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• Thermaltake's CAPO X accommodates two independent computers inside one enclosure
• The upper Ryzen and Radeon system ran approximately 5°C warmer
• Both computers maintained stable temperatures during simultaneous stress testing

Thermaltake's CAPO X is a full tower case designed to accommodate two independent computer systems within a single enclosure.

A recent review (originally in Japanese) tested its cooling performance using an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D with Radeon RX 9070 XT and an Intel Core Ultra 7 265K paired with GeForce RTX 5070 Ti.

Both configurations maintained stable temperatures during simultaneous workloads, although testing revealed differences in how heat affected each system.

Two computers share one enclosure without major overheating

Cinebench 2026 measured processor performance, while 3DMark Steel Nomad Stress Test assessed graphics capabilities under demanding workloads.

Both configurations delivered sufficient gaming performance individually, while running them simultaneously revealed how heat from one system affected the other's cooling.

Under sustained workloads, the upper AMD system's Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU and Radeon RX 9070 XT GPU generally operated around 60°C.

In the lower configuration, the GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU reached approximately 60°C, while its Core Ultra 7 265K processor remained near 50°C.

Temperatures initially climbed when testing began, then settled without substantial fluctuations across either compartment.

However, running both computers together raised temperatures in the upper system by approximately 5°C compared with operating that configuration independently.

The temperature difference was attributed to heat from the lower Intel system, which appeared to affect airflow through the upper compartment.

Warmer air emerging from the upper rear fan supported this explanation, although the test did not establish that every configuration would experience identical temperature changes.

Installing a faster rear exhaust fan could help remove accumulated heat from the enclosure.

Adjusting fan placement, rotational speeds, and internal airflow therefore remains important when configuring both systems for sustained workloads.

The findings suggest that the stacked arrangement does not automatically cause severe overheating under the tested conditions.

However, the temperature increase in the upper compartment indicates that heat management still requires attention when both computers operate simultaneously.

Complex assembly leaves room for experienced PC builders

Installing two complete computers requires separate motherboards, power supplies, and storage devices, increasing assembly time compared with conventional single-system Desktop PC cases.

Nevertheless, the enclosure's divided chambers provide considerable cable-routing space, helping builders manage connections from both configurations.

One drawback identified during assembly was the lack of a fan hub, which could complicate cable management in a dual-system configuration.

Purchasing a separate controller could simplify connections and give builders more flexibility when coordinating multiple fans across both compartments.

The CAPO X's unusual layout also requires decisions about how each computer receives and expels air.

Builders must consider the interaction between compartments rather than treating the enclosure as two entirely isolated cooling environments.

Assembling the CAPO X case involved more work than building a conventional single-system computer.

Installing components for two devices requires additional connections, while managing their cooling arrangements introduces additional configuration decisions.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Saturday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Saturday, October 24 (game #1734).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1735) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1735) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 1.

Quordle today (game #1735) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1735) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1735) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• R

• B

• P

• U

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

Quordle today (game #1735) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1735, are…

• RAINY
• BUSED
• PROXY
• UNDID

My triumph in this game was getting PROXY.

After deciding that the R and O had to be in the second and third positions I could only think of two words that fitted and ended in Y — IRONY and PROXY. X marks the spot yet again.

Daily Sequence today (game #1735) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1735, are…

• FLUTE
• TALLY
• FUZZY
• BATHE

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1734, Saturday, 24 October: TOXIN, SMART, MOUSE, STYLE
• Quordle #1733, Friday, 23 October: BLIMP, HOIST, FRIED, LURID
• Quordle #1732, Thursday, 22 October: DECAL, WIDTH, WOKEN, LEVER
• Quordle #1731, Wednesday, 21 October: MOIST, VALVE, VERSE, NORTH
• Quordle #1730, Tuesday, 20 October: COYLY, SAUNA, TRIAL, RASPY
• Quordle #1729, Monday, 19 October: EXIST, DECOY, HITCH, FLUID
• Quordle #1728, Sunday, 18 October: FLINT, FUROR, WEDGE, RODEO
• Quordle #1727, Saturday, 17 October: QUARK, ENEMY, SPASM, BLOCK
• Quordle #1726, Friday, 16 October: SHORT, WORTH, JOIST, SLUNK
• Quordle #1725, Thursday, 15 October: STALE, EPOCH, PIANO, CORNY
• Quordle #1724, Wednesday, 14 October: TIMID, GROUP, GRILL, EVERY
• Quordle #1723, Tuesday, 13 October: FLUFF, DEBUT, TEETH, STEIN
• Quordle #1722, Monday, 12 October: HELLO, BELOW, RIGHT, SLANT
• Quordle #1721, Sunday, 11 October: LILAC, INLET, TRIAD, SHAPE
• Quordle #1720, Saturday, 10 October: SWEAT, THIRD, RURAL, CLASP
• Quordle #1719, Friday, 9 October: OLDEN, DUNCE, SWATH, HILLY
• Quordle #1718, Thursday, 8 October: MINTY, ROWER, BROOD, RESET
• Quordle #1717, Wednesday, 7 October: PALER, FROTH, DOZEN, ERASE
• Quordle #1716, Tuesday, 6 October: FRESH, SKULK, BATCH, ENSUE
• Quordle #1715, Monday, 5 October: SIXTH, SPEAK, SEDAN, HEIST

For someone who loves movies, I’ve never fancied myself as much of a filmmaker — but Oppo’s Hasselblad-inspired XPAN mode has got me rethinking my directorial ambitions.

Built into the new Oppo Find X10 Pro Max and other Find X Series phones, XPAN lets you shoot ultra-wide frames with a 65:24 aspect ratio. It’s inspired by the Hasselblad XPan camera, which first launched in 1998 and could capture both standard 35mm and panoramic images on the same roll of film.

During a recent visit to Mallorca, Spain, I put Oppo’s XPAN mode to the test, and I’ve decided that a) I wish my iPhone 18 Pro had the same photography feature and b) if Christopher Nolan ever did decide to own a smartphone, he should consider the Find X10 Pro Max. If you’re reading this, Chris, you’ll soon understand why.

I bring up Nolan because XPAN mode turned what would have been good-but-not-great vacation snaps into photos that look like scenes from The Odyssey.

By extending the width of the frame significantly — 65:24 is roughly the size of two standard 35mm frames side by side — XPAN lets you capture the full context of a scene, and I found this extra width beneficial for shooting both landscapes and urban cityscapes.

(Image credit: Future)

XPAN works across the wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto lenses of the Find X10 Pro Max — all three, impressively, are 200MP (that’s a first for a smartphone) — and in the gallery above, you’ll see I used the ultra-wide for the widest possible shots of the sunset, and the standard wide for a tighter framing of the headland.

(Image credit: Future)

In the Cathedral of Santa Maria in Palma, XPAN came in handy for capturing the breathtaking scale of the building. I particularly love how, in the last image, the almost ethereal light in the middle of the scene is bookended by completely normal churchgoers. The contrast is great.

(Image credit: Future)

(Image credit: Future)

In these shots, I’ve used XPAN to capture the hustle of busy streets. In the first gallery, see how the couple is trailing behind their runaway daughter, and in the second, how four distinct groups are visible outside the café — you just can’t get the same dynamism and richness from standard smartphone aspect ratios.

As mentioned, XPAN works with all three lenses on the Find X10 Pro Max, and in the gallery below, I’ve included shots taken with the phone’s telephoto lens at 3x optical zoom — proof that wide angles can work up close, too.

(Image credit: Future)

Of course, I’m not the first person to discover Oppo’s XPAN mode, but I’m writing this article to make sure I’m not the last.

The feature is actually pretty hidden (it’s tucked away in the ‘More’ tab in Oppo’s camera app), and I only learned about its existence after my colleague, Prakhar, highlighted it in his coverage of the Oppo Find X8 Ultra last year.

“I love anything that helps me see the world differently, and XPAN does just that. It brings an amazing new perspective that I wouldn’t have paid attention to otherwise,” Prakhar wrote at the time, and having now used the feature for myself, I feel the same way.

(Image credit: Future)

It’s worth noting that you can achieve similar results with non-Oppo phones by manually cropping ultra-wide shots into the 65:24 aspect ratio, but you’ll have to think harder about your framing before taking the shot.

XPAN, meanwhile, lets you shoot directly into this wider ratio and even transforms the Find X10 Pro Max’s camera into a classic Hasselblad XPan viewfinder. What’s more, once you click the shutter, you’ll get a nice ‘developing’ animation as the phone simulates the transition from negative to photograph, which is a nice nostalgic touch.

The XPAN interface on the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max (Image credit: Future)

Oppo announced the extension of its partnership with Hasselblad in 2025, meaning future Oppo phones will continue to feature XPAN mode and other Hasselblad-inspired photography tools, including Hasselblad Portrait Mode and Master Mode.

It’s sometimes easy to think of these brand partnerships as gimmicks, or as something that Chinese smartphone companies do to keep pace with rivals — Oppo has Hasselblad, Xiaomi Leica, Vivo Zeiss, and Honor recently partnered with ARRI. But if not for Oppo’s Hasselblad collaboration, XPAN mode wouldn’t exist, and I wouldn’t have looked twice at my Mallorca vacation pictures.

So what do you say, Chris — fancy taking the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max for a spin?

Fyne Audio Cubitt 5: Two-minute review

It’s taken Fyne Audio less than a decade to establish itself as a deeply credible manufacturer of passive loudspeakers at a wide range of prices. The Cubitt 5, though, represents its first pair of active speakers — and they've got some serious competition to overcome.

At first glance, though, the system seems to have every chance. Its compact, well-made cabinets are available in a wide range of finishes, and are home to an intriguing driver array that draws liberally from the company’s very successful (and much more expensive) line-up of passive loudspeakers. Power is more than adequate at 240 watts, and the range of inputs (Bluetooth with aptX HD capability, line- and MM phono-level analog, optical and HDMI ARC) is very competitive, too. The lack of on-system controls is an odd decision, as is the lack confirmation of selected input or volume, and the remote handset that’s your only control option is unlovely.

Get the system up and running and you’ll have to ignore the unwelcome low-volume hiss that comes from each speaker before any music is cued up — fortunately it’s not an issue once your tracks are playing. Instead you’re free to admire the Cubitt 5’s abilities with detail retrieval, soundstaging, low-frequency authority and articulate midrange communication. It’s absolutely as confident as is acceptable when it comes to handling the top of the frequency range, but even here it’s not overtly ill-balanced or unruly.

Add in significant dynamic headroom, an expansive overall presentation and a disinclination to alter its stance in any significant way no matter which of its input options is in use, and it’s apparent that where the fundamentals are concerned, the Cubitt 5 has plenty going for it. Maybe not quite for the best stereo speakers on the market, though.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 review: Price & release date

• Launched on June 30, 2026
• Priced $749 / £549 / AU$1,499

The Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 wireless stereo speaker system is on sale now, and in the United States it costs $749. In the United Kingdom it sells for £549, while in Australia you’ll have to part with AU$1,499.

Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 review: Features

• 127mm ‘IsoFlare’ mid/bass driver with 19mm concentric titanium dome tweeter
• 240 watts of Class D power
• Wired and wireless inputs

The idea of positioning a tweeter in the acoustic center of a mid or mid/bass driver is not a new one, but it’s a rarity nevertheless, and Fyne Audio has been busily democratizing its ‘IsoFlare’ variation on this particular theme for a while now. The Cubitt 5 is just the latest example.

In this instance there’s a 19mm titanium dome tweeter positioned in the center of a 127mm multi-fiber mid/bass driver — the idea, as ever, is to create a single point-source of sound at the same time as optimizing driver integration and sound dispersion. The mid/bass driver’s surround is the company’s ‘FyneFlute’ design, the unusual pattern of which helps minimize unwanted energy from the pistonic movement of the driver. Each of the four drivers gets 60 watts of Class D amplification to power it — an all-in total of 240 watts really should be adequate in a system such as this — and the output is bolstered by a front-firing bass reflex slot. It’s an arrangement Fyne Audio suggests will deliver a frequency response of 43Hz - 34kHz.

The primary speaker takes care of all wired and wireless connectivity. The wireless stuff consists of Bluetooth 5.0, with codec compatibility up to and including aptX HD. Physical connections, all on the rear panel, run to a moving magnet (or high-output moving coil) phono stage accessed via stereo RCA inputs, a line-level analog equivalent also using RCAs, a digital optical input and an HDMI ARC socket. All incoming digital information is dealt with by a DAC of 24bit/96kHz resolution.

• Features score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 review: Sound quality

• Expansive and controlled presentation
• Solid punch and decent dynamics
• Audible hiss when not playing

There’s a unique aspect to the way the Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 performs — or, at least, it’s unique in my extensive experience of products of this type. Connect the speakers together using the supplied umbilical, plug the primary speaker into the mains, turn the power on, and there’s an obvious and consistent hiss from both speakers. Is it loud? No, but it can be heard down the length of my listening room. Is it audible when playing music? No, not at all. So is it an issue? I guess not, unless you intend to use the speakers on your desktop, but I can’t pretend it fills me with confidence.

Which is a great pity, because when it’s actually playing music the Cubitt 5 is one of the best sub-$750 wireless stereo speaker systems I’ve heard so far. In virtually every respect, it’s an enjoyable, balanced and well-sorted listen.

With a vinyl copy of Julian Cope’s Peggy Suicide incoming via the moving magnet phono stage, the Fyne Audio doesn’t take its eye off the ball for a moment. It’s good where detail retrieval is concerned, and manages to stay on top of the finest details without sacrificing any sense of unity or performance. It creates a fairly large soundstage — it’s certainly larger than the cabinets that are producing it — and it’s coherent, organized and easy to understand.

The tonal balance is persuasive, too, the Cubitt 5 hits the plosives at the top of the frequency range absolutely as hard as it dares, but somehow they never quite get too edgy or overly hard. The midrange is sweetly communicative, so there’s confidence and eloquence to the way the system handles a vocalist. And while the claims for extension down to 43Hz are, I think it’s fair to say, a false alarm, the Cubitt 5 nevertheless bigs deep, hits hard and controls its low-frequency activity well. Rhythmic expression is very decent as a result, and the way the system handles tempos is similarly unforced and naturalistic.

There’s a fair amount of dynamic headroom available, so the Fyne Audio handles big shifts in volume or intensity calmly, and its overall attention to detail means that the more subtle dynamics of harmonic variation are given their due weighting, too. Frequency response is nice and even, too. The tendency to attack the highest frequencies can make it sound like the top end is being overstated on occasion, but otherwise the Cubitt 5 gives every area of the frequency range fair representation.

It’s winningly unconcerned about volume, too. Some systems can change their character when asked to play at bigger levels, but the Fyne Audio just gets louder. There’s no change in tonal balance or frequency response, and the stage maintains its shape, too. And the same is true when you change inputs — switch to a wireless stream of John Glacier’s Money Shows and the fundamental attitude and character of the system don’t alter in the slightest. It’s still balanced, insightful, punchy and just slightly treble-happy.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 review: Design

• 260 x 165 x 215mm (HxWxD)
• Available in five different finishes
• Supplied without grilles

It’s by no means an easy trick to pull off, but the Cubitt 5 manages to look discreet and interesting at the same time.

The ‘discreet’ part is mostly thanks to the 260 x 165 x 215mm (HxWxD) dimensions, assisted by some nicely curved cabinet corners and a selection of no fewer than five very agreeable finishes. My sample is in ‘olive green’, but ‘arctic white’, ‘midnight black’, ‘pearl titanium’ and ‘pebble gray’ are also available. No matter which finish you decide suits you best, you’ll find it’s the final flourish in a process that includes a very high standard of construction. There are no visible seams, and the soft-touch paint is flawlessly applied.

‘Interesting’ is mostly derived from the driver array that’s already been discussed in the ‘features’ section of this review, as well as the forward-facing bass reflex slot that somehow makes each speaker’s appearance easy to anthropomorphize. The not-quite-circular brightwork surrounding the driver array doesn’t do any harm when it comes to making this most functional of products look interesting, either. It comes as no surprise to me that Fyne Audio doesn’t see the need to supply the Cubitt 5 with grilles.

• Design score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future)Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 review: Usability & setup

• Speakers must be wired together
• No app, no on-speaker controls, no input selection of volume indicator
• Nasty remote control handset

In terms of getting up and running, there’s really not a lot to get your head around here. Despite the fact this is an active system, only the primary speaker requires mains power — it transmits power, as well as data, along a supplied four-core umbilical cable that screws down onto the rear of each speaker. Once the speakers are connected together and the primary is powered up, it’s really only a question of positioning them to your satisfaction and then you’re in business.

Getting what you want from the system isn’t all that tricky, either, but neither is it all that satisfying an experience. This is not a Wi-Fi-enabled system, of course, so there’s no control app, which is hardly unheard-of in this part of the market. There are no controls on either speaker, either, which is rather less common. The primary speaker has an LED tell-tale that’s red when the system’s in standby and blue when it’s powered up. The blue light flashes when it’s following instructions from the remote handset that’s your only method of operation.

Given that the remote is all you’ve got, though, it’s a shame Fyne Audio specified what I imagine is the least expensive handset it could source. The look and feel is down-market, and the fact you’ve no indication of the source that’s been selected or the volume level that’s been specified only adds to the impression of cost- and corner-cutting.

• Usability & setup score: 3 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 review: Value

Judged purely on the sound it makes, there’s no denying the Cubitt 5 offers very decent value for money indeed — once it’s making a sound, that is. The standard of build and finish only adds to the impression of money well spent.

But there’s more to it than this, of course — and as far as the experiential goes, the feel of operating the system, the sensation is undeniably low-rent. Which unfortunately undermines the impression of value the Fyne Audio system otherwise offers.

• Value score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Should I buy the Fyne Audio Cubitt 5?Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 scorecard

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

19mm titanium dome tweeter, in a 127mm multi-fiber mid/bass driver optimizes driver integration and sound dispersion

5 / 5

Sound quality

Expansive and controlled, with solid punch, but an audible hiss when not playing

4 / 5

Design

Discreet and interesting, with five finishes and no need for grilles

5 / 5

Setup & usability

An active system, easy to set up, but no control app or on-unit controls grate, along with a cheap remote control

3 / 5

Value

Judged on the sound alone, very good, but as an experience... not so much

4 / 5

Buy them if…

You want full-range sound from winningly compact cabinets
Small enough for positioning on a shelf, but with sufficient sonic scale to fill a medium-sized room.

You want options beyond ‘back’ and ‘white’
There are a trio of more interesting options available.

You admire interesting engineering
The titanium dome tweeter time-aligned in the throat of the IsoFlare mid/bass driver counts as ‘interesting’ for sure.

Don’t buy them if…

You’re using them on a desktop
Not only are they slightly large for this purpose, the ‘power on’ hissing gets quite old quite quickly…

You like to know what’s going on
How much volume have you dialled in? Which input has been selected? Who can say?

You’re sensitive to the quality of control interfaces
Fyne Audio always knew the remote control handset would be the only way to interact with the Cubitt 5 — so why did it specify the cheapest it could find?

Fyne Audio Cubitt 5 review: Also consider

The Cambridge L/R S system handily undercuts the Fyne Audio on price, and has an awful lot to recommend it both aesthetically and in audio terms. Not quite the room-filling ability of the Cubitt 5, mind you.

And the same is true of the Ruark Audio MR1 mk3, but if you want a well-specified and great-sounding system that’s genuinely small enough for desktop use and isn’t as pricey as the Fyne Audio, you need look no further.

How I tested the Fyne Audio Cubitt 5

Almost all my testing is done with the Cubitt 5 positioned on a pair of Soundstyle S2 speaker stands, joined together by their supplied connecting cable and with the primary speaker plugged into the mains.

Sources include a FiiO M15S digital audio player with aptX HD Bluetooth capability, a Technics SL-1300G with Goldring 1022 cartridge for vinyl via the phono stage, a Rega Apollo CD player connected to the optical input, and a Philips OLED806 via the HDMI socket.

Which means a lot of different content, stored in a variety of file types, and of many resolutions, is available — and then I listen for almost an entire working week.

• Read TechRadar's Reviews Guarantee
• First reviewed: October 2026

• Gadgets with foreign chips are now being banned by the FCC
• Two unnamed devices have been put on the official Covered List
• However, Intel has been granted an exemption for factory robots

There's new movement in both directions on the Covered List maintained by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US — the list of banned tech products that the agency has determined are a threat to national security, including DJI hardware.

New rules that came into effect this month allow the FCC to ban not just devices from specific companies, but also devices with components from specific companies inside them. As The Verge reports, those rules are now being put into practice.

Two unnamed gadgets have been added to the Covered List because they have a HiVision chip inside — HiVision being a subsidiary of Huawei, which is already on the list. These chips are typically used in home security cameras and dashcams.

As per the FCC, they're "foreign surveillance chips", and offer "built-in detection algorithms for human faces" (a feature you might have seen advertised as a way of identifying strangers around your property, rather than friends and family).

Factory robot workers

Intel can carry on using its robots (Image credit: Intel)

However, one company has managed to extract a waiver out of the FCC to avoid equipment it relies on being added to the Covered List: Reuters reports that Intel has been granted an exception for the robots it uses in its semiconductor factories.

The "foreign-made advanced robotics" involved can't be sourced domestically, Intel has argued. With that in mind, the FCC has kept them off the Covered List to avoid "potential disruptions in the availability of domestic semiconductor manufacturing services".

As it stands, the waiver only lasts for a year though — Intel will then have to find some factory floor robots without foreign components inside, or apply to the FCC again to prevent its army of autonomous workers from being banned.

The 'Automated Guided Vehicles' in question have been in use for two decades, Intel says. The exemption doesn't apply to new models, but rather software, firmware, and hardware tweaks to the existing models already in operation.

For recent generations of students, Chromebooks are ubiquitous: Google's handy, budget-friendly laptops have become classroom fixtures across the US and beyond, handling everything from homework to essays and assignments.

But many of those students are now heading to university or entering the workforce, where choosing a laptop for themselves is a different prospect altogether – something Apple is making a play for with the MacBook Neo.

Google isn't sitting idly by, though, and the recent launch of its Googlebooks is a big statement of intent.

Far from being the inexpensive Chromebooks familiar in schools, Googlebooks like the Acer Googlebook 14 are premium laptops running a new Android-based OS, with deep smartphone integration and the company's Gemini AI.

After years of gaining a deep familiarity with Chromebooks and ChromeOS, these students might be tempted to stick with Google's ecosystem as they grow older and their computing needs change.

But is familiarity enough? Apple's MacBook Neo and a wide range of cheaper Windows laptops also offer compelling alternatives, and both platforms are already deeply entrenched in work and everyday life.

(Image credit: Acer)School of Chrome

Google launched its Chromebook project back in 2011, initially as a general-purpose laptop, but its success really came in the education sector – long dominated by Windows – where inexpensive hardware, straightforward device management, and Google's classroom tools won out.

Michael Boreham, principal analyst at Futuresource, told TechRadar that Chromebooks accounted for just 16% of US K–12 mobile PC sales in 2013, rising to 50% by the end of 2015.

Since 2020, Chromebooks have accounted for between 61% and 67% of annual US K–12 mobile PC shipments, a remarkable level of dominance.

The success of Chromebooks has led to millions of students spending their formative years using Google's OS and apps, with services like Google Docs and Drive also available across Windows and macOS.

But those laptops were generally chosen by schools, rather than their students.

"As students transition from school-issued devices to choosing their own laptops, preferences typically shift away from the devices provided by their institution and towards products that align with personal needs and lifestyles," says Boreham.

(Image credit: Lance Ulanoff / Future)Old habits, new laptops

Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst at The Heart of Tech, draws an important distinction between students becoming familiar with Google's software and actively wanting to buy its hardware.

"What a decade of Chromebooks built is familiarity with Google's tools: Docs, Drive, Classroom, Gmail," she says. "Those tools run in a browser on any laptop, so that familiarity travels with the student wherever they go, including to a Mac."

"For most students the Chromebook was a device the school assigned, often low-cost and locked down, and the association is with schoolwork more than with a laptop they chose," Milanesi adds.

Futuresource's Student Journey research, which surveyed students in the US and UK, found that durability, value for money, storage, and battery life were among the main factors influencing their purchases.

"The lure of Apple is strong for university students given Apple’s unique position as a lifestyle brand and the power of its joined up ecosystem with the seamless integration between iPhone, iPads and MacBooks," says Boreham.

When choosing a brand, students also considered compatibility with their existing devices, brand reputation, and previous experience. Most university students surveyed also reported paying for their devices themselves or using university loans and grants, making value for money especially important.

That presents an obvious challenge for Googlebooks: price. The laptops start at £999 in the UK, compared to £599 for the MacBook Neo – or just £499 with Apple's education discount – and many of the best student laptops are also considerably more affordable.

People choose personal laptops based on the phone in their pocket far more than on the computer they used in class

Carolina Milanesi, president and principal analyst, The Heart of Tech

These are different machines, for sure, but a price gap of up to £500 is hard to ignore when value for money is such an important factor.

Milanesi isn't convinced it'll be an easy sell: "It will be difficult. Younger buyers have a $499 to $599 MacBook on one side and Windows laptops at every price point on the other, and a new platform asking for a premium carries more risk for the buyer."

Then there's the software. Familiarity with Chrome is all well and good, but university students may need specialist applications that their school Chromebooks never had to handle.

"If Googlebooks can replicate or better the performance of a MacBook or Windows notebook and have access to key applications, like, for example, Adobe’s Photo Editing suite, then it may capture share of the student user base as they move beyond high school," says Boreham.

For Milanesi, Google's enormous user base will only get it so far. "Googlebook has to turn that comfort into a purchase, which means making the Google laptop the aspirational choice rather than the default one," she says.

(Image credit: Corel)The Android in the room

Google's biggest advantage might be sitting in its potential customers' pockets: their Android phones.

"The Android phone base is the bigger opportunity," says Milanesi. "People choose personal laptops based on the phone in their pocket far more than on the computer they used in class, and Apple has spent years proving how much phone-to-laptop continuity drives Mac sales."

Features like Cast My Apps let users access their phone's apps on a Googlebook, while the Files app can bring photos and documents from an Android phone onto the laptop. It's the kind of connected experience Apple users have enjoyed for years, and an important part of Google's pitch against Windows.

"Against Apple, Google is offering parity more than an edge," says Milanesi.

While these ambitions might sound good on paper, the experience isn't quite seamless yet. When we put the Acer Googlebook 14 through its paces, the hardware and AI integration impressed, but connecting an Android phone proved more complicated than expected.

Milanesi points to another limitation: "Full phone integration requires Android 17, which shrinks the addressable base at launch given how slowly Android updates roll out."

Every Googlebook already includes a year's subscription to Google AI Pro, but Milanesi believes student discounts and more competitive bundles could help bring the overall price closer to Apple's MacBook Neo. Cheaper models further down the line might also help Google reach a wider audience.

Full phone integration requires Android 17, which shrinks the addressable base at launch given how slowly Android updates roll out

Carolina Milanesi

Gemini could be another way for Google to stand out, although Milanesi thinks its importance hasn't been obvious enough at launch. "I wish Gemini stood out more as a driver of the overall experience," she says.

Googlebooks, then, could well benefit from the Chromebook generation, but their immediate success is likely to depend more on the smartphones those students carry than their school laptops.

ChatGPT can hold a lot of knowledge about its users, acquired through deliberately personalizing the AI chatbot or by you simply leaving the memory feature on during conversations. OpenAI seems to think that might include details you'd rather a friend or family member didn't stumble across, and it has taken steps to ease those fears with its new Locked Chats feature.

Locked Chats seals specific conversations with ChatGPT behind a four-digit PIN or biometric check on mobile devices. Open the menu under the three dots in the upper right of the chat window, tap "Lock Chat," and confirm. You'll need to make a four-digit PIN if you haven't already, or link it to the face or fingerprint you use to unlock your device.

Also, be sure to remember your PIN. You can change it later if you want, but if you forget it and have to reset it, ChatGPT will permanently delete every locked chat and file protected by the old PIN.

Keep sensitive conversations out of view with Locked Chats in ChatGPT.Move chats out of your regular history and search into a protected space you can unlock with a PIN on web and desktop, or a PIN, Face ID, Touch ID, or device unlock on supported mobile devices.New messages sent in locked chats won't update the memory used in your regular chats.Rolling out starting today to Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, and Edu plans.October 20, 2026

ChatGPT will make a new Project specifically for the locked chats. The conversations disappear from your regular history and search results unless unlocked. Someone casually browsing your account shouldn't be able to find it without authenticating.

But while Locked Chats will stop others from reading your conversations, the information embedded in your back-and-forth with the AI is a different story.

Disappearing conversation trickery

Imagine using ChatGPT to plan a surprise birthday present for a romantic partner who might innocently borrow your phone, look up information in the chatbot, and stumble upon your plans. That's what OpenAI seems to have in mind as a conversation you'd want to keep available without having it pop up when someone else looks at your phone. But what seems like a straightforward privacy upgrade has a couple of important caveats.

For one thing, if you use the feature, the conversation can remain open in the same browser tab immediately after you lock it, and previously opened devices might temporarily display its title until they refresh. So be sure to close or refresh the relevant tab and check any other devices if keeping it hidden is important.

(Image credit: OpenAi)

Also, unlocking the protected project gives you temporary access, but re-locking the gate won't happen immediately unless you select Lock again when you're done. You can't assume that navigating away has secured the discussion again.

The same goes for any information that has already escaped. If you made a shared link to a ChatGPT interaction while planning a trip so a friend could check it out, locking it to keep some of the schedule a surprise afterward won't be much help. Those shared links still work, regardless of their subsequent locked status. You have to delete the shared link to close that loophole. Locking a conversation restricts access inside your account, but it doesn't recall copies you've already shared.

Escaping details

(Image credit: South House Studio via Shuttertsock )

But even good ChatGPT lock discipline won't always work if the AI selects some detail from the conversation to incorporate into its memory feature before you can turn the digital key. Information remembered before the conversation was locked remains part of regular ChatGPT Memory and can influence responses later on. The information isn't automatically erased. You have to manually go into the memory section and remove it.

Happily, that stops being an issue once the lock is set. Newly remembered details remain separate from ordinary ChatGPT memory and can be used within other locked conversations, but won't leak into other conversations. So, if you know you're going to want to lock away a chat at some point, do it before sensitive discussions begin.

For especially sensitive discussions, Temporary Chat may be the more appropriate choice. Temporary conversations don't appear in regular history, make memories, or even get saved by OpenAI for its model improvement program. In some cases, that's worth the trade-off of not being able to return to the conversation.

Locked chats are definitely an appealing addition for everyday privacy concerns with ChatGPT, but it's not comprehensive or entirely automatic. Controlling who can open a conversation is useful, but it's irrelevant if the information is embedded in ChatGPT's memory or a shared link. Tracking the content takes a little more effort than simply relying on four numbers and your facial features to keep your secrets.

JBL Bar 800MK2 review

The JBL Bar 800MK2 is the mid-range option in the audio specialist’s MK2 line, delivering surround sound though its main bar, detachable rear speakers, and mighty subwoofer. It comes with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, a wide range of connectivity options, and an expansive 7.1 channel configuration — but is it actually worth buying?

I’ve spent a bunch of hours testing the JBL Bar 800MK2 for myself, putting it to the test with 4K UHD Blu-rays as well as Dolby Atmos and stereo format music. Here’s whether I’d recommend it or not.

Let’s start by talking about performance, an area where this model certainly excels. Like a lot of the best soundbars, the JBL Bar 800MK2 produces beautifully expansive sound with powerful bass and clear dialogue, and it consistently impressed me during testing. It makes use of six full-range drivers and two tweeters in the main bar, two full rangers in each surround speaker, and a ten-inch bass unit in the sub, with a solid 780W maximum power output, so you’re really going to feel the action in every scene when watching movies.

(Image credit: Future)

For instance, when watching a 4K Blu-ray of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, I was blown away by the thunderous bass on offer as a UFO airlifted Peach’s Castle into the stratosphere, with a regimented, rippling sound emanating from the sub. As the chaos unfurled, crashing waves hit with tremendous impact, and as Toads jumped into the water, their movement was tracked with commendable precision. Similarly, the sound of Yoshi’s tongue flicking across the scene was mapped perfectly, making for an immensely immersive viewing experience, with the width of his motion far exceeding the limited confines of the soundbar.

The JBL Bar 800MK2 skips on dedicated up-firing drivers, so you’re not going to get the most convincing verticality while watching Atmos movies, but I was still seriously impressed with the virtual recreation of height effects. For example, in Top Gun Maverick, the sound of Tom Cruise flying a jet up and overhead sounded surprisingly life-like, and it genuinely seemed as if I could hear the upward trajectory. The low-end rumble of jet engines also shook our testing room to its foundations, but all the while, dialogue continued to come through clearly in the mix.

Speaking of dialogue, the JBL Bar 800MK2 is well equipped to deliver clear and concise speech at all times. That’s in part thanks to the PureVoice setting, which enables you to push vocals forward without ruining the fidelity of sounds elsewhere in the frequency range. I never felt like PureVoice made the movie’s audio seem unbalanced, and it proved to be super-effective, especially in more crowded, action-packed sequences where dialogue can sometimes take a backseat.

I was also really impressed with the sound quality coming from the detachable rear speakers. They sounded brilliantly balanced from where I was sitting, but you can easily change their volume level in the JBL One app to suit your room setup. They gave Dolby Atmos movies an ultra-expansive quality, and provided controlled highs and clear mids, making for stellar surround sound.

Even when it came to music, the JBL Bar 800MK2 performed fantastically well. With an Atmos mix of Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees, the system whipped up a strikingly expansive presentation with articulate drums in the treble range, great vocal clarity, and warm bass that never sounded overly assertive. The rears also combined really nicely here, which was a relief as I’ve found that the surround channels on some rival models don't always seem cohesive with the rest of the system. Stereo music impressed me too, with deep and agile bass, detailed mids, and solid instrument separation.

(Image credit: Future)

So yes, despite lacking dedicated up-firing drivers, the virtual Atmos on the 800MK2 works very well, and it handles the fundamentals with ease too. But how does this model fare elsewhere?

In terms of features, this system is a strong all-rounder. On top of the PureVoice setting I mentioned, there’s a Night Mode that uses the detachable speakers only, voice assistant support, AirPlay and Google Cast support, EQ options, and much more. All of these features can be tapped into over on the JBL One app, which is intuitive and incredibly easy to use.

There are a few sound-related features I’d like to highlight too. The first is MultiBeam 3.0, which is intended to create a “wide, cinema-like soundstage”. This feature harnesses beamforming and digital processing to achieve its goal, and works a treat. There’s also a sound calibration option, which is quick and seamless, and provides optimized three-dimensional sound for your space, no matter how it’s set up.

The Bar 800MK2 also has a very solid set of connectivity options. You get the usual HDMI eARC, digital optical, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, but also Ethernet and an HDMI input (just one, rather than the three on the Bar 1300MK2). The HDMI input supports 4K passthrough, but only at 60Hz, so it's not the best option if you’re looking for peak-performance gaming or anything.

Before we wrap up, I also want to talk about design. On the one hand, the JBL Bar 800MK2 is ingenious. Its use of battery powered rear speakers makes it incredibly versatile. You can place these anywhere in your room for a flexible, wire-free setup, and the speakers can even function as standalone Bluetooth speakers. If they run low on charge, they can even be used while connected to a USB-C power cable. That alone is a huge plus.

But that’s actually where my praise runs dry. The JBL Bar 800MK2 looks quite cheap for the price you pay, with a plasticky one-note appearance. The sub is also very bulky — even more so than the more powerful alternative you get with the JBL Bar 1300MK2. But then again, what the system lacks in style, it certainly makes up for in substance.

When all’s said and done, is the JBL Bar 800MK2 worth the money? Well, its list price of £899 / AU$1,199.95 (about $1,200) may seem steep, but realistically, you’ll be paying less than £650 / AU$850 for it now. At that price, the Bar 800MK2 is well worth it. Despite its bulk and lack of up-firing drivers, it's an excellent performer with incredible virtual Atmos and low-end might, as well as a top-class feature-set and versatile connectivity options.

Want something more slim and stylish? Then I’d recommend scooping up the new Sonos Beam Ultra and building out a system at your own pace. But if you want a great value surround sound package, look no further than the JBL Bar 800MK2.

(Image credit: Future)JBL Bar 800MK2 review: price & release date

• Priced at £899 / AU$1,199.95 (about $1,200)
• First released June 2025

The JBL Bar 800MK2 was released in June 2025 as part of the refreshed MK2 line, alongside the smaller Bar 300MK2 as well as the larger 1000MK2 and 1300MK2. The JBL Bar 800MK2 is priced at £899 / AU$1,199.95 (about $1,200), but can often be found on sale for less than £650 / AU$850. It appears that the soundbar system is still unavailable for purchase in the US, unfortunately.

JBL Bar 800MK2 review: specs

Dimensions

Soundbar: 35.6 x 2 x 5 inches / 854 x 52 x 128mm; subwoofer: 12.8 x 15.7 x 12.8 inches / 325 x 400 x 325 mm; rear speakers: 6.7 x 2 x 5 inches / 169 x 52 x 128mm

Speaker channels

7.1

Connections

1x HDMI eARC, 1x HDMI in, digital optical, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3 (surround speakers use 5.4)

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / Yes

Sub included

Yes

Rear speakers included

Yes

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the JBL Bar 800MK2?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Broad feature-set in JBL One app, great connectivity options, Atmos and DTS:X support.

4.5/5

Performance

Lacks up-firing speakers, but virtual Atmos is great, very expansive sound overall with big bass and clear dialogue.

4.5/5

Design

Not exactly a looker and sub seems very bulky, but the detachable rear speakers are genius.

3.5/5

Setup & usability

Incredibly easy setup and top-tier companion app.

5/5

Value

Well-worth picking up now it's on sale, with excellent sound for the price.

4.5/5

Buy it if…

You want almighty sound for movie nights
The JBL Bar 800MK2 plates up phenomenally powerful, cinematic sound, packing plenty of bass and expansive Dolby Atmos. If you want massive audio for immersive movie-watching, this is a great option.

You’re looking for a soundbar with flexible surrounds
The battery powered surround speakers that come with the JBL Bar 800MK2 are excellent. They sound fantastic, can easily slot onto the main bar to charge up, and don’t require wires when in use. You can even use them as standalone Bluetooth speakers, meaning that their versatility is unmatched.

Don’t buy it if…

You want ‘true’ Dolby Atmos
The JBL Bar 800MK2 lacks dedicated up-firing speakers, meaning that it has to rely on virtual processing to replicate Dolby Atmos content. While the Bar 800MK’s virtual Atmos is genuinely impressive, the larger JBL Bar 1300MK2 should be your go-to for premium spatial sound.

You’re looking for something stylish
The JBL Bar 800MK2 isn’t much of a looker. Its build quality could be better for the price, and the sub seems oversized, especially given that the more powerful 1300MK2 offers a more compact bass unit.

JBL Bar 800MK2 review: also consider

JBL Bar 800MK2

Samsung HW-Q990H

Sonos Beam Ultra

Price

£899 / AU$1,199.95 (about $1,200)

$1,999 / £1,599 / AU$1,999

$699 / £699 / AU$1,099

Dimensions

Soundbar: 35.6 x 2 x 5 inches / 854 x 52 x 128mm; subwoofer: 12.8 x 15.7 x 12.8 inches / 325 x 400 x 325 mm; rear speakers: 6.7 x 2 x 5 inches / 169 x 52 x 128mm

Soundbar: 48.5 x 2.8 x 5.4 inches / 1232 x 70.8 x 138mm; subwoofer: 9.8 x 10.0 x 9.8 inches / 249 x 251.8 x 249mm; rear speaker: 5.1 x 8.0 x 5.5 inches / 129.5 x 201.3 x140.4mm

29.5 x 2.6 x 4.1 inches / 750 x 65 x 105mm

Speaker channels

7.1

11.1.4

7.1.2

Connections

1x HDMI eARC, 1x HDMI in, digital optical, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.3 (surround speakers use 5.4)

1x HDMI out (with eARC), 2x HDMI 2.1 in, optical digital audio, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

HDMI eARC, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, USB-C

Dolby Atmos / DTS:X

Yes / Yes

Yes / Yes

Yes / No

Sub included

Yes

Yes

No

Rear speakers included

Yes

Yes

No

Samsung HW-Q990H
At a glance, this model may seem far too expensive to compete with the Bar 800MK2, but I often see it on sale for close to the JBL’s launch price. This is the ultimate surround sound package, with top-tier cinematic sound, excellent connectivity options, an 11.1.4 channel configuration, and both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support. Up-firing drivers mean you get true Atmos, and HDMI passthrough is on board for ultimate ease of use. Read our full Samsung HW-Q990H review.

Sonos Beam Ultra
The Sonos Beam Ultra is a totally different proposition, but it’s fully worth your consideration. This model has up-firing drivers, incredible bass output, and crystal-clear dialogue, making it amazing for both movies and music. It doesn’t come with a sub or surrounds, but these can be added easily through the Sonos app when purchased separately. This model is more compact, and looks beautiful to boot, so if you’re OK with building out a system of your own rather than getting a pre-built combo, it’s my top recommendation. Read my full Sonos Beam Ultra review.

How I tested the JBL Bar 800MK2

(Image credit: Future)

• Assessed at our TV testing space at Future Labs
• Used 4K Blu-ray for movies and Tidal Connect to stream music
• One of more than 30 soundbars I’ve tested

I spent many hours using the JBL Bar 800MK2 for watching movies and listening to music. I judged its capabilities at our TV testing space at Future Labs, made use of all of the soundbar’s features, and tried it with multiple surround speaker configurations.

Most of the time, I used HDMI eARC to connect the LG G6 OLED TV, and watched 4K Blu-ray discs via the Panasonic DP-UB820 to assess the soundbar’s handling of Dolby Atmos movies. I did, however, also test the Bar 800MK2 with Netflix movies, and used Tidal Connect to stream music over Wi-Fi.

More generally, I’ve tested more than 30 soundbars during my time here at TechRadar, where I serve as a Senior Reviews Writer. I’ve reviewed everything from budget-friendly bars like the Sony HT-SF150 through to huge surround sound systems such as the Bar 800MK2’s big sibling, the JBL Bar 1300MK2.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: October 2026

• An AI tool called Raven can cross-reference fixtures, fittings, and other interior details to find the location of a property
• It pinpoints properties using data scraped from Airbnb and other sites
• Raven was previously known as GeoSpy and was initially conceived to identify locations based on landmarks

A new AI tool that can identify a property’s location using interior photos has been publicized online. Already in use by law enforcement agencies in Florida and California, Raven uses AI to match fixtures and fittings and decorative elements from photos with information sourced online.

Following the publication of a video demonstrating the software, Raven has attracted attention from some of the websites it apparently uses to acquire the information it uses. The sites – which include Airbnb – seem to have concerns about how the data and images they collect is being used.

Raven’s existence could potentially be used to find the location of any property – assuming that its address and similar images already exist online.

Innocent? Your home is safe

Raven has been used by the LAPD and the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office in Florida. Its main purpose so far has been in tackling human trafficking, but the software represents obvious privacy challenges which its creators seem to be sidestepping at this stage.

The most important takeaway is that as long as your home (or business premises) hasn’t been used for criminal activities and photos of its interior aren’t online, then you have nothing to worry about.

Daniel Heinen of Raven developers Graylark described the product as “purpose-built AI for the people working to find answers and protect lives.”

However, some of the websites that Raven uses to gather information have expressed concern. The video of Raven in action appears to show the software using both Zillow, Vrbo, and Airbnb, with the latter reviewing the situation. Zillow stated scraping its data was against its ToS.

These issues could prove to be a challenge to the successful use of Raven across a wider area.

Matching interiors

Raven essentially breaches privacy by providing the location of an interior photo. Assuming a similar photo of the same interior exists online with an address attached – such as on Airbnb or a property site – then Raven should be able to identify it.

Heinen doesn’t mention the privacy challenges in his LinkedIn post about Raven, instead focusing on the software’s “ability to geolocate interior images across millions of short-term rental units worldwide.”

While highlighting the use of short-term rentals for human trafficking, the post focuses on Raven’s USP: “For investigators, a photo or video from inside a property may be a critical lead, but without an address or location tag, knowing where to start can be difficult. Raven helps investigators match interior imagery to potential properties, turning visual clues into location leads they can review and verify.”

It would seem likely that for Raven to be embraced successfully by other police departments in the US and beyond, it would need to accept regional privacy laws and build partnerships with the companies it appears to be scraping.

Looking for a different day?

A new Quordle puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: Quordle hints and answers for Friday, October 23 (game #1733).

Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,500 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today — or scroll down further for the answers.

Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles, while Marc's Wordle today column covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

Quordle today (game #1734) — hint #1 — VowelsHow many different vowels are in Quordle today?

• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 5*.

* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).

Quordle today (game #1734) — hint #2 — repeated lettersDo any of today's Quordle answers contain repeated letters?

• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 0.

Quordle today (game #1734) — hint #3 — uncommon lettersDo the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?

• Yes. One of Q, Z, X or J appears among today's Quordle answers.

Quordle today (game #1734) — hint #4 — starting letters (1)Do any of today's Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?

• The number of today's Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 2.

If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you're not ready yet then here's one more clue to make things a lot easier:

Quordle today (game #1734) — hint #5 — starting letters (2)What letters do today's Quordle answers start with?

• T

• S

• M

• S

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

Quordle today (game #1734) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle, game #1734, are…

• TOXIN
• SMART
• MOUSE
• STYLE

Our first five-vowel game for a while also delivered the rare letter X.

Even though I was sure the word in the first column was TOXIN I still hesitated to guess it until I’d completed the others.

That’s the thing about rare letters, it’s very hard to not handle them with care.

Daily Sequence today (game #1734) — the answers

(Image credit: Merriam-Webster)

The answers to today's Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1734, are…

• SUING
• THERE
• TENET
• BRIEF

Quordle answers: The past 20

• Quordle #1733, Friday, 23 October: BLIMP, HOIST, FRIED, LURID
• Quordle #1732, Thursday, 22 October: DECAL, WIDTH, WOKEN, LEVER
• Quordle #1731, Wednesday, 21 October: MOIST, VALVE, VERSE, NORTH
• Quordle #1730, Tuesday, 20 October: COYLY, SAUNA, TRIAL, RASPY
• Quordle #1729, Monday, 19 October: EXIST, DECOY, HITCH, FLUID
• Quordle #1728, Sunday, 18 October: FLINT, FUROR, WEDGE, RODEO
• Quordle #1727, Saturday, 17 October: QUARK, ENEMY, SPASM, BLOCK
• Quordle #1726, Friday, 16 October: SHORT, WORTH, JOIST, SLUNK
• Quordle #1725, Thursday, 15 October: STALE, EPOCH, PIANO, CORNY
• Quordle #1724, Wednesday, 14 October: TIMID, GROUP, GRILL, EVERY
• Quordle #1723, Tuesday, 13 October: FLUFF, DEBUT, TEETH, STEIN
• Quordle #1722, Monday, 12 October: HELLO, BELOW, RIGHT, SLANT
• Quordle #1721, Sunday, 11 October: LILAC, INLET, TRIAD, SHAPE
• Quordle #1720, Saturday, 10 October: SWEAT, THIRD, RURAL, CLASP
• Quordle #1719, Friday, 9 October: OLDEN, DUNCE, SWATH, HILLY
• Quordle #1718, Thursday, 8 October: MINTY, ROWER, BROOD, RESET
• Quordle #1717, Wednesday, 7 October: PALER, FROTH, DOZEN, ERASE
• Quordle #1716, Tuesday, 6 October: FRESH, SKULK, BATCH, ENSUE
• Quordle #1715, Monday, 5 October: SIXTH, SPEAK, SEDAN, HEIST
• Quordle #1714, Sunday, 4 October: INFER, RAINY, THING, ARENA

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Connections puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, October 23 (game #1230).

Good morning! Let's play Connections, the NYT's clever word game that challenges you to group answers in various categories. It can be tough, so read on if you need Connections hints.

What should you do once you've finished? Why, play some more word games of course. I've also got daily Strands hints and answers and Quordle hints and answers articles if you need help for those too, while Marc's Wordle today page covers the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Connections today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Connections today (game #1231) - today's words

(Image credit: New York Times)

Today's NYT Connections words are…

• COMIC
• SALAD
• BACON
• SPARKLER
• POPSICLE
• POP-UP
• CANDY
• HOBBY HORSE
• BANNER
• PINWHEEL
• SPACE
• FILM
• INTERSTITIAL
• SPORTS
• MÖBIUS
• OVERLAY

NYT Connections today (game #1231) - hint #1 - group hints

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

• YELLOW: Come in narrow pieces
• GREEN: A format you can hold
• BLUE: Methods of internet advertising
• PURPLE: Add a word that rhymes with “car”

Need more clues?

We're firmly in spoiler territory now, but read on if you want to know what the four theme answers are for today's NYT Connections puzzles…

NYT Connections today (game #1231) - hint #2 - group answers

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

• YELLOW: KINDS OF STRIPS
• GREEN: THINGS ON STICKS
• BLUE: ONLINE AD FORMATS
• PURPLE: _____ BAR

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

NYT Connections today (game #1231) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Connections, game #1231, are…

• YELLOW: KINDS OF STRIPS: BACON, COMIC, FILM, MÖBIUS
• GREEN: THINGS ON STICKS: HOBBY HORSE, PINWHEEL, POPSICLE, SPARKLER
• BLUE: ONLINE AD FORMATS: BANNER, INTERSTITIAL, OVERLAY, POP-UP
• PURPLE: _____ BAR: CANDY, SALAD, SPACE, SPORTS

• My rating: Hard
• My score: 1 mistake

Unlike TV and print advertising, ONLINE AD FORMATS are not something people are going to feel much nostalgia for in the future, mainly because in order to work they decided that they had to be annoying, flickering things that got in the way of what you actually wanted to look at on the internet.

This is where I made my mistake — guessing PINWHEEL before deciding that INTERSTITIAL sounded like the sort of annoying word that belonged in the world of online ads; these are the ones that take up the entire screen and require you to hunt for the X to click off them.

I can’t help thinking online advertising would be more successful if they could find a way to make it less annoying.

Yesterday's NYT Connections answers (Friday, October 23, 2026, game #1230)

• YELLOW: FORTHRIGHT: DIRECT, FRANK, OPEN, VOCAL
• GREEN: THINGS YOU INSTALL ON A COMPUTER: DRIVER, EXTENSION, PLUGIN, UPDATE
• BLUE: QUANTITIES IN A FORMULA FOR POWER: DISTANCE, FORCE, POWER, TIME
• PURPLE: _____ TAP: DOUBLE, LOVE, PHONE, SPINAL

What is NYT Connections?

NYT Connections is one of several increasingly popular word games made by the New York Times. It challenges you to find groups of four items that share something in common, and each group has a different difficulty level: green is easy, yellow a little harder, blue often quite tough and purple usually very difficult.

On the plus side, you don't technically need to solve the final one, as you'll be able to answer that one by a process of elimination. What's more, you can make up to four mistakes, which gives you a little bit of breathing room.

It's a little more involved than something like Wordle, however, and there are plenty of opportunities for the game to trip you up with tricks. For instance, watch out for homophones and other word games that could disguise the answers.

It's playable for free via the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

Looking for a different day?

A new NYT Strands puzzle appears at midnight each day for your time zone – which means that some people are always playing 'today's game' while others are playing 'yesterday's'. If you're looking for Friday's puzzle instead then click here: NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, October 23 (game #964).

Strands is the NYT's latest word game after the likes of Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it's great fun. It can be difficult, though, so read on for my Strands hints.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games, and Marc's Wordle today page for the original viral word game.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about NYT Strands today is below, so don't read on if you don't want to know the answers.

NYT Strands today (game #965) - hint #1 - today's themeWhat is the theme of today's NYT Strands?

• Today's NYT Strands theme is… Re-fresh-ing

NYT Strands today (game #965) - hint #2 - clue words

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

• DRAKE
• READY
• SUNDRY
• CASK
• DETER
• GREED

NYT Strands today (game #965) - hint #3 - spangram lettersHow many letters are in today's spangram?

• Spangram has 10 letters

NYT Strands today (game #965) - hint #4 - spangram positionWhat are two sides of the board that today's spangram touches?

• First side: left, 4th row

• Last side: right, 4th row

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

NYT Strands today (game #965) - the answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today's Strands, game #965, are…

• BASKET
• WASHER
• SINK
• RACK
• DETERGENT
• IRON
• SPANGRAM: LAUNDRYDAY

• My rating: Easy
• My score: Perfect

I didn’t need any hints, but I didn’t exactly smash this game out of the park…

Instead of seeing DETERGENT I added “deter” and “gent”, I bailed out of connecting LAUNDRYDAY at “laundry” and tried to tap out “cark” before RACK.

Having made such inelegant progress, it was somewhat ironic to be rewarded with the “perfect!” pop-up, as much like my own efforts at clothes washing it was far from it.

Yesterday's NYT Strands answers (Friday, October 23, game #964)

• NOSY
• EAVESDROPPING
• INQUISITIVE
• SNOOPY
• PRYING
• SPANGRAM: BUSYBODY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT's not-so-new-any-more word game, following Wordle and Connections. It's now a fully fledged member of the NYT's games stable that has been running for a year and which can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I've got a full guide to how to play NYT Strands, complete with tips for solving it, so check that out if you're struggling to beat it each day.

It's a big day for both Apple and Major League Baseball (MLB). Today, October 23, 2026, Apple launched its biggest iPhone change ever: the iPhone Duo. But in just a few hours, baseball's most important series will kick off, with the Tampa Bay Rays facing the Milwaukee Brewers in the World Series. Game 1 starts at 8 p.m. ET.

And there's a commonality here: MLB has launched a redesigned app experience built to take advantage of the iPhone Duo's foldable form factor. So, if you were lucky enough to pick one up, you can tune into the World Series on your Duo's 5.4-inch cover screen. Or, let's be real, you'll open it up and watch on that enormous 7.6-inch inner display, complete with its Nano-texture finish.

But this experience is more than just giving baseball a bigger screen. MLB has been working on the new experience since Apple announced the iPhone Duo on September 9, getting it ready for launch in just 44 days.

You can fold the iPhone Duo like a mini laptop — ahem, MacBook — or prop it up in a seated position, with the livestream on top and real-time, updating box scores on the bottom. Watch in full screen on either display, or split the screen with another app. Whether it's X (formerly Twitter), Threads, a group chat to discuss the game, or even Apple's Sports app, you can keep up with the conversation while keeping an eye on the action.

The idea is to meet fans where they are and make the most of the hardware they have in their hands. The iPhone Duo gives MLB a new canvas, but the real opportunity is to deliver something useful with it—an experience that makes following baseball feel more natural, not just bigger.

(Image credit: Apple)

Sean Curtis, MLB's chief technology officer, told TechRadar that he's particularly excited about combining the league's Game Day experience with live video.

"I'm really excited about, you know, the full-screen nature of just like how good our video looks on Apple devices and just really take that in as like, 'hey, this just came from my phone, but it really feels like just such a quality experience,'" Curtis said.

"I really like our Game Day experience merged with video, so watch video [and] live stats."

The combination lets fans follow the action and keep tabs on the numbers in one place, rather than bouncing between the two. MLB is also using AI to generate additional information about individual plays, players, and game situations, adding context to the action as it unfolds.

"When you get into Game Day, and you're actually applying context to the events, we're using AI to actually generate more information about each play, each player, each situation," Curtis said.

For a sport with so much happening between pitches, that combination could be particularly compelling. The video gives you the action, while the data helps explain it. Rather than forcing fans to choose between watching and digging into the numbers, MLB wants to bring those two parts of the experience closer together.

Kenny Gersh, MLB's executive vice president of Media, Business Development, and Product, highlighted the simple appeal of opening the device and immediately having a much bigger screen ready for video.

"You're on a phone that's in your pocket, you're sitting down somewhere, and just to be able to go like that — whoops, I messed it up with my finger — but to have it just open right up into that is amazing," Gersh told TechRadar.

It's a straightforward idea, but one that makes sense for live sports. The phone can stay compact in your pocket until you're ready to settle in and watch, at which point the larger inner display gives the MLB app more room to shine.

(Image credit: Jacob Krol/Future)

MLB's relationship with Apple goes back to the early days of the App Store. The league was among the first 500 apps available on the original iPhone, and its iPad app was ready for launch day, earning a spotlight during the original iPad keynote.

As Greg Joswiak, Apple's senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing, told TechRadar, "Sports are important to us; it's important to our users.” Over the years, the partnership has evolved alongside Apple's products and platforms. Gersh recalled working with Apple on HTTP Live Streaming (HLS), helping advance the technology needed to deliver live video reliably, including advertising insertion.

More recently, Apple and MLB have explored new ways to bring fans closer to the action, including spatial sports broadcasts on Apple Vision Pro and the use of iPhone cameras to capture footage for baseball broadcasts on Apple TV.

The iPhone Duo is the latest chapter in that relationship, and it feels particularly interesting. MLB isn't just showing fans that baseball works on a foldable phone; it's exploring how a different kind of device could change the way they follow the game.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

And this is only the beginning. As the new experience arrives and the World Series gets underway, MLB has some of baseball's biggest games ahead to see how fans respond. Those early learnings could shape what comes next, with the off-season offering a chance to refine the experience and build something even more compelling for next year's Opening Day.

Curtis hinted at further developments he can't discuss yet, particularly around keeping fans engaged with the app without pulling them away from a live game.

For now, a 7.6-inch inner display, live video, real-time stats, and AI-generated context give baseball fans a new way to follow the action on their phones. The World Series offers an ideal first test, and the off-season gives MLB time to build on what it learns. If the league gets that balance right, the next version of its app could be even more compelling when baseball returns for Opening Day.

• Stranger Than Heaven director Mikinobu Abe says the game's Showbiz system was "a real challenge" for RGG Studio
• Abe says lots of research was put into finding out what a show promoter does and how to depict that in-game
• Abe adds that "At some point we did have a small rhythm game," but the idea didn't match the team's vision

Stranger Than Heaven director Mikinobu Abe has revealed how RGG Studio designed the game's Showbiz narrative system and how difficult it was to get right.

In an interview with TechRadar Gaming, Abe said the Showbiz, an entertainment management system requiring the main character, Makoto Daito, to build a business, find sources of inspiration for music, and plan productions as a promoter, "was a real challenge for us."

The director explained that RGG started by asking: what does a promoter actually do? Because "you know what a singer does, and you know what a band does, but you don't exactly know what a promoter does in the music industry," so research began from there.

Abe revealed that "At some point we did have a small rhythm game, but it didn't exactly match the feeling that you're promoting a show," so the team went back to the whiteboard phase to try different things.

"One thing that we noticed is that a promoter is the person who brings in not just the money, but also the inspiration and the whole vision of the show," Abe said. "We thought that's an interesting aspect that we can put into this game."

In Stranger Than Heaven, players can walk around cities and interact with things in the environment, like a grandfather clock or a bonfire, and collect sounds as inspiration for music. Daito can then take these samples and collaborate with a composer to create new music and plan a production for the singer and band.

"The inspiration sources are basically like when you have a certain job, you always have these antennas looking for something," Abe said. "So, if you're a musician, you always have this antenna for the music you're hearing, and that can inspire people to create new stuff, and that was no different for Makoto as well.

Abe added, "That's why this game system of finding and then using that inspiration to create music came to life in the game."

Stranger Than Heaven releases on January 15, 2027, for PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.

• Samsung Display is developing more efficient OLED pixel tech to rival LG's FLiPP tech
• It could start production very soon, but the prototype is only 7 inches
• The tech seems to target watch and phone screens over larger panels

As we reported last week, LG Display is moving forward with next-gen Fine Metal Mask-free OLED pixels that could mean brighter, more efficient and maybe more affordable OLED panels. And it looks like Samsung Display is thinking along very similar lines.

A new report by trade site The Elec says that Samsung Display has been working on a prototype seven-inch FMM-free OLED panel using its proprietary Micro Patterned OLED technology, or MPO for short.

The Elec has been speaking to unnamed industry sources, who said that Samsung has been working on MPO product development since March 2026 with a target date at the end of 2026, although that may slip into early 2027.

As with LG's FLiPP technology, the plan is to focus on a particular screen size at first. Samsung is aiming at phone or watch-sized displays, while LG is aiming at laptop or monitor-sized displays. (Neither is aiming at TVs in the near future, alas.)

But while the two companies are taking slightly different approaches to FMM-free manufacturing, the result is likely to be the same: brighter, more efficient and more affordable OLED panels.

LG's FLiPP process promises to reduce waste and make OLED production more efficient (Image credit: LG Display)What is Samsung Display's MPO technology, and how does it differ from LG Display's FLiPP?

First, why do these companies want to drop 'Fine Metal Mask' tech? This is currently how the material for OLED pixels is deposited into each pixel, and while the tech is useful and mature, it makes for pixels that aren't very efficient.

The primary goal of moving to a more efficient tech is make it so that more of the area of each pixel is filled with light-emitting elements, which means the panel will be brighter, or can be the same brightness but uses less power to do it, which great for battery life and longevity of devices. FMM-free pixels could also be cheaper to make, long-term.

LG's FLiPP technology (FMM-Less innovative Pixel Patterning) essentially covers the panel with organic materials and then removes the bits it doesn't want via etching and photolithography. MPO does things slightly differently, creating microscopic structures that fence in the organic materials so they're only laid where they need to go. Those structures are then removed. That means less waste and simpler manufacturing, which will ultimately mean lower manufacturing costs, in theory.

The most important difference may not be technical, however: as The Elec points out, there are various active patents regarding FMM-free technologies, and MPO may enable Samsung Display to avoid them.

What we don't know yet is how well the technology will scale. As one of the unnamed industry insiders explained, "MPO is being developed in a direction better suited to high-resolution OLED displays than medium- and large-sized panels. Once a 7-inch-class sample is available, it will be possible to assess how effectively MPO’s technical advantages can be realized at an actual product size."

The big problems for OLED screens, and the thing that keeps them more expensive than LCD panels, is yield rates — that means how many panels you produce are actually usable. The new FMM-free technologies might work perfectly and be cheaper in terms of the material used, but if only 50% of the panels you make are good enough to ship, you haven't actually saved anything.

That's why the production test runs of both technologies will be the make-or-break moment — though both are behind the roll-out of inkjet-printed OLED, arriving in monitors now, which hopes to deliver all the same advantages.

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

Apple Watch Series 12: One minute review

While the Apple Watch Series 12 is a decidedly modern-looking smartwatch in a pleasingly thin profile, it’s not a major redesign from the Cupertino-based tech giant. And if you're upgrading from the Series 11, you'll probably notice more of a difference in what the watch can do rather than in how it looks. Apple has updated the Health Sensing System (its array of LEDs and sensors used to collect your health data), introduced Readiness Score, and made everyday tracking more useful, with real-time steps and heart-rate information easier to access.

I've been wearing the Series 12 for more than a month, and Readiness Score is the addition I've found myself using the most. It takes your sleep and other health data and turns it into a score out of 10, giving you a quick idea of how ready you might be for the day. I've generally found the results match how I feel, and it's a feature that can genuinely influence what I do, whether that's heading out for a workout or taking a longer walk with my dog, Rosie.

I've also been comparing the Series 12 with the Series 11, Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, as well as the Oura Ring 5 and Pixel Watch 5. That has helped me put Apple's latest watch into context, particularly when looking at health tracking and heart-rate readings. The Series 12 has generally delivered the sort of everyday experience I'd expect from an Apple Watch, with battery life that's worked well for me most of the time.

A couple of things to consider, though. The design is very familiar, so there's little reason to upgrade purely for its appearance, and I did have two nights when the battery ran out before morning. Apple's upcoming AI features are also still a reason to wait rather than buy immediately. If they're what you're most interested in.

For anyone using an older Apple Watch, particularly a Series 9 or earlier, the Series 12 makes a much stronger case. The combination of newer health features, Readiness Score, performance, and battery life makes this an upgrade worth considering.

Apple Watch Series 12: Specs Table

Component

Apple Watch Series 12 (42mm)

Apple Watch Series 12 (46mm)

Price

$399 / £369 / AU$679 for the 42mm

$429 / £399 / AU$699 for the 46mm

Dimension

46 x 40 x 9.7mm

42 x 37 x 9.7mm

Weight

31.5g (without band)

38.6g (without band)

Case/bezel

Aluminum, Titanium, or Ceramic

Aluminum, Titanium, or Ceramic

Display

42mm Always-On Retina LTPO3 OLED display (up to 2,000 nits)

46mm Always-On Retina LTPO3 OLED display (up to 2,000 nits)

Processor

Apple-made S11 chip

Apple-made S11 chip

GPS

Precision L1 GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)

Precision L1 GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, and BeiDou)

Battery life

Up to 24 hours with normal use

Up to 24 hours with normal use

Connections

4G LTE, Satellite SOS, Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.3

Wi‑Fi 4 (802.11n), Bluetooth 5.3, and 4G LTE

Water resistant

Water resistance 50m

Water resistance 50m

Apple Watch Series 12: Price and availability

• $399 / £369 / AU$679 for the 42mm
• $429 / £399 / AU$699 for the 46mm
• Prices unchanged from last year

The Apple Watch Series 12 starts at $399 / £369 / AU$679 for the 42mm with a recycled aluminum case and standard strap, and $429 / £399 / AU$699 for the 46mm. LTE-capable models, which can be added to your data plans, as well as optional improvements to the finish — titanium or ceramic — are available at an additional cost.

It doesn’t represent outstanding value in the same way as, let’s say, the Amazfit Active 3 Premium might, but it’s fine — the price has actually held steady on Apple Watches for the last couple of years, which is encouraging given the electronics industry is undergoing a supply chain crisis at the moment.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Design

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Same ‘squircle’ and digital crown design
• Retains slimmer look from Series 11
• Redesigned sensor array and GPS architecture

If you expect the Apple Watch Series 12 to look substantially different from the Series 11, you'll be disappointed. Apple has kept the familiar rectangular ‘squircle’ design, with the Digital Crown and side button on the case, and the overall look remains very much the same.

After using the Series 12 for more than a month and comparing it with the Series 11, I haven't found the exterior to be a major reason to upgrade. It doesn't look dramatically different on your wrist, and Apple hasn't tried to reinvent a design that already works.

That's not necessarily a problem, though. The Apple Watch Series 12 remains a comfortable everyday smartwatch, and wearing it all day and overnight matters when you use it for sleep tracking and the Readiness Score. The biggest changes are on the rear of the case, as Apple has redesigned the LEDs and internal architecture to make its data collection more accurate. However, a watch can have all the health features in the world, but they're less useful if you don't want to wear it consistently.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

The Series 12 comes in 42mm and 46mm sizes, with aluminum and titanium options alongside ceramic, which is returning and still adds a bit more heft. That gives you some choice in look and finish, though the core experience stays the same. The aluminum model is the more straightforward choice for most people, while titanium and ceramic offer alternatives if materials and appearance matter more to you.

The always-on OLED display is familiar, too. It lets you glance at the time, check a notification, or see your workout metrics without having to wake the screen manually. That's one of those features that quickly becomes part of your routine, particularly if you use complications to keep useful information on the watch face.

One addition I've found handy is the real-time step-count complication. I check steps regularly, and seeing the number at a glance saves me from opening the Fitness app. The heart rate complication works the same way, especially when I want to keep an eye on my readings during the day.

Compared with the Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, the Series 12 feels more like a familiar everyday watch. The Ultra models have their own appeal, particularly if you want a larger, more rugged watch, but the Series 12 is easier to recommend to someone who doesn't need that design.

The main point is that the Series 12 doesn't feel like a new design generation. If you're upgrading, look at the back of the case, with its improved health features enabling the Readiness Score and overall experience, rather than expecting a noticeable aesthetic change to the watch itself.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Features

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• Readiness score is a major boon
• More frequent heart rate data collection
• Upcoming Audio Intelligence features

The Readiness Score is the biggest reason I'd consider the Series 12, and it stood out most during my testing. It uses overnight sleep and HRV data, along with other health and activity information and some custom processing, to produce a score from 1 to 10. The idea is to give you a quick indication of how ready you might be for the day, rather than leaving you to interpret a collection of separate metrics yourself. Tested against the Garmin Cirqa, our senior fitness editor Matt Evans found both devices provided identical Readiness scores after wearing both for one week’s worth of sleep.

I like how Apple presents it: a half-moon graphic that’s easy to read, with an accompanying explanation that gives context for the score. It feels grounded in the data, rather than relying on vague wellness language that doesn't explain why you got a particular result.

My scores have generally been high, and they've mostly matched how I've felt. Getting my first 10 out of 10 was satisfying, of course, but the more interesting part is how I can use the information. If I've slept well and feel good, a strong score might encourage me to fit in a workout or take Rosie on a longer walk. It won't make every decision for me, but it gives me another useful piece of information to consider.

I've used an Oura Ring before, so I know the appeal of a daily Readiness score and the help it can provide beyond raw data. I appreciate that Apple built the feature into the watch I already use. I don't need to add another device to my routine, and Readiness Score doesn't require a separate subscription.

That makes it a particularly interesting addition for existing Apple Watch owners who want more from the health data their watch collects. Instead of simply checking how long I slept or looking at the previous day's activity, I get a more immediate summary I can use to plan my day. However, we have to acknowledge the wait for this feature — most other devices have had Readiness for years, but Apple has stated the feature has been enabled by its redesigned sensors taking heart rate and HRV readings more frequently, up to 60 times more often than previous Apple Watches.

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

I've also been paying attention to heart rate readings while comparing the Series 12 with the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and Ultra 4, along with the Oura Ring 5 and Pixel Watch 5. In my everyday use, the Series 12's readings have been broadly consistent with what I've seen from those other devices.

Having heart rate information readily available is useful during workouts, too. I've used the watch for yoga, outdoor walks and runs, and indoor cycling, and it has fit naturally into those sessions. The real-time heart rate complication also makes it easier to check my readings without navigating away from the watch face.

The Series 12 retains the wider Apple Watch health feature set, including ECG, heart-rate notifications, wrist-temperature sensing, sleep tracking, respiratory-rate tracking, cycle tracking, hearing-health features, hypertension notifications and blood-oxygen tracking where supported. These aren't all new to this generation, but they contribute to the overall package.

Apple's upcoming AI (‘Audio Intelligence’ this time) features aren't a strong reason to buy right now. Live Rewind and Siri Recap sound interesting, but I haven't been able to test them because they aren’t out yet. If you're considering the Series 12 for those, I'd wait until Apple confirms when they're shipping and what will be available in your region, as there is some contention with Siri AI in certain regions such as the EU.

For now, Readiness Score is the feature I'd focus on. It's useful today, fits into the existing Apple Watch experience, and has made the biggest difference in how I use the Series 12. Best of all, it’s not locked behind another subscription … and that’s simply refreshing.

• Design score: 5/5

Apple Watch Series 12: Performance

(Image credit: Future/Jacob Krol)

• S11 chip drives excellent performance
• Accurate compared to other wearables
• Responsive with no stutters

While the Series 12 still feels and looks like an Apple Watch in pretty much every sense of the word, you can’t judge a book by its cover, especially when it comes to performance. Under the hood, the Series 12 runs on Apple’s new S11 chip, and the new health-sensing system on the back enables the Readiness score and HRV features. All of this comes together to make the Series 12 feel responsive, with none-to-minimal stutters when calling on a particular feature set.

I've now used the Series 12 for more than a month, and I've compared it directly alongside the Series 11, Ultra 3, and Ultra 4. These comparisons have helped me understand how the Series 12 fits into the wider wearable landscape, and while the latest generation doesn’t run laps around the previous gen or the one before that, the responsiveness is definitely noticeable.

Whether you’re customizing a Watch Face with your favorite complications, calling on Siri to remember a piece of information or drafting a message, controlling media playback, making a call, recording a voice memo, checking your activity score, monitoring your heart rate, or starting a workout, the Series 12 feels very responsive. We’ve also tested the same heart rate system, albeit on the Ultra 4, against a chest-mounted heart rate monitor, the Frontier X2, alongside the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro, and found Apple’s latest gen is highly accurate.

Battery life has been good overall, and it certainly meets Apple's all-day battery life promise. On a normal day with plenty of interaction points and one extended workout, I typically have around 30%–45% battery remaining by bedtime. That's enough to get through a normal day, and faster charging makes it easier to top up when I need to. Depending on how I use it, I can get through a full day and sometimes stretch it to a day and a half.

So far, the Series 12 has run out of battery overnight twice, and I think it’s especially worth mentioning because you need a full night of sleep data to wake up with a Readiness Score. And that means an unexpected shutdown can interrupt that routine. My general solution, even if the percentage hasn’t dropped super low, is to give it a quick charge before bed rather than assuming it will always have enough power to last the night.

The faster charging helps here. A short top-up with the USB-C to Apple Watch dongle that ships with the Series 12 can make it easier to keep the watch going overnight while still wearing it.

If you’re coming from an older Apple Watch, the all-day battery life paired with fast-charging will likely make a big difference. It’s not just a quality-of-life upgrade from, say, a Series 10 or older; compared with the rest of the features, it's a significant leap in what watchOS can accomplish and how long you go before you need to charge.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Apple Watch Series 12?Buy it if..

You're upgrading from an Apple Watch Series 9 or older and want better health tracking, Readiness Score, and faster charging.

You want a responsive everyday smartwatch with useful at-a-glance health metrics and no extra subscription for Readiness Score.

Don’t buy it if..

You already own an Apple Watch Series 11 and want a major design change or a substantial leap in performance.

You're buying primarily for Apple's upcoming AI features, or you need battery life you can count on for every night of sleep tracking without a top-up.

Also consider

Garmin Fenix 9 Pro

The Apple Watch Ultra 4's biggest competitor in the premium adventure watch space.

Read our full Garmin Fenix 9 Pro review

How we tested

We tested the Apple Watch Series 12 by wearing it day and night, tracking workouts, monitoring sleep, and putting its features to the test over multiple weeks. We compared its health and fitness readings with other wearables and an electrical heart rate monitor, tested battery life, and explored as many features as possible to see how it holds up in everyday use.

First reviewed October 2026.

• Marvell reveals Photonic Fabric Memory Module, the building block of a 16-module appliance sharing 32TB of DDR5 and 1,152GB of HBM3e across 16 hosts over fiber
• The design dates back to Celestial AI's 2025 presentations, currently remains pre-silicon, and is targeting customer sampling by 2027
• Nvidia is already hedging with a $2 billion Marvell stake in addition to its own BlueField-4 STX context memory, Enfabrica's pooling tech, and a co-packaged optics roadmap

Marvell has put physical hardware behind one of the more ambitious ideas in AI infrastructure.

In a video posted to X, and earlier in a theCUBE interview recorded around its October 6 Investor Day, the company showed off its Photonic Fabric Memory Module, which it bills as the "first optically interconnected high-capacity, high-bandwidth memory."

The pitch is simple: use light instead of copper so that dozens of terabytes of memory can sit in a separate box, racks away, and be shared by many processors at once, something that could effectively birth the widespread use of communal or shared memory across multiple AI servers.

Two terabytes at a time

Some clarity, however, is warranted: the 32TB figure belongs not to the module but to the Photonic Fabric Memory Appliance, which gangs 16 modules together and shares the pool across up to 16 hosts.

Those hosts can be whole servers or individual accelerators, so 16 GPUs might understate the potential reach in one sense and at the same time, overstate the bandwidth any single GPU will see in another. Nothing is shipping just yet, either: Marvell is targeting customer sampling in 2027.

Each module pairs 72GB of HBM3e with slots for up to eight DDR5 DIMMs, a Photonic Fabric ASIC, and 7.2Tbps of optical I/O, according to Marvell's August 2026 Hot Interconnects presentation.

Hitting 2TB per module means filling all eight slots with 256GB RDIMMs and sixteen modules, joined by a passive all-to-all fiber shuffle rather than an electrical switch, yields 32TB of DDR5 plus 1,152GB of HBM3e, which Marvell rounds to about 1TB and runs as a faster write-through cache in front of the DRAM.

Marvell is going after the economics of today's accelerators. HBM sits roughly 1.5 millimeters from the processor inside the same package, so the only way to buy more of it is to buy more processors. This is increasingly expensive because HBM is extremely costly, and it also means a GPU essentially acts as "the world's most expensive memory controller," as per Dave Lazovsky.

The target workload is the KV cache, the working memory a large language model keeps for each conversation, which balloons with long contexts and agentic sessions. Once it outgrows local HBM and host DRAM, servers either evict it and recompute, or fetch it from much slower storage. This has significant performance implications, and Marvell plans to mitigate it differently.

Ravi Mahatme, who leads product management for the Photonic Fabric unit, said the biggest payoff of a shared tier is "a cross-node KV cache," letting one accelerator reuse context another has already computed. Will Chu, Marvell's EVP of Custom Cloud Solutions, made the broader case in the company's FMS announcement: "As AI scales, memory must scale more independently of compute."

The CAPEX argument is rooted in this: If operators can buy memory separately from accelerators, they no longer need to buy GPUs just to get capacity. This makes sense, but Marvell has yet to put a number to it, even as a May 2026 company blog talks about lower memory cost per gigabyte and lower inference costs without figures, and Celestial AI's 2025 conference slides promised benefits beyond TCO reduction with no supporting numbers.

The timing also isn't ideal for harnessing cheap memory: the approach's 128 DIMM slots draw on the same DDR5 caught up in the current memory crunch, where server RDIMM prices have climbed faster than consumer memory, now around 5.5 times their pre-crisis price in the US.

The appliance design is not entirely new either; Celestial AI presented the same architecture, 16 modules holding 32TB of DDR and about 1TB of HBM, at Hot Interconnects in August 2025, and TechRadar has covered its DDR5-plus-HBM approach back in 2024. What has changed is the Marvell badge, a physical module, and a sampling date.

Nvidia is already hedging, both as an investor and a pioneer

The idea that Nvidia won't sit idle is more than an assumption, because it has been moving for more than a year, including taking a stake in Marvell itself. In March 2026, Nvidia invested $2 billion in Marvell in a deal covering NVLink Fusion and silicon photonics, with Jensen Huang declaring that "The inference inflection has arrived."

It is also important to understand that every NVLink Fusion platform must include at least one Nvidia product, so Nvidia gets paid even when custom silicon wins the socket, but that doesn't mean it doesn't want a piece of that pie anyway.

It is bringing its own answers to the same memory problem in multiple ways; A single Vera Rubin NVL72 rack carries 54TB of LPDDR5X, more than Marvell's entire appliance.

At Nvidia GTC 2026, the company launched BlueField-4 STX, a flash-based context memory tier built for KV cache, claiming up to five times the token throughput of CPU-based storage, with Huang saying reasoning AI needs "a new class of storage." Partner systems are due in the second half of 2026. Back in 2025, Nvidia reportedly spent more than $900 million on Enfabrica, whose EMFASYS system pooled up to 18TB of memory for GPU clusters.

On optics, Nvidia has put $4 billion into Lumentum and Coherent, unveiled photonics switches at GTC 2025, and will offer co-packaged optics as an NVLink option in Feynman-generation systems due in 2028. On the choice between copper and optical scale-up, Huang has said: "We're going to do both."

Marvell still has a long way to go: working silicon, a named customer, a memory partner, and measured throughput on real hardware rather than simulated curves all need to play out exactly as planned.

Until then, the appliance is a well-argued blueprint, and the CAPEX savings remain an argument rather than a number. The irony is hard to miss: the company whose GPUs Lazovsky casts as the world's priciest memory controller owns a $2 billion slice of Marvell, and through NVLink Fusion, stands to earn on the racks either way.

Khadas Mind Pro: 30-second review

Having reviewed the Khadas Mind 2S just over a year ago, I was impressed by just how much processing power Khadas had managed to squeeze into such a small machine. Now, with the arrival of the Mind Pro, the company has retained much the same compact form factor and innovative modular design, while introducing Intel’s latest Core Ultra processor and Arc integrated graphics.

The result is an exceptionally powerful mini PC that feels just as capable as many considerably larger desktop systems, especially when it comes to everyday productivity as well as creative applications.

It once again features the premium metal construction, and with dimensions of just 146 × 105 × 28mm, it’s small enough to slip into a bag and carry between home and office. What makes this particularly useful is the integrated 7.98Wh standby battery, which allows the machine to maintain your Windows session while moving between those locations, much the same as using a laptop.

During testing, I was able to leave applications open, disconnect the computer, throw the Khadas Mind Pro in my backpack and travel home. Then I was able to reconnect to a monitor, mouse and keyboard at home and continue the session without needing to re-open applications and work. This is what we have come to expect from laptops, but not with a Mini PC, and it’s a surprisingly useful feature, boosted by the option of extras such as the Dock and GPU modules.

Performance is equally impressive as it features an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, combined with 64GB of RAM and integrated Arc B390 graphics. This combination proved to handle Microsoft Office, Photoshop and Lightroom extremely well. Even Adobe Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve proved more usable than I had anticipated with 4K footage shot on the GoPro Mission 1 ILS.

Gaming was another surprise, with Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle both running at medium-quality settings; although as I extended play there were occasional frame drops, there was nothing too much to impact gameplay. The other point here was that the fans kicked in and, while audible, they remained relatively quiet.

The machine also has considerable AI potential, with a dedicated NPU and 64GB of shared memory. My initial CPU-based Lemonade AI testing showed that it could handle practical local AI tasks, although switching between models wasn’t always straightforward. Using the dedicated NPU with the right models gained some impressive results, but again selecting the right LLM manager and model takes some time, this process took me from Lemonade to the LM Studio.

Through the test, my main issue with the machine was the connectivity. With only two Thunderbolt 4 ports, it’s easy to run out of high-speed connections when using a USB-C monitor, power supply and external storage. If you are using the Mind Pro as your main desktop, this is where the optional Mind Dock starts to make sense and is more like an essential purchase.

Ultimately, the Mind Pro is an impressive example of innovation and how far mini PCs have progressed. It won't be the best mini PC for most users. It isn’t cheap, and you’ll need to invest further to see the full potential of its modular design, but the impressive processing power, portability and modular extras make it expensive but very desirable.

Khadas Mind Pro: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $2,559
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Khadas

The Khadas Mind Pro costs $2,599 for the Core Ultra X7 358H, 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD configuration that I’ve looked at in this review and is available directly from Khadas. Alongside the Mini PC, you can also purchase the optional Mind Dock, Mind xPlay and Mind Graphics 2, although these will add considerably to the overall cost.

• Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Khadas Mind Pro: Specs

CPU: Intel Core Ultra X7 358H, 16 cores / 16 threads
Graphics: Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics
NPU: Intel AI Boost NPU 5, up to 50 TOPS
RAM: 64GB LPDDR5X, 8533MT/s
Storage: 2TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 2230 SSD
Additional storage: M.2 2230 NVMe expansion slot
Rear Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4, 2× USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.1 FRL
Expansion: Khadas Mind Link proprietary modular interface
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0
Audio: Audio output via supported display, USB and compatible expansion accessories. Battery: 7.98Wh internal standby battery
Dimensions: 146 × 105 × 28mm
Weight: 562g
Operating System: Windows 11 Home
Power: 100W USB-C power adapter
Optional Accessories: Mind Dock, Mind xPlay and Mind Graphics 2

Khadas Mind Pro: Design

Unpacking the compact AX9 Max, the metal casing and detailed plastic base of this mini PC instantly reinforced its price point. Only after carefully checking the detailing and the large, shiny logo on top did I start to question whether this was a premium machine or just one trying to look premium.

Checking the specifications and that the price point was justified, but there’s still something about the design that feels a little over the top. The rest of the design is solid, and at 134.9 × 131.8 × 57.7mm and 777.5g, it’s a great size and weight for this style of machine.

Around the casing, there are four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack. On the left side of the casing is an SD 4.0 memory card slot, while the back has two USB4 Type-C ports, a USB 2.0 port, two HDMI 2.1 ports, two 2.5Gb RJ45 sockets, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and the DC-in port.

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Having reviewed the Khadas Mind 2S just over a year ago, I was impressed by the combination of its exceptionally small size, processing power and innovative modular design. With the arrival of the Mind Pro, it’s immediately apparent that the company has retained much of the ethos of those initial machines and what made them so interesting.

The form factor is familiar, the design remains incredibly minimalist, and once again, it’s the modular expansion ecosystem that differentiates this from the usual mini PCs I look at.

The first impression is that this is an exceptionally well-made and small mini PC. The metal casing gives it a premium feel, with solid construction, and it’s just understated when it comes to styling, which I really like.

The front just features the power button mounted into a subtle cutaway, and all connectivity options are lined up at the rear.

The compact dimensions are great if you have limited desk space or you need to take the machine between locations. This portability is one of the key features and, like a laptop that enables you to close the lid without powering down, the Mind Pro enable you to do much the same when you move from one location to another. Simply unplug the monitor, keyboard and mouse, and pop it in your bag; then, when you get to the next location, connect up and off you go. All the apps and work that you were working on will still be there and ready for you to continue with.

The idea behind the machine is that you have the core, which is the Mind Pro, then you have the accessories, so in the office where you need to focus on high-demand work, you’ll have the Mind Graphics 2 eGPU Module and Mind Dock All-In-One Docking Station.

While at home, where you may just want to check email and do some light work, you may just need the Mind xPlay Portable Display + Keyboard, which will, in low-power mode, essentially give you the same abilities as a Windows Home laptop. You can also plug in the Tone2 for audio. The point is the Mind Pro is just the core, and how and where you use it will dictate what additional extras you want and need.

What makes the portability possible is the integrated 7.98Wh standby battery. This isn’t designed primarily to power the machine in the same way as a laptop battery and instead is used to maintain the machine's working state when disconnected from external power.

Taking a look at the limited ports on the back, there are two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 connection and two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports. While this matches most premium laptops, I found that the two Thunderbolt connections became a bit of an issue, particularly when using the Mind Pro for creative work.

With a Thunderbolt monitor and power connected, there was no fast connection left for connecting high-speed external SSDs or card readers without using an additional adapter. The two USB-A connections are useful, but their 10Gbps maximum transfer rate is far slower than the Thunderbolt 4’s 40Gbps connection bandwidth.

Considering the performance on offer here, a third Thunderbolt connection would have been welcome. For anyone intending to use the Mind Pro as their main desktop computer, the Mind Dock is essential, and at $199, that's quite an additional cost on an already expensive machine.

The all-metal construction does make the Mind Pro look like it should be passively cooled. However, there is an active cooling system inside, and while the fans become audible on many of the more demanding tasks, I was generally well controlled.

During intensive creative work, the casing also became warm to the touch, which isn’t particularly surprising given the amount of processing power packed into such a small space.

The design of this small machine is stunning, and the portability of the design with the integrated standby battery is actually a great idea. However, when it comes to the design, the limited port selection is frustrating, especially at this price, but it has been designed to be used as a modular setup, and the dock and GPU are available to boost the performance further at a cost.

• Design: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Khadas Mind Pro: Features

The Khadas Mind Pro builds on the modular design of the machines that I have looked at in the past from the company and combines powerful processing with a proprietary expansion interface and an integrated standby battery.

At the heart of the system is Intel’s Core Ultra X7 358H, a 16-core processor supported by Intel Arc B390 integrated graphics and a dedicated AI Boost NPU. In this review, I have looked at the standard Pro machine with 64GB of LPDDR5X memory and a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

While those specifications are impressive, what separates this from most other mini PCs is that it has been designed so that the Mind Pro can easily move between different work and home environments, with a range of Mind Link connection expansion modules that adapt its use depending on your needs.

These modules include the Mind Dock that provides additional connectivity for when it’s used as a desktop workstation, and this comes in at around $200. Then there's the Mind xPlay portable display at $99, or with keyboard at $399, which offers a more mobile configuration.

There’s also the Mind Graphics 2 that adds dedicated graphics processing for creative applications, gaming and potentially supported AI workloads, and this will set you back a further $1449.

Unfortunately, none of these modules was available during my testing, so I wasn’t able to assess the complete ecosystem. Even without the expansion options, however, the Mind Pro has plenty of raw processing power.

The internal 7.98Wh battery is the most unique, and as I found this on a normal working day when I regularly travel between office, home and college, with a journey time that can vary from ten minutes up to an hour and a half.

With a conventional mini PC, that would mean saving everything, closing applications and shutting down before leaving, then re-opening everything when I get to my next destination. Which is one of the reasons I use a laptop, as I can keep everything open; however, the laptop isn’t light.

With the Mind Pro, I could simply disconnect the power, place the machine in my backpack and reconnect it at the other end, just like a laptop, just minus the screen, keyboard, and trackpad.

Throughout testing, this worked exceptionally well. I could leave Adobe Premiere Pro and other applications open, move between locations and return to the same Windows session without having to reopen everything.

It certainly makes for a lightweight alternative, although the internal 2TB SSD provides plenty of space for applications and smaller projects; I generally edit video from external storage.

This makes the portable workflow slightly more complicated, as unplugging an external SSD while Premiere Pro is accessing footage isn’t particularly advisable, but then that’s the same on a laptop. For shorter productions, however, the system really comes into its own.

During testing, I was editing approximately five-minute videos using footage from the GoPro Mission One, with the files stored directly on the internal SSD. This enabled me to start editing at the office, disconnect the computer and finish the project at home without closing Premiere Pro or shutting down Windows.

The battery also allows the Mind Pro to operate independently of external power for short periods, although this is very much a secondary feature. Using the Khadas Mind app, it’s possible to select the Use Battery option under Device Mode When Unplugged, allowing the computer to continue operating instead of immediately entering a standby state.

To see how practical this was, I tested the machine using three power settings, with a mixture of Microsoft Word, web browsing and Adobe Lightroom. At maximum power, the system lasted approximately seven minutes before displaying a low-battery warning and entering its low-power state.

Switching to the medium power setting in the Mind application was able to extend this working time to around 14 minutes, while the lowest power setting was around 30 minutes. These figures are far less than the 60 minutes quoted by Khadas for light active use. Most importantly, this internal battery feature means the machine wasn’t losing my work when the battery ran low.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

Khadas Mind Pro: Performance

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)Benchmark scores

CrystalDiskMark Read: 5,224.09 MB/s
CrystalDiskMark Write: 4,860.54 MB/s
Geekbench 6 CPU Multi: 16,660
Geekbench 6 CPU Single: 2,883
Geekbench 6 GPU: 58,502
Geekbench 7 CPU Multi: 18,118
Geekbench 7 CPU Single: 2,587
Geekbench 7 GPU: 55,027
PCMark Overall: 9,429
Cinebench R23 CPU Multi (Threads): 20,252
Cinebench R23 CPU Single (Threads): 2,084
Cinebench 2026 CPU Multi (Threads): 4,835
Cinebench 2026 CPU Single (Threads): 505
Fire Strike Overall: 15,128
Fire Strike Graphics: 18,110
Fire Strike Physics: 29,411
Fire Strike Combined: 5,105
Time Spy Overall: 7,647
Time Spy Graphics: 7,049
Time Spy CPU: 14,738
Wild Life Overall: 44,322
Steel Nomad Overall: 1,601
Windows Experience Overall: 8.9
Procyon: 1,485

Getting started with the Khadas Mind Pro follows the usual process, and the machine arrives with Windows 11 Home preinstalled, alongside the Khadas Mind software, and the initial Windows setup takes around 10 to 15 minutes.

Aside from the usual process of accepting or declining Microsoft’s various additional services, there is very little to do before you’re up and running. Then the Khadas Mind application provides access to the machine’s power management and battery options, highlighting that this is far more than a normal mini PC.

While the modular ecosystem enables you to expand the system with a docking station or external GPU, even as the core unit when used as a standalone computer, the Mind Pro offers impressive performance, especially considering its small size.

I started the test by installing Microsoft Office; there was more than enough performance to run Word, Excel and PowerPoint all at the same time, alongside multiple browser windows. Everything remained fast and responsive, and even when adding Photoshop and Lightroom into the mix, there was little indication that the system was struggling.

As is now common, there’s also a dedicated Intel NPU, and that adds potential for supported local AI features, although cloud-based Microsoft Copilot functionality shouldn’t be confused with processing directly on the NPU. Opening up the task manager indicates when the NPU comes into play and often as a support role to cloud-based connections and some app integration.

After seeing that standard office applications were well within the machine's capabilities, I moved on to Adobe’s creative applications, and running these showed just how powerful this machine is even without the boost that the optional modules would obviously offer.

Lightroom Classic ran extremely smoothly, opening large catalogues, processing high-resolution photographs and exporting batches of images without difficulty. The internal 2TB SSD also performed well, keeping up with the demands of loading, editing and saving substantial image files.

Loading Photoshop and the performance was equally impressive. I worked with high-resolution photographs from the Canon EOS R5 C and Sony A7 IV, and the Mind Pro handled them without any noticeable problems. Opening Adobe Bridge, thumbnails appeared quickly, and I could select batches of up to 30 files and open them in Adobe Camera Raw for editing.

If you’re a professional photographer, then the small size of the machine and its portability make it a great option, especially when connected to a large monitor. I also found that the 64GB RAM provided substantial headroom, and with the Arc B390 integrated graphics, all image editing and processing was again well within the machine's abilities.

One of the features that I really liked was the ability to plug into my monitor and dock in the office and use the machine as I do with any Mini PC; then, when I headed home, I was able to leave several video projects and other documents open, pop the machine in my bag and then reconnect to another monitor in the home office, with all apps and documents still open and ready to go. The machine in that respect is just like a laptop without the screen and keyboard, of course. The benefit here is that it’s far smaller and lighter, so even more portable than a laptop, especially a laptop with this kind of power.

While the performance is good, I did have a connectivity issue. My test monitor uses USB-C rather than HDMI, so connecting the display and power supply occupied both Thunderbolt 4 ports. This left only the two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 connections for external storage and accessories. While these are rated at 10Gbps, they’re considerably slower than the 40Gbps connection bandwidth offered by Thunderbolt 4.

For photographers and videographers using fast external SSDs, the optional Mini Dock would make a difference on this front.

When video editing, this machine again proved surprisingly capable and while I initially had reservations about how comfortably a mini PC of this size would handle 4K footage in Adobe Premiere Pro, editing a short five-minute project went well with few problems.

There were occasional slowdowns, particularly as the edit became more complex, but the overall workflow was better than I expected. After switching the video editing application to DaVinci Resolve, I found through the edits that the performance was similar. Straightforward 4K timelines were fine, although increasing the complexity of the edit resulted in additional slowdowns, particularly during rendering.

This is where an external GPU would potentially make a significant difference, and the Mind Graphics 2 looks like an interesting expansion option if you are planning to use this system for more intensive video production. Although, again, this does come at quite a financial cost.

Before moving on to the AI potential, I tried out a few games, and again I was surprised by the ability of the machine. I tested Cyberpunk 2077 and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, and both titles loaded successfully, with no issues with the integrated CPU.

At medium graphics settings, gameplay was surprisingly good considering that all the graphics processing was being handled by that integrated Intel Arc B390. While I wouldn’t position the Mind Pro as a replacement for a dedicated gaming PC, the ability to run demanding modern titles on a computer this small is impressive.

The final test was to take a closer look at the AI potential of the Khadas Mind Pro, loading Lemonade AI and the Qwen model to see just how capable this compact mini PC was when running AI workloads locally.

I started by testing several AI models to code a website, generate images, organise files, recognise image content and handle general chatbot and text-generation tasks. The results were mixed, although the 64GB of RAM provided enough headroom to run some relatively large models locally.

One issue with the stability of the Lemonade and the AI process that I came up against was when switching between tasks and therefore LLM models. While there was enough memory to load and run individual models, running two larger models side by side seemed to cause issues and checking Task Manager, it showed the RAM maxing out. Instead, I found myself working through different stages, unloading one model before loading the next.

For example, when organising images, I first used PowerShell to create a CSV file containing a list of images before handing that information over to the Qwen model to help manage the files. I then switched to an image recognition model to identify image contents and add the relevant tagging information. For small batches, this worked; however, increasing the count from 20 to 100 images, something between the CPU, Lemonade, and the model kept falling over.

Through this process, I also found that switching models wasn't always straightforward. Rather than simply unloading one model and loading another, it was often more reliable to close Lemonade Server completely, restart it and then load the next model. Without restarting, the software could become confused, and the process was noticeably less reliable.

For a measurable test, I ran through a batch of 20 images, using the AI tools to assist with basic file organisation and CSV-based content management. Because the workflow involved switching between several models, it was difficult to calculate the total number of tokens used across the entire process.

However, during one of the main processing stages, the system recorded a time to first token of 9.08 seconds and generated 1,340 tokens in total. CPU utilisation reached 100%, while RAM usage fluctuated between 60% and 80%, showing the machine was capable of handling the workload but was also being pushed relatively hard.

The synthetic AI benchmark results backed up the practical testing, with the Khadas Mind Pro achieving a Procyon AI performance score of 1,485. This highlights that when configured correctly with the AI LLM management software, it will have impressive AI processing capabilities, although the real-world tests highlighted that available memory, model management and workflow optimisation are just as important as raw processing performance.

What impressed me most was that all of this was possible on such a small machine without an external GPU. The integrated graphics and 64GB of RAM provide a useful starting point for local AI development, experimentation and lighter production tasks, although experimentation with models and setup is at present a necessity.

That said, if you're planning to use the Mind Pro extensively for AI processing, the optional Mind Graphics 2 external GPU will be worth the upgrade.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

Khadas Mind Pro: Final verdict

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

The Khadas Mind Pro is an exceptionally compact and powerful mini PC aimed at professionals, creatives and anyone who needs desktop performance across multiple locations without carrying a laptop.

What makes this small machine so versatile is the modular design, although I haven’t tested the additional modules in this review, focusing on the RAW power of the core unit.

As it stands, used in isolation, it’s surprisingly powerful and a small and stylish option for use in the office or studio; then, if you do need that boost, it can, at a price, be connected to the optional Mind Dock and Mind Graphics 2 external GPU, transforming it into a far more capable workstation for demanding creative applications, video editing and AI workloads.

Likewise at home, simply connect a monitor and keyboard, potentially alongside the Mind xPlay portable display, and you’re ready to continue working, or just the occasional check on email.

The solid metal construction gives the Mind Pro a premium feel, and its weight and small size make it easy to carry between locations. More importantly, the integrated standby battery means you can unplug the machine, slip it into your bag and reconnect elsewhere without closing applications or restarting Windows.

There are some issues, most notably the limited connectivity without a dock and the integrated GPU’s limitations under heavier workloads. However, the impressive CPU performance, 64GB of RAM and excellent portability do make this a highly versatile and desirable machine.

You are paying a premium for the quality of the build, the innovation, and the modular concept, but for professionals who regularly move between workspaces, the Mind Pro offers an attractive alternative to a conventional desktop or laptop.

Should I buy the Khadas Mind Pro?

(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)

Value

Expensive, but impressive versatility and upgrade potential.

4

Design

Exceptionally compact, solid construction with an innovative integrated battery.

4.5

Features

Excellent modular expandability, although onboard connectivity is limited.

4.5

Performance

Powerful CPU, plenty of RAM and impressive creative performance.

4.5

Overall

An innovative, portable workstation with genuine professional appeal.

4.5

Buy it if...

You want a powerful, portable mini PC

The Mind Pro combines impressive performance, compact metal construction, and an integrated standby battery, making it easy to transport between workspaces.

You like the idea of a modular workstation.

The Mind Dock expands connectivity, while the Mind Graphics 2 external GPU boosts performance for demanding creative workloads.

Don't buy it if...

You need plenty of ports without buying accessories.

Connectivity is limited, especially when using USB-C for both power and a display. The optional Mind Dock starts to feel like an essential purchase.

You need serious graphics performance out of the box.

The integrated GPU handles lighter workloads, but demanding video editing, gaming and AI tasks will benefit from an external GPU.

For more professional-grade desktops, we've tested the best business computers.

• US civilian federal agencies must immediately remove DeepSeek from government systems
• Federal departments can no longer purchase DeepSeek products or affiliated services
• Military and intelligence organizations remain excluded

The US government has directed civilian federal departments to immediately eliminate DeepSeek artificial intelligence software and related services from their technology systems.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued the directive over concerns the Chinese company's technology could expose sensitive information to foreign intelligence operations.

The restriction also covers applications incorporating DeepSeek models, although privately owned computers and personal installations fall outside the federal government's directive.

DeepSeek faces removal over security concerns

The directive requires affected agencies to discontinue purchases involving DeepSeek technology, including offerings supplied by affiliates and external developers incorporating its models.

Government departments must also withdraw affected applications from approved purchasing catalogs, supplier inventories and online procurement platforms used for federal acquisitions.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin authorized the measure following a recommendation from the Federal Acquisition Security Council, which evaluates potential technology supply chain threats.

The decision relies on the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018, legislation allowing authorities to restrict technologies considered dangerous.

Officials cited Chinese legislation permitting state intelligence organizations to demand corporate information, raising concerns about government access to data processed through DeepSeek.

The department also identified privacy concerns involving account registration information, user monitoring and device fingerprinting associated with the company's hosted services.

Because conversational AI systems process submitted prompts, officials warned that government employees could inadvertently disclose confidential material through ordinary interactions with DeepSeek.

Information obtained through such exchanges could potentially support intelligence assessments involving American citizens, federal operations, or other sensitive government activities.

Security evaluations conducted by NowSecure also identified serious vulnerabilities affecting DeepSeek's iOS application, adding technical concerns to the government's assessment.

However, the directive concerns federal technology procurement and deployment rather than establishing a nationwide prohibition on individuals downloading or operating DeepSeek.

Agencies must comply, while exceptions remain possible

Military organizations and intelligence agencies are excluded because their procurement arrangements operate under separate authorities.

Departments seeking permission to retain affected technology must submit written exemption applications through the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

Such applications must reach the relevant Homeland Security official within 60 days and explain why an exception is necessary for government operations.

Applicants must identify the relevant products, provide substantial operational or national security grounds, and propose safeguards addressing the identified security concerns.

While completing the removal of DeepSeek, agencies are expected to strengthen network surveillance, record suspicious information transfers, and investigate unusual activity involving affected systems.

CISA will assist departments with technical implementation, while the Homeland Security Secretary must reconsider the directive annually.

The notice appears in the Federal Register under docket DHS-2026-0628, establishing the administrative record supporting the government's exclusion and removal requirements.

Although officials describe several potential security exposures, the supplied notice does not establish that every DeepSeek deployment has transmitted confidential American information.

Its application to third-party implementations also raises practical questions about identifying affected software, particularly where developers operate DeepSeek models independently.

• A new report claims that Amazon is buying up more AI GPU racks than it can deploy in data centers
• An analyst links this report to Nvidia's GeForce GPU supply woes, theorizing that there's a connection
• The contention is that Nvidia is deliberately 'channel stuffing' or in other words, pushing an excess of AI GPUs to the detriment of gaming GPU chips

Nvidia's supply issues with its gaming GPUs are seemingly the result of a strategy to get AI giants to stock up on more graphics chips than they can handle, if fresh reports are to be believed.

You can't have failed to notice the stock issues around Nvidia's GeForce GPUs, and the spike in prices that has happened over the past few months, particularly for higher-end graphics cards.

Well, according to the musings of tech pundit and analyst Ed Zitron (via RespawnFirst) — who picked up on a report by Business Insider — the consumer GPU shortage is a direct result of Nvidia pushing AI graphics cards on the likes of Amazon.

Business Insider informs us that Amazon (or rather AWS) is buying more Nvidia GPUs than it can deploy. Apparently, racks of the AI graphics cards are being kept unused in holding warehouses until there's power available at the data centers where they'll be used (electricity capacity, not space, is the issue here).

Amazon is paying out huge sums for these GB300 racks from Nvidia, and according to an internal email that Business Insider got hold of, a new 'Early Rack Receipt' process (buying these GPUs upfront, before they're installed) saw some $5 billion worth of server racks paid for in August 2026. Seemingly $3 billion more are on order every month for the "foreseeable future" going by another email.

We're told one AWS team didn't have a "clear forecasted path" for getting the purchased racks installed — in other words, they're not even sure when these GPUs might be used.

Zitron's argument is based on a key phrase in the Business Insider report, where the author states that the reason for the switch in policy — Amazon only used to pay for racks when they were installed in a data center — is that "Amazon has to compete more for scarce resources as it jockeys with rivals for access to Nvidia GPUs and other AI components."

The conclusion Zitron draws is that this is basically indicating that Nvidia is making Amazon, and others buying up AI GPUs, compete with each other by agreeing to order a whole pile of them there and then — more than they possibly need — otherwise they won't get their allocation (presumably).

Analysis: GPU misery is clear enough to see

(Image credit: Shutterstock / aslysun)

In short, these AI GPUs aren't actually needed as such — not by Amazon in this quantity, as per the Business Insider report — but Nvidia is effectively strong-arming the company into buying the chips, or as Zitron puts it, this is "deliberate channel stuffing." Meaning Nvidia is forcing this AI demand artificially to the seeming detriment of GeForce GPUs, with lesser chip supply for those gaming cards causing price inflation and general misery for gamers.

Obviously we need to take this with a good deal of caution — that goes for the initial report from Business Insider, and doubly so with the theorizing that Zitron applies on top of that article.

There's no denying, however, that we have witnessed a frustrating shortage of consumer GPUs, and in particular Nvidia's high-end gaming graphics cards have become painfully thin on the ground — and pricey. The RTX 5090 is either unobtainable, save through third-party marketplace sellers trying to gouge you out of the best part of 10 grand (in the US), or it's hideously expensive to the tune of over £6,000 in the UK, for example.

What's worse is the RTX 5080 is now getting ridiculously pricey too, reaching £1,400 in the UK. And in the US on Newegg, there's now only one model for sale (direct from the retailer) — and it'll set you back $2,000. It's all getting silly, frankly, and with rumors that the RTX 5090 is being discontinued doing the rounds — speculation Nvidia has denied, I should make clear — it's currently a disappointingly gloomy picture for GPUs.

The expectation is that matters are only going to get worse for RAM, SSDs, and GPUs, as next year rolls into town — and that makes all the above theorizing seem a bit more plausible. It's certainly clear that Nvidia's priority is AI GPUs rather than GeForce graphics cards because of the profits involved with AI, but of course, Team Green is a business — so what do we expect? Prioritization is one thing, though, and the levelled accusation of the practice of 'channel stuffing' is entirely another.