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Want to make delicious lattes and cappuccinos at home without using a steam wand? You need an electric milk frother — and as TechRadar's resident barista, I've put together the top three I recommend, whether you enjoy plant milk or dairy.

Before we get started, I should note that electric milk frothers and steam wands both have their pros and cons. A manual steam wand works much more quickly than an electric milk frother, and once you've got your eye in, it allows you greater control over the texture of the milk (more creamy for lattes, and 'drier' for a cappuccino, for example).

Electric frothers, however, can usually whip up cold milk foam as well as hot, and make it easy to prepare other drinks including hot chocolate and protein shakes. The inside of an electric milk frother usually has a non-stick coating, making it a breeze to clean. An electric frother is also a great option if you have limited mobility, often featuring just one or two physical buttons that can be operated with one hand. Sounds good? On with the recommendations...

Dreo BaristamakerFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFuture

If you enjoy plant-based milk, the Dreo Baristamaker is the electric milk frother for you. While the other two in this guide are optimized for dairy, the Baristamaker also has settings for soya, almond, coconut, and oat — as well as half-and-half if you want something richer in your coffee.

The base of the unit contains the heating element and motor, and the two whisking attachments are held in position (and spun) using magnets. One attachment looks like your standard milk whisk, while the other has large blades to pull the milk in towards the center, where a mesh screen breaks up large bubbles and turns them into fine foam.

During the foaming process, the Baristamaker will alternate between stirring and foaming, which is intended to create an even texture. It's also the only electric milk frother here whose pitcher has a fine spout, which is essential for creating latte art, though in my tests I found that the foam was less smooth than milk steamed the old-fashioned way, and I couldn't achieve the same results when pouring it.

Nevertheless, for sheer versatility, the Baristamaker is my number one pick if you're looking for an electric milk frother, provided your budget can take the hit. If you're looking for something a little more affordable (or just smaller), read on for two more options.

Read our full Dreo Baristamaker review

Smeg Mini Milk FrotherFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFutureFuture

The Smeg Mini Milk Frother is an ideal companion to the Lavazza A Modo Mio Smeg capsule coffee machine, but its clean, minimalist design would look right at home anywhere (particularly since it comes in a wide array of colors, including black, white, and pastels).

Its controls are extremely simple: just one button on the front, which you press once, twice, or three times to choose your preferred setting (hot milk foam, hot milk, or cold milk foam). There are no options for different milk types, and according to Smeg, it's intended to be used with chilled full-fat dairy milk, which it turns into quite a thick foam. I also tried it with barista-style oat and almond milk to see how it compared with the Baristamaker; oat milk produced similar results to dairy, while almond was 'drier' and less creamy.

Whether I used the hot milk or hot milk foam option, the milk was always heated to exactly 140F / 60C, which is optimal for coffee. However, it's a shame the milk vessel doesn't have a fine spout like the Baristamaker; the milk pours cleanly without drips, but the lack of fine control combined with the thick texture means it's impossible to create latte art.

Read our full Smeg Mini Milk Frother review

Future / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgeFuture / Max LangridgePhilips Baristina Milk Frother

This smart-looking electric milk frother is available on its own, or bundled with the Philips Baristina coffee machine — one of my all-time favorite espresso machines. When my colleague Max Langridge tested this frother, he found it "consistently produces thick milk foam, whether hot or cold", but as with all the devices we've tried, the foam it produces tends to be on the stiffer side and not ideal for pouring latte art.

Unlike the other frothers here, the Baristina doesn't use a heating element underneath the pitcher to heat your milk. Instead, it has a heated coil, which needs to be removed first if you want your milk cold. There's no audible beep to tell you that your milk is ready, but there is an LED indicator, and at just 40dB the while heating and whisking process is very quiet.

There are no options for tweaking the texture of your finished froth, but unlike the Smeg Mini Milk Frother above, Philips says that the Baristina frother is designed to be used with all types of milk — plant and dairy. However, Max noticed that whatever type of milk he used, the foam was always on the thicker side, and like the Smeg frother, there's no spout for pouring patterns onto your coffee.

If you're considering the Baristina coffee maker and milk frother bundle, you should also be aware that Philips has recently launched the Baristina Latte, which bundles both into one compact package. I've not had the opportunity to test it yet, but I have high expectations.

Read our full Philips Baristina Milk Frother review

I've been intrigued by AI photo editors for a while now. Some work well, some not so well. Photoroom falls into the former camp. By and large, I found the AI tools to be very impressive and intuitive to use. There are some caveats to that which I'll get into, but overall, Photoroom delivered what it promises.

But what does it promise, exactly? Now, compared to a lot of AI photo editors, things here are a little different. This isn't a platform for touching up your holiday snaps or brightening up social media posts.

The emphasis here is on business use. Effectively, if you run an online store or similar, then you use Photoroom to transform staid, dull product shots into more enticing and engaging imagery that pops off the page.

Keen to see how it's developed since we last reviewed it three years ago - AI has come a long way since then - I tried out the platform to see what I could create.

Photoroom: Pricing & plans

• Online service via browser, iOS and Android app
• Aimed at businesses large and small
• Reasonably priced subscriptions and free trial

You can check out Photoroom by clicking here.

The platform is available online through a dedicated app for your iPhone or Android phone, or if you’re working on a computer, via your favourite web browser. Unlike many I've tested, you're not restricted to either Chrome or Edge here.

As with any online service, you need to subscribe to it to use it with a monthly cost billed annually. Photoroom comes in three tiers.

‘Pro', recommended for ‘solopreneurs’, will cost you $13 per month, billed annually. This level grants you 4,250 AI credits monthly, allows you to perform 1,000 exports, and comes with Photoroom’s standard set of tools.

The middle tier is ‘Max’ and is designed for small businesses. For $35 a month (again, billed annually - all tiers are), your credits are upped to 12,000, your exports to 3,000, and the advanced ‘Video Generator’ tool is now available.

Finally, there’s 'Ultra', for “growing brands”. You’re given 20,000 AI credits,10,000 exports, and can create videos and images in 4K, all for $100 a month.

If you’re looking for a more bespoke option, there’s a tailor-made Enterprise tier, with a tailor-made cost to match.

I recommend checking prices as Photoroom often offer discounts on those standard prices. Plus, you can try any of these tiers free for seven days, although don’t forget to cancel your trial before that should you decide not to carry on with the service and you’re needlessly charged a hefty sum for your forgetfulness.

Photoroom was generous enough to grant me access to their Ultra tier, so let’s see what it’s capable of, and what you can do with all those AI credits.

• Pricing & plans: 4 / 5

Photoroom: Interface

(Image credit: Future)

• Simple, well designed, and clear interface
• Easy ways to import images and work on them
• For an online service, I was impressed

The interface is simple and well organised. Once you’ve logged in to your account, you’ll find a sidebar to the left which contains various tools you need.

Thiss includes all the AI tools in your arsenal, templates, a direct link to your Shopify account if you have one, a batch tool so you can work on up to 250 images at once, a Brand Kit where you keep all your assets, and a Design section where your products’ photos are stored.

All the AI tools, which are essentially all your editing tools, are easy to use: you select one, upload a new photo or select one already in your account, apply the effect and you’re done.

There is one thing that I found surprising: Photoroom supports HEIC, the High Efficiency Image Container. It’s a highly compressed image format that’s been around since 2015 and has been increasingly prevalent since Apple made it the default image format for their iPhones in 2017.

The reason I make a point of mentioning this is because far too many services still do not support it, forcing any image or photo saved as an HEIC to be converted into either a JPEG or PNG prior to import. There is no such issue here, saving you time and frustration.

• Interface: 4.5 / 5

Photoroom: Tools

(Image credit: Future)

• On the whole, the AI tools do an absolutely excellent job
• Impressive ways to transform passable shots into something potential customers will love
• But... not all tools are created equal

Such a service succeeds on the strength of its tools, and Photoroom iss betting the farm on AI for this. But AI is a very generic term these days. Is it really artificial intelligence to remove an image’s background?

I’d put it more in the “complex algorithm does a very good job with what it’s given” category. Same with removing objects or people from a photograph and replacing it with an artificially generated background that blends with the existing one.

Such tools already existed before “AI” became an all-encompassing marketing brand. Or, taking inspiration from Monty Python's The Life of Brian, “it’s not AI, it’s a very clever tool”.

But whether it’s AI or not is less important than how these tools fare: I found the achieved results to be excellent. More often than not in apps like Photoshop or Pixelmator Pro, I end up having to touch up the output of similar tools, but here, it was essentially a one-click wonder.

Tools that really impressed me were definitely more AI based. Say you want to sell a shirt, which you’ve photographed on a surface, with as few wrinkles as you can manage… except you know how it is: such layouts are never really good enough.

(Image credit: Future)

Well fret no more: Photoroom has a tool that digitally irons your shirt for you, transforming your amateurish-looking photo into a meticulously smooth out product. Couple that with the background remover tool, and you’re well on your way to have a professional looking photograph.

But why stop there? Photoroom has a bunch of AI-generated models who can wear your outfit for you. There’s even what they call a ‘ghost mannequin’ to puff up your shirt so customers can see what it would look like on someone, without being distracted by an actual (or virtual) person wearing it.

I found all this pretty incredible, and that’s just scratching the surface. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows though: for instance, Photoroom has a Video Generator.

Select a photo, browse through all available templates, maybe even type in a prompt if you need, and the AI will get to work… this is where I encountered the familiar “AI tries way too hard yet fails miserably” syndrome.

Some templates removed my test products from the usual confines of physical reality, sometimes in a most disturbing way. Or they just didn’t work at all as expected. I trust the team working hard on this aspect of the service (what I was able to use bore no relation to their intro video about it, so things are moving fast in this arena), but for now, maybe stick with still images, where the results are truly impressive.

Photoroom: AI credits

(Image credit: Future)

• Set number of monthly credits, so use them wisely
• Many common AI tools don't cost any credits at all
• However, sometimes, the requested action won’t work, so try, try again

As you’d expect, most AI tools will cost you credits. A video generation goes for 500 (money not well spent for now), Exporting an image at 2K or 4K will cost you 135 and 240 credits respectively, adding an AI background to an image is worth 5 credits, and so forth.

Thankfully though, some tools you’ll use most often, like removing the background of a shot, retouching a photo or performing some image enhancements won’t cost you a thing (beyond your subscription).

You’ll just have to balance what you are given each month with what you hope to achieve in that time period, with the relief that when an action doesn’t work, you won’t have lost any credits - yes, sometimes an error occurs.

However, I found that if I request the same action again - and again - it finally does what I asked it to. Teething problems, I’m sure, and at least it does work impressively well eventually.

Should I buy Photoroom? FutureFutureFutureBuy it if...

You’re looking to sell a ton of product and want the images advertising your wares to look their best, using a service that is well designed, and is easy to use (when it works)

Don't buy it if...

You don’t want to encourage the proliferation of AI, know your way around Photoshop anyway, and can’t justify yet another subscription, no matter how great some effects are.

How I tested Photoroom

I tested this service on my trusty Apple MacBook Pro. Generally I do my best to check how software works on a variety of devices, both Macs and PCs and portable devices, when needed.

But as this was an online service, whose tools are dependent on servers the main bottleneck would be my fibre connection. I experienced no issues on that score.

Everything was extremely responsive. The free tools were nearly instantaneous, and depending on the complexity of what I was asking the AI to do, it took gradually longer.

Video creation took the longest amount of time, clocking in at around 4 minutes for me. Still, that didn't feel like a long time, when I got it working.

For more creative tools, we tested the best photo editors.

A handheld electric fan makes a huge difference during summer heatwaves, but there's no need to stash it away in a drawer when the weather cools down. Whether you need an ad-hoc hair styler or a quick way to cool your kids' dinner without blowing on it, your mini fan can be your best friend.

Great fans don't have to be expensive, either. I recently tested five portable fans from across the price spectrum, and the most expensive model was outranked by a humble model costing a fifth of the price.

1. Drying your hair

When reviewing the Dyson HushJet Mini Cool Fan, I noted that "even on the lowest setting, you can really feel it; dial it up to maximum and it’s as powerful as some hairdryers I’ve used" — and it seems some fan-owners follow that thought to its natural conclusion, using their portable coolers to help dry and style their locks without heat — though it might not yield particularly sleek results.

"Drying my hair on electric fan sounds less damaging than blow drying it," said one user in Reddit's haircare community. "My genuine question is: does it contribute to the frizziness of my hair?"

According to experts, cool air from a fan might do exactly that. We recently interviewed Dr Julie Chung, CEO and founder of haircare brand T3, who suggested that heat styling can be a better choice for the health of your hair.

The Dyson HushJet Mini Cool Fan is powerful, but one of the company's hair dryers would be a much better choice for styling your locks (Image credit: Dyson)

"Heat in general has been sort of demonized incorrectly," she tells told us. "Women always think, 'Oh heat is terrible for my hair, I'm just gonna let it air dry, I'm gonna shower and just sleep on it.' Hair is actually in its most fragile state when it's wet. It tends to be much easier to break — that tensile strength is decreased and it's more likely to snap.

"And not to mention when you air-dry your hair, usually the hair is very frizzy and it tends to look even unhealthier if your hair is already in a dried out state."

2. Drying laundry

Portable fans are particularly popular in Singapore, where the hot and humid summers make them a necessity for daily life, so it's no surprise that members of the Ask Singapore community on Reddit have some particularly creative ideas.

One inventive traveler explained that they use their portable fan to dry small items of laundry, which could be a helpful hack when you're on a long vacation and don't have enough socks to last the whole trip.

Just don't try washing your underwear in the hotel coffee machine. The bathroom sink will do just fine.

3. Drying nail polish

You can buy electric fans specifically designed for drying nail polish, which can cost up to $70 / £50 / AU$100, so it makes sense to save your cash that instead to finish your manicure in record time.

"Whether you're at a salon or home, cold air from a fan or blow dryer will help the polish harden faster," Sarah Gibson Tuttle, founder of nail products company Olive & June, told beauty site Byrdie in an interview.

Rather than blowing on your nail polish to dry it, some professionals suggest using a small fan for quick results (Image credit: Getty Images, Christine Schneider)

However, opinion seems to be divided on whether this actually helps, or if it's more likely to spoil the finish of your polish.

"[Many] people use fans or blow dryers to speed up the drying process, and while it works by evaporating the solvents faster, you can run into bubbles forming in the polish," said professional nail artist Amy Oung.

Perhaps give it a try and see what you think. Of course, this will only work on regular nail polish — gel polish needs to be cured with a UV light.

4. Cooling hot food

Many handheld fans have stands or folding stems that allow them to double as desk fans, which can be a handy tool for parents.

"My handheld fan can prop on the table," one parent said. "Very useful for when the food is too hot for my kid to eat but [I'm too lazy to] blow. I just blast the fan at it for few seconds."

Not as cute as the cat-shaped drink-cooling robot Nékojita FuFu, which we saw at last year's IFA show in Berlin, perhaps, but certainly more affordable.

Nékojita FuFu is a cute plastic cat that cools food and drinks by blowing on them, but a portable fan will get the job done too (Image credit: Yukai Engineering)5. Fidgeting

Fans aren't just for purely practical purposes — they can also provide something to occupy restless hands. One fan-owning Singaporean Redditor said they originally "Bought it for survival, kept it for emotional support."

"I use it waiting for buses, walking between MRT exits, in crowded lifts, and weirdly… when I’m anxious or bored," they explained. "It’s basically a socially acceptable fidget spinner at this point."

Do you use your fan for something other than keeping cool and comfortable? Let us know using the poll below, or in the comments.

Tech companies, including those in Silicon Valley and others outside of the set like Microsoft, have been through various guises through the years. Plenty of the old tech giants, like IBM and Toshiba, continue to enjoy success in the 21st century due to a chameleon-like quality that keeps them innovating and bringing in new revenue streams.

Evolve or die

The Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote these words in his first email to company employees when he took the reins from Steve Ballmer.

Quote of the day

This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here.

In this opening salvo, he set out his vision that the next decade of computing would be dominated by the proliferation of devices and the rise of more accessible "intelligence" – hinting at the rise of AI in some form.

The company that he was to lead would embark on a strategy that would "harness the power of software" and deliver this through a network of connected devices for every organization and individual. The innovation that he referenced largely came in the form of a move away from a desktop-oriented mindset and one that was more embracing of the cloud.

Pivoting for AI

As the decade since this email wore on, Microsoft stayed true to that mantra. And, in the last few years, Nadella led the company through another significant shift in light of the rise of AI.

When ChatGPT burst onto the scene, Microsoft rushed to forge ties with the company and has aggressively added AI into its core products and services – from Bing to Windows.

While Azure continues to scale at a tremendous pace, surpassing $100 billion in revenue, the company has seen a mixed picture on the AI front. That's not due to a lack of demand, but to a shortage of physical space and energy to power these services and to expand capabilities in model training, deployment, and usage.

Tech companies, including those in Silicon Valley and others outside of the set like Microsoft, have been through various guises through the years. Plenty of the old tech giants, like IBM and Toshiba, continue to enjoy success in the 21st century due to a chameleon-like quality that keeps them innovating and bringing in new revenue streams.

Evolve or die

The Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wrote these words in his first email to company employees when he took the reins from Steve Ballmer.

Quote of the day

This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here.

In this opening salvo, he set out his vision that the next decade of computing would be dominated by the proliferation of devices and the rise of more accessible "intelligence" – hinting at the rise of AI in some form.

The company that he was to lead would embark on a strategy that would "harness the power of software" and deliver this through a network of connected devices for every organization and individual. The innovation that he referenced largely came in the form of a move away from a desktop-oriented mindset and one that was more embracing of the cloud.

Pivoting for AI

As the decade since this email wore on, Microsoft stayed true to that mantra. And, in the last few years, Nadella led the company through another significant shift in light of the rise of AI.

When ChatGPT burst onto the scene, Microsoft rushed to forge ties with the company and has aggressively added AI into its core products and services – from Bing to Windows.

While Azure continues to scale at a tremendous pace, surpassing $100 billion in revenue, the company has seen a mixed picture on the AI front. That's not due to a lack of demand, but to a shortage of physical space and energy to power these services and to expand capabilities in model training, deployment, and usage.

• USS Theodore Roosevelt is now the Navy’s first carrier ready for MQ-25 operations
• US Navy spent years developing infrastructure needed to operate unmanned aircraft aboard carriers
• Ronald Reagan is expected to join the MQ-25 carrier fleet in August 2026

The US Navy has completed a major step toward operating unmanned aircraft from carriers with dedicated facilities for controlling them.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt is now the service’s first carrier with a fully operational Unmanned Air Warfare Center supporting MQ-25 operations.

Another carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, is expected to have its own center ready for operational deployment by August 2026.

Theodore Roosevelt leads the carrier integration effort

The Unmanned Air Warfare Center combines equipment required to control and manage unmanned aircraft operating from an aircraft carrier.

The Navy says its systems include the Unmanned Carrier Aviation Mission Control System and MD-5E Ground Control Station.

Those systems provide the command-and-control functions required for operating Boeing’s MQ-25A Stingray unmanned aerial refueling aircraft.

The USS George H.W. Bush became the first carrier to receive and test the center during August 2024.

However, Theodore Roosevelt is the first carrier where the capability has reached fully operational and deployable status.

According to a Pentagon acquisition document dated April 21, 2026, the Theodore Roosevelt “became the first fully operational/deployable MQ-25 capable aircraft carrier.”

The development gives the carrier force a dedicated infrastructure for unmanned aviation rather than treating drones as temporary additions.

That distinction matters because the MQ-25 requires specialized equipment alongside existing systems used for conventional carrier aviation.

The Navy expects the Ronald Reagan facility to become operational and deployable toward the end of August 2026.

MQ-25 moves closer to carrier deployment

The carrier infrastructure comes as the MQ-25 program advances after several years of development and testing.

In May 2026, the Stingray reached milestone C, allowing the program to move from development toward production and deployment.

The milestone followed nearly eight years of work since the Navy awarded Boeing an $805 million contract in 2018.

That contract covered four aircraft for design, development, fabrication, testing and delivery under the original program.

At that time, Navy estimates put the eventual cost near $13 billion for a planned fleet of 72 aircraft.

The program nevertheless experienced delays, including a first flight that occurred later than earlier schedules.

On April 25 2026, the Stingray completed an approximately two-hour flight near Mascoutah, Illinois, advancing its testing program.

The aircraft is intended primarily to provide aerial refueling, reducing the burden currently carried by F/A-18E/F Super Hornets.

That change could allow more Super Hornets to remain available for strike missions rather than supporting carrier refueling requirements.

The MQ-25 therefore depends on both the aircraft itself and carrier infrastructure capable of controlling unmanned operations.

With another carrier approaching readiness, the U.S. Navy is now moving from isolated testing toward a broader carrier-based unmanned aviation capability.

Via Defense News

I finished watching My Brilliant Career on Netflix almost a week ago, and I still can't stop thinking about it.

Based on the 1901 novel of the same name by Miles Franklin, we're introduced to the voracious, outspoken, and self-assured eldest daughter, Sybylla (Philippa Northeast) from Possum Gully (what an incredible name), as she's forced to move into her Grandma's (Anna Chancellor) house to be conditioned for her entry into high society.

Convinced that she doesn't want a husband but instead wants to live life to the fullest — and become a published writer in the process — Sybylla is a woman before her time. For us in 2026 who yearn for her confidence and creative freedom, that also means she's timeless.

Now that I'm on the other side of its impeccable six episodes, I feel at loose ends. To continue the theme, the obvious choice would be to re-watch Bridgerton for more scandalous period drama vibes... but I think this is too easy an option.

If you've also got a Prime Video subscription, however, I have the perfect recommendation for you that you likely haven't seen — and one My Brilliant Career actress is also in it.

My Lady Jane on Prime Video is the beautifully bonkers double bill you need after My Brilliant Career

We all forgot about My Lady Jane on Prime Video far too quickly... so now is the perfect time to resurrect it, now that My Brilliant Career is out in the world.

Alongside both being period dramas, the two are linked by their bashful, zany retellings of a point in history — Franklin's own experiences in My Brilliant Career, and the fate of Lady Jane Grey in, well, you can guess.

The latter follows a 16-year-old Jane in an alternate version of Tudor England, where she manages to avoid her real-life nine-day reign and execution by dealing with the region's magical shape-shifters. She's also forced into marriage... but that's less tragic and more comical.

My Lady Jane was cancelled after one season (baffling considering how well it was received), but that still makes it a perfect follow-on from My Brilliant Career. Pithy, bright, witty, and full of hilarious subversion, these two shows are like long-lost sisters being reunited for the first time in decades.

If that's not enough, actress Anna Chancellor can be seen in both, playing Grandmother Bossier in My Brilliant Career and Lady Frances in My Lady Jane. I could wax lyrical for hours on end about how much of an exceptional talent Chancellor is, and her irreverent, punchy, and slightly bohemian method of storytelling is ideal for both narratives here.

I literally don't know what you're waiting for when it comes to either show... in fact, stop reading and start streaming.

If you haven't secured yourself a Google Pixel 11 preorder, then I've got one more potential option to throw in the ring. In fact, it might be the best option if you're looking to buy an unlocked device outright.

Amazon currently lists the Google Pixel 11 for preorder with a $100 gift card on all colors and storage sizes. That's a gift card to spend anywhere on Amazon, so it's definitely a very handy little bonus, even if it's not an outright discount.

The closest deal I've seen to this gift card is a bundle deal over at the Google Store, which gets you $200 of store credit with either the Pixel 11 Pro or Pixel 11 Pro XL. It's technically a better deal, but the fact that you can't get it on the standard Pixel 11 — and the fact that the Google Store's inventory is more limited than Amazon's — makes it more restrictive.

Amazon also has a trade-in program that can get you up to $600 off, in addition to the $100 gift card offered here. This is definitely worth exploring, but the discount isn't as good as those you'll find at the major carriers right now. If you're interested in comparing, I've attached a few more of this week's best Pixel 11 preorders below.

Amazon's Google Pixel 11 preorder deal

Pixel 11 with $100 gift card: was $999 now $899
Amazon's opening Google Pixel 11 promotion throws in a $100 gift card with all devices — a very handy little bonus, indeed. Available in all colors and storage sizes, this could be a good option if you're looking to buy a device outright. Note that you can also trade in for an additional discount of up to $600, but it's not the best rebate you'll find on the market right now. As expected, the big carriers have better rebates with associated cellular lines.View Deal

• See more: check out all of today's deals at Amazon

More Pixel 11 deals this week

Google Pixel 11 series: get a device included with an eligible plan at T-Mobile
As expected, T-Mobile has a flexible array of deals for its opening promotion on the Pixel 11 series. Depending on the plan, it's entirely possible to get a device included with a new line or upgrade right now. According to the T&Cs, you can get a Pixel 11 included without a trade-in with a new line on the Essentials plan, which is a good option for those on a tighter budget. Alternatively, you can get up to $1,100 off with a trade-in and new line on the mid-tier Experience More plan, or up to $1,300 off with a trade-in on the Experience Beyond plan. That's enough to cover the cost of a Pixel 11 Pro and Pixel 11 Pro XL, respectively.View Deal

Google Pixel 11 series: up to $1,100 off with a trade-in, or plan and phone for $45/mo at Verizon
Verizon's opening Google Pixel 11 deals lean heavily on the carrier's new 'Simplicity Plus' plan, which lets you bundle a Pixel 11 Pro with an unlimited data plan for just $45/mo without a trade-in. Alternatively, you can trade in for an excellent discount of up to $1,100 with a new line on one of the carrier's older myPlan unlimited plans. On top of that, Verizon is also offering a new Google Pixel Watch 5 and Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE as bonus gifts if you take out a service line for these accessories.View Deal

Google Pixel 11 Pro: get a device for $0 with any trade-in and a new line at AT&T
My favorite opening Pixel 11 deal at AT&T has to be the carrier's preorder promo on the Pixel 11 Pro. Right now, you can trade-in any Google Pixel phone in any condition to be eligible for a discount of up to $1,100. That's essentially a Pixel 11 Pro for $0 - although, you will obviously still need a new unlimited data plan to be eligible for a discount. View Deal

Google Pixel 11 series: up to $600 off with a trade-in, or up to $1,339 back with a plan at Google
Google has a few decent options if you're looking for a new device today. First up, you can trade-in for a rebate of up to $600 - which isn't bad for unlocked devices. Alternatively, you could consider a new line on Google's Fi prepaid carrier, which will entitle you to a massive $1,339 rebate if you stick with a line for the duration of 24 months. As a side bonus, you can also get 250 off the new Google Pixel Watch 5 or $200 in Google Store credit with the Pixel 11 Pro or Pixel 11 Pro XL. View Deal

In today's social media age, celebrity brand ambassadors are a common sight, helping endorse or promote a brand's products or tools, giving that extra bit of sparkle or star power.

This is especially true in the consumer market, but we're now increasingly seeing it in the B2B tech world, where what 10 years ago would have been niche businesses now have the power to hire top talent to promote their brand - I'm talking Idris Elba promoting ServiceNow, Keanu Reeves bigging up Palo Alto Networks, and Matthew McConaghey being the voice of Salesforce.

But as a massive Formula 1 fan, I was intrigued to read a press release announcing reigning world champion Lando Norris as a "brand ambassador" for a data company I'd never heard of - so who (or what) exactly are Starburst?

All about Starburst

Founded in 2017, and boasting that organizations in more than 60 countries rely on it to unify their data, "from startups to Fortune 500 enterprises" - Starburst's initial pitch is strong.

In its press release, Starburst describes itself as, "the enterprise intelligence platform for governed data and AI" - a pretty big claim, and one that the likes of Salesforce and Oracle might raise eyebrows at.

Continuing, Starburst says its platform will allow customers to, "run AI directly on distributed data in place, without moving or replatforming it, across cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments while providing consistent business context to queries, models, or agents regardless of where it is stored or processed."

Overall, this should help companies develop and run faster analytics, "trusted" AI, and "better decisions at enterprise scale."

(Image credit: Clive Mason/Getty Images)

So what does this have to do with Formula 1? Over to Lando to explain.

“People often see motor racing at the highest level as being about reactions, but most of the performance comes from preparation and understanding the details," he says (in the same press release).

"I’m constantly asking questions, looking for information, and trying to build the clearest possible picture before making decisions. Whether that’s racing, running a business, or working with a team, having access to the right information at the right time gives you confidence to act. That’s what stood out to me about Starburst and why I’m excited to partner with them."

Not much clearer then - but it seems the two-year partnership will launch Starburst’s “Ask. Know. Go.” campaign, which the company says will be "connecting the speed, precision, and data-driven decision-making of Formula 1 racing with the enterprise challenge of turning distributed data into trusted action."

The three parts of this, unsurprisingly, are around getting access to data via AI agents, making sure this data is accurate and trusted, and supporting it with fast and powerful systems.

“Lando represents what happens when preparation, data, and split-second decision-making come together,” said Justin Borgman, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Starburst.

“That's the challenge enterprises face with AI: ask the right questions, access the complete context behind the answer, and act before the opportunity passes. Starburst makes that possible by giving teams and AI agents governed access to data wherever it lives.”

So there you have it - another stitch in the fabric joining enterprises and Formula 1 - and one that will hopefully lead to a more successful second half of the 2026 season and beyond for Lando.

I’ve played a lot of Battlefield. Across the series, I’ve spent more than 1,500 hours running and gunning through its virtual combat zones* — that’s about 0.7 per cent of my entire life.

And as our Battlefield 6 review details, 2025’s flagship first-person+ shooter from Battlefield Studios has put the long-running franchise back in the spotlight after an extended off-season. It even beat Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to become the best-selling FPS game of 2025.

However, Battlefield 6 didn’t release with a huge amount of content, and not everyone loved the game’s compact maps, weapon balance, or seasonal update cadence. I myself felt let down by the glacial progression system.

To its credit, Battlefield Studios announced a roadmap in April 2026, led by a third season designed to stir nostalgia for Battlefield’s previous present-day installments, Battlefield 3 and Battlefield 4.

Having spent a cool 675 hours in-game, Battlefield 4 is one of my most played titles of all time — for comparison, I’ve put 135 hours into Battlefield 6 since launch. It seems Battlefield Studios is keen to remind us of the good old days, so when Season 3 came around, I plugged in my PS4 to see how far my favorite shooter series has come.

(*675 hours in BF4, 510 hours in BF1, 135 hours in BF6, 50 hours in BFV, and an estimated 200 hours in BF3. Sheesh.)

Back to basics

(Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

With my bipod knife equipped, I was ready to jump into Battlefield 4 — but finding a game in 2026 isn’t as easy as pressing ‘Quickmatch’.

Amazingly, there are still a few official PS4 servers, but they’re always empty. The server browser is the best way to find a game via community servers, which means dealing with smaller map rotations, unofficial rules, and the occasional power-tripping admin.

Battlefield 6 has the opposite issue — a server browser is on the way, but for now, your only option to find a game is to quickmatch into a lobby full of randoms. That’s a win for Battlefield 4; I’ve always enjoyed learning the ebb and flow of a server and its residents over the course of a few matches.

Once I got online, I was genuinely surprised by how the game felt. It’s much slower-paced than I remembered; the sliding and vaulting and diving that defines Battlefield 6’s movement system is totally absent, maps are larger and sparser, and it takes longer to get in and out of combat.

All of this speaks to how Battlefield 4 is designed — compared to the infantry-focused corridors and choke points of Battlefield 6, older Battlefield games were built from the ground up as huge clashes between coordinated squads of troops, armored ground vehicles, and air support.

Furthermore, certain weapons are class-locked in Battlefield 4, meaning you can’t use, say, a sniper rifle and a rocket launcher at the same time. It asks for a bit more thought in how you approach your in-game role, which makes laying down suppressive fire as a Support class or rushing objectives as an Assault player feel more considered and rewarding.

As I settled in on classic maps like Dawnbreaker and Siege of Shanghai, I found myself choosing fights carefully and wordlessly working with my teammates to take objectives. In contrast, matches in Battlefield 6 can often feel determined by the skill of each team’s best individual players.

Spice of life

Battlefield 4's variety of settings, factions, and weapons keeps the game feeling fresh, even after hundreds of hours (Image credit: Jamie Richards / Future)

Another thing you notice pretty quickly about Battlefield 4 is just how much stuff the game has to offer.

The Premium edition, which includes all five paid DLC packs released in the year or so after launch, has a total of 33 maps and 107 primary and secondary weapons, more than any other entry in the series.

The differences between each weapon are less noticeable than in future games, but this means that gunfights aren’t always decided by who happened to pick the right weapon for a certain engagement distance, or indeed whose split-second reactions were fastest.

And then there’s the destruction that Battlefield 4’s maps offer — while Battlefield 6 will let you knock through a wall or blow up the odd building, Battlefield 4’s maps come with ‘Levolution’ gimmicks that range from leveling a skyscraper to flooding the entire map.

Some of these maps are amongst the most creative in the series history – the jungle terrain of Guilin Peaks, locked-down streets of Propaganda, and crashing waves of Paracel Storm are as inventive as Battlefield gets.

Fidelity and fiction

Battlefield 6's fictional universe is much less compelling than its predecessors'. (Image credit: Electronic Arts)

Battlefield 4 looks pretty good for a game released in 2013. The game’s art direction shines on maps like Hainan Resort and Giants of Karelia, but its low-poly terrain and flat lighting are getting harder to ignore as time goes on.

There’s no real contest with Battlefield 6, which is simply one of the best looking games I’ve ever played. Season 3’s revamp of Battlefield 4 map Golmud Railway is a great example – its vibrant fauna and detailed villages provide a great contrast to the carnage.

The way I remember Battlefield 4 looking is the way Battlefield 6 actually looks — playing both games in sequence makes it clear just how far we’ve come graphically in the past decade.

Somehow, Battlefield 6’s campaign kicks it up another notch – an early-game paratrooper sequence had my jaw pinned to the floor. From a writing standpoint, though, that campaign is more of a mixed bag, with a noticeable lack of real-world grounding.

Battlefield 4 saw the USA, Russia, and China locked in a tense conflict. The characters in its campaign always felt secondary to the overarching geopolitical threat — a smart choice when you’ve only got a few hours to develop your story.

As such, Battlefield 4’s online matches gain another layer of emotional investment from its worldbuilding.

In contrast, Battlefield 6 features a vaguely American NATO, and the fictional Pax Armata private military company engaged in seemingly random skirmishes across the globe, which doesn’t have quite the same gravitas.

Warfare, modernized

Call of Duty has had a huge impact on Battlefield's newer entries, and Modern Warfare 4 could pose some strong competition to the franchise when it releases later this year. (Image credit: Activision)

Battlefield 4 is still the quintessential Battlefield experience, the benchmark from which the series’ future efforts are measured. Despite its slower gameplay and aging visuals, it still offers a rewarding mix of arcade and tactical shooter elements that subsequent entries haven’t quite matched.

I’m still a huge fan of Battlefield 6’s faster, more constrained experience, and I’m keeping a keen eye on upcoming seasons, which promise five new maps and the introduction of naval combat by the end of 2026.

I think it’s important that Battlefield Studios makes this mix of vehicle and infantry a priority. There’s no denying that the rebooted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series had a massive impact on the series’ latest entry, and with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 set to land later this year, Battlefield would be best served by updates that emphasise its difference from Activision’s champion franchise.

If you’ve yet to experience Battlefield 4, I’d suggest picking it up as soon as possible – the multiplayer servers for spin-off Battlefield Hardline shut down on 22 June, and while Battlefield 4 is still supported, there’s no knowing when that could change.

• OVHcloud will raise dedicated server prices from September 2026, with latest-generation Game range going up by as much as 87%
• Current-generation hardware will see increases of 51%, while older, 2024-gen hardware will see prices go up by 28% on average
• Move is linked to AI-related surge in memory and storage prices, with OVHcloud CEO stating the former has increased sixfold and could potentially double again by early 2027

French cloud platform OVHcloud is sounding the alarm for customers who use its dedicated gaming servers about a price increase that kicks in starting in September 2026 for server configurations, including its 'Game' offerings, that currently start at $357 on the US storefront.

In a post on X, CEO Octave Klaba highlighted the projected price increases as a percentage over prior commitments, stating that while 2024-built machines would not see a price increase, Gen 2026 would see a mammoth 87% increase in cost for consumers.

This marks the steepest increase across the board; otherwise, Gen 2026 servers saw a +51% increase in cost, even as OVHCloud states that existing options would see a lower overall increase in cost and that existing commitments would see "nothing change".

A sign of troubling times for private gaming servers?

Many gamers host private servers for their gaming needs, ranging from a small group of friends and family running a persistent Minecraft instance to servers that cater to hundreds, if not thousands, of players simultaneously, often with commercial caveats.

An increase in price affects both, though possibly the latter disproportionately, as monetization or donations generally sustain them, and they can already run into hundreds of dollars a month in upkeep.

OVHcloud's CEO has highlighted why the move, which seems to be focused on newer gaming servers, which saw the largest increase across the board, is necessary: its memory costs have increased sixfold and could rise to as much as twelvefold by early 2027.

The underlying reason is one that is easy to point at: AI server demand is not only dictating storage and memory market prices, but it could also be weighing purchase decisions at cloud providers, many who can envisage growing and consistent demand for such server instances, therefore raising the opportunity cost of other deployments; OVHcloud's 2026 'Game' servers for example, come with AMD's Ryzen X3D CPUs in two trims currently.

While these CPUs are great for games, they might not be cost-effective for datacenter needs due to higher per-core costs and lower clock speeds than comparable mainstream options, placing them a distant third in a list that has core-heavy server-grade CPUs at the top.

The writing hasn't been on the wall exactly, and it makes for an interesting comparison of how far numbers have traveled in less than a year: in November 2025, Klaba anticipated cloud product prices rising 5 to 10% between April and September 2026. In February 2026, announcing the year's first increase, he described an impact on cloud deployments between 2021 and 2025 of 2 to 6%, depending on hardware age.

He conceded at the time that asking existing customers to subsidize new ones was a little unfair, and argued it was the only way to keep cloud accessible over the following two years.

OVHcloud is an unusual case here: it builds its own servers, which is rare in an industry that often offloads that end to a third-party provider, and while that vertical integration has historically been the source of its price advantage, it has not protected the company here because OVHcloud still buys the same DIMMs and NVMe drives as everyone else.

The Register spoke to the founder of a mid-sized managed service provider who was entirely unsurprised by OVHcloud's announcement and expects AWS and Azure to follow.

The hyperscalers have deeper balance sheets, longer supply agreements, and more room to absorb component costs quietly, so any move from them will likely be slower and less legible than a founder posting percentages on X. It will, however, arguably not be smaller and will be considerably more far-reaching thanks to how deeply integrated some of their products are across the world.

Founded in 2014 by competitive Starcraft 2 players Ian Ang and Alaric Choo, Secretlab has steadily grown from one of Singapore’s countless plucky start-ups to one of the most recognizable gaming chair brands in the world.

The award-winning Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 is its flagship product (named one of the best gaming chairs on the market in our review). The brand also manufactures a successful line of desks and this year branched into the productivity-focused task chair market with its new Atlas model.

Special edition gear has steadily become a key part of the offering as well. Shoppers can scoop up officially licensed products tied to some of the biggest games like Overwatch and Cyberpunk 2077, massive multimedia franchises including Pokémon and Warhammer, popular esports teams, or even luxury car brands McLaren and Lamborghini.

But it all began with a certain caped crusader.

The Batman blueprintFutureFutureFuture

“I chose Batman at the start,” Choo, who also heads the company’s partnerships, explains as I relax on a sofa in his corner office at the brand’s HQ. A pile of material samples amassed over years of research and development sits on the glass coffee table in front of me: strips of bright orange fabric designed to look like Dragon Ball hero Goku’s iconic robes, a moulded plate inspired by the front of a supercar, a detailed print of the Marauder's Map from Harry Potter, and countless other items.

“We were much smaller back then, so we didn't have many options, but Batman was such a huge IP, and I just felt like it made sense for us,” he continues. This was nine years ago and, although other gaming furniture brands have embraced similar collaborations in the years since, Choo says a crossover gaming chair was a novel idea at the time.

“DC was kind of like, 'we have a lot of license categories. We have everything. We have figures, we have statues, we have cups, we have shirts and bags, but we've never done a chair.’"

In such uncharted territory, Choo reckons that it took a whole year to work out how to approach the product’s design. “It sounds obvious now: a Batman chair is black, right? But do you go with the iconic Batman, where it's a yellow logo and retro? We were coming off the armor and whatnot — the [Dark Knight] movie was out at the time, so we went that direction.”

(Image credit: Future)

“We were thinking about what Batman would sit in; what chair would he have in his bat cave?” reveals Choo. The final design is sleek and understated, adorned with a subtle bat emblem and a carbon-fiber-like pattern. It looks like something that could exist in the world of comics, and this approach immediately resonated not just with franchise owner Warner Bros. but also with consumers.

Warner Bros. entered Secretlab in the 2021 Licensing International Excellence Awards, where it won ‘Best Licensed Product’ in the home décor category, and the chair remains one of the company’s most popular designs. It even caught the attention of Batman artist Jim Lee, who snuck the Secretlab logo onto the hero’s personal seat in Batman comic book issue #159.

“It was crazy. [A picture of the panel] was just sent to us randomly,” laughs Choo. “I bought three copies: I kept one for myself. I sent one to the guy that's in charge of Warner Bros. in Singapore, and then the third one I showed my mom.”

Becoming the experts

(Image credit: Future)

The success of the Batman chair gave Secretlab plenty of reason to pursue future collaborations, and informed how it approaches each one to this day. “We don't want to just put logos on things and call it a day. We want to go in depth. We want to know the lore,” begins Choo.

Whether it's poring over comic book panels, diving into video games, or watching all the movies or cartoons in a particular series, the team isn’t afraid to go deep into the source material of any intellectual property they are working with. “If we weren't originally fans of the IP before, we become experts,” he adds.

Choo does admit there are occasions when this isn’t possible though, like the build-up to a new release where details are kept under wraps: “Sometimes we're designing stuff with very little information. We don't like to do that, but sometimes we have to do it.”

Walking around the company’s global headquarters, it’s easy to see that employees are encouraged not to shy away from the properties they love. Desks are covered in figurines and other collectibles based on a wide range of games, comic books, manga, movies, and more. Even Choo’s own space is adorned with nerdy memorabilia.

FutureFutureFutureFutureFuture

“All the IP that we work with, even currently, a lot of it is stuff that we are very, very passionate about. “I'm a Pokémon fan, so I don't just want to put whatever on a chair. I want to go deep into it with them; I want to collaborate at a high level. I want to come up with, like, assembly manuals that have custom art and that kind of thing,” he continues, gesturing to a colorful Genshin Impact print.

Secretlab currently has three separate Pokémon chair designs inspired by Pikachu, Gengar, and Eevee. You might assume that choosing which characters to base designs on is a simple popularity contest. Still, Choo argues that the team is actually more concerned with coming up with ideas that are unique and fit Secretlab’s premium brand image.

“Sometimes a popular Pokémon doesn't have a good color scheme, for example, and it would be off brand for us. We also need to think about Pokémon's guidelines as well; it's one of those things where there are so many rules,” he explains. “If it's all color, then it's too loud as well. Only a kid would want it. How do I make it tasteful in a way where an older fan can have it in their house, and it will be a good fit?

Consistent quality

(Image credit: Future)

Secretlab collaborations are characterized by a careful attention to detail, with intricate design elements that often incorporate new materials and manufacturing techniques.

“I think we've always gone all out on all of our collabs,” says Choo. “We have certain manufacturing methods that have become more viable to use. One of the things that we talk about a lot is the embroidery. It's something that I think companies don't like to use because it's very expensive. It's very time-consuming. We have certain panels that can take seven, eight hours to do.”

We've always gone all out on all of our collabs

Alaric Choo, co-founder and technical & partnerships director at Secretlab

Secretlab’s crossovers with luxury car brands stand out as perhaps the most materially complex in its portfolio. The most premium Automobili Lamborghini editions, for example, are decked out in the same Dinamica microsuede material found on high-end car dashboards and lightweight carbon fiber plating.

“Lamborghini is one of the greatest luxury names, so we were thinking about how we can elevate the partnership,” Choo explains as I examine a sturdy black panel from the table. “When we look at Lamborghinis, there is a lot of carbon fiber usage. The weave that they use and how they put it together — carbon fiber is a pain in the ass to work with. It's like you're layering different sheets, and it bubbles very easily.

(Image credit: Future)

“When we did it, we looked at the shape of the carbon fiber on Lamborghini cars, and we were like, ‘We think that this is it.’ We had to come up with a mounting method and learn to use carbon fiber. Obviously, we used it sometimes in certain prototypes, but we hadn’t actually mass-produced it, so it was a first for us.”

Creating new manufacturing processes and tools can be expensive, but Choo isn’t worried that the added cost could hurt profits. “It may not always directly translate financially, but we don't think about things in so much of the short term,” he says. “In the overall term, it pays off that when we do something, we do it properly. I think that's the main point for us: if we're going to do it half-assed, let's not do it at all.”

He thinks that consumers appreciate the overall “consistency” and have come to expect a lot of effort from the brand: “Holding yourself to a very high standard pays off over time.”

A privately held company, Secretlab can afford to invest in developing this kind of relationship with consumers in a way that some of its biggest competitors perhaps can’t. With the company’s value estimated to be nearing the billion-dollar mark back in 2021, Choo’s long-term thinking is obviously paying off.

• Volume and spend on tokens for Anthropic’s AI solutions made it more revenue than any of its competitors in July 2026, cementing its position as the top LLM provider
• This success is despite Anthropic’s tokens being more expensive than its competitors
• The data was collated by Vercel’s AI Gateway, an API service that routes LLMs for easy AI provider swapping

Monthly analysis of the AI industry has revealed a number of surprises for July 2026, not least the continued growth of Anthropic both in terms of revenue and token use.

This is despite the company charging a higher rate for tokens, AI’s computational data currency.

The data was compiled by agentic infrastructure company Vercel, whose AI Gateway is used by many major companies and developers, and found the price-per-token average across all analysed platforms fell following two months of growth in May and June. Despite the overall 37% increase in spend across the industry, the cost per token rate dropped.

Anthropic growth

Vercel’s analysis of transactions through its APIs has repeatedly demonstrated a dominance for Anthropic. Its reporting on gateway spend started in December 2025 and in every month since, Anthropic has had over 60% of the spend share, and in July that figure sat at 65.1% with 30% of the total volume (of all tokens sent through the Vercel AI Gateway).

Yet the average price per token was on 4.4 times higher than the overall average across all AI labs. Token prices have rarely proved to be steady, with Vercel’s data reporting an average price drop of 13.6% after a 20% rise in May and little change in June.

(For reference, the report’s definition of the price per token is the total spend divided by the total volume.)

Despite a higher price per token, however, Anthropic’s price per token was lower in July, a change attributed to the return to public access of Claude Fable 5 after its temporary suspension.

Monthly data collection

Vercel’s monthly look at the data that flows through its API paints a fascinating picture not just of Anthropic’s growth, but of the performance (or otherwise) of its competitors.

For example, it charts Chinese AI company DeepSeek’s surprise growth from May, through June; the report notes that “we said an open-weight lab would soon be second by volume. In July, DeepSeek surpassed Google to take that place.”

DeepSeek’s growth over Google has proved to be a surprise, one that puts it in second place on volume. The real story is Anthropic’s gradual cementing of its strong position over the rest of the LLM makers. Its larger revenue pull despite higher token price indicates that the recent iterations of Claude and anticipation over the gradual release of Mythos 5 are giving the company a strong reputation – much like Apple.

Writing about chipsets can be a bit like watching paint dry. These tiny mobile brains get more powerful every year, but 99% of smartphone users don’t get anywhere close to using their full potential. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, for instance, came out in 2023, but most people would be hard-pressed to notice a performance difference between that chipset and Qualcomm’s latest, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which powers most of today’s best Android phones.

It’s a classic case of diminishing returns — semiconductor manufacturers can keep raising the chipset performance ceiling, but if phones can’t make use of all that extra power (and for several years, they haven’t been able to), the tangible gains are small at best, and non-existent at worst.

You can imagine my surprise, then, when Honor described the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset in its new Robot Phone as “not good enough” for pro-grade video capture. Did we just skyrocket through that seemingly impenetrable performance ceiling?

Well, it’s a bit more nuanced than that. As Honor’s President of Hardware Engineering, Yang Liu, explained to me in a group interview at the Robot Phone’s China launch: “The core CPU [in the Robot Phone] is the Snapdragon [8 Elite Gen 5], but Honor has developed a dedicated Image Signal Processor (ISP) — the Honor Imaging Chip H1. The processing [demands] are very high, so we must use a dedicated chipset for that, not just the Qualcomm chipset. The Qualcomm chipset offers very good performance for still image processing, but for video, it’s not good enough — for now.”

@techradar

♬ Venus and Flower - Austin Farwell

All phones have an ISP (or multiple ISPs) built into their main chipsets — indeed, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 was the first mobile chipset to feature triple 20-bit ISPs, which, in layman’s terms, means it’s a very capable chipset for photo capture. But the best camera phones — think the Oppo Find X9 Ultra and Vivo X300 Pro — feature custom ISPs alongside those in their respective chipsets to further enhance camera performance.

That’s what Honor has done with Robot Phone, except it’s not framing its new H1 Imaging Chip as a complement to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, but as a necessary addition to allow the gimbal-equipped Robot Phone to fulfil its potential as a market-leading video capture device.

Built in partnership with German film camera manufacturer ARRI, the H1 enables real-time on-device image processing — that’s things like white balance adjustment, tone mapping, and exposure control — and supports 10-bit ARRI LogC3 recording and ARRI Wide Gamut 3.

The Honor H1 is a custom-made imaging chip for the Robot Phone (Image credit: Honor)

It’s a formidable piece of micro-engineering, and my impression is that ARRI — a 109-year-old company with exceptionally high quality standards — was only willing to partner with a burgeoning Chinese tech company on the Robot Phone because Honor could provide it with the level of processing power necessary to uphold those high standards.

“Pixels are very precious to us,” David Bermbach, ARRI’s Chief Product Officer, told me in the same interview. “[Working on the Robot Phone] was a challenge, but also an opportunity, because mass-produced devices have much more functionality on a smaller scale than special devices for one industry, where we sell a few thousand [units].

“So the task for us was to basically analyse all the different little Lego pieces on the different modules that exist in the phone and [figure out] how to connect them, how to utilize them, to basically rebuild as much of our pipeline as possible. And luckily, the processing power of the Robot Phone is extremely high.

As well as its 200MP main camera, the Robot Phone features a 200MP telephoto and 50MP ultra-wide (Image credit: Future)

“Also, there’s not just one camera [in the phone],” Bermbach continued, “there are several cameras. And we had to [figure out] how to get the best out of them, how to use the tools at hand, and optimize them towards [producing] a technically good picture, from our perspective, but also an artistically good picture [from a smartphone user’s perspective].”

As I wrote in my hands-on impressions of the Robot Phone, its 200MP, 1/1.28-inch gimbal camera produces dynamic, professional-grade footage — or at least footage comparable to what you can achieve with larger, dedicated gimbals like the DJI Osmo Pocket. The key difference here, of course, is that you’re getting the benefits of a gimbal and a phone in a single device, as well as ARRI’s “cinema-standard processing,” as Liu puts it.

Evidently, then, Honor’s H1 Imaging Chip is an impressive innovation, and while the Robot Phone has its problems — it gets noticeably hot after prolonged filming sessions, for instance, and isn’t anywhere near as durable as other flagship phones — I’m excited to see how far creators can push its unique video capabilities.

“This [device] is so revolutionary that we don’t even know all the use cases [yet],” Bermbach told me in our interview — he’s clearly excited too.

4K Blu-ray is a big part of my work at TechRadar. Not only is it my staple source for testing the best TVs and best soundbars, but thanks to its superior picture and audio quality over 4K streaming, the movies themselves have now become one of my main areas of coverage.

As a big fan of 4K Blu-ray, both as a user in AV testing and as a collector, I helped start our Blu-ray Bounty series, where we review the latest 4K releases from each month, scrutinizing their picture and audio quality, back in 2024.

While the 4K Blu-ray market (and the market for physical media in general) has been a volatile one in recent years, the Blu-ray fan base has always been a passionate one. As I’ve been testing more 4K releases, I’ve come to appreciate what the format can do for older titles and general at-home watching even more, and I now include myself in that passionate fanbase.

So, when I was invited to visit Silversalt Restorations, a company whose work ranges from audio restoration, data archiving and restoration and transfer of movies to Blu-ray restoration (including 4K), I jumped at the chance. The company has some big-name clients, having worked with Hammer, Arrow Video, Disney, Paramount, Universal and Criterion, among others. All of those brand’s 4Ks have been featured in Blu-ray Bounty, so I was excited to see how the magic happens.

A meticulous process

Each film is inspected frame-by-frame for marks, scratches and other imperfections (Image credit: Future)

Silversalt Restorations was founded in 2017 by a team of restoration artists, before being acquired in 2024 by John Gore Studios, another company dedicated to the preservation and restoration of classic titles, especially British cinema. Some of Silversalt’s biggest projects include The Deer Hunter, The Wicker Man, The Dollars Trilogy, The Curse of Frankenstein and the upcoming release of Dracula (the iconic Hammer horror classic starring Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing).

I was taken on a tour of Silversalt’s studio in Hammersmith, led by Managing Director Mark Bonnici, during which I was shown everything that goes into the meticulous process of restoring a movie.

My journey begins at the film inspection table, where Marie Fieldman, Silversalt’s resident film inspector, is hard at work inspecting an old film reel for damage, including visible scratches, marks, wear and tear, degradation, and even mould on each individual frame, before crafting a detailed report for the respective client. “Some of these haven’t been looked at by a human for a very long time,” Fieldman says, as she shows me an older report she did for 1954’s Men of Sherwood Forest. Here, she’s labelled every single defect she can find, noting the level of damage and the best course of action.

Once the film reel is ready, it's then put through the cleaning machine (pictured) (Image credit: Future)

She tells me about what fixes can be implemented, such as the cleaning of mould and even using a blank frame in place of a damaged one, which won’t be noticeable in the final movie, noting that deep scratches can be particularly problematic.

Once she is happy with the state of the film reel, it’s taken over to a cleaning machine. The reel is mounted and travels between Dacron rollers where surface dirt is gently removed with a film-safe solvent. Marie warns, “In some cases the film may need to be hand cleaned, for example if the film has a wax coating”. Once the film is clean, it’s ready for scanning.

ScanningThe Arriscan XT (pictured) can scan up to 6K resolution files FutureThe Laser Graphics Director (pictured) can scan up to a staggering 13.5K resolution Future

Next, Bonnici shows us the two scanning machines Silversalt uses. The first is the Arriscan XT. The Arriscan XT can use a wet-gate system, where the film is immersed in a Kodika, a special liquid which optically minimises scratches and marks as the film is digitised into a digital image sequence, known as a DPX file. The film is scanned in at 6K resolution, before being downgraded to 4K for 4K Blu-ray. “The Arriscan XT was originally designed for new film stock, but was later revised to handle archive/legacy film too,” Bonnici says.

He then shows us a more advanced film scanner, the Laser Graphics Director scanner. This scanner is specifically designed for archival footage which also uses an infrared light to detect marks and scratches on colour film and makes corrections during the scanning process. The Director scans up to 13.5K resolution and can handle 8mm to 35mm film.

Restoration

It takes a lot of hard work to get an old film ready for 4K Blu-ray (Hammer Films' 36 Hours pictured) (Image credit: Hammer / Future )

Once cleaning and scanning are completed, the DPX files are sent to the restoration artists, who work their magic to restore the uploaded film reel by correcting image instability, removing superfluous scratches and marks that the scanner has picked up from the original film, removing excess film grain, and generally tidying up the image.

The digitised frames are saved to file storage and then the digital restoration work begins. The frames are analysed for film dirt and the results are presented to the restoration artists, they can review these in a red mode, which highlights the differences between the results and the original version and any falsely removed part of the image reinstated. “We spend most of our time putting detail back in that’s been incorrectly removed,” restoration artist Anthony Badger tells me. “The system can sometimes struggle to distinguish between dirt and other textures within the film, like snow.”The artists perform other tasks such as stabilisation, deflicker, scratch removal etc. Anthony shows us various examples of larger fixes performed by the artists.

One of the clips I’m shown shows the red filter picking up what it thinks are marks and scratches. However, it also highlights a section of a character’s trouser leg and attempts to remove it, mistaking it for a scratch, and this in turn takes an odd chunk out of the leg. This is where Badger and the other restoration artists will add detail back in.

The restoration team at Silversalt would have had to go through every frame to make sure it was ready for 4K, such as Hammer Films' X: The Unknown, one of Silversalt's recent projects (Image credit: Hammer Films / Future )

During the restoration process, artists will carefully check each frame in quarters, zooming in to see if there are any other areas where the picture can be cleaned up. When it comes to film grain, it can be tricky. “It can be a bit of an ethical dilemma on how much we intervene,” Badger tells me, “but we need to consider if an extreme problem will take you out of the story.” The team’s philosophy is to deliver a great-looking restoration that preserves as much of the original, authentic look of the film as possible which is accessible to the expectations of modern audiences, without reinventing it.

I’m shown another example, from Don’t Look Now, the 1973 thriller starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. As Sutherland arrives in Venice for the first time, Badger points out a large yellow stain that appears on screen. “This appears to be a film lab processing error that would have been in the original negative and all previous releases,” he says. He goes on to say that the client requested that this be toned down as much as possible. With some magic work by the Silver Salt team, involving background replacement, layering and even some rotoscoping, going as far as using an extra in the scene traversing the frame as a wipe to make the transition seamless, the yellow staining is significantly reduced and the picture is beautifully restored.

Grading

The grading desk at Silversalt Restoration, where the HDR grade for Hammer Films' Dracula (1973) is being worked on (Image credit: Future)

Once the DPX files have been restored and the team are happy, the film is then sent off for grading, including HDR (if relevant). As Mark takes us up to one of the grading suites, he recalls Silver Salt’s first 4K HDR Dolby Vision grading project. “It was The Deer Hunter, which was a significant milestone for us and set the standard for future releases,” he says. He particularly remembers the opening scenes in the steel mill, with molten iron serving as an excellent showcase for 4K and HDR grading. “If you can ooze more detail out of it, why not?” he says.

Next, he takes us into another grading suite, where we meet Ray King, Head of Film at Silversalt, and one of the main graders. As we enter, King is working on Dracula, the iconic 1973 Hammer flick starring Christpoher Lee and Peter Cushing. He talks about his process, and what type of film he prefers working with. “You’ve got to get a feel for the film,” he says, emphasising the importance of experimenting with color grading and detail to get the best results. “It helps bring the movie to life when you have the original elements,” he adds, saying he prefers to have the original film available.

As King works on a few scenes, he explains some of the details he works on, including skin tones and primaries, and points to a scene in which Cushing’s skin takes on a red hue. “Because of the old stage makeup and lighting they used in some older movies, when you’re changing the color grade, skin can take on this red tone.”

X: The Unknown (pictured) is a recent example of an excellent Dolby Vision grade of a Hammer Films title. (Image credit: Hammer Films / Future )

With a few quick adjustments, King reduces the red tone in the skin without compromising on the superb color he’s brought out in the surroundings, with vibrant, gorgeous reds in the velvet curtains being one particular highlight. Suddenly, there’s a wonderful richness and depth to the picture, with accurate colors and crisp textures that give this horror classic the distinctive '4K treatment' look that I’ve seen in so many great Blu-ray releases. “Once we’re done, some of these movies look like they could have been filmed last week,” King says proudly.

As he shows me his grading work on Dracula, he highlights that the original negative has faded over time, some colours more than others. To illustrate this fading, Ray showed us the red green and blue waveforms in the individual colour channels in his grading system and with the final results after his corrections on the grading monitor, the result I’m seeing is excellent. “Night time scenes can be very difficult to do,” King adds, pointing to a scene with a dark, shadowed forest that could easily show signs of black crush if not graded correctly. Ray mentions that he can use soft edges to remove black crush and again, the results I’m seeing are superb.

An even bigger fan

I'll never take 4K Blu-ray for granted again, after seeing the work that goes into it. (Image credit: Future)

The above really is just an overview of the fantastic work Silversalt Restorations does — the process of restoring a film is so intricate and laborious that it takes these talented artists and technicians countless hours of careful work to bring new life to a movie on 4K Blu-ray, especially the older, classic titles from studios like Hammer.

As a 4K Blu-ray collector and fan, it was such a great experience to see the hard work — and, frankly, wizardry — that the Silversalt team can perform. While I’ve always marvelled at how good 4K Blu-rays can look, now that I’ve seen the restoration process in action, albeit briefly, I appreciate the format even more — and I especially appreciate the amount of work that goes into making many of our favorite movies look so good.

If you’d have told me that in the fine year of 2026, I’d be back to my hobgoblin ways of racing home to pour hours into a massively multiplayer online (MMO) game, I’d probably have laughed you off.

Under the Radar

Under the Radar is our way of highlighting great games that might have passed you by. Through a regular mix of news stories and features, we'll cover great experiences that we feel haven't found the audience they deserve. Read the full series here.

However, here I am, watching the clock until 5:30 PM so I can race home and log into Seed, a new life simulator from Klang Games that I think could herald a new renaissance for MMOs.

Summer Game Fest 2026 gave my colleague Dashiell Wood the chance to go hands-on with Seed, and his strong first impression held true when I got my hands on an early access code a little under a month ago.

Co-founded by veterans from CCP Games, the creators of Eve Online, the team behind Seed certainly has the credentials If you love games like Eco, The Sims and Factorio, you’ll be just as hooked as I am.

The game has already attracted a healthy audience, with thousands of active daily players. It’s a promising start, though it has to be said that a lot of work will be necessary to retain that audience and continue to grow in the months to come.

Still, I spend every waking moment craving Seed. In the last month, I became mayor, witnessed the rapture, and built a metropolis with total strangers — and I can’t wait to see what the game throws at me next.

A world of our own

Our society, Forest Dwellers, is coming along nicely (Image credit: Klang Games)

In short, your goal in Seed is simple: work with other real players in your randomly generated society and colonize the planet of Avesta, building a thriving community with a local economy and, later, global trade.

Because servers run 24/7, your playable Seedlings continue working and caring for themselves while you're offline—provided you set them up with balanced automations and basic necessities. There’s even a beta mobile app where you can check in and issue commands via chat; more on that later.

It’s surprisingly challenging, especially if you’re part of a foundling community. Your Seedlings aren’t always easy to keep alive when resources are scarce, meaning access to clean water and cooked food is an urgent undertaking. Seedlings can suffer from various health ailments and even die as they go about their lives; I lost count of how many times mine developed jaundice from compulsively drinking murky water.

It took me a solid week to nail down my Seedling's schedule — balancing needs against production lines, storage, trade, and resource shortages. At times, it’s a rollercoaster ride: the highs of logging on to see tens of thousands in revenue, and the low sof discovering that one misclick in an "if/then" automation halted all production.

All societies live on one sprawling world map, and as you progress, you’ll be vying with other player groups for territory and resources, and for attracting new players (with their wallets) to your town.

For now, at least, that feels like a distant problem; many societies are still developing. That’s part of what makes Seed so exciting as an MMO; it really does feel like the game is going to keep evolving with its player base, and already the choices from other societies have had a direct impact on how we run our own…

Life as an elected officialKlang GamesKlang Games

For the past month, my society inexplicably elected me mayor — an honor that gave me a front-row seat to Seed’s complexity. Societies evolve in stages based on shared goals, and with each step you gain new roles in government, features like legislation and slots for more Seedlings to join.

My own community has just become a Metropolis, with several of our more active players quickly training up their Seedlings into careers like carpentry, metalwork, tailoring and medicine. We've launched businesses from foundries and chemical plants to hotels and cafes to handle to service the 40+ Seedlings in our group and participate in global trade. It’s tough, but it’s honest work.

I’m also the proud magnate behind a furniture-making business, with my Seedlings specializing in carpentry and tailoring, and I’ve hired several players on the server into the fold to help me haul deliveries and craft furniture both to sell and furnish my two hotel businesses. You’re incentivised to pay your Seedlings well; your society's average salary and the balance of wealth is a key metric by which to attract new players, as are any society-level benefits you offer new players like bonuses, tax legislation, new business grants and even workers’ rights.

Finding the balance between this and also keeping the game fun for all involved is vital — and challenging. As I write this, a disagreement between two of the larger business owners in my society has led to a small fallout and calls for legislation around land ownership. Trust is essential, but hard-won among strangers.

Surviving the rapture

(Image credit: Klang Games)

There have already been quite a few exciting dramas in our society.

We founded on the first day of early access, so many players came through our doors to test the waters in Seed, only to then log out and never return. There are no NPCs in Seed, meaning all members of your society are real people — their activities need to be automated within the Schedule menu, or else your Seedlings will just kind of bimble around aimlessly.

We quickly discovered that even with well-populated schedules, those AFK players wreaked havoc in what I've dubbed 'The Great Haulening'. With many of them set to harvest and haul goods, our society was quickly overloaded with piles of resources and overwhelmed storage that disrupted our ability to trade globally by filling up our mailbox with junk.

Our solution to The Great Haulening was to place ample storage with specific resource configurations to keep things tidy. (Image credit: Klang Games)

Then there are the bugs. Oh lord, the bugs. The marketplace where you trade with other societies has been broken pretty much since day dot, and while recent commitments to fix this from the developers are reassuring, it’s certainly created some disparity among the societies that figured out workarounds and those that couldn’t.

My favorite bug though has to be ‘The Rapture’: the servers went down for two hours, which stopped time fully in Avesta for, to my knowledge, the first time.

All automations were paused, however all Seedling needs continued to depreciate, meaning every player with the companion app got a simultaneous notification that their Seedlings were dying and had to log on in a panic (for me, that was at 2 AM) to revive them. Thankfully, a few of our society members were online to run around and resuscitate the 95% of us who had collapsed, but not everyone was so lucky...

The Achilles heel

My colleague Dash joined the fun, but couldn't play for a short while. His Seedling was one of the Great Haulening's most avid participants. (Image credit: Klang Games)

While I’m loving the game in itself, another potentially not-so-rosy element to Seed is its divisive use of generative AI.

Now, I’m typically conservative with the technology; I don’t think it should be used unless genuinely additive, especially in gaming, and definitely not frivolously while concerns remain about the impact of AI on our environment.

In Seed, you can use gen AI to chat with your Seedlings, which I’ve used mostly as a way to give them instructions to consume things or do tasks, especially while I’m away from the game and when life-threatening issues arise. You’re also occasionally incentivized to casually chat with them as part of your daily tasks, which is quirky at first but tires quickly.

(Image credit: Klang Games)

The second primary use for gen AI is P.A.M, the in-game assistant that can help you learn how to play the game.

With Seed being so complex and in-depth, this is a genuinely useful resource and, by and large, it’s been a helpful companion with all of my requests. It’s a neat way to avoid having a pages-and-pages-long companion guide, but ultimately it’s still prone to getting things wrong, often has broken links and sometimes just gives up and recommends that you ask the World Chat.

It’s not inextricably linked to the gameplay, but it’s also omnipresent, and if you are one to take a bold stance against the use of AI, it’ll potentially put you off this otherwise brilliant game.

That being said, you might also find the pricing structure a turn-off.

You’re given one Seedling slot to play with, which will live for up to 120 real-world days. When they die, you lose everything if you have no other living Seedlings, so you’ll probably want a second Seedling Slot and another Seedling Life — which you’ll have to pay for Pollen, an in-game currency you can earn by levelling up your user profile or with real money.

These come in four tiers, starting with a basic slot that offers 100 real-world days of a Seedling’s life all the way up to Platinum, a permanent slot — full pricing information for all in-game purchases can be found here. This on top of an already $30/€29.99 (roughly £25) game might feel a little too close to a subscription scheme... and it kind of is.

Personally, I enjoy the game enough and understand enough about the costs of server upkeep to justify having spent some of my hard-earned cash on a permanent slot, but for some, the threat of losing everything when their Seedling dies and starting from scratch is disincentivizing. For others, it means an endless opportunity to graft; it’s down to the player to decide what feels more fun to them.

I do share reservations on both the use of AI and the subscription-like costs; but I don’t think either have to define my overarching enjoyment of the game, which has been immense.

I’ve sunk hours and hours into refining my strategy, working with my community towards our shared goals setting up our local economy, and had a good laugh with many of the players I’ve met so far from all around the world.

It’s a real throwback to the heyday of online gaming, and if it sticks, I think Seed could inspire other developers to take a risk on what is, admittedly, a hard product to monetize and upkeep in the increasingly competitive gaming market.

I hope it does, because I’ve definitely got the itch.

Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk: Two-minute review

As I'm writing this review, I'm surrounded by an abundance of glowing red stars decorated all over my desk. It's hard not to feel relaxed here, thanks to the beautiful desktop, which can be activated in specific areas by your touch, or turned onto a setting that allows them to twinkle manually all across the glass panel.

When it comes to the best gaming desks or best standing desks, the Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk is suitable for both categories. This makes it a good all-rounder for those wanting to effortlessly move between office work and gaming.

This is my first time using one of Eureka Ergonomic's desks, and I am impressed. The Wonder Glowing Glass Desk has been my daily companion for the past two months as I've written reviews, played games, and completed life admin. It's survived all of this effortlessly, with enough space for me to have both my work laptop and my gaming laptop side by side for those days when I need to switch between the two.

It also has enough room for me to decorate it with personal items to make it look more like "me". I hate having a boring workspace, after all. So aesthetically and functionally, it does tick a lot of boxes.

My main problem is that the desk does feel quite high, even when it's on the lowest setting. This isn't necessarily a fault of Eureka's, but it's a word of warning if you are short and you're looking for a desk to suit your needs. I'm 5ft 4in, and I think anyone under that would struggle with this desk.

I tested the desk with my partner, who is taller than me at around 6ft 3in, and he was able to comfortably use the desk at its lowest setting. If you are on the shorter side, it's worth choosing your chair well to make sure you can work comfortably based on this.

Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk: Price and availability

• Prices start at $899 (around £665)
• Only available in the US, but does ship to the UK
• Available in one size with a black, oak, or black walnut finish

Eureka Ergonomic's Wonder Glowing Glass Desk only comes in one size, but there are price differences when it comes to the materials used on it. The black one (pictured throughout this review) is priced at $899, whereas the oak or black walnut versions are $999.

It's a very well-made and sturdy desk, and has a classic design which means it's right at home in most office spaces. It's also not as large and imposing as other desks of its kind, so it's a good choice if you want a smaller desk that's also under $1,000.

However, it's important to note that the Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk's price tag puts it at the premium end of the market. This pricing is in line with the $949 / £829 Secretlab Magnus Pro XL, depending on which material you choose.

The Wonder Glowing Glass Desk's finish makes it ~$50 more expensive if you go for oak or black walnut, but it works out ~$50 cheaper than Secretlab if you opt for the standard black model.

Ultimately, you are paying for the unique and responsive lighting design across the desk, as well as the materials used. So if you're not really bothered by the glowing features of the desk, you might want to choose a cheaper option. I think this is worth the price given its unique selling point and overall quality.

The Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave has a similar RGB vibe at a much smaller price of $599.99, without the touch-sensitivity that the Wonder Glowing Glass Desk has. It is also not a standing desk, so it does not boast that additional feature.

If both Eureka Ergonomic and Secretlab are out of budget, however, we recommend the $340 / £360 / AU$420 Flexispot E7, a 5-star rated standing desk which is budget-friendly but does not skimp on the quality.

Eureka Ergonomic primarily sells to the United States, though they do have retail partners in the UK and select European countries; however, our Aussie readers won't be able to get their hands on any of Eureka's products right now, as they currently don't ship to Australia.

Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk: Specs

Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk

Price

$899 - $999

Height

29.5in ~ 47.25in / 74.93cm ~ 120cm

Load capacity

220lbs / 100kg

Material

Frosted Glass /Thermofoil top frame, Alloy Steel, Carbon Steel base frame

Dimensions (H x W x D)

29.5in ~ 47.25in x 23.625in x 47.25in /
74.93cm ~ 120 cm x 60 cm x 120 cm

Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk: Design and features

• Remote control allows you to adjust the light color and patterns
• Dual-motor frame that adjusts from 29.5'' to 47.2'', great for converting to a standing desk
• Beautiful star-like lighting covers the entire desk

By far the biggest selling point of the Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Desk is the starry lighting across the entire thing. It makes it a unique choice and really pretty to look at.

Eureka describes the desk as being an "industry-first luminous desktop that reacts to your touch", and it is seriously cool. It feels more special than your standard RGB setup as it covers the entirety of the desktop and responds to your touch instantly, without any delay. You can draw patterns, drum on the desk, and do other wonderfully distracting things whilst you're meant to be working.

The lighting setup is a fun addition which livens up your workspace whilst still keeping a sleek and polished aesthetic, and you can easily turn the desk lights off to switch between fun and serious. The touch-activated lighting does not make it any less of a professional standing desk; it merely adds to it.

(Image credit: Future / Lucy Buglass)

You do need to plug the desk into a socket, of course, but as long as you have one nearby, you can play around with the lights til your heart's content.

If you like, you can also choose to have twinkling lights on the desk without you needing to touch the material. This is a good option if you want to get on with things whilst being surrounded by a starry backdrop that manually moves without needing your input.

It's easy to cycle between the different colors and light patterns thanks to an included remote control, which I'll demonstrate below.

(Image credit: Future / Lucy Buglass)Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk: Performance

• Fits both big and small setups
• Small amount of cable management
• Sturdy, but also very heavy

I have been using the desk for both everyday work and gaming. Even though it is a fairly compact desk and fits nicely into my attic, I should warn you that it is a heavy and also very fragile desk with glass elements. I would strongly suggest you ask someone to help you if you want to take the boxes upstairs, as even before assembly they are cumbersome.

The same can be said for building the desk. This is very much a two-person job, and you need to be extremely careful not to shatter the glass panel on the desktop. Once it is built, however, it is very robust, and I am confident that it will stay stable due to weeks of regular use. It is also easy to build thanks to printed instructions that clearly outline what you need to do.

If you have a bigger setup than me and require cable management, the desk does feature some. Underneath the desk are five slots for you to organize your cables, securely fastened in when you assemble the desk. It's hidden away. Due to my minimal setup, I only have one cable running through this, the one that's connected to the desk itself, but it can handle the wiring associated with a more complex PC setup.

(Image credit: Future / Lucy Buglass)

The desk also easily converts to a standing one thanks to a touchscreen console on the front of the desk. It is easy to use, and there wasn't any stiffness or delay in converting the desk between the seated and standing positions.

I really can't fault the performance, and in my experience, this is a solid desk that's very nice to use every day. It feels professional and well put together, and everything operates as it should.

(Image credit: Future / Lucy Buglass)Should I buy the Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk?Buy it if…

You want something different
The twinkling light effect is different from your average desk; everyone who has visited my home wanted to try out the touch-activated lighting themselves.

You want something spacious, but not domineering
The desk comfortably fits in my attic office, and there's enough room for my partner's desk too. It doesn't take over the entire room.

Don't buy it if…

You want a lot of storage space
The desk comes with a relatively small drawer, so if you have a lot of accessories and stationery, this might not be for you.

You need a budget-friendly desk
This falls under the premium category, and you may feel that it isn't worth the investment.

Also consider

Not keen on the Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk? Here’s one cheaper gaming desk (without standing conversion) to consider and a much more budget-friendly standing desk.

Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave

Flexispot E7

Price

$899 - $999 /

$599.99 /

$340 / £360 / AU$420

Height

29.5in ~ 47.25in / 74.93cm ~ 120cm

30in / 76cm

22.8-48.4in / 58-123cm

Load capacity

220lbs / 100kg

200lbs / 90kg

275lbs / 125kg

Material

Frosted Glass /Thermofoil top frame, Alloy Steel, Carbon Steel base frame

Steel, tempered glass

Steel

Dimensions

29.5in ~ 47.25in x 23.625in x 47.25in / 74.93cm ~ 120 cm x 60cm x 120cm

60 x 40in / 152 x 102cm

43.3-74.8 x 26.7 x 22.8-48.4in / 110-190 x 68 x 58-123cm

Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave
If you're keen to try Eureka Ergonomic but don't have the budget for the Wonder Glowing Desk, the GTG Wave is a great option for those who love RGB and a sleek finish. It is not a standing desk, but ideal for gaming.

For more information, check out our full Eureka Ergonomic GTG Wave reviewView Deal

Also consider the Flexispot E7
If you want something similar to the Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk that doesn’t break the bank, consider the Flexispot E7. It’s a standing desk that performs excellently and comes in a wide range of color options.

For more information, check out our full Flexispot E7 reviewView Deal

How I tested the Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk

• Used as my main desk
• Tested over multiple weeks
• Extensive work and play

I used the Eureka Ergonomic Wonder Glowing Glass Desk as my main desk for two months for this review. In that time, I played a huge variety of games on my gaming laptop, and I also did everyday work on my MacBook Air while sitting adn standing at it.

I spent a lot of time playing around with the lights and trying out the different settings, as well as testing it out in both its seated and standing modes.

First reviewed June-August 2026.

Read more about how we test

Spotify has always found ways to branch out beyond music, now the platform is a hub for all-things audiobooks and podcasts. So what do you do when you’ve got every audio format under your belt? You venture into fitness, of course.

The best music streaming service kick-started its new Fitness hub in April by announcing a partnership with Peloton, bringing a slew of video workouts from Peloton trainers right to the Spotify app. Just a few weeks ago, the platform launched Running Mode, a collection of customizable playlists across different genres to make soundtracking your workouts easier.

But Spotify’s new Fitness ecosystem wouldn’t be what it is without the watchful eye of Austin Lamon, Senior Director of Product, who helped build the hub from the ground up — and knows exactly where he wants to take it.

A 'natural extension'

(Image credit: Future)

Spotify’s Fitness hub didn’t just appear overnight, and the product team had to ask themselves one question: how can we integrate it into Spotify’s existing products?

“Our strategy has been to expand into formats that deepen engagement and increase the value of Premium,” Lamon tells me. “Music, podcasts, audiobooks, video, and now fitness all serve the same goal: helping users get more out of their time on Spotify and leave feeling better than when they opened the app”.

One of the best things about Spotify’s Fitness hub is that it’s not overly complicated and intimidating for beginners. Instead, it caters to budding and established fitness enthusiasts equally. Lamon tells me “Spotify Fitness is built for anyone who wants movement to be part of their day without adding complexity to it.

“That could be a dedicated athlete following a structured training plan, someone fitting in a walk between meetings, or a first-timer looking for a guided stretch or yoga session. Many of the most popular fitness experiences — like walking, running, yoga, strength and mobility — require little or no equipment, making them accessible to almost everyone”.

It’s clear that the Spotify team is full of ideas, and it’s always thinking about new ways to take the platform to the next level. However, not every idea makes the cut, but for Lamon, fitness was a no-brainer.

“Fitness is a natural extension of how people already use Spotify today — to get motivated, recover, and reset — and allows us to support more moments throughout the day,” he shares, but the fitness hub needed a bit of a boost to get the ball rolling. How do you do that? You enlist the help of a fitness behemoth.

Thank you, Peloton

(Image credit: Future)

Spotify’s partnership with Peloton gave the fitness hub the kick-starter it needed, turning it into a one-stop shop for guided workout videos for all fitness abilities.

“Peloton was a natural launch partner because it brought world-class instructors, high production quality, and a deep catalog of programming that allowed us to deliver a great experience from day one,” Lamon details. “Our ambition is to build an open fitness ecosystem where users can discover the content that's right for them, while making Spotify an even more useful part of their daily routines through experiences like Running Mode”.

Shortly after Peloton came to the Spotify app, Running Mode was born, enhancing the Fitness hub by transforming personalized playlists into guided running experiences. Lamon is confident this is the key to success and expansion, telling me “The early signals are very encouraging, and usage has grown every week since launch.

“We aren't trying to create a new behavior; millions of people were already incorporating Spotify into their fitness routines. We’re simply making those experiences more seamless and personalized. Running Mode is the next step in meeting that demand”.

After playing around with Running Mode, I get where Lamon is coming from — there’s a playlist for everyone depending on how long you want to run for and the genre you want to listen to, and comes with a voiceover that interjects every now and then like Couch to 5K.

(Image credit: Future)

It can be a bit intimidating for those who don’t know where to start, but Lamon offers his advice. “Running is how I reset, and Running Mode has fully become part of my routine,” he starts, but there’s one thing in particular he wants you to remember.

“One thing people don't always realize is that the presets are completely customizable. You can adjust the workout type—whether it's intervals, a steady run, or something more structured—the duration, your target BPM, and even the kind of music you're in the mood for,” he says. Despite being pre-curated, there’s still an element of control.

He continues: “The real power-user trick is hidden one level deeper: swipe across the playlist controls to "Edit prompt" and you can describe your exact session in plain words — your intervals, your warm-up length, whatever you want — and Spotify builds the run around it. I also recommend trying the optional audio coaching. It feels less like a coach barking instructions and more like a supportive friend helping you pace the run. And if you prefer to run without it, you can turn it off with a tap”.

A fitness future awaits

(Image credit: Future)

If there’s one thing Spotify has always invested in, it’s access. You can use Search to find an abundance of its own editorial playlists, as well as the Made For You hub. But I couldn’t help but wonder: does convenience eradicate the desire to curate your own playlists? Lamon doesn’t think so.

“Spotify has always been about giving people more choices, not fewer,” he says. “If you love building your own workout playlists, that experience isn't going anywhere. Running Mode is simply another option for the moments when you'd rather spend less time curating and more time moving”.

Lamon also believes that Running Mode’s personalization is the other redeeming factor, sharing with me that “Every session starts with the listener's own preferences — from the type and length of their run to the music they want to hear and the tempo that matches their pace. The result isn't a one-size-fits-all soundtrack; it's an experience tailored to that specific person based on their goals, music taste, and workout preferences”.

As someone who makes their own playlists, I’m quite satisfied with the soundtracks I’ve created for my different workout regimes. However, that’s not to say I don’t appreciate having access to playlists that are not only concise tempo-wise, but are the right running lengths. Running Mode is already a solid expansion of Spotify’s Fitness hub, but it’s only the start for Lamon.

It’s only been two weeks since Fitness launched on Spotify, and he’s already looking ahead, who shares with me “We see Fitness as a long-term investment and another way to make Spotify more valuable throughout the day”.

He goes on: “Just as we've expanded from music into podcasts, audiobooks, and video, we'll continue evolving Fitness based on how people naturally want to move, listen, and engage. In the near term, our focus is on expanding access.

In the short time Spotify’s Fitness hub has been live, the editorial brains behind it have noticed an encouraging shift in user engagement. And from here on out, Fitness is only going to get bigger, as Lamon leaves me with this: “Looking ahead, we're exploring additional workout types, deeper personalization, and ways to make the experience even more seamless across devices”.

If you've been eyeing up any of the latest best gaming keyboards or the best PC controllers hitting the market over the last few years, then you've no doubt come across the terms 'Hall Effect' and 'TMR'. Magnets are at the heart of the user experience for both peripherals, and are becoming widely adopted by all major manufacturers as standard.

But what exactly is Hall Effect or TMR? More importantly, how do the two technologies compare and contrast? While it may seem like a marketing gimmick or the latest new buzzword, there's actually plenty to be excited about. In this article, I'll be going through how both technologies work in detail and analyzing their strengths and weaknesses.

What is Hall Effect and how does it work?

Put simply, the Hall Effect is the difference in voltage across an electrical conductor from an electronic conductor, which was named after the scientist who discovered it, Edwin Hall, in 1879. It's the effect that pushes charges to one side, directing electrons in a current flow through a straight line. Specifically, this charge separation is what's known as Hall Voltage.

In the most straightforward sense of the concept, the Hall effect is simply a semiconductor and a magnet, with the magnetic field generating a voltage as the semiconductor moves. In the gaming or modern tech scene, it's defined by how magnetic sensors detect movement rather than the previous method of mechanical components. It means greater precision, enhanced durability, and fewer points of failure.

When it comes to points of failure, stick drift has been affecting even top gaming controllers, and remains a constant fear, as a DualSense or Xbox Wireless Controller could (eventually) see its analog sticks drifting (so the game thinks you're moving the analogue stick on a gamepad, when you're not), or the dead zones no longer trigger as intended. This happens due to wear and tear on the potentiometers, which feature small metal contacts over a resistive track that can wear away with many years of use.

Things are similar with the Hall Effect keyboards when compared to regular mechanical or optical decks. With a standard mechanical gaming keyboard, two metal pieces come together to close an electrical circuit. With Hall Effect, however, it's simply a magnet in the switch itself that moves closer to the board, without metal ever actually touching.

In real-world terms, this is what allows Hall Effect gaming keyboards to have fully adjustable actuation points (usually 0.1mm to 4.0mm) instead of the fixed depth of older, mechanical models. Because Hall Effect lacks any physical connections, switches using that technology will (theoretically) last far longer, too.

What is TMR and how does it work?

(Image credit: Wooting)

TMR (or Tunnel Magnetoresistance) is the far newer technology of the two, being discovered in 1975 by Michel Jullière. In its simplest explanation, tunnelling magnetoresistance is a quantum mechanical effect that occurs in a magnetic tunnel junction, based upon changes in an external magnetic field. It's the changes in resistance between two ferromagnetic layers, with one being fixed and the other free to react, with an insulating barrier between them.

Tunnelling magnetoresistance is used in gaming for contactless magnetic sensor technology, promising precise inputs, no stick drift, and low overall power consumption. Because it works by detecting even the slightest and smallest difference in magnetic fields, it allows for incredibly exact actuation when used in gaming keyboards and PC gaming controllers. It's signal actuation down to a granular scale. Because TMR measures resistance and not voltage, it needs less signal amplification, resulting in a low overall power draw.

Hall Effect vs TMR: Direct comparison

Feature

Hall Effect

TMR

Operating method

Detects changes in voltages across a conductor

Measures resistance changes caused by quantum mechanical tunnelling through an insulating barrier

Power consumption

Higher (usually around 1-10 mA)

Incredibly low (Microamps to the sub-milliamp range)

Sensitivity

Moderate sensitivity as it requires a stronger magnetic field

Incredibly high sensitivity

Polling rates

1,000Hz to 8,000Hz

1,000Hz to 8,000Hz

Physical wear

Massively improved over potentiometers with a non-contact design

Non-contact with a high resolution design for less of a deadzone reliance

Primary uses

Magnetic switches, magnetic joysticks

Ultra-precision keyboards, high-end wireless gamepads, automotive sensors

Manufacturing maturity

High (low component costs)

Maturing as prices are beginning to drop

Is TMR better than Hall Effect? Yes, but there's a catch...

Now that I've outlined the key differences and similarities, it's time to talk about exactly why TMR is the superior magnetic sensor technology for today's tech. We can start by reiterating TMR's key advantages over Hall Effect: a massive resistance delta, extremely low noise floor, low power consumption, smaller micro magnets with low-strength flux fields, and ultra-high positional precision when weighed up against the older Hall Effect tech.

With that being said, why isn't TMR the more recognizable and more popular standard across the industry? Well, there are a few key reasons why Hall Effect remains the more familiar of the two magnetic methods.

Fundamentally, it comes down to the high costs of TMR components, combined with the fact that peripheral makers often need to make major changes to their production lines if they switch to using TMR.

Hall Effect components have been in use considerably longer than TMR in game controllers and gaming keyboards, with manufacturers already having SMT assembly pipelines, key suppliers, and proven benchmarks for what Hall Effect quality control looks like.

We also need to consider the key use cases for TMR for gamers. Its incredibly high sensitivity potential requires adept calibration. Because a magnetic sensor is only as good as the firmware that interprets the signal, we just haven't seen the level of maturity of firmware and engineering understanding with TMR, compared to the older and more reliable Hall Effect standard.

Razer's new Huntsman V3 HE Magnetic 8KHz adopts Hall Effect sensors (Image credit: Razer)

I also need to talk about diminishing returns with the (seemingly) boundless potential of how TMR could be implemented in our tech. It comes down to the limitations of the human body, particularly when considering just how granular a movement we really need to make when using our thumbs on an analog stick.

TMR is technically capable of far smaller deviations than Hall Effect; however, a human thumb, even from the best gamers in the world, just isn't really going to be able to take advantage of the sub-millimeter differences in micro-adjustments here.

Specifically sticking with the example of using a game controller, we also need to consider dead zones, which are baked into most modern games at 3-5%, allowing for player error. A controller's dead zone is designed to ignore small movements to stop your in-game character model (or the camera) from moving, while keeping your aim fast, and (theoretically) removing any shakiness. This feature is found in even top esports games such as Fortnite, Rocket League, and Apex Legends.

In gaming keyboard terms, both Hall Effect and TMR greatly innovate over standard mechanical decks through rapid trigger, which dynamically resets a key at the exact moment it's pressed and turns off the instant it is released with no fixed rebound. Because there's no need for metal-on-metal contact, there's no spring-back time, and it's instantaneous; it allows for superior counter-strafing in Counter-Strike and gives you a far better chance to land that Vandal five-stack in VALORANT, provided you actually let go of the key before micro-adjusting with your mouse.

The direct comparison of whether rapid trigger is actually any better with TMR than with Hall Effect again comes down to an infinitesimal difference for a human finger. If you're able to measure both magnetic technologies with 0.1mm precision and an 8,000Hz polling rate, effectively eliminating latency, then the higher raw signal resolution of TMR just isn't going to make any tangible impact here, because (unless you're in the top 0.01% of gamers) you will be the bottleneck.

What are the best Hall Effect and TMR controllers and keyboards right now?

The Asus ROG Raikiri II is one of the better TMR gamepads on the market. (Image credit: Future)

There's no shortage of high-quality Hall Effect controllers and keyboards dominating the gaming market, particularly from the major players in the peripherals scene. The Boomslang brand aside, you only need to look as far as the Corsair Vanguard Pro 96, the Asus ROG Falchion Ace 75 HE, the SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless Gen 3, Wooting 80HE, or the Pulsar Gaming Gears eS HE 70 to see how gamers have welcomed magnetic sensor tech.

By comparison, there are relatively few gaming keyboard manufacturers turning their attention to TMR in 2026, with the most prominent examples of these boards being the Cherry K5 Pro TMR Compact or the Cherry MX 8.2 Pro TMR Wireless, as well as the latest decks made by Keychron. Again, TMR keyboards face the hurdle of being far more expensive to produce, with supply chain issues and dubious consumer knowledge and understanding, despite being the superior way to play (at least on paper).

TMR controllers are far more commonplace than gaming keyboards that have adopted the tech, thankfully. You only need to look as far as the Steam Controller (2026), the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K, and the Asus ROG Raikiri 2 for proof of this. It's not just the pricier name-brands getting in on this action, either. That's because there is a wealth of budget TMR gamepads worth considering, such as the GameSir G7 Pro 8K and the Gulikit ES Pro, too.

What does the future hold for TMR and Hall Effect tech?

Cherry has been leading the charge with its newest line of TMR-backed esports gaming keyboards under the XTRFY brand (Image credit: Cherry )

Neither Hall Effect nor TMR will disappear anytime soon. In fact, considering that TMR technology is becoming cheaper to produce and is starting to become more widespread in keyboards and controllers, it's highly likely that more manufacturers will see the advantages of magnetic resistance when weighed against magnetic voltage.

Prices will come down, particularly when the larger manufacturers start to mass produce items which will (inevitably) be revised and innovated upon in the next handful of years.

HE and TMR may sound like buzzwords added to the names of peripherals at the moment, but eventually, they will be the standard, and a lack of magnetic tech could be seen as a dealbreaker.

True, breaking into the mainstream will depend on how the 10th console generation goes; if Sony and Microsoft adopt TMR tech for their new controllers, then that will signal the changing tide. Considering the eye-watering price next-gen consoles could command, it's certainly possible.

As many attendees of this year’s DEF CON hacker conference departed Las Vegas recently, many unsuspecting passengers on Delta Flight 591 attempted to access an onboard Wi-Fi network.

What they didn’t know was that ‘Delta WiFi Fast’ was actually a fake network, allegedly set up by a fellow passenger intended to mimic the actual onboard Wi-Fi network and scam other users.

The unknown passenger was able to disable the legitimate Wi-Fi networks for 30 minutes while they launched the attack, and in doing so, may have violated United States federal law.

How did the attack take place?

According to Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) messages, the situation was first brought to light by the crew of the flight, who shared the following message:

“HEY ALERT CORP SECURITY WE HAVE A PAX [passenger] ON THAT HAS CREATED A SCAM WIFI CALLED DELTA WIFI FAST WE BELIEVE THEY ARE TRYING TO SCAM THE OTH PAX”

Another message read:

“NO INFO AS OF NOW WE HAVE A BUNCH OF PAX THAT WERE AT A CYBER CONFRENCE IN LAS THE WERE ABLE TO JAM OUR WIFI AND BRODCAST THERE SIGNIAL”

The actual details of what happened on the flight outside of these messages isn’t clear, but according to Monika Hathaway, head of press for DEF CON, similar attacks happened in Las Vegas: “Our conference this year also suffered from multiple similar ‘deauthorization’ Wi-Fi attacks and it impacted some of our operations.”

Delta airlines confirmed that no aircraft operating systems were affected and flight safety was never in question.

Wi-Fi deauthorization attacks can be launched with cheap, widely available ‘deauth boards’ which are small, battery powered devices that send deauthentication frames to devices within their range. On board a plane, these could easily reach most devices.

Once the legitimate Wi-Fi has been jammed and the other users booted from the network, the attacker can then set up an ‘evil twin’ network that users will attempt to connect to, which can be used to snoop on their internet traffic, steal credentials, and perform other malicious activities.

Expert perspectives on the Delta Wi-Fi attack‘Evil twin’ attacks and the risks of connecting

Aras Nazarovas, Senior Information Security Researcher at Cybernews:

An evil twin attack is when hackers create fake Wi-Fi networks with the goal of stealing sensitive information from people, or exploiting known vulnerabilities present on victim devices. The fake networks often have a very similar (or identical) name to the legitimate network, which was the case here.

Once a person connects to the hacker’s Wi-Fi network, the hacker may be able to see what the victim is doing online and what data they transfer. However, since most websites have HTTPS/TLS encryption, much of what the user does, even on the rogue network, is private.

The risk here is that the hacker may attempt to redirect the victim to a phishing website – for instance, in this case, it may have been a fake Delta login page asking for personal data like name, email, address, etc. Or, the hacker may even go further and provide fake login pages for banks, social media, and try to extract login details from the victims.

Connecting to a network controlled by a threat actor allows them to probe your device for potential vulnerabilities and maliciously redirect your internet traffic to their own servers.

Connecting to such a network comes with some risk in itself. Connecting to a network controlled by a threat actor allows them to probe your device for potential vulnerabilities and maliciously redirect your internet traffic to their own servers.

If a person entered credentials into a Wi-Fi login page, noticed security warnings popping up after visiting a website, downloaded something, or entered payment information into an unfamiliar page, then they may have had their data stolen. In that case, the victim should immediately change any passwords that were transmitted, do a thorough scan of their device for malware, and if bank details were transmitted, freeze the bank account until new credentials are received.

However, if a user just connected and disconnected to the Wi-Fi without entering any details or clicking suspicious links, they should be fine.

Who would launch the attack?

Seemant Sehgal, Founder & CEO, BreachLock:

Flying out of Vegas after Black Hat myself just a few days before this incident, I can tell you the security conference crowd that passes through that airport is unlike any other, and the crew on Flight 591 made the right call with the information they had in front of them.

The people most likely to pull something like this on a DEF CON departure flight are the ones who know exactly where that line is, which makes crossing it a choice rather than a mistake. Disabling the Wi-Fi and investigating was exactly the right instinct.

Rogue access points impersonating a legitimate network are one of the oldest tricks in the book, and doing it on an aircraft to scam passengers is a federal crime regardless of the sophistication involved.

The people most likely to pull something like this on a DEF CON departure flight are the ones who know exactly where that line is, which makes crossing it a choice rather than a mistake. Disabling the Wi-Fi and investigating was exactly the right instinct.

Denis Calderone, CTO, Suzu Labs:

Hackers will hack. I go to DEF CON most years, and it's pretty common to have a terrible wifi experience on those flights because everyone is playing with their WiFi Pineapples and whatnot. That said, my flight home this year had no rogue SSIDs that I could see, and although, as usual, the wifi was shoddy, I never took the time to analyze the radio signals in the cabin, but if a few deauths were flying around, I wouldn't have been too surprised. It is concerning to hear about attempted credential harvesting on the flight though, and I feel that that's taking the expected hijinks way too far.

These sorts of wifi threats are very common. DEF CON still displays their famed Wall of Sheep which displays the sniffing clear text credentials on the conference network, and every year the WiFi Pineapples have been selling out at the Hak5 booth.

The deauthentication and evil twin combination used on Flight 591 is a well-documented attack that the security community has been demonstrating for a good two decades. These sorts of wifi threats are very common. DEF CON still displays their famed Wall of Sheep which displays the sniffing clear text credentials on the conference network, and every year the WiFi Pineapples have been selling out at the Hak5 booth.

But there's a significant difference between demonstrating a technique at a conference and deploying it against 199 unsuspecting passengers on a commercial aircraft. Last November, an Australian man was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for running the exact same attack on domestic flights using a WiFi Pineapple and now the FBI is already involved in this case. There is definitely a legal exposure here.

For anyone who travels for work, in-flight WiFi should be treated as an untrusted network, period. The enterprise advice is encrypted DNS through your MDM and always-on VPN with captive portal remediation configured. But honestly, a VPN is something every traveler should be using, not just corporate road warriors. I make sure mine is on whenever I travel, and my family does the same.

Beyond that, if a WiFi network on a plane doesn't match what the crew announced or what's printed on the seat card, don't connect to it. If a network asks you to log in with your Google account or email credentials to get WiFi access, that's not how airline WiFi works. Airline captive portals ask for a credit card or a loyalty account, not your personal email password. If you're being asked for something that doesn't make sense for the context, you're probably not on the real network.

Reputational harm for the cybersecurity industry

Jacob Warner, Director of IT, Xcape, Inc.:

While a rogue Wi-Fi access point on a commercial airliner poses zero direct risk to air-gapped flight safety controls, it creates a serious enterprise security hazard for business travelers relying on inflight networks.

Dismissing an onboard network impersonation as a harmless prank ignores the reality of man-in-the-middle attacks, credential harvesting, and fake authentication portals targeting captive passengers connecting to the Internet.

Given that the flight departed Las Vegas immediately following DEF CON, it requires little imagination to conclude an attendee deployed the unauthorized access point.

Given that the flight departed Las Vegas immediately following DEF CON, it requires little imagination to conclude an attendee deployed the unauthorized access point.

This juvenile behavior is precisely why hackers suffer such a poor reputation among non-technical audiences and why security professionals struggle to build mainstream trust. Enterprise security teams must mandate always-on virtual private networks or zero-trust network access, disable automatic connections to open SSIDs on corporate endpoints, and instruct travelers to treat cabin wireless environments as untrusted networks.

Setting up an evil twin at 30,000 feet does not make you a clever researcher; it just proves why we cannot have nice things.

John Strand, Owner, Black Hills Information Security, Inc.:

This one hits differently because this is my community. These are my people. When security professionals engage in this kind of behavior, they’re betraying the very community they’re claim to represent.

There’s nothing impressive about it. It doesn’t make you look clever, and it certainly doesn’t make you an elite hacker. In most cases, these attacks aren’t even technically sophisticated.

There’s nothing impressive about it. It doesn’t make you look clever, and it certainly doesn’t make you an elite hacker. In most cases, these attacks aren’t even technically sophisticated. They’re simply people with enough technical knowledge taking advantage of others who don’t have the experience to recognize what’s happening. That isn’t skill. It’s bullying.

I hope the people responsible are held accountable. This isn’t funny, it isn’t clever, and it doesn’t demonstrate technical excellence. It’s just people abusing their knowledge to prey on those who are at a disadvantage. That’s not what this profession should stand for.