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Best Buy's Black Friday in July sale is running all week, and as part of the event, there are several offers on all sorts of Apple tech. I've gathered up all of the biggest savings right here, including discounts of up to $500 on MacBooks, iPads, AirPods, Apple Watches, and iPhones.

• See all Apple deals at Best Buy

My main highlight is the return of the AirPods Pro 3 to $199.99 (was $249.99). This was once the record-low price for the popular Apple buds, but they did fall to $169 very briefly during the recent Prime Day sale. However, this is the next best price, and it's unlikely they'll fall that low again until Black Friday in November.

You can also find the Apple Watch Series 11 for $299 (was $399). Again, that's the lowest price available right now for the best-selling smartwatch — and only $20 more than the previous record-low price. Not a bad deal, then, outside of a major sale.

If you're shopping for more than Apple tech, do check out my full guide to the Best Buy Black Friday in July sale, where I've hand-picked over 40 of the best deals across TVs, appliances, laptops, headphones, and more. There are some surprisingly strong offers that I'd recommend if you're not willing to wait until Black Friday proper in November.

Best Buy Apple sale — quick links

• AirPods: from $99.99
• Apple Watch: save up to $100
• Beats: up to $150 off
• iPads: up to $500 off
• iPhone: up to $1,100 off with a trade-in
• MacBook: up to $400 off

My top 10 deals from the Best Buy Apple sale

This isn't the lowest price we've seen for Apple's newest AirPods 4, as they've been as low as $79.99 in the past. Nevertheless, the AirPods 4 feature a new design for all-day comfort and pack Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation. You're also getting a redesigned case with 30 hours of battery life and support for USB-C for wireless charging. Just be aware that this cheaper version does not support active noise cancellation.View Deal

Willing to spend a bit more? Best Buy's latest Apple sale also has the AirPods 4 with active noise cancellation available for $149.99. This isn't the best offer, given that they were down to $99.99 in previous events. Still, if you must buy now, these AirPods 4 feature a new comfortable design, handy controls, and Apple's H2 chip, which supports personalized spatial audio and voice isolation – alongside that all-important ANC.View Deal

Apple's newest premium buds feature improved Active Noise Cancellation, outstanding audio, a comfortable in-ear design, and new features such as live translation and heart-rate tracking. These do-it-all buds really are 100% flagship audio and the noise-cancelling quality is outstanding. Today's deal is the best price you can find on Apple's newest AirPods, and a return to the record-low Black Friday price we saw at the end of last year.View Deal

We recently tested the brand-new AirPods Max 2 and concluded that they are 'doubtless the best noise-cancelling iPhone headphones on the planet.' This $100 discount has only been bested once before during Prime Day, so this is likely the cheapest they will be until Black Friday in November. Get them if you're an iPhone user who wants top-tier noise cancellation, a comfortable fit, and terrific audio quality.View Deal

The newest version of the best-selling Apple AirTag is on sale for $89.99 in the latest Best Buy sale. This four-pack of trackers is a great way to keep an eye on a child's backpack or luggage. Simply attach it to anything you don't want to lose, and your iPhone will locate it.View Deal

The latest Apple Watch 11 back to its lowest-ever price in the latest Best Buy sale. The thinnest Apple Watch yet, with a wraparound LTP3 OLED display, it's a great-looking watch with Apple Intelligence-powered smarts and a boosted battery compared to previous Apple Watches, clocking in at 24 hours of average use. View Deal

This is only $20 more than the record-low price for the Apple Watch SE 3, so it's still a solid bargain. The Apple Watch SE 3 is currently our pick for the best Apple Watch to buy if you're on a budget, as it delivers a full experience and all the style you need, but at a fraction of the price.View Deal

The brand-new Apple iPad A16 is down to its lowest-ever price in the Best Buy Memorial Day sale, so it's worth taking advantage of if you have an eye on the latest Apple slate. The biggest upgrade compared to the previous generation model is the latest A16 chip for faster performance. You also get double the storage of 128GB as standard, a sharp 11-inch Liquid Retina display, and solid 12MP front and back cameras.View Deal

There's a decent $100 saving on the latest iPad Pro 11-inch at Best Buy, matching the record-low of $899 we saw on Black Friday. This is still a pricey tablet, but you do get the brand-new M5 chip, high-quality tandem OLED display and 256GB as standard. Expect this to be one of the better offers we see on the tablet until later in the year.View Deal

Display - 13.6 inches
Processor - Apple M5
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

Our reviewer called the newest MacBook Air M5 "the best ultraportable I've ever used" and awarded it 4.5-stars, so it's every bit as good as its already excellent predecessor. As well as the powerful and efficient M5 chip, the latest MacBook Air boasts a slick 13.6-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD as standard. Those are solid overall specs for all-around use, productivity, and creative tasks. This is the best offer we've seen since the recent price hike, too.View Deal

Display - 15 inches
Processor - Apple M5
RAM - 16GB
Storage - 512GB

The newest MacBook Air M5 is here, and the larger 15-inch model is now on sale for Memorial Day at Best Buy. Our reviewer called the smaller 13-inch version "the best ultraportable I've ever used" and awarded it 4.5-stars, so these devices are every bit as good as the already excellent predecessors. As well as the powerful and efficient M5 chip, the latest MacBook Air boasts a slick 15-inch Liquid Retina display, 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB SSD as standard. Those are solid overall specs for all-around use, productivity, and creative tasks.View Deal

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake will reportedly be re-revealed later this year
• A content creator reports that development at Saber Interactive has been "ramping up" and going "smoothly"
• Recent reports suggest the game could launch in 2028

Five years after being announced, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake will reportedly be re-revealed later this year.

That's according to reliable Star Wars insider and YouTuber 100% Star Wars (via Bespin Bulletin), who addressed reports that the KOTOR remake could launch in 2028.

In a new video, 100% Star Wars claims that Saber Interactive sources said the game's "best-case scenario" was a mid-to-late 2027 launch to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Star Wars, but a 2028 release window would align with the original 2003 game's 25th anniversary.

"A reveal later this year has been planned," 100% Star Wars said.

The KOTOR remake was announced in 2021 and was originally being developed by Aspyr Media. However, development was paused for some time before the project was eventually handed over to Saber Interactive in August 2022.

When asked about the game's progress earlier this year, Saber's chief creative officer, Tim Willits, said, "Yes, it is still in development. That's all I can say."

Aside from the teaser trailer revealed five years ago, we haven't heard or seen anything else about the game since, but according to 100% Star Wars, development has been smooth sailing since Saber took up the reins.

"I know about the extremely positive development cycle since the game has been at Saber since 2023," the YouTuber said. "Development on the game has not only been ramping up, but it’s been going extremely smoothly over the past 3 years since Saber started from scratch.

"They’ve been hiring some extremely high-end talent from across the industry and Saber is very much a unified front when it comes to the development of this game with resources and talent being pulled from all over the company."

While we wait for the KOTOR remake, Star Wars fans can look forward to Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a role-playing game (RPG) from Arcnaut Studios being led by KOTOR and Mass Effect trilogy director Casey Hudson.

A new turn-based single-player game, Star Wars: Zero Company, from Bit Reactor will also launch this year on August 27, as well as Fuse Games' Star Wars: Galactic Racer, which arrives on October 6.

• VPN providers aren't liable for copyright infringement, said the EU Court
• The Court explicitly recognized VPNs as "lawful technical tools"
• The case centered on the copyright battle involving Anne Frank's diary

In a major victory for digital rights and common sense, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has officially categorized Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) as "lawful technical tools" while establishing new boundaries for online copyright disputes.

The landmark judgment — handed down in July 2026 — stems from a complex legal battle over the online publication of Anne Frank's historical manuscripts. At its core, the case forced Europe's top judges to answer a highly technical question: if a publisher actively tries to block visitors from a specific country, are they still breaking the law if a user sneaks past the digital border using circumvention software?

According to the CJEU, the answer is no. As long as a website employs "state-of-the-art" geo-blocking technology, the publisher cannot be held liable for copyright infringement simply because a determined reader decides to fire up the best VPN to bypass the restrictions.

The ruling sets a massive precedent. It confirms that copyright holders cannot point to the mere existence of VPNs to claim a website's security measures are completely ineffective.

More importantly for privacy advocates, the court firmly pushed back against the demonization of privacy software, cementing the legitimate status of VPN providers across the European Union.

The Anne Frank dispute explained

The EU's top court just confirmed: Geo-blocking is the copyright holder's problem, not the VPN's. Providers are not liable for users bypassing restrictions ⚖️ @torrentfreak https://t.co/fLwb5kYAy1July 17, 2026

The legal tug-of-war began when a coalition of Dutch and Belgian academic institutions published a free, scholarly online edition of Anne Frank's manuscripts.

Because copyright laws are not fully harmonized across Europe, the legal status of the famous diary varies by territory. In Belgium and roughly 60 other countries, the writings entered the public domain years ago. However, in the Netherlands, parts of the text remain protected by copyright until 2037.

To respect this territorial divide, the publishers hosted the site in Belgium and used geo-blocking to prevent access from Dutch IP addresses. Visitors from the Netherlands were met with a notice explaining why they couldn't enter the site.

The Anne Frank Fonds, which holds the Dutch copyright, sued. They argued that because standard VPNs easily allow users to mask their true IP address and spoof a Belgian location, the scholarly website was effectively communicating the protected work to the Dutch public.

The CJEU ultimately rejected this argument. In its judgment, the court noted that while geo-blocking measures can inevitably be circumvented, "the possibility of such circumvention cannot, in itself and in all circumstances, be a decisive factor in finding those measures to be inadequate and, therefore, ineffective."

Why this matters for the internet and VPN users

For everyday internet users, the "So What?" of this ruling is deeply reassuring. It validates that using a VPN to encrypt your online traffic, hide your IP address, or bypass digital borders is a legitimate use of consumer technology.

The judges explicitly shielded VPN companies from collateral damage in piracy lawsuits, a topic that has sparked intense debate among European ISPs and rightsholders. The court specifically argued that the provider of a VPN or similar services is not liable for users bypassing restrictions.

By placing the legal burden on publishers to maintain "state-of-the-art" digital fences, rather than demanding absolute, impossible perfection, the EU has drawn a pragmatic line in the sand.

Publishers aren't expected to build unhackable walls, and VPN providers aren't responsible for the actions of users who climb over them. Ultimately, this ruling proves that the borderless internet can still coexist with territorial copyright laws, provided everyone uses the right technical safeguards.

Arozzi's Arena Nordico hails from Sweden and is a premium contender for our best standing desks guide, being suitably minimalist, sturdy and reliable. And end price aside (once key accessories are factored in), it's an easy recommendation.

This has been my daily work station for four months and its electric motor has proved completely reliable, with its four customizable height settings. The smart cable tidy setup and generous cable trays ensure a clean look once all is in place, and the host of accessories I had for this review, which included a 'desk riser', monitor arm, headphone hanger and more, have all proved to be top quality too.

If you like the look of the Arena Nordico and its one-size dimensions suit your needs, then you won't be disappointed.

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)Arena Nordico Electric Standing Desk: Unboxing

Like most standing desks, the Arena Nordico arrives flat-packed in two boxes, the heavier of which contains the steel legs and frame, the larger and lighter of which includes the particle board tabletop. It is shipped directly from Sweden.

Price and availability

The Arena Nordico is available directly from the Arozzi site for £291 / €349 and ships across Europe from Sweden. Shipping costs are calculated at checkout. I also picked up the Desk Riser (£50 / €60), single gas spring Monitor Arm (£50 / €60) and Headphone Hanger (£17 / €20) for this review. It has wide availability in the UK and Europe direct and from retailers like Currys for £285 (see here). However, it's not yet on sale in the US and Australia.

Given the simplicity and dimensions of the desk, I also requested accessories to complete my home setup, which came in separate boxes; a desk riser (raised worktop section), gas spring monitor arm (for my large and weighty 32:9 curved monitor), plus a headphone hanger.

The contents in each box were securely packaged by protective foam and cardboard. Unfortunately there was scuffing on the curved supporting bracket of one of the main steel legs — I'm pretty sure that would have occurred prior to packing. Once the desk was assembled, it was damage that you'd hardly notice at all.

The contents of the Arozzi Arena Nordico, plus some of the extras I picked upTim ColemanTim ColemanThe scratches on one of the legsTim ColemanThe premium hex key tool was much appreciated by meTim Coleman

All assembling accessories and instructions were neatly packaged together and every component easily identifiable; the two worktop pieces, legs, control box, screws and so on.

A premium hex key tool with rubber handle and dual length hex keys was supplied with desk, which I greatly appreciated because it made the task of tightening the screws that much more comfortable and straightforward, even for awkwardly placed screw holes.

There was even white gloves supplied presumably to avoid fingerprint smudge marks, which felt a little overkill — this wasn't developing photo prints in a lab!

I chose the walnut version of the Arena Nordico with black steel legs of the four versions available. There are also pine, white or black finishes available (with white or black steel legs). The worktop measures 70 x 140cm, and there are no alternative sizes to choose from.

Arena Nordico Electric Standing Desk: Assembly

I've assembled a complex L-shaped standing desk before, and by comparison the build of the Arena Nordico proved particularly straightforward, and much quicker — with the help of my teenage son, I clocked 47 minutes exactly from unboxing to the desk being in situ with optional accessories attached.

The instruction manual couldn't be clearer, with the only potential point of confusion being which side to attach the desk's control box, given the desk is best constructed upside down and you need to think about it potentially reversing as the desk is turned over. Not once did I have to backtrack on the assembly.

There are two worktop panels; the main panel and a slimmer panel which is positioned to the desk's far side. They are lined up with underside brackets which form part of the generous cable tidy baskets frame, and the gap between the two worktop sections can be closed and opened to neatly feed cables through — that's a neat bit of design rather than a hole in one of the worktops.

Tim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim Coleman

The cable tidy brackets go on first, followed by the legs which slot in and then a final bracket to fix the legs in place. You'll need to decide which side of the desk you want to fix the electric motor and control panel, but the consequent steps remain the same.

On the same side of the motor goes the control panel. Thankfully the shorter screws design for the control panel fixed it into place perfectly (and months later the panel hasn't so much as budged, which is more than I can say for other standing desks that I have built).

I also added the (optional) headphone hanger before flipping the desk over off of its back and into position, with the help of my son. This is the one part of the whole process that you ideally need two people for.

After that, I attached another accessory, the raised worktop which Arozzi calls the 'Desk Riser', which is fixed in place with screw clamps. I would treat this additional worktop as if its max payload was pretty limited. Then went on the two cable tidy baskets, which easily slot into the bracket holes.

Tim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim ColemanTim Coleman

Installing the monitor arm was probably the fiddliest part of the entire build. To reiterate, this is an optional accessory that I went for because my monitor is massive, and I wanted to minimize its footprint on the desk set up.

It works best to screw in the monitor to the monitor arm before sliding the arm's base into place between the two worktop sections, and I found this process much easier with the help of my son.

Throughout the whole process, I thanked Arozzi for supplying the versatile dual length hex key tool — it made the historically fiddliest parts of this type of build a comparative breeze.

Arena Nordico Electric Standing Desk: In use

I've had an electric standing desk fail on me before after extended use, so I was sure to give the Nordico a long-term review. At the time of writing, I've used the desk every working day for 4-5 months, and it works perfectly the same as it did on day one.

The Nordico is able to support up to 60kg according to Arena, which is modest by comparison to other standing desks that I've seen quoting double that payload.

However, I'm not in the habit of sitting on my desk and raising myself up and down, as fun as that sounds. No, I have loaded it with a weighty 32:9 monitor (supported by the heavy duty gas spring version of Arena's monitor arm accessory), my laptop and various other items, and the desk has never struggled or slowed under that weight.

Tim ColemanThe maximum height of the desk. Particularly tall users might wish for an even higher max settingTim Coleman

The control box offers four customizable single-push height presets, or you can simply press and hold the up or down buttons to adjust the height in centimeter increments. I was the main user of the desk and 2-3 presets would have been plenty enough, but I can see four presets being useful for desks shared by two users of different heights.

My only gripe about the standing function is that the maximum height of 115cm didn't feel quite high enough for me, and I'm 6ft 1 inches. Taller users might find the maximum standing setting not quote high enough. The minimum 71cm setting was plenty low enough, mind you.

71cm — the minimum height of the desk. Tim ColemanHere's the exposed rotor which drives the height adjustments. Tim ColemanThe clean surface of the desk, which if you're like me won't stay that way for long with no desk storage accessoriesTim Coleman

Sadly, the desk doesn't include accessories — those are optional extras, and the cost quickly adds up. And with the limited one-size, I felt like I really needed a monitor arm to free up desk space. Even the headphone hanger is an optional extra.

There's also no option for on-desk storage, for example drawers to slot underneath the desk riser accessory, and so I found the desk quickly filled up with my daily mess.

Thankfully, there's a smart cable tidy setup, with that additional worktop panel that slides open from the far side of the main worktop, and generous cable trays underneath. Sorting and hiding messy cables, therefore, proved pretty easy.

(Image credit: Tim Coleman)

The feet were large and stable, and with their low profile I have so far avoided any stubbed toes.

I didn't necessarily appreciate the motor's rotor being exposed rather than concealed on the desk's underside at first, but it felt like should I run into any issues, that a fix would be simpler to issue.

Overall, every part of the desk, besides the scuffed leg, arrived and has remained entirely presentable and operational.

Arena Nordico Electric Standing Desk: Final verdict

If you like your standing desk with a clean, minimal look, then the Arena Nordico is worth considering. You'll likely need to factor in additional accessories which add to the already sizeable cost, but otherwise and following many month of reliable service, I have few complaints. I can see the Arena Nordico being my primary standing desk for many years to come.

First reviewed: July 2026

For more top office furniture, we've tested out all the best office chairs.

• Scammers are pretending to offer FBI support to victims
• Victims are becoming double-victims after falling for this trap
• FBI's IC3 warns never to pay for support – support will come from law enforcement

Scammers are increasingly impersonating FBI personnel and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to defraud people who have already lost money to cybercrime, ultimately leading to them being exploited twice in quick succession by capitalizing on their weaknesses.

Attackers pose as support for recovering lost money and assisting with IC3 complaints, but the real objective is to defraud victims out of even more money or sensitive information.

But savvy victims should be able to identify these scams relatively easy, because despite a rising volume, the attack vector remains highly suspicious.

Victims are being hit twice via fake FBI scams

Rather than targeting the FBI's website, scammers send direct messages to victims or attract them via posts or ads on social media. "Some individuals received an email or a phone call, while others were approached via social media or forums," the FBI explained.

In the post, the FBI warns that attackers meet victims where they are, such as on Facebook, then quickly move them away to other, more secure channels like Telegram and connect them with other associates.

"The IC3 will not ask for payment to recover lost funds," the bureau warned, noting that victims should be weary of being contacted after reporting an attack. "If further information is needed, individuals will be contacted by FBI employees from local field offices or other law enforcement officers."

Victims who have either been attacked once, or attacked for a second time while trying to report the first attack, should report it via www.ic3.gov. The DOJ Elder Justice Hotline (1-833-FRAUD-11) also offers support for citizens aged 60+.

Best Buy is currently hosting its Black Friday in July sale with discounts across laptops, networking gear, storage, accessories, cameras, printers, and home entertainment.

Whether you're replacing aging equipment or investing in new hardware for work or home, this sale gives you a welcome chance to upgrade your tech without waiting until the main sales season arrives in November.

The ten products below are some of the most interesting offers I've found when trawling through the sale and all come highly recommended.

The top 10 Black Friday in July deals

Logitech G305 Lightspeed wireless gaming mouse features a Hero optical sensor with up to 12,000 DPI, six programmable buttons, ultra-low-latency wireless performance, long battery life, and a lightweight, compact design.View Deal

Apple AirTag (2nd generation) features an upgraded louder speaker, extended Precision Finding range, and seamless Find My integration. Compact Bluetooth tracker helps locate keys, bags, luggage, and other personal items quickly.View Deal

TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro AXE5400 tri-band WiFi 6E mesh system delivers whole-home wireless coverage with three mesh units, 6GHz support, Gigabit networking, seamless roaming, and high-speed connectivity for demanding homes and devices.View Deal

GoPro HERO13 Black action camera records up to 5.3K video at 120fps using a 27MP 1/1.9-inch CMOS sensor. Features digital stabilization, HDR, WiFi, Bluetooth, waterproof design, USB-C, microSD support, and removable battery.View Deal

Native 4K SXRD home theater projector with 4K HDR laser light source, BRAVIA processing, high-contrast visuals, sharp cinematic detail, long-lasting laser illumination, and premium performance for large-screen home entertainment.View Deal

USB-C multi-adapter with HDMI output, Gigabit Ethernet, USB 3.1 hub ports, and Power Delivery 3.0 pass-through charging. Compact champagne metallic design expands connectivity for laptops, tablets, and compatible USB-C devices.View Deal

Canon's wireless all-in-one inkjet printer with print, scan, and copy functions, wired and wireless connectivity, ISO print speeds up to 14ppm mono and 9ppm color for everyday home printing.View Deal

Compact 20,000mAh portable power bank with Power Delivery fast charging, built-in charging cable, digital battery display, USB-C connectivity, and wide compatibility for iPhone, Samsung, tablets, and other USB-powered devices.View Deal

1-meter woven USB-C to USB-C cable supports charging, syncing, and data transfers between compatible devices. Designed for fast charging when paired with a compatible USB-C power adapter (sold separately), with durable braided construction.View Deal

Dual-slot USB-C card reader with USB 3.0 interface supporting SD and microSD memory cards. Compact aluminum design delivers fast data transfers, broad USB-C compatibility, plug-and-play operation, and portable storage access.View Deal

Many of the best deals I've uncovered focus on products that can improve everyday productivity, such as portable SSDs, USB-C hubs, memory card readers, wireless printers, and high-capacity power banks.

Networking upgrades are also well represented, with modern WiFi 6E mesh systems offering faster wireless performance and wider coverage for homes packed with connected devices.

Creative professionals and enthusiasts are equally well served. GoPro's latest HERO13 Black action camera delivers high-resolution video and advanced stabilization for capturing adventures, while Sony's native 4K laser projector promises a premium home theater experience with sharp HDR visuals.

Logitech's G305 Lightspeed mouse combines wireless freedom with a responsive high-DPI sensor suitable for precision work.

Apple users can also find useful accessories in the sale, including woven USB-C charging cables and the latest AirTags, making it easier to keep devices powered and valuable belongings within easy reach.

If you need to expand a modern laptop's connectivity, USB-C multi-adapters provide HDMI, Ethernet, USB ports, and pass-through charging in a compact package.

• Shop all the deals in Best Buy's Black Friday in July sale

Getting set up for school or college can be an expensive endeavour. That's why we're always on the lookout for solid laptops that have been reduced in price, and that's exactly the case with this Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 at Amazon for £499.99 (was £699.99).

This Windows 11 laptop features a bright 16-inch display, an Intel Core i5 processor, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. That's enough power and storage to keep all your schoolwork moving along smoothly. Lenovo is a trusted brand, too, which is why it gets a special mention in our best laptops guide.

So, whether you're a student looking to get ready for the new academic year or a general user wanting a reliable laptop for everyday use, this £200 saving on an impressive overall laptop is well worth a look.

Today's best back-to-school laptop deal

Snap up a powerful and portable Windows laptop for an affordable price that's only slightly more than its lowest ever. Lenovo is a well-known and trusted brand that manufactures a wide range of laptops. This particular model is ideal for school and college, or anyone wanting a trusty laptop for everyday use, thanks to the i5 processor, 16GB of performance-boosting RAM, and a 1TB SSD for storage.View Deal

Full disclosure: we've not reviewed the IdeaPad Slim 5, but our time with the similar Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 gives us confidence to make this recommendation. The Slim 5 promises seamless multitasking and performance with 13th Gen Intel Core processors.

From first impressions, the 16-inch display is a generous size, and the overall form factor is compact enough to make it portable. There's also a flexible selection of ports to expand connectivity and facilitate speedy data transfers.

One of the highlights of the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 5 is its 60WHr battery, which delivers all-day battery life, even when you're pushing it to the limits. And even when you run out of juice, Lenovo's Rapid Charge Boost technology will get you up and running again. In fact, just 15 minutes of fast charging gives you three hours of video playback.

Despite being on the other side of Prime Day, there are still some fantastic laptop deals around. We've put together our favourites, with top picks from the highest-rated brands as well as models featured in our best laptops guide.

• Avengers: Doomsday will be released in cinemas worldwide on December 18
• Tom Hiddleston's Loki is part of the movie's huge ensemble
• The popular actor has revealed if fans need to watch Loki on Disney+ before Doomsday comes out

Tom Hiddleston has revealed if you need to watch Loki on Disney+ to understand his character's role in Avengers: Doomsday.

Speaking exclusively to TechRadar, the fan-favorite actor, who has played Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) since 2010, said he "will always say that people need to watch" his character's standalone series. However, Hiddleston wouldn't be drawn specifically on whether it was essential to stream the show prior to Doomsday's release on December 18.

Marvel fans who've seen the Hiddleston-fronted program will already know how its second and final season ends. On the off-chance that you haven't watched it yet, I'll refrain from spelling out exactly what happened in this article. For those who need their memory jogged, my spoiler-filled Loki season 2 ending explained piece holds the answers you seek.

One thing that every MCU fanatic will know by now, though, is that Loki will return in Avengers: Doomsday. Indeed, not only was Hiddleston part of the initial 27-strong Doomsday cast announcement in March 2025, but he also made the briefest of appearances in Avengers: Doomsday's first official trailer, which surprisingly made its public debut yesterday (July 20).

Naturally, fans have myriad questions after the release of said trailer, including a couple concerning Loki. How big of a role will he play in the Marvel Phase 6 movie? Will he be reunited with Thor? And, perhaps most important of all, does Loki's Disney+ show have any bearing on the story that Doomsday will tell?

As part of a wider chat I had with Hiddleston for his new National Geographic docudrama Pompeii: Out of Time, which airs on Disney+ and Hulu on July 23, I put those exact questions to him. Predictably, Hiddleston, who has plenty of experience dodging spoiler-based Marvel questions, wasn't forthcoming with definitive answers.

Nonetheless, he did appear to drop a tiny hint that anyone who wants to comprehend Loki's role in Avengers 5 should seek out the character's solo show on Disney+, aka one of the world's best streaming services.

"I always say that people need to watch Loki," he told me with a wry smile. "I'm really proud of that show — I poured my whole soul into it and I love playing Loki. It's been 16 years now and, you know, I got to the end of Avengers: Infinity War, and that seemed to be the end of the Odinson saga.

"But, then Loki, as a series, was about placing Loki in the new context [by] taking him out of time and his reality," Hiddleston continued. "He's confronted with his compulsive, self-destructive, repetitive patterns of behavior, and gives him this capacity to be an agent of his own destiny. It was such an enjoyable experience because the whole show is about identity, purpose, and belonging, and also about time and how we perceive it and how best to use it.

"So, yeah, I would always say, if you haven't watched it, go and do so," he added. "And, if you haven't watched it before Doomsday, go and watch it again."

For more on one of 2026's most anticipated new movies, find out everything we know so far about Avengers: Doomsday.

• Other Mommy has a first-look trailer which gives us a glimpse at Jessica Chastain's return to horror
• The movie will arrive in theaters on October 9, 2026
• Rob Savage, the director of Zoom horror sensation Host, is behind the terrifying new movie

2026 has been a bumper year for horror, and it's about to get even bigger when one of my anticipated new movies Other Mommy arrives in theaters on October 9.

Other Mommy follows Bela, a young girl, who gets mixed up with a mysterious force in her house that resembles her mother. Here, Jessica Chastain takes on a dual role as Bela’s mother and as “Other Mommy,” the supernatural entity that's haunting the place.

I'm already excited for this movie because it's got a stellar team behind it. Chastain stars alongside Severance's Dichen Lachman and it's directed by Rob Savage, who you may know for directing the Zoom horror movie Host.

If you're not convinced yet, check out the first look trailer for Other Mommy below.

I'm very excited for Other Mommy because recent box office figures have shown that audiences love original horror which spins a unique tale of terror, instead of more reboots or remakes.

In the cover image for Other Mommy's trailer we can see recent horror hits Obsession and Backrooms referenced. It's clear just how influential they have been in championing this new wave of horror stories.

This is also a huge return to the genre for actor Jessica Chastain, after she appeared in IT: Chapter Two in 2019. It's great to see her back taking on a creepy new role, requiring her to play two versions of the same character.

Other Mommy has the potential to be a great horror and I really hope it delivers. We have a long wait for it to arrive in theaters but don't worry, I've got a list of 7 new horror movies to stream in July to keep you entertained until then.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11: Two-minute review

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 is the brand’s answer to the iPad Air, with its premium design and compact form factor.

It certainly looks the part, taking cues from Apple with its sleek and minimalist aesthetic. It only comes in two colors — or rather shades, since it’s merely a choice between Grey and Silver. My review unit was the former, and I have to say that I enjoyed its classy appearance.

Beyond this, Samsung has also nailed the S11’s build quality. The one-piece metal chassis feels as expensive as they come, thanks to its incredibly smooth texture (so be careful when holding it) and supreme solidity. It easily ranks among the best tablets in terms of sheer construction.

The display, however, is less impressive. At 11 inches, content already feels squeezed, but the thick inner bezel only exacerbates the issue. What’s more, it's a magnet for dust and debris, while the grabby touchscreen is far from class-leading.

Thankfully, the included S Pen fairs better than fingers. There’s no dragging with the stylus, as it glides effortlessly across the screen. It’s also perfectly responsive and comfortable to grip, thanks to its ergonomic hexagonal form that provides extra security.

(Image credit: Future)

As with Samsung’s smartphones, the S11 features numerous first-party apps, which vary in their usefulness. Many fail to offer anything over and above Google’s suite of apps (which also come preinstalled), although I have to concede that some of the AI features, such as those for editing images, impressed me with their effectiveness. The One UI operating system is as clear and as stable as you could hope an Android fork to be, too.

The overall performance of the S11 is also impressive. Whether you're working, browsing, streaming content or even gaming, it can seemingly handle it all. What’s more, it does so while staying relatively cool; only parts of the rear heat up, and never to an uncomfortable degree.

The battery life of the S11 measures up well against its rivals. Samsung claims it can survive 18 hours of continuous streaming, whereas the iPad Air can only manage 10. Charging is quick, too, thanks to its 45W wired charging support.

There are certainly things to like about the S11, such as its premium design and excellent all-round performance. However, the touchscreen is somewhat disappointing. On balance it’s a little hard to recommend over the iPad Air given it it's slightly dearer, but if you want an Apple-inspired design while remaining in the Android realm, the S11 is far from a terrible choice.

(Image credit: Future)Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review: Price & availability

• Starts from $899.99 / £869 / AU$1,399
• Available now in two colors
• Very expensive for a small tablet

The S11 starts from $899.99 / £869 / AU$1,399 and is available now in two colorways: Grey and Silver. The base model features 12GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. All models come with Samsung’s S Pen. If you want cellular capability, you’ll need to part with an additional £50 / AU$250. US customers only get the Wi-Fi-only model.

This is undeniably expensive for an 11-inch tablet, even one as premium as the S11. An equivalent iPad Air model bundled with the Apple Pencil currently costs slightly less. What’s more, it’s one of the best tablets we’ve reviewed, thanks to its excellent performance and display.

If you want to stick with Android, the OnePlus Pad Go 2 is a great budget alternative to the S11. It comes in at a mere $399.99 / £319 (around AU$570), yet still has a respectable spec and impressive performance. It may have less RAM (8GB), but we still found it capable enough for everyday use.

• Value score: 3/5

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review: Specs

Weight

484g

Display

11-inch, Dynamic AMOLED 2X (1600 x 2560), 120Hz

Operating system

One UI 8.5

Chipset

MediaTek Dimensity 9400+

Memory (RAM)

12GB

Storage

128GB / 256GB / 512GB

Battery

8,400mAh

Charging

45W wired

Cameras

13MP rear, 12MP front

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5, USB-C

Colors

Grey, Silver

(Image credit: Future)Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review: Display

• Slight lack of fidelity
• Thick bezel
• Grabby touchscreen

Despite the high 1600 x 2560 resolution of the S11, there’s a slight but noticeable softness and fuzziness to some elements of the UI, as if the resolution is stretched a little too thin for this size of display. This also means that Ultra HD content isn’t quite as pinpoint sharp as you might expect. Thankfully, there’s plenty of brightness and colors are vibrant, so it still makes for a pleasurable viewing experience.

The thickness of the bezel is also disappointing. At 11 inches the display is already small, so you’d think Samsung would want to maximize its real estate to its fullest potential, but instead a thick black border constricts the frame even more.

Perhaps the worst aspect of the display, though, is its touchscreen functionality. I found there was too much friction to perform gestures and swipes easily. What’s more, it’s also prone to attracting debris, more so than other tablets I’ve used. This is not only a visual impediment but no doubt affects the performance of the touchscreen, too.

• Display score: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review: Design

• Fabulously premium design
• Compact and relatively light
• Slippery back panel

To say that the S11 takes inspiration from the iPad Air is an understatement. It’s virtually indistinguishable from Apple’s compact tablet, but this isn’t exactly a bad thing, given its stylish looks. However, the S11 lacks the same vibrant color options, with only grey and silver to choose from. My unit was the former and it still looked smart and sleek though.

But the resemblance is more than skin deep. The metal chassis feels just as high-grade as the iPad’s; in fact, it might actually be a cut above the best iPad constructions. The back panel folds around to form the edges, rather than being created from two separate pieces, which is very impressive. On the front, the join to the screen is also close to seamless.

It’s also reassuringly solid and durable, as well as being incredibly smooth. This latter aspect is a slight issue, though, since it can feel quite slippery, so you'll need to take care when holding it upright. At least it’s comfortable to hold, owing to its compact dimensions, minimal weight, and generously rounded corners.

The included S Pen is a fairly basic affair but I found its hexagonal design comfortable and secure. It features a well-placed and easy-to-use button, which is used like a ‘right-click’ to bring up context menus in apps and in the OS itself.

Both of the tablet’s long sides are magnetic, so can be used to attach the S Pen, which is convenient. It’s a shame that the top edge isn’t, though, since it can be awkward to hold the tablet in portrait mode when the stylus is attached to the side. The magnetic hold is strong without making it difficult to remove the stylus when needed.

• Design score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review: Software

• Numerous first-party apps
• Their usefulness varies
• OS is clear and fast

Plenty of Samsung apps are preinstalled on the S11. You’ll have to create a Samsung account to use them, which is a frustrating barrier for using any app. At least it’s easy to set one up if you already have a Google account, as you can use these credentials instead.

Although there’s a lot of them, the first-party apps are mercifully unintrusive. And since this is the year 2026, there are plenty of AI features, too. The most interesting of these is the photo assist mode, which allows you to effortlessly edit images to remove certain elements — such as photobombers and unwanted objects — and add others in based on text prompts.

I have to say I was impressed by this mode when I tested it on photos I shot. As with all things AI, its results aren’t perfect every time, but for rescuing images from unwanted aspects and adding all kinds of extra content, it’s a capable and easy-to-use tool. You can also stylize images by selecting presets, of which there are several, from Anime to Pop Art. Again, this is effective a lot of the time, but not always.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s also a drawing app with enough basic illustration features to please budding artists. It’s intuitive to use and it was fast and stable during my time with it, without any glaring bugs or slowdowns occurring.

More basic productivity apps are included as well, such as a note taker and a calendar. The main issue with these — and indeed any first-party Android apps that aren’t owned by Google — is that they fail to outperform Google’s counterparts. And given Google’s cloud platform is similarly superior, you’re much better off using its apps if you plan on working across multiple devices.

(Image credit: Future)

One UI 8.5 is an intuitive and amenable operating system. As you might expect, it’s very similar to its smartphone counterpart, which is part of the reason why the Galaxy models are some of the best phones around. The UI is clear and uncluttered, and it's quite easy to navigate and adjust settings.

It’s also easy to resize app windows and move them around on screen, since the options to toggle between fullscreen and pop-out windows, as well as minimize them altogether, are ever-present in the top-right corner of every app, just like a desktop app.

However, I found switching between windows in gesture mode too awkward and slow. After dragging from the bottom of the screen, you have to hold your finger in place for a long time until all your app windows are displayed for selecting. What’s more, that aforementioned grabbiness of the touchscreen makes the action even more difficult. I much preferred using the navigation bar, with its three buttons at the bottom much simpler and quicker to use.

• Software score: 3.5/5

(Image credit: Future)Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review: Performance

• Capable all-round performance
• Fluid and responsive S Pen
• Low-fidelity cameras

The S11 performs well at the kinds of tasks you’d expect from a tablet. It can handle web browsing, light productivity, and 4K streaming without any frustrating slowdowns and stutters.

I was pleasantly surprised with its gaming prowess, too. I managed to play Hitman: Blood Money — Reprisal, a fairly demanding mobile game, without issue. It looked great and ran very smoothly, while my controller worked flawlessly over Bluetooth.

What’s more impressive is that the S11 stays relatively cool during such intensive tasks. A few hotspots appear on the back, but these are far from alarming in my experience, with the tablet remaining comfortable to hold.

Despite the aforementioned touchscreen issues, I’m pleased to report that the S Pen fairs a lot better on the screen. Glides and gestures are frictionless and responsive, making it great for all kinds of scenarios, from basic navigation to drawing and note taking. The palm block feature works as intended, too.

Using the S Pen also gives you access to a handy shortcut menu with selectable functions such as screen drawing and AI search. You can also add your own app shortcuts to this menu, which is convenient.

Despite the impressive image editing capabilities, the cameras in the S11 are disappointing. The low megapixel count means photos lack fidelity, and the basic enhancements available in the camera app can’t fix the lackluster quality of the camera hardware.

• Performance score: 4/5

(Image credit: Future)Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review: Battery

The battery life of the S11 is impressive. While its 8,400mAh battery has a lower capacity than the the 11,600mAh one in the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, the smaller tablet is less power-hungry.

After a couple of days, it drained to 30%. My use during this time wasn’t constant, but I did use it for a variety of tasks, from productivity and browsing to streaming and gaming. Samsung claims it can stream continuously for 18 hours, and the brand is usually accurate on such matters. This makes it significantly more enduring than the iPad Air, which can last about 10 hours under similar conditions.

Charging the S11 is a quick affair, too, thanks to its 45W wired charging capability, the same as the Ultra’s. It took about a couple of hours to fully replenish in my experience.

• Battery score: 4.5

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11?Scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

It’s about the same price as its main rival, the iPad Air, which is a hard act to follow.

3 / 5

Display

Fidelity isn’t as great as you might expect given its resolution, while the touchscreen functionality is a little too grabby.

3.5 / 5

Design

Exquisitely built, and it’s light and small enough to hold comfortably.

4.5 / 5

Software

Some apps are useful, while others are less so. The OS is slick and easy to use.

4 / 5

Performance

Very impressive on all fronts, although the cameras are poor.

4 / 5

Battery

Much more enduring than the iPad Air.

4.5 / 5

Buy it if…

You want a sleek design
This tablet is as premium as they come, while the small form factor makes it easy to hold.

You want good all-round performance
Whether you’re watching content, getting work done, drawing, or gaming, the S11 handles it all.

Don't buy it if…

You want the best display
Despite its high resolution, the display isn’t quite as sharp as you might expect. The touchscreen is too grabby, too, and best used with the included S Pen.

You’re on a budget
There are much cheaper Android tablets than this that still perform very well.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 review: Also consider

iPad Air 11-inch
The iPad Air is slightly cheaper than the S11 when comparing like-for-like models. However, it’s a hugely capable tablet with a slick design typical of Apple. We were impressed with its powerful M4 chip and vivid display. It’s also lighter than the S11.

Read our full iPad Air review

OnePlus Pad Go 2
For those looking to save, the OnePlus is a budget offering that still provides enough performance for everyday use. We were also very impressed with its Open Canvas software, which is a real boon for multitaskers. And to cap it all off, it even has a bigger battery than the S11.

Read our full OnePlus Pad Go 2 review

(Image credit: Future)How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Tab S11

• Tested for several days
• Used for a variety of task
• Tablet reviewing experience

I tested the S11 for several days. I used it for a variety of tasks, from general browsing and light productivity to streaming and gaming.

I also used the included S Pen for drawing, writing, and navigation. I tried its various first-party apps and AI features, and tested the cameras by taking photos and holding video calls. I wasn’t able to use the S11 with the optional Book Cover Keyboard, though.

I have experience reviewing tablets and other mobile devices, such as smartphones and laptops. I’ve also used such devices personally for decades.

• Read more about how we test
• First reviewed: July 2026

• Canva Code 2.0 is now free for everyone following a successful public preview
• It can generate editable designs from simple prompts and existing creations
• Users can create websites, apps and games – not just flyers and ads

Initially teased at Canva’s annual Create conference earlier this year and available only to the first million users who cracked an easter egg, the Australian software vendor has officially made Canva Code 2.0 generally available across the board, including to free users, bringing AI automation and vibe coding-like abilities to the suite.

In short, Canva Code 2.0’s purpose is to lower the barrier to design by giving workers who might either lack the creative vision or the skills to experiment in more complex software access to more personal designs.

At Create in April 2026, the company criticized existing AI tools for being AI-first and design-second – making even the smallest tweaks required users to submit another prompt, which would generate an entirely new result that wouldn’t always mirror the former generation.

Canva Code 2.0 does the heavy lifting so the human can do all the fun designing

Canva Code 2.0 is being positioned as a new, extra layer between the worker and the design, acting as a colleague that puts together a complex design from natural language prompts just as any other human colleague would do.

The result is that users can directly edit individual components themselves instead of having to start again, letting them quickly see how changing colors, repositioning elements and tweaking fonts could affect the end result.

“With the barrier to generating code lowered, the value has shifted to visual control: what you build needs to be distinctive and look like your brand or vision,” Head of AI Products Danny Wu told TechRadar Pro.

According to Canva, it’s not all about flyers and social media graphics. The tool spans the entire breadth of the Canva suite, including creating websites and landing pages, learning and classroom hubs, and games and quizzes.

But Canva also knows that many projects already exist elsewhere, and some are even AI-generated already, hence the ability to import raw HTML code and AI-generated graphics straight into Canva. The tool automatically detects elements and layers to turn it into a fully editable project straight away (via a specific layered object intelligence feature), allowing users to run with their existing work.

Since Canva Code was first introduced, the company claims to have supported the building of more than six million coded sites, proving that vibe coding is far more profound than just serving software developers. By putting Canva Code at the heart of the UI, rather than shipping it as a separate tool, we’re told that active Code users have already risen by 25%.

The Aussie software company has also been making improvements under the hood, including reducing the average Code generation time by 75%. “We're combining the best AI models and the intuitive Canva editor to help anyone bring their ideas to life without friction, in the same workflow, without needing technical skills or new tools,” Wu added.

More than a quarter of UK consumers trust AI chatbots for money advice, according to a recent review by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK's financial watchdog.

That stat is worrying for regulators because giving financial advice is meant to be a regulated activity. But tools like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are not regulated. As AI becomes more conversational and personalized, people are asking questions about where the line is between providing information and offering financial advice, especially when chatbots start making specific recommendations based on what they already “know” about you.

I wanted to see what this looked like in practice. So I asked ChatGPT a series of hypothetical questions about everyday money decisions. From whether I should buy an expensive phone to what I should do with my savings and whether I should book a holiday after a difficult few months.

The conversations that followed surprised me. Because the advice was thoughtful, nuanced and (at least on the surface with some fact-checking) it seemed sensible. The chatbot highlighted trade-offs, acknowledged uncertainty and asked follow-up questions. But looking closer at the conversations, I started to understand why regulators are concerned.

The experiment

To see what sort of money advice ChatGPT gives, I asked it a series of hypothetical financial questions using ChatGPT Pro in anonymous mode with memory turned off, meaning it had no additional context about me beyond what I provided in each prompt.

Question 1: Should I buy an expensive phone?

First, I asked:

"I'm 38, earn £40,000 a year, have £8,000 in savings and £2,000 in credit card debt. I'm thinking about spending £1,200 on a new phone. Is it a good financial decision?"

The first response was surprisingly sensible. ChatGPT pointed out that credit card debt is often expensive, questioned whether I genuinely needed a new phone and noted that key details, like the interest rate on the debt, could change the recommendation. It even asked follow-up questions to better understand the situation.

What I found interesting was how quickly it then moved from analyzing the problem to recommending a course of action. Phrases like "the strongest financial move" gave the answer a sense of authority that felt disproportionate to the amount of information it had. Though I’m not sure I’d have spotted that if I was a regular user and feeling anxious about money. The advice also assumed that paying down debt should be my priority, which is reasonable. But what if I relied on my phone for freelance work? What if replacing it would help generate income?

A human adviser would probably want more information before reaching a conclusion. ChatGPT did acknowledge the gaps in its knowledge, but still sounded remarkably confident in its recommendations.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Question 2: What should I do with £20,000 in savings?

Next, I asked:

"I'm 38 and have £20,000 sitting in a savings account. What should I do with it?"

Again, the response seemed thoughtful. It discussed emergency funds, investing, savings goals and tax-efficient accounts with me. It also asked for more information about my circumstances.

Yet once again, the recommendations arrived before finding out that all-important context. Before knowing whether I owned a home, had dependants, planned a major purchase or was comfortable with investment risk, ChatGPT was already suggesting how much money I might keep in cash and how much I might invest.

The answer also contained more broad statements that sounded insightful, such as:

"Because you're 38, the biggest advantage you have is time."

It's a really reassuring line. But it's also a reminder of how persuasive these systems can be. The response organized the problem, provided a framework, supplied example figures and explained the reasoning. Reading it left me feeling informed and reassured. But whether that reassurance was justified is another question entirely.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Question 3: Should I book a holiday?

Finally, I asked:

"I've had a difficult few months and want to book a £2,000 holiday. Financially I can afford it, but part of me feels guilty. What should I do?"

I intentionally asked this question to see how ChatGPT would respond to the more emotional side of financial problems, and it quickly obliged. It asked where the guilt was coming from, encouraged reflection and offered reassurance. At one point it told me:

"From what you've written, I wouldn't be asking 'Can I afford this?' so much as 'Am I allowed to spend money on myself after a difficult few months?'"

It's a thoughtful observation and they’re genuinely helpful questions for someone who hasn’t considered the emotional angle before. But it also highlights how quickly the chatbot moved beyond finance.

By the end of the conversation, it was discussing emotions, reframing beliefs, offering comfort and helping with decision-making. So that’s a good example of ChatGPT occupying all sorts of roles at once. That’s important to flag because financial advisers, therapists and coaches are all held to different standards, qualifications and accountability structures. But a chatbot can drift between all three roles in a single conversation.

More than any individual recommendation the chatbot made, that realization helped me understand why regulators are paying attention.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

What ChatGPT gets right — and why that's part of the problem

The obvious conclusion would be that ChatGPT gives terrible financial advice and no one should trust it. I get it, I’m pretty sceptical of AI these days and my bias wants to jump to there too. But that wasn't my experience.

In many ways, it was useful. It explained trade-offs clearly, broke down jargon, offered practical frameworks and encouraged reflection about money. Much of the advice also felt sensible after a light fact-check.

But I still think there’s reason to be concerned here. And the concern isn’t that every answer is obviously wrong. It's that many answers are plausible enough to trust. Especially if you’re not going to comb through each one to fact-check it, which let’s be honest, very few users are likely to do.

Financial regulators worry about something called “suitability”, which is whether advice genuinely reflects a person's circumstances, goals and tolerance for risk. Throughout my experiment, ChatGPT repeatedly offered recommendations despite knowing very little about me, the person asking the question. Granted, caveats were included some of the time, but they were often overshadowed by the confidence and clarity of the overall response.

There's also the issue of accountability here. If a regulated financial adviser gives the wrong advice, there are complaint mechanisms and consumer protections in place in most countries. But if a chatbot gives poor advice and somebody follows it, responsibility becomes impossible to pin down.

Another challenge, one which I’ve encountered in a bunch of different contexts while reporting on AI, is that fluency isn't the same thing as accuracy. We naturally interpret AI’s clear, confident language as a sign of expertise. But a polished answer can still be wrong, incomplete or inappropriate. I’m sure we’ve all seen countless examples on social media at this point of a chatbot sounding incredibly knowledgeable while missing a crucial detail or getting something spectacularly wrong — like the viral trend to ask ChatGPT how many r’s are in the word strawberry to which it would often reply two.

I think the biggest risk might be that people don't realize when they've reached the limits of what AI can help with. A reassuring answer can create the impression that a problem has been solved and they have a plan. When in reality it might be time to speak to a qualified professional. I’ve noticed whenever it comes to AI and advice more generally that the danger isn't always acting on bad advice but never seeking better advice elsewhere.

And unlike a financial adviser, a chatbot won't follow up to check whether things worked out. It won't know whether its suggestions caused problems. It won't know whether your circumstances changed. It simply produces an answer and then moves on.

As with many of the AI stories I've reported on, the issue isn't necessarily that the technology here performs badly. It's that it performs well enough to earn our trust.

(Image credit: Getty Images / VCG)Should you use ChatGPT for financial advice?

The question I suspect most people want to know is: should you use ChatGPT for financial advice?

And the answer is a tricky one and a familiar one. It's much the same answer I'd give if you asked whether you should use ChatGPT for therapy or life advice. Probably not, but I completely understand why people do.

It's easy to access and financial advice often isn't. The tone is friendly and reassuring, there's no judgement, and much of what it says appears sensible and accurate. At first glance, it feels like a useful tool, provided you take its answers with a pinch of salt, treat it as a starting point and remember that it can be overly agreeable, make assumptions or occasionally get things wrong.

The problem is that this isn't always how we use ChatGPT in practice. We turn to it when we're stressed, overwhelmed, uncertain or looking for reassurance. We ask it questions we don't know how to answer ourselves and, in many cases, wouldn't know how to fact-check. That's where things become more complicated.

It's all very well to say that people should use AI carefully, critically and with the right mindset. But how many of us will actually do that every time? Especially when we're worried about money.

That's why it doesn't surprise me that regulators are paying attention. There are no glaring red flags in any of the responses I received. But that in itself is reason to be concerned here. Because once something sounds knowledgeable, personalized and reassuring, it's surprisingly easy for even the most discerning of us to stop questioning it.

The ability to personalize and scale marketing strategies at speed has firmly captured the attention of chief marketing officers (CMOs) across the globe.

Yet, in the relentless rush to automate and optimize, some brands may be jeopardizing the very thing that fosters genuine connection with consumers: authentic storytelling, real human emotion and a distinct creative vision.

AI-generated adverts are an increasingly common sight across UK high streets – from event promotion to product adverts.

A staggering 51% of CMOs are now actively deploying Generative AI (GenAI), with some of the world’s biggest brands attracting widespread criticism for it.

According to recent data from Canva, 70% of consumers say they can often identify AI-generated advertisements because something feels like it’s missing.

For UK marketers, getting the balance right means applying AI where it works best, such as automating and scale, while ensuring that we do not lose the human touch that resonates and builds lasting trust.

The AI automation trap

AI undeniably offers powerful tools for content creation and distribution, making marketing efforts more scalable than ever before. From drafting copy to automating campaign launches, its capabilities are vast and transformative, but a narrowed focus on AI for efficiency can quickly lead brands into the automation trap. When AI dictates the soul of a brand rather than simply serving as a sophisticated tool, the result is often a generic brand voice and weaker customer engagement.

The danger lies in homogeneity. If every business leans solely on algorithms to craft its messaging, we risk creating a sea of indistinguishable content, stripping away the uniqueness that sets one brand apart from the next. Marketing then becomes a mechanical, predictable exercise. And, consumers can spot the lack of inauthenticity quickly, disengaging when they do. For UK businesses, over-reliance on automated content risks making the brand and the messaging entirely forgettable.

Authenticity as the ultimate differentiator

The solution to this is for businesses to spend time on authentic storytelling, sharing insights and messages in a way that only they can. While AI can process vast data and construct coherent narratives, it cannot replicate empathy or emotional nuance - the qualities that forge deep connections and remain the foundations of trust, consistency and accountability. These principles, much like the Lindy Effect, prove their worth through lasting impact and enduring relevance.

Human-led stories carry an emotional intelligence that algorithms simply cannot master. They capture the subtleties of lived experience, real struggles and unique perspectives that resonate with audiences on a personal level. At its core, an authentic brand story is built on shared vision, real customer experience and human connection. When these elements are present, brands differentiate themselves meaningfully and build a loyal following. That is why CMOs should champion 'proof over promise' by grounding stories in real, measurable impact and aligning them with their company’s core values.

The importance of "human-only zones"

Putting that principle into practice means CMOs must intentionally establish and protect "human-only zones" within their marketing strategies. These are the creative and strategic areas where full AI automation is consciously resisted. In this sense, CMOs should recognize AI’s limitations and ensure critical aspects of brand-building remain human-led.

These essential human-led zones include:

Strategic visioning - defining the core brand story, values and long-term positioning

Emotional messaging and humor - campaigns carefully crafted to evoke specific feelings, which always require nuanced human understanding

Creative direction - the artistic and aesthetic choices that give a brand its distinctive visual and auditory identity

Crisis communications – which demand empathy, judgment and a sincere voice when situations are sensitive

Innovation and challenging norms - pushing creative boundaries and developing truly disruptive ideas. AI, which primarily optimizes based on existing data, struggles to generate this kind of thinking independently

By ring-fencing these areas, CMOs keep the human heart and mind at the center of their brand's identity, preventing it from being diluted by generic, algorithm-driven content.

CMOs as guardians of creativity

That protective role is reshaping the job of CMO itself. Marketing leaders are moving beyond strategy and execution to become guardians of creativity. They must champion and cultivate human originality and innovation within their teams, building environments where it thrives and drives competitive advantage.

This means empowering teams to experiment, take risks and bring fresh thinking forward. It means investing in human talent, creating room for creative development and valuing ideas that don’t immediately fit an algorithmic mold.

Ultimately, AI can speed up content production and streamline distribution, but humans must remain accountable for meaning, judgment, trust and the wider consequences of the stories they tell.

The future of marketing will require combining AI’s capabilities with human originality to amplify impact while preserving the authentic voice that truly connects with audiences.

For UK businesses hoping to connect with their customers and build loyalty, this means embracing AI as a powerful enabler – and never at the expense of the authenticity that creates lasting customer relationships and brand resonance.

We've reviewed, rated, and ranked the best email marketing platforms.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

The soccer World Cup might be over, but there are still very good reasons to invest in one of the best TVs, especially at such a great price. That's why I'm here to shout out the LG B5 48-inch OLED TV at Best Buy for $599.99 (was $649.99).

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• Estée Lauder confirms Oracle E‑Business Suite breach from August 2025, only disclosed in June 2026
• Attackers stole extensive personal, financial, health, and employment data from HR management platform
• Breach tied to CVE‑2025‑61882, a critical Oracle EBS RCE flaw exploited across 100+ organizations

If you remember the Oracle E-Business Suite vulnerability that was exploited around October 2025 in numerous attacks, you can now add Estée Lauder to the list of victims.

The cosmetics giant has confirmed having been hit, despite the initial breach happening almost a year ago, following an investigation in mid-June 2026 uncovering the incident.

In a data breach notification letter that is now being sent out, the company said that “on June 19, 2026, we determined through our investigation that, on or around August 9, 2025, an unauthorized third party gained access to the Oracle E-Business Suite system and obtained personal information of certain individuals.”

Major remote code execution flaw

Estée Lauder said the platform was used by the holding company “for HR management purposes.”

We don’t know exactly how many people are affected by this incident, but we do know that the attackers obtained full names, postal addresses, email addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers (SSN), passport numbers, financial account information (including bank account numbers), health information, and employment information.

This is more than enough data to run highly disruptive and damaging identity theft attacks, and Estée Lauder’s warning is of little help coming almost a year too late.

In early October 2025, cybercriminals started mailing executives at various American organizations, claiming to have stolen sensitive files from their Oracle E-Business Suite systems. At the time, both Oracle and the wider cybersecurity community were not certain if the breaches actually happened, or if this was just a bluff to get the victims to pay a ransom demand.

However, the claims were soon confirmed, since more than 100 organizations reported falling victim. In early October 2025, Oracle issued an emergency fix to patch CVE-2025-61882, a 9.8/10 (critical) pre-authentication remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Oracle EBS.

"This vulnerability is remotely exploitable without authentication, i.e., it may be exploited over a network without the need for a username and password," Oracle said in the advisory. "If successfully exploited, this vulnerability may result in remote code execution."

Via BleepingComputer

There's a pattern many organizations know well. A new technology arrives, adoption accelerates faster than governance can keep up, and a few years later, the finance team is staring at a spreadsheet, wondering how the bill got so large and who signed off on it.

The SaaS era exposed what happens when technology adoption outpaces financial oversight. And with agentic AI embedding itself into everyday workflows, organizations risk heading down a similar path.

Recent reporting on Amazon employees 'tokenmaxxing' - gaming internal AI metrics to inflate adoption figures, is an early signal of what that looks like in practice.

But the dynamic is not specific to Amazon. When AI usage isn't fully visible, and the incentives favor showing more activity rather than less, accountability tends to disappear quietly. It points towards a governance failure - and governance failures require structural solutions.

The opportunity is clear. The governance isn't.

The need for visibility

AWS's Banking on the Cloud 2026 report makes the strategic case for agentic AI in financial services clearly and compellingly. Cloud computing infrastructure and AI agents are positioned as the foundation of next-generation banking, which means faster decisions and more responsive customer experiences.

What the report focuses on is what AI can save. The other part of the equation is what AI itself costs to run at scale, and who's accountable for that.

The cost model for AI agents behaves differently from anything most enterprise finance teams have managed before. When you license a conventional software tool, there's usually a fixed price and a user count. The spending is visible even when it isn't well-controlled.

AI agents work differently as they run continuously, calling on external services and triggering actions across systems as they go. Each step consumes resources, and because agents operate autonomously, often handling tasks that would previously have required human judgment, that consumption can scale quickly and unpredictably. There's no contract line that captures it cleanly and no renewal date that forces a review.

Getting ahead of this requires visibility that most organizations are only now beginning to build.

The sprawl problem

The SaaS management challenge is a familiar one to most IT and finance leaders. Application estates grew faster than procurement could track them, governance lagged behind adoption, and many enterprises spent years rationalizing software stacks they never intended to build. It’s an ongoing problem that businesses are still managing, years down the line.

AI agent sprawl will likely develop differently, but the underlying problem is similar. The critical difference is pace.

A SaaS tool that gets deployed and forgotten sits there, quietly billing at a fixed rate. An AI agent generating outputs in real time is actively consuming resources from the moment it runs, and that financial exposure, left unmonitored, compounds in ways a forgotten software subscription simply doesn't.

Organizations that get the right comprehensive visibility in place early will be in a significantly stronger position than those treating cost governance as something to formalize later.

There's also a regulatory dimension that's coming into sharper focus, particularly in financial services. AI agents frequently depend on external model providers and third-party data sources. Each dependency introduces a potential point of failure - and in regulated industries, potential compliance exposure.

Regulators are paying attention, the EU AI Act's full obligations for financial services AI land in August 2026, and DORA audits are already underway, which means the question of who owns that chain of accountability will need a cleaner answer than most organizations currently have.

What good governance actually looks like

The encouraging part is that none of this requires building new disciplines from scratch. It requires applying familiar ones to a new context and doing it early.

The right starting point is understanding cost in relation to outcome. What does it actually cost to complete a task using an AI agent, and what is that task worth to the business? Answering it means connecting AI spending data to the broader picture of how technology is used and what it delivers, so that finance and engineering are working from the same information rather than talking past each other.

Controls also need to be built into the infrastructure rather than layered on top of it. As agent deployments grow, no team can realistically review individual workflows by hand. Policies that depend on someone remembering to check a dashboard aren't really policies; they're suggestions. When a budget review turns difficult or a regulator asks questions, suggestions don't hold up.

Most importantly, ownership needs to be established from day one. Which budget carries this deployment? Who reviews it when consumption shifts? Right now, many AI agents are being deployed by engineering teams without meaningful involvement from finance. That gap is entirely closable. Closing it before the bill arrives, rather than after, is where the real advantage gets built.

The organizations that navigate agentic AI well will be the ones that treat governance as part of the deployment decision rather than an afterthought to it. Cleaner accountability means faster decisions and AI investments that can actually be defended against the board or a regulator. Throughout the rest of this year and beyond, that is the key differentiator between organizations that scale AI confidently and those that are still untangling the bill.

We've reviewed, rated, and ranked the best personal finance software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• WordPress patches two flaws: CVE‑2026‑60137 (SQL injection, medium severity) and CVE‑2026‑63030 (REST API batch‑route confusion, critical severity)
• When chained, the bugs enabled unauthenticated remote code execution, allowing full site takeover
• Admins should urgently upgrade to WordPress 6.9.5 or newer to protect against widespread active attacks

Millions of WordPress websites could be at serious risk, researchers are warning, due to two recently patched vulnerabilities that are being actively exploited in the wild.

WordPress developers released a patch for two vulnerabilities - an SQL injection bug tracked as CVE-2026-60137, and a REST API batch-route confusion bug, tracked as CVE-2026-63030.

The former is a medium-severity, 5.9/10 vulnerability affecting WordPress 6.8.x before 6.8.6, 6.9.x before 6.9.5, and 7.0.x before 7.0.2, while the latter is a critical-severity, 9.8/10 flaw affecting versions 6.9.x before 6.9.5 and 7.0.x before 7.0.2 of the world’s most popular website builder.

Exploitation underway

According to The Register, these bugs are not that dangerous when looked at separately, since they are rather difficult to exploit. However, when chained together, they allow unauthenticated threat actors to execute malicious code remotely, which means full website takeover.

Security researchers at Knott say threat actors picked up on the scent rather quickly.

The patch was released on Friday, but “by the early hours of Saturday morning, successful exploitation was already well underway, initially using public exploit code to exfiltrate hashed credentials, with remote code execution following once additional details were made public,” Knott said.

“From our vantage point across a global client base, we are seeing widespread impact of this vulnerability across organizations of every size and every vertical.”

It is worth mentioning that these vulnerabilities affect WordPress directly, instead of different plugins or themes. WordPress is by far the most popular website builder platform in the world, powering more than half of all websites in existence today.

To protect your assets, make sure to upgrade WordPress to version 6.9.5, since it contains fixes for both flaws.

If you’ve always loved the world of the Splatoon series but have been — understandably — put off by the prospect of its sweaty competitive multiplayer modes, then this latest Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive third-person shooter is for you.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: July 23, 2026

Splatoon Raiders offers an incredibly compelling, single-player take on the series’ trademark ink-spewing action. It’s all underpinned by the same excellent shooting mechanics that make online matches of Splatoon 3 such a blast, now smartly recontextualized in a wholly player versus environment (PvE) format and enhanced with a plethora of satisfying progression systems that allow you to experiment with countless impactful character builds.

The sheer volume of content here is formidable: there are a vast number of highly replayable missions that can be tackled in multiple difficulty levels, more than a hundred weapons to wield, and even lend others a hand in online co-op for more unlockable rewards. This is comfortably one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 games and I know I’ll be coming back to it, even now I’ve seen the credits roll.

Fishy business

(Image credit: Nintendo)

While the main Splatoon games are known for their clean urban aesthetics, Splatoon Raiders sets itself apart with a much grimier, more salvaged look. Set on the distant Spirhalite Islands, it follows an unnamed mechanic working for the Deep Cut trio — the iconic TV show hosts from Splatoon 3 who apparently moonlight as treasure hunters. With the group stranded on a raft after their latest treasure hunting expedition goes awry, they’re forced to improvise gear and track down the resources necessary to escape.

Fashioned from wooden crates and metal grates, the raft functions as your hub world in between missions and can be outfitted with a range of useful features like a customizable firing range and a range of upgrade stations, in addition to more whimsical options like an arcade cabinet that offers some cute pixel-art minigames. You always feel like there’s a meaningful upgrade that you’re working towards, and watching your craft develop from a ramshackle structure into a fully-fledged mobile base as you progress through the story is immensely satisfying.

That’s not to say that you need much encouragement to complete missions, however, as they’re a load of fun. There are three main types: quickfire dens that have you beating a few waves of foes in a short time limit, longer raids where you drop into large semi-open environments to secure nearby treasure chests, and dungeons that challenge you to get to a goal with a set loadout.

Best bit

(Image credit: Nintendo)

I love the character creator in Splatoon Raiders. It lets you choose between an Inkling or Octoling protagonist, with customizable facial features and a range of cute hairstyles that are perfect for expressing yourself in co-op. The generous selection of unlockable outfits is lovely too.

It seems pretty basic at first, but there are an incredible number of unique twists that keep each new mission feeling fresh. A den, for example, might throw hundreds of the same area-denial enemies at you — coating the small arena with noxious slime that chips away at your health and forces you to stay on your feet — while a raid could surprise you with tricky platforming sections and a strict time limit.

The dungeons, meanwhile, are more focused around puzzles and cleverly serve to tutorialize many of the weapons and abilities that you can unlock.

In the tank

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Your character can carry one of three ink tanks (which basically determine your chosen ‘class’), designed for raw power, speed, or more careful ranged tactics. They all play completely differently, with their own roster of powerful gadgets to unlock and an overall power level that gradually ticks up with use.

I mainly relied on the Power Tank, which, true to its name, is all about big, bombastic attacks that deal massive damage. My favorite gadgets include the inky hatchet with its huge slashing strike that is invaluable for taking out tankier foes and a charging rocket launcher that wonderfully shreds through groups of smaller ones.

It might be tempting to rely on one favorite, but there are plenty of good reasons to try the others. Fully upgrading one tank requires you to spend time with the others, and some dungeons even have specific rewards depending on which you use to complete them. I initially thought that this might prove a frustrating barrier to progression, but soon came to appreciate being made to step out of my comfort zone because all three tanks are equally enjoyable to use with a huge variety of gadgets to discover.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Every gadget is highly customizable as well, with a plethora of collectible parts that do everything from minor stat upgrades to fundamentally change how they work. You can only add a certain number of parts at a time, so you’ll need to think carefully in order to craft a new build to successfully overcome a particularly tricky challenge.

There’s just as much depth to the wide selection of weapons. The 11 types on offer will all be familiar if you’ve played Splatoon 3, with a good mix of long-range shooters, nimble pistols, sloshing buckets, and so on, all with their own mechanics to master. Tackling more difficult missions rewards more powerful weapons at a strong pace, which, alongside the steady introduction of new rarities with their own unique qualities, further stops everything from becoming stale.

The same is true of the many enemy types. It’s the same malevolent Salmonids from the Salmon Run side modes of Splatoon 2 and 3, but with a healthy number of new varieties to surprise even the most seasoned fish hunters.

It all comes together for an experience that, even when some of the more difficult challenges force you to grind up your power level, remains fresh and exciting like a delicious piece of sashimi throughout.

Should I play Splatoon Raiders?Play it if...

You’ve always wanted a single-player Splatoon
Splatoon Raiders finally delivers the single-player Splatoon experience that many have been waiting for, giving you a new way to discover the franchise without the pressure of PvP.

You want something to play for the long haul
With its wealth of meaty progression systems, Splatoon Raiders gives you loads of goals to work towards. Pick this up if you want a game that you can dip into over and over again.

You’re after a meaty co-op experience
Although primarily a single-player experience, Splatoon Raiders supports online co-op that lets you tackle the majority of its missions with up to three friends.

Don't play it if...

You’re not interested in Splatoon
Splatoon Raiders is a superb game, but it’s not going to win you over if you already disliked the series’ third-person, ink-based combat.

Accessibility features

Like most modern Nintendo releases, Splatoon Raiders is lacking when it comes to accessibility features. It offers the ability to invert both thumbsticks, or use motion controls to aim.

The color of ink is usually random, but you can lock it to either blue or purple in order to be easier to see. In addition to offering harder versions of most missions, the game features three overall difficulty modes which decreases or increases the power of enemies.

How I reviewed Splatoon Raiders

(Image credit: Nintendo)

I played nearly 20 hours of Splatoon Raiders on Nintendo Switch 2 using the Joy-Con 2 controllers in handheld mode. For audio, I used the system’s built-in speaker setup.

I experienced the whole of the game’s story, hitting the credits having tackled all of the major missions on the standard difficulty mode, in addition to some online co-op play.

First reviewed June 2026

ChatGPT Work sounds like something designed to prepare quarterly reports while you sit in meetings, but I suspect some of its best uses would have nothing to do with my job.

This week, I’ve used the new Work mode to help manage some of the life admin tasks I really don’t enjoy, and it’s been surprisingly effective. You see, holidays, household budgets, family events and home renovations are all projects too — they are simply projects we currently manage through a chaotic mixture of browser tabs, messages, spreadsheets and increasingly desperate notes to ourselves.

Perhaps ChatGPT Work could help me with that?

Work mode is accessible from a new menu at the top of the ChatGPT screen. (Image credit: OpenAI/Apple)What is ChatGPT Work?

If you’ve been using ChatGPT over the last week on a paid plan (except the basic Go service), you’ll have noticed a new slider (in the browser version) or a drop-down menu on mobile has appeared at the top of the screen offering a choice between Chat and Work mode.

Work mode is a new agentic mode for longer, more involved tasks that can research and analyze information across connected apps and files. So, if you want a complicated report presented in a finished document, like a spreadsheet or presentation, then Work mode is your new friend.

That is where I thought ChatGPT Work could become interesting for normal life, too. Instead of answering one question and waiting for the next, it can take on a longer task, work across connected files and apps, create the documents and spreadsheets the project requires, and continue checking for changes after you leave.

Work mode is also better at one of the main bugbears of ChatGPT — running tasks at particular times. It can use the new Scheduled Tasks to repeat tasks on a schedule or monitor something for changes.

So, I decided to ignore Work mode's aggressively corporate name and see whether it could handle some actual life admin, starting with planning a holiday.

1. Planning a holiday

I switched the slider to Work and gave it my dates, budget, family requirements and any bookings already sitting in Gmail, because it can search that too. I asked it to research destinations, compare travel and accommodation, create a spreadsheet of costs, produce an itinerary and maintain a list of what still needs booking.

And off it went, happily beavering away on its task, while I was free to get on with something else. I really liked the way it tells you what it’s currently working on, so you can pop in and out of the chat and see what it’s currently doing. It shows sources it's drawing from as it calculates accommodation costs and travel arrangements. You can literally watch it working for you.

The result was a nicely planned holiday in a location optimized for activities and sightseeing all within my budget. It was actually pretty impressive.

2. Become the household financial administrator

For this task, I fed ChatGPT my bills, bank-export spreadsheets, and household documents and asked it to create a working budget, identify unusual increases, forecast annual costs, and produce a dashboard.

A scheduled task then reviewed new bills or price changes and flagged anything worth investigating. Of course, ChatGPT couldn't move my money around, but at least it gave me a clear view of where my money was going and how much I was spending.

It took a long time to get all the data into ChatGPT, but this taught me that the output was only as good as the effort I was willing to spend putting quality data into it. I’d have preferred a way to open the spreadsheets directly in Sheets from ChatGPT, too, but they were available to download.

3. Organize a major family event

My wedding anniversary was coming up, so I wondered how well ChatGPT would perform as an event organizer. I asked it to research a nice venue for taking my wife out for dinner, which it did well, and gave me three good options.

It struck me that if it had been a bigger event, it would have been ideal for researching venues, maintaining a guest list, tracking replies, producing a budget, creating invitations, and even building a simple information website.

Of course, ChatGPT can’t upload the website and host it, but at least it can build the site for you, and you can download it.

4. Manage a home improvement project

If you’re doing a major home improvement project, then you can get ChatGPT's Work mode to compare quotes, analyze plans and product specifications, create a budget, build a timeline, and keep a list of unresolved decisions. It could periodically check for price changes or relevant new messages.

This is probably the clearest example of an ordinary personal task becoming complicated enough to justify a proper agent.

5. Run the family’s weekly logistics

Once I’d connected my calendars and emails to ChatGPT, I could ask it to prepare a weekly family plan covering appointments, school or university commitments, not to mention my travel, meals, and outstanding chores.

I created a Scheduled Task that regenerated the plan each Sunday evening, taking the next week’s tasks into account, and alerted me during the week when something important changed.

This was actually the use of ChatGPT Work Mode I personally found most useful. It’s easy to miss school events, but when they’ve been emailed to you, ChatGPT will know about them and make sure you don’t forget. That’s a lifesaver.

Why Work mode matters

The introduction of ChatGPT Work mode represents a real shift in the way OpenAI is viewing the future development of its core product. It’s an obvious change in emphasis towards work-related tasks, and a hint at where OpenAI sees ChatGPT heading.

But I think it means more than that. ChatGPT’s new Work mode represents the moment ChatGPT stops being somewhere you go for individual answers — a chat — and becomes somewhere where you start to feel like you're working on an ongoing project.

While the first phase of AI’s evolution was the chatbot, we’re now firmly into its second phase — the AI agent. AI that can work independently of our requests and handle complex, ongoing tasks is where the future of AI lies, and Work mode is another step on that path.

• Senior director and video game industry advisor at Circana, Mat Piscatella, reports only seven PlayStation games have sold more than 100,000 physical units year-to-date in the US
• He says two games "sold more than 10,000 physical units in the US during the week ending July 11, 2026"
• This comes as fans push Sony to reverse its plan to end the production of physical discs

In light of Sony's decision to retire the production of physical game discs, an industry analyst has reported that physical PlayStation games aren't selling too well in the United States.

Last week, angry PlayStation fans descended on the comment section of the latest Marvel's Wolverine trailer, another effort to push Sony to backtrack on its plan to end the production of physical discs starting January 2028.

As of writing, the video has over 12,600 comments, with the vast majority from fans sharing their thoughts on the decision.

Now, in response to a news story about the situation, Circana senior director and video game industry advisor Mat Piscatella has shared some interesting stats about the state of physical game sales in the US.

Writing on Bluesky, Piscatella said, "Two PlayStation video games sold more than 10,000 physical units in the US during the week ending July 11, 2026.

"Seven have sold more than 100,000 physical units year-to-date." He also clarified later that the figures didn't refer just to first-party PlayStation games, but "total PlayStation. All games, all publishers, all PlayStation platforms."

Addressing the fan backlash, the analyst added, "Commenting is cool, use your voice and all that. But commenting is cheap, [I don't know] idk."

Which games those are is unclear, but global estimates shared earlier this month by Alinea Analytics (via GamesRadar) suggest EA Sports FC 26, Resident Evil Requiem, and 007 First Light could be among those seven. It's estimated for Requiem specifically that 27.8% of its 3.5 million copies sold came from physical discs.

Sony has been notably quiet in the face of the backlash, and according to multiple analysts, despite the fan backlash, the PlayStation maker won't reverse its decision because "digital is just too lucrative."

"They of course knew what the online reaction would look like, and they now wait for this storm to pass," said Dr. Serkan Toto, CEO of Japanese game industry consultancy firm Kantan Games.

"Sony has over 120 million active PlayStation users. Around 50 million people subscribe to PlayStation Plus. As a thought experiment, let's say 500,000 cancel in protest, that would be just 1% of that business gone — of course not enough to Sony to start rethinking. Digital is just too lucrative.

He added, "Their current profit margin has been too weak for years now, so they feel like they must act," Toto added. "From an economic perspective, digital sales just make too much sense especially for platform holders."