TechRadar News

• Salesforce unveils Agentforce 3, its latest and greatest AI agent platform
• Agentforce 3 offers more oversight and control over AI agents
• Also include MCP support and over 100 third-party service connections

Salesforce has revealed the next generation of its AI agent platform, promising more visibility and control over your systems going forward.

The company says Agentforce 3 marks another big step in the field of digital labor, allowing customers to create and deploy smarter and more powerful agents than ever before.

The launch includes a new Command Center tool to give users "complete observability" as well as some major upgrades when it comes to model support, and over 100 new prebuilt industry actions.

Agentforce 3 arrives

“With Agentforce, we’ve unified agents, data, apps, and metadata to create a digital labor platform, helping thousands of companies realize the promise of agentic AI today,” said Adam Evans, EVP & GM of Salesforce AI.

Salesforce says its new Command Center, part of Agentforce Studio, will offer users much more oversight into the work their AI agents are carrying out on a daily basis.

Previously, this had included observing technical issues around the safety and performance of models - however this will now be expanded to cover agent health, performance and outcome optimization.

This will allow users to monitor and analyze every interaction carried out by an agent, spotting trends and preventing issues before they happen, and offering natural language support for generating topics, instructions and case studies.

It will provide real-time contextual information pertaining to the specific agent's work tasks, and can also offer AI-powered recommendations for tweaks and edits to agents, hopefully making them even more effective.

Elsewhere, Agentforce 3 includes built-in support for the Model Context Protocol, providing much greater support for plug-and-play compatibility with a wide range of other agents and services without the need for custom code.

Customers will be able to connect to numerous third-party tools and resources, including Amazon Web Services, PayPal, Box, Cisco Systems, Google Cloud, IBM, Notion Labs, Stripe, Teradata and Writer.

“Over the past several months, we’ve listened deeply to our customers and continued our rapid pace of technology innovation," Evans added.

"The result is Agentforce 3, a major leap forward for our platform that brings greater intelligence, higher performance, and more trust and accountability to every Agentforce deployment. Agentforce 3 will redefine how humans and AI agents work together — driving breakthrough levels of productivity, efficiency, and business transformation.”

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• The release date for Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 2 has been leaked by Sony via the PlayStation Store
• It's revealed that the second major patch will arrive on June 30
• The update is also expected to include new events, two "fan-favorite" monsters, and more

Sony has accidentally leaked the release date for Monster Hunter Wilds Title Update 2.

As reported by IGN, Sony mistakenly updated the game's PlayStation Store page ahead of schedule, revealing that the upcoming patch will be released on June 30.

Although it's now been rolled back, the website also revealed the contents of the update, which will include new events, Leviathan Arch-Tempered Uth Duna, layered weapons, a new armor set, as well as two "fan-favorite" monsters.

One of these monsters is likely Lagiacrus, which was revealed earlier this year, while the other is seemingly going to be Seregios, according to dataminers.

The new event rewards make me feel like an old man... from r/MonsterHunter

Capcom has confirmed that its next Spotlight showcase will air this week on June 26 at 3pm PDT / 11pm BST.

The broadcast will offer new details on Monster Hunter Wilds and Title Update 2, so we can expect the official release date to be announced then.

Last week, game director Yuya Tokuda also shared some additional details about the upcoming patch in Capcom's Director's Letter.

Tokuda revealed that the second major update will bring several quality of life updates, including improved navigation in the Grand Hub, "improved Seikret usability", photo mode adjustments, and the aforementioned layered weapons.

To stay up to date with all things Monster Hunter Wilds, you can check out our roadmap coverage, which includes release dates, confirmed downloadable content (DLC), what's to come, and more.

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• The second iOS 26 developer beta is out now
• It makes a change to Control Center that improves legibility
• It also includes various other tweaks and additions, such as order tracking and a Recovery Assistant

The second iOS 26 developer beta has already landed, and it includes a small change that could make a big difference for users.

With iOS 26, Apple is rolling out a new look to the interface, known as ‘Liquid Glass’, and a big part of that is the inclusion of more glass-like, transparent elements. But in the case of the Control Center the company arguably took the idea too far, as in the first beta the controls were hard to make out against certain backgrounds.

In this second iOS 26 beta the Control Center background and its icons are more opaque, as you can see in the comparison image below (shared by MacRumors). This shows the original design on the left, and the new, slightly less transparent version on the right.

Control Center in iOS 26 beta 1 on the left and beta 2 on the right (Image credit: Apple / MacRumors)

This should make it easier to find the controls you’re looking for, but this isn’t the only change in the new beta.

You’ll also find a new ‘Reduce Transparency’ option in the Accessibility menu, which lets you make the control backgrounds more opaque, and there’s now an Accessibility section in App Store listings, so you can see what accessibility features an app includes.

Order tracking and assisted recovery

The Wallet app can now use Siri to track orders, even if they weren’t made using Apple Pay, there’s a new ringtone (which is dividing opinion among users), a new Live Radio widget for Apple Music, and the ‘new tab’ button’s location has been moved in Safari’s tab management view.

There’s also a new ‘Recovery Assistant’ feature, which according to the beta release notes “is a new way to recover your device if it doesn’t start up normally. It can look for problems and attempt to resolve them if found.”

That’s the main stuff, but there are a few other small changes, like a new description for Low Power mode, and it’s likely that more adjustments and additions will be unearthed in the coming days.

If you’d like to try out these changes for yourself and you have a compatible iPhone then you can – just head to our guide covering how to download the iOS 26 developer beta for full instructions.

However, unless you really can’t wait for the final release (likely landing in September) we’d caution against installing beta versions on your primary device, as they’re inherently less stable than finished software.

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• Amazon's three-year plan includes £40 billion in UK investment
• "Thousands" of jobs set to be created across new and upgraded sites
• Most of the benefits will be seen in regions typically overlooked by such investments

Amazon has announced plans to invest £40 billion into the UK over a three-year period spanning between 2025 and 2027.

The multi-billion pound investment will fund the expansion of Amazon's operations within the UK, leading to more jobs, boosting national GDP and strengthening the infrastructure that Amazon relies on (and therefore other UK consumers and businesses).

The huge sum isn't insignificant – the UK is Amazon's third-largest market, after the US and Germany, two nations that have already seen billions in investments spanning both ecommerce infrastructure and sovereign cloud efforts.

UK Amazon investment

Boasting of its position as a top-10 private sector employer across the UK, with more than 75,000 citizens part of its workforce, Amazon said its latest investment would create thousands more jobs, the "vast majority" of which should be away from London and the South East.

Four new Amazon fulfilment centers are in the pipeline, including two in the East Midlands, one in Hull and a further one in Northampton - with the latter two anticipated to generate 2,000 jobs each.

The company also declared its investment would be nearly matched when it comes to boosting the UK's GDP, which Amazon anticipates adding £38 billion to the UK economy.

Besides adding further delivery stations across the UK, Amazon also plans to upgrade more than 100 operational buildings and open two more at its East London corporate HQ.

Promising a minimum salary of £28,000 for full-time workers (and £30,000 in London), robotics technicians, safety experts and mechatronic engineers will be among the more than 60 roles offered by the company as part of its huge investment.

"When Amazon invests, it’s not only in London and the South East – we’re bringing innovation and job creation to communities throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, strengthening the UK’s economy and delivering better experiences for customers wherever they live," noted Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed the "thousands of new jobs," which he described as offering "real opportunities for people in every corner of the country to build careers, learn new skills, and support their families."

“Amazon’s £40 billion investment adds another major win to Britain’s basket and is a massive vote of confidence in the UK as the best place to do business.," he added.

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The cybersecurity profession is always on high alert for new attack tactics as criminal groups adapt to overcome improved defenses against phishing and ransomware. But alongside the new innovations, some old-school tactics appear to be evolving making a comeback – or rather they never quite went away.

Document-borne malware is one such tactic. Once considered a relic of early cyber warfare, this method continues to pose a significant threat, particularly for organizations handling large volumes of sensitive information, such as those in critical infrastructure.

The appeal for attackers is clear. Everyday files - Word documents, PDFs, Excel spreadsheets - are inherently trusted and flow freely between businesses, often through cloud-based platforms. With modern security more focused on endpoints, networks, and email filtering, these seemingly mundane files can act as the ideal Trojan horse.

Understanding this evolving risk is key to stopping seemingly innocuous documents before they can wreak havoc.

Why are cybercriminals still using document-borne malware?

On the surface, attacks using malicious documents feel like a bit of a throwback. It’s a tactic that’s been around for decades at this point, however, that doesn’t make it any less dangerous for organizations.

Still, while the concept is nothing new, threat groups are modernizing it to keep it fresh and bypass standard security controls. This means the seemingly old-school tactic is still a threat even for the most security-conscious sectors.

As with other email-based tactics, attackers typically seek to hide in plain sight. Most attacks use common file types such as PDFs, Word documents, and Excel spreadsheets as malware carriers. The malware is usually hidden in macros, embedded in scripts such as JavaScript within PDFs, or hidden with obfuscated file formats and layers of encryption and archiving.

These unassuming files are coupled with popular social engineering techniques, such as a supplier invoice or customer submission form. Email attack tactics, such as spoofed addresses or compromised accounts, further camouflage the malicious content.

The rise of cloud-based collaboration tools has increased the attack surface. We’re all used to receiving any number of emails throughout the day with links to SharePoint, Google Docs, and other common platforms. This makes it harder to detect malicious files before they enter networks.

What makes document-borne malware particularly dangerous for critical infrastructure?

Most attacks seek to breach networks unnoticed to maximize their impact and eventual rewards. The potential gains for exfiltrating sensitive data or shutting down a system means groups are willing to invest more time and resources in trying new tactics that can pass unnoticed.

Further, document-borne attacks are all about blending into the background. For example, in the financial sector, the ecosystem offers plenty of opportunities with the thousands of incoming documents from customers, suppliers, and partners daily. Most firms have a constant inflow of financial statements, loan applications, compliance paperwork, and myriad other files entering their system.

If opened, a single malicious document can spread malware across critical networks. Attackers leverage document-based threats to deploy ransomware, steal credentials, or exfiltrate sensitive data, so one wrong click can come with catastrophic consequences, especially for critical sectors that rely heavily on a reputation for trust and reliability.

Strict regulatory compliance demands can raise the stakes further and, depending on their region and function, firms could fall under the remit of the GDPR, DORA, NIS2, and more. Failing to meet these demands can result in severe financial penalties and a significant blow to the firm’s reputation.

Why are organizations struggling to defend against these threats?

From our experience, document security is often overlooked in favor of other areas like network perimeter and endpoint protection. Document-borne attacks are mundane enough to slip down the priorities list but advanced enough to defeat most standard security tools.

Security teams may lack the visibility or tools to inspect and sanitize every incoming file, particularly in fast-moving digital workflows.

There tends to be an over-reliance on signature-based antivirus solutions, which often fail to detect modern document-borne threats. While security teams are typically aware of malicious macros, formats like ActiveX controls, OLE objects, and embedded JavaScript may not be on the radar.

Attackers have also latched onto the fact there is a significant mental blind spot around documents seemingly delivered through familiar cloud-based channels. Even when employees have received phishing awareness training, there is a tendency to automatically trust a document coming in through an expected source like Google or Office 365.

What steps should businesses take to mitigate document-borne malware risks?

As with most evolving cyberattack tactics, a multi-layered strategy is the key to fending off document-borne threats.

One key step is adopting a multi-engine approach to malware scanning. While threat actors may be able to fool one detection engine, having multiple different tools will improve the chances of catching hidden malware and reduce false negatives.

Content Disarm and Reconstruction (CDR) tools are another important element. These sanitize and remove malicious macros, scripts, and active content while preserving document integrity. Suspect files can then be run through advanced standboxes to identify previously unknown threats by detecting their malicious behavior whilst in a contained environment.

The network should also be set with strict file policies, restricting high-risk file types and enforcing user authentication before document uploads. Setting file size limits can also help catch malicious documents where hidden code has made them larger than normal.

Efficiency and reliability are also key here. Organizations need to be able to identify malicious documents hiding in their typical incoming traffic, but without disrupting a workflow that customers expect to be fast and consistent.

Stronger email security measures will also help to detect and block malicious attachments before they reach users. Moving away from signature-based detection and towards behavioral analytics will improve the chances of catching out attackers posing as trusted contacts and services.

Including document-based threats in employee awareness efforts will also help staff spot signs like unexpected macros and spoofed invoices in case they make it through other measures. In particular, more scrutiny is needed for files shared through cloud platforms.

Companies should adopt a zero trust mindset, treating every incoming file as a potential threat until it has been scanned and sanitized.

We list the best document management software.

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

The future of enterprise AI isn’t just about insights – it’s about a monumental evolution of how businesses buy and sell in the global economy.

AI agents are poised to take automation beyond any capabilities that we’ve witnessed to date, shifting from AI tools that assist decision-making to independently thinking entities that augment execution at scale.

Deloitte predicts that by 2027, half of all companies will use GenAI to launch agentic AI pilots or proofs of concept, marking a significant transformation in how businesses operate.

Challenges on the Path to Agentic Adoption

While agentic AI holds immense promise, organizations must first overcome multiple hurdles. Case in point: Another recent survey found that more than 85 percent of enterprises will require upgrades to their existing technology stack in order to deploy AI agents. Most businesses are still in the early stages of AI adoption, and scaling agentic workflows from initial investments to drive enterprise-wide ROI remains a major challenge.

The road to agentic AI requires rethinking IT infrastructure, ensuring seamless and quality data integration, addressing security and compliance risks, and fostering organizational trust in autonomous solutions – all while ensuring the right guardrails are in place. Without a well-defined strategy, companies risk inefficiencies, implementation barriers, reputational risk, and missed opportunities to harness AI's full potential.

Complexity in Scaling

Agents individually aren’t enough. They can’t be deployed in isolation and need to work in coordination across systems to execute complex multi-step processes – manifesting as agentic workflows. Unlike monolithic systems with predictable interactions, an agentic workflow orchestrates a network of AI agents to solve intricate and layered problems autonomously with machine-scale analysis and human in the loop decision making.

Businesses need advanced orchestration frameworks capable of managing these complex interactions, ensuring robust error handling and maintaining workflow continuity across teams. Developing a clear roadmap will be critical in helping organizations deploy and scale AI agents effectively.

Accountability and Governance

With multiple agentic workflows operating independently yet collaboratively, ensuring accountability is a major challenge. Without a well-defined governance model, businesses risk a lack of oversight, which can lead to noncompliance, financial discrepancies, and reduced trust in AI-driven processes. Agents need to understand the rules of business that humans follow – rules that are defined by legal frameworks, ethical practices, and captured in contracts between customers, suppliers, and partners.

By “gut checking” decisions against contractual terms before taking action and ensuring clear audit trails are in place across the business, agentic decision-making becomes transparent and traceable, and far less likely to result in unnecessary liability.

Ensuring Data and Privacy

In any enterprise system, it’s critical for organizations to handle sensitive information responsibly and securely. Before deploying agentic workflows, ensure that data is clean and structured so sensitive information may be used by multiple agents simultaneously without exposure.

This applies to bank account details that are necessary for supplier payments, employee personal information, and contract data, as prime examples. Businesses should also establish secure data pipelines and continuous compliance measures to mitigate risks while enabling AI agents to function effectively and responsibly.

Trust and Change Management

Adopting agentic workflows requires more than just technical capability – it demands cultural change. Many organizations struggle with trusting AI agents due to concerns about reliability, accuracy, bias, ethical implications, and lack of transparency.

In fact, a recent study revealed data output quality and security and privacy concerns are among the top 10 barriers to AI adoption. Resistance to change within organizations, combined with a lack of understanding of how AI agents work, can create obstacles.

For businesses to fully embrace agentic AI, increase AI literacy and awareness around how AI agents operate with internal training and a top-down call to action driven by leadership. Emphasizing security protocols and privacy protections will also help to build confidence.

The First Step Toward an Autonomous Enterprise

So where can businesses realize immediate value from AI agents and agentic workflows?

AI agents are only as good as the data they train on. If enterprises want to drive profitability and capture returns from their AI strategy, they should start by looking at the data that drives the flow of commerce. Commercial agreements and the critical data they contain are foundational to how enterprises buy and sell, while also providing the compliance constraints agents need to do their jobs well without adding layers of risk.

The path to agentic AI is not a straight line. Yet by strategically addressing challenges, businesses can unlock new levels of intelligence and operational efficiency to embrace their future as an autonomous enterprise.

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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

• Samsung just set the date for its next Galaxy Unpacked
• The teaser says 'Ultra Unfolds' on July 9
• We're expecting the next Galaxy Z Fold and Z Flip, as well as a new Galaxy Watch

After numerous hints from Samsung and many rumors about the next Galaxy Z Fold, Galaxy Z Flip, and Galaxy Watches, you can now officially mark your calendars for July 9, 2025.

Samsung has set the date for its next Galaxy Unpacked event, and judging from the official event invitation and videos shared, we’re expecting at least two devices. One that resembles a standard candybar smartphone – though I’d bet it’ll be the Galaxy Z Flip 7 – and one that unfolds into something larger, likely the Galaxy Z Fold 7.

The Galaxy Unpacked festivities will kick off at 10am ET / 7am PT / 3pm BST on July 9, 2025, and the event will be live-streamed. TechRadar will be on the scene in Brooklyn, New York, reporting live, so we’ll be breaking down err Unpacking everything that Samsung unveils.

This is a return to New York for Samsung’s foldable-focused Galaxy Unpacked. The devices were unveiled in Paris in 2024 and Seoul in 2023.

Samsung’s last few mid-year Galaxy Unpacked events have been all about foldables and wearables, and the shared invitation photos and videos really lean into this. The animated videos play a jazzy version of Samsung’s classic ringtone, and the main visual is a thin horizontal line that expands into two devices.

(Image credit: Samsung)

The device on top is a long rectangle, likely the Galaxy Z Flip 7 but possibly just the front of the Galaxy Z Fold 7, but the bottom is a device that’s starting to unfold, revealing two sides. The bottom most resembles the Fold, which opens like a book into a larger-screen tablet.

Not to read too much into the event invite, but Samsung is using various shades of blue, as well as pops of bright white, which might mean we get a lovely shade of blue for the new Flip and Fold. After all, we saw a similar hint before Samsung’s Galaxy S25 lineup launched.

Further, in typical Samsung fashion, you can already pre-reserve ‘the latest Galaxy device’ and score a $50 credit. As with past promotions, you won’t need to commit to purchasing a device; you’re simply registering interest. That said, if you’re already interested in a new Flip or Fold, it’s worth signing up to score the $50 Samsung Credit.

Now that Samsung has confirmed its next Galaxy Unpacked for July 9, 2025, you can now pre-reserve the next Galaxy and score a $50 credit. As with previous Unpacked events, the entire offer is non-committal and doesn't cost anything – you'll fill out your name, email, and if you want a phone number to register your interest and unlock a $50 credit to Samsung. Additionally, Samsung says you'll unlock up to $1,150 additional savings, which is likely when trading in a device if you opt to preorder one of the new devices.View Deal

What to expect at Samsung’s July 9 Galaxy Unpacked

(Image credit: Samsung)

In several blog posts preceding these invites, Samsung has been teasing that its next devices will be “the next chapter of Ultra,” which leads us to believe that either the Galaxy Z Fold or Galaxy Z Flip (or both?!) will add “Ultra” to their names. Another theory is a new tri-folding device carrying the Ultra designation.

The animated version of the invite ends with 'Ultra Unfolds.' My money is on the Galaxy Z Fold 7 Ultra, but Samsung has already confirmed that an Ultra designation is coming to its foldable phones.

Both the Flip and Fold will now be in the seventh generation, and we’re expecting some pretty iterative but meaningful upgrades for both. Recent reports suggest a significant upgrade for what will likely be the star of the show, the Galaxy Z Fold 7. Much like the Galaxy S25 Edge, it’s expected to be even thinner when unfolded, and it will boast a larger internal screen, reportedly spanning 8 inches.

(Image credit: Future)

It’s also rumored to take a page from the Galaxy S25 Ultra and adopt an impressive 200-megapixel main sensor camera, which should significantly enhance the photography and videography capabilities of Samsung’s flagship foldable.

Of course, it should also get a speed upgrade thanks to new silicon inside and Samsung One UI 8, as well as more AI features. Expect the latter to arrive in the form of Galaxy AI, as well as through Samsung’s partnership with Google.

(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)

With the Galaxy Z Flip 7, rumors suggest no major changes to the cameras – a less-than-stellar development, to be sure – but Samsung could roll out new software to make better use of the 50-megapixel main and 12-megapixel ultrawide cameras that we tested on the Flip 6.

In terms of what’s changing, like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 will reportedly be a bit larger, with a 6.8-inch internal display, but the real story is on the front.

Potentially matching Motorola’s latest Razr flip phone, Samsung might stretch the cover display to a full 4 inches on the Flip 7 - up from 3.5 inches on the Flip 6. That, paired with the new One UI 8 user interface and more AI features, might make that cover display a lot more usable and attractive.

Samsung's next two foldables will likely be the stars of the July 9 Unpacked, but considering the tech giant loves teasing upcoming devices, we wouldn’t be shocked if we get a look at a rumored tri-fold device. That would be pretty stellar.

(Image credit: Future)

Samsung didn't just use its last July 2024 Unpacked event to unveil the Galaxy Z Flip 6 and Galaxy Z Fold 6. We also got the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch 7, and Galaxy Watch Ultra, (oh, and Galaxy Buds 3 Pro), so it’s likely we’ll see some new wearables next month. However, if you’re expecting the Galaxy Ring 2 or Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, don’t hold your breath for a release this time around.

The Galaxy Watch 8 could be getting a screen upgrade and some new health features, but one surprise might be the return of the Galaxy Watch Classic with a movable bezel around the screen – a possible prototype of this device popped up on eBay not too long ago.

Either way, whether you’re excited about a new Flip or a Fold, an Ultra or a wearable, Samsung is set to unveil something that will make you curious on July 9.

TechRadar will be the place to be for our live reporting and analysis, but we’ll also make it easy for you to watch the event unfold. It’ll be the third Galaxy Unpacked of 2025, and hopefully an exciting one.

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• PCIe 6.0 coming to AMD platforms soon but not for consumers
• Most users won’t need PCIe 6.0 speed until much later
• Enterprise and AI will adopt PCIe 6.0 well before desktop and laptop PCs

AMD plans to support PCIe 6.0 starting in 2026, but SSDs based on the standard aren’t expected to appear in consumer PCs anytime soon.

Silicon Motion’s CEO, Wallace C. Kuo, told Tom’s Hardware that PC makers and chip vendors simply aren’t pushing for the technology yet.

"You will not see any PCIe Gen6 [solutions] until 2030," Kuo said. "PC OEMs have very little interest in PCIe 6.0 right now - they do not even want to talk about it. AMD and Intel do not want to talk about it."

PCIe 4.0 speeds are fine for most

That delay isn’t a surprise - as while PCIe 6.0 offers up to 32GB/s of bandwidth on a x4 connection, the complexity and cost of supporting that speed are much higher than for PCIe 5.0.

Enterprise systems and AI infrastructure, on the other hand, are where PCIe 6.0 will land first. These use cases can justify the need for faster interconnects, as they rely heavily on moving massive amounts of data quickly and reliably.

For everyone else, including gamers and content creators, PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 offer more than enough speed.

It’s worth pointing out there are very few laptops shipping with PCIe 5.0 SSDs. Most PCs today use PCIe 4.0, and that’s still fast enough for nearly all mainstream workloads. The real bottlenecks consumers face usually aren’t bandwidth-related.

Technical hurdles are also part of the problem. As PCIe speeds increase, the physical distance signals can travel shrinks dramatically.

A presentation by Astera Labs claims copper traces on a motherboard can reach up to 11 inches at PCIe 4.0 speeds, but that drops to just 3.4 inches with PCIe 6.0. That’s a real issue in desktops using riser cards or complex routing, especially for graphics cards.

Retimers can solve this in servers, but they’re too expensive for most consumer builds.

Making motherboards compatible with PCIe 6.0 also means more PCB layers and higher-quality materials, which pushes up costs. For now, the added expense and power draw just don’t make sense for most users.

PCIe 5.0 SSDs are likely to remain the top-end option for desktop PCs for the rest of the decade. The storage industry might be ready for the next step, but consumers probably won’t need or want it until well after 2030.

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I get it. Parents confronted with the exorbitant cost of a college education and the possibility that their progeny will also need a new laptop are disinclined to spend $1,000 or more on a Mac when a Windows machine could be had for hundreds less.

I also know that the decision is not that obvious or straightforward. A Windows computer that costs $450 is in no way comparable to, say, a $999 MacBook Air. That, I think, was the point of the nearly 8-minute-long YouTube ad Apple launched and then apparently made private within 24 hours (but other copies of it still exist – see below).

Titled "Convince Your Parents to Get You a Mac", the ad is set in a college pep assembly with an audience full of disinterested teens (or actors, it's hard to tell) and SNL's Please Don't Destroy's Martin Herlihy as presenter.

It's not what I'd call a clever ad. The premise...well, I'm not sure there is one. Herlihy is mostly just presenting Apple's "The Parent Presentation" Keynote template, which anyone can download and, ostensibly, modify to convince their parents why it's a good idea to invest in a Mac for their child's college experience.

Taken at face value, Apple's presentation is spot on. Yes, a Mac is more expensive, but still an excellent value because of things you don't need to invest in or worry about, like backup software, blue screens, and antivirus software. The best MacBooks are well-built and lightweight.

Like I said, solid argument.

I do not understand why Apple chose to promote it with an overly long video featuring jokes and bits that didn't land with me or the college prep audience, which sits in uncomfortable silence for most of the video. This may have been part of the joke, but I didn't see the humor in it.

Hard to watch

Herlihy gives it his all. The cringe humor fits in nicely with some of the work he's done on SNL with Please Don't Destroy castmates Ben Marshall and John Higgins. Without them to play off of, however, each joke floats lifelessly out over the audience before cashing in the aisles.

I wonder if someone at Apple, maybe CEO Tim Cook, happened to check out the "ad/infomercial" after it launched and immediately knew this was a misfire.

Essentially, Apple managed to take its most salient points and make them hard to listen to or sit through.

Obviously, Apple considers this a critical moment in the pre-back-to-school buying period. It's hoping with this ad or maybe others like it, to plant a seed, and preferably one in the heads of those who can make the laptop purchase. Enlisting teens who want new laptops in the efforts is smart, but this was not the way.

The video is too long, too weird, and too oddly earnest to be a shareable bit of content. If this were on TikTok, I would've swiped up within 12 seconds.

There may be some salvageable parts from this marketing misstep, but I kind of doubt it. Don't worry, though, Apple is good at this stuff and I'm sure they'll be back soon enough with a TikTok-length ad that all your friends will want to share with each other and, eventually, their parents.

If there's a lesson in this, it's that Apple might just want to leave the whole effort to teens who, it seems, are already earnestly sharing their presentations on TikTok.

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• Klarna wants to be your bank, your store, and now your phone network too
• It’s new mobile plan offers unlimited 5G, but it's unclear how support will work
• Unlimited data sounds great, but what happens when you need help or travel abroad?

Klarna, the fintech company known for reshaping the buy-now-pay-later space and once using an AI bot to do the job of 700 staff, is moving into a very different line of business: mobile connectivity.

The company is launching a mobile network that promises unlimited 5G data, talk, and text for $40 per month in the United States.

Klarna’s new service is being rolled out in partnership with Gigs, a company that describes itself as the “operating system for mobile services.”

Klarna moves beyond banking

“Klarna’s push into the mobile space marks the beginning of a new era for connectivity. Now, consumers can expect a seamlessly integrated mobile experience that bundles premium connectivity with financial tools, all through the apps they already know and love,” said Gigs CEO, Hermann Frank.

The plan includes unlimited 5G data that reportedly won’t be throttled, with coverage on AT&T’s nationwide network.

Klarna claims there are no hidden fees, no contract lock-ins, and a setup process that happens in minutes through the Klarna app.

But questions remain about long-term service reliability, especially when services like customer support and international roaming haven’t yet launched.

For now, only a basic unlimited plan is available, with premium options expected later.

“Klarna has saved consumers time and money, and reduced financial worry for over 20 years. With mobile plans we’re taking that one step further, as we continue to build our neobank offering,” said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Klarna.

“Consumers already know and love Klarna’s super smooth services and now, with one tap in the Klarna app, they’ll be up and running with their new phone plan, no hassle, no hidden fees, just great value.”

The offer seems to address common frustrations among US mobile users. Klarna’s internal research suggests half of Americans "believe switching phone plans is too difficult.”

The company touts its 25 million active users and high Net Promoter Score as reasons why it could disrupt telecom just as it did digital payments.

With N26 and Revolut already venturing into telecom, Klarna’s entry is part of a larger trend where neobanks try to wrap financial and connectivity tools into one platform. Surely it's only a matter of time before PayPal joins the fold.

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• Asus ProArt P16 beats most laptops in its price and size class
• You get RTX 5070 graphics and OLED visuals in a surprisingly slim 4-pound frame
• Bundled AI apps like StoryCube and MuseTree boost productivity for visual creators and editors

Asus has introduced the ProArt P16 (H7606), a laptop which pairs AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor with Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5070 GPU, targeting content creators and professional users.

The new addition joins the wave of Copilot+ PCs built to support advanced local AI tasks and aims to rival some of the most premium creative laptops on the market.

At $2,499.99, the ProArt P16 also undercuts competitors like the Razer Blade 16, which retails for $2,799.99 but offers a similar target user experience.

Asus ProArt P16 bundles AI tools and software for creatives

The ProArt P16 features a 16-inch OLED display, a premium visual specification often reserved for machines priced higher.

It also supports up to 64GB of RAM, which is nearly unheard of in this segment, and up to 2TB of internal storage.

These specifications position it as a contender for the best laptop for graphic design, especially those working with high-resolution files and complex color spaces.

At just 0.59 inches thick and weighing 4.08 pounds, the Nano Black chassis keeps things portable despite the raw horsepower inside.

Asus bundles in additional creative features through its exclusive apps: StoryCube and MuseTree. The former is pitched as a digital asset management tool that utilizes AI to automatically categorize and generate clips from user content, while the latter turns graphical prompts into images while intelligently organizing creative inspiration.

At just 0.59 inches thick and weighing 4.08 pounds, the Nano Black chassis keeps things portable despite the raw horsepower inside.

This pairing of hardware and software seems designed to capture those looking for the best laptop for video editing without committing to a desktop setup.

Asus has also partnered with CapCut, giving new users an exclusive six-month membership that includes access to premium features and AI-driven editing tools.

In addition, the laptop comes with a three-month Adobe Creative Suite subscription, further appealing to professionals working across photography, video, and design workflows.

These bundled tools offer value for those searching for the best laptop for photo editing, as they come integrated into the buying experience.

That said, Asus will release a more powerful model featuring the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 in late 2025, which will likely push the price higher. This model will be available for purchase at the ASUS official store after launch.

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• Tesla unveiled its “public-facing” Robotaxi service this weekend
• The service is currently an invite-only affair
• Reports suggest it is still behind Waymo and other rivals

In a surprising turn of events, Tesla has stuck to its recent timelines and actually kick-started a “public-facing” autonomous ride-hailing service in Austin, Texas this weekend.

Despite Texas lawmakers asking Musk to postpone proceedings until it had finalized and introduced new laws surrounding fully autonomous taxis, the controversial CEO has ploughed ahead anyway.

As a result, reports are surfacing on various social media networks that show the first few VIP invitees enjoying their debut Robotaxi experience.

However, this is a far cry from the futuristic Cybercab scenario that Tesla showcased at its Hollywood-spec 'We, Robot' event in October of last year, where bespoke Cybercabs ferried folks around a film set and the company’s Optimus humanoid robots served drinks to party-goers, only for the world to find out they were actually tele-operated.

It is a similar story with Tesla's recent robotaxi endeavor, as the “fleet” of 10-20 Model Y vehicles (sporting some Robotaxi branding) are strictly limited to a small and relatively uncomplicated area of Austin, Texas.

They also only operate between 6am and 12am and have a remote operator in the passenger seat to manually verify riders' ID and take control should a problem arise.

The Verge reported that some of Tesla’s driverless vehicles are also followed by 'chase' vehicles, presumably packed with engineers ready to jump in should there be an issue that both the in-car and remote operators can’t handle.

So far, only a select number of invites have gone out to predominantly “pro-Tesla” influencers, according to The Verge, with the initial invite list of test pilots reading like a who’s-who of the Musk sycophant contingent – renowned Tesla stock hype-man Sawyer Merritt being among those names.

Just like the 'We, Robot' event, this initial launch phase feels very much like a massive PR stunt, with the company essentially inviting the “general public” (read Tesla content creators) along for a ride during the very early testing phase, rather than during the widespread deployment of a legitimate, paid-for service.

Why Waymo is way ahead

(Image credit: Waymo)

It’s impossible to talk about Tesla’s robotaxi service without mentioning its closest competitor Waymo, particularly when Musk reportedly said after this successful initial launch phase that there could up to a thousand robotaxis on the road in a few months.

As a reminder, Waymo currently has a fully operational fleet of 1,500 vehicles on the road in four major cities in the US, with the areas in which it operates constantly expanding inside those cities. Anyone can summon a driverless cab with a simple app interface and they won't see a human inside the vehicle.

By the end of 2026, it hopes to have added another 2,000 vehicles according to a blog post by the Alphabet-owned company released in May this year, as it continues to ready a fleet of Jaguar i-Pace cars for autonomous driving.

Waymo also announced that it will be the first major client of Hyundai’s mass-produced Ioniq 5 robotaxi, which will help it scale even faster.

To think Musk will be able to reach this stage a couple of months after what is basically an initial testing phase is pure fantasy, especially as he insists on using a camera-only Full Self-Driving system that lacks the radars, Lidar and myriad other sensors that its rivals say is mandatory for a reliable and safe service.

Scaling up is the true test

(Image credit: Hyundai)

Already, a number of videos have already surfaced on Reddit that appear to show Tesla Robotaxis behaving erratically, swerving at busy intersections and slamming on the brakes for parked police cars that aren’t even stopped in the road.

Granted, it’s impossible to verify the authenticity of a Reddit video, but there is a growing list of very public cases where Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system has been active during an accident.

The first few reviews of the experience seem largely positive, with most riders describing the drive as “smooth” or “human-like”, but these are still very early days.

Things will get far more complicated if and when Tesla legitimately has thousands of vehicles on the road, it removes the operator sat in the passenger seat, and it builds out its app so the general public can genuinely use it. I predict that being at least two years away.

Alongside Waymo, there are companies in China that are also racing ahead with active fully autonomous ride-hailing services. Baidu, WeRide and Pony.ai are already racking up hundreds and thousands of miles.

Just last year, Baidu reportedly sparked anxiety among taxi drivers, automotive brands and the working public after it launched a driverless service in Wuhan that offered rides of around six miles (much further than the reported four or so miles Tesla can currently travel) for around 50 cents.

It undercut journeys with a human driver at the wheel by around two bucks and naturally proved very popular, according to CNN, leading to panic that many jobs could soon to be at risk.

Once the legal framework is in place for the widespread rollout of autonomous vehicles, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to think that the Chinese could swoop in and dominate the market... just like they have done with EVs.

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• Tronsmart Fiitune X30 is out now for $179.99 (about £154 / AU$322)
• 80W output with built-in subwoofer and up-firing "sky driver"
• IPX6 water resistance and 14 hour battery life

The Tronsmart Fiitune X30 is a direct rival to the Sonos Era 300, and it has one particularly appealing quality: it's less than half the price of the Sonos.

Where the Sonos Era 300 has a list price of $449 / £449 / AU$749, the Fiitune X30 is launching with a price tag of $179.99 / €179.99 (about £154 / AU$322).

As you'd expect, there are a few differences in spec to achieve that much lower price. And if you're serious about spatial sound, one of those differences may be a deal breaker.

(Image credit: Tronsmart)Fiitune X30: key features

The Fiitune X30 has six driver units, including an upward-firing illuminated "sky driver" to throw some audio towards the ceiling, a down-firing active subwoofer, dual tweeters, and dual mid-range drivers. There are four passive bass radiators and total power output is 80W. Frequency range isn't specified beyond "an ultra-wide 40kHz bandwidth".

It's a portable design with an integrated handle, dual-device connection, and IPX6 water resistance, and it promises 14 hours of playback between charges – that's fairly low compared to the best portable speakers, though there are lots of speakers to handle here, to be fair.

You can tune the audio with the companion smartphone app for iOS and Android, and Android users can stream audio to the speaker in LDAC for the highest possible sound quality. The speaker can be used solo or as half of a stereo pair.

It's not a bad spec for the money, but there's one important caveat: the spatial audio here isn't native, because the speaker doesn't support Dolby Atmos (or rival spatial audio formats, but Atmos is the crucial one for music right now).

Any spatial effect will be from 'upscaling' the music to have virtual extra height using that top-mounted speaker, and any 3D placement beyond stereo will also be added by the speaker.

That means it's targeting a very different market than the Sonos, and I suspect its real rival isn't the Era 300 but the Sonos Roam 2. The littlest Sonos is nowhere near as loud as the Fiitune X30 – it's 10W rather than 80W and has far fewer speakers – but it's priced identically at $179 / £179 / AU$299.

The Tronsmart could be a juicy set of speakers anyway, with lots of power for a low price, but this might be a case where there's no point putting the extra effort of spatial speakers in unless you're going to go the whole way and include Atmos.

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• Most people are polite to AI even when they’re frustrated, Tidio survey finds
• Cursing at chatbots doesn’t stop people from saying thank you
• Politeness toward AI feels normal even when the tech fails often

Are you someone who always says “please” and “thank you” to AI tools, or do you let rip when it doesn’t get what you mean or give you what you want?

New research has suggested users of AI chatbots can be both polite and rude, often in the same conversation.

A new report from Tidio found most people have cursed at a chatbot at least once, but that hasn’t stopped them from saying “thank you” afterward, highlighting the contradiction in how people interact with AI.

Avoiding AI chatbots

Nearly 70% of users admitted to swearing at chatbots out of frustration, but the service we’re getting from our future AI overlords can’t be that bad since 75% said they were satisfied with their most recent interaction.

Although people can be quick to vent when things don’t go their way (something human customer service workers know all too well), politeness still seems to be a habit people carry into conversations with AI, even when the experience isn’t totally smooth.

A previous Future study found 67% of Americans and 71% of Brits are nice to AI. That includes saying “please,” “thank you,” and even apologizing to digital assistants like ChatGPT or smart speakers.

It may sound silly, but some people say being respectful helps them get better answers. TechRadar’s Becca Caddy tested this by removing polite words from her prompts to ChatGPT and said the quality of responses dropped.

Even OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, weighed in on the cost of politeness. When asked how much it costs to power responses to polite prompts, he replied, “Tens of millions of dollars well spent.”

Although AI is now part of our daily lives, a good portion of people aren’t wholly convinced by it.

Around 30% of respondents to Tidio’s survey said they’d prefer to wait for a human even if a chatbot is ready to respond. And 26% said they’d rather trust a Magic 8-Ball than AI support.

Some users are even willing to pay to avoid it. About 11% would spend extra just to talk to a human.

Yet in practice, most people are prepared to use AI for help with basic tasks. The most common purposes include technical support, general questions, billing issues, and product information.

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There's a new show at the top of the Netflix streaming charts, and whether you'll love it or not depends very much on whether you like shows such as Virgin River, Yellowstone or Dawson's Creek.

The Waterfront – Kevin Williamson's (Scream) new family crime drama – is according to The Guardian "Dawson's Creek for grown-ups". The Hollywood Reporter has described it as "Ozark meets Bloodline (with a bit of Virgin River)", while The Daily Beast says that "perhaps Yellowstone fans will be excited to watch that show’s vibe CW-ified and ported over to Netflix. Everyone else can just keep fishing for something better".

So we're clearly in love it or hate it territory – it's 64% score from the critics and 71% rating (at the time of writing) from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes confirms that. But for those who love it, The Waterfront is lots of fun.

What are the critics saying about The Waterfront?

The show centers the Buckley family – Holt McCallany and Maria Bello – who've built a fishing empire in their home town, only to have it taken away from them piece by piece as patriarch Harlan (McCallany) recovers from two heart attacks.

According to TIME: "it’s a slow-burn Southern gothic tale rich with betrayal and moral ambiguity, but beneath the genre trappings lies a deeper current of meaning... the series stands as a meditation on loyalty, legacy, and the weight of unfinished business."

The aforementioned Guardian review begs to differ, saying happily that: "It is escapist summer nonsense with – God, I hope – no pretensions to being otherwise. Dive into the adult creek and wallow in nostalgia as the waves of absurdity sweep towards shore."

Variety agrees – it's "the Netflix equivalent of a beach read, but it’s highly entertaining" – and The San Jose Mercury News reckons that the show "is a keeper because of the outrageous behavior of its morally compromised characters." Meanwhile, New York magazine says "there’s nothing quite like sensational, just-this-side-of-campy organized crime to buoy you through the sticky, grimy days of summer."

So, it's big daft summer fun? Not so fast! The haters are here and they've got some hating to do about why it's not one of the best Netflix shows, starting with IndieWire who says that "Netflix's sludgy family crime drama is a shallow reflection of better shows".

The grade here is a grudging D+ because, IndieWire's Ben Travers says, "it's all vibes and no soul... Nothing that’s heard has to mean anything, it just has to sound like it does. Nothing that happens has to evoke any real emotions, it just has to remind you of shows that did. Even if you haven’t seen Ozark or Yellowstone – heck, even if The Waterfront is the first series you’ve ever seen – there’s no mistaking a sinking ship."

The Independent wasn't exactly raving either. "It is hard to imagine that anyone at Netflix thinks The Waterfront is going to be a classic, or even a particular hit. Instead, it is television played about as safe as it comes."

It's "unconvincing", says The Hollywood Reporter. "This isn’t necessarily a good show, but it’s a serviceable attempt to reproduce the sort of accessible, young-skewing soap opera The CW and The WB used to make, with a solidly above-average cast."

The Waterfront is streaming now on Netflix.

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Whether it's during my time testing TVs at TechRadar or back in my AV retail days, one aspect of TVs I like to explore thoroughly is the smart TV platform, also known as the Operating System (OS).

The best TVs not only deliver great picture and sound quality (although great TV sound is a bit rarer), but they also make the viewing experience smooth, responsive and user-friendly.

Over the past few years, LG’s webOS smart TV platform has delivered the best user experience. In comparison, other smart TV platforms such as Google TV, Roku, and Fire TV all come up short, and the same has been true of Samsung’s own Tizen smart TV platform – until now.

In our recent reviews of the Samsung S95F and 65-inch Samsung S90F OLED TVs, and the Samsung QN90F mini-LED TV, the Tizen smart TV platform scored four and a half out of five stars in the smart TV category. Previously, the maximum I would give Tizen was four stars.

What has changed in the latest version that makes it so much better?

The best features

The Samsung Gaming Hub (pictured on the Samsung S95F) is one of Tizen's best features (Image credit: Future)

One of the best features in Samsung’s Tizen interface is the Gaming Hub. A portal dedicated to all things gaming, the Gaming Hub features a wide range of cloud-based apps such as Xbox, Nvidia GeForce Now and Luna. It also has access to recommended Twitch streams and can detect your console when it's connected, working as a launch page. Gaming Hub is one of the major reasons why Samsung TVs always feature in our list of the best gaming TVs.

A more recent Tizen addition that seems to be inspired by LG’s webOS is the quick menu. Previously, accessing the settings on Samsung TVs was a long-winded process, but with the new quick menu overlay, accessing picture and sound modes, and the brightness setting is incredibly easy. Tizen 9.0 (the 2025 version) also remembers your most recent and frequently accessed settings and puts them at the top of the quick menu – useful if you regularly change one setting (I found I changed Dynamic Tone Mapping often while in Filmmaker Mode).

Samsung's new quick menu screen overlay gives you easy access to some settings (Image credit: Future)

The Tizen homescreen is split into three sections: For You, Live and Apps. For You now hosts more AI-based recommendations based on your viewing history, and I found these to be largely accurate. Samsung has also introduced profiles, where individual recommendations can be made for each user – another feature found in LG’s webOS platform that was first introduced in 2024.

Samsung TVs have a mode (called Art on LED, QLED and mini-LED sets, Ambient on OLED sets) where pictures can be displayed instead of showing a blank screen when in standby mode. There’s also a new subscription-based Art Store option that lets you “stream” paintings from famous museums, a feature that was previously limited to Samsung The Frame TVs.

Finally, Tizen provides access to not only the best streaming services but also thousands of hours of free TV shows and movies via its Samsung TV Plus hub, which is similar to the LG Channels feature on LG TVs.

Searching for settings

Some more advanced settings are unfortunately hidden away and can be tricky to find (Image credit: Future)

Tizen 9.0 may be the best version of Samsung’s smart TV platform I’ve used so far, but it’s still not perfect. One common criticism in TechRadar’s recent Samsung TV reviews involves the difficulty in accessing certain settings.

Although the quick menu mentioned above is a welcome feature, some settings are buried under a layer of menus, making them hard to find. For example, something as basic as Noise Reduction is found by going to Settings>All Settings> Picture Settings>Picture Clarity Settings>Noise Reduction, and this process involves scrolling down through multiple menus.

This deep nesting of settings makes life difficult for those who like to experiment with their TVs. And while Samsung provides a wide range of picture settings for viewers to customize the picture, Samsung could have made these easier to access.

Final thoughts

(Image credit: Future)

Tizen may not be a perfect smart TV platform, but for years, it was trailing behind LG’s webOS. Although webOS is still my top pick for a smart TV platform, it’s great to see just how much Tizen has improved in this latest version.

For Samsung TV owners with an older version of Tizen, fear not: Samsung’s commitment to seven years of software updates for older models gives your old TV extended life. And having tested this latest version, I can say that Tizen 9.0 is the best one yet.

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• Insurance giant AFLAC confirms it has been hit with a cyberattack
• The attack looks to have been by notorious Scattered Spider group
• Increasingly infamous group targeted multiple UK retailers earlier in 2025

AFLAC (American Family Life Assurance Company), has confirmed in a statement it has suffered a cyber ‘incident’ in which hackers intruded into its network.

AFLAC, the largest supplemental insurance provider in the US, says it was able to stop the intrusion ‘within hours’ and systems were not affected by ransomware.

Whilst AFLAC hasn’t confirmed the source of the breach or who was behind it, the breach exhibits all the signs of a Scattered Spider attack.

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A wider campaign

The name Scattered Spider will sound familiar to lots of readers, especially given that the group is allegedly behind major and disruptive breaches of UK retailers Marks and Spencer and Co-op, as well as luxury department store Harrods.

Google recently warned the group was aiming its sights on US firms, and urged the US insurance sector to be on high alert for social engineering and credential stuffing attacks.

Insurance companies are particularly at risk as they hold vast amounts of personal data and turn huge profits which can be exploited for ransom.

“This attack, like many insurance companies are currently experiencing, was caused by a sophisticated cybercrime group. This was part of a cybercrime campaign against the insurance industry,” AFLAC’s statement stated.

“The potentially impacted files contain claims information, health information, social security numbers, and/or other personal information, related to customers, beneficiaries, employees, agents, and other individuals in our U.S. business. We remain committed to caring for and supporting our customers.”

Anyone who uses any services hit by this group (or affected by any data breach) should be very wary of any unexpected communications, looking out for social engineering attacks, and should check out the best identity theft protection software to keep safe.

AFLAC is also offering 24 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for customers who contact their hotline following the breach.

Via BleepingComputer

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• Apparent DJI Mini 5 Pro prototype spotted and snapped by mountain biker
• Serial leaker says trusted source has signalled 7 August 2025 launch date
• New ultralight drone will reportedly come with LiDAR sensors

Drone lovers, prepare for lift-off: the release of the long-rumored DJI Mavic 5 Pro could be imminent, according to one serial leaker.

The replacement for the DJI Mini 4 Pro, which we rate as the best-in-class ultralight drone, is due to get its official launch on 7 August 2025, if serial drone blogger Jesper Ellens is to believed. Writing at DroneXL, Ellens reports that a (reliable) contact has messaged him sharing the date. He also says that, while he usually prefers to wait for more corroboration before posting a rumor like this, this source has never been wrong before.

If true, the date is a mere seven weeks away – weeks in which we expect further news and rumors about the DJI Mini 5 Pro will trickle out. We also suspect we’ll get more photos of the drone in the wild – such as one new captured by a Chinese mountain biker who claims he simply came across a prototype of the drone in a park.

The image was shared by another serial drone leaker, @MauroTandoi, and while it’s of pretty poor quality, it appears to show a small folding drone with larger front-facing sensors (see below).

#djimini5pro #dji #mini5pro pic.twitter.com/4RCeZC82adJune 20, 2025

This fits in well with early rumors about the Mini 5 Pro from last year; back in December 2024, Jesper Ellens (yes, we did say he was a serial leaker) claimed it would come with LiDAR sensors, as well as vented motors.

LiDAR, which would greatly enhance the drone’s obstacle avoidance system, particularly in low light conditions, has recently started appearing on higher end DJI drones such as the DJI Air 3S and DJI Mavic 4 Pro, so we would not at all be surprised to see it on an upcoming DJI Mini 5 Pro.

Vented motors, meanwhile, could result in stronger flight performance: higher air speed, better wind resistance and even longer battery life.

Other upgrades to come?

The DJI Mini 4 Pro weighs under 250g, a key part of its appeal that we strongly expect the DJI Mini 5 Pro to retain – regardless of any upgrades DJI has implemented. (Image credit: DJI)

LiDAR and vented motor upgrades alone might well be enough to convince people to upgrade to the Mini 5 Pro from a Mini 4 Pro, but we have also heard speculation about a larger 1-inch sensor for the camera (the Mini 4 Pro has a 1/1.3-inch sensor), which could really get people excited – especially if DJI keeps the weight under the all-important 250g mark.

In the UK, EU and USA, drones of 250g and above are subject to more rules, regulations and restrictions, so ultralight models such as DJI’s Mini range fulfil an important role – provided they keep their total take-off weight under that figure.

Stay tuned for more DJI Mini 5 rumors in the coming weeks.

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• Samsung India to launch 'core' Galaxy Buds on June 27
• An Amazon India listing spilled the beans on the release date
• But it's unclear whether the US will get them on Friday – or anyone else

Samsung's marketing strategy for its Galaxy Buds Core and/or Galaxy Buds 3 FE (which would bypass any Buds 2 FE variant entirely, despite being the first and only successors to the Galaxy Buds FE) has been somewhat… eccentric.

And now, instead of two sets of earbuds, just one has been teased by Samsung's Indian arm – but not by the tech giant's US or UK subdivisions.

And although Samsung India's post on X (below) doesn't expressly state 'Here are the Galaxy Buds Core, ladies n gents!' the tagline 'Let the music move you to the core' is fairly telling… and if you click through to an Amazon listing, you also get to know that sales start on June 27 for buyers based in India.

Brace yourself! The music is about to hit harder. Feel every note, every drop, every beat – louder, clearer, deeper. Dropping soon!Notify me: https://t.co/65SB0Nqwuz#Samsung pic.twitter.com/0Vm7DIvJR6June 21, 2025

Will the US / UK and Australia also get the Galaxy Buds Core on June 27?

Short answer: it's impossible to say – again, this particular release (or pair of releases) from Samsung has been rather hard to follow.

Less than two weeks ago, two unannounced sets of Samsung Galaxy earbuds were revealed in an APK teardown of the latest Galaxy Buds Controller app (Wear OS version, v1.0.08.38 – thank you for your hard work there, Android Authority) and neither of them was the expected Buds 2 FE.

Back in April though, Galaxy Buds Core certification filings were spotted in the US (FCC) and India (BIS) as the successors to the Buds FE – so perhaps it's best to think of the lineup thus: the Buds Core take the spot of the Buds 2 FE, and the Buds 3 FE occupy a place, er, after that.

And we're not done: as spotted by Android Authority, the team over at Gadgets360 spotted a Buds Core listing on Samsung’s official UAE website, which does suggest a global rollout on June 27, even if the US is being fashionably late to the launch party.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds series hasn't seen a new product since the stemmed Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, which arrived in summer 2024 (although they did get some much-needed updates in March 2025). So, it's high time for some fresh iterations – and in case you haven't spotted it, the Buds 3 Pro are heavily discounted right now, which often signals products that are about to be superseded.

What's the main upgrade we can expect over the Buds FE? Some have suggested Wi-Fi support (I'll believe it when I see it) but I think we can definitely expect an uptick in stamina. The original Buds FE boasted a relatively humble 6 hours with ANC on and I'm sure Samsung is looking to level that up to stay relevant, even in the $99 / £99 space.

Anyway, not long to wait now…

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• Iranian authorities are pushing citizens to use a domestic messaging app to communicate with their families outside the country
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• Iran has been experiencing a near-total internet blackout since June 18, 2025, impacting citizens' ability to communicate and access information

As Iran enters the fifth day of a near-total communication blackout, officials are reportedly encouraging citizens to turn to a domestic messaging app to stay in touch with their families outside the country.

Fars News Agency – which is managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – shared a tweet on Friday, June 20, saying that foreign users, as well as locals, can now use the Bale app to communicate with relatives and friends during the internet outage.

There's a problem, though: security researchers have previously flagged Bale (or Baleh) Messenger as a state surveillance tool. Not only did they find that it lacked end-to-end encryption protections, but that it also has censorship and surveillance capabilities.

The risks of Bale Messenger

(Image credit: Future)

Reportedly developed by a company with ties to the National Bank of Iran, Bale (which means Yes in Persian) is an instant messaging application that includes voice-over-IP features, a social media platform, and even banking services.

Bale claims to use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to ensure users chats remain private.

According to data coming from the Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Bale had 16.5 million monthly active users as of May 2023.

Considering its growing popularity, security researchers at the Open Technology Fund decided to verify the claims of Bale and two other Iranian messaging apps (Eitaa and Rubika) with a security audit. The tests were carried out in December 2023 and October 2024 and uncovered several privacy and security vulnerabilities.

Do you know?

(Image credit: Kenneth Cheung/via Getty Images)

Iranian authorities enforced heavy internet restrictions against popular Western apps following the country's 2022 massive protests. This has likely led to a spike in usage of Bale and other Iran-developed applications.

For starters, auditors confirmed that all three apps employed different forms of client-server encryption, but none had E2EE protections enabled, despite government claims.

Specifically Bale was found using "one form of encryption that could be easily reversed in the context of encrypting a user’s credit card data" according to the audit.

All apps could reportedly exchange messages with each other, too, through a backend process called Message Exchange Bus (MXB), which auditors confirmed was a state-owned service.

This meant that the app server "could potentially view plaintext messages due to the lack of E2EE in any of the apps".

Researchers also found evidence of "unexpected transmission of private data".

Crucially, when users click on URLs shared via messages, they appear to be redirected to the application’s backend server.

"This would effectively allow the servers to monitor which websites are viewed by users within the app," researchers explained, deeming the tactic "a mechanism for censorship and surveillance".

The Bale app was also found to share users location data with the app server during authentication.

What experts are saying

Researchers at the Open Technology Fund concluded their security audit by suggesting opting for more secure messaging apps that actually employ E2EE. These include Signal (which also offers anti-censorship proxy servers), Session, and Wire.

Iranian Information Security Analyst and women’s rights advocate Azam Jangrevi also raised concerns following Friday's statement from the Iranian authorities.

Iran's regime has cut internet access, leaving millions disconnected from loved ones abroad. Officials push the "Baleh" app,long flagged by activists as insecure and a tool for state surveillance. #InternetFreedom #Iran #war #IranIsraelConflict pic.twitter.com/3mbuTogCdsJune 20, 2025

Jangrevi told TechRadar: "The app, tied to the National Bank of Iran, has raised red flags due to potential spyware embedded within its code. Key concerns include unauthorized surveillance, remote device access, and metadata collection especially targeting individuals with political or social influence.

"With those risks, analysts urge citizens to avoid Baleh for sensitive communication. Instead, they suggest turning to encrypted services like Signal or WhatsApp (via secure VPNs), though connection quality varies."

Iran's internet blackout

(Image credit: NetBlocks)

Iran has been suffering a near-total internet blackout since June 18, 2025, impacting citizens' ability to communicate and access information.

Internet connectivity was briefly restored on Saturday (June 21) "when residents could exchange messages with the outside world," internet watchdog NetBlocks reported, before collapsing again in the evening.

The latest data from Sunday (see image above) shows that the country remains largely "offline."

"At 72 hours, diminished telecoms continue to impact the public's ability to stay informed and in touch with loved ones," NetBlocks noted.

It's in this context that Iranians were also asked to delete WhatsApp from their smartphones, with officials fearing the app may be used as a source of strategic information for its opponent in the current conflict.

A series of government-imposed restrictions also began on June 13 and sparked a surge of VPN demand across Iran that reached peaks of over 700% increase.

Authorities, however, appear to be targeting VPN usage with some of the best VPN apps now reportedly not working at all times.

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