TechRadar News

• gTLDs enhance brand identity, trust, engagement, SEO and control over online presence
• 53% of businesses want to stand out from competitors – gTLDs can help
• Some marketers didn't know they could register gTLDs

New research from ICANN has revealed that generic top-level domains (gTLDs) have been likened to digital storefronts, noting that unique online addresses are becoming critical for branding and customer engagement.

ICANN's global survey of more than 2,000 marketers from 14 global markets found that gTLDs like .microsoft or .brazil offer untapped branding and operational opportunities.

The study also found that brands can enhance their identity, improve trust and control their online presence more effectively when using a gTLD.

Businesses are missing out on generic TLD benefits

An overwhelming majority (92%) of the marketers surveyed agreed that gTLDs offer benefits, including enhanced brand differentiation/identity (46%), improved customer trust and engagement (45%), better control over online presence (44%) and improved SEO (44%).

Although gTLDs might be new additions to companies' roadmaps, they can also form part of existing strategies. For example, 53% noted wanting to stand out from competitors as a top priority in the next 12 months. One in two (52%) also noted wanting to attract and engage the right audience, while a similar number (47%) declared keeping up with digital trends to be a top priority.

However, as with any change in technology, some are finding that there are certain hurdles preventing them from going all-in on gTLDs, including high costs (31%), a lack of knowledge (27%) and insufficient time, unclear ROI or security concerns (24% each).

ICANN also observed misconceptions, with 16% of marketers believing gTLDs were government-only and 9% thinking they were part of trade agreements.

With gTLDs offering a transformational opportunity for brands willing to spend the time setting them up, ICANN is urging brands to start preparing now in order to arm themselves with the knowledge and power.

You might also like

• We've listed the best domain registrars
• Take your store online with the best web hosting services
• Google search ditches country-specific domains, directs all users to google.com

• The Retro Classics collection is now available on Xbox, PC, and supported smart TVs
• It's come by way of a partnership between Xbox, Antstream Arcade, and Activision
• Over 50 games are available now, with more than 100 expected to arrive eventually

Xbox has partnered with classic game service Antstream Arcade to bring Xbox Game Pass subscribers the new Retro Classics collection.

Microsoft announced the partnership via an official Xbox Wire post, which is described as "a collaboration between Xbox and Antstream Arcade, available to play for Game Pass members globally."

The service is available now and only requires the standard Xbox Game Pass subscription - Ultimate is not necessary. The Retro Classics collection is a separate app, available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, and can also be streamed via supported Samsung and LG smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV devices and Meta Quest VR headsets.

Initially, the Retro Classics library houses over 50 retro Activision games. These include Pitfall, Dragster, Grand Prix, Kaboom!, Enduro and many more. Games also have their own sets of achievements, leaderboard challenges, and save state support - not unlike the main Antstream Arcade service.

"This initiative is a step in our commitment to game preservation and backwards compatibility, allowing players to experience many timeless games on modern devices," the Xbox Wire post reads.

Furthermore, the Retro Classics collection is set to expand over time. The post claims that the launch "is just the beginning." Eventually, the service is set to grow to well over 100 playable titles. If you don't have the cash for some of the best retro games consoles, then this could be a more affordable solution.

It's a pretty smart way to leverage a suite of classic games now made available to Microsoft via its Activision Blizzard buyout, and one I didn't really see coming. The Antstream Arcade service itself is something I've personally gotten some enjoyment out of, and it's cool to see a similar service make its way to Xbox Game Pass members on both console and PC.

You might also like...

• Lies of P is getting a massive free update, adding difficulty options as well as an extremely welcome boss rush
• Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2, one of my favorite games of 2024, is finally getting its long rumored PS5 release this summer
• After five long years, Fortnite has finally returned to the iOS App Store - but it's not available everywhere yet

• The Samsung Galaxy S26 could have a new main camera
• However, it might still be 50MP
• It's possible the Galaxy S26 Edge and Plus will also get new camera sensors

The Samsung Galaxy S25 has the same main camera sensor as the Samsung Galaxy S24, so while this camera performs reasonably well, it’s really due an upgrade with the Samsung Galaxy S26. Thankfully, an upgrade is what we might get.

According to GalaxyClub, the Samsung Galaxy S26 will have a new 50MP sensor. Now, that’s no change in megapixels, but the site claims that “as far as we understand” it will be a new model in Samsung’s ISOCELL GN series, and possibly one that hasn’t been announced yet. That would be in place of the 50MP ISOCELL GN3 in the Samsung Galaxy S25.

While there’s no mention here of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus, we’d expect that would also have this new sensor since the Samsung Galaxy S25 Plus has the same sensor as the base S25. That’s assuming there is a Galaxy S26 Plus at all, as some reports claim Samsung is considering ditching this model in favor of a Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge.

Samsung or Sony?

Speaking of the S26 Edge, leaker @Jukanlosreve has claimed that both this and the base Samsung Galaxy S26 will use a 50MP Sony sensor. So that’s slightly at odds with the claim above, as while both leaks point to a new 50MP sensor for the Galaxy S26, there’s disagreement on the brand.

BIG: * NEXT YEAR'S S26 VANILLA AND EDGE MODELS WILL FEATURE A 50MP 1.0UM SENSOR FROM SONY.May 22, 2025

Still, it seems likely then that the sensor will be changing, even if we’re not sure what to. Equipping the Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge with a 50MP sensor would seem an odd choice though, since the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge has a 200MP one. Fewer megapixels doesn’t necessarily mean a reduction in quality, but it might not look great from a marketing perspective.

We’d take all of this with a pinch of salt anyway, as the Samsung Galaxy S26 series probably won’t land until early 2026.

We have started hearing quite a few things about these phones though, with earlier leaks pointing to bigger batteries across the whole S26 series, while the base model could have an Exynos 2600 chipset in some regions, and the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could get a new lens and a variable aperture.

So it sounds like there could be quite a lot of upgrades coming to Samsung’s flagship phone series.

You might also like

• The Samsung Galaxy S25 FE cameras have leaked, and they’re utterly underwhelming
• Best Samsung phones: top Galaxy handsets ranked
• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7: latest news, rumors, and everything we’ve heard so far

Speed is no longer a luxury for businesses, it's a necessity. Whether shopping online, streaming content or using business apps, users expect instant and seamless experiences. Simultaneously, companies face increasing pressures to innovate, scale, and remain secure against ever-intelligent threats, all without breaking the bank.

As the internet and technology stacks evolve and grow increasingly complex, legacy IT infrastructures have struggled to keep up, resulting in poor user experience, security vulnerabilities and runaway spending. Many businesses are now turning to a modern edge architecture that seamlessly integrates in their stack and way of working, allowing for faster innovation, easier pivots and instant deployments. Here are four reasons why modern production systems need an edge architecture to match.

Being slow is unacceptable

Today’s audiences expect engaging and immersive content, and are more impatient than ever with low tolerance for low quality resolution. Viewers expect content to play instantly, every time.

Adding to the challenge of making your experiences instant every time, content is rarely consumed where it’s created, and geographical distances will introduce unavoidable latency. The more popular you are, the broader your geographical reach and the more global demand for instant playback.

Without a proper architectural strategy, a system broadcasting breaking news, viral content, or a game-winning moment in the United Kingdom will have Australian viewers waiting for data – an issue compounded by network congestion, routing inefficiencies, and the occasional ship’s anchor.

While the issue is as old as the Internet, edge computing solves the inherent delay using points of presence (POPs) placed strategically across the globe. At any given time, POPs can cache and deliver content from the server nearest the consumer, ensuring they receive content with the smallest possible delay. Latency is drastically reduced, page load times are accelerated, and consumers will experience improved performance for applications, streaming services, and websites.

Success shouldn’t break your budget

On the surface, using two or more hyperscaler zones as a way to build a geographically distributed application seems straightforward – and this is valuable for disaster recovery purposes. However, to do this in a way that simulates a true edge system with dozens of locations is not feasible when you consider cloud costs and engineering resources. Moreover, it distracts from your innovation efforts with your core business.

Modern distributed edge systems are more capable, flexible, and affordable than ever. They provide proven, robust performance with global coverage, enabling fast, personalized, and secure computing. Equipped to give developers the tools they need for instant scale and custom computing, these systems have evolved from traditional CDN use cases into highly customizable, API-friendly platforms that can integrate with a wide range of demanding applications. And you won’t need to spend tens of millions on physical infrastructure and operational talent to leverage them.

By using distributed datacenters, content owners and online businesses can optimize performance without extensive hyperscaler investments. Edge systems also help reduce cloud bandwidth costs by caching frequently accessed content closer to end users, minimizing egress traffic. This not only lowers operational expenses but also ensures an infrastructure that can deliver at scale when your business has the most successful days of its existence.

Your users require privacy and security

Users today are savvier than ever regarding their data privacy and security. With a new paradigm of regulatory requirements like GDPR, businesses must be prepared to simultaneously meet these requirements while also delivering the experience their customers expect within budget.

It is essential for companies that deal with sensitive data to leverage modern architectural design to separate public and private information without interrupting the user experience. One possible way to do this is to organize the data into separate API responses or services into static, cacheable data (financial market trends, news, product information) and personalized, non-cacheable data (account balances, user-specific notifications).

This way, public data can be cached while private data is kept secure and private. It also conforms to the trends in mobile app development, where API-first architectures naturally separate user-specific calls from general data. All of this is instantly configurable and programmable with a modern edge partner.

Beyond privacy expectations, for industries facing piracy threats and account takeover risks, edge computing systems offer distributed and high-performance countermeasures. A modern threat model requires a security portfolio that is intelligent, adaptable and cost-effective. An edge-based solution localizes enforcement so that platforms can detect and prevent unauthorized access in real-time. And since performance is optimized, users benefit.

Decoupling data, taking advantage of edge programmability, and incorporating dynamic caching mechanisms allow businesses to increase security, improve performance, and lighten the load on their infrastructure without affecting the user experience. Your architecture strategy should tightly integrate each of these perspectives.

Focus on reliability

Even if your site or applications are fast, within budget, and manage your user’s privacy and security perfectly, it’s all for nothing if your uptime flakes or your team is constantly paged out of bed to fight midnight incidents. Thankfully, the same edge strategies can give your business layers of resiliency through intelligent caching, layered origin protection, and instant system scalability.

Don’t let the biggest and most successful days for your business turn into catastrophes due to a lack of architectural planning and the wrong edge partner. Plan ahead and choose the most flexible, cost-effective, secure, and resilient partner to plan for your long-term success.

We've compiled a list of the best business smartphones.

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