 4K OLED screen that’s touch-enabled and, with a button press, slightly pushes out from its base and lets you pull it forward for the perfect view. You’ll also find plenty of storage and a sizable tray table that I wish was a bit larger — still, it should fit a 14-inch laptop very comfortably.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

That’s the most premium experience on board the A321XLR. The middle option of United’s three class offerings is Premium Plus, which features a very spacious recliner that rivals those in domestic first class on smaller single-body aircraft.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

It boasts a 16-inch 4K OLED screen that can tilt and matches the size of the screen on the original Polaris product still in use on some aircraft. You’ll even find a wireless charger tucked under the armrest — a unique spot, but helpful. There’s also a standard wall plug for each seat — remember, Premium Plus is a 2x2 configuration — and a USB-C port tucked at the bottom of the OLED screen.

The tray table is pretty close to the size of what’s in Polaris and can be a good mini-desk for working in the sky, or, let’s be honest, enjoying whatever meal United is serving.

Finally, we move into Economy, which has a total of 118 seats split into 84 standard Economy and 34 Economy Plus extra-legroom options, including two with the middle seat removed.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

With any of these seats, you get a punchy, vibrant 13-inch 4K OLED that’s touch-enabled; across the board, United is knocking it out of the park with the displays here. An intuitive interface offers plenty to watch, including Apple TV in the sky, plus access to music and podcasts from Spotify. A crisp, vibrant screen in each seatback will certainly elevate the experience everywhere.

United began the process of reintroducing screens on aircraft without them, and making them a key part of the ‘United Next’ cabin, back in 2021, and now the airline has close to 800 aircraft with screens in every seat, and should have a quarter of a million seat-back screens across its fleet by the end of next year.

Peter Wolkowski, United’s Head of Product Marketing, told me, “In our post-flight survey data, we just see kind of huge increases in satisfaction across the board when customers fly on an aircraft with screens versus one without.”

There’s a standard headphone jack and USB-C port built into every Economy and Economy Plus seat, meaning that every seat, even in Economy, gets at least one power source — that’s excellent. You also get two standard wall plugs per row, but those are shared.

Economy Plus with open middle seats is where the experimentation comes into play — it was my first time seeing these, and especially for a transatlantic flight, which are the routes the A321XLR will primarily be flying, if the price is right, it could really be worth the upgrade.

The main appeal is no one next to you in the middle, and for couples flying, this is pretty nice. You get plenty of elbow room, and the middle seat essentially has a metal table bolted across it, with two indents for cupholders and a padded rear.

I’m very curious to see pricing for these, and how much of a premium they command over standard Economy Plus.

@techradar

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United is starting with only two of these rows on the aircraft, but if they prove popular, I wouldn’t be surprised if the airline expands this offering. Peter Wolkowski, United’s Head of Product Marketing, told me, “There’s a lot to love about this aircraft, but just having the ability to kind of test new concepts is really exciting.”

“We’re really eager to see how customers respond to [the open middle seat option], and if it is something that kind of performs well and customers love it, we’re going to look at more ways of doing that type of thing on other aircraft.”

I hope we continue to see this kind of experimentation with new seat types, and at affordable price points, rather than airlines just prioritizing the top end.

Rounding out the United A321XLR offering is 'Starlink from the start', meaning the plane is equipped with the right antennas and routers, as well as the proper certification, to offer Starlink Wi-Fi from its very first flights.

This means that any MileagePlus members can get free, fast Wi-Fi for as many devices as they bring, and in my testing, both on media flights and regular ones, it really improves the overall flying experience. No longer is there a concern about not being able to connect, whether that’s when you’re sending a text to a loved one or friend, or something else that requires a connection.

The A321XLR also features mood lighting, which United can split up by cabin — i.e., Polaris, Premium Plus, or Economy — to help set the mood for different parts of the flight, but also to potentially help combat jet lag.

So when does the A321XLR begin flying, and where is it headed?

Alongside the launch event at a hangar at Newark Liberty International Airport, United also announced new routes, and the A321XLR is a key part of them.

Starting September 1, 2026, the A321XLR begins with domestic flights, but later this year, the aircraft formally kicks off its international routes. In total, United announced 10 entirely new international destinations and 13 new routes for 2027.

The new routes are San Francisco to Okinawa, Japan; Washington Dulles to Toulouse, France; and several for Newark. The latter includes Newark to Luxembourg City; Marseille, France; Ibiza, Spain; Valencia, Spain; Terceira, Portugal; Ljubljana, Slovenia; Olbia (Sardinia), Italy; and Catania (Sicily), Italy.

If you like the idea of a flight on the Airbus A321XLR, it’ll be headed to Luxembourg from Newark, Washington, DC; to Toulouse from Newark; to Ibiza from Newark; to Valencia from Newark; and to Marseille from Newark.

• Desktop CPU shipments dropped over 20% amid rising memory and GPU costs
• AMD now holds nearly 35% of the entire desktop processor market
• Mobile CPU shipments jumped as Intel finally closed its capacity gap

Global processor shipments fell in the second quarter of 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier, new figures have claimed.

Mercury Research found, the decline stemmed mainly from weaker system-on-chip and embedded volumes tied to AMD's shrinking games console business, along with a steep drop in desktop CPU volumes.

Even as the overall market contracted, AMD continued to take share away from Intel across nearly every product category tracked by the research firm.

Desktop demand buckles under higher prices

Desktop CPU shipments fell by more than 20% year on year, a decline Mercury links to weaker demand for high-end gaming PCs rather than typical seasonal softness.

Rising memory prices, driven by chipmakers prioritizing more profitable high-bandwidth memory for AI servers, have pushed up the cost of finished PCs.

A shortage of consumer GPUs appears to stem from similar supply pressures within the broader chip industry.

"Higher PC prices and limited GPU supplies are having a significant impact," Mercury Research said in its report.

AMD's decline in desktop shipments was smaller than Intel's, allowing it to grow its desktop share to nearly 35%, up from about 32% a year earlier.

AMD extends its lead in mobile and server chips

Mobile processor shipments told a different story, climbing strongly compared with the previous quarter after Intel expanded output during two heavily supply-constrained quarters.

Intel added millions of units of mobile CPU capacity in the second quarter, narrowing the earlier gap between supply and available demand.

Despite that expansion, AMD's share of the mobile segment rose to nearly 29%, up from 20.6% during the same quarter last year.

Server processor shipments increased by 20% year on year, with Mercury citing stronger demand for both datacenter—class chips and processors built for networking and storage.

AMD's share of server processors climbed to 34.5%, compared with 27.3% a year earlier, and would reach 46.4% if the comparison were limited only to Intel's Xeon SP and AMD's EPYC lines.

Mercury also tracks the smaller Arm-based CPU market for PCs and servers, cautioning that its estimates carry more uncertainty due to the absence of centralized revenue reporting for Arm chips.

The firm recorded strong growth in Apple's Mac lineup, including its newer lower-cost Neo models, alongside solid gains for Arm-based Chromebooks.

Arm-based systems reached 15.3% of the client market during the quarter, a record high and an increase of 0.9 percentage points.

In servers, Arm's share also hit a record of 13.6%, up 0.5 percentage points from the prior period.

Taken together, the figures suggest a processor market driven less by shifting consumer taste than by supply-chain pressure from the AI boom.

Memory and GPU scarcity appear to be squeezing traditional desktop buyers even as data-center and mobile demand hold up, leaving AMD well placed to keep benefiting from Intel's uneven recovery.

Via The Register

• China has tested an airborne blimp called the S4000
• It generates electricity from wind power at an altitude of 4,000 meters
• The airship can move to wherever it is needed most

If you thought the age of blimps was over, think again. China has just launched a successful test of a helium-filled airship that is used to generate electricity from the sky, and it could mean a return to the air of the skyfaring vehicles that went out of fashion almost 100 years ago.

According to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV (via South China Morning Post), the apparent world-first feat involved the airship ascending to 4,000 meters, generating power and returning to the ground. Measuring roughly the length of a Boeing 747 airplane, the craft is reportedly not far from being deployed on a wider scale.

The goal of the vehicle — named the S4000 after the height it climbs to — is to harness the strong winds that can be found high above the earth, which it does using turbines strapped to each side of its body. The winds at altitude are stronger and steadier than those closer to ground level, and any electricity generated is sent back to base using a long tether.

Returning to the skies

(Image credit: CCTV)

By operating in the sky, the S4000 has a few advantages over traditional static wind turbines. For one thing, it can move to windier areas as required, allowing it to adapt to changing conditions or transfer to where it is needed most. For another, it means less real estate is taken up on the ground, freeing up space for other uses and potentially reducing the complaints that are often directed at wind farms.

The S4000 was developed by Chinese firm Sawes Energy Technology alongside Tsinghua University and the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Previous models included the S1500 and the S2000, which drew a combined total of 500 million yuan (US$74.3 million) in orders, according to the SCMP.

The S4000 is far from the only recent effort to harness wind power. As we reported earlier this week, the Ventyra R1 portable wind turbine can be folded up into a backpack yet provides 50W of power output, taking around 35 minutes to fully charge a connected smartphone.

Combined with the S4000 — and the many other developments in the wind power industry — it’s clear that a lot is being done in the world of renewable energy. So don’t be surprised to one day see blimps make a return to the skies, this time in the service of generating electricity.

• Iveda’s GX10-F100 claims more than 150 minutes of airborne endurance
• The gasoline-powered aircraft carries up to 19 pounds of cargo during missions
• Semi-symmetrical carbon-fiber frame targets coastal and remote operating environments

Iveda has introduced a rotary-wing unmanned aircraft aimed at military logistics, reconnaissance, communications support, and other operations requiring longer airborne endurance.

The Arizona-based company says its GX10-F100 can remain airborne for more than 150 minutes, which it claims is five times the endurance of comparable electric quadcopters.

The aircraft uses gasoline propulsion, carries up to 19 pounds (9 kilograms) of cargo, and features a semi-symmetrical carbon-fiber airframe for operations along coastlines, in remote terrain, and in high winds.

A longer-endurance aircraft

The GX10-F100 measures 72 inches in length and has a rotor span of 72 inches, giving it dimensions comparable to compact helicopters.

A 1.43-gallon fuel tank supplies the engine, while the aircraft reaches speeds of 68 mph and has an advertised operational range of 19 miles.

Those figures give the aircraft a different operating profile from smaller electric systems, although actual endurance can vary with payload and conditions.

Iveda says its onboard autonomy software supports live video, route guidance, and object tracking without requiring continuous manual flight control.

The company also lists coastal patrols, emergency services, infrastructure inspection, public safety, and architectural work among possible applications for the platform.

“Mission-critical operators have been forced to work within the limitations of drone systems that were never designed for the environments they operate in. This new helicopter line was built to solve that problem,” said David Ly, CEO and founder of Iveda.

Procurement and future plans

Beyond the military and security operations, this aircraft is also designed for emergency response and infrastructure work.

Therefore, approved emergency response agencies, infrastructure companies, and military pilots can purchase the aircraft for disaster management, inspection, and other operations.

The company says governments can obtain the aircraft through GlobalMed under a federal logistics arrangement, while qualified pilots may purchase units directly.

The GX10-F100 complies with federal procurement requirements for defense acquisitions and with agreements governing eligible commercial suppliers.

This means that not all governments will be eligible to purchase this device, as some are blacklisted for national security.

The GX10-F100 therefore enters a market where endurance, payload capacity, and procurement eligibility can matter alongside autonomy and sensor capabilities.

On the flip side, the gasoline engine introduces logistical considerations which are absent in many battery systems.

Iveda has not provided independent endurance testing showing whether the stated 150-minute figure remains achievable under maximum payload conditions.

This distinction matters because aircraft performance can change substantially when carrying heavier equipment, operating against strong winds, or conducting repeated autonomous missions.

Iveda also disclosed plans to convert retired full-size helicopters into autonomous aircraft, though such a project would represent a larger class of unmanned aviation than the GX10-F100.

For now, the GX10-F100 provides Iveda with an entry into military and government drone operations centered on longer flight duration.

Whether that endurance translates into a major battlefield advantage will depend on reliability, payload performance, autonomy, and actual operating conditions encountered.

Via The DroneFront

You can officially mark your calendars for September 9, 2026, as Apple has just made its annual September event official by sending out invitations with the tagline "Surprise and shine," announcing the Special Event.

In true Apple time, the September 9 event kicks off at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm BST (3am September 10 AEST) and will be livestreamed at Apple Park, specifically in the Steve Jobs Theater. We’re fully expecting the Cupertino-based tech giant to stick with a virtual format, though, for the keynote itself, and if you didn’t score an invite, fear not, as it’ll be livestreamed to the world, and our expert team here at TechRadar will be breaking it all down in real time.

“Surprise and shine” doesn’t just stand as the annual event where we expect Apple to unveil its next generation of iPhones, Apple Watches, and a few other devices, but it arrives eight days after John Ternus steps into the role of CEO. Our bet is that he still kicks off the show with a ‘Good Morning,’ and who knows, Tim Cook might still make an appearance.

Surprise and shine! It’s almost time for the #AppleEvent, on Wednesday, September 9! pic.twitter.com/SLkIcNmLwPAugust 26, 2026

The rumored hardware list is long for September 9, and all eyes are pointing to Apple entering the folding phone market with what will likely be called the iPhone Ultra. A device that’s purported to be similar in overall size and shape to the most recent Galaxy Z Fold 8, and that might make the foldable phone category a bit more mainstream with some Apple touches.

That won’t be the only iPhone, though, as the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are expected, but don’t hold out hope for a standard iPhone 18 or second-generation iPhone Air. According to the rumor mill, the focus will be on the Pros, with the follow-up to the iPhone 17 and iPhone Air arriving later. You can expect a next-gen Apple Watch Ultra and the Apple Watch Series 12, and we might see a new HomePod Mini and a long-awaited update to the Apple TV.

What does the ‘Surprise and shine” invite tell us?

(Image credit: Apple)

After months of rumors, our eyes now turn to examining every part of the invite for 'Surprise and shine." For one, it's on a bright blue background that somewhat resembles the skies over Apple Park, but the center features an Apple logo with colorful flare and blur around it.

There also appears to be a circle flowing from it, which might hint at the venue, the Steve Jobs Theater, the circular Apple Park Ring, or how the new Siri AI ebbs and flows.

Potentially, the middle of the Apple logo shows a vertical line, which could hint at the folding iPhone. Though your guess is as good as ours at the moment.

The best news? Apple is promising us a surprise, and that's something we can all get excited about.

What can we expect at the event?

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

For starters, it will be John Ternus' first special event as Apple's CEO, and it arrives at an interesting time, with a ton of hardware expected. And just weeks before the event, Apple unveiled its next-generation M6 and M5 Ultra chips and refreshed both the Mac mini and Mac Studio. Might it have been to get some of the devices out of the way for a packed September event?

It could very well be, as we're expecting the iPhone 18 Pro, the iPhone 18 Pro Max, the foldable iPhone – likely named iPhone Ultra –, the Apple Watch Series 12, and Apple Watch Ultra 4. There are also chances for new AirPods, though it'll likely be the next-generation entry-level — AirPods 5 and AirPods 5 with ANC, replacing the duo of AirPods 4 — and not the recently leaked AirPods Pro with Cameras, as recent reporting suggests those won't be due out until 2027.

Then there's also a rumored refresh of the HomePod mini and the Apple TV 4K — the streaming box that connects to the TV, not the Apple TV streaming service, though it does run on this device — that's been rumored for quite some time, and was theoretically waiting on Siri AI to be released to power some new features.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)

Considering that Siri AI will release this Fall, likely in the back half of September, as a beta for consumers with a waitlist at first as part of the generally available iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27 Tahoe, watchOS 27, and tvOS 27, there is a good chance that Apple will debut these next-generation home products. It's also likely a necessary stepping stone before we get the reported Home Screen device with a robotic arm. Still, even more importantly, Siri AI needs a spot in the home rather than just on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.

Both the next-gen HomePod mini and Apple TV 4K are reportedly on Apple's roadmap for 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman; alongside that AirPods Pro leak, several other products were mentioned, including a new Siri Remote for the Apple TV.

It's likely, though, that the iPhone Ultra will be the big reveal — and potentially the first one more thing in the Ternus era at Apple — alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max.

The only other question mark as we roll into September is the next Beats product: over-ear headphones likely to be named Beats 360, according to recent leaks. Considering product pages were up, and Beats has coyly seeded some units to superstar athletes, it feels like a reveal could be coming in the next few weeks. It's unlikely we'd see these at Apple's September event, as Beats rarely gets time during the keynotes, but anything is possible. These might be released around the same time these new products formally debut.

(Image credit: Apple)

The good news on all fronts is that we don't have much longer to wait — with Apple invites out for the 'Surprise and Shine' September 9, 2026 event and even some visual teasers out and about, we're just 14 days away from the next special event.

TechRadar will be on the ground, myself included, as well as our Editor-at-Large Lance Ulanoff, and our team of experts will be working around the clock to break it all down come September 9 and in the days after, but most importantly, come back that day to join in the festivities for our live blog featuring real-time reporting. And before then, vote in the poll below to let us know what you're most excited for Apple to reveal.

• Chinese data centers could use more electricity than the entirety of South Korea by 2030
• Data centers are being relocated in cheaper regions when latency isn't crucial
• Flexible grid consumption could also play a role for less important work

All the data centers in China are expected to consume a combined 774 TWh of electricity annually by the end of the decade, marking around a 4x increase over their current consumption, as the country continues to drive major AI investments, new reports have claimed.

Wood Mackenzie researchers anticipate China's data centers to represent around 6% of China's total electricity consumption by 2030, a figure that's expected to continue climbing to as much as 17% by 2060.

Data centers aside, a 6% share by 2030 puts the country's total estimated annual electricity consumption at a staggering 12,900 TWh by the end of the decade, highlighting immense pressure on grids to expand.

Data centers could account for 6% of China's consumption by 2030, 17% by 2060

Energy consumption is set to come from two key areas when it comes to artificial intelligence. Firstly, the predictable inference-related consumption that comes from running models for users and businesses. But secondly, unpredictable and high spikes will come from training as models become increasingly sophisticated.

The country is also seeing a split in where data centers are being located, in a bid to cope with surging power demand. Large facilities near cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen offer low-latency connections for immediate performance, but tasks that can accept slightly poorer latency such as training, backup and storage are being moved out of town.

Western and northern regions of China, for example, promise cheaper land, cooler climates and greater access to renewable energy.

"As AI drives sustained growth in computing demand, access to reliable, cost-competitive and lower-carbon electricity will play a growing role in determining where and how new data-centre capacity is developed," research analyst Wanting Zhao wrote.

Energy is a major data center constraint

Although analysts predict that data center-related energy consumption will continue to rise for decades, Wood Mackenzie expects data center emissions to peak around 2035, implying that renewable sources could be slightly delayed.

Analysts also project that data centers could become more flexible in terms of how they put pressure on the grid, in a similar way to how latency-tolerant workloads could be moving away from the city. For example, non-urgent workloads could be scheduled for periods when renewable production is cheaper or other grid demand is lower.

"This flexibility could allow data centres to move beyond their traditional role as passive base loads and become a more active component of China’s evolving power system," the company wrote.

As for the 774 TWh figure, that puts China's data centers markedly ahead of South Korea's total energy consumption across domestic and industrial measurements. The country as a whole generated around 596 TWh in 2025, per utility statistics.

That 774 TWh figure could also be set to change as we close in on the end of the decade – just a year ago, Wood Mackenzie had predicted that China's data centers would consume 479 TWh annually by 2030, making this year's projection around 60% higher.

The brand-new Mac mini is available to preorder at the official Apple Store, and as expected, the brand's education store has a great discount for students and teachers.

Right now, you can get a $100 / £100 discount on all variants, with options starting at just $799 (was $899) or £799 (was £899) for the baseline M6 chipset model. That's easily the best discount on the device currently - and likely to be the best deal we'll see for a while, too.

At $799, the Mac mini looks like a great value for students or anyone who wants a decent desktop computer for the dorm room. While some may prefer a MacBook, the Mini is a really affordable option for hooking up external monitors and peripherals.

With the new M6 or M5 Pro chipset, the Mac mini should handle all your studying, browsing, or even more demanding applications. While Apple has touted the new chipset's AI capabilities, it will still be amazing for design work, music production, or video work.

Apple Education discount on the new Mac mini

Apple Mac mini: get $100 off at Apple Education Store
The latest Mac mini has just arrived at the official Apple Education Store, and those eligible for a discount can already save $100 on a preorder. With your choice of either the new M6 or M5 Pro chipset, the Mac mini is perfect for powering through College-adjacent tasks like design work or studying. Despite its size, the combination of power and the excellent macOS makes it a fantastic choice for any student (or teacher). Preorders are now officially open for a September 22nd release date.

In the UK: get £100 off with Unidays discountView Deal

What's new with the new Apple Mac Mini?

(Image credit: Apple )

• The new M6 processor is Apple's first 2nm chip
• N1 chip supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6

The new Mac Mini isn't a complete re-invention of the formula - it's essentially just a refresh of the existing model. Outwardly, the design is unchanged, but you're getting a host of internal upgrades that make it more competitive for 2026.

The biggest addition is the option to spec the new M6 chipset, which actually debuts on this generation of Macs. Apple will almost certainly update its MacBooks with the chipset soon, but for now, the 2026 Mac Mini is the only model to feature it. With this latest Mac Mini, you can choose the M6 chipset or the M5 Pro from the current MacBook Pro.

Apple has made a few claims about the performance of its new chipset, namely up to 40% faster CPU performance and up to four times faster AI performance. We've yet to verify those claims, but we can assume that there will be a decent bump in performance based on the specs alone. For most people, we expect the M6 chipset should be more than enough for most tasks, although the M5 Pro remains an option for those who really need that power and Thunderbolt 5 ports.

Regardless of whether you go for the M6 or M5 Pro, all models get the latest N1 chip for connectivity, which specifically supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. You'll also get a 2.5GB Ethernet port as standard, with the option to upgrade to 10GB if needed.

Scary AI spend and weak access security controls are the flipside of the sharp rise in agentic AI. The answer lies in the form of a control plane that provides the visibility CIOs need.

The past couple of years have seen enterprises press the fast-forward button on generative AI strategies. e have all seen a remarkable change in deployment patterns from useful chatbots to autonomous agents that engage deeply with core software, data and LLMs, and even create their own offspring agents.

CIOs and others are rightly excited about the capacity of agentic AI to reduce manual processes and accelerate speed to insight and actions.

However, governance and AI token costs are alarming challenges.

What’s needed today then is the power of AI without the major concerns over incurring access control risks relating to ‘Shadow AI’ and agent sprawl, and without the ‘bill shock’ relating to unmanaged token consumption.

Moving fast

The generative AI shift that has occurred so quickly spans the early days of ad hoc AI experimentation via testing and pilots to today’s enterprise-grade business processes. It has also outpaced the progress of the usual governance frameworks and effectively rendered them obsolete.

Experienced CIOs may compare the change to the early days of cloud computing platforms when staff with credit cards expensed the AWS trials they had spun up and quickly ran up staggering bills.

Or they may hark back to the days when sales leaders set up online CRM platforms or other process owners bypassed IT to run their own Sharepoint systems.

Or, to reach for yet another lesson from history, they may compare what is happening with generative AI now with the advent of bring-your-own-device schemes and WiFi.

Remember when the user-led demand to have the shiny new gadget ran a coach and horses through the command-and-control IT regimes of cloned PCs stamped with a single image and CIOs no longer managed everything that touched their systems?

The problem is here. Deal with it

However we make the comparison, it’s clear that today there are very real risks relating to data leakage, compliance standards and IT costs because of the speed with which AI has advanced. Nobody wants to lose a chance to gain a competitive advantage and even to fundamentally re-engineer and automate expensive, error-strewn manual processes. So CIOs are once again being asked to square a circle.

As IDC has said: “There is a well-established playbook for calculating the return on an IT investment. Define a baseline, model the efficiency gains, project the cost savings, and present a number to the CFO. For most technology investments, that approach works. Agentic AI breaks it.”

Agentic AI is not fixed and predictable so it’s tough to manage and calculate return on investment, but we know it can take out swathes of cost, so we have to use it and we have to manage costs as best we can.

Gartner has already suggested that by 2027, more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be cancelled due to factors such as cost overrun fears or inadequate risk management. That’s not good enough. Corporate IT must step up and deliver the value the business needs, just without the attendant risks and costs.

The solution here is to head off undesirable outcomes at the pass by providing a check, a little like an airport security system that identifies passengers and scans for any potentially unsafe activity or nearby environmental factors such as possession of sharp objects.

You will see this happen in IT very quickly now, such are the risks and speed of what is happening. If 2026 is the year of agentic AI, then it also has to be the year of secure agentic AI.

Enter the AI gateway

One way to address the challenges outlined above is to create a gateway or filter. This approach offers a single control layer regardless of whether the AI model is hosted in public or deployed as a private, self-hosted entity. It effectively secures traffic from agents to LLMs and from MCP servers. This in turn enables organizations to have centralized policies and a clear view of token accounting.

It even has the visibility impact of informing decisions of non-techies who know little about AI operations. So, for example, a CIO working in tandem with a CFO perhaps may identify a better cost efficiency (for example, switching from a hosted model to a private model) and act accordingly.

That’s great news for CIOs who want to maintain a reputation for IT being agents of change but not its less desirable reputation for being risky and pricey.

Looking for the best cloud storage? These are our top picks.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to 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/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

With Apple unveiling the new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro chips, I couldn't resist spotlighting this retro-inspired Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station for $131 (was $170) at Amazon when you tick the coupon box.

Ok, it might look like a miniature of the classic Macintosh. But this modern dock combines a built-in 5-inch HD display with an M.2 NVMe SSD enclosure, SD and microSD readers, USB-A and USB-C connectivity, DisplayPort, HDMI input and a 3.5mm audio jack. In the UK, the retro dock also gets a discount to £100 (was £135) at Amazon.

M5 Retro Dock Station for Mac mini: was $169.99 now $130.03
The M5 Retro Dock Station has a built-in 5-inch 1280 x 720 display, alongside an M.2 NVMe enclosure. Connectivity includes 10Gbps USB-C and USB-A, four USB-A ports in total, DisplayPort, HDMI input, SD and microSD card readers, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Tick the coupon box for the full discount.

In the UK: now £100 (was £135)View Deal

Also consider

Mac mini M4 Dock: was $99.99 now $59.99
If you don't care about retro styling, this Mac mini Dock may be a better choice. It adds DisplayPort output up to 4K@144Hz, 10Gbps USB-A and USB-C ports, SD/TF readers, 3.5mm audio and an M.2 NVMe enclosure supporting up to 8TB.

In the UK: now £71.99 (was £89.99)View Deal

Why we recommend it

Apple yesterday announced the new Mac mini M6 mini PC (we covered the news here). And while the new silicon offers improved performance, what I found notable was that the design and port placement remain the same.

So, whether you're looking to connect your M4 Mac mini to a dock, or expand storage and connectivity once the M6 model lands, this is probably the coolest way to do it.

In our experience, the Apple Mac mini is one of the best mini PCs we've ever tested, and this gives the compact machine even more utility (while looking super-sweet).

The retro design is obviously the first thing you'll notice. Slot a Mac mini inside and you get what looks like a tiny vintage Macintosh, complete with a working 5-inch screen that can display monitoring tools, notifications, music information, a clock or other secondary content.

There's plenty of practical functionality behind the novelty, too. The built-in NVMe enclosure lets you add as much as 8TB of storage, and the card readers will be welcomed by photographers and other content creators.

You also get a handy selection of additional connections for peripherals and external displays.

What about the new M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini?

There's particularly good timing to this deal because Apple just announced its new Mac mini with M6 and M5 Pro, with pre-orders now open and availability beginning September 22.

The M6 version promises up to 4x faster AI performance and 40% faster CPU performance than the M4 model, while the considerably more powerful M5 Pro configuration offers up to an 18-core CPU, 20-core GPU and 64GB of unified memory.

The Wokyis dock is currently advertised for the M4 Mac mini rather than Apple's just-announced models, but as Apple has retained the same compact chassis design and port arrangement, it should work just fine with the new M6 and M5 Pro versions.

Price context & historical value

The Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station normally costs $169.99 at Amazon and is currently listed at $152.98. However, there's an additional coupon available on the product page that brings the final price down to $130.03. It has been cheaper in the past, but only as low as $122, so this is still a very good deal. If you like the idea of having a mini Macintosh on your desk, it's a product I'd definitely recommend.

If you're in the US, remember to tick the coupon box before adding it to your cart so you don't pay the higher price. In the UK, it's a straight deal at an all-time low price via Amazon.co.uk.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station for Mac mini if...

You want to turn your Mac mini into something fun that stands out on your desk. The retro Macintosh styling is great, but the display, NVMe enclosure, card readers and additional ports mean it's practical too.

If you're planning to buy Apple's newly announced M6 and M5 Pro Mac mini, the unchanged compact design means it should work just fine with the dock.

❌ Skip the Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station for Mac mini if...

If you simply need additional USB ports, there are much cheaper Mac mini hubs available. You're paying extra here for the integrated display, retro enclosure and storage expansion as much as the basic connectivity.

I'd also consider at a faster dock if you're buying one of the new Mac minis specifically for high-bandwidth professional work. The 10Gbps connection on this version could become the bottleneck when moving large amounts of data.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The built-in screen is useful and gives the dock its cool, retro appearance, but at 5 inches and 1280 x 720 it's best considered a secondary information display.

There's also an important limitation. This particular version of the M5 dock is limited to 10Gbps, so you won't get anything approaching the maximum bandwidth available from Thunderbolt 5 on the new M5 Pro Mac mini. Wokyis does sell a separate 80Gbps Thunderbolt 5 version for $221.08 (if you tick the coupon code), which will suit users who need much faster transfers.

Finally, the dock doesn't include an NVMe SSD, so you'll need to factor the cost of a drive into the equation if expandable storage is a reason for buying it.

• See all docking stations at Amazon

• Flashpoint found ~34 insider threat posts daily on dark web between July 2025–26
• July 2026 saw 12,653 posts, with 75% from insiders selling access themselves
• Report warns insiders are now the weakest link, urging external monitoring of illicit forums

Every month, hundreds of people try to sell access to their employer’s IT infrastructure on the dark web. Some do it for the money. Others do it because they’re angry with their company for whatever reason.

As a result, malicious insiders are growing into one of the biggest, most dangerous threats for modern businesses, experts have warned.

This is according to cybersecurity professionals Flashpoint which published its latest monthly analysis of insider threat recruitment, illicit access advertising, and threat actor activity targeting enterprise environments.

Employees selling, hackers buying

As per the report, between July 2025 and July 2026, there were an average of 34 unique posts on the dark web, every day, which can be classified as “insider threat posts”.

That is roughly a thousand unique posts every month. In July this year alone, Flashpoint analysts identified a total of 12,653 insider posts, including both threat actors attempting to recruit insiders in target organizations, and insiders advertising their services. Of these communications, 1,132 were unique posts.

“As perimeter security, EDR coverage, and other security tools mature, threat actors are finding it faster—and cheaper—to target the human element and simply buy an insider’s credentials or pay an employee to open the front door,” Flashpoint said. “In a threat landscape where identity is becoming the primary attack surface, monitoring illicit marketplaces and recruitment efforts is critical.”

Perhaps the best example is the 2025 Coinbase attack, when hackers bribed overseas customer support employees to provide access to customer data. Coinbase said at the time that the insiders abused legitimate system access, causing a cyber-incident that ended up costing the company around $360 million.

Over the course of the year, the biggest targets were organizations in three industries: telecommunications, retail, and finance. However, July 2026 findings “noticeably deviate from this trend”, Flashpoint said, finding that more than half (58.6%) of all posts affect other industries.

The researchers were still hedging, though, saying that this could also just be a way for threat actors to find an alternative entry point into the target network. Preparations for a supply-chain attack, essentially.

This communication goes both ways, Flashpoint noted. Sometimes it is the criminals offering money for passwords/access, and sometimes it is the insiders advertising their services to the wider cybercriminal community. However, the scales are heavily tilted towards the latter. Just in July this year, more than three quarters (75%) of all unique threat actor posts came from insiders.

“This indicates a highly motivated internal threat landscape where disgruntled employees actively seek out buyers for corporate data and network entry points,” Flashpoint concluded.

Changing the behavior

This report can be both good news, and bad news, depending on the context. It means that software has gotten so good that cybercriminals are moving away from “cracking” it and towards targeting employees who are now the weakest link in the cybersecurity chain.

The bad news is that organizations need to rethink how they defend their perimeter and that they have quite a difficult task at hand:

“Insider threats are inherently difficult to detect using internal security controls alone because the malicious activity relies on valid credentials and legitimate access privileges,” Flashpoint explains. “Relying solely on internal logs means security teams often only detect an insider threat after data exfiltration or system sabotage has already occurred.”

Instead, organizations should monitor deep and dark web forums, invite-only threat communities, as well as encrypted chat platforms, to spot when someone is trying to buy or sell access to their IT infrastructure. They should also keep an eye on infostealer activity, compromised corporate credentials, as well as active session tokens, and make sure they are not used against them.

Finally, they should deploy third-party cybersecurity intelligence that equips teams with adversary TTPs.

When I get an close-up look at the IKEA x Xbox collection at Gamescom, with its mix of playful designs inspired by Microsoft’s hardware and practical storage solutions that scream the Swedish retailer’s minimalist approach, I can’t get over the ridiculousness of the thumbstick stool.

It is, undoubtedly, the most absurd item in the nine-piece collaboration, which also features a squishy D-pad cushion, a sleek lounge chair, a moveable TV stand with clever cable management, a multifunctional side table, a disguised laptop stand with storage, a handy monitor stand, a shiny platter, and a swish controller display box.

And while I couldn’t see myself sitting on the stool for hours during a marathon gaming session, even if it’s surprisingly more comfortable than it looks, it’s place in the collection makes total sense.

I also get why both the stool and the cushion lead the collection because they are so immediately recognisable as Xbox icons. But as a boring man in his late thirties, I think it’s the organisational products that are more exciting.

Future / IKEA / XboxFuture / IKEA / XboxFuture / IKEA / XboxFuture / IKEA / XboxFuture / IKEA / Xbox

When I look at my desk now, it’s a scattered mess of chargers, controllers, cables, and other accessories. So, the idea of a monitor stand that works as an all-in-one solution to raise my dual screens to a comfortable eye level, while offering all the hooks and hideaways I might need to tidy everything away, or put a phone on display, as well as feature space for a console, sounds ideal.

If I could have taken one item from the set away with me right that second, it would be this one. And I feel many who prefer a clear workspace while on the clock, but also like to swap to a gaming setup in the evening, will find it an invaluable desk upgrade.

I feel the same about the side table, which offers an elegant way to put away controllers, headsets, and other accessories when you’re done playing, instead of leaving them scattered across a sofa or coffee table.

There’s also enough space inside to add a charger and run through USB cables to keep your gamepads fully juiced ahead of the next session. And it’s all hidden behind some swish sliding doors, on a side table that comes on castors so you can wheel it away or blend it in with your existing decor.

"We set out to make furniture people really want in their home, not furniture they accept because it is what you need to game,” said Philip Dilé, Product Design Developer at IKEA of Sweden, when discussing the origins of each piece. All items also had one continual IKEA and Xbox representative collaborate on them to ensure both style and function were represented.

Ultimately, it's that mix of play and functionality that comes to define the entire IKEA x Xbox collection: from a comfy cushion to a compact cabinet. And while not every item might find a place in my living room or office, I can see how many would easily find their way into a gaming space to liven it up in an amusing way or offer practicality when tidiness and space-saving are important.

The IKEA x Xbox collection launches later this year from October 1.

Autonomous AI agents are moving faster than the frameworks meant to contain them. Enterprises are deploying agents that can call systems, pull data, and increasingly interact with other agents to complete multi-step tasks.

Yet few organizations can say with confidence exactly how many agents are running in their environment, what each one is authorized to touch, or who exactly is accountable when something goes wrong.

That gap can turn agentic workflows from a promising technological advancement into a potential minefield of risk unless enterprises take a new approach to governance – one that provides greater oversight into how agents are operating and what systems they can access, trust, and use.

Don’t wait for perfection

The market has responded to the potential threat around AI agents going rogue with a wave of new tooling: agent discovery platforms that scan for active agents, and agent harnesses that box them into approved boundaries. Both are useful, but neither solves the problem alone.

The challenge of “getting a handle” on AI agents is compounded by the pace of change. New agent tools, new AI model releases, and new orchestration options are arriving at a rate that makes any static governance model obsolete within months.

Rather than waiting for a “perfect” governance framework to emerge as a standard, organizations should take steps now to create a working structure that can evolve over time.

So, what might this look like in practice?

Continuous visibility and granular guardrails

Policies and procedures alone cannot confirm what is actually running in production. Organizations need a registration and discovery process that captures every agent in use, not just the ones teams report having built.

Real visibility comes from instrumenting the environment itself, using logging and observability data generated by the underlying models, and building analysis on top of it. Only that raw data can show what an agent is actually doing, how often, and at what cost, rather than relying on what people think it is doing.

Another key step is to move from broad guardrails to granular ones. A single, broad-based harness applied uniformly across an organization, for example, limits scope without addressing risk in a meaningful way. Different use cases call for different levels of restriction, and treating every agent identically either over-constrains valuable work or under-constrains risky work.

Guardrails need to be defined at the level of the individual agent and its specific task, not the organization as a whole. As agents begin accessing other agents to complete a task, that specificity becomes even more important: each agent needs an explicit, narrow definition of what it can do and what it can reach, so that any leakage beyond that defined scope is immediately visible.

With all of the above, enterprises should embrace an approach of “validate, don’t assume”. Putting a conceptual harness or policy in place is only the first step. Confirming that it actually holds under real conditions is a separate and ongoing exercise.

A useful approach here is to pair conceptual guardrails with a logical or physical enforcement layer: a tool that can confirm what is executable, what an agent can interact with, and whether it stays within that boundary in practice.

Continuous monitoring against policy, not a one-time sign-off, is what proves a harness is working, because agent capability and the surrounding set of tools change on a near-daily basis.

Access is not the only variable

Governance conversations tend to focus almost exclusively on what an agent can access. Equally important is the order in which it accesses information. An agent that gathers information out of sequence, or acts on data before a dependent step has completed, can produce results that are wrong even if every individual action was technically permitted.

Some workflows require steps to run in parallel; others require specific sequencing to ensure the most accurate results. Building a discrete, well-defined operational sequence for each use case, rather than allowing a model to determine its own order of operations, substantially reduces this type of error.

This is as much a process design issue as a technical one, and it relies on people defining the use case clearly before any tooling is applied.

A disciplined approach reins in agentic risk

None of these elements works in isolation. Discovery without granular guardrails leaves organizations knowing what exists but not controlling it. Harnesses without validation create a false sense of security. And governance focused only on access misses key variables that can introduce risk.

The organizations managing this well are the ones treating agent governance as an extension of existing IT and data governance, applying the same discipline used for foundational legacy systems rather than treating it as a bolt-on afterthought.

Given how quickly the technological landscape continues to shift, this comprehensive governed approach is what will keep agentic AI delivering value – and reduce the risk of agents going rogue.

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